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• German troops fighting near Moscow, Russia were fighting temperatures as low as -8° F (-22° C). As the mud freezes, however, the Germans prepared for a new offensive amidst increasing casualties due to weather. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | TH]
• Japanese Admiral Yamamoto gathered his commanders at Iwakuni air base at Yamaguchi, Japan to discuss Pearl Harbor tactics. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Detailed Timetable | CPC]
• Adolf Hitler ordered the German Navy to restraint from attacking American ships, but should German warships be fired upon by the Americans, they were to fire back in defense. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]
• After sundown, Soviet destroyers Gordy and Surovy departed Gogland, Russia for Hanko, Finland, escorted by minelayer Ural, four T-class minesweepers, and four MO-class submarine chasers. En route, Surovy, T-206, and MO-301 struck Finnish naval mines and sunk. ww2dbase [CPC]
• General Kirill Meretskov attacked German troops at Tikhvin, Russia with Soviet 4th, 52nd, and 54th Armies. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | Kirill Meretskov | CPC]
• German submarine U-81 sank British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in the Mediterranean Sea 150 miles east of Gibraltar at 0437 hours; 1 was killed, 1,487 survived. Destroyer escorts counterattacked with 130 depth charges, but U-81 would escape. HMS Ark Royal was taken in tow. ww2dbase [Ark Royal | CPC]
• German submarine U-126 sank British merchant vessel Peru at 0042 hours, all 50 aboard survived and were rescued by South African whale factory ship Uniwaleco. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Comandante Cappellini departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine, France at 0800 hours and arrived at La Pallice, La Rochelle, France at 1700 hours. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine | CPC]
• The youth group Compagnons de France began supporting the work of the Secours National d'Hiver in collecting money, blankets, clothing, etc. to help those who needed support in the winter season. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Zuikaku was assigned to Carrier Division 5 while at Kure, Japan. ww2dbase [Zuikaku | Kure, Hiroshima | CPC]

• Allied troops established a new defensive line from the mouth of the Muar River to Gemas in British Malaya. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | CPC]

• Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina, damaged by German aircraft on the previous day, sank at Sevastopol, Russia. Her guns would be salvaged to be used on shore. ww2dbase [Battle of Sevastopol | Sevastopol | CPC]

• The British Air Ministry instructed Sir Richard Pierse, the Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command, to curtail drastically the scale of sorties against Germany, especially in bad weather. The War Cabinet stated the instruction "having stressed the necessity to conserve our resources in order to built a strong force to be available by the spring of next year". ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | AC]

13 Nov 1941 Interactive Map