December 12th, 1943 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan departed Loch Ewe as part of the close escort for the 19-ship convoy JW-55A, bound for the Kola Inlet. A RN battleship and several other fleet units formed the distant escort due to the threat of attack by the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst . JW-55A arrived safely on 22 Dec 43.
Frigate HMS Whitaker launched.
Escort carrier HMS Nairana commissioned.
FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 153: Four B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 800,000 leaflets on Paris, Amiens and Orleans at 2033-2044 hours without loss.
GERMANY: Rastenburg: Rommel is appointed C-in-C of Hitler's "Fortress Europe", under the overall command of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.
During the night of 12/13 December, RAF Bomber Command Mosquitos attack three cities: 19 bomb Essen with 14 hitting the Krupps Armaments Works (with the loss of one) and five bombing the city; nine attack the city of Dusseldorf; and one bombs a castings factory at Osnabruck.
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the British X Corps extends farther eastward to relieve final elements of the U.S. VI Corps on Mt. Maggiore, and the boundary is adjusted accordingly. In the U.S. II Corps area, the 142d Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, begins preliminary operations in preparation for an assault on Mt. Lungo on 15 December; they occupy St. Giacomo Hill, between Lungo and Maggiore, and after nightfall takes Hills 141 and 72.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb the road, railroad, and landing ground at Terracina; P-40 and A-36 Apache fighter-bombers hit trucks along roads in the Chieti-Francavilla area and bomb the town of Itri; and fighters fly patrols and reconnaissance over the battle area.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: German submarine U-593 torpedoes and sinks British escort destroyer HMS Tynedale (L 96) about 148 nautical miles (273 kilometers) east of Algiers, Algeria, in position 37.10N, 06.05E. Tynedale was escorting the slow escorting convoy KMS-34 (U.K. to Gibraltar to Alexandria, Egypt). A long hunt ensues by British escort destroyers HMS Calpe (L 71) and Holcombe (L 56) and USN destroyers USS Benson (DD-421), Niblack (DD-424) and Wainwright (DD-419). At 1445 hours, HMS Holcombe is hit by a Zaunkönig (Gnat) T5 electric torpedo fired by U-593 and sinks about 115 nautical miles (213 kilometers) east-northeast of Algiers off Bougie in position 37.20N, 05.30E; 83 crewmen are lost. The survivors are picked up by the USS Niblack. U-593 was chased by several escort vessels, being sunk after 32-hour chase. (Jack McKillop & Alex Gordon)(108)
U.S.S.R.: A Czech-Soviet treaty concerning postwar cooperation and mutual assistance for the duration is signed in Moscow.
Dr. Benes, the Czechoslovak president, today shifted his country closer to the Soviet Union when he signed a treaty of "amity, mutual aid and collaboration after the war". With Stalin looking on, he put his signature to the treaty during a Kremlin ceremony. Molotov signed for the Soviet Union. "The day of retribution for Germany will come," Benes said, "and our much-suffering people will have won a new, solid and lasting peace." Molotov replied: "Our army is fighting for all people under the German yoke."
The German XXXXVIII Pz. K. captures Radomyshl. (Jeff Chrisman)
CHINA: Forty one Japanese bombers and fighters bomb the western side of Hengyang Airfield, causing considerable damage. Thirty one USAAF Fourteenth Air Force 31 P-40s and six P-38 Lightnings intercept the Japanese force, claiming 20 airplanes shot down; two P-40s are lost. Meanwhile, nine B-24 Liberators bomb Hankow Airfield.
BURMA: Twenty eight USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and 13 B-24 Liberators carry out a saturation bombing strike against a bridge at Myittha, over which a large volume of Japanese goods are flowing to the north. Despite this large air effort only the approach spans suffer effective damage.
EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators make light raids on Ceram Island and in the far western part of the NEI.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force P-40s dive-bomb Bogadjim Road.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirty four Australian (P-40) Kittyhawks bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: Twenty five USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators flying out of Ellice Island bases, bomb Engebi Islet in Eniwetok Atoll.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, six USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells strafe Arigua Plantation; nine others, with fighter support, bomb the supply area at Bonis; the fighters afterwards strafe Japanese forces between Kieta and the Aropa River. Other fighters strafe the harbor at Tonolai and cover USN SBD Dauntless strikes against targets in the Ratsua-Porton-Chabai-Soraken areas and the Kieta Harbor-Tobera Bay area. Meanwhile, over 20 B-24 Liberators bomb the Kahili area and Poporang.
PACIFIC: From Glen Boren's diary: Arrived in the morning with our planes flying off for the field. We got to Lugan Field about 1230, had lunch and headed for the strip for aircraft maintenance. Lots of hole patching, fixing oil leaks in the rocker box covers to stop oil from streaking the windshields, etc.
U.S.A.:
Destroyer escorts USS Gendreau, Garfield Thomas, Gandy, Eisner and Coates launched.
Destroyer USS Preston launched.
Minesweeper USS Indicative launched.
Destroyer escort USS Breeman commissioned.