UNITED KINGDOM:
Whilst
escorting convoy PW.257, destroyer HMS Penylan is torpedoed and sunk by German
S-boats 5 miles South of Start Point at 50 08N 08 39W. There are 117 survivors.
The merchant ship Gatinais is also sunk. (Alex Gordon)(108)
Aircraft carrier HMS Venerable laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY:
U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops break through German positions west of Rzhev.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: A Royal Navy force of three cruisers and two destroyers caught an Axis convoy laden with reinforcements including tanks headed for North Africa at night. RAF aircraft dropped illumination flares, and radar-controlled gunnery proved devastating, sinking the four ships in the convoy plus its escort. (Dave Shirlaw)
TUNISIA: The 10th Panzer Division withdraws from both Djedeida and Tebourba, Tunisia.
Tebourba: Maj. Herbert Wallace Le Patourel (1916-79), Hampshire Regt., led four men who, after silencing several guns, all became casualties. He fought on alone until his capture. (Victoria Cross)
ALGERIA: Algiers: Allied troops advancing towards Tunis came face to face with a monster new weapon today - 56-ton "Tiger" tanks mounting 88mm guns. Hitler has sent five of these giants to Tunisia as an "experiment". Two of them played a significant part in a major defeat at Terbourba today.
Bad weather and the ferocity of German dive-bombing attacks slowed down the two-pronged offensive, with American officers complaining to Lt-Gen Eisenhower during a visit to the front line about the lack of Allied air cover. "Why do we see nothing but Heinies?" asked one.
General Nehring, the German commander, had reacted quickly to the Allied advance. Small detachments, mostly paratroopers, raced to take the vital towns of Sousse, Sfax and Gabes from bewildered French garrisons.
The main Allied thrust along the hilly coastal road was checked by a German ambush at Djefna. British and American commandos landed on the coast to the east of this battle and blocked the road, but a fresh assault failed to relieve them and they were forced to withdraw.
In Tunis, Field Marshal Kesselring ordered Nehring to be more aggressive. On 1 December, 40 tanks with anti-tank weapons advanced on the town. Repulsed at first by artillery fire, Nehring called up every available unit. Although much of the Allied "Blade Force" managed to escape over mountain roads, the Germans have captured more than 1,000 prisoners and more than 50 tanks.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral Tanaka brings 10 Japanese destroyers to Guadalcanal in another Tokyo Express Run. 300 of 1500 drums loaded with supplies actually reach Guadalcanal.
NEW GEORGIA: US bombers start intensive attacks on Munda Point to prevent Japan from building an airfield.
AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Cootamundra launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: The motion picture "You Were Never Lovelier" opens at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Directed by William A. Seiter, this musical comedy stars Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Xavier Cugat and Larry Parks. (Jack McKillop)
Destroyer escort USS Sturtevant launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: