World War II Today: December 2
A day marked by breakthroughs in science, tightening fronts across Europe and Asia, and bold strategic shifts as the war entered its most pivotal stages.
1939 – The Winter War Intensifies in Finland
Russian forces pressed deeper into Finnish territory, capturing Petsamo in the extreme north.
The remote port, coveted for its access to the Arctic, became an early strategic prize in the brutal Winter War.
Far to the south, the German passenger liner Watussi, intercepted by South African Defence Force bombers, was intentionally scuttled by her own crew to prevent capture—another reminder of how global the war at sea had become.
1941 – Women Called to Service & German Troops Near the Kremlin
Britain Expands National Service
In London, Prime Minister Winston Churchill introduced a new National Service Bill that extended compulsory wartime service to British women for the first time.
The measure reflected the increasing demands of total war and the essential roles women played in industry, civil defense, and the armed forces.
The Germans Approach Moscow
On the Eastern Front, German patrols came within five miles of the Kremlin, the closest the Wehrmacht would ever get to the Soviet capital.
Despite the proximity, the offensive was slowing under freezing conditions and fierce Soviet resistance.
Karelia Evacuated by the Soviets
The Soviets, meanwhile, evacuated the last territory in Karelia—land they had seized from Finland during the Winter War of 1939–40—now relinquished under pressure from the advancing Wehrmacht.
Hitler Reshapes the Mediterranean Air War
Hitler issued Directive No. 38, appointing Field Marshal Albert Kesselring as Commander-in-Chief South. His mission:
gain air and naval supremacy from southern Italy to Libya.
To achieve this, additional Luftwaffe units were transferred from Russia, forming Luftflotte 2—a powerful concentration of air power aimed at striking British supply lines to Malta and North Africa.
British Capital Ships Arrive in Singapore
Reinforcing British presence in the Far East, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse arrived in Singapore.
Their presence was intended as a deterrent to Japanese aggression—though within weeks, both ships would be sunk, marking a devastating blow to British naval prestige.
1942 – The First Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction
In a quiet squash court beneath the stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, Professor Enrico Fermi and his team achieved the world’s first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
This experiment, conducted under the codename Manhattan Engineering District, marked the true beginning of the atomic age.
Meanwhile in Tunisia, Allied forces repelled a strong Axis attack as German and Italian troops attempted to regain ground in the early stages of the North African campaign.
1943 – Raids, Explosions, and the Mobilization of a Nation
The Battle of Berlin Continues
Allied bombers resumed the Battle of Berlin, dropping 1,500 tons of explosives in another massive night raid.
Forty-one aircraft were lost, highlighting the deadly toll of the strategic bombing campaign.
The Bari Disaster
In Italy, a Luftwaffe air raid struck the Allied naval base at Bari.
One hit detonated an ammunition ship, creating a chain reaction that sank 17 ships and caused catastrophic devastation.
The attack remains one of the most destructive air raids on a port during the war.
Britain Calls Miners & Germany Calls Its Youth
Labour Minister Ernest Bevin announced the conscription of men into the coal mines as Britain struggled to maintain coal output critical to wartime industry.
In Germany, Hitler ordered the conscription of youths for active service—another sign of the Reich’s growing desperation.
Fighting in Yugoslavia & Deportations to Auschwitz
German forces launched a major anti-partisan operation in Yugoslavia, targeting Tito’s growing resistance movement.
Meanwhile, the first transport of Jews from Vienna arrived at Auschwitz, part of the accelerating machinery of deportation and extermination.
1944 – Patton Advances and the Campaign in Burma
Patton Enters the Saar Valley
General George S. Patton’s troops pushed into the Saar Valley, continuing the U.S. Third Army’s relentless advance into German-held territory.
East African Troops Advance to the Chindwin
In Burma, the British 11th East African Division captured Kalewa and pressed forward to the Chindwin River, a key step in the Allied campaign against Japanese forces in Southeast Asia.
1945 – War Crimes Arrests
In Tokyo, 59 Japanese nationals were arrested on suspicion of war crimes—part of the Allied effort to prosecute military and civilian leaders responsible for atrocities committed across Asia.
1946 – Zones Merge in Postwar Germany
As the postwar world took shape, the United States and Great Britain merged their occupation zones in Germany into the joint administrative unit known as the Bizone.
This consolidation laid groundwork for the future reconstruction of West Germany—and eventually the establishment of the Federal Republic in 1949.
Remembering December 2
From Arctic assaults to scientific breakthroughs that reshaped human history, December 2 reveals a war fought on every front—military, political, scientific, and moral.
Each event from this day reminds us how rapidly the world was changing as the conflict deepened.
Lest we forget.