Saturday 22 February 1941

Jews rounded up in Amsterdam, 22 February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS Sir John Dill move on from Cairo to Athens today, 22 February 1941, having also made a top-secret visit to Malta as well. Accompanying them are Mediterranean Royal Navy commander Admiral Cunningham and Air Marshal Longmore. They meet with King George II, Commander in chief Alexander Papagos and the government, who continue the Metaxas position that insufficient British troops would be worse than none at all. The two sides also disagree on proper strategy, with the Greeks wishing to defend the fortified Metaxas line at the frontier and the British preferring a line further back. However, ultimately the British convince the Greeks to accept a British expeditionary force.

East African Campaign: The 12th African Division and Gold Coast Brigade attack Jelib frontally while another force, 1/1 King's African Rifles, comes in from the rear. The 22nd East African Brigade cuts the road to Mogadishu, blocking the Italians from retreating. The action begins at 05:45, and the Italian Colonial Infantry rapidly gives way. The British advance in armored cars and brush aside all resistance. By 13:00, the 12th African Division takes Jelib, which effectively ends Italian resistance on the key Juba River line. Firefights continue in the area throughout the afternoon, but the Italians are sent into full retreat. They try to establish another line between the river and Mogadishu, but the Italian command had staked everything on defending the river and have nothing in reserve. Some 30,000 Italian troops (mostly native) are either killed, captured or fleeing in wild terror.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Shropshire sits offshore and bombards Brava. General Cunningham cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell in Cairo, telling him that his forces can continue operations toward Harar, some 800 miles beyond Mogadishu.

British troops take Cub Cub from the 112th Colonial Battalion.

"William Wyckoff, of the American-Scandinavian Field Hospital in Norway, x-rays a British boy in his bed at the American Hospital in Britain in February 1941. Wyckoff had previously been stationed at Namsos in Norway." This is the Park Prewett Hospital in Basingstoke, Hampshire. © IWM (D 2068).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest during the night with 42 bombers. Admiral Hipper is still in port but escapes damage.

The Luftwaffe switches targets after dark. It sends 17 bombers against the port of Hull. There are many deaths, and extensive damage is caused by aerial mines.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London, provides a fresh and objective perspective on the effects of the Blitz in his diary. He notes that:

Once you get past St. Paul's, you come on whole blocks of which only an occasional twisted girder or brick wall remains.

This also is what contemporary photos show. However, the British press for one reason or another is minimizing the extent of the devastation by using such tricks as cropping photos to show St. Paul's and not the devastation around it.

RAF No. 317 "Wilno" (Polish) Fighter Squadron forms at RAF Acklington.

"Onboard a convoy vessel on patrol. Firing the starboard depth charge throwers." 22 February 1941. © IWM (HU 110317).

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Lütjens, commander of Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, has been searching daily for targets for his heavy cruisers Scharnhorst (Kapitan Kurt Caesar Hoffmann) and Gneisenau (Kapitan Otto Fein). Several days have passed, and nothing so far.

Today, his luck changes. At about 10:55, the lookouts spot a convoy heading west. This means that the ships are empty... but they are still worthy targets. Best of all, they appear to have no escorts at all. The two cruisers move in for the kill, but the ships disperse as soon as they see the German warships. During the entire engagement, they sink the following:

• British tanker Lustrous (6156 tons)
• British freighter Kantara (3237 tons)
• British freighter Trelawny (4689 tons, one death)
• British freighter A. D. Huff (5866 tons, ten deaths)
• British freighter Harlesden (5483 tons, seven deaths)

Scharnhorst sinks the Lustrous, while Gneisenau sinks the A.D. Huff and Trelawny. The two ships combine to destroy the Kantara (that must have been quick work). After dispatching these ships, Lütjens orders his seaplane aloft, and it spots the Harlesden about fifty miles away. Fortunately, as they are trained to do, the crew of the Arado seaplane destroys the Harlesden's radio aerial. After a long chase, Gneisenau sinks this fifth victim. All told, 25,431 tons of precious Allied shipping is sent to the bottom. Lütjens takes 180 prisoners, and the merchantmen crews suffer only 18 deaths - a relatively small number for so many ships sunk in the middle of the Atlantic without escorts.

Then, an event full of portent happens. Lütjens, of his own initiative, decides to send a radio report to Berlin detailing his force's success against the convoy. This, of course, ensures that his force's success will make the next day's propaganda broadcasts, which is highly prized in the Wehrmacht. Anyone familiar with the voyage of battleship Bismarck will recognize instantly that this unnecessary message-sending is a Lütjens trademark. It does not cost him anything... this time.

Lütjens now decides to move on, knowing that the surviving members of the convoy would have signaled the Royal Navy about his position. He signals tankers Schlettstadt and Esso Hamburg to meet him far to the south, near the Azores. The German ships steam on, unmolested and victorious.

U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) is lurking around the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland on its third patrol when it spots an abandoned tanker west of the Hebrides. It is 6999-ton British tanker Scottish Standard, which the Luftwaffe bombed on the 21st. The crew has abandoned ship, but there is a destroyer, HMS Montgomery, standing guard. Lehmann-Willenbrock quickly puts two torpedoes into the tanker, finally sinking it, then dives to avoid the inevitable escort attack. The Montgomery spends five hours and drops 37 depth charges, but U-96 gets away. There are five deaths.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Montgomery, which rescued the survivors of the Scottish Standard, spots a submarine - but it isn't U-96. Instead, it is the Italian submarine Marcello. The Montgomery attacks and sinks the Marcello with all hands. One of the rebadged US destroyers sent to the Royal Navy in the destroyers-for-bases deal, the Montgomery is proving its worth.

U-108 (K.Kapt. Klaus Scholtz), on its first patrol out of Wilhelmshaven, is operating south of Iceland when it spots 1617-ton Dutch freighter Texelstroom. Scholtz makes short work of the freighter for U-108's first victory.

British 6554-ton tanker Luxor is damaged during the final night of the Luftwaffe bombing of Swansea on 21/22 February.

The Luftwaffe also damages 7628-ton British freighter Kingston Hill far out in the Northwest Approaches. The ship manages to make it to Loch Ewe in tow.

In the same attack as on the Kingston Hill, the Luftwaffe damages 3621-ton British freighter Keila. The ship manages to make it to the Clyde without assistance.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Icarus lays minefield JK in the English Channel.

Kriegsmarine minelayers Brummer, Cobra, and Konigin Luise lay minefield Swine east of the Shetlands.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Union (N 56, Lt. Robert M. Galloway) is commissioned, as is antisubmarine warfare trawler HMS Mazurka (T 30, Lt. Victor R. Tyrrell).

U-81 is launched, U-257 is laid down.

Rounding up Jews in Amsterdam, on or about 22 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Admiralty realized on the 21st that the Luftwaffe was beginning to pose too great a risk to shipping, so it withdrew all of its ships from Benghazi Harbor - except for one. Monitor HMS Terror, which has been providing sterling service throughout the campaign by bombarding Italian fortifications, stayed in the harbor overnight to provide anti-aircraft support (experience in Norway should have proven that ships providing antiaircraft support are themselves vulnerable). Today, overwhelmed by the Luftwaffe attacks, Terror makes a run for Tobruk. The monitor finally runs out of luck when the Luftwaffe spots it running along the coast and attacks. Bombs cause the monitor to lose power, and the crew abandons ship. It is disabled and bombed again on the 23rd. The British finally get tired waiting for it sink on the 24th and fire some depth charges at it, sinking it. All 204 crew survive, quite a lucky outcome.

At Tobruk, the confusion continues in the port. Several ships have hit mines in the harbor, which supposedly has been swept clean. Today, Royal Navy anti-submarine whaler Southern Seas collides with a lighter and suffers damage.

On or about this date, HMS Upright torpedoes and sinks 2365 ton Italian freighter Silvia Tripcovich off Kuriat Island.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent fires at Italian shipping off Tripoli but misses.

The Free French continue shelling the Italian El Tag fortress at Kufra. The fort is well-garrisoned, but the Italians have no defense to the French 75mm field gun or mortars that are firing at them. The inexperienced Italian commander of the fort also is unwilling to make a sortie out to confront the French directly, despite the fact that he outnumbers them.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. Previous minings have been extremely successful at disrupting traffic through the canal.

General Rommel is determined to take the initiative on land with his fledgling Afrika Korps despite the fact that all of his troops have not yet landed. He sends troops to forward positions near El Agheila to conduct probing attacks.

Trucks used to transport hostages to a police camp outside Amsterdam, 22/23 February 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Admiral Scheer has just sunk three ships east of Madagascar after a long dry spell, and today it adds a fourth. Dutch 2542 ton freighter Rantaupandjang succumbs, but it is able to send a distress call before the crew abandons ship (two men perish). Royal Navy cruiser HMS Glasgow already is on its way, having received similar calls from Scheer's victims on the 21st. It launches its Walrus seaplane, which spots Scheer. The admiralty quickly vectors in half a dozen cruisers and an aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes. Captain Krancke on the Scheer realizes his danger just in time, though, and makes good his escape to the southeast.

US/Chinese Relations: Ernest Hemingway and wife Martha Gellhorn are in Hong Kong on an unofficial mission to gather data on the war situation.

German troops assemble hostages in the Jonas Daniel Meijer Square in Amsterdam, 22/23 February 1941.

British Military: Churchill's contempt for the Middle East Command surfaces again in a memo to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal. He complains about the "tone" of a recent message from Middle East RAF Commander Air Chief Marshal Arthur Longmore. Among other things, Longmore has annoyed Churchill by calling visiting Foreign Minister Anthony Eden "Anthony" and CIGS Sir John Dill "John." Calling Longmore "unappreciative" and "most pessimistic," Churchill wishes for Portal to give Longmore "a hint" as to how to improve his attitude and be more respectful. Considering that Longmore is an Air Marshal with an important command, this incident illustrates just how hierarchical the British command is right to the very top.

Churchill, in a memo to Secretary of State for War David Margesson, fixes the projected size of the British army at 53 divisions, 11 of them armored. By comparison, the Wehrmacht at its peak has about 300 divisions, the US Army 90 divisions and the Soviet Union over 600, though the divisions of each army differ greatly in size and equipment (a full-strength Wehrmacht Division, for instance, is generally comparable to a Soviet Corps). Of course, it is still reasonably early in the war, and the British army could be expanded beyond that figure by taking more men from the British industry. Churchill proposes to take a "wait-and-see" attitude about transferring more men to the army.

In another example of his repeated attempts to control the media, Churchill sends a memo to Minister of Information Alfred Duff Cooper about Sir Robert Vansittart. Churchill is upset about broadcasts that Vansittart has been making which "do not represent the policy either of HMG [His Majesty's Government] or the USA." He commands Duff Cooper to end the broadcasts.

Soviet Military: General Dmitry Pavlov, the big loser of the war games held in January, is promoted to the new rank of General of the Army. This is the second-highest rung on the ladder, under Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is the commander of the key Western (Belorussian) Special Military District which defends Moscow.

Filipp Golikov, boss of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), receives the Order of Lenin from Mikhail Kalinin. This is the Soviet Union's highest decoration, and it is Golikov's first of four - which actually is not very unusual. The record-holder is Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov, who received the award 11 times, and ten men received it at least 8 times. The principal characteristic of recipients is not necessarily quality of service, but rather their degree of fervor for the regime.

'Mrs. M Divolis, Mrs. A Marmaras and Mrs. L.J. Sigalas on duty at their stall', The Australasian (Melbourne), Saturday, February 22, 1941, page 20. State Library of Victoria Collection. A large parade is held today on "Greece Day" to honor the so-far successful fight of the Greeks against the Italians.

British Government: Menzies, in his diary, as usual, makes some sharp observations of the people that he meets. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Lord Cranborne, for instance, strikes Menzies as "an earnest lightweight whose fidelity to Anthony Eden has gained him advancement." Menzie views him as one of the "Yes men" of whom Churchill is so fond. As for Churchill himself, Menzies finds him "a tempestuous creature... pacing up and down the room, always as if about to dart out of it, and then returning." He also finds Churchill "Oratorical even in conversation," "the master of the mordant phrase," and "yes, I would think, almost without real humor." Churchill "Enjoys hatred," much of which he reserves for Irish leader Eamon De Valera who he calls "a murderer & perjurer." One thing Churchill is sure of, though, is "America's full help."
Dutch Homeland: In what is usually referred to as a pogrom, German Grüne Polizei (Orpo) and Dutch police continue rounding up hostages at the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in reprisal for recent attacks on police. All told, 389-450 Jewish hostages (sources vary) will be taken, detained at the police camp (Internierungslager) in Schoorl, and ultimately sent to the worst concentration camps. Two will survive the war. Tensions on both sides throughout the city are inflamed, and the Dutch resistance - led by the Communist Party of the Netherlands - plans to call a general strike.

The A.I.F. Marches – Australian Holds out a Helping Hand to the Heroic Greeks', The Australasian (Melbourne), Saturday, February 22, 1941, page 20. National Library of Australia Collection. This parade on Greece Day is held on Swanston Street. There are 4000 men marching in their summer battle dress.

February 1941

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

2020

Wednesday 12 February 1941

General Erwin Rommel meets Italian commander General Garibaldi in Tripoli.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Today, 12 February 1941, the Greeks complete the conquest of the Trebeshinë massif. The Italians, however, are building up forces for an offensive in the same sector.

As has been the case for several days, however, the real action is taking place in capitals across Europe and North Africa. In a note to British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sets forth current priorities:

[Y]our major effort must now be to aid Greece and/or Turkey. This rules out any serious effort against Tripoli, although minor demonstrations thitherwards would be a useful feint.... concentrate all available forces in the Delta in preparation for movement to Europe.

This change in priorities from North Africa to Greece is, as Churchill knows, opposed not only by Wavell but by his closest military advisers in London. However, Churchill is acting on his own initiative. He concludes his instructions to Wavell with alternative moves in case the Greeks prove uncooperative regarding British troop inflows (as they have in the past):

[T]hen we must try to save as much from the wreck as possible. We must, at all costs, keep Crete and take any Greek islands which are of use as air bases. We could also reconsider the advance on Tripoli. But these will only be consolation prizes after the classic race has been lost.

Thus, Churchill makes clear that Greece itself is only a pawn in the struggle against Hitler, and only useful in that regard. In essence, he proposes making war on Greece itself if it stands in the way of fighting Hitler on Greek soil.

General Rommel around the time of his arrival in Libya, 12 February 1941.

East African Campaign: The battle at Keren continues. Today, the 5th Indian Division's 29th Indian Infantry brigade is brought up from Barentu and added to Major-General Beresford-Peirse's 4th Indian Division. The plan is for troops already on the scene to create a gap in the Italian defenses, through which the 29th Infantry can pour through and overwhelm the Italian defenses.

It doesn't go quite like that. At 05:30, the British artillery roars and the 4/6th Rajputana Rifles advance toward the west side of the Dongolaas Gorge. The objective is the Acqua Col, a spot that connects Italian strong-points on either side. Things go wrong right from the start, though: the initial surge carries to the crest of the feature, but there the troops are subjected to murderous crossfire. The battalion leader, Captain Subadar Richpal Ram, is at the forefront, and he has his foot blown off and is shot dead shortly thereafter (Posthumous VC). The 4/11th Sikh Regiment comes at the Col from the side but is stopped cold. The Indian troops are forced to retreat again, leaving them with nothing to show for heavy casualties incurred in several days of desperate fighting.

Lieutenant-General William Platt now has tried to force both sides of the gorge twice, with no success. He decides to build up his supplies and troops and try a set-piece battle at a later date. Platt sends the 29th Infantry Brigade back to Barentu, which is served by a railway line and can be more easily supplied. The British sit down to devise a new strategy.

RAF planes bomb and sink the 590-ton German cargo ship Askari at Kismayo, Somalia, while on a voyage to Mogadishu. The crew of Askari manages to beach it on the 13th, but it is a total loss.

Elsewhere in Eritrea, British forces take Elghena south of Port Sudan.

At Kismayo, Somalia, the Italians scuttle freighters Integritas (5952 tons), Marghera (4531 tons), and Carso (6275 tons). The Carso is later salvaged and renamed Empire Tana.

Bristol Blenheim Mark V: pilot's controls and instrument panel on the port side of the cockpit. (IWM, February 1941).

European Air Operations: Air activity continues to be light due to the winter weather. The Luftwaffe sends a few planes over England at night, and for most of them, if they drop bombs, nobody notices. The RAF, which has been more active than the Luftwaffe lately, largely stays on the ground both during the day and night.

Battle of the Atlantic: With four German heavy cruisers (Admiral Scheer, Admiral Hipper, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst) on the loose in the Atlantic, the Royal Navy is as stretched as at any point of the war. Force H from Gibraltar departs into the Atlantic to cover Convoy HG 53, which has been under incessant attack by the Luftwaffe and U-boats. Late in the day, it is redirected to cover Convoy WS 6, a troop convoy bound for the Middle East - the other convoy would have to be left to its own devices.

One of those German cruisers, Admiral Hipper, illustrates today why the Royal Navy is worried. After stalking Convoy SLS 64 through the night just east of the Azores, it attacks at dawn. It is a reprise of its Christmas Day attack on another convoy in the same general area, but this time there are no escorts to send it fleeing for the port. In short order, Hipper sinks:

1. British 4876-ton freighter Warlaby (three survivors)
2. British 4712-ton freighter Westbury (five deaths)
3. British 4684-ton freighter Oswestry Grange (five deaths)
4. British 4542-ton freighter Shrewsbury (20 deaths)
5. British 4896-ton freighter Derrynane (all lost)
6. Norwegian 3924-ton freighter Borgestad (all lost)
7. Greek 5172-ton freighter Perseus (14 deaths)

Hipper also damages 4934-ton British freighter Lornaston. Despite all the losses, it is a fairly quick action, over by 07:40. Hipper probably could have sunk more ships, but it is a rainy and foggy morning, giving the convoy ships cover.

Much confusion develops about this encounter which is not resolved until much later. The British, in possession of the convoy manifest, correctly report 7 ships lost. However, the Germans claim 13 ship victims, and some survivors of the convoy (experienced sea crews) believe that 14 ships were sunk. This is a classic example of how eyewitnesses can perceive vastly different outcomes without any deliberate attempt to inflate the figures - though the Germans are not averse to inflating enemy loss figures.

After this attack, Admiral Hipper heads for Brest. Due to a chain of related reasons, this will be Hipper's last operation for a full year.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris sinks 243-ton French fishing trawler René Camaleyre in the Bay of Biscay.

Swedish 2139 ton four-masted hulked bark Gullmarn, built 1887, drifts ashore at Madeira and is wrecked.

British 8 ton fishing vessel Caledonian hits a mine and blows up.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Amaranthus (Lt. Nicholas B. J. Stapleton, K 17) and destroyer HMAS Nestor (Commander George S. Stewart) are both commissioned.

U-651 (Kapitänleutnant Peter Lohmeyer) is commissioned, U-301 and U-659 are laid down. U-651 develops a reputation for being crewed by particularly fanatical Germans, a spirit apparently imbued by Lohmeyer.

Soviet submarine M-122 is launched.

General Rommel takes command in Tripoli, on or about 12 February 1941 (Sturm, Federal Archives).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The halt order to General Wavell that arrives today from Churchill and the General Staff forces Wavell to completely re-direct his efforts away from Libya. Brigadier Dorman-Smith, General Wavell's liaison to XIII Corps, finally arrives in Cairo after his 570-mile drive from General O'Connor's advanced headquarters. His instructions are to attempt to secure permission for O'Connor's troops to continue westward. Instead, after being kept waiting all day by Wavell, Dorman-Smith walks in to find that Wavell is no longer interested in Libya at all. Motioning to maps of Greece that have replaced maps of North Africa on his walls, Wavell says, "You find me busy with my spring campaign."

In fact, today does mark a definitive end to Operation Compass. Some Italian troops have been holding out at Beda Fomm despite their hopeless position. Today, the last of them surrender. Throughout the campaign, including the very end today, the Italians have outnumbered the British by roughly 20,000-3000.

General Erwin Rommel flies on a Junkers Ju 52 from Rome to Tripoli to command the new Afrika Korps troops carried in three German transport ships that made port on the 11th. These transports carried elements of the 5th Light Division. The plan is for the Korps to include the light (motorized) division, a panzer division, and Italian infantry (the Ariete and Trento divisions). Rommel meets new Italian Libyan Commander General Italo Gariboldi, who replaced Marshal Rodolfo Graziani.

Rommel has his men march around the town square repeatedly to make it appear that he has more men than he actually does. He also has them drive real and fake German tanks. This is an old German trick, first practiced in the Rhineland in the 1930s when the Luftwaffe would fly the same few planes overhead to make it appear as if it had more forces than it actually did. Naturally, the Germans can assume that there are many British sympathizers among the local populace, word will get out, and appearances are important. The British are 400 miles from Tripoli, but there is virtually nothing standing between them and the few Germans in North Africa aside from Italian troops who have proven themselves completely ineffective.

The second convoy of ships carrying the Afrika Korps departs from Naples. There are four transport ships (Adana, Aegina, Kybfels, and Ruhr) escorted by Italian destroyer Camicia Nera and torpedo boat Procione. The convoy will follow the usual pattern of spending a day in Palermo before proceeding on to Tripoli.

British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and Chief of the Imperial General Staff General Sir Anthony Dill depart London bound for Cairo. Their mission (according to Churchill's written instructions) is to expedite "speedy succor to Greece" and for CIGS Dill to "advise on the military aspect." He provides a list of 15 points that "require particular attention," the most interesting (in light of later events) of which is "What is the minimum garrison that can hold the western frontier of Libya, and Benghazi."

Churchill's letter of introduction for Middle East commander General Wavell is illuminating as to colloquialisms in use at the time. He writes:

Request you will take all possible precautions for safety of our two Envoys having regard to nasty habits of Wops and Huns.

In another note to Wavell, Churchill offers his "heartfelt congratulations" on taking Benghazi, but forbids any further advances beyond "demonstration attacks." General Rommel later writes:

If Wavell had now continued his advance into Tripolitania, no resistance worthy of the name could have been mounted against him - so well had his superbly planned offensive succeeded.

Of course, the Germans could not know that Wavell was gung-ho for taking Tripolitania, but it was solely the decision of Churchill to stand pat and divert units elsewhere. Some consider this 12 February 1941 order to stop at Benghazi to be one of the greatest British military blunders of the war.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, on his extended journey from Melbourne to London, returns from Benghazi to Cairo. He experiences "My first Air Raid" before leaving the former, a visit at dawn by some minelaying bombers. The Royal Navy at this time is sending ships from Alexandria and Suda Bay in Operation Shelford to sweep Benghazi Harbor.

At Malta, the increased German presence in the Mediterranean is made plain by the first appearance of Bf 109 fighters over the island. A dozen 7,/JG 26 fighters escort a Fliegerkorps X bombing raid during the afternoon and shoot down three Hurricanes - the worst losses suffered by the RAF on the island to date. The Bf 109 pilots are veterans of the Channel Front and among the best fighter pilots of the time. They are led by ace Oblt. Müncheberg, who gets one of the victories.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Utmost damages 5463-ton Italian freighter Manfredo Campiero off Tripoli.

Rommel reviewing troops in Tripoli, on or about 12 February 1941.

Battle of the Pacific: Convoy ZT 2 departs from Wellington for Sydney.

Applied Science: Howard Florey's team administers penicillin for the first time to a patient (43-year-old Reserve Constable Albert Alexander) at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. While a policeman, Alexander incurred his infection to the face while pruning roses in his garden. The experiment is a success, but the patient dies (not enough penicillin available).

Work will proceed on this promising drug for infections. Penicillin, the first true antibiotic, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 and developed at Oxford by Florey, Ernest Chain, and others. Florey will travel to the United States during the summer to interest the Americans in developing the antibiotic further.

Italian/Spanish Relations: Mimicking the October 1940 meeting at Hendaye between Adolf Hitler and Spanish Generalissimo Francisco Franco, Mussolini meets with Franco at Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to chat "on all problems interesting the two governments at the present historic moment." The meeting is scheduled to take two days. Hitler has high hopes that Mussolini can convince Franco to join the Axis.

Italian/US Relations: Italy requests that the United States close its consulates in Palermo and Naples and consolidate operations in Rome. This purportedly is due to the recent Royal Navy raid on Genoa, which makes the entire Italian seacoast insecure.

Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov (Russian: Виктор Семёнович Абакумов; 24 April 1908 – 18 December 1954). The future first director of the newly created Main Directorate of Counterintelligence (GUKR) SMERSH, "Death to Spies."

Soviet Government: Internal security specialist Viktor Abakumov, head of the UNKVD of Rostov Oblast, arrives at the Moscow headquarter of the NKVD. His new role is as a Senior Major of State Security. He will be working closely with Lavrentiy Beria.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill takes questions in the House of Commons. He states that

I can recall no occasion when the question of peace aims or reconstruction has been mentioned by any of the representatives of the American Government.

Churchill also memos the Foreign Office conceding that he has received "no reply" to offers made to Vichy French General Weygand. On another topic, he urges the foreign office to be prepared to supply food to Spain in order to induce them to support the Allied cause.

Churchill's Assistant Private Secretary, Jock Colville, notes in his diary today that there was "great opposition" to Churchill's veto of any attempt by XIII Corps to complete the conquest of Libya. He mentions that CIGS Sir John Dill "felt so strongly about it that he was almost thinking of resigning." Colville notes that sending insufficient forces to Greece runs "the risk of another Dunkirk."

Spanish Government: Alfonso XIII, the former king now living in Rome, renounces the throne in favor of his son Juan, who is the third surviving son of the king. Alfonso was deposed by the Second Spanish Republic. Juan, known to history as Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona. Juan is the father of Juan Carlos I, the future king of Spain rather than Juan due to the post-war intervention of Franco.

Chile: The country is 400 years old today, and holds celebrations.

Dutch Homefront: The street battles in Amsterdam continue. The Wehrmacht works with local Dutch police to quarantine the Jewish quarter of the city with barbed Wire. Police checkpoints are set up, and nobody goes in (unless they are Jewish) or out. The occupation authorities meet with Jewish leaders and appoint them as members of the Joodsche Raad (Jewish Council). The Joodsche Raad is a very controversial organization that remains in existence throughout the occupation. Some accuse it of effective collaboration.

A comic book showing the first administration of penicillin to treat an infection.

February 1941

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

2020

Monday 10 February 1941

Romanian IAR-80 fighters.

Italian/Greek Campaign: While the action at the front remains quiet on 10 February 1941, the Allied capitals are buzzing with discussions about how to meet the expected German invasion of Greece via Bulgaria. According to today's Defence Committee minutes in London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill remains determined to help the Greeks. He is less impressed with the Turks, who, according to the Defence Committee minutes, he feels is "shirking her responsibilities." However, a neutral Turkey on the right of the line would be useful, and a spirited defense in Greece might induce the Turks "and possibly the Yugoslavs" to fight the Germans as well. The meeting reaches a somewhat uncertain conclusion, with it being "generally expressed that it was essential for us to come to the assistance of the Greeks if they would have us."

East African Campaign: After a one-day pause, the British Indian troops at Keren resume their attacks. Today, they focus on the left side of the Dongolaas Gorge and don't attack the right side at all. The 3/1st Punjab Regiment attacks Brig's Peak and Sanchil Peak next to it. As on their previous attack, the Indian troops are vulnerable to artillery and small-arms fire both at the mountain and on the approaches from the Cameron Ridge. The fighting is fluid and seesaws throughout the day, with both sides claiming the peak at different times. The day ends with the Indian troops managing to maintain two platoons situated partway up the heights. The two battalions involved, the 3/1st Punjab and the 4/11 Sikhs, lose 123 and 100+ casualties, respectively.

In Italian Somaliland, British General Cunningham (brother of Admiral Cunningham) opens Operation Canvas. This is an assault across the Juba River. The RAF raids Afmadu in Italian Somaliland. In Eritrea, the Indian 7th Infantry Brigade captures Mersa Tadai (on the Red Sea Coast).

At Kismayo, Somalia, the Axis authorities can see the writing on the wall regarding the approaching British troops. Eight ships make a break for it after dark, trying to escape to more secure ports. The Royal Navy, however, is patrolling offshore with improvised Force T. Heavy cruiser HMS Hawkins captures:

• 3809-ton Italian freighter Adria
• 5490-ton Italian freighter Savoia
• 5644-ton Italian freighter Erminia Mazzella
• 5594-ton Italian freighter Manon
• 7515-ton Italian freighter Leonardo da Vinci

German 7201-ton freighter Uckermark is approached by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle of Force T and its crew scuttle it.

2315-ton Italian freighter Duca Degli Abruzzi and 2699 ton Italian freighter Somalia are the only two of the eight ships that make good their escapes. They make it to Diego Suarez.

HMAS Sydney at Circular Quay, Sydney Harbor, 10 February 1941 (Sydney Morning Herald).

European Air Operations: After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends about 200 planes of RAF No. 7 Squadron over Hanover. Hanover is the location of a major manufacturer of U-boats. This includes the first operations for Short Stirling bombers. Another flight of bombers attacks oil installations at Rotterdam.

There is a Circus Raid on Dunkirk and a Roadstead operation on shipping off Calais. Both are by six Blenheim bombers escorted by heavy fighter escorts.

There are reports of a Luftwaffe air raid on Iceland. The only slight activity takes place over England, with a few bombs dropped on East Anglia.

Werner Mölders claims his 56th victory.

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather remains rough. Ice in the North sea damages U-147, sending it back to Cuxhaven for repairs, while Royal Navy 109-ton drifter Boy Alan is involved in a collision and sinks in the Thames Estuary. The frigid weather makes surviving sinkings extremely unlikely unless conditions are just right, and two ships sink today with no survivors.

U-37 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen) follows up its two sinkings east of the Azores on the 9th with another one today. Today, it torpedoes and sinks 1473 ton British freighter Brandenburg in Convoy HG 53. All 23 crew onboard perish, along with 30 survivors of the Courland which the Brandenburg had picked up on the 9th after U-37 sank it as well. Convoy escort sloop Deptford launches an attack on U-37, but the submarine gets away.

U-52 (Kptlt. Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 3364-ton British freighter Canford Chine about 306 km southwest of Rockall in the Northwest Approaches. There are no survivors from the 35-man crew.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6869-ton British freighter Benmacdhui in the North Sea off Hembsy Beach. The ship manages to make it to Tees on her own.

German raider Kormoran concludes its three-day meeting with supply ship Nordmark in the mid-Atlantic off the Cape Verde Islands. Captain Detmers takes his ship south. On this journey, Detmers receives a signal from Berlin notifying him that the Kormoran has been awarded two First Class Iron Crosses and 50 Second Class Iron Crosses, to be awarded to whomsoever he chooses.

Convoy BS 15 departs from Suez, Convoy SL 65 and SLS 65 depart from Freetown.--

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Blackmore is laid down.

US submarine USS Growler is laid down.

Highway Post Office bus #1, Strasburg, Virginia, 10 February 1941. This is a new "mail on wheels" Highway Post Office bus route of the US Post Office (Postal Museum).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The mysterious British troops that landed on Malta on the 9th in six converted Whitley bombers, a complete mystery to the British forces there, fly off again as mysteriously as they arrived at 18:30. This is Operation Colossus, an operation by 38 paratroopers of No. 2 Commando, No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion who are designated as X Force. They head north, where they drop near the town of Calitri in southern Italy. The objective is an aqueduct crossing the Tragino River in Campania near Monte Vulture. This carries the water supply for the Italian naval base at Taranto at the southern tip of Italy.

The British troops of Operation Colossus arrive over the Italian drop zone at 21:42. The paratroopers from the first five planes land quite near or in the drop zone. However, the sixth plane for some reason misses the drop zone completely and ultimately drops its six paratroopers in a valley two miles from the aqueduct about two hours later. Ordinarily, this might not have been a problem, given planned redundancy; however, this final plane just happens to be carrying Royal Engineer sappers and their demolition equipment. The commander of the force, Major T.A.G. Pritchard, forms a hedgehog around the bridge, but at first determines that he has insufficient explosions to demolish the aqueduct (which is found to be constructed, not of brick, but of reinforced concrete). However, he picks a particularly vulnerable spot around the western pier and manages to blow up both the aqueduct and another nearby bridge over the Ginestra River.

At this point, the Commandos split up into three groups and head for pickup on the coast. A local farmer spots the Pritchard group, and local carabinieri (police) soon arrives and arrests them. Another commando group tries to bluff their way out by claiming to be Germans, but the carabinieri round them up, too. All of the groups wind up as POWs, and the Italian translator with them is given to the Blackshirts, tortured, and executed. To add to the mission's later reputation as a fiasco, the submarine sent to pick the commandos up, HMS Triumph, must rescue the crew of a crashed Whitley (conducting a diversionary raid at Foggia airport) and would have been unavailable for the pick-up anyway because of security concerns that its location had been identified.

The operation is a technical success and a strategic failure. The aqueduct is repaired quickly, and the Italian base is unaffected because it has other short-term water supplies. The best result of Operation Colossus for the British is that the military learns that more planning is necessary for the troops after they are on the ground, not just on how to get them to the target.

Having stopped at Palermo, Sicily, the convoy carrying the very first elements of what will become the Afrikakorps (DAK) departs for the final leg to Tripoli. This is by far the most hazardous portion of the convoy route, both due to the presence of the Royal Navy but also because of mines and RAF aerial surveillance. The transports carrying the 5th Light Division troops should dock in Tripolitania on the 11th.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, whose troops have been a key component in the victories achieved over the Italians in the recent Operation Compass, has lunch with British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell. He records the following conclusions in his private diary:

(a) Tripoli probably not worthwhile
(b) Aggregation principle for AIF good, but must not be too rigid - e.g., guarding Canal or tackling Dodecanese. Difficult to find a front which will occupy entire Corps.
(c) Victory at Keren and Massawa would end East African campaign
(d) Thinks we should consider forming a Second Corps Headquarters.

The mention of Tripoli is significant, because, if Wavell knew that the Germans were on the verge of landing there, he might not think it was "not worthwhile."

In Libya, General O'Connor's XIII Corps continues clearing the region from Benghazi to El Agheila. O'Connor is seeking permission to proceed further west and south to Tripolitania and has sent a liaison officer to Cairo to get permission from Wavell.

Royal Navy Force H, which successfully bombarded Genoa on the 9th, arrives back at Gibraltar.

The RAF raids Colato, Rhodes.

Today marks Malta's 300th air raid of the war. It is a minor raid by one bomber at 18:40, with the aircraft dropping bombs at Hal Far airfield and Kalafrana.

Jackson Daily News, 10 February 1941.

Anglo/Romanian Relations: British Ambassador Sir Reginald has a meeting with Conducător Ion Antonescu. He asks Antonescu why so many German troops are necessary for training purposes, the purported reason for their presence. Receiving unsatisfactory replies regarding the growing German military presence in the country at the half-hour meeting, the ambassador decides to return to England. This is seen as the moment when Great Britain severs diplomatic relations with Romania - a country which at one point during the 1930s was a close British ally. However, officially the breaking of relations happens tomorrow.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt's personal envoy to London Harry Hopkins boards a plane to fly back to Washington.

Japanese/Thai Relations: The Japanese are "mediating" continuing negotiations between the Thais and the Vichy French to conclude their border war in Indochina. They send four cruisers ( IJN Suzuya, IJN Mikuma, IJN Mogami, and IJN Kumano) to Bangkok to "show the flag." This is Operation S, a not-very-subtle show of support for the Thais and an effort to pressure the French into a weak negotiating posture.

US Military: The 104th Automatic Weapons Battalion is activated at Birmingham, Alabama. Iowa National Guard unit 133rd Infantry Regiment is inducted into the US Army as the 34th Infantry Division.

Romanian Military: Deliveries of the first 20 home-grown IAR 80 fighters begin today to operational units of the 8th Fighter Group. The aircraft uses a licensed Gnome-Rhône 14K II Mistral Major engine (870 hp (650 kW) IAR K14-III C32 engine, switched to the 960 hp (716 kW) K14-IV C32 engine for the 21st through 50th versions).

Coincidentally, a Bf 109 arrives at Brasov today for purposes of testing a DB 601 1175hp engine on the IAR 80. Romanian pilots have complained that the engine in the plane is underpowered, and it also is in short supply. However, ultimately the DB 601 engine (removed from the Messerschmitt and transplanted into the IAR 80) is found to cause vibrations in flight and is not used.

US Government: While the US House of Representatives has passed the Lend-Lease bill, the Senate is still considering it. Merwin K. Hart, a founder of the New York State Economic Council, testifies. He states that the Lend-Lease bill likely would lead the country into war and create an authoritarian regime in the United States.
China: The Japanese 11th Army completes its return to its base at Hsinyang, watched by the Chinese 5th War Area. This ends the Battle of Southern Honen.

Dutch Homefront: In occupied Amsterdam, tensions are brewing. There are street clashes between SA street thugs and Jewish supporters. Daily resistance paper "Nieuwsbrief van Pieter’t Hoen," changes its name to "Het Parool."

Life Magazine, 10 February 1941.

February 1941

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

2020

Monday 5 January 1941

Italians surrendering at Bardia, 5 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The fighting at the Klisura Pass continues on 5 January 1941, without much change. Elsewhere, the lines have pretty much settled in for the winter.

The real action regarding the Italian/Greek war no longer is taking place in Greece, Albania or Italy. The British receive intelligence today suggesting that the Germans will be in a position to invade not only Greece but also Yugoslavia and Bulgaria no later than 15 January. This would greatly expand the British defense issues in the Mediterranean Basin. In fact, Hitler is nowhere near being in a position to launch such an operation so soon, and Yugoslavia and Bulgaria are not on the agenda at all yet - but he indeed is working on Greece.

General Papagos also is aware of the growing threat of German participation. He plans to make a final lunge for the key Italian port of Valona before they can intervene, and this decision will guide much of the coming action. The theory is that if he takes Valona, Papagos then can shift troops to meet a German invasion from Bulgaria. To do that, however, he has to act fast in Albania.

European Air Operations: The RAF bombs Palermo and Crotone. On the Channel Front, operations are very light due to the weather. The Luftwaffe makes small attacks on London and nearby areas, and British Coastal Command raids the port of Brest, but essentially it is a "free day" for both sides.

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Cappellini gets in a gun battle with, and sinks, 5029-ton British freighter Shakespeare off of Morocco. There are 20 deaths. The Cappellini tows the boats of the 22 survivors to within sight of land at Cabo Verde. This is quite generous of the Italians and captain Salvatore Todaro, considering that one of their own men was killed in the gun duel.

The seas in the Atlantic are rough, and survival in the frigid water has a very low probability. Dutch 6718 ton freighter Soemba capsizes and sinks in the heavy swells. There are 34 deaths and 24 survivors, picked up by fellow convoy member Rydboholm.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4427 British freighter Temple Moat in the Northwest Approaches. There is one death, but the ship eventually makes port at Gareloch. The Luftwaffe also damages 5483-ton Dutch freighter Alioth near the Cork Light Vessel, and it also makes port, at Ipswich.

German auxiliary patrol ships (vorpostenboot) VP 303 and VP 306 "Fritz Hinke" hit mines and sink off Ijmuiden.

Royal Navy sloop HMS Lowestoft is damaged by a mine in the Thames Estuary. It will go to Chatham for repairs.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Adventure lays mines in St. Georges Channel.

Convoy OB 270 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 376 departs from Southend.

General Wavell (right), Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, confers with Major-General R. N. O'Connor, Officer Commanding operations in the Western Desert, outside Bardia, January 5, 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Having cut the Bardia fortress in two, the Australians now go about reducing the two Italian pockets on either side. The 19th Australian Infantry Brigade advances to the south with six Matilda tanks and, along with the 17th Australian Brigade pressing from the other side, eliminates resistance there. The northern pocket then surrenders. Altogether, the British take 25,000-45,000 prisoners, 130 light and medium tanks, 400 guns, and hundreds of other vehicles. The valuable booty includes water pumps capable of producing 400 tons of freshwater per day. The Italians suffer 1703 killed and 3740 wounded, the Australian 6th Division takes 130 deaths and 326 wounded.

Next on the agenda is Tobruk, also to be attacked by the Australians later in the month. Middle East Commander Archibald Wavell already is looking past Tobruk. He tells his Chief of Staff in a note that Benghazi now is the ultimate objective of Operation Compass. However, his superiors in London now are beginning to worry about German intervention in Greece, so how much commitment Wavell will receive from them remains an open question.

The Italians, of course, are not happy about another military catastrophe. Radio Rome claims that the garrison was overwhelmed by 250,000 men and 1000 aircraft, when in fact only a single Australian Division, the 6th Division, was involved. General Rodolfo Graziani, however, has a better grasp of what actually is happening. He decides that Cyrenaica is indefensible and decides to fall back through Beda Fomm. General O'Connor of XIII Corps, learning of this quickly, orders the 7th Armoured Division to turn inland, cross the desert instead of taking the longer coast road, and try to block the Italian retreat at Beda Fomm.

Royal Navy forces including two cruisers (HMS Gloucester and Southampton) depart from Alexandria for Suda Bay, Crete. There, they will embark on troops for transport to Malta. This is the beginning of Operation Excess.

Italian 273 ton coastal freighter Vulcano hits a mine and sinks near Tobruk.

In Malta, two men receive the George Cross for defusing unexploded bombs: Captain R L Jephson Jones and Lieutenant W M Eastman, RAOC.

US/Vichy French Relations: Admiral Leahy and his wife arrive in Vichy at midnight, having brooked no delay in getting there from Lisbon.

Anglo/US Relations: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville makes port at Simonstown, South Africa as part of Operation Fish, the transport of British gold to New York. It begins loading $148 million gold immediately for departure on the 6th. These essentially are Great Britain's last reserves and will be used to pay for war material.

Belgian/German Relations: Rexist leader Léon Degrelle makes a speech in Liege in which he professes devotion to the Germans and Adolf Hitler. Degrelle's Rexist party never has been particularly popular in Belgium, and many even in his own party are not comfortable with this association.

Soviet Military: War games continue in the Soviet Union. Georgy Zhukov, commanding the "German" forces, is beating Colonel-General D.G. Pavlov, commanding the Red Army. This stage will end tomorrow.

China: The Nationalist Chinese (Kuomintang) attack the Communist New Fourth Army as it retreats at Maolin, Anhui Province, China. A force approximately a division in size is surrounded.

Amy Johnson, shown here under her married name, became famous in her Gypsy Moth. Among many other things, she was the first pilot to fly from London to Moscow in one day. Her most famous flight was from Croydon Airport to Darwin, Australia.

British Homefront: Amy Johnson, a famous early aviatrix now working for the government Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) ferrying planes, perishes following a plane accident. Flying an Airspeed Oxford from Prestwick via Blackpool (Squire's Gate Airfield) to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, Johnson's plane runs into foul weather and she drifts off course. After the plane runs out of fuel, Johnson bails out and is seen alive in the water. However, despite heroic efforts - the commander of the only vessel on the scene, Lt. Commander Walter E. Fletcher of barrage balloon vessel trawler HMS Haslemere, dives into the frigid water to save her but perishes later as a result - Johnson either freezes to death, drowns, or (as one theory has it) is sucked into the blades of the rescue ship's propellers after her parachute gets caught. The water is very rough and Johnson's body is never found. There is an inscription for Johnson on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede due to her ATA service.

There is some controversy over this incident. One theory is that there was a passenger in the plane who also perished - but, if so, that person never has been identified, and why that would be the case creates some mystery. Another theory is that British anti-aircraft fire brought her down after she strayed off course, mistaking her plane for a Luftwaffe intruder. Both theories have some tantalizing evidence that appears credible.  This is another case where the government records that remain sealed under the 100-year rule may offer some insight.

American Homefront: Broadway musical "No For An Answer" (Marc Blitzstein) premieres at the Mecca Temple in New York City.

Japanese Homefront: Hayao Miyazaki is born in Akebono-cho in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Hayao becomes interested in animation as a profession in high school but decides early on not to mimic others. He gets a job at Toei Animation in April 1963, and by 1968 is the studio's chief animator. That year's "Hols: Prince of the Sun" gets Hayao recognition, and he follows it up with Kimio Yabuki's "Puss in Boots" the following year. After leaving Toei in August 1971, Hayao joins studio A Pro, then other firms, working on various television series. At Telecom Animation Film he directs his first anime feature film, "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979), which is very well received. He begins to develop the themes of flight and cats, which he often combines in films like "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989). Miyazaki goes on to direct some of the classics of anime, including "Princess Mononoke" (1997), "Spirited Away" (2001) and "The Wind Rises" (2013). His company, Studio Ghibli, becomes known as the "Asian Disney." While Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement on 6 September 2013, he continues to work on various projects.

Chuck McKinley is born in St. Louis, Missouri. He goes on to become a top tennis player, winning the 1963 Men's Singles Championship at Wimbledon and winning the US Men's Doubles Championships with partner Dennis Ralston three times in the early 1960s.

Skaters at the Keizersgracht, Amsterdam on January 5, 1941 (Gigapica).

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