Air Operations, Asia

Lt-Col Takeo Kato, Japanese AAF fighter 'ace' with 58 victories, disappears in his Nakajima fighter over the Bay of Bengal.

Air Operations, Europe

In minor operations, 27 Halifaxes are sent to bomb St Nazaire but cloud cover prevents all but 3 from bombing. 31 aircraft are sent to lay mines off St Nazaire and the Baltic Coast. There are no losses.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 5th Air Force B-17s attack the Rabaul/Lakunai and Rabaul/Vunakanau airfields and shipping in Rabaul harbor.

• 22nd Medium Bomb Group B-26s attack shipping at Lae.

Caribbean

The unarmed US tanker William Royce Thompson (7061t), en route to Curacao, NWI, is torpedoed by U-558. There are no casualties and the ship reaches port under her own power.

Diplomatic Relations

Mexico declares war on Germany, Japan and Italy.

While hauling bauxite from the Caribbean to Sydney, N.S., the Canadian merchant ship Frank B. Baird is sunk by U-158 southeast of Bermuda. Her crew of 23 survives.

Canadian Merchant Ship Frank B. Baird

Eastern Front

The 23rd and 3rd Panzer Divisions attack from Andreyevka and Balakleya, while the III Panzer pushes up from the south. By the end of the day, the Barvenkovo pocket has been sealed. Timoshenko tries to counterattack immediately with the 38th Army in an effort to relieve the pocket, but his forces are unable to move in time. At the same time he orders the 6th and 57th Armies and Group Kostenko to break out.

New Guinea

Reinforcements are sent to the Wau area to defend the Bulolo valley. Native volunteers have been enrolled to fight beside the Allied, mostly Australian, troops.

Secret War

US intelligence reveals Japanese plans for attacks on Midway Island ant the Aleutian Islands.

Stjepan Filipovic Hanged by the Fascists

Stjepan Filipovic, a Croatian Partisan during World War II, was hanged by the fascists. As the rope was put around his neck, Filipovic defiantly thrust his hands out and denounced the Germans and their Axis allies as murderers, shouting “Death to fascism, freedom to the people!” He urged the Yugoslav people to resist and implored them to never cease resisting.