World war II chronology - January 1944

1 January 1944	In the south Pacific, the airfield of New Britain is captured by US Marines. 421 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany.
2 January 1944	383 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany.
8 January 1944	In the North Atlantic, the Royal Canadian Navy corvette Camrose and the British frigate Bayntun sink German submarine U-757.
10 January 1944	Bernard Montgomery suggests to Dwight Eisenhower to cancel plans for Operation Anvil, the simultaneous landing on south France, to free up resources for the North-West Europe invasion. (Operation Anvil is cancelled on March 20.)
13 January 1944	British Bomber Command head Arthur Harris sends a letter to Air Ministry head Charles Portal, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, and General Bernard Montgomery, noting that his heavy bombers should not be diverted from German industry targets to specific Overlord tasks. The European Advisory Committee meets in London, England. In Germany, Gruppenführer Odilo Globocnik, head of Aktion Reinhard, reports to Heinrich Himmler that the plan produced RM 178.7 million in cash, 16,000 carats in diamonds, and gold coins. In northern Scotland, an imaginary British Fourth Army is created, to fool the Germans into thinking an invasion of Norway is being planned. Code name is Fortitude North.
15 January 1944	Dwight Eisenhower begins his command of Operation Overlord. Erwin Rommel takes command of the German 15th and 17th armies.   The various elements of French Resistance form the French Forces of the Interior. British General H. Maitland Wilson becomes Supreme Commander, Mediterranean. Czechoslovakian forces in Britain propose to the Soviets to send Czech pilots in Soviet fighters to assist a future uprising in Slovakia. The idea is approved.
17 January 1944	Canadian forces in Italy attempt an attack on German defences over the Arielli River. It is a disaster, with 185 Canadians killed or wounded. British Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder is appointed Deputy to Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. British 10th Corps in Italy crosses the Garigliano River, forming a strong bridgehead around the town of Minturno.
20 January 1944	The Soviet Red Army captures Novgorod. The German siege of Leningrad is lifted. US 2nd Corps in Italy attacks German defenses across the Rapido River south of Cassino, but the attck is a failure. 769 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany. Massive damage is inflicted. Seventy planes return before the attack due to mechanical problems.
21 January 1944	US General Dwight Eisenhower accepts the revised plan for Operation Overlord, with five divisions landing on fifty miles of Normandy beaches. Americans are to land on the west, aiming for Chrebourg, Brest, and ports around the Loire estuary. British and Canadian forces are to land on the east near Caen, seizing Caen on the first day. D-Day is set for June 5.
22 January 1944	US General Dwight Eisenhower orders George Patton to take command of the US 3rd Army in Britain. The Allies launch Operation Shingle, as US 6th Corp and some British troops land a force of 50,000 men at Anzio, Italy, south of Rome.
23 January 1944	A German Hs 293 guided aerial bomb damages British destroyer Jervis.
24 January 1944	Adolf Hitler orders the Gustav Line in Italy to be held at all costs.
26 January 1944	General Christison's 15th Corps of 5th and 7th Indian Divisions begins its objective of recapturing Akyab island on the Arakan coast of Burma. The 5th Division attacks Razabil, but fails after four days.
27 January 1944	The complete relief of Leningrad is announced. Over 500 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany.
29 January 1944	Operation Bonaparte is launched in France, as Canadian spies Lucien Dumais and Raymond LaBrosse begin the transfer of downed airmen back to Great Britain. (In six months, they save 135 Allied fugitives.) German guided bombs hits British cruiser Spartan, sinking it. Other bombs set American transport ship Samuel Huntington ablaze.
30 January 1944	Air Ministry head Charles Portal replies to a letter from Bomber Command head Arthur Harris, that Bomber Command must comply with allowing his bombers be used for operation Overlord. Over 500 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany.