of 1944 is hosted by the Egyptian Feminist Union in Cairo, leading to establishment of the Arab Feminist Union. An earthquake along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan causes a tsunami which kills 1223 people. December 10 – Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini leads a concert performance of the first half of Beethoven's Fidelio (minus its spoken dialogue) on NBC Radio, starring Rose Bampton. He chooses this opera for its political message: a statement against tyranny and dictatorship. Presenting it in German, Toscanini intends it as a tribute to the German people who are being oppressed by Hitler. The second half is broadcast a week later. The performance is later released on LP and CD, the first of 7 operas that Toscanini conducts on radio. December 12–13 – WWII: British units attempt to take the Italian hilltop town of Tossignano, but are repulsed. December 13 – WWII: Battle of Mindoro – United States, Australian and Philippine Commonwealth troops land on Mindoro Island in the Philippines. December 14 The Soviet government changes Turkish place names to Russian in the Crimea. The film National Velvet is released in the United States, bringing a young Elizabeth Taylor to stardom. December 15 – A USAAF utility aircraft carrying bandleader Major Glenn Miller disappears in heavy fog over the English Channel, while flying to Paris. December 16 – WWII: Germany begins the Ardennes offensive, later known as the Battle of the Bulge. General George C. Marshall becomes the first U.S. Five-Star General. December 17 – WWII: Malmedy massacre: German SS troops under Joachim Peiper machine gun American prisoners of war captured during the Battle of the Bulge near Malmedy, and elsewhere in Belgium. Bombing of Ulm: 707 people are killed and 25,000 left homeless. December 18 – General Douglas MacArthur becomes the second U.S. Five-Star General. December 19 – The daily newspaper Le Monde begins publication in Paris. December 20 The United States Women Airforce Service Pilots are disbanded. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is promoted to the rank of 5-star U.S. Five-Star General. December 22 WWII: Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe, commander of the U.S. forces defending Bastogne, refuses to accept demands for surrender by sending a one-word reply, "Nuts!", to the German command. The Vietnam People's Army is formed in French Indochina. December 24 WWII: Troopship is sunk in the English Channel by . Approximately 763 soldiers of the U.S. 66th Infantry Division, bound