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• Dragisa Cvetkovic was born. ww2dbase [Dragisa Cvetkovic | CPC]

• Vasily Kuznetsov was born in Ust-Osolka, Perm Governorate, Russia. His birth date was recorded as 3 Jan 1894 in the Old Style. ww2dbase [Vasily Kuznetsov | Ust-Osolka, Perm | CPC]

• The shipbuilding supplier firm Norddeutschen Maschinen- und Armaturenfabrik GmbH was founded in Bremen, Germany. ww2dbase [Atlas Werke AG | Bremen, Weser-Ems | AG]

15 Jan 1902 Interactive Map

• Bruce Fraser completed his midshipman cruise aboard battleship HMS Hannibal. ww2dbase [Bruce Fraser | CPC]

• Chuichi Nagumo was promoted to the rank of ensign. ww2dbase [Chuichi Nagumo | CPC]

• USS New Mexico departed United States for Brest, France, escorting passenger ship George Washington, which carried US President Woodrow Wilson to the Versailles Peace Conference. ww2dbase [New Mexico | CPC]

• Cruiser Köln was commissioned into service with Fregattenkapitän Ludwig von Schröder at the helm. ww2dbase [Köln | CPC]

• USS Louisville was commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, United States. ww2dbase [Puget Sound Navy Yard | Louisville | Bremerton, Washington | CPC]

15 Jan 1931 Interactive Map

• Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein became a group leader (Kameradschaftsführer) in the Hitler Youth organization. ww2dbase [Heinrich | CPC]

• Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his first Order of the Red Star. ww2dbase [Boris Shaposhnikov | CPC]

• USS Pollack was commissioned into service with Lieutenant Clarence E. Aldrich in command. ww2dbase [Pollack | CPC]
• Hermann Göring met Benito Mussolini; when Göring brought up the topic of the German wish to annex Austria, Mussolini showed disapproval. ww2dbase [Annexation of Austria | CPC]

• In the Soviet Union, the Regime introduced the compulsory "Labour Book" for all workers, in which were inscribed details of all the jobs that the worker had held and any infraction of discipline, punishments and reprimands. No worker could change employment without written permission from his Plant Director in the Labour Book. ww2dbase [AC]

• German submarine U-44 torpedoed and sank Norwegian steamer Fagerheim in the Bay of Biscay at the early hours of the day, killing 15. The 5 survivors were taken to Vigo, Spain. At 0700 hours, U-44 fired shots at Dutch merchant freighter Arendskerk; realizing his ship could not out run the German submarine, captain of the Arendskerk gave the abandon ship order. Arendskerk was subsequently torpedoed and sank, but all 65 of her crew members survived, rescued by Italian steamer Fedora. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British government revealed that nearly twice as many people had been killed on the roads than the number of people killed in enemy action. The blackout was among the chief reasons. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Kapitän zur See Ernst Kretzenberg took command of cruiser Köln. ww2dbase [Köln | CPC]

• Overnight, Wellington bombers of No. 57 Squadron RAF attacked Emden, Germany while 76 RAF bombers attacked Wilhelmshaven, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
• British minelaying cruiser HMS Adventure hit a mine and became damaged in Liverpool Bay en route from Milford Haven, Wales, United Kingdom. She was towed into Liverpool for repairs. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian submarine Luigi Torelli attacked an Allied convoy 350 miles west of Ireland, sinking Norwegian ship Brask (12 killed, 20 survived) and Greek ship Nemea (17 killed, 14 survived). ww2dbase [CPC]
• The Japanese Navy formed the 11th Air Fleet with the 21st, 22nd, and 24th Air Flotillas with Vice Admiral Eikichi Katagiri in command and Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi as his chief of staff. ww2dbase [Takijiro Onishi | CPC]

• German merchant raider Pinguin captured Norwegian whalers Star XIX and Star XXIV in the South Atlantic 400 miles north of the Azores when the two ships were sailing from Montevideo, Uruguay to South Georgia. ww2dbase [Pinguin | HM]

• Ships of the French Groupe Occasionnel squadron made rendezvous at 1600 hours 20 miles north of Poulo Condore (Con Dao) archipelago south of French Indochina, and began moving toward the Thai-Cambodian border at 2115 hours. ww2dbase [Franco-Thai War | Con Dao | CPC]

• The site for the future Bluie West Eight airfield in Greenland was assigned to the First US Army. ww2dbase [Bluie West Eight | South Greenland | CPC]

• In Iceland, 133 miles-per-hour winds sank three PBY Catalina aircraft of US Navy squadron VP-73 and sank two PBM Mariner aircraft of US Navy squadron VP-74. ww2dbase [CPC]

• The Japanese Navy Genzan Air Group departed Genzan Airfield, Japanese-occupied Korea for Hankou, Hubei Province, China. ww2dbase [Genzan Airfield | Genzan, Hamgyongnam | CPC]

• Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld achieved his second victory, shooting down a British Whitley bomber over northern Netherlands. ww2dbase [Egmont | CPC]

15 Jan 1941 Interactive Map

• The German Armeegruppe Mitte began to fall back from the Kaluga area, forming a new defensive lines 20 miles to the west. ww2dbase [TH]
• Allies formed the ABDA (American, British, Dutch and Australian) command in the Pacific region to counter Japanese advances. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German submarine U-552 sank the ship Dayrose at 0138 hours; 38 were killed, 4 survived. To the south, German submarine U-123 sank British tanker Coimbra off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, United States at 0941 hours; 36 were killed, 10 survived. At 1134 hours, again off New found, U-203 sank Portuguese trawler Catalina, killing all aboard. Near the end of the day at 2317 hours, U-553 blew the bow off of the tanker Diala; 57 were killed, 8 survived; the wreckage of Diala remained afloat. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• US Marine Corps Brigadier General Henry L. Larson was appointed the first military governor of American Samoa. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS S-36 spotted a Japanese destroyer off Dutch Borneo at 0500 hours, but was discovered by the destroyer, which attacked with depth charges, severely damaging the submarine. ww2dbase [S-36 | CPC]
• Philippine 51st Division withdrew from the Salian River valley on the eastern side of the Abucay-Mauban defensive line on Bataan Peninsula, Luzon, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]
• Japanese troops crossed the Gemencheh Bridge over the Kelamah River in British Malaya at 1000 hours to attack Australian-held positions at Gemas; although the initial attack failed with the loss of six tanks, subsequent attacks and flanking maneuvers forced the Australians to fall back to the Gemas River. Elsewhere, Japanese 4th and 5th Imperial Guard Regiments wiped out forward positions held by elements of the Indian 45th Brigade north of the Muar River. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | CPC]
• Transport Chateau Thierry and converted passenger liner Strathaird departed New York, New York, United States with 3,900 troops of US 34th Division aboard, bound for Britain. This convoy, codenamed AT10, was escorted by 5 US destroyers. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British destroyer HMS Hesperus rammed German submarine U-93 while the submarine attempted to attack Allied convoy HG78 580 miles west of Gibraltar, followed by gunfire and depth charge attacks, leading to the submarine being abandoned; 6 were killed, 40 survived. HMS Hesperus would reverse course for Gibraltar to receive repairs. ww2dbase [CPC]
• A British Swordfish aircraft sank German submarine U-577 with depth charges 60 miles north of Sollum, Egypt, killing all 43 aboard. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Wichita collided with US freighter West Nohno and British trawler HMS Ebor Wyke and was grounded near Hrafneyri Lighthouse in poor weather in northern Russia. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | CPC]

• Kaga arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Kaga | Truk | CPC]

• Chinese troops repulsed the Japanese attack on Changsha, Hunan Province, China. ww2dbase [Third Battle of Changsha | Changsha, Hunan | CPC]
• The Japanese-controlled Ryojun Guard District (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Ryojun Guard District | Lushunkou, Liaoning | CPC]

• Five American B-17 bombers landed at Lho Nga (Lhoknga) airfield near the northwestern tip of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies after receiving damage during a raid Japanese forces at Sungei Patani Airfield, Kedah, Malaya. After temporary repairs, they would return to Malang Airfield in Java, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Lhoknga, Sumatra | CPC]

• Minoru Ota was assigned to the First Naval District in Yokosuka, Japan. ww2dbase [Minoru Ota | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• U-132 departed Trondheim, Norway for her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Trondheim, Trøndelag | CPC]

• In Poland, German authorities began to deport Jews from the Łódź ghetto to the Chelmno Concentration Camp. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Chelmno Concentration Camp | Chelmno nad Nerem, Konin | CPC]

• In order to recruit more people with the requisite abilities to work at the British Bletchley Park codebreaking facility a competition was staged for regular devotees to the Daily Telegraph crossword puzzle. They were asked to finish the puzzle within 12 minutes. Those who did well would subsequently be invited back for interview. ww2dbase [Enigma Code Broken | AC]

• USS Gar departed San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Gar | San Francisco, California | CPC]

15 Jan 1942 Interactive Map

• The keel of submarine Tang was laid down. ww2dbase [Tang | CPC]
• Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of colonel general. ww2dbase [Konstantin Rokossovsky | CPC]
• USAAF B-24 bombers attacked a Japanese convoy 200 miles south-southwest of Rangoon, Burma, sinking Nichimei Maru. Unknown to the American airmen, the transport was carrying Allied prisoners of war, 500 of whom would be lost in the sinking. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The US 2nd Marine Regiment departed Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands for New Zealand. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The keel for submarine Manta was laid down. ww2dbase [Manta | CPC]
• Light carrier Hosho was assigned to the 3rd Force of the Mobile Force Training Force. ww2dbase [Hosho | CPC]
• 2 companies of "Loreto" combat engineers battalion of the Italian Air Force were transferred by ship from Sicily, Italy to Tunis, Tunisia; the remaining two companies of the 1st Air Force Assault Regiment "Amedeo d'Aosta" would remain in Sicily to repair airfields. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German aircraft raided Telepte Airfield in Tunisia three times and Youks-les-Bains Airfield in Algeria once. A total of 15 German aircraft were shot down during these attacks, four of which were claimed by Captain Carmon B. Boone of 59th Fighter Squadron of USAAF 33rd Fighter Group, flying a P-40 fighter. ww2dbase [CPC]

• US Navy SBD Dauntless dive bombers from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal and USAAF B-17 bombers attacked a convoy of nine Japanese destroyers northeast of New Georgia, Solomon Islands; four Japanese destroyers were damaged. A lone B-17 bomber attacked the Japanese airfield on Ballale island, Solomon Islands. To the north in the Caroline Islands, three transports escorted by destroyers departed from Truk for Bougainville with Japanese Army troops transferred from China. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | CPC]
• P-40F fighters of US 68th Fighter Squadron intercepted a group of Japanese destroyers off Faisi in the Solomon Islands. In the subsequent engagement, the US fighters shot down nine Japanese F1M float biplanes, three of which by Lieutenant Lloyd G. Huff. ww2dbase [Faisi | CPC]

• USS Grayback fired four torpedoes at a Japanese submarine in the Solomon Sea; all torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Grayback | Solomon Sea | CPC]

• The Pentagon, the new building in Virginia, United States and the future home of the US Department of War, was dedicated. ww2dbase [Pentagon | Arlington, Virginia | CPC]

15 Jan 1943 Interactive Map

• Soviet forces launched a new offensive near Leningrad, Russia. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | TH]
• Prichett was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Prichett | CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for light cruiser Nagara at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Akashi | Truk | CPC]

• Allied convoy JW-56A sailed into a storm off the Faroe Islands; it was redirected to Akureyri, Iceland for shelter. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Akureyri | CPC]

• German XIV Panzer Corps abandoned Monte Trocchio, Italy and fell back across the Rapido River; US II Corps would capture Monte Trocchio later in the same day. Meanwhile, General Juin's French troops captured Monte Santa Croce. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gustav Line | Monte Trocchio | TH, CPC]
• Free French Expeditionary Corps reached Castel Sant'Elia, Italy. ww2dbase [Battle of Monte Cassino | Castel Sant'Elia, Lazio | AC]

• Dwight Eisenhower arrived at the airport at Prestwick, Scotland, United States, where he was met by his new British military aide Lieutenant Colonel James Gault, a member of the Scots Guards regiment. ww2dbase [Dwight Eisenhower | Scotland | CPC]

15 Jan 1944 Interactive Map

• German report noted that the total number of prisoners in concentration camps was 714,211; there were about 40,000 guards at the camps. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
• Chuck Yeager flew his 61st and final mission over Europe. ww2dbase [Charles Yeager | CPC]

• 36 US Navy F4U fighters and several New Zealand fighters took off from Green Islands east of Australian Papua and attacked the Toboi wharf area of Rabaul, New Britain and the nearby floatplane anchorage. 7 aircraft were lost to poor weather en route back to Green Islands. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• Adolf Hitler ordered Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland to move from East Prussia, Germany to Poland to counter the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive. This counterattack would be repulsed by the Soviet 1st Byelorussian Front. ww2dbase [Vistula-Oder Offensive | Ostpreußen | CPC]
• Adolf Hitler departed the Adlerhorst headquarters in Wetterau, Germany, returning to Berlin. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | Berlin | CPC]
• Roza Shanina reached Eydtkuhnen, Ostpreußen (East Prussia), Germany (now Chernyshevskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). ww2dbase [Roza Shanina | Eydtkuhnen, Ostpreußen | CPC]
• Libelle was renamed Jagd. ww2dbase [F1 | CPC]

• USS Whale arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her tenth war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Whale | Pearl Harbor, Oahu | CPC]

• Allied aircraft attacked Japanese shipping in Hong Kong. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Sunfish departed Majuro, Marshall Islands for her tenth war patrol. ww2dbase [Sunfish (Gato-class) | Majuro | CPC]

• USS Ticonderoga launched Air Group 80 aircraft for strikes on Taiwan, hitting Kaneka Soda Company chemical plant (mis-identified as a magnesium plant) in Tainan, among other targets. 1 aircraft was lost on this day. ww2dbase [Raid into the South China Sea | Ticonderoga | DS, CPC]

• The Inrin Temporary Prisoners of War Camp in central Taiwan was closed. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) launched raids on Formosa (Taiwan) and Canton (Guangzhou) in China. ww2dbase [Raid into the South China Sea | Yorktown (Essex-class) | DS]

• German V-2 rocket hit Rainham, London, England, United Kingdom at about 2345, killing 14 and seriously injuring 4. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 2 | London, England | CPC]

• USS Iowa arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Iowa | San Francisco, California | CPC]

15 Jan 1945 Interactive Map

• Hornet (Essex-class) was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Hornet (Essex-class) | CPC]

• Aubrey Fitch stepped down as the Superintendent of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, United States. ww2dbase [Aubrey Fitch | Annapolis, Maryland | DS]

15 Jan 1947 Interactive Map

• Chen Changjie was captured by Chinese Communist forces in Tianjin, China. ww2dbase [Chen Changjie | Tianjin | CPC]

• Petre Dumitrescu passed away in Bucharest, Romania. ww2dbase [Petre Dumitrescu | Bucharest | CPC]

• Henry Arnold passed away in Sonoma, California, United States. ww2dbase [Henry Arnold | Sonoma, California | CPC]

• Ilse Koch was found guilty of incitement to murder, incitement to attempted murder, and incitement to the crime of committing grievous bodily harm. She was given the sentence of life imprisonment and forfeiture of civil rights. ww2dbase [Ilse Koch | CPC]
• Hellmuth Felmy was released from imprisonment. ww2dbase [Hellmuth Felmy | CPC]

• Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay was established on the former site of US Army's Fort Hase and US Navy's Naval Air Station Kaneohe in the US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Kaneohe Naval Air Station | Kaneohe, Oahu | CPC]

• The Military Tribunal of the Moscow District sentenced German prisoner of war Karl Kosch 25 years in prison for war crimes and for being a German spy. ww2dbase [Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany | Moscow | CPC]

• USS Sea Cat arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States for conversion into a Fleet Snorkel submarine. ww2dbase [Philadelphia Navy Yard | Sea Cat | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | CPC]

15 Jan 1952 Interactive Map

• USS Kimberly was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Kimberly | CPC]

• Ji Cheong-cheon passed away in Seoul, Korea. ww2dbase [Ji Cheong-cheon | Seoul | CPC]

• Proteus entered Charleston Navy Yard, North Charleston, South Carolina, United States for lengthening and for conversion to a tender for Polaris Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines. ww2dbase [Proteus | North Charleston, South Carolina | CPC]

15 Jan 1959 Interactive Map

• Winston Churchill suffered a stroke, which caused a severe cerebral thrombosis. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | London, England | CPC]

• USS Preston departed Vietnamese waters. ww2dbase [Preston (Fletcher-class) | CPC]

• Sondrestrom Air Base in Greenland was assigned to the US Air Defense. ww2dbase [Bluie West Eight | South Greenland | CPC]

• Hein ter Poorten passed away at The Hague, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [Hein ter Poorten | The Hague | CPC]

15 Jan 1968 Interactive Map

• USS Bennington was placed out of commission for the last time at Bremerton, Washington, United States. ww2dbase [Bennington | Bremerton, Washington | DS]

15 Jan 1970 Interactive Map

• He Yingqin was named the head of the Chinese Red Cross. ww2dbase [He Yingqin | Taipei | CPC]

• USS Wisconsin launched Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraqi positions. ww2dbase [Wisconsin | CPC]

15 Jan 2007 Interactive Map