Tuesday 22 July 1941

A Finnish soldier wounded by grenade shrapnel at Kaalamo in Sortavala district, just north of Lake Ladoga, 22 July 1941.

Eastern Front: It is now, on 22 July 1941, exactly one month since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, and the advance is going exactly according to German plans. That is to say, it is proceeding according to Hitler's plans, but the German generals have different plans than the Fuhrer. Specifically, the German generals see a clear path forward to Moscow and wish to capture the Soviet capital as soon as possible. Hitler, however, is more interested in destroying Soviet armies in the field and taking the objectives on the wings of the advance - Leningrad, and Kyiv. The Wehrmacht is strong, but not strong enough to take all three at once. Adding to the tension, the army high command (OKH) increasingly feels that Hitler is intruding into operational decisions that are best left to military professionals like Generals Halder and Brauchitsch. Thus, while on the surface everything looks ideal for the German advance, just below the surface major issues are about to burst into the open.

Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, who would lead the advance on Moscow as commander of Army Group Center, notes in his war diary (Tagebuchnotizen Osten I) the following:

Brauchitsch (Wehrmacht commander) called and said the Fuhrer has ordered that all further advance of the armor to the east is no longer a matter of discussion.

One might think that this would settle the issue of an advance on Moscow once and for all. But, it does not, as German generals exhibit a surprising degree of independence (some might call it subversion) against the wishes of the Fuhrer. Note that many histories claim that the Germans had to stop for supply reasons or so forth - but they didn't. This was a Hitler order.

All that said, this may be the high point of the German advance into the Soviet Union in terms of matching reality to the objectives. The Wehrmacht has occupied some 700,000 square miles of Soviet territory and has large Soviet formations close to collapse at Kyiv. The German panzer spearheads are intact (if worn down), but the Soviets always seem to have more troops to feed into the grinder. A critical phase of the offensive is at hand because it is vital for the Germans to destroy the Red Army before the weather turns, and the pace of the advance must be sustained to accomplish that.

In the Far North sector, Finnish VI Corps advances 23 km southeast past Salmi along the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga to take the tiny village of Manssila. The Soviet defense is hampered by the troops' unfamiliarity with the area, its remoteness, and extreme German pressure on the main front. The Finns now are approaching the 1939 border, and Marshal Mannerheim, the Finnish commander, has a decision to make as to whether to invade pre-war Russia or settle for his purported war aims of simply recovering territory on which Finland has a historical claim. Nobody knows what Mannerheim's decision will be, but he only has another day or two to make it. Meanwhile, Finnish VII Corps on the western shore of Lake Ladoga finally has cleared a pocket of Soviet troops along the Jänisjoki River and can continue toward Leningrad. Further north, at Salla and on the Litsa River, the German/Finnish advances are completely stalled.

In the Army Group North sector, German Panzer Group 4 reaches Lake Ilmen to the south of Leningrad. The panzers stop here to do maintenance and wait for the infantry to close up with their advanced position.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Germans continue to subdue the Mogilev and Smolensk pockets. General Hoth's Panzer Group 3 recovers its units that have been assisting with the encirclement and prepares for further action to the east. The panzer spearhead at Yelnya consolidated its bridgehead.

In the Army Group South sector, Field Marshal Rundstedt's armies continue making progress toward encircling the large Soviet forces at Uman.

German medics assist a gravely wounded Red Army soldier. This photo was taken in July 1941, early on in the war with Russia, when Soviet prisoners are still treated.

In the evening, the Luftwaffe mounts another raid against Moscow with 115 bombers to follow-up the successful raid of the 21st. The Germans report losing 2-5 bombers, which jibes with normal loss totals during night attacks on London, while the Soviets claim to shoot down 15. Damage again is light-moderate - from experience in London, the Luftwaffe now should know that single air raids on large metropolitan areas have barely any minor noticeable impact.

In a sign of a situation that is becoming a problem for the Wehrmacht, Major General W. Nehring's 18th Panzer Division receives 30 new Panzer Mark III's and IV's. Despite this reinforcement, the division now is only at 20 percent of its authorized strength. This is becoming the norm for German panzer divisions.

Reinhard Heydrich, who apparently does not have enough to do as the chief of the Reich Main Security Office and boss of the Gestapo, likes to dabble in flying Luftwaffe combat missions - perhaps to justify on the battlefield his Iron Cross First Class and Frontflugspange (Front Pilot Badge) in silver. Heydrich is not a particularly good pilot (he began the war as an occasional turret gunner and, after training as a pilot, crashed on take-off on 31 May 1940, injuring himself). However, Heydrich has the clout to fly with front-line squadrons such as JG 27 anyway. Today, over Yamil, his Bf 109 is hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire. Heydrich manages to barely make it back to German lines, evading a Soviet patrol, but this is his last such mission. Hitler forbids Heydrich from flying in combat any more because his capture would be a devastating security breach and propaganda victory for the Allies - and likely very bad for Heydrich's health. It is not known how many combat missions Heydrich has flown altogether, but according to Ballantine Books' Illustrated History of the Violent Century (1973), Heydrich flew 97 missions in a Bf-110 twin-engine fighter. He likely flew many more missions, but how many is unknown.

Universal carriers and motorcycles of 4th Battalion, The Welch Regiment, on maneuvers at Keady in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 22 July 1941 (© IWM (H 11968)).

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends six Blenheim bombers on a sweep of the French coast, including the Le Trait shipyards. All of the planes return safely.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 63 bombers (34 Hampdens, 16 Whitleys, and 13 Wellingtons) against Frankfurt. All planes return safely.

RAF Bomber Command also sends 29 Wellingtons to Mannheim without loss. Smaller raids are made by 19 Wellingtons and Whitleys to Dunkirk, and 5 Hampdens to do minelaying off Brest. There are no losses with these missions, either.

According to Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano's diary, Italian leader Benito Mussolini has ordered the Regia Aeronautica to conduct mock air raids on Rome, one for every real raid on Naples, to "keep people sharp" and remind them that there's a war on. One takes place today, and the public reaction to such "practice" - which includes live anti-aircraft fire against Italian planes - is decidedly negative.

Having had a wild adventure in occupied Europe since the fall of France, including crossing occupied Europe and being arrested by the Spanish, then escaping, Dutch fighter pilot Colonel Remy Van Lierde arrives in England. He is interrogated by MI5 at the London Reception Centre and cleared for duty with the RAF.

Italian vehicle captured by NZ Infantry, 22 July 1941 (Ardboe Heritage).

Battle of the Baltic: The German 3rd S-Boat Flotilla (Kptlt. Kemnade) attacks a coastal convoy off Arensburg, Osel. They sink Soviet torpedo boat TKA-71 (sunk by S-29) and icebreaking tugboat Lachplesis (which sinks after being towed to Saaremaa).

The Soviet crew of destroyer Serdity, bombed by Junkers Ju 88 aircraft of KGr 806 on the 18th, finally gives up efforts to save the ship. They scuttle the ship in Moon Sound.

U-140 (Kptlt. Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel), a training boat attempting to follow up on its unexpected sinking of Soviet submarine M-94 on the 21st, attacks Soviet submarine M-98 at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. However, the attack fails, and M-98 picks up three survivors of M-94.

USS Chew (DD-106) and USS Ward (DD-139) at Hilo Sugar Docks, Territory of Hawaii, 22 July 1941. Courtesy of Mr. Jesse Pond (VP-1) via Mr. Robert Varrill. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. The future has something in store for the Ward.

Battle of the Atlantic: In the morning, the Kriegsmarine transfers battlecruiser Scharnhorst (just returned to duty from repairs) from Brest to La Pallice. The ship is in good shape and steams across the Bay of Biscay at a swift 30 knots, arriving on the 23rd. With Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen all in Brest harbor, they simply present too tempting a target to ignore - the RAF pilots refer to them collectively as the "Brest Bomb Target Flotilla." The Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen, however, remain in dry dock due to bomb damage, so they must stay put. The RAF, in fact, is planning a major air raid on Brest for the 23rd to destroy the ships, so this unexpected move throws a spanner in the works - but the British quickly learn what is going on and alter their plans accordingly.

The Royal Navy also responds to the German redeployment of Scharnhorst, and its response just after noontime shows how hair-trigger sensitive Whitehall is to the Kriegsmarine's capital ships. The Admiralty brings battleship HMS King George V, aircraft carrier Victorious, heavy cruisers Devonshire, Shropshire, and Suffolk, light cruisers Aurora and Nigeria, and destroyers Achates, Active, Antelope, Anthony, Escapade, Icarus, Intrepid, Punjabi and Tartar to one hour's readiness. All this is done for a routine passage of one German ship between ports. The majority of the ships remain on high alert for 24 hours, until the Scharnhorst is spotted by the RAF at La Pallice at 12:26 on the 23rd.

In the far North, four German destroyers (Friedrich Eckholdt, Hermann Schoemann, Karl Galster, and Richard Beitzen) conduct a patrol east of Murmansk along the Kola coast. They sink Soviet survey ship Meridian between Iokanga and Teriberka in Murmansk Oblast. This is a route used by ships heading to Archangel (Arkhangelsk). The Red Air Force attacks the German ships, but they make it back to port.

The last lifeboat from Royal Navy armed boarding vessel HMS Malvernian, bombed on 2 July, makes it to Vigo carrying 32 survivors, including the captain.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Teviotbank, escorted by survey ship Scott, lays minefield SN-21B in the North Sea.

The German 4th S-Boat Flotilla (Kptlt. Batge) lays 18 mines southeast of Isle of Wight.

Convoy HX-140 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool, Convoy SC-38 departs from Sydney, Nova Scotia bound for Liverpool, Convoy WN-56 departs from Pentland Firth bound for Scapa Flow.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cowdray, corvette Fritillary, and minesweeper Ardrossan are launched.

Canadian corvette HMCS Brandon (Lt. John C. Littler) is commissioned.

US destroyer USS Harding  (DD-625), not named after the former President but rather a Revolutionary War naval officer, Seth Harding, is laid down.

U-117 and U-171 are launched, U-450 is laid down.

"Marmon-Herrington armoured cars in the streets of Aleppo, 22 July 1941." © IWM (E 4409).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian scouts report Operation Substance, a British relief convoy to Malta. However, the Italian naval staff decides that this is just another routine Royal Navy aircraft ferrying mission to Malta that will be gone before surface ships can arrive. So, while the Italian Navy's (Regia Marina) surface fleet remains in port, Italian submarine Diaspro fires four torpedoes at aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and accompanying destroyer HMAS Nestor - and misses. The Regia Aeronautica sends 15 SM-79 and Cant-Z1007 bombers and 8 SM-79 torpedo bombers from Sardinia against the convoy, but the planes cannot find it. The Italians prepare to resume attacks on the 23rd.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tetrarch uses its deck gun to bombard the port of Karlovassi on the Greek island of Samos. The submarine claims to damage a number of caiques in the harbor, which are used by the Germans for communications between islands.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Urge attacks a small convoy off Palermo but makes no hits.

Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 830 (based on Malta) Squadron sink 8230-ton German transport Preussen about 30 miles southeast of the Italian fortified island of Pantelleria. There are 190 deaths. The Preussen is part of a Naples/Tripoli convoy.

British Blenheim bombers (or Swordfish of RAF No. 830 Squadron, the sources differ) bomb and damage 6996-ton Italian tanker Brarena about 80 miles south of Pantelleria. The ship is set ablaze and attempts to tow the Brarena fail. It ultimately sinks.

Greek submarine Glaukos, operating just off Castelorizzo (Kastellorizo) just off the coast of Turkey, sinks a caique carrying artillery.

The Luftwaffe attacks Tobruk harbor after dark and damages Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hero. She makes it to Mersa Matruh for repairs.

The Luftwaffe also attacks the Suez Canal during the night.

At Malta, the RAF Inspector General, Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, and staff complete their stopover and proceed to the Middle East.

Crew members of HMS Leander playing deck hockey while the ship is berthed in Alexandria, Egypt, 22 July 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Dunedin captures 5383-ton Vichy French freighter Ville De Rouen off the South African province of Natal. The ship is taken to East London, South Africa.

Royal Navy troop convoy WS-9AX (Winston Special) arrives in Bombay en route to Colombo and Singapore.

Battle of the Pacific: The last of eight Japanese cargo ships that have been transiting the Panama Canal, one per day since 16 July, makes the trip. The Japanese have been fearful that the US might search and/or seize the ships, but in fact, the danger was different than they expected. The ship makes it through just in time - the US authorities temporarily close the canal for "maintenance work" after it is safely in the Pacific.

German propaganda, Luftpost No. 10, 22 July 1941.

Propaganda: The German News Bureau reports:

On Sunday night through to Monday morning, the German Luftwaffe launched its first grand assault on the Soviet capital. A responsible authority in Berlin confirms that large numbers of bombers wings mounted an extremely vigorous attack. The raids continued for several hours without let-up, we believe from sunset until dawn. The German aerial attack on Moscow confirms that the German Luftwaffe has now been successful in setting up takeoff bases inside the conquered Russian territories. These bases are well situated for its bomber missions so that the bombers are now only a few hundred miles from Moscow and can make intensified attacks on the Soviet capital.

The News Bureau statement is factually correct as far as it goes. However, as with the raids on London from September 1940 to May 1941, the actual impact of such raids is highly questionable. While it may be true that the raid was "extremely vigorous," in fact it did not cause much damage of importance to the war effort and was largely frustrated by fierce Soviet anti-aircraft fire.

The German military high command (OKW) issues a triumphant communique:

The breakthrough operations of the German Wehrmacht and its allies have broken the Soviet defensive front into disconnected groups. Despite tenacious local resistance and dogged counter-attacks, any unified conduct by the enemy is no longer discernible. Operations to smash and annihilate the individual Soviet armed forces groups are continuing without let-up along the entire Eastern Front. Last night the Luftwaffe attacked Moscow for the first time in retaliation for the Bolshevik air raids on the open capital cities of our allies, Bucharest and Helsinki. Strong German bomber formations with good ground visibility made relay bombing raids on military installations in the Soviet Russian communications and munitions center in Moscow. Direct bomb hits started countless conflagrations and wide-spreading fires in the Kremlin district and around the Moskva river bend. High ranking Soviet headquarters buildings and government offices have been destroyed or badly hit, as have supply factories.

As usual with Berlin announcements, the reality is somewhat less dramatic than the OKW communique would suggest. The Soviet forces have been retreating, but now in some areas have reached defensible lines. The Red Army remains intact despite its savage beating in the first month of the campaign, and there is plenty of evidence of "unified conduct." As for the Nietzschean rhetoric about the effects of the Moscow air raid, the Soviet government buildings were barely touched - perhaps because they were not the targets in the first place. Instead, railways, airfields, and major factories were the targets, and those did receive moderate damage.

The Soviet Information Bureau has a somewhat different take on the matter:

Yesterday evening Moscow experienced its first air attack of the war. The sirens sounded at 10:00 P.M. after lookout men had reported more than 200 German bombers flying toward Moscow. Soviet night interceptor planes and antiaircraft batteries went into action and succeeded in forcing the bulk of the attackers to turn back before reaching the capital. Only isolated German-Fascist aircraft succeeded in breaking through and released a number of bombs that destroyed dwellings or set them on fire, but no military targets were hit. There were several dead and injured. Night interceptors and anti-aircraft guns destroyed 17 German aircraft.

While the Soviet news communique is somewhat closer to the truth than the German news bulletins, it also distorts the raid's reality. There were far fewer than 200 Luftwaffe planes (apparently 127), and virtually all of them did attack Moscow. Soviet night fighters barely had any effect, and the Luftwaffe records reported only losing four planes. So, each side is engaging in hyperbole to make the situation look better than it is - as one would expect.

German propaganda, Luftpost No. 10, 22 July 1941.

German/Japanese Relations: New Japanese Foreign Minister Teijiro Toyoda reaffirms the standing Axis pact with the Reich. Toyoda is considered more moderate than his predecessor and also is working with the United States to see if some accommodation can be reached.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler sends Mussolini an armored train equipped with the latest anti-aircraft guns as a birthday present.

German/Arab Relations: Deposed Iraqi leader Rashid Ali arrives in Germany after a roundabout escape via Afghanistan.

Japanese/Mexican Relations: The Japanese Foreign Ministry puts a stop to secret attempts to negotiate trade deals with Mexico that evade the US/Mexican prohibition against trade with Japan. Thus, they decide to terminate a deal already negotiated which would have sent 7000 boxes of rayon to Mexico in exchange for Mexican goods. The reason apparently is that the Japanese are fearful that they will wind up shipping the rayon, but not get anything in return, and they would have no legal recourse since it is an illegal transaction.

Slovakian soldiers ponder a staff car destroyed by artillery fire from the Soviet 44th Mountain Rifle Division outside Lipovec, Ukraine (east of Vinnytsia), 22 July 1941.

Soviet Military: General of the Army Dmitry Pavlov has his property confiscated, is deprived of all rank and is shot at the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow by the NKVD. He is convicted of "failure to perform his duties" and blamed for losing the early battles on Western Front along the frontier, up to the battle of Minsk. Pavlov (along with other Soviet generals) is rehabilitated in 1956 for "lack of evidence." Pavlov's deputy, Lt. General Ivan Boldin, is much luckier - he has been wandering behind enemy lines and, once he makes it back to the Soviet Union, will be acclaimed a hero.

The commander of the 4th Army, Major General A. A. Korobkov also is shot today. Many other Western Front generals are shot in the days to come, including the Chief of Staff, Major General B. E. Klimovskikh; the chief of the communications corps, Major General AT Grigoriev; the Chief of Artillery, Lieutenant General of Artillery A. Klich; and Air Force Deputy Chief of the Western Front (who, after the suicide of Major General Aviation I. I. Kopets, was, nominally at least, Chief of the Air Force of the Western Front), and Major General Aviation A. I. Tayursky. The commander of the 14th Mechanized Corps, Major General Stepan Oborin, is under arrest and will be shot on 16 October 1941.

Stalin does not tolerate failure. Is he a hero or a monster? Well, that all depends... did he win or lose in the end?

From left to right: Colonel-General armored forces, Hero of Soviet Union D.G. Pavlov; M.A. Purkayev; third – Army General, Hero of the Soviet Union, K.A. Meretskov; People’s Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko. This photo is from Summer/Fall 1940.

Finnish Military: Colonel Ruben Lagus, the commander of the 5th Division, is nominated as the first recipient of the new decoration, the Mannerheim Cross (2nd class) for operations in Karelia.

Dutch Military: While Holland is occupied by the Germans, the Dutch East Indies remain undisturbed. The military remains strong there. Today, it begins conscription throughout the territory.

Marga Himmler, a Gruppenführer der Waffen-SS, and Frieda Hofmann at Dachau, 22 July 1941 (Federal Archive, N 1126 Bild-16-001).

German Government: Hitler is touring the front. During the night, when he likes to expound on random topics with his closest cronies, he says:

The Englishman is superior to the German in one respect - that of pride. Only the man who knows how to give orders has pride.

To Hitler, this is a high compliment. Later, he goes a bit further about his attitude toward the British:

For the English, the ideal existence was represented in the society of the Victorian age. At that time England had at her Service the countless millions of her colonial Empire, together with her own thirty-five million inhabitants. On top of that, a million bourgeois — and, to crown the lot, thousands of gentlefolk who, without trouble to themselves, reaped the fruit of other
people's toil. For this ruling caste, Germany's appearance on the scene was a disaster. As soon as we started our economic ascent, England's doom was sealed. It is quite certain that in future England's Empire won't be able to exist without the support of Germany.

I believe that the end of this war will mark the beginning of a durable friendship with England. But first, we must give her the K.O. [knockout] — for only so can we live at peace with her, and the Englishman can only respect someone who has first knocked him out.

Unfiltered statements such as this appear to confirm that Hitler has very mixed feelings about the British, which may inform some of his military/diplomatic decisions. Hitler adds further that he's "met a lot of Englishmen and Englishwomen whom I respect." He does not, however, like those with whom he has had "deceptive dealings."

Back in the Reich, Alfred Rosenberg, five days after being appointed as Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, Alfred Rosenberg films an address for the weekly propaganda newsreel (Wochenschau). He states that he sees the purpose of his appointment as being to secure "the welfare and public order for the peoples of the East coming under German administration." It is debatable whether Rosenberg at this time knows his true role in the East - to ruthlessly exploit the people and resources there to the sole benefit of the Reich. However, with that statement, Rosenberg is simply parroting the exact language of the 17 July 1941 decree appointing him.

An army truck serving as an altar during a church parade in the Western Desert, 22 July 1941.

India: Viceroy Lord Linlithgow made a proposal on 8 August 1940 called the "August Offer" which sought the expansion of the Executive Council to include more Indian citizens. This was initially rejected by the opposition groups, but Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru of the Liberal Party finally has decided to accept the offer. Today, Lord Linlithgow announces a reconstituted Executive Council with more Indians than Britons.

Included in the reform is a new 30-member National Defence Council that will coordinate defense efforts throughout India - efforts which heretofore have been hampered by several different layers of government, including vestigial princely states. However, the internal politicking continues, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League, is upset that the composition, though primarily Indian, is not 50% Muslim as he has demanded. He also is upset that he has not been the one to choose the Muslim members. Accordingly, he orders all of his AIML followers to boycott the Viceroy's Executive Council and National Defence Council.

Heinrich Himmler's family (wife Margarete, daughter Gudrun) during a visit to Dachau Concentration Camp, 22 July 1941. They are in the herb garden there. Gudrun, age 11 and apparently pictured on the left noted in her diary that "Today we drove to Dachau. It was beautiful." Also shown in the picture are playwright Hanns Johst, Johst's daughter, Lydia Boden, Hanne Johst, Frieda Hoffmann, and some unidentified people. (Photo: Piper Verlag) (Federal Archive, Bild N 1126 Bild-16-002). Incidentally, Gudrun Himmler, later Gudrun Burwitz, became active with the Stille Hilfe, an organization that aids former SS members, and passed away in June 2018. It was revealed at that time that she was a secret agent for the West German government from 1960-63.

Holocaust: Vichy France requires all Jews to register their businesses and authorizes the confiscation of unlawful businesses (this is called "Aryanization of Jewish assets"). The purpose of this is to exclude Jews from commerce. One way around this is for Jews to find a Gentile to serve as a "front" - if they can find one. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't, and when it does the "fronts" sometimes take advantage of the situation. In practice, this new law makes a lot of successful French Jews have their businesses expropriated and become unemployed.

Anne Frank is captured on film for the only time incidental to the wedding of the girl next door.

Heinrich Himmler brings his family to Dachau for the day. His wife Margarete and daughter Gudrun spend the day walking through the gardens and enjoying a guided tour. Gudrun notes in her diary:

Today, we went to Dachau. We saw everything we could. We saw the gardening work. We saw the pear trees. We saw all the pictures painted by the prisoners. Marvelous. And afterward, we had a lot to eat. It was very nice.

Pictures show them in their "Sunday best" walking in areas bereft of prisoners.

Japanese Homefront: After two weeks of heavy rain, 12,000 homes in Tokyo are flooded.

Chief Engineer George E. Johnson is shown above speaking at the dedication ceremony of the Kingsley Dam, 22 July 1941 (Courtesy Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District).

Two unidentified young ladies drop a time capsule into the Kingsley Dam, 22 July 1941.

A crowd at the dedication of the Kingsley Dam, 22 July 1941.

American Homefront: New Deal project Kingsley Dam is dedicated. Located on the east side of Lake McConaughy in central Keith County, Nebraska, it remains in use. The Kingsley Dam uses water stored in Lake McConaughy. It began to fill quickly and irrigation water was delivered later in 1941. The project as a whole was officially completed in 1943. As of 2018, Kingsley Dam is still the second largest hydraulic fill dam in the world.

Future History: George Edward Clinton is born in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He develops an unusual form of funk music in the 1970s with his two groups Parliament and Funkadelic that leads to a solo career in 1981. He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 along with members of his groups. As of this writing, George Clinton continues to perform with his group "Parliament Funkadelic."

Vaughn Bodē is born in Utica, New York. He becomes a top underground cartoonist and illustrator perhaps best known as the creator of the character Cheech Wizard. His first self-published book, in 1963 at age 21, is "Das Kämpf." Vaughn Bodē passes away on 18 July 1975.

Ronald Joseph Morel Turcotte is born in Drummond, New Brunswick Canada. He goes on to become a top jockey. Turcotte is best known for riding Secretariat to the Triple Crown in 1973. In 2015, a statue of Secretariat and Turcotte crossing the finish line at the Belmont Stakes is unveiled in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, the hometown of Turcotte. As of this writing in 2018, Ron Turcotte is still active as an advocate for the disabled.

Susie Maxwell is born in Pasadena, California. Mostly under her married name of Susie Berning she goes on to become a top professional golfer, winning four major championships and eleven LPGA Tour victories in all. Since retiring from tour play in 1996, Berning has become a well-respected teaching professional spending time at the Nicholas-Flick Golf Academy. She divides her time between The Reserve Club in Palm Springs, California and Maroon Creek Country Club in Aspen, Colorado.

July 22, 1941 night photograph from Norfolk Public Library's Sargeant Memorial Collection featuring The NorVA on Granby Street in Norfolk, VA. Other businesses identified include Loew's State Theatre, Bamboo Inn Restaurant, and Wilson Shoes.

July 1941

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

2020

Wednesday 16 July 1941

"Low-level oblique aerial photograph was taken during a major daylight raid on the docks at Rotterdam, Holland, by Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 2 Group. The Commanding Officer of No. 18 Squadron RAF, Wing Commander T Partridge, in Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, V6267 'WV-M', leads the second wave of the attack in at low level toward the docks, seen on the skyline. Moments later he was shot down by the anti-aircraft fire and killed with his crew, Segreant G Dvorjetz and Flight Sergeant J Smith." 16 July 1941 (© IWM (C 1951)).

Eastern Front: The Germans continue their giant pincer movement at Uman on 16 July 1941. This involves several Wehrmacht armies heading for a meeting behind a huge Soviet troop concentration. Soviet Marshal Budyonny is determined to hold Kyiv and views assembling a mass of men in a relatively confined space as the best way to do that. The Germans also are forming a giant pincer at Smolensk further north. There are so many armies swirling about that another German encirclement here or there is not only not decisive, it is almost perfunctory.

General Halder hopefully notes in his war diary that "the enemy is softening" and "here, it seems he has nothing left in the rear." However, in fact, the Soviets always have plenty left in the rear to replace any troops the Germans take prisoner.

In the Far North sector, the 1st Jaeger Brigade of Finnish VI Corps reaches the northern shores of Lake Ladoga at Koirinoja on the eastern side of the lake. This divides the defending Soviet 7th Army, which also is defending against the Finnish VII Corps advance toward the western side of the lake. The Stavka grows concerned and begins calling in reinforcements from elsewhere along the Finnish Front.The Finns begin redeploying their forces, sending Finnish 1st Division forward to cover the eastern flank of the advance and also sending forward Finnish 17th Division (which had been left guarding the Soviet base at Hanko). German 163rd Infantry Division, the one that had traveled across Sweden by rail at the outbreak of the war, joins the attack as well. By the standards of the Finnish Front, this is a dramatic expansion of strength. The next objective is the railroad junction of Suvilahti.

Farther north, Axis Operation Arctic Fox is stalled at the village of Kayraly just beyond the road junction of Salla. General Hans Feige, commander of German XXXVI Corps, is hesitant about continuing the advance, so General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, in command of Army of Norway, pays him a visit. Falkenhorst convinces Feige to resume the advance, but Feige wins substantial time to regroup and the offensive remains dormant for the time being. The Soviets land an additional battalion of soldiers in the Bay of Litsa, reinforcing the defense of Murmansk.

"Near Mogilev on the Dneipr. A mounted patrol has reached a burning village, the scene of fierce enemy resistance. The German artillery has demolished the enemy, the village is clear, and the infantry now can march through." 16 July 1941 (Kessler, Rudolf, Federal Archives, Bild 101I-137-1032-14A).

In the Army Group North sector, a Soviet counterattack against LVI Army Korps (General Erich von Manstein) makes some progress. The 8th Panzer Division (Major General Erich Brandenburger) takes the brunt of the attacks on the Shelon River. A large part of its difficulties arises from the speed of its advance, as it has outrun its infantry - something that Hitler has been worried about. Manstein sends the 3rd Infantry Division (Lt. General Curt Jahn) to rescue it, and the Soviets decimate it as well. The Luftwaffe supplies the German troops by air as the slower Wehrmacht troops approach from the southwest.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviet 16th Army hurls counterattacks against the German 29th Motorized Division and 17th Panzer Division in Smolensk. Bitter house-to-house fighting takes place in the suburbs while the Germans slowly expand their grip on the heart of the city.

In the Army Group South sector, the Battle of Uman continues. General Ewald von Kleist’s 1st Panzer Group continues to split the defending Soviet Southwestern and Southern Fronts, taking Koziatyn. General Eugen Ritter von Schobert’s 11th Field Army, meanwhile, advances north from the Romanian border, and General Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel’s 17th Field Army advances to the south of Uman. The movement of all these armies gradually tightens the noose around the trapped Soviet defenders. Soviet Marshal Budyonny is under orders to stay where he is in order to shield Kyiv, and he does. Romanian troops take Kishinev.

The Luftwaffe's nine-victory ace Kurt Sauer of JG 53 becomes a prisoner.

View from the dorsal turret of a Blenheim bomber after bombing the docks of Rotterdam during the raid on 16th July 1941.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends a low-level raid at Rotterdam. The attacking 36 Blenheim bombers of RAF Nos. 18, 21, 105 and 139 Sqns scream across the Channel at mast height and score hits on a reported 22 ships (97,000 tons "destroyed," 43,000 tons "severely damaged"), including converted Dutch liner Baloeran, and harbor installations. However, the RAF loses four bombers in the process due to extremely heavy German Flak.

Five Blenheims undertake a sweep off the Dutch coast, while five Hampdens lay mines in the Frisian Islands.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 107 planes against Hamburg. The 51 Wellingtons, 32 Hampdens, and 24 Whitleys fly into bad weather, and only 52 planes report actually making it to the target while 52 others bomb secondary targets. The RAF loses 3 Wellingtons and a Hampden. Damage is moderate, with some fires, 1 injury and 154 people made homeless.

Battle of the Baltic: In a rare incident, Soviet battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and cruiser Kirov, with Red Air Force support, bombard the German-held port of Riga. This is another example of the Germans' occasionally shaky grip on the Baltic being exposed.

German Panzer III at Oinasniemi, Finland, 16 July 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2039-ton British freighter Elizabete off the Tyne. The ship makes it back to port in the Tyne.

Two Royal Navy gunboats, HMMGB 90 and 92, are consumed in a fire in Portland Harbour, Dorset.

US light cruisers USS Philadelphia and Savannah depart with destroyers Gwin and Meredith from Bermuda on a neutrality patrol.

Convoy OB-347 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-139 departs from Halifax, bound for Liverpool.

Free French Flower-class corvette FFL Lobelia (K 05, formerly HMS Lobelia) is commissioned.

U-701 (Kapitänleutnant Horst Degen) is commissioned, U-408 is launched.

U-701 is commissioned in Stülcken-Werft, Hamburg. Note that Kapitänleutnant Degen is saluting the flag. 16 July 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian submarine Nereide claims that it damages Greek submarine Triton using a torpedo and its deck gun between Ikaria and Mikonos. There is no confirmation of this attack.

The Luftwaffe raids the Suez Canal with 24 bombers during the night and also raids Tobruk in conjunction with the Regia Aeronautica. The RAF raids Tripoli and Benghazi.

An Italian convoy of three ships departs from Taranto bound for Tripoli.

Executions at Banjica concentration camp, Serbia, 16 July 1941. These apparently are the first at the camp.

Partisans: The partisan uprising Montenegro - the "13 July Uprising" - continues. Insurgents in Virpazar use some small boats to trade some injured Italian soldiers for food and medicine in Scutari.

Stalin's son, leader of an artillery battery, doesn't have much to say as a POW.

POWs: In an embarrassing incident for the Soviet Union, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin's son, artillery regiment Lieutenant Yakov Iosifovich Jugashvili (aka Yakov Dzhugashvili), is captured by the Wehrmacht. He is the eldest of Stalin's four children, the son of his first wife, Kato Svanidze. Yakov winds up in a POW camp near Borisov (Barysaw), and one of the other prisoners "outs" him. The Germans publicize the capture in order to use him for propaganda purposes.

Stalin, according to his daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva, believes that Yakov has voluntarily surrendered at the behest of his wife, Yulia. Stalin is so sure of this that, as soon as he hears of the incident, he orders Yulia imprisoned and "interrogated" (which in the USSR of the 1940s usually means some element of torture and mistreatment).

There actually is some evidence that Yakov surrendered voluntarily because a letter written by his brigade commissar alleges that he willingly put on civilian clothes in an attempt to escape from a pocket, but then chose to stay behind and be caught anyway. Since Yakov is caught in civilian clothes, the Germans technically have the right to shoot him - but the Germans shoot anyone they like anyway (pursuant to Keitel's pre-war orders), so they don't need any special reason to do so. Instead, the Germans keep Yakov alive in hopes of using him as a bargaining chip, shuttling him between several POW camps before sending him to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Yakov does not get along with the British prisoners and slips into a deep depression.

What happens to him there is not exactly known, but he does not survive the war. There are various theories and "interpretations" of the story. It is believed, pursuant to captured German documents, that Yakov is shot by a guard for disobeying orders. However, other variants of the story have him voluntarily throwing himself on the electrified wire surrounding the camp or getting into arguments with the British prisoners and then making some kind of disturbance.

Williams Air Force Base, now known as Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, sits on about 4,000 acres of land in Mesa, AZ. It is about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix. Williams AFB was established on July 16, 1941. It was used during World War II for training fighter pilots. It was named after Charles Linton Williams, who was born in Arizona and was a pilot. Over 26,500 men and women passed through the base and earned their wings.

Allied Relations: General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French, is startled at his headquarters in Brazzaville when he receives a copy of the Treaty of Saint-Jean D'Acre that ended the war in the Levant. He cannot believe that it makes no mention of the Free French at all. In a fit of pique, he repudiates it. However, he quickly is brought to his senses and ultimately channels his anger into advocating for the self-determination of the peoples of Lebanon and Syria - something the British already have decided to do.

US/German/Italian Relations: US Navy transport USS West Point (formerly the SS America) anchors off Staten Island and embarks 137 Italian and 327 German citizens. They are former employees of the consulates that the United States closed during the recent "consulate war." At 14:55, the West Point raises its anchor and proceeds to Lison, where the quarantined foreign nationals will be dropped off.

Ann Frank and Otto Frank, Laurens Nieuwenhuis (Miep’s foster father), hand in hand with his granddaughter Irene. Walking behind him are, from left to right: Anna Nieuwenhuis (Miep’s foster mother), Otto Frank, Anne Frank and Esther (an office worker at Opekta). Bep Voskuil. This is on 16 July 1941, the wedding day of Jan and Miep Gies.

German/Swedish Relations: After hearing some intelligence reports of Swedish ships at Göteburg loading steel for trade with Great Britain, the Germans warn Sweden not to permit any ships to head there or face invasion.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt's personal emissary Harry Hopkins arrives by air in London.

US Military: Chief of Staff General Marshall instructs General "Hap" Arnold, commander of the US Army Air Force, to send reinforcements to the Philippines, including B-17 bombers.

British Military: Captain J.A.V. Morse is named Naval Officer in Charge of Syrian ports with his headquarters at Beirut.

Vichy French Military: General Weygand becomes governor-general of Algeria.

Hermann and Auguste van Pels in Amsterdam on the day of Jan and Miep Gies’ wedding, July 16, 1941. They hide with Anne Frank and her family in the annex in Amsterdam. They both perish late in the war, Hermann at Auschwitz, Auguste at Theresienstadt (Anne Frank Foundation).

Soviet Military: In another twist in a very long road of the power of commissars, every Soviet command once again is provided with both a military and a political commander of equal responsibility. These commissars have no military training, but they have a lot of opinions and their own channels to Moscow. If the military commander does not do what they say or acts "improperly," the commissars and will denounce them. This gives the commissars outsized power and influence over military commanders, who ignore them at their peril.

Commissar of State Security 3rd Rank (19.07.1941) (the equivalent rank of Lieutenant General) Mikheev Anatoly Nikolaevich, head of the political side of the Kyiv Military District, provides an excellent example of how this works today when he accuses NKO Commissar/Marshal Semyon Timoshenko of treason. Mikheev points out the obvious, that Timoshenko had connections with General Pavlov and other executed "traitors," though his real motivations in making the charge may have nothing to do with that. Stalin begins to look at Timoshenko a bit differently and eventually takes away his title of NKO Commissar. However, Timoshenko remains in good standing, more or less, and gradually satisfies Stalin's suspicions.

"Coal Mining in Illinois, Strip mining photos," Coal City Public Library, July 16, 1941 (Photo printed by Douglas-Edwards Camera Shop, Joliet, IL)

German Government: At Fuhrer Headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia, Hitler convenes a meeting of his cronies: Hermann Goering, Keitel, Alfred Rosenberg, Bormann, and Hans Lammers (head of the Reich Chancellery). They contemplate something that was never decided before Operation Barbarossa: how to divide up the certain-to-be-conquered Soviet Union.

While plans remain vague, Hitler foresees Germany occupying all of the Soviet Union up to the Urals. He plans to keep the choicest and most strategic prizes for German, including Ukraine (necessary for its food production), the Crimea (as a tourist resort for Germans), the Baltic States (which have many ethnic Germans), the Baku oil fields (Germany has no indigenous oil fields), and the Kola Peninsula in the far north (considered important strategically). Of course, Germany hasn't conquered any of these places yet, but that is considered just a matter of time. Hitler also plans to annex Finland ultimately into the Greater Reich, but the time being will allow it to have its cherished territory of East Karelia.

Hitler confirms Rosenberg's appointment as Reich Minister for Occupied Eastern Territories.

Japanese Government: The Imperial Headquarters-Cabinet Liaison Conference has decided to attack south, rather than north toward Vladivostok, Russa as the Germans want. Foreign minister Matsuoka, however, greatly favors the northern strategy and drops some hints to both the Soviets and the Americans that it will join the attack on the USSR. The Soviet ambassador is startled and demands assurances that the recently signed non-aggression pact between the two countries will be honored. This causes a rift within the Japanese government, and Prince Fumimaro Konoye (Konoe) resigns to form a new cabinet - without Matsuoka. The ironic thing about this sequence of events is that Matsuoka's strategy has a lot to offer - more than drawing the United States into the war, at least.

Miep and Jan Gies on their wedding day, 16 July 1941.

Holocaust: The Petain government ordains that no more than 2% of lawyers can be Jewish.

The Wehrmacht permits men who are 50% Jewish or married to women who are 50% Jewish to serve.

Miep Gies gets married. Gies is one of the Dutch citizens who will hide Anne Frank and her family and four other Jews in an annex in Amsterdam. This marriage gives Gies Dutch citizenship and prevents her deportation back to the Reich where she is a citizen.

American Homefront: The New York Yankees travel to Cleveland to play the Indians at League Park. Yankees centerfielder Joe DiMaggio goes 3-4 against pitchers Al Milnar and Joe Krakauska. While not known now, this is the last game of DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak This record is never broken, and never even approached.

Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, hitting in his 56th consecutive game in Cleveland, July 16, 1941 (BL-5595-95, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library).

July 1941

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

2020

Thursday 12 June 1941

"Shells from HMS SHEFFIELD hitting the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4392).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 21st Brigade continues pushing up the key coastal road towards Sidon on 12 June 1941. The Vichy French assemble six battalions, including two French Foreign Legion, and a large group of tanks between Mount Hermon and the desert. The Vichy French also send three Tunisian battalions in the Jebel Druse sector.

The Australian 25th Brigade splits its forces, leaving a skeleton force to hold Merdjayoun (Medjayun) while sending the bulk as flank support for the 21st Brigade on the coast.

Free French troops capture Deraa, Sheikh Meskine, and Ezraa on the road to Damascus in the southwestern French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. They finally are held up Kissoué (Kiswe). During the battle to take Kiswe, General Paul Legentilhomme of the Free French is wounded and replaced by Lloyd of the Indian 5th Brigade.

The RAF torpedoes 1105-ton French tanker Adour off Syria. The tanker makes port in Turkey, which interns it.

Back in Cairo, the British are surprised at the fierce Vichy French defense of Syria and Lebanon. Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell orders the 16th British Brigade to Syria to add some force to the invasion.

Damage on Randolph Road, Dover, from bombing on 12 June 1941 (Dover).

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends a dozen bombers against coastal targets. RAF Fighter Command conducts more Rhubarb and Roadstead operations. These include RAF No. 11 Group sending 24 fighters of RAF No. 74 and 92 Squadron along with 12 fighters of No. 611 Squadron against Gravelines. As bait to draw the Luftwaffe fighters up, the RAF fighters escort three Blenheim IV bombers from No. 2 Group.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 91 aircraft to attack Soerst, 84 to bomb Schwerte, 61 to attack Osnabruck, 82 to bomb Hamm and 18 to bomb Huls. The German civil defense authorities finally begin to realize the scale of the threat and warn people to seek shelter during raids.

The Luftwaffe has most of its assets in the East. Before dawn, they send one Heinkel He 111 of 1,/KG 28 to bomb Birmingham. The Luftwaffe also raids Dover, killing 16 people.

Hauptmann Herbert Nebenfuhr takes over as Gruppenkommandeur of Erg. Gruppe./JG 27 from Hptm. Erich Gerlitz.

"One of the lifeboats from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME, full of prisoners, comes alongside the SHEFFIELD." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4402).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy continues its sweep of the Atlantic Ocean for German supply ships. Cruiser HMS Sheffield finds 10,397-ton German tanker Friederich Breme and sinks it. There are 88 German survivors (two of 12 wounded crew later die as well). Eliminating these supply vessels intended to support (now sunk) battleship Bismarck has the benefit of crimping U-boat operations.

German heavy cruiser Lützow passes out of the Skagerrak on her way to Norway and a later breakout to the North Atlantic. This is Unternehmen Sommerreise (Operation Summer Trip).

The Royal Navy is keeping a close eye on Lutzow's progress and sends battleship King George V and light cruisers Arethusa and Aurora to reinforce the Northern Patrol. Just before midnight, the British Ultra service decodes German messages indicating where the German ships are. To intercept them, the RAF launches five Bristol Beaufort Mk I torpedo bombers of No. 22 Squadron from Wick and nine Beaufort Mk I machines of No. 42 Squadron from Leuchars in Scotland. Just after midnight on the 13th, a Bristol Blenheim of RAF No. 114 spots the German ships and reports their position.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol and operating Lorient and operating north of the Azores, at 02:51 torpedoes and sinks 7005-ton British Empire Dew. There are 23 deaths. The 19-20 survivors, including the master, are picked up on the 13th by destroyer KNM St. Albans.

This is U-48's final victory of the war. After this, it will return to Kiel and become a training vessel. During its career, it has sunk 51 ships for a total of 306,875 tons, plus one warship of 1060 tons and three ships damaged totaling 20,480 tons.

U-371 (Kptlt. Heinrich Driver), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating south of Iceland, at 03:26 torpedoes and sinks 6373-ton British freighter Silverpalm (the identity of the ship is assumed from British records but officially is undetermined). In any event, everybody on the Silverpalm perishes - 68 people - and a lifeboat containing 8 bodies is found on 15 July.

U-552 (K.Kapt. Erich Topp), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire and operating 370 nautical miles (690 km) northeast of the Azores (south of Ireland), at 04:14 torpedoes and sinks independent 8593-ton British freighter Chinese Prince south of Rockall. There are 45 deaths, while 19 survivors (including the master) are picked up by Royal Navy corvettes Arbutus and Pimpernel.

"The German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME on fire after gunfire from HMS SHEFFIELD." © IWM (A 4399).

U-553 (Kptlt. Karl Thurmann), on its second patrol out of St. Nazaire and operating north of the Azores, stalks Convoy OG-64 and sinks two ships in quick succession:

• 5590-ton Norwegian tanker Ranella (sinks in 90 seconds)
• 2355-ton British freighter Susan Maersk (breaks in half)

The U-boat surfaces and uses its deck gun to finishes off the Ranella at 17:06. Everybody on the Ranella survives, though the Ranella's crew has to endure 12 days at sea in two separate lifeboats before making landfall at Figueira da Foz, Azores. All 24 on the Susan Maersk perish.

U-557 (KrvKpt. Ottokar Arnold Paulssen), on its first patrol and operating with Wolfpack West south of Iceland, is spotted by Royal Navy ships off St. John's, Newfoundland and attacked. The U-boat survives without damage.

Royal Navy auxiliary minesweeper HMT Sisapon hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Harwich, Essex.

Royal Navy escort ship HMS Sennen, a former US coast guard ship, collides with 88-ton drifter Animate in the Clyde. The Sennen continues with its duties.

At 01:27, Royal Navy light cruiser Arethusa, on its way to reinforce the Northern Patrol, intercepts 6537-ton Finnish freighter Kronoborg near the Scottish coast and sends it to Kirkwall for inspection. Light cruiser Aurora, accompanying Arethusa, also stops 1831-ton Finnish freighter Rolfsborg at the same time and also sends it to Kirkwall.

Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk departs from Freetown carrying 181 German prisoners taken from sunk German supply ships Esso Hamburg (9849 tons) and Egerland (9789 tons).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unshaken is laid down, the destroyer HMS Ulster is ordered.

US destroyers USS David W. Taylor and Capps are laid down.

U-574 (Oberleutnant zur See Dietrich Gengelbach) and U-575 (Kptlt. Günther Heydemann) are commissioned, U-135, U-581, and U-582 are launched, U-518 is laid down.

"Captain Otto Schultze, the Captain of the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME being interrogated on board HMS SHEFFIELD by Royal Marine officers." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4408).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine Torbay sinks 239-ton Italian schooner Gesù e Maria off Skiros Island.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku torpedoes and sinks Italian 1367-ton freighter Silvio Scaroni about 70 miles off Benghazi. Italian torpedo boats Pallade and Polluce attack the Taku, but it escapes undamaged.

Dutch submarine O.24 torpedoes and sinks 6660-ton Italian tanker Fianona south of Vada.

During the night, O-24 then attaches demolition charges to 143-ton Italian auxiliary patrol trawler Carloforte about 36 miles from Gorgara.

At Malta, an unusual naval action results when Royal Navy trawler HMS Jade goes out early in the morning to rescue a missing RAF pilot about 17 miles off the coast of Sicily. Two E-boats come out to confront the Jade and fire torpedoes. The torpedoes miss, and Jade opens fire, which returns fire. One man is killed on the Jade and the two E-boats take serious damage. The downed pilot, meanwhile, is never found.

The Italians send a formation over Malta from north to south and lose five fighters. The RAF loses two fighters, with one pilot killed and the other badly wounded. A third RAF fighter is damaged. Flight Commander Thomas Francis Neil of RAF No. 249 Squadron claims a Macchi MC-200 Thunderbolt fighter.
The South African Air Force conducts its first combat missions in North Africa.

"A wounded prisoner from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME being interrogated on board HMS SHEFFIELD." © IWM (A 4421).

Battle of the Pacific: US freighter Iowan runs aground on a reef a few hundred yards off Government Point, near Point Conception, California. The Iowan is towed off the reef late in June and repaired.

War Crimes: While this incident isn't intended as a war crime, it illustrates how even good intentions can go awry. At Malta, two Hawker Hurricanes are sent up to intercept enemy planes approaching the island. The fighters fire on one of the planes they find, a flying boat, in the darkness. The plane turns out to be an Italian Red Cross plane. The RAF pilots break off the attack when they realize their mistake, but it is too late - the Cant plane crashes into the sea, with unknown casualties.

This kind of incident resulting from the fog of war builds up hard feelings and leads to later incidents. The Italians, of course, don't know anything about good intentions and mistakes, they only know that the RAF shot down a Red Cross plane. Each side very much notices and keeps a score of these types of incidents.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese Vice-Consul in Hawaii, Takeo Yoshikawa (a Japanese military intelligence operative under the assumed name Tadashi Morimura), continues spying on US fleet and freighter movements in Pearl Harbor. Today, he reports that transport President Pierce has sailed for the Philippines with about 900 soldiers and 100 pilots on board.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler concludes his meetings with Romanian leader Ion Antonescu in Munich. They reach an agreement for Romania to participate in Operation Barbarossa. Hitler then prepares to return to Berlin.

Anglo/US Relations: RAF Air Marshal Arthur Harris arrives in the United States. He is head of the RAF purchasing mission.

Representatives at the St. James conference. Visible are King George VI, Polish leader Wladyslaw Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister Zaleski, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, South African High Commissioner Sidney Waterson, New Zealand Commissioner W.J. Jordan, Australian Commissioner S.M. Bruce, Canadian Commissioner Vinzent Massey, and Yugoslav minister Ivan Soubbotitch (Federal Archive Bild 183-M1023-508).

Allied Relations: An inter-allied meeting is held in London at St. James' Palace. Present are representatives of the governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the Government of Belgium, the Provisional Czechoslovak Government, the Governments of Greece, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia, and the Representatives of General de Gaulle, leader of Free Frenchmen.

Prime Minister gives a speech to the delegates, stating in part:

Hitler may turn and trample this way and that through tortured Europe. He may spread his course far and wide and carry his curse with him. He may break into Africa or into Asia. But it is here, in this island fortress, that he will have to reckon in the end. We shall strive to resist by land and sea.

The governments agree in the "St. James Agreement" on the following points:

1. That they will continue the struggle against German or Italian aggression until victory has been won and they will mutually assist each other in this struggle to the utmost of their respective capacities;
2. There can be no settled peace and prosperity so long as free peoples are coerced by violence into submission to domination by Germany or her associates or live under the threat of such coercion;
3. That the only true basis for enduring peace is the willing cooperation of the free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; and that it is their intention to work together with other free peoples both in war and peace to this end. 

Notably absent from the conference is an American representative.

"Oblique aerial view of Exeter airfield, Devon, from the north-east. Damage caused by the severe night air raids mounted against the airfield in April and May 1941 is still apparent among the buildings of the technical site on the left, including the large pre-war civilian hangar used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. In the foreground repairs to the grass surfaces have been carried out by filling in bomb craters with rubble from bombed houses in Exeter. Aircraft, many of which belong to the Gunnery Research Unit, are dispersed around the airfield and in the adjoining fields. Boulton Paul Defiants of No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron RAF can be seen parked in the double aircraft pens constructed around the dispersal loop track (lower right), which cuts across fields and hedge boundaries of land requisitioned from nearby Treasbeare Farm." © IWM (HU 91898).

US Military: The US Navy calls up the Naval Reserve to active duty who are not in a deferred status (e.g., married).

German Military: Hitler's adjutant, Rudolf Schmundt, travels to a pine forest near Rastenburg in East Prussia. Hitler has ordered him to check to make sure that a forward military headquarters is being built for him there.

The OKW distributes the infamous "Kommissarbefehl" [Commissar order] of 6 June 1941 under the innocuous title "Guidelines for the Conduct of the Troops in Russia."

The Wehrmacht is in the final stages of assembling 130 divisions on the border with the Soviet Union. There also are allied forces in Finland and Romania preparing to take part.

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler begins a three-day conference of senior Schutzstaffel (SS) men (SS-Gruppenführer rank and higher) at Schloß Wewelsburg in Büren, Germany. The SS has been building up fighting (Waffen) forces in anticipation of Operation Barbarossa.

"German prisoners from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME going on board HMS SHEFFIELD." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4404).

Holocaust: It is Anne Frank's 12th birthday. The family now lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her father Otto has had to transfer his shares in his company, Pectacon (a wholesaler of herbs, pickling salts, and mixed spices) to a non-Jew, Johannes Kleiman. The company was then liquidated. The family still lives openly on the Merwedeplein, but Otto's income has been greatly reduced.

In the Warsaw Ghetto, 15-year-old Mary Berg writes in her diary:

The ghetto is becoming more and more crowded; there is a constant stream of new refugees. These are Jews from the provinces who have been robbed of all their possessions. Upon their arrival the scene is always the same: the guard at the gate checks the identity of the refugee, and when he finds out he is a Jew, gives him a push with the butt of his rifle as a sign that he may enter our Paradise. […] These people are ragged and barefoot, with the tragic eyes of those who are starving. Most of them are women and children. They become charges of the community, which sets them up in so-called homes. There they die sooner or later.

She concludes her entry: "The community is helpless."

Members of C Company, 2/33rd Battalion loading up a donkey with rations and ammunition to supply troops occupying a strategic position overlooking one of the mount roads to Merdjayoun [Australian War Memorial AWM 008205].

American Homefront: President Roosevelt nominates Harlan F. Stone to be the 12th Chief Justice of the United States, and also James Byrne as an associate justice. Stone will be confirmed on 28 June, and Byrne on 8 July.

In his weekly radio address, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron states that the Los Angeles Police Department has done a good job handling the recent North American Aviation Strike. He claims that the police were unable to handle the violent confrontation, requiring the presence of US Army troops to secure the plant and return it to operation pursuant to President Roosevelt's recent executive order.

Future History: Marvin Philip Aufrichtig is born in Brooklyn, New York. As Marv Albert, he becomes a broadcaster who serves for 37 years beginning in 1967 for the New York Knicks NBA team. He also becomes the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the NBA on NBC in the 1990s. As of this writing, Marv Albert continues to serve as a broadcaster for the NBA, NCAA, TNT and in other venues.

Armando Anthony Corea is born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. As Chick Corea, he becomes a legendary jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer. He continues to perform as of this writing.

Reginald Maurice Ball is born in Andover, United Kingdom. Adopting the stage name of Reg Presley, he becomes the lead singer and composer with 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs. He is best known for classics "Wild Thing" and "With A Girl Like You." Reg Presley passes away on 4 February 2013.

A nurse with a patient at Sandleford Priory, a country house at Sandleford in Berkshire. Sandleford is one of many taken over by the Joint War Organization (of the British Red Cross and Order of St John) to provide convalescent care and rehabilitation for injured servicemen, 12 June 1941.

June 1941

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

2020