Wednesday 11 June 1941

"Lebanon. 11 June 1941. Fort Merdjayoun in the town of Merdjayoun, which was occupied by French forces before being captured on 11 June 1941 by elements of the 7th Australian Division AIF. The town was then occupied by 2/33rd Battalion, a cavalry unit and a battery of artillery in a defensive role." (Australian War Memorial 128437).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 21st Brigade continues marching north from Tyre toward Sidon as part of Operation Exporter on 11 June 1941. Further inland, the Australian 25th Brigade takes Merdjayoun (Merjayun). The Australians, feeling confident, leave only a skeleton force to hold Merdjayoun and send the bulk of the 25th Brigade north to attack Jezzine.

Free French 1st Infantry Brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade attack Kissoue south of Damascus. The Vichy French, however, are massing large forces to block the Commonwealth troops' advances.

A French Dewoitine D.520 shoots down a British Curtiss Tomahawk. It is the only Tomahawk that the RAF loses during the campaign.

Journalist Alan Moorehead talks to captured Vichy French soldiers and gets a surprise: their morale is excellent. He reports that the French say that they are resisting the British invasion fiercely because they are professional soldiers and the attack was unprovoked. Another factor is that Germany essentially is holding their relatives in metropolitan France hostage. There also is an element of simple Gallic pride, as the French soldiers feel that the British look down on them ("like the Italians") for losing France to Hitler.

In other words, the French are resisting not just for pragmatic reasons, but for pride. However, the silver lining is that, once the defending French soldiers prove their point about their ability to resist, they eventually will give in to the inevitable and surrender. There is some hard fighting left before that can happen, though.

A Curtiss Tomahawk of 3 Squadron at Lydda (Lot), 11 June 1941 (via Mike Mirkovic).

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 25 aircraft to bomb Bremerhaven, but 19 turn back due to Reich air defenses. The British, like the Luftwaffe before them, are gradually coming to the realization that daylight bombing raids are extremely costly.

RAF Fighter Command sends fighters on Rhubarb and Roadstead operations. RAF 11 Group (12 planes of RAF No. 74 Squadron and 12 of No. 609 Squadron escort five Blenheim bombers of 16 Group) conducts a Roadstead operation that targets a tanker defended by flak-ships off Dunkirk. The pilots report scoring a hit on the tanker, but there is no verification from German records. Luftwaffe Oblt. Johannes Seifert of 3./JG 26 downs a Hurricane from RAF No 248 Squadron during daylight action.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids the industrial Ruhr River Valley, the Rhineland, Hamburg, and Bremen. The weather is good, and the British will continue attacking the Ruhr for the next 19 nights. They put 98 bombers over Dusseldorf and 80 over Duisburg. RAF Bomber Command also sends 24 aircraft to Boulogne and 20 bombers on minelaying missions.

The Luftwaffe drops leaflets over East Anglia, as it did during the summer of 1940, and sends planes across Great Britain. These tout German successes in the Atlantic and they warn, with some credibility, that further resistance to the Reich will mean starvation throughout the British Isles.

East African Campaign: The Indian 15th Punjab Regiment of the Indian 3rd Battalion completes the capture of Assab, which essentially just means checking the town for any Italian stragglers. The entire Red Sea now is clear of Axis influence, and soon American freighters will be able to cross it to deliver supplies to British forces in Egypt.

(Kraupa; Tuskany; Duskamp, Federal Archive Bild 101II-MW-3509-30). 

"France, Saint-Nazaire.- Admiral Karl Doenitz on the quay in front of incoming U-boat U-93, the crew standing on the U-boat deck in anticipation of the award of the Knight's Cross to Lieutenant Claus Korth, U-93's commander.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-79 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Kaufmann), on its first patrol out of Kiel, is operating west of Iceland when it torpedoes and sinks 1524 ton Norwegian freighter Havtor. There are six deaths and 14 survivors.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2056-ton British freighter Moorwood near 19C Buoy north of Whitby. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 3178-ton British freighter Baron Carnegie just east of St. Davids in St. George's Channel. There are 25 deaths (16 are listed as "missing" but never are found). British 1358-ton freighter Seine takes Baron Carnegie in tow, but Baron Carnegie sinks north of Fishguard.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2842-ton British freighter Westburn a few miles north of Skinningrove off Hartlepool. Taken in tow, the Westburn arrives in Hartlepool later in the day.

Royal Navy submarine H.32 grounds in the Clyde. After it frees itself, H.32 goes to Ardrossan for repairs.

The Kriegsmarine makes a rare fleet maneuver (the Royal Navy, by comparison, keeps its ships constantly in motion). This is Operation Sommerreise (Summer Journey). The Germans send heavy cruiser Lutzow (damaged during the invasion of Norway), light cruisers Emden and Leipzig, and destroyers Eckhold, Galster, Lody, Z.23, and Z.24 to Norway. The plan is for Lutzow to break out into the Atlantic and be joined there by sister ship Admiral Scheer.

The British, of course, keep very close tabs on German warships. They learn today from Ultra decrypts about Operation Sommerreise and begin preparing a response. The Admiralty brings the Home Fleet to one hour's notice.

Convoy OB-334 departs from Liverpool.

U-130 (K.Kapt. Ernst Kals) is commissioned at Kiel.

"The crew of an Australian Vickers Light Tank Mk VI works on their vehicle during the advance into Syria, 11 June 1941."(© IWM (E 3149E)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: British troops under General O'Moore Creagh prepare for the upcoming Operation Battleaxe, scheduled to begin on 15 June. On the other side, newly appointed commander of the 15th Panzer Division General Walter Neumann-Silkow is more worried about his supply situation than the enemy, as his panzers are running low on petrol.

Royal Navy submarine Taku (Lt. Commander Edward C.F. Nicolay) torpedoes and sinks 1600-ton German freighter Tilly L.M. Russ in Benghazi Harbor.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay rams and sinks a caique about 15  miles south of Mitylene (Lesbos). The caique is being used as a troop transport, there is an unknown number of casualties.

The RAF attacks Benghazi and sinks Italian naval trawlers Mario Bianco and Cirene.

At Malta, the Luftwaffe drops bombs between Ta Qali and Mosta, as well as eight east of Valletta. A much larger attack of an estimated 22 Axis aircraft is spotted 30 miles north of the island but turns back when the RAF scrambles fighters.

Convoy BA-3 departs from Karachi bound for Aden.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured whaler Adjutant with prize crew departs German raider Komet for minelaying operations in New Zealand waters.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt agrees to occupy Iceland with US troops. While there is no danger of combat in Iceland, this will free up 25,000 British troops who have been unopposed, though not invited, by the Icelandic government. Iceland is critically important to the Allies for protection of their cross-Atlantic convoys, as both ship and air patrols emanating from there cover a large area that U-boats are using with great success.

Vickers Light Tank Mk VI with Australian crew during the advance into Syria, 11 June 1941.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: While the Germans have conquered The Netherlands, the Dutch East Indies remain a powerful force in the Pacific. Not only do the Dutch there possess a strong navy, but they also control raw materials that the Japanese need. Today, however, the Japanese accept defeat in their attempts to lock up more oil and other supplies. This is another skirmish in a trade battle that has broken out across the globe, with the Axis and Allies vying to "lock-up" sources of supply of strategic commodities such as oil and tungsten.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: The Japanese and Soviets, who recently reached an agreement regarding the border in Manchuria, expand their economic relations.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: Sir Stafford Cripps, ambassador to Moscow, returns to London for consultations. Cripps is England's point man for the Soviet Union because he is a committed Socialist with decidedly Marxist leanings and works well with the Russians. Cripps' departure in the face of all the warnings he has been receiving about a prospective attack by Germany leaves Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin very suspicious about what Winston Churchill is planning.

German/US Relations: Brazilian steamer Ozorio rescues the last eleven survivors from the US freighter SS Robin Moor (Captain E. W. Meyers). The Robin Moor was sunk in the South Atlantic on 21 May by U-69 (Kapitänleutnant Jost Metzler) while carrying contraband aircraft parts bound for the British in the Middle East. The sinking has become a major diplomatic incident, but not sufficiently for the United States to declare war.

Bomb damage in Belfast at Ravenscroft Avenue, East Belfast looking toward the Hollywood Arches (11 June 1941).

Nagano, however, remains opposed to war with the United States if it can possibly be avoided. He takes a very dim view of Admiral Yamamoto's plans to attack Pearl Harbor. However, almost everyone else in the top tier of the Japanese military prefers to strike the United States while it remains relatively weak in the Pacific.

US Military: Battleship USS Arizona departs from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for Long Beach, California.

Soviet Military: Soviet General Georgi Zhukov continues quietly building up forces in the European portion of the Soviet Union. He orders the transfer of some Red Army units from Transbaikal to the Kyiv region. However, Zhukov remains bound by Premier Joseph Stalin's wishes to do nothing to provoke the Germans.

Two related German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) who have survived Operation Mercury meet in Canea, Crete, 11 June 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 183-H25246).

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 32, "Preparations For The Period After Barbarossa." The directive turns out to have no effect on anything aside from planning but does offer insight into Hitler's mindset on the eve of Operation Barbarossa.

As he is wont to do, Adolf Hitler begins making plans for operations far in the future that depend on operations closer in time to turn out as planned. So, today he tasks the OKW Operations Staff led by General Alfred Jodl with working up plans for the period after the Soviet Union is conquered.

Hitler notes pointedly that, "The main efforts of the armaments industry can be diverted to the Navy and Airforce." The Reich armaments sector takes this to heart, and begin to view the production of shells and other munitions as a low priority. This will have baleful consequences for the Wehrmacht late in 1941 and in 1942 as Soviet resistance proves fiercer than expected.

Hitler demonstrates in Directive No. 32 that he views Operation Barbarossa more as a temporary pause in other operations already on the docket than a major, long-term undertaking. So, he anticipates implementing Operation Felix, the planned seizure of Gibraltar. His thinking is revealed when he orders the capture of Tobruk in "about November," when the Afrika Korps can be "brought to the highest possible efficiency in personnel and equipment." This, presumably, would only be possible after the Wehrmacht can redirect forces from the conquered Soviet Union.

Interestingly, Hitler barely mentions Operation Sea Lion, the proposed invasion of England, in Directive No. 32, and only in passing. He notes that preparations for the invasion would "serve the double purpose of tying down English forces at home and of bringing about a final English collapse through a landing in England." He is more interested, however, in a resumption of the "Siege of England," which can be undertaken "with the utmost intensity" only after the Soviet Union is beaten.

British soldiers looking across the river at Baghdad, 11 June 1941.

British Military: Major-General Neil Ritchie is sent to the Middle East Command to join the staff of the British Eighth Army in Cairo. His replacement in charge of the British 51st Highland Division is Major General Douglas Neil Wimberley. Wimberley institutes strenuous training routines for future operations - the division is seen as having gotten a bit slack after almost two years of home defense in anticipation of a German invasion that never came.

American Homefront: The President of Fordham University, Rev. Robert I. Gannon, gives a commencement address at the school entitled "What Will Replace It." The "it" is civilization, and Gannon says in part:

we believe that democracy will rise again, but not until the authority of God is recognized again in public and in private life. Apparently, then, it has fallen our lot to see the end of a civilization.

He notes that whatever the ways of the world, religion will always be there for people. The theme of the address mirrors a growing pessimism in some quarters about the state of the world in 1941.

"Health Lecturer" Russell James is arrested in Minneapolis for practicing healing without a license. He sells a health food product made out of powdered bananas and whey (which does sound pretty healthy). The Hennepin County District Court deliberates for three hours, then finds him not guilty.

Exterior view of the N. 11 Mikoyan Bread-Baking Plant, Moscow, June 1941 (Meyer, Hannes).

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

Monday 17 March 1941

The Marit Maersk arrives at Piræus, Greece, on 17 March 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There is a pause in operations on 17 March 1941, as the Italian high command regroups before resuming their failed Primavera Offensive. The Greeks use the time to bring forward reserves. They replace the battered 1st Division with the 17th. So far, Italian casualties have outpaced Greek losses by roughly 3-1 - but Greek losses have not been insignificant.

The British reinforcement of Greece, Operation Lustre, continues. The New Zealand 4th Infantry Brigade arrives at Athens today from Alexandria.

East African Campaign: The Italian counterattacks at Keren continue today. The British still occupy Fort Dologorodoc and the Pinnacle and Pimple formations to the right of the Dongolaas Gorge, but further advances are becoming difficult. The British 29th Brigade does capture Falestoh and Zeban near the fort, but bringing supplies over the exposed rock, with the Italians in the heights above raining fire down on everyone making the trip, proves too difficult. After dark today, the advanced British troops abandon Falestoh and Zeban. The Italians also launch rabid counterattacks against Fort Dologorodoc which the 5th Indian Division has difficulty fighting off.

On the left side of the gorge, things are even less satisfactory for the British. The 4th Indian Division has been attacking the Sanchil heights without progress. Finally, after dark tonight when the lack of light makes crossing the open areas less dangerous, the Indian troops retreat to their original jump-off positions. The Indian troops retain a few new areas, such as Hog's Back and Flat Top, but the Italian troops are counterattacking everywhere. The fighting is desperate and savage, often descending into hand-to-hand fighting with knives and whatever else is handy.

In central Abyssinia, Lt. General Cunningham's 23rd Nigerian Brigade of the British 1st African Division troops finally capture Jijiga after a long struggle. They only are able to do this because the strong Italian defensive forces in the town have abandoned it. The British troops now have advanced 1000 miles from Kenya, but Abyssinia still remains unsubdued. Jijiga is to become a British base until after the war.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe bombs Bristol again, continuing its pattern of hitting the same medium-sized city multiple times in a row. Tonight, 162 planes hit the Avonmouth district. RAF Bomber Command sends 58 bombers against Bremen and 21 against Wilhelmshaven, where they can waste their bombs against perpetual target Tirpitz.

Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941).

Battle of the Atlantic: Talk about highs and lows. The Kriegsmarine has just had one of the best days it will have during the entire war. Heavy cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst have devastated a convoy of shipping and escaped unscathed, while U-99 captain Otto Kretschmer has fired eight torpedoes and sunk five ships. It just doesn't get much better than that. However, now we get a lesson in how fickle the fortunes of war are, and how quickly victory can turn into a calamity.

Otto Kretschmer.

Kretschmer performed his stunning surface attack on Convoy HX 112 shortly before midnight on the 16th. Out of torpedoes, now the U-boat's only objective is to get out of town without being seen. Around midnight, though, his Watch Officer spots an escort destroyer (either HMS Vanoc or Walker) and orders a dive. This is contrary to standing orders, as once submerged, the U-boat can be detected on ASDIC. This in fact happens, and Kretschmer takes the U-boat deep to avoid the depth charges. However, one of the charges seriously damages the U-boat, forcing it to surface. On the surface, the two destroyers open fire with their guns, and Kretschmer, in a panic, signals:

CAPTAIN TO CAPTAIN. I AM SUNKING [sic] PLEASE RESCUE MY CREW.

Forty crew manage to escape and become POWs, including Kretschmer, while three crew (including the engineering officer who re-entered the sinking sub to scuttle it) perish. Captain Macintyre of the Walker takes credit for the sinking.

That is only the beginning of the Germans' bad night.

U-100 (Kptlt. Joachim Schepke) also has been drawn to Convoy by U-boat command (BdU). Captain Schepke approaches HX-112 from behind. Having to make up ground, he is on the surface by necessity, not a choice as in the case with Kretschmer. HMS Vanoc detects U-100 from about 1000 meters/yards with its Type 286 radar. This is the first such interception of a U-boat using radar - not a first that Schepke would want to be any part of. Vanoc hurries over as Schepke dives and manages to ram the U-boat before it can reach a safe depth. Schepke perishes along with 47 of his mates, while six men survive.

Schepke's and Kretschmer's losses to the U-boat fleet, along with Guenther Prien's loss ten days ago, are devastating to the U-boat fleet. The German military is based on stars and supporting players - there are "experten" and everyone else. In other words, the quality of the services depends upon a broad but very thin layer of aces who excel far beyond others. Prien, Schepke, and Kretschmer are impossible to replace, not because the U-boat doesn't have other good captains - it does - but all three have that "something special" that can't be taught. Kretschmer, in particular, has been like a quarterback on a good football team, directing other U-boats in attacks even when his boat is out of torpedoes and simply observing. Some put today as the end of the first U-boat "Happy Time," when the going is good and U-boat losses are low.

Dutch freighter Tapanoeli, sunk today by U-106.

While it is a bad night for the Kriegsmarine and the entire German war effort, there are some bright spots. Far to the south, about 350 km off the coast of West Africa, U-106 (Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten) is having what is turning into a splendid second patrol. It attacks Convoy SL 68 and sinks two ships:

• 3082 ton British freighter Andalusian (all rescued)
• 7034 ton Dutch freighter Tapanoeli (all rescued)

Oesten also attacks two other ships but misses.

Having just completed perhaps the most complete convoy destruction to date on 15-16 March, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst head away from the scene of devastation. Admiral Lütjens plans to rendezvous with supply ships Uckermark and Ermland, then head for port Brest in France. The Royal Navy has Force H out of Gibraltar at sea looking for them.

Having obtained its seaplanes and stocked up with supplies at Kiel, the German battleship Bismarck departs from Kiel and makes port at Gdynia (Gotenhafen) today.

German raider Kormoran and U-124 now have sailed far enough southwest (1150 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands) to find somewhat calmer waters and affect their supply transfer with cruiser Admiral Scheer. U-124 has brought radar parts for the German cruiser, but the seas remain too rough for Kormoran to transfer its eight torpedoes to the U-boat.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy 597-ton anti-submarine yacht HMY Mollusc a few kilometers from Blyth Port War Signal Station. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2848-ton British freighter Cormead off Southwold and 281-ton British pilot cutter Pioneer in the Thames Estuary.

Norwegian 1858-ton freighter Einar Jarl hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Wormiston, Scotland. There is one death.

The Royal Navy's 1st Minelaying Squadron sets out from Loch Alsh to lay minefield SN 69. Minelayer Teviotbank, back in service after being damaged by the Luftwaffe, lays minefield BS 51 off the English East Coast.

Convoy OG 56 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 115 departs from Halifax.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Dianthus (K 95, Lt. Commander Clement E. Bridgman) is commissioned, corvette HMCS Kamloops (K 176, Lt. James M. Gillison) is commissioned, and destroyer KNM Arendal (Hunt-class destroyer HMS Badsworth) and minesweeping trawler Orfsay are launched.

U-218 is laid down.

KNM Arendal (HMS Badsworth).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Rommel's Afrika Korps continues to receive additions to its troop strength. Rommel is feeling increasingly confident, and today he sends a message to an Italian garrison at Giarabub in southeastern Libya. He tells the Italians not to surrender to the Free French because he will soon send troops to their rescue.

The RAF (Swordfish of Squadron No. 815) torpedo and sink Italian torpedo boat Andromeda in the Adriatic off Valona (Vlorë), Albania.

The Regia Aeronautica attacks Benghazi.

Convoy AG 6A departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus, Convoy BN 20 departs from Aden bound for Suez.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin continues its replenishment operations in the Kerguelen Islands alongside supply ship Adjutant. The ship takes water from a waterfall to replenish its water tanks.

Convoy BM 5 departs from Bombay.

US/Australian Relations: With the visit to Australia by Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force, approved for 20 March, the US sends a small detachment ahead to New Zealand. Captain Ellis S. Stone leads TG 9.2 to Auckland. They will remain there until Newton's main force makes the journey toward Sydney, at which point TG 9.2 will head to Tahiti.

German/Turkish Relations: Hitler meets with the Turkish ambassador. The Turks want nothing to do with this war, on either side, despite offers of all kinds of inducements.

A colorized photo of Grand Admiral Karl Donitz. The U-boat fleet was very close-knit, and losing two top commanders on one night in one action would have been deeply felt by Donitz and others in the service. There was nothing redeeming about the loss of Schepke and Kretschmer for anyone in the Kriegsmarine.

US Military: The US Navy Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics gives the go-ahead for research into jet propulsion. It creates a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) board that will evaluate research into jet propulsion. The NACA goals for jet propulsion are quite modest at this stage in the United States, with useful applications being seen primarily in Jet Assisted TakeOff (JATO) areas, not jet-powered planes themselves. NACA, of course, is the direct antecedent of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

British Military: Air Vice-Marshal Richard Saul, Air Officer Commanding No. 12 Group (the successor to Trafford Leigh-Mallory) is made Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Greenland: The United States South Greenland Survey Expedition leaves Boston, Massachusetts today aboard US Coast Guard cutter USCGC Cayuga. The objective is to map Greenland for sites for things like airstrips and meteorological stations. Having declared itself a self-governing territory in 1940, Greenland currently is under United States protection.

Channel Islands: The occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans has been, for the most part, a smooth affair. However, the island is indeed occupied and the Germans are authorized to apply harsh punishments in the Channel Islands just like anywhere else. Today, Frenchman Francois Scornet, 22, of Brittany is executed in Jersey. Scornet is a French Army Cadet who fled to the Channel Islands upon the Fall of France. In fact, he had intended to reach England but got lost in a storm. Scornet, who the Germans describe as the "ringleader" of a group of 16 such refugees, is shot as a symbolic act, as a way to "send a message" to others thinking of fleeing German occupation. Scornet will be the only civilian executed by firing squad in Jersey during the war.

China: The Japanese attack the Chinese lines in the Battle of Shanggao in the direction of Haulintsai and Shangfutsun. The Chinese are well dug-in, though, and the Japanese take heavy casualties. The day ends with the lines little changed, but many dead and dying on both sides.

The military situation in Europe and the Mediterranean in early 1941, from Life magazine, March 17, 1941. Interestingly, the map includes the notation for North Africa, "German troops and tanks stiffen Italian resistance." Life notices this, but the British high command does not give this much importance.

British Homefront: The British already have rationed things like tea, and completely eliminated bananas. Now, they add some more quintessentially British foodstuffs to the ration list with jam and marmalade, which is limited to 8 oz. (225) per person per month. While that might seem perfectly adequate and even generous... the British love their marmalade and jam on scones.

Prime Minister Robert Menzies, in England for a few months, visits the Rolls Royce plant at Derby. He notes that there are "Many women employed on hard work. Music half an hour morning & afternoon. Everyone likes it 'except a few old fogies.'"

German Homefront: The German government maintains close tabs on trends in public sentiment as reflected in things like currently popular jokes and commodities. The reports now indicate that foreign-language prophecies are popular in churches that describe this as the time in Germany of a "dreadful warrior" who will be called the "Antichrist." As is often the case with these reports, the meaning of the jibe is open to interpretation - the fact that other nations call the German leader names may mean he is threatening them while helping Germany. On the other hand, taken literally, the suddenly popular prophecy may mean that people everywhere - and including Germany - are starting to view Hitler extremely negatively. Overall, it does not seem like a positive thing for the government that words like "Antichrist" are being thrown around about Germany's leader.

American Homefront: President Roosevelt dedicates the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Future History: Paul Lorin Kantner is born in San Francisco, California. As a teenager, Kantner becomes a protest folk singer. He drops out of school and begins performing full time. In 1965, he meets Marty Balin, and together they form a band called Jefferson Airplane. Kantner writes many of the band's songs as well as playing rhythm guitar and singing. Jefferson Airplane has many hits in the '60s and is the main attraction at festivals at Monterey, Altamont, and Woodstock. He begins collaborating in more ways than one with fellow bandmate Grace Slick, and together have daughter China Wing Kantner in 1971. The band continues into the 1980s, at which it has the first of many name changes, to Jefferson Starship. Kantner, the last founding member of Jefferson still left with the band, leaves in 1984, forcing the name change. Kantner and his Jefferson Airplane bandmates are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Paul Kantner passed away on 28 January 2016.

Henry Ford on the cover of Time Magazine, March 17, 1941, | Vol. XXXVII No. 11. Cover Credit: ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER. Ford will be a key player during the war, as his production plants will be the core of the United States as the "Arsenal of Democracy."

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Become Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Thursday 2 January 1941

Burial of victims of the Cardiff raid of 2 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There is continued light fighting in the Klisura Pass on 2 January 1941. The key pass is contested by Greek II Corps and the Italian Julia Division. Other Greek forces are mounting local operations to improve their positions (they take the tiny village of Dobrenjë east of Berat and cross the scenic Bence River in the mountains southeast of Savona/Vlore), but there are no large operations in the works on either side. However, the Greek High Command has a large attack to capture Klisura Pass in the planning stages.

The British offer the Greeks to send army troops to help in Albania. Already, RAF planes are operating out of airfields near Greece, but not too many British ground troops are in the country. The RAF raids Elbasan in the center of the country.

Unidentified Royal Hellenic Air Force Pilot, 2 January 1941.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe picks another city off the map - this time Cardiff, Wales - and sends 100+ bombers against it during the night. As in London, the Luftwaffe concentrates on incendiaries, starting numerous fires. Llandaff Cathedral is hit hard. This is considered the worst night of the Cardiff Blitz. A six-year-old boy sings "God Save the King" for six hours as workers dig him out from beneath his home's staircase, where he hid because it was considered a safe spot (and he did survive, so it was).

Once again, some Luftwaffe bombers go astray and bomb the Terenure district of Dublin. There are three deaths in the Shannon family, whose home is hit, with two others injured. Other counties along the Irish coast in a line stretching 100 miles to the south of Dublin also are bombed. The Germans blame the errant bombings on high winds, the British suspect a deliberate attempt to intimidate the Irish.

The Italian Aereo Italiano (CAI) stages its last raid against England, attacking Ipswich with five bombers.

RAF Bomber Command launches its own raid on Bremen, dropping incendiaries and high explosives on the German port of Bremen. About 47 bombers operate during the night. Breman is an inviting target because, being a medieval city, it burns easily. It also is packed with armaments factories (particularly a Focke-Wulf plant) and a naval base in the harbor. This is but the latest attack on the city, and, like the ones before, it is only moderately successful due to poor bombing aim.

Luftwaffe night fighters, which are somewhat ahead of their RAF counterparts, continue to confront the RAF bombers. Both Uffz. Arnold (1,/NJG 2) and Lt. Hans Hahn (3,/NJG 2) score victories, a Wellington and a Whitley, respectively.

"Fleet Air Arm pilots and observers, 2 January 1941, onboard HMS Victorious at Scapa." "Left to right: Sub Lieut (A) A Mc D Garland, a fighter pilot attached to 809 Squadron; Sub Lieut (A) F Rabone, an Observer in a Fairey Albacore; Sub Lieut (A) W H G Browne, an Observer attached to 832 Squadron." © IWM (A 6931).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors have been a bright spot in the German blockade of Great Britain. However, they have been "freelancing," attacking shipping themselves when they find targets, rather than focusing on helping the U-boats (with scattered success). All planes in Germany are under the control of the Luftwaffe, and there may be inter-service rivalries at play. In any event, today U-boat commander Admiral Doenitz asks the OKW operations chief, General Jodl, for better coordination between the Condors and the Kriegsmarine, to serve as the "eyes" of the U-boats. Reichsmarschall Goering apparently has no objection - he has final say over any Luftwaffe deployments - so a dozen Condors of KG 40 based in Bordeaux soon begin daily reconnaissance sweeps.

U-65 (Kptlt. Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), nearing the end of its extended cruise which began in October, sends a torpedo into 6,579-ton British transport Nalgora about 650 km north of the Cape Verde Islands. The Nalgora is taking men and supplies to General Wavell's Middle East Command. Since the freighter takes its time sinking, the U-boat finally surfaces and finishes it off with the deck gun. All 105 men on board survive, but they all spend over a week in lifeboats. This is U-65's final victory on this epic and highly successful (8 ships of 47,800 tons sunk) patrol, for which Stockhausen will be promoted to Korvettenkapitän and awarded the Knight's Cross. It also is his final victory, as he leaves U-65 after this and takes command of the new 26th U-boat Flotilla.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), on its eighth patrol, is operating in the sea lanes about 300 miles (450 km) northwest of Ireland when it is attacked by Royal Navy ships with depth charges. U-38 survives the attack with minor damage that does not interfere with its patrol.

During the Luftwaffe's attack on Cardiff after dark, a delayed action bomb falls on the 5252-ton British freighter Loch Dee. The bomb explodes early on the 3d and kills a crewman.

The Royal Navy 1st Minelaying Squadron sets off to lay minefields SN 6 and SN 65 in the North Sea. This is a major operation, covered by HMS Hood and other warships. Meanwhile, minelaying cruiser HMS Adventure lays minefield ZME 10 in St. George's Channel.

In the South Atlantic, German tanker Nordmark refuels raider Thor.

Convoy SC 18 departs from Halifax, Convoy HX 98/1 departs from Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to Liverpool/Belfast.

Royal Navy trawler HMS Saragande (Skipper Laurence F. Scarlett) is commissioned.

U-66 is commissioned.

U-174, U-462, U-707, and U-762 laid down.

US submarine USS Tuna (Lt. Commander John J. Crane) is commissioned.

British infantrymen outside Bardia, January 1941 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Major General Iven Mackay readies his troops for an assault on Bardia at 05:30 on the 3rd. The 6th Australian Division has been practicing on a mock-up of the Italian defenses there, which essentially are composed of two main lines that include anti-tank ditches. The attack will be supported by the RAF, gunboats parked offshore, and artillery fire. The Australians, bayonets fixed, take up final assault positions during the night, along with "I" tanks and engineers that will follow to exploit the breakthrough.

Offshore during the day, British monitor HMS Terror, gunboats HMS Ladybird and Aphis, destroyer HMS Dainty and Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager bombard Bardia. The Italians stage an unsuccessful air raid against the ships. The RAF (RAF Nos. 70 and 216 Squadrons) stages its second massive attack on the fortress in a row, dropping 30,000 tons of ordnance. The Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Cunningham sorties from Alexandria to support the land operation.

The Luftwaffe is shifting planes to the Mediterranean, but they will not be there in time to affect present operations.

Italian 2364 ton freighter Albano hits a mine and sinks just east of Cape Laghi, Albania.

HMS Ladybird shelling Bardia. That is a 6-inch 50-caliber Mk XIII gun. 2 Jan 1941 (Australian War Memorial).

Spy Stuff: A sub-committee of MI5, the XX Committee, is established. Its name is a sort of pun, as it is to focus on "double-crosses," turning German spies into double-agents. Based on the Roman Number meaning of its name, this is formally called the "Twenty Committee." Members of all the British intelligence services and other related organizations are participants. The Chairman is an MI5 agent and Oxford professor, J.C. Masterman. The process of turning Abwehr (German military intelligence) into British double-agents actually began in the 1930s (with Arthur Owens, who began as a British spy, became an Abwehr spy, and then was turned to be solely British again) and has been achieved during the war as well, but the XX Committee will continue and extend the process.

Separately, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden informs Free French leader Charles de Gaulle of the arrest of Vice-Admiral Muselier on the 1st. De Gaulle does not believe that Muselier, his commander of Free French naval forces, is a traitor, and suspects a plot by the British to discredit him.

In addition, the Luftwaffe attacks on Ireland recently are fueling British suspicions that the Germans may be using these attacks as a pretext to deposit agents there in order to spy on Royal Navy fleet movements.

Soviet Military: The Soviets being a major War Games exercise, with troops simulating an attack in the "northwest" direction, i.e., toward Stalingrad and Moscow. General Georgy Zhukov commands the attacking forces, i.e., the  "Western/Blue" forces against "Eastern/Red" forces commanded by Colonel General D.G. Pavlov. This exercise will continue for the remainder of the week (accounts vary on exactly what happened with these exercises, but it is clear that war games were held). The assumption built into the exercise is that the "Eastern Forces" have a large numerical advantage and that hostility is initiated by the "Western/Blue" forces. This is a clear anticipation of an attack by the Wehrmacht.

Vichy French Government: Banker Paul Baudouin resigns from the government. He has been the Vichy French Minister of Foreign Affairs since June and also briefly the Minister of Information (propaganda minister). It was he who initiated the communications with German, via the Spanish Ambassador, that led to the Armistice. Baudoin is a somewhat shadowy figure of mixed loyalties, a Monarchist who at some points in time is considered by Marshal Pétain to be his preferred successor. Baudouin was among those who pressured the Premier to excise Pierre Laval from the government. It is unclear exactly why Baudouin resigns at this time, but there are intense power struggles going on in French politics on both sides of the English Channel between Left and Right. To what extent Baudouin is an advocate of collaboration is unclear, but that is what he eventually is charged with (and convicted of) despite leaving the government at this early juncture. He returns to private banking.

Troops in Palacios, Texas, 2 January 1941 (Historic Palacios Photos).

Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich, the Head of the Security Police and the SD, issues a letter (styled as a "decree") for internal distribution to the Security Police. It states that Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler has approved new divisions within the concentration camp system. The new categories are:

• Category I: prisoners "definitely capable of being reformed," to be held at Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz I;
• Category Ia: "old prisoners" to be held at Dachau;
• Category II: prisoners facing "strong accusations" but still capable of reform, to be held at Buchenwald, Flossenburg, and Auschwitz II;
• Category III: "asocial" prisoners with criminal convictions and "virtually incapable of correction," to be held at Mauthausen.

While these classifications are quite vague, they do provide some hints for the future. The Category III camp, Mauthausen, will become renowned for its brutality and savagery as prisoners are worked to death and invariably do not survive their mistreatment (which smacks of punishment). The other camps will become outright extermination camps, without so much of the "work" or "punishment" aspect of Mauthausen.

Future inmates will be accorded a certain classification upon forwarding to the system, but, especially as the war progresses, assignment to any of the camps will be a death sentence and the categorizations essentially meaningless. Heydrich does require that recommendations for Category III prisoners be "justified" based upon previous convictions and related factors. It is unclear how many - if any - inmates at any of the camps are ever "reformed" sufficiently to exit the system altogether.

Bren gun carriers of the Australian Light Cavalry in the North African desert, January 1941 (AP Photo).

French Homeland: Bread rations are cut to 10 ounces daily.

American Homefront: The singing Andrews Sisters (Maxene, Patty, and LaVerne) record iconic "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince) at Decca's Hollywood Studios. Beyond its initial success, the tune goes on to become ranked No. 6 on the Songs of the Century list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. The song is recorded during the latter stages of the filming of Abbott and Costello film "Buck Privates." The song's introduction during that film featuring the Andrews Sisters is considered by many to be a classic music video (and arguably one of the first, though there's a lot of competition for that title).

"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was nominated that year for an Academy Award for Best Song. It lost out to "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in "Lady Be Good." If you want to talk about ridiculous Academy decisions, start here. Hollywood was very traditional with its song awards in those days, and perhaps the voters felt that "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was a bit too "modern" compared with the "Paris" ballad. Plus, comedies did not get too much respect in those days (and still don't).

The song has been covered by other artists, most notably by Bette Midler in 1972 (produced by Barry Manilow) to great acclaim. Midler originally intended it as a "B" side to another song. However, her rendition of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was so good that radio stations played "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on the flip side instead of the intended single, and it hit No. 1 on the Billboard easy listening chart 42 years after the song's introduction. Christina Aguilera copied the style of the Andrews Sisters' performance of this song in "Buck Privates" for one of her most successful music videos. More than any other of their songs, this one made the Andrews Sisters enduring legends, and "Buck Privates" made Abbott and Costello film stars.

Below is a 1941 live performance of the song (a "V-Disc") for the Special Service Division. It has some very shaky camera work (changing lenses mid-song was not a good idea) but is an excellent rendition nonetheless. One of the top-two enduring classics of the World War II-era (kudos if you can name the other, I guarantee that you know it but it's not a Glenn Miller tune).

Okay, first, a promotional performance by the Andrew Sisters for the US military of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."


And second, here is the version from "Buck Privates."

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Monday 30 December 1940

London still smoldering on the morning of the 30th from the previous night's devastating fire raid.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Some fighting develops on 30 December 1940 in the central sector between Greek 2nd Corps and the defending Italians for possession of strategically important Klisura Pass (Kelcyre). The Greeks have not yet launched their main attacks there, but they already are having success against the Italians, who are showing a pronounced willingness to surrender.

European Air Operations: London digs out from the Second Great London Fire caused by the Luftwaffe raid on the night of 29/30 December. Royal Engineers and other troops are brought in to bring order to ravaged streets and dynamite destroyed buildings in the City of London. The incendiaries have fallen in about a two-and-a-half-mile diameter centered near St. Paul's Cathedral. The boroughs of Poplar and Westminster, near the Thames River, are hit the hardest. The authorities count a total of 1500 fires, with 52 of them listed as "serious," 28 as "major," and six as "conflagrations."

The Air Staff comes out with new guidelines. They want a person on every building ready to quickly douse incendiaries, which are easy to extinguish if caught quickly. A "fire-watching" system is set up in which everyone is held responsible for protecting their own house or business.

The Luftwaffe sends only a single bomber over East Anglia and Kent during the day and does not operate during the night of 30/31 December. They have been using X-Gerät beams to guide their bombers and using about ten bombers from KG 100 which are specially outfitted to receive such beams to guide them to the targets. The RAF steps up countermeasures to the beams at their special station at Cheadle (Cheshire).

The Arroyo Seco Parkway around the time of its opening in 1940. The black lanes are the "passing" lanes" and not part of the median. This road along a dry riverbed remains in use in the 21st Century in almost exactly the same configuration as shown here, although it now has more lanes and handles much more traffic (Caltrans).

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather is very rough in the North Atlantic, leading to ships colliding and others running aground. The convoy system places numerous ships unusually close to one another, and today that causes some damage.

A Luftwaffe (IX Air Corps) aerial mine hits and sinks 613-ton British freighter Calcium near Liverpool Harbor. When 608 ton British freighter Sodium goes alongside to take off the crew, the Calcium hits the Sodium and damages it.

In the same attack as sank the Calcium, the Luftwaffe also hits and damages Royal Navy destroyer HMS Venomous with an aerial mine at the entrance to Liverpool harbor. It requires repairs in Liverpool lasting for almost two months. There is one death on the Calcium.

Other ships damaged in the Luftwaffe attack on Liverpool Harbour are 5645-ton Swedish freighter Buenos Aires and 5218-ton British freighter Catrine. British 8053 ton tanker Dorcasia also hits a mine in the same general vicinity as the other ship; it is not clear if it is an aerial mine or a sea mine. In any event, it makes it back to port.

British 6402 ton freighter the City of Bedford gets in an accidental collision with 5342-ton British freighter Bodnant. The incident happens when Convoy SL 58 and Convoy OB 264 merge. The City of Bedford sinks, and the convoy Commodore, Rear Admiral JC Hamilton (Rtd.), perishes in the sinking.

British 3896 ton freighter Baron Ardrossan runs aground at Barra, Outer Hebrides. It is a complete write-off.

Force H, which has been fruitlessly out looking for the Admiral Hipper (which has made port at Brest), arrives back at Gibraltar. Heavy cruiser HMS Renown has suffered weather damage and requires repairs.

Convoy OB 267 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 371 departs from Southend.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Meynell (Lt. Commander William H. Farrington), the submarine HMS Undaunted and corvette HMS Kingcup are commissioned. Minesweeper HMS Boston, submarine HMS Umpire and corvette HMS Violet are launched.

Time Magazine features opera soprano Lily Pons on the cover of its 30 December 1940 issue. Pons, who became an American citizen in 1940, opened in Donizetti's La fille du regiment (Daughter of the Regiment) as Marie at the Met in New York City on 28 December 1940 (when this issue would have been on the newsstands). The revival resonates because it was last done at the end of World War I, and it concludes with a big flag-waving scene as Marie hoists aloft the French Napoleonic tricolors with the orchestra playing the Marseillaise. Thus, while this cover seems to be about opera... it's not just about opera.

Battle of the Mediterranean: In a collision in the Gulf of Sollum off Egypt, 913-ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Bandolero is sunk by Australian destroyer HMAS Waterhen. Everybody survives. The Waterhen also is damaged, but makes it back to Alexandria under escort and requires a month of repairs.

The RAF raids Taranto, Naples, and Palermo. This apparently is done by the Wellingtons stationed on Malta.

The Australian 6th Division continues preparing for its assault on Bardia scheduled for 2 January 1941. Bardia now is cut off from relief by the Australian 16th and 17th Brigade troops. While Tobruk is not invested, the British do have patrols of the 7th Armoured Division in that general area.

An accounting on Malta shows that the Christmas Appeal to fund parties for refugee children provided enough money to fund 45 parties all across the island. Not only was cash raised, but also toys, food, candy, and free entertainment.

The Italians raid Malta again. This time, they actually fly over the island and drop some bombs, unlike on the 29th. The raid around 11:30 damages Luqa Airfield but causes no casualties on either side.

Life Magazine looks at "Britain's Desert Warriors" in its 30 December 1940 issue.

Battle of the Pacific: The Royal Navy organizes convoys for ships sailing in the Tasman Sea. This is in response to German raider Komet's successful attack on the phosphate facilities at Nauru.

Convoy US 8 departs from Sydney for Egypt. It is a major troop convoy which includes 11,093-ton transport Empire Star, 8536 ton Port Chalmers, 16,801-ton transport Empress of Russia, and 7527-ton transport Maunganui.

Spy Stuff: MI-6 agents in Tokyo have interviewed one of the crewmen taken from the Automedon and later landed in Japan by the German-captured Ole Jacob. The crewman reveals that the secret communications carried by the Automedon have fallen into German and Japanese hands. That information, which describes in detail British defenses in the Pacific region, indeed is in the hands of Japanese and German authorities.

Anglo/Abyssinian Relations: Winston Churchill sends a directive to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden to support the return of exiled emperor Haile Selassie to the country for purposes of leading a revolt against the Italians there which can be capitalized upon by the British forces in neighboring Kenya.

US/Vichy French Relations: Admiral and Mrs. Leahy arrive in Lisbon onboard the USS Tuscaloosa. They will proceed to Vichy, where the Admiral will take up his post as US Ambassador to France.

German Military: Admiral Doenitz, commander of the U-boat fleet, gives a speech to the OKW in which he touts the value of the long-range Focke-Wulf FW Condor patrol planes:

Just let me have a minimum of twenty Fw 200s solely for reconnaissance purposes, and the U-boat successes will shoot up!

While they have their own issues, the Condors are the Luftwaffe's only four-engine aircraft and have proven quite serviceable in actions against the convoys, both from reconnaissance and attack perspectives.

A Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, of the kind that entered production in 1940.

US Military: Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch, Commander of the 14th Naval District (and former Commander-in-chief of the US Fleet) in Hawaii, writes the first of three letters to the War Department (Chief of Naval Operations) warning that defenses there are inadequate. His specific complaint is that there are not enough long-range Consolidated PBY Catalina patrol planes to complete a proper search radius of the islands. CINCPACFLT endorses Bloch's appeals, but nothing is done, though Admiral Stark promises to send some PBYs. In fact, Admiral Bloch at no point has a single PBY to perform searches, though he can use some of the Navy's planes when they are not needed by the fleet. Admiral Kimmel, with no patrol planes, decides not to conduct air patrols at all despite the occasional availability of planes. Instead, the planes are devoted to fleet protection. There are many practical issues involved in this decision, including the lack of spare parts in Hawaii and the strain that endless patrols would place on the inadequate flight crews.

Admiral Bloch, incidentally, is the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the US armed forces during World War II.

British Military: The export version of the Bell P-39 Aircobra, the Bell P-400 Airacobra, is flown for the first time by an RAF pilot in England. Christopher Clarkson takes the plane up and has no issues. The plane is highly touted, and a production run of 675 aircraft destined for England is scheduled.

General Oliver Leese becomes commander of the West Sussex County Division of the Home Defense.

"Wunschkonzert," released on 30 December 1940, establishes Ilse Werner as one of the top film stars in Germany.

German Homefront: UFA releases "Wunschkonzert," a film set in part at the 1936 Olympics and named after a popular radio program in which soldiers from around the Reich call-in requests for songs. While she does not receive top billing (except on some film posters), the lovely (Dutch) Ilse Werner steals the movie and becomes one of Germany's top film stars (and also a radio and television star during the war). Werner builds on this success to become known for her trademark whistling as part of her singing act. "Wunschkonzert" becomes the highest-grossing film in UFA history and, in an excellent example of synergy, propels the radio show on which it is based to new heights of popularity. All that said... it is not a very interesting film for modern audiences, with a rote and maudlin love-triangle plot, obvious German propaganda touches and, inexplicably, no singing from one of the Reich's top singing stars, Wagner.

American Homefront: California Governor Culbert Olson and Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron dedicate the Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway, State Route 110) in California. Note that parts of the freeway were first opened to traffic on 20 July December, but this dedication marks the entire route as open and ready for traffic.

As a fact sheet put out by Caltrans puts it:

It has the distinction of being the first freeway -- a grade-separated, limited-access, high-speed divided road -- in the urban western United States. Termed an “engineering marvel,” it was the initial stretch of road for what would become the world renowned Los Angeles metropolitan area freeway system.

The Arroyo Seco Parkway roadbed remains in the 21st Century exactly where it was laid out in the 1930s. It remains in good shape partly because trucks were banned from it shortly after its construction. Designed to accommodate 27,000 vehicles at an average speed per day, the highway has been widened and now handles about 122,000 vehicles per day. It reverted to its original name in 2010. Incidentally, at the dedication ceremony, five Native American leaders, including Chief Tahachwee of the Kawie tribe that lived in the Arroyo, smoke a 150-year-old peace pipe to celebrate this "modern progress."

Opening Day caravan for the Arroyo Seco Freeway, 3 December 1940. There is a black left lane for passing, a gray right lane for normal traffic, and a shoulder lane.  The shoulder lane and the median area are long gone.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020