26 January 1939

Yesterday Tomorrow

January 26th, 1939 (THURSDAY)

FRANCE: Minesweeper FS Commandant Bory launched.

SPAIN: Barcelona falls to Franco's Nationalist troops.

26 January 1940

January 26th, 1940 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: British officials acknowledge that of a total of 734,883 children reported to have been evacuated from London since the beginning of the war, 316,192 have returned to their homes by January 8th.

Corvette HMS Marigold laid down.

SS Durham Castle struck a mine laid by U-57 on 22 January off Cromarty and sank. The ship was in tow for Scapa Flow for use as an accommodation ship.

FRANCE: Paul Ferdonnet, the "Radio Traitor," a German sympathizer broadcasting in French from Stuttgart, Germany, is tried in absentia by a French military tribunal.

GERMANY: U-331 laid down.

POLAND: Jews are forbidden by the German authorities to travel on the public railways.

Western POLAND: The resettlement of ethnic Germans from Wohlhynien (western Ukraine) and eastern Galicia into the territories of the Reich, agreed during negotiations with the USSR, has been completed. The "migrants" come from what used to be eastern Poland, which has been under Soviet occupation since September. The resettlement has been pushed on with all haste since 20 December, with ethnic German groups covering 40 miles a day in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. German-Soviet agreements late last year mean that some 205,000 ethnic Germans can leave the Soviet "sphere of interest" for the Reich. Many are earmarked by the Reich's Agency for the Organisation of Space to displace Poles in the General Government area (occupied western Poland), regarded by the Nazis as part of the Reich's new Lebensraum. Just over 100,000 families from southern Germany are also expected to resettle in the occupation zone.

LINE ISLANDS: The minesweeper USS Quail (AM-15) arrives at Palmyra Island with the first construction party to begin building a naval air station there.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Fighting 69th" is released. Directed by William Keighley, this war movie about the 165th Infantry Regiment (former New York 69th Regiment) in World War I stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh and Dennis Morgan.

The American-Japanese Treaty of Navigation and Commerce is allowed to lapse because the US government refuses to negotiate in protest against Japanese aggression in China.

26 January 1941

January 26th, 1941 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

Churchill complains to the Ministry of Labour and CIGS about the slow progress on the installation of the latest and best guns at Dover. He tries to unblock the bureaucratic log jam which is holding up progress.

Churchill replies to Wavell's refusal of another South African division:

... I thought you wanted to have a large strategic reserve in the Delta...there is no need to send another division to swell the troops in Kenya. ... How can you expect me to face the tremendous strain upon our shipping, affecting as it does all our food and import of munitions, to carry divisions from England to the Middle East when a South African division would have less than half the distance to come?

ALBANIA: Italy mounts an unsuccessful counter-attack on the town of Klisura, captured by the Greeks two weeks ago.

LIBYA: Italian forces withdraw from Mechili, south of Derna, in Cyrenaica. Careless opposition from British 4th Armoured Division allows many to escape.

KENYA Cunningham writes a letter to Wavell proposing to capture the port of Kismayu around 12 February. The discovery of water at Hagadesu has released just enough transport to make it possible.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0212, the burning and abandoned Lurigethan was torpedoed and sunk by U-105. The ship had been bombed and damaged on 23 January in convoy SL-61 by a German Fw200 aircraft from KG 40. The survivors were picked up by corvette HMS Arabis, which stayed near the ship to wait for a tug.

26 January 1942

January 26th, 1942 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The first US troops arrive in Northern Ireland. They are troops of the 133d Infantry, 34th Division.

Belfast: The first American soldiers have arrived in the British Isles. Air and naval squadrons arrived three weeks ago, but without the fanfares which today greeted the first of many thousand "Doughboys" destined for Europe.

Landfall for today's arrivals - an infantry division from Iowa - was Northern Ireland, where they are to guard war stocks supplied under Lend-Lease. Many of them are of German or Irish extraction. If some of their cousins are less than happy about their return to uniform, the British are euphoric. The Duke of Abercorn, the governor of the province, John Andrews, the Ulster premier, and Sir Archibald Sinclair, the air minister, welcomed them ashore, as did the Royal Ulster Rifles band with its own version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Sir Archibald said that their arrival marked a new stage in the world war - "a gloomy portent for Mr. Hitler."

Minesweeper HMS Antares laid down.

Destroyer HMS Verulam laid down.

Minesweeper HMS Boston commissioned.

FRANCE: Paris: A simple matchbox can open many a door. The one that Jean Moulin always carries around contains microfilmed orders from General de Gaulle.

Moulin, known as "Max" was formerly mayor of the town of Chartres and escaped to England nearly five months ago. Ever since he parachuted back into France on 1 January, the top-secret contents of the matchbox have been his letter of introduction to the leaders of the Resistance in the southern sector. De Gaulle has ordered him to unit the Resistance movements under the Free French banner. Despite some qualms, Henri Frenay, the leader of the Combat group, was first to rally to de Gaulle. Moulin then travelled to Avignon, Nimes, Valence and finally, Lyons, where he met Raymond Aibrac of the Liberation group.

These initial contacts between the various heads of the anti-Nazi movement did not always go without a hitch. Resistance leaders are not on the whole keen to relinquish their hard-won independence and authority, particularly since de Gaulle has so far only given them a few vague promises in exchange for their support and allegiance.

What they have not seen are the money, arms, ammunition and explosives for which they have been calling so desperately.

GERMANY: The RAF bombs Hanover.

LIBYA: German troops recapture Msus, crushing the British 2nd Armoured Brigade.

The German advance is stalled by a sandstorm.

BURMA: AVG pilot Louis Hoffman is lost in action against the Japanese. (Chuck Baisden)

Pilots of the 1st and 2d Fighter Squadrons, American Volunteer Group (AVG, aka, “The Flying Tigers”) shoot down three Japanese Army fighters over Rangoon at 1100 hours local.

MALAYA: A Japanese convoy carrying reinforcements approaches Endau. They are attacked by nine RAAF Hudson and 12 Vildebeestes; no ships are hit and 5 of the Vildebeestes are shot down. In the evening, the old destroyers HMAS Vampire and HMS Thanet sail to attack the Japanese convoy.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, arrives in Java as the advance party of Australian troops preparing to leave the Middle East. Lavarack is soon convinced that the situation is “grim” and believes that the Japanese might seize southern Sumatra before the main body of his command arrives.

BORNEO: After occupying Balikpapan yesterday, the Japanese mop up the surrounding area today and then the troops begin repairing the airfield.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the Philippine II and I Corps complete their withdrawal to the final defence line on Bataan in the morning, closely followed by the Japanese. The new line, which is to be continuous for the first time, extends from Orion on the east to Bagac on the west and is generally behind the Pilar-Bagac road. Gaps develop in each corps sector when HQ U.S. Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE) withdraws the Philippine Division as its reserve. Units are hastily shifted to replace the U.S. 31st and Philippine Scouts (PS) 57th Regiments in the II Corps line and the PS 45th Infantry in the I Corps line. The II Corps, responsible for eastern Bataan from the coast to the Pantingan River, organizes its line into four sectors, from east to west: Sector A, 31st Infantry of 31st Division, Philippine Army (PA); Sector B, Provisional Air Corps Regiment; Sector C, elements of the 31st and remnants of the 51st Divisions, PA; Sector D, the 41st and 21st Divisions, PA, and 33d Infantry, less the 1st Battalion, of the 31st Division, PA. In addition, the beach defence forces are organized as Sector E. 1st Battalion of the 33d Infantry, 31st Division, PA, and a regiment of the PA combat engineers constitute corps reserve. The Japanese patrol along the eastern slopes of Mt Samat almost to the main line of resistance but do not discover a gap in the line, which exists for several hours. The I Corps line, extending from the Pantingan River to the west coast, is divided into Right and Left Sectors: the Right Sector is manned by the Philippine Constabulary's 2d Regiment (less one battalion) on the east and the 11th Division, PA, on the west; disposed in the Left Sector are elements of the 1st Division, PA, on the east and 91st Infantry, PA, on the west. Beach defence forces make up the South Sector. The 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts (PS), is held in corps reserve. The Japanese open an offensive, driving south along West Road toward the Binuangan River. The 91st Division, PA, contains these attacks. In the South Sector, the Japanese maintain beachheads at Quinauan and Longoskawayan Points and move reinforcements toward the former. USAFFE sends the 88th Field Artillery, PS, from the west coast from II Corps sector, one of its gun batteries to Quinauan Point and another to Longoskawayan Point.
During the night, the few remaining P-40s on Bataan bomb and strafe Nichols and Nielson Fields on Luzon.

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Cessnock commissioned.

U.S.A.: The Board of Inquiry which has been investigating the Pearl Harbor Attack releases its findings.

Destroyer USS Macomb commissioned.

PERU: Lima breaks off diplomatic relations with Berlin. (Mike Yared)

PARAGUAY: Montevideo breaks off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Armed but unescorted U.S. freighter SS West Ivsis is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-125 off the eastern seaboard. The U-boat had fired and at first missed the ship. But the second torpedo broke her in two, sinking in 14 minutes. There are no survivors from either the 36-man civilian crew or the 9-man Armed Guard who had to operate the 4in gun (the ship also had four 50 cal. and four 30 cal. aboard). (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)

SS Traveler sunk by U-106 at 40N, 61.45W - Grid CB 5172.

U-404's periscope was damaged during an air attack in the North Atlantic.

U-753 was rammed and damaged in an attack by a British escort in the North Atlantic.

26 January 1943

January 26th, 1943 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: It was gazetted today that LS William Goad (b.1922), of HMS ASHANTI, was lowered into heavy, sub-zero seas, to rescue an unconscious man. (Albert Medal)

Frigate HMS Burges launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Oxna launched.

FRANCE: Peru severed diplomatic relations with France. France took similar action against Peru, same date.

GERMANY: From today anti-aircraft batteries can be manned by Hitler Youths, officially by grammar-school pupils aged 15 onwards. (HW Koch)

During training in Wesermünde an accident occurred onboard U-847 while the machinegun was being fired. One crewmember died, one was seriously wounded.

U-905 is laid down.

ARCTIC SEA: U-302 had to break off her patrol in the Arctic Sea due to serious technical problems.

U.S.S.R.: Stalingrad: The Sixth Army pocket is split as Soviet troops join up to the west of the city.

Italian GENERAL GIULIO MARTINAT, chief-of-staff of the Alpini Corps in Russia (Giulia, Tridentina, and Cuneense Alpini divisions) is killed while personally leading a successful attack to break through Russian blocking positions at Nikolajevka (nowadays Malenka Aleksandrovka), an attack which opened a path for the encircled Italian troops to escape and regain Axis lines (but at the cost of 320 Italians killed, including 40 officers and noncoms). The Italians won through against all odds, with no artillery and no air support, and on foot.

This was acknowledged by the Soviets in their N°630 bulletin, transmitted by Radio Moskva in the first days of February, that stated that "the only force that can regard itself as undefeated on Russian soil is the Italian Alpini corps".

The Italian Alpini Corps had successfully held its own positions even after the rest of the 8th Army was overrun in December, but a new Soviet operation launched in mid-January, aimed at encircling the Italians by breaking through the positions of the Hungarians to the northwest, forced them to reverse fronts and fight their way out. Martinat was detailed to take command of, and try to bring some order to, the disorganized and heterogeneous mass of stragglers (Italians-- both Alpini and from other commands-- plus various Germans and Hungarians) which followed in the wake of the fighting spearheads of the Tridentina division supported by a handful of German armoured vehicles. (Michael F. Yaklich and Francesco Dall'Aglio)

Stalingrad: Generalleutnant Alexander von Hartmann, commander of the German 71 Inf. D. lead a desperate last attack with a small group of his troops. They engage Soviet infantrymen in close combat with small arms. General Hartmann is said to have killed a Soviet soldier with his machine pistol before he was killed by a burst from an enemy machinegun. (Jeff Chrisman)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Between 0245 and 0316, the sailing vessel Hassan was rammed five times by U-431 between Cyprus and Haifa. At 0333, the U-boat shelled the vessel with her 88-mm and 2-mm guns and set her on fire. The U-boat then left the burning and sinking ship.

LIBYA: Rommel is informed that Italian general Messe will replace him as commander of the 1st Italo-German Panzer Army when he is promoted to command the new Army Group Africa. (Mike Yaklich)

CANADA: Frigates HMCS Charlottetown and Jonquiere laid down Lauzon, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer escort USS Crouter launched.

Aircraft carrier USS Hancock laid down.

Destroyer USS Terry commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0450 and 0506, U-607 hit the forepart of Kollbjørg with two coup de grâce. The forepart capsized and the U-boat tried to sink her by gunfire, but had problems with the deck gun. At 1609 U-594 missed the capsized wreck with a coup de grâce and sank her at 1621 by gunfire.

At 1533, tanker SS Nortind was hit near the bridge by one of two torpedoes from U-358 and caught fire immediately. About 1900, the tanker broke in two and sank. None of the 34 Norwegian, seven British and two Dutch passengers on board survived.

SS Ufa sunk by U-255 at Grid AC 6751.

26 January 1944

January 26th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: An Old Bailey jury today found 58-year-old Oswald Job guilty of espionage and he was sentenced to death. Job was born in Stepney of German parents and moved to Paris in 1911. In 1940, as a British passport holder, he was interned by the Nazis. The German secret service recruited him from prison, and he returned to England posing as an escapee. From his room in Bayswater he wrote letters to PoWs with invasion plans in invisible ink between the lines. The British authorities became aware of his activities thanks to the work of a double agent codenamed "Dragonfly".

Corvette HMCS Bowmanville (ex-HMS Nunney Castle) launched Sunderland.

Corvette HMCS Kincardine (ex-HMS Tamworth Castle) launched South Bank-on-Tees.

Corvette HMCS Orangeville (ex-HMS Hedingham Castle) launched Leith, Scotland.

Corvette HMS Arbutus launched.

GERMANY: U-869, U-1230 commissioned.

ITALY: Martial law is proclaimed in Rome.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Russia today replied to German accusations that it was responsible for the murder of thousands of Polish officers in Katyn forest by charging the Germans with the massacre of the Poles. According to the findings of a special atrocity commission, the Poles were still alive when the Germans took over the area in July 1941. The German accusations led to the breakdown in relations between the Polish government based in London and the Soviet government, a situation which has become even more sensitive as the Red Army advances deeper into Poland.

NEW GUINEA: In heavy fighting, veteran Australian troops have cleared the Japanese from strategic "Shaggy Ridge", in New Guinea's rugged Finisterre range. After the fall of Lae, the Australians - part of 18 Infantry Brigade of 7th Division - set out to clear the enemy from the Huon Gulf area as part of the campaign to crush Japanese resistance in the South-west Pacific.

The "diggers", patrolling in the foothills of the Finisterres encountered Japanese entrenched in strong defensive positions. In late December the Australians assaulted the southern slopes of "Shaggy Ridge" and took the "Pimple". From 17 January, backed by heavy RAAF raids, the Australians advanced along the razor backs. Today the enemy finally broke.

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Kiama commissioned.

CANADA: HMC MTB 459 commissioned.

U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Song of Bernadette" opens at the Rivoli Theater in New York City. Directed by Henry King, this religious drama stars Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb and Gladys Cooper.

Frigate USS Moberly launched.

Destroyer escort USS Peiffer launched.

Destroyers USS Heywood L Edwards and Allen M Sumner commissioned.

Escort carrier USS Marcus Island commissioned.

Submarine USS Guitarro commissioned.

ARGENTINA: The news that Argentina has severed relations with Germany and Japan brought cheering crowds out on to the streets of Buenos Aires today. President Ramirez signed the decree just after 8am, making his country the 21st American republic to turn against the Axis. This follows the uncovering of a vast enemy spy network in Argentina involving high-society figures. Many arrests have already been made. But diplomatic sources in neighbouring Chile see the move as no more than a practical expedient to avoid a break with the United States.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Off ICELAND: Ten U-boats attack convoy JW-56A, sinking three merchant ships.

SS Samouri sunk by U-188 at 13.13N, 55.56E - Grid MQ 4658.

SS Surada sunk by U-188 at 13.00N, 55.15E - Grid MQ 4565.

SS Walter Camp sunk by U-532 at 10.00N, 71.49E - Grid MS 79.

At 0020, U-716 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes on the convoy JW-56A, heard two hits and reported one ship with 7000 tons sunk and another of 7000 tons damaged. In fact, only the Andrew G. Curtin in station #61 was hit by one torpedo on the starboard side between the #2 and #3 holds. The watch below secured the engines as the ship settled by the head and listed to starboard. The deck cracked forward of the #3 hold and extended across the vessel. As the Liberty ship sank, the crack widened and the bow soon hogged about 25°. The complement of eight officers, 35 men and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in some confusion in one raft and four lifeboats aft of the crack. Two crewmembers drowned and one armed guard died in the explosion. The survivors observed the Andrew G. Curtin breaking in two before sinking. In less than 30 minutes, HMS Inconstant picked up the survivors and landed them later in Murmansk. The USS PTC-39 was on transfer from the USA to North Russia aboard the Andrew G. Curtin and was lost.

U-545 I WO was washed overboard in the North Atlantic. [Oberleutnant zur See Hans Wilkening].

During operations against convoy JW 56A in the Arctic Sea, U-360 and U-601 collided, resulting in slight damage to both boats.

26 January 1945

January 26th, 1945 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF 8th Air Force, 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron (Air-Sea Rescue) is formed from Detachment B of the 65th Fighter Wing.

U -1051 is sunk in the Irish Sea south of the Isle of Man, position 53. 39N, 05. 23W, by ramming and depth charges from the British frigates HMS Aylmer, Calder, Bentinck and Manners. 47 dead (all hands lost).

Frigate HMS Manners has her stern blown off by a Zaunkönig fired by U-1172 and is towed to Barrow. She was not repaired. There are 36 casualties. Location: Irish Sea 21 miles W of Anglesey. (Alex Gordon)(108)

The following AP report was released to the newswires - A Berlin broadcast asserted today that U-boats had sunk six fully-laden Allied supply ships and two destroyers en route from Britain to France. The broadcast declared that the cargo ships totalled approximately 43.900 tons and included three large tankers. There has been no Allied confirmation. The following AP report was released to the newswires - The French news agency today quoted Ankara reports that one of Germany's new secret weapons is an "artillery submarine" which might be used for terror bombardments of American coastal cities. Neutral travellers who reached the Turkish city were declared to have said the submarines were in the final stages of construction. But the program was reported delayed by patriot sabotage so that there was little chance they could be used before the fall of Berlin.

Minesweeper HMS Bramble launched.

Frigate HMS Manners torpedoed by U-1172. Constructive total loss. Sold for scrap on 3 Dec 1946.

FRANCE: American Lt. Audie Murphy is wounded.

GERMANY: Frankfürt-am-der-Oder is declared a 'Festungstadt' or fortress city. Most of its non-essential civilians will be moved west. (Russ Folsom)

U-3529 and U-3530 launched.

U-3524 commissioned.

CANADA: Tug HMCS Beamsville assigned to Esquimalt.

U.S.A.: Washington: Lt. Audie Murphy is awarded the Medal of Honor.

Destroyer USS Dyess launched.

Submarine USS Irex launched.

Submarines USS Moray and Capitaine commissioned.

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