Showing posts with label HMS Ladybird. Show all posts

Sunday, October 6, 2019

February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles

Wednesday 25 February 1942

Battle of Los Angeles, 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Searchlights and anti-aircraft fire on the morning of 25 February 1942 (25 February 1942 LA Times).

Battle of the Pacific: After hours of warnings from U.S. Naval Intelligence and many false alarms, a full-scale situation develops over Los Angeles, California, in the early morning hours of 25 February 1942. It is difficult to explain exactly what this "situation" is because there is no certainty other than that a massive barrage of anti-aircraft fire erupts around the city. The first hint of trouble is when air raid sirens sound at 02:25 throughout the Los Angeles basin. This results in a total blackout and the recall of Air Raid Wardens from their beds. At 03:16, the guns of the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade open up. In such situations, all it takes is for one gun to go off for everyone within earshot to begin firing wildly at shadows and stars and anything else in sight. The gunners themselves are not entirely to blame as there are reports from official observers of large enemy formations approaching the city. Over 1400 shells are fired from guns ranging from .50 caliber machine guns to 12.8-pound anti-aircraft guns. Given a lack of actual targets, the firing quickly dies down but spent shell fragments rain down on the city, damaging buildings, vehicles, and everything else. The "all clear" sounds at 04:14 and the blackout order is lifted at 07:21. In all, five people perish directly and five indirectly as a result of the incident.

The Los Angeles Times is full of dramatic claims about the Battle of Los Angeles.

The mysterious part about the Battle of Los Angeles is what everyone was firing at. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox is alerted and quickly claims the entire incident is a false alarm. Various spokesmen from the U.S. Army, however, provide a different theory. They say that there actually were aircraft, but not military planes. Instead, there were civilian aircraft used by enemy agents in a psyops campaign to demoralize the public. Nobody is satisfied with any of these explanations, and newspaper editorials lob feverish conspiracy theory allegations (though this term is not invented until the 1960s) about coverups and enemy attacks. These theories are lent some credence by the well-known attack by a Japanese submarine on the oil installation at Ellwood, California, on 23 February. However, the Japanese have no planes or other assets in the area, so the possibility of actual enemy involvement is virtually nil. The USAAF also denies having any planes in the air. Eventually, theories about UFOs pop up as well, a brewing topic during the war which later explodes when foo fighters also are claimed to be of extraterrestrial origin. The mystery is never solved.

The 25 February 1942 Brooklyn Eagle headlines the "Mystery Raid" at Los Angeles.

With British defenses on the Sittang River in collapse, the Japanese continue their jungle infiltration tactics with great success. There is a wide gap between major roads of about 35 miles which the Japanese use to sidestep the Burma 1st Division at Nyaunglebin and the shattered Indian 17th Division at Pegu. If the Japanese can get sufficient troops through, they can cut the Rangoon/Mandalay road and destroy the Indian blocking position. In the air, the American Volunteer Group (AVG, or "Flying Tigers") continues its successful operations, shooting down three "Nate" bombers over Rangoon at noon. At 17:00, the AVG claims a further 23 Japanese Army fighter and an Army bomber. However, the AVG can do nothing to help the ground forces because the Japanese are advancing in small groups under cover of the tree canopy.

The 25 February 1942 Los Angeles Examiner reports than "One Plane Reported Downed on Vermont Avenue by Gunfire."

In Java, the end is approaching and everyone knows it. ABDA Commander General Archibald Wavell dissolves his headquarters at 09:00 and flies back to India to concentrate on the Burma campaign. Dutch General Ter Poorten assumes the island's defense and is immediately confronted with news from a reconnaissance PBY Catalina that a Japanese invasion convoy approaching. At 11:25, he orders the entire ABDA naval force to assemble at Surabaya to repel the invasion. This is an impressive force on paper, with cruisers HMS Exeter and HMAS Perth sailing with three destroyers (Electra, Encounter, and Jupiter) sailing from Batavia for a rendezvous at sea. Admiral Doorman heads to sea at dusk from Surabaya with the heavy cruiser USS Houston and Dutch light cruisers HNMS De Ruyter and Java and seven destroyers. Doorman's mission is to intercept and repel the invasion convoy along the coast of Madoera Island. Nothing comes of this, however, and the ABDA ships all return to Surabaya to await developments. This ABDA naval fleet now becomes known as the Combined Striking Force.

With fears growing of a Japanese advance through Burma to India and corresponding Japanese naval forces in the Indian Ocean, aircraft carrier HMS Hermes flies off its planes (RAF Squadron No. 814) to act as a land-based force at Trincomalee. Destroyer Nizam also arrives at Trincomalee. In the Sunda Strait, Japanese submarine I-58 sinks 7136-ton Dutch freighter Boeroe. All 70 men aboard survive.

Eastern Front, 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Life on the Eastern Front: SVT-38/40: Die Deutsche Wochenschau 25 February 1942.

Eastern Front: The Soviets are busy building up their forces in the Crimea's Kerch Peninsula for an effort to liberate the entire Crimea. They have assembled almost 100,000 men and over 1000 guns for the effort, along with 200 aircraft. Following several postponements, the offensive against the German forces on the Parpach Narrows is scheduled to begin on 27 February. The Germans, meanwhile, still have their main attention focused on Sevastopol in the west and have established a hedgehog defensive strategy in the east centered on fortified villages.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends a total of 61 bombers (43 Wellingtons, 12 Manchesters, 6 Stirlings) to bomb a floating drydock at Kiel. Given the difficulties of finding the target by eye, only 36 of them actually report attacking the target. The dock survives, but the bombs sink accommodation ship Monte Sarmiento, killing about 125 men. Bombs also drop in the nearby town, killing 16 people and injuring 39. The RAF loses three Wellingtons. The Germans, not knowing the military intent of the raid, view it as a sour-grapes "revenge raid" for the successful Channel Dash on 12 February. In other missions, 21 Whitleys attempt to bomb aluminum factories at Heroya and Odda but can't find them due to cloud cover, and nine Hampdens drop mines along the Dutch coast. Another three bombers drop leaflets on Lille and Paris.

Esso Copenhagen, sunk on 25 February 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes 5685-ton British tanker La Carriere at 02:19 about 75 miles west of Guanica, Puerto Rico. Two torpedoes hit the ship and blow huge holes in the starboard side near the engine room, but the crew manages to get the engines restarted. Unfortunately for the crew, the radio is damaged in the explosion. Captain Hartenstein sees the ship resuming its voyage and surfaces with the intent of using his deck gun to finish off the laboring tanker. However, this proves unfeasible, so he submerges again and fires two more torpedoes. The tanker's crew, however, spots the tracks in the bright moonlight and the ship manages to evade them. Some of the crew attempt to lower a lifeboat to escape, but the boat capsizes, killing the occupants except for the ship's carpenter (he survives by holding onto the shattered boat and drifts ashore two days late). Meanwhile, Hartenstein surfaces again to catch up with the tanker and fires his last torpedo, which hits the starboard side again and blows off the tanker's bow. The ship finally sinks in under three minutes, but the crew manages to launch a lifeboat and the jolly-boat. There are twenty survivors in the lifeboat and four more in the jolly-boat, and they eventually make landfall at Guanica. The ship's master goes down with the ship, but then pops back to the surface and spends three days in the water clinging to debris before being picked up by US Coast Guard Cutter Unalga (WPG 53). In total, there are 15 dead and 26 survivors.

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli torpedoes and sinks 9245-ton Panamanian tanker Esso Copenhagen in the Atlantic Ocean with a full cargo of fuel oil.

British rifle inspection in North Africa, 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Re-conditioned rifles being inspected in the Western Desert, 25 February 1942." © IWM (E 8823).

Battle of the Mediterranean: At dawn, 50 British No. 50 Commandos on board gunboat HMS Ladybird land on the Italian-held island of Kastellorizo in Operation Abstention. They are the first of 200 Commandos and 24 attached Royal Marines invading the island. The British hope to use Kastellorizo as a forward torpedo-boat base near the Axis-held Greek Dodecanese Islands. There are only 35 Italian troops on the island and, using the power of surprise, the British quickly overpower them. The British take a dozen prisoners and wound another Italian. However, while the British act with great stealth and speed, the Italians manage to get off a message to the large garrison at Rhodes. This leads to Italian airstrikes at 08:00 and again at 09:30. They bomb the gunboat, wounding three sailors, and its captain decides to leave. Surprised at the fierce Italian response and knowing the gunboat is preparing to leave, the group of Commandos holding the radio station in the port hurriedly re-embark on the Ladybird, which immediately heads back to Haifa. This leaves the remaining British soldiers holed up in the hills and without a link to the outside. Due to the danger from the air, the British divert a follow-up force from Cyprus away from the island to Alexandria. The Italians spend the rest of the day preparing a counter-invasion.

Off Bardia, U-652 (Oblt. Georg-Werner Fraatz), on its sixth patrol out of Salamis, claims a hit on a Royal Navy corvette. However, British Admiralty records do not support this claim.

Dutch freighter SS Boeroe, sunk on 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Dutch 7135-ton freighter SS Boeroe, sunk by the Japanese on 25 February 1942 south of the Sunda Strait.

Allied Relations: Due to continued Japanese expansion in Burma and the Netherlands East Indies, the ABDA command dissolves today. This is also partly due to growing tensions between the Australian and British governments about the strategic use of Australian troops. General Archibald Wavell resigns as the supreme commander. Wavell establishes in its place a Southwest Pacific command and an Indian command. The British Army takes over the Indian command (commanded by Wavell himself) while the Southwest Pacific command goes by default to the Americans. The immediate effect of this is for Wavell to absolve himself of responsibility for the deteriorating events north of Australia and leave the local forces to their own devices. The basic ABDA structure remains in some areas, most noticeably in the continued joining of local fleets under Dutch Rear-Admiral Karel Doorman. There is just a hint of Allied disunity in the demise of ABDA, but it really just reflects the changed military reality of Japan dominating the seas north of Australia and thereby isolating the major Allied power bases in India and Australia.

USS Helm at Mare Idland, 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Plan view, forward, of destroyer USS Helm, Mare Island Navy Yard, California, United States, 25 Feb 1942." United States National Archives 19-N-28726.

US Military: The current plan for Allied operations includes Operation Gymnast, a late-1942 invasion of North Africa centered around Casablanca. The US Army Air War Plans Division, however, today recommends that this operation be stricken from the list of proposed operations due to new commitments in the Pacific. However, Operation Gymnast is considered of great importance by the British and whether it will remain on the docket is a matter that must be resolved at the highest levels of government and the military.

Having recently established the headquarters of the US Army Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI), the commander of US Army Forces in the British Isles Major General James E. Chaney instructs VIII Air Force commander Brigadier General Ira C. Eaker and his staff to visit RAF Bomber Command headquarters to coordinate strategy. The USAAF needs to know, among other things, which airfields it can use to base the large forces that will soon be arriving.

U.S. Major General Joseph Stilwell is promoted to Lieutenant General and meets with General Wavell after the latter arrives by air in New Delhi.

The United States Coast Guard assumes responsibility for the protection of US ports.

More USAAF Fifth Air Force air units arrive at Brisbane, Australia.

Charro Day in Brownsville, Texas, 25 February 1942, worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Charro Days Celebration, Brownsville, Texas, Children's Parade, 25 February 1942.

British Government: A two-day debate over the conduct of the war ends in the House of Commons with signs of disunity over current war policy. The sharpest divisions come over the huge emphasis being placed on Bomber Command, with some speakers also questioning the morality of the recent decision to engage in terror bombings of the Reich. The most popular politician in England (with the possible exception of Winston Churchill), Sir Stafford Cripps, condemns what he characterizes as a mistaken priority on the bombing force as opposed to the other service branches.

Occupied Soviet Union: The German occupation authorities establish courts in the former Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania as well as in Ukraine. There are separate courts for locals and Germans.

French Homefront: The Paris Gestapo and its French auxiliaries continue rounding up individuals suspected of working against the occupation.

The 25 February 1942 Baltimore News-Post characterizes the Battle of Los Angeles as a great patriotic victory.

American Homefront: Japanese-American residents of Terminal Island, Los Angeles are given three days in which to pack their bags and leave. War fears are at a peak due to the Battle of Los Angeles during the night and there is widespread support for internment. There are seven reported cases of vigilantes executing people of Japanese ethnicity. The situation is the same all along the western seaboard up through Canada to Alaska.

Future History: Karen Trust Grassle is born in Berkeley, California. She becomes an actress in the 1960s and has her most famous role as Caroline Ingalls, the mother in "Little House on the Prairie." Karen Grassle remains active as an actress as of 2019.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore

February 16, 1942: Operation Neuland Begins

February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Monday, January 29, 2018

May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely

Monday 12 May 1941

Westminster Abbey London 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Westminster Abbey after the raids of 10/11 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: On 12 May 1941, having just secured permission from Vichy Vice Premier Admiral Darlan on 11 May for Reich use of Syria as a transit hub for the military supply of Iraq, the Luftwaffe flies six Heinkel He 111s (Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck)) toward Damascus. Having flown from Greece via Rhodes under the command of Luftwaffe Oberst (Colonel) Werner Junck (Commander of Aviation Iraq. (Fliegerführer Irak)), these are the first major Reich attempt at interdiction in the Iraq war. Their ultimate destination is Mosul, Iraq.

British reconnaissance planes spot several German aircraft in Iraq.

Joseph Stalin is keeping an eye on the situation in Iraq. The Soviet Union/Russia long has had its eyes to the south. Stalin decides today to recognize the Rashid Ali government.

Distance to targets map 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

A map in the 12 May 1941 Guardian showing flight distances to Reich targets.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command continues raiding ports in northern Europe. Tonight, it sends 105 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.

During the day, the Luftwaffe launches standard anti-shipping sweeps by 125 planes in the English Channel. After dark, the Luftwaffe launches scattered attacks on Newcastle and Eshott in Northumberland, Billingham, Stockton, Darlington, North Hylton, Darlington, and Hartlepool in Co Durham and Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Thornaby and Hull in Yorkshire. Billingham, in particular, suffers from an attack on a chemical factory by 19 bombers.

The Reich Press Chief today indicates indirectly that the RAF raids are beginning to affect morale when he cautions broadcasters to:

avoid any sort of cynicism, frivolousness and puerile or brazen expressions in broadcast reports about air raids, which destroy immeasurable cultural, economic and human treasures. This is how we can best live up to the mood in cities like Hamburg and Bremen.

He further draws a distinction between different types of citizens - a hallmark of the Third Reich is dividing people up - when he adds gratuitously that "we are fortunate that the bombing raids made on German territory are taking place in the northern part of the Reich" which is populated by "hardy Schleswig-Holsteiners and other Nordic people." Presumably, the slackers in the South would not stand up to the bombings as well. Hitler, incidentally, is from the south. A lot of these subtle regional antagonisms influence Germans throughout the war but are completely missed by outsiders.

In England, Air Marshal John Slessor takes over RAF No. 5 Group of Bomber Command.

East African Campaign: The East African 21st Infantry Brigade captures the Italian position at Alghe in Galla-Sidamo.

The British Indian troops at Amba Alagi prepare another battle to take the Italian stronghold.

USS Drum 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Drum (SS-228), launched today, gets a tug at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME, 12 May 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-boats captains typically are prone to zealously limiting their torpedo usage in order to preserve as many as possible for future operations. In fact, it is not unheard of for U-boats to surface and use their deck guns in questionable circumstances. Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe in U-38 has a very bad day with his torpedo management when he spots a freighter off Freetown in the mid-Atlantic, fires four torpedoes - and misses with all four. Fortunately for Liebe, the Kriegsmarine supply network in the Atlantic remains intact and he can be resupplied at sea. This allows U-38 to continue an extremely long patrol of almost three months.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4484-ton British freighter Fowberry Tower near the Humber Light Vessel. There are six deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 5358-ton freighter Richard De Larringa in the Tyne. An attempt is made to tow her to port, but she sinks near Hard Sands.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages destroyer HMS Ripley near Londonderry, but the destroyer continues with her mission.

British freighter Speybank, captured by German raider Atlantis in the Indian Ocean in January 1941, finally arrives at Bordeaux.

Convoy OB 322 departs from Liverpool.

Admiral Günther Lütjens and embarks on battleship Bismarck at Gdynia/Gotenhafen in preparation for Operation Rheinübung, a planned sortie into the Atlantic in the company of cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Corvette HMS Bergamot is commissioned, minesweeping trawler Bute, minesweeper Fraserburgh, destroyer Middleton, corvettes Snowdrop and Stonecrop, and submarines Turbulent and Unbending are launched, and submarine Unrivalled is laid down.

Minesweeper HMAS Whyalla is launched.

Submarine USS Drum is launched.

U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse) is commissioned, U-155 is launched, and U-516 is laid down.

MV Rawnsley 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

MV Rawnsley, sunk off southeastern Crete and now a popular dive site.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Tiger (Convoy WS 8A) completes its bold passage through the Mediterranean when it arrives at Alexandria. It brings some 238 precious tanks (including 135 Matildas, 82 of the new 2-pounder-gunned Mark VI Crusader cruiser tanks and 21 light tanks), vital for the defense of the Nile River Valley and Tobruk. Also included are 43 Hawker Hurricanes. With this desperate operation completed successfully, the Mediterranean Fleet returns to Alexandria and Force H returns to Gibraltar.

An Italian convoy of two freighters departs from Tripoli escorted by torpedo boats Clio, Orione, and Pegaso. The torpedo boats attack a submarine, which may be HMS Undaunted, which is lost around this date of unknown causes. There are 32 deaths on the Undaunted.

Royal Navy gunboat HMS Ladybird has given sterling service in support of British ground forces in North Africa. She is bombarding Tobruk during the night when her luck finally runs out. Italian aircraft catch and sink the Ladybird (some sources say these are Luftwaffe Stukas). There are four deaths and 14 wounded. On the bright side for the British, the gunboat settles in only ten feet of water, meaning her guns remain above water level and can remain in operation with the assistance of another ship to provide power. Admiral Andrew Cunningham commends the ship's captain, stating:

Great fighting finish worthy of highest ideals and tradition of the Navy and an inspiration for all who fight on the seas.

The Regia Aeronautica (Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft of 281 Squadron) bombs and sinks 4998-ton British freighter Rawnsley during an attack on Ierapetra Bay, southeast Crete. The wreck has become a very popular dive site.

Royal Navy submarine Rorqual is off Lemnos when it torpedoes and sinks 25 ton Greek freighter Aghios Paraskavi and accompanying schooner. These are transports carrying Wehrmacht troops to garrison Aegean islands.

The Royal Navy command structure in the Mediterranean experiences a shakeup. Among the changes:

Vice Admiral Pridham Wippell CB, CVO, former Vice Admiral Light Forces => Vice Admiral, 1st Battle Squadron with his flag on battleship Queen Elizabeth
Rear Admiral E. L. S. King CB MVO => Rear Admiral, 15th Cruiser Squadron with his flag in anti-aircraft cruiser Naiad
Rear Admiral H. B. Rawlings CBE => Rear Admiral, 7th Cruiser Squadron with his flag in light cruiser ORION.
Rear Admiral I. G. Glennie => Rear Admiral (D) the Mediterranean with his flag in anti-aircraft cruiser Dido or depot ship Woolwich, if Dido was required at sea as a private ship.

At Malta, a second permanent fighter squadron is formed at Hal Far, No. 185. The Squadron Leader is Flight Lieutenant P W O Mould, DFC. The other fighter squadron on Malta remains No. 261 and is based at Ta Qali. By some accounts, RAF No. 261 Squadron is disbanded at this time and its equipment is given to No. 185. RAF No. 249 Squadron - composed of planes flown in from aircraft carrier Ark Royal - also participates in the island's defense.

There is a major air raid over Malta around 22:00 and continuing almost to midnight. There is extensive damage to numerous points on the island, including Luqa, Kalafrana, Garden Reach and St. Georges Bay. The Bighi Royal Naval Hospital is badly damaged.

Luftwaffe bomber prisoners are interrogated at Malta and their morale is excellent. They exhibit great confidence in an early victory by the Reich and have great faith in Adolf Hitler.

1st Polish Corps England 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

"Gunners of the 3rd Battery of the 1st Field Artillery Regiment (1st Polish Corps) hitching their French-built 75mm field gun to a Morris-Commercial C8 'Quad' artillery tractor during an exercise near St Andrews in Scotland." 12 May 1941 (Captain W.T. Lockeyear, © IWM (H 9522)).

Spy Stuff: Abwehr agent Karel Richard Richter, a Czech sailor with a US girlfriend and son, is dropped by parachute north of London near London Colney. Richter, whose mission is to check on fellow agent Wulf Schmidt, hides in the forest, too afraid to go into London. The police will capture him when he is unable to give directions to a lorry driver.

POWs: Polish Lieutenant Mietek Chmiel and Lieutenant Miki Surmanowicz attempt to escape from Colditz Castle. They contrive to be sent to solitary confinement - usually considered a punishment - and then pick the locks and then climb to the prison roof. This brings them to the attic of the German guardhouse. They then lower a rope and climb down the castle wall. However, while climbing down, their boots make noises against the wall which wake up the German duty officer inside the guardhouse. The German spots them immediately from his window and arrests the escapees in comical fashion, yelling "Hände Hoch" ("hands up") while the two Poles are dangling from a rope dozens of feet above the ground.

HMS Sennen 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

HMS Sennen (Y 21), formerly USCGC Champlain.

Anglo/US Relations: Another group of US Coast Guard cutters transfers to the Royal Navy pursuant to Lend Lease:

USCGC Champlain (CGC-48) => HMS Sennen
USCGC Sebago (CGC-51) => HMS Walney
USCGC Cayuga (CGC-54) => HMS Tortland

All of these ships, as have several in the past, are manned by crew selected from battleship Malaya, which is in New York undergoing major repairs.

US/Australian Relations: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies meets with President Roosevelt. He finds Roosevelt looking older and more tired than he remembers, but still sharp and up-to-date on the war.

US/Japanese Relations: Ambassador Nomura and US Secretary of State Cordell Hull continue their discussions regarding a settlement of claims in the Pacific. Nomura presents Hull with a draft proposal.

German/Vichy French Relations: The Germans invite a select delegation of Vichy French officers to a meeting to discuss participation in Operation Barbarossa.

British Military: Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk, 13th Earl of Berkshire, is serving as a volunteer bomb disposal expert when he perishes. The Earl of Sussex is working on a 250 kg (500 lb) bomb dropped some six months earlier in London which had been taken to a "bomb cemetery" in remote Erish marshland when it suddenly explodes. The bomb could have been detonated safely but was being worked on to retrieve its rare Type (17) and Type (50) fuzes for instructional purposes. A total of 13 people in the vicinity perish, including the Earl's private secretary Eileen Beryl Morden and his chauffeur, Fred Hards. One theory is that the Earl's attempt to disarm the bomb triggered a hidden Zus 40 booby trap. It is the 35th bomb the Earl has worked on, and he dies at age 35 and will receive the George Cross.

Winston Churchill will make special mention of this particular incident "as symbolic of the others" in volume 2 ("Their Finest Hour") of his massive "The Second World War." The BBC will televise a biographical series of the Earl's life in 1973 called "The Dragon's Opponent." The Earl of Sussex earlier in the war was a key player in rescuing French nuclear scientists and the entire world stockpile of heavy water from France as it fell to the Wehrmacht in 1940.

Vought Kingfisher 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Vought OS2U-2 Kingfisher floatplane, 12 May 1941.

Soviet Military: Soviet Chief of Staff General Zhukov, wary of continuing reports from many sources warning of a brewing German attack on the USSR, orders four Soviet Armies to forward positions. The Soviet border is so long, however, that they can only provide a local defense.

German Government: Joseph Goebbels meets with Hitler at the Berghof to discuss the Hess affair. After a curiously long delay, the German government issues a formal statement concerning the flight of Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess to Scotland on 10 May. The release ascribes the incident to "hallucinations and a mental disease" in Hess. In addition, it states that all those who assisted Hess are to be arrested, but this is not done - though apparently astrologers, occultists, and clairvoyants are rounded up because Hess supposedly consulted them before making his flight.

Hitler abolishes the post of Deputy Fuehrer and creates instead the new post of Chief of the Party Chancellery (Head of the Parteikanzlei). Martin Bormann, who has been Rudolf Hess's party secretary since 4 July 1933 and has done personal tasks for Hitler such as overseeing renovations at the Berghof in 1935, takes the position. In his new role, Bormann controls access to Hitler in much the same manner that a US President's Chief of Staff does, and in addition, he controls all NSDAP appointments. Due to his ability to restrict access to Hitler even by such Hitler confidantes as Albert Speer and Joseph Goebbels, Bormann instantly becomes one of the most hated figures within the hierarchy of the Third Reich.

In Glasgow, military intelligence officer Ivone Kirkpatrick continues listening to the injured Hess describing the terms of a fantastic peace offer. Hess basically offers peace on Great Britain's terms so as to free the Reich's rear for the real war in the offing in the East. In a carefully memorized statement, Hess claims that he has come "to save humanity."

Civilian Conservation Corps 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Bonneville enrollees at the transportation depot for the Civilian Conservation Corps, 12 May 1941.

British Government: Ivone Kirkpatrick, interviewing Hess in Scotland, is keeping Whitehall informed of his findings. Churchill's aide Sir Alexander Cadogan notes in his diary that Churchill has been informed about Hess' announcement which claimed that he "had come here 'in the name of humanity.'" Cadogan notes next, "This won't do - looks like a peace offer, and we may want to run the line that he has quarreled with Hitler." The last thing the Allies want to do is dangle the possibility of peace before a war-weary nation - why is open to debate. However, this has been Churchill's consistent attitude throughout the war.

Members of Parliament meet in the House of Lords due to the extensive damage to their own chamber.

Queen Elizabeth sends a very rare note to Churchill from Windsor Castle to offer her "thanks... for his kindness in sending news of the progress and safe arrival of Tiger." She adds, "Any risk was well worth taking," and adds that she is "dreadfully sorry" about the destruction of the House of Commons and Westminster Abbey during the air raid of 10/11 May.

Croatia: Atrocities in Yugoslavia continue as members of Pavelic's Ustaše led by Mirko Puk kills 200-300 Serbs by burning them alive in the Orthodox church in Glina. There is an obvious edge of religious hatred involved in the symbolism of many of these killings.

Philippines: Ernest Hemingway, on a stopover in Manila after a six-week tour of China, briefs the Philippine Department's intelligence (Colonel Joseph O'Hare) and air officer (Colonel Richards) about the military situation in China. Hemingway is coy about the extent of his observations, claiming never to have gotten near any battlefields, but gives an extremely perceptive summary of ongoing and likely events in China. Among his conclusions is that the Chinese Nationalists and Communists soon will be fighting each other as much as they are fighting the Japanese and that Japan at some point will attack the United States. The 4th Composite Group CO, Major Kirley Gregg calls Hemingway "quite an interesting chap," while the 3rd Pursuit Group CO, Major William Maverick, says Hemingway is "a marvelous fellow... a real genius" with a "striking personality."

China: The Battle of South Shanxi continues, with the Japanese North China Front Army capturing Kuangkou, Maotien, and Shaoyuan. The Japanese now have reached their first objective, the north bank of the Yellow River. Elsewhere, the Japanese also continue attacking Tungfeng.

Life Magazine 12 May 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com

Life Magazine, 12 May 1941, Hugh Randall, U.S. Army Parachutist.

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

World War Two Daily

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