5 December 1939

UNITED STATES: At 1530 hours local, the Utah legislature becomes the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval thus making the amendment the law of the land. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day. This amendment repeals the 18th Amendment which prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" within the U.S. and its territories. It took 288 days to get 36 states to adopt this amendment.

ETHIOPIA: Italian and Ethiopian troops clash at Ualual on the disputed Ethiopian-Italian Somaliland frontier. The Italians have territorial aspirations on Ethiopia since 1896. After World War I, the Italians adopted a treaty of friendship with Ethiopia and supported the kingdom's admission into the League of Nations. However, the clash at Ualual reflects a major change in Italian foreign policy towards imperialism. The Italian government demands an apology from the Ethiopian government and reparations. In response, the Ethiopian government calls for an international investigation of the incident. This clash serves as the precursor for the beginning of the Italian-Ethiopian War.

YUGOSLAVIA: The Government begins deporting Hungarians stating, "In view of the. large amount of unemployment among Yugoslav citizens, the Hungarian attitude at Geneva (Switzerland), and the fact that Hungarians have withdrawn the permits of several hundred Yugoslavs living in Hungary, we decided not to renew these permits as they fell due . . . 27,000 Hungarian citizens have been working and living in Yugoslavia on renewable short-term permits for a long time."

UNITED STATES: Secretary of State Cordell Hull protests the Japanese-inspired autonomy movement in North China stating, "Political disturbances and pressures give rise to uncertainty and misgiving and tend to produce economic and social dislocations. They make difficult the enjoyment of treaty rights and the fulfillment of treaty obligations."

UNITED STATES: A sailor serving in the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) is arrested for threatening to kill film star Ginger Rogers unless she paid him US$5,000 (US$70,252 in year 2005 dollars).

SPAIN: Loyalist Republican forces begin a counter-offensive around Teruel, an operation which forces Lieutenant General Francisco Franco's Nationalist troops to transfer military forces from their campaign in the northeast.

He claimed great success for Britain's policy of moving ships in convoys. There were always 2,000 ships at sea, and losses in convoy were down to one in 750. Two-thirds of the ships now being sunk by the mines belonged to neutrals. As far as the war at sea was concerned, "German friendship has proved far more poisonous than German enmity," Mr. Churchill said. He did not mention the capture off Brazil yesterday of the liner 'Ussukuma', which had been attempting to take supplies to German pocket battleships in the South Atlantic.

U-28 laid 12 mines in the Bristol Channel, later resulting in the sinking of one ship.

U-59 laid 9 mines off Cockle lightship off Lowestoft, which later resulted in the sinking of two ships.

Destroyer ORP Krakowiak laid down.

A Sunderland Mk. I seaplane of the Australian No. 10 Squadron based at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales, flies on the first official RAAF operation of the war. This is the beginning of six years of war for 10 Squadron, which flew as part of RAF Coastal Command continuously against U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.

NETHERLANDS: Submarine HNLMS O-23 launched.

FINLAND: Russian troops reach the Mannerheim Line, Finland's main defensive position.

GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Exochorda is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities, who maintain that the 45 tons (41 metric tonnes) of tin plate among the vessel's cargo is contraband. The latter maintain that the cargo must be taken to Marseilles, France, and unloaded there; the manager of the shipping firm (Export Lines) maintains that the ship cannot proceed to a belligerent port without violating the Neutrality Act. Until the impasse is resolved, the merchantman remains at Gibraltar. Freighter SS Exmouth, detained at Gibraltar since 22 November, is released.

U.S.S.R.: Moscow: Russia rejects a League of Nations proposal to end the war with Finland.

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine departed Halifax for Jamaica and Caribbean patrol.

U.S.A.: Washington: Roosevelt asks for $1,319 million out of his $9,000 million budget to be spent on defence.

Torpedoed Canadian destroyer Saguenay limps into British port after taking a hit from a German torpedo; first Canadian warship torpedoed.

RAF Bomber Command: Night raids are carried out on Düsseldorf and Turin.

VICHY FRANCE: In a letter to Churchill, Professor of Philosophy, Louis Rougier transmitted the following assurances from Marshal Petain:
1. France would not sign a separate peace with the Axis before the end of hostilities between Great Britain and Germany.
2. France would not cede naval or air bases or the fleet to the Axis and would resist any attempt by Spain, Germany or Italy to seize the French colonies in North Africa.
3. France accepted the submission of French Equatorial Africa to General de Gaulle as a fait accompli till the end of the war on the understanding that the territories would then be restored to France and that meanwhile no attack would be directed against French West Africa, North Africa or Morocco.

This is an attempt to create a secret agreement between England and Vichy France that would commit the French to return to the war as soon as "the British 'or their allies' were in a position strong enough to stage a landing and equip French colonial troops."

GERMANY: Hitler meets his generals to discuss his initial plans for the invasion of the USSR. After a four-hour meeting he approves the plans of Halder and Brauchitsch. Colonel General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff, and Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

U-109 is commissioned.

ALBANIA: Greek forces advancing along the coastal road occupy the Italian's southernmost Albanian sea base at Santi Quaranta. The Italians evacuate Argyrokastra.

CHINA: Japan appears to have lost control of large areas of northern China following a three-month offensive by Chinese Communist troops of the Eight Route Army to disrupt Japanese installations in the region.
Within the last few days there have been signs that the exhausted Communists are winding down the operation, known as the Hundred Regiments campaign, in the belief it has achieved its political aim of disrupting talks between Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists and Japan.
According to Communist claims, the campaign, which has seen Chinese troops abandon hit and run tactics for outright confrontation, has achieved all its military aims; attacks on Japanese outposts have forced the enemy to retreat into large enclaves; and those positions still held by the Japanese have been so severely damaged that it will be at least six months before most major installations are operative again. Among the most heavily damaged are the Peking-Hankow railway, cut in 86 places, and the Anshan steel mills in Manchukuo. According to Communist estimates, Japan's North China Army has lost at least five battalions.
However, internal critics fear that the extravagant use of manpower - with the Chinese outnumbering the enemy by ten to one - is too expensive with Communist casualties of 22,000.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: The17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) arrives at Nichols Field, Luzon, from Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, Michigan. (Marc Small and Jack McKillop)

CANADA: First Canadian corvettes join Battle of the Atlantic. Four former USN destroyers which had been turned over to a Canadian care-and-maintenance party in November are commissioned by the Royal Navy at Halifax, Nova Scotia: Ringgold (DD-89) becomes HMS Newark (G 08), Sigourney (DD-81) becomes HMS Newport (G 54), Tillman (DD-135) becomes HMS Wells (I 95), and Robinson (DD-88), becomes HMS Newmarket (G 47), part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. (Ron Babuka)

U.S.A.: The motion picture "The Thief of Baghdad" opens at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan and Michael Powell, this Arabian Nights fantasy adventure stars Sabu and Conrad Veidt.

Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired) takes the oath of office as Ambassador to Vichy France.

U.S.S.R.: Temperatures around Moscow fall to between -25C and -30C (-13F and -22F). The leading German panzer commander, Colonel General (U.S. general) Heinz Guderian, commanding the Second Panzer Army, realizes his troops no longer have the strength and material capabilities to carry on the attack and must be withdrawn to a shorter line. Hitler agrees to a halt in the offensive towards Moscow, due to growing German weakness.

The German Fliegerkorps II and Luftlotte 2 are ordered, by Hitler, from the Eastern Front to the MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The goal is to disrupt the attacks from Malta against the Axis supply convoys for North Africa.

A friendship and mutual aid agreement between the Soviets and General Sikorski, of the Polish Government in Exile in London, is signed in Moscow.

Tokyo: JAPAN: assures the USA that its build-up of troops in Indochina is a purely defensive measure.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: At 1730 hours, two merchant ships escorted by two warships depart Tobruk, Libya, for Alexandria, Egypt. One of the ships is the 3,033 ton SS Chakdina carrying 380 wounded soldiers including 97 New Zealanders; several officers and medical personnel are accompanying the wounded. Chakdina is not a hospital ship and is not marked as one. At about 2100 hours, a Luftwaffe aircraft attacks the ship and puts a torpedo into her aft hold causing the ship to sink in 3-1/2 minutes. There was very little chance of escape, except for those who were not wounded or only slightly wounded, and who were in a favorable position at the time. Only 18 of the New Zealand wounded are picked up by the escort destroyer HMS Farndale (L 70), which also rescues all except one of the Divisional Headquarters medical staff.

AUSTRALIA: The government today cancelled all army leave as the prospect of war with Japan grows more likely. Japanese convoys are on the move in Asia, and the only question now seems to be where, not whether, they will strike.

Allied forces have been brought to the first degree of readiness. Australian service chiefs have been summoned and the Australian war cabinet has issued orders for emergency measures in the Pacific.

However, Australia has the bulk of its army strength - three divisions - in North Africa and the Middle East. So far there is no question of their return, as the war cabinet does not believe that there is an immediate threat to Australia.

Meanwhile, John Curtin, the Australian prime minister, is anxiously following the efforts of the United States to negotiate with the Japanese and thereby avert an extension of the European war to the Pacific. The government here wonders whether, if negotiations fail, the United States will take the lead in armed defence against Japanese aggression. Despite the links with Britain and the British base at Singapore, it is the Americans are seen as potentially the major Allied power in the Pacific.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Visit by Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, commander of the British Far East Squadron. Phillips met with MacArthur and Hart at Cavite. Phillips requests assignment of two destroyer divisions to operate with HMS Repulse and HMS Renown. Hart demurs. Hart receives message from Captain John Creighton, USN, his liaison officer in Singapore, that the British had been informed by the US government that the US would enter the war on the British side if one of several possibilities occurred. Hart requested further information from the Navy Department.

COMYANGPAT is dissolved as the Yangtze gunboats arrive at Cavite. (Marc James Small)

Radar at Iba picks up contact fifty miles off shore after evening dusk and patrol of P-40's is vectored in to discover a flight of Zero fighters, which turn north when they spot the American aircraft.

Hart receives message from Captain John Creighton, USN, his liaison officer in Singapore, that the British had been informed by the US government that the US would enter the war on the British side if one of several possibilities occurred. Hart requested further information from the Navy Department.

Japanese Foreign Ministry advises Commonwealth Government that the Japanese counsel would be remaining in the Home Islands for a while due to a “cold”.

During the late afternoon, MacArthur "> MacArthur, through Sutherland, directs that FEAF aircraft encountering unknown aircraft in international airspace are to act defensively but, if such are encountered within Philippine airspace, they are to be attacked and shot down.

Isabel reaches Camranh Bay, is discovered by Japanese patrol aircraft, and is ordered by Hart to return to Manila.
(Marc Small)

EAST INDIES: The Netherlands East Indies and Australia have a long-standing agreement to aid each other in the event of war. Today, the Australians are asked to send aircraft to Dutch Timor because of Japanese ship and troop movements.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The U.S. Navy's Task Force 12 (Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance), comprised of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2); the heavy cruisers USS Astoria (CA-34), Chicago (CA-29), and Portland (CA-33); and the destroyers USS Drayton (DD-366), Flusser (DD-368), Lamson (DD-367), Mahan (DD-364), and Porter (DD-356), depart Pearl Harbor Lexington is carrying 18 Vought SB2U-3 Vindicators of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron Two Hundred Thirty One (VMSB-231) which are to be flown off to reinforce Midway Island. The plan is to approach within 400 miles (640 kilometers) of Midway and fly the Marine squadron off to land on the island; this position would be reached by mid-morning on 7 December. After launching the Marine aircraft, Lexington would be free to continue training/scouting.

Communication Intelligence Summary, December 5, 1941: General.-Traffic volume heavy. All circuits overloaded with Tokyo broadcast going over full 24 hours. Tokyo-Mandates circuit in duplex operation. There were several new intercept schedules heard. OMINATO radio working SAMA and BAKO sending fleet traffic. The Takao broadcast handling traffic Second and Third Fleet while the Tokyo broadcast is still handling traffic for these units also. It is noted that some traffic being broadcast is several days old which indicates the uncertainty of delivery existing in the radio organization. There were many messages of high precedence which appears to be caused by the jammed condition of all circuits. A plain language message was sent by the Captain, OKAWA from Tokyo to Takao probably for further relay addressed to FUJIHARA, Chief of the Political Affairs Bureau saying that "in reference to the Far Eastern Crisis, what you said is considered important at this end but proceed with what you are doing, specific orders will be issued soon."

- Combined Fleet.- Neither the Second or Third Fleet Commanders have originated any traffic today. They are still frequently addressed but are receiving their traffic over broadcast. They are undoubtedly in Takao area or farther south since the Takao broadcast handles nearly all their traffic. No traffic from the Commander Carriers or Submarine Force has been seen either.

- Third Fleet.- In one WE address a "Chief of Staff" sent a message to "Commander Fourteenth Army abroad RYUJOMARU in Third Fleet. HITOYO.GUN.SATI (IRO 1 REUZEU MARU). A number of MARUS have been addressing the CINC. Third Fleet.

- Fourth Fleet.- The Secretary, Fourth Fleet and Staff Communication Officer the Fourth Fleet were addressed at Jaluit today strengthening the impression at the CinC. Fourth Fleet is in the Marshalls. The Commander of the South China Fleet has been addressing Palao radio and the RNO TAIHOKU and the Commander Second Fleet.

- South China.-SAMA addressed much traffic to CinC. Second Fleet. BAKO continues as an active originator with many dispatches to Second and Third Fleet. The Commander Combined Air Force appears to be busy with the movement of Air Corps. SHIOGAMA Air and at least two unidentified corps are moving, probably to Indo-China. (Jack McKillop & Dave Shirlaw)

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: Two U.S. Army War Plans Division representatives visiting bases in Alaska note that housing is vulnerable to aerial bombing, antiaircraft artillery is inadequate, roads are insufficient, and storage facilities are inadequate. They recommend that the War Department remedy these deficiencies as quickly as possible.

U.S.A.: Knox advises cabinet meeting that the Japanese fleet was at sea. He suggested they were heading south, but Roosevelt suggested that they might be headed north. The reference is presumably to the strike force directed against the Philippines and Malaya, as the Pearl Harbor strike force was under radio silence.

Japanese Ambassador NOMURA Kichisaburo and special envoy KURUSU Saburo meet with Secretary of State Cordell Hull and hand him the following note: "Reference is made to your inquiry about the intention of the Japanese Government with regard to the reported movements of Japanese troops in French Indo-china. Under instructions from Tokyo I wish to inform you as follows. As Chinese troops have recently shown frequent signs of movements along the northern frontier of French Indo-china bordering on China, Japanese troops, with the object of mainly taking precautionary measures, have been reinforced to a certain extent in the northern part of French Indo-china. As a natural sequence of this step, certain movements have been made among the troops stationed the southern part of the said territory. It seems that an exaggerated report has been made of these movements. It should be added that no measure has been taken on the part of the Japanese Government that may transgress the stipulations of the Protocol of Joint Defense between Japan and France."

In the San Francisco, California, area, harbor defenses are on full war alert and the troops are each issued 40 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: USN Task Unit 4.1.3 assumes escort duty for convoy HX-163 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to U.K.) in the North Atlantic.

UNITED KINGDOM: Fighter squadrons from seven Allied countries took part today in the biggest series of daylight raids yet mounted on targets in Europe. Among them were two from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, a famous Free French Squadron and three from the USAAF.

Crack Polish squadrons flew alongside others from Canada and New Zealand, and this truly Allied effort was completed by battle-hardened RAF units.

They made independent sweeps to draw off enemy fighters and provided cover for British light bombers to make the main raid, a successful low-level attack on the Philips radio factory at Eindhoven in Holland, and for American B-17s and B-24s which raided an engineering works at Lille and the Abbeville fighter airfield.

EIRE: A USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress en route from North America to the United Kingdom crash lands on the beach at Mullaghmore, County Sligo. After interrogation at the local pub, the five man crew is taken to the border with Northern Ireland and released.

FRANCE: During the night of 5/6 December, six RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over the country.

U-73 was attacked in the Mediterranean by an aircraft, and was damaged so badly that she had to return to base.

TUNISIA: The Combined Chiefs of Staff approve Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower's plan to attack on 9 December. Eisenhower is the Supreme Commander Allied Force. The British First Army is handicapped by lack of advanced airfields, overextended supply lines, and lack of reserves. While preparations are being made for the attack, Allied aircraft are conducting strikes against ports to limit the Axis build-up.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the docks and shipping at Tunis; B-25 Mitchells hit the Sidi Ahmed Airfield; and DB-7 Bostons follow shortly with a raid on Sidi Ahmed while another small force of DB-7s hits Faid. Each raid is escorted by P-38 Lightnings. P-38s fly reconnaissance over wide areas of Tunisia, a B-17 photographs the Sousse-Sfax-Gabes area.

NIGERIA: Three British ASW, HMS Canna, Bengali (FY-165) and Spaniard (FY-144), are berthed in the harbour at Lagos when a petrol spill catches fire engulfing the three ships. One by one they explode and in the process kill around 200 people. Fishing trawlers are used extensively during the war on escort duties and mine sweeping. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: Durban: At least three Allied ships have been sunk in the Indian Ocean in the past week by enemy submarines. Admiral Donitz, pursuing his policy of hitting at weak points in the Allied defences, has sent some of his long-range U-boats to operate from Japanese bases, sometimes with the help of Japanese boats. They have scored some notable successes. One British steamer, sunk off Zululand, had 1,000 South African troops on board. A British transport was sunk with South African troops and Italian refugees from Eritrea on board. A Greek ship, the CLEANTHIS (formerly the FRAMLINGTON CASTLE), was sunk on Monday.

In the Australian 7th Division Gona area of Papua New Guinea, the Australian 21st Brigade, maintains pressure on the Japanese; the 25th Brigade withdraws for Port Moresby. A battalion of the 21st Brigade, supported by elements of the 39th Battalion, 30th Brigade, moves east to keep the Japanese from Basabua anchorage while the rest of the 39th Battalion advances west because of Japanese landings at the Kumusi River mouth. A roadblock on the Soputa- Sanananda trail remains under severe pressure, and food and ammunition of the garrison are dwindling rapidly. The Japanese turn back a supply party attempting to reach the block and again repel frontal and flanking attacks toward it. After an air and artillery preparation, the Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division) and Warren Force (based on U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) launch all-out attacks. A company of the Urbana Force's U.S. 126th Infantry Regiment drives to within 50 yards (46 meters) of Buna Village; others break through to the sea; still others invest the west bank of Entrance Creek except for Coconut Grove. Buna Village is completely isolated. The Warren Force attack, although preceded by five Bren-gun carriers which are destroyed, is a total failure except on the left, where slight progress is made toward the bridge between the airstrips. The Warren Force suffers heavily from the Japanese as well as intense heat.

In the air over Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells pound the Buna area. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: No. 18 Squadron RAAF equipped with the North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber moves to MacDonald, Northern Territory.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Kavieng Airfield on the east coast of New Ireland Island.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: USAAF Eleventh Air Force reconnaissance missions over Attu, Agattu, the Semichis, Amchitka and Kiska Islands turns up nothing.

U.S.A.: Washington: The US Navy publishes its report on the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, revealing how much damage was done.

US: Pilots testing the Thunderbolt fighter plane report reaching 725 mph, just short of the speed of sound. (How accurate their measurements could be is a matter of debate.[AE])

Japanese-American Fred Tayama, an informant for the FBI, is attacked and seriously injured by a group of inmates at the Manzanar Relocation Camp For Ethnic Japanese, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Bishop, California. The arrest of the popular Harry Ueno who was accused in the attack on Tayama, triggers a mass uprising.

Headquarters USAAF inactivates the I Concentration Command. This unit was tasked for the final preparation for unit movements overseas and this task is now assigned to the First through Fourth Air Forces and the Air Transport Command.

The Selective Service System is placed under the War Manpower Commission by Presidential executive order.

Submarine USS Flounder laid down.

Destroyer USS Yarnall laid down.

Destroyer USS Heermann launched.

Minesweeper USS Swift launched.

Destroyer USS Renshaw commissioned.

WEST INDIES: The USN gunboat USS Erie (PG-50), damaged on 12 November was moved to Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands West Indies to facilitate salvage on 28 November. Before the repairs could be completed, she begins to take on a starboard list, and when counterflooded, capsizes to port and sinks.

UNITED KINGDOM: The US 8th Army Air force begins Operation Crossbow against German "Ski" rocket launch sites in northern France.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 149: Airfields in France are targeted and eight B-17 Flying Fortresses and a B-24 Liberator are lost. The targets are: (1) 216 B-17s are dispatched to Laleu Airfield at La Rochelle, St Jean and D'Angely Airfield, Bois and Ivry Airfields in Paris and D'Colombes Airfield; none hit the target due to weather. (2) 96 B-24s are dispatched to Chateaubernard Airfield Cognac; two hit St Nazaire as a target of opportunity. (3) 236 B-17s are dispatched to the Merignac air depot at Bordeaux; one1 hits the target. Eight B-17s are lost. These missions are escorted by 34 P-38 Lightnings and 266 P-47s plus 36 Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs.

Fifty two USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Ligescourt, Campagne-les-Hesdin, and Saint-Josse while 200 others are forced to abandon the mission because of heavy cloud cover over the targets, including V-weapon sites which the Ninth had scheduled to attack for the first time. Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs fly their first escort mission, accompanying Eighth Air Force heavy bombers in a raid against targets in the area near Amiens.

ITALY: Attacks and counterattacks mark the continued fight for possession of the summit of Monte Camino.

The Indian 8th Division crosses the river Moro, pushing towards the supply port of Ortona.

The first Italian internment camp specifically for the Jews was opened in Fossoli by Benito Mussolini's Italian Socialist Republic (RSI). By the end of the war, approximately one third of all Jews in Italy were either interned or exterminated.

In the U.S. Fifth Army's British X Corps area, the Germans withdraw from Monastery Hill (963) since the position is threatened by 56th Division units, which move up toward Colic, west of the hill. The U.S. II Corps retains current positions on Mt. Ia Difensa and Mt. Maggiore, but they are being supplied only with great difficulty. The U.S. VI Corps remains in place, consolidating and patrolling. (John Nicholas)

In the British Eighth Army area, V Corps pushes toward Ortona, whose harbor can be used for supply, the Indian 8th Division crossing the Morn River. (John Nicholas)

Weather hampers Twelfth Air Force medium bomber operations, but B-25 Mitchells manage to bomb a bridge at Pescara. Fighter- bombers and fighters (and a number of other Allied airplanes) hit gun positions south of Chieti, trains and trucks west of Aquino, bridges near Mignano and Ladispoli, the town of Arezzo, airfields at Piombino and Aviano, and building south of Garda Lake.

YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb a marshalling yard and shipyards at Split. Fighters hit a vessel in Poljud harbor (near Split).

EGYPT: At the Cairo Conference, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt decides on General Dwight D Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander for Operation OVERLORD, the invasion of western Europe. Roosevelt accedes to British wishes that Operation BUCCANEER, the plan for amphibious operations in the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, be canceled. The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) ask Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Commander Southeast Asia Command, to suggest an action to be taken in the event he loses most of his landing craft. The CCS also issue a directive for the organization of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) consolidating RAF and USAAF forces of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) and Northwest African Air Force (NAAF). As to the Pacific, landings in the Bismarck Archipelago and the Marshall Islands are to be made in January 1944; Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands is to be taken by April 1944; Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea will be taken by June 1944; a nd the Mariana Islands are to be secured by October 1944.

INDIA: Japanese bombers make their first strategic daylight raid on Calcutta damaging dock area; 350 people are killed and 150 injured in the attack.

CHINA: Sixteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s over the Chang-te area damage several large supply sampans near Ansiang and strafe various targets of opportunity in the Tehshan and Hsutu Lake areas while 20+ P-40s on patrols over the Chang-te area attack numerous boats and other targets throughout the nearby lake region.

BURMA: During the night of 5/6 December, USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators mine waters in the Moulmein area while five others lay mines in the Rangoon River.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese rearguard has orders stating "while avoiding any decisive engagement" to "carry out successive resistance to try to delay enemy advance." The rearguard is positioned at any natural obstacle while the main body of the Japanese 20th Division hurries north from Wateo.

In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit Japanese forces in the Finschhafen area while B-25 Mitchells, B-26 Marauders, and P-40s attack targets along the Bogadjim Road.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Forty USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island and A-20 Havocs destroy small craft off New Britain.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, 23 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and 20+ USN SBD Dauntlesses hit the Monoitu, Aitara Mission, and Mosigetta area; fighter patrols hit several areas on Bougainville and on Shortland Island, including Chabai, Numa Numa, Mosigetta, Monoitu, and Faisi Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: From Glen Boren's diary: Newsflash! Jap carrier sunk by sub. Monterey fighters shot down a betty, 6 miles from the task force. Scuttlebutt has it that a new raid is in store for us soon.

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF aircraft carrying out "Bomber" Harris's threat to wreck Germany "from end to end", last night smashed Heilbronn a city on a key north/south rail route. Virtually unopposed by the Luftwaffe, 282 Lancasters and ten Mosquitoes used their expertise to create the maximum devastation. The raid was controlled from the air by a Master Bomber who directed the dropping of markers and then sent in the Lancasters. High-explosive bombs opened up buildings as kindling for 2,000 tons of incendiaries. The city is in flames. Some 7,000 civilians are thought to have died. 12 Lancasters were lost.

During the night of 5/6 December, the USAAF's Eighth Air Force flies Mission 740: 11 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XII Corps area, the 35th Infantry Division gets patrols to the Sarre River; the 2d Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment, drives to the southeast outskirts of Sarreguemines. Combat Command A, 6th Armored Division, also patrols to the river line, in the region north of Sarreguemines. The 2d Cavalry Group (Mechanized), advancing along the Roselle River on the left flank of the corps, patrols across the German frontier near St. Nicolas. Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division, crosses the creek at Domfessel and pushes north toward Rohrbach-les-Bitche, an important communications center, but is halted with heavy losses short of Bining; Combat Command B drives to Schmittviller.

The U.S. Seventh Army begins a general attack northward toward the Maginot Line and West Wall with the reorganized XV Corps on the left and the VI Corps on the right. The XV Corps, consisting of 44th and 100th Infantry Divisions and the 12th Armored Division, pushes forward with infantry, the 44th taking Ratzwiller and the 100th overrunning Wimmenau and Wingen. The VI Corps (3d, 45th, 79th, and 103d Infantry Divisions and 14th Armored Division) drives northward with the 45th and 79th Infantry Divisions: elements of the 45th reach Mertzwiller, which the Germans are defending stubbornly. In the rear area, Fort St. Quentin, one of the three remaining German held forts around Metz, fell to a combined air and ground attack. 600 prisoners were taken. (Andy Etherington and

In the French First Army area, alteration of the inter-army boundary gives the French full responsibility for the reduction of the German bridgehead west of the Rhine River in the Colmar area; the French First Army is reinforced for the task by the U.S. 36th Infantry Division and French 2d Armored Division.

GERMANY: Saarland: The battle for the key industrial area of the Saar basin is moving towards a climax as Patton's US 3rd Army exploits the three bridge-heads established across the Saar river. Advances up to 9 miles have been made, and in the central sector of the front the Americans are within 5 miles of the capital Saarbrücken.

Fighting is taking place in Saarguemines, where the Germans are putting up stiff resistance. Saarlautern has been captured, and the first belt of the Siegfried Line defences attacked. In the rear area, Fort St. Quentin, one of the three remaining German held forts around Metz, fell to a combined air and ground attack. 600 prisoners were taken.

Congresswoman Clare Booth Luce, the wife of the Time magazine publisher, arrived at the Third Army front today with other members of the House of Representatives. She was allowed to fire a 155mm howitzer at the German lines by pulling the lanyard.

Berlin: The call went out today for all German women over 18 to volunteer for the army and air force. They are needed as auxiliaries by the Heer and Luftwaffe in order to free men for service at the front. Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, the Reich's women's leader, appealed to women to come forward because "the enemy's hatred is intent on annihilating the German people."

In the U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 104th Infantry Division withstands a determined counterattack against Lucherberg. In the V Corps area, Task Force Boyer of Combat Command R, 5th Armored Division, renewing a drive on Bergstein, pushes three prongs into the village and clears it but is threatened from Castle Hill (Burg-Berg) to the east..

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 1st and 3d Battalions of the 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Infantry Division, continue to attack toward Saarlautern-Roden and Fraulautern, respectively, without making much headway; The 2d Battalion crosses into the bridgehead and drives through the 1st Battalion to the edge of Saarlautern-Roden, where a counterattack is repulsed; the 3d Battalion breaks into the southern part of Fraulautern; two battalions of the 378th Infantry Regiment cross the Sarre River at Lisdorf and drive to the edge of Ensdorf. On the southern flank of the corps, Lauterbach falls to the 5th Infantry Division without a fight. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

Between 0040 and 1350 hours, USAAF fighters shoot down 91 Luftwaffe aircraft over Germany.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 738: 589 bombers and 884 fighters are dispatched to make attacks on Germany; an estimated 275-300 Luftwaffe fighters attack and USAAF fighters claim 90-7-30 aircraft; 12 bombers and 17 fighters are lost. Three targets are hit in Berlin, 214 hit the gas works, 174 bomb the Tegel-Rheinmetal tank factory and 13 attack the industrial area; 12 bombers are lost. Other targets hit include the marshalling yard at Munster by 108 B-24 Liberators, while 23 other aircraft hit targets of opportunity.

One hundred seventy two USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs, A-26 Invaders, and B-26 Marauders attack a marshalling yard, road junction, fuel storage dump, defended positions, and rail bridge at eight locations; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division aircraft, fly numerous armed reconnaissance missions, and provide cover for the U.S. 1st, 8th, and 104th Infantry Divisions in the Luchem, Bergstein, and Lucherberg areas.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command flies two missions: (1) 91 Lancasters carry out a G-H raid on Hamm through cloud without loss. The British Bombing Survey Unit estimates that 140 acres (57 hectares), 39 per cent of Hamm's built-up area, are destroyed by this attack. (2) 56 Lancasters attempt to bomb the Schwammenauel Dam on the River Roer to help the American Army, but the target is covered by cloud and only two aircraft bombed.

During the night of 5/6 December, RAF Bomber Command aircraft hit four cities: (1) 497 aircraft, 385 Halifaxes, 100 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos, are dispatched to Soest; 473 bomb the target with the loss of two Halifaxes. This is a successful raid, with the local report confirming that most of the bombing is in the northern part of the town where the railway installations are situated. Mosquitos are active with 52 bombing Ludwigshafen, 28 hit Nurnburg and two attack a coking plant at Hamborn.

U-4707 laid down.

U-2352, U-2531 launched.

HUNGARY: The Soviet Third Ukrainian Front progresses rapidly in the center, where forward elements reach Lake Balaton; the left flank elements driving along the north bank of the Drava River overrun Szigetvar. .

In the British Eighth Army area, the Polish II Corps, after taking Mt. Rinaldo and securing the left flank of the army, halts until V Corps can reduce the opposition on Pideura ridge. In the V Corps area, the 46th Division continues to make slow progress against Pideura ridge. In the Canadian I Corps area, the 1st Division launches an attack on San Leonardo across the Lamone River on the left flank of corps, but are driven back by a German counterattack. Mopping up is conducted east of the Lamone River for the next few days while bridging is underway.

Bad weather severely restricts USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations; medium bomber missions are cancelled except for a weather reconnaissance flight; fighters and fighter-bombers hit a few rail lines and other communications targets in the eastern Po River Valley but devote a major effort to closely support the U.S. Fifth Army in the battle area south of Bologna.

YUGOSLAVIA: Berlin reports a Soviet crossing of the Danube near Vukovar, Croatia.

GREECE: The British begin using tanks in the fighting in Athens, as they open fire on left-wing protest marchers. They also shell EAM (communist) positions in the Piraeus with naval gunfire.

U.S.S.R.: Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: MS "T-107" (ex-FY.301) - sunk by U-boat, in Kolskii bay (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Lake and Chudskoe Lake Flotillas: MS "T-377" - sunk by aviation, in Riga Gulf and MS "N82" (ex-BP "N23" - mined at Ust-Dvinsk. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

CHINA: Seven USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators on sweeps over the Gulf of Tonkin, the South China Sea, and Formosa Strait bomb Ft Bayard and Hong Kong's Kowloon Docks and damage a freighter. Six B-25 Mitchells attack targets of opportunity from Liuchow to Liuchenghsien while 61 P-40s, P-51 Mustangs, and P-38 Lightnings on armed reconnaissance hit river, road, and rail traffic and other targets of opportunity at scattered points mainly in southern China.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command area, the Japanese send a strong Task Force toward Bhamo to assist the withdrawal of the beleaguered garrison. This force of about 3,000 starts north from Namhkam in the evening. The Chinese 30th Division continues a southward drive toward Namhkam against Japanese opposition from hill positions.

Thirty one USAAF Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Bhamo area; 25 fighter-bombers hit Hay-ti, Meza, and three other road bridges; 20+ fighter-bombers attack town areas, troop concentrations and storage facilities in or near Kawngwai, Kunmong, Settawagon, and Thitpoklwin; and eight attack targets of opportunity along the Shwebo-Wuntho rail line. Transports complete 285 sorties carrying troops to forward bases and dropping supplies to frontline forces; and ten B-25 Mitchells bomb a communications center, supplies, and personnel concentration at Mogok. The Tenth Air Force begins Operation GRUBWORM, flying the Chinese 14th and 22d Divisions from Burma to China in preparation for the Yunnan campaign to counter a probable Japanese drive toward Kunming, China.

JAPAN: Six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators off for a strike on Kakumabetsu in the Kurile Islands abort due to weather and B-25 Mitchells cancel a shipping sweep.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators strike Galela Airfield on Galela Island, 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Morotai; and Djailolo and Hate Tabako Aerodromes on Halmahera Island. B-25 Mitchells and A-20 Havocs lightly raid Kaoe Aerodrome and Miti Aerodrome on Miti Island off the east coast of Halmahera. B-25 Mitchells hit Langoan Airfield on Celebes Island while B-24 Liberators flying in pairs hit targets of opportunity nearby and in northern Borneo.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Australian General Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific Area and Commander in Chief Australian Military Force, and Lieutenant General Frank Berryman, Chief of Staff Advanced Headquarter Allied Land Forces Southwest Pacific Area, meet with U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief Southwest Pacific Area, to discuss the forward movement of Australian troops to the Philippine Islands. The Australians receives "very little satisfaction" from the discussions, with MacArthur saying that he would probably want the Australian Imperial Force to clean up Luzon.

On Leyte, the U.S. Sixth Army begins an offensive against Ormoc. In the X Corps area the 112th Cavalry Regiment (Special) is still stalemated on the ridge southeast of Limon. The 32d Infantry Division prepares to drive down Highway 2. In the XXIV Corps area, the 776th Amphibious Tank Battalion, moving north by sea beyond Balogo, lands in the Tabgas area to fire on hills in front of the 7th Infantry Division; the battalion continues northward by sea to reconnoiter the Calingatngan region, then returns to their bivouac area. The 7th Infantry Division attacks with the 184th Infantry Regiment on the left and 17th Infantry Regiment on the right: the 184th secures the line from the beach some 300 yards (274 meters) south of Balogo on the left to the heights southeast of the Palanas River on the right. The 17th Infantry Regiment takes the ridge west of Hill 918. The 77th Infantry Division, at the Tarragona beach assembly area on the east coast of Leyte, begins loading supplies and equipment for a landing below Ormoc.

USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers over the central Philippines area hit Japanese positions, barges, and communications targets.

MARIANAS ISLANDS, SAIPAN: Harmon arrives with plans for using Cruiser Division 5 and all available P-38s, B-24s and B-29s in a daylight attack on Iwo Jima. After a hurried conference with Hoover, Hansell and others, Harmon scheduled the bombardment for noon on the 7th.

U.S.A.: At 1410 hours local, five USN TBM Avengers comprising Flight 19 take off from NAS Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on a routine 3-hour training flight. They are scheduled to fly due east for 120 nautical miles (222 kilometers), north for 73 nautical miles (135 kilometers) and then back to the naval base. They never returned. Two hours after the flight begins, the leader of the squadron, who has been flying in the area for more than six months, reports that his compass and back-up compass have failed and that his position is unknown. The other planes experience similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land are contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none are successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader is heard at 1820 hours apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel. By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 is somewhere north of the Bahama Islands and east of the Florida coast, and at 1927 hours a search and rescue PBM Mariner takes off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the PBM radios to its home base that its mission is underway. The Mariner is never heard from again. Later, there is a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 1950 hours. No trace of the bodies or aircraft were ever found Although naval officials maintain that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men are not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the "Lost Squadron" helps cement the legend of the "Bermuda Triangle" an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo. (Jack McKillop & Dave Shirlaw)