Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. January 4 – WWII: Greek-Polish athlete and saboteur Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz is executed by the Germans at Kaisariani. January 10 – WWII: Guadalcanal Campaign: American forces of the 2nd Marine Division and the 25th Infantry Division begin their assaults on the Galloping Horse and Sea Horse on Guadalcanal. Meanwhile, the Japanese 17th Army makes plans to abandon the island and after fierce resistance withdraws to the west coast of Guadalcanal. January 11 The United States and United Kingdom revise previously unequal treaty relationships with the Republic of China. Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City. January 12 – WWII: Landing at Amchitka: American forces make an unopposed landing on Amchitka, an island of the Aleutian Islands, southwest of Alaska. The destroyer USS Worden moves into Constantine Harbor and disembarks a detachment of Alaska Scouts. During a maneuver, a strong current sweeps Worden onto a pinnacle rock that tears up the hull beneath the engine room – leaving the destroyer powerless. Later, Worden gets the order to abandon the ship and suffers the death of 14 Americans before the crew is rescued. After the island is cleared of Japanese, transports land some 2,100 men by the end of the day. January 13 – Anti-Nazi protests in Sofia result in 200 arrests and 36 executions. January 14 – 24 – WWII: Casablanca Conference: Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud of the Free French forces meet secretly at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next stage of the war. January 15 - WWII: Guadalcanal Campaign – Operation Ke: Japanese forces begin to withdraw from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. January 16 – Iraq declares war on the Axis powers. January 18 WWII: Soviet officials announce that the Red Army has broken the Wehrmacht's siege of Leningrad as part of Operation Iskra, opening a narrow land corridor to the city. Georgy Zhukov is promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union. The first Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins: several day's engagements with the Germans limits the number of Jews deported at this