Wednesday 22 January 1941

Italian troops surrendering in Tobruk, on or about 22 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians make no headway on 22 January 1941 with their initial attempt to retake the key Klisura Pass. Greek II Corps advances and takes villages of Kiafe-louzit and Spi-kamarate on a plateau, nabbing about 500 Italian prisoners. The fighting in this sector is brutal, and while the Greeks have made progress, it is turning into a see-saw battle. The RAF bombs Valona and Berat, while the Italians raid Salonika.

East African Campaign: The Italian forces in Eritrea are falling back toward Akordat in the face of the British attacks from Sudan. The 4th Indian Division destroys the Italian defensive line at Keru, Eritrea, accepting the surrender of 1200 men and their commander, General Fongoli. The British also are advancing from Kenya into Italian Somaliland, though so far these are secondary attacks.

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command launches a Rhubarb sortie over Belgium and Holland. As intended, this draws up Luftwaffe fighter opposition. Feldwebel Mickel of 1./JG shoots down a British Beaufort fighter-bomber to the northwest of Terschelling, West Frisians around 13:00. Another member of I,/JG 1, Uffz. Krause shoots down a Blenheim bomber at Den Helder a couple of hours later for his first victory.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Dusseldorf during the night with 20 bombers.

The Luftwaffe remains quiet. It sends a few raiders across that hit various points in the eastern part of England, but no major attacks.

Australian troops (note the kangaroo pictures) with captured Italian tanks watching the burning of Tobruk, January 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - "Salmon & Gluckstein" to the British, so named after a popular tobacconist - depart Kiel on Operation Berlin under the command of Admiral Lütjens. To this point, Kriegsmarine sorties into the Atlantic have been quite successful, if you leave aside the destruction of the Admiral Graf Spee, at sea at the war's start, they have at the very least held their own against the Royal Navy and proved an irritant to the Admiralty. The ships are spotted in the Skagerrak by Swedish naval spies who are happy to tell the British about them (just as the Spanish often supply intelligence to the Germans). The Admiralty quickly plans to shift its heaviest assets to patrol the "Faroes Gap," the area between Iceland and the Faroes where German ships are furthest from aerial reconnaissance and where they invariably transit to the Atlantic. This response shows the utility of surface ships, as they completely distract the Royal Navy and engender massive countermeasures out of all proportion to the actual threat.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of I,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 3574-ton Greek freighter Kapetan Stratis in the shipping lanes just northwest of Ireland. Everybody aboard perishes in the frigid winter water.

Royal Navy 234 ton minesweeping trawler Luda Lady hits a mine and sinks in the Humber. Everybody survives. Also sunk nearby is 810-ton tug HMS St. Cyrus. Some reports say everyone survives, others that most or all of the crew perish.

Norwegian 18673-ton liner Oslofjord has been beached near Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland since hitting a mine on 1 December 1940. Today after dark, the winter weather does her in and she is destroyed. The wreck is still sitting near the shoreline at 15 meters. The ship has a somewhat unusual design, with the lifeboats slung very high to give passengers more viewing space.

British 4098-ton freighter Jamaica Planter hits a mine in the Bristol Channel near Nell's Point, Barry Island. The crew manages to beach the ship before it can sink, and it later is refloated and repaired. There have been numerous ships lost or damaged to mines in this area over the past month.

Kriegsmarine torpedo boat T-1 runs aground off Kristiansand and requires extensive repairs, though the ship can still make way. The repairs take until July.

Convoy OB 277 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FS 392 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 393 is canceled, Convoy SC 20 departs from Halifax.

U-67 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt) is commissioned.

The New York Times, 22 January 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass proceeds with the conquest of Tobruk. At dawn, Italian Major General Della Mura surrenders the 61st Infantry Division "Sirte," opening the road to the actual port of Tobruk. While having a reputation as impregnable, the port falls quicker even than Bardia had earlier in the month. The Italians continue firing on the advancing Australian 6th Infantry Division with their beached coastal defense ship San Giorgio until the port is captured, at which point the crew blows it up to prevent its capture. The RAF participates, sinking 15,354-ton Italian troops ship Liguria in the harbor (previously damaged and immobilized, it is later salvaged). The fighting is all over by 15:45 when Italian Admiral Vietina and the naval garrison surrender.

Overall, the Australians capture 20,000 soldiers, 87 tanks and 208 guns for the loss of 355 men (and 45 British troops). The Italian dead number 18 officers and 750 soldiers, with 30 officers and 2250 men wounded. The British are surprised to see how well supplied the Italian garrison is, with enough canned food to last two months, 10,000 gallons of water, and refrigeration/distillation equipment.

The British report that the desert sandstorms have been more of a hindrance than Italian resistance. This is a highpoint of Australian military success during World War II in the European Theater of Operations. At the end of the day, an Australian soldier's hat is flown from the highest flagpole over Tobruk (no Union Jack being found). Everyone is having a bit of well-deserved fun, but the rest of Libya remains to be captured.

General O'Connor of XIII Corps wastes no time in re-deploying his forces after the victory. He immediately orders the British 7th Armoured Division northwest toward the Jebel Akhdar Mountains in order to threaten Mechili and the Australian 6th Infantry Division north along the coast road to Derna. The Italians send forward the newly created Italian Special Armoured Brigade (Brigata Corazzato Speciale), General Valentino Babini commanding, to block the Allied advance. Unlike the static garrison forces that the Allies have overcome recently, this is a powerful mobile force with heavy infantry support.

The Italians are increasingly concerned about their grip on North Africa. They send a convoy three passenger liners (Esperia, Conte Rosso, Marco Polo) and a freighter (Victoria) from Naples bound for Tripoli to reinforce the Libyan garrison.

Having ably supported the conquest of Tobruk, Royal Navy monitor HMS Terror and gunboat Gnat return to Alexandria, along with destroyer HMS Voyager.

At Malta, the garrison is apprised by the War Office of scuttlebutt emanating from Rome that suggests the Germans are massing troops in Sicily for the conquest of Malta. However, air reconnaissance shows nothing unusual going on there in that regard. Governor Dobbie sends a reply that he believes the rumors are a "bluff."

US troops of the 501st Parachute Battalion practicing at Fort Benning, Georgia. New York Times, 22 January 1941. The paper reports that parachutists avoid "ripcord paralysis" due to light lines attached to the planes which open the parachutes automatically. Thus, the parachutist doesn't have to do anything.

Anglo/US Relations: US heavy cruiser USS Louisville (CA-28) arrives in New York from Simonstown, South Africa. It is carrying a load of British gold bars valued at US$148,342,212.55, transferred to the United States for the duration of the war pursuant to Operation Fish. This is believed to be the final tranche of British reserves with which they can buy weapons and supplies, making passage of the Lend-Lease Bill pending in US Congress imperative if the British government is not to face either financial or military ruin.

Wendell Wilkie departs from New York bound for England by plane. He carries a personal letter to be hand-delivered to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. This is another of Roosevelt's personal "fact-finding missions" to Europe by his personal chums, the most recent having been by Harry Hopkins.

A British soldier looks over captured Italian 149-35 and 120-25 guns at Tobruk, on or about 22 January 1941.

Romania: The Iron Guard uprising continues unabated today. Prime Minister Ion Antonescu remains holed up in the palace while the Legionnaires run wild throughout the country, but primarily in the big cities. The main targets are Jews in Bucharest, against whom virtually every indignity is inflicted. Rather than sanctuaries for those being persecuted, police stations are the center of the pogrom, with the Legionnaires comprising much of the police force.

The Iron Guard, as is often the case in Europe throughout the war, view this period of time as an opportunity to even up what they view as "old scores" against people they perceive as foreign elements within the local culture. However, while there is pure and unmistakeable ethnic animus involved, the Legionnaires also are interested in simply stealing from their victims anything that isn't nailed down, so it isn't just about racism and "payback." Antonescu retains the support of Adolf Hitler (who just wants a stable Romania he can use to take over the world), and German troops are sympathetic to Antonescu's government (on Hitler's orders). This helps Antonescu to begin planning countermeasures using the many loyal elements of the army in the hinterlands. Today is probably the height of the pogrom, and Antonescu orders the army to move in and restore order on the 23rd.

Ten thousand civilians participate in the first test of the new US Air Defense Command. Over four days, fourteen Douglas bombers fly over the Northeast staging mock attacks on cities, with fighter interceptions made based on the spotters' results. NY Times,  22 January 1941.

American Homefront: George Gallup of the American Institute of Public Policy (The Gallup organization) reports the results of a poll showing that the majority of the US public supports the idea behind the Lend-Lease Bill (which currently is popularly referred to as the "lease-lend" bill) currently being considered by Congress. Democrats are slightly more enthusiastic than Republicans. The results of the poll are:

• Republicans Approve: 62%
• Republicans Disapprove: 32%
• Republicans Undecided: 6%
• Democrats Approve: 74%
• Democrats Disapprove: 20%
• Democrats Undecided: 6%

George Gallup cautions that these findings do not necessarily mean that the public suddenly wants war. Instead, he states:

The chief reason why the majority of voters favor this lease-lend plan is that anything which helps England will serve to 'keep the war in Europe' and away from our shores. 'England is fighting our battle' is a typical comment.

Thus, far from suggesting that the public would favor a US declaration of war and involvement in the fighting, the findings hint that people are happiest to do anything that keeps the United States out of the war. This issue illustrates how tricky polling can be.

Meanwhile, politicians of all conceivable stripes are taking sides on the Lend-Lease issue. The New York State League of Women Voters endorses the bill, for instance, while former Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph Kennedy opposes the bill because he feels that it gives President Roosevelt and the Executive Branch too much power, authority, and discretion.

January 1941

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

2020

Friday 6 December 1940

Bomb damage in Southampton, 6 December 1940. Firemen still are fighting the fires caused by incendiary bombs during a massive two-day Luftwaffe attack a week earlier.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek advance continues on 6 December 1940. They consolidate their hold on Saranda, a port with special significance to Mussolini because it has acquired the nickname Porto Edda after his daughter. In the Pindos Mountains, the Greeks advance toward Klisura, and in Macedonia, the Greeks move toward Elbasan.

European Air Operations: The weather restricts flying operations. The Luftwaffe bombs Bristol, which is its latest target for successive raids, and London. The RAF bombs various airfields and ports in northwest Europe.

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather remains rough in the North Atlantic and the English Channel. This mangles convoy schedules and damages/sinks numerous smaller ships.

British 347-ton freighter Accomac has its boiler explode - perhaps due to stress fighting the weather - and drifts ashore at Pickie, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The ship is a total loss, but apparently, everybody survives.

Free French 2147-ton collier Mousse le Moyec runs aground and is wrecked at Harland Point, Devon.

Norwegian 1374-ton freighter Nyland is sailing with Convoy EN 35 off Iona, the Inner Hebrides when it runs aground at West Rock and is wrecked. All 20 onboard (including three Canadians) perish. The Nyland was en route to join Convoy OB 255 out of Liverpool. The ship simply disappears - a tug sent to tow it off the shore found nothing. Two weeks later, some wreckage bearing her name is found at Torran Rocks.

British coaster South Coaster encounters severe weather in Bristol Channel and is abandoned by its crew. The ten men are picked up by the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and the ship sinks. A ship with the same name sinks on 13 December 1943 at Pole Sands, but that is a different wreck.

Submarine HMS Unbeaten bangs up against depot ship HMS Titania in the Clyde due to the rough weather and takes damage. It proceeds to Barrow for repair.

Minesweeper HMS Salamander suffers serious damage in the rough seas and proceeds to Grimsby for repairs.

U-43 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Lüth), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient under its new captain, torpedoes and sinks 1902 ton Norwegian 1902-ton freighter Skrim west of Ireland. The U-boat has to pursue the freighter for almost four hours and then misses with its first torpedo. A second shot 20 minutes later, however, sends the freighter to the bottom in barely a minute. This sinking is partly attributable to the rough weather as well since the Skrim had lost contact with Convoy OB 252 two days before. Due to the conditions and loss of all crew, it is a historical assumption that this victim is the Skrim. All 34 onboard perish.

British 554-ton freighter Supremity hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. There is one death.

German 218-ton trawler Jupiter runs aground near Lodsbjerg, Jutland, likely due in part to the weather. It later is salvaged, repaired and returned to service after the war. The Jupiter had been requisitioned for Operation Sealion, but those ships had been dispersed and returned to normal duties pursuant to Hitler's orders.

Convoy FN 352 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 354 and FS 355 depart from Methil (some convoys have been delayed due to the weather), and Convoy HX 94 departs from Halifax.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMAS Bathurst (Lieut-Commander A. V. Bunyan, DSC, RD; RANR(S)) is commissioned.

Corvette HMCS Spikenard (K 198) is commissioned.

US submarine Flying Fish is laid down at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine.

U-166 is laid down in Bremen.

U-166 will be commanded by Oberleutnant Hans-Günther Kuhlmann.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British put in place final preparations for Operation Compass, the offensive against the advanced Italian lines in Egypt. The British march 25,000 troops 35 miles forward from their encampments near Mersa Matruh toward the front lines, hidden as best they can near their jump-off points. They still have about 35 miles to go. The plan is for a 5-day raid through a 15-mile gap between Italian encampments.

The British Tommies are not told that they are on the verge of an offensive; this is "Training Exercise No. 2." The units are British 7th Armoured Division, British 16th Infantry Brigade, and Indian 4th Infantry Division. Together, they comprise the Western Desert Force under the command of General Richard O'Connor).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regulus hits a mine and sinks off Taranto, Italy sometime around this date. All 55 onboard perish.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Triton torpedoes and damages 6040-ton Italian freighter Olimpia. The Olimpia is escorted by two Italian torpedo boats, the Altair and the Andromeda, but they fail to locate the Triton.

Battle of the Pacific: German raiders Komet and Orion, operating in tandem, come upon 4413 ton British/Australian phosphate freighter Triona northeast of the Solomon Islands near the island of Nauru (west of the Gilberts group). The Germans are very interested in Nauru due to its phosphate production and are planning to attack it, and coming across the Triona is purely coincidental to that objective. Accounts vary about what happened next: either the freighter is sunk after a long chase, killing three or four (native) crewmen with gunfire, or the ship is captured and then sunk. It is possible that the ship is captured after a chase and either quickly scuttled or sinks from its battle damaged. In any event, the Triona does not last very long. There are 68 survivors, including 6 female passengers and a child.

Holocaust: In one of the ironies of history, Adolf Hitler's cousin Aloisia Veit is gassed (carbon monoxide) to death on or about this date in Austria. This is pursuant to the euthanasia program that Adolf Hitler himself had authorized in late 1939. Aloisia was diagnosed with "schizophrenic mental instability, helplessness, depression, distraction, hallucinations, and delusions." Assuming that the doctors' notes can be believed, the woman actually was mentally ill, and she spent much of her time chained to her bed. She is related to Hitler via his father's Schicklgruber family - that branch of the family apparently had a deep history of mental illness. This information was uncovered by David Irving ("Hitler's War"), American historian Timothy Ryback in the period 1990-2005, and using papers recovered after the war by a US Army private, Eric Hamm. It is unknown what, if anything, Hitler knows about this, but all German media is forbidden to mention the word "Schicklgruber" - though that is a favorite word in the Allied press.

Indochina: The Japanese step in and attempt to resolve the simmering Thai/Vichy French border war. They sign a "non-aggression pact" with the Thais (supposedly at the Thai government's request) and basically impose a settlement. The Thais get several disputed territories, including Lao Sayaboury, the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Siem Riep (Phibunsongkhram province), and the part of Champassak on the west bank. The US, meanwhile, looks askance at the Thai invasion and halts exports of 16 aircraft to Thailand, re-routing them to their own forces in the Philippines. The US also considers further sanctions based in part on the growing perception that Thailand and Japan basically are now de facto allies, which is not the case.

American Homefront: MGM's "Go West," starring the Marx Brothers, premieres. It features "The Woodpecker Song" by Harold Adamson and Eldo di Lazzaro.

Madam Marie will tell your fortune near where soldiers live outside Fort Benning, Georgia. December 1940. Marion Post Wolcott/LC-USF34-056485 via Library of Congress.

December 1940

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

2020

Wednesday 4 December 1940

A DC-3 being prepared for shipment to England, 4 December 1940. The RAF designation for DC-3s is Dakota, and they are often used for transport throughout the war (Smithsonian).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue to advance on 4 December 1940, and Mussolini has had enough. He fires Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who has been Chief of Staff (Capo di Stato Maggiore Generale) since 1925, who "resigns." He is replaced by Ugo Cavallero, who in turn is replaced as Deputy Chief of the Supreme General Staff by General Alfredo Guzzoni. Mussolini also fires the governor of the Italian Dodecanese, Cesare Maria De Vecchi, and Admiral Cavagnari either today or within a few days.

In Albania, the Greek 2nd Division completes the capture of Suhë Pass, and the 8th Division captures Kakavia Pass when the Italians withdraw during the night. The 8th Division has taken 1500 Italians prisoner and captured numerous artillery pieces and 30 tanks, which the Italians have found ineffective in the steep terrain.

Greek II Army Corps captures Përmet ten miles across the border in southern Albania, while the Italians abandon Argyrokastro in southwest Albania. Greek III Corps is now in full possession of the Kamia Mountain. The advances mean that the Greeks now occupy a continuous line from the port of Saranda to Pogradec on Ohrid Lake.

The Greeks are advancing on the left side of the line, but they still lag the more advanced troops on the right side. By order of Commander-in-chief Papagos, those troops on the right are waiting for the rest of the Greek forces in the south to catch up. While their advance appears to be going quickly, the weather is foul and the Greek troops are on foot grinding through the snow and slush. They are advancing steadily, but slowly. The choice by the Italians to invade at the onset of winter is now working in their favor - but in a way that wasn't part of the plan.

The RAF based near Athens is in action over Albania, claiming eight victories.

European Air Operations: During the day, the Germans raid Dover. After dark, the Luftwaffe sends 62 bombers against Birmingham, England. They drop 77 tons of high explosives and 184 incendiary bombs. London also receives some attention.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Antwerp, Calais, Turin, and targets around Dusseldorf.

The reality of US Army life: metal shelters for soldiers and construction workers in Columbus, Georgia near Fort Benning. The tin shacks went for $10 per month - or, you could rent a tent space for $2 per week. December 1940. (Source: Marion Post Wolcott/LC-USF34-056461 via Library of Congress).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen) torpedoes and sinks 1513-ton Swedish freighter Daphne southwest of Gibraltar. There are 18 deaths. The Daphne is a straggler from Convoy OG-46.

U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) claims to have torpedoed and sunk a freighter in the Northwest Approaches off Ireland, but it is unclear what, if any, ship it sank. Most accounts discount this claim, Möhlmann may have sunk a derelict already claimed by another means.

Royal Navy 1927-ton freighter HMS Empire Seaman is sunk intentionally as a blockship at Scapa Flow, East Weddel Sound. Some accounts place this sinking on 30 June 1940.

Belgian 145-ton fishing trawler Helene hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. That area has been recently mined.

Norwegian 2669-ton iron ore freighter Skogheim runs aground near Songvår Lighthouse, Søgne, Vest-Agder whilst on a voyage from Kirkenes to Emden and is a total write-off. Everybody aboard survives. The ship is later salvaged.

Convoy OB 254 departs from Liverpool, Convoy Fn 350 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 353 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 351 is detained in port, Convoy BS 10 departs from Suez.

U-552 (Kplt. Erich Topp), a Type VIIC boat, is commissioned. Topp is the former commander of U-57, which sank following a collision with a Norwegian vessel on 3 September 1940. He already has six victims under his belt in U-57. We shall be hearing quite a bit more about Topp and U-552.

US destroyer USS Eberle (Lt. Commander Edward R. Gardner, Jr.) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass, the projected British attack on Italian positions in Egypt, is only days away. British Major General Richard O'Connor, Commander of the Western Desert Army, who prefers to lead from the front (unlike many British Generals), transfers his headquarters to an advance location where he can better supervise the offensive. Leading from the front is a two-edged sword: it provides certain benefits such as inspiring the troops, but it also exposes the commander to danger.

At Malta, Royal Navy submarine HMS Upright (Lt J E Brooks RN) arrives. It is the first of three U class submarines assigned to Malta. The commander notes that the sub is not fit for long patrols due to the inability to carry sufficient provisions, and the long trip from Gibraltar, which included a patrol off Palermo, Sicily, taxed the crew.

The Germans begin their penetration into the Mediterranean by instituting Fliegerkorps X at Taormina, Sicily.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured Norwegian freighter Ole Jacob arrives safely in Kobe, Japan. This ship was captured by raider Pinguin and carries extremely sensitive documents from the British War Cabinet that were taken from sunk freighter Automedon. Some historians believe that these documents are critical to the Japanese decision to attack the British and Americans in December 1941. The prize crew hands the Top Secret documents (which the British have no idea have been captured) to the German ambassador, who gives one copy to the Japanese government and sends another by courier to Berlin via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. This has been an exceedingly competently handled operation by the Germans - they sank the Automedon before it could get off any messages, have the British crew safely secured, and briskly got the information to a safe haven. In the long run, though, the information will prove to be a double-edged sword for the Axis.

Italian/German Relations: Mussolini is in the midst of a crisis of confidence about his troops' situation in Albania. He orders his Ambassador to Germany, Dino Alfieri (who generally has little to do because Hitler and Mussolini usually communicate through each other or their foreign ministers), to meet with Hitler and plead for assistance there.

New England skiers, 4 December 1940.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: Turkey joins Spain and other neutral countries in wringing concessions from both sides as they play a very dangerous game in strategic areas. The British sign a trade agreement with Turkey calculated to keep that country from drifting toward the Axis. Hitler, meanwhile, always has his eye on Turkey because it controls the Dardanelles, and his focus will become only sharper the closer his forces draw to it - and past it.

Romania: The Antonescu government begins to regain control of the country after the recent re-burial of the founder of the Iron Guard, which inspired massive unrest.

German Military: Adolf Hitler meets with Abwehr boss Admiral Canaris. They discuss the prospects for Operation Felix, the subjugation of Gibraltar. Any attack, they conclude, requires Spanish cooperation and perhaps assistance.

US Military: F4F-3 Wildcats enter service with VF-41. They still have some problems with a poor cockpit layout, as pilots can easily confuse the flap settings with the fuel valve. The F4F already serves with the RAF in England as the Martlet due to previous purchases by the Anglo-French Purchasing Board before the fall of France..

US Navy Grumman F4F-3/3A Wildcats based on the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, 1941.

US Government: Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (retired), the Governor of Puerto Rico, resigns. He has been offered the vacant post of Ambassador to France.

British Government: The Admiralty releases figures showing that shipping losses for the month ending 24 November were 323,157 tons.

Winston Churchill, as usual, sides with the Admiralty against the RAF in a dispute over control of the U-boat war.

British Homefront: The supply situation in England isn't getting any better, but Minister of Food Lord Woolton announces that the inmates', er, population's rations of sugar and tea will be increased - temporarily - by four and two ounces, respectively for Christmas.

American Homefront: At 17:48, a new twin-engine DC-3A of United Air Lines crashes while landing at Midway Airport, Chicago. The plane is on a standard flight from LaGuardia Airport (still called New York Municipal Airport and/or LaGuardia Field), which has only been in operation for a year. The FAA determines that the plane stalled during its approach because the pilot chose the wrong runway, one that was too short for his aircraft and thus required him to throttle back the plane's speed until it passed the stall point. Seven passengers and all three crew perish. LaGuardia, incidentally, remains a very tough airport for landings.

Future History: Gary Gilmore is born in McCarney, Texas. He will go on to become one of the most notorious murderers in American history, gaining notoriety for (successfully) demanding the death penalty. His execution in 1977 will mark the return of the death penalty (under new guidelines) in the US for the first time in a decade, a practice that continues.

Singer Freddy Cannon is born in Revere, Massachusetts. His hits will include "Tallahassee Lassie," "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans," and "Palisades Park." Cannon continues to perform and occasionally still puts out records.

Workers put the finishing touches on some cars in Detroit, 4 December 1940.

December 1940

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

2020

Wednesday 29 August 1940

Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke.

Battle of Britain: The weather on 29 August 1940 presents low clouds and rain in the morning, causing the Luftwaffe to be slow off the ball again. There are only a few reconnaissance flights until well in the afternoon, but then the Germans get active.

On the 28th, the RAF had swallowed the bait and sent fighters up to attack Bf 109s on "Freie Jagds" (attacks without bombers). Perhaps to see if the same will happen again, they send very few bombers during daylight hours. Since the British refuse to engage only fighters, the only planes flying over England for much of the afternoon are Luftwaffe fighters looking for targets to strafe. There are literally hundreds of them, but they have little to do.

Around 15:00, large formations of German aircraft head for Dover. They split off and attack RAF fields at Tangmere and Biggin Hill. These are massive fighter sweeps of Bf 109Es which strafe but can do little damage to infrastructure. The RAF barely deigns to notice these sweeps, as they are more interested in defending against the bombers and not frittering away strength in dogfights.

About an hour later, a smaller force attacks the Scilly Isles.

At 17:25, a group of about 20 aircraft heads for Rochester.

At dusk, the Luftwaffe sends raids against Debden and Duxford airfields.

During the night, Liverpool is attacked. There is some damage to flats and electrical/water works, but manageable. The British try a new tactic of setting decoy fires in the countryside to attract bombers thinking that it is a blazing city, and some of the bombers fall for it. These are called "Starfish sites."

The Luftwaffe damages British freighter Baltistan.

RAF Bomber Command raids various targets along the Channel coast and in the Ruhr. Oil installations remain at the top of the list.

Losses for the day are usually put at around 17 for the Luftwaffe and 10 for the RAF. Some accounts state that the Luftwaffe actually won the day or at least tied in terms of fighter losses, which, if true, is a rarity.

The decision by the RAF - primarily by Vice Air Marshal Keith Park at No. 11 Group - not to contest the Luftwaffe's fighter sweeps results in the erroneous conclusion within the Luftwaffe that they have won the Battle of Britain.

RAF No. 305 (Polish) forms at Bramcote, Nuneaton. RAF Fighter Command decides to fob its Bolton Paul Defiants, which have been death traps for their pilots, off on the Poles of No. 307 Squadron.

U-100.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-100 (Kptlt. Joachim Schepke), on her first cruise out of Kiel, has been stalking Convoy OA 204 in the Northwest Approaches west of County Donegal, Ireland. Today, patience pays off with a big day. There are 15 ships in the convoy, and it is a calm sea with only a light swell. In a wild sequence, Schepke manages to destroy a convoy singlehandedly.

Schepke waits until dark, then surfaces in the middle of the convoy. He first fires two torpedoes. One of the torpedoes hits 4608-ton British freighter Dalblair, with the torpedo hitting amidships on the starboard side. It sinks within 10 minutes. There are 18 survivors and 24 men perish (figures are for the end of the night). Some of the survivors are picked up by the Swedish freighter Alida Gorthon, others by Royal Navy escort destroyer HMS Clematis.

The other torpedo hits British freighter Hartismere. It is only damaged and makes it to port.

U-100 then stalks another ship, the 2393 ton Astra II. Just as Schepke is about to fire, the ship drastically alters course and almost rams the U-boat. Schepke evades with difficulty, then uses his stern tubes to put a torpedo into it. The Astra II sinks with 20 survivors and 5 deaths.

U-100 then torpedoes and sinks small 2373 ton Swedish freighter Alida Gorthon. The freighter previously picked up 24 survivors from the SS Dalblair. Among the people on board, there are 11 deaths and 13 survivors from the Alida Gorthon's own crew, and 4 survivors and 20 deaths from the survivors of the Dalblair.

The convoy has been ordered to scatter (a planned maneuver when under threat). Schepke has targets of opportunity all around him but is almost out of torpedoes. Schepke puts his last torpedo into large 6103 ton British freighter Empire Moose, which sinks within 15 minutes. Everybody aboard survives.

Schepke's score for the night is four ships sunk and another damaged. Now out of torpedoes, he evades the escorts and heads for U-100's new homeport of Lorient, France.

Convoys OA 206 and MT 154 depart from Methil, Convoy OB 205 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 266 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 266 departs from the Tyne.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italians send a large force of bombers and escorting CR 42 biplane fighters (a dozen of each) against Malta at 08:37. Defending Hurricane fighters scramble and a dogfight begins. The bombers damage numerous buildings with 30 high explosive bombs and cause 6 civilian casualties. Neither side loses any planes.

A large convoy (MF 2) with supplies for Malta sails from Alexandria. As a diversion, some Royal Navy assets (Force F) at Gibraltar will head east toward Alexandria (Operation Hats). This is a major fleet operation in two directions at once led by battleships Malaya and Warspite and aircraft carrier Eagle.

The South African Air Force conducts raids against Italian positions in Somaliland and Mogadishu. The Italians bomb Matruh with 30 bombers.

A British 9.2-inch coastal defense gun crew watch an RAF Coastal Command Short Sunderland flying boat passing overhead, 29 August 1940.

Battle of the Pacific: The Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-67 sinks off the Bonin Islands during an exercise, taking all 87 of her crew.

Applied Technology: British scientists of the so-called Tizard Mission, named for scientist Sir Henry Tizard, board a liner with the so-called "secret box" of advanced scientific instruments. They are bound for the United States, where Sir Henry is waiting for them. Their most significant item is a prototype cavity magnetron, which is a leap forward in radar technology. Other items include blueprints and circuit diagrams for rockets, explosives, superchargers, gyroscopic gunsights, submarine detection devices, self-sealing fuel tanks, and information relating to the development of the jet engine and the atomic bomb.

Anglo/German Relations: In a rare bit of attempted cross-Channel diplomacy during the Battle of Britain, Germany proposes to the British that Red Cross ships be used to recover downed Luftwaffe airmen in the Channel. The British, who have been shooting down the Luftwaffe's Heinkel seaplanes used for this purpose, refuse.

German/Irish Relations: In a rare act of contrition during the conflict, Germany formally apologizes to Ireland for bombing Wexford a couple of days previously.

German/Italian/Hungarian/Romanian Relations: The foreign ministers from each country meet in Vienna to reach an accommodation regarding territorial claims in the region. Hungary desires pieces of Romanian territory, and both sides have been accusing the other of unlawful overflights. The outline of a plan develops in which northern Transylvania will be ceded by Romania to Hungary. This is the famous "Vienna Award."

Gabon: While Equatorial Africa and Cameroon have joined the Free French movement, Gabon is less certain. Governor Georges Pierre Masson first offers his support, but then retracts it under pressure from the French naval commander at Gabon, who sides with the Vichy government.

US Military: The new commander of the US Navy Ninth Naval District and the US Naval Training Center in the Great Lakes is Rear Admiral John Downes. This is where many naval aviators are trained on a special paddle-wheel aircraft carrier.

The first mass paratroop jump in US Army history - following on some previous "experimental" jumps - takes place at Fort Benning, Georgia. US land air forces are organized at this time as the US Army Air Corps or USAAC.

Cruisers USS Quincy and Wichita make port in Buenos Aires as part of their "Show the flag" mission.

The Daily Sketch, 29 August 1940.

US Government: A bill reinstating the draft passes the Senate. It is hotly contested virtually everywhere, and there are daily demonstrations outside of Capitol Hill against it. The bill or something similar still must be passed by the House before it can become law.

Vichy France: The government forms the Legion Francais des Combattants, a government-sponsored organization for veterans.

Spain: The country remains neutral even if heavily leaning toward the Axis. Belgian Prime Minister Pierlot and Foreign Minister Spaak have taken refuge there, and today they attempt to reach London to form a government-in-exile.

Soviet Union: Kombrig Grigorii Fedorovich Kondrashov (various spellings), who had commanded the 18th Rifle Division during the Winter War, is executed. The charge is that he abandoned his division, which was encircled near Lemeti due to his negligence. Witnesses claimed that Kondrashov split his encircled force into two parts, then put all the best troops into his group and all the sick and wounded into the other group under someone else's command, and then broke through the lines with his picked men. Kondrashov himself supposedly changed into an ordinary soldier's uniform during the breakout. Ironically, the other group made it back intact, while Kondrashov's force was badly mauled. The division had been disbanded afterward, and Kondrashev arrested on 3 March 1940.

Future History: James Brady is born in Centralia, Illinois. He will become President Ronald Reagan's press secretary in the 1980s and be permanently disabled during the assassination attempt on Reagan's life. He later supported gun control, and the "Brady Bill" is named after him. Brady passed away on 4 August 2014.

A Whitley bomber pilot gives the 'thumbs up', 29 August 1940.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020