Tuesday 18 March 1941

"Police and Army bomb disposal officers with a defused German 1000kg 'Luftmine' (parachute mine) in Glasgow, 18 March 1941." © IWM (H 8281).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italian Primavera Offensive has been officially suspended on 18 March 1941. However, local Italian commanders, full of spirit and wishing to impress Mussolini no doubt, launch a number of attacks south of the Vojussa River anyway. As with offensives launched before the suspension, these attacks do not succeed, but they do get a lot of soldiers on both sides killed.

The main activity is in the air, with the Allies bombing Italian installations at the ports of Valona and Durazzo. They sink Italian torpedo boat Aldebaran.

East African Campaign: In east-central Abyssinia, the Italian defenses are oriented around Debre Marqos (Mankorar). It is a major Italian fortification. Naturally, that makes it a prime target for the British. Gideon Force and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (Resistance Fighters), spurred on by the presence relatively nearby of Emperor Haile Selassie, approach the town to isolate it. This is an old hat for the native troops, who previously besieged the town in 1938. Only determined counterattacks by General Ugo Cavallero, supported by 60,000 troops, tanks and planes had crushed the native uprising.

At Keren in Italian Eritrea, the British basically are stymied again. They have taken some ground on both sides of the strategic Dongolaas Gorge, including the important Fort Dologorodoc to the right of the gorge. However, the Italians still occupy the high ground overlooking all of the British positions and are counter-attacking furiously. Major-General Lewis Heath, commander of the Indian 5th Infantry Division that now is in possession of Fort Dologorodoc, now feels that another attempt should be made to force the gorge, that is, simply attack straight up the gut in the hope that the Italians may have neglected their defenses there.

Accordingly, the British begin surveying the gorge itself. Heath has his troops escort engineers into the gorge. They find that the Italians have dumped rocks and debris into it, blocking the way. The engineers make a start to clearing the way. However, the small parties come under heavy Italian defensive, and the effort must be abandoned.

Heath, though, has learned something from the attempt. He sees that the most effective Italian fire is coming from two features called the "Railway bumps" which overlook the gorge. This area is accessible from Cameron Ridge on the left of the gorge by following a railway line that goes through a tunnel beneath the ridge. General Platt and Heath decide to discontinue the current attacks, simply hold what has been achieved so far, and prepare an attack on the Railway bumps. This, the theory goes, would give the engineers enough time to clear the gorge and make it possible for British forces to get through it.

The Italians indeed are counterattacking furiously. One attack to retake Fort Dologorodoc is led personally by General Raimondo Lorenzini. Lorenzini is the tactical commander for the most important sector of the Italian defenses. Lorenzini, considered one of the best and brightest of the new generation of colonial commanders, perishes in the attack.

Douglas Bader at RAF Tangmere (Tangmere Military Aviation Museum).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe switches its target from Bristol. It bombs several cities lightly. The night's major raid, though, is Hull, which is hit with 378 bombers. The weekly Home Security Situation Report states:

On the 18th/19th March: Hull suffered most, but other places in the East Riding were involved, noticeably Scarborough, which was bombed intermittently for four hours. This seems incongruous in comparison with the value of other objectives in the district. Some bombing took place in the North Midlands, Eastern Regions, London, the South and South-East Counties and Folkestone.

RAF Bombing Command puts 99 bombers over Kiel, 44 over Wilhelmshaven and 19 over Rotterdam.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his tour of northern England. He visits the recently bombed Old Trafford Cricket Grounds and notes, "Hole in pitch. Stands ruined." He also notes, "In Manchester, as much as 3 blocks adjoining completely destroyed."

Douglas Bader receives a promotion to Acting Wing Commander. He commands RAF Nos. 145, 610, and 616 Squadrons at Tangmere.

An aerial mine in Liverpool, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau meet in the mid-Atlantic as planned to refuel from supply ships Uckermark and Ermland. They also transfer hundreds of prisoners to the supply ships. Admiral Lütjens intends to follow orders and make for the French port of Brest in the morning.

The seas quiet down, so German raider Kormoran finally has a chance to transfer the seven torpedoes that it has been carrying to U-124.

German battleship Bismarck departs from Gotenhafen (Gdynia), where it just arrived yesterday, to conduct sea trials in the Baltic.

The German 1st S-boat Flotilla sends half a dozen motor torpedo boats to attack shipping off the English east coast. S-102 badly damages 1970 ton British freighter Daphne II off the Humber Estuary near Buoy 59. The captain quickly beaches the ship near the Bull Lightship, but it eventually breaks up and is lost.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) stalks Convoy SL-68 off the Cape Verde Islands. It sinks 4380-ton British freighter Medjerda.

Italian submarine Emo launches a torpedo at 4500-ton British freighter Clan MacIver southwest of Iceland but misses.

German 51,731-ton liner Bremen, which caught fire yesterday apparently due to an arsonist cabin boy, explodes and is lost. The hulk will remain where it is throughout the war.

The RAF drops an aerial torpedo on 5972-ton German freighter Widar and sinks it.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Rothesay and submarine Thorn are launched.

US destroyers USS Cowie and Knight are laid down.

U-464 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Afrika Korps commander General Erwin Rommel once again flies from Tripoli to meet with Hitler. They are to plan offensive operations for the growing German presence in North Africa. Hitler tells Rommel to wait for reinforcements before attacking.

RAF Swordfish torpedo bombers of No. 830 Squadron based in Malta (since the attacks on HMS Illustrious) attack Tripoli Harbor. The British lose one plane, while its crew becomes POWs.

RAF Albacore torpedo planes from HMS Formidable, RAF No. 826 Squadron, torpedo 510-ton Italian freighter Labor and destroy two Italian lighters at Buerat el Hsur. The Labor makes it to Tripoli despite the damage. The British lose one of the Albacores, and the crew perishes.

Royal Navy 1552 ton armed boarding vessel HMS Rosaura hits a mine and sinks near Mersa Tobruk. There are 14 crew deaths, five military guard deaths, and 59 Italian POW deaths.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Gloucester departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. It carries 1087 Australian troops and General Blamey, Commander of the Australian Corps.

Convoy AG 7 departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. It has seven ships escorted by a light cruiser (HMS Carlisle) and two destroyers (Voyager sand Wryneck). It will be joined by a troopship (Ulster Prince) departing from Tobruk. Convoy AN 21's 13 ships depart from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. Convoy AS 20 of six ships departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria and then Port Said.

Convoy BS 20 departs from Suez.

The future Queen Elizabeth II, 1941.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: Everyone on both sides know that Turkey potentially holds the balance of power in the Balkans and the Middle East. So far, neither side has made much headway in convincing the Turks to repeat their error of World War I and enter the conflict. However, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill does not like taking "no" for an answer, so today he had Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden meet Turkish Prime Minister Sukru Saracoglu in Cyprus.

Anglo/Free French Relations: The Free French establish their own bank in London.

US/Canadian Relations: The US military and Canadian military have been coordinating defense efforts. Today, they make it official with a joint defense pact. This includes enhanced efforts at cooperation in shipbuilding on the Great Lakes.

British Government: The Pilgrims Society, an organization designed to promote Anglo/US relations, has a major luncheon at London's Savoy Hotel. Attending are all the bigwigs of London wartime society: Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US Ambassador John Winant, and many ministers. One of those ministers is Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food. Woolton has a surprise for the guests: Woolton Pie. This is a brand new culinary creation that Woolton has asked the hotel's chef to create. Basically, it is a vegetarian pie composed of potato, cauliflower, swedes, carrots, spring onions seasoned with a teaspoonful of vegetable extract. Churchill hates it and tells the waiter to bring him some beef.

German Government: Adolf Hitler meets with his senior military staff to discuss high-level strategy. Admiral Raeder asks Hitler to recommend to the Japanese that they attack Singapore and to reveal to them plans for Operation Barbarossa so the two countries can coordinate attacks.

The Germans reorganize coal mining and distribution. The German railway system, upon which all major Wehrmacht movements depend, relies on coal. It is the only energy source that is in relatively plentiful supply in wartime Germany.

USS Matagorda (AVP-22) at the Boston Navy Yard. "The U.S. Navy seaplane tender USS Matagorda (AVP-22) just after her launching at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts (USA), on 18 March 1941. The stern of her sister ship, USS Humboldt (AVP-21), launched a day earlier, is visible to the left." Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives and Naval History and Heritage Command.

US Government: "Wild Bill" Donovan returns to the United States after his lengthy "fact-finding" mission to Europe.

American Samoa: The US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion arrives. Rear Admiral Newton's cruiser force there prepares to depart for its visit to Sydney, Australia.

Spain: Spain officially annexes the international zone of Tangier, on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar. Officially, Tangier is a condominium jointly governed by France, the UK, and Spain, but during wartime, nobody wishes to complain. In a way, this benefits the Allies, as the annexation essentially takes the strategically useful territory, which otherwise is basically surrounded by French territory, out of play. This will be reversed immediately after the war when nobody cares any longer about offending Franco.

India: Subhas Chandra Bose, having escaped from India, is traveling under an assumed name as an Italian Embassy official. He is in Afghanistan and departs from Kabul today. He is seeking sanctuary in the Soviet Union and, ultimately, Europe.

China: At the continuing Battle of Shanggao, the Japanese breach the Chinese first line of defenses after vicious fighting. The Chinese 19th Army Group's 9th War Area holds against further Japanese penetrations by the Japanese 11th Army around Kuchuao and Huamento. After that, the fighting dies down as both sides recover and bury their dead.

British Homefront: After lunch, Lord Woolton appears before the House of Commons and gives a speech about the challenges facing the country in his domain of the food supply. He focuses on the milk trade, praising their dedication in maintaining milk supplies in the face of many obstacles. He notes, though, that "certain other difficulties arising from the war" necessitate a "a policy governing the consumption of milk as well as its production." Finally getting to the point, he states:

I have decided to restrict the consumption of milk by the ordinary man and woman who do not come under the categories I have already described (such as expectant and nursing mothers and children). I am asking dairymen, from the middle of April, to reduce their domestic sales by approximately one-seventh.... I appeal to the public to support the milk man in carrying out these instructions.

He also announces other economies, such as requiring bakers to forego the use of milk and a continuance of the ban on the use of fresh cream.

Future History: Wilson Pickett is born in Prattville, Alabama. As a child, he sings in the church choir, then moves to Detroit to live with his father. In 1955, Wilson joins gospel group the Violinaires, and in 1959 records "Let Me Be Your Boy" with Florence Ballard and the Primettes. It ultimately is released in 1963 as the B-side of "My Heart Belongs to You." He continues recording, occasionally hitting the R&B charts, then hits the big time with Atlantic in the mid-1960s. His big hit is "In the Midnight Hour" in 1965, which sells over a million copies. He later records at Stax and has more hits, but records only sporadically, especially after RCA drops him in 1975. Aside from his singles, he is perhaps best remembered for his appearance in "Blues Brothers 2000," singing "634-5789." Wilson Pickett passes away on 19 January 2006 in Reston, Virginia.

"The U.S. Navy seaplane tender USS Matagorda (AVP-22) during her launching at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts (USA), on 18 March 1941." Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives and Naval History and Heritage Command.

March 1941

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

2020

Thursday 13 March 1941

"Soldiers demonstrate various styles of camouflage clothing, at Langford near Redlynch in Somerset, 13 March 1941." © IWM (H 8059).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italian Primavera Offensive is getting nowhere on 13 March 1941. At best, it has forestalled Greek attacks and at least (unlike earlier Italian offensives) has not lost ground. Mussolini continues to monitor the fighting from his headquarters in Tirana. He orders renewal of the attacks on the 15th despite their lack of success to date. Monastery Hill in the center of the Italian attacks continues to remain solidly in Greek hands. The defeated Puglie Division has been pulled in favor of the elite Bari Division, but the latter's attacks prosper no more than the former's had done. The Bari men do reach the peak of Monastery Hill with heavy air support, but they have no staying power and are quickly driven off it again.

East African Campaign: Lieutenant-General William Platt continues preparing for his next assault on the small gorge that controls entry to the strategic crossroads of Keren. There are British patrols which sometimes have fierce firefights with Italian outposts. One such fight occurs in the early morning hours. British troops of the 4/16 Punjab attack an Italian observation post on Mount Gegghiro, and the entire British force is killed or captured. Another patrol by the 1st Royal Sussex on a ridge known as Pt. 2084 runs into Italians and is turned back. Effectively, this blocks British attempts to infiltrate in that direction, but there are other routes to take.

In Abyssinia, deposed Emperor Haile Selassie enters Burye. He is escorted by Orde Wingate and his Gideon Force.

European Air Operations: The RAF staged major raids on the night of the 12th, and tonight the Luftwaffe begins repaying the deed. Glasgow is hit, with devastating power. Shipbuilding center Clydeside in the Central Belt of Scotland is devastated by 59,400 incendiary bombs and 272 tons of high explosives dropped by 236 bombers. Out of 47,000 inhabitants, 35,000 are left homeless. By one reckoning, only seven houses in the entire city are left untouched. Estimates of the dead vary wildly but apparently are between 500-1000 people. Subsidiary targets include Merseyside again and Cardiff, where a hospital is damaged. The main RAF defenses are oriented in the south to protect London, so northern cities are particularly vulnerable.

Among the British ships damaged during the Glasgow/Merseyside raid:

• Freighter Clermiston (1448 tons, sunk but refloated and repaired)
• Destroyer HMS Goathland (damaged, under construction)
• Destroyer HMS Haldon (damaged, under construction)
• Freighter Trevarrack (5270 tons, refloated and repaired)
• Collier Belhaven (1498 tons, sunk)

The raid on Clydeside provides evidence for one part of an enduring question throughout the war: is it better to damage a great city, or wipe out a small one? Clydeside is destroyed in only one night, whereas Liverpool and London stand up against many nights of massive raids. There is no easy answer to that question, but both sides must address it.

The Luftwaffe also launches secondary attacks against Liverpool with 65 bombers, causing more damage and casualties to the already battered city. A bomb hits a shelter on Adlington Street, killing 65 people. However, Liverpool is a large city and can sustain numerous bombings while continuing to function. Damaged are British freighters Wearwood (4597 tons), Mountstewart (1099 tons) and Myrmidon (6278 tons). Hull also is hit with 78 bombers.

The RAF conducts Circus Operations during the day over Calais. This is half a dozen Blenheim bombers with a heavy fighter escort. Kommodore Major Werner Mölders of JG 51 gets another victory, shooting down British ace Squadron Leader Aeneas ‘Donald’ MacDonald of RAF No. 64 Squadron.

RAF Bomber Command raids Hamburg oil installations with 139 bombers. Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld is flying a Bf 110 D-2 (Werknummer 3376 – factory number) of the 4./NJG 1 when it is hit by antiaircraft fire. He is wounded but manages to make an emergency landing at Bergen. His wounds are not serious, and he is soon back in action.

Coastal Command is active off Jutland. It claims several successes that are unverified.

Damage to Clydeside from the Luftwaffe attacks of March 1941 (www.educationscotland.gov.uk).

Battle of the Atlantic: Many of the Norwegian whalers seized by German raider Pinguin on 15 January are nearing French ports. This is their point of maximum danger, as the Royal Navy maintains patrols off the French coast. Today, Royal Navy sloop HMS Scarborough approaches Norwegian whalers Star XIX and Star XXIV about 400 miles north of the Azores. Their crews scuttle their ships rather than have them captured by the British. The other whalers continue on to port in Occupied France.

The German S-boats have been active recently, and they attack again during the night. However, escort destroyer HMS Worcester of Convoy FS 34 prevents them from doing any damage.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1307-ton Norwegian freighter Perseus north of Bardsey Island. Everyone on board survives.

British 4738-ton freighter Tacoma city hits a mine and sinks near Rock Ferry Light in the Mersey. There are four deaths.

British 4891-ton freighter Ullapool hits a mine and sinks off Princess Stage, Mersey. There are 15 deaths.

British 270-ton tug Bullger hits a mine and sinks about 20 km north of the Tyne. Everyone survives.

Norwegian 842-ton freighter Samlanes hits a mine and sinks just off the Lizard. Everyone perishes.

British 523-ton freighter Ngatira hits a mine and is damaged in Bristol Channel. The captain beaches it. Ngatira later is refloated and repaired.

The Luftwaffe bombs British 17-ton smack Two Brothers at its dock in Kings Lynn (in Norfolk about 100 miles north of London). The ship later is refloated and beached as permanent storage.

Convoy SL 68 departs from Freetown.

US destroyer USS Ericsson (DD 440, Lt. Commander Geoffrey E. Sage) is commissioned.

U-79 and U-561 are commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Erwin Rommel has returned from Berlin with orders to attack the British as soon as his forces can be brought over from Italy and assembled. He already has sent many units of the 5th Light Division forward to a line built west of El Agheila, the westernmost British outpost. Today at 14:00, Rommel himself moves to a new forward headquarters at Sirte, but the flight is grounded at Melaha. Rommel continues to Sirte by car. During the day, Rommel orders his men to occupy Mirada, which is about 100 km south of El Agheila.

Another Italian troop convoy carrying German and Italian troops arrives in Tripoli without incident.

The Luftwaffe bombs El Adem with fifteen Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and nine Junkers Ju 88 bombers.

At Malta, a curfew on lights has been imposed for the military. They are to be off by 23:00 and not turned on again until daylight. This is due to recent Luftwaffe attacks on power stations. There also has been looting following Luftwaffe raids which the government is taking measures against.

Sergeant Harry Howell. He perishes today, 13 March 1941, during a raid with RAF No. 50 Squadron. He is buried at the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin, with captured converted minelayer Adjutant, enter the Kerguelen Islands. They anchor at Port Couvreux along with raider Komet. Supply ship Alstertor is there to transfer supplies to Pinguin, including an Arado Ar-196 seaplane. Alsterstor also will be used to lay mines. The Pinguin's crew is put to work scraping the hull free of barnacles and doing the usual things that are necessary for ships that are at sea for long periods.

US/Hungarian Relations: Continuing his aggressive posture toward neutral nations that definitely are leaning away from Great Britain, President Roosevelt freezes Hungarian assets.

US/Australian Relations: Rear Admiral John H. Newton has taken a flotilla led by two cruisers, USS Chicago and Portland, to Samoa on an exercise. The voyage, while undoubtedly useful for training and "show the flag" purposes, has no discernible purpose. However, today it gets one. An adviser to the US Department of State, Stanley Hornbeck, asks Australian Minister to the United States R.G. Casey - who is Australia's first minister to a foreign country - a question: whether Australia would agree to an informal visit by Newton's force. Hornbeck proposes that the cruiser force arrives at Sydney on 20 March 1941 and Brisbane on 25 March 1941. Australian approval is quickly granted.

Thirty-six-year-old former German Heavyweight Boxer Max Schmeling now is a Fallschirmjäger. Here he is on 13 March 1941 at Wolfenbüttel, Niedersachsen, Germany. While this obviously is a posed picture in the doorway of a Junkers Ju 52 transport (named "Tante"), in real life Gefreiter (Corporal) Schmelling indeed is training and taking practice jumps. Nobody knows this yet... but before long he is heading to Crete along with his comrades (Photographer unknown).

British Military: Visiting Australian Prime Menzies Robert Menzies flies to an airfield in the northwest to view new aircraft which are new to service or about to enter operational units: the Tornado, Typhoon, Halifax, Manchester, and Stirling.

German Government: Alfred Rosenberg becomes head of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete). Rosenberg is a proponent of the reorganization of eastern territories to new distinct German districts - those that wait to be captured from the Soviet Union, that is. These areas are to be divided into Reichskommissariats. His appointment shows that Hitler basically approves of these plans. In addition, Rosenberg is a notorious racist who views Russians as subhuman - which is another tip-off of where the war is heading. While his theories attract favor, however, Rosenberg's actual sphere of control is to be limited to territories already conquered to date.

China: The Western Hupei Offensive continues to peter out and basically ends. The Japanese have achieved their objective, pushing the main Chinese forces back on Chunking and then devastating that occupied area. This is intended to create a lifeless buffer zone between the Chinese and Japanese. Satisfied with the results of the operation, the Japanese forces have returned to the main base/airfield at Ichang along the Yangtze.

The Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) forces re-occupying the lost ground without opposition claim a great victory. Naturally, who achieved what from the operation is a matter of both interpretation and national(ist) pride. However, it appears clear that the Japanese are not defeated in pitched battles, though there is an argument to be made that they retreat due to fear of being outflanked and infiltrated.

Belgian Homefront: Alfonso Bougne begins the Amis du Grand Reich Allemand (Friends of the Greater German Reich). This is a collaborator bank which is run in part by the Belgian version of the Gestapo (the euphemistically named Service d’Information Politique (Political Information Service).

Dutch Homefront: The German authorities continue clamping down following the abortive General Strike of February 1941. All Dutch radio societies are closed down. In addition, the Germans execute 15 members of the Dutch resistance, members of the outlawed De Geuzen communist organization, at Scheveningen (actually Waalsdorpervlakte, a nearby beach). At the last minute, the youngest three men are spared and sent back to prison.

American Homefront: Ginger Rogers, who just won an Academy Award for Best Actress, divorces Lew Ayres after a brief marriage.

Ginger Rogers and Lew Ayres in happier times.