Monday 30 June 1941

A Soviet soldier of the 136th Infantry Regiment, 14th Infantry Division captured by German mountain troops near Murmansk.

Eastern Front: On 30 June 1941, Operation Barbarossa is fulfilling all of Adolf Hitler's dreams of conquest. His troops have advanced deep into Russia at a cost of only 8,886 men killed. By comparison, Soviet losses at Brest Fortress alone have numbered about 2000 dead and 6800 men captured. Still, the Wehrmacht is spoiled from all of its previous cheap successes (excepting Crete) and not used to such high numbers of casualties, so OKW demands detailed reports on losses from the different Army Groups (which is why we have such precise figures).

German fighter aces Ernst Udet, Adolf Galland, and Werner Mölders. Udet was the second-highest scoring German fighter pilot of WWI with 62 victories and also, at the time of this photo, director of Luftwaffe research and development. Udet and Mölders both died not long after this photo - in fact, Mölders died in a plane crash on his way to Udet's funeral. Galland, on the other hand, lived until 1996.

The Red Air Force launches its first major raid of the war, sending a large force of bombers to attack General Guderian's panzers of the 2nd Panzer Group advancing east of Minsk. They have the misfortune to run into top ace Werner Mölders and his elite JG 51 fighter squadron. The German fighter pilots file claims for 113 victories and Mölders alone claims five.

Manfred von Richthofen

... aka The Red Baron.

These successes bring the Mölders (shown below) victory count to 82 planes, besting the 80 victories of Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (shown above) during World War I (Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron's fourth cousin, is a top Luftwaffe general during World War II and Manfred was a colleague of Hermann Goering, so the name carries both legendary and current weight in 1941). The Red Baron's World War I victory total was one of the most respected during the inter-war years, so besting it has been an objective for every top Luftwaffe fighter pilot.

Top pilots of JG 51 (aside from Werner Mölders): Oberfeldwebel Heinrich "Dicke" Höfemeier (Flugzeugführer in 1.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 5 April 1942; final score 96 air victories from 490 combat missions); Leutnant Erwin Fleig (Staffelkapitän 2.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 12 August 1941; final score 66 air victories from 506 combat missions), Hauptmann Oskar-Heinrich "Heinz" Bär (Gruppenkommandeur I.Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 77; Ritterkreuz 2 July 1941, Eichenlaub 14 August 1941; Schwerter 16 February 1942; final score 220 air victories from over than 1,000 combat missions); and Oberleutnant der Reserve Heinrich "Gaudi" Krafft (Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 18 March 1942; final score 78 air victories).

Other pilots with five victory claims today are Hptm. Hermann-Friedrich Jöppien, Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 51 and Lt. Heinz “Pritzl” Bär. While there may be some double... or triple ... counting of victories at times, there is little question that 30 June 1941 is a very bad day for the Red Air Force (Luftwaffe victory claims are thoroughly checked for evidence such as wreckage and denied if there is no confirmation - the records are considered quite accurate, though not infallible). In addition to Mölders' feat, his JG 51 squadron celebrates its 1000th victory of the war, and milestones like that always get a unit celebration.

Werner Mölders in a propaganda film.

Both in the air and on the ground, the war is advancing east in a hurry. People in Moscow have been skittish since the first day of the campaign, and tensions are rising. There is an air raid alert in Moscow today, but it turns out to be a false alarm.

In the Far North sector, Operation Silver Fox continues toward Murmansk without achieving any breakthroughs. The German troops, in particular, begin to slow as they lose the element of surprise. General Dietl's 2nd Mountain Division troops are unable to penetrate the base of the Rybachy peninsula, while the main advance a little further south toward the Litsa River makes little progress.

In addition, the Finnish 2nd Division makes a small attack in central Karelia. Its goal is to prepare for a larger offensive during July. Finnish 2nd Division (Colonel Blick) makes good progress toward its objective of capturing the area between lakes Pyhäjärvi and Tyrjänjärvi. Being familiar with the climate and terrain, the Finns have none of the problems experienced by the German troops further north.

Two Soviet soldiers captured by German mountain troops near Murmansk being interrogated. The Germans were upset that the Soviets had ambushed a small party of advancing German troops and taken no prisoners.

In the Army Group North sector, Soviet troops withdraw from the right bank of the Dvina following the German seizure of a bridgehead at Riga. Rather than follow them, the German panzers by and large follow Hitler's halt order of 29 June and wait for the infantry to catch up.

In the Army Group Center sector, Field Marshal von Bock's panzers probe east of East. In a daring raid, the 4th Panzer Division seizes a railroad bridge at Svisloch. This cuts off parts of the Soviet 4th Airborne Corps and 20th Mechanized Corps. The main action, however, is many miles to the rear, where German Fourth and Ninth Armies are reducing the Soviet 10th Army and other forces near Bialystok. The German 45th Infantry Division, fresh from its victory at Brest-Litovsk, receives orders to head east along with the rest of the Wehrmacht - no time to waste on celebrations.

General Heinz Guderian, supported "by back channels" by OKH chief Franz Halder, ignores Hitler's stop order and continues barrelling east toward Bobruisk. This full-scale advance by 2nd Panzer Group he euphemistically characterizes as a "reconnaissance in force." Guderian also boards an observation plane and flies over the Minsk-Bialystok pocket. He decides from his personal observation that his panzers are not needed there because General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group has the situation in hand.

In the Army Group South sector, the Stavka gives up on the Battle of Brody. While it has bought the Soviets some time, the disjointed attacks by large Soviet armored forces against Field Marshal von Rundstedt's spearhead have cost the Soviets hundreds, if not thousands, of tank losses. The surviving Soviet units of the Southwestern Front are directed to retreat to the Stalin Line in order to defend the approaches to Kyiv. General Popel remains trapped in Dubno with his remaining tanks but prepares to break out to the east in accordance with the Stavka's orders.

This concludes the Battle of Brody, a decisive German victory. German troops of 1st Panzer Group (Ewald von Kleist) continue advancing toward Kyiv and take Lviv. The Hungarian Carpathian Group makes its first attack of the war to clear passes through the Carpathian Mountains. The retreating Soviets adopt a scorched-earth strategy, mining roads and blowing up bridges, but otherwise, the Hungarians face minimal resistance.

German soldiers near Murmansk prepare to execute two captured Soviet soldiers.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 21st Brigade claims the ridge overlooking the Damour River Valley. This ridge controls the valley, a key defensive position between Damascus and Beirut. North of Beirut, the Vichy French launch a counterattack at Nebek which makes some small gains but then retreats after fierce defense by the defending Free French 2nd Battalion.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends a circus mission to attack the power stations at Pont-au-Vendin.

RAF Bomber Command mounts daylight raids against Bremen and Kiel. The Kiel raid includes the first use during daylight hours of the Handley Page Halifax bombers (first used during a night raid on Le Havre on 10-11 March), whose existence is not even publically acknowledged yet by the Air Ministry.

Night fighter ace Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld collides with another Bf 110 night fighter piloted by Rudolf Schoenert during training. Both pilots survive.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet freighter Krimulda hits a mine and sinks. Five men perish.

Soviet patrol boat MO-143 hits a mine and sinks off Mhni.

German mountain troops have just shot two Soviet prisoners. Their remains lay undisturbed near this spot, open to the elements until rediscovered in 2013.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-66 (Kptlt. Richard Zapp), on its second patrol out of Lorient, is operating a few hundred miles west of the Canary Islands and tracking Convoy SL-78. Following upon two sinkings on the 29th, U-66 adds to its victims today by torpedoing and sinking 5614-ton British freighter Saint Aslem. There are 34 deaths and 33 survivors.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Dunedin stops and captures 4993-ton Vichy French freighter Ville De Tamatave east of St. Paul.

Convoy OB-341 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-136 departs from Halifax, Convoy WS 9B (Winston Special) departs the Clyde bound for Suez and Bombay.

Royal Navy anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Euryalus (Captain Eric W. Bush) is commissioned.

Canadian corvette HMCS Camrose (Lt. Louis R. Pavillard) and minesweeper Wasaga (Lt. John B. Raine) are commissioned, while minesweeper Twois Rivieres is launched in Quebec.

US Navy submarine USS Grayback (Lt. Willard A. Saunders) is commissioned, and heavy cruiser Boston and destroyers Hobby and Kalk are laid down.

For the month of June 1941, the Allies lose in the Atlantic:

• 104 ships
• 415,255 tons of shipping

Elsewhere, the Allies lose five ships of 16,770 tons. Overall, Allied losses are down from 486,796 tons to 389,316 tons. The Allies suffering lower losses to U-boats, aircraft, and mines, but slightly higher losses to surface raiders.

The Kriegsmarine, meanwhile, loses four U-boats and the Italians one submarine, still a very low number relative to the damage they are causing. The Axis loses 17 ships of 58,425 tons in the Mediterranean, mostly Italian.

Finnish troops in the border town of Tuulos, Eastern Karelia, team up with the Germans on 30 June 1941. Note the captured Soviet light tank T-26 with added Finnish markings.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The latest mission to deliver aircraft to Malta, Operation Railway 2, goes disastrously wrong when a Hurricane taking off from HMS Furious hits the bridge of the carrier on takeoff. This starts a fire that kills three officers, injures five Hurricane pilots waiting to take off, and damages all five of their planes. Only nine Hurricanes arrive from Furious and twelve from the accompanying carrier, Ark Royal.

Dutch submarine O-23 torpedoes and sinks 5371-ton Italian freighter Capacitas south of Livorno in the Ligurian Sea (about 11 km off San Vicenzo).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay surfaces and sinks a caique off Cape Malea.

The Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 aircraft of I Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2) attacks a Tobruk supply convoy, damaging sloop Flamingo and gunboat Cricket. The Flamingo has to tow Cricket back to Alexandria. Once there, however, Cricket is judged to be a total loss, though it is used for some time as a stationary anti-aircraft platform.

An Italian convoy of six freighters/transports departs Naples bound for Tripoli.

Italian special operations submarine Scirè launches midget submarines to infiltrate Malta's Grand Harbour, but they score no successes.

Left to right: Oberstleutnant Sigurd-Horstmar Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (commander of Army Group North), Generaloberst Erich Hoepner, Oberst Günther Angern, 30 June 1941 (Federal Archives, Bild 146-1971-068-14).

Battle of the Black Sea: The Soviets begin to evacuate Odesa. They scuttle freighters Orel, Peter the Great, Plekhanov, Pskov, and Voikov.

Propaganda: The Soviet Information Bureau releases a communique:

Fighting is continuing against strong enemy motorized forces in the Lutsk area. Despite his fresh armored reinforcements, all the enemy's attempt to break through our lines in the direction of Novograd Volynskiy [Ukraine] and Shepetovka have failed and been beaten back. Our armored forces and the Soviet air force even succeeded in destroying a great part of the enemy armored and motorized troops.

In fact, the panzers already are in Lutsk, while the German attempts to "break through our lines" have all succeeded to date.

Applied Science: Two copies of Frank Whittle's advanced W-1 jet engine have arrived in the United States aboard a B-17 pursuant to General Hap Arnold's request. Impressed, he tasks the US Army Air Force to develop an engine based upon it. However, the first order issued today, a $483,600 joint Army-Navy contract, visualizes a turbojet, not a pure jet engine. While it may appear comforting for aviators of the day to see a propeller on the engine, in fact, a turbojet is a much more difficult project than simply a jet engine.

Original caption: "The Reds' withdrawal route after the great enclosure battle is sown with rubble and vehicle remains of all kinds. Our Stukas put their bombs right next to the road." (Lessmann, Federal Archives, Bild 101I-006-2202-30).

Vichy French/Soviet Relations: Premier Petain's government breaks diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.

German/Swedish Relations: The German 163rd Infantry Division (General of Artillery Engelbrecht) completes its transfer by rail from Narvik to Helsinki. This includes a controversial passage on the train through northern Sweden. The Wehrmacht troops pass through quietly in blacked-out cars and with their weapons in separate cars.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler accepts Mussolini's offer to send an expeditionary force to the Eastern Front. It will be composed of three divisions at first.

Soviet/Ukrainian Relations: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists announces the Declaration of the Ukrainian State Act and declares the Ukrainian National Government under the leadership of Iaroslav Stetsko. According to Willem Pruller's "Diary of a German Soldier" (published after the war), Ukrainians warmly greet advancing German troops, with women giving them food and bouquets of flowers. Many Ukrainians see the Wehrmacht as liberators from the evils of communism.

New pumps just installed at Camp Polk, Louisiana, 30 June 1941 (The National WWII Museum).

Soviet Military: For the second time during the young war Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin reorganizes his leadership team. This time, he creates the State Defense Committee (Gosudarstvennyj Komitet Oborony, GKO). As opposed to the Stavka, which he formed just after the start of the war and is of purely military composition (at least among its permanent members), the GKO includes G.M. Malenkov, the party personnel chief and member of the Central Committee, and NKVD boss Lavrentia Beria. The other members are General Voroshilov and Foreign Minister Molotov. The addition of leaders of the Party who have no military experience is an early indication that Stalin views the fight against Hitler as being as much political as military. The greatest need, for now, is to keep the men fighting against hopeless odds and ruthlessly control the rear areas. Stalin apparently chooses the GKO's members as much for his personal relationship with them as their "other" jobs, as they are all old cronies who can be relied upon to the end.

The GKO is the apex of the Soviet government during World War II. It controls all aspects of both military and civilian life, and everyone in the Soviet Union ultimately answers to it. In practice, the GKO delegates much of its military authority to the Stavka and concerns itself with organizing the homefront.

British Military: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a memo to the new Minister of Supply Lord Beaverbrook in which he notes that "the question of a much heavier tank has now come sharply to the front." This is because he has received reports from the eastern front about the Soviet KV tank, "a very large tank, said to be over 70 tons, against which the German A/T 6-pounder [Panzer IV] has proved useless."

Dutch Military: The Dutch government-in-exile still controls extensive possessions in the South Pacific, and it has the resources to defend them if necessary. Today, the Netherlands Purchasing Commission, acting on behalf of the Dutch government in exile in London, signs contract 71311/NA with North American Aviation. This cash deal calls for delivery to the Dutch of 162 B-25C bombers (designated NA-90). Delivery is to made to the Dutch East Indies once the USAAF has received its own initial orders of roughly 1000 B-25s - which is not projected to take place until November 1942.

Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California on 30 June 1941. The ship under construction at the left is the USS Wahoo.

US Military: The United States Navy orders two Grumman XF6F-1 Hellcat prototypes, BuNos 02981 and 02982. This plane is intended as a successor to the F4F Wildcat.

An accounting shows that, as of this date, the USN has 1899 ships and smaller craft and a ration strength of 338,786. This includes 284,427 sailors, 54,359 Marines, and 19,235 members of the Coast Guard.

Holocaust: The last trains leave Jassy (Iasi) carrying Romanian Jews. The two trains head for Calarasi and Podul Iloaiei, respectively. Many people die on the journey, and many others later.

American Homefront: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox gives a dinner speech at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company in Fore River, Massachusetts. He emphasizes the importance of patrolling the seas so that the US industrial might can deliver weapons of war to make the German people "understand the cruelty and ruthlessness which Hitler has unloosed upon the world."

President Franklin Roosevelt dedicates his presidential library in Hyde Park, New York.

President Roosevelt at the opening of his library in Hyde Park, June 30, 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

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 26 June 1941

German troops assault a burning Soviet village, 26 June 1941.

Eastern Front: Operation Barbarossa continues barrelling ahead on 26 June 1941. In the Army Group North sector, spearhead panzers reach Daugavpils and the Dvina River.

While Finland has declared war (the "Continuation War" of the "Winter War"), it is still preparing for its offensives towards Leningrad, the Svir River, and the Murmansk railway. The Germans in the far north of Finland - the German Army of Norway - also are preparing for operations toward Murmansk, but nothing major has begun yet.

However, the Soviet naval base at Hango in southern Finland is close at hand and a fairly easy target - if the Finns decide to mount a major effort. Hango, granted to the USSR under the armistice terms of the Winter War, is isolated both by land and by German control of the Baltic. However, the Soviet troops there are well-supplied and at this time they are determined to hold out.

In the Army Group North sector, the 1st Panzer Division and 36th Motorised Infantry Division of the XLI Panzer Corps and following infantry divisions slice through the rear of the Soviet mechanized corps and close an encirclement around Soviet 3rd Mechanised Corps (out of fuel) and the 2nd Tank Division.

Advance elements of LVI Panzer Corps (Brandenburg Division troops wearing Soviet uniforms) of General von Manstein's 4th Panzer Group seize two bridges at Daugavpils over the Dvina River, enabling the panzers to establish a bridgehead. This concludes the Battle of Raseiniai, a decisive German victory.

The Soviets are in the disarray, and the bridgehead is a major problem. General Kuznetsov is under orders (from Semyon Timoshenko) to defend the Dvina and begins to organize a counterattack to eliminate it using the 21st Mechanized Corps. However, this will take time to organize due to the chaotic state of supplies and troops behind Soviet lines. Adolf Hitler, however, is worried that the panzers are outrunning the infantry, so he orders a temporary halt to the advance.

Abandoned T-35 and T-26 Soviet tanks in June 1941.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviet Western Front is in disarray after a failed counterattack toward Grodno on the 25th. The Soviets are withdrawing toward Slonim and Minsk. The German 2nd (Guderian) and 3rd (Hoth) Panzer Groups aim toward a meeting near Minsk that they hope will bag huge Soviet forces. These Soviet forces struggling to avoid encirclement include General Boldin, deputy commanding officer of Soviet Western Front.

Brest Fortress continues to hold out behind the German lines. It is an important fortress because it controls the crossings of the Bug River and the Warsaw-Moscow railway and highway. In the evening, the Germans managed to capture most of the northern Kobrin fortification except for an installation known as the East Fort. The Soviet defenders refuse to surrender, so the Germans decide to destroy it using the Luftwaffe.

In the Army Group South sector, the Battle of Brody continues. The Germans continue advancing, but the Soviets launch several flank attacks to try to stop them. While the Soviets have many powerful forces in the area, their counterattacks suffer from a lack of coordination.

The 10th Tank Division has a savage day near Radekhiv, destroying 23 panzers at a cost of 13 KV and 12 BT-7 tanks. The 19th Mechanized Corps (Major General N.V. Feklenko) attacks from the north toward Dubno but comes up short. While there are heavy losses on both sides, these flank attacks do little to slow down the advancing panzers.

The most tactically significant battle of the day occurs when 8th Mechanized Corps attacks toward Brody–Berestechko. The 8th takes a column of the 11th Panzer Division advancing in a column by surprise and savages it. The Germans are reduced to using motorcycle troops of the 48th Panzer Corps against Soviet tanks. Soviet General Popel prepares to take advantage of this by preparing to it the rear of the 11th Panzer Division with his 300 tanks, but he is still assembling his forces when the day ends.

"Fierce Fighting on the Whole Front." Melbourne, Australia The Sun, 26 June 1941.

The Luftwaffe bombs Leningrad. This is one of the first raids, but Luftwaffe raids on Leningrad soon will become a daily occurrence. Hungarian Heinkel He 170s, flying as part of the I Long Range Reconnaissance Group, launch their first mission.

Near Daugavpils, Kommodore Werner Mölders downs two planes, a Soviet Pe-2, and an I-16. This raises his total number of victories to 77. Werner Mölders continues to be the leading air ace of the war at this time, with most of his victories against the RAF.

While flying a Fiesler Storch observation/transport plane, Hauptmann Lothar Keller of II./JG 3, a 20-victory Experten (ace), perishes. He is replaced as Gruppenkommandeur by Hauptmann Gordon Gollob.

The Red Air Force bombs Bucharest. Also, in a very controversial incident, two or three unidentified bombers bomb the Hungarian border town of Kassa (Kosice) and strafe a passenger train. The bombing of Kassa kills 20 and injures 41 (this previously was a part of Czechoslovakia), while 37 on the train also perish. In addition, there are hundreds of injured. The Hungarians assume that it is the Red Air Force, but it is just as likely that they are errant Luftwaffe bombers. Another theory is that it is a deliberate German false-flag operation, in which Luftwaffe pilots use captured Soviet planes to stage an "incident" that will provoke Hungary into declaring war on the USSR (which Hungary does on the 27th, using the Kassa bombing as a reason).

"Bren gun carriers manned by Indian troops outside Damascus, 26 June 1941. Note the wrecked Vichy French FT17 tank on the right, left by the retreating enemy." © IWM (E 3839).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: With the British in possession of Damascus, the Vichy French troops are consolidating their defenses around Beirut. The most consequential action occurs in the air, where a strafing run on Homs airfield by Tomahawks of 3 Squadron RAAF destroys five new Dewoitine D.520s of Fighter Squadron II/3 (Groupe de Chasse II/3) and cause damage to six others.

Lieutenant-General Lavarack, commanding operations in Syria and Lebanon, orders Major-General Allen of the 7th Australian Division to focus on the advance along the coast. The Vichy French Army is far from beaten, and their artillery maintains a fierce barrage. For the time being, a lull develops in ground operations as the Australian commanders ponder their next move.

The Royal Navy bombards Vichy French positions at Abey.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Cologne (51 bombers), Dusseldorf (44), and Kiel (41). During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends a Circus mission to the power station at Comines. However, thick haze forces the mission to abort.

During the Circus mission, RAF pilot James "Johnnie" Johnson gets a victory, downing a Bf-109.

Colonel Philibert Collet's Circassian Cavalry outside the railway station at Damascus, 26 June 1941.

Battle of the Baltic: The Soviets complete the withdrawal of their fleet from their bases at Liepāja, Ventspils, and Rīga. They have had to scuttle numerous ships (such as submarine M-83 scuttled at Liepaja today) that they are unable to move.

U-149 (Kptlt. Horst Höltring), a training boat of the 1st U-boat Flotilla based at Gdynia/Gotenhafen on its only patrol of the war, sinks 206-ton Soviet submarine M-99 (some sources say M-101 on 27 June) northwest of Dago Island.

Soviet submarine M-72 hits a mine and is damaged off Kronstadt. It makes it to port. The identities of all these ships - M-99, M-101, M-72 - is unclear from the sources.

Soviet warships lay mines in the Baltic and are attacked by German forces doing the same. A German S-boat torpedoes Soviet destroyer Storozhevoi in the Irben Strait. The destroyer makes it back to Leningrad. The S-boats, however, do sink Estonian freighter Lidaza.

Finnish vessels Vesihiisi and Iku-Turso lay mines off the Estonian coast.

U-576, a Type VIIC boat.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 275-ton Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMS Tranio in the Thames Estuary near No. 57 Buoy (Smith's Knoll). The ship is in tow at the time. There are no casualties.

Convoy OB-339 departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Convoy HX-135 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Euryalus is commissioned, corvette Sweetbriar and minesweeping trawler Eday are launched and minesweeper Horsham is laid down.

Canadian corvette HMCS Prescott (Lt. Henry A. Russell) is commissioned, while corvette Timmins is launched at Esquimalt BC and minesweepers Parrsborough and Rockhampton are launched.

Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen (previously HMS Scourge) is laid down.

U-453 (Kapitänleutnant Gert Hetschko) and U-576 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Dieter Heinicke) are commissioned, U-583 and U-584 are launched, and U-304 is laid down.

Rearming a Messerschmitt Bf.109E-7 of 7./JG 26. June 1941, North Africa. Note the "Schlageter" unit marking.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The situation on land is fairly quiet. The RAF raids Gazala.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Severn torpedoes and sinks 1292-ton Italian freighter Polinnia southeast of Ischia (south of Naples).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Utmost torpedoes and sinks 4080-ton Italian freighter Enrico Costa four miles off Cape Todaro (northern Sicily).

Force H of the Royal Navy, based at Gibraltar, begins another mission to supply aircraft to Malta. This is Operation Railway, and the aircraft are on aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

British troopship HMT Nieuw Amsterdam departs Suez bound for Durban. It carries the King of Greece and the royal family, other members of the Greek government, 1000 prisoners of war and their 75 guards, and 151 passengers.

Since the eastern Mediterranean has quieted down, battleships Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Warspite and numerous supporting vessels depart Alexandria for gunnery practice.

At Malta, there is a continuous bombing by the Italians over a five-hour period. The raid starts around 22:00 and lasts until around 03:00 the next morning. The residents of Malta consider these "nuisance" raids because they seem less intended to cause damage than to keep people awake by simply circling around Valletta.

"Passing out parade of newly trained merchant seamen. The Captain of HMS GORDON gives a parting address to the passing out draft." © IWM (A 4467).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Kormoran has a big day in the Bay of Bengal. First, it spots a darkened freighter that does not respond to a warning shot. Kormoran then opens fire and sinks 4153-ton Yugoslavian freighter Velebit. There are 17 survivors (two eventually succumb to their injuries), while 14 men perish. The Velebit actually doesn't sink right away, and 8 sailors who stay on it manage to keep the pumps working long enough for it to drift to a grounding on a nearby reef.
Kormoran then spots another ship. This one also ignores a warning shot, so Kormoran uses gunfire to sink 3472-ton Australian freighter Mareeba midway between Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are 26 deaths and the 25 survivors become prisoners of war (some sources say there the entire crew is saved, and it only numbers 48 people - ship records can be very sketchy at times). The Mareeba has enough time to get off a distress call, but nothing comes of it.

Australian freighter Mareeba, sunk on 26 June 1941 by German raider Kormoran.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet cruiser Voroshilov and accompanying destroyers bombard Constanta, which is being attacked by both sea and air. The Soviets blow up a Romanian ammunition train. However, they are chased off by the Royal Romanian Navy's coastal fortifications (Gruparea de artilerie de coasta Constanta, comprised of six batteries ranging in size from 150mm and 120mm down to 75mm) and Romanian destroyers Regina Maria and Marasti. German 28cm coastal battery "Tirpitz" aids in the defense.

Soviet destroyer Moskva is hit and sinks during the engagement, although which battery hit it and the effect of hitting a mine while withdrawing to Sevastopol has been debated ever since. Destroyer Kharkiv is damaged by a near miss when the Luftwaffe attacks, but makes it back to Sevastopol. Cruiser Voroshilov also hits a mine but also makes it back to port.

A fight takes place in the early morning hours on the Chilia branch of the Danube Delta, near the commune of Ceatalchioi which is known simply as the Action of 26 June 1941. Two Romanian pocket torpedo gunboats, V-1 and V-3 of the Romanian Danube Flotilla, take on three Soviet armored motor gunboats, which are there to lay mines. The Romanian commander of V-3 spots the Soviets and opens fire with his 47 mm gun. The middle of the three Soviet boats explodes, and the other two quickly retreat. One of the remaining Soviet boats hits a rock and is disabled, allowing the Romanians to capture it. This Soviet ship was repaired and commissioned in the Romanian Navy as V-7.

A Romanian CNLB-class riverboat of the type involved in the Action of 26 June 1941.

War Crimes: The Soviet NKVD takes a large but unknown number of prisoners from jails in Minsk to the Tsagelnya Forest and executes them. This is a well-known site, and after the conclusion of World War II a memorial will be erected with events held there every year.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Soviet/Finnish Relations: Soviet troops in Moscow seal the Finnish Embassy and disarm its guards. The Finnish staff is told to pack two suitcases immediately and then is taken into custody.

Anglo/Yugoslav Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets with the prime minister of the Yugoslavian government-in-exile.

Aerial photograph of Scorton airfield looking northwest, Scorton village is bottom right, 26 June 1941. Photograph from sortie number RAF/4F/UK653. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

Soviet Military: General Zhukov returns from an inspection tour of the front and meets with Premier Joseph Stalin and Generals Vatutine and Timoshenko. Stalin remains hidden from public view but retains control of the military via his place of preeminence on the Stavka.

Stalin is an unhappy man because of the military situation. In fact, he is so angry that he visits the General Staff headquarters twice during the day to vent. As usual, when he is unhappy, Stalin vents his wrath on subordinates. Today he recalls General Meretskov from Leningrad and arrests him. Meretskov is in for torture, during which he implicates other generals in a supposed anti-Stalin plot.

General Ivan Konev takes command of the Soviet 19th Army.

Spanish Military: Spain lives up to its commitment to provide troops to aid Operation Barbarossa by beginning to form its "Blue Division."

Italian Military: Leader Benito Mussolini announces plans to send an Italian expeditionary force to the Eastern Front.

Japanese Military: The Japanese Imperial Navy launches aircraft carrier Junyo. The Junyo is converted from a passenger liner.

US Military: Task Force 18 of the Atlantic Fleet forms out of the mixed Marine-Army I Corps (Provisional).

HMS Liverpool. "In dry dock at the Mare Island Navy Yard, 26 June 1941, for the repair of damage received in the Mediterranean Sea the previous October. The false bow had been fitted at Alexandria, Egypt, shortly after the cruiser was torpedoed." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 60379.

German Government: Adolf Hitler is in Rastenburg, East Prussia at his brand new Wolf's Lair headquarters. It is in a pine forest full of marshes and stagnant lakes that is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. On the plus side, the complex has a railway line that has been closed to through traffic but can be used when considered appropriate. Hitler is receiving constant reports from the front, but with everything going well has little to do.

However, Hitler takes care of some lingering business by issuing a "secret decree" that names his successor as Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering.

Norwegian Government: An advisor to Vidkun Quisling writes a letter to the leader suggesting that Slavic peoples should be removed from northern Russia because they "don't know how to make use of the land." The land, he writes, could be better used by Germanic peoples" (which he apparently believes includes Norwegians).

Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad, showing a Sovietsky Soyuz-class battleship and a Chapayev-class cruiser under construction. 26 June 1941.

Andaman Islands: A powerful earthquake hits the largely uninhabited Andaman Islands.

Holocaust: At Jassy (Iasi), Romania, Romanian and German soldiers go from house to house in order to kill Jews. Some Jews are spared for the moment but put in cattle wagons in order to be taken to another location for eventual execution. The number of people executed is unknown, but could be as high as 12,000.

Italian Homefront: Artist Ettore Tito, famous for painting scenes of Venice, passes away in Venice at the age of 81.

German Homefront: The government cuts the meat ration to 14 ounces per week, but raises the artificial honey ration.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio goes hitless until the last out of the eighth inning in a game the Yankees are winning 3-1 in New York. However, when making an out virtually would ensure that his hitting streak ends, DiMaggio hits a double over third base and drives in a run. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 38 games.

Soviet destroyer Moskva, sunk off the Romanian coast on 26 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

Wednesday 25 June 1941

German pilots in Malmi, Helsinki on 25 June 1941.

Eastern Front: The biggest news of 25 June 1941 includes Finland declaring war on the USSR and the Germans taking Dubno and Lutsk in Army Group South's sector and Baranovichi in the Army Group North sector.

Early in the morning, the Red Air Force bombs Helsinki, five other Finnish towns, and 19 airfields in Finland. The force includes 263 bombers and 224 fighter aircraft, bombing 15 cities, towns, and villages. Major targets include Helsinki, Kotka, Turku, Loviisa, Forsby, and Porvoo.

It is a massive Soviet effort that includes 460 planes. The Soviets lose 23-27 planes. In addition, the Soviets shell the Finnish positions on the island of Morgonland and other Baltic islands, some of which the Finns already have evacuated. The Soviets claim the airstrikes in Finland are aimed at German targets, as German forces are known to be operating from Finland.

There is another artillery duel between Finnish and Soviet forces at Hanko. These Soviet attacks are not accidents. Moscow radio broadcasts a threatening statement:

The Finnish militarists have flagrantly violated the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty. The rulers of Finland have begun military operations against our country . . . The Soviet Union has fulfilled the peace treaty conscientiously. But the rulers of Finland, under orders from Hitler, have plunged the long-suffering Finnish people into a war against the Soviet Union. Scoring the most elementary of international laws and the vital interests of their own people, the Finnish warmongers have again launched a campaign against the Soviet Union. . . . The ignoble rulers of Finland have not learned any lesson from the campaign of the winter of 1939 and 1940. They are asking for another, a final, lesson, and that lesson the Finnish perpetrators of fascism will get.

The Soviet statement is partly correct and partly false. While Finland has laid mines in the Baltic and allowed German troops to operate from its soil against the Soviet Union, Finland has not fired a shot against the Soviet Union since the Winter War. It has complied with the treaty that ended that war aside from the actions of its partner, Germany. So, both sides have an argument about who is in the wrong.

Most observers likely would agree, though, that allowing an enemy to freely use your territory to attack them (as Finland has done) is an act of war. So, the Soviets would have had the better case to declare war on Finland than vice versa - if they had done so, that is, and not simply attacked. Very few hands are completely clean on the Eastern Front.

Finnish Prime Minister Rangell had planned a speech to Parliament today regarding remaining neutral and taking only defensive measures. However, in light of the Red Air Force attacks, he quickly changes his speech to include a more bellicose tone:

Finland immediately declares war on the Soviet Union. This is done by the roundabout means of a simple unanimous vote of confidence in the present Finnish government. In fact, everyone "knows" that the Finns are German allies and preparing an attack of their own anyway. The Soviet air attacks, however, give the Finns a pretext for declaring war at once.

Finland has multiple military objectives, but the government fundamentally only has one goal: to recover territory lost during the Winter War. Finnish troops head toward Leningrad, the Svir River, and the Murmansk railway. This is known as the "Continuation War." While Finland is a "co-belligerent" of Germany, it is waging a completely separate campaign. While it coordinates operations with OKW, it does not take orders from Berlin and often disregards the German military's wishes.

The Finns do not attack at once upon the government's declaration of war, preferring to bide their time and pick a time and place that works with ally Germany. Instead, Finland's military continues mobilizing its forces and planning its axes of advance. The Soviets are too hard-pressed further south and actually withdraw forces from the border region with Finland around this time.

Operation Barbarossa continues moving eastward toward Leningrad, Moscow, and Kyiv. All of these operations are lumped together by the Russians as the "border defensive battles," which isn't particularly descriptive (understandable, since they don't go well for the Soviets). So, just for clarity and consistency, I use the names western sources have applied to events on the eastern front.

In the far North of Finland, the Soviets reinforce their defenses around Murmansk. With both England and the USA promising aid, the northern seaports have become vital elements of Soviet strategy and must be defended. The Germans are more interested in securing the nickel mines and plants along the border than attacking Murmansk at this time.

Panzer 38(t) tanks of Panzer Regiment 25, 7th Panzer Division, Vilnius, Eastern Front, June 1941.

Army Group North under Field Marshal Ritter von Leeb is led forward by General Eric Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group. Following behind it are 16th and 18th Armies. In total, Army Group North controls 20 infantry, three panzer, and three motorized infantry divisions. Overhead, support is provided by Luftflotte 1 (the First Air Fleet). Kaunas and Vilnius have fallen, and the Soviets are retreating everywhere.

At the Battle of Raseiniai, which began on 23 June, the Germans of the 6th Panzer Division first encountered Soviet KV heavy tanks. One slipped through the German lines and proved impervious to the German anti-tank weapons. It has remained in place behind the lines, withstanding a pounding by 50-mm anti-tank guns and panzers in the vicinity. Early today, after almost two days, the Germans finally knock the KV out by bringing an 88 mm Flak gun through nearby woods and blasting the KV multiple times from the rear. The crew, incredibly, survives all this and only is killed by a pioneer engineer who climbs on the tank and pushes grenades through the holes made by the Flak gun.

As the day ends, the Soviet 8th Army is falling back to the Jonava about 48 km (30 miles) northeast of Kaunas, while the Soviet 11th Army is retreating toward the Desna. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko of the Stavka orders Front Commander Colonel General Vasily Kuznetsov to form a defensive line along the Western Dvina. Timoshenko releases the 21st Mechanized Corps (Major-General Dmitry Lelyushenko) with 98 tanks and 129 guns, from the Moscow Military District to help form this line.

The bridges at Dvinsk, 25 June 1941.

After a successful surprise attack by elements of the 6th Panzer Division that captures two key bridges at Dvinsk during the early morning hours, the 8th Panzer Division captures Dvinsk. The bridges are wired for demolition, but the attack is so quick that the Soviets don't have time to blow them. The division then continues its northeastward advance toward Leningrad.

In Army Group Center, the Soviets launched a counterattack on the 24th toward Grodno. The attack, however, missed the leading German tanks of the 3rd Panzer Group, which already had driven further east to Vilnius. Today, the Soviet counterattack is crushed and the commander of Soviet 6th Cavalry Corps is taken captive. General Pavlov, in charge of Western Front, orders a general withdrawal to Slonim in order to block the way to Minsk. The Soviet 13th Army evacuates Maladzyechna, northwest of Minsk.

The Wehrmacht in the central sector has its eyes on a larger strategy than simply brushing off the Soviet counterattacks. General Hoth and General Guderian aim their panzer groups for a large-scale pincer move around the Soviet forces to the vicinity of Baranovichi.

In Army Group South, the Battle of Brody continues. This is a major tank battle, and along the front Soviet tanks outnumber the panzers 3229-728. However, in the most effective classes of tanks, the Germans have 355 with main guns of 50 mm or larger, while the Soviets only have 443 T-34s and KVs. So, while there is a great disparity in raw numbers, in fact, the destructive power of the respective forces is much more balanced from the raw numbers.

While it characterized as one continuous battle, the Battle of Brody actually is a series of disjointed Soviet tank charges against the advancing Wehrmacht. All these attacks do is grind down the Soviets' starting numerical advantage.
On the 24th, the Soviet 22nd Mechanized Corps attacks toward Voinitsa, Ukraine. It is making little progress and losing large numbers of tanks. The Soviets today move large numbers of tanks on a 500-km drive to the northwest of Brody, and, as the commander of the 8th Mechanized Corps, Ryabyshev, later writes, half of the tanks break down and the ones that make it are worn out. Some Soviet formations, such as the 15th Mechanized Corps, drive around following orders that are out of date and never even see the Germans.

German troops in Kaunas, 25 June 1941 (Barschdorff, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1984-102-25A).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 25th Brigade at Jezzine has no success in its attempts to advance north through the mountains. The Australian commander falls ill and is replaced by Brigadier Plant, who favors using artillery and air power to wear out the defending Vichy French defenders rather than continue futile ground attacks.

Royal Navy submarine  HMS Parthian at 12:12 torpedoes and sinks French submarine Souffleur off the Syrian coast.

German pioneer troops crossing a river in Russia, the morning of 25 June 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 146-1974-170-27).

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends Circus missions over France. In the first, RAF Bomber Command sends a force of Blenheim bombers under heavy fighter escort to northern France to attack the Hazebrouck marshaling yards. They cause widespread damage as an ammunition train explodes which includes the destruction of a bridge.

The other mission is to St. Omer, where the Luftwaffe has an important airfield. The elite German JG 26 fighter squadron is based at St. Omer, and they do not take kindly to being attacked. The Germans shoot down five Spitfires during the raid on Hazebrouck and lose at least two during the St. Omer raid. RAF ace Douglas Bader files claims for the two Luftwaffe planes, while Oblt. "Pip" Priller of I,/JG 26 claims a Spitfire over Gravelines.

RAF Bomber Command also attacks Bremen (64 bombers) and Kiel (47 bombers).

During the day, three Luftwaffe bombers are lost during an attack on Newcastle. It is unknown what happened to them.

The Luftwaffe sends some bombers to attack Southampton and the surrounding area. The Germans drop many parachute mines, each of which can destroy a row of houses. For the week ending at dawn on the 25th, the government reports that there were 39 killed and 116 seriously wounded, with no casualties in London.

New York Times, 25 June 1941.

East African Campaign: General Wavell, still the Middle East Commander until Claude Auchinleck arrives from India, joins US observer Averell Harriman on an inspection tour of East Africa.

Battle of the Baltic: The Germans seize 1181-ton Estonian freighter Estonia in an Estonian port.

The Soviets sends cruiser Voroshilov from Sevastopol accompanied by destroyers to bombard Constanza.

A woman of the Finnish Lotta Svärd preparing for war, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The attacks on Convoy HX-133 continue south of Iceland. About ten U-boats are involved.

U-77 (Kptlt. Heinrich Schonder), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 4603-ton Greek freighter Anna Bulgaris. Everyone perishes.

U-108 (Kptlt. Klaus Scholtz), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks two ships:

• 3059-ton Greek freighter Ellinico
• 4362-ton Greek freighter Nicholas Pateras

The entire crew of the Nicholas Pateras is lost (it is a straggler from Convoy OB-336), while everybody on Ellinico also perishes. That is the luck of the draw in the Battle of the Atlantic.

U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), on its second patrol out of Saint-Nazaire and south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 1967-ton Dutch freighter Schie of Convoy OB-336. This sinking sometimes is listed as occurring on the 24th. Little is known about this incident, as there are no survivors (29 dead) and Ringelmaan cannot clearly identify the ship. It is simply assumed that U-75's victim is the Schie.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2154-ton British freighter Dashwood east of Cromer. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 176-ton British trawler Isle of Wight off Scarborough.

The Luftwaffe lightly damages Royal Navy destroyer Liddesdale in the North Sea. The ship remains in service.

Royal Navy minelayers Agamemnon and Menesheus lay minefield SN.70B off of Iceland. They have a heavy escort. It is a cloudy day, and destroyer Brighton runs into light cruiser Kenya on the starboard side. Both ships require repairs, and the Brighton loses its entire bow on the way under tow to the Clyde.

Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.65 in the North Sea.

The US Navy sends a squadron led by light cruisers Philadelphia and Savannah from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol.

Canadian corvette HMCS Lethbridge (Lt. William Mahan) is commissioned, corvette Midland and minesweeper Medicine Hat are launched (in Midland, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec, respectively).

U-403 is commissioned.

Italian transport Neptunia.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Gazala and the Italian positions at Debra Tabor.

An Italian troopship convoy sets off from Naples bound for Tripoli. It is composed of transports Esperia, Marco Polo, Neptunia, and Oceania. Escorts include four destroyers (Aviere, Da Noli, Geniere, and Gioberti). British aircraft based on Malta attack the convoy. The British cause some light damage to transport Esperia but lose a Swordfish of RAF No. 830 when it crashes into the side of the Esperia.

During an air battle near Malta, Hurricane fighter pilots claim three Machhi 200 fighters shot down and an Italian bomber badly damaged. There are a couple of bombing raids on Malta that cause damage at Zeitun, Zabbar, and Safi.

German converted minelayer Adjutant.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured Norwegian whaler Adjutant, sailing with a German prize crew, lays mines five kilometers off Lyttelton and Wellington (10 mines each), New Zealand. Nobody learns about this for many years.

POWs: French Lieutenant E. Boulé tries to escape from Colditz Castle POW Camp by dressing as a German woman. However, he drops his watch as he is walking away from the castle, and a German guard who goes to return it to "her" recognizes him.

Missionaries leaving Salt Lake Missionary Home, 25 June 1941.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: The British send General Mason-MacFarlane by air for Moscow to head a military mission. This is a hazardous route that includes crossing occupied Norway and Finland. General Brian Horrocks replaces him in command of the 44th Infantry Division.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.

German/Swedish Relations: With troops needed in Finland and no longer in Narvik, the Wehrmacht needs to move troops by train through neutral Sweden with the Swedish government's permission. This is the only quick route from northern Norway to the Baltic and a critical line - maintaining use of it is a top priority for the Wehrmacht in Scandinavia. The Swedish government (Riksdag) now permits the Wehrmacht to send one division at a time along the railway. The German 163rd Infantry Division (often called the Engelbrecht Division after its commander) begins to move its 15,000 troops, equipment, and supplies.

A Wehrmacht soldier allows two Finnish children to "ride" his motorcycle, June 1941.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The Japanese desire military bases in southern Indochina and decide to use force if necessary to get them. The high command also sets 10 August as the deadline for a decision to attack the Soviet Union in conjunction with Operation Barbarossa. There are no plans to attack the USSR and no forces have been allocated for that purpose, but the Japanese do have a large military presence in China and Manchukuo which could be sent on an invasion.

German Military: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler and his adjutant, Joachim Peiper, embark on his headquarters train "Heinrich" for an inspection tour of the eastern front. Hitler's new headquarters in Rastenburg, the Wolf's Lair, conveniently is situated on a (closed) railway line, making visits to and from there by train very convenient for German leaders and foreign dignitaries.


US Government: President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802. This prohibits racial discrimination in the national defense industry, stating:

I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations... to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin.

Roosevelt also creates the Fair Employment Practice Committee to implement the Executive Order. Along with some previous defense-related bills, these are key steps in the Civil Rights movement.

25 June 1941, Members of the Lithuanian Militia Leading Jews to the Seventh Fort in Kovno, Lithuania (Yad Vashem Photo Archives 2725/17).

Holocaust: In Kaunas, political prisoners who have been released by the general uprising learn that Soviet security officers (some of whom reputedly are Jewish) are being held in the Lietukis car garage. They recognize some of their former captors. In a scene that will be repeated many times during World War II, the released prisoners kill the captive Soviets with blunt instruments.

More generally, local citizens engage in a rampage against Jews. This is known as the Kaunas pogrom. It is a sensitive topic, obviously, and there has been debate as to how much the recently arrived local German troops incite the locals to engage in anti-Semitic horror and how much is simply score-settling by locals (something that is quite common during World War II).

In any event, the pogrom lasts for five days. Jews are taken by locals to The Seventh Fort (or VII Fort, which is a defensive fortification built in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas), one of many ad hoc prisons outside the city, and imprisoned before their eventual fates. It is estimated that 10,000 Jews are beaten and then shot there by the end of July.

Anti-semitic activities also take place elsewhere in Lithuania. The events in Kaunas, however, are etched deeply into the memory of Lithuania.

Dr. Seuss - Hitler Taxidermist, published by PM Magazine on June 25, 1941, Dr. Seuss Collection, MSS 230.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run against St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse in New York. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 37 games.

Isolationist Senator Robert Taft of Ohio gives a radio speech in which he argues that the United States now is safer because of Germany's attack on Russia:

The Russian war certainly postpones for many months any attack which Hitler could possibly make; and makes even more certain a defense of the United States sufficient to discourage any military or naval attack.

Rather than declare war on anybody, Taft says that it would be wiser to avoid foreign wars and simply help England fight its war:

This country can be united on a policy of no intervention in Europe and aid to Britain. We can make that aid infinitely more effective if we abandon the role of world benefactor; if we leave Balkan politics alone; if we avoid a Communist alliance; if we adhere to the simple policy of aiding Britain.

He concludes, "The Russian war has weakened every argument for intervention." Roosevelt already, on the 24th, has promised aid to Russia to fight Germany.

President Roosevelt's "Fair Employment Practice in Defense Industries" Executive Order of 25 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