January 26th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: It was gazetted today that LS William Goad (b.1922), of HMS ASHANTI, was lowered into heavy, sub-zero seas, to rescue an unconscious man. (Albert Medal)
Frigate HMS Burges launched.
Minesweeping trawler HMS Oxna launched.
FRANCE: Peru severed diplomatic relations with France. France took similar action against Peru, same date.
GERMANY: From today anti-aircraft batteries can be manned by Hitler Youths, officially by grammar-school pupils aged 15 onwards. (HW Koch)
During training in Wesermünde an accident occurred onboard U-847 while the machinegun was being fired. One crewmember died, one was seriously wounded.
U-905 is laid down.
ARCTIC SEA: U-302 had to break off her patrol in the Arctic Sea due to serious technical problems.
U.S.S.R.: Stalingrad: The Sixth Army pocket is split as Soviet troops join up to the west of the city.
Italian GENERAL GIULIO MARTINAT, chief-of-staff of the Alpini Corps in Russia (Giulia, Tridentina, and Cuneense Alpini divisions) is killed while personally leading a successful attack to break through Russian blocking positions at Nikolajevka (nowadays Malenka Aleksandrovka), an attack which opened a path for the encircled Italian troops to escape and regain Axis lines (but at the cost of 320 Italians killed, including 40 officers and noncoms). The Italians won through against all odds, with no artillery and no air support, and on foot.
This was acknowledged by the Soviets in their N°630 bulletin, transmitted by Radio Moskva in the first days of February, that stated that "the only force that can regard itself as undefeated on Russian soil is the Italian Alpini corps".
The Italian Alpini Corps had successfully held its own positions even after the rest of the 8th Army was overrun in December, but a new Soviet operation launched in mid-January, aimed at encircling the Italians by breaking through the positions of the Hungarians to the northwest, forced them to reverse fronts and fight their way out. Martinat was detailed to take command of, and try to bring some order to, the disorganized and heterogeneous mass of stragglers (Italians-- both Alpini and from other commands-- plus various Germans and Hungarians) which followed in the wake of the fighting spearheads of the Tridentina division supported by a handful of German armoured vehicles. (Michael F. Yaklich and Francesco Dall'Aglio)
Stalingrad: Generalleutnant Alexander von Hartmann, commander of the German 71 Inf. D. lead a desperate last attack with a small group of his troops. They engage Soviet infantrymen in close combat with small arms. General Hartmann is said to have killed a Soviet soldier with his machine pistol before he was killed by a burst from an enemy machinegun. (Jeff Chrisman)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Between 0245 and 0316, the sailing vessel Hassan was rammed five times by U-431 between Cyprus and Haifa. At 0333, the U-boat shelled the vessel with her 88-mm and 2-mm guns and set her on fire. The U-boat then left the burning and sinking ship.
LIBYA: Rommel is informed that Italian general Messe will replace him as commander of the 1st Italo-German Panzer Army when he is promoted to command the new Army Group Africa. (Mike Yaklich)
CANADA: Frigates HMCS Charlottetown and Jonquiere laid down Lauzon, Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.:
Aircraft carrier USS Hancock laid down.
Destroyer USS Terry commissioned.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0450 and 0506, U-607 hit the forepart of Kollbjørg with two coup de grâce. The forepart capsized and the U-boat tried to sink her by gunfire, but had problems with the deck gun. At 1609 U-594 missed the capsized wreck with a coup de grâce and sank her at 1621 by gunfire.
At 1533, tanker SS Nortind was hit near the bridge by one of two torpedoes from U-358 and caught fire immediately. About 1900, the tanker broke in two and sank. None of the 34 Norwegian, seven British and two Dutch passengers on board survived.
SS Ufa sunk by U-255 at Grid AC 6751.