24 December 1939

1931 (THURSDAY)

INTERNATIONAL: France, the U.K. and the U.S. protest Japanese military moves in China stating that there is no evidence of any offensive intent on the part of Chinese.

1933 (SUNDAY)

UNITED STATES: American auto magnet Henry Ford denies being an anti-Semite and states that he never gave financial aid to German Chancellor Adolf Hitler or the Nazis.

1937 (FRIDAY)

CHINA: The Japanese capture Hangzhou (Hangchow) in central China.

1938 (SATURDAY)

PERU: Twenty four nations of North and South America sign the Declaration of Lima, a pledge of collective protection against foreign aggression.

December 24th, 1939 (SUNDAY)

ITALY: Rome: In a delicately phrased Christmas address to his College of Cardinals today, Pope Pius XII spoke of the right of all nations - strong and weak - to life and independence. "When this equality of rights has been destroyed or damaged or imperilled, the juridicial order calls for reparation and justice," he added.

Peace, he said, must be founded on disarmament. "The nations must be freed from the burden of armament races and from the danger that material forces may be come not the defender but the tyrannical violator of right." The pope appealed for a peace conference at which "lessons could be drawn from past experience".

FINLAND: The first group of Finnish American volunteers arrive in Finland.

24 December 1940

December 24th, 1940 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM:
Churchill proposes offer of military support to French authorities in North Africa.
Lord Halifax has been chosen to fill the post of British Ambassador to Washington.

NORTH SEA: In the North Sea, minesweeping trawler HMS Pelton is torpedoed and sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-28 off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, U.K.

FRANCE:
Abbeville: In an address to his fighter pilots, Hitler tells them that German U-boat successes and the neutralisation of the USSR make victory certain.

GERMANY:
A Christmas bonus is being distributed within the Reich - an additional 26 ounces of rice and vegetables, plus just over a pound of sugar, jam and coffee. But the bonus has not prevented a rash of black-market deals for food and presents. A confidential report by the SS in Dortmund this month reported that "the tracking down of game and poultry began some time ago and exorbitant prices are being demanded". Goose is costing ten Reichsmark per pound.

U-178 laid down.

BALKANS:
The Greek 3rd Army Corps, which was advancing through the Devoli and Tomori valleys of Albania, is now 12 miles east of Berat. The central Greek assault group, 2nd Corps, is pinned down by strong Italian resistance and has not advanced far beyond its initial positions near Kelcyre. 1st Corps on the Greek left flank reach Tepelena (Albania) where they meet substantial resistance. Nevertheless part of the corps has successfully advanced along the coast and taken Himare. But the Greek troops could not hold the areas of Kelcyre and Tepelena. The Greeks are unable to carry out a broad encirclement due to the continually growing numbers of the Italian forces, who are receiving a steady stream of reinforcements from Italy.

MALTA:
The George Cross is gazetted for Lt William Marsden Eastman (1911-80) and Capt Robert Llewellyn Jephson-Jones (b. 1905), of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, who disarmed some 275 bombs on Malta from mid-June to mid-November, when the Royal Engineers took over the task of disposal from the RAOC.

EGYPT:
Cairo: Wavell to C.I.G.S.:
We now have 88 field guns and 22 medium guns and howitzers opposite Bardia but still require further supply of ammunition. Enemy bombing continues to be active and is hampering use of Sollum harbour. Transport and water are causing difficulty. Can give no date for attack yet. Enemy resistance strong where tested. Prisoners now number 40,000. Weather has been cold.

CANADA:
Ottawa: A full Canadian corps will be formed in Britain, it was announced here today by Colonel J Saul, the Canadian defence minister. The Canadians will join an impressive array of troops now mustered under the Imperial banner.
The land forces currently in action are those in East and North Africa. Sudanese, South Africans, Indians and Cypriots are embroiled in East Africa while, under General Wavell in North Africa, there are Australians, New Zealanders and Indians all fighting for a "mother country" which hardly any of them have visited.

Former fishing vessel HMCS BC Lady commissioned and employed by RCAF.

Corvettes HMCS Chambly and Cobalt arrived Halifax from builders Quebec City, Province of Quebec and Port Arthur, Ontario. respectively.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1641, the British Premier, a straggler from convoy SL-60, was torpedoed and sunk by U-65 200 miles SW of Freetown. The master, 30 crewmembers and one gunner were lost. Nine crewmembers were picked up on 3 Jan 1941, by the cruiser HMS Hawkins and landed at Freetown. Four survivors were rescued on 3 February off the West Coast of Africa after 41 days in an open boat (25 days without food) by the destroyer leader HMS Faulknor and landed at Freetown.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Pelton torpedoed and sunk by the German MTB S-28 off Great Yarmouth.

24 December 1941

December 24th, 1941 (WEDNESDAY)

FRANCE: The third German submarine involved in Operation Drumbeat, U-66, sets sail from Lorient for North America.

GERMANY:

U-648, U-672 laid down

U-610 launched.

U-460 commissioned.

U.S.S.R.: The positions of the Spanish 250.Infanterie-Division or 'Division Azul' (Blue Division) of the Wehrmacht, at Udarnik and Gorka come under attack. General Munoz Grandes has commanded the division to hold its present positions 'as though nailed to the ground', and the Spaniards do just that. (Russ Folsom)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: German submarine U-568 torpedoes and sinks the British corvette HMS Salvia (K 97) about 104 nautical miles (193 kilometers) west-northwest of Alexandria, Egypt, in position 31.46N, 28.00E. All 106 crewmen on the corvette are killed.

LIBYA: Benghazi: Battle-worn and weary, after a month of continuous fighting, men of the 8th Army captured this wrecked town today. Rommel has fought all the way, shielding his few remaining Panzers with potent anti-tank fire and fending off British attempts to outflank his retreating Afrika Korps. His main threat came from the Desert Air Force, which itself was badly hampered by poor weather.

With heavy casualties to his men and the loss of 170 fighting vehicles, Rommels army has been badly hurt by Operation Crusader, and its commander faces a long wait for replacements.

General Auchinleck could press on towards Tripoli and complete victory in North Africa. But his men are tired, and his tanks have suffered badly in fierce desert combat. The replacement crews are "green", and the pattern of desert war is repeating itself in that it is the British turn to suffer from stretched lines of communication.

British troops were in a similar position once before - only to be moved to Greece to disaster. On December 12, Auchinleck was told that his much-needed reinforcements of two divisions, four light bomber squadrons and a consignment of anti-tank guns were being diverted - to the Far East.

Flower class corvette Salvia which had been attempting to rescue Axis POW’s from the sunken Shuntien, is torpedoed and sunk by U-568 about 100 miles West of Alexandria at 31 48N 28 00E. There are over 900 casualties, as no one survives this sinking. (Alex Gordon)(108)

CHINA: Changsha: Central China's gateway city of Changsha is in danger of being overrun by Japanese forces for the third time in 12 months as the deadlocked conflict between Japan and China flares again. The Japanese have moved on Changsha to head off a Chinese Nationalist force from Hunan that was being moved south to Canton to attack Japanese forces in order to relieve pressure on Hong Kong.

HONG KONG: The British defenders are split in two, and are short of water. Japanese troops capture 53 British and Canadian soldiers, rope them together, and shoot or bayonet them to death. In the village of Stanley, the Japanese attack doctors and wounded soldiers in St. Stephen's College Emergency Hospital, bayoneting more than 50 men in their beds.

The British destroyer HMS Thracian (D 86) runs aground and is captured by the Japanese. She is salvaged by the Japanese Navy, repaired and recommissioned on 25 November 1942 as Patrol Vessel No.101, then re-rated a training ship in March 1944, being attached to the torpedo school at Yokosuka. Recaptured in 1945, she is eventually broken up at Hong Kong post-war. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)

MALAYA: The Indian 11th Division, controlling all Indian III Corps troops north of the Slim and Bernam Rivers, is organizing a defense in depth astride the main road with the main line of resistance in the Kampar area and rear positions near the Slim River. Commander Australian Imperial Force Malaya, Major General Gordon Bennett (General Office Commanding Australian 8th Division), assigns responsibility for North Johore to the Australian 27th Brigade Group, 8th Division.

British air strength in Malaya has been reduced to 38 fighters, 40 dive bombers, 34 torpedo bombers, 17 reconnaissance aircraft and 17 others.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Lamon Bay in southeast Luzon is the point of an additional Japanese landing. US and Filipino forces fall back to the 1st of 5 defending lines in northern Luzon. MacArthur's intention is to fall back onto the Bataan Peninsula and await reinforcements and supplies from the US.

Manila: The Japanese noose is beginning to close on the capital of the Philippines. A second support force, numbering 7,000 landed today at Lamon Bay, on Luzon's east coast, and is expected to try to link up with General Homma's 43,000-strong main force which landed two days ago by 85 transports in the Lingayen Gulf and is only 120 miles from Manila.

However, because of intelligence overestimates, the US C-in-C, General MacArthur, who has only 25,000 US troops and Filipino scouts available to defend Manila, has declared it an open city and started to withdraw his men to the Bataan peninsula where they will regroup.

Japanese troops land on Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago today and tomorrow.

On Luzon, Admiral Thomas C. Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet, releases the 4th Marine Regiment, stationed at Olongapo, to defend the beaches of Corregidor. The Japanese Lamon Bay invasion force, which constitutes the southern prong of pincers applied against Manila, goes ashore early in morning at three pointsâ€”Mauban, near Atimonan, and Siam. The main assault force, in the center, secures Atimonan, forcing the defenders back toward Pagbilao. The Mauban force takes that town and pushes 5 miles (8 kilometers) west. From Siam the Japanese advance in two columns, one southwest toward Tayabas Bay and the other southeast along Route 1 toward the Japanese Legaspi detachment. The Japanese on northern Luzon consolidate their beachhead and debouch on the central plain to thrust sharply toward the Agno River line. San Fabian and Binalonan fall, 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) retiring from Binalonan across the Agno River to Tayug. The planned withdrawal toward Bataan is begun in the evening. U.S. Army, Far East headquarters, except for the rear echelon, and Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and Francis B. Sayre, U.S. High Commissioner of the Philippines, sail to Corregidor from Manila. Fort Stotsenburg is evacuated. Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright's North Luzon Force, disposed generally along the line Tayug-Urdaneta-San Carlos-Aquilar, from east to west, begins withdrawing toward the Agno River line. The South Luzon Force, command of which passes from Major General George M. Parker to Brigadier General Albert M. Jones, is to withdraw northward into Bataan. General Parker moves to Bataan to head the Bataan Defense Force, organized to prepare defensive positions. In the Sulu Archipelago, the Japanese invade Jolo Island in the evening against light resistance from the constabulary. Jolo Island is located about half way between Borneo and Mindanao Island.

Three USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses fly from Del Monte Field, Mindanao Island during the night of 24/25 December, bomb the airfield and shipping at Davao on Mindanao Island and land at Batchelor Field near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Two USN PBY Catalinas leave Manila, Luzon, for Darwin with personnel of HQ Far East Air Force. Army Air Forces units on Luzon, as well as ground forces, begin moving to Bataan Peninsula.

BORNEO: A Japanese convoy, despite attacks by British and Dutch planes and Dutch submarines, succeeds in landing troops in the Kuching area of the British protectorate of Sarawak, early in morning. The garrison, having already destroyed Kuching airdrome, requests permission to withdraw to Dutch Borneo and is told to delay the Japanese as long as possible before retiring. Dutch aircraft withdraw from Singkawang, Borneo, to Palembang, Sumatra.

PALMYRA ISLAND: A Japanese submarine shells the atoll slightly damaging a dredge without inflicting casualties. (Gordon Rottman)

MIDWAY ISLANDS: USN seaplane tender USS Wright (AV-1) disembarks Marine reinforcements (Batteries "A" and "C," 4th Defense Battalion).

PACIFIC OCEAN: Two U.S. merchant vessels are shelled by Japanese submarines off the coast of California:

- HIJMS I-17 shells a 5,695 ton unarmed freighter about 19 nautical miles (36 kilometers) north-northwest of Catalina Island which is about 14 nautical miles (26 kilometers) southwest of Long Beach, California. Although the freighter is abandoned, she is later reboarded and towed to San Pedro, California.

- HIJMS I-23 shells a 2,119 ton unarmed freighter off Monterey Bay south of San Francisco. The ship escapes.

AUSTRALIA: U.S. Brigadier General Henry B. Claggett takes temporary command of U.S. Forces in Australia, pending the arrival of Major General George H. Brett from Chungking, China.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS Orillia arrived Halifax, Nova Scotia for refit.

SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON: Free French Naval Forces take possession of the two islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off the south coast of Newfoundland without firing a shot. A strong protest is lodged by U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull but after several weeks of bickering between U.S., Canadian and British diplomats and "the so called Free French" as Hull describes them the coup remains a fait accompli.

U.S.A.:

Destroyer USS Cony laid down.

Anti-Aircraft cruiser USS Atlanta commissioned at the New York Naval Shipyard.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Submarine HMS H-31 sunk by mine in Bay of Biscay.

Corvette HMS Salvia sunk by U-568.

24 December 1942

December 24th, 1942 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The Vickers type 432 high-altitude fighter F.7/41 (DZ 217) is flown by test pilot Tommy Lucke. It has several defects including the impossibility of making a three-point landing. (19)

ASW trawler HMS Herring launched.

Corvette HMS Smilax launched.

The first P-47 Thunderbolts arrive in England for the USAAF Eighth Air Force however, because of VHF radio and engine difficulties, the P-47s are not sent into combat until April 1943.

GERMANY: Peenemunde: The German research station here today chalked up a successful test firing of a new type of surface-to-surface weapon system. This is a "flying bomb", known as the FZG 76 or Fi 103. Looking like a small aircraft, with a fuselage length of just over 25 feet and wingspan of 18 feet, it is powered by a pulse jet engine. Today the system was catapulted into the air from a 230-foot ramp and flew some one and half miles. More test flights are planned to iron out technical bugs in the system.

During the night of 24/25 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Oboe Mosquitos to attack German targets. One bombs Dusseldorf and one each bomb steel factories at Essen and Meiderich. The Essen bombs fell on the northern parts of the Krupps factory.

U-489, U-490 launched

U-805 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: The Russian 62nd Army receives fresh reinforcements and retakes the Red October tractor factory in Stalingrad.The Germans lose their last remaining landing ground in the Stalingrad pocket, when Tatsinskaya is overrun by Soviet tanks. The German relief column finds itself pushed back as the Russian's recapture Generalovsky.

The Russians push Hoth's 4th Panzer Army back from the Myshkova river where it was halted in its attempt to rescue German forces trapped in Stalingrad. Following the suspension of Operation WINTER TEMPEST, the relief of Stalingrad, the Red Army begins an offensive against German Army Group Don toward Kotelnikovo, breaking through the lines of the 4th Romanian Army.

Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine "L-24" - mined, close to cape Kaliakria. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

VATICAN: Pope Pius XII makes another of his many calls for the more humane conduct of hostilities during a lengthy Christmas message over Vatican Radio. Humanity, he says, owed the resolution of a better world to "the hundreds of thousands who, without personal guilt, sometimes for no other reason than their nationality or descent, were doomed to death or exposed to a progressive deterioration of their condition."

ALGERIA: Algiers: Admral Jean-François Darlan was assassinated here today by a young student, Fernand Bonnier de la Chappelle.

The admiral, the titular high commissioner who was in effect the head of what has been called a Vichy regime with Allied support, left his villa this afternoon to drive to the Palais d'Ete. At the door of his office he was shot by his assassin, who is 20 years old.

Bonnier de la Chapelle is apparently an ultra-right-winger, a member of a group called the Free Corps of Africa, and associated with Henri Astier de la Vigerie, a local monarchist leader. Bonnier will go before a court-martial tomorrow afternoon.

A decision is made at conference between U.S. Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Force, and Lieutenant General Kenneth A. N. Anderson, General Officer Commanding British First Army, to abandon the attack on Tunis, Tunisia, until after the rainy season.

TUNISIA: A unit of the British Coldstream Guards captures Longstop Hill.

The British First Army regains positions on Djebel el Ahmera hill.

Four USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40s attack a bridge north of Gabes.

BURMA: Japanese forces in advance in the Chin Hills area. They are pushed back by Allied forces.

NEW GUINEA: The new Japanese defensive positions near Buna are broken by Allied forces. The few supporting tanks are lost in this action.

After an artillery preparation in Papua New Guinea, the Urbana Force, employing the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, begins a drive toward the sea through Government Gardens, where Japanese defenses are organized in depth and concealed by high kunai grass. Progress is very slow. A platoon of Company L discovers a weak spot and drives through to a line of coconut trees near the coast; is surrounded there and suffers heavy casualties before escaping by a circuitous route. As a diversion, elements move to the Mission side of creek from Musita Island and from shallows between Buna Village and Buna Mission, but withdraw because of intense opposition. The Warren Force opens an attack on Old Strip after an artillery preparation. The Australian 2/10th Battalion, 18th Brigade, 7th Division, disposed along the northern edge of the strip, is supported by three Australian-manned U.S. M3 Stuart light tanks while making their main effort. The 1st Battalions

of the U.S. 126th and 128th Infantry Regiments attack in parallel columns along the southern edge of the strip; later the 1st Battalion of the 128th Infantry Regiment follows the 1st Battalion of the 126th. The attack gains some 450 yards (411 meters), but Japanese fire prevents movement onto the strip and knocks out the three tanks.

In Papua New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs strafe troops near Kel Kel and along the northern bank of the Amboga River and trail. B-24 Liberators, operating singly, bomb Lae and a schooner in Vitiaz Strait.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the harbor at Arawe on the western tip of the island while B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24s hit shipping and the airfield at Gasmata on the southern coast. A Japanese netlayer is sunk by the B-24s and a transport is sunk by the B-17s. .

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the 3d Battalion, 132d Infantry Regiment Americal Division, followed by the 1st Battalion in reserve, moves west without incident to Hill 31, west of the summit of Mt Austen; upon attacking south toward Hill 27, they are stopped short by fire from a Japanese strongpoint, called Gifu, between Hills 31 and 27. The Gifu position, with fixed defenses and interconnecting pillboxes, is held by about 500 Japanese troops.

Nine USMC SBD Dauntlesses and four F4F Wildcats and nine USAAF P-39 Airacobras and four P-38 Lightnings attack the airstrip at Munda on New Georgia Island.; the Americans claim ten "Zekes" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) as they are taking off. The SBDs destroy ten "Zekes" on the ground. There are no US losses.

CANADA: National Defence says there are now 681,615 volunteers and conscripts in the Canadian forces.

Minesweeper HMCS Blairmore arrived Halifax, from builder, Port Arthur, Ontario.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Fleming and Sederstrom laid down.

Submarines USS Cabrilla and Cisco launched.

24 December 1943

December 24th, 1943 (FRIDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: A series of Allied announcements begins today. These will publicize the various appointments of Allied commanders for the projected invasion of Northwest Europe. Among these are General Eisenhower, Tedder, Ramsey, Mallory, and others. These announcements will spread over the next 5 days. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander of the British and United States Expeditionary Forces; General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater; General Sir Harold Alexander, Commander in Chief of the Allied Armies in Italy; General Bernard Montgomery, Commander in Chief of the British Group of Armies under General Eisenhower; U.S. General Carl Spaatz, Commander of United States Strategic Bombing Forces operating against Germany.

Whilst reinforcing US TG.21, HMS Hurricane (from escort group B.1) is torpedoed by U-415 and rendered dead in the water, but in no danger of sinking. Later she is scuttled on the instructions of CinC Western Approaches to avoid attracting more U-boats into the area. Location: 45 10N 22 05W. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Frigate HMS Rupert commissioned.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force now has 26 heavy bomber groups (104 squadrons) operational with B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators.

NETHERLANDS: No RAF Bomber Command bombing raids are carried out on Christmas Eve but 30 Halifaxes lay mines in the Frisian Islands and return without loss.

FRANCE: Throughout the past three months the construction of V-weapon launch sites in northern France has been monitored by the RAF's Photographic Reconnaissance Unit. By 19 December no fewer than 54 sites had been established as being in an advanced state of construction. Operation Crossbow was launched on 4 December, and the USAAF carried out the first attack on the sites the next day. RAF"> RAF attacks took place on 16-17 December. The RAF"> RAF's involvement means diverting from the attacks on German cities.

FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 164 against 23 V-1 weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France: 478 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 192 B-24 Liberators hit the targets at 1330-1510 hours without loss. This is the largest number of aircraft carrying out attacks of any Eighth Air Force mission to date and the first of its major strikes against missile sites. The bombers are escorted by 40 P-38 Lightnings, 459 P-47 Thunderbolts and 42 USAAF Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs.

Over 60 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack NOBALL (V-1 missile sites) targets in Pas de Calais area. Over 30 B-26s abort due to bad weather.

GERMANY: Over Fassberg No. 605 Squadron RAF"> RAF shoot down their 100th enemy aircraft. They are on a night intruder mission equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito VI. (22)

ITALY: In the British Eighth Army's XIII Corps area, the New Zealand 2nd Division, moving to outflank Orsogna, reaches the heights commanding that town on the northeast.

Over 100 USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-26 Marauders dispatched to bomb the Pisa marshalling yard fail to locate the target due to overcast while 24 B-26s bomb the marshalling yard at Cecina.

VATICAN: Now with the defeat of Nazi Germany almost certain, Pope Pius XII in his Christmas message acknowledges "that a democratic form of government is considered by many today to be a natural postulate of reason itself."

SWEDEN: Secret negotiations begin in Stockholm between Marshal Antonescu's Romanian emissaries and the Soviet Embassy.

U.S.S.R.: In the Vitebsk sector, the Red Army, 1st Ukraine Front under Vatutin, overruns Gorodok in a two-pronged attack, bringing about the collapse of a whole series of defense points that depend upon it. At dawn, the Soviet forces open a new offensive; driving along the axis of the Kiev-Zhitomir highway, they breach German lines and soon recover ground lost to a German counteroffensive and more. The defending German 4th Panzer Army will be penetrated deeply due to overstretched German units and the lack of reserves. The aim is to destroy the German salient on the Dnieper and open Galicia and Romania.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: German merchantman Nicoline Maersk was intercepted by destroyer FS Le Fantasque in the Western Mediterranean and was run aground by her crew near Tortosa, Spain.

CHINA: Eighteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb a Tien Ho satellite airfield. The B-24s and 18 escorting fighters claim 20 interceptors shot down. One B-24 is lost over the target.

BURMA: In the Hukawng Valley, the 1st Battalion, 114th Regiment, Chinese 38th Division, after artillery preparation, attacks to relieve the beleaguered 1st Battalion of the 112th Regiment in the Yupbang Ga area and succeeds in joining it, although the Japanese retain positions west of the river blocking the crossing at Yupbang Ga.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Australian 2/13th Battalion, 20th Brigade, 9th Division, enters Wandokai without opposition. The Japanese had intended to defend the town but they evacuated last night fearing an Australian landing in their rear.

USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs sweep the Northeast New Guinea coastline.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Atamboea Airfield on Timor Island in the Netherlands East Indies.

MARSHALL ISLANDS: Eighteen USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, staging through the Gilbert Islands from the Ellice Islands, bomb Wotje Atoll.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: On New Britain Island, the pre-invasion bombing effort against Cape Gloucester reaches its peak as nearly 190 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and A-20 Havocs attack the area in a day-long bombardment; P-39 Airacobras hit a disabled destroyer offshore; and Japanese forces in Arawe area are hit by A-20s.

On New Britain Island, 18 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Vunakanau Airfield at Rabaul; six others hit Lakunai; fighter cover for the strike fights a fierce air action with interceptors, claiming 25 shot down; seven Allied fighters are lost.

USN F6F Hellcat, USAAF P-38 Lighting and New Zealand (P-40) Kittyhawk fighter pilots shoot down 27 Japanese "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters) over Rabaul, New Britain Island, during the day; seven Allied fighters, including five New Zealand Kittyhawks, are lost.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: A US naval Task Force bombards Japanese positions on Buka Island and Buin. Their primary purpose is a diversion from the upcoming landings on New Britain.

The Japanese received an unexpected Christmas present today when an American task force of three cruisers, USS Cleveland (CL-53), Columbia (CL-56) and St. Louis (CL-49), and four destroyers bombarded airfields and shore bases on the northern tip of Bougainville and the neighbouring island of Buka. The powerful force included cruisers and destroyers. The flagship fired the first salvo at 12.30am, unleashing a storm of shells onto air installations at Bonis, on Bouganville, and Buka, where they caused a huge fire - probably from a fuel of ammunition dump. Barge and patrol-boat bases in the islands and reefs off Buka were also hit. Japanese shore batteries could only offer a weak and ineffective, response to the sea and air bombardment.

With the elimination of Japanese troops on the heights about the beachhead perimeter on Bougainville, the airfields are secure. Twenty four USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells attack seaplane anchorage at Bonis on Bougainville. New Zealand (PV-1) Venturas on armed reconnaissance bomb barges and troops on northern Bougainville and claim two fighters shot down east of Cape Saint George.

GILBERT ISLANDS: 396th and 820th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) with B-25's moved from Hawaii to Tarawa and then to Makin on 20 and 27 Apr 44.

PACIFIC OCEAN: During a five hour attack, the USN destroyer escort USS Griswold (DE-7) sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-39 about 6 nautical miles (12 kilometers) east-northeast of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands, in position 09.23S, 160.09E. All crewmen on the submarine are lost.

U.S.A.: Washington: In a Christmas Eve broadcast to the American people today, President Roosevelt"> Roosevelt announced that General Dwight ("Ike") Eisenhower has been appointed supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force preparing for the cross-Channel invasion of France.

A decision on Eisenhower's deputy will be announced shortly, but General Sir Bernard Montgomery will command all Allied land forces until Eisenhower sets up his headquarters in France. Naval and air chiefs will be involved.

These appointments had been discussed at the recent Tehran conference with Stalin, when "every point concerning the impending east-west-south attack on Germany was decided." Roosevelt described as "brilliant" Eisenhower's performances in the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Eisenhower's command in the Mediterranean is being taken over by General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, who made his reputation in early North African campaigns before moving to the Middle East.

Roosevelt promised Wilson that America's forces "will stand by your side until every objective in he bitter Mediterranean theatre is attained."

Destroyer USS Zellars laid down.

Minesweepers USS Mirth and Nimble launched.

Destroyer escort USS Cockrill commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN:

The German submarine U-645 is sunk about 462 nautical miles (856 kilometers) north-northeast of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, in position 45.20N, 21.40W, by depth charges from the USN destroyer USS Schenck (DD-159); all 55 crewmen are lost.

The USN hunter-killer Task Group 21.14, formed around the escort aircraft carrier USS Card (CVE-11), is spotted by a German reconnaissance aircraft and the wolfpack Borkum is ordered to attack. The carrier has a narrow escape when three G7 T5 "Gnat" FAT torpedoes fired by U-415 misses her. The same U-boat also misses the destroyer USS Decatur (DD 341) with a "Gnat". Several hours later, U-275 fires a "Gnat" at the destroyer USS Leary (DD 158) and hits her on the starboard side in the after engine room. A second "Gnat" fired by U-382 misses the already sinking destroyer. She sinks about 467 nautical miles (865 kilometers) north-northeast of Lagens Field, Azores Island in position 45.15N, 21.40W, after a huge internal explosion within one minute; 97 of the 149 crewmen are lost.

British destroyer HMS Hurricane (H 06) is struck by a G7s T5 Zaunkoning ("Gnat") torpedo fired by German submarine U-415 and sinks about 444 nautical miles (823 kilometers) north-northeast of Lagens Field, Azores Islands. The destroyer is serving with the 1st Escort Group escorting the combined convoy OS-62/KMS-36 (U.K. to Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt) and supporting the task force of the American escort carrier USS Card (CVE-11).

At 2030 hrs, the HMS Dumana (Master Archibald Richard George Drummond), escorted by the British armed trawlers HMS Arran and Southern Pride, was torpedoed and sunk by U-515 west of Sassandra, Ivory Coast. The vessel sank in a short time, dragging some of the lifeboats down with her before they could be released. Three officers, seven crewmembers, 20 lascars, two gunners and seven RAF personnel were lost. The master, 107 crewmembers, seven gunners and 15 RAF personnel were picked up by the escorts and landed at Takoradi on 25 December.

24 December 1944

December 24th, 1944 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: 45 modified Heinkel He-111s launch 31 V1 bombs aimed at Manchester; 17 reach the area, killing 32 people and injuring 49.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: U-486 torpedoed the SS Leopoldville in the English Channel just 7.5 miles north-northeast from the port of Cherbourg, France at 1754, in position 49.45N, 01.34W. The 11,509-ton Belgian troopship was transporting 2235 American soldiers from regiments of the 66th Infantry Division, which had left New York City on November 14. The ship finally sank 2 1/2 hours later. Everything that could went wrong; calls for help were mishandled, rescue craft were slow to the scene and the weather was unfavourable. Official records put the number of men lost at 802 but the exact number is not known due to the hurried departure at 0900 hours from Southampton and the unorganized boarding procedures. As no life jackets have been issued, the men of the Leopoldville die in the cold 9ºC waters of the English Channel. Most of the crew take off in the lifeboats, deserting the troops on board. The ship's captain, Captain Limbor, is the only officer lost. The Allied authorities were embarrassed by the incident and decided to bury the case. Many loved ones were told the men were missing in action although they were already dead by then, later to be classified as killed in action.

The few survivors are rescued by the British destroyer HMS Brilliant (H 84) and transferred to the St. Nazaire/Lorient are, but 493 bodies are never found, presumably going down with the ship. It was not until 1996 that the files were opened to the public. U-486 had not said her last word as she sank the British frigates HMS Affleck and Capel only two days later in the same area before returning on 15 Jan 1945 to Bergen, Norway. Clive Cussler with the help of his shipwreck-hunting organization NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) discovered the wreck of the SS Leopoldville. His book The Sea Hunters contains a chapter on the sinking which describes the incident from eyewitness accounts, and includes the story of the discovery of the wreck. The wreck of the Leopoldville lies on her port side in 180 feet (55 metres) of water in a remarkable state of preservation, in an area now used for testing nuclear submarines. (Dave Shirlaw and Tonya Allen)

The Canadian minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot (J 174) is struck by a G7s T5 Zaunkoning (Gnat) torpedo fired by German submarine U-806 while she is escorting the convoy XB-139 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and sinks about 17 nautical miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Halifax in position 44.25N, 63.20W. Eight of her crew are lost.

GERMANY: A high pressure front across western Europe brings clear weather and the USAAF Eighth Air Force launches Mission 760, a maximum effort against airfields and communications in western Germany. This was the largest air strike of the war with 2,034 heavy bombers (1,400 B-17 Flying Fortresses and 634 B-24 Liberators) and 853 fighters dispatched; they bomb over 65 targets and claim 92-6-21 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and ten fighters are lost. The targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of aircraft bombing and number lost, e.g., 97-1):

- Airfields hit: Griesheim at Darmstadt (175-0), Rheine Main at Frankfurt-am-Main (141-0), Merzhausen (115-0), Giessen (97-1), Biblis (86-0), Babenhausen (84-3), Zellhausen (83-3), Gross Ostheim (74-1), Kirch Gons (71-0) Ettinghausen (39-0) and Nidda (29-0).

- Communications centers hit: Wittlich (62-0), Mayen (60-0), Arhweiler (49-0), Bitburg (34-0), Schoneken (30-1), Ruwer and Pflazel (28-0), Daun (24-0), Rheinbach (17-0), Cochem (11-0), Prum (9-0) and Blumenthal (8-0).

- Marshalling yards (M/Ys) hit: Mosel M/Y at Koblenz (83-0), Gerolstein (69-0) Euskirchen (62-1), Kaiserslautern (39-0), Pforzheim (36-0) and Darmstadt (14-0).

- Railroad bridges and junctions hit: Eller (32-0), Ober and Rheinbach (9-0), and Mayen (1-0).

- 171 other bombers hit industrial area and targets of opportunity. (Skip Guidry and Jack McKillop)

Two hundred seventy six USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs hit rail bridges and communications centers in western Germany.

The largest bombing raid of the war occurs tonight, when 1,874 8th AF and 800 RAF bombers, escorted by 813 fighters bombed. Additionally, the 9th AF flew 1,157 effective fighter and fighter-bomber sorties. (Skip Guidry)

During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 338 aircraft, 248 Halifaxes, 79 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos, to attack Lohausen Airfield at Dusseldorf and Mülheim Airfield at Essen; 164 aircraft bomb Lohausen and 160 hit Mülheim. The purpose of the raids is not recorded; it is possible that they were to hinder the movement of supplies by transport aircraft from the Ruhr to the Ardennes battle area. Both attacks take place in conditions of good visibility and the bombing is accurate. Six aircraft are lost, two Lancasters and a Halifax from the Lohausen raid and three Halifaxes from the Mülheim raid.

During the night of 24/25 December, 104 RAF Bomber Command Lancasters are dispatched to bomb Hangelar Airfield at Bonn; 100 hit the target with the loss of one Lancaster. No results are known. In a second raid, 97 Lancasters and five Mosquitos are sent to bomb the Nippes marshalling yard at Cologne; 94 bomb the target with the loss of five Lancasters and two others crash in England. The Oboe marking and the resultant bombing are extremely accurate. The railway tracks are severely damaged and an ammunition train blows up. The nearby Butzweilerhof airfield is also damaged. In a third mission, two Mosquitos are sent to bomb Munster; one bombs the city.

In the U.S. Ninth Army's XIX Corps area, the 83d Infantry Division, in limited attacks, clears about two thirds of Winden and the 8th Infantry Division improves positions near Obermaubach. The 104th Infantry Division takes responsibility for the northern part of the 83d Infantry Division zone, turning over its positions in the Inden-Pier-Schophoven region to the 29th Infantry Division.

BELGIUM: The German 2nd Panzer Division reaches Dinant by days end. The lead unit, KG Cochenhausen, reaches the small village of Foy-Notre Dame about 5 miles short of the Meuse River bridges at Dinant. This will be the farthest penetration during the offensive. They can go no further and abandon their vehicles, walking back to their own lines. The US 1st and 3rd Armies along with the British XXX Corps, 29th Armoured Brigade and the 101st Airborne have halted the German offensive.

Oberst Heinz Kokott, Commanding 26 Volks Grenadier Division:

"In preparation for the attack on 25 December, the division command post on 24 December was moved to Gives (respectively, forward command post to Givry). The day was quiet, aside from lively activity by enemy fighter-bombers and supply planes flying into Bastogne.

"The division was re-organized for the attack which was now to be carried out with the main effort in the northwestern sector towards Bastogne and into Bastogne.

"The division commander on 24 December called on the regiments and battalions surrounding Bastogne in a closed circle to discuss with their leaders the plans for the attack and to reconnoiter the terrain. The troops everywhere appeared to be in good spirits. Despite exhaustion, strain and , in some cases, very heavy losses, the men were confident and were ready to give their utmost to the tasks ahead. The supply situation was difficult. The uninterrupted fighter-bomber attacks made, as already mentioned, all supply and other major movements possible only during the evening and night hours. The supply roads were under artillery fire and were frequently jammed and blocked.

"Regarding the overall situation, it was known on 24 December that the 2nd Panzer Division was engaged in heavy fighting south and west of Marche and that the Panzer Lehr Division was advancing via Rochefort. At the unit to the right - the 5th Parachute Infantry Division - the situation had not grown anymore tense. To the contrary, successful engagement with the enemy pushing up from the south was reported. An immediate threat to our troops - facing Bastogne - was considered out of the question. The 5th Parachute Infantry Division was already aware of the importance of the flank protection for the 26th Division and had doubtlessly done everything in its power to safeguard this protection.

"In spite of that, however, the 26th Division as an additonal measure to protect its rear, had formed a security screen to the south and southwest. Along the line (north of) Clochimont - Sibret - along the 'Brul Bach' (creek), outposts - strengthened by individual anti-tank guns and blocking devices - were committed near Floahamont, Brul and Hubermont. These guards were taken from 'emergency platoons' (supply personnel) and elements of the Replacement Training Battalion.

"The anti-aircraft installations near Hompre were prepared to be, if necessary, used for ground fire, with the front to the south. "Rifle Regiment 39 which would be the first to expect an enemy thrust to its rear, committed all possible manpower from staffs and supply formations for all around defence, especially at Assenois, Villeroux and Sibret.

"The highway to the south was secured by Panzer Grenadier regiment 901 with tanks and was thoroughly blocked with anti-tank guns, mines and blocking devices of all types.

"Everything possible was done to detain the enemy in the south atleast for the duration of the attack on Bastogne. "The attack plan for 25 December called for a strong push from the west, while at the same time the enemy would be warded off and tied down through harassing attacks in the east and southeast.

"The entire Panzer Grenadier Division was to carry out the main thrust in a narrow, deeply staggered formation.

""The elements of the 26th Division adjoining to the right and left - particularly Reconnaissance Battalion 26 and Regiment 77, but also Regiment 39 - were to accompany the attack, to increase its force and to screen off the flanks of the main thrust.

"With one concentrated main effort, the defence ring was to be blasted at a single point and the door to Bastogne to be pushed open.

With one and a half divisions (15th panzer Grenadier Division and available, but now weakened, elements of the 26th Division) it was now - against threatening enemy pressure from the south - necessary to try the same thing which previously, when there were still three relatively strong divisions to the east of the town (2nd Panzer Division, 26th Division, Panzer Lehr Division), had certainly been accomplished with less effort.

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Perhaps something was lost in the translation here. I believe that General Kokott is trying to tell us that he now had to try to accomplish what was not previously accomplished by three divisions. As for one and a half divisions, ptobably he had no more than one full strength division. The 26th had suffered heavy casualties since 16 December and he will describ the 15th as less than one half a division when it reported in on the Bastogne front.

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"In the east and southeast, the vastly expanded Regiment 78 as well as the greatly weakened Panzer Grenadier Regiment 901 were to tie down and neutralize the enemy through short thrusts with limited objectives.

"In the north - i.e. between Foy and Longchanps - northing could be undertaken on the German side. The forces were lacking. The forces occupying that sector had decreasaed to a point where their effectiveness was most questionable. With a good deal of anxiety, the division had watched that area for quite some time and it appeared inevitable that any enemy threat in platoon strength strength would be successful there. The enemy had fortunately abstained from such action up to that time.

"The northwest sector - i.e. the area extending from Champs (inclusive) to mande-St. Etienne - had been selected as the area for the main thrust/ "The terrain was most suitable for an armored attack. The small gullies (now covered with snow) there did not present and hindrance.

The terrain offered a clear view for observing the effectiveness of artillery and supporting heavy infantry weapons. Between the highway to the west and the road Hemroulle - Champs there were no villages and major wooded sections which, as experience had shown, always caused drawn-out engagements which took much time.

"There was furthermore reason to expect that in that sector of the front the enemy would be less ready for defence than had proven in all other sectors - the eastern, southeastern and southwestern ones - where he had been attacked.

"The individual missions were as follows"

"The 15th Panzer Grenadier Division, located at the point of main effort, after having assembled in the area around Flamizoulle, was to pierce the enemy front between Grandes Franges and the highway to the west and was then to drive on to Bastogne between the highway to the west and hemroulle. Initial objective: country road Henroulle - Isle-la-Hesse.

"Reconnaissance Battalion 26 - starting from the area around Mande-St. Etienne - was to proceed along both side of the highway to the west, was to protect the right flank of the main thrust and, for its initial objective, was to capture Henroulle.

"Rifle Regiment 39 had the mission to link up with the attack by the northwestern group and, in tis drive on Bastogne - with main effort on both sides of the railroad and road to Neufchateau -, to capture Isle-le-Bre as its first objective.

"Panzer Grenadier regiment 901, by means of assault troops operations between Marvie and highway to he south, was to ward off and tie down the enemy.

"Grenadier Regiment 78 was to conduct attacks with limited objective through sizeable assault detachments on both side of the Bourcy - Bastogne railroad line and also minor operations south of Neffe.

"In the sector between (northwest of) Recogne and Longchamps, the groups of Regiment 77 functioning as security detachments there, were replaced by Emergency platoons. Elements of Engineer Battalion 26, remnants of the Replacement Training Battalion (strengthened by emergency platoons) and the Division Combat School were retained as reserves (total f about 120, 150 men) in the area between Givry and Flamizoulle.

"The entire artillery of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division, the bulk of the artillery of the 26th Division and the attached reinforcement artillery from the several heavy batteries O10cm guns, 15cm howitzers and mortars) had been assembled to the rear of the attack wedge - particularly in the Flamierge - Givry area. Numerous forward observers were to accompany the advance of the infantry and the tanks. All other batteries in the area surrounding Bastogne were hooked up to the main fire control net and were able to enter the battle at crucial points with observed fire. Charged with overall fire control was the senior artillery officer of the Fifth Panzer Army and he was attached to the 26th Division."

"Both army and corps promised the division the support of the German air force for the attack.

" . . . the division did not rely on this promise.

"As to the time for the infantry attack by the main group, the dark morning hours of 25 December were designated. It was calculated that, with the infantry attack by 0700 hours, i.e. as soon as it would be light enough to fire; then it would be possible for the armored wedge of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division, together with the auxiliary infantry, to drive forward through the opening, covered at the right flank and accompanied by the tank destroyers and riflemen of the Reconnaissance Battalion 26.

"The division was trying its utmost to get up to Bastogne between 0900 and 1000 hours or even to be inside Bastogne by that time."

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When the advance elements of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division reported into the division CP they were briefed on the attack. The division commander reported that the units he would have available for the attack were ". . . 1 ½ Grenadier battalions with weak companies, 1 battalion of armored reconnaissance infantry with about 24 to 30 armored personnel carriers, and armored group of about 20 tanks or assault guns, one company of engineers and two motorized artillery battalions."

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"A final group of this division with an additional 10 to 15 tanks, several Grenadier companies and batteries was to be expected but would not arrive prior to 26 December.!

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The division commander was disappointed in this and felt that there would be fluctuating in te fighting unless he got lucky. He was not to get lucky.

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"The decision of Army Group Model to push this depleted 15th Panzer Grenadier Division for the large scale attack on Bastogne, appeared incomprehensible. This measure could - as had been felt by the troops for some time - only be an indication that Army Group Model, at least, was in no way aware of the extreme difficulty of the battle and the very high losses."

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The division commander felt that he had been deceived but that the fighting spirit and determination of the soldiers and their leaders would carry the day.

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"Towards midnight of 24/25 December, several German planes appeared over Bastogne and dropped some bombs. (On the evening of 25 December, it became known that this bombing venture was to be the promised air support for the entire attack!)" (Jay Stone)

An aviation first was scored today with the world's first jet bomber operation. Just before 11am German Arado 234B "Blitz" bombers, based at Münster-Lukesch, made a successful attack on a factory and marshalling yards at Liege, Belgium. All the jet bombers returned safely, although one damaged its undercarriage on landing. Later the jets returned to the same target, a vital supply centre for the fighting in the Ardennes, and enjoyed equal success.

GENERAL McAULIFFE’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE — 1944

Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division

Office of the Division Commander

24 December 1944

What’s Merry about all this, you ask? We’re fighting – it’s cold – we aren’t home. All true, but what has the proud Eagle Division accomplished with its worthy comrades of the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion and all the rest? Just this: We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the North, East, South, and West. We have identifications from four German Panzer Divisions, two German Infantry Divisions, and one German Parachute Division. These units, spearheading, the last disparate German image, were headed straight west for key points when the Eagle Division was hurriedly ordered to stop the advance. How effectively this was done will be in history’s not alone in the Division’s glorious history but in the World history. The Germans actually did surround us, their radios blared our doom. Their commander demanded our surrender in the following arrogance:

"To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity."

- The German Commander.

REPLY to the German Commander:

NUTS!

(Russell Folsom, Jeff Chrisman)

BELGIUM: German troops murder all men aged between 17 and 32 in the village of Bande, as revenge for a Maquis attack in September. These troops include a Swiss national, Ernst Haldiman, who was an SD member. More.... (Frederick L. Clemens)

Brig. Gen. Frederick Castle was killed in action when the B-17 he was co-piloting was shot down. The usual co-pilot, Lt. RW Harriman, was in the tail, acting as "Formation Officer". It is reported by several residents of Fraiture, Belgium that Lt. Harriman was fired upon while in his 'chute and he returned fire, but was dead when he hit the ground. (Tim Erskine)

In U.S. First Army's V Corps area, the 1st Infantry Division repels another German bid for Butgenbach. The 5th Armored Division closes in the Eupen area and is held in reserve. In the XVIII Corps (Airborne) area, the 30th Infantry Division overruns La Gleize and releases Combat Command B, 3d Armored Division. The 82d Airborne Division is under strong pressure in the Manhay area; loses Manhay, although elements of the 7th Armored Division are pressed into action in that region. In the VII Corps area, the Germans reduce the 3d Armored Division's roadblock at Belle Haie, on the road to Manhay; Combat Command R columns attacking east from Hotton and west from Soy clear the Hotton-Soy road. Elements of the 75th Infantry Division enter combat for the first time: Regimental Combat Teams 290 and 289 are attached respectively to Combat Command R and Combat Command A, 3d Armored Division. In the 84th Infantry Division zone, the Germans drive through Verdenne. Combat Command A, 2d

Armored Division, reaches Buissonville; the 4th Cavalry Group (Mechanized), attached to the 2d Armored Division to cover its assembly and maintain contact with adjacent units, makes contact with the British at Sorinne.

In the U.S. Third Army's VIII Corps area, heavy fighting continues around Bastogne perimeter. The city is badly damaged by air attacks but 160 USAAF IX Troop Carrier Command C-47 Skytrains drop 160 tons (145 metric tonnes) of supplies. The 11th Armored Division, released from Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) reserve to the corps on yesterday, is held in mobile reserve west of the Meuse River. Combat engineers are guarding the Meuse River line and blocking approaches to bridges. The 17th Airborne Division is being flown to France from England and subsequently operates under VIII Corps. In the III Corps area, Combat Command B of the 4th Armored Division is meeting lively opposition south of Chaumont, as is Combat Command A at Warnock; The 6th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) (Task Force Fickett) arrives from the XX Corps front to guard west flank of corps in Neufchateau area.

LUXEMBOURG: In the U.S. Third Armyâ€™s III Corps area, Combat Command R seizes Bigonville. The 318th Infantry Regiment (â€”), 80th Infantry Division, is attached to the 4th Armored Division.; the 6th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron is assigned the sector between 4th Armored and 26th Infantry Divisions. The 26th Infantry Division secures Rambrouch and Koetschette but is held up at Arsdorf and Hierheck. The 80th Infantry Division contains determined counterattacks. In the XII Corps area, the 5th Infantry Division, to which Regimental Combat Team 10 has reverted, relieves the left flank elements of 4th Infantry Division and attacks toward HaIler and Waldbillig, making slow progress. The 2d Cavalry Group (Mechanized), designated Task Force Reed, relieves the right flank units of 4th Infantry Division along the Moselle River. Combat Command A, 10th Armored Division, captures Gilsdorf and Mostroff on the Sauer River.

FRANCE: HQ 6th Army Group warns that the Germans are massing for an offensive.

In the French Army's II Corps area, the U.S. 3d Infantry Division clears Bennwihr, concluding operations in the Colmar sector.

The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 759: Ten B-24 Liberators hit the La Pallice coastal battery in France without loss.

NORWAY: RAF Bomber Command sends 12 Halifaxes to lay mines off Oslo; all complete the mission without loss.

HUNGARY: The eastern outskirts of Budapest is the scene of heavy fighting between the Germans and Russians. The Red Army narrows the German escape gap from Budapest to less than 20 miles (32 kilometers). Moscow reveals that the Third Ukrainian Front, in a three-day-old offensive, has achieved a breakthrough southwest of Budapest in the Lake Velencei-Danube River sector and has surged forward 25 miles (40 kilometers), overrunning more than 160 towns and villages; with the capture of Szekesfehervar and Biske, key points in the outer defenses of Budapest, the western escape routes from the besieged city are closed. Other troops of this front are pushing in on Budapest from the southwest.

BALTIC SEA: At 0928, U-637 fired a spread of three FAT torpedoes at an unknown Soviet convoy of Cape Pakri in the Baltic Sea and heard a detonation after 3 minutes 44 seconds followed by sinking noises. At 0949, a Gnat missed its target and at 1009 another Gnat was followed by a detonation after 3 minutes and then sinking noises. According to Soviet sources only BMO-594 Baltiec was lost.

ITALY: Weather again holds USAAF Twelfth Air Force operations to a minimum however, P-47 Thunderbolts carry out very successful raid on Thiene Airfield in northeastern Italy, causing considerable damage and destroying several German airplanes; other missions find little activity and result in the destruction of only a few trucks and trains.

INDIA: The Japanese fly their last bombing raid against Calcutta.

CHINA: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells blast the Kunlong ferry area and three B-24 Liberators claim a tanker sunk in the South China Sea. Over 100 P-40s, P-51 Mustangs, and P-38 Lightnings on armed reconnaissance attack targets of opportunity throughout southern China, especially river, road, and rail traffic, troops, and buildings around Hengyang, Lingling, Siangtan, and Changsha. Hong Kong area shipping is attacked (a tanker claimed sunk and other ships damaged) and over 30 Japanese aircraft claimed destroyed at Tsinan Airfield.

BURMA: In the British Fourteenth Army's XXXIII Corps area, the British 2d and Indian 20th Divisions overcome strong opposition in Pyingaing.

Thirty eight USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts hit troop concentrations and supply areas at Pangkai, Man Namman, Man Om, Mong Nge, and Kyanhnyat; six support ground forces in the Si-U sector while 12 hit targets of opportunity along the Sinlum-Nawghkio rail line; and eight P-47s strafe the Lashio Airfield..

VOLCANO ISLANDS: Fifty USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from the Mariana Islands strike Iwo Jima and 17 P-38 Lightnings make a low-level strafing attack on the island. During the night of 24/25 December, two B-24s fly harassment strikes over Iwo Jima.

The USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command flies Mission 15: 29 Mariana Island-based B-29 Superfortresses are dispatched to attack two airfields on Iwo Jima; 23 hit the primary targets and one hits an alternate target without loss.

USN Task Group 94.9, the heavy cruisers USS Chester (CA-27), Pensacola (CA-24) and Salt Lake City (CA-25), and nine destroyers, follows the USAAF bombing raids on Iwo Jima by shelling the airstrips and other installations there; destroyers USS Case (DD-370) and Roe (DD-418) sink Japanese fast transport T.8 and landing ship T.157.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, the 1st Cavalry Division continues steadily west against scattered resistance, the 12th Cavalry Regiment (Infantry) wading swamps in its sector. The 32d Infantry Division, with the 127th and 128th Infantry Regiments in assault, starts west toward the coast on northern flank of the corps, slowed more by terrain than resistance. In the XXIV Corps area, the 1st Battalion (reinforced), 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, embarks at Ormoc and at 2000 hours sails for Palompon, the convoy protected by motor torpedo boats (PTs). The 305th Infantry Regiment, less the 1st Battalion, is lightly opposed as it continues west along the road to Palompon.

USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Clark Field on Luzon Island and Puerto Princesa Airfield on Palawan Island. B-25 Mitchells bomb Silay Airfield on Negros Island and on Mindanao Island, hit San Roque barracks, the Zamboanga waterfront, and Davao Bay shipping. Again FEAF aircraft on miscellaneous small operations attack many targets throughout the Philippine Islands. P-47 Thunderbolt pilots shoot down 33 Japanese fighters over Luzon between 1015 and 1150 hours; four P-47s are lost.

During the night of 24/25 December, a Japanese bomber destroys a 100,000 U.S. gallon (83,267 Imperial gallons or 379 kiloliters) aviation storage tank at Hill Field on Mindoro Island. As a result, flight operations are restricted from this base for several weeks.

EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces attack Kudat Airfield in North Borneo and B-25 Mitchells and fighter-bombers attack the Goeroea area in the Moluccas Islands of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI). Again FEAF aircraft on miscellaneous small operations attack many targets throughout the NEI.

BONIN ISLANDS: Twenty three USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Chichi Jima Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: SS Robert J Walker (US-flagged Liberty ship) sunk by U-862 160 miles off Australia 36.45S, 150.43E - Grid VD 8222. Two crewmembers killed. She was the only ship sunk in the Pacific Ocean by a German U-boat.

MARIANAS ISLANDS: USAAF 313th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) arrives on the islands.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: A paper Japanese Fu Go balloon with the usual equipment lands at Holy Cross, Territory of Alaska. Holy Cross is located in southwestern Alaska about 235 miles (378 kilometers) southeast of Nome.

U.S.A.: Beef rationing and quotas for most other commodities are reintroduced by the Office of Price Administration Administrator Chester Bowles announces that canned peas, corn, green and wax beans, asparagus and spinach will be rationed beginning 1 January 1945. At the same time, beef rationing is reintroduced.

Camp Papago Park, Arizona. 25 German PoWs escape after digging a 200 foot tunnel. All are recaptured shortly after.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1437 hrs while escorting convoy XB-139, Minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot (T/A Lt. Cdr. A. C. Campbell, RCNVR) takes a hit from a Zaunkönig fired by U-806 (Kapitanleutnant Klaus Hornbostel) off the East coast of Canada at 44 30N 63 20W, by the Halifax lightship. There are 8 crewmembers dead but 76 survivors.

Another Zaunkönig fired by U-806 detonated in the CAT gear of corvette HMCS Transcona, but she survived the attack. (Alex Gordon)(108)

24 December 1945

December 24th, 1945 (MONDAY)

LUXEMBOURG: General George S. Patton is buried in the American Military Cemetery at Hamm.

UNITED STATES: The top songs on the pop music charts are: "It Might as Well Be Spring" by The Sammy Kaye Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams; "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby; "It's Been a Long, Long Time" by The Harry James Orchestra with vocal by Kitty Kallen; and "Silver Dew on the Blue Grass Tonight" by Bob Wills.

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