This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[syscom3]

Dec 10 1941.

BRAZIL: USN PBY Catalinas of Patrol Squadron Fifty Two (VP 52) supported by seaplane tender (destroyer) USS Greene (AVD-13) and small seaplane tender USS Thrush (AVP-3), begin antisubmarine patrols over the south
Atlantic from Natal, and thus inaugurate operations from Brazilian waters.

EGYPT: British General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in- Chief Middle East Command, tells British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "Enemy is in full retreat."

LIBYA: The siege of Tobruk is lifted after eight months as the Polish garrison breaks out of town early in the morning and joins other British Eighth Army forces in the Acroma area. A forward supply base is soon organized at Tobruk.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I will sticky this thread. I also have a really good book in German called the Day by Day Chronicals of WW2 as well as the Complete War diaries of the OKW so I will add to this thread whenever possible.

[Hunter368]

I like this idea, very cool guys.

[syscom3]

Come on you guys..... start posting. I'm busy with the Pacific thread

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Okay I will start with 12 Dec. 1941.

USA: The United States declares war on Germany and Italy. Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, HOnduras and El Salvador soon follow.

GERMANY: Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slowakia announce they are at war with the US and England with Germany. Romania and Hungary declare war on the USA.

OCCUPIED FRANCE: In Paris the Germans begin searching door to door for Jewish residents.

Sorry that is all I have right now.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Dec 13, 1941

ENGLAND: While returning from a plane ferry mission the British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal was was hit by one torpedo from the German submarine U-81. Progressive flooding choked the boiler uptakes; since she had no diesel backups, all power was lost, including power to the pumps. HMS Legion was ordered to take aboard 1487 officers and crew to transport to Gibraltar. After several hours, already listing heavily while under tow towards Gibraltar, the carrier capsized to starboard and sank on 14 November 1941.[1] Only one crewman was lost during the evacuation of the ship.

[syscom3]

LIBYA: XIII Corps, British Eighth Army, opens an attack on the German's Gazala line and meet firm resistance. Both sides suffer heavy losses.


MEDITERRANEAN SEA: On 11 December, the British destroyers HMS Legion (G 74), Maori F 24) and Sikh (F 82) and the Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers leaves Gibraltar for the Eastern Mediterranean. During the night, they receive a radio message from a patrolling RAF Wellington about two Italian light cruiser steaming southwards. These ships are carrying a cargo of fuel for German forces in North The destroyers steam at 30 knots through the Skerki-channel and spot several light flashes and vague silhouettes near Cape Bon, Tunisia, at about 0200 hours. The flotilla rounds the Cape and sights the two approaching Italian light cruisers R.N. Alberto da Barbiano and Alberico di Giussano. HMS Sikh is leading the group, then HMS Legion, HMS Maori and finally HNMS Isaac Sweers. Two of the four fire torpedoes; topredoes from HMS Sikh strike the first cruiser, which is also hit by one torpedo of and gunfire from HMS Legion and another torpedo from HMS Maori. The cruiser is ablaze and quickly starts to sink. The second cruiser opens fire but misses and is then sunk by one torpedo from HMS Legion and the concentrated gunfire by all destroyers. HNMS Isaac Sweers then encounters the Italian torpedo boat Cigno, which is attacked by gunfire and missed with four torpedoes. The destroyer reports also the sinking of an Italian motor torpedo boat, but this is not confirmed by the Italian Admiralty. The Allied destroyers arrive at Malta on 13 December.
In the Ionian Sea, the Italians begin a major convoy to
Benghazi, Libya, using their main fleet, with battleships, as escort. Two of the transports are sunk today by the British submarine HMS/M Upright (N 89) about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) east-southeast of the Italian naval base at Taranto, Italy, in position 40.10N, 18.00E.

U.S.S.R.: The Red Army launches a counter-offensive from the Kalinin area toward besieged Leningrad. German forces of Heeresgruppe Mitte evacuate Tula.

[syscom3]

FINLAND: The Soviet 114th Division attacks in the Svir sector and takes the village of Gora. Battles continue for nearly a month.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: While escorting a troop convoy, the Italian battleship R.N. Vittorio Veneto is torpedoed by the British submarine HMS/M Urge (N 17) about 17 nautical miles (32 kilometers) south-southwest of Messina, Sicily, in position 37.53N, 15.29E. The convoy is recalled and the battleship returns to base for repairs.
While escorting a convoy, the British light cruiser HMS Galatea (71) is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-557 about 36 nautical miles (67 kilometers) west of Alexandria, Egypt, in position 31.17N, 29.13E. Four hundred sixty nine of the crew are lost and about 100 survivors are picked up by two destroyers. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: German forces evacuate Kalinin 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Moscow.

[syscom3]

EGYPT: The Government breaks diplomatic relations with Hungary and
Romania.
A British supply convoy bound for Malta leaves Alexandria.

U.S.S.R.: On the central front north of Moscow, the Red Army takes
Klin, on the rail line to Leningrad.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-127 is sunk about 170 nautical
miles (315 kilometers) west-northwest of the Tangier Zone in position
36.28N, 09.12W, by depth charges from the Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor (G 02) which is escorting the 32 ships in convoy HG-76 (Gibraltar to
the U.K.); all 51 crewmen are lost.

[syscom3]

Rommel begins the withdrawal from Gazala to El Agheila.

A second Italian supply convoyfor Rommel sails from Italy. Covered by 4 battleships, 5 cruisers and 21 destroyers, this convoy is commanded by Admiral Iachino.

[syscom3]

ALBANIA: The Government declares war on the U.S. (Jack McKillop)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-131 is sunk about 191 nautical miles (353 kilometers) east-northeast of the Madeira Islands in position 34.12N, 13.35W, by depth charges and gunfire from the British destroyers HMS Exmoor (L 0, Blankney (L 30) and Stanley (I 73), the corvette HMS Pentstemon (K 61) and the sloop HMS Stork (L 81), and by depth charges from a British (F4F) Martlet of No. 802 Squadron in the escort carrier HMS Audacity (D 10) all of which are escorting the convoy HG76 (Gibraltar to the U.K.); all 47 U-boat crewmen are lost. HMS Stanley
is the former USN destroyer USS McCalla (DD-253) which was commissioned as HMS Stanley (I-73) on 23 October 1940, as part of the destroyers-for- bases deal.

BLACK SEA: The Soviet submarine M-59 is sunk by depth charge by Romanian destroyer Ferdinand.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Yesterday, a large Italian convoy left Naples, Italy, and by the time it had reached Sicily, it was escorted by the battleship R.N. Caio Duilio, the light cruisers R.N. Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Raimondo Montecuccoli and Muzio Attendolo and a few destroyers.
Not too far away, a second group, composed of the battleships R.N. Littorio, Andrea Doria and Giulio Cesare, the heavy cruisers R.N. Trento and Gorizia and several destroyers, provided additional support.
Such a display of force is unnecessarily caused by the mistaken spotting of two British battleships in Malta. Today, a Luftwaffe reconnaissance plane spots a British formation proceeding from Alexandria, Egypt, toward the central Mediterranean. A battleship, identified as part of the group, is actually a tanker, but the faulty identification is repeated several
times. During the day British naval Force K, composed of the light cruisers HMS Neptune (20), Aurora (12), Penelope (97) and destroyers HMS Kandahar (F 2, Lance (G 87), Lively (G 40) and Havock (H 43), joins Admiral Vian's Force B from Alexandria.
Tonight this British force meets the Italian convoy escort. The action, the First Battle of Sirte, is spent protecting the convoy and is therefore indecisive. Both navies are simply escorting their convoys, but each thinks of the other as in pursuit of a naval engagement. The British are actually trying a double convoy attempt, one eastbound and one westbound. While the British
commander Admiral Cunningham orders the convoy commander Admiral Sir Philip Vian to avoid direct contact, Italian Admiral Angelo Iachino was in active pursuit of a direct confrontation. The distance between the two
groups, and some British avoidance maneuvers, did not allow the battleship R.N. Littorio group to sight the British until almost dusk. The sighting is aided by the antiaircraft guns of the British forces which are actively trying to repulse an Axis aerial attack. The Littorio opens fire at about 32 kilometers (17.3 nautical miles) from the British force; too far a distance for the British unit to reply. Admiral Vian immediately attempts a retreating maneuver with the aid of a smoke screen. British units receive some direct hits, but they were able to disappear into the darkness of the night. The British ships run into a newly-laid Italian minefield; the light cruiser HMS Neptune (20) hits four mines and is sunk and there is only one survivor from a crew of 767 and the destroyer HMS Kandahar is sunk but all of her crew are taken off first. The light cruiser HMS Aurora is badly damaged and destroyer HMS Penelope is slightly damaged.

UNITED KINGDOM: Major General James E Chaney, Chief Special Observer Group, U.S. Army (SPOBS), writes to the Adjutant General, U.S. Army on the "Construction Program of U.S. Forces in UK," which indicates a shortage of accommodations for proposed U.S. forces in England,
Northern Ireland and Scotland.

U.S.S.R.: In the Crimea, German attacks by the 54th Corps of the German Army Group South begin against the city of Sevastopol despite continuing Soviet offensives in other areas.

[syscom3]

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-434 is sunk about 225 nautical
miles (416 kilometers) north-northwest of the Madeira Islands in position
36.15N, 15.48W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS
Blankney (L30) and Stanley (I73) which are escorting Convoy HG76 (Gibraltar
to the U.K.); 42 of the 44 crewmen survive.

FRANCE: The first German submarine involved in Operation DRUMBEAT
(Paukenschlag) , U-125, sails from Lorient. Operation DRUMBEAT is an
attack on shipping along the North American coast by five U-boats.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command aircraft bomb Brest and the
crews reported that, at long last, the German battleship Gneisenau,
still harbored in the port, is hit during an attack by 47 aircraft.
GERMANY: Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander in Chief
of the Army, resigns his post due to ill health. (Jack McKillop) .

UNITED STATES: Censorship is imposed with the passage of the first
American War Powers Act. This act is passed by Congress, authorizing
the president to initiate and terminate defense contracts, reconfigure
government agencies for wartime priorities, and regulate the
freezing of foreign assets. It also permits him to censor all communications
coming in and leaving the country. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints
the executive news director of the Associated Press, Byron Price, as
director of censorship. Although invested with the awesome power to
restrict and withhold news, Price takes no extreme measures, allowing news
outlets and radio stations to self-censor, which they do. Most top
secret information, including the construction of the atom bomb, remains
just that. The most extreme use of the censorship law seems to have been
President Roosevelt signs Executive Order No. 8984 that provides
that the Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet will take supreme command of
the operating forces of all Navy fleets and coastal frontier commands,
and be directly responsible to the President.
The State Department announces that Rear Admiral Frederick J.
Horne and Admiral Georges Robert, French High Commissioner at
Martinique, French West Indies, have reached an agreement neutralizing French Caribbean possessions.

[syscom3]

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The British destroyer HMS Stanley [I 73, ex-USN USS
McCalla (DD-253)] is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-574
about 336 nautical miles (622 kilometers) north of the Madeira Islands in
position 38.12N, 17.23W. Stanley is escorting about 30 ships in convoy HG76
(Gibraltar to the U.K.); only 25 of her 161 man crew survive. Within 12-minutes, U-574 is sunk by ramming and depth charges from another
escort, the British sloop HMS Stork (U 81); 16 of the 44 crewmen on
the sub survive.

EGYPT: During the night of 18/19 December, the Italian submarine R. Smg. Scir launches three SLC (Slow Moving Torpedo) human torpedoes off the British naval base at Alexandria. The SLCs are a 21-inch (53 centimeter) torpedo fitted with an electric motor powered by batteries with an explosive charge in the detachable head. The weapon is manned by two operators using breathing apparatus. After release the SLCs, the submarine returns to La Spezia, Italy. Anticipating the return of the British Force B to Alexandria, the harbor nets are left open allowing the three SLCs to slip in and direct their weapons toward the designated targets. Since the expected aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (94) is no longer in the harbor, the three attach their explosive charges to the battleships HMS Valiant (02) and Queen Elizabeth (00) and the large tanker SS Sagona. Two Italian frogmen are captured, Lieutenants Luigi Durand de la Penne and Bianchi. They refuse to divulge any information until moments before the explosion (because they are being interrogated right above the area of the keel where the explosion is to occur). At 0600 hours local, the first charge detonates under the tanker SS Sagona and badly damages both the tanker and the destroyer HMS Jervis (F 00), which is moored alongside for refueling. The charge under HMS Valiant detonates at 0620 hours, and the one under HMS Queen Elizabeth at 0624 hours. The depth of water is 15 to 50 feet (4,6 to 15 meters) and the charges weighed about 300 kilograms (661 pounds). Both battleships were severely damaged and remained out of the war for a period of time. The Italians are interned in a POW camp for the rest of the war. This attack, which neutralizes the ability of the British to oppose the Italian Regia Marina with its battleships, allows deeply needed convoys to supply Axis forces in Africa. Additionally, de la Penne and Bianchi are awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour in 1945 by Vice-Admiral Charles Morgan, the Valiant's skipper at the time.

GERMANY: With the retirement of Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch
as Commander in Chief of the Army yesterday, Chancellor Adolf Hitler himself assumes personal command of the Army, especially of its operations on the Eastern front. Initial success leads Hitler to a hypnotic belief in his ability. When the success turns, Hitler remains convinced and therefore believes that the efforts of others is at fault.

INTERNATIONAL: Colombia breaks relations with Germany and Italy; Mexico breaks diplomatic relations with Hungary and Nicaragua declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

ITALY: Dictator Benito Mussolini requests German assistance for his hard-pressed troops in the Cyrenaica region of Libya in the form of a Panzer Division and various logistical support.

LIBYA: Axis forces continue their retreat in Cyrenaica. The XIII Corps, British Eighth Army, continues to follow the withdrawing Axis forces, the Indian 4th Division advancing along the coast to Derna and the British 7th Armoured Division across the desert.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: While on their way to intercept an Italian convoy
bound for Tripoli the British Force K [light cruisers HMS Neptune (20), Aurora
(12), Penelope (97) and the destroyers HMS Kandahar (F 2, Lance (G 87), Lively (G 40) and Havock (H 43)] run into a newly laid Italian minefield. HMS Neptune sinks while HMS Aurora and Kandahar are badly and HMS Penelope is lightly damaged. HMS Aurora is patched up at Malta before returning home for repairs at Liverpool from April to June 1942. HMS Penelope is repaired at Malta but is bombed on 26 March 1942 while still under repair. She leaves Malta on 8 April 1942 for full repairs at the New York Navy Yard in the U.S. These repairs are completed in September 1942.

UNITED STATES: The US Selective Service (draft) Act is amended
requiring the registration of all males 18-64. The age for those
subject to military service is 20-44.
Lieutenant General John DeWitt, Commanding General of the Fourth Army and the Western Defense Command, recommends to the War Department to round up "all alien subjects 14 years of age or over, of enemy nations and remove them to the Zone of the Interior (ZI)," because the West Coast had become a wartime Theater of Operations. DeWitt also writes, "...that there are approximately 40,000 of such enemy aliens and it is believed that they constitute an immediate and potential menace to vital measures of defense."

Vice Admiral Randall Jacobs relieves Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation.

The U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1942 is graduated early, due to
the National Emergency.

U.S.S.R.: The Germans continue their attack on Sevastopol, while the
Soviets bring 14,000 men and supplies into the area as reinforcements.

[Joe2]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

Dec 13, 1941

ENGLAND: While returning from a plane ferry mission the British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal was was hit by one torpedo from the German submarine U-81. Progressive flooding choked the boiler uptakes; since she had no diesel backups, all power was lost, including power to the pumps. HMS Legion was ordered to take aboard 1487 officers and crew to transport to Gibraltar. After several hours, already listing heavily while under tow towards Gibraltar, the carrier capsized to starboard and sank on 14 November 1941.[1] Only one crewman was lost during the evacuation of the ship.

by the way, the two ship's cats where also rescued.
meow!

[syscom3]

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 12
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.).
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 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 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."