30 Nov 1941 | World War II Database

30 Nov 1941

Emperor Showa ordered Prime Minister Hideki Tojo to proceed with plans to start the Pacific War, and subsequently Tojo rejected US proposals to de-escalate tension in the Far East. ww2dbase [Showa | CPC]
Passenger liner President Madison, chartered by the US Navy, arrived at Olongapo, Philippine Islands, disembarking the 2nd Battalion of the US 4th Marine Regiment before continuing on to Singapore. ww2dbase [CPC]
New Zealand 24th and 26th Battalions were battered by Axis attacks at Sidi Rezegh, Libya. German forces launched a fresh attack on Tobruk, Libya. Out at sea, British aircraft from Malta sank Italian ship Capo Faro and damaged Italian ship Iseo, which were en route from Brindisi, Italy to Benghazi, Libya; they were carrying fuel and other supplies that were very much needed for the Axis campaign in North Africa. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]
The United States Marine Corps reported the strength of 65,881 personnel. ww2dbase [CPC]
Shoho was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Shoho | CPC]
The Japanese ambassador in Germany Hiroshi Oshima was informed by his superiors that war with the United States was near, and he was to inform Adolf Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop of such news. ww2dbase [Hiroshi Oshima | CPC]
A Soviet force consisted of two destroyers, a troop ship, and other minor vessels arrived at Hanko, Finland to evacuate troops, while another force consisted of troop ship Maya, 3 minesweepers, 2 submarine chasters, and 1 gunboat departed Kronstadt, Russia for Hanko. ww2dbase [CPC]
Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau replaced Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt as the commanding officer of German Army Group South in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. ww2dbase [Walther von Reichenau | CPC]
German submarine U-206 became missing in the Bay of Biscay west of France, possibly lost in a British minefield. All 46 men aboard were lost. ww2dbase [CPC]
Whitley bombers of No. 502 Squadron RAF based in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom attacked German submarines U-71 and U-563 with depth charges in the Bay of Biscay, damaging U-71. This attack marked the first successful use of air-to-surface vessel radar. ww2dbase [CPC]
The warming of temperature in the region around Leningrad, Russia meant a decrease in the ice thickness over Lake Ladoga, which led to the decrease of supplies delivered by ground vehicles driving over ice; only 61 tons of food made its way into the city on this date. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | CPC]
Elements of German 2nd Panzer Division captured the railway station at Lobnya 19 miles north of Moscow, Russia. Meanwhile, Georgy Zhukov was ordered by Joseph Stalin to organize a counterattack. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | CPC]
German submarine U-96 dove to evade attacks by a British Swordfish aircraft off Gibraltar at 2235 hours. ww2dbase [CPC]
German submarine U-43 sank British ship Ashby 170 miles south of the Azores islands at 1926 hours; 17 were killed, some survived and were rescued by Portuguese destroyer Lima. U-43 survived the subsequent depth charging without any damage. ww2dbase [CPC]
Winston Churchill sent Franklin Roosevelt a message requesting a conference on the impending war with Japan. Roosevelt would reject the request to avoid appearing like he was taking the United States toward war for the defense of the British Empire. ww2dbase [First Washington Conference | CPC]

Fiji

Japanese submarine I-10 launched a scout aircraft for a reconnaissance mission over Suva Bay, Fiji. ww2dbase [Suva | CPC]

Germany

German armed merchant cruiser Komet arrived at Hamburg, Germany after a 516-day, 87,000-mile, circumnavigating journey. She sank 5 ships, captured 1 ship, and shared credit for another two sinkings on this mission. ww2dbase [Komet | Hamburg | CPC]

Japan

Japanese destroyers Akembono and Ushio departed Tokyo Bay, Japan for Midway, where they were to bombard US military facilities when hostilities would begin. ww2dbase [Tokyo Bay | CPC]

Latvia

Latvian and German Jews were massacred near Riga, Latvia. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Riga | CPC]

United States

USS Grayback arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States for a scheduled overhaul. ww2dbase [Grayback | Portsmouth, New Hampshire | 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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