Wednesday 20 August 1941

"'Mark', a dog ammunition carrier, delivers 'ammo' to a Bren gun team, Eastern Command, 20 August 1941." © IWM (H 12984).

Eastern Front: Some historians consider 20 August 1941 to be the day that the siege of Leningrad begins, and this is the day that most "900-day siege" references use. This is because 20 August 1941 is the day the Germans cut the railroad line from Moscow, effectively isolating Leningrad from the rest of Russia. However, it is an arbitrary date, as the Germans are still struggling on the 20h to reach Leningrad and are facing fierce opposition from Soviet troops guarding the approaches to Leningrad (see below. In Leningrad, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov orders the formation of Home Guard battalions in the city. These ad hoc units are formed mainly by women and teenagers armed with knives, ceremonial swords they have taken from above family fireplaces, hunting equipment, and whatever can be found in Leningrad museums.

German OKW Chief Wilhelm Keitel notifies the Finnish high command (General Waldemar Erfuth) that he will be sending a plan for Finnish military involvement in the capture of Leningrad. Marshall Mannerheim, however, confides to Erfuth that he has no plans to make anything more than a token attack on Leningrad. Mannerheim has both political and military reasons to avoid an attack on the Soviet Union regardless of what the Germans want. When the German plan arrives, he says that he intends to say "No." This is not a unique attitude: already some Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus have balked at marching past pre-war borders. Mannerheim's consistent position throughout his career is that he has no intention of ever trying to invade Russia, he simply wants to recover territory to which he believes that Finland has historical claims. The Soviets, of course, consider all territory currently occupied by Soviet troops to be theirs regardless of such historical claims.

In the Far North sector, the Finns prepare an attack by IV Corps to capture Viipuri. The Soviet 43rd and 123rd Rifle Divisions are withdrawing in that direction already. The Finnish 18th Division of the II Corps, with the 12 Division and Light Brigade T (Colonel Tiiainen) crosses the Vuoksi River, and the Soviet 115th Rifle Division moves to block them. While the Finns are advancing steadily in the Karelian Isthmus, the terrain increasingly favors the Soviet defenders as the Isthmus grows narrower as the fighting approaches Leningrad.

The Finnish attack toward the Murmansk railway line at Loukhi is bogged down after offering much promise only a week ago. The Finnish high command sends a battalion from the force that has bogged down near Ukhta (Kalevala) to help out. As seems always to be the case in the Far North, the Soviets have moved just enough troops into position at Loukhi at the last minute to avoid losing truly strategic positions.

"A Gypsy tribe on the way to Lviv." 20 August 1941 (Hans Joachim Paris, Federal Archive, Bild 146-2004-0026)

In the Army Group North Sector, the Wehrmacht approaches Voiskovitsy on the road to Leningrad in the afternoon. A small group of Soviet tanks armed with 76-mm guns and reinforced with additional armor is hidden along the road and allow the advance German units to pass unopposed. Soviet Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov then gives his "Klim Voroshilov" KV-1E heavy tank the order to fire, and the Soviet tankers implement their usual tactic of destroying the first and last vehicles within sight. It is a bloodbath. The Soviets destroy 22 panzers and a total of 43 armored vehicles, plus artillery pieces and other equipment. Kolobanov's task force takes over 150 hits but remains in action. For firing the first shot, Kolobanov receives the Order of the Red Banner, his gun commander the Order of Lenin, his senior driver the Order of the Red Banner, and two others in his tank are given the Order of the Red Star.

Elsewhere, the German 32 Corps (General Walter Kuntze) begins attacking Tallinn, Estonia. The Soviet forces there are surrounded, and their only hope of escape is by sea. Remnants of Soviet Marshal G.I. Kulik's 54th Army tries to escape through German lines north of Luga and are destroyed. German 41 Corps of Panzer Group 4 (General Reinhardt) and elements of the 18th Army isolate about 30,000 Soviet troops of the Soviet Luga Operational Group.

German troops south of Leningrad stage daring assaults that succeed due to sheer surprise and audacity. A unit of German 16th Army led by Sergeant Fege of the 45th Infantry Regiment cuts the Moscow-Leningrad rail line southeast of Chudovo by taking a railway bridge in a surprise attack before the Soviet defenders can blow it up. Other German troops led by Lieutenant-Colonel Matussik of the 2nd Battalion, 45h Infantry Regiment proceed further east in a captured truck and take another important railway bridge over the Volkhov River after finding it unguarded. These successes sever the last Soviet railway line from Leningrad to Moscow and solidify the German line - for the moment.

In the Army Group Center sector, both Panzer Group 2 (General Guderian) and the 2nd Army continue moving toward Bryansk. Soviet 24th Army continues the Soviet attacks against the German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya. The German defenders at Yelnya are holding their position but report that they have lost about 1000 men in the last six days.

Royal Castle in Warsaw in 1941. The Germans have removed the roof to hasten the process of destruction by the elements (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie, red. A. Gieysztor, 1972).

In the Army Group South sector, the German 11th Army moves close to the capture of Kherson (Cherson) on the Black Sea. The Germans already have their eyes on the Crimea further to the south. Hitler, in particular, is worried about the Soviets using Crimea as a launching point for Red Air Force raids on the Romanian oil fields. The Romanian Air Force, assisting the troops attacking Odesa, destroy a Soviet armored train. German 17th Army establishes a bridgehead across the Dneipr River at Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

In a top-secret mission, Soviet NKVD troops under Boris Epov and Aleksandr Petrovsky, sent specially from Moscow on personal orders from Stalin, blow up the Lenin-Dnieproges Dam at Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhya). The resulting water surge kills an estimated 20,000-100,000 Ukrainians. The dam had the largest statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine. The flow of water temporarily cuts off part of the city of Zaporizhzhya from the advancing Wehrmacht. The dam's destruction is filmed, perhaps to prove to Stalin that it had been done as ordered.

The Red Air Force sends nine bombers to attack Berlin.

The Dnieper hydroelectric station on October 10, 1932, when it was put into service. After its destruction on 20 August 1941, the dam was later repaired and remains in service today.

European Air Operations: It is a quiet day on the Channel Front. RAF Bomber Command sends 18 Blenheim bombers on coastal sweeps without loss. The bombers attack some shipping without success and also bomb Texel airfield.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper Buy hits two mines and sinks in the Baltic Sea off Hogland.

German torpedo boat S-58 torpedoes and sinks Soviet minesweeper Pirmunas in the Väinameri Sea (Gulf of Riga).

Soviet reefer Sibir is lost today of unknown causes.

Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (originally HMS Cygnet), 20 August 1941 (Canadian Navy Heritage website. Image Negative Number IKMD-04199, Ken Macpherson / Naval Museum of Alberta).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 173-ton British fishing trawler Juliet about 30 miles south of Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Everyone survives.

Faroes 236-ton auxiliary trawler Solarris hits a mine and sinks off Seydisfjordur (Seidisfjord), Iceland. There are four survivors.

Royal Navy 348-ton minesweeping trawler HMT Lorinda sinks due to a fire caused by engine trouble off Freetown. Everyone survives, picked up by accompanying trawler Balta.

The German 4th S-Boat Flotilla (Kptlt. Bätge) attacks a routine British convoy off Cromer. S-48 (ObltzS v. Mirbach) torpedoes and sinks 1971-ton Polish freighter Czestochowa (one dead). S-48 also badly damages 2774-ton British freighter Dalewood. There are four deaths. A tug tows Dalewood into the Humber with major damage aft.

German 200-ton trawler Charlotte is stranded and lost in the North Sea.

Mexican Navy patrol boat Halcon sinks of unknown causes.

Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York (Captain C.H.J. Harcourt) receives its final touches and is fully ready for battle.

Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet Admiral Sir John Tovey visits Scapa Flow on an inspection tour.

Convoy ON-9 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Ilfracombe (J-95, Lt. Commander Harry L. D. Hoare) is commissioned.

U-591 and U-592 are launched.

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79. The SM-79 generally is considered the best Italian bomber of World War II. It served in a variety of roles such as transport, torpedo-bomber, and reconnaissance. Due to its distinctive hump, it acquired the nickname "Gobbo Maleditto" (Damned Hunchback).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique torpedoes and sinks Italian troopship Esperiea about 11 miles north of Tripoli. There are 31 deaths and 1139 survivors. The rest of the Italian convoy reaches Tripoli safely.

Royal Navy submarine Upholder torpedoes and sinks 852-ton Italian freighter Enotria six miles northwest of Cape St Vito, northwest Sicily.

Royal Navy submarine Thrasher uses its deck guns to sink a small Greek freighter, the San Stefano, off Cape Malea.

Italian S-79 torpedo bombers under the command of Captain Buscaglia hit and damage 4782-ton British tanker Turbo north of Damietta, Egypt. The tanker is taken under tow to Port Said. Everyone survives, but Turbo is in very bad shape. On 4 April 1942, when an attempt is made to tow the Turbo to Aden for repairs, the tanker breaks in half and sinks.

Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian troops at Tobruk, continues with a small convoy departing from Alexandria. It consists of minelaying cruiser Latona and destroyers Kipling, Nizam, and Kingston carrying Polish troops of the Carpathian Brigade while escorted by light cruisers Ajax and Neptune. During the withdrawal from Tobruk, destroyer Nizam is damaged by a near miss from a Luftwaffe attack off Bardia but makes it back to Alexandria, partially in tow.

Royal Navy submarine Otus arrives at Malta carrying supplies from Alexandria. Its cargo includes 18 passengers.

The British military command at Malta warns homeowners to remove inflammable items from roofs. It is a quiet day with no air attacks. RAF bombers attack Augusta, Sicily.

Obertsleutnant Helmuth Groscurth, 1941/1942 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1997-017-20).

War Crimes: At Bila Tserkva in Ukraine, the German 295th Infantry Division is ordered to assist with the killing of schoolchildren locked in a school for days without food or water. The unit's two army chaplains protest. Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Helmuth Groscurth, who privately agrees with the chaplains, calls the Sixth Army headquarters for instructions, and they tell him to put it in writing. Groscurth duly forwards a written report to headquarters written by the chaplains - a daring act since merely submitting such a report implies disagreement with previously issued orders. The report concludes:

In the case in question, measures against women and children were undertaken which in no way differ from atrocities carried out by the enemy about which the troops are continually being informed

The commander of the Sixth Army, Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau reads the report and characterizes it as:

incorrect, inappropriate and impertinent in the extreme.

Reichenau personally orders the children killed and sends a representative, SS-Obersturmfuhrer August Hafner, to the division to make sure that the order is carried out - which it is on 21 August. Hafner writes that, when he arrives, the German troops already have dug a grave in the woods. Following normal procedure, the children are lined up along the edge of the pit and shot so that they fall into it. Local Ukrainians, no doubt including some relatives of the children, are made to watch.

Incidents like these belie later claims that ordinary German Army units did not participate in exterminations on the Eastern Front and that only SS units carried them out. Evidence shows that this and similar incidents badly affected the morale of ordinary German soldiers such as Groscurth. Naturally, the Soviets also learned of such incidents, with predictable consequences.

On the Yugoslavian island of Pag, Italian troops that arrive to occupy the island find evidence of mass murders of Serbians and Jews by local Ustachi fascists. A total of 293 women, 91 children, and 791 bodies overall are found.

A German train in Serbia destroyed by Serbian partisans, 1941.

Partisans: Pro-German Serbs propose collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Detachments to aid in suppressing Yugoslavian partisans. In general, Serbs support the British while Croats support the Germans, so this is a welcome development for the Germans and Italians.

Propaganda: Italian radio claims "a particularly daring attack was carried out on Malta" on 19 August. The attacking aircraft "machine-gunned the highly equipped airbase of Hal Far" and "Two large twin-engined bombers were set on fire and destroyed, while another two bombers and two single-engine planes were hit and rendered unserviceable."

US/Japanese Relations: Ambassador Nomura reports to Tokyo that President Roosevelt is not "anti-Japanese." However, Postmaster-General Walker has indicated that any talk of a summit between the leaders of Japan and the US would encounter very strong opposition from both Congress and the public. Walker, Nomura writes, feels there is a good possibility of peace if talks continue.

"Astounding Science-Fiction," Volume 27 #6, August 1941, John W. Campbell, Jr. Editor, cover painting by Hubert Rogers.

German Military: Luftwaffe General Walter Dornberger, Werner von Braun, and pilot Johannes "Macki" Steinhoff make a presentation to Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) headquarters in East Prussia. They show Hitler a film demonstrating the progress being made in rocketry, particularly the large A-4 rocket (which becomes better known as the V-2). Hitler, impressed, lauds “this development is of revolutionary importance for the conduct of warfare in the whole world." Hitler orders the men to develop the A-4 into a "vengeance weapon" (Vergeltungswaffe) for use against London. The three men return to Peenemunde with new access to the resources necessary to develop the rocket.

The Spanish "Blue" Division (250th Division) begins moving to the Front south of Leningrad.

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 9997-ton tanker Toho Maru and assigns it to the Yokosuka Naval District.

Battleship Haruna joins the Japanese First Fleet (Vice Admiral Takasu Shiro), joining Battleship Division 3 (Vice Admiral Mikawa Gunichi). This powerful force already includes battleships Hiei, Kirishima, and Kongo.

Submarine chasers CH-20 and CH-21 are completed and join the Kure Naval District.

US Government: The Department of Agriculture announces that it is negotiating with the governments of Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Britain to create an "international granary" in the United States. Surplus food from participating countries is to be accumulated in the United States for distribution wherever needed when the war is over - though, of course, the US is not at war. Yet. In the meantime, the United States already has a stockpile of 400 million bushels of wheat that is increasing with each harvest.

Erich Koch (Federal Archives, Bild 183-H13717).

German Government: Erich Koch officially is appointed Reichskommissar for Ukraine.

Iraq: The new pro-British government announces that it is reopening the military academy in Baghdad.

Costa Rica: The French Charge d'Affaires and the Secretary of the French Legation switch sides, submitting their resignations to the Vichy government and accepting identical positions in the Free French movement.

"Jewish refugee children wait to board SS Mouzinho in Lisbon.” August 20, 1941. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a gift of Milton Koch.

Holocaust: The Vichy government begins arresting the first of 4232 foreign-born Jews in Paris at the request of the Gestapo's Jewish Affairs Department. Over the next five days, the French send them to a new transit camp at Drancy (opens today) for eventual deportation.

German Homefront: Adolf Hitler asks his personal architect, Albert Speer, who at this time has no formal role in the war, to use captured Soviet booty to decorate Berlin buildings to build morale.

French Homefront: Due to recent attacks on the French railway system, the Vichy government arrests 50,000 people for questioning.

British Homefront: Former Governor-General of Australia (1925-1930) John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven dies peacefully at his home in Ury House, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, UK.

Marshals Stalin and Voroshilov (right) at the 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow.

Soviet Homefront: Stalin continues his purge against field commanders who have failed against the Germans, and, in typical Stalinesque style, this extends to their families. The NKVD arrests the wife, E.N. Khanchin-Kachalova, and her mother, E.I. Khanhchina, of the deceased and disgraced (by Soviet standards) commander of the Soviet 28th Army, General V.Ia. Kachalov. The entire Kachalov incident is murky, with some evidence that Kachalov actually survived for a time after his supposed death and that he perished while fighting as a partisan. However, there is little question that Kachalov died a hero by most normal standards. The two women ultimately are sentenced to 8 years in Siberian camps, where the older woman perishes in 1944. Mrs. Kachalov is finally released in 1949 and returns to Moscow. This incident turns into a long-lasting campaign by Kachalov's wife to clear his name which proved successful only after Stalin had died in 1953. Mrs. Kachalov in 1957.

With the situation on the Leningrad front grim, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov attends the first meeting of the Leningrad "aktiv" (Council for the Defense of Leningrad). He and Andrei Zhdanov, the local Communist leader, craft an appeal for release to the press, the famous "Appeal to the People of Leningrad." It is also signed by Pyotr Popkov, chairman of the Leningrad Soviet. It calls for the citizens of Leningrad to stand up and fight the approaching Wehrmacht. The Appeal is released on the 21st.

American Homefront: A strike in the Federal Shipbuilding Company's yards in Jersey City, New Jersey which began on 7 August continues. President Roosevelt asks the 18,000 striking men who are working on $493 million worth of war and merchant ship orders to return to work within a fortnight. Roosevelt asks the strikers to put "the importance of national defense before their points of difference."

A transportation strike in Detroit is hindering defense industries there.

Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd circa 1930.

Rear Admiral Richard S. Byrd delivers a speech at Madison Square Garden in New York. Byrd urges his listeners to support President Roosevelt. He states:

The President has been accused of trying to get this nation into war. I can give you my personal word that Roosevelt, the man, has a deep hatred for war—deeper perhaps than many who have made this criticism. Roosevelt, the President, has the task of carrying American democracy forward under God against any resistance, and it is his duty to do that above all things. If he can do it without war he will do it. But there are things infinitely worse than war, and the worst of these is slavery.

Byrd concludes by asking, "are we going to stand united behind the President as if at war with unconquerable morale? Americans, what is your answer?"

Future History: Slobodan Milošević is born in Požarevac village in Podgorica (Požarevac), Yugoslavia. He becomes President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He is arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities on 31 March 2001 on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. Milošević dies in prison of a heart attack on 8 May 1989.

Samuel Goldwyn Company gives "The Little Foxes," starring Bette Davis, its world premiere today at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The film earns 9 Academy Award nominations but does not win any because among other competitors it is up against "Sergeant York," "How Green Was My Valley," "Citizen Kane," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," and other renowned films. This sets a new mark for futility which stands for decades, until "The Turning Point" (1977) with 11 nominations and no wins.




August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Wednesday 26 December 1940

The Blitz Christmas, 25 December 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek soldiers pressing against the Italians spend a fairly miserable Christmas on 25 December 1940 in the mountains. About 100 taxis are requisitioned in Salonika (Thessalonica) to bring the troops bottles of liquor and other holiday treats. One of the taxi drivers happens to speak Italian, and the Greeks have him cross the lines with a flag of truce to offer a Christmas break. The Italians accept, and there is no fighting in this location today. However, elsewhere the Greeks do press their attacks in places like the valley of River Devoll, with little success.

The Italians raid Corfu for the 23rd time, killing 15 people. They originally intended to invade the island, but times have changed. It is incidents like this, an unnecessary air attack on Christmas day, that make the Greeks absolutely furious at the Italians, even above and beyond the invasion itself.

European Air Operations: Operations by both sides are extremely quiet. There are scattered Luftwaffe reconnaissance missions, but no organized attacks. The RAF only makes reconnaissance and patrol flights.

An RAF Martlet I (formerly French) with No. 84 Squadron shoots down a Junkers Ju 88A on a reconnaissance flight over Scapa Flow. It force-lands at Sandwick. Martlets are slightly modified Grumman Model G-36As aka F4F Wildcats, so this is the first confirmed downing of a German aircraft by an American plane during World War II.

The German Junkers JU88 shot down by a Martlet in Sandwick on 25 December 1940 while on a reconnaissance mission. (Orkney Library and Archive).

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Hipper. having spotted a huge and heavily escorted "Winston Special" convoy (WS 5A) late on the 24th about 1300 km west of Cape Finisterre, attacks at 08:08. Going into action with guns blazing against what it thinks is an ordinary convoy, it damages 13,994-ton British transport Empire Trooper (which makes it to Porta Delgada) and 5874-ton British freighter Arabistan (only lightly damaged), causing the convoy to scatter.  However, Admiral Hipper's crew get a rude surprise when heavy cruiser HMS Berwick appears - whose own crew must have been stunned to see a heavy cruiser appear out of nowhere, main guns afire, attacking a convoy escorted by three cruisers, two aircraft carriers and numerous destroyers and corvettes. Admiral Hipper beats a hasty retreat, but as it goes it scores several hits on the Berwick (four killed, one injured), disabling several of its main guns. This is the kind of audacious attack out of the blue in the most unexpected of circumstances that give sailors nightmares.

Amazingly, Admiral Hipper then manages to slip away virtually unscathed toward Brest, its original destination. It is one of the greatest escapes by a surface ship of the war. Fortunately for the Hipper, visibility is poor and the Skuas launched by HMS Furious can't locate it. One of the Royal Navy ships of Force H sent from Gibraltar to intercept Hipper, HMS Renown, sustains hull damage in the rough winter seas and thus also can't find it. Hipper gets a bonus when 150 miles to the east it stumbles upon independent 6804-ton British sailing freighter Jumna on the way to Brest and sinks it (taking Rear Admiral HB Maltby Rtd) in passing. Hipper, knowing it is being chased, does not stop to pick up the 111 men in the water. They all drown.

In this way, the Royal Navy, which has been searching frantically throughout the North and South Atlantic for Admiral Hipper for weeks, finally gets its wish and locates the German cruiser. Admiral Hipper becomes the first big Kriegsmarine ship to reach the French Biscay ports. It is a very embarrassing day for the Royal Navy despite the paucity of losses and not one that the histories of the war spend a lot of time on.

Much further to the south, heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer rendezvouses somewhere in the South Atlantic with raider Thor, supply ship Nordmark, and "floating delicatessen" refrigerated ship Duquesa. It is fair to surmise that the sailors on the three German ships enjoy a hearty Christmas meal from the Duquesa's large stock of fresh meat and eggs.

Convoys FS 370 and FS 371 depart from Methil, Convoy BS 11A departs from Suez.

New York City, looking downtown from the Empire State Building, 1940 (Andre Kertesz).

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Wavell issues a limp Order of the Day wishing everyone a Merry Christmas (as does Governor Dobbie on Malta and other commanders), but the forward troops are poorly provisioned and communications into Libya are stretched. There aren't enough trucks to bring the men turkeys, but every man at least is given a tin of bully beef and a double rum ration. British morale is at a high due to recent victories, making such inconveniences seem trivial.

The perimeter at Bardia is quiet, as the Italians and British celebrate Christmas separately. As on other fronts, there is a tacit cease-fire for the day that is not ended until after dark. There aren't any meetings as during World War I, but nobody wants to get in a firefight and die on Christmas.

In Malta, Governor Dobbie visits the troops throughout the island. Officers serve Christmas Dinner to other ranks, a first for the British Army. Thus begins a tradition that survives today.

Spy Stuff: There are many rumors arguments about exactly when, and whether, Stalin received a copy of Fuhrer Directive No. 21 of 18 December 1940 regarding Operation Barbarossa. This is the Directive that spells out Hitler's intention to invade the Soviet Union at some point on or after 15 May 1941. By some accounts, today the Soviet Attaché in Berlin sends a copy to Stalin.

German Government: Hitler continues his meandering tour of troops and fortifications along the French coast. His train takes him to Beauvais, where he meets with French Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan. Hitler then visits KG 26 ("Löwengeschwader"), which at this time is one of the only formations using the SC 2500 bomb, a special 2400 kg bomb filled with a 40/60 Amatol mixture of RDZ, TNT, and aluminum. Having visited JG 26 on the 24th, Hitler apparently does not want to be seen as slighting the bomber pilots, who at this point are the ones taking the war to the British. Hitler then visits Cretz and then Metz. After that, once again he spends the night on his train, this time parked in a tunnel near Metz.

Hitler's meeting with Darlan reveals his underlying frustration with Petain and the other European rulers who refuse to ally themselves with him. Coming close to one of his angry rants that only his insiders are privy to, Hitler warns Darlan that if France doesn't cooperate militarily, it would be "one of the most regrettable decisions in her history." For his part, Darlan is able to offer everything but military cooperation. Darlan is one of those equivocal figures throughout the conflict who both sides want to use. However, he only manages to anger just about everybody, a strange case of playing the middle against both sides (to reverse the common expression).

The 6th Avenue El in 1940. Not only is the El long gone, but 6th Avenue later had its name officially changed to Avenue of the Americas (but everybody still calls it 6th Avenue anyway).

Ireland: Irish Premier Eamon de Valera requests US aid from President Roosevelt. Ireland may not be at war, but it suffers from the German blockade and certainly gets no sympathy from the British.

Antarctic: Ernest Earl Lockhart and his comrades enjoy a quick toast on their travels across the continent as part of the overall expeditions of Admiral Byrd. They (and their dogs) make the Little America III base after a long journey, the final sprint having covered 34 miles in less than 16 hours across the ice, including stops. Incidentally, this is the expedition using the notorious giant red Snow Cruiser, which on this date is sitting in an ice cave specially carved out for it near the base.

Antarctic explorer Ernest Earl Lockhart.

British Homefront: King George VI makes a Christmas broadcast after he and the Queen visit children in shelters, declaring that "The future will be hard, but our feet are planted on the path of victory...." There is no absolutely question that this is the worst Christmas of the war for the British.

American Homefront: "Pal Joey," the new Rodgers and Hart musical, opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway.

President Roosevelt and wife Eleanor attend Christmas mass at First Congregational Church. Subsequently, they host a Christmas party.

Agnes Ayres, a silent film star who appeared with Rudolph Valentino in "The Sheik," dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 42. She had become despondent after her retirement (and losing her life savings the same year in the 1929 stock market crash) and had been committed to a sanatorium. However, she is at home when she passes. Agnes Ayres is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard.


December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Monday 15 January 1940

U-44, a Type IXA boat, showing pennants. Member of the 2d Flotilla operating out of Wilhelmshaven.

Winter War: The Soviets no longer take the Finns lightly by 15 January 1940. Whereas during the first days of the invasion in December they blithely waltzed in expecting no serious opposition, now they prepare their attacks more carefully.

Winter War Army Operations: Soviet heavy artillery opens up in sustained fashion on the Summa section of the Mannerheim. Such bombardments are typically a prelude to a set-piece attack, but such an attack is nowhere in sight yet. The bombardment provides the Finns no rest and damages their fixed fortifications (which are minimal anyway, such as barbed wire).

Elsewhere, the Soviet armies are largely on their own. Stalin has no big tasks for them, and instead is focusing on new, better-planned operations with fresh troops. Without attention and replenishment, the Soviet forces along the line are gradually weakening and making it easier for the Finns to carve them up into mottis (logs).

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers attack Viipuri and other Finnish cities.

Mechelen Incident: The British respond to the Belgian request for guarantees first thing in the morning in a manner that is considered weak. The Belgians stop removing border obstacles on the French border. At noon, Premier Daladier tells Pol le Tellier, Belgium's ambassador to France, that Belgium must invite French troops into Belgium by 20:00 or he would pull all French and British troops from the border. The Belgians not only do not respond, but they begin replacing the barriers on the French border.

General Raoul van Overstraeten, King Leopold's military adviser, instructs the Belgian border troops to "repulse by force any foreign unit of whatever nationality which violated Belgian territory," which is not what the French were looking for. The Belgians also have given a negative reply to the same request previously by the British. Once again, the threat of a German invasion has not drawn the Allies together, but rather thrown them further apart. By forbidding the entry of French troops, the Belgians maintain their neutrality but also force the other Allies to rely on them for the defense of the section of the Front not covered by the Maginot.

On the German side, General Jodl of OKW advises Hitler that the weather is too poor for an invasion and it should be called off indefinitely, not just postponed for a few days now and again. Hitler, still set on an early invasion, decides to think it over and gives no firm decision.

Battle of the Atlantic: Around midnight, U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) torpedoes and sinks the 1,590-ton Norwegian freighter Fagerheim southwest of Quessant in the English Channel. Five survive, 15 perish.
At 07:00, U-44 spots the 7,906-ton Dutch freighter Arendskerk.  The Dutch ship tries to outrun the U-boat but is stopped after 7 shots across the bow. The crew abandons ship, and the U-boat then shells the ship and uses one torpedo on it. All 65 crew survive.

Inter-American Relations: An Inter-American Neutrality Committee is formed, due to the Battle of the River Platte, to strengthen neutrality in the Western Hemisphere. It holds its first meeting in Brazil.

German/Danish Relations: The Germans request that the Danes blackout their island of Roenoe, which the British are using as a guide to the German base on Sylt. The Danes comply.

US Military: The army and navy conduct joint amphibious landing exercises in California.

China: The Winter Offensive has run its course for the 9th War Area, which winds down its attacks. The offensive has regained vital territory and brought down the Japanese government.

Lord Halifax on the cover of the 15 January 1940 cover of Time Magazine. There is some thought that he may be the next British Prime Minister.

American Homefront: Admiral Byrd's giant snow cruiser is unloaded from the merchant ship North Star in the Antarctic. It breaks through the wooden ramp that is required to unload it, but once it is on the ground, its (unaccountably) smooth tires (designed for swamps) give it little traction. It quickly gets stuck. Experimenting, the team discovers that the cruiser is able to drive through the snow and ice - but only in reverse. Some exploration drives are made with it in that fashion - over very level ground.
Future History: The story of the snow cruiser is too good to just leave there. If you watch the footage in the above video carefully, you can actually see the wheels begin to lose traction the minute it is driven off the ship.

Admiral Byrd drove the beast - in reverse - for a few weeks. He covered up to 92 miles (148 km) in one journey. However, eventually, even in reverse the snow cruiser eventually gets stuck. Rather than attempt further heroic measures, Byrd just left it in situ and used it as a heated camp for his Little America 1- a function which it performed admirably, though burning a lot of precious gasoline. Byrd left it behind when the expedition concluded - and there it sits to this day, assuming the ice below it never melted.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Wednesday 22 November 1939

One of the German magnetic mines dropped by parachute on the Shoeburyness mud flats on 22 November 1939.

Battle of the Atlantic: The French announce on 22 November 1939 that they, too, will retaliate for the illegal placement of mines by the Germans.

Around 20:00-21:00, observers spot a low-flying Heinkel He 111 dropping mines on the Shoeburyness mudflats, which are uncovered at low tide. Lieutenant Commanders John Ouvry and Roger Lewis of the Render Mines Safe group (HMS Vernon) very carefully recover one of the mines. It quickly is given to scientists to figure out a counter-measure. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill himself personally arranges the whole affair and carefully supervises it.

U-43 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Ambrosius) torpedoes and sinks 4,374-ton French freighter Arijon in the Bay of Biscay. Everyone survives.

Italian freighter Fianona, 4,576-tons, strikes a  mine off the Thames estuary but makes it to port. Greek freighter Elena R. strikes a mine and sinks near the Shambles Light Vessel. The entire crew survives by reaching the Light Vessel. British vessels Lowland and Aragonite strike mines and sink.

The German freighter Bertha Fisser aka Konsul Hendrik Fisser, which had left Africa days before and has been masquerading as other ships, is intercepted near Iceland by RN cruiser Calypso. Her crew tries to scuttle her, but she winds up on the rocks near shore.

German freighter Adolf Woermann is scuttled off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic to avoid capture by Royal Navy cruiser Neptune.

US freighter Exmouth is detained by the British at Gibraltar.

German supply vessel Westerwald returns to Germany.

Convoy OA 39 departs from Southend and OB 39 from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: Six Luftwaffe planes raid the Shetland Islands. They destroy a Royal Air Force seaplane that is lying at its mooring. Other raiders appear over the Thames estuary and elsewhere along the coast. A Luftwaffe plane is shot down by anti-aircraft fire near the southeast coast.

There are air battles over France. Three Bf 109s are shot down by Allied fighters, and one Bf 109 is brought down by the anti-aircraft fire. A crashed Bf 109 is recovered by the French for evaluation.

RAF reconnaissance planes make sweeps over Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Bremen.

A Dutch Fokker D.XXI makes a bad landing in dense fog at brand new Auxiliary airfield Amsterdam Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, province of Noord-Holland on 22 November 1939.

Romania: The cabinet resigns.

Poland: The government-in-exile moves from Paris to Angers.

British Government: A national savings scheme with the slogan "Lend to Defend the Right to be Free" is launched by Sir John Simon.

Propaganda: Joseph Goebbels has the Reich's state media full of stories about British involvement in the Bürgerbräukeller bombing of 8 November 1939. This is Hitler's personal view, and Goebbels is just carrying out what Hitler wants. According to this narrative, Johann Georg Elser was controlled by the two British officers arrested at Venlo, Best and Stevens, along with Otto Strasser in Switzerland. Even Walter Schellenberg, who knew intimately the scope of Best and Stevens' operations found this theory "quite ridiculous."

American Homefront: The US Supreme Court issues its ruling in Schneider v. New Jersey (308 U.S. 147) (1939). This holds that people may hand out literature to people willing to receive it on public streets, and local municipalities may not unduly restrict that right on such grounds as keeping the streets clean. It is a key development in the law of public fora and the right to free speech under the 1st Amendment.

In addition, Admiral Byrd departs from Boston on his Antarctic expedition with his massive snow cruiser.

Bf-109.E3 Messerschmi of I / JG-76 (later, l / JG-54) forced to land in the French lines near Sarreguemines, November 22, 1939. The aircraft was repaired by the CEV for evaluation.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019

Sunday 12 November 1939

Admiral Byrd's snow cruiser snarls traffic in Massachusetts, 12 November 1939.

Western Front: Unintentionally furthering the appearance of a "Phoney War," on 12 November 1939 there is a concert staged by ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) for British and French troops in France, starring Maurice Chevalier and Gracie Fields.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-41 (Kapitänleutnant Gustav-Adolf Mugler) torpedoes 11,019-ton Norwegian tanker Arne Kjøde near the Outer Hebrides. Five men die and 34 survive. It also torpedoes (after disembarking the crew) and sinks 275-ton British freighter Cresswell. Six men die and seven live on the Cresswell. These are vessels flying under neutral flags, but that is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Survivors of the Cresswell reportedly are sheltered by the attacking U-boat for six hours. The seven survivors later are picked up by another trawler.

British vessels Carmarthen Coast and King Egbert are sunk by mines.

German vessels Mecklenburgh and Parana are scuttled to avoid capture by the Royal Navy.

The Home Fleet escorts a British iron ore fleet from Narvik.

Convoys OA 34 and OB 34 depart from Southend and Liverpool, respectively.

U-37 (an identical U-boat to U-41) at Lorient in 1940.

Peace Efforts: King Carol of Romania offers to mediate between the two sides. King George and French President Lebrun offer muted words in response to the recent Dutch/Belgian peace initiative. The initiatives all get quickly shot down.

The peace initiatives from continental powers are not being taken well by the British and French because of the sneaking suspicion that they are acting in favor of Hitler.

Allied Relations: The Dutch and Belgian foreign ministers meet at Breda.

Finnish/Soviet Relations: The Soviets issue a statement expressing dissatisfaction with the current status of negotiations.

British Propaganda: First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill broadcasts a speech summing up the conflict to date, stating, “If words could kill, we should be dead already.”

German Opposition: There are said to be thousands of people arrested in the continuing Munich Bürgerbräukeller bomb explosion. Those detained include the usual victims of the Germans - such as Jews - but also people who have very tangential relationships to the affair. For instance, Munich locksmith Max Niederholer, who sold an item used in the bomb to the prime suspect, Johann Georg Elser, is being subjected to imprisonment and beatings. Elser's home town of Königsbronn becomes known by the Gestapo as "Assassinville" and is treated as an outlaw city. The net is being cast wide.

American Homefront: Admiral Byrd continues his demonstration drive of his Snow Cruiser with unintended results. At Framingham, Massachusetts, on November 12, 1939 traffic is snarled for 20 miles in a jam that involved 70,000 automobiles, as the curious flock for a glimpse of the gigantic Snow Cruiser. It is the ultimate rubbernecking attraction.

"Winged Victory of Samothrace" being removed for protection from the Louvre, as seen in the 12 November 1939 New York Times.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019