Monday 30 June 1941

A Soviet soldier of the 136th Infantry Regiment, 14th Infantry Division captured by German mountain troops near Murmansk.

Eastern Front: On 30 June 1941, Operation Barbarossa is fulfilling all of Adolf Hitler's dreams of conquest. His troops have advanced deep into Russia at a cost of only 8,886 men killed. By comparison, Soviet losses at Brest Fortress alone have numbered about 2000 dead and 6800 men captured. Still, the Wehrmacht is spoiled from all of its previous cheap successes (excepting Crete) and not used to such high numbers of casualties, so OKW demands detailed reports on losses from the different Army Groups (which is why we have such precise figures).

German fighter aces Ernst Udet, Adolf Galland, and Werner Mölders. Udet was the second-highest scoring German fighter pilot of WWI with 62 victories and also, at the time of this photo, director of Luftwaffe research and development. Udet and Mölders both died not long after this photo - in fact, Mölders died in a plane crash on his way to Udet's funeral. Galland, on the other hand, lived until 1996.

The Red Air Force launches its first major raid of the war, sending a large force of bombers to attack General Guderian's panzers of the 2nd Panzer Group advancing east of Minsk. They have the misfortune to run into top ace Werner Mölders and his elite JG 51 fighter squadron. The German fighter pilots file claims for 113 victories and Mölders alone claims five.

Manfred von Richthofen

... aka The Red Baron.

These successes bring the Mölders (shown below) victory count to 82 planes, besting the 80 victories of Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (shown above) during World War I (Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron's fourth cousin, is a top Luftwaffe general during World War II and Manfred was a colleague of Hermann Goering, so the name carries both legendary and current weight in 1941). The Red Baron's World War I victory total was one of the most respected during the inter-war years, so besting it has been an objective for every top Luftwaffe fighter pilot.

Top pilots of JG 51 (aside from Werner Mölders): Oberfeldwebel Heinrich "Dicke" Höfemeier (Flugzeugführer in 1.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 5 April 1942; final score 96 air victories from 490 combat missions); Leutnant Erwin Fleig (Staffelkapitän 2.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 12 August 1941; final score 66 air victories from 506 combat missions), Hauptmann Oskar-Heinrich "Heinz" Bär (Gruppenkommandeur I.Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 77; Ritterkreuz 2 July 1941, Eichenlaub 14 August 1941; Schwerter 16 February 1942; final score 220 air victories from over than 1,000 combat missions); and Oberleutnant der Reserve Heinrich "Gaudi" Krafft (Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 51; Ritterkreuz 18 March 1942; final score 78 air victories).

Other pilots with five victory claims today are Hptm. Hermann-Friedrich Jöppien, Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 51 and Lt. Heinz “Pritzl” Bär. While there may be some double... or triple ... counting of victories at times, there is little question that 30 June 1941 is a very bad day for the Red Air Force (Luftwaffe victory claims are thoroughly checked for evidence such as wreckage and denied if there is no confirmation - the records are considered quite accurate, though not infallible). In addition to Mölders' feat, his JG 51 squadron celebrates its 1000th victory of the war, and milestones like that always get a unit celebration.

Werner Mölders in a propaganda film.

Both in the air and on the ground, the war is advancing east in a hurry. People in Moscow have been skittish since the first day of the campaign, and tensions are rising. There is an air raid alert in Moscow today, but it turns out to be a false alarm.

In the Far North sector, Operation Silver Fox continues toward Murmansk without achieving any breakthroughs. The German troops, in particular, begin to slow as they lose the element of surprise. General Dietl's 2nd Mountain Division troops are unable to penetrate the base of the Rybachy peninsula, while the main advance a little further south toward the Litsa River makes little progress.

In addition, the Finnish 2nd Division makes a small attack in central Karelia. Its goal is to prepare for a larger offensive during July. Finnish 2nd Division (Colonel Blick) makes good progress toward its objective of capturing the area between lakes Pyhäjärvi and Tyrjänjärvi. Being familiar with the climate and terrain, the Finns have none of the problems experienced by the German troops further north.

Two Soviet soldiers captured by German mountain troops near Murmansk being interrogated. The Germans were upset that the Soviets had ambushed a small party of advancing German troops and taken no prisoners.

In the Army Group North sector, Soviet troops withdraw from the right bank of the Dvina following the German seizure of a bridgehead at Riga. Rather than follow them, the German panzers by and large follow Hitler's halt order of 29 June and wait for the infantry to catch up.

In the Army Group Center sector, Field Marshal von Bock's panzers probe east of East. In a daring raid, the 4th Panzer Division seizes a railroad bridge at Svisloch. This cuts off parts of the Soviet 4th Airborne Corps and 20th Mechanized Corps. The main action, however, is many miles to the rear, where German Fourth and Ninth Armies are reducing the Soviet 10th Army and other forces near Bialystok. The German 45th Infantry Division, fresh from its victory at Brest-Litovsk, receives orders to head east along with the rest of the Wehrmacht - no time to waste on celebrations.

General Heinz Guderian, supported "by back channels" by OKH chief Franz Halder, ignores Hitler's stop order and continues barrelling east toward Bobruisk. This full-scale advance by 2nd Panzer Group he euphemistically characterizes as a "reconnaissance in force." Guderian also boards an observation plane and flies over the Minsk-Bialystok pocket. He decides from his personal observation that his panzers are not needed there because General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group has the situation in hand.

In the Army Group South sector, the Stavka gives up on the Battle of Brody. While it has bought the Soviets some time, the disjointed attacks by large Soviet armored forces against Field Marshal von Rundstedt's spearhead have cost the Soviets hundreds, if not thousands, of tank losses. The surviving Soviet units of the Southwestern Front are directed to retreat to the Stalin Line in order to defend the approaches to Kyiv. General Popel remains trapped in Dubno with his remaining tanks but prepares to break out to the east in accordance with the Stavka's orders.

This concludes the Battle of Brody, a decisive German victory. German troops of 1st Panzer Group (Ewald von Kleist) continue advancing toward Kyiv and take Lviv. The Hungarian Carpathian Group makes its first attack of the war to clear passes through the Carpathian Mountains. The retreating Soviets adopt a scorched-earth strategy, mining roads and blowing up bridges, but otherwise, the Hungarians face minimal resistance.

German soldiers near Murmansk prepare to execute two captured Soviet soldiers.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 21st Brigade claims the ridge overlooking the Damour River Valley. This ridge controls the valley, a key defensive position between Damascus and Beirut. North of Beirut, the Vichy French launch a counterattack at Nebek which makes some small gains but then retreats after fierce defense by the defending Free French 2nd Battalion.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends a circus mission to attack the power stations at Pont-au-Vendin.

RAF Bomber Command mounts daylight raids against Bremen and Kiel. The Kiel raid includes the first use during daylight hours of the Handley Page Halifax bombers (first used during a night raid on Le Havre on 10-11 March), whose existence is not even publically acknowledged yet by the Air Ministry.

Night fighter ace Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld collides with another Bf 110 night fighter piloted by Rudolf Schoenert during training. Both pilots survive.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet freighter Krimulda hits a mine and sinks. Five men perish.

Soviet patrol boat MO-143 hits a mine and sinks off Mhni.

German mountain troops have just shot two Soviet prisoners. Their remains lay undisturbed near this spot, open to the elements until rediscovered in 2013.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-66 (Kptlt. Richard Zapp), on its second patrol out of Lorient, is operating a few hundred miles west of the Canary Islands and tracking Convoy SL-78. Following upon two sinkings on the 29th, U-66 adds to its victims today by torpedoing and sinking 5614-ton British freighter Saint Aslem. There are 34 deaths and 33 survivors.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Dunedin stops and captures 4993-ton Vichy French freighter Ville De Tamatave east of St. Paul.

Convoy OB-341 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-136 departs from Halifax, Convoy WS 9B (Winston Special) departs the Clyde bound for Suez and Bombay.

Royal Navy anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Euryalus (Captain Eric W. Bush) is commissioned.

Canadian corvette HMCS Camrose (Lt. Louis R. Pavillard) and minesweeper Wasaga (Lt. John B. Raine) are commissioned, while minesweeper Twois Rivieres is launched in Quebec.

US Navy submarine USS Grayback (Lt. Willard A. Saunders) is commissioned, and heavy cruiser Boston and destroyers Hobby and Kalk are laid down.

For the month of June 1941, the Allies lose in the Atlantic:

• 104 ships
• 415,255 tons of shipping

Elsewhere, the Allies lose five ships of 16,770 tons. Overall, Allied losses are down from 486,796 tons to 389,316 tons. The Allies suffering lower losses to U-boats, aircraft, and mines, but slightly higher losses to surface raiders.

The Kriegsmarine, meanwhile, loses four U-boats and the Italians one submarine, still a very low number relative to the damage they are causing. The Axis loses 17 ships of 58,425 tons in the Mediterranean, mostly Italian.

Finnish troops in the border town of Tuulos, Eastern Karelia, team up with the Germans on 30 June 1941. Note the captured Soviet light tank T-26 with added Finnish markings.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The latest mission to deliver aircraft to Malta, Operation Railway 2, goes disastrously wrong when a Hurricane taking off from HMS Furious hits the bridge of the carrier on takeoff. This starts a fire that kills three officers, injures five Hurricane pilots waiting to take off, and damages all five of their planes. Only nine Hurricanes arrive from Furious and twelve from the accompanying carrier, Ark Royal.

Dutch submarine O-23 torpedoes and sinks 5371-ton Italian freighter Capacitas south of Livorno in the Ligurian Sea (about 11 km off San Vicenzo).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay surfaces and sinks a caique off Cape Malea.

The Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 aircraft of I Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2) attacks a Tobruk supply convoy, damaging sloop Flamingo and gunboat Cricket. The Flamingo has to tow Cricket back to Alexandria. Once there, however, Cricket is judged to be a total loss, though it is used for some time as a stationary anti-aircraft platform.

An Italian convoy of six freighters/transports departs Naples bound for Tripoli.

Italian special operations submarine Scirè launches midget submarines to infiltrate Malta's Grand Harbour, but they score no successes.

Left to right: Oberstleutnant Sigurd-Horstmar Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (commander of Army Group North), Generaloberst Erich Hoepner, Oberst Günther Angern, 30 June 1941 (Federal Archives, Bild 146-1971-068-14).

Battle of the Black Sea: The Soviets begin to evacuate Odesa. They scuttle freighters Orel, Peter the Great, Plekhanov, Pskov, and Voikov.

Propaganda: The Soviet Information Bureau releases a communique:

Fighting is continuing against strong enemy motorized forces in the Lutsk area. Despite his fresh armored reinforcements, all the enemy's attempt to break through our lines in the direction of Novograd Volynskiy [Ukraine] and Shepetovka have failed and been beaten back. Our armored forces and the Soviet air force even succeeded in destroying a great part of the enemy armored and motorized troops.

In fact, the panzers already are in Lutsk, while the German attempts to "break through our lines" have all succeeded to date.

Applied Science: Two copies of Frank Whittle's advanced W-1 jet engine have arrived in the United States aboard a B-17 pursuant to General Hap Arnold's request. Impressed, he tasks the US Army Air Force to develop an engine based upon it. However, the first order issued today, a $483,600 joint Army-Navy contract, visualizes a turbojet, not a pure jet engine. While it may appear comforting for aviators of the day to see a propeller on the engine, in fact, a turbojet is a much more difficult project than simply a jet engine.

Original caption: "The Reds' withdrawal route after the great enclosure battle is sown with rubble and vehicle remains of all kinds. Our Stukas put their bombs right next to the road." (Lessmann, Federal Archives, Bild 101I-006-2202-30).

Vichy French/Soviet Relations: Premier Petain's government breaks diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.

German/Swedish Relations: The German 163rd Infantry Division (General of Artillery Engelbrecht) completes its transfer by rail from Narvik to Helsinki. This includes a controversial passage on the train through northern Sweden. The Wehrmacht troops pass through quietly in blacked-out cars and with their weapons in separate cars.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler accepts Mussolini's offer to send an expeditionary force to the Eastern Front. It will be composed of three divisions at first.

Soviet/Ukrainian Relations: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists announces the Declaration of the Ukrainian State Act and declares the Ukrainian National Government under the leadership of Iaroslav Stetsko. According to Willem Pruller's "Diary of a German Soldier" (published after the war), Ukrainians warmly greet advancing German troops, with women giving them food and bouquets of flowers. Many Ukrainians see the Wehrmacht as liberators from the evils of communism.

New pumps just installed at Camp Polk, Louisiana, 30 June 1941 (The National WWII Museum).

Soviet Military: For the second time during the young war Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin reorganizes his leadership team. This time, he creates the State Defense Committee (Gosudarstvennyj Komitet Oborony, GKO). As opposed to the Stavka, which he formed just after the start of the war and is of purely military composition (at least among its permanent members), the GKO includes G.M. Malenkov, the party personnel chief and member of the Central Committee, and NKVD boss Lavrentia Beria. The other members are General Voroshilov and Foreign Minister Molotov. The addition of leaders of the Party who have no military experience is an early indication that Stalin views the fight against Hitler as being as much political as military. The greatest need, for now, is to keep the men fighting against hopeless odds and ruthlessly control the rear areas. Stalin apparently chooses the GKO's members as much for his personal relationship with them as their "other" jobs, as they are all old cronies who can be relied upon to the end.

The GKO is the apex of the Soviet government during World War II. It controls all aspects of both military and civilian life, and everyone in the Soviet Union ultimately answers to it. In practice, the GKO delegates much of its military authority to the Stavka and concerns itself with organizing the homefront.

British Military: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a memo to the new Minister of Supply Lord Beaverbrook in which he notes that "the question of a much heavier tank has now come sharply to the front." This is because he has received reports from the eastern front about the Soviet KV tank, "a very large tank, said to be over 70 tons, against which the German A/T 6-pounder [Panzer IV] has proved useless."

Dutch Military: The Dutch government-in-exile still controls extensive possessions in the South Pacific, and it has the resources to defend them if necessary. Today, the Netherlands Purchasing Commission, acting on behalf of the Dutch government in exile in London, signs contract 71311/NA with North American Aviation. This cash deal calls for delivery to the Dutch of 162 B-25C bombers (designated NA-90). Delivery is to made to the Dutch East Indies once the USAAF has received its own initial orders of roughly 1000 B-25s - which is not projected to take place until November 1942.

Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California on 30 June 1941. The ship under construction at the left is the USS Wahoo.

US Military: The United States Navy orders two Grumman XF6F-1 Hellcat prototypes, BuNos 02981 and 02982. This plane is intended as a successor to the F4F Wildcat.

An accounting shows that, as of this date, the USN has 1899 ships and smaller craft and a ration strength of 338,786. This includes 284,427 sailors, 54,359 Marines, and 19,235 members of the Coast Guard.

Holocaust: The last trains leave Jassy (Iasi) carrying Romanian Jews. The two trains head for Calarasi and Podul Iloaiei, respectively. Many people die on the journey, and many others later.

American Homefront: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox gives a dinner speech at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company in Fore River, Massachusetts. He emphasizes the importance of patrolling the seas so that the US industrial might can deliver weapons of war to make the German people "understand the cruelty and ruthlessness which Hitler has unloosed upon the world."

President Franklin Roosevelt dedicates his presidential library in Hyde Park, New York.

President Roosevelt at the opening of his library in Hyde Park, June 30, 1941.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

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 22 September 1940

On 22 September 1940, Japanese troops burst into French Indochina from China. French Indochinese Colonial troops and Foreign Legionnaires offer resistance but are forced to retreat. The Japanese appeal to local Vietnamese communist partisans to rise up against the French, and the communists set up local governments which the French later suppress. Taking the longest view, this is the first act of the later Vietnam War.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Wolfpack shadowing Convoy HX 72 on 22 September 1940 about 600 miles west of Ireland already has a bunch of successes, but it is not done yet. The U-boats sink a remarkable amount of tonnage in this convoy during a running battle that takes several days and ends today. U-100 under the command of Joachim Schepke completes the greatest attack by a single U-boat on any convoy. In all, U-100 sinks 7 ships from HX-72.

U-100 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) at 00:22 resumes his successful attack on the convoy, torpedoing 6561-ton British iron ore freighter Empire Airman. There are four survivors while 33 men perish. The ship is taken in tow but sinks on the 23rd. There is a memorial to the men lost on the ship at the Tower Hill Memorial in London.

U-100 torpedoes 10,525-ton British tanker Frederick S. Fales. There are 32 survivors and 11 men perish. The dead crewmen perish when the ship capsizes on their lifeboat.

U-100 torpedoes 3940-ton British lumber/cotton freighter Scholar using its stern tubes. The ship remains afloat and is taken in tow, but eventually becomes unmanageable and is scuttled. All 45 men on board survive.

U-100 torpedoes 6031-ton Norwegian freighter Simla. There are 31 survivors. The ship sinks within minutes and five men perish when they jump overboard in a panic. Fortunately, there is a ship nearby that picks up the survivors in under an hour.

U-100 also attacks the 5415-ton freighter Harlingen but misses. The Harlingen returns fire accurately with its stern gun and causes some minor damage to the U-boat.

U-32 (Kapitänleutnant Hans Jenisch) then attacks a straggler from HX 72. It performs a rare surface attack, shelling British freighter Collegian from long range (7 km) and damaging it. The freighter returns fire and escapes as it runs off. This practically defines a "low probability attack."

HX72 now is in ruins, scattered all across the North Atlantic. In total, it has lost 11 ships of 72,727 tons. Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke sinks a phenomenal seven ships in the convoy, while Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer in U-99 sinks three. They achieve their successes by infiltrating the convoy and attacking from within. Credit ultimately belongs to Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, who spotted and reported the convoy but could not attack himself because he was out of torpedoes. The rest of the 30 ships make it to port.

Anti-aircraft duty in Paris, 1940.

U-31 (Kapitänleutnant Wilfried Prellberg), a hundred miles south of the Faroe Islands, also uses its deck gun. This attack at 17:55 is more successful, as it sinks a local Faroese trawler, the 87 ton Union Jack. All seven men survive, reaching land late on the 23rd.

Kriegsmarine auxiliary minesweeper M-1604 Österreich sinks about 40 miles west of Hoek van Holland. The cause has not been definitively determined, most likely from a mine laid by HMS Cachalot.

Royal Navy trawler HMT Loch Inver (1930, Captain Thomas Hardcastle) is torpedoed and sinks off Harwich just after midnight. All 14/15 crew perish (no survivors). The Board of Enquiry reports states that Loch Inver, on patrol, was sunk by torpedo, though some sources say it hit a mine. This sinking may have taken place on 21 September, the sources are unclear, but the Board of Enquiry report suggests shortly before 00:50 on the 22nd. This sinking occurs during an attack by E-boats, and a little sleuthing suggests that German E-boat S13 sank the Loch Inver. Fellow trawler Edwina, on patrol with the Loch Inver, observes the attack from a distance and then engages the E-boats, but is undamaged. The Loch Inver is declared missing and presumed lost on 24 September 1940, which leads some sources to pin that as the date of loss, which is correct only in a legalistic sense.

Kriegsmarine 356-ton auxiliary minesweeper (Sperrbrecher 2) Athen is badly damaged by RAF air attack in the harbor of Boulogne. Hit by an aerial mine, it is beached. The ship is refloated later.

The Luftwaffe damages Dutch tanker Barendrecht in the River Thames.

Some accounts have HMS Tuna sinking Norwegian liner (and German prize ship) Tirranna today, but sources vary and I placed that on the 21st.

Convoy OA 218 departs from Methil, Convoy FN 288 departs from Southend.

Battle of Britain: The weather is fine over most of England, with only some morning fog, but the Luftwaffe continues scaling down its daylight operations now that Operation Sealion has been suspended. Some Bf 109s do a "Freie Jagd" over London in the morning, and they ease their boredom by attacking RAF Fowlmere. There, they do some damage, destroying a Spitfire and damaging others. A Junkers Ju 88 is shot down south of the Isle of Wight by RAF No. 234 Squadron. Otherwise, there are only some lone raiders doing minimal damage

After dark, things change. The Luftwaffe sends heavy raids against London, and by some accounts, this is the heaviest attack to date. Fires start at the Royal Arsenal Timber Field which spread, causing a major conflagration. This results in the loss of 100 residences lost and another 100 damaged. Direct hits on two air raid shelters kill dozens of people and injure more, while the supposedly safe Tube system suffers a direct hit at Mile End. The British Museum takes a hit, but the treasures have been secreted to underground storage. The fires are very difficult to put out and serve as a beacon for more waves of bombers.

The Luftwaffe is trying a new tactic of sending its own night fighters over England to engage RAF ones. Tonight, they shoot down a Whitley from RAF No. 58 Squadron, their first victory.

Three Hurricanes of RAF No. 85 Squadron crash in foul weather along the coast after running out of fuel. Overall, the losses are fairly minimal on both sides, basically those mentioned above.

A Luxembourgish policeman gives the Hitler salute to Heinrich Himmler during the latter's visit to Luxembourg in September 1940 (Federal Archives).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks the Channel ports and airfields along the coast with 95 aircraft. It also targets the big aluminum factory about 25 miles northeast of Dresden (Lauta), a repeated target until the last months of the war. A raid on Berlin causes minimal damage.

HMS Furious, parked 50 miles off Trondheim, launches six Skuas and 11 Swordfish at around 03:00. The weather fails to cooperate, and the raid turns into a disaster ... for the British. A Swordfish and a Skua wind up crashing in Sweden, while three Swordfish crash in Norway and a Swordfish runs out of fuel and crashes while looking for the carrier. Overall, three men perish, 9 are captured in Norway, and five are interned in Sweden. Furious returns to Scapa Flow.

Battle of the Mediterranean: With the Italians digging in at Sidi Barrani, the RAF and Royal Navy take turns raining destruction on them. The Italians are moving their camps further inland to avoid the daily bombardments, today by British destroyers HMS Jervis, Janus, Juno and Mohawk on the airfield at Sidi Barrani.

The Italians respond by raiding Mersa Matruh 80 miles ahead of their own lines.

British submarine HMS Osiris torpedoes and sinks 875 ton Italian Navy torpedo boat Palestro west of Durrës in the Adriatic.

British submarine HMS Truant (Lt.Cdr. Hugh Alfred Vernon Haggard), on its first Mediterranean patrol, torpedoes, and sinks 8459-ton Italian freighter Provvidenza 3.5 nm off Punta Imperatore, Ischia (10 miles west of Naples) in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

At Malta, at 11:30 the Italians send five SM 79 bombers escorted by four CR 42 fighters to bomb Luga Airfield. While the airfield receives minimal damage, the poor aim of the bombers completely devastates the village of Luga. One civilian boy is killed. Several unexploded bombs in the village cause further problems but are quickly found to be inactive (they have safety pins in place). At Kalafrana Airfield, a French Latecoere plan leaves to drop leaflets over Bizerta and Tunis in Tunisia.

Italian aircraft raid Cyprus for the first time.

Danish actress Anna Katrina, born on 22 September 1940.

German Military: The unpowered airframe of the Heinkel He 280 twin turbojet fighter is taken aloft, towed by a Heinkel He 111B, for gliding tests. The He 280 V1 is sort of a follow-up to the Heinkel He 178 that flew in August 1939 (this project originally had the designation He-180). The Luftwaffe is not particularly interested, having other jet planes in development so Ernst Heinkel, with designer Robert Lusser, has been pursuing the project on his own. The HeS 8 engines, however, are nowhere near ready yet. Among the innovations of the Heinkel He 280 is the first compressed-air powered ejection seat.

German/Finnish Relations: The Germans and Finns continue negotiating the terms of transit rights for Wehrmacht troops and supplies to Narvik via ports of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Germans agree to supply the Finns with arms.

Soviet/German Relations: The Soviets broadcast that the British have destroyed the German invasion fleet assembling in the English Channel.

Vichy French/Japanese Relations: The entire situation in Indochina is confused and fluid. The local Vichy French agree to give the Japanese three airfields in French Indochina during their continued discussions about the Japanese presence there. On or about this date the two sides sign an agreement for the Japanese to send troops into the country. The Japanese already are sending troops into French Indochina, sometimes against French resistance - the Japanese 5th Infantry Division crosses into Indochina at Lang Son by force and compels the French to retreat. The Japanese appeal to anti-Western elements in the country and urge local communists to rise up against the colonial administration. Many do, and they set up local communist governments in some areas where French administration is weak. The French are not beaten, however, and later suppress many of these revolts. The revolutionary fervor, however, has been ignited.

A 50-year-old itinerant Vietnamese who has spent most of his life abroad serving in the Comintern and working as a sort of community organizer, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, is in China as an adviser to the Chinese Communist armed forces. Sometime around this date in 1940 - nobody knows exactly when - Quốc begins regularly using the name "Hồ Chí Minh." This is a Vietnamese name combining a common Vietnamese surname (Hồ, 胡) with a given name meaning "He Who has been enlightened" (from Sino-Vietnamese 志 明: Chí meaning 'will' (or spirit) and Minh meaning "bright"). He keeps a close eye on developments in his homeland.

It is hunting season in parts of the United States. Here are 73 Deer hanging at the Klamath Falls, Oregon Train Depot. September 22, 1940.

Vichy French/German Relations: The German Armistice Control Commission sends a delegation to Dakar in French West Africa. The visit is timely, as the Royal Navy is about to pay a visit as well in Operation Menace.

Free France: Charles de Gaulle expresses support for former French Indochina Governor Admiral Decoux, who he sees as his representative in Asia.

Latvia: The Soviets integrate Latvian submarines Ronis and Spidola into the Navy. Since Latvia now is part of the USSR, it is wrong to characterize this as a "seizure."

Australia: Convoy US 5 departs from Freemantle, composed of Dutch liners Christian Huygens, Indrapoera, Nieuw Holland and Selamat. There are 4262 troops embarked, and its first stop is in Colombo.

American Homefront: Ben Musick a.k.a. Bill Morris of Dallas Texas, widely rumored to be associated in some tangential fashion with the moonshine business, wins the time trials at the Big Car Races at the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Attendance "In excess of 12,000." He does one lap at the half-mile track in 26.63 and later wins the 15-lap Sweepstakes Race in a time of 7:14.

Future History: Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer is born in Solbjerg, Denmark. Under the name Anna Karina, she becomes a major collaborator/muse/wife of Jean-Luc Godard during the French New Wave in the 1960s. She starred in classic films such as "A Woman is a Woman" (1961) and "Alphaville" (1965). Anna Karina appears to have retired from the business, her last film was "Victoria" in 2007.

In Section 6 of the 22 September 1940 Chicago Sunday Tribune, Dick Tracy shows how a private dick cross-dresses.

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

Saturday 13 April 1940

Ships at Narvik at some point during the second battle of Narvik. The photo was taken by the spotter plane from HMS Warspite.

Operation Weserubung: Operation Weserubung continues smoothly on 13 April 1940, but Hitler is concerned - frantic, is more like it. He is particularly worried about the situation in Narvik, which is precarious. Hitler issues several orders based on this paranoia, but, for one of the very few times in the war, the officers around him countermand them and stay the course. They basically tell Hitler to go take a nap (in fact, Hitler is known to stress out over naval operations and says later that he "can't sleep a wink" when large ships are operating). It is one of the first instances of Hitler's unbridled paranoia which will manifest itself in various ways over the next few years to the severe detriment of the German state.

• German troops continue expanding away from their beachheads in the major Norwegian cities:
• German 163rd Infantry Division occupies Larvik near Oslo;
• German 196th Infantry Division occupies Halden and pushes northward;
• Junkers Ju 52s fly supplies to Lake Hartvigvann near Narvik, landing on the frozen lake.

In London, the British War Cabinet debates about sending troops to Norway. Invasion at Trondheim is considered as a block to prevent the Wehrmacht from advancing north from Oslo. Narvik also is on the docket, as it was the original cause of the battle in the first place. Churchill, while firmly in the camp that favors a troop commitment at Narvik, comments that they need to consider:

the grave danger that we should find ourselves committed to a number of ineffectual operations along the Norwegian coast, none of which would succeed.

Prime Minister Chamberlain, his authority reeling from the Norwegian setback and his own recent comment that Hitler has "missed the bus," vows to send troops to Norway anyway. He tells the House of Commons, "Hitler has a real fight on his hands!"

One of Hitler's orders does go through. Generaloberst Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, commanding the Weserubung operation, receives orders to seize control of the village of Dombås, some 336 km (209 mi) north of Oslo, by paratroop attack. This is due to a false report of Allied landings at Åndalsnes. It also may have something to do with the transport of Norwegian gold reserves out of the country and an attempt to seize the gold.

Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: The British return to Narvik in force. With aircraft carrier HMS Furious as cover (which launches airstrikes), Battleship HMS Warspite (Vice-Admiral William Jock Whitworth) leads nine destroyers into the Ototfjord. Without air cover, the Kriegsmarine destroyers are defenseless, though Captain Bey in charge of the flotilla misses opportunities to at least mitigate the damage. All eight German destroyers in the area are sunk or scuttled by their crews, some in Narvik Bay, the rest in Rombaks Fjord where they try to hide:

• Z2 Georg Thiele (sunk)
• Z9 Wolfgang Zenker (scuttled)
• Z11 Bernd von Arnim (scuttled)
• Z12 Erich Giese (scuttled)
• Z13 Erich Koellner (sunk)
• Z17 Diether von Roeder (sunk)
• Z18 Hans Lüdemann (scuttled)
• Z19 Hermann Künne (scuttled)

About 100 Kriegsmarine sailors perish, most can scramble to shore in time given the certainty of destruction. Only three of the British destroyers are damaged (HMS Punjabi has 14 KIA/28 wounded, HMS Eskimo has its bow blown off by a torpedo). Wehrmacht troops ashore use field howitzers against the British force, but HMS Cossack puts them out of action.

The aftermath of the Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

In addition, Warspite's Fairey Swordfish spotter plane bombs U-64 (Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz) in the Herjangsfjord near Narvik and sinks it (8 perish, 38 survive after a harrowing escape from the sunk U-boat and, half-frozen, are grateful for rescue by the mountain troops in the area). It is perhaps the most dominating performance by a battleship during the entire war and basically justifies many officers' faith in the big gun platform.

However - and this is a qualification - despite the absolute devastation wreaked by the Warspite force, the Wehrmacht under General Dietl retains control of the town of Narvik itself, and 2,600 Kriegsmarine personnel from the destroyers augment the ground troops. Whitworth signals London and tells them that a single brigade could take the key port.

Elsewhere, U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) destroys Norwegian Cruiser-minelayer HNoMS Frøya, which has been beached at Søtvika, Norway after encounters with other Kriegsmarine ships.

Convoy OB 128 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HG 26 departs from Gibraltar.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 15 Hampden bombers to drop parachute mines off the Danish coast during the night. While the Luftwaffe has dropped mines regularly, this is the first time the RAF drops mines. One aircraft is lost.

Luftwaffe bombers make unproductive attacks against Royal Navy vessels along the Norwegian coast.

Following the successful long-range reconnaissance of Narvik from northern Scotland performed by the New Zealand (75 NZ) Squadron on 12 April, another flight is taken over Trondheim. This time, the plane fails to return.

German Military: Morale within the Wehrmacht is skyrocketing given the latest successes in Norway. While difficult to quantify, it manifests itself in interactions with the British, who are not feeling quite so sanguine. For instance, the British rescue some of the German sailors at Narvik and make them prisoners but are nonplussed at their attitude. One of the Royal Navy sailors guarding them, Harry Neesdowne on battleship HMS Warspite, notes of them: "They are impossibly arrogant- certain of victory" - and this right after they have been pulled from the water and locked up.

Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

British Military: British troops arrive at the Faroe Islands per First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's vow to "protect" them.

Legendary General Carton de Wiart takes command of troops in Norway.

Spies: US embassy official Tyler Kent passes copies of documents to Anna Wolkoff, who gives them to the German embassy.

US Navy: Destroyer USS J. Fred Talbot returns to the Canal Zone after its humanitarian mission to aid an ill passenger on the Japanese steamship Arimasan Maru.

Poland: The German authorities in occupied Poland permits the formation and meeting of the Ukrainian Central Committee. It is allowed to represent the concerns of Ukrainian citizens. Numerous local groups operate under its umbrella.

Holocaust: Approximately 250,000 additional Poles in the Soviet-occupied zone of former Poland are banished to Siberia.

American Homefront/Future History: The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime to win the 1940 Stanley Cup. It is the last time the Rangers win the Cup for 54 years. As the years lengthen during that span, the derisive chant "1940! 1940!" becomes a rallying cry for fans of the team's opponents. It is one of the most enduring legacies of 1940 for hockey fans.

The Warspite (left) force withdrawing during the Battle of Narvik on 13 April 1940.

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel

2019

Friday 12 April 1940

Discussion before take-off for Narvik on 12 April 1940. L-R: LAC Edwin Williams, Wireless Operator; F/L Aubrey Breckon 1st Pilot; Lieutenant Commander Howie, R.N.; Sgt Robert Hughes Navigator, P/O Donald Harkness, 2nd Pilot, and AC Thomas Mumby, Gunner Observer. – From “Early Operations with Bomber Command.” Probably RNZAF Official.

Norway: Operation Weserubung on 12 April 1940 is proceeding with minimal interference so far from either outside powers or the Norwegian military. Locals are responsible for quartering Wehrmacht troops, and, as usual, the German government pays for their billets in Reichsmarks.

The Norwegian government admits in a communique to losing Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Agdense, Trondheim and the Vaernes military base. The rest of southern Norway, it claims, remains in Norwegian hands, along with the entirety of northern Norway save Narvik. The government continues to strike a defiant tone, minimizing the extent of the German invasion. The Germans are annoyed at the Norwegians' refusal to acquiesce like the Danes and express this with an air attack against the small town sheltering the King and government, Elverum, around 17: 20.

Elverum is overflowing with refugees who have followed the government there. Journalist Erik Seidenfaden notes that "The hotels are full of ministers huddling 'round stoves and breaking icicles to clean teeth. All the town's stationery has been bought for government business." King Haakon is distressed at the harm he is bringing to the locals by his presence, stating: "I cannot bear to watch children crouching in the snow as bullets mow down trees." He cannot stay there indefinitely, because the Wehrmacht knows exactly where he is.

In fact, the Wehrmacht is starting to move beyond its city bases in southern Norway. They are expanding away from Oslo in all directions, like a mushroom cloud. The 196th Division takes Kongsberg to the southwest of the city, and the 163rd Division takes Moss, Frederickstad, and Sarpsborg.

Norwegian defenses are firming around Trondheim. An artillery officer, Major Hans Holtermann, collects 250 volunteers and occupies a venerable fort at Ingstadkleiva near Trondheim. This will become known as Hegra Fortress. The fort has been out of operation for some time, but it has four 10.5 cm and two 7.5 cm in half-turrets and 4 Krupp m/1887 field guns, along with a storehouse full of ammunition. The Germans nearby notice the sudden activity at the fort, and a Wehrmacht Major comes to request their surrender. Holtermann refuses.

Danish troops on the morning of the Ger­man in­va­sion, code­named Oper­a­tion Weser­ubung, April 9, 1940. Within hours, two of the squad’s seven men shown in this picture were dead. They were two out of 16 Dan­ish sol­diers total who perished during the in­va­sion.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends its largest raid yet, 83-90 bombers (sources vary), to attack Stavanger airfield, but the damage caused is minimal. The RAF loses around ten planes total during the operation.

The Fleet Air Arm bombs Bergen.

Royal Navy carrier HMS Furious launches air attacks against the German 3rd Mountain Division at Narvik.

The New Zealand (No. 75 NZ) Squadron flies long-range reconnaissance from R.A.F. Bassingbourn in northern Scotland over the Lofoten Islands and Narvik. This requires Wellingtons specially fitted with range petrol tanks, and stripped of armour plating, self-sealing tanks and some armament. Everything considered non-essential, including some chairs and oxygen bottles, is removed to save weight. The reconnaissance, which covers over 2,000 miles, is successful. While near Narvik, the crew spots a Luftwaffe Ju 86 apparently performing similar reconnaissance. Nobody really knows what is going on at Narvik, but everybody is quite interested.
Luftwaffe chief Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Goering creates Luftflotte 5 to cover Norway. Its first commander is Generaloberst Erhard Milch, who operates his headquarters out of Hamburg for the time being. Luftflotte 5 for the time being will assist the ground troops with supplies, transport, and targeted attacks. The planes themselves will be based in Norwegian airfields such as Stavanger.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Admiral Hipper are moving southwest of Stavanger back to Germany. After RAF reconnaissance spots them, the RAF launches both land- and carrier-based air attacks. None hits the ships, two of which already have been damaged, and they make it back to base.

U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) continues its successful patrol by torpedoing and sinking the 4,511 ton British freighter Stancliffe 45 miles northeast of Muckle Flugga, Shetlands at 09:42. There are 16 survivors and 21 perish. The survivors sail their lifeboat to Haroldswick, Unst Island.

British submarine HMS Snapper sinks German cargo ship Moonsund.

The Royal Navy has laid mines in both the Skagerrak and the Kattegat. It also has laid mines from near Holland to near Norway.

Convoy OA 128GF departs from Southend.

Royal Navy destroyers arrive at the Faroe Islands and make preparations for the arrival of British troops.

U-103 is commissioned.

Western Front: France and Britain cancel all leave and order forces to be ready to fight at 6-hours notice.

Denmark: The Faroe Islands agree to accept British protection. No troops arrive yet, though.

Cyprus: The Cyprus Regiment officially is formed.

US Government: President Roosevelt refuses to answer a question about whether the Monroe Doctrine applies to Greenland. He states that the issue is "very, very premature" and "awfully hypothetical."

FDR also answers a question about television, which is still very early in its broadcast history. He opines that it has "a great future," but that there were anti-trust issues which the FCC was working on. NBC currently has the most experience with broadcasting locally in the New York City area.

Australian Homefront: The government bans the sale of foreign magazines and newspapers in order aid the country's balance of trade.

American Homefront: Alfred Hitchcock/David O. Selznick film "Rebecca" premieres in the US. It stars Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. "Dr. Cyclops," a rare technicolor science fiction film of the era, also debuts.

Future History: Herbie Hancock is born in Chicago, Illinois. He becomes famous in the late 1960s for scoring the soundtrack to "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" and for a collection of jazz and electronic music albums.

The German troops marching through town to Haderslev Barracks in Norway. They are being welcomed as liberators: note the Fuhrer salutes. These marches are a typical Wehrmacht practice, and there is no way to force people into the street to give salutes. In some locales, in fact, the streets are empty on such occasions. The Danish fälg hangs at half-mast due to a memorial service earlier that day for the local fallen.

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016