13 January 1945

WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Tactical Air Command supports the U.S. VII Corps near Houffalize, Belgium, the XIX Tactical Air Command supports the U.S. III, VIII, XII, and XX Corps elements in the Saint-Hubert, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg areas and points east and south near the Clerf River, Luxembourg and the Mosel River, Germany.

BELGIUM: As part of the advance of the 101st Airborne Division to the north and northeast of Bastogne, the 506th Parachute Infantry - with the 321st Glider Field Artillery in direct support - attacks at 0900. By 1630, after an all day fight, the 2nd Battalion has cleared Foy of Germans. By 1800 other elements of the regiment has seized Recogne. (Jay Stone)

Ardennes: The Germans opened the Ardennes gamble with around 250,000 men; a month later, fighting a grim rear-guard action, they have lost upwards of 120,000 killed, wounded and captured, and are facing a US force of 600,000. The Americans have 8,607 dead and 68,283 wounded or missing, and the British 1,400 dead.

For both the Germans and the Allies, the losses in weapons and equipment are considerable. The Germans lost about 600 tanks (compared with the Americans' 733) and 1,000 aircraft. For the Germans the losses are pretty well irreplaceable; yet the Allies will replace theirs within the next two weeks. The Germans fell far short of gaining their strategic objective, the port of Antwerp, though their V2 attacks to the city caused serious damage and loss of life.

In the British Second Army area, the XXX Corps' Ardennes mission is completed as the 51st Division reaches the Ourthe River line southward from Laroche.

In the U.S. First Army area, the VII Corps pushes steadily toward Houffalize. On the right flank, the 4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) and 84th Infantry Division clear several towns and villages. Combat Command A, 2d Armored Division, reaches positions about 1.5 miles (2,4 kilometers) north of Wibrin; Combat Command B advances in the Bois de Cedrogne to points 5 to 6 miles (8 to 9,7 kilometers) due north of Houffalize. The 3d Armored Division's Combat Command R cuts the Sommerain-Cherain road at its junction with the road to Mont le Ban and contains Mont le Ban while Combat Command B takes Lomre. After clearing the passage through the woods south of Langlir for the 3d Armored Division, the 83d Infantry Division mops up and regroups. The XVIII Corps (Airborne) opens an offensive, employing the 106th Infantry Division on the right and the 30th Infantry Regiment on the left. The 106th Infantry Division, with the 424th Infantry Regiment on the right and 517th Parachute Infantr y Regiment on the left, attacks southeast from the junction of the AmblÃ¨ve and Salm Rivers toward the La Neuville-Coulee-LogbiermÃ©--Houvegnez line, reaching positions near Henumont. The 30th Infantry Division drives south from the Malmedy area toward the Amblve River, gaining positions near Hedomont, in the Houyire woods, and in the Thirimont area.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, advance elements of the 87th Infantry Division reach the Ourthe River and make contact with the British. The 17th Airborne Division takes Salle, north of Flamierge, without opposition. The 11th Armored Division, which has relieved elements of the 101st and 17th Airborne Divisions, attacks north with Combat Command R and Combat Command A along the Longchamps-Bertogne axis, cutting the Houffalize-St Hubert highway near Bertogne which is enveloped. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, seizes Foy, on the Bastogn-Houffalize highway; As part of the advance of the 101st Airborne Division to the north and northeast of Bastogne, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, with the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion (75mm) in direct support, attacks at 0900 hours local. By 1630 hours, after an all day fight, the 2nd Battalion has cleared Foy of Germans. By 1800 hours other elements of the regiment has seized Recog ne In the III Corps area, the 6th Armored Division drives northward, Combat Command B partially clearing Mageret. The 90th Infantry Division drives the Germans from Bras and gains Hill 530. The 35th Infantry Division and Task Force Fickett are pinched out near Bras. (Jay Stone and Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army area, the XXI Corps (Major General Frank W. Milburn) becomes operational, assuming responsibility for defense of the left flank of the army and taking control of the 106th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) and the 103d Infantry Division in place. It is to continue organization of defensive positions. In the VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division makes minor gains against the Bitche salient. Task Force Herren (274th Infantry Regiment) moves to the right flank of the corps. The 14th Armored Division takes command of the Hatten-Rittershoffen sector, assisted by the 9th Infantry Division: Combat Command A and the 3d Battalion of the 315th Infantry Regiment continue to fight in Rittershoffen; Combat Command R secures the western third of Hatten and makes contact with the 2d Battalion, 315th Infantry Regiment; efforts of Combat Command B to cut roads north and northeast of Hatten fail.

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Army's III Corps area, the 26th Infantry Division moves units into positions northeast and east of Doncols as a boundary between it and the 90th Infantry Division is moved west.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 791: 958 bombers and 469 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards and Rhine rail bridges mostly by PFF methods; they claim 6-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; eight bombers and two fighters are lost. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Marshalling yards: , Bischofheim (121-2), Kaiserslautern (86-0) and Ludwigshafen (1-0).

- Railroad bridges: Gemersheim (71-0), Gustausburg (78-0) and Kaiserbrucke (41-0) at Mainz; Hindenburg at Rudesheim (89-0), Mannheim (72-3), Maximiliansau (141-1) and Worms (85-1).

Ninety five USAAF Ninth Air Force bombers strike road and rail bridges at Dasburg, Steinebruck, and Simmern to disrupt Germany movements; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, Eighth Air Force, and RAF bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and patrols, and bomb and strafe numerous ground targets.

During the day, 158 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters are sent to attack the marshalling yard at Saarbrücken; 151 bomb the target. The bombing appears to be accurate, though with some overshooting. One Lancaster crashes in France.

During the night of 13/14 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 274 aircraft, 242 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos, to bomb marshalling yards at Saarbrüken; 266 bomb the target. One Halifax crashes in France. Bomber Command assessed this raid as being extremely accurate and effective. In a second raid, 218 Lancasters and seven Mosquitos are dispatched to attack the Hydrierwerke synthetic oil refinery at Politz; 215 bomb the target with the loss of two Lancasters. This raid had been planned as a blind-bombing but, because the weather conditions are better than forecast, low-level marking is carried out and very accurate bombing follows. Bomber Command, on the basis of photographic reconnaissance, states that the oil plant is "reduced to a shambles." The third major attack has ten Lancasters laying mines off Swinemunde on the Baltic Sea.

U-2357, U-3024 commissioned.

U-2540, U-2541 launched.

The following U.P. report was released to the newswires - Despite punishing Allied blows, the Nazis are still able to operate as many as one hundred U-boats in the Atlantic, constituting a continued serious menace to Allied supply lines, British naval circles said tonight. However, insofar as is generally known here, there is no evidence that the Germans ever have attempted to launch flying bombs from submarines, despite Vice Admiral Jonas H. Ingram's warning that the US Atlantic coast might be hit by V-bombs landed from U-boats. There is also a general tendency here to doubt the statement attributed to Admiral Ingram that the Nazis have three hundred submarines in the Atlantic. British naval spokesmen and commentators are more inclined to believe that Germany's overall submarine strength is three hundred - a force that probably would permit from fifty to one hundred undersea craft to be actually operative at one time. To keep a force of three hundred U-boats within the Atlantic operating zone, a total force of approximately one thousand submarines would be necessary, one spokesman said, and added that Germany's submarine strength at its peak was 1500. The spokesman said that although the Allies had captured or bottled up all of Germany's Bay of Biscay submarine bases, she still had more and better bases than during the first World War, when she launched a highly successful U-boat campaign. The latest improvement publicized is a device enabling U-boats to recharge batteries beneath the surface

U-275 sailed on her final patrol.

POLAND: The Soviet 1st Belorussian Front begins an offensive toward Pillkallen in East Prussia.

BALKANS: German forces of Army Group E complete their withdrawal from Greece and Albania.

CHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack six storage buildings at Kengtung;. Thirty one 31 P-38 Lightnings, P-40s and P-51 Mustangs hit targets of opportunity in the Wanting area while 16 P-51s hit targets of opportunity around Shanhsien, Chiatsochen, and Chaling.

BURMA: In the Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA) area, the Indian XV Corps strengthens the Myebon bridgehead.

Ten USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers hit Aungban Airfield while four others support ground forces along the Irrawaddy River at Molo; over 20 fighter-bombers hit horses and vehicles at Hsa-ihkao, buildings at Man Ping, and troops at Mankang and Man Sang.

Three USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells damage a bridge at Hawng Luk.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Fourteen USAAF Seventh Air Force Saipan Island-based B-24 Liberators hit an airfield on Iwo Jima; two B-24 Liberators from Guam and Saipan Islands, again raid the airfields on the night of 13/14 January.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: U-532 sailed from Jakarta on her final patrol.

Four RAAF pilots ferrying (P-40) Kittyhawks from New Guinea to Morotai Island are reported missing. After the war, it is learned that two of the pilots had been captured by the Japanese after they crashed landed and both were killed at a "special ceremony."

Twelve RAAF Spitfires attack targets on the northwestern tip of Halmahera Island.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The carrier USS Salamaua is heavily damaged by Kamikazes.

The Casablanca-Class escort aircraft carrier USS Salamaua (CVE-96) with Composite Squadron Eighty Seven (VC-87) on board, departs Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralty Islands on 27 December 1944 and moves north. VC-87 is equipped with 14 Eastern Aircraft FM Wildcats and ten TBM Avengers. The ship, part of Carrier Division Twenty Nine (CarDiv 29), is assigned to Task Unit 77.4.1, the Lingayan Carrier Unit supporting the invasion of Luzon, Philippine Islands. On 6 January 1945, she arrives off the entrance to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Her planes began attacking enemy positions ashore and provide air cover for the approaching Allied invasion force. On 9 January, they provide air cover for the troops landing on the assault beaches; then continued that support until the 13th.

Just before 0900 hours local on 13 January, a kamikaze carrying two 250 kg. (551-pound) bombs crash USS Salamaua's flight deck killing 15 and wounding 80+. Damage is extensive; the flight deck, the hangar deck, and spaces below blazed with a multitude of fires. One of the bombs, failing to explode, punches through the starboard side at the waterline. Power, communications, and steering fail; one of her engine rooms floods and the starboard engine quits. But, by 0910 hours, her gunners had splashed two of the kamikaze's compatriots.

In the U.S. Sixth Army area, Lieutenant General Walter Krueger takes command ashore. In the XIV Corps area, elements of 185th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division, move along the coast of Lingayen Gulf to a site chosen for a seaplane base in Cabalitan Bay and find that Allied Naval Forces have already secured it without Japanese interference. Wawa falls to elements of the 37th Infantry Division. In the I Corps area, the 6th Infantry Division gains its holding line, Malisiqui-Catablan-Torres. In the 43d Infantry Division zone, Regimental Combat Team 158 takes Damortis without a struggle. Attacking from the Alacan area, the 63d Infantry Regiment gets about halfway to Hill 363, its first objective. Hills 580 and 318 are practically cleared by 172d and 169th Infantry Regiments, respectively.

On Luzon, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators hit the Tarlac barracks and storage area, Batangas Airfield, and troop concentrations at San Juan, Del Monte, Muzon, and San Vicente. P-47 Thunderbolts fly a sweep from Laguna de Bay to Tarlac, destroying parked aircraft and vehicles and A-20 Havocs hit the town of Batangas and nearby railroads and highways, and bomb Lucena and Calingatan Airfields.

Temporary repairs enable the ship to return to San Francisco, California, arriving on 26 February.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The USN destroyer escort USS Fleming (DE-32) sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-362 about 320 nautical miles (594 kilometers) north-northeast of Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands, in position12.08N, 154.27E.

U.S.A.: The last Boeing B-29 Superfortress, (B-29-100-BW), USAAF s/n 45-21872, is ordered today.