Tuesday 3 March 1942

A B-17 Flying Fortress destroyed on the ground during the 3 March 1942 Japanese air raid on Broome, Western Australia.

Battle of the Pacific: Japanese planes bomb the town of Broome, Western Australia, on 3 March 1942. The raid, carried out by nine Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters and a Mitsubishi C5M2 reconnaissance plane from their base at Kupang, Timor, kills 88 people. Broome is not a large town but is a key refueling point for aircraft traveling from the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) to other destinations in Western Australia. There also is a large group of refugees from the East Indies and some military personnel staying at Broome. The surprise raid destroys eight PBY Catalinas operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Netherlands Navy Air Service (MLD), United States Navy and the Royal Air Force; two Short Empires belonging to the RAAF and QANTAS, and five Dornier Do 24s belonging to the MLD. A total of 24 Allied aircraft are lost. The Japanese also shoot down a USAAF B-24 about 16 km (10 miles) offshore, killing 19 of 20 US servicemen on board (one man manages to swim to shore). There is little opposition to the raiders because there are no Allied fighter planes based there, but ground fire downs a Zero, killing the pilot, and another Zero runs out of fuel and has to ditch on the way back to base.

This is the DC-3 shot down north of Broome on 3 March 1942 in which a cache of diamonds mysteriously disappeared.

While returning to Timor from Broome, the Japanese shoot down KNILM (requisitioned from KLM) Douglas DC-3-194 PK-AFV "Pelikaan." It is on a flight from Bandung, Dutch East Indies (later Indonesia), to Broome. The plane crashes at Carnot Bay, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Broome. Japanese ace Lt Zenjiro Miyano and two other Zero pilots attack the airliner from above, destroying the port engine and forcing the plane to land successfully on the beach. The Zeros then strafe the plane, killing the engineer and three passengers. The next day, a Japanese Kawanishi H6K flying boat attempts to bomb the plane but misses. The survivors are rescued after spending six days on the beach. There is an element of mystery surrounding this incident because a valuable shipment of diamonds on board the plane is never found - well, except for a fraction of them. A beachcomber later turns in 10% of them (valued at A$20,447) and is accused of stealing the rest, but is acquitted in 1943.

USS Asheville, sunk on 3 March 1942.

Japanese patrols south of Java continue finding and sinking Allied ships fleeing the island. Japanese destroyers Arashi and Nowaki, under the command of Vice-Admiral Nobutake Kondō, use their guns to destroy US Navy gunboat USS Asheville during the early afternoon about 200 miles east of Christmas Island. There is only one survivor, 18-year-old Fireman 1st Class Fred L. Brown, who tells his story about the ship's final battle to another POW before passing away on 18 March 1945 in the Japanese Makassar prisoner-of-war camp in the Celebes Islands of the Netherlands East Indies. Japanese warships also sink 3472-ton British freighter HMS Anking in the same area (16 survivors). After these battles, many Japanese forces retire from the area.

Another view of the DC-3 "diamond plane" shot down north of Broome, Australia on 3 March 1942.

On Java, the Japanese begin expanding out of their landing zones. Late in the day, Blackforce, a multination scratch force under the command of Brigadier Arthur Blackburn V.C., abandons its attempt to contain the Japanese invasion forces at Leuwiliang in West Java and withdraws toward Soekabumi. The Japanese head west and take Madja (Maja) and Balaradja (Balaraja). The Japanese 3rd Air Brigade arrives at Kalidjati airfield.

Australian soldiers examine the wreckage of the DC-3 "diamond plane" shot down north of Broome, Australia on 3 March 1942.

In Burma, Japanese forces have been infiltrating through the jungles past Allied positions blocking the main roads. Today marks the beginning of the Battle of Pegu. Japanese forces attack a motley collection of Allied troops around the main blocking position at Pegu from the northeast in the Waw-Pyinbon area. The Allied forces prepare to counterattack, moving forward a large force of M3 Stuart light tanks (nicknamed "Honeys" by the British and Commonwealth militaries). During this battle, which lasts about a week, the Honeys first destroy two Type 95 Ha-Go Japanese tanks. The battle continues for some time after that, with the Japanese losing three more tanks. Emboldened, the British tanks advance to Hiegu, where they run into a larger Japanese tank force, lose a Honey, and are forced to retreat. The British tanks then begin withdrawing past Rangoon to Prome, about 200 miles further north. This begins a general withdrawal and makes inevitable the loss of Rangoon, but today the British 63rd Brigade Group arrives there as a show of strength (with no actual intention to defend the capital against the overwhelming Japanese strength).

"Broome, [Western Australia], 3 March 1942. The remains of one of eight large aircraft, which included two Flying Fortresses and two Liberators, destroyed on the aerodrome in the Japanese air-raid on the town. Sixteen flying-boats in the harbor were also destroyed. Most of the aircraft had just arrived from the Netherlands East Indies carrying refugees who were still aboard them. It is estimated that seventy people, including women and children, were killed, and probably as many again wounded in the raid." Australian War Memorial 042696.

US Navy submarine USS Perch (David Hunt) is scuttled northwest of Surabaya after suffering damage from enemy destroyers during the last two days. All 54 men go into Japanese captivity (six perish as POWs from malnutrition). Other Allied ships continue to be scuttled rather than be captured by the Japanese, including 1018-ton Dutch freighter Bintoehan and 3027-ton Duch freighter Van Neck. Japanese bombers sink 4068-ton Australian freighter Koolama off Wyndham, Cape Londonderry, Australia.

Japanese submarine I-1, operating south of  Tjilatjap, uses gunfire to sink 8667-ton Dutch freighter Siantar. There are 37 survivors and 21 deaths.

US Navy Task Force 16 (Rear Admiral Halsey) is en route to attack Marcus Island when its patrol planes report spotting and attacking two Japanese submarines. Halsey proceeds with the mission.

The RAAF sends five Hudson bombers from 7 Mile Drome (Jackson Airport, Papua New Guinea) to attack Japanese positions at Gasmata on the southern coast of New Britain. They lose two planes.

Two Japanese Kawanishi H8K flying boats take off from Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands and fly to the French Frigate Shoals about 560 miles northwest of Honolulu. They refuel there from two waiting submarines. They then take off on a mission to bomb Oahu, Hawaii, which is to take place early on 4 March.

A view of destroyed bombers at the Broome airfield on 3 March 1942 after the Japanese air raid.

Eastern Front: Accepting defeat in his attempt to break the Axis defenses on the Parpach Narrows of the Crimea, Lieutenant General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov, commander of the Crimean Front, calls off his offensive. His forces have been battered, losing 27 KV-1 tanks while accomplishing little. The one Soviet success is a bulge in the line at the extreme northern section of the front. Stalin is unhappy and orders Kozlov to attack again within ten days. There are recriminations within the Soviet high command. This leads to the firing of Transcaucasian Front's chief of staff General-Major Fyodor Tolbukhin, whose attack plans are deemed faulty for failing to account for mud caused by warm weather and for being too complicated for the troops' abilities.

"A pall of smoke rises from the burning hull probably of a Liberator, one of the six large aircraft, which included two Flying Fortresses and a Liberator, destroyed on the aerodrome in the Japanese air-raid on the town on 3rd March 1942. Most of these aircraft had just arrived from the Netherlands East Indies carrying refugees who were still aboard them. It is estimated that 35 to 40 people were killed, including women and children, and probably as many again wounded in the raid. Fourteen flying boats in the harbor were also destroyed." Australian War Memorial P02039.003.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command has spent the last three nights resting up but returns to action with a full-scale raid on the night of 3 March 1942. It sends 235 aircraft (89 Wellingtons, 48 Hampdens, 29 Stirlings, 26 Manchesters, 23 Whitleys, and 20 Halifaxes) against the Billancourt (Paris) Renault factory. The bombers attack in three waves over the course of an hour and 50 minutes, with flares marking the target (though there is no dedicated pathfinder force at this time). A total of 223 aircraft crews report bombing the target at a loss of only 1 Wellington. This is the largest RAF raid against a single target of the war (the previous high was a raid on the night of 7 April 1941 against Kiel). About 450 tons of bombs are dropped. French sources report that 40% of factory buildings are destroyed, halting production for four weeks. There are 367 French civilian casualties.

There also are small RAF operations of four Wellingtons to Emden (one lost), four Blenheims bombing Dutch airfields (recalled), four Lancasters laying mines off the northwest German coast, and two Whitleys dropping leaflets over France. After tonight's major effort, RAF Bomber Command goes on another hiatus until 7 March.

A Stinson aircraft later bombed on the ground in Broome, 3 March 1942. IMAGE CREDIT: State Library of Queensland.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes independent 5104-ton US freighter Mary at 17:05 about 165 miles north of Brazil. Hit by two torpedoes within a matter of seconds, and then two more 15 minutes later, Mary, which is carrying war stores, sinks around 17:30. The crew has time to take to the boats and there is only one death, caused by the initial torpedo strike. There are 33 survivors.

Royal Navy motor torpedo boats sink 3493-ton German freighter Abbeville off Cap Blanc Nez, France.

SS Mary, scuttled by her crew at Surabaya, Java on 3 Mary 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Axis aircraft stage continuous raids on Malta beginning at 09:35 and continuing until 12:57, then from 14:19 to 15:25, with intermittent raids continuing for the rest of the day. The "All Clear" finally sounds at 18:50, but another raid begins at 19:37 and lasts for eleven hours throughout the night. There is damage all across the island, including to Royal Navy submarine HMS Upright. Adding to the chaos is the arrival of eight Wellington bombers from Gibraltar and several other planes from other stations.

South of the Kassandra peninsula, HMS Turbulent (Cdr. J.W. Linton) uses its deck gun to sinks Greek caique Agios Dionyssios (KAL-199). The Germans use these caiques for troop movements to and from the Aegean Islands. Sixteen German troops on the caique perish.

"The burnt-out remains of what was probably a Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Force DC-3 destroyed on the ground in the Japanese air-raid on the town on 3 March 1942." Australian War Memorial P02039.001.

Allied Relations: The Combined Chiefs of Staff begin considering a new proposal for the invasion of North Africa late in 1942. This has codename Operation Supergymnast. It replaces Operation Gymnast, which the USAAF Eighth Air Force believes would divert too many resources from the bombing campaign against Occupied Europe and Germany. The Supergymnast plan would include combined invasions by British and United States forces at Dakar, Casablanca, and Tunisia. This is a predecessor of Operation Torch, carried out in November 1942.

Chinese/British Relations: Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek meets with local British commander General Archibald Wavell in Burma. Chiang has promised the use of Chinese troops to help defend Burma.

SS Abbeville (Seen here when she was the Chickahominy SS), sunk by British MTBs on 3 March 1942.

Italian Military: Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, 43, passes away in a British POW camp in Nairobi, Kenya. He suffered from tuberculosis and malaria even before his surrender of the Italian garrison of Amba Alagi on 18 May 1941. His brother, Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta, serves as the nominal King of Croatia (this is an absentee position and Croatia is actually run by local forces).
Holocaust: At the Sajmište concentration camp near Semlin (Zemun), Croatia, authorities register 5780 Jewish inmates. They are mostly women and children. As of 22 May 1942, the population is reduced to 491, so mass executions of this population begin.

In Belgium, the occupation authorities draft Jews for forced labor.

American Homefront: The War Production Board issues regulations streamlining men's work clothes, eliminating trouser cuffs and pleats, vests, and watch pockets.

"Artists in Exile," an exhibit at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York City, opens. It features one work each by exiled artists such as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger and Piet Mondrian.

"The Avenger" magazine, March 1942, Volume 4, No. 3.

March 1942

March 1, 1942: Second Battle of Java Sea
March 2, 1942: Huge Allied Shipping Losses at Java
March 3, 1942: Japan Raids Western Australia
March 4, 1942: Second Raid On Hawaii
March 5, 1942: Japan Takes Batavia
March 6, 1942: Churchill Assaults Free Speech
March 7, 1942: British Defeat in Burma
March 8, 1942: Rangoon Falls to Japan
March 9, 1942: Japanese Conquest of Dutch East Indies
March 10, 1942:US Navy attacks Japanese Landings at Lae
March 11, 1942: Warren Buffett's First Stock Trade
March 12, 1942: Japan Takes Java
March 13, 1942: Soviets Attack In Crimea Again 
March 14, 1942: The US Leans Toward Europe
March 15, 1942: Operation Raubtier Begins
March 16, 1942: General MacArthur Gets His Ride
March 17, 1942: MacArthur Arrives in Australia
March 18, 1942: Japan Attacks In Burma
March 19, 1942: Soviets Encircled on the Volkhov
March 20, 1942: "I Shall Return," Says MacArthur
March 21, 1942: Germans Attack Toward Demyansk
March 22, 1942: Second Battle of Sirte
March 23, 1942: Hitler's Insecurity Builds
March 24, 1942: Bataan Bombarded
March 25, 1942: Chinese Under Pressure in Burma
March 26, 1942: Win Or Die, Vows MacArthur
March 27, 1942: The Battle of Suusari
March 28, 1942: The St. Nazaire Commando Raid
March 29, 1942: The Free Republic of Nias
March 30, 1942: Japanese-Americans Off Bainbridge Island
March 31, 1942: Japanese Seize Christmas Island

2020

Monday 10 November 1941

"Men of the Leicestershire Regiment man a Bren gun near Tobruk, 10 November 1941" © IWM (E 6436) (colorized).

Eastern Front: General Erich von Manstein has been given the task of conquering the Crimea with his 11th Army. So far, it has gone quickly and fairly routinely as these things go. On 10 November 1941, he launches his first planned attack on the Soviet naval base of Sevastopol in the southeastern section of the Crimea. It is well-defended and surrounded by natural obstacles but defended by isolated and presumably demoralized troops. Sevastopol does not seem like much of a problem. As OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder confidently notes in his war diary on 10 November 1941:

Good progress has been made in the Crimea, but it will take a few more days before we have cleared out the last enemy.

So, everything thing is going as planned and Soviet resistance is collapsing as everyone knew it would. Manstein uses the 50th Infantry Division to begin the assault in the area southeast of Sevastopol. It is commanded by Lieutenant General Karl-Adolf Hollidt, a recipient of both classes of the Iron Cross during World War I who is considered a true fighting general. General Hollidt is just the man to roll into Sevastopol and accept the honor of the surrender.

Private Nancy Stewart Eglinton of Adelaide. She volunteered on 10 November 1941 to serve in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) and later served with the newly formed Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (Australian War Memorial P03947.001).

Hollidt's attack makes good ground in the direction of Balaklava. His men capture Uppa near the upper reaches of the Chorna (Chernaya) River, which flows into Sevastopol. As the day progresses, though, Manstein waits before expanding the attack with additional forces, which blunts the effort. Thus, Hollidt's offensive turns into more of a probing attack than a full-scale attempt to conquer the elaborate Soviet defenses, which include numerous bunkers and fortifications. The Sevastopol perimeter is 44 kilometers long, which poses problems for both armies but more so for the Germans, who have difficulty concentrating their forces for a determined attack. However, the Germans have heavy Luftwaffe support, though its effectiveness is somewhat lessened due to the hilly terrain. Manstein is confident that he can expand the gains in the morning.

USS Long Island (AVG-1, later ACV-1, Commander Donald B. Duncan), photographed in Measure 12 (Modified) camouflage, 10 November 1941. Planes on her flight deck include seven Curtiss SOC-3A scout observation types and one Brewster F2A fighter. The Long Island was the first ship of her class and the first escort carrier in the US Navy (US Navy).

On the Soviet side, Major General Ivan Efimovich Petrov commands the Coastal Army that had been evacuated in good order by sea from Odesa, which fell to the Romanians. Petrov first had led his forces north of Sevastopol after entering the Crimea at Sevastopol to try to defend the Perekop Isthmus. However, after discussing it with his divisional commanders, Petrov then had decided to retreat to Sevastopol rather than east to the safer Kerch Peninsula (because it would be easier to retreat further east from there). Petrov's decision rests on his belief that it is important to defend this main base of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and that he has enough men to do it. Petrov commands about 52,000 Red Army soldiers, an impressive number. However, they have left much of their equipment and supplies behind in Odessa, and 21,000 of them are sailors untrained in land warfare. His best asset is 170 artillery pieces, some protected by massive concrete bunkers constructed in the 1930s that are impervious to all but the largest artillery shells or bombs. Petrov's troops only returned to Sevastopol one day ago, so the terrain is almost as new to them as to the Wehrmacht.

"Men of the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry lighting up their Italian cigars in Tobruk, 10 November 1941" © IWM (E 6509). Lighting up a friend is considered a mark of success and victory by both sides in World War II, particularly with captured smokes.

Hollidt's attack follows the coastal route from Yalta to Sevastopol along the old Vorontsov road which achieved fame during the Crimean War of the 1850s. This is the traditional attack route into Sevastopol by those coming by sea, as did the British 90 years earlier. The advantage of this route is that it avoids the hills in the central and northern sectors of the Sevastopol perimeter which serve almost as towering walls. However, Petrov is no fool and also realizes that the coastal road is easy to perceive as the "easy" road into the port and thus a likely avenue of attacks. He defends the area with crack troops of the first and second defensive sectors. Their objective is to give ground in the flatlands but hold the hills around Balaklava and at the village of Kamary (Oboronnoye), where the east-west valleys coming from the east end and the ground becomes flat again into the port itself. Hollidt today gets nowhere near these vital spots. Thus, while Hollidt does make some progress, he does not succeed in capturing anything vital to the Soviet defense. Manstein prepares to feed in another division on the 11th and see what happens. So far, everything still seems to be going according to plan on the German side.

Actress Rita Hayworth on the cover of Time magazine, 10 November 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal completes its mission of ferrying aircraft to Malta and turns to head back to Gibraltar with the rest of Force H. The Germans have received word of this operation and have positioned U-81 (Friedrich Guggenberger) along the route.


November 1941
November 1, 1941: Finns Attack Toward Murmansk Railway
November 2, 1941: Manstein Isolates Sevastopol
November 3, 1941: Japan Prepares to Attack
November 4, 1941: German Advances in the South
November 5, 1941: Last Peace Effort By Japan
November 6, 1941: Stalin Casts Blame in an Unexpected Direction
November 7, 1941: Stalin's Big Parade
November 8, 1941: Germans Take Tikhvin
November 9, 1941: Duisburg Convoy Destruction
November 10, 1941: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol
November 11, 1941: Finland's Double Game Erupts
November 12, 1941: T-34 Tanks Take Charge
November 13, 1941: German Orsha Conference
November 14, 1941: German Supply Network Breaking Down
November 15, 1941: Operation Typhoon Resumes
November 16, 1941: Manstein Captures Kerch
November 17, 1941: Finland Halts Operations
November 18, 1941: British Operation Crusader
November 19, 1941: Sydney vs. Kormoran Duel
November 20, 1941: The US Rejects Final Japanese Demand
November 21, 1941: Germans Take Rostov
November 22, 1941: Kleist in Trouble at Rostov
November 23, 1941: Germans Take Klin, Huge Battle in North Africa
November 24, 1941: Rommel Counterattacks
November 25, 1941: HMS Barham Sunk
November 26, 1941: Japanese Fleet Sails
November 27, 1941: British Relieve Tobruk
November 28, 1941: Rostov Evacuated, German Closest Approach to Moscow
November 29, 1941: Hitler Furious About Retreat
November 30, 1941: Japan Sets the Date for its Attack

2020

Tuesday 4 November 1941

The Hunt Class destroyer HMS BROCKLESBY, passing a target towed by HMS ELLESMERE. 4 November 1941 (© IWM (A 6228)).

Eastern Front: The situation on the central and northern sectors of the Eastern Front on 4 November 1941 is fairly quiet. The mud of the Rasputitsa (change of seasons) has paralyzed most German advances, while the Soviets are calibrating their defenses around Moscow and Leningrad by shifting troops around. At Tula, the buildup by both sides continues, as the Wehrmacht sends elements of German 31st, 131st, and 296th Infantry Divisions forward while the Soviets send the 413th Siberian Rifle Division (Maj. Gen. Aleksei Dmitrievich Tereshkovo) south from Moscow by train. The Soviet forces defending Tikhvin north of Moscow launch another attack with the 60th Tank Division and the 4th Guards Rifle Division against General Harpe's 12th Panzer Division, but are repelled after heavy fighting.

A soldier using a Degtyaryov antitank rifle, November 1941 (Plenik, Bruno, Federal Archive Bild 101I-141-1273-24A).

In the southern end of the Eastern Front, though, the Rasputitsa has not hit as hard as in the north, so the Germans have a somewhat easier time advancing. In the Crimea, OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder notes in his diary:

Eleventh Army continues its advance although the mountainous terrain around Sevastopol is affording the enemy greater opportunities for resistance.

While General von Manstein's 11th Army is finding that Sevastopol is going to be a hard nut to crack, further east the 170th Infantry Division expands the German hold on the Crimea by taking Feodosiya at the base of the Kerch peninsula. The Soviets have withdrawn in good order to a short line defending Kerch which leaves Sevastopol in the west completely isolated. However, both Red Army redoubts are well-garrisoned and easy to defend due to natural terrain features.

Test pilot Ralph Burwell Virden. On 4 November 1941, he perishes while testing the first Lockheed YP-38 Lightning, US Army Air Force serial 39-689. The plane breaks apart during a power dive as it approaches supersonic speeds and crashes in Glendale, California. The design overcomes its early issues and becomes the successful P-38 Lightning fighter with over 10,000 built (Los Angeles Times, 5 November 1941, page 1, column 6 and page 2, column 5).

Elsewhere in the Army Group South sector, the problem for the Germans is not so much the Soviets as the weather. The Soviets are retreating everywhere, which Halder sees as both an opportunity and a problem. The opportunity is obvious:

Despite the overwhelming difficulties of movement, we must find means to occupy the areas evacuated by the enemy.

The problems are a little more subtle:

Viewed as a whole, the situation is determined by railroad capacity and flow of supplies. There is no point in pushing operations onward before we have not, step by step, established a solid foundation for them. Failing to do that inevitably would bring fatal reverses down upon us.

These words would be well worth remembering in late 1942 when Soviet retreats will also create tempting opportunities.

General Auchinleck, Commander in Chief of the Middle East Forces, decorating Lieutenant Colonel Howard Karl Kippenberger with the Distinguished Service Order during a presentation of awards to members of a New Zealand brigade in the Western Desert. Taken at Baggush on 4 November 1941 by an official photographer.

In the far north, the Axis also accomplishes a major objective that has mixed longer-term implications. The Soviets have occupied the Finnish port of Hanko, given to them at the conclusion of the Winter War in early 1940, throughout the conflict to date. However, ultimately the position is untenable, so before dawn today the Soviets finally evacuate the small garrison. Soviet destroyers Smetlivy and Surovy carry the Soviet troops out before dawn, with Smetlivy being hit by Finnish coastal artillery that causes it to sink on the way back to Leningrad. Several hundred people perish. The Finns then occupy Hanko, solidifying Axis control of the eastern Baltic and achieving one of their war aims. Such successes, however, reduce the Finnish incentive to continue fighting because their entire reason to fight is to recover lost territory. Now that is it is recovered... why keep fighting?

Jacques Doriot at a meeting in Paris on 4 November 1941. Doriot is a former communist who became a fascist in the 1930s. He is a strong collaborator and a founder of the  Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF), a French unit of the Wehrmacht, with which Doriot fights in 1941 on the Eastern Front (Federal Archives 4 November 1941 Figure 183-M0706-502).

Of course, as the Germans can persuasively argue, the Finns aren't truly safe until the Soviet Union is defeated, but the Finns increasingly feel that this is solely a German responsibility. The Finns also are concerned about warnings from Great Britain and the United States about fighting Stalin. The bottom line is that as the Finns chalk up successes at places like Hanko, a sort of paralysis settles over their military effort. It is not that they stop fighting, as the Finns fight hard throughout the war. Rather, it is a growing desire for the war to just go away and for the men to go home. The Red Army, however, lurks just over the horizon and it has no intention of letting the Finns enjoy their conquests for long.

"A mechanic attaches the cable of a trolley-accumulator to a Hawker Hurricane Mark IIB of No. 81 Squadron RAF on the waterlogged airfield at Vanga, as a section of three Hurricanes flies overhead." Vanga, Russia, September/November 1941 © IWM (CR 38).

November 1941

November 1, 1941: Finns Attack Toward Murmansk Railway
November 2, 1941: Manstein Isolates Sevastopol
November 3, 1941: Japan Prepares to Attack
November 4, 1941: German Advances in the South
November 5, 1941: Last Peace Effort By Japan
November 6, 1941: Stalin Casts Blame in an Unexpected Direction
November 7, 1941: Stalin's Big Parade
November 8, 1941: Germans Take Tikhvin
November 9, 1941: Duisburg Convoy Destruction
November 10, 1941: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol
November 11, 1941: Finland's Double Game Erupts
November 12, 1941: T-34 Tanks Take Charge
November 13, 1941: German Orsha Conference
November 14, 1941: German Supply Network Breaking Down
November 15, 1941: Operation Typhoon Resumes
November 16, 1941: Manstein Captures Kerch
November 17, 1941: Finland Halts Operations
November 18, 1941: British Operation Crusader
November 19, 1941: Sydney vs. Kormoran Duel
November 20, 1941: The US Rejects Final Japanese Demand
November 21, 1941: Germans Take Rostov
November 22, 1941: Kleist in Trouble at Rostov
November 23, 1941: Germans Take Klin, Huge Battle in North Africa
November 24, 1941: Rommel Counterattacks
November 25, 1941: HMS Barham Sunk
November 26, 1941: Japanese Fleet Sails
November 27, 1941: British Relieve Tobruk
November 28, 1941: Rostov Evacuated, German Closest Approach to Moscow
November 29, 1941: Hitler Furious About Retreat
November 30, 1941: Japan Sets the Date for its Attack

2020

Monday 27 October 1941

A Scharfschütze (sniper) team in action, October 1941. It is unclear if the propaganda photographer realized that they were using a captured Soviet Mosin-Nagant PU rifle. Both sides had outstanding snipers, and this was a virtual war-within-a-war. Some snipers preferred to work alone because that enabled them to get closer to the enemy in concealment, but a two-man team was standard.

Eastern Front: While much of the Eastern Front is bogged down by the annual fall Rasputitsa, or muddy season, on 27 October 1941 it has not yet reached its full level in the southernmost sectors. General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army busts into the Crimea after a long struggle against fierce Red Army resistance in the Perekop Isthmus. The Soviet 51st Army retreats in the fog and mud toward the bastion of Sevastopol in the southwest, and to the Kerch Peninsula in the east. Pretty much everyone expects a fairly quick German victory and occupation.

Bellows Field (Bellows  Air Force Station) in Waimanalo, Hawaii on 27 October 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks Bellows Field in addition to Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, though the Bellows Field attack receives little attention.

The Crimea is one of the foundations of von Manstein's reputation - it is the reason he becomes a field marshal. However, in the grand scheme of World War II, the Crimea is a sideshow. It is useful to capture the Soviet naval base at Sevastopol, but the Soviet Black Sea fleet is never much of a hindrance to German operations. Hitler, however, is fixated on the Crimea - as he tells Finnish Marshal Mannerheim in June 1942, worries about Soviet bombers operating from the Crimea against the Romanian oil fields were one of the reasons he invaded the USSR in the first place. So, while objectively it might make more sense to simply seal off the Crimea and instead focus on the drive into the Caucasus, where success would effectively surround the Crimea anyway, its capture and retention lead to a major campaign. This ultimately is profitless and strategically pointless but occupies some of the best Wehrmacht minds and troops throughout the war.

USS Solace (AH-5) at anchor in Hawaiian waters after her arrival there on 27 October 1941. The hospital ship is present at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and saves many lives.

Elsewhere, the Germans make some small gains. Just to the north of the Crimea, the Soviet 12th Army of Soviet Southwest Front continues withdrawing gradually and exposes more cities for the Germans to capture. German Sixth Army, for instance, takes Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Oblast north of Stalino when the city surrenders without a fight. Italian troops are involved in the Wehrmacht's occupation of the industrial Donets Basin, and the OKW issues a communique about their efforts:

In the Donets Basin, an attempt to retard our advance was prevented by Italian troops. The enemy was thrown back with heavy and bloody losses and left several hundred prisoners in the hands of our allies

The Soviet defenders in the southern sector are outmatched at this stage. However, their retreat is orderly and efficient, preventing outright breakthroughs and forcing the Germans to advance at a measured pace.

"Photo #: 80-G-6678 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless scout bombers, of Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) Composite photograph of 9 planes in flight, with USS Enterprise (CV-6) and a plane guard destroyer below. The original photo is dated 27 October 1941. Note differences in ocean surface wave patterns between the upper and lower images skillfully blended to combine the two photographs. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives." (Navy History and Heritage Command).

Further north, the German attack on Moscow, Operation Typhoon, is mostly shut down pending an improvement in the weather but does make some gains in some places. On the extreme southern axis of the advance, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army continues up the road from Mtsensk toward Moscow, with the main forces of Kampfgruppe Eberbach at Plavsk south of Tula. On the northwest axis of the advance, the 4th Panzer Army makes progress at Volokolamsk, where it has been stalled for two weeks. At Mozhaysk, the 4th Army stops dead and is allowed by Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Fedor von Bock to dig trenches - when it is supposed to be attacking. The Wehrmacht is on the outskirts of Moscow and in a good position to attack the city, but past battles have worn it down so much that it cannot make significant progress until conditions improve.

Viktor Talalikhin, Hero of the Soviet Union, was most famous for ramming a Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bomber with his I-16 at night in August 1941, causing both planes to crash. On 27 October 1941, Talalikhin is attacked in his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 near the village of Kamenka by a swarm of Bf-109 fighters. Talalikhin shoots down two of the fighters before being shot down in turn. Talalikhin is a permanent name on the muster list of the 1st Squadron of the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment, with monuments to him in Moscow and Podolsk. KIA 27 October 1941 (colorized).

The Soviets defending Tikhvin, north of Moscow, are now under the command of General Fedyuninsky, and he makes an immediate impact. He orders three Red Army divisions to attack advance elements of General Harpe's 12th Panzer Division at the village of Sitomlia about 40 km northeast of Budogsh' (Budogoshch). While Harpe's small unit is wildly outgunned, its commander decides to fight and goes into a defensive crouch while calling for reinforcements. The Red Army units attack piecemeal, like the bad guys in a karate flick who attack the hero only one at a time. Harpe is able to shift his men around just enough to hold the attackers off until help arrives. General Rudolf Schmidt, commander of 39th Army Corps and the man in charge of this portion of the advance, quickly sends the 8th Panzer and 18th Motorized Divisions to rescue the trapped men, which is accomplished by nightfall. The 12th Panzer reconnaissance team winds up doing its job - identifying the enemy units - but not quite in the way it had planned.

The original caption reads (and these may offend readers, but this is what it says): "To make room for construction in the Poznan suburb of Wallischei, a number of houses must be demolished. For this work, columns of Polish Jews are used, who get to know manual labor for the first time in their lives." (Schwahn, Ernst, Federal Archive Picture 183-2006-0320-500).

US/German Relations: President Roosevelt, who on the 25th issued a strong statement condemning Wehrmacht atrocities on the Eastern Front, on 27 October 1941 continues his rhetorical onslaught. During a Navy Day speech (Roosevelt is a former Secretary of the Navy), Roosevelt says in part about recent U-boat attacks at sea:

I say that we do not propose to take this lying down. Our determination not to take it lying down has been expressed in the orders to the American Navy to shoot on sight. Those orders stand... [W]hen we have helped to end the curse of Hitlerism we shall help to establish a new peace which will give to decent people everywhere a better chance to live and prosper in security and in freedom and in faith. Each day that passes we are producing and providing more and more arms for the men who are fighting on actual battle-fronts. That is our primary task.

In reference to the recent U-boat torpedoing of destroyer USS Kearny, FDR adds, "Hitler’s torpedo was directed at every American….was to frighten the American people off the high seas - to force us to make a trembling retreat." This, he claims, has "aroused" the "American spirit" because "America has been attacked." However, despite this "attack," Roosevelt is not yet ready to declare war on the Reich.

Life Magazine of 27 October 1941, "Air-Raid Spotter."

October 1941

October 1, 1941: Germans and Finns Advance in USSR
October 2, 1941: Operation Typhoon Broadens
October 3, 1941: Air Battles Near Moscow
October 4, 1941: Stalin Contemplates Defeat
October 5, 1941: Hoth Goes South
October 6, 1941: First Snowfall After Dark
October 7, 1941: Stalin Gets Religion
October 8, 1941: FDR Promises Stalin Aid 
October 9, 1941: FDR Orders Atomic Bomb Research
October 10, 1941: Reichenau's Severity Order
October 11, 1941: Tank Panic in Moscow
October 12, 1941: Spanish Blue Division at the Front
October 13, 1941: Attack on Moscow
October 14, 1941: Germans Take Kalinin
October 15, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Odessa
October 16, 1941: Romanians Occupy Odessa
October 17, 1941: U-568 Torpedoes USS Kearny
October 18, 1941: Tojo Takes Tokyo
October 19, 1941: Germans Take Mozhaysk
October 20, 1941: Germans Attack Toward Tikhvin
October 21, 1941: Rasputitsa Hits Russia
October 22, 1941: Germans Into Moscow's Second Defensive Line
October 23, 1941: The Odessa Massacre
October 24, 1941: Guderian's Desperate Drive North
October 25, 1941: FDR Warns Hitler About Massacres
October 26, 1941: Guderian Drives Toward Tula
October 27, 1941: Manstein Busts Loose
October 28, 1941: Soviet Executions
October 29, 1941: Guderian Reaches Tula
October 30, 1941: Guderian Stopped at Tula
October 31, 1941: USS Reuben James Sunk

2020

Thursday 25 September 1941

A Junkers Ju-88 on its way from North Africa to Greece, 25 September 1941 (Petertil, Eduard, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0881-25A).

Eastern Front: Having recently replaced the deceased General Eugen Ritter von Schobert in command of the 11th Army, General Erich von Manstein takes advantage of the Soviet disarray after their loss at the first battle of Kyiv to seize the neck of the Crimean Isthmus of Perekop. On September 25, 1941, the German and Romanian forces continue on the second day of a five-day battle that results in a complete German victory. German paratroop forces (Fallschirmjäger), fighting as infantry, close in on Perekop.

A Junkers Ju-88 on its way from North Africa to Greece, 25 September 1941 (Petertil, Eduard, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0881-25A).

European Air War: RAF Bomber Command sends one of its B-17 Flying Fortresses of No. 90 Squadron on a mission to Emden. After two months of operations, the RAF decides to withdraw the Fortresses from daylight operations. The British are unhappy with the performance of the Flying Fortresses during the day and hereafter use them only at night.

Luftwaffe ace Horst Carganico receives the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) on 25 September 1941 for being credited with 27 victories. He operates in the far north at Kirkenes, Norway, where the pickings are slim for gaining victories. Flying 600 missions, Carganico records 60 victories before he is killed by flying into high tension cables while attempting a forced landing on 27 May 1944 at Chevry, France.

Battle of the Baltic: German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship of the sunk Bismarck, operates on its first mission as the lead ship of the temporary Kriegsmarine Baltic Fleet. Accompanied by the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, Leipzig, and Emden, several destroyers, and two flotillas of minesweepers, Tirpitz patrols off the Aaland Islands. The Germans anticipate a breakout attempt by the Soviet fleet based at Leningrad and Kronstadt, but the Soviets have no intention of leaving their bases there. After some fruitless cruising and a depth-charge accident aboard Admiral Scheer that requires a month of repairs, Tirpitz returns to its anchorage on the 26th.

A Panzer III in North Africa during September 1941 (Federal Archive Picture 101I-434-0912-24A).

US Military: John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph Kennedy, enlists in the U.S. Navy. JFK is appointed an ensign in the US Naval Reserve.

John F. Kennedy around the time that he enlists in the U.S. Navy in September 1941.

September 1, 1941: Two Years In
September 2, 1941: Germans Pushed Back at Yelnya
September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Japanese
September 4, 1941: Hitler Furious at Guderian
September 5, 1941: Germans Evacuate Yelnya
September 6, 1941: Japan Prepares for War
September 7, 1941: Hitler Orders Drive on Moscow
September 8, 1941: Leningrad Cut Off
September 9, 1941: Germans Attack Leningrad
September 10, 1941: Guderian Busts Loose
September 11, 1941: Convoy SC-42 Destruction
September 12, 1941: Starve Leningrad!
September 13, 1941: Zhukov at Leningrad
September 14, 1941: Germany's Growing Casualties
September 15, 1941: Sorge Warns Stalin Again
September 16, 1941: Soviets Encircled at Kiev
September 17, 1941: Iran Conquest Completed
September 18, 1941: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in Action
September 19, 1941: Germans Take Kiev
September 20, 1941: Death at Kiev
September 21, 1941: Raging Soviet Paranoia
September 22, 1941: Defense of Nickel Mines
September 23, 1941: Air Attacks on Leningrad
September 24, 1941: Japanese Spying Intensifies
September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea
September 26, 1941: Kiev Pocket Eliminated
September 27, 1941: Massacre at Eišiškės
September 28, 1941: Ted Williams Hits .400
September 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre
September 30, 1941: Operation Typhoon Begins

2020