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• British 4th Armoured Division advanced 50 miles from Bardia, Libya to capture Belhamed to the east of Tobruk and the airfield at El Adem 8 miles to the south. Patrols were now conducted 10 miles west of Tobruk at Acroma. ww2dbase [Operation Compass | CPC]
• The keel of battleship Missouri was laid down. ww2dbase [Missouri | CPC]
• Neutral Ireland sent a note of protest to Germany after Dublin was "accidentally" bombed three nights in succession by "stray" Luftwaffe aircraft. ww2dbase [AC]
• In his State of the Union address, US President Franklin Roosevelt enunciated the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
• German raider Kormoran stopped Greek ship Antonis in the Atlantic Ocean 200 miles northwest of Cape Verde Islands. Antonis was scuttled when 4,800 tons of British coal was found on board. All 29 crew and 7 sheep were taken on board Kormoran. ww2dbase [Kormoran | CPC]
• German submarine U-124 sank British ship Empire Thunder 200 miles northwest of Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom at 1137 hours; 9 killed and 30 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Overnight, Greek destroyers shelled the Albanian port of Vlorë. 20 miles south, Italian destroyers Alfieri, Carducci, Fulmine, and Gioberti, and torpedo boats Partenope, Pallade, Romeda, and Altair shelled Greek positions at Porto Palmermo. The Greek offensive against Italian positions in the mountains of Albania reached the strategically important Klisura Pass on the river Vjosë, which, if captured, would allow Greek forces in the center of the front to link up with troops on the coast, but it was met with stiff resistance. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]
• A Free French force under Lieutenant Colonel Jean Colonna d'Ornano attacked Murzuk airfield in southwestern Libya from Chad, capturing the airfield, but d'Ornano was killed in action. ww2dbase [Battle of Kufra | CPC]

• British cruisers HMS Gloucester and HMS Southampton, escorted by destroyers HMS Ilex and HMS Janus, departed Alexandria, Egypt, at 1315 hours to carry 510 Army and RAF personnel to Malta and to meet Excess convoy which had departed from Gibraltar on the same day. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | Alexandria | CPC]

• British convoy Excess (British ships Essex, Clan Cumming, Clan Macdonald, and Empire Song) departed from Gibraltar for Malta and Greece, escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Bonaventure (carrying 400 troops) and destroyers HMS Hereward, HMS Jaguar, HMS Hasty, and HMS Hero. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]

• Captain Noboru Owada was made the commanding officer of Katori, relieving Hisashi Mito. ww2dbase [Katori | Yokosuka, Kanagawa | CPC]

• US 22nd, 23rd, and 32nd Fighter Squadrons, both operating P-40 Warhawk fighters, was assigned to Losey Field in Puerto Rico. ww2dbase [Losey Field | Juana Díaz | CPC]

• British destroyers HMS Mashona and HMS Sikh collided in the naval base at Scapa Flow, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Scapa Flow | Scapa Flow, Scotland | CPC]

6 Jan 1941 Interactive Map