Rikusentai (Japanese marine troops) unit in landing craft, awaiting beach assault, unknown date.
Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese launch their first main assault on the Allies' main defensive line on Bataan at 15:00 on 9 January 1942. Advancing from the Dinalupihan- Hermosa region, the Japanese split their force so that two combat groups attack US II Corps in the east and one attacks I Corps in the west. The American and Filipino army units see the Japanese coming and open fire with artillery, dispersing the attack. The attacking Japanese skirmish with Allied patrols but don't actually attack the Allied outpost line, preferring to establish their own line close to it instead. The USAAF Far East Air Force sends nine B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airfield on Java against shipping in Davao Bay, Mindanao, but only five make it all the way, the rest turning back with various mechanical issues.
"Lot 11614-9: Second Sino-Japanese War, July 1937-September 1945. Battle of Changsha, January 1942. China Fights On Against All Odds. Despite overwhelmingly inequalities in armament, aircraft, and supplies, China continues to take heavy toll of the well-equipped Japanese army. With the material support of her U.S. and British allies, she is resisting the latest big Japanese drive. Picture shows Chinese soldier with captured Japanese war material. " This photograph released in January 1942. Office of War Information Photograph. (2016/01/22).
In Burma, the American Volunteer Group (AVG, or "Flying Tigers") are fighting the Japanese based in Thailand every day. Today, they launch an offensive mission against Tak Airfield at Rahaeng, Thailand. They destroy four Japanese planes at no loss to themselves.
The reconnaissance of Truk on 9th January 1942, by F-Lt R. Yeowart and crew in a specially fitted Hudson Mk IV of No. 6 Squadron. The operation, involving a return flight of 1,405 statute miles, was the longest sea reconnaissance which had been undertaken by the R.A.A.F. in a land-based aircraft. The concentration of enemy shipping and aircraft seen at Truk gave warning of the Japanese thrust south to New Britain and New Ireland in the next two weeks. Australian War Memorial 128121.
In Singapore, area commander Lieutenant General Arthur Percival orders Indian III Corps to withdraw into Johore. This is the last stop before Singapore itself. The Corps begins withdrawing while executing a scorched-earth policy. The shattered Indian 11th Division and all available other units plan to delay the Japanese at two lines, the first at Seremban and Port Dickson, and the second at Tampin and Malacca. The British are aided by the narrowing of the Malay Peninsula to the south, which typically favors the defense - if they have enough troops to man the entire line.
The Malayan Campaign. The Kunishi Detachment advancing on a muddy secret coastal path through coconut palm trees dragging their bicycles. 9 January 1942 Credits: Takao Fusayama.
The Japanese are planning invasions of Rabaul and the Netherlands East Indies. To soften up the defending Australian troops, the Japanese Naval Air Force has been bombing the Allied base at Rabaul with carrier-based aircraft. The Japanese have gathered a large fleet of transports at Truk lagoon to carry the invasion troops.
Eastern Front: After dark, a blizzard hits the Moscow sector which paralyzes all movement for a full day. This helps the Germans, whose front has been creaking for weeks but not entirely breaking. During the day, the Soviet Third and Fourth Shock Armies had attacked German 16th Army west of Ostashkov, but the snow stops them, too. However, before the snow began, they hit a two-regiment division, the 123rd, that is holding a 35-mile portion of the line. Since the 123rd Division is so weak, it has been holding widely separated strong points which the Red Army simply bypasses. That doesn't mean that the German strongpoints are safe, just that they haven't been eliminated... yet.
Partisans: The Battle of Dražgoše begins in Slovenia. This is the first direct battle between the German Army and the Slovene Partisans. The confrontation lasts until 11 January 1942. It is a controversial incident because there are conflicting accounts of why the battle takes place at all, and why it takes place there. According to one version, the Partisans chose the town of Dražgoše because it is Catholic and the Partisans for reasons of their own wish the Germans to harm its inhabitants. Under another version, the Battle of Dražgoše is simply a heroic act of defiance and a moral victory against the invaders (this is the accepted version throughout the subsequent decades of Communist rule). What is not disputed by anyone is that the German forces quickly force the Partisans out of the village and exact retribution against the villagers, executing dozens of inhabitants and eventually demolishing the entire town. Politics in the Balkans is very murky throughout World War II and subsequent decades and things there often are not what they seem at first glance.
Japanese Homeland: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto tells journalist Taketora Ogata of the Imperial Rules Assistance Association (a para-fascist organization formed to promote the "New Order"):
A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack.
This may be the source of the infamous "we have only awakened a sleeping giant" quote that is often attributed to Yamamoto.
The first production TBF-1 Avenger at the Grumman factory in Bethpage, Long Island, New York, January 9. 1942
American Homefront: Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis knocks out Buddy Baer (uncle of future Hollywood actor Max Baer, Jr.) in the first round. This is a rematch of their famous match in which Baer knocked Louis out of the ring, but then Louis returned and won the fight. He later comments:
The only way I could have beaten Louis that night was with a baseball bat.
Baer ends his career with a 52-7 record with 46 knockouts.
A dentist at work at the Army Dental Centre in Belfast, 9 January 1942.
A German Sd.Kfz-250 half-track in front of panzer units as they prepare for an attack, 21 July 1941.
Eastern Front: Hitler, apparently bored at the Wolfschanze in East Prussia, decides to visit the headquarters of Army Group North on 21 July 1941. After completing some diplomatic tasks, he boards his transport and flies to a small airport at Malnava in eastern Latvia. He then drives in his open Mercedes car to visit with Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, whose headquarters is in the manor house Malnava.
Hitler expresses his complete disinterest in capturing Moscow. As recorded in the OKW war diary:
In this regard it could then happen that 2. Panzergruppe turns to the south so that for the thrust on Moscow only infantry armies of Heeresgruppe Mitte remain. This eventuality does not worry the Führer because Moscow is for him only a geographical term.
Needless to say, an infantry advance on Moscow without the customary panzer spearhead would at best be extremely slow and at worst be impossible.
To mark the one-month anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe begins a "Moscow Blitz." After dark, Heinkel He 111 pathfinders of KGr.100 and KGr.26 take off from an airfield near Smolensk to form the vanguard of a 127-plane force that drops 104 metric tons of bombs. The bombers come in successive waves that last a total of six hours. Anti-aircraft fire is heavy under the control of Soviet commander of Moscow air defense Major General M.S. Gromadin, so the bombs are scattered across the city. Some incendiaries land on the roof of the British Embassy but are put out quickly by embassy staff and the Moscow fire brigade. The Soviets apparently have been forewarned about the raid and thus are well-prepared. However, the Red Air Force barely makes an appearance, revealing the weakness of Soviet night-fighter defenses. Six Luftwaffe bombers fail to return.
In the Far North sector, Finnish VI Corps captures Salmi on the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga from Soviet 452nd Motorized Infantry Regiment. While not a particularly large town, it is an important landmark in the endless Karelian forests. The 1939 border is just beyond Salmi, and the Finns continue advancing forward toward the Svir River far to the southeast - but nobody knows what Mannerheim will do once the Finns reach the old border.
In the Army Group North sector, Hitler visits the army group headquarters and prepares to tour the front.
In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 has trapped a large force of Soviet soldiers at Mogilev. The 4th Panzer Division (Major General W. von Langermann) takes about 2,000 prisoners, but he doesn't have enough infantry to capture the remaining 8-10,000 men, who escape.
In the Army Group South sector, the Germans take Vinnitsa (Vinnytsia) as several armies near forming a pocket around a huge Soviet troop concentration near Uman. Some 17,000 of the original Jewish population of Vinnitsa of 34,000 remain and persecutions begin virtually immediately. General von Kleist's panzers bear in on Uman and Tarashche. XLVIII Panzer Corps (General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf) takes Monastyrishche.
Soviet soldiers defending Moscow are preparing anti-aircraft guns in Gorky Culture Park, July 1941.
European Air Operations: During the day, 13 Blenheim bombers engage in coastal sweeps and short incursions into France.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 37 Wellington and 23 Hampden bombers on the first large raid against Frankfurt. The bombers apparently get lost, with most of the damage occurring in Darmstadt, which is about 15 miles from the target city. In the latter city, there are 16 deaths and 15 buildings destroyed or damaged. All of the planes return.
RAF Bomber Command also raids Mannheim. The 36 Wellington and 8 Halifax bombers cause only light damage in the target city and nearby Ludwigshafen. One Wellington is lost.
The RAF also sends 6 Wellingtons to bomb Cherbourg and two Hampdens to lay mines in the Frisian Islands off the Dutch coast.
Oblt. Johannes Seifert of 3./JG 26 shoots down a Spitfire fighter southwest of Ypres and a Stirling bomber of RAF No. 15 Squadron over the English Channel.
Hitler with Field Marshal von Leeb at Malnava, Latvia, 21 July 1941.
Battle of the Baltic: U-140 (Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel), a training boat, suddenly finds itself within sight of 206-ton Soviet submarine M-94. Off Ristna Lighthouse at Dago Island, U-140 sinks the submarine. There are 8 deaths and 11 survivors, who are picked up by Soviet submarine M-98. The incident is not purely by accident, as the U-boat command has ordered the U-boat far out into the Baltic in order to use the training mission as a quasi-patrol. This is U-140's final victory of the war; it has sunk three ships totaling 13,204 tons and one submarine of 206 tons. It now returns to its training duties.
Finnish ships conduct minelaying operations.
Crowds saluting Hitler as he arrives in his open Mercedes at Malnava, Latvia, 21 July 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Torelli torpedoes and sinks 8913-ton Norwegian tanker Ida Knudsen a few hundred miles west of Rabat. There are five deaths and 33 survivors, 15 of whom are picked up by 341-ton Portuguese trawler Altair.
U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt), on its second patrol, refuels from German supply ship "Thalia," which is "interned" in the Spanish port of Cadiz. The Kriegsmarine actually has such tankers at three Spanish ports, which extend the range of U-boat missions and thus effectively increase the number of boats that can be kept on patrol.
The RAF bombs and sinks German transport Wandsbeck at Narvik, Norway.
German 1599-ton freighter Hans Christopherson hits a mine and sinks off Terschelling.
British freighters Bangalore and Richmond Castle collide in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. The Bangalore is badly damaged and ultimately is sunk by the Royal Navy for being a hazard to navigation.
Canadian troop convoy TC-12 departs from Halifax. It includes transports 20,021-ton Duchess of York, 21,517-ton Empress of Canada, 23,371-ton Orion, 23,428-ton Strathmore, and 22,283-ton Strathnaver. Among its escorts is battleship HMS Malaya, recently repaired in New York.
German raider Orion rounds Cape Horn into the Atlantic Ocean.
Convoy OB-349 departs from Liverpool. There will be no more OB convoys, from now on they will be designated ON.
Royal Navy destroyer Ashanti is recommissioned on the Tyne after extensive repairs.
Royal Navy minesweepers HMS Cadmus and Circe are laid down.
Canadian minesweeper HMCS Guysborough is launched at North Vancouver, British Columbia.
US destroyer USS Evans and John D. Henley, minesweepers Token, Tumult, and Velocity, and submarine Gunnel are laid down.
Original caption: "Ingrian Paavo Susi, who escaped to the Finnish side. He was shot in the arm by a politruk, while escaping. Kaalamo, 1941.07.21." A politruk was a commissar responsible for the political education of Soviet troops - it means "political leader." Axis soldiers considered them among the most fanatical of Soviet troops, almost equivalent to slavemasters - they were known to beat Soviet soldiers to get them to fight.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Substance, a well-defended convoy (Convoy GM-1), gets in high gear when a seven-ship convoy escorted by Force H and a large force borrowed from the British Home Fleet proceeds past Gibraltar directly towards Malta. The ships in the convoy do not know their (extremely dangerous) destination until destroyers shoot lines onto them bearing messages to their masters. The convoy gets off to a rocky start when troopship HMT Leinster runs aground while departing Gibraltar and must be left behind.
The Italian navy learns of Royal Navy activity in the western Mediterranean. However, the Regia Marina concludes that this is nothing but another case of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier launching planes to Malta and decides to keep its ships in port.
Greek submarine Glaukos (Lt. Commander Zepos) uses its deck gun to sink 21-ton Italian freighter San Nicola four miles northwest of Rhodes.
The men of Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku engage in some derring-do by landing a small party in Benghazi Harbor. The commandos attach timed explosive charges to a ship and then escape safely.
Operation Guillotine, a British troop movement from Egypt to Cyprus, continues. Royal Navy corvette HMS Peony departs Port Said with 1712-ton Dutch freighter Trajanus heading for Famagusta. Royal Navy sloop Flamingo departs Alexandria for Port Said in order to escort another transport, HMT Kevinbank, from there to Famagusta.
An Axis convoy departs Naples bound for Tripoli. It includes 5479-ton freighter Maddalena Odero, 6003-ton freighter Nicolo Odero, 6476-ton freighter Caffaro, and 8203-ton freighter Preussen. Royal Navy submarine Olympus spots the ships and attacks but misses.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Ilex, having undergone emergency repairs, departs from Port Said through the Suez Canal in order to make final repairs at Durban.
At Malta, the Inspector General of the Royal Air Force, Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, visit the base at Kalafrana.
Battle of the Pacific: Australian troops (Robin Force) arrive at New Caledonia with 3rd Independent Company and two six-inch guns.
A Finnish soldier on a captured Soviet BT-7 tank, 21 July 1941. The tank is being used to fell trees, perhaps to build a road (SA-Kuva).
Partisans: To take advantage of the new "V for Victory" campaign launched over the BBC on the 19th, British Minister for Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton proposes instigating widespread revolts on the Continent. It is time, he writes, to "set in motion... schemes for full-scale revolution in Europe." Dalton proposes using the Special Operations Executive for the task.
In fact, one area of occupied Europe already is in revolt. In Montenegro, partisan rebels have occupied a wide swathe of territory. General Cavallero, the Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army Group in Albania, has ordered General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli to suppress the uprising "at whatever cost."
Japanese/Vichy French Relations: Vice-Premier Darlan accepts the Japanese request for basing rights in French Indochina. He comments that France has no choice in the matter, and plaintively asks the Japanese to recognize French sovereignty and to not molest French troops or evict them from their posts.
This confirms Japanese military dominance in Southeast Asia, with only the British bases in Singapore and Hong Kong, the Dutch in the East Indies, and the Americans in the Philippines and Guam to dispute it. The tentative protocol as drafted by the French provides that the use of facilities by the Japanese could not, under any circumstances, have the character of military occupation. Japanese forces are not to exceed 25,000 men.
Harlu, 21 July 1941. Someone has very skillfully thrown an ax into Stalin's head (SA-Kuva).
Anglo/Free French Relations: Free French leader Charles de Gaulle travels from his headquarters in western Africa to Cairo in order to meet with British Secretary of State for the Middle East Oliver Lyttelton. De Gaulle is completely out of sorts, sleep-deprived and furious at what he considers to be calculated slights against him personally and the Free French war effort. He hands Lyttelton a peremptory note:
Free France, that is to say France, is no longer willing to entrust to the British military command the duty of exercising command over the French troops in the Middle East. General de Gaulle and the French Empire Defence Council are resuming full and entire disposal of all the French forces of the Levant as from 24 July 1941, at midday.
Lyttelton rightly objects that this demand is an ultimatum that breaks the Anglo/Free French alliance. De Gaulle responds that the British can take it any way that they like. However, at dinner, after he has gotten some rest, de Gaulle settles for various concessions that salve his injured pride. These include recognition of France's historic position within the Levant, use of Vichy French equipment (much of which is quite good), and the right to recruit Vichy French soldiers. General Dentz, who retains control over his Vichy troops, however, is not fond of de Gaulle and keeps defections to de Gaulle down to 6,000 men.
21 July 1941, Harlu. Two Finnish soldiers pose next to a decapitated statue of Lenin and Stalin.
Anglo/Soviet Relations: Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin receives British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's reply to his request for an immediate western front in Northwest Europe. Churchill promises to do "Anything sensible and effective that we can do to help." However, he says that Great Britain is unable to invade at this time. Churchill says the RAF is "studying" sending some fighter squadrons to Murmansk.
German/Croatian Relations: Hitler meets with Slavko Kvaternik, Ustasha co-founder and leader of the NDH military, at the Wolfshanze Fuhrer Headquarters in East Prussia. Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop and OKW head Wilhelm Keitel also attend the meeting. The Propaganda Ministry films the welcoming ceremony for the newsreels.
German/Ukranian Relations: The Germans imprison Ukrainian nationalist leader Stefan Bandera.
Joseph Stalin, July 1941.
Soviet Military: The Stavka appoints Shaposhnikov as chief of staff of Western Front, under Semyon Timoshenko.
Australian Military: The Royal Australian Navy establishes the Naval Auxiliary Patrol. It uses peacetime pleasure cruisers that become known as "nappies."
US Military: The Selective Service Act which drafts young men into the military is about to expire, so President Roosevelt asks Congress to declare a full or limited national emergency in order to extend it. Drafted soldiers now serve for only a year, and Roosevelt wishes to retain them for an additional 30 months.
German Government: As he often does, Hitler sits at his dinner table with his cronies late into the night expounding on his various theories and philosophies. He says of Benito Mussolini:
I must say, I always enjoy meeting the Duce. He's a great personality... The march on Rome, in 1922, was one of the turning-points of history... If Mussolini had been outdistanced by Marxism, I don't know whether we could have succeeded in holding out. At that period National Socialism was a very fragile growth.
After further rambling about the glories of Italian architecture, he concludes, "My dearest wish would be to be able to wander about in Italy as an unknown painter."
Three key commanders of the failed Crete campaign confer at Helwan, Egypt, on 21 July 1941. Left to right: Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew, 22nd Battalion; Brigadier Hargest, 5th (NZ) Brigade; Major-General Freyberg, 2nd New Zealand Division and Creforce (New Zealand History).
Romanian soldiers force all of the Jews in Ozarintsy into the town synagogue. After a few hours, they take 43 Jewish men into the Polish cemetery and execute them.
At the village of Felitsianovka near Vinnytsia, the Germans execute 21 Jews.
The Germans take 12 Jews in Chernevtsy near Vinnytsia to the machine and tractor station and execute them.
An SS unit enters Sudilkov and takes all of the town's Jews from their homes to the ghetto of Shepetovka. From there, the Germans take some to the forest on the road to Klementovichi and execute them.
At Minsk, the Germans order 45 Jews to dig a pit and then get in it. They then order Russian prisoners to bury them alive. After the 30 Russians refuse, they are forced into the pit also and everyone in the pit is shot, then buried.
A jury including Cab Calloway, Canada Lee, Bill Robinson, Joe Bostic, and Erskine Hawkins selects "Miss New York City" at the Sonia Ballroom, July 21, 1941. Lillian O'Donnell wins and eventually becomes 3rd Runner-up at the Miss America competition. The pageant is a key stepping-stone to fame and fortune for some ladies - for instance, in 1945, Bess Myerson wins and uses it to eventually become Miss America and begin a long career in show business.
American Homefront: The United States begins a national aluminum salvage drive.
Eleanore Roosevelt writes in her "My Day" column about National Youth Administration leader Aubrey Wills Williams and the dedication of a new National Youth Administration training center that she attended a few days ago. Williams champions civil rights for African-Americans and uses his NYA position to provide vocational training and educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
After beginning the year slowly, the New York Yankees now lead second-place Cleveland by seven games and Boston by 14 in the American League. In the National League, the Brooklyn Dodgers lead St. Louis by only one game.
A 21 July 1941 photograph of Singapore showing Rimau Offices and Accommodation (View Road Hospital) in the early stages of construction. This later becomes the Naval Base Police Asian Quarters (National Archives UK via National Archives of Singapore online).
Damage at Friar Lane, Nottingham, this picture was taken 9 May 1941.
Anglo/Iraq War: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 9 May 1941 sends a telegram to Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell which states:
Our information is that Rashid Ali and his partisans [actually Iraqi government military forces] are in desperate straits. However this may be, you are to fight hard against them... [Y]ou should exploit situation to the utmost, not hesitating to try to break into Baghdad even with quite small forces and running the same kind of risks as the Germans are accustomed to run and profit by.
Churchill adds that "There can be no question of negotiation with Rashid Ali" unless he surrenders unconditionally. Furthermore, Wavell is to aid Free French General Catroux in an invasion of Syria "In face of your evident feeling of lack of resources" - a typical Churchillian dig at what he personally judges to be Wavell's lack of fighting spirit.
At Fort Rutbah, the RAF bombs the fort and loses a plane to small-arms fire. The Iraqi government sends a convoy of 40 trucks armed with machine guns to reinforce the small garrison. The British of the Arab Legion who are an advance party of Habforce continues to wait for reinforcements from the main column before attacking and withdraw to a more defensible position.
Jihad has been proclaimed by the Grand Mufti.
A Junkers Ju-52 transport being used for training exercises in preparation for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.
European Air Operations: The two sides engage in a war of communiques today. Berlin Radio announces successful raids on Derby and Nottingham, where they targeted the critical Rolls-Royce aircraft engine plant. The British Air Ministry engages in a little humor when it responds that, during last night's raids, two cows and a few chickens had been killed in the East Midlands. What the RAF actually is saying in surprisingly candid fashion (if you know what actually happened) is that many Luftwaffe bombers missed their target cities due to successful deception measures. The Germans aren't told about that little secret, however, and no doubt take it as a little innocent bravado.
London is the main target during the night when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attack. There are subsidiary attacks at RAF airfields including RAF Waddington, where a direct hit on an air-raid shelter kills ten people, including seven women.
Liverpool, Hull, and many other cities in the industrial north are devastated by the recent Luftwaffe raids. In Hull alone, there are an estimated 1000 dead and 40,000 homeless out of a population of 330,000. The Germans have been extremely effective at targeting the docks in their target cities recently, but the British are stepping up their jamming attempts of the crude German navigational system based on radio waves. That jamming already is having some effect, as evidenced by the "cows and chickens" remark.
Attacks continue at Hull, but few planes hit anything of importance. The Luftwaffe focuses on the port and damages 64-ton sailing barge Whitaker's No. 17, 5117-ton British freighter Dan Y Bryn, and 3067-ton British freighter Castilian. There are two deaths on the Castilian.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets. It then sends 146 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen during the night.
East African Campaign: The perimeter at Amba Alagi remains quiet as the British forces await reinforcements which are only a day away. The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade moves to the southwest around Laka Shala in Galla-Sidamo.
Winston Churchill sends Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie and congratulates him on being "the first [monarch deposed by the fascists] to return in triumph."
HMS Bulldog alongside U-110, 9 May 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: Events of 9 May 1941 are little remembered by the public after the fact, but they are of far-reaching consequence. They are so important that this almost could be considered a case of losing a battle but thereby winning a war.
The British recently captured German weather ship Munchen near Iceland, securing prized Kriegsmarine naval codes, and today they pull off an even greater intelligence coup. U-100 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp), one of the top U-boat commanders (he sank the Athenia on 3 September 1939), is operating off of Cape Farewell, Greenland and shadowing Convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West. Lemp attacks the convoy, and all goes well at first as he sinks to ships:
4976-ton British freighter Esmond (all survive)
2609-ton British freighter Bengore Head (40 survivors, one dead).
However, the convoy escorts (HMS Bulldog, Broadway, and Aubretia) force the U-boat to the surface with depth charges. Lemp and his crew abandon ship (15 dead, 32 survivors) a little too quickly, and U-110 fails to sink. Lemp himself perishes during the incident under very murky and controversial circumstances.
Noticing the U-boat failing to sink, a boarding party from the Bulldog, led by 20-year-old Sub-Lt. David Balme, quickly rows over to the U-boat despite the ever-present fear that scuttling charges could go off at any moment. The Royal Navy sailors grab the extremely valuable Enigma coding machine along with its codebooks, rotor settings, and charts.
After everything of value has been removed from the U-boat (including the submarine's chronometer), the British sink it (during a storm, so perhaps not intentionally) to maintain the secret of its capture. It is an astonishingly lucky find for the British Ultra operation at Bletchley Park, which has been in need of the equipment and information. Of immediate benefit, the documents aboard enable the British to break the German Reservehandverfahren code, a reserve German hand cipher. The capture also becomes is a key step on the road to British scientist Alan Turing's first computer, Colossus. The capture of U-110 is so significant that it later is given the code name Operation Primrose. Winston Churchill will not even tell President Roosevelt about it until January 1942.
Fritz-Julius Lemp, Captain of U-110, KIA 9 May 1941.
U-103 (KptLt.Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off of West Africa, torpedoes and sinks 7120-ton British freighter City of Winchester. There are 91 survivors and six deaths.
U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its first patrol out of Kiel, also attacks convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West a couple of hours after the capture of U-110. Schnee hits two ships:
5969-ton Empire Cloud (badly damaged)
5802-ton Gregalia (sunk)
While the Empire Cloud is disabled and considered unsafe, so the crew abandons ship. However, a tug is called from Greenock, which manages to tow it back to port, where it is repaired and returned to service. There are no casualties on either ship.
Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli torpedoes and sinks 8817-ton Norwegian tanker Alfred Olsen several hundred miles off Freetown. Everyone survives.
Off Freetown, Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Cilicia captures 4564-ton Vichy French transport SS Criton. The Criton is carrying shells for the French base at Dakar. The British send the ship to Freetown, with a skeleton party of armed guards supervising the Vichy French crew.
U-107 (KrvKpt. Günter Hessler), on its second patrol and operating off of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is in the midst of a wildly successful patrol during which it sinks or damages a phenomenal 14 ships during more than two months at sea. To stay at sea that long, U-boats need regular supply from "Milch" ships. Today, U-107 is supplied with food and 14 torpedoes when it hooks up with the Egerland, which is disguised as an American freighter.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3010-ton Royal Navy mine destruction ship HMS Queenworth in Outer Dowsing Channel. Everybody survives.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 97-ton British trawler Tankerton Towers off St Govan's Light Vessel in the mouth of Bristol Channel. All eight aboard survive.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1737-ton British freighter Ostrevent near Helwick Light Vessel in the Humber.
The Luftwaffe damages a mine destruction ship, HMS Corfield, with near misses in the Humber.
The Luftwaffe damages 4950-ton British freighter Fishpool at Barrow.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British tankers San Roberto (5890 tons) and British Statesmen (6991 tons) just over twenty miles northeast of Spurn Point, East Riding of Yorkshire. The tankers are towed to Immingham.
Spanish fishing trawler Luis Puebla hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay north of Gijón, Asturias. There are three survivors and nine deaths.
US aircraft carrier USS Ranger and heavy cruiser Vincennes, with a destroyer escort, conduct a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic.
Another Italian submarine that has escaped from Eritrea, the Ferraris, arrives at Bordeaux after a long journey.
Convoy SC 31 departs from Halifax, bound for Liverpool.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Brocklesby, minesweeper Polruan (Lt. Commander John S. Landers), and Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Tarantella (Lt. Robert A. Balfour) are commissioned.
Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ungava and corvette Matapedia (Lt. Ronald J. Herman) are commissioned.
HMS Nigella, which picked up 45 survivors from Empire Cloud northeast of Cape Farewell. The Empire Cloud had been torpedoed by U-201.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The first four ships related to Operation Tiger (MW 7A and 7B out of Alexandria) reach Malta. They carry 30,000 tons of supplies. In addition, two tankers and a destroyer loaded with supplies, HMS Breconshire, also arrive. This is the largest convoy to arrive at Malta during the war and is aided by very cloudy weather. The main force of Operation Tiger coming from Gibraltar is still at sea.
One ship, however, fails to make it. British 9200-ton freighter Empire Song hits a mine during the night which sets off its ammunition cargo, causing it to explode. The Empire Song and its 57 tanks, 10 aircraft and several trucks quickly sink. There are 18 deaths and 130 survivors.
In addition, freighter New Zealand Star hits a mine but manages to make it to Malta.
At Tobruk, General Rommel's men intercept a British wireless communication that leads them to suspect that a major British offensive may be in the offing. Rommel orders defenses along the perimeter of Tobruk strengthened and orders Kampfgruppe von Herff to initiate offensive patrols.
The Royal Navy's nightly shuttle to Tobruk continues as Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta evacuates wounded and takes them to Alexandria.
At Malta, Governor Dobbie draws up a plan to replace soldiers with female auxiliaries. The jobs will include service as cooks, dining hall waitresses, messengers, and similar functions. Among other things, this involves an increase in pay for the women (subject to Whitehall approval).
Convoy AS 30 departs from Suda Bay, Crete under heavy escort, bound for Alexandria.
An Enigma machine (lower left) aboard U-124 in March, 1941 (Dietrich, Federal Archives).
Spy Stuff: Bulgarian agents confirm other warnings, such as the one on 6 May from Richard Sorge in Tokyo, that the Germans are planning an attack on the Soviet Union. Anglo/Free French Relations: There is a muddle within the British hierarchy about how to deal with Vichy Syria, which is in the formative stages of being used to transfer German planes and troops to Iraq. The British have been allowing the Vichy government in Syria wide latitude and even been paying some Vichy sailors interned at Alexandria. This passive attitude has extended to permitting regular passages of French transport SS Providence between Marseille and Beirut - even as other Vichy ships have been captured on the high seas. In effect, the British Middle East Command has been conducting its own independent foreign relations with the Vichy forces in Syria even though there is a growing sense that the French will soon be allowing the Germans transit rights to Iraq.
First, Major-General Edward Spears, who is on the staff of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, is a fervent Francophile and has been acting as a liaison to General De Gaulle, cables De Gaulle in Brazzaville that there is no need for him to visit Cairo to plan an attack on Syria. "There would, in fact, be some disadvantage to your doing so," he writes, which presumably means that De Gaulle's presence would antagonize the Vichy authorities in Syria.
However, in the evening Winston Churchill himself cables De Gaulle. Among other things, Churchill casually mentions that De Gaulle should go to Cairo. Surprised, De Gaulle quickly replies (in English, which is very rare for him) "I shall go to Cairo soon." The entire incident is very revealing of the general confusion that infests relations between Great Britain and France during this period. Another outcome of this incident is that relations between Spears and De Gaulle deteriorate, to Spears' personal regret.
Junkers Ju-52 transports standing in wait for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.
Australian/US Relations: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in Washington, D.C. In the morning, he meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Menzies notes that:
I gather that the whole Cabinet would come into the war tomorrow if Roosevelt would say the word. But he hangs back, preferring an "incident" (e.g., as a result of the Atlantic patrol) to a formal declaration.
Menzies notes that Dean Atcheson is "friendly but confused. Famous Harry Hopkins a great disappointment - a sort of gangling yokel."
Soviet/Yugoslav Relations: The Soviet Union withdraws diplomatic recognition of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. Led by King Peter, the exiles have been camping out in Jerusalem under British protection, along with remaining remnants of the Yugoslav Army, Navy and Air Force that managed to leave the country. Some army elements do remain in Yugoslavia, and they are in the process of regrouping as partisans and forming the primarily Serbian "Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland" (Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini, or JVUO, or Četniks) under Royalist General Draža Mihailović. However, communist partisans in the region also are stirring, and the Soviets may prefer to back them. The official reason for withdrawing recognition is that the German government now controls the country.
Soviet/Belgian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the exiled government of Belgium.
Soviet Norwegian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the Norwegian government.
Fort Rutbah, Iraq, 9 May 1941. This photograph was taken from an RAF Blenheim bomber that attacked the fortress.
Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The inconclusive border wall between Thailand and French forces in Indochina comes to an official end with the signing of a peace treaty in Tokyo. Thailand basically gets all the territory that it sought in the war. The Japanese, who have been serving as an "honest broker" in the affair (but actually strongly favor the Thais), guarantee the new borders. The Vichy French in Indochina are isolated and have been largely powerless to influence the one-sided negotiations.
British Military: The Air Ministry announces the existence of "a large number of paratroops who have completed their training and are ready for action." Philippines: Now that his staff has arrived on USAT Washington, Brigadier General Clagett, the newly arrived commander of the Philippines Department Air Corps, begins organizing his command. Ernest Hemingway, on his way back to the States from his six-week stay in Asia, is in Manila and parties with the enlisted men, at least one of whom he knows personally through a mutual female acquaintance. Hemingway, who claims never to have gotten anywhere near the war, makes eerily insightful comments about the situation in China. These include views that the Nationalists and Communists soon will be fighting each other in addition to the Japanese, and that Japan might well be at war with the United States soon.
City of Winchester (Master William Samuel Coughlan), sunk on 9 May 1941 by U-103 (Victor Schutze) while transiting from London to Capetown. The City of Winchester carried 6500 tons of general cargo and was sunk off Freetown about 400 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The 91 survivors included the master, and they were rescued by Norwegian freighter Herma and taken to Takoradi.
Serbia: At Sanski Most, the Germans kill 27 Serb civilians as reprisals for the recent uprising. The troops force townspeople to hang the bodies in the town square for two days. This incident leads to bitter hatred between the Serbs and the Ustaše, who start contemplating how to wipe out (ethnically cleanse) the population of the entire region. A reign of terror against the Serbian locals commences. There remain many rebels in the nearby hills who will lay low until July.
China: At the Battle of South Shanxi, the Japanese North China Front Army continues to attack the 9th Army of the Chinese 1st War Area at Fengmenkou and Lungwanwo. The Japanese also capture Wangyuan and attack Tungfeng. In addition, the Japanese Imperial Air Force raids the Nationalist capital of Chungking.
American Homefront: Singer Billie Holiday records "God Bless the Child" at the Okey Records studio on Seventh Avenue in New York City. It is the first recording of the jazz song written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. "God Bless the Child" will not be released until 1942. The song will become one of Holiday's signature songs and a major event in her eventual autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues."
Future History: Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, will become the starting point for the screenplay of "U-571" (2000).
A memorial to the Sanski Most Revolt will be set up at Šušnjar in 1971 and designated a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.
Monument to the Sanski Most uprising of May 1941. The monument was constructed in 1970 and designed by Sarajevo architect Petar Krstić. The monument is controversial because tiles bearing the names of Muslim victims of the revolt have been removed.
Italian/Greek Campaign: The Yugoslavs mobilize the military on 1 April 1941 and dissolve the Senate. Hitler demands demobilization and adherence to the Tripartite Pact.
Ante Pavelić, with Mussolini's permission, uses Italian radio facilities in Florence to transmit an appeal to the people in Croatia calling for its liberation from the Belgrade government by the Axis. Croatia is notable for its strong pro-German sentiments, as opposed to the rest of Yugoslavia which favors the Allies.
British CIGS Sir John Dill is in Belgrade discussing joint defense with Yugoslavian Prime Minister Simovic. There is little that Great Britain can offer except promises of future aid whenever it can be made available.
In Hungary, Prime Minister Teleki cooperates with Admiral Horthy and authorizes the mobilization of the Hungarian Army. However, he remains opposed to any military participation by Hungary in attacks on Greece or Yugoslavia.
East African Campaign: The British stampede continues in Eritrea. The Indian 5th Infantry Division, now well past the broken Italian defenses at Keren, advances to Asmara. The Italian 2nd Colonial Division attempts to block the British at Adi Tecesan, which is 35 miles (60 km) from Asmara, but the Indian troops blow through the position. Italian General Nicola Carnimeo then declares Asmara an open city by sending a pair of policemen out with a white flag.
Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto enters the Canale Navigabile at Taranto, 1 April 1941. It is heading for the dockyard in Mar Piccolo to repair damage from a torpedo during the Battle of Cape Matapan. Those are 15-inch guns, and next to them are 6-inch guns, with 8.5-inch antiaircraft guns seen along the side.
European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe moves several units to Austrian airfields in preparation for Operation Marita. These include elements of JG 27, 54, 77, along with LG 2 and ZG 26.
Some Luftwaffe planes do remain on the Channel Front. To prove it, Bf 109s strafe a train near Berwick.
Battle of the Atlantic: German cruiser Admiral Scheer completes its journey homeward from Brest to Kiel.
The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy HXM-114 off Smalls in Pembrokeshire. Five ships are hit:
7982-ton British tanker San Conrado (sinks while under tow)
7984-ton British tanker Adellan (damaged, taken to Milford Haven)
8955-ton British tanker Chesapeake (makes it to Walton Bay)
9603-ton Norwegian tanker Kaia Knudsen (towed to Milford Haven)
The Luftwaffe attacks Royal Navy destroyer HMS Quorn in the River Medway. There are two near misses that cause some damage.
Swedish 5842-ton freighter Lidingo hits a mine and sinks west of Falsterbo. After the captain beaches it, the Lidingo is towed to Malmo, Sweden.
Two German freighters - 4833-ton Hermonthis and 5619-ton Muenchen - are trying to escape through the British blockade of Callao, Peru when they are spotted by Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Prince Henry. Both are scuttled by their crews.
A number of other German freighters scuttle themselves in Mexican and South American ports:
1120-ton freighter Cerigo
4323-ton freighter Eisenbach
6310-ton freighter Friesland
5898-ton freighter Leipzig
4351-ton freighter Hameln
Freighter Seostris
5578-ton freighter Monserrate.
Italian freighter Himalaya, a refugee from Massawa, makes it to Rio de Janeiro.
Commander-in-chief of the Home Fleet Admiral Sir John Tovey transfers his flag from battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth to newly commissioned King George V.
The German supply system in the Atlantic continues in fine operational form. German tanker Nordmark restocks from German tanker Ill in the Mid-Atlantic.
The British Navy gives the Italian Fleet good ironing at Cape Matapan. By Strube, 'The Daily Express', April 1, 1941.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The British, under pressure from the Afrika Korps, withdraw toward Benghazi. Lieutenant General Sir Philip Neame, General Officer Commanding Western Desert Force, also warns the commanders in Benghazi to prepare the city for possible evacuation. The German 5th Light Division, which has a small position within the Mersa Brega (also known simply as Brega) defenses, finds to its soldiers' delight that the British have left. They immediately occupied the town and the surrounding area. Advance units of the division pursue the British east toward the Via Balbia. There is no fighting at all - the British 2nd Armoured Division simply bugs out.
The Luftwaffe aids the Afrika Korps advance, using Stukas to destroy British tanks and trucks. By the end of the day, the advanced German detachments of the 5th Light Division are approaching Agedabia. Italian Libyan Commander Gariboldi, meanwhile, tries to place the breaks on the German advance, sending a letter to Afrika Korps Commander Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel warning of the "strong enemy defense" and the need to wait for "necessary reinforcements." Rommel technically is subordinate to the Italian command in North Africa, but displays a strong tendency to ignore them (and, at times, the Wehrmacht high command as well). The Italians also fail to supply transport planes for Rommel's Gialo operation, so it is postponed again.
Convoys ANF and AG 10 depart from Alexandria bound for Piraeus, while Convoys ASF-22 and AS-23 depart from Piraeus.
An Italian convoy of four troopships departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. Battle of the Indian Ocean: Royal Navy destroyer Kandahar stops 4188-ton German freighter Bertram Rickmers, which fled from Massawa on 31 March. The crew scuttles the freighter off Gondumiat.
Another German freighter, 7566-ton Lichtenfels, tries to make a run for it from Massawa as well. However, it spots the Royal Navy patrols and has to return to Massawa.
Convoy BS-22 departs from Suez. Anglo/Yugoslavian Relations: While things have changed in Belgrade following the March 27 coup, they haven't changed that much. The new Yugoslavian Prime Minister, General Dušan Simović, is under no illusions about the country's military power. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, who had been on his way back to Britain when the coup took place, is now back in Athens and requests a meeting there with Simović. However, Simović is a former chief of the general staff and is well aware of the danger facing the country. He turns down the meeting so as not to provoke the Germans into a quick invasion.
Italian/Japanese Relations: Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka moves on from Berlin to Rome. He meets separately with King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini.
US/Mexican Relations: The US and Mexico reach an agreement in Washington for joint air defense. Each can use the other's airfields.
Anglo/US Relations: British Far East Commander RAF Air Marshal Brooke-Popham flies to Manila for consultations with US commanders General MacArthur and Admiral Hart.
The body of Jan Willem Ter Braak, as found in an air raid shelter on 1 April 1941.
Spy Stuff: A boy finds the body of Jan Willem (or Wilhelm) Ter Braak in a Cambridge, England air-raid shelter. Ter Braak is a German (actual name Engelbertus Fukken) spy who parachuted into Buckinghamshire on 2 November 1940. He had committed suicide using an Abwehr-issue pistol. The reason for his suicide requires speculation, but he had run out of money and faced eviction from his flat. He also had reason to suspect that British Intelligence was closing in on him. The British claim that they had learned about his spying and were waiting for him back at his room.
German Military: Hans-Joachim Marseille receives a promotion to Leutnant. His unit, JG 27, is scheduled to head east along with many other formations to aid in Operation Marita. Werner Haase, Hitler's deputy personal physician, joins the SS. US Military: Rear Admiral John H. Newton, fresh off his successful visit to Australia with his cruiser squadron, arrives at Suva, Fiji.
The US Navy takes over artificial Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island will be turned into Naval Station Treasure Island.
Iraq: Raschid Ali al-Gaylani and his military conspirators, known as the "Brethren of the Golden Squares," seize power. Ali initially announces that he is the Chief of the National Defence Government, then becomes Prime Minister. This is in part due to German support and funding, while Regent 'Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz moves on from the British gunboat where he has taken refuge to Amman, Jordan. The Germans have great hopes to use the uprising as a way to undermine British power throughout the Middle East. The British, meanwhile, have a large airbase at Habbaniya and don't intend to leave. Thus, the stage is set for an epic clash in unexpected theater operations.
A Plymouth advertisement, April 1941.
Antarctic: US Interior Department ships Bear and North Star depart Punta Arenas, Chile. They carry the crew from Admiral Byrd's Little America outpost in Antarctica. North Star heads up the west coast, while Bear heads up the east coast.
Japan: Rice is rationed. While Japan is not at war, it greatly depends upon fertilizers based upon phosphate. The German raider Komet attack on Nauru of 27 December 1940 crippled phosphate exports upon which Japan greatly relied. Even though shipments have resumed recently, they are at greatly reduced levels. Japan thus has run short of fertilizer, which has strained its relations with Germany.
China: The Japanese 11th Army continues withdrawing under pressure after the Battle of Shangkao. The Chinese recover Kaoan and Hsiangfukuan.
American Homefront: The Ford Motor Company has fired several union members at its River Rouge plant in Michigan. The other workers go out on strike.
Joseph Creamer, owner/operator of Station W71NY of New York City signs the first contract for advertising on a commercial FM station. This is a big change for the radio industry, as advertisers to this point have felt that it was not worthwhile to advertise on FM.
