January 4
Far East, Burma
Units of General William Slim's British Fourteenth Army make an unopposed landing on the island of Akyab, securing the port and the airfield. January 4-6
Pacific, Philippines
Prior to the landings on Luzon, the Japanese launch a series of kamikaze attacks on ships of the US 7th Fleet. Over 1000 Americans and Australians are killed in the suicide attacks, a minesweeper is sunk, and more than 30 other vessels are damaged. January 5
Air War, Belgium/Holland
The Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte in support of the Ardennes offensive with 1035 fighters and bombers attacking Allied airfields in Belgium and southern Holland. The Germans destroy 156 Allied aircraft but lose 277 of their own, losses the Luftwaffe cannot make good. It is the last major German air attack. January 7
Eastern Front, Hungary
German forces capture Esztergom, northwest of Budapest, a Nazi National Redoubt, in their attempt to relieve the garrison in the capital.  Following their unopposed landing, troops of the US Sixth Army examine a knocked-out Japanese tank of Luzon January 9
Pacific, Philippines
Preceded by a heavy bombardment, units of the US Sixth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, make unopposed amphibious landings on Luzon. January 10-February 10
Eastern Front, Czechoslovakia
With the Red Army on their soil, Czech partisans begin to attack German units and supply lines. January 12-17
Eastern Front, Poland
The Red Army begins its Vistula-Oder offensive. Soviet forces total over two million men: Marshal Georgi Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front, and General Ivan Petrov's 4th Ukrainian Front. In addition, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front and General Ivan Chernyakhovsky's 3rd Belorussian Front are providing tactical and strategic cooperation. The Soviets make excellent progress, and by the 17th, Zhukov's Second Guards Tank Army has reached Sochaczew. To the north, the 1st Baltic, 2nd Belorussian, and 3rd Belorussian Fronts launch an offensive into East Prussia on the 13th. prev | next |
