4 Jan 1897
- Cheng Chen was born in Qingtian, Zhejiang, China.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1909
- Glyndwr Michael was born in Aberbargoed, Wales, United Kingdom to a poor family.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1919
- In Germany, the 4,000-strong Freikorps was placed at the disposal of Chancellor Ebert as a Peace keeping force.
4 Jan 1921
- USS Arizona departed New York City, New York, United States.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1922
United States
United States
- Joseph Rochefort was transferred out of battleship USS Connecticut and was assigned to destroyer USS Stansbury.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1932
China
China
- Japanese troops captured Shanhai Gate of the Great Wall in Hebei Province, China.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1933
- Franz von Papen and Adolf Hitler met at the home of aristocratic banker Kurt von Schröder's home in Cologne, Germany and secretly made plans to together work against Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher.
» In-depth article
- Henry Arnold was made the commanding officer of 1st Wing of US Army Air Corps.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1939
- Borjas Blancas, Spain was captured by Spanish Nationalist forces during the eastward Republican retreat towards Barcelona, causing the retreat to become a rout.
» In-depth article
- Walter Grabmann shot down an I-15 fighter over Spain.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1940
- British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax sent a diplomatic note to Norway, with a copy sent to Sweden, asking for permission to send British Royal Navy ships into Norwegian waters, citing German sinking of British merchant ships.
» In-depth article - The first Norwegian volunteers departed Oslo, Norway for Finland.
4 Jan 1941
- After an entire day of fighting, Allied troops reached Bardia, Libya at about 1600 hours, splitting the Italian defenders into two groups, shaking Italian morale, causing large numbers of Italian troops to surrender. Jokingly emulating Winston Churchill, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden said "[n]ever has so much been surrendered by so many, to so few." On the same day, Italian General Bergonzoli and his staff withdrew from Bardia toward Tobruk.
» In-depth article - British torpedo bombers attacked an Italian supply convoy off Cape Bon, Tunisia in failure.
4 Jan 1942
- Soviet Army took Kaluga near Moscow, Russia.
» In-depth article - Indian 11th Infantry Division withdrew from Kampar Hill in western Malaya, falling back to a new defensive line at the Slim River.
» In-depth article - Following a heavy bombardment, Japanese Lingayen Force penetrated the US-Filipino Guagua-Porac defensive line at Luzon, Philippine Islands and captured the town of Guagua and the Del Carmen airfield. On the same day, American B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Australia attacked Japanese shipping at Malalag Bay, Davao, Mindanao, damaging cruiser Myoko.
» In-depth article - Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz was damaged by German Ju 87 aircraft but was able to reach Novorossiysk, Russia for repairs.
- Repair ship Akashi arrived at Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- 16 Type 96 G3M bombers of Chitose Air Group of Japanese Navy 24th Air Flotilla, based at Truk in Caroline Islands, were spotted over Tabor 90 miles north of New Britain at 1000 hours. They reached Rabaul, New Britain at 1100 hours, where they were able to attack various military facilities with minimal resistance (only 2 Wirraway fighters scrambled, while anti-aircraft guns were ineffective). Shortly before sundown, 11 Type 97 H6K flying boats of Yokohama Air Group attacked the Vunakanam Airfield on New Britain; Australians failed to open fire with the anti-aircraft guns altogether, while most of the Japanese bombs missed the airfield.
» In-depth article
- Chinese troops continued to put pressure on the Japanese offensive on Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
» In-depth article
- USS Skipjack arrived at Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo and took on fuel.
» In-depth article
- A Japanese floatplane flew near Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii in a reconnaissance mission.
- Historical document written: US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, USS Aylwin (2)
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1943
- I-168 departed Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Polish resistance group ZOB attacked German occupation troops in the Jewish ghetto in Czestochowa, which resulted in failure. 251 were killed while a number of others were arrested and deported.
- For the delay in carrying out anti-Semitic policies ordered by Rome, mayors of Florence and Padua in Italy were fired by the Fascist Party.
- The US Army 161st Infantry, the US 6th Marine Regiment, and the headquarters of the US 2nd Marine Division arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
» In-depth article - American cruisers and destroyers bombarded the Japanese airfield at Munda Point, New Georgia in the Solomon Islands after sundown and into the next day.
» In-depth article
- Allied convoy JW-51B arrived in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1944
- Germany called for the mobilization of school children to aid the war effort.
- Operation Carpetbagger: Allied aircraft began to drop supplies to resistance fighters in Axis-occupied Europe.
- In a conference attended by German leaders Heinrich Himmler, Wilhelm Keitel, Albert Speer, and Fritz Sauckel, it was decided that four million people were to be conscripted from occupied territories as forced laborers for war production. One million were to be drafted from France between 1 Feb and 31 Dec 1944.
» In-depth article - The fascist Italian Social Republic in Northern Italy passed laws to prohibit Jews from owning stock or land and to seize Jewish-owned assets.
- German government office RSHA released five Danish Jews of mixed descent per an agreement reached between Adolf Eichmann and the Danish administration.
- At Auschwitz Concentration Camp, SS Doctor Eduard Wirths notified fellow medical officers at Auschwitz III-Monowitz that, as of this date, corpses of deceased prisoners should be identified and then sent directly to the crematoria, bypassing the previous procedure of sending the corpses to the morgue at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau first. Death reports, however, must still be filed at the orderly room of prisoners' hospital in Auschwitz I by noon time of the same day that the corpses were sent to the crematoria.
» In-depth article - USS Cabrilla sank a Japanese transport in the late afternoon in the South China Sea, hitting her with 3 of 6 torpedoes fired. Six hours later, she attacked another oiler with 3 torpedoes, damaging her with 1.
» In-depth article - Sydir Kovpak was made a Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.
» In-depth article - USS Ray attacked two Japanese cargo ships south of the Philippine Islands, damaging one of them with 2 of 4 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- 80 British RAF aircraft attacked two German flying bomb sites in France.
» In-depth article
- 13 British Mosquito aircraft attacked Berlin, Germany.
» In-depth article - Artur Axmann was awarded the German Order.
» In-depth article
- US II Corps attacked along Route 6 across the Bernhardt Line in Italy.
» In-depth article
- Irako departed Yokosuka, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands with destroyers Shigure and Harusame in escort.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- USS Bluefish sank a Japanese oiler and damaged other ships in the South China Sea, hitting them with 3 of 13 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- US Navy aircraft struck Japanese bases on Taiwan.
4 Jan 1945
- Operation Lentil: British aircraft attacked oil refineries at Pangkalan Brandon, Sumatra.
- In the Philippine Islands, Japanese aircraft attacked the American invasion fleet bound for Luzon; USS Ommaney Bay was seriously damaged by a special attack and was scuttled.
» In-depth article - An aircraft from USS Wake detected a Japanese floatplane in the water off Panay Island, Philippine Islands and strafed the Japanese aircraft.
» In-depth article - USS Puffer sank a Japanese vessel in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, hitting her with 1 of 3 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS Ticonderoga launched Air Group 80 aircraft for strikes on Taiwan.
» In-depth article
- German V-2 rocket hit Woodland Street in Hackney, London, England, United Kingdom.
- USS Dragonet arrived at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, United States for repairs.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1948
- Burma gained independence from the United Kingdom but, unlike most other former colonies, declined to become a member of the Commonwealth.
4 Jan 1951
United States
United States
- Joseph Rochefort was ordered to travel to Washington DC, United States.
» In-depth article - Long Beach Naval Shipyard near Los Angeles, California, United States was reactivated.
4 Jan 1952
United States
United States
- USS Cassin Young departed San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1955
- USS Sea Robin departed for the exercise Operation Springboard in the Caribbean Sea.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1957
United States
United States
- USS Iowa departed Norfolk, Virginia, United States for the Mediterranean Sea.
» In-depth article
4 Jan 1962
- Hans Lammers passed away.
» In-depth article
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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