25 December 1942

The Soviet offensive Operation Mars is over; it has failed, but Operation Little Saturn has been such a success that the Axis are forced to cancel their own Operation, Winter Storm, which was to relieve the troops trapped in Stalingrad. They remain trapped because Adolf Hitler has now forbidden them from trying to break out. The Allies run into tough Axis defense in both Tunisia and on Guadalcanal, and a French bigwig is assassinated.