World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Monday, December 18, 1939
Day 109

December 18, 1939: Front page of The Star, Sheffield, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
(Two sinking of two German cruisers was the top story of the day. The Admiral Graf Spee had scuttled off Montevideo and a British submarine was reported to have sunk the cruiser Leipzig. While the Admiralty believed that a British submarine had sunk the cruiser Leipzig, the report was untrue. HMS Ursula had in fact only sunk the German escort ship F-9, while Leipzig had escaped undamaged.)
[More about Admiral Graf Spee here.]
[More about Leipzig here.]


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the opinion piece in column 2: "This Ship Was Not Scuttled"
(The writer was noting that when HMS Rawalpindi was caught by superior German forces they did not scuttle the ship, but fought to the bitter end. This was apparently a piece designed to point out that the courage of the British seaman is superior to that of the German. Even Grossadmiral Erich Raeder noted in his autobiography that one should not underestimate the fighting spirit of the British. One can look at this from another angle and say that while Rawalpindi did not cower from a fight, the ship was sunk and most of the crew died. While in the case of the Admiral Graf Spee the ship was sunk, but the crew survived. The single loss of either ship had no overall bearing on the outcome of the war, it's just that one crew died and one survived. It is interesting to note that Capt. Kennedy of and the crew of the Rawalpindi were not even decorated by the British Government for their courageous effort.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Evening Express, Liverpool, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Midland Daily Telegraph, Coventry, England.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 4: "Why Hitler Ordered Sinking of Graf Spee"
(There was no way for the press to know, but HItler did not order the ship scuttled. What he did do was to order the following line in the press release "The Führer therefore ordered Captain Langsdorff to scuttle the ship." He did order the ship not to be interned in Uruguay, but in reality wanted Langsdorff to fight his way out to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Langsdorff was given the decision whether to fight or scuttle. He chose the former to spare the lives of his crew, who he felt would be sacrificed for nothing. I believe he made the correct decision, to save his crew rather than have them slaughtered for the edification of Hitler.)
Also note the report in column 3: "Zoo Panda Dead"


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 2: "Commander Down With His Ship"
(Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff did not go down with his ship.)
Also note the report in column 2: "Renown And Ark Royal"
(Contrary to reports of the previous days which placed HMS Renown and HMS Ark Royal off Montevideo, the press now tells the world they are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, over 1,000 miles away. The Germans knew this by early evening on Dec. 17th. but still believed that there was a strong destroyer force and several submarines off Montevideo.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Daily News, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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December 18, 1939: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of Het Volksdagblad, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Dutch communist paper.)
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 6: "Skipper Of British Tanker Ends Life"
(The ship British Officer was mined a year later on Dec. 1, 1940.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Hobbs Daily News-Sun, Hobbs, New Mexico.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Murderous Graf Spee Sinks Into Ooze From River Bottom Blasted By Internal Mines"
(Headlines like this may have inspired the German Naval High Command to make this comment; "The neutral press, with the exception of the United States, generally reported on the scuttling of the Admiral Graf Spee with respect and reserve. British newspapers, however, outdid each other in insulting and unchivalrous accusations. The American press was in general unfriendly.")


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Telegraph-Herald, Dubuque, Iowa.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the headline: "Nazis Destroy 34 British Planes"
(The Royal Air Force has sent 24 Wellington bombers to attack targets in Wilhelmshaven and Schilling Roads, fully half, 12, of them were shot down by the Germans.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of The Lowell Sun, Lowell, Massachusetts.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
 
Note the report in column 4: "Captain of Tacoma Is Under Arrest"
(Tacoma was the ship which took off the crew of the Admiral Graf Spee just before the ship was blown up.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Butte Montana Standard, Butte, Montana.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)


December 18, 1939: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
(Click on the image for a readable version.)
1. Schärfster deutscher Protest in Uruguay.
(Sharpest German protest given to Uruguay.)



   
Page published Dec. 18, 2020