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

Wednesday 2 July 1941

Finnish troops with Soviet prisoners carrying a wounded comrade, 2 July 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: The front is moving rapidly eastward on 2 July 1941, and the reference points have to adjust along with it. For the first time, the Dniepr River looms in the calculations of both sides. Hitler's 29 June "stop" order is withdrawn, so the major Reich goals of Leningrad, Moscow, and Kyiv again send the panzers forward as if they were magnets drawn to a scrapyard. Heavy rains along part of the front slow the German advance.

In the Far North sector, the Germans have been rebuffed by strong Soviet defenses at the base of the Rybachy peninsula during Operation Silver Fox. So, General Dietl in the command of Army of Norway has shifted troops from there to the advance east toward the Litsa River. These new additions enable the Germans to fight through fierce Soviet resistance to the Litsa. However, going is slow and Soviet reinforcements are gradually stiffening the defense.

Operation Arctic Fox, the advance by German and Finnish troops toward Salla and ultimately the Murmansk railway line, bogs down. The Soviets counterattack SS Nord Division during daylight and stop the SS men cold. In a pattern of very uneven performance by SS units that recurs throughout the war, the SS staff panics and loses control. The troops, leaderless, flee to the rear. However, the XXXVI Corps staff finally regains control of the troops before a serious problem develops. The Army of Norway staff decides it needs to reinforce the advance with regular army troops.

In the Army Group North sector, the panzers of the 4th Panzer Group attack the Stalin Line. The leading panzers are halfway to Leningrad and still gaining ground at a rapid clip.

In the Army Group Center sector, new Western Front commander Marshal Timoshenko is under orders from the Stavka to defend the Western Dvina River-Dniepr River line. In the north, General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group faces rainy weather and makes only a little ground to the outskirts of Polotsk. In the center, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group (18th Panzer Division) takes Borisov from the remnants of the 13th Army and the Borisov Tank School. Guderian's tankers capture a key road bridge intact despite Soviet General Eremenko's personal orders to destroy it.

In the southern part of the central sector, the SS Motorized Division "Das Reich" also captures a bridgehead across the Berezina when it takes Pogost, but the German XXIV Motorized Corps has less luck. The Soviet 4th Army's Rifle Divisions are overwhelmed there, but they manage to destroy bridges at the Berezina, Ola, Dobosna and Drut Rivers.

In the Army Group South sector, Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies march with the German 11th Army into Soviet Moldavia. This is  Operation München. The Soviet Southern Front counterattacks, but are beaten off. Their objectives are the Prut and then the Dniester Rivers.

Future Luftwaffe ace Oblt. Gerhard Barkhorn of 6./JG 52 files his first victory claim. Heinz Bär of JG 51, who has 27 victories, is awarded the Ritterkreuz and promoted to Lieutenant.

Finnish troops, 2 July 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: Following the loss of Sukhna to the Arab legion, the Vichy French in Palmyra fear being outflanked. So, after a lengthy and hard-fought battle in which they have held their own, the French surrender during the night of 2 July. Habforce now has an open road west to Homs 40 miles to the west and, ultimately, the coast near Beirut.

Off the coast, Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and light cruiser HMS Naiad, along with escorting destroyers, shell the French positions at Damur. During this operation, the RAF mistakenly attacks the Perth, but miss.

Vichy French aircraft bomb the Royal Navy port of Haifa.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends a Circus mission (Bristol Blenheim bombers with a heavy fighter escort) against the railway yards and airfield at Lille. The raid is notable because the escorting fighters include the American-volunteer "Eagle Squadron" (RAF No. 71 Squadron of No. 11 Group, based at RAF North Weald). American William J. Hall becomes the first Eagle Squadron pilot to become a POW when he is shot down, and perhaps the first American serviceman to enter a POW camp during World War II.

During the Circus mission, the RAF loses four bombers and eight fighters. Obstlt. Adolf Galland claims his 70th victory, a Blenheim bomber. Others getting victories include

• Hptm. Rudolf Bieber of Stab I./JG 26 for his first kill (bomber)
• Fw. Günther Seeger of the Stab./JG 2 (bomber)
• Oblt. Josef "Pips" Priller of 1./JG 26 for his twenty-ninth
• Hptm. Gerhard Schöpfel of III./JG 26 for his twenty-seventh
• Hptm. Rolf Pingel of I./JG 26 for his twenty-second
• Oblt. Walter Schneider of 6./JG 26 for his fourteenth
• Ofw. Rudolf Täschner of 1./JG 2 for his thirteenth
• Lt. Horst Ulenberg of 2./JG 26 for his tenth
• Lt. Bruno Stolle of 8./JG 2
• Fw. Heinz Jahner of 9./JG 2
• Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Hepe of 4./JG 2. 

The Luftwaffe loses four planes, but all four pilots survive and return to their units. Galland's plane is badly damaged and he is injured, but he is able to return to the airfield. He is saved from death by extra armor recently added to this cockpit.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command bombs Bremen (67 bombers), Köln (Cologne, 42 bombers), and Duisburg (39).

Wing Commander Douglas Bader receives the Bar to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Later in the day, Bader claims one Bf 109 fighter destroyed and another damaged.

A building burning during Finnish offensive operations, 2 July 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Battle of the Baltic: In the Irben Strait (linking the Gulf of Riga with the Baltic Sea), Soviet destroyer Strashny hits a mine and is badly damaged while on a minelaying mission. Two other destroyers, Serdity and Silny, go on to lay their mines.

Both sides conduct minelaying operations in the Baltic.

Battle of the Atlantic: During the night of 1/2 July, the RAF scores a hit on German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The hit destroys the command room in the center of the ship and puts it out of action for the remainder of 1941.

Minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield BS 66 in the North Sea.

Convoy OB-341A departs from Liverpool for Halifax.

Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Talapus is launched in Victoria, B.C.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The siege of Tobruk continues. On both sides, there is occasional shelling, but overall the enemy is boredom rather than military action. For the Australians in Tobruk, water is a key concern. Nobody can shave, and occasional expeditions to watering holes after dark are a must. The heat is overbearing, and flies are everywhere.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay torpedoes and sinks 2933-ton Italian freighter Citta Di Tripoli north of Kea Island.

Swordfish of RAF No. 830 Squadron and Wellington bombers raid Tripoli after dark. The Swordfish lay mines at the harbor entrance and damage 1724-ton German freighter Sparta and 2517-ton Italian freighter Eritrea. In addition, the Wellingtons start several fires and damage some smaller vessels.

Refugees fleeing on a Panje Wagon which carries all of their belongings (Mehls, Federal Archives, Bild 146-2004-0221).

War Crimes: Advancing Wehrmacht troops discover 153 bodies of German Infantry Regiment 35 in a clover field near the town of Broniki in western Ukraine. This is the Broniki Massacre. The soldiers note that the bodies "have been slaughtered in a bestial manner and were mutilated." A few members of the slaughtered group are found and provide evidence to a Wehrmacht investigation. The surviving prisoners describe how the Soviets forced them to undress and then took them to a field and shot everyone. They also reveal that the Soviets used hand grenades and bayonets to murder prisoners. The German investigation reveals similar incidents happening elsewhere along the front; apparently, the Soviets choose not to take prisoners.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese are trying to get top-secret maps of US defenses in the Panama Canal Zone back to Tokyo. However, they fear actually trying to remove the maps from the Zone because airline crews are searching every piece of luggage. Following on several other subtle diplomatic attempts to change this policy, Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka instructs the Japanese minister in Mexico City to complain to the Guatemalan government about the practice. The Japanese hope, through this roundabout practice, to get the Pan American Airways crews to respect Japanese diplomatic privileges and not search their luggage - so that the Canal Zone diplomats can smuggle the militarily sensitive maps out.

A Wehrmacht soldier guards a column of Soviet prisoners in Minsk, 2 July 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1982-077-11).

Applied Science: The MAUD Committee (apparently the initials stand for nothing, though some ascribe them to the British Military Application of Uranium Detonation) is a collection of top Allied scientists. Their mission is to determine the feasibility of using nuclear technology to create a bomb. Today, they have a meeting to discuss the committee's final report.

The committee decides to divide its lengthy MAUD Report into two separate reports: a lengthy "Use of Uranium for a Bomb"; and a shorter "Use of Uranium as a Source of Power." The former report states in its opening paragraph:

We have now reached the conclusion that it will be possible to make an effective uranium bomb which, containing some 25 lb of active material, would be equivalent as regards destructive effect to 1,800 tons of TNT and would also release large quantities of radioactive substances which would make places near to where the bomb exploded dangerous to human life for a long period.

The report creates a strong rationale for the formation of the Manhattan Project that develops the first atomic bombs. Its influence is widespread, leading directly to nuclear weapons programs not only in the United States but also in the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union (through copies obtained by spies).

Japanese/Soviet Relations: The Japanese send assurances to Soviet Ambassador to Japan Constantin Smetanin that they do not intend to join the Reich in its war against the Soviet Union.

The NKVD secret police prison in Lviv (Lvov), 2 July 1941 (Hübner, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1979-039-03).

German Military: German 2nd Army, moving from the Balkans, sets up its headquarters in Army Group Center. Its absence from the Eastern Front to date has not affected operations.

Soviet Military: Stalin is frustrated with the conduct of the war so far, so today he makes some more major changes. He appoints old hand Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko, Marshal of the Soviet Union and People's Commissar for Defence, to command the Western Front, with Eremenko and Marshal Semyon Budyonny (aka Budenny, the commander of the Group of Reserve Armies) as his deputies. This is the command that defends the approaches to Moscow, which already is coming into view as a battleground following the fall of Minsk.

Stalin also moves five armies, 16th Army, 19th Army, 20th Army, 21st Army and 22nd Army, from Budyonny's reserve forces and moves them up to the Smolensk region. Continuing his purge of army commanders that he sees as lacking, Stalin orders the arrest of 4th Army commander Lieutenant General Aleksander Andreevich Korobkov. Along with General of the Army Pavlov, disgraced former head of Western Front, Korobkov is charged with numerous offenses and faces the death sentence, and a finding of guilt is always a foregone conclusion in the USSR under Stalin.

Western Approaches Command at Derby House, July 1941."The switchboard controlling the teleprinter machines. On receiving a signal that there is a message to transmit, the operator on the switchboard plugs in the appropriate teleprinter machine in the adjoining room." © IWM (A 4541).

Japanese Military: Japan recalls all merchant shipping from the Atlantic Ocean. The Imperial Japanese Army calls up more than a million army conscripts, with 400,000 allocated to China and the remainder set aside for future operations in southeast Asia. Emperor Hirohito attends a conference at which war minister Hideki Tojo advocates an aggressive policy to secure territory following the German example. The conference ratifies Tojo's plan to take more control over French Indochina. The Emperor, bound by protocol, cannot say anything and merely accepts his ministers' proposals.

Japanese Government: Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka issues a statement immediately after the conference held in the presence of Emperor Hirohito. Obviously, it does not reveal the real decisions made at the conference about focusing military efforts to the south, particularly in French Indochina. However, it does convey the seriousness of the decisions made there regarding future Imperial policy:

As announced by the Government today, an important national policy has been decided upon at a council held in the Imperial presence...  I feel that a really grave state of super-emergency is developing before our eyes the world over as well as in East Asia, with the affairs of which our nation is directly concerned. The more serious the situation the more calm and composed must our nation be, and with a nationwide unity we must, in response to the August Will of His Imperial Majesty, endeavor not to make even the slightest deviation from the path along which our nation is to march forward.

Japan, he states, is watching the German-Soviet War closely, but gives no hint that the country feels any need to intervene.

A destroyed bridge in Minsk, 2 July 1941 (Mehls, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1991-008-27).

Canadian Military: The military institutes the Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

Holocaust: German special forces in the company of local Lithuanians begin to execute up to 100,000 civilians in Reichskommissariat Ostland. This is the Ponary Massacre, which lasts off and on through August 1944. It is named for the place where many of the executions take place, the railway station of Ponary (Paneriai) near Vilnius, Lithuania. The bulk of the people executed are Jews, with a few Poles and about 8000 Soviet POWs.

Another incident begins in Riga. Local police are incited to murder 400 Jews and burn down all of Riga's synagogues.

Riots break out in Lviv, Ukraine against racist laws.

American Homefront: Gary Cooper film "Sergeant York" opens at the Astor Theater in New York City with York himself, Eleanor Roosevelt, General John Pershing, and other luminaries in attendance. "Sergeant York," a tale of the eponymous World War I hero Alvin C. York, goes on to become a huge box office success. It also stars Walter Brennan, Noah Berry Jr., Howard Da Silva, and a young June Lockhart. "Sergeant York" aids the war effort by encouraging recruiting and is used to sell war bonds. Cooper goes on to win the Best Actor Oscar.

New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio is in Yankees Stadium for a game against the Boston Red Sox. Joe's brother, Dom, is the center fielder for the Sox, and Dom makes one of the best catches of his career to rob Joe of an extra-base hit. In his third at-bat, Joe gets a home run off Dick Newsome. This gives Joe DiMaggio a hit in 45 straight games. This sets a new major league record, breaking Wee Willie Keeler's previous record set in 1897.

The first live television game show premieres on the new CBS Television network called "CBS Television Quiz." The show features contestants given answers and asked to supply the questions - a format later made legendary on Merv Griffin show "Jeopardy.". CBS Television Quiz is the first game show to be broadcast regularly on television (there were occasional one-shot game show broadcasts in the 1930s such as "Spelling Bee" on the BBC in 1938). The show features host Gil Fates and scorekeeper Frances Buss. The live show runs weekly from today through 25 May 1942, with 47 episodes total. The shows are not taped or photographed in any fashion and are completely lost.

Movie poster for "Sergeant York," which opens on 2 July 1941.

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020

Wednesday 25 June 1941

German pilots in Malmi, Helsinki on 25 June 1941.

Eastern Front: The biggest news of 25 June 1941 includes Finland declaring war on the USSR and the Germans taking Dubno and Lutsk in Army Group South's sector and Baranovichi in the Army Group North sector.

Early in the morning, the Red Air Force bombs Helsinki, five other Finnish towns, and 19 airfields in Finland. The force includes 263 bombers and 224 fighter aircraft, bombing 15 cities, towns, and villages. Major targets include Helsinki, Kotka, Turku, Loviisa, Forsby, and Porvoo.

It is a massive Soviet effort that includes 460 planes. The Soviets lose 23-27 planes. In addition, the Soviets shell the Finnish positions on the island of Morgonland and other Baltic islands, some of which the Finns already have evacuated. The Soviets claim the airstrikes in Finland are aimed at German targets, as German forces are known to be operating from Finland.

There is another artillery duel between Finnish and Soviet forces at Hanko. These Soviet attacks are not accidents. Moscow radio broadcasts a threatening statement:

The Finnish militarists have flagrantly violated the Soviet-Finnish peace treaty. The rulers of Finland have begun military operations against our country . . . The Soviet Union has fulfilled the peace treaty conscientiously. But the rulers of Finland, under orders from Hitler, have plunged the long-suffering Finnish people into a war against the Soviet Union. Scoring the most elementary of international laws and the vital interests of their own people, the Finnish warmongers have again launched a campaign against the Soviet Union. . . . The ignoble rulers of Finland have not learned any lesson from the campaign of the winter of 1939 and 1940. They are asking for another, a final, lesson, and that lesson the Finnish perpetrators of fascism will get.

The Soviet statement is partly correct and partly false. While Finland has laid mines in the Baltic and allowed German troops to operate from its soil against the Soviet Union, Finland has not fired a shot against the Soviet Union since the Winter War. It has complied with the treaty that ended that war aside from the actions of its partner, Germany. So, both sides have an argument about who is in the wrong.

Most observers likely would agree, though, that allowing an enemy to freely use your territory to attack them (as Finland has done) is an act of war. So, the Soviets would have had the better case to declare war on Finland than vice versa - if they had done so, that is, and not simply attacked. Very few hands are completely clean on the Eastern Front.

Finnish Prime Minister Rangell had planned a speech to Parliament today regarding remaining neutral and taking only defensive measures. However, in light of the Red Air Force attacks, he quickly changes his speech to include a more bellicose tone:

Finland immediately declares war on the Soviet Union. This is done by the roundabout means of a simple unanimous vote of confidence in the present Finnish government. In fact, everyone "knows" that the Finns are German allies and preparing an attack of their own anyway. The Soviet air attacks, however, give the Finns a pretext for declaring war at once.

Finland has multiple military objectives, but the government fundamentally only has one goal: to recover territory lost during the Winter War. Finnish troops head toward Leningrad, the Svir River, and the Murmansk railway. This is known as the "Continuation War." While Finland is a "co-belligerent" of Germany, it is waging a completely separate campaign. While it coordinates operations with OKW, it does not take orders from Berlin and often disregards the German military's wishes.

The Finns do not attack at once upon the government's declaration of war, preferring to bide their time and pick a time and place that works with ally Germany. Instead, Finland's military continues mobilizing its forces and planning its axes of advance. The Soviets are too hard-pressed further south and actually withdraw forces from the border region with Finland around this time.

Operation Barbarossa continues moving eastward toward Leningrad, Moscow, and Kyiv. All of these operations are lumped together by the Russians as the "border defensive battles," which isn't particularly descriptive (understandable, since they don't go well for the Soviets). So, just for clarity and consistency, I use the names western sources have applied to events on the eastern front.

In the far North of Finland, the Soviets reinforce their defenses around Murmansk. With both England and the USA promising aid, the northern seaports have become vital elements of Soviet strategy and must be defended. The Germans are more interested in securing the nickel mines and plants along the border than attacking Murmansk at this time.

Panzer 38(t) tanks of Panzer Regiment 25, 7th Panzer Division, Vilnius, Eastern Front, June 1941.

Army Group North under Field Marshal Ritter von Leeb is led forward by General Eric Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group. Following behind it are 16th and 18th Armies. In total, Army Group North controls 20 infantry, three panzer, and three motorized infantry divisions. Overhead, support is provided by Luftflotte 1 (the First Air Fleet). Kaunas and Vilnius have fallen, and the Soviets are retreating everywhere.

At the Battle of Raseiniai, which began on 23 June, the Germans of the 6th Panzer Division first encountered Soviet KV heavy tanks. One slipped through the German lines and proved impervious to the German anti-tank weapons. It has remained in place behind the lines, withstanding a pounding by 50-mm anti-tank guns and panzers in the vicinity. Early today, after almost two days, the Germans finally knock the KV out by bringing an 88 mm Flak gun through nearby woods and blasting the KV multiple times from the rear. The crew, incredibly, survives all this and only is killed by a pioneer engineer who climbs on the tank and pushes grenades through the holes made by the Flak gun.

As the day ends, the Soviet 8th Army is falling back to the Jonava about 48 km (30 miles) northeast of Kaunas, while the Soviet 11th Army is retreating toward the Desna. Marshal Semyon Timoshenko of the Stavka orders Front Commander Colonel General Vasily Kuznetsov to form a defensive line along the Western Dvina. Timoshenko releases the 21st Mechanized Corps (Major-General Dmitry Lelyushenko) with 98 tanks and 129 guns, from the Moscow Military District to help form this line.

The bridges at Dvinsk, 25 June 1941.

After a successful surprise attack by elements of the 6th Panzer Division that captures two key bridges at Dvinsk during the early morning hours, the 8th Panzer Division captures Dvinsk. The bridges are wired for demolition, but the attack is so quick that the Soviets don't have time to blow them. The division then continues its northeastward advance toward Leningrad.

In Army Group Center, the Soviets launched a counterattack on the 24th toward Grodno. The attack, however, missed the leading German tanks of the 3rd Panzer Group, which already had driven further east to Vilnius. Today, the Soviet counterattack is crushed and the commander of Soviet 6th Cavalry Corps is taken captive. General Pavlov, in charge of Western Front, orders a general withdrawal to Slonim in order to block the way to Minsk. The Soviet 13th Army evacuates Maladzyechna, northwest of Minsk.

The Wehrmacht in the central sector has its eyes on a larger strategy than simply brushing off the Soviet counterattacks. General Hoth and General Guderian aim their panzer groups for a large-scale pincer move around the Soviet forces to the vicinity of Baranovichi.

In Army Group South, the Battle of Brody continues. This is a major tank battle, and along the front Soviet tanks outnumber the panzers 3229-728. However, in the most effective classes of tanks, the Germans have 355 with main guns of 50 mm or larger, while the Soviets only have 443 T-34s and KVs. So, while there is a great disparity in raw numbers, in fact, the destructive power of the respective forces is much more balanced from the raw numbers.

While it characterized as one continuous battle, the Battle of Brody actually is a series of disjointed Soviet tank charges against the advancing Wehrmacht. All these attacks do is grind down the Soviets' starting numerical advantage.
On the 24th, the Soviet 22nd Mechanized Corps attacks toward Voinitsa, Ukraine. It is making little progress and losing large numbers of tanks. The Soviets today move large numbers of tanks on a 500-km drive to the northwest of Brody, and, as the commander of the 8th Mechanized Corps, Ryabyshev, later writes, half of the tanks break down and the ones that make it are worn out. Some Soviet formations, such as the 15th Mechanized Corps, drive around following orders that are out of date and never even see the Germans.

German troops in Kaunas, 25 June 1941 (Barschdorff, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1984-102-25A).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 25th Brigade at Jezzine has no success in its attempts to advance north through the mountains. The Australian commander falls ill and is replaced by Brigadier Plant, who favors using artillery and air power to wear out the defending Vichy French defenders rather than continue futile ground attacks.

Royal Navy submarine  HMS Parthian at 12:12 torpedoes and sinks French submarine Souffleur off the Syrian coast.

German pioneer troops crossing a river in Russia, the morning of 25 June 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 146-1974-170-27).

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends Circus missions over France. In the first, RAF Bomber Command sends a force of Blenheim bombers under heavy fighter escort to northern France to attack the Hazebrouck marshaling yards. They cause widespread damage as an ammunition train explodes which includes the destruction of a bridge.

The other mission is to St. Omer, where the Luftwaffe has an important airfield. The elite German JG 26 fighter squadron is based at St. Omer, and they do not take kindly to being attacked. The Germans shoot down five Spitfires during the raid on Hazebrouck and lose at least two during the St. Omer raid. RAF ace Douglas Bader files claims for the two Luftwaffe planes, while Oblt. "Pip" Priller of I,/JG 26 claims a Spitfire over Gravelines.

RAF Bomber Command also attacks Bremen (64 bombers) and Kiel (47 bombers).

During the day, three Luftwaffe bombers are lost during an attack on Newcastle. It is unknown what happened to them.

The Luftwaffe sends some bombers to attack Southampton and the surrounding area. The Germans drop many parachute mines, each of which can destroy a row of houses. For the week ending at dawn on the 25th, the government reports that there were 39 killed and 116 seriously wounded, with no casualties in London.

New York Times, 25 June 1941.

East African Campaign: General Wavell, still the Middle East Commander until Claude Auchinleck arrives from India, joins US observer Averell Harriman on an inspection tour of East Africa.

Battle of the Baltic: The Germans seize 1181-ton Estonian freighter Estonia in an Estonian port.

The Soviets sends cruiser Voroshilov from Sevastopol accompanied by destroyers to bombard Constanza.

A woman of the Finnish Lotta Svärd preparing for war, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The attacks on Convoy HX-133 continue south of Iceland. About ten U-boats are involved.

U-77 (Kptlt. Heinrich Schonder), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 4603-ton Greek freighter Anna Bulgaris. Everyone perishes.

U-108 (Kptlt. Klaus Scholtz), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks two ships:

• 3059-ton Greek freighter Ellinico
• 4362-ton Greek freighter Nicholas Pateras

The entire crew of the Nicholas Pateras is lost (it is a straggler from Convoy OB-336), while everybody on Ellinico also perishes. That is the luck of the draw in the Battle of the Atlantic.

U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), on its second patrol out of Saint-Nazaire and south of Cape Farewell, torpedoes and sinks 1967-ton Dutch freighter Schie of Convoy OB-336. This sinking sometimes is listed as occurring on the 24th. Little is known about this incident, as there are no survivors (29 dead) and Ringelmaan cannot clearly identify the ship. It is simply assumed that U-75's victim is the Schie.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2154-ton British freighter Dashwood east of Cromer. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 176-ton British trawler Isle of Wight off Scarborough.

The Luftwaffe lightly damages Royal Navy destroyer Liddesdale in the North Sea. The ship remains in service.

Royal Navy minelayers Agamemnon and Menesheus lay minefield SN.70B off of Iceland. They have a heavy escort. It is a cloudy day, and destroyer Brighton runs into light cruiser Kenya on the starboard side. Both ships require repairs, and the Brighton loses its entire bow on the way under tow to the Clyde.

Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.65 in the North Sea.

The US Navy sends a squadron led by light cruisers Philadelphia and Savannah from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol.

Canadian corvette HMCS Lethbridge (Lt. William Mahan) is commissioned, corvette Midland and minesweeper Medicine Hat are launched (in Midland, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec, respectively).

U-403 is commissioned.

Italian transport Neptunia.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Gazala and the Italian positions at Debra Tabor.

An Italian troopship convoy sets off from Naples bound for Tripoli. It is composed of transports Esperia, Marco Polo, Neptunia, and Oceania. Escorts include four destroyers (Aviere, Da Noli, Geniere, and Gioberti). British aircraft based on Malta attack the convoy. The British cause some light damage to transport Esperia but lose a Swordfish of RAF No. 830 when it crashes into the side of the Esperia.

During an air battle near Malta, Hurricane fighter pilots claim three Machhi 200 fighters shot down and an Italian bomber badly damaged. There are a couple of bombing raids on Malta that cause damage at Zeitun, Zabbar, and Safi.

German converted minelayer Adjutant.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured Norwegian whaler Adjutant, sailing with a German prize crew, lays mines five kilometers off Lyttelton and Wellington (10 mines each), New Zealand. Nobody learns about this for many years.

POWs: French Lieutenant E. Boulé tries to escape from Colditz Castle POW Camp by dressing as a German woman. However, he drops his watch as he is walking away from the castle, and a German guard who goes to return it to "her" recognizes him.

Missionaries leaving Salt Lake Missionary Home, 25 June 1941.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: The British send General Mason-MacFarlane by air for Moscow to head a military mission. This is a hazardous route that includes crossing occupied Norway and Finland. General Brian Horrocks replaces him in command of the 44th Infantry Division.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.

German/Swedish Relations: With troops needed in Finland and no longer in Narvik, the Wehrmacht needs to move troops by train through neutral Sweden with the Swedish government's permission. This is the only quick route from northern Norway to the Baltic and a critical line - maintaining use of it is a top priority for the Wehrmacht in Scandinavia. The Swedish government (Riksdag) now permits the Wehrmacht to send one division at a time along the railway. The German 163rd Infantry Division (often called the Engelbrecht Division after its commander) begins to move its 15,000 troops, equipment, and supplies.

A Wehrmacht soldier allows two Finnish children to "ride" his motorcycle, June 1941.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The Japanese desire military bases in southern Indochina and decide to use force if necessary to get them. The high command also sets 10 August as the deadline for a decision to attack the Soviet Union in conjunction with Operation Barbarossa. There are no plans to attack the USSR and no forces have been allocated for that purpose, but the Japanese do have a large military presence in China and Manchukuo which could be sent on an invasion.

German Military: Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler and his adjutant, Joachim Peiper, embark on his headquarters train "Heinrich" for an inspection tour of the eastern front. Hitler's new headquarters in Rastenburg, the Wolf's Lair, conveniently is situated on a (closed) railway line, making visits to and from there by train very convenient for German leaders and foreign dignitaries.


US Government: President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802. This prohibits racial discrimination in the national defense industry, stating:

I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations... to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin.

Roosevelt also creates the Fair Employment Practice Committee to implement the Executive Order. Along with some previous defense-related bills, these are key steps in the Civil Rights movement.

25 June 1941, Members of the Lithuanian Militia Leading Jews to the Seventh Fort in Kovno, Lithuania (Yad Vashem Photo Archives 2725/17).

Holocaust: In Kaunas, political prisoners who have been released by the general uprising learn that Soviet security officers (some of whom reputedly are Jewish) are being held in the Lietukis car garage. They recognize some of their former captors. In a scene that will be repeated many times during World War II, the released prisoners kill the captive Soviets with blunt instruments.

More generally, local citizens engage in a rampage against Jews. This is known as the Kaunas pogrom. It is a sensitive topic, obviously, and there has been debate as to how much the recently arrived local German troops incite the locals to engage in anti-Semitic horror and how much is simply score-settling by locals (something that is quite common during World War II).

In any event, the pogrom lasts for five days. Jews are taken by locals to The Seventh Fort (or VII Fort, which is a defensive fortification built in Žaliakalnis district of Kaunas), one of many ad hoc prisons outside the city, and imprisoned before their eventual fates. It is estimated that 10,000 Jews are beaten and then shot there by the end of July.

Anti-semitic activities also take place elsewhere in Lithuania. The events in Kaunas, however, are etched deeply into the memory of Lithuania.

Dr. Seuss - Hitler Taxidermist, published by PM Magazine on June 25, 1941, Dr. Seuss Collection, MSS 230.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run against St. Louis Browns pitcher Denny Galehouse in New York. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 37 games.

Isolationist Senator Robert Taft of Ohio gives a radio speech in which he argues that the United States now is safer because of Germany's attack on Russia:

The Russian war certainly postpones for many months any attack which Hitler could possibly make; and makes even more certain a defense of the United States sufficient to discourage any military or naval attack.

Rather than declare war on anybody, Taft says that it would be wiser to avoid foreign wars and simply help England fight its war:

This country can be united on a policy of no intervention in Europe and aid to Britain. We can make that aid infinitely more effective if we abandon the role of world benefactor; if we leave Balkan politics alone; if we avoid a Communist alliance; if we adhere to the simple policy of aiding Britain.

He concludes, "The Russian war has weakened every argument for intervention." Roosevelt already, on the 24th, has promised aid to Russia to fight Germany.

President Roosevelt's "Fair Employment Practice in Defense Industries" Executive Order of 25 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

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