Friday 27 June 1941

Finnish soldiers replace the barrel of a Pz. II. Suomussalmi, Kuivajärvi, Finland - 27 June 1941 (Source: SA-kuva).

Eastern Front: Purportedly in response to the controversial (because the actual source of it is unclear) air attack on Kassa on the 26th - but almost certainly stemming from deeper impulses - Hungary declares war upon the Soviet Union. While not exactly a major military power, Hungary does have a capable army and a geopolitically important location in the heart of Europe. Hungary's main beef, however, is not with the Soviets, but with its neighbor to the south - Romania. For the time being, those differences will be set aside in the hope that everyone will acquire vast new holdings in the East.

The Finnish sector remains quiet. The Finns are preparing plans for an invasion of the Karelian Isthmus but are not yet ready to attack, while the Soviets are hard-pressed against the Germans and are pulling troops away from the northern sector.

In the Army Group North sector, Adolf Hitler has directed the leading panzer elements of Field Marshal von Leeb's forces to consolidate their positions while the infantry catches up. This includes reinforcing the small bridgehead across the Dvina River secured by German commandos at Daugavpils. German 18th Army advancing along the coast takes the port of Liepaja.

Germans using a captured French Cavalry Tank, a Somua S35 Nr282 from Panzerzug Nr 28, and a T-26B from the German 45 Infantry Division during the battle at the Brest fortress. 25-27 June 1941. The tanks are being prepared to attack the fortress.

In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group completes an encirclement by hooking up with General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group. The German advance forms two pockets: one around Bialystok, and the other west of Minsk. Inside the pockets are large elements of the Soviet 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, and 13th Armies. German 9th and 4th Armies will invest the pocket while the panzers are released to advance further east. Eventually, the Germans claim to have captured 324,000 Soviet troops, 3,300 tanks, and 1800 artillery pieces.

In the Army Group South sector, the German 17th Army continues advancing toward Lviv. Advance elements of the German 11th Panzer Division reach Ostrog, which is 30 km behind Soviet lines. However, the main story is the frantic Soviet effort to stop or blunt the German advance.

A Soviet counterattack against the advancing 1st Panzer Group from both north and south continues at the Battle of Brody. The Soviet 9th, 19th, and 8th Mechanized Corps are involved, but the Soviet attacks are uncoordinated and self-supporting. Some of the Soviet attacks miss the fast-moving panzers and instead hit the following German 6th Army's 297th Infantry Division.

German column passes a Soviet heavy tank KV-2 which has been destroyed by its own crew, 27 June 1941. This is at the commencement of the 41st Panzer Division move from Kovel (Federal Archive).

The major attack of the day occurs by the tanks of Soviet Lieutenant-General Nikolai Popel, commander of the 8th Tank Corps. A People's Commissar and thus subject to execution if caught by the Germans, Popel has about 300 tanks, including 100 T-34 and KV tanks which are the only types the Soviets have which are giving the Germans trouble. Popel hits the rear of the 11th Panzer Division, cutting its line of communications and taking the crossroads town of Dubno. General Franz Halder writes in his diary:

In the Army Group South sector, heavy fighting continues on the right flank of Panzer Group 1. The Russian 8th Tank Corps has effected a deep penetration of our front and is now in the rear of the 11th Panzer Division. This penetration has seriously disrupted our rear areas between Brody and Dubno. The enemy is threatening Dubno from the southwest ... the enemy also has several separate tank groups acting in the rear of Panzer Group 1, which are managing to cover considerable distances.

Popel decides to dig in at Dubno and await reinforcements. Other Soviet forces hear of Popel's success and plan their own attacks on the 28th.

However, the Soviet leadership is doubtful that Popel's attack will lead to good things. General Kirponos orders a halt to the counteroffensive, fearing that advancing into the Wehrmacht's flanks will simply make it easier for the panzers to encircle them. In fact, Kirponos is so fearful that, rather than try to exploit Popel's success, he orders a general retreat.

German troops of the 45th Infantry Division using a captured Soviet T-26B during the battle around the Brest Fortress, 25 or 27 June 1941. Using "found" weapons is a common practice - in fact, behind the T-26 you can see a Somua S-35 French Cavalry Tank from Panzerzug Nr. 28.

When Chief of Staff Georgy Zhukov hears of this, he immediately countermands Kirponos' orders. Even though Kirponos' orders to retreat stand for only two hours, they cause confusion throughout the widely scattered Soviet forces. Some Soviet commanders, such as the commander of the 9th Mechanized Corps General Rokossovsky, agree with Kirponos and decide to simply ignore Zhukov's new orders to attack - a very brave decision in the Soviet Union. All of this leads to recriminations that are typical of this period within the Soviet military.

The Luftwaffe continues to have dominance over Soviet skies. However, it is taking losses. One of those today is 34-victory ace Heinz "Pietzsch" Bretnütz, shot down over Lithuania in the opening operations of Operation Barbarossa. Lithuanian farmers hide him from Soviet soldiers for several days, but just after the Wehrmacht arrives, he dies today from a leg injury. Bretnütz was the leader of II./JG 53. While the Luftwaffe has a broad spectrum of pilots who are among the best in the world, it does not have a tremendous amount of depth - so losses of top pilots like Bretnütz matter.

Heinz "Pietzsch" Bretnütz (24 January 1914 – 27 June 1941).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: While major operations are in a lull after the capture of Damascus, the Australians continue consolidating their position. The 2/3 Battalion makes a major effort to capture Jebel Mazar in the Merdjayoun sector. While this mainly consists of simply organizing a party to climb the massif, the Vichy French cannot fail to see this. They immediately send units of the I/17th Senegalese, V/1st Moroccan, and other foreign troops in an unsuccessful counterattack.

Elsewhere, the Vichy French continue to resist fiercely. At Palmyra, site of a major French airbase, the French continue to hold out against the British Habforce lingering in the area.

Royal Navy light cruisers HMS Hotspur, Jervis, Kingston, and Naiad bombard Damour, Lebanon (south of Beirut) at dawn to aid the arduous Australian advance up the coast.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Bremen (108 bombers) and Vegesack (28) during the night.

During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends 23 planes on a Circus mission over Lille. The RAF also conducts two sweeps over the French coast.

German  45th Infantry Division using a captured T-26B during the fight at the Brest-Litowsk fortress, 25 or 27 June 1941. Near the T-26 is a Somua S-35 from Panzerzug Nr. 28.

East African Campaign: The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade captures Dembi in Galla-Sidamo, Abyssinia. The RAF attacks Italian fortifications at Debra Tabor.

Battle of the Baltic: German motor torpedo boats S.59 and S.60 torpedo and sink Soviet submarine S.10 in the Irben Strait.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet G-5 motor torpedo boats N. 27 and No. 47 off Estonia.

German motor torpedo boats S-43 and S-107 hits a mine and blows up north of Hiiumaa.

Soviet submarine L-3 lays mines off of Memel. Finnish ships also lay mines.

The Soviets scuttle freighter Mariampol at Riga as they prepare to retreat.

The Wehrmacht captures many ships of the Latvian State Shipping Co. at the Port of Liepaja, including:

• MV AUSEKLIS (SU 1700 grt)
• MV VELTA (SU 3100 grt)
• MV VENTA (SU 2830 grt) 
• MV KAIA (SU 244 grt) 
• MV OGRE (SU 416 grt) 
• MV RAUNA (SU 3100 grt) 
• MV SPIDOLA (SU 4650 grt) 

Undoubtedly there also are many smaller ships captured in this and other ports.

Soldiers on both sides are dying in massive numbers on the Eastern Front. Gunner Heinz Sagawe, killed June 27, 1941

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a haphazard day at sea, with heavy losses by both sides. In particular, it is a bad day for Axis submarines, with two sunk and others suffering furious depth-charge attacks.

U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), on its second patrol out of Lorient and operating midway between southern Greenland and Iceland, attacks Convoy HX-133 but attracts the attention of convoy escorts. U-556 is sunk by depth charges from the British Flower-class corvettes HMS Nasturtium, Celandine, and Gladiolus. Five of the crew are killed and 41 (including Wohlfarth) survive. U-556 has sunk six ships totaling 29,552 tons and damaged another of 4,986 tons.

U-564 (KrvKpt. Reinhard Suhren), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating in the mid-Atlantic, also attacks Convoy HX-133. He is a little luckier. The U-boat sinks two ships and damages a third:

8812-ton Dutch tanker Maasdam8651-ton British tanker Malaya II
9467-ton Norwegian tanker MV Kongsgaard

Some sources state that the Kongsgaard was damaged on the 24th, but most agree it was during this attack. In any event, it initially is abandoned by its crew, but they later reboard and Kongsgaard ultimately makes it to Belfast Lough. Incidentally, given that both U-556 and U-564 attack the convoy and only U-564 makes it back, there is always the possibility, however remote, that one of these hits was made by U-556 and not U-564.

Colonel-General Adolf Strauss (with Knight's Cross, right) discussing the situation with a captain over the map, 27 June 1941 (Lessmann, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1985-037-34A).

U-79 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Kaufmann), on its first patrol out of Kiel and also operating in the mid-Atlantic southwest of Iceland, also attacks Convoy HX-133. It torpedoes and damages 10,356-ton Dutch tanker Tibia. The Tibia makes it to the Tyne for repairs.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Wishart spots Italian submarine Glauco west of Gibraltar and moves in to attack. After the submarine is damaged, the Glauco's crew scuttles it and goes into captivity. All 51 aboard the submarine survive.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), just ending its third patrol out of Lorient and operating off the west African coast, sights Convoy SL-78. It torpedoes and sinks two ships about 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) southeast of the Azores:

7603-ton British transport Empire Ability (two deaths, 107 survive)
5423-ton British freighter River Lugar (38 dead, 6 survivors rescued by convoy escorts Burdock and Armeria).

U-69 still has not returned to port since the sinking of US freighter Robin Moor, which caused an international incident. However, having just used its last two torpedoes and low on fuel, U-69 now breaks off the attack and heads back to port at St. Nazaire. However, it notifies U-boat headquarters in Paris of the convoy's location, and Admiral Doenitz vectors in U-66 and U-123 for further attacks.

U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, then also attacks Convoy SL-78. It sinks two ships:

5646-ton British ship P.L.M. 22 (32 dead, 12 survive)
1996-ton Dutch freighter Oberon (6 dead)

U-123 then takes the full fury of the Royal Navy escorts' fury at having lost so many ships in one day. In an epic 11-hour depth-charge attack, Moehle has to dive to an unheard-of 654 feet (199 m) to escape destruction.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Clyde departs from Gibraltar on Operation Vigorous. This is a patrol near the Canary Islands looking for a German supply ship that has been reported in the area.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 324-ton Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMT Force off Great Yarmouth.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 6790-ton Dutch freighter Montferland off Great Yarmouth. Everyone survives.

German 8068-ton blockade runner Regensburg (Kpt. Harder) arrives in Bordeaux, France. It successfully has made passage halfway around the world from Dairen (aka Dalian, Port Arthur), China. These blockade runners are vital to the German economy because they bring materials such as rubber that are becoming scarce.

Royal Navy submarine Submarine L-26 grounds on the west coast of Mull, Scotland. She is refloated on the 28th, taken to Ardrossan and then Plymouth for repairs, and is out of service until February 1942.

Danish freighter Knud Villemoes hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) northeast of Steingrun Prik, Heligoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Convoy WS-9B (Winston Special) departs from Avonmouth (the convoy doesn't formally start until the 30th) ultimately bound for Suez, Convoy OB-340 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL-79 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

"A 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun in the Western Desert, 27 June 1941." © IWM (E 3870).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph intercepts and sinks 650-ton Italian submarine Salpa off Marsa Matruh.

Italian submarine Jantina attacks Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta off Marsa Matruh. The torpedo misses, and Parramatta launches an unsuccessful depth charge attack against the submarine along with destroyer HMS Stuart. However, the Jantina escapes.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, pursuant to Operation Railway, delivers 21 Hawker Hurricane fighters to Malta (one other is lost). Furious then sails back to Gibraltar.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Osiris makes an unsuccessful attack on a freighter in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

An Axis convoy of four ships with escorts departs from Taranto bound for Tripoli. It has a heavy escort (some at a distance) including two cruisers and seven destroyers.

Over Malta, the RAF continues to have success against the Regia Aeronautica. A formation of Hawker Hurricanes intercepts a large formation of Italian Macchi fighters - considered to be among Italy's best. The British shoot down six of the Italian planes and damage several others. This is Italy's version of RAF Circus operations over France, as the large formation of Macchi's only escort one SM-79 bomber that is there only to entice the Hurricanes into battle.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarine SC-206 spots a ship and attacks it. Unfortunately for the crew of the SC-206, it is a fellow Soviet ship, Flotilla Leader Kharkov, which is returning from operations off Romania. The Soviet ships escorting the Kharkiv quickly attack and sink SC-206.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet makes a rendezvous with captured whaler Adjutant, which has just completed laying mines off of New Zealand. With its usefulness at an end, Adjutant is scuttled and Komet sails off on its next mission.

British war casualties notice published on 27 June 1941 in the Times and the Clitheroe Advertiser.

War Crimes: This is always a controversial section, and not everyone will agree that something is a war crime - that's what trials are for, and most suspected war crimes during World War II were not adjudicated at any time. Many such incidents during the war occur simply due to ignorance or misunderstandings by the parties involved and not due to malevolence. This appears to be one of them. However, I place suspect incidents here for you to judge for yourself.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 288-ton Latvian ferry Vieniba, apparently being used as a hospital ship, near Libava (Libau). The ship sinks close enough to land for eight crewmen to swim to shore, and five other people are rescued later. However, an unknown number of people estimated at around 800 perish in the sinking, including many Latvians. The ship reputedly is carrying a large number of wounded soldiers.

There is a major caveat to the "loss" figures, as some claim that many Estonian crewmen survive the sinking. However, according to these rumors, they decide not to reveal their survival because they do not wish to get killed in the war. So, the figure of 800 dead may be somewhat lower - but not necessarily.

The reason this is a controversial sinking is (with the proviso that these are unreliable sources) the Wehrmacht knows that the Vieniba is a hospital ship and agree not to attack it. However, this information does not get to the Luftwaffe, which sinks it anyway.

Partisans: The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia appoints Joseph Broz "Tito" as Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslavian Peoples Army. This is one of two competing partisan forces that are in the embryonic phase in Yugoslavia - and they have a very difficult relationship.

Battleship Iowa under construction New York Navy Yard, New York, United States 27 June 1941.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese decide that getting charts of the Panama Canal zone out of the Zone is too dangerous because all departing passengers and luggage are being searched. However, they still want the charts, which they plan to use in a future attack on the Panama Canal. The Japanese continue exerting diplomatic efforts through various sources (such as the Japanese minister in Mexico) to prevent airline authorities (specifically Pan American Airways) from searching diplomatic luggage.

Propaganda: In public, the Soviet government pretends that all is well. Today, it announces:

Our troops are fighting fiercely against large Fascist armoured units in the Minsk area. The battle is still going on. Violent armored conflicts have been waged all day near Lutsk [in western Ukraine; in Polish, it means "Luck"]. Our operations have proceeded favorably.

In fact, operations are not proceeding favorably at all. These "happy statements" mirror those of previously besieged regimes, particularly the Poles (and Baghdad Bob decades later, but that's another story).

This isn't fooling anyone. According to British correspondent Alexander Werth in "Russia at War 1941 to 1945" (London 1964), savvy Soviet citizens know how to read between the lines and "decode" official statements. When a communique says that there is successful fighting "in the direction or" or "in the area" of such-and-such place, it simply means the fighting has reached that city and it is about to fall. Thus, the official statements are a handy way of keeping track of how far the German invasion has penetrated. They also provide clues as to how much time is left before the readers themselves will have to seek refuge or welcome the invaders.

"A Bren gunner of the Norwegian Brigade takes aim during training at Dumfries, Scotland, 27 June 1941." © IWM (H 11120).

Anglo/Soviet Relations: A British military mission led by Ambassador Sir Stafford Cripps arrives in Moscow. Privately, the members fear they will have to be evacuated soon - when the Germans arrive.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Danish/Soviet Relations: Denmark - nominally independent though under German "protection" - breaks diplomatic relations with the USSR.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: The Japanese conclude negotiations with the government in the Dutch East Indies. They have not gotten what they wanted, which is complete control of all exports.

Soviet Military: The government mobilizes members of the Komsomol - the Soviet equivalent of the Hitler Youth - as "political soldiers."

Douglas XB-19.

US Military: The Douglas XB-19 experimental long-range bomber (XBLR-2) makes its first flight over Santa Monica, California. It is the largest bomber in the world. The four-engined bomber has a length of 132.25 feet (40,34 meters), a wingspan of 212 feet (64.62 meters), an empty weight of 86,000 pounds (39,009 kilograms), a normal range of 5,200 miles (8,369 km) and a maximum range of 7,710 miles (12 408 kilometers). It is contemplated that the X-19 will have a normal complement of 16 crew.

This first flight goes well, though the four 2,000 hp Wright R-3350 air-cooled radials engines show a tendency to overheat. The real problem is that this flight is over three years since the construction contract was awarded. During that time, the B-17 has gone from the drawing board to airfields in England. Already, the expensive XB-19 bomber is considered past its prime and virtually obsolete, but the US Army Air Force considers it a useful test-bed for future bombers. Douglas is not particularly happy about the contract - it has sunk $4 million of its own money into the bomber's development above and beyond the $1.4 million that it has received from the USAAF.

Kaunas, Lithuania, Jewish men dragging a German tank under the supervision of German soldiers and local militiamen, 27 June 1941 (Source: Yad Vashem Photo Archive).

German Government: Adolf Hitler remains planted at his new headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia. This enables him to pose as "leading from the front" in headlines around the world, though he could have as much control over operations by sitting at his desk in the Chancellery in Berlin.

While this situation meets Hitler's needs, his staff privately is grumbling about the environment. General Alfred Jodl's staff diarist writes in a private letter:

We are being plagued by the most awful mosquitoes.  It would be hard to pick on a more senseless site than this—deciduous forest with marshy pools, sandy ground, and stagnant lakes, ideal for these loathsome creatures.

Having little to do seems to focus Hitler on the minutiae of operations, something that previously he largely left to the generals. He begins coming to the conclusion - as he had at Dunkirk in May 1940 - that the panzers are rushing ahead too fast and need to be restrained, especially in the Army Group North sector.

The massacre of 68 Jews in the Lietukis garage of Kaunas (Lithuania) on either 25 or 27 of June 1941.

Holycaust: The Einsatzgruppen (special execution squads) are enthusiastically following closely behind the front lines and quickly going to work. Mass liquidations of Jews in Bialystok begin. There also is a notorious massacre at a Kaunas (Kovno) garage which some place on this date, and others on the 25th (and may, in fact, take place on both dates).

Without taking anything away from the culpability of the Einsatzgruppen, many of these pogroms are public and entirely in the open, with locals eagerly participating. In fact, often local citizens take up crowbars or other blunt instruments and beat their victims in front of laughing crowds.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run and another hit in three at-bats against the Philadelphia Athletics. This extends his hitting streak to 39 games.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases "They Met in Bombay," starring Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell. Gable and Russell play jewel thieves whose plans fall apart when Gable's character inadvertently becomes a war hero.

Future History: Krzysztof Kieślowski is born in Warsaw, Poland. He grows up to become a top European director perhaps best known for "Dekalog" (1989), "The Double Life of Veronique" (1991), and the "Three Colors trilogy" (1993–1994).

Demonstration on the occasion of a visit by Government Commissioner Seyss-Inquart and Anton Mussert, leader of the N.S.B. Asked if the invasion of the Soviet Union five days earlier was to have led to German rule over the European continent: "Yes, even over the whole world," according to Seyss-Inquart.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Wednesday 25 June 1941

German pilots in Malmi, Helsinki on 25 June 1941.

Eastern Front: The biggest news of 25 June 1941 includes Finland declaring war on the USSR and the Germans taking Dubno and Lutsk in Army Group South's sector and Baranovichi in the Army Group North sector.

Early in the morning, the Red Air Force bombs Helsinki, five other Finnish towns, and 19 airfields in Finland. The force includes 263 bombers and 224 fighter aircraft, bombing 15 cities, towns, and villages. Major targets include Helsinki, Kotka, Turku, Loviisa, Forsby, and Porvoo.

It is a massive Soviet effort that includes 460 planes. The Soviets lose 23-27 planes. In addition, the Soviets shell the Finnish positions on the island of Morgonland and other Baltic islands, some of which the Finns already have evacuated. The Soviets claim the airstrikes in Finland are aimed at German targets, as German forces are known to be operating from Finland.

There is another artillery duel between Finnish and Soviet forces at Hanko. These Soviet attacks are not accidents. Moscow radio broadcasts a threatening statement:

The Finnish militarists have flagrantly violated the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty. The rulers of Finland have begun military operations against our country . . . The Soviet Union has fulfilled the peace treaty conscientiously. But the rulers of Finland, under orders from Hitler, have plunged the long-suffering Finnish people into a war against the Soviet Union. Scoring the most elementary of international laws and the vital interests of their own people, the Finnish warmongers have again launched a campaign against the Soviet Union. . . . The ignoble rulers of Finland have not learned any lesson from the campaign of the winter of 1939 and 1940. They are asking for another, a final, lesson, and that lesson the Finnish perpetrators of fascism will get.

The Soviet statement is partly correct and partly false. While Finland has laid mines in the Baltic and allowed German troops to operate from its soil against the Soviet Union, Finland has not fired a shot against the Soviet Union since the Winter War. It has complied with the treaty that ended that war aside from the actions of its partner, Germany. So, both sides have an argument about who is in the wrong.

Most observers likely would agree, though, that allowing an enemy to freely use your territory to attack them (as Finland has done) is an act of war. So, the Soviets would have had the better case to declare war on Finland than vice versa - if they had done so, that is, and not simply attacked. Very few hands are completely clean on the Eastern Front.

Finnish Prime Minister Rangell had planned a speech to Parliament today regarding remaining neutral and taking only defensive measures. However, in light of the Red Air Force attacks, he quickly changes his speech to include a more bellicose tone:

Finland immediately declares war on the Soviet Union. This is done by the roundabout means of a simple unanimous vote of confidence in the present Finnish government. In fact, everyone "knows" that the Finns are German allies and preparing an attack of their own anyway. The Soviet air attacks, however, give the Finns a pretext for declaring war at once.

Finland has multiple military objectives, but the government fundamentally only has one goal: to recover territory lost during the Winter War. Finnish troops head toward Leningrad, the Svir River, and the Murmansk railway. This is known as the "Continuation War." While Finland is a "co-belligerent" of Germany, it is waging a completely separate campaign. While it coordinates operations with OKW, it does not take orders from Berlin and often disregards the German military's wishes.

The Finns do not attack at once upon the government's declaration of war, preferring to bide their time and pick a time and place that works with ally Germany. Instead, Finland's military continues mobilizing its forces and planning its axes of advance. The Soviets are too hard-pressed further south and actually withdraw forces from the border region with Finland around this time.

Operation Barbarossa continues moving eastward toward Leningrad, Moscow, and Kyiv. All of these operations are lumped together by the Russians as the "border defensive battles," which isn't particularly descriptive (understandable, since they don't go well for the Soviets). So, just for clarity and consistency, I use the names western sources have applied to events on the eastern front.

In the far North of Finland, the Soviets reinforce their defenses around Murmansk. With both England and the USA promising aid, the northern seaports have become vital elements of Soviet strategy and must be defended. The Germans are more interested in securing the nickel mines and plants along the border than attacking Murmansk at this time.

Panzer 38(t) tanks of Panzer Regiment 25, 7th Panzer Division, Vilnius, Eastern Front, June 1941.

Army Group North under Field Marshal Ritter von Leeb is led forward by General Eric Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group. Following behind it are 16th and 18th Armies. In total, Army Group North controls 20 infantry, three panzer, and three motorized infantry divisions. Overhead, support is provided by Luftflotte 1 (the First Air Fleet). Kaunas and Vilnius have fallen, and the Soviets are retreating everywhere.

At the Battle of Raseiniai, which began on 23 June, the Germans of the 6th Panzer Division first encountered Soviet KV heavy tanks. One slipped through the German lines and proved impervious to the German anti-tank weapons. It has remained in place behind the lines, withstanding a pounding by 50-mm anti-tank guns and panzers in the vicinity. Early today, after almost two days, the Germans finally knock the KV out by bringing an 88 mm Flak gun through nearby woods and blasting the KV multiple times from the rear. The crew, incredibly, survives all this and only is killed by a pioneer engineer who climbs on the tank and pushes grenades through the holes made by the Flak gun.

As the day ends, the Soviet 8th Army is falling back to the Jonava about 48 km (30 miles) northeast of Kaunas, while the Soviet 11th Army is retreating toward the Desna. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko of the Stavka orders Front Commander Colonel General Vasily Kuznetsov to form a defensive line along the Western Dvina. Timoshenko releases the 21st Mechanized Corps (Major-General Dmitry Lelyushenko) with 98 tanks and 129 guns, from the Moscow Military District to help form this line.

The bridges at Dvinsk, 25 June 1941.

After a successful surprise attack by elements of the 6th Panzer Division that captures two key bridges at Dvinsk during the early morning hours, the 8th Panzer Division captures Dvinsk. The bridges are wired for demolition, but the attack is so quick that the Soviets don't have time to blow them. The division then continues its northeastward advance toward Leningrad.

In Army Group Center, the Soviets launched a counterattack on the 24th toward Grodno. The attack, however, missed the leading German tanks of the 3rd Panzer Group, which already had driven further east to Vilnius. Today, the Soviet counterattack is crushed and the commander of Soviet 6th Cavalry Corps is taken captive. General Pavlov, in charge of Western Front, orders a general withdrawal to Slonim in order to block the way to Minsk. The Soviet 13th Army evacuates Maladzyechna, northwest of Minsk.

The Wehrmacht in the central sector has its eyes on a larger strategy than simply brushing off the Soviet counterattacks. General Hoth and General Guderian aim their panzer groups for a large-scale pincer move around the Soviet forces to the vicinity of Baranovichi.

In Army Group South, the Battle of Brody continues. This is a major tank battle, and along the front Soviet tanks outnumber the panzers 3229-728. However, in the most effective classes of tanks, the Germans have 355 with main guns of 50 mm or larger, while the Soviets only have 443 T-34s and KVs. So, while there is a great disparity in raw numbers, in fact, the destructive power of the respective forces is much more balanced from the raw numbers.

While it characterized as one continuous battle, the Battle of Brody actually is a series of disjointed Soviet tank charges against the advancing Wehrmacht. All these attacks do is grind down the Soviets' starting numerical advantage.
On the 24th, the Soviet 22nd Mechanized Corps attacks toward Voinitsa, Ukraine. It is making little progress and losing large numbers of tanks. The Soviets today move large numbers of tanks on a 500-km drive to the northwest of Brody, and, as the commander of the 8th Mechanized Corps, Ryabyshev, later writes, half of the tanks break down and the ones that make it are worn out. Some Soviet formations, such as the 15th Mechanized Corps, drive around following orders that are out of date and never even see the Germans.

German troops in Kaunas, 25 June 1941 (Barschdorff, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1984-102-25A).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 25th Brigade at Jezzine has no success in its attempts to advance north through the mountains. The Australian commander falls ill and is replaced by Brigadier Plant, who favors using artillery and air power to wear out the defending Vichy French defenders rather than continue futile ground attacks.

Royal Navy submarine  HMS Parthian at 12:12 torpedoes and sinks French submarine Souffleur off the Syrian coast.

German pioneer troops crossing a river in Russia, the morning of 25 June 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 146-1974-170-27).

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends Circus missions over France. In the first, RAF Bomber Command sends a force of Blenheim bombers under heavy fighter escort to northern France to attack the Hazebrouck marshaling yards. They cause widespread damage as an ammunition train explodes which includes the destruction of a bridge.

The other mission is to St. Omer, where the Luftwaffe has an important airfield. The elite German JG 26 fighter squadron is based at St. Omer, and they do not take kindly to being attacked. The Germans shoot down five Spitfires during the raid on Hazebrouck and lose at least two during the St. Omer raid. RAF ace Douglas Bader files claims for the two Luftwaffe planes, while Oblt. "Pip" Priller of I,/JG 26 claims a Spitfire over Gravelines.

RAF Bomber Command also attacks Bremen (64 bombers) and Kiel (47 bombers).

During the day, three Luftwaffe bombers are lost during an attack on Newcastle. It is unknown what happened to them.

The Luftwaffe sends some bombers to attack Southampton and the surrounding area. The Germans drop many parachute mines, each of which can destroy a row of houses. For the week ending at dawn on the 25th, the government reports that there were 39 killed and 116 seriously wounded, with no casualties in London.

New York Times, 25 June 1941.

East African Campaign: General Wavell, still the Middle East Commander until Claude Auchinleck arrives from India, joins US observer Averell Harriman on an inspection tour of East Africa.

Battle of the Baltic: The Germans seize 1181-ton Estonian freighter Estonia in an Estonian port.

The Soviets sends cruiser Voroshilov from Sevastopol accompanied by destroyers to bombard Constanza.

A woman of the Finnish Lotta Svärd preparing for war, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The attacks on Convoy HX-133 continue south of Iceland. About ten U-boats are involved.

U-77 (Kptlt. Heinrich Schonder), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 4603-ton Greek freighter Anna Bulgaris. Everyone perishes.

U-108 (Kptlt. Klaus Scholtz), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks two ships:

• 3059-ton Greek freighter Ellinico
• 4362-ton Greek freighter Nicholas Pateras

The entire crew of the Nicholas Pateras is lost (it is a straggler from Convoy OB-336), while everybody on Ellinico also perishes. That is the luck of the draw in the Battle of the Atlantic.

U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), on its second patrol out of Saint-Nazaire and south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 1967-ton Dutch freighter Schie of Convoy OB-336. This sinking sometimes is listed as occurring on the 24th. Little is known about this incident, as there are no survivors (29 dead) and Ringelmaan cannot clearly identify the ship. It is simply assumed that U-75's victim is the Schie.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2154-ton British freighter Dashwood east of Cromer. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 176-ton British trawler Isle of Wight off Scarborough.

The Luftwaffe lightly damages Royal Navy destroyer Liddesdale in the North Sea. The ship remains in service.

Royal Navy minelayers Agamemnon and Menesheus lay minefield SN.70B off of Iceland. They have a heavy escort. It is a cloudy day, and destroyer Brighton runs into light cruiser Kenya on the starboard side. Both ships require repairs, and the Brighton loses its entire bow on the way under tow to the Clyde.

Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.65 in the North Sea.

The US Navy sends a squadron led by light cruisers Philadelphia and Savannah from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol.

Canadian corvette HMCS Lethbridge (Lt. William Mahan) is commissioned, corvette Midland and minesweeper Medicine Hat are launched (in Midland, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec, respectively).

U-403 is commissioned.

Italian transport Neptunia.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Gazala and the Italian positions at Debra Tabor.

An Italian troopship convoy sets off from Naples bound for Tripoli. It is composed of transports Esperia, Marco Polo, Neptunia, and Oceania. Escorts include four destroyers (Aviere, Da Noli, Geniere, and Gioberti). British aircraft based on Malta attack the convoy. The British cause some light damage to transport Esperia but lose a Swordfish of RAF No. 830 when it crashes into the side of the Esperia.

During an air battle near Malta, Hurricane fighter pilots claim three Machhi 200 fighters shot down and an Italian bomber badly damaged. There are a couple of bombing raids on Malta that cause damage at Zeitun, Zabbar, and Safi.

German converted minelayer Adjutant.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured Norwegian whaler Adjutant, sailing with a German prize crew, lays mines five kilometers off Lyttelton and Wellington (10 mines each), New Zealand. Nobody learns about this for many years.

POWs: French Lieutenant E. Boulé tries to escape from Colditz Castle POW Camp by dressing as a German woman. However, he drops his watch as he is walking away from the castle, and a German guard who goes to return it to "her" recognizes him.

Missionaries leaving Salt Lake Missionary Home, 25 June 1941.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: The British send General Mason-MacFarlane by air for Moscow to head a military mission. This is a hazardous route that includes crossing occupied Norway and Finland. General Brian Horrocks replaces him in command of the 44th Infantry Division.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.

German/Swedish Relations: With troops needed in Finland and no longer in Narvik, the Wehrmacht needs to move troops by train through neutral Sweden with the Swedish government's permission. This is the only quick route from northern Norway to the Baltic and a critical line - maintaining use of it is a top priority for the Wehrmacht in Scandinavia. The Swedish government (Riksdag) now permits the Wehrmacht to send one division at a time along the railway. The German 163rd Infantry Division (often called the Engelbrecht Division after its commander) begins to move its 15,000 troops, equipment, and supplies.

A Wehrmacht soldier allows two Finnish children to "ride" his motorcycle, June 1941.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The Japanese desire military bases in southern Indochina and decide to use force if necessary to get them. The high command also sets 10 August as the deadline for a decision to attack the Soviet Union in conjunction with Operation Barbarossa. There are no plans to attack the USSR and no forces have been allocated for that purpose, but the Japanese do have a large military presence in China and Manchukuo which could be sent on an invasion.

German Military: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler and his adjutant, Joachim Peiper, embark on his headquarters train "Heinrich" for an inspection tour of the eastern front. Hitler's new headquarters in Rastenburg, the Wolf's Lair, conveniently is situated on a (closed) railway line, making visits to and from there by train very convenient for German leaders and foreign dignitaries.


US Government: President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802. This prohibits racial discrimination in the national defense industry, stating:

I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations... to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin.

Roosevelt also creates the Fair Employment Practice Committee to implement the Executive Order. Along with some previous defense-related bills, these are key steps in the Civil Rights movement.

25 June 1941, Members of the Lithuanian Militia Leading Jews to the Seventh Fort in Kovno, Lithuania (Yad Vashem Photo Archives 2725/17).

Holocaust: In Kaunas, political prisoners who have been released by the general uprising learn that Soviet security officers (some of whom reputedly are Jewish) are being held in the Lietukis car garage. They recognize some of their former captors. In a scene that will be repeated many times during World War II, the released prisoners kill the captive Soviets with blunt instruments.

More generally, local citizens engage in a rampage against Jews. This is known as the Kaunas pogrom. It is a sensitive topic, obviously, and there has been debate as to how much the recently arrived local German troops incite the locals to engage in anti-Semitic horror and how much is simply score-settling by locals (something that is quite common during World War II).

In any event, the pogrom lasts for five days. Jews are taken by locals to The Seventh Fort (or VII Fort, which is a defensive fortification built in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas), one of many ad hoc prisons outside the city, and imprisoned before their eventual fates. It is estimated that 10,000 Jews are beaten and then shot there by the end of July.

Anti-semitic activities also take place elsewhere in Lithuania. The events in Kaunas, however, are etched deeply into the memory of Lithuania.

Dr. Seuss - Hitler Taxidermist, published by PM Magazine on June 25, 1941, Dr. Seuss Collection, MSS 230.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run against St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse in New York. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 37 games.

Isolationist Senator Robert Taft of Ohio gives a radio speech in which he argues that the United States now is safer because of Germany's attack on Russia:

The Russian war certainly postpones for many months any attack which Hitler could possibly make; and makes even more certain a defense of the United States sufficient to discourage any military or naval attack.

Rather than declare war on anybody, Taft says that it would be wiser to avoid foreign wars and simply help England fight its war:

This country can be united on a policy of no intervention in Europe and aid to Britain. We can make that aid infinitely more effective if we abandon the role of world benefactor; if we leave Balkan politics alone; if we avoid a Communist alliance; if we adhere to the simple policy of aiding Britain.

He concludes, "The Russian war has weakened every argument for intervention." Roosevelt already, on the 24th, has promised aid to Russia to fight Germany.

President Roosevelt's "Fair Employment Practice in Defense Industries" Executive Order of 25 June 1941.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

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