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'{{short description|Month of 1945}} {{Events by month|1945}} {{calendar|year=1945|month=January}} The following events occurred in '''January 1945''': ==[[January 1]], 1945 (Monday)== *The [[Luftwaffe]] executed [[Operation Bodenplatte]], an attempt to cripple Allied air forces in the [[Low Countries]]. The operation was a tactical German success but failed in its aim of achieving air superiority. *[[Chenogne massacre]]: American soldiers retaliated for the [[Malmedy massacre]] by killing German prisoners of war near the village of [[Chenogne, Belgium]]. *Britain refused to recognize the [[Polish Committee of National Liberation]].<ref name="chronicle of the 20th c.">{{cite book |date=1989 |editor-last=Mercer |editor-first=Derrik |title=Chronicle of the 20th Century |location=London |publisher=Chronicle Communications Ltd. |page=616 |isbn=978-0-582-03919-3 }}</ref> *German radio broadcast a New Year's Day address by [[Adolf Hitler]]. The 26-minute speech offered no information on the battlefield situation or any hint that the war was nearing its end, only a declaration that the war would continue until victory was won. The foreign media speculated as to whether the speech was live or pre-recorded, and even whether it was Hitler's voice at all.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |date=2001 |title=Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis |publisher=Penguin Books |type=ebook |isbn=978-0-14-192581-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=January 2, 1945 |title=Hitler Confident of Victory |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68909023 |journal=The Advocate |location=Burnie |page=5 }}</ref> ==[[January 2]], 1945 (Tuesday)== *[[Royal Air Force|RAF]] bombers conducted heavy raids on [[Nuremberg]] and [[Ludwigshafen]]; in both cities over 2,300 tons of bombs were dropped.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chroniknet.de/extra/was-war-am/?ereignisdatum=2.1.1945 |title=Was war am 02. Januar 1945 |website=chroniknet |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> Some ninety percent of Nuremberg's old medieval town center was destroyed.<ref>{{cite book |date=1995 |editor1-last=Ring |editor1-first=Trudy |title=International Dictionary of Historic Places, Volume 2: Northern Europe |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-63951-7 }}</ref> *[[Philippines Campaign (1944–45)|Philippines Campaign]]: A U.S. bombardment fleet bound for invasion beaches on [[Luzon]] left [[Leyte]] with a force including six battleships, twelve escort carriers and thirty-nine destroyers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ross |first=Steven T. |date=1997 |title=American War Plans, 1941–1945: The Test of Battle |publisher=Routledge |page=151 |isbn=978-0-7146-4634-3 }}</ref> *'''Died:''' [[Bertram Ramsay]], 61, British admiral (plane crash near Paris) ==[[January 3]], 1945 (Wednesday)== * In The Philippines, the [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf]] commences with a six-day Allied naval bombardment, which is countered with intense kamikaze attacks *The [[Battle of Bure]] began as part of the [[Battle of the Bulge]]. *British forces made landings on the Burmese island of [[Sittwe|Akyab]] with little resistance from the Japanese.<ref name="burma star">{{cite web |url=http://www.burmastar.org.uk/burma-campaign/diary-1941-45/1945/ |title=1945 |website=Burma Star Association |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325171706/http://www.burmastar.org.uk/burma-campaign/diary-1941-45/1945/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> *General [[Nikolaos Plastiras]] became [[Prime Minister of Greece]]. *'''Born:''' [[Stephen Stills]], rock musician, in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] *'''Died:''' [[Edgar Cayce]], 67, American mystic ==[[January 4]], 1945 (Thursday)== *The American escort carrier [[USS Ommaney Bay (CVE-79)|USS ''Ommaney Bay'']] was severely damaged in the [[Sulu Sea]] by a Japanese [[kamikaze]] attack. The ship was abandoned and then scuttled by a torpedo from the destroyer [[USS Burns (DD-588)|USS ''Burns'']]. *Allied forces captured the Burmese island of [[Sittwe|Akyab]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/british-burma-1920-1948/ |title=British Burma (1920–1948) |website=University of Central Arkansas |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *[[Geoffrey Fisher]] was appointed the new [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] to succeed the late [[William Temple (bishop)|William Temple]].<ref name="chronicle of the 20th c." /> *'''Born:''' [[Richard R. Schrock]], chemist and Nobel laureate, in [[Berne, Indiana]] ==[[January 5]], 1945 (Friday)== *The [[Battle of Bure]] ended in Allied victory. *The first mission of [[Operation Cornflakes]] was carried out, when a mail train to [[Linz]] was bombed and then bags containing false, but properly addressed, propaganda letters were dropped at the site of the wreck so they would be picked up and delivered to Germans by the postal service. *'''Died:''' [[Ala Gertner]], 32, Polish woman hanged at [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] for her role in the ''[[Sonderkommando]]'' revolt of October 1944; [[Julius Leber]], 53, German politician (executed by the Nazis at [[Plötzensee Prison]]) ==[[January 6]], 1945 (Saturday)== *Japanese ''kamikaze'' attacks against American ships in the [[Lingayen Gulf]] region damaged the battleships [[USS New Mexico (BB-40)|USS ''New Mexico'']] and ''[[USS California (BB-44)|California]]'', two cruisers and four destroyers.<ref name="ww2 timelines jan 6">{{cite web |url=http://ww2timelines.com/1945/january/01061945.htm |title=Events occurring on Saturday, January 6, 1945 |website=WW2Timelines.com |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> *[[Turkey]] severed diplomatic relations with [[Japan]].<ref name="ww2 timelines jan 6" /> *British Field Marshal [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Harold Alexander]] arrived in [[Athens]] as the ''[[Dekemvriana]]'' clashes continued.<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 8, 1945 |title=E.L.A.S. Resistance Crumbling in Greece |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68909597 |journal=The Advocate |publisher=Burnie |page=1}}</ref> *The British destroyer ''[[HMS Walpole (D41)|Walpole]]'' struck a mine in the [[North Sea]] and was rendered a constructive total loss. *U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] delivered the [[State of the Union]] message. For the first and only time during his presidency, Roosevelt did not deliver the message as a speech before a joint session of Congress. Rather, he delivered it to Congress as a written message and recited a summary of the speech over the radio.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php |title=State of the Union Address and Messages |last1=Peters |first1=Gerbhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |website=The American Presidency Project |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> The message concluded: "1945 can and must see the substantial beginning of the organization of world peace. This organization must be the fulfillment of the promise for which men have fought and died in this war. It must be the justification of all the sacrifices that have been made-of all the dreadful misery that this world has endured. We Americans of today, together with our Allies, are making history-and I hope it will be better history than ever has been made before. We pray that we may be worthy of the unlimited opportunities that God has given us."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450106a.html |title=President Roosevelt's Message to Congress on the State of the Nation |website=[[ibiblio]] |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> [[File:George and Barbara Bush on their wedding day in Rye, New York - NARA - 186372.tif|thumb|right|Wedding of Barbara and George H. W. Bush.]] *Future United States President [[George H. W. Bush]] and future First Lady [[Barbara Bush]] were married. *'''Died:''' [[Herbert Lumsden]], 47, British lieutenant general (killed by a ''kamikaze'' attack on the bridge of the battleship ''New Mexico'' during the bombardment of Luzon); [[Vladimir Vernadsky]], 81, Russian/Ukrainian mineralogist and geochemist ==[[January 7]], 1945 (Sunday)== *RAF Bomber Command sent 654 aircraft to raid [[Munich]] overnight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450107/ |title=War Diary for Sunday, 7 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *'''Born:''' **[[Tony Conigliaro]], baseball player, in [[Revere, Massachusetts]] (d. 1990) **[[Shulamith Firestone]], feminist writer, in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] (d. 2012) *'''Died:''' [[Theodore E. Chandler]], 50, American rear admiral (died from wounds sustained in the Japanese kamikaze attack of the previous day); [[Thomas McGuire]], 24, U.S. Army major and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor (killed in action in the Philippines); [[Curtis F. Shoup]], 23, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor (killed in action) ==[[January 8]], 1945 (Monday)== *[[Egyptian parliamentary election, 1945|Parliamentary elections]] in [[Egypt]] were won by a coalition led by [[Ahmad Mahir Pasha]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450108/ |title=War Diary for Monday, 8 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *U.S. Technical Sergeant [[Russell E. Dunham]] earned the [[Medal of Honor]] near Kaysenberg, France when he single-handedly eliminated three German machine gun nests. ==[[January 9]], 1945 (Tuesday)== *The [[Battle of Bessang Pass]] began north of [[Manila]]. *The first in a series of American landings at [[Luzon]] codenamed [[Operation Mike (United States)|Operation Mike]] was carried out. *German submarine ''[[German submarine U-679|U-679]]'' was depth charged and sunk in the [[Baltic Sea]] by the Soviet guard ship ''MO-124''. *'''Died:''' [[Dennis O'Neill case|Dennis O'Neill]], 12, Welsh boy whose death at the hands of his foster parents led to reform of the British foster care system; [[Jüri Uluots]], 54, Prime Minister of Estonia ==[[January 10]], 1945 (Wednesday)== *The British [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourteenth Army]] captured [[Gangaw]], Burma.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450110/ |title=War Diary for Wednesday, 10 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> *'''Born:''' [[Gunther von Hagens]], anatomist, in [[Skalmierzyce, Greater Poland Voivodeship|Skalmierzyce]], [[Poland]]; [[Jennifer Moss (actress)|Jennifer Moss]], actress and singer, in [[Wigan]], [[Lancashire]], England (d. 2006); [[Rod Stewart]], singer, in [[Highgate]], [[North London]], England *'''Died:''' Pfc. Alex M. Penkala, Jr., Paratrooper assigned to Company E ("Easy Company"), 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He and his comrade Warren H. "Skip" Muck were killed by German artillery fire on the outskirts of the Belgian Luxembourg town of Foy. They were taking cover in a foxhole from the artillery when a direct hit landed on them. He and his comrades had their story told by historian Stephen Ambrose in his 1992 work ''[[Band of Brothers (book)|Band of Brothers]]''. ==[[January 11]], 1945 (Thursday)== *The series of events in [[Athens]] known as [[Dekemvriana]] ended in victory for the British Army and government of Greece. *The British escort carrier [[HMS Thane (D48)|HMS ''Thane'']] was torpedoed and damaged in the [[Irish Sea]] by ''[[German submarine U-1172|U-1172]]'' and declared a constructive total loss. *'''Born:''' [[Christine Kaufmann]], actress, author and businesswoman, in [[Sankt Martin am Grimming|Lengdorf]], [[Styria]], Austria (d. 2017) ==[[January 12]], 1945 (Friday)== *The [[1st Ukrainian Front]] began the [[Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive]]. *The Red Army began the [[Vistula–Oder Offensive]]. *U.S. warplanes attacked the Japanese naval base at [[Cam Ranh Bay]] and sank 40 ships. They also sank most of the ships in a Japanese convoy from [[Qui Nhơn]], including the cruiser ''[[Japanese cruiser Kashii|Kashii]]''.<ref name="musicandhistory">{{cite web|url=http://musicandhistory.com/music-and-history-by-the-year/207-1945.html |title=1945 |website=MusicAndHistory.com |access-date=March 28, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923013051/http://musicandhistory.com/music-and-history-by-the-year/207-1945.html |archive-date=September 23, 2013 }}</ref> ==[[January 13]], 1945 (Saturday)== *The Red Army began the [[East Prussian Offensive]]. *The [[1945 Mikawa earthquake|Mikawa earthquake]] killed over 2,000 people in Japan. *[[Operation Woodlark]]: Members of [[Norwegian Independent Company 1]] blew up a railway bridge in [[Snåsa]], Norway. A military troop train unaware of the sabotage derailed and crashed into the river below, killing 70 to 80 people. It remains the most deadly railway accident in the history of Norway. *[[Adolf Galland]] was relieved of his command in the [[Luftwaffe]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450113/ |title=War Diary for Sunday, 13 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> for his role in the [[Fighter Pilots' Revolt]], which protested against the incompetence of the German High Command in squandering limited resources on missions like [[Operation Bodenplatte]]. *'''Died:''' [[Wilhelm Franken]], 30, and [[Siegfried Lüdden]], 28, German U-boat commanders, killed in a fire aboard the accommodation ship ''Daressalem'' in Kiel harbour ==[[January 14]], 1945 (Sunday)== *The [[Battle of Ramree Island]] began off Burma. *The British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]] began [[Operation Blackcock]] with the objective of clearing German troops from the Roer triangle formed by the Dutch towns of [[Roermond]] and [[Sittard]] and the German town of [[Heinsberg]]. *A [[Heinkel He 111]] of the Luftwaffe carried out the last air launching of a [[V-1 flying bomb]], which landed in [[Yorkshire]].<ref name="davidson and manning">{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Edward |last2=Manning |first2=Dale |date=1999 |title=Chronology of World War Two |url=https://archive.org/details/chronologyofworl0000davi/page/231 |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/chronologyofworl0000davi/page/231 231] |isbn=0-304-35309-4 }}</ref> *[[Adolf Hitler]] granted [[Gerd von Rundstedt]] permission to carry out a fairly drastic retreat in the Ardennes region. [[Houffalize]] and the Bastogne front would be abandoned.<ref name="bergstrom">{{cite book |last=Bergström |first=Christer |date=2014 |title=The Ardennes, 1944–1945 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |page=379 |isbn=978-1-61200-277-4 }}</ref> *Battle of Foy, part of the [[Battle of the Bulge]] ended in American victory. *The ''[[Twin Star Rocket]]'' passenger train was introduced in the United States. *'''Born:''' [[Einar Hákonarson]], painter, in [[Reykjavík]], [[Iceland]] ==[[January 15]], 1945 (Monday)== *In Poland, the [[1st Ukrainian Front]] took [[Kielce]] while the [[2nd Belorussian Front]] crossed the [[Pilica (river)|Pilica]] in Poland and attacked toward [[Radom]], [[Łódź]] and [[Poznań|Posen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450115/ |title=War Diary for Monday, 15 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *British escort carrier [[HMS Thane (D48)|HMS ''Thane'']] was torpedoed in the [[Irish Sea]] by German submarine ''[[German submarine U-1172|U-1172]]'' and rendered a constructive total loss. *Adolf Hitler held a last meeting with Rundstedt and [[Walter Model]] at the [[Adlerhorst]], instructing them to hold the Western Allies at bay for as long as possible. He then boarded a train, never to visit the Western Front again.<ref name="bergstrom" /> *'''Born:''' [[Vince Foster]], Deputy White House Counsel, in [[Hope, Arkansas]] (d. 1993); [[Princess Michael of Kent]] (Marie Christine Anna Agnes Hedwig Ida), in [[Karlovy Vary|Carlsbad]], [[Sudetenland]] ==[[January 16]], 1945 (Tuesday)== *Hitler returned to [[Berlin]], where he would spend much of the remainder of his life in the [[Reich Chancellery]] and ''[[Führerbunker]]''.<ref name="books.stonebooks.com">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450116/ |title=War Diary for Tuesday, 16 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *The Soviet [[1st Belorussian Front]] captured [[Radom]], Poland.<ref name="books.stonebooks.com"/> *German submarine ''[[German submarine U-248|U-248]]'' was depth charged and sunk by U.S. destroyer escorts north of the [[Azores]]. *'''Born:''' Billy Amato{{who2|date=February 2022}} a/k/a Billy Smith in [[Pelham Manor, New York]]. ==[[January 17]], 1945 (Wednesday)== *The Soviet [[1st Belorussian Front]] captured [[Warsaw]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450117/ |title=War Diary for Wednesday, 17 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *Angry at the abandonment of [[Festung Warschau|Fortress Warsaw]], Hitler sacked generals [[Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz]] and [[Walter Fries]].<ref name="ww2 database">{{cite web |url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1945/ |title=1945 |website=World War II Database |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *The [[Battle of Tsimba Ridge]] began between Australian and Japanese forces in the northern sector of [[Bougainville Island]]. *Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat and humanitarian [[Raoul Wallenberg]] disappeared after being detained by Soviet authorities during the [[Siege of Budapest]] to answer charges of being engaged in espionage. Wallenberg is presumed to have died in a Moscow prison cell on July 17, 1947, although conflicting accounts exist. ==[[January 18]], 1945 (Thursday)== *The Soviet-controlled [[Polish Committee of National Liberation]] moved from [[Lublin]] to [[Warsaw]].<ref name="musicandhistory" /> *The Germans ordered the evacuation of the remaining 58,000 inmates of [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] ahead of the advancing Soviets.<ref name="lerski">{{cite book |last=Lerski |first=George |date=1996 |title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=21 |isbn=978-0-313-03456-5 }}</ref> Some were deported by rail while others were forced to march in freezing temperatures.<ref name="musicandhistory" /> ==[[January 19]], 1945 (Friday)== *The 1st Ukrainian Front captured [[Łódź]] and [[Kraków]] while the 2nd Belorussian Front took [[Mława]] and [[Włocławek]] and the [[1st Baltic Front]] captured [[Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast|Tilsit]].<ref name="stone books jan 19">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450119/ |title=War Diary for Friday, 19 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *With German troops mostly driven out of Poland, [[Home Army]] commander [[Leopold Okulicki]] ordered his forces to disband.<ref name="stone books jan 19" /> *[[Martin Bormann]] and [[Eva Braun]] arrived at the ''Führerbunker''.<ref name="stone books jan 19" /> *The British submarine [[HMS Porpoise (N14)|HMS ''Porpoise'']] was sunk off [[Penang]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]] by Japanese aircraft. *'''Died:''' [[Petar Bojović]], 86, Serbian military commander (Pneumonia); [[Gustave Mesny]], 58, French Army general (executed by the Nazis) ==[[January 20]], 1945 (Saturday)== *The [[fourth inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt]] took place. In what was officially justified as a wartime austerity measure (but also likely done in consideration of the President's increasingly precarious health) the inauguration was a relatively modest ceremony held on South Portico of the [[White House]]. In what would turn out to be the final time the then-longstanding tradition was observed, outgoing Vice President [[Henry A. Wallace]] administered the oath of office to his successor [[Harry S. Truman]]. *The German [[Evacuation of East Prussia]] began. *The [[4th Ukrainian Front]] advancing through Slovakia took [[Prešov]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450120/ |title=War Diary for Saturday, 20 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *Chinese forces captured [[Muse, Burma]].<ref name="musicandhistory" /> *'''Born:''' [[Robert Olen Butler]], author, in [[Granite City, Illinois]] ==[[January 21]], 1945 (Sunday)== *The 3rd Belorussian Front captured [[Gusev, Kaliningrad Oblast|Gumbinnen]], while the 1st Belorussian Front crossed the [[Warta|Warthen]] and approached [[Poznań]].<ref name="stone books jan 21">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450121/ |title=War Diary for Sunday, 21 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *To prevent their desecration by the Soviets, the Germans began demolishing key structures of the [[Tannenberg Memorial]] and disinterred the remains of [[Paul von Hindenburg]] and his wife ahead of the Red Army's advance. *Hitler ordered that every commanding officer from division level upward was required to notify him of all planned movements so he could override them if he saw fit.<ref name="stone books jan 21" /> *German submarine ''[[German submarine U-1199]]'' was depth charged and sunk off the [[Isles of Scilly]] by British warships. *USS Ticonderoga is struck by two Kamikaze. *'''Died:''' [[Archibald Murray]], 84, British Army officer ==[[January 22]], 1945 (Monday)== *In Burma, the British [[IV Corps (United Kingdom)|IV Corps]] took [[Htilin]]<ref name="burma star" /> and the [[Battle of Hill 170]] began. *Four squadrons of RAF [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] destroyed a factory in [[Alblasserdam]] that manufactured liquid oxygen for German rockets.<ref name="ww2 database" /> *'''Died:''' [[Else Lasker-Schüler]], 75, German-Jewish poet ==[[January 23]], 1945 (Tuesday)== *The [[First United States Army]] captured [[St. Vith]], the last German stronghold in the Ardennes "bulge".<ref name="stone books jan 23">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450123/ |title=War Diary for Tuesday, 23 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *The 1st Ukrainian Front reached the [[Oder]] around [[Opole|Oppeln]] and [[Ścinawa|Steinau]].<ref name="stone books jan 23" /> *The [[20th Infantry Division (India)|20th Indian Division]] in Burma took [[Myinmu]].<ref name="burma star" /> *'''Died:''' [[Helmuth James Graf von Moltke]], 37, German jurist (executed for anti-Nazi activities); [[Newton E. Mason]], 94, American admiral ==[[January 24]], 1945 (Wednesday)== *The [[Battle of Poznań (1945)|Battle of Poznań]] began for the German-occupied stronghold city of [[Poznań]] in Poland. *Hitler appointed [[Heinrich Himmler]] as commander of the newly created [[Army Group Vistula]], despite Himmler's lack of military expertise. *Japanese destroyer ''[[Japanese destroyer Shigure (1935)|Shigure]]'' was torpedoed and sunk in the [[Gulf of Thailand|Gulf of Siam]] by American submarine [[USS Blackfin (SS-322)|USS ''Blackfin'']]. ==[[January 25]], 1945 (Thursday)== *The [[Battle of the Bulge]] ended in Allied victory. *The Germans blew up and abandoned the [[Wolf's Lair]] ahead of the advancing Soviets. *'''Born:''' [[Leigh Taylor-Young]], actress, in [[Washington, D.C.]] ==[[January 26]], 1945 (Friday)== *The [[Battle for the Kapelsche Veer]] began in the Netherlands. *The battle of the [[Heiligenbeil Pocket]] began on the Eastern Front. *The [[Przyszowice massacre]] began in Upper Silesia. Between this day and January 28, soldiers of the Red Army killed between 54 and 69 civilian inhabitants of the Polish village of [[Przyszowice]]. The reason for the massacre remains unknown. *American Lt. [[Audie Murphy]] earned the [[Medal of Honor]] near [[Holtzwihr]], France, when he saved his company from potential encirclement by climbing onto a burning U.S. tank destroyer and single-handedly killing or wounding 50 Germans with its .50 caliber machine gun until its ammunition was exhausted. Despite taking a leg wound Murphy made his way back to his company and organized a counterattack that forced the Germans to withdraw.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ww2today.com/26-january-1944-audie-muphys-single-handed-battle-kills-50-holds-the-line |title=Audie Murphy's Single Handed Battle, Kills 50, HOlds Line |website=World War II Today |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *British frigate [[HMS Manners (K568)|HMS ''Manners'']] was torpedoed and broken in two in the Irish Sea by German submarine ''[[German submarine U-1051|U-1051]]'', which was then sunk in turn by depth charges from Royal Navy frigates. *The war film ''[[Objective, Burma!]]'' starring [[Errol Flynn]] premiered in New York City. *'''Born:''' [[Jacqueline du Pré]], cellist, in [[Oxford]], England (d. 1987) *'''Died:''' [[Tom Pendergast]], 72, American political boss, convicted felon and mentor to the then-newly inaugurated Vice President Truman. ==[[January 27]], 1945 (Saturday)== *[[Auschwitz concentration camp]], with its last 7,500 inmates still present, was liberated by Soviet forces.<ref name="lerski" /> *[[Operation Blackcock]] ended in British victory. *The [[Ledo Road]] linking India to China was finally cleared of Japanese forces when Chinese troops linked up near [[Mong-Yu]].<ref name="burma star" /> *German submarine ''[[German submarine U-1172|U-1172]]'' was depth charged and sunk in [[St. George's Channel]] by British warships. *'''Born:''' [[Harold Cardinal]], Cree writer and political leader, in [[High Prairie]], [[Alberta]], Canada (d. 2005) ==[[January 28]], 1945 (Sunday)== *[[Action of 28 January 1945]]: An inconclusive naval engagement was fought between two British light cruisers and three German destroyers near [[Bergen]], [[Norway]]. *The Soviet [[1st Ukrainian Front]] captured [[Katowice]] and [[Leszno]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450128/ |title=War Diary for Sunday, 28 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016 }}</ref> *The Germans committed a massacre of six Italian generals ([[Giuseppe Andreoli (general)|Giuseppe Andreoli]], [[Emanuele Balbo Bertone]], [[Ugo Ferrero]], [[Carlo Spatocco]], [[Alberto Trionfi]], [[Alessandro Vaccaneo]]) in [[Kuźnica Żelichowska]] during a German-perpetrated [[The March (1945)|death march]] of prisoners of war.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Muraca|first=Ilio|year=2008|title=E quei generali marciavano, marciavano e morivano|magazine=Patria Indipendente|location=Roma|language=it|issue=9|pages=21–23|issn=0031-3130}}</ref> *'''Born:''' [[Chuck Pyle]], country-folk musician, in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] (d. 2015) *'''Died:''' [[Roza Shanina]], 20, Soviet sniper with 59 confirmed kills (died in East Prussia of a chest wound sustained the previous day from a shell fragment) ==[[January 29]], 1945 (Monday)== *[[Battle of Königsberg]]: The Soviet [[3rd Belorussian Front]] attacked into the city of [[Königsberg]].<ref name="stone books jan 29">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19450129/ |title=War Diary for Monday, 29 January 1945 |website=Stone & Stone Books |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> *German submarine ''[[German submarine U-763|U-763]]'' was scuttled in the [[Schichau-Werke]] shipyard in [[Königsberg]] after taking damage in a Soviet air raid. *[[Erich von Manstein]] was snubbed when he attempted to meet with Hitler.<ref name="stone books jan 29" /> *'''Born:''' [[Jim Nicholson (Northern Ireland politician)|Jim Nicholson]], politician, in [[Armagh]], [[Northern Ireland]]; [[Tom Selleck]], actor, in [[Detroit]], Michigan *'''Died:''' Shlomo Wiesel father of [[Elie Wiesel]], died on this day during the Holocaust. He was suffering from dysentery and was taken to the crematorium at [[Buchenwald concentration camp]]. ==[[January 30]], 1945 (Tuesday)== *While evacuating German civilians, Nazi officials and military personnel from [[Gdynia]], the German military transport ship ''[[MV Wilhelm Gustloff|Wilhelm Gustloff]]'' was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine ''[[Soviet submarine S-13|S-13]]''. 9,400 people died, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. *On the twelfth anniversary of the Nazis coming to power, a speech by Adolf Hitler was broadcast wearily appealing once again for the German people to keep up a spirit of resistance. It was the last public speech Hitler ever made.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fest |first=Joachim |author-link=Joachim Fest |date=1974 |title=Hitler |publisher=Harcourt Books |page=723 |isbn=978-0-544-19554-7 }}</ref> *The Second [[Battle of Kesternich]] began just inside the German border with Belgium. *U.S. and Filipino forces conducted the [[Raid at Cabanatuan]] and liberated more than 552 Allied prisoners of war from a camp near [[Cabanatuan]]. *[[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester]] became [[Governor-General of Australia]]. *In Italy, the [[Ivanoe Bonomi]] government issued a decree granting women the right to vote.<ref>{{cite journal |date=January 30, 1945 |title=Suffrage Granted to Italian Women |journal=The Milwaukee Journal |page=1 }}</ref> The [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] regime had granted women the right to vote in 1925, but only at local levels.<ref>{{cite book |last=Donati |first=Sabina |date=2013 |title=A Political History of National Citizenship and Identity in Italy, 1861–1950 |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=170 |isbn=978-0-8047-8733-8 }}</ref> *President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] met at [[Malta]] for discussions preparatory to next week's [[Yalta Conference]].<ref name="day by day">{{cite book |last=Leonard |first=Thomas M. |date=1977 |title=Day By Day: The Forties |location=New York |publisher=Facts On File, Inc. |page=468 |isbn=0-87196-375-2 }}</ref> *The German historical film ''[[Kolberg (film)|Kolberg]]'' premiered in Berlin. The film, telling the story of the Prussian city of [[Kołobrzeg|Kolberg]] successfully holding out against [[Siege of Kolberg (1807)|a siege]] by the French during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], was intended as Nazi propaganda to encourage the German population to continue the fight against the Allies. *'''Born:''' [[Michael Dorris]], novelist and scholar, in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] (d. 1997) *'''Died:''' [[William Goodenough]], 77, British admiral ==[[January 31]], 1945 (Wednesday)== *The [[Battle for the Kapelsche Veer]] ended in Allied victory. *The [[Battle of Hill 170]] ended in British Indian victory. *[[Podgaje massacre]]: The German ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' carried out a massacre of some 160–210 Polish POWs in the village of [[Podgaje, Greater Poland Voivodeship|Podgaje]] (see ''[[German atrocities committed against Polish prisoners of war]]''). *'''Born:''' [[Joseph Kosuth]], conceptual artist, in [[Toledo, Ohio]] *'''Died:''' [[Eddie Slovik]], 24, U.S. Army private (shot by firing squad after being sentenced to death upon being convicted by court-martial of desertion, and the only American soldier to be executed for that offence since the American Civil War) ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Events by month links}} [[Category:January|1945]] [[Category:1945|*1945-01]] [[Category:Months in the 1940s|*1945-01]]'