Showing posts with label Brereton. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California

Monday 23 February 1942

I-17 shells California, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

A Japanese propaganda photo (including a helpful map of the target in the upper right) of the 23 February 1942 attack on California by I-17. Is this an actual photo of I-17 firing its gun that night? It purports to be but probably is a "recreation."

Battle of the Pacific: Residents of Ellwood, California (near Santa Barbara), get a shock not long after dark on 23 February 1942 when Imperial Japanese Navy submarine HIJMS I-17 (Captain Kozo Nishino) starts lobbing shells at them. This attack at about 19:15 is a very rare attack by Axis forces on the United States mainland (this is not the only one). The area is the site of the Ellwood Oil Field, which Nishino once visited in peacetime. Standing just offshore, I-17 pumps about two dozen 5.5-inch (140 mm) shells at oil storage tanks and derricks. After causing some minor damage to things like catwalks, Nishino turns west and heads back to Japan. This attack receives a lot of publicity and causes many frightened residents to flee inland. This incident also stokes anti-Japanese feelings because witnesses claim to see the submarine flashing signals to allies onshore (which apparently is just a mistake by the witnesses). Since this comes very soon after President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, it gives new impetus to efforts to remove people of Japanese descent from the West Coast and put them in internment camps.

U-751, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

U-751 arrives at St. Nazaire, 23 February 1942 (Sheep, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-3691-05).

In Burma, the Japanese establish a strong bridgehead across the Sittang River despite the British blowing a key bridge. Remnants of the Indian 17th Division which fought unsuccessfully on the Bilin River cross the Sittang on boats or by swimming. They must leave all their equipment on the far shore and the division's fighting ability is destroyed. Only 1420 soldiers out of 3404 enlisted men and 80 officers even have rifles. Many also have lost their boots and some have even lost their uniforms due to having to swim the river, but the division remains in action. Since they are the only large force remaining between the Japanese and Rangoon, the city is in a lot of trouble. The Battle of Sittang River decides the fate of Burma in favor of the Japanese. The British are hurriedly evacuating Rangoon and having to decide either to ship out supplies destined for China immediately and at great risk or destroy them. The recently arrived British 7th Armored Brigade, which is completely unfamiliar with Burma and not fully equipped, proceeds immediately from its port of disembarkation to Rangoon in a last-ditch attempt to hold the capital.

Adelaide Advertiser, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

The 23 February 1942 Adelaide, Australia, The Advertiser highlights Japanese losses off Bali. The truth is far grimmer, but people would rather read positive stories.

Despite fervent vows by the ABDA command to hold Java, it is becoming clear to everyone that the Allies cannot stay there for long. Evacuations begin despite the fact that many units have arrived on Java only recently. General Sir Archibald Wavell, Command in Chief ABDA Command, is ordered by the Combined Chiefs of Staff to move his headquarters from Java to Australia. The future for any Allied troops left on Java when the Japanese arrive is illustrated in Portuguese East Timor, where the Australian 2/2 Independent Company begins guerrilla operations with no hope of rescue or supply, and in Dutch West Timor, where the Australian 2/40th Battalion surrenders.

Early in the morning of the 23rd, six B-17s in two flights of 3 of the Kangaroo Squadron (435th Bomb Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group) based at Garbutt Field, Townsville, Australia, bomb the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. This is the first such bombing mission. Only two of the bombers actually drop their bombs. One of these two B-17s is "Swamp Ghost." Due to weather and mechanical issues, only one bomber actually hits the target. "Swamp Ghost" has mechanical issues that prevent its bomb bay doors from opening on its first run, so it makes another pass and successfully drops its bombs. However, this second pass exposes "Swamp Ghost" to ground fire. It takes heavy damage (121 bullet holes) which forces its crew to crash-land in a swamp eight miles from the northern Papua New Guinea coast.

The "Swamp Ghost" crew survives an arduous six-week trek out of the swamp. The plane is left there virtually intact until being rediscovered by Australian Army troops in a helicopter in 1972. In 2006, "Swamp Ghost" is removed from the swamp by cargo helicopter and currently is on display in Hangar 19 at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Reinhard Heydrich on Time magazine, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Reinhard Heydrich is on the cover of the 23 February 1942 Time magazine. Unknown to Time readers, an Allied plot to assassinate Heydrich, Operation Anthropoid, already is in progress (cover: Boris Artzybasheff).

Eastern Front: It is Red Army Day (the 24th) in the Soviet Union, so Joseph Stalin makes a radio broadcast to celebrate the occasion. He states that the Soviet People will have a "tremendous and hard fight" to evict the Germans from Russia, but their transient advantages such as the "element of surprise" are now gone. He promises that "the Red banner will fly everywhere it has flown before." Stalin also for the first time makes a distinction between the "Hitler clique" and the German people, a distinction which will become practically a Red Army battle cry. The Germans, meanwhile, well know this is a special day for the Soviets and are surprised that the fighting is fairly quiet on the Eastern Front. There are no new attacks and the German pockets at Demyansk and Kholm are holding their own. This gives many Germans confidence that the Red Army is the one that has lost its momentum after the surprising counteroffensive before Moscow and that the Wehrmacht can "run the table" over the coming summer.

Stalin on the cover of Moscow Bolshevik, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Comrade Stalin is on the front page of the Moscow Bolshevik for 23 February 1942.

While there are no major Soviet attacks, there is some movement. The USSR announces that Red Army troops have taken Dorogobuzh, a village on the upper Dneipr River. It is another strategically non-essential place in German eyes, far from any main roads and not threatening any major German-held cities, but it is important enough to the Soviets for them to mention it. The Wehrmacht is happy to let the Soviets fritter away their momentum taking such outposts in the middle of nowhere while they maintain their supply lines along the highways.

European Air Operations: The RAF has a fairly light day of activity, sending only 23 Hampdens to drop mines off Wilhelmshaven and Heligoland, as new commander General Arthur "Bomber" Harris gets familiar with his forces. Harris has a mandate to turn the RAF as an instrument of vengeance against the Reich by launching terror raids against population centers rather than focusing on military targets as has been the case to date.

U-751 arrives at St. Nazaire, 23 February 1942. It is tieing up inboard of U-85 (right). (Sheep, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-3691-12).

Battle of the Atlantic: The British have known for several days that the Germans have sent a battle group of large ships to northern Norway. Attempts to attack the ships with aircraft have failed due to rough weather. However, today the British succeed through other means when HMS Trident (Cmdr. Sladen) spots the ships in the North Sea off the Trondheimsfjord. The ships are just on a normal patrol and are not heading out on a raiding mission. Sladen fires three torpedoes, one of which hits Prinz Eugen in the stern and seriously damages its rudder. The Germans take Prinz Eugen to Lo Fjord at Drontheim for temporary repairs. Eventually, Prinz Eugen must head back to Germany for full repairs and is out of service until October 1942.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, has a big day northeast of Barima, Venezuela. Attacking at 01:20, the submarine sinks 1754-ton Canadian freighter George L. Torian (15 deaths, 4 survivors). At 04:43, it spots and sinks 5658-ton US freighter West Zeda (all 35 survive). Then, at 15:04, Clausen torpedoes and sinks 1904-ton Canadian freighter Lennox (2 deaths and 18 survivors). All of these ships are independents, as convoys have not yet been organized this far south.

HMAS Ping Wo, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

HMAS Ping Wo. A 3105-ton Chinese river steamer, Ping Wo is used on 23 February 1942 to tow the disabled HMAS Vendetta from the Javan port of Tanjung Priok to Fremantle, Western Australia. This is part of the general evacuation of Java. The tow to Fremantle takes 62 days, or 72 days if you count an additional tow to Port Phillip Bay (Royal Australian Navy).

U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its second patrol out of Lorient, also has a big day about 75 miles north of Aruba. After missing with two torpedoes, U-502 finally hits 8329-ton Panamanian tanker Thalia with a third at 10:32. Tankers are hard to sink, though, and another two torpedoes fail to sink it. Finally, von Rosenstiel surfaces and rakes the burning tanker with 103 rounds from his deck gun. This does the trick. There are 40 survivors and one dead. At 16:43, von Rosenstiel strikes again, torpedoing 9002-ton US tanker Sun (carrying only water ballast) with one torpedo. The explosion causes extensive damage that would sink a freighter, and the crew abandons ship. However, the compartmentalized structure of the tanker saves it, and the crew reboards it and they take she battered ship to an anchorage and eventually to Aruba.

U-161 (Kptlt. Albrecht Achilles), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7001-ton US freighter Lihue about 275 miles west of Martinique. Lihue is another independent, which U-boat captains have found are easy targets. U-161 surfaces after hitting the Lihue with a single torpedo at 06:43 and engages in a brief gun duel with the freighter before submerging again and waiting for it to sink. All 45 men on board survive.

Life magazine, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

The 23 February 1942 Life magazine features guns at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the cover.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS P38 (Lieutenant Rowland Hemingway DSC, RN) spots a large Axis supply convoy heading from Naples to Tripoli about 90 nautical miles (170 km) east of Tripoli. It and moves into position to attack. However, before Lt. Hemingway can attack, the Italian escorts spot P38 with sonar and move into the attack with depth charges. Italian torpedo boat Circe launches all of its depth charges and forces P38 to broach the surface before settling back down. After further attacks, P38 rises again, stern first, before sinking. All 32 men aboard P38 perish. The Royal Navy knew about this convoy from intercepts or spies and specifically sent P38 from Malta to attack it, so this is a good example of one side having solid intelligence on exactly what has to be done, but being unable to do it.

British/Australian Relations: After urgent demands by Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill confirms that the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions which are at sea will be returned to Australia for the defense of the homeland.

Allied Relations: The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand reach an agreement (Master Mutual Aid Agreement) regarding the conduct of the war in the Southwest Pacific.

Malta sailors draw their rum ration, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

On Malta, sailors draw their rum rations. "Wherever they find themselves the ratings draw their issue. In this case on the top of the RN Signal Station at Valletta Palace." 23 February 1942. © IWM (A 9244).

US Military: The US Navy reorganizes its pilot training program, dividing up pilots by the type of aircraft they will be flying. Pilots of one- or two-engine aircraft are to be put into a special 11-month program, while those destined for four-engine bombers are to go into a 12-month program. The latter group has four equal subdivisions of three months each: periods spent at Induction Centers, then Primary training, Intermediate Training, and finally Operational Training.

USAAF General Ira C. Eaker establishes the headquarters of his VIII Bomber Command at Daws Hill Lodge, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.

Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General USAAF 5th Air Force, departs from Australia to India. ABDA Vice Commander Major General George H. Brett assumes control of 5th Air Force Operations in Brereton's absence. Brett today flies from Java back to Australia as part of a broader evacuation of the island. Brereton's mission in New Delhi, India, is to begin to organize the new Tenth Air Force, which includes preparation for the famous "Hump" Airlift to China.

U-123 enters port, February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

U-123 (28-year-old German Captain Reinhard Hardegen) returns to Lorient after a successful patrol off the east coast of the United States, February 1942 (Dietrich, Federal Archive Bild 101II-MW-3983-23).

Holocaust: The Italian government establishes a concentration camp near Gonars, Italy (near Trieste). It is primarily devoted to housing prisoners from Italy's sphere of influence in the Balkans (Slovenia and Croatia). Mussolini is not obsessed with putting Jewish people in concentration camps like his German allies, but hundreds of people die here of starvation and torture just like in Third Reich work camps. The Gonars camp never receives the notoriety of death camps like Auschwitz and Mauthausen but is quite brutal despite eventually fading away into obscurity.

Italian Homefront: It is a day of speeches by leaders around the world, and that includes Benito Mussolini. In Rome, he gives a typical lengthy speech during which he states:

We call bread, bread and wine, wine, and when the enemy wins a battle it is useless and ridiculous to seek, as the English do in their incomparable hypocrisy, to deny or diminish it.

Mussolini is expressing a common theme of the Axis leaders that the world media is not giving due credit for their successes, a refrain also heard often from Hitler. Of course, the media they are concerned about is the Western media, and it is difficult to imagine them saying anything positive about Axis successes.

President Roosevelt gives a fireside chat, 23 February 1942 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

President Roosevelt during his fireside chat on 23 February 1942. While the chat is only broadcast over the radio, FDR asks listeners to pull out a map - then gestures during his speech toward the places that he is talking about on his own map (Libary of Congress).

American Homefront: It is George Washington's birthday, so President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes one of his popular "fireside chats." He admits that the first few months of the war have been difficult:

We have most certainly suffered losses – from Hitler's U-Boats in the Atlantic as well as from the Japanese in the Pacific – and we shall suffer more of them before the turn of the tide. But, speaking for the United States of America, let me say once and for all to the people of the world: We Americans have been compelled to yield ground, but we will regain it. We and the other United Nations are committed to the destruction of the militarism of Japan and Germany. We are daily increasing our strength. Soon, we and not our enemies will have the offensive; we, not they, will win the final battles; and we, not they, will make the final peace."

Roosevelt also quotes Thomas Paine's refrain that "these are the times that try men's souls," and adds "tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered." This period following the fall of Singapore is an emotional low point of the war for the Allies, but FDR's frankness helps morale.

President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which authorizes the internment of anyone of Japanese ancestry, arrives at Lt. General John L. Dewitt's West Coast headquarters of the Western Defense Command. He is now free to intern practically anyone he sees fit.

Swamp Ghost, lost on 23 February 1942, is retrieved in 2006 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

On 23 February 1942, USAAF Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress (41-2446) ditched in Agaiambo swamp, Papua New Guinea after running out of fuel. It was rediscovered in 1972 and removed from the swamp in 2006. Swamp Ghost is now on display in the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore

February 16, 1942: Operation Neuland Begins

February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Friday, March 15, 2019

December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre

Monday 15 December 1941

Dr. Seuss cartoon 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

A Dr.Seuss (Theodore Geisel) cartoon published on 15 December 1941. Geisel contributed cartoons throughout the war in support of buying war bonds for the war effort while in the U.S. Army.

Battle of the Pacific: There are several small Japanese naval gestures toward the United States on 15 December 1941 that don't amount to anything militarily, but reflect the contempt the Japanese feel for the lack of an effective response to their attacks. The US Navy is still reeling from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and is not mounting much in the way of retaliation. Instead, it is taking stock of the situation and begins planning for the initial defensive posture in the Pacific outlined in strategic military plan RAINBOW 5.

An unidentified Japanese submarine of the Second Marine Squadron surfaces just before dusk north of Maui and lobs shells in a fairly random manner. The mysterious submarine then departs without being spotted. The ten shells fall in the harbor area of Kahului on Maui, three of which hit a pineapple cannery and cause about $700 worth of damage (which is a fairly significant sum of money in 1941).

Dutch submarine 016, sunk by a mine on 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Dutch submarine 016, shown, hits a Japanese mine while exiting the Gulf of Siam on 15 December 1941. The submarine, based in Singapore, breaks in half and 41 men lose their lives. The wreck is discovered in October 1995 off Pulau Tioman in Malaysia.

Dutch submarine HNLMS O 16 (Anton Bussemaker), which had serendipitously arrived in the South China Sea on 6 December 1941, already has claimed the sinking of three Japanese transport ships off Malaya. On its way back to Singapore today, O 16 runs into a defensive line of Japanese mines at the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand. The submarine hits a mine around 02:30 and sinks within a minute. There is one survivor who just happened to be in the conning tower who must swim 50 miles in 38 hours to reach land. The wreck of O 16 is discovered and declared a war grave in October 1995, but it had disappeared by 2019. It most likely was illegally salvaged.

At Wake Island, Japanese "Mavis" flying boats bomb the military installation early in the morning. The battle for Wake Island has captured the public imagination, so the US Navy decides to try and reinforce it and save the hundreds of US Marines and civilian contractors on the isolated atoll. While a large-scale relief is still just in the planning stages, Admiral Husband Kimmel, CINCUS and CINCPACFLT, gets the ball rolling by dispatching USN seaplane tender USS and oiler USS Neches, escorted by four destroyers, toward the island. It likely will take another week or longer to get the entire fleet in motion for the first naval confrontation of the conflict between large forces. However, at this point, trying to save the island is more a public relations matter than a military one.

Admiral Kimmel on the cover of Time magazine, 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

As suggested by his unflattering portrait on the cover of the 15 December 1941 Time magazine, Admiral Husband Kimmel, naval commander in Hawaii (CINCUS and CINCPACFLT) and witness to the Japanese attack, is widely blamed for lack of effective security measures prior to the Pearl Harbor attack.

At Johnston Atoll, another Japanese submarine (HIJMS I-122) also surfaces and lobs a few shells at the military installations there. The shells appear to be sent at random and only slightly damage a few buildings, but two almost hit USN transport USS William Ward Burrows (AP-6). Like Wake Island, Johnston Atoll is far from Hawaii (712 nautical miles, 1319 km) and not of much use militarily to anyone, but the Japanese navy evidently is trying to make some kind of jingoistic point with these militarily pointless incidents.

Joe Dimaggio, 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Joe DiMaggio, named AL Player of the year, kissing his signature bat on December 15, 1941 (Sporting News (via Library of Congress)).

In the Philippines, the US Army Air Force's massive bomber force based at Clark Field has taken a beating so far in the war without accomplishing much. Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General Far East Air Force, is ordered to withdraw his remaining bombers (not many) to Bachelor Field, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Australia is not threatened at this point but certainly could be in the near future. The USAAF does keep a few fighters on hand at Manila to help the large US and Philippine Army ground forces fend off the approaching Japanese forces from northern Luzon and also the southeast. General MacArthur, commander of all Allied forces in the Philippines, is furious with the lack of any naval support and accuses Admiral Hart of being ineffectual.

On the Malay Peninsula, the Commonwealth troops continue pulling back. The RAAF pulls both No. 21 Squadron and No. 453 Squadron back from advanced bases to Kuala Lumpur, where they are reinforced with planes from Singapore. The Japanese, now able to use bases in Thailand and those given up by the Allies, are quickly establishing air superiority. In Hong Kong, the Japanese in Kowloon begin systematic bombardment of the north shore of Hong Kong Island in order to soften it up for an invasion.

Newsweek magazine, 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Newsweek magazine of 15 December 1941 highlights the new state of war. However, the magazine's cover "War! The U.S. Fleet's Guns Blaze" suggests naval actions are taking place when there have not been any in the Pacific.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The fighting on the Gazala line intensifies on 15 December 1941. The Polish Independent Brigade joins the 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade and attacks into a small wedge the New Zealanders have driven into the line. The defending Italian Brescia and Pavia division, along with the Trento Division nearby, repel the attack. At the center of the line, the Italian Trieste Division also stands firm. The Italian divisions recover Point 204, taken by the New Zealand brigade on the 14th, and plan a further attack toward Alem Hamza. While the Axis has held the line, it also has taken huge losses. The German 15th Panzer Division, which is down to 8 tanks, moves to the rear after line stabilizes for the first time. After dark, the Afrika Korps commander General Crüwell reviews the attrition in his units and a dangerous advance by British 4th Armored Brigade to Bir Haleigh el Eleba about 30 miles (48 km) from Alem Hamza and realizes he cannot hold the line for long despite the day's successes. Crüwell reluctantly orders a retreat from the Gazala line over the bitter objections of the victorious Italian units. The move west by 15th Panzer Division is just in time to block the British tanks hoping to encircle the Gazala line and give the troops there time to escape.

Life magazine, 15 December 1941.

Eastern Front: After a brief period of moderate weather, a cold front moves in along the Moscow sector and the temperature during the night bottoms at -33 °F. At Army Group North, Field Marshal Ritter von Leeb calls Hitler in the morning - an unusual act even for commanders of army groups - and explains that it is impossible to attempt to hold a line anywhere near Tikhvin. Hitler is opposed but does not explicitly forbid a withdrawal, so after the phone call at about noon, von Leeb tells all remaining outposts east of the Volkhov River (most already have withdrawn) to pull back. Field Marshal Keitel calls at 19:00 and tells von Leeb to stop the withdrawals, at which point von Leeb tells him that he will personally visit the Wolfsschanze Fuehrer headquarters to discuss the issue - an even more unusual act.

Liepaja massacre, 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

German Gestapo troops assemble political prisoners in Lijepaja (Liepaja) prior to execution. This picture was taken on 15 December 1941 by Hauptscharführer Karl Strott, head of the local Gestapo field office (Federal Archive B 162 Picture-02624).

The German retreats continue everywhere in the Army Group Center area. Northwest of Moscow, German Ninth Army sets demolition charges in Kalinin, including the Volga River Bridge, and evacuates Klin. Nearby, Third and Fourth Panzer Groups also retreat despite Field Marshal Fedor von Bock's admonition to "consider every step back a hundred times." South of Moscow, General Guderian's Second Panzer Army's retreat opens a ten-mile-wide hole in the German line while adjoining Second Army also withdraws. Retreating is no fun in the bitter cold, but it is better than fighting and dying or being captured Around noon, Colonel Heusinger, OKH operations branch chief, informs the forward army commands that Hitler will authorize withdrawals of thirty to forty miles to Staritsa and the line of the Lama and Ruza Rivers. Heusinger also hints that a more general withdrawal will be permitted to the line preferred by von Bock, anchored at Rzhev-Ghatsk-Orel-Kursk, but Heusinger cautions that the order is not finalized yet.

Victims of the Liepaja massacre, covered by a submachine gun visible at the right, are forced to undress on the edge of a killing pit on 15 December 1941. The picture was taken by the local Gestapo chief, Karl Strott (Federal Archive Bild B 162 Image-03236).

Holocaust: The Liepāja massacres begin in Latvia. These executions last until 17 December 1941 and result in 2731 Jewish civilians and 23 alleged communists were killed.

Chinese US citizen flying the Chinese flag at the beach, 15 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

On December 15, 1941, Ruth Lee, a hostess at a Chinese restaurant, flies a Chinese flag so she isn’t mistaken for Japanese when she sunbathes on her day off in Miami, Florida.

American Home Front: Widespread hysteria about Japanese Fifth Columnists continues throughout the United States, particularly along the west coast. The Rose Bowl is shifted from its usual home in Pasadena, California to Durham, North Carolina due to fears of attacks. US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, returning from a hurried trip to Hawaii, tells the press:

I think the most effective Fifth Column work of the entire war was done in Hawaii with the possible exception of Norway.

Norway, of course, is where the term "Fifth Columnist" originated. There is no question that there were Japanese spies in Hawaii operating out of the consulate on Oahu, but there is no proof of purely civilian spies of Japanese extraction.

The four major radio networks - CBS, Mutual, NBC Red (which ultimately becomes the basis for the NBC TV network, and NBC Blue (which ultimately becomes ABC) - interrupt regular prime-time scheduling for an hour to air patriotic broadcast. It is Norman Corwin's production of "We Hold These Truths," commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and starring Orson Welles. It commemorates the United States Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the US Constitution) ratified on 15 December 1991. This breaks all the records for radio broadcasts with an audience estimated at 63 million. For comparison, the famous Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 reaches about 73 million in a larger national population.

Victims of the Liepaja massacre posing after having taken off their outer garments prior to execution. This picture was taken on 15 December 1941 by local Gestapo chief Hauptscharführer Karl Strott (Federal Archive B 162 Picture-02615).

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

2020

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive

Thursday 4 December 1941

USS Ranger and Vought Vindicator 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"A U.S. Navy Vought SB2U Vindicator (42-S-17) of Scouting Squadron 42 (VS-42) returning to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) on 4 December 1941. Ranger was escorting a convoy in the Atlantic." (US Navy).

Eastern Front: There have been many Soviet counteroffensives on the Eastern Front since the Germans invaded in June. On the whole, they have been futile, though one or two, such as at Yelnya in September, pushed the Wehrmacht back a bit. General Georgy Zhukov now has come up with one of the more ambitious plans, an attack by Red Army units both north and south of Moscow to drive the Germans back about 60 miles, but it requires Stalin's approval. In his memoirs, General Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky, chief of staff of the Western Front, recalls that the final Stavka decision to mount this counteroffensive is made on 4 December 1941. As Zhukov recalls, the decision is made in a very off-handed way. Zhukov has a late-night telephone conversation with Joseph Stalin about general matters during which Stalin "reminds" Zhukov that the Kalinin Front would be going over to the counteroffensive on the 5th, while Southwest Front would follow the next day. This is the first that Zhukov, who more-or-less has been running the Red Army's operations, hears of it. And that is how the Moscow counteroffensive comes about.

British exercise aboard HMS Winchester Castle, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"An anti-aircraft gunners at Action Stations during a mock air raid, while stores are being loaded from a transport." During combined landing exercises held on 3 and 4 December 1941 at Skipness, Scotland and aboard transport ship Winchester Castle. © IWM (A 6495).

Conditions are ripe for a Soviet counteroffensive coming out of Moscow. The German troops have lost their momentum and they and their weapons are suffering from the extreme cold. While it is cold for the Soviet troops as well, they and their equipment are better prepared for it. In the morning, there are heavy snowfalls everywhere from the day and night before and the temperature stands at -4 °F, and Field Marshal Fedor von Bock records in his diary that it is "icy cold." After dark, the temperature drops to -25 °F, and a German regiment on a night march records over three hundred frostbite casualties and several wounded men freezing to death. In such conditions, the equipment that the Germans have used to get to Moscow and which for many serves as their home-on-wheels freeze. Their engines won't turn over, the guns won't fire because lubricants congeal, and hot food is impossible to serve in outdoor canteens. The Red Army has very small, but telling, advantages in all of these areas in part because the Germans are inhabiting areas that have been destroyed by fighting and supplied over unreliable lines of communication. The Red Army, on the other hand, holds positions that have not yet been fought over and which are served by longstanding and intact supply lines. So, the colder and frostier it gets, the more the balance of power swings to the Soviets.

RAF officers with British tank, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. Aircrew members of an RAF Squadron operating Glenn Martin Maryland bomber aircraft climb all over a British tank to examine it. Co-operation between the Allied air and land forces in the North African offensive has been excellent." (Australian War Memorial MED0155).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The winner of the multi-week battle begun by the British Operation Crusader remains uncertain as of 4 December 1941. After some brilliant maneuvering by General Erwin Rommel, the German Afrika Korps has managed to push the bulk of the British Eighth Army back toward the Egyptian border. The British are far from defeated, however, and British 30th Corps to the south of Rommel's most advanced positions near Tobruk remains a deadly threat. Rommel spends the morning dividing his forces, sending 15th Panzer Division and Italian Ariete Division south toward the border while sending other troops against the British entrenched to the north at Ed Duda.

British landing exercise in Scotland, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Unloading petrol by means of a roller runway." Combined landing exercise held at Skipness, Scotland and aboard transport ship Winchester Castle. © IWM (A 6505).

Neither attack succeeds. The British 70th Division's 14th Infantry Brigade at Ed Duda does not yield. The attack to the south alarms British Eighth Army headquarters, which orders British 4th Armored Brigade to the east (and weakens the British effort around Tobruk. However, the German/Italian attack stops after only a small advance at Gasr el Arid. At this point, Rommel decides to concentrate his forces in the south in order to hold off the main British power base. While the British at Ed Duda south of Tobruk remain a problem, he figures that if Afrika Korps can push the British back into Egypt, the Tobruk pocket will still be a pocket, albeit a much bigger one. That can be dealt with later. Meanwhile, the Italian Pavia and Trento Divisions on the Tobruk perimeter launch their own counterattacks against the 70th Division at Ed Duda which gain ground at the "Plonk" and "Doc" bunkers.

Italian aircraft crash in North Africa, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. Remains of an Italian aircraft shot down near Qur el Beid being searched by a large number of Allied troops. The aircraft had been shot down during the second British Libyan offensive - Operation Crusader." (Australian War Memorial MED0153).

US Military: United States aircraft carrier USS Enterprise concludes a ferry operation to Wake Island, launching from 175 miles offshore to the north of Wake Island the last F4F Wildcats that it has brought to the island. It then turns back toward Hawaii, planning to arrive at Pearl Harbor on 6 December. Another dozen F4F-3 fighters of US Marine Squadron 211 also arrive at Wake Island today. The Americans don't know it, but the Japanese carrier striking force, Kido Butai, is steaming toward the east even further to the north of Wake Island and has its own aircraft nearby secretly observing the US air activities there. In the Philippines, General MacArthur orders General Lewis Hyde Brereton, the commander of the Far East Air Force who has just returned from twelve days in Australia, to institute air patrols north of Luzon. Brereton does this using short-range fighter planes which cannot patrol very far.

RAF officer with American journalist in North Africa, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Western Desert, North Africa. 4 December 1941. An RAF flying officer with a bandaged right arm, returned from a battle over Libya in which he shot down an Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM79 Sparviero bomber aircraft and a German Messerschmitt Bf109 fighter aircraft, with American correspondent Miss Morley Brook Lister." (Australian War Memorial MED0157).

Japanese Military: A US PBY Catalina has been patrolling over French Indochina. Yesterday, it observed 30 Japanese troop transport ships in Cam Ranh Bay. Today, it sees none. The Japanese are heading south. In fact, Japanese forces leave today from many ports in order to get in position to invade multiple landing beaches in Malaya and Thailand.

Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's carrier striking force, Kido Butai, continues heading east in foul weather. The conditions help to keep the massive fleet safe from prying eyes. Kido Butai is following a virtually unused route to Hawaii that is far from the usual lanes to the south. Nagumo eventually will have to turn to the southeast in order to park about 200 miles north of Oahu. He plans on one more stop to refuel before making this turn.

Cartoon in Australian Sydney Daily Telegraph, 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"A Step In Front," a cartoon by Bill Mahony in the 4 December 1941 Sydney Daily Telegraph. It shows a bulldog sitting on a step (Singapore) looking out to sea under darkening skies. The Royal Navy is based at Singapore and is considered Australia's first line of defense.

US Government: Congress adjourns as usual for the weekend. President Roosevelt is debating how to make one last plea to the Japanese to restart the moribund peace negotiations. Ambassadors Nomura and Kurusu continue meeting with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, but no progress at all is made.

Holocaust: At the newly opened Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia, Adolf Eichmann, leader of the RSHA section IV B 4 (Jewish Affairs), begins making the camp more efficient for its purpose as a transit camp. The German Generalplan Ost provides that all Jewish citizens of the Reich are to be sent to the East through processing camps such as Theresienstadt. Today, Eichmann appoints Prague native Jacob Edelstein, one of the early arrivals, to be the chairman of the Council of Jewish Elders (Judenrat) at Theresienstadt.

F4F-3 aircraft that land on Wake Island on 4 December 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

These are three of the twelve F4F-3 aircraft launched from USS Enterprise to land on Wake Island on 4 December 1941. While they are painted in peacetime conditions in this photo, during the journey to Wake they are repainted in a military scheme (US Naval History and Heritage Command).

Thursday, May 17, 2018

July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete

Tuesday 29 July 1941

German machine-gun squad with MG 34, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

German soldiers with an MG 34 (Maschinengewehr 34) recoil-operated machine gun. They are taking cover on the side of a house in Rahachow, July 1941.

Eastern Front: SS Battalion Kurt "Panzer" Meyer greets the dawn of 29 July 1941 in an unnamed battlefield that has been "hot" all night long. Reflecting an increasingly gloomy outlook by ordinary soldiers, he later recalls:

I wanted to scream, to curse the whole insanity of war, but I tumbled into the next hole and returned the fire of a Russian who was lying behind a bush not fifty meters away on the other side of the road. Glancing at the prostrate, clawing humanity around me, the bloody fields of Verdun appeared before me in my thoughts.

Meyer notes that the Soviets have left, but there are dead bodies from both sides strewn all about.

In the Far North sector, the German 36 Corps (General Hans Feige) once again attempts to break Soviet resistance east of Salla to continue the advance on the vital Murmansk railway. As did the attempt on the 27, this one completely fails. The fruitless attacks have been extremely costly in terms of lives lost on both sides, with the Germans taking 5000 casualties in the last month in this sector alone. After this, General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst in Army Group Norway accepts the inevitable and calls off further attacks until the situation changes.

In the Army Group North sector, the German 16th Army attacks in the direction of Velikiye Luki while the 18th Army continues clearing out Estonia.

In the Army Group Center sector, German forces encircling parts of three trapped armies in the Smolensk area withstand strong Soviet attempts to open the pocket. Soviet 30th Army counterattacks in the northern part of the pocket, but is stopped by General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group. Soviet 4th Army attacks General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 in the Yelnya area. At 19:00, General Timoshenko at Western Front orders 20th Army (General Kurochkin) to retake Smolensk. Kurochkin dutifully complies, but the attack fails and the Soviet troops withdraw with heavy casualties. A local counterattack by General Rokossovsky's 101st Tank Division using KV tanks does recapture Iartsevo temporarily.

In the Army Group South sector, General Ewald von Kleist sends XVIII Motorized Corps of his Panzer Group I toward Pervomaisk. Meanwhile, the German 6th Army attacks directly toward Kyiv, but, facing heavy resistance, sidestep to the south of the city to envelop the defenders. The Soviets have 1.5 million men in the vicinity of Uman, but they are slowly being compressed into a smaller and smaller area.

Stirling bomber, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Stirling N3663/MG-H of No 7 Squadron, on display at Newmarket Heath, Suffolk, during a visit by King Peter of Yugoslavia, 29 July 1941. A typical bomb load is on view beneath the aircraft for the King's inspection." © IWM (CH 3175).

European Air Operations: The weather continues to be poor over northwest Europe, with heavy cloud cover. It begins clearing up during the night, but there are no operations today.

RAF No. 81 Squadron reforms as a Hurricane-equipped fighter squadron. It is designated for transfer to the Soviet Union aboard an aircraft carrier in September 1941.

Battle of the Baltic: German 338-ton freighter Leontes hits a mine and sinks near Ventspils (Windau), Latvia.

Soviet auxiliary minelayer Syzran and minesweeper Zaryad are both sunk near the Ristna Lighthouse, Estonia of unknown causes.

U-331.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German U-boat fleet is still shadowing British Convoy OG-69. However, U-331 (Kptlt. Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen), on its first patrol out of Kiel, is spotted by the British escorts and subjected to a depth charge attack, preventing an attack. There are no other attacks today.

Operation EF, the British raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo, continues steaming toward its destination. Since there is daylight 24 hours a day at the higher latitudes, the Royal Navy armada steaming from Iceland is easy to spot, and indeed the Germans do spot it today far from the coast. A Kriegsmarine destroyer force (Richard Beitzen, Friedrich Eckholdt, Karl Galster and Hermann Schoemann) is conducting a sweep near the Kara Straits when it receives word that a massive British fleet including aircraft carriers is nearby. The destroyers quickly hurry back to port. The British plan their raid for the early hours of 30 July and complete their refueling today.

Force A of British Operation FB, a raid on Spitsbergen, Norway, departs from Seidlsfjord, Iceland.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2816-ton British freighter Adam's Beck in the Tyne. The Adam's Beck is so badly damaged that it sinks on the 30th. There is one death.

German 1890-ton freighter Bernhard is sunk when it collides with 1535-ton Swedish freighter Frode near Nordeney, northwestern Germany.

German raider Orion (Schiff 36, FKpt. Weyher), operating midway between Africa and South America due east of Puerto Rico, captures 5792-ton British freighter Chaucer. The crew survives and become prisoners of war. The sinking is a miserable affair for the German crew because they have to fire the extraordinary number of ten torpedoes, but five miss (perhaps with internal guidance issues) and five fail to detonate. Frustrated, Weyher finally has the men man the deck gun and sink the Chaucer with gunfire. Faulty torpedoes have plagued the U-boat since the start of the war.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Ultimatum (Lt. Peter R. H. Harrison) is commissioned and anti-submarine warfare trawler Buster is launched.

Lviv pogrom, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

The Lviv pogroms at the city of Lwów, the occupied Republic of Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine), which took place from 30 June to 2 July and 25–29 July 1941, end today. An estimated 6000 people perish.

Battle of the Mediterranean: There are still small groups of British soldiers on Crete despite the complete success of Operation Mercury. They have been supported by Greek villagers and evade capture by hiding out in caves which were prepared as air raid shelters prior to the invasion. Today, 78 of these troops (67 British and 11 Greek) are picked up by submarine HMS Thrasher and taken to Alexandria, two months after the island fell to the Germans.

British Middle East Commander Claude Auchinleck and his RAF commander, Air Marshal Tedder, arrive in London by air for consultations about future operations.

An Italian bomber spots Royal Navy submarine HMS Olympus a few miles from Cavoli Light, southeastern Sardinia. A near miss damages the Olympus. The submarine is leaking and cannot submerge, but it makes it back to Gibraltar after a harrowing journey of several days.

Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stukas of I,/STG 1 and accompanying Italian Stukas of No 239 Squadron bomb and sink 372-ton British landing craft LCT-8 and Lighter A-8 east of Bardia. Some sources place this incident on the 28th.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hotspur and Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta load weary Australian troops at Tobruk before dawn and take them to Mersa Matruh for rest and recuperation.

An Axis convoy of three large troopships (Neptunia, Oceania, and Marco Polo) departs from Tripoli bound for Naples. It is escorted by five destroyers and a torpedo boat. Another return of four freighters also departs with a four-destroyer escort. Another, third, convoy of only one freighter, 6343-ton Francesco Barbaro, also departs from Tripoli. Generally, transports can steam faster than ordinary freighters, and not all freighters can proceed at the same speed, thus the desirability of having small convoys of different speeds rather than one large (and slow for all) convoy. Faster convoys are usually considered safer than slower ones, so faster ship masters greatly prefer traveling with other fast ships rather than slowing down for slower freighters.

An Axis supply convoy of three Italian ships and one German freighter departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.

At Malta, the garrison receives a personal note of congratulations from the Chief of the Imperial General Staff in London for frustrating the Italian motorboat attack on the 26th. The War Office asks for further details of the action, perhaps because Italian radio in Rome is touting it as an excellent feat of arms by the Regia Marina despite the absolute failure of its mission.

General Dietl, Army of Norway, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

General der Gebirgstruppe Eduard Dietl (Kommandierender General Gebirgskorps Norwegen) with German and Finnish officers in the northern Russian tundra, July 1941.

Ecuadorian/Peruvian Relations: Although both sides are under intense pressure from the United States and neighbors to end their border war, ceasefire negotiations remain incomplete. Thus, Peru orders its military to continue advancing into Ecuador.

US/Japanese Relations: The US State Department issues a stinging denunciation of the Japanese occupation of southern French Indochina, noting that it obviously is "for the purpose of further and more obvious movements of conquest in adjacent areas." It goes on to note that these actions "jeopardize the procurement by the United States of essential materials ... for the normal economy of this country...." Of course, the Japanese at this point aren not too concerned about what the Americans want, considering that the Roosevelt Administration has slapped extremely tough sanctions on Japan that are virtually forcing it to seek out new sources of supply in the south.

German/Norwegian Relations: The first 300 Norwegian volunteers for the "Legion Norwegen" arrive in Kiel, Germany and are sent to Fallingbostel Training Camp.

Luftpost propaganda, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

German Luftpost propaganda leaflet, 29 July 1941 (psywar.org).

German Military: General der Flakartillerie Ludwig Karl Hermann von Schröder perishes in an air crash near Hohenlychen (north of Berlin). At the time of his death, he is the military commander of Serbia and section commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS). Previously, Schröder served in the German navy as a Vice-Admiral, then transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1937 when it was rapidly expanding and drawing officers from the other branches of the Wehrmacht. General von Schröder is perhaps most notorious for instituting the practice of forcing Jews and Gypsies in Serbia to identify themselves by wearing a yellow armband, along with various other repressive measures against them such as the registration of Jewish assets. These practices rapidly spread throughout the Reich and lead to the infamous Yellow Star of David badge.

Soviet Military: General Georgy Zhukov abruptly is removed from his post of Chief of the General Staff. Stalin apparently (even Zhukov isn't completely certain as to the reason, as indicated in his memoirs) is upset that Zhukov suggested a retreat by the 1.5 million Soviet troops defending Kiev. Zhukov rightly sees a danger of encirclement at Kiev, but Stalin is determined to make a stand there. On the 30th, Stalin, after cooling down, finds a new job for Zhukov as head of the newly formed Reserve Front which is tasked with counteroffensive operations in the direction of Yelnya. As Zhukov later comments, the difference in power between Stalin and any general is similar to that between a Field Marshal and the lowliest private.

The new Soviet Chief of the General Staff is Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov.

Barque Pamir, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

German Luftpost propaganda leaflet, 29 July 1941 (psywar.org).

US Military: Heretofore, US aircraft carriers have defended themselves by maintaining standing air patrols. Today, US Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox orders the installation of radar plots to serve as "the brains of the organization." The navy plans the first installation aboard USS Wasp (CV-7).

USAF General Lewis H. Brereton takes command of the Third Air Force at MacDill Field, Florida.

Admiral Husband Kimmel, CINCPAC, is informed by Joseph Rochefort that the danger of immediate war with Japan due to the imposition of sanctions has passed. This is because there are signs that the Japanese Fleet is heading in the direction of Japan, not the United States. In fact, the Japanese Fleet is not even at sea.

Steel, four-masted barque "Pamir" approaches Wellington, New Zealand, 29 July 1941. A Finnish ship, the government seizes Pamir soon after its arrival due to the outbreak of hostilities between Finland and (now) British ally the USSR.

British Government: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech before the House of Commons. The majority of his speech concerns munitions production, which he assures the House is in good order despite rumors to the contrary. He emphasizes that war production has been dispersed, noting, "I can give instances of dispersion of twenty, thirty or forty sub-centers." He winds up with a reassuring summary of the war situation, noting that "German air superiority has been broken" and that the Battle of the Atlantic is "moving progressively in our favor."

US Government: The State Department issues a list of blocked foreign nationals. They are barred from entry to the United States for engaging in activities deemed subversive and anti-American.

French Indochina: Japanese troops pour into southern French Indochina with the permission of the Vichy French regime. The French have given the Japanese permission to defend the colony in the event of foreign attack. The parties are operating under a "Common Defense" agreement signed by Deputy-Premier Admiral Darlan and Japanese Ambassador Kato in Paris. The vast majority of Japanese troops at this time are in Saigon, but they soon fan out to other strategic sites in Indochina and neighboring Cambodia.

The Common Defense agreement states, in typical Japanese diplomatic language:

Recognizing in consequence that should the security of French Indochina be menaced, Japan would have reason to consider the general tranquility in East Asia and its own security endangered.

Of course, Japan at this point is the one threatening the "general tranquility" of the region.

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

Holocaust: Axis occupation troops in the Belgrade vicinity execute 122 men purportedly for being in the Resistance - they just so happen also to be Communists and Jews.

Germans at a mental hospital at Lodz, Poland take 40 patients out to a forest and execute them.

At Auschwitz, ten prisoners disappear from the camp. SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, decides to pick 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to discourage further escape attempts. Fellow inmate Catholic priest Maximilian Maria Kolbe, is not selected. However, noticing that one of the men so selected is in despair, Kolbe steps forward to take the man's place and ultimately perishes on 14 August 1941. Kolbe will be canonized for this act by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982.

Einsatzcommando 3 executes 257 men, 254 of them Jewish, in Raseiniai (according to the Jäger Report).

The second wave of massacres of Jews in Lwow (Lviv), Ukraine ends. An estimated 6,000 Jews are thought to have perished in June/July 1941 from these pogroms.

Baby Parade, Scranton, PA, 29 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

A "Baby Parade" held in Scranton, Pennsylvania on 29 July 1941. This event is part of the Scranton Diamond Jubilee and Centennial Celebration. Awards are given in several categories, including Prettiest Girl and Handsomest Boy. (Times-Tribune Archives).

Canadian Homefront: The controversial Arvida strike ends when Munitions and Supply Minister C.D. Howe is permitted by a change in the Defence of Canada Regulations to call out the troops. The strike is later found to have been illegal and caused by routine worker concerns about pay and working conditions.

Italian Homefront: Retired opera singer Erminia Borghi-Mamo passes away in Bologna, Italy.

American Homefront: British actor James Stephenson passes away from a heart attack in Pacific Palisades, California. His career began in 1937 at age 48, an unusual age at which to become a film star, and especially so because he had little previous acting experience. Stephenson's roles included parts in "Beau Geste" (1939), "The Sea Hawk" (1940), and "Shining Victory" (1940). Stephenson earns one Academy Award nomination for "The Letter" (1940). He is interred in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Silent film actor Charles Murray, who appeared in 283 films between 1912 and 1938, passes away in Los Angeles at the age of 69. Murray appeared in the first 'The Wizard of Oz" in 1925. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1725 Vine Street.

Future History: David Hattersley Warner is born in Manchester, Lancashire, England. He becomes a leading stage actor beginning in January 1962 and makes his feature film debut in "Tom Jones" (1963). He goes on to a distinguished acting career and is perhaps best known for his appearances in several films concerning RMS Titanic (including "Titanic" (1997) and the "Star Trek" franchise, but his credits are numerous and stellar. David Warner remains a working actor as of this writing in 2018.

Joint German and Ukrainian parade, July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

A German-Ukrainian parade in Ivano-Frankivsk in July 1941. Many Ukrainians at this time see the Germans as liberators from Russian domination.

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

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