September 1941

Thursday 23 January 1941

Jewish stores in Bucharest, Romania during the Iron Guard pogrom that ends on 23 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The battles around the Klisura Pass continue on 23 January 1941. Greek II Corps counterattacks against small Italian successes and recaptures the heights west of the pass.

East African Campaign: The British are not 42 miles within Eritrea. The British troops advancing from Kassala are pressuring the Italians in the vicinity to fall back. The RAF is active, bombing various points throughout the region. Continuing the long-established pattern displayed by the Italians, they quickly give ground under determined attacks.

At Keru Gorge, where they had established a fairly decent defensive position, the Italian 41st Colonial Brigade precipitously retreats during the night of 22/23 January under pressure from Indian 4th and 5th Divisions (primarily the Indian 10th Infantry Brigade). What they forget to do is tell their command, General Ugo Fongoli and his 800 headquarters troops nearby that they are leaving. The General and his troops become guests of His Majesty for the duration of the war. The Indian troops continue pressing forward toward Agordat, and the Italian retreat turns into a fleeing mass of panicked men.

"Posed portrait of three guardsmen from 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, 23 January 1941." © IWM (H 6864).

European Air Operations: The slow pace of operations continues. The Luftwaffe only drops scattered bombs along the east coast of England, and neither side puts bombers in the air after dark.
Battle of the Atlantic: One of the little-known stories of World War II is the occasional breakout attempts of merchant ships from internment or capture. Ships from both sides have attempted it, with varying success. Today, five Norwegian ships (Elizabeth Bakke, John Bakke, Tai Shan, Taurus, and Ranja) engage in Operation Rubble. Under the command of British temporary attache to Stockholm Captain R.D. Binney, they journey mostly as a convoy (one ship is faster and travels independently) from Gothenburg, Sweden through the Skagerrak north of Denmark and head for a rendezvous with the Royal Navy. It is a rare escape attempt within the Baltic by ships operating against German interests, as the Germans have complete hegemony over the western Baltic at this time.

German heavy cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continue their journey north along the Norwegian coast as part of Operation Berlin. A British agent spots them between Denmark and the island of Zealand and reports to England. The British are preparing to send their heaviest naval units north to confront them before they can break out into the North Atlantic.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of 1,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 3564-ton British freighter Lurigethan in the shipping lanes about 500 km west of Ireland and south of Iceland. There are 16 deaths and 35 survivors. Not far away from where the Lurigethan sinks, the Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 4524-ton British freighter Langleegorse (entire crew lost) and 1859 ton British freighter Mostyn (two dead). The Lurigethan, incidentally, is abandoned by her surviving crew and left as a derelict and will be sunk on 26 January by U-105.

Royal Navy 255 ton minesweeping trawler HMT Coutier hits a mine and is damaged, but makes it to Milford Haven. Royal Navy 248 ton minesweeping trawler HMT Ronso also hits a mine but also makes port.

The Kriegsmarine sends four minelayers to lay mines off the south coast of England during the night in Operation SW-b.

Convoy FN 390 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 394 and FS 395 depart from Methil.

In the Royal Canadian Navy, minesweeper HMCS Reo II and corvettes HMCS Agassiz and Bittersweet are commissioned. Minesweeper HMCS Wasaga is launched.

U-204 and U-561 are launched.

Rosalind Russell in a promotional shot taken on 23 January 1941, perhaps for her upcoming starring role in "They Met in Bombay" with Clark Gable.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Emergency repairs are completed on HMS Illustrious, and, at 1846, it departs from Grand Harbour, Malta for Alexandria (and thence Norfolk, Virginia for permanent repairs). The departure is timed to minimize the chances of Axis reconnaissance observing the escape attempt, and other more subtle precautions also are taken, such as keeping escorting destroyers in the harbour as long as possible. This is a major operation (Operation MBD 2) covered by the Mediterranean Fleet, including battleships HMS Barham and Valiant. The Luftwaffe quickly notices the operation and prepares an attack on the carrier and its escorts before they get out of range.

This is important not only for the prospects of getting the aircraft carrier back in service (eventually), but it also removes the major catalyst behind Luftwaffe Fliegerkorps X's recent onslaught of air raids against Malta. Thus, while the Illustrious Blitz may or may not continue, the Illustrious itself is no longer in harm's way within range of the Stukas. The departure of Illustrious, while good news for the British tactically, also leaves a strategic gap in the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet which will take time to fill.

Winston Churchill is unhappy about the recent Luftwaffe successes in the Mediterranean. As is his habit, he meddles in Royal Navy decisions, suggesting that the navy replace its obsolete Fairey Fulmars with monoplanes such as the American-made Brewsters and Martlets. The Fulmars, however, are quite effective when used properly.

General O'Connor of XIII Corps, fresh off another victory over the Italians at Tobruk (where all remaining resistance has ended), quickly sends his British and Australian units northwest and north, respectively, to continue Operation Compass. The next stop along the coast is Derna, a town of 10,000 people, while Mechili also is coming within view of the 7th Armoured Division. The Italians are sending Special Armoured Brigade (Brigata Corazzato Speciale) under the command of General Valentino Babini (also known as the "Babini Group") to block the coast road. Italian 10th Army commander General Giuseppe Tellera orders a counterattack against the advancing British Seventh Armoured Division for the 24th. The RAF bombs Derna.

The British rush to get Tobruk Harbor back in operation as a depository of British supplies. They begin Operation Parallax, which aims to sweep the harbor of mines and restore the port facilities. Minesweeping trawlers HMT Arthur Cavanagh and Milford Counties begin sweeping the harbor today, while boom vessel HMS Magnet arrives to restore order in the port.

In London, the Admiralty reports to the War Cabinet that recent RAF attacks on Fliegerkorps X bases at Catania, Sicily and elsewhere have been successful. However, the Luftwaffe is still in business and shortly will make its continued vitality known.

Battle of the Pacific: While the war, by and large, has not yet extended to the Pacific Ocean aside from scattered attacks by German raiders, the British in Hong Kong decide to make some preparations. They send minelayer HMS Man Yeung and destroyer HMS Thracian to seed some mines in the approaches to Hong Kong.

US/Yugoslavian Relations: "Wild Bill" Donovan continues his fact-finding mission in the European and Mediterranean region. Today, he stops off at Belgrade, no doubt drawn by the issues in Romania that are attracting worldwide attention.

US Military: Although a pre-World War I warship, the battleship USS Arizona is made the flagship of Battleship Division 1 by Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, replacing Rear Admiral Russell Wilson, who himself had relieved Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz.

Charles Lindbergh testifies before Congress, 23 January 1941.

US Government: Aviation legend Charles Lindbergh is invited to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Lindbergh is a well-known Isolationist who is supported by, and supports, the America First Committee organized by a Yale student. Lindbergh knows many of the German leaders personally and has deep knowledge of the European aviation situation. Escorted into the chamber by police, he faces a largely hostile committee (most being Democrats behind President Roosevelt's support of Great Britain). He testifies that he is "in sympathy with the people on both sides" and prefers a negotiated peace. His theory appears to be that a complete victory over Germany would cause huge long-term problems in Europe, both economically and militarily.

It is easy from a vantage point many decades later to criticize Lindbergh's testimony. In hindsight, though, while Lindbergh's fears may have been exaggerated, they do find echoes in the Cold War. Even given that his position of isolationism is completely destroyed by subsequent events, it is hard to argue with his prediction on 23 January 1941 that total victory over Germany would mean "prostration in Europe," both militarily and economically. One must remember that the Holocaust at this point is not a matter of common knowledge and has not geared up yet into factory-like exterminations (some will never forgive Lindbergh for arguing for a policy that would have permitted the continuation of the Holocaust). The committee chairman, New York Democrat Sol Bloom, tells Lindbergh at the conclusion of his 4 1/2 hours of testimony that:

You have made one of the best witnesses that this committee could possibly ever hear. You answered all the questions only as a Colonel Lindbergh could answer them....

A destroyed doctor's office in Bucharest, Romania, 23 January 1941.

Romania: Prime Minister Ion Antonescu calls in the troops, and the put down the Iron Guard rebellion that began on 21 January. His loyal army commanders assemble 100 tanks and other units from outlying areas and regain control of the Bucharest streets. General Ilie Şteflea's troops incur 30 deaths and 100 wounded while sending about 200-800 Legionnaires to their eternal rewards. Contrary to international press reports, the Wehrmacht troops in Romania for other purposes never lift a rifle to quell or support the rebellion, but at Antonescu's request, they afterward stage a mock victory parade that ends in front of the Prime Minister's building. That gives Antonescu an air of legitimacy and support, but also creates an appearance of German control of the situation which is absolutely false.

The politics of the situation now become extremely muddied. Antonescu is now cast in the role of a Romanian moderate, while the Iron Guard is shown to be perhaps the most extreme fascistic organization outside of Germany. Iron Guard leader Horia Sima, who disappeared during the rebellion, flees to Germany, while 9000 Legionnaires left behind are sentenced to prison. The facts of what happened in Romania never really filtered out to the western press during the war and this episode contributes to the western belief that Hitler has "taken over" Romania. In fact, Wehrmacht units remain guests of the Romanian government who try as much as possible to stay out of the internal politics of the country. However, they are present, and the world just assumes they committed crimes.

All that said, the true victims of the rebellion are the country's Jews. The Legionnaires burn down synagogues, destroy 1274 businesses of one form or another, and collect 200 trucks-worth of stolen items (along with vast sums of money, much of which likely gets buried in backyards and hidden in attics across the country). And even all that pales beside the torture, humiliation by the Iron Guard of at least 125 Bucharest Jews and undoubtedly others from other parts of the country as well. This, too, never really filters out to the international press, and the memory of all such depredations eventually gets dumped in a single bin marked "Hitler."

Indochina: The Japanese are getting tired of the rather pointless frontier war going on in French Indochina between Thailand and the Vichy French. While the two sides have expressed some interest in Japanese mediation, the war continues. The Japanese decide to hurry things along, so, in a classic example of gunboat diplomacy, they dispatch four cruisers from Kure for Saigon as an expression of their deep interest in a peaceful resolution. This is the "S" Operation.

Actress Rosalind Russell in another promotional shot taken on 23 January 1941.

January 1941

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

2020

Wednesday 30 October 1940

Bristol Beaufighter Mk. 1 R2065 from No. 219 Squadron. On 30 October 1940, it took off from Redhill Airfield for its nightly patrol but crashed while landing due to the poor weather's bad visibility. The crash killed P/O Kenneth Worsdell and gunner Sergeant Eric Gardiner. This flight was honored with a memorial at the airfield on the 75th anniversary of the crash.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek forces on the coastal sector complete their retreat to the Kalpaki line on 30 October 1940. The Italian troops are still pursuing them and there is little combat there during the day aside from artillery and air bombardments. The Kalpaki line on the coast is extremely blessed with natural defensive features.

In the vital central sector in the Pindus Mountains, the Greek General Katsimitros determines to defend his line ahead of the critical road junction of Metsovo. He detaches some forces to cover his right flank at the Aoös River. The Italians struggle forward through the freshly fallen snow and icy rain and approach Konitsa as the Greek Pindos Detachment withdraws. During the day, the Greeks end their retreat and stabilize their line, with the 1st Infantry Division under Major-General Vasileios Vrachnos taking over local tactical control.

Turkey is proving decisive in the Greek Army's dispositions even though it technically is not involved in the war. Turkey threatens its neighbor to the north, Bulgaria, that it will join the Greek effort if the Bulgarians attack Greece, pursuant to the Balkan Pact of 1935. Knowing this, the Greeks are free to throw their entire army and any levees against the Italians on the Albanian front. This includes three divisions from the Bulgarian front and six reserve/cavalry divisions.

The Italians bomb Patras, the port of Athens, a handful of times.

The Soviet Union supports the Greeks and sends 134 fighter planes to their aid. The Greeks are particularly weak in modern aircraft, and the Soviet planes aren't much better, but the additional planes are very welcome.

The British land troops at Suda Bay on Crete.

As highlighted in this issue of the Yale News, Charles Lindbergh gives a speech at Yale on 30 October 1940 attacking US foreign policy. Yale is the birthplace of the "America First" antiwar movement.

Battle of Britain: The weather continues its wayward path in 1940, with low-hanging clouds and drizzle. Above the clouds, though, it is bright and sunny, so the Luftwaffe resumes its attacks. However, they are much reduced from the previous days when the Germans lost a number of planes.

Things start late after the usual early-morning reconnaissance flights. German fighters escort fighter-bombers (Jabos) and some Junkers Ju 88s across the Thames Estuary around noontime. This leads to massive dogfights, but the German bombers get through to East Anglia, where they are met by more fighters.

A second wave crosses the Channel at around 15:30. This one crosses over at Dover and then heads down to the London area. Southeast London is lightly hit, while another group of bombers hits Harwich. Fighter Command is on the ball and turns away a lot of the raiders. Losses are light and fairly even in both of these waves, and the damage caused is light as well.

After dark, the London area bears the brunt of the bombing. RAF Duxford, Feltwell and Debden are attacked, but the poor weather hampers accuracy. Feltwell is the hardest hit, with one plane badly damaged, but overall the targets get off lightly. The Luftwaffe continues its nightly mining operations, this time off Harwich and, as usual, in the Thames Estuary.

Losses for the day are about 8 for the Luftwaffe (one Heinkel He 111 bomber, the rest fighters) and a handful for the RAF. As usual, the Luftwaffe does better in relation to the RAF when it keeps operations light and fluid, as today, rather than overbearing and ponderous, as in recent days. The RAF loses four pilots killed.

Several bomb disposal men receive the George Cross: Robert Selby Armitage, Herbert John Leslie Barefoot, Wilson Hodgson Charlton, and William Horace Taylor. Not to take anything away from any of these gentlemen, but it is becoming clear that the best ways to earn the George Cross are to work in a bomb disposal unit or be a Home Guardsman who evacuates people from burning buildings (and more likely than not succumbs themselves). This is somewhat at odds with the original purpose of the award, which ostensibly was to reward civilian heroism. Basically, the George Cross is simply becoming another military award for non-combat situations. And, yes, all of these recipients undoubtedly deserved every bit of their medals, as bomb disposal work is a deadly serious business.

To give a flavor of the situation at the time, Pilot Officer A.E. Davies of RAF No. 222 Squadron is shot down and killed over Sussex around noontime. His Spitfire, though, is not too badly damaged - Davies must have crash-landed it before he succumbed to his injuries - and someone else soon gets his plane to fly. Nothing terribly wrong with that, but it shows that the RAF treasures every plane and must use even a dead man's plane in later operations. It is unclear how the next pilot of that plane would have felt about being assigned the "death ship," and pilots can be a superstitious lot.

Adolf Galland of JG 26 gains his 50th victory, at this time second in the world to the 56 of Werner Molders.

James Lacey gets a victory and damages another Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Cherbourg during the day. After dark, it bombs several ports, including Emden, Flushing, and Antwerp. Coastal Command chips in with an attack on Ostend.

The Air Ministry authorizes area bombing, meaning unrestricted aerial warfare on civilian population centers. Heretofore, the attacks at least technically have targeted industrial or military installations. There is no question that this is amply justified by Luftwaffe attacks on British cities. However, this also undeniably represents yet another step lower into the savagery of unrestricted warfare. In practice, the bomber aim is so poor at this point that the bombers may as well have been engaging in area bombing all along, but now they can just target the centers of cities and not just airfields or power plants sited far from downtown.

Walt Disney receives the Progress Medal of the Society of Motion-Picture Engineers from E. Allan Williford at the 47th Annual banquet held at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. October 30, 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: They say that bad things happen in threes. Well, today four different British ships run aground and are lost, an unusual coincidence - but in wartime, so many ships are buzzing around under peculiar circumstances that sometimes the unusual happens. There also are a number of collisions. Helping things along was a violent storm across the region.

The Kriegsmarine suffers a rare U-boat loss. U-32 (Oblt.z.S. Hans Jenisch) is on its ninth patrol and attacks 5372-ton freighter Balzac in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. The torpedo explodes prematurely, and the Balzac calls over some escorts from Convoy SC 8 dozens of kilometers away. The tables then are turned and the U-boat is attacked by destroyers HMS Harvester and Highlander. The depth charge attack forces the U-boat to surface, and the destroyers riddle it with gunfire. The U-boat is afloat long enough to enable the crew to escape and scuttle it. There are nine deaths, but 33 of the crew survive to become POWs - a relative rarity when U-boats are sunk in action. Jenisch - who has sunk 17 ships, including recently the 42k ton liner RMS Empress of Britain, for a total of 110,139 tons - survives and becomes an outspoken critic of the U-boat as an instrument of war. Goebbels' propaganda outlets, meanwhile, go on to announce his and U-32's glorious but completely fictional return to port.

Convoy SC 8 is nearing its destination in Great Britain when destroyer HMS Sturdy runs aground on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides. The ship is lost and five crew perish when they try to swim ashore (it's always further than you think). They are buried at Soroby on the island.

A British freighter, the 5213-ton Simonburn, also runs aground at Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire and is lost. It appears everybody survived.

British 1381 ton coaster Alcora runs ashore and is wrecked near Rattray Head, Scotland. Rattray Head is a ship's graveyard, with numerous wrecks there that haven't even be identified.

French requisitioned gate vessel HMS Placidas Faroult runs ashore and is lost off Salcombe estuary, South Hams, Devon. The wreck has been only tentatively identified.

British 92-ton tug Seagem, a new ship built in 1939, goes missing and is presumed sunk around this date. There are no survivors to explain what happened, but a mine could have essentially blasted the tug apart. However, the weather might have been the cause, too.

A Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor of the Luftwaffe (1,/KG 40) attacks Convoy SLS-51. It bombs and sinks 4202 ton Greek sugar freighter Victoria west of County Donegal, Ireland.

British 57-ton motor launch ML No. 109 (Lt A. Kirk RNR) hits a mine and sinks near the Chequer Shoal Buoy in the Humber. There are three deaths, including Captain Kirk.

Passenger liner Duke of York, later renamed HMS Duke of Wellington during the war apparently to avoid confusion with the battleship, collides with Icelandic (some sources say Irish) fishing trawler Bragi off Wyre Light, England. The 324-ton Bragi has no chance and sinks, apparently with no casualties.

Destroyer HMS Fearless collides with 1904-ton British freighter Lanark and is damaged in the bows.

Minesweeper HMS Leda collides with a freighter and is damaged lightly.

Convoy FN 323 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 323 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 45 departs from Gibraltar.

U-146 (Kapitänleutnant Eberhard Hoffmann) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Wing Commander J.R. O'Sullivan forms a fighter Squadron on Malta. It is to be based at Ta Qali, an airport that will be re-opened for the unit. Ta Qali is basically a junkyard now, used as a dumping ground for old vehicles such as buses and lorries. The airfield was left like this to obstruct an invasion attempt and will have to be cleared to become usable again.

Italian submarine Scire under command of Prince Borghese returns from its unsuccessful launch of manned torpedoes against the British fleet at Gibraltar.

Italian submarine Bragadino drops off mines near Navarino (Pylos), Greece.

Battle of the Pacific: Converted minelayer Passat continues laying mines in the Bass Strait, dropping 40 of them at the eastern entrance. The Pinguin also is laying mines off the coast of South Australia.

German Government: Adolf Hitler returns to Berlin in the evening. He orders General Ritter von Thoma, the head of a military mission to Rome/Libya, to report to him immediately on the status of the Italian position in North Africa. Based on this conversation, he cancels any plans to send Wehrmacht ground troops ("boots on the ground") to North Africa for the time being because:

• The Italians were adamantly opposed to a German presence there;
• Marshal Graziani had been all but rude to von Thoma;
• It would be difficult to supply troops across the Mediterranean.

Hitler, despite this decision, still looks upon the Italian effort in North Africa as being distinctly lacking. He continues plans to send Luftwaffe units to the Mediterranean and also ground troops - when the time comes.

Best's Apparel, Seattle, October 30, 1940. After shoe-store Nordstrom merged with Best's, it became Nordstrom-Best shoes and apparel.

French Homefront: Marshal Petain gives a radio speech. He says:

It is with honor and in order to maintain French unity, a unity which has lasted ten centuries, and in the framework of the constructive activity of the new European order that today I am embarking on the path of collaboration.

This is a famous speech - an infamous speech - that is long remembered in France. In fact, it is remembered quite well at Petain's post-war trial. It would have helped his case if he had said something in this speech about not declaring war on Great Britain as Hitler wished, but for the time being he is going along to get along.

China: In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese 35 Army Group occupies Nanning from the retreating Japanese.

American Homefront: Cole Porter musical Panama Hattie opens on Broadway, starring Ethel Merman, Arthur Treacher and Betty Hutton. It becomes his longest-running hit to date, running for 501 performances. Oddly enough, it doesn't feature any classic Porter songs. This musical begins a string of Broadway hits for Porter which he personally thinks are mediocre, but the audiences of the time love - and which now are largely forgotten because he was right, they were mediocre.

President Roosevelt, campaigning for his third term in Boston, promises:

I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.

Future History: Charles Fox is born in New York City. He becomes a top - quite possibly the best - behind-the-scenes composer whose more recognized works include the theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports ("Spanning the globe") and the original Monday Night Football, as well as his (and Norman Gimbel's) Grammy-winning song recorded separately by Roberta Flack and the Fugees, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Fox also writes (with Gimbel) a trove of absolutely unforgettable television themes, including "Wonder Woman," "The Last American Hero," "Ready to Take a Chance Again" (for the movie "Foul Play"), "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," "The Love Boat" - yes, he wrote the Love Boat theme with Paul Williams - and, well, too many more to list. Mr. Fox remains active and published his memoirs in 2010, "Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music." He is quite possibly the composer whose songs you know the best but whose name you have never heard. The man is a legend.

An ad in the 30 October 1940 Edmonton, Alberta paper.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Wednesday 4 September 1940

Adolf Hitler at the Sportpalast in Berlin, 4 September 1940.

German Government: Adolf Hitler on 4 September 1940 addresses a crowd during the opening of the annual Winter Relief Campaign at the Berlin Sportpalast. It is one of his more memorable speeches, at least to English-speaking peoples. The speech reveals the decision he made in the Hague 3 September to begin bombing London, along with various bombastic observations.

At one point, he addresses the question of when he intends to invade England, which is on everyone's mind:

In England they’re filled with curiosity and keep asking, ‘Why doesn’t he come? Be calm. Be calm. He’s coming!

A few breaths later, however, Hitler signals the change of tactics that the RAF and city-dwellers are starting to notice across the Channel. It is this change of tactics which, perversely, is going to prevent him from "coming":

It is a wonderful thing to see our nation at war, in its fully disciplined state. This is exactly what we are experiencing at this time, as Mr Churchill is demonstrating to us the aerial night attacks he has concocted. He is not doing this because these air raids might be particularly effective, but because his Air Force cannot fly over German territory in daylight. Whereas German aviators and German planes fly over English soil daily, there is hardly a single Englishman who comes across the North Sea in daytime. They therefore come during the night – and as you know, release their bombs indiscriminately and without any plan on to residential areas, farmhouses and villages. Wherever they see a sign of light, a bomb is dropped on it. For three months past, I have not ordered any answer to be given; thinking that they would stop this nonsensical behaviour. Mr Churchill has taken this to be a sign of our weakness. You will understand that we shall now give a reply, night for night, and with increasing force. And if the British Air Force drops two, three or four thousand kilos of bombs, then we will drop 150,000, 180,000, 230,000, 300,000 or 400,000 kilos, or more, in one night. If they declare that they will attack our cities on a large scale, we will erase theirs! We will put a stop to the game of these night-pirates, as God is our witness. The hour will come when one or the other will crumble, and that one will not be National Socialist Germany. I have already carried through such a struggle once in my life, up to the final consequences, and this then led to the collapse of the enemy who is now sitting there in England on Europe’s last island.

When comparing these words - about "not crumbling" in the face of opposition, the unusual references to God, and "already facing such struggles" in his own life - to those Hitler utters in the bunker in 1945, there is an uncanny similarity. This is a time of tremendous stress on Hitler, and he appears to realize the enormity of the decisions he is making.

Spitfires taking off, an entire Squadron at a time, at RAF Hornchurch, September 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains good, and the Luftwaffe gets an earlier start than usual.

Before 08:00, the Luftwaffe attacks shipping off the Isle of Wight without interference. RAF Fighter Command is in a defensive crouch and focusing on defending cities from bombing.

After 09:00, two groups of attacks develop, one toward Biggin Hill airfield and the other toward the Eastchurch, Hornchurch, North Weald, and Debden fields. The RAF disperses many of the attacks, but a number of the bombers - Bf 110s - get through to Eastchurch and bomb the airfield.

Another Luftwaffe formation appears at 09:34, heading again toward Biggin Hill. This time, a number of the Bf 110s hit RAF Lympne, but don't cause much significant damage (holes in the runway are quickly filled).

A new tactic by the Luftwaffe is to bring over fighters after the bombing run itself in order to protect the bombers' withdrawal to France. To idle their time away while waiting, they shoot down the barrage balloons over Dover, as in past days.

Shortly after noon, more bombers cross at Dover, and around 13:00 the bombers - Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s this time - split up into a handful of different formations headed every which way. This leads to the biggest air battle of the day, up and down the coast. During the attack, which appears in hindsight to have been diversionary, a formation of Bf 110s comes in at tree-top level underneath the defending fighters. One group bombs the Short Bros. factory at Rochester, home of the new Stirling bombers, damaging it. Another group gets through and hits the Vickers Armstrong Works at Weybridge. This factory makes Wellington bombers. While only 8 Bf 110s make it through the defending fighters and fierce anti-aircraft defenses, they cause extensive damage and kill 88 people and injure 600 more - it would have been more, but many people are on lunch break. This is a devastating attack that puts the factory out of operation. The attackers lose heavily too, however, losing 15 Bf 110s during the raid.

Around 13:30, fresh intrusions occur along the southern coast. Another Bf 110 formation, this one from ZG 76, comes in unnoticed at first toward Weybridge, but when it is bounced, the carnage is tremendous. Another 16 Bf 110s are shot down, along with a Dornier Do 17. The Zerstörers do mete out some punishment of their own, and they kill four RAF pilots.

After dark, things change. The Luftwaffe sends bombers to Bristol, Avonmouth, Cardiff, Swansea, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Tilbury Docks. They are no longer pretending to target industrial targets, now the cities themselves are the targets, but oil storage tanks blow up near Cardiff which serves as a beacon for further attacks. The Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton is set ablaze as well. While the factories and oil tanks do take damage, the RAF begins to notice a change of tactics during the night toward simply releasing bombs over built-up areas rather than specific military targets.

RAF Bomber Command extends the radius of its attacks to Stettin, where it attacks a synthetic oil plant. The power stations at Berlin receive more attention, as well as oil installations at Magdeburg, warehouses at Nienburg, and the usual airfields throughout northwest Europe. More attempts are made to start forest fires in the Black Forest/Harz Mountains/Thuringian Forest area with incendiaries, but with little success.

The Luftwaffe loses the day in the air by about a 2-1 margin. The RAF's losses are pegged at 15 planes, the Luftwaffe's slightly more than double. In all, 11 RAF pilots and one gunner die during the day. Losses include 9 Spitfires, 6 Hurricanes and 1 Bolton Paul Defiant (crashes during night landing practice).

A Bf 110C after a crash-landing by pilot Oblt. Hermann Weeber on September 4, 1940, at Cousley Wood in Sussex. Kill markings are those of the unit CO, Erich Groth, whose plane he is borrowing.

• Hptm. Erich Groth of Stab II./ZG 76: four Spitfires;
• Oblt. Walter Borchers of 4./ZG 76: three Spitfires;
• Oblt. Hans-Joachim Jabs of 6./ZG 76: two Spitfires; and 
• Oblt. Wilhelm Hobein of 5./ZG 76 two Spitfires.

Looking at those claims might give the impression that the Bf 110s suddenly are terrors of the air again. However, they don't show all the pilots who didn't make it back. That's one thing always to bear in mind with Luftwaffe ace victory claims: the war in the air on the German side is a strictly Darwinian affair. A few pilots survive for long periods of time and prosper with exorbitant victory totals, while many, many others don't make it back at all and are forgotten.

Wilhelm Balthasar of Stab III./JG 3 gets his twenty-fourth victory southeast of London, then flies back to France severely wounded and is out of action for months.

The big coastal guns on the Channel ("hellfire corner") exchange shots without causing much damage.

Kriegsmarine Torpedo motorboat (Schnellboote) S-11.

Battle of the Atlantic: German torpedo boats of the 1st Flotilla make a series of attacks on collier Convoy FS 271 off Great Yarmouth/Cromer in the North Sea with great success. Several ships go down quickly. These coastal surface actions can be extremely short, sharp and vicious. While the British view colliers as expendable, they lose quite a few of them during the attack.

S-18 torpedoes and sinks British collier Joseph Swan. There is one survivor and 17 crew perish.

S-18 also torpedoes and sinks Dutch collier Nieuwland. Eight crew perish.

S-21 torpedoes and sinks 1729 ton British collier Corbrook. Everybody survives.

S-21 also torpedoes and sinks 2709 ton British collier New Lambton. Everybody survives.

S-22 torpedoes and sinks 1562 ton British cargo collier Fulham V.

S-54 damages collier Ewell.

Elsewhere, British 1945 ton ocean-going ferry Lairdcastle collides with freighter Vernon City while transiting from Glasgow to Belfast. The Lairdcastle sinks three hours later near the Mull of Kintyre, giving all 29 crew and 72 passengers time to be picked up by British destroyers.

U-47 (K.Kapt. Günther Prien) torpedoes and sinks 9035-ton British freighter Titan 250 miles northwest of Ireland. There are 89 survivors and 6 deaths. The Titan is with Convoy OA 207, and one of the escorts, HMCS St. Laurent, picks up the survivors. The master, Walter Francis Dark, later is awarded the Lloyds War Medal for bravery at sea for this action.

Prien's protege, Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass (Endrass had been Prien's second-in-command before this command), also gets a success today. His command, U-46, sinks by gunfire 1074 ton Irish freighter Luimneach, which carries pyrites, west of the Isles of Scilly around 22:00. The sinking is controversial. Apparently, Endrass surfaces and fires a shot across the bow to stop the freighter. After that, accounts diverge: the British captain, Eric Jones, claims the U-boat wrongfully continues shelling a neutral ship for no cause, while Endrass claims the crew panics and immediately abandons ship, making it a fair game as an abandoned vessel. Endrass has no torpedoes left, thus has to use the gun. There is mass confusion on both sides, and Endrass tells the men - who had crowded into one overloaded lifeboat - to go back and get a second boat. Endrass also gives them provisions. U-boat boss Admiral Doenitz, not the most impartial observer, sides with Endrass and maintains it was a good kill. Naturally, the British/Irish do not see it that way. All 18 aboard survive, and three crewmen are taken aboard the U-46, which somewhat salves the hard feelings over the event.

Royal Navy 550-ton tug HMS Saucy hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth. All 26 crew perish in the massive explosion.

The first Italian submarines arrive at their new BETASOM base at Bordeaux, France.

Convoy HG 43 departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OA 209 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 42 departs from Liverpool.

U-142 is commissioned (Oberleutnant zur See Nicolai Clausen).

Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass (standing). Endrass had been the first Watch Officer when Gunther Prien made his famous Scapa Flow attack and sank HMS Royal Oak.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Hats and related operations continue, with the final flourishes to the entirely successful operation applied today. Early in the day, HMS Illustrious launches nine of its Swordfish (815 and 819 Squadrons) loaded with bombs. They attack Italian airfields at Callato and Maritza on Rhodes. One of the Swordfish crashes on takeoff, killing the observer, and this keeps three other Swordfish from participating in the attack. Four Swordfish are shot down, the Italians lose two in the air and seven on the ground.

HMAS Sydney bombards Scarpanto. Battleship HMS Malaya and carrier HMS Eagle make port in Alexandria.

The RAF bombs Italian airfields near the Egyptian border. The South African Air Force raids Javcllo, Ethiopia.

At Malta, the coast is buzzed again at 21:30 by an Italian torpedo boat (MAS), but it gets away. There is an air raid alert in the late afternoon, but the bombers do not cross the coastline.

Winston Churchill is pleased with the success of Operation Hats and tells the War Cabinet that he is going to send Governor Dobbie, for distribution to the island, a letter of commendation. However, at the same time, the War Office tells Dobbie that many of the anti-aircraft guns that he has requested are needed elsewhere.

US/Japanese Relations: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull expresses concern about Japanese moves in French Indochina, where the Imperial Army has established bases at many key points.

German/Japanese Relations: The Japanese government holds meetings to decide how to approach negotiations for officially joining the Axis. The question is how to carve up the world, to create "spheres of influence" dominated by each power center, with a line drawn somewhere around India. The wishes of the Soviet Union do not appear to play a major factor.

French Indochina (Vietnam): The Japanese intercept a cable from French Army General Maurice Martin's government in French Indochina to the US and the UK which suggests that those two countries may consider intervening in French Indochina. Japan considers the country virtually its colony at this point. To protect its interests, the Japanese government considers invading rather than just maintaining bases there.

General Ion Antonescu, left, in Iron Guard uniform; Italian Minister to Bucharest Signor Pellegrino Ghigi; Herr Wilhelm Von Fabricius, German Minister to Bucharest, and Horia Sima, leader of the Iron Guard.

Romania: Repercussions from the recent Romanian territorial losses (to the USSR, Bulgaria, and Hungary) continue to reverberate through the kingdom. There is widespread public disgust at the government, protests, and calls for revolution. King Carol still rules as an absolute monarch, but that is about to change.

Throughout the day, King Carol still refuses to appoint Antonescu as Prime Minister despite his advisor ("courtiers") telling him that former minister Ion Antonescu is moderate and a better choice than one of the fascists from the Iron Guard who are threatening to depose the King and take over. Finally, during the evening, Valer Pop, an advisor to the King, decides to force the issue. He visits the German ambassador, Wilhelm Fabricius, to ask for Germany's support for Antonescu. Fabricius has had his doubts about Antonescu - who has been sympathetic to Germany since Munich more out of fear of German imperialism towards Romania than anything else - but abruptly throws Germany's support behind him.

Everybody, including King Carol, realizes that Germany is the only thing standing between Romania and the newly aggressive Soviet Union, so the King capitulates and agrees to appoint Antonescu. Antonescu, however, feels emboldened, and just being Prime Minister isn't enough for him: he now requests the full powers of a head of state. Carol agrees, granting Antonescu virtually all of his own powers as a monarch (making Antonescu "Conducător," somewhat similar to "Fuhrer"). Carol forces the current government led by Gigurtu to resign so that he can appoint Antonescu to form a new government. It is a remarkable rise to power for someone who had been in prison only a month before. It also is the beginning of what can best be described as a royal nightmare for Romania.

Holocaust: Chiune Sugihara, Vice-Consul for the Empire of Japan to Lithuania, is forced to leave his post in Kaunas, Lithuania when the consulate closes. Sugihara has been writing visas for thousands of Jews (exactly how many is unknown) so they can escape the gathering clouds of war and the Holocaust (many stories are circulating about atrocities in occupied Poland). Sugihara does this right up until the last moment, even throwing some off the train as it pulls out of the station. Sugihara also arranges for the Lithuanian Jews to be able to transit on the Trans-Siberian railway (for five times the usual price). Sugihara heads to Königsberg, East Prussia, where he cannot do the same thing. This "incident" is long-remembered both by the Jews he saves, as well as the Japanese government, which dismisses him for it (allegedly) in 1947. Chiune Sugihara is considered to be in the same class as Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, though not nearly as well known.

China: Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa, head of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and a career army officer, perishes in an airplane crash while on duty in Mengjiang, China.

American Homefront: R. Douglas Stuart, Jr., a Yale Law School student, organizes the America First Committee. Its mission is to keep the United States out of the war. Prominent members include Gerald Ford, Sargent Shriver and Potter Stewart (future SCOTUS Justice). The organization will find its biggest base of support around Chicago. The slogan is not new today, but the organization is.

Charles Lindbergh with America First founder R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. in 1940.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Friday 13 October 1939

Charles Lindbergh at an America First rally.

Western Front: Activity along the line dies down on 13 October 1939. The French destroy three Rhine bridges. Skirmishes east of the Moselle River.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-40 (Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Barten) hits a mine in the English Channel and sinks. There are three survivors and 45 fatalities.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) sinks the 6,903 ton Louisiane. It is a straggler from OB-17.

U-42 (Kapitänleutnant Rolf Dau) damages 4,803-ton British ship Stonepool of Convoy OB-17 by gunfire south of Ireland. The Stonepool returns fire. The U-boat, in turn, is sunk by destroyers.

The British detain US freighters Iberville and Oakman.

Convoy OA-19 departs from Scotland. OB-19 departs from Liverpool. HG-3 departs from Gibraltar for Liverpool.

Sweden: The King invites the heads of the States of Denmark, Norway and Finland for a conference in Stockholm.

Lebanon: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin, escapes from French custody dressed as a woman.

American Homefront: Charles Lindbergh broadcasts again for the America First organization. He faults Canada for bringing the western hemisphere into the European war. He calls for fascist and communist influence in the United States to be "stamped out." He also somewhat presciently argues that British and French colonies in the Americas should be given to the United States to cover war debts.

As a recent Gallup poll showed, Lindbergh's position is incredibly popular with the American public. In general, they do not want to get involved in a European war.

British Homefront: Two trains collide in Bletchley. Three people die. Some blame the blackout.

American Homefront: Alfred Hitchcock movie "Jamaica Inn" is released, starring Charles Laughton. It is about an orphan who learns that her guardians are pirates and bandits.

Alfred Hitchcock's film "Jamaica Inn" is released on 13 October 1939.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019