World War II in real time

Day 827 of World War II, December 5th 1941

YouTube (Winter is Here! The failure of Barbarossa)



Eastern Front - Operation Barbarossa

The Germans canceled Operation Typhoon during which the lowest temperature dropped to -36 degrees Fahrenheit (-38 degrees Celsius). Hitler called an end to the winter offensive against Moscow and orders some “limited” withdrawals. North and west of the Soviet capital the German spearheads had got to within a few miles of the outskirts of the city. On the northern wing of Army Group Centre, 9.Armee held a 105-mile arc through Kalinin to the Moscow Sea. The divisions of 3.Panzergruppe, which were to have outflanked Moscow in the north, had advanced as far as Dmitrov on the Moskva-Volga Canal. Farther south were the most forward units of XLI.Armeekorps (mot.), poised to cross the canal north of Lobnya. The combat group Westhoven of 1.Panzerdivision, having captured Nikolskoye and Belyy Rast, had reached the western edge of Kusayevo. Adjoining on the right, 4.Panzergruppe held a quadrant around Moscow, from Krasnaya Polyana to Zvenigorod; the distance to the Kremlin was nowhere more than 25 miles. The combat outposts of 2.Panzerdivision were at the first stop of the Moscow tramway. An assault detachment of Engineers Battalion 62 from Wittenberg had got closest to Stalin’s lair by penetrating into the suburb of Khimki, only 5 miles from the outskirts of the city and 10 from the Kremlin. On the southern wing of Hoepner’s 4.Panzergruppe, reading from left to right, were 106th and 35th Infantry Divisions, 11.Panzerdivision and 5.Panzerdivision, as well as the SS-Infanterie-Division (mot.)“Das Reich,”and 252nd, 87th, 78th, 267th, 197th, and 7th Infantry Divisions. Next followed the divisions of Kluge’s 4.Armee. They were 30 miles from Moscow, along a line running from north to south, between the Moscow motor highway and the Oka. Next along the front came Guderian’s 2.Panzerarmee. It had bypassed the stubbornly defended town of Tula and was holding a big eastward bulge around Stalinogorsk. Its armoured spearhead, the 17.Panzerdivision, pointing northward against the Oka, stood before Kashira. On the extreme right wing the 2.Armee was covering the southern flank and maintaining the link with Army Group South. This then was the 600-mile front line along which the German offensive had come to a standstill at the beginning of December – in the most literal sense frozen into inactivity. Men, beasts, engines, and weapons were in the icy grip of 45 and even 50 degrees below zero Centigrade.

Photo: A Soviet propaganda shot of a wrecked German column destroyed on the Volokolamsk Highway in the opening thrust of the Moscow counteroffensive on 5 December 1941



Despite this, German Regiment 17, 31.Infanterie-Divisionen, went in at 0100 hours under a bright moon. German artillery fire was sporadic and the cold froze the machine guns. None the less the first German battalion advanced into the Russian held village of Ketri. The Russians then surrounded the first battalion in the village and beat back the second battalion as it tried to relieve the first. As the Russians wiped out the Germans in the village, the Germans outside spent the night lying in the snow. Most of those Germans that survived got severe frostbite. With nothing achieved and Regiment 17 decimated the attack was called off in the morning. Meanwhile, Soviet General Zhukov launched an offensive against German forces northwest of Moscow at 0300 hours. Konev’s Kalinin front opened the offensive attacking the northern edge of the Klin bulge. Guderian's front, the area from the southern bank of the Oka via Tula to Stalinogorsk, became the second focus of the Soviet counter-offensive. The Soviet High Command employed three Armies and a Guards Cavalry Corps in a two-pronged operation designed to encircle Guderian's much feared striking divisions and annihilate them. Red Army has reinforced 3 Fronts (Kalinin Front under Konev, Western Front under Zhukov, Southwestern Front under Timoshenko) with newly-raised “shock” divisions as well as veteran troops moved from Central Asia and Far East, to push the Germans back from Moscow. The two wings of Guderian's Panzer Army, which were to have enveloped the Soviet capital from the south, stood with 17.Panzerdivision before Kashira, about 37 miles north of Tula, with 10.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Lieutenant General F-W von Loeper) at Mikhaylov, and with 29.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Major General W. von Boltenstern) north-west of Mikhaylov. The Soviet 50th Army formed the right jaw of the pincers, and their 10th Army the left jaw. It was a good plan. But Guderian's strategic perception was even better. The temperature fluctuated between 0° C and -40° C. In the grey dawn, the initial Russian artillery bombardment made the relieved pickets of 87.Infanterie-Divisionen (Lieutenant General B. von Studnitz) run for cover. By the Yakhroma, Soviet regiments were already charging the forward lines of 36.Infanterie-Division (mot.) (Lieutenant General Otto Ottenbacher) and next to it, 14.Infanterie-Divisionen (mot.) (Lieutenant General F. Fuerst) between Rogachevo and the southern edge of the Volga reservoir. A Soviet ski battalion broke through in the sector of 36.Infanterie-Division (mot.) and thrust towards the West. The Russians were imitating German Blitzkrieg tactics. Guderian's attempt to achieve a link-up north of Tula between 4.Panzerdivision and 31.Infanterie-Divisionen, with a view to encircling the town finally, had failed. As a result, the 2.Panzerarmee was tied down in heavy defensive fighting. During the night preceding the Soviet offensive, Guderian therefore ordered the withdrawal of his exhausted forward formations to the Don-Shat-Upa line. This movement was in progress when the Russians charged against LIII.Armeekorps and XLVII.Armeekorps (mot.) at Mikhaylov. They encountered only the rearguards, which offered delaying resistance and covered the withdrawal already in full swing. The attackers advanced about 3 km / day for the next four days. The fighting was very serious and resistance stiff. Some headway was made and casualties on both sides were high. Although Zhukov ordered them to maneuver and infiltrate between prepared German positions, too many conducted costly frontal attacks.

Photo: German soldiers with a captured Soviet KV-2 tank near Pulkovo, Leningrad on 5 December 1941. The Germans have put a little flag, not the typical Balkenkreuz but a reasonable facsimile, on the tank in order to use it themselves as a Beutepanzer



German forces still hold Tikhvin 110 miles East of Leningrad (the main railhead for supplies to come by ship across Lake Ladoga) despite continuous attacks since November 12. German defenses start to wither, become isolated and are only able to be resupplied by air. General Meretskov launched a final assault on the German positions in Tikhvin.

Map: German advances, 26 August – 5 December 1941



Battle of the Mediterranean

The German Fliegerkorps II and Luftflotte 2 are ordered, by Hitler, from the Eastern Front to the Mediterranean Sea region. The goal is to disrupt the attacks from Malta against the Axis supply convoys for North Africa.

Western Desert Campaign - Operation Crusader

Rommel continues to confound the British with his unorthodox thrusts and parries. British 4th Armoured Brigade remained in the Libyan-Egyptian border region despite observing the withdrawing of Axis troops, unsure of Erwin Rommel's intentions. Meanwhile, Afrika Korps gets 49 tanks back in action, sending them at dusk to raid 11th Indian Brigade fighting Italian troops near the Tobruk breakout. On the same day, Rommel was advised that supply situation would turn badly soon, and he considered withdrawing to the Gazala Line. Rommel orders the evacuation of the eastern part of the Tobruk perimeter in order to attack the British forces at Bir El Gobi. The attack fails to dislodge the British defenders.

Photo: Italian field gun portée



United States

A political storm erupts in the United States when the Washington Times-Herald, New York Daily News, and the Chicago Tribune publish details of plans for mobilization for total war against German and Japan. It was later discovered that the plans were leaked by a Captain in the War Plans Division. The Captain passed the plan to Senator Burton Wheeler (D-Montana), who in turn gave the report to the article’s author Chesley Manly. The Germans gleefully turned the intelligence bonanza over to General Jodl, Hitler’s operations chief, to make necessary adjustments to their plans. The official word to reporters from the Whitehouse was “Your right to print the news is, I think, unchallenged and unquestioned. It depends entirely on the decision of the publisher and editor whether publication is patriotic or treasonable.”

Newspapper: Chicago Tribune front page of December 4th 1941



Knox advises cabinet meeting that the Japanese fleet was at sea. He suggested they were heading south, but Roosevelt suggested that they might be headed north. The reference is presumably to the strike force directed against the Philippines and Malaya, as the Pearl Harbor strike force was under radio silence.

Battle of the Pacific

USS “Arizona” arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii and was moored at Ford Island. USS “Astoria” departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to join Task Force 12. USS “Lexington” departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands to ferry US Marine Corps SB2U Vindicator dive bombers to Midway Atoll, leaving no carriers at Pearl Harbor.

Japanese aircraft conducted reconnaissance flights over the coasts of Luzon, Philippine Islands. Radar at Iba picks up contact fifty miles off shore after evening dusk and patrol of P-40’s is vectored in to discover a flight of Zero fighters, which turn north when they spot the American aircraft. During the late afternoon, MacArthur, through Sutherland, directs that FEAF aircraft encountering unknown aircraft in international airspace are to act defensively but, if such are encountered within Philippine airspace, they are to be attacked and shot down.

US Navy officials order all stations in Tokyo, Bangkok, Peking, Tiensin, Shanghai, Guam and Wake to destroy all codebooks and secret files.

The Australian government cancelled all army leave as the prospect of war with Japan grows more likely. Japanese convoys are on the move in Asia, and the only question now seems to be where, not whether, they will strike. Allied forces have been brought to the first degree of readiness. Australian service chiefs have been summoned and the Australian war cabinet has issued orders for emergency measures in the Pacific. However, Australia has the bulk of its army strength - three divisions - in North Africa and the Middle East. So far there is no question of their return, as the war cabinet does not believe that there is an immediate threat to Australia. Meanwhile, John Curtin, the Australian prime minister, is anxiously following the efforts of the United States to negotiate with the Japanese and thereby avert an extension of the European war to the Pacific. The government here wonders whether, if negotiations fail, the United States will take the lead in armed defence against Japanese aggression. Despite the links with Britain and the British base at Singapore, it is the Americans that are seen as potentially the major Allied power in the Pacific.

Visit by Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, commander of the British Far East Squadron. Phillips met with MacArthur and Hart at Cavite. Phillips requests assignment of two destroyer divisions to operate with HMS “Repulse” and HMS “Renown”. Hart demurs. Hart receives message from Captain John Creighton, USN, his liaison officer in Singapore, that the British had been informed by the US government that the US would enter the war on the British side if one of several possibilities occurred. Hart requested further information from the Navy Department.

“Isabel” reaches Camranh Bay, is discovered by Japanese patrol aircraft, and is ordered by Hart to return to Manila.

United Kingdom

Britain declared war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

Japan/German relations

Joachim von Ribbentrop gave Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Oshima a draft document which noted that Germany would declare war on the United States should Japan and the US enter a state of war.

United States/Japan relations

As a last attempt to prevent the outbreak of hostilities, President Roosevelt sends a personal message to Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The note states, “Developments are occurring in the Pacific area which threaten to deprive each of our nations and all humanity of the beneficial influence of the long peace between our two countries. . . . During the past few weeks it has become clear to the world that Japanese military, naval, and air forces have been sent to Southern Indochina in such large numbers as to create a reasonable doubt on the part of other nations that this continuing concentration in Indochina is not defensive in its character. . . the people of the Philippines, of the hundreds of Islands of the East Indies, of Malaya, and of Thailand itself are asking themselves whether these forces of Japan are preparing or intending to make attack in one or more of these many directions. . . . It is clear that a continuance of such a situation is unthinkable." There is no Japanese reply. The Japanese leaders feel that involving the Emperor is wrong and are resentful of this effort. Later the first 13 parts of a 14 part Japanese message are transmitted. Unknown to the Japanese, US codebreakers will intercept and decode this message. US President Franklin Roosevelt reads the decoded version of 13 of 14 parts of the Japanese reply to the US final offer of peace terms. Roosevelt says;

"This means war".

The US Navy leadership in Washington DC was warned of the burning of papers at the nearby Japanese embassy.

President Roosevelt authorizes the Manhattan Engineering District. The secret U.S. project to build an atomic bomb, later to be called the Manhattan Project, is put under the direction of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. Vannevar Bush, head of the American Office of Scientific Research and Development, receives Presidential approval for an all-out effort in atomic research. Vannevar Bush and Arthur Compton assigned Harold Urey to develop research into gaseous diffusion as a uranium enrichment method and Ernest Lawrence to investigate electromagnetic separation methods.

United Kingdom/Canada intelligence

The British Special Operations Executive’s (SOE) Camp X at Whitby, Ontario, becomes operational as Special Training School 103. At the same time, a sophisticated top secret communications relay station (Oshawa Wireless) is established at Camp X to facilitate the critical need for secure wartime transcontinental communications between Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. Hundreds of agents are trained at Camp X between 1941 and 1944. Many of those who train at the Camp receive specialized courses in security and intelligence, some are trained as radio operators and are dispatched to South America by the British Security Coordination (BSC). Others who are trained as secret agents, receive further training in the U.S. prior to missions in Asia or are shipped to Ringway (now Manchester International Airport), Beaulieu (Hampshire now home of the National Motor Museum) and Arsaig (west coast of Scotland, near Oban) in the U.K. before being sent on missions into occupied Europe. One of the students at the camp was Ian Fleming, the creator of Agent 007, James Bond.

Continuation War

Elements of Finnish Army of Karelia finish clearing Karhumaki (Medvezhyegorsk) north of Lake Onega on the Leningrad-Murmansk railroad. By this date the Finnish advance in eastern Karelia is about to stop. The battle for town of Karhumäki (Medvezjegorsk, on northern shore of Lake Onega) is almost finished, and after the battle the Finnish troops dig into defence. The men are very war-weary; there has already been several instances of troops refusing the orders to advance. The men fighting in eastern Karelia feel they’ve been treated unfairly. The troops in Karelian Isthmus has been in defence for almost three months now, whereas they has been advancing and fighting the whole time. After the capture of Karhumäki the Finns are in defence all along the front, and the front-line will remain the same until June 1944. The Finnish leadership, already sensing the possibility of German defeat, adopt ‘wait and see’ policy, hoping in the event of Soviet victory to use the territories captured east of the pre-1939 border to bargain better terms for peace.

Operation Z - Attack on Pearl Harbor

Nagumo’s fleet turned southeast. Japanese carrier fleet reached the rendezvous point at 34 degrees north, 158 degrees west, and then began a high speed approach for Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. The crew of his flagship, the “Akagi”, hoist the battle flag used by Admiral Togo at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, when the Russians were decisively defeated. IJN Pearl Harbor Striking Force supply vessels “Taho Maru”, “Toei Maru”, and “Nippon Maru” turn back to Japan. At the same time, the 30 Japanese submarines in the Hawaii area began to tighten the ring around the islands. I-74 spotted USS “Lexington”, but no action was taken. Five large Japanese submarines lie at the mouth of Pearl Harbor, each with a two-man midget submarine. IJN submarines I-16, I-18, I-20, I-22, and I-24 launch midget submarines for operations against Pearl Harbor. The midget submarines are to enter the harbor before dawn, prepared to attack ships when the aerial assault takes place.

Photo: A group photo of fighter pilots on the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Zuikaku the day before attacking Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Second row, third person from the right is fighter division officer Masao Sato. To his left, Masatoshi Makino, Yuzo Tsukamoto. Last person on right is Tetsuzo Iwamoto



Working on a Saturday afternoon, Dorothy Edgers translated a secret diplomatic message from Tokyo to diplomats in Honolulu. The message requested continuous and detailed information on ship movements, berthing position, and torpedo netting at Pearl Harbor. Alarmed, Mrs. Edgers checked other similar messages waiting to be translated. All had similar request. At 1500 hours she brought this information to the attention of her boss, Lt. Commander Alvin Kramer, USN. After making a few minor corrections to the translation, he told her “We’ll get back to this on Monday.” In less than 24 hours, the reason for the messages would be obvious, even to Kramer.

At Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Kimmel told a reporter from the news agency Christian Science Monitor that the chance of a war in the Pacific Ocean involving the United States was slim. Nearby, Vice Admiral William Pye told Kimmel (via intelligence officer Edwin Layton) that war with Japan was inevitable, although Pearl Harbor was not a likely target, thus there was no need to send the battleships out to sea as a precaution. Finally, at Honolulu, Hawaii, Consul-General Nagao Kita sent a cable to Japan that he observed no barrage balloons over Pearl Harbor and he did not believe there were torpedo nets around the battleships. Japanese spy Yoshikawa reported US ship locations in Pearl Harbor. The message was decrypted aboard Japanese carrier “Akagi” 36 minutes later.

USS “Arizona” began receiving maintenance work by the crew of repair ship USS “Vestal”. USS “Enterprise” encountered heavy weather which delayed her refueling operation for destroyers and delayed the arrival at Pearl Harbor. Battleships USS “Oklahoma” and “Nevada” arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands.

On Pearl Harbor, many sailors and other enlisted men are enjoying this Saturday night with the “Battle of Music” performed by military bands. The winner was the band from the battleship USS “Pennsylvania” (BB-38). Second place went to the band of the Pennsylvania’s sister ship, the battleship USS “Arizona” (BB-39).

Hart informs Phillips, when MacArthur suggests that he remain in Manila and have a formal reception there, that Phillips ought to return to Singapore immediately if “you want to see your ships again” as war was imminent. Phillips returns to Singapore in the afternoon. MacArthur orders Brereton to disperse aircraft “as well as possible”, to man all stations full-time, and to increase airfield guards and off-shore patrols. Hart orders Destroyer Division 57 from Balikpapan to Singapore and for it to operate under Phillips’ orders.

27 Japanese troop transports departed from Taiwan, sailing for the Philippine Islands; 400 Japanese pilots stationed at Taiwan were briefed of the attacks to be commenced on the next day. Elsewhere, a Japanese invasion fleet boarded and scuttled a Norwegian freighter.

“Tatsuta Maru” was in the Pacific en route for San Francisco, California. Her planned passenger list after arriving in the United States now included employees of the Japanese Raw Silk Intelligence Bureau, the Silk Department of Mitsui and Company, Gunze Corporation, Asahi Corporation, Japanese Cotton and Silk Trading Company, Hara and Company, Katakura and Company, Morimura and Company, Arai and Company, and Shinyai and Company.

US Navy yacht “Isabel” was detected by a floatplane from Japanese seaplane carrier Kamikawa Maru off Indochina. “Isabel” was later ordered to abort her current mission as bait for first fire and to sail for Manila, Philippine Islands. Shortly after, nearby, a Japanese Zero fighter covering the Malaya invasion force found and shot down a British PBY Catalina patrol aircraft.

Two B-17Cs and 14 B-17Ds arrive at Del Monte Field, Mindanao and since they are expected to only stay three days, they bring very few supplies. None of the barracks have been completed and there are not enough tents to house the air crew so many sleep in their planes. Radio communication with Luzon consists of high frequency radio which is sporadic at best. The only thing the PX has to offer is a single brand of beer called “San Miguel Beer for Convalescent Mothers.”

The Australian 49th Battalion, a Militia unit from Queensland, and elements of the 13th Field Regiment, and base troops arrive in Port Moresby.

United kingdom/Finland relations

Britain reluctantly declared war on the country which, only two years ago, she was planning to defend. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, Finnish forces joined in. For the past five months Britain has been appealing to the Finns to withdraw. Stalin recently stepped up the pressure on Britain to declare war on Hitler’s three little satellites, Finland, Hungary and Romania. They were given a deadline, which expires at midnight. Though Finland - on Finland’s 24th Independence Day - now becomes an enemy, the hundreds of Finnish merchant seamen serving aboard British ships will be offered the opportunity of remaining in service or being interned. Other Finns, along with Hungarian and Romanian nationals, have been ordered to report to the police. Those regarded as unreliable will be sent to internment camps.

Yep, that would be corecht.

Day 828 of World War II, December 6th 1941

Eastern Front

Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive in the Moscow region in Russia at 0600 hours. Zhukov orders the right flank of the West Front to attack 3.Panzergruppe and 4.Panzergruppe in the Klin area. Reinhardt’s 3.Panzergruppe Panzers are on the Moskva/Volga canal near Yakhroma and Soviet 1st Shock Army fixes these with a frontal assault, while Soviet 30th Army (3 rifle divisions and 56 light tanks) crushes the 60 km left flank held by only 2 German infantry divisions. At midday, Reinhardt orders a withdrawal to Klin while Heinz Guderian's 2.Panzerarmee held the areas near Tula south of Moscow. A gap has opened between Guderian and von Kluge’s 4.Armee which General Zhukov is trying to exploit. Soviet 10th Army attacks Heinz Guderian's 2.Panzerarmee. Further South, Soviet 3rd and 13th Armies (Southwestern Front) attack German 2.Army, threatening to outflank 2.Panzerarmee. General Zhukov is in overall command of the effort which includes the North-West Front, the Kalinin Front, the West Front and the South-West Front and 20 Armies. Fresh troops and tanks have been added to the Soviet Kalinin, West and Southwest Fronts. Planned by and under the command of Zhukov, the Soviets intend to cut through the panzer wings of Army Group Center and then to isolate and destroy it. The attacks are making progress as the Germans, battered and exhausted give ground. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock had not yet realized that he was now facing an all-out Soviet counteroffensive.

The log road between Zabor'ye and Lake Ladoga near Leningrad, Russia was completed. Thousands of civilians, pressed into service as forced laborers, had died during the construction of this road in the past month. This opened another way to bring supplies into the besieged city.

Soviet submarine ShCh-204 was sunk by Bulgarian aircraft in the Black Sea 24 miles south of Varna, Bulgaria.

Japan/German relations

Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo ordered Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima to continue to press Germany to formally agree to declare war on the United States should Japan and US enter a state of war. Oshima was also ordered to avoid any German demands on a Japanese-Soviet war.

Western Desert Campaign - Operation Crusader

Germans abandon the ‘Walter’ and ‘Freddie’ strongpoints without a fight, but the 'Pavia' fights a brave delaying action on Point 157. Elements of German 15.Panzerdivision unsuccessfully attack British 22nd Guards Brigade. General Neumann-Silkow, commanding German 15.Panzerdivision, is mortally wounded. Hans-Joachim Marseille of JG 27 shot down two Hurricane fighters, his 27th and 28th kills, over El Adem, Libya at 1210 and 1225 hours.

Operation Z - Attack on Pearl Harbor

Kido Butai, the main Japanese carrier strike force heading for Hawaii, finishes refueling and turns southeast toward Pearl Harbor on the last leg of its journey. The fleet ends the day (east coast time) roughly 600 miles north of Oahu and the plan is to park about 200 miles from it. It is on schedule and there have been no security breaches during the long journey from Japan.

Photo: Lieutenant Ichiro Kitajima, group leader of the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Kaga's Nakajima B5N2 Type 97 torpedo bomber group, briefs his flight crews about the Pearl Harbor raid which will take place the next day. A diagram of Pearl Harbor and the aircraft's attack plan is chalked on the deck



On Formosa, Imperial Japanese Air Force planes prepare for an attack on the US Army Air Force bases on the Philippines. Troop transports are heading toward the Philippines from Formosa and the Pescadores. Another invasion force is making final preparations on the island of Rota to invade the US fleet base at Guam, while another is preparing on Kwajalein to invade Wake Island. Troop transports are heading south from Hainan, China and French Indochina for landing beaches in Thailand and Kota Baru in British Malaya.

Photo: Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi, battleship Hiei, and battleship Kirishima on their way to Hawaii, on or about 6 December 1941



China

38th Infantry Division of Japanese 23rd Army, having moved from Canton area, begins assembling in secret along Hong Kong border overnight.

Day 829 of World War II, December 7th 1941

Operation Z - Attack on Pearl Harbor

In Tokyo, it now is 6 p.m. The Japanese Foreign Ministry finally finishes sending the 14-part "final notice" (Saigo Tsūchi) via Mackay Radio and RCA (two separate copies) to the embassy in Washington. At 6:30 p.m., another message is sent with corrections and instructions for delivery.

Off Khota Bharu, Malaysia, a patrolling RAAF Hudson bomber spots the Japanese transport ships that have sailed south from Hainan and Saigon about 65 miles offshore. Japanese destroyer Uranami, which stopped Norwegian freighter Halldor on the 6th and destroyed that ship's radio, opens fire on the Hudson (pilot RAAF Flight Lieutenant John Lockwood), which may be the first shots fired in anger in this phase of the conflict. Another Australian Hudson is vectored in and confirms the sighting half an hour later. The information is passed on to Singapore commander Sir Henry Brooke-Popham.

Hawaii 1 a.m.: In the Philippines, US Radio Intelligence at Fort McKinley begins picking up a sudden stream of around 25-30 brief messages being sent from Tokyo to diplomatic posts around the world. There also are reports of Japanese planes flying over the Philippines, which puts everyone on edge. When decoded, the messages appear innocuous, but a sudden burst of such traffic is always worthy of notice.

Hawaii 2 a.m.: Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Teiji Tsugami calls on the Thai Foreign Minister, Chaiyanam Direk, in Bangkok at about 7:30 p.m. Tsugami tells Direk that Japan is about to declare war on Great Britain and the United States - apparently the first time that Japan officially tips its hand - and requests the right of free passage from Cambodia through Thailand to the Burmese and Malayan borders. Direk replies that he will have to consult with his government, but he knows that Field Marshal Phibun, the premier, has made it clear that no infringement of Thai territory was to be tolerated. The Thai police chief and deputy premier, Detcharat Adun, also attends the meeting and quickly gets a message to Phibun. He also calls an emergency cabinet meeting for the next morning.

Hawaii 3 a.m.: In Tokyo at 10:30 p.m., US Ambassador Joseph Grew receives a "final appeal" drafted by President Roosevelt and sent by US Secretary of State Cordell Hull for delivery to the Japanese government. The message has been held up for ten hours by the Japanese military in order to forestall any last-minute attempts to prevent the outbreak of war. Grew's staff immediately contacts Japanese Foreign Minister Togo's staff to set up an immediate meeting, but are told to call back the next morning. Togo, of course, knows exactly when the attacks are due to begin. However, Grew's staff persists due to the extreme urgency of the situation, and Togo finally agrees to see Grew if he can come over by midnight. Grew's staff works frantically to decode the message from Roosevelt to get it ready within an hour.

In Washington at about 8 a.m., Japanese Embassy official Katsuzo Okamura is furiously typing up the final Japanese message for delivery to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The embassy suddenly receives another section of the very long Japanese statement that is delivered by commercial telegraph. This is the critical final paragraph of the diplomatic note. The instructions sent earlier by Tokyo to deliver the message at exactly 1:00 p.m. also arrives, along with the corrections - which require previous pages to be retyped. Okamura keeps working as fast as he can, he is the only embassy employee with security clearance who knows how to use an American typewriter.

At the US Navy Department in Washington, Naval Intelligence receives the final section of the Japanese message perhaps even before the Japanese Embassy does. The analysts immediately decode it to quickly find that it concludes that "it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations." This certainly is ominous, but it is not a declaration of war. It is delivered immediately to Admiral Stark and a few others, who surmise that it means war is imminent.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General George C. Marshall leaves for his usual Sunday morning horseback. It is on a farm that one day will become the site of the Pentagon.

In Manila at 9:45 p.m., Major General Lewis H. Brereton attends a party at the Manila Hotel. He writes in his diary that he meets Rear Admiral William Purnell, Admiral Thomas Hart's chief of staff, who confides that Washington has issued a secret war alert and that the Japanese could attack within hours.

At 3:42 a.m., the destroyer USS Ward and minesweepers Crosshill and Condor are on patrol when they spot a suspicious object in the water near Pearl Harbor. Condor sends a semaphore message to Ward saying, "Sighted submerged submarine on westerly course speed 9 knots." The Ward starts a sonar search, but after 45 minutes finds nothing and gives up the search. Neither the Condor nor the Ward decides to report the incident, and while later communications between the ships are picked up by a Navy monitoring station at Bishop's Point, they don't inform their superiors about the sighting either.

Hawaii 4 a.m.: Officials in Washington continue to analyze the decoded Japanese "final message." They decide that nothing will happen until the note is delivered by the Japanese ambassador. The instructions to Ambassador Nomura to deliver the note at 1:00 p.m. are interpreted as meaning nothing will happen before then. General Marshall's staff goes looking for him.

Ambassador Grew in Tokyo arrives at Foreign Minister Togo's residence at 11:50 p.m., just beating the midnight deadline. He has President Roosevelt's "final plea." Grew asks for permission to deliver the message to Emperor Hirohito immediately. Togo says it is too late for an imperial audience, so Grew reads Togo the message. After this, Togo promises to arrange a meeting with the Emperor and ushers Grew out.

General Marshall returns from his morning ride and gets a message to call his office. Over the insecure phone, Marshall learns that a new and apparently important Japanese message has arrived and been decoded. He immediately has his driver take him into his office using one of his family cars, meeting the official staff coming out from Washington on the way.

In Singapore, Brooke-Popham and General Arthur Percival, officer commanding (Malaya), meet and discuss the Hudson sightings of the Japanese invasion fleet and other military intelligence. They decide that it is unwise to implement Operation Matador, the standard defensive plan wherein British troops advance north from Singapore and take up defensive positions on the peninsula. They inform Whitehall in a cable that "Japanese movements are consistent with a deliberate attempt to induce us to violate Thai neutrality." They agree to do nothing and wait to see what develops.

Hawaii 5 a.m.: While USS Condor's skipper decides to return to port at 5:08 a.m., USS Ward continues its search outside Pearl Harbor for the mysterious submerged submarine. The harbor is protected by anti-submarine nets, which open to allow Condor back into the harbor. Because other traffic is expected to leave port soon, the gate operators simply leave the port gate open rather than bother closing it and re-opening it repeatedly. The gate does not close again until 8:46 a.m.

Kido Butai, the Japanese main carrier strike force heading for Hawaii, has reached its attack position about 200 miles north of Pearl Harbor. At 5:30 a.m., Cruisers Tone and Chikuma launch reconnaissance floatplanes which are to fly over the Hawaiian islands, the Tone's plane over Lahaina Roads on Maui, the Chikuma's to keep an eye on Pearl Harbor itself. This proves to be a hazardous flight for the two pilots - not because of the Americans, but because some of the other Japanese ships temporarily mistake them for US scout planes.

Hawaii 6 a.m.: In Washington, Ambassador Nomura receives the decrypted cable that provides instructions on when to deliver the 14-part message to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. He realizes for the first time that it must be done at 1 p.m., which is in only two hours. Katsuzo Okamura continues typing and retyping, struggling to get a clean copy suitable for such an auspicious occasion.

Secretary Hull already knows all about the Japanese diplomatic note even though he won't receive it for at least another two hours. He confers with Secretaries Stimson and Knox, and everyone agrees that the Japanese are planning something big. As Secretary Stimson jots down during the meeting:

Hull is very certain that the Jap[anese] are planning some deviltry and we are all wondering where the blow will strike.

They don't expect the Japanese to attack the United States, but Stimson notes that "We three all thought that we must fight if the British fought."

At Sembawang Aerodrome in north Singapore, the operations room issues instructions to the duty pilot, W.R. Halliday of RAF No. 453 Squadron, to turn off all aerodrome lights because of the possibility of enemy action. This is unusual, but Halliday does not question orders and simply complies. Halliday does try calling his fellow pilots' barracks to alert them that something is up, but nobody answers the phone, he can't leave his station, and there is nobody else around to carry a message. There is nothing that he can do, and nobody else thinks to wake up the sleeping men.

Thai Premier Luang Phibun, who is out of town, sends a message to Deputy Premier Detcharat Adun telling him that he would be returning from his trip by car (he refuses Adun's offer of a plane) and will be there by dawn. Adun meets with the cabinet and everyone agrees, in Phibun's absence, that the only proper course of action is to simply allow the Japanese forces a right of transit through Thai territory. The meeting adjourns without any final decision or vote, but doing nothing is the same as granting Japanese troops free access to Thai territory. Some think that Phibun refuses to return from his little troop sooner - which he easily could do by plane - precisely because this is the outcome that he wants.

Japanese Foreign Minister Togo meets briefly with Prime Minister Tojo at the latter's home. After learning that there are no concessions in President Roosevelt's "final appeal," Tojo says that this is insufficient, but that Ambassador could visit the Emperor if he wished. Tojo then prepares a formal statement for Emperor Hirohito to hand to Ambassador Grew when they meet.

Off Kota Bharu, the Japanese invasion fleet drops anchor at 11:55 p.m. Bangkok time. The troops begin boarding landing craft.

The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, returning from Wake Island, launches 18 Dauntless SBDs to scout ahead of the ship, which is 215 miles west of Pearl Harbor, and land at Ford Island. The ship is maintaining radio silence, and sending the planes to land at Pearl Harbor will be a good way for Admiral "Bull" Halsey to tell the naval commanders there that the Enterprise is running a little late due to heavy seas and engine trouble by destroyer USS Dunlap and won't make port until Monday afternoon.

USS Antares, a Navy supply ship, spots something half-submerged in the water. He notes that it is a submarine that is having "depth-control problems." A PBY patrol plane also spots the object. Both report their sightings to the Ward. The Ward also opens fire with its main guns. A shell from Ward's number three gun sinks the sub. Ward then begins dropping depth charges to make sure of the sinking, with the PBY also dropping some. At 6:53 a.m., Captain Outerbridge aboard the Ward radios the 14th Naval District Headquarters:

We have attacked fired upon and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area.

Headquarters does not issue any alarms about this.

North of Oahu, the six Japanese fleet carriers turn into the wind in order to launch their planes. Despite rough seas, the first strike force of 182 fighters and bombers is in the air by 6:15 a.m., just as dawn is beginning to break. For the pilots, it is just past bedtime because they are still maintaining Tokyo time. The planes head south toward Pearl Harbor, 230 miles away.

Photo: An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter on the aircraft carrier Akagi



Hawaii 7 a.m.: In Washington, the Japanese official typing up the "final notice" for delivery to Secretary of State Cordell Hull receives the critical last section at 12:30. Ambassador Nomura telephones Secretary Hull and tells him that he will be late for their 1:00 p.m. meeting. Hull graciously replies that he will make himself available whenever Nomura is ready.

While four of five mobile radar units on Oahu shut down at 7 a.m. as scheduled, one at Opana remains open longer to get in some extra practice. They have reported a small blip, which is one of the floatplanes launched ahead of the attack force, but the men at Fort Shafter have not inquired further about it. At 7:02, the man at the screen, Private Elliott, notices "something completely out of the ordinary." It is a large blip about 137 miles north of the island. Private Lockard telephones Fort Shafter again. Nobody is around to take the call, but Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler calls back a few minutes later. Tyler is a fighter pilot in the 78th Pursuit Squadron. After Lockard describes the sighting, Tyler assumes that it is a flight of B-17s expected in that morning from California and tells Lockard "don't worry about it."

The Japanese landing forces in Malaya land at their targets on the Kra Isthmus. The British receive their first reports of landings, and General Percival calls Governor Sir Shenton Thomas with the news. Thomas immediately orders police to begin rounding up all Japanese adult males in Singapore. The Japanese rapidly occupy Kota Bharu, about 400 miles north of Singapore.

After sinking the submarine, USS Ward spots a suspicious boat in the defensive zone outside the harbor. Commander Outerbridge radios headquarters:

We are escorting this sampan into Honolulu. Please inform Coast Guard to send cutter [to] relieve us of sampan.

Outerbridge notes that the crew of the sampan waves white surrender flags for some reason. On the way back to Pearl, the Ward spots another suspicious object and drops some more depth charges. It is another Japanese submarine, though the Ward never makes a positive identification. Ensign Sakamoto, in charge of the small craft, is rattled but the submarine is undamaged. He turns the submarine out of harm's way and prepares to watch the show.

Tone's floatplane over Maui sends a message back to the Japanese fleet at 7:38:

The enemy fleet is not at Lahaina anchorage.

The Chikuma's floatplane then sends a message:

Cloud ceiling over the enemy fleet, 1700 meters. Its density, scale 7. 0308.

The "0308" at the end of the message indicates the time sent in the Tokyo time under which the fleet is operating. The floatplane's pilot then reports that the United States fleet is in Pearl Harbor as expected.

Admiral Husband Kimmel, commander at Pearl Harbor, hears of destroyer Ward's submarine encounter at 7:40 a.m. He tells his staff duty officer, "I'll be right down."

At 7:48 a.m., the Japanese planes bearing in from the north split up into groups. One group makes landfall near Kaneohe and begins shooting up the 36 PBYs of Patrol Wing One. The headquarters there telephones Bellows Field to warn them, but the duty officer dismisses the report. Another group attacks a Marine base at Ewa, quickly destroying 33 planes on the ground and disabling the remaining 14 others.

Fifty-three Japanese planes arrive over Pearl Harbor at 07:49 a.m., and Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, flying in a non-combatant observation plane, radios "To-To-To," which is his unofficial signal to begin the attack. This message is picked up all the way off in Tokyo. Fuchida spends the mission monitoring the results and taking pictures.

Photo: Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island shortly after the beginning of the Pearl Harbor attack. View looks about east, with the supply depot, submarine base and fuel tank farm in the right center distance, a torpedo has just hit USS West Virginia on the far side of Ford Island (center). Other battleships moored nearby are (from left): Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee (inboard of West Virginia), Oklahoma (torpedoed and listing) alongside Maryland, and California, on the near side of Ford Island, to the left, are light cruisers Detroit and Raleigh, target and training ship Utah and seaplane tender Tangier. Raleigh and Utah have been torpedoed, and Utah is listing sharply to port, Japanese planes are visible in the right center (over Ford Island) and over the Navy Yard at right. U.S. Navy planes on the seaplane ramp are on fire



The first bombs dropping at 7:53. Fuchida then radios "Tora Tora Tora," which is his signal for a successful attack. This is picked up on the Akagi, where Admiral Nagumo hears it and shakes hands with another officer. This message also is picked up by the battleship Nagano anchored in the Inland Sea near Hiroshima, where Admiral Yamamoto and his crew celebrate.

In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Togo meets with Emperor Hirohito. Togo reads President Roosevelt's note. Hirohito approves the reply to Ambassador Grew that Tojo has prepared for him. Togo then leaves, and as soon as he gets home he receives confirmation that the attack on Pearl Harbor is in progress.

At 7:58 a.m., Rear Admiral Patrick Bellinger, Pacific Air Arm commander, tells a radio operator on Ford Island to send out a brief alert to the Mare Island Naval Station Bay:

Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill.

The message is picked up by many other stations, including at Naval Communications in Washington. The message is notable for its failure to identify who is conducting this air raid - but everyone can figure that out.

Hawaii 8 a.m.: Per standard procedure, Naval Communications in Washington forwards the message from Ford Island to Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes. Noyes rushes over to Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox with the news right around 1:30 p.m. (which is the same time as 8 a.m. in Hawaii. Admiral Harold Stark, Chief of Naval Operations, is nearby and learns the news from Knox. Colonel John R. Deane tracks down General Marshall at lunch and calls him with the news. Quickly, other messages from Hawaii confirming the first one arrive.

Photo: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941: Torpedo planes attack "Battleship Row" at about 0800 on 7 December, seen from a Japanese aircraft. Ships are, from lower left to right: USS Nevada (BB-36) with flag raised at stern; USS Arizona (BB-39) with USS Vestal (AR-4) outboard; USS Tennessee (BB-43) with USS West Virginia (BB-48) outboard; USS Maryland (BB-46) with USS Oklahoma (BB-37) outboard; USS Neosho (AO-23) and USS California (BB-44). West Virginia, Oklahoma and California have been torpedoed, as marked by ripples and spreading oil, and the first two are listing to port. Torpedo drop splashes and running tracks are visible at left and center. White smoke in the distance is from Hickam Field. Grey smoke in the center middle distance is from the torpedoed USS Helena (CL-50), at the Navy Yard's 1010 dock. Japanese writing in lower right states that the image was reproduced by authorization of the Navy Ministry



At 8:04, KGMB in Honolulu interrupts its regular programming with a call for all military personnel to report to their units immediately. However, no news of the reason for the call-up is given. Admiral Kimmel watches the attack from his office overlooking Pearl Harbor and is struck in the chest by a spent bullet. He comments wryly, "It would have been merciful had it killed me."

The flight of B-17 bombers flying in from California arrives during the Japanese air raid. They are unarmed and nearly out of fuel. Confused U.S. anti-aircraft gunners target the B-17s as they appear over Pearl Harbor. A couple land at Haleiwa, while one crash-lands at Hickam after being hit by a Zero. One of the crewmen on the Hickam plane is strafed on the runway as he runs for cover. The rest of the B-17s land wherever they can, including one on the Kahuku Golf Course.

Photo: U.S. Navy battleships at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 (l-r): USS West Virginia (BB-48) (sunk), USS Tennessee (BB-43) (damaged), and the USS Arizona (BB-39) (sunk)



A few US fighter pilots make it into the air. Two pilots drive from Wheeler to Haleiwa and take off in their P-40s. The Enterprise's SBD Dauntlesses arrive during the battle, and the Japanese fighters shoot six of the planes down while they shoot down one Zero. Of the 404 US aircraft at Hawaii, 188 are destroyed and 159 damaged.

Photo: Planes and hangars burning at Wheeler Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941



In the Philippines, there is still no news of the Pearl Harbor attack. A radar detects a strange blip approaching from Formosa. The radar operator telephones Colonel Harold George, chief of Interceptor Command. George immediately orders P-40 fighters into the air from Iba Field. However, the fighters do not spot any intruders, so George sends up another flight - which also spots nothing.

Photo: The U.S. Navy battleship USS Nevada (BB-36) heading down the channel, afire from several Japanese bomb hits, as seen from Ford Island during the later part of the attack. Ths ship whose boom and flagstaff are visible at left is USS Avocet (AVP-4). Note camouflage Measure 5 false bow wave painted on Nevada



Secretary Knox finally remembers to call President Roosevelt with news of the attack at 1:47 p.m., seventeen minutes after he learns of the raid:

Mr. President, it looks as if the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor

Roosevelt comments to Harry Hopkins, who is there having lunch, "At the time they were discussing peace in the Pacific, they were planning to overthrow it."

Photo: U.S. Navy planes and a hangar burning at the Ford Island Naval Air Station's seaplane base, during or immediately after the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (USA), on 7 December 1941. The ruined wings of a Consolidated PBY Catalina patrol plane are at left and in the center. Note men with rifles standing in the lower left



The Japanese Embassy staff finally finishes typing up the Japanese note to President Roosevelt at 1:50 p.m. Ambassador Nomura immediately drives over to Secretary Hull's office.

Photo: View of "Battleship Row" at Pearl Harbor. The capsized U.S. Navy battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) is visible in the center, USS Maryland (BB-46) is visible barely visible through the smoke behind the Oklahoma. USS West Virginia (BB-48) and USS Arizona (BB-39) are sunk and burning in the background



The second wave of Japanese planes, 171 in all, crosses Kahuku Point on Oahu. They head straight for Pearl Harbor, easily identifiable from the smoke arising from burning ships. The torpedo bombers focus on ships sending up the most anti-aircraft fire, the pilots figuring these are the least damaged. This attack targets cruisers and even destroyers in addition to battleship row. A total of 354 planes take part in the two waves.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyers USS Cassin (DD-372) (capsized, right) and USS Downes (DD-375) (left) in Drydock No. 1 at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 7 December 1941, immediatly following the Japanese attack. Both ships had been severely damaged by bomb hits and the resulting fires. In the background, also in Drydock No. 1, is USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), which had received relatively light damage in the raid. Note her CXAM-1 radar



Hawaii 9:00 a.m.: In the Manila Hotel in the Philippines, the Marine duty officer at naval headquarters reaches Admiral Hart by telephone, reading him the initial message from Pearl Harbor. Hart sends a general alert out to all stations almost immediately. General Richard Sutherland, Douglas MacArthur's chief of staff, reaches MacArthur by telephone and informs him of the attack. Brigadier General Gerow in Washington then calls MacArthur and fills him in on some details, warning, "I wouldn't be surprised if you get an attack there in the near future."

At 9:21 a.m., CINCPAC sends Task Forces 3, 8, and 12 orders to rendezvous and await further instructions "when the enemy is located." Onboard the Enterprise, Admiral Halsey orders four fighters into the air to try and find the Japanese fleet. The rendezvous point is about 120 miles west of Kauai, far from the Japanese fleet north of Oahu.

Photo: Pearl Harbor attack, 7 December 1941, looking toward the Navy Yard from the Submarine Base during the attack. The submarine in the left foreground is USS Narwhal (SS-167). Visible directly behind Narwhal is the destroyer USS Bagley (DD-386). Moored to the right of Bagley are the cruisers USS Honululu (CL-48), USS St. Louis (CL-49), USS San Francisco (CA-38) and USS New Orleans (CA-32). In the distance is 1010 Dock in the right center. Note the sailors in the center foreground, wearing web pistol belts with their white uniforms



Incidentally, to answer the common question, "where were the US Navy aircraft carriers during the attack on Pearl Harbor," here is the answer: There was not a single US aircraft carrier at Pearl Harbor at any time on 7 December 1941. This was for routine reasons and not due to any "plan" to have them avoid the attack. Let's summarize where they all are on 7 December 1941.

Admiral "Bull" Halsey is returning from Wake Island aboard USS Enterprise (Task Force 8) but is late in returning due to rough seas (but for that random event, the Enterprise might have been entering Pearl Harbor during the attack). Although still about a day’s sail away to the west, Halsey ultimately launches 18 Dauntless SBDs to search for the Japanese fleet on 7 December 1941. The US Enterprise is the only carrier with any remote possibility of intervening in the events of 7 December 1941 but the Enterprise is in the wrong position relative to the Japanese fleet and has virtually no chance of finding the Japanese ships unless somehow directed to them. This does not happen because the only people who know where the Japanese ships are, are the Japanese themselves. The planes find nothing and there are no radar contacts (aside from the famous pre-attack readings on Oahu that were mistaken for expected US planes and are never properly interpreted until long after the events in question).

USS Lexington (TF-12) is proceeding on a similar ferrying mission to Midway Island and is several days' sail away from Hawaii. It immediately aborts the mission without sending off its planes and returns to Pearl Harbor. USS Lexington does not arrive at Pearl until days later when "the coast is clear."

USS Saratoga is en route to San Diego after repairs in Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. It is very close to the port there and proceeds there as ordered after the Pearl Harbor attack. and is nowhere near Pearl Harbor at any time on 7 December 1941. At the end of the day, it is anchored in the San Diego harbor.

USS Yorktown, Ranger, Wasp, and Long Island (a brand new escort carrier) are all in the Atlantic assisting with Neutrality Patrols. USS Hornet is brand new and does not yet carry any planes so it would be useless even if it were at Pearl Harbor, which it is not (fortunately for it and its crew). In fact, it is anchored off Norfolk, Virginia.

Photo: West Virginia was sunk by six torpedoes and two bombs during the attack



That accounts for all US Navy aircraft carriers in service on 7 December 1941. Halsey’s search planes don't find the Japanese ships because nobody knows where the attacking planes are coming from (a little over 200 miles north of the islands) and the Japanese carriers are beyond the search range of the Enterprises's planes. There are erroneous reports that the Japanese planes came from the south (reports based on mistaking US Navy ships for Japanese ones). Halsey's planes patrol to the west of Pearl Harbor due to the Enterprise's own location. There is utter confusion on the US side, everyone is operating in the dark, and expecting some kind of perfect response is unrealistic.

Hawaii 10:00 a.m.: German official news agency DNB carries news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at about 10:30 p.m. At the Wolfsschanze, Hitler is holding court with his cronies before his usual midnight war conference. He is elated to hear news of the attack, saying:

Now it is impossible for us to lose the war: we now have an ally who has never been vanquished in three thousand years, and ally who has constantly been vanquished but has always ended up on the right side.

Hitler shows general positive emotion, a rarity at his military headquarters. He even calls for champagne and stages a unique party for ordinary headquarters staff, even having a few glasses himself. It is a welcome moment of happiness during a very gloomy winter.

Photo: Arizona during the attack



President Roosevelt convenes a cabinet meeting in the Oval Office at 3:00 p.m. News from Hawaii is still very sketchy, and Roosevelt personally takes telephone calls during the meeting. He vows to submit a "precise message" to Congress in his call for a declaration of war.

YouTube (Naval Legends: Pearl Harbor)



Hawaii 12 noon: The planes from the first two Japanese attack waves have returned and been refueled and rearmed. There is great enthusiasm throughout the Japanese fleet for a third strike. The pilots have reported many valuable targets remaining to be destroyed at Pearl Harbor, including the massive fuel storage tanks clustered near the harbor. Admiral Nagumo gives it a lot of thought and is pleased with the results of the first two strikes. However, there are good arguments to be made for leaving with the victory intact, including the unknown location of the US Navy aircraft carriers. If the planes were all sent to attack Pearl Harbor again, that would leave the fleet defenseless against a possible reprisal raid. The argument rages for a while, and then finally Nagumo decides to withdraw. The attack on Pearl Harbor is over.

Map: The Japanese attacked in two waves. The first wave was detected by United States Army radar at 136 nautical miles (252 km), but was misidentified as United States Army Air Forces bombers arriving from the American mainland. Top: A: Ford Island NAS. B: Hickam Field. C: Bellows Field. D: Wheeler Field. E: Kaneohe NAS. F: Ewa MCAS. R-1: Opana Radar Station. R-2: Kawailoa RS. R-3: Kaaawa RS. G: Haleiwa. H: Kahuku. I: Wahiawa. J: Kaneohe. K: Honolulu. 0: B-17s from mainland. 1: First strike group. 1-1: Level bombers. 1–2: Torpedo bombers. 1–3: Dive bombers. 2: Second strike group. 2-1: Level bombers. 2-1F: Fighters. 2-2: Dive bombers. Bottom: A: Wake Island. B: Midway Islands. C: Johnston Island. D: Hawaii. D-1: Oahu. 1: USS Lexington. 2: USS Enterprise. 3: First Air Fleet



Eastern Front

Soviet forces captured Tikhvin, Russia east of Leningrad. Zhukov extends the counter-attack at Moscow, ordering the West Front to attack Guderian’s overextended 2.Panzerarmee in the Tula area. Soviet 30th Army attacked German 3.Panzergruppe at Klin while Soviet 50th Army attacked German 2.Panzerdivision near Moscow. Soviet 16th Army begins attacking on the southern flank of German 3.Panzergruppe. Soviet 1st Shock Army and 20th Army continue pushing forward.

Soviet warships begin ferrying 388th Rifle Division from Novorossisk and Tuapse to Sevastopol.

Battle of the Atlantic 

British destroyers HMS “Harvester” and HMS “Hesperus” sank German submarine U-208 115 miles west of Gibraltar, killing the entire crew of 45.

Canadian corvette HMCS “Windflower”, escorting Allied convoy SC-58 off Newfoundland, collided with Dutch freighter “Zypenberg” in poor visibility due to fog and sank; 23 were killed.

U.S. Navy Task Unit 4.1.2, under command of Commander Fred D. Kirtland, accompanied by the salvage vessel USS “Redwing” (ARS 4) and oiler USS “Sapelo” (Atlantic Ocean 11), while escorting Convoy HX-162, reached the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Meeting Point. 21 of the 35 merchantmen scattered by the storm encountered on December 1 had rejoined the convoy by this time.

Battle of the Mediterranean

British vessel “Chantala” was sunk by mine off Tobruk. RN sloop “Flamingo” was damaged by enemy aircraft while running supplies to Tobruk and taken in tow.

Western Desert Campaign - Operation Crusader

Erwin Rommel with fewer than 40 tanks operational, ordered his forces to pull back by about 10 miles toward the Gazala Line, abandoning the Tobruk objective. German forces withdraw from the immediate vicinity of Tobruk and take up defensive positions around Gazala. In contrast, British are able to bring up fresh tanks from Egypt. The first siege of Tobruk ends. As the British continue to advance toward Tobruk, the Luftwaffe is forced to give up airfields and retreat. The Italian 'Bologna' Division covers the retreat of the German 90.leicht Division.

Continuation War

Mannerheim orders Finnish Army of Karelia to halt all attacks and assume defensive positions. Finnish ground operations mostly come to an end, with a total of 75,000 casualties.

Battle of the Pacific

Without declaring war, Japan launches a series of highly-coordinated attacks on British and American territory (spanning the International Date Line). The opening move is a landing of 5500 troops from Gulf of Thailand to capture the airfield at Kota Bharu on the Northeast corner of British-held Malaya, two hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is followed by several larger landings further up the coast in Thailand, meeting stiff Thai resistance until midday when Thai government agrees an armistice.

12 battalions of Japanese troops attack from the Chinese mainland across the New Territories towards Hong Kong. British defenders are forced to fall back to the Gindrinkers Line, the main defensive line protecting Hong Kong. Japanese occupy the International Settlement at Shanghai. Japanese armored cruiser “Izumo” sank British river gunboat HMS “Peterel” in Shanghai, China. River gunboat USS “Wake” was captured by the Japanese in Shanghai, China.

Day 829 of World War II, December 7th 1941

World War II in Real Time - Operation Z - Attack on Pearl Harbor special series

Episode 1 (Enter Japan - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 2 (Genda's Plan - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 3 (Calm Before the Storm - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 4 (Tiger, Tiger, Tiger - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 5 (Burning Ships - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 6 (Another Wave - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 7 (Dogfights - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 8 (The Nurses - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 9 (A Pacific War - Pearl Harbor)



Episode 10 (The Road to War - Pearl Harbor)

Day 831 of World War II, December 9th 1941

Eastern Front

The Soviet drive against Guderian’s forces reaches and captures Elets. In the north, under General Meretskov, the Red Army retakes Tikhvin but cannot relieve the siege at Leningrad. The situation inside the city is desperate; rations are below the starvation level. Soviet 30th Army attacked north of Moscow, capturing many trucks and field guns abandoned by the German 3.Panzergruppe. Soviet 10th Army, 13th Army, and 50th Army continue attacking while 5th Cavalry Corps pushes into gap between German 2.Panzerarmee and 2.Armee. Soviet 52nd Army attacking in the Malaya Vyshera sector. Soviet 1st Shock Army captures Fedorovka. Zhukov ordered Red Army units to avoid frontal assaults, bypass German strong points and breakthrough on the flanks. Despite the victories, Soviet logistic situation was extremely poor largely due to the destruction of many vehicles at the hands of the Germans in the past few months. The German 112th Infantry Division manages to halt the 10th Army's advance along the Shat and Don rivers. Further South, Soviet cavalry recapture Yelets and continue the encirclement of German 45th, 95th and 134th Infantry Divisions at Livny.

"I order: 1. Categorically forbid you to conduct frontal combat with enemy covering units and to conduct frontal combat against fortified positions. Leave small covering forces against rear guards and fortified positions and seek to envelop them, while reaching as deep as possible along the enemy's withdrawal routes. 2. Form several shock groups in the armies consisting of tanks, submachine gunners and cavalry and, under the direction of brave commanders, throw them into the enemy's rear area to destroy fuel and artillery tractors. 3. Strike the enemy day and night. In the event units become exhausted, create pursuit detachments. 4. Protect of forces' operations with antitank defenses, reconnaissance and constant security, bearing in mind that, when withdrawing, the enemy will search for opportunities to counterattack..." - Zhukov directive to counterattacking forces.

Germany

Adolf Hitler arrived in Berlin, Germany at 1100 hours. He decided to declare war on the United States on this date, but decided to withhold the announcement until 11 Dec in order to have enough time to draft his speech.

Central America

Cuba and Panama declared war on Japan. Cuba declared war, stating "We consider that this aggression by a non‑American state against the integrity and inviolability of an American state is such a case as is contemplated in declaration No. 15 of the Conference of Habana, by virtue of which all the nations of this continent should likewise consider themselves attacked in the same way and should act jointly."

Battle of the Atlantic

German submarine U-652 sank French ship “Saint Denis” 50 miles south of the Balearic Islands at 1400 hours, killing 3. The ship was sunk in a case of misidentification, as she flew the flag of Vichy France.

German submarine U-134 mistakenly sank German ship “Steinbek” 20 miles off of northern Norway at 2100 hours; 12 survived.

Western Desert Campaign - Operation Crusader

Multiple bombing missions and heavy air-to-air combat with many losses in the Tobruk - Gazala sector.

North America

Franklin Roosevelt had his first "Fireside Chat" radio address since the United States had entered the war, noting that the Axis powers had been tainted with "a decade of immorality".

YouTube (President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat Following the Declaration of War on Japan)



Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, Fourth Army commander at the Presidio, told Angelo Mayor Rossi: “

You people do not seem to realize we are at war. So get this: last night there were planes over this community! They were enemy planes! I mean Japanese planes!”

US Navy purchased 25 airborne search radar sets for service test in dive bombers and torpedo planes.

In Canada fear of Japanese invasion spreads on British Columbia coast. Government orders blackouts; closes Japanese-Canadian newspapers, schools. At a meeting of the Canadian Cabinet, Prime Minister William King worries that a Japanese assault on the west coast "seemed wholly probable".

Newspaper: New York Times, December 9th 1941



United kingdom

Winston Churchill sent Franklin Roosevelt a message requesting a conference on the war with Japan. Roosevelt initially intended to reject this request, wishing to give his top generals more time to research the situation to avoid the British dominating the conference.

Free Netherlands

It is announced that the Netherlands and Soviet governments have agreed to exchange ambassadors.

Pacific War

THAILAND

Japanese troops occupy Bangkok, Thailand's capital. Thailand promptly signs an alliance with Japan. The Japanese make more landings on the Thai coast, heading into north Malaya, through dense jungles, to Singapore.

MALAYA

Bitter fighting between British and Japanese troops took place for the airfield at Kota Bharu in British Malaya.

British in Northern Malaya send Laycol and Krohcol, small columns of Indian troops in armored cars, over the border into Thailand to destroy roads and railway lines. They meet stiff resistance from Thai police units and later from Japanese 5th Division advancing south from Pattani. Japanese 9th Infantry Brigade advancing south from Singora toward Jitra while 42nd Infantry Regiment advancing from Patani. Japanese 56th Regiment advancing from Kota Bharu southward along the coast. Japanese air attack on Butterworth airfield. Under Japanese air attack, RAF begin withdrawing from Kuantan airfield.

Japanese aircraft attack Alor Star airfield, Malaya. From the two squadron of Blenheim light bombers based there, only one aircraft survived.

HONG KONG

Japanese troops breached a western segment of the British Gin Drinker's Line, which stretched from the Gin Drinker's Bay (Zuijiu Wan) in the west to the White Sands Bay (Baisha Wan) in the east, at 225 High Ground north of Hong Kong Island. Overnight, they breach the British defenses, take 27 British POWs and capture this high ground dominating the Western end of the Gin Drinkers Line.

Map of the Gin Drinkers Line



CHINA

Chiang Kai-shek invites representatives of US, UK, and Soviet Union to Chungking for joint military conference about defeating the Axis nations.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

USS “Swordfish” became the first US submarine to attack the enemy when she fired on a Japanese ship 150 miles west of Manila. Japanese destroyers “Ayanami” and “Yugiri” discovered Dutch submarine O 20 twenty miles east of Kota Bharu, British Malaya and attacked her with depth charges from 1100 to 1730 hours. O 20 was finally forced to surface after sundown and was scuttled. 7 were killed during the attack; 32 survived and were captured.

Japanese aircraft commenced the bombing of Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. Among the first targets in the capital city region was the US Army airbase Nichols Field. Japanese aircraft bombarded American defensive positions at Guam, Mariana Islands. Saburo Sakai, flying an A6M Zero fighter, attacked US positions in the Philippine Islands in poor weather.

GILBERT ISLANDS

Japanese troops seized Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert Islands. At Wake Atoll, Japanese Navy 24th Air Flotilla aircraft bombed Naval Air Station on Peale Island and Batteries A and E at Peacock Point. The Japanese Imperial Fourth Fleet (one cruiser, two light cruisers, six destroyers, two transports) heads north to take Wake Island.

Japanese submarines RO-63, RO-64, and RO-68 bombarded Howland and Baker Islands. It was believed that the US Navy had seaplane bases on those islands, but that intelligence was incorrect.

Japanese submarine I-10 shelled and sank unarmed Panamanian-flag motorship “Donerail” 200 miles southeast of Hawaii; only 8 out of the 40 people onboard survived.

Japanese aircraft and submarine I-65 spotted British battleship HMS “Prince of Wales” and battlecruiser HMS “Repulse”. Torpedo bombers were launched from Saigon, occupied French Indochina, but they failed to locate the ships. Their mission compromised, HMS “Prince of Wales” and battlecruiser HMS “Repulse” turn south to return to Singapore.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

At Pearl Harbor, rescue workers with oxy-acetylene torches cut through USS Oklahoma's capsized hull and 15-inch armor to reach trapped crewmen inside. The last survivor is pulled out this day...QM1 H.S. Kennedy, father of NASU's last commanding officer.

Photo: Aerial view of the hangar area at Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, on 9 December 1941, showing effects of the Japanese air attack two days earlier. View looks southeast. The most distant hangar appears to have suffered significant damage and has a pile of aircraft wreckage immediately to its left