CBI - China: Day 122 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1933 — , January 17
CBI - China: Day 17 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , January 17
Spain: Day 185 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , January 17
Spain: Day 550 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 195 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 40 of 54 of the Battle of Nanking.
Day 36 of 50 of the Rape of Nanking.
1939 — , January 17
Spain: Day 915 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 560 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1940 — , January 17
Finland: Day 49 of 105 of the Russo-Finnish War.
CBI - China: Day 925 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 64 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , January 17
ETO - UK: Day 134 of 258 of the Blitz.
MTO - North Africa: Day 40 of 63 of the UK's Operation COMPASS, their campaign in North Africa against the Italians in Egypt and Libya.
East Africa: Day 222 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt. During the night, the Italians evacuate Kassala and Gallalabat in the Sudan.
CBI - China: Day 1,291 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 109 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , January 17
Germany: Field Marshal von Reichenau, author of the oath required for all German officers to take, swearing allegiance not to Germany, but to Hitler, dies of a stroke.
Spotlight...
Field Marshal von Reichenau meets Adolf Hitler in Poland
The Hitler Oath...
"I swear by God this sacred oath that to the Leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, I shall render unconditional obedience and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath."
The popular view that the oath of personal loyalty to Hitler was imposed on the military by Hitler himself is not true. Hitler was actually taken by surprise at the oath, which was the initiative of Defense Minister General Werner von Blomberg and Ministeramt chief General Walther von Reichenau, who would later be promoted to Field Marshal.
Before Hitler took office, the military swore the Reichswehreid to the German constitution and president. The intention of Blomberg and Reichenau in having the military swear an oath to Hitler was to create a personal special bond between him and the military, which was intended to tie Hitler more tightly toward the military and away from the NSDAP.
Blomberg later admitted that he did not think through the full implications of the oath at the time.
Atlantic: Day 4 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
Russian Front - North: Day 132 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 9 of 29 of the Battle of Toropets, Russia. A failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 10 of 103 of the Battle of Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 10 of 103 of the Battle of Sychevsk, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 80 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 - North Africa: The last German garrison at Halfaya in Cyrenaica surrenders to British forces, with about 5,500 prisoners taken.
ATO: US Hawaiian Air Force: Aircraft unsuccessfully attack submarines found in the Hawaiian Island area.
CBI - Burma: Day 35 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,656 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 25 of 99 of the 3rd Battle of Changsha.
CBI - Malaya: Day 41 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya.
PTO - Borneo: Day 33 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Philippines: Day 41 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. Heavy losses are inflicted on US troops in Bataan as Japanese troops press the defenders back.
1943 — , January 17
ETO - UK: US 8th Air Force: Flying Spitfires, the 4th Fighter Group flies ship protection patrols over the Channel.
Russian Front - North: Day 497 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 6 of 19 of USSR's Operation ISKRA (Operation SPARK) on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, north of Leningrad. This Soviet victory will help ease the siege at Leningrad a little bit more.
Russian Front - North: Day 258 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 149 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
Russian Front - South: Day 37 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 - Libya: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 62 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 28 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,021 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 225 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 333 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 60 of 66 of the Battle of Buna-Gona. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 164 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1944 — , January 17
MTO - Italy: Day 1 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. The Allies make their first ground attack toward Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground troops.
Spotlight...
06 Feb 44 photo of Cassino, Italy, in foreground with Castle Cassino on small hill and the Monte Cassino Monastery on the large hill behind
The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by the Germans and Italians during the Italian Campaign of WWII. The intention was a breakthrough to Rome.
Monte Cassino, an historic hilltop abbey founded in AD 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys, but had been left unoccupied by the German defenders. The Germans had, however, manned some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey's walls.
Fearing that the abbey did form part of the Germans' defensive line, primarily as a lookout post, the Allies sanctioned its bombing on 15 February and American bombers proceeded to drop 1,400 tons of bombs onto it. The destruction and rubble left by the bombing raid now provided better protection from aerial and artillery attacks, so, two days later, German paratroopers took up positions in the abbey's ruins. Between 17 January and 18 May, Monte Cassino and the Gustav defenses were assaulted four times by Allied troops, the last involving twenty divisions attacking along a twenty-mile front. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost.
Related WWII Store items...
Monte Cassino: The Hardest Fought Battle of World War I
Russian Front - North: Day 862 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 623 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 - North: Day 4 of 48 of the Battle toward the Narva River, Estonia. This drive helps lift the Leningrad siege and liberate Narva.
Russian Front - North: Day 4 of 17 of the Battle of Krasnoye Selo-Ropsha, Russia (Operation JANUARY THUNDER). This victory will push the German line west of Leningrad back far enough to reopen the Moscow-Leningrad railroad.
Russian Front - North: Day 4 of 33 of the Battle of Luga, Russia. Taking this town west of Leningrad will open the door toward Estonia.
Russian Front - South: Day 25 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
MTO - Yugoslavia: US 12th Air Force P-40s hit the harbor at Sibenik.
CBI - Burma: Day 19 of 99 of the 2nd Battle of Arakan.
CBI - China: Day 2,386 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Marshall Islands: US 7th Air Force attacks enemy targets on Mille Atoll.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 121 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 118 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 34 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 78 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , January 17
ETO - France: Day 170 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 125 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Belgium: Day 33 of 41 of the Battle of the Bulge. US 9th Air Force provides air support.
ETO - Belgium: Day 18 of 26 of Operation NORDWIND, the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front.
ETO - Germany: Day 121 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force heavy bombers attack oil refineries at Hamburg and Harburg.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 125 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 95 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 88 of 99 of the Siege of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 6 of 23 of the Battle along the Vistula and Oder Rivers in central Poland and eastern Germany.
Russian Front - Center: Day 4 of 21 of the Battle of Warsaw, Poland. Soviets troops cross the Warthe and advance 100 miles on a 160-mile front, forcing the Germans to evacuate Warsaw.
Russian Front - South: Day 81 of 108 of the Battle of Budapest, Hungary. The German defenders encircled at Budapest withdraw to Buda on the western bank of the Danube. The Soviets also capture Czenstochova.
MTO - Italy: US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - Burma: Day 292 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,752 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
US 14th Air Force B-25s attack targets in China and French Indochina.
PTO - Formosa: US 20th Air Force B-29s bomb the airfield at Shinchiku.
PTO - Japan: US 7th Air Force B-24s bomb the airfields on Iwo Jima.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 387 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 271 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Philippines: Day 90 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 34 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
1946 — , January 17
London: The United Nations holds its first Security Council meeting, adopting rules and setting procedures.
[+] show related dates
Related dates (United Nations)...
12 Jun 41: Inter-Allied Declaration is signed in London, first step to the UN
14 Aug 41: Atlantic Charter signed, defining goals for post-war world
01 Jan 42: First use of term "United Nations" in Washington DC
24 Oct 45: UN Charter ratified by 5 members of Security Council
19 Dec 45: Eleanor Roosevelt appointed delegate to the UN
10 Jan 46: First General Assembly held, 51 nations represented
17 Jan 46: First Security Council meeting, adopting rules, procedures
12 Apr 46: The League of Nations holds its final meeting
24 Jan 46: First resolution adopted, focusing on atomic energy
10 Dec 48: General Assembly adopts Declaration of Human Rights
24 Oct 49: Cornerstone laid for UN Headquarters in New York City
Spotlight...
