19 Dec 1894
- Paul Baudouin was born.
» In-depth article
19 Dec 1915
- Sir Douglas Haig assumed command of the British forces in France.
19 Dec 1919
- An IRA ambush at Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland failed in its attempt to assassinate the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Sir John French. After a brief gunfight the police escort fought off the attack.
19 Dec 1937
- Men of the Japanese 13th Division, having executed tends of thousands of refugees and prisoners of war in Nanjing, China by machine gun, bayonet, and fire since 16 Dec 1937, began to burn the remains; the ashes were dumped into the Yangtze River. Reverend James M. McCallum, who was in Nanjing, noted in his diary "Never I have heard or read such brutality. Rape! Rape! Rape! We estimate at least 1,000 cases a night, and many by day.... Women are being carried off every morning, afternoon and evening. The whole Japanese army seems to be free to go and come as it pleases, and to do whatever it pleases."
» In-depth article - USS Pollack arrived at San Diego, California, United States.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 19 Dec 1937
19 Dec 1939
- HMS Hyperion intercepted German passenger liner Columbus 450 miles east of Cape May, New Jersey, United States; Columbus' crew scuttled the ship to prevent capture.
- In their attack on Summa, the Soviet Army lost 20 of 100 tanks.
» In-depth article - Hans Langsdorff passed away.
» In-depth article - British light cruiser HMS Orion intercepted German freighter Arauca off Miami, Florida, United States; the German crew sailed into Port Everglades, Florida to avoid capture as the United States was still a neutral nation.
19 Dec 1940
- Archbishop Sapieha of Krakow, Poland sent a letter to Auschwitz Commandant Rudolf Höss requesting permission for Christmas mass to be held in the camp for Catholic prisoners. Höss turned down the request because the camp rules did not permit religious observations, but did agree that approximately 6,000 one-kilogram food parcels could be sent to all the prisoners over the holidays.
» In-depth article - British battleships HMS Valiant and HMS Warspite shelled Italian defensive positions at Vlorë, Albania overnight in support of Greek advances.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-37 mistakenly torpedoed and sank Vichy French submarine Sfax (4 killed, 69 survived) and support ship Rhône (11 killed) 7 miles north of Cape Juby, Morocco. The captain of U-37 chose to not record this incident on the ship's logs.
- British gunboat HMS Aphis bombarded Bardia, Libya in support of Operation Compass. Meanwhile, General O'Connor reported that in the first 10 days of the offensive his forces had suffered 141 killed or missing and 387 wounded.
» In-depth article - Italian submarine Bagnolini sank British ship Amicus 200 miles west of Ireland, killing all aboard.
- British destroyers HMS Veteran and HMS Verity collided in Lough Foyle near the Royal Navy base at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. HMS Verity's engine room was flooded, requiring her to remain out of commission for repairs until 5 Mar 1941.
- Photos dated 19 Dec 1940
19 Dec 1941
- Italian frogmen on human torpedoes slipped into Alexandria harbour in Egypt and sank British WW1-era battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant with limpet mines. Although both were later refloated and repaired, their loss coupled with the sinking in the previous month of the Barham left the Royal Navy without a single capital ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, giving the Italian Navy superiority in the region.
» In-depth article - Hitler relieved von Brauchitsch as army commander-in-chief and took over command of the army himself, promising "to educate it to be National Socialist". Among the first orders he issued was the "no retreat" order, condemning thousands of troops to die in position, without the chance to maneuver in defense.
» In-depth article - Japanese Navy land-based attack aircraft from Roi, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands attacked Wake Atoll, seriously damaging defense battalion facilities at Camp One.
» In-depth article - Japanese troops captured Penang, Malaya.
» In-depth article - The Soviets landed 20,000 men on the Kerch Peninsula in southern Ukraine with the aim of lifting the siege of Sevastopol.
» In-depth article - Japanese troops reached the Wong Nai Chung Gap in central Hong Kong island where they were held by Canadian and colonial Chinese troops. Seven ships of the British Royal Navy (river gunboat HMS Tern, minelayer HMS Redstart, boom vessel HMS Watergate, boom vessel HMS Barlight, boom vessel HMS Aldgate, tug HMS Poet Chaucer, and tug HMS Alliance), along with several merchant vessels, were scuttled in the Hong Kong harbor to prevent Japanese capture.
» In-depth article - Generalmajor Wilhelm Weiß succeeded Rudolf Konrad as the commanding officer of the German 7th Mountain Division.
- In India, General Wavell received a telegram from Chiang Kaishek in which the Generalissimo offered to join any plan proposed by the Allies.
» In-depth article - Japanese aircraft attacked Olongapo, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article - In fierce hand-to-hand fighting in Hong Kong, Canadian Army Company Sergeant Major John Osborn of the Winnipeg Grenadiers inspired his men by scooping up and hurling back Japanese grenades. One he could not reach in time so he threw himself onto the it in order to save his comrades. Osborn was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, which was Canada's first.
- Indian 4th Division captured Derna, Libya. To the west, 30 tanks arrived at Benghazi as Axis reinforcement.
» In-depth article - Multiple German submarines continued to shadow Allied convoy HG-76 en route between Gibraltar and Britain. At 0415 hours, 435 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal, U-574 fired 3 torpedoes at British destroyer HMS Stanley and sank her, killing 136; British sloop HMS Stork counterattacked with depth charges, forced U-574 to surface, and sank her by ramming at 0427 hours; 28 were killed, 16 survived. At 0615 hours, U-108 attacked HG-76, damaging British transport Ruckinge (3 killed, 39 survived); HMS Samphire scuttled Ruckinge by gunfire after all survivors were taken off.
- British cruisers HMS Neptune, HMS Aurora, and HMS Penelope and destroyers HMS Kandahar, HMS Lance, HMS Lively, and HMS Havock sailed into a minefield 30 miles northeast of Tripoli, Libya at 0100 hours. Aurora, Penelope, and Kandahar (79 killed, 104 survived) were damaged, and Neptune sank after hitting four mines (766 killed, 1 survived).
- Lieutenant George Edward Gaudreau was named the commanding officer of HMCS Trillium.
» In-depth article - In a daring daylight raid by 41 RAF Manchester bombers on the French port of Brest, the gates to the dock containing the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst were so badly damaged that the mighty warship would be confined at the port for a further month. Two aircraft of No. 97 Squadron were lost to ground fire and Luftwaffe fighters.
» In-depth article - Historical document written: US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, Commander Destroyer Flotilla One, Battle Force
» In-depth article
19 Dec 1942
- Manstein's units reached a point 30 miles south of Stalingrad, Russia, which would be the extent of their advance.
» In-depth article - HMS Snapdragon was bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe northwest of Benghazi, Libya.
- Workers at Dock No. 4 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, US Territory of Hawaii began pouring concrete.
- Chief Petty Officers Wally Hammond and Don Lister, having previously escaped from Germany, successfully crossed the border into Switzerland. They were prisoners of war of Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in Germany.
- Tatsuta Maru departed Nagasaki, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - USS S-35 disembarked a sick sailor at Adak, US Territory of Alaska and set sail for Kiska.
» In-depth article
19 Dec 1943
- 50,000 people gathered in the square in Kharkov, Ukraine to witness the hanging of four Germans found guilty of killing 30,000 civilians in Ukraine.
» In-depth article - French Résistants engaged in heavy fighting with Germans in Bernex, France.
» In-depth article - RAF bombers delivered propaganda leaflets over France.
- In an order published by Lord Louis Mountbatten the air forces of the RAF and USAAF in the South East Asia Command were combined into a single force under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse.
» In-depth article - Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - Submarine Croaker was launched, sponsored by the wife of Admiral William H. P. Blandy.
» In-depth article - Light carrier Ryuho departed Palau Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement - USS S-35 set sail toward Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 19 Dec 1943
See all photos dated 19 Dec 1943
19 Dec 1944
- Chester Nimitz was promoted to the rank of fleet admiral.
» In-depth article - Germans captured 9,000 surrounded US troops in the Schnee Eifel region on the Belgian-German border. Meanwhile, the US 101st Airborne of the Allied reserves and 10th Armored Divisions of the US Third Army were sent to Bastogne to hold the vital road junction in Belgium.
» In-depth article - German V-2 rocket hit Chelmsford, Essex, England, United Kingdom at 0130 hours. The war factory was hit, killing 39 and seriously injuring 33.
- William Slim completed a two-day meeting with Montagu Stopford and Frank Messervy regarding Operation Extended Capital. Meanwhile, in the field, Indian 2nd Division relieved Indian 20th Division and began marching for Shwebo, Burma 40 miles northwest of Mandalay. Finally, Indian 19th Division captured Wuntho en route to Pinlebu and Pinbon, Burma.
» In-depth article - Photos dated 19 Dec 1944
See all photos dated 19 Dec 1944
19 Dec 1945
- Free French fighter ace Jean Demozay returning from a trip to London, England, United Kingdom was killed when his aircraft crashed near Buc, France.
- McFarland was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article - Engstrom was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
19 Dec 1977
- Takeo Kurita passed away.
» In-depth article
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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