Editing 1971 (section)

=== December ===
{{Main|December 1971}}
* [[December 1]] – [[Cambodian Civil War]]: [[Khmer Rouge]] rebels intensify assaults on [[Cambodia]]n government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray, 10 kilometers northeast of [[Phnom Penh]].
* [[December 2]]
** Six of the seven [[Trucial States]] combine in an act of union to found the [[United Arab Emirates]].
** The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Mars 3|Mars 3 lander]] reaches the surface of [[Mars]], transmits for a few seconds and then goes silent. It is the first spacecraft to reach the planet.
* [[December 3]] – The [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]] begins with [[Operation Chengiz Khan]] as Pakistan launches preemptive attacks on nine Indian airbases. The next day India launches a massive invasion of East Pakistan.
* [[December 3]]–[[December 4|4]] – The [[Pakistan]]i [[submarine]] [[PNS Ghazi|PNS ''Ghazi'']] (former {{USS|Diablo}}) sinks mysteriously near the Indian coast while laying mines.
* [[December 4]]
** The [[Montreux]] Casino burns down during a [[Frank Zappa]] concert (the event is memorialized in the [[Deep Purple]] song "[[Smoke on the Water]]"). The casino is rebuilt in [[1975]].
** The [[McGurk's Bar bombing]] by the [[Ulster Volunteer Force]] in [[Belfast]] kills 15.
* [[December 7]] – [[Battle of Sylhet]] rages between the [[Pakistan Armed Forces|Pakistani military]] and the [[Indian Army]].<ref name=DI>[http://www.defenceindia.com/defenceind/battle_sylhet.html Battle Of Sylhet. Defence India] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070810211600/http://www.defenceindia.com/defenceind/battle_sylhet.html|date=August 10, 2007}}</ref>
* [[December 8]] – U.S. President [[Richard Nixon]] orders the 7th Fleet to move towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
* [[December 10]] – The [[John Sinclair Freedom Rally]] in support of the imprisoned activist features a performance by [[John Lennon]] at [[Crisler Arena]], [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].
* [[December 11]] – [[Nihat Erim]] forms the new government of [[Turkey]] (34th government; Nihat Erim has served two times as prime minister).
* [[December 16]] – ''[[Victory Day of Bangladesh]]'': The [[Pakistan|Pakistan Army]] in [[East Pakistan]] (now [[Bangladesh]]) surrenders to the joint forces of India and the Bengali nationalist separatists, ending the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victory Day {{!}} Armed Forces Division(AFD) |url=https://afd.gov.bd/media/important-occations/victory-day |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=afd.gov.bd}}</ref>
* [[December 18]]
** The [[U.S. dollar]] is [[Nixon shock|devalued]] for the second time in history.
** The world's largest [[hydroelectric plant]] in [[Krasnoyarsk]], [[Soviet Union]], begins operations.
* [[December 19]]
** [[Clube Atlético Mineiro]] wins the [[Campeonato Brasileiro Série A|Brazil Football Championship]].
** [[Intelsat IV F-3|Intelsat IV (F3)]] is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean February 18, 1972.
** The controversial dystopian crime film ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', directed by [[Stanley Kubrick]] is released in New York City.
* [[December 20]] – Two groups of French doctors involved in [[humanitarian aid]] merge to form [[Médecins Sans Frontières]].
* [[December 24]]
** [[Giovanni Leone]] is elected [[President of the Italian Republic]].
** [[Juliane Koepcke]] survives a fall of 10,000 feet following disintegration of [[LANSA Flight 508]].
* [[December 25]]
** In the longest [[American football]] game in [[National Football League]] history, the [[Miami Dolphins]] beat the [[Kansas City Chiefs]] 27–24 after 82 minutes, 40 seconds of playing time. [[Garo Yepremian]] kicked the winning 37-yard field goal after 7:40 of the second overtime period.
** [[Daeyeonggak Hotel fire]]: A fire at a 22-story hotel in [[Seoul]], South Korea, kills 158 people.
* [[December 26]]
** Former teacher [[Patrick Critton]] hijacks Air Canada Flight 932, diverting the flight from Canada to Cuba. He would remain a fugitive for almost 30 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aircraft Hijackings and Other Criminal Acts against Civil Aviation Statistical and Narrative Reports |url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/91941NCJRS.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/91941NCJRS.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=Office of Justice Programs |date=May 1983}}</ref>
** The first reported sighting of the [[Nullarbor Nymph]] in Australia was made. The story traveled around the world until it was proven to be a hoax in 1972.
* [[December 29]] – The United Kingdom gives up its military bases in [[Malta]].
* [[December 30]] – The first [[McDonald's]] in Australia opens in [[Yagoona, New South Wales|Yagoona]], [[Sydney]].