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WWII On This Day: February 2

What happened on February 2 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1941, 1943 and 1945, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1941
Brigadier Horace Robertson confers with officers during the Derna action in January 1941 as the Australian advance moved around the Jebel Akhdar.
Brigadier Horace Robertson confers with officers during the Derna action in January 1941 as the Australian advance moved around the Jebel Akhdar. Damien Parer / Australian War Memorial 005668 · public domain Source
Operation Compass

The Italian Tenth Army begins abandoning Cyrenaica

British reconnaissance and air reports showed Italian columns leaving the Jebel Akhdar and Benghazi for Agedabia. The Via Balbia curved around the coast and gave the retreating Tenth Army a clear route toward western Libya if it could stay ahead of the Australian pursuit. O'Connor prepared a shorter interception route across the interior. Australian formations continued around the Jebel while 7th Armoured Division moved toward Mechili and Msus, positioning the mobile force for a dash to the coast south of Benghazi.

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1943
A column of German prisoners from Stalingrad marches to a prisoner-of-war camp, February 1943.
A column of German prisoners from Stalingrad marches to a prisoner-of-war camp, February 1943. Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E0406-0022-010 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE Source
Battle of Stalingrad

XI Corps surrenders and organised resistance ends

On the morning of 2 February the northern pocket around the factory district ceased organised resistance. XI Corps transmitted its final message at about 08:40 and its remaining formations surrendered to Soviet forces. The capitulation ended the operational battle that had begun on the approaches to the Don in July and moved through the city, the November encirclement and the January reduction of the pocket. Soviet forces recorded more than 91,000 prisoners during the final surrender phase, while tens of thousands of wounded and other personnel had previously been evacuated…

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1945
Soviet armour advancing across Poland, January 1945.
Soviet armour in Poland, January 1945 · RIA Novosti archive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photograph pending verification
The Vistula–Oder Offensive

The Vistula–Oder advance ends

The operational advance ended with Soviet bridgeheads north of Küstrin and south of Frankfurt, while German forces still held bridgeheads at the major crossings. The direct approach to Berlin had narrowed between the Oder and the exposed Pomeranian flank. The next major task was to clear that flank and prepare a new offensive.

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