Events 601 - 636 of 636
Historic Event
Dec 17 German troops led by Erwin Rommel begin retreating in North Africa
Historic Event
Dec 19 Adolf Hitler takes complete command of German Army
- Dec 19 US Office of Censorship created to control info pertaining to WW II
- Dec 20 Free France under adm Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquelon
- Dec 20 Japanese troops land on Mindanao, Philippines
- Dec 20 World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers" in Kunming, China.
- Dec 21 Chicago Bears Ray McLean makes last NFL drop kick for an extra point
NFL Championship
Dec 21 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 37-9; first team in NFL championship game era (since 1933) to win consecutive titles; Bears 5th title overall
Conference of Interest
Dec 22 Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C. for a wartime conference
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Dec 24 First ships of admiral Nagumo's Pearl Harbor fleet return to Japan
- Dec 25 Japan announces surrender of British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong
- Dec 25 Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi/Kagu back in Kure, Japan
- Dec 26 Winston Churchill becomes first British Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, warning that Axis would "stop at nothing"
- Dec 27 Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city"
Music History
Dec 27 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 7th Symphony in Siberia
The Taming of Winston Churchill
Dec 30 In an emotional speech to the Canadian Parliament Winston Churchill states Britain will never surrender to "Hitler and his Nazi gang" and that "they have asked for total war. Let us make sure they get it". Afterwards Yousef Karsh captures him in his famous photograph, "The Roaring Lion".
