Day 844 December 22, 1941

Philippines. At 2 AM, Japanese invasion of the island of Luzon begins in earnest. 43,000 troops (48th Division) and 90 tanks land in the Lingayen Gulf, 110 miles North of Manila. US submarine S38 enters the shallow shoals of Lingayen Gulf and misses 4 transport ships and 2 destroyers with 4 torpedoes at 7.10 AM. S38 then sinks Japanese freighter Hayo Maru at 7.58. The American defenses (North Luzon Force, composed mainly of poorly-trained and equipped Pilipino troops) are spread too thinly to put up more than token resistance. In addition to marching on Manila, Japanese troops will head North to link up with earlier landings at Aparri and Vigan. After flying 1350 miles from Darwin, Australia, 9 US B-17s bombers attack Japanese ships in Davao Gulf, Mindanao, and then land at Del Monte on Mindanao.

860 miles West of Hawaii, Japanese submarine I-68 shells US Navy airfield and seaplane base at US-held Johnston Island. 750 miles South of Hawaii, Japanese submarines I-71 and I-72 shell Naval Air Station on Palmyra Atoll.

Wake Island. 33 Japanese dive bombers and 6 fighters from aircraft carriers Hiryu and Soryu destroy the last American aircraft as well as bombing gun emplacements.

The first US Army troops to arrive in Australia, Task Force South Pacific lands at Brisbane escorted by cruiser Pensacola.

Siege of Leningrad Day 106. The ice on Lake Ladoga is 1 meter thick, enough to support 45-ton KV tanks which are moved along the Road of Life to aid in the defense of the city. Trucks bring in 687 tons of food, for the first time exceeding Leningrad’s daily consumption of 600 tons.

Churchill arrives in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA, aboard battleship HMS Duke Of York, for the First Washington Conference (Arcadia Conference was the code name).

Libya. Allied motorised infantry reach Beda Fomm but run into 30 new Panzers placed to prevent them cutting off the German/Italian infantry retreat along the coast. Axis forces begin evacuating Benghazi, sending small convoys by sea to Tripoli. A newly-laid Italian minefield off Misrata sinks German steamer Spezia and Italian steamer Umbra Cadamosto.