On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Japanese admit withdrawals to Nanning and Paotow bases; Chinese say they are in pursuit; comment; Col Yamamoto reptd killed; battle on Tungshan Is; 2,000 reptd drowned in sinking of Japanese transport in Yangtze
Boston schools closed; highways blocked; deaths
offering
latter convicted; por; Litvackoff trial put off
Chamberlain tells Commons that German press repts of Dec secret session were for German propaganda purposes
1940Hannelore Schmatz, German mountaineer (died 1979)[†]
Hannelore Schmatz was a German mountaineer and the fourth woman to summit Mount Everest. She collapsed and died as she was returning from summiting Everest via the southern route; Schmatz was the first woman and first German citizen to die on the upper slopes of Everest.
1940World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. A total of 299 British prisoners are freed.[†]
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.