6 December 1939

SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Assembly holds its third special session of the year, under Paul Hymans of Belgium, in Geneva to continue deliberations on the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. The session ends on 9 December.

UNITED STATES: More than 20,000 Nazi sympathizers celebrate "German Day" in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

SWITZERLAND: Ethiopia protests the Walwal attack to the League of Nations stating, ". . . the occupation, by armed troops under the command of Italian officers, of various portions of Ethiopian territory, and, in particular, the places known as Walwal and Wardair in the Ogaden province, as well as the obstacles which the said Italian forces have placed in the way of the survey of the Ogaden pasture-lands, in Ethiopian territory, by the Anglo-Ethiopian Mixed Commission."

INTERNATIONAL: The French and German governments sign an agreement by which both states guarantee the inviolability of the current frontiers and provide for mutual consultation to settle all disputes peacefully.

The Canadian Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Shipping Co. merchantman Watkins F Nisbet (1,747 GRT) ran aground and was wrecked in the Bristol Channel. She was later salvaged and her engines were used in the construction of a new ship. The remainder of the hulk was scrapped. There is no record of casualties in this incident.

AUSTRIA: One of the thousands of victims of the Nazi programme of killing the mentally ill known only as Aloisia V (aged 49), was gassed today. She was a relative of Adolf Hitler. (Julian Gomez)

ITALY: Marshal Pietro Badoglio resigns (although it is rumoured that Mussolini forced him) as Chief of the Italian General Staff - a post he has held since 1925. He is succeeded by Ugo Cavallero.

ALBANIA: Greek forces occupy Sarande (Porto Edda) on the Adriatic, pushing north along the coast.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The submarine HMS/S Regulus (N 88) is sunk. Believed lost in the Straits of Otranto with all 53 of her crew. It is presumed that she must have been mined or suffered an accident after leaving Alexandria. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Submarine HMS Triton is lost in the lower Adriatic with all 62 crew. Her loss remains a mystery but it is believed that she might have been mined or suffered an accident. Her last action took place when she successfully attacked and sank the freighter Olimpia on this date. (Alex Gordon)(108)

LIBYA:
Operation Compass:
25,000 British and Commonwealth troops advance more than 40 miles into the Italian occupied desert, before hiding themselves and their equipment from the Italian Air Force.

JAPAN: The Japanese-Thai friendship pact is signed "as a result of Thailand's proposal for a nonaggression pact."

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Bathurst commissioned.

PACIFIC OCEAN: German auxiliary cruisers KM Komet and KM Orion sink the British merchantman SS Triona (4,410 ton), with gunfire and torpedoes, near the phosphate island of Nauru. (Mark Horan)

UNITED KINGDOM: London: Britain today reluctantly declared war on the country which, only two years ago, she was planning to defend. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, Finnish forces joined in; for the past five months Britain has been appealing to the Finns to withdraw.

Stalin recently stepped up the pressure on Britain to declare war on Hitler's three little satellites, Finland, Hungary and Romania. They were given a deadline, which expires at midnight.

Though Finland now becomes an enemy, the hundreds of Finnish merchant seamen serving aboard British ships will be offered the opportunity of remaining in service or being interned. 150 Finns are arrested. Other Finns, along with Hungarian and Romanian nationals, have been ordered to report to the police. Those regarded as unreliable will be sent to internment camps.

FINLAND: Today, on Finland's 24th Independence Day, United Kingdom and Dominions declare war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

By this date the Finnish advance in eastern Karelia is about to stop. The battle for town of Karhumäki (Medvezjegorsk, on northern shore of Lake Onega) is almost finished, and after the battle the Finnish troops dig into defence. The men are very war-weary; there has already been several instances of troops refusing the orders to advance. The men fighting in eastern Karelia feel they've been treated unfairly: the troops in Karelian Isthmus has been in defence for almost three months now, whereas they has been advancing and fighting the whole time. After the capture of Karhumäki the Finns are in defence all along the front, and the front-line will remain the same until June 1944. The Finnish leadership, already sensing the possibility of German defeat, adopt 'wait and see' policy, hoping in the event of Soviet victory to use the territories captured east of the pre-1939 border to bargain better terms for peace.

U.S.S.R.: A major Soviet counteroffensive kicks off along the Moscow front. Stretching 500 miles from Lake Ilmen in the north to west of Lipetsk in the south. Zhukov is in overall command of the effort which includes the North-West Front, the Kalinin Front, the West Front and the South-West Front and 20 Armies. He has planned the attack. Rokossovsky and Kuznetsov are among his subordinate commanders. The overextended and weakened German defenders will be unable to hold and forced to fall back.

The army was gathered together under great secrecy and they have won a stunning victory against the exhausted, frozen Germans.

Only four days ago, a German reconnaissance battalion mounted on motor cycles drove into the northern suburbs, only 12 miles from the Kremlin. It was pushed out by hastily-armed workers rushed to the spot. Some German tanks in another sector came within sight of Moscow's spires. This was to be the high tide of the Nazi assault.

Tonight the Germans are being driven back all along the front as the Red Army attempts to encircle the whole of the German 4th Army as it stands before Moscow. The Russians, well equipped and well fed, are advancing against an enemy ravaged by continuous fighting, shortage of supplied and the extreme cold.

The Germans do not have the correct oil in their tanks to cope with this weather and are lighting fires under the engines of to start them. Their frozen machine guns are refusing to fire on automatic and their men are in full retreat.

They are being hampered by Russian ski troops, T34 tanks and Ilyushin I-62s, the armoured assault planes which are doing to the German army what the Stukas did to the Poles and the French. In the north, the Germans are retreating along the single road through Klin, abandoning their heavy equipment. In the first day's fighting General Lelyshenko's 30th Army has advanced some 11 miles in this sector.

To the south, the defenders of Tula have turned into attackers, emerging from their strong points to strike at Guderian's tanks. A gap has opened between Guderian and von Kluge's 4th Army which General Zhukov is trying to exploit. The story is the same all along the 500-mile front from Kalinin in the north to Yelets in the south. The Red Army is inflicting on the Wehrmacht its first great defeat. It is not being done without cost. The Russians are too eager to go over to the attack, and many of their assaults are made frontally against German strong points. Their casualties are very high and General Zhukov has issued a directive calling for outflanking tactics.

The counter-assault before Moscow is not the Red Army's only success. It has driven the Germans out of the ruins of Tikhvin, the supply town south-east of Leningrad, and re-opened the precarious route to Lake Ladoga where lorries run the gauntlet of the ice.

BLACK SEA: Soviet submarine SC-204 believed lost to Bulgarian ASW activity near Cape Emine.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British submarine HMS Perseus is sunk by a mine; one survivor escapes from a depth of 170 feet and swims ten miles to shore.

The loss of the RN submarine, HMS Perseus on an unknown date in very late December 1941, attributed to contact with Royal Italian Naval forces, probably a submarine, was based on Mediterranean Fleet intelligence estimates. However, these estimates came into question in 1943 when the then 33 year old Leading Stoker John Capes showed up at Alexandria via the British consulate in Turkey, claiming to be a survivor of His Majesties Submarine Perseus.

He stated that the ship had been mined on the night of 6/7 December 1941, and that it sank in 170 feet of water with the stern section holding air. He had been in the Petty Officer Stokers mess with several others at the moment of the mining sharing a bottle of rum. He and three others made it into the stern section alive, sealed it off, and after coming to rest on the sea floor in pitch darkness, donned their DESA escape gear and commenced flooding the after spaces in preparation to making a free ascent escape.

All four left the submarine, with Capes being last. Before departing, he polished off the remaining rum, and then left through the after escape hatch. He came to the surface alone and then was faced with swimming 7-9 miles to Keffalonia.

He did so, met up with Greek partisans, and then spent 20 months with them before successfully reaching Turkey. The other three survivors of the mining did not make it to the surface alive, most probably due to a failure to exhale completely throughout the ascent, which was made, as it turned out, from 20 feet deeper than it was though possible.

To say that Capes story was thought to been overly remarkable by many is an understatement. Many did not believe it, nor did they believe Capes was, in fact, himself, though those making those conclusions had to admit that, the crew list being classified, it was unlikely an imposter could have come up with the facts he had. None the less, his statements concerning the location of the sinking did not jive with Admiralty estimates, and many considered him a fraud to the day he died.

However, in 1996, Greek divers located HMS Perseus on the ocean floor, exactly where Capes said it would be. It was in 170 feet of water, and the rear escape hatch was open. Upon looking into the open hatch, the divers clearly saw on the floor below the rum bottle emptied by Capes just before his departure. All of this was photographed. Though Capes had been dead for some 15 years when the sub was discovered, it can truly be said that he had the last laugh on those that doubted his story. It is probably the single most remarkable survival story to come out of WW II. (Mark Horan)

JAPAN: The Foreign Office sends the following message to the Embassy in Washington, D.C.: "(1) The Government has deliberated deeply on the American proposal of the 26th of November and as a result we have drawn up a memorandum for the United States contained in my separate message #902. (2) This separate message is a very long one. I will send it in fourteen parts and I imagine you will receive it tomorrow. However, I am not sure. The situation is extremely delicate, and when you receive it I want you to please keep it secret for the time being. (3) Concerning the time of presenting this memorandum to the United States, I will wire you in a separate message. However, I want you in the meantime to put it in nicely drafted form and make every preparation to present it to the Americans just as soon as you receive instructions." The first 13 parts are sent today; the 14th is sent tomorrow.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Hart informs Phillips, when MacArthur "> MacArthur suggests that he remain in Manila and have a formal reception there, that Phillips ought to return to Singapore immediately if "you want to see your ships again" as war was imminent. Phillips returns to Singapore in the afternoon.
MacArthur orders Brereton to disperse aircraft "as well as possible", to man all stations full-time, and to increase airfield guards and off-shore patrols.
Hart orders Destroyer Division 57 from Balikpapan to Singapore and for it to operate under Phillips’ orders. (Marc Small)

Two B-17Cs and 14 B-17Ds arrive at Del Monte Field, Mindanao and since they are expected to only stay three days, they bring very few supplies. None of the barracks have been completed and there are not enough tents to house the air crew so many sleep in their planes. Radio communication with Luzon consists of high frequency radio which is sporadic at best. The only thing the PX has to offer is a single brand of beer called "San Miguel Beer for Convalescent Mothers."

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Two Japanese units depart the Palau Islands to participate in the invasion of the Philippine Islands:

- The Japanese South Philippines Cover Unit under Rear Admiral TAKAGI Takeo consists of the small aircraft carrier HIJMS Ryujo, heavy cruisers HIJMS Myoko and Nachi, the light cruiser HIJMS Jinstu and seven destroyers. Aircraft from this force will attack Mindanao Island, Philippine Islands, on 8 December.

- The North Philippines Cover Unit under Vice Admiral TAKASHASHI I. consisting of the heavy cruisers HIJMS Haguro and Mayo, the light cruiser HIJMS Kuma. These ships will be 200 miles (322 kilometers) west of Luzon on 8 December.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Three Japanese Navy submarines of the Interdiction Unit, Wake Invasion Group, South Seas Force, depart Kwajalein Atoll for Wake Island. They arrive off Wake on 10 December.

PACIFIC OCEAN: At 1215 hours in the South China Sea, an Australian Hudson Mk. I of No. 1 Squadron RAAF based at Kota Bharu in northeastern Malaya, sights three Japanese ships about 161 nautical miles (298 kilometers) from the base. At 1230 hours, the same aircraft reports a convoy of a battleship, five cruisers, seven destroyers and 22 transports 226 nautical miles (418 kilometers) from the base. Other aircraft are dispatched to shadow the ships but fail to find them because the area is being battered by a monsoon.

In the South China Sea, USN yacht USS Isabel (PY-10), which sailed from the Philippine Islands on 3 December for the coast of French Indochina, as part President Roosevelt's "defensive information patrol," is sighted by floatplane from Japanese seaplane carrier Kamikawa Maru about 199 nautical miles (368 kilometers) east-northeast of Nha Trang, French Indochina is position 13.24N, 112.21E. Later in the day, USS Isabel receives orders to return to Manila.

Tonight at the Hickam Field Officer's Club, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, the waitresses are serving refreshments are clad in colorful Japanese kimonos.

Many sailors and other enlisted men are enjoying this Saturday night with the "Battle of Music" performed by military bands. The winner was the band from the battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38).

Second place went to the band of the Pennsylvania's sister ship, the battleship USS Arizona (BB-39).

The Japanese Consulate in Honolulu sends the following to the Foreign Office in Tokyo: "(1) On the evening of the 5th, among the battleships which entered port were and one submarine tender. The following ships were observed at anchor on the 6th: 9 battleships, 3 light cruisers, 3 submarine tenders 17 destroyers, and in addition there were 4 light cruisers, 2 destroyers lying at docks (the heavy cruisers and airplane carriers have all left). (2) 2. It appears that no air reconnaissance is being conducted by the fleet air arm."

Communication Intelligence Summary, December 6, 1941: General.-Traffic volume very heavy with a great deal of old traffic being transmitted. Messages as far back as 1 December were seen in the traffic. This not believed an attempt to maintain a high traffic level but is the result of confusion in traffic routing with uncertainty of delivery. The stations now holding broadcasts are TOKYO (with 3 distinct and separate broadcasts), SAIPAN, OMINATO and TAKAO.

Yesterday's high level of traffic from TOKYO originators was maintained with the Intelligence activity still sending periodic messages. Practically all of TOKYO's messages carry prefixes of high priority.

- Combined Fleet.-Still no traffic from the Second and Third Fleet Commanders. These units are sending their traffic via the TAKAO and TOKYO broadcasts. The Commander in Chief Combined Fleet originated several messages to the Carriers, Fourth Fleet and the Major Commanders.

- Fourth Fleet.-The Commander in Chief Fourth Fleet is again in the TRUK area. It is doubtful that he ever went to JALUIT although it is certain that some members of his staff were there over the past few days. There is a definite close association between the Third Base Force at PALAO and the forces in South China. This unit is constantly sending messages to the Chief of Staff the Second Fleet, Third Fleet, Indo-China Forces and BAKO. It is being almost entirely neglected by Commander in Chief Fourth Fleet under whose command it normally operates. RONGELAB radio addressed the PALAO weather observer.

- Fifth Fleet.-This fleet appears dispersed about the JAPAN Sea with OMINATO broadcasting traffic for this unit.

- Submarines.-The Commander Submarine Force originated two messages to his command. These are the first two originated since 1 December. He is definitely in the MARSHALLS.

- South China.-Nothing new to report. BAKO, SAMA and TAKAO still sending many messages to the Task Force."

The British Special Operations Executive's (SOE) Camp X at Whitby, Ontario, becomes operational as Special Training School 103. At the same time, a sophisticated top secret communications relay station (Oshawa Wireless) is established at Camp X to facilitate the critical need for secure wartime transcontinental communications between Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. Hundreds of agents are trained at Camp X between 1941 and 1944. Many of those who train at the Camp receive specialized courses in security and intelligence, some are trained as radio operators and are dispatched to South America by the British Security Coordination (BSC). Others who are trained as secret agents, receive further training in the U.S. prior to missions in Asia or are shipped to Ringway (now Manchester International Airport), Beaulieu (Hampshire now home of the National Motor Museum) and Arsaig (west coast of Scotland, near Oban) in the U.K. before being sent on missions into occupied Europe. One of the students at the camp was Ian Fleming, the creator of Agent 007, James Bond.

Minesweeper HMCS Goderich arrived Halifax from builder Toronto, Ontario.

Corvette HMCS Weyburn arrived Halifax from builder Montreal, Province of Quebec.

Ordered in Canada - Revised Corvette (Increased Endurance) USS Haste (ex-HMS Mandrake), USS Intensity (ex-HMS Milfoil), USS Might (ex-HMS Musk), USS Pert (ex-HMS Nepeta), USS Prudent (ex-HMS Privet), HMS Rose Bay (ex-USS Splendor), HMS Smilax (ex-USS Tact), USS Vim (ex-HMS Statice), HMS Willowhead (ex-USS Vitality).

U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Rooseveltsends a message to Japanese Emperor containing the following: "Developments are occurring in the Pacific area which threaten to deprive each of our nations and all humanity of the beneficial influence of the long peace between our two countries. . . . During the past few weeks it has become clear to the world that Japanese military, naval, and air forces have been sent to Southern Indochina in such large numbers as to create a reasonable doubt on the part of other nations that this continuing concentration in Indochina is not defensive in its character. . . the people of the Philippines, of the hundreds of Islands of the East Indies, of Malaya, and of Thailand itself are asking themselves whether these forces of Japan are preparing or intending to make attack in one or more of these many directions." There is no Japanese reply. The Japanese leaders feel that involving the Emperor is wrong and are resentful of this effort. Later the first 13 parts of a 14 part Japanese message are transmitted. Unknown to the Japanese, US codebreakers will intercept and decode this message.

The whereabouts of the Washington notables during the late afternoon and evening of December 6 are a bit uncertain:

Roosevelt seems to have been in the White House throughout the entire time; having sent off his message to Hirohito, he then called for a meeting with his “advisers” (presumably, Hull, Stimson, Knox, Marshall, and Stark) for 3 PM on Sunday, December 7, and conducted a brief dinner party. He was home to receive the first 13 parts of the Japanese message at around 11:00 PM Washington time (1 PM, December 7, Philippine time).

Marshall later claimed to have been at his quarters at Fort Myer,, though a Washington Times-Herald article stated that he attended a VMI Alumni meeting at the University Club on 16^th Street in Washington. His whereabouts have been a source of quandary and query ever since.

Arnold was at Hamilton AAF, California, hastening the despatch of the 37^th and 38^th Reconnaissance Squadrons to the Philippines via Hawaii. (These were the planes which arrived in the middle of the Pearl Harbor strike.)

The Director of Army Intelligence, Brigadier General Sherman Miles, was guested to dinner at the quarters of the Director of Naval Intelligence, Rear Admiral Theodore Wilkinson.

Frank Knox, US Secretary of the Navy, states that he is very proud to report that the US Navy is second to none. This statement will appear in the New York Times Sunday Edition, tomorrow.

Revealing what he represented as the completed line-up of air strength of the ABCD powers in the Far East, Rear Admiral Toshio Matsunaga, chief of the marine department of the Japan Airways Company, assured the Japanese people through the newspaper Yomiuri that they need not fear the "encirclement front" because it was lacking in suitable air bases, effective planes and trained personnel.

He put the whole air strength of United States, British, Chinese and Netherland powers in the Far East at 1,000 planes--250 American, 400 British and the rest mostly trainers. Of these, he said, about fifty American planes were distributed in the Philippines and 350 in British Burma, although additional American bombers to the value of $24,000,000 are to go to the Netherlands Indies. In contrast, the Japanese Navy recently announced it alone had 4,000 planes, apart from Japanese Army planes.

Moreover, said Admiral Matsunaga, most of the types possessed by the ABCD powers are old or short-range planes that could not possibly bomb Japan and get back to their bases, except about twenty Consolidated PBY-28 [sic] bombers that had appeared in the Philippines, Singapore and Surabaya, Java.

These, he admits, are reported to possess the greatest flying capacity in the world at present, but he says that even they will not be able to perform what is expected of them.

He further estimates that there are about 200 air bases along the ABCD line, including a naval airport at Singapore, the Bandoeng flying grounds in Java and a recently completed military air depot at the northern end of the Philippines. But the weakest point of the whole line-up, he asserts, is a great shortage of trained pilots.

"For all these reasons," he concludes, "we can place full confidence in our preparations."

President Roosevelt authorizes the Manhattan Engineering District. The secret U.S. project to build an atomic bomb, later to be called the Manhattan Project, is put under the direction of the Office of Scientific Research and Development.

As a result of the U.K. declaring war on Finland, six Finnish ships in U.S. ports are placed under protective custody.

The USAAF 4th Air Force in California participates in air defense exercise in the San Francisco, California, area. The exercise continues until 11 December.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Four crewmembers of U-562 injured in a torpedo reloading accident.

The USN destroyer USS Decatur (DD-341), in Task Unit 4.1.4, escorting slow convoy ONS-39 (U.K. to North America), carries out a depth charge attack on a suspicious contact about 470 nautical miles (871 kilometers) east-northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, in position 51.54N, 41.53W.

UNITED KINGDOM: London: The war in the air has reached a stage where German bombers hardly venture into British skies, while Bomber Command pounds German cities every night.

It is, however, a time of some concern for the RAF. Bomber losses during the year have been high with 1,453 aircraft lost and 2,724 damaged in action. There are still only 200 Lancaster in service, and the Germans have learnt how to jam Gee, the navigational device.

There is also some confusion about the future role of Bomber Command. Sir Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, has urged the formation of an Anglo-American force of 4,000-6,000 bombers.

The result, he says, would be "25 million Germans rendered homeless, 900,000 killed and one million seriously injured." The plan has met fierce opposition.

In other areas, Fighter Command continues its often costly offensive sweeps across France; Coastal Command, the "Cinderella" command, is at last getting the aircraft it needs; and in the Middle East the RAF has learnt how to support an army in the field.

NETHERLANDS: Bomber Command flies Operation OYSTER, a special raid carried out by all of the operational day-bomber squadrons in No. 2 Group. Their targets are the Philips radio and valve (electron tube) factories in the town of Eindhoven. Ninety three aircraft take part in the raid, 47 (PV-1) Venturas Mk. Is of RAF No. 21, RAAF No. 464 and RNZAF No. 487 Squadrons, 36 (A-20) Boston IIIs of Nos. 88, 107, and 226 Squadrons and ten Mosquito Mk. IVs of No.105 and No.139 Squadrons; 83 aircraft actually bomb. One of the Mosquitos is a photographic aircraft. Eindhoven is well beyond the range of any available fighter escort thus the raid is flown at low level and in clear weather conditions. Bombing is accurate and severe damage is caused to two factories in the complex, which is situated in the middle of the town. Because the raid is deliberately carried out on a Sunday, there are few casualties in the factory but several bombs fall in nearby streets and 148 Dutch people and se ven German soldiers are killed. Full production at the factory is not reached again until six months after the raid. The bomber casualties are heavy: nine Venturas, four Bostons and a Mosquito are lost over the Netherlands or the sea. This is a loss rate of 15 percent for the whole force; the Venturas, the aircraft with the poorest performance, suffer 19 per cent casualties. Three more aircraft crashed or force-land in England and most of the other aircraft are damaged, 23 by bird strikes! (22)

During the night of 6/7 December, 13 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters and Wellingtons lay mines in the Frisian Islands without loss.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 24: 103 heavy bombers are dispatched with 19 attacking Drucat Airfield at Abbeville; six bomb the target with one aircraft lost; 66 are dispatched against the Atelier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille; 36 bomb the target with the loss of one aircraft. Eighteen other aircraft fly a diversion.

GERMANY: During the night of 6/7 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 272 aircraft, 101 Lancasters, 65 Halifaxes, 57 Wellingtons and 49 Stirlings, to Mannehim; 229 bomb the city and one bombs Karlsruhe. Ten aircraft Mannheim, five Wellingtons, three Halifaxes, a Lancaster and a Stirling, are lost, 3.1 per cent of the force. Four more aircraft crash in England. The target area is found to be completely cloud-covered. Most of the Pathfinders withhold their flares and many of the 220 crews who bomb do so on dead-reckoning positions. Mannheim reports only 500 or so incendiary bombs and some leaflets. There are no casualties in Mannheim.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The Italian submarine R.N. Porfido is torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS/M Tigris (N 63) about 80 nautical miles (129 kilometers) north-northeast of Bone, Algeria.

LIBYA: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators sent to attack shipping at Tobruk fail to locate the target due to bad weather, but a few bombers manage to bomb Misurata and two Aix airfields. Meanwhile, P-40s fly top cover for RAF aircraft attacking Marble Arch.

TUNISIA: German attacks push Allied forces back near Medjez el Bab. These German attacks will continue over the next four days.
German troops push back the US 1st Armoured Division, Combat Command B, in the El Guessa heights.

OKW and the overall theatre commander in Rome, (Oberbefehlshaber Sud) Luftwaffe GFM 'Smiling' Albert Kesselring, directly orders the local military commander in Tunis, Gen. d. Pz. Truppe Walther Nehering to mobilize all Jewish labour for fortification work. The order specifies that the Jewish leaders are to select the manpower and that the Jewish community are to furnish equipment and food for the men. The labour columns are to be detached to the German commanders in Bizerte, Tunis-North and Tunis-South for work on the main defensive line (Hauptkampflinie). Italian Jews are to be excepted on the protest of the Italian Consul General. (252, p.412) (Russell Folsom)

USAAF Twelfth Air Force DB-7 Bostons, with fighter escort, bomb the bridge over the Medjerda River at El Bathan. F-4 and P-38 Lightnings fly patrols and reconnaissance missions over parts of Algeria and Tunisia.

NEW GUINEA: Allied units reach the beach east of Buna. Australian forces mount another attack on Japanese positions at Gona. Other Japanese forces are attempting to move a relief column along the coast, but progress is slow.

The Japanese frustrate an effort to supply the beleaguered roadblock on the Soputa-Sanananda trail with rations and ammunition. The garrison is near the end of its resources. The Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division) prepares for another attack on Buna Village and places the first "time on target" fire of the campaign on Buna Mission. Since frontal attacks by the Warren Force (based on U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) have been futile and costly, it is decided to soften Japanese positions by attrition and infiltration while awaiting the arrival of tanks. In the Gona area, three Australian battalions attack the town but the attack bogs down and one company is virtually wiped out.

USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Lae Aerodrome, Papua New Guinea. Amelia Earhart took off from this airfield in 1938.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Lakunai Airfield and the town of Rabaul on New Britain Island.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USAAF P-39 Airacobras strafing Munda on New Georgia Island discover trucks, steam rollers and other construction equipment, and evidence of two airfields under construction. B-17 Flying Fortresses will bomb Munda 21 times in December and continue to hit it in January 1943, as the Japanese continue to work at building the airstrips despite the constant air strikes.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: USAAF Eleventh Air Force aircraft fly reconnaissance over Attu, Agattu, Amchitka, Kiska and the Semichis Islands.

U.S.A.: At the Manzanar Relocation Camp For Ethnic Japanese, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Bishop, California, the arrest of prisoners accused of beating informer Fred Tayama leads to a protest and violence. Military police fire into the crowd, killing two protesters and wounding at least ten more.

Light fleet carriers USS Belleau Wood and Princeton launched.

Destroyer USS Thatcher launched.

Corvette USS Brisk commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

U-103 sank SS Henry Stanley in Convoy ON-149.

U-155 sank SS Serooskerk in Convoy ON-149.

The 18,713 ton troop ship SS Ceramic is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-515 about 620 nautical miles (1 148 kilometers) west-northwest of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, in position 40.30N, 40.20W. The ship had departed Liverpool, England, on 23 November and steaming independently to Australia carrying 633 crewmen, troops and nurses. There is only one survivor, Royal Engineer sapper, Eric Munday, who is taken on board the U-boat to spend the rest of the war in a German POW camp. The rest of the crew and passengers are left to perish in the stormy seas. Allied propaganda claims that the Ceramic's survivors are machine-gunned in the water; this is a big lie. It is many months before the British Admiralty learns what happened to the Ceramic as she sank before any distress signal could be sent.

Details of another remarkable escape by an American flyer were cabled from New York last night by the Daily Mail correspondent.

A sergeant-gunner was dropped by parachute to the Germans - to save his life. He is Sergeant T. Weaver of Riverview, Alabama. One of his arms was shot off when his Fortress was hit over Hanover last July. Only chance of saving him was to drop him by parachute in the hope that he would land safely and be taken to a German hospital.

At first Weaver refused to leave the plane. But he was persuaded to go. Feebly he crawled towards the escape hatch and, helped by friends, he dropped out. It was a 1,000 to 1 chance.

Yesterday the gunner's father learned from the War Department that his son is safe in a German prison camp.

NETHERLANDS: Anton Mussert, the Dutch Nazi leader, says 150,000 Dutch Jews have been deported to eastern Europe.

ITALY: Monte Camino, falls to the British 56th Division after a fierce struggle. The British 8th Army continues their advance up the Moro River.

U.S.S.R.: The Soviets cut the Smela-Znamenka railroad line southwest of Kremenchug.

Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: Submarine "S-55" sunk supposedly mined or by surface ASW ships, close to cape Nordcap. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the British X Corps seizes the crest of Mt. Camino and for the next three days mops up the western slopes as far as the Garigliano River. In the U.S. VI Corps area, elements of the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, reach the top of Hill 769, but the Germans retain positions on the reverse slope.

In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division crosses the Moro River.

USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40 and A-36 Apache fighter- bombers bomb bridges at Ceprano and west of Mignano. Weather cancels other operations.

GREECE: Forty five USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Eleusis Airfield while 56 B-17 Flying Fortresses hit Kalamaki Airfield; other B-17s return to base with bombs because of a heavy overcast. The bombers and escorting P-38 Lightnings claim several German fighters shot down; one B-24 is lost to flak.

CHINA: Chang-te is attacked throughout the day by 30+ USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and numerous fighters; other fighters strafe targets of opportunity in the railway yard at Hsipaw and damage a train at Hopong.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville Island, six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the Monoitu Mission area, and 24 others, with fighter support, bomb Tarlena village; P-40s carry out a strafing strike in the Arawa Bay area near Kieta; general fighter patrols strafe the Chabai, Koromira, and Monoitu areas; and the Kieta supply area is bombed by a B-24 Liberator on armed reconnaissance. On Buka Island, P-38 Lightnings strafe the west coast.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, nearly 100 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells hit the Cape Gloucester and Borgen Bay areas while P-40s strafe Cape Hoskins. Three squadrons of Australian Beauforts bomb Borpop on New Ireland Island.

U.S.A.: On the basis of the estimate by British Admiral Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command, to the Combined Chiefs of Staff that no major amphibious operations can be undertaken if Operation BUCCANEER (the invasion of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean) is canceled, President Franklin D. Roosevelt informs Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek that there can be no amphibious operation simultaneously with Operation TARZAN (general offensive in Burma); inquires whether Chiang will go ahead under the circumstances or wait until November 1944, when a major amphibious assault might be undertaken.

UNITED KINGDOM: Queen Elizabeth thanks women for their war work, saying that their efforts are one of the main factors in the Allied victory.

Frigate HMS Bullen (K 469) is torpedoed and sunk by U-775 (Oberleutnant zur See Erich Taschenmacher) 7 miles NE off Cape Wrath. The torpedo hit amidships causing the frigate to break into half, the bow section sinking almost immediately, but the stern part remained afloat for 2 more hours. There are 71 casualties and 91 survivors rescued by HMS Hesperus. Location: 58 42N 04 12W. (Alex Gordon)(108)

During the night of 6/7 December, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 742: 11 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators drop leaflets over the Netherlands, France and Germany.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area The 5th Infantry Division continues to clear to the Sarre River on the southern flank of the corps and in the Metz area accepts the surrender of St Quentin works. In the XII Corps area, the 6th Armored and 35th Infantry Divisions clear the west bank of the Sarre River from Grosbliederstroff to Wittring. The 35th, assisted by tanks of 6th Armored, pushes into Sarreguemines and clears the western sector. The 35th Infantry Division is ordered to attack across the Sarre in conjunction with the 26th Infantry Division on 8 December. The 26th Infantry Division continues rapidly toward the Sarre River. The 4th Armored Division gains a foothold in Singling and overruns Bining before being halted to await relief by the 12th Armored Division of the XV Corps.

In U.S. Seventh Army's XV Corps area, the 44th Infantry Division takes Montbronn while 100th Infantry Division clears Meisenthal and surrounds Mouterhouse. In the VI Corps area, a German counterattack recovers the northern part of Mertzwiller from 45th Infantry Division forces.

In the French First Army's II Corps area, the U.S. 36th Infantry Division is strongly opposed at Ostheim and Guemar but takes the latter.

GERMANY: A division of the US XX Corps crosses the river Saar near Patchen using assault boats.

In U.S. First Army's V Corps area, a counterattacking German force pushes into Bergstein but is driven back. Major General William Weaver, Commanding General 8th Infantry Division, is granted permission to use the 2d Ranger Battalion to reinforce the small group at Bergstein.

In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division begins an attack across the Sarre River at 0415 hours, crossing in assault boats between Rehlingen and Wallerfangen and establishing a small bridgehead in the Pachten-Dillingen area; the 357th Infantry Regiment, on the north, advances its left flank about 1.5 miles (2,4 kilometers) but is soon pinned down on the right; the 358th Infantry Regiment pushes to the edge of Pachten and Dillingen. The 95th Infantry Division, with battalions across the Sarre River, continues efforts to take the Saarlautern-Roden, Fraulautern, and Ensdorf portion of the West Wall against tenacious resistance.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 741: 818 bombers and 830 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and rail targets in Germany; all except nine aircraft bomb using H2X radar; four bombers and a fighter are lost. (1) 472 aircraft bomb the I.G. Garben synthetic oil refinery at Merseberg, with the loss of four aircraft, 140 hit the aqueduct at Minden, 113 attack the marshalling yard at Bielefeld, and 49 aircraft bomb targets of opportunity.

One hundred fifty four USAAF Ninth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-26 Marauders bomb the defended areas of Munstereifel, Erkelenz, Nideggen, and Daun. Fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and night patrol, attack bridges, gun positions, and other targets, and provide air cover for the U.S. troops in the areas of Bergstein, and Lucherberg, and along the Saar River.

During the night of 6/7 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 475 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos to bomb the Leuna synthetic oil refinery at Merseburg; 416 bomb the target with the loss of four Lancasters. This is the first major attack on an oil target in Eastern Germany; Leuna, near the town of Merseburg, just west of Leipzig, was 250 miles (402 kilometers) from the German frontier and 500 miles (805 kilometers) from the bombers' bases in England. There is considerable cloud in the target area but post-raid photographs showed that considerable damage has been caused to the synthetic oil plant. A second major raid is from to OsnabrÃ¼ck by 453 aircraft, 363 Halifaxes, 72 Lancasters and 18 Mosquitos; 416 bomb the target with the loss of seven Halifaxes and a Lancaster. This is the first major raid on OsnabrÃ¼ck since August 1942. The raid is only a partial success. The railway yards are only slightly damaged but four factories are hit, including the Teuto-Metallwerke munit ions factory, and 203 houses are destroyed. In a third mission, 255 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos are sent to Giessen; 253 bomb the targets with the loss of three Lancasters. There are two aiming points for this raid; 80 aircraft bomb the town centre and 173 hit the railway yards. Severe damage is caused at both places. Mosquitos are also active with 40 hitting Berlin, eight bombing the marshalling yard at Schwete, seven attacking Koblenz and two bombing Hanau. (Andy Etherington and Jack McKillop)

U-2365, U-2366 laid down.

U-2353, U-3024 launched.

U-930 commissioned.

AUSTRIA: Thirty USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Main marshalling yard at Graz.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack three targets: 25 aircraft bomb the Devinska Nova Ves marshalling yard (M/Y) with the loss of three aircraft, 14 bombers hit the Rangier M/Y at Bratislava and one aircraft attacks a railroad bridge at Vagsellve.

HUNGARY: The Soviet Army broadens and intensifies their offensive toward Budapest, Berlin announces, attacking in force on either side of the Hungarian capital and crossing elements from Csepel Island. to the west bank of the Danube River south of the city. Romanian troops are helping Soviet forces clear northeastern Hungary.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack eight targets: 73 bomb the East marshalling yard (M/Y) at Sopron, 55 hit the M/Y at Hegyeshalon with the loss of one aircraft, eight bomb Magyardioszeg, seven bomb Szombathely with the loss of two aircraft, and seven aircraft bomb targets of opportunity.

ITALY: Heavy cloud cover, increasing in density throughout the day, severely restricts operations. USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers are grounded except for one reconnaissance sortie; XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers fly less than 100 sorties, attacking communications in the Brescia, Verona, and Mantua areas.

YUGOSLAVIA: Moscow reports substantial gains by the Third Ukrainian Front forces all along front. Soviet and Yugoslav forces clearing the region between the Danube River and Sava in the north take the rail and road center of Sid.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bombers bomb three marshalling yards (M/Ys): 43 bomb the South and 12 bomb the North M/Ys at Maribor with the loss of two aircraft. P-38 Lightnings escort the bombers and cover RAF supply missions to Yugoslavia.

MANCHUKUO: Mukden: Only the second visit ever to this camp and the first visit this year, takes place by a representative of the Red Cross. Only British Major Robert Peaty and American Major Stanley H. Hankins are allowed to see the ICRC official, and both are guarded in their remarks for fear of "reprisals," as Major Peaty puts it in his diary. But they do manage to request dental and optical care, as well as food and boots. (151)(Linda Goetz Holmes)

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) area, the U.S. 475th Infantry Regiment (Long Range Penetration, Special), also known as the MARS Task Force, is ordered to relieve the Chinese 22d Division in the Mo-hlaing area, about 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) north of Tonk-wa. About this time, a Japanese task force starts across the Shweli River toward Tonk-wa.

Nine USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts damage a bridge at Namhkai and knock out a bridge at Mongmit, 15 support ground forces in the Bhamo area, four bomb Hsenwi Airfield, and eight strafe Bawgyo antiaircraft positions while 12 hit troops, artillery, and supplies at Banmauk, the west side of Indawgyi Lake, and Namhkam. Ten B-25 Mitchells knock out the main bridge at Bawgyo and damage the bypass.

Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-51 Mustangs attack road traffic in the Hsenwi area and from there to Wanling.

JAPAN: Four Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Suribachi Airfield on Paramushiru Island, Kurile Islands, scoring hits on the runway, and blast batteries; on the return flight, one is hit by antiaircraft fire. A B-24 weather airplane force-lands in the U.S.S.R.

The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command in the Mariana Islands, dispatches three B-29 Superfortresses to fly a weather strike mission. These missions usually consist of two or three B-29s that gather weather information and drop incendiary bombs on cities to lower the morale of the civilian population.

In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte Island, repeated efforts of the 112th Cavalry Regiment (Special) to eliminate the Japanese on a ridge southeast of Limon fail. In the XXIV Corps area, the 7th Infantry Division continues their northward drive on Ormoc, taking Balogo, Hill 918, and Kang Dagit; some elements are on the Palanas River and others are on a ridge of Hill 380. The 77th Infantry Division loads for landing in Ormoc Bay at Deposito and sails with USN destroyers and USAAF Fifth Air Force protection for the target area. About 150 Japanese attack Buri airstrip, surprising the defense force and entering the woods north of the strip.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Bacalod Airfield on Negros Island. P-38 Lightnings over Bacalod and others covering a convoy off southern Leyte Island claim several aircraft downed. B-25 Mitchells, with P-47 Thunderbolt support, hit Cagayan, Jacgol, and Del Monte Airfields on Mindanao Island.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators hit airfields at Kendari and Borebore on Celebes Island. Fighter- bombers and B-25 Mitchells attack Halmahera Island airfields while A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells bomb the Namlea area on Buru Island.

Bomb fragments of a 15 kilogram (33 pound) Japanese anti-personnel high explosive bomb is recovered at 1800 hours local about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Thermopolis is located about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northwest of Casper, Wyoming. An explosion occurred followed by the sighting of what appeared to be a parachute descending to earth. A bright red flame was also seen by observers of the explosion.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-297 sunk in the North Atlantic, 16 miles west of Yesnaby in the Orkney Islands, by 6 depth charges from a Sunderland Mk. III aircraft, "Y" of 201 Squadron, RAF, based at Castle Archdale, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. 50 dead (all hands lost).

UNITED KINGDOM: In an effort to revitalize the failing British economy, the U.S. government grants a loan of US$3.75 billion (US$40.7 billion in year 2005 dollars) to the British government. The Canadian government subsequently provides a loan of CDN$1.25 billion (CDN$14.7 billion in year 2005 dollars) to the British as well. By the end of 1947, the British have exhausted both of these loans due to high prices on the American market.

FINLAND: The Finnish Air Force abandons the blue 'svastika' marking (Sanskrit swastika) from its aircraft. (Russell Folsom)

INDIA: Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett leaves office as governor of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

U.S.A.: 202 masterpieces from German museums arrive in New York City. They consist of 45 cases on two railway cars, the "202" included works by Cranach, Dürer, Raphael, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Manet. The paintings traveled to major American art museums from 1946 to 1948 including the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, instigating public disapproval and negative publicity between U.S. government agencies (State and Treasury Departments), and the American museum community. By April 1949, the U.S. Army returned all 202 paintings to Germany. (Peter Kilduff)(205)