Air Operations, Europe

Both the British and American heavy-bomber forces continue their operations. The 8th Air Force drops 39,000 tons and 15th Air Force 6,000 tons in various attacks. As well as tactical support missions, especially early in the month against targets in the Ardennes, there are mostly attacks an oil and communications targets. Berlin, Cologne and Hamm are all hit.

Air Operations, CBI

• 71 10th Air Force P-47s and P-38s attack troops, tanks, motor vehicles, supplies, fuel dumps, and occupied villages at 7 locations and areas.
• 4 P-47s attack targets of opportunity along the Irrawaddy River.
• During the night, 4 10th Air Force B-25s harass lines of communication.

• 3 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Fort Bayard.
• 40 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack artillery positions, rail targets, warehouses, and industrial facilities between Puchi and Yoyang.
• 47 P-40s and P-51s attack troops, horses, road and rail traffic, and occupied towns at Liuchenghsien and between Hsuchang and Siaokan.
• 8 P-51s attack the airfield at Suchow.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers attack various targets, including bivouacs, airfields, and shipyards.
• 3 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s crash into a mountain while operating in bad weather.

Air Operations, Europe

The Luftwaffe makes a series of heavy attacks on Allied airfields in Belgium, Holland and northern France. It is called Operation BODENPLATTE/HERMANN. They have assembled around 800 planes of all types for this effort by scraping together every available machine and pilot. Many of the pilots have had so little training that they must fly in special formations with an experienced pilot in the lead providing the navigation for the whole force. The Allies are largely taken by surprise and lose many aircraft on the ground. Among the German losses for the day are a considerable number of planes shot down by 'friendly' anti-aircraft fire. The results are disastrous for the Luftwaffe as 364 of their aircraft are downed. About 125 Allied planes are lost but operations continue from the target fields. The Allied planes can be replaced immediately, but for the Germans neither the planes nor the pilots can be.

• 152 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group carry out an accurate attack on the Gravenhorst section of the Mittelland Canal. Half a mile of banks are pitted with bomb craters and some parts are breached.
• There are no aircraft losses.
• 146 aircraft of No. 3 Group successfully attack the railway yards at Vohwinkel.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 105 Halifaxes of No 4. Group and 18 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of No. 8 Group are sent to bomb a benzol plant at Dortmund, but the attack is scattered and the plant is not hit.
• There are no losses.

• 28 Mosquitos are sent to Hanau and 27 to Hannover, both on 'spoof' raids, and there are 59 Mosquito patrols and 42 RCM sorties. The No. 100 Group Mosquitos claim 6 German night fighters destroyed.
• 4 Mosquito squadrons toss 4,000-lb delayed action bombs into railway tunnels east of the Ardennes. Mosquitoes of the 'Light Night Striking Force' carry out the first of 67 raids on Berlin during the January-April time period. Only 14 planes are lost and 1,459 4,000-lb bombs are dropped on target.

• Only 11 of 428 1st Air Division B-17s dispatched against an oil-industry target at Magdeburg attack the primary. 292 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Kassel (secondary). 26 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Gottingen. 99 1st Air Division B-17s attack numerous targets of opportunity.
• 86 2nd Air Division B-24s attack two rail bridges at Koblenz.
• 57 2nd Air Division B-24s attack a rail bridge at Irlich.
• 6 2nd Air Division B-24s attack the rail bridge at Remagen.

• 42 2nd Air Division B-24s attack several targets of opportunity.
• 54 3rd Air Division B-17s attack an oil-industry target at Dollbergen.
• 24 3rd Air Division B-17s attack an oil-industry target at Ehmen.
• 21 3rd Air Division B-17s attack several targets of opportunity.
• 8 heavy bombers and 2 of 626 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• At approximately 0930 hours, as 12 P-51s of the 352nd Fighter Group's 487th Fighter Squadron are taking off from their temporary base near Liege for an area patrol, the airfield comes under attack and the P-51s are jumped by about 50 FW-190s and Bf-109s. Within minuts, the squadron routs the attack force and accounts for 20 of the Luftwaffe fighters destroyed withoud loss to itself.

• 190 9th Air Division bombers attack lines-of-communicatin target and a German Army command post in Belgium and Germany.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at three locations.

Air Operations, Marianas

A 6th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber over Tinian at 0450 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s dispatched against Clark Field, Luzon are diverted to a secondary target due to bad weather.
• FEAF B-24s attack the Sasa area.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack various targets on Negros at low level.
• B-25s attack a barracks at Laoag.
• Fighter-bombers attack the Manila area and Silay on Negros.
• 49th and 475th Fighter group P-38s down a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane and 11 fighters over Luzon between 1050 and 1126 hours.
• During the night, an American cargo ship is struck by a bomb and beached off Mindoro.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 19 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Caroline Islands

Small units from the US 81st Infantry Division land on Fais Island, southeast of Ulithi, and begin a detailed reconnaissance with the objective of capturing and destroying a Japanese radio station.

CBI

Maj-Gen George E. Stratemeyer's Eastern Air Command is flying 2,000 tons of supplies to Allied forces in Burma to sustain the offensive against the Japanese defending along the Akyab-Mandalay-Wanting line.

The British 14th Army moves its headquarters from Imphal to Kalemyo, where a joing army-air headquarters is established to insure close co-operation.

Gen Wedemeyer radios the War Department his plans to have US officers advise the Chinese ALPHA Force from group army headquarters down to regimental level.

Eastern Front

As a result of the defeats they have suffered, the Germans now have to hold a front against the Russians and their Allies reduced from 2,750 miles to 1,400 miles. In the far north it runs from west of Petsamo and Kirkenes, to Lake Inari. South of the Baltic the German Army Group North is faced with threat of encirclement in northern Latvia. In East Prussia Memel is also isolated, and the rest of the front more or less follows the border of the German province. The line of the Narew, the Vistula and the San marks the front in Poland, with a big Russian salient in the south in the Sandomierz area. The extreme eastern part of Slovakia is in Russian hands, while in Hungary the Red Army is fighting in Budapest and has established itself along a line that, from the Czechoslovakian frontier, runs south as far as the Magyar capital, then turns west as far as Lake Balaton and south again to the Drava, and then penetrates into Yugoslavia, where the front is more fluid; the Germans have partly evacuated the Balkans, but not completely. Such fighting as there is, however, consists of rearguard actions.

Against the Russian forces the Germans can still, at the beginning of 1945, deploy 3,100,000 men, out of a total of 5,350,000 'operational' effectives, besides the reserve, with 28,500 guns and mortars, 4,000 tanks and self-propelled guns and 1,960 combat aircraft.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 14 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima, and 12 B-24s attack Haha Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 66 10th Air Force P-47s and 13 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops and supplies at 9 locations.
• 6 14th Air Force B-25s attack Kengtung.
• More than 30 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack rail and other targets of opportunity in the Burma�China frontier area.

• 44 of 49 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Calcutta attack a rail bridge in Bangkok with 179 tons of bombs while 2 of the B-29s attack alternate targets.

Air Operations, East Indies

B-24s and various other FEAF aircraft attack several targets in the Celebes and Molucca Islands areas.

Air Operations, Europe

1,000 US bombers hammer troop concentrations and communications in western Germany. 1,000 RAF bombers attack Nuremburg and Ludwigshafen.

• 2 Hudsons fly Resistance operations without a loss.

• 514 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to bomb Nuremberg. Nuremberg, the scene of so many disappointments for Bomber Command, finally succumbs to this attack. The Pathfinders produce good ground-marking in conditions of clear visibility and with the help of a rising full moon. The center of the city, particularly the eastern half, is destroyed. The castle, the Rathaus, almost all the churches and about 2,000 preserved medieval houses go up in flames. The area of destruction also extends into the more modern northeastern and southern city areas. The industrial area in the south, containing the important MAN and Siemens factories, and the railway areas are also severely damaged. 415 separate industrial buildings are destroyed. It is a near-perfect example of area bombing.
• 4 Lancasters are lost and 2 crash in France.
• 389 aircraft including 351 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups attack Ludwigshafen. The aiming point for this raid is the area of the two I. G. Farben chemical factories. The bombing is accurate, with severe damage to the main I. G. Farben factory and to the same firm's factory at nearby Oppau. Estimated totals of 500 high-explosive bombs and 10,000 incendiaries fall inside the limits of the 2 factories, causing much damage. 10 large, 30 medium and 200 small fires are recorded at the main factory. Production failure at both plants is complete because of 'loss of power'. 13 other industrial firms and several railway installations are also hit. The train of a railway repair unit is destroyed.
• 1 Halifax which crashes in France is the only loss.

• 53 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 9 to Castrop-Rauxel and 7 to Hanau, and there are 41 Mosquito patrols and 49 RCM sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost, 1 each from the Berlin raid and the Castrop-Rauxel raid.

• 283 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling ard and five communications centers in western Germany.
• 282 2nd Air Division B-24s attack five rail bridges.
• 240 3rd Air Division B-17s attack marshalling yards, rail bridges, and rail junctions.

• 128 3rd Air Division B-17s attack German Army tank concentrations.
• 23 heavy bombers attack targets of opportunity.
• 4 heavy bombers and 3 of 492 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.
• 8th and 0th Air Force fighter pilots down 14 Luftwaffe fighters over Germany between 0910 and 1615 hours.

• 135 9th Air Division bombers attack communications targets and rail bridges in Germany and Belgium.

• XXII TAC P-47s attack rail lines and road and rail targets in the Po River valley and Brenner Pass as well as a marshalling yard at Milan.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack the Ghedi Airdrome, vehicles and pontoon bridges in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Marianas

• 6th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crews down a G4M 'Betty' bomber and a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber near Tinian at 0450 and 0600, respectively.
• A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane near Tinian at 1255 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Mabalacat airfield on Luzon.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack airfields in the Batangas area.
• A-20s and V Fighter Command P-38s attack the harbor at San Fernando, Luzon.
• B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack various targets in the central Philippines.
• 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron F-6s down 2 Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance planes near Tagudin at unspecified times.
• During the night, Japanese aircraft attack the Mindoro airfields, where they destroy or severely damage 17 8th Fighter Group P-38s and 7 417th Light Bomb Group A-20s on the ground.

Allied Command

Adm Sir Bertram Ramsay, Naval Commander in Chief of Allied forces in Europe, is killed in an air accident while on his way to meet Montgomery.

CBI

In the NCAC area, the US 475th Infantry begins crossing the Shweli over a makeshift bridge put in by the 138th Regiment, Chinese 50th Division, which crossed in late December.

Eastern Front

There are German counterattacks northwest of Budapest which aim to relieve the siege of the city. The main forces involved in this offensive are 2 SS Panzer Divs which have been withdrawn from the reserve in the more important Warsaw sector without the consent or knowledge of Guderian, the Army Chief of Staff.

The IV SS Panzer Corps counterattacks from Komarno, pushing back the surprised 4th Guards Army. In bitter fighting the SS throws the Soviets back 20 miles. At Bicske the 4th Guards try to halt the German drive before it reaches Budapest. Bloody fighting rages through the day. There is also heavy fighting inside Budapest as the German and Hungarian forces counterattack.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 10th Air Force B-25s and 12 10th Air Force P-47s attack the airfield at Aungban.
• Fighter-bombers attack troops, ammunition dumps, and supplies at more than 7 locations.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack the Man Pong, Namtao, and Wanling areas.

• 10 530th Fighter Squadron P-51s destroy 8 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters and 5 twin-engine aircraft on the ground at the Sinsiang airfield, but are unable to down any enemy fighters in a melee over the base.
• One battle-damaged P-51 is abandoned on the return flight.
• 6 14th Air Force P-51s attack river steamers between Hankow and Chiuchiang. 6 P-51s attack bridges at Chinchenchiang.
• Fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in the Hankow, Wuchang, and Shwangliu areas.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter in a morning engagement near Hankow.
• A 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-40 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near the airfield at Siokan during the late morning.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack supplies on Celebes.
• B-25s attack the Namlea airfield on Boeroe.
• Fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in the region.

Air Operations, Europe

• 99 Lancasters of No. 3 Group make G-H attacks through cloud on the Benzol plants at Dortmund and Castrop-Rauxel. The Bombing appears to be accurate at both targets. 1 Lancaster is lost on the Dortmund raid.

• 3 Oboe Mosquitos each to the railway yards at Ludwigshafen and Neuss.
• There are no losses.

• 98 1st Air Division B-17s attack the German-hel communications center at St.-Vith.

• 145 1st Air Division B-17s attack two marshalling yards and two rail junctins.
• 129 1st Air Division B-17s attack the city of Cologne (secondary).
• 311 2nd Air Division B-24s attack five marshalling yards and a railhead.
• 377 3rd Air Division B-17s attack four marshalling yards and two communications centers.
• No heavy bombers are lost, but 4 of 571 VIII Figher Command escorts are lost.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges at four locations.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack numerous rail targets.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack a bridge and supply dump near Mestre and vehicles throughout northern Italy.

Air Operations, Japan

57 of 97 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack port facilities and city areas at Nagoya with incendiary bombs. 21 B-29s attack alternate targets. 5 B-29s are lost in action or to operational failures.

Air Operations, Philippines

• In a bold dawn attack, a lone Japanese fighter strafes the Tacloban airfield on Leyte from extremely low altitude and destroys 9 TBMs and 9 PVs on the ground.
• 4 58th Fighter Group P-47s mount a dawn sweep against one of the Clark Field runways on Luzon. Several aircraft are destroyed on the ground, but anti-aircraft fire downs 2 of the P-47s. One of the downed pilots is killed.
• 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Clark Field, Luzon.
• FEAF B-24s attack 2 airfields on Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack 5 airfields in the central Philippines.
• Fighter-bombers undertake numerous missions throughout the Philippines.
• A VMF(N)-541 F6F downs 2 A6M Zeros near Negros between 0715 and 0720 hours.
• A 58th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Clark Field at 0915 hours.
• 58th Fighter Group P-47s down 3 A6M Zeros near Clark Field between 1515 and 1600 hours.
• A 348th Fighter Group P-47 downs an A6M Zero near Negros at 1630 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 22 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 6 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

CBI

In the ALFSEA area, there are British landings at the northwest tip of Akyab Island in the Arakan area. A Commando and an Indian brigade from the XV Corps are involved, but there is little resistance from the Japanese. The area is defended by the 53rd Division of the Japanese 28th Army. Inland the British 2nd Division, XXXIII Corps, take Yeu in their advance to the Irrawaddy.

On the Salween front, the Chinese 9th Division, 2nd Army, breaks into Wanting, at the Sino-Burmese border, but is driven out in a night counterattack.

Canada, Home Front

The first Canadian draftees to be sent abroad sail for Europe from Halifax. Except for service in Kiska, conscripts have not been sent abroad. Of the 60,000 men in this category, many seem intent on not going into combat areas. Prior to the first overseas departure, 7,800 had gone absent without leave and 6,300 are still absent at sailing time. As some boarded the ship, they drop their rifles into the water from the gangplank. Most of the resistance comes from French Canadians but Canadians of central European origin are also among the objectors. In all, 13,000 draftees eventually do go to Europe.

China

On the Salween front, the 9th Division of the Chinese 2nd Army succeeds in getting into Wanting, on the frontier between China and Burma, but is driven out again in a night counter-attack by the Japanese.

Diplomatic Relations

Turkey breaks off diplomatic relations with Japan.

Air Operations, CBI

• 13 10th Air Force B-25s attack the airfield at Namsang.
• 36 10th Air Force P-47s and P-38s attack troops and supplies at 5 locations.
• 12 P-47s attack bridges at 2 locations.
• 6 P-47s attack troops near Twinnge.
• 6 P-47s attack bridging supplies at Na-lang.
• 5 P-47s attack warehouses and motor vehicles at Mogok.
• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge and several buildings at Kentung.
• 21 14th Air Force P-51s attack targets of opportunity in the Wanling area.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Fort Bayard and Samah Bay, Hainan.
• 20 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in the Hankow, Lohochai, and Sinyang areas.
• 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-40s down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near the airfield at Laohokow at about 0700 hours.

• 8 P-51s attack a bridge at Huizan.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-25s and P-38s attack targets on Celebes, and B-25s attack shipyards in northern Borneo.
• Following a sweep by Royal Navy Hellcats and Corsairs, 32 RN Avenger light bombers and 12 rocket-carrying Firefly fighter-bombers dispatched from 3 British Pacific Fleet carriers attack the Pangkalan Bradan refinery on Sumatra. The refinery is severely damaged and 7 Japanese fighters are downed at a cost of 2 airplanes lost in operational accidents. Following the attack, the Royal Navy task force retires to Ceylon.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Hudson flies a Resistance operation.

• 347 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Royan. This is a tragic raid with a strange and disputed background. Royan was a town situated at the mouth of the Gironde River in which a stubborn German garrison is still holding out, preventing the Allies from using the port of Bordeaux. The task of besieging the town had been given to 12,000 men of the French Resistance commanded by Free French officers appointed by General de Gaulle. The commander of the German garrison recognizes the Resistance units as regular forces and the normal rules of warfare are observed. The French, lacking artillery, make little progress with their siege. The German commander gives the inhabitants of the town the opportunity to leave but many prefer to stay in order to look after their homes. It is believed that there are 2,000 civilians at the time of the raid.
• On 10 December 1944, a meeting took place at the town of Cognac between French officers and an American officer from one of the tactical air force units in France. After a meal, at which much alcohol is supposed to have been consumed, the American officer suggested that the German garrison at Royan should be 'softened up' by bombing. He was assured by the French that the only civilians remaining in the town were collaborators which was not correct. The suggestion that the town be bombed was passed to SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force), which decided that the task should be given to Bomber Command: 'To destroy town strongly defended by enemy and occupied by German troops only.' It is said that SHAEF ordered a last-minute cancellation because of doubts about the presence of French civilians but the order, if issued, was not received by Bomber Command in time.
• The attack is carried out by 2 waves of bombers, in good visibility conditions, in the early hours of January 5. 1,576 tons of high-explosive bombs, including 285 'blockbuster' (4,OOOlb bombs), are dropped. Local reports show that between 85 and 90 per cent of the small town is destroyed. The number of French civilians killed is given as '500 to 700' and as '800' by different sources. Many of the casualties happen in the second part of the raid, which takes place an hour after the first and catches many people out in the open trying to rescue the victims of the first wave of the bombing trapped in their homes. The number of Germans killed is given as 35 to 50. A local truce is arranged and, for the next 10 days, there is no fighting while the search for survivors in wrecked houses continued.
• 4 Lancasters are lost and 2 more collide behind Allied lines in France and crash.

• There are many recriminations. Bomber Command is immediately exonerated. The American air-force officer who passed on the original suggestion to SHAEF is removed from his command. The bitterest disputes take place among the Free French officers and accusations and counter-accusations continue for many years after the war. A French general committed suicide. De Gaulle, in his Memoires, blamed the Americans: 'American bombers, on their own initiative, came during the night and dropped a mass of bombs.' The German garrison does not surrender until April 18.

• 66 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 7 to Neuss, and there are 2 Halifax RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.
• Some of the Light Night Striking Force (No. 8 Group) Mosquitos which attack Berlin on this night fly 2 sorties each. These Mosquitos take off in the early evening, bomb Berlin, return and change crews, and then fly to Berlin again. This method of augmenting the Mosquito campaign against Berlin is used several times during the long nights of midwinter.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack two bridges.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack communications targets in the Po River vally and an ammo dump.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity around Modena.

• More than 370 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack rail sidings and marshalling yards at seven locations.

• 9 15th Air Force B-24s drop supplies to Yugoslav partisans.

Air Operations, Formosa

Despite bad weather, US Navy and Marine Corps carrier-based aircraft continue to strike at Japanese airfields on Formosa. US Navy F6Fs down 2 A6M Zeros over the island at 0920 hours and a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber at sea at 1030 hours.

In the face of deteriorating weather, Task Force 38 retires from the Formosa area during the afternoon. A total of 22 carrier aircraft have been lost from all causes during the two-day operation.

Air Operations, Pacific

The Americans bomb Clark Field, Manila.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Japanese land-based aircraft, including many kamikaze aircraft, attack two elements of the US 7th Fleet�s 800-ship Luzon invasion force, which is advancing through Lingayen Gulf. At about 1715 hours, the escort carrier USS Ommaney Bay is mortally damaged in the Sulu Sea by a P1Y 'Galaxy' suicide bomber and must be abandoned and scuttled by torpedoes. 93 crewmen are killed and 65 are wounded. Also, a US cruiser and 2 destroyers are severely damaged by kamikazes.
• At 1730 hours, a kamikaze vaporizes an ammunition ship and its 71-man crew off Mindoro. The bombs aboard the ship were to have made good the losses aboard another ammunition ship that was sunk by Japanese aircraft on December 28. This is the last Japanese air attack against targets in the Mindoro area�because better targets are now available off Luzon.
• A single Japanese bomber attacks VPB-137 on the ground at Tacloban airfield on Leyte and destroys 11 of the squadron�s 12 PVs.
• 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Clark Field, Luzon.
• FEAF B-24s attack Puerto Princesa on Palawan and mount small attacks against airfields in southern Luzon, Mindanao, and the central Philipines.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack rail and highway targets near San Pedro.
• 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Porac and Floridanblanca airfields on Luzon.
• 15 110th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-40s partially block Balete Pass on Luzon with landslides started with 500-pound bombs.
• A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane near Ilin Island at 0330 hours and another 'Jake' near the San Jose airfield on Panay at 0412 hours.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• Employing VII Bomber Command B-24s as spotter aircraft, US Navy carrier aircraft and surface warships attack Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Iwo Jima.
• A total of 22 VII Bomber Command B-24s mount separate morning and afternoon attacks against Iwo Jima.
• 7 318th Fighter Group P-38s, guided by 2 VII Bomber Command B-24s, mount a separate strafing attack against Iwo Jima.
• US Navy PB4Ys photograph defenses on Iwo Jima.
• 2 318th Fighter Group P-38s down an A6M Zero near Iwo Jima at 0800 hours.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 10th Air Force B-25s attack airfields at Aungban, Kunla, Laihka, and Mong Long.
• More than 70 10th Air Force P-47s attack troops, tanks, motor vehicles, and stores at 7 locations.
• 2 P-47s provide support for Allied ground troops near Namhkam.
• 5 14th Air Force B-25s attack 2 locations in Burma.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity at 2 locations and fortified hills along the Salween River.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack selected buildings in Kengtung.
• 29 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack airfields at Hankow and Wuchang.
• 23 P-51s and P-40s attack an airfield and other targets at Samah Bay, Hainan.
• P-38s and P-40s attack various targets of opportunity.
• 311th Fighter Group P-51s down 6 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near the airfield at Sinsiang at 1105 hours.
• 51st Fighter Group P-51s down 1 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter and 1 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter.
• 3rd CACW Fighter Group P-40s and P-51s down 5 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters and 2 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters over the Hankow airfield at 1400 hours.
• 449th Fighter Squadron P-38s and 51st Fighter Group P-51s down 6 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters and 5 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters over Samah Bay, Hainan, between 1450 and 1530 hours.

• 5 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Dara.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack the Miti airfield on Halmahera and targets in northeastern Celebes.
• B-25s attack Celebes.
• Various FEAF aircraft attack various targets throughout the region.

Air Operations, Europe

• The 8th Air Force sends 1,000 planes with 500 escorts to bomb and strafe rail targets across western Germany.
• The Luftwaffe launches Operation BODENPLATTE in support of the Ardennes offensive with 1,035 fighters and bombers attacking Allied airfields in Belgium and southern Holland. The Germans destroy 156 Allied aircraft but lose 277 of their own, losses the Luftwaffe cannot make good. It is the last major German air attack.

• 160 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack the railway yards at Ludwigshafen.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 1 Hudson flies a Resistance operation.

• 664 aircraft including 340 Halifaxes, 310 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Hannover. This is the first large raid on Hannover since October 1943.
• 23 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters are lost.
• 131 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack Houffalize, a bottleneck in the German supply system in the Ardennes. The target is bombed with great accuracy.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 66 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 8 to Neuss and 6 to Castrop-Rauxel, and there are 55 Mosquito patrols,and 58 RCM sorties.
• 4 Mosquitos are lost, 2 from the Berlin raid and 2 from No. 100 Group operations.

• 893 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack several airfields and numerous rail and other communications targets throughout western Germany.
• 1 B-17 and 1 of 537 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 9th Air Division bombers attack three communications centers.
• 9th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack road traffic and other communications targets.

• 9th Air Division bombers attack rail bridges at three locations.
• 9th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack airfields, road traffic, and other communications targets.

• 9th Air Division bombers attack the communications center at Massen.

• 15th Air Force B-24s are recalled while on their way to attack Zagreb, but 33 15th Air Force P-38s bomb a rail bridge.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Kamikaze aircraft continue to attack advance elements of the US 7th Fleet Luzon invasion force, but nearly all the estimated 30 attackers are downed by US Navy aircraft based aboard escort carriers. Fighters based on Mindoro are held down by bad weather over their airfields.
• Between 1557 and 1840 hours, a US cruiser, an Australian cruiser, a US destroyer, a US destroyer-escort, and a large landing craft are damaged in a piecemeal attack by 16 kamikazes based at the Mabalacat airfield on Luzon. The escort carrier US Manila Bay is also damaged in this kamikaze attack, with losses of 22 killed and 56 injured.
• V Bomber Command B-25s mount heavy attacks against Japanese Army defenses in the Lingayan Gulf area.
• A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous airfields and other targets throughout the Philippines.
• Task Unit 77.4.1 TBMs and FMs sink 1 Japanese destroyer and severely damage another in an afternoon attack near Luzon.
• Escort-carrier FMs and F6Fs down 8 fighters and a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber during several morning engagements over the Sulu Sea and Luzon.
• FMs down 20 fighters over Luzon and a D3A 'Val' dive bomber and a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber at sea during the afternoon.
• A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomer at sea at 1900 hours.
• During the afternoon, a VC-21 FM helps sink a Japanese Navy midget submarine in the midst of a US transport force passing Negros on its way to Lingayan Gulf, Luzon.
• 16 TBMs and 19 FMs from Task Group 77.4 sink a Japanese destroyer-escort as it attempts to flee from Luzon to Formosa, but a second destroyer escapes.

CBI

Shwebo is taken by the British 2nd Division of Gen Montagu Stopford's XXXIII Corps, as the advance of the corps to the Irrawaddy continues.

In the NCAC area, elements of the 90th Regiment, Chinese 30th Division, begin crossing the Shweli.

Air Transport Command completes Operation GRUBWORM, which over the past 30 days has airlifted over 25,000 Chinese soldiers, 396 American soldiers, 1,596 animals, 42 jeeps, 48 howitzers, 48 heavy mortars, and 48 antitank guns to Chanyi, Kunming, Luliang, and Yunnani in China. Only 3 aircraft have been lost in this operation.

Air Operations, CBI

• 40 14th Air Force P-40s, P-47s, and P-51s attack targets in the Hankow and Wuchang areas.
• 13 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s unable to reach their target in Japan attack Nanking.
• 6 B-29s attack various targets of opportunity.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter during the early afternoon.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack targets in the Cap St. Jacques area.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF aircraft attack various targets throughout the region.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Hudson flies a Resistance operation.

• 482 aircraft of Nos. 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Hanau. In the aircraft total are 314 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters and, 14 Mosquitos. The attack is aimed at that part of Hanau in which an important junction in the German railway system is situated. The local report says that many bombs fell in this area but also states that a large proportion of the bombing was scattered in the south, into the center of Hanau, and to the north, into an area of countryside and villages.
• 4 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 147 Lancasters of Nos. 1 and 3 Groups are sent to Neuss. As in Hanau, some of the bombing falls into the railway area but most is scattered over surrounding districts. 1,749 houses, 19 industrial premises and 20 public buildings are destroyed or seriously damaged.
• 1 Lancaster crashes in Belgium.

• 20 Mosquitos are sent to Kassel on a 'spoof' raid and 6 to Castrop-Rauxel, 49 Lancasters lay mines off the Baltic ports, and there are 32 Mosquito patrols and 52 RCM sorties.
• 2 RCM Halifaxes and 2 mine-laying Lancasters are lost.

• 778 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack rail and other communications targets in western Germany.
• 1 8th Air Force fighter-bomber group attack a marshalling yard.

• 26 9th Air Division bombers attack Prum.

• XXII TAC P-47s attack rail lines and bridges between Genoa and La Spezia and ships in the harbors at Imperia and Genoa.

Air Operations, Japan

• 28 of 49 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Chengtu, China, attack an aircraft factory and city areas at Omura with 91 tons of bombs. 1 B-29 is lost. This mission turns out to be the last over Japan by the XX Bomber Command.
• 2 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Suribachi in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Despite continuous coverage by FEAF land-based aircraft and Task Force 38 and Task Group 77.4 carrier aircraft, Japanese aircraft, including many kamikazes, mount powerful attacks through the day as US minesweepers and hydrographic vessels arrive in Lingayen Gulf. 16 US Navy surface ships, including the battleship USS New Mexico, and one Australian heavy cruiser are struck by kamikazes during the day. Overall US losses are 167 killed and 507 wounded, and Australian losses are 14 killed and 26 wounded. 1 damaged US destroyer later sinks.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 15 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Allied Planning

Churchill asks Stalin if the Soviet forces can go over to the offensive in Poland to take some of the pressure off the Allied armies in the Bulge. Stalin says that he will arrange for the Red Army plans for its next offensive to be brought forward.

CBI

In the NCAC area, heavy rains begin as the US 475th Infantry goes into bivouac in the Mong Wi area and the US 124 Cavalry makes its way toward Mong Wi. The Chinese 38th Division gains the distinction of being the first CAI unit to return to Chinese soil. The 112th Regiment reaches Loiwing, from which it patrols across the Shweli to Namhkam.

Eastern Front

The counteroffensive launched by the Germans to open a gap in the Russian forces surrounding the troops cut off in Budapest does not achieve that object, but does lead to the recapture of Esztergom, an important position northwest of the capital.

The 6th Guards Tank Army and 7th Guards Army launch a major attack along the Hron and gain a bridgehead. A German counterattack recaptures Esztergom on the south bank of the Danube. In the Pest bridgehead the 22nd SS Cavalry Division abandons Soroksar. Soviet forces are able to bring the Racecourse airfield under intense artillery fire and puts it out of action.

Churchill inquires if Stalin can bring forward his forthcoming offensive in Poland to draw some of the pressure off the Allied forces in the Ardennes. Stalin orders the Vistula-Oder operation be brought forward from the 20th to the 12th of January.

Indian Ocean

The 6 remaining U-boats begin returning home.

Air Operations, CBI

• All 10th Air Force combat aircraft are grounded by bad weather.

• 5 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Fort Bayard and shipping in Samah Bay, Hainan.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-25s and fighter-bombers attack targets on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 645 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to hit Munich. Bomber Command claims a successful area raid, with the central and some industrial areas being severely damaged. This is the last major raid on Munich.
• 11 Lancasters are lost and 4 more crash in France.

• 54 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover, 18 to Nuremberg and 12 to Hanau, and there are 45 Mosquito patrols and 38 RCM sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost, 1 from the Hannover raid and 1 from a Group 100 operation.
• The last Bomber Command Wellington operation is flown on this night by Flying Officer B.H. Stevens and his crew of No. 192 Squadron. The Wellington is on an RCM flight over the North Sea 'to investigate enemy beam signals connected with the launching of flying bombs and believed to emanate from marker buoys'. Bad weather over the North Sea causes the flight to be curtailed but the Wellington lands safely, the last of more than 47,000 sorties carried out by this type of aircraft in Bomber Command.

• 985 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards, bridges, and other communications targets in western Germany.
• 3 heavy bombers and 1 of 586 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• XXII TAC P-47s attack rail bridges throughout northern Italy and ships in the harbors at San Remo and Savona.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Despite very bad weather over Task Force 38, carrier aircraft cover principal Japanese airfields in the southern half of Luzon until 2100 hours with their Big Blue Blanket tactic. Also, Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs continue to attack pre-invasion targets in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Grace Park Field on Luzon.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Nielson and Nichols airfields on Luzon.
• FEAF B-24s attack Daliao and Padada airfields on Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-38s attack numerous airfields on Luzon.
• 40 B-25s and 7 Marine Air Group 12 F4Us attack bridges at Calumpit and Plaridel, Luzon.
• 5th Air Force aircraft attack numerous other targets throughout the central and southern Philippines.
• The day�s attack against Clark Field, Luzon is the largest coordinated strike ever made by 5th Air Force light and medium bombers: Beginning at 1025 hours, 40 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 20 312th Light Bomb Group A-20s sweep the anti-aircraft defenses with cannon and machine-gun fire while flying virtually in line-abreast formation; then 60 312th and 417th Light Bomb group A-20s sow 7,836 23-pound parachute-fragmentation bombs across the base from very low altitude. By the time a succeeding wave of V Fighter Command P-38s arrives to sweep the base once again, there are no worthwhile targets. The cost for destroying an estimated 60 Japanese aircraft on the ground is 1 B-25 and 4 A-20s lost.

• Just after dawn, Japanese aircraft attack US minesweepers in Lingayen Gulf, and 1 minesweeper is sunk by an aerial torpedo. A second minesweeper is sunk with aerial bombs during an evening attack. Also, an LST in the Lingayan transport force is lightly damaged by a kamikaze at dusk.

• USN F6Fs and FMs down 6 fighters and a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber in several engagements between 0718 and 1700 hours and a 58th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-21 'Sally' medium bomber near Tubile Point at 0845 hours.
• Observers note that Japanese aircraft, which have been quite active over Mindoro for several weeks, are conspicuously absent. During the day, aviation gasoline finally reaches the Mindoro airfields to make good the heavy fuel losses of December 24.
• By the close of operations, Task Force 38 aircraft are credited with the destruction of 207 Japanese aircraft on the ground in two days of interdiction strikes against air bases in southern Luzon and as far south as Negros. This action virtually eliminates the kamikaze threat in the Philippines. However, 10 Task Force 38 aircraft have been lost in action and 18 in operational accidents.
  
• 10 SB-24s, specially equipped with H2X radar-guided high-altitude bombsights arrive at the Tacloban airfield on Leyte, where they are attached to the 43rd Heavy Bomb Group�s 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 11 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Allied Command

Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, commander of the 21st Army Group, gives a press conference and implies that he has made most of the major decisions that led to the Germans being halted before the Meuse River. This infuriates nearly all the American leadership and creates a rift between the Americans and British that will never be fully reconciled. Gen Eisenhower will later write, 'I doubt Montgomery ever came to realize how deeply resentful some American commanders were.'

Allied Planning

Stalin informs Churchill that, although bad weather is forecast, which will deprive the Red Army of air cover, preparations for a great offensive are to be completed 'at a forced pace . . . disregarding the weather' in the interests of 'our allies on the Western Front'.

Baltic Sea

The German Navy begins regular convoy operations between the Gulf of Danzig in the western Baltic and the trapped Army Group Courland in Latvia. 8 divisions will be evacuated by late March.

Battle of the Atlantic

While on patrol in the North Atlantic, U-650 is detected by Allied vessels and sunk by Hedgehog off the coast of Cornwall.

U-650

Air Operations, CBI

• 21 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Mong Long and Nampeng.
• 74 10th Air Force P-38s and P-47s attack troops and supplies at 4 locations.
• 12 P-47s attack a bypass bridge at Namhkai.
• 8 14th Air Force P-51s attack targets of opportunity in the Muse and Wanling areas.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack Manggar and Sepinggang airfields on Borneo.
• A XIII Fighter Command P-38 downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter over the Manggar airfield on Borneo at 1130 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

Frankfurt is attacked by 1,000 US bombers.

• 604 8th Air Force heavy bomers attack marshalling yards, briges, and other communications targets in western Germany.
• 2 heavy bombers are lost.

• Of 3 12th Air Force medium-bomber missions dispatched, only 6 B-25s are able to drop their bombs; the rest abort or are recalled due to bad weather.
• Fewer than 20 XXII TAC P-47 sorties are effective.

• More than 300 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack the main railroad station and a marshalling yard at Linz and marshalling yards at Graz, Klagenfurt, Salzburg, and Villach.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Task Force 38 carrier aircraft continue to attack Japanese airfields on Luzon.
• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs continue to attack pre-invasion targets in the Lingayen Gulf area.

• FEAF B-24s attack the Likanan airfield on Mindanao and fuel stores at Matina.
• B-24s and V Bomber Command A-20s attack Nichols, Nielson, Calingatan and Lipa airfields on Luzon.
• B-25s and P-47s attack the Fabrica airfield on Negros.

• A-20s attack rail facilities at 3 locations, several motor convoys, and bridges at 3 locations.
• 32 Marine Air Group 12 F4Us attack bridges at Calumpit and Plaridel.
• P-47s attack motor convoys and rail facilities around San Jose, Panay; and many V Fighter Command P-38s and P-51s strafe airfields throughout the Lingayen Gulf area.
• Shortly after dawn a kamikaze evades the US 7th Fleet combat air patrol and strikes the escort carrier USS Kadashan Bay, which is severely damaged and forced to retire to Leyte Gulf and thence to the United States. A US Coast Guard transport is damaged in the same attack. At sunset, the escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay is severely damaged by a kamikaze.
• Thanks to the effectiveness of intense attacks by USAAF land-based aircraft and US carrier aircraft, Japanese Army and Navy air commands on Luzon cease operations. The Japanese Navy air commander is evacuated from Luzon and the commanding general of the Japan�s 4th Air Army abandons his command and literally heads for the hills.
• A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 downs 2 twin-engine bombers between 0530 and 0545 hours.
• US Navy FMs down 10 Japanese fighters and a Ki-21 'Sally' medium bomber over the Luzon area between 0715 and 0800 hours, and 1 Ki-45 'Nick' fighter, 1 Ki-48 'Lily' bomber, and 5 D3A 'Val' dive bombers in the vicinity of the Luzon invasion convoy between 0908 and 1830 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 26 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

CBI

In the NCAC area, the US 475th Infantry at Mong Wi is ordered to move forward for action.

The Chinese Training and Combat Command is split. The Chinese Training Center is to operate a command and general staff school and service schools. Chinese Combat Command is to control operations of ALPHA Force and provide liaison sections for each of he major Chinese commands under Gen Ho.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 90 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, tanks, anti-aircraft batteries, and supplies at 6 locations.
• 8 P-47s attack a Japanese Army divisional headquarters.
• 4 P-47s support Allied ground troops.
• 25 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack targets of opportunity in the Wanling area.
• 3 P-40s attack road traffic near Muse.

• 8 311th Fighter Group P-51s attack railroad repair shops at Sinsiang. Also, 6 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s unable to reach their targets in Formosa attack targets of last resort on the China coast.

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail targets, road bridges, and buildings in the Thanh Moi area.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount numerous small attacks against various targets on Timor, Borneo, and in the Molucca Islands.
• A 419th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber near over the Molucca Islands at 0250 hours.

Air Operations, Europe

• 15 9th Air Division B-26s attack a rail bridge, but all other 9th Air Force operations are canceled because of bad weather.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack bridges and an assembly area at four locations.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack numeros commnications and tactical targets throughout northern Italy.

Air Operations, Formosa

• Beginning at 0530 hours, from a position 100 miles west of Formosa, Task Force 38 begins launching strikes against Japanese airfields on the island. Extremely bad weather hampers the day�s missions, especially during the morning, and only a few worthwhile targets are found in the course of 717 effective sorties, although 2 Japanese destroyer escorts, a patrol boat, and 5 freighters are sunk and 10 other freighters are damaged. Japanese opposition in the air is negligible.
• In all, 10 US aircraft are lost with 5 pilots and 8 aircrewmen.
• 39 of 46 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Chengtu attack port facilities at Kiirun with 293 tons of bombs.
• Late in the day, Task Force 38 retires through the Luzon Strait in the direction of the South China Sea.

Air Operations, Japan

• 72 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s are dispatched from the Marianas to attack an aircraft plant near Tokyo, but the formation is broken up by high winds. Only 18 B-29s attack the primary target, and 34 attack alternates and targets of opportunity.
• 6 B-29s are lost.
• 4 28th Composite Bomb Group SB-24s making their first use of H2X radar (used extensively in Europe) attack the airfield at Suribachi Bay in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Pacific

The air attacks on Iwo Jima continue, and a raid is also carried out against the Musashino aircraft factory in Tokyo.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Beginning at 0930 hours, following a powerful final air and naval preparatory bombardment, the bulk of 2 corps of the US 6th Army land at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Throughout the day, Task Group 77.4 provides an on-call special strike group composed of 9 TBMs and 16 FMs, and an on-call ground-support group composed of 12 TBMs and 8 FMs controlled by air coordinators operating with the ground forces. In addition, TBMs and FMs mount a number of planned strikes against shore targets, as well as attacks against road targets, including Japanese Army tanks.

• FEAF B-24s attack Nichols and Nielson airfields on Luzon and Mabalacat.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack airfields, bridges, barges, trains, and motor vehicles throughout Luzon.
• Numerous small attacks are mounted against Mindanao.
• During the morning, 8 V Bomber Command B-25s attack the last remaining bridge at Calumpit, Luzon, but the vital span is not destroyed until it is attacked by 31 Marine Air Group 12 F4Us and 8 V Fighter Command P-38s during the afternoon.
• VC-81 FMs down 1 J1N 'Irving' fighter and 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters in the Lingayen Gulf area between 0720 and 0750 hours.
• A VF-3 F6F downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near the invasion convoy at 1415 hours.
• VC-81 FMs 2 A6M Zeros and 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over Luzon between 1730 and 1745 hours.
• A 547th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 downs an A6M Zero at 1903 hours.
• In kamikaze action, a US destroyer is clipped by 1 airplane and a US light cruiser is hit for the third time in several days. Though damage to the cruiser is moderately heavy and 24 of her crew are killed and 68 are wounded, she continues to provide support for the landing force. Another of the day�s kamikaze victims is the oft-hit HMAS Australia (5 times in 5 days), which finally retires for repairs. The battleship USS Mississippi is also struck by a kamikaze at a cost of 23 killed and 63 wounded.
• The USS Manila Bay, damaged by a kamikaze on January 5, is returned to full operational service with a makeshift air unit following the completion of at-sea repairs.
• In addition to carrier- and land-based aviation units, the invasion has been and will continue to be supported by numerous tender- and land-based aircraft from Task Force 73, the US 7th Fleet Air command.
• Under direct orders from Gen Douglas A. MacArthur, in an effort to spare civilian lives, all Allied aircraft operating over Luzon may attack road traffic only on main thoroughfares, and not on side streets.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 24 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

• Despite bad weather, in a bid to hold down Japanese air and naval reinforcements that might attack the Luzon invasion force, US Naval and Marine Corps carrier aircraft from the main body of Task Force 38 attack numerous targets throughout Formosa and the Ryukyu and Pescadore islands.
• A VF-7 F6F downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane over the Toko seaplane base at 0720 hours.
• Late in the morning, Task Force 38 is released from invasion support to locate and strike 2 Japanese Navy battleship-carriers reportedly in port at Camranh Bay, French Indochina.
• During the week of intense attacks against Japanese airfields on Formosa and Luzon, and the Pescadore, Ryukyu, and Sakashima islands, Task Force 38 has lost 86 carrier aircraft. 40 of the losses were to operational causes, and about half of these were carrier-based Marine Corps aircraft whose pilots are not yet fully acclimated to carrier-based combat operations.

Battle of the Atlantic

• On her first patrol, U-1020 strikes a mine east of Dundee in the North Sea and sinks with all hands.

U-1020

Class	Type VIIC/41
CO	Oberleutnant zur See Otto Eberlein
Location	North Sea, off Dundee
Cause	Mine
Casualties	52
Survivors	None

• The US freighter Jonas Lie, in New York-bound Convoy ON-277, is torpedoed by U-1055 at the entrance to the Bristol Channel. The ship is abandoned and sinks later on January 14.

Air Operations, CBI

• 75 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, tanks, artillery, supplies, and buildings at 10 locations.
• 17 P-47s attack 2 bridges at Bawgyo and 2 at Ho-kho.
• 8 P-47s attack a ferry crossing and supplies at Tamawngtawn.
• 8 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Si-U area.
• More than 50 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity on the Wanling area.
• 6 P-40s attack targets of opportunity around Muse.

• 2 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Cap St. Jacques area.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-25s and P-38s attack the Kendari airfield on Celebes.
• Nearly 60 P-40s attack the Galela area on Halmahera.

Air Operations, Europe

• 50 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover and 3 each to Cologne, Koblenz, Mannheim and Wiesbaden.
• There are no losses.

• 912 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack airfields, marshalling yards, and bridges in western Germany.
• 10 heavy bombers are lost to dense flak concentrations.

• 9th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers are active against bridges and tactical targets in eastern Belgium and western Germany.

• XXII TAC P-47s attack numerous communications targets and dumps and sink a warship at Venice.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Japan

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kurabu Cape airfield in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Despite rough seas, Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs are able to provide adequate support for US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s attack Grace Park Field and warehouses on Luzon.

• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack airfields, communications targets, and shipping throughout the Philippines.

• A-20s and fighter-bombers attack Laoag and Vigan airfields on Luzon and all manner of lines-of-communication targets on Luzon.
• 6 VOC-1 FMs share in the downing of a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over Luzon at 0850 hours.
• An 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51 downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber near the Tuguerarao airfield on Luzon at 0915 hours.
• VC-94 FMs also accidentally down a V Fighter Command P-47.
• 1 of only 3 kamikazes sent against the Lingayan invasion fleet seriously damage a US destroyer escort. At 1915 hours, a kamikaze severely damages a departing US transport, killing 32 and wounding 157.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

A total of 30 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima in two separate formations.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

VF(N)-41 F6Fs down 2 Ki-21 'Sally' medium bombers and a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter at sea near Formosa between 0610 and 0709 hours. A VF-4 F6F downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber at sea at 0932 hours. It is thought that the Ki-21s are evacuating members of the defunct Philippines air operations staff from Luzon.

Baltic Sea

U-679 is sunk by the Russian submarine chaser MO-124 by depth charge in the Baltic sea.

U-679

CBI

In the NCAC area, the 114th Regiment of the Chinese 38th Division, which is to move around the south end of Shweli Valley and cut the Namhkam-Namhpakka trail crosses the Shweli. The US 124th Cavalry, after a delay at the Shweli because of swollen waters, is assembled east of the river.

In the British 14th Army's XXXIII Corps sector, the British 2nd Division and the Indian 19th Division take Swhwebo and the Indian 20th Division captures Budalin after prolonged fighting.

In the British IV Corps sector, troops of the East African 28th Brigade and the Lushai Brigade, with help from a heavy air strike, advance toward Pakkoku, taking Gangaw in the Kabaw Valley.

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

Eastern Front

The 4th SS Panzer Corps counterattack makes good progress through the Pilis Hills toward Budapest.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack stores at Lashio.
• More than 80 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troop concentrations, large-scale troop movements, artillery, and motor vehicles throughout occupied regions of Burma.
• 12 P-47s support Allied ground forces around Namhkam and Si-U.
• 3 P-47s attack motor vehicles between Selan and Namhkam.
• 5 14th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Wan Mai-Lo.
• 12 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity near Wanling.
• 7 fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity near Muse with napalm.

• 11 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity near Wanting and in the eastern Wanting River valley.

• 25 of 47 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Calcutta attack two drydock facilities at Singapore while 15 of the B-29s attack alternates and targets of opportunity.
• 2 B-29s are lost.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-25s and P-38s attack the Kendari airfield on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 152 Lancasters of No. 3 Group carry out a G-H raid on the railway yard in the Uerdingen suburb of Krefeld.
• There are no losses.

• 1 Stirling makes a Resistance operation flight.

• 9th Air Division bombers attack communications centers.
• 9th Air Force fighters attack an ammo dump at Mayen.

• XXII TAC P-47s support US 5th Army ground forces and attack fuel and ammo dumps, an alcohol refinery at Piacenza, and road and rail targets.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 2 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s and 1 attached SB-24 equipped with H2X bombsight radar attack Heito in the first in a series of night-harrassment attacks against Japanese bases on Formosa.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Despite rough seas, Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs are able to provide adequate support for US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount intense attacks against airfields, occupied towns, and communications targets throughout Luzon and in the central Philippines.
• An 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51 downs a Ki-21 'Sally' medium bomber over Balate Pass, Luzon, at 0935 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

23 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

• After passing up an opportunity to attack a 100-ship Japanese convoy off the China coast, Task Force 38 refuels at sea on its way to attack Japanese battleship-carriers at Camranh Bay, French Indochina.
• VF-80 F6Fs down 4 E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance planes over the South China Sea within 25 miles of Task Force 38 at 1615 hours.

Atlantic

• A British squadron inflicts heavy damage on a convoy off southern Norway.
• The US motor minesweeper YMS-14 is sunk in a collision with the destroyer Herndon (DD-638) in the north channel of Boston, Massachsetts, Harbor.

CBI

In the British 14th Army's IV Corps area, the East African 28th Brigade and the Lushai Brigade take Gangaw and advance rapidly toward the Irrawaddy River in the area of Pakokku in readiness for a move on Meiktila.

The British 19th Division comes under heavy counterattack from the Japanese 33rd Army as it attempts to cross the Irrawaddy River at Thabeikkyin and establish a beachhead. Thabeikkyin is only about 60 miles north of Mandalay, and fighting is extremely fierce - Japanese troops make mass assaults with fixed bayonets. But Honda's 33rd Army has fallen into a trap. Gen Slim, predicting the Japanese countermeasures, has swung troops of the British IV Corps southward toward Pakokku to prevent Japanese troops retreating south.

Eastern Front

The III Panzer Corps can go no farther, having been fought to a standstill. At Budapest the Soviets make further gains in Pest.[MORE]

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 70 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, troop movements, motor vehicles, and supplies at 8 locations.
• 16 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces around Si-U and Lawa.
• 6 14th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Wan Mai-Lo.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in the Muse area.

• Night-flying scout bombers and fighters launched at 0330 hours from Task Group 38.5, fail to locate the Japanese battleship-carriers thought to be in Camranh Bay. 850 Task Force 38 aircraft mount a one-day total of 984 attack sorties against Japanese airfields and shipping along the west coast of French Indochina from Tourane to Saigon.
• ;An afternoon strike against shipping around Saigon by more than 500 carrier bombers and fighters is instigated by a report in the morning from French Underground operatives in the city itself. In all during the day, claims are made for the destruction of 44 enemy vessels (including a French Navy cruiser) aggregating nearly 133,000 tons. It is also estimated that 20 Japanese seaplanes are destroyed on the water at Camranh Bay and 77 land-based aircraft are destroyed on the ground, including 50 that arrive from Singapore after dark.
• 23 US Navy and Marine Corps carrier aircraft are lost, 16 to anti-aircraft fire and 7 in operational accidents. Also, a 14th Air Force B-24 is shot down by Marine F4Us after its crew fails to respond to recognition calls and procedures and first opens fire on the unfamiliar F4Us. Most of the downed airmen are rescued.
• VF-3 F6Fs down 1 Ki-49 'Helen' bomber, 2 D3A 'Val' dive bombers, 1 A6M Zero, and 3 Ki-61 'Tony' fighters over Saigon between 0810 and 0840 hours.
• a VF-4 F6F down 1 E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane over Quinon at 0855 hours.
• A VF-3 F6F downs a G3M 'Nell' bomber near Padaran Bay at 1020 hours.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 2 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack Heito.

Air Operations, Europe

• 32 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of Nos. 9 and 617 Squadrons attack U-boat pens and shipping in Bergen harbour. A local report says that 3 Tallboys penetrate the 3�-metre-thick roof of the pens and cause severe damage to workshops, offices and stores inside.
• 3 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron and 1 from No. 9 Squadron are lost. The Germans tell the local people that 11 bombers have been shot down.

• 2 Mosquito fighters of No. 100 Group fly long-range escort for an air-sea rescue operation and 2 Stirlings fly RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 11 Mosquitos are sent to Bochum and 9 to Recklinghausen, both to bomb synthetic benzol plants, and 32 Halifaxes lay mines off Flensburg and Kiel.
• 4 Halifaxes are lost.

• Bad weather grounds most of the US Air Forces, but XXII TAC P-47s attack road and rail targets in the Po River valley.
[ | ]


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Air Operations, Philippines

• Despite rough seas, Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs are able to provide adequate support for US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s attack the San Jose del Monte, Luzon area and the Batangas and Legaspi airfields on Luzon, and the Matina airfield on Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack warehouses at Fabrica, Negros.
• 2 VC-11 FMs down an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane off western Luzon at 0830 hours.
• FMs down 3 fighters over Luzon between 0845 and 1030 hours.
• VC-76 and VC-78 FMs down 1 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter and 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters between 10 and 20 miles from Task Unit 77.4.5 between 1830 and 1834 hours.

• Beginning their attacks at sunrise, kamikazes severely damage a US destroyer escort and a destroyer-transport.
• During the late afternoon, a kamikaze superficially damages a freighter, and in a larger raid at 1830 hours, another kamikaze crashes into a transport and kills 129 aboard her.
• Between January 8 and 12, all but 10 of the surviving Japanese aircraft on Luzon are evacuated to Formosa. Only 47 aircraft and fewer than a hundred pilots are thus saved.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

28 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-382 is sunk at Wilhelmshaven during an RAF raid on that port.

U-382

CBI

In the NCAC area, Col Lewis A. Pick leads the first convoy of 113 vehicles, mostly cargo trucks, jeeps, and amublances out of Ledo and bound for Kunming, China. The convoy has representation from every engineer unit that has worked on the road, as well as 65 members of the press.

In the ALFSEA's XV Corps sector the 3rd Commando Brigade lands after an air and naval bombardment at Myebon on the Arakan coast, establishing a firm bridgehead which the Japanese try unsuccessfully to destroy with vigorous counterattacks.

The Indian 19th Division takes bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy north of Mandalay at Kyaukmyaung and Thabeikkyin. Fierce Japanese attacks in these areas immediately begin.

Eastern Front

A major Soviet offensive begins all along the front from the Baltic to the Carpathians. The principal attacks are by Konstantin Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front with 9 armies immediately north of Warsaw; by Georgi Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front opposite Warsaw and to the south with 7 armies initially; and by Ivan S. Konev's 1st Ukraine Front from the salient west of Sandomierz also with 7 armies in the front line. There are additional efforts by 3rd Belorussian and both Baltic Fronts against the German forces in East Prussia and those cut off in Latvia. The defending German forces are mostly from Army Group Center under Gen Ferdinand Schörner comprising the 2nd Army under Walter Weiss, the 4th under Friedrich Hossbach and the 3rd Panzer Army under Erich Rauss and Army Group A under Gen Josef Harpe comprising 1st Panzer Army under Gotthard Heinrici, the 17th Army under Friedrich Schulz, the 4th Panzer Army under Fritz Graser, the 9th Army under Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz, 30 infantry divisions, 5 tank divisions and 50 autonomous battalions. 7 fortified lines have been prepared between the Vistula and the Oder, that on the Vistula being the most strongly manned. 2nd Army will bear the brunt of Rokossovsky's attack; 9th Army faces Zhukov; and 4th Panzer Army faces Konev.

In total 5.3 million Russians are engaged on the Eastern Front, in 527 infantry divisions, 43 artillery divisions, 302 tank brigades, with 13,500 armored vehicles and self-propelled guns. 1.8 million German troops are engaged in 164 divisions of which 38 are in the Army Group South, 99 in Army Groups A and Center, and 27 in northern Latvia. These German troops are outnumbered by at least 4 or 5 to 1 in all classes of equipment, and despite brave resistance they will have no answer to the Red Army's power.

Operation VISTULA-ODER is started by the 1st Ukraine Front, which advances from the Sondomierz bridgehead toward Breslavia, and the 2nd Belorussian Front, which throws in 9 armies in a surprise attack against the German 2nd Army on the Narew River north of Warsaw.

The first German defensive line on the Vistula is breached by the 1st Ukraine Front within 24 hours.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 20 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, horses, motor vehicles, and buildings at 4 locations.
• 10 fighter-bombers attack the airfield at Aungban.
• 4 P-47s support Allied ground troops.
• 3 14th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Hawng Luk.
• 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 2 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over the Arakan region at 1050 hours.

• 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack stores at Kengtung.
• 31 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity around Wanting.
• 16 P-51s attack targets of opportunity at 3 locations.

Air Operations, Europe

• 158 Lancasters of No. 3 Group hit the railway yards at Saarbr�cken. The bombing appears to be accurate, though with some overshooting.
• 1 Lancaster crashes in France.

• 1 Hudson is on a Resistance operation.

• 274 aircraft including 242 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Saarbrücken. Bomber Command assesses this raid, on the railway yards, as being extremely accurate and effective.
• 1 Halifax crashes in France.
• 218 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the oil plant at Politz, near Stettin. This raid had been planned as a blind-bombing attack but, because the weather conditions are better than forecast, low-level marking is carried out and very accurate bombing follows. Bomber Command, on the basis of photographic reconnaissance, states that the oil plant was 'reduced to a shambles'.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 10 Lancasters lay mines off Swinemünde, and there are 22 Mosquito patrols and 19 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group is lost.

• 909 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack seven bridges spanning the Rhine River and several marshalling yards.
• 8 heavy bombers and 1 of 294 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 9th Air Division bombers attack road and rail bridges at three locations.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack Heito with 500-pound bombs and incendiary clusters.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s attack the Batangas airfield on Luzon, a barracks and stores at Tarlac, and troops at 4 locations on Luzon.
• V Bomber Command A-20s attack the airfields at Calingatan and Lucena, the town area at Batangas, and rail and highway targets.
• V Fighter Command P-47s attack motor vehicles and parked airplanes between Tarlac and Laguna de Bay.
• 5th Air Force aircraft mount numerous small attacks throughout the Philippines.
• In what turn out to be the last effective kamikaze missions against the US 7th Fleet in the Philippines, 1 US Navy transport and an LST departing the Lingayan Gulf area are damaged in separate attacks. And at 0858 hours, the escort carrier USS Salamaua becomes the final victim of kamikaze strikes in the Philippines. She loses one engine along with 15 men killed and 88 wounded, and must depart the area for Leyte.
• A VC-80 FM downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over Luzon at 0800 hours.
• A VOC-1 FM downs a Ki-57 'Topsy' transport plane over Luzon at 1715 hours.
• A VC-90 FM downs a D3A 'Val' dive bomber over Luzon at 1715 hours.
• A 58th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-45 'Nick' near the Balaria airfield on Luzon at 1805 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

14 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

CBI

In the Arakan sector the British XV Corps extends and strengthens the bridgehead at Myebon, with a landing by the Indian 25th Division.

Eastern Front

The 1st Ukraine Front and 2nd Belorussian Front mount heavy and brilliantly executed attacks to continue their advance. The 47th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front surrounds Warsaw.

The Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front (2nd Guards, 5th, 11th Guards, 20th, 31st and 39th Armies) opens its offensive and runs into strong enemy resistance around Kattenau.

The 1st Ukrainian Front's 59th Army is nearing Krakow, although German resistance is stiffening. After defeating a counterattack by the XXIV Panzer Corps at Chmielnik in a bruising battle, the 4th Tank Army continues to advance.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack 3 bridges, troops, and stores between Hay-ti and Nampawng.
• More than 60 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, supplies, and targets of opportunity at 7 locations.
• 26 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces at Mabein and Si-U.

• 27 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 45 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack Hankow.
• 7 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets in and near Kengtung.
• 42 P-47s attack airfields at Hankow and Wuchou.
• 21 P-40s and P-51s attack targets of opportunity around Wanting.
• 8 P-51s attack Yangtze River traffic near Anking.
• 5 P-51s attack buildings and motor vehicles at Shanhsien.
• Nearly 20 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s unable to reach their target in Formosa attack a number of alternate targets and targets of opportunity in mainland China, including Hengyang.
• A 23rd Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter in an engagement near Hukow at 1000 hours.
• 81st Fighter Group P-47s, and 3rd CACW, 23rd, and 51st Fighter group P-51s down 16 Japanese fighters over and near Hankow in ongoing engagements between 1135 and about 1400 hours.

Air Operations, Carolines

• 43 VII Bomber Command B-24s, escorted by 9 318th Fighter Group P-38s, attack airfields in the Truk Atoll.
• 318th Fighter Group P-38s down 3 A6M Zeros over the Truk Atoll at 1100 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-25s attack the Goeroea area.

Air Operations, Europe

The 8th Air Force resumes large-scale strategic operations after a month-long interval, caused by the 'Battle of the Bulge'. 600 B-17s and B-24s attack oil targets in Germany, meeting heavy fighter opposition.

• 134 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack the railway yards at Saarbr�cken in clear visibility and without a loss.

• 573 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 5. 6 and 8 Groups carry out 2 attacks, 3 hours apart, on the synthetic oil plant at Leuna. The attacks cause severe damage throughout the plant. Albert Speer, in his post-war interrogations, stated that this was one of a group of most damaging raids on the synthetic oil industry carried out during this period.
• 10 Lancasters are lost.

• 151 aircraft including 136 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitos and 3 Lancasters of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack the railway yards at Grevenbroich. The raid is successful and there are no losses.
• 100 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitos and 3 Lancasters of Nos. 4 and 8 Groups attempt to bomb a Luftwaffe fuel-storage depot at D�lmen, near M�nster, but most of the bombing falls in open country south and southeast of the target. Only slight damage is caused to the fuel dump.
• 1 Halifax is lost.

• Support and 126 training aircraft make a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 83 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 9 to Mannheim, 21 Halifaxes and 10 Lancasters lay mines off Oslo and in the Kattegat, and there are 54 Mosquito patrols and 58 RCM sorties.
• 1 Lancaster from the diversionary sweep and 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group are lost. 3 Mosquitos from the Berlin raid crash in Belgium and 1 RCM Liberator crashes in Holland. A further 7 aircraft from the sweep and 5 Mosquitos from the Berlin raid crash in England because of bad weather.

• 847 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack oil-industry targets and highway bridges.
• 7 B-17s and 8 of 645 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.
• In the best one-day tally of World War II, USAAF fighter pilots down a record 174 Luftwaffe fighters over Germany and the Netherlands between 1010 and 1610 hours. The 357th Fighter Group's score of 56 victories is the highest tally by a single USAAF unit on a single mission.

• More than 290 9th Air Division bombers attack German Army ground forces in the shrinking Ardennes (Bulge) salient and nearby areas of Germany.

• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack crossing points in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 54 of 82 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Chengtu attacks the airfield at Kagi, and 1 B-29 attacks an arsenal at Heito. Several B-29s also attack the Taichu airfield as an alternate target.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the airfield at Okayama.

Air Operations, Japan

• 40 of 73 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant at Nagoya through a heavy undercast while 23 of the B-29s attack alternates and targets of opportunity.
• 5 B-29s lost.

Air Operations, Marianas

A VMF-225 F4U downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber 40 miles from Guam at noon.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s attack troops at Cabanatuan.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command P-51s attack the Aparri airfield on Luzon.
• A-20s attack parked airplanes at Clark Field, Luzon.
• B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack a broad range of targets on Luzon, including airfields, supplies, motor vehicles, and at least one bridge.
• 3rd Air Commando Group P-51s down a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber and a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane at sea between 1110 and 1120 hours.
• A 58th Fighter Group P-47 downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter over Luzon at 1215 hours.
• 2 VC-88 FMs down a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber near Luzon at 1745 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

12 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Atlantic

6 German MTB flotillas operate in the estuaries of the Scheldt, the Thames and the Humber.

Battle of the Atlantic

The US freighter Martin Van Buren (7176t), in Nova Scotia-bound Convoy BX-141, is torpedoed by U-1232 losing 3 of the 27-man Armed Guard in the explosion. Despite salvage efforts, the ship subsequently drifts ashore and is written off as a total loss.

CBI

In the British 14th Army's XXXIII Corps sector, the Indian 19th Division establishes a bridgehead over the Irrawaddy at Thabeikkyin, arousing a violent response from the Japanese. The Japanese mistake the division for the IV Corps as hoped and, to avert the threat to Mandalay, rush reserves forward thus weakening other sectors. For the next month, the Indian 19th Division withstands repeated and determined counterattacks.

Eastern Front

Berlin announces that the Russians of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front under Ivan Chernyakhovsky have gone on the offensive in the area of Schlossberg (Pillkallen), near the northeast of East Prussia.

In Poland, the 1st Belorussian Front attacks with 7 armies from the area of Magnuszew in the direction of Poznan and from the Pulawy bridgehead over the Vistula in the directoin of Radom and Lodz. The right flank of the Front converges on Warsaw from the south. Meanwhile the 1st Ukraine Front, which went on the offensive on January 12, advances rapidly toward Kielce, an important railway junction. Konev's forces cut the rail line to Krakow south of Kielce. Altogether Zhukov and Konev have a total of 163 divisions with 32,143 guns, 6460 tanks and SP guns and 4,772 aircraft. The Germans are outnumbered 5 to 1 and their 1,100 tanks are virtually immobilized by fuel shorthages.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack troops and supplies at Mong Ngaw.
• 11 10th Air Force fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces advancing along the Irrawaddy River.
• 6 P-47s attack a bridge at Namhkai.
• Small formations of fighter-bombers attack a variety of targets in northern Burma.
• 14th Air Force B-25s and fighter-bombers attack Wan Pa-Hsa.
• 33rd Fighter Group P-38s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters near the airfield at Meiktila during the early afternoon.

• When rough seas oblige the cancellation of powerful planned strikes against Formosa air bases, Task Force 38 aircraft mount search-strike missions to Amoy, Hong, Kong, Swatow, and the Pescadore Islands in search of 2 Japanese battleship-carriers last seen in Camranh Bay. Beginning with the launch of night fighters at 0400 hours and a first-strike launch at 0730 hours, the various groups are able to attack shipping and sweep airfields and ground installations on Formosa and along the China coast from Amoy to within 50 miles of Hong Kong. Some aircraft are diverted by bad weather against targets in the Pescadore Islands and Prates Reef.
• Carrier aircraft sink a Japanese destroyer and a transport in Takao Harbor, Formosa and a destroyer in the Pescadore Islands. Also, 18 Japanese aircraft are destroyed on the ground. Operational accidents and heavy anti-aircraft fire over many of the targets result in the loss of 12 Task Force 38 aircraft.
• VF-11 F6Fs down 4 A6M Zeros and a trainer 50 miles east of Hong Kong at 0930 hours.
• VF-3 and VF-81 F6Fs down an A6M Zero, a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter, and a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter over Canton and the Tienho airfield there between 0940 and 0945 hours.
• A VF-80 F6F downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane at sea at 1040 hours.
• a VF-3 F6F pilot downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plande over Formosa at 1130 hours.
• A VF-11 F6F downs a B6N 'Jill' torpedo bomber 50 miles from Task Group 38.2 at 1340 hours.
• VF-80 F6Fs down 4 A6M Zeros within 25 miles of Task Group 38.3 at 1730 hours.
• 18 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 20 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack Hankow, shipping at Amoy, and targets of opportunity in the Hsiang and Siang-Chiang valleys and between Foochow and Hong Kong. More than 130 fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity, including many coastal targets, throughout southern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-24s attack the Jesselton airfield complex on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

• 82 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack a benzol plant at Recklinghausen. The bombing appear to be excellent.
• There are no losses.
• 63 Lancasters of No. 3 Group carry out a G-H raid through thick cloud on the Robert Muser benzol plant at Bochum. The results of the bombing are unknown.
• There are no losses.

• 1 Hudson is on a Resistance operation.

• 619 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack six marshalling yards and four towns in western Germany.
• 62 VIII Fighter Command P-51 fighter-bombers bomb a marshalling yard.
• 2 of 511 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 16 9th Air Division bombers attack a bridge.

• 12th Air Force B-25s mount nearly 150 effective sorties against six bridges.
• During the night, XII TAC A-20s attack road targets around Genoa and Milan.

• 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards and other rail targets near Vienna.

• 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack a marshalling yard at Treviso.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the Okayama airfield.

Air Operations, Marianas

A 318th Fighter Group P-47 downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane1 near Tinian at 1202 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 5th Air Force aircraft cover an unopposed landing by US 8th Army units in the Camotes Islands. Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area. FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous targets on Luzon and Palawan and throughout the central Philippines.
• The USS Hoggatt Bay is damaged when a 100-pound bomb detonates aboard a VC-88 TBM that has just landed on her flight deck. Among the 10 dead is the VC-88 commanding officer, who was pilot of the TBM.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

12 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Atlantic

The escort carrier Thane is torpedoed by U-482 off the Clyde.

CBI

In the British 14th Army's XXXIII Corps sector, the Indian 19th Division establishes another bridgehead over the Irrawaddy at Kyaukmyaung.

In the NCAC area, the first convoy to inaugurate the new Burma road, starting from Ledo, reaches Myitkyina, where it has to wait until the rest of the route is cleared of the enemy. The Chinese 30th Division takes Namhkam with ease, gaining control of the lower end of Shweli Valley.

Lt-Gen Albert C. Wedemeyer, commander of the China theater, Lt-Gen George E. Stratemeyer, commander of Eastern Air Command, and Lt-Gen Daniel. I. Sultan, commander of the India-Burma theater, meet at Myitkyina. They agree to establish a new headquarters in China to command both the 10th and 14th Air Forces.

In southeast China the Japanese open an offensive to capture the American airfields at Suichuan, southeast of Changsha.

East China Sea

A squadron of fast aircraft carriers under the command of Vice-Adm John S. McCain attacks Japanese airfields and shipping in Formosa and off the Chinese coast from Hong Kong to Amoy. The weather is poor but some success is achieved. Two Japanese destroyers, Hatakaze and Tsuga, and the transport No. 14 are sunk.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Namtoi.
• More than 40 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack various targets of opportunity.
• 22 P-47s attack airfields at Anisakan and Nawnghkio.
• 15 P-47s support Allied ground forces near Shadaw and Yenya-u.

• Beginning with launches at 0732 hours, Task Force 38 carrier aircraft attack airfields and other military targets in the Amoy, Swatow, and Hong Kong areas and around Samah Bay, Hainan. One strike element also attacks neutral Portuguese Macao in error.
• Only 21 Japanese aircraft are located on the ground at the airfields that are attacked, and all are destroyed. Only 1 freighter and 1 tanker are sunk (despite claims for 5 freighters), and 1 freighter is heavily damaged.
• VF-4 F6Fs down 8 Japanese fighters over the Samah airfield at Hainan and vicinity between 1015 and 1100 hours.
• A VF(N)-41 F6F downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Canton at 1845 hours.
• A VF(N)-90 F6F downs a Ki-44 'Tojo' over Canton at 1900 hours.
• 30 carrier aircraft are lost in combat, mainly to anti-aircraft fire over Hong Kong, and 31 are lost in operational accidents, mostly weather-related.
• 8 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Wanting. 4 B-25s and 8 14th Air Force P-40s attack a train near Hankow.
• More than 180 fighter-bombers attack vast areas of southern China from the Yangtze River to the South China Sea, with special attention to the areas around Changsha, Muse (Burma), and Wanting.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-51 downs a G3M 'Nell' bomber and another multi-engine airplane off Formosa at 0830 hours.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Chuichiang at 1315 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-24s attack airfields in northern Borneo and Halmahera.

Air Operations, Europe

• 371 aircraft including 320 Halifaxes, 44 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Magdeburg. This is an area raid. Bomber Command claims that it is successful, with 44 per cent of the built-up area being destroyed. No local report is available.
• 17 Halifaxes are lost.
• 328 Lancasters of Nos. 1, 6 and 8 Groups. The target is the Braunkohle-Benzin synthetic oil plant near Leipzig. Much damage is caused to the northern half of the plant.
• 10 Lancasters are lost.
• ;231 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 5 Groups attack a synthetic oil plant at Br�x in Western Czechoslovakia. The raid is a complete success. Speer also mentions this raid as causing a particularly severe setback to oil production.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 138 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack the benzol plant at Wanne-Eickel. The results are unknown.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 17 Mosquitos are sent to Mannheim and 9 to Hamburg, 23 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters lay mines off Oslo and in the Kattegat, and there are 55 aircraft involved in No. 100 Group operations.
• 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group is lost.

• 61 2nd Air Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Magdeburg.
• 61 2nd Air Division B-24s attack a munitions plant at Magdeburg (secondary).
• 67 2nd Air Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Ruhland.
• 138 2nd Air Division B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Dresden (secondary).
• 146 3rd Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard ad Dessau (secondary).
• 96 3rd Air Division B-17s attack a chemical plant at Bitterfeld.
• 2 B-24s and 1 of 586 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 311 9th Air Division bombers attack bridges, a motor-vehicle repair center, commuications centers, and various other targets.

• 16 XXII TAC P-47 sorties attack communications targets in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the Okayama airfield, and a specially equipped B-24 mounts an experimental anti-radar reconnaiassance mission over Formosa.

Air Operations, Marianas

In a shakedown mission by the 504th and 505th Very Heavy Bomb groups of the XXI Bomber Command�s 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing, 32 of 44 B-29s dispatched attack Maug Island and the airfield on Pagan Island.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces in the Lingayen Gulf area.
• FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount punishing attacks against airfields, troops, trains, motor vehicles, lines of communication, and numerous targets of opportunity on Luzon, and lighter attacks against airfields on Negros. A 49th Fighter Group P-38 downs an E13A 'Jake' reconnaissance plane over Balayan Bay at 1805 hours.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

Despite bad weather, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima, and 3 of 12 318th Fighter Group P-38 escorts strafe the beach after failing to rendezvous with the bombers.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The German submarine U-248 is sunk by the combined efforts of the US destroyer escorts Otter (DE-210), Hubbard (DE-211), Hayter (DE-212) and Varian (DE-798) in the North Atlantic.

U-248 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Oberleutnant zur See Johann Loos Location Atlantic, N of the Azores Cause Depth charge Casualties 47 Survivors None

U-482 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Kapitänleutnant Hartmut Graf von Matuschka Location North Channel NW of Machrihanish Cause Depth charge Casualties 48 Survivors None

• U-482 has been operating in the North Channel area since early December. She crippled the escort carrier Thane and damaged a Norwegian tanker on this patrol. While withdrawing from this patrol, she is detected by the ships of the 22nd Escort Group (British ships Amethyst, Hart, Peacock, Starling and Loch Craggie) and destroyed with depth charges.

CBI

In the NCAC area, the US 5332nd Brigade gets into position for an attack on the Burma Road in the Namhpakka area, between Hsenwi and Wanting. The 114th Regiment, Chinese 38th Division, continues toward the Namhkam-Namhpakka trail, reaching Ta-kkawn.

East China Sea

For the second day, aircraft of the US Task Force 38 attack the south coast of China and Hainan Island. Not much damage is done to Japanese shipping, but there is some success against port installations.

Eastern Front

The 69th Army and II Armored Corps of the 1st Belorussian Front take Radom by storm and push on toward Lodz. The 47th and 61st Armies of the Front attack Warsaw from north and south. The 2nd Arm Army, with the Polish 1st Army, put pressure on the Germans from the west and the east. Some German units succeed in opening a corridor and escaping from Warsaw. In the first 2 days of the offensive the 1st Belorussian Front has advanced an average of 15-25 miles, while the 1st Ukraine Front has advanced 62 miles in 4 days and is now heading for Czestochowa and Krakow

Air Operations, CBI

• 4 10th Air Force B-25s attack bypass bridges at Ho-hko.
• 75 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops and supplies at 8 locations.
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• 20 P-47s support Allied ground forces advancing along the Irrawaddy River.
• 8 P-47s attack Mansam.

• 8 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s unable to reach their primary target in Formosa attack targets of opportunity on the southeastern coast.
• 12 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Ishan.
• 3 B-25s and 8 14th Air Force P-40s attack stores and sampans near Hengshan.
• 2 B-25s attack troops at Chaling and an oil dump in the Hsiang Valley.
• More than 180 fighter-bombers attack numereous targets between Shanghai and the Burma frontier, especially airfields at Shanghai, Wuchang, and Wuchou.
• 81st Fighter Group P-47s down a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter and a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Hankow at 1115 hours.
• 20 74th Fighter Squadron and 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51s destroy an estimated 47 Japanese aircraft on the ground at Shanghai-area airfields. In addition, the P-51s down 2 Ki-51 'Sonia' bombers, a G4M 'Betty' bomber, another bomber, and a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter near the airfield at Tachang at 1315 hours.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge at Phu Lang Thuong.

Air Operations, Europe

• In minor ops, 1 Hudson makes a Resistance flight.

• 72 Mosquitos are sent to Magdeburg, 8 to the Ruthen oil storage depot and 3 each to Cologne, Frankfurt, Koblenz and Mannheim, and there are 13 Mosquito patrols and 33 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 397 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Paderborn>
• 37 1st Air Division B-17s attack a rail viaduct at Bielefeld.
• 78 2nd Air Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Harburg.
• 74 3rd Air Division B-17s attack two oil refineries at Hamburg.
• 73 3rd Air Division B-17s attack the U-boat base at Hamburg.
• 9 heavy bombers and 7 of 240 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 12th Air Force B-25s and XXII TAC P-47s attack rail targets at numerous locations.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack crossings in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 77 of 92 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from Chengtu attack the airfield at Shinchiku with 553 tons of bombs.
• 1 B-29 is lost.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the airfield at Okayama.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Daliao, rail facilities at Legaspi, and the Talisay airfield on Negros.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack roads and rail lines east of Manila.
• B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack airfield, bridges, ports, shipping, and targets of opportunity throughout Luzon and the central Philippines.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

14 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Allied Planning

Although there are 71 Allied diviions available, most of them are seriously understrength. Noncombat units have been stripped to provide riflemen. In violation of army policy and tradition, black soldiers are asked to volunteer to serve in all-black units as infantrymen. Gen Eisenhower now examines future operations in three phases. Destroying German forces west of the Rhine is the first phase; seizing a bridgehead over the Rhine is the second phase; and destruction of German forces followed by an advance into central Germany is the third phase. The destruction of German forces will be accomplished by two axes of advance--one north of the Ruhr into the open space of the north German plain and the other attacking from Mainz through Frankfurt to Kassel. The goal is a double envelopment of the Ruhr. Eisenhower wants to push 35 divisions across the Rhine north of the Ruhr and get as many divisions as possible across in the south to draw German units away from the main effort in the north. SHAEF headquarters estimates that eight divisions will be available in March, including six airborne divisions and between five and eight French divisions.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-2523 is bombed in an Allied air raid on the port of Hamburg.

U-2523

CBI

The Mars Task Force (the 5332nd Brigade Provisional) reaches the Burma Road with the intention of forcing the Japanese out of their defenses south of Wantung. The Chinese 50th and British 36th Divisions attack south toward Lashio and Mandalay to cut the Burma Road between the two cities. The Chinese 38th and 30th Divisions begin the attack toward the Burma Road to drive Japanese forces south.

Eastern Front

In Poland, the Russians give the Polish 1st Army the honor of launching the final offensive and of being the first to enter Warsaw. The city is reduced to a pile of rubble. A few hundred people who have managed to live in shelters and cellars come out to welcome the liberators. After crushing the Warsaw uprising, the Germans deported the whole of the remaining population, about 600,000 people, to concentration camps.

North of Warsaw, the 2nd Belorussian Front takes Ciechanow. To the north Konstantin Rokossovsky's troops take Modlin. In the south, advancing rapidly beyond Kielce, the 1st Ukraine Front overcomes German resistance on the Warta River and occupies Czestochowa.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

19 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima and Haha Jima while 10 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack the airfield at Nawnghkio.
• 23 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack Anisakan and Hsumhsai.
• 20 P-47s support Allied ground forces at 3 locations.
• Fighter-bombers attack troops, supplies, and targets of opportunity at 8 locations.

• 29 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Hong Kong.
• 7 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Chinchenchiang and Ishan.
• 4 B-25s attack Wanting and troops at Chaling.
• 4 B-25s and 12 14th Air Force P-40s attack shipping around Puchi.
• 25 P-40s attack shipping and rail facilities in the Hong Kong area.
• Nearly 140 fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity across southern China from Hong Kong to the Burma frontier.

• 11 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 12 51st Fighter Group P-51 fighter-bombers attack Phu Lang Thuong.

Air Operations, East Indies

FEAF B-24s attack the Miti area of Halmahera.

Air Operations, Europe

• 56 Mosquitos are sent to the Sterkrade oil refinery, 12 each on H₂S trials to Düsseldorf, Kassel and Koblenz, and 7 to the Ruthen oil storage depot. 1 Mosquito from the Sterkrade raid crashes in Belgium.

• Despite bad weather that grounds the rest of the 8th Air Force, 114 3rd Air Division B-17s attack a rail bridge at Kaiserlautern.
• 3 of 109 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack rail lines.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack numerous rail targets and supply and fuel dumps.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack road and rail targets in the Po River valley.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the airfield at Okayama.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Cotabato area and troops at Bamban.
• A-20s attack highway traffic and stores near the Bataan Peninsula.
• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• V Fighter Command P-38s attack the Tuguegarao airfield on Luzon and motor vehicles at 3 locations.

Japan, Policy

The Japanese government directs the military to 'concentrate converting all armament production to special attack weapons of a few major types.' This meant Japan's limited facilities are to be concentrated on suicide planes, human torpedoes, and high-speed small attack boats.

5th Air Force aircraft mount numerous light attacks against targets throughout Luzon and the central Philippines.

With assurance that all civilians have been evacuated from Bamban, Luzon, Japanese Army field fortifications in and around the town are attacked by 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s.

CBI

In the north, the US 5332nd Brigade, given the job of reopening the Burma Road, digs in on some positions that overlook the road. The Japanese are sending reinforcements to the area of Namhpakka.

Eastern Front

The 1st Belorussian Front wipes out the last remaining Germans in Warsaw, and the 1st Ukraine Front begins the struggle for Upper Silesia. The 2nd Belorussian Front captures Modlin.

In Hungary the last defenders of Pest, south of the Danube, surrender.

The 43rd Army pushes backe the 3rd Panzer Army toward Königsberg.

The Grossdeutschland Panzer Corps has engaged the 1st Guards Tank Army near Lodz, and the remnants of XXIV Panzer and XLVII Corps are retreating west. The Soviet 4th Guards Tank, 59th and 60th Armies are threatening Krakow and the German 17th Army with encirclement.

Pest falls to the Red Army as the IV SS Panzer Corps tries to relieve the city.[MORE]

Italy

The US 5th Army releases the British XIII Corps, consisting now of the 6th Armored and 78th Divisions, to the control of the British 8th Army in place. The US 5th Army thus gets a new right boundary.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

9 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima as 7 other B-24s attack Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and stores at Na-mon and near Hsenwi.
• More than 80 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, artillery, and supplies at numerous locations throughout northern Burma.
• 28 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces advancing along the Irrawaddy River and around Namhkam and Si-U.
• 4 P-47s attack a causeway at Mogok.
• 4 14th Air Force B-25s attack Mongyu.

• 5 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Ishan.
• Nearly 115 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets of opportunity throughout southern China and northern French Indochina.

• 8 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack rail targets and shipping at Song Cau while 4 other B-25s attack a bridge, rail targets, and shipping at Do Len.

Air Operations, Europe

The Soviet Air Force flies 30,000 sorties against communications and airfields.

• Due to unprecedented bad weather through the first weeks of the new year, 15th Air Force P-38 and P-51 pilots have been unable to find Luftwaffe fighters over central and southern Europe. On this day, however, 325th Fighter Group P-51 pilots down 2 Ju-52 transports and 3 Luftwaffe fighers over Austria and Yugoslavia.

• More than 400 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack a rail bridge, a highway bridge, and two marshalling yards at Brod, but 111 heavy bombers must abort due to bad weather on their way to Zagreb.
• 46 15th Air Force P-38s attack a rail bridge>
• 59 P-51s sweep the area between Zagreb and Gyor, Hungary.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the airfield at Okayama.

Air Operations, Japan

62 of 80 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant at Akashi with 153 tons of bombs. 9 of the B-29s attack alternates and targets of opportunity. 2 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack two targets in the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-29s destroy the Kawasaki aircraft factory near Kobe.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Most planned FEAF and 5th Air Force heavy- and medium-bomber missions against targets on Luzon are canceled in the face of bad weather, but FEAF B-24s and V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Bacolod and La Carlota airfields on Negros.
• A-20s attack shipping.
• B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack airfields, highway traffic, stores, and other targets throughout Luzon.
• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• A 49th Fighter Group P-38 downs a P1Y 'Galaxy' bomber over Luzon at 1310 hours.
• 2 VF-20 F6Fs down a Ki-57 'Topsy' transport plane off northern Luzon at 1600 hours.

CBI

The Indian 25th Division, British XV Corps, takes Kantha, in the Myebon peninsula. In the northern sector the 114th Regiment, Chinese 38th Division, cuts the road between Namhkam and Namhpakka, while the US 5332 Brigade proceeds with the occupation of the hills dominating the Burma Road.

The Mars Task Force attacks the Japanese at Nawhkam near the Burma Road, effectively cutting the main line of supply for the Japanese 56th Division.

Eastern Front

Confirming the German announcement of a new offensive in East Prussia, the Soviet Supreme Command announces that the 3rd Belorussian Front has captures Schlossberg (Pillkallen).

In Poland Operation VISTULA-ODER continues swiftly. The 1st Belorussian Front captures Lodz, while the 1st Ukraine Front takes Tarnow and its 3rd and 52nd Armies capture Krakow. The 60th Army of the same Front presses forward south and north of Katowice. The 4th Ukraine Front under Ivan Petrov, operating further south, take Gorlice south of Tarnow.

The Soviet momentum is gathering pace as the 5th Guards Tank Army takes Mlawa, the 8th Guards Army takes Lodz; the 59th Tarnow and Krakow is abandoned by the 17th Army.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

12 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima and 5 B-24s attack Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 16 10th Air Force fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces advancing along the Irrawaddy River.
• 8 fighter-bombers attack a supply dump at Kutkai and an ammunition dump at Namhkai.
• fighter-bombers attack various other targets in northern Burma.

• 3 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets of opportunity near Hengshan.
• 2 B-25s attack troops at Anjen and Chaling.
• 1 B-25 attacks a small freighter in the East China Sea.
• 32 14th Air Force P-51s attack airfields in the Shanghai area.
• More that 200 fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across southern China and northern French Indochina.
• 23rd Fighter Group and 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51s down 2 G4M 'Betty' bombers and 1 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over Shanghai bryween 1210 and 1230 hours.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge and rail cars near Hanoi.

Air Operations, Europe

• Of 155 1st Air Division B-17s and 154 3rd Air Division B-17s dispatched against the synthetic-oil plant at Sterkrade, only 24 and 12 respectively, are able to locate and attack the target. Of the remainder, 110 1st Air Division B-17s and 115 3rd Air Division attack a marshalling yard at Rheine.
• 170 1st Air Division B-17s attack a rail bridge at Mannheim.
• 187 3rd Air Division B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Pforzheim.
• 35 B-17s attack various targets of opportunity.
• 4 B-17s and 1 of 374 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack a marshalling yard at Trento and two bridges.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack fuel and ammo dumps and communications targets in the Po River valley.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack communications targters in the Po River valley.

• 15th Air Force heavy bombers attack a station siding and two marshalling yards at Linz and a marshalling yard at Salzburg.

• 15th Air Force B-17s attack oil-industry targets at Regensburg and a marshalling yard at Rosenheim.
• 325th Fighter Group P-51 pilots are credited with 4 Luftwaffe fighters, of which 3 FW-190s are downed over Regensburg between 1300 and 1320 hours.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack the Okayama airfield.

Air Operations, Japan

4 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kataoka area.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Task Group 77.4 TBMs and FMs support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• FEAF B-24s attack the Fabrica airfield on Negros.
• 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Japanese Army field fortifications and stores at Bamban, Luzon.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s attack rail lines on Luzon.
• A-20s attack a rail bridge and artillery positions.

• A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Aparri, Laoag and Tubang airfields on Luzon.
• A planned strike by 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s against Tarlac is aborted in the face of bad weather.
• An 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron F-6 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over San Nicholas at 0935 hours.
• 2 VF-20 F6Fs down a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance plane 12 miles from Task Group 38.2 at 0950 hours.
• A VF-81 F6F downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance near West Babuyan Island at 1355 hours.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

• VMF-124 and VMF-213 F4Us based aboard the USS Essex down 6 Ki-49 'Helen' bombers and 2 Ki-21 'Sally' bombers in the South China Sea near Task Group 38.3 between 1700 and 1755 hours.
• VF-4 F6Fs down 2 G3M 'Nell' bombers 20 miles from Task Group 38.3 at 1730 hours.
• A VF-7 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber over the South China Sea at 1815 hours.
• Most or all of the downed aircraft are evacuating key aviation personnel from Luzon to Formosa.

CBI

The Chinese 9th Division, on the Salween front, occupies Wanting, which the Japanese have evacuated, while elements of the Chinese 38th Division make contact with the Yunnan Force near Mu-se.

The first small US convoy reaches Kunming, China, over the Burma Road and a hastily repaired branch route. It took 16 days to drive from Myitkyina in Burma.

Eastern Front

The 3rd Belorussian Front and the 2nd begin to penetrate into East Prussia with the support of the 1st Baltic Front under Bagramian. The 43rd Army of this last Front occupies Tilsit, in the north. The 2nd Belorussian Front, advancing north from Poland, reaches the Tannenberg area with some of its units.

The 1st Belorussian Front and 1st Ukraine Front continue their advance into Poland, the first making for Prussia and the second for Silesia. In the Carpathian sector the 4th Ukraine Front takes Nowy Sacz in Poland and Bardejov, Presov and Kosice in Czechoslovakia. In Hungary, the Germans offer stiff resistance to the Russians as they try to reach the Danube from the area of Székesfehérvar, southwest of Budapest. The Soviets now control the Pest half of the town.[MORE]