Friday 20 February 1942

Lieutenant Butch O'Hare in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F Wildcat shortly after shooting down five Japanese bombers and becoming an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942. For his actions, O'Hare is promoted to lieutenant commander and receives the Medal of Honor (Office of War Information National Archives, via the Naval Historical Center website).

Battle of the Pacific: The Combined Chiefs of Staff announces on 20 February 1942 that Allied forces will remain on Java and will not be evacuated. At this point, Java is basically encircled, with new Japanese naval and air bases close by Portuguese Timor, Bali, Singapore, and Sumatra. So far, the ABDA forces have not succeeded in stopping the Japanese anywhere, and everyone expected Singapore to hold out, too. In a show of confidence, Governor of the Netherlands East Indies Dr. van Mook returns to Batavia from the United States today.

In Portuguese Timor, about 1500 troops of the Japanese 228th Regimental Group, 38th Division, XVI Army, continue their landings at Dili. Resistance is spotty, with some areas such as the airport fiercely defended by Australian commandos while others are abandoned. The Australian defenders are heavily outnumbered and retreat to the south and the ease toward the mountains. About 200 Dutch East Indies troops head southwest toward the border with Dutch Timor.

The first issue of the Singapore occupation newspaper The Shonan Times on Feb 20, 1942, celebrates Japan's victory and "impregnable" position. The last issue on 4 September 1945 will list reasons for Japan's defeat. PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY, SINGAPORE.

In the Badung Strait, Vice Admiral Karel Doorman retreats with his battered force after the Battle of Badung Strait on 19 February 1942. At 06:00, Admiral Doorman sends seven torpedo boats to the Strait, but they do not find any targets. The failure of the ABDA forces at the Battle of Badung Strait leaves the Japanese in possession of Bali. The Japanese have suffered little damage during the engagement, while the ABDA forces have lost destroyer Piet Hein and suffered damage to cruiser Tromp and destroyer Stewart. Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Air Group land at Bali and begin operations.

Edward O'Hare, seen during a subsequent ticker-tape parade, becomes an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942 by shooting down five Japanese bombers (AP Photo).

USS Lexington, Task Force 11, is on a mission to penetrate waters north of New Ireland near Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and to attack Rabaul when it is attacked by Japanese bombers based at Rabaul. This is known as the Action off Bougainville. While most of the carrier's fighters are chasing them off, another group of Bettys from the 4th Kōkūtai's 1st Chuta is located only twelve miles away. Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare and his wingman, Marion "Duff" Dufilho, are the only two fighter pilots available when the second wave of Japanese bombers attack US Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington. They take off together, and O'Hare shoots down five Betty bombers and he damages three more. This makes O'Hare the first U.S. flying ace of the war and he receives the Medal of Honor. O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago is named after Lt. O'Hare, and destroyer USS O'Hare (DD-889) also is named after him.

In the Philippines, Japanese artillery bombardment intensifies on fortified islands still held by the Allies in and near Manila Bay. US Navy submarine USS Swordfish departs from the Philippines with President Manuel Quezon, Vice President Sergio Osmea, their families, and other top government officials. Their first stop is Mindanao, where Quezon wants to stop in order to remain in the country that he governs. General MacArthur, the leader of Allied forces in the Philippines, orders that troops keep a close eye on Quezon to make sure that he does not attempt to make a separate peace with the Japanese. Since MacArthur, who is a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army, relies on Philippine troops to man the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) on the Bataan Peninsula, that would be a catastrophic development and almost certainly lead to a quick defeat. Whether or not Quezon's departure has an effect on morale remains to be seen.

The San Diego (California) Tribune-Sun of 20 February 1942 notes that United States citizens of Japanese descent are subject to internment pursuant to President Roosevelt's new Executive Order 9066.

In Burma, the Indian 17th Division continues to withdraw toward the Sittang River. Japanese aircraft strafe the fleeing troops, who are short of water and other essentials, and this leads to a lot of abandoned equipment. The campaign has for the moment become a race for a key bridge across the Sittang, with Japanese infiltrators closer to it than the main body of Allied troops. The British authorities order all civilians to evacuate Rangoon within 48 hours.

Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Kokutai strafe Singosari Airfield on East Java. They destroy numerous aircraft on the ground, including B-17E 41-2455, B-17E 41-2484, B-17E 41-2488, B-17E 41-2478, and B-17E 41-2498. Other Japanese bombers damage 4991-ton Dutch freighter Jalakrishna and sink 983-ton Dutch freighter Tobelo at Kupang. Japanese submarine I-65 torpedoes and sinks 5280-ton freighter Bhima in the Indian Ocean southwest of India, with all 70 people on board surviving. Japanese bombers sink 4068-ton Australian freighter Koolama off Wyndham, West Australia.

Generalmajor Theodor Scherer, the commander of the German troops encircled by the Red Army at Kholm, receives the Knight's Cross at the hands of the officers of his staff, 20 February 1942. Note they are all unshaven, reflecting their difficult situation. Scherer receives the award as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division. The Germans hold approximately one square mile in Kholm at the confluence of the Lowat and Kunja rivers. They have been surrounded since 21 January 1942. The trapped force there has been designated Kampfgruppe Scherer.

Eastern Front: The German Army high command (OKH) compiles a report on casualties to date on the Eastern Front. So far, there are 199,448 dead, 708,351 wounded, 44,342 troops missing, and 112,627 cases of severe frostbite. Considering that the invasion began with approximately 3 million Axis troops, casualties after eight months of the war are about one-third. While many wounded men are able to return to duty, replacements have not matched losses.

European Air Operations: Activities on both sides are relatively quiet day due to weather conditions. There are no major operations.

A Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” medium bomber photographed from the flight deck of USS Lexington, 20 February 1942. (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), which opened hostilities in the Caribbean as part of Operation Neuland,  continues its successful patrol when it torpedoes and sinks independent 5127-ton US freighter Delplata about sixty miles (97 km) west of Martinique. There are no deaths and all 53 men on board are picked up on the 21st by seaplane tender USS Lapwing (AVP 1). The Delplata does not sink right away, so the Lapwing sinks it on the 21st with gunfire. Following this further success, Hartenstein requests permission from the Vichy French authorities at Martinique to dock in order to put ashore their gunnery officer, who lost his right leg in an accident on 16 February. This request is granted, and U-156 docks there on the 21st.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks unescorted 2,400-ton Norwegian freighter Nordvangen near Trinidad. The ship sinks quickly and all 24 men aboard perish. An empty lifeboat washes ashore on Trinidad on 6 March.

SS Nordvangen, sunk by U-129 on 20 February 1942.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its third patrol out of Lorient, 2398-ton US freighter Lake Osweya off Nova Scotia. This sinking is sometimes dated as taking place on 19 February, but it appears that the torpedoes hit at 04:53 on 20 February. Lehmann-Willenbrock reports seeing three lifeboats launched, but the entire 39-man crew disappears.

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli torpedoes and sinks British 7224-ton freighter Scottish Star while the freighter is en route from London to Buenos Aires. Some sources place this sinking on 19 February 1942. There are four deaths and 69 survivors.

German 1025-ton freighter Jason hits a mine and sinks near Calais.

SS Delplata, sunk on 20 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: After a day without any air raids for the first time in many weeks, the bombers return on 20 February 1942. They attack Senglea, Bighi, Cospicua, Luqa, Kalafrana, and Zeitun. There are no reports of any aircraft losses.

US/Soviet Relations: The United States offers the USSR a $1 billion loan.

US/Vichy France Relations: The US Ambassador to Vichy France, Admiral William D. Leahy, requests that he be recalled to the United States "for consultations." Leahy is concerned about a growing hardline Vichy French attitude against the United States. This request will be denied.

Portuguese/Japanese Relations: Portugal protests to the Japanese government over its seizure of Portuguese Timor and the airfield at Dili. Portugal is a neutral nation.

Scottish Star (previously the Millais), sunk by Italian submarine Luigi Torelli on 20 February 1942.

US Military: Major General Ira C. Eaker, commander of the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, arrives by air in the British Isles. Their first task is to select a headquarters site. Eaker reports to Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFI) Major General James E. Chaney, who arrived with U.S. Army troops in January.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force moves the A-24s of the air echelon of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bomber Group, from Brisbane to Batchelor. The 22nd Bombardment Squadron B-17s complete a move from Fiji to Townsville.

Australian Military: Following the devastating Japanese air raid on the port of Darwin, the Allies abandon it as a naval base. The airfields remain operational.

The Paducah (Texas) Post notes large numbers of men being taken into the US military. Similar headlines play out all across the country.

American Homefront: Universal Pictures releases "Ride 'Em Cowboy." Directed by Arthur Lubin and starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the film becomes the eighth biggest film hit of 1942.

Future History: Philip Anthony Esposito is born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Esposito develops an early interest in hockey and signs with the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League as a teenager. He is an immediate success in a junior league, scoring 12 points (goals and assists) in one playoff game and averaging 3.3 points per game. After three years in the junior leagues, the Black Hawks bring Esposito up to the parent club during the 1964 season. Centering for Bobby Hull, another NHL star, Esposito is among the league scoring leaders for the next three years. In 1967, the Black Hawks trade Esposito to the Boston Bruins. Esposito goes on to become one of the greatest scorers in NHL history. Among his other accomplishments is becoming the first NHL player in history to score 100 points in 1969 and leads the league in goals for six straight years. He leads the Bruins to Stanley Cup Championships in 1970 and 1972. Esposito later plays for the New York Rangers and becomes its captain. Esposito retires in 1981 and goes into Rangers management, then is elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. As of this writing, Phil Esposito serves as a radio color commentator for the Tampa Bay NHL franchise.

Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. is born in Sheffield Alabama. His family moves to Georgia, then Louisville, Kentucky when Mitch McConnell is eight years old. After graduating from the University of Louisville, McConnell interns for Senator John Sherman Cooper in 1964. After law school, he enlists in the U.S. Army Reserve as a private. However, he is deemed medically unfit later in the year and honorably discharged. McConnell continues his political development and is elected as Jefferson County Judge/Executive in 1977 and to the United States Senate in 1984. As of this writing, Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader.

The 20 February 1942 Daily News focuses on the cabinet shifts in Great Britain.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Tuesday 23 December 1941

Wrecked US Marine Corps Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters at Wake Island on or after 23 December 1941. There are about seven planes in this view. Following standard practice at all forward airfields, parts from damaged planes were used to repair other planes. The plane in the foreground is "211-F-11," Captain Henry T. Elrod's mount which he used to sink Japanese destroyer Kisaragi (National Archives via US Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-179006).

Battle of the Pacific: With Vice Admiral William S. Pye, Acting Commander in Chief US Pacific Fleet, having recalled the relief force for Wake Island, there is little hope for the US Marines and civilian contractors stranded there on 23 December 1941. At 02:35, about 1500 Japanese marines land after a powerful preliminary bombardment. Supported by air strikes from aircraft carriers Hiryu and Soryu, the Japanese marines overwhelm the garrison.

A 1943 aerial photograph of Wake Island marked to show key points during the 23 December 1941 invasion of the island. The two Japanese destroyers used as landing craft are still beached off the island, and the Japanese have constructed an airfield (using US civilian contractors captured during the raid) nearby.

The US marines destroy Japanese landing craft Patrol Boat No. 32 and Patrol Boat No. 33, which are beached, but they have no air support and their artillery quickly is silenced. The fighting rages through the morning, but the situation is hopeless. The US Marines have 49 dead, two missing, and 49 wounded overall during the siege. In addition, over 70 US civilian contractors perish and a dozen are wounded. Overall, the Japanese capture 433 American men at a cost of 144 Japanese casualties. A huge fraction of the US civilian contractors will be executed by the Japanese during the war.

HIJMS Patrol Boat No.32 (left) and Patrol Boat No.33 (right), badly damaged during the invasion of Wake Island on 23 December 1941 but which managed to reach shore and beach themselves (United States Navy or United States Marine Corps).

While a major propaganda victory, the Japanese gain little by occupying Wake Island. They force the captured Americans to fortify the island, including bringing in an 8-inch (200 mm) naval gun, but the isolated location offers so few possibilities that the US Navy makes no plans to recapture it. In fact, its location on the route from Pearl Harbor toward Japanese possessions further west turns the island of Wake into the perfect live-fire training ground for US naval airmen and gunners. With so many US Navy ships in the vicinity, the Japanese find it impossible to supply the small garrison there with food, much less with airplanes or other offensive weapons. As an ideal training for US Navy pilots like future President George H.W. Bush, the US Pacific Fleet is content to simply keep an eye on it while pumping a few shells at the Japanese installations as ships pass on to more important destinations. The Japanese flag flies at Wake Island until 4 September 1945.

"Wake Island, December 23, 1941. Japanese troops pay homage to a memorial erected to unit commander Uchida, who was killed in the landing on Wake Island, 23 December 1941. Copied from a Japanese picture book. U.S. Marine Corps photograph." (National Museum of the U.S. Navy #USMC 315175).

In Manila, Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General US Army Forces Far East and a Field Marshal in the Filipino Army, notes the Japanese invasion force that landed just north of Manila on the 22nd and declares it an open city. The Japanese in Rosario advance ten miles (16 km) south toward Manila by dusk. The US forces begin withdrawing south into the Bataan peninsula. This is an easily defended region where the US Army has stored nearly one million US gallons of gasoline. The retreat is orderly and not made under Japanese pressure. Late in the day, a 7000-man Japanese force from the Ryukyu Islands lands in Lamon Bay. The US Army Air Force still has some B-17 Flying Fortresses at Del Monte Field on Mindanao, and they attack Japanese shipping in Lingayen Gulf, damaging a destroyer and a minesweeper. The Japanese send troops from Mindanao Island to land on Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago, indicating that they aren't too worried about the remaining US presence in the Philippines.

"Western Desert. Armorers working on a [Curtiss] Tomahawk fighter aircraft of No 3 Squadron RAAF." 23 December 1941 (Australian War Memorial 010926)

Japanese submarine attacks on US shipping off the west coast continue, with I-21 torpedoing and sinking 8272-ton US tanker Montebello four miles off of Cambria, California and later using its deck gun to damage 6418-ton tanker Idaho. Submarine I-17 uses its deck gun to damage 7038-ton American tanker Larry Doheny about 62 nautical miles southwest of Eureka, California. As experience in the Atlantic has proven in the war to date, tankers are extremely difficult to sink due to their compartmentalized construction. In addition, Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 shell US-held Palmyra Island, which is about 960 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu.

Japanese artillery based on Jardine's Lookout in action, with Wong Nei Chong Gap in front of them. Late December 1941 (©IWM SIT3571).

On Hong Kong Island, the Japanese have split the island in two and are gradually restricting the remaining British presence. The Canadian Royal Rifles, a unit that had only embarked for the territory on 27 October 1941, withdraws into Hong Kong's Stanley Peninsula to make a last stand. The fighting is extremely savage, and there are reports of Japanese atrocities.

HMAS Karangi. Commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 23 December 1941, the Karangi was the third Boom Defence Vessel constructed by Cockatoo Island Dockyard. It serves in the Australian Navy until 1964.

The British remove Major-General David Murray-Lyon of the Indian 11th Infantry Division from his command on 23 December 1941 due to the unit's rocky withdrawal south toward Kuala Lumpur. He thus becomes the campaign's first scapegoat, but not the last. The Indian III Corps completes its withdrawal behind the Perak River after dark. The Japanese aircraft in the region shift their attention from attacking British airfields north of Singapore, all of which have been abandoned, to assisting ground troops.

One of the two Japanese landing craft beached at Wake Island on 23 December 1941.

The war at sea is picking up quickly. On Borneo, the Dutch naval forces detect a Japanese naval convoy sailing from Miri for Kuching and send submarines to intercept it. HNLMS K XIV sinks Japanese Army transports Hiyoshi Maru and Katori Maru, while Hokkai Maru is beached to prevent it from sinking. Most of the Japanese troops get through to the target, however, and they take Kuching by mid-afternoon. The 15th Punjab Regiment retreats up the nearby river. During the night, Dutch submarine HNLMS K XVI torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer Sagiri about 30 miles north of Kuching, notching the first Allied submarine victory over a Japanese warship. However, the crew of K XVI doesn't have long to celebrate, as Japanese submarine I-66 spots it and sinks it with all hands shortly thereafter. Off Badoc, US submarine SEAL sinks 856-ton Japanese freighter Soryu Maru.

Japanese photo showing the bombing of Rangoon on 23 December 1941.

In Burma, 80 Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-21 bombers escorted by 30 fighters bomb Mingaladon and downtown Rangoon for the first time. Casualties are unknown but there are an estimated 2000 civilian deaths. The American Volunteer Group (AVG aka "Flying Tigers") and Royal Air Force Brewster Buffaloes intervene but cannot prevent the attack. The Japanese use both high explosive and incendiary bombs. Combined with a similar attack on 25 December 1941, the Japanese destroy 60% of the wooden buildings in the entire downtown area from Pazundaung to Ahlone. This bombing begins a desperate flight from Rangoon of Indians, Burmese, Anglo-Burmese, Europeans, Chinese, Karens, and others.

Soviet scouts outside Moscow near Yasnaya Polyana, December 1941. The Red Army advance often involved soldiers like this attacking isolated German outposts where the Germans had taken over peasant buildings. Notice how well the Red Army men are dressed for operating outdoors, with felt boots and caps with earflaps. General Guderian had his headquarters in Yasnaya Polyana.

Eastern Front: German withdrawals continue around Moscow. In General Guderian's Second Panzer Army, the 296th Infantry Division escapes from a potential encirclement and by falling back to the Oka River at Belev. Its neighbor, the 167th Infantry Division, is not as fortunate and is smashed by the Soviets. Guderian requests permission to take his entire front behind the Oka River, but Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge denies the request because of Hitler's "stand fast" order and cautions that further retreats cannot be made "under any circumstances" without the Fuehrer's permission.

Western Desert, Libya. 23 December 1941. This is known as the Graveyard of the Stukas, some of the German dive-bomber aircraft destroyed by the Allied Air Forces (Australian War Memorial MED0220).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Much of the action is taking place at sea along the Axis supply routes to the Afrika Korps in Libya and the British convoys to Tobruk. The Royal Navy sends Convoy AT-5 to Tobruk, and that leads to a lot of action. U-559 torpedoes and sinks 3059-ton British freighter Shuntien east of Tobruk. It is carrying 850 mostly Italian prisoners of war and has a crew of seventy. Casualties are unclear because corvette HMS Salvia, which rescues as many people as it can, is lost itself on 24 December and virtually everyone on it perishes. So, ultimately, very few people on board the Shuntien ever set foot on land again. Meanwhile, convoy escorts Hasty and Hotspur use depth charges to sink U-79 off Bardia about 69 nautical miles (129 km) east of Tobruk. The U-boats crew is fortunate, however, as the Captain, three officers, and forty ratings and nobody perishes.

SS Shuntien, sunk on 23 December 1941 with great loss of life off Tobruk.

On land, the British advance by XIII Corps comes to a halt due to stiffening Axis resistance and supply issues. The Germans are gradually consolidating their position in western Libya, so the Indian 4th Division takes Barce. The Germans at Antelat retreat to Agedabia under pressure from the British 7th Armored Division.

An early production model of the C-47 Skytrain transport under production at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach ca. 1941. Douglas produced 13 C-47s a day at this facility. (Library of Congress).

US Military: Today is the first flight of the first C-47 Skytrain, 41-7722, the first DC-3 variant built specifically as a military transport. It flies at Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California. The US Army Air Force already has purchased hundreds of DC-3-type airplanes, most notably as the personal transport of the Chief of Staff of the USAAF, General Henry "Hap" Arnold, but those were civilian versions. The military version has a cargo door on the left side of the fuselage, a strengthened cargo floor, a navigator's Astrodome, and provisions for glider towing. The C-47 Skytrain generally is considered the most successful military transport ever.

SS Montebello at her launching at Eat San Pedro in 1921. Japanese submarine I-21 hits the Montebello, which had departed from Port San Luis early in the morning, with one torpedo on 23 December 1941 near Piedras Blancas Point (off Cambria, California). All 39 crewmen take to the boats as I-21 surfaces and fires with its deck gun. The tanker finally sinks bow first. Everyone survives.

French Military: In a rare military land action in North America, Free French forces land on St. Pierre and Miquelon and seize them without much trouble. Vichy officials have been governing the islands off of Newfoundland until now. This eliminates the last Vichy French military presence in the Americas, as the French outpost at Martinique already has entered into an armistice agreement with the United States.

American Homefront: Californians feel increasingly threatened by the recent spate Japanese attacks just off the coast, and there aren't many US Army troops defending the coastline. Lieutenant General John DeWitt, Commanding General Fourth Army and also Commanding General Western Defense Command, decides it is time to impose some discipline. He induces California Governor Culbert Olson to ban the sale of liquor to any person in uniform except during "Happy Hour" and the evening, from 1800-2200.

A 1930s postcard showing a bronze statue by Louis Auguste Hiolin in the Park des Les Buttes Chaumont called "Au Loop." The statue portrays a young shepherd chasing a wolf away from his lambs. A 23 December 1941 article in Figaro notes that the Germans had seized the statue to melt it down. The statue has never been replaced but the pedestal remains in place, empty. It is a very pretty spot and many park-goers enjoy sitting on the pedestal.

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 22 December 1941

"Italian troops surrendering to a patrol of the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifles Brigade on the road south-west of Gazala, Libya, 22 December 1941. One of the prisoners even brought his bicycle with him." © IWM (E 7301).

Battle of the Pacific: In the Philippines, the Japanese make their main landings on the east coast of Lingayen Gulf during the morning of 22 December 1941. The Japanese have 43,110 troops of the 48th Division and a regiment of the 16th Division, supported by about 90 light tanks and artillery. US commander General Wainwright sends the 11th and 71st Filipino Divisions in a futile counterattack. The Japanese win a brief battle at the coastal town of Rosario against the 26th Cavalry Division of the Filipino Army, which withdraws south toward Manila. Offshore, US submarine USS S-38, sailing out of Manila, torpedoes 5445-ton Japanese transport Hayo Maru. The transport quickly sinks in the Lingayen Gulf. This is S-38's first war patrol and the first US submarine success of the war.

Life Magazine's 22 December 1941 issue provides a guide to telling Japanese and Chinese citizens apart.

A US Navy relief operation to Wake Island was organized by Admiral Husband Kimmel before his dismissal. On 22 December 1941 Task Force 14 (Admiral Wilson Brown), supported by Task Force 14 (Admiral Frank Fletcher) is approaching the beleaguered US Marines there. However, at 21:00, the acting commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral William S. Pye, recalls Task Force 11. He bases this on reconnaissance that reveals the presence of two Japanese aircraft carriers and two battleships around the island. While there aren't any battleships, there definitely are two modern aircraft carriers, but the real opponent at this stage of the war is simply the unknown. The Americans don't know where all the Japanese carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor went, and the remaining US carriers are too precious to risk with naval forces so vastly reduced by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pye instead plans on sending F2A Brewster Buffaloes from USS Saratoga at extreme range to land on the island on the 23rd, supported by a quick run to the island by seaplane tender USS Tangier. However, it is unclear how long the island can hold out against vastly superior Japanese forces.

On Wake Island itself, the US Marines suffer from two Japanese raids launched from carriers Hiryu and Soryu. There are only two operational USMC F4F Wildcats left on the island, and one is shot down and the other badly damaged.

"Japan's Aggressor, Admiral Yamamoto" is the cover story for the 22 December 1941 Time Magazine. The cover portrait by Arthur Szyk shows Yamamoto as vaguely human but definitely menacing.

On the Malay Peninsula, fierce air battles develop over Kuala Lumpur. Sergeant Malcolm Neville Read of RAAF No. 453 Squadron rams his Brewster Buffalo fighter into a Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar" fighter of 64th Sentai and perishes. The Indian 11th Division continues its retreat behind the Perak River, while the Indian 9th Division establishes a strong position around Kuantan airfield that also protects the east flank of the 11th Division.

The situation in Burma is deteriorating rapidly, with Japanese forces making good progress in the extreme south. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek realizes that his best supply route runs through Burma, so he gives General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India, ground forces. He sends the Chinese 6th Army's 93rd Division and a regiment of the 49th Division, with the promise of more to come. The American Volunteer Group (AVG, aka "Flying Tigers") are operating east of Rangoon, but there is a serious lack of Allied ground troops in the country which Chiang can remedy faster than the British.

USAT Willard H. Holbrook arrives in Brisbane, Australia, 22 December 1941. It is part of the United States Navy's "Pensacola" Convoy that includes heavy cruiser USS Pensacola, gunboat Niagara, naval transports Chaumont and Republic, Army transports Holbrook and Meigs, and three freighters. They carry the first US troop units to arrive in Australia from the United States.

A Japanese convoy leaves Miri, Borneo for Kuching. A Dutch flying boat X-35 radios a warning to HNLMS K XIV (Lt. Cdr. Carel A.J. van Groeneveld), which heads to intercept it on the 23rd.

Newsweek, 22 December 1941, features Navy dive bombers.

About 15 nautical miles off the coast of California southwest of Lompoc, Japanese submarine I-19 uses its deck gun against 10,763-ton American tanker H.M. Storey. The recent spate of Japanese submarine attacks off the coast has attracted a great deal of attention, and a US Navy aircraft swiftly arrives and drops a depth charge. This provides enough of a distraction for the tanker to escape.

"A 25-pdr field gun and 'Quad' artillery tractor, 22 December 1941" North Africa. (© IWM (E 7245)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In North Africa, the British Commonwealth forces continue pressing against the Afrika Corps, which has retreated to Beda Fomm and now is evacuating from Benghazi. The Germans have received some reinforcements from Tripoli and manage to stop the British by deploying 30 panzers. General Erwin Rommel, commander of Panzer Group Africa, sends a battle report to German General Headquarters in Rome for translation to Mussolini which notes "the extraordinarily strong enemy air superiority."

"Universal carrier of 40th Royal Tank Regiment, 8th Armoured Division being recovered from a hole at Warren Camp, Crowborough in Sussex, 22 December 1941. The regiment was about to embark for the Middle East, hence the desert camouflage." © IWM (H 16283).

Eastern Front: Having taken a somewhat leisurely drive from his former headquarters in Smolensk to East Prussia, Field Marshal Fedor von Bock arrives at the Fuhrer Headquarters in Rastenburg. After a brief visit with Hitler, during which the Fuehrer assures him that he understands the dire situation at the front, von Bock continues on to Berlin. It is an odd interlude because von Bock is not actually sick, but Hitler tells him to report back when he is "recovered."

Four Polikarpov I-15 biplanes ("Chaika," or seagull) under repair in Moscow, 22 Dec 1941.

At the front around Moscow, things are not quite so pleasant. In a driving snowstorm, Soviet 49th Army attacks at Tarusa and scores a quick breakthrough against the German Fourth Army. This separates the German 43rd Corps from the rest of the army and sets up a possible encirclement. The Army Group commander, Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge, follows standing orders and tells the corps to stand fast. However, von Kluge warns Fuehrer Headquarters of the danger. At Chekalin, Soviet sled troops surprise a German construction unit, which cannot be reinforced because of the snow and push it back. General Guderian spends the day at the front south of Moscow and is dismayed. He finds that the Soviets have broken through 296th Infantry Division at several points. He also warns Fuehrer Headquarters that he will lose the division entirely if it is required to hold its position.

President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in Washington, D.C., 22 December 1941.

US/British Relations: The Arcadia Conference ("Arcadia" being the official code name for it), also known as the First Washington Conference, begins in Washington, D.C. on 22 December 1941. This is a meeting of top British and United States political and military leaders. Winston Churchill makes the hazardous ten-day journey across the Atlantic in battleship HMS Duke of York. This is the first of many military conferences between the two powers while both are at war. The conference lasts until 14 January 1942 and establishes the defeat of Germany as the top priority of the alliance. This comports with the established US military Rainbow 5 plan which already is in effect. Other agreements reached at the Arcadia Conference include establishing a Combined Chiefs of Staff, based in Washington, limiting resources to be sent to the Pacific Theater, and a "Declaration by United Nations" which establishes the principle of no separate peace with the Axis. The Arcadia Conference projects the first combined offensive action by the two powers as an invasion of North Africa, creates a unified American/British/Dutch/Australian Command (ABDA) in the Far East and establishes that military resources will be combined for the common benefit in the European Theater of Operations (ETO).

"Western Desert, Libya. 22 December 1941. The fierce attacks upon enemy aerodromes by the Allied Air Forces destroyed many aircraft which never had a chance of taking the air." Australian War Memorial MED0221.

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

Thursday 4 December 1941

"A U.S. Navy Vought SB2U Vindicator (42-S-17) of Scouting Squadron 42 (VS-42) returning to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) on 4 December 1941. Ranger was escorting a convoy in the Atlantic." (US Navy).

Eastern Front: There have been many Soviet counteroffensives on the Eastern Front since the Germans invaded in June. On the whole, they have been futile, though one or two, such as at Yelnya in September, pushed the Wehrmacht back a bit. General Georgy Zhukov now has come up with one of the more ambitious plans, an attack by Red Army units both north and south of Moscow to drive the Germans back about 60 miles, but it requires Stalin's approval. In his memoirs, General Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky, chief of staff of the Western Front, recalls that the final Stavka decision to mount this counteroffensive is made on 4 December 1941. As Zhukov recalls, the decision is made in a very off-handed way. Zhukov has a late-night telephone conversation with Joseph Stalin about general matters during which Stalin "reminds" Zhukov that the Kalinin Front would be going over to the counteroffensive on the 5th, while Southwest Front would follow the next day. This is the first that Zhukov, who more-or-less has been running the Red Army's operations, hears of it. And that is how the Moscow counteroffensive comes about.

"An anti-aircraft gunners at Action Stations during a mock air raid, while stores are being loaded from a transport." During combined landing exercises held on 3 and 4 December 1941 at Skipness, Scotland and aboard transport ship Winchester Castle. © IWM (A 6495).

Conditions are ripe for a Soviet counteroffensive coming out of Moscow. The German troops have lost their momentum and they and their weapons are suffering from the extreme cold. While it is cold for the Soviet troops as well, they and their equipment are better prepared for it. In the morning, there are heavy snowfalls everywhere from the day and night before and the temperature stands at -4 °F, and Field Marshal Fedor von Bock records in his diary that it is "icy cold." After dark, the temperature drops to -25 °F, and a German regiment on a night march records over three hundred frostbite casualties and several wounded men freezing to death. In such conditions, the equipment that the Germans have used to get to Moscow and which for many serves as their home-on-wheels freeze. Their engines won't turn over, the guns won't fire because lubricants congeal, and hot food is impossible to serve in outdoor canteens. The Red Army has very small, but telling, advantages in all of these areas in part because the Germans are inhabiting areas that have been destroyed by fighting and supplied over unreliable lines of communication. The Red Army, on the other hand, holds positions that have not yet been fought over and which are served by longstanding and intact supply lines. So, the colder and frostier it gets, the more the balance of power swings to the Soviets.

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. Aircrew members of an RAF Squadron operating Glenn Martin Maryland bomber aircraft climb all over a British tank to examine it. Co-operation between the Allied air and land forces in the North African offensive has been excellent." (Australian War Memorial MED0155).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The winner of the multi-week battle begun by the British Operation Crusader remains uncertain as of 4 December 1941. After some brilliant maneuvering by General Erwin Rommel, the German Afrika Korps has managed to push the bulk of the British Eighth Army back toward the Egyptian border. The British are far from defeated, however, and British 30th Corps to the south of Rommel's most advanced positions near Tobruk remains a deadly threat. Rommel spends the morning dividing his forces, sending 15th Panzer Division and Italian Ariete Division south toward the border while sending other troops against the British entrenched to the north at Ed Duda.

"Unloading petrol by means of a roller runway." Combined landing exercise held at Skipness, Scotland and aboard transport ship Winchester Castle. © IWM (A 6505).

Neither attack succeeds. The British 70th Division's 14th Infantry Brigade at Ed Duda does not yield. The attack to the south alarms British Eighth Army headquarters, which orders British 4th Armored Brigade to the east (and weakens the British effort around Tobruk. However, the German/Italian attack stops after only a small advance at Gasr el Arid. At this point, Rommel decides to concentrate his forces in the south in order to hold off the main British power base. While the British at Ed Duda south of Tobruk remain a problem, he figures that if Afrika Korps can push the British back into Egypt, the Tobruk pocket will still be a pocket, albeit a much bigger one. That can be dealt with later. Meanwhile, the Italian Pavia and Trento Divisions on the Tobruk perimeter launch their own counterattacks against the 70th Division at Ed Duda which gain ground at the "Plonk" and "Doc" bunkers.

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. Remains of an Italian aircraft shot down near Qur el Beid being searched by a large number of Allied troops. The aircraft had been shot down during the second British Libyan offensive - Operation Crusader." (Australian War Memorial MED0153).

US Military: United States aircraft carrier USS Enterprise concludes a ferry operation to Wake Island, launching from 175 miles offshore to the north of Wake Island the last F4F Wildcats that it has brought to the island. It then turns back toward Hawaii, planning to arrive at Pearl Harbor on 6 December. Another dozen F4F-3 fighters of US Marine Squadron 211 also arrive at Wake Island today. The Americans don't know it, but the Japanese carrier striking force, Kido Butai, is steaming toward the east even further to the north of Wake Island and has its own aircraft nearby secretly observing the US air activities there. In the Philippines, General MacArthur orders General Lewis Hyde Brereton, the commander of the Far East Air Force who has just returned from twelve days in Australia, to institute air patrols north of Luzon. Brereton does this using short-range fighter planes which cannot patrol very far.

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. An RAF flying officer with a bandaged right arm, returned from a battle over Libya in which he shot down an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM79 Sparviero bomber aircraft and a German Messerschmitt Bf109 fighter aircraft, with American correspondent Miss Morley Brook Lister." (Australian War Memorial MED0157).

Japanese Military: A US PBY Catalina has been patrolling over French Indochina. Yesterday, it observed 30 Japanese troop transport ships in Cam Ranh Bay. Today, it sees none. The Japanese are heading south. In fact, Japanese forces leave today from many ports in order to get in position to invade multiple landing beaches in Malaya and Thailand.

Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's carrier striking force, Kido Butai, continues heading east in foul weather. The conditions help to keep the massive fleet safe from prying eyes. Kido Butai is following a virtually unused route to Hawaii that is far from the usual lanes to the south. Nagumo eventually will have to turn to the southeast in order to park about 200 miles north of Oahu. He plans on one more stop to refuel before making this turn.

"A Step In Front," a cartoon by Bill Mahony in the 4 December 1941 Sydney Daily Telegraph. It shows a bulldog sitting on a step (Singapore) looking out to sea under darkening skies. The Royal Navy is based at Singapore and is considered Australia's first line of defense.

US Government: Congress adjourns as usual for the weekend. President Roosevelt is debating how to make one last plea to the Japanese to restart the moribund peace negotiations. Ambassadors Nomura and Kurusu continue meeting with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, but no progress at all is made.

Holocaust: At the newly opened Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia, Adolf Eichmann, leader of the RSHA section IV B 4 (Jewish Affairs), begins making the camp more efficient for its purpose as a transit camp. The German Generalplan Ost provides that all Jewish citizens of the Reich are to be sent to the East through processing camps such as Theresienstadt. Today, Eichmann appoints Prague native Jacob Edelstein, one of the early arrivals, to be the chairman of the Council of Jewish Elders (Judenrat) at Theresienstadt.

These are three of the twelve F4F-3 aircraft launched from USS Enterprise to land on Wake Island on 4 December 1941. While they are painted in peacetime conditions in this photo, during the journey to Wake they are repainted in a military scheme (US Naval History and Heritage Command).

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