January 1943

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

  Axis Jan-43 United Nations
Vichy France Thailand Romania Italy Germany Japan Total Class Total USAGreat Britain Free France Soviet UnionCanada AustraliaNew Zealand
0 0 0 3 2 9 14 Battleship 26 11 12 0 2 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 3 3 Fleet Carrier 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Light Carrier 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 2 1 9 12 Heavy Cruiser 20 5 9 0 5 0 1 0
1 0 0 7 4 16 27 Light Cruiser 62 21 30 2 1 0 2 1
0 8 7 73 51 85 224 Destroyer 447 196 137 14 45 18 10 0
0 4 0 72 331 50 457 Submarine 421 132 78 17 172 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 4 4 Escort Carrier 17 9 8 0 0 0 0 0
3 0 3 29 9 18 59 Escorts 363 13 234 15 12 75 2 0
1 3 0 0 4 0 7 Other 26 0 17 0 0 3 3 1

 

United NationsNeutral
Class PolandNetherlands NorwayGreece Brazil Yugoslavia Argentina ChileColumbiaPeru DenmarkSweden Portugal SpainTurkey
Battleship 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Fleet Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Light Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Heavy Cruiser 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Light Cruiser 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
Destroyer 5 2 4 9 7 0 15 8 2 2 0 18 5 16 6
Submarine 2 11 1 3 4 1 3 9 0 4 9 24 3 5 9
Escort Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Escorts 2 0 6 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Other 0 0 1 1 0 0 6 3 0 0 2 7 0 0 2

 

Friday 1st January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Great Britain Ajax Light Cruiser Damaged Damaged by a bomb from German aircraft, during an air raid at Bone harbour, French North Africa. The ship was hit by a 1,000 Ib bomb, two boiler rooms were put out of action whilst a third was damaged. She was disabled on 01/01/1943. Towed to Gibraltar for temporary repair 07/01/1943
 
Military

The Soviet Union announces the 22 German Divisions in Stalingrad. A relief German forces withdraw from encirclement by Soviet forces in southern Russia, before Stalingrad

Other

World Bantamweight Boxing Title Manuel Ortiz (USA) beat Kenny Lindsay (Canada) Pts 10, Portland Municipal Auditorium, Portland.

Saturday 2nd January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Suzukaze Destroyer Damaged Damaged by strafing bomb near misses from American aircraft, at Shortlands, in the Solomon Islands 02/01/1943. Arrives for temporary repairs at Rabaul 06/01/1943
 
Military

American and Australian forces recapture Buna, New Guinea

Sunday 3rd January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Germany U-410 Submarine Damaged Damaged by British Whitley aircraft in the Bay of Biscay 03/01/1943
Germany U-337 Submarine Lost Missing in the North Atlantic, 47 dead, 0 survivors last reported 57.40N 27.10W 03/01/1943
 
Monday 4th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

Prime Minister of Japan, General Hideki Tojo determining that the Allies' Guadalcanal Campaign was overcoming Japanese defence, ordered Japan's forces to evacuate Guadalcanal by the end of February. General Hitoshi Imamura would oversee the withdrawal of 10,000 troops from the island in the Solomons chain, abandoning the stronghold to the United States.

Other

A group of 300 men from the Jewish Fighting Organization tried to launch an uprising in the Częstochowa Ghetto, located in the Polish city of Częstochowa. The attempt was unsuccessful, and as punishment, the Nazi German occupiers shot 250 children and old people the next day. The remaining occupants would be shipped out to concentration camps by June.

Tuesday 5th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Uzuki Destroyer Damaged Damaged by bombs from American aircraft at Rabaul, whilst being repaired 05/01/1943. Arrived for repair Truk 26/01/1943
 
Wednesday 6th January 1943
Daily Report
Military

German Grand Admiral Erich Raeder tendered his resignation after a stormy meeting with Adolf Hitler.

Other

The United States Office of Price Administration (OPA) banned pleasure driving in 17 states in the Eastern American, beginning at noon on Thursday, and lowered the limit of fuel oil that could be used by "schools, churches, stores theatres and other non-residential establishments".

Thursday 7th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Italy Beragliere Destroyer Lost Bombed by Allied aircraft Palermo harbour 07/01/1943
 
Politics

American President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the annual State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, revealing that there were seven million men in the armed services, of which 1.5 million were overseas. and stated that "I am confident that though the fighting will be tough when the final Allied assault is made, the last vestige of Axis power will be driven from the south shores of the Mediterranean." Roosevelt said also that the bombing of Germany and Italy would continue to increase during 1943, adding, "Yes - the Nazis and Fascists have asked for it - and they are going to get it."

Friday 8th January 1943
Daily Report
Military

The German Sixth Army was completely encircled in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet Red Army commander, General Konstantin Rokossovsky, sent an ultimatum to the German commander, General Friedrich Paulus. Rokossovsky gave Paulus until 10:00 the next morning to surrender; if the Germans gave up, Rokossovsky said, they would be provided food and medical assistance. If 10:00 arrived without a surrender, the final attack would begin and the Germans would be destroyed. General Paulus was able to contact Adolf Hitler by radio, but Hitler refused the option to accept the terms. Paulus, who had been sceptical of the Soviet offer, let the ultimatum expire with no reply, and the attack would begin on Sunday.

Saturday 9th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Natori Light Cruiser Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from the American submarine Tautog, 18 miles from Ambon Island, in the Bunda Sea. Torpedo broke off her rudder, and the ship uses her propellers to steer & arrives at Ambon 04.07S 128.32E 09/01/1943
Italy Maestrale Destroyer Damaged Damaged by mine laid by British warship Abdiel 38 miles NNE off Bizerta, in the Mediterranean Sea 09/01/1943
Italy Corsaro Destroyer Lost Mined laid by British warship Abdiel, 38 miles NNE off Bizerta in the Mediterranean Sea 09/01/1943
 
Other

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the commander of the German SS, made a personal visit to the Warsaw Ghetto and was furious to discover that there were 40,000 Jews still residing there, despite his orders of July 19 and October 9, 1942, to clear the area before the end of the year. Himmler ordered SS Colonel Ferdinand von Sammern-Frankenegg to liquidate the ghetto by February 15

Soviet Jews in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR were forcibly removed by Nazi German forces from Ostropol, Krasyliv, Hrytsiv and Syniava taken to Starokostiantyniv, and shot.

Sunday 10th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Hatsukaze Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from American MTB PT-112, whilst running supplies to Guadalcanal. Torpedo hit caused flooding & limited her speed to 18 knots on 10/01/1943. Arrived for emergency repairs at Truk on 30/01/1943. Departed to Japan for repair 08/04/1943
Germany U-108 Submarine Damaged Damaged by depth charges from British Catalina aircraft W of Gibraltar 10/01/1943
USA Argonaut Submarine Lost Damaged by depth charges & forced to the surface by Japanese warships Isokaze, Hamakaze & Maikaze off Rabaul, New Britain, the boat surfaced & was then sunk by gunfire, 102 dead 05.40S 152.02E 10/01/1943
Japan Okikaze Destroyer Escort Lost Torpedoed by American submarine Trigger, 35 miles SE of Yokosuka, the torpedo hit her forward & folded up her bow, another torpedo hit her stern, and she sank quickly 35.02N 140.12E 10/01/1943
 
Military

Soviet forces assault on the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad begans, under the command of General Rokossovsky. On the city's western side, the Soviet 65th Army advanced from the west, supported by the 21st Army and 24th Army from the left and right, respectively. The 66th Army advanced from the north. and the 64th from the east.

Monday 11th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

The United States and the United Kingdom signed separate treaties with China, renouncing extraterritoriality privileges that the two nations had held for decades. "The relevant treaties", one historian would observe later, "meant that when China was liberated, there would be no longer British and American enclaves in her territory, that no foreign soldiers would control her seaports, that no British or American warships would be in Chinese waters and that the laws of China and her customs regulations would be drawn up by China and not by Britain, and above all, that there would be no boards with this notice on them: 'Chinese forbidden'."

Germany and Romania concluded a secret agreement providing for Germany to pay Romania thirty tons of gold and 43,000,000 Swiss francs in return for use of Romanian territory for German bases.

American war news delayed by censors, the American Navy revealed the names of ships that were lost in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, including the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, which had been sunk by a kamikaze pilot. Named also were three battle cruisers and seven destroyers.

 

Other

British SIS intercepted and decrypted the Höfle Telegram, a report sent by SS Major Hermann Höfle to his superior, Lt. Col. Adolf Eichmann, regarding the previous year's accomplishments in "Operation Reinhard" the extermination of Polish Jews. The report summed up that, in 1942, the death camps at Lublin, Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka had killed 1,274,166 Jews. The telegram would not be declassified until 2000.

German SS Major General Heinrich Müller began the deportation of 45,000 Polish Jews to German munitions factories. Over 19 days, 30,000 were taken from Bialystok in Poland, 10,000 from Theresienstadt, 3,000 from the Netherlands and 2,000 from Berlin.

Tuesday 12th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
USA Worden Destroyer Lost Wrecked on Amchitka Island, in the Aleutian Islands, whilst attempting to leave Constante Harbour. She hit an underwater rock pinnacle that tore a hole in her hull under the engine room, this caused a complete loss of power. American warship Dewey tried to tow her off the rocks but the line snapped, the ship began to break up & the crew was ordered to abandon ship, and 14 dead 12/01/1943
Italy Ardente Destroyer Escort Lost Collision with Italian warship Grecale, 3 miles N of Punta Barone, Sicily, causing boiler explosion & fire 12/01/1943
 
Politics

Chief of Government in Nazi-occupied Vichy France, Pierre Laval concluded a deal to cede the Departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais to Germany, as well as pledging the services of 400,000 skilled French workers for German use. The ten-point agreement also legitimized existing German control of industry, finance and agriculture within the occupation zone, while Laval was given authority over the police. Finally, Germany was to receive five destroyers and two large tugs, the remainder of the French fleet at Toulon.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was flown from England to Morocco, where he would make war plans with President Roosevelt. The news was not released until January 27, after his return.

 

Other

The parents of the "Sullivan brothers", five men from Waterloo, Iowa, who had served together on the USS Juneau, were informed that their sons had been listed as "missing in action" since the sinking of that ship in November. The loss of George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan was reported as "the heaviest blow suffered by any single family since Pearl Harbor, and probably in American naval history".

Wednesday 13th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Germany U-224 Submarine Lost Damaged by depth charge attack from Canadian warship Ville de Quebec in the western Mediterranean Sea, W of Algiers, boat forced to surface to be sunk by gunfire & ramming, 24 dead, 27 survivors captured 36.28N 00.49E 13/01/1943
Germany U-507 Submarine Lost Depth charged by American Catalina aircraft in the South Atlantic, NNE of Camocim, Brazil, 54 dead, 0 survivors 01.38S 39.52W 13/01/1943. Captain of the merchant ship Baron Dechmont last victim of the boat also died onboard
 
Politics

Adolf Hitler issued the "Führer decree on the full employment of men and women in the defence of the Reich" to bring another 500,000 men into the German armed forces by replacing male factory workers with women. Accordingly, all women between 17 and 45 years old were required to register for employment.

Other

The removal of the Jewish population from the Polish city of Radom was completed. Before the German invasion in 1939, Radom had 30,000 Jewish residents, one-third of the total population. A census taken at the end of 1945, after World War II ended, counted only 299 remaining Jews out of a population of 79,000.

Thursday 14th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Tanikaze Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a bomb near miss from American aircraft, during transport run to Guadalcanal 14/01/1943. Arrived for repair at Rabaul 16/01/1943
Japan Urakaze Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a bomb near miss from American aircraft, off Guadalcanal Island on 14/01/1943. Arrived for temporary repair at Rabaul on 26/01/1943
Italy Narvalo SubmarineScuttled Scuttled to avoid capture after being forced to surface by depth charge attack from British warships Pakenham, Hursley & British aircraft NE of Tripoli, in the Mediterranean Sea 34.01N 16.21E 14/01/1943
 
Politics

American President Roosevelt and his aides departed on a secret flight from Washington, D.C. to attend the Casablanca Conference in the capital of Morocco, where they were met by the British Prime Minister Churchill, who had departed London in similar secrecy. Their ten-day conference with Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud of the Free French forces was described by AP correspondent Wes Gallagher as "the most unprecedented and momentous meeting of the century" and one which "may decide the fate of the world for generations to come". The meetings, held at the Anfa Hotel, concluded on January 24 and were not revealed until three days after the leaders had returned home.

Military

Japanese forces began Operation Ke, the withdrawal from Guadalcanal, with the delivery of rearguard troops to the island.

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 120+ aircraft attack on Lorient, France. Pathfinders marked the target successfully, but the main bomber force missed the target

Friday 15th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Hamakaze Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a bomb near miss from American aircraft, during transport run to Guadalcanal 15/01/1943. Arrived for repair at Rabaul 16/01/1943
 
Politics

The Pentagon, now the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, was dedicated in Arlington, Virginia, only 16 months after construction had started on September 11, 1941. Each of its five sides is 921 feet long and 77 feet high, and the building covers 29 acres.

Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 160+ aircraft attack on Lorient, France. Pathfinders marked the target & it was successfully attacked

Saturday 16th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

Iraq entered World War II, declaring war on Germany, Italy and Japan.

Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Heavy night-time British air raid, 200+ aircraft attack on Berlin, Germany. The first attack on the capital in 14 months. Attack was successful hitting the Tempelhof district, destroying the Deutschlandhalle

Sunday 17th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Italy Bombardiere Destroyer Lost Torpedoed by British submarine United, 24 miles NW of Marettimo Island, in the Mediterranean Sea, the ship broke in half 38.15N 11.43E 17/01/1943
 
Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 170+ aircraft attack on Berlin, Germany. A less successful attack still managed to hit BMW's aero-engine works

Monday 18th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

War Food Order No. 1 came into effect in the United States, requiring for the first time that white bread be enriched with the nutrients niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and iron. Although the federal order expired at the end of World War II, most of the states of the American would continue the requirement after the war by legislation.

Military

The first Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, known as the January Revolt, begans on the day that Nazi German soldiers began their second deportation from Warsaw's Jewish ghetto. At 7:00 am, 200 SS troops and another 800 auxiliaries arrived at the ghetto and began the roundup of people to be taken to the Treblinka concentration camp. Members of the Jewish resistance organization Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB), led by Mordechai Anielewicz, armed with pistols, worked their way into the crowd of about 1,000 deportees, and, at a pre-arranged signal, emerged and began fighting the Germans. After four days of fighting, the deportations would halt, temporarily.

The Red Army of the Soviet Union broke the German Wehrmacht's 515-day siege of Leningrad. The Germans had besieged Leningrad since August 21, 1941. That day, General Georgy Zhukov became the first field commander of World War II to be promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union and awarded the Order of Suvorov in recognition of "successfully carrying out the general leadership of the counteroffensive at Stalingrad".

Tuesday 19th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Akizuki Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from the American submarine Nautilus, off Shortlands. Hit by 2 torpedoes one of which was a dud. The second torpedo flooded her starboard engine room & severely damaged her keel. She was able to steam at 20 knots, 14 dead, and 63 injured on 19/01/1943
 
Politics

The Senate of Chile voted 30-10 in favour of the decision by President Juan Antonio Rios to break off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers, a move that was finalized the next day. The move left Argentina the only Western Hemisphere nation with delegates from Germany, Italy and Japan.

Wednesday 20th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Italy Santorre Santaeosa Submarine Lost Aground off Tripoli in the Mediterranean Sea 19/01/1943. Torpedoed by British MTB 260 20/01/1943
 
Other

European Middleweight Boxing Title Jupp Besselmann ) beat Luc van Dam (Netherlands) Pts 15, Etablissement Sagebiel, Hamburg.

Thursday 21st January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Natori Light Cruiser Damaged Damaged by a bomb near miss from American Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft, the bomb opens some plates & causes the No 2 boiler room to flood on 21/01/1943. Temporary repair Seletar Naval Base, Singapore 02/02/1943. Arrived for repair & refitted at Maizuru 10/06/1943
Germany U-553 Submarine Lost Missing no explanation, in the mid-North Atlantic, 47 dead, 0 survivors, 21/01/1943
Germany U-301 Submarine Lost Torpedoed by British submarine Sahib, in the Mediterranean Sea WNW of Capo del Falcone, Sardinia, 45 dead 1 survivor 41.27N 07.04E 21/01/1943
Japan PB 01 Patrol Ship Lost Torpedoed by American submarine Guardfish, 65 miles WSW of Kavieng, New Ireland 02.51S 149.43E 21/01/1943
 
Friday 22nd January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

The Round up of Marseille began with the detention of over 4,000 Jews in Nazi-occupied Marseille as part of "Action Tiger", before being transported to extermination camps in Poland.

Military

Papua "became the first complete geographical unit to be won back from the Japanese", as Allied forces drove out the last pockets of Japan's resistance following the capture of Sanananda. Australia lost 2,000 men, the United States, 600, and the Japanese 13,000 men, with only 1,200 surviving from the occupation of Papua. "For the first time in World War II", one author would note, "the Allies had defeated the Japanese in a land operation."

German forces lost their last airfield at Stalingrad when Gumrak was taken.

Other

American President Roosevelt and Sultan Mohammed V of Morocco dined together at Anfa in a meeting that one author says "changed history". According to the President's son, Elliot Roosevelt, FDR said, "Why does Morocco, inhabited by Moroccans, belong to France? Anything must be better than to live under French colonial rule," and added, "When we've won the war, I will work with all my might and main to see to it that the United States is not wheedled into the position of accepting any plan that will further France's imperialistic ambitions."

Saturday 23rd January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Hakaze Destroyer Escort Lost Torpedoed by American submarine Guardfish, 15 miles SSW of Kavieng, New Ireland 02.47N 150.38E 23/01/1943
 
Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 120+ aircraft attack on Lorient, France.

The British 8th Army, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, captured Tripoli from Italy. The Italian Governor, Alberto Denti di Piranjo, formally surrendered to the British, relinquishing Italian control of Libya that had started in 1912.

The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse ended in Allied victory.

Other

The film Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, was released nationwide in the United States, after a successful opening in New York on Thanksgiving Day, 1942. Coincidentally, American President Roosevelt was secretly in the Moroccan capital of Casablanca at the time of the film's release.

Sunday 24th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan Nagara Light Cruiser Damaged Damaged by an accidental explosion of a shell during a gunnery exercise 60 miles W of Saipan. Damage to her superstructure 24/01/1943
Japan Harusame Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from the American warship Wahoo, off Wewak, New Guinea. Her keel was broken & she had to be beached in shallow water to avoid sinking on 24/01/1943. Towed by Japanese warships Amatsukaze & Urakaze and later tug Ojima from Wewak to Truk 17/02/1943. Arrived for repair at Yokosuka on 30/05/1943
 
Politics

The Casablanca Declaration was issued at the close of the Casablanca Conference in Morocco. American President Roosevelt announced, to the few correspondents permitted to go along on the secret trip, that he and U.K. Prime Minister Churchill had agreed that the Allies would accept nothing less than the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. "It does not mean the destruction of the population of Germany, Italy, or Japan," Roosevelt said, "but it does mean the destruction of the philosophies in those countries which are based on conquest and the subjugation of other people." The news would not be released until both leaders returned home from Morocco.

Other

For the first time since World War Two began, Germany's newspapers began printing pessimistic reports "apparently preparing the Germans for news of a disastrous defeat on the Eastern Front". The Völkischer Beobachter and the Börsen Zeitung were among those that carried the commentary from Karl Megerle, who wrote that "For the first time in this war, Germany faces reverse of a certain importance." At the same time, the Berlin correspondent for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that German radio had started playing "mourning music" between its news reports "instead of the usual lively tunes."

Monday 25th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

Five days before the 1939-1943 session of Germany's parliament, the Reichstag was scheduled to end, Adolf Hitler issued the decree that "The tenure of the presently existing Reichstag is extended until January 30, 1947."

Tuesday 26th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

Soviet Premier Stalin announced that in the winter offensive to drive out the Nazis, the Red Army had destroyed 102 German Army divisions and captured 200,000 prisoners.

Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 160+ aircraft attack on Lorient, France.

Wednesday 27th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Japan I-27 Submarine Damaged Damaged by collision off Penang 27/01/1943. Arrived for repair Singapore 28/01/1943
 
Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major Day time American air raid, on Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Targetting the German U-Boat pens

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 120+ aircraft attack on Dusseldorf, Germany. Successful attack causing widespread damage

Other

World Bantamweight Boxing Title Manuel Ortiz (USA) beat George Frietas (USA) Ko 10, Oakland Civic Auditorium, Oakland.

Thursday 28th January 1943
Daily Report
Politics

American Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson announced that the War Department would "ease restrictions on Americans of Japanese ancestry and employ loyal ones in war work", with the formation of a Japanese-American army unit. "It is the inherent right of every faithful citizen, regardless of ancestry, to bear arms in the nation's battle," Stimson said, at a time when most (120,000) Japanese-Americans had been confined to internment camps.

Friday 29th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
USA Chicago Heavy Cruiser Damaged Damaged by torpedoes from a Japanese Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' Navy aircraft, during the Battle of Rennel Island, hit by 2 torpedoes caused serious flooding & loss of all power, the ship was taken in tow by the American warship Louisville then tug Navajo 29/01/1942
Japan I-1 Submarine Lost Damaged by depth charges & forced to the surface by New Zealand warships Moa & Kiwi, in the Sealark Channel, Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal, the boat is hit by gunfire & rammed 3 times by Kiwi before she was run aground on Fish Reef, 300 yards N of Kamimbo, 27 dead, 66 survivors 29/01/1943
Great Britain Avon Vale Destroyer Escort Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from German He III Heinkel aircraft, whilst on convoy duty in the western Mediterranean Sea. Torpedo destroyed her bow & she had to be towed stern first by the British warship Bicester on 29/01/1943. Arrived for repair Chatham 22/07/1943
 
Politics

Germany's national radio network, the DNB, broadcast news of a decree that would draft "all men from 16 to 65 and all women from 17 to 45" for "labour", a day before the tenth anniversary of Adolf Hitler's appointment as Chancellor.

Saturday 30th January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
USA Chicago Heavy Cruiser Lost Torpedoed by Japanese Navy aircraft, when found aground & after being hit by 4 torpedoes she sank stern first 11.25S 160.56E 30/01/1943
USA La Vallette Destroyer Damaged Damaged by a torpedo from Japanese Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty' aircraft, during the Battle of Rennel Island, the ship was guarding the damaged American warship Chicago when attacked, 22 dead 30/01/1943
Italy Tritone Submarine Lost Sunk by British warship Antelope & Canadian warship Port Arthur off Bougie, Algeria, in the Mediterranean Sea 30/01/1943
Great Britain Samphire Corvette Lost Torpedoed by Italian submarine Platino, whilst escorting TE-14 off Bougie, Algeria, 36.56N 05.40E 30/01/1943
 
Politics

On the 10th Anniversary of Hitler's assumption of power in Germany, General Friedrich Paulus was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal and instructed to fight to the death in Stalingrad, while Karl Dönitz was promoted to Commander in Chief of the German Navy, replacing Erich Raeder.

Military

Allied Bomber Offensive: Major night-time British air raid, 150+ aircraft attack on Hamburg, Germany.

Sunday 31st January 1943
Daily Report
Naval

 

Country Vessel Type Report Description
Germany U-519 Submarine Lost Missing Bay of Biscay 50 dead, 0 survivors 31/01/1943
 
Military

At 7:35 in the morning in Stalingrad, Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus surrendered 90,000 German troops to Soviet Army Lt. Fyodor Ilchenko. Of the 250,000 German troops that had invaded the Soviet Union, less than 5,000 would ever return home.

American President Roosevelt returned to the White House after having been away for 23 days in conferences in Morocco, Liberia and Brazil.