World War II Day-By-Day

Day 886 February 2, 1942

2012-02-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

At 7.46 AM, U-751 hits Dutch tanker Corilla, carrying 10.500 tons of aviation fuel, with 1 of 3 torpedoes. Corolla does not explode, there are no injuries and the tanker returns to Halifax for repairs.

Near Pico Island in the Azores, British destroyer HMS Westcott (escorting troopship Llangibby Castle to Gibraltar) sinks U-581 with depth charges (3 killed, 37 taken POW by HMS Westcott). Leutnant zur see Walter Sitek swims 6 km to shore and returns to Germany through neutral Spain. He will go on to command 3 U-boats (U-17, U-981 and U-3005) and survive the war.

Off the East coast of England, German bombers sink British minesweeping trawlers HMT Cloughton Wyke and HMT Cape Spartel.

Soviet 3rd Shock Army attack Kholm. The 5500 German troops, Gruppe Scherer, encircled are being supplied by airdrops on the tiny town.

President Roosevelt and Army Chief of Staff George Marshall confirm American General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell to oversee cooperation with China as Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.

Luzon, Philippines. Overnight, just North of Lingayen Gulf, US submarine Seadragon attacks a Japanese supply convoy and sinks transport ship Tamagawa Maru. Also overnight, Japanese amphibious landing to reinforce the earlier landing at Quinauan Point in the South of Bataan is foiled by combined attack of artillery, infantry weapons and bombing by 4 Curtiss P-40 Warhawks with 100 lb antipersonnel bombs (Americans have prior warning from documents found on a dead Japanese soldier). During the day, American troops with tanks fail to dislodge Japanese beachheads at Quinauan Point. On the Orion-Bagac line, US-Filipino II Corps clears Japanese troops from the Little Pocket.

Singapore. Japanese bombing of docks and naval base forces Allied warships to leave for safer harbours in the Dutch East Indies.

Ambon, Dutch East Indies. Japanese minesweeper W-9, W-11 and W-12 are damaged by Dutch mine while minesweeping in Bay of Ambon (W-9 sinks). Pockets of Australian “Gull Force” start surrendering under shellfire from Japanese warships in the Bay plus bombing and strafing from the air.

Day 885 February 1, 1942

2012-01-31T19:03:00.001-08:00

Aircraft from US carriers USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise attack Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilberts Islands. US cruisers USS Northampton, USS Chester and USS Salt Lake City also shell atolls in the Marshall Islands. They sink Japanese gunboat Toyotsu Maru and transport Bordeaux Maru and damage cruiser Katori, submarine I-23, minelayer Tokiwa, and several other ships. Rear Admiral Yatsushiro Sukeyoshi is hit by a shell, becoming the first Imperial Japanese Navy flag officer killed in WWII. USS Chester is damaged by a Japanese dive bomber (8 killed, 21 wounded) while USS Enterprise is damaged by a Japanese kamikaze plane (1 killed, 3 wounded) and 13 US aircraft are lost.

Singapore. General Percival makes an uninspiring broadcast “The battle of Malaya has come to an end and the battle of Singapore has started. For nearly 2 months our troops have fought an enemy on the mainland who has had the advantage of great air superiority and considerable freedom of movement by sea. Our task has been both to impose losses on the enemy and to gain time to enable the forces of the Allies to be concentrated for this struggle in the Far East. Today we stand beleaguered in our island fortress. Our task is to hold this fortress until help can come—as assuredly it will come. This we are determined to do.”

Norway. Germans appoint a puppet government under Norwegian Nazi, Major Vidkun Quisling, whose name will become synonymous with traitor.

Libya. With British 1st Armored Division decimated and Indian troops retreating from the Benghazi bulge, General Ritchie orders the 8th Army to withdraw to the Gazala line to regroup.

Day 884 January 31, 1942

2012-01-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Thousands of British, Australians and Indians cross the causeway in orderly fashion from Malaya to the island of Singapore, accompanied by the bagpipes of the 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. At 7 AM, the Argyll and Sutherlands are themselves piped across and their commander, Colonel Ian Stewart, is the last to leave Malaya. At 8.15 AM, Indian sappers blow naval depth charges on the causeway, blasting a 70-foot gap. Japanese troops, who have advanced 420 miles in 55 days using bicycles and captured boats, occupy Johore Bharu and begin aerial and artillery bombardment of Singapore. Allied casualties are 5000 killed, 5000 wounded and 20,000 taken prisoner. Churchill is not pleased but worse is to come.

Ambon. Japanese capture Batugong and Passo in the center of Ambon. There is confusion when a white flag is seen, leading Dutch troops to surrender despite orders from their commander Colonel Kapitz to continue fighting.

63 miles Southeast of Madras, India, Japanese submarine I-64 sinks Indian merchant ship Jalapalaka with the deck gun (13 killed, 54 survivors).

Burma. Japanese 55th Infantry Division captures Moulmein forcing Burmese 2nd Infantry Brigade across Salween River to Martaban in disarray.

Operation Drumbeat. At 4.45 PM 425 miles Southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U-107 sinks British tanker MV San Arcadio carrying 6600 tons of gas oil and 3300 tons of lubricating oil to Britain (41 killed, 9 survivors rescued by a Mariner flying boat from Bermuda). U-82 spots troop convoy NA-2 at 3.32 PM and sinks British destroyer HMS Belmont at 10.12 PM 655 miles East of Cape Cod (all 138 hands lost). U-82 will follow the convoy for 1000 miles and lead 3 other U-boats to it but no further ships are sunk.

In mid-Atlantic, U-333 sinks German freighter MV Spreewald, disguised as British Royal Mail steamer Brittany. MV Spreewald is returning to Bordeaux, France, from Port Arthur, China, carrying rubber as well as 86 British POWs transferred from Armed Merchant Cruiser Kormoran (41 crew and 31 POWs killed, 25 crew members and 55 POWs rescued from 3 lifeboats and 3 rafts by U-105 3 days later). U-333’s Captain Cremer will be court-martialled but exonerated.

At 11.31 PM 500 miles Southwest of Ireland, U-105 attacks convoy SL-98 sinking British Sloop HMS Culver with 2 torpedoes causing an explosion in the magazine (126 killed, 12 survivors).

Day 883 January 30, 1942

2012-01-29T19:05:00.000-08:00

Libya. Rommel's improvised advance and audacious tactics have sent British 1st Armored Division out of the central desert withdrawing toward Gazala and driven Indian 4th Infantry Division from Benghazi. Panzer Army Afrika pauses to resupply at Benghazi and Mechili.

Mediterranean. At 9.39 AM 6 miles West of the Greek island of Lefkada, British submarine HMS Thunderbolt attacks a convoy (German freighter Thessalia escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Solferino and Generale Carlo Montanari) with 3 torpedoes that all miss. Solferino drops 29 depth charges but HMS Thunderbolt escaped undamaged. At 2.10 PM, British submarine HMS Thorn sinks Italian submarine Medusa which is running on the surface near the Italian Naval base at Pola, Istria, in the far north of the Adriatic (57 killed, 1 survivor).

45 miles East of Grimsby, England, German bombers heavily damage British minesweeping trawler HMS Loch Alsh which sinks while under tow.

Operation Drumbeat. At 6.05 PM 100 miles East of Norfolk, Virginia, U-106 sinks American tanker SS Rochester (4 dead, 31 survivors rescued by US destroyer USS Roe).

Malaya. Allied troops complete the withdrawal according to plan, covering the last 20 miles to the Straits of Johore in trucks that outpace the Japanese pursuit. Overnight, British, Australians and Indians stream South across the causeway linking the mainland of Malaya to Singapore. Royal Navy runs small craft across the Straits of Johore to bring in stragglers. Overnight, British gunboats HMS Dragonfly and HMS Scorpion make a final run to evacuate the last British troops trapped at Rengit on the West coast.

Borneo. 400 Japanese troops (Land Drive Unit) leave Balikpapan in transport ships and land at Adang Bay 60 miles South along the coast. Their goal is then to cross 155 miles of jungle to reach Bandjermasin, the capital of Dutch Borneo. Sea Drive Unit left Balikpapan 3 days ago in small boats, traveling only at night to land on the coast 50 miles South of Bandjermasin. They too will trek inland through jungle to reach the capital.

Burma. Japanese 55th Infantry Division captures the airfield at Moulmein. Japanese bombers can now attack Rangoon, 100 miles West across the Gulf of Martaban.

62 miles Southeast of Madras, India, Japanese submarine I-64 sinks Indian freighter Jalatarang with torpedoes and the deck gun.

Overnight, 820 Japanese marines and 4000 Army troops land on Ambon (a small island in the Dutch East Indies 635 miles North of Darwin, Australia), supported by aircraft from carriers Hiryū and Sōryū. Given the possible use of Ambon as an airbase to bomb Australia, the island is protected by 2800 Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) troops and Australian Army's 1,100-strong Gull Force, which arrived on 17 December. Due to the widespread landings at locations the Dutch had deemed untenable, Japanese make good progress inland and overrun small groups of defenders.

Day 882 January 29, 1942

2012-01-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

Battle of Bataan. Japanese 20th Battalion (16th Division) penetrate several places on the West side of the Orion-Bagac line, where Philippine Army's 1st Regular Division is still digging trenches and stringing wire. Japanese breakthrough is sealed off by 45th Philippine Scout Division, held in reserve in this sector, forming in 2 pockets (“Big Pocket” and “Little Pocket”. In the South of Bataan, well behind the front line, Philippine Scout troops begin reducing Japanese beachheads at Longoskawayan Point and Quinauan Point.

Malaya. Allied retreat to Singapore continues, with most areas successfully disengaging from the Japanese. However, Australian 27th Infantry Brigade is engaged all day in a fighting withdrawal on the main trunk road (6 killed, 25 wounded). The remainder of British 18th Infantry Division (54th and 55th Brigades) arrives by sea to rejoin 53rd Brigade which arrived on January 13 and was attached to Indian 11th Infantry Division. However, they are too late to participate in the defense of Malaya. British civilians, colonial staff and medics evacuate Johore Bahru for Singapore, causing the Sultan of Johore to complain that they did not even say ‘goodbye’.

Japanese submarines begin disrupting vital British trade routes from India. I-164 sinks American passenger/cargo ship Florence Luckenbach, 10 miles off the Indian coast near Madras (all 38 crew reach Madras by lifeboat).

At 4.10 PM 20 miles West of Reykjavik, Iceland, U-132 torpedoes American Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Alexander Hamilton escorting damaged US store ship USS Yukon (32 dead, 83 survivors picked up by Icelandic fishing trawlers and taken to Reykjavik). USCGC Alexander Hamilton sinks next day while under tow.

Britain and USSR sign a treaty with Iran to allow shipment of Lend-Lease supplies from Gulf ports overland through Iran to USSR, providing an alternative route to the hazardous Arctic convoys.

Libya. Indian 4th infantry Division is pushed out of Benghazi by 50 German tanks in 2 columns. Rommel captures a cornucopia of vehicles and supplies which had been laid in store for a never-realised British drive to Tripoli. At 9.46 PM 25 miles Northeast of Bardia, U-431 sinks British minesweeping whaler HMS Sotra (all 22 hands lost, including 6 Norwegians).

London. Churchill’s concern is not that he will lose a Vote of Confidence in the House of Commons but there is so much support that a vote won’t happen at all. James Maxton leader of the Independent Labour Party (which holds only 3 seats in Parliament) kindly challenges the Motion of Confidence and Churchill wins the vote by 464-1.

Overnight, 16 RAF bombers attack German battleship Tirpitz at Trondheim without success.

Day 881 January 28, 1942

2012-01-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

Malaya. During the withdrawal South to Singapore, Japanese move through rubber plantations to outflank and destroy Indian 22nd Brigade at Layang Layang. 9th Division commander General Barstow and 2 Australian staff officers go forward to find 22nd Brigade but run into a Japanese ambush. Barstow is killed. Japanese attempt a similar outflanking of Australian 27th Infantry Brigade 10 miles West on the main road, but are held in hand-to-hand fighting in the rubber plantations of the Namazie Estate. US Far East Air Force B-17 bombers from Dutch airfields on Java attack Kuala Lumpur (as well as Kendari on Celebes Island, Dutch East Indies). Overnight, British gunboats HMS Dragonfly and HMS Scorpion return to Rengit and evacuate more trapped British troops.

Battle of Bataan. Japanese begin small group attacks on what they believe are US/Filipino outpost but instead they run into dug-in machinegun positions in the main Orion-Bagac line. Japanese charge the American gun pits but make no progress for 100 dead.

Burma. Japanese 55th Infantry Division continues moving towards Moulmein which is defended by Burmese 2nd Infantry Brigade.

Dutch Borneo. On the West coast, Japanese land at Pemangkat near Singkawang II airfield and threaten to surround the Indian & Dutch troops at Ledo who decide to retreat to Sanggau.

Libya. Rommel’s improvised counteroffensive continues and Panzer Army Afrika rolls on towards Benghazi. Rommel’s thrust yesterday towards British command centre and supply dumps at Mechili (which was only a feint) causes Indian 4th Division at Benghazi to panic, believing the city will be cut off. Instead of striking South to meet the Panzer threat, they prepare to abandon Benghazi and Derna by withdrawing non-combat personnel and destroying port facilities.

At 11.21 AM in the Adriatic Sea 1 mile off Cape Planka, Yugoslavia, British submarine HMS Thorn sinks Italian tanker Ninuccia with the deck gun and torpedoes (which mostly miss).

Day 880 January 27, 1942

2012-01-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Operation Drumbeat. Just after midnight off Newfoundland, U-754 sinks Greek SS Icarion (9 dead and 20 survivors). At 9.43 AM 35 miles Southeast of Ocean City, New Jersey, U-130 sinks American tanker SS Francis E. Powell (4 dead, 28 survivors) and damages American tanker SS Halo with shellfire.

Battle of Endau, East coast of Malaya. At 3.18 AM, destroyers HMS Thanet and HMAS Vampire run into the troop convoy escorted by Japanese cruiser Sendai and 6 destroyers. Both sides exchange torpedoes and shellfire, badly damaging Japanese troop transports Kansai Maru and Kanbera Maru. At 4 AM, HMS Thanet is hit in the engine and boiler rooms, explodes and sinks (38 killed). 67 survivors drift away on life boats (rescued by British patrol vessel HMS Giang Bee and taken to Singapore) and 31 are taken POW by Japanese destroyer Shirayuki (4 die in captivity). HMAS Vampire is outnumbered and heads South back to Singapore.

Malaya. ABDA commander General Wavell gives permission for a withdrawal to the island of Singapore. Allied troops start the difficult process of disengaging from the Japanese to retreat. British aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable (escorted by destroyers HMS Napier, Nizam and Nestor) flies off 48 Hurricane fighters to Java, Dutch Borneo, to be flown on to Singapore. British tanker MV Harpa, carrying a full cargo of aviation fuel to Java, hits a British mine and explodes in Singapore Strait (37 crew and 2 gunners killed, 1 survivor rescued by patrol vessel HMS Hua Tong). Overnight, British gunboats HMS Dragonfly and HMS Scorpion begin evacuating 1500 British troops trapped at Rengit, taking them to Singapore.

Dutch Borneo. Japanese capture Singkawang II airfield from the Indian/Dutch garrison. In the evening, Indian & Dutch troops withdraw to high ground at Ledo, 15 miles Southwest of the airfield. 70 troops of the 15th Punjabi Regiment cover the withdrawal causing 500 Japanese casualties (killed or wounded) before their ammunition runs out and they are overrun (3 Punjabis escape; the rest are put to death).

Battle of Bataan. Following the landings on January 23, Japanese land more troops to reinforce the beachhead at Point Quinauan on the Southwest coast of Bataan, behind the Orion-Bagac line. The Americans are expecting more landings and have strengthened their coastal defenses.

260 miles West of Midway Atoll, US submarine USS Gudgeon’s radar detects Japanese submarine I-73 running on the surface. USS Gudgeon fires 3 torpedoes but I-73 dives with open vents and disappears (all 68 hands lost). I-73 is the first warship ever sunk by US submarines.

Libya. At Msus, Rommel sends a small column East across the desert towards Mechili but this is a feint, which draws in the remnants of British 1st Armored Division. Meanwhile, the main Panzer force heads Northeast towards Benghazi.

In London, Churchill opens a 3 day Parliamentary debate on the course of the war by asking for a Vote of Confidence. He details the failure to defend territories in the Far East from Japanese attack and warns that worse is to come. Describing Rommel’s counterattack in Libya, Churchill says “We have a daring and skillful opponent against us and, may I say across the havoc of war, a great General”.

Eastern Front. Soviets attempt to isolate German 9th Army at Rzhev. 11th Cavalry Corps reaches Vyazma but is unable to take the road in the face of stiff German resistance and withdraws. Soviet 2nd Parachute Battalion begins landings West of Vyazma but they are too spread out to be effective. There are insufficient aircraft to deliver the whole force, so they are dropped over several days.

Day 879 January 26, 1942

2012-01-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 141. Trucks bring in 2000 tons per day on Road of Life across frozen Lake Lagoda and the bread ration has doubled, but civilians are still dying at the rate of 4000 per day. Scurvy is a problem so pine needles are extracted to produce vitamin C. Road of Life capacity now allows civilians to be evacuated from Leningrad (440,000 will be transported out before the Ice Road melts on April 15).

Malaya. All along the Batu Pahat-Ayer Hitam-Jemaluang line, British, Indian and Australian troops begin to withdraw, in many cases taking to the jungle to avoid Japanese road blocks behind the Allied positions (an indication of the disintegrating defenses). 1500 troops of British Brigade (part of Indian 11th Division) are cut off at Rengit on the East coast. Adding to the British woes, Japanese land reinforcements on the East coast from the Gulf of Siam. At 11 AM, Japanese 18th Division comes ashore at Endau, 80 miles North of Singapore, from troop transports Kansai Maru and Kanbera Maru escorted by cruiser Sendai and 6 destroyers. They are spotted by RAF air reconnaissance and attacked without success at 3 PM by 12 Vickers Vildebeest (ancient single-engine biplane torpedo bombers of RAF 100 Squadron and 36 Squadron from Singapore). Despite escort from Brewster Buffalo and Hurricane fighters, 5 Vildebeests are shot down. At 5.30 PM, 9 Vildebeests and 3 Fairey Albacores attack, again unsuccessfully (another 6 Vildebeests, 2 Albacores and 1 Hurricane shot down). At 4.30 PM, WWI-era destroyers HMS Thanet and HMAS Vampire leave Singapore to make a night attack on the troop transports at Endau.

Battle of Bataan. Overnight, US and Filipino troops complete their withdrawal from the Abucay-Mauban line. MacArthur states there will be no further retreat from the Orion-Bagac line "With its occupation, all maneuvering possibilities will cease. I intend to fight it out to complete destruction."

Northern Ireland. Convoy AT10 arrives carrying the first US troop sent to Britain (3900 troops of US 34th Division).

Operation Drumbeat. At 5.56 AM 100 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-125 sinks American SS West Ivis (all 45 hands lost). At 8.42 AM 325 miles Southeast of Nova Scotia, U-106 sinks British SS Traveller carrying 600 tons of explosives which detonates as Traveller sinks (all 52 hands lost). At 6.58 PM 200 miles South of Newfoundland, U-582 sinks British tanker SS Refast (10 killed, 32 survivors rescued by British SS Mariposa). Of note, SS Refast was the first American ship attacked in WWI (then SS Gulflight of Gulf Oil Co, New York) when damaged by torpedoes from U-30 on May 1, 1915.

Day 878 January 25, 1942

2012-01-24T19:34:00.001-08:00

Dutch Borneo. Japanese Assault Unit, which landed East of Balikpapan, captures the airfield by dawn. They make slow progress towards Balikpapan city due to destruction of bridges by the Dutch defenders. 1000 Dutch troops retreat North only to be overwhelmed by Japanese Surprise Attack Unit attacking from their river landings. In the evening, both Japanese units arrive in the city which is now undefended. Japanese are incensed at the prior destruction of the oil facilities by the Dutch, leading to a massacre next month.

Malaya. Australian 8th Division, having withdrawn successfully through Yong Peng, and British 53rd Brigade hold a line from Batu Pahat on the West coast, via Ayer Hitam on the main highway, to Jemaluang on the East coast. Malaya commander General Percival hope reinforcements will arrive at Singapore in time to bolster the line. However, Japanese Imperial Guards capture Batu Pahat unhinging the whole line and Percival decides to make the final withdrawal to the island of Singapore. Convoy BM10 arrives at Singapore from Bombay, India, with 4745 Indian 44th Infantry Brigade troops (plus vehicles and supplies for 53rd Brigade that arrived on January 13).

Battle of Bataan. Overnight, additional US and Filipino troops withdraw from the Abucay-Mauban line to the Orion-Bagac line.

Burma. In Rangoon, ABDA commander General Wavell orders the defense of Moulmein and its airfield, as Japanese 55th Infantry Division prepares to attack Moulmein.

Thai government declares war on Britain and USA. Seni Pramoj, Thai ambassador in Washington, refuses to deliver the declaration of war and defects to organise a Free Thai movement.

Overnight, Japanese submarines I-24 and I-18 shell U.S. Marine positions on Midway Island. The Marines return fire, forcing both submarines to submerge.

Operation Drumbeat. At 9.25 AM off Newfoundland, U-754 sinks Greek SS Mount Kitheron. At 10.02 AM 28 miles Southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, U-130 Norwegian tanker MV Varanger carrying 12,750 tons of fuel oil from Curacao to New York (all 40 hands escape in 2 lifeboats). U-123, in mid-Atlantic returning from Operation Drumbeat out of torpedoes, sinks British SS Culebra (all 45 hands lost).

German destroyer Z8 Bruno Heinemann (sailing from Kiel with Z4, Z5 and Z7 to Brest, France, to escort battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau), hits 2 British mines and sinks in the Strait of Dover, English Channel (98 killed, 229 rescued).

30 miles South of Messina, Sicily, British submarine HMS Ultimatum sinks Italian passenger ship Dalmatia L.

Libya. Germans overrun British tanks, capturing 30 Valentines (heavily-armored British “Infantry” tanks) parked in formation and part of the Divisional HQ, at the key road junction at Msus. The road runs Northeast of Msus to Benghazi, while a track heads East across the desert towards Egypt. British 1st Armored Division, which arrived from Britain in November, has lost 100 of its 150 tanks in 5 days.

Day 877 January 24, 1942

2012-01-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

Japanese invasion of the oil-rich islands of Dutch East Indies begins in earnest. On the island of Celebes, Japanese Sasebo Combined Special Naval Landing Force lands at Kendari and quickly overwhelms 400 Dutch defenders to capture the airfield. Off Kendari, US submarine USS Swordfish sinks Japanese gunboat Myoken Maru. Off Borneo, Dutch bombers attack Japanese troop ships all day as they approach the oil town of Balikpapan. Dutch submarine K-18 damages Japanese patrol boat P37 (K-18 is counterattacked and damaged by depth charges, returning to the Dutch naval base at Soerabaja, Java, unable to dive). Overnight, 5500 Japanese troops land unopposed at 2 sites North and East of Balikpapan and converge on the city. US destroyers USS Paul Jones, USS Parrot, USS Pope and USS John D. Ford attack the anchored Japanese flotilla with torpedoes overnight, sinking 3 transport ships (Kuretake Maru, Sumanoura Maru and Tatsukami Maru) and the damaged patrol boat P37.

Battle of Bataan. Overnight, US and Filipino troops begin withdrawing from the Abucay-Mauban line to the new Orion-Bagac line but some of the artillery is left behind. The plan is to withdraw under cover of darkness for 3 nights until all troops reach the new position. Japanese land reinforcements behind their lines at Subic Bay on the Northeast coast of Bataan.

Troop convoy MS2 arrives at Singapore, carrying a Machinegun Battalion and 1900 untrained Australian soldiers.

Burma. Japanese troops from Tavoy in the South and from the Thai border to the East begin converging on Moulmein to secure the airfield.

Operation Drumbeat. At 2.40 AM 20 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-66 sinks British tanker MV Empire Gem (carrying machinery and 10,692 tons of motor spirit to Britain) and American freighter SS Venore. At 6.53 AM 430 miles Southeast of Nova Scotia, U-106 sinks British SS Empire Wildebeeste. At 3.25 PM off Newfoundland, U-333 sinks Norwegian MV Ringstad.

American submarine chaser USS PC-460 mistakes US submarine USS S-26 for an enemy at night in the Gulf of Panama. USS PC-460 rams and sinks USS S-26 (46 dead; 3 survivors - the captain, his executive officer and a look-out, who are all on the conning tower).

Libya. Afrika Korps continues advancing across towards Benghazi. Rommel supply convoy T18 reaches Tripoli with a complete cargo except the 391 killed yesterday in the sinking of Italian troopship Victoria.

Day 876 January 23, 1942

2012-01-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

At 3.19 AM 70 miles Southwest of Kauai, Hawaii, Japanese submarine I-72 sinks US Oiler USS Neches with 3 torpedoes (57 killed). USS Neches is en route to refuel Task Force 11 (including aircraft carrier USS Lexington) which left Oahu yesterday to bomb Wake Island. Task Force 11 cannot reach Wake without fuel and returns to Pearl Harbor.

Borneo. Japanese landing force (Sakaguchi Detachment from Tarakan) approaches the town of Balikpapan. Dutch submarine K-18 sinks Japanese transport ship Tsuruga Maru. 9 Dutch Martin B-10 bombers and 20 Brewster Buffalo fighters sink Japanese transport ship Nana Maru and damage Tatsugami Maru.

Celebes. Japanese Sasebo Combined Special Naval Landing Force sails from Manado for the small town of Kendari, 450 miles further South. Kendari has an airfield in striking distance of Darwin, Australia, and the main Dutch naval base at Soerabaja, Java.

Japanese bombers attack Palembang (Sumatra, Dutch East Indies) for the first time. Japanese aircraft also bomb raid Rangoon, Burma, but 6 bombers are shot down by American Volunteer Group and RAF fighters.

Japanese Maizuru Special Naval Landing Force lands at Kavieng, New Ireland, and 55th Infantry Regiment lands at Rabaul, New Britain, in the Territory of New Guinea. They overwhelm the Australian defenders through numerical superiority and landing at unopposed sites, although there are pockets of Australian resistance. Australian soldiers are ordered to scatter into the jungle ("every man for himself") where most quickly surrender or die.

US destroyer USS Edsall attacks a submarine contact in the Vernon Islands, 30 miles Northwest of Darwin, Australia, but is damaged by one of her own depth charges.

Battle of Bataan. While the Abucay-Mauban line continues to crumble, Japanese make amphibious landings on the far Southwest coast of Bataan. These are contained by a naval battalion of American sailors and marines.

Operation Drumbeat. At 8.12 AM 20 miles off Nova Scotia, U-109 sinks British SS Thirlby carrying 7600 tons of maize to Britain (5 killed, 41 survivors picked up by American steamer Belle Isle). At 1.40 PM 400 miles East of Newfoundland, U-82 sinks Norwegian tanker MV Leiesten (6 killed, 29 survivors picked up by Greek steamer Agios Georgios).

Libya. Afrika Korps’ rapid advance continues causing panic in the British rearguard, elements of which run East for safety. In the Gulf of Sirte, a British Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber (FAA 826 Squadron from Libya) sinks Italian troopship Victoria in supply convoy T18 (391 killed, 1064 crew and troops taken off by Italian destroyers Aviere and Camicia Nera).

260 miles Northwest of Moscow, Soviet 3rd Shock Army surrounds 5500 German troops in the small town of Kholm.

Day 875 January 22, 1942

2012-01-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Overnight, ambulances held hostage by the Japanese at Parit Sulong bridge escape back to Colonel Anderson’s trapped column. In the morning, 2 RAF Fairey Albacores from Singapore drop supplies and then bomb the Japanese holding the bridge. The Japanese positions are not weakened and easily repel Anderson’s probing attacks. With attacks on the column intensifying and no hope of relief from Allied troops at Yong Peng, Anderson at 9 AM orders the walking to make for Yong Peng through the jungle to avoid annihilation (Anderson will win the VC but only 900 of the 4000-strong Bakri garrison escape to safety). Japanese massacre 110 Australian and 40 Indian wounded and medics by machinegunning, bayoneting, beheading with swords and burning alive with petrol. Lieutenant Ben Hackney of Australian 2/19th Battalion and 2 other survivors will testify after the war against Imperial Guards commander General Takuma Nishimura who is executed by hanging on June 11, 1951.

Battle of Bataan. With the Abucay-Mauban line disintegrating, MacArthur decides to withdraw 5 miles to a new defensive line from Bagac on the West coast to Orion on the East.

Eastern Front. German 9th Army is in danger of encirclement in the Rzhev salient as Soviets converge on Vyazma (29th and 39th Armies from the North and General Pavel Belov’s 2nd Cavalry Corps from the South). At 10 AM, 9th Army’s General Model attempts to break up the encirclement by attacking out of Rzhev with tanks and Stuka dive-bomber support into the extended flank of Soviet 29th Army. Further North, Soviet 3rd Shock Army reaches the town of Kholm, held by German 218th Infantry Division.

Libya. Exploiting the gaps in British 1st Armored Brigade, Afrika Korps tanks rush forward to capture Agedabia and Antelat. The equally inexperienced British 2nd Armored Brigade is thrown in piecemeal and picked off by the massed Panzers. Italian transport ships Ravello, Monviso, Monginevro, Victoria and Vettor Pisani (convoy T18) leave Messina, Sicily, and Taranto for Tripoli, carrying 97 tanks, 271 trucks, 11,823 tons of material and 1467 troops for Rommel. They are escorted by Italian battleship Duilo, 3 cruisers, 14 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats, indicating the importance of this shipment.

Operation Drumbeat. U-66, U-82, U-135, U-333, U-553 and U-754 each sink 1 merchant ship off the coast of North America (mostly near Newfoundland). 4 survivors in a lifeboat from British tanker MV Athelcrown board the drifting wreck of tanker Diala, which was torpedoed by U-553 on January 15. They will be rescued 8 days later by Swedish tanker MV Saturnus and landed on the Faroe Islands.

Day 874 January 21, 1942

2012-01-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

Battle of Bataan. With the East side of the Abucay-Mauban line crumbing, Japanese get behind the West side of the line by crossing the undefended slopes of Mount Natib. They establish a roadblock on the Mauban ridge, cutting off the Philippine Army 1st Regular Division and preventing resupply of US and Filipino troops at the front.

Malaya. At 9.30 AM, Indian/Australian troops (under Australian Colonel Anderson) withdrawing South from Bakri finds the Parit Sulong bridge blocked by the Japanese, while their rear is still under Japanese attack. Anderson’s column is compressed into 400 yards of road and attacked all day. At 5 PM (with heavy casualties and almost out of food, water and some ammunition), Anderson sends 2 ambulances of wounded forward to the Japanese but instead of receiving care, the ambulances are held hostage.

Singapore. RAF Hurricane fighters again attack Japanese bombers over Singapore but Zero fighters escorting the bombers shoot down 5 Hurricanes.

25 miles off the coast of Burma, 125 miles Southwest of Rangoon, Japanese submarine I.66 sinks British SS Chak Sang (5 killed, 61 survivors) and Panamanian SS Nord.

Dutch Borneo. Japanese Sakaguchi Detachment (under General Shizuo Sakaguchi) departs the island of Tarakan for the oil town of Balikpapan, on the mainland 265 miles further South. US cruisers USS Boise and USS Marblehead plus 4 destroyers sail from Koepang, Timor, to intercept. USS Boise hits a rock and USS Marblehead suffers engine trouble, so the destroyers proceed alone.

Operation Drumbeat. At 10.21 PM 200 miles East of Rhodes Island, USA, U-130 sinks Norwegian tanker MV Alexandra Høegh (all 28 hands picked up in 2 lifeboats 38 hours later by Boston fishing trawler Grand Marshall). At 7.22 PM off Newfoundland, U-754 sinks Norwegian SS Belize (all 24 hands lost).

Rommel launches a "reconnaissance in force" from El Agheila, Libya, sending his new tanks forward to find and engage the British tanks. The inexperienced British 1st Armored Brigade arrived recently to replace the battle-hardened 7th Armored Brigade (sent to protect British interests in Malaya and Burma). This counterattack from the “beaten” Afrika Korps surprises the thin defensive line of 1st Armored Division.

Day 873 January 20, 1942

2012-01-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

In Berlin at 56-58 Am Grossen Wannsee, SS General Reinhard Heydrich informs 15 German government administrators that the “Final Solution to the Jewish question" would be deportation of Jews to Eastern Europe for extermination or use as slave labour.

Eastern Front. 180 miles West of Moscow, Soviet 11th Cavalry Corps pushes South from Rzhev towards Vyazma, attempting to isolate German 9th Army at Rzhev. 50 miles further West, Soviet 4th Shock Army finally reaches the German supply dumps at Toropets after several days without food. They attack and capture 6 tanks, 723 trucks, artillery with 450,000 shells, small arms with millions of rounds of ammunition, 1000 drums of fuel and much food.

Malaya/Singapore. Indian and Australian troops withdraw South from Bakri but their retreat is cut off by a Japanese flanking move and the column covers only 3 miles against a series of Japanese road blocks while harassed from the flanks and rear. Overnight, they approach the bridge at Parit Sulong. Japanese land more troops at Endau on the East coast, further threatening the Allies in Southern Malaya. Recently arrived RAF Hurricanes see action for the first time and shoot down 8 Japanese bombers during an air raid on Singapore. With Singapore open to Japanese attack across the Strait of Johore, Churchill instructs ABDA Commander General Wavell; “every inch of ground to be defended, every scrap of material for defenses to be blown to pieces to prevent capture by the enemy, and no question of surrender to be entertained until after protracted fighting among the ruins of Singapore“.

Burma. As Japanese begin advancing North from Tavoy, more Japanese troops (55th Infantry Division) cross the border from Thailand towards Moulmein (which has port facilities and an airfield). They are engaged by Indian 16th Infantry Brigade.

In preparation for landings, 100 carrier-based Japanese aircraft bomb Rabaul at the Northeast tip of the island of New Britain, part of the Territory of New Guinea.

At 4 AM, US submarine S-36 is stranded on Taka Bakang Reef in the Makassar Strait, British Borneo. The crew cannot refloat the submarine and are rescued by the Dutch motor launch Attla next day.

60 miles Northwest of Darwin, Australia, US destroyer USS Edsall and Australian minesweeper HMAS Deloraine sink Japanese submarine I-124 with depth charges (80 killed).

Day 872 January 19, 1942

2012-01-18T18:34:00.001-08:00

Operation Drumbeat. At 7.43 AM 150 miles off Cape Hatteras, U-66 sinks Canadian passenger ship SS Lady Hawkins (86 crew, 1 gunner and 164 passengers killed, 22 crew and 49 passengers survive 5 days in a lifeboat until picked up by American passenger ship Coamo and landed at Puerto Rico). Nearby, U-123 sinks Latvian SS Ciltvaira, American steamers SS Norvana and SS City of Atlanta, and also damages American tanker SS Malay.

Eastern Front. 225 miles Northwest of Moscow, 3rd and 4th Shock Armies continue widening and deepening the gap between German Army Group North and Army Group Center. 4th Shock Army continues it progress Southwest towards Toropets while 3rd Shock aims West for Kholm having overcome initial German resistance.

Malaya. Despite losing their tanks yesterday, Japanese infantry manage to surround and bypass the Allied positions at Bakri overnight. In confused fighting during the day, Japanese pick off isolated Indian and Australian groups although an Australian counterattack wipes out 140 Japanese (10 Australian dead). Japanese air raid destroys 45th Indian Brigade HQ concussing the commander General Duncan and killing all his staff at 10 AM. To make matters worse, a Japanese flanking move along the coast threatens the critical road junction at Yong Peng, forcing Australian 8th Division to withdraw from Gemas to avoid being cut off.

Singapore. Churchill learns from ABDA Commander General Wavell that there are no defences protecting Singapore against Japanese attack from Malaya across the Strait of Johore. Coastal batteries face out to sea and cannot be turned landward.

Burma. Japanese overcome 6th Battalion Burma Rifles and capture the British airfield at Tavoy in Southern Burma, which they can use for air support for the advance North (and also to bomb Rangoon).

Borneo. At 7 AM, Japanese troops land unopposed at Sandakan, the capital of British North Borneo.

Battle of Bataan. Japanese still hold deep penetrations on the Abucay-Mauban line East of Mount Natib, despite counterattacks by US and Filipino troops of II Philippine Corps.

Day 871 January 18, 1942

2012-01-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 133. Soviet 54th Army breaks through German defenses at Pogost’e, 25 miles Southwest of Leningrad. However, Germans experiment with Gr.38 High Explosive Anti-Tank rounds and, over the next 3 days, destroy four Kv-1 and five T-34 Soviet tanks which have previously been impervious to ant-tank fire. 30 miles further South, Soviet 2nd Shock Army breaches German line on the Volkhov River near Spasskaya Polisk.

Malaya. At 6.45 AM on the road North of Bakri, 9 Japanese tanks rush ahead without infantry and are all destroyed by Australian anti-tank guns but, overnight, Japanese Imperial Guards get through the jungle around the Allies at Bakri. Further South, Japanese threaten to turn the whole Allied position on the West coast by advancing along the coast undetected and also landing troops at Batu Pahat. They can now move inland to cut off the general Allied retreat.

Following the capture of the island of Tarakan, Dutch Borneo, on January 12, Dutch implement their destruction plan to deny Japanese use of oil installations at Balikpapan (265 miles further South on the mainland of Dutch Borneo).

US submarine USS Plunger sinks Japanese freighter Eizan Maru 23 miles off the coast of Honshu, Japan.

Operation Drumbeat. Off Newfoundland, U-86 sinks Greek SS Dimitrios G. Thermiotis at 6.13 AM (all 33 hands lost) and U-552 sinks American SS Frances Salman at 6.44 AM (all 28 hands lost). At 8.33 AM off Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, U-66 sinks American tanker SS Allan Jackson carrying 72,870 barrels of crude oil (22 killed; 13 survivors, 8 injured, rescued from the burning oil by US destroyer USS Roe).

In Gibraltar harbor, a bomb planted by Spanish saboteurs or Italian manned torpedoes sinks British anti-submarine trawler HMS Erin and minesweeping trawler HMS Honjo (8 killed) and badly damages another anti-submarine trawler HMS Imperialist.

Day 870 January 17, 1942

2012-01-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Operation Drumbeat. At 3.59 AM, U-87 sinks Norwegian tanker Nyholt with 8 torpedoes and 120 rounds from the deck gun. All 41 crew abandon ship but 1 lifeboat is never found. 23 survivors in the other lifeboat are rescued after 10 days on the freezing ocean (2 later die of exposure). At 11.21 AM off Nova Scotia, U-203 sinks Norwegian SS Octavian (all 17 hands lost).

At 7.35 AM, U-133 hits British destroyer HMS Gurkha, escorting Malta convoy MW-8B, with 1 torpedo (9 killed). HMS Gurkha spills burning oil on the water and is towed clear by Dutch destroyer HNMS Isaac Sweers which also takes off 240 survivors.

Operation Crusader. 5000 German and Italian troops at Halfaya Pass, isolated since November 23, 1941, surrender to South African 6th Infantry Brigade.

At 10.21 PM, British destroyer HMS Matabele (escorting convoy PQ-8 in the Kola Inlet near Murmansk) is hit with 1 torpedo from U-454, causing the magazines to explode. HMS Matabele sinks within 2 minutes and her primed depth charges detonate (238 killed by the explosions or freeze to death in the Arctic waters). 2 survivors are picked up by minesweeper HMS Harrier. U-454 also sinks soviet trawler RT-68 Enisej and hits British SS Harmatris with a torpedo starting a fire which is extinguished (SS Harmatris reaches Archangel safely).

German armed merchant cruiser Thor departs La Rochelle, France, for her second raiding cruise.

Malaya. 45th Indian Brigade withdraws to hastily-prepared defenses at Bakri, 6 miles East of Muar (with added support from Australian 2/19th & 2/29th Battalions), leaving a covering force to protect the Muar-Bakri road. Japanese Imperial Guards prepare to assault Bakri as well as sending a flanking group along the coast towards the Kuala Lumpur-Johor Bahru highway to cut off the retreat of the troops at Bakri as well as Australian 8th Division at Gemas.

65 miles West of Krakatoa, Dutch East Indies, British destroyer HMS Jupiter brings Japanese submarine I.60 to the surface with depth charges. They exchange 4.7 inch shells and machinegun fire but HMS Jupiter (3 killed, 9 wounded) finally sinks I.60 with a depth charge set shallow (85 killed, 2 survivors taken prisoner by HMS Jupiter).

Day 869 January 16, 1942

2012-01-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Overnight, Japanese 4th Imperial Guards Regiment crosses Muar River undetected in small native Malay boats and infiltrates 45th Indian Brigade defenses, which are picked off piecemeal. 5th Imperial Guards Regiment crosses the river further inland, outflanking the town of Muar and threatening to surround 45th Brigade. Indians withdraw from the town overnight. Japanese capture of Muar threatens the main Kuala Lumpur-Johor Bahru highway, which would cut off Australian 8th Division inland at Gemas, 40 miles North.

Japanese troops cross the border from Thailand into Southern Burma heading for the British airfield at Tavoy (now Dawei) only 30 miles away. They are engaged in the mountainous terrain by Burmese troops of the 6th Battalion Burma Rifles (a regiment of the British Army).

Eastern Front. 215 miles Northwest of Moscow, Soviet 3rd Shock captures Andreapol, opening a gap between German Army Group North and Army Group Center. The need for food drives the starving Red Army onwards towards the massive German supply dumps at Toropets. In Moscow, Stalin publishes the notorious “Reichenau Order” from German 6th Army commander Field Marshal von Reichenau, a copy of which was found in German documents at Klin.

At 11.15 AM North of the Azores, U-402 blows the rudder off British troopship Llangibby Castle in convoy WS15 from Britain to Egypt, via the Cape of Good Hope (only 26 troops killed from 181 crew, 11 gunners, 1168 troops on board). Llangibby Castle reaches Horta in the Azores, under attack by German Fw200 bombers, and will eventually return to Britain for repairs having sailed 3400 miles without a rudder.

German bombers sink British minesweeping trawler HMS Irvana off Yarmouth, England (2 killed).

Day 868 January 15, 1942

2012-01-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

At 5 AM off Dutch Borneo, US Submarine USS S-36 is badly damaged by 7 depth charges from a Japanese destroyer while preparing to attack the destroyer.

Bataan. Japanese again attack General George Parker’s II Philippine Corps on the Abucay-Mauban line East of Mount Natib. Philippine Army 51st Division withdraws allowing Japanese to advance and occupy a hill in the Salian River valley. This and numerous other infiltrations will turn the East end of the Abucay-Mauban line by January 22nd and precipitate a withdrawal (along with other penetrations on the West side).

Malaya. By 10 AM, Japanese cross the repaired Gemencheh Bridge over the Kelamah River and engage Australian troops at Gemas. Japanese advance is held by Australian anti-tank guns, which destroy 6 tanks. In typical fashion, Japanese infantry then work around through the jungle behind the Australians who decide to withdraw across a second river (Gemas River). On the West coast at Muar, Japanese Imperial Guards (4th and 5th Regiments) overrun 4 companies from 45th Indian Brigade on the North side of Muar River (placed as forward defenses while the main bulk of 45th Brigade waits South of the river).

Operation Drumbeat. At 9.41 AM 47 miles South of East Hampton, Long Island, U-123 sinks British tanker Coimbra, carrying 9000 tons of lubricating oil which goes up in a massive explosion (36 killed, 10 survivors). Off Newfoundland, U-552 sinks Dayrose at 1.38 AM (32 crew & 6 gunners killed, 4 crew picked up by destroyers USS Ericsson and USS Stack), U-203 sinks Portuguese trawler Catalina at 11.34 AM (no survivors) and at 11.17 PM U-553 blows the bow off tanker Diala which remains afloat on her empty tanks and drifts Northeast (57 dead, 8 survivors picked up by British merchant Telefora de Larrinaga).

3900 troops of US 34th Division depart New York City for Britain on board transport ship Chateau Thierry and converted liner RMS Strathaird, escorted by 5 American destroyers (convoy AT10).

580 miles west of Gibraltar, U-93 attacks convoy HG78 on the surface. British destroyer HMS Hesperus spots U-93 on radar and rams, throwing U-93’s captain and 1st lieutenant out of the conning tower onto the HMS Hesperus's deck. U-93 is abandoned and sinks after HMS Hesperus attacks again with the deck gun and depth charges set shallow (6 dead, 40 survivors). HMS Hesperus is repaired at Gibraltar and Falmouth until April.

60 miles North of Sollum, Egypt, a British Swordfish aircraft (815 Squadron) sinks U-577 with depth charges (all 43 hands lost).

Day 867 January 14, 1942

2012-01-13T16:22:00.001-08:00

Operation Drumbeat. At 8.34 AM 60 miles from Montauk Point, Long Island, U-123 sinks Panamanian tanker MV Norness (2 dead, 39 survivors picked up by American destroyer USS Ellyson, Coast Guard cutter USCGC Argo and fishing boat Malvina).

450 miles Northwest of Ireland, U-43 attacks convoy ON 55 sinking Greek SS Maro (all hands lost), British SS Empire Surf (45 killed, 6 survivors) and Panamanian SS Chepo (17 killed, 21 survivors).

Malaya. At 4 PM, Japanese infantry on bicycles and a few tanks stream across the Gemencheh Bridge over the Kelamah River into an Australian ambush. Australians dynamite the bridge, slaughter the trapped Japanese troops with machinegun and small arms fire and then withdraw through the jungle. Japanese have killed 140-700 (estimates vary) while Australians lose 1 killed plus 6 captured by the Japanese and executed. Japanese have the bridge repaired by midnight. On the West coast, Japanese Imperial Guards occupy the town of Malacca unopposed and prepare to assault Muar held by the novice 45th Indian Brigade.

At 11 PM, German battleship Tirpitz leaves Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and sails to Trondheim, Norway, escorted by 4 destroyers. RAF is unable to attack during the journey due to bad weather and Royal Navy Home Fleet responds too slowly.

Day 866 January 13, 1942

2012-01-12T19:29:00.001-08:00

Operation Drumbeat. Off Nova Scotia, U-130 sinks Norwegian steamer Frisco at 1.16 AM and Panamanian SS Friar Rock at 9.48 AM.

Malaya. Having withdrawn 100 miles Southwest from the capital Kuala Lumpur, Allied troops establish new defensive positions from Muar River on the West coast 40 miles inland to the town of Gemas, where B company 2/30th Australian Battalion (Australian 8th Division under Australian General Gordon Bennett) prepares an ambush at Gemencheh Bridge over the Kelamah River.

Convoy DM1 arrives at Singapore from Durban, South Africa, with 9100 troops (including British 53rd Brigade), 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns and 52 RAF Hurricane fighters. There are only 24 pilots for the Hurricanes which are quickly demolished by Japanese Zero fighters within 2 weeks.

Eastern Front. Red Army meets stubborn German resistance in towns Northwest and West of Moscow. Both sides are immobilised by lack of equipment and supplies and by the extreme cold, leading to fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Soviet 11th Army and German 18th Motorised Division contest possession of Staraya Russa. Soviet 29th and 39th Army fail to penetrate German 9th Army defenses around Rhzev, leading to the creating of a German salient. Soviet 11th Cavalry Corps charge is held up Southwest of Rzhev, allowing Germans to maintain a corridor West from Rzhev along the main highway to Vyazma and Smolensk. The railway goods yard at Sychevka is contested in frenzied close quarter combat.

Day 865 January 12, 1942

2012-01-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

U-boat war on American coastal shipping (Operation Drumbeat) claims its first victim. At 1.49 AM off Nova Scotia, U-123 sinks British SS Cyclops (40 crew, 46 passengers and 1 gunner killed; 56 crew, 33 passengers and 6 gunners rescued by Canadian minesweeper HMCS Red Deer). 5 U-boats are already patrolling off US East coast and another 10 are on their way across the Atlantic.

Mediterranean. At 2.38 AM off Tobruk, U-77 blows the stern off British destroyer HMS Kimberley (3 killed) which is towed to Alexandria by destroyer HMS Heythrop. HMS Kimberley will be repaired at Bombay and return to service in January 1944. At 10.30 AM, U-374 is heading to Messina, Sicily, to repair damage from British and Dutch destroyers 2 days earlier. U-374, travelling on the surface unable to submerge, is hit by 2 torpedoes from British submarine HMS Unbeaten, 50 miles South of Messina, and sinks immediately (42 dead, Matrosengefreiter Johannes Ploch survives).

Operation Crusader. South African 1st Division attacks German and Italian garrison at Sollum, Egypt, which surrenders quickly after being isolated since November 23, 1941. Meanwhile, Rommel in Libya is planning to use his newly-arrived tanks to launch a local counterattack on Allied forward positions.

Eastern Front. Field Marshal von Reichenau, commander of German 6th Army, collapses from a stroke after his morning run in the bitter cold at Poltava, Ukraine. He is flown to Germany for treatment but dies when his plane crash lands on a refueling stop at Lemberg, Ukraine. von Reichenau’s Chief of Staff, General Friedrich Paulus, is promoted to take over 6th Army despite being a career staff officer with no previous command experience.

Tarakan, Dutch Borneo. Japanese troops, who landed yesterday, overwhelm the 1300 Dutch defenders (although coastal batteries hold out and sink Japanese minesweepers W.13 and W.14). Dutch troops who have surrendered are massacred in retaliation for the destruction of the oil wells and refinery.

Battle of Bataan, Philippines. Fierce hand-to-hand combat as Japanese attack the Abucay-Mauban line. US Philippine Scouts Second Lieutenant Alexander Nininger is the first US soldier to win the Medal of Honor in WWII, leading a counterattack.

Day 864 January 11, 1942

2012-01-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

Japanese invasion of Dutch East Indies begins.
Tarakan. At midnight, 6500 Japanese troops land on the tiny oil-rich island of Tarakan, 1 mile off Dutch Borneo. They come ashore on the sparsely defended East side of the island and fight their way across. Japanese destroyer Yamakaze and patrol boat P38 sink Dutch minelayer HrMs Prins van Oranje, which is trying to escape from Tarakan.
Celebes. At 3 AM, 2,500 Japanese marines land on the island of Celebes, at Menado and Kema, swiftly overcoming the Dutch defenders. At 9 AM, 334 Japanese paratroops (flown 380 miles from Davao, Philippines) capture the seaplane base at Kakas and the airfield at Menado. Paratroops at Menado react to their heavy losses (35 killed, 90 wounded) and murder several Dutch POWs. Japanese have already occupied most of British Borneo on the North coast of the island.

Malaya. British flee the capital, Kuala Lumpur, heading South by road towards Singapore (200 miles away). At 8 PM, Japanese occupy Kuala Lumpur unopposed, capturing more large stocks of supplies and ammunition.

500 miles southwest of Oahu, Hawaii, Japanese submarine I-6 torpedoes US aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (6 killed), which reaches Pearl Harbor for repairs under her own steam despite 3 flooded boiler rooms (her 4 double 8-inch gun mounts are also removed for use as shore batteries).

Eastern Front. Soviet 39th Army continues advancing West and South around Rhzev, capturing large German supply dumps at Sychevka. Konev sends 11th Cavalry Corps charging on horseback through this gap in German 9th Army defenses, hoping to achieve a rapid encirclement of Rhzev.

Mediterranean. 30 miles North of Tobruk, Libya, a British Swordfish aircraft (815 Squadron) damages U-577 with depth charges.

Day 863 January 10, 1942

2012-01-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

At 7.22 AM 75 miles North of Murmansk in the Barents Sea, U-584 sinks soviet submarine M-175 (all 21 hands lost).

Eastern Front. Germans are unprepared for the Soviet offensive, not realizing the extensive Russian reserves of manpower, with little or no winter clothing and thin defenses in many places. Konev’s Kalanin Front begins to surround German 9th Army at Rhzev; 29th Army attacking from the North while 39th Army makes a deep penetration in the flank Northwest of Rhzev.

Mediterranean. From 5 PM to 8 PM 40 miles Northeast of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, British destroyer HMS Legion and Dutch destroyer HrMs Isaac Sweers drop 43 depth charges on U-374, which escapes but is damaged and unable to submerge. In the Ionian Sea 120 miles West of Patras, Greece, British submarine HMS Thrasher sinks Italian steamer Fedora (from Brindisi, Italy, to Patras).

Malaya. Japanese tanks and infantry again rout Indian 11th Division at Serendah on the road 15 miles North of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. British evacuate Kuala Lumpur. In the Gulf of Siam, Dutch submarine O-19 sinks Japanese freighters Akita Maru and Tairyu Maru running supplies from French Indochina to Thailand. Troop convoys MS1 and MS2 leave Australia, carrying Australian soldiers to Singapore and Dutch East Indies.

Philippines. Battle of Bataan, Japanese attack again but are held at the Abucay-Mauban line. Bataan peninsula, Luzon (15-20 miles wide and 30 miles long North-South) is packed with 65,000 Filipino troops, 15,000 US troops and 26,000 civilians. They have a plentiful supply of ammunition for a protracted siege but only enough food for a month and precious little medicine, especially quinine to prevent malaria that will become endemic. US submarine USS Pickerel sinks Japanese gunboat Kanko Maru off Davao Gulf, Mindanao.

A Dutch Dornier Do 24K flying boat spots the Japanese invasion fleet from Mindanao, Philippines, approaching the tiny oil-rich island of Tarakan, 1 mile off Dutch Borneo. Dutch troops begin destroying oil wells, refinery and airfield.

In South China Sea, US submarine USS Stingray sinks Japanese cargo ship Harbin Maru 40 miles South of Japanese naval base on Hainan Island.

First US troop convoy to Britain (convoy NA1; 2 troop transports escorted by British destroyers HMS Beverley, Hamilton and Rockingham) departs Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Day 862 January 9, 1942

2012-01-08T06:57:00.000-08:00

Battle of Bataan, Luzon, Philippines. Japanese 48th Division is withdrawn, having fought down from Lingayen Gulf since December 22, 1941, and replaced by raw recruits of 65th Brigade. At 3 PM, the Battle begins with an attack on the Abucay-Mauban line East of Mount Natib that is repelled by 25,000 US & Filipino troops of General George Parker’s II Philippine Corps.

Java Sea between Java and Borneo. Japanese submarine I.65 damages a tanker which escapes and sinks Dutch freighter SS Benkoeln (101 survivors on rafts rescued by American destroyer USS Paul Jones next day). Japanese submarine I.58 sinks Dutch SS Camphuijs (survivors also rescued by USS Paul Jones next day).

US submarine USS Pollack sinks Japanese merchant ship Teian Maru near Tokyo Bay, Japan.

Mediterranean. Italian mines sink British submarine HMS Triumph, returning to the Greek island of Milos to pick up British agents dropped off on December 26, 1941 (all 59 hands lost). 70 miles Northwest of Mersa Matruh, Egypt, a British Sunderland aircraft (230 Squadron) depth charges U-568 causing minor damage.

200 miles Northwest of Moscow, Soviet Northwest Front is fully engaged. 3rd and 4th Shock Armies (read: hastily-assembled, poorly-trained troops with little equipment, ammunition or food) cross the icy marshes of Lake Seliger in waist-deep snow. 4th Shock, attacking Southwest towards Andreapol, is decimated by German machineguns at Peno but sheers weight of numbers overcomes the Germans. 3rd Shock fails to make progress attacking West towards Kholm. Further North, Soviet 11th Army approaches the town of Staraya Russa, defended by the experienced but exhausted German 18th Motorised Division, resting after the battles at Tikhvin.

WWI-era British destroyer HMS Vimiera sinks on a mine in the Thames estuary while escorting a coastal convoy (96 killed, 14 survivors).

Day 861 January 8, 1942

2012-01-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Following the damning Butt Report on the accuracy of RAF bombing (August 1941), Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse is relieved from command of RAF Bomber Command. He is replaced temporarily by Air Marshal John Baldwin.

Malaya. Indian 11th Division falls back 35 miles from Slim River to Serendah on the road (only 15 miles North of the capital, Kuala Lumpur) and the Kuala Selangor river on the coast, where they repel another attempted Japanese landing from a flotilla of small boats. British General Wavell travels to the front, after arriving in Singapore yesterday as head of the new American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA). Wavell finds 11th Indian Division in tatters, unable to resist further Japanese attacks, and orders Australian 8th Division (under General Gordon Bennett) to relieve them. After the disastrous fighting withdrawal so far, Wavell also orders a retreat to Southern Malaya where better defenses can be prepared but giving up central Malaya including the capital Kuala Lumpur.

On Luzon, Philippines, Japanese forces prepare to attack the first US defensive line (Abucay-Mauban) on the Bataan peninsula. 47,500 US and Filipino troops are spread 18 miles from Mauban in the West to Abucay in the East with the 4,111 foot Mount Natib in the middle.

Japanese submarine I.56 sinks Dutch freighter SS Van Riebeeck and SS Van Rees off Cilacap, Java, Indonesia. Another Japanese submarine I.19 launches a reconnaissance seaplane to reconnoiter Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.

Eastern Front. Following the start of the Northern arm of the general offensive yesterday, Zhukov’s Soviet West Front (whose area includes Moscow) attacks towards Mozhaysk which is defended by the rested and well-dug in infantry of German 4th Army.

Day 860 January 7, 1942

2012-01-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Japanese tanks rout Indian 11th Division defenses at Slim River before breakfast. At 3.30 AM, mortar and artillery bombardment cuts communication lines preventing British artillery from ranging on Major Shimada's tanks and a battalion of motorised infantry as they advance 15 miles and cross both road and railway bridges by 9.30 AM (Japanese have 17 killed and 60 wounded). Shimada probes another 3 miles beyond until stopped by 2 howitzers of 155th Field Artillery Regiment. Allied rearguard areas are stampeded, abandoning 50 armored cars and many trucks. Unsuspecting troops are shot up as they are assembling and Indian 11th Division is decimated (500 killed and 3200 taken prisoner) although some units take to the jungle and remain active until the end of the war and beyond (1 Gurkha will be found in 1949).

Mindanao, Philippines. Japanese invasion force moves on to the next engagement, departing Davao Bay to land on the tiny island of Tarakan for the invasion of Dutch Borneo.

In Washington, President Roosevelt submits his budget to Congress; $29,000,000,000 (29 billion dollars) to build 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks and 8,000,000 tons of shipping.

Eastern Front. In the first phase of Stalin’s new offensive, Northern arm of the planned giant encirclement of German Army Group Center around Rzhev-Vyazma-Smolensk gets underway. Soviet Volkov Front attacks German 18th Army towards Leningrad. Soviet Northwest Front attacks the town of Demyansk and Staraya Russa 50 miles away where German 16th Army has a large supply depot. Konev’s Kalanin Front attacks German 9th Army toward Rhzev.

Day 859 January 6, 1942

2012-01-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Operation Kitbag. At 3 AM British cruiser HMS Sheffield and destroyers HMS Inglefield and HMS Intrepid leave Scapa Flow, Scotland. 11 RAF Coastal Command bombers raid Sola Airfield at Stavanger to prevent Luftwaffe attack. In the evening, the warships shell Florø, Norway, destroying trawlers and fish processing facilities, and then return to Scapa Flow overnight. A Commando raid of the same name in December was cancelled due to the accidental explosion of hand grenades during embarkation (6 killed, 11 wounded).

RAF aircraft sink Italian freighter SS Perla returning from Tripoli, Libya, to Trapani, Sicily, near the Italian island of Pantellaria off the Tunisian coast.

Malaya. Japanese 42nd Regiment commander Colonel Ando plans to outflank Indian 11th Division defenses at Slim River by moving through the dense jungle. However, Major Shimada persuades Ando to allow his company of tanks to attack straight down the road. The attack will go in overnight.

On Luzon, Philippines, US and Filipino forces continue falling back onto Bataan and prepare a defensive line across the neck of the peninsula from Mauban in the West to Abucay in the East.

Japanese aircraft again bomb Rabaul on the Australian-held island of New Britain, New Guinea.

Day 858 January 5, 1942

2012-01-04T19:17:00.001-08:00

At 5.42 AM North of Mesina, Sicily, British submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes Italian submarine Admiral Saint-Bon carrying 155 tons of petrol and ammunition from Taranto, Italy to Tripoli, Libya. The gasoline explodes and Saint-Bon sinks rapidly (82 killed, 3 survivors picked up HMS Upholder). However, Italian convoy M.43 arrives safely at Tripoli later in the day, with 54 tanks, armored cars, artillery, ammunition and fuel for Rommel.

At 8.00 AM 73 miles Northwest of Patras, Greece, British submarine HMS Proteus torpedoes Italian troopship Citta Di Palermo (carrying 600 Italian troops from Brindisi, Italy, to Patras). Palermo sinks in 6 minutes, killing almost everyone on board.

Flushed by the success of the Moscow counteroffensive in driving German forces from the gates of Moscow, Stalin orders a General offensive along the entire front from Leningrad to the Crimean. The main goal is to encircle and destroy German Army Group Center (which previously threatened Moscow) in the Rzhev-Vyazma-Smolensk area. In the Crimea, while German 11th Army is busy containing the Soviet landings on the Kerch peninsula, Soviet warships shell German positions around Sevastopol and the Sevastopol garrison attempts a breakout.

Malaya. Indian 11th Division defenses stretch from the river crossings at Slim River to Trolak, 9 miles North, where the road cuts through hills covered with dense jungle. In the afternoon, Japanese probing attacks at Trolak are repelled (60 Japanese killed).

On Luzon, Philippines, US and Filipino forces continue to fall back towards the Bataan peninsula.

60 miles South of the Indonesian island of Java, Japanese submarine I.56 sinks British freighter SS Kwantung. 98 crew and 35 military personnel abandon ship but I.56 rams a lifeboat and machineguns the others (98 killed, 35 survivors picked up next day).

100 miles South of Tokyo, US submarine USS Pollack torpedoes Japanese cargo ship Heijo Maru.

Overnight, 154 aircraft from RAF Bomber Command to attack German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in dock at Brest, France, but do little damage.

Day 857 January 4, 1942

2012-01-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Crimea. Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz, returning from delivering troops and supplies to the Soviet bridgehead on the Kerch Peninsula, is badly damaged by German Ju87 dive-bombers. Krasnyi Kavkaz reaches the Caucasus port of Novorossiysk, escorted by destroyer Sposobnyi, and will be under repair until October at Poti, Georgia.

Philippines. On Luzon, a massive Japanese aerial and artillery bombardment displaces US and Filipino troops from the Guagua-Porac line, allowing Lingayen Force to capture Guagua and the US Del Carmen Airfield (a rudimentary dirt airstrip). Off the island of Mindanao, USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers (based at Darwin, Australia, staging via Dutch airfields on Borneo) attack Japanese ships at anchor in Malalag Bay, Davao Gulf. Japanese cruiser Myōkō is hit by a 500lb bomb causing minor damage.

Malaya. 11th Indian Infantry Division withdraws 40 miles South from Kampar to new positions at Slim River, where road and railway bridges cross the Sungai Bemama river. These are the last good defenses before the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

In preparation for landings, Japanese aircraft bomb Rabaul at the Northeast tip of the island of New Britain, part of the Territory of New Guinea (a League of Nations-mandated territory of Australia since WWI).

Day 856 January 3, 1942

2012-01-03T16:34:00.001-08:00

Rommel is so desperate for supplies that 4 Italian battleships, 5 cruisers, 19 destroyers and 5 torpedo boats escort convoy M.43 of 5 freighters and 1 tanker from Messina (Sicily), Brindisi and Taranto to Tripoli, Libya. They carry 1200 troops, 54 tanks, artillery, armored cars, 1000 tons of ammunition, 5400 tons of fuel.

Malaya. Japanese attempt another leap down the West coast of Malaya, sailing 45 miles South from Bernam River to Kuala Selangor (reusing their 40 motor launches and the 20 small boats from Penang), but Indian troops are waiting for them and repel the landings. On the East coast of Malaya, Japanese troops cross the Kuantan River forcing Indian 9th Division to withdraw South and leave the Kuantan airfield in Japanese hands. Colonel Arthur Cummings (Indian Army 12th Frontier Force Regiment) wins the VC for holding the rearguard overnight despite being bayoneted in the stomach and shot in the arm.

Luzon, Philippines. US and Filipino troops fall back to the hastily-organised Guagua-Porac defensive line, 15 miles from Bataan.

Australian 39th and 53rd Battalions arrive at Port Moseby, New Guinea, from Sydney. They join 49th Battalion to form 30th Infantry Brigade to defend New Guinea from the expected Japanese invasion.

In the Java Sea between Indonesia and Borneo, Japanese submarine I.158 sinks Dutch SS Langkoeas off Bawean Island. All 94 crew abandon ship, but I.158 rams 1 lifeboat and machineguns the others. Only 3 survivors reach Bawean Island and will be rescued by American destroyer USS Paul Jones.

Day 855 January 2, 1942

2012-01-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

At 6.48 AM in the Barents Sea 300 miles North of Norway, U-134 sinks British steamer Waziristan carrying 3700 tons of lend-lease supplies, including 410 Ford trucks, from USA to Murmansk, USSR. 37 crew & 10 gunners abandon ship but are not found. Waziristan is the first ship sunk in the Arctic convoys to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, USSR.

Libya. 7,000 German & Italian troops surrender at Bardia, near the Egyptian border, to 2nd South African Division. The Bardia garrison has been isolated since November 23, 1941.

Malaya. Overnight, Japanese troops (4th Imperial Guard Regiment) sail down the Perak River to Telok Anson to join 11th Regiment which landed yesterday in the Bernam River. To counter this, Indian 12th Infantry Brigade arrives at Telok Anson but cannot hold the Japanese advance. Further North on the ridges of Kampar Hill, there is more hand-to-hand combat between Japanese and British/Indian troops, including a bayonet charge by 60 Sikhs and Gujars. British General Archibald Paris, in command of 11th Indian Infantry Division, fears encirclement from Telok Anson and decides to abandon the excellent Kampar defenses which have held out well. Casualties in 4 days of fighting at Kampar are 150 British & Indian and 500 Japanese killed.

Luzon, Philippines. At 9 AM, Japanese march triumphantly into Manila and occupy the ruined US Cavite Navy Yard. Further North, the West end of D5 line collapses at Bamban; Japanese Lingayen Force pushes on to Angeles and San Fernando, 20 miles from Bataan, capturing the US Clark Airfield relatively intact which they will use to bomb to Bataan and Corregidor Island. Only a narrow corridor above the Pampanga River delta remains open for US and Filipino forces withdrawing to Bataan.

Singapore is bombed from Malaya in the North and Borneo to the East.

Day 854 January 1, 1942

2011-12-31T05:48:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Battle of Kampar. After yesterday’s failure on the East side of the road, Japanese attack Kampar Hill to the West at 7 AM, under an artillery barrage and aerial bombing. They are again targeted by artillery spotters on the 4000 foot high Gunong Brijang Melaka, this time bringing down 25 pounder shells from 88th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Artillery. There is fierce but inconclusive hand-to-hand combat all morning with heavy casualties on both sides. In the evening, Japanese 11th Regiment lands from small craft in the Bernam River, 35 miles Southwest of Kampar. They intend to move North cross-country to Telok Anson (now called Teluk Intan) and then cut inland to the main road behind the British positions. Churchill chastises First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound “This command of the western shores of Malaya by the Japanese without the possession of a single ship of war must be reckoned as one of the most astonishing British lapses in naval history”.

Luzon, Philippines. US/Filipino South Luzon Force retreats past Manila and joins the Northern group holding the approaches to Bataan. In the evening, a Japanese courier delivers a message to Mayor of Manila that Japanese forces will enter the city tomorrow.

At the Arcadia Conference in Washington, DC, Churchill and Roosevelt sign the “Declaration by United Nations”. Ultimately, 26 nations (USA, UK, USSR, China, British Commonwealth [Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa], 9 US allies in Central America/Caribbean and 8 Allied governments-in-exile) will sign the Declaration which is Roosevelt’s first step towards forming an international peacekeeping organisation after the war (that will become the United Nations).

Day 853 December 31, 1941

2011-12-30T17:51:00.000-08:00

As the year ends, Germany and allies Italy, Vichy France and the Balkan states control Europe from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean and from the English Channel to deep in USSR (a line from Leningrad in the North to the Sea of Azov in the South).

Siege of Leningrad Day 115. 52,000 civilians died in December from starvation and cold.

On the West side of Malaya - Battle of Kampar. Japanese attack 4000 foot high Gunong Brijang Melaka on the East of the road. They are stopped by fire from 4.5 inch howitzers of the 155th Field Regiment (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) brought down by artillery spotters on the mountain. Appreciating the formidable defenses at Kampar, Japanese also take to the water off the West coast of Malaya to make landings further South (using 40 motor launches hauled overland from Songkhla, Thailand, as well as 20 boats left behind by the British at Penang). On the East coast of Malaya, Indian 9th Division at Kuantan withdraws South of Kuantan River to keep the vital airfield out of Japanese hands. Japanese are held trying to cross the River but then switch focus to the coast and meet less resistance advancing down the beach.

56 Japanese troop transports leave Formosa (now Taiwan), escorted by 3 cruisers and 16 destroyers, for landings in Malaya.

Civilians start evacuating Singapore to Australia on British troopship Orion and and to Capetown, South Africa, on Dutch passenger liner Marnix Van Sint Aldegonde (escorted by British destroyers HMS Thanet and HMS Tenedos).

Luzon, Philippines. Japanese Lingayen Force takes Sibul Springs at the East end of D5 line and reach Baliuag, 20 miles North of Manila, where they are held by US and Filipino forces withdrawing to Bataan. Citizens in Manila destroy alcohol, fearing the drunken Japanese rampage that occurred in Hong Kong.

At the Arcadia Conference, Churchill and Roosevelt agree on 'Germany First' strategy and form a Combined US/UK Chiefs of Staff.

Japanese submarines shell the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Maui.

Day 852 December 30, 1941

2011-12-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

On the West side of Malaya - Battle of Kampar. 8000 Japanese troops (9th Brigade, 5th Division under General Kawamura) approach Kampar defenses held by 1600 British and Indian troops (11th Indian Division under General Archibald Paris). Japanese begin probing attacks but cannot use their tanks on the jungle-covered mountains either side of the road or in the swamps West of Kampar. On the East coast, Indian 9th Division at Kuantan is distracted by warnings of an amphibious landing (which never comes) and Japanese troops coming overland from Kota Bharu overrun their defenses North of Kuantan River.

Luzon, Philippines. Japanese Lingayen Force captures Tarlac City, causing US and Filipino troops to retreat another 17 miles South to D5 line (Bamban to Sibul Springs, last defensive line North of Manila). Japanese 16th Division from Lamon Bay has now rounded the bottom of the massive lake Laguna De Bay and approaches Manila from the South.

Borneo. With Singkawang II airfield out of commission, 3 RAF Bristol Blenheims from Singapore drop containers with 900 pounds of food and ammunition for the British, Indian and Dutch defenders.

Eastern Front. Soviet troops capture Kaluga, 60 miles Northwest of Tula, precipitating a withdrawal by parts of German 4th Army.

Libya. Afrika Korps routs British 22nd Armored Brigade in the desert near El Haseiat. British lose 65 tanks (out of 100) against a force of only 30 German tanks.

Overnight, Japanese submarine I-1 surfaces and shells Hilo Bay, Big Island, Hawaii.

Day 851 December 29, 1941

2011-12-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

Eastern Front. From Leningrad in the North to Rostov in the South, German troops are assailed by brutal cold, lack of supplies and Red Army attacks. The only German offensive is in the Crimea where Manstein’s 11th Army continues to assault Sevastopol, using siege mortars and howitzers. At 3.50 AM, Soviet 51st Army begin landing 40,500 troops, 236 artillery pieces and 43 tanks at Feodosiya (Western end of Kerch peninsula, on the South coast); this threatens to trap German 46th Infantry Division defending against the earlier landings further East on Kerch peninsula, forcing Manstein to relieve pressure on Sevastopol. General Hans Graf von Sponeck immediately begins withdrawing 46th Infantry Division, abandoning most heavy equipment including artillery. In January 1942, Sponeck will be arrested and imprisoned for 6 years as an example for disobeying Hitler's ‘no retreat’ order.

Luzon, Philippines. Japanese Lingayen Force capture Cabanatuan City at the East end of D4 line and push on South towards Manila, but US and Filipino troops hold Tarlac City on the West of D4. 40 Japanese bombers drop 200 and 500 pound bombs on Corregidor Island, damaging much of the military preparations.

Borneo. British and Indian troops and civilians from Kuching reach Singkawang II airfield, garrisoned by 750 Dutch troops, on the West coast. British and Indian troops are placed under Dutch command to defend the airfield. All civilians are sent by road 70 miles further South to Pontianak, where they are evacuated by ship on the January 25, 1942.

Japanese bombers again attack Rangoon, Burma, destroying the railway station and wharves. Most inhabitants have already left the city.

Day 850 December 28, 1941

2011-12-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Libya. British 22nd Armored Brigade and Afrika Korps skirmish in the desert near El Haseiat. British suffer greater losses although they outnumber Afrika Korps in tanks.

Overnight off Mersa Matruh, Egypt, U-75 attacks convoy ME-8, from Tobruk to Alexandria, sinking British SS Volo (24 killed, 14 survivors picked up by landing craft LCT-11 and landed at Alexandria). British destroyer HMS Kipling counterattacks and sinks U-75 with depth charges (14 dead, 30 survivors).

Luzon, Philippines. US and Filipino troops retreat from Japanese Lingayen Force another 10-20 miles to D4 line (Tarlac City to Cabanatuan City, 4th of 5 defensive lines North of Manila) as the main withdrawal to Bataan continues. Japanese again bomb Manila, sinking 4 freighters in Manila Bay. To the South, Japanese 16th Infantry Division captures Luisiana 15 miles inland from Lamon Bay.

Malaya. 22nd Indiahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn Brigade is deployed at Kuantan on the East coast to protect the aerodrome (which will help Japanese operations in Southern Malaya) and to prevent threatened landings from the sea.

US destroyer USS Peary is evacuating from Philippines to Australia. At 2.20 PM, 4 Japanese aircraft drop 500-pound bombs and torpedoes but cause no damage. At 6 PM off Menado, Dutch East Indies island of Celebes, 3 RAAF Hudsons mistake USS Peary for a Japanese ship and bomb her. USS Peary is again damaged by near misses (1 killed and 2 wounded by bomb splinters).

Operation Drumbeat. With Germany now at war with USA, there are no restrictions on U-boats sinking US merchant shipping. U-66, U-109, U-123, U-125 and U-130 are in mid-Atlantic en route to raid shipping on the East coast of America.

Day 849 December 27, 1941

2011-12-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

Operation Anklet, Lofoten Islands, Northwest Norway. A German seaplane bombs cruiser HMS Arethusa which is damaged by near-misses requiring 14 weeks of repair. Without air support, Admiral Hamilton decides to re-embark the Commandos (no casualties during the raid) and return to Scapa Flow. They return with 200 Norwegian volunteers for the Free Norwegian Forces, in addition to 29 German POWs.

Operation Archery. At dawn, British cruiser HMS Kenya and 4 destroyers shell German defenses on Vaagso Island, Southern Norway. 560 British Commandos and 12 Norwegian troops land, despite stiff resistance from 150 German mountain troops on leave from USSR. They complete their mission to destroy fish-oil stores and production facilities (which the Germans use to manufacture high explosives) and, in addition, capture a complete German Naval Code plus 98 German POWs & Norwegian Quisling collaborators. British have 21 killed & 57 wounded and Norwegians 1 killed, while Germans lose 120 killed. Several Norwegians volunteers return with the Commandos to serve in the Free Norwegian Forces. Raids such as Archery and Anklet are of little military value but have significant psychological effect, convincing Hitler of an Allied attack through Norway; he will station up to 15 divisions (300,000 troops) there throughout the war.

Crimea. German 46th Infantry Division (11th Army) attempts to eliminate Soviet beachheads on the Kerch peninsula but Soviet 51st Army continues to bring reinforcements and supplies ashore.

Libya. British 22nd Armored Brigade attempts to outflank Rommel at Agedabia by crossing the desert to El Haseiat 30 miles inland, but they are attacked in their flank en route by Afrika Korps tanks.

Borneo. In the morning, British and Indian troops withdrawing from Kuching cross the border into Dutch Borneo. Japanese troops occupy tiny Tambelan Islands, between Borneo and Singapore, part of the Dutch East Indies (this is the first Dutch territory occupied by the Japanese).

Philippines. US and Filipino forces withdraw to D3 line (Santa Ignacia/Gerona/Guimba/San Jose) 30 miles South of the Japanese landings at Lingayen Gulf. This is the third of 5 defensive lines on the approach to Manila. Japanese continue bombing Manila and shipping in Manila Bay. 6 US Catalina flying boats bomb Japanese warships at the island of Jolo (4 Catalinas shot down by Japanese fighters).

Hong Kong. Japanese General Sakai, commander of Hong Kong Operation, parades 38th Infantry Division in triumph through Victoria, Hong Kong.

Malaya. While the main Japanese force approaches Kampar along the road from Ipoh on the West side of the peninsula, Japanese troops advance from Kota Bharu down the East coast toward Kuantan.

Day 848 December 26, 1941

2011-12-26T08:34:00.000-08:00

Operation Anklet. 22 warships from Britain, Norway and Poland raid the Lofoten Islands (Northwest Norway, 100 miles inside the Arctic Circle). At 6 AM, 223 British Commandos and 77 Norwegian troops land on the island of Moskenesøya from British landing ship HMS Prins Albert (escorted by Norwegian corvettes HNoMS Andenes and Eglantine), take several German & Norwegian Quisling prisoners and destroy a radio transmitter at Glåpen. British destroyer HMS Bedouin shells a radio transmitter at Flakstadøya. In Vestfjord, British cruiser HMS Arethusa and destroyers HMS Somali, Ashanti, and Eskimo capture 2 Norwegian coastal steamers and sink a German patrol boat (after capturing the Enigma machine and code settings).

Libya. After all his infantry have arrived along the coast road, Rommel withdraws his armored rearguard to Agedabia (where his advance towards Egypt started in April). British 22nd Armored Brigade follows close behind, recently re-equipped with new tanks. At 2.29 PM 20 miles East of Tobruk, Libya, 1 torpedo from U-559 stops Polish SS Warszawa carrying Allied troops to Tobruk from Alexandria, Egypt (4 crew and 19 passengers killed). 445 survivors taken off by British corvette HMS Peony which attempts to tow the damaged ship. At 7.30 PM, U-559 sinks SS Warszawa with a coup de grâce.

British submarine H31 disappears on patrol in the Bay of Biscay, cause unknown (all 22 hands lost).

Moscow Counteroffensive. Northwest of Moscow, Konev’s Kalanin Front launches an attack on German 9th Army. Konev’s goals are to unhinge North end of the German defensive line along the Ruza & Lama rivers and also to drive a wedge between Army Group North & Army Group Center.

Crimea. While German 11th Army continues to assault Sevastopol, Soviet 44th Army lands 13,000 troops on the North and East coasts of the Kerch peninsula from ships of the Azov Naval Flotilla and the Kerch Naval Base.

Malaya. Japanese advance on Ipoh along the main road from the Northwest and down a broad valley from the North, where British and Indian troops fight a delaying action at Chemor. Due to the flanking risk, British decide to withdraw from Ipoh to better positions at Kampar, 25 miles South, with mountains to the East and swamps to the West.

Borneo. Dutch Army Glenn Martin B-10 bombers from Samarinda, Dutch Borneo, sink Japanese minesweeper W6 and collier Unyo Maru off Kuching.

Philippines. MacArthur declares Manila an open city to spare the populace. Japanese bombing continues nonetheless, sinking ships in Manila Bay and damaging US destroyer USS Peary.

Day 847 December 25, 1941

2011-12-24T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong. Allied commanders realize their troops are isolated, without food and water. At 3.15 PM, British Governor of Hong Kong Sir Mark Young and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong General Maltby agree to surrender. Sir Mark surrenders at the Japanese headquarters in the Peninsula Hong Kong hotel. River gunboat HMS Robin is scuttled to prevent capture. Allied casualties are 2113 killed, 2300 wounded and 12,000 taken prisoner, while Japanese lost 1,996 killed and 6,000 wounded.

Borneo. At 11.45 AM 70 miles Northwest of Kuching, Japanese submarine I 66 torpedoes Dutch submarine K-XVI (all 36 hands lost). At 4.40 PM, Japanese troops capture British airfield at Kuching, where they can bomb Singapore across the South China Sea.

Philippines. On Luzon, US troops retreat, delaying the Japanese advance. Marines demolish dock facilities, fuel and ammunition at Cavite Navy Yard. Submarine Sealion, damaged by bombing on December 10, is scuttled to prevent capture. Japanese land on the tiny Southern island of Jolo, with little resistance from the garrison of 300 Filipino constabulary.

Malaya. Allies withdraw to the town of Ipoh, 10 miles South along the main road from the previous positions on the Perak River.

Day 846 December 24, 1941

2011-12-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

At 1.35 AM 50 miles Northeast of Mersa Matruh, Egypt, U-568 sinks British corvette HMS Salvia (all 106 hand lost, plus an unknown number of survivors rescued a few hours earlier from British passenger ship SS Shuntien transporting German and Italian POWs from Tobruk to Alexandria).

Borneo. Japanese troops sail 250 miles South from Miri (departed 2 days ago) to capture the British airfield at the district capital Kuching. 30 miles offshore, Dutch submarine HNMS K-XVI sinks Japanese destroyer Sagiri with 2 torpedoes (121 killed, 120 survivors rescued by destroyer Shirakumo and a minesweeper). At 11 AM, 20 Japanese landing craft run up the Santubong River and land at Kuching. Indian defenders (15th Punjab Regiment) sink 7 barges wihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifth mortar and shellfire but are quickly overcome. At 4 PM, Japanese capture the town but they do not reach the airfield.

Philippines. Japanese reinforce their bridgehead at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, with another 10,000 troops. MacArthur realizes he is hopelessly outnumbered and cannot defend Manila or prevent the capture of Luzon. He orders a withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula, with 5 defensive lines to delay the Japanese advance. Overnight, MacArthur and President of the Philippine Commonwealth Manuel Quezon, evacuate to the island of Corregidor, just South of Bataan.

Hong Kong. Japanese overcome Allied defenses on "The Ridge" by frontal assault and reach British HQ, Stanley Fort, deep on the Stanley peninsula. Japanese troops bayonet 56 wounded men plus doctors and nurses at St. Stephen's College Emergency Hospital and also rape many nurses. British destroyer HMS Thracian is damaged by Japanese aircraft and forced to beach.

Japanese submarines attack shipping off the Californian coast. I-17 shells freighter Absaroka 26 miles off San Pedro, while I-23 shells steamship Dorothy Philips off Monterey Bay.

Day 845 December 23, 1941

2011-12-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

Invasion of Wake Islands. After their defeat on December 11, Japanese return with 1500 SNLF Marines, aircraft carriers Soryu and Hiryu, 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers and 2 patrol boats. The warships and carrier aircraft bombard the islands. Landings begin at 2.35 AM. Wake Island itself is overwhelmed by troops landing from barges and the 2 patrol boats which are run aground; American garrison surrenders at 8 AM. Marine Corps pilot Captain Henry Elrod, who sunk destroyer Kisaragi on December 11, dies fighting on the beach and is awarded the Medal Of Honor for his defense of Wake. On nearby Wilkes Island, 100 Japanese SNLF Marines are wiped ouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift by a determined counterattack by the 70 American Marines (US casualties, 11 killed, 5 wounded) - to no avail with the surrender of the main island.

Philippines. Japanese 48th Division from Lingayen Gulf advance 10 miles South towards Manila. Another 7,000 troops (16th Division) land at Lamon Bay, only 50 miles Southeast of Manila. These 2 forces form a pincer closing on the capital, where MacArthur has held most of his better troops. The 9 US B-17 bombers from Australia refuel and rearm on Mindanao then attack Japanese ships in Davao Gulf and Lingayen Gulf, damaging Japanese destroyer Kuroshio.

Hong Kong. Allied troops withdraw to the last fortified line "The Ridge", a large hill at the neck of the Stanley Peninsula. The island is lost but they intend to make stand in the vain hope of assistance from Chinese troops on the mainland.

Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 shell US-held Palmyra Island, 1000 miles Southwest of Hawaii.

Siege of Leningrad Day 107. Trucks bring 786 tons of food across Lake Ladoga. Although many inhabitants still face death from inadequate rations and cold, the city is saved from starvation. The Road of Life can support railway freight cars which are towed out carrying machinery; 3677 railway cars haul out much of Leningrad’s industrial equipment between December 1941 and April 1942.

At 7.02 PM 29 miles East of Tobruk, U-559 sinks British passenger ship SS Shuntien carrying 1100 German and Italian POWs from Tobruk to Alexandria, plus 70 crew and 18 gunners (6 crew and 700 POWs killed). 64 crew and 400 POWS rescued by British corvette HMS Salvia and destroyer HMS Heythrop. In the same area, 40 miles North of Sollum, Egypt, British destroyers HMS Hasty and HMS Hotspur sink U-79 with depth charges (all 44 crew survive).

Late morning, 54 Japanese bombers and 24 fighters, flying from Thailand, bomb Rangoon, Burma (2000 killed and wounded).

Day 844 December 22, 1941

2011-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Philippines. At 2 AM, Japanese invasion of the island of Luzon begins in earnest. 43,000 troops (48th Division) and 90 tanks land in the Lingayen Gulf, 110 miles North of Manila. US submarine S38 enters the shallow shoals of Lingayen Gulf and misses 4 transport ships and 2 destroyers with 4 torpedoes at 7.10 AM. S38 then sinks Japanese freighter Hayo Maru at 7.58. The American defenses (North Luzon Force, composed mainly of poorly-trained and equipped Pilipino troops) are spread too thinly to put up more than token resistance. In addition to marching on Manila, Japanese troops will head North to link up with earlier landings at Aparri and Vigan. After flying 1350 miles from Darwin, Australia, 9 US B-17s bombers attack Japanese ships in Davao Gulf, Mindanao, and then land at Del Monte on Mindanao.

860 miles West of Hawaii, Japanese submarine I-68 shells US Navy airfield and seaplane base at US-held Johnston Island. 750 miles South of Hawaii, Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 shell Naval Air Station on Palmyra Atoll.

Wake Island. 33 Japanese dive bombers and 6 fighters from aircraft carriers Hiryu and Soryu destroy the last American aircraft as well as bombing gun emplacements.

The first US Army troops to arrive in Australia, Task Force South Pacific lands at Brisbane escorted by cruiser Pensacola.

Siege of Leningrad Day 106. The ice on Lake Ladoga is 1 meter thick, enough to support 45-ton KV tanks which are moved along the Road of Life to aid in the defense of the city. Trucks bring in 687 tons of food, for the first time exceeding Leningrad’s daily consumption of 600 tons.

Churchill arrives in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA, aboard battleship HMS Duke Of York, for the First Washington Conference (Arcadia Conference was the code name).

Libya. Allied motorised infantry reach Beda Fomm but run into 30 new Panzers placed to prevent them cutting off the German/Italian infantry retreat along the coast. Axis forces begin evacuating Benghazi, sending small convoys by sea to Tripoli. A newly-laid Italian minefield off Misrata sinks German steamer Spezia and Italian steamer Umbra Cadamosto.

Day 843 December 21, 1941

2011-12-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Battle of convoy HG-76. At 7.23 PM 500 miles West of Cape Finisterre, Portugal, U-567 sinks Norwegian SS Annavore (34 dead, 4 survivors). A merchant ship fires a "snowflake" flare, silhouetting British escort carrier HMS Audacity which is hit at 9.37 PM by 3 torpedoes from U-751, igniting aviation fuel and destroying the ship in a massive explosion (73 killed, 407 survivors picked up by corvettes HMS Convolvulus, Marigold and Pentstemon). At 10.30 PM, U-567 approaches again but is sunk by sloop HMS Deptford and corvette HMS Samphire with depth charges (all 47 hands lost).

A British Swordfish aircraft of 812 Squadron sinks U-451 with depth charges off the coast of Morocco (44 dead, 1 survivor).

Malaya. After their success yesterday bypassing Scottish road blocks on the Grik Road by floating on rafts down the nearby Perak River, Japanese repeat the exercise on a grander scale. They launch rafts in Chenderoh Lake, floating 23 miles downstream to British defenses at Kuala Kangsar. British shoot up the rafts but many Japanese troops get ashore. Overnight, British begin withdrawing from their prepared Perak River positions. Dutch submarine HNMS XVII sinks on a Japanese mine 18 miles North of Tioman Island (all 36 crew lost).

Thailand and Japan formally sign an alliance, although they have collaborated since December 7.

Wake Island is heavily bombed by 29 Japanese Navy bombers from aircraft carriers Soryu and Hiryu, at 8.50 AM, and then again by 33 land-based bombers from Roi Island at 12.20 PM. The relief force is still 627 miles away moving at only 12 knots, the speed of the slowest oiler.

Hong Kong. Stalemate continues at Wong Nei Chong Gap. There is panic throughout the Island, as British civilians & Allied troops retreat to the Stanley Peninsula. Japanese bombers sink British river gunboat HMS Cicala (1 killed, 1 wounded).

Libya. While Indian 4th Division is grounded on the coast road at Derna for lack of fuel, Allied motorised infantry chase retreating German and Italian armor across the desert tracks South of Green Mountain towards Beda Fomm.

Eastern Front. Soviet 31st Cavalry Division attacks Kaluga, 60 miles Northwest of Tula, but they are held by German 137th Infantry Division. Both sides are ordered to hold the town at all costs, beginning a week of hand-to-hand fighting.

Day 842 December 20, 1941

2011-12-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

Malaya. The main Japanese advance along the West Coast road nears the Allied defensive positions behind the River Perak. A separate Japanese infantry thrust South from Thailand along the Grik Road, a valley parallel to the West Coast, threatens to outflank these defenses. This attack is held by a battalion of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders at Lenggong but Japanese troops take to rafts and float down the River Perak to Kota Tampan and attack the Scots from the rear.

Hong Kong. 600 British troops fail to dislodge the Japanese from Wong Nei Chong Gap and withdraw with heavy casualties. Attempting to disrupt further Japanese landings, British motor torpedo boats MTB.12 & MTB.26 are sunk and MTB.7, MTB.11 & MTB.18 are damaged.

Wake Island. At 3.30 PM, US Navy Catalina flying boat brings news that a relief convoy is on the way (due December 24) but it will never arrive.

Eastern Front. Having pushed back the Panzer Armies to the North and South of Moscow, Zhukov turns his attention to the infantry in the middle (von Kluge’s 4th Army dug in behind the Nara River Southwest of Moscow). Soviet 5th, 33rd, 43rd & 49th Armies make a series of futile frontal assaults. Further South, a mobile group (31st Cavalry, 112th Tank and 154th Rifle Divisions) attacks West from Tula into a gap between Kluge’s stationary 4th Army and Guderian’s retreating 2nd Panzer Army, aiming for the German’s supply base at the rail and road junction of Kaluga. In Germany, Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels broadcasts an appeal for warm winter clothing for the German troops.

Day 841 December 19, 1941

2011-12-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

Royal Navy has a bad day in the Mediterranean. Overnight, 3 manned torpedoes (maiali) from Italian submarine Sciré enter the naval base at Alexandria, Egypt. They plant limpet mines which explode at 6AM, sinking battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth (9 killed) in shallow water (out of service for 1 year). Destroyer HMS Jervis is also badly damaged by the explosion. All 6 Italian torpedo-riders are captured.

At 1 AM, British cruisers HMS Neptune, Aurora & Penelope and destroyers HMS Kandahar, Lance, Lively and Havock (seeking an Italian convoy bound for Tripoli) run into a new minefield 30 miles Northeast of Tripoli. HMS Aurora & Penelope are damaged immediately. Between 1 and 4 AM, HMS Neptune hits 4 mines and sinks (766 killed, 1 survivor Leading Seaman Norman Walton found by an Italian torpedo boat on December 24). HMS Kandahar hits a mine attempting to assist (79 killed, 104 taken off) and will be scuttled next day.

Battle of convoy HG-76. After sinking 2 U-boats in the last 2 days, British destroyer HMS Stanley’s luck runs out when she is sunk at 4.15 AM by U-574 with 3 torpedoes, 435 miles West of Lisbon, Portugal (136 dead). British sloop HMS Stork counterattacks with depth charges, sinking U-574 by ramming 12 minutes later (28 dead, 16 survivors taken prisoner). HMS Stork and corvette HMS Samphire pick up 25 survivors from HMS Stanley. At 6.15 AM, U-108 damages British SS Ruckinge (3 dead, 39 survivors) which is shelled and sunk by HMS Samphire.

Libya. Indian 4th Division, chasing the retreating German and Italian infantry along the coast road to Benghazi, captures Derna too late as most Axis troops have already passed through. Rommel gets some good news, as a shipment of 30 tanks arrives at Benghazi to reinforce Afrika Korps.

Hong Kong. Japanese quickly take control of the Northeast of Hong Kong Island and Allied troops begin retreating to Stanley Peninsula in the Southeast corner. Japanese reach Wong Nai Chung Gap, a narrow pass in the hills in the middle of the Island, where they are stopped by Canadian and Hong Kong troops (600 Japanese casualties). WWI veteran Sergeant Major John Osborn (Winnipeg Grenadiers) will be awarded Canada’s first VC of WWII for tossing back several Japanese grenades before falling on one to save 6 of his comrades. 7 Royal Navy ships (river gunboat HMS Tern, minelayer HMS Redstart, boom vessels HMS Watergate, Barlight & Aldgate, tugs HMS Poet Chaucer & Alliance) and several merchant ships are scuttled in the harbor to prevent capture.

Philippines. Japanese troops continue pushing out of their beachheads on the main island, Luzon. On the Southern island of Mindanao, Japanese come ashore near Davao City at 4 AM, capturing the city and airfield by 3 PM.

Malaya. 25 miles east of Kota Bharu, Dutch submarine HNMS O.20 is depth charged by Japanese destroyers Ayanami and Yugiri from 11 AM and 5.30 PM. Damaged, O.20 surfaces after dark and is shelled by destroyer Uranami. In the ensuing panic, O.20 is scuttled by diving suddenly and Uranami drops more depth charges (7 killed, 32 taken prisoner by Uranami).

Day 840 December 18, 1941

2011-12-17T16:18:00.001-08:00

Battle of convoy HG-76. At 9.45 AM 560 miles West of Gibraltar, British destroyers HMS Stanley and HMS Blankney bring U-434 to the surface with depth charges. U-434 crew places scuttling charges and abandons ship (42 survivors taken prisoner by HMS Blankney, 2 killed in Blankney‘s propellers during maneuvering). U-434 explodes and sinks before HMS Blankney can get a boarding party aboard.

Invasion of Hong Kong Island. Japanese bombardment continues, setting fire to an oil refinery which casts a pall of dense smoke over the North shore. Fog and rain also reduce visibility. At 10 PM, Japanese 3500 soldiers cross the Lye Mun Channel and establish a bridgehead at North Point, followed by another 4000 troops at midnight. In the confusion, senior Allied officers at HQ are unaware that the invasion has begun. Japanese massacre 20 Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps anti-aircraft gunners who have surrendered at Sai Wan Hill and they shoot or behead 26 male medical staff & 2 wounded soldiers at the Salesian Mission Advanced Dressing Station (female staff are forced to watch and then set free).

Philippines. Japanese troops capture the town of Naga, 50 miles North up the main road from their landing site at Legaspi on the Bicol Peninsula, Southeast Luzon. They repair roads and bridges blown yesterday by retreating US forces.

Operation Crusader. Rommel has so few tanks operational (Afrika Korps has 8, Italian Ariete Division has 30) that he decides to retreat all the way to strong defensive position at Mersa Brega, whence he launched his attack in April. The infantry will follow the coastal road while the tanks will cut across the desert South of the Green Mountain (Jebel Achdar). British 4th Armored Brigade is slow to get going from Bir Halegh el Eleba, (wary of previous maulings by Rommel's anti-tank guns when they chased the Afrika Korps) and reaches Mechili, 25 miles West, too late to catch the retreating tanks. Operation Crusader has achieved the objectives of pushing Rommel back out of Eastern Libya and relieving the siege of Tobruk but, in doing so, the British have used up all their reserves of tanks. Rommel's Afrika Korps has survived, barely, and will soon receive fresh supplies of tanks.

Red Army fails to keep contact with the retreating German forces Northwest to West of Moscow, allowing 3rd Panzer Army to fall back over the Lama River while 4th Panzer Army gets behind the Ruza River. Although the rivers are frozen, Soviet troops will fail to cross and allow the Germans to dig in and establishes defensive positions.

Day 839 December 17, 1941

2011-12-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

At 1 AM, 650 Dutch and Australian troops invade Portuguese East Timor to prevent Japanese occupation as forward base for attacking Australia. They sail 200 miles from Koepang, Dutch West Timor, and land unopposed at Dili.

Hong Kong. At 11.30 AM, the shelling stops and a Japanese delegation cross the harbor, under a white flag, and demand the surrender of Allied Forces in Hong Kong. At 2.30 PM, Sir Mark Young, Governor of Hong Kong, replies in a letter that he "declines absolutely to enter into negotiations for the surrender of Hong Kong and he takes this opportunity of saying he is not prepared to receive any further communications on this subject". The bombardment recommences.

Off Miri, Borneo, Dutch bombers sink Japanese destroyer Shinonome (all 219 hands lost).

Malaya. British and Indian troops retreat 65 miles from Penang to defensive positions where the main road crosses the River Perak. Beyond this line, mountains give way to broad coastal plains with numerous roads.

Philippines. Anticipating a Japanese invasion of Luzon, about 1200 civilians flee Manila for Mindanao aboard American steamer SS Corregidor (formerly a British seaplane carrier HMS Engadine, which took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916). SS Corregidor sinks on a mine laid by Japanese submarine I.124 in Manila Bay. 4 American PT boats save 275 survivors.

At 8.20 PM 25 miles Southwest of Wake Island, Japanese submarines RO-62 and RO-66 simultaneously surface to charge their batteries. In a heavy squall, RO-62 rams and sinks RO-66 (63 killed, 3 lookouts thrown overboard by the collision picked up by RO-62)

U-67, U-107, U-108, U-131 & U-434 stalk a convoy (HG-76) returning from Gibraltar to Britain. At 9.25 AM 230 miles Northeast of Madeira, a Martlet aircraft from escort carrier HMS Audacity spots U-131 shadowing HG-76. British destroyers HMS Stanley, HMS Exmoor and HMS Blankney, corvette HMS Pentstemon and sloop HMS Stork, attack with depth charges. At 12.47, U-131 is brought to the surface and shoots down the Martlet (first Allied aircraft downed by U-boat anti-aircraft fire) but is then hit by shellfire from the British ships and finally scuttled at 1.30 PM (all 47 hands taken prisoner).

In the evening, British Royal Navy and Italian Regia Marina fight an inconclusive battle in the Gulf of Sirte, 185 miles Northwest of Benghazi, Libya. Both are escorting freighters (Italians to Libya; British to Malta), so neither side wants a major engagement. Italian battleships Littorio, Andrea Doria and Giulio Cesare fire inaccurately from 32 km, beyond the range of the British cruisers. British destroyer HMS Kipling (1 killed) and Australian destroyer HMAS Nizam are damaged by near misses.

Crimea, Black Sea. German General Manstein finally launches his attack on Sevastopol, but his 4 infantry divisions only muster 15,551 troops. Manstein leaves only 46th Infantry Division and 2 Romanian brigades to protect 150 miles of coastline from Yalta to Kerch.

Hitler begins to purge the Generals he feels have failed him in Russia. After the failure of Operation Typhoon to capture Moscow, Hitler relieves von Bock from command of Army Group Center, officially citing “health problems”.

Day 838 December 16, 1941

2011-12-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

Invasion of Burma begins. Japanese infantry (who infiltrated across the border from Thailand on December 12) capture Victoria Point on the Southern tip of Burma, from a platoon of the Burma Frontier Force.

Invasion of Borneo begins. 10 Japanese troop transports left Cam Ranh Bay, French Indo-China, 2 days ago, escorted by 3 cruisers and 6 destroyers. At 5 AM, Japanese troops come ashore at British protectorates on the North shore of Borneo meeting minimal resistance. They quickly capture oilfields at Miri & Seria and the refinery at Lutong, beginning to execute the major Japanese war aim of securing oil supplies.

Malaya. British and Europeans evacuate Penang Island for the safety of Singapore, leaving behind the local inhabitants. Demolition parties destroy artillery and anti-aircraft guns, ammunition and supplies but the radio station is left intact and will be used for Japanese propaganda. Many ships in the harbor are not scuttled and will be used by the Japanese to outflank British defenses on the West coast by sea.

Operation Crusader. British 4th Armored Brigade at Bir Halegh el Eleba misses their opportunity to attack Afrika Korps from behind. Most of the Brigade heads 20 miles South to refuel while a small detachment goes North, only serving to alert the Germans. By the afternoon, Afrika Korps begins to withdraw West along the coast, covered by an anti-tank screen which tears up the main British armor when it finally arrives. Rommel is so desperate for supplies that Italians send 4 battleships, 5 cruisers 20 destroyers and a torpedo boat to escort a convoy of 4 freighters from Taranto, Italy.

At 9.44 PM 18 miles West of Crete, Italian torpedo boat Orione rams and sinks U-557, mistaking it for a British submarine (all 43 hands lost). Orione is damaged and returns to Suda Bay, Crete.

In the quadrant North to West of Moscow, Red Army has pushed 3 German Armies back 50 miles after 12 days of fighting. Germans are in full retreat, demoralized and facing temperatures as low as −42°F (also −42°C). Soviet forces recapture Kalinin from German 9th Army.

Day 837 December 15, 1941

2011-12-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong. At 3 AM, Japanese reconnaissance party of 300 cross the Lye Mun Channel from Kowloon but they are slaughtered by the Allied defenders as they come ashore on Hong Kong Island. Japanese begin artillery and aerial bombardment of the North shore of Hong Kong lasting 3 days, to soften up the defenses.

Malaya. Japanese attack again at dawn, with tanks, and overrun British and Indian defenses at Gurun. Allied troops retreat to safety across the Muda River, leaving the main road to Penang open to the Japanese. RAF abandon Butterworth airfield in Penang, evacuating the remaining aircraft to Singapore.

At 2.30 AM, Dutch submarine HNMS O16 sinks on a Japanese mine 22 miles Northeast of Tioman Island, Malaya (41 killed, 1 survivor Boatswain Cornelis de Wolf swims ashore 44 miles South on Aur Island after 35 hours in the water).

Japanese submarine I-1 shells Kahului, Maui, Hawaii. 860 miles West of Hawaii, I-22 shells US Navy airfield and seaplane base at US-held Johnston Island, destroying a 1,200-gallon oil tank.

Operation Crusader. Rommel uses his remaining tanks to plug the hole at Point 204, the inland end of the Gazala line (1000 Allied troops killed, only 71 escape with a battery of field artillery). At 3 PM, 4th Armored Brigade arrives at Bir Halegh el Eleba, 15 miles West of Point 204, but they lay up for the night instead of pushing on to encircle Afrika Korps at Gazala.

U-127, trying to enter the Mediterranean, is sunk by depth charges from the Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor 200 miles West of Gibraltar (all 51 hands lost).

North of Moscow, Soviet tanks cut the road West of Klin isolating 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th Panzer and 14th Motorised Infantry Divisions (3rd Panzer Army). German troops take the only route out, cross-country to the Southwest, to avoid encirclement but leave most of their equipment. Klin is abandoned at 9.30 PM.

Day 836 December 14, 1941

2011-12-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto, which left Naples yesterday to engage British ships after Battle of Cape Bon, is promptly torpedoed by British submarine HMS Urge in the Strait of Messina, Sicily. Vittorio Veneto is seriously damaged by a torpedo hit to the magazine (out of service for several months) but steams to Taranto escorted by 4 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats.

After searching for Italian supply convoys, British cruiser HMS Galatea is returning to base at Alexandria, Egypt. After entering a mine-swept channel, the destroyer screen is sent forward to Alexandria but HMS Galatea is attacked by Italian submarine Dagabur at 7.55 PM and then again by U-557 just before midnight, causing HMS Galatea to sink within 3 minutes 35 miles West of Alexandria (470 killed, 154 survivors picked up by destroyers HMS Griffin and HMS Hotspur).

Malaya. British and Indian troops regroup at the best defensive line in Northern Malaya at Gurun, a 4 mile gap on the coastal plain between Kedah peak (4000 ft) and Malayan mountain foothills. At 3 PM, Japanese make a frontal attack along the main road with tanks and artillery, overrunning forward defenses and brigade HQ, but are prevented from reaching the town of Gurun by 2 companies of British East Surrey Regiment.

Thailand. Prime Minister Plaek Pibunsongkhram signs a secret agreement with Japan, allowing Japanese troops to operate from Thailand and committing Thai support for the planned invasion of Burma.

Hong Kong. 50,000 Japanese troops occupy Kowloon and face 12,000 Allied defenders on Hong Kong Island across Victoria Harbor, less than a half mile wide at the narrowest point. British refuse Japanese demands for surrender.

Philippines. 3 B-17s from US Del Monte airfield, Mindanao, bomb the Japanese beachhead at Legaspi, Luzon. They are attacked by 12 Zero fighters, presumably from a Japanese aircraft carrier. Lieutenant Hewitt T. Wheless wins the Distinguished Service Cross for returning with over 1,000 bullets holes in his B-17. The remaining B-17s in the Philippines will be sent to Australia next day.

Operation Crusader. British 4th Armored Brigade begins a long trek South to the desert crossroads at Bir Halegh el Eleba, 30 miles West of Gazala, to outflank Afrika Korps and cut off their lines of retreat along the coast or through the desert.

Day 835 December 13, 1941

2011-12-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just after midnight, Dutch submarine O.16 enters the shallow harbor at Mueang Patani, Thailand, where Japanese are unloading troops and equipment to move into Malaya. O.16 badly damaged 4 Japanese freighters with 6 torpedoes and then escapes, although the ships will be raised and returned to service.

Malaya. At 2 AM, Indian troops blow up the bridge at Jitra and Allied forces begin a headlong retreat 33 miles South to the next defensive line at Gurun. Japanese cross the river at Jitra and, 12 miles South, find the British airfield at Alor Setar abandoned. British have destroyed all the aircraft but Japanese capture bombs and fuel that will be used against the retreating Allies. The commander of 1st battalion /14 Punjab Regiment Major Mohan Singh is taken POW and will, with Japanese encouragement, form First Indian National Army to fight against the British.

Hong Kong. After conducting a fighting retreat, the last Allied troops evacuate Kowloon at 9.30 AM, destroying boats and equipment, and cross to Hong Kong Island.

The 90 mile strait between Cape Bon, Tunisia, and Sicily is the busiest intersection in the Mediterranean. 3 British destroyers HMS Sikh, HMS Maori & HMS Legion and Dutch destroyer HNLMS Isaac Sweers sailing East from Gibraltar to Alexandria encounter 2 Italian cruisers Alberto da Giussano & Alberico da Barbiano plus torpedo boat Cigno sailing South from Palermo carrying fuel and troops to Tripoli for Rommel. At 3:25 AM, British use the well-worn tactic of attacking at night using radar (which the Italian ships lack), sinking both cruisers in 5 minutes (1020 killed, 645 survivors rescued by torpedo boat Cigno or swim to shore).

In the Gulf of Taranto, Italy, British submarine HMS Upright sinks Italian steamers Fabio Filzi & Carlo del Greco, escorted by Italian destroyers Da Recco and Usodimare.

Operation Crusader. Allied troops attack Afrika Korps at Gazala. 5th New Zealand Brigade are held by Germans covering the coast road but 5th Indian Brigade overcomes Italian troops on the inland flank, allowing British tanks to move 15 miles behind the Gazala line where they are halted by 39 German tanks.

British battleship HMS Duke Of York departs the Clyde carrying Winston Churchill to USA, escorted by destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Foresight & HMS Matabele.

Day 834 December 12, 1941

2011-12-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Malaya. Colonel Saeki’s troops (an advance party of Japanese 5th Division) make gradual progress against 11th Indian Division at Jitra. At 7.30 PM, 11th Indian Division receives permission from commander of Indian III Corps, General Lewis “Piggy” Heath, to fall back to positions at Gurun. The overnight withdrawal is confused due to poor communications and many forward units are left behind.

Philippines. 2500 Japanese troops land at Legaspi in the Southeast corner of Luzon (from Japanese-held Palau, 500 miles East). American General Douglas MacArthur, commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, recognizes this as a diversion (along with yesterday’s landings); he retains the bulk of his 31,000 US and Filipino Scout troops near Manilla.

Italian cruisers Alberto da Giussano & Alberico da Barbiano depart Palermo, Sicily, for Tripoli, Libya, carrying 135 troops, 900 tons of food and fuel in large drums on deck (100 tons of gasoline, 250 tons of diesel fuel & 600 tons of fuel oil) for Rommel.

Romanian Zionists charter a passenger ship to ferry Jews to Palestine (via the Black Sea and the Aegean). SS Struma sails from Constanţa carrying 790 Jews but the engine, which had been salvaged from a Danube River wreck, breaks down repeatedly. SS Struma will be towed to Istanbul and remain there for several weeks as the British and Turkish governments argue over the fate of the ship.

Day 833 December 11, 1941

2011-12-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

In one of WWII’s most controversial decisions, Hitler declares war on USA although not obliged by treaties with Japan. USA declares war against Germany and Italy in response, fulfilling Churchill’s goal of bringing America into the European war.

At dawn, 450 Japanese Marines in 2 transport ships (escorted by 3 cruisers, 6 destroyers & 2 patrol boats) attack the tiny US-held atoll of Wake Island, an important staging post to the Philippines (1500 miles East of Guam, 2300 miles West of Hawaii) defended by 447 US Marines and 75 Army & Navy personnel. Waiting until the invasion force is within 2.5 miles, six 5-inch naval guns (taken from a WWI-era battleship) sink Japanese destroyer Hayate with a direct hit to her magazine (all 168 hands killed), seriously damage Cruiser Yubari with 11 shells and hit another cruiser, 2 destroyers and a troop transport. Captain Henry Elrod flying a Navy Grumman Wildcat sinks destroyer Kisaragi, dropping a 100 pound bomb on her store of depth charges which explode (all 150 hands killed). After 45 minutes, Japanese warships steam away without attempting a landing.

Malaya. Japanese infantry under Colonel Saeki outflank a 14th Punjab Regiment ambush between Changlun and Asun, forcing a withdrawal, and then overrun the retreating troops with tanks. When Japanese tanks arrive at the bridge at Asun, 1st Gurkha Rifles disable 2 tanks with a Boys anti-tank rifle blocking the bridge. However, Japanese infantry ford the stream at 7 PM and capture the Gurkhas’ positions (350 killed or captured). At 8.30 PM, Saeki's tanks reach the town of Jitra but are held up by the main defenses of 11th Indian Division.

British troops withdraw onto the island of Hong Kong from the New Territories peninsula, after the collapse of the main defensive Gindrinkers Line.

Moscow counteroffensive. German 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies continue their retreat North of Moscow. Although 3rd Panzer holds onto Klin, Soviet 16th Army captures Istra and 20th Army reaches Solnechnogorsk. South of Moscow, Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army is also in retreat as Soviet capture Stalinogorsk.

Mediterranean. At 4.21 AM, U-374 sinks British antisubmarine trawler HMS Lady Shirley in the Straits of Gibraltar (all 33 hands lost). British patrol yacht HMS Rosabelle tries to locate the U-boat and is also sunk at 4.42 AM (30 killed, 12 survivors picked up by patrol yacht HMS Sayonara). British submarine HMS Truant fires 2 torpedoes at Italian tankers in Suda Bay, Crete, but instead hits Italian torpedo boat Alcione which is beached but unsalvageable (20 dead). 30 miles Northeast of Bardia, Libya, British destroyer HMS Farndale brings Italian submarine Caracciola to the surface with depth charges and sinks her with shellfire (53 survivors rescued but an Italian General, a passenger on Caracciola, drowns).

Day 832 December 10, 1941

2011-12-09T19:39:00.001-08:00

At 3.40 AM, British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse are spotted by Japanese submarine I-58 which misses the ships with 5 torpedoes. From 11.17 AM to 12.40 PM, 50 miles East of Kuantan, Malaya, waves of Japanese bombers and torpedo bombers sink HMS Repulse at 12.33 PM (513 killed) and HMS Prince of Wales at 1.18 PM (327 killed). Destroyers HMS Electra, Express and Vampire rescue 1862 survivors.

Malaya. After the failure of Krohcol and Laycol to impede the Japanese advance from Thailand into Northwestern Malaya, British hurriedly prepare the half-finished defensive line at Jitra (10 miles inside Malaya). They send 1st Battalion/14th Punjab Regiment and 2nd Battalion /1st Gurkha Rifles to stall the Japanese at Changlun and Asun, halfway between Jitra and the Thai border. At 9 PM, 14th Punjabis ambush Japanese troops at Changlun, destroying 2 tanks with anti-tank guns, and then pull back South towards Asun.

At 4 AM, Japanese land 5000 troops at 3 sites on the American-held island of Guam, an important staging post 1300 miles East of the Philippines. At 6 AM, Naval Governor of Guam, Rear Admiral McMillin, surrenders by sounding a car horn 3 times.

Philippines. Japanese troops land at Aparri on the North coast of Luzon and Vigan on the East side of the island. Bombing of Cavite Navy Yard, near Manila, Luzon, damages US submarine USS Sealion (4 killed) and sinks US minesweeper USS Bittern. USS Sealion will be scuttled on December 25.

Moscow counteroffensive. South of Moscow, Soviet troops complete the encirclement of German 45th, 95th and 134th Infantry Divisions at Livny. The Germans will eventually breakout after several days, despite heavy casualties and the suicide of General Conrad von Cochenhausen, commander of 134th Infantry Division.

Just before midnight 200 miles Southwest of Ireland, U-130 sinks 3 steamers in convoy SC-57 (British SS Kurdistan and SS Kirnwood and Egyptian SS Star of Luxor.

Day 831 December 9, 1941

2011-12-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

German U-boats have a bad day. At 2 PM 50 miles South of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, U-652 sinks Vichy French steamer Saint Denis (3 killed). At 9 PM, U-134 sinks German steamer Steinbek in a convoy 20 miles off the coast of Northern Norway in the Barents Sea (12 survivors).

Moscow counteroffensive. North of Moscow, Soviet 30th Army continues outflanking 3rd Panzer Army, so General Reinhardt pulls his panzers back into Klin, abandoning his trucks and artillery. South of Moscow near Tula, Soviets recapture Venev as Guderian pulls back 2nd Panzer Army. Further South, Soviet cavalry recapture Yelets and continue the encirclement of German 45th, 95th and 134th Infantry Divisions at Livny.

Malaya. British in Northern Malaya send Laycol and Krohcol, small columns of Indian troops in armored cars, over the border into Thailand to destroy roads and railway lines. They meet stiff resistance from Thai police units and later from Japanese 5th Division advancing South from Pattani. British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse are spotted off the East coast of Malaya by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft and Japanese submarine I-65. Their mission compromised, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse turn South to return to Singapore. Overnight, Japanese torpedo bombers from Saigon try but fail to find the British warships.

Hong Kong. At 9 PM, Japanese troops stealthily attack the British defensive line across the New Territories at "225 High Ground". Overnight, they breach the British defenses, take 27 British POWs and capture this high ground dominating the Western end of the Gindrinkers Line.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Japanese bomb and then invade Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert Islands, beginning their strategy of establishing forward naval and air bases to defend their conquests in Asia.

Day 830 December 8, 1941

2011-12-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

At 12.30 PM in Washington, President Roosevelt makes his "a date which will live in infamy" speech to Congress, declaring war on Japan. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and the Free French will follow suit.

70,000 Japanese in French Indochina and Thailand face 88,000 British, Australian, Indian and local Malay troops in Malaya. Titiwangsa Mountains divide the Malay peninsula, running North-South to the Thai border. Japanese landings on the East coast of Malaya and Thailand convince the British to mass their defenses East of these mountains to meet the perceived threat; however, Japanese troops at Songkla and Pattani in Thailand cross the peninsula to advance down the Western side of Malaya. Japanese aircraft arrive at Songkla airfield, Southern Thailand, to begin air raids on Malaya and Singapore. British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse depart Singapore to prevent further landings from the Gulf of Siam (escorted by destroyers HMS Electra, HMS Express, HMS Tenedos and HMAS Vampire but no aircraft carrier is available and land-based air support has been destroyed).

US minesweeper USS Penguin is damaged by Japanese bombing in Agana Harbor, Guam, while directing anti-aircraft fire (1 killed, 60 wounded). USS Penguin is scuttled in 200 fathoms to prevent capture. The crew escape in liferafts and will serve ashore in the defense of Guam.

Moscow counteroffensive. North of Moscow, Soviet 30th Army cuts the Klin/Kalinin road, threatening to surround 3rd Panzer Army which is gathering at Klin. Soviet 16th Army attacks Istra causing Hoepner’s 4th Panzer Army to fall back to prevent being trapped. South of Moscow, Soviet cavalry units slice into both flanks of 2nd Panzer Army, beginning to encircle 3 infantry divisions at Livny. Although Germans around Moscow are in general retreat, Hitler issues Fuhrer directive 39 officially halting the Moscow offensive but ordering Army Group Center to hold its ground.

Operation Crusader. British allow Rommel to make an orderly retreat to the Gazala line. British tank crews are too weary after 19 days of battle and too wary of Rommel’s anti-tank gun traps to pursue.

German bombers sink British minesweeping trawlers HMT Milford Earl (5 dead) and HMT Phineas Beard off the East coast of Scotland.

Day 829 December 7, 1941

2011-12-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

Without declaring war, Japan launches a series of highly-coordinated attacks on British and American territory (spanning the International Date Line). The opening move is a landing of 5500 troops from Gulf of Thailand to capture the airfield at Kota Bharu on the Northeast corner of British-held Malaya. This is followed by several larger landings further up the coast in Thailand, meeting stiff Thai resistance until midday when Thai government agrees an armistice.

200 miles North of Oahu, Hawaii, 6 Japanese carriers launch 360 aircraft (104 bombers, 135 dive bombers, 40 torpedo bombers and 81 fighters) to attack US Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor. Torpedo bombers in the 1st wave (7.55-8.25 AM) followed by high-level & dive bombers at 8.40 AM sink 4 US battleships & 3 destroyers while 4 other battleships and 3 cruisers are badly damaged (2,402 servicemen & 57 civilians killed, 1,247 servicemen & 35 civilians wounded). Japanese lose 5 torpedo bombers, 15 bombers, 9 fighters and 5 midget submarines (55 killed). However, the attack does not find any US aircraft carriers (which are not at Pearl Harbor) and fails to destroy shore facilities.

Japanese bombers from Formosa (now Taiwan) bomb US airfields on the main island in the US-held Philippines, Luzon, destroying US Boeing B-17 bombers on the ground (ironically, sent as a deterrent to threaten Japanese airbases on Formosa) along with their Curtiss P-40 fighter support. Having established air superiority, Japanese Navy captures the tiny island of Batan, 120 miles North of Luzon.

China. 12 battalions of Japanese troops attack from the Chinese mainland across the New Territories towards Hong Kong. British defenders are forced to fall back to the Gindrinkers Line, the main defensive line protecting Hong Kong. In Shanghai, Japanese marines capture US river gunboat USS Wake and Japanese cruiser Izumo sinks British river gunboat HMS Peterel.

Siege of Leningrad Day 91. The day after the completion of ‘corduroy’ road to Lake Ladoga, Soviets recapture Tikhvin.

Moscow counteroffensive. North of Moscow, Soviet 30th Army advances on 3rd Panzer Army at Klin. South of Moscow, Soviet 50th Army attacks out of Tula, trying to link up with 10th Army to cut off parts of 2nd Panzer Army.

Operation Crusader. Africa Korps, with fewer than 40 tanks operational, is unlikely to receive many more due to British success against Italian shipping in the Mediterranean. In contrast, British are able to bring up fresh tanks from Egypt. Rommel realises he cannot persevere around Tobruk and withdraws 25 miles to prepared positions at Gazala. The siege of Tobruk is over, lasting 241 days since April 11.

U-208, trying to enter the Mediterranean, is sunk by British destroyers HMS Harvester and HMS Hesperus 115 miles West of Gibraltar (all 45 hands lost).

Canadian corvette HMCS Windflower, escorting convoy SC-58 off Newfoundland, collides with Dutch freighter Zypenberg in dense fog and sinks (23 crew lost).

Day 828 December 6, 1941

2011-12-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 90. Soviets finish the ‘corduroy’ road of logs 200 miles through the forest from the railhead at Zabor’ye to Lake Ladoga, bypassing the German-held railhead at Tikhvin. Thousands of local peasants have died as forced labor during the 1 month construction.

Moscow counteroffensive. At 6 AM, Red Army attacks Reinhardt’s 3rd Panzer Army around the Klin bulge, North of Moscow. Reinhardt’s Panzers are on the Moskva/Volga canal near Yakhroma and Soviet 1st Shock Army fixes these with a frontal assault, while Soviet 30th Army (3 rifle divisions and 56 light tanks) crushes the 60 km left flank held by only 2 German infantry divisions. At midday, Reinhardt orders a withdrawal to Klin. Around Tula, South of Moscow, Soviet 10th Army attacks Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army. Further South, Soviet 3rd and 13th Armies (Southwestern Front) attack German 2nd Army, threatening to outflank 2nd Panzer Army. Field Marshal von Bock is confused by the Soviet action (describing it as ‘unpleasant’) and does not realize his whole Army Group Center is under attack

British submarine HMS Perseus hits an Italian mine while recharging her batteries on the surface, 2 miles off Greek island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea, and sinks to 170 feet (all 59 crew and 1 passenger killed). Navy Stoker John Capes, a passenger en route to Alexandria, Egypt, escapes the sunken wreck in a Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus and swims to Kefalonia. He will be hidden by Greek islanders until he is taken off the island by the Royal Navy in May 1943 and finally returned to submarine duty in Alexandria.

A Bulgarian aircraft sinks Soviet submarine ShCh-204 in the Black Sea, 24 miles South of Varna, Bulgaria.

In the North Atlantic, South of Iceland, U-131 sinks British SS Scottish Trader with 6 torpedoes (all 37 crew and 6 gunners lost).

Japanese aircraft cruiser Ryujo, 4 cruisers and 9 destroyers depart Palau, heading for the Philippines 500 miles West.

Day 827 December 5, 1941

2011-12-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 89. German forces still hold Tikhvin 110 miles East of Leningrad (the main railhead for supplies to come by ship across Lake Ladoga) despite continuous attack since November 12. German defenses start to wither, isolated and only able to resupply by air, and Soviet General Meretskov launches a final assault.

Operation Crusader. Rommel continues to confound the British with his unorthodox thrusts and parries. 4th Armoured Brigade remains near the Egyptian border, confused by the cancellation of Rommel’s infantry expedition to Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass. Meanwhile, Afrika Korps gets 49 tanks back in action, sending them at dusk to raid 11th Indian Brigade fighting Italian troops near the Tobruk breakout. British air and sea attacks on Axis shipping is choking off Rommel’s supply line. As Operation Typhoon is over, Hitler transfers Luftwaffe 2nd Air Corps from USSR to regain control of the Mediterranean.

Red Army has reinforced 3 Fronts (Kalinin Front under Konev, Western Front under Zhukov, Southwestern Front under Timoshenko) with newly-raised “shock” divisions as well as veteran troops moved from Central Asia and Far East, to push the Germans back from Moscow. Northwest of Moscow, Kalinin Front launches the counteroffensive at 3 AM, attacking German 9th Army.

American aircraft carrier USS Lexington departs Pearl Harbor to fly aircraft to Midway Island, escorted by cruisers USS Indianapolis, Astoria, Chicago & Portland and 5 destroyers. The fly-off will not happen but these warships will be away from Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack.

Day 826 December 4, 1941

2011-12-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

Operation Typhoon is over as German Army Group Center moves to the defensive. West of Moscow, von Kluge pulls 4th Army back across the Nara River, returning to their Winter quarters. South of Moscow, Guderian’s attempt to encircle Tula fails as Kampfguppe Eberbach (2nd Panzer Army) is dislodged from the Tula/Moscow rail line. Guderian too pulls back his forces around Tula which are exposed in forward positions they cannot hold.

Operation Crusader. British send 4th Armoured Brigade East to counter Rommel’s threat to Bardia and Sollum. This exposes 70th Division's 14th Infantry Brigade from Tobruk which is still holding Ed Duda ridge and they are duly attacked by Rommel although with no success. With Panzer divisions still repairing their tanks, Rommel realizes he cannot simultaneously prevent a Tobruk breakout and relieve the isolated garrisons, so he turns around the motorized infantry heading to Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass and sends them back towards Tobruk.

18 Japanese troop transports escorted by 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers leave Japanese-occupied Hainan Island, China (at the head of the South China Sea). They are carrying 26,640 troops for landings in Malaya. Meanwhile, Japanese carrier fleet approaches Hawaii undetected from the North.

British submarine HMS Perseus sinks Italian freighter Eridano 6 miles off the island of Lefkada, Greece, in the Ionian Sea.

Day 825 December 3, 1941

2011-12-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 87. Overnight, Soviet evacuation convoy from Hango runs into the Corbetha minefield in the Gulf of Finland. 1 minesweeper is sunk and several more damaged. Troop transport ship Josif Stalin is unable to follow the narrow channel cleared by the remaining minesweepers and hits 4 mines in quick succession. Many of the troops on board abandon ship although Josif Stalin does not sink (4000 drown or freeze to death, 1830 picked up by various small ships in the convoy). The wreck of Josif Stalin drifts South and is captured by German ships near the Estonian coast 2 days later with 2000 survivors on board.

Operation Typhoon. West of Moscow, German 4th Army’s advance around Naro-Fominsk peters out in the face of Soviet counterattacks. 4th Army also fails to support Guderian’s flank for 2nd Panzer Army’s attack on Tula which consequently fails. Guderian and others will blame von Kluge’s defensive posture for the failure of Typhoon.

Operation Crusader. Rommel’s attempt to reach the garrisons at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass is blocked by Allied infantry and artillery.

At 9.47 PM 1250 miles West of South Africa, U-124 sinks unarmed neutral American SS Sagadahoc despite the US flag visible on the side (1 killed). 34 survivors in 2 lifeboats are questioned by the Germans and rescued a week later by Allied merchant ships. SS Sagadahoc is the 4th and final American merchant ship sunk by U-boats prior to America joining the war.

Day 824 December 2, 1941

2011-12-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

Near the Azores at midnight, U-43 misses unarmed neutral American tanker SS Astral with a torpedo despite a visible US flag painted on the side. At 9.24 AM, 2 torpedoes from U-43 hit SS Astral which explodes and spreads burning gasoline & kerosene on the water, killing all 37 hands.

At 1.19 AM 2 miles of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, U-562 sinks British SS Grelhead carrying 6900 tons of iron ore (41 killed, 2 survivors make land). At 8.33 PM just East of Gibraltar, U-557 sinks Norwegian SS Fjord carrying 5900 tons of iron ore (14 killed, 22 survivors reach the Spanish coast on 2 rafts).

Operation Typhoon. Overnight, a motorcycle patrol from 62nd Panzer Engineer Battalion (2nd Panzer Division) penetrates the flimsy Soviet defensive line, in the morning reaching the small town of Khimki on the Moskva/Volga canal 11.5 miles Northwest of the Kremlin. This is the closest German forces will come to Moscow. They return to report the route to Moscow is open but 2nd Panzer lacks the strength to exploit this gap. West of Moscow, Zhukov sends reinforcements to Naro-Fominsk to counter the advance of German 4th Army. South of Moscow, Guderian makes one last attempt to encircle Tula. Motorcycle infantry from Kampfguppe Eberbach attack West from Venyov and finally cuts the Tula/Moscow rail line. Since the beginning of Barbarossa on June 22, German losses are 195,334 killed or missing and 572,000 wounded.

Siege of Leningrad Day 86. During November, 11,000 civilians have died of starvation and cold. Overnight, Soviet troopships Josif Stalin and Maya with various destroyers, minesweepers and other ships leave Hango Peninsula, Finland, carrying the last 12,000 troops.

Operation Crusader. Rommel repairs his tanks, having again separated Tobruk from the attacking Allied force, and sends motorized infantry East to try to relieve his garrisons isolated at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass.

British battleship HMS Prince of Wales, battlecruiser HMS Repulse and 4 destroyers arrive in Singapore, on Churchill’s suggestion to act as a deterrent against Japanese aggression. It is too late as Japanese forces are in motion. Japanese carrier force heading to Hawaii receives code message 'Niitaka yama nobore' (Climb Mount Niitaka) confirming that no agreement has been reached with USA and the attack on Pearl Harbor is to proceed.

Day 823 December 1, 1941

2011-11-30T19:06:00.000-08:00

Operation Typhoon. At the urging of Army Group Center commander Field Marshal von Bock, von Kluge finally sends German 4th Army into action 16 days after the beginning of the renewed advance on Moscow. This delay has allowed Red Army to move troops away from this sector to defend Moscow from the attacks from the North and South. At 4 AM, 3 infantry and 1 Panzer divisions move along the Minsk-Moscow highway, shattering the well-prepared defenses of Soviet 33rd Army and capturing the town of Naro-Fominsk (43 miles Southwest of Moscow) and crossing the Nara River.

Operation Crusader. In the morning, 15th Panzer Division again attacks New Zealand 2nd Division around Sidi Rezegh airfield but they are chased off by a counterattack by British 4th Armoured Brigade tanks. Despite this, New Zealand 2nd Division withdraws in the late afternoon. Rommel has pulled off the remarkable feat of breaking up the relief of Tobruk despite being outnumbered 7:1 by the British tanks.

British air reconnaissance from Malta spots an Italian supply convoy for Rommel in Libya and torpedo bombers sink tanker Iridio Mantovani (carrying 10,000 tons of fuel oil). 60 miles off the coast of Libya, British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope (escorted by destroyer HMS Lively) sink steamer Adriatico. Later, Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosta, which is rescuing survivors from Iridio Mantovani, attacks HMS Aurora & Penelope with torpedoes and 120 mm guns but is blasted into oblivion by 6 inch shellfire from the British cruisers (200 killed).

In the South Atlantic 1150 miles West of South Africa, British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire locates German supply ship Python refuelling submarines UA and U-68. Python is scuttled and HMS Dorsetshire leaves due to the submarine threat. 414 crew and survivors from the sinking of raider Atlantis are rescued by 4 German submarines and 4 Italian submarines.

Day 822 November 30, 1941

2011-11-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 84. A sudden warm up decreases the flow of trucks on the Road of Life. Only 61 tons of food arrives in Leningrad compared to the daily consumption of 600 tons. Soviet troopship Maya, 3 minesweepers, 2 submarine hunters and a gunboat leave Kronstadt to assist the evacuation of troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. They are attacked by Finnish gunboats and patrol boats but reach Hango safely next day.

Operation Typhoon. 19 miles North of Moscow, patrols from 2nd Panzer Division (4th Panzer Army) capture the railway station at Lobnya. However, the German attack is petering out in the face of exhaustion, cold, lack of supplies and stiff Soviet resistance. To the South, Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army is stationary around Tula while the infantry of von Kluge’s 4th Army has not moved out of trenches in the center. In Moscow, General Zhukov gets permission from Stalin to counterattack to relieve pressure on Moscow.

In the Caucasus, Field Marshal von Rundstedt is replaced by Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau as commander of Army Group South, for ordering a retreat in the Rostov sector.

Operation Crusader. While Italian Ariete Division holds off British tanks to the South, 15th Panzer Division forces the New Zealanders off Sidi Rezegh ridge, severing the brief link to Tobruk. British aircraft from Malta sink Italian steamer Capo Faro and damage Italian steamer Iseo carrying supplies to Benghazi, Libya, from Brindisi, Italy. Rommel is now desperately short of fuel.

At 7.26 PM 170 miles South of the Azores, U-43 sinks British SS Ashby (12 crew and 5 gunners killed, survivors rescued by Portuguese destroyer Lima). U-43 is depth charged for several hours but escapes undamaged.

At 10.35 PM, U-96 is attacked on the surface by a British Swordfish aircraft while trying to enter the Mediterranean via the Straits of Gibraltar. U-96 dives to avoid further attack, then surfaces next morning at 4.45 AM and returns to base in France. War correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim, on board U-96 to photograph and describe U-boat life, fictionalized this attack as the climax of his 1973 novel and subsequent film “Das Boot”.

U-206 goes missing in the Bay of Biscay (all 46 hands lost), 2 days out from St. Nazaire, France, possibly lost in minefield "Beech" laid by RAF aircraft. RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers (502 Squadron from Northern Ireland) attack U-71 and U-563 with depth charges in the Bay of Biscay. U-71 is undamaged but U-563 is unable to dive and returns to Germany for repairs, the first successful use of Air to Surface Vessel radar.

German armed merchant cruiser Komet arrives back in Hamburg after sailing 87,000 miles and circumnavigating the globe in a voyage lasting 516 days, capturing 1 ship and sinking 5 (plus 2 others shared with AMC Orion).

Day 821 November 29, 1941

2011-11-28T20:12:00.001-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 83. Soviet destroyers Slavny & Stoiki and troopship Josif Stalin leave Kronstadt (escorted by 5 T-class minesweepers, 4 torpedo boats and 7 submarine hunters) to evacuate the remaining 12,000 troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. Icebreaker Oktyabr is sunk by German bombers but the force reaches Hango next day.

Operation Typhoon. At 5 AM 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division evacuates the Yakhroma bridgehead over the Moskva/Volga canal in the face of continued determined attacks from Soviet 1st Shock Army. German losses are 45 killed, 115 wounded.

Operation Crusader. At 8.30 AM, 21st Panzer Division commander General von Ravenstein runs into a 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division roadblock in the desert and is taken prisoner, becoming the only German General in captivity. 15th Panzer Division arrives back in the vicinity of Tobruk and reinforces German infantry attacking the narrow corridor at the Ed Duda ridge that links New Zealand 2nd Division to the garrison from Tobruk. 15th Panzer swings South of Ed Duda to threaten the corridor from the Southeast, despite heavy shelling by the New Zealanders and British tanks in the desert further South.

British aircraft from Malta sink Italian tanker Berbera at Navarino, Greece, and damage Italian tanker Volturno carrying fuel to Libya for Rommel from Navarino (Volturno returns to port). Royal Navy force B (cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Neptune and destroyers HMS Kimberly and HMS Kingston under the command of Admiral Rawling) arrives in Malta to disrupt Italian supply lines.

At 4.11 AM 240 miles North of the Azores, U-43 sinks British SS Thornliebank (all 66 crew and 9 gunners were lost). U-43 is hit by falling debris from SS Thornliebank, injuring the navigator.

German 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FN.564 off the coast of East Anglia, England, sinking British tanker Asperity and freighters SS Empire Newcomen & SS Cormarsh.

Day 820 November 28, 1941

2011-11-22T18:27:00.001-08:00

Operation Typhoon. At 3.30 AM 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division (3rd Panzer Army) crosses the Yakhroma bridge over the Moskva/Volga canal. The tanks are very exposed and fall back across the bridge at 10 AM. German infantry hold a small bridgehead all day despite fierce counterattacks from Soviet 1st Shock Army as well as aerial bombing, artillery and Katyusha rocket launchers. The backdoor to Moscow is open but this is the Easternmost point of the German advance.

Operation Crusader. Aware of the return of 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions towards Tobruk, British 7th Armored Division again attacks 15th Panzer but runs into an anti-tank screen left behind in the wake of the advancing German tanks (a classic blitzkrieg tactic). Despite being outnumbered, 15th Panzer continues moving West towards Tobruk, holding off the British attack.

125 miles East of Gibraltar, U-95 stalks another submarine while trying to determine its identity. It turns out to be Dutch submarine O-21 which fires 2 stern torpedoes sinking U-95 (35 dead and 12 survivors taken prisoner by O-21).

Day 819 November 27, 1941

2011-11-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

At 00.46 AM 40 miles Northeast of Tobruk, Libya, U-559 sinks Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta, escorting ammunition ship SS Hanne into Tobruk. 160 crew and 8 passengers from gunboat HMS Gnat are killed, 21 survivors are rescued by British destroyer HMS Avon Vale and 3 swim ashore behind British lines.

Operation Crusader. Overnight, New Zealand 2nd Division supported by 90 tanks breaks through the German cordon and links up with the garrison from Tobruk (which has 70 tanks). Both 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions head from Bardia to Tobruk to break up this attempt to raise the siege. 21st Panzer runs into New Zealand infantry while 15th Panzer encounters British 7th Armored Division (which has three times the number of tanks) at Bir el Chleta 30 miles west of Tobruk. 22nd Armored Brigade blocks the advance of 15th Division while 4th Armored Brigade pummels the extended German column from the side but at dusk the British tanks withdraw South to lie up for the night in a defensive huddle. 15th Panzer uses the respite to continue their move to Tobruk in the dark.

Operation Typhoon. 30 miles West of Moscow, SS Reich Division (4th Panzer Army) captures Istra from Siberian 78th Rifle Division. 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division (3rd Panzer Army) advances 15 miles East from Rogachevo to the Moskva/Volga canal at Yakhroma. They are faced by newly-formed Soviet 1st Shock Army.

In the Caucasus, Southern USSR, Soviet 37th Army recaptures Rostov-on-Don from General von Kleist’s 1st Panzer Army (which has held the city for only 6 days). Hitler orders that there be no retreat in the Rostov sector but Army Group South commander Field Marshal von Rundstedt refuses to cancel his orders to retreat back to the Mius River at Taganrog.

The last Italian stronghold in East Africa is Gondar in Ethiopia. After British 12th (African) Division capture 2 mountain passes overlooking the town of Gondar, the garrison of 23,500 troops under General Nasi surrenders.

Japanese Prime Minister Tojo Hideki rejects the American proposal (“Hull note”). The Japenese carrier will not be recalled and the stage is set for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Day 818 November 26, 1941

2011-11-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

Japanese carrier fleet departs Tankan Bay, Iturup Island in the South Kuril Islands, for the 3300 mile voyage to attack Pearl Harbour, Hawaii (6 aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku & Zuikaku, 2 battlecruisers Hiei & Kirishima, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 3 submarines plus 8 tankers and supply ships). In Washington, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull responds to proposals from Japan, presenting Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura with a counterproposal demanding withdrawal of Japanese troops from French Indochina and China. US government knows that the terms will not be accepted and that Japan is likely to attack, bringing USA into the war.

Operation Typhoon. South of Moscow, Guderian’s attempt to encircle Tula fails. 17th Panzer Division is held up outside Kashira only 65 miles from Moscow, while XLIII Panzer Corps is held up after capturing Aleksin 30 miles Northwest of Tula. The Tula/Moscow rail line is still open.

Operation Crusader. Rommel’s “dash to the wire” ends when the Panzers are recalled due to the capture of Sidi Rezegh by British 7th Armored Division and the progress of 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division along the coast, linking up briefly with the garrison from Tobruk. Initially furious, Rommel realizes his staff made the right decision in his absence. British C-in-C Middle East General Auchinleck is less satisfied, having lost faith in the ability of 8th Army commander General Cunningham to press the attack. Auchinleck appoints his deputy chief-of-staff General Neil Ritchie to replace Cunningham, with instructions to “attack the enemy relentlessly, even to the last tank”.

Day 817 November 25, 1941

2011-11-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

British battleship HMS Barham is sailing with the Mediterranean Fleet from Alexandria hunting Italian convoys heading for Libya. At 4.29 PM 70 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, U-331 sinks HMS Barham with 3 torpedoes. HMS Barham rolls over in 4 minutes and her magazines explode (862 crew lost, 449 survivors rescued by destroyers HMS Jervis, Jackal, Nizam & Hotspur). VIDEO of sinking.

Operation Typhoon. 35 miles Northwest of Moscow at Peshki, 2nd Panzer Division (4th Panzer Army) advancing along the railway line from Solnechnogorsk towards Moscow encounters Soviet 146th Tank Brigade sporting new British Matilda tanks (some of the earliest Allied lend-lease supplies to see combat in USSR). 30 miles West of Moscow, 10th Panzer and SS Reich Divisions (4th Panzer Army) unsuccessfully attack Istra which is held by 78th Rifle Division fresh from Siberia. 100 miles South of Moscow, XXIV Panzer Corps (part of Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army) spreads out from Venyov. 17th Panzer Division advance North towards Kashira, while 4th Panzer swings back West to encircle Tula and cut the rail line to Moscow.

Operation Crusader. Rommel’s “dash to the wire” on the Egypt/Libya border sows much confusion in the British camp. Rear echelon troops turn and run for Egypt and even British 8th Army commander General Cunningham considers abandoning the attack. German General Johann von Ravenstein with 21st Panzer Division misses 2 huge Allied supply dumps that would have deprived Allies of critical fuel and supplies. Meanwhile, British 7th Armored Division has regrouped and repaired many of their damaged tanks. Instead of panicking at the chaos behind them, they attack the depleted German forces and take control of Sidi Rezegh. Overnight, Rommel and Crüwell cross the frontier into Egypt then cannot find their way back through the wire and are forced to hide out until morning as British trucks rumble by.

Soviet patrol vessel CKP-25 rams U-578 in the Arctic Sea, doing only slight damage.

Day 816 November 24, 1941

2011-11-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Operation Crusader. While British tanks reorganize and repair after the battle at Sidi Rezegh, Rommel gambles that the Allied excursion into Libya can be routed by further disrupting the rear echelons and supply lines (a tactic Rommel used so successfully in France last year). His aim is a repeat of Crüwell’s ride around the British yesterday, although on a broader sweep - to swing his Panzers behind the British tanks from the South, scatter the Allied infantry, link up with the German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum & Halfaya Pass and then advance into Egypt. At 10.30 AM, he leads 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions in a “dash to the wire”.

Operation Typhoon. Elements of LVI Panzer Corps advance 10 miles East from Klin to capture the town of Rogachevo and threaten Moscow from the North. 100 miles South of Moscow, Guderian relaunches his attempt to encircle and bypass the city of Tula. XXIV Panzer Corps (3rd, 4th & 17th Panzer Divisions) charges Northeast and captures the road junction at Venyov 30 miles East of Tula.

At 3.21 PM 650 miles East of Natal, Brazil, U-124 hits British cruiser HMS Dunedin with 2 torpedoes. HMS Dunedin sinks in 17 minutes (about 250 crew killed immediately and 250 escape into the water). 72 survivors on 6 Carley floats are found 3 days later by American merchant SS Nishmaha (the others drowned, died of injuries or sharks). 5 more die on board SS Nishmaha, leaving only 67 survivors from a crew of 486.

On the Normandy coast, British landing ship HMS Prince Leopold, escorted by 4 Motor Gun Boats, lands 90 British commandos (No. 9 Commando) at Butte de Houlgate. The commandos do not destroy their target (guns at Batterie de Tournebride) or take any prisoners but they capture some secret papers, then reboard and return to Portsmouth without loss.

In the North Sea off the coast of East Anglia, German 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FS.654, sinking British tanker Virgilia (23 killed, 17 survivors) and Dutch steamer Groenlo (10 lost).

Day 815 November 23, 1941

2011-11-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Operation Crusader. Confused fighting continues around Sidi Rezegh. Allied infantry arrive near Sidi Rezegh having covered 50 miles across the desert from the Egyptian border in 2 days. Rommel sends General Ludwig Crüwell with 15th Panzer and Italian Ariete Divisions circling around the British tanks from the South, to disorganize the Allied rear echelons and return next morning. Overnight, confused and beaten, British 7th Armored Division withdraws 20 miles having lost 60% of its tanks. Germans take control of Sidi Rezegh. General Cunningham commanding British 8th Army begins to doubt his ability to beat the Panzers.

Operation Typhoon. 50 miles Northwest of Moscow, LVI Panzer Corps (3rd Panzer Army) cuts the road North and South of Klin where Soviet 30th Army has been holding their advance for 5 days. General Lelyushenko withdraws 30th Army at the last minute back towards the Moskva/Volga canal. LVI Panzer Corps then races 10 miles Southeast along the railway line towards Moscow and captures the town of Solnechnogorsk.

Siege of Leningrad Day 77. Trucks begin making the 40 mile round trip along the Road of Life, carrying 100 tons daily across frozen Lake Ladoga. Leningraders need 600 tons a day to survive.

Day 814 November 22, 1941

2011-11-21T04:22:00.000-08:00

At 0.38 AM, a Swordfish of 830 Squadron torpedoes Italian cruiser Abruzzi which loses her stern but is able to reach Messina, Sicily, under her own steam. The Swordfish is shot down (1 killed, 1 aircrew taken prisoner by Italian destroyer Pessagno).

Operation Crusader. New Zealand 2nd Division captures Fort Capuzzo (which has changed hands 11 times since June 1940). Battle of Sidi Rezegh continues with confused fighting between German Panzers and British tanks. British tanks attack the heavier Panzers piecemeal instead of in a concerted manner; consequently, the British are outgunned and outnumbered. Brigadier Jock Campbell wins the Victoria Cross for leading 9 tanks into attack, sitting on top of his armored staff car.

Siege of Leningrad Day 76. The ice of Lake Ladoga is 20 cm thick. 60 trucks cross the lake on the Road of Life carrying 33 tons of flour and 2.5 tons of sugars and fats, arriving in Leningrad the following day.

Royal Navy is aware from Ultra decrypts of Enigma messages that German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis is at large in the South Atlantic and sends cruisers HMS Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Dunedin to search. HMS Devonshire locates Atlantis refueling U-126. Atlantis is scuttled while U-126 dives (later rescues survivors from Atlantis). In a voyage lasting 622 days since March 31, 1940, Atlantis has sailed 102,000 miles and sunk or captured 22 ships (total 145,697 tons).

British destroyer HMS Sardonyx rams anti-submarine trawler HMT St. Apollo near the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides. St. Appollo sinks and Sardonyx is badly damaged.

Day 813 November 21, 1941

2011-11-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

Operation Crusader. A massive clash of armor begins, lasting 3 days, as 15th Panzer Division and British 7th Armored Division converge on the airfield at Sidi Rezegh (largest tank battle in North Africa so far). New Zealand 2nd and Indian 4th infantry Divisions bypass German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass and march to the guns to support the battle at Sidi Rezegh. Simultaneously, the Tobruk garrison attacks East to link up with the forces coming from Egypt. German infantry block the breakout, holding the Allied troops at the El Duda ridge. Rommel is so desperate for fuel that Italian cruiser Cardona leaves Brindisi unescorted carrying fuel drums lashed to the deck, arriving at Benghazi next day.

Siege of Leningrad Day 75. In the morning, Captain Murov’s horses and drivers return from Kobona on the Eastern shore of Lake Ladoga carrying much-needed flour, sugar and fat, making the 40 mile round trip across the ice in 24 hours. The ice is 18 cm thick and the Road of Life is now open.

In Southern USSR, General von Kleist’s 1st Panzer Army captures Rostov-on-Don (the gateway to the Caucasus).

At 11.12 PM 10 miles East of Catania, Sicily, British submarine HMS Utmost torpedoes Italian cruiser Trieste, which is able to reach Messina, Sicily, under her own steam.

Day 812 November 20, 1941

2011-11-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

Operation Crusader. 15th Panzer Division finally responds to the concentration of British tanks in the desert but arrives to find only 4th Armored Brigade at Gabr Saleh. The heavier German tanks decimate the thinly-armored American M3 ‘Stuart’ tanks. The Stuarts often explode when hit, due to volatile aviation fuel used to power the Continental R-670 7-cylinder radial engine. 15th Panzer Division then withdraws back towards Tobruk, followed by the remaining tanks of 4th and 22nd Armored Brigades. Overnight, British cruisers HMS Ajax & HMS Neptune and Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart shell German positions at Bardia.

Siege of Leningrad Day 74. Near starvation point, daily bread rations are reduced to 500g for soldiers, 250g for engineers and technical workers, 125g from other workers and children (a 60-80% decrease since June). The ice on Lake Ladoga is 12 cm thick, enough to support a horse. In the morning, Captain Murov takes a convoy of horse-drawn sleighs from Kokorevo (20 miles from Leningrad) via Karedzhskiy Island, arriving in the evening at Kobona on the Eastern shore. Horses and drivers are fed while the sleighs are loaded up with flour, sugar and fat for the return journey.

Day 811 November 19, 1941

2011-11-18T17:50:00.000-08:00

140 miles West of Shark Bay, Western Australia, Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney intercepts German armed merchant cruiser Kormoran (disguised as a Dutch steamer Straat Malakka). Both are armed with 6 inch guns and torpedoes. Kormoran opens fire without warning at 5.30 PM and both ships are badly damaged in the 20 minute exchange of shells and torpedoes. HMAS Sydney sinks after midnight (all 645 hands lost). Kormoran is abandoned at 9 PM due to raging fires and scuttled at midnight (81 killed). 318 Kormoran survivors in 5 lifeboats and 2 rafts are rescued by various Allied ships or drift ashore (they will be POWs in Australia until February 1947). Wrecks of both ships were discovered in March 2008, 11 miles apart. The engagement remains controversial to this day.

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, 4th Panzer Army pushes through the gap between Soviet 30th and 16th Armies but the German offensive stalls as they drive towards Klin and Istra. Soviet General Dmitry Lelyushenko is ordered by Zhukov to take command of 30th Army and hold Klin at all costs – they will delay German advance for 5 days. Istra is defended by 78th Rifle Division from Siberia (fresh troops with a full complement of artillery) and will be held until November 27.

Siege of Leningrad Day 73. Soviet 4th and 52nd Armies almost surround Tikhvin, attacking simultaneously from North and South, but German General von Arnim moves up 61st Infantry Division and the Germans hang on to the town. General Feofan Nikolaevich Lagunov, Chief of Rear Service Leningrad Front, drives an M1 scout car across Lake Ladoga to test the ice. He declares it safe to use.

Operation Crusader. British General Cunningham is confused by the lack of German response to his incursion into Libya, so 7th Armored Division tanks begin to spread out to secondary objectives. 22nd Armored Brigade runs into dug in tanks and anti-tank guns of Italian Ariete Division at Bir el Gubi, losing 40 new Crusader tanks. 7th Armored Brigade heads North to attack the Italian airfield at Gambut where Rommel has his HQ.

In the North Sea 10 miles East of Lowestoft, German 2nd Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FS.650 (59 ships), sinking tanker War Mehtar and steamers Aruba and Waldinge. German Motor Torpedo Boat S.41 collides with a convoy escort and sinks. British destroyer HMS Garth is badly damaged by shellfire from another destroyer in the escort.

Day 810 November 18, 1941

2011-11-17T18:50:00.001-08:00

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, General Erich Hoepner’s 4th Panzer Army attacks with 3 Panzer divisions (over 400 tanks) and 3 infantry divisions from Volokolamsk into the junction between Soviet 30th and 16th Armies. 30th Army falls back North to Klin while 16th Army falls back South to Istra, opening a yawning gap between the two. 120 miles South of Moscow, Guderian’s 3rd Panzer Army is still held up at the city of Tula. An attempt to encircle and bypass Tula is broken up 30 miles Southeast at Uzlovaya by 413th Rifle Division (one of the fresh units moved from Siberia for the defense of Moscow).

Operation Crusader. British 8th Army under General Alan Cunningham attacks from Egypt into Libya. Infantry of New Zealand 2nd and Indian 4th Divisions attack German border positions at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass in order to tie these garrisons down. To the South, tanks of 7th Armored Division swing through the desert to bring German armor to battle at Gabr Saleh and Sidi Rezegh. However, Rommel has just arrived back from vacation in Italy and is planning his own offensive to storm Tobruk. He is convinced this is a diversionary attack and does not send out his Panzers. Overnight, British cruisers HMS Naiad & HMS Euryalus and destroyers HMS Kipling & HMS Jackal shell German positions at Halfaya Pass.

25 Japanese submarines leave Japan to patrol the Hawaiian Islands. 5 of the submarines carry “midget submarines” to sneak into Pearl Harbour.

Day 809 November 17, 1941

2011-11-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 71. Air reconnaissance indicates Lake Ladoga is frozen over. At 8 AM, teams set out to confirm and mark routes from Kokorevo (on the Western shore near Leningrad) via various tiny islands to the small port of Kobona on the ‘mainland’ side of Lake Ladoga, 18 miles away. Due back at 6 PM, they finally return at 4 AM next morning to report the ice on the lake is 10cm thick (half the thickness needed to support a laden 1 ton truck).

Operation Typhoon. At Musino near Volokolamsk, 70 miles West of Moscow, Soviet 44th Cavalry Division (recently arrived from Central Asia) charges German 106th Infantry Division (3rd Panzer Army) in broad daylight. 105mm howitzers supporting the German infantry decimate the Russian horsemen (claiming 2000 killed).

Operation Flipper. Keyes’ commandos again shelter during the day. At midnight, they attack Afrika Korps quartermasters HQ at Beda Littoria, which they have mistaken for Rommel’s HQ. They kill 4 Germans but Keyes is killed and another commando is wounded and captured. Another group of commandos on a diversionary raid a few miles away are nearly all killed or captured. Only 3 commandos are able to reboard British submarines to return to Alexandria. Colonel Robert Laycock and Sergeant Terry walk for 34 days through the desert, returning to British lines on Christmas Day.

U-331 lands 8 German commandos on the Egyptian coast to mine the railway line near Daba, 60 miles West of Alexandria. They are all captured within a day before completing the mission.

Day 808 November 16, 1941

2011-11-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, General Georg-Hans Reinhardt’s 3rd Panzer Army establishes a crossing over the Lama River along the highway to Klin.

Further South in the Crimean, German troops capture the town of Kerch on the Kerch peninsula linking to the Caucasus.

Operation Flipper. Colonel Keyes’s commandos shelter in a cave 1 mile from the target at Beda Littoria. Their attempt to kill Rommel must be timed to coincide with the launch of a combined infantry and armored attack from Egypt in 2 days (Operation Crusader).

At 10.55 PM 50 miles East of Gibraltar, British corvette HMS Marigold badly damages U-433 with depth charges. U-433 comes to the surface, is shelled and machinegunned by HMS Marigold and then scuttled (6 dead, 38 survivors rescued from the water and taken prisoner by HMS Marigold).

Day 807 November 15, 1941

2011-11-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Germans begin phase 2 of attack on Moscow (Operation Typhoon). Infantry with tanks from 1st Panzer Division push Soviet 30th Army back from around the Volga Reservoir and Moscow Sea Reservoir, 75 miles North of Moscow. Stalin orders Zhukov to mount spoiling attacks along the entire defensive line, which will only serve to weaken the Soviet defenses but do little to disrupt the German preparations.

At 5 PM just off the coast of USSR 150 miles Southeast of Murmansk, U-752 attacks Soviet minelayer ZM-93 Jushar (loaded with mines) and her escort, minesweeping trawler T-889. T-889 forces U-752 to dive with gunfire but is torpedoed at 6.49 PM (all 43 hands lost). At 9.48 PM in the Baltic Sea 90 miles Northeast of Gdansk, U-583 sinks after a collision with U-153 (all 45 hands lost).

Operation Flipper. Colonel Keyes’s commandos shelter during the day. Overnight, they hike 18 miles inland to a cave 1 mile from the target at Beda Littoria.

The second freighter in Operation Astrologer, SS Empire Defender, Italian SM.79 torpedo-bombers is sunk by off the coast of Tunisia near the Galite Islands (4 killed).

Day 806 November 14, 1941

2011-11-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

At 3.37 AM, U-561 sinks Panamanian SS Crusader in mid-North Atlantic (33 dead). Only survivor is Brazilian coal passer Edward Barreto (possibly rescued by U-561, as he ends up a POW at Milag Nord, Germany, until 1945).

Soviet Navy loses 3 submarines. L-2 hits 3 mines between 1.07 and 6.17 AM and sinks in the Baltic Sea near the Estonian island of Keri (50 dead, 3 survivors) while M-98 is lost to mines in the Gulf of Finland (all hands lost). In the Black Sea, ShCh-211 disappears near Varna, Bulgaria, presumably to a Romanian mine (all hands killed).

Operation Flipper. British commandos of No.11 (Scottish) Group under Colonels Robert Laycock and Geoffrey Keyes (son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes) land from submarines HMS Talisman and HMS Torbay to kill Rommel. Due to rough seas, only 36 of the 59 commandos get ashore 12 miles from the target at Beda Littoria.

In an attempt to resupply Malta, British freighters disguised as French, Italian or Spanish ships are sent unescorted. Operation Astrologer comprises 2 ships, SS Empire Defender and SS Empire Pelican, traveling independently. Empire Pelican is attacked and sunk by Italian SM.79 torpedo-bombers off the coast of Tunisia near the Galite Islands (1 killed).

Day 805 November 13, 1941

2011-11-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

At 00.42, U-126 sinks British MV Peru (all 50 hands rescued by South African whale factory ship Uniwaleco).

Operation Perpetual. Returning from delivering Hurricanes to Malta, British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is torpedoed 150 miles East of Gibraltar at 4.37 AM by U-81 (Able Seaman Mitchell is killed, 1487 crew taken off 13 hours later by destroyer HMS Legion). Destroyer escorts counterattack, dropping 130 depth charges, but U-81 escapes. HMS Ark Royal is taken in tow by tugs but sinks with almost all of her aircraft at 8.13 AM next day, only 35 miles from Gibraltar.

Siege of Leningrad Day 67. German 12th Panzer Division cannot reinforce or supply Tikhvin so General von Arnim organizes his tired troops into a hedgehog defense (small, mutually-defending strongpoints, often hidden, designed to frustrate the movements of a larger army). Soviet General Kirill Meretskov (reinstated after his poor performance against Finland in the Winter War and subsequent interrogation by NKVD) begins an attack with 4th, 52nd and 54th Armies including 3 fresh divisions brought in from Siberia and the Far East.

Operation Typhoon. Overnight, temperatures fall to -22C (-8F). As the mercury drops, the Rasputitsa comes to an end and Germans gear up for the second phase of the assault on Moscow. However, the bitter cold will cause them other problems, from frozen engine and gun lubricants to the death of thousands of thoroughbred German horses pulling wagons and artillery.

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Gordy and Surovy sail from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula (escorted by minelayer Ural, 4 T-class minesweepers & 4 MO-class submarine hunters). Surovy, T-206 and MO-301 sink on Finnish mines laid yesterday. Next day, Gordy sinks in the Corbetha minefield. The remaining ships arrive at Hango and wait, eventually return to Kronstadt on November 25.

Day 804 November 12, 1941

2011-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Operation Typhoon. Overnight, temperatures around Moscow fall to -15C (5F). Impassable mud freezes enough to allow movement of trucks and tracked vehicles. German Army Group Centre prepares to drive 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies in a massive armored punch North of Moscow while Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army comes from the South. Soviet General Zhukov has rebuilt the Western Front to defend Moscow, gaining 22 new rifle divisions, 14 cavalry divisions, 11 ski battalions and some armor (often straight from the factory).

Black Sea. Soviet submarine S-34 is lost off the Bulgarian coast near Cape Emine, presumably to a mine (all 51 hands lost). At Sevastopol, German Stuka dive-bombers from StG 77 hit Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina with 3 bombs. Chervona Ukraina is badly damaged and sinks next day but her guns will be salvaged and used on land in the defense of the city. Destroyers Sovershenny and Besposhchadny are bombed in the Navy Yard while under repair from damage sustained in September, Sovershenny capsizes and Besposhchadny will be towed to Poti in the Caucasus on November 17 by destroyer Shaumyan for repairs.

Operation Perpetual. 37 Hurricane fighters fly to Malta from British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argus.

Finns lay mines in the Gulf of Finland to prevent evacuation of Soviet troops from the Hango Peninsula.

Day 803 November 11, 1941

2011-11-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

U-580 collides with target ship SS Angelburg and sinks in the Baltic Sea, 33 miles West of Klaipėda, Lithuania (12 dead, 32 survivors). At 2.15 PM in the Bay of Biscay, an RAF Hudson (53 Squadron) drops 4 depth charges on which is returning to Brest, France. Despite damage to an engine and the aft diving planes, U-203 is able to reach base next day. At 11.35 PM, U-561 sinks neutral Panamanian SS Meridian (all 26 hands lost).

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Stoiki & Leningrad, minelayer Ural, troopship Andrei Zhdanov & 3 minesweepers set out in a storm from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula. The flotilla turns back to Suursaari after Andrei Zhdanov hits a mine and sinks (7 killed, 66 rescued by escort ships) and destroyer Leningrad is damaged by mines.

Day 802 November 10, 1941

2011-11-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

Operation Flipper. British submarines HMS Talisman and HMS Torbay depart Alexandria, Egypt, carrying 59 commandos on an audacious mission to kill Rommel. Faulty intelligence leads them to believe that his HQ is at Beda Littoria, 250 miles inside German-held Libya. In any case, Rommel is vacationing in Italy with his wife Lucie to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Operation Perpetual. British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argus depart Gibraltar, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, cruiser HMS Hermione and 7 destroyers, transporting 37 Hurricane fighters to be flown to Malta.

In the Sea of Crete, British submarine HMS Proteus sinks German steamer Ithaka off the island of Milos and Greek submarine Glaukos damages German steamer Norburg, North of Crete.

Day 801 November 9, 1941

2011-11-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

At 1 AM, British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope and destroyers HMS Lance & HMS Lively intercept and destroy the Italian/German Beta convoy from Italy to Libya. Using radar, they sink all 5 freighters and both tankers plus Italian destroyer Fulmine and badly damage destroyers Grecale and Maestrale. Without radar, the escorting Italian cruisers and destroyers are unable to find the British ships (which return to Malta with all haste). 704 survivors from the convoy are rescued. At 6.40 AM, British submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes Italian destroyer Libeccio involved in the rescue operation (Libeccio is taken in tow by destroyer Euro but sinks). HMS Upholder also unsuccessfully attacks Italian cruisers Trento and Trieste.

Soviet Separate Coastal Army under General Petrov is shipped into Sevastopol after resting in the Caucacus following the defense and evacuation from Odessa. They arrive with 19,894 troops, 10 T-26 tanks and 152 artillery pieces, bringing the total defense of the city to 52,000 troops, 170 guns and 100 aircraft.

In the Black Sea, Hungarian freighter Ungvar is destroyed by a mine laid by Soviet submarine L-4. Romanian torpedo boats Viforul and Vijelia are sunk by the explosion.

Day 800 November 8, 1941

2011-11-06T18:30:00.001-08:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 62. German Army Group North finally captures Tikhvin, taking 10,032 casualties in the offensive since October 16. Tikhvin is the road and rail junction thru which flows the meager supply of food and ammunition for Leningrad (then carried 50 miles North by road to the small town of Syas'stroy on Lake Ladoga and by barge across the Lake to the besieged city, a hazardous journey under Luftwaffe attack). Leningrad Military District orders a ‘corduroy’ road of logs to be cut through the forest for 200 miles, around Tikhvin to a railhead further East at Zabor’ye.

British Royal Navy is aware from Ultra intercepts of a supply convoy for Rommel sailing from Italy. “Beta” convoy consists of 5 freighters (German SS Duisburg & SS San Marco and Italian MV Maria, SS Sagitta & MV Rina Corrado) carrying 145 Italian & 78 German troops, 389 vehicles and 34,473 tons of munitions. In addition, 2 Italian tankers Conte di Misurata & Minatitlan carry 17,281 tons of fuel for tanks, trucks and planes. Regia Marina provides an escort of 7 destroyers, with cruisers Trieste & Trento and 4 more destroyers as distant cover. 200 miles East of Malta, RAF Martin Maryland (69 Squadron), on reconnaissance from Malta, deliberately locates Beta as a cover for Ultra. British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope and destroyers HMS Lance & HMS Lively are sent out from Malta to intercept the convoy overnight.

In the Black Sea, Soviet submarine M-59 is lost to mines near Constanza, Romania (all hands lost).

Day 799 November 7, 1941

2011-11-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

In Moscow, Stalin pulls off a public relations masterpiece. Despite the risk of German air attack, the annual October revolution parade begins at 8 AM. Troops, artillery and tanks (mainly new T-34 and KV tanks) rumble through Red Square past Lenin’s Mausoleum (empty) and St. Basil’s Cathedral. They then turn West towards the front lines, going straight into action against the Germans.

In one of the great maritime tragedies of the war, Soviet hospital ship Armenia sinks with over 7000 civilians and wounded soldiers on board. Armenia leaves Yalta at 8 AM, against orders forbidding daylight sailing from the Crimea. At 11.29 AM, a single Heinkel He111 from KG26 torpedoes Armenia (despite Red Cross insignia painted on the deck and sides) which rolls over and sinks in 4 minutes. There are 8 survivors.

At 10.34 PM in the middle of the North Atlantic, U-74 sinks British MV Nottingham on her maiden voyage, after MV Nottingham tries to ram the U-boat. All 56 crew and 6 gunners escape in lifeboats but are never seen again.

Overnight, 160 RAF bombers raid Berlin but 20 or more are shot down with little damage done to the German capital. As a result of the ineffectiveness of raids like this, Sir Richard Peirse will be replaced as head of RAF Bomber Command by Sir Arthur Harris in January 1942.

Day 798 November 6, 1941

2011-11-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 60. As the temperature drops, shattered underground steam pipes (due to German bombing and shelling) and lack of firewood prevent heating of buildings. Bitter cold compounded by reduced rations will lead to death of thousands of Leningraders.

Operation Typhoon. Frostbite appears in the German troops in front of Moscow. Although stationary, most are technically still on the offensive and have not dug trenches. The exception is Feldmarschall von Kluge’s 4th Army in the middle of the Mozhaysk line, which has already gone on the defensive and into Winter quarters.

Off Permanbuco, Brazil, US cruiser USS Omaha and destroyer USS Somers impound German blockade runner Odenwald carrying rubber from Japan to Germany.

British minesweeping trawler HMT Flotta sinks off the East coast of Scotland after running aground on October 29.

Soviet hospital ship Armenia (a converted liner) evacuates the main naval hospital in Sevastopol with 5498 wounded troops and medics, leaving at 7 PM for an overnight voyage to safety of the Caucasus ports. The ship is suddenly diverted to Yalta and Balaklava to pick up more wounded as well as military families and well-connected civilians.

Day 797 November 5, 1941

2011-11-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Japanese troops currently occupy parts of China and French Indo-China. To prevent further Japanese expansion, the Netherlands ,USA and Britain block exports to Japan, particularly oil,. The new Prime Minister of Japan (General Hideki Tōjō), Chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff (Admiral Osami Nagano) and Emperor Hirohito agree on war if final diplomatic initiatives fail. USA is presented with a weak compromise agreement but during the negotiations, the Japanese Fleet will leave on November 25 to carry out Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plan to attack Pearl Harbor. The last day to recall the Fleet will be November 30.

In the Sea of Japan 200 miles South of Vladivostok, USSR, Japanese passenger ship Kehi Maru sinks on a Soviet mine 75 miles off the coast of Korea (131 killed from 80 crew and 430 passengers). The incident strains relations between USSR and Japan.

Soviet submarine ShCh-214 sinks Italian tanker Torcello in the Black Sea. Submarine ShCh-324 is lost in the Baltic Sea near Tallinn, Estonia, most likely on a mine (all 38 hands lost).

Day 796 November 4, 1941

2011-11-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Smetlivy and Surovy (escorted by 4 minesweepers, 4 torpedo boats and 4 submarine hunters) sail from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. Smetlivy is hit by Finnish artillery during the embarkation at Hango naval base. On the return journey in the evening, Smetlivy sinks in the Corbetha minefield (several hundred troops killed, 350 rescued and returned to Hango by minesweeper T-205). 1200 troops arrive safely at Kronstadt near Leningrad.

Fighting continues on the Crimean peninsula, as German 11th Army cleans out the remaining Soviet troops. 170th Division captures the port of Feodosiya on the East side, at the base of the Kerch peninsula.

Soviet submarine M-34 is lost in the Black Sea near Constanza, Romania, presumably to a mine (all hands killed).

Day 795 November 3, 1941

2011-11-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

While the forward elements of Guderian’s Panzers (renamed Panzer Army 2) attack Tula, other units capture the city of Kursk 180 miles Southwest, eliminating a threat to his flank.

U-202 and U-203 sink 4 British steamers in convoy SC-52 200 miles Northeast of Newfoundland. At 5 AM, U-202 sinks SS Flynderborg (3 killed, 21 survivors picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Windflower) and SS Gretavale (38 dead, 6 survivors picked up by HMCS Windflower). At 6.28 PM, U-203 sinks SS Everoja (all 36 crew and 5 gunners picked up by British corvette HMS Nasturtium) and SS Empire Gemsbuck (all 37 crew and 6 gunners picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Buctouche).

Soviet submarine ShCh-214 sinks Turkish schooner Kaynakdere with gunfire in the Black Sea.

British submarine HMS Proteus damages Italian tanker Tampico 50 miles Southeast of Athens, Greece. HMS Proteus is then chased off by Italian torpedo boats Monzambano and Castelfidardo.

Day 794 November 2, 1941

2011-11-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

German 132nd Infantry Division attacks Sevastopol perimeter but is held near the town of Bakhchisaray by Soviet 8th Naval Brigade and shellfire from the 305mm guns at 30th coastal battery (Germans lose 428 casualties, 40 trucks and several armored vehicles). Manstein halts the attack on Sevastopol to consolidate his hold on the Crimean. 11th Army pushes Soviet troops to the perimeter of the Crimean peninsula, effectively encircling Sevastopol. Soviet Black Sea Fleet evacuates troops from Crimean ports of Yalta, Evpatoria and Feodosia (also from the Ukrainian mainland at Tendra peninsula near Odessa), taking them to Sevastopol. Cruiser Voroshilov is badly damaged by 2 bombs from 3 Junkers Ju88s (under repair at Poti, Georgian SSR until February 1942). Despite this, Black Sea Fleet will continue to operate in and around Sevastopol knowing that the Luftwaffe is fairly weak in the region (most aircraft diverted to attack Moscow).

At 5.26 AM 250 miles Southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, U-208 sinks British SS Larpool (22 crew and 4 gunners lost, 11 crew picked up by the Canadian corvette HMCS Bittersweet and 6 crew in a lifeboat will land at Burin, Newfoundland on November 10.

Day 793 November 1, 1941

2011-10-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

Red Army begins evacuating 28,000 troops and their equipment to Leningrad from Hango Peninsula in Finland (USSR leased a naval base here in the Moscow Peace Treaty, March 12, 1940). Overnight, Soviet destroyers Slavny and Stoiki sail from island of Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland (escorted by minelayer Marti, 4 T-class minesweepers and 5 MO-class submarine hunters) and embark 4230 troops at Hango. On the return journey, Marti and T-210 are damaged by mines while submarine Kalev (captured from the Estonian Navy on August 19, 1940) does not return from covering the evacuation, presumably lost on a mine.

At Sevastopol, Soviet 30th coastal battery (called Fort Maxim Gorky I by the Germans) shells German 132nd Infantry Division as they assemble at 12.30 PM between Alma railway station and Bazarchik village. Planned German attack on Soviet 8th Naval Brigade is broken up by 68 rounds from the 305mm guns. Von Manstein’s 11th Army lacks enough tanks and air support to take Sevastopol by storm, so they fan out to surround and besiege the city.

At 6.54 AM 300 miles off the coast of South West Africa (now Namibia), U-68 sinks British MV Bradford City (carrying 9500 tons of sugar and rum from Mauritius). All 37 crew and 8 gunners abandon ship in 2 lifeboats and make land near Walvis Bay, South West Africa. U-68 collides with the sinking ship but is not badly damaged.

Day 792 October 31, 1941

2011-10-30T10:53:00.001-07:00

First US Navy warship lost in WWII. At 8.34 AM 725 miles West of Ireland, U-552 sinks American WWI-era destroyer USS Reuben James (escorting convoy HX-156 with 4 other US destroyers). 2 torpedoes ignite the aft magazine, blowing off the bow. Primed depth charges sink and explode, killing survivors in the water (115 killed, 45 rescued by other escorts).

At 9.03 AM 120 miles East of St. John’s, Newfoundland, U-374 sinks British SS Rose Schiaffino (all 37 crew and 4 gunners lost).

At 10.47 AM 400 miles West of Ireland, U-96 sinks Dutch SS Bennekom (5 crew and 3 gunners killed, 46 survivors picked up the next day by British sloop HMS Culver). U-96 is attacked by British sloop HMS Lulworth with 27 depth charges (U-96 is not damaged).

Soviet destroyer Bodryy at Sevastopol shells German tanks 25 miles North on the Crimean coast at Nikolaevka. Luftwaffe Stukas attack the Soviet warships being used as floating artillery batteries, doing no damage but killing or wounding 50 crewmen with machinegun fire.

Day 791 October 30, 1941

2011-10-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Operation Typhoon. At 5.30 AM, Kampfgruppe Eberbach advances into Tula but is beaten back by Soviet anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. They repeat the exercise at 10 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM with the same result. Tula’s Soviet defenders (Workers Militia and NKVD 156th Regiment) suffer severe losses, mainly to German artillery, but just manage to hold their ground. Overnight, Soviet 32nd tank brigade arrives (later reinforced with 3 rifle divisions) and Tula is safe. While fighting will continue at Tula and elsewhere on the Mozhaysk line for the next few weeks, the German advance on Moscow grinds to a halt until the Russian mud freezes over.

At 9 AM 700 miles east of Newfoundland, U-106 torpedoes US fleet oiler USS Salinas but USS Salinas is able to reach Argentia, Newfoundland, for repairs. U-106 is then hunted for 9 hours by escorts and seriously damaged.

On the Crimean peninsula, German 132nd Infantry Division (part of 11th Army) is stopped by the outer defenses at Sevastopol. Overnight, Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz ferries 8th Naval Infantry brigade from Novorossiysk (Caucasian port on the Black Sea coast) to beef up the defenses at Sevastopol. Black Sea Fleet moves WWI-era battleship Parizhskaya Kommuna, cruiser Molotov and smaller warships out of Sevastopol to safety in Caucasian ports while 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers are left to aid in the defense of the city as floating gun batteries.

Day 790 October 29, 1941

2011-10-29T09:13:00.001-07:00

Operation Typhoon. At 4 PM, Kampfgruppe Eberbach, part of German 4th Panzer Division, reaches Tula (Southeast end of the Mozhaysk line, 100 miles from Moscow) having advanced 75 miles in a week despite the mud and stiff Soviet resistance. Reconnaissance of the Southern outskirts is turned back by Soviet anti-aircraft guns firing over open sights, so Eberbach decides to wait until dawn to attack.

Further South, Manstein’s German 11th Army has overrun most of the Crimean peninsula and is approaching the regional capital Simferopol and the massive port of Sevastopol, home of Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Germans want the Crimea as a base for operations further East into the Caucasus and need to eliminate the Soviet threat to their advance around the Black Sea. Moreover, Hitler wants the Crimean peninsula as a sun-drenched “German Gibraltar” for vacationers after the war.

Day 789 October 28, 1941

2011-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

At 3.43 AM, U-68 sinks British SS Hazelside about 600 miles Southeast of St. Helena (2 killed, 44 picked up by British MV Malayan Prince and landed at Capetown).

At 5 AM 320 miles Northeast of the Azores, U-432 finishes the attack on convoy HG-75 sinking British SS Ulea (19 killed, 9 survivors picked up by British corvettes HMS La Malouine and HMS Bluebell).

At 7.19 AM, U-106 sinks British MV King Malcolm in the middle of the North Atlantic between Ireland and Canada (all 38 hands lost).

In North Africa, Rommel is preparing an all-out assault on the besieged Allied garrison at Tobruk, which is frustrating his plans to move on British interests in Egypt. He cannot afford to leave this threat to his rear and he needs the port as a forward supply base. German and Italian infantry rehearse storming bunkers, engineers plan routes through minefields and artillerymen range targets among the Allied defenses. Meanwhile Rommel plans a 2 week vacation in Italy with his wife Lucie, to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Day 788 October 27, 1941

2011-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Operation Typhoon. Germans slowly make progress towards Moscow all along the Mozhaysk line. At the Southeast end of the line, Kampfgruppe Eberbach advances to Plavsk 37 miles from Tula (140 miles from Moscow). At the Northwest end of the line, 4th Panzer Army finally defeats Soviet 316th Rifle Division at Volokolamsk 68 miles from Moscow (316th Rifle Division is reduced to only 3500 men but has delayed 4th Panzer Army for 2 weeks). In the middle of the line, the 11 infantry divisions of German 4th Army come to a standstill. Feldmarschall von Kluge lies to his superior Feldmarschall Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, about the strength of Soviet defenses. Amazingly, von Bock allows 4th Army to dig trenches and go on the defensive, losing all momentum towards Moscow.

British submarine HMS Tetrach, which left Malta yesterday to refit in Britain via Gibraltar, is lost in an Italian minefield between Sicily and Tunisia (all 59 hands plus 3 naval personnel returning to Britain are lost).

Day 787 October 26, 1941

2011-10-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Siege of Leningrad Day 49. Leningrad Front and Soviet 54th Army swap commanders. General Fedyuninsky, the better fighting general, moves from Leningrad to take command of 54th Army which is now defending against the German advance on the railhead at Tikhvin. General Mikhail Khozin is relieved of 54th Army to take charge in Leningrad (he is familiar with the area having commanded Leningrad Front in 1938).

Battle of convoy HG-75. At 3.54 AM, U-83 badly damages British fighter catapult ship HMS Ariguani with a torpedo (2 killed, survivors taken off by British corvette HMS Campion including those rescued 2 days ago from torpedoed steamer SS Carsbreck). HMS Ariguani will be towed to Gibraltar, decommissioned, repaired and returned to service as a merchant ship in January 1944. U-71 fires 4 torpedoes at an unidentified escort boat (all miss). The escort then counterattacks with depth charges for 7 hours, severely damaging U-71 which is forced to return to base.