January 1945

January

• 01

  • Operation Nordwind beginsOn New Year's Eve the Germans struck the overstretched US Seventh Army in northern Alsace. Operation Nordwind was their last great offensive in the west.
  • Operation BodenplatteOn 1 January 1945 the Luftwaffe hit Allied airfields in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, destroying hundreds of aircraft but losing 300 and over 200 pilots.
  • The Chenogne massacreOn 1 January 1945, in the Belgian village of Chenogne near Bastogne, soldiers of the US 11th Armored Division killed some 60–80 German prisoners.
• 02

  • The B-29 raid on BangkokOn 2–3 January 1945 B-29s from India attacked the Rama VI Bridge in Bangkok – the only rail crossing of the Chao Phraya – and put it out of action for a time.
  • Kamikaze on the road to LuzonFrom early January 1945 kamikaze struck the fleet bound for Lingayen Gulf. Ommaney Bay was sunk; New Mexico, California and HMAS Australia were hit.
• 03

  • The attack on HouffalizeOn 3 January 1945 the US First Army attacked from the north towards Houffalize. The Allies chose a shallow pincer at mid-salient, not a cut at its base.
• 04

  • The January raids on FormosaOn 3–4 January 1945 Halsey's carriers struck Formosa and the Ryukyus to cover the Luzon invasion. They returned over the island on 9, 15 and 21 January.
• 05

  • The Gambsheim bridgeheadOn 5 January 1945 the German 553rd Volksgrenadier Division crossed the Rhine at Gambsheim, north of Strasbourg, and formed a bridgehead on the left bank.
  • The pursuit to the IrrawaddyIn early 1945 Japan's Fifteenth Army fell back behind the Irrawaddy; Slim's Fourteenth Army crossed the Chindwin and pursued it over the Shwebo plain.
• 06

  • B-29 raids on Japan in January 1945On 6 January 1945 B-29s from China bombed Ōmura and Hansell learned he was relieved. That month Marianas B-29s hit Nagoya, Tokyo and Akashi to meagre effect.
• 07

  • Operation Sonnenwende in AlsaceOn 7 January 1945 the Germans struck north from the Colmar Pocket towards Strasbourg. The French lost a battalion at Obenheim but halted the attack on the Ill.
• 08

  • The dispute over StrasbourgIn early January 1945 Eisenhower wanted to pull back from around Strasbourg. De Gaulle refused and forced a change on 3 January. The French defended the city.
• 09

  • Key eventAmericans in Lingayen GulfOn 9 January 1945 Krueger’s Sixth Army landed almost unopposed in Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Kamikazes kept attacking the ships of the invasion fleet.
• 11

  • The first convoy on the Ledo RoadIn January 1945 the first convoy took the Ledo Road from India across northern Burma to China, leaving Ledo on 12 January and reaching Kunming on 4 February.
• 12

  • Key eventThe Vistula–Oder offensive beginsOn 12 January 1945 Konev’s 1st Ukrainian Front struck from the Sandomierz bridgehead, opening an offensive that took the Red Army to the Oder in three weeks.
• 13

  • The East Prussian offensive beginsOn 13 January 1945 the 3rd Belorussian Front attacked East Prussia; next day the 2nd Belorussian Front struck from the Narew. The East Prussian offensive began.
• 14

  • Operation BlackcockIn mid-January 1945 the British XII Corps attacked the Roer Triangle between the Meuse and the Roer. By 26 January it had cleared almost all of it.
• 15

  • The Athens truceOn 15 January 1945 a truce between ELAS and the British came into force, ending the Dekemvriana – the battle for Athens that the Greek left had lost.
• 16

  • The link-up at HouffalizeOn 16 January 1945 patrols of the US First and Third Armies met near Houffalize. The Bulge was cut, but pushing the Germans back went on until 28 January.
• 17

  • Key eventThe entry into WarsawOn 17 January 1945 units of the Polish 1st Army and the Red Army took the ruins of left-bank Warsaw. A new, communist authority arrived with the troops.
• 19

  • Hitler's order of 19 JanuaryAfter the loss of Warsaw, Hitler ordered commanders from division level upwards to report every intended retreat, attack or abandonment in advance.
  • Key eventDissolution of the Home ArmyOn 19 January 1945 Gen. Okulicki dissolved the Home Army and released its soldiers from their oath. A secret order kept staffs, arms and radio links for "NIE".
• 20

  • The flight from East PrussiaAround 20 January 1945 a mass flight of civilians began from East Prussia. Koch had long banned evacuation, so the wagon columns left too late, in bitter frost.
  • Roosevelt's fourth inaugurationOn 20 January 1945 Roosevelt took his fourth presidential oath on the White House portico and Truman became vice-president. The speech lasted about six minutes.
• 23

  • The execution of Helmuth James von MoltkeOn 23 January 1945 Helmuth James von Moltke, founder of the Kreisau Circle, was hanged at Plötzensee, sentenced by Freisler for pondering Germany after Hitler.
• 24

  • The Battle of Poznań beginsOn 24 January 1945 the 1st Belorussian Front cut off Poznań, declared a fortress. The battle for the city ended only on 23 February at the Citadel.
• 25

  • The shelling of Iwo JimaOn 24 January 1945 American cruisers and bombers struck Iwo Jima once again, as preparations went on for Operation Detachment, finally set for 19 February.
• 27

  • Key eventThe liberation of AuschwitzOn 27 January 1945 soldiers of the Soviet 60th Army entered Auschwitz. They found some 7,000 prisoners, hundreds of bodies and stores of victims’ belongings.
• 28

  • The capture of KlaipėdaOn 28 January 1945 the Red Army took Klaipėda, abandoned overnight by the Germans. After a three-month siege, the whole of Lithuania was in Soviet hands.
• 30

  • The Malta ConferenceOn 30 January 1945 British and American chiefs of staff met on Malta to agree the plan for the attack on Germany before Yalta. Roosevelt joined on 2 February.
• 31

  • The bridgehead on the OderOn 31 January 1945 a forward detachment of the 5th Shock Army crossed the frozen Oder at Kienitz and seized a bridgehead some 70 km from Berlin.
  • The landings at Zambales and NasugbuOn 29 January 1945 XI Corps landed unopposed in Zambales to seal off Bataan; on 31 January the 11th Airborne Division came ashore at Nasugbu, south of Manila.
  • The opening of the Stilwell RoadAt the end of January 1945 the Ledo Road joined the Burma Road. The first convoy from India drove into China and the land blockade of China was broken.