CBI - China: Day 110 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1933 — , January 5
CBI - China: Day 5 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , January 5
Spain: Day 173 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , January 5
Spain: Day 538 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 183 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 28 of 54 of the Battle of Nanking.
Day 24 of 50 of the Rape of Nanking.
1939 — , January 5
Spain: Day 903 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 548 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , January 5
UK: Lord Leslie Hore-Belisha resigns as Secretary of State for War and is replaced by Oliver Stanley.
Finland: Day 37 of 105 of the Russo-Finnish War.
Finland: Day 5 of 7 of the Battle of Raate Road in central Finland. The Finnish 9th Division begins an offensive which will lead to the near complete destruction of the Soviet 44th division in just 2 days.
CBI - China: Day 913 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 52 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , January 5
ETO - UK: Day 122 of 258 of the Blitz.
MTO - North Africa: Day 28 of 63 of the UK's Operation COMPASS, their campaign in North Africa against the Italians in Egypt and Libya. Italian 23rd Corps at Bardia, Libya, surrenders to the Australian forces. 45,000 Italian prisoners and 130 tanks are captured for just 500 Australian casualties.
East Africa: Day 210 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,279 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 97 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , January 5
ETO - Germany: Airey Neave becomes the first British officer to successfully escape from a German POW camp (Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Germany). Disguised in a crafted German uniform, he walks straight out the front gate.
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Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave
Airey Neave was the first British officer to successfully escape from a German POW camp (Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Germany). Disguised in a hand-crafted German uniform, he escaped by walking straight out the front gate and then by train and by foot to Danzig where he slipped onto a boat to neutral Sweden. Six weeks later he was flown home to England.
He was later recruited as an intelligence agent for MI9 and went on to serve with the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. As a well-known war hero, as well as a qualified lawyer who spoke fluent German, he was honored with the role of reading the indictments to the Nazi leaders on trial. He wrote several books about his war experiences including an account of the Nuremberg Trial.
Airey Neave went on to become Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). He was assassinated in 1979 in a car-bomb attack at the House of Commons. The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) claimed responsibility.
Dates related to POW escapes...
31 Mar 41: British private becomes first to escape German POW camp
25 Jun 41: French POW attempts to escape Colditz dressed as woman
02 Jul 41: French POW escapes Colditz, scaling outer wall
Russian Front - North: Day 120 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 96 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 68 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. All further German attacks against the Crimean fortress of Sevastopol are stopped for the winter. Soviets attempt a landing at Eupatoria. but are driven back by the German defenders.
CBI - Burma: Day 23 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,644 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 13 of 99 of the 3rd Battle of Changsha.
CBI - Malaya: Day 29 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya.
PTO - Borneo: Day 21 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Philippines: Day 29 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. 80,000 US and Filipino troops successfully complete their withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula, along with 26,000 civilians. US 5th Air Force B-17s attack shipping in Davao Bay on Mindanao Island.
1943 — , January 5
Russian Front - North: Day 485 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 48 of 59 of the Battle of Velikiye Luki, near Leningrad. This stalemate does help ease the siege a little, but mostly it keeps German troops from being sent to other fronts.
Russian Front - North: Day 246 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - South: Day 137 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
Russian Front - South: Day 25 of 69 of the USSR's Operation LITTLE SATURN. A successful drive into the Northern Caucasus and the Donets Basin pushing the Axis troops out.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 50 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. US 5th Army is set up under Lieutenant General Mark Clark. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support.
MTO - Libya: A severe two-day storm sharply decreases the capacity of the Bengasi port and forces the British 8th Army to make a greater use of the more distant port of Tobruk.
CBI - Burma: Day 16 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,009 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 213 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force B-25s sink a Japanese cargo vessel and a B-24 sinks another freighter shortly afterward.
PTO - Malaya: Day 321 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 48 of 66 of the Battle of Buna-Gona. Australian troops reach Soputa. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: US 5th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb targets at Rabaul, New Britain. Two of the B-17s are lost, one taking Brigadier General Kenneth Walker to his death.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 152 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal. B-17s attack a Japanese cruiser at Buin.
1944 — , January 5
ETO: US 8th Air Force heavy bombers hit strategic targets in Germany and France. The 91st Bomb Group becomes the first group to complete 100 missions.
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91st Bomb Group Propeller Memorial, Bassingbourn, England
The 91st Bomb Group, known unofficially as the Ragged Irregulars, conducted 340 bombing missions with the Eighth Air Force over Europe, operating out of RAF Bassingbourn in England. The unit consisted of the 322nd, 323rd, 324th, and 401st Bomb Squadrons and operated B-17 Flying Fortress 4-engine heavy bombers, the most noted of which was the Memphis Belle.
Marker at the Propeller Memorial
ETO - Germany: Day 49 of 135 of the Battle of Berlin (RAF bombing campaign). Stettin is the main target for the first time since September, 1941. It is attacked by 348 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes. A diversionary raid by 13 Mosquitos on Berlin and 25 to four other targets fool German night fighters and RAF losses are only 16 aircraft, or 4.5% of the force.
Atlantic: The last of four German blockade-runners from Japan are sunk in the South Atlantic.
Russian Front - North: Day 850 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 611 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket. USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - South: Day 13 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 13 of 22 of the Battle of Zhitomir, Russia. This will create a 70 mile gap in the German line.
Russian Front - South:> Day 1 of 12 of the Battle of Kirograd, Ukraine. The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front extends the Russian offensive in temperatures of -20°C.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops.
CBI - Burma: Day 7 of 99 of the 2nd Battle of Arakan.
CBI - Burma: US 10th Air Force attacks the Mu River bridge between Monywa and Ywataung, during which they sink a river steamer.
CBI - China: Day 2,374 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Marshall Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs on Emidj Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 109 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 106 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 22 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 66 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands.
1945 — , January 5
ETO - France: Day 158 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 113 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Belgium: Day 21 of 41 of the Battle of the Bulge. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Belgium: Day 6 of 26 of Operation NORDWIND, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front.
ETO - Germany: Day 109 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force heavy bombers hit targets in central Germany.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 113 of 223 of the Lapland War. Finland and Russia have joined forces to kick the Germans out of Finland's most northern province.
Russian Front - Center: Day 83 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 76 of 99 of the Siege of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia.
Russian Front - South: Day 69 of 108 of the Battle of Budapest, Hungary.
MTO - Yugoslavia: US 15th Air Force B-24s bomb the Zagreb railroad sidings.
MTO - Italy: US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI: US 10th and 14th Air Forces attack several targets in China, Burma and Thailand.
CBI - Burma: Day 280 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,740 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: US 11th Air Force B-24s fly an air coverage mission for a naval task force on its approach to Suribachi on Paramushiru Island.
PTO - Japan: US 7th Air Force B-24s bomb Iwo Jima.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 375 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 259 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. Australian troops land at Saposa to engage Japanese troops at Waitavolo.
PTO - Philippines: Day 78 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 22 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
Day-By-Day listings for January 5 were last modified on Sunday, March 4, 2018
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