February 16, 1942: Operation Neuland Begins

Tuesday 21 January 1941

Troops of the 6th Australian Division going through the barricades at Tobruk on 21 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: While not yet attacking in full force on 21 January 1941, the Italians make some small advances near the Klisura Pass in the central sector of the front. This is the critical area right now, as further advances by Greek II Corps would threaten the Italian hold on their main supply port, Savona. A battle also develops near Berat, with the Greek 51st Infantry Regiment attacking the Italian 22nd Infantry Division ""Cacciatori delle Alpi," or "Hunters of the Alps." The RAF has been raiding key Italian bases in Albania, such as Valona and Elbasan, but activity is light today.

East African Campaign: The British advance from Kenya and Sudan continues. The 5th Indian Infantry Division (General Lewis Heath) advances 50 miles from Kassala on the border into Eritrea. It captures Aicota, which the Italians have abandoned. The Italians are forming a defensive line beyond the town at Keru Gorge, where the 4th Indian Division ("Gazelle Force") is being held up, so Heath attempts to outflank them to the north.

Brigadier William Slim is injured in the fighting and sent behind the lines. The RAF is active throughout the region, raiding Assab and Massawa, while the South African Air Force chips in with raids on Neghelli and Javello.

European Air Operations: Operations are light due to the weather. The Luftwaffe sends some bombers across, but they only reach the outskirts of London. RAF Bomber Command stays in its hangers after dark. Uffz. Gerhard Blum of 1./NJG 2 shoots down a Blenheim bomber before dawn for his first victory.

Greeks advancing near Tepelenë in Albania, winter 1940/41.

Battle of the Atlantic: There are heavy winter storms that cause the activity to be fairly light. One Royal Navy destroyer in the Orkneys, HMS Legion, slips its anchorage in the heavy seas and winds up on the Hoy Boom. It is saved by tugs that take it to a safe anchorage on the leeward side of the island of Cava. Another ship, minesweeper HMS Tedworth, is damaged by the weather in the Clyde, while 291-ton British trawler Merisia is driven onto the rocks in Bulgham Bay, Isle of Man and lost along with a dozen men.

Norwegian 7934-ton freighter Korsfjord also likely is a victim of the weather. It collides with freighter Banda Shahpour about 370 km north of Butt of Lewis and sinks. There are 19 survivors and 2 deaths.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of KG 40) braves the weather and bombs and sinks 4427-ton British freighter Temple Mead in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. There are 14 deaths. with seven perishing in a lifeboat from exposure, and 27 survivors.

The Luftwaffe also attacks and sinks 487-ton British tug Englishman forty miles west of Tory Island, off the north coast of Ireland. All 17 onboard perish.

The Luftwaffe scores another victory by sinking 4427-on British freighter Temple Mead at Southampton. There are 14 deaths.

German 688 ton freighter Brechsee hits a mine and sinks off Malmö, Sweden.

Convoy FN 389 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 104 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 104 departs from Bermuda.

U-763 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass resumes with a fierce attack by General O'Connor's Australian and British troops against Tobruk. The 2/3rd Australian Battalion leads things off at 05:40. They make good progress, and in an hour they clear a path a mile deep and a mile wide through the barbed wire, tank ditch, and other obstacles. The 16th and 19th Australian Brigades follow through, the first heading north, the other south. British 7th Armoured Division helps with the attack. Italian artillery is strong, but the British artillery responds in kind with suppressing fire.

The Italian 10th Army is a little more active in the defense than they were at Bardia earlier in the month. They have dug-in tanks and machine-gun posts at the key Bardia-El Adem crossroads right behind the line. The Australian troops try to bypass them on right and left, but are met by a counterattack on the left which includes seven tanks supported by infantry and artillery. The men on the right have little difficulty, and those on the left eventually break out after they bring up their own tanks. By the end of the day, the Australians have captured Solero and Mannella and are engaged in a fierce firefight at Pilastrino, all well behind the original line. Between a third and half of the supposedly impregnable base is in Allied hands when operations end for the day, though the port of Tobruk itself remains in Italian hands. Italian General Petassi Manella is captured late in the day but refuses to order his troops to surrender.

The RAF helps out throughout the day. The RAF sends Blenheim bombers to attack ground targets while Hurricanes and Gladiators provide cover. Royal Navy gunboats HMS Gnat, Ladybird and Terror along with three destroyers sit offshore and bombard the Italians throughout the day. Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire sinks 63-ton Italian schooner Diego west of Tobruk. The ten on board, undoubtedly fleeing the Australian attack, are taken as prisoners.

The Italians have warships in the harbor, including the beached armored cruiser San Giorgio, which provides effective covering fire until air attacks set it on fire. However, the Italians are hopelessly outmatched on the ground. While they continue fighting into the night, the Italians' situation looks hopeless.

The Chiefs of the General Staff send Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell an outline of his new priorities. Due to the Greek refusal to accept British ground troops, Wavell is to proceed to capture Benghazi, as he has wished to do all along. In addition, the Staff wants him to capture the Dodecanese and also create a strategic reserve that can be sent to assist Greece and/or Turkey if Germany invades one or both.

While General Wavell succeeds in another wildly successful attack, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once again appears to give him short shrift. He chooses today to broadcast a message to the people of Malta:

I send you on behalf of the War Cabinet heartfelt congratulations upon the magnificent and ever memorable defence which your heroic garrison and citizens, assisted by the Navy and above all by the Royal Air Force, are making against the Italian and German attacks. The eyes of all Britain and indeed of the whole British Empire are watching Malta in her struggle day by day, and we are sure that success, as well as glory, will reward your efforts.

Governor Dobbie also broadcasts a somewhat less ostentatious message to the people, noting that "We are living in stirring times." After several furious raids in recent days by Fliegerkorps X, there are no attacks today.

Italian freighter Burma is wrecked, apparently by a storm, at Puerto Santa Maria on the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. The ship is later salvaged for scrap.

The 37th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment has time for a spot of tea as it bombards Tobruk, 21 January 1941.

Prisoners of War: Many Luftwaffe and other prisoners are sent to Canada by the British for permanent housing (many never leave even after the war). Oberleutnant Franz Xaver Baron von Werra, an ace and propaganda hero (known for his pet tiger cub), captured on 5 September 1940, is one of them. Today, at 05:30, he is on a prison train heading from Montreal to the west when he jumps out of a window not far from Smith's Falls, Ontario. He is about 30 miles from the St. Lawrence River, across which is the neutral United States. His plan is to make it across the seaway, continue heading south, and then find a passage back to Occupied France from South America.
US/Soviet Relations: The US lifts its trade embargo on the Soviet Union that it had imposed during the Winter War. The "moral embargo" has run its course.

German Military: Following his now-concluded discussions with Mussolini, during which he prevailed on his fellow director to induce Spain to enter the war, Hitler once again is feeling optimistic about the prospects of bringing Spain into the war on the Axis side. He has the Wehrmacht issue an order stating:

Possible impending changes in political prerequisites render it necessary to amend earlier instructions and to maintain readiness for "[Operation] Felix" in so far as still possible."

As the tone of this order suggests, however, nothing is certain. Everything regarding Operation Felix, the planned attack on the British fortress and naval base at Gibraltar, hinges on Francisco Franco - but he hasn't indicated any change in his opposition to such a decision.

US Military: The US Navy and Marine Corps order 108 Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters to add to the Navy's 11 F2A-1s and 43 F2A-2s. This version is modified for a longer range and to carry two 100 lb (45 kg) bombs. These are the last Brewster Buffaloes ordered by the US military, as Brewster has difficulty keeping to a schedule. However, as happens several times during this period, the military puts in a token order to keep the factories humming while newer and better aircraft are developed. Brewster Buffaloes remain popular overseas, though as yet they have not seen combat anywhere.

A Brewster Buffalo F2A-3. The Buffalo is one of the more controversial fighters of World War II, with many liking it and finding it useful, while others - including the US Navy - quickly viewing it as a death trap.

British Government: Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Robert Boothby submits his resignation to Winston Churchill (who accepts it immediately). The reason is a minor infraction of not declaring a personal interest in a matter relating to his official duties. He will join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and serve with RAF Bomber Command. Boothby is a fascinating character who much later becomes famous for various sexual escapades.

Home Secretary Herbert Morrison bans Communist paper Daily Worker under Defence Regulation 2D for hindering the British war effort.

Japanese Government: Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka delivers a lengthy speech to the Japanese Diet in which he gives a review of the Pacific situation. He emphasizes that, under the terms of the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy (and now other European nations), Japan will lead the establish a "new order in greater East Asia." He gives a preview of Japanese war aims by stating that "It is our avowed purpose to bring all the peoples in greater East Asia to revert to their innate and proper aspect...." He also makes clear that Japan views China, or at least Manchukuo (Mongolia) as "inseparable" with Japan. After reviewing relations with all of the other nations of the Pacific Rim, he finally turns to the United States, complaining that:

The United States has evinced no adequate understanding of the fact that the establishment of a sphere of common prosperity throughout greater East Asia is truly a matter of vital concern to Japan. She apparently entertains an idea that her own first line of national defense lies along the mid-Atlantic to the East, but westward not only along the eastern Pacific-but even as far as China and the South Seas. If the United States assumes such an attitude, it would be, to say the least, a very one-sided contention on her part, to cast reflections on our superiority in the Western Pacific, by suggesting that it betokens ambitious designs. I, for one, believe that such a position assumed on the part of the United States would not be calculated to contribute toward the promotion of world peace.

He concludes by noting that there is "confusion" throughout the world which could result in the "downfall of modern civilization," and notes that it is the "responsibility" of the United States to maintain the peace.

What is particularly notable about this speech is how it attempts to absolve the Japanese military in an advancer for what might come next. Just as Hitler had opined that his own hands were clean once the British rejected his half-hearted attempts at negotiation in July 1940, Matsuoka goes to great pains to pin not only world peace but the survival of world civilization itself on the United States. This anticipatory blame-shifting is a clear harbinger of the coming war - for anyone who notices.

At the secret session, Prime Minister Konoye makes up his mind about something very important: he announces that Germany will win the war.

Jackson Daily News, 21 January 1941.

Romania: The Iron Guard rebellion continues into a second day. The Legionnaires remain in control of the media and many important public facilities such as police stations. Dictator Ion Antonescu remains holed up in his Bucharest palace, trying to coordinate a rescue with army troops based in other parts of the country.

The defining characteristic of the rebellion at this point is a vicious pogrom carried out against the country's Jews, particularly those in two Jewish Bucharest boroughs (Dudeşti and Văcăreşti). One of the several causes of the rebellion was Antonescu's preference to manage relations with Jewish citizens legally; the Iron Guard would have none of that. Instead, they loot and kill whoever they don't like.

While the Legionnaires, by and large, have the run of the capital throughout the day, there are some soldiers and police who refuse to participate. They are put under arrest. Mircea Petrovicescu, son of the former minister of the interior deposed by Antonescu, is particularly vicious, not just killing Jews but also mutilating and torturing them. There are acts of unspeakable cruelty that appear directly tied to the resentment of Jewish life in general, with a heavy focus on looting Jewish property. It is an orgy of bloodletting that lasts throughout the day and into the 22nd.

Hitler begins to take notice of what is going on. He has many troops in the country preparing for the invasion of Greece (Operation Marita). He has the Wehrmacht instruct them to support the Antonescu government, though without actively engaging in combat.

Bulgaria: No doubt coincidentally considering what is going on in Romania, Bulgaria passes anti-Semitic laws based on Germany's Nuremberg laws. Bulgaria is under intense German pressure to ally itself with the Axis, and this may be a way of ingratiating itself with Hitler. Among many other things, Jews are prohibited from intermarrying with ethnic Bulgarians, and various organizations such as B'nai B'rith are outlawed.

British Homefront: Churchill inquiries into the status of coal deliveries to London, to see if there is any way to increase them during the worst of the winter. He learns that deliveries are down to 250,000 tons per week versus demand of 410,000 tons. He also asks the Ministry of Health to look into what can be done about people made homeless in London. While people are grinning and bearing it, deep resentments are building up beneath the surface that someday will rise to the surface when people vote.

American Homefront: Homelessness is an issue on both sides of the Atlantic. PM Daily reports today that there are several shelters in New York City, including two city shelters, one for men and one for women. Altogether, the shelters can accommodate 7000 people (with many laying on top of each other or sleeping seated on benches). The men at the Municipal Lodging House on East 25th Street are turned out at 5 a.m., rain or shine, and then make their way to their "homes" in the Bowery. The Great Depression lingers, with few jobs to be had.

RKO Studios announces today that Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" will be released as scheduled despite attempts to blacklist everyone involved in the film by William Randolph Hearst. RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer has had his lawyers review the rough cut of the film, and they have asked Welles to cut three minutes of the film to avoid legal consequences. Despite his contract, which gives him complete control over the picture, Welles has agreed to make the cuts.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, signing for $30,000.

"High Sierra," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, is released.

Future History: José Plácido Domingo Embil is born in the Retiro district of Madrid, Spain. He develops an early interest in music, particularly opera, and by 1961 is performing in a leading role. Later in the decade, he makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and by the 1980s is a household name all across the world. He continues to perform and take on various other roles in the world of opera.

Józef Bednarski is born in Kraków, General Government. He emigrates to the United States shortly after the war. Under the name Ivan Putski, he becomes one of the most famous wrestlers in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1970s through the 1980s. He remains a fixture in the sport.

A synagogue destroyed by the Iron Guard during the riots of 21-23 January 1941.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Tuesday 14 January 1941

"Free French sailors help salvage belongings and clear up amid the wreckage of a blitzed building in Portsmouth on 14 January 1941." © IWM (HU 55590).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue to consolidate their hold on Klisura Pass on 14 January 1941. The Italian Toscana Division is partially surrounded and the remainder scattered.

General Archibald Wavell, British Middle East Commander, is in Athens to visit with Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and Commander-in-chief Papagos. The Greeks tell Wavell that they only have four divisions on the Bulgarian front (Yugoslavia is not on anyone's mind at this time) versus 13 in Albania. Already, the Greeks are heavily outnumbered by the German forces assembling in Romania and Bulgaria. Papagos and Metaxas request 9 British divisions for the defense of Greece, along with air support. Wavell hesitantly promises two or three divisions, though it would take time to transfer them. Papagos says that is not enough troops to make a difference and basically tells Wavell to not even bother then, since posting insufficient British troops would only invite a German invasion.

Mussolini, meanwhile, continues his visit to Albania to confer with his generals about stopping the Greeks. After it is over, he will head to Berchtesgaden to confer with Hitler.

European Air Operations: There is very little activity during the day or night. Electrical power is restored in Plymouth, bombed heavily in recent days, but gas remains off and will for some time.

"Polish pilots serving with No. 607 Squadron RAF studying maps on the back wing of a Hurricane as part of their training at RAF Usworth, 14 January 1941. One of the identified airmen is Pilot Officer Mirosław Orzechowski (fourth from the left)." © IWM (HU 92830).

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Pinguin has been stalking the Norwegian whaling fleet (under British charter) in the South Atlantic (near Antarctica) since mid-December 1940. The whaling ships have been gaily chatting over the radio with each other, completely oblivious to any need for security or the dangers lurking so far from home. Captain Ernst-Felix Krüder has the luxury of timing his approach for a moment of maximum vulnerability, and today is such a day: the whaling ships are tied together transferring oil. Pinguin simply sails alongside them and sends over a couple of prize crews - no muss, no fuss.

The whole event is over within 45 minutes without a shot fired or a single radio signal sent. Krüder tells the Norwegian crew that nothing, really, has changed; they should continue with their work, only, instead of the British paying them for their wares, the Reich will. Pinguin then sails off to find capture a factory ship nearby and associated vessels. All told, Pinguin rounds up 36,000 tons of shipping, 20,000 tons of whale oil, and 10,000 tons of fuel oil. The ships seized include:

• 12,201-ton oil refinery Ole Wegger
• 12,246-ton oil refinery Solglimt
• 298-ton whaling boat Pol VIII
• 354-ton whaling boat Pol IX
• 247-ton whaling boat Torlyn
• 297-ton whaling boat Globe VIII
• 338-ton whaling boat Pol VII
• 249-ton whaling boat Thorarinn

With the Norwegian ships secured, Captain Krüder then runs hard for five days halfway to the Sandwich Islands, at the end of which he has his radio operator send a long message which Krüder knows will fix his location through triangulation. He then returns to the Norwegian fleet, having succeeded in misleading any pursuers. Compare this with a different decision made by Admiral Günther Lütjens in May 1941 aboard the Bismarck and you see the difference between a clever man... and a dead one.

Royal Navy auxiliary cruiser Eumaeus, sunk on 14 January 1941.

Elsewhere, Italian submarine Cappellini engages in a two-hour gun duel with 7472-ton British auxiliary cruiser and freighter/passenger ship Eumaeus off Freetown, finally sinking it. Responding to distress calls, seaplane carrier HMS Albatross launches a Supermarine Walrus, which drops life rafts and attacks the Cappellini. The Cappellini survives but is damaged. There are 27 deaths and 63 survivors on the Eumaeus.

German 280-ton pilot ship Borkum runs aground and is lost at Hubert Gat in the North Sea (near Emden).

Danish Emilie Mærsk runs aground and is lost off Borkum in the North Sea. The crew survives. This is one of a series of sinkings of Mærsk ships during the war.

Buitenzorg, lost on 14 January 1941.

Dutch 7073-ton freighter Buitenzorg runs aground at the Sound of Mull, Inner Hebrides and is wrecked.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Fitzroy hits a mine and is damaged in the North Sea. It makes it back to Harwich, where it is beached, and then Sheerness for repairs.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Adventure lays minefield ZME 15 in St. Georges Channel.

Convoy FN 383 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 384 is held back, Convoy AN 12 departs from Port Said for Piraeus, Convoy AS 11 departs from Piraeus.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay (Lt. Commander Anthony Cecil C. Miers) and minesweeping trawler HMS MacBeth (Lt. Reginald M. Thorne) are commissioned.

Corvette HMS Jasmine and destroyer HMS Oribi are launched, while destroyer HMS Onslaught is laid down.

A British soldier and a Canadian sailor exchange pleasantries, 14 January 1941 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British continue to reinforce Malta. Light cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Perth land troops there. Perth is laid up at Grand Harbor for a few days with machinery issues.

The RAF attacks Benghazi and Assab in Italian Eritrea.

German/Soviet Relations: The Soviet Union and Germany sign new trade agreements covering items such as grain.

German/Romanian Relations: Having met with King Boris of Bulgaria yesterday, Hitler today meets with Romanian Conducător Ion Antonescu in Berchtesgaden. Hitler backs Antonescu against the Iron Guard, which is fascist but unsupportive of Antonescu. Antonescu indicates that he would be supportive of Operation Barbarossa if he can eliminate the Iron Guard, which thus becomes a sort of quid pro quo, and together they discuss how to do that.

British Military: Sub-Lt John Bryan Peter Duppa-Miller and Stephen John Tuckwell receive George Crosses for disposing of a mine which fell into a stream feeding Barling Creek.

Danish steamship Emilie Maersk (German controlled), lost on 14 January 1941.

German Military: According to press reports (United Press News Agency), the Germans are in the process of dismantling the Maginot Line and turning the recovered ground into farmland.

Soviet Military: Army General, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Commissar of Defense Kirill Meretskov - a Hero of the Soviet Union - is abruptly dismissed from his posts without explanation. Stalin later sees him at the Bolshoi, and, in front of others, has this to say to Meretskov:

You are courageous, capable, but without principles, spineless. You want to be nice, but you should have a plan instead and adhere to it strictly, despite the fact that someone or other is going to be resentful.

Stalin will give Meretskov an object lesson on what it means to be "strict" in the Lubyanka after Operation Barbarossa starts. This is another step on a very tortuous and even torturous journey for Meretskov within the upper echelons of the Red Army. His career is by no means over, but Stalin will have his way with him before he restores Meretskov to any commands.

The disagreement appears to be personal (at least at this point), but Stalin has a reputation within the Red Army for acting ruthlessly toward his generals, dismissing them, practically killing them (and sometimes killing them) and then - when all seems lost for them - suddenly re-appointing the survivors to significant posts again. Without over-simplifying it or diminishing matters, Stalin's relationships with his generals at times resembles that of an abusive spouse. Firing them and even torturing them on very flimsy grounds is a challenging managerial technique - at least for subordinates - by which Stalin asserts his dominance and expresses his displeasure with certain characteristics of his generals.

Look Magazine, 14 January 1941.

Propaganda: Former Belgian Justice Minister Victor de Laveleye makes a BBC radio broadcast aimed at occupied Belgium. He proposes that Belgians (and others) use the letter "V" as a symbol of resistance. This letter begins both the French and Flemish words for "Victory." This is the beginning of the use of "V" throughout Occupied Europe as an anti-German code, with "V for Victory" being the intended meaning. This will lead to many covert uses of "V" in occupied areas throughout the war.

China: The Nationalist Chinese 3rd War Area completes the destruction of the encircled portions of the Chinese Communist New 4th Army near Maolin along the Yangtze River.

Holocaust: A deep frost has set in across Europe, which is particularly harmful to inmates at German concentration camps and ghettos such as those at Lodz and Auschwitz. Death tolls spike rapidly during chills due to insufficient food and heat.

German Homefront: With people spending more time in air raid shelters, Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proposes that conduct there be regulated. He requests that a list of "Ten Commandments of the Air Raid Shelter" be posted in every shelter.

British Homefront: Minister of Food Lord Woolton imposes price controls on 21 food items, including chicken, coffee, cocoa, honey, tinned food, meat paste, rice and pasta, pickles and sauces, jellies and custard, biscuits, nuts, and processed cheese. Speculators have been gouging customers, and chicken prices have risen 50% recently. All prices are pegged to those at the beginning of December 1940. Other price controls are expected.

"Pilot Officer Mirosław Orzechowski, one of the Polish pilots serving with No. 607 Squadron RAF, standing on a wing of a Hurricane at RAF Usworth, 14 January 1941. He was known as "Shrimp" on account of his diminutive stature and treated as the Squadron's mascot." © IWM (HU 128318).

American Homefront: On or about this date, Nicholas B. Schenck, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's parent company, approaches RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer with a proposed offer: drop "Citizen Kane" for cash. Schenck, acting on behalf of Louis B. Mayer and other Hollywood executives, offers Schaefer $805,000 to completely eliminate the film (which roughly is what it has cost to make). The Hollywood bosses are worried about the effect that alienating William Randolph Hearst might have on their own businesses - Hearst lackey Louella Parsons has been threatening them with exposés of their own business practices if they don't lean on Schaefer to drop "Kane." Schaefer does not want to take the deal but tells Schenck that he will talk to his lawyers and figure out what to do then.

Meanwhile, in New York City shortly after noon, two brothers, Anthony and William Esposito, kill a man during a robbery near the Empire State Building and then lead police on a violent chase. During their attempted escape, the brothers also murder a police officer (Edward Maher) and wound a taxi driver (Leonard Weisberg). The Esposito case will become famous for its expansion of the insanity defense (it doesn't work for the Esposito brothers but will for many others in decades to come).

Future History: Dorothy Faye Dunaway is born in Bascom, Florida. She studies acting in college, then begins appearing on Broadway. This leads to film roles, such as Otto Preminger's "Hurry Sundown," for which she is nominated for a Golden Globe. She quickly snags prime acting roles based in part upon this success, including "Bonnie and Clyde," which leads to "The Thomas Crown Affair," and "Little Big Man." Faye Dunaway goes on to win numerous acting awards and remains active in the film business.

Civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph proposes a march on Washington, D.C. to demand jobs in the defense industries for African Americans, which apparently is the first time this has been done.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Monday 13 January 1941

Charles Church, Plymouth after the blitz of 1941 (derektait, Flickr).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek government announces the victory at Klisura Pass on 13 January 1941 around noontime. It becomes a day of national celebration, with Premier Metaxas and King George appearing on a balcony together.

The Greeks continue to press forward through the snow and howling winds. The Tuscano division is retreating in disarray, with one of these battalions surrounded and on or about this date surrendering. The gateway appears open to the key port of Valona, and taking it would go a long way toward ending the war and completing the conquest of Albania - if the Italians can't find a way to bar the Greek advance.

While in public everything appears to be going wonderfully for the Greeks, behind the scenes there are growing worries in England and Athens. The Germans are known to be massing in Romania, and they easily could slip through Bulgaria to invade Greece from the northeast. General Papagos, the Greek Commander-in-chief, informs British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell that Greece would need substantial reinforcements to deter the Wehrmacht. The British Chiefs of Staff already have made the decision to send troops to Greece, but Wavell does not have nine divisions in his entire theater of operations.

The Italians, of course, are in worse shape than the Greeks at the moment. Mussolini arrives in Albania for talks with the prime minister there. He has Chief of the Defense Staff Ugo Cavallero take over from General Ubaldo Soddu, who is relieved of command in Albania and thus has more time for his real passion, composing soundtracks to movies.

As for the Germans, they indeed are assembling a striking force in Romania. Where and when it will be used is in doubt. Speculation worldwide is that Hitler will invade Bulgaria, and then funnel the Wehrmacht across its border to Greece in order to bail out Mussolini. Hitler, however, does not want to invade Bulgaria, which the Soviet Union clearly and unequivocally has warned him is part of its "security zone." Thus, Hitler is exerting pressure on King Boris of Bulgaria to sign the Tripartite Pact. German troops already are infiltrating into Bulgaria, clad in civilian clothes, to prepare for the attack on Greece.

Newsweek, 13 January 1941: "London Scene: Fire Bomb Grows as a War Menace."

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command targets Lorient, home of the U-boat fleet, during the night. It also sends Wellingtons of RAF No. 57 Squadron to bomb Ostend, Belgium and Boulogne, France.

A Halifax bomber carrying out flight tests experiences engine failure and crashes near Baldersby St. James, killing all six onboard.

The Luftwaffe returns to Plymouth again, and this follow-up raid causes more problems than the initial ones did. About 50 bombers drop incendiaries during the night, killing 26 people and injuring 117. Two men, Cyril Lidstone and George Wright are awarded George Medals for extinguishing an oil fire. Because the gas works at Coxside are hit, Plymouth is without gas for three weeks - which is a major issue in the middle of winter. An electrical plant at Prince Rock also is hit, stopping electricity for a day.

Picnicking at the beach, January 1941. Sarasota, Florida. Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a quiet day at sea. The Luftwaffe attack on Plymouth damages 507-ton British freighter Wooler at Victoria's Wharf. The freighter is then towed to Southampton for repairs.

Convoy FS 387 departs from Methil.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Petunia is commissioned.

U-597 is laid down.

Destroyers USS Laffey and Woolworth are laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The perimeter at Tobruk is quiet, with the Australian 6th Infantry Division methodically preparing for its next assault on an Italian fortress, and the British 7th Armoured Division repairing its tanks and getting is supplies in order. General Wavell takes this lull to fly to Athens, where he pays a courtesy call on King George II and Prime Minister General John Metaxas. They do not discuss business today, but will tomorrow.

In Malta, there are two air raid alerts. One of them involves Junkers Ju 88s which apparently are on a get-acquainted flight, as they fly over the island in perfect formation but do not attack. This is an omen of things to come, as Fliegerkorps X based at Catania, Sicily now has more than just Stukas with which to attack.

Royal Navy light cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Perth take on passengers deposited there during the Excess Convoy. They then depart with them for Malta.

Soviet Military: Ivan Konev becomes Commander-in-chief of the North Caucasus Military District, while Andrey Yeryomenko (Eremenko) takes over as commander of the prestigious 1st Red Banner Far Eastern Army based in eastern Siberia.

Jesse Jones on the cover of Time Magazine, 13 January 1941. Jones has been head of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and also currently is the US Secretary of Commerce. Much of mid-century Houston's skyline was a result of Jones.

US Military: The federal government inducts seven Nation Guard units from Iowa, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina into the US Army.

German Government: Adolf Hitler begins another round of diplomatic events. These will take place from 13-20 January 1941 and include visits from Mussolini, General Antonescu of Romania, and others. The first to visit is King Boris III of Bulgaria. Hitler asks the king to join the Tripartite Pact and permit passage of German troops through Bulgarian territory into Greece. Hitler's overarching objective, however, is to get Bulgaria to declare war on Great Britain. King Boris demurs and makes no promises at this time.

US Government: The US government extends US citizenship by birth to all residents born in Puerto Rico.

French Indochina: The French begin preparing a naval action against the invading Thai forces.

China: The attacks continue by the Nationalist Chinese 3rd War Area against the encircled portions of the Chinese Communist New 4th Army near Maolin on the Yangtze River.

Swiss Homefront: James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, one of the truly towering avant-garde writers, creator of the literary stream of consciousness technique and author of classics such as "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Many," "Ulysses," and "Finnegan's Wake," passes away in Zurich, aged 58. The cause of death is a perforated ulcer. Joyce had moved there in 1940 to avoid the German occupation of France, but had lived on-and-off in Zurich (and other continental cities) since 1915. James Joyce is buried at Fluntern Cemetery near Zurich Zoo.

Life Magazine, 13 January 1941.

American Homefront: The behind-the-scenes battles between William Randolph Hearst and RKO Studios over Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," nearing its premiere, continue. Today, the Hollywood Reporter has a front-page story describing how the Hearst chain of newspapers is applying pressure on all of Hollywood - and not just RKO - to get  RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer to quash the film. The strategy, the Hollywood Reporter states, will be for the Hearst newspapers to run a series of pieces decrying Hollywood's practice of hiring immigrants and refugees to do jobs that could be filled by Americans.

Many of these immigrants, of course, are world-famous specialists such as Marlene Dietrich who are busy becoming US citizens as quickly as they can (she already has, as has Albert Einstein). A goodly proportion also is Jewish and fled Europe due to fear of Hitlerism. Einstein fled Europe when he learned that his home had been confiscated for use as a Hitler Youth camp. For them to return now would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Hearst gossip columnist Louella Parsons, still smarting from being scooped by former protégé Hedda Hopper, indeed has been calling the studios and making these threats. The other studio bosses - including Louis B. Mayer and Nicholas Schrenck, the boss at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's parent company - are considering how to respond in some kind of unified fashion.

Separately, the US Supreme Court decides Sibbach v. Wilson & Co., 312 U.S. 1 (1941). This is a civil procedure decision regarding the proper jurisdiction of state versus federal laws in diversity jurisdiction cases.

In this case, which involves a car accident in Indiana, the appellant had appealed lower court rulings that held she was required to submit to a physical examination pursuant to FRCP 35(a). The court has diversity jurisdiction, meaning, the case is in federal court because the appellant and respondent reside in different states.

Appellant's argument is that Indiana state law does not require her to undergo a physical examination and that state law controls on such a substantive issue rather than federal law. Thus, the appellant claims she should not be required to undergo the exam. The respondent wants the uniform federal civil procedure rules applied in every federal court case regardless of how the plaintiff originally obtained federal jurisdiction.

The Court holds that in diversity proceedings, the determining factor as to whether to apply uniform federal rules or state laws is whether the rule in question is substantive in nature, or merely procedural. Procedural rules are those that simply address the manner or means through which substantive law may be adjudicated. Substantive rules to be applied are those of the state in which the court is based, while procedural rules to be applied are those contained in the uniform federal statutes.

In this particular case, the Supreme Court holds that state law controls the issue of a physical examination because that involves a substantive matter and not just how the case should be tried. Thus, the appellant does not have to submit to the physical examination because Indiana law does not require one.

Finally, the Modernaires vocal group joins the Glenn Miller Orchestra on a permanent basis today.

Lou Salica and Tommy Forte in their bantamweight title fight held in Philadelphia Arena, 13 January 1941. Salica successfully defended his title in a close and controversial decision.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020