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WWII On This Day: January 19

What happened on January 19 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1944 and 1945, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1944
Soviet soldiers fighting in Pushkin during the January 1944 operations south of Leningrad. Commons dates the photograph to 2 January 1944, so it is used as related phase imagery rather than a same-day image of the Ropsha link-up.
Soviet soldiers fighting in Pushkin during the January 1944 operations south of Leningrad. Commons dates the photograph to 2 January 1944, so it is used as related phase imagery rather than a same-day image of the Ropsha link-up. RIA Novosti archive #309 / Boris Kudoyarov · CC BY-SA 3.0 Source
The Siege of Leningrad

The Oranienbaum and Pulkovo forces link at Ropsha

The two Leningrad Front attack groups linked near Ropsha and cut off German formations remaining around Peterhof and Strelna. Eighteenth Army began dismantling and abandoning the siege artillery as its position south of the city collapsed.

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1945
Soviet horse-drawn transport in Kraków, January 1945. The image is dated to the month, rather than specifically to 19 January.
Soviet horse-drawn transport in Kraków, January 1945. The image is dated to the month, rather than specifically to 19 January. Romuald Broniark archive / photographer unrecorded · CC0 1.0 Source
The Vistula–Oder Offensive

Kraków is occupied

Soviet units entered Kraków on 19 January after the German forces withdrew, leaving its historic centre largely intact. 1st Ukrainian Front entered Kraków after the German defence withdrew under pressure from the north and east. The city was not subjected to the kind of prolonged fortress battle that destroyed Warsaw, but claims that one dramatic Soviet deception alone saved every monument simplify a wider operational withdrawal.

Continue in The Vistula–Oder Offensive →
Residents of Łódź greet Soviet armoured troops entering the city in 1945. The original archive caption identifies Łódź and the entry but does not give the exact day; its association with 19 January is operational.
Residents of Łódź greet Soviet armoured troops entering the city in 1945. The original archive caption identifies Łódź and the entry but does not give the exact day; its association with 19 January is operational. Photographer unrecorded / attributed Russian State Archive caption · PD-Ukraine licence claim on Commons (territorial limits noted in file record) Source
The Vistula–Oder Offensive

Łódź falls

Soviet forces entered Łódź on 19 January and pressed west toward the Warta and the approaches to Poznań. 1st Belorussian Front occupied Łódź and continued toward the Warta and Poznań. Broad gaps separated the surviving German armies, and many aircraft, depots and repair facilities were captured before they could be evacuated.

Continue in The Vistula–Oder Offensive →