18 December 1939

GERMANY: The German Government in a memo to the French reiterate their stand on disarmament stating, "The heavily armed states either have no intention of disarming or do not feel in a position to do so. Germany is entitled to obtain, in one way or another, equality of treatment as regards her own security."

Germany insists on the innocuous character of the SA (Sturm Abteilung) and SS (Schutzstaffel) as political organizations stating, "Their sole mission is to organize the political masses of our people so as to make the return of the Communist peril impossible for evermore . . . whose aim is to immunize the country, intellectually and physically, against the risk of Communist disintegration. . . ."

ITALY: The Government rejects the Hoare-Laval plan stating, ". . . the Italian people, . . . is capable of resisting a very long siege, especially when it is certain in the clearness and tranquility of its conscience that right is on its side . . ." The Hoare-Laval Pact, is a secret plan made by Britain and France to give two-thirds of Abyssinia to Italy, without telling the League of Nations.

SPAIN: German lands troops at Cadiz to fight alongside General Francisco Franco's Nationalist Army. The British protest the landings. .

U.S.A.: Washington: The US Navy agrees to send 43 Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo (Brewster Model B-239) fighter aircraft to Finland.

Canadian Munitions Minister Clarence Decatur 'CD' Howe 1886-1960 joins 152 other survivors of torpedoed liner 'Western Prince' in arriving safely in England.

GERMANY:
Hitler issues Directive No. 21. Headed 'Operation Barbarossa' it began:
The German Armed Forces must be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a quick campaign before the end of the war against England. For this purpose the Army will have to employ all available units to be safeguarded against surprise attacks...
Preparations ... are to be completed by May 15, 1941. Great caution has to be exercised that the intention of an attack will not be recognised.
The mass of the Russian Army in western Russia is to be destroyed in daring operations by driving forward deep armoured wedges, and the retreat of intact, battle-ready troops into the wide spaces of Russia is to be prevented. The ultimate objective of the operation is to establish a defence line against Asiatic Russia from a line running from the Volga River to Archangel.
Romania and Finland are to be provide jumping off areas for attacks on the northern and southern flanks as well as troops to aid the German forces. Various Finnish-German armies are to advance on Leningrad and the Lake Ladoga area, cut the Murmansk railway line, secure the Petsamo nickel mines and occupy the Russian ice-free ports on the Arctic Ocean. Much depended on whether Sweden would permit the transit of German troops from Norway.

In a speech to officer cadets today, Hitler says: "Truly, this earth is a trophy cup for the industrious man. And this rightly so, in the service of natural selection. He who does not possess the force to secure his 'Lebensraum' in this world, and, if necessary, to enlarge it, does not deserve to possess the necessities of life. He must step aside and allow stronger peoples to pass him by." (258, p.2162)

ALBANIA: The Greek and Italian units fighting in the mountains are suddenly confronting a common enemy, avalanches. Reports from the front indicate that the violent fire of the heavy artillery has caused the snow on the mountains to shift and that soldiers, mules and guns have been swept away by the tumbling masses of snow. (Andy Etherington)

During the night of 18/19 December, the British battleships HMS Warspite (03) and Valiant (02) bombard Valona. (Andy Etherington)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA:
On the night of 18th/19th the two battleships Warspite and Valiant bombard Valona, Albania.
At the same time battleship HMS Malaya passes through to the west.

The British submarine HMS/M Triton (N 15) left Malta on 28 November for a patrol in the southern Adriatic Sea. Most likely she was sunk in the Otranto Strait (between the Italian "boot heel" and Albania) on or around 18 December.

ADRIATIC SEA: Submarine HMS Triton reported missing after possibly being mined in the Strait of Otranto. Italians claim she was sunk by torpedo boat Confienza on the 18th, but possibly by Italian MTB Clio. Lost with all hands .

BALKANS, MACEDONIA:
The American United Press Agency reports:-
The mud that had frozen solid over the last few weeks is now covered with a layer of snow from three to six feet deep, which is severely impairing military operations.
The military doctors have reported numerous cases of frostbite among the troops.
The Greek and Italian units fighting in the mountains are suddenly confronting a common enemy: avalanches. Reports from the front indicate that the violent fire of the heavy artillery has caused the snow on the mountains to shift and that soldiers, mules and guns have been swept away by the tumbling masses of snow.

NORTH AFRICA:
Three Fiat CR42 Falco biplanes are shot down by Hurricane Mk. Is of 274 Sqn. RAF based at Sidi Haneish South, Egypt.
Reinforcements arriving from Italy include a whole 'Gruppo', the 20th, with 13 Fiat G50bis fighters, capable of 385 mph and armed with 2 m/c guns.
Mike Yaklich adds: The Fiat G50bis fighter ("Freccia") did not carry a cannon-- its
armament, as with virtually every Italian fighter until mid-1942, was a pair
of 12.7mm mgs synchronized to fire through the propeller arc. This left it
woefully under-gunned by modern standards. The main improvement on the G50bis
(which appeared in mid-1940) over the original G50 was the provision of
self-sealing fuel tanks and a sheet of armour plate behind the pilot (the first
Italian fighter plane to be so furnished). The G50 variants had good
manoeuvrability, but were hampered by their substandard armament and poor
engine performance. Nonetheless, the top Italian ace of the Greek campaign,
Lt. Livio Bassi, was credited with seven aerial victories in the G50bis before
he himself was mortally wounded crash-landing his badly shot-up aircraft after
a dogfight with the British in February 1941. Admittedly, most of Bassi's
"kills" were unescorted Blenheim bombers shot down while his unit, 154th
Gruppo, was deployed in defence of the Albanian port of Valona (he also bagged
one Greek Potez 63 reconnaissance plane).

CANADA: The Government approves the construction of staging airfield in western Canada.

Minesweeper HMCS Transcona laid down Sorel, Province of Quebec.

Corvette HMCS Chambly commissioned.

Destroyer HMCS St Croix returned to Halifax to repair hurricane damage. In refit to Mar 41.

Corvette HMS Hepatica departed Halifax with Convoy HX-97 armed with a dummy (wooden); real weapon installed at Greenock.

UNITED STATES: The U.S. Army Air Corps activates four air districts to have administrative and operational control of all tactical units (bombardment, pursuit and reconnaissance) in the continental U.S. Prior to this date, all tactical units in the U.S. had been under the control of three wings, the 1st at March Field, Riverside, California; the 2d at Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia; and the 3d at Barksdale Field, Shreveport, Louisiana. The four new air districts , assigned to General Headquarters Air Force, are the Northeast Air District at Mitchel Field, Hempstead, Long Island, New York; Northwest Air District at McChord Field, Tacoma, Washington; Southeast Air District at MacDill Field, Tampa, Florida; and Southwest Air District at March Field, California.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the South Atlantic, German armored ship Admiral Scheer captures the 8,651 ton British refrigerator ship SS Duquesa carrying 14.5 million eggs and 3,000 tons (2 722 metric tonnes) of meat on board. The Duquesa cargo is used to resupply the auxiliary cruisers H.K. Pinguin and Thor and the supply ship SS Nordmark SS Duquesa is sunk by H.K. Pinguin on 20 February 1941.

U-100 sank SS Napier Star.

U-96 damaged SS Pendrecht in Convoy OB-259.

Frigate HMS Spey launched.

Submarine HMS United launched.

Minesweeping trawlers HMS Earraid and Sir Galahad launched.

Corvette HMS Potentilla launched.

Destroyer HS Kanaris (ex-HMS Hatherleigh) launched.

FRANCE: The first German submarine involved in Operation DRUMBEAT (Paukenschlag), U-125, sails from Lorient. Operation DRUMBEAT is an attack on shipping along the North American coast by five U-boats.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb Brest and the crews reported that, at long last, the German battleship Gneisenau, still harbored in the port, is hit during an attack by 47 aircraft.

GERMANY: Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander in Chief of the Army, resigns his post due to ill health. U-707 is launched.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British convoy reaches Malta and Force B heads back for Egypt, leaving Force K to search for the Italian naval force. Ships of Force K, the British Flotilla assigned to protect Malta and its shipping, hit an Italian moored minefield 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Tripoli, Libya. The light cruiser HMS Neptune and destroyer HMS KANDAHAR are sunk, the light cruiser HMS Aurora is badly damaged and the light cruiser HMS Penelope is slightly damaged. The sinking of HMS Neptune causes the death of 150 New Zealanders, the nation's greatest loss at sea in World War II. The site of the stricken ships limping back to the Grand Harbour brought a sense of fear into the Maltese people, who depend on the protected convoys to survive.

CHINA: Following an operational loss of an American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) aircraft and the ensuing confrontation between the pilot, Eriksen Shilling, and a group of Chinese, "blood chits" are developed. The first blood chits are printed on silk by Chinese Intelligence and stitched on the back of the American's flight jackets. It shows the flag and promised a reward for assisting the bearer. The message is printed in several languages.

HONG KONG: The days appear to be numbered as a British colony as 40,000 Japanese troops stand by to storm and island defended by just 8,000. This evening a contingent of Japanese troops succeeded in establishing a bridgehead at Tai Koo on Hong Kong Island, after crossing the 500-yard stretch of water separating the island from the mainland and landing between North Point and the Lei U Mun Channel. The landings are successful despite counterattacks by the undermanned British and Canadian Royal Rifles of Canada. The first wave of Japanese troops land in Hong Kong with artillery fire for cover and the following order from their 23rd Army commander, Lieutenant General Sakai Takashi: "Take no prisoners".

Japanese gunners, aided by superb intelligence, have targeted and destroyed pillboxes, fixed defences and air-raid shelters on the island's North Shore. After overrunning a battery of anti-tank guns manned by local volunteers, Takashi's men rope together all 20 survivors of the action, and bayonet them to death. Japanese shoot and bayonet to death eight Canadians, four RAMC soldiers, and three St. John's Ambulance men. After seizing the Lei Yu Mun Channel, the Japanese 38th Division storms across Hong Kong Island from east to west, splitting the two British defending brigades. The Japanese quickly take control of key reservoirs, threatening the British and Chinese inhabitants with a slow death by thirst.

The Hong Kong governor, Sir Mark Young, urged on by messages from Mr Churchill, continues to reject Lt-Gen Takaishi Sakai's offers to surrender "on the grounds of humanity." Today Sir Mark "flatly rejected" the third such offer in five days.

On 27 August 1946, the Chinese War Crimes Military Tribunal of the Ministry of National Defence in Nanking sentenced SAKAI Takashi. He was executed by firing squad on 30 September 1946.

MALAYA: The Indian 11th Division completes their withdrawal behind the Krian River and is held in reserve in the Taiping area. Forces defending the Grik road are further reinforced. After visiting forward areas, Lieutenant General Sir Arthur E. Percival draws up plans for a withdrawal behind the Perak River; he also decides to amalgamate certain units, among them the Indian 6th and 15th Brigades (to be designated the Indian 6/15 Brigade) and to incorporate the Indian 12th Brigade Group in the Indian 11th Division.
The Japanese occupy Penang which was evacuated by the British yesterday.
All combat-worthy aircraft in Malaya are ordered to fly to Singapore.

BORNEO: For a second day, Dutch reconnaissance aircraft from Singkawang, Borneo, make reconnaissance flights over the Japanese invasion fleet. A Dutch Dornier Do-24 bombs and sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Shinonome off Miri, Borneo.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Luzon, the Japanese Legaspi detachment reaches Naga.
The French 14,000-ton motor mail vessel Marechal Joffre, manned by a scratch crew that includes aviation personnel from Patrol Wing Ten (PatWing 10), departs Manila Bay for Balikpapan, Borneo, and then to Australia, New Zealand and finally, San Francisco arriving in April 1942. Marechal Joffre will be formally acquired by the Navy and commissioned as the transport USS Rochambeau (AP-63) on 27 April 1942.

U.S.A.: Censorship is imposed with the passage of the first American War Powers Act. The War Powers Act is passed by Congress, authorizing the president to initiate and terminate defence contracts, reconfigure government agencies for wartime priorities, and regulate the freezing of foreign assets. It also permitted him to censor all communications coming in and leaving the country. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed the executive news director of the Associated Press, Byron Price, as director of censorship. Although invested with the awesome power to restrict and withhold news, Price took no extreme measures, allowing news outlets and radio stations to self-censor, which they did. Most top secret information, including the construction of the atom bomb, remained just that. The most extreme use of the censorship law seems to have been the restriction of the free flow of "girlie" magazines to servicemen-including Esquire, which the Post Office considered obscene for its occasional saucy cartoons and pinups. Esquire took the Post Office to court, and after three years the Supreme Court ultimately sided with the magazine.
In another executive order, President Roosevelt directs a commission, to be headed by retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Owen J. Roberts (Roberts Commission), to "ascertain and report the facts relating to the attack made by the Japanese armed forces upon the Territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941...to provide bases for sound decisions whether any derelictions of duty or errors of judgment on the part of United States Army or Navy personnel contributed to such successes as were achieved by the enemy on the occasion mentioned; and if so, what these derelictions or errors were, and who were responsible therefor." In addition to Justice Roberts, the commission's membership includes retired Admiral William H. Standley and Rear Admiral Joseph W. Reeves; Major General Frank R. McCoy, USA (Retired) and Brigadier General Joseph T. McNarney, USA.

An order is promulgated giving CINCUS direct operational control over the USN's forces. (Keith Allen)

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order No. 8984 that provides that the Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet will take supreme command of the operating forces of all Navy fleets and coastal frontier commands, and be directly responsible to the President.

The State Department announces that Rear Admiral Frederick J. Horne and Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner at Martinique, French West Indies, have reached an agreement neutralizing French Caribbean possessions.

NORTH ATLANTIC: The German submarine U-434 is sunk north of Madeira, Portugal, in position 36.15N, 15.48W, by depth charges from the British escort destroyer HMS Blankney and the destroyer HMS Stanley. 42 of the 46-man crew survive.

U-361 commissioned.

U-1000 laid down.

U-540 launched.

TUNISIA: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses hit shipping and harbor installations at Sousse while RAF (B-24) Liberators, under the control of IX Bomber Command, follow with a raid on the same target during the night of 18/19 December.

Thirty six USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses with 16 P-38 Lightnings as escort, hit Bizerte harbor and shipping offshore; a direct hit is scored on one vessel. Antiaircraft and attacks by Axis fighters result in the loss of one B-17 and four P-38s; three Axis fights are destroyed and others damaged. B-26 Marauders with P-38 escort attack the marshaling yard at Sousse, hitting the station, roundhouse and other buildings, tracks, and a train; heavy antiaircraft accounts for the loss of two B-26s. DB-7 Bostons with fighter escort hit the landing ground and dispersal area near Mateur and attack the railroad yards in the town. P-38s and P-40s fly reconnaissance missions and sweeps and attack ground targets, including a train north of Sfax and trucks near Sainte-Marie-du-Zit.

Continuing the pursuit of the Axis forces, the New Zealand 2d Division, British Eighth Army, clashes sharply with rear guards at Nofihia. After the action, the pursuit is largely abandoned for administrative reasons. (John Nicholas)

USAAF Ninth Air Force P-40s fly reconnaissance and patrol as the British Eighth Army's lead division. The New Zealand 2nd Division, clashes with the Geramn rear guards at Nofilia.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Whilst screening Force H, destroyer HMS Partridge is attacked and sunk by U-565 (Kapitanleutnant Wilhelm Franken) 50 miles West of Oran at 35 50N 01 35E. HMS Penn rescues 173 survivors. (Alex Gordon)(108)

NEW GUINEA: The Allies capture Cape Endiadere, east of Buna. The Australians use tanks with good effect in the advance. They also attack Japanese positions at Napapo and Sanananda.

In Papua New Guinea, the Australian 39th Battalion, 7th Division, which has been joined by elements of the 2/14th Battalion, 21st Brigade, has reduced the Japanese strength at Napapo to about half and is being relieved for action on the Sanananda front by the Australian 2/16th and 2/27th Battalions, 21st Brigade. The Australians, supported by fire of the Americans, begin a concerted attack on the Sanananda front. The Australian 2/7th Calvary Regiment, 7th Division, having moved elements into the roadblock against firm opposition, attacks north along the Soputa-Sanananda trail, bypassing resistance just ahead of the block. The Australian 30th Brigade attacks at the track junction, employing two battalions in a frontal assault and another in the region east of the track, but makes little headway. The Urbana Force attempts to clear Musita Island. Elements of Company L, U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, reach the island by means of a cable, but with draw upon meeting heavy resistance. On the Warren front, a concerted assault against Cape Endaiadere and New Strip is spearheaded by Australian tanks, which prove invaluable in reducing concrete and steel fortifications. After preliminary air and ground bombardment, the Australian 2/9th Battalion, 18th Brigade, begins an attack on Cape Endaiadere and soon breaks through the main Japanese positions and reaches their objective; then drive west along the coast until halted near Strip Point by a new line of bunkers. The 3d Battalion, U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, mops up and establishes a defensive perimeter in the Duropa Plantation. Americans and Australians attack New Strip from the south and east. While the 1st Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, pushes toward the bridge between the strips, elements of the Australian 2/9th Battalion, reinforced during the day by the 1st Battalion, U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, reduce a strongpoint at the eastern end of New Strip and pursue th e Japanese west along the northern edge of the strip toward the bridge. The Australians sustain heavy casualties and lose three tanks in the action, which is otherwise highly successful. Advance elements of Australian 2/10th Battalion, 18th Brigade, arrive at the front by sea during night of 18/19 December. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit positions at Kurenada in the Cape Endaiadere area while Allied ground forces launch a concerted assault. B-17 Flying Fortresses attack a convoy in Astrolabe Bay off Madang, while B-24 Liberators bomb the Alexishafen area and other B-24s bomb the airfield at Lae and attack the convoy off Madang.

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators attack a transport northwest of Lorengau on Manus Island.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The 3d Battalion, 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, advances up the northwestern slopes of Mt Austen to Hill 35, where Japanese fire is encountered.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USN submarine USS Albacore (SS-218) torpedoes and sinks Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Tenryu about 8 nautical miles (15 kilometers) east of Madang, Northeast New Guinea, in position 05.12S, 145.56E. Albacore survives counterattacks by escorting destroyer (HIJMS Sukukaze or Isonami).

CANADA: Minesweepers HMS MMS 1050, 1051, 1052, 1053, 1054, 1055, 1056, 1057, 1058, 1059, 1060, 1061 ordered in Canada.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies reconnaissance over Kiska, Attu, Agattu and Semichis Islands.

U.S.A.: [Msg, WD to Eisenhower OPD Msg files, CM-OUT 6349] Following message under date of December 15 furnished you from the President:
"I am today appointing Mr. Murphy to be my personal representative in North Africa with the rank of Minister. He will continue on General Eisenhower's staff in his present capacity as Civil Affairs Officer until such a time as consultation with the War Department suggests a change."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff authorize the occupation of Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands, less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from Japanese held Kiska Island, provided it is suitable for an advanced air base from which Kiska can be attacked.

FRANCE: USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb the Var River bridges, destroying a highway bridge and damaging a railroad bridge. Other B-26s have less success against the Antheor viaduct, although there are several near misses.

GERMANY: German citizens could face further curbs on rail travel and stiff fare rises this Christmas as the Reichsbahn, the state railway, is increasingly given over to military use. Already, in an attempt to prevent civilians from crowding the trains - especially long-distance ones - school summer holidays in the Reich begin on three different days, according to region, and travel at Easter, Whitsun, Christmas and New Year is restricted.

ITALY: Monte Lungo falls to units of the US 5th Army. The Germans respond with heavy counterattacks. The US 36th Division enters San Pietro, the leading role in this attack was played by the 1st Italian Motorized Brigade, the first substantial Italian ground unit to fight for the Allies. (Keith Allen)
The Germans continue to withdraw due to the pressure of the US VI Corps. In the U.S. Fifth Army's II Corps area, patrols find the Germans still clinging to the western slopes of Mt. Sammucro. The VI Corps advances in center along the St. Elia road as the Germans withdraw. French troops occupy the rest of the Mt. Pantano hill mass; on the road to Atina, they clear the Cerasuolo area.

Weather limits air operations. USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40 fighter-bombers attack positions in Tollo, Canosa Sannita, and Orsogna, and strafe a schooner off Trogir. A-36 Apaches hit defended areas near Cassino and at Viticuso, a supply dump and gun emplacement near Tenacina, and positions at Monte Trocchio.

Whilst carrying out routine sweeping operations, minesweeper HMS Felixstowe is mined 3 miles East of Cape Ferro Sardinia at 41 10N 08 40E. There are no casualties. (Alex Gordon)(108)

INDIA: New Delhi: General Joseph Stilwell is appointed to command all Chinese troops in India and north Burma.

The Third Tactical Air Force is activated at Comilla under Air Marshall Sir John E Baldwin (RAF) as a major component of Eastern Air Command. The new command is tasked with counter-air force operations over eastern India and Burma.

CHINA: Japanese aircraft raid Kunming, in Yunnan province, as part of a strategy to weaken the Allies prior to an attack on India.

Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek gives Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell full command of Chinese troops in India and in the Hukawng Valley of Burma. Stillwell is Commander-in-Chief US China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-Shek, Commander-in-Chief Northern Area Combat Command and Deputy Commander in Chief South-East Asia Command.

Twenty seven USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators, supported by 28 P-40s, bomb the airfield at Namsang and some of the P-40s strafe Laihka Airfield. Two B-25 Mitchells on a sea sweep claim damaging hits on a freighter and a tanker in the Hainan Straits and five B-25s bomb the southwestern part of Nanhsien.

HONG KONG: Capt. Douglas Ford (b.1918), Royal Scots, Flt-Lt Hector Bertram Gray (b.1911) and Col. Lanceray Arthur Newnham (b.1889), Middlesex Regt, were executed. They had run activities such as smuggling medicines into their PoW camp and planning an escape until they were discovered and subjected to five months of fruitless interrogation and torture. (George Crosses)

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, 33 USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs bomb and strafe dumps and bivouacs north of Finschhafen.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USN submarine USS Cabrilla (SS-288) lays mines off Saracen Bay, Cambodia.

GILBERT ISLANDS: 46th Fighter Squadron with P-39's and the 531st Fighter-Bomber Squadron with A-24's (USMC SBD) moved from Canton Island to Makin and the 72d Fighter Squadron with P-39's from Hawaii to Makin.

NEW BRITAIN: The operation to capture New Britain has begun. Three days ago the US 112th Cavalry under Brigadier-General Julian Cunningham staged diversionary amphibious landings on the Arawe peninsula, on the south-coast. Today pre-invasion air attacks were intensified against Cape Gloucester, in the west.

The 112th, after embarking in New Guinea for Arawe on 14 December, followed a last-minute plan to establish four beach-heads. Three landings at the peninsula's tip were virtually unopposed. But a second wave in 15 rubber boats, trying to land halfway along the peninsula and take Arawe's grass airstrip, was spotted and lost 12 boats. The invasion is the start of the fifth and final phase of MacArthur's "Elkton" plan for Allied forces from New Guinea and the Solomons to converge and isolate the key base at Rabaul.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Preinvasion air operations against the Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island area are intensified. USAAF Fifth Air Force 70+ B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and B-26 Marauders bomb Cape Gloucester. Over 20 B-25s bomb the Borgen Bay area; and nearly 40 B-24s hit Hoskins Airfield.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, ten Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the Kahili supply area, five more hit the Bonis supply area, and 19 others hit targets in the Chabai-Porton area. Five 5 B-25 Mitchells carry out a low-level strike on troop concentrations at Poroporo and 11 bomb Korovo. B-24s, operating individually and in small flights, on armed reconnaissance attack Kahili, Kieta, and Poporang while fighters strafe targets of opportunity at Numa Numa, Cape Pui Pui, and the east coast of Buka Island north of Bougainville.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Fourteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Milli Atoll.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Riviere Du Loup arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.

General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General USAAF, sends an announcement to RAF Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles F Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, of the U.S. air officers for top commands in Europe in 1944. The list includes Lieutenant General Ira C Eaker, Allied Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO); Lieutenant General John K Cannon, Twelfth Air Force; Lieutenant General Nathan F Twining, Fifteenth Air Force; General Carl Spaatz, US Strategic Air Forces (USSAFE); Lieutenant General James H Doolittle, Eighth Air Force; and Lieutenant General Lewis H Brereton, Ninth Air Force.

On the basis of his belief that tests indicate the practicability of ship-based helicopters, the Chief of Naval Operations separates the pilot training from test and development functions in the helicopter program. He directs that, effective 1 January 1944, a helicopter pilot training program be conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard at Coast Guard Air Station New York, New York (Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn), under the direction of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air).

During the night of 18/19 December, the USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 755: four B-17 Flying Fortresses and nine B-24 Liberators are sent to drop leaflets in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

One hundred sixty USAAF Ninth Air Force A-26 Invaders, A-20 Havocs, and B-26 Marauders hit defended positions at Harperscheid, Hellenthal, Blumenthal, Dreiborn, and Herhahn; fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over western Germany (claiming over 40 German airplanes downed plus hitting numerous ground targets) and support the U.S. 2d, 4th, 28th, and 106th Infantry Divisions west of Butgenbach and west of Trier; southeast of Clervaux, Luxembourg; and southeast of Saint-Vith, Belgium; and the XII Corps at Niedergailbach. The IX Tactical Air Command hits Panzer units spearheading the Bulge.

FRANCE: Mittelwihr: Technical Sergeant Bernard Bell of the United States Army, Company I, 142d Infantry, 36th Infantry Division, leads a squad of troops to clear a German held schoolhouse then holds it against a heavy enemy counter-strike. MOH.

BELGIUM: Huy: The Americans who turned up to guard the bridge over the Meuse at Huy, south-west of Liege, was unusually well-informed. American reinforcements moving up to the front were regaled with hair-raising stories of massive German Panzer forces wreaking havoc among the Allies.

It was some time before this talkative "American" was identified as an English-speaking German commando in GI uniform, driving a captured Jeep. Hitler had told SS Lt-Col Otto Skorzeny to train men to pose as GIs and infiltrate them behind American lines to spread panic and confusion and sabotage communications. The first wave succeeded, forcing the Americans to introduce time-consuming identity checks and trick questions about comics, the name of Roosevelt"> Roosevelt's dog or baseball scores.

Three major organizations from outside US VIII Corps are on the move to corps headquarters in Bastogne in the Ardennes. Late in the day CCB, 10th Armored Division arrives in Bastogne and is directed by the corps commander, Major General Troy Middleton, to establish road blocks at three locations east of Bastogne. The teams sent to these locations will slow the advance of the Germans but at a high cost. The 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division are on the road toward Bastogne. (Jay Stone)

In U.S. First Army's V Corps area, the Corps' mission, on its smaller front, is to stabilize the line Monschau (Germany)-Butgenbach-Malmedy-Stavelot. Corps holds firmly at Butgenbach and Elsenborn ridge but the Germans continue to move west through the gap south of Butgenbach. Regimental Combat Team 26 reverts to the 1st Infantry Division, which joins in action to keep the Germans from Malmedy, combing the woods near Eupen and organizing the perimeter defense of Waimes. The 99th Infantry Division is attached to 2d Infantry Division. The Germans now hold Honsfeld and Buellingen and push into Stavelot. The 30th Infantry Division recovers most of Stavelot northwest of the AmblÃ¨ve River and organizes defense positions in the Malmdy-Stavelot area; blunts enemy spearheads at Stoumont and Habiemont. In the VIII Corps area, the 106th Infantry Division's encircled 422d and 423d Infantry Regiments try in vain to break out toward Schonberg. The 7th Armored Division is too heavil y engaged at St Vith to assist with eastward push. The Germans occupy Recht and cut the St Vith-Vielsaim road at Poteau but Combat Command A recovers Poteau. The 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), which falls back to Petit Thier, is transferred from the 106th Infantry Division to the 7th Armored Division control. The 28th Infantry Division is unable to stop the Germans in its zone and becomes completely disorganized. The Germans get almost to Houffalize and Bastogne; smash through roadblocks of Combat Command R, 9th Armored Division, on the Bastogne-St Vith road.

NETHERLANDS: In the British Second Army area, VIII Corps extends southward to the line Meeuwen-Maeseyck.

LUXEMBOURG: Troops of 4th Infantry Division and 10th Armored Division remaining south of the breakthrough are placed under Third Army command. Combat Command B, 10th Armored, remains with VIII Corps to help defend Bastogne, Belgium; Combat Command A attacks north and east through the 4th Infantry Division to the Berdorf and Echternach areas. The 4th Infantry Division mops up infiltrators beyond Osweiler and Dickweiler and repels thrust from Dickweiler.

FRANCE: In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, elements of 45th Infantry Division attack across the Lauter River into Budenthal but are isolated there.

GERMANY: US aircraft attack German tactical and communications targets, including Cologne, Koblenz, Kaiserslautern, Bonn and Mainz.

At 1320 a 451st/727 Sq. B-24G #42-78436 commanded 2lt. Walter D. Holland goes MIA (missing in acyion) about twenty kilometres from where the 485th encountered SAMs yesterday. Also this afternoon a B-17 of the 2nd Bomb Group reports that they are under attack by Rheintochter SAMs over Wiener Neustadt. (John D. Bybee)

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 754: 985 bombers and 773 fighters are dispatched to hit rail and tactical targets in Germany using PFF; 4 fighters are lost. One hundred seventy B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Mainz; 102 hit the Lutzel M/Y at Koblenz; 74 attack the M/Y at Kaiserslautern; and 32 bomb the Kalk M/Y at Cologne. Twenty four other B-17s hits targets of opportunity. Escort is provided by 260 P-51 Mustangs.

USAAF Fifteenth Air Force bomber attack three synthetic oil refineries: 169 bomb the Deschowitz refinery at Odertal with the loss of two bombers; 87 bomb the I.G. Garben North refinery at Blechhammer and 61 bomb the I.G. Garben South refinery at Blechhammer with the loss of two aircraft.

During the night of 18/19 December, Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command attack two cities: 39 bomb Nurnburg and 14 hit Munster. Meanwhile, ten Lancasters lay mines in Danzig Bay.

14th Armored Division, VI US Corps, 7th Army began assault on Siegfried line by blasting out Dragon Teeth with TNT, bypassing Maginot line emplacements. Germans responded with heavy firing.

Allied commanders met the day before to plan action for stopping Ardennes counter Attacks. Patton promised he could move his 3rd Army by December 22nd.

7th US Army was ordered to spread out to cover Patton's 3rd Army pivot and his move North, orders included statement that if unsuspected attack was delivered by unaccounted for German Divisions at Ardennes to pull back to Vosges Mountains for defence.

In U.S. First Army's VII Corps area, the 83d and 9th Infantry Divisions finish clearing their respective zones. The Corps extends southward because of Ardennes breakthrough to take over part of the V Corps zone, new boundary running from the Eupen area to the Roer River near Dedenborn. With boundary change, the 8th and 78th Infantry Divisions and attachments pass to corps control in current positions. The Corps releases Combat Command A of the 3d Armored Division and the 9th Infantry Division, less Regimental Combat Teams 47 and 60, to V Corps, 104th Infantry Division takes responsibility for the 9th Infantry Division zone as well as its own and is reinforced by Regimental Combat Team 6o. The 78th Infantry Division, reinforced by the 2d Ranger Battalion and 102d Cavalry Group (Mechanized), is to hold the road center north of the Konzen and Paustenbach knoll.

In U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 90th Infantry Division, attacking cautiously with two battalions, clears most of Dillingen against surprisingly light resistance. The 5th Infantry Division takes charge of the Saarlautern bridgehead, and attacks at once, gaining ground. The 95th Infantry Division, less 378th Infantry Regiment, which continues to be responsible for the Ensdorf area, is withdrawn from combat. In the XII Corps area, the 2d Battalion, 320th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, takes Nieder Gailbach in hard fighting. The 87th Infantry Division breaks off attack upon order.

In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIII Corps area, 84th Infantry Division attacks for its last objective, Wurm and Muellendorf, and takes both with ease.

A Memory of a Seventh Army Veteran: the 14th Armored Division, U.S. VI Corps, Seventh Army began an assault on the Siegfried line by blasting out Dragon Teeth with TNT while bypassing Maginot line emplacements. The Germans respond with heavy firing. Many individual fox holes were 100 yards (91 meters) apart. (Joe Brott)

Forty nine USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the I.G. Farben oil refinery at Oswiecim with the loss of two aircraft.

During the night of 18/19 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 236 Lancasters to attack the Gdynia on the Baltic coast: 187 bomb the port area with the loss of three aircraft and 40 bomb the heavy cruiser Lutzow with the loss of one aircraft. The cruiser is not damaged but the dockyard and a floating dock are wrecked.

Off Gdynia, RAF bombers hit the German liner Schleswig-Holstein, which burns out, and sink eight other ships.

HUNGARY: Soviet Army forces reach the Hungarian-Czechoslovak border on the 70-mile (113 kilometer) front north of Miskoic and are crossing it.

Thirty three USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators aircraft bomb the marshalling yard at Sopron while two others hit targets of opportunity.

U.S.S.R.: Black Sea Fleet: (Sergey Anisimov)(69)Submarine loss. "L-25" (uncompleted hull) - sunk under tow, supposedly on mine, West to cape Pitsunda.

ITALY: A freight train carrying hundreds of civilians, who had jumped on board because no other transport is available, stalls in a tunnel near Salerno. Toxic fumes from the engine fill the tunnel and a total of 426 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Benito Mussolini, head of the Italian Socialist Republic (RSI), has moved his office to Milan. German Ambassador to the RSI Rudolph Rahn, had suggested he move to Merano on the Brenner Pass, but Mussolini chose Milano due in part to his wish to distance himself from German authority.

Weather again curtails operations. The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XXII Tactical Air Command sends fighters and fighter-bombers to hit communications in the eastern Po River Valley, scoring particular success against lines in the northern part of the Valley in the Padua region, and support U.S. Fifth Army operations in the battle area south of Bologna.

YUGOSLAVIA: Sixty six RAF Bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb tactical targets at Matesevo.

CHINA: Thirty three USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb barracks and administrative buildings at Hankow. Twenty three B-25 Mitchells hit Wuchang, seven bomb barracks and damage a bridge at Siaokan Airfield while six others attack storage buildings at Kunlong;. One hundred forty nine P-40s and P-51 Mustangs support the Hankow, Siaokan, and Wuchang raids and claim 42 Japanese aircraft downed and destroyed on the ground. Twenty P-51s and P-38 Lightnings follow the B-25 strike on Kunlong with napalm attacks, causing considerable damage while 28 other P-40s and P-51s attack various targets of opportunity around Hochih, Nanning and Mengmao.

The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XX Bomber Command flies Mission 21: 94 B-29 Superfortresses, flying out of the Chengtu area, are dispatched to drop incendiaries on the docks at Hankow in the first mass firebomb attack by B-29s; the strike is made in conjunction with 200 aircraft of the Fourteenth Air Force; 84 bomb the primary target and five others hit alternate targets; they claim 1-3-10 Japanese aircraft.

BURMA: Seventeen USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts destroy bypass bridges at Wingkang. Twelve B-25 Mitchells knock out two railroad bridges at Wetlet and damage another at Saye and 11 P-47s hit the airfield at Nawnghkio while 12 others sweep airfields at Anisakan, Hsumhsai, and Nawnghkio. Nine fighter-bombers provide close support to ground forces in Namhkam and 17 P-47s attack personnel and supply areas at Man Ton and Hseing-hkai. Two hundred ninety two transports fly men and supplies to forward bases and battle areas.

JAPAN: The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 13: 89 B-29 Superfortresses flying out of the Mariana Islands are sent to hit the Mitsubishi aircraft plant at Nagoya; 63 hit the primary target and ten bomb last resort targets and targets of opportunity. They claim 5-11-12 Japanese aircraft; four B-29s are lost.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: During the night of 18/19 December, four USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Guam and Saipan fly snooper strikes over Iwo Jima.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in the Tarakan Island, Borneo, area, strafe seaplane facilities at Sanga Sanga, Borneo, and bomb Haroekoe Airfield on Haroekoe Island off Ambon Island.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force fighter-bombers attack Sang Song and Phu Lang Thuong.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: A typhoon capsizes three destroyers and damages three carriers, 11 destroyers and four escort carriers of US naval TF 38, drowning 757 out of 831 sailors and sweeping 150 aircraft off the decks of carriers. TF 38 has completed attacks on Luzon, and is returning to Ulithi to refuel.

Destroyer USS Hull capsized in a typhoon, east of the Philippines. 7 officers and 55 men survived the sinking, 8 crewmembers were lost. She received 10 battle stars for her WWII service.

Destroyer USS Monaghan lost in the infamous typhoon east of the Philippines. Only six of her crew was ever found by the destroyer USS Brown. All six were put onboard the hospital ship USS Solace at Christmas Eve. They had been in the water for 4 days. All were in fair shape considering the experience. Before her loss, USS Monaghan received 12 Battle Stars for her services.

By early morning, escort carrier USS Altamaha had been hit by a raging typhoon while performing transfer operations in the Philippine Sea. By 0900, the escort carrier was labouring heavily and rolling as much as 25 to 30 degrees to either side. An hour later, visibility dropped to zero, and the vessel abandoned all effort to keep station. Almost one-half of the aircraft on board Altamaha broke loose and plunged overboard. The ship also experienced problems with flooding in the forward elevator pit. Many ships, including the Altamaha were heavily damaged, and some even sunk. No personnel were lost aboard the Altamaha.

In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte Island, the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, works slowly forward south of Limon and closes the gap between it and 127th Infantry Regiment. The 12th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry), 1st Cavalry Division, patrols and prepares to drive on Lonoy and Kananga. In the XXIV Corps area, the 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, takes Valencia and its airstrip without opposition. The 306th Infantry Regiment overtakes the 307th at Valencia and makes patrol contact with the 305th Infantry Regiment. The 305th blocks off the road to Dolores. The southern part of the Ormoc Valley from Ormoc to Valencia is now clear of Japanese.

On Leyte Island, USAAF Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers destroy a bridge on the Palompon-Cananga road and attack Calatagan Airfield on Cebu Island; B-25 Mitchells hit San Roque Airfield on Mindanao Island; and fighter-bombers attack Tanao harbor on Panay Island.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: Six USAAF Seventh Air Force Guam- based B-24 Liberators fly armed photo reconnaissance over Moen, Param, and Eten Islands and bomb Dublon Island, all in Truk Atoll. After photographing the airfields on the three islands, the B-24 Liberators return by way of Woleai and Puluwat Atolls, and Namonuito Island and photograph all three.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, "Arty Hill" as it was known, is captured by the Queensland 9th Battalion, 7th Brigade, and is a major Japanese position on the Numa Numa Trail leading across Bougainville.

U.S.A.: Washington: Douglas MacArthur is promoted to the rank of General of the Army.

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Army’s removal of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast early in 1942 was constitutional at the time it was carried out, but that citizens must be permitted to return to their homes when their loyalty to U.S. is established. The tribunal acted in two cases. It upheld the constitutionality of the removal program by a 6 to 3 decision, and was unanimous in holding that loyal citizens should be released. The ruling came one day after the War Department announced that loyal citizens of Japanese ancestry would be permitted to return to their former homes after 33 months of enforced absence in relocation centres.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Frigates HMCS Ribble and Montreal rescued 44 of 53 crewmembers of U.1209 OLtzS Ewald Hülsenbeck CO scuttled in the Channel off Scilly Isles, 49-57N, 005-47W, subsequent to hitting Wolf Rock. Both frigates contended their attacks were cause, but this was denied by RN Admiralty findings. Montreal and Ribble were members of Escort Group 26. They had attacked several asdic contacts but these produced no results and the contacts were classified as wrecks, of which there were many in the area. When the survivors were found and recovered a short time later the two ships were quick to claim that their attacks were the cause of a sinking. Actually, U-1209 had been scuttled after hitting Wolf Rock subsequent to her successful efforts to evade her pursuers. OLtzS Hülsenbeck was among those lost.

GERMANY: Nuremberg: The trials of leading Nazis consider the participation of the Leadership Corps in the destruction of Trade Unions and in the plundering of art treasures.

U.S.A.: The USAAF redesignates the Eleventh Air Force as the Alaskan Air Command.

CANADA: Four German prisoners of war are hanged at the Lethbridge Provincial Jail, Alberta, for the murder of fellow prisoner Corporal Karl Lehmann at the Medicine Hat, Alberta, POW camp in September 1944. Lehmann was suspected of leading a Communist conspiracy to overthrow their camp's Nazi leadership.

MARIANA ISLANDS: Japanese Sergeant YOKOI Shoichi is found on Guam by two American hunters. He had been living in a cave for 28 years. Yokoi, who had been a tailor's apprentice before being drafted in 1941, made clothing from the fibers of wild hibiscus plants and survived on a diet of coconuts, breadfruit, papayas, snails, eels and rats. "We Japanese soldiers were told to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive," Yokoi said in 1972. He died on 22 September 1997 at the age of 82.