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

Sunday 18 May 1941

A B-17 Fortress (Model 299) Mark I, AN529, on the ground at Ayr/Heathfield, Ayrshire, shortly after arriving from the United States. AN529 later joined No. 90 Squadron RAF and later flew in Liby (© IWM (E(MOS) 276)).

Anglo/Iraq War: Luftwaffe Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck), after only a few days at Mosul, already as of 18 May 1941 has suffered a 30% attrition rate. Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck now has 8 Messerschmitt Bf 110s, 4 Heinkel He 111s, and 2 Junkers Ju 52s. Oberst Junck also has few bombs or supplies, so repairing his planes requires cannibalizing others. After his fierce introduction to the theater, Junck begins husbanding his forces and avoids engagements pending further reinforcements - whenever they might arrive.

The British advance on land continues, with a company of King's Own Royal Regiment being transported by air on the road to Baghdad. The RAF pounds Fallujah, which troops of column Kingcol are approaching.  In addition, the British bomb airfields in Syria being used as transit points by the Luftwaffe.

Air Vice-Marshal Harry George Smart, who heroically has been in command at Habbaniya, is relieved of command now that Kingcol has arrived. In a murky incident, Smart suffers some kind of mental breakdown due to the strain of command. He is taken to Basra aboard a DC-2 for transport back to England and is replaced by Air Vice Marshal John Henry D’Albiac in command of the RAF in Iraq.

Ayr airfield, Scotland, 18 May 1941. © Courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland (RAF Air Photographs Collection).

European Air Operations: It is a rare day in the northwest European theater when neither the Luftwaffe nor RAF Bomber Command launches any major operations.

East African Campaign: With surrender to the British agreed to on the 17th, the Duke of Aosta prepares to march out of his fortress of Amba Alagi with his 18,000 troops on the 19th. The Italians will exit in parade formation and temporarily be permitted to keep their rifles. The entire affair is quite cordial, and the Duke lunches with General Mosley Mayne, the British commander of the 5th Indian Division in the Duke's mountain cave. Both sides adhere to the agreement scrupulously, with the Italians leaving their installation intact and the British not molesting their captives.

U-boat Depot Ship Seeburg, involved in a collision today with U-126.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler) is operating about 130 miles southwest of Freetown when Hessler spots a ship in the evening. It is an independent 8286-ton British refrigerated ship Piako. Hessler pumps one torpedo into the Piako at 22:27, then another at 22:43. The radio operator has enough time to get off distress signals, and the crew gets off in good order. Ten men perish and 65 survive, to be picked up by destroyer HMS Bridgewater.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 483-ton British freighter Begerin about 17 miles south of South Bishops. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 472-ton British freighter Eskburn off Blythe. The ship is disabled and must be towed to the Tyne for repairs.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 51-ton Free French fishing trawler La Brise about ten miles northwest of Sevenstones Lightship (moored off the Seven Stones Reef, which is almost 15 miles (24 km) to the west-northwest (WNW) of Land's End, Cornwall, and 7 miles (11 km) east-north-east (ENE) of the Isles of Scilly). The trawler manages to limp into Newlyn.

Royal Navy 84-ton naval drifter HMT Jewel hits a mine and sinks in Belfast Lough. There are 14 deaths, including master Lt. H.J. Cresswell.

U-126 (Kptlt. Ernst Bauer) is virtually within sight of Bismarck and Prinz Eugen at Gdynia (Gotenhafen) when it collides with U-boat Depot Ship for the 27th U- Boat Flotilla Seeburg. The U-126 is still working up for its first war patrol, and the damage to both ships is relatively minor.

German battleship Bismarck being outfitted at Seebahnhof dock 4 in Gdynia (Gotenhafen). Photo is taken from the Prinz Eugen, which dates it to between 15-18 May 1941.

Operation Rheinübung ("Rhine Crossing") is set to begin, so battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen make preparations to leave Gdynia (Gotenhafen). Admiral Lutjens, a hero of the invasion of Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung) and the daring sortie by heavy cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau earlier in the year (Operation Berlin), and also Commander of Battleships and the third Flottenchef (Fleet Commander) of the Kriegsmarine, is in command of the operation. At 10:00, Lutjens inspects Prinz Eugen's crew, then holds a commanders' conference on Bismarck with Kapitän zur See Harald Netzband (Lütjens Chief of Staff), Generaladmiral Alfred Saalwächter (Commanding Officer, Group West) and the two commanding officers of Bismarck (Lindemann) and Prinz Eugen (Brinkmann). Lutjens briefs them on the mission and informs them that the ships will sail north along the Norwegian coast and refuel from tanker Wesenburg, then proceed through the Denmark Strait to the open Atlantic.

Prinz Eugen leaves port for Operation Rheinübung at 21:00. The Bismarck waits until the morning of the 19th. In Scapa Flow, Admiral Tovey has received reports (possibly through Ultra) of such a sortie, and today he gives cruiser HMS Suffolk, on patrol in the Denmark Strait, orders to keep a close watch for German ships.

A key feature of Operation Rheinübung is the Kriegsmarine's supply network in the Atlantic, so far relatively undisturbed by the Allies. German 9789-ton tanker Egerland relieves tanker Nordmark today, and the latter proceeds to the Bay of Biscay and, ultimately, Hamburg.

Convoy OB 324 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Lightning (Commander Richard G. Stewart) is commissioned.

Canadian corvette HMCS Baddeck (Lt. Alan H. Easton) is commissioned.

Alfred Edward Sephton receives the Victoria's Cross for services rendered today aboard HMS Coventry. Sephton receives an eye wound and perishes on 19 May.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian High Command in Rome issues a communique stating in part that "Our counteroperations against the Allies in North Africa have been completely successful." This is close to the truth, as the British still retain Halfaya Pass but otherwise have relinquished their recent gains from Operation Brevity. That Rome is announcing this success rather than Berlin is an expression of Hitler's desire to make Mussolini and his military seem more imposing than most think that they are.

The activity on the Operation Brevity front in southeast Libya dies down, and the opposing forces settle down to garrison duty. General Erwin Rommel, in command of the Afrika Korps, begins planning an attack on Halfaya Pass to restore his original lines.

Everyone's attention now shifts to Crete, which the Luftwaffe is preparing to invade with airborne troops and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill knows is next on the German docket of operations through Ultra decrypts. Churchill sends messages full of foreboding to Mediterranean Fleet commander Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and the commander of British forces on Crete, General Freyberg, telling Freyberg that these are "fateful days" and Cunningham that the outcome of the battle will "affect whole world situation. Hitler, meanwhile, has pawned the difficult Operation Mercury off on Hermann Goering and shows very little interest in it. The British codename for the defense of Crete is Operation Scorcher.

The British continue reinforcing Crete, which already is packed with soldiers who basically are refugees from the failed campaign on the mainland. After sunset, 700  Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders arrive at Tymbaki, Crete from Port Said on troopship Glengyle.

The Luftwaffe continues its operations against British installations on Crete in preparation for Operation Mercury. During an attack on Suda Bay, the German planes further damaged heavy cruiser HMS York, which has been disabled since an attack by Italian explosive motorboats on 26 March, and corvette Salvia. The Luftwaffe also damages 12,667 ton Royal Navy tanker RFA Olna during the attack and its master prevents sinking by beaching it.

The Luftwaffe lands planes on mainland Greece, in the north, and in Attica in the south, in preparation for Operation Mercury.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tetrarch, on patrol off Benghazi, torpedoes and sinks 2362-ton Italian freighter Giovinezza.

At Malta, it is another quiet day, as the Luftwaffe merely carries one reconnaissance flight without incident. RAF reconnaissance reports that a hospital ship, apparently the Aba which had been attacked by Luftwaffe planes on the 17th, was approaching the island.

German spy Karel Richter, who has been brought back to his landing ground on 18 May 1941 as part of his interrogation, gestures to show what he did in his few hours after landing by parachute in the woods. With Richter from left to right are Major R.W.G. Stephens,  Lt. G.F. Sampson, Lt. R.A.F. Short, Richter, Captain D.B. Stimson, and Lt. E.B. Goodacre. Richter is being held at Camp 020, and these men of military intelligence are from that camp ((Imperial War Museum - HU 66766).

Special Forces: A force of 23 men from the Haganah's maritime section leaves the port of Haifa bound for Tripoli. Their mission is to blow up refineries there and blow them up. The mission is a complete failure and, after landing, the force disappears.

German/Vichy French Relations: While the Germans have reached an agreement with Vichy French Vice Premier Admiral Darlan on several matters, the agreement remains uncertain. Adolf Hitler is unhappy with Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and Ambassador Abetz for making too many concessions (release of French prisoners in exchange for transit rights in Syria), and lets loose one of his famous rants at Ribbentrop's expense. Hitler also has mixed feelings about how to treat France, feeling that the Vichy regime is unstable and the entire country will have to be invaded at some point. At this time, however, no changes are made in any agreements with the French. Somewhat tellingly, he is more concerned about the French today than he is about the imminent invasion of Crete.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Winston Churchill responds to a request by General Ismay and Viscount Cranborne for armaments sales to the government of Eire by stating in part:

I do not object to the ten Hector aircraft being given to Southern Ireland, nor to their purchasing the one Hurricane and one Hudson which are interned there. I do not like giving them Vickers guns, or all these demolition materials... because they are much more likely to be used against us if we march down from the North than against German invaders, of whose coming there is very little chance.

He adds that he views the proceeds from any arms sales to Eire as "petty cash."

Soviet Military: Around this time, the Politburo becomes concerned about the high accident rate in the Red Air Force. The members also are perturbed about a mysterious incident in which a German transport manages to fly into Moscow and land without being detected by the Soviet Air Defense. This incident is poorly understood, with few known facts (it may have been a Junkers Ju 52, a Junkers Ju 88 reconnaissance plane, or perhaps a DC-2 in German civil service). However, what is known with certainty is that it sends Soviet paranoia about pro-German conspiracies within the Red Air Force skyrocketing.

The investiture of Tomislav I of Croatia, 18 May 1941.

Croatia: The Independent State of Croatia is established. Prince Aimone, the Duke of Spoleto and next in line to be the Duke of Aosta and a cousin of King Victor Emmanuel III, is crowned King Tomislav I of Croatia at the Quirinal Palace in Rome. Ante Pavelić, the leader of the fascist Ustaše movement and de facto ruler of Croatia, attends the ceremony. The new principality the prince will rule, carved out of the former state of Yugoslavia, covers most of the later states of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The official communique state:

By virtue of further. agreements entered into with representatives of the so‑called 'Independent State of Croatia' that 'state,' previously established on Yugoslav territory by the military authorities of occupation, has been declared by the Italian Government to be a hereditary monarchy under Italian protection, thus establishing in effect if not in name an annexation of these territories by the Italian Government.

Bulletin, Vol. IV, No. 102, p. 683. Pursuant to the agreement, the Italians get the coastal area of Split and Kotor and a large area around Zara. Italian troops are permitted access to all areas of Croatia. The Germans also maintain a military sphere of their own in Croatia which is unaffected by the Italian/Croatian agreements.

The new king gets off to a bad start by refusing to go to Duvno (Tomislavgrad) in Croatia for the investiture, preferring to remain in Rome. This is probably prudent since within the past few days an assassination attempt on King Victor Emmanuel failed while he was visiting Albania. Prince Aimone never will go to Croatia, preferring to rule from Italy and Hungary. In any event, Prince Aimone is merely a figurehead for Pavelić.

French Homefront: In Paris, the Gestapo arrests prominent French Communist journalist and politician Gabriel Péri (Peri). Peri is a strident anti-fascist, and his arrest (and later execution on 15 December at Fort Mont-Valérien) is a galvanizing moment in the growth of the French Resistance.

Belgian Homefront: The German authorities agree to a wage increase of 8 percent, ending the Belgian "Strike of the 100,00." The strike actually never involved 100,000 workers (more like 70,000), and from now on the occupying force keeps a close eye out for similar disturbances. The Germans also bear a grudge against the Belgian communists who organized the strike, but for the time being, they decide not to act against them to avoid provoking the Soviet Union.

American Homefront: Secretary of State Cordell Hull makes a radio broadcast from Washington, D.C. to commemorate National Foreign-Trade Week. It is a wide-ranging speech that emphasizes the importance of free trade despite foreign "conquest." He enumerates five principles for "world economic reconstruction";

1. Extreme nationalism must not again be permitted to express itself in excessive trade restrictions.
2. Non-discrimination in international commercial relations must be the rule, so that international trade may grow and prosper.
3. Raw-material supplies must be available to all nations without discrimination.
4. International agreements regulating the supply of commodities must be so handled as to protect fully the interests of the consuming countries and their people.
5. The institutions and arrangements of international finance must be so set up that they lend aid to the essential enterprises and the continuous development of all countries, and permit the payment through processes of trade consonant with the welfare of all countries.

These principles will guide the main strains of post-war trade theory for decades.

A strike at the Goodrich rubber plant in Akron, Ohio ends when the CIO workers agree to a $0.06/hour raise. There currently are about 18 other strikes with national defense implications.

Future History: Diane McBain is born in Cleveland, Ohio. McBain goes on to do some child modeling, then, during her senior year at Glendale High School (the family had moved to California), she is spotted by a talent scout. McBain signs with Warner Bros. and goes on to an cting career. McBain is perhaps best known for roles in early '60s television series "Surfside 6" and Elvis Presley's "Spinout" (1966). McBain continues acting into the 21st Century, but after an incident in the 1980s also becomes a rape counselor. Diane McBain is still alive as of this writing.

Diane McBain in the 1960s.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Tuesday 23 January 1940

The Swedish Volunteer Corps fought with the Finns against the Red Army in the area of Salla, during the Winter War. A Bofors 37 mm AT gun is left standing as part of a memorial at the site.

Winter War: General Semyon Timoshenko, considered one of the "modern" Soviet Generals, on 23 January 1940 completely changes Meretskov's failed plan for the invasion of Finland. Meretskov had attempted to overwhelm the Finns by attacking all along the long border, but the terrain and weather had been too much for the Soviets to overcome. Timoshenko ends that strategy, stops the advances in the north and pinpoints the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus as the focus of an overwhelming assault.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets mount another attack on the Finnish line at Taipale, but it is beaten back after hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches.

At Salla, many of the advanced Soviet troops have been pushed back to the town. A small, isolated force remains at Maerkaejaervi a few miles further down the road, but it is cut off. Supplies are being air-dropped to it.

Finnish 9th Division, the victors at Suomussalmi under (now General) Siilasvuo, arrive in Kuhmo. Their next mission is to attack the Soviet 54th Division. This is one of the divisions that Timoshenko's plan leaves without a purpose, and it is to receive no reinforcement and reduced priority. Basically, the Soviet division has been left to live or die on its own where it stands and using its own resources.

The Soviet 7,000 shell daily bombardment of Summa continues.

Battle of the Atlantic: One of Germany's most successful U-boat commanders, Joachim Schepke, gets two victories.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) torpedoes and sinks 1,598-ton Norwegian freighter Pluto off the southeast Scottish coast. All 22 crew survive, the ship had just left convoy HN-8 and was traveling further south unescorted. The attack is at 08:43.

U-19 quickly scores another kill, the 1,528-ton British freighter Baltanglia. It also had been in Convoy HN-8 and was traveling down the coast unescorted. All 28 crew survive and are picked up by local fishing boats. This attack is at 08:55, just a dozen minutes after the previous one. Schepke uses one torpedo on each ship.

Finnish 1,333-ton freighter Onto hits a mine laid by U-56 on 8 January 1940 and sinks near Smith's Lightvessel, Cross Sand. All 18 crew survive and are picked up by a British destroyer and a Greek freighter.

The British at Gibraltar release the two US freighters Excambion and Excellency that it has seized. The authorities confiscate 470 sacks of mail bound for Italy and Germany.

Britain and France jointly warn that they will attack German shipping encountered in the Pan-American neutral zone.
Convoy OA 78 GF departs from Southend.

Western Front: Performers sent to entertain the BEF troops report that the ENSA entertainment organization is in a "chaotic muddle." ENSA officials are told to report to the War Office.

South Africa: General Hertzog, leader of the opposition, delivers a speech to the South African Parliament in support of peace which is widely interpreted as pro-German. Jan Smuts immediately rebuts it.

Yugoslavia: Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano and Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić discuss plans for an insurrection that would separate the province of Croatia from Yugoslavia. Italy considers the Balkans to be within its sphere of influence.

Japan: Japan lodges a formal protest over the British seizure of 21 German passengers on the Asama Maru on 21 January 1940.

Polish Government-in-exile: The Polish National Council meets in Paris for the first time instead of Anvers, with all Polish parties represented. Ignacy Paderewski is chosen as Speaker of the National Council of Poland, the Polish Parliament-in-exile.

British Homefront: The Government, alarmed at the sharp rise in road accidents due to the blackout (1200 killed in December alone), decides to take action: it lowers the speed limit in built-up areas during darkness from 30 mph to 20. The blackout continues despite the fact that there have been no Luftwaffe raids on British cities.

American Homefront: A monster snowstorm hits large portions of the eastern United States, and much worse than predicted. It is known as "the Great Snow of 1940." Women city workers in Richmond, Virginia (over 16 inches of snow) are told they can stay home, but male workers are still expected to show up because the Mayor can walk to work.

China: The Japanese 22nd Infantry Division is attacking toward Shaohsing against the 3rd Chinese War Area.

A reporter rides a mule during the Great Snow of 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019