Air Operations, CBI

1st and 2nd AVG Fighter Squadron P-40s down 5 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters over Rangoon at 1030 hours and 5 Ki-32 light bombers and 7 more Ki-27s about 2 hours later in the same area.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Spanish ship Navemar (5473t) is sunk by the Italian submarine Barbarigo off the Azores with the loss of 2 crewmen. 34 survivors are picked up by the Spanish steamer Isla de Teneriffa.
• U-109 sinks the British steamer Thirlby (4887t) 12 miles southwest from Seal Island, Cape Sable with the loss of 5 of her crew. 41 survivors are picked up by the American steamer Belle Isle.
• U-82 sinks the Norwegian tanker Leiesten (6118t) 400 miles east-southeast of Cape Race with the loss of 6 crewmen. 29 survivors are picked up by the Greek steamer Agios Georgios.

Bismarck Archipelago

There are more landings by the Japanese at Rabaul, New Britain and Kavieng, New Ireland in convoys escorted by the 4th Fleet. The small garrison at Rabaul, an important base area, is quickly overcome, while Kavieng is virtually undefended. Rabaul on the northern tip of New Britain will become an important naval and aviation base for the Japanese.

The Fall of Rabaul

Dutch East Indies

Japanese troops are landed at Balikpapan, Borneo and Kendari in the Celebes. Dutch aircraft attack the Japanese ships off Balikpapan, but with little success.

Eastern Front

Northwest of Moscow the Red Army, following up its forceful counterattack, retakes Kholm, one of the strongpoints on the German defensive line between Army Groups North and Center. In the southeast another German strongpont, Rzhev, is threatened by encirclement.[MORE]

Germans Still Rely Heavily on Horse Drawn Transport

The Germans still relied heavily on horse drawn transport for transporting supplies but their horses suffered badly in the Russian winter, less well adapted than the Russian ponies. The German lines in Russia were being disrupted by counter attacks. Many units were receiving only intermittent supplies and food for men and horses was scarce. In this weakened state they were forced to withdraw. In the last week of January they were hit by snow storms that made the sub zero conditions even more difficult.

Indian Ocean

The British armed patrol vessel Larut (894t) is sunk by Japanese bombing at Sabang, Indonesia. The entire crew are rescued.

Malaya

Fighting continues in the area of Batu Pahat. The troops defending the Segamat and Muar fronts succeed in breaking off the fight and retire southwards. The defense of Johore state, which means the defense of Singapore, is mainly in the hands of the Indian III Corps.

Mediterranean

The Italian troopship Victoria (13,098), part of a convoy bound for Tripoli, is torpedoed by an Albacore of 826 Squadron. The ship sinks a little later. Of the 1,455 on board, 1,064 passengers and crew are rescued.

North Africa

Group Marcks leaves southeast out of Saunnu, intending to attack the eastern flank of the trapped forces, but German armor which was to take its place in Saunnu does not do so, leaving an escape route open for the British. Covered by artillery fire, the remainder of the 1st Armored Brigade fights its way northward to safety. Though the 2nd Armored Brigade loses a number of tanks in the process, the 10th Hussars being reduced to 8, the Afrika Korps loses about 20 in all.

Hungarian soldiers and gendarmes participate in the mass killing of Serbian Jews and Serbians. Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, 23 January 1942.

Hungarians Participate in Killing of Jews in Yugoslavia

Pacific

• There are Japanese landings at Rabaul in New Britain, at Balikpapan in Borneo, near Kavieng on New Ireland and on Bouganville in the Solomons. After Rabaul is taken it becomes a major Japanese naval base.
• The American oiler Neches (AO-5) is sunk by a torpedo from a I-72 off the Hawaiian Islands with the loss of 57 on board. 126 survivors are picked up by the American destroyer Jarvis.

Philippines

Japanese pressure intensifies in the center of the Bataan peninsula. Due to navigational errors the Japanese amphibious units which left Moron for Point Caibobo are landed partly near Point Quinauan and partly at Point Longoskawayan, both a long way south of their objective. American and Filipino troops are sent to repel the invaders but without success.

The Japanese establish a puppet government in Manila. They tend to set up such regimes in the countries they conquer hoping to create the appearance of encouraging independence from European colonial powers for Southeast Asian states.

Solomon Islands

Elements of the Japanese 4th Fleet invade Kieta (Bougainville). They meet no opposition.