Thursday 22 May 1941

Junkers Ju 87 Stukas flying in open formation from the Argos airfield (Peloponnese) to perform attacks near Crete, 22 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: The real action in the Iraq war on 22 May 1941 has shifted far to the east. All German supplies to the Rashid Ali government must pass through Vichy Syria, which has given the Luftwaffe transit rights. The British are gearing up to invade Syria in response. General Maitland Wilson, who is drawing up plans for the invasion, today meets with Major General John Lavarack, who will command British troops in the assault, at Sarafand.

Wilson plans to invade Syria in three separate brigade columns along isolated roads - a risky gambit, as the columns would not be able to support each other. However, British military intelligence reports that French morale in Syria is very low and the invasion will be easy.

At Fallujah, the Iraqi 6th Infantry Brigade counterattacks. They have Italian-made light tanks, but the RAF provides critical support with 56 sorties. The RAF destroys an Iraqi relief column of 40 vehicles heading for Fallujah, losing an Audax biplane (the crew reaches British lines by removing the Lewis machine gun and using it to hold off Iraqis trying to capture them). The British hold their ground and capture six light tanks.

Six sailors from HMAS Yarra go undercover to conduct reconnaissance at Maqil, Iraq. This is pursuant to Operation Scoop, the full-scale invasion of Iraq.

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command conducts Rhubarb operations during the day. RAF Bomber Command sends 16 planes on anti-shipping missions. There is extensive reconnaissance on both sides regarding the Bismarck/Prinz Eugen sortie to the North Atlantic.

British troops in Iraq, May 1941.

East African Campaign: The Allies (East African 22nd Infantry Brigade) capture Sodo (Soddu) in Abyssinia. The Italian 21st and 24th Colonial Divisions withdraw across the Omo River in Galla-Sidamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-111 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Kleinschmidt), on its first patrol and operating with Wolfpack West south of Greenland, torpedoes and sinks 4813-ton British freighter Barnby. This is additional destruction to Convoy HX-126, which has suffered badly and now is dispersed with every ship on its own. After this, U-111 heads for Lorient.

U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on her fourth patrol and operating off Freetown, torpedoes and badly damages (later sinks) 6857-ton British freighter British Grenadier. The entire crew is picked up by Portuguese freighter Ganda before the ship sinks and taken to Freetown.

German Battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen continue up the Norwegian coast. At 04:14, the destroyers detach from the Flotilla and head to Trondheim. At the very end of the day, around midnight, Admiral Lütjens orders the turn toward the northwest for the breakout through the Denmark Strait.

HMS Hood heads toward the Denmark Strait, 22 May 1941.

At 23:00, Battleship HMS King George V, battlecruiser Hood, fleet carrier HMS Victorious, cruisers and destroyers head to sea to support the ships (cruisers Birmingham and Manchester and five trawlers) guarding the Denmark Strait.

The minelayer HNMS Nautilus (M 12) of the Royal Dutch Navy, lost to a collision on 22 May 1941.

Royal Dutch Navy minelayer HNLMS Nautilus collides with British freighter Murrayfield near Saltfleet at 00:23. The Nautilus sinks, but there are no casualties.

British freighter Ben Veg collides with freighter Brittany and sinks in the Irish Sea about 8 miles north of Point of Ayre, Isle of Man. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British 5249-ton freighter Empire Progress southwest of Needles. There are four deaths. The master beaches the ship at Totland Bay, and it is later taken to Southampton for repair.

German 5088-ton freighter Ditmar Koel hits a mine and sinks off the island of Juist near Norden in Lower Saxony.

German freighter Käte Grammerstorf hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea north of Ameland, Friesland.

Italian torpedo boat Lupo (Captain Francesco Mimbelli), badly damaged on the night of 21/21 May 1941 while escorting a convoy to Crete.

HMS Edinburgh intercepts and captures German freighter Lech in the Bay of Biscay.

Royal Navy destroyer HMCS Saguenay completes a refit at Barrow-in-Furness.

Minelayer Teviot Bank lays minefield BS-61 in the English Channel.

Convoy SL-75 departs Gibraltar for England, Convoy WS-8B (Winston Special) departs the Clyde bound for Freetown (and ultimately Suez).

Corvette HMCS Arvida is commissioned.

US Navy tug USS Hoga is commissioned and minesweeper Nuthatch is laid down.

U-564 (Oblt. Reinhard Suhren) rescues the four-man crew of a downed Junkers Ju-88 off of Gdynia (Gotenhafen).

U-373 (Oblt. Paul-Karl Loeser) and U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) are commissioned.

HMS Gloucester undertaking evasive maneuvers prior to being sunk, 22 May 1941. This photo was taken from a Luftwaffe bomber (IWM (HU 24829)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Two completely separate, but inextricably intertwined - battles develop at Crete. The British lose both of them.

At Sea Off Crete:

Everyone on both sides by this point understands that Maleme airfield in the western portion of Crete is the key to the German invasion of Crete (Operation Mercury). From the British perspective, the goal is preventing German reinforcements and supplies to that location, which can only come in by two routes: Junkers Ju 52 transport planes flying from the north, and caiques from Greek ports. The Luftwaffe understands that, if it cannot maintain effective communications with its troops on Crete, they are doomed and the entire invasion will fail.

Both German routes to Crete depend upon airpower. The commander of the Luftwaffe VIII Air Corps, General Freiherr Wolfram von Richthofen, has a powerful force of Bf-109s, Bf 110s, Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers, and Dornier Do-17 and Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers. These oppose Royal Navy Admiral Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet, which has gathered 14-19 large warships (including battleships HMS Valiant and Warspite) to block the German supply routes. The Germans and Italians have no naval presence worth mentioning, and the RAF is too distant to play much of a role (considering that it evacuated Crete on 19 May). The events of Operation Mercury on 22 May 1941 thus develops into a classic confrontation between air and naval power, something that has been debated by all major powers for over twenty years.

While little recognized, the real problem for the Royal Navy is far away. Two desperately needed aircraft carriers are far away, at Gibraltar with Force H, after having just completed Operation Splice (sending planes to Malta). They could steam east... but the Bismarck is on the loose, and the carriers will be needed in the Atlantic. The Royal Navy is being stretched, and the ships off Crete are paying the price.

HMS Gloucester, sunk off Crete on 22 May 1941. The Gloucester was a modern ship, commissioned on 31 January 1939.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance identifies the locations of the Royal Navy units at first light. Stukageschwader 2, commanded by Lt. Col. Oskar Dinort, takes off immediately. The Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers spot two cruisers and two destroyers about 25 miles north of Crete. Cruisers HMS Fiji and Gloucester are slightly damaged by near misses, while the Germans ignore destroyers Greyhound and Griffin. After the Luftwaffe planes leave, the Royal Navy flotilla heads west to join the rest of the fleet about 30 miles off the coast.

East of Crete, the Royal Navy has gotten out of position due to its successful blocking of a German convoy during the night. Admiral Cunningham (in Alexandria) has ordered the ships to pursue the caiques and destroy them. This has brought them far to the north and them easy to attack. The Stukas fall on them next, slightly damaging cruisers HMS Carlisle and Naiad. These ships also escape to the west without being able to destroy the German convoy.

The early success of the Royal Navy ships in defending themselves is due to their use of massive quantities of anti-aircraft ammunition. Already, their stocks are running low, and should their guns fall silent, they would become easy prey to the accurate Luftwaffe Stukas. Gloucester has only 18% of its ammunition left, and Fiji only 30.

Around 10:30, British Force C spots an Axis convoy, escorted by torpedo boat Sagittario, south of Milos. The British ships open fire and damage Sagittario and some caiques. However, the British are soon chased off by the Luftwaffe, and light cruiser HMS Naiad suffers four near misses and has two turrets knocked out. While the ship can still steam at 16 knots, the damage is structural and thus severe. Light cruiser Carlisle is hit on the bridge, killing Captain T.C. Hampton. The entire force heads back to Port Said for repairs. Light cruiser Perth also suffers damage.
Shortly after noontime, Bf 109s escort Dornier Do-17 bombers to attack the Royal Navy ships that are heading west. While the Dorniers are usually thought of as level bombers, every bomber in the Luftwaffe is designed to serve as a dive bomber, too. The planes destroy battleship Warspite's starboard 4- and 6-inch batteries. The planes cause chaos on the deck by strafing and killing many sailors manning guns.

"Photograph taken by a German airman recording the sinking of HMS GLOUCESTER off the coast of Crete, 22 May 1941." © IWM (HU 1997D).

The first flight of Luftwaffe planes of Stukageschwader 2 now has had time to return to base, rearm and refuel, and return to battle. They catch destroyer Greyhound off Antikythera, east of Crete, where it has been sent to intercept a reported German seaborne convoy to Crete. Greyhound sinks quickly. Cunningham orders several ships to the area to pick up survivors, but he has not been told that the ships have expended their anti-aircraft ammunition. The Luftwaffe pounces again and sets cruiser Gloucester ablaze. It sinks at 16:00. Out of a crew of 807, 722 perish.

At this point, Rear Admiral Edward King, in local command, gives up. He leaves all of the survivors of both Gloucester and Greyhound to their fate and runs back toward Alexandria with cruiser Fiji and destroyers Kandahar and Kingston. The Luftwaffe sends floatplanes to help pick up more than 500 British sailors who otherwise would perish, along with some Royal Navy destroyers who return during the night.

HMS Fiji under attack, with bombs falling astern, just before her sinking.

King's ships, however, are still exposed. A single Bf 109 fighter-bomber (Jabo) carrying a 550-pound bomb spots the fleeing Fiji. The bomb is a near miss which opens the cruiser's plates and causes extensive flooding. The pilot radios in the position and half an hour later a Junkers Ju 88 (Lieutenant Gerhard Brenner) arrives and hits the cruiser with three 110-pound bombs in the forward boiler room. Fiji sinks around 18:00.

The Admiralty is furious at King's "lack of aggression." After the battle, he is court-martialed for his decision and relegated to a desk job at the Admiralty. He will never go to sea again and will retire on 15 June 1944.

The Admiralty decides to reinforce failure and sends five more destroyers from Malta. Two of them, Kashmire and Kelly, shell Maleme after dark. However, this exposes their position to the Germans, who radio Athens to send more planes early on the 23rd.

The Luftwaffe also attacks Force A1 west of Crete, damaging battleship HMS Valiant. The Luftwaffe loses five Junkers Ju-87s and five Junkers Ju-88s and has sixteen more planes damaged. Significantly, the Luftwaffe does not lose any fighters because the RAF has withdrawn theirs.

After dark, the Royal Navy maintains patrols off Crete, but the Luftwaffe continues attacking. Destroyer Havock suffers damage to its boiler room from a near miss. There are 15 deaths and ten wounded.

Force D shells and sinks Romanian freighter Carmen Sylva.

Another view from a Luftwaffe plane of HMS Gloucester rolling over on 22 May 1941 (Imperial War Museums (collection no. PC 2250).

In Suda Bay, half-sunk cruiser York, which is beached and has been used as a gun platform, finally is abandoned after being hit by more bombs. The Royal Navy opens the seacocks and does other things to render it unusable to the Germans.

Seeing the way things are going, the Admiralty orders Royal Navy destroyers HMS Decoy and Hero to evacuate Greek King George and the rest of the Greek government from Crete.

Submarine Rorqual lays mines in the Gulf of Salonika. The ships of Operation Splice, the air-ferry mission to Malta, arrive back in Gibraltar. At Malta, it is a fairly quiet day, with reconnaissance patrols spotting an Axis convoy off the eastern Tunisian coast (likely returning from Tripoli). The RAF launches attacks and claims a sinking, though apparently, the Axis ships suffer no damage.

According to his Private Secretary John Colville's diary, Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the evening dismisses the losses of Fiji and Gloucester and the other ships, saying:

What do you think we build the ships for?

Churchill, of course, is the former head of the Royal Navy. It is interesting to compare this sort of statement with the endless criticism that Adolf Hitler receives for similarly callous statements about Wehrmacht casualties.

Map of British counterattack, 22 May 1941.

Maleme Airport:

The New Zealand troops at Maleme require time to be relieved by other troops in order to counterattack the vital Hill 107 which overlooks Maleme airport. The British still worry about a sea landing, so they keep many available forces on the coast nearby. Two New Zealand battalions, the 20th Battalion of the 4th Brigade and the 28th Maori Battalion of the 5th Brigade, finally launch a counterattack. While planned for 02:00, it does not get into motion until after daylight. The Allied counterattack under New Zealand Second Lieutenant Charles Upham fails despite wreaking havoc on machine-gun nests and other positions, and the Germans tighten their grip on the airfield. Upham, who goes out of his way to rescue several isolated soldiers, wins the Victoria Cross.

Aerial view of Maleme Airfield during Operation Mercury, with planes scattered all about on the runway.

Maleme airfield is still under artillery fire throughout the day. The Luftwaffe continues feeding planes into the inferno with reinforcements and supplies. While able to land, most either crash into other planes at the chaotic end of the runway or are blasted by shellfire. Still, enough planes get through to maintain the German position and enable it to expand as the day goes on. The Luftwaffe loses dozens of transports but saves the bridgehead.

The Allies, meanwhile, are utterly confused about German intentions, and some commanders believe the German transports are taking Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) off the island rather than bringing them in.

Ruins at Heraklion following fighting on 22 May 1941.

Elsewhere On Crete:

The Australian 19th Infantry Brigade contains the Fallschirmjäger attacking Retimo. The German 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment withdraws under heavy pressure to positions east of Heraklion. With the main effort now clearly at Maleme, the goal of other German forces on the island is first and foremost to avoid capture or death.

Elsewhere in North Africa, there is little ground activity. RAF bombers raid Benghazi.

"A German Pzkw Mk III tank advances through the desert during Rommel's drive on Bir Hakeim, June 1942. The tank was superior to its British rival, the Matilda, in terms of both reliability and armament." This photo may have been taken on 22 May 1941, as that is its production date. © IWM (MH 5852).

Propaganda War: The propaganda agencies of both the Reich and Great Britain paint very different pictures of the fighting on Crete. The German public is told of stirring air attacks, but the dire straits of the Fallschirmjäger are glossed over. The British press, on the other hand, dwells on Luftwaffe losses and the supposedly solid position of the British forces on land.

German/Soviet Relations: Reich Ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow, Russia. Schulenburg, who knows about Operation Barbarossa (or at least strongly suspects it), reports that it is a friendly meeting.

Anglo-US Relations: Churchill gives a candid evaluation of the fighting on Crete to President Roosevelt, calling the battle "severe, because, having no airfields within effective range, we cannot bring any Air Force into action." He adds:

Two of our cruisers and two destroyers sunk today. We are destroying many of highest-class German troops and have sunk at least one convoy.

This is an extremely accurate appraisal, and much more honest than what the statement he issues to the House of Commons.

Regarding the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Churchill comments that "Should we fail to catch them going out, your Navy should surely be able to mark them down for us." All pretense of US neutrality, of course, is long gone.

Anglo/Ireland Relations: Churchill has an unpleasant meeting with Irish High Commissioner John Dulanty, as reported in the War Cabinet minutes. Churchill claims that Dulanty has used "the usual arguments" in opposition to an Irish draft in Northern Ireland, such as the likelihood of violent protests. Churchill responds that British public opinion is "hard and bitter" and would lead to a "permanent embitterment of feeling after the war." The War Cabinet minutes suggest that plans for a draft in Ireland will proceed despite objections, but be limited to those already in the Home Guard.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking east towards Tower Bridge." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131469).

Anglo/Vichy France Relations: The British demand that the Vichy French government stop collaborating with Germany:

If the Vichy government, in pursuance of their declared policy of collaboration with the enemy, take action or permit action detrimental to our conduct of the war or designed to assist the enemy's war effort, we shall naturally hold ourselves free to attack the enemy wherever he may be found, and in so doing we shall no longer feel bound to draw any distinction between occupied and unoccupied territory in the execution of our military plans.

Vichy continues its drift toward further collaboration.

German Military: Field Marshal Albert Kesselring moves his headquarters of Luftflotte 2 from the Channel coast to Bielany, a suburb of Warsaw. The Air Fleet will operate in support of Army Group Center under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, whose target is Moscow. Kesselring and von Bock established a close working relationship during the invasion of Poland and, later, of the Netherland and Belgium. Airfields in Poland, however, are not yet complete for all of the Luftwaffe units - many Poles are being impressed into service to clear land and build structures.

Heinrich Himmler forms a Norwegian SS organization, basing it on the German original.

Soviet Military: Destroyer Razjarennyj is launched.

P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the Philippines in 1941.

US Military: Both the US Army Air Corps and the RAF place orders for the P40D/Kittyhawk I/Curtiss Hawk 81 fighter.

The US Navy continues transferring ships from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

US President Roosevelt issues orders to prepare for the seizure of the Azores.

British Government: Churchill makes a statement to the House of Commons about Crete, his third in the past three days. He states in part:

Fighting is continuing with intensity, and, although the situation is in hand, the Germans have gained some local successes, at heavy cost. They are using large numbers of airborne and parachute troops, and these are increasing daily.... At Maleme Aerodrome, 10 miles South-West of Canea, it appears that the enemy are now in occupation of the aerodrome and the area to the West of it, but the aerodrom is still under our fire. Elsewhere in this sector the coastal line remains in our hands.

Churchill is silent on the Royal Navy losses at sea, which his private secretary confirms he is well aware of at this time. He simply says, "I am sorry to say that I have got no definite information as to the results, but I feel they can hardly be other than satisfactory."

In fact, the results are sea are far from satisfactory for the Royal Navy, as he well knows. Churchill also does not mention the issue of German troops wearing New Zealand uniforms, something he has claimed to be the case in the previous two statements.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking southeast." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131470).

German Government: Hitler ends his brief stay at his old apartment in Munich and heads up to Berchtesgaden. He holds a war conference, and Admiral Raeder notifies Hitler about the Bismarck mission. Hitler, who at one point during the war confesses that he "can't sleep a wink with large ships operating, first asks somewhat plaintively, "Herr Grossadmiral, can’t we fetch the ships back?" However, he reluctantly consents to Operation Rheinübung due to the effect it would have on Kriegsmarine's morale. Hitler is worried about the effect the Bismarck operation will have on the United States.

Hitler's adjutant and personal friend, Walther Hewel, writes in his diary for 22 May:

... Drove up the mountain. Conference with the Chief [Ribbentrop], Raeder, and Keitel on naval strategy, convoy issue, the Raeder “interview,” and on Dakar, the Canaries and the Azores! Very interesting. The Fuhrer still vacillates in his attitude toward America, as “you cannot peer into Roosevelt’s mind.” If he wants a war, he will always find the means, even if legally we are in the right. Japan holds the key.

Adolf Hitler ends his two-day vacation in Munich and meets with Admiral Erich Raeder. They discuss a possible Kriegsmarine invasion of the Azores. Hitler sees it as a base for Luftwaffe bombers. Raeder reports that, should the Germans take the Azores, they would have no way of defending them.

China: Chinese 4th Pursuit Group disperse to new airfields, and just as they are landing, 25 Japanese G3M bombers with an escort of A6M Zero fighters appear overhead. The Japanese bomb Lanzhou. Kao You-hsing, flying an I-16, still has his engine running after landing and takes off to fight the Japanese formation singlehandedly and disrupts the attack. This buys enough time for other Chinese planes to get in the air, preventing them from being destroyed on the ground. The Japanese lose one bomber, but the bomb the city without further interference.

The Chinese redirect 17 I-153s of the 5th Pursuit Group to Lanzhou to defend against the attack. However, while refueling at Tianshu (Gansu Province), all of the planes are destroyed on the ground by bombing. Lu Enlung, leader of the 5th Pursuit Group, is relieved of command.

Japanese aircraft of the 12th Kokutai also attack Chengu during the day.

Grave of Private Walter Fleming, number 3710998, 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, at Habbaniya War Cemetery, Iraq. KIA 22 May 1941.

Holocaust: Jews in Croatia are required to wear a Yellow Badge, also known as the Yellow Star of David, reflecting similar medieval practices. The practice will spread around Occupied Europe. The badges include the word "Jew" in local languages.

Norwegian Homefront: The German occupation authorities call striking theatrical workers in to remonstrate with them. The workers are told to get back to work "or else."

American Homefront: Technicolor film "Blood and Sand" is released. Starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth, it features supporting roles by Anthony Quinn, John Carradine, and Lynn Bari. It becomes quite popular and will win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, due in part to set designer Rouben Mamoulian using the paintings of Spanish painters Goya, El Greco and Velázquez for inspiration.

Future History: Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, born in Glasgow, Scotland. He will become a top British track-and-field athlete, holding the British record for the 100-meter sprint from 1967-1974, and thereafter a leading British politician. As of this writing, Lord Campbell is the Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.

HMS Greyhound, sunk 22 May 1941 off Crete.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Sunday 29 December 1940

St Paul’s church in London, taken by Daily Mail photographer Herbert Mason from Fleet Street on the night of 29 December 1940. (US National Archives 306-NT-3173V). In many versions of this shot, including those used immediately after the raid, the destroyed building in the foreground is cropped out.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Greek submarine Proteus (Y3, Lt Cdr M. Hatsikostantis) torpedoes and sinks 11,452-ton Italian troop transport Sardegna in the Southern Adriatic on 29 December 1940, roughly a dozen miles off Saseno (east of Brindisi). One of the Italian escorts, torpedo boat R.N. Antares, then forces Proteus to the surface with 11 depth charges, then rams and sinks the Proteus. All 48 men on the Proteus perish. There were survivors from the Sardegna rescued by the Antares, but how many is unclear.

RAF Bomber Command raids the port of Valona in Albania.

Mussolini sacks Ubaldo Soddu, the Italian commander in Albania, after only four weeks. Ugo Cavallero takes over for Soddu, combining his position as Chief of the General Staff  (which he has held for only three weeks) with overall command in Albania. After reviewing the situation, Cavallero concludes that the "period of crisis [was] almost overcome."

"Windscreen, steering wheel and bell of fire engine silhouetted against burning building in south (?) London.." 29 December 1940. © IWM (IWM FLM 2319)

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe launches a relatively moderately sized raid against London of 136-244 bombers (accounts vary) which only lasts from 18:00 to 21:30. However, it is a very specially planned raid, intended to create a firestorm and timed specifically to coincide with low tide in the River Thames, hampering firefighting efforts. The Germans drop 22,068 incendiaries and 127 tons of high explosives. The attack originally was planned to be a maximum effort lasting all night long, as in September and October, but a storm blows up during the evening and keeps the follow-up bomber waves on the ground.

The incendiaries create a firestorm in the City of London, with over 1500 fires combing in three major centers that themselves later combine. Incendiaries individually are not terribly difficult to deal with, but typically multiple incendiaries fall on roofs near each other, and the small fires they create individually combine to create larger fires.

The headline for the attack is that eight historic Christopher Wren churches are destroyed - which certainly is terrible - but the damage goes far beyond that. It includes the utter destruction of the 500-year-old Guildhall, Paternoster Row with an estimated 5 million books, and about a dozen churches in addition to the Wren ones. This becomes known as the "Second Great Fire of London," the first being in 1666. Fortunately, for the damage caused, casualties are relatively light, with over 160 civilian deaths, 14 deaths of firemen, and 250 firemen injured.

The number of incendiaries dropped is larger than usual, and the British government quickly takes steps to try and minimize their effectiveness. Incendiaries create powerful effects only if left to work unhindered, so the government mandates fire-watching and makes workers responsible for dousing them at their places of business. Clergymen and 200 volunteer firewatchers ("St. Paul's Watch," recruited from the Royal Institute of British Architects) at St. Paul reportedly saves the church by actively patrolling the roof and putting out incendiaries before they can set uncontrollable fires - exactly what the government wants everyone to be doing.

The attack is considered to be the most destructive of the entire war in Britain, with the devastation from Islington to St. Paul's Churchyard. This attack leaves a lasting impression. Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, watches the bombing from the roof of the Air Ministry. He comments: "Well, they have sown the wind."

RAF Bomber Command, meanwhile, raids Frankfurt, Boulogne, and Hamm.

After the raid on 29 December 1940, the government ramps up its campaign to guard against fires started by incendiary bombs.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy submarine HMS Trident (Lt.Cdr. G.M. Sladen, DSC, RN) spots a "darkened ship" enting Punta Delgada, Azores. After the ship acts suspiciously and suddenly breaks for the harbor entrance, the Trident fires five torpedoes at it - which all miss and some of which explode on Delgada Point, constituting possibly the only war damage in the Azores. The submarine almost is sunk by one of its own torpedoes which "failed to discharge" and simply falls to the ocean floor beneath the Trident and explodes. The ship, meanwhile, turns out to be the 4856-ton Panamanian Bonita, whose captain perhaps thought the British sub was a U-boat.

German 997-ton freighter Adriana hits a mine and sinks off the Elbe River.

German 5642-ton freighter PLM-23 runs aground in a storm off Scharhörn in the Wadden Sea and is written off. This formerly was a French ship which the Germans seized on 5 August 1940.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 41-ton British tug Monarch off Radcliffe Cross Buoy.

The Luftwaffe finds a straggler from Convoy SLS 58, the 5270 freighter Trevarrack, and bombs and damages it.

British 5218-ton freighter Catrine hits a mine and is damaged in Liverpool Bay.

Part of Convoy WS 5A, which had been attacked by German cruiser Admiral Hipper on 25 December, makes port at Gibraltar. The remainder continues on to the south in the Atlantic.

Convoy FN 37 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 374 and FS 375 depart from Methil, Convoy OG 48 departs from multiple ports including Liverpool, Oban, Glasgow and Bristol, Convoy HG 49 departs from Gibraltar, Convoy BN 11B departs from Aden.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Cottesmore is commissioned and assigned to the 21st Destroyer Flotilla, and HMS Derwent laid down.

Soviet submarine K-56 is launched.

"Fireman carries rolled hose to hose dump after a night's work, passing bricks and other rubble." This was shot following the raid of 29 December 1940. © IWM (IWM FLM 2318).

Battle of the Mediterranean: For the first time in weeks, the Italians raid Malta with multiple bomber formations. However, as has often been the case during the war, the Italian bombers remain offshore and do not drop any bombs on the island.

Pursuant to the decisions made at the Cairo conference on 28 December, the Australian 6th Infantry Division practices its assault scheduled for the morning of 2 January 1941 using an elaborate mockup of the Italian perimeter.

The RAF raids Bardia and Italian airfields at Tobruk, Derna, and Benina.

Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager intercepts 190-ton Italian ketch Zingarella on its way from Bardia to Tobruk. The Zingarella is transporting British POWs who now are freed.

US Government: The administration, according to an AP dispatch, is drafting a $17 billion budget for fiscal 1942 (begins in September 1941). This includes $10 billion for armaments.

Secretary of War Henry Stimson tells President Roosevelt (according to his diary entry of this date):

You cannot build a civilization based upon the questions of religion, which is what our civilization has been based on, and not recognize questions of right and wrong in the dealings between nations.

Ireland: The Irish Air Force has a rare mission when it attempts, and fails, to intercept a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 which flies over Waterford to Dublin. The plane escapes undamaged.

Vichy France: The Petain government creates a commission for Jewish affairs.

This photo gives a better idea of the damage from the 29 December 1940 raid than most others. "Scene of desolation viewed from St Paul's Cathedral: photograph was taken after the raid of 29 December 1940 from the Golden Gallery surmounting the Dome of the Cathedral, and showing the devastated area of burnt and broken buildings. It is mainly the famous booksellers' quarter bounded by Ave Maria Lane and Paternoster Row. The domed building is that of the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey), the four-spired church is St Bartholomew's." © IWM (HU 64317).

American Homefront: President Roosevelt gives the most famous and enduring of his "fireside chats." He begins with the effective rhetorical device of claiming that it is not a fireside chat at all - which implies coziness and warmth - but instead a "talk on national security." That frames the entire speech as not about "them," but about "us," which avoids many awkward questions.

Calling the current European war a "world crisis," Roosevelt calls the Axis "evil forces" and creates one of the great catchphrases of the 20th Century:

We must be the great arsenal of democracy.

He concludes that "I believe that the Axis powers are not going to win this war," and sets forth the agenda:

I have the profound conviction that the American people are now determined to put forth a mightier effort than they have ever yet made to increase our production of all the implements of defense, to meet the threat to our democratic faith. As President of the United States, I call for that national effort. 

Reading or listening to the speech out of context, one could easily assume that the United States is at war and fighting for its life. Instead, the reality is much different: there is a war, but the United States is not part of it, and there is no sign that it ever need be a part of it. However, the thrust of the "Arsenal of Democracy" is clear: the Axis must be defeated, and the United States is going to make that happen. The strategy appears to be, at least for the moment, to build the weapons but let the British and Britain's fighting allies take the casualties. This speech is generally viewed as introducing the concept of "Lend-Lease" to the American people, though Roosevelt had used that phrase previously and does not use those words in this address.

Below is a little "behind the scenes" clip which shows how these speeches are created for inclusion in the newsreels: in individual segments. This is much different than the way Winston Churchill, for instance, gives his speeches, in one extended reading; or how Adolf Hitler gives his speeches, standing at a podium and giving a dramatic oration.


December 1940

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

2020

Monday 4 November 1940

U-47 (Günther Prien) on its ninth patrol, operating out of Lorient, during November 1940. It will be in the North Atlantic until 6 December.

Italian/Greek Campaign: In the strategically vital central sector in the Pindus Mountains, the Italian Julia Division on 4 November 1940 descends into chaos as Greek troops of the 2nd Army surround it in the Vovousa Valley (about 25 km northwest of Metsovo). The Greeks complete their reconquest of the villages of Samarina and Vovousa that had been held by the Italians, who now are surrounded and fighting for their lives, with little hope of rescue. Mass surrenders are in progress. The Italian Bari Division tries to break through but is stopped. Greek reinforcements are arriving from other sectors.

There are reports that the Greeks are led by guerrilla leader Varda, who is described as an 80-year-old veteran of the Balkan War decades earlier. This appears to be a bit fanciful but is an example of the type of myth-making going on among the Greeks.

Greek 9th Infantry Division and 15th Infantry Division continue attacking across the Albanian border in the Koritsa sector, making small gains.

Along the coast, the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas continues. The Italian Littoral Group attempts to cross the Kalamas River, which the Greeks are using as a defensive shield. The Italians sustain heavy casualties and make little progress due to the winter weather, minefields, inadequate equipment, and hesitant leadership. The last of the Greek forces retreat across the river in good order. During the night, the Italian Siena Division manages to cross the river around Tsifliki in Thesprotia. It breaks through the Greek battalion defending there. Greek Major-General Nikolaos Lioumbas orders a withdrawal to the south of the Acheron River. The Italians are continuing their advance here, but nowhere else.

RAF Blenheim IF fighters fly their first patrol from airfields in Greece.

Time Magazine, 4 November 1940.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe resumes attacks on London, with strafing runs during the day, some scattered bombing of East Anglia and the Midlands, and a 150-bomber raid during the night.

RAF Bomber Command attacks the Channel ports Le Havre and Boulogne. Other bombers, based on Crete now, attack the Italian naval bases at Bari and Brindisi, and also the port of Santo Quaranti in Albania, the principal port for the Epirus and Macedonian fronts.

The Luftwaffe begins moving some units from Denmark and Norway to France. The first to go is Hptm. Franz-Heinz Lange’s II./JG 77, which transfers from Aalborg to Brest-Guipavas.

Hans Philipp, Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 54, is awarded the Ritterkreuz for having achieved a dozen victories.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-99 (Kplt. Otto Kretschmer) finishes off the armed merchant cruisers HMS Laurentic and HMS Patroclus and British freighter Casanare in the early hours of the morning (discussed in the entry for 3 November 1940), then sneaks away. Otherwise, the day is unusually quiet at sea.

The British Home Fleet begins a massive move, with battleships HMS Nelson and Rodney leading a flotilla from Rosyth to Scapa Flow.

Italian submarine Bianchi, transiting the Strait of Gibraltar, sustains damage from a London flying boat and destroyer HMS Greyhound. It puts into port at Tangier.

French destroyers Mameluck, Fleuret, Epee, and Lansquenet enter sail past Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. This continues a period when French ships transit the Strait of Gibraltar with little interference. The British seem confused as to how to handle French naval movements and thus do nothing.

Convoy OB 239 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 327 departs from Southend, Convoy AN 6 departs from Port Said (bound for Greece), Convoy SL 54 departs from Freetown, Convoy BS 8 departs from Suez bound for Aden.

"Civilians sheltering in Elephant and Castle London Underground Station during an air raid in November 1940." © IWM (D 1568). Photo by Bill Brandt.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Tetrarch torpedoes and badly damages 2492 ton Italian freighter Snia Amba (originally American ship Santa Tecla) at the port of Benghazi, Libya. The Snia Amba is beached, but ultimately declared a total loss (2 May 1941) and salvaged for metal.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Ajax continues shuttling troops between Alexandria and Suda Bay, Crete. Today, it departs Alexandria loaded with troops of the 14th Armoured Brigade HQ, in the company of Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney.

The Royal Navy begins Operation MB 8, a supply convoy. It involves subsidiary operations:

• Operation Coat (supply convoy to Malta)
• Convoy MW 3 (empty freighters traveling to Malta)
• Convoy ME 3 (four empty freighters traveling from Malta to Alexandria)
• Convoy AN 6 (tankers traveling to Greece)
• Operation Crack (attack on Cagliari by HMS Ark Royal)
• Operation Judgment (attack on Taranto by HMS Illustrious).

While all of the operations are important, the last - Operation Judgment - is of the most lasting significance. The Italians perform aerial reconnaissance and know that something major is going on, but assume (wrongly, as it turns out) that it is just another convoy run to Malta. In fact, the convoy run is a cover for the other operations, which will play over the coming week.

The British War Cabinet, led by Winston Churchill, decides to beef up its bomber fleet on Malta and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Churchill's view is that only air power can help Greece quickly enough to save it. Some 24 Wellington bombers will be operating out of Malta, with 34 Hurricanes sent to Greece itself and 32 Wellingtons sent to Egypt via Malta.

Bomb damage at Wellington Road, 4 November 1940.

German Military: At 14:30, Hitler holds a meeting with a small group of senior officers: Keitel, Jodl, Brauchitsch, Halder, Major Willy Deyhle of the OKW General Staff (Jodl's adjutant), and Major Rudolf Schmundt (Hitler's adjutant). Halder begins the meeting by summarizing the results of the various studies undertaken recently by the OKW, for example, Operation Felix (the planned invasion of Gibraltar). The main result of the meeting is that Hitler decides - or announces - that German troops will not be sent to North Africa until the Italians take Mersa Matruh and are ready to advance on Alexandria. He also provides:

Commander-in-chief army will be prepared, if necessary, to occupy from Bulgaria the Greek mainland north of the Aegean Sea. This will enable the German air force to attack targets in the eastern Mediterranean, and in particular those English air bases threatening the Romanian oil fields.

This will eventually turn into Operation Marita.

The meeting establishes that the entire "peripheral strategy" is oriented around occupying air bases with which to attack British assets. Thus, while it is not all directed at British possessions, it is intended to provide the means to strangle England. As for Operation Felix, that remains on the front burner but lacks the one thing necessary for it to happen: Spanish leader Franco's active participation, of which Hitler remains hopeful.

There also is a discussion about fortifying French colonies in Africa and other operations to take Portugal, the Azores, the Canaries, Madeira and part of Morocco. Once again, these are directed against Britain, in the hopes of shutting off the Mediterranean and providing bases to attack British convoys. These would all require a working military agreement (Zusammenarbeit) between France and Germany, which the OKW is trying to negotiate via the armistice commission. The meeting involves a lot of wishful strategic thinking and few concrete decisions, basically because the predicates - cooperation by Spain and Vichy France - remain elusive.

US Military: Cruiser USS Louisville arrives in Buenos Aires on its "Show the Flag" mission.

Spain: Spain incorporates the Tangier International Zone, which formerly had been an international condominium, into Spanish Morocco. Antonio Yuste becomes the Military Governor. Britain immediately views this move with deep suspicion and worries that Spain will fortify the region while rejuvenating Hitler's hopes of taking Gibraltar via Operation Felix. In fact, while Britain is right to be worried, this solidification of Spanish control (it first occupied the territory on 14 June 1940) is of long-term benefit to the Allies. Spain has no intention of fortifying this strategic area and reassures Britain on that point, also guaranteeing its international rights there. Tangier potentially controls access to the Mediterranean and could threaten Britain's base at Gibraltar, but this move ultimately helps to keep the area out of Axis hands. That is, assuming that Spain does not join the Axis, another thing that Franco (secretly) does not intend to do but is busy making it appear that he does. This is another in a sequence of Franco moves that appear to be of aid and comfort to the Axis, but in fact, will benefit the Allies. His actual position will become clearer much later in the war.

American Homefront: The US Presidential election is tomorrow, 5 November 1940. President Roosevelt is a heavy favorite to win a third term.

Newsweek Magazine, 4 November 1940.

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020