Battle of the Atlantic

• The British steamer Birtley (2873t) is badly damaged by a mine off Norwich with the loss of 3 of her crew. She sinks on the 16th.
• The British steamer Daru (3854t) is sunk by German bombers in St George's Channel. There are no casualties.
• U-94 sinks the British steamer Newbury (5102t), a straggler from Convoy ON-42, southeast of Cape Farewell with the loss of her entire crew of 45. U-94 next sinks another stragger from the same convoy, the Greek steamer Pegasus (5762t). 16 of the crew are lost, 13 survivors are picked up by a Swedish steamer. The British steamer Empire Eland (5613t), behind the same convoy, is the next victim of the u-boat. All 38 of the crew are lost.

Diplomatic Relations

Stalin asks Churchill for 25 to 30 British divisions to fight in Russia.

Eastern Front

The Germans capture Schlüsselburg (?) on the south shore of Lake Ladoga, east of Leningrad, completely isolating the city from overland contact with the rest of the Soviet Union. Some supplies can still be carried in by boat across Lake Ladoga. There are sufficient stores for only about one month in the city even with very poor ration allowances. The heroic efforts to counterattack are in vain. The line formed by the Germans between Mga and Sinyavino is so solid it will not be breached until February 1944. By then several hundred thousand civilians will die of starvation in the city.

Dietl again tries to smash the Soviet defenses on the road to Murmansk, but is frustrated by strong Soviet resistance. Once again the 14th Army draws away the focus of the German attack by launching an unexpected coastal raid.

On the southern perimeter of Leningrad, the Germans renew their attacks, L and XLI Panzer Corps battering the 42nd Army, hitting the Pulkovo Heights. Heavy fighting rages in Uritsk. The Soviets counterattack at Sinyavino and Mga in an effort to break the siege. As the fighting rages, the Germans lose the 6th Panzer Division, which leaves Leningrad for the center.

Strenuous advance of German columns around Kiev on the bad roads in South Russia.

Bad Roads Hinder German Advance

Germany, Policy

Hitler re-activates rocket development at Peenemünde which he himself had had shelved. The swift development and production of what will become the V-2 rocket is given priority over aviation and naval needs.

United States, Politics

The Attorney General rules that the Neutrality Act does not prevent US ships from carrying war material to British possessions in the Near and Far East or in the Western Hemisphere.