2 Jan 1895
- Folke Bernadotte was born.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1906
- Winston Churchill published a two-volume biography of his father Lord Randolph Churchill.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1937
- Galeazzo Ciano secured British signatures on the Italo-British Gentlemen's Agreement in which both Italy and the United Kingdom stated respect for each other's spheres of influence.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1938
Photo(s) dated 2 Jan 1938
Photo(s) dated 2 Jan 1938
2 Jan 1939
- The British Chief of Naval Staff called for a suitable coastal escort vessel capable of being fitted for minesweeping.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1940
- The Irish government introduced emergency powers to intern IRA members without trial.
- Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano sent a secret message to Belgium and the Netherlands, warning them of the German invasion plan. The Germans intercepted this message.
» In-depth article
- Battle of the Raate Road: At midnight in the very start of this day, after one hour of preparations, Finnish Army Captain Eino Lassila launched an attack on a 500 meter section of Russian artillery on the Raate Road. At 0700, Russian troops attempted a counterattack with tanks, but the Finnish troops were able to bring two Bofors anti-tank guns to the front to halt the counterattack, destroying 7 of the Russian tanks.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1941
- German leaders Himmler and Heydrich categorized concentration camps into three categories for different types of prisoners, but in practice this categorization had little actual effect.
» In-depth article - German bombing severely damaged the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
- Before dawn, British artillery pieces moved into position near Bardia, Libya. During the day, British monitor HMS Terror and British gunboats HMS Ladybird and HMS Aphis bombarded Bardia; Italian aircraft responded without success. After sun down, Wellington bombers of No. 70 Squadron RAF and Bombay bombers of No. 216 Squadron RAF attacked Italian positions at Bardia. Troops of the Australian 6th Division began to prepare for the ground assault.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-65 sank British ship Nalgora 250 miles west of Port-Étienne, French West Africa at 2207 hours. As the military equipment destined for British troops in Egypt went down with the ship, 105 survivors took to lifeboats and would eventually make land at the Cape Verde Islands or rescue by other ships. This would be U-65's eighth and final sinking during the 49-day-long patrol.
- German submarine U-38 was detected by a convoy escort ship 300 miles northwest of Ireland, which attacked with depth charges. U-38 was slightly damaged but was able to continue with the patrol without needing immediate repairs.
2 Jan 1942
- At the US Army Air Forces Headquarters Major Jimmy Doolittle began planning an air raid against Japan.
» In-depth article - Soviet Army broke through German lines at Rzhev, Russia.
» In-depth article - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicted 33 members of a German intelligence network headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in US history.
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed at Roi, Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - 7,000 Axis troops at Bardia, Libya surrendered to the Allies. Among the prisoners of war was General Artir Schmitt.
» In-depth article - HMS Indomitable departed Cape Town, South Africa with Sea Hurricane aircraft aboard.
» In-depth article - Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek cabled US President Roosevelt asking the President to nominate a trusted American General to act as Chief of Staff in the China Theatre. The Americans responded by suggesting that the functions of Chief of Staff China Theatre should be combined with Commander of the China-Burma-India Theatre and Supervisor of Lend-Lease material. Brigadier-General John Magruder of the American Military Mission to China was not senior enough (and was already disillusioned with the Chinese) and when Lieutenant General Hugh A. Drum turned down the position it was finally offered to Major General Joseph W. Stilwell who reluctantly agreed to go where he was sent.
» In-depth article - Japanese and Anglo-Indian troops continued to fight at Kampar Hill in British Malaya and prepared to withdraw southward later in the day. To the south, troops of the Japanese 4th Imperial Guard Regiment sailed down the Perak River to reinforce the Japanese 11th Regiment at Bernam River; Indian 12th Infantry Brigade arrived to reinforce the failing defense at Telok Anson nearby. Far to the south, Japanese aircraft based in Malaya and Borneo attacked Singapore.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-134 sank British ship Waziristan in the Barents Sea at 0648 hours; she was the first Arctic Convoy ships to be sunk. The 47 aboard abandoned ship but were never seen again. Also lost with Waziristan were 3,700 tons of supplies and 410 US-built trucks for the Soviet Union.
- British destroyer HMS Vimiera struck a mine and sank in the Thames estuary in southern England, United Kingdom while escorting a coastal convoy; 96 were killed, 14 survived.
- German submarine U-123 damaged American ship Algonquin in the Atlantic Ocean.
- German submarine U-77 attacked British destroyer HMS Kimberley off Tobruk, Libya at 0238 hours, blowing off the stern and killing 3; destroyer HMS Heythrop would tow HMS Kimberley to Alexandria, Egypt.
- British submarine HMS Unbeaten attacked and sank the already-damaged German submarine U-374 south of Messina, Sicily, Italy at 1030 hours with two torpedoes; 42 were killed, 1 survived.
- Repair ship Akashi departed from Palau Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Ernest King ordered Chester Nimitz to plan a raid against Japanese positions in the Gilbert Islands and the Marshall Islands in order to establish an offensive momentum in the Pacific War.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-134 sank British freighter Waziristan of Allied convoy PQ-7A; Waziristan was already damaged by German aircraft at the time of this attack; all 47 aboard were killed.
» In-depth article
- Joseph Rochefort was interviewed by staff members of the Roberts Commission at Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii regarding the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack; he answered more than 100 questions.
» In-depth article
- In the Philippine Islands, Japanese troops captured Manila, the Cavite naval base, and Clark Field air base.
» In-depth article - Naka arrived at Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Submarine Hoe was laid down by the Electric Boat Company of Groton, Connecticut, United States.
» In-depth article - The United States Marine Corps Supply Center at Barstow, California, United States was organized as Marine Barracks, Marine Corps Depot of Supplies.
- Historical document written: US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, USS Tangier
» In-depth article - Historical document written: Report of Pearl Harbor Attack, USS Case
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1943
- US I Corps recaptured Buna on New Guinea.
» In-depth article - Lockwood replaced English as the commanding officer of US Navy submarines in the Pacific.
- Ion Antonescu of Romania met with Adolf Hitler to discuss the ensuing disaster in Stalingrad, Russia.
» In-depth article - US Marine Corps and US Army aircraft attacked 10 Japanese destroyer transports west of Rendova, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article
- Destroyer Yuzuki arrived at Sasebo, Japan for a scheduled overhaul.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1944
- Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Palau.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Submarine Baya was launched, sponsored by the wife of US Navy Lieutenant Commander C. C. Kirkpatrick.
» In-depth article - USS Iowa departed for the Pacific Ocean.
» In-depth article
- 383 RAF aircraft (362 Lancaster, 9 Halifax, and 12 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 27 aircraft were lost.
» In-depth article
- Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Kure, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Rock departed Panama Canal Zone for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1945
- Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, the mastermind behind the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 and now in charge of Allied ports in France, was killed when his aircraft crashes on take-off at Toussus-le-Noble, becoming the fourth senior Allied leader to die in a plane crash. He was en route to a conference with General Bernard Montgomery in Brussels, Belgium.
» In-depth article - In Copenhagen, Denmark, a V2 Rocket factory was destroyed by saboteurs.
- 46 American B-29 bombers based near Calcutta, India attacked a railroad bridge near Bangkok, Thailand and other targets in the area.
- British bombers attacked Nürnberg, Germany.
» In-depth article - USS Becuna sank two small vessels between Malaya and Borneo in two separate engagements with her deck gun.
» In-depth article
- USS Barbero arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her second war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Indian 2nd Division reached Yeu and crossed the Mu River in Burma.
» In-depth article - Anglo-Indian XV Corps captured Akyab (now Sittwe), Burma without resistance.
» In-depth article
- USS Missouri departed US Territory of Hawaii for Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Spot sank a Japanese trawler with her deck gun in the Yellow Sea.
» In-depth article
- Dutch national Gerrit van der Waals, under employment of British SOE but nevertheless placed under arrest by the Soviets in Hungary, was transferred to another prison in Bucharest, Romania.
2 Jan 1946
Hawaii
Hawaii
- USS Manta departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for San Francisco, California, United States to prepare for inactivation.
» In-depth article - USS Menhaden departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article
- Allied repatriation ship Hikawa Maru departed Uraga, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
2 Jan 1949
China
China
- Chen Changjie received a letter from the Chinese Communists urging his surrender of Tianjin, China; he would reject the request.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1952
Russia
Russia
- The Military Tribunal of the Moscow District sentenced German prisoner of war Georg Jantschi 25 years in prison for war crimes and for being a German spy.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1956
- Robert Saundby was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1957
- Captain Allan Reed was named the commanding officer of USS Saint Paul.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1974
Taiwan
Taiwan
- Jiang Dingwen passed away in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 1975
- Theodor Osterkamp passed away.
» In-depth article
2 Jan 2012
Photo(s) dated 2 Jan 2012
Photo(s) dated 2 Jan 2012
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » British team to search for buried Spitfires in Myanmar (2013.01.08)
- » Japanese Prime Minister to send envoys to South Korea (2013.01.02)
- » WW2DB's Eighth Anniversary (2012.12.29)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Site Sponsors
Advertise on ww2db.com
Current Site Statistics
- » 725 biographies
- » 302 events
- » 26813 timeline entries
- » 664 ships
- » 300 aircraft models
- » 163 vehicle models
- » 254 weapon models
- » 64 historical documents
- » 282 book reviews
- » 209 maps
- » 16051 photos, 1464 in color
Famous WW2 Quote
"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945