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• 90 German bombers attacked southern British cities. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | TH]
• 648 RAF aircraft attacked Magdeburg, Germany; 55 British aircraft and 4 German fighters were destroyed during the engagement. It was the first time Magdeburg was raided by the Allies. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | TH]
• Light cruiser USS Vincennes was commissioned with Captain Arthur D. Brown in command. ww2dbase [AC]
• USS Seahorse sank Japanese cargo ship Yasukuni Maru and passenger-cargo ship Ikoma Maru in the Pacific Ocean, expending nine torpedoes, five of which scored hits. ww2dbase [Seahorse | CPC]
• USS Nicholas departed San Francisco, California bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and USS O’Bannon departed San Diego, California also bound for Pearl Harbor. ww2dbase [Nicholas | DS]

• The governments of Australia and New Zealand signed the Canberra Pact to promote national interests in a post war Pacific. The Pact was opposed by the United States which saw it as imposing on their sphere of influence. ww2dbase [AC]

• Cruiser Chokai reached the damaged food transport ship Irako to tow her to nearby Truk, Caroline Islands. They arrived at Truk at 1700 hours. ww2dbase [Irako | Truk | CPC]

• Robert Johnson shot down a German Fw 190 aircraft over Rouen, France. ww2dbase [Robert Johnson | Rouen, Haute-Normandie | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a raid against rocket launching sites in the Pas-de-Calais region of France but could drop no bombs due to weather. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | Vergeltungswaffe 1 | RAF Thurleigh | Pas-de-Calais | DS]

• Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein shot down 5 British bombers before he was shot down by British escorting fighters. He was killed as the Ju 88 aircraft crashed in a wooded area in Lübars, Germany. ww2dbase [Heinrich | Lübars | CPC]

• USS Alabama arrived at Funafuti, Ellice Islands. ww2dbase [Alabama | Funafuti | CPC]

• Allied convoy JW-56A continued her journey from Akureyri, Iceland. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Akureyri | CPC]

• In the mid-morning, German 15th Panzergrenadier Division wiped out the US beachheads along the Rapido River in Italy, forcing the survivors to withdraw back across the river. During the day, German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and 90th Panzergrenadier Division arrived in the region as reinforcement. After dark, US 141st Regiment and 143rd Regiment crossed the river again and established precarious footholds. ww2dbase [Battle of Monte Cassino | Cassino, Lazio | CPC]

• 600 prisoners deemed "invalid" were executed by gunfire at Majdanek Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Majdanek Concentration Camp | Lublin | CPC]

• Richard O'Connor was made the commanding officer of British VIII Corps, which included the Guards Armoured Division, 11th Armoured Division, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, 6th Guards Tank Brigade, 8th Group Royal Artillery, and 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment. ww2dbase [Richard O'Connor | England | CPC]

• The US 5th Marine Division ("The Spearhead") was activated at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California, United States with the 26th, 27th and 28th Marines under command. The 28th Marines contained a cadre of men from the deactivated Marine parachute battalions. Artillery was provided the 13th Marines and Engineers (who did not deploy overseas) by the 16th Marines. ww2dbase [San Diego, California | AC]

21 Jan 1944 Interactive Map