World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » Today in WW2 History

• Miklós Kállay was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Chen Jitang was born into an ethnic Hakka family in Fangcheng, Guangxi, China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Charlotte was born in Berg Castle, Luxembourg. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Jan 1896 Interactive Map

• Subhash Chandra Bose was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Arnold True was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Queen Wilhelmina suffered a miscarriage. ww2dbase [Main Article]

• The Cossacks formed a Military Revolutionary Committee and deposed Russian General Alexei Kaledin. ww2dbase [AC]

• USS Arizona arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Jan 1919 Interactive Map

• The Americans commenced their withdrawal from Siberia, Russia; turning over their Cossack prisoners to the Czechs, but the latter were forced to release them under the threat of action by the Japanese. ww2dbase [AC]

• Starting on this date and lasting through 27 Jan 1929, the US Navy aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga participated in their first exercise. Sailing with the opposing forces of Fleet Problem IX, Saratoga was detached on a southerly sweep against the Panama Canal, where she arrived undetected, and launched 69 aircraft on a mock dawn raid. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1937

• Heinrich Himmler disclosed that about 8,000 prisoners were in concentration camps across Germany for protective custody. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1938

• The A-20 Havoc/DB-7 aircraft took its first flight. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1940

• British carrier HMS Illustrious left Malta for Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German submarine U-19 discovered a group of 20 unescorted steamers off Northumberland. With one torpedo each, she sank Norwegian ship Pluto at 0843 hours and British ship Baltanglia at 0855 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Finnish 9th Division arrived at the village of Kuhmo to prepare for a planned attack on the Soviet 54th Division. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Danish motor merchant Kina disembarked 8 of the survivors of Norwegian steam merchant Enid, sunk by U-25 six days prior, at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. ww2dbase [HM]

• One of the two lifeboats containing survivors of Norwegian merchant steamer Songa, which was sunk by German submarine U-25 on the previous day, was discovered by a British trawler, which took on the 13 occupants. The other lifeboat made landfall near Rock Island's Crookhaven Lighthouse; they were taken to Goleen, County Cork, Ireland. ww2dbase [HM]

• Britain lowered the road speed limit to 20 miles per hour at night time in populated area in response to the sharp rise in night time automobile accidents due to the blackout. ww2dbase [AC]
• Britain was gripped in the coldest winter since 1894; Southampton docks and parts of the river Thames were frozen over. ww2dbase [AC]
• MI5 debriefed NKVD defector Walter Krivitsky at the Langham Hotel in London, England, United Kingdom. The former Soviet resident agent in Holland would describe over hundred Soviet agents working in Europe, including sixteen who were British subjects. Yet the single officer tasked with investigating the claims failed to spot, among those named, MI6 traitor Kim Philby. ww2dbase [AC]

23 Jan 1940 Interactive Map

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1941

• USS Arizona became the flagship of Battleship Division 1's Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, damaged by Stuka dive bombers on 10 Jan, completed temporary repairs and departed Malta for Alexandria, Egypt with destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Juno, HMS Janus, and HMS Greyhound in escort. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Charles Lindbergh testified before the US Congress, recommending that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Allied troops captured Tobruk, Libya, but fighting would continue at outposts outside the city for another day. In the harbor, British minesweeping trawlers HMT Arthur Cavanagh and HMT Milford Countess began clearing sunken Italian ships. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German Fw 200 aircraft bombed British ship Lurigethan 200 miles west of Ireland; 16 were killed in fires while 35 were taken off. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German pocket battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were spotted in the Great Belt between mainland Denmark and the island of Zealand by a British agent who alerted the Admiralty in London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Destroyer USS Edsall attacked a submarine contact in the Vernon Islands 30 miles northwest of Darwin, Australia; Edsall suffered damage from one of her own depth charges in this attack. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Commander Vittorio Moccagatta was made the head of the Special Weapons Section of 1a Flottiglia MAS at La Spezia, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]

23 Jan 1941 Interactive Map

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1942

• American oiler USS Neches was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-72 70 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands at 0319 hours, killing 57. Without this source of fuel, USS Lexington and her task force cancelled the Wake Island raid. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Destroyer Yuzuki departed with Destroyer Division 23 to escort the invasion fleet for Kavieng, New Ireland, Bismarck Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• In Yugoslavia, Hungarian troops massacred 2,462 Serbs and 700 Jews over six days in retaliation for partisan activity. ww2dbase [AC]
• The Japanese commenced a determined effort to establish air superiority over Rangoon, Burma. By 29 Jan seventeen Japanese aircraft had been shot down for the loss of two American Volunteer Group and ten Royal Air Force machines, forcing the Japanese temporarily to concede. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
• US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion at American Samoa was reinforced by the 2nd Marine Brigade, which was consisted of the 8th Marine Regiment, 10th Marine Regiment, and 2nd Defense Battalion. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Soviet 3rd Shock Army surrounded 5,500 German troops at Kholm, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• A British Albacore torpedo bomber attacked Italian convoy T18 in the Gulf of Sirte north of Libya, sinking transport Victoria; 391 were killed, 1,064 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Japanese bombers attacked Palembang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies for the first time. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The Roberts Commission found Husband Kimmel guilty of dereliction of duty for the Pearl Harbor disaster. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The Roberts Commission found Walter Short guilty of dereliction of duty for the Pearl Harbor disaster. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• German submarine U-66 sank US collier Venore 5 kilometers off North Carolina, United States, killing 17 of 41 aboard. At 0812 hours, U-109 sank British ship Thirlby 20 miles off Nova Scotia, Canada; 5 were killed, 41 survived. At 1340 hours, U-82 sank Norwegian tanker Leiesten 400 miles east of Newfoundland; 6 were killed, 29 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• At 0812 hours, U-109 sank British ship Thirlby 20 miles off Nova Scotia, Canada; 5 were killed, 41 survived. At 1340 hours, U-82 sank Norwegian tanker Leiesten 400 miles east of Newfoundland; 6 were killed, 29 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• In the evening in Australia, Deputy Prime Minister Francis Forde announced that the government had learned of a Japanese landing at Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, but there were no words on whether Rabaul had been invaded. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | CPC]

• Tenryu covered transport ships as the transports disembarked troops of No. 2 Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force at Kavieng, New Ireland. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Tanikaze covered carriers during the landings in the Bismarck Archipelago. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• At 0230 hours, Japanese troops began landing on New Britain on three beachheads, two of which were defended, but in general the Japanese had little difficult overcoming the defenses. Carrier aircraft from Akagi and Kaga supported the invasion after dawn, enjoying air superiority thus losing only one pilot (Flight Petty Officer 2nd Class Isao Hiraishi) all day. As the troops entered and captured Rabaul, New Britain, Bismarck Islands, as reported by Tolai natives later, Japanese troops mutilated corpses of Australian troops with axes and bayonets. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Australian Catalina aircraft were launched from Port Moresby, British Territory of Papua to attack Rabaul, New Britain on the very first night of Japanese occupation; severe weather in the Solomon Sea forced the aircraft to abandon the mission, however. ww2dbase [CPC]

• In the Solomon Islands, the Japanese landed at Kieta, Bougainville. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]

• American fishing trawler Grand Marshall disembarked 28 survivors of Norwegian tanker Alexandra Høegh, which had been sunk by German submarine U-130 two days prior, at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [HM]

• Naka protected transports during the invasion of Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• As the Japanese convoy carrying the Sakaguchi Detachment approached Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo, it was attacked by Dutch forces; Dutch submarine K-18 sank Japanese transport Tsuruga Maru, while nine Dutch B-10 bombers, and 20 Dutch Buffalo fighters sank Japanese transport Nana Maru and damaged Tatsugami Maru. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Japanese Sasebo Combined Special Naval Landing Force set sail from Menado, Celebes, Dutch East Indies for Kendari on the southeastern tip of the island. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• In Washington, DC, United States, George Marshall told Joseph Stilwell that Stilwell was definitely going to be sent to China. Stilwell began assembling a staff for his upcoming mission to China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1943

• The British Eighth Army captured Tripoli, Libya. ww2dbase [TH]
• Soviet troops captured Armavir, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The US Army 25th Division captured the high ground south of Kokumbona, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower was tasked with planning the invasion of Sicily, Italy with the target date set as the period of the favourable Jul 1943 moon. General Harold Alexander, Eisenhower's deputy, would be in overall command of all Allied land forces during the operation. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | AC]

• The US freighter City of Flint (the same vessel that had been involved in a major diplomatic incident in Oct 1939) was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by the German submarine U-575. ww2dbase [AC]

• After sundown and into the following day, American cruisers and destroyers bombarded Kolombangara, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Tatsuta Maru departed Nagasaki, Japan and arrived at Sasebo, Japan later on the same day. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Irako sailed south from off Mizunoko Lighthouse, Oita, Japan with torpedo boat Hato and submarine chaser CH-39 in escort. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• The German-controlled Gumrak Airfield on the western side of Stalingrad, Russia was taken by Soviet troops. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH, CPC]

23 Jan 1943 Interactive Map

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1944

• USS Gar continued to attack a Japanese convoy off Palau Islands which had been attacked three hours prior on the previous date, sinking the already-damaged cargo ship Taian Maru with one of two torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• USS Snook sank Japanese converted gunboat Magane Maru off the Bonin Islands, hitting with 2 of 6 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The destroyer HMS Janus was lost off Anzio, Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was awarded Swords to his Knight's Cross medal posthumously. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• US aircraft attacked Rabaul, New Britain. The Japanese lost at least 13 fighters. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Kamoi arrived at Kendari, Celebes, Dutch East Indies at 1630 hours. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Nachi arrived at Hashirajima, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• 180 prisoners deemed "invalid" were executed by gunfire at Majdanek Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

23 Jan 1944 Interactive Map

• Weather data for 23 Jan 1945

• USS Sennet attacked Japanese patrol boats off the Bonin Islands, sinking one and damaging another with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Soviet units reached the Oder River in the Silesia region of occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• In fighting at Brachterbeek, the Netherlands, Lance Corporal Henry Harden, a medic attached to the Commandos, sprinted 100 yards under fire over open ground to attend three wounded men. He carried one back to safety and, despite being hit, insisted on returning for the others. As he hoisted the second wounded man onto his back, he was shot and killed. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [AC]

• Anglo-Indian troops captured Myinmu, Burma. The last Japanese survivors drowned themselves in the Irrawaddy River to avoid capture. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Wake Island arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands for repairs. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Barb attacked a Japanese convoy near Nanguan Island ("Namkwan harbor"), Zhejiang Province, China at 0405 hours, firing eight torpedoes and recording eight hits. At 1130 hours, Commander Eugene Fluckey sent Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization (SACO) chief Commander Milton Miles a radio message, thanking him for the intelligence about the attack location. In Jun 1991, Fluckey was able to visit the fishing village of Huang Qi where several eyewitnesses of the attack still lived; the Chinese recalled seeing 4 Japanese ships sinking and 3 heavily damaged. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Emden departed Königsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia) with the remains of Paul von Hindenburg aboard. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Helmuth von Moltke was executed at the Plötzensee Prison in Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Kriegsmarine units began the evacuation of German civilians from Ostpreußen (East Prussia) and Danzig (Operation Hannibal). Meanwhile, Soviet troops reached Elbing, Danzig-Westpreußen, Germany (now Elblag) on the Baltic coast. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]

• A UKR official attached to Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front reported that between 1 Jan 1945 and 20 Jan 1945, 2 German counterintelligence personnel, 39 German intelligence personnel, and 7 Hungarian intelligence personnel were arrested in Hungary. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• B-24 bombers of No. 159 Squadron RAF from Kharagpur in eastern India mined the Penang Strait. ww2dbase [CPC]

23 Jan 1945 Interactive Map

• HMS LST-412 was decommissioned and returned to the United States Navy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Soviet SMERSH agents attempted to kidnap former German agent Richard Klaus (also known as Fritz Klatt and Max) in Austria, but the Soviets were thwarted by the Americans. The Soviets were interned overnight and were returned to the Soviet occupation zone on the following day. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The hearing against Hans Fritzsche began in Nürnberg, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Allied repatriation ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Uraga, Japan and disembarked personnel. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS Ancon arrived at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, United States for deactivation work. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

23 Jan 1946 Interactive Map

• Roy Geiger passed away. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Missouri hosted a meeting between US General Mark Clark and British Admiral Guy Russell. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Springer was decommissioned from service and was transferred to Chile. She was commissioned into Chilean service as submarine Thomson. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Spencer was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

23 Jan 1983 Interactive Map