January 26th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: An Old Bailey jury today found 58-year-old Oswald Job guilty of espionage and he was sentenced to death. Job was born in Stepney of German parents and moved to Paris in 1911. In 1940, as a British passport holder, he was interned by the Nazis. The German secret service recruited him from prison, and he returned to England posing as an escapee. From his room in Bayswater he wrote letters to PoWs with invasion plans in invisible ink between the lines. The British authorities became aware of his activities thanks to the work of a double agent codenamed "Dragonfly".
Corvette HMCS Bowmanville (ex-HMS Nunney Castle) launched Sunderland.
Corvette HMCS Orangeville (ex-HMS Hedingham Castle) launched Leith, Scotland.
Corvette HMS Arbutus launched.
GERMANY: U-869, U-1230 commissioned.
ITALY: Martial law is proclaimed in Rome.
U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Russia today replied to German accusations that it was responsible for the murder of thousands of Polish officers in Katyn forest by charging the Germans with the massacre of the Poles. According to the findings of a special atrocity commission, the Poles were still alive when the Germans took over the area in July 1941. The German accusations led to the breakdown in relations between the Polish government based in London and the Soviet government, a situation which has become even more sensitive as the Red Army advances deeper into Poland.
NEW GUINEA: In heavy fighting, veteran Australian troops have cleared the Japanese from strategic "Shaggy Ridge", in New Guinea's rugged Finisterre range. After the fall of Lae, the Australians - part of 18 Infantry Brigade of 7th Division - set out to clear the enemy from the Huon Gulf area as part of the campaign to crush Japanese resistance in the South-west Pacific.
The "diggers", patrolling in the foothills of the Finisterres encountered Japanese entrenched in strong defensive positions. In late December the Australians assaulted the southern slopes of "Shaggy Ridge" and took the "Pimple". From 17 January, backed by heavy RAAF raids, the Australians advanced along the razor backs. Today the enemy finally broke.
AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Kiama commissioned.
CANADA: HMC MTB 459 commissioned.
U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Song of Bernadette" opens at the Rivoli Theater in New York City. Directed by Henry King, this religious drama stars Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb and Gladys Cooper.
Destroyer escort USS Peiffer launched.
Escort carrier USS Marcus Island commissioned.
Submarine USS Guitarro commissioned.
ARGENTINA: The news that Argentina has severed relations with Germany and Japan brought cheering crowds out on to the streets of Buenos Aires today. President Ramirez signed the decree just after 8am, making his country the 21st American republic to turn against the Axis. This follows the uncovering of a vast enemy spy network in Argentina involving high-society figures. Many arrests have already been made. But diplomatic sources in neighbouring Chile see the move as no more than a practical expedient to avoid a break with the United States.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Off ICELAND: Ten U-boats attack convoy JW-56A, sinking three merchant ships.
SS Surada sunk by U-188 at 13.00N, 55.15E - Grid MQ 4565.
SS Walter Camp sunk by U-532 at 10.00N, 71.49E - Grid MS 79.
At 0020, U-716 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes on the convoy JW-56A, heard two hits and reported one ship with 7000 tons sunk and another of 7000 tons damaged. In fact, only the Andrew G. Curtin in station #61 was hit by one torpedo on the starboard side between the #2 and #3 holds. The watch below secured the engines as the ship settled by the head and listed to starboard. The deck cracked forward of the #3 hold and extended across the vessel. As the Liberty ship sank, the crack widened and the bow soon hogged about 25°. The complement of eight officers, 35 men and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in some confusion in one raft and four lifeboats aft of the crack. Two crewmembers drowned and one armed guard died in the explosion. The survivors observed the Andrew G. Curtin breaking in two before sinking. In less than 30 minutes, HMS Inconstant picked up the survivors and landed them later in Murmansk. The USS PTC-39 was on transfer from the USA to North Russia aboard the Andrew G. Curtin and was lost.
U-545 I WO was washed overboard in the North Atlantic. [Oberleutnant zur See Hans Wilkening].
During operations against convoy JW 56A in the Arctic Sea, U-360 and U-601 collided, resulting in slight damage to both boats.