January 9th, 1945 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
Manchester Guardian
Sir: - In today's issue you report the Christian gesture of the Mayor of Salford (Alderman John Binns) in visiting the German wounded prisoners of war in Salford Royal Hospital.
My wife, who speaks German fluently, has had occasion to visit German wounded prisoners of war in our local hospital at the request of the hospital authorities. The majority of the prisoners in the ward she visited were of the young Nazi unmarried type, somewhat arrogant and not very willing to help the authorities by giving the necessary particulars for record purposes. There was one man, however, aged about 35 years, with a wife and two children in Germany, who called my wife to his bedside, and said, "Madam, I should be denying God if I did not offer up thanks for all the kindness and medical treatment I have received since I was brought to England." He then burst into tears. -- Yours, etc., C.A.P.
The Times:
The German News Agency said last night: "Dr Clear, an American Army doctor, who was in charge of an American field hospital at Wissembourg, has presented himself in the German lines and has asked the Germans to take over 142 seriously wounded Americans. Dr. Clear stated that the shortage of drugs and surgical material made it impossible for him to look after the wounded. The Germans acceded to his request." - Reuter
Submarine HMS Totem commissioned.
BELGIUM: In U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 84th Infantry Division mops up near Consy, takes the commanding ground at Harze, and clears the woods south of the main crossroads southeast of Manhay. The 2d Armored Division continues toward Samrée, which is subjected to heavy artillery fire. The 83d Infantry Division attacks through the 3d Armored Division, gaining the line from Bihain, which is entered but not captured, west to a point northeast of Petite Langlir. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, the 82d Airborne Division finishes mopping up within its zone. In the 30th Infantry Division sector, Regimental Combat Team 424 (106th Infantry Division) takes over the Wanne-Wanneranval region, formerly held by Regimental Combat Team 112 (28th Infantry Division).
In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the 87th Infantry Division continues to fight near Tillet; elements are clearing the Haies-de-Tillet woods. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, attacks with Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division, and Combat Command B, 10th Armored Division, toward Noville, gaining 1,000 yards (914 meters). The 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment takes Recogne. III Corps launches an attack to trap and destroy the Germans in a pocket southeast of Bastogne. The 90th Infantry Division attacks through the 26th Infantry Division toward the high ground northeast of Bras, taking Berle and the crossroads on the Berle-Winseler road. The 26th Infantry Division’s gains are slight but include heights northwest of Bavigne. Combat Command A, 6th Armored Division, co-ordinating closely with the 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, advances to the high ground southeast of Marvie and feints toward Wardin. The 137th Infantry
Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, attacks Villers-la-Bonne-Eau.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, a local attack by the 100th Infantry Division gains Hill 70, south of Rimling, but since this region is becoming untenable, the division withdraws the left flank to Guising to tie in with the 44th Infantry Division. The VI Corps makes very slow progress against the Bitche salient, but Task Force Herren’s 276th Infantry Regiment occupies Obermuhithal. On the northeast flank of the 79th Infantry Division, a German tank-infantry attack against the 242d Infantry Regiment, Task Force Linden, overruns Hatten and reaches Rittershoffen; the counterattack drives the Germans back to Hatten and partly regains that town. In the Gambsheim bridgehead region, Combat Command B of the 12th Armored Division seizes part of Herrlisheim, but the 79th Infantry Division is still thwarted in the Drusenheim and southeast of Rohrweiler. Elements of the 232d Infantry Regiment, 42d Infantry Division along the canal east of Weyersheim are ordered back t o organize Weyersheim for defense.
GERMANY: Bad Neuheim: Hitler rejects Guderian's warning that the USSR is preparing for a massive offensive in the east.
Fifteen USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb the Rinnthal rail bridge with the aim of isolating three German armored divisions in the Landau area; XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) fighters escort the B-26s. Weather prevents other operations.
U-2353 commissioned.
ITALY: The U.S. Fifth Army announces a decision to postpone their offensive until 1 April or thereabouts in order to await the arrival of fresh troops, build up ammunition supplies, have more favorable weather conditions, and regroup and rest assault forces. In the IV Corps area, the 86th Mountain Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division enters the line in Task Force 45’s sector, relieving antiaircraft units in the region northwest of Pistoia. In the II Corps area, the 85th Infantry Division begins relief of the British 1st Division, XIII Corps, in the Mt. Grande area.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack bridges at Palazzuolo sull'Oglio, Pontetidone, Romano di Lombardia, and an assembly area at Crespellano; fighters and fighter-bombers attack communications in the western and central Po Valley and other points in northern Italy, make numerous rail cuts, destroy or damage many vehicles and trains and effectively hit ammunition and fuel dumps, guns, and strongpoints along the U.S. Fifth Army front in the northern Apennines.
BALTIC SEA: U-679 sunk in the Baltic Sea in position 59.26N, 24.07E by depth charges from Soviet ASW vessel MO 124. 51 dead (all hands lost).
CHINA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs bomb railroad repair shops at Sinsiang.
BURMA: Eight USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts hit a division headquarters at Ho-na while four others support ground forces in the Si-U sector; over 90 fighter- bombers hit supply areas, tanks, antiaircraft positions, and troop concentrations at Man Kat, Tonghsim, Kong-lin, Bawdwin, Mong Tat, and in the Hsenwi vicinity.
Twenty five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s, P-38 Lightnings, and P-51 Mustangs hit targets of opportunity south, southwest and northeast of Wanling while three P-40s hit a road west of Muse causing a traffic block.
INDIAN OCEAN: Submarine HMS Porpoise is lost in the Indian Ocean around this date. Sent out from Trincomalee to lay two minefields, she never reported completion, and post-war clearance operations failed to find the fields which should have been laid. No Axis claim has been made for her loss, o it is believed that she may have been mined or suffered an accident. Porpoise was the 5th of her class of 6 minelaying submarines to be sunk in WW2. (Alex Gordon)(108)
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit railroad targets, road bridge, and building area northeast of Thanh Moi.
JAPAN: For the first time the USAAF Eleventh Air Force radar-bombs with H2X radar equipment as four B-24 Liberators hit Suribachi Bay Airfield on Paramushiru Island, Kurile Islands.
The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 18: 72 Mariana Island-based B-29 Superfortresses are dispatched against the Musashino aircraft plant near Tokyo; high winds break up the formations so that only 18 B-29s can bomb the primary target; 34 hit alternates and targets of opportunity; they claim 13-3-11 Japanese aircraft; six B-29s are lost.
VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty four USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, based on Saipan, hit an airfield on Iwo Jima Island which is struck again by eight B-24s on individual snooper missions during the night of 9/10 January.
FORMOSA: The Japanese transport SS Oryoku Maru was attacked in December by USN planes while transporting U.S. POWs from the Philippine Islands to Japan. To prevent her sinking, the crew ran her aground in the Philippines but 286 US soldiers were killed and the 925 survivors were put aboard the SS Enoura Maru. Previously used to transport horses, the holds are filthy with manure, yet into these holds are crammed some 1,040 men with little room to sit down. Some are so hungry that they picked out grain from the manure, grain that had dropped from the horses mouth during feeding. On 1 January, the Enoura Maru reached Takao, Formosa. The crew then started to celebrate the New Year, leaving the POWs to fend for themselves for the next four days. During those four days 34 prisoners died. This morning, aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) carried out a bombing attack on the harbor. Little did the pilots know that the ship they are bombing carried their own countryme n. The bombs that struck the Enoura Maru killed 252 men and injured a similar number, many of whom later died from their injuries. No medical help is forthcoming from the Japanese crew, the prisoners left in the hold surrounded by hundreds of mutilated bodies. On 11 January, the bodies are removed and transported in cargo lighters to the outer spit of the harbor and buried in a mass grave. In the later part of 1946 the bodies were exhumed by an American Graves Recovery Team and re-interred in the National War Cemetery in Hawaii.
The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XX Bomber Command flies Mission 26: 46 B-29 Superfortresses from Chengtu, China, are dispatched to bomb the harbor at Kirun; 39 hit the target and six bomb targets of last resort along the China coast; this raid is the first of several such operations against Formosa in conjunction with the US invasion of Luzon Island.
EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces aircraft make small-scale attacks on barges, airfields, and targets of opportunity in Halmahera Islands, the Ceram Island area, northern Borneo, and on Timor Island.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 2/5th Battalion, 17th Brigade, 6th Division, captures Asiling without opposition.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES:
After preparatory aerial and naval bombardment the U.S. Sixth Army, under Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, begins landing on shores of Lingayen Gulf at approximately 0930 hours local. The USN Seventh Fleet commander, Vice Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, heads the Luzon Attack Force (Task Force 77). Two corps land abreast, the XIV on right and the I on the left, without opposition. XIV Corps, with the 40th Infantry Division on the right and the 37th on the left, each with two regiments in assault, is virtually unopposed while pushing inland to an average depth of 4 miles (6,4 kilometers), its flanks near Calasiao on the east and Port Sual on the west. I Corps, more strongly opposed, is less successful. Its beachhead by end of day is narrower and shallower than that of XIV Corps and contains several gaps between the assault forces. The 6th Infantry Division, employing two regiments, gains the line from Dagupan to the Pantalan River and has elements at the Bued River crossing, south of San Fabian. The 43d Infantry Division attacks with three regiments to positions in the vicinity of San Jacinto, Binday, and Hills 470, 247, and 385.
The troops land under cover of heavy gunfire from the bombardment force, Task Group 77.2 (Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf) consisting of six battleships; two Australian and three USN heavy cruisers, one light cruiser and one RAN and 20 USN destroyers and aircraft from the escort carrier force, Task Group 77.4 (Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin), consisting of 20 escort aircraft carriers. Japanese air attacks and assault demolition boats continue to vex the invasion forces off the beaches. Kamikazes crash battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), light cruiser USS Columbia (CL-56), and destroyer escort USS Hodges (DE-231), in addition to Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (D 84), which is finally sent to the rear areas for repairs. Japanese assault demolition boats damage transport USS War Hawk (AP-168) and tank landing ships USS LST-925 and LST-1028.
The US landing on Luzon at Lingayen Gulf begins. This is Operation MIKE 1.
Covered by the US Third Fleet and preceded by heavy bombardments, the US Sixth Army commanded by Lt-Gen Walter Krueger, has landed at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, 110 miles north of Manila.
I was there on 9 January. In fact, I have a printed book describing the complete operation issued 29 July 29, 1945. Just for clarification the first paragraph was as follows: "The planning group of GHQ mapped out a series of operations for the recapture of the Island of LUZON. This series was known at the MUSKETEER OPERATIONS, and the separate phases of M-1, M-2, M-3, and M-4. The first (M-1) called for landings in LINGAYEN GULF." This book had a cover letter written by O. W. Griswold, Lieutenant General, U. S. Army Commanding, and was submitted to the Commanding General, Sixth Army. Detailed reports were written by Staff Officers of the XIV Corps. (Carroll Reinert - Americal Division)
In northern Luzon, USAAF Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-24 Liberators bomb Mabalacat while B-25 Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, and fighter-bombers destroy several bridges and numerous vehicles and trains throughout Luzon, and bomb several airfields; B-24s also hit Nielson Airfield and Nichols Field. FEAF aircraft also make small-scale attacks on barges, airfields, and targets of opportunity on Mindanao.
Japanese resistance has been light, but en route to Lingayen, while sailing through the central Philippines and the South China Sea, the invasion forces was subjected to frequent attack by kamikaze aircraft. The kamikaze terror sank or damaged 40 US vessels. One Allied cruiser, HMAS AUSTRALIA, was hit no less than five times. Except for the loss of 44 sailors killed, the AUSTRALIA's efficiency was unimpaired.
Before landing on Luzon, MacArthur's forces had, on 15 December, seized bases on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, from which US aircraft are now supporting the Luzon invasion. Soon after the landing the Sixth Army was in control of a beach-head 15 miles wide and up to three miles deep. By noon, San Fabian had been captured.
Admiral Ernest King, the US Navy chief of staff, had strongly advocated that Luzon be bypassed and that Formosa should be the next objective. MacArthur rejected Formosa, which might result in heavy casualties. He had long advocated the reconquest of the Philippines, and said that after Leyte, Luzon should be invaded. The next landings are planned for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
I was there on January 9, 1945. In fact, I have a printed book describing the complete operation issued July 29, 1945.
Just for clarification the first paragraph was as follows:
"The planning group of GHQ mapped out a series of operations for the recapture of the Island of LUZON. This series was known at the MUSKETEER OPERATIONS, and the separate phases of M-1, M-2, M-3, and M-4. The first (M-1) called for landings in LINGAYEN GULF." This book had a cover letter written by O. W. Griswold, Lieutenant General, U. S. Army Commanding, and was submitted to the Commanding General, Sixth Army.
Detailed reports were written by Staff Officers of the XIV Corps. (Carroll Reinert - Americal Division)
PACIFIC OCEAN: Task Force 38 (Vice Admiral John S. McCain) supports the landings at Lingayen Gulf, Philippine Islands, with attacks on Japanese airfields and shipping in the Formosa, Ryukyus, and Pescadores Islands areas. This Task Force is composed of 12 aircraft carriers, five small aircraft carriers, five battleships, two heavy cruisers, 11 light cruisers and 60 destroyers. Off Formosa, TF 38 planes sink a coast defense vessel north of Keelung; a submarine chaser; and a fleet tanker, a merchant tanker and a cargo ship south of Formosa; and a small cargo vessel off Keelung; and a cargo ship.
U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Chevalier commissioned.
Top songs on the pop music charts are: "Don't Fence Me In" by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters; "There Goes that Song Again" by Russ Morgan; "I'm Making Believe" by Ella Fitzgerald and The Ink Spots; and "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" by Tex Ritter.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Free French patrol vessel L'Enjoue (ex-USS PC-482) hit by a Gnat from U-870 while escorting Convoy GC-107 and sank off Cape Spartel.
At 1815, SS Jonas Lie in station #35 of convoy ON-277 was torpedoed by U-1055 at the entrance to the Bristol Channel. One torpedo struck on the starboard side in the #3 deep tank and ripped open the bulkhead between the engine room and the #4 hold, killing two men on watch below. The explosion created a hole 20 feet long at the waterline and broke steam and electrical connections. As the ship lost way she listed 10° to port and 25 minutes after the attack the majority off the 41 crewmembers, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and one passenger (US Army security officer) abandoned ship in three lifeboats. The current swept the boats away from the freighter and armed trawler HMS Huddersfield Town picked up these men. The skeleton crew (master, chief officer, bosn and one seaman) left the ship three hours after the attack by order from the British Admiralty officials and were landed at Milford Haven the same evening. One survivor, which had been blown overboard by the explosion, was picked up by the Norwegian motor merchant Fosna and landed in New York on 23 January. On 10 January, the master and 13 men departed on tug HMS Storm King to board the Jonas Lie, but overnight the vessel had drifted into a minefield. The next day, they boarded the vessel and the tug took her in tow, but on 12 January, the cable parted in heavy seas. The British tug HMS Empire Sprite came to assist, but to no avail. At 1300 on 13 January, a lifesaving boat took the boarding party off and landed them at St. Mary's Island. The vessel foundered the next day.