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• Adolf Hitler gave Günther von Kluge the permission to fall back in the Moscow, Russia region. On the same day, the Soviet West Front attacked towards Mozhaysk, Russia west of Moscow, which was defended by troops of German 4th Army. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | CPC]
• Japanese submarine I-56 sank Dutch freighters Van Riebeeck and Van Rees off Cilacap, Java, Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Japanese submarine I-19 launched her seaplane for a reconnaissance mission over Pearl Harbor, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British Air Marshal John Baldwin replaced Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse as the chief of the RAF Bomber Command. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Archibald Wavell inspected troops and defenses in central British Malaya. ww2dbase [Archibald Wavell | CPC]
• S-36 suffered a failure with the port engine air compressor. ww2dbase [S-36 | CPC]

• Alpino Bagnolini deprated La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 0800 hours for trials, returning at 1800 hours. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes | CPC]

• Allied convoy PQ-8 departed Hvalfjörður, Iceland. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Hvalfjörður | CPC]

• Akagi departed Iwakuni, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Akagi | Iwakuni | CPC]
• Shokaku departed Hiroshima, Japan for Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Shokaku | Hiroshima | CPC]
• Tanikaze began escorting carriers from Japan to Truk, Caroline Islands. ww2dbase [Tanikaze | CPC]

• Japanese troops penetrated the outer lines of defense at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, which was about 15 miles north of the capital city. Australian 8th Division began to move forward to replace the nearly-destroyed Indian 11th Division near Kuala Lumpur. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | Kuala Lumpur, Selangor | CPC]

• USS S-39 discovered a Japanese submarine in the Sulu Sea and fired a torpedo at the target while submerged; the torpedo missed. ww2dbase [S-39 | Sulu Sea | CPC]
• After two weeks evading Japanese destroyers in and around Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, submarine USS Saury received orders to patrol the waters of the Dutch East Indies. ww2dbase [Saury | DS]

8 Jan 1942 Interactive Map