Wednesday 30 July 1941

Finnish soldiers rest before an attack, 30 July 1941.

Eastern Front: At OKH headquarters, chief of operations General Franz Halder on 30 July 1941 continues to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty. Facing tremendous resistance before Kyiv, he rather hopefully writes:

In Army Group South, the weeks of grinding at the Russian front in the Ukraine are beginning to tell. The enemy front is crumbling.

However, in the very next sentence, a shadow appears on this rosy evaluation:

Nothwithstanding, we must expect that owing to the absence of any pressure from the Romanians and the existence of several well-preserved enemy divisions in the sector of the Front Group South, an attempt will be made to hold the coastal district around Odessa. Odessa may become a Russian Tobruk.

Halder's rather gratuitous slap at the Romanians (whose leader, Ion Antonescu, today pledges his military's support throughout the campaign) is symptomatic of growing stress on the front for the Wehrmacht. Before setting out on Operation Barbarossa, allied involvement was considered helpful but not necessary. In fact, Hitler did not secure Romanian participation until virtually the last moment. Now, however, Romanian failures are portrayed as the cause of major problems. The endemic German scapegoating of its allies has just begun.

In the Far North sector, the Axis advance is stalled except on a few fronts where Finnish troops are taking advantage of their forestland expertise to confound the Soviets. Finnish Group J of 14th Division of III Corps has reached a strongly defended So'yanga canal between Lake Pyaozero and Lake Topozero. In a daring assault, the Finns smuggle a battalion of Group J across the western tip of Top Lake. This effectively flanks the Soviet canal position between the lakes and provides the leverage the Finns need to pry them out of their defenses. Meanwhile, Group F also is advancing on two fronts (moving along the north shore of the large Sredneye Kuyto Lake and along the Korpi Yarvi - Ukhta (Kalevala) road) to the Yeldanka Lake area. As this advance develops, it places Group F about 12 miles northwest of Ukhta, putting further pressure on the Soviet defenders in the sector.

The way now appears open to Kestenga and, much further beyond, the strategically critical Murmansk railway line. The Stavka, realizing the danger, begins transferring reinforcements (the independent Grivnik brigade and the 88th Rifle Division) to defend Kestenga. Both sides rely upon the very few roads in the endless wilderness, which greatly aids the defense. This particularly delays the Germans, who are unfamiliar with the wilderness and, like the Soviets, prefer to remain on the roads. However, the Finns have proven in the Winter War that they are comfortable operating off the roads, which greatly reduces the ability of the Soviets to simply blockade a road and thereby stop the Axis advance.

"Magdeburg.- Irene Proietti with bicycle south of the Hindenburg bridge (ex Königsbrücke, northbridge) in front of the Elbe." 30 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-259).

In the Army Group North sector, the German I Corps (General of the Infantry Kuno-Hans von Both) pushes Soviet General Morozov's 11th Army and General Berzanin's 27th Army out of Staraya Russa. This position south of Lake Ilmen becomes the linchpin of the German line for much of the next three years.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviet 20th Army leads the 16th and 19th armies in an attempt to break out of the pocket near Smolensk. The Soviets do manage to open a hole in the perimeter, aided by other attacks by Soviet forces to the east. A relatively small number of Soviet troops escape. However, the Wehrmacht's Panzer Group 2 and 3 quickly seal the front again and trap 300,000 Soviet soldiers for good.

German 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions of 47 Corps are so depleted from a month of fighting and maneuvering that the OKH considers merging them. The truth is, though, that many other divisions are in similar states. Still, even in their depleted states, panzer divisions can still hold their own against the Soviet formations opposing them.

General Zhukov activates a new front, the Reserve Front. It contains the 24th Army, 28th Army, 29th Army, 30th Army, 31st Army, and 32nd Army. This is a sign of Soviet strength, as it demonstrates that the Soviets have entire armies that they have not yet been committed while the Wehrmacht has very few reserves at hand. Zhukov's task is to batter the advanced German position at Yelnya.

In the Army Group South sector, the Soviet commands are more worried about following a Stavka order to defend the Dnieper River crossings than they are defending Kyiv. The German Sixth Army, after first trying to batter the Kyiv defenders frontally, now is sliding around the Soviet concentration to potentially encircle it. Considering that the Soviets have 1.5 million troops in the area, an encirclement would be disastrous to the Red Army, but Stalin has ordered the position held. In fact, he is so adamant about this that he has demoted his chief military lieutenant, General Georgy Zhukov, to the command of a new front defending Moscow near Yelnya.

Unterscharführer of the Waffen-SS Erich Rossner. According to his Knight's Cross citation, Rossner, a member of the "Das Reich" artillery battery, destroyed 13 Soviet tanks during one operation in July 1941. He succumbs to wounds on 30 July 1941 in a field hospital.

European Air Operations: After some quiet days due to poor flying weather, the RAF resumes normal operations. During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 43 Blenheim bombers to attack the Kiel Canal and also sweeps along the coast. The day is pretty much a disaster because of the fierce anti-aircraft and fighter defenses, which down 7 of the bombers.

After dark, the British send 116 bombers (62 Wellingtons, 42 Hampdens, 7 Halifaxes, and 5 Stirlings) against Cologne. However, it turns out that, although the skies have cleared over England, they are still rough over the Continent. The British pilots do their best but wind up bombing blind through clouds and thunderstorms. Most of the bombloads wind up dropping harmlessly in the countryside, with minimal damage to Cologne itself. Once again the raid causes more damage to the attackers than the target, as the Germans shoot down 2 Hampdens and one Wellington and six more planes crash while trying to make it back to base. An additional raid on Boulogne by 12 Whitleys also turns back due to the weather.

Battle of the Baltic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet submarine S-6 off Saaremaa, Estonia.

Soviet auxiliary minesweeper No. 51 Zmey sinks today of unknown causes.

General der Panzertruppe Konstanz Johann Georg Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim (6 July 1897 – 26 April 1994) wins the Knight's Cross on 30 July 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation EF, a British raid on Kirkenes, Norway, and Petsamo, Finland, reaches its climax. The raid was planned as a secret strike from aircraft carriers HMS Victorious and Furious, but somebody at Whitehall apparently forgot that daylight is 24-hours long in the extreme northern latitudes during the summer. The Germans who occupy Petsamo with Finnish acquiesence indeed spotted the massive Royal Navy fleet on the 29th and are lying in wait for the attacks.

Furious launches its aircraft of RAF No. 800 Squadron at Petsamo. The Germans, however, having been forewarned and not being completely stupid, have virtually emptied the harbor of ships. The pilots do claim sinking one small ship (the Rotvær) and some harbor infrastructure, but they encounter vicious anti-aircraft fire - go figure - lose two planes (a Fulmar and an Albacore). Another plane fails to make it back.

Victorious takes on Kirkenes, and that becomes a true disaster. The Luftwaffe is ready and waiting for the RAF raid by Nos. 827, 828, and 809 Squadrons. There are operational problems on the British end which cause the different groups of planes to deliver uncoordinated attacks, and the planes approach from the wrong side - over the mountains. Once again, as at Petsamo, the harbor is virtually empty. The planes do sink one 2000-ton ship and damage another, but the defending Bf 109s, Bf 110s and even a Junkers Ju 87 inflict horrendous damage. The British lose 11 Albacores and two Fulmars, and an additional 8 Albacores are damaged. The Luftwaffe does lose a few planes, but overall Operation EF is a flaming disaster of wasted effort and lost planes for the British.

U-371 (Kptlt. Heinrich Driver), on its second patrol out of Brest, is operating southeast of the Azores when it spots two ships that recently have dispersed from Convoy OS-1. It torpedoes and sinks:

• 6935-ton British freighter Shahristan (65 deaths, 33 survivors)
• 7049-ton Dutch freighter Sitoebondo (17 deaths, 70 survivors).

The Sitoebondo launches three lifeboats, but one is lost at sea with 17 people on board and never found.

German 238-ton fishing trawler Pickhuben is hit with an aerial mine and sinks in the southern part of the North Sea.

The RAF bombs and damages German freighter Inga Essberger at the mouth of the Elbe River.

Royal Navy submarine Seawolf (Lt Cdr Raikes) spots U-562 making its way across the Bay of Biscay. It attacks but misses.

US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown leads task force TG-2.5 from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol that is scheduled to last until 10 August.

Royal Navy minelayer Port Quebec lays minefield SN-21C in the North Sea.

Convoy OG-70 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Trusty (William D. A. King) and destroyer Puckeridge are commissioned, while submarine Unseen is laid down.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ingonish is launched at North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Free French corvette FS Renoncule (Lt. Herbert B. Acworth) is commissioned.

U-504 (Korvettenkapitän Fritz Poske) is commissioned, U-508 is launched, U-382 is laid down.

"Men of the Saxmundham Home Guard prepare to fire a 'Blacker Bombard' during training with War Office instructors, 30 July 1941. The weapon was a 29mm spigot mortar, designed by a Lieutenant Colonel V V S Blacker, and could fire a 20lb bomb some 900yds." © IWM (H 12299).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In poor visibility, Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot (Lt Cdr H. R. B. Newton) is rammed by an Italian torpedo boat Achille Papa off Benghazi. The Cachalot's commander orders the ship abandoned, and it sinks in 200 feet of water. The torpedo boat rescues all but one crewman. The submarine is carrying 18 passengers (naval personnel traveling to Alexandria) and they become prisoners, too.

Operation Style commences when a large force leaves Gibraltar. This is another supply mission to Malta. British Force X, led by lighter cruisers Arethusa and Hermione, carry troops and supplies to Malta that had been on troopship Leinster, which grounded and was scratched from Operation Substance. While not involving a major convoy, Operation Style does involve numerous diversions and feints over the next few days.

At Tobruk, No. 8 Commando stages a special operation to basically kidnap an enemy soldier from the no-man's land in order to gather military intelligence. It is a typical mission, and successful, but the young officer, David Sutherland, who writes about it adds a few personal thoughts:

My own feelings at being besieged in Tobruk were depression and unease. The experienced enemy had the initiative. One did not know what was going to happen next. Our job was to rest by day and patrol in no-man’s-land during the night.

Sutherland's feelings are not unique. The Australian commanders know that morale is suffering because of the trying conditions within the Tobruk perimeter, and already have begun shipping some soldiers out for rest and recreation at Mersa Matruh. While Mersa Matruh is hardly a garden spot, at least there the men don't have to suffer through continual artillery barrages and wonder where their next meal is coming from.

Royal Navy submarine Olympus (Lt Cdr Dymott) is operating off Cape Camino when it makes an unsuccessful attack on an Italian freighter.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues with Australian sloop Parramatta escorting transport HMS Gujarat to Famagusta.

At Malta, Governor Lt. General Dobbie sends a telegram to the War Department warning that food supplies are an issue because wheat mills are concentrated in one small area of the island and need to mill about 100 tons of flour every day to feed the population. He warns that, even with stockpiles of food, without the wheat mills, Malta could only withstand a siege for 100 days.

An Axis convoy departs from Naples to Tripoli. It includes four freighters escorted by an Italian destroyer and four torpedo boats.

Battle of the Pacific: The US Navy decides to inspect 17 Japanese fishing trawlers parked off the main islands of Hawaii. When they find radio transmitters, cameras, and a reserve officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy on each ship, the USN ships detain all of the spy ships.

Australian troop convoy US-1B departs Melbourne bound for Fremantle and then Singapore. Troop Convoy WS 9AX arrives at Colombo en route to Singapore.

Special Operations: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique (Lt Collett) lands commandos at the western tip of Calabria, Italy. Their mission is to sabotage railways and trains.

A newspaper photograph of the signing of the Sikorski-Maisky Agreement, 30 July 1941. British Prime Minister Winston S.Churchill (with cigar) and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (on Churchill's right) sit at the head of the table; General Sikorski sits on the left with a British official. R. Dunbar, standing to his left; Ambassador Maisky with his assistant, Novikov, sits on the right.

Soviet/Polish Relations: As the first step in what will become an increasingly convoluted and insincere relationship, the Soviets execute an agreement (the "Sikorski–Mayski agreement") with the Polish government-in-exile, led by General Sikorski, in London. The agreement provides in part:

The Government of the U.S.S.R. expresses its consent to the formation on territory of the U.S.S.R. of a Polish Army under a commander appointed by the Polish Government in agreement with the Soviet Government, the Polish Army on territory of the U.S.S.R. being subordinated in an operational sense to the Supreme Command of the U.S.S.R., in which the Polish Army will be represented. All details as to command, organization and employment of this force will be settled in a subsequent agreement.

This is not an ideal arrangement. Basically, it makes such a Polish army a mercenary force for the Soviet Union. It does meet the Soviet goal as to the formation of a Polish Army (ultimately known as the Anders Army after its commander Władysław Anders) from 25,700 POWs held in the USSR.

Winston Churchill grandly proclaims this treaty as:

proof of the fact that hundreds of millions of men all over the world are coming together on the march against the filthy gangster power which must be effectively and finally destroyed.

The treaty is only a first step and creates a great deal of ambiguity. More importantly for the Poles, they have no way to enforce proper conditions for the Anders Army and no recourse if it is misused or maltreated.

German/Romanian Relations: Romanian leader Ion Antonescu pledges that his forces will fight beside the Wehrmacht until the final defeat of the Soviet Union.

A clearer picture of the signing of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, 30 July 1941.

US/Soviet Relations: President Roosevelt's crony Harry Hopkins arrives at Archangel in Russia's far north and proceeds to Moscow for talks. The Soviets are quite happy to see Hopkins because they covet US lend-lease aid. Timed to coincide with Hopkins' visit, the United States officially announces that it will indeed supply lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. This is an open-ended commitment with no strings attached, and these two factors will cause problems in the future for relations between the two powers.

US/Japanese Relations: President Roosevelt extends the sanctions against Japan to include aviation fuel.

The US government grants an exception to one Japanese freighter, the Tatsuta Maru so that its owners can pay for enough fuel for it to return to Japan.

US/Czech Relations: The United States formally recognizes the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London.

German Military: The OKW issues Fuhrer Directive No. 34, "Strengthening Soviet Resistance." As compared to previous Fuhrer Directives, which tended to have a broad, strategic scope, Directive No. 34 deals with tactical situations of the moment. More than anything, this directive shows that Hitler gradually is losing his perspective and is being drawn into the day-to-day tactical decisions of the Wehrmacht.

In terms of substance, the directive categorically orders Army Group Center to "go over to the defensive, taking advantage of suitable terrain." This is diametrically opposed to what Field Marshal Fedor Bock and his generals wish to do, and already they are scheming about how to frustrate this order.

"Troops of the 3rd Canadian Division are carried ashore on a tender, having disembarked from a troopship at Gourock in Scotland, 30 July 1941." © IWM (H 12340).

US Military: US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall makes clear to the War Department Staff that, given the appointment of General Douglas MacArthur as the new commander in the Philippines, it is now official US policy to defend the Philippines. However, that said, the European Theater of Operations remains the top priority.

US Government: President Roosevelt sends a lengthy message to Congress requesting wage and price controls. He warns that inflation is taking off, up 3.5% since the beginning of 1941 alone.

Roosevelt also issues Executive Order No. 8839. It establishes the Economic Defense Board and is to be chaired by Vice President Henry A. Wallace.

"Castle near Magdeburg, Magdeburger Straße.- "Sharp corner", in the background Church of St. Nicolai / lower church." 30 July 1941. (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-257).

China: The Japanese bomb the Nationalist capital of Chungking after dark. While in most respects it is a typical bombing raid, it stands out because one of the bombs damages USS Tutuila (PR-4). Tutuila is hardly a strategic US asset - it is trapped in Chungking because of Japanese control all the outlets to the sea - but it is a symbol of US support for the Chiang Kai-shek regime. The Japanese bomb lands right next to the gunboat as it is moored at Lungmenhao Lagoon, holing the ship at the waterline and destroying Tutuila's outboard-motor equipped dinghy.

The US quickly protests the damage to Tutuila, and the Japanese just as quickly apologize and call it a "tragic accident." While not an enduring international incident, the bombing heightens tensions and reinforces the prevailing American view that the Japanese are "testing" the United States. There seems to be at least a grain of truth to this, as observers on the ground report that the Japanese bombers, far from trying to avoid hitting the US ship, actually go out of their way to target it.

The graves of two Wehrmacht soldiers of the 34th Infantry Regiment KIA 30 July 1941.

American Homefront: The Chinese Consul-General in Honolulu, King-Chau Mui, delivers a radio address from Hilo, Hawaii. He calls for the "development of the international war front today" in order to preserve the "security of peace, justice, and freedom."
Future History: Paul Albert Anka is born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Paul Anka goes on to become a renowned singer, songwriter, and actor during the 1950s onward. He is credited with hits such as "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," "(You're) Having My Baby," and the theme for the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Anka becomes a US citizen in 1990 and remains active as a performer as of the time of this writing in 2018.

Serbs gather in a church in Gilna, Croatia, 30 July 1941. A wave of executions begins on that date with 700-2000 Serbs massacred by Ustaše paramilitary forces led by Vjekoslav Luburić. This is known as the Gilna Massacre. In 1969 a monument and museum at the site, but these are later removed by Croatian authorities.

July 1941

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

2020

Sunday 26 January 1941

The crew of HMS Wallace with pieces of a Junkers Ju 88 bomber they shot down on 26 January 1941 (© IWM (A 2808)).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians launch on 26 January 1941 their largest attempt yet to recover the strategic Klisura Pass in the center of the front. Greek II Corps, which now includes the 5th Division, struggles to retain control of the pass after effective attacks by the Italian Legnano Division. After picking up some ground, however, the Italian advances lose momentum and the troops fall back.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a long message to his Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Archibald Wavell, in which he elucidates his growing worries about Greece. He writes that the Germans are:

already establishing themselves upon the Bulgarian aerodromes and making every preparation for action against Greece.

Churchill is juggling the competing priorities of Libya and Albania, but it really is a false choice: he has a winning campaign in progress in the former, and basically no chance of affecting the outcome in the latter. He even has admitted recently, to Harry Hopkins, that victory in Greece is impossible against the Germans.

He further writes that:

sustaining of the Greek battle, thus keeping in the field their quite large army [becomes] an objective of prime importance.... [T]he massive importance of taking Valona and keeping the Greek front in being must weigh hourly with us.

The bottom line, according to Churchill, is that Wavell must "conform [his] plans to larger interests at stake" because "the destruction of Greece would eclipse victories ... in Libya and might affect decisively [the] Turkish attitude." In fact, contrary to Churchill's belief, Greece will remain little more than a sideshow to the decisive battles of World War II.

With this message, Churchill makes clear that his overriding objective at this stage is political, not military, and that winning a battle is not the same as winning the war. It is highly reminiscent of later reasoning by Adolf Hitler, who routinely places political objectives before military reality during the campaign in the Soviet Union.

Building N-26 of the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, Fifth Naval District Headquarters communications center at Hampton Roads, catches fire, January 26, 1941. (National Archives and Records Administration NSNorfolk-1941_33 (RG 71-CA, Box 314, Folder B)). The building was a total loss.

East African Campaign: The British continue advancing into Eritrea toward Agordat, taking Biscia.

In Churchill's message to General Wavell, he echoes earlier complaints about what he views as redundant troops in Wavell's command:

Certainly, there is no need to send another South African Division to swell the 70,000 troops of various kinds who are now officially out of action in Kenya.... How can you expect me to face the tremendous strain upon our shipping, affecting as it does our food and import of munitions, in order to carry more divisions this country to the Middle East, when you seem opposed to taking a South African Division which would only have less than half the distance to come.

Evidently, Churchill is having a cranky day. However, the strained tone of his message underlies the strain that the British military is experiencing - despite its absolutely stunning successes in Libya - in the Mediterranean basin.

View looking southeast following a fire. Firefighters managed to prevent the flames from spreading to Buildings N-21 and N-23, January 26, 1941. National Archives and Records Administration NSNorfolk-1941_43 (RG 71-CA, Box 323, Folder A).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Hanover with 17 bombers during the night. The Luftwaffe continues with only sporadic raids both during the day and at night.

Destroyer HMS Wallace (Lieut Cdr E G Heywood-Lonsdale) shoots down a Junkers Ju 88 and a Bf 110 off the East Coast, receiving a great deal of publicity for it.

Commander Heywood-Lonsdale congratulates his gun crew aboard HMS Wallace, 26 January 1941. © IWM (A 2807).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and destroys 7557-ton British freighter Meriones that has run aground on Haisborough Sands, Norfolk (it apparently ran aground and is an easy target). Everybody survives.

Swedish 2023-ton freighter Belgia, running in Convoy FN 92 in the Thames Estuary, is attacked and heavily by the Luftwaffe. There are six deaths and 20 survivors. The wreck eventually drifts ashore at Frinton and is taken to Harwich and repaired. As a salvage, it is renamed Empire Bell.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy FS 395 and damages 1177-ton British freighter Gwynwood at the Barrow Deep with near misses. Leaking badly, the ship reaches Gravesend for repairs.

British 586-ton freighter Sandhill hits a mine and is damaged off Blackpool. The ship makes it to port.

British freighter 1568-ton Catford hits a mine off Oaze Bank and is damaged so badly that the crew beaches it. After temporary repairs, the ship is taken to Gravesend for repairs.

Dutch 6869-ton freighter Beemsterdijk hits a mine and eventually sinks off The Smalls Lighthouse (west of Grassholm). There are three survivors and 39 deaths. The crew tries to save the ship and anchors it, but eventually sinks and takes the crew with it. There is speculation this was a British mine, though why one would be there is unclear.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) finishes off the sinking of the burning wreck that is 3564-ton British freighter Lurigethan today. The U-boat also fires two torpedoes at escorting corvette HMS Arabis, but misses. There are 16 deaths, the Arabis picks up the 35 survivors.

Convoy OG 51 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 392 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 396 departs from Methil, Convoy SLG 1 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot (Commander John D. Luce) lays fifty mines in Minefield FD 28 off Bud (near Molde), Norway. The Kriegsmarine also lays mine off Norway, with four minelayers seeding defensive minefield Pommern near Stavanger.

A map on the 26 January 1941 New York Times shows the situation in Libya, with fighting constricted to a fairly narrow plateau near the coast.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian North African commander Marshal Rodolfo Graziani is told by his intelligence people that a massive British tank force is approaching Mechili. This report is greatly exaggerated, but Graziani decides not to take any chances with his main armored force. He orders a withdrawal despite the fact that the Italian Babini Group is holding off the British. The Italians thus voluntarily give up their most favorable defensive position in Libya on the Jebel Akhdar upland area. This action is described in two different ways: 1) the Italians escape the British 4th Armored Brigade of the 7th Armored Division, or 2) the British "let the Italians escape." In reality, the Italians are not in many difficulties at any point and simply leave before they eventually are forced out.

Graziani makes the decision, however, to order General Giuseppe Tellera, the local commander, to continue defending Derna. The Babini Group is ordered to continue blocking the way west from the area. Tellera asks for more tanks (he has about 50 tanks and the false intelligence reports suggest that the British have 150 tanks approaching Mechili alone when they have only about 50 Cruiser tanks and 95 light tanks along the entire line), but this request is denied. With this decision, Graziani has made it impossible to hold Derna because the British troops can simply sweep around the city now that the Italian tanks are withdrawing.

Thus, the Australians continue outflanking the main Italian positions. The 2/4th Australian Battalion cuts the Derna-Mechili road and crosses Wadi Derna after dark. The Italians counterattack fiercely during the night with the 10th Bersaglieri of the Babini Group at Wadi Derna. They manage to blunt the Australian advance to encircle Derna from the south. The Italians finally are fighting, losing 40 Bersaglieri dead and 56 captured, but it is too late to save Derna. The withdrawal from Mechili uncovers the deep flank of the Derna position. Derna, a town of about 10,000 people, is in serious jeopardy now, particularly since their main infantry force, the 60th Infantry Division "Sabratha," has been decimated in fierce fighting. However, the Italians continue to defend it.

The British plan is to get around Derna and cut the coast road from Derna to Benghazi. This will isolate the garrison and make its surrender inevitable. General O'Connor of XIII Corps gives the memorable order to General O'Moore Creagh of the 7th Armored Division:

You are going to cut the coast road South of Benghazi, and you are going now!

The Luftwaffe begins moving units south to help the Italians out in North Africa. Stab,/JG 27 and II,/JG 27 (Hptm. Wolfgang Lippert) begins moving to Bucharest, Romania as a stepping stone to the Middle East.

Max Schmelling, former Heavyweight boxing champion, makes an appearance on the 26 January 1941 New York Times. As a propaganda hero, Schmelling will take part in the Crete jump in May 1941, quickly leave for medical reasons, and then sit out the rest of the war.

Anglo/US Relations: Wendell Willkie arrives in Great Britain as the latest of President Roosevelt's personal emissaries. He carries a personal, handwritten letter from President Roosevelt which has received a great deal of media attention. The letter contains a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Anglo/Abyssinian Relations: Churchill sends a message to South African leader General Jan Smuts in which he writes that:

it has become apparent that Haile Selassie stands out as the only possible candidate for the throne of a new Abyssinia. The Emperor is, in all probability, the only enlightened Abyssinian Prince.

Churchill notes that Selassie already has crossed the border and is leading an uprising against the Italian occupiers.

British Government: Churchill, on a very busy day, writes a memorandum showing that he is incensed by what he views to have been an insensitive radio broadcast by a "junior Minister" (Minister of Shipping Sir Ronald Cross) to the United States. He bans all Ministerial broadcasts other than by members of the War Cabinet without his personal approval. This also is an early sign that Cross's position is in jeopardy.

Headlines for 26 January 1941 in The New York Times.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Menzies continues his long journey to visit London, reaching Darwin by air today.

China: The Japanese 11th Army continues moving forward in the Battle of Southern Honan, capturing several towns.

Future History: Theodore Scott Glenn is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He overcomes childhood illnesses to graduate from The College of William and Mary, serves three years in the US Marines, and works as a reporter in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A frustrated screenwriter, he takes acting classes to learn dialogue and studies acting at the Actors Studio. Dropping his first name, Scott Glenn begins working in soap operas, then graduates to film work in 1970. He gets small roles in films like the "The Keep" (1983), "Silverado" (1985) and the film for which he is best known, "The Right Stuff" (1983). Scott Glenn continues to act, recently in Netflix's "Daredevil" series.

The Tiburon, California trestle, 26 January 1941 (Marin Magazine).

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

Wednesday 25 September 1940

A dogfight over England. "This camera gun film still shows tracer ammunition from an RAF Supermarine Spitfire Mark I, flown by Flight Lieutenant J H G McArthur, hitting a German Heinkel He 111. These aircraft were part of a large formation which attacked the Bristol Aeroplane Company's works at Filton, Bristol, just before noon on 25 September 1940." © IWM (CH 1823).

Operation Menace: With the British/Free French invasion frustrated, the French turn to the attack on 25 September 1940. The Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l'Air de Vichy), based in Morocco and Algeria, launches another, larger strike on Gibraltar than on the 24th. This is in retaliation for the Operation Menace attack on Dakar by the British and Free French. It is even larger than the attack on 24 September, this time including 80-100 aircraft dropping some 300 bombs. This is the largest air raid of the war to date on Gibraltar, causing extensive damage to the dockyard facilities. British 550 ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Stella Sirius is sunk by direct hits in the harbor with 12 deaths. Some accounts state that four Vichy French destroyers also bombard the port.

The British fleet again bombards Dakar at first light. French submarine Bévéziers, the only one remaining at Dakar after two have been sunk, manages at 09:00 to evade detection by the assembled fleet and torpedoes British battleship HMS Resolution. It loses power and must be towed back to Freetown, Sierra Leone, by HMS Barham, which also takes damage from the French battleship Richelieu. This forces the Royal Navy to end the operation, which has been accomplishing nothing anyway.

The affair has been a fiasco for the Allies. Long in the planning, involving extensive Royal Navy movements throughout September, Operation Menace accomplishes nothing but further poison relations with the Vichy French. General Charles de Gaulle suffers a huge loss in prestige, as his assumption of the mantle of resistance to his former French bosses turns out to have less appeal than he has claimed. It is easier now to portray de Gaulle as nothing but a tool of British interests. The Royal Navy itself does not come off well, either.

In a wider sense, Operation Menace is a learning experience. It is the first in a series of Allied raids along the length of the Atlantic Coast that will grow in intensity over the coming years. While a shaky start, it sets the foundation for later efforts at Dieppe, in Norway, and ultimately at Normandy. However, there is no question whatsoever that, in the short run, this is a major Vichy French victory.

U-48, with commander Heinrich Bleichrodt, returns to base at Lorient. 25 September 1940. Note the numerous victory pennants.

Battle of the Atlantic: A Coastal Command flying boat flying over the shipping lanes in the mid-Atlantic spots a lifeboat and vectors in destroyer HMS Anthony. It turns out to be from the City of Benares, sunk on the 18th. Lifeboat 12 contains about 40 survivors, including six boys from the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) program. Also on board are Mary Cornish and Father Rory O'Sullivan, the children's escorts, along with numerous crewmen.

U-32 (Oblt.z.S. Hans Jenisch) torpedoes and sinks 6694-ton British freighter Mabriton 500 hundred miles west of Ireland at 03:25. There are 25 survivors and 12 crew perish. The Mabriton was sailing with Convoy OB 216, which had dispersed.

U-43 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Ambrosius) torpedoes and sinks 5802-ton British freighter Sulairia about 400 miles out in the Atlantic west of Ireland around 13:30. There are 56 survivors and one fatality. The Sulairia was sailing with Convoy OB 217, which had dispersed.

U-29 (Kptlt. Otto Schuhart) torpedoes and damages 6223-ton British freighter/passenger ship Eurymedon (John Faulkner Webster) west of Ireland around 14:00. The ship stays afloat for two days before sinking. There are 66 survivors (42 crew and 22 passengers) and 29 perish (9 passengers and 20 crew). Captain Faulkner, who survives, later receives the Lloyd's War Medal for bravery at sea. The Eurymedon was part of Convoy OB 217, which had dispersed.

Italian 569 ton cargo ship Rina Croce hits a mine and sinks about 6 nautical miles west of Capo di Torre Cavallo (near Brindisi). The HMS Rorqual laid the minefield on 14 June 1940.

British 79 ton naval trawler HMT White Daisy founders in the North Sea near Lerwick.

The Royal Navy seizes Vichy French 1344 ton ocean-going trawler Finland near the Vichy French base at Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Canada. They transfer it to de Gaulle's Free French movement.

The Royal Canadian Navy AMC Prince Robert captures 9170-ton German freighter Weser off Manzanillo, Mexico just before midnight. The Weser is a supply ship for German raider Orion. The Canadians, approaching in the dark, get aboard before the crew can scuttle the freighter. The Canadians put aboard a prize crew who sail it to Esquimalt, where it is renamed Vancouver Island.

The British prepare Operation Lucid, which is designed to use obsolete warships as fire ships against the invasion barges in Channel ports. The operation is set for the 26th. It is a throwback to the use of fireships against the Spanish Armada and during the Napoleonic Wars. Escorted by destroyer forces, the fire ships are old tankers Nizam and Nawab. The tankers are packed with various flammables including heavy fuel oil, gasoline, and diesel oil. The force leaves port today (Sheerness and Portsmouth) - the old fire ships are very slow. En route, the Nizam breaks down less than 10 miles from Boulogne Harbor and the operation is canceled.

Royal Navy submarine Cachalot fires torpedoes and U-138 in the Bay of Biscay but misses. The British submarines like to lie in wait on the typical routes taken by U-boats from their main bases to and from their Atlantic patrol stations.

British minelayers Plover and Willem van der Zaan run aground on the Goodwins but are brought off by a tug. They are prevented from laying their mines.

Convoy FS 290 departs from the Tyne, Convoy FN 291 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 219 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SLS 49 departs from Freetown.

German freighter Weser is captured on 25 September 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: On the desert front, the RAF attacks Tobruk, while the Royal Navy shells Sidi Barrani. The RAF raids Berbera in British Somaliland and the port of Assab in Ethiopia.

A Royal Navy destroyer flotilla operating out of Alexandria bombards an Italian land convoy west of Sidi Barrani, causing extensive damage to the vehicles.

At Malta, there is an air raid around noontime which drops some bombs on the countryside. The Italians lose one Macchi C. 200 Saetta ("Arrow") fighter. The soldiers at Malta already are occupied defusing unexploded bombs at Hal Far and Luqa airfields which have been dropped over the previous two weeks.

Leading B Flight of No. 152 Squadron from RAF Warmwell took off just before 11:30 on 25 September 1940 to intercept KG55. 29-year-old S/L Peter K Devitt claims a Ju 88 damaged south of Bristol during the Filton Raid. However, he sustains hits to the fuel tank of his Spitfire Mk I UM-A by return fire. Temporarily blinded, Devitt somehow makes a belly landing at Skew Bridge, Newton St Loe. He is lucky: Spitfire UM-C in his flight crashes at 12:00 near Church Farm, Woolverton, killing Sgt Kenneth C "Ken" Holland (see picture below)

Battle of Britain: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering continues fine-tuning his aerial assault on England. This time, he cuts back on raids against London and shifts his focus toward British aircraft factories. These are primarily located in the western half of Britain, and Luftlotte 3 (Sperrle) is given primary responsibility. While perhaps justified by changing priorities, these types of changes are demoralizing to Luftwaffe crews who see no lasting results from all their efforts. These changes do, however, catch the RAF off guard now and then, and this happens today, to England's detriment.

Spy Stuff: The US Signals Intelligence Service has been hard at work on breaking the Japanese military codes. Today, it reads the Japanese Purple Code for the first time.

German/Soviet/Japanese Relations: German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop informs the German embassy in Moscow that Japan is joining the German-Italian alliance (Axis). He emphasizes that this is not directed against the Soviet Union - which is absolutely true. Germany has other plans for the USSR. Ribbentrop instructs the Chargé d'affaires to tell Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov about the coming agreement on the 26th and explain that the alliance is directed against "American warmongers."

German/Spanish Relations: Adolf Hitler meets with Spanish Interior Minister - and Franco's brother-in-law - Serrano Suner. It is likely that the topics discussed include arranging a meeting between Hitler and Franco. Hitler's objective is to bring Spain into the war on his side in order to capture the British naval base at Gibraltar, while Franco demands an exorbitant price for his cooperation.

US/Chinese Relations: The US grants a $25 million loan to China that is designed to help stabilize the Chinese currency.

US Military: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs from Colon in the Panama Canal Zone on another "Show the Flag" tour. Its first stop will be Recife, Brazil.

The Greenslade Board investigating new US bases acquired from the British in the destroyers-for-bases deal arrives in Norfolk, Virginia.

Norway: Pursuant to decisions taken earlier, the German Reich-Commissar for Norway (Reichskommissar für die besetzten Norwegischen Gebiete), Josef Terboven, dissolves all political parties except for the pro-German Nasjonal Samling. He appoints 13 commissars to govern the country. As the leader of Nasjonal Samling, Vidkun Quisling forms the new collaborationist government. In addition, the King and his former government are formally deposed.

Sgt Kenneth C "Ken" Holland of No 152 Squadron RAF, KIA 25 September 1940. He opened fire on He 111P-1 G1+EP of KG55 at 400yds from astern and slightly to the port side in the morning. He was seen turning for a second burst at 2000ft. His Spitfire Mk I UM-C was hit by the rear gunner still in the stricken bomber. Both aircraft were strewn across the fields of Church Farm, Woolverton when crashing less than 500yds apart at 12:00. The 20-year-old Australian was found to have been shot in the head. See below for another related photo.

French Homefront: The Vichy French begin court-martial trials for the various government officials arrested for alleged misdeeds which led to to the loss of the Battle of France.

French Indochina: The Japanese invasion of French Indochina continues. The Japanese have aircraft carriers off the coast in the Gulf of Tonkin that are launching raids on French bases. The French shore batteries remain under orders to repel any invasion. The French have sent a special envoy to Tokyo to negotiate. The Japanese are primarily interested in northern Indochina in the Haiphong area, not as much in the area further south by Saigon. The Japanese 5th Infantry Division consolidates its hold on Lang Son, site of a key airfield.

New Caledonia: The government of Noumea reaffirms that it is siding with Free France.

American Homefront: Eleanor Roosevelt attends the American Newspaper Guild meeting in New York City (of which she is a member, with voting privileges). At issue is whether to approve a report critical of President Roosevelt as trying to force the United States into the European War. She votes against the report, but it passes 140-85. Afterward, she meets with the Guild's leaders and expresses her disagreement. The incident is an early foray by Mrs. Roosevelt into politics and an indication of the widespread isolationist sentiment in the country.

The only survivor of He 111P-1 G1+EP when bailing out following hits by Sgt Kenneth C "Ken" Holland (see above ) of No. 152 Squadron RAF near Woolverton on the morning of 25 September 1940 was pilot Hptm Helmut Brandt of KG55. He stated on interrogation that the first burst had already crippled the bomber and that there was no need for Holland to go in for a second attack. Holland failed to heed a basic lesson: take out the rear gunner first, then the engine.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Monday 23 September 1940

Damage caused by the RAF raid on Berlin. This photo receives very wide press exposure on both sides of the Atlantic.

Operation Menace: The British invasion of Dakar in French West Africa (Senegal), after weeks of preparation, gets underway on 23 September 1940. The British fleet, which includes three battleships including HMS Barham and aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, stands offshore with transports full of Free French soldiers. Early in the morning, the Fleet Air Arm drops propaganda leaflets over the city delivering an ultimatum to surrender (one Skua lost at sea, pilot saved). Vichy French Governor of West Africa, Pierre Boisson, is not interested in talking things over, so the game is on.

Things get rolling around first daylight when the Ark Royal launches aircraft manned by Free French. In an overly optimistic miscalculation, they land at Dakar airport to be greeted as liberators but are immediately taken prisoner. In addition, a launch representing the Free French enters the port expecting to be greeted warmly, but turns back when fired upon.

The Vichy French lose two submarines. British destroyer HMS Fortune detects a Vichy French submarine, the Ajax (Q148), which it forces to surface and then sinks. All 61 on board survive. HMS Dragon, Foresight and Inglefield spot French submarine Persée (Q154) attempting to attack cruiser HMS Dragon and shell it, sinking it. Some reports state that torpedo planes sank the submarines, and with all the Royal Navy ships in the vicinity it well may have been a joint effort.

Around 10:00, Vichy French ships in the port sally. Cruiser HMAS Australia fires upon them and forces them back. This leads shore batteries to open fire on the Australia, which, along with the rest of the Royal Navy ships, returns fire. The Australia hits the Vichy French destroyer L'Audacieux, which turns it into a flaming inferno that has to be beached. There are 81 deaths and 186 survivors.

Royal Navy battleships Barham and Resolution exchange fire with anchored French battleship Richelieu and damage it, though it remains able to fire its main guns. HMS Dragon is damaged by shell splinters, wounding a crewman, while HMS Cumberland is hit in the engine room and retreats to Bathurst for repairs. Vichy French freighters Porthos Korsholm and Tamara are damaged.

The Royal Navy then moves further offshore after also damaging freighter Tacoma in the harbor, causing six crew deaths. The Tacoma has to be beached.

The British make the next move. They send three sloops full of Free French soldiers to Rufisque, southeast of Dakar. The Vichy French open fire, completely defeating the landing attempt (a very rare event during World War II) and damaging the Commandant Duboc. General de Gaulle, who is present, gives the order to retreat personally as he does not want to "shed the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen."

During the afternoon, the Royal Navy ships approach the port again. This time, the French coastal batteries score some hits on the Barham. The Vichy French then launch an air raid on Gibraltar with 64 bombers based in Morocco and Algeria which causes minor damage.

As the day ends, little has changed, with the British standing offshore and the Vichy French holding tight to the port. That, in essence, is a victory for the Vichy French, but the British continue to lurk.

Another widely distributed photo showing Berlin bomb damage.

European Air Operations: The RAF targets Berlin in the early morning hours with 129 bombers. The raid causes minor damages that receives extensive worldwide publicity. A subsequent press release from the British Air Ministry describes it:

Throughout last night [Monday] strong bomber forces of the R.A.F. delivered a heavy attack on military objectives in and around Berlin. This attack was on a much larger scale than any yet carried out, and preliminary reports show that extensive damage was done. 

Among the targets selected by our aircraft and heavily bombed were Rangsdorf railway station and several goods yards, including that at Grünewald; the west tower of Wilmersdorf electric power station; gasworks at Dantzigerstrasse and Neukölln; factories at Charlottenburg and Spandau, including Brandenburg motor works, and other objectives.

Lesser raids also take place on the Kiel Canal, an aircraft factory at Wismar, the Hamburg ports, and the usual northwestern airfields and Channel ports.

Battle of Britain: The weather finally turns clear and bright today after an extended period of clouds and occasional rain over much of Great Britain. The Luftwaffe sends over a large raid of fighters unusually early, about 09:00, with the 200+ planes breaking in all directions once they cross the coast. RAF Fighter Command responds with 14 Squadrons but is late off the ball, miscalculating the raiders' rate of approach due to the fact that they are fighters and not bomber formations.

Fierce dogfights break out all across the Kent countryside. Both sides take losses about equally, with the RAF losing eleven fighters.

Hans-Joachim Marseille has to bail out over the Channel after his plane takes damage about 10 miles off Cap Gris Nez. He is shaken up and spends hours in the water. Fortunately, a Heinkel He 59 spots him and returns him to a field hospital. As usual, there is disputed credit for his shoot-down, but the best case seems to lie with Robert Stanford Tuck. Marseille, developing into a very talented pilot, also is developing a reputation as an uncontrollable pilot who does not follow orders, in other words, a bit of a prima donna.

The early afternoon is fairly quiet, with a dogfight over Dover that is fairly uneventful. Another large formation approaches around 17:30 and spreads out all across southern England. The RAF again intervenes, but there are no reported losses.

After nightfall, the Luftwaffe sends 261 bombers against London and various points in the southwest. There are additional waves of attack thereafter. London is attacked all night long until shortly before sunrise. Particularly hard hit are the Clarnico factory, West Ham (numerous fires), Stevenage Wharf, Bexhill, Hastings, and Seaford.

Overall, the Luftwaffe takes about 15-20 losses and the RAF about a dozen. It is a higher loss rate than in recent days, but much less than the hardest days of August and early September.

Werner Mölders was awarded the 2nd Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 21 September 1940 for becoming the first pilot to get credit for 40 victories. Adolf Hitler personally pins it on him today in the new Reichskanzlei in Berlin. Afterward, his boss Hermann Göring invites Mölders to his hunting lodge in the Rominter Heide.

Hptm. Wilhelm Balthasar from Stab III./JG 3 is credited with downing two Spitfires.

Oblt. Hans "Assi" Hahn of 4,/JG 2 receives the Ritterkreuz for his 20th victory.

The paint scheme on Adolf Galland's Bf 109E fighter as of 23 September 1940. Source: Robert Michalec, "Messerschmitt Me 109," AJ-Press.

Battle of the Atlantic: British submarine HMS H49 (Lt. Michael Armitage Langley) apparently torpedoes and sinks 2186 ton German freighter Heimdal 13 km north of Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands. There is some uncertainty about this sinking, the Heimdal may have hit a mine.

German minesweeper M-1604 hits a mine and sinks.

British freighters Empire Adventure and Empire Airman, torpedoed on 21 and 22 September, respectively, sink while in tow.

The Luftwaffe damages British freighters Pacific Grove and Corinia at Channel ports.

British submarine HMS Cachalot lays minefield FD 27.

A small destroyer flotilla departs from the Lizard on Operation G, a patrol of the French coast.

Convoy FN 289 departs from Southend, Convoy BN 6 departs from Bombay.

US coastal defense submarine USS R-1 is recommissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks the Italian fortress of Tobruk and the airfield at El-Menastir, Libya. Royal Navy gunboat HMS Ladybird bombards Sidi Barrani.

Prime Minister Churchill has worries about Malta. He agrees with a note from Malta Governor Dobbie that there are insufficient ground troops there. In a note to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, he notes:

The telegram (from Malta Cmd) confirms my apprehensions about Malta. Beaches defended on an average front of 15 miles, and no reserves for counter-attack worth speaking of, leave the Island at the mercy of a landing force. You must remember that we do not possess the command of the sea around Malta. The danger therefore appears to be extreme. I should have thought four battalions were needed....

He also sends another note to the Secretary of State for War warning that Malta could be attacked "at any time."

On Malta itself, three Wellingtons arrive at Lupa Airfield during the morning, but one crashes upon landing and is out of action for the foreseeable future. Two Sunderland Short flying boats arrive at Kalafrana with some workers for the dockyards.

Anglo/US Relations: Seven more US destroyers arrive at Halifax to be turned over to the Royal Navy as part of the destroyers-for-bases deal. The US Greenslade Board, investigating the newly acquired British bases, is now en route to Norfolk, Virginia.

French Indochina: With Japanese troops pouring across the border, a Vichy French garrison at Da Nang, a coastal city about midway down the shoreline, defends the city. The Japanese quickly take control of Tonkin Province and today bomb the French airfield at Lang Son. French negotiators in Japan request a cease-fire.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull attends a press conference today at which he states:

Events are transpiring so rapidly in the Indochina situation that it is impossible to get a clear picture of the minute-to-minute developments. It seems obvious, however, that the status quo is being upset and that this is being achieved under duress. The position of the United States in disapproval and in deprecation of such procedures has repeatedly been stated. 

This Government has not at any time or in any way approved the French concessions to Japan. The attitude of this Government toward developments in French Indochina is as expressed by the Secretary of State this morning and in previous public statements. 

German Government: Hitler meets with local fascist leaders from Holland.

German Military: Lieutenant-Colonel Hans Speidel, Chief of Staff of the military commander in France, submits a detailed report to OKW and Hitler on the course of the aerial campaign against Great Britain. He notes that the battle opened well for the Luftwaffe, but fierce opposition caused the opening of attacks on London to begin too late, and poor weather made them ineffective. The delays enabled the RAF to recover by speeding up pilot training and plane production, with planes rolling straight from the factories into combat. Speidel observes that the new pilots were incompetent and had resorted to ramming Luftwaffe bombers. While crude, the tactics frustrated the Luftwaffe attacks on London and necessitated the third (current) phase of the battle, attacks on London by night and fighter raids by day. He concludes that the RAF Fighter Command is down to 300 fighters, with a production rate of 250 per month and notes:

Our own forces still feel themselves to have the upper hand over the enemy, and are completely confident that the air war can be prosecuted successfully.

In essence, Speidel places the blame for the Luftwaffe's failures on fanatical and self-sacrificing RAF pilots and the weather. It is a classic evasion-of-blame report which reveals the continued myopia of the Luftwaffe intelligence section. In point of fact, the RAF still has about 700 fighters in good condition, roughly the same level it has had throughout the battle, and the quality of fighter is increasing as older models get shot down and replaced by newer ones. At this point, everyone knows that the Luftwaffe has not met Hitler's objectives, so Speidel simply paints a happy face on the picture and ends with standard hopes for ultimate success.

Prototype Jeep, September 1940. The first driver said, "God but it is fun to drive!" They drove 230 miles to the army testing site, making it half an hour before the deadline.

US Military: The US Army has contacted 135 companies with its request for a new small transport vehicle. American Bantam Car Company today submits its hand-built prototype "Pilot" aka "Blitz Buggy" aka "Bantam Reconnaissance Car" to the Army at  Camp Holabird, Maryland. The Army likes the Karl Probst design, but Bantam is bankrupt and too small to fill the order. The Army turns the design over to Willys-Overland and Ford for further refinement and development. The prototype delivered today ultimately leads to the ubiquitous Jeep.

British Homefront: King George VI addresses the nation. He notes the creation of the George Cross and George Medal, to be given for gallantry "not in the face of the enemy" to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. These awards typically go to people who perform heroically during the Blitz, such as rescuing people at the peril of their own lives. Many are awarded posthumously. The George Cross is intended as the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross, but in practice is awarded to primarily military personnel. The King notes that "our friends in the Americas" will assure final victory.

American Homefront: A Gallup poll illustrates the deep split in US public opinion about the European War. While 52% support helping England win even at the risk of the US getting into the war, 48% feel that it is a higher priority that the US not get into the war.

Charles Coughlin is a well-known opponent of the war known as the "Radio Priest." A Detroit priest who is known as "Father Coughlin," he has had a popular radio show for many years that is widely considered to be anti-Semitic, anti-Roosevelt and anti-war. While his radio audience is immense, reaching up to 30 million per week, he is a very controversial figure not just in the public, but within the Church, where Bishop Michael Gallagher of Detroit allowed him to remain on the air (until his passing in 1937) despite pressure from everyone above.

Today, Coughlin announces in his popular publication Social Justice that he had been forced from the air "by those who control circumstances beyond my reach." This is almost certainly a result of the adoption of new rules which curb the sale of radio time to "spokesmen of controversial public issues" in October 1939, which require that such spokesmen submit copies of their speeches in advance and threaten stations with loss of their licenses.

The British government releases sketchy details on 23 September 1940 of the sinking of the City of Benares in the Atlantic on 18 September. There are many lurid details, but the name of the ship itself remains a state secret.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020