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History on the 3rd of January

History
Date Text
03 Jan 1918 WW2 A British Emissary, R. H. Lockhart, was ordered to Russia to open relations with the Bolsheviks. 
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03 Jan 1925 WW2 Mussolini claimed political responsibility of the murder of Socialist politician Giacomo Matteotti. 
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03 Jan 1931 WW2 Marshal Joseph Joffre, the former French Commander-in-Chief (1914-1916), passed away. 
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03 Jan 1932 WW2 Japanese troops captured Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, China. 
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03 Jan 1934 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. 
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03 Jan 1937 WW2 Spanish Nationalist forces captured a seven-mile stretch of the Corunna Road north of Madrid, Spain. For the following 12 days, Spanish Republican forces would attempt to counterattack to regain the road, with high casualties on both sides, ending in a stalemate. 
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03 Jan 1939 WW2 The Hepburn Board of the US Navy submitted a request to the US Congress for the expansion to Midway, Wake, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls in the Pacific Ocean. 
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03 Jan 1940 WW2 American freighter Mormacsun was intercepted by the Royal Navy and diverted to Scotland for searches. 
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03 Jan 1940 WW2 Soviet submarine S-2 was sunk after hitting a naval mine in the Sea of Aland; all 50 aboard were lost. 
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03 Jan 1940 WW2 Battle of the Raate Road: Troops of Finnish 9th Division continued to attack the Russian concentration along the Raate Road, they failed to cut the column but they did manage to pin down the Russians. Finnish troops focused on attacking field kitchens and bonfires to keep the Russians in the cold. Meanwhile, Finnish Colonel Siilasvuo dispatched another two regiment-sized task forces, traveling toward Raate Road on skis, to aid the assault. 
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03 Jan 1940 WW2 USS Helena departed Norfolk, Virginia, United States. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 Luftwaffe X Fliegerkorps arrived in Italy. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 At 0530 hours, the British artillery barrage began, hitting Italian defensive positions at Bardia, Libya. At 0600 hours, Australian 6th Division began its assault from the west, clearing anti-tank obstacles for the 23 tanks of the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment that began attacking at 0650 hours. Between 0810 and 0855 hours, battleships HMS Warspite, HMS Valiant, and HMS Barham, along with destroyers, monitors, and gunboats, bombarded Bardia with 244 15-inch shells, 270 6-inch shells, 250 4.5-inch shells, and many smaller caliber shells. The ground forces would penetrate 2 miles into the Italian lines. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 German bombers attacked Bristol, England, United Kingdom overnight for 12 hours, targeting the docks and the railway station. 149 were killed and 351 were wounded. The granary on Princes Wharf was destroyed, along with most of the 8,000 tons of grain inside. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 The Corpo Aereo Italiano, which had been participating in the Battle of Britain alongside Luftwaffe units at Belgian bases, was recalled to Italy after suffering heavy losses. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 The Italians launched a counter-offensive to the north and west of Korcë, Albania; two fresh Italian divisions were committed to the Klissoura sector on the Vlorë road to regain the initiative. 
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03 Jan 1941 WW2 RAF bombers attacked Bremen and the Kiel Canal in Germany. The Kiel Canal Bridge suffered a direct hit and collapsed on Finnish ship Yrsa. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 US and Filipino troops fell back to the Guagua-Porac defensive line, 15 miles from the Bataan peninsula on Luzon, Philippine Islands. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Cummings led a counter attack against the Japanese at Kuantan, Malaya, in which all of his men were killed or wounded, and he was bayoneted twice in the stomach. Rallying the remnants of his force under fire, he was wounded again, but succeeded in saving many lives. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 USS Pollack fired a torpedo at a Japanese ship off Honshu, Japan; the torpedo missed. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 The Japanese made an amphibious attack at Kuala Selangor in western Malaya, which was repelled by Indian troops. In eastern Malaya, Japanese troops pushed through Indian 9th Division defenses and crossed the Kuantan River, capturing the airfield nearby. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 British Colonel Arthur Cummings, commanding officer of the Indian 12th Frontier Force Regiment, gallantly led a rearguard unit near Kuantan, Malaya as the main body of his division retreated further south, suffering a bayonet wound in his stomach and a gunshot in the arm. He would survive the war and be awarded the Victoria Cross for this action. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Australian 39th and 53rd Battalions arrived at Port Moresby, New Guinea from Sydney, Australia. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Japanese submarine I-158 sank Dutch ship Langkoeas off Bawean Island, Dutch East Indies; all 94 aboard escaped on lifeboats. I-158 rammed one of the lifeboats and attacked the others with machine guns, killing many of the survivors. Ultimately, only 3 would survive. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Five freighters and one tanker departed Messina, Brindisi, and Taranto in Italy to form convoy M.34, carrying 1,200 troops, 54 tanks, artillery pieces, armored cars, 1,000 tons of ammunition, and 5,300 tons of fuel for Tripoli, Libya. A powerful escort force of 4 Italian battleships, 5 cruisers, 19 destroyers, and 5 torpedo boats provided cover from a distance. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 USS Skipjack attacked a Japanese submarine in the Dutch East Indies with four torpedoes and observed two explosions; in actuality no damage was done. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Major General Tomitaro Horii and Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue met at Truk, Caroline Islands aboard cruiser Kashima to coordinate Army-Navy plans for the invasion of Bismarck Islands. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Tenryu arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. In the subsequent days she would receive two depth charge throwers and two depth charge rails at the stern. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 Shokaku was undocked at Kure, Japan. 
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03 Jan 1942 WW2 The B-25D variant of the B-25 Mitchell aircraft took its first flight; all B-25D aircraft were built at Kansas City, Kansas, United States. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS S-28 crossed the International Date Line. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 I-168 arrived at Shortland Islands in the Soloman Islands. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Soviet troops captured Mozdok, Russia. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Lieutenant R. T. G. Greenland RNVR and Leading Signalman A. Ferrier penetrated Palermo harbour in Sicily, Italy on a Chariot human torpedo and sink the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 The Japanese leadership in Rabaul, New Britain received the text of the Army-Navy Central Agreement on South Pacific Area Operations, which called for the strengthening of Solomon Islands and New Guinea footholds upon the completion of the evacuation of Guadalcanal. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed refitting light cruiser Sendai at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USAAF heavy bombers attacked the docks and U-Boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, France, starting several fires. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed the Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 USS Grayback sank Japanese submarine I-18 in the Coral Sea, hitting her with 1 of 2 torpedoes; she also fired six torpedoes at other Japanese warships four hours later, all of which missed. 
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03 Jan 1943 WW2 President Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz of the Polish government-in-exile in London, England, United Kingdom urged Pope Pius XII to denounce German atrocities against the Jews. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 In the Atlantic Ocean, the destroyer USS Somers intercepted the German blockade-runner, Weserland, and opened fire with her 5-in guns at 7,000 yards; continuing to fire until the German vessel stopped, exploded scuttling charges, and sank with the loss of five lives and her precious cargo of rubber from Japan. 133 survivors were rescued. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 US Marine Corps ace pilot Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington, flying a F4U Corsair fighter, was shot down by Japanese Navy pilot Captain Masajiro Kawato, flying a Zero fighter, over Rabaul, New Britain. Boyington's wingman, Captain George Ashmun, was also shot down. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 28 F4U and 16 F6F fighters were launched from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville at 0630 hours for a fighter sweep mission over Rabaul, New Britain; some of these fighters returned to base shortly after launch due to mechanical problems. 70 A6M fighters rose to defend Rabaul. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 8 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked Solingen and Essen in Germany. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 In Italy, General Bernard Montgomery received orders to return to Britain for his new role as the commander of British troops in the Allied Expeditionary Force. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 US Fifth Army began its offensive against the Gustav Line in Italy. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 The US destroyer Turner mysteriously exploded in a harbor in New Jersey, United States, killing 153 crewmen. The lives of the 165 injured survivors were saved by the airlifting in by helicopter from Brooklyn, New York, United States of supplies of blood plasma. It was the first time that a rotary wing aircraft had been used in a rescue operation. 
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03 Jan 1944 WW2 USS Scorpion refueled at Midway Atoll. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 In preparation for the attacks on Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and mainland Japan, Admiral Nimitz was given command of all involved naval forces, while General MacArthur was placed in command of all ground forces. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 German submarine control expressed "considerable anxiety" over the fate of U-869, which had not responded to requests for report for the past four to five days. Meanwhile, around the same time, the Americans had intercepted enough German radio messages to deduce that a German submarine was heading toward New York City, New York, United States and began to assemble a hunter-killer group to intercept it. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 USS Hoe arrved at Fremantle, Australia, ending her seventh war patrol. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 US First Army launched an attack on the northern flank of the Ardennes bulge in Belgium. Meanwhile, 1,100 Allied bombers, escorted by 11 fighter groups, bombed railroad and communications centers in western Germany. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 57 American B-29 bombers attacked Nagoya, Japan, while 21 other bombers attacked other Japanese cities. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 Light carrier Hosho conducted a training exercise at Kure, Japan. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 Settsu was assigned to target and aircraft training duties at Kure, Japan. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 14 SB2C-3, 6 TBM-3, and 12 F6F-5 aircraft of Air Group 80 from USS Ticonderoga attacked Taichu Airfield in central Taiwan; six of the SB2C aircraft turned back after running into poor weather, one of the F6F aircraft became lost and joined fighters from USS Wasp in the strafing of a train, and two of the TBM-3 aircraft got lost and joined another group in the attacking of Suo (now Suao). On a separate mission later on this day, Air Group 80 conducted a fighter sweep over Koryu Airfield on Taiwan; Ensign Philip Manella's F6F fighter was shot down, forcing him to bail out, and his wingman Lieutenant (jg) R. C. Wagg reported that the parachute was strafed by Japanese fighters. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 In the Philippine Islands, the forward elements of the American invasion fleet for Luzon passed through the Surigao Strait. In support, aircraft of Task Fleet 38 struck Japanese airfields in Taiwan. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 USS Wake Island transited the Surigao Strait in the Philippine Islands. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 6 TBM-1C aircraft and 12 F6F-5 fighters, both of Air Group 44 from USS Langley, attacked Hokuto Airfield (referred by the Americans as "Keishu Airfield") in Hokuto (now Beidou) in central Taiwan with 60 100-pound bombs, rockets, and strafing. No Japanese aircraft rose to defend. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 18 F6F-5 fighters of Air Group 81 from USS Wasp attacked Koryu Airfield in Taiwan with rockets, bombs, and strafing; no Japanese fighters rose to defend. These attacking fighters regrouped over Taiwan Strait after the attack, flew back over Taiwan, and attacked targets of opportunity; they sank a small fishing boat along the coast, destroying a cargo train (carrying oil) at present day Dashan Station of Houlong Township, and heavily damaging a 10-car passenger train further northeast. A separate group of 4 F6F-5 fighters of the same air group conducted a photographic reconnaissance mission over Koryu Airfield, Shinchiku Airfield, and Koko Airfield in Taiwan. 
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03 Jan 1945 WW2 German V-2 rocket hit the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, London, England, United Kingdom at 0850 hours, killing 5 and injuring 19. 
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03 Jan 1946 WW2 The British Reconnaissance Corps was disbanded at the Reconnaissance Training Centre, Catterick, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom after a parade. 
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03 Jan 1946 WW2 Karl Wiligut passed away in Arolsen, Germany. 
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03 Jan 1947 WW2 John Kennedy began his tenure in the United States House of Representatives for the 11th District in the state of Massachusetts. 
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03 Jan 1948 WW2 The former King Mihai I of Romania was exiled out of the country. 
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03 Jan 1948 WW2 2nd Royal Berkshires departs Rangoon, Burma, on HMS Scythia as the last British battalion to leave the country that so many had died to liberate. 
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03 Jan 1948 WW2 Irina Burnaia fled out of Romania for Lebanon. 
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