The Greek II Army Corps broke into Albania. Greek forces advancing along the coastal road occupy the Italian’s southernmost Albanian sea base at Santi Quaranta. The Italians evacuate Argyrokastra. In Greece, the Greek advance grinds forward on 5 December 1940. Greek I Corps captures Delvinë. Greek II Corps also advances. The Greeks advance on Argyrocastro and take heights near Librohovo, six miles southeast of the town. The Greek air force attacks Italian communications.
The British hand over a dozen Gloster Gladiator biplanes to the Greek air force.
A German proposal to end the Italo-Greek war was reported in Budapest tonight to have been delivered by Turkish Foreign Minister Shukru Saracoglu to Greek Premier General John Metaxas at a secret meeting in Salonika, Greece, today. The peace formula, supposedly offering German mediation and certain concessions to Greece which has expelled the Italian invaders from its soil, was said to have been handed to Saracoglu in Ankara several days ago by Col. Franz von Papen, German ambassador to Turkey. Greek and Turkish political sources did not confirm this report, but on the other hand did not deny it. It was pointed out Germany and Greece continued to maintain relations with each other.
Italy’s farm production is not yet meeting the Nazis’ needs, it was disclosed today, and thus she has agreed to accept German help in attempting to increase her agricultural yields. The agreement was announced through Stefani, the official Italian news agency. (Italy recently instituted rationing of spaghetti, rice and flour for her own people.) Italian growers, it was stated, will be assured good prices “stabilized as much as possible” by “elimination of the speculative influence on the world market.” Whether this means that the Italian government must act as a direct buyer of foodstuffs, selling them to its axis partner was not made clear, but to foreign observers some such step seemed to be in view.
Louis Rougier, Marshal Petain’s unofficial representative to Great Britain, sends Prime Minister Winston Churchill a letter. It clarifies Petain’s intentions regarding participation in the war. Specifically, Petain promises not to make a separate peace with Germany — a hollow assurance given the current state of relations between Vichy France and Germany. He also promises not to allow Germany to occupy French colonies in North Africa, nor allow it possession of the French fleet. In addition, Petain promises not to contest Charles de Gaulle’s occupation of Gabon. Basically, the promises are simply rehashes of old promises or meaningless gestures, and some of them will be broken before the war is over while others will be kept.
Scottish Independent Labour Party politician John McGovern’s peace amendment was rejected by the British House of Commons, 341 votes against the amendment to 4 votes in favor. In a very rare gesture toward peace, the House of Commons of Parliament votes on a peace amendment offered by John McGovern of the Scottish Independent Labour Party. The measure fails, 341-4. There always is a peace faction England, though it makes little noise outside of times like this.
Battleship Bismarck completed her trials in the Baltic Sea and set sail for Hamburg, Germany.
The German ambassador in Madrid telegrams Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and tells him that the Spanish have agreed to allow German tankers to anchor in small bays. These can be used to refuel U-boats and raiders. The scheme depends upon the British not finding out. This is another of the Spaniard’s small gestures toward the Germans while also cultivating friendly relations with the British.
At Malta, the local government puts out an appeal for donations to fund Christmas parties for refugees. There are literally thousands of refugees housed in various villages throughout the island.
Hitler received the military plans for an invasion of the USSR. After a four-hour meeting he approves the plans of Halder and Brauchitsch. Colonel General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff, and Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and proposed a timetable for invasion in May of the following year. Hitler meets with his two army chiefs, Halder and von Brauchitsch. They discuss the plans for Operation BARBAROSSA, which Hitler approves and following which he begins preparing a Führer Directive. The operational plan at this time, which eventually will be called Operation BARBAROSSA, for now, is called Operation OTTO. The Germans have a tendency to re-use code names, and OTTO is named after the crown prince of Austria-Hungary at the time, Otto von Habsburg. It previously was used to refer to the Anschluss with Austria in 1938.
The plan at this stage envisions three axes of invasion in the north, center, and south of the Soviet border. The strength of each prong will remain a subject of much deliberation and disagreement over the coming months — some of the Generals prefer maximum effort in the direction of Moscow, while Hitler sees the taking of the Soviet capital as essentially pointless. The tentative timing for the invasion is May 1941.
Another topic broached at the meeting is Operation FELIX. Hitler is trying to convince Franco to allow the passage of German troops, but the Spaniards do not want to alienate the British. Hitler tentatively sets 10 January as the date for the Wehrmacht to cross the border and 4/5 February for Operation FELIX itself. Everything, however, depends upon Franco’s assent — though some in the German High Command, such as Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, think that the Wehrmacht should cross the border regardless of what Franco allows.
The Luftwaffe sends some fighter-bombers across during the day which drop bombs in scattered areas of East Kent. After dark, the Luftwaffe sends small raids against London and points along the south coast.
Adolf Galland of JG 26 gets his 57th victory claim. He now has surpassed both Werner Molders and the now-deceased Helmut Wick. Galland is the leading ace of the war. Molders, however, remain active and could regain the lead.
The RAF makes plans to open ten new airfields by Spring. They will house ten fighter squadrons, ten medium bomber squadrons, and two heavy bomber squadrons.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 5 Blenheims during the day to Lorient and Caen airfield abandoned the flight. During the day, RAF Bomber Command raids Düsseldorf and Turin.
Coastal Command attacks Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Lorient, and Haamstede.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 5 Whitleys overnight to Gelsenkirchen; only 1 bombed; no losses.
The first flight of the second prototype of the Hawker Tornado, P5224, takes place 14 months after that of the first prototype. Its armament has been significantly upgraded to four 20 mm Hispano cannon and it now is powered by a Vulture II engine. The flight is a success, but problems will continue to plague the plane’s development, primarily relating to the Vulture engine.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 enters production. This is a much improved MiG-1. It reaches 640 km/h at 7,800 meters.
Italian submarine Argo sank British steamer Silverpine (5066grt), a straggler from convoy OB.252, in 54 14N, 18 08W. Thirty-six crewmen were lost from the British steamer.
Destroyer HMS Cameron (ex-USS Welles) capsized in a Portsmouth drydock during German bombing attack. Fourteen ratings were killed in the destroyer. HMS Cameron was eventually refloated on 23 February 1941 and allocated for use as a hulk. The Royal Navy conducted shock tests on the hulk between July 1942 and September 1943. She was paid off on 5 October 1943. Cameron remained in dockyard hands at Portsmouth until towed to Falmouth in November 1944, where she was subsequently broken up for scrap.
Destroyers HMS Douglas, HMS Keppel, HMS Bath, and HMS St Albans departed Loch Alsh at 1530 escorting minelayers HMS Southern Prince (Rear Admiral Minelaying), HMS Menestheus, HMS Port Quebec, and HMS Agamemnon for minelaying mission SN.10 A. Battlecruiser HMS Repulse with destroyers HMS Somali, HMS Mashona, HMS Eskimo, and HMS Bedouin departed Scapa Flow at 1730 to cover this operation. The minelaying was conducted during the night of 7/8 December.
Destroyers HMS Escapade, HMS Sikh, HMS Brilliant, and HMS Beagle departed Scapa Flow at 0830 escorting Battleship HMS Rodney as far as 66-00N, 25-00W on passage to cover an Atlantic convoy.
Polish destroyer ORP Piorun and Destroyer HMS Vimy departed Scapa Flow at 1800 to rendezvous with armed merchant cruisers HMS Letitia and HMS Wolfe and auxiliary minelayer HMS Manchester City at 0900/7th in 61-00N, 15-00W. The ships were met and safely arrived in the Clyde.
Submarine HMS Sunfish sank Finnish steamer Oscar Midling (2182grt) off Stadlandet in 62-03N, 5-06E. There were no survivors from the Finnish steamer.
A severe storm hits the Irish Sea and sinks several ships before it is over.
British 632-ton collier Amlwch Rose gets caught in a storm after departing Liverpool for Dublin. It sinks in Liverpool Bay.
British 360-ton collie Privet also sinks in the rough weather in Liverpool Bay. All nine aboard perish.
Seaplane tender USS George E. Badger also gets caught in rough weather on the other side of the Atlantic and runs aground off Hamilton, Bermuda. However, luckily there is no damage, and the ship later floats off.
German freighter Klaus Schoke, seized by HMS California off the Azores and under tow to Gibraltar, sinks. The German ship’s crew had tried to scuttle her, but only partially succeeded — at first.
British steamer Waterland (1107grt) at Dover was damaged by German shore guns.
Motor torpedo boats MTB.32 (SO), MTB.29, MTB.31 attacked German shipping off Flushing. German steamer Paranagua (6062grt) was sunk in the attack.
German battleship Bismarck completes her sea trials in the Baltic Sea and heads for Hamburg.
Italian torpedo boat Calipso was sunk on a mine east of Tripoli, laid by Submarine HMS Rorqual on 5 November.
Light cruiser HMS Sheffield departed Gibraltar for Azores patrol.
Torpedoed several days ago, destroyer HMCS Saguenay makes it to port. It is the first Canadian naval casualty of the war.
German raider Thor and armed merchant cruiser HMS Carnarvon Castle engaged southeast of Rio de Janiero in 31 00S, 43 15W. The armed merchant cruiser was badly damaged and six ratings were killed. A/Cdr E. A. E. McGlashan, T/Lt P. N. Illingworth RNR, T/Lt (E) J. F. Bell RNR, seventeen ratings were wounded. Heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland and light cruisers HMS Enterprise and HMS Newcastle searched for the German merchant cruiser on the 7th, but no contact was made. The ships are armed reasonably evenly, both with 15 cm (5.91 inch) guns, but the British ship has eight of those guns to Thor’s four. Thus, in theory, the Carnarvon Castle should have the advantage. However, German Kapitän zur See (Captain) Otto Kähler displays superior tactics and his gunners better accuracy. Kähler induces the Royal Navy ship to give chase — putting its rear guns out of action and evening the combat scales. Thor’s gunners then score 27 hits on its pursuer, badly damaging the Carnarvon Castle and forcing it to withdraw to Montevideo, Uruguay. Thor, undamaged, then proceeds to a rendezvous with cruiser Admiral Scheer, while the Royal Navy sends other ships fruitlessly to search the vast ocean for it.
Convoy AN.9 with troopship Ulster Prince and oiler RFA Brambleleaf departed Port Said, escorted by HMAS Voyager and HMAS Vendetta. The convoy arrived at Piraeus on the 7th.
American officials appeared tonight to be giving little consideration to the idea of convoying British merchant ships across the Atlantic or allowing American vessels to take supplies to Great Britain. Despite concern over recent British shipping losses and a desire to extend further measures of assistance, it was indicated that the administration was reluctant at this time to take such steps as these. Growing discussion of these possibilities in unofficial quarters, however, raised the prospect that they might take shape later as important issues in congress or the administration.
High official pronouncements that England is a “good risk” for loans were directly and hotly disputed in the senate today by Senator Taft, Ohio Republican, who called such statements “nonsense,” and by Senator Clark, Missouri Democrat, who said he was “very much startled.” Meanwhile, Sir Frederick Phillips, undersecretary of the British treasury, was in Washington to detail his government’s financial position to authorities here. He is scheduled to confer with Secretary Morgenthau tomorrow. Morgenthau today repeated the “good risk” statement, made originally by Secretary Jones, the federal loan administrator, yesterday. The Johnson Act prohibits private lending to any nation in default of its Great War debt — such as Great Britain.
President Roosevelt, touring the Caribbean with Harry Hopkins on the USS Tuscaloosa, also is thinking about the same general topic, but his solution isn’t a loan — it is what will come to be called Lend-lease. Today Roosevelt tours defenses on the island of Jamaica.
President Roosevelt stated today that he would seek the earliest possible Senate approval of a treaty with Canada for completion of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway and power project as a means of speeding up defense production and of creating a safe haven for the construction of ships in the event of war.
Rising costs of labor and materials will increase the nation’s defense bill for the fiscal year 1941 by an amount estimated in Congress at $2,250,000,000 to $2,500,000,000, it was stated today in an authoritative source.
Agriculture Department economists estimate that the national defense program as now projected will involve an expenditure of about $35,000,000,000 in the next five years, with a peak outlay of $9,000,000,000 in 1942.
Edward F. McGrady, former assistant secretary of labor and ace conciliator, today was named special consultant to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson In a move regarded as a major step toward elimination of strife in defense work. The appointment was believed a direct outgrowth of the strike which tied up the Vultee aircraft plant at Downey, California, for two weeks and delayed production of army and navy planes. That controversy aroused widespread resentment and resulted in several congressional proposals to restrict union activities in defense industries. McGrady is vice-president of the Radio Corporation of America in charge of labor relations. He gained widespread fame while serving in the “little cabinet” from 1934 to 1937 through his remarkable success in mediating labor disputes throughout the country.
The Justice Department and the Dies committee, which have been critical of each other in the recent past, got together today for an exposure of Nazi and Fascist propaganda in the mails.
An eyewitness told a coroner’s jury today that “icing conditions” prevailed at the time of a United Airlines plane crash that resulted in eight deaths. While the witness, Policeman Thomas F. O’Hara, was relating his account of last night’s tragedy, eight survivors were being treated in hospitals. The pretty stewardess, Florence M. Little of Chicago, was reported to be in a “very critical” state. O’Hara, testifying at the inquest before a jury composed of six aviation experts, said he was in the radio control tower of the Chicago municipal airport, approximately two blocks from the vacant lot where the Mainliner fell, at 5:48 p.m. He reported that he saw the plane approaching the runway for a landing at what he judged was a normal altitude of about 150 feet. “It seemed to make a left turn with the nose down and got into the ground,” he added. “There was a flash as the ship fell.” He figured that the “flash” occurred when the liner struck electric power lines.
The Seattle Daily Times, in its 5 December 1940 edition, reports ominously that the German consul general posted to San Francisco, Fritz Wiedemann, had been seen visiting Seattle without informing the newspaper. Wiedemann apparently was in town to meet some local German-Americans at their weekly roundtable at the Maison Blanc, but the newspaper implies that there is something more to the visit. The paper reports that Wiedmann has a reputation at this time of being “tight” with Hitler because he supposedly saved Hitler’s life during the 1939 bombing of the Brown House. Thus, his whereabouts are a matter of national security.
The legend about Wiedemann saving Hitler’s life appears to be apocryphal. Hitler survived the 1939 bombing because he had left the building before the bomb went off. It is not inconceivable that Wiedemann himself spreads these tales far from Berlin, where there is nobody who knows better.
The paper also reports more generally that the Pacific Northwest is a hotbed of spy activity due to Boeing’s bomber plants in the Seattle area. In fact, the Germans have very little interest in the US West Coast and they — or at least Foreign Minister Ribbentrop — consider the San Francisco post to be the ultimate diplomatic backwater, a place to send people they want to get out of the way. While Wiedemann does know Hitler, he by no means is within his inner circle.
That said, there actually is a growing German presence on the West Coast at this time. However, it is not in the Pacific Northwest, but just outside Los Angeles. The Murphy Ranch is an isolated, self-contained compound with its own water storage tank and energy production. The premises survive into the 21st Century, though gradually demolished by its current owner, the City of Los Angeles.
Admiral Leahy takes oath of office as Ambassador to Vichy France (see 23 December).
Construction begins on the 20-mile U.S. Army Railway serving Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, which includes a major trestle that can still be visited. This is part of a major national defensive initiative to build up military infrastructure.
Seaplane tender (destroyer) George E. Badger (AVD-3) runs aground in high winds off Hamilton, Bermuda, but is refloated without damage.
The fantasy film “The Thief of Bagdad” is released and opens at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The Zane Grey thriller “West of the Badlands” also opens today.
The 1941 NFL draft was held, with the Chicago Bears selecting Tom Harmon from the University of Michigan as the number one overall pick.
The Royal Navy commissions four former US Navy destroyers acquired in November at Halifax during the destroyers-for-bases deal:
— USS Ringgold (DD-89) becomes HMS Newark (G 08)
— USS Sigourney (DD-81) becomes HMS Newport (G 54)
— USS Tillman (DD-135) becomes HMS Wells (I 95)
— USS Robinson (DD-88), becomes HMS Newmarket (G 47)
Additional Canadian escorts are needed to help fill the gaps in escort coverage in the Atlantic now that U-boats are based in France and are roaming further and further west.
A decision to make a $50,000,000 loan to Argentina for the purpose of stabilizing her currency was announced today by Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., the action being the outcome of negotiations with an Argentine financial mission that has been here for nearly a month.
The British release from prison Indian Nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose after a hunger strike. They will continue to keep Bose under house arrest.
Soviet Russia has advised Tokyo that her “policy with regard to China” remains unchanged by Japanese recognition of Wang Chinb-wei’s Nanking regime as the Chinese “Na tional Government,” Tass, official news agency, reported today.
The Hundred Regiments Offensive ended in Chinese (Communists) victory. They have captured much ground, but also taken heavy casualties.
Japan appears to have lost control of large areas of northern China following a three-month offensive by Chinese Communist troops of the Eight Route Army to disrupt Japanese installations in the region. Within the last few days there have been signs that the exhausted Communists are winding down the operation, known as the Hundred Regiments campaign, in the belief it has achieved its political aim of disrupting talks between Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalists and Japan. According to Communist claims, the campaign, which has seen Chinese troops abandon hit and run tactics for outright confrontation, has achieved all its military aims; attacks on Japanese outposts have forced the enemy to retreat into large enclaves; and those positions still held by the Japanese have been so severely damaged that it will be at least six months before most major installations are operative again. Among the most heavily damaged are the Peking-Hankow railway, cut in 86 places, and the Anshan steel mills in Manchukuo. According to Communist estimates, Japan’s North China Army has lost at least five battalions. However, internal critics fear that the extravagant use of manpower — with the Chinese outnumbering the enemy by ten to one — is too expensive with Communist casualties of 22,000.
The Japanese army’s paper, Sin, Shun Pao, today demanded that Japan deliver the United States ” smashing blow” and extinguish her as a supporter of China’s Chung king regime. The newspaper said the United States was obstructing world peace because it is aiding Britain agalnst Germany and Chungking against Japan.
The 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) arrives at Nichols Field, Luzon, from Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, Michigan. It does not yet have its fighters and begins practicing with Boeing P-26 Peashooters. Even when they get their “real” aircraft, Seversky P-35s, they will be flying obsolete planes.
Australian 1052 ton freighter Nimbin hits a mine and sinks off Norah Head, New South Wales. There are seven deaths and 13 survivors. The mine was laid by the German raider Pinguin in November. This is the first Australian registered merchant ship sunk. Fortunately for the survivors, the ship is carrying a cargo of plywood bundles that float and provide a means to survive until rescued by SS Bonalbo a few hours later. Captain Bryanston goes down with the ship.
New Zealand Division light cruiser HMS Achilles met British troopship Dominion Monarch (27, 155grt) in the Tasman Sea and escorted her to Wellington arriving on the 7th.
German steamer Augsburg (6512grt) at Dairen was sold to Japan and renamed Teiryu Maru.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 129.96 (-0.79)
Born:
Peter Pohl, German-born Swedish author and short film director and screenwriter, in Hamburg, Germany.
John Papa, MLB pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Adrian Street, Welsh professional wrestler (All-Star Wrestling, ITV’s World of Sport), in Brynmawr, Wales, United Kingdom (d. 2023).
Died:
Mordechai Frizis, Jewish Greek Hellenic Army officer, who fought in World War I, distinguished himself in World War II, and was killed this day, fighting against the Julia Division.
Jan Kubelík, 60, Czech violinist and composer.
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy Aloe-class net layer USS Buckthorn (YN-9; later AN-14) is laid down by the General Engineering & Drydock Co. (Alameda, California).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) submarine U-109 is commissioned. Her first commander is Korvettenkapitän Hans-Georg Fischer.
History Diaries 