January 13
Pacific, Papua New Guinea
The Japanese in New Guinea finally lose control of the Kokoda Trail - a major route across the Owen Stanley Range to Port Moresby, which they intended to use as an air base. Fighting between General Douglas MacArthur's Australian and US troops and the Japanese has been going on since March 1942.

January 14-23
Politics, Allies
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet at Casablanca, Morocco. The conference highlights differences between them regarding the defeat of Hitler.

The British want to keep fighting in the Mediterranean before the main attack on Europe via the English Channel. They propose invasions of Sicily and Italy as a means of drawing German reserves away from France and the Low Countries, which will precipitate the fall of Mussolini; and establishing air bases in Italy, from where German armaments factories and Romanian oil-producing facilities can be bombed.

The Americans believe this will only dissipate resources for the cross-Channel invasion, and tie down forces in a sideshow. They believe the quickest way to defeat Hitler is an invasion of northern France. However, as a cross-Channel invasion is not possible in 1943, they grudgingly accept the invasion of Sicily (though no invasion of Italy is planned).

A further source of disagreement is Roosevelt's 'unconditional surrender'; call. Churchill wants to split the Axis by treating Italy differently, but is persuaded to go along with the US view after considering that a more lenient treatment of Italy will only antagonize Greece and Yugoslavia.

January 15-22
Africa, Libya
The British Eighth Army attacks Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's forces at Buerat and pursues them to the Homs and Tarhuna area, approximately 100 miles (150 km) from Tripoli, the capital. British forces reach Homs on the 19th, and Rommel resumes his retreat toward Tunisia. Although Rommel has been ordered to defend Tripoli, he decides to save his troops and abandons the city on the 22nd to make a stand around Mareth.

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