Yesterday      Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1940 (MONDAY)

Minesweeping trawlers HMS Balta and Copinsay launched.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Ophelia commissioned.

ITALY: Newly arrived RAF Wellington bombers begin offensive actions from Malta by bombing Naples.

SPAIN:
Madrid: In a significant act of defiance, the Spanish dictator, General Franco, today ignored pressure from Nazi Germany and signed a financial pact with Britain. At the same time Franco gave a categorical assurance to Britain and the US that in no circumstances will Spain join the war against Britain or allow Spain to be used for military operations. The pact with Britain will release Spanish funds in London which have been frozen since the start of the Spanish Civil War.

EGYPT:
Cairo: General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, meets with Lieutenant General William Platt, General Officer Commanding Sudan Defence Force, from the Sudan and Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, (brother of the naval C-in-C) General Officer Commanding 51st Division, from Kenya. They decide that an operation must be planned to recapture Kassala in East Africa. But this would need at least one infantry division to be supplied from Egypt and that in turn would depend upon the outcome of the forthcoming offensive.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-99 claims her third armed merchant cruiser when she torpedoes AMC Forfar and sinks her west of Ireland at 54 35N, 18 18W. Forfar was sailing independently to meet convoy SC 14. (Alex Gordon)(108)At the same time nearby convoy HX90 is attacked just before the Western Approaches escorts arrive. Eleven ships are lost to the U-boats.

The armed merchant cruiser HMS Montrose was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic in position 54.35N, 018.18W, by U-99, Kptlt. Kretschmer, Knight’s Cross, Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Knight’s Cross with Swords, CO. There were 185 casualties in this incident. Montrose was the former Canadian National Steamships cargo-liner SS Lady Somers (16,402 GRT). She was requisitioned into the Royal Navy as an armed merchant cruiser renamed HMS Forfar. She had been detached from convoy HX-90 was on route to join convoy OB-251 when she was hit by five torpedoes from U-99. Due to the intense convoy battle underway and the stormy weather rescue operations were delayed, leading to the high casualty toll. 

U.S.A.: Light cruiser USS Montpelier laid down.

Top of Page

Yesterday    Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday      Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1941 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:

FRANCE: Paris: German army doctor Kerscher is wounded by a pistol shot. In the Boulevard Auguste Blanqui there is a bomb attack on the RNP offices.

FINLAND: The last Soviet troops evacuate Hanko (Hangö), the base forcibly leased from Finland after the Winter War.

U.S.S.R.: With the Kremlin in sight, at 20 miles, some German units reach the northern suburbs of Moscow. Kluge's forces west of Moscow renew their efforts but General Winter's cold temperatures are not on the German's side. General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff, notes in his diary that the Russian defense has reached its climax and has no fresh forces left to throw into the battle. Both he and German military intelligence were unaware that the Soviets have secretly been massing more than 700,000 fresh troops from the east.

LIBYA: Between today and the 6th, the fighting in  is very confused for both the Germans and the British. The British armour is regrouping near Bir el Gubi in the south. Rommel is trying to contain Tobruk, disrupt the British armour and aid Axis troops at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass. These scattered efforts further weaken the Germans.

JAPAN: Tokyo: The Premier, Hideki Tojo, publicly rejects US proposals for peace. The Japanese carrier force "Kido Butai" sailing for the Hawaiian Islands and the target of Pearl Harbor receives a special radio signal: "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208", from Japanese Combined Fleet Commander Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto. This is the order to execute the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

The Foreign Office sends the following message to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C.: "(1.) Among the telegraphic codes with which your office is equipped burn all but those now used with the machine and one copy each of "O" code (Oite) and abbreviating code (L). (Burn also the various other codes which you have in your custody.) (2.) Stop at once using one code machine unit and destroy it completely. (3) When you have finished this, wire me back the one word "haruna." (4) At the time and in the manner you deem most proper dispose of all files of messages coming and going and all other secret documents. (5) Burn all the codes which Telegraphic Official KOSAKA brought you."

     A second message is sent to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu: "In view of the present situation, the presence in port of warships, airplane carriers, and cruisers is of utmost importance. Hereafter, to the utmost of your ability, let me know day by day. Wire me in each case whether or not there are any observation balloons above Pearl Harbor or if there are any indications that they will be sent up. Also advice me whether or not the warships are provided with anti-mine nets."

     The Chief of the Naval General Staff, Admiral NAGANO Osami, sends Navy Order No. 12 to Admiral YAMAMOTO Isoroku , Commander-in-Chief, Combined Fleet: "(1) As of 8 December the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet will start military operations in accordance with Imperial General Headquarters Navy Order No. 9. (2) Military operations will be launched against the Netherlands at an opportune time after attacking the United States and Great Britain."

     The Japanese Cabinet is reorganized because of "the deteriorating international situation."

SINGAPORE: British battleship HMS Prince of Wales (53), battlecruiser HMS Repulse (34) and destroyers HMS Electra (H 27), Encounter (H 10), Express (H 61) and Jupiter (F 85), arrive in Singapore and will form the British Far East Fleet. The aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable (92) was scheduled to join them, but was damaged when she ran aground in Jamaica, West Indies, on 3 November while training. These capital ships represent a British deterrence in the Far East. The capitol ships represent a British deterrence in the Far East.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: IJN reconnaissance plane spotted over Clark at dawn.
Unknown aircraft off Luzon coast tracked by radar at Iba. The following message is from the Commander-in-Chief Asiatic Fleet to the Chief of Naval Operations and also sent to Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet: "Bearing 070 from Saigon distant 180 miles 3 type I-61 submarines in cruising formation headed south 15 knots. 21 transports anchored Camranh Bay with six planes patrolling overhead."

TERRITORY OF HAWAII:

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: Communication Intelligence Summary, 2 December 1941: "General.-The most prominent factor in today's traffic is the apparent confusion in the routing of traffic for certain major parts of the Japanese Fleet. There were instances where the same dispatch was repeated several times after it appeared on the Tokyo broadcast and also where Takao Radio received the same dispatch that it had previously sent. ComSixteen reported Second and Third Fleets in Takao area and that Takao Radio was broadcasting traffic to these fleets. This broadcast was not uncovered here and contrary to location reports, there was one indication that these two fleets were not close to Takao. In several instances Takao Radio forwarded traffic to Tokyo for these fleets. Summing up all reports and indications, it is believed that the large fleet made up of Second, Third and First Fleet units has left Empire waters but is either not close enough to Takao for good communication or is proceeding  on a course not close to Takao. The change of calls on December first has prevented this office from making definite statements at this date of the units now in the Southern area. To further complicate the situation, Shanghai Radio handled a considerable amount of traffic which obviously was originated by and destined for units in the Takao area. The Chief of Staff, South China area continues to appear in Shanghai ComSixteen reported nine submarines proceeding south by Camranh Bay. This group is believed to comprise both Submarine Squadrons five and six, which units normally operate with the First Fleet but have been included repeatedly in the Second Fleet Task Force for Southern operations. There was a very high percentage of high precedence traffic originated both by major forces afloat and Tokyo. Hainan continues as a prominent address. Palao and Third Base Force is holding the same relative importance.

   - "First Fleet.-Despite the lack of positive identification, the First Fleet appears relatively quiet. From inconclusive evidence, it appears as if there may have been a split in the original or normal Combined Fleet Staff and that these may be two supreme commanders with staffs. As an example, traffic routing indicates one Combined Fleet call associated with the Second and Third Fleets and apparently in company while another Combined Fleet call appears not associated with the Second and Third Fleets.

   - "Second Fleet.-No units have stood out prominently the last two or three days. This is partly due to lack of new identifications but contributes somewhat to the belief that a large part of the Second Fleet is underway in company. Cruiser Division Seven and Destroyer Squadron Three are unlocated and unobserved since change of calls.

   - " Third Fleet.-Nothing to report. Shanghai appeared in an indirect way in some of the Third Fleet traffic.

   - "Mandates.-Association of Submarine Force and Fourth Fleet continues. Some traffic for Fourth Fleet units still going through Truk.

   - "Carriers.-Almost a complete blank of information on the Carriers today Lack of identifications has somewhat promoted this lack of information- however, since over two hundred service calls have been partially identified since the change on the first of December and not one carrier call has been recovered, it is evident that carrier traffic is at a low ebb.

   - "Combined Air Force.-This force continues to be associated closely with Second, Third and Indo-China Fleets. Some units of the Combined Air Force have undoubtedly left the Takao area."

CANADA:

U.S.A.: President Roosevelt orders that three small ships, former yachts, be sent off the coast of Indo China as pickets in Admiral Hart's Asiatic Squadron. One of them is Fleet Yacht USS ISABEL, LANIKAI is one of the others. (73, 74) (Matt Clark and Marc James Small)

15 atomic scientists, including the Soviet spy Klaus Fuchs, arrive from Britain to join the US atomic research project.

First Naval Armed Guard detachment (7 men under a coxswain) of World War II reports to Liberty ship, SS Dunboyne.

Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles hands a note from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Japanese Ambassador NOMURA Kichisaburo and special envoy KURUSU Saburo asking for reasons the Japanese are increasing its forces in French Indochina. "It was my clear understanding that by the terms of the agreement and there is no present need to discuss the nature of that agreement between Japan and the French Government at Vichy that the total number of Japanese forces permitted by the terms of that agreement to be stationed in Indochina was very considerably less than the total amount of the forces already there. The stationing of these increased Japanese forces in Indochina would seem to imply the utilization of these forces by Japan for purposes of further aggression, since no such number of forces could possibly be required for the policing of that region. . . . because of the broad problem of American defense. I should like to know the intention of the Japanese Go  vernment."

 The motion picture "Ball of Fire" is released in the U.S. This romantic comedy directed by Howard Hawks stars Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka, S.Z. Sakall, Dana Andrews, Dan Duryea, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Gene Krupa. The film is nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Stanwyck). The members of the American Film Institute ranked this film No. 92 on the list of 100 Funniest American Movies.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-43 again attacks unarmed U.S. tanker SS Astral and this time torpedoes and sinks her about 238 nautical miles (441 kilometers) southeast of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, in position 35.40N, 24.00W. U-43 had fired torpedoes at the tanker yesterday but they missed.

Top of Page

Yesterday     Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday     Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Aircraft carrier HMS Pioneer laid down.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: ASW trawler HMS Jasper torpedoed and sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-81.

BELGIUM: Members of the Rexist (fascist) movement are asked to help Germany by spying.

FRANCE: During the night of 2/3 December, three RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets.

GERMANY: U-320, U-792, U-793, U-804, U-927 laid down.

A Canadian bomber crew gets key data on German airborne radar in a prelude to a big bomber offensive. They return badly shot up.

     During the night of 2/3 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 112 aircraft, 48 Halifaxes, 27 Lancasters, 22 Stirlings and 15 Wellingtons to bomb Frankfurt;84 bomb the target and six aircraft, three Halifaxes and one each of the other types, are lost, 5.4 per cent of the force. There is thick haze and the Pathfinders are unable to establish the location of Frankfurt. Most of the bombing falls in country areas southwest of the city; it is possible that a decoy fire site is operating. Two aircraft bomb Mainz and one attacks Hochst.

ITALY: Rome: Mussolini reveals that 40,000 Italians have been killed in action, 86,000 wounded and 231,000 taken prisoner since the war broke out.

MALTA: A British naval squadron was guided to its target tonight by RAF aircraft dropping flares over a convoy carrying tanks and 2,000 troops from Sicily to North Africa. Once it had made contact, the squadron - three light cruisers, HMS AURORA, HMS ARGONAUT and HMS SIRIUS, with the destroyers HMS QUENTIN and HMAS QUIBERON - attacked from the darkness using RDF [radar]. All four enemy ships and an escorting destroyer were sunk.

HMS QUENTIN was later sunk by Italian torpedo planes off Galita Island at 37 40N, 08 55E. HMAS QUIBERON picked up survivors. (Alex Gordon)(108)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: British Cruiser Force Q, based in Bone, Tunisia, and a new Malta-based cruiser force take turns attacking Axis shipping bound for North Africa. Today, Force Q with light cruisers HMS Aurora (12), Argonaut (61), Sirius (82) and destroyers HMS Quentin (G 78) and HMAS Quiberon (G 81) goes into action in the Strait of Sicily. Achieving complete surprise Force Q attacks a convoy of four merchantmen escorted by four destroyers and two torpedo boats. The British sink all four merchantmen and the destroyer R.N. Folgore with gunfire and torpedoes and damage an additional destroyer and a torpedo boat. The convoy escort counterattacks with torpedoes and gunfire, inflicting light damage with gunfire. As they return, destroyer HMS Quentin is sunk by Italian torpedo aircraft north of Cape Bon.

     The British destroyer HMS Janus (F 53) in company with the destroyers HMS Javelin F 61), HMS Jervis (F 00) and HMS Kelvin (F 37) surprises the Italian torpedo boat Lupo, which is rescuing survivors from the freighter SS Veloce off the islands of Kerkennah, Tunisia, and sank it..

TUNISIA: The British First Army withstands another attack on Tebourba. British tank losses are now about 40. U.S. forces (2d Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment with the 3d Battalion of Regimental Combat Team 26, U.S.1st Infantry Division) in conjunction with French troops attack Faid Pass, 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of Gafsa.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force DB-7 Bostons and B-26 Marauders bomb El Aouina Airfield; B-17 Flying Fortresses hit the Sidi Ahmed Airfield and Bizerte harbour; and B-25 Mitchells attack antiaircraft guns near the Gabes Airfield. P-38 Lightnings provide escort and fly reconnaissance missions and sweeps, claiming eight aircraft and one tank destroyed.

ABYSSINIA: Ethiopia declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.

NEW GUINEA: Australian troops capture part of the Japanese positions at Gona. 

US General Eichelberger is sent by MacArthur to find out about the lack of progress at Buna, New Guinea. He will decide to relieve General Harding. 

In Papua New Guinea, the Japanese try to reinforce their bridgehead. Four destroyers, with about 800 men embarked, reach Basabua early in the morning, but are forced by Allied aircraft to move on and land troops near the Kumusi River mouth, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of Gona. The Japanese maintain pressure on the roadblock on the Soputa- Sanananda trail, which the supply party reaches, and whittle down its perimeter. Efforts to reach the block frontally and from the right flank are again unsuccessful. The Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division) attacks again toward Buna Village, in greater strength and after increased preparatory fire, but is halted short of the objective. Since simultaneous attacks against Cape Endaiadere and the New Strip have proved unfeasible, Warren Force (based on U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) concentrates on New Strip, leaving a holding force (Company B, 128th Infantry Regiment) on the coastal track, where it fails to deceive the Japanese with a feint toward Cape Endaiadere. Warren Force attacks after air and ground bombardment, which does little damage to the Japanese, but results are negligible. Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger, Commanding General I Corps, visits the Urbana front while his staff officers inspect the Warren front. Afterwards, Eichelberger relieves Major General Edwin F. Harding of command of the U.S. 32d Infantry Division and designates Brigadier General Albert W. Waldron as his successor.

USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs, B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-25 Mitchells and P-400 Airacobras attack four destroyers off Buna and Gona, and the airfield and positions in the in the Buna area and between Watutu Point and Cape Killerton. As a result of this attack, the destroyers, originally bound for Gona with 800 reinforcements, lands the troops near the mouth of the Kumment River 12 miles (19 kilometers) to the north.

AUSTRALIA: Vice-Admiral Carpenter USN sends the Dutch destroyer Tjerk Hiddes from Fremantle to Darwin, thence to Portuguese Timor to take off the men of Sparrow Force. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)

Minesweeper HMAS"> HMAS Armidale hit by two torpedoes from Japanese torpedo aircraft and sank within five minutes in position 10°S, 126°30´E. while on its second journey to Timor to evacuate refugees and bring relief personnel from Port Darwin. 40 of her crew perished along with 60 Dutch passengers.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A USAAF Eleventh Air Force a B-24 Liberator finds Semichi and Attu Islands unchanged during a reconnaissance run; a B-26 Marauder on reconnaissance finds Kiska Island closed by fog.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS New Glasgow laid down.

Corvette HMCS Oakville completed refit Halifax , Nova Scotia.

Scientists waited in awe as the neutron counter clicked faster. Then Fermi raised his hand. "The pile has gone critical," he said. Someone telephoned Dr. James Conant, the head of defence science in Washington. "Jim," he said, "the Italian navigator has just landed in the new world."

Two prototype examples of the Beechcraft Model 28, are ordered. These will be known as the XA-38-BH Grizzly, USAAF s/ns 43-14406 and 14407. The aircraft were designed to deliver knock-out blows to fortified gun emplacements, AFVs and surface ships. Beech designed them to be highly manoeuvrable and be able to absorb heavy battle damage. The main armament was a 75mm T15E1 cannon in the nose fitted with a Type T-13  automatic feed mechanism with 20 rounds of ammunition.

During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with "Enemy Air-Borne Forces." (William L. Howard)

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

Top of Page

Yesterday            Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday   Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1943 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Westminster: Ernest Bevin, the minister of labour, announced in the House of Commons today that men are to be conscripted to serve in the coal mines in the same way as in the armed services. By next April 30,000 men of 25 or under will be chosen by ballot from those called up, and directed into the mines. A draw will be made of a figure between 0 and 9, and those whose national service registration number ended with that figure - one recruit in ten - would be chosen.

After medical inspection, they would get four weeks training, including underground training, and then start work under supervision of experienced miners. They would not work at the coalface until they had been underground for four months.

Mr Bevin said he would not have resorted to compulsion but for reasons of "urgent national necessity": "I have delayed compulsion to the last possible moment because I don't like it any more than honourable members." Asked if he had power to do this without legislation, he replied, "Oh yes! I am entitled to direct anybody anywhere."

Coal production has fallen below 200 million tons this year and the number of miners has sunk to 700,000, despite the recall of many miners from the army.

No. 139 Squadron RAF begins operations with the Mk XX Mosquito. These aircraft are built in Canada. (22)

Forty six USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses blast submarine pens at Marseilles.

     During the night of 2/3 December, 24 RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over the country.

GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command fly Mission 146: one B-17 Flying Fortress flies an Oboe test over Huls at 2139 hours dropping two 2,000 pound (907 kilogram) general purpose bombs and a photoflash bomb. Four B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 2.09 million leaflets over Bremen, Oldenburg and Hamburg.

     During the night of 2/3 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 458 aircraft, 425 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos and 15 Halifaxes, to continue the Battle of Berlin. There were no major diversions and the bombers took an absolutely direct route across the North Sea and the Netherlands and then on to Berlin. The Germans identify Berlin as the target 19 minutes before Zero Hour and many fighters are waiting there. Incorrectly forecast winds scatter the bomber stream, particularly on the return flight, and German fighters scored further victories here. A total of 401 aircraft bomb the target with the loss of 40 bombers, 37 Lancasters, two Halifaxes and a Mosquito, are lost, 8.7 per cent of the force. The Australian No. 460 Squadron loses five of its 25 Lancasters on this raid, including the aircraft in which two newspaper reporters are flying.. The inaccurate wind forecast causes great difficulties for the Pathfinders, who are not able to establish their positions correctly. The b  ombing photographs of the Main Force suggest that the attack is scattered over a wide area of southern Berlin and the countryside south of the city. The Berlin report confirms this but adds that some useful damage is caused in the industrial areas of the eastern and western districts, with two more of the Siemens factories, a ball-bearing factory and several railway installations being badly hit. Damage elsewhere is light, only 136 buildings being destroyed. Five Mosquitos attack Bochum with three bombing the city and two hitting the Vereinigte Stahl steel plant; and one each Mosquitos hit Osnabruck and Witten.

AUSTRIA: nr. Krems: STALAG 17B: James Proakis and Ralph Lavoie attempted to escape under the cover of snow and darkness. Other POWs had tried to bribe a guard to cut the wire, but unbeknownst to Proakis and Lavoie, the other prisoners called off the escape attempt when the guard reported the attempted bribery to his superiors. When Proakis and Lavoie crawled past the wire, they suddenly found themselves under a hail of gunfire. Proakis began to run to a nearby air-raid trench but was immediately killed by machine gun fire. Lavoie crawled back toward the camp, but found his way blocked by two guards standing over him: one, with a rifle, and the other, an officer brandishing a pistol. When the officer noticed Lavoie was still alive, he repeatedly shot him in the legs, chest, and face. Kurtenbach and a few others ran up to stop the guards and demand access to the men. After a tense argument - during which the guard hit  Kurtenbach in the mouth with his rifle butt - the POWs were allowed to take Ralph Lavoie to the hospital. Lavoie recovered and was repatriated in a prisoner exchange due to his wounds. The POWs were not allowed to recover the body of James Proakis until the next day. After the war, the incident was reported to the War Crimes Office under the violation of "unlawful wounding" in the Geneva Convention. (Mike Yared)

U.S.S.R.: The Russians cross the Ingulets River and advance on Znamenka.

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, Allied aircraft and artillery pound enemy positions in preparation for Operation RAINCOAT (the assault on the Camino hill mass). Artillery concentrations are the heaviest thus far in the Italian campaign. The British X Corps continues an attack toward Calabritto but does not take it. Despite this failure, the 56th Division begins an attack on Mt. Camino from the south after nightfall. The U.S. II Corps opens an attack on the Camino hill mass from the northeast during the night of 2/3 December. The 1st Special Service Force moves against Mt. Ia Difensa, the 2d Regiment spearheading, and clears it before dawn. In the U.S. VI Corps 45th Infantry Division sector, the Germans continue a stout defense of La Bandita and positions on Hill 769. The U.S. 34th Infantry Division commits additional elements against Mt. Pantano and with great difficulty takes the second knob; Company L of the 133d Infantry Regiment gains Hill 180, on the southern slopes of Mt. Marrone, in a night attack, on 2/3 December, but the regiment is unable to gain further ground in the area after this.

The British 8th Army capture Lanciano and in V Corps area, Castelfrentano falls to New Zealand troops.

Bari: Frantic attempts are being made to conceal the inclusion in an Allied ship's cargo of a consignment of mustard gas which is causing the deaths of dozens of troops and dock-workers after a surprise German air raid here today.

Over 100 German Ju-88 bombers hit the port during a 20 minute attack. During the attack, Duppel, the German equivalent of Window (tinfoil strips dropped from aircraft to simulate aircraft echoes and confuse ground search and night fighter radars), is used for the first time. They sink 16 ships, partially destroy four more, and set off major explosions in two ammunition ships, starting huge fires and extensive damage to the harbour, 70,000 tons of shipping is sunk with 38,000 tons of supplies. Hundreds of survivors were picked out of the harbour and taken to hospital suffering from no more than shock, exposure and burns. Or so it seemed; but within a few hours these apparently only slightly hurt men began to die. They had succumbed to the effects of mustard gas, a weapon which caused thousands of casualties in the last war and which the Allies have in the past declared too horrific to be used by decent nations. One of the ships hit in the raid, the SS JOHN HARVEY unloading at Berth 29, was carrying a top-secret US consignment of 2,000 deadly M47-A1 mustard gas bombs, ( brought in case the Germans resort to chemical warfare) and guarded by a unit of the 701st Chemical Maintenance Company. The ship explodes and the blast wave caused by the explosion destroys or sinks seventeen ships in the harbour and kills or injures over 1,000 military personnel, civilian workers and nearby residents of the town. As ship after ship explodes or catches fire, hundreds of men are struggling in the oil covered water in a desperate attempt to escape. The Americans will spare no effort in covering the incident up.

Most of the dead and injured were stricken by gas escaping from the John Harvey as they swam through the water. Many more deaths from the effects of gas are expected.

The Canadian-owned, British-registered merchantman SS Fort Athabasca (7,132 GRT), loaded with ammunition and, when fires broke out after the ship was struck, 44 men out of her crew of 56 are killed. With the Allied hospitals filling up with injured, the doctors are at a loss to know what caused the terrible burns on the victims. Of the 617 men who made it to hospital, 83 die during the first month. If the doctors had known at the time it was mustard gas, it possible many more lives could have been saved with the proper treatment. The Allies immediately clamp a tight security blanket over the whole affair and it is not until five years later that the public learns the whole truth.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, A-20 Havocs, and RAF light bombers support ground forces in the Monte Trocchio area, and other B-25s, A-20s, and RAF and South African airplanes support ground forces near Sant' Ambrogio; more B-25s hit bridge and approaches near Chieti; fighters strafe trucks and trains while fighter-bombers blast gun positions along the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Army fronts. .

     Thirty seven USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, with fighter escort, bomb the town area, railroad bridge and marshalling yard at Bolzano while B-26 Marauders achieve excellent results in a raid on a bridge south of Orvieto and the marshalling yard at Arezzo.

     During the night of 2/3 December, 11 RAF Bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb Arezzo marshalling yard.

YUGOSLAVIA: German forces begin a major operation against the partisan army of Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Commander in Chief Yugoslav Liberation Army.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers hit harbors and shipping along the coast at or near Omis, Drvenicki, Trogir, Vrbnik, and Ston.

CHINA: Eighteen Japanese bombers and 30 "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) attack Suichwan Airfield. Nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s intercept, shooting down one Japanese and two P-40s are lost;. Six P-40s on armed reconnaissance bomb villages between Sha Nyao and Chiao Tou Chieh; 16 others bomb Japanese positions northeast of Changte.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: USN submarine USS Narwhal (SS-167) lands ammunition and stores, and evacuates certain people from Mindanao.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, over 50 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack the Borgen Bay area; 20 B-25s and B-26 Marauders hit Japanese forces in the Finschhafen area; and the Sio area is bombed by two B-24 Liberators.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, over 20 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit Malai and attack positions on the Porror River and Rigu Mission at Kieta; over 20 B-24 Liberators bomb Korovo and fighter patrols strafe the Chabai area.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Victoriaville laid down Levis, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: Fifteen atomic scientists, including the Soviet spy Klaus Fuchs, arrive from Britain to join the atomic research project.

Washington, D.C., the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) authorize the Allied Expeditionary Air Force to attack "sky sites" in the Pas de Calais area and on the Cherbourg Peninsula in France, which RAF photography and British intelligence have virtually identified as Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1) missile-launching sites.

Top of Page

Yesterday            Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday             Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1944 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 735: seven B-17 Flying Fortresses and six B-24 Liberators drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the Germans breach the dyke area on the Neder Rijn, the Dutch part of River Rhine, near Arnhem and flood the region to the southwest, forcing the corps to withdraw to the Waal River bridgehead to the rail line running west from Elst.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, 3d Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, joins the 10th Infantry Regiment in an attack through the southwestern part of Fort de la Houve. In the XII Corps area, the 101st Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, finds the Germans in possession of Sarre-Union and is obliged to clear it once more; the 104th Infantry Regiment elements move forward to strengthen their hold on the town. The 4th Armored Division cuts roads extending eastward to Domfessel and to Voellerdingen from Sarre-Union; with air support defeats German efforts to reopen these escape routes.

     Sixth Army Group commander, Lieutenant General Jacob Devers, orders the U.S. Seventh Army to regroup by December for a main assault northward. The French are to have full responsibility for reducing the Colmar Pocket. In the U.S. Seventh Army’s XV Corps area, the 44th Infantry Division takes Waidhambach. 45th drives into Engwiller and clears Meitesheim. In the VI Corps area, the French 2d Armored Division drive comes to a halt in the Kogenbeim- Freisenheim region and the division reverts to the French First Army. The 103d and 36th Infantry Divisions begin clearing house-to-house opposition in Sélestat.

     The French First Army is reinforced by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division. General Jean-Joseph de Lattre, First Army commander, orders converging drives against the Colmar Pocket from the north and south, aimed at the Rhine at Neuf Brisach.

GERMANY: The US 3rd Army crosses the river Saar in several places and one unit reaches Saarlautern.

In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIII Corps area, the 334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division, takes Leiffarth and the high ground northeast of Beeck and Lindern. The 407th Infantry Regiment, 102d Infantry Division, makes a co-ordinated effort against Roerdorf and Flossdorf, taking the former. In the XIX Corps area, the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, continues the struggle for the two strongpoints in the Juelich area.

     In the U.S. First Army’s VII Corps area, the 104th Infantry Division finishes clearing Inden and its entire zone west of the Inde River; at 2300 hours, the 415th and 414th Infantry Regiments, supported by fire of the 413th Infantry Regiment, start across the river at Inden, taking the Germans by surprise. The 1st Infantry Division is ordered to straighten the line by clearing Luchem and then prepare for relief; the 1st Infantry Division has gained less than 4 miles (6,4 kilometers) during 15 days of hard fighting. The 22d Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, repels a counterattack from Gey with the help of artillery. In the V Corps area, Task Force Hamberg of Combat Command R, 5th Armored Division, attacks down the Kleinhau-Brandenberg highway under fire from the Kommerscheidt-Schmidt ridge but is stopped by a mine field; interdictory fire is placed on the Germans during the night while mines are being cleared.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 10th Armored Division, with the capture of Dreisbach before dawn, finishes clearing its zone west of the Sarre River; Combat Command B is then held in reserve while Combat Command A outposts the west bank of the river between the 3d Cavalry Group (Mechanized) and the 90th Infantry Division. During the night of 2/3 December, the 90th Infantry Division begins extending southward in preparation for an attack across the Sarre River in the Dillingen area. The 9th Infantry Division is again supported by aircraft as it fights for crossing of the Sarre River in the Saarlautern area; 2d Battalion, 379th Infantry Regiment, drives into Saarlautern and begins a house-to- house battle in the western part of town; St Barbara falls to the 377th Infantry Regiment; the 378th Infantry Regiment forces the Germans from Pikard; aan rtillery observation plane spots bridge intact leading to Saarlautern and the 79th Infantry Regiment prepares to seize it.

     The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 734: 455 bombers and 604 fighters make GH attacks on marshalling yards (M/Ys) and fighter bomber attacks; they claim 34-3-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 11 bombers and four fighters are lost: 134 bomb Bingen M/Y with the loss of 11 aircraft; 125 hit Oberlahnstein M/Y; ten attack the Mosel M/Y at Koblenz; and seven others hit targets of opportunity.

Two hundred ten USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs, A-26 Invaders, and B-26 Marauders bomb areas of Saarlautern, Ensdorf, and Fraulautern; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly armed reconnaissance over western Germany (targets hit include a marshalling yard and bridges), and support the U.S. 1st Infantry Division at Luchem, the 104th Infantry Division at Inden, and the 8th Infantry Division in the Brandenberger Forest-Tiefenbach Creek area.

     USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack three cities: 293 attack Blechhammer with 164 hitting the I.G. Farben South syntheic oil refinery with the loss of five aircraft and 129 bombing the North refinery with the loss of one aircraft; 63 aircraft bomb the Deschowitz synthetic oil refinery at Odertal and two bomb Oppell, one hitting the marshalling yard and the other hitting the railroad.

     During the day, 92 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters attack the Hansa benzol plant at Dortmund through thick cloud; the bombing is believed to be accurate.

During the night of 2/3 December, RAF Bomber Command sends 504 aircraft, 394 Halifaxes, 87 Lancasters and 23 Mosquitos, to attack Hagen; 465 bombed the target with the loss of a Halifax and a Lancaster. The town of Hagen is not too heavily bombed before this raid. The effect upon industrial production is serious. Many firms are recorded as having lost up to three months' production. In addition, it is found by the Allies after the war that a factory making U-boat accumulator batteries, of which large numbers are needed by the new types of U-boats, is completely destroyed in this raid. Sixty Mosquitos bomb the city of Giessen.

AUSTRIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers hit four targets: 111 hit two targets in Vienna, 98 bomb the Florisdorf oil refinery and 13 bombing the Stroszhof marshalling yard; and one each attack Furstenfeld and the railroad at Siebing.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Troops of the Fourth Ukrainian Front expand their Ondava River bridgehead in Czechoslovakia.

     Thirteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers hit the marshalling yard at Sastin.

HUNGARY: Russian troops, under Malinovsky attack near Miskolc.

The Red Army continues a strong attack toward Budapest while the Second Ukrainian Front hammer at fortifications in the Miskolc area. The Third Ukrainian forces in southwestern Hungary press north and northwest on broad front between the Danube and Drava Rivers.

     USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers bomb a number of targets: 17 aircraft bomb the highway at Medve, six bomb the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Celldomolk while one hits the city, four attack the marshalling yard at Hegyeshalon, and eight aircraft bomb targets of opportunity.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: French Brigadier General Charles-André De Gaulle, Prime Minister of the Provisional Government meets Stalin for talks.

YUGOSLAVIA: During the night of 2/3 December, 11 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group drop supplies to partisans.

GREECE: Following growing unrest, demonstrations in Athens by the communist-based National Liberation Front (EAM) and the right wing National Popular Liberation Front (ELAS) result in British troops being forced to fire on the demonstrators. On 4 December, police stations are attacked and RAF units operating from Hassani begin flying sorties against EAM and ELAS targets in the Athens area.

ITALY: The British Eighth Army makes limited advances in preparation for a general offensive. X Corps, which is responsible for deceptive measures, takes command of the 26th Armoured Brigade, 6th Armored Division. The Canadian I Corps begins clearing the German’s switch-line positions between the Montone and the Lamone Rivers.

     USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers hit several bridges in northern and northeastern Italy, scoring effective hits on two bridges across the Piave and Brenta Rivers and four on the Brenner line; fighters and fighter- bombers attack communications in the Po Valley and support U.S. Fifth Army forces in the battle area south of Bologna. During the night of 2/3 December, fighters fly 60 sorties against targets in the U.S. Fifth Army battle area south of Bologna and against communications in northern Italy.

CHINA: Major General Albert Wedemeyer, Commanding General U.S. China Theater of Operations and Chief of Staff to Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, presents Chiang Kai-shek a proposal, suggested by Colonel David D. Barrett of the American Observer Group in Yenan, to form three communist regiments in Yenan, to be equipped by the U.S., for use in Nationalist territory under command of a U.S. officer. The plan is rejected. Later in December, Major General Robert McClure, Chief of Staff U.S. Forces US China Theater of Operations, drafts a plan for U.S. airborne units of technicians to go into communist China and informally presents it to the nationalists and communists for approval. A Japanese column driving on Kweiyang reaches Tu-shan.

     Thirty nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs, P-40s, and P-38 Lightning on armed reconnaissance attack troops, horses, trucks, railroad yards, shipping, storage facilities, and road machinery between Yungfengshih and Paoching, and at Kichang.

BURMA: In the British Fourteenth Army's XXXIII Corps area, the 11th East African Division reached the Chindwin at Kalewa.

Forty USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers fly close support strikes in the Bhamo battle sector; supply areas, ammunition dumps, personnel and tank concentrations, and strongholds at Mayathein, Kwingyi, Nanthe, Hsai-hkao, Hsenwi, Man Hkam, Wuntho, Tedaw, and Old Lashio are hit by over 60 fighter-bombers; 16 others hit rolling stock on the rail line between Hsipaw and Lashio and strafe a supply train in Pangkyawng; ten B-25 Mitchells attack several North Burma bridges, knocking out road bridges at Tonglau and Nam Nung and two railroad bridges at Tangon.

Four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells damage several buildings at Hsenwi. 39 P-51 Mustangs, P-40s, and P-38 Lightning on armed reconnaissance attack troops, horses, trucks, railroad yards, shipping, storage facilities, and road machinery north of Wanling, from Wanling to Lashio and in the Lashio area.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty three USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Guam bomb Iwo Jima. During the night of 2/3 December, three B-24s on snooper missions from the Mariana Islands bomb an airfield on Iwo Jima.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells attack Baoebaoe Airfield and Kendari on Celebes Island. B-25 Mitchells bomb Namlea Airfield on Boeroe Island and attack shipping off Ceram Island.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: During the night of 2/3 December there is a USN anti-shipping sweep designed to disrupt Japanese supplies destined for Ormoc Bay prior to the landing of the US Armies 77th Division on December 6th south of Ormoc city.  USN destroyer USS Cooper (DD-695), accompanied by destroyers USS Allen M. SUMNER (DD-692) and Moale (DD-693), engage two Japanese destroyers, HIJMS Kuwa and Take. USS Cooper (DD-695) is struck by a torpedo possibly from HIJMS Kuwa causing an explosion on her starboard side and breaking the ship in two about 9 nautical miles (17 kilometers) south of Ormoc in position 10.54N, 124.36E. Before being hit, USS Cooper and the other two destroyers sink HIJMS Kuwa and damages her sistership HIJMS Take. Cooper sinks within minutes taking the lives of 191 crewmen. "Black Cat" PBY-5A Catalinas pick up 168 survivors that night and the next day. One PBY carries 56 in addition to its eight-man crew. USS Allen M. Sumner is damaged by horizontal bomber, and USS Moale is damaged (possibly by Kuwa) in Ormoc Bay. This is the only naval engagement of the Pacific War in which US ships are fired upon simultaneously from the air, sea and from shore batteries in one short desperate four hour battle. (Ron Babuka)

Additionally 15 Japanese aircraft claimed downed. USS Allen M. Sumner suffered 16 WIAs and USS Moale suffered 2 KIA and 22 WIA. (Ron Babuka)

     Australian B-24 Liberators attack a small Japanese convoy in the Makassar Strait between Borneo and Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies. The aircraft sink a small freighter and damage a freighter and a fuel barge.

In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, Companies E and F, 128 Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, extend southward on Kilay Ridge against firm resistance. The 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, is ordered by the 128th Infantry Regiment commander to remain on the ridge until further notice. The 112th Cavalry Regiment (Special) continues efforts to clear the ridge southeast of Limon and sends Troop A toward Highway 2 to make contact with the 32d Infantry Division.

     USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators hit Dumaguete Airfield on Negros Island and Matina and Cagayan Airfields on Mindanao Island. Fighter-bombers in the central Philippines and Mindanao Island support ground forces and hit supplies, communications, and a variety of targets of opportunity.

     USN submarine USS Gunnel (SS-253) lands supplies and evacuates Allied aviators from Palawan.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Australian Lieutenant General William Bridgeford, General Officer Commanding 3rd Australian Division, informs his senior officers that the first phase of operations in the southern sector of Bougainville will be the capture of Mosigetta and Mawaraka which are about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Torokina.

U.S.A.: "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 4 November 1944, was charted for 18 weeks, was Number 1 for 2 weeks and was ranked Number 15 for the year 1944.

Top of Page

Yesterday     Tomorrow

Home

Yesterday      Tomorrow

December 2nd, 1945 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The maiden flight of the prototype Bristol 170 Mk 31 Freighter G-AGPV occurs today. It can carry bulky cargoes such as 3 ton trucks or the new helicopters for 800 miles.

The first islanders return to the Channel Island of Alderney.

GERMANY: The US Ninth Air Force is inactivated.

ALBANIA: The Soviet Union and the Western Allies had recognized the Communist-dominated government of Premier Enver Hoxha on 10 November. Having eliminated all opposition Enver Hoxha, the secretary of the Albanian Communist Party calls elections, which return a single list of official candidates.

BRAZIL: A general election is held today.

FRENCH INDOCHINA/Vietnam: The Viet Minh declare Vietnam a free and independent state.

JAPAN: The Diet passes resolutions on "War Responsibility" and "War Responsibility of Diet Members" which reads:

"Having been defeated, our nation is facing the greatest threat in its history in every aspect of ideology, politics, economies and society. To establish a way of rebuilding Japan as a moral nation and of ensuring permanent peace, we must try to discover the causes of this defeat and determine those who were responsible, in order to implement measures to prevent a future recurrence of such mistakes."

Called on to prosecute those responsible in order to build a "Japan as a moral state," the legislators described "responsibility" as follows:

"We think war responsibility should be defined in the following two ways: responsibility for initiating the war, which is attributable to those who recklessly plotted to disturb international peace, and responsibility for criminal offenses involving of atrocities committed during the war in violation of international conventions. The general public, which followed state orders and legally performed those activities, should therefore be exempted from any responsibility."

 

Top of Page

Yesterday      Tomorrow

Home