Saturday 9 August 1941

HMS Prince of Wales arrives at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, 9 August 1941. In the background are ships of the US Navy, one of which carries President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (© IWM (A 4826)).

Eastern Front: In the Army Group North sector, German 16th Army begins an offensive on 9 August 1941 toward Kingisepp and Novgorod at the northern tip of Lake Ilmen. German troops already are in Staraya Russa to the south of Lake Ilmen, taking Novgorod would enable the Germans to use the lake as part of the German line. The 21st Infantry Division (General Sponheimer), reinforced by 424th Infantry Regiment of 126th Infantry Division, attacks east along the main road. The offensive advances five miles by nightfall in a very rough and well-fortified area.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets continue attacking the German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya. The Germans repulse the attacks after hard fighting.

In the Army Group South sector, the Uman pocket now has surrendered and the 100,000 prisoners are being processed prior to being sent to POW camps. Pursuant to orders, General von Kleist is driving north toward Kyiv in order to effect a junction with General Guderian's Panzer Group 2. While this makes some sense from an operational viewpoint because the possibility exists of surrounding a large force of Soviet troops, it also alters the initial Army Group South goal of heading south and taking the Crimea, an important objective in Hitler's view. The Stavka takes advantage of this new diversion and begins reinforcing the neck of the Crimea with the 9th Coastal Army (independent) and remnants of other battered armies.

Romanian 4th Army makes some small gains in Ukraine, capturing the villages of Ponyatovka and Razdelnaya, while the German 11th and 17th Armies attack along the Southern Bug River. German 6th Army continues pressing forward in the Kyiv area.

Flak gun at the Bug River in the Soviet Union, 9 August 1941. (Federal Archive, B 145 Bild-F016203-15).

European Air Operations: The RAF has a light schedule today. Its only mission is a Circus Operation with five Blenheim bombers against the Gosnay power station. The bombers get lost or are deterred by fighter opposition and bomb Gravelines instead. All return to base.

During this mission, RAF Wing Commander Douglas Bader in his Spitfire Mk VA shoots down a Bf 109 and maybe a second when apparently his plane is hit by either friendly or enemy fire (Bader himself thinks it is a mid-air collision, but other records indicate this is unlikely). Bader successfully parachutes out after losing his right prosthetic leg which becomes ensnared in the falling aircraft (it is later found in an open field but is too damaged to use again). No German pilot is awarded the victory, suggesting strongly that it may have been friendly fire, and there is some other inconclusive evidence to support that theory.

Bader has 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probable victories, one shared probable victory, and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.

The Germans treat Bader with great respect, as they are well aware of RAF propaganda heroes. JG 26 commander Adolf Galland has lunch with Bader but refuses Bader's request to "try out" a Bf 109, explaining, "It would pain me to have to chase you and shoot you down." The Germans are a little too respectful, it turns out, as Bader attempts to escape from his hospital but is quickly recaptured.

Hermann Goering, a former fighter pilot himself, personally authorizes the RAF to air-drop a replacement artificial leg for Bader at St. Omer airfield in the "Leg Operation" on 19 August. Galland later recalls that the British also drop bombs on the Luftwaffe airport in addition to the replacement leg.

Oberstleutnant Hans von Ahlfen confers with officers about a bridge being built across the Bug River as part of the German advance, 9 August 1941 (Federal Archive, B 145 Bild-F016203-19).

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet submarine SC-307 (Treska), commanded by N. I. Petrov, torpedoes and sinks U-144 (Kptlt. Gert von Mittelstaedt), on its third patrol out of Stormelö, near the Estonian island of Hiiumaa (Dagö). All 28 men on U-144 perish. This is revenge for U-144 sinking 206-ton Soviet submarine M-78 on 23 June 1941, the only victory claimed by U-144.

Soviet auxiliary minesweeper T-487 sinks today from unknown causes.

German 210-ton freighter Gertrude III hits a mine and sinks off Windau/Ventspils, Latvia.

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill at Placentia Bay, 9 August 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans continue their aggressive patrols in the far north at the Kola Inlet, sending a destroyer force (Hans Lody, Freidrich Eckholdt, and Richard Beitzen) that sinks Soviet patrol ship SKR.12. The Soviets, as they have done elsewhere when the Germans begin operations in a new area, have reinforced the area and now are able to fight back. They furiously attack the German ships with artillery and air attacks and force them to withdraw. Destroyer Richard Beitzen is damaged by near misses but makes it back to port with the other ships.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Croome rams and sinks Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca northeast of the Azores.

Some sources state that U-206 (ObltzS Herbert Opitz), on its first patrol out of Trondheim, sinks 202-ton British fishing trawler Ocean Victor today. Other sources claim that Ocean Victor is sunk by the Luftwaffe. In any event, Ocean Victor sinks southeast of Iceland roughly halfway between Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2345-ton British freighter Cordene, which is traveling in Convoy FN-503 a few miles east of Cromer in the North Sea. Escorting destroyer HMS Electra, on its first escort mission after a refit, picks up the entire crew and takes them to Scapa Flow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Norwegian 1392-ton freighter Dagny about 20 km east of the southern Faroe Islands. Dagny is in tow of trawler Leicester City when it is attacked. There are two deaths, the rest of the remaining 61 crew and passengers on board are picked up by the trawler.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 868-ton British freighter Glendalough near where the Cordene is sunk off Cromer. Another ship tows Glendalough to Yarmouth Roads for emergency repairs, then to Hull for permanent repairs.

Royal Navy gunboat MGB.62 collides with the gunboat MGB-67, in the North Sea and sinks.

Churchill and Roosevelt aboard USS Augusta, 9 August 1941. Roosevelt, wearing a naval uniform, likes to call himself "former naval person" in his regular cables to Roosevelt.

Norwegian submarine B.1 has an explosion in her engine room caused by her battery at Blyth. The explosion sets off some ammunition, causing extensive damage. The submarine is already under repair and this just adds to its time in the shipyard.

A commercial flight between London and Lisbon spots an unidentified freighter west of La Rochelle. The Royal Navy sends multiple ships out to investigate from Gibraltar and passing convoys, but none finds the ship.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Severn spots a submarine, apparently Italian, several hundred miles west of Tangier in the Atlantic. The Italian submarine apparently notices it is being watched because it immediately submerges. Neither submarine launches an attack.

Convoy HG-70 departs from Gibraltar bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Cowslip (Lt. Frederick Granger) is commissioned, minesweeping trawler Shiant is launched.

U-267 and U-360 are laid down.

Star Weekly magazine, August 9, 1941. Star Weekly is a publication of the Toronto Star.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy destroyers HMS Jervis and Kingston make a supply run from Alexandria to Mersa Matruh, while destroyers Decoy and Havock make a supply run from Alexandria to Tobruk.

 At Malta, an RAF No. 69 Maryland on patrol over Sicily drops a few bombs in August, damaging some buildings.

Earl Oliver Hurst, "Cream Puff Sailor," Collier's, August 9, 1941.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull gives a memorandum to Lord Halifax, the British Ambassador. It provides that Hull will confer with his counterpart in England (currently Anthony Eden) in the case of further Japanese military movements to the south (apparently meaning beyond French Indochina).

Finnish/Swedish Relations: A battalion of Swedish volunteers under Finnish command is ordered into the line in southern Finland facing the Soviet enclave of Hango.

British Military: King George VI arrives at Scapa Flow for an inspection.

The New Yorker, August 9, 1941.

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 8606-ton freighter Kanto Maru and begins converting it into an armed auxiliary aircraft transport. The military version receives 120-mm (4.7-inch) guns at the bow and the stern.

The Imperial General Headquarters staff once again approves a strategy of attacking south toward the oil fields in Indonesia rather than attacking north into the USSR. Attacking the Soviet Union remains under consideration. However, the high command makes a firm decision to do nothing in that regard before the spring of 1942.

Holocaust: Germans execute 534 Jews in Kaunas.

American Homefront: Charles Lindbergh, a prominent figure in the America First anti-war movement, makes a speech in Cleveland that is broadcast over the radio. He warns of interventionists planning "incidents and situations" that will lead the US intentionally into war "under the guise of defending America."

Warner Bros. releases "Manpower," directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft. The film received a lot of publicity during filming due to a reported fistfight on the set between Raft and Robinson, reportedly due to Raft's resentment at Robinson's late hiring which made Robinson the headliner instead of Raft (this may all be studio fakery, though, because it rather suspiciously mirrors a film plot point). Raft turned down "The Maltese Falcon" to make "Manpower," a pretty poor career decision, as "Falcon" made Humphrey Bogart a major film star after years of being just a character actor. "Manpower" goes on to become a box office hit, though it gets mixed reviews and never achieves the rank of a true classic in most filmgoers' eyes.

Saturday Evening Post, August 9, 1941, "Dunked Under Water."

The Looney Tunes cartoon "We, the Animals Squeak" is released on 9 August 1941. It is a colorized Looney Tunes cartoon starring Porky Pig. The cartoon is directed by Bob Clampett. The voices are performed by Mel Blanc, Sara Berner, Billy Bletcher and Michael Maltese. This is one of the Porgy Pig cartoons that is colorized. "We, the Animals Squeak" is a parody of the 1930s radio program, "We the People," an early reality program where people would share unusual stories with the audience. Porky Pig is the program's moderator.


August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Wednesday 23 July 1941

"No 91 Squadron Spitfire pilots at the butts, Hawkinge, 23 July 1941. Archery was in vogue with several squadrons, a supplement to the more usual forms of recreational target practice." © IWM (CH 3319).

Eastern Front: Far behind the front on 23 July 1941, at the Brest Fortress (which, contrary to legend, fell to the Wehrmacht in June 1941 and not July), there is a sudden commotion. The Germans are startled because the battle to subdue the fortress ended in June and all of the army divisions have long since moved east. However, it turns out that not everybody got carted away to the POW camps. Soviet Major Pyotr Gavrilov, later decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union, hid out past the surrender along with some comrades. They have written some inscriptions on the fortress walls, such as:

I'm dying but I won't surrender. Farewell, Motherland. 20.VII.41 [20 July 1941].

The details aren't precise - some say there was a shoot-out today and that Gavrilov won't be captured until the 24th - but it's clear that he and/or others managed to elude the occupying Germans until now. By some accounts, the last Soviet soldier isn't eliminated until 8 August, when Adolf Hitler himself visits the castle. The incident is part of the Soviet lore of World War II, accurate or not.

In the Far North sector, Finnish troops of VI Corps reach the 1939 border south of Salmi on the east shore of Lake Ladoga - and stop. Everybody knows where the old border was, and the troops wait for Marshal Mannerheim to make a decision whether to cross it. Some of the troops themselves don't want to cross the border and actually invade Russia proper, because the Continuation Was has been touted as a way to regain historically Finnish lands, not as one of conquest. About 2000 troops mutiny and say they won't cross it without a direct order from Mannerheim.

On the Finnish island of Bengtskär, the initial small detachment of Finnish troops sent to keep an eye on the nearby Soviet-occupied port of Hanko and the mouth of the Gulf of Finland receive some reinforcements. They are joined by a 2 mm Madsen cannon manned by a crew of three. While not much, it is more than anyone else has in the area.

In the Army Group North sector, General Hoepner's Panzer Group 4 attacks the Luga Line southwest of Leningrad. The Soviets, who have just executed General Pavlov on the 22nd, relieve General Pyadyshev from command of the Luga Operational Group.

In the Army Group Center sector, Soviet 20th Army (Lt. General Pavel Kurochkin) counterattacks at Smolensk. A new Soviet unit, Central Front, is organized under Colonel-General F. I. Kuznetsov. The Central Front incorporates 21st and 13th Armies. This takes away some of General Timoshenko's forces at Western Front.

Ukraine, near Lviv - A soldier of the propaganda company on a motorcycle with sidecar meets Soviet women (Gehrmann, Friedrich, Federal Archive, Bild 101I-187-0203-23).

In the Army Group South sector, the Romanian 17th Marine Infantry Battalion occupies Tatarbunary north of the Danube Delta (about 100 km southwest of Odessa and near the Sasyk Lagoon). Shore artillery sinks Soviet river gunboat Narova. The Soviets counterattack at Monastyrishche.

In Moscow, two nights of heavy Luftwaffe attacks (no attack tonight) have led to some hard decisions by the leadership. The families of VIPs - which means Communist Party bosses and top military figures - are evacuated to the east, the first of many to head to Samarkand and similar safe spots. The Red Army general staff headquarters is transferred to the Byelorosskaya subway station because, as General S.M. Shtemenko recalls, bombs have dropped nearby during both raids. Work is begun on adapting the Kirovskaya subway station as a more permanent military headquarters.

"A Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Kondor sinking in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland, after being shot down by a Lockheed Hudson Mark V of No. 233 Squadron RAF based at Aldergrove, County Antrim, while trying to attack a convoy, 23 July 1941. This oblique aerial photograph was taken from the victorious Hudson (AM536) and shows the crew of the Kondor swimming for their liferaft which is inflating to the right of the tailplane." © IWM (C 1988).

European Air Operations: Around noontime, RAF reconnaissance reports eagerly desired news. Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Scharnhorst, which is known to have left Brest despite German attempts to conceal its departure by substituting in its spot a tanker with camouflage netting, has been located. The ship is in La Pallice. The RAF has been planning a major raid on Brest for today, but this information scrambles its plans. The attack on Brest for the evening is scrapped, and a new target is laid in: La Pallice. Instead of the massive raid contemplated for Brest, though, this is a minor affair with only six Stirling bombers sent to attack the port in the evening. One bomber fails to return, and no hits are made.

The RAF flies Circus missions to Mazingarbe and Bois d'Esperlecques. Another 17 bombers engage in a coastal sweep.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 51 bombers to raid Mannheim (none lost) and 33 bombers to attack Frankfurt (1 lost). Visibility is poor, causing poor accuracy and little damage. Bombs are strewn across fields outside Mannheim. The only casualties are three people killed by errant bombs dropped far from Mannheim. There also is a mission of 8 Wellingtons to Le Havre and Ostend.

A Hampden bomber of RAF No. 44 Squadron engages in a minelaying operation to the Frisian Islands. On its way back to RAF Waddington, it crashes into Lincoln Girls High School on Lindum Hill, Lincoln. The crash causes a tremendous blaze complete with exploding ammunition. The crew and the school's headmistress perish.

New Luftwaffe pilot Wilhelm-Ferdinand "Wutz" Galland, brother of Adolf Galland, gets his first victory. RAF ace Douglas Bader downs a Bf 109, though he only claims a "damaged" victim because he doesn't see it crash (other RAF pilots do).

Battle of the Baltic: German 462-ton submarine chaser UJ-113 (formerly fishing ship Nordmark) hits a mine and sinks in the Irbe Strait (between Estonia and Latvia). The mine apparently was laid by Soviet minesweeper T-204.

German 262-ton fishing trawler Lena Rehder is stranded at Fage Bucht, Denmark.

A Focke-Wulf 200 Condor shot down by an RAF Hudson while attempting to attack a convoy (seen in the distance). The Condor's crew can be seen.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation EF, a raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo, begins today when two carriers (HMS Furious and Victorious), two cruisers (Devonshire (flagship of Rear Admiral Wake-Walker) and Suffolk), and six destroyers (Escapade, Active, Anthony, Achates, Antelope and Intrepid) leave Scapa Flow for Seidis Fjord in Iceland. The raid is supposed to be a surprise attack, but somebody apparently forgot that during the summer months, it is daylight around the clock in the far north and a fleet of ships is easy to spot.

Italian submarine Bagnolini (Cdr. Chialamberto) claims to have attacked Convoy OG-68 and sunk a freighter and damaged another. However, the ships are not identified.

The Luftwaffe attacks Royal Navy destroyer HMS Garth in the North Sea and scores a near miss. The destroyer suffers minor damage but remains in action.

Royal Navy motor torpedo boats cross the Channel to the vicinity of Boulogne and sink 354-ton German auxiliary boat VP-1508 (formerly whaler Rau III) southwest of the port.

Several ships are hit by aerial mines (Luftwaffe IX Air Corp) at Alexandria Dock:

• British 130-ton barge Omfleet (sinks)
• British 70-ton sailing ship Adamant (sinks, but salvaged)
• British 80-ton sailing ship Soavita (sinks, but salvaged)

Soviet minelayer Sokrushitelny lays a minefield across the entrance to the White Sea, likely in response to recent patrols by Kriegsmarine destroyers nearby.

A Luftwaffe FW-200C Kondor of KG 40 spots Convoy OB-346 west of Ireland. However, it cannot attack because an RAF Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance plane arrives and shoots it down.

Free French corvette FS Aconit is commissioned.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Mildura (Lt. George E. V. Owen) is commissioned.

"The grim smile of an officer after the rescue work had been completed on the MANCHESTER." Royal Navy cruiser HMS Manchester was hit by multiple aerial torpedoes on 23 July 1941 that disabled three of its four engines.  © IWM (A 4933).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Substance, a major Royal Navy supply convoy (GM-1) passing through the western Mediterranean to Malta, reaches its climax. Italian submarine Diaspro attacks, but misses Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor.

Italian airplanes based on Sardinia (283 and 280 Sqd AS (SM79 torpedo bombers), 32 Stormo BT (SM79 level bombers) and 51 Gruppo BT (Cant Z1007)) begin attacking the Substance convoy at 09:42 and continue throughout the day. The planes score some hits:

• Royal Navy destroyer HMS Fearless (disabled, later scuttled with a torpedo by destroyer Forester, 35 deaths)
• Royal Navy cruiser HMS Manchester (damaged by planes of 283 Squadron, turns back to Gibraltar)
• Royal Navy destroyer Firedrake (damaged by a near miss, returns to Gibraltar while in tow)
• British 11,000-ton freighter Sidney Star (damaged during the night, towed to Malta). 

The Italians lose two bombers and five torpedo bombers to RAF Fulmar fighters flying off of HMS Ark Royal. The RAF loses three Fulmars. However, the Italian surface fleet stays in port, which is probably a good thing for the Italians because the British have posted 8 submarines outside the major Italian naval ports to await a sortie. The ships of Royal Navy Convoy MG-1, part of the Substance operation and composed of seven empty ships, depart from Malta.

Italian Regia Marina ships conduct a depth-charge attack on Royal Navy submarine P-33. However, the attack fails and P-33 gets away.

German 7970-ton freighter Tirpitz hits a mine and sinks off Capo dell'Arma, Liguria, Italy.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable exits Alexandria to transit the Suez Canal, escorted by minelayer Latona and destroyers Jaguar, Jervis, and Kandahar. It is headed to Norfolk, Virginia for repairs. It is under repair until 12 December.

Battle of the Black Sea: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4727-ton Soviet transport Adzhariya off Odesa in the Odesa Gulf.

"Target practice on board MANCHESTER." 23-25 July 1941. © IWM (A 4932).

Propaganda: The Germans continue to crow about the Moscow raid on the 22nd. The German News Bureau reports:

The initial reports about the air assault on Moscow reveal that the German aircrews who reached Moscow in the second assault wave, could see the sea of flame in the Russian capital while they were still almost 85 miles from Moscow. One of the pilots reports that the conflagrations were as huge and wide-reaching as those he had already viewed in Manchester or Sheffield. He spoke of the strong air defense and said that the incessant muzzle flashes from the anti-aircraft artillery could be observed amidst the houses even after they had begun to burn.

Anglo/Free French Relations: Free French leader Charles de Gaulle remains highly put out about not being included in the treaty that ended the conflict in the Levant. The British already have made concessions to mollify him, but de Gaulle wants more. To placate him some more, the British agree to change the terms of the Armistice so that the Free French are permitted to recruit amongst the captured Vichy French before they are taken back to France. This results in about 6000 Vichy French soldiers deciding to join de Gaulle's forces. The Free French also get to use all captured Vichy French military equipment, which generally is of high quality.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: Pursuant to the recent agreement permitting the Japanese to establish bases in French Indochina, 9000-ton IJN repair ship Akashi arrives at southern Indochina. Admiral Decoux makes the best of a bad situation and is conciliatory to Japanese demands. Heavy cruiser Ashigara also is on its way.

US/Japanese Relations: The United States is upset about the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. Acting Secretary of State Summer Welles tells Japanese Ambassador Nomura that the US may discontinue any further talks aimed at resolving issues between the two nations.

New Japanese Foreign Minister Toyoda cables Ambassador Nomura admitting that he has "not as yet determined upon a definite policy [toward the United States] because of the fact that I have not been in office very long." He notes that "our occupation of French Indo-China was unavoidable" and that the decision was made before he took office.

"The burial service on the quarterdeck of the cruiser on the evening after the torpedo attack. The dead were all buried with Naval honors." 23 July 1941 © IWM (A 4909).

Japanese Military: Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo issues Army Department Order No. 517. This provides that local commanders in China and Formosa should shift air units between each other in order to best manage mission requirements. This results in air units shuttling between Manchuria and China in an efficient manner.

US Military: The War Department releases its Basic Field Manual and Soldier's Handbook.

German Military: OKW Chief General Keitel signs an order which provides that legal punishments are inadequate in the Soviet Union. Thus, troops must use terror tactics to gain control over the population. This order will support the counts against Keitel during the Nuremberg trials.

A cover letter, initialed "July 23, 1941" by President Roosevelt.

US Government: President Roosevelt approves Secret plan JB 355. This is a proposal to establish a force of 500 Lockheed Hudson bombers in China to be organized as "The Second American Volunteer Group" under Clare Chennault's command. The planes would be manned by US crews and strike industrial targets in Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagasaki. The aim is "destruction of Japanese factories in order to cripple munitions and essential articles for the maintenance of economic structure in Japan." As with Chennault's "First" American Volunteer Group, the unit would be funded through a dummy corporation and the Americans involved given fake papers.

Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall is not a fan of the plan, warning that it inevitably would lead to war with Japan and would not fool anybody about who was behind the bombings anyway. Secretary of War Henry Stimson also opposes the plan. White House adviser Lauchlin Bernard Currie, however, strongly supports the plan.

Secret Plan JB 355 never takes place despite its approval because the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor before it can be implemented.

Merle Oberon, movie star, and Alfred G. Vanderbilt raise a din by beating pans at an aluminum-collection breakfast at the stork club in New York, July 23, 1941. The price of admission was a piece of aluminum ware. (AP Photo)

Canadian Homefront: The Canadian Army officially takes possession of the Verdun Auditorium in the Montreal borough of Verdun. The Army uses it throughout the war for things like fundraising drives.

Irish Homefront: There is an air-raid alert at 02:00 in Belfast which sends an estimated 30,000 people fleeing out of the city in a mad panic. There is no raid.

Soviet Homefront: Soviet Commissar Nikolai Moskvin writes in his diary, "What am I to say to the boys? We keep retreating." Moskvin is no shrinking violet - he already has shot the first deserters from his unit.

American Homefront: Former Presidential candidate Wendell Willkie makes another in a series of speeches advocating unlimited aid to Great Britain.

Future History: Richard Ernest Evans is born in Westernville, New York. In the 1970s, Ritchie Evans becomes a top NASCAR driver, winning eight  NASCAR National Modified Championships in a row from 1978-1985. Evans passes away on 24 October 1985 in a crash during practice for the Winn-Dixie 500 Modified Feature at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia.

"Movies" ~ actress Carole Landis ~ July 1941.

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020

Wednesday 9 July 1941

"HMS MALAYA leaving New York Navy Yard after four months of repairs following a torpedo hit while on convoy escort duty, 9 July 1941." © IWM (A 5439).

Eastern Front: The German main effort in the Soviet Union remains on track on 9 July 1941. Already, the panzers are closing on Leningrad and Kyiv, though a bit of work remains before Moscow comes into sight. With three months of good campaigning weather left, there seems little reason why Operation Barbarossa shouldn't be completed by early fall and end in a decisive German victory.

In the Far North sector, the German Operation Arctic Fox grinds forward only a little bit further, as 169th Infantry Division of XXXVI Corps pushes from Salla to Kayral. However, the geography (lakes and woodland) favors the defense, and it gets no further against the Soviet 14th Army for the time being. In fact, the three Soviet divisions there push the German troops back before setting up a strong perimeter anchored by lakes on either side.

Further north, General Dietl's Army of Norway is stopped at the Litsa River, too. Further south, the Finns plan an attack to begin July 10th on the Karelian Isthmus against Soviet 7th and 23rd Armies. Finnish troops occupy Morgonland.

In the Army Group North sector, the Germans are about 150 miles from Leningrad with the fall of Pskov to the 36th Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Otto Ottenbacher).

In the Army Group Center sector, the 20th Panzer Division of General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group takes Vitebsk as Soviet counterattacks peter out. Hoth's panzers and General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group are poised to close a pincer around Smolensk. Behind the front, the army group completes the destruction of the pockets of enemy troops near Bialystok. An estimated 300,000 Soviet prisoners are taken and about 40 Soviet divisions destroyed (Soviet divisions are generally much smaller than Allied or German divisions)..

In the Army Group South sector, the Germans cross the Dneipr River. The 13th Panzer Division, part of Panzer Group 1, takes Zhitomir (Zhytomyr).

The Luftwaffe remains supreme in the skies. The German JG 3, led by Luftwaffe Major Günther Lützow, shoots down all 27 bombers of a Soviet attack on its own airfield. The Germans suffer no losses. Hptm. Hans “Gockel” von Hahn, Gruppenkommandeur I./JG 3, receives the Ritterkreuz for 24 victories.

"HMS MALAYA, escorted by tugs, leaving New York harbor after a refit in the United States. Part of the Brooklyn Bridge can be seen in the background," 9 July 1941. (© IWM (A 5444)).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: In the early morning hours, the Australian 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion, with units of the 6th Divisional Cavalry Regiment, marches into Damour. By 04:00, Australians are driving completely through the town and soon secure it from the few Vichy French troops who haven't slipped out. The road north to Beirut is now clear. British artillery already is in position to fire on Beirut.

Behind the scenes, Vichy French commander General Henri Dentz is pursuing an armistice. He sees the Allies closing in on Beirut from both the south, through Damour, and from the east, via Aleppo. In addition, today the British take Homs in the north.

Despite his superiority in troops, Dentz cannot get supplies from France due to Royal Navy control of the eastern Mediterranean and the French have little hope of holding out for long. He sends destroyers Guepard, Valmy, and Vaquelin on a desperate mission to Salonika, Greece to embark reinforcements that have made their way there from France with German approval. On their way back, however, the RAF spots them a few hundred miles off the Syrian coast. Rather than lose the ships, the French order the ships to Toulon. This leaves no major French warships in the Levant.

The Turks intern several French ships in the port of Iskanderum:

• 4500-ton auxiliary tanker L'Adour
• 405-ton tanker Cyrus
• Sloop Elan
• Patrol boats Djebel Samin, Massalia, and Jean Mic
• Minesweepers Avocette and Lecid
• Trawler La Vaillante
• Tugs Chambrum, Marius, and Marseillaise

French submarine Caiman manages to get away and heads for Bizerte.

Allied artillery opens up on Beirut, 9 July 1941.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 82 bombers to Aachen marshaling yards and 52 against Osnabruck.

The War Cabinet receives a report, the Air and Home Security Situation Report for the week, that notes, "The German effort by day was again very small." However, "Enemy bombing was somewhat heavier than in previous weeks," with 304 bombers observed overhead as compared to 195 in the previous week. There were 78 people killed and 67 seriously injured.

Wing Commander Douglas Bader claims a probable victory and a damaged enemy plane.

Battle of the Baltic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet minesweeper Nalim off Guba Zapadnaya Litsa.

"HMS MALAYA, escorted by tugs, leaves New York harbor after a refit in the United States. The Statue of Liberty is on the right in the distance." 9 July 1941. © IWM (A 5443).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-98 (Kptlt. Robert Gysae), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, is operating northwest of the Azores when it spots ships dispersed from Convoy OB-341. Gysae sinks two British ships:

• 5945-ton Designer (67 deaths, 11 survivors)
• 4897-ton Inverness (6 deaths, 37 survivors)

They are the U-boats only successes of the patrol.

Three German minelayers hit mines and sink while en route from Finland to Swinemunde:

• Hannsestadt Danzig
• Preußen
• Tannenberg

They apparently ran into a Swedish mine barrage east of Öland, Sweden.
Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire intercepts 4260-ton Panamanian freighter St. Cergue east of southern Iceland. It puts aboard the St. Cergue an armed guard and sends it to Skopenfjord for inspection.

British 97-ton freighter Blue Mermaid hits a mine and sinks about 8 miles off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. There are two deaths.

Royal Navy minelayers HMS Agamemnon, Menetheus, and Quebec lay Minefield 67A in the North Sea.

Royal Navy submarine HMS P-38 is launched and anti-submarine warfare trawler Birlip is launched.

US submarine USS Flying Fish and minesweeper Skylark are launched, and light cruiser Biloxi is laid down. The Flying Fish is sponsored at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine by the wife of CINCPAC Admiral Husband Kimmel.

U-585 is launched, U-522 is laid down.

Colonel Bernhard-Hermann Ramcke presents medals to paratroopers in Crete, Greece (Iron Crosses to Oberfeldwebel and sergeant), 9 July 1941. (Weixler, Franz Peter, Federal Archives, Bild 1011-166-0526-30).

Battle of the Mediterranean: There is a flurry of activity at Tobruk, where the Germans bombard the defending Australians with artillery and air attacks. During the attacks, the Royal Navy ships in the harbor scatter, and two destroyers are damaged by near misses as they try to leave for open water:

• HMS Decoy
• HMAS Stuart

The ships make it Alexandria but require repair.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay surfaces and sinks German patrol boats LV, LVI and L 12 east of Kithera (Kythera), Greece. Some accounts place this incident on 8 July.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot departs from Gibraltar for Malta on a supply mission.

RAF Bomber Command mounts several operations today despite some marginal weather conditions. It attacks Naples with 9 Wellington bombers based on Malta, but only 6 make it to the target due to bad weather. The ones that drop their bombs hit the Gare Centrale (main railway station) and some warehouses. Seven Blenheim bombers make a dawn attack on Tripoli Harbor, but four are shot down. Hawker Hurricanes of RAF No. 185 Squadron attack the floatplane base at Syracuse, damaging a total of a dozen seaplanes and floatplanes.

The Luftwaffe attacks Alexandria with 23 planes.

Romanian torpedo boat Năluca, victor of the Action of 9 July 1941.

Battle of the Black Sea: In a naval action known simply as the Action of 9 July 1941, Romanian torpedo boat NMS Năluca combines with motor torpedo boats Viscolul and Vijelia to sink Soviet Shchuka-class submarine Shch-206 near Mangalia.

In addition, Soviet minesweepers RTShch-103 and 108, along with gunboat No. 102 also are lost on or close to this date. They apparently sink during the same incident as Shch-206, though that is not certain.

Propaganda: The weekly broadcasts of British author P.G. Wodehouse from Berlin (the second one is tonight) become a topic of debate in the House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Secretary Anthony Eden vows to make clear to Wodehouse in some fashion that aiding the Germans is not a good idea.

Berlin, Charlottenburg Chaussee (today Straße des 17. Juni): - double-decker bus with advertising "ATA", in the distance, the Victory Column, 9 July 1941. (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-055).

German/Ukrainian Relations: The Germans in Lviv arrest Yaroslav Stetsko, recently proclaimed leader of the independent Ukrainian state by Stepan Bandera's faction of Ukrainian National Movement

US Military: Congress authorizes $14.9 million for construction of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina.

President Roosevelt asks the Secretaries of War and Navy to prepare an estimate of the overall production requirements required to win a coming war in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

A member of the 11th Company of the Leibstandarte checks his weapon before an attack on the Stalin Line in the woods north of Miropol, 9 July 1941.

Soviet Military: Soviet aircraft designers are optimistic about the prospects of rocket-powered planes (not jets). They meet to prepare a report to send to Joseph Stalin.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech in the House of Commons regarding the occupation of Iceland by US troops on 7 July. He notes:

The military occupation of Iceland by the forces of the United States is an event of first-rate political and strategic importance; in fact, it is one of the most important things that has happened since the war began.

While this may be a bit hyperbolic, Churchill notes that the occupation means that the US will not only send Great Britain whatever supplies it requires, "but also to make sure we get them." This reveals Churchill's true and enduring fear of World War II, that the Germans will be able to prevail if they can isolate Great Britain and prevent ships from reaching it.

Soviet Government: Nikolai Voznesensky is tasked with preparing a war production plan for the Soviet economy.

Holocaust: Bălţi (Romania) is occupied by German and Romanian troops. This begins a pogrom that eventually wipes out the Jewish population of the city, estimated at around 14,000 people.

Trawniki Concentration Camp in the Lublin District of the General Government begins operation as a holding pen for refugees, Soviet civilians, and Soviet officials that the Security Police and SD have designated as either potential collaborators or dangerous persons. Today, 676 inmates are imprisoned there.

The first Roma arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Gypsies are destined to become the third-largest group of deportees to Auschwitz, after Jews and Poles.

American Homefront: Royal Navy battleship HMS Malaya leaves New York Harbor under the command of Captain Cuthbert Coppinger after repairs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The Malaya was torpedoed twice by U-106 on 20 March 1941 about 250 miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Today, she heads out for trials, with her next port of call Halifax, Nova Scotia. There, Malaya will provide protection for a fast convoy. Malaya is nearing the end of her useful service life because she did not undergo an extensive reconstruction during the inter-war years like her sister ships HMS Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, and Valiant.

Berlin on the Unter den Linden behind the arsenal, 9 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-056).

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020

Sunday 6 July 1941

A destroyed bridge at the mouth of the Damour River, Lebanon, 1941.

Eastern Front: It is a time of great frustration for the Soviet forces. This manifests itself in failed attacks, suicidal counterattacks, and generals shot by the NKVD. The only things that slow the Germans as of 6 July 1941 are their own caution and occasional weather events such as the rains still lingering over much of the battlefront.

In the Far North sector, the German advance toward Murmansk makes some progress across the Litsa River. However, Soviet defenses are firming as reinforcements arrive.

Further south, the Axis Operation Arctic Fox Operation resumes. The German XXXVI Corps has called up infantry from southern Finland and asked the Finnish 6th Division to disrupt the Soviet defenses at Salla. This does the trick and the Soviet 14th Army (122nd Rifle Division, the 104th Rifle Division, and the 1st Tank Division) is forced to retreat back into Salla itself. The Germans actually break into Salla briefly, but the Soviets quickly push them out again. As elsewhere on the Eastern Front, the Luftwaffe plays a key role in the Heer's success, with Luftflotte 5 helping to break up the Soviet concentrations. This, of course, is the old Blitzkrieg formula.

What this incident at Salla illustrates above all is that the Soviet strength lies in direct confrontations, while German strength lies in tactics and maneuverability and airpower. These are lessons the German leadership sometimes has a hard time remembering but when applied, lead to the Reich's greatest successes in the USSR.

In the Army Grup North sector, the motorized units establish a line from Lake Peipus to Reval to Parun. The Soviets counterattack and make some gains.

In the Army Group Center sector,  the Soviet 7th and 5th Mechanized Corps of the Soviet 20th Army (Lieutenant-General P.A. Kurochkin) attack with about 700-1,500 tanks near Lepel. While this is an impressive number of vehicles, only a small fraction are types that give the German panzers trouble. The Germans of General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group are prepared - Hitler has reined the panzers in recently - and the Soviet armored vehicles are mauled. German 7th Panzer Division - Erwin Rommel's old formation - illustrates the power of the defensive and virtually wipes out the two Soviet formations. This is known as the First Battle of Smolensk.

In the Army Group South sector, the Germans attack in the north with 1st Panzer Group and Sixth Army and in the south with the German 17th Army and Romanian 3rd Army. The northern prong of the advance approaches Zhytomyr, while the southern prong takes Khotyn Fortress on the Dniestr River.

Despite occasional Red Air Force successes, overall the Luftwaffe dominates the skies. Today, for instance, JG 54 intercepts a formation of 73 Soviet bombers attacking the German bridgehead at Ostrov. The Luftwaffe pilots claim 65 Soviet bombers shot down, and ace Max-Hellmuth Ostermann claims his 19th and 20th victories.

This German superiority in the air has led to frustration on the Soviet side. Some Soviet pilots resort to ramming Luftwaffe planes. Amazingly, some Soviet pilots not only survive the dangerous encounters but manage to return to base. However, the Luftwaffe remains much stronger than the Red Air Force despite steady losses.

Ukrainian refugees with a cow pass by a German machine gunner during Operation Barbarossa, July 6, 1941. Some Soviet citizens have an unnerving tendency throughout the war of ignoring the fighting even when it is literally right next to them.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Battle of Damour commences when 7th Australian Division attacks in the early morning hours. Crossing the Damour River, the Australians establish bridgeheads at El Atiqa and El Boum after a day of hard fighting. Both sides realize that Damour, on the coast south of Beirut, is the key to that city, and Beirut is the key to the entire campaign.

As it has for several days now, the Royal Navy parks a large force led by light cruisers Ajax and Perth off Damour. The ships bombard Vichy French positions in aid of the Australian attack.

Australian Lieutenant Roden Cutler receives the Victoria Cross for heroism for actions today. He clears some enemy positions, then, wounded, is forced to lie in the open for 26 hours before being rescued. Cutler loses his leg due to the ordeal.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest during the night with 109 bombers. RAF Fighter Command sends a Circus mission over Lille.

RAF ace Douglas Bader shoots down a Bf 109

Soviet pilots Boris Safonov and Evgeny Khaldey of the 72nd CAP (mixed aviation regiment) of the Northern Fleet Air Force. They are with an I-16 Type 24 fighter at Vaenga airfield, July 6, 1941.

East African Campaign: General Pietro Gazzera, the Governor of Galla-Sidama and the new acting Viceroy and Governor-General of the AOI, surrenders to Free Belgian forces under Major-General Auguste Gilliaert. With Gazzera, 2,944 Italian, 1,535 African and 2,000 local troops (bande) formally surrender. The native troops quickly change sides. In all, ten Italian generals surrender.


Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper T-216 sinks off Saaremaa, Estonia. The cause is uncertain, perhaps by a mine.

Latvian freighter Everolanda hits a mine and sinks.

Finnish warships Syosky, Vinha, and Raju sink a Soviet fishing boat. Not much is known about this incident.

This Bristol Blenheim of No. 21 Squadron, Z7432/YH:J, lost hydraulic pressure and crashed on 6 July 1941 near Watton.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 140-ton British trawler Westfield off St. Govan's Head, near Lundy Island. All 10 crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1363-ton Swedish freighter Birgitta in the North Sea. It is towed to Great Yarmouth.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 3658-ton freighter North Devon off Sheringham. There are five deaths. The North Devon is towed to Immingham. One of the deaths is Reginald Hamilton Earnshaw. Earnshaw, 14, is officially declared the youngest known British service casualty of WWII by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on February 5, 2010, which would have been his 83rd birthday. Earnshaw served as a cabin boy and lied about his age to get hired.

German raiders Atlantis and Orion have been meeting north of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. Today, Atlantis heads east to the South Pacific while the Orion heads west toward South America.

Convoy OB-343 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-137 departs from Halifax.

Canadian destroyer HMCS Hamilton is commissioned, minesweeper Melville is launched.

The Bremen Rathaus (Town Hall), 6 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-219).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph, operating near Benghazi, torpedoes and sinks 607-ton Italian freighter Ninfea and an escorting gunboat, Dante de Lutti. The Triumph sustains some damage from an Italian shore battery and is forced to abort further operations and return to Malta.

At Malta, Italian bombers attack the Paola dockyards. It is a heavy raid lasting for four hours and killing 15 and wounding 14 people. There also are scattered raids on Marsa and other locations.

Ecuador/Peru Border War: The long-festering grievances about the border led to the outbreak of hostilities on the 5th, and today things get hotter. While exactly how the war started is hotly disputed, there is no question that Peru quickly gains the upper hand. While a small party of Ecuadorian soldiers crossed the border on the first day of the war, today the Peruvian soldiers eject them and turn the tables. Peruvian paratroopers take Matapalo Island, which Ecuador seized in 1938. The Peruvian air force is active, attacking Ecuadorian border posts along the Zarumilla River. Meanwhile, mediators from neighboring Brazil and Argentina, along with US representatives, quickly try to broker a settlement.

The Lüderitz Bridge aka Great Weser Bridge (Große Weserbrücke) over the Weser, 6 July 1941 ( Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-215).

US/Japanese Relations: US Ambassador Joseph Grew warns Japan against offensive actions by delivering a letter directly to Mr. Tomohiko Ushiba, Private Secretary of the Japanese Prime Minister (Prince Konoye):

Should Japan enter upon a course of military aggression and conquest it stands to reason that such action would render illusory the cherished hope of the American Government, which it understood was shared by the Japanese Government, that peace in the Pacific area, far from being further upset, might now indeed be strengthened and made more secure. It is the earnest hope of the Government of the United States that the reports of Japan's decision to enter upon hostilities against the Soviet Union are not based upon fact, and an assurance to that effect from His Excellency the Prime Minister of Japan would be deeply appreciated by the Government of the United States.

In fact, the Japanese have decided not to attack the Soviet Union. Unknown to the Americans, they have other targets in mind.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt cables British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with "will advise you" on Churchill's request that the US and Great Britain form a joint committee on tank development. Churchill is concerned about German tank superiority and realizes that larger and more powerful tanks are required, but the US at this time does not have any heavy tanks in its arsenal.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: British Prime Minister sends a message to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin expressing a hope that they can cooperate in the fight against Germany. Unlike US President Roosevelt, Stalin is not particularly chatty with cables and does not typically respond quickly.

Italian/Japanese Relations: Japan takes over the protection of Italy's Embassy in Moscow.

Original caption dated 6 July 1941 reads: "Members of the Screen Cartoonists Guild are shown picketing the Walt Disney Studios in force today as 98 members of eight A.F. L. craft unions went back to work. The A.F.L. unions signed with Disney last night. Besides the 248 cartoon guild members, about 20 of the Society of Motion Picture Film Editors are still out."

Spy Stuff: According to a 1947 OSS/CIA document, today the Gestapo arrests Jerzy Kuncewicz, a former intelligence officer of the Polish General Staff, and an associate in Berlin as spies. Kuncewicz has been in communication with the Polish Resistance in Warsaw and Japanese spies. Under Gestapo interrogation, Kuncewicz reveals that the Japanese military attache, Brigadier General Banzai, is in control of a vast spy network in Europe that is spying on everyone. The Gestapo concludes that the Japanese network "works against the Reich," though to what purpose is left unsaid. Kuncewicz's group, meanwhile, has been sending information to London. The report concludes that the Gestapo believes that further investigation could prove that the Japanese are working with the Polish resistance and the Vatican to undermine the Reich.

Holocaust: The occupying German authorities in Kaunas/Kovno, Lithuania institute a pogrom that ultimately claims thousands of lives. The killings by Einsatzgruppen occur at the Seventh Fort, where Jewish residents have been imprisoned.

"Die Tat," a Swiss newspaper, reports on a Soviet massacre of innocent prisoners at Lemberg. It states that:

this massacre is one of the most dreadful and ruthless massacres ever heard of in the history of the world. In the police prison 20 prisoners were crowded together in each of the smallest cells; they were then shot through the spy-holes. 2,000 to 2,500 persons were murdered in this way.

The Germans already know about this incident. They have forced Jewish residents of Lemberg to dig up the corpses from a prison yard and rebury them elsewhere. This incident becomes controversial because of post-war Soviet claims that the Lemberg massacre was carried out by the Ukrainian "Nightingale" Legion, a special formation organized by the Wehrmacht.

Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb at a charity tournament in Newton, Massachusetts, 6 July 1941.

German Homefront: A pastoral letter of German bishops is read out in all Catholic Churches in Germany. It recognizes that euthanasia is taking place within Reich mental asylums, but absolves Catholics from resisting these exterminations because it is impossible to fight the government. This does not sit well with some pastors, as, even beyond the moral crisis such killings create, they also violate sections of Reich penal law.

American Homefront: Originally scheduled to be unveiled on 4 July (US Independence Day), Lou Gehrig's monument in Yankee Stadium is revealed. The scheduling issue, due to a rain-out on the 4th, will confuse memorabilia collectors forever.

During a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium against the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets hits in both games. In the opener, DiMaggio gets four hits in the first game, an 8-4 Yankees win. In the nightcap, he goes 2-4 with two runs batted in. This extends his major league record hitting streak to 48 games. New York wins, 3-1, with Phil Rizzuto going 3-3. DiMaggio now is hitting .357 for the season, well behind league leader Ted Williams at .405.

The New York Times reports on page 20 that an outbreak of sunspots is affecting transatlantic radio communication and distorting compasses.

The New York Times has an article, "Imagery For Profit," by R.W. Stewart. It discusses the use of Television for advertising. The article notes that only New York NBC station WNBT is equipped to show advertisements but that many other stations across the country would like to "ass soon as possible, some within thirty days." It notes that the first paid ad was for the Bulova Watch Company, which paid $4 for the privilege. The ad was a test pattern that resembles a clock face and remained on the air for a full minute as the second-hand traversed a minute.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's widow attend the belated unveiling of the monument at Yankee Stadium honoring Gehrig, 6 July 1941.

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020