21 Dec 1943
  • Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru departed Kwajalein, then arrived at Roi. ww2dbase [Hikawa Maru | CPC]
  • The radio in the German embassy in Ireland was seized in response to Allied pressure to limit German espionage efforts. ww2dbase [TH]
  • The German bridgehead across the Dneiper River at Kherson, Ukraine was destroyed. ww2dbase [TH]
  • 9 RAF Mosquito aircraft attacked the Mannesmann factory at Düsseldorf, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
  • Joseph Stilwell arrived in his field headquarters in Burma. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | CPC]
  • The 112th Regiment of the Chinese 38th Division was surrounded by elements of the Japanese 18th Division at Yubang Ga, Burma, but by the end of the year the Japanese envelopment would be broken. ww2dbase [CPC]
Australian New Guinea Italy Japan
  • USS Grayback attacked a Japanese convoy off southwestern Japan, claiming the sinking of four vessels; 14 torpedoes were expended in this attack. ww2dbase [Grayback | Kagoshima | CPC]
New Hebrides Pacific Ocean
  • Gato-class submarine USS Silversides entered her assigned patrol area east of Palau in the lanes to Truk Atoll. ww2dbase [Silversides | DS]
United Kingdom
  • The first Firebrand TF.III aircraft, equipped with Bristol Centaurus VII engine, took its first flight. ww2dbase [Firebrand | AC]
Photo(s) dated 21 Dec 1943
Rommel at a coastal battery at Raversijde, Belgium, 21 Dec 1943Rommel in Raversijde, Belgium, 21 Dec 1943Private Jack Bailey of Canadian Perth Regiment sniping at Germans, Ortona, Italy, 29 January 1944; note Enfield Pattern 1914 rifle with telescopic sight and Bren light machine gun

21 Dec 1943 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Famous WW2 Quote
"We no longer demand anything, we want war."

Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939


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