Italy’s ill-starred war against Greece has cost the Fascists 45,000 men in wounded alone since the campaign began October 28, captured Italian officers estimated tonight, as the Greeks thrust ahead through mud and snow north and northwest of Chimara, Albania. The officers, talking to correspondents at the front, made no estimate of the Italian dead, but said the toll was extremely high. One Blackshirt major reported his battalion lost one-third of its men in two weeks and received no reinforcements. Others made similar statements. Italian prisoners arriving in loannina, Greece, from the front were described as being in a pitiful state, many of them barely able to walk as the result of illness, frostbite or hunger. One captured officer said his men, surrounded in the Chimara region, were almost without food, even bread being scarce.
Greek troops launch a fresh offensive north of Pogradec, but start to find that Italian resistance is stronger. Greek I Corps throw an attack at the Italians defending Leskoviki in southern Albania on 26 December 1940. The Italians give ground along the line of the Chimara River.
Activity is light in North Africa as the British bring up Australian troops for the next phase of operations.
Three divisions of German troops numbering from 45,000 to 50,000 men have moved into Italy aboard special trains across the Alpine border between Austria and Italy, it was reported tonight in a usually well-informed quarter. (Previous reports of the dispatch of Nazi troops to Italy have been denied in both Berlin and Rome.) The three divisions, including crack Alpine troops and mechanized forces, were believed en route to the Albanian battle-fronts in an effort to rescue the Italian army. There was no confirmation. The German troops were said to have reached Italian territory Sunday, Monday and Tuesday aboard trains traveling across the Brenner pass favorite meeting place of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and Tarvisia pass. Tarvisia pass is eastward of Brenner, close by the Yugoslav border. The three divisions were reported to include two mechanized and one infantry division consisting of Alpine troops. The force was described here as comprising the first “mass transportation” of German troops to Italy although small groups of Nazi military technicians have been arriving in Italy during the past two months.
Hitler winds up his meandering journeys along the French coast. Having spent the night in his train parked within a tunnel near Metz, he visits the city and spends some time with the SS based there. After lunch, he re-boards the train and proceeds to Sarrebourg, then back to Germany.
Churchill to Minister of Supply: The discrepancy between weapons and ammunition is terrible in the case of the anti-tank rifles, 2-inch and 3-inch mortars. We have A.T. rifles to equip 23.5 divisions, but only enough ammunition at 32,000 rounds per month to equip 5.5 . We have enough 2-inch mortars at 108 per division to equip 33 divisions, but ammunition at 32,400 rounds per month suffices only for 4.5 divisions. The worst of all is the 3-inch mortar, where, oddly enough, we have at 18 per division enough to equip nearly 40 divisions, but at 14,000 rounds per month only enough ammunition for 1.5 divisions..
Churchill to First Sea Lord: “Greater effort should be made to interrupt the ore traffic through the (Norwegian) Leads…Now that we have not to give notice, and can lay secretly anywhere, conditions are more favorable for mining the Norwegian coast than last year.”
Britain doubled the number of her guards along the misty channel coast today and men patrolled every beach against the possibility of a German attempt at invasion. Fears that the two-day Christmas holiday from death had been used by the Nazis to cloak preparations for such a spring across the channel were expressed by unofficial but well-informed quarters.
The British Admiralty tonight announced the appointment of Vice-Admiral John H. D. Cunningham as a lord commissioner (executive officer) of the admiralty and chief of supplies and transport, effective April 1. Cunningham, who now holds a sea appointment, will succeed Vice-Admiral Geoffrey S. Arbuthnot, who will go to the East Indies as commander in chief In May, replacing Vice-Admiral Ralph Leatham.
Captain David Margesson is sworn in as the new Secretary of State for War, succeeding Anthony Eden.
The German cargo ship Baden was scuttled 500 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain when it was intercepted by the British light cruiser HMS Bonaventure.
Concentration of Soviet Russian forces along the Rumanian frontier was reported underway today as Germany poured the initial units of 300,000 fresh troops into Rumania and ordered a speedup in the Balkan kingdom’s production of war materials. A spurt of diplomatic activity in southeastern European capitals accompanied this military activity, believed by some observers to presage a possible showdown between powers with conflicting interests in the Balkans. The Russian concentrations were reported along the Prut river, which became the dividing line between Rumania and the Soviet Union after Moscow obtained Bessarabia and northern Bucovina from the Bucharest government by ultimatum last June 27.
In a show of defiance at Hitler, the Bulgarian assembly fails to pass a resolution asking King Boris to join the Tripartite Pact.
There is a revolt against Italian rule in Southern Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
An unofficial two-day Christmas truce in the aerial war between Great Britain and Germany was ended by a raid of a Luftwaffe lone bomber over mouth of River Thames. After a lull for Christmas, bombing resumes during the day. RAF Bomber Command launches day raids on Brittany airfields and shipping at Le Treport. It sends a night raid against Bordeaux. With all this recent attention being paid to the French coast, it is tempting to assume that the British know of Hitler’s visit (see below) and aim to make things a bit hotter for him. The Luftwaffe sends one bomber on a raid against the Isle of Sheppey (in the Thames Estuary) during the day, but stays on the ground after dark.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 6 Hampdens overnight to aircraft factory at Bordeaux; 3 aircraft bombed and hits were seen on the airfield nearby. No losses.
The U-95, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Gerd Schreiber, badly damaged British 12,823-ton refrigerated cargo ship Waiotira (12,823grt) in 58‑06N, 17‑10W. At 2003 hours the unescorted Waiotira (Master Arthur V. Richardson) was hit in the bow by one torpedo from U-95 (Schreiber) when steaming at about 16 knots 124 miles west by north of Rockall in 58°05N/17°10W. The ship was missed by a second torpedo at 2007 hours, but hit aft by a third torpedo at 2018 hours. The U-boat then left the area because three destroyers had been spotted during the attack. The damaged steamer Waiotira was sunk by U-38 the very next day. One crewman was lost on the steamer. Eighty nine survivors were picked up by destroyer HMS Mashona. The destroyer arrived in the Clyde with the survivors at 0900/28th. Destroyer Mashona went on to Scapa Flow arriving at 1645/29th.
Italian submarine Calvi attacked a British steamer in 55N, 19W and claimed sinking her, but no confirmation is available.
Light cruiser HMS Manchester departed Scapa Flow to rendezvous with light cruiser HMS Nigeria to operate in support of armed merchant cruisers HMS Letitia and HMS Chitral in the Denmark Strait.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa departed Rosyth after boiler cleaning and escorted convoy EN.47 to Pentland Firth. The cruiser arrived at Scapa Flow at 2300/27th.
Destroyers HMS Southdown and HMS Tynedale departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for the Tyne to escort light cruiser HMS Mauritius to Pentland Firth.
Destroyers HMS Leamington and HMS Churchill departed Scapa Flow at 1300 to meet armed merchant cruisers HMS Wolfe and HMS Cilicia in 63-50N, 24-40W and escort them to the North Minches. The destroyers arrived at Scapa Flow on the 30th.
Sloop HMS Pelican collided with anti-submarine trawler HMS Cape Portland (497grt) near Newarp Light Vessel. The sloop was able to continue with her duties, but was later repaired at London completing in January.
Motor attendant craft MAC 5 (A/T/Lt Cdr F. L. Laloe RNR) was sunk on a mine northeast of Gunfleet. Laloe, Sub Lt W. A. Edmenson RNVR, three ratings were killed in the craft.
British drifter True Accord (92grt, T/Skipper R- H. Alexander RNR) was sunk in a collision with armed trawler HMS Saronta (316grt) at Yarmouth.
Ocean boarding vessel HMS Maron intercepted French trawler Joseph Duhamel (928grt), which was en route from Port St Pierre to Casablanca, in 34‑30N, 15‑22W. The trawler was taken to Gibraltar.
Australian destroyer HMAS Waterhen captured Italian schooner Tireremo Diritto, which was attempting to enter Bardia with supplies and mail from Tobruk. After taking off the crew, the destroyer scuttled the schooner.
German steamer Baden (8803grt) had departed Teneriffe during the night of 15/16 December to return to Germany. British light cruiser HMS Bonaventure intercepted the German ship Baden in 44‑00N, 25‑07W, 500 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain. Baden’s crew abandoned the ship after setting scuttling charges to prevent capture; HMS Bonaventure then sank Baden with one torpedo.
Heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire arrived at Simonstown.
Convoy OB.265 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyer HMS Viscount and corvettes HMS Gentian and HMS Rhododendron. Destroyer Viscount was detached on the 28th. On the 29th destroyers HMS Vanquisher, HMS Whitehall, and HMS Winchelsea joined the escort. On the 30th, the escort was detached.
Convoy HX.99 departed Halifax at 1300, escorted by destroyer HMCS Columbia and auxiliary patrol boat HMCS Otter. Ocean escort was Armed merchant cruiser HMS Alaunia and submarine HMS Porpoise. The submarine was detached on 5 January and the armed merchant cruiser on 6 January. On 7 January, destroyer HMS Shikari and corvettes HMS Anemone and HMS La Malouine joined. ON 8 January, destroyer HMS Sardonyx and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Lady Elsa and HMS Derby County joined. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 11 January.
Convoy AN.11 of eleven steamers, four British, departed Port Said, escorted by corvettes HMS Peony, HMS Salvia, and HMS Hyacinth. Anti-aircraft ship HMS Calcutta departed Alexandria on the 27th to provide support. The convoy arrived at Suda Bay on the 28th. On the 29th, Greek destroyers took over the escort of the convoyand arrived at Piraeus on the 30th. On the 30th anti-aircraft ship Calcutta and corvettes Peony, Hyacinth, and Salvia departed Suda Bay to return to Alexandria, arriving on the 31st.
Convoy BN.11A departed Port Sudan, escorted by sloop HMS Yarra. The convoy arrived at Suez on the 28th.
President Roosevelt limited his appointments and began work on the radio address he will give Sunday night. The White House announced that it would be specific on the subject of aid to Great Britain. The President sent to the Senate the renomination of Edward P. Warner to the Civil Aeronautics Board.
The Senate convened but transacted no business and recessed at 12:04 PM until noon Monday.
The House heard Representative Woodruff of Michigan assert that seizure by the United States of belligerent ships in United States ports would be an act of war, and adjourned at 12:10 PM until noon Monday.
President Roosevelt in his fireside chat Sunday night plans to call for the fullest possible aid to Great Britain in the face of threats by an official German spokesman that certain forms of expanded American assistance to Britain would be regarded by Germany as “warlike” action. This was indicated today when Stephen Early, a White House Secretary, was asked whether the President would reply to Nazi threats and charges and replied that Mr. Roosevelt would be “very clear and specific” in discussing British aid. In some quarters this was interpreted as meaning that the President would outline the form this aid would take. Simultaneously, the White House made public a telegram signed by 170 Americans prominent in many walks of life pledging “unqualified support” for the Chief Executive’s plan of lending armaments to Great Britain, and urging America to “do everything that may be necessary to insure the defeat of the Axis powers.”
The message asked the President to clarify the “nature of the conflict” which menaced civilization, and to inform the people “clearly and boldly” on the possibilities and consequences of a defeat of Great Britain. Whether the President during his radio talk would reveal a decision about the possible seizure of foreign ships in American ports in order to permit the British to use them to replace ships lost in sea warfare was a matter of speculation in many circles here today. It was asserted in official circles that the matter had cleared the legal and financial hurdles and that only a decision on policy by the State Department and the President remained to be made. Legal opinion was said to be to the effect that if the United States seized the ships of small nations occupied by Germany, such as Denmark, it must also seize the German and Italian ships in American ports. A Nazi Foreign Office spokesman asserted on December 21 that transfer of German and Italian ships in American ports to Great Britain would constitute “a warlike act.”
The U.S. Coast Guard announced in San Francisco today that a boatload of coast guardsmen, missing since early Wednesday morning in terrific seas, has been rescued. Two of the ten were said to be injured. The message was radioed to guard headquarters here from the cutter Shawnee. “Found Arena Cove lifeboat and surfboat four miles west of Fort Bragg, under sail, fuel exhausted,” the Shawnee message said. “Two men injured. Have taken in tow.” The Pacific Coast has been battered by a series of ferocious storms for the last week.
British talks begun by the late Marquess of Lothian with Secretary of State Hull on mutual defense problems in the Pacific will be carried on for some time by the Australian minister, Richard G. Casey, it was indicated tonight. Casey’s past participation in many of these informal conversations, informed sources said, made him a link for maintaining their continuity without serious interruption by the death of Lord Lothian, British ambassador. The new British envoy, Lord Halifax, will come to the United States early in the New Year with an intimate knowledge of the talks gained from Lord Lothian’s reports to him as foreign secretary.
Verne Marshall, chairman of the No Foreign War committee, announced yesterday that Mrs. Helen Dortch Longstreet, widow of the noted Civil war general, had become a member of the organization’s board of directors. Mrs. Longstreet, in a statement, asserted that no combination of powers could “successfully attack” the United States if its national defenses were adequately built up “on land, sea and in the air.”
The stage comedy production “My Sister Eileen” by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov premiered at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City.
The motion picture “The Philadelphia Story” opens at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by George Cukor, this romantic comedy based on a Philip Barry play stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey.
Patrol vessel HMCS Reindeer arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia from Sydney Force.
At least 10 persons were killed and 150 injured late this afternoon when a small tornado, accompanied by slashing rain, cut a swath through the town of Bejucal, Cuba, about twenty miles south of Havana.
The crew of Admiral Scheer has a happy rendezvous with German raider Thor shortly after breakfast. It takes place several hundred miles west of St. Helena in the mid-Atlantic at point “Andalusien” 15°S 18°W. It is a very merry gathering for the Kriegsmarine, with half the British fleet out looking for the German ships to no avail. Thor is operating as Yugoslav freighter “Vir” since its victory over British armed merchant cruiser Carnarvon Castle on 5 December. The Scheer has the captured refrigerator ship Duquesa nearby, stocked with huge quantities of eggs and fresh meat. This stockpile makes meals during this voyage a great pleasure for the men of the Scheer and, now, the Thor. Tanker Eurofeld also joins the party at some point, which apparently lasts for several days.
There is some disagreement in the sources about exactly which ships show appear which dates for this meeting with Admiral Scheer. However, there is no question that Admiral Scheer, the Thor, the Duquesa, the Nordmark, and the Eurofeld are all present at some point, and all present together at some point. Some sources confuse this meeting with another meeting involving German raider Pinguin and its captured Norwegian whaling fleet, but that takes place in early 1941 (though already on this date the Pinguin’s crew is plotting their interception of those ships).
Sharp hostilities along the frontier of Thailand (Siam) and Indo-China marked the Christmas period of Southeast Asia’s undeclared war. The fighting was the heaviest in the past fortnight, French sources said today. Batteries on opposite banks of the Mekong river in the vicinity of Thakhek staged an artillery duel, they said. Thai gendarmes then made a raid on the French-controlled Mekong islands. Indo-Chinese artillery retaliated by shelling the gendarmes headquarters. There were further clashes in the south.
Nichi Nichi, in its leading story today in Tokyo, quoted reliable sources as saying the United States Government had been urged “to advise American residents in Japan to leave not later than January 31.”
With the arrival in Batavia of Kenkichi Yoshizawa with other new members of Japan’s so-called economic mission, the Netherlands Indies Government feels certain that the question of oil exports to Japan will be immediately reopened. Otoji Saito, the departing Japanese Consul General, has openly declared that Japan is entirely dissatisfied with the oil agreement reached in the Autumn, when Ichizo Kobayashi headed the mission here. Mr. Saito said the whole question certainly would be reopened, while such matters as exports of rubber, tin, manganese, antimony, tungsten and other war necessaries acutely needed by Japan and also by Germany would be of secondary consideration. It is asserted here that the Netherland authorities will stoutly resist any Japanese demands for reconsideration of the oil allotment and will also strongly resist any other Japanese demands felt to be unreasonable, particularly any for essential war materials beyond Japan’s own needs. Officials here are determined that not a single ton of this colony’s products shall be re-exported by Japan to Germany.
U.S. Army Brigadier General Leonard T. Gerow recommends that Philippine garrison be increased, that the Philippine Scouts be doubled in size to 12,000 men, that 600 soldiers be added to the 31st Infantry Regiment, the only U.S. combat unit in the islands, that additional artillery, both field and anti-aircraft, be sent, and that $1.25 million be committed to construction. This is not a universally accepted proposal. The problem is that the United States has neglected not only the Philippines but also bases ranging from Alaska down to Panama. Naval planners worry that sending too large a force to the Philippines could leave the United States itself in danger, especially if the British were to continue weakening in the Pacific Theater. Gerow’s proposal is a reflection of a debate raging between the naval and army war planners about whether the U.S. should adopt a purely defensive posture in the Pacific (favored by the Navy), or a more aggressive stance (favored by the army). The recent Rainbow 3 plan filed by the Navy is being revised by a joint committee of navy and army planners to see if they can agree on some middle ground. Gerow clearly is on the side of the army and wants a stronger U.S. military presence deep in the Pacific.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 129.02 (+0.13)
Born:
Edward C. Prescott, economist and Nobel laureate (Economic Sciences, 2004), in Glens Falls, New York (d. 2022).
Ray Sadecki, MLB pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers)), in Kansas City, Kansas, (d. 2014).
Died:
Daniel Frohman, 89, American theatrical producer and manager.
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Caracara (AMc-40) is laid down by the Bristol Yacht Building Co. (South Bristol, Maine, U.S.A.).
The U.S. Navy Cleveland-class light cruiser USS Denver (CL-58) is laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. (Camden, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
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