https://ww2db.com/event/today/12/17
17 Dec 1905
Finland
Simo Häyhä was born in Rautjärvi, Finland. ww2dbase [Simo Häyhä | Rautjärvi | CPC] He was given the nickname of Belaya Smert, or "White Death", by the Russian troops.
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=814
17 Dec 1919
United States
Vernon Baker MOH was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States. ww2dbase [Vernon Baker | Cheyenne, Wyoming | CPC]
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=394
17 Dec 1936
Communist Party of China sent a delegation to Xi'an under the urging of Joseph Stalin. ww2dbase [Xi'an Incident | CPC]
In Spain, the POUM (Partido Obrero de Unification Marxist [Revolutionary (i.e. anti-Stalanist) Communists]) was ousted from the Generalitat (Catalan Government) by the Communists. ww2dbase [AC]
In a secret meeting, Hermann Göring told leading German industrialists that the war to which Germany was preparing for was on the horizon. ww2dbase [Hermann Göring | CPC]
17 Dec 1937
PB2Y Coronado flying boat took its first flight. ww2dbase [PB2Y Coronado | CPC]
China
At the Sancha Fangsheng Temple and the nearby orphanage in Nanjing, China, Japanese troops massacred 400 to 500 civilians. At a dock on the Yangtze River, Japanese troops massacred over 3,000 prisoners of war, civilian workers of the power plant, and other civilians. German businessman John Rabe, who was in the Chinese capital of Nanjing, noted the diary entry on this date "In one of the houses in the narrow street behind my garden wall, a woman was raped, and then wounded in the neck with a bayonet. I managed to get an ambulance so we can take her to Kulou Hospital.... You hear nothing but rape. If husbands or brothers intervene, they're shot. What you hear and see on all sides is the brutality and bestiality of the Japanese soldiers." ww2dbase [Battle of Nanjing and the Rape of Nanjing | Nanjing | CPC]
Iwane Matsui entered Nanjing, China with a military parade. ww2dbase [Iwane Matsui | Nanjing | CPC]
17 Dec 1938
U-47 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [U-47 | CPC]
Wilhelm Keitel ordered that the invasion of the remainder of Czechoslovakia must be done by a peacetime German Army that was not reinforced by mobilization. ww2dbase [Dismemberment of Czechoslovakia | CPC]
17 Dec 1939
Soviet Army assaulted Summa, Finland. ww2dbase [The Winter War | TH]
HMS Cumberland at Montevideo, Uruguay after Admiral Graf Spee scuttled. ww2dbase [Battle of the River Plate | Admiral Graf Spee | Cumberland | DS]
Canada
The Governments of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada signed the Air Training Agreement (Riverdale Agreement) in Ottowa, Ontario, Canada, thereby establishing the creation of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan (joined further by facilities in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia and the United States) for the joint training of military air crews. ww2dbase [Ottowa, Ontario | AC]
Uruguay
Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled by her own crew at Montevideo, Uruguay. ww2dbase [Admiral Graf Spee | Montevideo | CPC]
17 Dec 1940
British Home Office announced the hanging death of a third German spy. On the same day, a British housewife was sentenced to death for spying. ww2dbase [TH]
The British government announced a ration increase for Christmas week. ww2dbase [CPC]
British destroyer HMS Acheron hit a mine and sank while running sea trials 5 miles southwest of the Isle of Wight at 0640 hours, killing 153 crew and 22 shipyard workers; 13 crew and 3 shipyard workers survived. ww2dbase [TH]
British monitor HMS Terror and gunboat HMS Ladybird bombarded Bardia, Libya, sinking Italian ships Galata, Vincenzino, and Giuseppina D. in the harbor. On the same day, the British announced that they had captured 20,000 Italian prisoners, including three generals, in Egypt. ww2dbase [Operation Compass | CPC]
United States
President Roosevelt held a press conference in Washington DC, United States, revealing the Lend-Lease program to journalists. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | Washington | CPC]
17 Dec 1941
Japanese submarines RO-62 and RO-66 collided 25 miles southwest of Wake Island at 2020 hours in bad weather while recharging their batteries on the surface. RO-66 sank; all 63 inside the submarine were killed, while the 3 men on duty atop the ship survived the sinking. ww2dbase [CPC] Bumper submarines!
Walther von Brauchitsch again requested permission for him to resign due to health reasons. ww2dbase [Walther von Brauchitsch | CPC]
The Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment on the northern coast of Hong Kong island, which began on 15 Dec 1941, ceased at 1130 hours as the Japanese observed the raising of a white flag from the defensive positions on the beaches. At 1430 hours, Governor of Hong Kong Sir Mark Young again rejected the Japanese demand for surrender. The bombardment would resume shortly after. ww2dbase [Battle of Hong Kong | CPC]
Fedor von Bock was relieved as the commander-in-chief of German Army Group Center; the official reason was health concerns. ww2dbase [Fedor von Bock | CPC]
German submarines U-67, U-107, U-108, U-131, and U-434 shadowed Allied convoy HG-76 en route from Gibraltar to Britain. At 0925 hours, 230 miles northeast of Madeira, a Martlet aircraft from carrier HMS Audacity discovered U-131. At 1247 hours, U-131 was forced to surface. U-131 opened fire and shot down the Martlet aircraft (which was the first Allied aircraft to be shot down by an enemy submarine), but she was soon damaged by British warships. U-131 was scuttled at 1330 hours; all 47 aboard were captured. ww2dbase [CPC] HMS Audacity was sunk later, see my thread about Blowing Hitler a Raspberry for details.
The 1,100-strong Australian Gull Force arrived at Ambon, Dutch East Indies to reinforce the Dutch garrison. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Celebes and Moluccas | CPC]
British minesweepers HMS Hazard and HMS Speedy, in escort of Allied convoy PQ-6 30 miles north of Cape Gorodetski in northern Russia, were attacked by German destroyers Z23, Z24, Z25, and Z27; Speedy was hit 4 times (2 were killed) and was forced to turn back. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | CPC]
In North Africa, No. 3 Squadron RAF received its first Kittyhawk fighters. ww2dbase [CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
Comandante Cappellini sighted a small white yacht in the Atlantic Ocean at 1350 hours and gave pursuit; the yacht escaped from the Italian submarine. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | CPC]
Germany
Five French prisoners of Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle in Germany were sent to the town dentist for treatment. On the way back, escorted by two guards, three of them ran in three different directions; they would ultimately reach neutral territory successfully. ww2dbase [Colditz Castle | Colditz, Sachsen | CPC]
Hawaii
Delos Emmons was made the commanding general of the Hawaiian Department. ww2dbase [Delos Emmons | CPC]
Malaya
British and Indian troops established a defensive line 65 miles south of Penang, British Malaya near the Perak River. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | Perak | CPC]
Mediterranean Sea
Allied and Italian naval forces engaged in the First Battle of Sirte as convoys of each side unexpectedly came across each other 185 miles northwest of Benghazi, Libya. Italian battleships Littorio, Andrea Doria, and Giulio Cesare fired on Allied cruisers and destroyers from the distance of 32 kilometers, which was too far to hit accurately, but did still damage British destroyer HMS Kipling and Australian destroyer HMAS Nizam with near misses. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]
Philippines
American passenger ship Corregidor departed Manila, Philippine Islands with about 1,200 civilians on board; a short distance later, while still in Manila Bay, she struck a mine previously laid by Japanese submarine I-124 and sank, killing many. To the north, 24 transports with 7,000 Japanese troops aboard departed from the Ryukyu Islands, heading for Lamon Bay at eastern Luzon island. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | CPC]
1st Lieutenant Boyd "Buzz" Wagner became USAAC's first ace in WW2 after shooting down a Japanese aircraft over the Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]
Russia
Another German assault on Sevastopol, Russia was launched, consisted of 15,551 men. ww2dbase [Battle of Sevastopol | Sevastopol | CPC]
Sarawak
Japanese troops landed at Sarawak; British troops nearby, not strong enough to counter the Japanese offensive, destroyed oil refineries and withdrew. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Borneo | CPC]
US Pacific Islands
A PBY Catalina flying boat led 17 SB2U-3 Vindicator dive bombers of Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 231 from Hickam Field, Oahu, Hawaii Islands to Midway Atoll; at 9 hours and 45 minutes covering 1,137 miles, it was the longest mass over-water flight by single-engined aircraft to date. ww2dbase [SB2U Vindicator | Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]
17 Dec 1942
Axis forces largely completed their evacuation from the Marsa Brega and El Agheila region in Libya. ww2dbase [Second Battle of El Alamein | CPC]
Archibald Wavell met with Joseph Stilwell; during the meeting, despite Stilwell's insistence, Wavell refused to expand his current attack on Arakan, Burma into a larger coordinated joint-Chinese-American-British campaign. ww2dbase [Archibald Wavell | CPC]
British Western Pacific Territories
Troops of the US Army 132nd Infantry Regiment captured Mount Austen, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Meanwhile, troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment of the US Army 25th Division arrived on the island. ww2dbase [Guadalcanal Campaign | Guadalcanal | CPC]
The Japanese completed a 4,700-foot long airstrip at Munda Point, New Georgia, Solomon Islands. ww2dbase [Solomon Islands Campaign | Munda Point, New Georgia | CPC]
Burma
US aircraft attacked Lashio Airfield, Burma for the first time. ww2dbase [Lashio Airfield | Lashio | CPC]
17 Dec 1943
Australian New Guinea
78 Allied fighters (US Marine Corps F4U fighters, US Navy F6F fighters, RNZAF Kittyhawk fighters) took off from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville, Solomon Islands for a fighter sweep over Rabaul, New Britain. 70 Japanese fighters rose to defend. RNZAF pilots claimed 5 Japanese shot down while suffering 2 losses, while the Americans claimed 4; Japanese records would later show that only 2 A6M aircraft were lost on this day (with only 1 pilot killed). Gregory Boyington, who participated in the sweep, thought the Japanese only launched a limited number of aircraft in defense because the Allies sent too many fighters, and it made more sense for the Japanese to rely more on anti-aircraft guns rather than risking fighters. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
Dutch East Indies
Patrol Boat No. 102 arrived at Balikpapan, Dutch East Indies at 1715 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Balikpapan, Borneo | CPC]
Italy
US Fifth Army captured San Pietro Infine, Italy after a 10-day battle. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gustav Line | San Pietro Infine, Campania | TH]
17 Dec 1944
The newly established USAAF 509th Composite Group was activated. The group's mission was to deliver atomic weapons. ww2dbase [Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | CPC]
Nuke them until they glow!
In a P-38 Lightning aircraft, US ace Richard Ira Bong scored his 40th kill to become America's leading fighter ace of the war. ww2dbase [Richard Bong | AC]
Belgium
150 prisoners of war of US 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion were massacred by Waffen-SS forces at Malmédy, Belgium. Only 43 survived. ww2dbase [Battle of the Bulge | Malmédy | TH]
Italy
Allied troops captured Faenza, Italy. ww2dbase [Gothic Line Offensive | Faenza, Emilia-Romagna | CPC]
United States
Franklin Roosevelt departed Warm Springs, Georgia, United States by train. He made a brief stop at Atlanta, Georgia to meet with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | Warm Springs, Georgia | CPC]
Ernest King was promoted to the rank of fleet admiral. ww2dbase [Ernest King | CPC]
Having the knowledge that on the following day the US Supreme Court would rule in favor of Mitsuye Endo over her illegal detainment based on her Japanese descent, US President Franklin Roosevelt issued Public Proclamation No. 21 one day before the public announcement of the ruling, declaring that all Japanese-Americans could begin returning to the west coast of the United States in Jan 1945. ww2dbase [Internment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese-Canadians | Honouliuli Gulch Internment and Prisoners of War Camp | Franklin Roosevelt | Washington | CPC]
7 Dec 1946
United Kingdom
Violette Szabo was posthumously awarded the George Cross. ww2dbase [Violette Szabo | England | AC]
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=1074
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDD_IUP4tkA
17 Dec 1949
Indonesia was granted independence by the Dutch government. ww2dbase [CPC]
17 Dec 1963
Germany
In Germany, West Berlin citizens were allowed to visit East Berlin for the first time in more than two years. ww2dbase [Berlin | CPC]
17 Dec 1965
Hastings Ismay passed away. ww2dbase [Hastings Ismay | CPC]
"With Malta in enemy hands, the Mediterranean route would be completely closed to us? This tiny island was a vital feature in the defence of our Middle East position."
» 1 Jan 1942
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=319
17 Dec 1997
Reginald Jones passed away. ww2dbase [Reginald Jones | AC] X-Gerät, "Knickebein" system, "Window", in 1994 he was made a Companion of Honour.
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=1027
17 Dec 2002
Luxembourg
Grand Duke Jean was awarded the Military Medal of Luxembourg. ww2dbase [Jean | ] For his WW2 service, he was awarded the British War Medal, the French Croix de Guerre, the American Silver Star, and the Luxembourg Military Medal. After the war, he joined the International Olympic Committee in 1946. . . . . In Nov 1964, upon his mother's abdication, he became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
https://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=236
....GP
