Friday 12 December 1941

Type 97 (B5N1) "Kate" Carrier Attack Bombers flying from aircraft carrier Ryujo are shown flying near Mayon Volcano on their way to attack Legaspi, southeast of Luzon, Philippines. Captain Masayuki Yamagami is in command. 12 December 1941 ("Album of a Navy Captain" via Egoo.net).

Battle of the Pacific: For the first time, the Japanese Army broadens the war into Burma on 12 December 1941 when a small force enters the British colony from Thailand unobserved. The Japanese hope that widespread desire in Burma, led by former Prime Minister and Premier Ba Maw, will make the country's conquest easy. However, the British also have strong support within the country, particularly from ethnic minorities, and a major power base in neighboring India. The Third American Volunteer Group (AVG) squadron moves to Rangoon today to join the RAF in the defense of Burma.

The Washington, D.C. Evening Star headline on 12 December 1941 has a better grasp on actual events in the Pacific Theater than some other media outlets. Captain Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. becomes a war hero after he perishes during a bombing run shortly after Pearl Harbor. However, valorous as Kelly's activities are, he did not sink a battleship on 9 or 10 December 1941 as the newspapers insist. Instead, his plane based at Clark Field only lightly damages heavy cruiser Natori during a raid. Kelly is a real hero, however, because he orders his crew to bail out but is unable to do so himself. The US Navy awards Kelly a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism" and "selfless bravery."

In the Philippines, the American military situation is deteriorating rapidly. Japanese bombers attack Clark Field, Batangas, and Olongapo on Luzon Island. At Legazpi in southern Luzon, about 2500 Japanese soldiers of the 16th Division from Palau in the Caroline Islands land in an undefended area, supported by aircraft flying from aircraft carrier Ryujo. They are about 150 miles (240 km) from the nearest military base and the Japanese force is free to consolidate its position and expand. At Aparri in northern Luzon, other Japanese troops take Tuguegarao airfield. The Japanese have created the foundation for a massive pincer movement on Manila, though that will take quite some time to realize.

The United States Navy seizes France's cruise liner SS Normandie on 12 December 1941. It has been berthed in New York Harbor since 1940. The Normandie is the largest ocean liner in the world (1029 feet long and 119 feet wide, displacing 85,000 tons) and has a fast top speed of 32 knots, and the US Navy intends to convert it into a troop carrier.

In Hong Kong, The British continue withdrawing all troops (including elements of the Indian Army) to Hong Kong Island. They use all available vessels to evacuate Kowloon, and as they depart, Royal Engineers engage in demolitions of all facilities on the north side.

César Fernando Basa, a pioneer fighter pilot of the Philippine Air Force, perishes during aerial combat over Batangas on 12 December 1941. On a routine aerial reconnaissance mission, Basa attempts to intervene in a dogfight in his P-26 but is shot down. Basa manages to bail out but is strafed and killed by Japanese fighter pilots in his parachute. Lieutenant Basa was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival decides to pull his forces on the Malay Peninsula back after the loss of the Kelantan airfield on the 11th. Indian III Corps begins heading south, taking as many supplies with it as possible. Indian 11th Division falls back to the Kedah River, and a separate force on the Kroh-Patani Road also pulls back. There is a lack of transport, meaning a lot of equipment will have to be left behind.

The NY Times of 12 December 1941, showing President Roosevelt signing the declaration of war with Germany.

A Japanese submarine surfaces near Johnston and Palmyra Atoll and fires star shell clusters over the US Marine base on Johnson. These do not cause appreciable damage. The Marines, under the command of Major Francis B. Loomis Jr., return fire with their 5-inch coastal guns, causing the submarine to depart. There are numerous civilian contractors on the island who rapidly are fortifying it and hope to be evacuated soon.

The US media continues to grasp for real war news, and even the authorities feeding them information are hazy on real details. Brooklyn Eagle, 12 December 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Axis forces under General Erwin Rommel have withdrawn in good order into a line centered around Gazala. The 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade closes up on this new Gazala line. One veteran in the unit writes:

… So steady was the advance that the gunners could not range quickly enough with the result that the shells were bursting behind our line, though to me it seemed that several direct hits were made on the right flank but the boys came out of the smoke and dust still in line, never faltering. It was a magnificent sight to see that thin line moving steadily forward into a hail of lead, with shells of all sizes … bursting all around…. the fact that the ground was sandy saved more casualties…. One more dash brought us to within bayonet reach. We crossed the ground swiftly, some of the boys shouting encouragement to each other. From my position on the left flank, I could see our line, straight enough to bring joy to any bayonet instructor, stretching away to the right flank. Roaring “Forward!”, I came up ready for the final dash. It made the blood sing to see the boys leap forward, a steady line of gleaming steel backed by grim faces. Nothing short of death could stop them now.

The New Zealand troops prepare to attack the new German line on the 13th.

The Struma, an old cargo barge chartered by the New Zionist Organization and the Irgun, departs from Constanza, Romania on 12 December 1941. It is the last refugee ship to leave Occupied Europe during the war. It is headed toward Istanbul, and then Palestine. It holds 769 passengers. The British do not want the Struma coming to Palestine, which turns the voyage into an eventual tragedy.

Holocaust: A day following his declaration of war against the United States, Adolf Hitler convenes a meeting at the Reich Chancellery with top NSDAP officials (and nobody else, such as Hermann Goering, who held no party office). This is an important step in the escalation of the Holocaust. No transcripts were made, but Joseph Goebbels summarizes the meeting in his diary later in the day:

Regarding the Jewish Question, the Führer has decided to make a clean sweep. He prophesied to the Jews that, if they yet again brought about a world war, they would experience their own annihilation. That was not just a phrase. The world war is here, and the annihilation of the Jews must be the necessary consequence.

Hans Frank, who is present, later recalls that "in Berlin" he had been told to "liquidate" undesirable groups. The timing of this meeting suggests that the official entry into the war of the United States led directly to this meeting. This may mean that Hitler either viewed the war declaration as freeing him from having to maintain appearances of not mistreating people, or knew that he was running out of time to implement his "final solution" and needed to shift the Holocaust into a higher gear.

"Captain Marvel Adventures," No. 5, 12 December 1941.

The pace of transfers to extermination camps in the East already is picking up steam. Today, the first persons, 150 men who had been taken during a manhunt in the Lublin Ghetto, are sent to Majdanek, a camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. This becomes a classic prison camp complete with high-tension electrified double barbed-wire fencing and 18 watchtowers, though it is not in its final form at this time. The camp includes workshops, warehouses, a laundry, and other facilities.

USS Utah AG-16 capsized at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. USS Raleigh CL-7 is seen in the background. 12 December 1941 (USS Arizona Memorial).

American Homefront: Various restrictions are being placed upon Japanese-American citizens throughout the United States, particularly on the West Coast. In addition, many Asian businesses (including some Chinese ones) have been attacked. In a diary entry made on 12 December 1941 in Seattle Washington, Toku Shimomura makes the following diary entry:

It was fair and clear weather today. I spent all day at home. Starting today we were permitted to withdraw up to $100 from the bank. This was for our sustenance of life, we who are enemy to them. I deeply appreciated American's large-heartedness in dealing with us.

The Shimomura family eventually is heading to Camp Minidoka in Hunt, Idaho.

At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a capacity crowd fills the Field House in a war rally (UW ARCHIVES S07306).

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 September 1941

Citizens of Leningrad construct a defense barricade near the Kirov Factory No. 100, 24 September 1941

Spy Stuff: Japanese spying in the United States is a fact, and on 24 September 1941 it shifts into a higher gear. The Japanese Foreign Ministry sends its consulate general in Hawaii, Nagai Kita, instructions in Telegram No. 83 to ramp up his spying efforts. The Consul is to divide Pearl Harbor into five different spy zones:

Henceforth, we would like to have you make reports concerning vessels along the following lines insofar as possible: 1. The waters (of Pearl Harbor) are to be divided roughly into five sub-areas. (We have no objections to your abbreviating as much as you like.) Area A. Waters between Ford Island and the Arsenal. Area B. Waters adjacent to the Island south and west of Ford Island. (This area is on the opposite side of the Island from Area A.) Area C. East Loch. Area D. Middle Loch. Area E. West Loch and the communicating water routes. 2. With regard to warships and aircraft carriers, we would like to have you report on those at anchor, (these are not so important) tied up at wharves, buoys and in locks. (Designate types and classes briefly. If possible we would like to have you make mention of the fact when there are two or more vessels alongside the same wharf.)

These new instructions are a reflection of the increased pace of planning in the Japanese Navy for an attack on Pearl Harbor.

"ATS anti-aircraft artillery spotters learn to use an identification telescope at No.7 ATS Training Centre at Stoughton near Guildford, 24 September 1941." (© IWM (H 14189)).

The Japanese have been spying on US Navy activities both in Honolulu and in the Philippines for months. In fact, they have gone to the extent of putting a specially trained expert in military espionage on the staff of the Honolulu Consulate. In a 17 September 1941 cable from Santiago to D.C., the Japanese Embassy was instructed:

All of our offices in North America should give their immediate attention to the selection of spies.

So, while today's development marks a new phase in the degree of Japanese spying, it is not a completely new tactic. Rather, it is an extension of a growing attempt by the Japanese to develop intelligence that would be useful during a conflict with the United States.

Pearl Harbor drydocks on 24 September 1941. USS Utah (AG-16) is barely visible under the steel bridge in the background (National Archives).

There is spying going on by both sides. While the Japanese are spying on the US military in Hawaii, the Americans are reading the Japanese diplomatic code J-19 under which the spy reports are sent to Tokyo. The United States naval intelligence intercepts the instructions to Consul Kita, but the intercepted message must be sent to Washington to be decoded. This being spy stuff, the intercepted message can't just be sent by cable lest the Japanese intelligence services intercept the intercepted message in turn and realize their own codes are being read (the spy business gets very complicated sometimes). So, the transmission must be hand-carried and hand-delivered and generally treated with extreme care. There aren't any flights, so the courier goes by sea. Once the message gets to Washington, there aren't enough experts to decode it quickly. The whole process becomes a sort of "comic opera" version of spying.

Lt. Hans-Joachim Marseille of  3./JG 27 shoots down five RAF planes today in North Africa. They are his 19th through 24th kills, four Hawker Hurricanes and a Martin Maryland bomber.

The end result is that the transmission isn't actually decoded by the "Magic" cryptanalysis project until 9 October 1941. Two of the Magic experts then find the message to be concerning and submit separate assessments to that effect. However, their superiors in the War Plans and Intelligence Divisions in Washington don't read anything sinister into the heightened spying efforts. Instead, the Magic staff just use the intercept to make some essentially literary criticisms of a Japanese tendency to pay too much attention to details. Pearl Harbor is never even notified that the Japanese are spying or warned that this might mean something for the future.

Linda McCartney, born on 24 September 1941.

Future History: Linda Louise Eastman is born in New York City to a father of Jewish Russian descent and a mother of German Jewish descent. Linda studies at the University of Arizona, where she develops an interest in photography. She becomes a top photographer of rock stars in England. There, Linda meets Paul McCartney and they get married in 1969. Later, Paul and Linda form rock group Wings in the 1970s and Linda participates in recordings with Paul McCartney then and later. Linda McCartney passes away from breast cancer on 17 April 1998.

Two young girls with three dogs at a Sears Roebuck store at 1148 Broadway in Manhattan, New York. This photo was taken to promote National Dog Week.

September 1, 1941: Two Years In
September 2, 1941: Germans Pushed Back at Yelnya
September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Japanese
September 4, 1941: Hitler Furious at Guderian
September 5, 1941: Germans Evacuate Yelnya
September 6, 1941: Japan Prepares for War
September 7, 1941: Hitler Orders Drive on Moscow
September 8, 1941: Leningrad Cut Off
September 9, 1941: Germans Attack Leningrad
September 10, 1941: Guderian Busts Loose
September 11, 1941: Convoy SC-42 Destruction
September 12, 1941: Starve Leningrad!
September 13, 1941: Zhukov at Leningrad
September 14, 1941: Germany's Growing Casualties
September 15, 1941: Sorge Warns Stalin Again
September 16, 1941: Soviets Encircled at Kiev
September 17, 1941: Iran Conquest Completed
September 18, 1941: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in Action
September 19, 1941: Germans Take Kiev
September 20, 1941: Death at Kiev
September 21, 1941: Raging Soviet Paranoia
September 22, 1941: Defense of Nickel Mines
September 23, 1941: Air Attacks on Leningrad
September 24, 1941: Japanese Spying Intensifies
September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea
September 26, 1941: Kiev Pocket Eliminated
September 27, 1941: Massacre at Eišiškės
September 28, 1941: Ted Williams Hits .400
September 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre
September 30, 1941: Operation Typhoon Begins

2020