1949: American Nazi propagandist Mildred Gillars, a.k.a. Axis Sally, went on trial for war crimes. She was one of two American women who became known by American troops as Axis Sally for broadcasting propoganda over the radio during World War II on behalf of Nazi Germany. What eventually happened to Gillars, and why did she help the Nazis? Read about Gillars' background on HistoryNet.com.
Also in history today, in the U.S. and elsewhere:
1945: The Germans were driven back to the positions they had held when they launched their Ardennes offensive on Dec. 16, 1944, having inflicted some 80,000 casualties on the Allies but suffering about 100,000 of their own. With this, the Battle of the Bulge reached its official end. Read a review of a book about the Ardennes Offensive on HistoryNet.com.
1951: The U.S. Eighth Army launched Operation Thunderbolt, a counteroffensive meant to drive the Chinese Volunteer Army north of the Han River in Korea. Read a first person account about the operation and ensuing battles on HistoryNet.com.
1991: Iraqis sabotaged Kuwait's main supertanker port facility, dumping 460 million gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf. Iraq also fired Scud missiles from western Iraq aimed at Tel Aviv and Haifa, killing one Israeli and injuring 40 others.
