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• At the battle of El Haseia in Libya, German tanks flanked British 22nd Armoured Brigade, destroying many tanks, but failed to break through. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]
• British Commandos and Norwegian troops completed the Operation Anklet raid in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, embarking a number of ships to return to Britain along with 29 prisoners of war and 200 Norwegian volunteers who wished to joined the forces of the Norwegian government-in-exile. ww2dbase [TH]
• Japanese air units bombed Manila, Philippine Islands while 6 US PBY Catalina aircraft attacked Japanese warships at Jolo (4 would be shot down). On land, Allied forces withdrew to the Santa-Ignacia-Gerona-Guimba-San Jose line 30 miles south of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | TH]
• Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions attacked Chinese city of Changsha, but they marched into an ambush that slowed the momentum of the attack. ww2dbase [Third Battle of Changsha | CPC]
• German 250th Infantry Division of Spanish volunteers repulsed a heavy Soviet attack about 100 kilometers south of Leningrad, Russia which began on 23 Dec 1941. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC]
• British cruiser HMS Kenya and four destroyers bombarded German defenses on Vaagso Island, southern Norway in Operation Archery at dawn. Shortly after the bombardment, 560 British Commandos and 12 Norwegian troops landed, fought off the 150 German mountain troops, destroyed fish oil production and storage facilities, and captured a complete German naval code as well as 98 German and Norwegian prisoners. In this operation, the Allies suffered 21 British and 1 Norwegian killed, while the Germans suffered 120 killed. ww2dbase [CPC]
• USS Permit completed her second war patrol in Philippine waters. ww2dbase [Permit | CPC]

• British and Indian troops originally based in Kuching, Sarawak, island of Borneo fled into Dutch territory. To the north, Japanese troops captured the Tambelan Islands, Dutch East Indies, which was the first Dutch territorial loss in the Pacific War. ww2dbase [Dutch East Indies Campaign, Borneo | Tambelan | CPC]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille arrived in Athens, Greece for treatment for malaria, jaundice, amoebic dysentery, and gastroenteritis. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Athens | CPC]

• USS Lexington arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Lexington (Lexington-class) | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
• USS Saratoga arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Saratoga | Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]

• The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy reported the strength of 23 officers, 31 non-commissioned officers, and 446 enlisted men. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Japanese bombers attacked Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. Meanwhile, Japanese troops advanced toward Kampar in western Malaya and Kuantan on the east coast. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | Kuala Lumpur, Selangor | CPC]

• Tenryu arrived at Roi, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Roi, Kwajalein | CPC]

• USS S-43 arrived at Balboa, Panama Canal Zone. ww2dbase [S-43 | Balboa | CPC]

• 46th Infantry Division of the German 11th Army counterattacked the Soviet beachheads on the Kerch Peninsula, Russia, but the attacks failed to stop further Soviet reinforcements from the sea. ww2dbase [Battle of Sevastopol | Krym | CPC]

• Japanese submarine I-25 shelled unarmed American tanker Connecticut about 10 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River off the American states of Oregon and Washington. ww2dbase [Oregon | CPC]
• Early in the day, the Japanese submarines operating off the US coast received orders cancelling the shelling scheduled for that evening. Most of the submarines had expended their ammunition and fuel reserves so the remaining boat departed US waters for Japanese supply bases in the central Pacific. ww2dbase [DS]
• Early in the day, the Japanese submarines operating off the US coast received orders cancelling the shelling scheduled for that evening. Most of the submarines had expended their ammunition and fuel reserves so the remaining boats departed US waters for Japanese supply bases in the central Pacific. ww2dbase [Japanese Attacks on the Continental United States | DS]

27 Dec 1941 Interactive Map