10 January 1939

1920 (SATURDAY)

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations formally comes into being when the Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by 42 nations in 1919, takes effect. The United States is not a member.

1933 (TUESDAY)

EUROPE: France and the Little Entente (the loose alliance formed in 1920-21 by Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia) protests the Italian arms shipment to Austria as a breach of the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain which established the republic of Austria.

UNITED STATES: President Herbert Hoover asks ratification of the international convention for the suppression of international trade in arms and ammunition and implements of war or legislation permitting the President to limit or forbid such shipment.

1934 (WEDNESDAY)

GERMANY: Marinus van der Lubbe is guillotined in Leipzig. Van der Lubbe was a Dutch communist accused of setting fire to the German Reichstag building on 27 February 1933, an event known as the Reichstag fire.

NETHERLANDS: The government announces that all government employees belonging to the Nazi Party will be fired immediately.

UNITED STATES: Six USN Consolidated P2Y-1 seaplanes of Patrol Squadron Ten, Base Force (VP-10F) take off from San Francisco, California, on a historic nonstop formation flight and arrive at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, in 24 hours 35 minutes. The flight betters the best previous time for the crossing; exceeding the best distance of previous mass flights; and breaks a nine-day-old world record for distance in a straight line for Class C seaplanes with a new mark of 2,399 miles (3 861 kilometers).

The first Boeing P-26A Peashooter monoplane fighter makes it first flight today. The P-26 was still in service on 7 December 1941 with the USAAF in the Territory of Hawaii and the Philippine Air Force.

1935 (THURSDAY)

UNITED STATES: New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia opens a new city airport today. LaGuardia chafes at the idea that the busiest airport in the world, Newark Municipal Airport, located across the river in New Jersey, serves commercial flights to New York City. The new airport dates back to 1929 and has been named Glenn H. Curtiss Airport and later North Beach Airport. He wants to develop the airport and wants the U.S. Government to help fund new facilities. New York Municipal Airport will be dedicated in October 1939 and will be renamed New York Municipal Airport-LaGuardia Field in November. The airport is opened for traffic on 2 December 1939.

1937 (SUNDAY)

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler assures the French Ambassador to Berlin; André Francois-Poncet, that Germany has no designs on the territorial integrity of Spain or its possessions. These discussions were held because France had been worried over German activity in French Morocco.

POLAND: The Polish-Danzig negotiations about the League of Nations Commissioner are concluded.

UNITED KINGDOM: The British Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 is declared applicable to the war in Spain to prevent British volunteers for getting involved. .

1938 (MONDAY)

CHINA: The Japanese army gains control of the strategic port of Qingdao (Tsingtao), but only after Chinese forces had destroyed the Japanese mills in the region. The Japanese army then begins a major offensive southwards, along the Hankow Railway through Shanxi (Shansi).

UNITED STATES: U.S. Representative Louis Ludlow (Democrat - Indiana) first introduced a constitutional amendment in 1935, which requires a national referendum to confirm a declaration of war passed by Congress, except in the event of an invasion of the U.S. or its territorial possessions. While Ludlow introduced the amendment several times, it failed to pass, in spite of strong support in national opinion polls. In January 1938, passage of the resolution seems assured, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt sends a letter to the Speaker of the House arguing that a president would be unable to conduct an effective foreign policy and other nations would violate American rights if the Constitution is amended. By a vote of 209-188, the House returns the resolution to committee.

January 10th, 1939 (TUESDAY)

ITALY: Rome. Chamberlain meets Mussolini, but fails to reduce tensions in Europe.

10 January 1940

January 10th, 1940 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Widespread complaints about train delays have been excused by the Railway Executive on the grounds of the blackout, which prolongs the loading of goods vans and makes for late starting. It also blames unexpected arrivals at ports of shipments of fresh food, which have to be hurriedly distributed by commandeering trains. Troop movements are also a factor.

This doesn't explain why so many trains run late in the daytime. Even daily commuter journeys habitually take half-an-hour longer than advertised, if not more.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group. Daylight Anti-shipping sweep over the North Sea. 77 Sqn, two Whitley Mk. Vs, aircraft. 102 Sqn, two Whitley Mk. V aircraft. No enemy shipping sighted.

North Sea Reconnaissance - One German aircraft destroyed, one RAF Blenheim lost.

BELGIUM: A German military Me 108 courier aircraft on a flight from Munster to Cologne deviated from its heading due to bad weather while carrying important deployment documents, and had to make an emergency landing at Mechelen-sur-Meuse, Belgium. Luftwaffe headquarters in Berlin is in turmoil after learning of the crash-landing from the German embassy in Brussels. One of the passengers had tried to set fire to papers he had taken from his briefcase, but Belgian soldiers closed in and retrieved the partly burnt papers. The passenger was Major Helmut Reinberger, a Luftwaffe staff officer, and the papers were operational plans, complete with maps, for a German airborne assault on the west to begin on 14 January with saturation bombing of French airfields. Extra.

When told of this Hitler is reported to have said, "It's things like this that can lose us the war."

GERMANY: Hitler tells his generals that he has set 17 January as the date for the attack on the Western Front.

The Luftwaffe High Command (the OKL) instructed the German press that it was forbidden to publish any information about the Me 110, Ju 88 and Me 210 bomber aircraft, mine-laying aircraft, one ton bombs, and the aircraft controlling and reporting service [Flugmeldedienst].

U-144 is laid down. (DS)

SWEDEN: The Swedish government rejects the Soviet claim that Sweden is pursuing an "unneutral" policy.

FINLAND: The Soviet's 122th Division starts a retreat in JoutsijÃ¤rvi. The Finnish IV Corps launches an attack, which leads to the encirclement of the Soviet 34th Tank Brigade, 18th and 168th Divisions. By the end of the war 18th Division and 34th Tank Brigade are destroyed while the 168th suffers from starvation and lack of ammunition, but is saved by relieve attack and peace.

EGYPT: U.S. steamship SS President Van Buren, bound for Genoa, Italy, and New York, New York, is detained at Port Said, Egypt, and subsequently discharges items of cargo, deemed as contraband, at Alexandria, Egypt, before being allowed to proceed.

AUSTRALIA: Four passenger liners depart Sydney, New South Wales, carrying the Australian 16th Brigade bound for Egypt. The ships, escorted by the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, will rendezvous with the convoy carrying the New Zealand 4th Brigade that sailed from Auckland on 6 January.

10 January 1941

January 10th, 1941 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Portsmouth: Intense night air attacks are made on the town, churches, hospitals and private dwellings are hit and many are rendered homeless.

London: Churchill insists that assistance to Greece must be top priority after the capture of Tobruk. But Wavell denies this, saying that the German build-up is a "...move in a war of nerves designed with object of helping Italy by upsetting Greek nerves, inducing us to disperse our forces in Middle East and to stop our advance in Libya. Nothing (repeat nothing) we can do from here is likely to be in time to stop German advance if really intended..."

Fleetwood, Lancashire: Lord Derby, speaking to Rossall School, told the boys that after the war there would be a commercial battle for the markets of the world, and he urged: "Fit yourselves for that battle, because it will be battle, make no mistake about it."

FRANCE: The RAF begins "Circus" operations. This operation consists of a heavy fighter escort of a small force of bombers designed to provoke Luftwaffe fighter activity. In this first mission, six Blenheims, escorted by 72 fighters, attack an ammunition dump south of Calais.

GERMANY: The synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen are raided by less than half of the 135 RAF Bomber Command aircraft dispatched.

U-560 is launched.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Germany and Russia signed a new, enlarged, economic agreement in Moscow today. The agreement is of special value to the Nazi war machine, for the Russians are sending the Germans industrial raw materials, oil products and foodstuffs, particularly grain.

It is believed that among the raw materials are rubber, manganese and chromium. Vital in the production of weapons, these materials are in short supply in Germany because of the British blockade. The Germans will also get petroleum products and trainloads of wheat from the Ukraine, the "bread-basket of Europe".

In return the Russians will receive German machine tools to re-equip the Soviet Union's out-of-date factories. According to the official Soviet communiqué: "This new economic agreement marks a great step forward."

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Operation 'Excess' has reached the Strait of Sicily and is attacked by Italian torpedo boats. 'Vega' is sunk by escorting cruiser HMS Bonaventure and destroyer HMS Hereward. As the Mediterranean Fleet meets the convoy off Pantalleria one of the screening destroyers HMS Gallant, is mined in the 120 miles west of Malta at 36 27N 12 11E. As her bows are blown off right back to the bridge, she is towed back to Malta stern first, however, after survey, she is declared a total loss. There are 60 casualties, but 85 of the crew survive. Towed back to Malta, she is not re-commissioned and is finally wrecked by bombing in April 1942. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Still to the west of Malta, heavy attacks by German and Italian aircraft are launched. HMS Illustrious is singled out and soon hit six times by thirty JU87 and Ju88 bombers of the Luftwaffe's elite X Fliegerkorps, a unit specially trained to dive-bomb surface ships. It began with a feint attack by two Italian torpedo bombers which drew off Illustrious's fighters, leaving her without air protection. She struggles into Malta with 200 casualties, her steering gear smashed

ALBANIA: Greek forces take Klisura after the four Italian divisions in the area are pulled back.

NETHERLANDS: All Jews are ordered to register with the authorities.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Thai army renews their ground offensive against the French. (Michael Alexander)

CANADA: Minesweepers HMCS Vegreville, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Drummondville laid down.

U.S.A.: Washington: The administrations leading supporters in Congress asked their colleagues today to give President Roosevelt what amounts to a blank cheque to arm Britain. The bill authorising massive deliveries of arms to Britain is popularly known as the "Lease-and-Lend" Bill. It empowers the President to send weapons, munitions, aircraft, ships, machinery and blueprints to any country whose defence he deems vital to that of the United States. Estimates of the eventual cost of this bill have reached $2.5 billion. The bill also gives the President sweeping powers to:

1. Test, inspect, fit out or otherwise place in good working order any defence article for any government whose defence it deems vital;

2. Sell, transfer, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of any defence article;

3. Communicate to any government any defence information.

At the same time the President took special powers to prevent six essential raw materials from reaching the Axis powers - copper, brass, bronze, zinc, nickel and potash. It is US policy to help the democracies to survive, he told a press conference, speedy methods must be used which were strictly legal.

Washington: Before the House committee on naval affairs, Rear Admiral Towers stated that, in the past year, only 445 planes were obtained by the navy. He attributed the small output to "indecision and vagueness" on the part of the administration. Admiral Towers said that the Navy's goal is 16,000 fighting planes. At present there are 2,590 in use, and, of these, very few are modern.

The Vought SB2U-3 Vindicator makes its first flight.

Hart visited by Commander John L McCrea, a special courier from the Navy Department, who advises Hart that Rainbow-3 (WPL 44) which called for the Asiatic Fleet to be reinforced with at least a cruiser division of four ships, a single aircraft carrier, YORKTOWN, and a destroyer squadron. (Marc Small)

ANTARCTICA: USN auxiliary USS Bear (AG-29) returns to Bay of Whales, to evacuate West Base.

10 January 1942

January 10th, 1942 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMS MIDDLETON is commissioned.

FRANCE: Paris: Claude Blanchard has been arrested by the Gestapo, then released after a night spent in the police station and an interrogation in the avenue Foch.

During the night of 10/11 January, one RAF Bomber Command Wellington bombs the port area at Boulogne.

GERMANY: Berlin radio reports that German troops are defending their positions on the Eastern Front in a "wall of blood."

RAF bombers attack Emden during the night. During the night of 10/11 January, 93 of 124 RAF Bomber Command aircraft dispatched attack Wilhelmshaven with the loss of six aircraft. The aircrews report good bombing but Wilhelmshaven records this only as a small raid with light damage and six people injured.. A second target is Emden where 23 of 29 aircraft dispatched bomb the city. Two other aircraft bomb Aurich and Bremerhaven.

Colonel-General Ernst Udet, head of Luftwaffe aircraft production and development, commits suicide for failure to provide adequate replacements and new improved aircraft models. Udet was the second-highest scoring German ace of World War I, the leading surviving ace, and the youngest ace, age 22 when the war ended in 1918.

U-92 and U-354 are launched. U-513 is commissioned. U-392 is laid down.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine "M-175" - is sunk by German U-boat U-584, north of Ribachi Island. (Sergey Anisimov)

Moscow: General Zhukov has launched a powerful offensive against the German "winter line" that runs from Bryansk north through Vyazma to Rzhev. The Germans thought that they would be warm and safe in this campaign until they chose to resume the campaign in the spring. But the Red Army, unlike the Germans, has no intention of stopping until the warm weather comes. It is forcing Germany into a retreat which, in places, is becoming a rout.

The Russians have taken Mosalsk, on the road to Smolensk, and are threatening to encircle the German base at Mozhaisk. Ilyushin Il-62 Sturmovik assault planes are wheeling over the battlefield like starlings before swooping on their targets, and the Luftwaffe has moved all available fighters to forward bases to protect the retreating army. The Germans explain the retreat by claiming that they are "allowing the enemy to shed his blood through this defensive action; then at the right time, we will return to the offensive."

Soviet troops nearly surround 100,000 Germans at Demyansk. Field Marshal Ritter Von Leeb asks Hitler for permission to retreat. The Fuhrer refuses.

BURMA: The commander of Indian 17th Division arrives to take charge of Tenasserim operations.

MALAYA: The Indian 3 Corps abandons Port Swettenham and Kuala Lumpur while falling back to cover the Port Dickson and Seremban area. Japanese planes, which since late December have been making night attacks on airdromes on Singapore, begin daylight raids on the airdromes. “Westforce,” consisting of the Australian 8th Division (less 22nd Brigade), Indian 9th Division, Indian 45th Brigade Group, the 2/Loyal Regiment (less one company), and supporting units is established.
The Governor of Singapore sends out a message stating, "The day of minute papers has gone. There must be no more passing of files from one department to another, and from one officer in a department to another" to which The Straits Times newspaper responds, "This announcement is about two and a half years too late."

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Japanese planes drop leaflets calling on Filipino and US troops to surrender.

Bataan: General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief US Army Forces Far East, makes his only visit to the peninsula and his failure to return causes deep bitterness among the defenders. The Japanese make their first surrender demand, dropping it from the air. In the II Corps area, a Japanese force driving south along the East Road splits, most of it moving west; both forces reach the outpost line along the Calaguiman River below Samal and exerts strong pressure against it. A Japanese column pushing south in central Bataan is slowed by the jungle terrain. In the I Corps area, the Japanese Western assault force reaches Olongapo without opposition.
Far East Air Force fighter units complete a movement (begun 24 December 1941) from various bases on Luzon to the Bataan Peninsula.

An endless barrage of artillery shells lights the night sky over the Bataan peninsula, west of Manila, where the 80,000 strong US and Filipino forces under General Douglas MacArthurs continue to deny General Homma's Fourteenth Japanese Army outright conquest of the Philippines.

Despite constant strafing by Zero fighter aircraft, the US II Corps gunners, hidden on the jungle-clad slopes of extinct volcanoes from Mount Natib to Abucay, claim to have wiped out 40 Japanese field guns and several Japanese platoons. This success is credited to accurate aerial reconnaissance by the remaining US planes and careful concealment of the guns by Major-General Edward King, who insists that he foliage canopies above them are renewed daily.

Morale among the US troops is high despite a Japanese leaflet drop telling them to surrender. However, few know that Washington has told MacArthur that there will be no relief force. The main anxiety is the food shortage. In addition to the troops there are also some 26,000 refugees from Manila to feed. With Manila Bay blockaded there is not enough food to last Bataan a month.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: General Archibald Lord Wavell, Commander in Chief Australian-British-Dutch-American (ABDA) Command, South West Pacific area, flies to Java, where he confers with members of the ABDA staff; he then establishes headquarters at the Grand Hotel in Lembang, 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of Bandoeng. Wavell assumes supreme command of all forces in the area; U.S. Lieutenant General George H. Brett, USAAF, is deputy commander; and U.S. Admiral Thomas C. Hart is to command the naval forces.

BORNEO: While on a reconnaissance flight, a Dutch Dornier Do-24K flying boat spots a Japanese invasion force consisting of transports escorted by two heavy cruisers and eight destroyers heading for Tarakan Island and gives the alarm. Tarakan is a 117 square mile (303 square kilometer) island in the East Celebes Sea off the northeast coast of Borneo. The main objective of the invasion is the capture of the huge oilfields, oil refineries and airfield located on the island but the Dutch commander gives the order to set fire to all oilfields and damage or destroy the refineries.

PACIFIC: Three Allied submarines sink Japanese ships.

(1) USS Pickerel (SS-177) torpedoes and sinks a Japanese gunboat at the mouth of Davao Gulf, off Cape San Augustin, Philippine Islands;

(2) USS Stingray (SS-186) torpedoes and sinks a Japanese cargo ship in the South China Sea off the south coast of Hainan Island;

(3) Dutch submarine HNMS O-19 torpedoes and sinks a Japanese army cargo ship and torpedoes a merchant cargo ship at the mouth of the Gulf of Siam.

AUSTRALIA: The landing ship HMAS Kanimbla sails from Melbourne, Victoria, escorting convoy MS.1 consisting of three ships bound for Singapore and four for the Netherlands East Indies. Meanwhile, the heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra sails from Sydney, New South Wales, escorting convoy MS.2 to Singapore.
HQ USAAF’s Far East Air Forces authorizes the activation of the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional). The unit is based at Brisbane, Queensland, equipped with P-40s and manned by (1) experienced pilots evacuated from the Philippines in a convoy that reached Australia on 22 December 1941 and (2) inexperienced pilots arriving from the U.S. The latter are being trained using ad hoc courses at RAAF bases.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: During heavy weather a lookout on U-582 breaks his arm.

U.S.A.: The USN Bureau of Ships orders that the Cleveland Class light cruiser Amsterdam (CL-59), which is under construction in Camden, New Jersey, be completed as an aircraft carrier (CV). She will be commissioned as USS Independence (CV-22) on 14 January 1943 and be reclassified as a small aircraft carrier (CVL-22) on 15 July 1943. This is the first of nine light cruisers that are completed as small aircraft carriers.
The Ford Motor Company signs a contract to manufacture Jeeps. The Willys-Overland Company is the prime contractor for the vehicle but because of the demand for it, the huge manufacturing capacity of Ford is enlisted.
Congress imposes price controls on most food and goods; the Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) cancels many of its 1942 championship events; and in Hollywood, 21-year-old Mickey Rooney marries 19-year-old Ava Gardner; they are divorced in May 1943.

Anti-Aircraft cruiser USS SAN DIEGO is commissioned.

10 January 1943

January 10th, 1943 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Minesweeper HMS Gazelle launched.

The Fairey Barracuda Mk. II enters service with No. 827 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, based at Stretton, Cheshire, England.

U.S.S.R.: After a 55-minute bombardment by thousands of guns and rocket-launchers, and employing seven armies, the Red Army begins Operation RING, the final annihilation of the tattered remnants of the German 6.Armee defending themselves desperately against all odds in the ruins of Stalingrad. The main effort is by the 65th and 21st Army to the west of Stalingrad. After the initial heavy artillery barrage the attack begins and the Germans are soon in retreat.

FRENCH MOROCCO: The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's 308th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, with Spitfire Mk Vs, begins operating from Casablanca instead of Tafaraoui, Algeria, to provide protection for the Casablanca Conference between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

LIBYA: General Bernard Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, briefs the assault forces of the army on a projected drive through the Buerat line to Tripoli, which must be accomplished within ten days, beginning on 15 January, to avoid supply difficulties.

During the night of 10/11 January, RAF (B-24) Liberators under operational control of the USAAF IX Bomber Command, Ninth Air Force, bomb a road junction at Tripoli.

NORTH AFRICA: The Italian Arditi Regiment, in teams of nine to ten men, parachute in various places in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia for covert warfare duties. Although not as successful as they had hoped to be, they managed to destroy or damage bridges in Algeria.

TUNISIA: Twelve USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators forced by an overcast to divert from the primary target of Bizerte, strike La Goulette, the seaport of the city of Tunis. One aircraft is lost.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26 Marauders, with P-38 Lightning escort, attack the marshaling yard and oil tanks at Gabes. B-26s, sent against Sousse, abort due to bad weather. A-20 Havocs with P-40 cover, hit the military camp at Kebili. Fighters escort C-47 Skytrain missions and fly reconnaissance and patrols. One P-40, flown by Major Philip Cochran, Commanding Officer, 58th Fighter Squadron, 33d Fighter Group, bombs and demolishes the Hotel Splendida, the German headquarters in Kairouan.

Seven Luftwaffe Bf 109s bomb and strafe Thelepte Airfield.

BURMA: Six USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells jointly attack the Myitnge bridge, knocking out a span and causing considerable damage to the entire target.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: 2nd Btn 35th Infantry begins 5 days of patrolling the area of the Gifu on Mount Austen on Guadalcanal. Having relieved the 132nd Infantry yesterday, the plan by General Patch is that this one fresh battalion will be able to accomplish his goal of eliminating this Japanese position. The 25th Infantry Division, reinforced, begins the largest and final offensive to clear Guadalcanal, the immediate objectives being Galloping Horse, Sea Horse, and the Gifu strongpoint. After a 30-minute artillery preparation, the first divisional time on target concentration of the campaign, followed by twelve 500 pound (227 kilogram) bombs and thirty six 325 pound (147 kilogram) depth charges, courtesy of the Cactus Air Force, the attack steps off at 0730 hours. The 27th Infantry Regiment drives south through the 2d Marine Division against Galloping Horse and clears more than half of the objective. The 1st Battalion, on the west, attacks from Hill 66 to the objective, the northern part of Hill 57, and establishes patrol contact with the 3d Battalion to the east. From Hill 55, the 3d Battalion advances 1,600 yards (1 463 meters) toward Hill 53, but is halted by stubborn opposition on Hill 52, the intermediate position. Beginning at 0550 92.5 tons of artillery rounds are shot at a "waterhole" between the 1/27 and Hill 57. The 35th Infantry Regimen's 3d Battalion begins the envelopment of the southern flank of Sea Horse, omitting preparatory fire, and takes the preliminary objective, a small hill a short distance south of the Sea Horse, against scattered opposition. Combat patrols of the 2d Battalion move against the Gifu after preparatory fire but are unable to make any headway. (Unknown and Jack McKillop)

On Guadalcanal, USAAF P-39 Airacobras and USMC SBD Dauntlesses support ground forces in the battle area. A strongpoint and an ammunition dump are destroyed.

USAAF B-26 Marauders attack Munda, New Georgia Island with the loss of one aircraft.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Companies A and C, U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, establishes a bridgehead across Konombi Creek in the Tarakena area. Action is then suspended temporarily. The 1st Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, finds one of the two Japanese positions between Musket and Kano evacuated. Kano is renamed Fisk.

In Northeast New Guinea, RAAF and USAAF Fifth Air Force aircraft attack supply dumps and antiaircraft positions in the Lae area.

PORTUGESE TIMOR: The destroyer HMAS Arunta (I 30) crosses the Timor Sea to lift off the last 282 Australians of Sparrow Force, along with twenty Portugese and eleven women and children. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

SOUTH PACIFIC: The USN transport submarine USS Argonaut (APS-1) is the largest submarine ever built in the U.S. up to this time. At 3,128 tons she was designed primarily as a minelayer but later, in 1942, was converted to a troop carrying submarine and based at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Today, a five ship Japanese convoy is sailing in the Solomon Sea about 88 nautical miles (164 kilometers) south of Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, in position 05.40S, 152.02E. A Japanese plane belonging to the 582nd Naval Air Group, flying antisubmarine patrols spots a submerged sub approaching the convoy. The plane drops three bombs then contacts destroyer HIJMS Maikaze which peels off to pursue the contact, leaving the escort to sister ships HIJMS Isokaze and Hamakaze. Maikaze's depth charge attack evidently is succesful, since a submarine's bow breaks the surface and is taken under fire by both Maikaze and Isokaze from short range. The sub sinks as a USAAF bomber re turning from a mission over New Guinea, therefore without bombs, is passing over the area. The pilot witnesses a sub forced to surface and is sunk by gunfire. There is no doubt this is USS Argonaut which was on her third patrol. There are no survivors from the 105 officers and men aboard. (Joe Sauder and Dave Shirlaw and Jack McKillop)

RAAF and USAAF Fifth Air Force aircraft operating over the Solomon Sea south of New Britain Island continue to attack vessels of the Japanese convoy that departed Lae, Northeast New Guinea, yesterday.

USN submarine USS Trigger (SS-237) torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Okikaze about 45 nautical miles (83 kilometers) south-southeast of Tokyo, Honshu, Japan, in position 35.02N, 140.12E.

CANADA: HMCS Surf paid off. Constructive total loss after grounding on Vancouver Island. Only Fisherman’s Reserve vessel lost in the war. Sold Sidney British Columbia.

U.S.A.:

Destroyers USS Wadsworth, McCord, Killen and Howorth launched.

Destroyer escort USS Pillsbury launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Seid, Smartt, Walter S Brown, William C Miller laid down.

Submarine USS Pogy commissioned.

10 January 1944

January 10th, 1944 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: No. 605 Sq. RAF shoot down their 101st enemy aircraft, a Junkers Ju 188 raiding London during the 'little blitz'. (22)

Prime Minister Churchill"> Churchill and President Roosevelt"> Roosevelt, in a joint announcement, reported that merchant shipping losses due to U-boats were 60 percent less than losses for the preceding year.

The report of the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission was issued - A Caribbean Research Council had been set up (representing Britain, United States, and the Netherlands); steps had been taken to establish an organization for coordinating and expanding the purchase of imported food; an inter-island distribution system was developed.

Submarine HMS Sanguine laid down.

Frigate HMS Trollope commissioned.

FRANCE: Paris: The SD connive with the Milice in the murder of 84 year-old Victor Basch, formerly president of the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, together with his 79 year-old wife.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 181: During the evening, five B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 4.8 million leaflets on Orleans, Chateauroux, Rouen, Le Mans and Tours without loss.

GERMANY: An announcement is made of a Swedish-German trade agreement for 1944, providing for reduction of Swedish exports to Germany.

RAF Bomber Command dispatches 40 Mosquitos to hit eight targets: eight Mosquitos bomb Berlin, three hit Solingen, two each attack Cologne, Emden, Koblenz, the Zwillingswerke Engineering Works at Solgingen and the marshalling yard at Koblenz and one bombs Krefeld.

U-1273 launched.

U-956 assisted the weather reporting ship Hessen, which was experiencing some difficulties.

NORWAY: The damaged U-277, which had gone aground and stranded in Norwegian waters, was towed free by another vessel.

BULGARIA: One hundred forty two USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Sofia causing considerable damage in the marshalling yards. P-38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts provide escort. Around 60 Luftwaffe fighters attack the force and a fierce air battle ensues; one B-17 is lost; the USAAF claims 28 aircraft shot down.

During the night of 10/11 January, 42 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb communications centers in Sofia; one aircraft is lost.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops cut the Smela to Kristinovka rail link, and annihilate a Nazi pocket north of Kirovgrad.

A Moscow radio broadcast a statement by the Soviet Government replying to the Polish statement of 5 January. The Soviet statement declares that the Polish assertions about the Soviet-Polish frontier are incorrect, and defends the incorporation of the territories of the western Ukraine in the Soviet Ukraine, and those of western White Russia in the Soviet White Russia. The Soviet Government does not regard the 1939 frontiers as immutable. The Soviet-Polish frontier could pass approximately along the so-called Curzon line, but Poland's western borders must be extended to incorporate Polish land previously stolen by Germany. The Soviet Government repeats its desire for the reestablishment of a strong, independent Poland, and for friendship between Poland and the Soviet Union.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army's II Corps area, the 34th Infantry Division's 168th Infantry Regiment columns push toward Cervaro across hills north of the St. Vittore-Cervaro road; the 2d Battalion of the 135th Infantry Regiment, to the left, advances northwest from La Chiaia to threaten Cervaro from the south; Task Force B, on the right, heads toward Capraro Hill. The Germans strongly resists all these thrusts.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit San Benedetto de Marsi; P-40s, and RAAF, RAF and SAAF aircraft hit communications, gun positions, trucks, and tanks at numerous points in and northwest of the battle area; other P-40s give close support to ground forces in the Chieti area; and A-36 Apaches hit trucks, tanks, trains, and other targets of opportunity north of Rome. During the night of 10/11 January, B-26 Marauders attack the iron and steel works at Piombino.

YUGOSLAVIA: Thirty one USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit the marshalling yard at Skoplje. .

CHINA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs bomb the approach to the Kienchang bridge and attack a troop train north of Teian damaging the train and killing an estimated 100 Japanese soldiers; three B-25 Mitchells and eight P-40s sweep the area from Anking to Chiuchiang, sinking a large motor launch, two 100-foot (30,5 meter) barges, and a tug on the Yangtze River, and attacking a bridge at Teian and tracks south of Chiuchiang; two B-25s and four P-40s attack shipping on the Yangtze River near Wusueh, sinking a launch and leaving three tankers burning.

BURMA: Lt-Gen William Slim's British Fourteenth Army last night overran Maungdaw, the strategically important Burmese port on the Bay of Bengal. The victory was announced today in New Delhi by Mountbatten's recently-established South-east Asia Command (SEAC).

Despatches from the front report that the Fourteenth Army has opened a limited offensive in the Arakan, and that the success of Maungdaw was the culmination of weeks of infiltration by British and Indian troops. Slim's objectives are to secure the mouth of the Naf river, Maungdaw and Buthidaung before moving southwards with the ultimate aim of capturing Akyab.

The seizure of Maungdaw was preceded by heavy night artillery bombardment, followed by a ground assault by British and Indian troops. The Japanese garrison was forced to withdraw after suffering heavy casualties.

SEAC had been planning Operation Buccaneer, a major amphibious campaign to seize the Andaman Islands. But the combined chiefs of staff decided that the allocation of the assault ships and landing craft needed would jeopardize plans for the invasion of Europe and American operations in the Pacific. Admiral Mountbatten thereupon postponed Buccaneer and released nearly half of his assault shipping for Europe.

THAILAND: USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the marshalling yard and airfield in the Bangkok area.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Koepang, Dutch Timor.

NEW GUINEA: Since a Japanese attack on Saidor, Northeast New Guinea is expected, Brigadier General Clarence Martin, Assistant Division Commander, 32nd Infantry Division, asks Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General Sixth Army, for reinforcements and is granted Battalion Combat Teams 1 and 3 of Regimental Combat Team 128.

In Northeast New Guinea, over 100 USAAF Fifth Air Force heavy, medium, and light bombers, and fighters attack the Madang, Alexishafen, and Bogadjim areas and the coastline from Madang to Sio.

NEW BRITAIN:

The ADC Group (7th Marine Regiment reinforced by a battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment and supporting units) repels Japanese charges against Aogiri Ridge, beginning at 0115 hours, then continues their attack southward toward Hill 660. The Arawe beachhead is being reinforced.

USAAF Fifth Air Force P-39 Airacobras strafe scattered villages and barges on New Britain Island.

Ten USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain Island. USMC and USN TBF Avengers and SBD Dauntlesses, escorted by USAAF and USN fighters, are prevented from attacking Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul because of bad weather but hit the lighthouse at Cape St. George on New Ireland Island.

Major General Hubert R Harmon, Commanding General USAAF Thirteenth Air Force, begins a heavy bomber campaign of night strikes tonight sending 20 B-24s on a strike against Lakunai Airfield, New Britain Island.

GILBERT ISLANDS: 392d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) with B-24's moved from Canton to Abemama and then to Kwajalein on 17 Mar 44.

Japanese planes again bomb the advanced base at Apamama Atoll, but inflict neither casualties nor serious damage to installations.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Five USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit the Kahili supply area, Bougainville Island, while four others hit the Chinatown area of Buka Island.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Four USAAF Seventh Air Force P-39 Airacobras from Makin Island, Gilbert Islands strafe Mille Atoll; one of the P-39s drops two 500-pound (227 kilogram) bombs on the fuel storage area. During the night of 10/11 Jan,uary 16 B-24 Liberators, staging through Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands from the Ellice Islands, bomb Maloelap Atoll; four others, staging through Baker Island from Canton Island, Phoenix Islands, hit Mille Atoll.

Aerial minelaying operations in the Marshalls continue: two PBY-5 Catalinas of USN Patrol Squadron Seventy Two (VP-72), flying from Tarawa, mine Meichen Channel and Legediak Strait, Wotje Atoll.

U.S.A.:

Escort carrier USS Cape Gloucester laid down

Destroyer minelayer USS Robert H Smith laid down

Destroyer escort USS Kenneth M Willett laid down

Destroyer escort USS Jack Miller launched.

Minesweeper USS defence commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Strickland commissioned.

10 January 1945

January 10th, 1945 (WEDNESDAY)

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Ninth Air Force's XIX Tactical Air Command flies patrols, attacks bridges and other targets and supports the US III, VIII, XII, and XX Corps in the Saint-Hubert, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg area, in the Diekirch and Echternach area of Luxembourg and points to the southeast.

BELGIUM: The British Second Army's XXX Corps, the 51st Division, which has taken over the attack from the 53d, attacks near Laroche in the Ardennes. The US 1st and 3rd Armies also continue their advances.

In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps area, the 78th Infantry Division, in a local attack, reaches the slopes of the hills overlooking the Kall River.

The U.S. First Army prepares to broaden their attack on 13 January, the VII Corps thrusting toward the line Houffalize-Rovigny and the XVIII Corps toward St Vith. In the VII Corps area, most of the Laroche-Salmchteau road, the intermediate objective of the corps, is cleared. The 84th Infantry Division patrols toward Laroche. The 2d Armored Division captures Samur and clears the Laroche-Salmchâteau road within its zone. The 83d Infantry Division takes Bihain, advances slightly in the region north of Petite Langlir, and crosses the Ronce River east of Petite Langlir. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, elements of the 82d Airborne Division secure a bridgehead across the Saim River near Grand Halleux.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the 87th Infantry Division captures Tillet. Renewing their attack toward Noville, the 101st Airborne Division clears a portion of Bois Jacques; 4th Armored Division units, having passed through the 6th Armored Division, attack northeast with elements of the 101st Airborne Division toward Bourcy but cease their attack upon order. The III Corps continues their attack, with the greatest progress on the right (east) flank. On the left flank, the 6th Armored Division furnishes fire support for neighboring VIII Corps units and outposts in the northern sector of the line reached by the 4th Armored Division. Elements of the 35th Infantry Division take Villersla-Bonne-Eau and the high ground northwest. Betlange falls to the 6th Cavalry Squadron.

Four USAAF Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb a German Army supply dump at St. Vith.

FRANCE: Master Sergeant Vito R. Bertoldo, US Army, Company A, 242d Infantry, 42d Infantry Division, fights with extreme gallantry while guarding two command posts against the assault of powerful infantry and armoured forces which had overrun the battalion's main line of resistance. (MOH) ( Drew Philip Halévy)

In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, elements of the 45th Infantry Division enter Althorn, on the left flank of the Bitche salient, but are unable to clear it. Otherwise, the salient is unchanged despite continued fighting about its perimeter. On the 79th Infantry Division's northern flank, indecisive fighting occurs at Hatten; a battalion of the 315th Infantry Regiment is committed there and the 2d Battalion, 242d Infantry Regiment, recalled; another battalion of the 315th assembles in Rittershoffen. To the south, the Germans maintain the Gambsheim bridgehead. Elements of Combat Command B, 12th Armored Division, are virtually surrounded at Herrlisheim, but tanks sever the German lines in order to reinforce infantry within the town.

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Army's III Corps area, Harlange falls to the 28th Cavalry Squadron. One 90th Infantry Division regiment advances from Berle to the heights overlooking Doncols; another fights indecisively for the Trentelhof strongpoint. Elements of 26th Infantry Division reach the high ground southwest of Winseler.

GERMANY: GenMaj. Adolf Galland takes command of JV-44 (Jagdverband 44), the Luftwaffe. (Russ Folsom)

U-3032, U-3527, U-3528 launched

U-2531, U-4701 commissioned.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 789: 1,119 bombers and 362 fighters are dispatched to attack airfields, rail targets and bridges in Germany; most attacks are made using PFF methods; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; ten bombers and two fighters are lost. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Airfields: Odendorf A/F at Euskirchen (96-0), Ostheim A/F at Cologne (83-0), Hangelar A/F at Bonn (65-2) and Gymnick A/F (51-1).

- Highway Bridges: Dusseldorf (55-2), Schonberg (55-0), Weweler (43-0), Dasburg (33-0), Rodenkirchen(30-0) and Deutz (12-1) at Cologne, Steinbruck (25-0).

- Marshalling yards: Karlsruhe (106-0), Gereon (43-2) and Nippes (23-0) at Cologne, and Duren (13-0).

- Railroad Bridges: Hohenzollern (52-1) and South (35-1) at Cologne, and Rheinhausen at Duisburg (11-0).

Sixty three other aircraft bomb targets of opportunity.

During the night of 10/11 January, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb two targets: 50 hit Berlin and three bomb Cologne.

ITALY: Weather restricts operations by the USAAF Twelfth Air Force but fighter-bombers effectively attack communications and supply dumps in the central and northern Po Valley; the strikes are concentrated in the north and around Piacenza, and score nearly 50 rail cuts, along with destruction of 80 motor transports and several trains; fuel and ammunition dumps in the Milanarea are bombed and a 400-foot (122 meter) naval vessel at Venice is destroyed. During the night of 10/11 January, A-20 Havocs attack targets of opportunity in the western Po Valley .

YUGOSLAVIA: Island of Ist in the ADRIATIC SEA: Signalman Kenneth Smith (b.1920), Royal Corps of Signals, carried a bomb from a house containing children; it blew up, killing him. (George Cross)

CHINA: In an effort to reopen the Canton-Hengyang stretch of the Canton-Hankow Railroad, the Japanese move forward as quietly as possible about this time.

BURMA: The British XXXIII Corps advances to the Irrawaddy River. The IV Corps moves south to the west of the Chindwin River taking Gangaw.

Whilst the advance of the Indian XXXIII Corps to the Irrawaddy River is attracting the Japanese attention, the Indian IV Corps is moving southward to the west of the Chindwin with the intention of crossing the Irrawaddy near Meiktila. Gangaw is taken in this advance. The Indian 19th Division takes bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy north of Mandalay, at Kyaukmyang and Thabeikkyin. Fierce Japanese attacks in these areas begin immediately. In the Arakan, there are landings of British Commandos near Myebon on the mainland between Akyab and Ramree.

In the Northern Combat Area Command area, the 114th Regiment of the Chinese 38th Division, which is to move around the southern end of the Shweli Valley and cut the Namhkam-Namhpakka trail, crosses the Shweli River. The U.S. 124th Cavalry Regiment (Special), after a delay at the Shweli River because of swollen waters, is assembled east of the river.

Seventy five USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack troop concentrations, supplies, tanks, artillery, and buildings at Kawnglang, Nampa-chi, Man Namman, Pangkai, Mong Yai, Namhsan, Namyao, Se-ping, Panghai,and in the Hosi area; 17 P-47 Thunderbolts knock out a bridge, damage another at Bawgyo and two others at Ho-kho; eight P-47s support ground forces in the Si-U battle sector and eight others hit supplies and ferry crossing at Ta-mawngtawn.

Over 50 USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs, P-40s, and P-38 Lightnings attack various targets of opportunity throughout the Wanling area and six P-40s hit targets of opportunity in the Muse area.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Two USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Cap-Saint-Jacques area.

JAPAN: Three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators on an armed photo mission bomb and photograph Kurabu Airfield on Paramushiru Island, Kurile Islands, scoring hits on the runway.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In U.S. Sixth Army area on Luzon, army reserve begins landing. In the XIV Corps area, the 185th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division takes Labrador while the 160th Infantry Regiment pushes along Highway 13 toward Aguilar, reaching the Umanday area. Because of a gap developing between the two regiment, the 180th Infantry Regiment (less 3d Battalion) is committed in the Polong area. The 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division, speeds inland to San Carlos; elements continue to the Army Beachhead Line. One 129th Infantry Regiment column moves without opposition to Malisiqui, within 2.5 miles (4,0 kilometers) of the Army Beachhead Line, while another reaches the Army Beachhead Line at Dumpay and maintains contact with the 148th Infantry Regiment. In the I Corps area, the 6th Infantry Division drives south and southeast to Mapandan and the vicinity of Santa Barbara. The 43d Infantry Divisionâ€™s 103d Infantry Regiment takes San Jacinto without oppos ition and pushes on toward Manoag and Hill 200; the 169th and a 172d Infantry Regiments run into organized defense positions on hills confronting them; the 169th takes Hill 470 and drives on Hill 351 and 318; the 172d clears Hill 385 and moves slowly toward Hill 351.

On Luzon, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Grace Park Airfield and warehouse area near Manila, A-20 Havocs and fighter-bombers attack trucks, trains, railroad yards, railroads, and highways over wide areas of northern and southern Luzon, and bomb Vigan and Laoag Airfields. Other B-25 Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, and fighter-bombers, operating in smaller forces, hit numerous shipping and communications targets, airfields, and other targets throughout the Philippine Islands.

Japanese assault demolition boats infiltrate the transport areas off Lingayen, sinking an infantry landing craft (mortar) and an infantry landing craft (gunboat), and damaging destroyers USS Robinson (DD-562) and Philip (DD-498), transport USS War Hawk (AP-168) and tank landing ship USS LST-610. Japanese air attacks against the fleet off Lingayen continue, damaging destroyer USS Wickes (DD-578); kamikazes damage destroyer escort USS Leray Wilson (DE-414), and attack transport USS Dupage (APA-41).

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: U-510 sailed from Jakarta on her final patrol.

In the Netherlands East Indies, about 60 USAAF Far East Air Forces P-40s bomb and strafe the Galela area on Halmahera Island and B-25 Mitchells and P-38 Lightnings hit Kendari Airfield on Celebes Island.

AUSTRALIA: Since censorship has prevented the press from publishing news that Australian troops have taken over from the Americans on Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands, the Canberra Times newspaper asks, "Will anyone knowing the whereabouts of Australian soldiers in action in the South West Pacific Area please communicate at once with the Australian Government"

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Two USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, on armed reconnaissance, hit the airfield on Woleai Atoll.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Thirty USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators operating in two separate formations, bomb airfields on Iwo Jima; airfields are hit again on the night of 10/11 January by B-24s flying snooper missions from Guam.

U.S.A.: Douglas DC-3-277B, msn 2215, registered NC25684 by the U.S. airline American Airlines, crashes into the Verdugo Mountains at 0410 hours local while attempting to land at Palmdale Airport, California. This is American Flight 6001 from New York City to Burbank, California, via Juarez, Mexico. The aircraft, lost in fog, crashes while attempting to reach Palmdale, its alternate landing site, after being unable to land at Burbank Airport. The company ground personnel fail to obtain and transmit important weather information to the pilot and he improperly executed a missed approach. Movie actress Donna Reed was returning from Juarez where she obtained a divorce from her husband, makeup artist William Tuttle, but is bumped from the flight just prior to takeoff to make room for a military officer holding a wartime-travel priority pass. All 21 passengers and three crew aboard are killed.

Three Japanese Fu-Go paper balloon are recovered today.

- The first balloon, including envelope, rigging and apparatus, is forced down by a USN aircraft at 1750 hours local about 30 miles west of Alturas, California. Alturas is located in northeastern California about 114 miles (183 kilometers) northeast of Redding.

- The second balloon is found near Bozeman, Montana; it is not known when the balloon landed. Bozeman is located about 123 miles (198 kilometers) west of Billings.

- Remnants of a third balloon are found near Lake of the Woods, Oregon. The date of the landing is unknown. Lake of the Woods is located about 215 miles (346 kilometers) south-southeast of Portland.

Heavy cruiser USS Chicago commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1603, SS Blackheath in Convoy KMS-76 (the convoy was combined with OS-102) was torpedoed and damaged by U-870 west of Gibraltar. She was set aground two miles south of Cape Spartel, Algeria, but broke in tow and was declared a total loss. Frigate HMS Ballinderry and sloop HMS Kilbirnie picked up the master, 41 crewmembers and nine gunners. Landed at Gibraltar.

1946 (THURSDAY)

CHINA: U.S. General of the Army George Marshall, former Chief of Staff U.S. Army, serving as a mediator, negotiates a truce between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese. The two Chinese factions agree to create a national army, form a coalition government, and draw up a new constitution. The truce lasts until mid-April.

UNITED KINGDOM: The first session of the United Nations General Assembly meets in London with 51 nations in attendance. Paul Spaak, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, is elected the first president of the General Assembly.

Top of Page

Yesterday Tomorrow

Home