Replies

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/09.htm

December 9th, 1941

UNITED KINGDOM: LONDON: It is announced that the Netherlands and Soviet governments have agreed to exchange ambassadors. (Dave Shirlaw)

GERMANY: U-659 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.S.R.: The Russian advance from Moscow liberates Elets. Advancing from Leningrad they liberate Tikhvin.

EUROPE: Although the news is dwarfed by the dramatic entries of America and Japan into this second world war, several more countries are also now involved. This week Britain has declared war on Finland, Romania and Hungary following their failures to end actions in support of Germany. And China has formally issued a declaration of war against Japan, Germany and Italy.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Far East Air Force B-17s from Mindanao, Philippine Islands fly recon missions. (Jack McKillop)

WAKE ISLAND Japanese bombers of the 24th Air Flotilla again attack Wake, destroying more of the naval air station, the hospital and much of Camp 2. (Gordon Rottman)

MALAYSIA: Japanese troops land at Kota Bharu, Singora and Patani.

Sqn-Ldr Arthur Stewart King Scarf (b.1913) flew on a lone raid in the face of many fighters. He returned his crew safely before dying of wounds. (Victoria Cross)

THAILAND: Bangkok is occupied by the Japanese.

HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repluse are sighted by the Japanese north of Singapore.

CHINA: The Nationalist government declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy.

INDIAN OCEAN: At midnight on the 9th of December 1941 HMS Glasgow in error sank the RIN patrol vessel HMIS Prabhavati with two lighters in tow en route for Karachi, with 6 inch shells at 6000 yards. The vessel was alongside the lighters and appeared to those in Glasgow to be a large Japanese submarine on the surface. HMS Glasgow arrived in Bombay with the survivors on 9th. HMS Glasgow had left Colombo for patrol on 6 December 1941, she returned to Colombo on the 25th. (Dave Shirlaw)

PACIFIC OCEAN: USS Swordfish makes initial US submarine attack on Japanese ship. (Dave Shirlaw)

CANADA: Fear of Japanese invasion spreads on British Columbia coast; government orders blackouts; closes Japanese-Canadian newspapers, schools.
Algerine-class minesweepers ordered in Canada - HMS Antares, Arcturus, Aries, Clifton, Friendship, Gozo, and Lightfoot.

River-class frigates ordered in Canada - HMS Inver, Lossie, Parrett, and Shiel. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.A.: Washington: The devastating blow struck by the Japanese at the US Pacific Fleet’s base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, came as a complete surprise. How was it that the United States was caught so unawares?

For some months now, US code-breakers have been able to read the top-secret Japanese diplomatic cipher under the codename Magic. The first indication of the imminence of war came on 4 December, when the staff of the Japanese embassy here in Washington began to leave and Magic revealed that they had destroyed their codebooks. On the night of 6-7 December Tokyo began transmitting a long message in code to the ambassador in Washington, to be handed to the US state department. Transcription difficulties caused it to be delayed, but by 7 o’clock in the morning the US codebreakers had deciphered it anyway. They also had reports of Japanese convoys.

The Americans now knew that Japan was bent on war, but not where it would strike first. Suspicion fell on the Philippines, because the Pearl Harbor strike force had maintained strict radio silence since leaving the Kurile Islands on 26 November. Warnings were sent to all Pacific bases, but that to Pearl Harbor was delayed through poor signal handling.

CUBA declares war on Japan. (Dave Shirlaw)

MEXICO breaks diplomatic relations with Japan. (Dave Shirlaw)

ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-124 was attacked near the island Ascension off Georgetown by ground artillery, but suffered no damages.

U-134 sank SS Steinbek.

U-652 sank SS St Denis. (Dave Shirlaw)