The Saturday Evening Post (Feb. 7, 1942), cover by Norman Rockwell – Willie Gillis at the U.S.O. (1942) - Curtis Publishing Company.
Eastern Front: After a month of vicious fighting, on 7 February 1942, Finnish II Army Corps (General Laatikainen) recovers the town of Krivi, Maaselkä Isthmus (north of Lake Onega), from the Soviet 367th Rifle Division. Finnish reinforced 19th Brigade (Col. Kai Savonjousi) leads the final charge. The battle begins at 03:00 and lasts until 14:45. There are at least 4000 Soviet dead and only 152 prisoners, while the Finns lose 12 missing or killed. Further south, Soviet ski troops attack the town of Poventsa (Povenets) but are pushed back. These actions restore the Finnish lines from before the Red Army's winter offensive and secure the Finnish eastern flank north of the lake.
Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese have grand ambitions in the Southwest Pacific. This is illustrated on 7 February 1942 when submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane to fly over Sydney, New South Wales.
The United States Army Air Force 5th Air Force, which now controls operations in the southwest Pacific, continues to build up its presence on Java in the Netherlands East Indies. Today, four more P-40s fly from Australia and make it to Blimbing Airdrome. The USAAF command at Singosari Aerodrome on Java sends nine B-17 Flying Fortress bombers to attack shipping at Balikpapan, but they are met by Japanese fighters and driven off.
The Allies in the Bataan Peninsula, the Philippines, mount a determined attack on the Japanese pockets (the Big Pocket and the Little Pocket) just south of the Main Line of Resistance (MLR). These pockets are in the western portion of the line controlled by the I Corps, which sends the 92d Infantry of the 91st Division of the Philippine Army against them. Further south, other Philippine troops make good progress against the remaining Japanese trapped at Quinauan Point. USAAF P-40s drive off a Japanese seaborne attempt from Olongapo to reinforce and supply these and other trapped units in the South Sector.
An Italian C.R. 42 fighter that was forced to land during an encounter with RAF fighters near Sollum, Libya on 7 February 1942.
In Singapore, the Japanese continue to prepare for an invasion of the island, which the British expect will be in the northeast near the destroyed causeway. The Australian 22nd Brigade concludes two successful patrols (a third was spotted by the Japanese and eliminated) across the Johor Strait and reports their findings to Malaya Command. The Australians report large troop concentrations directly across the Strait from the northwestern shore of Singapore Island and request artillery bombardment of those positions. Malaya Command ignores the reports because they do not jibe with its expectation that the invasion will come in the northeast, not the northwest.
USS Concord (CL-10) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, 7 February 1942. Note the obsolete casement guns.
European Air Operations: The RAF sends 32 Hampden bombers on a minelaying mission to the Frisian Islands. They are attacked by Luftwaffe fighters and lose three bombers. Some histories of World War II mention that the RAF drops many mines in the English Channel prior to Operation Cerberus, the Channel Dash, but these mines are dropped far to the north of where Operation Cerberus takes place in the Frisian Islands.
British freighter Jessie Maersk, sunk by German E-boats on 7 February 1942.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-751 (Kptlt. Gerhard Bigalk), on its fifth patrol out of St. Nazaire, France, torpedoes and sinks 6952-ton British Catapult Armed Merchant (CAM) Empire Sun just south of Halifax. The Empire Sun was carrying 9000 tons of grain. There are 54 survivors and 11 deaths.
German E-boats intercept and sink 1972-ton British freighter Jessie Maersk while traveling north from London to Blyth. There are 20 deaths.
While being refitted as a refrigerated banana boat in Halifax Harbor, 3250-ton MV Maurienne catches fire and capsizes. She is later refloated and returned to service.
Actress Loretta Young on the cover of Picturegoer Magazine [United Kingdom] (7 February 1942).
Battle of the Mediterranean: On land, both sides have settled down to garrison duty after the rapid Afrika Korps offensive past Benghazi. However, the fighting continues offshore. Royal Navy destroyers HMS Lively and Zulu, operating out of Malta and having been alerted by aerial reconnaissance, intercept and sink 316-ton Italian armed trawler Grongo about 45 miles south of Pantelleria Island. They also sink 494-ton Italian sailing freighter Aosta, which has been running supplies to Pantelleria. There are 32 survivors from the sinkings picked up by Italian motor torpedo boats Mas 560, Mas 563 and Mas 577.
Rickard, J (3 February 2018), USS Portland (CA-33) at Mare Island, 7 February 1942 (History of War).
US Government: President Roosevelt establishes the War Shipping Administration (WSA) by Executive Order No. 9054. February 7, 1942. The WSA takes charge of the production of special classes of ships being built by the Emergency Program such as Liberty Ships and Victory Ships. The United States Maritime Commission, established in 1936, remains in charge of the design and construction of other freighters for the United States Merchant Marine for the time being (the WSA will subsume the Maritime Commission later in 1942). Rear Admiral Emory S. Land, USN (ret.), the head of the Maritime Commission since 1938, now oversees both organizations, so they work very closely together from the start.
Donald M. Nelson, the new Chairman of the Office of Production Management, officially orders United States automakers to cease production of domestic passenger cars. Their factories henceforth will manufacture military items. Nelson's office guarantees the automakers' profits over and above their expenses. This offer includes a promise to sell to the auto manufacturers the $11 billion worth of new manufacturing plants to be built during the war at a steep discount after the war is won. The few automakers still making cars continue those already on the production line, with the last new cars finished on 10 February 1942.
Latin America: Uruguay defeats Argentina 1-0 to win the South American Championship of football in Montevideo. This is Uruguay's eighth title.
The symbol for the Double V campaign in the Pittsburgh Courier that begins on 7 February 1942.
American Homefront: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra hit No. 1 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart with "String of Pearls," recorded on 8 November 1941 in New York City. This is the second of four No. 1 hits that Miller and his band achieve in 1942, the other three being "Chattanooga Choo Choo" in January, "Moonlight Cocktail" from late February to early May, and "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo" during September and October. While it has a long way to go, the Big Band era may be said to peak in 1942.
The "Double-V" campaign begins. This is a special symbol adopted within the African-American community to denote the twin goals of fighting fascism overseas and conditions at home in the United States. The symbol first appears in the African-American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier on February 7, 1942. The campaign continues weekly in the Pittsburg Courier, which is the most circulated black newspaper with a national circulation of around 200,000 subscribers, until 1943.
Pittsburgh Courier on February 7, 1942, showing the Double-V symbol.
Battle of Atlantic: President Roosevelt slowly has been ratcheting up the pressure on the U-boat menace in the Atlantic. This has included, among many other things, sending U.S. warships on armed neutrality patrols for the benefit of the Royal Navy and escorting convoys from the United States to Iceland. As a major escalation in this process, FDR on 9 October 1941 FDR sends a message to Congress asking it to amend the Neutrality Act to permit U.S. flag merchant vessels to be armed for self-defense:
We cannot permit the affirmative defense of our rights to be annulled and diluted by sections of the Neutrality Act which have no realism in the light of unscrupulous ambition of madmen. We will not let Hitler prescribe the waters of the world which our ships may travel…The American flag is not going to be driven from the seas either by his submarines, his airplanes or his threats.
This follows long-established United States Navy police (which continues actively into the 21st Century) to keep open international sea lanes. Since FDR's political party controls Congress, approval of this request is a foregone conclusion.
British Commandos from No. 6 Special Service Brigade train around Inverary, Scotland (October 9, 1941). The front soldier carries an Artillery Luger fitted with a 32-round "snail" magazine. The other Commando wields a Thompson submachine gun with the 100-round larger drum magazine.
Manhattan Project: In line with his increased determination to confront Hitler's Germany at sea and to support his enemies with Lend-Lease supplies, President Franklin Roosevelt repeatedly authorizes actions in 1941 to shift the United States to a war-time posture even though the nation is at peace. On 9 October 1941, in addition to ramping up the war at sea, FDR takes a major step on a completely different track in his efforts that will have much more dramatic and long-lasting implications. These revolve around the development of nuclear weapons.
A Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber attacks a supply depot within the British Tobruk perimeter in North Africa, October 1941 (AP).
President Roosevelt has been a supporter of research into atomic energy since receiving Albert Einstein's and Leó Szilárd's famous 2 August 1939 letter urging research and development of nuclear energy and perhaps an atomic bomb. That letter stated in pertinent part:
This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable — though much less certain — that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.
Roosevelt authorized such research in October 1939 (after the letter was brought to his attention) and has received periodic briefings ever since. He has taken periodic organizational steps to push the project forward. The British also have been investigating prospects for an atomic bomb, which resulted in its British Military Application of Uranium Detonation (MAUD) Committee Report on the topic. However, neither government is anywhere close to developing an atomic bomb. On 9 October 1941, this process speeds up dramatically.
Dr. Vannevar Bush and Arthur Compton in 1940.
Dr. Vannevar Bush, chairman of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) since 28 June 1941, briefs FDR and Vice President Henry A. Wallace on the MAUD Report today. The MAUD Report, in brief, postulates that an atomic bomb of immense power is possible. Further, Bush briefs the two on Tube Alloy research and the very little that is known of German nuclear research. Bush advocates cooperating with the British and indicates that he will begin corresponding with his British counterpart, Sir John Anderson.
Illinois state employees Joseph Haverly, left, and Joseph Murphy together display a scale model of the statehouse. It was on a flatbed truck after being retrieved from New York City, where it had been on display at the World's Fair (File/The State Journal-Register).
Impressed, Roosevelt authorizes Bush to explore further what it would take to build such a bomb - which remains completely theoretical and uncertain - and how much it would cost. He creates the Top Policy Group composed of himself, Wallace, Bush, James B. Conant, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General George Marshall to review progress. In essence, Bush becomes a "Bomb Czar" with outsized influence to create organizational structures and to commandeer resources to pursue the development of an atomic bomb. There is little question that Bush is the "prime mover" behind nuclear weapons development and deserves much of the credit - or blame - for their eventual appearance. While there are many important dates in the progress of the Manhattan Project (which is not yet its name, that happens in 1942), the events of 9 October 1941 are perhaps the biggest acceleration in the development of nuclear weapons.
Joe Louis featured in the Rockford (Illinois) Morning Star for an exhibition match at Camp Grant, 9 October 1941.
Eastern Front: In the Far North sector, Group J (one regiment) of Finnish III Corps finally on 3 August 1941 smashes through fierce Soviet opposition at the Sof'yanga, an eight-mile-long channel connecting Pya Lake and Top Lake in Karelia. The Soviets are only pried out of their defenses due to a brilliant Finnish flanking move accomplishing by sending a battalion over the western tip of Top Lake to attack from behind the Soviet line. With this accomplished, the Finns can advance to Kesten'ga with the ultimate objective of cutting the Murmansk railway.
In the Army Group North sector, Soviet 325th Rifle Regiments is evacuated by sea from Litsa Bay.
In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's advance on Roslavl bears fruit when XXIV Corps (General Geyr von Schweppenburg) links up with 4th Army's (General Feld Marshal Gunther Hans von Kluge) IX Corp. This forms the Roslavl Pocket, trapping about 38,000 Soviets who quickly become POWs. This junction wipes out Group Kachalov and much of Soviet 28th Army. The Soviets also lose about 35,000 in a pocket at Mogilev which 4th Army finally subdues.
An advance unit of German soldiers attacking a village west of Kyiv, August 1941 (Hähle, Johannes, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1974-099-45).
In the Army Group South sector, the German 16th Panzer Division meets with the Hungarian Mechanized Corps (Gyorshadtest) at Pervomaisk to form a secondary encirclement around the Soviet forces trapped in a pocket at Uman. Portions of 20 Soviet divisions continue to resist within the pocket, but with increasing futility. About 103,000 Soviet soldiers are within the pocket and face bleak prospects of rescue from Soviet forces further east. Many Soviet officers are trapped within the pocket, including the commanders of 6th and 12th armies, four corps commanders, and 11 division commanders.
Romanian 4th Army (General Nicolae Ciuperca) crosses the Dniester River and continues advancing eastward. This shows Romanian leader Ion Antonescu's willingness to aid Operation Barbarossa even in the conquest of lands that are not historically (at least arguably) Romanian.
The Luftwaffe bombs Moscow again. However, this attack is much smaller than previous attacks and can best be described as a nuisance raid.
Oblt. Kurt Sochatzy of III./JG 3 shoots down an IL-2 over Kyiv for his 38th - and last - victory. His own plane is disabled when a Soviet plane hits his Bf 109 and shears off its wing. Sochatzy successfully bails out and is taken a prisoner of war.
3rd Panzer Division Panzer 3 Tanks crossing makeshift pontoon war bridge, Beresina River, August 1941.
European Air Operations: The weather across northwestern Europe is unsettled, with heavy cloud cover that impairs navigation and bombing accuracy. RAF Bomber Command sends 39 Whitley bombers against Frankfurt (no losses) and 34 Wellingtons against Hannover (one lost). A Rhubarb attack by 7 Whitleys is sent against Calais harbor (no losses).
The Luftwaffe also sends some small raids against England during the night. Some bombs drop at Spittal near Berwick, damaging about a hundred houses and a church and destroying some ships and four houses.
Battle of the Baltic: The Soviets lose U-1, a motor torpedo boat, today. In addition, Soviet minesweeper T-212 Shtag hits a mine and sinks in the Soela-Vjajn Strait.
Germans at a sign warning of partisans in the area, August 1941. "Soviet Union center, Welish-Usswjat - field gendarmerie on a motorbike with sidecar in a partisan area (sign: "Partisan danger from Welish to Ußwjati" (Trautvetter, Federal Archive, Bild 101I-007-2477-06).
Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans have spotted Convoy SL-81 southwest of Ireland and have assembled a large force to intercept it. Already eight U-boats are in the vicinity, and the Luftwaffe maintains observation as well. This leads to action even though the Germans don't yet attack the convoy itself.
Royal Navy CAM (Catapult-Armed Merchantman) ship HMS Maplin uses its catapult to launch a modified Hawker Hurricane (called a "Hurricat"), which shoots down a Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor. This is the first success of a CAM ship. Volunteer pilot R.W.H. Everett of RAF No. 804 Squadron lands his plane near destroyer Wanderer, escorting Convoy SL-81, and is picked up after he struggles to get out of the aircraft before it quickly sinks.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Wanderer and corvette Hydrangea, and Norwegian destroyer St. Albans team up to sink U-401 (Kptlt. Gero Zimmermann) southwest of Ireland. The depth charge attack kills all 45 men on the U-boat. U-401 sinks on its first patrol, with no successes to its credit.
Operation EF (the raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo) ends as Force K returns to Seidisfjord, then proceeds back to Scapa Flow.
Convoy WS-10 (Winston Special) forms at sea. Its ultimate destinations are Bombay and Aden. Convoy OS-2 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.
Canadian minesweeper HMCS Quinte is launched.
Schenectady 1912 at St. Paul, August 3, 1941 (Robert Graham).
Battle of the Mediterranean: After dark, a heavy Luftwaffe attack on Suez and surrounding areas causes great damage. The planes are Heinkel He 111s of II/KG.26.
The Luftwaffe (Heinkel He 111s of II/KG.26) bombs and sinks 1087-ton Belgian ship Escaut in Attika Bay, Suez. All three aboard perish.
The Luftwaffe (Heinkel He 111s of II/KG.26) bombs and sinks 5322-ton Belgian tanker Alexandre Andre about eight miles south of Suez. The ship is burned out and can only be used as a storage hulk for the remainder of the war.
The Luftwaffe (Heinkel He 111s of II/KG.26) bombs and damages 8120-ton British tanker Desmoulea at Suez. The ship has to be towed to Bombay for repairs.
The RAF bombs and sinks 216-ton Italian freighter Elisa off Benghazi.
Dutch submarine O-21 (Lt Cdr Van Dulm) uses its deck gun to sink two small Italian ships south of Sardinia. However, a larger sailing vessel gets away.
Greek submarine Nereus claims to sink a sailing ship and a transport off Rhodes. However, there is no confirmation.
Bf 100 fighters of ZG-26 attack Mersa Matruh and damage Royal Navy submarine chaser Sotra during the night.
Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Royal Navy sloop Flamingo escorts transport Kevinbank to Famagusta.
The RAF sends 21 Maryland bombers to attack the Axis front lines at Tobruk.
Winston Churchill praises Malta in a telegram, stating in part:
Now that the convoys have reached you safely with all the stores and reinforcements, I take occasion to congratulate you on the firm and steadfast manner in which you and your devoted garrison and citizens have maintained Malta inviolate against all attacks for more than a year and to express my confidence that with the help of God our cause will continue to prosper and that the contribution of Malta to the final victory will add a noble chapter to the famous story of the Island.
Malta is now well-supplied, at least compared to its situation during 1940.
Bf 109D of the 3/JFS 5 at Toussus le Noble, August 1941.
US Government: On a highly secret mission, President Franklin Roosevelt boards a train from Washington, D.C. to New London, Connecticut. There, he boards the Presidential yacht USS Potomac (AG-25), which is attended by tender Calypso (AG-35). The ships sail to Point Judith, Rhode Island and stay there for the night. The White House informs the press corps that this is merely a fishing cruise.
British Government: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels north from London to board a ship that will take him across the Atlantic for a conference with President Roosevelt.
Holocaust: There are incidents in several places today. At Slobodka, Ukraine, the Germans fill a local synagogue with Jews and then set it on fire.
In Jelgava, Latvia, SS Einsatzkommandos (Lt. Hamann) execute 1550 Jews.
At Chernivtsi, Romania, Einsatzgruppen arrest 1200 Jews and execute 682 of them.
At Mitau, Latvia, the Germans execute 1500 Jews.
At Stanislawów, Ukraine, the Germans round up professional Jews and execute several hundred of them.
Isi Brauman, who writes a diary that later is published, arrives at Auschwitz. He writes: "I am going to die. There is no doubt." He received the diary from his mother for Hanukkah in 1940.
Bishop von Galen.
German Homefront: Clemens August Graf von Galen, Bishop of Münster, gives a sermon today - the third in a sequence during the summer of 1941 - in which he denounces the policies being followed by the Reich:
"Thou shalt not kill." God engraved this commandment on the souls of men long before any penal code... God has engraved these commandments in our hearts... They are the unchangeable and fundamental truths of our social life... Where in Germany and where, here, is obedience to the precepts of God? [...] As for the first commandment, "Thou shalt not have strange gods before me," instead of the One, True, Eternal God, men have created at the dictates of their whim, their own gods to adore: Nature, the State, the Nation, or the Race.
About euthanasia (German program Aktion T4) in particular he says:
It is a terrible doctrine which seeks to justify the murder of innocent people and which allows the violent killing of invalids, cripples, the incurably ill, the old and the weak who are no longer able to work ... once the principle that it is permissible to kill "unproductive" humans has been admitted and applied then we must all pity ourselves when we, too, grow old and weak.
Von Galen spends the remainder of his sermon denouncing the depredations of the current German regime against the Church and vulnerable people in society. He focuses on harsh euthanasia policies and calls it murder. If a regime can dispense with the Fifth Commandment, thou shalt not kill, no other commandment survives. Once you start down that path, he concludes, others could be at risk of similar policies - such as injured Wehrmacht soldiers.
Father Bernhard Lichtenberg, dean of St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin, also denounces the euthanasia program in a sermon today. However, his sermon does not receive as much publicity as Bishop von Galen's does.
Copies of the sermon spread throughout the Reich, particularly the heavily Catholic southern regions such as Bavaria. This is considered a seminal moment in the German resistance, though it is not a direct call to action. The German authorities notice, of course, and restrict von Galen's movements. Hitler later comments:
The fact that I remain silent in public over Church affairs is not in the least misunderstood by the sly foxes of the Catholic Church, and I am quite sure that a man like Bishop von Galen knows full well that after the war I shall extract retribution to the last farthing.
Despite menacing indications in the surviving German record as to von Galen's likely fate, he survives the war, perhaps through an oversight (Hitler evens many old scores during the final months of the war, but not this one). Hitler does not harm him in part due to von Galen's moral legitimacy that is recognized by many religious Germans who could be alienated. True to his principles, he then castigates the Allied occupation forces for their mistreatment of civilians. He also argues on behalf of certain imprisoned Wehrmacht officers at their trials. His life is cut short on 22 March 1946 by an appendix infection.
Von Galen is beatified (one step down from being a saint) by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. The Catholic Church moves very deliberately in such matters and he may someday become a saint.
No fuel sales are permitted after 19:00 on 3 August along the east coast of the United States in order to conserve fuel. (Photo by John Rooney/AP Photo).
American Homefront: There is a dusk-to-dawn blackout along the east coast in order to conserve gasoline. This shuts down 100,000 service stations from 19:00 to 07:00 on the 4th.
Future History: Martha Helen Kostyra is born in Jersey City, New Jersey. While attending Barnard College, Martha does some fashion modeling for Chanel. She marries Andrew Stewart in July 1961and takes his name to become Martha Stewart. Martha goes on to begin a career as a stockbroker, then eventually becomes a business mogul. As of 2018, Martha Stewart remains active, with her business endeavors, with her "Martha Stewart Everyday" home furnishing line featured in K-mart and products sold in other stores.
The royal residence at Detmold (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-283).
Anglo/Iraq War: In the evening of 27 May 1941, the British Habforce troops that have occupied Fallujah under Major-General George Clark begin advancing on Baghdad. The British are in multiple columns in a concentric attack, with Indian 20th Brigade coming from the south on the Euphrates, Indian 21st Brigade advancing along the Tigris River from Basra while Habforce troops marching from Fallujah. The defending troops of Rashid Ali destroy bridges and dams, slowing the advance. However, while Clark's force is far smaller than the defending Iraqis, militarily it is far superior.
The German military mission also is under intense pressure in Iraq. The Luftwaffe force has been vastly reduced in size, while the eleven Italian Fiat Cr-42 fighters that have just arrived can do little. All continue to fight, but prepare to leave the country should Baghdad fall.
As the British near Baghdad, rioting and looting begin to break out.
In London, Prime Minister Winston Churchill tells the House that "In Iraq, our position has been largely re-established, and the prospects have greatly improved."
European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 14 aircraft on anti-shipping sweeps during the day. It attacks Cologne during the night with 84 aircraft and also lays mines off Boulogne, Brest and St. Nazaire.
The Luftwaffe performs an armed reconnaissance across the Channel. The Germans lose a Heinkel He 111 from 4./KG 55 west of St. Ives, Cornwall to Pilot/Officer F. Oliver of RAF No 66 Squadron.
German battleship Bismarck under fire from battleships HMS Rodney and King George V (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).
Battle of the Atlantic: As the day begins, the German battleship Bismarck has been crippled by a torpedo hit in the stern that has jammed its left rudder. This prevents it from proceeding to the southeast and safety under the protection of the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy closes in, and within hours the Bismarck is surrounded and everyone awaits daylight for the end.
Everyone on the Bismarck knows the situation is hopeless. Around midnight, Admiral Günther Lütjens, in command aboard the Bismarck, makes his last radio transmission to headquarters: "Ship unmaneuverable. We shall fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer."
The Royal Navy's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, under the command of Captain Philip Vian, arrives on the scene after being diverted from escorting troop convoy WS8B from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. His destroyers make runs at the battleship, launching torpedoes. It is unclear (and unlikely) if the destroyers make any hits, but they keep the Germans busy.
U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), which has completed its patrol with Wolfpack West in the North Atlantic and returning to base in France, receives orders to retrieve the logbooks from Bismarck. Wohlfarth heads to the position, and on his way spots aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the battlecruiser Renown. However, U-556 is out of torpedoes and can do nothing.
Bismarck under fire from the Royal Navy, 27 May 1941 (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).
At 08:47, the Royal Navy begins firing. British battleships HMS Rodney and King George V achieve quick hits, silencing the Bismarck's guns. After closing in, at around 10:00 each British battleship achieves two penetrations of Bismarck's armor, two on the starboard side by King George V and two on the port side by Rodney. The British battleships, low on the fuel, then leave the scene and leave the ending to smaller ships.
Heavy cruiser Dorsetshire then closes and sends three torpedoes into the blazing German ship. Around the same time, the surviving Bismarck crew sets off scuttling charges. It is unclear if the torpedoes would have sunk the Bismarck, or if it required the Bismarck crew scuttling the now-defenseless ship - but the Bismarck capsizes and sinks at 10:40.
Survivors of the Bismarck being pulled aboard HMS Dorsetshire.
The sea is full of the Bismarck's crew, but there is great fear in the British ships about U-boats. Dorsetshire and destroyer Maori spend an hour picking up survivors, and 110 men are saved. The British ships then quickly depart the scene, leaving many sailors to drown. Later, U-74 (Kptlt. Eitel-Fredrich Kentrat) and Kriegsmarine weather ship Sachsenwald arrive, with U-74 picking up three men and the weather ship two. One man later dies, so 114 men survive the sinking. About 2200 Bismarck crew perish during the battle, including Admiral Lütjens and Bismarck Captain Lindemann (both of whom likely died early on when the bridge was hit, but some survivors reported seeing Lindemann standing at attention on the stern as it sank).
Operation Rheinübung involved two ships: Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The latter ship is forgotten by virtually everyone, Prinz Eugen - almost out of fuel - has made a rendezvous with tanker Spichern far to the south. Today, it develops some engine trouble, reducing its speed to 28 knots. Ultimately, this will force Prinz Eugen to abandon its mission and seek haven in France.
At Berchtesgaden, Hitler crony Walther Hewel notes in his diary, "Bismarck sunk … Fuehrer melancholy beyond words."
U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler), operating off Freetown, is on its second patrol. It uses two torpedoes to sink 5108-ton British freighter Colonial, which has been dispersed from Convoy OB 318. 100 men, including Convoy Commodore Rear Admiral W.B. Mackenzie RN, are picked up by target ship (formerly battleship) HMS Centurion and landed at Freetown.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 239 Royal Navy ton minesweeping trawler Evesham off Yarmouth. Everyone survives.
The Luftwaffe damages anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank off Cape Cornwall. There are 65 deaths.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages ocean boarding vessel HMS Registan in Bristol Channel. The master beaches it at Falmouth, Cornwall, and the Registan is later refloated and repaired. There are 70 deaths. Those lost include Dudley Joel, 37, a British businessman and a Member of Parliament. Some sources place this as happening on the 28th.
Swordfish 5S of 818 Squadron, FAA returns to HMS Ark Royal after observing the sinking of Bismarck.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 695-ton Norwegian freighter Røyksund in the outer reaches of Bristol Channel. There are ten survivors of Royksund rescued by destroyer HMS Cleveland, while six men perish (one crewman dies later).
Norwegian 1655-ton freighter Thyra, part of Convoy OB 325, collides with escort destroyer HMS Leamington and sinks. There are four deaths, and 20 survivors are taken aboard the Leamington, which is largely unscathed.
British 7628-ton freighter Michael E has been converted into the first Royal Navy Catapult Aircraft Merchant (CAM) ship. It sails late in the day from Glasgow for Halifax, Nova Scotia with Convoy OB 327 on its first mission carrying a Hawker Hurricanes modified for sea duty.
Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.62 in the English Channel.
Convoy OB 327 departs from Liverpool. Convoy HX 129, delayed by the Bismarck battle, departs from Halifax and BHX departs from Bermuda. Convoy HX 129, incidentally, becomes the first convoy to have continuous escort protection across the Atlantic due to the new escort headquarters at St. John's.
Battle of the Mediterranean: General Erwin Rommel unleashes Kampfgruppe von Herff on the Libyan frontier in Operation Skorpion. The battle plan involves a feint to the west of Fort Capuzzo by Group Bach acting as a decoy, intended to fool the British into thinking that they are about to be outflanked. This, the thinking goes, will induce the British out of their defensive positions and expose them to attack. The British, however, barely react, so Oberst Maximilian von Herff orders Group Cramer (which has the bulk of the panzers) to move northwards directly on the objective: Halfaya Pass. At dawn, Group Knabe attacks the head of the pass and Group Bach attacks the foot. The British only have nine tanks in Halfaya Pass, and they are out-matched by the massive German attack.
After an hour or two of the unequal battle, British commander Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott authorizes a withdrawal. Lieutenant-Colonel J. Moubray, in command of the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards and the other units garrisoning the pass (including the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4th RTR, Major C. G. Miles), field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, and the 7th Support Group of the 7th Armoured Division), blasts his way out of his encirclement with some troops captured by Group Bach.
While not a major battle, Operation Skorpion deprives the British of their last gain from their Operation Brevity of May 15-16. It also provides an unusual incident where the roles of the two sides are reversed, the Germans being able to intercept some British wireless messages while the British get no help from Ultra. The British Army loses 173 men (40 prisoners), four 25-pounder field guns, eight 2-pounder anti-tank guns, and five Infantry tanks. The Germans capture nine 25-pounder field guns, seven Matilda (A12) tanks, and two other tanks. Most importantly, the battle eliminates any British hope of a quick relief of Tobruk.
The Afrika Korps wastes no time in reinforcing its defenses both at Tobruk and along the Gazala Line. Rommel orders a defensive line built just over the border in Egypt, based on Halfaya Pass, in an arc through Qalala and Hafid Ridge 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Fort Capuzzo to Sidi Aziz.
At 00:50, Churchill sends Wavell a brief cable, "Hope you are preparing your desert stroke and that Tobruk will not be idle." The British in Egypt now brings forward the tanks from the Tiger Convoy (Churchill's "Tiger Cubs") for another offensive planned in mid-June (Operation Battleaxe). At the evening War Cabinet meeting, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound emphasizes the "vital importance from the naval point of view of the recapture of Cyrenaica."
A map of the Battle of 42nd Street, Suda, Crete, 27 May 1941.
On Crete, the situation is getting desperate for the British. In the morning, the New Zealand 28th (Māori) Battalion, the Australian 2/7th Battalion, and the Australian 2/8th Battalion fix bayonets and charge the German 141st Mountain Regiment which is blocking the road from Suda (Souda) to Chania (Canea). In this "Battle of 42nd Street," the Commonwealth troops succeed. This re-opens a line of retreat for the Commonwealth troops still fighting in and around Chania, which the Germans now completely take.
At 02:00, Prime Minister Winston Churchill cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell: "Victory in Crete essential at this turning point in the war. Keep hurling in all aid you can." At 08:42, Wavell responds. He has a much closer view of the actual situation on Crete and knows that events at sea or in Iraq mean nothing for his defense of the island. Wavell cables back, "Fear we must recognize that Crete is no longer tenable…."
Wavell's cable arrives while the War Cabinet is in session. As the meeting's minutes state:
The Prime Minister said that all chances of winning the battle in Crete now appeared to have gone and we should have to face the prospect of the loss of most of our forces there.
Churchill casually adds that he will reveal nothing of this to the House of Commons in his morning statement. In fact, he simply states that the army's "magnificent resistance hangs in the balance."
Fallschirmjäger march into Canea (Chandia/Hania) after a long battle, 27 May 1941 (Australian War Memorial 106492).
The decision to withdraw from Crete is made formal when Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which states:
In view of General Wavell's latest message, he should be ordered to evacuate Crete forthwith, saving as many men as possible without regard to material, and taking whatever measures, whether by reinforcement or otherwise, are best.
So, London now accepts the inevitable. British island commander General Bernard Freyberg quickly orders Allied troops to begin withdrawing to the south shore for evacuation. The British troops at Suda and Beritania, including 800 Commandos just landed on the 26th, begin heading down the road to Vitsilokoumos, north of Sfakia. The Germans occupy the critical naval base at Suda Bay as the British depart.
Responding to an OKW request made on the 26th, the Italians send a convoy from Rhodes to reinforce the Germans on Crete. It contains a brigade from the 50th Infantry Division Regina, supported by 13 L3/35 light tanks. As many have noted, Operation Mercury has been an odd battle because the Germans have had no tanks, and the British Army has had no air support. This Italian convoy, comprising a motley collection of four fishing vessels, two steamships, one riverboat, two reefer ships, three tugs, and three tankers, aims to bring ashore some Axis armored support. Their planned landing date is the afternoon of 28 May. The convoy is escorted by destroyer Crispi and two torpedo boats (Lince and Lira).
Royal Navy battleship HMS Barham is covering the withdrawal of minelayer Abdiel from Suda Bay, where it landed Commandos on the 26th when the Luftwaffe bombs it. The bomb destroys Y turret and kills seven crewmen while wounding six. Barham makes for Alexandria, then Durban, for repairs, which take until 30 July.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 305-ton armed trawler HMT Thorbryn off Tobruk.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 307-ton Naval whaler Syvern en route to Crete.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1187 ton Greek freighters Antonios and 5452 ton Julia at Suda Bay, Crete. Everyone survives.
The RAF bombs and damages Italian freighter Marco Foscarini off Tripoli. The master beaches her, and the Foscarini is refloated and scrapped after the war.
More troops are embarked on three destroyers (Hotspur, Imperial, and Kimberley) at Alexandria for transport to Crete when the decision to evacuate to the island is received. The troops are not sent.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten suffers damage from grounding at Malta and requires repairs until 4 June.
The RAF force based on Malta loses two Blenheims of RAF No. 82 Squadron while attacking a large Italian supply convoy that reaches Tripoli safely. At Malta, the Luftwaffe drops mines in Grand Harbour.
Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch at the Corinthian Canal, Greece 27 May 1941.
Special Operations: Italian submarine Scirè launches three midget submarines manned by frogmen to penetrate the Royal Navy base at Gibraltar. The mission fails for technical reasons and no Royal Navy ships suffer damage.
POWs: In the House of Commons, Winston Churchill rejects a request that prisoner Rudolf Hess be tried as a spy or illegal alien. German/Vichy French Relations: Vichy Vice Premier Admiral François Darlan and German ambassador to France, Otto Abetz sign the Paris Protocols. These Protocols grant the Germans military facilities in Syria, Tunisia, and French West Africa, while the French get a reduction in occupation costs (from 20 to 15 million Reichsmarks a day) and the release of 6800 more French POWs. These are not formally ratified, but provide a framework for French collaboration.
US/Japanese Relations: US Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew sends a cable to Washington:
A member of the Embassy was told by my ------- colleague that from many quarters, including a Japanese one, he had heard that a surprise mass attack on Pearl Harbor was planned by the Japanese military forces, in case of "trouble" between Japan and the United States; that the attack would involve the use of all the Japanese military facilities. My colleague said that he was prompted to pass this on because it had come to him from many sources, although the plan seemed fantastic.
Grew's unnamed friend, of course, is absolutely correct - the Japanese have been planning for an attack on US, British and Dutch interests in the Pacific for some time. The US already has a defensive plan prepared for such possibilities, so the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) files the warning without acting on it.
Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill cables Roosevelt thanking him for the decision to release half a dozen small aircraft carriers to the Royal Navy. "All this will be most helpful."
Anglo/Irish Relations: At the morning War Cabinet meeting - usually held in the evening, but assembled due to the naval battle occurring at the time involving the Bismarck - Churchill gives his thoughts about conscription in Northern Ireland. Irish leader Eamon De Valera has warned against conscription as having a negative effect on public opinion. Churchill opines that a statement should be issued that states in part:
His Majesty's Government had now come to the conclusion that, although there could be no dispute about our rights, or about the merits, it would be more trouble than it was worth to apply conscription to Northern Ireland.
The War Cabinet, of course, agrees with this very grudging concession, as it does with virtually everything that Churchill proposes throughout the war. This is exactly what he tells the House.
British Military: Winston Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which urges expansion of the British paratrooper force "on the German model" based on its success on Crete. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Churchill is paying the Fallschirmjäger a huge compliment. This is somewhat ironic considering the opposite conclusions about Operation Mercury that the German leadership are drawing at this time.
The War Cabinet's "Tank Parliament" meets, and it agrees that tank production must be greatly expanded.
The War Office issues a secret memo barring Fascists and Communists from serving in the Home Guard. All such members currently serving are to be cashiered forthwith.
The front page of the Syracuse Herald-Journal, 27 May 1941.
US Military: The garrison at San Francisco, California test-fires the 12-inch coastal artillery in the evening, a spectacle seen throughout the city.
Albania: The Albanian who recently attempted to assassinate the king of Italy and the prime minister of Albania, Vasil Laçi, 19, is executed.
China: The Japanese North China Front Army defeats the Chinese 1st War Area in the Battle of South Shanxi. This is one of the worst land defeats for the Chinese forces of the entire war and is largely due to refusal of the Communist 8th Route Army to rescue trapped Nationalist (Kuomintang) forces. The Nationalists are wiped out despite having an almost 2:1 advance in troop strength.
British Homefront: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast to the nation. He states that Britain is heading into a "long, stern, scowling valley of war, to victory."
American Homefront: In a long, rambling radio address broadcast (fireside chat) from the White House, President Roosevelt proclaims a state of unlimited national emergency. He re-uses his famous phrase from 1933, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Roosevelt lists the things the United States has done to support the British war effort, announces new policies which include a decision to:
actively resist wherever necessary, and with all our resources, every attempt by Hitler to extend his ... domination to the Western Hemisphere.
He then casts the confrontation as:
divided between human slavery and human freedom—between pagan brutality and the Christian ideal. We choose human freedom—which is the Christian ideal.
There is no mention in the speech of actually declaring war, or how the US actions he lists would relate to the proper role of neutrals. It is as close to a declaration of war, and the obvious significance of the speech is that the United States is going to do everything possible to fight German without actually firing weapons.
USS St. Augustine off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 27 May 1941 (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives).
