International Situation
SprueStack Zero Hour: WW2 day by day
8 December 1941
What happened on this day in the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945, with a source for every entry.
About this page
Each day we list events from the Second World War that happened on that date, from 1939 to 1945. Every entry names its source and links to it, so you can read further. Entries are sourced and machine-screened before they go up, a subset is human-reviewed, and we add more over time.
7 of 10 sourced entries for this date, chosen by the editor.
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Entries
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Malaya
Japanese invade Malaya early in the morning, landing on E coast near Kota Bharu after naval bombardment of beaches, and are vigorously engaged by Lt Gen A. E. Percival's Malaya Command.
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P.I.
Japanese naval planes from Formosa attack Clark and Iba Fields and catch many aircraft on the ground. FEAF is reduced to almost half strength, and installations are severely damaged.
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Attack on the Philippines, 8 December 1941 On 8 December 1941, as prelude to multiple amphibious landings in the Philippines, the Japanese launched air attacks on U.S. and Filipino bases.
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U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares December 7 to be "a date which will live in infamy", after which the U.S. declares war on Japan.
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Japanese forces simultaneously invade Shanghai International Settlement, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies. (See December 7 for the concurrent attack on Pearl Harbor in the Western Hemisphere.)
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UK Parliament
Japan's Declaration of War (House of Lords)
Official record of proceedings in the House of Lords, sitting of 1941-12-08: "Japan's Declaration of War."
The full list for this date is being cleaned and will return soon.
Sources listed with each entry. Spotted an error? Tell us.
8 December in other years 19391940194219431944
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