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WWII On This Day: December 9

What happened on December 9 during World War II? This date brings together 4 events from 1940 and 1941, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1940
A Matilda II of 7th Royal Tank Regiment in the Western Desert on 19 December 1940, ten days after the regiment's breakthrough at Nibeiwa.
A Matilda II of 7th Royal Tank Regiment in the Western Desert on 19 December 1940, ten days after the regiment's breakthrough at Nibeiwa. Capt Geoffrey Keating / No. 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit · Imperial War Museums E 1416 · public domain (UK Government) Source
Operation Compass

Nibeiwa falls after the western approach

Seventy-two guns opened at 07:15 as Matildas of 7th Royal Tank Regiment advanced into the north-western side of Nibeiwa, followed by British and Indian infantry. Reconnaissance had identified this rearward approach, used by supply traffic, as the least prepared face of the camp. By 10:40 the position had fallen. General Pietro Maletti was killed and about 2,000 prisoners were taken. The rapid destruction of Nibeiwa freed the same tanks and infantry to turn north toward Tummar before the neighbouring camps could reorganise.

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A Matilda II infantry tank of 7th Royal Tank Regiment in the Western Desert during Operation Compass, 19 December 1940.
Capt Geoffrey Keating / No. 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit · Imperial War Museums, E 1416 · Public domain
Operation Compass

The assault turns immediately toward Tummar

After leaving Nibeiwa, 7th Royal Tank Regiment joined 5th Indian Infantry Brigade for the next attack. Six tanks had already been lost on a minefield, but the remaining Matildas broke through the north-western perimeter of Tummar West shortly after 13:00. British and Indian infantry followed in lorries almost to the edge of the defences. Most resistance in Tummar West was over by 16:00. The pace prevented the camp system from recovering from the first shock.

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1941
The National Government’s declaration of war on Japan, issued at Chongqing on 9 December 1941.
The National Government’s declaration of war on Japan, issued at Chongqing on 9 December 1941. National Government of the Republic of China · public domain official document Source
The Second Sino-Japanese War

China declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy

On 9 December 1941, two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the President of the Chinese Republic, Lin Sen, issued a declaration of war. Japan had waged an undeclared war on China from 7 July 1937, and China had resisted without announcing a state of war until that day. The declaration treated the Japanese attack on the United States and Britain as aggression that extended Japan's conquest, and it declared all treaties and agreements between China and Japan null and void. China also declared that a state of war…

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Modern schematic of the Road of Life system in November and December 1941, showing the changing supply routes across Lake Ladoga.
Modern schematic of the Road of Life system in November and December 1941, showing the changing supply routes across Lake Ladoga. VT1978 / Germash19 · CC BY-SA 3.0 Source
The Siege of Leningrad

Tikhvin is retaken

Soviet forces recaptured Tikhvin and forced the German salient back toward the Volkhov. The victory restored the railway approach to the eastern Ladoga shore. It saved the supply system, although it came too late to prevent catastrophic winter mortality.

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