15 January 1939

FRENCH MOROCCO: French forces occupy the Tafilet oasis, headquarters of the rebellious tribesmen. This operation effectively marks the submission of the rebels in the Atlas and Anti-Atlas regions of Morocco.

UNITED STATES: Up to 2-inches (5,1 centimeters) of snow whitened the Los Angeles basin of California. The Los Angeles Civic Center reports 1-inch (2,5 centimeters) of snow, and even the beaches of Santa Monica are whitened with snow, in what proves to be a record snowstorm for Los Angeles.

UNITED STATES: James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle sets a new transcontinental speed record for passenger-carrying transports when he flies from Lockheed Air Terminal, Burbank, California, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, New York, in 11 hours and 59 minutes. The stretch from Colorado to Virginia is flown on instruments. Also aboard the Vultee V1-A transport, msn 8, registered NR13770, is his wife and a Shell Petroleum Corporation executive. On 21 February, Doolittle's brother-in-law flies an American Airlines V1-A over the same route in 11 hours and 34 minutes; this includes a stop in Washington, D.C. to deliver orchids to Eleanor Roosevelt, the President's wife.

U.S.S.R.: Premier Joseph Stalin conducts a series of show trials of leading Communist leaders who are accused of conspiracy and state treason. Grigori Zinoviev, Leo Kamenev, and several other Communist leaders are found guilty in two days and receive terms of 5- to10-years in prison. In 1936 Zinoviev is charged with forming a terrorist organization to kill Stalin and other leaders of the government. He is tried, found guilty and executed in Moscow on 25 August 1936.

GERMANY: German television service re-opens on a daily basis, including live transmissions for the first time.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Japanese delegation leaves the London naval disarmament conference after rejecting tonnage restrictions on various types of warships. The Japanese government is determined to modernize the fleet and is unwilling to accept further restrictions.

AUSTRIA: Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg's government announces a general amnesty for National Socialists who have participated in the attempted coup against the government. The Austrian government offers amnesty to improve relations with the German government.

UNITED KINGDOM: Lord Halifax, British Foreign Minister, urged Georges Bonnet, French Foreign Minister, to satisfy some of Italy's claims - port facilities at Djibouti, Suez tolls, and status of Italians in Tunis.

FRANCE: The French Radical Socialist party urges the government to consider the grave danger to France of Italian intervention in Spain.

AUSTRALIA: Following a summer of destructive bushfires in Victoria state, rain at last comes to this part of Australia. (See...)

At 0705 hours, the neutral Arendskerk was spotted by U-44 about 100 miles SW of Ouessant and tried to escape when the U-boat was sighted. It needed seven shots across her bow to stop the vessel. When the papers were checked it became clear that she carried contraband and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. At 1010, one torpedo struck in the engine room, breaking the ship in two. The afterpart sank, but the forepart remained afloat and had to be sunk 30 minutes later by 18 shells from the deck gun. The survivors were picked up by the Italian merchant Fedora, transferred to the Dutch merchant Poelau Bras and landed at Lisbon.

LUXEMBOURG: German soldiers loot the ancient monastery of Clairvaux, which was founded in 1115.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler meets with Romanian Prime Minister General Ion Antonescu at Salzburg and informs him of his intention to invade the Soviet Union with Romanian collaboration. Antonescu tells Hitler that first he must liquidate the Legionary Movement, but neglects to ask for more than just a promise of additional aid, armaments, and war materials.

During the night of 15/16 January, 96 RAF Bomber Command aircraft are sent to bomb Wilhelmshaven; 70 actually bomb the target. This raid is rated as successful.

U-179 is laid down.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Italian motorship Citta di Messina (2,472 BRT), escorted by the torpedo boat Centauro, is torpedoed and sunk by the submarine HMS Regent. It is the first sinking of a supply ship bound for North African in 1941. (Mark Horan)

U.S.A.: The House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs is holding hearings on House Resolution (H.R.) 1776, the Lend-Lease Bill. Secretary of State Cordell Hull testifies and advocates passage of the bill.

UNITED KINGDOM: SS Barra Island, Canadian Atlantic Transportation Co, wrecked in a storm in the Hebrides Sea, two miles off Barra Island, west of Scotland. There was no loss of life in this incident.

Corvette HMS Chrysanthemum commissioned. Taken over by Free French Navy 26 Jan 42 and renamed Comandant Drogou.

An agreement is signed in London between Greece and Yugoslavia for the constitution of a Balkan Union. (The Balkan Pact, signed in February 1934 by Greece, Romania, Turkey and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Pact which consisted of 39 articles promoting the principles of friendship and non-aggression, mutual assistance and defense of common security and the protection of the rights of minorities.)

NETHERLANDS: RAF Bomber Command sends five Blenheims and four Wellingtons to bomb airfields: three aircraft bomb Schipol Airfield, with the loss of one aircraft, and two each bomb Soesterberg and Texel Airfields.

GERMANY: During the night of 15/16 January, RAF Bomber Command aircraft attack three cities:

- 96 bombers are dispatched to bomb Hamburg; 60 aircraft bomb with the loss of five bombers. Hamburg reports 36 fires, three large, three people killed and 25 injured, but no major incidents.

- 60 aircraft are sent to bomb Emden; 42 aircraft bomb the target with the loss of two bombers. Bomber aircrews claim many fires.

SWITZERLAND: Geneva: Two Allied officers, a Briton, Lt Airey Neave and a Dutchman, Tony Lutyen, have arrived safely in Switzerland after escaping from Colditz Castle and walking all the way to the border posing as Dutch labourers. The news of their "home run" will be greeted with cheers at Colditz, where the most persistent escapers are confined. Neave, who was wounded and captured at Calais in 1940, had already made one attempt from a PoW camp in Poland. The two men simply walked out of Colditz wearing fake uniforms, with Lutyen boldly fobbing off a suspicious sentry by demanding a salute.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Official Soviet figures claim that Germany lost 55,000 soldiers and 777 tanks in the battle for Moscow.

Army Group Center (Field Marshal Günther Hans von Kluge) evacuates the Kaluga sector and takes up winter positions 20 miles (32 kilometres) further west.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-577 (Type VIIC) Sunk in the Mediterranean northwest of Mersa Matruh, in position 32.40N, 25.48E, by depth charges from a British Swordfish aircraft (Sqdn. 815/G). 43 dead (all crew lost). (Alex Gordon)

NORTH AFRICA: Lt. George Herbert Goodman (1900-45), RNVR, carried out the dangerous task of dismantling the only Italian self-destroying torpedo recovered in North Africa. (George Cross)

INDIA: Jawaharlal Nehru succeeds Mohandas K. Gandhi as head of India's National Congress Party.

BURMA: Troops of the Japanese 55th Division advance into Burma north of Mergui. Though not one of Japan's original war aims, Burma is invaded to eliminate a possible threat to the Japanese army in Malaya. The Japanese also want to cut the Burma Road which is feeding supplies and equipment to China and seize Burma's oil fields. Two Japanese army divisions pour into southern and eastern Burma. To oppose them, the British have two divisions: one Burmese, one Indian. Many of the Burmese hate the British and desert. Later 5,000 join the Burmese National Army and fight alongside the Japanese.

MALAYA: Forward elements of the Australian 27th Brigade Group inflict more casualties on the Japanese in the Gemas area before pulling back to their main position. On the west coast, the Japanese reach the northern bank of the Muar River and land a small party between Muar and Batu Pahat, threatening the communications of the West Force in the Yong Peng area. The boundary between the West Force and the Indian 3 Corps is altered to give this region, which the Indian 45th Brigade is defending, to the 3 Corps.
Seven USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome on Java and flying out of Palembang Airdrome on Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies, attack Sungei Patani Airfield, Malaysia. Two B-17s abort due to weather but the other five bomb the target through light AA fire. One B-17 is damaged beyond repair in a bad landing at Singosari Airdrome tomorrow.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: General Archibald Lord Wavell, Commander in Chief Australian-British-Dutch-American (ABDA) Command, South West Pacific, officially establishes the headquarters of ABDA at the Grand Hotel, Lembang, Batavia, Java, at 1200 hours GMT.
Six new USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and four LB-30 Liberators arrive at Singosari Airdrome on Java.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In the II Corps area on Bataan, the Japanese, attacking vigorously at the junction of the 41st and 51st Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), gain a foothold on the bank of the Balantay River. The 51st Division commits its reserves and service troops to no avail. Further reinforcements, the Philippine Division (less the 57th Infantry) from the U.S. Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE) reserve and the 31st Division (-) (PA) from the I Corps, are sent forward. The Japanese enveloping column in central Bataan arrives in position to turn the corps' west flank but pauses to reorganize. Regrouping is conducted to the east as the enemy threat there diminishes. In the I Corps area, the two Japanese columns driving on Moron converge and push closer to their objective.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Six Australian (PBY) Catalinas are dispatched to bomb the Japanese base in Truk Atoll. Only one aircraft finds the target and drops 16 bombs. Clouds obscure the results.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The USAAF’s Alaskan Air Force is activated at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Everett S. Davis.

U.S.A.: In Washington, Secretary of War Henry Stimson says nearly two million men will be inducted into the military during 1942. By years end it will have 3.6 million men.
     The State Department issues a memorandum outlining its position with respect to French sovereignty over bases the United States intends to build in French Oceania.
     In baseball, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives baseball the go-ahead to play despite the war. In his famous "green light" letter the President says, "I honestly think it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." He encourages more night baseball so that war workers may attend. The Chicago Cubs, who had signed contracts to install lights at Wrigley Field, drop their plans because of the military needs for the material.
     The first "blackout" Cadillacs were completed by General Motors. Due to restrictions on materials necessary for the war effort, these cars had painted trim rather than chrome. They also lacked spare tires and other luxuries.

BRAZIL: A united Latin-American front against the Axis powers is now the express aim of a conference which opened in Rio de Janeiro today. Representatives of 21 American republics are attending. In an unprecedented opening address Sumner Welles, the chief US delegate, asked the Latin Americans to break off relations with the Axis. He said that Axis diplomats were informing their capitals of ship movements and continued: "Cast aside the shibboleth of classic neutrality and unite in the common front against the Axis aggressors seeking to conquer the entire world.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: While tracking Convoy HG 78 (Gibraltar to U.K.), U-93 (Type VIIC) is sunk in position 36.40N, 15.52W by the British destroyer HMS Hesperus (H57). 6 dead and 40 survivors.

Previously on 7 May, 1941 3 men were wounded on the U-93 in an accident with the machine-gun. (Alex Gordon)

At 0941, the unescorted tanker Coimbra was hit by one torpedo from U-123, which had spotted the lights of the tanker astern while the U-boat was proceeding eastbound following the southern shore of Long Island. The torpedo struck on the starboard side just aft of the superstructure. A huge towering explosion lit up the night sky and the cargo of oil quickly caught fire and spread across the water. Residents from the Hamptons on Long Island could see the fire at sea 27 miles away and alerted the authorities. A second torpedo hit the tanker and her stern immediately sank, striking the sea floor. Like his previous victim, the Norness, the bow of the Coimbra was sticking out of the water. Hardegen suggested that, "it was a good thing that my wrecks were partly sticking out of the water. Otherwise how would other ships find the harbour?" The tanker later sank completely. The master, 29 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Ten survivors, six of them wounded were rescued from the rough seas. Two crewmembers were picked up by destroyer USS Rowan and landed at Argentia, Newfoundland. The remaining survivors were rescued by another American destroyer and landed at St John's.

At 1134, U-203 torpedoed a ship, which exploded and sank immediately. Mützelburg thought that he had sunk an ammunition ship, but his victim was the trawler Catalina.

At 0138, the unescorted Dayrose was torpedoed and sunk by U-552 west of Cape Race. Altogether, the U-boat fired five torpedoes of which two struck the vessel and broke her in two. The master, 31 crewmembers and six gunners were lost. Four crewmembers were picked up by destroyers USS Ericsson and USS Stockton and landed at Argentia, Newfoundland.

At 2317, tanker Diala was torpedoed and damaged by U-553 about 300 miles ESE of Cape Race in 44°50N/46°50W (grid BC 8524). The vessel was proceeding at maximum speed (12 knots) after the convoy ON-52 was dispersed on 11 January. The bow was blown off and the superstructure was extensively damaged. The tanker was abandoned but remained afloat and was reported drifting NE. 48 crewmembers and nine gunners were lost. The master, six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British SS Telefora de Larrinaga and landed at New York. Four survivors from the Athelcrown, which had been sunk by U-82 on 22 January, boarded the abandoned, drifting wreck of the Diala. They remained on board for eight days before they were rescued by the Swedish merchant Saturnus and landed on the Faroes Isles. On 19 March, Allied ships in position 47°N/37°W last saw the drifting wreck, after attempts to tow her were unsuccessful.

FRANCE: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends ten (A-20) Bostons to attack a whaling factory ship at Cherbourg but score no hits.

- 157 aircraft, 65 Wellingtons, 48 Halifaxes, 40 Stirlings and four Lancasters, are dispatched to attack the city and U-boat pens at Lorient; 133 bomb the targets with the loss of a Stirling and a Wellington. Bombing is more accurate than on the previous night. At least 800 buildings are destroyed and 12 civilians killed. Most of the inhabitants had fled the town during the previous day.

- Nine Wellingtons lay mines off Bay of Biscay ports: five lay mines off Lorient and four lay mines off St. Nazaire.

GERMANY: Rastenburg: Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to fly in 300 tons of supplies a day to the besieged Sixth Army at Stalingrad, an impossible target at this stage.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends six Wellingtons on a cloud-cover raid to Norden but only one aircraft bombs.

During the night of 15/16 January, two RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb Aachen.

YUGOSLAVIA: Bihac: Hitler's fury with Yugoslav partisans boiled over today when 40,000 Germans, Italians and Ustachi (Croatian fascists) began the biggest offensive yet against Tito's "ghost army". Tito has already been forced out of his headquarters here on the Croatian border, and his partisans are moving south towards their stronghold on the slopes of Mount Durmitor, in Montenegro.

Organized retreat - with short, sharp counter-attacks, ambushes and demolition before disappearing into the rough terrain - is a technique used by Tito with increasing effect. The frustrated Axis troops can only reply with savagery meted out on any suspected of collaboration with the partisans. Mass executions are a daily event, with the Ustachi at the forefront in bestiality. Their leader, Ante Pavelich, the Nazis' client ruler of Croatia, has just returned from meeting Hitler in the Ukraine.

Yugoslav partisans are pinning down thousands of Axis troops, but although Stalin is airlifting supplies to Soviet partisans, Tito's pleas for aid have been turned down.

On the Northern front in Russia, the Soviet Army captures Velikije Luki in the Valdai Hills.

Stalin signed the regulations known as 'Prikaz 25' of the National Defence Commissariat, which detailed, in 64 pages, the new uniforms of the Red Army. This document marked an astonishing about-face, in that it revived significant traditional uniform features which had been suppressed since the Revolution. While most noticeable in the case of officer's uniforms, these 'folk-lore' items (high collar, shoulder boards, etc.) extended to all ranks. At a time of low morale, after suffering repeated defeats and millions of casualties, the Soviet regime consciously summoned up the ancient patriotic spirit of the Motherland; any reminders of even Tsarist glory were pressed into service. The revived prestige of the soldier's uniform had a positive effect on the morale of the 'Frontovik'. (Russell Folsom)(143)(p.30)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders fly three counter-shipping missions north and northeast of Tunisia, claiming one vessel left in flames.

NORTH AFRICA: Montgomery begins his advance on Tripoli again and the Germans evacuate Buerat.

LIBYA: The British Eighth Army opens a drive on Tripoli, moving forward in three columns, those on right and in center under personal command of General Bernard L. Montgomery, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army; the outflanking force on the left is under XXX Corps command. The 7th Armoured Division and New Zealand 2nd Division, the enveloping force, drive the Axis back to Wadi Zem Zem. The coastal advance by the 51st Division begins at 2230 hours and meets little opposition. The 22nd Armoured Brigade moves forward in the center prepared to assist wherever needed.

Twenty USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the port area at Tripoli, scoring hits on vessels and on the shore areas near the harbor. P-40s fly sweep and fighter-bomber operations as the British Eighth Army begins an assault on the Buerat line and a drive on Tripoli. RAF (B-24) Liberators, under operational control of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Bomber Command, hit a road junction at Tripoli.

TUNISIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack the railroad and highway bridge across Oued el Akarit, north-northwest of Gabes. Escorting P-38 Lightnings fight a long battle with Axis fighters; two B-26 Marauders and two P-38 Lightnings are lost. Fighters fly several reconnaissance and patrol operations, intercept Axis aircraft attacking airfields in the Labasse area, and escort transport aircraft. Nine Luftwaffe Ju 88s, escorted by four Italian Mc 202s, attack Thelepte Airfield; eight Ju 88s are shot down by P-40s and antiaircraft gets the ninth Ju 88.

INDIAN OCEAN: In the Andaman Sea, six USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit shipping in a convoy in the Rangoon area. One ship, the Japanese Army cargo ship SS Nichimei Maru, is carrying Allied POWs. She is sunk about 211 nautical miles (390 kilometers) south-southeast of Rangoon, Burma, in position 13.30N, 97.30E. About 500 POWs are lost. Another ship, SS Moji Maru. is damaged.

BURMA: Six USAAF Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb barges at Bhamo; six others bomb Nsopzup; three more hit footbridges and targets of opportunity at Taihpa Ga, Yupbang Ga, and other points in northern Burma.

NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, preparations are made for an all-out offensive to clear the Sanananda area The Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division) is to renew the drive west along the coast. The Australian 18th Brigade, 7th Division, moves north along the Killerton trail, passing through Rankin, in preparation for a drive to the coast. The Rankin Force (U.S. 2d Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division) then follows the Australians northward and takes over the trail junction east of a coconut plantation about 1.5 miles (2,4 kilometers) north of the Rankin perimeter. In the Wau-Mubo area, the Australian 2/7th Independent Company, Kanga Force, withdraws to prevent being surrounded by the Japanese. On the Soputa-Sanananda road, the 1st Battalion, 163d Infantry Regiment, envelops a Japanese pocket remaining between Musket and Fisk, elements infiltrating to attack from inside the perimeter.

In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs strafe the Sanananda Point area as U.S. troops envelop Japanese pockets along the Soputa-Sanananda road. In Northeast New Guinea, B-25 Mitchells bomb supply dumps at Lae and B-24 Liberators carry out single-plane attacks on bridge construction at Wewak.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit the airfield at Gasmata and carry out single-plane attacks on the runway at Cape Gloucester.

On Guadalcanal, the 2d Marine Division continues to make slow progress in the coastal sector, despite use of tanks and a flame thrower. Company B, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, reinforced by platoon of Company D, takes over the westward attack from Company C. After a 30-minute artillery concentration followed by machine gun and mortar fire, Company B outflanks the Japanese position barring the advance and finds it to be a bivouac area held by a single platoon. Japanese positions in the Gifu remain practically intact. The task of reducing the positions has been given to the 2nd Battalion 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Peters. His regimental commander, Colonel McClure and the division commander, Major General J. Lawton Collins, have decided that envelopment is not possible. He is directed to capture this position with a frontal assault. Since 10 January, they have been attempting to follo w these orders. He is given incomplete maps (it was all they had) and an estimate of 100 Japanese and two "known" machineguns. After his first couple of patrols, he increases this estimate to 400 troops and 20 machineguns. Peters mounts a general attack today. After a 15-minute mortar barrage the attack begins and manages to gain an average of 50 yards (46 meters). A second attack at 1400 hours also fails. Colonel McClure will replace Colonel Peters with Major Stanley Larsen tomorrow. A surrender request is broadcast to the Japanese in the Gifu. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

USN SBD Dauntlesses with F4F Wildcat and USAAF Thirteenth Air Force P-39 Airacobra escort attack nine destroyers of the Tokyo Express and damage four of them. They are met by 12 "Oscars" (Nakajima Ki-43, Army Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa); eight are shot down with the loss of one SBD and five US fighters. USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, P-38 Lightnings, P-39 Airacobras and P-40s attack five destroyers near Faisi Island; they are met by float biplanes and 13 are shot down with no loss of USAAF aircraft. SBDs with F4F and P-39 escort bomb a cargo ship off Munda, New Georgia Island; they are met by 12 "Zekes" (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters); seven are shot down with the loss of one US fighter. B-17 Flying Fortresses and USN PBY Catalinas bomb Kahili, Bougainville Island.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Eight USAAF Eleventh Air Force P-38 Lightnings, three B-25 Mitchells and a B-24 Liberator patrol Constantine Harbor on the northeast coast, of Amchitka Island, fly reconnaissance over Kiska Island, where one ship is sighted, and fly negative armoured reconnaissance runs over Attu, the Semichis and Buldir Islands.

Washington: The Pentagon building is completed. On the Virginia side of the Potomac River outside Washington, DC, a new Headquarters building for the Armed Forces of the US is completed. Due to the 5 sided architectural design, it will become known as "The Pentagon". The size of this building will allow the US Army, US Navy and US Army Airforces to move their command functions into one place. These have been located all over the greater Washington, DC area. Many of them are housed in temporary buildings, "on the mall", between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. These temporary buildings were erected during WWI and were not expected to be in use much longer than the duration of that conflict. (Ray Cresswell)

Submarine USS TANG (SS-306) is laid down at Vallejo, California, by the Mare Island Navy Yard. (John Nicholas)

The unescorted Ocean Courage was torpedoed and sunk by U-182 about 200 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands. The master, 41 crewmembers, two gunners and two stowaways were lost. Six crewmembers and one gunner were picked up by the British merchant Silverwalnut and landed at Norfolk, Virginia.

At 1031, U-617 fired four torpedoes at a small convoy, consisting of two merchantmen, the Annitsa and Harboe Jensen, escorted by armed trawler HMS Southern Isles. Brandi observed two hits on each merchantman that had a great effect. Both merchantmen were sunk in the attack. One crewmember from the Annitsa was lost. The trawler rescued 31 survivors and a lifeboat picked up two survivors from the Harboe Jensen. The trawler later also picked up the survivors in the lifeboat. Harboe Jensen (Master Sverre Aanonsen) was hit by two torpedoes on the port side and sank immediately. The master and 17 crewmembers were lost. Five Norwegians and one British jumped overboard and found an upturned lifeboat, which they righted. They picked up two survivors from the Greek ship, before the trawler rescued them. Gunner Falkensten, who had also jumped overboard kept himself afloat on a plank and was rescued after about an hour.

ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army successfully concludes operations against the Winter Line with the capture by the U.S. II Corps of Mt. Trocchio; they are now confronted by the Gustav Line, which follows the Garigliano, Gari, and Rapido Rivers to Cassino and continues to the British Eighth Army boundary along the hills above Cassino. The British X Corps prepares for an assault across the lower Garigliano River. The 5th Division moves quietly forward, during the night of 15/16 January. The U.S. II Corps overruns Mt. Trocchio without a fight, the Germans having withdrawn their main forces across the Rapido River. The U.S. 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, takes this last height before the Rapido River while the 168th Infantry Regiment on the right and the 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division (which has relieved the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, on Mt. Porchia), on the left keep pace. In the French Expeditionary Corps area, the Germans abandon Monte Santa Croce, the corps' objective.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack the Foligno railway junction; B-26 Marauders bomb bridges at Orvieto. RAF and USAAF P-40s hit the San Valentino station in a joint attack; A-36 Apaches and other P-40s, in support of U.S. Fifth Army forces, hit gun positions and strongpoints, especially at Picinisco and Atina; and P-40s on armed reconnaissance hit the railroad west of Frosinone station and strafe the Ceccano station and railway cars.

The USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacks rail and bridge targets The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- B-17s attack the following railroad bridges in the Florence area: Montaldo D'Castro (17-0), Orvietto (7-0) and Porto Civitanova (20-0).

- B-24 Liberators bomb the following marshalling yards: Arezzo (31-0), Certaldo (36-0), Civitevechia (10-0) and Prato (37-1).

During the night of 15/16 January, six RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the railroad at Rimini; one aircraft is lost.

U.S.S.R.: Troops of the Leningrad Front, having quietly concentrated west of Leningrad, open a powerful offensive for that city on the northern front. Other Red Army forces begin assault on Nvvgorod from the south.

GREECE: During the night of 15/16 January, 23 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Salonika.

ALGERIA: Lieutenant General Ira C Eaker, USAAF, assumes command of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) and Army Air Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations (AAFMTO), replacing Air Chief Marshal (USAAF General) Arthur Tedder, RAF, and Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz respectively, who along with Air Marshal (USAAF Lieutenant General) Sir Arthur Coningham, RAF, and numerous other American and British officers who have departed for the U.K. to prepare for the Normandy invasion.

INDIAN OCEAN: British submarine HMS Tally Ho, on her third patrol and cruising the waters around the Andaman Islands, fires six torpedoes at what is believed to be a motor vessel. One torpedo hits and sinks A-AK Ryuko Maru (2962T) south of Port Blair in position 10°50'N, 93°00'E. (Chris Sauder)

CHINA: Yenan: Japanese communists, dissidents and defecting PoWs are meeting here, the headquarters of the Chinese Communists, to form a Japanese People's Liberation League (JPLL). Draft proposals from Nosaka Sanzo, a leading Japanese communist, suggest a moderate democratic socialist line demanding a cessation of hostilities, the sacking of Japan's military elite, punishment of war criminals and free elections.

USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a sweep off the southeast coast sink a wooden vessel off Swatow and damage the lighthouse on Nampana Island. Two others shoot down a Japanese bomber north of Chikhom.

BURMA: In the Hukawng Valley, the 1st Battalion, 113th Regiment, Chinese 38th Division, followed by the 3d Battalion, reaches Kaduja Ga; the 2nd Battalion is in reserve at Yupbang Ga.

Four USAAF Tenth Air Force P-40s and a B-25 Mitchell over northern Burma hit a train at Pinwe.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Two USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells on a sea sweep along the coast bomb the Hongay power plant and sink a gunboat in a nearby cove to the southwest; a coal grading building at Campha Port is also bombed.

The capture of Sio by the Australian 2/17th Battalion, 21st Brigade, 9th Division, represents the final destruction of the Japanese 20th Division in the protracted Huon Peninsula campaign of 1943-1944.

In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells bomb Uligan Harbor and P-40s, P-47 Thunderbolts, and B-25s hit the Madang, Alexishafen, Erima, and Bogadjim area.

PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine U.S.S. Thresher (SS-200), patrolling in the Luzon Strait during her eleventh patrol, bores in on a Japanese convoy. Thresher lets lose seven torpedoes in a night surface radar attack. Two of four torpedoes strike and sink A-AK Toho Maru (4092T), and all torpedoes in a salvo of three hit C-AO Tatsuno Maru (6960T) sinking her. These ships are sunk about 75 miles north of Luzon in position 19°45'N, 120°40'E.

Admiral Nimitz issues an order which states that: "Unity of command does not authorize the commander exercising it to control the administration and discipline of the forces of the Service to which he does not belong, nor to issue any instructions to such forces beyond those necessary for effective co-ordination." (Keith Allen)(141)

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: The relief of the ADC Group (7th Marine Regiment reinforced by a battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment and supporting units) is begun. Japanese positions along the south coast of New Britain Island are attacked by USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and P-39 Airacobras.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Nine USAAF Seventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells from Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands flying at deck-level, bomb and strafe shipping and shore installations at Maloelap Atoll; two vessels are hit and the oil dump, hangars, other buildings, and runways are damaged; one B-25 crashes at sea after being hit by antiaircraft fire.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, with 60 fighters escorting, attack East Cape while P-39 Airacobras attack barges and trucks at Chabai.

Tugs HMCS Listerville, Martinville, Neville, Bonnyville, Merrickville, Johnville, Plainville, Hartville, Innisville, Queensville, Kayville and Youville ordered.

HMC MTB 745 commissioned

Corvette HMCS Peterborough launched Kingston, Ontario.

Submarine HMS P-554 arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia for ASW training.

U.S.A.: The War Department abolishes the Central Defense Command and transfers its functions to the Eastern Defense Command.

Frigate USS Alexandria launched.

Destroyer escorts USS Charles J Kimmel, Connolly and Daniel A Joy launched.

Frigate USS Eugene commissioned.

Destroyer USS Prichett commissioned.

Destroyer escort USS Francis M Robinson commissioned.

Corvette HMCS Drumheller completed forecastle extension refit New York City.

Submarine HMS L-27 arrived Philadelphia for refit.

The USAAF 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) is reactivated at Selfridge Field, Mt. Clemens, Michigan.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-377 Sunk in the North Atlantic, in approximate position 46N, 20W, by one of its circling torpedoes. 52 dead (all hands lost). Note that it has previously been recorded that U-377 was sunk 15 Jan, 1944 in the Atlantic by rockets and depth charges from aircraft of the US escort Carrier USS Santee.

The Canadian-owned, British-registered Victory-class freighter Fort St Nicholas (7,154 GRT), Captain Kenneth H. Pengelly, Master, was torpedoed and sunk by U-410, OLtzS. Horst-Arno Fenski, Knight's Cross, in the Gulf of Salerno, in position 40.34N, 014.37E. There was no loss of life from the 63 crewmembers and four passengers onboard.

Tristan da Cunha: A new "frigate" was commissioned today, unsinkable and immovable: HMS ATLANTIC ISLE is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic called Tristan da Cunha. Until the arrival of a Royal Navy landing party in 1942 to establish a wireless and meteorological station, its population of 200, descendants of British settlers forgotten generations ago, had never seen an aeroplane or a newspaper; their only contact with the 20th century was from the occasional passing whaler. They still amaze the seamen by speaking English like 18th century sailors.

UNITED KINGDOM: U-1172 (Kapitanleutnant Hartmut Graf von Matuschka) claimed two torpedo attacks. They are believed to have been against the British escort carrier HMS Thane and the Norwegian tanker Spinanger which were both hit by torpedoes and damaged whilst at anchor in the Firth of Clyde at 55 10N, 04 30W. There are 10 casualties on THANE. Thane was surveyed but not considered worth repairing and was laid up in the Gareloch. (Alex Gordon)(108)

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Ninth Air Force's XIX Tactical Air Command escorts the B-26 Marauders on a raid in Germany, flies armed reconnaissance and patrols, and supports the U.S. III and VIII Corps in the Houffalize, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg areas.

During the night of 15/16 January, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 795: two B-17 Flying Fortresses and seven B-24 Liberators drop leaflet on the Netherlands and Germany without loss.

BELGIUM: On a cold, cloudy day the 101st Airborne Division resumed its drive to the north and to the northeast. On the west of the Bastogne - Houffalize highway the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 506th Parachute Infantry attacked at 1030. (The guys slept in that morning.) The 1st Battalion struck out east of Fazone Woods and advanced over almost one mile of open fields to take the high ground north of Cobru. The 2nd Battalion attacked north and seized Noville from which the 1st Battalion and Team Desorby had withdrawn almost one month before. Observers from the 321st Glider Field who had been with the 1st battalion then were with the 2nd Battalion this day. A perimeter defence was set by 1145. It was a slow day for the 506th. (Jay Stone)

Near Arloncourt, Corporal Arthur O. Beyer, U.S. Army, Company C, 603d Tank Destroyer Battalion, displays conspicuous gallantry in action, when his platoon was held up by anti-tank, machine gun and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to the front. Noting a machinegun position in this defence line, he fired upon it with his 76-mm. gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon. He dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew. Another machinegun, about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him. Through withering fire, he advanced on the position. Throwing a grenade into the emplacement, he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors. He was subjected to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades. When he had completed his self-imposed mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions, killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams. Cpl. Beyer's intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defence line and enabled his task force to gain its objective. (MOH)(Drew Philip Halévy)

On the U.S. First Army's VII Corps right, the 2d Armored Division clears Achouffe, Mont, and Tavernaux and sends patrols to the Ourthe River and into Houffalize, which has been vacated by the Germans. The 3d Armored Division attacks with Combat Command R toward Vaux and Brisy, taking Vaux, and with Combat Command B toward Cherain and Sterpigny. Elements of Combat Command A are committed as reinforcements. A battalion of the 83d Infantry Division attacks Bovigny but is unable to take it. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, the 75th Infantry Division attacks across the Saim River before dawn and seizes Salmch teau and Bech. The 106th Infantry Division consolidates and clears Ennal. The 30th Infantry Division takes Beaumont, Francheville, Houvegnez, and Pont; improves positions south of Ligneuville; and clears the northern part of Thirimont. The V Corps opens an offensive to clear heights between Buellingen and Ambleve and to protect the left flank of the XVIII Corps.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, Combat Command A of the 11th Armored Division takes Cornpogne and Rastadt and reaches Vellereux; falls back west of Vellereux under a counterattack in the Rau de Vaux defile. Combat Command B bypasses Neville and clears the woods to the east. On a cold, cloudy day the 101st Airborne Division resumes its drive to the north and northeast. On the west of the Bastogne-Houffalize highway the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, attack at 1030 hours. (The guys slept in that morning.) The 1st Battalion strikes out east of Fazone Woods and advances over almost 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) of open fields to take the high ground north of Cobru. The 2nd Battalion attacks north and seizes Noville from which the 1st Battalion and Team Desorby had withdrawn almost one month before. Observers from the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion, who had been with the 1st Battalion then, are with the 2nd Battalion today. A perimeter defense was set by 1145 hours. It is a slow day for the 506th. In the III Corps area, the 6th Armored Division, employing the 320th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division, overcomes house- to-house resistance in Oubourcy; Combat Command B takes Arloncourt; Combat Command A clears the heights southwest of Longvilly. The 357th Infantry Regiment battles strongpoints in and around the railroad tunnels along the Wiltz River valley while the 359th Infantry Regiment starts to Wardin. (Jay Stone and Jack McKillop)

NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army's XII Corps area, in preparation for Operation BLACKCOCK, the operation to clear the German salient between the Meuse and Roer-Wurm Rivers from Roermond southward, elements of the 7th Armoured Division seizes Bakenhoven about 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) northwest of Susteren as the line of departure for the main attack by the division on the left flank of corps.

FRANCE: The 6th Army Group issues preliminary instructions for an attack against the Colmar Pocket by the French First Army, which for some time has been engaged in the aggressive defense of the Vosges Mountains.

In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, local actions occur around the Bitche salient perimeter. The 14th Armored Division continues their fight for Rittershoffen and Hatten.

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Army's III Corps area, the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, meets unexpectedly strong resistance as it resumes their northeastern attack; the 1st Battalion makes a forced march into the 6th Armored Division sector to attack Niederwampach from the Benonchamps, Belgium area and gains the town after artillery barrage by 14 field artillery battalions.

GERMANY: Hitler leaves the western Führer headquarters 'Eages Nest' (Führerhauptquartier 'Adlerhorst'), located in the Taunus mountains in a large military reservation encompassing remote portions of the towns of Langenhein-Ziegenberg, Wiesental and Kransberg (all near Bad Nauheim), on board his 'Führersonderzug' (special train) bound for Berlin. (Russell Folsom)

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps' 94th Infantry Division zone, the 1st Battalion of the 376th Infantry Regiment holds Tettingen and Butzdorf against counterattack while the 3d Battalion takes Nennig, Wies, and Berg.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 794: 640 bombers and 782 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in Germany; they claim 14-0-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; two fighters are lost. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Marshalling yards: Augsburg (286-0), Freiburg (107-0), Ingolstadt (110-0), Reutlingen (75-0) and Tubingen (7-0).

Sixteen USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders hit the Simmern bridge to help thwart movement in the Trier area.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches bombers to attack benzine plants at two locations without loss:

- 82 Lancasters are sent to attack the Langendeer plant at Bochum; 61 bomb the target. The bombing appears to be excellent.

- 63 Lnacasters are sent to the Forzetzung plant at Rechlinghausen; 61 bomb the targets.

AUSTRIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force: B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, escorted by P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs, bomb two marshalling yards (M/Ys) in Vienna: 200 hit the Matzleinsdorf M/Y with the loss of eight aircraft and 188 bomb the Florisdorf M/Y with the loss of six aircraft.

POLAND: The Soviet Army offensive is extended southward as the Fourth Ukrainian Front begins a drive in the Carpathian Mountains from the vicinity of Sanok, southwest of Cracow. To the north, the First Ukrainian Front takes Kielce.

ITALY: Italian battleship Conte Di Cavour was sunk during an aerial bombardment at Trieste. This was the third time that the ship was sunk and she was raised for a third time afterwards. Laid down 10 Aug 1910, Cavour was launched on 10 Aug 1911, and completed on 01 April 1915. As originally built, she displaced 23,000 tons, had a top speed of 21.5 knots, and was armed with thirteen 12.8-inch guns. As a result of the naval limitations treaties that restricted new construction, Cavour was extensively modernized at Trieste between Oct 1933 and Jul 1937. She emerged with a radically altered profile and a displacement of 28,000 tons, a top speed of 28 knots, and was armed with ten 12.8-inch guns. Conte Di Cavour was among the ships sunk by FAA Swordfish aircraft from HMS Illustrious at Taranto on 11 Nov 1940. She was refloated in mid-1941 and transferred to Trieste in Dec 1941 for repairs and modernization. Upon the Italian Armistice, Cavour was scuttled on the night of 09 Sep 1943 to prevent her from being seized by the Germans. The hulk was raised and repair efforts were begun again. Cavour was bombed and sunk by USAAF heavy bombers and, in 1947, she was raised for a third and final time. The hulk was broken up for scrap between 1950 and 1952.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations resume as the weather clears. Medium bombers concentrate on the Brenner rail line, flying nearly 150 sorties against bridges at San Michele all'Adige, Rovereto, Ala, Lavis, Santa Margherita d'Adige, and Motta di Livenza; the XXII Tactical Air Command attacks communications in the Po Valley and further north, destroying or damaging several bridges and a very large number of railway cars (most of them at the Como marshalling yard).

Twenty three USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the locomotive works at Treviso.

During the day, 15 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drop supplies to partisans in northern Italy.

CHINA: The Japanese begin an offensive for Suichwan airfields, driving along the Chaling-Lienhwa road.

Eighteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, supported by 20 P-40s and P-51 Mustangs, attack Hankow and others attack shipping near Amoy, and hit targets of opportunity in the Siang-Chiang and Hsiang River Valleys and from Hong Kong to Foochow. Over 130 P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance attack numerous targets of opportunity throughout southern China from the Burma border to the southeast coast.

BURMA: Mongyu: Here at Mongyu, close by the Sino-Burmese border, two Chinese armies have met. From the north-west Lt-Gen Daniel Sultan's US-trained Chinese divisions have cleared the Japanese from Upper Burma and from the east a Chinese Nationalist army under General Wai Li-huang has made a ponderous march from Yunnan.

After three years - while Nationalist China was totally isolated from its Allies except for an airbridge from India - the Burma Road can now reopen. The US-built oil pipeline, laid along the Ledo Road, will be extended all the way to Yunnan. The last Japanese positions threatening the Burma Road, around Wanting and Namhkam, are now being mopped up.

U.S. Major General George E Stratemeyer, Commanding General Eastern Air Command, and U.S. Lieutenant General Daniel I Sultan, Commanding General India-Burma Theater, confer at Myitkyina, and agree that an Army Air Forces Headquarters to command the U.S. Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces should be set up in China.

In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the inaugural convoy from Ledo, India, reaches Myitkyina, where it halts to await clearance of the Japanese ahead. The Chinese 30th Division takes Namhkam with ease, gaining control of the lower end of Shweli Valley.

In the British Fourteenth Army's Indian XXXIII Corps area, the Indian 19th Division secures another bridgehead across the Irrawaddy River, at Kyaukmyaung. Twelve USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb a troop concentration and the supply area at Mong Ngaw. Six fighter-bombers damage a bridge at Namhkai; 11 support ground forces along the Irrawaddy River, bombing Mabein, hitting a cable crossing at Myitson, and attacking a ferry landing on the Nampaw River, a tributary; and troops, supplies, tanks and targets of opportunity are attacked at several points in northern Burma including Mong Tat, Mong Yok and Mong Pa.

USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs attack the Wan Pa-Hsa town area and damage a nearby bridge.

MALAYA: Mines laid by HMS Porpoise on 9 January sink Japanese XAM Kyo Maru #1 (340T) south of Penang, Malaya, 05°18'N, 100°20'E. Porpoise would never return from this patrol, her fourth. (Chris Sauder)

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twelve USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Saipan Island hit airfields on Iwo Jima. Two B-24s, operating singly from Guam and Saipan, strike Iwo Jima airfields during the night of 15/16 January.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The US XIV Corps crosses the Agno river on Luzon. In the U.S. Sixth Army's XIV Corps area on Luzon, elements of the 40th Infantry Division begin probing in the Dasol Bay-Balinao Peninsula area, where action is insignificant through 18 January. The 2d Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, takes San Clemente, forcing a Japanese party back toward Camiling. Elements of the 129th Infantry Regiment and the 37th Reconnaissance Troop, 37th Infantry Division, intercept the Japanese party near Camiling and disperse it. In the I Corps area, the 6th Infantry Division, while continuing a holding action, extends their left flank to Cabanbanan, between Manoag and Urdaneta. Patrols find the Japanese in possession of Urdaneta and Cabaruan Hills. In the 43d Infantry Division zone, the 158th Infantry Regiment, assisted by artillery, naval gunfire, and aircraft, begins clearing the defile near Amlang, on the road to Rosario; the 63d Infantry Regiment drives north in an effort to make contact with the 158th Infantry Regiment bu t stops for the night well south of Amlang; the 172d Infantry Regiment clears Hill 665 and reaches the Damortis-Rosario road within 1.5 miles (2,4 kilometers) of Rosario; the 169th Infantry Regiment, unable to take Hill 355 from the west and south, prepares to strike from the east; the 103d Infantry Regiment gains most of Hill 200 area.

Protected by USAAF Fifth Air Force planes and motor torpedo (PT) boats, the 7th Infantry Division Task Force lands unopposed on the northern and southern tips of Ponson Island, Camotes Islands, located between Leyte and Cebu Islands.

On Mindoro, the 2d Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, driving on Calapan, meets delaying opposition along Gusay Creek. The 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment, which has been assisting guerrilla forces, terminates operations on Mindoro.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, and fighter-bombers attack objectives on Luzon Island, in the central Philippine Islands, and on Palawan Island, hitting highways, railroads, airfields and numerous targets of opportunity including tanks, trucks, and other vehicles.

EAST INDIES: In Northeast New Guinea, a company of the Australian 2/5th Battalion, 17th Brigade, 6th Division, occupies Maharingi.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Jesselton Airfield in British North Borneo.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, elements of the Australian 61st Battalion, 7th Brigade, 3rd Division, start moving south from the Jaba River.

PACIFIC OCEAN: In the South China Sea, USN Task Force 38, severely handicapped by weather conditions, launches air strikes against shipping, airfields, and ground installations on Formosa and along the coast of China from Hong Kong to Amoy. Because of deteriorating weather conditions, some of the planes are diverted to Mako Ko in the Pescadores Islands and others to Prates Reef.

Fragments of a 15 kilogram (33 pound) Japanese anti-personnel high explosive bomb dropped from a Japanese Fu Go balloon are recovered at Saticoy, California. The bomb was observed to explode at 1800 hours local. Saticoy is located about 61 miles (98 kilometers) west-northwest of Los Angeles. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announces an allocations proposal for the frequency spectrum above 25 Mcs:

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The unescorted Maja was torpedoed and sunk by U-1055 SE of Drogheda. 17 crewmembers and eight gunners were lost. The master, 37 crewmembers and two gunners were picked up by the Belgian trawler Hendrik Conscience and landed at Holyhead.

HMCS Fundy and Comox, both Fundy-class minesweepers, rescued survivors from the three ships torpedoed in Convoy BX-141 by U-1232. The ships lost were the British tankers British Freedom and Athelviking as well as the US Liberty ship Martin Van Buren. The two tankers were sunk in position 44.28N, 063.28W. The Liberty ship was towed into port but was declared a Constructive Total Loss.

WEST GERMANY: Ilse Koch, wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp known as the "Witch of Buchenwald," is sentenced to life imprisonment. Buchenwald concentration camp, 4.5 miles (7,2 kilometers) northwest of Weimar, held a total of 20,000 slave laborers during the war. Ilse, a large woman with red hair, was given free reign in the camp, whipping prisoners with her riding crop as she rode by on her horse, forcing prisoners to have sex with her, and, most horrifying, collecting lampshades, book covers, and gloves made from the skin of tattooed camp prisoners. A German inmate gave the following testimony during the Nuremberg war trials: "All prisoners with tattooing on them were to report to the dispensary.... After the prisoners had been examined, the ones with the best and most artistic specimens were killed by injections. The corpses were then turned over to the pathological department, where the desired pieces of tattooed skin were detached from the bodies and treated further." Ilse's husband, Karl Koch, had been arrested, ironically enough, by his SS superiors for "having gone too far." It seems he had a penchant for stealing even the belongings of wealthy, well-placed Germans and he was tried and hanged in 1944. Although sentenced to life in prison, the American military governor of the occupied zone subsequently reduced Ilse Kich's sentence to four years. His reason, "lack of evidence," caused a U.S. Senate investigation. She was released but arrested again, tried by a West German court, and sentenced to life. She committed suicide in 1967 by hanging herself with a bed sheet.