Thursday 17 July 1941

Deportation of Jewish women ("repatriated" according to the original caption) in captured Russian territory. Note the Romanian guard on the right. 17 July 1941 (Federal Archives, B 145 Bild-F016206-0003).

Eastern Front: The biggest news on the Eastern Front on 17 July 1941 is the successful German encirclement of large numbers of Soviet forces (elements of 20 divisions) at Uman. About 300,000 Soviet troops are captured. Subduing this large number of combatants is a very successful achievement of the Wehrmacht, but it also proves to be a major distraction during the advance eastward.

In the Far North sector, Finnish General Talvela continues pushing his VI Corps forces into Karelia along the east coast of Lake Ladoga. The Soviet respond by sending reinforcements to the threatened area. On the west coast of the lake, Soviet defenses have been giving Finnish VII Corps more trouble, but today the Finns finally reach the Jänisjoki River. They have surrounded Soviet formations, just as they did during the Winter War, and now spend some time subduing them.

In the Army Group North sector, the Soviet 11th Army and 27th Army counterattack the Germans and slow them down.

In the Army Group Center sector, the German forces continue battling Soviet troops in the suburbs of Smolensk (they already control the center). The German Panzer Groups 2 and 3 have virtually surrounded the city (their pincers are still dozens of miles apart), but they do not have the infantry in place to seal a perimeter. Thus, Soviet troops continue to retreat through German lines and through the gap. General Hoth's Panzer Group 3 attacks in the direction of Velikiye Luki.

In the Army Group South sector, the German XI Army Corps (Infantry General (General der Infanterie) Joachim von Kortzfleisch) crosses the Dneipr River. Romanian Third Army crosses the Dniester River, and Romanian Fourth Army continues heading toward Odessa. The Germans complete an encirclement at Uman, trapping roughly 300,000 Soviet troops.

Oberleutnant Hans Kolbow is shot down on 17 July 1941.

Oberleutnant Hans Kolbow, Staffelkapitän 6./JG 51, is shot down by Soviet Flak south of Stara Bychow. He manages to exit the aircraft, but his parachute does not have time to open and he perishes. He has 27 victories, 13 on the Western Front. He will win the Ritterkreuz posthumously on 27 July.

German soldiers across the Dniester River, examining a Soviet bunker, 17 July 1941 (Federal Archive, B 145 Bild-F016206-0039A).

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends a Roadstead mission to Boulogne and a Rhubarb mission to Dunkirk.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids Cologne with 50 Wellingtons and 25 Hampdens. All of the planes return safely. Cologne authorities report no casualties and no serious injuries. A diversionary raid is sent against Rotterdam, but the weather is poor and the five bombers fail to find the target. On the way back, the Luftwaffe shoots one down.

After dark, the Luftwaffe raids Hull, Yorkshire. It is a successful raid, killing 111 and wounding 108 people. In addition, there are 180 fires that make 3500 people homeless.

RAF ace James Lacey shoots down a Luftwaffe He 59 seaplane. The Luftwaffe uses the planes for rescue operations, but due to various "incidents" during the Battle of Britain flowing from British Air Ministry Bulletin 1254 making them fair targets, the Germans now fly them armed and camouflaged, usually with fighter escort.

German soldiers and a Panzer III. 17 July 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Malaspina torpedoes and sinks 402-ton British freighter Guelma a few hundred miles north of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Everyone survives.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Thrasher badly damages 129-ton French fishing trawler Virgo Fidelis off San Sebastian. The master runs the trawler aground to prevent sinking, but it is a total loss.

British 198-ton fishing trawler Ben Glamair sinks near Dunstanburgh from unknown causes, perhaps a mine.

British 91-ton drifter Fertile Valley collides with another ship in the River Tay and sinks.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 481-ton British freighter Emerald Queen off Saltburn-by-the-Sea. It is towed to Hartlepool.

Convoy OB-348 departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Narcissus (Lt. William G. H. Bolton) is commissioned.

US Navy destroyer USS Ingraham (William M. Haynsworth, Jr.) is commissioned.

U-579 (Kapitänleutnant Dietrich Lohmann) is commissioned, U-449 is laid down, U-487, U-488, U-489, and U-490 are ordered.

German and Romanian troops and tanks (Panzer 35(t)) entering into Chișinău (Bessarabia), 17 July 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Twin Pimples raid begins at Tobruk. This is a Commando raid to take two hills held by Italian troops that dominate a section of the Tobruk perimeter. Three officers and forty men of No. 8 Commando leave Allied lines and infiltrate Italian lines undetected at 23:00. They remain under cover until the early morning hours of 18 July.

Dutch submarine O-23 submarine torpedoes and damages 5479-ton Italian freighter Maddalena Odero south of Lampione (Lampedusa), Italy. The Maddalena Odero was en route from Naples to Tripoli with munitions. The ship's master beaches the ship at Cala Croce on Lampedusa to prevent it from sinking, but after subsequent RAF attacks, it is a total write-off. Dutch sources place this attack on 17 August 1941 and not 17 July, and the August date does seem to be the correct one, but it is placed here just in case and for those brought here by the apparently incorrect date.

The Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 aircraft of Lehrgeschwader 1) bombs and badly damages Royal Navy landing craft tank HMS LCT 10 off Sidi Barani. It is taken under tow, but sinks.

RAF No. 830 Squadron based on Malta raids Tripoli and damages 6212-ton Italian tanker Panuco. Unable to unload its cargo due to damage, it heads back to Palermo, then Naples for repairs.

The Luftwaffe raids Tobruk.

At Malta, there is a minor bombing raid before dawn on Fort St. Angelo. Around 11:30, an air battle surrounding an Italian reconnaissance SM-79 leads to two Italian Macchi 200 fighter losses and one Hawker Hurricane loss.

Soldiers beside a Panzer III in Finland/Karelia, 17 July 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Battle of the Pacific: Soviet submarine M-63 hits a mine and sinks off Vladivostock. This is a "friendly" minefield.

Partisans: The uprising in Montenegro continues. Captain Pavle Đurišić leads a successful attack of communist insurgents on Berane. The Italians, caught by surprise, continue assembling forces for a counterattack.

Spy Stuff: The Italian Navy, Regia Marina, introduces a new cipher that for the time being leaves the British Ultra cryptographers at Bletchley Park baffled.

POWs: The Orthodox Bishop of Dresden visits the Oflag IV-C prisoners of war camp at Colditz Castle.

"Mrs. A E Lawrence talking to a sailor on board the ship where she is working. Mrs. Lawrence has five sons, one of them is a fitter. Her husband is serving in the Navy." July 1941. © IWM (A 4510).

Spanish/German Relations: The volunteer Blue Division entrains for the Reich, following their commander, Munos Grandes. There are 18,694 men, and 70% of them are from the regular army. Most of the remainder are veterans of the Spanish Civil War, looking for a new battlefront. The entire cadet corps of Spain's leading military academy is on the trains, along with 3,000 students from the University of Madrid. The men arrive in Grafenwöhr, Bavaria to train, receiving German uniforms (save for the Falangist dark blue shirts which give the division its name).

The Wehrmacht plans to deploy the unit, categorized as the 250th Infantry Division, in the Army Group North sector. It is an irreverent lot, with men of all ranks disdaining military protocol, but the Spaniards have excellent morale and believe themselves unbeatable.

US/Japanese Relations: US President Franklin Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull meet with Japanese Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura in Washington DC. They discuss ways to resolve conflicts in the Pacific.

Lieutenant General Walter Keiner.

German Military: General Heinz Guderian receives the 24th Oakleaves as Generaloberst and commander of 2nd Panzer Group. His troops have been the spearhead of the entire Wehrmacht toward Moscow, having taken Minsk and Smolensk, and he is at the height of his success on the battlefield.

General Wilhelm Keitel's son Hans-Georg Keitel is mortally wounded on the Eastern Front by a Red Air Force attack. He perishes in a field hospital on 18 July.

General der Flieger Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, commander of VIII Fliegerkorps, receives the 26th Eichenlaub.

Lieutenant General Walter Keiner receives the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross as Generalleutnant and commander of 62. Infanterie-Division.

Italian Military: General Giovanni Meese takes command of the Italian expeditionary force in the Soviet Union.

Japanese Military: General Tomoyuki Yamashita takes command of the Kwantung Defense Army in Manchuria.

From left to right: Admiral King, Secretary Knox, Admiral Stark, and Rear Admiral Turner. They are at the White House looking a bit odd in civilian clothes for a meeting with President Roosevelt (Acme Photo from McKane archives.).

US Military: Admiral Ernest J. King, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, Admiral Harold R. Stark, and Rear Admiral R. Kelly Turner visit the White House for an "extraordinary White House conference" with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They are there to discuss military preparations.

German Government: Alfred Rosenberg officially takes over as the person in charge of exploiting newly captured lands in the East. From the Nuremberg judgment against Rosenberg:

With his appointment as Reich Minister for Occupied Eastern Territories on 17th July, 1941, Rosenberg became the supreme authority for those areas. He helped to formulate the policies of Germanisation, exploitation, forced labour, extermination of Jews and opponents of Hitler's rule, and he set up the administration which carried them out.

Hitler, in his 16 July meeting with Rosenberg (and others), made clear that he expected ruthless exploitation. Rosenberg complies.

US Government: President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 2497, which imposes sanctions on 1800 Latin American firms doing business with Germany and/or Italy.

Soviet Government: The Soviet 3rd NKO Directorate is merged back into the NKVD. It becomes the NKVD's Special Departments Director (UOO). Viktor Abakumov is named UOO's chief and Solomon Milshtein his deputy.

Soviet POWs at a field kitchen at Vitebsk, 17 July 1941 (Hermann, Federal Archive, Bild 146-2004-0151).

Spain: On the fifth anniversary of the "National Uprising" (Alzamiento Nacional), Francisco Franco gives a speech to his fascist party's National Council in Madrid. It is perhaps his most bellicose speech of World War II, and it surprises a lot of people, including his own Foreign Minister (and brother-in-law), Serrano Suner.

Everybody in the diplomatic corps is present for the afternoon speech, including the United States ambassador, Alexander W. Weddell. Franco makes clear his belief that the Reich is on the march to victory, accuses the British of maintaining an "inhuman blockade of a continent," excoriates the U.S. for not selling food to Spain (a claim of dubious truthfulness), and warns the United States of getting involved in the European conflict:

No one is more authorized than ourselves to say that Europe has no ambition in America. A contest between the two continents is an impossible thing. It would mean only a long war at sea without results; fabulous business for a few and unsuspected miseries for many; prodigious losses of ships and goods; a war of submarines and high-speed vessels striking blows at the hitherto peaceful commerce of the world.

He then goes further and adds that "the American coasts are in danger from the attacks of the European powers." He concludes:

The war was badly planned and the Allies have lost it... What is proposed is a new between the continents which by prolonging their agony will give them an appearance of life and in the face of this we who love America feel the anxiety of the moment and pray that the evil of which we have a foreboding may not reach them.

Exactly what Franco intends to accomplish with this speech is unclear. However, he gives no indication that he is about to declare war on anybody, and thus, in light of the pro-German tone of the speech, it can be viewed as a continuation of his strategy of placating Hitler while keeping his own distance from the war itself.

Jewish women being deported in occupied Russia, 17 July 1941 (Federal Archive, B 145 Bild-F016206-0004).

Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich issues guidelines for prisoner-of-war camps. He orders the SS "Einsatzkommandos of the Security Police and the Security Service" to exterminate entire classes of Soviet people:

This includes all important Party and State functionaries and especially so-called professional revolutionaries, all People's Commissioners of the Red Army, leading personalities of the state, all members of Russian intelligence services, and all Jews and other people who are known to be agitators or fanatical communists.

Heydrich is not acting alone; he has coordinated his guidelines with General Keitel's OKW, which previously issued orders absolving German soldiers from war crimes on the Eastern Front and mandating the execution of commissars. However, this order goes further, as he states that "all Jews" in the POW camps are to be separated out and executed.

The actual impact of this order is debatable because there is ample evidence that large-scale liquidations of these groups already have been in progress throughout Operation Barbarossa. However, if there is one single order that energizes and encapsulates the Reich's killing machine against "politically intolerant elements," this is it. Previous extermination orders have been only verbal or vague about the treatment of Jews, but this order puts in writing with the full backing of the Reich government the practice of not only abusing Jews but exterminating all male Jews of military service age. It is but a short step from this order to the extermination camps.

At Vilnius, the Einsatzkommando 9 (EK 9, a sub-group of Einsatzgruppe B) continues its liquidations of Jews. It has been shooting about 500 Jews a day int he Panefiai Forest. These will continue for the next two days, and the total number of Jewish men shot will total about 5,000. A unit of EK 9 also is in the process of shooting 527 Jewish men in the Belorussian town of Ashmiany.

Wendell Willkie at a "Beat Hitler" rally, 17 July 1941.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio fails to get a hit in a 4-3 win at Cleveland's Memorial Stadium before a crowd of 67,468 people, going 0-3. Cleveland third baseman Ken Keltner makes a great play, backhanding a sharply hit ball and throwing DiMaggio out in the first inning. DiMaggio has no other good hits in the game, and this ends DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak which began on 15 May. DiMaggio does, however, get a walk and continues his on-base streak, which eventually reaches 74 consecutive games and also sets a record (eclipsed by Ted Williams' 84-game on-base streak in 1949).

Among other little-known facts about DiMaggio's streak is that, after this streak-ending game, DiMaggio immediately embarks upon another 17-game hitting streak. During his 56-game streak, DiMaggio batted .408 with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in, with the Yankees going 41-13-2 during the streak. For the season DiMaggio is batting .375 before the streak ends, but he trails Boston Red Sox center fielder Ted Williams, who is lurking near .400. Also during the streak, the Yankees went from 5 1/2 games behind the Cleveland Browns to 1st place by 6 games in the American League.

Oh, and one last fact about the streak: the way that it ended cost DiMaggio $10,000. This is because the Heinz Corporation had promised that amount to DiMaggio if he got to 57 games so that he could endorse their Heinz 57 products. However, if you count the 1941 All-Star game held at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, where DiMaggio went 1-4, he actually did hit in 57 consecutive games.

Virginia Woolf's "Between the Acts" is published posthumously. Woolf drowned herself on 28 March 1941 shortly after finishing the novel.

Joe DiMaggio makes zeroes with his fingers to signify the end of his epic hitting streak, 17 July 1941.

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020

Wednesday 26 February 1941

A No. 3 Squadron Hawker Hurricane. It is in a roofless hanger at Benina. Shown, from left to right, are Sergeant M. Quinton of Windsor, Corporal R. Stephen of Sydney, Corporal H. Thomas of Sydney, and Aircraftman I W.H. Heiler of Sydney. Note the wing of a downed Italian plane in the background (Photo by Frank Hurley, AWM 006487).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Albanian front is quiet on 26 February 1941. Both sides are under pressure to make advances, the Italians to salvage some national pride after a terrible winter of military reverses, the Greeks to expel the Italians to free up forces to defend against an anticipated German invasion.

East African Campaign: The 11th African Division occupies Mogadishu in force today, with the 7th Field Brigade taking up billets in the Motor Transport Park. The troops find a city in crisis, full of shallow graves, unburied corpses, and generally unsanitary conditions. The 12th African Division, meanwhile, continues moving up the Juba River and gradually reduces remaining Italian columns. They Take the road junction at Tassin and take up positions at Modun and Brava. The British advance is hampered more by lack of adequate water and fuel supplies than anything the fleeing Italians are doing.

Focke Wulf Fw 200C Condor of 1.KG40-(F8+GH), Bordeaux, France, 1941.

European Air Operations: The RAF conducts a Circus operation over Calais. There are a dozen Blenheim bombers with a heavy fighter escort. The dogfights swing back and forth on both sides of the Channel. After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks 126 bombers against Cologne.

The Luftwaffe's activity during the day is light, with a few scattered bombs dropped in Kent and East Anglia. At night, the German attacks largely focus on towns in Wales, primarily Cardiff. The damage at Cardiff is fairly heavy, concentrated on the docks, St. Martin's Church, and parts of Violet Street. The railway lines nearby are not damaged. There are several deaths and two firemen fighting fires at the docks are injured.

The RAF is swapping out front-line units to give them a rest and refit. Today, RAF No. 65 flies north and trades its new Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIs for older Mk IAs at Kirton. The planes go to RAF No. 616 Squadron, which takes No. 65's place on the front lines at RAF Tangmere.

Werner Mölders, Kommodore of JG 51, continuing his recent roll of victories after a long vacation, claims No. 60 today during the operations over Calais. Fellow ace (experten) Hans-Karl Keitel (8 victories) perishes in the action.

Swedish freighter Göteborg, lost today with all hands (Photo courtesy of Sjöhistoriska Museet, Stockholm).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans have become active against the convoys again, and their efforts are producing results. Recently, OB-289 was devastated by U-boat attacks. While U-boats gain fame, the Luftwaffe also contributes greatly to the blockade effort at this point in the war, as they prove today.

Convoy OB 290 is heading west and is south of Iceland when the Germans attack. The convoy disperses after the first U-boat attacks, but that does not help its ships.

U-47 (Kptlt. Günther Prien) starts the ball rolling at 01:37. Prien goes to work as only he can:

• 5254-ton Belgian freighter Kasongo (sunk, 6 deaths)
• 3636-ton Norwegian freighter Borgland (sunk, all survive)
• 3197-ton Swedish freighter Rydboholm (sunk, 28 survivors)
• 8106-ton British freighter Diala (1 dead, damaged, makes port).

The Rydboholm becomes a flaming wreck, abandoned by its crew. The derelict eventually is sent to the bottom by the Luftwaffe. In all, Prien's U-47 helps to sink three ships of 12,087 tons.
Prien calls for help (he is a master at stage-managing convoy destructions). Help indeed is available, both from other U-boats (U-73, U-97, Italian submarines Michele Bianchi and Barbarigo) and the Luftwaffe.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of I,/KG 40 first arrive around noontime. There are multiple attacks throughout the afternoon. The attacks are pressed home at wavetop level with great daring. This is a classic action, the type you think about when reflecting on Condor attacks at sea (if you ever do that sort of thing, like me).

The Condors get credit for sinking:

• 7181-ton British freighter Mahanada (three deaths)
• 4659-ton British freighter Swinburne (all survive)
• 4966-ton British freighter Llanwern (25 deaths)
• 4340-ton Greek freighter Kyriakoula (all survive)
• 2580-ton Norwegian freighter Solferino (3 deaths)
• 4368-ton Dutch freighter Beursplein (21 deaths, the ship sinks on the 27th after the crew finally abandons ships).

In addition, 5273-ton British freighter Melmore Head is damaged. The crew abandons ship, and it later is towed into Rothesay Bay and beached. Another victim is 4758-ton British freighter Leeds City, which eventually is towed into the Clyde. A third damaged ship, 7915-ton Dutch freighter Suriname, makes it into St. Michaels apparently under its own power. Swedish 4719 ton freighter Samuel Bakke is bombed and strafed (and also may have shot down a Condor), but is able to continue with the convoy to Halifax.

Also joining the attack on Convoy OB 290 is Italian submarine Michele Bianchi (Capitano di corvetta Adalberto Giovannini). Captain Giovanni makes the Bianchi one of the more aggressive Italian boats. Today, it sinks 6803-ton British freighter Baltistan. There are 51 deaths and 18 survivors from Baltistan. Some accounts place this sinking on the 27th.

U-70 (Kptlt. Joachim Matz) is operating south of Iceland on its first (and, as it turns out, only) patrol. Matz spots 820-ton Swedish freighter Göteborg and sends it to the bottom. All 23 men on board perish. Since there are no survivors, and also no survivors from U-70 when it is sunk later on this patrol, the encounter is likely based on the circumstances, but still, conjecture.

German E-boats have been active recently. Today, they patrol off Cromer in the North Sea and claim another victim. S-28 sinks 1123-ton British freighter Minorca. There are 19 deaths and three survivors. S-28 tries to take the ship in tow, but it sinks.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 5655-ton Norwegian freighter Teneriffa at the mouth of Bristol Channel. All 37 men on board survive.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 8156-ton Dutch freighter Amstelland in the Northwest Approaches. The Amstelland is taken in tow but sinks on the way back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 7744-ton British freighter Empire Steelhead. The ship is taken in tow but is a blazing inferno. While usually a damaged ship would be taken to the dock, the Empire Steelhead is watertight and is put at an anchorage off Invergordon to wait for the fires to abate.

British power barge Brackelier is towing barge Monarch at Hull when together they hit a mine. They both sink just off Alexandria Jetty near the dock. The mines were laid by IX Air Korps. There are three deaths.

German lugger Schaumburg-Lippe hist a mine and sinks in the Ems River.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Georgetown collides with another ship but makes it to the Clyde. It will be under repair in the Tyne for several months.

Three Royal Navy destroyers lay minefield JL in the English Channel. In another minelaying operation by RAF No. 812 Squadron, a Swordfish crashes, killing the crew.

Convoy WN91 departs from Gourock, Scotland,

Royal Navy corvette HMS Convolvulus (K45, Lt. Richard S. Connell), Flower-class, is commissioned.

U-85 and U-408 are launched.

The devastation after bombs hit Partridge Street, Cardiff in 1941 (Wales Online).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British still occupy Kastellorizo, having invaded the island with about 200 commandos on the 25th. However, there have been several problems with Operation Abstention, such as poor communications and failure to land most of the planned troops for one reason or another. The Italians have a major base relatively nearby in Rhodes, and the Regia Aeronautica has been punishing the occupying British forces and the Royal Navy ships standing offshore. The situation remains relatively stable until shortly after sunset when Regia Marina torpedo boats Lince and Lupo land about 240 soldiers north of the port. They bring with them 99 mm artillery, which they use to shell the port and kill three and wound seven commandos. The Italian boats then evacuate some Italian civilians.

The British commandos are forced by the Italian bombardment to abandon the port and retreat to their landing point near Cape Nifti. They inform the destroyers Hereward and Decoy standing offshore about the Italian landings, but they are too far away to intervene until the Italian landings are over and the Italian ships have departed. Other British troops (Sherwood Foresters) are on armed yacht HMS Rosauro and could be landed to help the commandos, but due to the difficult situation onshore, those landings are canceled.

The operation rapidly descends into chaos for the British commandos. They never were intended or supplied to hold a position indefinitely; instead, the plan was for them to seize key facilities, then hand off to well-prepared and supplied static troops. As night falls, they are isolated without shelter or food and subject to bombardment by the Italian guns. They can do nothing but wait for evacuation.

Offshore, there are Italian and Royal Navy ships near the island, but for the most part they are just ships passing in the night. The British naval part of Operation Abstention is Operation Mar2, and there are several destroyers ready for action. HMS Hereward does see the Italian ships but loses contact before it can team up with HMS Decoy to mount an attack. Destroyer HMS Jaguar is fired upon by Italian destroyer Crispi, including two torpedoes which do not hit. The action is confused in the darkness, and the Crispi gets a lucky shot which puts out the Jaguar's searchlight, making her firing ineffective. Later, destroyers Jaguar, Nubian and Hasty sail toward Rhodes to find the Italian ships, but they are long gone.

In North Africa, the Australian 6th Infantry Division is designated for reassignment to Greece. Their replacement is the Australian 9th Infantry Division, a new formation assembled from a hodgepodge of random units. The 9th is training in Palestine and thus is not gaining experience with the extreme climate of Libya. There are skirmishes at Mescelit Pass as the British feel out the Italian defenses. The port of Benghazi basically is closed due to Luftwaffe attacks, forcing supplies to come by truck (over bad roads) from Tobruk and points further east such as Bardia. However, this sort of logistical issue is considered a mere inconvenience, not a potential real vulnerability against the Italians. The British still seem unclear that their true enemy in North Africa no longer is the Italians - it is the Germans.

The battle at Kufra in southwest Libya continues between the Free French under Colonel Leclerc and the besieged Italians in El Tag fortress. The French have been bombarding the fortress for days, and today they score a lucky hit. A shell hits the Italian ammunition dump and blows it up, igniting 250 cases of explosives.

The Luftwaffe makes another major raid on Malta after several weeks of scattered attacks. This time, 60 heavily escorted bombers (including Junkers Ju 87 Stukas) attack the RAF airfield at Luqa (British reports inflate this into a 100-plane raid, which, with escorts, may technically be true). The raid is damaging to both sides, but more so to the British. The RAF loses three Hawker Hurricane fighters and 13 Wellington bombers destroyed or damaged. The Stukas lose seven of their number, demonstrating once again that they are fearsome weapons of destruction both to their enemies and their pilots.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese Foreign Ministry is coordinating spying operations not only in Hawaii (Acting Consul General Okuda), but also in Canada. Today, they send instructions to their consulate in Vancouver:

Please wire reports covering the positions and movements also of the ships of Canada's Pacific Fleet. Please transmit to Ottawa and from that office ----- to the Naval Attaché.

New officers of the elite "Großdeutschland" Infantry Regiment are sworn in, 26 February 1941 (Ang, Federal Archives).

Spanish/German Relations: Generalissimo Francisco Franco continues his correspondence with Adolf Hitler. This is a somewhat tardy response to a lengthy 6 February 1941 letter from Hitler urging Franco to enter the war on his side - the time delay alone is an obvious tip-off to the contents. While it has been clear from the beginning that Franco was leery about declaring war on Great Britain, today he delivers some strong hints about his bottom line for joining the Axis military effort.

Franco begins by expressing the "confirmation of my loyalty." However, thereafter the tone quickly degenerates into reasons why Spain cannot join the war. He notes that "Germany has not fulfilled her offers of effective support [of grain] until very recently." He also sets forth his requirement for entry into the was as diplomatically as possible: "it is also necessary that that Suez Canal be closed." Failure to accomplish, he writes, would result in an "inordinately prolonged war" and make Spain's participation "extremely difficult." He concludes that the discussions that he and Hitler had at Hendaye in October now are "outmoded." While he never comes right out and says it, Franco basically tells Hitler that they have no deal for Spanish entry into the war, and won't until the Germans capture Cairo. This letter concludes their correspondence for the time being.

Franco's letter really just confirms the obvious: that Italy's disastrous downfall in North Africa and Albania had devastating strategic consequences for the Axis emanating far from those battlefields. However... there is someone who might just pull off the capture of Cairo and satisfy Franco's condition, a new face on the scene in North Africa: General Erwin Rommel of the Afrika Korps.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: While Franco is turning down Hitler, the Turkish President, İsmet İnönü, is doing the same to the British. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS Sir John Dill are in Ankara to try to cajole the Turks to join the Allies. However, just as on the other end of the Mediterranean to Hitler, the answer is a very diplomatic "No." The leaders of both Turkey and Spain, incidentally, both will be ruling long after the current leaders of Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United States have departed the scene, so they simply being shrewd.

Australian/Dutch Relations: The Dutch government-in-exile discusses moving from London to Australia with Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. With extensive naval forces remaining in the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch government would have more direct influence over events there than in England.

An Aerojet JATO flight of an ERCO Ercoupe, using a JATO GALCIT booster. This is in March Field, California on 23 August 1941 (Courtesy Rocketdyne).

US Military: An Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) Ercoupe enters service with the US Army Air Corps, with designation YO-55 (415-C, Serial Number 41-18875). It is a short-field takeoff plane that is being used to test Rocket-Assisted (RATO) flights (it already has made the first jet-assisted take-off (JATO) flight in history).

Aircraft markings change, with the national insignia (a star) placed on both sides of the rear fuselage and deleted from the right upper and lower left wing. There are other changes as well, such as removal of rudder stripes and changes to the colors of all markings except the National Star Insignia. This change will be implemented over time, so the old markings will be seen in some units well into 1941.

Australian Military: At Garbutt airfield, the military sets up a high-frequency direction finding (HFDF) station.

Dutch Homefront: The General Strike in Holland by 300,000 people continues, but already it has past its peak. Largely organized by the Communist Party of the Netherlands, it originally was intended for only two days. Nobody really expected the massive outpouring of support for resistance organized by an outlawed - and largely reviled - political organization. There are 78 deaths as the SS shoots the strikers without mercy, and others are sent to camps, where they invariably disappear.

American Homefront: An Eastern Airlines Flight 21, a Douglas DST-318A crashes at Atlanta Municipal Airport in Georgia. There are 8 deaths, including Maryland Congressman William D. Byron. Among the six survivors is World War I aviation hero (and head of the company) Eddie Rickenbacker (who has a very rough time riding airplanes during World War II, as we will see). Rickenback is soaked in fuel and trapped in the wreckage. However, he coordinates efforts of the other survivors from his immobile position. The press announces his passing, and in fact (according to his vivid autobiography) the emergency ambulances at first leave him behind for dead. When Rickenbacker finally arrived at the hospital, the Emergency Room people left him for dead. Eventually, they attend to him, and despite extensive injuries (including loss of his left eyeball), Eddie Rickenbacker eventually achieves a reasonably full recovery (to the extent possible considering his missing parts).

The DC-3 crash near Atlanta on 26 February 1941.

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020

Monday 20 January 1941

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as they return to the White House after FDR was inaugurated for a third term on January 20, 1941. Note how casual security is, with an open car and people milling about (likely Secret Service nearest the car). This is the first Inauguration held on January 20 pursuant to a law passed in 1933, previously they were held in March. (Roosevelt Library).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The lines have stabilized on 20 January 1941 since the Greek capture of the Klisura Pass earlier in the month. The weather inhibits operations by either side in the mountains, but the Italians are planning a riposte to retake the critical pass. The Greeks now have access to the key Italian supply port of Valona, but the Italians are building up their troop strength in the region. There is some movement in the central section of the front, where the Greek II Corps takes possession of the Kala Heights.

The RAF bombers based near Athens attack Valona today. Italian bombers reciprocate with attacks on Athens and Pireaus, losing one bomber but sinking British 2878 ton freighter Vasco at Piraeus. There are one death and eight other casualties.
The question of British involvement in the land defense of Greece remains a matter of great concern, and not just to the parties directly involved. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill tells the War Cabinet that the Yugoslav regent, Prince Paul, has been in communication with the Greek government about this. According to the War Cabinet Minutes of this date, Prince Paul has warned Greece privately:

that if they allowed any British land forces to enter Greece, the Yugoslav Government would allow the Germans to attack Greece through Yugoslavia.

This helps to explain Greek Prime Minister Metaxas' recent refusal to accept token British forces on the Greek mainland. This would give the Germans an open road through Yugoslavia to invade his country. The only hope that Greece has in the event of an invasion is to seal off the relatively short Bulgarian border. The long border with Yugoslavia would be virtually impossible to defend against a massive German invasion without the massive British troop presence that Metaxas has demanded, but not received.

East African Campaign: The RAF - including its Rhodesian and South African units - stage raids to support the ongoing offensive. One of the raids is on a power plant at Massawa, Eritrea, and there are other targets as well, such as Neghelli. Massawa is one of General William Platt's ultimate objectives on the coast.

The advance elements of Indian 4th and 5th Infantry Divisions continue advancing into Eritrea. Gideon Force, under the command of Orde Wingate, continues to escort deposed Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie into the country - when exactly he crosses the border appears to be uncertain, some sources say today, others around the time when the British began their offensive. There also is progress on the Kenyan front by the British, where they capture prisoners and supplies.

Baltimore News-Post, 20 January 1941 - "Roosevelt Takes Oath of Office."

European Air Operations: Operations by both sides are light in northwestern Europe. The Luftwaffe drops a few bombs along the southern shore during the day, but nothing happens after dark.

Battle of the Atlantic: While German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer has been on the loose in the South Atlantic since October 1940, it has not accomplished much. Today, it captures 5597-ton Dutch freighter Barneveld in the Atlantic 1200 miles off Freetown. There are no casualties. The Barneveld is carrying 5 American light bombers, 86 military vehicles and 1000 tons of ammunition. Admiral Scheer transfers the 100-man crew (which includes 51-52 Royal Navy personnel heading for assignments in the Middle East) to captured Norwegian tanker Sandefjord, then sinks the freighter with demolition charges.

Also today (some sources say the 21st),  Admiral Scheer shells and sinks 5103-ton British transport Stanpark in the same vicinity off Freetown. Everybody aboard becomes a prisoner of war.

U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch), on her second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3174-ton British freighter Florian about 140 southwest of the Faeroe Islands. The ship goes down by the stern in only 42 seconds at about 00:42. There are no survivors, all 44 onboard perish because it is extremely difficult to get out when a ship goes down that fast, especially at night when most are below in their bunks. Florian is an independent, and Kuppisch has chased it for 8 hours before getting into firing position.

Italian submarine Marcello, damaged in an earlier incident and on its way back to France, uses its deck gun to sink 1550-ton Belgian freighter Portugal far south of Iceland in the Southwest Approaches.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of KG 400 bombs 6516-ton Dutch freighter Heemskerk in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. The ship remains afloat through the night, but sinks on the 21st. There are eight deaths, the rest of the crew is picked up.

The Luftwaffe also bombs 5201-ton British freighter Tregarthen in the shipping lanes north of Londonderry, Ireland. The ship manages to make port at Oban.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMT Relonzo hits a mine and sinks near Liverpool (Crosby Channel). There are 19 deaths, including the skipper, A.E. Slater RNR.

British 470 ton freighter Cornish Rose is caught in a severe gale off Swansea and loses its anchorage. Dragged toward shore, the crew abandons ship and is picked up by the Mumbles Lifeboat. It is a hazardous rescue, so two of the crew of the rescuer are awarded the Bronze Medal of the RNLI.

Convoy OB 276 departs from Liverpool, Convoy AS 12 departs from Alexandria, Convoy SL 63 departs from Freetown.

The Kriegsmarine orders 75 new U-boats, with numbers ranging from U-235 through U-852 (with gaps in the numbering).

Royal Navy anti-Submarine trawler HMS Sword Dance (Lt. Robert Dwyer) is commissioned.

Roosevelt Inauguration Day pin, 20 January 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Luftwaffe makes scattered raids on Malta again, destroying four houses and severely wounding a civilian. Mass evacuations proceed in the Three Cities area - it is described as an "endless stream of refugees" which number roughly 9000 people. They are sent on buses to shelter in schools, churches, and basically any structure with a roof.

General O'Connor's Australian and British troops make their final preparations for the assault on Tobruk. The tactics will echo those of the assault on Bardia earlier in the month, with initial penetrations followed by engineer work that will provide a lane through which I tanks can penetrate and subdue the garrison. The RAF stages heavy air raids against Tobruk to soften it up for the attack, scoring hits on military barracks and other important areas of the camp. Monitor HMS Terror, gunboats HMS Gnat and Ladybird, and several destroyers bombard the Italian base during the night.

The Royal Navy creates a major operation to remove stricken aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious from Malta, where it is facing unceasing Luftwaffe attacks. Three separate forces are created, Forces A, B, and C. Force C is the most powerful and includes battleships HMS Barham and Warspite. The overall effort is Operation Inspection.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Gallant, badly damaged by a mine recently (its bow was blown off) and under repair at Malta, is hit again by the Fliegerkorps X. The ship remains under repair, but the damage is extensive and the Admiralty no longer counts on its return. Gallant's guns are removed and placed on store ship Breconshire.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini conclude their two-day conference at Berchtesgaden. Mussolini apparently agrees to the stationing of limited numbers of German troops in Italy, which is a formality because Mussolini has been urgently requesting German assistance since November or December.

Hitler also asks Mussolini to lean on Spanish leader Francisco Franco to enter the war and cooperate in the subjugation of Gibraltar, Operation Felix. While the closing of the Mediterranean at the Atlantic end is important, Hitler's real goal extends far beyond just capturing the British naval base and fortress. He wants to obtain U-boat bases on the Spanish Atlantic coast, which would be closer to the shipping lanes than those in France and also less vulnerable to RAF bombing attacks. Hitler indicates that the Wehrmacht would only need 20 days to prepare to take Gibraltar. This, however, is not something that the Wehrmacht feels is possible, at least during the winter months.

German/Arab Relations: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem sends Hitler a letter requesting German assistance in driving the British out so they can retake the entire area of Palestine.

The New York Times, 20 January 1941. The letter to Churchill takes precedence over the mundane issue of a third Roosevelt inauguration.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt drafts a letter by hand to be given to Winston Churchill by hand by Wendell Wilkie. It quotes from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem "The Building of the Ship":

Sail on, Oh Ship of State!
Sail on, Oh Union strong and great.
Humanity with all its fears
With all the hope of future years
Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

Churchill, upon the letter's receipt, proclaims it "an inspiration." The letter is not famous in and of itself, but for the response that it provokes in Churchill in February which many believe has far-reaching implications.

Japanese Military: The Japanese ramp up their intelligence operations against the United States, increasing its budget to $500,000.

Henry A. Wallace, sworn in today as the 33rd US Vice President. Wallace came within less than three months of becoming President during wartime. He missed immortality by that much.

Romania: A Greek citizen in Bucharest kills a German officer. Why, along with the circumstances, is unclear. What is clear is that this sets off a major rebellion by the Iron Guard, who have been on edge recently following several days of "classes" about the Legionnaire Movement. Armed Legionnaires capture several key spots in Bucharest, including the Ministry of the Interior and various police stations. The Iron Guard also controls the media. When Antonescu tries to give a speech, the Legionnaires refuse to broadcast it.

The rebellion is fierce but short-lived. Iron Guard leader Horia Sima instructs his people in the Security Police and Bucharest Police to follow him instead of Antonescu, but he himself disappears. The Legionnaires induce/coerce peasants to go to Bucharest and mill about, but they are not trained soldiers and largely are unarmed. Antonescu is holed up in his palace, with only 15 loyal army officers. He does, however, maintain control over army units outside the vicinity and calls them to his rescue.

One of the telling features of this rebellion is that, while the media is under Iron Guard control, it engages in wildly anti-Semitic slurs and accusations. It broadly hints that Antonescu is just a puppet of Jewish interests (and Freemasons), and casts the blame on a supposed Jewish revolt (when the reverse is the case). Articles published during this period ended with the chilling line:

You know whom to shoot.

At day's end, the revolt remains in full swing.

Bulgaria: The Council of Ministers spends eight hours debating the current situation in the Balkans and trying to decide what to do about Hitler's pressure on them to join the Tripartite Agreement. The Soviet Union also has been interested in having them join the same agreement, though exactly who is joining what this point is in a state of absolute uncertainty. The ministers reluctantly conclude that Germany is just too strong to resist, and they basically reach a consensus to join the Tripartite Pact and become Germany's ally/satellite. However, they have no desire to commit troops in conjunction with any military adventures by the Wehrmacht.

Indochina: The Japanese offer to mediate in the ongoing frontier war between Thailand and the Vichy French government of Indochina.

China: While the Chinese Nationalists and Communists have been fighting each other recently, the Japanese have been fairly quiet. That changes today, with attacks by the Japanese 11th Army against the Chinese 5th War Area along the Huai River near Hsinyang. This is the start of the Battle of Southern Honan.

Holocaust: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler visits Dachau concentration camp. Accompanying him is Anton Adriaan Mussert, one of the founders of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) and its formal leader. Himmler likes what he sees and is planning to expand the camp system due to the anticipated inflow of new inmates from the territories to be invaded pursuant to Operation Barbarossa.

Life Magazine, "U.S. Ski Trooper," 20 January 1941. Pictured is Sergeant Reese McKindley of the 15th Infantry; he is standing on Mount Rainier. This is the first of a series of covers showing US ski soldiers over the next few years. At this time, there are no US mountain troops - in fact, no permanent US ski troops - only experimental units at Mount Rainier. The founder of the National Ski Patrol, Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole, is advocating ski troops because of their proven utility in Europe. The National Park Service also is promoting the idea to provide a continuing justification for its funding and development of its mountain assets. Thus, this cover is the beginning of US ski troops. The initial US mountain division is formed in late 1941.

British Homefront: Following a radio broadcast yesterday by Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, New Defence Regulations of the Ministry of Home Security come into effect approximately this date which mandate registration of all men and women between the ages of 16 and 60. Men are made responsible for fire-watching their own buildings Such service is not compulsory for women, "but let them volunteer and we shall applaud and welcome them."

This new fire-watching requirement is due to the successful Luftwaffe raid on London in late December which caused a firestorm due to incendiaries landing on roofs and being permitted by inaction to start fires. Morrison asked for volunteers, but an insufficient number stepped forward. Thus, a requirement was imposed on everyone. Everyone is required to perform 48 hours of fire-watching during blackout hours per month. Local Home Guard authorities are required to ascertain that all buildings, including abandoned or vacant ones, are watched.

Everyone depends upon each other because for mutual protection, because when buildings near each other burn, the fires can merge to create firestorms that rage out of control and devastate entire neighborhoods. This happened following the Luftwaffe raid of 29 December 1940. Incendiaries are seen as relatively easy to extinguish when they first drop, but once the fire catches hold, it often cannot be contained. Unofficial fire-watchers saved St. Paul's during the late-December Blitz attack, and the government views that example as a sign that entire cities can be protected through similar, mandatory measures.

Separately, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, makes a radio broadcast appeal for volunteers to the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS, the volunteers invariably being referred to as Wrens). Princess Marina is the honorary Commandant of the WRNS. Heretofore, Wrens have served as secretaries, drivers, clerks, ciphers, drivers and telephone operators. As a result of this broadcast, the Wrens are given additional jobs, including radio and air mechanics, maintenance, torpedo and boats' crews, radar detection finders, cinema operators, gunnery dome operators, submarine attack teacher operators, meteorologists, bomb range markers, vision testers, cine gun assessors, and anti-aircraft target operators.

American Homefront: President Roosevelt is sworn in for an unprecedented third term. Roosevelt is the only US President who has had or can have a third term due to a subsequent constitutional amendment barring more than two terms. During his inaugural address, Roosevelt states:

Democracy alone, of all forms of government, enlists the full force of men's enlightened will.... It is the most humane, the most advanced, and, in the end, the most unconquerable of all forms of human society. The democratic aspiration is no  mere recent phase of human history.... We... would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

Separately, syndicated columnist Walter Winchell posts a column in which he writes:

The Story Tellers: The DAC News reports that a Harlemite watching Father Devine whisk by in a long limousine, niftied: “There, but for the grace of God—goes God.

As indicated, this quote was made by a "Harlemite" (presumably but not certainly African American) toward a certain obscure neighborhood religious figure, Father Divine (the column misspells his name, showing how obscure he is). The quote apparently (this is uncertain, it may be the other way around) is appropriated by others to refer to Orson Welles, who is at this time engaged in a vicious fight to get his film "Citizen Kane" finished and released. Many in Hollywood deeply resent Welles for any number of reasons, but primarily because he has been able to gain a contract from RKO which gives him exclusive control over the two films therein. This is an unprecedented degree of power by the "Boy Genius." In general, the quote "There but for the grace of God, goes God" is believed to have originated as a jibe at Welles, but this column is its first known appearance in any media and may be the true source of the phrase.

Crowds viewing the unprecedented third inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., 20 January 1941.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020