Tuesday 24 December 1940

"A Matilda tank supporting Indian troops, 24 December 1940." © IWM (E 3870E).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue struggling through the winding valleys and mountain passages of central Albania on 24 December 1940. The Greek III Corps is about 12 miles east of Berat, while Greek II Corps is motionless near Kelcyre. Greek I Corps is still on the move, reaching Tepelena. Italian defense is stiffening as reinforcements flow across the Adriatic and the lines of communication to supply ports shorten. The Greeks, meanwhile, now are facing some of the problems faced by the Italians when they began their offensive in October, such as lengthy supply lines over goat tracks and through mountain defiles.

Benito Mussolini is thoroughly disgusted by the failures of his troops. He pens a letter to Italian military commander Ugo Cavallero, complaining that the fall of Himara a couple of days ago was due to high Greek morale.

European Air Operations: While absolutely unofficial and unrecorded, today begins a virtual two-day cessation of hostilities between the RAF and Luftwaffe on the Channel front. It is reminiscent of the "Christmas Truce" of World War I, but not nearly as well-known and without any joint parties being held. Everyone just needs a break after a very hard year. Both sides' pilots are fierce competitors, but they also respect valor on both sides regardless of what insignia is on the outside of an aircraft.

There are no night bombing operations, though the Luftwaffe engages in some strafing runs against trains during the day and drop a few random bombs.

Oberfähnrich Hans Joachim Marseille joins 3,/JG 27 at Döberitz. Marseille has 8 kills and is renowned for his ability in the German press. However... Marseille also is widely known within the Luftwaffe as a prima donna who does not follow orders, abandons his wingmen (who then get shot down), and freelances in order to get more victories. He also is a "British ace," having lost more of his own mounts than just about any other Experte.

Group Captain John Alexander Kent is awarded the Virtuti Militaire (Polish VC) for his services with 303 (Polish) Squadron. He already has won the DFC. Kent joined the 303 on 2 August 1940 and, in one notorious engagement, faced 40 Bf 109s alone and shot down two of them, damaging a third, while escaping alive. Kent is known as a strict disciplinarian, a "born leader" according to his DFC citation.

John Kent with some Polish pilots of RAF No. 303 Squadron in August 1940. The 303 was known as the best of the best during the Battle of Britain. Left to right: P/O M. Feric, Fl/Lt J.A.Kent, F/O B. Grzeszczak, P/O J. E. L Zumbach, P/O W. Lokuciewski, F/O Z. K. Hennerberg, P/O J. K. M. Daszewski, and Sgt E. Szaposznikow.

Battle of the Atlantic: Battlecruiser HMS Hood leads a force to patrol from Scapa Flow to patrol in the Iceland/Faroes "gap" in search of the German raiders known to be in the Atlantic, but which have yet to be located. It is fashionable for later historians to denigrate the Hood's strength, but the Admiralty for all intents and purposes views the Hood as equivalent to a battleship and disposes of it as such - as in this incident.

German cruiser Admiral Hipper, at loose in the Atlantic and the object of all this British attention, spots Convoy WS 7 about 700 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain late in the day. The WS ("Winston Special") convoys are particularly attractive targets, as they transport British troops to the Middle East to support General Wavell's forces there. In fact, this convoy has 40,000 British soldiers and 150,000 tons of supplies on board, a staggering haul if they could be eliminated. That said, the WS convoys also are extremely well guarded, and this convoy has not one, but two aircraft carriers (HMS Argus and Furious), three cruisers and four corvettes as escorts - extremely lavish support even for later in the war. Admiral Hipper skipper Admiral Wilhelm Meisel, blissfully unaware of all this firepower barely over the horizon, readies the crew for an attack on the 19 freighters for Christmas morning.

Shipping at Oban in Scotland has become a prime Luftwaffe target, and the Admiralty responds by sending anti-aircraft cruisers HMS Phoebe and Aurora there.

U-65 (K.Kapt. Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), operating farther south than any other Kriegsmarine U-boat, spots a straggler from Convoy SLS-60 off Freetown. Stockhausen puts two torpedoes into 5872-ton tanker British Premier at 16:41, sinking it about 370 km southwest of Freetown. There are 32 deaths and 13 survivors. The survivors, adrift in lifeboats in the middle of the South Atlantic, have a hell of a time. Nine wait until 3 January 1941 to be found by HMS Hawkins, which is bad enough. However, four others are not found and rescued by HMS Faulknor for 41 days, on 3 February 1941. How they survived at all without food and water for so long is a tale of epic survival skills.

Auxiliary minesweeper HMS Mercury hits a mine south of Ireland. The Mercury is taken in tow but eventually sinks.

British 98 ton drifter Lord Howard is involved in a collision at Dover and sinks.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 5221-ton British freighter Peterton in the North Sea.

Convoy OB 264 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 367 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 369 departs from Methil, Convoy SLS 60 departs from Freetown.

U-178 laid down.

An Italian stands in front of a Savoia Marchetti S.79 of the 46th Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre, Scutari, Albania, 24 December 1940. (Victor Sierra).

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Wavell telegrams the General Staff in London and tells them that he is not ready to attack Bardia yet. The Italians are resisting, Sollum is not proving to be a particularly helpful port due to Italian bombing, and supplies are difficult to get to the advanced troops in the Western Desert. Wavell even complains about the weather, which is quite cold for the desert.

The Italian defense in Libya is firming, as in Greece. However, the Italian forces in Libya make no attempt to relieve the besieged garrisons in Bardia and Tobruk despite fairly obvious indications that the British troops in Libya are over-extended.

Greek submarine Papanicolis, operating in the Adriatic, torpedoes and sinks 3952-ton Italian troopship Firenze off Sazan Island (Saseno, Qendër Vlorë, Vlorë County in Albania). There are 800 Italian troops on board, but, somewhat miraculously, only 63 perish in the sinking.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent attacks an Italian freighter off Libya but misses.

Lieutenant William Marsden Eastman and Captain Robert Llewellyn Jephson-Jones of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps receive the George Cross. Based on Malta, they disarmed 275 bombs without any training before the Royal Engineers arrived and were able to take over this hazardous work.

No Midnight Mass in Malta due to the continuing curfew.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Komet makes a stop at Rabaul in order to lay mines. However, they need to use their ship's boat to lay the mines and the engine malfunctions. Unable to seed the mines, Captain Kurt Weyher then decides to sail back to Nauru and finally destroy the phosphate-loading terminal there.

"Shrapnel from the bombing of Trafford on 23-24 December 1940." © IWM (EPH 3387).

Peace Talks/Propaganda: Mahatma Gandhi (apparently) writes his second letter to Adolf Hitler (dated 24 December). Addressing Hitler as "Dear Friend," Gandhi (supposedly) pleads with Hitler:

in the name of humanity to stop the war. You will lose nothing by referring all the matters of dispute between you and Great Britain to an international tribunal of your joint choice. If you attain success in the war, it will not prove that you were in the right. It will only prove that your power of destruction was greater. Whereas an award by an impartial tribunal will show as far as it is humanly possible which party was in the right.

This letter is somewhat longer than Gandhi's previous (supposed) letter (sent just before the war in August 1939). This letter goes into reasons why Hitler should stop the war, including that "some other power will certainly improve upon your method and beat you with your own weapon...."

As with the first letter, British authorities seize this letter in transit, so Hitler never sees either one (and this is one of the reasons we know Gandhi wrote and sent them at all). And that raises a certain suspicion...

There is a big "however" to all this. There are some who claim that this letter (and the more famous August 1939 letter) is a British forgery. Gandhi is not known to have been a particularly prolific letter-writer, with most of "his" letters actually written by others. In addition, Gandhi is known to have written his letters by hand, whereas the letters produced by the British always are neatly typed without errors and signed by Gandhi in a manner whose authenticity some doubt. The gist of this letter would, indeed, have been of propaganda value to the British at the time. It also would have given British Intelligence delicious fun to turn the tables on their principal Indian antagonist and use him for their own propaganda purposes (and in the process smear Gandhi by association with the "Dear Friend" salutation). It also seems odd that Gandhi would have written the letter in (absolutely perfect) English, which was not native to either sender or recipient.

On balance, both letters appear to be forgeries - but draw your own conclusions, because many historians take them at face value. This probably is an example of "Black Ops" or "Black Propaganda," something at which MI5 excels throughout the conflict. However, there is no proof of that - perhaps because it is done so well. As an aside, many papers from the war remain under a 100-year exclusion and not everything is known about all of the types of covert activities that went on.

US Military: The 2nd Marine Brigade (Colonel Henry L. Larsen) is activated at Camp Elliott, California. The US 1st Marine Aircraft Wing completes its move to the West Coast.

The US Navy sends 80 men and 2000 tons of equipment from Honolulu to Wake Island aboard the USS William Ward. They are to begin construction of a Naval Air Station there.

Adolf Galland, on steps, waiting for Adolf Hitler at Château de Bonnance in Abbeville. Behind Galland on the platform are, left to right: Hauptmann Gerhard Schöpfel (Kommandeur III.Gruppe/JG 26 "Schlageter"), Hauptmann Walter Adolph (Kommandeur II.Gruppe/JG 26 "Schlageter"), and Hauptmann Rolf Pingel (Kommandeur I.Gruppe/JG 26 "Schlageter").

German Government: Having spent the night on his train parked in a tunnel north of Boulogne - which was bombed during the night - Adolf Hitler resumes his tour of coastal fortifications in France. He proceeds to Desvres, where Hitler visits the squadron Von Lützow (encamped somewhere outside of town). At 12:30 hours Hitler joined the Christmas lunchtime activities there, then proceeds to Saint-Etienne-au-Mont and the castle Point-de-Briques. Afterward, around dinnertime, he travels to Abbeville and visits JG 26, led by Adolf Galland, the leading scorer in the entire Luftwaffe. JG 26 is known as the "Abbeville Kids" and is based there for much of the war.

Arriving at 16:05 and staying just short of an hour, Hitler gives a brief address in which he states that the U-boats and lack of interference by the Soviets will make ultimate victory certain. Needless to say, this visit is a tremendous honor and privilege for the Schlageter Squadron, considered the elite Luftwaffe fighter formation on the critical Channel front (though of course some other squadrons also have their partisans). Hitler's visit to this Geschwader instead of others speaks volumes.

After giving his speech, Hitler proceeds from Abbeville to Laboissière. He spends another night in his train, parked in a tunnel outside of town.

Adolf Galland seated next to another Adolf, 24 December 1940. Facing the camera, from left to right (starting from the leftmost red arrow): Oberleutnant Gustav Sprick (Staffelkapitän 8./JG 26); Hauptmann Walter Adolph (Kommandeur II.Gruppe /JG 26 "Schlageter"); Hauptmann Rolf Pingel (Kommandeur I.Gruppe/JG 26 "Schlageter"); Führer Adolf Hitler, Adolf Galland, Oberstleutnant (Kommodore JG 26); and Gerhard Hauptmann Schöpfel (Kommandeur III.Gruppe/JG 26 "Schlageter"). Hitler remained loyal to Galland right to the end despite attempts to liquidate him by others in the German hierarchy (Pinterest).

India: During the night, the British stage an "imitation German air raid." In a suburb of Calcutta, a plane bearing Luftwaffe insignia (but apparently an RAF plane) bombs a small village, starting fires. The local Air Raid Precaution (ARP) organization extinguishes the fires quickly and rescues people from the bombed homes. Overall, the "test" or "simulation" is reckoned a success. It is an odd, real-life live-fire exercise that must result in some casualties, but there is no record of any. This bizarre incident is recounted in a publication, Amrita Bazar Patrika, of today's date.

Canada: Colonel J. Saul of the Canadian Defence Ministry announces that a full Canadian Corps will be formed in Great Britain.

Bulgaria: The Anti-Jewish Law for the Protection of the Nation is approved by the government, to take effect on 23 January 1941. Among other measures, the law:

• Forces Jews to change their names;
• Restricts where Jews may live;
• Confiscates Jewish property;
• Excludes Jewish workers from public jobs;
• Excludes Jews from certain trades;
• Establishes quotas for Jews in universities.

The law goes well beyond those specific provisions, though. It also levies a one-time tax of 20% of Jewish net worth - not income - and also prohibits secret organizations of any kind, particularly Freemasonry. That said - and of course, it all is very bad - the law does not provide for the deportation of Jews to German extermination camps such as Auschwitz. Well, at least not all Jews, but the law does provide for the deportation of Jews from recently acquired territories which formerly were parts of Greece and Yugoslavia. The law takes its lead from the German Nuremberg Laws and obviously is passed due to German influence and pressure. The last thing the Bulgarians want is to be left to face the Soviet Union alone.

German Homefront: A special Christmas ration is distributed, 26 bonus ounces of rice and vegetables and about 20 ounces of sugar, jam, and coffee. There is an active black market for meat, which the government knows is widely available - but expensive - so these extra allowances provide all the makings of a typical pre-war Christmas day.

British Homefront: Seen in downtown London in a shop window:

"Christmas is 1,940 years old, and Hitler is only fifty-one. They can't spoil our Christmas."

The lighting of the National Christmas Tree, Washington DC, December 24, 1940. (US National Archives). This ceremony began in 1923 and gradually expanded through the years. This tree begins a tradition of transplanting a tree from elsewhere and replanting it in the original location in January. This 34-foot (10 m) high red cedar has over 700 hand-colored lights, 700 ornaments, and six blue-green mercury-vapor lights. It came from along the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway.

American Homefront: New Hampshire experiences a classic aftershock earthquake after the one that hit on 20 December. This one is slightly more powerful, registering 5.6 on the moment magnitude scale as opposed to 5.3 for the first one. The quake is centered in central New Hampshire, just north of the lakes. There are additional aftershocks in the following months, but this is the one that causes the most damage throughout the New England region. That said, casualties and serious damage are almost nonexistent.
Future History: Janet Carol Thiese is born in Chicago, Illinois. Taking the stage name Janet Carroll, she becomes an accomplished classical singer with a 3 1/2 octave vocal range. Carroll begins acting professionally in the late 1960s in local theater productions, then moves to Los Angeles and begins getting film roles. Her most recognizable role is as the Tom Cruise character's mother in the 1983 "Risky Business" ("Don't break mother's egg!"). Another well-remembered turn is as Al Bundy's boss Gary in "Married with Children." Janet Carroll passes away from brain cancer in 2012.

2020

Friday 20 December 1940

The remains of Liverpool parish church Our Lady and St. Nicholas. bombed during the night of 20-21 December 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The battle for the Italian port of Himara continues on 20 December 1940. In possession of the Giam height, the Greeks still need to capture the high ground further to the east. The Greek 3rd Infantry Division struggles through deep snow to advance on Italian artillery sited on the mountainsides. By taking the heights all around Himara, the Greeks hope to force the Italians to withdraw.

The Greeks elsewhere are bombarding Klisura and Tepelenë (Tepelini) with artillery. The Italians are fighting hard to keep both of those places, however. The Italians are even launching some minor counterattacks at various points along the front. The Greek offensive definitely is petering out, but it may have one or two more successes left in it.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe, after a lull, returns to start a multi-night raid on Liverpool which is known as the "Liverpool Blitz." Always a favored Luftwaffe target due to its status as the principal port hosting freighters crossing from the United States and Canada (and elsewhere in the world), Liverpool dock areas already have sustained extensive damage.

The Luftwaffe sends 205 bombers against the city, killing 42 in two official (Anderson) air raid shelters when they collapse from bombs above, 72 others in a shelter at the Blackstock Gardens tenement, and 42 more at a makeshift shelter beneath railway arches at Bentinck Street. The night's events illustrate that, while shelters are safer than being outside, they also can be extremely deadly under the right circumstances.

The German strategy for the past two months has been to focus on one medium-sized English city at a time, thereby causing extensive damage in a confined area. Previous cities on the list have included Coventry, Sheffield, and many others. London, of course, receives sustained attention throughout the Blitz, but by a smaller number of attacks than would be the case if the Luftwaffe were not focusing on these other cities. Many consider this the worst raid of the Blitz to date. As for London, it also receives a raid, and it begins earlier than usual because it grows darker at a much earlier hour this time of year.

Late in the night, the RAF begins a new strategy under the code-name "Rhubarb." These are low-level nuisance raids upon Luftwaffe airfields by Fighter Command (previous such missions were solely by Bomber Command). Six modified Blenheims of RAF No. 23 Squadron have been ready since December 10th, and on standby since the 16th, for this mission. This has been the first night with favorable conditions. Tonight, the Blenheims take off between 20:20 and 01:55 and fly over Abbeville, Amiens, and Poix, which are considered the main German night-fighter areas. The planes descend to 1000 feet during the early hours of the 21st, strafe the Luftwaffe airfields and, well, generally make a nuisance of themselves.

RAF Bomber Command, for its part, raids Berlin and Gelsenkirchen, with subsidiary operations against Amsterdam, the German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez, and various other invasion ports.

A panoramic triptych of Liverpool bomb damage. The Liver Building is just to the right of center, and the River Mersey is to the left.

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Pietro Calvi torpedoes and sinks 5162-ton British freighter Carlton in the Western Approaches. There are 31 deaths.

A Luftwaffe seaplane attacks Convoy WN 55 off Kinnaird Head but causes no damage.

During the Luftwaffe attacks on Liverpool, the Germans sink 315-ton British hopper barge Overdale at Huskisson Dock and landing craft HMS LCP(L) 30 (Landing Craft Personnel (Large)). Other ships damaged during the raid are 10,445-ton tanker John A. Brown, 10,224-ton liner Europa, 7327-ton freighter Laplace, 10,926-ton liner Eastern Prince, and 7801-ton freighter Roxburgh Castle. All three crew on the Overdale perish (apparently sleeping on the ship), but there are no other reported casualties on any of these ships.

The RAF bombs and sinks 1412 ton German freighter Consul Poppe off Boulogne.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Berkeley is damaged by a mine near the outer Medway (River) Bar. The damage is minor but will require about a week to repair at Chatham.

Convoy FN 363 departs from Southend.

U-331 launched.

A typical Anderson shelter at East Princes Street Gardens, Liverpool, December 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: It is a very busy day in the Mediterranean, almost all of it Royal Navy and British Army operations. By mounting operations simultaneously on both land and sea, the British essentially paralyze the Italians, who barely make an appearance aside from one submarine sinking off Libya.

General Wavell, British Middle East Commander, visits General O'Connor's forward headquarters and inspects the troops in the Western Desert. He learns that the offensive has run tight and the troops need a pause. He telegrams the Chief of the Imperial General Staff:

Transport situation still very strained owing to great distances and difficulties of conditions. Large percentage of vehicles out of action awaiting repair.

What is striking about Wavell's summary is that he does not even mention the Italians as a problem - it is the extent of the advance and the resulting wear-and-tear on the equipment that is a problem, not enemy resistance. He proposes a halt, especially considering that the Australian troops being brought forward for the next phase of the assault have not been in combat yet. He is correct about the Italians not being an issue, as no Italian soldiers still stand on Egyptian soil except as prisoners of war or hunted refugees. However, that said, the Italians are defending Bardia and Tobruk with tanks and the troops who made it back from Egypt.

The Middle East Joint Planning Staff prepare a study, "Advance into Libya." Which optimistically plans the next step of British operations beyond the capture of Bardia (which has not been captured yet, but is essentially surrounded). The study considers four options as feasible:

1. Consolidate at Bardia
2. Capture Tobruk by land assault
3. Capture Tobruk by land and sea assault
4. Capture Benghazi

Of the four options, the study considers a land assault on Tobruk as the most profitable course of action. "If this is not possible," the report concludes, "we should consider a position covering Bardia."

The Royal Navy is engaged in its own business while the army has the situation in hand in Egypt and Libya. It runs through another two convoys to Malta, MW 5A and MW 5B. Royal Navy battleships HMS Malaya and Warspite and numerous destroyers quickly refuel in Grand Harbour and then rejoin the main fleet. The Malaya continues on to Gibraltar.

The mission is notable because the Royal Navy Commander in Chief Mediterranean, Admiral Cunningham, is on the Warspite and uses the visit to meet with Governor Lt. General Dobbie and Vice Admiral Malta Sir Wilbraham Ford. These spectacular Royal Navy visits at the height of the conflict are watched by innumerable Maltese spectators and leave a very favorable impression. The Italian Air Force does not make an appearance.

The Italians do draw some blood elsewhere, though by and large the Royal Navy machinations go unhindered. Italian submarine Serpente torpedoes and badly damages destroyer HMS Hyperion at  01:56 about 24 miles from Cape Bon. There are two deaths and 14 other casualties. Attending ships attempt to tow the Hyperion, but finally the British give up the effort, take off the Hyperion's crew, and scuttles it near Pantelleria. The survivors return to Alexandria on destroyers HMS Ilex and Janus.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious raids an Italian convoy off the Kerkennah Islands near Tripoli with 13-15 Swordfish at dawn. This raid is part of the overall distraction from the Malta convoys. They report sinking two Italian ships, though their identities are unclear.

The runway of the Cooperative Mill in Liverpool after the raid of 20/21 December 1940.

Soviet Military: The PPSh-41 Shpagin machine pistol, or submachine gun, is approved for production by the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union. The PPSh-41 has been designed by Georgi Shpagin as a cheap but reliable alternative to the more expensive PPD-40. The impetus for both designs - the PPSh-41 and the PPD-40 - was the effective use by the Finnish Army in their forests of their Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun. Shpagin uses metal stamping and a simple gas compensator to design one of the most effective and ubiquitous weapons of the war. The PPSh-41 is produced in and around Moscow and is a high priority item, with top-level functionaries held personally responsible for meeting demanding production targets.

British Government: A British Committee of Enquiry has been looking into the Arandora Star matter and today reports its finding. The major conclusion is that there was insufficient segregation of types of travelers - both Jewish refugees and outright Fascists basically traveled together. The Arandora Star was a liner taking aliens from England to Australia over the summer, where they would be housed in camps. The voyage was notorious for the predations of the guards and the mistreatment of just about everyone, including beatings and thievery.

Liverpool's Scotland Road, 1940.

US Government: President Roosevelt appoints industrialist William Knudsen to be the director of a new four-man defense board called (later) the Office of Production Management for Defense. Sidney Hillman will advise on labor issues, US Navy Secretary Frank Knox on naval concerns, and US Army Secretary Henry L. Stimson on army issues. The goal of the board is to speed up US rearmament and give all aid to Great Britain "short of war." Industrialists such as Knudsen and Henry Kaiser will play key roles during the war as the United States is ramping up military production - the process has barely begun at this point.

Holocaust: Bulgaria passes laws restricting the rights of Jews and Freemasons.

Scottish inventor John Baird demonstrates his color television, 20 December 1940. © National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library (10314662).

British Homefront: John Logie Baird demonstrates a color television to the press - including the sixth Marquess of Donegal, a journalist for the Sunday Despatch - in the lounge of his home at Crescent Wood Road, Sydenham in South London. In August 1939, the Germans first demonstrated a color television set, but the war prevented further progress. There have been occasional public television programs in both England and Germany since the mid-1930s, all in black and white. The popularity of television at this point is limited more by the availability of TV sets than it is by the technology itself.

American Homefront: New Hampshire, not known for its seismic activity, sustains an earthquake that measures 5.3 on the Richter scale. The quake has a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, which is rated as "Very Strong." The damage is reasonably light as such things go, with 20 chimneys toppled, numerous pipes fractured, damage to wells (turning water brown) and the like. Smaller effects are felt in nearby New York, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Captain America makes his debut today with the publication today (dated March 1941) of "Captain America Comics."

The first Captain America Comics issued on 20 December 1940 (in time for Christmas) but dated March 1941. Kind of far-sighted to have Captain America punching Hitler when war was still a year in the future. Did you know that Captain America had a "young ally" named Bucky?

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020