1 Dec 1939
  • Otto Kuusinen was made head of the puppet government forming in Moscow for Finland. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Firefight between Finnish coastal batteries at Russaro and the Soviet cruiser Kirov and her destroyer screen; Kirov and one of her destroyers were damaged. ww2dbase [Kirov | TH]
  • Chinese 3rd Army Group cut the Lung'hai Railway line at several locations and attacked highways, both actions interrupted Japanese logistics. Meanwhile, troops of the Chinese 81st Division attacked the cities of Kaifeng and Lanfeng. ww2dbase [Winter Offensive | CPC]
China
  • Hiroshi Nemoto was named the chief of staff of the 21st Army based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. ww2dbase [Hiroshi Nemoto | Guangzhou, Guangdong | CPC]
  • Asasaburo Kobayashi stepped down as the chief of staff of Japanese 12th Army in China and became the chief of the 1st Section of the Inspectorate-General of Military Training of the Army General Staff. ww2dbase [Asasaburo Kobayashi | CPC]
Germany
  • In Germany, Ernst Udet was appointed Director General of Air Force Equipment (Generalluftzeugmeister). ww2dbase [Ernst Udet | AC]
  • The third group of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing was established. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • The title "Waffen-SS" became official. This organisation embraced the SS Verfugungs Division, the Liebstandarte, the SS Totenkopf Division, the SS Polizei Division, the SS Junkerschulen (training schools), together with their training and replacement units. Service in these formations would count as active military duty. ww2dbase [AC]
Japan
  • Tenryu was assigned to Maizuru Naval District, Japan for service as a guard ship and training vessel for the Japanese Navy Engineering Academy. ww2dbase [Tenryu | Maizuru, Kyoto | CPC]
  • Kenkichi Ueda was forced into the reserve. ww2dbase [Kenkichi Ueda | CPC]
Taiwan
  • Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima was named the commanding officer of the Taiwan Army. ww2dbase [Mitsuru Ushijima | 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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Grave of Yan Xishan, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, 4 Mar 2016


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