This day in military history..

Dec 12
627 Battle of Nineveh
1098 Siege of Maarat ends
1781 2nd naval Battle of Ushant
1862 Ironclad USS Cairo sunk by a torpedo(mine) in the Yazoo River, reportedly 1st warship sunk by one.
1937 Gunboat USS Panay sunk on the Yangtze River by Japanese aircraft
1939 Battle of Tolvajarvi. Destroyer HMS Duchess sunk in collision with Battleship Barham off the Mull of Kintyre
1941 U.K declares War on Bulgaria, & Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania declare War on the US. India declares War on Japan. KM Flackship V-5101 torpedoed & sunk. Gunboat HMS Moth scuttled at Hong Kong, raised, repaired & put into IJN service as Suma. Recieving ship HMS Tamar scuttled at Hong Kong. Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Kumpar bombed & damaged at Penang.
1942 R.N. sub P 222 sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Fortunale in the Med. KM Sperrbrecher Beijerland sunk by Frigates HMS Albrighton and Eskdale n.w. of Dieppe. USN PT 44 sunk by Detroyers Kawakaze & Suzukaze off Savo Island. Destroyer Teruzuki sunk by PT 37 & 40 off Guadalcanal.
1943 Destroyers HMS Tynedale, sunk off Jijel, Algeria, & HMS Holcombe sunk north of Bougie, Algeria, both by U-593
1944 Norwiegan Corvette Tunsberg Castle sunk by mine in the Barents Sea. KM Destroyers Z 35 & 36 sunk by mines off Revel. U-416 sunk in collision with Minesweeper M 203. E Boat S-198 bombed/sunk off Imjuiden. IJN Landing Ship No. 159 sunk by US Army field artillery, mortars, Tank Destroyers & Destroyer USS Coghlan. Destroyer Uzuki sunk by PT 490 & 492. Destroyer Yuzuki sunk by Army & Marine Corps aircraft, all three in Ormoc Bay. USN Sub Chaser SC 1059 run aground & wrecked in the Bahamas, raised, repaired & returned to service
 
Dec 14
1812 naval Battle of Lake Borgne, La. French Army exits Russia
1862 Battle of Kinston, NC
1863 Battle of Bean Station
1939 KM Frigate F 9 sunk by sub HMS Ursula off Heligoland. R.N. Trawler HMS James Ludford sunk by mine off Newcastle-on-Tyne
1940 Italian sub Naiade sunk by HMS Hereward & Hyperion off Bardia. Sub Capitano Tarantini sunk by sub HMS Thunderbolt in the Gironde Estuary, France. Torpedo Boat HMS Brandolas foundered off the Eddystone Rocks
1941 Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto damaged by sub HMS Urge. KM Accomodations ship Lufjord burned at Danzig, used afterward for a target ship, scrapped post-War. Cruiser HMS Galatea sunk by U-557 off Alexandria. R.N. MTB 68 sunk in collision with MTB 215 off Lybia. R.N. Motor Anti-Sub Boat 30 sunk after hitting the Humber boom.
1942 IJN sub I-15 sunk by Destroyer-Minesweeper USS Southard off Guadalcanal
1943 PT 239 burned at Vella Lavella
1944 Destroyer Escort HMS Aldenham sunk by mine n.w. of Zara. IJN Coast Defence Frigate CD 28 and Patrol Boat Taisho Maru No. 5 sunk by sub USS Blenny north of Manila
 
Dec 15
533 Battle of Tricamarum
1467 Battle of Baia
1778 naval Battle of St. Lucia
1864 Battle of Nashville begins
1914 Serbs recapture Belgrade
1940 Free French sub Narval sunk by mine n.e. of Sfax, Tunisia
1941 Dutch sub ) 16 sunk by mine off Tromann Island, Gulf of Siam. U-127 sunk by Destroyer HMAS Nestor west of Cape St. Vincent. PT 33 lost by grounding off Cape Santiago, Luzon
1942 Guadalcanal: Battle of Mt. Austin begins. U-626 sunk by USCG Cutter Ingham. Italian sub Uarsciek, damaged & captured the day before by Destroyers HMS Petard & Greek Vasilissa Olga, sinks under tow south of Sicily
1944 IJN Coast Defence Frigate CD 54 & IJ Army Landing Ship SB 120 sunk west of Luzon by carrier planes. Destroyer Momo sunk by sub USS Hawkbill west of Luzon. USN LST 472 & 738 sunk by Kamakazes off Mindoro
2006 1st flight F-35
 
Dec 16
1598 naval Battle of Noryang
1761 Siege of Kolobrzeg ends
1838 Battle of Blood River
1864 Battle of Nashville
1907 USN's Great White Fleet sets out on its around the World cruise
1912 naval Battle of Elli
1939 R.N. Trawlers HMS Evilina & Sedgefly sunk with all hands by mines at the mouth of the Tyne
1941 Japan invades British Borneo. Destroyer HMS Thracian runs aground & is scuttled, and MTB 8 bombed and sunk, at Hong Hong. Thracian is raised, repaired and returned to service as IJN Patrol Boat No. 101. R.N. LCT 11 founders off Sollum. U-577 rammed and sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Orione, who miss-ID'd the U Boat,west of Crete.
1943 U-73 sunk by Destroyer USS Woolsey off Oran
 
George said:
Dec 16
1598 naval Battle of Noryang
1761 Siege of Kolobrzeg ends
1838 Battle of Blood River
1864 Battle of Nashville
1907 USN's Great White Fleet sets out on its around the World cruise
1912 naval Battle of Elli
1939 R.N. Trawlers HMS Evilina & Sedgefly sunk with all hands by mines at the mouth of the Tyne
1941 Japan invades British Borneo. Destroyer HMS Thracian runs aground & is scuttled, and MTB 8 bombed and sunk, at Hong Hong. Thracian is raised, repaired and returned to service as IJN Patrol Boat No. 101. R.N. LCT 11 founders off Sollum. U-577 rammed and sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Orione, who miss-ID'd the U Boat,west of Crete.
1943 U-73 sunk by Destroyer USS Woolsey off Oran
Click to expand...

I believe you forgot, "1944 Germany launches Operation Wacht Am Rhein and the Battle of the Bulge begins."
 
Dec 17
1583 Siege of Godesberg ends
1937 1st flight PB2Y Coronado
1939 KM Armored Ship Adm. Graf Spee scuttled off Montevideo
1940 Destroyer HMS Acheron sunk by mine of the Isle of Wight. R.N. Trawlers HMS Carry On and Thomas Connolly sunk by mines north of Sheerness
1941 Japan invades northern Borneo. IJN sub RO-66 sunk in collision with RO-62 off Wake Island. Destroyer Shinonome bombed/sunk by Dutch Do-24 off British Borneo. U-131 sunk by R.N. Destroyers
1942 Destroyer HMS Firedrake sunk by U-211
1943 USN Coastal Transport APc-21 bombed/sunk & Minesweeper YMS-50 damaged off Arawe, New Britain
1944 U-772 sunk by Frigate HMS Nyasaland south of Cork. Malmedy Massacre
1947 1st flight B-47
 
Dec 18
1793 Royalists give 16 French Navy ships to the English at Toulon
1916 Battle of Verdun ends
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Refundo sunk by mine off Harwich. RFA Tanker Osage bombed/sunk in the Irish Sea off Wicklow Head, Ireland. KM Flackship V-403 sunk by mine in the Westerschelde
1941 U-434 sunk by Destroyer Escort HMS Blankney & Destroyer Stanley north of Madeira
1942 Destroyer HMS Partridge sunk by U-565 west of Oran. MTB 30 sunk by mine in the North Sea. Cruiser Tenryu sunk by USS Albacore off Madang
1943 Minesweeper HMS Felixstowe sunk by mine off Capo Ferro, Sardinia. Free French Sub Protee sunk by mine off Province. Destroyer Numakaze sunk with all hands by USS Greyback off Naha, Okinawa
1944 Destroyers USS Hull, Monaghan and Spence founder in Typhoon Cobra off of the Philippines. PT-300 is sunk by Kamakaze off Mindoro. KM training ship-Battleship Schleswig-Holstein, Target ship Zahringen, and Torpedo Boat T-10 are bombed/sunk by RAF at Gotenhafen. Schleswig-Holstien is used as a target post war by the Soviet Navy. Sub Tender Waldemar Kophamel is bombed/sunk at Gdynia, raised, repaired and put into Soviet service as "Kuban". U-1209 is scuttled after hitting Wolf Rock near the Scilly Isles
1972 Operation Linebacker II begins
 
Dec. 19
1940 Vichy French sub Sfax sunk by U-37 off Cape Juby, Morocco. R.N. Trawler HMS Proficient wrecked at Whitby
1941 At Hong Kong Boom Vessels HMS Watergate, Barlight & Aldgate, Tugs Alliance & Poet Chaucer, River Gunboat Tern & Minesweeper Redstart all scuttled to prevent capture while Sloop Cornflower was bombed/sunk and MTB 12 and 26 were sunk in a fight with IJN landing craft. Dutch sub 0-20 sunk by Destroyer Uranami. Destroyer HMS Stanley sunk by U-574, and U-574 by HMS Stork in the Barents Sea. Cruiser Neptune sunk and Destroyer Kandahar damaged off Sirte. Battleships Valiant & Queen Elizebeth sunk at Alexandria by Italian Frogmen with Limpet mines. The Frogmen were awarded Medals & were presented them after Italy changed sides. They were presented to the men by the Admiral who's Battleships they had sunk!
1942 Corvette HMS Snapdragon bombed/sunk n.w. of Benghazi
1944 Carrier Unryu sunk by USS Redfish in the East China Sea. U-737 sunk in collision with KM MRS 25 in Vestfjorden
 
Dec 20
Knights of Rhodes surrender Rhodes to Suliman the Magnificent & evacuate to Malta, becoming the Knights of Malta
1802 2nd Siege of Zaragoza begins
1862 Confederates capture the Union supply base at Holly Springs, Miss, with $1 million in supplies
1863 CSS Alabama visits Singapore
1939 Tug HMS Napia sunk with all hands by a mine in The Downs
1941 1st battle of the Flying Tigers, over Kunming, China. Destroyer HMS Kandahar, damaged by a mine the day before, sinks. Patrol Boat HMCS Adversus wrecked on McNutt Island, Shelburne, Nova Scotia
1942 Japan bombs Calcutta
1943 Destroyer Fuyo sunk by USS Puffer off Subic Bay. U-850 sunk by aircraft from USS Bogue west of Madeira
1944 LST-359 sunk by U-870 n.e. of the Azores.
1989 Operation Just Cause begins
1998 Operation Desert Fox ends
 
Dec 21
1598 Battle of Caralaba
1832 Battle of Konya
1864 Union troops occupy Savannah, Ironclad CSS Savannah destroyed to prevent capture.
1883 1st permanent units of the Canadian Army formed
1939 Boom Defence Vessel HMS Bayonet sunk by mine in the Firth of Forth
1940 Tug HMS Sun IX sank off of Sheerness
1940 U-567 sunk by Sloop HMS Deptford and Corvette HMS Samphire n.e. of the Azores. U-451 sunk by aSwordfish from Gibraltar off Tangier. Escort Carrier Audacity sunk by U-751 west of Cape Finisterre. River Gunboat Cicala bombed/sunk at Hong Kong. Dutch sub XVII sunk by mine off Tioman Island, Malaya.
1942 I-4 sunk by USS Seadragon in St. Georges Channel off New Ireland
1943 U-284 scuttled in the Atlantic after storm damage
1944 KM Sub Chaser UJ 1702 sunk by mine off the Feistein Lighthouse, Norway. USN LSTs 749 and 460 sunk by Kamakazes in the Sulu Sea
1988 Pan Am flight 103 blown up
 
Dec 22
1790 Russia captures the Izmail Fortress
1930 1st flight Tupolev TB-3 bomber
1939 R.N. Trawler HMS Dromio sunk in collision with Italian merchant ship Valentino off Whitby
1940 Greece captures Himare, Albania. Destroyer HMS Hyperion damaged by a mine and scuttled off Pantellaria. Sub HMS H 31 foundered at Campbelltown, raised, repaired, returned to service. HMS MAC 7 sank at Portsmouth
1943 KM Cruiser Niobe, run aground on Silba Island on the 19th, is torpedoed by MTB 276 and 298 and abandond. Barrage/Gate vessel HMS BV 42 sunk by an explosion at Leith Docks, Edinburgh
1944 Torpedo Boat Chidori sunk by USS Tilefish wsw of Yokosuka
1964 1st flight SR-71
 
Dec 23
962 Byzantines sack Aleppo
1793 Battle of Savenay
1864 1st Battle of Ft. Fisher begins
1916 Battle of Magdhaba
1936 1st flight Vickers Wellington
1939 R.N. Trawlers HMS Glen Albyn and Promotive sunk by mines in Loch Ewe.
1940 Destroyer HMS Warwick damaged by a mine and beached in Liverpool Bay, repaired and returned to service.Italian Torpedo Boat Fratelli Cairoli sunk by a mine off Misurata, Libya
1941 2nd Battle of wake Island: IJN Patrol Boats 32 and 33 are beached to land troops and are destroyed by 5" shore guns. U-79 sunk by Destroyers HMS Hasty and Hotspur off Bardia
1943 IJN Gunboat Nanyo bombed/sunk by B-25s off Foochow
1944 KM Minesweeper sunk by Norwiegan MTB 712 in Bomlafjorden
1968 USS Pueblo crew released by N. Korea
1979 Soviets occupy Kabul
 
Dec 24
1144 Siege of Edessa ends
1939 Repair Ship HMS Dolphin sunk by mine off Hartley
1940 Minesweeper HMS Mercury sunk by mine off of Ireland
1941 Japan captures Kuching. Destroyer Saguri sunk by Dutch sub K XVI with all hands, K XVI is sunk later that day by sub I-66. Corvette HMS Salvia sunk with all hands by U-568 west of Alexandria. The hulk of the discarded cruiser USS Rochester is sunk as a blockship at Subic Bay.
1943 British Seaplane Tender Duman is sunk by U-515 off Sassandra, Ivory Coast. Destroyer HMS Hurricane is torpedoed by U-415. Destroyer USS Leary sunk by U-275. U-645 sunk by Destroyer USS Schenk n.e. of The Azores. R.N. MTB 357, damaged by KM surface ships the day before, sinks in the North Sea.
1944 Minesweeper HMCS Clayoquet is sunk by U-806 off Halifax. Belgian Troopship Leopoldville sunk off Cherbourg by U-486, with a loss of 808, mostly US Army, of the 2374 on board. Soviet Patrol Craft MO-594 sunk by U-637 off Cape Pakri in the Baltic Sea. IJN Transport No. 8(Landing ship) sunk by Destroyer USS Case off Chichi Jima. IJN Transport No. 157 (LST) sunk by a USN Destroyer off Iwo Jima
1950 Hungnam evacuation ends
 
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Dec 25
1553 Battle of Tucapel
1837 Battle of Lake Okeechobee
1939 R.N. Trawler HMS Loch Doon sunk by mine off Blyth
1941 Battle of Honk Kong ends, MTBs 7, 9, 10, 11, & 27 and Gunboat Robin scuttled to prevent capture. USS Seawolf, bombed/sunk at Cavite on the 10th, is blown up to prevent capture.
1942 Sub HMS P48 sunk by Italian Torpedo Boats Ardente and Ardito n.w. of Zembra, Tunisia
1943 R.N. Trawler HMS Kingston Beryl sunk with all hands by a mine n.w. of Islay, Scotland
1944 Frigate HMS Dakins damaged beyond repair by a mine off Ostend, used as a depot ship, scrapped after the War.
 
Dec 26
1793 Battle of Giesburg begins
1806 Battles of Pulusk & Golymin
1937 Chinese Seaplane Tender Zhenhai sunk as blockship at Tsingtao
1940 Minesweeper Attendance Craft(M.A.C.) 5 sunk by mine off Essex. R.N. Trawler HMS True Accord sunk in a collision in the North Sea off Happisburg
1941 KM Patrol Ship V-5904 Geier sunk by Destroyer HMS Ashanti in Vestfjord. IJN Minesweeper W 6 bombed/sunk by Dutch Army B-10s off Kuching, Sarawak. Soviet Patrol Boat CKA-034 sunk by Coast Artillery off Reed-Burun. Free French Naval Trawler Henriette sunk by mine off the Humber
1942 U-357 sunk by Destroyers HMS Hesperus and Vanessa n.w. of Ireland
1943 Marines land at Cape Glouchester, Destroyer USS Brownson bombed/sunk. KM Battleship Scharnhorst sunk off the North Cape by HMS Duke of York and Cruisers/destroyers.
1944 Patton reaches Bastogne. Siege of Budapest begins. Frigates HMS Capel sunk, and HMS Affleck damaged, by U-486 off Cherbourg, Affleck not repaired, converted to merchant ship post war. U-2342 sunk by mine off Swinemunde. IJN Destroyer Kiyoshimo sunk by PT 223 south of Manila after being bombed and damaged off Mindoro earlier in the day.
1972 S.A.C.'s biggest combat mission, 120 B-52s hit Hanoi.
 
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Dec 27
1655 Siege of Jasna Gora ends
1793 Battle of Giesburg ends
1814 Battle of New Orleans: USS Carolina sunk with red hot shot by British field artillery in the Miss. river south of New Orleans
1922 IJN Carrier Hosho 1st Commisioned purpose built Carrier
1939 Battle of Kelja ends
1941 KM Patrol Ships V-5102 Donner, V-5108 Fohn, V-6114 Duivenland sunk by Destroyers HMS Chiddingford, Oribi, and Onslow at Maloy Island, Norway
1942 1st flight KI-67 Bomber. U-336 sunk by RAF Hudson in the Denmark Strait. Destroyer-Minesweeper USS Wasmuth is fatally damaged by 2 depth charges that go overboard & detonate wrecking her stern in a storm off the Aleutian Islands
1944 U-877 sunk by Corvette HMCS St. Thomas n.w. of the Azores. IJN Transport no. 7, a High Speed Transport, and Transport no. 132, an LST, are sunk off Iwo Jima by a USN Destroyer.
1979 Soviets invade Afghanistan
1996 Taliban capture Bagram Airbase
 
Dec 28
1862 Battle of Chicasaw Bayou begins
1905 Drydock "Dewey" leaves Maryland for the Philippines via the Suez Canal, arriving July 10, 1906. longest tow job in history.
1939 R.N. Trawler HMS Barbara Robertson sunk by U-30 n.w. of the Butts of Lewis, later in the day U-30 damages Battleship Batham.
1940 Destroyers HMS Norseman and Opportune bombed/damaged while under construction
1941 Damage Control Training ship USS DCH-1 scuttled between San Diego and Hawaii by Oiler USS Neches. Destroyer USS Peary bombed/damaged by RAAF Hudsons off Celebes. U-75 sunk by Destroyer HMS Kipling off Mersa Matrah.
1942 CAM ship SS Empire Shackleton damaged by U-225, damaged by U-123, finished off by U-435. Rescue Tug HMS St. Issey sunk by U-617 off Benghazi
1943 Battle of Otrona ends. KM Torpedo Boats T 25 and T 26, and Destroyer Z 27 sunk by Cruisers HMS Glasgow and Enterprise off Norway. Italian Sub Axum scuttled after grounding off Morea, Greece.
1944 IJN Refridgerated Food supply ship Nosaki sunk by sub USS Dace off Cape Varella. KM Tanker Holmengraa and U-735 bombed/sunk at Horten, Norway. USN LST 750 damaged by a Kamakaze off Los Negros, scuttled by USS Edwards
1982 Battleship New Jersey recommisioned
 
Dec 29
1778 British capture Savannah
1812 USS Constitution captures HMS Java
1813 British capture/burn Buffalo
1890 Battle of Wounded Knee
1934 Japan renounces the Washington and London Naval Treaties
1939 1st flight B-24.
1940 Italian Troopship SS Sardegac sunk by Greek sub Proteus, in turn is sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Antares.
1941 Philippines Navy Presidentail Yacht BRO Banahaw bombed/sunk off Corrigidor. IJN sub RO-60 wrecked at Kwajalein. Soviet Patrol Boat CKA-056 sunk by mortar and field artillery at Feodosiya
1942 Destroyer-Minesweeper USS Wasmuth sinks from depth charge damage.
1943 Free French sub Protee sunk by German aircraft off La Ciotat.
1944 KN U Boat Tender Nordvard bombed/sunk off Moss, Norway. U-322 sunk by Frigate HMCS Calgary south of Weymouth. R.N. MTB 782 sunk by mine off the River Schelde. Soviet Minesweeper T 883 sunk with all hands by U-995 s.w. of Cape Svyatoj Nos.
 
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