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• Albert Kesselring was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Prince Kotohito was made the commanding officer of 1st Cavalry Regiment. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Nobutake Kondo graduated from the Japanese Navy Academy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Haichou fired on the Qing troop concentration at the railroad station at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, destroying 5 trains and killing many. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• German troops began to withdraw from Ypres, Belgium, abandoning the offensive which began on 20 Oct 1914. ww2dbase [AC]

• Georg von Küchler was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• At the Battle of Cambrai in France, the British Army launched its first full-scale offensive that was designed exclusively to accommodate a new British secret weapon, the Tank (so-called because when the first shipment came from England they were described as water tanks to maintain secrecy). Following a surprise artillery barrage 476 tanks, packed tightly for a mass attack moved against the German lines. Supported by infantry and 289 British aircraft the gains were dramatic, breaching the almost impregnable Hindenberg Line to a depth of 4-5 miles in some places. However, these gains seemed to surprise British High Command equally as much as the Germans and the following cavalry failed to take advantage. Ultimately most of the captured ground would be retaken within a few weeks. Nevertheless, Cambrai demonstrated how a well-thought out attack, combining tanks en masse with surprise, could be used to break the trench deadlock. ww2dbase [AC]

• Tenryu was commissioned into service and was assigned to Kure Naval District in Japan. Commander Teijiro Murase was named her first commanding officer. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
• Captain Tetsutaro Imaizumi was named the commanding officer of Settsu. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1919 Interactive Map

• Rear Admiral Kenkichi Wada was named the chief of staff of Vice Admiral Naoe Nakano (Ryojun Military Port, northeastern China). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Captain Kazu Takemitsu was named the commanding officer of Settsu while the ship was undergoing overhaul at Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

20 Nov 1920 Interactive Map

• Captain Shigezo Oyamada was named the commanding officer of Settsu. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• S-40 was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Captain Takumi Matsumoto was named the commanding officer of Settsu. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Queen Alexandra died at Sandringham House, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]

20 Nov 1928 Interactive Map

• Rear Admiral Seizaburo Mitsui was named the Chief of Staff of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1929 Interactive Map

• Buenaventura Durruti, a leading figure in the Spanish Anarchist movement, died after sustaining battle wounds during the Spanish Civil War on the previous day. ww2dbase [AC]
• Jose Antonio Prima de Rivera (the leader of the Falange), who had been stranded in Republican Spain at the time of the rising, was executed in Alicante. ww2dbase [AC]
• A German decree ordered all households to save all kitchen scraps and peelings. A commissar for recycled material was appointed to encourage the public to "make-do and mend". ww2dbase [AC]

• Flying the DH.88 aircraft "The Burberry", between Croydon and Cape Town, Flight Officer A. E. Clouston and Mrs. Betty Kirby-Green established a new record for the UK-South Africa return flight in a time of 5 days, 17 hours and 28 minutes. ww2dbase [AC]

• The order for Chinese government ministries to evacuate the capital city of Nanjing to Hankou, originally ordered by Chiang Kaishek on 16 Nov 1937, was publicly announced at 1200 hours. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Tone was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• Queen Maud of Norway passed away from heart failure at the age of 68 following surgery in London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]

• German submarine U-33 sank three small British trawlers (Thomas Hankins at 1030 hours, Delphine at 1600 hours, and Sea Sweeper at 1700 hours) off Tory Island, Ireland. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Chiang Kaishek was made the Premier of the Republic of China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The US Navy Chief of Naval Operations ordered the Commandant of the US Marine Corps Fourteenth Naval District to plan a Marine garrison at Midway. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Hungarian Prime Minister Teleki and Foreign Minister Csaky signed a protocol in Vienna, Austria, joining the Tripartite Pact. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• British cruiser HMS York delivered anti-aircraft guns to Piraeus, Greece and returned to Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• British bombers sank Italian ship Ardita III in the Red Sea off Assab, Italian East Africa. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian torpedo boat Confienza sank after colliding with Italian armed merchant cruiser Capitano A. Cecchi off Brindisi, Italy. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin stopped British ship Maimoa with gunfire in the southern Indian Ocean after a long chase. The crew of 87 were taken prisoner and the ship was scuttled. ww2dbase [CPC]
• 116 German bombers dropped 132 tons of high explosive bombs and 296 incendiary bombs on Birmingham, England, United Kingdom overnight. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• No. 261 Squadron RAF was transferred to RAF Station Takali. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1940 Interactive Map

• HMAS Sydney sank some time after midnight from the damage sustained in the engagement with German raider Kormoran; all 645 aboard were lost. Kormoran, likewise heavily damaged, was abandoned at 1900 hours and was scuttled three hours later; 81 were killed and 318 survived. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Kurt von Briesen passed away. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• German troops captured Rostov, Russia. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• The Norwegian government-in-exile officially endorsed the resistance movement Milorg. ww2dbase [TH]
• Japanese ambassador to the US Nomura presented Japan's final proposal to keep peace in Asia and the Pacific. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The daily bread rations in besieged Leningrad, Russia was reduced to 500 grams for military personnel, 250 grams for engineers and technical workers, 125 grams for other workers and children. The situation was hoped to be improving soon, however, as the first successful crossing of the frozen Lake Ladoga was made with horse-drawn sleighs, hoping to bring back food from Kobona. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• One of the ships of Allied convoy PQ-3 struck an iceberg and another developed mechanical problems; both were turned back toward Iceland. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• In Vilnius, Lithuania, 3 prisoners of war were executed as later reported by the Jager Report on 1 Dec 1941. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The Japanese-controlled Ryojun Military Port (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China was upgraded to the status of a Guard District. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Crown Prince Yi Un was assigned to Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The British 7th Armoured Brigade repulsed a counter attack launched by the German 90th Light Infantry Division and the Italian Bologna Division. In the afternoon, the British 4th Armoured Brigade engaged with heavier tanks of the German 15th Panzer Division, losing several American-built M3 tanks. After dark, British cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Neptune and Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart bombarded Bardia, Libya. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Ed Dyess arrived in Manila, Philippines. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The two crematoria of Auschwitz Concentration Camp were inactivated for servicing; camp commandant ordered that corpses of prisoners were to be transported to Birkenau (not yet a camp) for burying in mass graves until the servicing was done on 3 Dec 1941. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• The Japanese naval base at Mako in Pescadores Islands, Taiwan was upgarded to full Guard District status. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1941 Interactive Map

• Adolf Hitler relinquished personal command of Armeegruppe A to General Ewald von Kleist. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• British troops entered the city of Benghazi, Libya, and found ports and facilities destroyed by Germans before their withdrawal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• The Alaska-Canadian Highway was dedicated. ww2dbase [CPC]
• HMAS Warramunga (I44) was commissioned into service with Commander E. F. V. Dechaineux in command. ww2dbase [AC]
• Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny was damaged and Soviet destroyer Baku capsized in very heavy weather while escorting Allied convoy QP-15. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Wing Commander H. D. Fraser led 25 aircraft, nine of which carried torpedoes, from No. 236 Squadron RAF to attack a convoy off the Dutch coast. It was a shambles. The promised fighter escort failed to show up, three Beaufighters were shot down, seven more damaged and two crashed at Donna Nook and North Coates, both of which in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom. Their only success was to sink a German tug. ww2dbase [AC]

• Repair ship Akashi began repairing light cruiser Isuzu at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS Finback arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• Nachi departed Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan at 0840 hours. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• One day after the first Soviet offensive was launched at Stalingrad, Russia, a second one was launched south of the city against positions held by Romanian 4th Army Corps. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Six He 111 bombers of German Luftwaffe group KG 55 flew an armed reconnaissance mission from their base at Morozovskaya, Russia over Stalingrad, Russia; two aircraft failed to return. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi was named the commanding officer of the Mako Guard District at Pescadores islands, Taiwan, which was elevated from its previous position as a third tier naval port. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy began arriving in Tunisia from Corsica, France. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German paratroop Engineer Battalion "Witzig" and Itlaian 1st Paratroop Battalion were deployed together at Djebel Abjod, Tunisia. ww2dbase [CPC]

• British government scientist Dr. Reginald V. Jones warned Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence) of possible new German weapons, ie. rockets, that could threaten Britain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1942 Interactive Map

• US Marines invaded Makin and Tarawa atolls in the Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• On Samos Island, Greece, nearly 5,000 British prisoners were taken by the Germans. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• The Soviet Army began an advance on Kirovograd, Ukraine after breaking through German lines near Kremenchug. ww2dbase [TH]
• Hitler refused permission for the German Armeegruppe Nord to withdraw to the Panther-Wotan Line. ww2dbase [TH]
• Jews in northern Italy were ordered to be sent to concentration camps. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Joseph Stilwell arrived at Cairo, Egypt and checked into the Mena House hotel. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The headquarters of USAAF 49th Fighter Group was transferred out of Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• US Marine Corps Major General Ralph Mitchell was named Commander Air Solomons and was placed in charge of all US naval and Marine aviation units in the Solomon Islands region. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Fumizuki at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS New Mexico shelled Japanese positions at Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | CPC]
• USS Portland shell shore positions on Betio Island at Tarawa Atoll in support of the US Marine landings. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]
• USS Alabama provided naval gunfire support for the US landing at Betio, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Mingo arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]

• British Eighth Army crossed the Sangro River in Italy. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]

• Nachi departed Ominato Guard District, Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]

• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) sent raids back to the airfield at Jaluit, Marshall Islands and some of her planes also supported the troops on Makin, Gilbert Islands. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | DS]

• Alexander Foote, a young English adventurer and International Brigade veteran, who had been recruited by Moscow as a spy with the Lucy Ring, was arrested by the Swiss Police. ww2dbase [AC]

• British Fascist Sir Oswald Mosley and Lady Diana Mosley were released from imprisonment. They would stay with Lady Diana's sister Pamela Mitford after their release, followed shortly after by a stay at the Shaven Crown Hotel in Shipton-under-Wychwood. He then purchased Crux Easton, near Newbury, England, United Kingdom, with Diana. He and his wife became the subject of much media attention, but the war had ended what remained of his political reputation. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC, CPC]
• The FIDO (Fog Intensive Dispersal Operation) scheme was first instigated to effect the safe landing of RAF bombers. ww2dbase [AC]

• USS Parche was commissioned into service with Commander Lawson Ramage in command. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1943 Interactive Map

• William Menefee Wilcox was named the commanding officer of USS Pollack. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• For the last time, Hitler left the Wolfsschanze Headquarters for Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Main Article | TH]
• Chen Cheng was named the head of the political bureau of the Nationalist military. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Chinese troops captured Mangshih, Yunnan Province, China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Japanese submarines I-36 and I-47 each delivered four Kaiten submarines off Ulithi, Caroline Islands. Only one of the Kaiten submarines would find a target, setting the fleet oiler Mississinewa, full of aviation fuel, aflame. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• He Yingqin stepped down as Chiang Kaishek's chief of staff for military affairs. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Gao Youxin, leading seven P-40 Warhawk fighters, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Jianjiang County, Hubei Province, China. He would spend the next 40-some days attempting to return to friendly lines. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Jean de Lattre de Tassigny was awarded the Ordre de la Libération. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Cod arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]
• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: The first engine overhauled in the new progressive engine overall plant, completed its test stand run. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]

• Garland set sail from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for Britain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• 1,014 arrested Polish Home Army and other partisan fighters arrived at the NKVD-run Ostashkov Special Camp in Tver Oblast, Russia by a special train after an 8-day journey. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1944 Interactive Map

• Max Merten, already in captivity as a prisoner of war, was arrested for war crimes. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• The French flag lowered for the final time at treaty port of Kouang-Tchéou-Wan (Chinese: Guangzhouwan) in southern China. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Trial of the Major War Criminals of the Nuremberg Trials began. Soviet SMERSH officers Leonid Kozlovtsev, Krasilnikov, and Khelipsky arrived in Nürnberg, Germany, presumably to help oversee the Soviet prosecution team. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• Settsu was struck from the Japanese Navy list for the second time. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 174 was decommissioned from service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1945 Interactive Map

• Song Tiancai was captured by communist forces in Shanghai, China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

• USS Bluefish was decommissioned from service at New London, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

20 Nov 1953 Interactive Map

20 Nov 1959 Interactive Map

• Francisco Franco passed away. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]