24 Dec 1867
- Kantaro Suzuki was born.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1894
- Friedrich Ruge was born in Leipzig, Germany.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1916
United States
United States
- USS Arizona arrived at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, United States for post-shakedown overhaul.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1917
- A conference at the Supreme Allied Council discussed the possibility of organizing a Ukrainian Army to open a campaign in Romania.
24 Dec 1924
- Albania was declared a republic.
24 Dec 1928
- Erwin Rommel's son Manfred was born.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1932
- The keel of battleship Dunkerque was laid down.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1933
- Adolf Hitler granted amnesty to the about 27,000 prisoners currently being held in concentration camps; Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler would both circumvent this order, resulting in far fewer actually being released.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1934
Photo(s) dated 24 Dec 1934
Photo(s) dated 24 Dec 1934
24 Dec 1935
United States
United States
- Henry Arnold was made the Assistant Chief of the US Army Air Corps.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1936
China
China
- General Zhang Xueliang succeeded in achieving an uneasy alliance between the Nationalist and Communist forces against the common foe, Japan.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1937
- The Maachi C.200 Saetta (Lightning) aircraft made its maiden flight in prototype form. Designed by Dr. Mario Castoldi, the C.200 Saetta was the first monoplane fighter with fully-retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit to enter service with the Italian Air Force.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1938
- German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich advised Gestapo leaders to investigate reasons for arrests, as there were now more prisoners than the space available in concentration camps.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1939
- Pope Pius XII made a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
» In-depth article
- Finnish Army Group Talvela pushed Soviet 75th and 139th Divisions back across the Russian border. Meanwhile, Soviet 163rd Division tried unsuccessfully to break out of Suomussalmi, Finland; the Soviet 44th Division failed to move in to provide support for the 163rd Division.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1940
- Greek submarine Papanikolis sank the 3,952-ton troop transport Firenze near Sazan Island in the southern Adriatic Sea.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-65 sank British tanker British Premier 50 miles off Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 1641 hours, killing 32. 9 survivors were picked up by cruiser HMS Hawkins on 3 Jan 1941; another lifeboat of 4 survivors was not discovered until 3 Feb 1941.
- German 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron attacked a British convoy in the North Sea off Aldeburgh, England, United Kingdom. S-28 sank British minesweeping trawler HMT Pelton, killing 20. British destroyer HMS Verdun reported sinking one of the torpedo boats.
- German cruiser Admiral Hipper detected Allied convoy WS.5 700 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain late in the afternoon. The convoy was consisted of 19 troopships and freighters; not noticing that it was escorted by two carriers, three cruisers, and four corvettes, the German commander Admiral Wilhelm Meisel prepared the crew for an attack in the morning.
» In-depth article
- The US 1st Marine Aircraft Wing completed its transfer to the west coast of the United States. On the same day, the 2nd Marine Brigade was activated under the command of Colonel Henry L. Larsen at Camp Elliott, California, United States.
24 Dec 1941
- 94 Soviet prisoners of war and 23 political prisoners died in Auschwitz Concentration Camp. On the same day, 37 prisoners from block 20 of Auschwitz were killed by heart phenol injection.
» In-depth article - Japanese submarine I-17 shelled unarmed American freighter Absaroka about 26 miles off San Pedro, California, United States. To the north, off Monterey Bay, Japanese submarine I-23 shelled American steamship Dorothy Philips.
- American seaplane tender Wright disembarked US Marine reinforcements at Midway.
- Atlanta was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article - 100 officers and men arrived at Midway Atoll as reinforcement from Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
- A Japanese submarine damaged dredge Sacremento by gunfire 3,000 yards south of Palmyra Atoll.
- HMS Salvia (Lieutenant Commander J. I. Miller) was torpedoed and sunk west of Alexandria, Egypt by the German submarine U-568.
- Japanese troops penetrated the final Allied defensive line, "The Ridge", at the Stanley Peninsula on Hong Kong island. At St. Stephen's College Emergency Hospital, 56 wounded soldiers, doctors, and nurses were bayoneted while a number of female civilians were raped. Near the coast, British destroyer HMS Thracian was damaged by Japanese aircraft and was forced to run aground to prevent sinking.
» In-depth article - Dutch submarine K XVI sank Japanese destroyer Sagiri with two torpedoes off Borneo; 121 were killed, 120 survived and were rescued by destroyer Shirakumo and a minesweeper.
- German submarine U-568 sank British corvette HMS Salvia 50 miles northeast of Mersa Matruh, Egypt at 0135 hours, killing all aboard, which included 106 crew members and an unknown number of passengers.
- Joseph Goebbels broadcasted a Christmas Eve message over radio, urging for Germans to follow the lead of Adolf Hitler and to work and fight for a German victory.
» In-depth article - Winston Churchill broadcasted a Christmas Eve message over radio, wishing for one evening of happiness throughout the English-speaking world during this time of global conflict.
» In-depth article - Destroyer Yukikaze escorted the Japanese invasion force for Lamon Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
» In-depth article - The Free French seized the French islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off the southern coast of Newfoundland, and deposed the governor.
- ShCh-401 attacked an enemy ship with four torpedoes off Bosfjord, Norway at 2003 hours; all torpedoes missed.
» In-depth article
- Clive Caldwell damaged the German Bf 109 fighter piloted by Oberleutnant Erbo von Kageneck over Agedabia, Libya. Kageneck would die of the wounds sustained in this engagement in a military hospital in Naples, Italy on 12 Jan 1942.
» In-depth article
- Japanese troops captured the town Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo at 1600 hours after heavy fighting against troops of the Indian 15th Punjab Regiment.
» In-depth article
- 7,000 troops of Japanese 16th Division landed at Lamon Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands and marched toward Manila, which was only 50 miles away to the northwest. Near Ligayen Gulf on the western side of Luzon, the 26th Filipino Cavalry initially held up the Japanese invaders near Binalonian, but were forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses; meanwhile, the Japanese landed an additional 10,000 men at Lingayen Gulf. In Manila, General Douglas MacArthur met with various leaders to organize the retreat into the Bataan peninsula per WPO-3; the 4th Marine Regiment was ordered to Mariveles at the peninsula's tip before going to Corregidor island.
» In-depth article
- Naka arrived at Mako, Pescadores islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- US Marine Corps formed the 2nd Marine Brigade under Colonel Henry Larsen at Camp Elliott, California, United States for the defense of American Samoa. It was consisted of the 3rd Marine Regiment, the 2nd Battalion, the 10th Marine Regiment, and the 2nd Defense Battalion.
24 Dec 1942
- Soviet troops launched an offensive against the German Armeegruppe Don, piercing Romanian 4th Army's lines.
» In-depth article - French Admiral François Darlan was assassinated by monarchist Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle.
» In-depth article - The Japanese Navy 11th Air Fleet was transferred from the Combined Fleet to the Southeast Area Fleet; it had the strength of four air groups, three air groups, a seaplane tender, two destroyers, and six transports. Rear Admiral Yoshimasa Nakahara was named its new chief of staff.
- Submarine Cabrilla was launched, sponsored by Mrs. L. B. Combs.
» In-depth article
- USS S-35 entered Kuluk Bay, Adak, Aleutian Islands to vent smoke caused by the series of electrical fires suffered since 21 Dec 1942.
» In-depth article
- Submarine Cisco was launched at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, United States, sponsored by Mrs. A. C. Bennett through her proxy Mrs. N. Robertson.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1943
- US Army General Dwight Eisenhower was named the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
» In-depth article - Sir Henry Maitland was designated Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean, with General Harold Alexander as the Commander-in-Chief of Allied Armies in Italy under him.
» In-depth article - General Vatutin launched another winter offensive, starting with the capture of Berdichev, Ukraine.
- New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade engaged in combat along the Gustav Line in Italy. In Ortona, Italy, German troops counterattacked against Canadian positions and caused heavy casualties.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1944
- Fifty German Heinkel bombers air-launched V1 flying bombs from off the eastern coast of Britain targeting the Manchester area. Most fell harmlessly all over the north of England but a handful came down in the Oldham area, killing 42 and injuring more than 100.
» In-depth article - USS Kete departed Saipan, Mariana Islands, resuming her first war patrol.
» In-depth article - The troopship Leopoldville, carrying 2,000 American soldiers across the English Channel, was torpedoed by German submarine U-486. Escorting warships lifted off many soldiers, although quite a few who suffered broken bones jumping onto the wildly pitching steel decks, but 819 men perished.
- USS Finback arrived at Midway Atoll, ending her eleventh war patrol.
» In-depth article
- USS Ticonderoga arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands together with other ships of Task Group 38.3.
» In-depth article - USS Astoria arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article - USS Alabama arrived at Ulithi, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
- USS Cero arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her sixth war patrol.
» In-depth article
- Fighting between German and Soviet forces began inside of Budapest, Hungary.
» In-depth article
- USS Barbero sank Japanese tanker Junpo Maru and damaged a transport in the South China Sea, hitting them with 9 of 14 torpedoes fired.
» In-depth article
- USS Missouri arrived at San Francisco, California, United States.
» In-depth article - USS Hackleback arrived at the Fleet Sonar School at Key West, Florida, United States.
» In-depth article
- Soviet UKR operatives attached to Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front arrested Russian monarchist Vasili Shulgin, who had not been active in politics for many years, in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.
24 Dec 1946
France
France
- The French Fourth Republic was found.
- Polish Brigadier General Leopold Okulick, the former commander-in-chief of the Polish Home Army, died in Butyrka Prison Hospital in Moscow, Russia.
24 Dec 1949
China
China
- Deng Xihou received an invitation via telegraph from the communists.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1951
Libya
Libya
- The United Kingdom of Libya was declared with King Idris I as its leader.
24 Dec 1974
- Sentaro Omori passed away.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1977
- Edmund Veesenmayer passed away in Darmstadt, Germany.
» In-depth article
24 Dec 1980
- Karl Dönitz 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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"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"Winston Churchill, 1935