December 2011

As the year ends, Germany and allies Italy, Vichy France and the Balkan states control Europe from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean and from the English Channel to deep in USSR (a line from Leningrad in the North to the Sea of Azov in the South).

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On the West side of Malaya – Battle of Kampar. 8000 Japanese troops (9th Brigade, 5th Division under General Kawamura) approach Kampar defenses held by 1600 British and Indian troops (11th Indian Division under General Archibald Paris). Japanese begin probing attacks but cannot use their tanks on the jungle-covered mountains either side of the road or in the swamps West of Kampar. On the East coast, Indian 9th Division at Kuantan is distracted by warnings of an amphibious landing (which never comes) and Japanese troops coming overland from Kota Bharu overrun their defenses North of Kuantan River.

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Eastern Front. From Leningrad in the North to Rostov in the South, German troops are assailed by brutal cold, lack of supplies and Red Army attacks. The only German offensive is in the Crimea where Manstein’s 11th Army continues to assault Sevastopol, using siege mortars and howitzers. At 3.50 AM, Soviet 51st Army begin landing 40,500 troops, 236 artillery pieces and 43 tanks at Feodosiya (Western end of Kerch peninsula, on the South coast); this threatens to trap German 46th Infantry Division defending against the earlier landings further East on Kerch peninsula, forcing Manstein to relieve pressure on Sevastopol. General Hans Graf von Sponeck immediately begins withdrawing 46th Infantry Division, abandoning most heavy equipment including artillery. In January 1942, Sponeck will be arrested and imprisoned for 6 years as an example for disobeying Hitler’s ‘no retreat’ order.

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Libya. British 22nd Armored Brigade and Afrika Korps skirmish in the desert near El Haseiat. British suffer greater losses although they outnumber Afrika Korps in tanks.

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Operation Anklet, Lofoten Islands, Northwest Norway. A German seaplane bombs cruiser HMS Arethusa which is damaged by near-misses requiring 14 weeks of repair. Without air support, Admiral Hamilton decides to re-embark the Commandos (no casualties during the raid) and return to Scapa Flow. They return with 200 Norwegian volunteers for the Free Norwegian Forces, in addition to 29 German POWs.

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Operation Anklet. 22 warships from Britain, Norway and Poland raid the Lofoten Islands (Northwest Norway, 100 miles inside the Arctic Circle). At 6 AM, 223 British Commandos and 77 Norwegian troops land on the island of Moskenesøya from British landing ship HMS Prins Albert (escorted by Norwegian corvettes HNoMS Andenes and Eglantine), take several German & Norwegian Quisling prisoners and destroy a radio transmitter at Glåpen. British destroyer HMS Bedouin shells a radio transmitter at Flakstadøya. In Vestfjord, British cruiser HMS Arethusa and destroyers HMS Somali, Ashanti, and Eskimo capture 2 Norwegian coastal steamers and sink a German patrol boat (after capturing the Enigma machine and code settings).

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Hong Kong. Allied commanders realize their troops are isolated, without food and water. At 3.15 PM, British Governor of Hong Kong Sir Mark Young and Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong General Maltby agree to surrender. Sir Mark surrenders at the Japanese headquarters in the Peninsula Hong Kong hotel. River gunboat HMS Robin is scuttled to prevent capture. Allied casualties are 2113 killed, 2300 wounded and 12,000 taken prisoner, while Japanese lost 1,996 killed and 6,000 wounded.

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At 1.35 AM 50 miles Northeast of Mersa Matruh, Egypt, U-568 sinks British corvette HMS Salvia (all 106 hand lost, plus an unknown number of survivors rescued a few hours earlier from British passenger ship SS Shuntien transporting German and Italian POWs from Tobruk to Alexandria).

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Invasion of Wake Islands. After their defeat on December 11, Japanese return with 1500 SNLF Marines, aircraft carriers Soryu and Hiryu, 6 cruisers, 6 destroyers and 2 patrol boats. The warships and carrier aircraft bombard the islands. Landings begin at 2.35 AM. Wake Island itself is overwhelmed by troops landing from barges and the 2 patrol boats which are run aground; American garrison surrenders at 8 AM. Marine Corps pilot Captain Henry Elrod, who sunk destroyer Kisaragi on December 11, dies fighting on the beach and is awarded the Medal Of Honor for his defense of Wake. On nearby Wilkes Island, 100 Japanese SNLF Marines are wiped ouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift by a determined counterattack by the 70 American Marines (US casualties, 11 killed, 5 wounded) – to no avail with the surrender of the main island.

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Philippines. At 2 AM, Japanese invasion of the island of Luzon begins in earnest. 43,000 troops (48th Division) and 90 tanks land in the Lingayen Gulf, 110 miles North of Manila. US submarine S38 enters the shallow shoals of Lingayen Gulf and misses 4 transport ships and 2 destroyers with 4 torpedoes at 7.10 AM. S38 then sinks Japanese freighter Hayo Maru at 7.58. The American defenses (North Luzon Force, composed mainly of poorly-trained and equipped Pilipino troops) are spread too thinly to put up more than token resistance. In addition to marching on Manila, Japanese troops will head North to link up with earlier landings at Aparri and Vigan. After flying 1350 miles from Darwin, Australia, 9 US B-17s bombers attack Japanese ships in Davao Gulf, Mindanao, and then land at Del Monte on Mindanao.

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