Monday 14 July 1941

Katyusha rockets, first used by the Red Army near Orsha on 14 July 1941.

Eastern Front: The spearheads of Army Group North reach the Luga River on 14 July 1941. The Luga is the last natural barrier before Leningrad. Leningrad is of top priority because the Finns are coming down on the other side, and linking up with them would free up a lot of formations. However, the real action is in the south, where a major battle appears to be shaping up around Kyiv.

In the Far North Sector, German General Dietl's attempt to get the advance toward Murmansk moving again fails as the Soviets land the 325th Rifle Regiment at the Bay of Litsa for a counterattack against German Army of Norway. Further south, however, the Finns continue making progress in Karelia. Their Army of Karelia takes the important road junction of Loimola and Muanto northeast of Lake Ladoga, sending the defending Soviet 7th Army and 23rd Army reeling back toward the lake. With the Wehrmacht advancing toward Leningrad swiftly from the southwest, Soviet forces in Karelia stand a good chance of being cut off.

In the Army Group North sector, German commandos of the Brandenburg special forces unit don Red Army and drive up in captured Soviet trucks in a daring operation to capture twin bridges at Porechye over the Luga River. Soviet Luga Operational Group counterattacks but cannot dislodge the Germans. German 6th Panzer Division takes a bridgehead over the Narva River. Soviet 11th Army, which has under command 41st and 22nd Rifle Corps and the 1st Mechanized Corps, counterattacks at Soltsy after Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group takes it. General Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group advances into the Lake Peipus area, while General von Manstein attacks toward Novgorod.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets deploy an experimental battery of seven Katyusha mobile rocket launchers for the first time near Orsha/Smolensk in Vitebsk Province. The goal is to recapture a railway station with two Soviet ammunition trains. Under the command of Captain Ivan Flyorov, the unit fires two volleys of 16-rockets each. The barrage destroys the advancing German unit of tanks and armored vehicles and chases them out of the town, enabling the Soviet recapture of the trains. This successful introduction causes the Red Army to expand the use of the Katyushas and organize new Guards mortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions (Guards units are those that have been honored for some success on the battlefield and given extra units). This use of Katyusha rockets is a tonic to Soviet morale and ushers in an entirely new class of weapons - mobile rocket launchers.

General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group continues to roll eastward and, late in the day, reaches the outskirts of Smolensk. His troops report that some of the enemy troops are running away "in wild flight," according to General Halder's war diary, but also some Soviets are trying to hold their positions. A Soviet counterattack centered on Gomel begins on the south flank of the army group, apparently to relieve pressure on Smolensk. General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group heads toward a major Soviet troop concentration centered at Nevel.

In the Army Group South sector, a Soviet counterattack at Zvyagol gains steam. OKH sends the 25th Motorized Division and the SS Adolf Hitler Division to clear the Zvyagol/Zhytomyr highway. This is an important conduit to III Corps further up the road, which already is under pressure itself and running low on ammunition. Elsewhere on the front, the heavy fighting at Berdichev is dying down, with 11th Army having taken 2000 casualties. Outside of Kyiv, the 13th Infantry Division cuts railroad lines into Kyiv from the west and south.

Newsweek's 14 July 1941 cover story is "Moscow's Hope: Red Blasters vs. Panzers." Coincidentally, 14 July 1941 also is the day the Soviet Red Army first uses Katyusha rockets against the Wehrmacht.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Armistice of Saint-Jean d'Acre (also known as the "Convention of Acre") is signed at the Sidney Smith Barracks on the outskirts of the city of Acre. The armistice agreement provides that the 37,563 Vichy French military and civilian personnel in the Levant will be repatriated to France in eight convoys in August and September. The French can retain their side-arms and remain in their units, but their equipment is handed over to the British victors. The Armistice provides that local levees of Syrian and Lebanese volunteers, organized as the Special Troops of the Levant, remain free and simply revert to British command.

An exchange of prisoners also is required, but the British are upset when they learn that the French took many prisoners out of the country. Demanding their return, the British hold Vichy commander General Henri Dentz and 29 of his senior officers in detention in Palestine until they are handed over.

The Convention of Acre effectively ends the campaign in Syria and Lebanon. From a strategic perspective, this is a big win for the Allies because it ensures the safety of the oil route from Basra/Baghdad in Iraq to Haifa, Palestine. It also removes the threat of a concentric attack on Egypt should General Rommel's Afrika Korps make further advances.

Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 29 Blenheim bombers on a coastal sweep all the way from Cherbourg to the Netherlands. They wind up in a Circus mission at the Hazebrouck railway yards after attacking several targets along the way. Two Blenheims fail to return.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Bremen with 78 Wellingtons and 19 Whitleys. They have three main targets:

• the Alstadt
• the goods station
• the shipyards

The attack is considered a success despite the fact that four Wellingtons fail to return, as returning crews report "the whole town was ablaze."

RAF Bomber Command also attacks Hannover with 85 aircraft, 44 Hampdens, 21 Wellingtons, 14 Halifaxes, and 6 Stirlings. The targets are a rubber plant and the city center. This attack also is considered a success, although two Wellingtons fail to return.

RAF Bomber Command also sends six Wellingtons to attack Rotterdam and 10 Hampdens on minelaying operations in the Frisian Islands and the Elbe.

RAF fighter ace James Lacey shoots down a Bf-109.

A Vickers Wellington Mk I captured by the Luftwaffe from the Royal Air Force’s 311 Sqn (KX-T, RAF Serial L7842). 311 Squadron was first formed at RAF Honington, Suffolk on 29 July 1940, equipped with Wellington I bombers and crewed mostly by Czechoslovakian aircrew who had escaped from Europe. This was before the aircraft received its traditional bright yellow underside paint used by the Luftwaffe’s Rechlin test facility. L7842 was delivered in mid-1940. It was lost on 6 February 1941 while in service with No. 311 (Czech) Squadron - it was forced to land during a mission to Boulogne and captured intact, as shown.

RAF figures indicate that Bomber Command loses its 1000th aircraft during the war. These break down as follows:

• 328 lost during daylight operations
• 672 lost during night operations

The number of sorties breaks down as follows:

• 40,346 sorties total
• 3,737 daytime sorties
• 32,609 night-time sorties

While more bombers have been lost during the night-time, the figures show a much different story for casualty rates:

• 4.2% casualty rate during daylight operations
• 2.1% casualty rate during night operations

The 40,346 sorties have dropped a total of 28,642 bombs dropped.

Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Morosini torpedoes and sinks 5358-ton British freighter Rupert De Larrinaga in the Azores southeast of Ponta Delgada. There are 44-45 survivors, picked up by passing 6382-ton Spanish tanker Campeche.

Italian submarine Alessandro Malaspina torpedoes and sinks 3576-ton Greek freighter Nikoklis about 105 miles southwest of the Azores. There are 17 deaths.

The German 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla (S.26, 27, 28, 40, and 101) attacks a Soviet convoy off Ekholm, Finland without causing any damage.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1305-ton Swedish freighter Aspen 45 nautical miles (83 km) off Rotterdam/Ijmuiden. There are two deaths. Some accounts place this incident on 16 July.

British 5449-ton freighter Hannington Court catches fire about 9 miles south of Dyer's Island, South Africa, and is badly damaged. Later, because the drifting and abandoned ship is a navigational hazard, the Hannington Court is sunk by shellfire. There are two deaths.

Convoy OB-346 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.

Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) trawler HMS Quadrille is commissioned, submarine Simoon is laid down.

US submarine USS Herring is laid down, and the keel is laid for USCGC Storis.

Free French soldiers at Bethlehem French Hospital, 14 July 1941 (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection - Reproduction number: LC-DIG-matpc-21362).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Osiris torpedoes and damages 5293-ton Italian freighter Capo D'Orso in the Sicilian Strait northwest of Lampedusa.

The Luftwaffe torpedoes and sinks 3147-ton British freighter Brodwal in Beirut Roads off Beirut, Lebanon.

The Luftwaffe also torpedoes and sinks 2370-ton Vichy French freighter Lesbian at Beirut, Lebanon. Some sources say that the ship is intentionally scuttled due to the Armistice.

Junkers Ju-88 bombers based on Crete attack Suez, damaging ships and harbor infrastructure. British troopship Georgic of Convoy WS-9A (Winston Special) is hit and set afire. The ship drifts to the beach, entangling itself with landing ship Glenearn on the way, which also is badly damaged. There are 26 deaths. Glenearn later has to be towed to Bombay in August 1941, while Georgic is out of action until March 1943, when it arrives in England for repairs.

Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta runs supplies during the night along with British destroyer Hero. While tied up and unloading, an accident happens during which its hull is breached. It sails to Mersa Matruh anyway, where it undergoes temporary repairs and then heads to Alexandria.

An Axis convoy of five freighters departs Tripoli bound for Naples. The RAF sends Swordfish torpedo-bombers from Malta to attack, but they can't find the convoy.

At Malta, a Malta-based reconnaissance plane flown by Flight Officer Adrian Warburton is flying over Catania, Sicily on a routine reconnaissance flight when the Italians at an airfield mistake his plane for an Italian one. The ground crew flashes Warburton a green light to land on the field, so Warburton drops his wheels and pretends to make a landing approach. However, at the last second, he makes a strafing run on the planes parked along the runway.

Life Magazine, 14 July 1941, "Sand Sailing."

Battle of the Black Sea: The Red Air Force bombs and sinks 1201-ton Romanian bucket dredger Sir John Baldwin in the Danube Delta. She later is refloated, repaired and returned to service.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet makes a rendezvous with supply ship Anneliese Essberger.

Partisans: The uprising in Montenegro against Italian rule continues. Today, the rebels take Mojkovac, killing Italian gendarmes. The revolt (the 13 July Uprising) continues adding new supporters throughout the regime.

Applied Science: The MAUD Committee report, which states that an atomic bomb is feasible, finds its ways into the hands of Dr. Vannevar Bush, head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and Dr. James B. Conant, head of the National Defense Research Committee.

British papers, such as the 14 July 1941 News Chronicle, are full of news about the recent signing in Moscow of the Anglo/Soviet Pact.

German/Finnish Relations: General Halder notes in his war diary that General Erfurth has told him that Finnish leader Mannerheim is "showing a certain passive resistance against the idea of an operation east of Lake Ladoga." This is the first sign of Finnish reluctance to advance beyond what Finland considers to be its rightful historic lands and into Russia. "There are some misunderstandings, it seems," Halder concludes, noting that he has sent someone to "clear up the situation."

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: In Paris, Japanese Ambassador Kato asks Vice-Premier Darlan for French official recognition of the Japanese puppet regime in Nanking, China. Darlan vaguely replies that he will look into it. Kato also submits a list of Japanese demands for use of air and naval bases in southern French Indochina - which would come in handy for attacking Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Phillippines, and Singapore.

US Coast Guard Cutter Storis under construction at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company. "Storis" is a Scandinavian word meaning "Great Ice." With her keel laid on 14 July 1941, Storis is launched on 4 April 1942 and commissioned on 30 September 1942 as an ice patrol tender.

German/Japanese Relations: Hitler meets with Japanese Ambassador Oshima. As German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has been trying to do, Hitler asks Japan to attack Siberia (instead of attacking south) and suggests that the two countries could combine to isolate and subdue the United States. Japan, however, has no intention of attack Vladivostok, and Oshima politely indicates that to Ribbentrop.

German/Spanish Relations: Spanish General Agustin Munoz Grandes, the commander of the Spanish volunteer Blue Division, flies to Berlin for talks regarding the Wehrmacht's use of the Blue Division on the Eastern Front.

Time Magazine, July 14, 1941, | Vol. 38 No. 2. General Keitel on the cover, watched by the ghosts of Napoleon and the Kaiser (cover credit: Ernest Hamlin Baker). While the Allies do not know it, Keitel basically has been reduced to the status of Hitler's adjutant and does not control the Wehrmacht in the same fashion that those other leaders commanded their own militaries.

German Military: General Franz Halder, the OKH operations boss, is losing his patience with Fuhrer Headquarters. He writes in his war diary regarding back-and phone calls between the Wofschanze and the front commands:

Those futile telephone conversations continue until long past midnight; they only accomplish killing in field commands any desire to shoulder responsibility and waste everyone's time. The Fuhrer's eternal meddling in matters, the pattern of which he does not understand, are becoming more than anyone can stand.

Halder follows this with a brief note that another Fuhrer order has just arrived regarding troop strength.

Amon Göth is promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmführer.

Painter/sculptor Max Ernst discussing his entry to the United States at Ellis Island with US immigration officials. Standing to the left is Peggy Guggenheim, Ernst's future wife, who has helped Ernst to flee Europe.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech in Parliament which becomes known as the "Do your worst... and we shall do our best" speech. In it, he pays tributes to the "courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people" during the Blitz. He warns that the Blitz is not yet over, saying "We do not expect to hit without being hit back, and we intend with every week that passes to hit harder."

American Homefront: In a game against the Chicago White Sox in Comiskey Park, Chicago, New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio hits a single off of Sox pitcher Johnny Rigney. This extends his record hitting streak to 54 consecutive games.

Boston American, 14 July 1941. There were many false reports during World War II about Hitler jailing Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering - which did eventually come true, but not in 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

Sunday 15 June 1941

Soldiers of the 4th Indian Division decorate their truck during Operation Battleaxe, North Africa. 15 June 1941. "Hell-Fire Pass" is the common British nickname for Halfaya Pass.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: After a two-day battle, on 15 June 1941 Australian troops of the 21st Brigade walk into Sidon after the Vichy French retreat during the night. While a bit of a hollow victory, it is still a victory and solidifies Australian/British control over the vital coast.

The Battle of Kissoué begins at 04:00 when 5th Indian Infantry Brigade troops (Brigadier Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd) begin a frontal assault on the town, which is a key stop on the road to Damascus. By 08:30, the Indian troops take the town, and by 09:00, they are probing the hills beyond. By 10:00, the Indian troops have taken Tel Kissoué slightly further north, and Free French marines occupy Mokelbe on the river along the flank. The Free French forces then advance across the river into the hills beyond and take Jebel Kelb, but then run into determined Vichy French resistance at Jebel Abou Atriz just beyond. An artillery battle develops on the extreme right flank, stopping a sortie by Free French tanks. A large Vichy French force then sorties out of Damascus, and other Vichy French advance from the east and take Ezraa.

Brigadier Lloyd then decides that the best defense is a good offense. He sends two companies of Free French troops to the south to hold the Vichy French advancing from the east and orders the Indian brigade to march on Damascus. The Indian troops make some ground, taking Aartouz on the left flank and severing Vichy French lines of communication. As the day ends, the entire sector is in the midst of a wild melee with no clear winner and pockets of troops of both sides scattered in the hills to the south of Damascus.

At Merdjayoun (Merjayun), the Vichy French attack the Australian troops who have been left behind while the main forces moves toward the coast. The French recapture Merdjayoun, but lose a number of their Renault R35 tanks to British 25-pounder anti-tank guns. The French advance stalls after this. Another French counterattack at Jezzine is beaten off.

Overhead, French Dewotine D.520 fighters bounce six Gloster Gladiators above Kissoué and shoot one Gladiator down (Fl-Off J. N. Craigie) and badly damage another. The French lose two fighters, one of which crash-lands at Rayak airfield and is destroyed.

Offshore, Vichy French destroyers Guephard and Valmy once again sortie out of Beirut Harbor. They run into Royal Navy destroyers HMS Jervis and Kimberley, and after a brief fight, the French destroyers retreat back into the harbor. Vichy French bombers attack light cruisers Phoebe and Leander and destroyers Ilex, Isis and Hasty while they are bombarding Sidon. Isis is damaged by a near miss and proceeds to Haifa, and thence to Singapore until 1942.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber command sends 23 aircraft on anti-shipping missions. RAF Bomber Command also sends 35 bombers to the oil refinery at Hamburg, with 26 reaching the target. After dark, another 91 aircraft attack Cologne, 31 attack Dusseldorf and 16 bombers attack Hannover.

German tanker Lothringen, captured 15 June 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy winds up its destruction of the German supply network (the "Etappendienst") in the Atlantic. Aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle disable 10,746-ton German tanker Lothringen, allowing cruiser HMS Dunedin to capture it. The entire crew survives. The tanker is renamed Empire Salvage and used by the Royal Navy. The Lothingren had been seized from the Dutch while under construction.

Acting on Ultra intelligence, Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt conducts a rare attack on another submarine. It fires a six-torpedo spread at U-557 (Oblt. Ottokar Paulssen), but all six torpedoes miss. U-557, operating with Wolfpack West, never even notices. The two submarines will meet again on 15 December 1941, incidentally, with the tables turned.

The RAF bombs and sinks Danish freighter Hans Broge about 15 nautical miles (28 km) southwest of Texel, Northern Holland. The Hans Broge is later refloated and used for target purposes.

British 7-ton fishing boat Audacious hits a mine and blows up in the Thames Estuary south of Great Wakering. There is one survivor.

U.S. Navy Task Force 3, under command of Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram, begins patrol operations from the Brazilian ports of Recife and Bahia. The force consists of four Omaha (CL 4)-class light cruisers and five destroyers.

Convoy OB-336 departs from Liverpool.

Transports 26,454-ton USS West Point (Captain Frank H. Kelley, Jr., Ap-23, formerly liner America) and 33,560-ton Wakefield (AP-21, formerly liner Manhattan) are commissioned.

Troop transport USS West Point in camouflage gray paint, 15 June 1941 (Photo No. 19-N-24557 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command). The West Point is the converted SS America, constructed in 1940. Retaking its original name after the war, SS America wrecked on the Canary Islands in 1994 and parts of it remain visible at low tide.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Battleaxe, the latest British attempt to push the Germans and Italians back from the Egyptian frontier, begins. Lt. General Noel Beresford-Peirse sends his troops forward around 02:00 and they attack around dawn. It is a long day of attacks and counterattacks, with the British taking ground but scoring no breakthroughs.

At 05:15, Brigadier Reginald Savory leads Coast Force toward Halfaya Pass. His force has Halfaya Group (2nd Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the 13 tanks (twelve Matildas and one light tank) of C Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment) on the escarpment overlooking the pass. Advancing from the east are the 1st Battalion 6th Rajputana Rifles and 2nd Battalion 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, two troops of A Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment and a few 25-pounder guns.

Opposing them in Halfaya Pass are 15th Panzer Division and assorted German and Italian infantry. British artillery fails to correctly position itself in time to launch a preparatory bombardment, so the British tanks attack at the top of the pass without artillery support at 06:00. The forewarned German and Italian troops - the Germans intercepted news of the offensive from careless Australian wireless transmissions before midnight - quickly open up with anti-tank fire that knocks out all but one of the advancing British Matilda tanks and one light tank.

The German troops respond quickly with a counterattack led by armored cars and motorized infantry in Halfaya Pass. At Fort Capuzzo, the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment has early success, but 8th Panzer Regiment of the 15th Panzer Division launches several counterattacks that the British tank regiment and 22nd Guards Brigade blunt with great difficulty. The British wind up with Fort Capuzzo. Rommel, however, is keeping the bulk of the 15th Panzer Division back for defensive purposes.

A map diagram of Operation Battleaxe, 15-17 June 1941.

The Germans use a favored tactic of launching feints against the British, such as with the 8th Panzer Regiment. These draw the British forward onto concealed anti-tank guns, which blast the advancing tanks from point-blank range. Five British tanks advancing up along Hafid Ridge are knocked out by German 88 mm flak guns being used as anti-tank artillery. Another 11 Crusader tanks are destroyed and six damaged a little later. Late in the day, the 5th Panzer Regiment of the 5th Light Division sends forward 30 panzers to solidify the defenses.

However, when all is said and done, the British overall score minor gains along the frontier during the and take over 500 German and Italian prisoners. The British now hold Fort Capuzzo, but fail to take Halfaya Pass and Hafid Ridge.

The British problem is not their minimal gains, but their very real losses in armor and infantry. They have lost dozens of tanks, with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment down to 20 cruiser tanks and the 6th Royal Tank Regiment down to 20 out of its original 50 Crusader tanks. The 4th Armoured Brigade winds up with only 48 of its starting allotment of 100 tanks (after 11 are repaired overnight). Perhaps just as importantly, the Germans chase the British off the battlefield and prevent the British from recovering their damaged tanks, of which there are many. Among the British tank losses is that of Major Miles, the Commander of "C" Squadron.

The British learn the expensive lesson that their tanks are no match for German 88 mm guns. The Matildas and others also are out-ranged and outgunned by the panzers, and many of the British shots bounce off the panzers' armor. Panzer shells, however, have little trouble destroying British tanks.

Overhead, Luftwaffe I./JG 27, 7./JG 26 and 8./ZG 26 shoot down eight Hawker Hurricanes and two bombers at a cost of two Bf 109s.

The biggest lesson from the first day of Operation Battleaxe, though, is the importance of knowing when your opponent is going to attack. This is a luxury that the British usually have due to Ultra, but in this instance, the tables are turned and the Germans and Italians are the ones who know the enemy's intentions. This enables the Germans to position and man their anti-tank guns along projected axes of the British advance and implement tactics to draw the British tanks into kill zones. The British, incidentally, generally are in the dark about Rommel's intentions because he operates independently from OKW in Berlin and often communicates with his troops directly or via messengers.

The British plan to resume their offensive on the 16th. General Rommel, on the other hand, brings up his 5th Light Division to Sidi Aziz during the evening and night and plans an attack on the advancing British from the rear in order to loosen the stress on the Axis troops defending Halfaya Pass. He orders them to attack before dawn, along with a frontal attack on Fort Capuzzo to pin down the leading elements of the British advance, because he knows from intercepts that the British intend to attack just after dawn.

Elsewhere, in a classic demonstration of the durability of Catalina flying boats, one flying near Gibraltar fights off four Axis planes. The attackers lose one plane, which crashes in Portugal.

General Ritchie takes up his position as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Middle East Command.

Australian Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull atop the Martin Maryland 167 he shot down on 15 June 1941 over Sheik Meskine. The victory, in a Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks, was Turnbull's fifth, making him an ace and thus meriting a celebration. Turnbull later earns the DFC for his service (Edmunds Collection-PVR Image)

Battle of the Pacific: Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Emerald collides with light cruiser Dauntless near Malacca Light. Both ships proceed to Singapore for repairs.

Spy Stuff:  The US government arrests Japanese naval officer Itaru Tachibana and Charlie Chaplin's former valet, Toraichi Kono for espionage. It is a joint operation by the FBI and Office of Naval Intelligence, and evidence is obtained via a break-in of the Japanese consulate in San Francisco. This becomes known as the "Tachibana Affair." The raid yields a large amount of evidence that effectively destroys the Japanese espionage network on the U.S. West Coast. The US agents, led by Lt. Cdr. Kenneth Duval Ringle, learn to their surprise that the Japanese agents look down on American Japanese as cultural traitors who are not to be trusted.

Axis Relations: The Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH) becomes the final country to sign the Tripartite Pact. While nominally an independent nation ruled by the Duke of Savoy, Ante Pavelić controls the country. There now are nine signatories of the Pact, including Germany, Italy, Japan (the original three), Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union has asked to join the Pact, but Germany has ignored them. Germany does want Finland to sign, but the Finnish Government knows that signing it would produce a crisis in relations with the United States (with which it is never at war).

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill sends President Roosevelt a cable warning that the Japanese are preparing an attack toward the southern Pacific sometime later in the year. Churchill asks Roosevelt to station warships in Singapore in order to deter a Japanese attack there, which, all things considered in light of later developments, is not such a bad idea.

Italian/Hungarian Relations: Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano informs the Foreign Minister of Hungary that the Soviet Union is poised to attack Hungary. Neither man knows about Operation Barbarossa, though there is a possibility that their national leaders do to one extent or another.

German Military: Wehrmacht troops continue assembling in their forward positions for Operation Barbarossa. U-boats in the Baltic are given permission to begin attacking any Soviet warships they spot - but there aren't very many of those at sea. These sinkings, if there are any, are to be excused as "accidents." This is reminiscent of the Kriegsmarine ordering its U-boats to sea on 15 August 1939 in preparation for the attack on Poland.

US Military: The US Navy commissions its new Naval Air Station (NAS) at Kodiak, Alaska. This NAS in the Aleutian Islands has been under construction since September 1939. It is to become home to PBY patrol squadrons which patrol 4,000,000 square miles covering the Gulf of Alaska, Bristol Bay, the Bering Sea, and Alaska's Pacific coast.

General Miles Dempsey takes command of the 46th Infantry Division.

German troops execute 10 Polish hostages in German-occupied Gąbin, 15 June 1941.

German Government: Adolf Hitler spends the day at home in Berlin with his cronies, including Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. He is in a good mood, laughing at Goebbels' jokes and biding his time until Operation Barbarossa opens in one week's time. The Wehrmacht is used to receiving delays in its invasions, such as of Poland in 1939 and France, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1940, but Hitler has no intention of delaying his grand design.

Hitler, for all his confidence, is having trouble falling asleep. He spends the early morning hours rambling with his attentive minions. This is a pattern that will recur frequently in the coming months, and at times become his daily habit. His personal physician, however, has sedatives for when he really needs some rest.

China: The Japanese bomb Nationalist capital Chungking (Chongqing) again. US gunboat USS Tutuila (PR-4) is docked in the river and some bombs land nearby. Some slight damage to the US Embassy there results. After the US files a diplomatic protest, Japanese Admiral Shimada Shigetaro issues an apology and tells the Americans that it was "not intentional." The US also complains in general about Japanese raids on the civilian population of Chungking.

Holocaust: In German-occupied Gąbin, Poland, German troops stage a public execution of 10 Polish hostages.

German striker Hans Fiederer (on the right) shoots at the Croatian goal, which is devotedly defended by Miroslav Brozović (on the left) and goalkeeper Franjo Glaser (on the ground). The first match of the national football team of Croatia, played against Germany in Vienna, 15 June 1941.

German Homefront: The first football game between Germany and Croatia is played at the Vienna's Prater Stadium. Germany wins 5-1.

American Homefront: Reflecting a pessimistic tone to many commencement speeches this year, James B. Conant, President of Harvard University and recently head of a mission to Great Britain on behalf of President Roosevelt, says to the graduating class of Harvard:

It is conceivable that the next fifty years for the United States will be as black as the last year has been for France.

He also somewhat cheerlessly notes that the Draft will cause "for most of you some frustration of your ambitions."

Future History: Harry Edward Nilsson III is born in Brooklyn, New York. He becomes a top recording star during the 1960s and 1970s, having big hits with albums Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) and Son of Schmilsson (1972). He also is known for being close friends with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. Harry Nilsson passes away on 15 January 1994 at age 52.

Neal Adams is born on Governors Island, Manhattan, New York. He becomes a top comic book and commercial artist, working for DC Comics and Marvel among others. He creates the definitive portrayals of characters Batman and Green Arrow. As of this writing, Neal Adams continues to work on various projects, including a "Deadman" limited series.

Essy Persson becomes a Swedish film star.

Essy Ingeborg Vilhelmina Persson is born in Gothenburg, Sweden. Essy works as a secretary while studying to be an actress and gets parts in Stockholm City Theater beginning in 1963. Essy Persson makes her film debut in "Jeg - en kvinde" ("I - A Woman") (1965), a seminal Swedish erotic drama. The film becomes an international success, and  Essy makes additional appearances through the 1980s on television and in such films as "Mission Stardust" (1967), "Therese and Isabelle" (1968), "Das Rasthaus der Grausamen Puppen" (1967), and "Cry of the Banshee" (1970). Persson concentrates on Swedish television productions later in her career, the last in 1987. As her career in film dries up, Essy Persson studies art at Konsthögskolan Valand and Konstfack from 1981 to 1984. Essy then becomes a painter, which craft she apparently continues as of 2018.

German soldiers on leave in East Prussia, 15 June 1941 (Federal Archive N 963 Bild-14-12A).

June 1941

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

2020

Saturday 15 February 1941

Camp Barkeley, Texas is activated on 13 February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The new Greek Epirus Army (I and II Corps) fights hard in the Klisura Pass area on 15 February 1941. However, the front has stabilized everywhere despite both sides desperately trying to push the enemy back.

East African Campaign: The British remain stuck before Keren, Eritrea. However, they continue advancing slowly in other areas in East Africa.

Convoy WS 5B (a Winston Special troop convoy) departs from Durban. It has nine troopships.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 35 bombers against oil installations at Hamburg. For various reasons, only 26 appear over the target. It also sends 43 aircraft to bomb Boulogne. Other bombers mount a propaganda mission to Poland, dropping leaflets over Cracow and Katowice. Coastal Command bombs the docks at Calais, and the RAF mounts Rhubarb raids during the day.

The Luftwaffe attacks the Northumberland mining district. About 130 bombers appear over the coastal area. While it is not a major raid by London standards (which also receives some attention today), it is large by local standards and causes numerous casualties. The Luftwaffe loses a Heinkel He 111P from 6./KG 4 (5J+GP) which crashes at South Shields. There are several deaths, and a land mine that the Heinkel was carrying explodes and causes devastation.

The Marguerite, lost today in a collision with the Robert.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continue refueling from tankers Esso Hamburg and Schlettstadt. Admiral Lütjens is contemplating his next move south toward the shipping lanes.

German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper makes port at Brest (some sources say 14 February). It has sunk 8 ships of 34,042 tons. The Royal Navy is aware of its presence and sends out four destroyers from Plymouth to stop it, but they get there too late. The ship also attracts unwanted RAF attention. German authorities immediately begin considering whether to send the ship back to Germany.

German raider Pinguin, operating in the mid-Atlantic north of the island of Tristan da Cunha, meets with tanker Nordmark. Pinguin still has several captured Norwegian whalers that need prize crews. Nordmark itself has the captured "floating delicatessen" refrigerated ship Duquesa, renamed as Herzogin. The ships hook up for several days.

U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), on her third patrol, torpedoes and sinks 6573-ton British freighter Alnmoor about 750 km southwest of Rockall in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. Everyone on board perishes, either 45 or 55 men.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 983-ton British freighter Stock Force in the Humber.

A sequence of odd collisions takes place in roughly the same place which results in the loss of three ships. British 286 ton freighter Marguerite, in a convoy, collides with freighter Robert off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire. The Marguerite sinks and there are two deaths, with Robert picking up the survivors. British 958 ton collier Woodstock then is involved in a sequence of incidents in Robin Hood's Bay which results in a lot of damage. It collides with British 1509 ton freighter Paris, causing Paris to sink (it is beached but written off). It then collides with French freighter André Thomé, and the Woodstock sinks quickly from a huge tear below the waterline. It is unclear exactly what went on in this sequence of incidents. Three collisions in such a short period of time and involving the same ships, well, that is unusual.

Portuguese tug Furão sinks at the mouth of the Sado River. Seven crewmen perish.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot lays 50 mines off Norway in minefield FD 30.

Convoy OG 53 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy corvettes HMS Laforey are launched and Fritillary and Genista are laid down.

U-78 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf Dumrese) is commissioned, U-256, U-660, and U-765 are laid down.

"Sister Trotter and Sister Gee help patients with their lunch in a ward at Park Prewitt Hospital in Basingstoke in February 1941." This is the American Hospital. © IWM (D 2072)

Battle of the Mediterranean: In one of those "firsts," there is the first skirmish between British XIII Corps at Sirte, where General Rommel has sent advance troops.

The RAF bombs Lindos Harbor, Rhodes.

US/Anglo Relations: President Roosevelt sends a mission headed by Harvard University President James Bryant Conant to Great Britain to facilitate the sharing of technology. Also included in the mission are  Frederick L. Hovde from Purdue University and Carroll L. Wilson from MIT. This follows on the Tizard Mission from Great Britain that brought the United States cutting edge technology. One of Roosevelt's biggest successes during the war is his focus on advanced technology, though he chooses different areas to concentrate on than the Axis does.

Winston Churchill writes a letter to President Roosevelt about the situation in the Pacific in which he warns about a Japanese attack in the Pacific. He begins by noting that

Many drifting straws seem to indicate Japanese intention to make war on us or do something that would force us to make war on them in the next few weeks or months.

He later states:

But the attack which I fear the most would be by raiders, including possibly battle-cruisers, upon our trade routes and communications across the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Churchill concludes:

Some believe that Japan in her present mood would not hesitate to court or attempt to wage war both against Great Britain and the United States. Personally I think the odds are definitely against that, but no one can tell.

He asks Roosevelt to impress upon the Japanese that any war against Great Britain would involve the United States as well - something that Roosevelt already has broadly hinted to Japanese Ambassador Nomura.

Canadian Lieutenant Roland Gravel of the Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, Farmborough, England, 15 February 1941.

US/Italian Relations: Responding to Italian demands, presumably based on safety concerns following the Royal Navy attack on Genoa, the US closes its consulates in Naples and Palermo.

US Military: Chief of naval operations Admiral Stark writes a letter to Admiral Kimmel, CINCPAC. Stark states in the letter that torpedo nets are unnecessary at Pearl Harbor because the depth of the harbor is only 75 feet, which Stark believes is insufficient for air-launched torpedoes (90 feet being the assumed minimum). The Japanese are aware of this issue and are working to find a way around this limitation.

Omar Bradley is promoted from lieutenant colonel to brigadier general, bypassing the rank of colonel, and sent to command Fort Benning. Bradley has been Assistant Secretary, General Staff since July 1939.

The US Marine Corps 1st Defense Battalion embarks from San Diego, California on USS Enterprise to take up positions on Johnston Island and Palmyra Atoll. They will first stop at Pearl Harbor.

Naval Air Station (NAS) Kaneohe Bay is established on Oahu. Its commander is Harold M. Martin.

Camp Barkeley, Texas is activated. It is an infantry training post in Taylor County Texas. Construction began on 17 December 1940, and it will be declared surplus on 21 March 1945.

Congress authorizes the construction of a US Marine Corps base at New River, North Carolina.

Japanese Government: There is at least one spy in the Japanese consulate in Honolulu. The Japanese vice-consul in Honolulu, Otohiro Okuda, sends a message to Tokyo warning that the US is planning to declare war on Japan by the end of the first week of March. Where he gets this erroneous information, or rather what the original source was, is unclear.

Rigging on water well number 5 at Camp Polk, Louisiana on 15 February 1941 (National WWII Museum).

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in Khartoum, and records in his diary that he visits a memorial today to the 21st Lancers during a past border war. Among the names inscribed on it is that of Winston Churchill, who he is on the way to see.

Holocaust: The German government in Austria (Arthur Seyss-Inquart) begins deporting Austrian Jews to Polish ghettos. The first 1000 Jews are sent to a ghetto in Opole, Poland.

Spanish Homefront: There is a large fire in the city of Santander. There are 115 deaths.

Dutch Homefront: Tensions remain high. German sympathizers (the WA and German Grüne Polizei) and opponents continue to engage in scuffles throughout the city. The enclosure of the Jewish Ghetto has been a prime factor in stirring up demonstrations.

Michael Maltese.

American Homefront: Duke Ellington and his orchestra record "Take the 'A' Train" at RCA Victor's studio in Hollywood Studio. The tune is written by Billy Strayhorn. This is only the first of several commercial recordings, but the most famous and enduring. The song has been under development since 1939 when Ellington wrote down travel instructions for Strayhorn to his house which included the directive "Take the A Train."

Warner Bros. releases "The Haunted Mouse," a Looney Tunes production by Tex Avery (animation by Sid Sutherland). It features the voices of Mel Blanc as the Black Cat (if you have a mouse, you need a cat!) and Walter Tetley as the Haunted Mouse. This is the first writing credit for Michael "Mike" Maltese, who some consider the greatest cartoon writer of all time for his plays on words and original stories. It is Avery's first black and white cartoon in four years as Warners spreads out the work to different directors - Tex leaves the story shortly after.



February 1941

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

2020