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| | WWII Axis Military History Day-by-Day: December |
 | | December 13, 1939: In the south Atlantic the German raider, the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, fights an action against three British cruisers, HMS Achilles, Ajax and Exeter, which results in serious damage to both sides, with Exeter rendered a blazing hulk and the Graf Spee withdrawing to the River Plate for repairs. |
 | | December 16, 1944: The German Army in the West begins Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine), eventually to become known as the Battle of the Bulge, with the objective of splitting the Allied forces and capturing the strategic port of Antwerp. |
 | | December 18, 1944: In the West, Operation Wacht am Rhein begins to bog down in the face of stiffened US resistance and lack of adequate logistical support, notably fuel for the armored Kampfgruppen of Dietrich's and Manteuffel's armies. |
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