Battle of the Atlantic

• The British tanker British Captain (6968t) sinks on a mine southeast of Lowestoft with the loss of 1 crewman.
• The Italian submarine Cappellini sinks the British steamer Miguel de Larrinaga (5231t) southwest of the Azores.
• U-43 sinks the American tanker Astral (7542t) west of Portugal with the loss of the entire crew of 37. This was the third American ship of four sunk by u-boats prior to the United States' entry into the war.

Black Sea

The German steamer Cordelia (1357t) is sunk by a Soviet submarine off Konstanza, Romania.

Diplomatic Relations

In a personal note to the Japanese envoys in Washington, Roosevelt asks for an explanation of the Japanese troop expansion in Indochina. The President says, 'The stationing of these increased Japanese forces in Indochina would seem to imply the utilization of these forces by Japan for purposes of further aggression, since no such number of forces could possibly be required for the policing of that region. . .'

East Indies

The British battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse arrive in Singapore. Their arrival is noted by the Japanese, but is now too late for them to have the planned deterrent effect.

Eastern Front

In the Moscow sector some small German forces reach the Khimki tram station, 19 km from the center of Moscow and within sight of the Kremlin. Guderian establishes his headquarters at Yasnaya Poliana, a village about 4 miles from Tula. This village is the site of Tolstoy's house and tomb which, according to Soviet propaganda, has profaned. There are renewed efforts, on Hitler's direct order, by von Kluge's forces to the west of the city. The weather continues to grow colder with blizzards being added to the previous hard frosts and heavy snow. Both von Bock, commanding Army Group Center, and von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief, are ill and unable to perform their duties fully effectively.

In the south, the Russians attack von Kleist's rearguard as the Germans withdraw to Mariupol.

North of Moscow, the 4th Panzer Group pushes forward as far as Khimki, only 12 miles from the city, but the Russians launch strong counterattacks which push the Germans back from the town. The 4th Army continues to attack the 33rd and 43rd Armies at Golizno and Akulovo, being involved in furious fighting in both sectors. After a bitter struggle, Akulovo falls. From here the 4th Army can see the spires of the Kremlin on the eastern horizon, but this is as close as they will get to their objective. Efremov taks command of a composite group of 1 rifle and 2 tank brigades to force the Germans back. The group counterattack, striking the flank of the XX Corps and almost isolating elements at Aprelevka.

German Panzer III Assault Gun and Tank in the Snow on the Eastern Front, December 1941

To the south, the 2nd Panzer Army launches an attack on Tula, taking the 50th Army by surprise. The Germans aim to encircle the town with 2 shock groups formed around the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions. These will attack to the west from the area north of Tula, while a third group, containing XLIII Corps' 31st and 296th Divisions, attack east from northwest of the city. Despite a day of bitter fighting, which cuts the Tula-Moscow road, the Germans are unable to break through and go onto the defensive. The XLVII Panzer Corps, situated farther east, is brought under intense pressure as the Soviets begin to counterattack.

The fighting around Rostov has been costly for the Soviets. The South Front has suffered 11,000 killed and 13,000 wounded since November 17, while the 56th Army has lost 4,000 killed and 5,000 wounded.

Mediterranean

• U-562 sinks the British steamer Grelhead (4274t) 2 miles north of Punta Negri, Morocco with the loss of 41 of her crew. 2 survivors are rescued and landed at Tangiers.
• U-557 sinks the Norwegian steamer Fjord (4032t) off Estepona Point, Spain with the loss of 14 crewmen. 22 survivors reach land at Estepona.

North Africa

The very confused fighting continues. Rommel's forces are trying simultaneously to maintain the confinement of the Tobruk garrison in fighting around El Duda, to inflict losses on the British armor regrouping farther south toward Bir el Gubi and to send some help to the Axis garrisons at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass which are still holding out against XIII Corps' 4th Indian Div. To help his frontier garrisons, Rommel orders motorized infantry columns eastward along the Via Balbia and the Trigh Capuzzo. The Germans are not strong enough to accomplish all this and their efforts only increase their weakness.

Hermann Göring At the Jeu de Paume Museum

Paris, 2 December 1941: At the Jeu de Paume Museum, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, painting in his left hand and cigar in his right, sits gazing at two paintings by Henri Matisse being supported by Bruno Lohse. Standing to Göring’s left is his art advisor, Walter Andreas Hofer. Both paintings were stolen from the Paul Rosenberg collection by the Nazis and were recovered and returned after the war. The painting on the left, titled Marguerites, today hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. The other, titled Danseuse au Tambourin, is at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. (Photo credit: Archives des Musées Nationaux)

Pacific

A special code order 'Climb Mount Niitaka' is transmitted by Japanese naval headquarters to the ships of the carrier force steaming across the ocean to Hawaii. The order confirms that negotiations have broken down and that the carriers are to execute the Pearl Harbor attack.