Friday 19 December 1941

Mechanics repair the tread on a panzer in North Africa on 19 December 1941 (Gemini, Ernst A., Federal Archive Picture 101I-438-1191-24).

Eastern Front: The pace of command changes in the Wehrmacht accelerates on 19 December 1941 as more senior officers head home from the Eastern Front to Germany. Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch has been ignored by virtually everyone for days despite holding the senior post in the entire German Army, especially Hitler. This finally has broken Brauchitsch's spirit, and, having submitted his resignation as a form of protest, Hitler perhaps unexpectedly accepts it. In addition, Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, also turns his command over to one of his army commanders, Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge. Both leave ostensibly on medical grounds, and Brauchitsch has been recovering from a heart attack for some time. However, there is little doubt in anyone's mind that Hitler has dismissed them simply because they have become redundant as his confidence in his own powers of command has grown.

With Brauchitsch no longer around to attend Hitler's daily Fuhrer conferences and agree with everything that he said, that role falls to the next in line. That was OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder. To date, Halder has been only an occasional presence in Hitler's conference room, appearing only on average twice a month. The two men now actually get to know each other, which eventually turns out to be bad news for Halder.

The German film "Menschen Im Sturm," set in Yugoslavia in March 1941, is released on 19 December 1941. It portrays ethnic Germans in pre-war Yugoslavia being persecuted, a common theme for wartime films of the Third Reich. The fascist NDH government in Croatia led by Ante Pavelic supports the lavish production and even visits the film set in Croatia. Quite popular throughout Occupied Europe, Yugoslavia understandably bans the film after the war.

To announce the change of command, Hitler later releases a proclamation:

Soldiers of the Army and the Waffen SS! Our struggle for national liberation is approaching its climax! Decisions of world importance are about to be made! The Army bears the primary responsibility for battle! I have therefore as of this day myself taken command of the Army! As a soldier who fought in many World War battles, I am closely tied to you in the will to victory.

The order contains the usual shaky grasp of reality that emanates from Hitler's speeches, as the "decisions of world importance" already have been made and now the Wehrmacht soldiers trudging through icy weather are bearing the brunt of them. However, Hitler assuming personal command of the German Army removes the last vestige of independence that it enjoyed, though (as events will prove) individual generals still feel the right to override direct orders when they see fit.

Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn, VC, KIA 19 December 1941.

Battle of the Pacific: On Hong Kong Island, the invading Japanese forces expand their beachhead. They surround the West Brigade headquarters and kill its commander Canadian Brigadier John Lawson when he attempts a breakout. The British attempt a counterattack at the Wong Nai Chung Gap that fails. This leaves the Japanese in possession of an easy route toward the southern part of the island. Canadian Sergeant Major John Robert Osborn of the 1st Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers, is part of an attempt to recapture Mount Butler when a grenade lands near him. Osborn leaps on the grenade to save other men. John Robert Osborn receives the Victoria Cross posthumously.

"SS KING HAAKON VII going down the slipway into the water." King Haakon of Norway is present at the launch in Glasgow, Scotland, 19 December 1941 (© IWM (A 6707)).

On the Malay Peninsula, the RAAF pulls its last bombers back to Singapore and reequips No. 62 Squadron with Hudsons. The advancing Japanese close up on the new Commonwealth line at the Krian River and the Grik Road and repel a counterattack by the Indian III Corps. On the eastern end of the British line, the Indian 9th Division abandons the Kuala Krai railway station and withdraws back toward Singapore.

The US Navy sends Vice Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey, Jr. and his Task Force 8 from Pearl Harbor toward Johnston Island south of Midway. Aboard USS Enterprise, Halsey is to cover an attempt by Task Force 11 under Admiral Frank Fletcher and Task Force 14 to relieve Wake Island. Seas are heavy and destroyer Craven is damaged and forced to return to Pearl Harbor.

A 1940 view from the ramparts of Fort Macon, North Carolina. Fort Macon is a national park in 1941 due to its use during the Civil War but on 19 December 1941, the U.S. Army activates the installation for coastal defense use (Thomas T. Waterman/Library of Congres).

In the Philippines, the Japanese force advancing from Legaspi toward Manila reaches Sipoco and continues on toward Daet. The Japanese now have fighters operating in the Philippines and send a dozen of them to attack Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao. They destroy three US Army Air Force B-18 Bolos bombers which had just arrived from Luzon en route to Australia. The Japanese send transports carrying about 5000 troops from Palau, Caroline Islands, with plans to landing at Davao early on the 20th.

In Burma, Japanese forces advancing from Thailand reach Bokpyin, a village about 100 miles north of Victoria Point. In Rangoon, a US official demands that the Government of Burma impound Lend-Lease material before it is captured by the Japanese. The government complies and loads a great deal of equipment on the USS Tulsa. This becomes known as the "Tulsa Incident" and takes a great deal of time and effort to sort out. Meanwhile, General Claire L. Chennault sets up new headquarters for his American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers" about 150 miles (241 km) east of Rangoon and begin operations that last until 4 July 1942.

An Italian "Torpedo to run slow," initial SLC, also known as "pig." The pig is a midget submarine that runs like a torpedo. It has been adapted to carry two frogmen wearing SCUBA gear whose goal is to secretly apply explosive charges to enemy warships that are moored in a harbor.

Battle of the Mediterranean: In the early hours of 19 December, a Royal Navy force composed of three cruisers and four destroyers runs into a minefield about 20 miles (32 km) off Tripoli. The British have been searching for the Axis convoy that led to the First Battle of Sirte. Cruiser HMS Neptune hits four mines and sinks quickly. Destroyer Kandahar, coming to Neptune's aid, also hits a mine and is scuttled later in the day. Two other cruisers, Aurora and Penelope, also hit mines but manage to limp back to Malta (illustrating yet another advantage of retaining that island). The British incur 830 deaths from this disaster, which causes greater losses than most battles.

The Louisville Courier-Journal of 19 December 1941 highlights the agreement with the Vichy French authorities in Martinique that neutralizes the French fleet there.

Meanwhile, Italian submarine Sciré has had several aborted missions to transport Luigi Durand De La Penne (Italian frogmen) of the Xª Flottiglia MAS of the Royal Italian Navy to Royal Navy bases for purposes of destroying Royal Navy ships. Today, just as several British ships hit mines off Tripoli, the Italian frogmen penetrate Alexandria Harbor, the main Royal Navy base in the eastern Mediterranean. Attaching mines that explode just after 06:00 on 19 December 1941, the frogmen damage battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant, destroyer Jervis, and 7554-ton Norwegian freighter Sagona. The six Italian frogmen disappear and presumably perish. HMS Queen Elizabeth is taken to Virginia for repairs that last until June 1943, while Valiant is taken to Durban for repairs which also last until 1943. It is a devastating night for the Royal Navy which drastically impairs its ability to undertake large-scale operations in the Mediterranean. However, because the Valiant does not actually sink, the Royal Navy is able to maintain the impression that suffered no damage, thereby preventing any Italian naval adventurism for the time being.

US Military: Congress extends the draft ages to all men aged 20-44.

In Berlin, celebrity conductor Paul Lincke signs autographs for his devoted female fans (Hoffmann, Federal Archive Picture 183-B06424).

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on the US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

2020

Sunday 14 December 1941

"HMS EURYALUS (right) and HMS GALATEA on patrol with guns raised." This photo was taken on 14 December 1941 from the Naiad while on patrol in the Mediterranean. © IWM (A 7593).

Eastern Front: Army Commander Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch continues his review of the Army Group Center forces around Moscow and receives very disquieting reports. He arrives at Roslavl to confer with Field Marshal von Kluge and General Guderian, who both urge further withdrawals. Unexpectedly, Hitler's chief adjutant, Generalmajor Rudolf Schmundt, arrives at the Army Group headquarters in Smolensk as a sort of personal representative for Hitler. Schmundt is a well-known glad-hander who has Hitler's complete confidence and communicates with him better than the generals. When von Brauchitsch returns to Smolensk in the afternoon, he tells Schmundt that he supports the army commanders' requests to retreat further. When Schmundt calls Hitler via General Jodl at OKW, however, Hitler refuses to grant any further withdrawals except for some minor adjustments in the line by Ninth Army and Third Panzer Army west of Kalinin and Klin and by Guderian's Second Panzer Army west of Tula.

"The cruisers HMS EURYALUS and GALATEA firing on enemy aircraft during an engagement" This photo is taken on 14 December 1941 from cruiser Naiad while on patrol in the Mediterranean. © IWM (A 7099).

The entire affair illustrates a gradually growing assumption of direct control by Hitler over military operations. While Hitler has interfered in the past, these intrusions on the army's control have been relatively minor and "handled" by OKH Chief of Operations General Franz Halder and local commanders. The most notorious example to date of the local commanders ignoring Hitler's obvious wishes was the Army Group South withdrawal from Rostov-on-Don at the end of November. The general tactic heretofore has been to simply do what is considered necessary and present the moves to Hitler as a fait accompli. However, by firing Field Marshal von Rundstedt on 1 December, Hitler indicated very strongly that he expects to be asked before such moves are made from now on.

The Denver Post Home Edition, Sunday, December 14, 1941. "Hundreds Of [Japanese] 'Chutists Wiped Out In Hand-To-Hand Battle With Filipinos." Of course, there were no "' Chutists" and they certainly were not "wiped out." All of the war news is very reassuring. The Denver Post Library Archive.

However, while Hitler realizes the need (in his view) for more direct control over the military, he is new to issuing direct operational orders. Hitler has not yet realized that he cannot leave any "wriggle room" for his subordinates to still issue orders contrary to his implied wishes. Today, his orders to Army Group Center explicitly state that while he does not now authorize "giving up any place or taking any evasive action," this could be acceptable once the army does "something" to prepare new lines to the rear. Von Bock and von Brauchitsch interpret this nebulous language to authorize a further retreat once they tell Hitler that they have a new defensive position in mind running along a line von Bock has visualized at Rzhev-Gzhatsk-Orel-Kursk. So, von Bock tells his army commanders to get ready for a further retreat once he placates Hitler. This, however, is not what Hitler really means, and thus a direct confrontation between Hitler and his army commanders is brewing.

The important things continue in the United States. This ticket would get you into the Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers game in Wrigley Field on 14 December 1941. This is a Western Division playoff game.

The Far North sector flares to life again when the Red Army attacks Finnish forces along the Svir River. They take the village of Gora, but the Finns stop further gains. While the Finns now refuse to take further offensive action, they are willing to fight hard to protect their current lines. Thus, Soviet attacks in this area in a sense serve the Germans' purposes, as they divert forces that could be used further south into pointless battles against Axis troops that otherwise would be idle. In fact, it is easy to speculate that this diversionary benefit of the Finnish forces is why Hitler does not put more effort into attaining a junction with the Finnish forces east of Leningrad.

The US media continues to mix facts with wildly optimistic but inaccurate reports on the fighting in the Pacific. For instance, the news from the Eastern Front flows along long-established channels and is reasonably accurate. However, the information chain from the new battles in the Pacific is sketchy at best. The headlines in the 14 December 1941 edition of the Syracuse Herald American illustrate this dichotomy nicely, reporting actual events in the Soviet Union but printing wild fantasies about supposed successes in the Philippines.

Battle of the Pacific: The United States Navy begins its first offensive action of the war on 14 December 1941 when Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.'s Task Force 11 sails toward Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The mission is intended as a distraction for the Japanese as the embattled US Marines on Wake Island await relief. Meanwhile, the Japanese Navy sends two attacks early today against Wake Island by aircraft based in the Marshall Islands, including the first by "Mavis" flying boats and a later raid at 11:00 by Nell bombers based on Roi Island at Kwajalein. The second raid kills two US Marines and destroys one of the Marines' two remaining F4F-3 Wildcats. The Wake Island battle has become a media favorite, and from a public relations perspective is the most important campaign in the Pacific for the United States regardless of the fact that the island itself has little value to either side. Thus, the US Navy is planning a relief, but it is taking time to prepare.

Close-up of torpedo damage to U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) as seen in a dry dock of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard on 14 December 1941. The cruiser was hit by a torpedo during the Pearl Harbor Attack on 7 December 1941. The original caption reads: "U.S.S. Helena - Torpedo damage between Frames 69 1/2 and 80 1/2 starboard side. Note propeller shaft, H.P. turbine to left. At right center floor plates were driven into teeth of a reduction gear by force of the explosion. Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, T.H. (US Navy).

On the Malay Peninsula, the British continue withdrawing more due to their own apprehensions than defeats inflicted by the Japanese. Area commander General Arthur Percival authorizes the 11th Indian Division on the west coast to withdraw south toward Singapore 30 miles (48 km) to a new line centered on the village of Gurun. The division's commander, Major-General Murray-Lyon, botches the retreat by failing to fully inform all of his units. This leaves many isolated men and units stranded, with no alert that everyone else around them is departing. Many of these men wind up being captured or overwhelmed by massive Japanese forces. In addition, there are few organized provisions made for crossing the Bata River, leading to many Allied troop drownings, lost equipment, and other calamities. Losses are much higher than necessary and the force is unnecessarily weakened as it tries to create a new line that has not been prepared. On the new line, the 11th Indian Division briefly attempts to block the Japanese just north of the village of Gurun, which has some natural features that favor the defense. After dark on the 14th, the Japanese - right on the heels of the retreating Commonwealth troops - make some penetrations into the new position.

The Michigan Daily of 14 December 1941 is full of news about the construction of new defense plants. This is where some would say World War II is actually won.

On the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, the British Kelantan force continues a fighting withdrawal. The Indian 12th Brigade moves to the Baling region about nine miles west of Kroh. Due to the continuing British withdrawal, the defense of Penang Island becomes impossible. The British evacuate it, and Japanese forces occupy the island. Penang has a port that is well-stocked with ammunition and other stores.

Tarlac, Luzon railroad station after the Japanese bombing on December 14, 1941.

In the Philippines, the Japanese advance in north Luzon. The Aparri force meets the Vigan force at Vigan. The two forces are placed under a combined command and prepare an advance to the Lingayen Gulf. The US Army Air Force sends its remaining B-17s of the Far East Air Force to bomb the new Japanese beachhead at Legaspi, and the bombers damage a freighter and tanker. Lieutenant Hewitt T. Wheless earns the DSC for this action when he nurses his damaged bomber back to a crash-landing at Cagayan, Mindanao Island. The US Navy sees how things are going overall despite this minor success and withdraws its remaining PBY Catalinas t of Patrol Wing Ten and accompanying tenders from the Philippines entirely.

"An Oerlikon gun crew in action on HMS NAIAD." This photo, taken on 14 December 1941, shows the Naiad while on patrol in the Mediterranean. © IWM (A 7594).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In Libya, the battle of the Gazala line continues, but activity is light as both sides adjust their forces. The 5th New Zealand Brigade holds some hard-won penetrations into the line, and the British send the Polish Independent Brigade forward to reinforce them and plan further attacks for the 15th. A little to the south, the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade maintains the British line, while at Alem Hamza the 5th Indian Brigade mounts a failed attack. The Italian Ariete Division also mounts a minor attack with about a dozen tanks, but a motley collection of British units that includes an armored car squadron of the Central Indian Horse and the Royal East Kent Regiment beats them off. For the moment, a stalemate has developed all along the line, but Tobruk has been relieved and the main mission of Operation Crusader achieved.

Firemen battle a three-alarm fire at the Sanitary Public Market building, Pike Place Market, Seattle, December 14, 1941. While the fire's origins are unknown (and are never ascertained), speculation immediately leaps to Japanese saboteurs. (Courtesy MOHAI (PI22904))

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

2020

Saturday 13 December 1941

U-126 returning to its port of Lorient, France, 13 December 1941 (Tölle, Alwin, Federal Archive Bild 101II-MW-4362-40).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Events on land in the Mediterranean basin invariably revolve around sea battles. General Erwin Rommel has been frantic to get more supplies delivered from Naples to Tripoli via Palermo. In the early morning hours of 13 December 1941, the Italians send the cruisers Alberto da Barbiano and Alberico di Giussano across the Strait of Sicily.

Italian cruisers Alberico Da Barbiano and Alberto Di Giussano docked side by side in the 1930s. These are the two ships sunk by the Royal Navy on 13 December 1941.

The cruisers are packed with fuel barrels on deck that carry 100 tons of aviation fuel, 250 tons of gasoline, and 600 tons of naphtha, among other supplies. Also making the crossing are 135 ratings. The cruisers are not meant to serve as cargo ships, so the fuel barrels are stacked high and limit the ability to fire the main guns. The British, meanwhile, have learned of the convoy via their Ultra service and have sent the 4th Destroyer Flotilla to intercept them. The stage is set for a deadly confrontation.

Commander Lieutenant Ernst Bauer of U-126 shortly after returning to Lorient, France on 13 December 1941 (Tölle, Alwin, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-4363-06).

The Royal Navy ships, knowing exactly where to look for them and lying in wait, spot the two unaware Italian cruisers near Cape Bon, Tunisia around 02:30. Hugging the coast, which causes them to blend into the background, the British destroyers remain undetected until they are close enough to launch torpedoes and open fire with their main guns. The outcome is extremely similar to that of the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. Once they become aware of the British trap, the Italian ships immediately reverse course, but Barbiano is hit by a torpedo, bursts into flames due to the fuel barrels being hit, and then is hit with several more torpedoes. Meanwhile, Giussano also is hit by gunfire and a torpedo, leaving her dead in the water. Neither ship has a chance. Barbiano sinks at 03:35 and Giussano at 04:20. The Italians lose 817 men. Italian destroyer Cigno picks up about 500 men in the water, Italian torpedo boats rescue another 145, and other men manage to swim to shore. All of the fuel for Rommel's tanks goes to the bottom.

The bottom line? Knowing ahead of time what your enemy is about to do gives you lots of ways to beat them.

U-126 approaching the dock in Lorient, France after a patrol on 13 December 1941. That is likely Admiral Doenitz on the dock saluting, he often personally greeted returning submarines (Tölle, Alwin, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-4362-37).

On land, the New Zealand 5th Brigade attacks the new Afrika Corps Gazala line along an 8-mile front while the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade makes a flanking attack against the Italian Trieste Division at Alem Hamza. The New Zealand troops make some headway, taking point 204 a few miles west of Alem Hamza, but the Germans quickly counterattack with 39 panzers and accompanying infantry. Both sides take heavy casualties (the Germans lose 15 panzers), but the New Zealand troops hold their exposed position. The British plan to reinforce them on the 14th and attack again early on the 15th.

U-126 approaching the dock on 13 December 1941, crew lined up on deck, commander Bauer saluting (Tölle, Alwin, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-4362-38).

Eastern Front: Faced with frantic calls for help from the Moscow front, German Army commander Field Marshal Walther Brauchitsch arrives at Army Group Center headquarters in Smolensk shortly before noon. He listens as Field Marshal Fedor von Bock and the generals advise that further withdrawals are necessary, to a line centered on Rzhev-Gzhatsk-Orel-Kursk. Supported by Field Marshal von Kluge, who is overseeing Third and Fourth Panzer Armies, and General Adolf Strauss of Ninth Army, von Bock warns that the entire German front may be "smashed to pieces" without a timely withdrawal. Brauchitsch does not make any decisions today, as they are being made without him, but plans on talking to General Guderian (who, having withdrawn from Tula, now is having trouble holding his new line further west) and other generals on the 14th.

The Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky Courier-Journal of 13 December 1941. Buried deep under the Pacific war news is a headline stating "Reds Claim Total Victory in Battle for Moscow," which is quite accurate at this point and much more significant than anything else on the page.

Battle of the Pacific: In the Hawaiian Islands, a bizarre postscript to the attack on Pearl Harbor ends on 13 December 1941 when a Japanese pilot, Airman First Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, who crash-landed during the attack, is killed on Niihau Island. This becomes known as the "Niihau incident." Nishikaichi has remained at large on the island for the past five days because there are no radios and also because he has gained some allies. However, after a wild melee, island residents overcome the mini-rebellion in hand-to-hand combat. One woman, Irene Harada (of Japanese descent), is imprisoned until June 1944 for helping the Japanese pilot but never convicted of any crimes. The incident contributes to fears that Japanese residents in the United States may secretly aid the Imperial Japanese government, as indicated in a 26 January 1942 Navy report by Lieutenant C.B. Baldwin.

German Jews being deported from Muenster, Germany to the Ghetto at Riga, Latvia. The Riga Ghetto has recently had space freed up due to mass exterminations there (Yad Vashem Photo Archives 4981/46).

The Japanese advance on the Malay Peninsula continues as the Japanese take Jitra. The 11th Indian Division successfully withdraws late on the 13th, but it is poorly executed and many advanced units remain while the bulk of the division leaves after dark. The area commander, General Percival, later writes:

This withdrawal would have been difficult under the most favourable conditions. With the troops tired, units mixed as the result of the fighting, communications broken and the night dark, it was inevitable that orders should be delayed and that in some cases they should never reach the addressees. This is what in fact occurred. Some units and sub-units withdrew without incident. Others, finding themselves unable to use the only road, had to make their way as best they could across country.

Going "across the country" means troops hauling whatever equipment they can carry, struggling through jungles with no roads and finding many natural obstacles. The withdrawing Indian troops reach the south bank of the River Kedah around midnight, but the division has taken very heavy losses both from combat and the botched withdrawal. The Indian troops know they cannot hold this position for long, so they begin retreating to a position 30 miles south of Jidrah in southern Kedah.

"USS Helena (CL-50), December 1941. The image shows the torpedo damage received on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. Specifically shown is between frames 69.5 and 80.5 starboard side below armor belt. Note that the bilge keel is split along a line of rivets. Photographed at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, December 13, 1941. Official Bureau of Ships Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (2015/2/18)." National Museum of the U.S. Navy.

At Hong Kong, the last Commonwealth troops, the 5/7 Rajputs of the Indian Army under the command of Lieutenant R. Cadogan-Rawlinson, evacuate to Hong Kong Island. The Japanese close in on the Kowloon waterfront and make their first surrender demand, which is rejected by the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Aitchison Young. The British organize their defense into a West Brigade (Canadian Brigadier J.K. Lawson) and an East Brigade (British Brigadier C. Wallis). The officer commanding in Hong Kong, British Major General Christopher Maltby, fears a seaborne invasion, so he deploys many troops on the southern beaches when the real threat emanates from the north.

A burning building along Taft Avenue which was hit during the Japanese air raid in Barrio, Paranque, December 13, 1941, the Philippine Islands (Libary of Congress)

In the Philippines, the Japanese Air Force continues devastating raids on Clark, Del Carmen, and Nichols airfields, destroying many more aircraft on the ground. The US Army Air Force is fighting back and scores some successes. First Lieutenant Boyd D "Buzz" Wagner of the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), 24th Pursuit Group (Interceptor), shoots down four Japanese airplanes near Aparri while on a reconnaissance mission over the Japanese invaders in northern Luzon. In doing so, Wagner apparently violates orders to avoid combat, later claiming that he "accidentally" stumbled into the dozen Japanese fighters. However, the fleet of bombers with which the Americans began the campaign is virtually gone and few fighters remain.

"Picture Post" magazine for 13 December 1941. The cover features General Martel, "The man against Hitler's tanks."

In Burma, a small Japanese force makes rapid progress against token opposition. The RAF is forced to evacuate an airfield at Victoria Point on the Kra Isthmus, which the Japanese quickly take and use. While Victoria Point is far to the south of Rangoon, the airfield is perfectly positioned for the Japanese to use for missions both over Burma and south toward Singapore.

Liberty magazine of 13 December 1941 poses the question, "Is the President A Well Man Today?" That actually is an excellent question, because President Roosevelt, in fact, is much sicker than this commonly known. However, he still is able to hide it very well.

American Homefront: The US Department of Justice is working fast to intern suspected foreign sympathizers. To date, it has imprisoned 585 Japanese and 187 German citizens. The US Congress passes an amendment to the Selective Service laws which authorizes the military to keep soldiers enlisted beyond their scheduled expiration date - meaning, until things change, everyone is in for the duration as the military sees fit.

"Love Story Magazine" for 13 December 1941. This includes articles such as "The Technique of Make-up," "Your Stars and You," and "Married in Haste."

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

2020

Monday 1 December 1941

A Wehrmacht soldier surrender at Solnechnogorsk, northwest of Moscow, on 1 December 1941 (Samaryi Guraryi).

Eastern Front: After stewing about the unauthorized retreat from Rostov for 36 hours and trying in vain to stop the troops in their tracks, Adolf Hitler fires the Army Group South commander, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, early on 1 December 1941. Named as his replacement in the teletype to the Army Group headquarters is the commander of Sixth Army, Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau, who is present on the scene and able to take over quickly. In a pattern that repeats itself throughout the course of the war on the Eastern Front, the new commander immediately ratifies the decisions taken by his predecessor and even expands upon them. In the evening, after paying lip service to what Hitler wants, Reichenau allows the fleeing troops to continue west to the new Mius River line. Field Marshal von Rundstedt, meanwhile, departs from his headquarter with his rank intact aboard his personal command train, his reputation and esteem intact despite his dismissal.

Soviet troops marching on Gorky Street, Moscow, Russia, 1 December 1941. Credit: RIAN, Oleg Ignatovich.

While the firing of von Rundstedt is not a decisive event in the course of Operation Barbarossa, it is a very significant sign of deeper troubles in the German invasion. Von Rundstedt is the first army group commander to be relieved, but the other two - Fedor von Bock at Army Group Center and Ritter von Leeb at Army Group North - also are in peril. All three have faced the same extremely difficult decisions about trying to bring overly aggressive operations in line with dwindling capabilities as winter closes in. Stopped at Leningrad, von Leeb has ordered his advance troops at Tikhvin to march north to Lake Ladoga, but today the Red Army stops this advance as well at Volkhov, 35 miles south of the Lake. Field Marshal von Bock, for his part, sends Germany Army commander Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch a teletype early in the morning reiterating his concerns expressed in a telephone conversation on 30 November and adds the conclusion that they could expect an impending Red Army collapse "a fantasy." Furthermore, Operation Typhoon, the final offensive on Moscow, had lost "all sense and purpose" and it was time to end it because the troops were exhausted. The bottom line, he concludes, is that that Army Group North was going to be forced to spend the winter out in the open "at the gates of Moscow" and this was a very real problem that had to be addressed.

General Anders (right) and General Sikorski (second from left) at a conference in Moscow on 1 December 1941. They are negotiating a joint declaration of friendship between the Polish government in exile and the Soviet Union. This is a relationship that goes through many severe twists and turns throughout World War II and thereafter. Visible in the background are (from left to right) M. Kot, Polish Ambassador in Russia, M. Vyshinsky, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and M. Kalinin, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (Rickard, J (8 April 2008), General Anders and General Sikorski in Moscow, 1 December 1941).

The Soviet generals at the Stavka also are seeing a shift in the balance of power and spend 1 December 1941 drafting up plans for a counteroffensive. However, the pleas of the German generals are undercut somewhat by some meager gains on the ground. To the west of Moscow, Fourth Army's 25th Infantry Division makes a sudden breakthrough south of the Moscow-Smolensk highway. General Guderian to the south of the Soviet capital also is planning one last attempt to shatter the so-far solid Red Army defenses at Tula and resume his drive north. He orders the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions along with Grossdeutschland to attack early on the 2nd. Thus, despite their growing problems all across the front, German commanders continue to hold out hope that the sheer superiority of Wehrmacht weapons and willpower can overpower a very stubborn enemy.

"A Matilda tank crew overhauling their vehicle in preparation for the next phase of battle near Tobruk, 1 December 1941." © IWM (E 6864).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Following General Erwin Rommel's orders, the 15th Panzer Division jumps off at 06:15 toward Belhamed. Their objective is to cut the lifeline the British have established to Tobruk during Operation Crusader. The Germans only have about 40 panzers left, but they quickly overrun the weary troops of the 2nd New Zealand Division. The British quickly move the 7th Armored Division forward to Belhamed, and they support the withdrawal of the New Zealand troops to Zaafran, about five miles east of Belhamed and northeast of Sidi Rezegh. New Zealand commander General Bernard Freyberg orders a further withdrawal to the east based upon his assessment that the British are not fully committed to holding the supply corridor to Tobruk. After resupplying, 15th Panzer combines with the Italian Trieste division to finally cut the Tobruk corridor at 16:30. The New Zealand force takes heavy casualties but withdraws its 3500 troops and 700 vehicles in good order to British lines. At this moment, it appears that British Operation Crusader has failed and that General Rommel's Afrika Korps somehow has prevailed in a dramatic defensive victory despite being woefully undersupplied and understrength. However, the battle is not yet over and the British retain a formidable concentration of forces near the Egyptian border.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Harvester (left) closes in on USS Excalibur, a freighter, west of Gibraltar, on 1 December 1941. The captain of Harvester wants to check the freighter's papers, which are in order. This photo was taken from destroyer HMS Blackney (© IWM (A 6922)).

Japanese Government: In Tokyo at the Imperial Conference held on 1 December 1941, Emperor Showa reviews the decisions made at the Liaison Conference on 29 November. Prime Minister Tojo presides over this conference, which formalizes the decisions already made by the military. The meeting record recites:

Our negotiations with the United States regarding the execution of our national policy, adopted 5 November, have finally failed. Japan will open hostilities against the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.

While Hirohito has broken established rules of Imperial protocol at previous meetings to question the wisdom of war, he does not do so at this conference. His complete silence is an assent to the outbreak of war. It is decided that there will be no declaration of war, only an ambiguous note given to the United States shortly before hostilities begin breaking off relations. The date set for the attack is 8 December 1941, Japanese Standard Time, which would be 7 December 1941 in the United States.

Life magazine, 1 December 1941.

November 1941

November 1, 1941: Finns Attack Toward Murmansk Railway
November 2, 1941: Manstein Isolates Sevastopol
November 3, 1941: Japan Prepares to Attack
November 4, 1941: German Advances in the South
November 5, 1941: Last Peace Effort By Japan
November 6, 1941: Stalin Casts Blame in an Unexpected Direction
November 7, 1941: Stalin's Big Parade
November 8, 1941: Germans Take Tikhvin
November 9, 1941: Duisburg Convoy Destruction
November 10, 1941: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol
November 11, 1941: Finland's Double Game Erupts
November 12, 1941: T-34 Tanks Take Charge
November 13, 1941: German Orsha Conference
November 14, 1941: German Supply Network Breaking Down
November 15, 1941: Operation Typhoon Resumes
November 16, 1941: Manstein Captures Kerch
November 17, 1941: Finland Halts Operations
November 18, 1941: British Operation Crusader
November 19, 1941: Sydney vs. Kormoran Duel
November 20, 1941: The US Rejects Final Japanese Demand
November 21, 1941: Germans Take Rostov
November 22, 1941: Kleist in Trouble at Rostov
November 23, 1941: Germans Take Klin, Huge Battle in North Africa
November 24, 1941: Rommel Counterattacks
November 25, 1941: HMS Barham Sunk
November 26, 1941: Japanese Fleet Sails
November 27, 1941: British Relieve Tobruk
November 28, 1941: Rostov Evacuated, German Closest Approach to Moscow
November 29, 1941: Hitler Furious About Retreat
November 30, 1941: Japan Sets the Date for its Attack

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

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