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• American code breakers learned that battleship Yamato was scheduled to arrive at Truk, Caroline Islands on 25 Dec 1943 ferrying men and supplies. ww2dbase [Yamato | CPC]
• One of the first war crimes trials was held in Kharkov, where 4 Germans are accused of using death vans to murder thousands of civilians. ww2dbase [Nuremberg Trials and Other Trials Against Germany | TH]
• German Armeegruppe Mitte was heavily engaged in defensive combat in and around Vitebsk, Byelorussia. ww2dbase [TH]
• USS Puffer sank Japanese freight Teiko Maru west of the Philippine Islands, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Puffer | CPC]

• After TBF Avengers from USS Bogue attacked the surfaced German submarine U-172 in the eastern Atlantic the day before and after a 27-hour running battle that included over 200 depth charges being dropped from the destroyers USS George E. Badger, USS Clemson, USS Osmond Ingram, and USS Du Pont, U-172 sank with 13 killed and 46 survivors taken prisoner. ww2dbase [Bogue | U-172 | DS]

• 403rd Bomb Squadron (flying B-24 aircraft) of USAAF 43rd Bomb Group was transferred from Port Moresby to Dobodura Airfield, Australian Papua. ww2dbase [Dobodura Airfield | Dobodura | CPC]

• USS St. Louis departed Tulagi, Solomon Islands bound for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Walden Ainsworth | Tulagi, Solomon Islands | DS]

• Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Samidare at Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Akashi | Truk | CPC]

• The Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO) team in transit to Xamba, Suiyuan Province, China reached the Yellow River in Ninxia Province. As the river was partially frozen, thus no ferry service was available, they waited several weeks for the ice to thicken before attempting to drive their vehicles across. ww2dbase [Ningxia | CPC]

• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against the submarine facilities at Kiel, Germany. ww2dbase [RAF Thurleigh | Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Kiel | DS]

• Troops of German 117th Jäger Division, under the orders of Karl von Le Suire, burned 200 women and children in a schoolhouse and machine gunned 500 males aged 12 or older in the town of Kalavryta, Greece. ww2dbase [Karl von Le Suire | Kalavryta, Western Greece | CPC]

• Barbers Point Naval Air Station: More of CASU-30 arrived. ww2dbase [Barbers Point Naval Air Station | Ewa, Oahu | DS]

• The Canadian attack in "The Gully" region in Italy was met with resistance, suffering heavy casualties, but it also began to wear down the strength of the defending German 90th Panzergrenadier Division, which began to fall back and was replaced by troops of German 1st Parachute Division. Nearby, after sundown, Indian troops launched an attack toward Caldari. ww2dbase [Advance to the Gustav Line | CPC]

• The US 359th Fighter Group became operational in England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [England | CPC]

• Naval Ammunition Depot Earle in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Earle Naval Ammunition Depot | Colts Neck, New Jersey | CPC]

• USS Cero departed Midway Atoll for her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Cero | Midway Bases | Midway | CPC]

13 Dec 1943 Interactive Map