21 December 1939

RUSSIA: Ioseb Jughashvili is born in Gori, Georgia. He will later adopt the name Joseph Stalin.

AUSTRIA: Adolf Hitler's mother, Klara Hitler, dies a painful death from breast cancer at the age of 47 in Linz. Hitler was 18. Dr. Eduard Bloch, Klara Hitler's doctor, will later say he has never seen a more grieving son. Bloch remains in Austria but after the Anschluss in 1938, Hitler made sure that he is protected until the proper documents can be procured for his emigration and Hitler saw to it that Bloch, whom he called a "noble Jew," could leave Germany unharmed. Bloch emigrated to the U.S. in 1940 and settled in New York City where he died in the Bronx in 1945. (Tom Hickcox)

MANCHURIA: The Japanese government announces "Large scale anti-bandit operations" have begun by the Japanese in Manchuria. The ultimatum is announced to force the Chinese from Chinchow.

NEWFOUNDLAND: King George V of Britain assents to the Royal Commission's recommendation for government and economic reform for Newfoundland. As a result, Newfoundland loses its status as a Dominion and reverts to Crown Colony status.

UNITED STATES: The first newspaper crossword puzzle is published by the New York World.

GERMANY: The prototype Junkers Ju 88 V1 medium bomber, with civil registration D-AQEN, makes its first flight at Dessau. The Ju 88 is arguably one of the best medium bombers/night fighters of World War II. (Ron Babuka)

GERMANY: The General Staff's strategy plan, Plan Green, is completed, anticipating an aggressive war with Czechoslovakia.

UNITED KINGDOM: In the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden says that the League of Nations could not impose sanctions in the Sino-Japanese dispute because ". . . nobody could contemplate any action of that kind in the Far East unless they are convinced that they have overwhelming force to back their policy. . . . It must be perfectly clear to every one that overwhelming force does not exist. Every nation at Geneva from the beginning of this dispute knows perfectly well that the very thought of action of any kind in the Far East must depend on the cooperation of other nations besides those who are actually Members of the League at this time. . . ." British policy must be ". . . to be patient yet to be firm, to be conciliatory without being defeatist, and, above all, to continue to rearm . . . because, paradoxical as it may sound, only in that way shall we get an arms agreement." Britain had no intention of trying to reach a settlement with Germany in the colonial field on the basis of a deal with other powers. "I have seen it suggested in certain quarters. . . . Such a policy could never be accepted for one instant by this House. . . ."

The Government officially repudiates the Peel Commission's Partition Plan, a plan to divide Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish.

UNITED STATES: Walt Disney presents the first, full-length, animated feature which debuts on this day at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood, California. The cost to produce "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was US$1.5 million (US$20.78 million in year 2005 dollars). Disney got his total investment back in the first year of the filmâ€™s showing. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is 83 minutes in length and is the work of 750 artists. Nearly one million drawings are made, of which 250,000 are used in the final print of the classic film.

The boom defense vessel HMS Bayonet (Z 05) strikes a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.

ROMANIA: The Government signs a new economic agreement with Germany to amend the exchange rate between leu and the mark.

PARAGUAY: Montevideo: The British Naval Attache reported to London that merchant seamen prisoners on board the ADMIRAL GRAFF SPEE had noticed a continually revolving "rangefinder" on top of the superstructure. (Peter Beeston)

SWITZERLAND: Geneva: The Swiss government cuts off diplomatic relations with the USSR.

GERMANY: Berlin: Germany says the US's pro-British stance is one of "insult, challenge and moral aggression."

NORWAY: The chief justice resigns rather than administer the Nazi system of justice.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Aircraft from the HMS Illustrious sink two Italian ships off Tunisia.

EGYPT: Cairo: The British Reuters News Agency reports:
The fight for Bardia is continuing. The British are steadily drawing the ring tighter. The Italian defences, which have withdrawn behind the chain of forts that surround the harbour area, are putting up tough resistance; but military experts believe that the resistance must collapse if the British commander orders a decisive raid.

SENEGAL, FRENCH WEST AFRICA: meets in Dakar. U.S. chargés d'affaires to the Vichy French government Robert D. Murphy meets French General Maxime Weygand, Delegate-General to the North African colonies, in Dakar, Senegal. The Americans singled out Weygand, an esteemed military leader but also associated with the Suez Canal Company, as the potential successor to Marshall Henri-Philippe Petain, head of the Vichy State, and judged capable of outflanking Brigadier General Charles-André de Gaulle, Commander in Chief Free French Forces, as well. Weygand is anti-British, anti-German, and accordingly, in the situation France was in at the time, "really on our side," as Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), Ambassador to Vichy France, writes later. In January 1941, Murphy concludes an agreement with Weygand, authorizing the French in North Africa to buy non-strategic goods in the U.S. using hitherto frozen French assets for payment. Weygand wants the aid because he fears that the Germans sooner or later will try to bring French North Africa under direct control and "that the Germans would force the issue in the spring and that it was therefore important that the country should be strong enough to offer effective resistance."

U.S.A.: War and Navy Departments (possibly through the Joint Army-Navy Board) adopt “Europe-first” policy and forward it to the White House for approval. First version of “Rainbow" plan adopted. (Marc Small)

"Frenesi" by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 3 August 1940, was charted for 23 weeks, was Number 1 for 13 weeks and was ranked Number 2 for the year 1940.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler issues a proclamation to the armed forces after taking over as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, saying, "After fifteen years of work I have achieved, as a common German soldier and merely with my fanatical will-power, the unity of the German nation, and have freed it from the death sentence of Versailles."

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-451 sunk near Tangiers, in position 35.55N, 06.08W, by depth charges from FAA 812 Sqn Swordfish. 44 dead and 1 survivor.

ROMANIA: Transnistria: Colonel Isopescu leads his troops -- an assortment of Jandarmi, a few regular soldiers, Ukrainian auxiliary police, and some local Volksdeutsch-SS -- into the Jewish portion of Bogdanovca. Jews were separated into two groups, with between four and five thousand elderly, sick and infirm moved into the local stables where the straw and surrounding structures were sprinkled with gasoline and set afire, burning the occupants to death. The remaining forty-three thousand, the agonized screams of those perishing in the flames ringing in their ears, were marched off into the nearby forest, stopping at a nearby bog where the guards looted them of any possessions and stripped them of their clothes. From there the naked masses, including many mothers with infants and children in their arms, proceeded to the edge of a ravine and executed in groups of three and four hundred at a time, with hand grenades and explosive bullets being the weapons of choice.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Three Japanese convoys from Formosa and the Pescadores bearing the main body of the Japanese 14th Army assault force, arrives in Lingayen Gulf. The Japanese land the 38th Division at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. The Japanese soon establish a strong beachhead and finish unloading their troops by the 23rd.

PACIFIC OCEAN: A reinforced Japanese landing force known as the Wake Occupation Force, leaves Kwajalein bound for Wake Island. It is under the command of Rear Admiral Kajioka Sadamichi. Air attacks are continued by the Japanese carriers Soryu and Hiryu. (Gordon Rottman) Meanwhile, the Filipino 11th Division makes contact with the Japanese Vigan force at Bacnotan.

In the South China Sea, the Dutch submarine HNMS K XVII strikes a Japanese mine and sinks about 115 nautical miles (213 kilometers) north of Singapore, Malaya, in position 03.10N, 104.12E. All 36 crewmen are lost.

WAKE ISLAND: The PBY-5 Catalina that arrives yesterday takes off at 0700 hours; aboard is Major Walter Bayler of Marine Aircraft Group Twenty One (MAG-21), "the last man off Wake." Japanese concern over the potential presence of patrol planes at Wake, occasioned by the large amount of radio traffic that accompanies the sole PBYs arrival at the island, prompts advancing the date of the first carrier strikes. At 0850 hours, 29 Japanese carrier aircraft escorted by 18 "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M2, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) from aircraft carriers HIJMS Soryu and Hiryu, attack ground targets. At 1200 hours, 33 "Nell" bombers (Mitsubishi G3M2, Navy Type 96 Attack Bombers) from Roi Airdrome in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, bomb the island.

The Wake Island relief force, Task Force Fourteen, is within 600 nautical miles (1 111 kilometers) of the island. The task force is composted of the aircraft carriers USS Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3), the heavy cruisers USS Astoria (CA-34), Minneapolis (CA-36) and San Francisco (CA-38), ten destroyers, the seaplane tender USS Tangier (AV-8) and the oiler USS Neches (AO-5). The convoy is carrying the 4th Marine Coastal Defense Battalion, Marine Fighting Squadron Two Hundred Twenty One (VMF-221) equipped with F2A-3 Buffalo fighters, along with 9,000 five-inch (12.7 centimeter) rounds, 12,000 three-inch (7.62 centimeter) rounds, and 3 million 50 calibre (12.7 millimeter) rounds as well as a large amount of ammunition for mortars and other battalion small arms.

SOUTH CHINA SEA: Insect class gunboat HMS Cicala is sunk by air bombing in the South China Sea off Hong Kong and the crew are taken off by HMS MTB.10. There is only one casualty, but only half of the crew survived the war after becoming Japanese POW’s when HK surrendered; some of were lost when the transport taking them to Japan was torpedoed by an Allied submarine. (Alex Gordon)(108)

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Grandmere enroute to Halifax from builder Montreal, broke down in St. Lawrence River. Towed to Sydney, Nova Scotia by corvette HMCS Kamsack for repair.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German submarine U-751 puts three torpedoes into British escort aircraft carrier HMS Audacity (D 10) causing her to sink about 441 nautical miles (817 kilometers) northeast of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, in position 43.45N, 19.54W. In the general counter-attack, German submarine U-567 is detected and sunk by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Deptford (U 53) and corvette HMS Samphire (K 128) about 444 nautical miles (822 kilometers) northeast of Lagens Field in position 44.02N, 20.10W; all 47 crewmen on the U-boat are lost. All of the British vessels are escorting convoy HG76 (Gibraltar to the U.K.). (Alex Gordon and Dave Shirlaw and Jack McKillop)(108)

Submarine HNLMS K XVII sunk by mine. The wreck is upright on the bottom at about 55 meters. It apparently struck a British laid mine while travelling on the surface at night and sank with all hands. There is a big hole in the stern but otherwise intact.

German submarine U-451 is sunk about 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers) west-northwest of the Tangier Zone in position 35.55N, 06.08W, by depth charges from a British Fleet Air Arm Swordfish Mk. I, aircraft "A" of No. 812 Squadron based at Gibraltar. The Swordfish is equipped with air-to-surface vessel (ASV) radar. This is the first submarine to be destroyed by an aircraft at night. Only one of the 45 man crew in the U-boat survives.

The USN light cruiser USS Omaha (CL-4) and destroyer USS Somers (DD-381), operating out of Recife, Brazil, encounter a darkened ship that acts suspicious and evasive when challenged. USS Omaha fires a starshell and illuminates the stranger; USS Somers sends an armed boarding party that learns that the merchantman nearly fired upon is the Soviet freighter SS Nevastroi.

GERMANY: Chancellor Adolf Hitler uses the report by General Friedrich Paulus, commander of the Sixth Army, of fuel shortages to refuse a request by Field Marshall Erich von Manstein, commander of Army Group Don, to order the Sixth Army to withdraw from Stalingrad.

During the night of 21/22 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 137 aircraft, 119 Lancasters, nine Stirlings and nine Wellingtons, to bomb Munich with the loss of 12 aircraft, eight Lancasters, three Stirlings and a Wellington, 8.8 per cent of the force. One hundred ten aircraft claimed to have bombed Munich and started fires but their photographs show that all or most of the bombs fell in open country, possibly attracted by a decoy site.

U.S.S.R.: Hitler uses Paulus' reporting of fuel shortages to refuse Manstein's request to order the German 6th Army to withdraw from Stalingrad.

NORTH AFRICA: Not a soldier entered the Catholic Church at Tobruk without taking off his hat, though the roof was open and six inches of water lay on the floor. On the pedestal of the Virgin Mary at right, every inch was covered with the scratched names and prayers of many soldiers, mostly Italians. Off left were the bell ropes of the three church bells, still undamaged, which every British soldiers rang at least once before he left. In a Cyrenaican town farther west the British found an Italian priest who had stayed with his church through five occupations. He said: "All the colonists are gone, but the priest must never leave his church. Religion is above wars. There must be many Catholics among the British in the army and I can help them.

Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes, an Australian, is leading his squadron of Kittyhawk fighter-bombers on a strafing attack against an Italian airfield in the Western Desert. During the attack several aircraft are destroyed on the ground, two by Gibbes, but his formation comes under heavy anti-aircraft fire. One of their number is shot down and a second is forced to crash-land a few miles from the target.

Although his own aircraft has been hit by shrapnel, Gibbes goes to the aid of his downed fellow pilot. With the rest of his formation providing cover, he lands and taxies his single-seat Kittyhawk across the rocky desert for a mile until stopped by a depression. He jettisons the external fuel tank to reduce the weight of his aircraft before pacing out a take-off strip as his comrade evaded Italian troops and ran to meet him.

Gibbes ditched his own parachute to allow his friend to sit in the seat before climbing in after him and sitting on his lap. Then as he took off, his undercarriage hit a small ridge, and he watched in horror as the port wheel falls off.

Escorted by his squadron pilots, Gibbes heads for base. With fighters in short supply, he decides against a belly landing but comes down on his one remaining wheel, thus causing minimal damage to his aircraft.

During the First World War such exploits had been recognised with a VC, and Gibbes was recommended for the supreme award. In the event he received an immediate DSO. (Daily Telegraph, 25/04/2007)

LIBYA: Light forces of the British Eighth Army overtake the Axis rearguard at Sirte and are halted temporarily.

TUNISIA: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators abort a mission against Sousse harbor due to weather. Six RAF (B-24) Liberators, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command, attack the harbor but; results are not observed.

Weather prevents USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses from bombing Sfax or the secondary target, Gabes. P-40s destroy a tank and several cars and trucks with trailers in the Kairouan area while F-4 Lightnings fly three photographic reconnaissance missions over the area between Bizerte and Gabes.

NEW GUINEA: From Napapo, Papua New Guinea, Japanese Major General ODA Kensuku, commander of the 5th South Seas Detachment, and his staff arrive at Giruwa. In the Australian 7th Division area on the Sanananda front, the Australians continue to batter Japanese positions in front of the track junction. The 49th Battalion, 30th Brigade, succeeds in entering the roadblock and protects the supply line to it while the 2/7th Cavalry Regiment pushes north from the Kano position toward Sanananda. In the Australian 18th Brigade Buna area, the Japanese continue to withdraw toward Giropa Point and to defend their positions around the two airfields as the 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions advance. The Urbana Force (two battalions of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments, 32d Infantry Division), feinting toward the Triangle, draw Japanese from bunkers and kill many with artillery fire. In preparation for the drive through Government Gardens to the sea, Company K of the U.S. 127th Infantry R egiment, 32d Infantry Division, crosses Entrance Creek in rubber boats under fire during the night of 21/22 December, to establish a bridgehead above the Triangle. On the left flank, the Schwarz Patrol (Company F, U.S. 126th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) meets firm resistance at Tarakena, about 1 mile (1,6 kilometers) west of Siwori, and retires eastward; 30 more men of the 2d Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Regiment, reinforce the patrol. The Warren Force (based on U.S. 128th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division) finishes clearing the region east of Simemi Creek and begins to cross after the patrol discovers suitable site some 1,300 yards (1, 189 meters) below its mouth. The crossing is undetected by the Japanese.

In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses attack vessels in Finschhafen harbor while B-24 Liberators carry out single-bomber strikes on a cargo ship north of Finschhafen and barges at the mouth of the Mambare River and off Cape Ward Hunt.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Ordered to cut the Maruyama Trail on Guadalcanal, Company C of the 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, pushes 1,000 yards (914 meters) south without making contact with the Japanese or finding the trail.

USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses attack two cargo ships near Kahili, Bougainville Island; a direct hit is scored on one ship.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies an uneventful reconnaissance over Amchitka, Attu, Kiska and Semichis Islands while a B-24 and two P-38 Lightnings abort a photographic mission due to weather.

CANADA: In Ottawa, Ontario, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board mandates butter rationing.

U.S.A.: The Joint Chiefs of Staff direct that Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Islands is to be occupied as near 5 January 1943 as possible.

The auxiliary aircraft carrier Hamlin (ACV-15) is transferred to the Royal Navy under Lend Lease and commissioned as HMS Stalker (D 91). This is the seventh ACV to be transferred to the British. The ship is reclassified escort aircraft carrier (CVE-15) on 15 July 1943 and is returned to the USN on 29 December 1945.

FRANCE: Eighty four USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb V-weapon sites and other targets.

During the night of 21/22 December, four RAF Bomber Command bombers drop leaflets over the country.

GERMANY: During the night of 21/22 December, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos bomb four targets in two cities: in Dusseldorf, four bomb the Mannesmann steel factory and three hit the city; in Cologne, two bomb the city and one attacks the Knapsack power station.

ITALY : In the British Eighth Army's V Corps area, the Canadian 1st Division of the Eighth Army, meets stiff German resistance near Ortona. After finally crossing "the gully" the Canadians now believe that the town will come easily. The Germans have evacuated the Italian town and begin by blowing up a large part of it, the rubble blocking the Canadian tanks but leaving certain pathways that are now set up for killing fields. As the Canadians move in, the Germans set up booby traps everywhere. Even toilets might be death, or a purposefully left souvenir knife or such. Italian houses have common walls, so the Canadians can go in one, go to the top, blow a hole in the common wall, and descend on the Germans. This process is called "mouseholing." (John Nicholas and Gene Hanson)

The first elements of the Polish II Corps land at Taranto. They are commanded by Lieutenant General Wladyslaw Anders and Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Zygmunt Szyszko-Bohusz. (Alex Bielakowski)

USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Terracina and P-40s hit the same target and also bomb positions and munitions factory south of Sant' Elia Fiumerapido. A-36 Apaches bomb positions, a fuel dump, and munitions factory in the Cervaro area, and hit trains, a seaplane base, a radar station, trucks, and other targets in the Rome-Civitavecchia area.

POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: Hersh Kurcwaig and Stanislaw Dorosiewicz escape from the camp after killing a guard.

U.S.S.R.: The German bridgehead across the Dniepr River near Kherson is captured by the Russians.

BURMA: U.S. Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commander in Chief US China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of Operations, Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, Commander in Chief Northern Area Combat Command (NCAC) and Deputy Commander in Chief South-East Asia Command (SEAC), arrives at Ledo to take personal charge of the northern Burma campaign.

CHINA: Twenty nine USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the railroad yards at Chiengmai; the warehouse area along the west side of the yards suffers very heavy damage. Fourteen B-25 Mitchells, with fighter escort, attack Hwajung.

NEW GUINEA: On the Huon Peninsula in Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 20th Brigade, 9th Division, crosses the Malaweng River. At 1600 hours, the leading company of the 2/15th Battalion enters Hubika which is littered with dead Japanese soldiers. One wounded soldier says, "Japan soldier he go Wandokai" and shortly thereafter, Australian (A-20) Bostons bomb and strafe Wandokai.

Task Force BACKHANDER, the task force for operations on Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, under the command of Major General William H. Rupertus, USMC, conducts a final rehearsal for invasion of Cape Gloucester at Cape Sudest, Papua New Guinea.

In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit camps north of Finschhafen, B-25 Mitchells bomb and cannon Madang and P-40s hit Kaukenau.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Amahai Airfield on Ceram Island, Netherlands East Indies.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force pre-invasion air strikes continue against Cape Gloucester as over 100 B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs attack the area. P-39 Airacobras strafe targets along Borgen and Rein Bays, P-40s and A-20 Havocs hit Hoskins Airfield, and P-47 Thunderbolts claim 17 fighters shot down in the Arawe area. between 1200 and 1720 hours.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Eight USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from the Ellice Islands escort four USN PB4Y-1 Liberators on a photo mission over Kwajalein Atoll. The B-24s bomb shipping and airfields and other facilities at Roi, Ennuebing, and Kwajalein Islands. In other raids, 12 A-24 Dauntlesses, along with five USMC SBD Dauntlesses and 15 USN F6F Hellcats hit shipping and airfields at Emidj Island and 16 P-39 Airacobras strafe fuel dumps, shipping, and antiaircraft guns at Mili Atoll.

PACIFIC: Glen Boren's diary: Our shore stay at Espirito Santo was suddenly interrupted with a sudden call to get back to the ship (two hours notice). We knew something was up, but not what. We got underway immediately.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The relief of the 3d Marine Division in the beachhead line on Bougainville Island begins.

Six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack Monoitu Mission on Bougainville and during the night of 21/22 December, snoopers bomb various bivouac areas.

"THE FOLLOWING PERSONAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE WAS WRITTEN BY General der Infanterie Heinz Kokott, Commanding General 26 Volks Grenadier Division which was attacking Bastogne. COMMENTARY IS BY JAY STONE WHO SERVED THERE WITH THE 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION."

The US 101st Airborne has been almost completely surrounded at Bastogne. The US 82nd Airborne is pushed out of Hoffalize as the German offensive continues. US forces retake Stavelot and halts the German XLVII Corps.

General der Infanterie Heinz Kokott, Commanding General 26 Volks Grenadier Division:

"Towards 1000 hours the weather cleared up - for the first time since the start of the offensive.

"This had been dreaded by everybody [not by me] for it was well known what a clear day would mean! And after barely two hours, the first enemy fighter-bombers appeared in the sky - though not yet in great numbers!

'With that moment, the enemy was able to bring a dreaded and very effective weapon into battle, and - on the basis of the assurances and promises which had been given by the very highest command to both the combat leaders and men prior to the offensive - it could only be hoped that this time the German air force could knock the enemy out of the skies!

"During the morning . . . Rifle Regiment 39 reported a successful advance . . . towards Assenois as well as fierce, but slowly progressing, fighting in the wooded terrain between Assenois and Villeroux. Everywhere the enemy fought determinedly and also made some counter attacks but was forced back steadily."

The 26th Reconnaissance, along with elements of the 5th Infantry Parachute Division, seized Sibret during the dark, early morning hours.

"Bitter fighting had taken place - particularly inside the town [of Sibret] and around an anti-tank gun barricade in the southern part - and for a time the battle was fluctuating and dramatic. In the end, however, the brave defenders had succumbed to the incessant assault from all directions. Reconnaissance Battalion 26 stimulated by its success and the personal example set by the battalion commander kept at the heels of the withdrawing enemy and stormed into the enemy artillery which was then just ready for displacement in the area north of Sibert. In addition to a sizeable number of prisoners, more than 20 guns of all types with ammunition were captured, as well as a great number of tanks and armored vehicles with motors still running and also many truck and jeeps. The enemy had suffered bloody losses. The reconnaissance battalion's losses had also been considerable."

"On the afternoon of 21 December, the reinforced Rifle Regiment 39 fought its way up to Assenois against stubbornly fighting enemy forces and penetrated the southern part of the village. The Engineer Battalion and elements of the Replacement Training Battalion (subordinated to Rifle Regiment 39) were advancing further to the right and were fighting in the Bois Bechu Forest, or the southern part of the Bois Hazy Forest respectively, which resulted in loose contact with Regiment 901 of there Panzer Lehr Division, located between Remoifosse and Marvie.

"The enemy carried out several counterattacks which, though at times leading to critical situations for the Engineer Battalion and the Replacement Training Battaion could in the long run, always be checked.

"Reconnaissance Battalion 26 in its continued advance came across stubborn enemy resistance outside Senonchanps and at the same time was being attacked from the area north of Villeroux. The battalion was in quite a predicament, especially since those elements which had been committed for the protection of the left flank, had failed to get past enemy occupied Chenogne and were engaged in a battle for the village.

"With great difficulties and utmost effort only, the reconnaissance battalion, during fluctuating battles, was able to check the powerful armored counterthrusts of the enemy from the Senonchanps area and the north thereof as well as attacks from Villerous.

Team Brown, 420th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and tanks of CC B, 10th Armored Division were located in the Senonchamps areas. Also located in the path of Reconnaissance Battalion 26 was Battery B, 797th AAA-AW Battalion. Its calibre .50 'meatchoppers" help stopped the German advance on Sensonchamps. The counterthrusts were made by elements of and CC B, 10th Armored Division.

"The enemy pressure between Assenois and Villeroux also became so great by late afternoon that the attack by the left wing group of Rifle Regiment 39 towards Villerous gained ground with little progress only.

"A noticeable relief for the fighting of Reconnaissance Battalion 26 arrived by the early evening of 21 December, after Chebogne had been captured by the left flank covering party and after elements of the left wing group of Rifle Regiment 39 had at last pushed their way up between Assenois and Villerous to about the highway south to and past the railroad line soutwest of Villerous.

"Towards evening the enemy gave up his attacks against the right flank of Reconnaissance Battalion 26 and began to concentrate for a stubborn defence inside Villerous. Elements of Rifle Regiment 39 at first made futile attempts to attack these defenses. Late in the evening, "Reconnaissance Battalion 26 made several attempts - while neutralizing the enemy forces near Senonchamps - to push up to the north, or neartheast respectively, towards the Mande - St. Entienne road. Heavy fire from the north, however, as well as a number of furious enemy counterthrusts from the east, between Senonchamps and the highway, prevented these elements from reaching the road and from 'digging in' on both sides of the road.

"Late in the evening, the division, prompted by the mounting losses of Reconnaissance Battalion 26, ordered these attacks against the road to be discontinued temporarily.. The division could afford this after it had been found that the reconnaissance battalion had the northern and northeaster edges of the Bois de Fragotte - and Bois de Valet Forests well in hand and that it was in a position to dominate the Bastogne - Ortheuville road [to the west]with fire and at least hinder traffic."

To the north and northeast of Bastogne the day was quiet. The Germans had apparently decided that there was no road through the 506th and 501st to Bastogne. For the next few days the action would be in the areas to the south and southwest of Bastogne. (Jay Stone)

Operational control of the USAAF Ninth Air Force's IX Tactical Air Command and XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) is transferred to the RAF Second Tactical Air Force to operate against the northern line of the Bulge. Weather grounds all operations.

The U.S. Ninth Army is reinforced by the British 51st Division as its zone expands. XIX Corps releases the 2d Armored Division to the U.S. First Army; takes over the VII Corps sector at 2400 hours. Under its command, in current positions, are the 104th, 83d, 5th Armored (less Combat Command R), 8th, and 78th Infantry Divisions, from north to south. XIII Corps takes over the former XIX Corps front and the 29th Infantry Division. The XVI Corps releases 75th Infantry Division to the U.S. First Army.

In U.S. First Army area, Regimental Combat Team 60, 9th Infantry Division, is detached from the 104th Infantry Division and moves to Ouffet. The corps is to operate next against the northern flank of the German salient. Combat Command A, 3d Armored Division, reverts to its parent unit and moves from Eupen to the Werbomont area. 1st Infantry Division contains further attacks toward Elsenborn ridge. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, Combat Command B, 7th Armored Division, withdraws from St Vith at night; Combat Command A contains an attack near Poteau; Combat Command R clears the Vielsalm-Poteau road. Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division, is attached to the 7th Armored Division. The 82d Airborne Division's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment clears Cheneux and Monceau, forcing the Germans back across the Amblve River; the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment improves positions from the Salm River at Trois Ponts to the vicinity of Grand Halleux; the 508th Parachute Infan try Regiment and 325th Glider Infantry Regiment occupy the line Vielsaim-Hebronval-Regn, making no contact with the Germans; the division makes contact with friendly troops in the St Vith area. The 30th Infantry Division is unable to take La Gleize and Stoumont and continues to defend Stavelot and Malmedy. The 3d Armored Division, to which Combat Command A reverts, contains the Germans at Hotton and continues efforts to secure the Manhay-Houffalize road. The 84th Infantry Division is organizing perimeter defense of Marche.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the Germans lay siege to Bastogne and extends westward; crosses the Neufchâteau-Bastogne highway in force. Ammunition and food supplies of the Bastogne garrison are running low. Provisional Corps troops are transferred to the XII Corps. Combat Command A, 10th Armored Division, tries unsuccessfully to recover Waldbillig. Combat Command A, 9th Armored Division, and Combat Command R, 10th Armored Division, are formed into Combat Command X, 10th Armored Division.

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, the 4th Infantry Division repels attacks toward Consdorf and Osweiler but is out of communication with troops in Echternach. Regimental Combat Team 50, 5th Infantry Division, is attached to the 4th Infantry Division. The XII Corps opens a forward command post in Luxembourg. The 35th Infantry Division's relief is completed.

FRANCE: SS Lt-Col Otto Skorzeny leads the 150th Panzer Brigade in a pre-dawn attack on Malmedy.

Alsace - Task Force Hudelson (CCA, 14th Armored Division) was assigned a 10 mile front in the Vosges Mountains as divisions had been sent North to the Ardennes. Barbed wire was strung, fox holes and trenches were dug in the frozen ground. Sand bag racks had been welded on tanks so a layer of sand bags could help stop 88's and panzerfausts.

Orders were to give ground rather than permit a break through like the Ardennes. Trees along roads were notched and prepared with explosives for road blocks, anti-vehicle mines were laid.

Prisoners taken boasted that the Germans would retake all of Alsace German artillery was registering one or two rounds at each crossroads, and village.

The weather was very cold, rain and snow. The Germans were moving large numbers of troops into position during periods of bad weather. (Joe Brott)

GERMANY: In U.S. First Army area, Combat Command A, 5th Armored Division, pushes about half way through Schneidhausen; Combat Command B gains approximately half of Untermaubach. In the V Corps area, the 9th Infantry Division, reinforced by the 102d Cavalry Group (Mechanized), rounds up Germans in the Monschau area. The 99th Infantry Division breaks up German formations with artillery fire.

Eighty four USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the main marshalling yard and railroad sidings at Rosenheim with the loss of one B-24; 40 P-51 Mustangs provide escort. Over 40 P-38 Lightnings fly photo reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions.

During the day, 94 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters again attempt to bomb the railway yards at Trier in two waves. The bomber crews are unable to observe results because of the cloud cover, although a large column of smoke eventually appears.

During the night of 21/22 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 207 Lancasters and a Mosquito to attack the Hydrierwerke synthetic-oil refinery at Politz, near Stettin; 183 aircraft attack with the loss of three Lancasters and five more crash in England. Post-raid reconnaissance shows that the power-station chimneys had collapsed and that other parts of the plant are damaged. In a second mission, 136 aircraft, 67 Lancasters, 54 Halifaxes and 15 Mosquitos, are dispatched to bomb the Nippes marshalling yard (M/Y) at Cologne; this M/Y is being used to serve the German offensive in the Ardennes. One hundred aircraft attack the target but it is cloud-covered and only a few bombs hit the railway yards but these cause the destruction of 40 wagons (cars), a repair workshop and several railway lines. In a third strike, 97 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos attempt to attack railway areas in Bonn; 108 attack but thick cloud cover prevents an accurate raid and later reconnaissance shows that the railway target is not hit. No other details are available. A raid is flown by four Lancasters to Schneidemuhl as a diversion to the Politz raid. Finally, 19 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines off Swinemunde in the Baltic Sea.

U-1405, U-3011 commissioned

U-3044 laid down.

HUNGARY: Berlin reports fierce fighting southwest of Budapest between Lake Balaton and the Danube River where troops of the Soviet Third Ukrainian Front are again on the offensive. The Germans continue to withdraw from the Balkans.

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, the 5th Kresowa Division, having relieved the 3rd Carpathian Division, begins mopping up east of the Senio River. V Corps continues to clear northward astride the Naviglio Canal. The Canadian I Corps overruns Bagnacavallo and reaches the Senio River in the Cotignola-Alfonsine area, but the Germans retain positions along the river on both flanks.

Bad weather grounds the USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers and reduces fighter and fighter-bomber operations of the XXII Tactical Air Command however, aircraft are effective against railroad targets in the Treviso area and damage Ghedi Airfield. Trains, vehicles, guns, and buildings are attacked in or near La Spezia, Mantua, Mestre, Milan, Padua and Turin. During the night of 21/22 December, A-20 Havocs hit scattered targets in the Po Valley

YUGOSLAVIA: Thirty four RAF aircraft of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb two targets at Majkovac: 26 hit tactical targets while eight bomb a highway bridge.

CHINA: One hundred forty five USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s and P-51 Mustangs fly armed reconnaissance over wide expanses of southern China, eastern Burma and northern French Indochina. The fighters attack chiefly troops and river, road, and rail traffic and a variety of targets of opportunity at numerous locations. Nine B-25 Mitchells bomb Kunlong and Minkiang, China.

MANCHURIA: The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XX Bomber Command flies Mission 23: 49 B-29 Superfortresses from Chengtu, China, are dispatched to attack Mukden; 19 hit the primary objective (the Manchuria Airplane Manufacturing Company) but it suffers little damage and a nearby arsenal and rail yards are slightly damaged; eight other B-29s bomb alternate targets and targets of opportunity; they claim 21-6-19 Japanese aircraft; two B-29s are lost.

BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC), the Chinese 114th Regiment, 38th Division, with orders to cut the Burma Road in the Ho-si area, is now near the U.S. 5332d Brigade (Provisional). The 5332d Brigade is composed of the Chinese 1st Separate Regiment and the U.S. 124th Cavalry Regiment (Special), 475th Infantry Regiment (Long Range Penetration, Special) and the 612th and 613th Field Artillery Battalions (75mm Pack Howitzer).

In the Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA) area, the Indian XV Corps is making such rapid progress on the Arakan front that Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Theatre, holds a commanders conference at Calcutta, India, to discuss exploitation and presents alternative plans for assault on Akyab. By this time, river craft have been launched in the Kalapanzin River to assist the Indian 24th Division.

Twelve USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb a supply and personnel area at Magyidon, 13 P-47 Thunderbolts damage bridges at Hay-ti, Mong Long, and Pa-mao while rail targets of opportunity from Hsumhsai to Hsipaw are attacked by 12 P-47 Thunderbolts. Over 20 fighter-bombers hit troop concentrations at several points including Man Ka-lao and the general area east of the Shweli River and 12 P-47 Thunderbolts bomb and strafe the Lashio area.

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Twenty three USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Iwo Jima. During the night of 21/22 December, four B-24s fly three harassment strikes against Iwo Jima.

EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells attack Goeroea, Anggai, and Lolobata on Halmahera Island.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, Australian Beaufort fighter bombers attack the Japanese east of the Danmap River. The Japanese withdraw to the south and run into an ambush set up by a platoon of the 2/4th Battalion, 19th Brigade, 6th Division; 28 of 40 Japanese troops are killed.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: On Leyte Island, the U.S. Sixth Army effects a junction between the X and XXIV Corps just south of Kananga at 1645 hours, opening Highway 2 from Ormoc to Pinamopoan and gaining complete control of the Ormoc Valley. In the X Corps area, the 12th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry) attacks and takes Kananga and makes patrol contact with the 77th Infantry Division to the south. In the XXIV Corps area, the 3d Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, continues east along the Palompon road to its junction with Highway 2, then north along the highway toward Kananga, making contact with Troop A of the 12th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry) at 1645 hours. The 307th Infantry Regiment reaches the road junction north of Libongao without trouble and assists the 306th Infantry Regiment. On the divisionâ€™s western flank, the 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment, after a concentrated artillery preparation, takes the ridge commanding the Togbong River bridge site a nd outposts it but is driven off. In preparation for the next task of the 77th Infantry Division, a drive west and seizure of Palompon, artillery is emplaced near San Jose within range of Palompon.

On Mindoro Island, the Japanese, having received reinforcements by air for the defense of the island, attack a resupply convoy moving toward that island, destroying two tank landing ships (LSTs) and damaging other shipping. From the Pasugi-Pianag area, a patrol of guerrillas and the 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment sail north to Sabalayan; from there move on foot to Mamburao to reconnoiter toward Palauan and Abra de Ilog.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and fighter-bombers attack ten airfields mostly on Negros Island and elsewhere in the central Philippine Islands. Leyte Island-based fighter-bombers fly over 100 attack sorties. Likanan Airfield on Mindanao Island is also hit by B-24s.

The US X Corps meets the XXIV Corps in the middle of Ormoc Valley on Leyte. With only isolated groups of Japanese holding out in this area, organized resistance is ending.

Private First Class George Benjamin Jr., of the US Army, Company A, 306th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division, a radio operator left his comparatively secure position when a rifle platoon was held up by a Japanese strong point to guide his platoon to a light tank and then penetrated intense machine-gun and rifle fire to take the enemy position. He is mortally wounded. MOH

U.S.A.: Washington: Henry H. Arnold is promoted to the rank of General of the Army.

In baseball, the Detroit Tigers' pitcher Hal Newhouser is named the American League's Most Valuable Player; he won by four points. The National League's Most Valuable Player award goes to St. Louis Cardinals' shortstop Marty Marion. Marion tallies one more vote than Chicago Cubs right fielder Bill Nicholson. Led by Marion, the Cardinals erred only 112 times and averaged a .982 fielding average. Both marks top the previous records held by the 1940 Cincinnati Reds.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: During the night of 21/22 December, nine RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat, the broad arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark

GERMANY: Heidelberg: US General George S Patton died today at 17:55 from injuries sustained in a car accident on December 9th. He died of pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure. He is buried among the soldiers who died in the Battle of the Bulge in Hamm, Luxembourg. (75)