Thursday 25 December 1941

The British surrender Hong Kong, 25 December 1941.

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese enter St. Stephen's College very early on the morning of 25 December 1941 and commit heinous atrocities. The college is on the front lines and is being used as a field hospital. Seeing the Japanese approach, two doctors go out to meet them. The Japanese escort them away (their mutilated bodies are found much later) and then enter the hospital. There, the Japanese bayonet British, Canadian, and Indian patients and then imprison the survivors in an upstairs room. Later, another group of Japanese soldiers enter after the front line has moved further south and commit further atrocities. They take some or all of the female nurses away, rape them, and then murder them.

Japanese soldiers entering Hong Kong, 25 December 1941.

The Japanese soldiers also take two Canadian soldiers outside and mutilate and murder them. The Japanese later burn all of the bodies apparently in order to hide the evidence, so the exact number of victims is unknown. However, later in the war, parts of 13 bodies are found and buried. It is estimated that the total number of victims at St. Stephen's College may exceed 100.

Japanese troops march into Hong Kong, 25 December 1941.

The battle goes poorly for the Commonwealth troops throughout the day, nearing the port facilities. The Japanese bombers focus on British shipping in Hong Kong Harbor, and Royal Navy destroyer HMS Thracian runs aground and is scuttled. The British have no water, as the Japanese control the water reservoirs. The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Aitchison Young, sees a humanitarian crisis developing and personally goes to the Japanese Headquarters on the third floor of the Peninsula Hong Kong Hotel and surrenders in the afternoon of 25 December 1941. This is the first surrender of a British Crown Colony (but not the last). The events of 25 December 1941 make it known in Hong Kong as "Black Christmas."

Damage to Cavite Navy Yard caused by Japanese bombing, late December 1941.

In the Philippines, the Japanese land forces in Jolo, the capital of the former Sultanate of Sulu. The 300 Filipino policemen there surrender quickly. This concludes the campaign in Davao, a useful launching pad for attacks on Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. At Cavite Navy Yard, Manila Bay, Commander Richard C. Voge scuttles his submarine, USS Sealion, due to bombing damage.

North Point POW Camp, the "final" destination for many Commonwealth soldiers. It has no plumbing, is badly damaged, and there are unburied bodies of Chinese at the east end of the camp (Mansell.com).

The Japanese assault on Manila continues to make good progress. The Allied forces north of Manila retreat to their second defensive line. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur continues evacuating people and supplies from Manila south into Bataan, hoping to hold out there indefinitely. The local US Army Air Force units move most aircraft from Ternate, Nichols Field, Clark Field, Nichols Field, and Del Carmen south to Bataan. The 17th and 20th Pursuit Squadrons begin operating from Lubao, Luzon. Other air units transfer to Cabcaben, Luzon.

"Sembawang, Singapore, Malaya. 25 December 1941. Australian built Beaufort bomber aircraft refueling on arrival in Malaya, some hands in the crowd holding up the hose from the tanker. These aircraft are fast and highly maneuverable but were unarmed. Of the six that were flown to Malaya, five returned to Australia with one being kept for reconnaissance purposes." Australian War Memorial MED0225.

In Borneo, the Japanese at Kuching finally find the Dutch airfield nearby. They capture the airfield against light resistance by 16:40. The Punjab regiment nearby continues pulling back to the Sinkgkawang region. Offshore, Japanese submarine I-66 torpedoes and sinks Dutch submarine K XVI near Kuching, a rare instance of one submarine torpedoing another (an alternate theory is that it hit a Japanese mine while exiting the Gulf of Siam). All 36 men aboard the K XVI perish.

Dutch submarine K XVI, sunk on 25 December 1941. Its wreckage is discovered in 1978. There are various conspiracy theories surrounding this submarine and how its crew supposedly spotted the Japanese main carrier strike force, Kido Butai, as it was heading toward Hawaii in early December 1941

In Burma, the Japanese bomb Rangoon again. This time, they send 27 Sally bombers escorted by about 30 fighters. The American Volunteer Group (AVG, or "Flying Tigers") intervene. While suffering no losses, the Americans take a heavy toll on the Japanese aircraft. Altogether, the Japanse lose 10 fighters and 25 bombers, while two AVG pilots are forced to make crash landings. Duke Hedman claims his fifth victory to become an Ace.

"HMS KINGSTON turning at speed during an antisubmarine patrol." This photo was taken aboard Dutch destroyer HNLMS Isaac Sweers in the Eastern Mediterranean on 25 December 1941.  © IWM (A 8052).

Eastern Front: The drama surrounding General Guderian, the commander of German Second Panzer Army who is directing a difficult withdrawal south of Moscow, reaches a fever pitch on 25 December 1941. The surface issue is how far and how fast Guderian may withdraw his troops, but the underlying issue is his growing feud with Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge. Hitler has ordered the troops to stop where they are and fight regardless of the conditions, but Guderian has allowed large-scale withdrawals. While some army group commanders might pass this off as necessary line readjustments, von Kluge is not one of them - at least as far as Guderian is concerned.

On December 25, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill attended a church service on Christmas morning. They have a lot to pray for. Note the cane that President Roosevelt is carrying and the burly man next to him to prevent any falls.

Guderian's withdrawals aren't the only issue. When OKH operations chief General Franz Halder asks Guderian to use the 3d and 4th Panzer Divisions, which are in reserve near Orel, to move forward and defend Chekalin and Belev, Guderian does not comply. Instead, he claims that the divisions are necessary to cover the withdraw of adjacent Second Army. Hitler intervenes and shifts the two divisions to XXIV Panzer Corps, which is in the area where Halder wants them shifted. It is a clear slap at Guderian. If there is one thing that Hitler cannot abide, it is military challenges to his authority, and that is exactly what Guderian appears to be doing.

Canadian Pilot Officer R. Locke of Vernon, BC, delivers plates during Airmen’s Christmas Dinner on 25 December 1941, at an RCAF Bomber Sqn "Somewhere in England." Royal Canadian Air Force.

However, the main flashpoint of the controversy is Guderian's withdrawals. After dark, von Kluge reviews the day's situation reports and finds that Guderian has retreated even further than he had feared, to the line Oka-Zusha. Kluge calls Guderian and demands an explanation, to which Guderian replies:

In these unusual circumstances, I lead my army in a manner I can justify to my conscience.

Kluge then immediately calls Halder and relays Guderian's reply, commenting:

I have the greatest respect for General Guderian. He is a fantastic commander. But he does not obey, and I can only transmit and execute the Fuehrer's orders if I can rely on my army commanders.

However, Kluge is very careful to shade his account so that it does not appear as if he is personally attacking Guderian, saying:

I am basically entirely on Guderian's side, one cannot simply let himself be slaughtered. But, he must obey and keep me informed.

Halder immediately calls Hitler, who almost as quickly calls Kluge and says that he will:

do what is necessary to Generaloberst Guderian.

Hitler, who is about to start his midnight war conference, then has Field Marshal Keitel draft an order directing Guderian to relinquish his command and return to Berlin to await any further orders. This is delivered early on the 26th, along with an order forbidding Guderian from issuing any farewell statements to his troops. General Rudolf Schmidt replaces Guderian.

Visiting WRENS and sailors have a singalong aboard HMS Wellesley in Granton on 25 December 1941. © IWM (A 6701).

In Leningrad, people are starving to death in ever-increasing numbers. On Christmas day alone, about 3700 perish. Caloric intake is below subsistence levels, and those who do not or cannot work get even less than the workers and the fighters.

Lieutenant-General Takashi Sakai, Governor of Hong Kong from 25 December to 20 February 1942. He will be tried for war crimes, found guilty, and hanged in 1946.

American Homefront: Bing Crosby debuts Irving Berlin's new seasonal composition, "White Christmas," on his NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall. It is an immediate sensation, receiving many requests for it at radio stations, but Crosby does not think much of the song and hasn't even recorded it as a single yet. He ultimately does record it - in 18 minutes - on 29 May 1942 with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra. "White Christmas" will not be released as a single until 30 July 1942. It goes on to become the best-selling single of all time - a record it still holds.

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

Wednesday 24 December 1941

President Roosevelt addresses the crowd at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony from the White House South Portico on December 24, 1941. Winston Churchill, who is visiting during the Arcadia Conference, is at the right. This is the first Christmas Tree lighting ceremony ever held inside the White House grounds (FDR Presidential Library).

Battle of the Pacific: On Hong Kong Island, the British situation is growing increasingly desperate by 24 December 1941. The Japanese have split the island in two at Wong Nai Chung Gap and control the entire island's water supplies, but the British and Canadian troops have greater worries, as reports of Japanese atrocities are growing. After dark, the Japanese approach St. Stephen's College, which is being used as a hospital on the front line, and massacre many injured men and doctors.

About 1,300 Japanese Americans pledge their allegiance to the United States at a newly dedicated Buddhist church in Seattle, Washington, 24 December 1941 (The Associated Press).

Massacres on Hong Kong Island are not isolated incidents, but the norm. For instance, during the closing days of the campaign the Japanese have:

• massacred around two dozen members of the 5th Anti-Aircraft Battery of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps (HKVDC) at Sai Wan Hill;
• killed many men at the Salesian Mission at Shau Kei Wan
• massacred eight Canadian soldiers after the battle of Jardine's Lookout;
• murdered three prisoners at Causeway Bay, including a female air raid warden with the local Air Raid Precautions (ARP);
• killed four soldiers at a house on Blue Pool Road known as the "Black Hole of Hong Kong," including two Canadian officers;
• massacred 30 civilians at Blue Pool Road;
• killed at least 47 British POWs at The Ridge;
• killed at least 14 prisoners at Overbays;
• killed 7 men at Eucliffe;
• killed an additional 36 men near The Ridge;
• possibly killed six soldiers of the Middlesex Regiment at Deepwater Bay Ride (it is unclear if they had surrendered);
• murdered eight or twelve British soldiers at the Maryknoll Mission;
• executed 26 prisoners at Brick Hill.

Other incidents are known to have happened because some men simply disappeared without a trace - meaning some perpetrators covered their tracks quite well.

Volunteers at a special station to coordinate Los Angeles air defenses in December 1941. Fears of a Japanese air attack on the city continue well into 1942.

The most horrible atrocity on Hong Kong Island happens at St. Stephens, where an unknown number of victims variously estimated at from 13-99 are executed and then cremated. In the most notorious incident there, the Japanese rape three British and four Chinese nurses before killing them. Canadian Captain Overton Stark Hickey of the RCASC is shot while trying to help the nurses. The rest of the victims are doctors and wounded POWs (or at least patients who should have been treated as POWs). Unfortunately, the full scope of the St. Stephens massacre is impossible to prove later because the Japanese efficiently dispose of the evidence. Atrocities or not, the Commonwealth troops cannot hold out much longer on Hong Kong Island without water.

Damage caused by a Japanese air raid on the Manila port area. This photo was taken on 24 December 1941.

In the Philippines, Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur invokes War Plan Orange 3 (WPO-3) as he continues evacuating Manila. The WPO-3 plan calls for delaying actions in central Luzon while Allied forces retreat into the Bataan Peninsula. The 26th Cavalry Regiment attempts this difficult mission against overwhelming Japanese numerical strength under the command of South Luzon Force. The Americans begin using barges to move supplies from Manila warehouses into the Bataan in the hopes that it can be turned into a redoubt for US and Filipino soldiers and refugees.

Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, 14th Army commander, coming ashore at Lingayen Gulf, 24 December 1941.

At dawn at Mauban on Lamon Bay southeast of Manila, the Japanese land the 2nd Battalion of the 20th Infantry Regiment (Lt. Col. Nariyoshi Tsunehiro). Other landings occur a little further south at Siain and Atimonan. The Philippine 1st Infantry Division is dug in at the Mauban beach and slows the Japanese down there. The invasion succeeds in getting three bridgeheads, however, and by nightfall, the Japanese have made good progress of about five miles inland at Mauban and even further advances at Atimonan and Siain. These landings put the Japanese within striking distance of the eastern approaches to the Bataan Peninsula. Maneuvering his forces to protect the exposed entry points in Bataan, MacArthur stations troops at San Fernando, the steel bridges at Calumpit over the Pampanga River, and Plaridel north of Manila. Admiral Thomas C. Hart sends the 4th Marine Regiment from Olongapo to Corregidor to secure it as the last bastion should the defense of Bataan fail. In the air, three B-17s based on Del Monte Field, Mindanao, raid Japanese shipping at Davao and then fly south to Darwin.

"Members of the gun crew overhauling their pom-poms while in the harbor." The Isaac Sweers in Alexandria Harbor, 24 December 1941. © IWM (A 7265).

In the Malay Peninsula, Commander Australian Imperial Force Malaya, Major General Gordon Bennett (General Office Commanding Australian 8th Division), tries to organize a defense in depth. The Australian 27th Brigade Group, 8th Division occupies North Johore, while the Indian 11th Division (which controls all remaining Indian III Corps troops north of the Slim and Bernam Rivers) concentrates around Kampar and along the Slim River. The British are hampered by dwindling air support and the Japanese are becoming dominant in the air.

The United States Navy is still determining the extent of the damage at Pearl Harbor from the raid on 7 December 1941. Shown is damage to US Navy light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50) at left, with construction materials to fix it. This photo was attached to the 14th Naval District report, serial 01451 of 24 December 1941 (Naval History and Heritage Command).

Japanese submarine attacks against US shipping along the west coast of the United States continue. Japanese submarine I-19 (some sources say I-17) surfaces and shells 5695-ton US freighter Absaroka about 19 nautical miles (36 km) northwest of Catalina Island, while I-23 does the same to 2119-ton US freighter Dorothy Philips off Monterey Bay south of San Francisco. Meanwhile, at Midway Island, US Marines of Batteries A and C of 4th Defense Battalions land after a hazardous journey aboard seaplane tender USS Wright.

"Commander Houtsmuller, Captain of HNMS ISAAC SWEERS coming on board his ship." Alexandria, 24 December 1941. © IWM (A 7262).

In Borneo, the Dutch send Martin B-10 bombers against the Japanese forces that took Kuching late on 23 December. The Dutch withdraw their aircraft from Singkawang, Borneo, to Palembang, Sumatra, but they still hold Kuching Airfield because the Japanese forces close by haven't spotted it yet. The British "SARFOR" (Sarawak Force) garrison of Kuching, composed of just over 1000 men of the 2nd Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment and the 35th Fortress Company and about 1500 local tribesmen, begins a delaying action as it moves inland toward Dutch Borneo. The Japanese main objectives are the oilfields at Miri and Seria and the refinery at Lutong.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance of Malta, 24 December 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 168-116-012).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Germans secretly evacuate Benghazi on 24 December 1941. Later in the day, the 7th Armored Division of the XIII Corps, British Eighth Army attacks the city and is pleasantly surprised to find it deserted. Troops of the Royal Dragoons are given the honor of being the first into Benghazi. Off Alexandria, U-568 (Kptlt. Joachim Preuss) torpedoes and sinks 925-ton Royal Navy corvette HMS Salvia (K-97) about 104 nautical miles (193 km) northwest of Alexandria. All 106 men aboard the British ship, which has been returning to base with convoy TA-5, perish.

A Christmas Eve service somewhere in the Soviet Union, 24 December 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 169-0875).

Eastern Front: The lingering feud between the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge, and General Guderian, commander of 2nd Panzer Army, continues to simmer. Kluge complains to the OKH operations chief, General Franz Halder, about Guderian allowing the 296th Infantry Division to withdraw even further than first thought without orders (and thereby saving it). In addition, Kluge notes that Guderian has pulled 47th Panzer Corps back as well in defiance of Hitler's stand-fast orders. When Halder suggests that Guderian should be court-martialled, Kluge equivocates, rationalizing that the withdrawals had been done "under the compulsion of circumstance." Halder himself then sends a direct order to Guderian to stop the withdrawals, send a division to Belev, and report in detail his troop locations before Hitler's midnight conference.

"German Luftwaffe pilot Erbo Graf Von Kageneck, holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, standing in front of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E whilst being assisted by two ground crew personnel. Von Kageneck, responsible for the destruction of 69 allied aircraft, was later shot down by RAAF pilot, Flying Officer Clive R Caldwell, (who was attached to 250 Squadron, Royal Air Force) on the afternoon of 24 December 1941 near Derna in Libya. Kageneck later died in a Luftwaffe hospital in Naples. Australian War Memorial P00323.001.

While there is a lot of drama behind the scenes on the German side, things aren't much better at the front. Second Army, which is holding the line to Guderian's immediate right, has to withdraw along with Guderian's troops in order to not expose its own flank. The lack of reserves near the front compels these kinds of reflexive movements when one unit begins to retreat. There is blowing snow and low visibility, and nobody is really sure where any other units are. He announces that he will abandon Novosil and Livny, also in defiance of Hitler's orders. Before midnight, Guderian responds to a telephoned order from von Kluge to stop his retreat by requesting to be relieved and court-martialed. Kluge immediately gets on the phone to Halder and tells Halder, while apologizing for "ruining your Christmas spirit, which probably was not very rosy anyway." Halder then passes this information on to Hitler in East Prussia, who is just about to begin his midnight command conference.

You can catch a special Christmas Eve 24 December 1941 train/steamer combo From Boston to Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard if you catch the 17:00 train.

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