Sunday 23 February 1941

HMS Terror, sunk today.

Italian/Greek Campaign: British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS Anthony Dill inter alia continue their discussions with the Greek government throughout the day of 23 February 1941. The Greeks feel that putting insufficient British troops on the Greek mainland (the British already are on Crete) would merely invite an invasion that could not be repelled. Finally, with great reluctance, Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis agrees to accept a British expeditionary force projected at 100,000 well-armed troops. The disagreement about tactics lingers, however: the Greeks want to defend the Bulgarian frontier along the Metaxas Line, while the British prefer positions (along the Aliakmon River) further back.

In Cairo, Middle East Commander Archibald Wavell considers, then rejects a proposal from London that the RAF bomb the Ploesti oil fields from bases in Greece. He reasons that this would violate Turkish air space and also give the Wehrmacht a pretext (not that it needs one) to invade Greece by revealing the British presence there. Neither of those reasons, however, has a particularly strong foundation (Hitler should know about RAF activity in Albania already, and the bombers could avoid Turkey). However, there is another reason that would make any attack on the oil fields explosive in more ways than one. While the British don't know this, one of Hitler's greatest fears (he confesses to Marshal Mannerheim at their meeting in June 1942 that he has nightmares about it) is the Allied bombing of the Romanian oil fields. RAF attacks on the oil could force Hitler's hand early before the British are even on mainland Greece. Thus, Wavell makes the proper decision from mistaken premises. Great weight is placed upon Wavell's support since it is common knowledge (as noted in the minutes) that he would prefer to finish off the Axis forces in North Africa first.

Prime Minister Churchill, the most ardent backer of a British presence in Greece, is under no illusions about possible success in the Balkans. He notes in a message to Eden that the "odds seem heavily against us in Greece." Australian Prime Minister Menzies discusses the question of a campaign in Greece "largely with Australian & New Zealand troops" with the heads of RAF Bomber Command (Air Marshal Sir Richard Pearse) and Fighter Command (Sholto Douglas) and comes away with more questions than answers. He notes that committing his men to an uncertain campaign in Greece "is not easy." A big War Cabinet meeting is scheduled for the 24th to discuss the issue, and Menzies is a troubled man.

East African Campaign: Operation Canvas begins. It is a two-pronged advance to take Mogadishu and other Italian forces in Italian Somaliland (Somalia). Having pocketed Jelib (Somalia), General Cunningham begins sending his forces on the road northeast to Mogadishu. He sends the 11th African Division together with the 23rd Nigerian and 22nd East African Brigades toward Mogadishu. Italian defenses are now in a state of collapse, and the 35th Works Company quickly throws a bridge across the Juba river at Mabungo. Meanwhile, the British 12th African Division drives along the Juba River toward the Abyssinian border.

Indian 7th Infantry Brigade and Free French Brigade d'Orient capture Cub Cub. The British capture 436 prisoners, four guns and many supplies.

Propaganda leaflet dropped in France, 23/24 and 24/25 February 1941 (McMaster University, WWII Propaganda Collection 0102).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe attacks Skaalefjord, missing British tanker War Pindari. It also sends 49 bombers against Hull just after dark at 19:30. There are 13 deaths and 27 injured, including the death of a six-month-old baby, and 36 are left homeless. Right at midnight, an aerial mine hits the Alexandra Dock and sinks lighters "Brakelu" and "Monarch."

RAF Bomber Command attacks Boulogne with 52 planes.

Battle of the Atlantic: A classic Wolf Pack operation unfolds against Convoy OB 288 south of Iceland. It is a textbook operation of how the Luftwaffe can work in combination with the U-boat fleet to wreak devastation on the convoys. A Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor of I,/KG 40 spots Convoy OB 288 heading west about 500 km south of Iceland (370 km northwest of Rockall). The convoy has dispersed and is without escort, but it aware that it is being shadowed and has turned north to avoid U-boats. The ships also close up their spacing again - which makes it easier to attack them.

The Condor vectors in (via U-boat command B.d.U) every U-boat and Italian submarine in the vicinity:

• U-69 (Kapitänleutnant Jost Metzler, first patrol)
• U-73 (Kptlt. Helmut Rosenbaum)
• U-95 (Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber)
• U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock)
• U-107 (K.Kapt. Günther Hessler, first patrol)
• U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle)
• Italian submarine Michele Bianchi (C.C. Adalberto Giovannini, first BETASOM patrol from Bordeaux)
• Italian submarine Barbarigo (Capitano di Corvetta Enzo Grossi)

The submarine attacks begin at 23:27, with an attack by U-69. Details of this convoy attack have been uncertain, with who sunk what unclear and subject to some controversy and guesswork. All told, the victims of OB 288 (including those sunk on the 24th, but not those in following days) are:

• 4542-ton British freighter Marslew (U-69, 13 deaths, 23 survivors)
• 5457-ton British freighter Anglo-Peruvian (U-96, 29 deaths, 17 survivors)
• 3385-ton British freighter Linaria (U-96)
• 5458-ton British freighter Sirikishna (U-69)
• 3807-ton British freighter Cape Nelson (U-95)
• 1908-ton Norwegian freighter Svein Jarl (U-95, all 22 perish)
• 4427-ton British freighter Temple Moat (U-95, a straggler)
• 5360-ton Royal Navy ocean boarding ship HMS Manistee (U-107, no survivors)
• 8685-ton Dutch freighter Grootekerk (U-123, no survivors)
• 4260-ton British freighter Waynegate (U-73)
• 5360-ton British freighter Manistree (U-107, first attacked by Bianchi, all 141 perish)
• 10,946-ton British transport Huntingdon (Bianchi and U-96, everyone survives).

Simply listing the victims does not give the full flavor of the action. U-107 and Bianchi chase HMS Manistee (Lt Cdr E. H. Smith RNR) throughout the night before finally sinking it (destroyer HMS Churchill finds no survivors). U-123 similarly spends nine hours chasing the Grootekerk before sending it under. The Royal Navy escorts counterattack, and U-69 is subjected to a three-hour attack. However, all of the submarines escape, leaving behind a nightmarish scene of burning ships and men in the frigid water.

The Linaria sinking is particularly murky, as Italian submarine Bianchi, U-73 and U-96 all may have sunk it. The sinking of the Huntingdon also is murky, but the best scholarship (Jürgen Rohwer, Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte, Marinearchiv) suggests that U-96 hit the ship first, followed by the kill shot from Bianchi. Even the men on the scene did not know who did what, so piecing it all together requires a lot of detective work, comparison of different accounts and the like.

British 698-ton coaster Shoal Fisher hits a mine and sinks east of Falmouth. Everyone survives and arrives safely at Falmouth.

Convoy OB 290 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 111 departs from Halifax.

President Roosevelt and Fala in his Ford Phaeton, February 1941 (National Archives  NPx 73-113:59).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Upright (Lt. Edward Dudley Norman, DSC, RN) torpedoes and sinks 2365 ton Italian freighter Silvia Tripcovich off Sfax (east of Kuriat Island). This is roughly along the line that Italian convoys take to Tripoli.

Greek submarine Nereus claims to sink an Italian freighter near Valona in the Adriatic, but there is no confirmation.

A German convoy departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. It has a heavy escort and carries more troops for General Rommel's Afrika Korps.

Royal Navy Monitor HMS Terror, bombed on the 22nd, sinks off the Libyan coast at 04:20. The Luftwaffe continues its attacks on Benghazi and Tobruk.

The Free French continue bombarding Italian fortress El Tag at Kufra. The Italians are holding out, but are not mounting any sorties despite outnumbering the surrounding French.

Governor Lt. General William Dobbie issues a statement about conscription on Malta, which as created many hard feelings among the locals:

We must be as strong as possible in order to ensure that all attacks are decisively beaten off, should they be attempted.  The Government must, therefore be in a position to utilise the resources of Malta (including the manpower) to the best advantage, and it is for that reason that conscription of manpower is being brought into being.

Applied Science: Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, who discovered Plutonium (atomic number 94) on 14 December 1940 (credit to Joseph W. Kennedy, Edwin M. McMillan, and Arthur C. Wahl as well), makes further progress in his research of the element. Working in famous Room 307 of Gilman Hall of University of California, Berkeley. Seaborg, working together with Arthur C. Wahl and Joseph W. Kennedy, produces and identifies plutonium in the 60-inch cyclotron. Progress is quickening, with the scientists gaining more knowledge about what will become a key part of nuclear weapons. However, at this point they still have not produced visible amounts of plutonium, merely traces that are too small to be weighed.

U-203 during its commissioning at Kiel on 18 February 1941.

German/Japanese Relations: Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop meets with Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima. Ribbentrop takes the position that the Japanese should strike only at the British, and go to war with the Americans only if the Americans attacked. Throughout this period, Ribbentrop maintains a healthy respect for United States power, though he does blithely tell Oshima that the Japanese Navy could defeat the US Navy. The general gist of Ribbentrop's counsel is that Japan enter the war soon - but avoid the US.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: In a somewhat cryptic note sent to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (currently in Athens), British Prime Minister Winston Churchill rejects a suggestion (coming from Sir Richard Stafford Cripps, a Socialist who specializes in relations with the USSR) that Eden should visit Moscow. Churchill does not trust Stalin, feels that he could arrest Eden, and muses that the "Best way of gaining Russians (favor) is a good throw (success) in the Balkans."

A3-1 of the CA-6 Wackett Trainer at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation Fishermans Bend factory in February 1941. Photo: CAC.

Italian Homefront: In one of these odd but characteristic fascist moments, Il Duce Benito Mussolini gives a speech in Rome's Adriano Theater which is defiant with hints of defensiveness. He dates the beginning of the war from February 1, 1935, not September 1, 1939, when the conquest of Ethiopia began - but then corrects himself and says it actually began in 1922 when he seized power. He emphasizes that despite the "gray days" so far in the war:

Great Britain cannot win the war. I can prove this logically and in this case belief is corroborated by fact. This proof begins with the dogmatic premise that although anything may happen, Italy will march with Germany, side by side, to the end.

Earlier, Mussolini foretold where this might lead: "to the last drop of blood." Fatalistically, he does not say what "anything may happen" might mean, but the "last drop of blood" the war might require is chilling (and, in his case, accurate). This sense of fatalism imbues many of Hitler's speeches throughout the war as well.

Dutch Homefront: The Germans, with the assistance of Dutch police, complete their roundup of 450 Jewish male hostages, all aged 25-30. They will all be sent to concentration camps, and two will survive the war. Many ordinary Dutch citizens are outraged at the Germans' heavy-handed approach, and a general meeting of various groups, such as the local communist party, is scheduled for the 24th in the Noordemarkt to discuss retaliation.

Future History: Ronald Kenneth Hunt is born in St. Louis, Missouri. Ron Hunt becomes a major league baseball player in 1963 with the new New York Mets. Playing second base, he set a single-season record for being hit by more pitches (50) in a season than anyone since 1900.

Lodz, Poland, Jews on the bridge above Zgierska St., which connects the two parts of the ghetto. 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

Saturday 22 February 1941

Jews rounded up in Amsterdam, 22 February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS Sir John Dill move on from Cairo to Athens today, 22 February 1941, having also made a top-secret visit to Malta as well. Accompanying them are Mediterranean Royal Navy commander Admiral Cunningham and Air Marshal Longmore. They meet with King George II, Commander in chief Alexander Papagos and the government, who continue the Metaxas position that insufficient British troops would be worse than none at all. The two sides also disagree on proper strategy, with the Greeks wishing to defend the fortified Metaxas line at the frontier and the British preferring a line further back. However, ultimately the British convince the Greeks to accept a British expeditionary force.

East African Campaign: The 12th African Division and Gold Coast Brigade attack Jelib frontally while another force, 1/1 King's African Rifles, comes in from the rear. The 22nd East African Brigade cuts the road to Mogadishu, blocking the Italians from retreating. The action begins at 05:45, and the Italian Colonial Infantry rapidly gives way. The British advance in armored cars and brush aside all resistance. By 13:00, the 12th African Division takes Jelib, which effectively ends Italian resistance on the key Juba River line. Firefights continue in the area throughout the afternoon, but the Italians are sent into full retreat. They try to establish another line between the river and Mogadishu, but the Italian command had staked everything on defending the river and have nothing in reserve. Some 30,000 Italian troops (mostly native) are either killed, captured or fleeing in wild terror.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Shropshire sits offshore and bombards Brava. General Cunningham cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell in Cairo, telling him that his forces can continue operations toward Harar, some 800 miles beyond Mogadishu.

British troops take Cub Cub from the 112th Colonial Battalion.

"William Wyckoff, of the American-Scandinavian Field Hospital in Norway, x-rays a British boy in his bed at the American Hospital in Britain in February 1941. Wyckoff had previously been stationed at Namsos in Norway." This is the Park Prewett Hospital in Basingstoke, Hampshire. © IWM (D 2068).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest during the night with 42 bombers. Admiral Hipper is still in port but escapes damage.

The Luftwaffe switches targets after dark. It sends 17 bombers against the port of Hull. There are many deaths, and extensive damage is caused by aerial mines.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London, provides a fresh and objective perspective on the effects of the Blitz in his diary. He notes that:

Once you get past St. Paul's, you come on whole blocks of which only an occasional twisted girder or brick wall remains.

This also is what contemporary photos show. However, the British press for one reason or another is minimizing the extent of the devastation by using such tricks as cropping photos to show St. Paul's and not the devastation around it.

RAF No. 317 "Wilno" (Polish) Fighter Squadron forms at RAF Acklington.

"Onboard a convoy vessel on patrol. Firing the starboard depth charge throwers." 22 February 1941. © IWM (HU 110317).

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Lütjens, commander of Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, has been searching daily for targets for his heavy cruisers Scharnhorst (Kapitan Kurt Caesar Hoffmann) and Gneisenau (Kapitan Otto Fein). Several days have passed, and nothing so far.

Today, his luck changes. At about 10:55, the lookouts spot a convoy heading west. This means that the ships are empty... but they are still worthy targets. Best of all, they appear to have no escorts at all. The two cruisers move in for the kill, but the ships disperse as soon as they see the German warships. During the entire engagement, they sink the following:

• British tanker Lustrous (6156 tons)
• British freighter Kantara (3237 tons)
• British freighter Trelawny (4689 tons, one death)
• British freighter A. D. Huff (5866 tons, ten deaths)
• British freighter Harlesden (5483 tons, seven deaths)

Scharnhorst sinks the Lustrous, while Gneisenau sinks the A.D. Huff and Trelawny. The two ships combine to destroy the Kantara (that must have been quick work). After dispatching these ships, Lütjens orders his seaplane aloft, and it spots the Harlesden about fifty miles away. Fortunately, as they are trained to do, the crew of the Arado seaplane destroys the Harlesden's radio aerial. After a long chase, Gneisenau sinks this fifth victim. All told, 25,431 tons of precious Allied shipping is sent to the bottom. Lütjens takes 180 prisoners, and the merchantmen crews suffer only 18 deaths - a relatively small number for so many ships sunk in the middle of the Atlantic without escorts.

Then, an event full of portent happens. Lütjens, of his own initiative, decides to send a radio report to Berlin detailing his force's success against the convoy. This, of course, ensures that his force's success will make the next day's propaganda broadcasts, which is highly prized in the Wehrmacht. Anyone familiar with the voyage of battleship Bismarck will recognize instantly that this unnecessary message-sending is a Lütjens trademark. It does not cost him anything... this time.

Lütjens now decides to move on, knowing that the surviving members of the convoy would have signaled the Royal Navy about his position. He signals tankers Schlettstadt and Esso Hamburg to meet him far to the south, near the Azores. The German ships steam on, unmolested and victorious.

U-96 (Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) is lurking around the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland on its third patrol when it spots an abandoned tanker west of the Hebrides. It is 6999-ton British tanker Scottish Standard, which the Luftwaffe bombed on the 21st. The crew has abandoned ship, but there is a destroyer, HMS Montgomery, standing guard. Lehmann-Willenbrock quickly puts two torpedoes into the tanker, finally sinking it, then dives to avoid the inevitable escort attack. The Montgomery spends five hours and drops 37 depth charges, but U-96 gets away. There are five deaths.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Montgomery, which rescued the survivors of the Scottish Standard, spots a submarine - but it isn't U-96. Instead, it is the Italian submarine Marcello. The Montgomery attacks and sinks the Marcello with all hands. One of the rebadged US destroyers sent to the Royal Navy in the destroyers-for-bases deal, the Montgomery is proving its worth.

U-108 (K.Kapt. Klaus Scholtz), on its first patrol out of Wilhelmshaven, is operating south of Iceland when it spots 1617-ton Dutch freighter Texelstroom. Scholtz makes short work of the freighter for U-108's first victory.

British 6554-ton tanker Luxor is damaged during the final night of the Luftwaffe bombing of Swansea on 21/22 February.

The Luftwaffe also damages 7628-ton British freighter Kingston Hill far out in the Northwest Approaches. The ship manages to make it to Loch Ewe in tow.

In the same attack as on the Kingston Hill, the Luftwaffe damages 3621-ton British freighter Keila. The ship manages to make it to the Clyde without assistance.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Icarus lays minefield JK in the English Channel.

Kriegsmarine minelayers Brummer, Cobra, and Konigin Luise lay minefield Swine east of the Shetlands.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Union (N 56, Lt. Robert M. Galloway) is commissioned, as is antisubmarine warfare trawler HMS Mazurka (T 30, Lt. Victor R. Tyrrell).

U-81 is launched, U-257 is laid down.

Rounding up Jews in Amsterdam, on or about 22 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Admiralty realized on the 21st that the Luftwaffe was beginning to pose too great a risk to shipping, so it withdrew all of its ships from Benghazi Harbor - except for one. Monitor HMS Terror, which has been providing sterling service throughout the campaign by bombarding Italian fortifications, stayed in the harbor overnight to provide anti-aircraft support (experience in Norway should have proven that ships providing antiaircraft support are themselves vulnerable). Today, overwhelmed by the Luftwaffe attacks, Terror makes a run for Tobruk. The monitor finally runs out of luck when the Luftwaffe spots it running along the coast and attacks. Bombs cause the monitor to lose power, and the crew abandons ship. It is disabled and bombed again on the 23rd. The British finally get tired waiting for it sink on the 24th and fire some depth charges at it, sinking it. All 204 crew survive, quite a lucky outcome.

At Tobruk, the confusion continues in the port. Several ships have hit mines in the harbor, which supposedly has been swept clean. Today, Royal Navy anti-submarine whaler Southern Seas collides with a lighter and suffers damage.

On or about this date, HMS Upright torpedoes and sinks 2365 ton Italian freighter Silvia Tripcovich off Kuriat Island.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent fires at Italian shipping off Tripoli but misses.

The Free French continue shelling the Italian El Tag fortress at Kufra. The fort is well-garrisoned, but the Italians have no defense to the French 75mm field gun or mortars that are firing at them. The inexperienced Italian commander of the fort also is unwilling to make a sortie out to confront the French directly, despite the fact that he outnumbers them.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. Previous minings have been extremely successful at disrupting traffic through the canal.

General Rommel is determined to take the initiative on land with his fledgling Afrika Korps despite the fact that all of his troops have not yet landed. He sends troops to forward positions near El Agheila to conduct probing attacks.

Trucks used to transport hostages to a police camp outside Amsterdam, 22/23 February 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Admiral Scheer has just sunk three ships east of Madagascar after a long dry spell, and today it adds a fourth. Dutch 2542 ton freighter Rantaupandjang succumbs, but it is able to send a distress call before the crew abandons ship (two men perish). Royal Navy cruiser HMS Glasgow already is on its way, having received similar calls from Scheer's victims on the 21st. It launches its Walrus seaplane, which spots Scheer. The admiralty quickly vectors in half a dozen cruisers and an aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes. Captain Krancke on the Scheer realizes his danger just in time, though, and makes good his escape to the southeast.

US/Chinese Relations: Ernest Hemingway and wife Martha Gellhorn are in Hong Kong on an unofficial mission to gather data on the war situation.

German troops assemble hostages in the Jonas Daniel Meijer Square in Amsterdam, 22/23 February 1941.

British Military: Churchill's contempt for the Middle East Command surfaces again in a memo to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal. He complains about the "tone" of a recent message from Middle East RAF Commander Air Chief Marshal Arthur Longmore. Among other things, Longmore has annoyed Churchill by calling visiting Foreign Minister Anthony Eden "Anthony" and CIGS Sir John Dill "John." Calling Longmore "unappreciative" and "most pessimistic," Churchill wishes for Portal to give Longmore "a hint" as to how to improve his attitude and be more respectful. Considering that Longmore is an Air Marshal with an important command, this incident illustrates just how hierarchical the British command is right to the very top.

Churchill, in a memo to Secretary of State for War David Margesson, fixes the projected size of the British army at 53 divisions, 11 of them armored. By comparison, the Wehrmacht at its peak has about 300 divisions, the US Army 90 divisions and the Soviet Union over 600, though the divisions of each army differ greatly in size and equipment (a full-strength Wehrmacht Division, for instance, is generally comparable to a Soviet Corps). Of course, it is still reasonably early in the war, and the British army could be expanded beyond that figure by taking more men from the British industry. Churchill proposes to take a "wait-and-see" attitude about transferring more men to the army.

In another example of his repeated attempts to control the media, Churchill sends a memo to Minister of Information Alfred Duff Cooper about Sir Robert Vansittart. Churchill is upset about broadcasts that Vansittart has been making which "do not represent the policy either of HMG [His Majesty's Government] or the USA." He commands Duff Cooper to end the broadcasts.

Soviet Military: General Dmitry Pavlov, the big loser of the war games held in January, is promoted to the new rank of General of the Army. This is the second-highest rung on the ladder, under Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is the commander of the key Western (Belorussian) Special Military District which defends Moscow.

Filipp Golikov, boss of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), receives the Order of Lenin from Mikhail Kalinin. This is the Soviet Union's highest decoration, and it is Golikov's first of four - which actually is not very unusual. The record-holder is Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov, who received the award 11 times, and ten men received it at least 8 times. The principal characteristic of recipients is not necessarily quality of service, but rather their degree of fervor for the regime.

'Mrs. M Divolis, Mrs. A Marmaras and Mrs. L.J. Sigalas on duty at their stall', The Australasian (Melbourne), Saturday, February 22, 1941, page 20. State Library of Victoria Collection. A large parade is held today on "Greece Day" to honor the so-far successful fight of the Greeks against the Italians.

British Government: Menzies, in his diary, as usual, makes some sharp observations of the people that he meets. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Lord Cranborne, for instance, strikes Menzies as "an earnest lightweight whose fidelity to Anthony Eden has gained him advancement." Menzie views him as one of the "Yes men" of whom Churchill is so fond. As for Churchill himself, Menzies finds him "a tempestuous creature... pacing up and down the room, always as if about to dart out of it, and then returning." He also finds Churchill "Oratorical even in conversation," "the master of the mordant phrase," and "yes, I would think, almost without real humor." Churchill "Enjoys hatred," much of which he reserves for Irish leader Eamon De Valera who he calls "a murderer & perjurer." One thing Churchill is sure of, though, is "America's full help."
Dutch Homeland: In what is usually referred to as a pogrom, German Grüne Polizei (Orpo) and Dutch police continue rounding up hostages at the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in reprisal for recent attacks on police. All told, 389-450 Jewish hostages (sources vary) will be taken, detained at the police camp (Internierungslager) in Schoorl, and ultimately sent to the worst concentration camps. Two will survive the war. Tensions on both sides throughout the city are inflamed, and the Dutch resistance - led by the Communist Party of the Netherlands - plans to call a general strike.

The A.I.F. Marches – Australian Holds out a Helping Hand to the Heroic Greeks', The Australasian (Melbourne), Saturday, February 22, 1941, page 20. National Library of Australia Collection. This parade on Greece Day is held on Swanston Street. There are 4000 men marching in their summer battle dress.

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

Sunday 10 November 1940

Franklin Roosevelt and Fala.

Italian/Greek Campaign: With the Italians having gone over to the defensive by 10 November 1940, the Greeks focus on massing troops for a counter-offensive. In the coastal sector, the Greek 8th Division continues launching local counterattacks to pressure the Italians into giving up their bridgehead over the Kalamas River.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF attacks shipping in Boulogne and Calais. The weather is terrible during the night, with heavy storms and icing, but RAF Bomber Command sends its planes to attack several targets within Germany. These include industrial facilities in Dresden, Danzig, Essen, and northern Italy. The RAF loses five bombers. This is the first RAF attack on Danzig, which is at the outer limits of the RAF's current bombers.

During the day, the Luftwaffe mounts fighter-bomber (Jabo) raids on some towns along the Kent and Sussex coasts. Some of the Jabos strafe the Scilly Isles. The Luftwaffe also is operational after dark despite the weather. After dark, it puts 170 bombers in the air with London as the main target.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy 550 ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Kingston Alalite (Skipper R. A. Read RNR) hits a mine and sinks off Plymouth in the English Channel. There are six deaths.

Royal Navy 64 ton boom defense ship HMT Marcelle hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. There are four survivors and one death.

The Luftwaffe damaged destroyer HMS Cattistock in the English Channel, but the damage is minimal and the ship is repaired in one day.

Convoy OB 239 departs from Oban (rerouted from Liverpool due to the Admiral Scheer attack), Convoy FN 331 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 86 (previously delayed due to the Admiral Scheer attack) departs from Halifax, Convoy BH 87 departs from Bermuda. Convoy BH 87 later joins Convoy HX 86 at sea, the numbers not matching because of the latter's delay in Halifax. Convoy AS 5 departs from Piraeus for Port Said. Today's convoys give a nice illustration of the hidden benefits of having a surface raider at large.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten (N 93, Lt. Edward A. Woodward) is commissioned.

Unfamiliar with Doc Strange? Well, the way Hollywood runs through comic book heroes, someday you may. Incidentally, there has been a Marvel character named "Doctor Strange," but he is not related to this Doc Strange. There are similarities to other comic book heroes, such as Batman (both have a teenaged sidekick, for instance). Thrilling Comics #10 (November 1940), cover by Alex Schomburg.

Battle of the Mediterranean: At Malta, there are air raid alerts, but no actual attacks - the Italian planes have a well-established pattern now of approaching the island but then veering off and returning to base.
The seesaw campaign between the Italians and the British over the insignificant border town of Gallabat in southern Sudan continues. The British push the Italians out again.

Before dawn, Royal Navy gunboat HMS Aphis bombards Italian positions at Sidi Barrani during the night.

The RAF loses two Swordfish today, and three in two days from No. 815 and 819 Squadrons, under mysterious circumstances unrelated to enemy action from HMS Illustrious. An investigation reveals the cause is contaminated fuel. All of the crews are saved, but the Royal Navy is out three planes.

Italian submarine Capponi spots the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet south of Malta and attacks. However, it misses battleship HMS Ramillies. Other Italian submarines vector in on the British ships. Italian submarine Barbarigo also attacks a destroyer but similarly misses.

The British continue beefing up their presence at Suda Bay, Crete. Monitor HMS Terror arrives there today.

Doc Strange is called upon to fight "this Fascistic terror."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis is posing as armed merchant cruiser HMS Antenor in the Bay of Bengal and having great success intercepting various cargo ships. Today, it stops and captures 830-ton Norwegian tanker Ole Jacob. The Norwegian ship manages to get off distress signals, and the Australians dispatch HMAS Canberra, Capetown, Durban and Westralia to hunt the Atlantis down. The crew of the Atlantis, meanwhile, renames the Ole Jacot as "Benno" and later sends the ship to Kobe, Japan. It is the start of a long journey for Benno which ultimately takes it to Bordeaux on 19 July 1941.

Spy Stuff: There is a legend that Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI on this date. His role is to tell the G-Men anything that he learns about Hollywood subversives. Disney supposedly is helping to fight Communism. This allegation is made in the Marc Eliot book, "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince," which says:

On November 10, 1940, Disney apparently struck the following deal with the Bureau. It appears that in exchange for its continuing assistance in his personal search to find out the truth of his own parentage, Walt agreed to assist Hoover's crusade against the spread of communism in Hollywood by becoming an official informant of the FBI.

This allegation remains highly controversial. It may or may not be true. It is known that Disney had many labor troubles in his studio caused by communist agitators around this time and later testified about that. He also had certain arrangements with the government in the 1950s. However, Eliot's "proof," to the extent that it exists, about this 1940 agreement remains suspect. Some consider the whole issue to be a hoax, alongside Errol Flynn's supposed German sympathies, cooked up by a biographer looking to create a stir.


Anglo/US Relations: A flight of seven Lockheed Hudson bombers departs from Gander, Newfoundland. It will land on the morning of the 11th at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland. The flight lasts 10 hours and 17 minutes. This is the first such flight by bombers over the Atlantic, which heretofore had to be transported, disassembled, by ship.

US Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., back in the states on holiday, gives an infamous interview to the Sunday Boston Globe. Always pessimistic about Great Britain's chances in the war, and breaking ranks a bit with his friend Franklin Roosevelt's government, he is quoted as saying, "Democracy is finished in England. It may be here." He elaborates a bit further:

It's all a question of what we do with the next six months. The whole reason for aiding England (sic) is to give us time ... As long as she is in there, we have time to prepare. It isn't that [the UK is] fighting for democracy. That's bunk. She's fighting for self-preservation, just as we will if it comes to us..... I know more about the European situation than anybody else, and it's up to me to see that the country gets it.

This is not an isolated view within the United States, as many people are pessimistic about England's chances in the war. However, it is undeniably Isolationist at a time when President Roosevelt is becoming increasingly interventionist. Needless to say, these comments do not go over well either in Washington or in England. Repercussions will follow in the coming weeks.

US Military: The US Marine Corps Reserves joins the regular US Marine Corps.

British Military: The Avro Manchester formally enters service with newly reformed No. 207 Squadron of Bomber Command. The Squadron Leader is Noel Challis Hyde, and the squadron is based at RAF Waddington. However, it will be some time before they actually engage in combat missions.

Gabon: The Vichy French forces in Libreville formally surrender to General Koenig's Free French Foreign Legion troops. Next up is the Vichy base at Port Gentil, under the command of Governor Masson.


Romania: The Vrancea earthquake in the Bucharest/Ploesti region registers 7.7 on the Richter scale. It kills 1000 people and damages much property, including oil installations.

Canada: The government opens the Little Norway air training center in the Toronto bay area.

American Homefront: President Roosevelt receives a gift: a Scottish terrier named "Big Boy." The President renames him "Murray the Outlaw of Falahill," after one of his Scottish ancestors. Quickly nicknamed Fala because, well, try saying "Murray the Outlaw of Falahill" every time you want to take your dog for a walk, Fala finds a home at the White House.

The Copacabana nightclub opens in New York City at 10 East 60th Street (just off Central Park and two blocks from the Plaza Hotel, later home to Rouge Tomato restaurant until August 2014, then Avra Madison Restaurant). Mob boss Frank Costello is behind the club. The club is eccentric, with a Brazilian theme and pink-haired "Copacabana Girls" who greatly resembled later Las Vegas nightclub acts (before Las Vegas became full of them).

In an NFL game, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia play a rare penalty-free game.

President Roosevelt and Fala.

November 1940


November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020