10 December
1940: Two German spies, Jose Waldberg and Carl Meier, are the first people to be executed since the start of the war. They were hung in Pentonville jail in London. The pair landed in England several weeks prior with a radio transmitter, English money and some iron rations. They planned to spend the nights hiding, and their days collecting information - from the unwary public in trains, pubs and buffets, and by observation of military bases. Also, Hitler issues a directive for the seizure of French military resources and the future occupation of Vichy France (Operation Attila), and cancels plans to invade Gibraltar via Spain (Operation Felix).
1942: Hitler replaces General Halder with General Zeitzler as chief of staff of the OKH. Little ground is gained at Rzhev by a small German counterattack on the Eastern Front.
1944: In the West, the US Third Army (Patton) captures Hagenau and Saargemünd.
source:
http://www.feldgrau.com/december.html
1941: HM Ships Repulse and Prince of Wales sunk - The sinking of these powerful warships by Japanese torpedo bombers off Malaya came as a shock to those who had under-estimated Japan's military ability and had relied on the imagined impregnable Singapore naval base. The sinkings heralded the significance of air power in the Pacific war.
source:
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/index.asp 1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - Major General William T. Sherman's Union Army troops reach Savannah, Georgia. 1898 - Spanish-American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict. 1941 - World War II: Battle of the Philippines - Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma land on the Philippine mainland. 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of ChinaChiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan. 1978 - Arab-Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of IsraelMenachem Begin and President of EgyptAnwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_December
1917 - Red Cross is awarded Nobel Peace Prize - After three years of war, during which there had been no Nobel Peace Prize awarded, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the 1917 prize to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1941 - Japan becomes master of the Pacific and South China Sea - On this day, 4,000 Japanese troops land on the Philippine Islands, while Guam, an American-controlled territory, was also seized. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill finally exclaims, "We have lost control of the sea."
1970 - Calley trial defense begins - Charged with six specifications of premeditated murder, Calley was a platoon leader in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade (Light) of the 23rd (Americal) Division. He was tried because of his leadership role in the My Lai massacres. On March 16, 1968, Calley led his troops to murder innocent Vietnamese civilians living in a cluster of hamlets located in Son Tinh District in Quang Ngai Province in the northern coastal lowlands.
source:
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/