Air Operations, EuropeUS 9th Air Force Liberators attack Naples, sinking the light cruiser Muzio Attendolo in the harbor. 2 other cruisers, the Eugenio di Savoia and Raimondo Montecuccoli, are badly damaged. Italian sources state that 159 are dead and 358 are wounded in the raid. This is the first US raid on the mainland of Italy. BOMBER COMMANDEvening Ops: Minor Ops:
Air Operations, North Africa9 Bisley Blenheim Mk V light bombers, led by Wing-Cdr Malcolm, V.C., attack Thouigui landing ground in Tunisia. 50 Me-109s annihilate the unescorted bombers. Thereafter all RAF bombing operations over Tunisia are carried out at night. [ | ]
Air Operations, TunisiaXII Bomber Command B-17s, followed half an hour later by B-26s, attack shipping and port facilities in Bizerte harbor. While escorting bombers and conducting far-ranging sweeps and recon missions, pilots of the 1st, 14th and 52nd Fighter Groups down 5 Bf-109s and 1 Bf-110. [ | ]Eastern FrontSOUTHERN SECTORHeavy fighting rages along the Chir as the XLVIII Panzer Corps struggles with the 5th Tank Army. Knobelsdor's XLVIII Panzer Corps moves to Nizhne Chirskaya to be better able to deal with the attacks by the 5th Tank. The 13th Panzer Division remains on the left wing to bolster the remnants of the Rumanian 3rd Army. Knobelsdorf also takes into his command the 11th Panzer and the 336th Infantry Divisions plus another Luftwaffe field division. Group Adam, an ad hoc formation, defends the Nizhne Chirskaya bridgehead. Heavy fighting rages around Kotelnikovo as the 6th Panzer Division throws the 51st Army out of the town. Vasilevsky reports to Stalin that the armies surrounding Paulus need substantial reinforcement before they can destroy his army. Stalin had planned to use Malinovdky's 2nd Guards Army, currently in reserve, to bolster the forces of the Don Front. Heavy fighting rages around Stalingrad. [ | ]GuadalcanalCarlson's raiders, the 2nd Raider Battalion, reach the Lunga perimeter, having marched west from Aola Bay. During the month-long journey, more than 400 enemy dead have been counted for the loss of 17 raiders. [ | ]Mediterranean
New GuineaAmerican advance elements reach Dobodura. [ | ]North AfricaTUNISIAIn the Tebourba area the Germans destroy 25 British tanks, 7 armored cars, 41 guns, 300 vehicles and large amounts of ammunition, capturing 400 prisoners. [ | ]United States, PoliticsRoosevelt receives a petition from 244 Congressmen supporting the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. [ | ] |
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[December 3rd - December 5th] |