27 Dec 1918
- Edward Brooks' daughter Elizabeth was born.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1919
- Charles Sweeney was born.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1922
- Light carrier Hosho was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
27 Dec 1927
- Henry Stimson became the Governor-General of the Philippines.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1929
- Stalin called for the liquidation of the Kulaks (peasant speculators) as a class.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1933
Photo(s) dated 27 Dec 1933
Photo(s) dated 27 Dec 1933
27 Dec 1935
- US Army Air Corps bombed Hawaii to divert a lava flow from Mauna Loa that was threatening a local water works.
27 Dec 1936
China
China
- Jiang Dingwen was released from captivity in Xi'an, China by Zhang Xueliang.
» In-depth article - He Yingqin addressed a crowd of 200,000 people in a rally in Nanjing, China on behalf of Chiang Kaishek; the rally was held to celebrate Chiang's safe return after the Xi'an Incident.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1939
- In Finland, Soviet 4th Division rushed several groups of men across the frozen Suvanto River in the darkness to reinforce the bridgehead on the far bank, but the attempts were detected by Finnish forces, which attacked them with artillery and machine guns, killing many; after dawn, Finnish forces successfully eliminated all Soviet bridgeheads on the Finnish side of the Suvanto River, ending the Battle of Kelja by 1800 hours. Elsewhere, in Suomussalmi, Finnish 9th division, supported by the newly-arrived four 1902 76-millimeter cannon and two Bofors 37-millimeter anti-tank guns, began to assault the encircled Soviet 163rd Division.
» In-depth article - The keel for future submarine Gar was laid down.
» In-depth article - Adolf Hitler postponed the decision to invade France to a later date.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1940
- German armed merchant cruiser Komet arrived at Nauru and warned the British dock personnel to evacuate without signaling any alarm. Upon the completion of the evacuation, Komet shelled the facilities, destroying much of the port. Nauru's dock would be rebuilt in 10 weeks, but the port never returned to full capacity during the war.
- Italian submarine Tazzoli sank British ship Ardanbhan 200 miles south of Iceland, killing the entire crew of 37.
- German cruiser Admiral Hipper arrived at Brest, France, ending an one-month patrol in the Atlantic Ocean.
» In-depth article - German submarine U-65 attacked Norwegian ship Risanger with shells and one torpedo 300 miles off Senegal, French West Africa. at 2331 hours. The entire crew of 29 survived.
- British ship Waiotira, damaged by German submarine U-95 300 miles south of Iceland in the previous night, was detected by U-38, which sank Waiotira at 0146 hours; 1 was killed and 89 survived.
- Zuiho was commissioned into service.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Erich Raedar met with Adolf Hitler in Berlin, Germany.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1941
- At the battle of El Haseia in Libya, German tanks flanked British 22nd Armoured Brigade, destroying many tanks, but failed to break through.
» In-depth article - British Commandos and Norwegian troops completed the Operation Anklet raid in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, embarking a number of ships to return to Britain along with 29 prisoners of war and 200 Norwegian volunteers who wished to joined the forces of the Norwegian government-in-exile.
- Japanese air units bombed Manila, Philippine Islands while 6 US PBY Catalina aircraft attacked Japanese warships at Jolo (4 would be shot down). On land, Allied forces withdrew to the Santa-Ignacia-Gerona-Guimba-San Jose line 30 miles south of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon.
» In-depth article - USS Lexington arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - USS Saratoga arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii.
» In-depth article - Japanese bombers attacked Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya. Meanwhile, Japanese troops advanced toward Kampar in western Malaya and Kuantan on the east coast.
» In-depth article - Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions attacked Chinese city of Changsha, but they marched into an ambush that slowed the momentum of the attack.
» In-depth article - German 250th Infantry Division of Spanish volunteers repulsed a heavy Soviet attack about 100 kilometers south of Leningrad, Russia which began on 23 Dec 1941.
» In-depth article - British cruiser HMS Kenya and four destroyers bombarded German defenses on Vaagso Island, southern Norway in Operation Archery at dawn. Shortly after the bombardment, 560 British Commandos and 12 Norwegian troops landed, fought off the 150 German mountain troops, destroyed fish oil production and storage facilities, and captured a complete German naval code as well as 98 German and Norwegian prisoners. In this operation, the Allies suffered 21 British and 1 Norwegian killed, while the Germans suffered 120 killed.
- British and Indian troops originally based in Kuching, Sarawak, island of Borneo fled into Dutch territory. To the north, Japanese troops captured the Tambelan Islands, Dutch East Indies, which was the first Dutch territorial loss in the Pacific War.
» In-depth article
- Hans-Joachim Marseille arrived in Athens, Greece for treatment for malaria, jaundice, amoebic dysentery, and gastroenteritis.
» In-depth article
- The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy reported the strength of 23 officers, 31 non-commissioned officers, and 446 enlisted men.
- 46th Infantry Division of the German 11th Army counterattacked the Soviet beachheads on the Kerch Peninsula, Ukraine, but the attacks failed to stop further Soviet reinforcements from the sea.
» In-depth article
- Japanese submarine I-25 shelled unarmed American tanker Connecticut about 10 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River off the American states of Oregon and Washington.
- Historical document written: US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure D, Aircraft Damage
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1942
- Hitler authorized the German Armeegruppe A and Armeegruppe Don to withdraw 150 miles to a new defensive line in southern Russia.
» In-depth article - The Ki-67 medium bomber, also known as the Japanese Army Type 4 Heavy Bomber, took its maiden flight.
» In-depth article
- USS S-28 departed Dutch Harbor, US Territory of Alaska for her fourth war patrol.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1943
- Manteuffel was made the commanding officer of the elite Panzer Grenadier Großdeutschland division.
» In-depth article - John Basilone departed for Camp Pendleton, California, United States.
» In-depth article - As of this date, the Ledo Road was 103 miles long from Ledo, India into the Patka Mountains in northern Burma.
- USS Flying Fish pursued a Japanese tanker west of Luzon, Philippine Islands for about 10 hours, finally sinking her after scoring a total of 6 torpedo hits; a total of 10 torpedoes were expended.
» In-depth article - Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander under General Dwight Eisenhower.
» In-depth article - General Sir Bernard Paget became Commander-in-Chief Middle East under General Sir H. Maitland Wilson.
- Light carrier Ryuho departed Truk, Caroline Islands.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
- Shokaku entered drydock at Yokosuka, Japan.
» In-depth article
» Tabular Record of Movement
27 Dec 1944
- US troops began pushing German troops back in the Ardennes region, thus ending the German offensive.
» In-depth article - US submarines reported the sinking of 27 enemy vessels throughout the Pacific and Far Eastern waters.
- USS Caiman detected a small Japanese armed ship in the South China Sea and fired 3 torpedoes; they failed to hit the target.
» In-depth article - USS Gar arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her fifteenth and final war patrol.
» In-depth article - USS Makin Island departed Manus, Admiralty Islands.
» In-depth article - USS Wake Island arrived at Manus Island, Admiralty Islands.
» In-depth article
- Axis troops captured Pian di Coreglia, Italy and would penetrate the Allied lines by 25 kilometers by the afternoon. The presence of fresh Indian troops, however, stopped the Axis momentum.
» In-depth article
- USS Barbero was damaged by a Japanese aircraft.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1945
- Representatives from 28 nations signed the agreement to create the World Bank.
- Terrorists struck against British military bases in Palestine.
- Vendetta was decommissioned from service.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1946
United States
United States
- Commander Warren Ronald Thompson was named the commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 1998
United States
United States
- Robert Johnson passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States.
» In-depth article
27 Dec 2006
Photo(s) dated 27 Dec 2006
Photo(s) dated 27 Dec 2006
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... they can't get away this time."Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal