The French defeated the forces of Rabih az-Zubayr after two years of war, bringing Chad under the jurisdiction of French Equatorial Africa.
The French were commanded by Major Amédée-François Lamy. Both he and Rabih were killed in what is known as the Battle of Koussér
Last edition:
Members of the Phalangist Kataeb militia, a Maronite Christian Democratic party, attacked a bus carrying Palestinian Muslims to the inauguration of a new mosque in the Beirut suburb of Ain El Remmeneh., killing 27 and wounding 18.
This would soon lead to a protracted civil war.
While they modified over time, the Lebanese Phalangist, as the name would indicate, were inspired by the European fascist parties, including those of Italy, Span, and Germany (the Nazi Party).
Chad's president François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye was assassinated in a coup d'état by soldiers led by General Félix Malloum.
The last Canadian airlift of Vietnamese orphans took place.
The U.S. Navy deposited those rescued in Operation Eagle Pull in Thailand.
The 1970s were not great.
Lou Bega was born on this day.
Last edition:
South Vietnam premier Tran Thien Khiem resigned, and was replaced by Nguyễn Bá Cẩn.
As odd as it may sound, given the situation, Nguyễn Bá Cẩn came in as a reform politician, part of an effort to radically restructure the South Vietnamese government, partially under US pressure, as a national unity government.
He's ultimately go into exile in France, and then California.
The first Operation Babylift flight crashed, killing 144 of the 305 people in the C5A, including 78 of 243 children.
For the first time since the 1973 War Powers Resolution had taken effect, an American President delivered the required report to Congress about military action with President Ford informing Congress of his sending of U.S. Marines, ships, and helicopters to evacuate refugees from South Vietnam.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen incorporated Microsoft.
French Army Commandant Pierre Galopin, 43, serving as a negotiator in Chad, was hanged following a trial conducted by rebels.
Last edition:
A heavy Royal Air Force raid saw Berlin bombed for the first time in 14 months, seeing the return of the British air arm for the first time since November 7, 1941. The resulting fires from 1,000 bombs on the city could be seen for 100 miles.
On this, Sarah Sundin notes:
Today in World War II History—January 16, 1943: RAF bombs Berlin for first time since November 1941, with the first use of target indicator flares to mark the target for bombers farther back in the stream.
Only one British bomber failed to return.
Sundin also noted in her blog that the British 8th Army and the Free French, marching across the Sahara from Lake Chad, linked up. That was a remarkable feat by any measure.
In North Africa, the Afrika Korps attacked at Bou Arada, Tunisia, and was repelled.
The Red Army prevailed in the Battle of Velikiye Luki, sometimes called the Little Stalingrad of the North.
Iraq declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.
You'd think, by this point, the message to the Germans should have been pretty clear.
The cover story of Science News was on radios for the war.
