CBI - China: Day 96 of 154 of the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
1936 — , December 22
Spain: Day 159 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1937 — , December 22
Spain: Day 524 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 169 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 14 of 54 of the Battle of Nanking.
Day 10 of 50 of the Rape of Nanking.
1938 — , December 22
Spain: Day 889 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 534 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 72 of 81 of Japan's Operation GUANGDONG.
1939 — , December 22
Finland: Day 23 of 105 of the Russo-Finnish War. In southern Finland, the Soviets begin backing off their threat against Summa.
CBI - China: Day 899 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 38 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1940 — , December 22
ETO - UK: Day 108 of 258 of the Blitz.
MTO - North Africa: Day 14 of 63 of the UK's Operation COMPASS, their campaign in North Africa against the Italian troops in Egypt and Libya.
East Africa: Day 196 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,265 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 83 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1941 — , December 22
USA: Prime Minister Churchill arrives at the White House for the First Washington Conference.
Russian Front - North: Day 106 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 82 of 98 of the Battle of Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 54 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
CBI - Burma: Day 9 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,630 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 15 of 18 of the Battle of Hong Kong.
CBI - Malaya: Day 15 of 55 of the Battle of British Malaya.
PTO - Borneo: Day 7 of 107 of the Battle of Borneo.
PTO - Marshall Islands: Day 15 of 17 of the Battle of Wake Island, aka the Alamo of the Pacific.
PTO - Philippines: Day 15 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. Japanese troops invade Luzon.
1942 — , December 22
Russian Front - North: Day 471 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 34 of 59 of the Battle of Velikiye Luki, near Leningrad. This stalemate does help ease the siege a little, but mostly it keeps German troops from being sent to other fronts.
Russian Front - North: Day 232 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - Center: Day 28 of 29 of the Battle of Molodoi Tud River, Russia. Ends in a stalemate but it does keep these German troops from going to Stalingrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 123 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, bloodiest battle in human history.
Russian Front - South: Day 11 of 12 of Germany's Operation WINTER STORM, another failed attempt to take Stalingrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 11 of 69 of the USSR's Operation LITTLE SATURN, a successful drive into the Northern Caucasus and the Donets Basin pushing the Axis troops out.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 36 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. British 1st Army starts three day offensive toward Tebourba, which fails. US 9th and 12th Air Forces provide Allied air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 2 of 104 of the 1st Battle of Arakan. British troops cross the Burmese border from India and head southeast toward Akyab.
CBI - China: Day 1,995 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - India: Day 3 of 5 of the Japanese Bombing of Calcutta.
PTO - Alaska: Day 199 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - Malaya: Day 307 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 34 of 66 of the Battle of Buna-Gona.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 138 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 — , December 22
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-24s and B-17s bomb at Osnabruck and Munster.
ETO - Germany: Day 35 of 135 of the Battle of Berlin (RAF bombing campaign). 51 aircraft attack two flying-bomb sites between Abbeville and Amiens. One site is destroyed, but the other is not located.
Russian Front - North: Day 836 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 597 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket. USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - South: Day 121 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR.
MTO - Yugoslavia: The Allies announce that Tito has been named the Allied commander in Yugoslavia and that his partisans are now estimated at 250,000 men. US 12th Air Force P-47s strafe targets near Zara.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - China: Day 2,360 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 95 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 92 of 162 of the Battle of the Huon Peninsula.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 8 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 52 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands.
1944 — , December 22
ETO - Belgium: Day 7 of 41 of the Battle of the Bulge. Germans penetrate up to 40 miles in the Ardennes. Surrounded by enemy forces at Bastogne, General McAuliffe's written response to the German surrender ultimatum is eloquently simple: "Nuts!"
Spotlight...
22 Dec 44: General Anthony C McAuliffe (left) and then-Colonel Harry W O Kinnard II at Bastogne
On 22 Dec 44, a party consisting of a German major, a lieutenant and two enlisted men under a flag of truce entered the American lines southeast of Bastogne, General von Lüttwitz sent an ultimatum to US General Anthony C McAuliffe, stressing that the fortune of war was against them and that the only way to avoid annihilation was with their honorable surrender (read full text in photo 2).
According to various accounts from those present, when McAuliffe was given the German message, he read it, crumpled it into a ball, threw it in a wastepaper basket, and muttered, "Aw, nuts!" The officers in McAuliffe's command post were trying and failing to come up with suitable language for an official reply when Lt Col Harry Kinnard suggested that McAuliffe's first response summed up the situation pretty well, and the others agreed. The official reply was typed and delivered by Colonel Joseph Harper, commanding the 327th Glider Infantry, to the German delegation.
The German major appeared confused and asked Harper what the message meant. Harper said, "In plain English? Go to hell." The choice of "Nuts!" rather than something earthier was typical for McAuliffe. Vincent Vicari, his personal aide at the time, recalled that "General Mac was the only general I ever knew who did not use profane language. 'Nuts' was part of his normal vocabulary."
Here's a recreation of the full typewritten surrender ultimatum sent to General McAuliffe...
The town of Bastogne celebrates this day every year, referring to it as "Nuts Day."
ETO - UK: The British announce a call-up of 250,000 troops "to sustain and nourish our armies in the line."
ETO - France: Day 144 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 99 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 95 of 145 of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 99 of 223 of the Lapland War. Finland and Russia have joined forces to kick the Germans out of Finland's most northern province.
Russian Front - Center: Day 69 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 62 of 99 of the Siege of Memel, a border town of Lithuania and East Prussia.
Russian Front - South: Day 55 of 108 of the Battle of Budapest, Hungary.
MTO - Italy: US and Royal Air Forces provides air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - Burma: Day 266 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive.
CBI - China: Day 2,726 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 250 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 361 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 245 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Philippines: Day 64 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 64 of 73 of the Battle of Leyte.
PTO - Philippines: Day 8 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon.
1945 — , December 22
MTO: Britain and the US formally recognize Tito's Yugoslavia.
Day-By-Day listings for December 22 were last modified on Thursday, January 28, 2016
Spotlight...
