Battle of the Atlantic - The German 2nd Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks Convoy FS-650 off Great Yarmouth. The British tanker War Mehtar (5502t) is sunk by S-104. The entire crew are rescued. S-105 sinks the British steamer Aruba (1159t) with the loss of 1 of her crew. The British steamer Waldinge (2462t) is badly damaged by S-41 with the loss of 1 of her crew. The damaged ship sinks on the 20th.
- The British submarine Rorqual lays a minefield off La Rochelle, France. The French trawler Coligny (600t) sinks on a mine in this minefield.
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Reinhard Heydrich with the Crown Jewels
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Eastern Front
NORTHERN SECTOR
Fighting around Tikhvin intensifies as the 4th Army's northern group fights to cut the Tikhvin-Volkhov road and prevent the German withdrawal while the southern group aims to cut the Tikhvin-Budogosh road. The Germans move the 61st Infantry Division up to reinforce the Tikhvin sector. the 52nd Army continues to batter the XXXVIII Corps at Malaya Vyshera.
CENTRAL SECTOR
Attacks by the 3rd Panzer Group has forced apart the 16th and 30th Armies, prompting the West Front to form Group Zakharov (Gen Georgy) with 3 divisions and 2 brigades to cover the gap in the line before Klin. To reinforce the 30th Army, Zhukov moved the 58th Tank Division, with just 350 men and 15 tanks, from the 16th Army.
A new thrust by the 4th Panzer Group hits the right wing of the 5th Army, pushing it back toward Zvenigorod and threatening its junction with the 16th Army. In an effort to prevent an immediated collapse, the Stavka diverts a rifle division and tank brigade from the already under strength 33rd Army to the 5th. To cover the increasingly exposed Volokolamsk-Istra axis that is being hard pressed by the 4th Panzer Group, the Soviets have 3 rifle and 2 cavalry division plus tthe 1st Guards Tank Brigade. The slow pace of the advance comples Hoeppner to commit the XL Panzer, IX and V Corps to the attack.
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SOUTHERN SECTOR
The III Panzer Corps fights its way through the heavily defended streets of Rostov. Fighting is extremely bitter as the 56th Army defends every street, exacting a high price on the 14th Panzer Division as it pushes deeper into the city. The 60th Motorized Division is involved in heavy fighting as it tries to protect the exposed flank and rear of the 14th Panzer. To the north the 37th Army launches a fierce attack and routs the XIV Panzer Corps, throwing it back and threatening the rear of the III Panzer Corps in Rostov.
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German Raiders The Australian light cruiser Sydney finds a suspicious ship disguised as a Dutch merchantman in an area about 170 miles west of Western Australia. After an exchange of signals the Sydney rashly approaches close to the ship which opens fire with guns and torpedoes crippling the cruiser with the first salvo. The ship is in fact the German raider Kormoran. Sydney manages to fight back and both ships later sink. The Kormoran has sunk 11 ships of 68,300 tons during its cruise. News of the battle only becomes known when some of the crew of the Kormoran are found later on a South Pacific island. 76 crewmen are lost on the German ship. There are no survivors from Sydney; over 600 are lost. This is the only case of a mercatile auxiliary cruiser sinking a regular warship of any size during the war.
HMAS Sydney
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North Africa During the morning the 7th Armored Div splits up searching for Rommel. The 7th Armored Brigade heads for Sidi Rezegh, the 22nd Armored Brigade on its left flank makes for Bir el Gubi, and the 4th Armored Brigade stays at Gabr Saleh except for the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Tank Regt whic moves northwest after the German light forces.
The British 7th Arm Brigade advances easily to Sidi Rezegh but on the left flank the other parts of 7th Arm Div are heavily engaged. At Bir el Gubi,on the left flank of the British line, Brig John Scott-Cockburn's 22nd Armored charges the Italian positions. The Italian Ariete Division puts up a stout resistance to a wasteful, unnecessary and badly conducted attack by the 22nd Armored Brigade. 34 Italian tanks are destroyed, 15 are damaged and 12 guns are knocked out. 25 British Crusaders are destroyed while the Italians still hold their ground.
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On the right flank Brig Alexander H. Gatehouse's 4th Armored Brigade with the 8th Hussars and 5th Royal Tank Regiment charges into the 5th Panzer Regt under Lt-Col Stephen. The Germans lose 3 tanks, the 4th Armored Brigade loses 23 Stuarts, 12 of which are repaired later.
Brig George Davy's 7th Armored Brigade is the most successful this day. About 1630 it overruns the Sidi Rezegh airfield destroying 19 planes on the ground.
Both British and Germans would have done better to concentrate their forces. The British have more than 40 tanks out of action already whereas the Germans have lost only a handful.
A Knocked-out German Tank
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Crossing an Enemy Minefield
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Captured German Guns
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Troops Negotiating Barbed Wire
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Thursday, November 20th
Diplomatic Relations The Japanese envoy extraordinary to Washington, Saburo Kurusu, with Ambassador Nomura, presents his government's final proposals for the resolution of the crisis of relations between Japan and the United States. He stresses that Japan 'never pledged itself to a policy of expansion', but the tone of the proposals are really an ultimatum by which the US would not aid the Chinese and let the Japanese have a free hand in China and Indochina.
Pres Roosevelt drafts his own compromise plan to break the deadlock with Japan. He is willing to resume oil shipment to Japan and have the US participate in direct negotiations between Japan and China. In return the Japanese will send no more troops overseas and not comply with terms of the Tripartite Pact, even if the US becomes involved in an European war. China opposes these proposals as does Churchill and they are withdrawn. Instead, the US substitutes proposals outlined by Sec of State Hull which are submitted to Tokyo. They are far more severe and constitute a counterultimatum to the Japanese.
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Eastern Front In the southern sector, after failing in a flanking movement the Germans capture Rostov-on-Don with a bloody frontal assault. Rostov is strategically located, as it sits at the mouth of the Don River on the Sea of Azov. The way to Stalingrad and the Caucasus is now open.
Starving Civilians in the Streets of Leningrad
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In the north, a stalemate has set in before Leningrad, but the weather is becoming a big factor as cold and hunger claim more and more victims among the population. Since the German siege began, rations are reduced for the fifth time. Workers and special personnel now receive 8-3/4 oz of bread per day, with other food stuff bringing the daily ration up to 1,667 calories. Children are getting 644 calories while old persons and others not engaged in productive activities 466 calories. A normal ration in a cold climate like that of Leningrad would be over 3,000 calories. 'The people were not strong enough to dig graves in the frozen earth. The dead were left beside the cemeteries wrapped in a blanket, and generally buried in common graves excavated with dynamite. In the spring thousands of bodies were discovered that had remained covered in snow throughout the winter.'
NORTHERN SECTOR
The Soviet 52nd Army continues its actions at Malaya Vyshera, as the Germans feed troops into Tikhvin in the face of thr 4th Army's assaults.
CENTRAL SECTOR
The Germans inflict major casualties on the Soviet 5th, 16th, 30th and 50th Armies. The 3rd Panzer Group makes good progress, although the 4th Panzer Group is suffering losses. The XXIV Panzer Corps captures Tim.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
Most of Rostov has fallen to the Germans, together with 10,000 prisoners. But the Soviet 56th Independent Army continues to launch attacks, and there now exists a gap between the 1st Panzer Group and the German 17th Army. In addition, the III Panzer Corps has to switch the 13th and 14th Panzer Divs to Tuslov to counter the continuing attacks by the Soviet 37th Army.
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North Africa Brig John C. Campbell's 7th Support Group joins Brig George Davy's 7th Armored Brigade while Brig Bertram F. Armstrong's 5th South African Brigade also prepares to move to his aid while Brig Dan Pienaar's 1st South African Brigade covers Bir el Gubi. Meanwhile the British XIII Corps begins to wheel around the Axis frontier defenses at Sidi Omar. Gen Cunningham feels sufficiently in control of the situation to order the Tobruk garrison to begin break-out attacks and, in the evening, orders are sent to Maj-Gen Ronald Scobie to begin a breakout action on the following day.
Throughout the day the 8th Army consolidates its advantages helped by the fact that Rommel's armor is still widely separated. Lt-Col Stephen withdraws in the morning to rejoin the rest of the 21st Panzer before the division moves off in pursuit of the 3rd Royal Tanks, who had rejoined the 4th Armored Brigade earlier in the day. The pursuit proves to be a wild goose chase which ends when the 21st Panzer Div runs out of fuel. While the German division is replenishing, the 5th Panzer Regt attacks the 4th Armored Brigade on its own about 1630. The main assault falls on the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment. Brig Gatehouse's unit loses 26 tanks.
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During the night the 22nd Armored Brigade arrives to assist Gatehouse's 4th Armored Brigade. Lt-Gen Ludwig Crüwell concentrates his Afrika Korps bringing up the 21st Panzer. Rommel is beginning to appreciate the extent of the British aims and orders his panzer divisions to follow the enemy tanks heading toward Tobruk with their objective being the airfield at Sidi Rezegh. The airfield lies on a little plateau about 3 miles wide running roughly southeast to northwest between 2 of the 3 escarpments or rocky cliffs bound in the area. The escarpments are called by the British the 1st, 2nd and 3rd escarpments, from the sea inland. South of the airfield is the 3rd Escarpment, the highest part being Point 178. The 2nd Escarpment forms the northern boundary of the plateau, its most prominent feature being a natural one called Point 175, and it runs almost due east of the airfield. North of the 2nd Escarpment lies the Trigh Capuzzo, the middle of 3 routes running west from the frontier. Beyond this is the 1st Escarpment, and to the northwest again of the latter is Tobruk.
Both British and Germans still fail to concentrate their tank forces properly. The British 4th Arm Brigade is again mauled, this time by 15th Pzr. The 7th Arm Brigade is still active around Sidi Rezegh and 22nd Arm Brigade is moving to join 4th Arm. Gen Cunningham feels sufficiently in control of the situation to order the Tobruk garrison to begin break-out attacks, but in fact Rommel is beginning to appreciate the extent of the British aims and orders his pzr divs toward Sidi Rezegh at the end of the day.
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Occupied Poland -
German Jews Arrive in the Ghetto
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Vichy, Politics It is announced that Gen Weygand has retired from his posts in North Africa. He is actually dismissed; his title was Delegate General of Vichy France in North Africa. He has been removed after German pressure because of his non-cooperation with them.
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Friday, November 21st
Eastern Front In the southern sector, Rostov is captured by 1st Panzergruppe units after a paricularly fierce battle. The 17th Army spreads out over the industrial and mineral area of the Donetz basin.
CENTRAL SECTOR
The 4th Panzer Group, having penetrated the junction of the 5th and 33rd Armies, turn to hit the flank of the 33rd Army in an effort to cut the Naro Fominsk-Kubinka road and open up the rear of the 5th Army. The threat to the northern wing grows as the 3rd Panzer Group pounds the 16th and 30th Armies. Zhukov orders Rokossovsky to ensure that Klin and Solnechnogorsk are held, despite the fact that German attacks have already encircled Solnechnogorsk and penetrated into the outskirts of Klin. To the south, the 2nd Panzer Army advances steadily, capturing Uzlovaya with the LIII Corps after a bitter battle.
German Mechanized Troops
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SOUTHERN SECTOR
The 1st Panzer Army's control of Rostov is increasingly threatened by the attacks of the 9th and 37th Armies from the north. The 56th Independent Army keeps up the pressure on the III Panzer Corps, launching constant attacks from across the frozen Don. Fighting continues into and through the night. Just as von Rundstedt's stated before the offensive, while the 1st Panzer can conquer Rostov it can not hold the city, its own weakness and the growing strength of the Soviet forces arrayed against it are proving too much.
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Italian East Africa The Allied attacks on Culquaber southeast of Gondar are renewed with greater force and after a stout resistance the Italian defenders, commanded by Col Augusto Ugolini, surrender. The Italians are now confined to the immediate area of Gondar.
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Mediterranean During the night and continuing into the next day, there are considerable Axis convoy operations because of the growing supply difficulties of their force in North Africa. 2 of the escorting cruisers are badly hit, the Luigi di Savoia Duca Degli Abruzzi, by a Malta-based British torpedo plane and the other, the Trieste, by the British submarine Utmost. The British Malta naval forces search for the Italian ships but cannot find them.
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North Africa Both German tank divisions attack the 7th Armored Brigade at Sidi Rezegh and by the end of the day the British force has about 20 tanks left out of its original 141. A break-out attempt by the Tobruk garrison is brought to a halt when the expected help from 7th Armored Brigade cannot arrive. The British 4th and 22nd Armored Brigades are moving toward Sidi Rezegh.[MORE]
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Norwegian Sea The German steamer Bessheim (1774t) sinks on a mine off Hammerfest, Norway on a mine laid by the Soviet submarine K-21 on the 10th.
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Saturday, November 22nd
Diplomatic Relations Secretary Hull tells the Japanese that the US and other governments with interests in the Pacific feel that the general differences with Tokyo 'could be settled if the Japanese could give us some satisfactory evidences that their intentions were peaceful.'
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Eastern Front The Germans capture Rostov-on-Don.
CENTRAL SECTOR
Gen Georg-Hans Reinhardt's 3rd Panzer Group fights in Klin and Solnechnogorsk. The 16th Army is unable to hold the German attacks. Late in the day, the 4th Panzer Group penetrates between the 5th and 16th Armies, entering Istra and threatening to unhinge the Soviet defenses west of Moscow. Lead units of the 3rd Panzer Group are only 30 miles north of Moscow while the 2nd Panzer Army is fighting near Venev and Tula as it launches strong attacks in an effort to dislodge the 50th Army.
Foreign Journalists Inspect Nazi Plane
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Heavy fighting around Tula compels Zhukov to move Gen Ivan Boldin's II Cavalry Corps from Serpukhov to Kashira, blocking the line of the German advance to Moscow. Boldin is instructed to prevent the fall of Kashira to the 2nd Panzer Army at all costs. On the southern wing of the 2nd Panzer Army, the XLVIII Panzer Corps comes under heavy attack near Tim. Timoshenko is trying to bring pressure to bear upon the flank of the German forces to the south of Moscow. In an effort to divert the attention away from the city, but his own lack of resources prevent any significant penetration of the German positions.
Damage in Rostov
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German Raiders The raider Atlantis is found and sunk by the British cruiser Devonshire while replenishing a U-boat (U-124) off the west African coast near Ascension Island. Atlantis has sunk 22 ships of 145,700 tons during the 622 days of her cruise. On December 1 the German supply ship Python is also sunk in this area by a British cruiser. Dönitz had hoped to send a force of U-boats to work off South Africa but with the loss of these sources of supply this will not now be possible. The British successes are based on code-breaking information.
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German Raider Atlantis
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Germany, Home Front While being flown to Berlin to attend the funeral of Ernst Udet, Gen Werner Mölders, a fighter 'ace' with 115 victories, is killed in an air accident near Breslau, Silesia. He was 30.
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North Africa There is a very confused tank battle around Sidi Rezegh in which 21st Panzer forces the British 7th and 22nd Armored Brigades to withdraw away from Tobruk. The 4th Armored Brigade loses heavily in a separate action with 15th Panzer. The 2nd New Zealand Div, part of XIII Corps, begins to move into the battle to help the British tanks. The Germans now hold the initiative, however, since they have over 170 tanks left and the British less than 150.[MORE]
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Sunday, November 23rd
Axis Diplomacy The Danes are informed by the Germans that they must join the Anti-Comintern Pact. 'If not, Germany will cancel the agreement of the April 9, 1940, and Denmark will be regarded as an enemy country and must face the unavoidable circumstances.'
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Britain, Home Front P. C. Wren, author of Beau Geste, dies at age 56.
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Eastern Front In the Moscow sector the German offensive continues to make gradual gains. Progress is made on a 50-mile front northwest of the city. In these attacks Klin is captured by 3 of Hoth's Panzer Divs. Also captured are Solnechnogorsk and Istra, the last being only about 30 miles northwest of Moscow.
CENTRAL SECTOR
Heavy fighting rages at Venev as the Germans struggle to take the town from the Venev Group, a force of one rifle regiment and 2 tank brigades.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
Elements of the 37th and 9th Armies reach the Tuzla River to the rear of the German forces in Rostov.
GERMAN COMMAND
Guderian meets von Bock and stresses the tiredness of his troops. von Bock relays this information to von Brauchitsch, but is is obvious that von Brauchitsch is not allowed to make any decisions, being completely under Hitler's control.
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Japan, Planning The officers and men of the Japaneses strike force designated to attack Pearl Harbor are informed of their mission. The force will be assembled at Tankan Bay, an anchorage at Etorofu Island in the Kuriles.
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Mediterranean An Axis convoy bringing fuel from Greece to Benghazi is attacked by the Malta-based Force K and loses 2 freighters. The British Mediterranean Fleet puts to sea to cover the operation.
HMS Penelope
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North Africa There are more violent battles southeast of Sidi Rezegh towards Bir el Gubi. The fighting is especially hot in the afternoon when both German panzer divs and the Ariete Div make a headlong charge against the British armor and 2 South African Brigades of the 5th South African Div which have now joined the tanks. The 5th South African Brigade is virtually wiped out. The losses on the German side bring their force down to less than 100 tanks. German infantry casualties are also heavy. To the Afrika Korps the day becomes known as 'Totensonntag', 'the Sunday of the Dead'. The British losses are also high and Gen Cunningham has now lost confidence in the outcome of the battle. This brings Auchinleck, the more resolute British Commander-in-Chief, forward to take more interest in the tactical moves. Rommel does not take part in the day's main fighting but is involved farther north around Gambut where the New Zealand infantry capture the Afrika Korps HQ and much of Rommel's communications equipment.[MORE]
Stukas On Their Way to Attack British Tanks
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Gun Position in the 5th South African Brigade Area
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North Sea The Swedish steamer Hedda sinks on a mine north of Borkum. The entire crew are rescued.
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Surinam With permission from the Dutch government-in-exile in London and the Brazilian government, US forces occupy Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, to protect the strategically vital bauxite mines which provide 60 per cent of the world's supply.
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Monday, November 24th
Battle of the Atlantic - The British light cruiser Dunedin is sunk by U-124 in the central Atlantic north of Pernambuco, Brazil. 419 of the crew are lost, 67 survivors are picked up by the American steamer Nishmaha and taken to Trinidad.
- Convoy FS-654 is attacked by German motor torpedo boats east of Orfordness. S-109 sinks the British tanker Virgilia (5723t) 3 miles north of Hearty Knoll Buoy with the loss of 30 of her crew. 17 survivors are picked up by the British motor launches ML-150 and ML-152. S-52 sinks the Dutch steamer Groenlo (1984t) about 1-1/2 miles north of 52E Buoy with the loss of 10 crewmen. The British steamer Blairnevis (4155t) is damaged by S-51 off Hearty Knoll and is beached at Great Yarmouth Roads. She is refloated and towed to London for repairs in December.
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Eastern Front The Germans evacuate Rostov because of the threat to their rear from the continuing Soviet counterattacks in this sector, notably flank attacks by the Soviet 37th Army. Field Marshal von Rundstedt is personally responsible for this move which has been expressly forbidden by Hitler.
The Germans capture Solnechaya Gora, 48 km northwest of Moscow.
Early Soviet KV-1 Tank
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CENTRAL SECTOR
After a bitter battle, Klin falls to the 7th Panzer Division of the LVI Panzer Corps, the 30th Army being sent reeling to the east. The battle on the road to and for Klin leaves the 30th with only 20 operational tanks and 200 artillery pieces. Solnechnogorsk also falls to the 2nd Panzer Division of the XL Panzer Corps and the 10th Motorized Div enters Michailov, while the V Corps draws even with the 4th Panzer Group, opening the road to the Moscow-Volga Canal. Istra, already under attack, forms the lynchpin of the Soviet defenses.
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Panzer III in Front of Moscow
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A single Siberian rifle division (78th) is deployed to hold the town and the nearby reservoir, taking up positions along the Istra River. The Stavka has ordered the battered 16th Army to fall back to a new line south of Solnechnogorsk. The 5th Army is falling back to a line Istra-Zvenigorod.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
The 1st Panzer Army begins to withdraw from Rostov, von Rundstedt ordering his forces to retire quickly to the line of the Mius River due to the growing Soviet threat on the northern flank. von Rundstedt feels his forces are at risk of encirclement if they remain in Rostov, the only viable option being the withdrawal of his forces westward. OKH agrees with the Army Group South's decision to withdraw.
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Mediterranean The British submarine Triumph sinks the Italian tug Hercules (632t) and damages the German steamer Norburg off Heraklion.
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North Africa Rommel believes that the British armor has largely been destroyed in the fighting of the 23rd and, ignoring the New Zealand infantry, decides to collect his armor and advance along the Trigh el Abd to the Egyptian frontier. This move becomes known as 'the dash to the wire'. Although it causes some panic (the 'Matruh Stakes') in 8th Army's rear echelons, the German forces take some losses from harrying attacks and more significantly have loosened their grip on the British tank units. Rommel and the senior generals with him are out of touch with the situation.
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Gen Auchinleck directs the 8th Army 'to attack and pursue. All out everywhere.'[MORE]
German forces in Libya receive air reinforcements.
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United States, Planning US Navy commanders in the Pacific are warned that talks with the Japanese are unlikely to produce results and it seems Tokyo's forces are preparing for military action. Washington alerts the officers to be aware of the possibility of 'a surprise aggressive movement in any direction, including [an] attack on Philippines or Guam.' Japanese trasports have already been observed moving in the direction of the Malayan Peninsula from Formosa.
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United States, Policy Lend-lease aid for the Free French is approved by the US.
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HMS Dunedin
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Tuesday, November 25th
Axis Diplomacy On the fifth anniversay of its drafting, the Anti-Comintern Pact is renewed in Berlin. Signing are German, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Manchukuo (the Japanese-controlled part of Northern China previously called Manchuria), Spain and now also Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Rumania, Slovakia and the puppet Chinese government at Nanking.
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Denmark, Home Front There are demonstrations in Copenhagen to protest Denmark's forced adherence to the Anti-Comintern Pact.
Eastern Front In the Moscow sector, northwest of the capital, the Germans attack the town of Istra.[MORE]
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Germany, Home Front The first prototype of the Me-262 fighter fails to take off with 2 experimental jet engines and 1 piston engine. (See July 18, 1941.)
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Italian East Africa The British forces take Tadda Ridge, 7 miles from Gondar.
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Mediterranean - In covering sorties by Allied cruiser forces against Italian re-supply convoys heading for Libya, the battleship Barham is hit by 4 torpedoes and blows up in an attack delivered by U-331 under the command of Lt Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen. 862 men lose their lives. 449 survivors are rescued by the British destroyers Jervis, Jackal, Nizam and Hotspur.
HMS Barham After Being Torpedoed
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The Barham About To Capsize
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The Explosion of the Barham
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- The British destroyer Thrasher sinks the Italian armed merchant cruiser Attilo Deffenu (3510t) near Brindisi.
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North Africa Over the next two days the German panzer divs dissipate their strength in attacks on British positions around Capuzzo and Sidi Azeiz.[MORE]
Sidi Rezegh, 25 November 1941
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Pacific - The US Navy begins to establish compulsory convoying of merchant vessels.
- American ships off Formosa (Taiwan) sight a Japanese military convoy presumably en route for Malaya.
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Wednesday, November 26th
Baltic Sea The German steamer Egeran (1143t) sinks on a mine off Memel.
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Diplomatic Relations The Japanese proposals of November 20 are rejected because they 'contain some features which, in the opinion of this Government, conflict with the fundamental principles which form a part of the general settlement under consideration and to which each Government declared that it is committed.' The US does suggest 'that further effort be made to resolve our divergencies of view in regard to the practical application of the fundamental principles . . .'
Roosevelt and Hull decide to present a stiff 10-point note of final terms to the Japanese. It demands that the Japanese leave China and Indochina, recognize the Chinese Nationalist Government and withdraw from the alliance with the Axis.. The Americans promise in return to negotiate new trade and raw materials agreement.
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Eastern Front The Germans capture Klin 85 km northwest of Moscow.
CENTRAL SECTOR
The 7th Panzer Div is now at the Moscow-Volga Canal. Fierce battles rage at Istra as the 2nd SS Motorized Division Das Reich and the 10th Panzer Division attack the 78th Rifle Division in the town. The 10th Panzer is operating with just 7 tanks. The 17th Panzer Division pushes toward Kashira amid running battles with the II Cavalry Corps. In recognition of its efforts, the II Cavalry Corps is renamed the I Guards Cavalry Corps. The LIII Corps reaches the Don and encircles a Siberian division against the river near Donskoye. The isolated force continues to fight on, the LIII Corps' weakness preventing the destruction of the pocket.
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North Africa Toward the end of the day Rommel realizes that the British armor is quietly regrouping in the Sidi Rezegh area and that the New Zealand infantry are continuing to move toward Tobruk. He therefore begins to move his tank forces back in that direction.
Gen Cunningham is relieved of command of 8th Army. Auchinleck's Chief of Staff, Gen Neil Ritchie, takes over, but Auchinleck himself will take a closer interest in the tactical control of the battle.[MORE]
British Crusader Tank Passing a Burning German Tank
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France, Politics Free France proclaims the independence of Lebanon.
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Pacific The Japanese Pearl Harbor Attack Force under the command of Vice-Adm Chuichi Nagumo leaves its bases in northern Japan (Tankan Bay in the Kurile Islands) to move to the northern Pacific in order to approach Pearl Harbor from an unexpected direction. The force consists of 6 carriers, Zuikaku, Hiryu, Akagi, Shokaku, Kogi and Soryu, 2 battleships, Hiei and Kirishima, 2 cruisers, Tone and Chikuma, 11 destroyers (Tanikaze, Urakaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze,Kasumi, Arare, Kagero, Shiranuhi, Akigumo), Ushio, Akebono), 28 submarines and 423 aircraft all observing radio silence.
Japanese Carrier Strike Force
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Thursday, November 27th
Friday, November 28th
Baltic Sea The German steamer Henny (764t) sinks on a mine off Memel.
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German POWs
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Eastern Front
NORTHERN SECTOR
Labor Battalion Soldiers in Moscow
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A newly reinforced and revitalized 4th Army launches furious attacks at Tikhvin, pinning down the I Corps. The 52nd and 54th Armies continue their attacks against the northern and southern flanks of the salient. Slowly but surely the 18th Army is squeezed back to the west.
CENTRAL SECTOR
With the 7th Panzer and 14th Motorized Divisions just 20 miles north of Moscow at Yakhroma, the Soviets deploy the 1st Shock Army from their reserve. The advance has cost the Germans their last ounce of strength, many units being severely depleted in the costly fighting and atrocious weather. After a bitter battle, the 2nd SS Division Das Reich and the 10th Panzer Division capture Istra. Farther south, the XLIII Corps comes under heavy attack as the West Front attempts to pin down the 4th Army.
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Outskirts of Moscow
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Behind the combat line, the 10th Army completes its march to Ryazan. Gen Filipp Golikov's army stands poised to enter fighting south of Moscow where it threatens the exposed right wing of the 2nd Panzer Army. To reinforce the hard pressed 16th Army, the 5th, 33rd, 43rd and 49th Armies each gave up a rifle division. Operational Group Lizyukov (Gen Alexander) is formed around these divisions, later going on to become the 20th Army. The 5th Army is instructed to form a mobile reserve to secure its junction with the 16th Army. Its group numbers just 800 men and 21 tanks.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
The 56th and 9th Armies recapture most of Rostov, the III Panzer Corps retreating from the cement factory. The bulk of the 1st Panzer Army falls back to the Mius, hotly pursued by the South Front. With Rostov virtually lost and the 1st Panzer Army in retreat, Hitler countermands von Rundstedt's order and insists that the 1st Panzer hold its positions.
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Hitler Meets with Grand Mufti Amin al Husseini
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Indian Ocean The Prince of Wales and the Repulse both arrive at Colombo, Ceylon.
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Italian East Africa Gondar, the last outpost being occupied by the Italians, capitulates. Gen Gugliemo Nasi, commanding the Italian forces, decides to ask for terms. These are agreed and the 22,000 Italians surrender. Mussolini's East African Roman Empire has ceased to exist. In less then a year the Italian force of 350,000 men was totally defeated by a combined allied force of 21,500.
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Japan, Policy Japan's foreign ministry advises its embassies throughout the world the relations with the US and Britain has reached an extremely critical stage.
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Mediterranean - The Dutch submarine O-21 sinks U-95 east of Gibraltar with the loss of 33 crewmen. 12 survivors are picked up by the Dutch submarine and taken to Gibraltar.
U-95|
| Class | Type VIIC |
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Kapitänleutnant Gerd Schreiber |
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Mediterranean, E of Gibraltar |
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Submarine attack |
| Casualties |
33 |
| Survivors |
12 |
- The Italian steamer Priaruggia (1196t) is sunk by British bombing at Benghazi.
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North Africa There is renewed heavy fighting around Sidi Rezegh with the German tank forces trying to wipe out the link between the New Zealand infantry and the Tobruk garrison. Gen Johann von Ravenstein, commander of the 21st Panzer Div, is captured when a Bren gunner shoots up his staff car.[MORE]
British Marmon-Herrington Armored Cars
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Saturday, November 29th
Battle of the Atlantic - The German 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks Convoy FN-564 northwest of Cromer. S-51 sinks the British steamer Cormarsh (2848t) half a mile north of the 58A Buoy. The entire crew are rescued. S-52 sinks the British steamer Empire Newcomen (2840t) 5 miles south of Dudgeon Light with the loss of 10 of her crew. S-64 sinks the British tanker Asperity (699t) with the loss of 10 crewmen.
- U-43 sinks the British steamer Thornliebank (5569t) from Convoy OS-12 240 miles north-northwest of the Azores with the loss of the entire crew of 75.
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Diplomatic Relations The US warns Britain of an impending attack by the Japanese in the Asia-Pacific area.
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Eastern Front In the Moscow sector German tank forces commanded by Gen Georg-Hans Reinhardt reach the Moscow-Volga Canal and manage to cross in in the Dmitrov area. The Germans here are coming up against some of the fresh Siberian units and more of the Germans tank force is being tied down here because of the fierce Soviet resistance.
In the south the Russians recapture Taganrog and Rostov with a violent counter-offensive, forcing the 1st Panzer Army out of the 'Gateway to the Caucasus' and threatening to surround the German forces. This is the first setback for the Germans on the Russian front. In spite of having orders to stand firm, Von Rundstedt orders his troops to retire behind the line of the Mius River.
CENTRAL SECTOR
Lead units of the 4th Panzer Group take Dmitrov on the eastern bank of the Moscow-Volga Canal. The 16th and 30th Armies receive substantial reinforcement, much needed following their bloody battles with the 3rd and 4th Panzer Groups. The 1st Shock Army and the 10th Army are allocated to the West Front as reinforcement, but are held in reserve behind the wings of the front until the German attack grinds to a halt. As yet both the 1st Shock and 10th Armies need fleshing out, being short of men and equipment.
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Germans Often Execute Partisans in Public
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On the southern wing, the XLVII Panzer Corps come under fierce attack and is force to pull back from Skopin. The XXIV Panzer also comes under heavy fire around Tula. To the rear of the combat line, the Red Army brings up yet more reserve armies. The 60th deploys around Tarasovka, while the 24th is situated on the Moskva near Davidkovo. In addition, the 26th Army is at Noginsk and the 61st at Ryazan.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
Fierce fighting continues as the 1st Panzer Army withdraws to the Mius, giving up Rostov to the 56th and 9th Armies. These 2 units press the Germans relentlessly but are unable to rout the retreating force.
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Finland Finland restores its former border with the Soviet Union, reincorporating territories taken by recent military action. Finland had been forced to cede territory to the Soviet Union as part of the agreement ending the 'Winter War' in 1940.
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Japan, Home Front Tojo restates Japan's leadership role in east Asia, 'Nothing can be permitted to interfere with this sphere because this sphere was decreed by Providence.'
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Japan, Policy A Japanese government liaison conference decides that the final terms are unacceptable and that Japan must go to war.
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Mediterranean - The Italian steamer Capo Faro (3476t), sailing from Brindisi to Benghazi, is sunk by British aircraft from Malta.
- The Italian steamer Berbera (2093t) is sunk by British bombing at Navarino, Greece.
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North Africa Lt-Gen Willoughby Norrie leads an attempt by the 1st South African Brigade to regain Point 175, but the attack does not go in until after dark and is repulsed with some ease.
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Occupied Soviet Union Near Riga, the massacre of 38,000 Jews by the Germans begins.
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Sunday, November 30th
Air Operations, Europe 84 R.A.F. bombers from a force of 129 reach Hamburg to drop 138 tons of bombs.
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Axis Diplomacy Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo informs his ambassador in Berlin that 'war may suddenly break out between the Anglo-Saxon nations and Japan . . . quicker than anyone dreams.' This note is not passed on to the Germans.
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Battle of the Atlantic - A British Whitley bomber sinks U-206 in the Bay of Biscay with the aid of Air-to-Surface-Vessel radar (ASV). This is the first success achieved with this equipment. It also marks a period of greater British efforts to interfere with the German traffic across the Bay. The entire crew of 46 are lost on the u-boat.
U-206|
| Class | Type VIIC |
| CO |
Kapitänleutnant Herbert Opitz |
| Location |
Bay of Biscay, W of St Nazaire |
| Cause |
Air attack |
| Casualties |
46 |
| Survivors |
None |
- U-43 sinks the British steamer Ashby (4868t), straggling from Convoy OS-12, 170 miles south-southeast of Flores, Azores with the loss of 17 of her crew. 33 survivors land at Fayal, Azores.
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Diplomatic Relations The Japanese make proposals for an interim settlement with the United States. The proposals are unacceptable but Secretary Hull prepares a negotiating reply. This is not delivered because Chiang Kai-shek's government are successful in making the British and Dutch worry about the concessions offered to the Japanese in China.
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Eastern Front Field Marshal von Rundstedt is relieved of his command of Army Group South for refusing to cancel his orders for retreat in the Rostov sector. Von Reichenau is the new commander. He is permitted to go on the defensive by Hitler rather than attack toward Rostov again. On the Soviet side Stalin gives his approval to Zhukov's plans and preparations for the coming counteroffensive in the Moscow sector.
German pressure on Moscow takes the Panzergruppen of Hoeppner and Gen Georg-Hans Reinhardt beyond Klin to Dmitrov on the Moscow-Volga canal. Guderian's group cuts the railway between Tula and Serpukhov.
According to German sources their losses from June 22 to November 30, 1941 are as follows: 162,000 dead, 33,334 missing and 572,000 wounded. In Leningrad 11,000 people have died of starvation during November. In December the figure is to rise to 52,000. At Christmas, thanks to a relarive improvement in the supply position, the bread ration for workers is increased from 8 oz to 10-1/2 oz, that for clerical and similar workers to 7 oz a day.
CENTRAL SECTOR
The XLVI and XL Panzer Corps and the V Corps tighten their grip around the Soviet 5th and 16th Armies. However, the Stavka releases the 1st Shock and 20th Armies from the reserve to relieve the pressure on the hard-pressed Soviet armies. Zhukov intends to destroy the whole of Army Group Center in front of Moscow. To achieve this he will attack on three axes: northern flank - 1st Shock, 16th, 20th and 30th Armies; center - 5th, 33rd, 43rd and 49th Armies; and southern flank - 10th and 50th Armies. These forces total 718,000 troops, 7,985 artillery pieces and 720 tanks. Facing them are 801,000 troops, 14,000 artillery pieces and 1,000 tanks of Army Group Center,which is now in a perilous state.
SOUTHERN SECTOR
von Rundstedt's pulls his forces back to the Mius. The Führer accuses the field marshal of defeatism, sacks him and appoints Walter von Reichenau in his place.[MORE]
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German Raiders The raider Komet arrives back in Hamburg after a cruise of 516 days in which 3 ships of 31,000 tons have been sunk along with 7 more in company with Orion.
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North Africa Now the situation has changed in favor of the Axis forces. All morning German artillery has pounded the 6th New Zealand Brigade's remaining positions on the 2nd Escarpment. A force of Stukas with strong fighter escort attempts to join in the attack, but is routed by the Tomahawks of 112 Squadron R.A.F. and 3 Squadron RAAF, together claiming 15 enemy aircraft destroyed and another 15 damaged for the loss of 4 Tomahawks, but no pilots. About 1600, the 15th Panzer Div, recalled from Ed Duda, backed by German infantry from the 3rd Escarpment under Lt-Col Johann Mickl, and supported by a westward advance from Point 175 by Ariete, falls on the New Zealanders. By 1730 the whole of the 2nd Escarpment is back in Axis hands with 600 more prisoners taken. The surviving defenders retire to join the 4th New Zealand Brigade at Belhamed.
At the end of the day, after a very confusing 2-day battle and losses on both sides, the 6th New Zealand Brigade has been forced out of the fight.
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Pacific Japanese naval forces are reported to be on the move by British units based in Borneo. There are various other reports during the next few days of Japanese movements, which lead to an increase in tension in Malaysia and the East Indies, but draw no eyes toward Hawaii.
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