CBI - China: Day 111 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1933 — , January 6
CBI - China: Day 6 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , January 6
Spain: Day 174 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , January 6
Spain: Day 539 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 184 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 29 of 54 of the Battle of Nanking.
Day 25 of 50 of the Rape of Nanking.
1939 — , January 6
Spain: Day 904 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 549 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , January 6
Finland: Day 38 of 105 of the Russo-Finnish War. Finnish pilot Lt Sarvanto shoots down six out of seven Soviet SB-2 bombers in just five minutes time.
Finland: Day 6 of 7 of the Battle of Raate Road in central Finland.
CBI - China: Day 914 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 53 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , January 6
USA: In his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Roosevelt gives his "Four Freedoms" speech in which he describes the four fundamentals that people everywhere in the world ought to enjoy.
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Franklin D Roosevelt, 06 Feb 41
Eleven months before the US would enter the war, FDR's State of the Union speech before Congress was largely about the national security of the United States and the threat to other democracies from the world at war. In the speech, he began to stray from his promises of non-interventionism, outlining the US role in helping allies already engaged in warfare and preparing the nation for its inevitable entry in the war.
From the Four Freedoms speech...
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
Roosevelt was clearly taking a bold step forward in preparing the nation for the future and outlining the goals of victory and even his vision of the role of the forthcoming United Nations. The Four Freedoms would, indeed, become the staple of America's war aims and the center of all attempts to rally public support for the war.
Engraving of the Four Freedoms at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington DC
Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings
Norman Rockwell related dates...
06 Jan 41: FDR delivers his "Four Freedoms" speech to Congress
20 Feb 43: Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech is published
27 Feb 43: Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Worship is published
06 Mar 43: Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Want is published
13 Mar 43: Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Fear is published
29 May 43: Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter is published
MTO - North Africa: Day 29 of 63 of the UK's Operation COMPASS, their campaign in North Africa against the Italians in Egypt and Libya. Churchill demands that a number of troops be released from Wavell's offensive in Africa and sent to Greece. This turns out to be a big blunder.
East Africa: Day 211 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,280 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 98 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , January 6
USA: Roosevelt announces that US forces are to be based in UK.
Russian Front: In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Minister denounces German atrocities in occupied Russia, where in Kiev alone 52,000 people have been massacred.
Russian Front - North: Day 121 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 97 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 69 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula. All further German attacks against the Crimean fortress of Sevastopol are stopped for the winter.
MTO - Libya: Rommel's battered troops reach the Tripolitanian frontier, having evaded all British attempts to cut them off.
CBI - Burma: Day 24 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,645 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 14 of 99 of the 3rd Battle of Changsha.
CBI - Malaya: Day 30 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya.
PTO - Borneo: Day 22 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Philippines: Day 30 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines.
1943 — , January 6
Russian Front - North: Day 486 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 49 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 247 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 138 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
Russian Front - South: Day 26 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 51 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 17 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,010 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 214 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force B-24s bomb the Kiska submarine base area.
PTO - Malaya: Day 322 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 49 of 66 of the Battle of Buna-Gona. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: US 5th Air Force attacks a convoy off the coast of New Britain heading for Lae.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 153 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1944 — , January 6
UK: A joint RAF-USAAF statement discloses the hitherto secret development of jet aircraft in Britain and the USA. Full details of the Whittle turbojet given to USAAF General Arnold in July 1941 are revealed.
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Sir Frank Whittle (left) and Dr Hans von Ohain, postwar
German airplane designer Dr Hans von Ohain and Britain's Sir Frank Whittle are both recognized as being the co-inventors of the jet engine. Each worked separately and knew nothing of the other's work. Hans von Ohain is considered the designer of the first operational turbojet engine. Frank Whittle was the first to register a patent for the turbojet engine in 1930. Hans von Ohain was granted a patent for his turbojet engine in 1936. However, Hans von Ohain's jet was the first to fly in 1939. Frank Whittle's jet first flew in 1941.
The modern turbojet engine used in many British and American aircraft is based on the prototype that Frank Whittle invented.
Gloster-Whittle E28/39 aircraft, 23 Oct 45
The E28/39 was built by the Gloster Aircraft Co Ltd, and its chief designer was W G Carter. The E28/39 lifted off briefly while doing taxiing trials in April 1941 and made its first true flight of 17 minutes at Cranwell in May. It had a long research career during the Second World War flying with several different jet engines. Today, it is in the Science Museum, London, alongside the W1 engine, designed by Frank Whittle, which powered it for the first jet flight in Britain.
ETO: The Air Ministry says that Bomber Command dropped 157,000 tons of bombs on Germany in 1943, while the Luftwaffe dropped only 2,400 tons on Britain.
ETO: US 8th Air Force: Lieutenant General James H Doolittle assumes command, replacing Lieutenant General Ira C Eaker.
[+] show related dates
Doolittle related dates in WWII...
11 Mar 32: Doolittle sets world high speed land plane record
04 Apr 42: USS HORNET departs San Francisco for the Doolittle Raid
ETO - Germany: Day 50 of 135 of the Battle of Berlin (RAF bombing campaign). Small raids are made on Duisburg, Bristillerie, Dortmund and Solingen by 19 Mosquitos.
Russian Front - North: Day 851 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 612 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 - Center: Soviet troops advance into Poland after a 170-mile advance in just two weeks.
Russian Front - South: Day 14 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 14 of 22 of the Battle of Zhitomir, Russia. This will create a 70 mile gap in the German line.
Russian Front - South: Day 2 of 12 of the Battle of Kirograd, Ukraine.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground troops.
CBI - Burma: Day 8 of 99 of the 2nd Battle of Arakan.
CBI - Burma: US 10th Air Force attacks at Sumprabum, Taihpa Ga, and Kamaing.
CBI - China: Day 2,375 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force B-25s bomb and sink a troop ship on the Yangtze River.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 110 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 107 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 23 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 67 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands.
1945 — , January 6
ETO - France: Day 159 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 114 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Belgium: Day 22 of 41 of the Battle of the Bulge. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Belgium: Day 7 of 26 of Operation NORDWIND, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front.
ETO - Germany: Day 110 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force heavy bombers hit targets in western Germany.
Finland: The ban on dancing is lifted. It had been illegal to dance during wartime.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 114 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 84 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 77 of 99 of the Siege of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia.
Russian Front - South: Day 70 of 108 of the Battle of Budapest, Hungary. Soviets liberate Budapest freeing over 80,000 Jews.
MTO - Italy: US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI: US 14th Air Force attacks several targets in China and French Indochina.
CBI - Burma: Day 281 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,741 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: US 11th Air Force B-24s bomb Suribachi Bay Airfield while B-25s fly air coverage for a naval task force.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s bomb an aircraft factory at Omura, Kyushu Island.
PTO - Japan: US 7th Air Force B-24s bomb the airfields on Iwo Jima.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 376 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 260 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Philippines: Day 79 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 23 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon.
PTO - Philippines: Day 1 of 4 of the Allied Invasion landing at Lingayen Gulf. 5th Air Force provides air support.
Day-By-Day listings for January 6 were last modified on Thursday, March 8, 2018
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