UNITED KINGDOM: London: Just before 7am today, Sir Oswald Mosley was released through a back entrance of Holloway prison, where he has been detained under Regulation 18B since 1940. His release was on health ground. He and Lady Mosley, who shared a flat in the prison, were reunited with their two sons, aged four and two, who were being cared for by friends. Protests at the Mosleys' release are being made by many Labour organizations, trade unions and factory deputations outside the Home Office. It has been stated by the government that Herbert Morrison, the home secretary, who ordered the release, still has wide powers to control Sir Oswald's movements.
There is a strong suspicion that to some degree Mosley's extended internment was motivated by the hatred felt for him by the Labour Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison, who regarded Mosley as a traitor to the Labour Party (Mosley had been a Minister in Ramsey MacDonald's second government). Certainly Churchill, who knew and despised Mosley, was very uneasy about keeping him locked-up without trial long after the threat of a German invasion had receded. (Adrian Weale)
Escort carrier HMS Speaker commissioned.
Frigates HMS Trollope and Tyler launched.
GERMANY:
BALTIC SEA:
U-768 sunk in the Gulf of
Danzig in position 54.30N, 19.15E after a collision with
U-745. 44 survivors (No
casualties).
The Red Army achieves a breakthrough near Kremenchug in the Ukraine, and advances toward Kirovograd.
ITALY: Heavy rains dull Montgomery's planned attack across the Sangro River to a limited effort. The 36th Brigade is the only unit to cross.
The USAAF Twelfth Air Force's XII Air Support Command and RAF Desert Air Force fighters carry out uneventful armed reconnaissance; Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force aircraft bombs the Porto Civitanova railway junction, Pedaso, Giulianova, and Loreto.
GREECE: The Germans occupy Samos in the Dodecanese Islands, after the British evacuate. This ends the British campaign. The British have taken a beating and their effort will later be described as quickly improvised with insufficient forces.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-565 fired one T 5 torpedo at a British submarine, but without success.
BURMA: In the British Fourteenth Army's XV Corps area, the Indian 7th Division starts across the Mayu Range along two crude trails in preparation for an offensive.
CHINA: Two USAAF"> USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit warehouses and barracks on Nampang Island; weather prevents completion of several other scheduled missions.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, 50 USAAF"> USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders bomb Japanese positions in the Sattelberg area and sink or damage at least ten luggers in Hansa Bay while A-20 Havocs hit the Lae area.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Major General Ralph J. Mitchell, USMC, relieves Major General Nathan F. Twining, USA, as head of Solomon's Air Command. Gen Twining later takes command of the USAAF"> USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy.
On Bougainville, the 3d Marine Division is extending its positions in the vicinity of the Piva River forks against lively opposition. The 37th Infantry Division is unopposed.
Forty five USAAF"> USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, RNZAF Venturas and P-38 Lightnings attack Bonis Airfield on northern Bougainville; a few other B-25s strafe coastal villages in the Empress Augusta Bay region in western Bougainville.
GILBERT ISLANDS: US landings begin on Tarawa Atoll. The crystal-clear waters of this equatorial paradise turned to blood as hundreds of US marines are mown down by machine-gun fire as they try to wade ashore.
Admiral Hill's US naval TF 53 has brought General J.C. Smith's 2nd Marine Division of 18,600 men to invade Betio Island which is 2 miles long and less than 1/2 mile wide, but the site of the Gilberts' only airfield. The defenders are lead by Admiral Shibusaki and 4,800 men with 50 artillery pieces and 7 light tanks. The terrain ranges from sea level to 9 feet above sea level.
The preliminary bombardment is massive with more than 3,000 tons of shells from 18 ships and air strikes. Due to the sandy ground, timing and other coordination issues these preparations leave many bunkers and other defensive positions and weapons untouched. The reef around the island will also cause many problems with the landing, forcing many Marines to wade far too long to reach the beach.
Marines casualties quickly started to mount as amphibious tanks and tracked personnel carriers ran aground on the coral reef, leaving their occupants to wade 800 yards through open sea.
The US sustains 1,500 casualties of 5,000 that attempt to land. The tides interfere with later planned reinforcements, so they will not land today.
Admiral RK Turner's US naval TF 52 lands soldiers from General Ralph Smith's 27th Infantry Division on Makin Atoll. These landing on Butaritari are somewhat successful in spite of a vigorous defence and the inexperience of this unit.
Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner's Task Force 52's landing force (the 27th Infantry Division's 165th Infantry Regiment reinforced by the 3d Battalion of the 105th Infantry Regiment, tanks of the 193d Tank Battalion, and other supporting units), under Major General Ralph C. Smith, invades Makin. (The 165 Infantry Regiment is the old 69th "Fighting Irish" Regiment of the New York National Guard.)
A third US task force is poised to attack Apamam.
Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill's USN Task Force 53b's landing force (2d Marine Regiment of 2d Marine Division, reinforced by the 2d Battalion of 8th Marine Regiment and supporting units), under Major General Julian C. Smith, USMC, invades Betio Island, at the south-western tip of the atoll, where an airfield and main Japanese forces are located. Betio is 2 miles (3,2 kilometres) long and less than ½ mile (805 meters) wide The defenders are lead by Rear Admiral SHIBASAKI Keiji and 4,800 men with 50 artillery pieces and seven light tanks. The terrain ranges from sea level to 9 feet (2,7 meters) above sea level. Landings are made with great difficulty and very heavy casualties. Transports arrive south of the assigned area and at 0507 hours come under fire of previously alerted Japanese on Betio. While transports are moving northward out of range of Japanese guns, warships attempt, with some success, to neutralize Japanese positions. Aircraft deliver brief strikes before the forces land. Although H Hour is postponed from 0830 to 0900 hours, the first troops do not reach shore until 0910 hours. Marines land under direct fire, many wading from a partly exposed reef that fringes coast; upon reaching the shore, landing teams become intermingled and disorganized. Landings are made on three adjacent beaches (Red 1, 2, and 3, from west to east) on the northwest coast. The 3d Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, the Red assault force, gains a beachhead on the northwest tip of the island but is isolated there. In the centre, 2d Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, is pinned down by Japanese fire on Red 2. The 2d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, favoured by more protracted naval gunfire preparation, meets less opposition on Red 3 and gains a beachhead extending inland to the airfield. To strengthen their precarious hold on the island, the 1st Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, from regimental reserve, and 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, from division reserve, are committed. Fortunately, Japanese counterattacks, expected after nightfall, fail to materialize, and meagre gains are held. Shortly before the invasion of Betio, a scout-sniper platoon clears Japanese positions from the main pier, partly burning it in the process.
Betio would give the Allies an airfield within striking range of Japan's bases on the Marshall Islands.
Offshore the carriers of TF 50 covers both landings. Beginning at about 1755 hours, 16 Betty bombers (Mitsubishi G4M, Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers) attack Task Group 50.3 built around the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) and USS Essex (CV-9) and the small aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVL-22). F6F Hellcat pilots of Fighting Squadron Eighteen (VF-18) in USS Bunker Hill, shoot down five bombers and ship's gunners down four but one launches a torpedo that strikes the carrier's starboard quarter seriously damaging the ship; she retires for repairs. (Dennis Peck and John Nicholas)
From Glen Boren's diary:
November 20. The day started the same as before with four or five flights to assist the Marines with the landing. We figured it was a pushover. We were astounded to learn of all the problems that they were having. We sure had a lot to learn.
At about sunset, Radar announced twenty aircraft coming in at 20 feet making torpedo runs on the fleet. Five went after the USS INDEPENDENCE. Four were shot down and one got through and scored a hit, damaging the rudder. She could steer with the engines, but not very good. She went back to Pearl(?) The Bunker Hill shot down five and VF 18 got four and two unconfirmed. I don't know what the rest of the Task Force shot down. One or two may have gotten away.
As a preliminary to the main invasion of Butaritari Island, the largest of the Makin group, a special landing detachment sails for Kotabu Island at 0645 hours and secures the island without opposition. The invasion of Butaritari is begun on schedule at 0830 hours, when Boat Landing Teams (BLTs) 1 and 3 of the 165th Infantry start landing on Red Beaches 1 and 2 on the west coast. At 1041 hours, about 10 minutes behind schedule, BLT 2 begins landing on Yellow Beaches, located on the northern (lagoon) shore between On Chong's Wharf and King's Wharf. Both assault forces secure beach heads and with tank support push rapidly forward against light resistance, converging along the West Tank Barrier, where Japanese opposition is overcome, although a small pocket remains to the northwest. Artillery is emplaced on Ukiangong Point.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island.
A USN PBY-5 "Black Cat" Catalina of Patrol Squadron One Hundred One (VP-101) sinks a cargo ship in Rabaul harbour during the night of 20/21 November.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: USN carrier-based aircraft from Task Group 50.1 [USS Lexington (CV-16), USS Yorktown (CV-10) and USS Cowpens (CVL-25)] attack Japanese installations on Mili Atoll.
CANADA: HMC ML 113 commissioned.
U.S.A.: USAAF XX Bomber Command is activated as Smoky Hill AAFld, Kansas.
This new command will eventually have operational and administrative control of all B-29 Superfortress units in India.
The escort aircraft carrier Delgada (CVE-40) is transferred to the British Navy under Lend-Lease and is commissioned as HMS Speaker (D 90). This is the 30th escort aircraft carrier transferred to the Royal Navy. She is returned to the USN on 27 July 1946.
Submarine USS Parche commissioned.
Minesweeper USS Project launched.
Destroyer escort USS Roy O Hale launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Donitz calls off his U-boats, as the convoy is protected by 19 warships and 24-hour air cover: three U-boats have been sunk.
German submarine U-536 is sunk about 453 nautical miles (839 kilometres) northeast of Lagens Field, Azores Islands, in position 43.50N, 19.39W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Nene (K 270) and the Canadian corvettes HMCS Snowberry (K 166) and Calgary (K 231); 17 of the 55 crewmen survive.