"Western Desert, Egypt. 5 January 1942. En route to a raid on Halfaya, this pilot of a Bristol Blenheim bomber aircraft looks through his gunsight as the raiding aircraft sweep down on the isolated Axis positions. Ceaseless attacks are being carried out by RAF and Free French squadrons." Australian War Memorial MED0297.
Eastern Front: The Soviet leaders have been greatly surprised by the success of the counterattack around Moscow that began in early December 1941. On 5 January 1942, the political and military leaders make plans to convert the counteroffensive into a general offensive that will liberate vast sections of Soviet territory. After dark, the Politburo (political) members meet with Stavka (military) members to discuss a drive not only to relieve pressure on Moscow, but also to liberate Leningrad, the Donets Basin, and the Crimea. While the offensives in the Crimea and around Moscow already are in progress, the ones near Leningrad and in the Donets Basin are scheduled to begin on 7 January 1942 for the former and in two weeks for the latter.
Borger Daily Herald (Borger, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 38, Ed. 1 Monday, January 5, 1942. The Daily Herald headline correctly reads, "Hitler and His Generals Split as Russian Campaign Back-Fires."
Stalin presides over the meeting, as usual, and notes the reason for expanding the offensive:
The Germans are in confusion as a result of their setback at Moscow. They are badly prepared for winter. Now is the best moment to over to the general offensive.
Stalin then asks General Georgy Zhukov to speak, apparently without coordinating what Zhukov should say beforehand. Surprisingly, Zhukov disagrees with Stalin, which is extremely unusual, particularly in such an open setting. Zhukov contends that the entire effort should be made in the center of the front around Moscow and not dispersed to other areas. Another official present, member of the State Defense Committee and chief of war production Nikolai Voznesensky, then is asked to speak and basically supports Zhukov, not Stalin. Voznesensky notes that there would not be enough ammunition and weapons to sustain offensives in different places, so only one area should be chosen. It is an extraordinary display of independence among people in very vulnerable positions.
Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
However, Stalin is not upset, but he does have the last word. He concludes by saying:
We must pound the Germans to pieces as soon as possible so they won't be able to mount an offensive in the spring.
Stalin's plan for a general offensive in multiple places is adopted. Some members present at the meeting are surprised that Zhukov took a different position than Stalin. Martial Boris Shaposhnikov pulls Zhukov aside and chastises him for disagreeing because "the supreme commander had that question settled." Zhukov notes that he spoke his mind because his opinion had been requested, and asks why was he asked to speak it if it only supposed to be the same as Stalin's? This stumps Shaposhnikov, who lamely replies, "That, my dear fellow, I do not know."
Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
The Soviet counteroffensive already is making progress both in the Crimea and around Moscow. Soviet 51st Army finally reaches the Parpach Narrows today after a slow move west from Kerch, but it takes no offensive action. Further north, the Soviet 10th Army takes Belov (Belyov or Belev) south of Kaluga and southwest of Tula. The front is gradually drifting away from Moscow and freeing up large areas where the Soviets can begin rebuilding.
Battle of the Pacific: The United States military on 5 January 1942 is beginning to recover its equilibrium after the shock of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, the air echelon of the 22d Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), leaves Hickam Field, Hawaii, in its B-17s and heads for Singosari, Java.
This photo of USS West Virginia (BB-48) taken on 5 January 1942 shows bomb and fire damage from the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
Food is running low and resupply appears problematic in the Philippines, so rations for everyone are cut in half. The Allies form a new line running from Dinaluplhan on the west to Hermosa on the east. This protects the entrance to, or base of, the Bataan Peninsula from the north and east and is the center of communications in the northern portion of the peninsula. The withdrawal continues after dark, with the troops passing through Layac Junction and then blowing the bridge there. They continue to hold the junction itself until the 6th. The 71st and 72d Regiments, 71st Division, Philippine Army, the U.S. 31st Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Division, and the 26th Cavalry Regiment, Philippine Scouts form a switch line south of Layac along the west side of the Olongapo-Manila road.
With the war in the Philippines going poorly for the Allies, the US media reverts to its practices from just after Pearl Harbor and prints accounts of nonexistent victories there. Here, the New Castle (Pennsylvania) News of 5 January 1942 gives stirring tales of fabulous American victories in the Philippines while the US forces, in fact, are retreating under pressure into the Bataan Peninsula.
The US Army Air Forces continue a hurried reorganization of their deployments in the Philippines. Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall establishes the Headquarters US Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) in Bataan. The ground echelons of the 17th and 91st Bombardment Squadrons, 27th Bombardment Group transfer from Limay to Bataan. The Japanese are attacking Corregidor every day and also select targets in the Manila Bay area.
Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
The British are building up their presence in Burma as the Japanese consolidate their hold on the southernmost sliver of land running south to the west of Thailand. The Indian 17th Division moves into new headquarters at Moulmein at the top of the sliver of land to form a block against a Japanese advance into the heart of the country. However, only one of three brigades that constitute the division, the 16th Brigade, while two remain behind in India.
Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
At Singapore, the British begin planning for the worst. The Commander-in-Chief British Eastern Fleet, Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton, moves his flag (headquarters) from Singapore to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies. At a conference in Segamat, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, plans for a retreat into Johore.
This situation map of the battle at Layac Junction is based on materials that came from the United States Army Center of Military History.
Further north on the Malay Peninsula, the Indian 11th Division continues to hold its main defensive line anchored at Trolak just north of the Slim River. However, it is today it comes under pressure. The British have chosen to defend a narrow roadway between heavily forested areas that are just north of the Cluny Rubber estate, where the forests have been cut down and which is just north of the Slim River. During the afternoon, the Indian 5/16th Brigade on the coast pulls back through the 12th Indian Brigade positions, which is positioned on the north bank of the Slim River. The advance guard of the Japanese 42nd Regiment following close behind then launches an attack on the 12th Indian Brigade that leaves 60 Japanese soldiers dead on the battlefield. The leader of the Japanese Regiment, Colonel Ando, then decides to await reinforcements before launching further attacks. While the Allies' line holds, the situation looks grim for them because the Japanese can bring up more troops and the Allies don't have a lot of troops to spare. In addition, and unknown to the British, the Japanese have a large number of tanks quickly heading south, while the Allies have none available at all.
Life magazine prints this picture of an unidentified US Navy cruiser in its 5 January 1942 issue.
Battle of the Mediterranean: In a rare victory by one submarine over another, British submarine HMS/M 'Upholder' (N 99, Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn) torpedoes and sinks 1461-ton Italian submarine Ammiraglio Saint Bon to the north of Milazzo, Sicily. There are three survivors and 59 deaths. The Ammiraglio Saint Bon was en route from Naples to Tripoli carrying 155 tons of gasoline and ammunition, which explode when the torpedo hits the starboard side. This is a demoralizing blow to the Axis because it demonstrates that not even submarine transport is safe in the Mediterranean.
"Benghazi, Cyrenaica, Libya. 5 January 1942. The scene at El Berca airfield showing the wreckage of the many Axis aircraft destroyed and a densely filled cemetery behind." Australian War Memorial MED0274.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Following the large Luftwaffe raid on Malta on 4 January, the British intelligence service in Cairo learns that the Germans have assembled powerful dive-bomber forces in Sicily for further attacks. There also are reports from an aerial reconnaissance of an Italian battleship accompanied by other ships about 200 miles to the east. The Germans conduct several raids around mid-day which drop bombs over Gozo, Msida Creek, near Tal Qroqq, near Gudja searchlight position, and in Zabbar. The British defenses are hampered by heavy rains recently, which have made the grass airfields waterlogged and sometimes impossible to use. The RAF manages no interceptions during the day, and the Luftwaffe loses no planes nor has any damaged, a rarity for days with sustained attacks.
Time magazine, 5 January 1942 (cover photo credit: Ernest Hamlin Baker).
Western Front: RAF Bomber Command sends 89 Wellington bombers and 65 other aircraft (154 total) to attack the port area of Cherbourg and other German naval bases. The Kriegsmarine still has heavy cruisers Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau at Cherbourg. The Germans make smoke, which successfully destroys the bombers' aim. While the warships are not hit, there is damage to the port area and large fires. The German admirals begin thinking of a way to get the large ships out of harm's way, but options are limited. One thing is sure, the Germans don't have much time to act before the raids begin causing serious damage.
Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
US/Japanese Relations: While Japan and the United States are at war, there are still certain diplomatic formalities to discharge. Each side is obligated to return the other's diplomats, for instance. The Japanese accept the port of Laurenzo Marques (Maputo) in Mozambique for this exchange of diplomats.
On 5 January 1942, Rear Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks, is given authority from the Bureau of Navigation to recruit men from the construction trades for assignment to a Naval Construction Regiment composed of three Naval Construction Battalions. The first construction units, later nicknamed Seabees for the acronym of "Construction Battalions," are formed at a newly constructed naval bast at Davisville, Rhode Island. (Postcard from the U.S. Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Endicott, Davisville, Rhode Island. Gift of Gay Meaker, The National WWII Museum Inc., 2003.103.095).
US Military: US Forces in Australia (USFIA), which controls Far East Air Force (FEAF), is activated and redesignated US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA). It is under the overall command of Major General George H. Brett, and its headquarters is located in the MacRobertson Girls High School in Melbourne, Victoria.
All men aged 20-44 now are required to register for the draft no later than 16 February 1942. All Japanese-American selective service registrants are classified as enemy aliens (IV-C). Many Japanese-American soldiers are discharged or assigned to menial labor such as kitchen police (KP) duty.
"A squadron of Japanese raiders speck the sky above the smoke clouds rising from the dirty work they wrought below." Images from a 5 January 1942 Life magazine article on life in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.
The US Navy changes its regulations covering the display of national insignia on aircraft. The star returns to the upper right and the lower left wing surfaces, and there is a revised rudder striping that now has 13 red and white horizontal stripes.
Australian Military: The War Cabinet in Canberra approves a British request for transfer of the Australian I Corps (6th and 7th Divisions) from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. The British also begin moving the British 18th and Indian 17th Divisions from the Middle East to Bombay, India; Ceylon; and Singapore, Malaya. These British initiatives are designed to allay Australian and New Zealand fears that the British will focus exclusively on the Middle East battles while allowing the Far East territories to remain in peril.
British Military: British General Claude E. Auchinleck, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, has his authority expanded to include Iraq and Iran. British forces in Iraq are designated British Tenth Army under Lieutenant General Edward P. Quinan, with Ninth Army covering British forces in Syria under General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson.
Images in the 5 January 1942 issue of Life magazine showing life aboard a US Navy cruiser.
Holocaust: The Dutch Council of Churches issues a public protest against the mistreatment of Jewish residents. All Dutch Jews already are required to register with occupation authorities, but mass exterminations have not begun.
American Homefront: All enemy aliens in San Francisco, California, are required to surrender by the end of the day all radio transmitters, shortwave receivers and precision cameras to the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command under Lieutenant General John DeWitt.
The cover story for the 5 January 1942 Life magazine is "Wanted: 50,000 Nurses."
Eastern Front: In the Far North sector on 18 August 1941, German XX Mountain Corps launches a renewed offensive toward Murmansk. It makes no progress against fierce Soviet resistance.
Finnish 18th Division consolidates its newly won bridgehead across the Vuoksi River. The Finns remain on the move in the Karelian Isthmus but are blocked everywhere else. The Finnish troops are getting worn out, too, because, aside from the Soviet resistance, the terrain of forests and swamps and few towns make supply difficult and rest impossible. The Finns are building roads to carry artillery. The Germans are completing the transfer today of 169th Division in a 110-mile march in order to replace the Finnish 6th Division. The march is so long because it involves marching in a roundabout fashion to confuse any Soviet spies.
Colonel-General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, commander of Army of Norway, (Armeeoberkommando Norwegen, or AOK Norwegen), is not the most tactful of generals. He visits 36 Corps headquarters today and gets into an argument with General Hans Feige, implying that Feige's request for additional troops to continue the offensive is unnecessary. Due to Falkenhorst's pressure, the 6th Division is planning an offensive on the 19th in the Salla sector toward Lehtokangas and Nurmi Mountain. Feige points out that while his forces may have rough parity with the defending Soviet troops, they are receiving reinforcements while his troops are not - a fairly common situation across the entire Eastern Front.
KV-1 no. 864 at Krasnogvardeysk, a stop on the road from Kingisepp to Leningrad, 18 August 1941. Tank commander Kolobanov (Order of Lenin) and gunner Usov (Order of the Red Banner) park the KV-1 in a camouflaged position and await the German 8th Panzer Division coming from Kingisepp. They successfully ambush the German column on the 19th and knock out several tanks and other vehicles.
In the Army Group North sector, Kingisepp (Yamburg) on the Luga falls to the Germans. The Germans consolidate their hold on Narva. The Germans rebuff with difficulty Soviet attacks on Staraya Russa and Novgorod, the "bookends" on Lake Ilmen. Field Marshal von Leeb calls General Halder at OKH and, according to Halder's war diary, paints a "Very gloomy picture of the situation in X Corps" in the Staraya Russa area where "The last man has been thrown into the fighting" and "troops are exhausted."
In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets have infiltrated small forces behind the army group's right flank in the Pripet Marshes. While not a serious threat, these small groups (roughly battalion size) disrupt rear areas that should be quiet and disrupt supplies. There are heavy Soviet attacks north of the main road to Moscow against the 161st Division.
In the Army Group South sector, SS officer Kurt "Panzer" Meyer turns a reconnaissance-in-force of the approaches to the town of Cherson (Kherson) into an all-out assault. He leads his small force down from the heights above the busy town and attempts a "coup de main." His small force takes the Soviet defenders by surprise by sneaking into town along a small road along the Dneipr rather than from the road from Nikolayev (i.e., from the west). The reconnaissance turns into an all-out battle for control of the heart of the city, with Soviet artillery from the east bank of the river forcing Meyer's men to dismount as infantry.
Troops of Romanian 2nd Frontier Guard Regiment on the march to Odessa, 18 August 1941.
The Romanian 4th Army continues attacking across the Odessa perimeter. Both sides are taking heavy casualties, and progress is slow. The Soviets have nowhere to run and know they will likely be shot if they somehow do make it back through German lines, so they stand and fight.
German Panzer Group 1 (von Kleist) establishes a bridgehead across the Dneiper at Zaporozhye (Zaporizhzhia). The Soviets dynamite the Dneipr Hydroelectric Station to swell the river, causing widespread death and destruction, but the Germans get across anyway. German 50th Division reaches the Black Sea Coast at Ochakov.
Lt. Max-Hellmuth Ostermann of 7./JG 54 shoots down two Russian I-16s over Leningrad.
The Red Air Force raids Berlin with five bombers. Today is the last of a series of small-scale Red Air Force raids against the Ploesti, Romania oil fields.
European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends 39 Blenheim bombers on a series of coastal sweeps over Holland and a Circus mission over Lille and Marquise. The pilots claim to sink two trawlers and to bomb Lille, for a cost of one Blenheim.
By prior arrangement between the RAF and Luftwaffe, the RAF successfully drops a spare prosthetic leg for captured RAF Wing Commander Douglas Bader while flying over St. Omer airfield. The Germans are somewhat nonplussed when the charitable gesture is followed by the RAF planes attacking the airfield.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Cologne and Duisburg. These cities both have been bombed recently so these can be considered follow-up raids.
The RAF puts 62 bombers (42 Hampdens, 17 Whitleys, and 3 Wellingtons) over Cologne. The RAF loses 5 Whitleys and a Wellington. The attack achieves little, with no casualties and only one casualty.
The RAF puts 41 Wellingtons over Duisburg, losing two planes. The weather is clear, so the attack on railway yards is a success.
There is a minor raid by 11 Whitleys and 7 Wellingtons to Dunkirk, and one training sortie over Europe, both without loss.
The Luftwaffe sends a few bombers across to raid the Tyneside and Teesside areas. These are pinprick raids that occasionally hit a populated building, tonight West Hartlepool suffers a tragedy when an ambulance depot is hit with 23 people killed and 45 injured. In addition, about 100 people are made homeless. In Norton, bombs hit a house on Benson Street, killing three people, while next door three others are killed.
David Bensusan-Butt, a civil servant in the War Cabinet Secretariat and an assistant of Lord Cherwell, chief scientific advisor to the Cabinet, submits his "Butt Report" on the accuracy of RAF bombing. The results are startling because they conclude that bombing accuracy is horrendous. Among the more prominent conclusions of the report:
Only one aircraft of three that claims to have attacked a target actually got within 5 miles (8 km).
Over Germany, the ratio is even worse, with only one in four bombers getting within five miles and one in ten over the industrial Ruhr river valley
Accuracy depends upon the amount of moonlight available, with accuracy rising to two in five when there is a full moon and falling to one in fifteen during a new moon.
The "Butt Report" does not even go far enough, as post-war studies show that 49% of RAF bombs fall in the open countryside. Butt's report also excludes all bombers that never reached the target due to mechanical reasons, weather, or enemy action.
Fortunately for the British, they have navigational aids such as GEE, Oboe, H2S, and other navigational aids in various stages of development. In fact, today RAF Bomber Command orders GEE (the codename for a long-range navigational aid) into production at Dynatron and Cossor.
Battle of the Baltic: Soviet destroyer Statnyi hits a mine and sinks in Moon Sound off Saaremaa (Oesel).
The Luftwaffe attacks Leningrad harbor and sinks 2170-ton Soviet freighter Axel Carl.
Freighter Longtaker under her former name Sessa (photo courtesy of Danish Maritime Museum, Elsinore, and Uboat .net).
Battle of the Atlantic: At 02:50, U-38 (KKpt. Heinrich Schuch), on its 11th patrol out of Lorient and operating with wolfpack Grönland, torpedoes and sinks 1700-ton Panamanian-flagged (but actually controlled by the United States) freighter Longtaker (previously Danish ship Sessa) midway between the southern tips of Greenland and Iceland (300 nautical miles or 560 km southwest of Iceland). The ship goes down in only one minute and most of the crew, 24 men, perish. After nineteen days at sea, US destroyer USS Lansdale picks up three surviving crew (the Danish first officer, a Swede, and a Portuguese crewman - two Portuguese and a Canadian perish while they await rescue) on 5 September. The ship's cargo holds supplies for the US garrison on Iceland. The Danish officer, Hendrik Bjerregaard, maintains a log that receives widespread publicity in the American media.
This is U-38's final victory of the war, though it does go on one more patrol for an even dozen. During its time in service, U-38 sinks 35 commercial ships of 188,967 tons and damages one ship of 3,670 tons.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Quorn its a mine between Chatham and Harwich. Quorn makes it to Chatham for repairs completed on 13 September.
Convoy HG-71 departs from Gibraltar bound for Liverpool. A Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-88 spots convoy OG-71 shortly after it leaves port and radios in its position.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Badsworth (Lt. Commander Michael S. Townsend) is commissioned and destroyer Mahratta is laid down.
Canadian minesweepers HMCS Fort William, Kenora, and Milltown are laid down in Port Arthur, Ontario.
Free Netherlands destroyer depot ship HNLMS Columbia (Commander Cornelis Hellingman) is commissioned.
Destroyer USS Badsworth is commissioned.
U-188 is laid down.
An Italian CANT Z506 flying boat shot down by RAF fighters off Tripoli. The photo is dated 18 August 1941. Note the crewman in the water near the wing. This appears to be damaged from an RAF attack made against the flying boat base in Syracuse Harbor on the 17th, with this a reconnaissance photo taken on the 18th - but that is only a guess.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The Royal Navy loses two submarines in one action today. It is a black day for the submarine force, and only two men from two submarines survive.
Royal Navy submarine HMS P-33 (Lt R. D. Whiteway-Wilkinson DSC), operating off Tripoli and with 32 crewmen, disappears on or around 18 August while attacking an Italian convoy. This is one of the unsolved disappearances of submarines that are common during World War II. An Italian Cant Z501 is flying overhead and sends a ship to look for survivors that the plane's crew see in the water, but it is unclear if it sees survivors of P-33 or another ship. It is assumed by some that P-33 is destroyed by a depth charge attack by an Italian torpedo boat either today or on 23 August, but there is no confirmation of that. Nobody survives.
Royal Navy submarine P-32 (Lt. D. A. B. Abdy)is operating near P-33 and surfaces while an Italian depth charge attack is underway nearby. It is very close to the entrance to Tripoli Harbor. Lieutenant Abdy attempts to run under a known minefield to get into a better firing position but surfaces too soon and P-32 hits a mine. This sends P-32 to the seafloor at a depth of 210 feet with the entire area forward of the control room flooded, killing 8 crew. Abdy manages to escape through the conning tower hatch along with Coxswain E. Kirk, but the rest of the crew in the engine room proves unable to use their escape hatch for some reason. This is likely because an iron bar may have been welded over the rear hatch (though this is not proven). The commander of the Italian ship that picks up Abdy and his mate agrees to stick around to await more survivors, but nobody else gets out. It one of the most dramatic escapes from a submarine during the entire war, as a depth of over 150 feet is considered fatal. A total of 30 men perish.
There are still thousands of Commonwealth troops hiding out on Crete. Royal Navy submarine Torbay (Lt. Comdr. Miers) enters Messara Bay and picks up 28 British and 12 Greek soldiers. Torbay stays in the area submerged on the seafloor and enters the bay again on the 19th, picking up an additional 92 men and returning them to Alexandria.
Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch fires torpedoes into Benghazi Harbor, damaging the port boom defense.
The RAF based on Malta bombs Tripoli with five Wellington bombers.
Royal Navy destroyers Jackal and Kingston make the nightly supply run from Alexandria to Tobruk and back without incident. The relief of Australian troops is in progress, with replacement Polish soldiers landed.
In order to slow down the Germans, the Red Army blows up the Dniproges Dam. There is a 120m x 10m hole in the Dnieper hydroelectric dam (Dniproges) at 16:00 on 18 August 1941, producing a monstrous wave that sweeps from Zaporizhia to Nikopol, killing local residents as well as soldiers from both sides.
Battle of the Black Sea: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet submarine depot ship Boug at Cherson (Kherson).
The retreating Soviets scuttle freighter Volochaevka at Cherson.
Soviet auxiliary minesweeper T-503 is lost on this from unknown causes.
Propaganda: Joseph Goebbels calls President Roosevelt the "agent of international Jewry."
Finnish Ambassador Hjalmar Procope.
US/Finnish Relations: The Soviet Union uses US Secretary of State Sumner Welles as an intermediary to discuss peace terms with Finland. The Soviet proposal is to modify the Peace of Moscow of 1940, which ended the Winter War, to grant Finland some concessions. Finnish Ambassador Hjalmar Procope replies to Welles that the future of Finland depends upon what happens to the Soviet Union after the war, and requests a guarantee to Finland from the Western powers that they will protect Finland if Germany loses the war (which nobody expects at this point). Welles refuses to even consider such a guarantee. The peace feelers go no further.
US/Japanese Relations: At 16:00, Ambassador Grew meets with Foreign Minister Toyoda in Tokyo. Toyoda speaks for two and a half hours straight. He defends Japanese actions in the Pacific and denies that Japan is acting in concert with Germany and says its only objective is the settling of issues in China. For these reasons, a summit meeting between the leaders of the two powers should occur. Grew responds that the Japanese position has not responded adequately to President Roosevelt's concerns, but he will forward the Japanese request for a summit meeting to the US government with his personal support (which he does).
German/Finnish Relations: The Germans confer the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) on Marshal Mannerheim.
An Italian Cant Z501, of the type that organized the rescue of the two survivors of P-32.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt's White House issues a statement announcing that the US will institute an air transport service from the United States to Africa via Brazil, thence to Egypt. A new aerial "ferry service" is to link up with this in order to deliver military planes to Egypt for the British. The statement reads in part:
The ferry system and the transport service provide direct and speedy delivery of aircraft from the ‘arsenal of democracy’ to a critical point in the front against aggression. The importance of this direct line of communications between our country and strategic outposts in Africa cannot be overestimated.
Pan American Airways, Inc. quietly on 24 July has formed three subsidiaries to conduct the operations:
Pan American Air Ferries, Inc.
Pan American Airways Co.
Pan American Airways-Africa, Ltd.
The ferry service is to take the military planes across the Atlantic to Africa, while the transport service is to return the pilots to the United States, with the third company handling administrative details. Pan Am and the US government already have signed agreements on 12 August to start the service. The British also sign agreements with Pan American Airways-Africa and Pan American Air Ferries - the transport company, the one that returns the pilots to the United States, is not their concern.
The ferry service supposedly derives from a request by Winston Churchill at the Atlantic Charter conference and a subsequent meeting between Roosevelt and Pan Am chairman Juan Trippe on or about 18 August 1941. However, as indicated by the earlier formation of the Pan Am corporations, the idea actually has been under consideration for some time and the conference itself is just a formality to finalize it.
US Military: The War Department asks the Coast Guard to help with national security by patrolling the sea lanes in Alaskan waters and keeping them open.
The US Marine Corps 1st Defense battalion arrives at Wake Island aboard US freighter Regulus (AK-14).
Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 10,020-ton tanker Shinkoku Maru and puts it under the control of the Kure Naval District.
US Government: President Roosevelt signs into a law a modification of the 1940 Selective Service Act that extends the term of service of inductees from 12 to 30 months. The bill passed the House of Representatives by only one vote because there is widespread opposition throughout the country to any peacetime draft.
Congressman John Dingell of Michigan sends President Roosevelt a letter in which he proposes to take 10,000 Japanese-Americans in Hawaii as hostages for Japan's "good behavior." This is the earliest suggestion of incarcerating Japanese-Americans.
British Government: Following the Atlantic Conference in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and a brief stop in Iceland, Prime Minister Churchill returns to Scapa Flow, Scotland aboard battleship HMS Prince of Wales.
Burma: The Japanese have heard about the American Volunteer Group (AVG, or "Flying Tigers") assembling at Kyedaw, Burma, so they send a reconnaissance plane overhead.
Holocaust: Following a widely discussed series of sermons in German churches condemning euthanasia, Hitler orders a halt - or, more accurately, a pause - in the program. About 50,000 mentally challenged and elderly people have been put to death under the program, including a relation of Hitler himself.
Hitler orders the deportation of what remains of Berlin's Jews to the East.
The concentration camp at Amersfoort, Netherlands, opens.
Brazilian Homefront: A Lockheed 18-10 Lodestar operated by Panair do Brasil crashes into Serra da Cantareira on approach to São Paulo at night. Five of nine passengers and one of four crew members survive the crash. Note that this is one day after Walt Disney and party arrives by air at Rio de Janeiro on a goodwill trip for the US government.
German Homefront: "Swing Kids" (Swingjugend) dancing has become an underground phenomenon in the Reich, and the government is not happy at this intrusion of what it considers a decadent foreign culture. The Swing Kids listen to American and British records, tend to have long hair, dispute authority, and mock military customs such as the Hitler Salute. In general, the police forces (led by Reinhard Heydrich) see this as a dangerous infusion of "anglophile tendencies" that cannot be tolerated.
Today, the police decide to end this scourge. They send men into the clubs, arrest over 300 Swing Kids, and institute various punishments against them. These punishments range from sending the kids back to school or to concentration camps. Some boys are sent to the youth camp at Moringen and girls to the women's camp at Ravensbruck. This incites further resistance by Swing Kids who aren't captured, of course, and they begin doing anti-government acts like handing out anti-fascist leaflets.
Electrola EC 6993/ORA 4198-2. The first recording of Lili Marlen, 2. August 1939, Electrola Studio, Berlin. This label is one of the different variants that appeared during the war. The oldest label shows that the original song title was first called Song of a young sentry. (Mediatus - Eigenes Werk (own work); Digital eingelesene Platte aus meiner Sammlung)
Yugoslavian Homefront: Radio Belgrade (Soldatensender Belgrad (Soldiers' Radio Belgrade)) plays a second-hand record collected by a lieutenant on leave in Vienna. It is "Lili Marleen" (aka "Lili Marlen," "Lilli Marlene," and "Lily Marlene," "Lili Marlène" and various other permutations) sung by Lale Andersen. The record was in the bargain bin after selling only 700 copies in its release in 1939. The station only has a few records to play, so it plays "Lili Marleen" over and over and over.
Joseph Goebbels hates the song and demands Radio Belgrade to stop playing it. However, Axis soldiers across the Mediterranean hear the song and love it, including General Erwin Rommel. He asks the station to continue playing the song. Goebbels, who is a friend of Rommel's, relents and allows the song to be played. The song becomes the sign-off tune of the station at 21:55 every night, and soldiers on both sides start to tune in at that moment to hear the song every night. It becomes the most famous song of the war and sells over a million copies.
Contrary to popular belief, the famous version of "Lil Marleen" is not by Marlene Dietrich, though she does record a version (retitled "Lili Marlene" in her honor) for the Morale Operations Branch of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1944.
Lale Andersen and her hit "Lili Marleen."
Dutch Homefront: The German occupation authorities suppress what remains of the Dutch government and impose a strict occupation government.
British Homefront: The newly organized National Fire Service - which combines numerous previously independent local fire departments into one seamless organization - comes into being under Sir Aylmer Firebrace, a former London fire chief. The 118,000 men in 1400 local fire brigades, with 180,000 auxiliaries and 60,000 women, are combined into 200 "divisions" and 37 "fire forces." This became necessary because some local fire departments were refusing to come to the aid of local municipalities out of fear that their own towns might be hit. In addition, there were stories of extortion by some fire departments in exchange for providing fire services.
American Homefront: Chesty Manly, the Washington, D.C. correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, publishes a story claiming that a "leak" has informed him that President Roosevelt has plans to send an American expeditionary force to Europe. The story creates an uproar in the capital, and a vigorous debate breaks out in the press about the truthfulness of the story. It is one of several stories run by the isolationist Manly that is of questionable veracity.
The Reverend John A. O'Brien makes a radio address that urges the world to "choose the road to peace." He rhetorically asks what the warring powers have accomplished by two years of war and deplores war's futility. He concludes with a plea to President Roosevelt to put his power "into the Christ-like work of halting the brutal European strife."
Judy Garland on the cover of Animatografo, Issue no. 41, 18 August 1941.
Finnish soldiers under a sign of Joseph Stalin. They are at the entrance of Antrea's raw sugar factory on 16 August 1941.
Eastern Front: In a move that has immediate and lasting repercussions on the Eastern Front, on 16 August 1941 Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 270. This order sets forth penalties for dereliction of duty and desertion (execution and imprisonment of deserters' families), commands soldiers not to surrender, and sets forth severe penalties for any acts detrimental to the Soviet war effort. The lengthy order is somewhat unusual in that it gives detailed examples of "heroic" behavior, which includes Lieutenant-General Boldin's escape from encirclement while deputy commander of the Western Front (the commander of the Western Front, General Pavlov, was shot on Stalin's command for dereliction of duty). It also gives examples of "cowardice," which includes the surrender of 28th Army Commander Lieutenant General Katchalov.
The order is quite plain: don't surrender unless we tell you to. While signed by all of the members of the State Defense Committee, it clearly reflects Stalin's own views on how troops should conduct themselves. The concerns raised in Order No. 270 never go away, and, in fact, they remain Stalin's obsession throughout the war. Stalin will return to this basic issue of "keeping the men at their guns" repeatedly throughout the war, particularly during the bitter summer of 1942, but nothing ever works to his complete satisfaction.
Regarding Order No. 270, comrade Stalin is heard to say, "There are no Soviet prisoners of war, only traitors."
Soviet prototype HTZ-16 armored tractor, 16 August 1941. This was an improvised armored vehicle based on the Kharkiv Tractor Factory/Agricultural Tractor Research Institute (SHTZ-NATI) tractor. The Red Army used the HTZ-16 at training schools and around Kharkiv, where the tank factory was located.
In the Far North sector, the Germans remain blocked on the Murmansk front, while the Finns trying to reach the Murmansk railway at Loukhi also have come to a standstill about 20 miles southwest of the main railway line after a recent rapid advance. Finnish Group F of III Corps is attempting probing attacks but remains stalled just north of Ukhta (Kalevala) in its separate advance to the Murmansk Railway. As usual, the Soviets have found just enough forces to stop each of the separate thrusts heading toward strategic objectives.
The Finns are still on the move in the direction of Leningrad, however. Today, they capture three encircled Soviet battalions at Tolvajaervi and Aeglaejaervi. This is about 50 miles north of Lake Ladoga and about 170 miles north of Leningrad and enhances Axis control of the region.
In the Army Group North sector, LVI Panzer Corps (von Manstein) of Panzer Group 4 (Hoepner) secures Novgorod after fighting into it on the 15th and attacks southwest toward Dno. The Germans also secure a bridgehead across the Volkhov River. This is a strategically vital city at the northern tip of Lake Ilmen that, in conjunction with holding Staraya Russa at the lake's southern tip, enables the Wehrmacht to use the lake as part of the front line and shift units due north toward Leningrad.
The Soviets, of course, realize this and are counterattacking the German position at Staraya Russa. While the Soviets make some progress to the south of the old Russian town, the Germans defend it fiercely, and by day's end OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder is able to write in the war diary that "south of Lake Ilmen the danger appears to have passed if there ever was any."
Joseph Stalin.
Elsewhere in the Army Group North area, the Germans make progress at Luga. There are about 20,000 Soviet troops there who have little chance of escape, and Stalin's Order No. 270 requires them to stand and fight anyway upon pain of death.
In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's panzers continue making progress in the direction of Gomel and Bryansk. The attacks, however, are taking longer than the high command would like. Otherwise, the front is unusually quiet.
Complying with Hitler's orders, the OKH reassigns three divisions (12th Panzer, 20th Motorized, and 18th Motorized) from General Hoth's Panzer Group 3 to Army Group North. Hitler hopes that these divisions will help Army Group North take Leningrad quickly, enabling a later attack on Moscow.
In the Army Group South sector, Romanian leader Ion Antonescu authorizes a resumption of the offensive against Odessa following a three-day pause. The Romanians make progress across the entire line, particularly in the area of the city's water reservoirs. The Soviet defenders, under orders to fight to the last man, resist bitterly.
The Germans solidify capture Nikolayev, which the Soviets have evacuated after a brief but fierce defense. The port is stocked with equipment, including coastal guns, the hulks of half-finished ships, ammunition, and repair facilities.
The Red Air Force raids the oilfields at Ploesti, Romania. A Romanian Heinkel He 112 shoots down one of the bombers.
European Air Operations: After taking a day off, the RAF swings back into action today. During the day, RAB Bomber Command sends 30 Blenheims on coastal sweeps to Marquise and a Circus operation to St. Omer. The bomber pilots claim to hit an ammunition factory at Marquise. All of these planes return.
The RAF also sends two Fortresses to Brest and two to Dusseldorf. Luftwaffe fighters badly damage a Fortress over Brest. While it limps back to England, it makes a difficult crash-landing and has to be written off. This becomes the first RAF Fortress casualty.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends major raids to Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Duisburg.
The RAF puts 72 bombers (37 Wellingtons, 29 Whitleys, and 6 Halifaxes) over Cologne. The objectives are railway yards. Visibility is poor, and there are no casualties and only very light damage. Seven Hampden bombers and one Wellington fail to return.
The RAF sends 54 Wellington bombers to attack railway yards at Duisburg. The attack causes moderate damage, and one Wellington fails to return.
The RAF sends 52 Hampdens and six Manchester bombers over Düsseldorf. As with the other attacks, the objectives are railway yards. The RAF pilots claim to see a large number of fires, but the Germans themselves often set fires as decoys, so the amount of damage caused is uncertain. The RAF loses three Hampdens and two Manchester bombers on this raid.
There also are minor raids to Rotterdam (10 Wellingtons), Ostend (4 Hampdens and 2 Manchester bombers), and one training flight over the Continent. There are no losses on these missions.
Luftwaffe Lt. Hans Hahn of I./NJG 2 downs a Wellington over Scunthorpe. Shrapnel from the exploding plane destroys one of the engines on his own Junkers Ju 88 night fighter, but he manages to nurse the plane back to base.
An Enigma machine in the radio car of the staff of the 7th Panzer Division while serving in the Soviet Union, 16 August 1941 (Lücke, Federal Archive, RH 82 Bild-00028).
Battle of the Baltic: A Soviet convoy led by icebreaker Oktyabr runs into a German minefield ("Juminda") while en route from Suursaari (Hogland (Island) to Tallinn (Reval), Estonia. Losses are unknown, but apparently, several ships hit mines and sink.
Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans organize their operations in northern Norway and Finland by establishing an Arctic Ocean U-boat Command. The Kriegsmarine has U-451 and U-566 operating in the area with plans to send more there. The Royal Navy now also has a submarine operating in the area, HMS Trident (Cmdr. Sladen), which is based in Polyarny and today leaves port on a patrol.
The Luftwaffe scores a near-miss against tug Ness Point at Lowestoft. The tug sinks, but it is raised on the 23rd and repaired.
The 17th Motor Launch Flotilla departs from Gibraltar bound for Bathurst.
US Navy battleship USS Mississippi ends its neutrality patrol when it returns to Hampton Roads, Virginia along with accompanying destroyers.
Part of Convoy WS-10X departs from the Clyde and meets another part of the convoy, which had departed from Liverpool on the 15th, at sea. It is bound for Capetown, Aden, and Suez. Convoy ON-8 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-145 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Lamerton (Lt. Commander Hugh C. Simms) is commissioned.
Canadian corvette HMCS The Pas is launched at Collingwood, Canada.
Australian minesweeper HMAS Geraldton and boom defense ship Karangi are launched.
U-135 (Kptlt. Friedrich-Hermann Praetorius) is commissioned, U-88 and U-407 are launched, U-667 is laid down.
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 7 Wnr.12866 from 3./JG1, damaged by Lt. Heinz Knoke while training, 16th August 1941.
Battle of the Mediterranean: British Secretary of State for War David Margesson gives a speech which stresses the need for vigilance despite inevitable boredom between attacks. He holds up Malta as an example, citing the 26 July 1941 Italian attack using speedboats. He states in part:
On 26 July there were certain coast defences on the Island of Malta manned by the Royal Malta Artillery which had not opened fire for the whole of the war. There they had stood at their posts, day after day, night after night. What a good reason for boredom; what an excuse for relaxing vigilance... by the skill and unceasing watchfulness of the Royal Malta Artillery, a British machine-gun detachment and some anti-aircraft guns manned by Maltese, this first serious attack of Italian surface craft was smashed.
The Italian attack actually was "smashed" by Italian clumsiness when a charge they set to remove a net from a bridge blew up the bridge itself. However, this is a rare moment for the isolated defenders of Malta to bask in the publicity of a speech disseminated around the world.
Destroyers HMS Kandahar and Kimberley make the nightly supply run to Tobruk, immediately unloading and heading back to Alexandria as usual. This is part of the continuing rotation of Australian troops out of Tobruk and Polish troops in to replace them. During the entire operation, which lasts about a week, about 5,000 men rotate out and are replaced.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay sinks 28-ton Greek steamboat Evangelistra (being used by the Italians) near Benghazi.
The RAF bombs Syracuse and Catania airfields on Sicily.
Italian minelayers Aspromonte and Reggio lay minefield SN-42 in the Sicilian Strait.
An Italian supply convoy departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. It has six freighters/transports escorted by three destroyers and three torpedo boats. Dutch submarine O-23 spots an Italian ship midway between Naples and Palermo and attacks but misses - it is probably this convoy.
Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Royal Navy sloop Flamingo escorts transport Salamaua from Port Said toward Famagusta.
130mm coastal guns left behind by the Soviets in Mykolaiv when they evacuated it on 16 August 1941.
Battle of the Black Sea: As the Soviets withdraw from Nikolayev, they blow up submarines S-36 and S-37. However, they do a very poor of destroying the port facilities, and they all fall into the hands of the Germans.
Soviet submarine L-5 (Lt. Cmdr. Zhdanov) lays 14 mines off Mangalia, Romania.
US/Japanese Relations: With all sorts of different interpretations regarding the Atlantic Charter and its effects upon the Pacific region being floated, Japanese Ambassador Nomura meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull in Washington in an effort to renew relations. Nomura stresses the need for peace because a war would last for several years until one side or the other were exhausted. He hints that it is important for the United States not to allow Britain to drag it into a war. Nomura denies that Japan is under a military dictatorship and only sought to defend the region. He again, as he has in the past, proposes a summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and Japan.
Hull, at least in Nomura's opinion as relayed to Tokyo, seems less rigid than previously about Japanese activities. Hull promises to talk to President Roosevelt about the matter when the President returns to Washington. However, Nomura is clear about the consequences of any further Japanese adventurism:
As I have successively reported to you, Japanese-American relations have today reached a stage in which anything might happen at any moment, and they are likely to grow worse suddenly as soon as Japan makes her next move. That this sudden change will take place with Japan's occupation of Thailand is a view upon which both Japanese and Americans agree.
Nomura also notes in his report that Allied confidence in ultimate victory was growing because the war in the Soviet Union was turning into a battle of attrition which would weaken Germany regardless of whether it conquered the USSR or not.
Anglo/Soviet Relations: In Moscow, British and Soviet representatives sign a trade pact. The British grant the Soviets a £10 million credit at 3% interest, which is set quite low as a gesture of good faith. At this time, the British expect the Soviets to pay in cash for all deliveries, with the value of Soviet purchases offset for any sales to the British.
Convoy Dervish, carrying British supplies bound for the USSR, departs from Scapa Flow today.
Men of the Manchester Regiment manning a Vickers machine gun, Southern Command, 16 August 1941.
Anglo/Soviet/Iranian Relations: The British and Soviets warn the Iranian government to deport any Germans in the country. The diplomatic note states in part:
As in other neutral countries, German authorities have endeavored to pursue in Iran a policy of infiltration by sending their agents to mingle with and replace the resident German community...
While the note's reasoning is quite accurately, there actually aren't many Germans in Iran. However, the Allies want to set up a casus belli because Iran is a strategically important country due to its location on the Strait of Hormuz and oil supplies. It also is a potential route for England and the United States to supply the Soviet Union in the event of further German advances.
Anglo/Vichy Relations: With the British satisfied that the Vichy French have returned Commonwealth prisoners from metropolitan France, they permit another Vichy French convoy carrying 5094 troops to depart from Haifa to France.
Entrance to the Kolosjoki nickel mines in Petsamo, Finland, 1930s.
German/Finnish Relations: While Marshal Mannerheim carefully guards his independent control over the Finnish military, he has no issue with close economic ties with the Reich. Today, the Finns reach an agreement with the Germans to devote the entire output of the nickel mines in the far North at Petsamo to the Germans. The Germans, with Finnish agreement, already control the mines and huge processing plant, so this is simply an official recognition of the reality of the situation.
US/Australian Relations: US Navy heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) call at Rabaul, New Britain on a goodwill visit. The port of Rabaul has been used by the Australians as a regional base, but the eruption of volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan in 1937 forced them to shift most operations to Lae. However, a fairly large Australian population remains there, along with some Australian navy operations.
US Military: The 206th Coast Artillery Regiment (Anti-aircraft) arrives at Dutch Harbor, Alaska after training at Fort Bliss, Texas since early January 1941.
Japanese Military: The Japanese requisition three cargo ships for use in the navy:
In addition, Japanese liner Heian Maru returns from Seattle to Yokohama today. It marks the last Japanese ship from Seattle until after the war. It returns empty.
British Government: Prime Minister Churchill is in Reykjavik, Iceland as a stop on his way back to England from the Atlantic Conference. Churchill gives a speech to the crews of the ships in Reykjavik, including that of US battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) and other US ships. Churchill, aboard battleship HMS Prince of Wales, departs in the evening.
While visiting Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, Churchill allegedly leaves a half-smoked cigar in an ashtray. Someone retrieves the cigar, then gives it to his son. It goes on sale in 2012.
US Government: President Roosevelt's yacht USS Potomac (AG-25) arrives at Rockland, Maine, where the President boards his special train and heads back to Washington.
The Defense Base Act is enacted. this is an extension of the Longhore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to cover persons employed at United States defense bases overseas. Workers covered include civilians working for private employers on US military bases or anywhere the US military is operating. Compensation is given to those injured while working on such projects.
Preparing for Sunday night blackout tests at South Brisbane Australia, 16 August 1941.
German Government: There is little question that, however little he knows about the true state of the Soviet military, Hitler does understand how Stalin's cynical mind works - because they think alike in many ways. Hitler discusses the inner workings of the Soviet Union over dinner:
When Russia barricades herself within her frontiers, it's to prevent people from leaving the country and making certain comparisons. That's why Stalin was obliged to introduce Bolshevism into the Baltic countries so that his army of occupation should be deprived of all means of comparison with another system. At the beginning that wasn't Stalin's idea at all.
One can see the Iron Curtain descending across Europe in 1946 in Hitler's words.
American Homefront: The top song on the Billboard charts in today's weekly issue is "Daddy" by Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with the Kaye Choir. It is in week 7 of an 8-week run atop the chart.
An Australian trooper, Thomas Cogan, on leave in Perth, 16 August 1941 (Elizabeth Huggett).
