military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (12/12/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Thursday, 12 December, 1940 British forces in Africa continue to advance; only the garrisons at Sidi Omar and Sollum remain of then 7 Italian divisions previously occupying Egypt. General Wavell receives a congratulatory telegram from Churchill, and plans to extend what had been intended as a 5-day operation. His success receives wild acclaim in London. The Luftwaffe continues its large night raids against Britain, hitting Sheffield with 336 aircraft. The raid leaves many streets choked with wreckage. Hungary and Yugoslavia sign a mutual Friendship Pact. Yugoslavian leaders hope this maneuver will forestall German efforts to force them into the Axis. Lord Lothian, Britain's ambassador to the United States, dies at age 58. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We are faced with the demonstrated fact that forces is now the only safe insurance of national survival." - Admiral Harold B. Stark