On this day in 1941 Hitler ordered troops on the Eastern Front to exhibit "fanatischem Widerstand", fanatical resistance, to Red Army advances. The Germans were in full retreat outside of Moscow at the time having lost 50 miles in twelve days and having becoming completely demoralized due to the advances of the Red Army and the increasingly horrible weather.
Hitler had already relieved Guderian and Von Rundstedt for retreats with in recent days, and one senior officer in Operation Typhoon had committed suicide after his troops had retreated.
Given the order, it's hard not to conclude that Hitler realized at this point that things may have turned in the war in a direction that couldn't be halted.
President Roosevelt issued an executive order on this day allowing appointments of government officials to the Alien Enemy Board.
December 16, 1941EXECUTIVE ORDER 8980
AMENDMENT OF EXECUTIVE ORDER OF JANUARY 17, 1873, TO PERMIT PERSONS HOLDING STATE, TERRITORIAL, AND MUNICIPAL OFFICES TO BE APPOINTED AS MEMBERS OF ALIEN ENEMY HEARING BOARDS
December 16, 1941
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and as President of the United States, the Executive Order of January 17, 1873, as amended, prohibiting, with certain exceptions, Federal officers and employees from holding State, Territorial, and municipal offices, is hereby further amended so as to permit any person holding a State, Territorial, or municipal office to accept appointment and serve as a member of an Alien Enemy Hearing Board.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
THE WHITE HOUSE,
December 16, 1941.Exec. Order No. 8980, 6 FR 6471, 1941 WL 4079 (Pres.)
By most accounts (some have it as the 17th) Lt. Boyd Wagner achieved his firth areal victory over the Philippines, becoming the first U.S. ace of World War Two.
All of his victories at that time appear to have been over Nakajima Ki-27 "Nates", a good Japanese army fighter that had entered service in 1937 but which curiously retained fixed landing gear. Wagner was flying a P40. He'd score three more victories in the Pacific flying P39s before he was posted to the United States. He disappeared in 1942 flying out of Florida, at which time he was a Lieutenant Colonel.
The Japanese invasion of Burma began.
The Japanese invasion of Borneo began.
The Japanese battleship Yamato was commissioned.
The Germans outrun the British at Bir Halegh el Eleba, retreating faster than the British can advance.
The Italian torpedo boat Orione rammed and sank the German U557, mistaking it for aBritsih submarine resulting in the loss of all the U-boats crew.
The Czechoslovak government in exile declared war on everyone who was at war with the US, UK and USSR.
Look magazine had an exposé on Hollywood, and its "Money, Manners and Morals". It featured a young woman in the snow with a sled.
It also had an article on Anti-Semitism in America.
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