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WWII On This Day: December 22

What happened on December 22 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1939, 1941 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1939
Finnish ski troops moving through forest during the Winter War.
Imperial War Museums, HU 52936 · Public domain · Source
The Winter War

The first Soviet offensive on the Isthmus reaches its limit

Repeated Soviet attacks struck the Finnish main position around Summa and other sectors of the Karelian Isthmus through December. Tanks, infantry and artillery often entered battle on different schedules, giving Finnish anti-tank teams and field artillery opportunities to engage them separately. The Finnish defence relied on trenches, obstacles, lakes and a modest number of permanent concrete works tied together by field positions. Local counterattacks restored threatened points and kept the main position intact through the end of the month. The pause that followed gave the Soviet command time to study…

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1941
Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and the British surrender party walking to the Ford Motor Factory in Singapore on 15 February 1942.
British official photographer / Imperial War Museums HU 2781 · UK Government public domain · Source
The Fall of the Southern Empires

The Main Japanese Army Lands on Luzon

Homma’s 14th Army put its main force ashore around Lingayen Gulf on 22 December. The beachhead gave the Japanese room to deploy north of Manila and opened the central plain toward the capital, forcing the Philippine command to decide whether to continue defending Luzon broadly or return to the pre-war refuge in Bataan and the fortified islands of Manila Bay. That choice carried a logistical penalty. MacArthur’s 1941 plan had dispersed units and supplies in order to defend more of Luzon. Plan ORANGE had assumed a deliberate concentration and stockpiling…

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1944
Men of the 101st Airborne Division moving toward Bastogne on 19 December 1944 as Allied reserves enter the Ardennes battle.
101st Airborne Division on the road between Bastogne and Houffalize, 19 December 1944 · US Army Signal Corps SC 329953 · NARA · Public domain · Source
The Battle of the Bulge

The surrender demand

On 22 December German emissaries entered the Bastogne perimeter under a white flag with a written demand for surrender. The message warned that continued resistance would lead to destruction of the encircled force. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division, approved the reply 'NUTS!' after staff discussion. The German officers required an explanation of the idiom before returning to their lines. The exchange became the defining anecdote of Bastogne, but the military decision was less theatrical. The garrison still possessed organised units, artillery and a defensible…

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