December 26th, 1942(SATURDAY)
NORWAY: Clergy read from the pulpit a message attacking Nazi persecution of the Jews.
U.S.S.R.: German forces south of the Don, under Manstein, are in full retreat as the Soviet advance nears Kotelnikovo.
The Soviets capture Radomyshl in the Kiev sector.
ALGERIA: Algiers: General Henri Giraud has been chosen as French High Commissioner for North Africa. The appointment was made by the French imperial council here, but the choice was approved by the Allied High Command.
Spokesman for General Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French in London, commented favourably on Giraud's appointment yesterday, although Giraud is a potential rival to de Gaulle with whom he has a chilly relationship.
Bonnier de la Chapelle, the assassin of Admiral Darlan is executed by firing squad.
TUNISIA: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators are dispatched against Tunis harbor during the night of 26/27 December; three hit the primary target while one each bomb Sousse and Sfax.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses, with fighter escort, hit the harbor and shipping at Bizerte; heavy antiaircraft and fighter attacks account for two B-17s and two P-38 Lightnings shot down; P-38 Lightnings claim two Fw 190s destroyed. Other B-17s, with P-40 escort, bomb the harbor and shipping at Sfax and three enemy vessels are claimed sunk. P-38 Lightnings on reconnaissance attack locomotives and motor vehicles south of Tunis and west of Sousse. P-40s strafe barges off Sousse, destroying one of them, and strafe ground targets during reconnaissance over the Kairouan-Sousse-Kasserine area. During the night of 26/27 December, C-47 Skytrains drop a detachment of U.S. paratroopers at a bridge north of El Djem.
FRENCH SOMALILAND: Free French troops enter the colony from British Somaliland to seize two rail bridges and thus insure the safety of the rail line from the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The action is accomplished without bloodshed.
CHINA: A large force of Japanese aircraft attempt to raid Yunnani Airfield. They are intercepted by P-40s of the USAAF Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force and eight fighters and three twin-engine bombers are shot down.
BURMA: B-25 Mitchells of the USAAF Tenth Air Force's China Air Task Force bomb Lashio.
THAILAND: Twelve B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Tenth Air Force's India Air Task Force bomb the railroad station, dock area, arsenal, and power plant at Bangkok.
NEW GUINEA: On the Urbana front in Papua, New Guinea, the 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, renews an attack to open the corridor to the sea. Company C is prevented by stubborn opposition from reaching Companies A and F near the coast, but a patrol gets through. In the Buna area, Warren Force, assisted by an Australian 25-pound (87.6 millimeter) gun emplaced at the southeastern end of Old Strip, succeeds at last in forming a continuous line across the strip. Advance elements on the flanks push to the northwestern end and begin the reduction of Japanese positions there. Under cover of darkness during the night of 26/27 December, additional Allied tanks and troops are landed at Oro Bay.
In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force heavy bombers carry out single-bomber attacks against Finschhafen and Madang. Japanese aircraft from Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, attack Doboduru but are driven off by U.S. P-40s with the loss of seven "Zeke" fighters (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters)..
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The US XIV Corps, backed by artillery and air power, is facing fierce resistance on Mount Austen as it advances from Henderson Field. Major-General Alexander Patch, whose XIV Corps relieved the Marines on 9 December, says that possession of Mount Austen is vital to any future offensive. His troops, clearing enemy positions, say that malaria and hunger are rife among the Japanese, a sure sign that their supplies are running low with few Japanese ships able to outrun the US naval blockade.
3d Battalion, 132d Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, renews an attack to the south, making limited progress against strong opposition from the Gifu strongpoint. The 3d and 1st Battalions, the latter on the east, dig in for the night on a line between Hill 31 and Gifu.
Brigadier General Francis P Mulcahy, USMC, arrives on Guadalcanal with the Second Marine Aircraft Wing and assumes operational control of all aircraft on the island, including those of the USAAF and USN.
USMC SBD Dauntlesses and F4F Wildcats and USAAF P-38 Lightnings from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, attack Japanese transports at Wickham Anchorage, New Georgia Island, sinking two merchant cargo ships. In the afternoon, a USAAF P-39 Airacobra and a USMC F4F Wildcat pilot shoot down a "Zeke" fighter (Mitsubishi A6M, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter) and three "Rufe" seaplane fighters (Nakajima A6M2-N, Navy Type 2 Fighter Seaplanes) over Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force heavy bombers carry out single-bomber attacks against Cape Gloucester Airfield on New Britain Island and attack shipping off the island.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Sudbury arrived Liverpool, Nova Scotia for refit.
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Six USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators and nine P-38 Lightnings attack Holtz Bay on northeast Attu Island but do not find the eight "Rufe" seaplane fighters (Nakajima A6M2-N, Navy Type 2 Fighter Seaplanes) seen there yesterday. The P-38 Lightnings strafe Attu installations at minimum altitude. while the B-24s bomb Sarana Bay. Antiaircraft fire downs a P-38 and damages another. Later, six B-25 Mitchells and four P-38 Lightnings over Kiska Island and Gertrude Cove abort due to low ceiling.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The British destroyers HMS HESPERUS and HMS VANESSA, escorting convoy HX-219, sink U-357, by depth charges, 308 nautical miles west-northwest of Londonderry, in position 57.10N, 15.40W, by depth charges. Six of the 42 crewman survive.
USN submarine USS Barb (SS-220) mistakenly torpedoes and damages the 6,276 ton neutral Spanish tanker MV Campomanes off Cape Finisterre, Spain. Cape Finisterre is a rocky promontory in extreme northwestern Spain.
Canadian-escorted convoy ONS-154 loses 14 ships to German U-boats in mid-Atlantic; gets 32 to Britain by Dec 30.