Saturday 24 May 1941

"Shell splashes from British Battleship HMS PRINCE OF WALES fall short of their target the German Heavy Cruiser PRINZ EUGEN." 24 May 1941. © IWM (HU 383).

Anglo/Iraq War: Eleven Italian Fiat CR-42 fighters are en route to Aleppo, Syria on 24 May 1941 to reinforce the Luftwaffe forces. Axis use of Syrian airfields is closely watched by the British, who are planning an invasion of Syria because of it.

In preparation for the upcoming invasion of Syria, British commandos dynamite a bridge along the Aleppo-Mosul railway. A train arrives in Mosul carrying Vichy supplies from the Vichy forces in Syria.

HMAS Yarra (CMDR W. H. Harrington, RAN) attacks Habib Shawi. It lands some Gurkha troops which pacify the position, then re-embark. The Yarra also has a shore party ashore to map out the terrain for a future large-scale British invasion of Iraq.

Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell confers with British Indian commander Claude Auchinleck in Basra, Syria.

East African Campaign: The Allied forces (11th and 12th African Divisions) take Soddu, Abyssinia. General Gazzera leads weak Italian forces in the area.

European Air Operations: The RAF has planes out searching for battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen.

"German Battleship BISMARK engaging the British Battlecruiser HMS HOOD as seen from the German Heavy Cruiser PRINZ EUGEN" © IWM (HU 386).

Battle of the Atlantic: German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen continue heading south through the Denmark Strait as the day begins, trailed by Royal Navy cruisers HMS Suffolk and Norfolk. At 00:28 Suffolk loses contact with the German ships, and it takes some time to reestablish contact because the German ships alter their course to the west at 01:41. However,   just before 03:00, Suffolk regains the signal.

Suffolk acts quickly and signals its position to other very powerful Royal Navy units approaching from the southeast. Battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Hood on their way from Scapa Flow sail right by the German ships without spotting them due to poor visibility.

Prince of Wales and Hood are 35 miles away and now from the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen and now, because of the temporary loss of contact, must chase them. Finally, at 05:35, the lookouts on the Prince of Wales spot the German ships. The Germans also spot the British around this time, alerted by their hydrophonic sensors. Admiral  Lancelot Holland, aboard the Hood, decides not to wait for reinforcements and gives the order to close and open fire. This is the Battle of Denmark Strait.

Hood opens fire at 05:52 at the extreme distance of 26,500 years (24,200 meters). The British mistake the lead ship to be the Bismarck, but Admiral Günther Lütjens aboard the Hood has put the Prinz Eugen in the lead due to the loss of the Bismarck's forward radar on the 23rd. For at least the opening stages, Hood fires on Prinz Eugen while Prince of Wales fires on Bismarck. Norfolk and Suffolk are too far away to participate.

The Prince of Wales has mechanical issues with its main guns - the only ones it can use at this distance - and the front three (of nine total) fall silent after the first salvo. Workmen from Scapa Flow are aboard and continue working on them throughout the battle.

The weather conditions favor the Germans, as the wind is from the west. This causes difficulties on Hood and Prince of Wales in aiming their salvoes. However, Prince of Wales gets the first hit, disabling the Bismarck's commander's boat and seaplane catapult. It gets two more hits, the first passing clean through the Bismarck's bow without exploding, the third hitting below the Bismarck's waterline and causing flooding.

"A column of smoke rising above the sinking British Battlecruiser HMS HOOD. HMS PRINCE OF WALES in the background. This picture was taken from the German Heavy Cruiser PRINZ EUGEN" © IWM (HU 385).

Both hits on the Bismarck are shrugged off by the Germans, but in fact, they are quite serious. The third (and last) hit floods a generator room and partially floods a boiler room, wounding five men. The hit in Bismarck's bow removes access to 1000 long tons of fuel oil and leaves an oil slick. It also causes a 9-degree list to port, reduces the ship's speed by two meters, and makes the ship "lean forward" with its bow now riding two meters lower in the water than designed.

The German ships open fire at 05:55 after some discussion on the bridge of the Bismarck. Admiral Lütjens waits for better conditions, but finally, Bismarck Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann ends the debate: "Ich lasse mir doch nicht mein Schiff unter dem Arsch wegschießen. Feuererlaubnis!" ("I'm not letting my ship get shot out from under my arse. Open fire!"). Lütjens then orders Prinz Eugen Kapitän zur See Helmuth Brinkmann to open fire as well. Both Bismarck and Prinz Eugen concentrate on Hood, and they score one minor hit on the Hood's boat deck, and then another at the base of the bridge.

At 06:00, Admiral Holland orders a turn to port for both British ships to bring the aft main guns into action. The distance at this point has closed to about nine miles (14 km). A salvo from Bismarck then straddles the Hood, with one hit around the mainmast that apparently ignites the aft magazine. The Hood immediately blows up in a fireball of such force that it blows the two massive aft turrets into the sea. Hood breaks in two and sinks in three minutes. There are three survivors out of 1419 men.

Prince of Wales almost runs over the rapidly disappearing Hood, but an abrupt change, of course, avoids a collision. Both German ships now focus on the Prince of Wales, with one hit by the Bismarck and three by the Prinz Eugen. Two of the shells fail to explode, but minor flooding results that also releases some fuel oil. The problems with the guns put more out of action, and at 06:04 Captain John Leach decides to withdraw with 13 dead and nine wounded.

Bismarck firing on Hood and Prince of Wales, Battle of Denmark Strait, 24 May 1941, photographed from Prinz Eugen.

At this point, the Germans have a decision to make. They can chase the fleeing Prince of Wales, head back to port due to the damage to Bismarck, or continue on their original course as if nothing had happened. Captain Lindemann wishes to chase the Prince of Wales, but Lütjens refuses. He orders a return to the original course, preferring to following standing orders from German Naval Commander Groß Admiral Erich Raeder to avoid unnecessary action. The German ships turn due west. The pursuing British cruisers continue shadowing them, and Suffolk fires a few salvoes even though it is out of range. Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker in Norfolk now assumes command of the British squadron.

Lindemann's men try to repair the damage from the Battle of the Denmark Strait, but they fail completely. He has to shut down Boiler Room No. 2, and this reduces the ship's speed to a still fast 28 knots. Bismarck now no longer has enough fuel for a raiding mission, so Lütjens decides to head for France - rather than Norway, which is closer. Once again Lütjens overrules Lindemann, who wants to return to Bergen. Since Prinz Eugen is undamaged, Lütjens detaches it for an independent raiding mission while he sets a course for the French port of Saint-Nazaire.

In Berlin, Admiral Raeder learns of Lütjens' decision from wireless messages and, after much back-and-forth with his staff, calls Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. Hitler says to those with him:

If now these British cruisers are maintaining contact and Lütjens has sunk the Hood and nearly crippled the other, which was brand new and having trouble with her guns during the action, why didn't he sink her too? Why hasn't he tried to get out of there or why hasn't he turned around?

Basically, Hitler sides with Lindemann on both issues of dispute between him and Lütjens. It is easy to question Lütjens' decisions, but he has the entire Royal Navy and RAF after him, and he really has no good choices far from home with a damaged ship.

Radio Berlin announces the sinking of the Hood in the evening to wild acclaim, but witnesses report that Hitler is not happy, but rather very worried about Bismarck's prospects.

HMS Prince of Wales, prior to 24 May 1941.

As Bismarck steams to the southeast, British Commander of the Home Fleet  Admiral John Tovey detaches aircraft carrier Victorious along with four light cruisers toward her expected course. At 22:00, right as light is fading, Victorious launches six Fairey Fulmar fighters and nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 825 Naval Air Squadron. Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde leads his planes first over the shadowing Norfolk, then over an observing US Coast Guard Cutter (USS Modoc). The planes manage one hit out of nine torpedoes launched. Fortunately for the Germans, it hits the ship's main armored belt and only causes minor damage. However, Bismarck's evasive maneuvers increase the flooding from the earlier hits. This forces the ship to slow again to 16 knots, but emergency repairs by divers enable a return to 20 knots. While not fast enough to outrun pursuers, 20 knots is an economical speed that maximizes the Bismarck's dwindling fuel stocks.

"British Battlecruiser HMS HOOD exploding (right) and the British Battleship HMS PRINCE OF WALES (center) as seen from the German Heavy Cruiser PRINZ EUGEN." © IWM (HU 384).

As the day ends, Prince of Wales moves up and fires a few salvoes, and Bismarck returns fire. No hits are scored. Lütjens then signals by semaphore to Prinz Eugen:

Intend to shake stalker as follows: During rain squall, the BISMARCK will change course west. PRINZ EUGEN will maintain course and speed until he is forced to change position or three hours after the departure of Bismarck. Subsequently, is released to take on oil from "Belchen" or "Lothringen". Afterwards, pursue independent cruiser war. Implementation upon cue word, "Hood."

US Navy Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52) at Naval Air Station Argentia, Newfoundland sends its eleven PBY-5 Catalina Flying Boats (serviced by seaplane tender USS Albemarle) off in fierce weather to search for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen.

U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off Freetown, sinks 3575-ton Egyptian freighter Radames. This follows a long chase that began at 17:50 on the 23rd. It takes three torpedoes, the first two of which miss.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), on its ninth patrol out of Lorient, is operating off Freetown when it torpedoes and sinks 4362-ton British freighter Vulcain.

British 2034-ton tanker Octane hits a mine in the English Channel and is beached near Anthony. The ship is later repaired at Falmouth.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2846-ton Greek freighter Matronna at Milford Haven. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 711-ton British freighter Sarnia while at anchor at Milford Haven. The freighter is towed to Milford Docks for repairs.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4270-ton British freighter Cressdene in Mumbles Roads.

U-433 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans Ey) and U-752 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Ernst Schroeter) are commissioned, U-505 and U-702 are launched, U-446 is laid down.

German raider Atlantis, disguised as Dutch freighter Brastagi, sinks 4530-ton British collier Trafalgar (which also carries two aircraft) off Namibia in the South Atlantic. There are 12 deaths and 33 crew are taken aboard the Atlantis.

"A shell from the British Battlecruiser HMS HOOD lands near the German Battleship BISMARK forming a large white column of water. The black smoke near BISMARCK indicates it has just fired a salvo on the British warships." © IWM (HU 382).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The battle for Crete already is decided, though the British refuse to accept reality. Mediterranean Fleet Commander Admiral Andrew Cunningham already has recognized what is going on. As he reported on 23 May:

The operations of the last four days have been nothing short of a test of strength between the Mediterranean Fleet and the German Air Force. I am afraid that, in the coastal area, we have to admit defeat and accept the fact that losses are too great to justify us in trying to prevent seaborne attacks on Crete. This is a melancholy conclusion, but it must be faced.

If nothing else, this is final and decisive proof of the superiority of air power over naval power. Today, the real-life implications of the loss of naval control become evident.

The Germans begin expanding from their Maleme airfield lodgement in earnest today to the east. The Luftwaffe attacks Allied forces in Kastelli, near Heraklion, paving the way for the 95th Gebirgs Pioneer Battalion to take the town. Incidental to this attack, German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) who had been captured there following the initial landings on 20 May manage to escape by killing or capturing their captors (New Zealand officers of the 1st Greek Regiment). The Greek troops put up a fierce defense in the area that lasts for days, but they are low on ammunition and steadily pushed back. The Germans approach Canea.

The Germans make one last attempt at a seaborne landing. At Piraeus, Oberleutnant-zur-See Österlin, who had commanded the abortive landing attempt at the beginning of the invasion which the Royal Navy prevented, tries again. He puts two Panzer II tanks on a wooden lighter and sets out for Crete under tow from tug Kentauros. However, the Luftwaffe spots Royal Navy units nearby, so he aborts this attempt as well and puts in at the island of Kithira. Thus, the Germans on Crete continue to operate without armor, but the British there have only a handful of tanks, so this is not a major issue.

The British still hold Suda Bay. They use it today to land 200 commandos (A and D battalions of British Layforce) aboard fast minelayer Abdiel. The Abdiel then quickly turns around and departs. About 800 additional commandos are on destroyers offshore but cannot be landed due to bad weather.

The Australian 19th Infantry Brigade attacks the German 2nd  Fallschirmjäger Regiment near Retimo. The Germans there are in purely defensive mode, as the entire German invasion focus is on Maleme.

Bismarck firing on Hood and Prince of Wales, Battle of Denmark Strait, 24 May 1941, photographed from Prinz Eugen.

Even as the British retain the self-delusion that the battle on Crete is going well, the Germans are only too happy to crow about their success there. The daily instructions from the Reich Press Chief state:

The special announcement about Crete should form your front-page story. Germany's is one of the boldest military strokes in world history and awakens the pride of the nation. It should be an occasion for emphatic political commentary. Above all, emphasize the contrast between Churchill's initial boastful remarks and the German reporting that began only when factual battle results could be truthfully reported.

The British media, meanwhile, are much more circumspect about the battle and provide dramatic stories about massive losses on both sides. General Ismay, visiting Prime Minister Churchill at Chequers, notes in his memoirs that Churchill is "almost exclusively" interested in the chase of the German battleship Bismarck  despite the situation on Crete being "critical."

About 16 miles south of Sicily, Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder (Lt-Cdr Malcolm David Wanklyn) penetrates an Axis convoy and damages 4854 ton Vichy French tanker Capitaine Damiani. Upholder also torpedoes and sinks 18,500 ton converted troop ship Conte Rosso. The Conte Rosso sinks within 40 minutes. There are 2729 soldiers and crew on board, and roughly half (1300) perish. The escorts then force Wanklyn to submerge and survive 37 enemy depth charges. The Capitaine Damiani makes it to Naples under tow from tug Goliath. There is some question whether the Upholder makes both attacks on the 24th, one may take place on the 23rd.

The Luftwaffe raids Tobruk. It sinks 76-ton naval drifter Aurora II. While making a nightly run to the port, Royal Navy sloop Grimsby and the small freighter it is escorting are sunk as well.

Admiral Cunningham orders aircraft carrier HMS Formidable to prepare to go to sea. The Formidable is to head to the island of Scarpanto (Karpathos) and attack the Axis airfield there. This will be Operation MAQ3.

Bismarck firing on Hood and Prince of Wales, Battle of Denmark Strait, 24 May 1941, photographed from Prinz Eugen.

Anglo/Finnish Relations: There are talks in Berlin between the OKW and Finnish Chief of Staff Lt. General Erik Heinrichs. It is unclear exactly how definite the Germans are about Operation Barbarossa, but the meeting is congenial along with all other diplomatic relations between the two powers.

Anglo/Irish Relations: According to the War Cabinet minutes, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland John Andrews informs Winston Churchill that the Ulster Unionist Council has approved conscription in Northern Ireland. Andrews tells Churchill that he should do "what His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom thought was best for the Empire."

Anglo/Chinese Relations: Winston Churchill sends Chiang Kai-shek a fulsome telegram in which he states in part, "In our different spheres our two countries are fighting in the ranks of freedom against tyranny and aggression."

US Government: The US Congress passes a bill authorizing construction of 550,000 tons of auxiliary vessels for use by the US Navy.

German Military: The OKW sends trainloads full of troops east in preparation of Operation Barbarossa. This will continue from this point forward until the launch of Operation Barbarossa.

One of the last photographs taken of Hood from her consort HMS Prince of Wales, early morning of 24 May 1941.

British Government: It is Empire Day (later Commonwealth Day), but there is little good news in the Empire aside from schoolchildren who have the day off. Winston Churchill ignores the terrible war news by screening "Seven Sinners" starring Marlene Dietrich at Chequers.

South African Government: Prime Minister Jan Smuts formally becomes a British Field Marshal.

Norwegian Homefront: The occupying German authorities begin arresting union representatives during the Norway Theater Strike.

British Homefront: "War Weapon Week" concludes, with proceeds of £124,000,000 toward purchases of military items.

American Homefront: The Gallup organization releases the results of a poll in the United States:

Do you think President Roosevelt has gone too far in his policies of helping Britain, or not far enough?

The results are 59% "About right," 21% "Too Far," and 20% "Not Far Enough."

Future History: Robert Allen Zimmerman is born in Duluth, Minnesota. He begins forming bands while in high school, and in May 1960 he drops out of college and moves to New York. He develops a following in Greenwich Village clubs, changes his stage name to Bob Dylan, and releases his first album on 19 March 1962. As Bob Dylan, he becomes a major contributor to the '60s folk-rock scene. As of this writing, Bob Dylan remains active in the music business, with regular tours in the US and Europe.

Bismarck on 24 May 1941.

May 1941

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

2020

Friday 23 May 1941

HMS Hood steaming toward the Denmark Strait, on or about 23 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: Adolf Hitler issues Führer Directive No. 30 on 23 May 1941. Reflecting his complete disinterest in ongoing Operation Mercury in the Mediterranean, Directive 30 deals solely with the war in Iraq. Stating the obvious, it states "I have therefore decided to hasten developments in the Middle East by supporting Iraq" and deals mainly with organizational issues. However, it is significant because already Hitler begins hedging his bets against the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union:

Whether, and if so how, it may be possible, in conjunction with an offensive against the Suez Canal, finally to break the British position between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf is a question which will be decided only after Barbarossa.

In fact, the situation in Iraq will completely resolve before Operation Barbarossa begins. The only statement in Directive 30 of lasting importance is the opening sentence: "The Arab Freedom Movement is our natural ally against England in the Middle East."

The Luftwaffe already has a presence in Iraq, though it has been worn down already through combat losses. The Italians send eleven Fiat CR-42 fighters of No. 155 Squadron to Iraq from Italy. They arrive in Rhodes today, which is occupied by Italy.

The Luftwaffe based at Mosul strafes British troops advancing from Fallujah toward Baghdad. However, the Iraqi ground troops are rapidly losing ground there. The RAF loses a Gloster Gladiator, but the crew reaches British lines.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 20 planes on anti-shipping missions. After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids Cologne with 51 planes.

During the early morning hours, Lt Frederick Ronald Bertram Fortt, RNVR, and Lt Denis James Patrick O'Hagan RCNVR disarm a "G" type of Luftwaffe parachute mine at Nuneaton. The mines have a photoelectric boobytrap that explodes when exposed to sunlight, so work has to be done at night. After a lot of digging (the bomb is at 22 feet), the two men remove the primer, magnetic primer and finally the fuse.

Just to show the danger of this type of work, two Royal Navy Bomb & Mine Disposal officers are killed today doing similar work on Malta.

"A spectacle that no Hollywood producer could hope to better. At the head of seven hundred men of his army of many thousands, Dejazmatch Gerressu Duki (called Ras Gerresu by his followers) rides across the Omo river on his white horse, in his green captured Italian uniform." © IWM (K 1982).

East African Campaign: Allied colonial forces cross the Omo River.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe) is on its ninth patrol and shadowing Convoy OB-318 off Freetown, Sierra Leone when it attacks. At 19:51, Liebe sends one torpedo into the port side of the engine room of 6622-ton Dutch motor freighter Berhala. At 20:20, Liebe uses a second torpedo, and the ship sinks within eight minutes. There are three deaths, and the 59 survivors are picked up quickly by an escort.

In Unternehmen Rheinübung, the German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen enter the Denmark Strait in order to break out into the Atlantic. The channel is only 30-40 miles (48-64 km) wide due to pack ice, and the Royal Navy maintains patrols because it is one of only two possible passages for German warship breakouts.

In the early evening, Royal Navy cruisers HMS Norfolk and Suffolk spot the German ships, and the Germans realize they have been spotted. Admiral Lütjens gives Prinz Eugen discretion to open fire, but the captain of the Prinz Eugen decides the range is too great. At 20:30, Bismarck opens fire but scores no hits. The incident reveals a flaw in Bismarck's design, as the force of the ship's own gun blasts knocks its forward FuMO 23 radar set out of action. Admiral Lütjens thus orders Prinz Eugen into the lead. All four ships are traveling at roughly 27 knots. Thereafter, the British avoid the German ships and fall in behind them.

At 22:00, Bismarck doubles back in order to confront the shadowing British cruisers, who are 14 miles behind. However, Suffolk detects the maneuver on its radar and hides in a fog bank. The ships thereafter maintain course along the coast of Greenland.

HMS Ark Royal, Renown and Sheffield, accompanied by HMS Faulknor, Foresight, Forester, Fortune, Foxhound and Fury, are dispatched to the Atlantic to search for Bismarck. Battlecruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales, escorted by destroyers Electra, Anthony, Echo, Icarus, Achates, and Antelope, already are closing on the scene.

The British suggest that Canada and Newfoundland use St. John's, Newfoundland for joint escort services. Newfoundland Command and Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF) is established, although St. John's has no naval facilities at this time and will take time to prepare for full use. Destroyer HMCS Saguenay departs from Greenock and corvettes Aggasiz, Alberni, Chambly, Cobalt, Collingwood, Orillia, and Wetaskiwin depart Halifax immediately for St John's to join NEF. Within weeks, NEF will begin providing continuous close escort all the way across the Atlantic.

Royal Canadian Navy corvette HMCS Quesnel (Lt. John A. Gow) is commissioned, HMCS Woodstock is laid down in Collingwood, Ontario.

USS Grampus (Lt. Commander Edward S. Hutchinson) is commissioned.

Spitfire MkVb, RAF 92 Squadron, Flight Officer Alan Wright, RAF Biggin Hill, May 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The battle on and around Crete continues to go catastrophically for the British. In effect, they lose any chance of holding Crete today.

Operation Mercury, the German invasion of Crete, has developed into a classic confrontation between an air force opposing a navy, and the navy is taking a vicious beating. Royal Navy Mediterranean Commander Admiral Andrew Cunningham admits:

The operations of the last four days have been nothing short of a test of strength between the Mediterranean Fleet and the German Air Force. I am afraid that, in the coastal area, we have to admit defeat and accept the fact that losses are too great to justify us in trying to prevent seaborne attacks on Crete. This is a melancholy conclusion, but it must be faced.

In the evening, Cunningham signals the Admiralty that daylight operations are too hazardous, but their response is to accept the risk.

The Maleme airfield becomes usable for operation by the Luftwaffe as the Allies are pushed back, so the Germans bring in fighters to operate there. The end of the airfield is a tangled mess of dozens of transports that have wrecked immediately upon landing under fire, but the field is no longer under Allied fire.

The Germans also hold a coastal perimeter east of Heraklion. The Luftwaffe sends Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers against New Zealand troops trying to hold a line without any air cover of their own, and this opens a hole in the Allied lines. Luftwaffe General Ramcke exploits this by having his forces break through to Galatas, where the German 3rd Fallschirmjaeger Regiment under Oberst Heidrich forces that attacked Candea Airfield are trapped.

The Germans already have attempted seaborne landings, but they have all been blocked aside from less than a handful of small ships. The Wehrmacht's only means of supplying supplies and reinforcements to Crete is Junkers Ju 52 transport planes, and they are landing in a chaotic fashion at Maleme airfield. They bring in the men of the 100th Mountain Regiment, adding to the few who managed to cross over on the 22nd in the few ships that got to Crete.

HMS Kelly, sunk on 23 May 1941.

Late in the day, the Royal Navy begins pulling ships from their exposed position north of Crete despite the wishes of the Admiralty. Lord Louis Mountbatten, commanding a destroyer flotilla composed of HMS Kashmir, Kelly and Kipling is ordered to round the western coast of Crete and proceed to Alexandria. It is too late, however: the Luftwaffe (24 Junkers Ju 87 Stukas) catches them and bombs and sinks destroyers HMS Kashmir and Kelly. The Kipling dodges 83 bombs and rescues 279 men from the Kashmir and Kelly (on which Mountbatten flew his flag). Mountbatten, on the bridge when the ship flips over immediately after being hit by a bomb amidships, manages to swim out from underneath the wreck and swim to shore. There are 128 survivors of Kelly and about 153 from Kashmir.

As the Kashmir sinks (broke in two), New Zealand-born ordinary seaman Ian Rhodes mans an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun and shoots down an attacking plane. Rhodes receives the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his bravery.

During its rescue mission, Kipling gets too close to the capsized Kelly. The submerged bow of Kelly punctures Kipling's fuel tanks. This slows Kipling's speed, and it departs immediately for Suez with the survivors.

Forces A-1 and C depart from the waters off Crete as well. They are very low on ammunition and fuel. They spend the night sailing to Alexandria.

Air attacks by Luftwaffe fighter-bombers (Jabos) continue on Crete, and at the key naval port of Suda Bay, they sink five Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) (MTB.67, MTB.213 (Lt G. L. Cotton RNVR), MTB.214, MTB.216 (Lt C. L. Coles RNVR), and MTB.217) there. There are no casualties. The Royal Navy scuttles HMT Kos XXIII at Suda Bay, and the Germans later raise it and return it to service as UJ-2104.

Australian destroyer HMAS Waterhen makes a nightly run to Tobruk with supplies.

The Axis powers also are active at sea, but primarily at search and rescue missions. Luftwaffe floatplanes and Italian MTBs continue searching the sea for troops whose ships sank on the night of the 21st/22nd and pick up another 262 survivors off Cape Spathia.

Winston Churchill reads a despatch from General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, during a visit to Luton, England, on 23 May 1941.

In London, the government has a completely incorrect picture of the battle on Crete. The War Cabinet, Defence Committee minutes note that:

The situation appeared to be in hand except for the Maleme area where the Germans had formed a lodgement and airborne landings were taking place. It was unfortunate that the defenders had not been able to stamp out the parachutists in this area and it was essential that the German lodgment west of Canea should be obliterated by vigorous counter-attacks as soon as possible. The Fleet could not protect the island indefinitely from seaborne landings and if the situation could be fully restored while the power of the Fleet lasted, then the enemy would be faced with the prospect of beginning all over again.

The Defence Committee minutes are a masterpiece of admitting, but minimizing, the dire condition of the situation on and around Crete. In fact, the situation is not "in hand" at all, but is deteriorating hourly.

The Defence Committee minutes also reflect Winston Churchill's continued slights of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell. The evening's minutes note:

The Prime Minister... was somewhat surprised to see that General Wavell referred to Crete as a "commitment," when the island was, in reality, part of this outpost position in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Wavell is correct, defending Crete is a commitment to the Greek people in addition to housing British bases. This is another in a string of incidents in which Churchill interprets things in the worst possible light for Wavell's reputation.

Separately, Churchill cables Wavell and tells him, in part, "Crete battle must be won." He adds, "Hope you will reinforce Crete every night to the fullest extent." He adds a personal message for Wavell to pass on to Crete commander General Freyberg: "The whole world is watching your splendid battle, on which great events turn."

"Prime Minister Winston Churchill talks by wireless telephone from the turret of a Churchill I during a demonstration of the tank at Vauxhall's at Luton, England, on 23 May 1941. He wears a beret of the Royal Tank Regiment." © IWM (H 11842).

Privately, Churchill already is blaming Wavell for the loss of Crete. Churchill's private secretary John Colville notes in his diary that, following a tank inspection, Churchill, he writes:

laments very strongly that the tanks which he asked Wavell to send to Crete were not sent. They might have made the whole difference to the battle.

Wavell is now faced with three separate fronts: in Crete, on the Libyan border, and now in Syria. So far, the tanks brought by the Tiger Convoy have not been allocated to any of those sectors.

French gunboat Meuliere wrecks off Ajaccio, Corsica.

The Luftwaffe lays mines in the Suez Canal.

Greek King George II arrives safely in Alexandria along with his government.

War Crimes: Survivors of the sinkings of the Kelly and Kashmir in the waters off Crete later report that Luftwaffe planes intentionally machine-gunned survivors in the water. These reports always must be taken with a grain of salt, because it is usually impossible to prove that killing survivors is the intent of such fire - but that is the testimony of witnesses who were fired upon.

Propaganda Wars: Gustav Siegfried Eins (GS1), a British "black propaganda" station which purports to be run by extremist German diehards, begins broadcasting. It uses colorful language, calling Winston Churchill "a flat-footed bastard of a drunken old Jew," part of its strategy to offend ordinary Germans and collaborators with its over-the-top militaristic and hateful rhetoric.

"Winston Churchill in the turret of a Churchill I tank during a demonstration of the new vehicle at Vauxhall's at Luton, 23 May 1941." © IWM (H 9922).

Special Operations: The Italian Navy sends submarine Scirè past Gibraltar into the Atlantic. It heads straight for Cadiz, where there is an interned Italian tanker (6504-ton Fulgor). The plan is to take the interned crew off the Fulgor and bring them to safety. Scire also carries midgets submarines for later attacks on Royal Navy ships anchored at Gibraltar.

The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) sends a female agent, Chilean citizen Gillian Gerson, into the unoccupied zone of Vichy France.

Anglo/Vichy French Relations: Winston Churchill sends General Ismay a memo in which he states that any "arrangements" with the French Admiral at Alexandria are "suspended" due to the use by the Luftwaffe of airfields in Syria. Thus, he orders:

We should now seize the French ships by complete surprise, killing without hesitation all who withstand us. It should be possible to cut off a good man of the crews while on shore.

The French ships have been interned in Alexandria without any incidents since the fall of France.

Valentine Infantry Tank Mk. III, under construction in Montreal, 23 May 1941.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 31925884).

Anglo/Spanish Relations: Churchill's secretary, Alexander Cadogan, notes in his diary that he overhead the Defence Committee deciding that it was "wasn't worth the risk" to bomb a German freighter heading north within Spanish territorial waters.

German/Finnish Relations: The Finns send a military delegation led by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Erik Heinrichs to Germany. This is to coordinate activities related to Operation Barbarossa, still scheduled for 22 June 1941. It is fair to say that, at this point, German/Finnish relations are roughly comparable to Anglo/US relations in terms of military coordination.

German Government: The Economic Staff, East, Agricultural Group, part of Hermann Goering's economic apparatus, renders a top-secret report in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. It contains a set of policy directives for the economic exploitation of Soviet agriculture. The gist of the directives is to turn agricultural regions of the (conquered) Soviet Union into industry-free zones so that food production for the benefit of the Reich is maximized. The death of uncounted Soviet citizens from starvation due to diversion of food to the Reich is accepted as inevitable.

USS Trippe (DD-403) at the Boston Navy Yard, 23 May 1941.

Vichy French Homefront: Vice Premier Admiral Francois Darlan makes a radio broadcast in which he states in part that, in order to achieve:

ameliorations of the consequences of defeat and of the conditions of the armistice. . . . It is necessary for her to choose between life and death. The Marshal [Petain] and the Government have chosen life.

This continues the slow drift of the Vichy French government toward outright collaboration with the occupying Germans.

Norwegian Homefront: The Norway Theater Strike continues after a vote of directors and actors in Oslo. This is despite the German threats of reprisals.

British Homefront: Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin passes away at age 74. Known familiarly as Sir Herbert Austin, he is a former MP and, more significantly, he was one of the most famous automobile pioneers. Austin Car Works in Longbridge is one of the greatest car plants of the 1930s and 1940s, and during World War II makes aircraft; Horsa glider fuselages; specialist army vehicles; hydraulic motors for gun turrets; ammunition boxes, magazines for machine guns, Tommy guns, Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns; marine engines for ships lifeboats; and pressings for jerrycans. During the late 1930s, Austin coordinated a plan by the Air Ministry to treble aircraft production by converting motor vehicle manufacturers to aircraft producers via grants and loans (a similar program takes root in the United States). Among other things, the Northfield bypass is called "Sir Herbert Austin Way" after him.

American Homefront: World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retains his title with a win over Buddy Baer by disqualification in the seventh round at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The referee makes the disqualification due to stalling by Baer's manager. This is the last of Louis' "Bum of the Month Club" string of title defenses against low-ranked opponents. Baer is the brother of former heavyweight champion Max Baer.

"Too Many Blondes" starring Rudy Vallee, Helen Parrish, Lon Chaney Jr, Jerome Cowan, Shemp Howard, Iris Adrian, and Eddie Quillan premieres.

"Two ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) trainee motorcycle despatch riders and a Royal Army Service Corps instructor at York, 23 May 1941." © IWM (H 9941).

May 1941

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

2020

Thursday 22 May 1941

Junkers Ju 87 Stukas flying in open formation from the Argos airfield (Peloponnese) to perform attacks near Crete, 22 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: The real action in the Iraq war on 22 May 1941 has shifted far to the east. All German supplies to the Rashid Ali government must pass through Vichy Syria, which has given the Luftwaffe transit rights. The British are gearing up to invade Syria in response. General Maitland Wilson, who is drawing up plans for the invasion, today meets with Major General John Lavarack, who will command British troops in the assault, at Sarafand.

Wilson plans to invade Syria in three separate brigade columns along isolated roads - a risky gambit, as the columns would not be able to support each other. However, British military intelligence reports that French morale in Syria is very low and the invasion will be easy.

At Fallujah, the Iraqi 6th Infantry Brigade counterattacks. They have Italian-made light tanks, but the RAF provides critical support with 56 sorties. The RAF destroys an Iraqi relief column of 40 vehicles heading for Fallujah, losing an Audax biplane (the crew reaches British lines by removing the Lewis machine gun and using it to hold off Iraqis trying to capture them). The British hold their ground and capture six light tanks.

Six sailors from HMAS Yarra go undercover to conduct reconnaissance at Maqil, Iraq. This is pursuant to Operation Scoop, the full-scale invasion of Iraq.

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command conducts Rhubarb operations during the day. RAF Bomber Command sends 16 planes on anti-shipping missions. There is extensive reconnaissance on both sides regarding the Bismarck/Prinz Eugen sortie to the North Atlantic.

British troops in Iraq, May 1941.

East African Campaign: The Allies (East African 22nd Infantry Brigade) capture Sodo (Soddu) in Abyssinia. The Italian 21st and 24th Colonial Divisions withdraw across the Omo River in Galla-Sidamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-111 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Kleinschmidt), on its first patrol and operating with Wolfpack West south of Greenland, torpedoes and sinks 4813-ton British freighter Barnby. This is additional destruction to Convoy HX-126, which has suffered badly and now is dispersed with every ship on its own. After this, U-111 heads for Lorient.

U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on her fourth patrol and operating off Freetown, torpedoes and badly damages (later sinks) 6857-ton British freighter British Grenadier. The entire crew is picked up by Portuguese freighter Ganda before the ship sinks and taken to Freetown.

German Battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen continue up the Norwegian coast. At 04:14, the destroyers detach from the Flotilla and head to Trondheim. At the very end of the day, around midnight, Admiral Lütjens orders the turn toward the northwest for the breakout through the Denmark Strait.

HMS Hood heads toward the Denmark Strait, 22 May 1941.

At 23:00, Battleship HMS King George V, battlecruiser Hood, fleet carrier HMS Victorious, cruisers and destroyers head to sea to support the ships (cruisers Birmingham and Manchester and five trawlers) guarding the Denmark Strait.

The minelayer HNMS Nautilus (M 12) of the Royal Dutch Navy, lost to a collision on 22 May 1941.

Royal Dutch Navy minelayer HNLMS Nautilus collides with British freighter Murrayfield near Saltfleet at 00:23. The Nautilus sinks, but there are no casualties.

British freighter Ben Veg collides with freighter Brittany and sinks in the Irish Sea about 8 miles north of Point of Ayre, Isle of Man. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British 5249-ton freighter Empire Progress southwest of Needles. There are four deaths. The master beaches the ship at Totland Bay, and it is later taken to Southampton for repair.

German 5088-ton freighter Ditmar Koel hits a mine and sinks off the island of Juist near Norden in Lower Saxony.

German freighter Käte Grammerstorf hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea north of Ameland, Friesland.

Italian torpedo boat Lupo (Captain Francesco Mimbelli), badly damaged on the night of 21/21 May 1941 while escorting a convoy to Crete.

HMS Edinburgh intercepts and captures German freighter Lech in the Bay of Biscay.

Royal Navy destroyer HMCS Saguenay completes a refit at Barrow-in-Furness.

Minelayer Teviot Bank lays minefield BS-61 in the English Channel.

Convoy SL-75 departs Gibraltar for England, Convoy WS-8B (Winston Special) departs the Clyde bound for Freetown (and ultimately Suez).

Corvette HMCS Arvida is commissioned.

US Navy tug USS Hoga is commissioned and minesweeper Nuthatch is laid down.

U-564 (Oblt. Reinhard Suhren) rescues the four-man crew of a downed Junkers Ju-88 off of Gdynia (Gotenhafen).

U-373 (Oblt. Paul-Karl Loeser) and U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) are commissioned.

HMS Gloucester undertaking evasive maneuvers prior to being sunk, 22 May 1941. This photo was taken from a Luftwaffe bomber (IWM (HU 24829)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Two completely separate, but inextricably intertwined - battles develop at Crete. The British lose both of them.

At Sea Off Crete:

Everyone on both sides by this point understands that Maleme airfield in the western portion of Crete is the key to the German invasion of Crete (Operation Mercury). From the British perspective, the goal is preventing German reinforcements and supplies to that location, which can only come in by two routes: Junkers Ju 52 transport planes flying from the north, and caiques from Greek ports. The Luftwaffe understands that, if it cannot maintain effective communications with its troops on Crete, they are doomed and the entire invasion will fail.

Both German routes to Crete depend upon airpower. The commander of the Luftwaffe VIII Air Corps, General Freiherr Wolfram von Richthofen, has a powerful force of Bf-109s, Bf 110s, Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers, and Dornier Do-17 and Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers. These oppose Royal Navy Admiral Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet, which has gathered 14-19 large warships (including battleships HMS Valiant and Warspite) to block the German supply routes. The Germans and Italians have no naval presence worth mentioning, and the RAF is too distant to play much of a role (considering that it evacuated Crete on 19 May). The events of Operation Mercury on 22 May 1941 thus develops into a classic confrontation between air and naval power, something that has been debated by all major powers for over twenty years.

While little recognized, the real problem for the Royal Navy is far away. Two desperately needed aircraft carriers are far away, at Gibraltar with Force H, after having just completed Operation Splice (sending planes to Malta). They could steam east... but the Bismarck is on the loose, and the carriers will be needed in the Atlantic. The Royal Navy is being stretched, and the ships off Crete are paying the price.

HMS Gloucester, sunk off Crete on 22 May 1941. The Gloucester was a modern ship, commissioned on 31 January 1939.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance identifies the locations of the Royal Navy units at first light. Stukageschwader 2, commanded by Lt. Col. Oskar Dinort, takes off immediately. The Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers spot two cruisers and two destroyers about 25 miles north of Crete. Cruisers HMS Fiji and Gloucester are slightly damaged by near misses, while the Germans ignore destroyers Greyhound and Griffin. After the Luftwaffe planes leave, the Royal Navy flotilla heads west to join the rest of the fleet about 30 miles off the coast.

East of Crete, the Royal Navy has gotten out of position due to its successful blocking of a German convoy during the night. Admiral Cunningham (in Alexandria) has ordered the ships to pursue the caiques and destroy them. This has brought them far to the north and them easy to attack. The Stukas fall on them next, slightly damaging cruisers HMS Carlisle and Naiad. These ships also escape to the west without being able to destroy the German convoy.

The early success of the Royal Navy ships in defending themselves is due to their use of massive quantities of anti-aircraft ammunition. Already, their stocks are running low, and should their guns fall silent, they would become easy prey to the accurate Luftwaffe Stukas. Gloucester has only 18% of its ammunition left, and Fiji only 30.

Around 10:30, British Force C spots an Axis convoy, escorted by torpedo boat Sagittario, south of Milos. The British ships open fire and damage Sagittario and some caiques. However, the British are soon chased off by the Luftwaffe, and light cruiser HMS Naiad suffers four near misses and has two turrets knocked out. While the ship can still steam at 16 knots, the damage is structural and thus severe. Light cruiser Carlisle is hit on the bridge, killing Captain T.C. Hampton. The entire force heads back to Port Said for repairs. Light cruiser Perth also suffers damage.
Shortly after noontime, Bf 109s escort Dornier Do-17 bombers to attack the Royal Navy ships that are heading west. While the Dorniers are usually thought of as level bombers, every bomber in the Luftwaffe is designed to serve as a dive bomber, too. The planes destroy battleship Warspite's starboard 4- and 6-inch batteries. The planes cause chaos on the deck by strafing and killing many sailors manning guns.

"Photograph taken by a German airman recording the sinking of HMS GLOUCESTER off the coast of Crete, 22 May 1941." © IWM (HU 1997D).

The first flight of Luftwaffe planes of Stukageschwader 2 now has had time to return to base, rearm and refuel, and return to battle. They catch destroyer Greyhound off Antikythera, east of Crete, where it has been sent to intercept a reported German seaborne convoy to Crete. Greyhound sinks quickly. Cunningham orders several ships to the area to pick up survivors, but he has not been told that the ships have expended their anti-aircraft ammunition. The Luftwaffe pounces again and sets cruiser Gloucester ablaze. It sinks at 16:00. Out of a crew of 807, 722 perish.

At this point, Rear Admiral Edward King, in local command, gives up. He leaves all of the survivors of both Gloucester and Greyhound to their fate and runs back toward Alexandria with cruiser Fiji and destroyers Kandahar and Kingston. The Luftwaffe sends floatplanes to help pick up more than 500 British sailors who otherwise would perish, along with some Royal Navy destroyers who return during the night.

HMS Fiji under attack, with bombs falling astern, just before her sinking.

King's ships, however, are still exposed. A single Bf 109 fighter-bomber (Jabo) carrying a 550-pound bomb spots the fleeing Fiji. The bomb is a near miss which opens the cruiser's plates and causes extensive flooding. The pilot radios in the position and half an hour later a Junkers Ju 88 (Lieutenant Gerhard Brenner) arrives and hits the cruiser with three 110-pound bombs in the forward boiler room. Fiji sinks around 18:00.

The Admiralty is furious at King's "lack of aggression." After the battle, he is court-martialed for his decision and relegated to a desk job at the Admiralty. He will never go to sea again and will retire on 15 June 1944.

The Admiralty decides to reinforce failure and sends five more destroyers from Malta. Two of them, Kashmire and Kelly, shell Maleme after dark. However, this exposes their position to the Germans, who radio Athens to send more planes early on the 23rd.

The Luftwaffe also attacks Force A1 west of Crete, damaging battleship HMS Valiant. The Luftwaffe loses five Junkers Ju-87s and five Junkers Ju-88s and has sixteen more planes damaged. Significantly, the Luftwaffe does not lose any fighters because the RAF has withdrawn theirs.

After dark, the Royal Navy maintains patrols off Crete, but the Luftwaffe continues attacking. Destroyer Havock suffers damage to its boiler room from a near miss. There are 15 deaths and ten wounded.

Force D shells and sinks Romanian freighter Carmen Sylva.

Another view from a Luftwaffe plane of HMS Gloucester rolling over on 22 May 1941 (Imperial War Museums (collection no. PC 2250).

In Suda Bay, half-sunk cruiser York, which is beached and has been used as a gun platform, finally is abandoned after being hit by more bombs. The Royal Navy opens the seacocks and does other things to render it unusable to the Germans.

Seeing the way things are going, the Admiralty orders Royal Navy destroyers HMS Decoy and Hero to evacuate Greek King George and the rest of the Greek government from Crete.

Submarine Rorqual lays mines in the Gulf of Salonika. The ships of Operation Splice, the air-ferry mission to Malta, arrive back in Gibraltar. At Malta, it is a fairly quiet day, with reconnaissance patrols spotting an Axis convoy off the eastern Tunisian coast (likely returning from Tripoli). The RAF launches attacks and claims a sinking, though apparently, the Axis ships suffer no damage.

According to his Private Secretary John Colville's diary, Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the evening dismisses the losses of Fiji and Gloucester and the other ships, saying:

What do you think we build the ships for?

Churchill, of course, is the former head of the Royal Navy. It is interesting to compare this sort of statement with the endless criticism that Adolf Hitler receives for similarly callous statements about Wehrmacht casualties.

Map of British counterattack, 22 May 1941.

Maleme Airport:

The New Zealand troops at Maleme require time to be relieved by other troops in order to counterattack the vital Hill 107 which overlooks Maleme airport. The British still worry about a sea landing, so they keep many available forces on the coast nearby. Two New Zealand battalions, the 20th Battalion of the 4th Brigade and the 28th Maori Battalion of the 5th Brigade, finally launch a counterattack. While planned for 02:00, it does not get into motion until after daylight. The Allied counterattack under New Zealand Second Lieutenant Charles Upham fails despite wreaking havoc on machine-gun nests and other positions, and the Germans tighten their grip on the airfield. Upham, who goes out of his way to rescue several isolated soldiers, wins the Victoria Cross.

Aerial view of Maleme Airfield during Operation Mercury, with planes scattered all about on the runway.

Maleme airfield is still under artillery fire throughout the day. The Luftwaffe continues feeding planes into the inferno with reinforcements and supplies. While able to land, most either crash into other planes at the chaotic end of the runway or are blasted by shellfire. Still, enough planes get through to maintain the German position and enable it to expand as the day goes on. The Luftwaffe loses dozens of transports but saves the bridgehead.

The Allies, meanwhile, are utterly confused about German intentions, and some commanders believe the German transports are taking Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) off the island rather than bringing them in.

Ruins at Heraklion following fighting on 22 May 1941.

Elsewhere On Crete:

The Australian 19th Infantry Brigade contains the Fallschirmjäger attacking Retimo. The German 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment withdraws under heavy pressure to positions east of Heraklion. With the main effort now clearly at Maleme, the goal of other German forces on the island is first and foremost to avoid capture or death.

Elsewhere in North Africa, there is little ground activity. RAF bombers raid Benghazi.

"A German Pzkw Mk III tank advances through the desert during Rommel's drive on Bir Hakeim, June 1942. The tank was superior to its British rival, the Matilda, in terms of both reliability and armament." This photo may have been taken on 22 May 1941, as that is its production date. © IWM (MH 5852).

Propaganda War: The propaganda agencies of both the Reich and Great Britain paint very different pictures of the fighting on Crete. The German public is told of stirring air attacks, but the dire straits of the Fallschirmjäger are glossed over. The British press, on the other hand, dwells on Luftwaffe losses and the supposedly solid position of the British forces on land.

German/Soviet Relations: Reich Ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow, Russia. Schulenburg, who knows about Operation Barbarossa (or at least strongly suspects it), reports that it is a friendly meeting.

Anglo-US Relations: Churchill gives a candid evaluation of the fighting on Crete to President Roosevelt, calling the battle "severe, because, having no airfields within effective range, we cannot bring any Air Force into action." He adds:

Two of our cruisers and two destroyers sunk today. We are destroying many of highest-class German troops and have sunk at least one convoy.

This is an extremely accurate appraisal, and much more honest than what the statement he issues to the House of Commons.

Regarding the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Churchill comments that "Should we fail to catch them going out, your Navy should surely be able to mark them down for us." All pretense of US neutrality, of course, is long gone.

Anglo/Ireland Relations: Churchill has an unpleasant meeting with Irish High Commissioner John Dulanty, as reported in the War Cabinet minutes. Churchill claims that Dulanty has used "the usual arguments" in opposition to an Irish draft in Northern Ireland, such as the likelihood of violent protests. Churchill responds that British public opinion is "hard and bitter" and would lead to a "permanent embitterment of feeling after the war." The War Cabinet minutes suggest that plans for a draft in Ireland will proceed despite objections, but be limited to those already in the Home Guard.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking east towards Tower Bridge." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131469).

Anglo/Vichy France Relations: The British demand that the Vichy French government stop collaborating with Germany:

If the Vichy government, in pursuance of their declared policy of collaboration with the enemy, take action or permit action detrimental to our conduct of the war or designed to assist the enemy's war effort, we shall naturally hold ourselves free to attack the enemy wherever he may be found, and in so doing we shall no longer feel bound to draw any distinction between occupied and unoccupied territory in the execution of our military plans.

Vichy continues its drift toward further collaboration.

German Military: Field Marshal Albert Kesselring moves his headquarters of Luftflotte 2 from the Channel coast to Bielany, a suburb of Warsaw. The Air Fleet will operate in support of Army Group Center under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, whose target is Moscow. Kesselring and von Bock established a close working relationship during the invasion of Poland and, later, of the Netherland and Belgium. Airfields in Poland, however, are not yet complete for all of the Luftwaffe units - many Poles are being impressed into service to clear land and build structures.

Heinrich Himmler forms a Norwegian SS organization, basing it on the German original.

Soviet Military: Destroyer Razjarennyj is launched.

P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the Philippines in 1941.

US Military: Both the US Army Air Corps and the RAF place orders for the P40D/Kittyhawk I/Curtiss Hawk 81 fighter.

The US Navy continues transferring ships from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

US President Roosevelt issues orders to prepare for the seizure of the Azores.

British Government: Churchill makes a statement to the House of Commons about Crete, his third in the past three days. He states in part:

Fighting is continuing with intensity, and, although the situation is in hand, the Germans have gained some local successes, at heavy cost. They are using large numbers of airborne and parachute troops, and these are increasing daily.... At Maleme Aerodrome, 10 miles South-West of Canea, it appears that the enemy are now in occupation of the aerodrome and the area to the West of it, but the aerodrom is still under our fire. Elsewhere in this sector the coastal line remains in our hands.

Churchill is silent on the Royal Navy losses at sea, which his private secretary confirms he is well aware of at this time. He simply says, "I am sorry to say that I have got no definite information as to the results, but I feel they can hardly be other than satisfactory."

In fact, the results are sea are far from satisfactory for the Royal Navy, as he well knows. Churchill also does not mention the issue of German troops wearing New Zealand uniforms, something he has claimed to be the case in the previous two statements.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking southeast." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131470).

German Government: Hitler ends his brief stay at his old apartment in Munich and heads up to Berchtesgaden. He holds a war conference, and Admiral Raeder notifies Hitler about the Bismarck mission. Hitler, who at one point during the war confesses that he "can't sleep a wink with large ships operating, first asks somewhat plaintively, "Herr Grossadmiral, can’t we fetch the ships back?" However, he reluctantly consents to Operation Rheinübung due to the effect it would have on Kriegsmarine's morale. Hitler is worried about the effect the Bismarck operation will have on the United States.

Hitler's adjutant and personal friend, Walther Hewel, writes in his diary for 22 May:

... Drove up the mountain. Conference with the Chief [Ribbentrop], Raeder, and Keitel on naval strategy, convoy issue, the Raeder “interview,” and on Dakar, the Canaries and the Azores! Very interesting. The Fuhrer still vacillates in his attitude toward America, as “you cannot peer into Roosevelt’s mind.” If he wants a war, he will always find the means, even if legally we are in the right. Japan holds the key.

Adolf Hitler ends his two-day vacation in Munich and meets with Admiral Erich Raeder. They discuss a possible Kriegsmarine invasion of the Azores. Hitler sees it as a base for Luftwaffe bombers. Raeder reports that, should the Germans take the Azores, they would have no way of defending them.

China: Chinese 4th Pursuit Group disperse to new airfields, and just as they are landing, 25 Japanese G3M bombers with an escort of A6M Zero fighters appear overhead. The Japanese bomb Lanzhou. Kao You-hsing, flying an I-16, still has his engine running after landing and takes off to fight the Japanese formation singlehandedly and disrupts the attack. This buys enough time for other Chinese planes to get in the air, preventing them from being destroyed on the ground. The Japanese lose one bomber, but the bomb the city without further interference.

The Chinese redirect 17 I-153s of the 5th Pursuit Group to Lanzhou to defend against the attack. However, while refueling at Tianshu (Gansu Province), all of the planes are destroyed on the ground by bombing. Lu Enlung, leader of the 5th Pursuit Group, is relieved of command.

Japanese aircraft of the 12th Kokutai also attack Chengu during the day.

Grave of Private Walter Fleming, number 3710998, 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, at Habbaniya War Cemetery, Iraq. KIA 22 May 1941.

Holocaust: Jews in Croatia are required to wear a Yellow Badge, also known as the Yellow Star of David, reflecting similar medieval practices. The practice will spread around Occupied Europe. The badges include the word "Jew" in local languages.

Norwegian Homefront: The German occupation authorities call striking theatrical workers in to remonstrate with them. The workers are told to get back to work "or else."

American Homefront: Technicolor film "Blood and Sand" is released. Starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth, it features supporting roles by Anthony Quinn, John Carradine, and Lynn Bari. It becomes quite popular and will win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, due in part to set designer Rouben Mamoulian using the paintings of Spanish painters Goya, El Greco and Velázquez for inspiration.

Future History: Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, born in Glasgow, Scotland. He will become a top British track-and-field athlete, holding the British record for the 100-meter sprint from 1967-1974, and thereafter a leading British politician. As of this writing, Lord Campbell is the Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.

HMS Greyhound, sunk 22 May 1941 off Crete.

May 1941

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

2020