World war II timeline - December 1941

1 December 1941	The Japanese Imperial Conference formally decides to go to war with the United States, authorizing an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock asks Army headquarters to suspend operations around Moscow. General Walther von Brauchitsch insists the attacks continue.
2 December 1941	Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 38, ordering one Air Corps from the Eastern front to South Italy and North African areas. The group is to assist with forces in North Africa, halt enemy shipping in the Mediterranean, and control the skies. German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring is appointed Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces South (Mediterranean). British battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse arrive at Singapore. Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto issues the coded message "Climb Mount Niitaka 1208" authorizing the Combined Fleet to attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 8. The Japanese government sends a secret coded message to its ambassadors in Washingto, D.C., and Havana, Cuba, with instructions to burn telegraphic codes, and destroy the code machine.
3 December 1941	British MI6 intelligence in Manila, Philippines, warns US Military and Naval Intelligence in Honolulu, Hawaii, that the US is the likely target of an early Japanese attack. The Washington Navy Bureau alerts Admiral Kimmel in Hawaii that yesterday Japanese diplomatic posts in Hong Kong, Singapore, Batavia, Manilla, Washington, and London were instructed to destroy most of codes and ciphers immediately, plus burn all other confidential and secret documents.
4 December 1941	German Army Group Centre commences an attack in Russia, with the objective being the capture of Moscow. US cryptographer Ralph Briggs decrypts a Japanese coded signal indicating the Japanese Navy is heading out to attack.
5 December 1941	The German advance into Russia is halted 25 miles from Moscow due to snow and freezing temperatures. To date, Soviet forces have lost 2 million soldiers dead, 2 million taken prisoner, 14,000 aircraft, 20,000 guns, and 17,000 tanks.
6 December 1941	Russian forces counterattack German positions near Moscow, forcing them back as much as 100 miles. Vannevar Bush, head of the American Office of Scientific Research and Development, receives Presidential approval for an all-out effort in atomic research. The British government declares war on Finland, Hungary, and Romania. US President Franklin Roosevelt reads the decoded version of 13 of 14 parts of the Japanese reply to the US final offer of peace terms. Roosevelt says "This means war". Five large Japanese submarines lie at the mouth of Pearl Harbor, each with a two-man midget submarine. The midget submarines are to enter the harbor before dawn, prepared to attack ships when the aerial assault takes place.
7 December 1941	Army Intelligence receives the 14th (final) part of the Japanese coded reply to the American ultimatum. The message indicates the Japanese Ambassador will break off relations with Washington at 13:00 Eastern Standard Time (07:00 in Hawaii). Admiral Stark, Commander-in-Chief of Navy read the decoded final part of Japan's reply to the American ultimatum. Then the Army Chief of Staff General Marshall reads it, then the President reads it. Minesweeper Condor at the entrance to Pearl Harbor signals the destroyer Ward that a submerged submarine had been sighted. Army Chief of Staff General Marshall releases a message to be sent to Hawaii and all other Pacific commands, telling them that the Japanese will break off relations at 0700 hours Hawaii time, and to be on alert accordingly. (The message is unable to be sent by secure radio, so it is sent via Western Union cable to San Francisco, then RCA commerical radio to Honolulu, and finally motorcycle delivery six hours later at 1158 hours Hawaii time.) Six Japanese carriers begin launching planes for an attack on Pearl Harbor. At the entrance to Pearl Harbor, the American destroyer Ward sights the conning tower of a submarine, fires two shots and drops a pattern of depth charges, sinking the midget submarine. (These are the first shots fired in the war against Japan.) American destroyer USS Monaghan rams and sinks a Japanese midget submarine near Pearl Harbor. A Japanese midget submarine runs aground on Oahu's northeast coast. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki survives and is captured, becoming the first prisoner of war taken by the Americans in World War II. Japanese air attack commander Mitsuo Fuchida sights Oahu's northern tip, and shoots a signal flare to inform others to follow the "Surprise" attack sequence. The leader of the fighters does not respond to the new formation, so a second flare is shot. The leader of the dive bombers sees both flares, recognizing this as the "Surprise Lost" attack sequence. Japanese attack commander Fuchida telegraphs the signal "To" meaning "Charge", giving control to unit commanders to commence their attacks. Japanese flight leader Lieutenant junior grade Tatsumi drops a torpedo toward ex-battleship Utah, which passes forward of the ship, hitting the light cruiser Raleigh. (The Raleigh returns to active duty in July 1942.) Japanese airman 1st Class Karoku Fujiwara drops a torpedo, which strikes the Utah. Another torpedo from another plane also strikes the Utah. Japanese Squadron Leader Lieutenant Tsuyoshi Nagai drops a torpedo, running under the minelayer Oglala, striking the light cruiser Helena. (The Helena returns to active duty in June 1942.) Japanese Airgroup Commander Lieutenant Commander Shingeharu Murata drops the first torpedo onto Battleship Row, on the south side of Ford Island, striking the battleship USS West Virginia. (The battleship will be struck by nine torpedoes, sunk, but returns to active duty in July 1944.) Japanese Lieutenant junior grade Jinichi Goto launches the second torpedo against Battleship Row, striking the USS Oklahoma. Headquarters of US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sends telegram message to Washington: "AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR - THIS IS NO DRILL". In Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona is stuck by a 1760-pound aerial armor-piercing bomb, which detonates over one million pounds of gunpowder in the ship's forward deck, killing 1177 crewmen. The first wave of Japanese planes withdraws from Pearl Harbor, returning to their aircraft carriers. A second group arrives. apanese destroyers Sazanami and Ushio fire on Midway, scoring a few hits, then leave the area at 22:00 hours. Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor end. 2403 Americans are dead, with 1178 wounded. Eighteen major fighting ships are sunk, and 188 aircraft are destroyed. Japan attacks Philippines, Wake, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai, and declares war on US and Great Britain. The garrison at Hong Kong is ordered to war stations. Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Windflower collides with Dutch freighter Zypenberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and sinks, killing 23. Within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the British War Cabinet meets, and declares war on Japan. Canada declares war on Japan.   Quote of Japanese Admiral Isuroku Yamamoto in his diary following the Pearl Harbor raid: "I fear we have wakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve."
8 December 1941	Japanese forces attack Shanghai, China. Adolf Hitler issues orders for the German Navy to attack American ships anywhere. Japanese forces begin an assault on Hong Kong. Japanese aircraft attack the Kai Tak airport on Hong Kong, destroying or damaging all six Royal Air Force aircraft in the first few minutes. 36 Japanese Mitsubishi bombers from the Marshall Islands attack Wake Island. They destroy 7 F4F Wildcats on the ground, and kill 20. American President Roosevelt makes a speech in Congress, declaring December 7 "a date which will live in infamy". Congress declares war on Japan. Japanese forces begin the occupation of Siam. The Japanese 38th Division attacks Hong Kong, via Kowloon. In the Philippines, American General Douglas MacArthur learns of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Japanese bombers and fighters attack Luzon in the Philippine Islands. They destroy many Curtiss P-40 fighters, B-17 bombers, and one of two operational radar stations. Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 39, ordering the immediate capture of Sevastopol, and a halt to other offensive operations on the eastern front. German Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb of Army Group North pulls back across the frozen Volkhov River. In Germany, Reinhard Heydrich postpones the conference on Jews in Wannsee. Japanese Ambassador to Berlin Oshima tells Joachim von Ribbentrop that Japan wishes Germany and Italy to issue formal declarations of war on America at once.
9 December 1941	Japanese bombers make a second raid over Wake Island. They kill 4 Marines and 55 civilians, but 5 planes are shot down and 11 damaged. At a meeting of the Canadian Cabinet, Prime Minister William King worries that a Japanese assault on the west coast "seemed wholly probable". The Japanese Imperial Fourth Fleet (one cruiser, two light cruisers, six destroyers, two transports) heads north to take Wake Island. Adolf Hitler decides to declare war on the United States. Japanese capture the Shing Mun Redoubt in the Hong Kong new territories.
10 December 1941	26 Japanese bombers make a third run over Wake Island, two being shot down. The German siege of Tobruk is broken by troops of British General Sir Claude Auchinleck. The Soviet Union launches a large-scale offensive along the eastern front against Germany. Japanese bombers sink British battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse in the Gulf of Siam. Hong Kong Mainland Brigade commander Brigadier C. Wallis issues a warning order to prepare for evacuation of the mainland. Japanese forces capture Guam. Japanese bombers and fighters again attack the Philippine island of Luzon, this time focusing on the major US Naval base near Manila. Nichols Field is heavily damaged, and Cavite is nearly destroyed. 12 P-35 planes are destroyed on the ground at Del Carmen. Over 15 P-40 fighters are lost.
11 December 1941	The Japanese Imperial Fourth Fleet arrives near the Wake atoll. Japanese ships begin a bombardment of Wake Island. As Japanese ships off Wake Island prepare to launch a second bombardment, guns on Wake open fire and planes take off to attack the ships. After two hours of attacks on Japanese ships off Wake Island, the destroyers Hayak and Kisaragi are sunk, eight other ships are damaged, and 500-700 troops are killed. Two US planes are wrecked. 30 Japanese bombers make a fourth run over Wake Island. Four are shot down, four others leave trailing smoke. The "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers engages the Japanese in the Hong Kong New Territories, the first Canadians to fight in the war on Japan. Lieutenant Boyd "Buzz" Wagner, flying a P-40 from Clark Field on Luzon, in the Philippines, shoots down four Zero fighters and destroys five more planes on the ground at the Japanese landing site. A peace treaty is signed between Japan and Siam. Japan grants to Siam former Siamese territories in Laos, part of northern Malaya, and part of Burma. The Japanese 15th Army crosses Siam into Burma. Germany, Italy, and Japan sign an agreement on joint prosecution of the war. Each promises to pursue the war against Great Britain and the United States, and to make peace only by mutual agreement. In the Reichstag in Germany, Adolf Hitler announces his declaration of war on the United States. Italy declares war on the United States. The U.S. Congress declares war on Germany and Italy. A US plane patrolling near Wake Island sees a Japanese submarine, and bombs and sinks it.
12 December 1941	Two Japanese Kawanishi flying boats attack Wake Island. One is shot down. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the diversion of British 18th Division and four squadrons of fighter planes to Bombay, India, to increase the strength of the Indian Divisions on the Burma frontier. Adolf Hitler addresses about 50 leading Nazis in the chancellery, telling them that the time had come to annihilate the Jews in Europe. A second Japanese force lands on northern Luzon. Japanese forces capture Canadian merchant ship Shinai off North Borneo. British forces on the Hong Kong mainland begin an evacuation to Hong Kong island, except Devil's Peak.
13 December 1941	Final British forces on the Hong Kong mainland evacuate to the island. Japanese commander Lieutenant-General Takashi Saki issues an ultimatum to the Governor of Hong Kong, requesting a surrender of the island. Bulgaria declares war on Great Britain and the United States. Hungary declares war on Great Britain and the United States. Sir Mark Young, Governor of Hong Kong, rejects a Japanese demand for the surrender of Hong Kong. (night) In the Mediterranean, three British destroyers, Sikh, Maouri, and Legion, and Netherlands destroyer Isaac Sweers encounter two Italian cruisers with two destroyers. The Italian ships alter course to evade an assumed attack from a lone British bomber, making themselves vulnerable to a massive torpedo and shelling attack. All four ships are sunk, with no British or Netherland losses.
14 December 1941	30 Japanese bombers attack Wake Island, destroying one of two remaining US fighter planes. Quote by Adolf Hitler to General Oshima, Japanese Ambassador to Berlin, regarding the sudden Japanese attack on the US: "You gave the right declaration of war, this method is the only proper one."
15 December 1941	American submarine Swordfish sinks Japanese ship Atsutasan Masu off Hainan Island. As part of Mediterranean Convoy HG76, Australian destroyer Nestor sinks German submarine U127 off Cape St. Vincent.   German submarine U-311 sinks British battleship Barham. Operation Trinity begins, as British Stirling bombers attack German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest, using a transmitted beam and an Oboe station signal giving the signal of when to release bombs. US government seizes French liner Normandie at New York's Pier 88.
16 December 1941	Three P-40 fighters from Clark Field in the Philippine Islands attack a Japanese-controlled airstrip at Vigan. Ten planes are destroyed, and seven more damaged. Only one P-40 is lost. (The Japanese bury the downed pilot with full military honors. The pilot is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.) Japanese submarine I-7 launches a float plane west of Oahu. It surveys the Pearl Harbor area, confirming the December 7 strike. The plane returns to its mother submarine undetected. Adolf Hitler issues a Halt Order forbidding any withdrawal on the eastern front, and calling for "fanatical resistance". (night) A Japanese submarine shells Kahului and Lahina on Maui Island.
17 December 1941	Japanese forces invade Borneo, landing at Sarawak on the north-west coast. As part of Mediterranean Convoy HG76, German submarine U131 is sunk by several destroyers. After artillery and air bombardment of Hong Kong Island, the Japanese again demand the surrender of Hong Kong. It is refused. Japanese submarine I-172 sinks freighter SS Prusa near the Hawaiian Islands.
18 December 1941	As part of Mediterranean Convoy HG76, British destroyer Blankney sinks German submarine U434. As part of Mediterranean Convoy HG76, German submarine U574 torpedoes and sinks British destroyer Stanley. There are 28 survivors. Japanese forces begin the invasion of Hong Kong Island, crossing the strait of Lye Mun Passage. Japanese submarine I-175 sinks SS Manini near the Hawaiian Islands. Six Italian frogmen in two-man submarines from the submarine Scirè enter the harbor entrance at Alexandria. They set three 550-pound explosive charges on the British battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant, and a tanker. In Alexandria harbor, an underwater explosive blows the stern off a tanker. In Alexandria harbor, an underwater explosion rocks British battleship HMS Valiant. In Alexandria harbor, an underwater explosion rocks British battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth.
19 December 1941	By dawn on Hong Kong Island, Japanese forces occupy Mount Parker, Mount Butler, and Jardine's Lookout in the center of the island. Soviet Colonel Lev Dovator, commander of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps is killed in action near the village of Palashkino, west of Moscow. Adolf Hitler removes General Walther von Brauchitsch as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, assuming the post himself.
20 December 1941	On Hong Kong Island, Japanese forces reach Deep Water Bay, succeeding in splitting the island defenders into two groups.
21 December 1941	146 Japanese bombers and fighters attack Wake Island, but do little damage. In Hong Kong, British General C. Maltby sends a communique to the War Office in England. The reply from Prime Minister Churchill is to continue fighting. Siam enters into an alliance with Japan. British corvette Samphire and sloop Deptford sink German submarine U567. A German submarine torpedoes and sinks British carrier Audacity, 500 miles west of Finisterre.
22 December 1941	Japanese carriers Soryu and Hiryu send 39 bombers and fighters to attack Wake Island. The remaining two US fighters are destroyed. One company of the Canadian Grenadiers near the Wong Nei Chong Gap in Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese after holding their position for three days. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets with American Chiefs of Staff in Washington, DC. They agree to a "Germany first" strategy.
23 December 1941	US oil tanker Montbello is sunk by Japanese submarine torpedo, off Cambria, 170 miles south of San Francisco, California. The Canadian Royal Rifles on Hong Kong Island are ordered to withdraw to Stanley Peninsula.
24 December 1941	Two Japanese destroyers, converted for use as troop transports, run aground on Wake Island to put ashore hundreds of troops. Defence forces fire a 3-inch anti-aircraft round into one, destroying it. US forces on Wake Island surrender to the Japanese. In the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur orders all American and Filipino forces to withdraw from Luzon to the Bataan Peninsula. Manila is declared an open city. British forces under General Sir Claude Auchinleck occupy Benghazi, Libya.
25 December 1941	The Canadian Royal Rifles attack Japanese forces on Hong Kong Island. The British commander of forces in Hong Kong gives an order to cease fire. Hong Kong, with Canadian and British troops, surrenders to Japan. Nearly 2000 died in the fight.
27 December 1941	British commandos make a heavy raid on Vaagsö Island, Norway. They destroy a coast defence battery and 16,000 tons of shipping. Japanese forces bomb Manila, Philippines. Manila is evacuated. Australian Prime Minister John Curtin issues a New Year message, looking to America for defense aid, "without any inhibitions of any kind", "free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom". He calls for Russia to enter the war against Japan, and for the USA and Australia to have the most say in the Pacific war.
28 December 1941	A Halifax aircraft takes off from Tangmere with three commando units, destined for Czechoslovakia, on a mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich. The first formal American meeting on biological warfare is held, in Baltimore, Maryland.   German submarines begin operation Paukenschlay (Drumbeat), against the east coast of North America.
29 December 1941	Japanese forces begin an attack on Corregidor, Philippines.
30 December 1941	Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus is sppointed Commander of 6th Army (Russia).
31 December 1941	Erich von Manstein's 11th Army ceases attempts to take the fortress of Sevastopol. American Admiral Chester Nimitz takes command of the US Pacific Fleet. Japanese submarines shell Hilo, Hawaii, and Nawiliwili, Kauai.