Saturday 16 August 1941

Finnish soldiers under a sign of Joseph Stalin. They are at the entrance of Antrea's raw sugar factory on 16 August 1941.

Eastern Front: In a move that has immediate and lasting repercussions on the Eastern Front, on 16 August 1941 Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 270. This order sets forth penalties for dereliction of duty and desertion (execution and imprisonment of deserters' families), commands soldiers not to surrender, and sets forth severe penalties for any acts detrimental to the Soviet war effort. The lengthy order is somewhat unusual in that it gives detailed examples of "heroic" behavior, which includes Lieutenant-General Boldin's escape from encirclement while deputy commander of the Western Front (the commander of the Western Front, General Pavlov, was shot on Stalin's command for dereliction of duty). It also gives examples of "cowardice," which includes the surrender of 28th Army Commander Lieutenant General Katchalov.

The order is quite plain: don't surrender unless we tell you to. While signed by all of the members of the State Defense Committee, it clearly reflects Stalin's own views on how troops should conduct themselves. The concerns raised in Order No. 270 never go away, and, in fact, they remain Stalin's obsession throughout the war. Stalin will return to this basic issue of "keeping the men at their guns" repeatedly throughout the war, particularly during the bitter summer of 1942, but nothing ever works to his complete satisfaction.

Regarding Order No. 270, comrade Stalin is heard to say, "There are no Soviet prisoners of war, only traitors."

Soviet prototype HTZ-16 armored tractor, 16 August 1941. This was an improvised armored vehicle based on the Kharkiv Tractor Factory/Agricultural Tractor Research Institute (SHTZ-NATI) tractor. The Red Army used the HTZ-16 at training schools and around Kharkiv, where the tank factory was located.

In the Far North sector, the Germans remain blocked on the Murmansk front, while the Finns trying to reach the Murmansk railway at Loukhi also have come to a standstill about 20 miles southwest of the main railway line after a recent rapid advance. Finnish Group F of III Corps is attempting probing attacks but remains stalled just north of Ukhta (Kalevala) in its separate advance to the Murmansk Railway. As usual, the Soviets have found just enough forces to stop each of the separate thrusts heading toward strategic objectives.

The Finns are still on the move in the direction of Leningrad, however. Today, they capture three encircled Soviet battalions at Tolvajaervi and Aeglaejaervi. This is about 50 miles north of Lake Ladoga and about 170 miles north of Leningrad and enhances Axis control of the region.

In the Army Group North sector, LVI Panzer Corps (von Manstein) of Panzer Group 4 (Hoepner) secures Novgorod after fighting into it on the 15th and attacks southwest toward Dno. The Germans also secure a bridgehead across the Volkhov River. This is a strategically vital city at the northern tip of Lake Ilmen that, in conjunction with holding Staraya Russa at the lake's southern tip, enables the Wehrmacht to use the lake as part of the front line and shift units due north toward Leningrad.

The Soviets, of course, realize this and are counterattacking the German position at Staraya Russa. While the Soviets make some progress to the south of the old Russian town, the Germans defend it fiercely, and by day's end OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder is able to write in the war diary that "south of Lake Ilmen the danger appears to have passed if there ever was any."

Joseph Stalin.

Elsewhere in the Army Group North area, the Germans make progress at Luga. There are about 20,000 Soviet troops there who have little chance of escape, and Stalin's Order No. 270 requires them to stand and fight anyway upon pain of death.

In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's panzers continue making progress in the direction of Gomel and Bryansk. The attacks, however, are taking longer than the high command would like. Otherwise, the front is unusually quiet.

Complying with Hitler's orders, the OKH reassigns three divisions (12th Panzer, 20th Motorized, and 18th Motorized) from General Hoth's Panzer Group 3 to Army Group North. Hitler hopes that these divisions will help Army Group North take Leningrad quickly, enabling a later attack on Moscow.

In the Army Group South sector, Romanian leader Ion Antonescu authorizes a resumption of the offensive against Odessa following a three-day pause. The Romanians make progress across the entire line, particularly in the area of the city's water reservoirs. The Soviet defenders, under orders to fight to the last man, resist bitterly.

The Germans solidify capture Nikolayev, which the Soviets have evacuated after a brief but fierce defense. The port is stocked with equipment, including coastal guns, the hulks of half-finished ships, ammunition, and repair facilities.

The Red Air Force raids the oilfields at Ploesti, Romania. A Romanian Heinkel He 112 shoots down one of the bombers.

"The crew of a Blenheim IV of No 88 (Hong Kong) Squadron climb from their aircraft at Attlebridge, Norfolk, after returning from an Army co-operation exercise, 16 August 1941." © IWM (CH 17172).

European Air Operations: After taking a day off, the RAF swings back into action today. During the day, RAB Bomber Command sends 30 Blenheims on coastal sweeps to Marquise and a Circus operation to St. Omer. The bomber pilots claim to hit an ammunition factory at Marquise. All of these planes return.

The RAF also sends two Fortresses to Brest and two to Dusseldorf.  Luftwaffe fighters badly damage a Fortress over Brest. While it limps back to England, it makes a difficult crash-landing and has to be written off. This becomes the first RAF Fortress casualty.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends major raids to Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Duisburg.

The RAF puts 72 bombers (37 Wellingtons, 29 Whitleys, and 6 Halifaxes) over Cologne. The objectives are railway yards. Visibility is poor, and there are no casualties and only very light damage. Seven Hampden bombers and one Wellington fail to return.

The RAF sends 54 Wellington bombers to attack railway yards at Duisburg. The attack causes moderate damage, and one Wellington fails to return.

The RAF sends 52 Hampdens and six Manchester bombers over Düsseldorf. As with the other attacks, the objectives are railway yards. The RAF pilots claim to see a large number of fires, but the Germans themselves often set fires as decoys, so the amount of damage caused is uncertain. The RAF loses three Hampdens and two Manchester bombers on this raid.

There also are minor raids to Rotterdam (10 Wellingtons), Ostend (4 Hampdens and 2 Manchester bombers), and one training flight over the Continent. There are no losses on these missions.

Luftwaffe Lt. Hans Hahn of I./NJG 2 downs a Wellington over Scunthorpe. Shrapnel from the exploding plane destroys one of the engines on his own Junkers Ju 88 night fighter, but he manages to nurse the plane back to base.

An Enigma machine in the radio car of the staff of the 7th Panzer Division while serving in the Soviet Union, 16 August 1941 (Lücke, Federal Archive, RH 82 Bild-00028).

Battle of the Baltic: A Soviet convoy led by icebreaker Oktyabr runs into a German minefield ("Juminda") while en route from Suursaari (Hogland (Island) to Tallinn (Reval), Estonia. Losses are unknown, but apparently, several ships hit mines and sink.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans organize their operations in northern Norway and Finland by establishing an Arctic Ocean U-boat Command. The Kriegsmarine has U-451 and U-566 operating in the area with plans to send more there. The Royal Navy now also has a submarine operating in the area, HMS Trident (Cmdr. Sladen), which is based in Polyarny and today leaves port on a patrol.

The Luftwaffe scores a near-miss against tug Ness Point at Lowestoft. The tug sinks, but it is raised on the 23rd and repaired.

The 17th Motor Launch Flotilla departs from Gibraltar bound for Bathurst.

US Navy battleship USS Mississippi ends its neutrality patrol when it returns to Hampton Roads, Virginia along with accompanying destroyers.

Part of Convoy WS-10X departs from the Clyde and meets another part of the convoy, which had departed from Liverpool on the 15th, at sea. It is bound for Capetown, Aden, and Suez. Convoy ON-8 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-145 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Lamerton (Lt. Commander Hugh C. Simms) is commissioned.

Canadian corvette HMCS The Pas is launched at Collingwood, Canada.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Geraldton and boom defense ship Karangi are launched.

U-135 (Kptlt. Friedrich-Hermann Praetorius) is commissioned, U-88 and U-407 are launched, U-667 is laid down.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 7 Wnr.12866 from 3./JG1, damaged by Lt. Heinz Knoke while training, 16th August 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: British Secretary of State for War David Margesson gives a speech which stresses the need for vigilance despite inevitable boredom between attacks. He holds up Malta as an example, citing the 26 July 1941 Italian attack using speedboats. He states in part:

On 26 July there were certain coast defences on the Island of Malta manned by the Royal Malta Artillery which had not opened fire for the whole of the war. There they had stood at their posts, day after day, night after night.  What a good reason for boredom; what an excuse for relaxing vigilance... by the skill and unceasing watchfulness of the Royal Malta Artillery, a British machine-gun detachment and some anti-aircraft guns manned by Maltese, this first serious attack of Italian surface craft was smashed.

The Italian attack actually was "smashed" by Italian clumsiness when a charge they set to remove a net from a bridge blew up the bridge itself. However, this is a rare moment for the isolated defenders of Malta to bask in the publicity of a speech disseminated around the world.

Destroyers HMS Kandahar and Kimberley make the nightly supply run to Tobruk, immediately unloading and heading back to Alexandria as usual. This is part of the continuing rotation of Australian troops out of Tobruk and Polish troops in to replace them. During the entire operation, which lasts about a week, about 5,000 men rotate out and are replaced.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay sinks 28-ton Greek steamboat Evangelistra (being used by the Italians) near Benghazi.

The RAF bombs Syracuse and Catania airfields on Sicily.

Italian minelayers Aspromonte and Reggio lay minefield SN-42 in the Sicilian Strait.

An Italian supply convoy departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. It has six freighters/transports escorted by three destroyers and three torpedo boats. Dutch submarine O-23 spots an Italian ship midway between Naples and Palermo and attacks but misses - it is probably this convoy.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Royal Navy sloop Flamingo escorts transport Salamaua from Port Said toward Famagusta.

130mm coastal guns left behind by the Soviets in Mykolaiv when they evacuated it on 16 August 1941.

Battle of the Black Sea: As the Soviets withdraw from Nikolayev, they blow up submarines S-36 and S-37. However, they do a very poor of destroying the port facilities, and they all fall into the hands of the Germans.

Soviet submarine L-5 (Lt. Cmdr. Zhdanov) lays 14 mines off Mangalia, Romania.

US/Japanese Relations: With all sorts of different interpretations regarding the Atlantic Charter and its effects upon the Pacific region being floated, Japanese Ambassador Nomura meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull in Washington in an effort to renew relations. Nomura stresses the need for peace because a war would last for several years until one side or the other were exhausted. He hints that it is important for the United States not to allow Britain to drag it into a war. Nomura denies that Japan is under a military dictatorship and only sought to defend the region. He again, as he has in the past, proposes a summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and Japan.

Hull, at least in Nomura's opinion as relayed to Tokyo, seems less rigid than previously about Japanese activities. Hull promises to talk to President Roosevelt about the matter when the President returns to Washington. However, Nomura is clear about the consequences of any further Japanese adventurism:

As I have successively reported to you, Japanese-American relations have today reached a stage in which anything might happen at any moment, and they are likely to grow worse suddenly as soon as Japan makes her next move. That this sudden change will take place with Japan's occupation of Thailand is a view upon which both Japanese and Americans agree.

Nomura also notes in his report that Allied confidence in ultimate victory was growing because the war in the Soviet Union was turning into a battle of attrition which would weaken Germany regardless of whether it conquered the USSR or not.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: In Moscow, British and Soviet representatives sign a trade pact. The British grant the Soviets a £10 million credit at 3% interest, which is set quite low as a gesture of good faith. At this time, the British expect the Soviets to pay in cash for all deliveries, with the value of Soviet purchases offset for any sales to the British.

Convoy Dervish, carrying British supplies bound for the USSR, departs from Scapa Flow today.

Men of the Manchester Regiment manning a Vickers machine gun, Southern Command, 16 August 1941.

Anglo/Soviet/Iranian Relations: The British and Soviets warn the Iranian government to deport any Germans in the country. The diplomatic note states in part:

As in other neutral countries, German authorities have endeavored to pursue in Iran a policy of infiltration by sending their agents to mingle with and replace the resident German community...

While the note's reasoning is quite accurately, there actually aren't many Germans in Iran. However, the Allies want to set up a casus belli because Iran is a strategically important country due to its location on the Strait of Hormuz and oil supplies. It also is a potential route for England and the United States to supply the Soviet Union in the event of further German advances.

Anglo/Vichy Relations: With the British satisfied that the Vichy French have returned Commonwealth prisoners from metropolitan France, they permit another Vichy French convoy carrying 5094 troops to depart from Haifa to France.

Entrance to the Kolosjoki nickel mines in Petsamo, Finland, 1930s.

German/Finnish Relations: While Marshal Mannerheim carefully guards his independent control over the Finnish military, he has no issue with close economic ties with the Reich. Today, the Finns reach an agreement with the Germans to devote the entire output of the nickel mines in the far North at Petsamo to the Germans. The Germans, with Finnish agreement, already control the mines and huge processing plant, so this is simply an official recognition of the reality of the situation.

US/Australian Relations: US Navy heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) call at Rabaul, New Britain on a goodwill visit. The port of Rabaul has been used by the Australians as a regional base, but the eruption of volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan in 1937 forced them to shift most operations to Lae. However, a fairly large Australian population remains there, along with some Australian navy operations.

US Military: The 206th Coast Artillery Regiment (Anti-aircraft) arrives at Dutch Harbor, Alaska after training at Fort Bliss, Texas since early January 1941.

Japanese Military: The Japanese requisition three cargo ships for use in the navy:

7397-ton Awata Maru
6667-ton Onoe Maru
3209-ton Kofuku Maru

In addition, Japanese liner Heian Maru returns from Seattle to Yokohama today. It marks the last Japanese ship from Seattle until after the war. It returns empty.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill reviewing United States Marines during his visit to Iceland, 16 August 1941 (© IWM (A 4971)).

British Government: Prime Minister Churchill is in Reykjavik, Iceland as a stop on his way back to England from the Atlantic Conference. Churchill gives a speech to the crews of the ships in Reykjavik, including that of US battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) and other US ships. Churchill, aboard battleship HMS Prince of Wales, departs in the evening.

While visiting Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, Churchill allegedly leaves a half-smoked cigar in an ashtray. Someone retrieves the cigar, then gives it to his son. It goes on sale in 2012.

US Government: President Roosevelt's yacht USS Potomac (AG-25) arrives at Rockland, Maine, where the President boards his special train and heads back to Washington.

The Defense Base Act is enacted. this is an extension of the Longhore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to cover persons employed at United States defense bases overseas. Workers covered include civilians working for private employers on US military bases or anywhere the US military is operating. Compensation is given to those injured while working on such projects.

Preparing for Sunday night blackout tests at South Brisbane Australia, 16 August 1941.

German Government: There is little question that, however little he knows about the true state of the Soviet military, Hitler does understand how Stalin's cynical mind works - because they think alike in many ways. Hitler discusses the inner workings of the Soviet Union over dinner:

When Russia barricades herself within her frontiers, it's to prevent people from leaving the country and making certain comparisons. That's why Stalin was obliged to introduce Bolshevism into the Baltic countries so that his army of occupation should be deprived of all means of comparison with another system. At the beginning that wasn't Stalin's idea at all. 

One can see the Iron Curtain descending across Europe in 1946 in Hitler's words.

American Homefront: The top song on the Billboard charts in today's weekly issue is "Daddy" by Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with the Kaye Choir. It is in week 7 of an 8-week run atop the chart.

An Australian trooper, Thomas Cogan, on leave in Perth, 16 August 1941 (Elizabeth Huggett).

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

Friday 9 May 1941

Damage at Friar Lane, Nottingham, this picture was taken 9 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 9 May 1941 sends a telegram to Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell which states:

Our information is that Rashid Ali and his partisans [actually Iraqi government military forces] are in desperate straits. However this may be, you are to fight hard against them... [Y]ou should exploit situation to the utmost, not hesitating to try to break into Baghdad even with quite small forces and running the same kind of risks as the Germans are accustomed to run and profit by.

Churchill adds that "There can be no question of negotiation with Rashid Ali" unless he surrenders unconditionally. Furthermore, Wavell is to aid Free French General Catroux in an invasion of Syria "In face of your evident feeling of lack of resources" - a typical Churchillian dig at what he personally judges to be Wavell's lack of fighting spirit.

At Fort Rutbah, the RAF bombs the fort and loses a plane to small-arms fire. The Iraqi government sends a convoy of 40 trucks armed with machine guns to reinforce the small garrison. The British of the Arab Legion who are an advance party of Habforce continues to wait for reinforcements from the main column before attacking and withdraw to a more defensible position.

Jihad has been proclaimed by the Grand Mufti.

A Junkers Ju-52 transport being used for training exercises in preparation for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.

European Air Operations: The two sides engage in a war of communiques today. Berlin Radio announces successful raids on Derby and Nottingham, where they targeted the critical Rolls-Royce aircraft engine plant. The British Air Ministry engages in a little humor when it responds that, during last night's raids, two cows and a few chickens had been killed in the East Midlands. What the RAF actually is saying in surprisingly candid fashion (if you know what actually happened) is that many Luftwaffe bombers missed their target cities due to successful deception measures. The Germans aren't told about that little secret, however, and no doubt take it as a little innocent bravado.

London is the main target during the night when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attack. There are subsidiary attacks at RAF airfields including RAF Waddington, where a direct hit on an air-raid shelter kills ten people, including seven women.

Liverpool, Hull, and many other cities in the industrial north are devastated by the recent Luftwaffe raids. In Hull alone, there are an estimated 1000 dead and 40,000 homeless out of a population of 330,000. The Germans have been extremely effective at targeting the docks in their target cities recently, but the British are stepping up their jamming attempts of the crude German navigational system based on radio waves. That jamming already is having some effect, as evidenced by the "cows and chickens" remark.

Attacks continue at Hull, but few planes hit anything of importance. The Luftwaffe focuses on the port and damages 64-ton sailing barge Whitaker's No. 17, 5117-ton British freighter Dan Y Bryn, and 3067-ton British freighter Castilian. There are two deaths on the Castilian.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets. It then sends 146 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen during the night.

East African Campaign: The perimeter at Amba Alagi remains quiet as the British forces await reinforcements which are only a day away. The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade moves to the southwest around Laka Shala in Galla-Sidamo.

Winston Churchill sends Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie and congratulates him on being "the first [monarch deposed by the fascists] to return in triumph."

HMS Bulldog alongside U-110, 9 May 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Events of 9 May 1941 are little remembered by the public after the fact, but they are of far-reaching consequence. They are so important that this almost could be considered a case of losing a battle but thereby winning a war.

The British recently captured German weather ship Munchen near Iceland, securing prized Kriegsmarine naval codes, and today they pull off an even greater intelligence coup. U-100 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp), one of the top U-boat commanders (he sank the Athenia on 3 September 1939), is operating off of Cape Farewell, Greenland and shadowing Convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West. Lemp attacks the convoy, and all goes well at first as he sinks to ships:

• 4976-ton British freighter Esmond (all survive)
• 2609-ton British freighter Bengore Head (40 survivors, one dead).

However, the convoy escorts (HMS Bulldog, Broadway, and Aubretia) force the U-boat to the surface with depth charges. Lemp and his crew abandon ship (15 dead, 32 survivors) a little too quickly, and U-110 fails to sink. Lemp himself perishes during the incident under very murky and controversial circumstances.

Noticing the U-boat failing to sink, a boarding party from the Bulldog, led by 20-year-old Sub-Lt. David Balme, quickly rows over to the U-boat despite the ever-present fear that scuttling charges could go off at any moment. The Royal Navy sailors grab the extremely valuable Enigma coding machine along with its codebooks, rotor settings, and charts.

After everything of value has been removed from the U-boat (including the submarine's chronometer), the British sink it (during a storm, so perhaps not intentionally) to maintain the secret of its capture. It is an astonishingly lucky find for the British Ultra operation at Bletchley Park, which has been in need of the equipment and information. Of immediate benefit, the documents aboard enable the British to break the German Reservehandverfahren code, a reserve German hand cipher. The capture also becomes is a key step on the road to British scientist Alan Turing's first computer, Colossus. The capture of U-110 is so significant that it later is given the code name Operation Primrose. Winston Churchill will not even tell President Roosevelt about it until January 1942.

Fritz-Julius Lemp, Captain of U-110, KIA 9 May 1941.

U-103 (KptLt.Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off of West Africa, torpedoes and sinks 7120-ton British freighter City of Winchester. There are 91 survivors and six deaths.

U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its first patrol out of Kiel, also attacks convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West a couple of hours after the capture of U-110. Schnee hits two ships:

• 5969-ton Empire Cloud (badly damaged)
• 5802-ton Gregalia (sunk)

While the Empire Cloud is disabled and considered unsafe, so the crew abandons ship. However, a tug is called from Greenock, which manages to tow it back to port, where it is repaired and returned to service. There are no casualties on either ship.

Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli torpedoes and sinks 8817-ton Norwegian tanker Alfred Olsen several hundred miles off Freetown. Everyone survives.

Off Freetown, Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Cilicia captures 4564-ton Vichy French transport SS Criton. The Criton is carrying shells for the French base at Dakar. The British send the ship to Freetown, with a skeleton party of armed guards supervising the Vichy French crew.

U-107 (KrvKpt. Günter Hessler), on its second patrol and operating off of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is in the midst of a wildly successful patrol during which it sinks or damages a phenomenal 14 ships during more than two months at sea. To stay at sea that long, U-boats need regular supply from "Milch" ships. Today, U-107 is supplied with food and 14 torpedoes when it hooks up with the Egerland, which is disguised as an American freighter.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3010-ton Royal Navy mine destruction ship HMS Queenworth in Outer Dowsing Channel. Everybody survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 97-ton British trawler Tankerton Towers off St Govan's Light Vessel in the mouth of Bristol Channel. All eight aboard survive.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1737-ton British freighter Ostrevent near Helwick Light Vessel in the Humber.

The Luftwaffe damages a mine destruction ship, HMS Corfield, with near misses in the Humber.

The Luftwaffe damages 4950-ton British freighter Fishpool at Barrow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British tankers San Roberto (5890 tons) and British Statesmen (6991 tons) just over twenty miles northeast of Spurn Point, East Riding of Yorkshire. The tankers are towed to Immingham.

Spanish fishing trawler Luis Puebla hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay north of Gijón, Asturias. There are three survivors and nine deaths.

US aircraft carrier USS Ranger and heavy cruiser Vincennes, with a destroyer escort, conduct a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic.

Another Italian submarine that has escaped from Eritrea, the Ferraris, arrives at Bordeaux after a long journey.

Convoy SC 31 departs from Halifax, bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Brocklesby, minesweeper Polruan (Lt. Commander John S. Landers), and Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Tarantella (Lt. Robert A. Balfour) are commissioned.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ungava and corvette Matapedia (Lt. Ronald J. Herman) are commissioned.

HMS Nigella, which picked up 45 survivors from Empire Cloud northeast of Cape Farewell. The Empire Cloud had been torpedoed by U-201.

Battle of the Mediterranean:  The first four ships related to Operation Tiger (MW 7A and 7B out of Alexandria) reach Malta. They carry 30,000 tons of supplies. In addition, two tankers and a destroyer loaded with supplies, HMS Breconshire, also arrive. This is the largest convoy to arrive at Malta during the war and is aided by very cloudy weather. The main force of Operation Tiger coming from Gibraltar is still at sea.

One ship, however, fails to make it. British 9200-ton freighter Empire Song hits a mine during the night which sets off its ammunition cargo, causing it to explode. The Empire Song and its 57 tanks, 10 aircraft and several trucks quickly sink. There are 18 deaths and 130 survivors.

In addition, freighter New Zealand Star hits a mine but manages to make it to Malta.

At Tobruk, General Rommel's men intercept a British wireless communication that leads them to suspect that a major British offensive may be in the offing. Rommel orders defenses along the perimeter of Tobruk strengthened and orders Kampfgruppe von Herff to initiate offensive patrols.

The Royal Navy's nightly shuttle to Tobruk continues as Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta evacuates wounded and takes them to Alexandria.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie draws up a plan to replace soldiers with female auxiliaries. The jobs will include service as cooks, dining hall waitresses, messengers, and similar functions. Among other things, this involves an increase in pay for the women (subject to Whitehall approval).

Convoy AS 30 departs from Suda Bay, Crete under heavy escort, bound for Alexandria.

An Enigma machine (lower left) aboard U-124 in March, 1941 (Dietrich, Federal Archives).

Spy Stuff: Bulgarian agents confirm other warnings, such as the one on 6 May from Richard Sorge in Tokyo, that the Germans are planning an attack on the Soviet Union.

Anglo/Free French Relations: There is a muddle within the British hierarchy about how to deal with Vichy Syria, which is in the formative stages of being used to transfer German planes and troops to Iraq. The British have been allowing the Vichy government in Syria wide latitude and even been paying some Vichy sailors interned at Alexandria. This passive attitude has extended to permitting regular passages of French transport SS Providence between Marseille and Beirut - even as other Vichy ships have been captured on the high seas. In effect, the British Middle East Command has been conducting its own independent foreign relations with the Vichy forces in Syria even though there is a growing sense that the French will soon be allowing the Germans transit rights to Iraq.

First, Major-General Edward Spears, who is on the staff of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, is a fervent Francophile and has been acting as a liaison to General De Gaulle, cables De Gaulle in Brazzaville that there is no need for him to visit Cairo to plan an attack on Syria. "There would, in fact, be some disadvantage to your doing so," he writes, which presumably means that De Gaulle's presence would antagonize the Vichy authorities in Syria.

However, in the evening Winston Churchill himself cables De Gaulle. Among other things, Churchill casually mentions that De Gaulle should go to Cairo. Surprised, De Gaulle quickly replies (in English, which is very rare for him) "I shall go to Cairo soon." The entire incident is very revealing of the general confusion that infests relations between Great Britain and France during this period. Another outcome of this incident is that relations between Spears and De Gaulle deteriorate, to Spears' personal regret.

Junkers Ju-52 transports standing in wait for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.

Australian/US Relations: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in Washington, D.C. In the morning, he meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Menzies notes that:

I gather that the whole Cabinet would come into the war tomorrow if Roosevelt would say the word. But he hangs back, preferring an "incident" (e.g., as a result of the Atlantic patrol) to a formal declaration.

Menzies notes that Dean Atcheson is "friendly but confused. Famous Harry Hopkins a great disappointment - a sort of gangling yokel."

Soviet/Yugoslav Relations: The Soviet Union withdraws diplomatic recognition of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. Led by King Peter, the exiles have been camping out in Jerusalem under British protection, along with remaining remnants of the Yugoslav Army, Navy and Air Force that managed to leave the country. Some army elements do remain in Yugoslavia, and they are in the process of regrouping as partisans and forming the primarily Serbian "Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland" (Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini, or JVUO, or Četniks) under Royalist General Draža Mihailović. However, communist partisans in the region also are stirring, and the Soviets may prefer to back them. The official reason for withdrawing recognition is that the German government now controls the country.

Soviet/Belgian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the exiled government of Belgium.

Soviet Norwegian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the Norwegian government.

Fort Rutbah, Iraq, 9 May 1941. This photograph was taken from an RAF Blenheim bomber that attacked the fortress.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The inconclusive border wall between Thailand and French forces in Indochina comes to an official end with the signing of a peace treaty in Tokyo. Thailand basically gets all the territory that it sought in the war. The Japanese, who have been serving as an "honest broker" in the affair (but actually strongly favor the Thais), guarantee the new borders. The Vichy French in Indochina are isolated and have been largely powerless to influence the one-sided negotiations.

British Military: The Air Ministry announces the existence of "a large number of paratroops who have completed their training and are ready for action."

Philippines: Now that his staff has arrived on USAT Washington, Brigadier General Clagett, the newly arrived commander of the Philippines Department Air Corps, begins organizing his command. Ernest Hemingway, on his way back to the States from his six-week stay in Asia, is in Manila and parties with the enlisted men, at least one of whom he knows personally through a mutual female acquaintance. Hemingway, who claims never to have gotten anywhere near the war, makes eerily insightful comments about the situation in China. These include views that the Nationalists and Communists soon will be fighting each other in addition to the Japanese, and that Japan might well be at war with the United States soon.

City of Winchester (Master William Samuel Coughlan), sunk on 9 May 1941 by U-103 (Victor Schutze) while transiting from London to Capetown. The City of Winchester carried 6500 tons of general cargo and was sunk off Freetown about 400 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The 91 survivors included the master, and they were rescued by Norwegian freighter Herma and taken to Takoradi.

Serbia: At Sanski Most, the Germans kill 27 Serb civilians as reprisals for the recent uprising. The troops force townspeople to hang the bodies in the town square for two days. This incident leads to bitter hatred between the Serbs and the Ustaše, who start contemplating how to wipe out (ethnically cleanse) the population of the entire region. A reign of terror against the Serbian locals commences. There remain many rebels in the nearby hills who will lay low until July.

China: At the Battle of South Shanxi, the Japanese North China Front Army continues to attack the 9th Army of the Chinese 1st War Area at Fengmenkou and Lungwanwo. The Japanese also capture Wangyuan and attack Tungfeng. In addition, the Japanese Imperial Air Force raids the Nationalist capital of Chungking.

American Homefront: Singer Billie Holiday records "God Bless the Child" at the Okey Records studio on Seventh Avenue in New York City. It is the first recording of the jazz song written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. "God Bless the Child" will not be released until 1942. The song will become one of Holiday's signature songs and a major event in her eventual autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues."

Future History: Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, will become the starting point for the screenplay of "U-571" (2000).

A memorial to the Sanski Most Revolt will be set up at Šušnjar in 1971 and designated a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.

Monument to the Sanski Most uprising of May 1941. The monument was constructed in 1970 and designed by Sarajevo architect Petar Krstić. The monument is controversial because tiles bearing the names of Muslim victims of the revolt have been removed.

May 1941

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

2020

Sunday 19 May 1940

Belgian tank on fire in Zwyndrecht, Antwerp, Belgium. 19 May 1940.

Western Front: The French Army on 19 May 1940 is completely discombobulated. The generals have little idea where the front is and what the Germans might do. The commander of the French 9th Army, General Giraud, is even captured by a German panzer unit.

Lord Gort, head of the BEF, has a conversation with General Edmund Ironside, the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Ironside recommends attacking southwest toward Amiens. Lord Gort replies that he has insufficient troops, as 7 of his 9 divisions are in action on the Scheldt. Somewhat bizarrely, Gort relates that his putative French commander, General Billotte of the 1st Army Group, has not issued him any orders in a fortnight.

Ironside then talks to General Billotte, who is nearby. He finds that Billotte is incapable of taking action. Ironside returns to England convinced that the end is near for the BEF and ramps up anti-invasion efforts. A code name is generated for a BEF evacuation: Operations Dynamo.

Much of the German Panzer force has been halted between Péronne and St. Quentin for refueling, maintenance, and re-supply. Today, General Guderian starts moving forward again. He takes Péronne, only 50 miles from the French coast. This disrupts the supply lines of the BEF and French forces fighting to the north.

General Rommel regroups at Cambrai.

Brigadier General de Gaulle launches his second attack from Laon into the German spearhead flank at Montcornet using the 4th Armoured Division. Once again, as on the 17th, he makes some progress, but the effort runs out of steam. However, there is no corresponding thrust from the other side of the bulge which might cut off the most advanced German units.

The Belgian army withdraws in the sector including St Nicholas, Lakeren, and Audenard.

The BEF pulls back near Lille.

On the Maginot Line, the German 71st Infantry Division, after a three-day battle, take the left-most anchor of the line, Fort La Ferté (known as Panzerwerk 505 to the Wehrmacht). The French inside succumb to the smoke and toxic fumes after their ammunition and other items catch fire. The fort, 20 km south of Sedan on a hill overlooking the Chiers River, has been blocking the German advance. The Germans occupy the village of Villy. Underneath Villy, the fort had been scaled back during construction due to cost, making it a death trap for the 107 soldiers inside.

European Air Operations: Fliegerkorps VII is covering the German advance toward Abbeville. This is a key component of "Blitzkrieg." There are radio-equipped forward liaison Luftwaffe officers traveling with the panzers who have direct lines to the Luftwaffe bases. The amount of time between a request for air support and its arrival is minimal, around 10 minutes for Henschel HS 123s and 45-75 minutes for the Ju 87 Stukas.

The Luftwaffe bombs Royal Navy destroyer HMS Whitley, which must be beached and scuttled.

The Luftwaffe bombs Dieppe.

The Luftwaffe also is supporting the attacks on the Maginot Line in the south. They are hitting fortresses and helping the ground to make progress against this supposedly invulnerable line.

The RAF once again bombs oil refineries in the Ruhr.

The RAF begins pulling its last squadrons in Belgium. They have lost over half of their aircraft and the German army is approaching their airfields. BEF air cover will be conducted henceforth from bases in England.

There are reports that 100,000 people perished in the Rotterdam air attacks, with a third of the city destroyed. This figure is likely wildly exaggerated for propaganda purposes, but then again, nobody knows how many people died. The high figure illustrates the depths of fear and terror being sown by the innovative Blitzkrieg. Rotterdam has joined "Warsaw" on the litany of Luftwaffe misdeeds chronicled in Allied propaganda.

Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 unit near Arras, France. May, 1940 (Strift, Federal Archive).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn) torpedoes and sinks 5,066-ton Swedish freighter MV Erik Frisell. All 34 aboard survive, picked up by armed trawler HMS Cobbers.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Princess Victoria hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Convoy OA 151 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 151 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy OG 30 forms at Gibraltar.

Norway: The evacuation of Mo i Rana concludes, with the last rearguard troops of B Company of the Scots Guard and No. 1 Independent Company pulling out. The German 2d Mountain Division occupies the town and sends troops further north toward Bodo.

Military Intelligence: The cryptoanalysts at Bletchley Park crack the Enigma "Red" code being used by the Luftwaffe liaison officers to coordinate ground support.

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill sends President Roosevelt a plea for quick aid while discussing something else. "If [the old destroyers] were here in 6 weeks, they would play an invaluable part."

Sweden: The government announces that, like Great Britain, it will form its own home defense corps. It also institutes gasoline rationing.

Ethiopia: A group of Italian settlers arrives.

War Crimes: Civilians live in fear of Allied troops who reportedly are shooting civilians who they are mistaking for German paratroopers or infiltrators. There are other anecdotal reports of Allied troops shooting civilians who they believe, for one reason or another, to be aiding the German advance.

British Homefront: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes an address to the British people which he calls " Be ye men of valor," which is a quotation from 1 Maccabees in the Apocrypha. Churchill mentions that only "a very small part" of the French army has been engaged with the Germans, but that it would be "foolish ... to disguise the gravity of the hour." He vows to "wage war until victory is won, and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame, whatever the cost and the agony may be."

American Homefront: Charles Lindbergh makes another radio broadcast in support of isolationism:

"We need not fear a foreign invasion unless American peoples bring it on through their own quarreling and meddling with affairs abroad. If we desire peace, we need only stop asking for war. No one wishes to attack us, and no one is in a position to do so."

A commemorative day for war heroes of the Winter War in Joensuu, Finland. 19 May 1940 (SA-kuva).

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2020

Wednesday 28 February 1940

Member of the Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren).

Winter War: Second Lt. Kermit Roosevelt of the Middlesex Regiment is appointed on 28 February 1940 to command British volunteers in Finland. Roosevelt, the second son of President Theodore Roosevelt, is a protege of Winston Churchill. Roosevelt is prepared to resign his commission in the British Army to lead the group but does not do so yet.

The Allies continue with their plan to send troops to Finland via the Narvik railway that passes through Norway and Sweden. Once again, they ask the Finns to request the right of passage from their Scandinavian brothers. There is no sign that such permission, which has been rejected repeatedly, is forthcoming.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns are retreating in the Viipuri sector of the Karelian Isthmus, but in some places, they still retain the stronger hand. The Soviet plan drawn up by Semyon Timoshenko focuses the entire military might of the Soviet Union on the Karelian Isthmus, which is the pathway to the heart of Finland. While this strategy is succeeding, the Soviets have all but abandoned their troops in other sectors, which are on their own and, for the most part, not doing well.

Moscow issues an order at 00:45 permitting the surrounded 34th Moscow Tank Brigade to retreat from their position at Kitelae. By itself, this order does not do much good to trapped men. However, the Finns surrounding this group - what they call the East Lemetti Motti - allow the brigade and other remnants of the 18th Rifle Division of Soviet 8th Army to retreat through their lines on foot if they so choose. About 2500 Soviet men, including many sick and wounded, choose this option.

It is a long, painful walk in brutal conditions, and only about 1,000 Soviets make it to the Red Army lines to the South. Another 1500, who attempt to escape to the East, are killed or captured by other Finnish troops or succumb to the elements. Some Soviets remain defiant in the pocket, and the Finns attack them unceasingly. The Finns ultimately capture 105 tanks (many of which have been converted to fixed firing positions), 200 trucks and several field cars.

Farther north, near Salla, the Finns also are successfully keeping the Soviets at bay. The overall military picture, though, requires their efforts on the Karelian Isthmus. The Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren) takes over front line duty at Märkäjärvi, freeing Finnish troops for duty where they are needed in the south.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Finnish Council of State convenes to discuss the Soviet terms, which include major territorial concessions in the Karelian Isthmus, a base at Hango, and the return to Finland of the port of Petsamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy launches the first in a new class of battleships, HMS King George V.

The Kriegsmarine lays a defensive minefield in the Ems estuary and an offensive field off the British coast.

Convoy OA 100G departs from Southend and OB 100 departs from Liverpool.

Military Intelligence: The U-33, which was scuttled while laying mines, lies in relatively shallow water (30 fathoms). British divers from HMS Tedworth enter it and recover various items from the conning tower. Previously, the British had recovered three Enigma rotors from one of the U-boat's men who had been instructed to throw them overboard but hadn't.

European Air Operations: The RAF performs extensive reconnaissance over the Berlin/Hannover sector in north Germany, including naval bases at Kiel and Cuxhaven. Paris claims to have shot down two Luftwaffe planes.

Palestine: Mandatory Palestine is divided into zones by Land Transfers Regulations. This effectively hampers any land registry by Jews.

Australia: The government forms the 7th Division for deployment overseas.

German Propaganda: Dr. Goebbels warns Sweden not to violate its neutrality. He also tells neutral countries to "curb their public opinion" which is strongly in favor of helping Finland.

German Homefront: While hardly on a total war footing, the Reich closes non-essential factories.

American Homefront: Mario Andretti is born in Montona, Italy (now Motovun, Croatia). He becomes a champion US race car driver in the 1960s.

Kermit Roosevelt in 1939 while serving in the British Army.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019