World War II 1941 Chronology

Hitler issues an edict calling for an invasion of the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

A Coenradi Dutch resistance fighter, executed.

Ref: 5

Bernard Ijzerdraat Dutch resistance fighter, executed.

Ref: 5

E Hellendoorn Dutch resistance fighter, executed.

Ref: 5

J Eyl Dutch resistance fighter, executed.

Ref: 5

Mar 17

German submarine U-99 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship J.B. White southwest of the Faeroes Islands. Two die, 38 survive.

Mar 20

Nazi-German/Yugoslav pact drawn.

Ref: 5

Mar 21

The last Italian post in East Libya, North Africa, falls to the British.

Ref: 2

Mar 24

Yugoslavia signs on to the Tripartite Pact with the Axis powers.

Mar 24

British troops defeat British Somalia.

Ref: 5

Mar 24

German troops occupy El Agheila Libya.

Ref: 5

Mar 25

Disguised German merchant raider Kormoran captures Canadian merchant ship Candolite southeast of Freetown, West Africa. The crew of 44 is taken prisoner.

Mar 25

Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers.

Ref: 2

Mar 26

The German Army High Command gives approval to RSHA and Heydrich on the tasks of SS murder squads (Einsatzgruppen) in occupied Poland.

Ref: 35

Mar 26

RCN armed yacht Otter is destroyed by an explosion and fire off Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 19 die.

Mar 27

Tokeo Yoshikawa arrives in Oahu, Hawaii, to begin spying for Japan on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Ref: 2

Mar 27

A military revolt in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, overthrows the pro-Axis government of Prince Paul. Hitler orders the military annihilation of Yugoslavia (Directive 27) in retaliation for its coup. Operation Barbarossa, the planned attack on the Soviet Union, is postponed from May 15 for at least a month. Yugoslavia and Greece are to be attacked on April 6.

Ref: 36

Mar 27

Hitler signs Directive 27 (assault on Yugoslavia).

Ref: 5

Mar 28

The Italian fleet is routed by the British, under Cunningham, at the Battle of Matapan.

Ref: 2

Mar 29

The British sink five Italian warships off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean.

Ref: 2

Mar 30

The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel begins its first offensive against British forces in Libya.

Ref: 2

Mar 31

German merchant ships Muenchen and Hermouthis are scuttled by their crews to avoid capture by RCN armed merchant cruiser Prince Henry, which intercepted them off Peru.

Mar 31

Germany begins a counter offensive in North Africa.

Ref: 35

Apr 01

Pro-German Rashid Ali al-Ghailani grabs power in Iraq.

Ref: 5

Apr 02

German occupier disallows Dutch scouting association.

Ref: 5

Apr 03

Churchill warns Stalin of German invasion.

Ref: 5

Apr 03

Rasjid al-Gailani forms pro-German regime in Iraq.

Ref: 5

Apr 04

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa.

Ref: 2

Apr 04

The Canadian federal cabinet introduces Order In Council PC 2385, The Merchant Seamen Order, giving authorities power to detain disobedient seamen from ships of any registry in Canadian ports.

Apr 05

German commandos secure docks along the Danube River in preparation for Germany's invasion of the Balkans.

Ref: 2

Nazis invade Yugoslavia (Jewish pop. 75,000) and Greece (Jewish pop. 77,000). Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union sign a treaty of friendship, providing for "amicable relations" in the event of foreign attack; the first wave of German bombers cross into Yugoslavia.

Ref: 35

Italian-held Addis Ababa capitulates to British & Ethiopian forces.

Ref: 5

Beginning of 3 day bombardment of Belgrade (17,000 die).

Ref: 5

British General Gambier-Parry caught in North Africa.

Ref: 5

German bombardment on Piraeus (munitions ship explodes).

Ref: 5

Apr 07

The German submarine U-124 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Portadoc west of Sierra Leone in the Central Atlantic Ocean.

Apr 07

German forces invade Greece and Yugoslavia.

Ref: 2

Apr 07

British Generals O'Connor & Neame captured in North Africa.

Ref: 5

Apr 10

U.S. troops occupy Greenland to prevent Nazi infiltration.

Ref: 2

Apr 10

German troops conquer Libyan county Cyrenaica.

Ref: 5

Apr 11

German bombers blitz Conventry, England.

Ref: 2

Apr 12

Vichy-France's head of government Admiral Dalan consults with Hitler.

Ref: 5

Apr 13

German troops capture Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

Ref: 2

Apr 13

Heavy German assault on Tobruk.

Ref: 5

Apr 13

Russian-Japan no-attack treaty goes into effect.

Ref: 5

Apr 14

Rommel attacks Tobruk.

Ref: 36

Apr 14

German troops capture Belgrade, Yugoslavia. King Peter leaves Yugoslavia.

Ref: 2

Apr 14

Jack Edmonson Australian corporal in Tobruk (Victoria Cross), dies.

Ref: 5

Apr 17

The US establishes the Office of Price Administration (handled rationing).

Ref: 5

Apr 17

British troop land in Iraq/Yugoslavia; surrender to Nazi's.

Ref: 5

Apr 19

Bulgarian troops invade Macedonia.

Ref: 5

Apr 20

100 German bombers attack Athens.

Ref: 5

Apr 20

Barend ter Haar Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at 49.

Ref: 5

Apr 23

Greece Army surrenders to German Nazi's RAF brings Greek king George II to Egypt.

Ref: 5

Apr 24

British army begins evacuation of Greece.

Ref: 5

Apr 24

Dutch Prince Bernhard becomes an RAF pilot.

Ref: 5

Apr 25

Operation Merkur Hitler orders conquest of Kreta.

Ref: 5

Apr 26

Potatoes rationed in Holland.

Ref: 5

Apr 27

Greece surrenders to the Nazis.

Ref: 36

Apr 28

Last British troops in Greece surrenders.

Ref: 5

May 01

A German attack on Tobruk is repulsed.

Ref: 36

May 02

Hostilities break out between British forces in Iraq and that country's pro-German faction.

Ref: 2

May 02

Martin Bormann succeeds Rudolf Hess as Hitler's deputy.

Ref: 5

May 03

German air raid on Liverpool.

Ref: 5

May 05

Adolf Hitler visits the Bismarck together with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Admiral Lütjens, and other personalities. He stays aboard for five hours.

May 05

Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa.

Ref: 5

May 05

2 Fokker's employees flee Nazi occupied Netherlands to England.

Ref: 5

May 06

Bob Hope gives his first USO show at CA's March Field.

Ref: 2

May 07

British House of Commons votes for Churchill (477-3).

Ref: 5

May 08

German Q-ship Pinguin sinks in Indian Ocean

Ref: 2

May 09

A submarine torpedoes Newfoundland-registered merchant ship Esmond in the North Atlantic, in convoy OB-318.

May 09

The German submarine U-110 is captured at sea along with its Enigma machine by the Royal Navy.

Ref: 2

May 09

English Army breaks German spy codes.

Ref: 5

May 10

England's House of Commons is destroyed during the worst of the London Blitz: 550 German bombers drop 100,000 incendiary bombs.

Ref: 2

May 10

Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachutes into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission. (Hess ended up serving a life sentence at Spandau prison until 1987, when he died, an apparent suicide.)

Ref: 5

May 10

Queen Wilhelmina on Radio Orange warns against treason.

Ref: 2

May 11

First Messerschmidt 109F shot down above England.

Ref: 5

May 12

Admiral Lütjens and the Fleet Staff embark the German battleship Bismarck.

May 12

Great British convoy marches into Alexandria.

Ref: 5

May 13

Martin Bormann is named head of Nazi Party Chancellery in Germany.

Ref: 5

May 13

Trial against resistance fighter comte d'Estienne d'Orves begins.

Ref: 5

May 15

Operation Brevity begins (the British counter-attack in Egypt). British attack Halfaya-pass & Fort Capuzzo in Egypt & Libya.

Ref: 36

French Marshal Petain issues a radio broadcast approving collaboration with Hitler.

Ref: 35

Italian army under Aosta surrenders to Britain at Amba Alagi Ethiopia.

Ref: 5

Nazis forbid Dutch Organization of Actors (NOT).

Ref: 5

Last great German air attack on Great Britain (Birmingham).

Ref: 5

May 18

Italian army under General Aosta surrenders to Britain in Ethiopia.

Ref: 5

May 19

German occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis.

Ref: 5

May 19

New Nazi battleship Bismarck leaves Gdynia, Poland.

Ref: 5

May 20

A submarine torpedoes Newfoundland-registered merchant ship Rothermere in the North Atlantic, in convoy HX-126. 22 die.

May 20

Germany invades Crete by air.

Ref: 2

May 20

(about 9:00 PM) British Admiralty is first alerted by agent in Sweden of sighting of German battleship Bismark and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen travelling north through Danish waters.

May 21

The first U.S. ship, the S.S. Robin Moor, is sunk by a U-boat.

Ref: 2

May 21

German airforce occupies airport at Maleme Kreta.

Ref: 5

May 21

Singer Johan Heesters visits Dachau concentration camp.

Ref: 5

May 22

British troops attack Baghdad.

Ref: 5

May 23

The German battleship Bismarck sights the British battelship Suffolk. The Bismarck tries to engage, the Suffolk avoids contact.

May 24

The Iceland Battle begins. Hood and Prince of Wales open fire on the Bismarck. The Hood is sunk, 1416 die, 3 survives, no damage to the Prince of Wales. Bismarck fires on the Suffolk, no hits. The Bismarck is attacked by nine Swordfish and six Fulmar (all bi-planes) from carrier Victorius. Speed 27 knots. She is hit by one torpedo on the starboard side, amidships.

Ref: 36

May 24

Lancelot Holland British Vice-Admiral ((WWII/Hood), dies in battle.

Ref: 5

May 26

The German battleship Bismarck is attacked by fifteen Swordfish bi-planes from the carrier Ark Royal. She is hit by two torpedoes on the port side. One in the center, and other in the aft. Both rudders jammed at 12º to port. The Bismarck is unable to maneuver. The Bismarck fires a few salvos against the Sheffield. No hits scored.

Ref: 5

May 26

German occupiers begin youth labor.

Ref: 5

The German battleship Bismarck is sunk by the King George V, the Dorsetshire and the Rodney, with a loss of 2,300 lives.

Ref: 36

Allied troops begin evacuating Kreta.

Ref: 5

Amid rising world tensions, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed an "unlimited national emergency."

Ref: 70

Günther Lütjens German Admiral (Bismarck), dies.

Ref: 5

May 28

British army begins evacuation of Kreta.

Ref: 5

May 30

English Army enters Baghdad, chasing pro-German coup government.

Ref: 5

May 30

German capture Kreta.

Ref: 5

May 30

German planes accidentally drop bombs on Dublin, Ireland. (?)

Commodore L.W. Murray of the Royal Canadian Navy is appointed commander of the Newfoundland Escort Force.

British troops vacate Kreta.

Ref: 5

An armistice is arranged between the British and the Iraqis.

Ref: 5

41 U boats sunk this month (325,000 ton).

Ref: 5

Jun 01

Germany bans all Catholic publications.

Ref: 5

Jun 01

The Newfoundland Escort Force is established by the Canadian and British navies, based in St. John's, Newfoundland. Canadian navy ships will escort merchant ships to Iceland, then turn them over to British escorts.

Jun 01

The German Army completes the capture of Crete as the Allied evacuation ends.

Ref: 2

Jun 04

A pro-Allied government installed in Iraq.

Ref: 36

Jun 06

First navy vessel constructed as mine layer Terror launched.

Ref: 5

Jun 06

The US government authorizes the seizure of foreign ships in US ports.

Ref: 2

Jun 08

The Allies invade Syria and Lebanon.

Ref: 36

Jun 12

The first Canadian bomber mission is carried out.

Jun 14

The United States freezes German and Italian assets in America.

Ref: 36

Jun 18

Turkey signs a treaty of mutual protection with Germany.

Jun 22

Germany attacks Soviet Union as Operation Barbarossa begins.

Ref: 35

Jun 22

Finland invades Karelia.

Ref: 5

Jun 24

President Franklin Roosevelt pledges all possible support to the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Jun 25

Finland declares war on the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Jun 26

Finland enters WW II against Russia.

Ref: 4

Jun 26

The German 163rd Infantry Division begins a train crossing of Sweden into Finland. After two weeks, 15,000 troops, weapons, and supplies had been transported.

Jun 28

The Germans capture Minsk.

Ref: 36

Jul 03

Stalin calls for a scorched earth policy.

Ref: 36

Jul 05

German troops reach the Dnieper River in the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Jul 07

Although a neutral country, the United States sends troops to occupy Iceland to keep it out of Germany's hands.

Ref: 2

Jul 08

20 B-17s fly in their first mission with the Royal Air Force over Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

Ref: 2

Jul 10

Germans cross the River Dnieper in the Ukraine.

Ref: 36

Jul 12

A Mutual Assistance agreement between the British and the Soviets is signed.

Ref: 36

Jul 12

Moscow is bombed by the German Luftwaffe for the first time.

Ref: 2

Jul 13

Britain and the Soviet Union sign a mutual aid pact, providing the means for Britain to send war materiel to the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Jul 13

Spanish volunteer troops, called the "Blue Division", leave for Germany to fight on the Eastern Front.

Jul 14

The British occupy Syria.

Ref: 36

Jul 14

Vichy French Foreign Legionaries sign an armistice in Damascus, allowing them to join the Free French Foreign Legion.

Ref: 2

Jul 17

The first Spanish troops arrive in Bavaria, Germany, to begin training with the Wehrmacht for fighting against Soviet forces.

Jul 17

Nazi racial 'philosopher' Alfred Rosenberg is appointed Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied Territories to administer territories seized from the Soviet Union.

Ref: 35

Jul 18

Justice Department given the responsibility for controlling enemy aliens in the continental U.S. in the event of war.

Ref: 37

Jul 19

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign in Europe. (Go to article.)

Ref: 70

Jul 21

France accepts Japan's demand for military control of Indochina.

Ref: 2

Jul 21

In occupied Poland near Lublin, Majdanek concentration camp becomes operational.

Ref: 35

Jul 24

The US government denounces Japanese actions in Indochina.

Ref: 2

Jul 25

The US government freezes Japanese and Chinese assets.

Ref: 2

Jul 26

President Roosevelt freezes Japanese assets in United States and suspends relations.

Ref: 36

Jul 27

German troops invade Ukraine.

Ref: 62

Jul 27

Japanese forces land in Indo-China.

Ref: 5

Jul 28

The Japanese army lands on the coast of Cochin, China (modern day Vietnam).

Ref: 2

Aug 01

United States announces an oil embargo against aggressor states.

Ref: 36

Aug 03

A Catholic Bishop, Clemens von Galen, delivers a sermon in Münster Cathedral attacking the Nazi euthanasia program calling it "plain murder." Ref

Aug 05

The German army completes taking 410,000 Russian prisoners in Uman and Smolensk pockets in the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Aug 09

President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. The meeting produces the Atlantic Charter, an agreement between the two countries on war aims, even though the United States is still a neutral country.

Ref: 2

Aug 10

Great Britain and the Soviet Union promise aid to Turkey if it is attacked by the Axis Powers.

Ref: 2

Aug 11

Churchill and Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter which sets forth eight goals for the world and later will be the document establishing the United Nations.

Aug 11

Soviet bombers raid Berlin but cause little damage.

Ref: 2

Aug 12

French Marshal Henri Philippe Petain announces full French collaboration with Nazi Germany.

Ref: 2

Aug 14

President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issue the Atlantic Charter, a statement of principles that renounced aggression.

Ref: 36

Aug 20

Nazi siege of Leningrad begins.

Ref: 36

Aug 20

Adolf Hitler authorizes the development of the V-2 missile.

Ref: 2

Aug 23

Hitler suspends Aktion T4, the Nazi euthenasia program, which had accounted for nearly a 100,000 deaths. Ref

Aug 25

British and Soviet forces enter Iran, opening up a route to supply the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Aug 26

In Canada, a Privy Council order calls for the establishment of an experimental offensive chemical warfare station in Suffield, Alberta, and for the Chemical Warfare Laboratories in Ottawa to work on defence.

Aug 27

The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumimaro Konoye, issues an invitation for a meeting with President Roosevelt.

Ref: 2

Aug 28

The German U-boat U-570 is captured by the British and renamed Graph.

Ref: 2

Aug 30

The World War II siege of Leningrad began as Nazi forces took Mga.

Ref: 70

Sep 03

British Major General Grasett proposes to the British Imperial Chief of Staff and war office Chief of Staff that the Hong Kong garrison be strengthened by two battalions from Canada.

Sep 04

German submarine U-652 fires at the US destroyer Greer off Iceland, beginning an undeclared shooting war. As their escorts turned away, the ships of the doomed Allied convoy, PQ-17, followed orders and began to disperse in the Arctic waters.

Ref: 2

Sep 10

A proposal to send two Canadian battalions to Hong Kong reaches British prime minister Churchill's desk for approval. He accepts the recommendation.

Sep 10

Canadian Atlantic Convoy SC-42, with 64 ships, slowly makes its way toward Iceland. Escort ships are RCN destroyer Skeena, and corvettes Orillia, Alberni, and Kenogami. RCN corvettes Chambly and Moose Jaw join the convoy to help against a U-boat attack of at least 11 German submarines. Chambly and Moose Jaw sink submarine U-501. Over a period of several days, 16 merchant ships are sunk.

Sep 11

FDR orders any Axis ship found in American waters be shot on sight.

Ref: 5

Sep 12

First German ship in WW2 captured by US ship (Busko).

Ref: 5

Sep 15

War Department authorized construction of a submarine net across the Golden Gate.

Ref: 37

Sep 17

Paratroopers are used for the first time in an American exercise in 1941.

Ref: 50

Sep 19

120 miles east of Cape Farewell, Greenland, Atlantic convoy SC-44 loses four merchant ships to submarine attacks. U-74 torpedoes and sinks RCN corvette Levis.

Sep 19

Nazis take Kiev.

Ref: 35

Sep 21

The German Army cuts off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union.

Ref: 2

Sep 23

Canada's War Committee of the Cabinet discusses Britain's request for two battalions for Hong Kong. They agree, subject to opinions from the Minister of National Defence and General McNaughton.

Sep 24

9 Allied govts pledged adherence to Atlantic Charter.

Ref: 5

Sep 27

First WW II liberty ship, freighter Patrick Henry, launched.

Ref: 5

Oct 01

The U.S. Secretary of War requests that the U.S. National Academy of Sciences begin research on biological warfare.

Oct 02

Six Parisian synagogues are bombed.

Ref: 5

Oct 02

Operation Typhoon begins (German advance on Moscow).

Ref: 36

Oct 03

Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been "broken" and would "never rise again."

Ref: 70

Oct 06

German troops renew their offensive against Moscow.

Ref: 2

Oct 09

President Franklin D. Roosevelt requests congressional approval for arming U.S. merchant ships.

Ref: 2

Oct 10

Soviet troops halt the German advance on Moscow.

Ref: 2

Oct 12

Russian govt moves from Moscow to Volga as Nazis close in on Moscow.

Ref: 5

Oct 15

Submarine U-558 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Vancouver Island in the North Atlantic. 65 crew members, 8 gunners, and 32 passengers die.

Oct 15

Odessa, a Russian port on the Black Sea which has been surrounded by German troops for several weeks, is evacuated by Russian troops.

Ref: 2

Oct 16

The Germans take Odessa.

Ref: 36

Oct 16

Germany advances within 60 miles (96 K) of Moscow.

Ref: 5

Oct 17

The U.S. destroyer Kearney is damaged by a German U-boat torpedo off Iceland; 11 Americans are killed. The Kearney is the first US destroyer torpedoed in World War II.

Ref: 2

Oct 17

Germany advances within 60 miles (96 K) of Moscow.

Ref: 5

Oct 20

Canada's prime minister Mackenzie King and war ministers commit two battalions to the defence of Hong Kong.

Oct 24

The Germans take Kharkov.

Ref: 36

Oct 26

US savings bonds go on sale.

Ref: 5

Oct 27

The Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada sail from Vancouver, British Columbia, heading to Hong Kong, on the Awatea and HMCS Prince Rupert.

Oct 27

In a broadcast to the nation on Navy Day, President Franklin Roosevelt declares: "America has been attacked, the shooting has started." He does not ask for full-scale war yet, realizing that many Americans are not yet ready for such a step.

Ref: 2

Oct 27

Chicago Daily Tribune editorializes that there will not be war with Japan.

Ref: 5

Oct 30

The U.S. destroyer Reuben James, on convoy duty off Iceland, is sunk by a German U-boat with the loss of 96 Americans.

Ref: 2

Oct 30

The Germans reach Sevastopol.

Ref: 36

Nov 10

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill promises to join the United States "within the hour" in the event of war with Japan.

Ref: 2

Nov 12

Germany's drive to take Moscow halted.

Ref: 5

Nov 13

In Canada, the M-1000 Committee for researching biological warfare discusses anthrax, plague, typhoid, and cholera as possible directions for offensive weapons. They even discuss the deasibility of dropping infected rats with parachutes on enemy territory.

Nov 13

A German U-boat, the U-81 torpedoes Great Britain's premier aircraft carrier, the HMS Ark Royal. The ship sinks the next day.

Ref: 2

Nov 16

Canada's Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles of Canada arrive in Hong Kong to aid in the defence of the island. RCN armed merchant cruiser Prince Robert escorted the troopship Awatea.

Nov 18

British troops open attack on Tobruk, North-Africa.

Ref: 26

Nov 20

The Germans take Rostov.

Ref: 36

Nov 23

U.S. troops move into Dutch Guiana to guard the bauxite mines.

Ref: 2

Nov 24

Theresienstadt Ghetto is established near Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Nazis will use it as a model ghetto for propaganda purposes.

Ref: 35

Nov 26

The Japanese fleet departs from the Kuril Islands en route to its attack on Pearl Harbor.

Ref: 2

Nov 27

Soviet troops retake Rostov.

Ref: 36

Nov 27

USSR begins a counter offensive causing Germany to retreat.

Ref: 5

Nov 27

Peruvian agent Rivera-Schreibér warns of Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor.

Ref: 5

Nov 28

The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise departs from Pearl Harbor to deliver F4F Wildcat fighters to Wake Island. This mission saves the carrier from destruction when the Japanese attack.

Ref: 2

The first Civil Air Patrol is organized in the United States.

Ref: 2

Great Britain declares a state of emergency in Malaya following reports of Japanese attacks.

Ref: 2

Japan's Tojo rejects U.S. proposals for a Pacific settlement as fantastic and unrealistic.

Ref: 2

British cruiser Devonshire sinks German sub Python.

Ref: 5

Japanese emperor Hirohito signs declaration of war.

Ref: 5

Dec 02

Yamamoto sends his fleet to Pearl Harbor.

Ref: 5

Dec 02

Naval Intelligence ceases bugging Japanese consul.

Ref: 5

Dec 03

Hitler views Poltava Ukraine.

Ref: 5

Dec 04

Operation Taifun (Typhoon), which was launched by the German armies on October 2, as a prelude to taking Moscow, is halted because of freezing temperatures and lack of serviceable aircraft.

Ref: 2

US aircraft carrier Lexington and five heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor.

Ref: 5

Russian anti offensive in Moscow drives out nazi army.

San Francisco Harbor defenses on full war alert. Troops were each issued 40 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

Ref: 37

Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

Ref: 10

Dec 06

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues a personal appeal to Emperor Hirohito to use his influence to avoid war.

Ref: 2

Dec 06

The Soviet Army launches a major counter-offensive around Moscow.

Ref: 36

Dec 06

Dutch & British pilots see Japanese invasion fleet at Singapore.

Ref: 5

RCN corvette Windflower collides with Dutch freighter Zypenberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and sinks, killing 23.

Japan attacks the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. The Japanese also attack the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai and Midway. Headquarters of US naval base in Hawaii sends message to Washington: AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR - THIS IS NO DRILL. (XDG, 12/7/2000)

Ref: 83

The garrison at Hong Kong is ordered to war stations.

Australian bombers land on Timor/Ambon.

Ref: 5

Futshida's air fleet passes coastline of Oahu.

Ref: 5

German siege of Tobruk after 8 months ends.

Ref: 5

Nacht & Nebel Erlass, resistance fighter sent to concentration camps.

Ref: 5

Iida Japanese pilot/lieutenant, dies in battle at 28.

Ref: 5

The House and Senate vote in favor of war against Japan with votes of 388-1 and 82-0, respectively. (USA Today, p 5A, 10/08/2002)

Ref: 13

Britain declares war on Japan.

Ref: 35

Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita begins his attack against the British army at Singapore.

Ref: 2

London: Dutch government declares Japan the war.

Ref: 5

Russian 16th army recaptures Krijukovo.

Ref: 5

China declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy.

Ref: 5

Hitler orders US ships torpedoed.

Ref: 5

Japanese capture the Shing Mun Redoubt in the Hong Kong New Territories.

Franklin D. Roosevelt tells Americans to plan for a long war.

Ref: 2

First US WWII bombing mission in the Far East, Luzon, Philippines.

Ref: 5

Citizen Register reports "Hostile planes reported nearing Westchester".

Ref: 5

Japanese forces capture Canadian merchant ship Shinai off North Borneo.

Japanese troops land on northern Luzon in the Philippines and also seize Guam.

Ref: 5

The siege of Tobruk in North Africa is raised.

Ref: 2

British battleship Prince of Wales sinks off Singapore.

Ref: 5

The House and Senate vote in favor of war against Germany with votes of 393-0 and 88-0, respectively. (USA Today, p 5A, 10/08/2002)

Ref: 13

The House and Senate vote in favor of war against Italy with votes of 399-0 and 90-0, respectively. (USA Today, p 5A, 10/08/2002)

Ref: 13

The "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers engages the Japanese in the Hong Kong New Territories, the first Canadians to fight in the war.

Japanese invade Burma.

Hitler declares war on the United States. Roosevelt then declares war on Germany saying, "Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and civilization." The U.S.A. then enters the war in Europe and will concentrate nearly 90 percent of its military resources to defeat Hitler.

Ref: 35

Japanese occupy Guam.

Ref: 5

Dutch government in London declares war on Italy.

Ref: 5

Japanese attack Wake Island (only failed WWII-landing).

Ref: 5

Axis Sally makes her first broadcast. Ref

Italy declares war on the US.

Ref: 5

Dec 12

Russian 20th army recaptures Soljetsjnogorsk.

Ref: 5

Dec 12

European reservists on Java mobilize.

Ref: 4

British forces launch an offensive in Libya.

Ref: 2

Lawine battlers destroy Haaraz, Peru; about 3,000 die.

Ref: 5

German occupiers forbid National Front & Netherlands Union.

Ref: 5

U-81 torpedoes British aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

Ref: 5

A Japanese demand for the surrender of Hong Kong is rejected.

U-557 torpedoes British cruiser Galatea.

Ref: 5

German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel orders the construction of defensive positions along the European coastline.

Ref: 2

Premier Winston Churchill travels to US on board HMS Duke of York.

Ref: 5

Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling meets with Adolf Hitler in Germany. He suggests Germany launch a pre-enptive strike on Norway. Quisling says he would take control of the Norwegian government through a coup; Hitler's headquarters issues a directive to start planning an assault on Denmark and Norway.

USS Swordfish becomes 1st US sub to sink a Japanese ship.

Ref: 5

Gas/electrical use restricted in Holland.

Ref: 5

German submarine U-127 sinks.

Ref: 5

Nazi's transfers 100 Czechoslovakian citizens/Heinrich Himmler falls faint.

Ref: 5

North Africa: allied assault up Italians Gazala-posing.

Ref: 5

Dec 16

Rommel begins a retreat to El Agheila in North Africa.

Ref: 36

Dec 16

Japanese invade British Borneo.

Dec 16

Sarawak occupied by the Japanese

Ref: 5

German troops led by Rommel begin retreating in North Africa.

Ref: 5

German submarine U-31 sunk.

Ref: 5

The Japanese again demand the surrender of Hong Kong. It is refused.

Dutch & Australian troops land on Portuguese-Timor.

Ref: 5

Dec 18

Japanese forces begin the invasion of Hong Kong Island, crossing the strait of Lye Mun Passage.

Ref: 5

Dec 18

German submarine U-434 sinks.

Ref: 5

Dec 18

Defended by 610 fighting men, the American-held island of Guam falls to more than 5,000 Japanese invaders in a three-hour battle.

Ref: 5

Japanese land on Hong Kong and clash with British troops.

Ref: 2

US Office of Censorship created to control info pertaining to WWII.

Ref: 5

German submarine U-574 sinks.

Ref: 5

Hitler takes complete command of the German Army.

Ref: 36

L M Dovator Russian general, dies in battle.

Ref: 5

Dec 20

The Flying Tigers, American pilots in China, enter combat against the Japanese over Kunming.

Ref: 2

Dec 20

Free France under Admiral Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquélon.

Ref: 5

Dec 20

Japanese troops lands on Mindanao.

Ref: 5

Dec 21

German submarine U-567 sinks.

Ref: 5

Japanese troops make an amphibious landing on the coast of Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, the Philippines.

Ref: 2

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime conference with President Roosevelt.

Ref: 5

One company of the Grenadiers near the Wong Nei Chong Gap (near Hong Kong) surrenders to the Japanese after holding their position for three days.

Tito establishes first Proletarian Brigade in Yugoslavia.

Ref: 5

Japanese conquer Wake Island after 15 day battle against 400 U.S. Marines.

Ref: 10

The Royal Rifles on Hong Kong Island are ordered to withdraw to Stanley Peninsula (near Hong Kong).

British troops overrun Benghazi Libya.

Ref: 5

Japan begins assault on Rangoon Burma.

Ref: 5

Despite throwing back an earlier Japanese amphibious assault, the U.S. Marines and Navy defenders on Wake Island capitulate to a second Japanese invasion.

Ref: 2