1938 – France and Germany Sign a Treaty of Friendship
In the uneasy calm before the storm, France and Germany signed a formal treaty of friendship—an agreement that would soon be overshadowed by the rapid march toward war. Europe’s political landscape was shifting, but diplomacy still attempted to hold back rising tensions.
1939 – Finland Holds the Mannerheim Line
On the Karelian Isthmus, Soviet forces continued their assaults against Finland’s Mannerheim Line, but once again the Finns
fought them off with determination and heavy fire. Red Army casualties mounted as the Winter War proved far more costly than
Moscow had anticipated.
At sea, Germany issued a warning to neutral ships, urging them to resist the tightening British blockade, a sign of the
expanding economic and naval pressure encircling the Reich.
1940 – Desert Training, Political Trials, and Escalating Brutality
In North Africa, the Western Desert Force began Training Exercise No. 2, a 60-mile approach march toward its concentration
point “Piccadilly,” roughly 20 miles south of Maktila. It was one of the final rehearsals for the coming offensive in the desert.
In Vichy France, a highly politicized War Guilt Trial brought indictments against former leaders Léon Blum,
Édouard Daladier, César Campinchi (La Chambre), and General Maurice Gamelin, seeking to blame them for France’s
defeat in 1940.
In the Balkans, Greek troops advanced into Albania and occupied Santi Quaranta. Italy’s Supreme Commander, Marshal
Pietro Badoglio, resigned “at his own request” and was replaced by General Ugo Cavallero as Rome struggled to contain its
failures on multiple fronts.
Across occupied Europe, the SS executed mentally ill inmates in Stralsund and Chełm, including Hitler’s second cousin,
Aloisia Veit—another grim step in the regime’s widening program of murder against those it deemed “unfit.”
1941 – The Shadow of Pearl Harbor Grows
On the Eastern Front, General Georgy Zhukov expanded the Red Army’s counteroffensive along the entire Moscow axis. Four armies
on the right flank of the West Front were committed to prevent German Panzer Groups 3 and 4 from outflanking the capital from
the northeast.
In Southeast Asia, an RAF Hudson spotted Japanese transports sailing west off Cape Cambodia toward Malaya. The British
considered activating Operation “Matador”, a pre-emptive move into southern Thailand to deny the Japanese the use of the
airfields and ports at Patani and Singora. But fear of violating Thai neutrality—and of possible American reaction—convinced
London not to act.
At Pearl Harbor, the battleships USS Oklahoma and USS Nevada arrived in port, joining the Pacific Fleet just days before
the Japanese attack.
In Washington, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a final, personal appeal for peace to Emperor Hirohito, even as
Japan’s forces were already moving into position for war.
1942 – Fighting Intensifies in Tunisia
In Tunisia, German forces won a hard-fought tank battle at Djebel el Guessa, part of the rapid escalation of the North African
campaign following the Allied landings of Operation Torch.
1943 – Turning Points in Italy and the East
In Italy, positions around Monte Cassino were finally secured by elements of the U.S. Fifth Army, marking an important step
forward in the long, grinding advance toward Rome.
On the Eastern Front, Soviet troops captured Yeysk on the Sea of Azov, cutting off elements of German Army Group A and
tightening the pressure on German forces in the south.
1944 – Japanese Advances in China
In China, Japanese forces captured Tushan, south of the Nationalist capital of Chungking (Chongqing), continuing their
efforts to pressure Chinese defenses in the late stages of the war.
1945 – Rebuilding a Broken World
The United States extended a massive $3 billion loan to Great Britain to help compensate for the sudden termination of the
Lend-Lease agreement and to stabilize the British economy in the first months of peace.
At the same time, the U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces (USASTAF) in the Pacific were officially inactivated, closing the book
on one of the major American air commands of the Second World War.
Remembering December 6
From treaties signed in a fragile peace to the first sparks of resistance in Finland, from desert training in North Africa to
last-minute pleas for peace before Pearl Harbor, December 6 captures a world on the edge—already reshaped by war, and moving
irreversibly toward its climactic years.
Lest we forget.