23 Nov 1941
- I-68 departed Kwajalein, Marshall Islands for her first war patrol in the Hawaii Islands area. ww2dbase [I-68/I-168 | CPC]
- German forces captured Solnechnogorsk, Russia advanced to within 35 miles of the Soviet capital of Moscow. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | TH]
- US Army troops arrived in Dutch Guiana and occupied the region on behalf of the Dutch government-in-exile in order to protect bauxite mines. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Japanese carriers made a rendezvous at Hitokappu Bay, Kurile Islands, Japan in preparation for the Pearl Harbor attack. On the other side of the international date line, Joseph Rochefort reported to his superiors that his cryptanalytic team had detected a Japanese submarine squadron moving into the Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Detailed Timetable | CPC]
- Destroyer Yuzuki departed Sakaide, Shikoku, Japan, escorting a troop convoy. ww2dbase [Yuzuki | CPC]
- The German ambassador in Japan Eugen Ott warned Germany that the Japanese military seemed to be on the verge of a war, its military preparing to move southward. He was not aware of Japan's plans to attack the United States. ww2dbase [CPC]
- 60 trucks brought in 33 tons of flour and 2.5 tons of sugars and fats into besieged Leningrad, Russia, driving across the frozen Lake Ladoga; this was the first of many over-ice truck runs that would ramp up to bring in 100 tons of supplies each day. The population of Leningrad, however, required about 600 tons of supplies for survival. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC]
- British Captain Philip Gardner led two Matilda tanks in the rescue of the crews of two armored cars pinned under enemy fire at Tobruk, Libya, becoming wounded in the process. He was later awarded the Victoria Cross award. ww2dbase [CPC]
- The Italian High Command in Rome, Italy agreed to put the Italian XX Mobile Corps, which included the Ariete Division and the Trieste Division, under Erwin Rommel's direct command. On the same day, at the Battle of Totensonntag, Axis troops outflanked British forces south of Sidi Rezegh, Libya, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing the British 7th Armored Division to withdraw 20 miles. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | Rome | CPC]
- German Luftwaffe II./KG 55 departed Kirovograd, Ukraine for Saint-André-de-l'Eure, France for rest and refitting. ww2dbase [Kirovograd | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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