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• Tecklenborg Werft and the Royal Hanoverian government signed a 99-year lease for the construction of a double dry dock on the south bank of the Geeste in Bremerhaven, Germany. ww2dbase [Joh. C. Tecklenborg Schiffswerft- und Maschinenfabrik AG | Bremerhaven | AG]

23 Dec 1852 Interactive Map

• Hisao Tani was born in Okayama, Japan. ww2dbase [Hisao Tani | Okayama | CPC]

• Sholto Douglas was born in Headington, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Sholto Douglas | Headington, England | CPC]

• Argentina placed the order for the construction of what would later become the Japanese cruiser Kasuga. ww2dbase [Kasuga | CPC]

• Otoemon Hiroeda was born in Kataura village, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Otoemon Hiroeda | Kataura, Kanagawa | CPC]

• Ulaan Huu was born in the Inner Mongolia region of Qing Dynasty China. ww2dbase [Ulaan Huu | CPC]

• Franklin Roosevelt's son James was born in New York, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | New York | CPC]

• Lieutenant G. S. M. Insall of the British Royal Flying Corps was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour whilst flying his Vickers F.B.5 aircraft. ww2dbase [AC]

• Erich Vermehren was born into the German aristocracy in Lübeck, Germany. ww2dbase [Erich Vermehren | Lübeck | DS]

• Prince Hiroyasu's first child, Prince Hiroyoshi, married Prince Tokiko Ichijo. ww2dbase [Hiroyasu | CPC]

23 Dec 1919 Interactive Map

• The French Army issued its first order of Char D1 light tanks in the quantity of 70. ww2dbase [Char D1 | CPC]

• Gorizia was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Gorizia | CPC]

• The prototype GL-831 HY floatplane took its maiden flight. ww2dbase [GL-832 HY | CPC]

• Prince Kotohito was named the Chief of the Japanese Army General Staff. ww2dbase [Kotohito | CPC]

• Chief of Staff General Malin Craig summoned Henry Arnold to Washington DC, United States. ww2dbase [Henry Arnold | Washington | CPC]

23 Dec 1935 Interactive Map

• McDougal was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [McDougal | CPC]

• In Spain, the Council of Aragon, which was dominated by the CNT (Confederacion Nacional de Trabajo [the Anarcho-Syndicalist Trades Union]), was recognised by the Republican Government. ww2dbase [AC]

• Having cut the Spanish Republican forces into two the Spanish Nationalists now launched an offensive against Catalonia. A frontal assault by six Nationalist armies proved too much for the already exhausted Republicans, who would soon retreat towards Barcelona. ww2dbase [The Spanish Civil War | AC]

• At 0630 hours, 4 Finnish divisions counterattacked on a 28-mile front on the west side of the Karelian Isthmus, trying to trap resting Soviet forces in a massive encirclement; without support of anti-tank weapons or artillery pieces, it was repulsed by tanks; Finnish General Öhqvist called off the attack at 1440 hours after suffering 1,300 casualties. Meanwhile, Captain Mäkinen's 2 machine gun companies in the Finnish 9th Division attacked forward elements of the Soviet 44th Division, tying down the entire column of 15,000 troops and equipment. ww2dbase [The Winter War | CPC]

• An IRA gang stole the Irish Army's entire reserve of small arms ammunition - more than one million rounds - from an ammunition fort in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Most of it was recovered over the following days. ww2dbase [Dublin | AC]

• German SS organization decreed that Polish workers who left their workplace without permission were to be arrested and sent to concentration camps. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]

• The British Military Intelligence Section 9 (MI9) was established under the command of Major Norman Crockatt. It was charged with aiding resistance fighters in enemy occupied territory and recovering Allied troops, including downed airmen and prisoners of war. ww2dbase [AC]

• Greek submarine Papanikolis sank the Italian motor ship Antonietta. ww2dbase [Papanikolis | CPC]
• British destroyer HMS Havock collided with battleship HMS Valiant during gunnery practice, causing the destroyer to be out of commission for repairs until 20 Feb 1941. ww2dbase [Valiant | CPC]

• In Albania, Greek forces pushed back Italian troops another 20 miles up the Ionian coast. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]

• Light carrier Hosho was deemed not suitable for modern carrier aircraft ww2dbase [Hosho | CPC]

• In Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa General Rodolfo Graziani replaced General Mario Berti of Italian 10th Army with his Chief of Staff General Giuseppe Tellera after the failures in the initial stages of the British Operation Compass offensive. ww2dbase [Operation Compass | CPC]

• Anthony Eden was appointed Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Anthony Eden | TH]
• Propagandist William Joyce, "Lord Haw-Haw", warned of a second night of bombing for Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Overnight, from 1915 until 0129 hours the next day, 171 German aircraft attacked the still-burning Manchester with 195 tons of high explosive bombs and 893 incendiary bombs. In two nights, 363 civilians were killed and 1,183 were wounded. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | William Joyce | Manchester, England | CPC]

• 54 Japanese bombers escorted by 24 fighters attacked Rangoon, Burma in the late morning, killing 1,250; of those who became wounded as the result of this raid, 600 died. ww2dbase [Invasion of Burma | Rangoon | CPC]

• Three Curtiss-Wright CW-41B fighters, assembled by the Chinese Aircraft Manufacturing Company at Loiwing (now Leiyun) in Yunnan Province, China on the border with Burma, crashed into a mountain whilst being delivered to the A.V.G. at Rangoon, Burma. Two of the pilots were killed. ww2dbase [AC]
• Song Ziwen was named the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ww2dbase [Song Ziwen | CPC]
• Three CW-21 fighters crashed in poor weather while being ferried from Rangoon, Burma to Kunming, China. ww2dbase [CW-21 | Kunming Airfield | Kunming, Yunnan | CPC]

• U-576 arrived at Saint-Nazaire, France, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [U-576 | Saint-Nazaire, Pays de la Loire | CPC]
• Alpino Bagnolini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0850 hours for trials, returning at 1825 hours. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• Allied troops in Hong Kong withdrew to the final line, "The Ridge", at the Stanley Peninsula. A military hospital was established at St Stephen's College on the peninsula to treat wounded soldiers. ww2dbase [Battle of Hong Kong | Stanley Prison and St Stephen's College | CPC]

• Akagi returned to Hashirajima, Japan. ww2dbase [Akagi | Hashirajima, Yamaguchi | CPC]
• Shokaku returned with Akagi, Kaga, and Zuikaku to Hashirajima island in Hiroshima Bay, Japan. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Hashirajima, Yamaguchi | CPC]
• Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Yokosuka, Japan on her first voyage for the Japanese Navy. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]
• Rear Admiral Matome Ugaki inspected food transport ship Irako at Hashirajima, Japan. ww2dbase [Irako | Hashirajima, Yamaguchi | CPC]
• Kaga arrived at Hashirajima in Hiroshima Bay, Japan. ww2dbase [Kaga | Hashirajima, Yamaguchi | CPC]
• Shigure, Shiratsuyu, Ariake, and Yugure arrived at Hashirijima in Hiroshima Bay, Japan, with the Pearl Harbor strike force in escort. ww2dbase [Shigure | Yugure | Hashirijima, Hiroshima | CPC]

• German submarine U-559 sank British passenger ship Shuntien 29 miles east of Tobruk, Libya at 1902 hours, killing 6 crew members and 700 passengers, who were mostly Axis prisoners of war. 64 crew members and 400 POWs were rescued by British corvette HMS Salvia and destroyer HMS Heythrop. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British destroyers HMS Hasty and HMS Hotspur sank German submarine U-79 with depth charges 40 miles north of Sollum, Egypt; all 44 aboard survived. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS Permit fired two torpedoes at a Japanese destroyer in the South China Sea; both torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Permit | South China Sea | CPC]
• Tanikaze completed the escort duty of carriers Hiryu and Soryu in the central Pacific Ocean. ww2dbase [Tanikaze | CPC]

• In the Philippine Islands, as Japanese 48th Division marched south toward Manila, US Army General Douglas MacArthur began withdrawing to Bataan, declaring Manila an open city. On the same day, USAAF B-17 bombers attacked Japanese ships at Lingayen Gulf and Davao in the Philippine Islands, while P-35 and P-40 fighters strafed landing ships in San Miguel Bay, Luzon, damaging destroyer Nagatsuki. On Mindanao, the 9 US B-17 bombers originally from Australia refueled and took off to attack Japanese ships in Davao Gulf and Lingayen Gulf, damaging Japanese destroyer Kuroshio. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | TH]

• Trucks brought in 786 tons of food into Leningrad, Russia across the frozen Lake Ladoga; for the second day in a row, enough food was brought in to feed the population. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | Leningrad | CPC]

• Japanese troops landed at Kuching, Sarawak. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Borneo | Kuching | CPC]

• Japanese submarine I-21 attacked the 12,000-ton tanker SS Montebello off San Simeon, California. Hours earlier, Montebello had left Port San Luis, California with a load of gasoline bound for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I-21 fired two torpedoes at the tanker. One failed to explode but the other hit home and did its job. Montebello’s No. 2 hold was ruptured and her captain, Olof Eckstrom, gave the order to abandon ship. All 38 men aboard made it into lifeboats as Commander Matsumura shelled the stricken ship. During the shelling, according to Captain Eckstrom, the lifeboats came under small arms fire from the submarine, probably rifle fire. Montebello sank about an hour after being torpedoed. All 38 crewmen survived. Later that same day, the 10,000-ton tanker SS Idaho came through the same waters. About 9 miles west of the Montebello attack, I21’s gun crew shelled Idaho with minimal damage before the tanker sailed on. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | Point Piedras Blancas, California | CPC]
• Churchill and Roosevelt met at the White House, Washington DC during the First Washington Conference (Arcadia). ww2dbase [First Washington Conference | White House | Washington | CPC]
• In the United States, a White House directive extended the powers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to include counter-espionage throughout the Americas. By the end of the war the FBI would have grown from a strength of 2,280 personnel, in 1941, to 15,000, including 5,000 special agents (in slang, "G-men"). ww2dbase [AC]
• Japanese submarine I-17 attacked the 7,000-ton tanker SS Larry Doheny south of Eureka, California. I-17 began with a surface attack with her deck gun and scored four hits. A US patrol plane arrived on the scene causing I-17 to submerge, but she quickly returned to periscope depth. I-17 fired one torpedo that led to an explosion 90 seconds later. I-17 claimed one ship sunk but, although the torpedo exploded close aboard the tanker, it was a premature detonation that caused only minor damage. ww2dbase [California | DS]
• Japanese submarine I-17 attacked the 7,000-ton tanker SS Larry Doheny south of Eureka, California. I-17 began with a surface attack with her deck gun and scored four hits. A US patrol plane arrived on the scene causing I-17 to submerge, but she quickly returned to periscope depth. I-17 fired one torpedo that led to an explosion 90 seconds later. I-17 claimed one ship sunk but, although the torpedo exploded close aboard the tanker, it was a premature detonation that caused only minor damage. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | California | DS]

• Before dawn, at 0235 hours, 1,500 troops of the Japanese Maizuru Second Special Naval Landing Force landed on Wake Island and Wilkes Island in the Wake Atoll; from the air, carrier aircraft from Soryu and Hiryu provided support by attacking targets on Wilkes, Peale, and Wake Islands. Given that defeat was now imminent, acting commander of the US Navy Pacific Fleet Vice Admiral William Pye recalled Task Force 14 with USS Saratoga; the force was originally dispatched to reinforce Wake. At 0800, the Americans surrendered. On Wilkes Island, the Americans attempted one final counterattack, killing 100 Japanese troops at the cost of 11 US Marines killed and 5 wounded. ww2dbase [Battle of Wake Island | Wake | TH]
• Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 shelled American facilities at Palmyra Atoll. ww2dbase [Palmyra | CPC]
• Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 bombarded the US Naval Air Station on Palmyra Atoll. ww2dbase [Palmyra | CPC]

23 Dec 1941 Interactive Map

• Hartwig von Ludwiger was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. ww2dbase [Hartwig von Ludwiger | CPC]
• Battleships USS Washington, USS North Carolina, and USS Indiana escorted by destroyers USS Nicholas, USS Farragut, and USS Clarke, joined by USS Fanning and Maury, returned to Nouméa, New Caledonia. ww2dbase [Washington | Maury | North Carolina | Farragut | Indiana | Nicholas | DS]

• Bob Hope agreed to entertain US airmen in Alaska; it was the first of the traditional Christmas shows. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Satoru Anabuki, flying Ki-43 fighter "Fubuki", shot down an aircraft over Burma, his eighth victory. After dark, he shot down a Blenheim aircraft over Magwe, Burma, increasing his score to nine. ww2dbase [Satoru Anabuki | CPC]

• Comandante Cappellini departed La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0815 hours for trials, returning at 1400 hours. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• Hubert Lanz was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. ww2dbase [Hubert Lanz | CPC]

• Gato-class submarine USS Silversides came under a depth charge attack off Rabaul causing no damage but then was depth bombed from an airplane that caused moderate damage including locking the diving planes in full-dive position. Silversides' Executive Officer Lt Roy Davenport managed to restore control just before the submarine reached her crush depth. ww2dbase [Silversides | DS]

• Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier USS Bogue transited the Panama Canal from the Pacific to the Atlantic. ww2dbase [Panama Canal | Bogue | Panama Canal | DS]

• Tatsuta Maru arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Tatsuta Maru | Manila | CPC]

• Erich von Manstein's troops began to withdraw to Kotelnikovo, Russia where they started their offensive. ww2dbase [Battle of Stalingrad | Kotelnikovo, Stalingrad | TH]

• German 10th Panzer Division took back American and British territorial gains in Tunisia made on the previous day. ww2dbase [Advance into Tunisia | CPC]

• Submarine Rock was laid down by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Wisconsin, United States. ww2dbase [Rock | Manitowoc, Wisconsin | CPC]

23 Dec 1942 Interactive Map

• Guavina was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Guavina | CPC]

• During North Atlantic weather so bad that escort carrier USS Card and her escorts had to run with the wind and Card could launch no aircraft for anti-submarine patrols, the group steamed directly through German submarine wolfpack Borkum. Card and screening destroyer USS Decatur were attacked unsuccessfully by U-415. Screening destroyer USS Schenck attacked and probably damaged U-645. ww2dbase [Conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic | Card | DS]

• 24 US Army Air Force bombers conducted an attack on Lakunai Airfield at Rabaul, New Britain, escorted by 48 US Navy F6F and US Marine Corps F4U fighters; 1 F6F and 2 F4U aircraft were shot down by ground fire during the bombing mission. Shortly after, 48 USMC F4U fighters and a number of USAAF P-38 fighters conducted a fighter sweep over Rabaul. 99 Japanese A6M fighters rose to defend against the sweep. USMC airmen claimed 21 Japanese shot down, and USAAF 8; Gregory Boyington of USMC squadron VMF-214 alone claimed 4; Japanese records would later reveal that only 6 aircraft were lost during the fighter sweep. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• 501st Bomb Squadron of USAAF 345th Bomb Group was transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. ww2dbase [Dobodura Airfield | Dobodura | CPC]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 arrived at Balikpapan, Dutch East Indies at 2000 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | Balikpapan, Borneo | CPC]

• 379 RAF aircraft (364 Lancaster, 7 Halifax, and 8 Mosquito) attacked Berlin, Germany; 16 Lancaster bombers were lost. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Berlin | CPC]
• U-1233 was launched at the Deutsche Werft yard in Hamburg, Germany. ww2dbase [Deutsche Werft Hamburg | U-1233 | Hamburg | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of CASU-20 arrived. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]
• USS Archerfish departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Archerfish | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• Galeazzo Ciano made his final diary entry at the prison at Verona, Italy. ww2dbase [Galeazzo Ciano | Verona, Veneto | CPC]
• In Italy, Candian troops attacked Villa Grande while Indian troops captured Vezzano and British troops attacked toward Orsogna. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gustav Line | Villa Grande, Abruzzo | CPC]

• USS Honolulu and USS St. Louis returned to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [Honolulu | St. Louis | Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo | DS]

• British Home Fleet Admiral Bruce Fraser dispatched battleship HMS Duke of York, cruiser HMS Jamaica, and 4 destroyers (3 British and 1 Norwegian) north in anticipation of German interception of Allied convoy JW-55B, which was sailing toward Murmansk, Russia. ww2dbase [Battle of the North Cape | Bruce Fraser | CPC]

23 Dec 1943 Interactive Map

• USS Marcus Island arrived at the Admiralty Islands. ww2dbase [Marcus Island | Admiralty Islands | CPC]

• Indian 2nd and 20th Divisions reached Pyingaing, Burma, which was not defended by the Japanese. ww2dbase [Battle of Meiktila-Mandalay | Pyingaing | CPC]

• While leading 16 Mustang fighters of 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron back from an attack on the Wuchang-Hankou ferry terminals in Hubei Province, China, Lieutenant Colonel Edward McComas strafed the Japanese airfields at Wuchang and Erdaokou, destroying (in less than an hour) five Ki-43 fighters in the air and another two Japanese aircraft on the ground. ww2dbase [Wuhan, Hubei | AC]

• Adolf Eichmann fled Budapest, Hungary before dawn. ww2dbase [Adolf Eichmann | Budapest | CPC]

• USS Whale sank four Japanese fishing trawlers with her deck gun off Nakano Shima in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. ww2dbase [Whale | Okinawa | CPC]
• Kamoi departed Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan at 0530 hours, escorted by auxiliary patrol boat Kousei Maru; she arrived at Ise Bay at 1457 hours. ww2dbase [Kamoi | Shimizu, Shizuoka | CPC]

• Emden departed Oslo, Norway. ww2dbase [Emden | Oslo, Østlandet | CPC]

• USS Blenny reported sinking a Japanese transport with torpedoes. ww2dbase [Blenny | CPC]

• Destroyer Yuzuki was sunk by US Marine Corps aircraft north-northwest of Cebu, Philippine Islands; 20 crewmen were killed, 217 survived and rescued by destroyer Kiri. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | CPC]

• Patrol Boat No. 102 arrived at Singapore at 1001 hours. ww2dbase [Stewart | CPC]

• 25 German prisoners of war escaped from Camp Papago Park in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. ww2dbase [Camp Papago Park | Phoenix, Arizona | CPC]

23 Dec 1944 Interactive Map

• Prince Morihiro's daughter Princess Fumiko was born. ww2dbase [Morihiro | CPC]

• Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East were executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Tokyo Trial and Other Trials Against Japan | Tokyo | CPC]
• Hideki Tojo was executed at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Hideki Tojo | Tokyo | CPC]
• Akira Muto was executed at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Akira Muto | Tokyo | CPC]
• Koki Hirota was executed at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Koki Hirota | Tokyo | CPC]
• Kenji Doihara was executed at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Kenji Doihara | Tokyo | CPC]
• Seishiro Itagaki was executed by hanging at Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Seishiro Itagaki | Tokyo | CPC]
• Iwane Matsui was executed by hanging at the Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Iwane Matsui | Tokyo | CPC]

23 Dec 1948 Interactive Map

• USS Missouri provided gunfire support during the evacuation of US troops at Hungnam, Korea. ww2dbase [Missouri | Hungnam, South Hamgyong | CPC]
• Walton Walker was killed in an automobile accident near Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. ww2dbase [Walton Walker | Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi | CPC]

• Lavrentiy Beria was executed in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Lavrentiy Beria | Moscow | CPC]
• Vsevolod Merkulov was executed in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Vsevolod Merkulov | Moscow | CPC]

• USS Cero was decommissioned from service and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. ww2dbase [Cero | CPC]

• Pierre Barjot was promoted to the rank of admiral. ww2dbase [Pierre Barjot | CPC]

• Edward Wood passed away at Garrowby Hall, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Halifax | Garrowby, England | CPC]

• Captain Richard E. Fowler, Jr. was named the commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga. ww2dbase [Ticonderoga | CPC]

• Andrei Tupolev passed away in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Andrei Tupolev | Moscow | CPC]

• President Clinton granted a full pardon to Freddie Meeks, one of the few surviving members of the original 50 "mutineers" (Meeks was the only one of the 50 to formally apply for a pardon). ww2dbase [Port Chicago Naval Munitions Explosion | Washington DC | DS]

• Daniel Inouye's second funeral service was held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. ww2dbase [Daniel Inouye | Honolulu, Hawaii | CPC]

23 Dec 2012 Interactive Map