Tuesday 27 May 1941

"HMS RODNEY with BISMARCK covered by smoke in the distance, 27 May 1941." © IWM (MH 15929).

Anglo/Iraq War: In the evening of 27 May 1941, the British Habforce troops that have occupied Fallujah under Major-General George Clark begin advancing on Baghdad. The British are in multiple columns in a concentric attack, with Indian 20th Brigade coming from the south on the Euphrates, Indian 21st Brigade advancing along the Tigris River from Basra while Habforce troops marching from Fallujah. The defending troops of Rashid Ali destroy bridges and dams, slowing the advance. However, while Clark's force is far smaller than the defending Iraqis, militarily it is far superior.

The German military mission also is under intense pressure in Iraq. The Luftwaffe force has been vastly reduced in size, while the eleven Italian Fiat Cr-42 fighters that have just arrived can do little. All continue to fight, but prepare to leave the country should Baghdad fall.

As the British near Baghdad, rioting and looting begin to break out.

In London, Prime Minister Winston Churchill tells the House that "In Iraq, our position has been largely re-established, and the prospects have greatly improved."

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 14 aircraft on anti-shipping sweeps during the day. It attacks Cologne during the night with 84 aircraft and also lays mines off Boulogne, Brest and St. Nazaire.

The Luftwaffe performs an armed reconnaissance across the Channel. The Germans lose a Heinkel He 111 from 4./KG 55 west of St. Ives, Cornwall to Pilot/Officer F. Oliver of RAF No 66 Squadron.

German battleship Bismarck under fire from battleships HMS Rodney and King George V (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

Battle of the Atlantic: As the day begins, the German battleship Bismarck has been crippled by a torpedo hit in the stern that has jammed its left rudder. This prevents it from proceeding to the southeast and safety under the protection of the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy closes in, and within hours the Bismarck is surrounded and everyone awaits daylight for the end.

Everyone on the Bismarck knows the situation is hopeless. Around midnight, Admiral Günther Lütjens, in command aboard the Bismarck, makes his last radio transmission to headquarters: "Ship unmaneuverable. We shall fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer."

The Royal Navy's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, under the command of Captain Philip Vian, arrives on the scene after being diverted from escorting troop convoy WS8B from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. His destroyers make runs at the battleship, launching torpedoes. It is unclear (and unlikely) if the destroyers make any hits, but they keep the Germans busy.

U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), which has completed its patrol with Wolfpack West in the North Atlantic and returning to base in France, receives orders to retrieve the logbooks from Bismarck. Wohlfarth heads to the position, and on his way spots aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the battlecruiser Renown. However, U-556 is out of torpedoes and can do nothing.

Bismarck under fire from the Royal Navy, 27 May 1941 (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

At 08:47, the Royal Navy begins firing. British battleships HMS Rodney and King George V achieve quick hits, silencing the Bismarck's guns. After closing in, at around 10:00 each British battleship achieves two penetrations of Bismarck's armor, two on the starboard side by King George V and two on the port side by Rodney. The British battleships, low on the fuel, then leave the scene and leave the ending to smaller ships.

Heavy cruiser Dorsetshire then closes and sends three torpedoes into the blazing German ship. Around the same time, the surviving Bismarck crew sets off scuttling charges. It is unclear if the torpedoes would have sunk the Bismarck, or if it required the Bismarck crew scuttling the now-defenseless ship - but the Bismarck capsizes and sinks at 10:40.

Survivors of the Bismarck being pulled aboard HMS Dorsetshire.

The sea is full of the Bismarck's crew, but there is great fear in the British ships about U-boats. Dorsetshire and destroyer Maori spend an hour picking up survivors, and 110 men are saved. The British ships then quickly depart the scene, leaving many sailors to drown. Later, U-74 (Kptlt. Eitel-Fredrich Kentrat) and Kriegsmarine weather ship Sachsenwald arrive, with U-74 picking up three men and the weather ship two. One man later dies, so 114 men survive the sinking. About 2200 Bismarck crew perish during the battle, including Admiral Lütjens and Bismarck Captain Lindemann (both of whom likely died early on when the bridge was hit, but some survivors reported seeing Lindemann standing at attention on the stern as it sank).

Operation Rheinübung involved two ships: Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The latter ship is forgotten by virtually everyone, Prinz Eugen - almost out of fuel - has made a rendezvous with tanker Spichern far to the south. Today, it develops some engine trouble, reducing its speed to 28 knots. Ultimately, this will force Prinz Eugen to abandon its mission and seek haven in France.

At Berchtesgaden, Hitler crony Walther Hewel notes in his diary, "Bismarck sunk … Fuehrer melancholy beyond words."

U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler), operating off Freetown, is on its second patrol. It uses two torpedoes to sink 5108-ton British freighter Colonial, which has been dispersed from Convoy OB 318. 100 men, including Convoy Commodore Rear Admiral W.B. Mackenzie RN, are picked up by target ship (formerly battleship) HMS Centurion and landed at Freetown.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 239 Royal Navy ton minesweeping trawler Evesham off Yarmouth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe damages anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank off Cape Cornwall. There are 65 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages ocean boarding vessel HMS Registan in Bristol Channel. The master beaches it at Falmouth, Cornwall, and the Registan is later refloated and repaired. There are 70 deaths. Those lost include Dudley Joel, 37, a British businessman and a Member of Parliament. Some sources place this as happening on the 28th.

Swordfish 5S of 818 Squadron, FAA returns to HMS Ark Royal after observing the sinking of Bismarck.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 695-ton Norwegian freighter Røyksund in the outer reaches of Bristol Channel. There are ten survivors of Royksund rescued by destroyer HMS Cleveland, while six men perish (one crewman dies later).

Norwegian 1655-ton freighter Thyra, part of Convoy OB 325, collides with escort destroyer HMS Leamington and sinks. There are four deaths, and 20 survivors are taken aboard the Leamington, which is largely unscathed.

British 7628-ton freighter Michael E has been converted into the first Royal Navy Catapult Aircraft Merchant (CAM) ship. It sails late in the day from Glasgow for Halifax, Nova Scotia with Convoy OB 327 on its first mission carrying a Hawker Hurricanes modified for sea duty.

Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.62 in the English Channel.

Convoy OB 327 departs from Liverpool. Convoy HX 129, delayed by the Bismarck battle, departs from Halifax and BHX departs from Bermuda. Convoy HX 129, incidentally, becomes the first convoy to have continuous escort protection across the Atlantic due to the new escort headquarters at St. John's.

"A Fairey Swordfish flying over HMS KING GEORGE V during the BISMARCK action." © IWM (MH 15930) (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Erwin Rommel unleashes Kampfgruppe von Herff on the Libyan frontier in Operation Skorpion. The battle plan involves a feint to the west of Fort Capuzzo by Group Bach acting as a decoy, intended to fool the British into thinking that they are about to be outflanked. This, the thinking goes, will induce the British out of their defensive positions and expose them to attack. The British, however, barely react, so Oberst Maximilian von Herff orders Group Cramer (which has the bulk of the panzers) to move northwards directly on the objective: Halfaya Pass. At dawn, Group Knabe attacks the head of the pass and Group Bach attacks the foot. The British only have nine tanks in Halfaya Pass, and they are out-matched by the massive German attack.

After an hour or two of the unequal battle, British commander Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott authorizes a withdrawal. Lieutenant-Colonel J. Moubray, in command of the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards and the other units garrisoning the pass (including the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4th RTR, Major C. G. Miles), field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, and the 7th Support Group of the 7th Armoured Division), blasts his way out of his encirclement with some troops captured by Group Bach.

While not a major battle, Operation Skorpion deprives the British of their last gain from their Operation Brevity of May 15-16. It also provides an unusual incident where the roles of the two sides are reversed, the Germans being able to intercept some British wireless messages while the British get no help from Ultra. The British Army loses 173 men (40 prisoners), four 25-pounder field guns, eight 2-pounder anti-tank guns, and five Infantry tanks. The Germans capture nine 25-pounder field guns, seven Matilda (A12) tanks, and two other tanks. Most importantly, the battle eliminates any British hope of a quick relief of Tobruk.

The Afrika Korps wastes no time in reinforcing its defenses both at Tobruk and along the Gazala Line. Rommel orders a defensive line built just over the border in Egypt, based on Halfaya Pass, in an arc through Qalala and Hafid Ridge 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Fort Capuzzo to Sidi Aziz.

At 00:50, Churchill sends Wavell a brief cable, "Hope you are preparing your desert stroke and that Tobruk will not be idle." The British in Egypt now brings forward the tanks from the Tiger Convoy (Churchill's "Tiger Cubs") for another offensive planned in mid-June (Operation Battleaxe). At the evening War Cabinet meeting, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound emphasizes the "vital importance from the naval point of view of the recapture of Cyrenaica."

A map of the Battle of 42nd Street, Suda, Crete, 27 May 1941.

On Crete, the situation is getting desperate for the British. In the morning, the New Zealand 28th (Māori) Battalion, the Australian 2/7th Battalion, and the Australian 2/8th Battalion fix bayonets and charge the German 141st Mountain Regiment which is blocking the road from Suda (Souda) to Chania (Canea). In this "Battle of 42nd Street," the Commonwealth troops succeed. This re-opens a line of retreat for the Commonwealth troops still fighting in and around Chania, which the Germans now completely take.

At 02:00, Prime Minister Winston Churchill cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell: "Victory in Crete essential at this turning point in the war. Keep hurling in all aid you can." At 08:42, Wavell responds. He has a much closer view of the actual situation on Crete and knows that events at sea or in Iraq mean nothing for his defense of the island. Wavell cables back, "Fear we must recognize that Crete is no longer tenable…."

Wavell's cable arrives while the War Cabinet is in session. As the meeting's minutes state:

The Prime Minister said that all chances of winning the battle in Crete now appeared to have gone and we should have to face the prospect of the loss of most of our forces there.

Churchill casually adds that he will reveal nothing of this to the House of Commons in his morning statement. In fact, he simply states that the army's "magnificent resistance hangs in the balance."

Fallschirmjäger march into Canea (Chandia/Hania) after a long battle, 27 May 1941 (Australian War Memorial 106492).

The decision to withdraw from Crete is made formal when Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which states:

In view of General Wavell's latest message, he should be ordered to evacuate Crete forthwith, saving as many men as possible without regard to material, and taking whatever measures, whether by reinforcement or otherwise, are best.

So, London now accepts the inevitable. British island commander General Bernard Freyberg quickly orders Allied troops to begin withdrawing to the south shore for evacuation. The British troops at Suda and Beritania, including 800 Commandos just landed on the 26th, begin heading down the road to Vitsilokoumos, north of Sfakia. The Germans occupy the critical naval base at Suda Bay as the British depart.

Responding to an OKW request made on the 26th, the Italians send a convoy from Rhodes to reinforce the Germans on Crete. It contains a brigade from the 50th Infantry Division Regina, supported by 13 L3/35 light tanks. As many have noted, Operation Mercury has been an odd battle because the Germans have had no tanks, and the British Army has had no air support. This Italian convoy, comprising a motley collection of four fishing vessels, two steamships, one riverboat, two reefer ships, three tugs, and three tankers, aims to bring ashore some Axis armored support. Their planned landing date is the afternoon of 28 May. The convoy is escorted by destroyer Crispi and two torpedo boats (Lince and Lira).

Royal Navy battleship HMS Barham is covering the withdrawal of minelayer Abdiel from Suda Bay, where it landed Commandos on the 26th when the Luftwaffe bombs it. The bomb destroys Y turret and kills seven crewmen while wounding six. Barham makes for Alexandria, then Durban, for repairs, which take until 30 July.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 305-ton armed trawler HMT Thorbryn off Tobruk.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 307-ton Naval whaler Syvern en route to Crete.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1187 ton Greek freighters Antonios and 5452 ton Julia at Suda Bay, Crete. Everyone survives.

The RAF bombs and damages Italian freighter Marco Foscarini off Tripoli. The master beaches her, and the Foscarini is refloated and scrapped after the war.

More troops are embarked on three destroyers (Hotspur, Imperial, and Kimberley) at Alexandria for transport to Crete when the decision to evacuate to the island is received. The troops are not sent.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten suffers damage from grounding at Malta and requires repairs until 4 June.

The RAF force based on Malta loses two Blenheims of RAF No. 82 Squadron while attacking a large Italian supply convoy that reaches Tripoli safely. At Malta, the Luftwaffe drops mines in Grand Harbour.

Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch at the Corinthian Canal, Greece 27 May 1941.

Special Operations: Italian submarine Scirè launches three midget submarines manned by frogmen to penetrate the Royal Navy base at Gibraltar. The mission fails for technical reasons and no Royal Navy ships suffer damage.

POWs: In the House of Commons, Winston Churchill rejects a request that prisoner Rudolf Hess be tried as a spy or illegal alien.

German/Vichy French Relations: Vichy Vice Premier Admiral François Darlan and German ambassador to France, Otto Abetz sign the Paris Protocols. These Protocols grant the Germans military facilities in Syria, Tunisia, and French West Africa, while the French get a reduction in occupation costs (from 20 to 15 million Reichsmarks a day) and the release of 6800 more French POWs. These are not formally ratified, but provide a framework for French collaboration.

US/Japanese Relations: US Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew sends a cable to Washington:

A member of the Embassy was told by my ------- colleague that from many quarters, including a Japanese one, he had heard that a surprise mass attack on Pearl Harbor was planned by the Japanese military forces, in case of "trouble" between Japan and the United States; that the attack would involve the use of all the Japanese military facilities. My colleague said that he was prompted to pass this on because it had come to him from many sources, although the plan seemed fantastic.

Grew's unnamed friend, of course, is absolutely correct - the Japanese have been planning for an attack on US, British and Dutch interests in the Pacific for some time. The US already has a defensive plan prepared for such possibilities, so the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) files the warning without acting on it.

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill cables Roosevelt thanking him for the decision to release half a dozen small aircraft carriers to the Royal Navy. "All this will be most helpful."

Anglo/Irish Relations: At the morning War Cabinet meeting - usually held in the evening, but assembled due to the naval battle occurring at the time involving the Bismarck - Churchill gives his thoughts about conscription in Northern Ireland. Irish leader Eamon De Valera has warned against conscription as having a negative effect on public opinion. Churchill opines that a statement should be issued that states in part:

His Majesty's Government had now come to the conclusion that, although there could be no dispute about our rights, or about the merits, it would be more trouble than it was worth to apply conscription to Northern Ireland.

The War Cabinet, of course, agrees with this very grudging concession, as it does with virtually everything that Churchill proposes throughout the war. This is exactly what he tells the House.

British Military: Winston Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which urges expansion of the British paratrooper force "on the German model" based on its success on Crete. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Churchill is paying the Fallschirmjäger a huge compliment. This is somewhat ironic considering the opposite conclusions about Operation Mercury that the German leadership are drawing at this time.

The War Cabinet's "Tank Parliament" meets, and it agrees that tank production must be greatly expanded.

The War Office issues a secret memo barring Fascists and Communists from serving in the Home Guard. All such members currently serving are to be cashiered forthwith.

The front page of the Syracuse Herald-Journal, 27 May 1941.

US Military: The garrison at San Francisco, California test-fires the 12-inch coastal artillery in the evening, a spectacle seen throughout the city.

Albania: The Albanian who recently attempted to assassinate the king of Italy and the prime minister of Albania, Vasil Laçi, 19, is executed.

China: The Japanese North China Front Army defeats the Chinese 1st War Area in the Battle of South Shanxi. This is one of the worst land defeats for the Chinese forces of the entire war and is largely due to refusal of the Communist 8th Route Army to rescue trapped Nationalist (Kuomintang) forces. The Nationalists are wiped out despite having an almost 2:1 advance in troop strength.

British Homefront: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast to the nation. He states that Britain is heading into a "long, stern, scowling valley of war, to victory."

American Homefront: In a long, rambling radio address broadcast (fireside chat) from the White House, President Roosevelt proclaims a state of unlimited national emergency. He re-uses his famous phrase from 1933, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Roosevelt lists the things the United States has done to support the British war effort, announces new policies which include a decision to:

actively resist wherever necessary, and with all our resources, every attempt by Hitler to extend his ... domination to the Western Hemisphere.

He then casts the confrontation as:

divided between human slavery and human freedom—between pagan brutality and the Christian ideal. We choose human freedom—which is the Christian ideal.

There is no mention in the speech of actually declaring war, or how the US actions he lists would relate to the proper role of neutrals. It is as close to a declaration of war, and the obvious significance of the speech is that the United States is going to do everything possible to fight German without actually firing weapons.

USS St. Augustine off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 27 May 1941 (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives).

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

Monday 14 April 1941

"The For'ard 14" guns of HMS KING GEORGE V firing during practice." April 1941. © IWM (A 3888).

Operation Marita/Operation 25: The German 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ("LSSAH," still only brigade-size during the battle for Greece) is through the Klidi and Kleisoura Passes by 14 April 1941. It now is pursuing the retreating British and Greek armies south. The German 9th Panzer Division comes up against the new Allied blocking position at Siatista Pass, but such is the disarray on the Allied side that only one battalion of the 82nd Regiment of the 12th Greek Division is in place to delay them.

The spearheads of the 9th Panzer Division reach Kozani in northern Greece, which was the first main objective following the XL Panzer Corps' turn south. In addition, the Germans send some units across the Aliakmon River near Thessaloniki and take Katerini, which is only 6 km from the coastline. The British have pulled back slightly there, but remain in the vicinity to prevent further German advances.

The British strategy right now still is to stop the Germans, not to evacuate. They put forces into three main zones: the Olympus Pass, the Servia Pass, and the Platamon tunnel sector west of Olympus. In effect, the British have abandoned the Aliakmon Line even though they still have scattered units trying to hold it. The British organize "Savige Force" under Brigadier S. G. Savige with 1st Armored Brigade and 17th Australian Brigade to defend their left flank.

The Yugoslavian Zetska Division had been leading the advance to the west against the Italian positions in Albania, but the sudden appearance of German forces on its flank has compelled it to retreat. Today, it sits on the Pronisat River, watched carefully by the Italian 131st Armored Division Centauro. Because of this withdrawal, the Greek forces in Albania are now completely cut off. However, the Italians in Albania are very quiet.

The RAF bombs the Italian port of Valona (Vlore) with Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 815 Squadron. They sink 3329-ton Italian freighter Luciano and 1228 ton Italian freighter Stampalia. The British lose a Swordfish, with one man killed and two becoming prisoners.

King Peter arrives at a secret British airbase in northwest Greece at Paramythia. That is an Italian-made Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparrowhawk. Peter is fourth from the left facing the camera, bare-headed and in a tweed jacket. (R.J. Dudman via Serbianna).

King Peter II abandons Yugoslavia and flees to Athens. He departs from Kopino Polje airport in Niksic, Montenegro, thence to Paramythia, the site of a top-secret RAF airfield (near the Yugoslav/Albanian border) previously used (in February) by Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS John Dill. Prime Minister (and Yugoslav Chief of Staff) Dusan Simovic and other top military and government leaders also flee separately. The Yugoslav gold reserves also are flown out. Peter flies from here to Athens, then to Alexandria, then to Jerusalem, then to Cairo.

The Yugoslav government is under no illusions. It is considering asking the Germans for a ceasefire. Some accounts state that they request one late today.

British Col. Oakley-Hill, an old Albanian hand, has been trying to organize the Albanian resistance. With the situation rapidly changing, he is recalled. Resistance efforts, however, will continue.

The Luftwaffe damages British 7264-ton transport Clan Cummin at sea, then it hits a mine and sinks in Eleusis Bay northwest of Athens. While 36 men are rescued by the Allies, 77 become German prisoners.

Time Magazine, 14 April 1941 - Adolf Hitler - "Spring is Here."

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Dutch power stations with 14 bombers and coastal targets with another 14 bombers during the day. Then, after dark, the RAF sends 94 bombers to attack the French port of Brest, where German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are in drydock.

The RAF has a tragic accident when a Halifax bomber crashes at Tollerton, near RAF Linton on Ouse. The engineer apparently shuts off the engines accidentally. Two of the crew are injured.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann), on its 8th and final patrol, torpedoes and sinks 6563-ton Belgian freighter Ville de Liège about 810 miles (1300 km) east of Cape Farewell, off southern Greenland. There are ten survivors. This is U-52's final victory, it will return to port after this and spend its remaining years as a training boat. During its eight patrols, it sank 13 Allied ships.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping at Falmouth and bombs and sinks Free French Naval Forces gunboat Conquérante. Also sunk is French gunboat Suippe, which is later refloated.

German guard ship H 453 Gretchen sinks of unknown causes.

USS Gar (Lieutenant D. McGregor) is commissioned at New London, Connecticut.

The Des Moines Register, 14 April 1941. The big news is yesterday's Russia/Japan nonaggression pact.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzies is concerned, and he notes the situation tersely in his diary:

The position in Libya becomes worse, and Egypt is threatened. In Balkans, the Jugo-Slavs are going to collapse, and as the Greeks have not withdrawn their Albanian divisions, the Aliakhmon line will probably be turned and our Greek position rendered untenable.

At the War Cabinet meeting, Menzies disagrees with Churchill's strategy to hold Tobruk as a rallying point. Menzies views the War Cabinet as "deplorable" and Churchill as a "dictator" who cows his ministers into submission. Menzies, who has been planning to leave for several decides, decides to remain for a couple more weeks to participate in "grave decisions" that will be made about his homeland's troops.

Today is the first coordinated German attack on Tobruk, and it is a complete flop. It starts well enough when German sappers cut defensive wires and fill in the Italian-built anti-tank ditch at 02:30. Then, supported by heavy machine-gun fire, they advance. At 04:30/05:20, 38 Afrika Korps tanks break through the first line of fortifications and into the Tobruk perimeter. Supported by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas, they make good progress at first. The Australian defenders, though, have been told to let the tanks pass so they can trap the accompanying infantry.

The British have artillery sited on the spot and knock out 17 of his 5th Panzer Regiment tanks of Group Olbrich (General Olbrich). The remaining panzers withdraw at 07:30 into the desert in disarray, but the 8th Machine Gun Battalion which follows them in is trapped. The 8th loses about 900 men to death or capture, leaving it with a strength of only about 300 men (casualty estimates for this action vary widely, but those figures are from the Germans themselves, though they may include some earlier casualties, too). General Rommel is furious at the failure to capitalize on the initial breakthrough and will sack General Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, as a result.

The German prepare for a siege. They bring up the Italian Trento Division and put it under the command of the Brescia Division. They also put Detachment Schwerin in the line, along with most of the 5th Light Division. A second attack scheduled for 18:00 is canceled, an indication of the depth of the fiasco in the morning. The Afrika Korps also goes over to the defense of Bardia/Sollum/Sidi Oma. The RAF has complete air superiority, and forward Detachment Knabe is bombarded by Royal Navy gunboat HMS Gnat and its accompanying two destroyers in the Bay of Sollum. Royal Navy gunboat HMS Aphis bombards Bardia.

The Luftwaffe is doing what it can. It attacks the Gnat in the Bay of Sollum and badly damages it, killing one sailor. The Gnat makes it to port in Mersa Matruh, then proceeds to Port Said. Lieutenant General Rommel requests control over Luftwaffe operations in Libya by X Fliegerkorps.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2485-ton Turkish freighter Trabzon off Laurium/Lavrio/Lavrium (about 60 km southeast of Athens and north of Cape Sounio).

Royal Navy auxiliary tanker RFA Pericles, which had been damaged during the Luftwaffe bombing of Suda Bay, Crete, sinks (it breaks in half) while en route to Alexandria. Everyone aboard survives.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku is proceeding from Gibraltar to Malta, along with fellow submarines Torbay and Undaunted, when a torpedo - apparently launched by an Italian submarine - is spotted coming toward it. Taku takes evasive action and avoids the torpedo. Apparently, because of this incident, the Admiralty (CinC Mediterranean) orders Taku and Torbay back to Gibraltar for other missions.

Convoy AN 27 (four British and six Greek ships) departs from Port Said bound for Suda Bay, Crete. The ships carry reinforcements and supplies for the troops in Greece.

Australian Corporal John Hurst Edmondson earns a posthumous VC when, while badly wounded during a bayonet charge in the morning darkness, he saves the life of his commanding officer.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: British ammunition ship Fort Stikine catches fire and in Bombay Harbor and explodes in a massive fireball. The blast wave destroys the docks, sinks four nearby ships, and damages 11 others. It explodes again half an hour later. A total of 231 men are killed in the explosion, with another 476 men injured, but the devastation is far worse: an estimated 1000 people simply vanish and 2000 are hospitalized. The Fort Stikine was carrying 124 gold bars, of which all but one remain unrecovered.

Battle of the Pacific: The US Marines garrison Palmyra Atoll (due south of the Hawaiian Islands) with the Marine Detachment, 1st Defense Battalion. Legally, this is the southernmost point in the United States because it is an incorporated territory. It operates under the jurisdiction of the US Department of the Navy and is the center of the Palmyra Island Naval Defensive Sea Area established by President Roosevelt on 14 February 1941.

Royal Navy destroyer HMAS Waterhen (D22) towing the damaged hospital ship HMHS Vita 400 miles (650 km) to Tobruk following her bombing. Judge for yourself - do you think that the Vita appears different from other ships? Can you spot the huge red crosses on her side and funnel? Do you think that is sufficient marking for an attacking plane to know enough not to attack it?

War Crimes: The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4691-ton British hospital ship HMHS Vita off Tobruk. Reports indicate that 8 German planes attack it and that a bomb deflects off her rear mast (with very high-resolution pictures you can see that it is bent backward slightly) and explodes just off her side, opening her plates and flooding her engine room (thus no damage is visible above water). The Vita, carrying 430 patients, makes it to Tobruk, where it sinks on 22 April 1941. While mistakes happen in war, committed by both sides, hospital ships are clearly marked and off-limits to all attacks. No, these are not especially famous incidents, but if you attack a hospital ship, that's a war crime whether it gets a lot of media attention or not.

German/Egyptian Relations: Today, Farouk sends Hitler a personal note through his ambassador in Tehran. Farouk states that ''he was filled with admiration for the Fuhrer'' and was ''certain that the Germans are coming as liberators" and would "soon liberate Egypt from the British yoke." But Egypt was not the only goal, important as it was. The Grand Mufti also met with Hitler around this time and wished "the elimination of the Jewish national home in Palestine."

Egypt is the cornerstone of the British position in the Mediterranean. It is more important than Gibraltar. The Suez Canal enables them to bring in troops from their dominions in India, Australia, New Zealand and their other holdings in Asia to counter the German and Italian positions in North Africa and the Balkans. It also is a potential British escape route for their massive forces in Greece and North Africa. In fact, seizing Egypt is the fundamental goal of German military policy in the Mediterranean, the heart of Adolf Hitler's "Peripheral Strategy."

Hitler has been cultivating his ties to the Arab world for years. For instance, he gave King Farouk of Egypt a Mercedes Benz 540k sports cabriolet for the king's wedding in 1938. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem also is on close personal ties with Hitler, while Rashid Ali in Iraq is eyeing the British at the Habbaniyah airbase near Baghdad and wishing them to be gone. King Farouk without question is the monarch in position to help further Hitler's war aims in the Mediterranean Basin.

The mere fact that Farouk feels confident enough to send this (top secret) sign of dissatisfaction with British hegemony over his country is telling. It suggests that the British hold on Egypt - and elsewhere in the Arab world - may be weakening.

Life Magazine, April 14, 1941 - New York Harbor.

US/Icelandic Relations: Fresh off its agreement to occupy Greenland, the US begins talking with the Icelandic government to see if a similar arrangement can be made there.

US/Chinese Relations: Author Ernest Hemingway and his wife Martha Gellhorn, ostensibly in Asia as tourists (there's a war on!), meet with Chinese Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek in Chungking.

Australian/British Relations: Australian delegates to the ABDA Conference being held in Singapore later in the month embark on Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. Attending will be representatives of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the Dutch East Indies.

German Military: Australian soldiers at Tobruk report seeing what almost certainly are German 88-mm antiaircraft ("8.8 cm Flak 41") guns (they call them "long-barrelled guns on strange carriages"). The guns are not used and are there to exploit the expected breakthrough into Tobruk (German 88's, as they are routinely called, also are used as ground artillery and even, in a dire emergency, as anti-tank weapons). General Rommel used the guns in an anti-tank role at Arras in May 1940, so he is well aware of their versatility. They are sort of a halfway ground between tanks and artillery, with many mounted on vehicles. Their chief drawback, however, is that they have no armor protection and are vulnerable not just to artillery and tanks, but even to rifle fire.

April 14, 1941, Old Gold Cigarettes ad.

US Military: The US Army Air Corps places an order for 2000 Model 74 (BT-13A) Vultee (Stinson) L-1 Valiant observation planes. These planes will bear the designation O-49 and perform various auxiliary services such as towing, artillery spotting and espionage flights.

Holocaust: The Vichy French undertake a mass arrest of Jews in Paris.

Future History: Peter Edward Rose is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He becomes one of the top baseball players in history, accumulating numerous records which still stand, including but not limited to:

• Most hits (4256)
• Most career winning games played (1972)
• Most career games played (3562)
• At bats (14,053)
• Singles (3215)
• Most Outs (10,328).

Rose stars for the Cincinnati Reds during the prime years of his career, playing from 1963 to 1986. He also manages the Cincinnati Reds from 1984-1989, becomes a 17x All-Star, is a member of three World Series championship teams, and is a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame. Pete Rose is barred from the Major League Hall of Fame due to allegations that he bet on baseball games while a player-manager of the Reds. Many consider Pete Rose, if not the greatest baseball player of all time, certainly worthy of being on an all-star team composed of the greatest players of all time.

Pete Rose circa 1963.

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020

Friday 14 February 1941

Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V firing its 14-inch guns, February 1941. © IWM (A 3237).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians on 14 February 1941 attack on the Skutara line near a height designated Height 504 in the coastal sector west of Klisura Pass. The Greek 6th Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Ioannis Theodorou, fights savagely to maintain their position. The Greeks succeed but suffer 109 killed and wounded. The RAF chips in with attacks in the area.

East African Campaign: The British 22nd East African Brigade under General Alan Cunningham take the port of Kismayu. The real prize is Mogadishu to the north. Royal Navy Force T, led by heavy cruisers HMS Shropshire and Hawkins and aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, assists the ground forces with supporting fire. The British take possession of fifteen vessels in the port.

The Free French land at Port Sudan, Sudan. This is the 14th Demi-Brigade de Marche de la Légion Étrangère under the command of Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey.

Things are quiet at Keren as the British regroup. Indian 7th Infantry Brigade takes Mersa Dersa on the Red Sea coast. Another action takes place near Cam Ceua.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends Rhubarb sweeps over the German invasion ports. RAF Bomber Command sends 44 bombers against the Gelsenkirchen oil installations (a favored target) and a similar number to attack Homberg oil installations.

The Luftwaffe sends lone raiders across to bomb Northeast Scotland and Kent. It also mounts fighter sweeps over southern England. There is another raid on London after dark, but it causes little damage.

An event supposedly happens during the night which enters legend; whether it is true or not is uncertain (like the "wooden bombs" story). A disoriented Luftwaffe pilot lands by mistake at an English airfield and does not realize his mistake until he spots the control tower. He takes off quickly, then does the same thing elsewhere. Eventually, the pilot makes it back to France.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with Free French leader Charles de Gaulle, 14 February 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Today is a rare day, as four German heavy cruisers at sea have news. It is unusual for the Kriegsmarine to maintain that many warships in the Atlantic, and if operating together they could be a formidable force. This, however, never happens.

German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper makes port at Brest (some sources place this on the 15th). It sank 8 ships during its 140-day cruise, a small return for the effort expended - but expanded by the effect it has had on the Royal Navy. Things have changed at Brest, and it is no longer as secure for warships as it had been in the past. Admiral Hipper draws a lot of RAF attention there.

German cruiser Admiral Scheer meets supply ship Tannenfels and raider Atlantis, which has with it a captured tanker, Ketty Brøvig. Scheer refuels from the tanker and the two ships exchange supplies.

German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst meet German tankers Schlettstadt and Esso Hamburg in the North Atlantic to refuel. The ships, south of Greenland, are biding their time before attacking the convoys passing just to the south.

German raider Thor, operating in the South Atlantic, meets up with supply ships Eurofeld and Alsterufer.

U-101 (Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen) or U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 5462-ton British freighter Holystone in the mid-Atlantic. Holystone had been in Convoy OB-284, which had been dispersed. All 40 men on board perish. Since there are no survivors, the cause of the sinking is debated. Among the candidates for this sinking are U-101, U-123 and Italian submarine Bianchi, all operating in the same area. If this is the ship attacked by U-123, then Kptlt. Moehle uses six torpedoes to sink the freighter. The first five torpedoes miss. The actual sinking is during the first minutes of the 15th. The ship explodes in a massive explosion caused by a detonation of ammunition or explosives carried within the ship.

Italian submarine Bianchi happens upon a straggler from Convoy SC 21 in the mid-Atlantic south of Iceland. It torpedoes and sinks 4517-ton British freighter Belcrest. All 36 men on board perish.

Royal Navy torpedo boat MTB 41 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 616-ton British freighter Elisabeth Marie in the Northwest Approaches. There is one death, the rest of the 25-man crew is picked up by destroyer HMCS Ottawa.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 420-ton British freighter Moorlands just off Sands End Bay near Banff. The ship makes it to Buckie Harbour.

The Luftwaffe attacks Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent in the Northwest Approaches. The destroyer is lightly damaged but remains in service.

The Luftwaffe also bombs minelayer HMS Teviotbank off Flamborough Head. The minelayer proceeds to the Humber for repairs lasting about a month.

Convoy SLG 1A departs from Gibraltar. It includes two troopships.

US destroyer USS Grayson (DD 435, Lt. Commander Thomas M. Stokes) is commissioned; and USS Woolsey is launched.

"Members of the Home Guard man a Vickers machine-gun on the shores of Loch Stack in the Highlands of Scotland, 14 February 1941."  © IWM (H 7325).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Now that the British have decided to terminate their offensive operations, they begin reorienting their forces. The 11th Hussars, who led the assault at Beda Fomm, enters the reserve while its position is taken over by the King's Dragoon Guards. The Luftwaffe attacks the Hussars as they are leaving, devastating their convoy with Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. This is the Luftwaffe's first attack on the 7th Armoured Division, a harbinger of future attacks.

General Erwin Rommel only has a small group of troops in Tripoli, but he sees opportunity in the British over-extension past Benghazi. He does not know it, but he is getting helped by the British decision to redirect their major effort toward Greece.

The Luftwaffe arrives to help Rommel, starting with a small assortment of various reconnaissance planes, Stukas and Bf 110s of III,/ZG 26. Rommel sends his available troops of the 5th Light Division to Sirte to form a defensive block - but this is unnecessary due to decisions being made on the other side. Many more troops are on the way. The Luftwaffe loses its first two planes in the desert.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Rover torpedoes and damages 6161-ton Italian tanker Cesco off Calabria. Tankers are very tough to sink by torpedo due to their compartmentalized construction, so Cesco makes it back to port.

At Malta, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88s drop the first land mines on the island. They damage homes in Valletta and Senglea, as well as other scattered locations such as St Elmo, Fort Leonardo, the Dockyard and Tigne areas, as well as in St Thomas’ Bay. These types of bombs, which cause devastation over wide areas, are common in England, but this is a first for the Mediterranean. There are five civilian deaths and twenty injuries. The parachute mines hit various structures, including a primary school, barracks, and other areas, and flatten wide areas. The Luftwaffe also drops anti-personnel mines on the beaches of Mellieha.

Convoy AN 15 departs from Port Said bound for Suda Bay, Convoy AC 1 departs from Alexandria bound for Benghazi

"Hitler: Spring is here." Time Magazine, 14 February 1941.

German/Yugoslavian Relations: Hitler meets with Yugoslavian Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković at the Berghof in Berchtesgaden. They talk for three hours. Hitler wants Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact, which would obviate the need to invade it. He does not demand military support, but he does want transit rights so that he can send Wehrmacht forces south through Yugoslavia to invade Greece. However, Cvetković knows that there is immense opposition to joining the Axis, so he demurs.

US/Yugoslavian Relations: Making a rare foray into Balkan politics, President Roosevelt warns Prince Paul not to help Germany.

Ambassador Nomura presents his credentials to President Roosevelt at the White House on 14 February 1941.

US/Japanese Relations: New Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura presents his credentials to President Roosevelt at the White House. President Roosevelt comments, in a classic understatement, "there are developments in the relations between the United States and Japan which cause concern." He specifically mentions the "movements of Japan southward down to Indochina and the Spratly Islands and other localities in that area."

Nomura, unlike his masters in Tokyo, actually wants to find some way to avoid a war. He promises to do what he can. However, both sides expect the other to grant concessions, and nobody is interested in doing that.

US diplomat Eugene Dooman, the US embassy counselor in Tokyo, submits a message from President Roosevelt to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The message, more an ultimatum than anything else, warns the Japanese that the US is helping Great Britain and would not tolerate any interference with British Asian possessions. The bottom line, the message states, is:

it was quite possible to pass over the present critical period without war, but that one essential condition to this more or less happy issue out of our difficulties must be the realization on the part of the Japanese that they cannot substantially alter the status quo in Southeast Asia, particularly, without incurring the risk of creating a very serious situation.

British/Romanian Relations: The British Foreign Office officially breaks relations with Romania. It announces that Romania is "territory under enemy occupation" (which is not the case) and that Great Britain would deem Romania an "enemy destination for contraband purposes." This is a poignant moment because Romania during the 1930s relied greatly on British guarantees of protection.

Singapore/Australian Relations: British Commander-in-chief of the Far East Command Robert Brooke-Popham visits Australia (which is not part of his command). He meets with the Australian War Cabinet. Brooke-Popham gives an optimistic review of the state of British defenses in his realm, saying that Singapore is unlikely to be attacked from the landward side and that it could hold out for six to nine months if attacked.

Anglo/Polish Relations: The RAF drops supplies to the Polish underground for the first time during the war.

The Glenn L. Martin Company Fort Crook Plant. It was renamed Offut Air Base in 1946 in honor of Omaha's first World World I casualty, Lt. Jarvis Offutt. It became the headquarters of Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1948. Among many other planes, the Enola Gay and Bockscar, the only two planes in history to drop nuclear weapons intentionally, were built here.

US Military: USN/USMC Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7 at Culebra/Vieques concludes.

The US Army contracts with the Glenn L. Martin Company for the construction and operation of the Fort Crook Plant, Sarpy County, Nebraska. This plant is intended to assemble the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. The construction order will be sent tomorrow. In all, there will be nine primary buildings, including a 600x900 foot two-story manufacturing and assembly building (some of the plane parts are prefabricated by other companies and simply assembled here). The location was chosen because it was over 200 miles from a coast, as required by the government, and near the city of Omaha.

British Military: General Percy Hobart is appointed commander of the 11th Armoured Division.

British Government: Winston Churchill continues his attention to the WS7 (Winston Special Convoy) now being assembled at Plymouth. As he states in a memo to Sir Andrew Duncan, he remains opposed to sending any but front-line troops on the convoy, preferring to send "a complete infantry division" even though that means "displacing others." He asks Duncan to find seven more transport ships for the convoy. Churchill is determined to improve the "tooth to tail" ratio in the Middle East Command and sees little need for service troops when there is fighting to be done.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies resumes his epic journey from Melbourne to London, today flying from Cairo to Khartoum.

Vichy France Government: Admiral Darlan adds Interior Minister to his other government posts.

American Homefront: RKO Radio Pictures releases the short film "The Little Whirlwind," starring Mickey Mouse and Minny Mouse. The film, produced by Walt Disney for Walt Disney Productions, is directed by Riley Thomson. It features the voices of Walt Disney and Thelma Boardman.

Future History: Paul Tsongas is born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He develops an early interest in politics and goes on to election to the US Congress in 1974 and to the US Senate in 1978. He later runs for the Democratic Party nomination for President in 1992 and wins seven states, but ultimately loses the nomination to Bill Clinton. Paul Tsongas passes away on 18 January 1997.


February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020

Thursday 6 February 1941

U-107 returning from a successful patrol, as evidenced by all the victory pennants. Today, 6 February 1941, it sinks its third ship on its very first patrol, the 3388-ton Canadian freighter Maplecourt.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Operations in Greece remain at a standstill on 6 February 1941. The weather is inhibiting both sides. The Greeks have captured the gateway to the strategic port of Valona, the Klisura Pass, but so far they have been unable to capitalize on this success. The Greeks are planning another attack for the middle of the month. At this point, the Greek hopes to capture Valona fast so that they can shift forces to the Bulgarian frontier to oppose an expected German invasion there  have been frustrated despite early indications of success. The RAF bombs Italian positions west of the Telepini Heights which the Greeks have recently recovered despite fierce resistance from Italian Blackshirts.

East African Campaign: At Keren, Eritrea, the British troops (the 11th Indian Brigade of the 4th Indian Division) are supplemented by the arrival of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade. The Indian soldiers retain an exposed position to the left of the Dongolaas Gorge which controls entry to Keren proper, much like a drawbridge and gate control entrance to a castle. However, while the British are off to a good start, the Italians have heavily fortified positions in the surrounding heights and retain a tight grip on the gorge itself, which, because of the terrain, the British troops cannot bypass. The Indian troops rest after their march from Agordat and prepare for a major attack on the 7th.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Boulogne with 25 bombers during the day, and Dunkirk with 24 bombers after dark. The Luftwaffe does little during the day or after dark.

German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in rough North Atlantic seas during Operation Berlin in February 1941. This picture was taken from the Gneisenau.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau refuel from tanker Schlettstadt south of Cape Farewell, Iceland and proceed south toward the shipping lanes. Admiral Lütjens, in command of Operation Berlin, decides to first attack the HX and SC convoys between Canada and Great Britain. He heads to the southwest, closer to the North American mainland than previous naval battles south of Greenland.

The Allies still have no idea where the German raiders are, though they are looking for them furiously. The Germans are under standing orders to avoid engagements with capital ships and certainly do not want to draw any attention until they strike a convoy. While most convoys have few escorts at all in the mid-Atlantic, and fewer still have battleship escorts, it is impossible to know in advance which do and which do not have protection, and what degree of protection they have. Thus, as much as anything, the two German ships are heading into the unknown.

The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau aren't the only German surface ships in operation. The Kriegsmarine 2nd MTB Flotilla makes a sortie against a convoy in the Ipswich area. S-30 sinks 501-ton British freighter Angularity. There are two deaths, and one crewman is picked up by the Germans and made prisoner.

U-107 (K.Kapt. Günther Hessler), on its first (and very successful) patrol, torpedoes and sinks 3388-ton Canadian freighter Maplecourt. It is traveling in Convoy SC 20 in the Northwest Approaches. Everybody on board perishes.

Battleship HMS King George V arrives back in Scapa Flow from its journey to America to deliver Lord Halifax to Washington.

Convoy WS (Winston Special) 6A forms off Liverpool. It includes more large troop transports bound for the Middle East.

Convoy HG 53 departs from Gibraltar, bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Quantock (Lt. Commander David J. A. Heber-Percy) and minesweeping trawler HMS Coriolanus (W. D. Bishop) are commissioned.

U-556 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Wohlfarth) is commissioned, U-176 is laid down.

At the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wing B, 2nd Floor, Gallery 18A, an exhibit opens today called “French Fashions, 1800-1900.” It runs from February 6 to March 26, 1941 (© The Metropolitan Museum of Art.) This is such a timeless historical picture; while taken in 1941, it could just as easily have been taken at a similar exhibit last week. Roughly speaking, this exhibit in 1941 showed a period which is about as far back in time as World War II is as I write this.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Many histories place today as when the British capture Benghazi. That, however, seems a bit premature. The Italians are evacuating the city, but it remains in their hands as the day ends. In any event, the actual date of the "fall" of the city is of little moment, as the Italians have no intention to defend it.

South of Benghazi, in the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italian 10th Army is trapped on the main road (the Italo Balbo) between the Australian 6th Infantry Division behind them and the Combe Force in front of them. The retreating Italian column is strung out along 7 miles of the road. The Italians have new tanks and a 4:1 advantage in numbers, but their tanks - though new - are inferior and the Italian tactical situation dire.

Lieutenant-General Annibale Bergonzoli in command of the XX Motorised corps tries to break out first thing in the morning, making a diversionary frontal attack while sending the Babini Group (mainly tanks) through the desert to try to get behind Combe Force. However, the British have brought up 32 cruiser tanks and 42 light tanks, and the Italians make little progress. The Australians, meanwhile, reach Benghazi and attack it from the north.

The Italians continue evacuating Benghazi, sending a greater force to the southwest, but the British block on the main road to the south holds. Italian M13 tanks arrive from the city, but many are quickly knocked out - the Italians quickly lose 40 tanks. The Italian artillery proves effective against the British cruiser tanks, though, and Italian vehicles manage to make some progress over rough terrain to the south. A running battle develops, with some Italian vehicles making a run for Tripoli, others surrendering, and more British armor arriving. In confused actions, the Italians make some progress, but the mass of British armor remains intact and draws a tighter cordon around the Italians.

While Operation Compass is an astounding success, it also has imposed a huge strain on the British forces. While the Italians are not much of an obstacle, the climate and terrain are. The desert air becomes loaded with sand at regular intervals, playing havoc with aircraft and other engines. The Middle East Command's RAF headquarters wires Whitehall today, noting that problems are developing with engine maintenance. Simply operating in the desert without adequate engine filters and equipment specially designed for such conditions is softening the British up for a possible counterstroke by fresh Axis forces.

Erwin Rommel already is a legend in February 1941. A hero of two world wars, if he never does another thing, his place in history still would be secure. However, fate now leads him to entirely new challenges.

In Germany, events of far-reaching significance for the war in Africa take place today which in fact promises just such a counterstroke. Having watched the continuing collapse of Italian resistance despite good defensive possibilities, the German high command - Hitler - issues an order to deploy German troops to North Africa. This is Operation Sonnenblume - “Sunflower.” Chosen to command Operation Sunflower is General Erwin Rommel, the hero of the Battle of France while leading the 7th Panzer "Ghost" Division.

The Operation Sunflower force is envisaged as a supplement to the Sperrverband (blocking detachment) previously authorized in Fuhrer Directive No. 22 of 11 January 1941. This is just a couple of divisions, the 5th Light Afrika Division (Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein) and elements of the 15th Panzer Division (Oberst Maximilian von Herff). None of those troops have reached North Africa yet, but the 5th Light Division is almost ready to go. The North African Wehrmacht force (later named Afrika Korps (DAK)) is not intended as a war-winning effort by itself, but simply as a way of stiffening Italian troops already there so that the Italian position can be maintained and the Italians perhaps encouraged to fight better.

Rommel apparently is not Hitler's first choice to lead this new operation. Lieutenant General Friedrich Paulus, deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I), later recalls that he was offered the position first, but turned it down. However, when discussing it with his wife, she apparently says that being a secondary theater, North Africa is not a place where a General could ever make a name for himself. Russia - that was the place for a German General to really succeed.

Force H out of Gibraltar departs for another attempt to launch Operation Result (now Grog), the bombardment of Genoa. The Force (Group 1) is lead by battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and battlecruiser HMS Renown. The operation will include a feint toward Sardinia, the scene of the recent aerial attack on a dam which failed and presumably the Italians may believe will be repeated.

The British lose two more ships due to the German mining of the Suez Canal. The ships, 1500 ton hoppers No. 34 and No. 39, compound the problems the British are facing in clearing the Canal, which remains blocked from earlier sinkings. There are two deaths on No. 39.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt nominates John Gilbert "Gil" Winant as Joseph Kennedy's Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Winant is publicly on record as supporting Roosevelt's own view that Great Britain constitutes the "front lines" against Hitler, and its war effort should be supported wholeheartedly without any thought of negotiation or the possibility of Great Britain losing. This is directly contrary to Kennedy's view that England was sure to lose to Germany and should be negotiating, not fighting.

German/Spanish Relations: Adolf Hitler already basically has given up on Operation Felix due to the logistical requirements of preparing for the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. However, today he sends another lesson to Caudillo Francisco Franco. In it, Hitler says that England has no intention of helping Spain, while German already has promised 100,000 tons of grain. He concludes that "the British power in Europe is broken," and that the Wehrmacht is "the mightiest military machine in the world."

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The War Cabinet minutes for today mention a report by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden about Japan. According to Eden, the Japanese government has told its Embassy staff in London to be ready to "leave the country at short notice," and that Washington has been apprised of this information. A separate diary entry by Sir Alexander Cadogan addresses this more bluntly: "Some more very bad-looking Jap telephone conversations, from which it appears they have decided to attack us."

104th Medical Battalion, 29th Infantry Division as it moves to its new post at Fort Meade, 6 February 1941. The 104th later landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 23, "Directions For Operations Against The English War Economy." It begins "Contrary to our former view" - apparently meaning that the Luftwaffe bombing command on English factories has failed - "the heaviest effect of our operations against the English war economy has lain in the high losses in merchant shipping." The order candidly confesses that:

The least effect of all (as far as we can see) has been made upon the morale and will to resist of the English people.

Thus, those who supported the switch to terror bombing on 7 September 1940 are recognized as having been wrong - and disastrously so, though that will not become apparent for some time.

The "consequences" of all these mistakes in the aerial campaign against Great Britain are:

More focused air attacks against British shipping assets;
An increased orientation on stopping British imports.

The striking thing about this Directive is how pessimistic it is and how low a priority Great Britain is to become. Operations are to be continued "by such forces as remain available for operations against England." It also gets into minutiae of target priorities, showing that the high command feels the Luftwaffe needs special guidance to attack the right places. The order may not be an actual slap in the face of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (who opposes Operation Barbarossa), but it certainly comes close.

Grooms and stablehands at Santa Anita Park vote to strike, 6 February 1941 (LA Times).

British Military: The RAF establishes the Directorate of Air Sea Rescue aka Air Sea Rescue Services (ASRS) aka the RAF Search and Rescue Force. This force operates closely with Coastal Command.

British Government: The British House of Commons votes for a£1,600,000,000 war credit, money which the country essentially does not have.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues his war against the British press. He sends a memorandum to Information Minister Alfred Duff Cooper noting a recent BBC report that apparently gave hints as to future British strategy in North Africa. He tells Duff Cooper to "clean up your arrangements and tone up your men."

US Government: Charles Lindbergh testifies before Congress again today. This time, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he opposes the Lend-Lease Bill, saying that it will only deplete US defenses.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his long journey from Melbourne to London. Today, he is in Cairo. Menzies has dinner with British Middle East Commander General Wavell and RAF chief Longmore, among others. Menzies notes in his diary that his talk "seems encouraging to these Generals & Marshals." His words of encouragement are probably very welcome by the Middle East command team, as London has been far from encouraging recently with all of its talk about the supposedly inefficient "tooth to tail ratio" and switching forces to Greece.

Norway: The Bishops of Norway begin to resist the German occupying forces.

China: The Chinese 5th War Area takes possession of Nanyang, burnt to the ground by the departed Japanese 11th Army.

Future History: Gigi Perreau is born in Los Angeles, California. Gigi goes on to become a child actress in films such as "Madame Curie" (1943). She remains popular until she is too old for her child roles, and in 1959 turns to television. Gigi Perreau remains active in the industry, doing voice work in "Time Again" (2011) and other recent films. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is or was a member of the board of directors of both the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Babe Ruth cuts the cake in his New York City apartment at the Ansonia on his 46th birthday, 6 February 1941.

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020