Wednesday 13 August 1941

Wellington X9764/AA:V of RAF No. 75 Squadron, shot down by a night fighter over the Zuider Zee in the early hours of 13 August 1941. The pilot nurses the plane back to England and crash-lands it here, in Thetford forest. The plane is repaired and returned to service (IWM CH3366).

Eastern Front: OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder on 13 August 1941 has a conference with Chief of Staff for Army Group South at Uman and the army generals under Field Marshal von Rundstedt's command. Afterward, Halder writes:

The consensus is that the projected missions can be carried out. At present we have no clear plans yet for solving the Kiev problem and for swiftly occupying the Crimea.

Considering that the capture of Kyiv and the Crimea, in fact, are the two primary missions of the Army Group, not having a plan for achieving these objectives is not overly reassuring for the Army Group's prospects.

Halder also sets down his impression of Hitler's most recent Fuhrer Directive, "Supplement to Directive 34." Halder writes:

Attack on Moscow by Army Group Center is approved, but approval is made conditional on so many factors... that the freedom of action which we need for the execution of the plan is severely restricted.

Note that Halder says the army does not have the full freedom of action "which we need." Not want, need. Already, doubt is creeping into the high command as to whether Moscow will or even can be captured.

Dnieper crossing near Strešyn on 13 August 1941.

In the Far North sector, The Finns continue making slow progress around Lake Ladoga. However, the advance toward the Murmansk railway at Loukhi has slowed to a crawl as the Soviets bring in reinforcements by rail - a luxury the Finns do not have.

In the Army Group North sector, there are fierce battles at Luga, where Panzer Group 4 is attempting to blast out of a bridgehead, and Staraya Russa, where the Germans are pulling back. In effect, for the moment the German offensive has run tight and the Soviets are giving as good as they get.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets continue beating against the exposed German Yelnya bridgehead. General Guderian refuses a request for a pullback there. At Krichev, XXIV Corps (General of Panzer Troops Geyr von Schweppenburg) subdues a pocket of Soviet troops and takes 16,000 prisoners, 76 guns, and 15 tanks.

In the Army Group South sector, leader Ion Antonescu orders the Romanian 4th Army to stop its offensive at Odessa. He orders the generals to build up a position along the Khadzhibey Estuary to the northwest of the city before proceeding further. The halt doesn't really affect the battle because the Soviet troops in Odesa are under orders to stay put anyway - and anyone who disobeys a Red Army order to hold their position usually winds up wishing they had regardless of what would have happened to them in the position.

German 11th Army captures Cherson (Kherson), a key crossing over the Dneipr. While still over a hundred miles from the Crimea, Cherson controls the main line of communications to it. Soviet destroyers and gunboats are used in the defense.

European Air Operations: Activity is light today on the Channel front following the maximum effort of RAF Bomber Command during the night of 12/13 August. The British took unacceptable casualties overnight for a sustained bombing offensive regardless of the damaged caused to Cologne and the other targets. However, the RAF is gearing up for another major effort on the 14th and has plenty of bombers at its disposal.

The Luftwaffe Attacks the northeast British coast at Sunderland, Alnmouth and Horden Colliery. The raids kill four people at Sunderland and two dead at Horden Colliery Yard, with others injured.

"Australian troops occupy a frontline position at Tobruk, 13 August 1941. Between April and December 1941 the Tobruk garrison, comprising Australian, Polish, Indian and British troops, was besieged by Rommel's forces. It fell to the Germans after the battle of Gazala on 21 June 1942 but was recaptured five months later." © IWM (E 4792).

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper Tralshik hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Finland.

Estonian submarines Kalev and Lembit lay mines off Cape Ushava.

The German 2nd S-Boat Flotilla lays minefield Mona I, composed of 18 TMB mines in the south entrance to Moon Sound.

The German 5th M-Boat Flotilla lays minefields Pinnass V and Pinnass VI with 28 mines at Cape Domesnas.

Soviet torpedo boat U-2 Proletariy Ukrainy is lost of unknown causes today.

Battle of the Atlantic: German E-boats sink Soviet minesweeper No. 41 in the Gulf of Finland north of Tallinn, Estonia. Another Soviet minesweeper, No. 89, also is lost today.

Faroes 158-ton fishing ship Sjoborg hits a mine and sinks east of the southern Faroes. This is the second ship sunk in this restricted area recently, and the mines are "friendly" mines.

Soviet submarine K-2 attacks some German ships off Tanafjord, Norway, but misses.

Free French submarine Rubis claims to attack and sink a ship off Norway, but there is no confirmation.

Convoy OG-71 departs from Liverpool bound for Lisbon, Convoy OS-3 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMS Rysa (Lt. John H. CooperThat ) is commissioned.

Canada orders minesweepers HMCS Llewellyn and Lloyd George.

"Australian troops man front-line trenches in the Tobruk perimeter, 13 August 1941." © IWM (E 4791).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British continue replacing worn-out Australian troops with Polish soldiers at Tobruk. This is done at night throughout the week with the usual fast nightly supply runs.

Royal Navy 1267-ton schooner Kephallinia makes a supply run from Alexandria to Tobruk, but sinks for unexplained reasons not far from Alexandria. HMS Hero is nearby and picks up survivors.

According to some sources, landing craft tank HMS LCT-14 hits a mine and sinks today. According to other sources, it sinks on the 12th. Whichever day it is, LCT 15 sinks near Tobruk.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Neptune, minelaying cruiser Abdiel, and destroyer Jackal take troops to the island.

An Italian departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. The convoy is composed of five freighters escorted by five destroyers and a torpedo boat.

The Luftwaffe attacks Alexandria during the night.

At Malta, a Maryland sent to drop propaganda leaflets on Tunisia is shot down.

Muir Glacier, Alaska's Glacier Bay on 13 August 1941 (National Snow and Ice Data Center, W. O. Field, B. F. Molnia).

Battle of the Black Sea: The 1st Marine Rifle Regiment makes an attack at Grigorevka, Ukraine. Soviet destroyers Shaumyan and Nezamozhink and gunboat Krasny Adzharistan support the attack. Coastal defense batteries No. 412 and 726 also support the attack.

Soviet destroyers Shaumyan, Nezamozhnik, Frunze, and Dzerzhinski support the defense of Odesa by firing at Romanian positions today and throughout the week. Soviet river gunboat Akhiti sinks today from unknown causes.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet freighter Polina Osipenko in the Black Sea.

POWs: Captains A.L.C. Dufour and J.G. Imit of the Royal Netherlands Indies Army and E.H. Larive and F. Steinmetz of the Royal Netherlands Navy escape from Colditz POW camp through a manhole. The first two are recaptured and returned to Colditz, the second two make it to Switzerland.

US/Australian Relations: The goodwill tour of US heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) continues, as they arrive today at Rabaul, New Britain.

"Construction of the open sheds area of Camp Polk, Louisiana on 13 August 1941" (The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum).

German Military: There is some disagreement regarding the date of the first powered flight of the Messerschmitt Me 163 VI Komet. Some accounts state that it takes place today at Karlshagen, Peenemunde and reaches a speed of 497 mph (800 km/h) at the hands of Heini Dittmar. Other dates vary wildly, from about a week earlier to some time in 1942. Today seems to be the most generally accepted date.

Australian Military: The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) is raised.

Canadian Military: The Canadian government authorizes the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC).

US Government: Due to the growing war emergency, President Roosevelt signs an executive order suspending the 8-hour workday for certain skilled trades such as mechanics and laborers who are working for the War Department. These men are building infrastructure for the military such as airfields and barracks which has a high priority.

A soldier of the 9th Australian Division giving a drink of water to a donkey foal in Tobruk during the final months of the city's siege, Libya, 13 August 1941.

China: The Japanese bomb Chungking for the seventh day in a row, a total of 40 separate air raids. The city's air defenses have been worn down from ceaseless combat, and the Japanese now have total control of the skies over the Nationalist capital.

Holocaust: Ostland Reichkommissar Hinrich Lohse orders Jews to turn in all property to have it registered and confiscated, including money and other valuables such as rings and watches.

At Raseiniai, Einsatzcommando 3 executes 294 Jewish women and three Jewish children.

French Homefront: Apparently in response to Premier Petain's somewhat authoritarian speech on the evening of the 12th, communist protesters riot in Paris. The French and German authorities make many arrests.

Henry Ford (right, in straw hat) with his soybean car, circa 13 August 1941.

American Homefront: Henry Ford's prototype soybean car, supposedly designed in part by George Washington Carver, is introduced to the public at a community festival in Dearborn, Michigan. The car has a tubular steel frame to which are attached 14 plastic panels that are extremely thin. Ford claims that they are made at least in large part from biodegradable materials such as soybeans and hemp. The project is a personal project of Henry Ford, who hopes to integrate agriculture and industry.

Much mystery surrounds this soybean car (which does not survive because Ford had it destroyed almost immediately after showing it), and at least some scientists today think that the whole "soybean" angle was a scam and, in fact, the car was made of simple plastic - itself revolutionary for the time. In fact, some license plates are made of soybean products during the war, and the drivers learn that farm animals find them quite tasty.

Warner Bros. releases "International Squadron," directed by Lewis Seiler and Lothar Mendes and starring Ronald Reagan and Olympia Bradna. As is often the case during this period, Reagan plays the friend of someone (James Stephenson) who inspires the Reagan character into action. Reagan's character ultimately winds up in the RAF's Eagle Squadron and ultimately becomes a big hero. The film is notable for including actual aerial combat footage shot by Warners' Teddington studios technicians during the Battle of Britain and shipped over the United States. However, the close-up shots of "RAF" aircraft show a motley group of contemporary civilian aircraft dressed up as fighters.

It is Ladies Day at Dodgers Stadium in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Running against convention for sports events, General Manager Larry MacPhail stages a fashion show for the ladies.

Muir Inlet, Alaska on 13 August 1941 (United States Geological Survey (USGS)).

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Tuesday 3 June 1941

Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima Meets Hitler at the opening of the Japanese art exhibition in Berlin in 1939.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: Now that the situation in Iraq has stabilized on 3 June 1941, the British turn their full attention to Syria. The Vichy French hold on Syria only has become an issue because of the French decision to allow its use to the Axis as a transport hub to Iraq, but even though that is no longer an issue, the ball is rolling toward a British invasion. Today, the RAF bombs and strafes oil installations in Beirut, French Lebanon.

The Vichy French government states that it will defend both Syria and Tunisia against the British.

The British begin stockpiling landing craft and equipment in Port Said for Operation Exporter, the invasion of Syria. Royal Navy troopship Glengyle heads there from Alexandria, while two destroyers (HMS Hotspur and Ilex) leave Alexandria for Famagusta, Cyprus to embark commandos for transfer to Glengyle for upcoming Exporter.

In Iraq, the British continue mopping up. Gurkha troops (2/4 Gurkha Rifles) fly into Mosul and occupy it. Baghdad settles down after the two-day Farhud of 1-2 June, with the British and local police enforcing a strict curfew. The hundreds of dead are being buried.

The Maori Battalion performing the Haka for the King of Greece at Helwan, Egypt during June 1941. This is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. The Maori Battalion are hard fighters, leading German General Erwin Rommel to comment, “Give me the Maori Battalion and I will conquer the world.”

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe attacks Hull and Tweedmouth before dawn. A lone raider bombs and strafes the village of Boulmer. There are strafing attacks across northern England.

A private British de Havilland Dragon aircraft unwisely is taken up for private use for a flight between St. Mary's on the Isles of Scillies to Penzance. Unfortunately for the people on the Dragon, a passing German Heinkel He 111 bomber (I./KG 28) on its way back from bombing England spots it. The Heinkel shoots down the Dragon, killing all six aboard, including two girls aged 9 and 11. Pilot Captain W.D. Anderson DFC (Australian) and the entire Leggitt family is killed, including the mother of Mrs. Leggitt. Mrs. Sheelagh Leggitt was the Secretary to Sir Walter Monckton, Director-General of the Ministry of Information. A group of six Hawker Hurricanes of RAF No. 87 Squadron was withdrawn from the island only days before.

East African Campaign: A fierce battle on the approaches to Gondar, a key Italian stronghold in Abyssinia, develops. The British take Debarech, but then the Italians take it back. The town seesaws back and forth, but ultimately the British wind up with it. It is about 100 miles west of Amba Alagi, which fell in May, and the fierce battle shows that the Italians are going to put up a fierce battle for their remaining bastions in East Africa.

"View of Fleet Tender C, off Lincolnshire Coast." This photograph is from early October 1941 taken from a passing destroyer, HMS Whaddon, while escorting a convoy. You can see how the liner Mamari was disguised to look like an aircraft carrier. © IWM (A 5915).

Battle of the Atlantic: In order to prevent more German surface raiders from emerging like the Bismarck, and also to crimp the U-boat offensive, the Royal Navy has made it a priority to hunt down the Kriegsmarine's overseas supply network of disguised oil tankers and freighters. The Germans have nine such supply ships cruising the Atlantic in support of the abortive German Operation Rheinübung. Today, cruisers HMS Aurora and Kenya spot 6367-ton German tanker Belchen about 80 miles southwest of Greenland. The cruisers badly damage the German ship, and the Belcher's crew scuttles it. U-boat U-93 (Kptlt. Claus Korth), which the Belcher was in the process of refueling, stays nearby and rescues about 50 men after the British leave.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol out of Lorient, is operating in the mid-Atlantic west of Brest (650 miles north of the Azores). It is shadowing Convoy OB-327, which recently has dispersed. At 01:01, U-48 torpedoes and damages 9456-ton British tanker Inversuir. Schultze gets impatient and fires a second torpedo at 01:11, then surfaces and uses his deck gun. Some accounts claim that U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), also involved in attacks at the same location, actually sinks the Inversuir with a coup de grace torpedo at 03:59. The entire crew survives.

U-75, operating with U-48 in the mid-Atlantic east of Brest and on its second patrol out of Lorient near U-48, torpedoes and sinks 4801-ton Dutch freighter Eibergen. There are four deaths, and 35 survivors are picked up by anti-aircraft vessel HMS Cairo on the 7th.

SS Prince Rupert City, sunk on or about 3 June 1941 by the Luftwaffe.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4749-ton British tramp steamer Prince Rupert City in the mid-Atlantic. Some sources place this sinking on 2 June. There are 4 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2187-ton British freighter Royal Fusilier in the English Channel east of High Buston. The ship sinks about four miles from May Island. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1600-ton British freighter Dennis Rose about 50 miles southwest of Start Point. The Dennis Rose makes it to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages Royal Navy minesweeper Franklin as it is laying mines in the North Sea. The damage is not serious and Franklin continues with its mission.

Royal Navy decoy shop Fleet Tender C (formerly the Mamari aka liner Zealandic), disguised as aircraft carrier Hermes, hits a sunken wreck (tanker Ahamo, sunk by a mine on 8 April) southeast of Grimsby. It cannot get unstuck, and during the night, German S-boats attack. The Mamari is a write-off, but the entire crew survives. The half-sunken ship becomes a prominent "landmark" off the coast for years.

A Royal Navy stores ship, City of Dieppe, arrives in St. John's to join the fledgling Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF). The NEF's first convoy operation already is at sea, having sailed on 2 June, but there are very few support facilities in St. John's for the large and growing force. The British and Canadians are making plans to bring more ships and construct shore infrastructure to support the fleet.

Royal Navy battleship Rodney, fresh off the victory over the Bismarck, heads from the Clyde to Boston, the US to refit.

Submarine P.32, damaged on its journey by the Bay of Biscay by air attack, limps into Gibraltar.

Convoy WS 9A (Winston Special) departs from Liverpool en route to Freetown, Capetown, Durban, Aden, and Suez.

The Inversuir, sunk today in the North Atlantic.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Parthian torpedoes and badly damages 5232-ton Italian tanker Strombo in Salamis Bay. The Strombo's master manages to beach the ship, but it is a write-off.

Royal Navy submarine Unique torpedoes 736-ton Italian freighter Arsia off Lampedusa. The Arsia manages to make it to Trapani, Sicily.

Royal Navy submarine Torbay uses its deck gun to sink a caique carrying oil drum off Mitylene.

Royal Navy motor torpedo boat MTB 215 sinks Turkish schooner Iki Kardeshler a few miles off Anamur, Turkey (north of Cyprus). This is a violation of Turkish neutrality, the Royal Navy explains this by arguing that it thought the ship was involved in covert operations ("false orders").

The Luftwaffe damages a Royal Navy service ship, the KLO, during an air raid on Mersa Matruh. The ship's master and one other man are killed (the other man, Lt. Pullman, dies of his wounds on 2 July).

A large Italian force that includes light cruisers Atttendolo, Duca D'Aosta, and Eugenio D'Savoia of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, and light cruisers Bande Nere and Di Guissano of the 4th cruiser squadron, lays two minefields northeast of Tripoli. This is an area where Royal Navy submarines like to lie in wait for Axis convoys coming and going from Tripoli.

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

On Malta, RAF Martin Maryland and Blenheim bombers of No. 89 and 139 Squadrons on patrol claim to attack a convoy off Tunisia and sink a freighter while setting fire to another. The sunk ships apparently are the Italian freighters Montello and Beatrice C.. The RAF loses a Blenheim during the patrol, hit by flying debris as the first ship hit explodes.

There is one minor bombing raid on Malta by the Luftwaffe which causes no damage, while the RAF claims a victory over an Italian tri-motor transport west of Malta.

Invasion fears are rampant in Malta. The British troops garrison Gozo, normally uninhabited, and practice fighting paratroopers. The War Office issues an alert to expect an invasion within a week by a force of 6000 Axis troops based on spy sources.

A German sign at the site of Kandanos (one of two, with separate wording) which reads: “Kandanos was destroyed in retaliation for the savage ambush murder of a paratrooper platoon and a half-platoon of military engineers by armed men and women.” (Segers, German Federal Archive, Bild 101I-779-0003-22)

War Crimes: Following on atrocities committed at Kondomari and Alikianos, Crete on 2 June, the German 1III Battalion of the 1st Air Landing Assault Regiment (most probably led by Oberleutnant Horst Trebes) storms into the village of Kandanos. Acting pursuant to standing orders of temporary island commandant General Kurt Student, the Germans destroy the town. This is in retaliation for civilian resistance during Operation Mercury. The German troops execute most of the population, about 180 people, and kill the livestock.

The Germans declare Kandanos a "dead zone" which nobody can visit or inhabit. The Germans post two warnings in both German and Greek, one of which reads: "Here stood Kandanos, destroyed in retribution for the murder of 25 German soldiers, never to be rebuilt again." A war memorial using this exact language will be built after the war at the site of the village.

The Germans also attack the villages of Floria and Kakopetro.

Spy Stuff: German Ambassador Graf von Schulenburg is strongly opposed to Operation Barbarossa. He violates his duty by telling the head of Soviet International Affairs that Adolf Hitler had decided to begin a war with the Soviet Union on June 22. The Soviets treat this as proof that the Germans are engaging in a disinformation campaign and that there will not be any invasion.

German/Japanese Relations: Adolf Hitler meets with Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Ōshima at the Berghof. He informs Ōshima of the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. There are some hopes within the German high command that Japan will join Germany in attacking the Soviet Union.

Repair ship USS Prometheus (AR-3) laid up at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, while being reconditioned for a return to active service after lying "in mothballs" since 1924, 3 June 1941 (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives).

German/Finnish Relations: Following up on preliminary negotiations held in Salzburg on 25 May 1941, German members of the OKW arrive in Helsinki to discuss upcoming operations.  President Ryti, Foreign Minister Witting, Defence Minister Walden, Field Marshal Mannerheim, and Lt Gen Heinrichs agree to military cooperation, but not to Finnish initiation of hostilities. 

Specifically, agreements are negotiated regarding Finnish use of its army and air force against the Soviet Union in certain circumstances, both of which the Germans consider top quality. Tentative plans are formed for the Germans to occupy northern Finland and use that as a springboard to invade the Soviet Union in the far north and take the Soviet port of Murmansk. The Finns are not doing the Germans any favors - they want assistance to recover their historic territory lost during the Winter War.

The Finns remain wary about granting the Germans a "blank check." Heinrichs even warns them that any attempt to mount a coup in Finland and install a puppet government favorable to Germany would be met with absolute resistance. However, overall the talks are cordial and the Finns begin preparations for some kind of military activity. Based on the agreements reached at this meeting, Luftwaffe transport planes carrying service personnel begin arriving at Finnish airfields.

While the Germans are coy about the likelihood of Operation Barbarossa, it is hard to believe that the Finns can't figure out that the Germans intend to invade the Soviet Union, and soon. 

These meetings last until 6 June.

German/Vichy France Relations: Premier Petain, supported by his Council of Ministers, refuse to ratify Vice Premier Admiral Darlan's recently negotiated Paris Protocols. However, they have gone into effect anyway.

"HMS SUFFOLK's Supermarine Walrus amphibian taxi-ing back to the ship after a flight over the Arctic ice. Ice can be seen in the background." June 1941 on Arctic patrol in the Denmark Strait. © IWM (A 4185).

US Military: Due to a shortage of pilots, the US Army has decided that it needs to train enlisted men as pilots. There have long been enlisted pilots in the Army (the Air Corps Act of 1926 authorized their training, but trained pilots have served beginning in 1912), but the educational requirements are stiff and few enlisted men can meet them to get trained. To meet that need, Public Law 99 goes into effect today. For the first time, it authorizes the US Army Air Corps (and its successors) to take men without a college education. With the introduction of Sergeant pilots, the average age of pilots goes down to between 18 and 22. Enlisted pilot candidates will train six days a week in class or in the air and spend Sundays doing drills.

British Government: A memorandum drafted by Clement Attlee which provides that "A necessary prelude to a just peace is a total victory" is approved at a Labour Party conference by 2,430,000 to 19,000.

China: The new Nakajima Ki-43 Type 1 Fighter ‘Hayabusa’ (Allied codename "Oscar") is allocated to the Japanese 59th Sentai at Hankou. The unit begins transferring them from Japan. The Ki-43, however, turns out to have wing problems that requires repair.

Aerial view of the construction progress of Camp Polk, Louisiana on 3 June 1941.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Friday 28 February 1941

"Canadian sergeant aircrew, trained under the Empire Air Training Scheme, arriving at Gourock in Scotland for service with the RAF, 28 February 1941." © IWM (G. Woodbine, CH 2174).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek Epirus Army launches some minor attacks on 28 February 1941 against the Italian 11th Army west of Klisura. They accomplish little in the terrible weather.

While the front has become static recently, there are vicious artillery duels and air battles. The RAF shoots down four planes today (according to Italian records), including three CR 42 fighters (the RAF pilots claim 27 planes shot down). According to the RAF records, this is its most successful day during the Greek campaign - but, according to the Italian records, it is not nearly as successful as the British think. These are the kinds of contradictions historians must deal with.

The British War Cabinet picks General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson from the Middle East Command to lead the expedition destined for Greece.

Gloster Gladiator Mk. II,  RT- Z,  N5829, of RAF No. 112 Squadron, Himare, Greece, 28 February 1941. Pilot Officer William "Cherry" Vale, of 80 Sqdn., claimed an Italian G50 and a S.79 in this plane on this date.

East African Campaign: The RAF sends Blenheim and Wellesley bombers against Asmara in Eritrea.

The British remain blocked at Keren in Abyssinia. However, British forces are expanding on each flank. Attacks are in progress by Briggsforce (primarily 7th Indian Brigade under Brigadier Briggs) at Mescelit Pass about 24 km northeast of Keren. The attacks are carried out in the evening by 4/16 Punjab and two companies of 1st Royal Sussex. The attack is both a frontal and flank attack.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends another 23 Hampden bombers (based at RAF Waddington) to bomb German battleship Tirpitz at Wilhelmshaven. The weather is poor, with low clouds. Only four of the bombers even spot the target. As usual, the Tirpitz emerges unscathed. It is the 16th raid so far against the Tirpitz, with absolutely no success and many British bomber losses. The RAF also launches other attacks against facilities at several Channel ports (Lorient, Boulogne, Emden).

The Luftwaffe is fairly quiet both during the day and after dark. There is a small raid against London during the night.

While the Battle of Britain technically is over, the Blitz continues. During February 1941 in Great Britain, there are 78 dead and 1068 badly wounded civilians. So far in 1941, through the end of February, there have been 2298 killed and 3080 wounded.

HMS Jaguar in action.

Battle of the Atlantic: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (and former First Lord of the Admiralty) writes a note to President Roosevelt's envoy Harry Hopkins thanking him for some weapons and ammunition that have arrived thanks to Hopkins' intercession. In the message, Churchill writes that he is:

increasingly anxious about high rate of shipping losses in North-Western Approaches and shrinkage in tonnage entering Britain. This has darkened since I last saw you.... The strain is growing here.

Churchill apparently is referencing the recent devastations of Convoys OB 29 and OB 290. Convoy losses indeed are up this month (see below).

Churchill evidences his concern with a separate memo to First Lord Admiral Pound and Minister of Transport A.V. Alexander. Referencing a specific ship, the City of Calcutta, Churchill writes:

This ship must on no account be sent to the East coast. It contains 1,700 machine guns, 44 aeroplane engines, and no fewer than 14,100,000 cartridges. These cartridges are absolutely vital to the defence of Great Britain.... That it should be proposed to send such a ship round to the East coast with all the additional risk,  is abominable.

Previously, Churchill has chided the Admiralty for not taking more care of specific ships with valuable cargo. This memo shows that he continues to keep a very close eye on important shipments.

German heavy cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are east of the Azores. They complete their refueling from tankers Ermland and Friedrich Breme at 07:00. Their objective is to interdict the convoy route between Freetown and Great Britain. The next objective is in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands.

British 10,000-ton liner Anchises, badly damaged during Luftwaffe air attacks by I,/KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors on the 27th, begins taking on too much water at around 11:30. This causes the 33 crew still aboard to abandon ship. Corvette HMS Kingcup comes over to take them aboard, and one of the lifeboats is sucked under the Kingcup, killing a dozen crew. The Anchises remains afloat until the afternoon when the Condors return and send the ship under.

U-47 (Kptlt. Günther Prien) surfaces and uses its deck gun to sink 4233-ton British freighter Holmelea in the Northwest Approaches. There are 28 deaths, while 11 crew survive. This is an especially interesting sinking because Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer originally attacked the Holmelea, but did not succeed. Captain John Robert Potts, however, was not fortunate enough to survive attacks by two of the most dreaded U-boat captains. He perishes with most of his crew.

U-108 (K.Kapt. Klaus Scholtz), on its first patrol out of Wilhelmshaven, gets its second victim. It torpedoes and sinks 6461-ton British freighter Effna. This is another ship of many around this period of time in which all of the crew perish.

Italian submarine Michele Bianchi torpedoes and sinks 6803-ton British freighter Baltistan from Convoy OB 290 in the Atlantic south of Iceland. There are 51 deaths and 18 survivors. Different sources place this sinking on different days around this date.

British 534-ton freighter Cabenda hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel west of Cardiff. This has been an area of multiple sinkings already in 1941. There is one death.

In a special tragedy among many others, 2085-ton Egyptian freighter Memphis founders in heavy weather northwest of Ireland. Everybody on board perishes another such ship during these cold winter months (it is not the Germans who kill all of these people, except indirectly; it is the climate and weather). The deaths include 28 crew pulled out of the water after the recent sinking of the 7034 ton Benjamin Franklin.

German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors finish off damaged 3197-ton Swedish freighter Rydboholm. The Rydboholm is one of the last Convoy OB 290 victims.

Drifter New Comet, originally damaged by a mine and beached at the mouth of the Tyne on 23 November 1940, was refloated but today finally sinks.

Finnish cargo ship Bore VIII (now in German service) founders and is lost bad weather in the Hubertgat.

Belgian 5382-ton freighter/passenger ship Persier has been driven ashore on the Icelandic coast after losing a hatch and its steering and electrical systems in a bad storm. Aground east of Vik in Myrdalur, she survives and is refloated in April. Persier ultimately is repaired and returned to service.

Convoy OB 292 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC 24 departs from Halifax.

Mackenzie King (with Ottawa Mayor Lewis and contractor John Wilson) uses a silver trowel to lay the cornerstone of the Lord Elgin Hotel on 27 February 1941 (Photo in the Ottawa Journal, 28 February 1941). King kept the trowel to put on display. Incidentally, there is a time capsule ("hermetically sealed") in that cornerstone. The hotel will open in July 1941, will be refurbished in the 2000s, and remains operational.

Several Royal Navy ships are commissioned today:

• Destroyers HMS Eridge (Lt. Commander William F. N. Gregory-Smith), Whaddon (Lt. Commander Peter G. Merriman) and Liddesdale, 
• corvette Marigold (Lt. William S. MacDonald) 
• minesweeper HMAS Gouldburn (Lt. Basil Paul)  
• destroyer depot ship HMS Tyne (Captain George A. Scott). 

Destroyer HMS Brissenden and corvette HMS Woodruff are launched, corvette HMCS Kitchener laid down at Sorel, Province of Quebec.

U-129 is launched.

Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton becomes the new Rear Admiral Destroyers, Home Fleet. He will place his flag on depot ship HMS Tyne.

Allied shipping losses remained at a high level during February 1941. The losses totaled:

• 95 ships of 368,759 tons in the Atlantic
• 34,634 tons in other areas (Mediterranean, Indian Ocean)

In the Atlantic, the Allies lose:

• 196,783 tons of shipping to U-boats
• 89,305 tons to aircraft
• 89,096 tons to surface raider
• 16,507 tons to mines

The U-boat sinkings jump over 50% from January's 126,782 tons, while those sunk by the Luftwaffe and by surface raider also both rise a more modest 10+%. The bulk of the increase of U-boat sinkings is from two convoys late in the month, OB 289 and OB 290.

The U-boat fleet remained intact, with no losses. There are 22 U-boats available in the Atlantic, plus many Italian submarines (1 lost during February).

Shipping losses are of extreme importance to Churchill, and he analyzes them closely. He notes in another memo to Pound and Alexander today that the risk of loss during inward voyages in the Northwest Approaches is over double those of outward voyages (a ratio of 5:2). He also notes that there appears to be no difference in losses between those in convoy and faster ships operating independently. He questions a proposal to lower the speed limit of the independents, presumably to save fuel.

Railroad turnout to Camp Polk, Louisiana on 28 February 1941 (National WWII Museum).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Free French forces have been besieging the Italian fortress of El Tag at Kufra Oasis for ten days. No relief has been forthcoming from the large Italian forces further north. Today, the Italians begin surrender negotiations.

The last British commandos surrender on Kastelorizo. This ends Operation Abstention, which has turned into a fiasco. A total of 40 commandos are taken as prisoners. Destroyer HMS Jaguar and the other Royal Navy ships retreat to their bases, having suffered a stunning defeat in what was considered an easy operation in the Aegean. Churchill later comments, "I am completely mystified at this operation." The ultimate cause of defeat is the British tendency to underestimate Italian military ability. This is also going to become an issue in North Africa.

Another ship hits a mine in the Suez Canal, but quick thinking mitigates the effect. The skipper of motor anti-submarine boat MA/SB 3 manages to beach his ship to prevent the closure of the canal. There are no casualties. The ship will be refloated and repaired.

After many days of raids, Malta has a quiet day. The damage from the Luftwaffe attacks after dark on the 27th, however, is extensive. Particularly devastating has been damage from parachute mines. Almost all of the planes at RAF Hal Far airfield are destroyed or out of operation, leaving no effective air defense for the island.

Spy Stuff: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin has been receiving isolated warnings about a coming German invasion of the Soviet Union. He has discounted all of them, including one at the end of 1940 by Richard Sorge (code name Ramsay) in Japan. Today, he receives another warning.

This warning is from Soviet agent Rudolf von Scheliha (code name Ariets). Von Scheliha is a German diplomat who became radicalized by the horrors he witnessed while serving with the German Embassy in Warsaw. He is a leading member of the "Red Orchestra," a group of highly placed German dissidents who funnel military information to the Soviets via Switzerland.

Von Scheliha/Ariets warns about an upcoming invasion. He even supplies a firm date for the invasion, 20 May 1941, which is only a month off (this actually is around the 15 May 1941 date that Hitler has ordained at this time, though it later will be postponed). Stalin ignores this warning, too, viewing it as "English provocation." This is all reviewed in-depth in various scholarly books, particularly (all 2005) David E. Murphy, "What Stalin Knew" (Yale University Press); Constantine Pleshakov, "Stalin's Folly" (Houghton Mifflin Company); and Robert Service, "Stalin: A Biography" (The Belknap Press/Harvard University Press).

German/Bulgarian Relations: During the night, Wehrmacht troops of the 12th Army under the command of Wilhelm List take up positions in Bulgaria.

German/Japanese Relations: Japanese Ambassador Oshima meets with Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden.

German Military: General Erich von Manstein moves from XXXVIII Armeekorps to take command of LVI Armeekorps after this date (some sources place this transfer on other dates, such as 27 February 1941 and 15 March 1941).

US Government: The US Army Air Corps (USAAC) impounds ten NA-69 light attack aircraft ordered by Thailand. These will be redesignated A-27 (serials 41-18890/18899) and be assigned as trainers to the 24th Pursuit Group at Nichols Field in the Philippines.

Alfonso XIII.

Spanish Government: Former King Alfonso XIII passes away in Rome at age 54 barely a month after renouncing his rights to the defunct Spanish throne. This leaves his son Juan as the heir apparent and also theoretically heir to the thrones of France and Navarre.

US Government: The US government ships the last gold reserves from New York City to Fort Knox, Kentucky. Fort Knox is the center of US armored forces and home to the 1st Armored Division.

Iraq: Rashid Ali confers with the Grand Mufti and four colonels (known as the "Golden Square"). They discuss a coup against the pro-British government. Rashid Ali and the Grand Mufti are pro-Axis. The British have a large base at Habbaniyah but are vulnerable in other parts of the country.

Li'l Abner,  Al Capp (this is personally signed), featuring Moonbeam and Moonshine McSwine, published 28 February 1941.

Indochina: The Vichy French cabinet accepts Japan's proposed settlement of the border war between French Indochina and Thailand. The Thais get all of their territorial aims, including all land west of the Mekong River and part of northwest Cambodia. There is no question that Japan has favored Thailand in the settlement.

Vichy French Homefront: The government reduces the bread ration from 12 to 10 ounces (350g to 280 grams). By comparison, residents of Jewish Ghettos often are allocated 3 grams.

British Homefront: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London, gives his unique view into the conditions in London during the Blitz. He writes:

New Black-out features keep directing attention to themselves. There are plays and revues and films running, but the performances are confined to the day. You cannot take a stroll either before or after dinner, because the black-out renders it utterly impossible if there is the least cloud (as there has been since I arrived). At each doorway you see a little bag of sand for the proper treatment of incendiary bombs.

He also notes a certain fatalism in London residents, along the lines of "I stay in bed. If the bomb's meant for me it'll hit me; if it isn't, OK." Menzies claims to feel the same way, though he is secure on a lower floor of the well-built Savoy.

Greek Evzones (soldiers) participating in the Greek Day parade in Sydney, Australia, 28 February 1941 (State Library of Victoria [an016346]).

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Become Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020