On Borneo, the Japanese consolidate their position at Kuching. Dutch B-10s operating out of Samarinda attack Japanese shipping and sink a collier and a minesweeper. On land, the 2nd Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment continues retreating into the interior.

The Tulsa Incident continues in Rangoon. US Army Air Force Major General George Brett, the senior United States officer in Burma, has control over all Lend-Lease affairs, though the War Department intends that more for negotiating purposes than for actual control over the material goods. With the Japanese advancing into Burma, Brett is determined to divert Lend-Lease supplies from their intended destination in China to the British. He is abetted in this by British determination to seize the supplies, and Governor Reginald Dorman-Smith considers the military situation to be grave enough to seize them. U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Twitty, who actually is in charge of the Lend-Lease goods, also believes that the British need the supplies and that they cannot make it to China anyway. The British troops in Rangoon have moved all of the freighter Tulsa's cargo to a warehouse a dozen miles away from the docks even though technically they are "owned" by the Chinese. The Chinese are furious. The situation now has dragged on for over a week now and poses a growing threat to Allied relations. A Christmas day conference between representatives of the three governments turned explosive, with Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek threatening to withdraw all Chinese troops from Burma. Today, the Americans reassure Chiang Kai-shek that it is not the policy of the Americans to divert Lend-Lease goods while en route and they still are intended for China. This smooths things over for the moment, but the British remain committed to retaining the cargo.

Anglo/US Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in Washington for the Arcadia Conference, addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He warns that "many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us" and that the war will last at least another 18 months.

American Homefront: Lieutenant General John DeWitt, Commanding General Fourth Army and Commanding General Western Defense Command, is encountering widespread sentiment in southern California to intern all Japanese-Americans. He tells the Provost General in Washington, D.C. that the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce now supports the move. However, DeWitt personally is against the move because he considers many citizens of Japanese descent to be loyal Americans.

Sunday 6 July 1941

A destroyed bridge at the mouth of the Damour River, Lebanon, 1941.

Eastern Front: It is a time of great frustration for the Soviet forces. This manifests itself in failed attacks, suicidal counterattacks, and generals shot by the NKVD. The only things that slow the Germans as of 6 July 1941 are their own caution and occasional weather events such as the rains still lingering over much of the battlefront.

In the Far North sector, the German advance toward Murmansk makes some progress across the Litsa River. However, Soviet defenses are firming as reinforcements arrive.

Further south, the Axis Operation Arctic Fox Operation resumes. The German XXXVI Corps has called up infantry from southern Finland and asked the Finnish 6th Division to disrupt the Soviet defenses at Salla. This does the trick and the Soviet 14th Army (122nd Rifle Division, the 104th Rifle Division, and the 1st Tank Division) is forced to retreat back into Salla itself. The Germans actually break into Salla briefly, but the Soviets quickly push them out again. As elsewhere on the Eastern Front, the Luftwaffe plays a key role in the Heer's success, with Luftflotte 5 helping to break up the Soviet concentrations. This, of course, is the old Blitzkrieg formula.

What this incident at Salla illustrates above all is that the Soviet strength lies in direct confrontations, while German strength lies in tactics and maneuverability and airpower. These are lessons the German leadership sometimes has a hard time remembering but when applied, lead to the Reich's greatest successes in the USSR.

In the Army Grup North sector, the motorized units establish a line from Lake Peipus to Reval to Parun. The Soviets counterattack and make some gains.

In the Army Group Center sector,  the Soviet 7th and 5th Mechanized Corps of the Soviet 20th Army (Lieutenant-General P.A. Kurochkin) attack with about 700-1,500 tanks near Lepel. While this is an impressive number of vehicles, only a small fraction are types that give the German panzers trouble. The Germans of General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group are prepared - Hitler has reined the panzers in recently - and the Soviet armored vehicles are mauled. German 7th Panzer Division - Erwin Rommel's old formation - illustrates the power of the defensive and virtually wipes out the two Soviet formations. This is known as the First Battle of Smolensk.

In the Army Group South sector, the Germans attack in the north with 1st Panzer Group and Sixth Army and in the south with the German 17th Army and Romanian 3rd Army. The northern prong of the advance approaches Zhytomyr, while the southern prong takes Khotyn Fortress on the Dniestr River.

Despite occasional Red Air Force successes, overall the Luftwaffe dominates the skies. Today, for instance, JG 54 intercepts a formation of 73 Soviet bombers attacking the German bridgehead at Ostrov. The Luftwaffe pilots claim 65 Soviet bombers shot down, and ace Max-Hellmuth Ostermann claims his 19th and 20th victories.

This German superiority in the air has led to frustration on the Soviet side. Some Soviet pilots resort to ramming Luftwaffe planes. Amazingly, some Soviet pilots not only survive the dangerous encounters but manage to return to base. However, the Luftwaffe remains much stronger than the Red Air Force despite steady losses.

Ukrainian refugees with a cow pass by a German machine gunner during Operation Barbarossa, July 6, 1941. Some Soviet citizens have an unnerving tendency throughout the war of ignoring the fighting even when it is literally right next to them.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Battle of Damour commences when 7th Australian Division attacks in the early morning hours. Crossing the Damour River, the Australians establish bridgeheads at El Atiqa and El Boum after a day of hard fighting. Both sides realize that Damour, on the coast south of Beirut, is the key to that city, and Beirut is the key to the entire campaign.

As it has for several days now, the Royal Navy parks a large force led by light cruisers Ajax and Perth off Damour. The ships bombard Vichy French positions in aid of the Australian attack.

Australian Lieutenant Roden Cutler receives the Victoria Cross for heroism for actions today. He clears some enemy positions, then, wounded, is forced to lie in the open for 26 hours before being rescued. Cutler loses his leg due to the ordeal.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest during the night with 109 bombers. RAF Fighter Command sends a Circus mission over Lille.

RAF ace Douglas Bader shoots down a Bf 109

Soviet pilots Boris Safonov and Evgeny Khaldey of the 72nd CAP (mixed aviation regiment) of the Northern Fleet Air Force. They are with an I-16 Type 24 fighter at Vaenga airfield, July 6, 1941.

East African Campaign: General Pietro Gazzera, the Governor of Galla-Sidama and the new acting Viceroy and Governor-General of the AOI, surrenders to Free Belgian forces under Major-General Auguste Gilliaert. With Gazzera, 2,944 Italian, 1,535 African and 2,000 local troops (bande) formally surrender. The native troops quickly change sides. In all, ten Italian generals surrender.


Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper T-216 sinks off Saaremaa, Estonia. The cause is uncertain, perhaps by a mine.

Latvian freighter Everolanda hits a mine and sinks.

Finnish warships Syosky, Vinha, and Raju sink a Soviet fishing boat. Not much is known about this incident.

This Bristol Blenheim of No. 21 Squadron, Z7432/YH:J, lost hydraulic pressure and crashed on 6 July 1941 near Watton.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 140-ton British trawler Westfield off St. Govan's Head, near Lundy Island. All 10 crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1363-ton Swedish freighter Birgitta in the North Sea. It is towed to Great Yarmouth.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 3658-ton freighter North Devon off Sheringham. There are five deaths. The North Devon is towed to Immingham. One of the deaths is Reginald Hamilton Earnshaw. Earnshaw, 14, is officially declared the youngest known British service casualty of WWII by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on February 5, 2010, which would have been his 83rd birthday. Earnshaw served as a cabin boy and lied about his age to get hired.

German raiders Atlantis and Orion have been meeting north of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. Today, Atlantis heads east to the South Pacific while the Orion heads west toward South America.

Convoy OB-343 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX-137 departs from Halifax.

Canadian destroyer HMCS Hamilton is commissioned, minesweeper Melville is launched.

The Bremen Rathaus (Town Hall), 6 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-219).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph, operating near Benghazi, torpedoes and sinks 607-ton Italian freighter Ninfea and an escorting gunboat, Dante de Lutti. The Triumph sustains some damage from an Italian shore battery and is forced to abort further operations and return to Malta.

At Malta, Italian bombers attack the Paola dockyards. It is a heavy raid lasting for four hours and killing 15 and wounding 14 people. There also are scattered raids on Marsa and other locations.

Ecuador/Peru Border War: The long-festering grievances about the border led to the outbreak of hostilities on the 5th, and today things get hotter. While exactly how the war started is hotly disputed, there is no question that Peru quickly gains the upper hand. While a small party of Ecuadorian soldiers crossed the border on the first day of the war, today the Peruvian soldiers eject them and turn the tables. Peruvian paratroopers take Matapalo Island, which Ecuador seized in 1938. The Peruvian air force is active, attacking Ecuadorian border posts along the Zarumilla River. Meanwhile, mediators from neighboring Brazil and Argentina, along with US representatives, quickly try to broker a settlement.

The Lüderitz Bridge aka Great Weser Bridge (Große Weserbrücke) over the Weser, 6 July 1941 ( Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archives, Bild 212-215).

US/Japanese Relations: US Ambassador Joseph Grew warns Japan against offensive actions by delivering a letter directly to Mr. Tomohiko Ushiba, Private Secretary of the Japanese Prime Minister (Prince Konoye):

Should Japan enter upon a course of military aggression and conquest it stands to reason that such action would render illusory the cherished hope of the American Government, which it understood was shared by the Japanese Government, that peace in the Pacific area, far from being further upset, might now indeed be strengthened and made more secure. It is the earnest hope of the Government of the United States that the reports of Japan's decision to enter upon hostilities against the Soviet Union are not based upon fact, and an assurance to that effect from His Excellency the Prime Minister of Japan would be deeply appreciated by the Government of the United States.

In fact, the Japanese have decided not to attack the Soviet Union. Unknown to the Americans, they have other targets in mind.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt cables British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with "will advise you" on Churchill's request that the US and Great Britain form a joint committee on tank development. Churchill is concerned about German tank superiority and realizes that larger and more powerful tanks are required, but the US at this time does not have any heavy tanks in its arsenal.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: British Prime Minister sends a message to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin expressing a hope that they can cooperate in the fight against Germany. Unlike US President Roosevelt, Stalin is not particularly chatty with cables and does not typically respond quickly.

Italian/Japanese Relations: Japan takes over the protection of Italy's Embassy in Moscow.

Original caption dated 6 July 1941 reads: "Members of the Screen Cartoonists Guild are shown picketing the Walt Disney Studios in force today as 98 members of eight A.F. L. craft unions went back to work. The A.F.L. unions signed with Disney last night. Besides the 248 cartoon guild members, about 20 of the Society of Motion Picture Film Editors are still out."

Spy Stuff: According to a 1947 OSS/CIA document, today the Gestapo arrests Jerzy Kuncewicz, a former intelligence officer of the Polish General Staff, and an associate in Berlin as spies. Kuncewicz has been in communication with the Polish Resistance in Warsaw and Japanese spies. Under Gestapo interrogation, Kuncewicz reveals that the Japanese military attache, Brigadier General Banzai, is in control of a vast spy network in Europe that is spying on everyone. The Gestapo concludes that the Japanese network "works against the Reich," though to what purpose is left unsaid. Kuncewicz's group, meanwhile, has been sending information to London. The report concludes that the Gestapo believes that further investigation could prove that the Japanese are working with the Polish resistance and the Vatican to undermine the Reich.

Holocaust: The occupying German authorities in Kaunas/Kovno, Lithuania institute a pogrom that ultimately claims thousands of lives. The killings by Einsatzgruppen occur at the Seventh Fort, where Jewish residents have been imprisoned.

"Die Tat," a Swiss newspaper, reports on a Soviet massacre of innocent prisoners at Lemberg. It states that:

this massacre is one of the most dreadful and ruthless massacres ever heard of in the history of the world. In the police prison 20 prisoners were crowded together in each of the smallest cells; they were then shot through the spy-holes. 2,000 to 2,500 persons were murdered in this way.

The Germans already know about this incident. They have forced Jewish residents of Lemberg to dig up the corpses from a prison yard and rebury them elsewhere. This incident becomes controversial because of post-war Soviet claims that the Lemberg massacre was carried out by the Ukrainian "Nightingale" Legion, a special formation organized by the Wehrmacht.

Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb at a charity tournament in Newton, Massachusetts, 6 July 1941.

German Homefront: A pastoral letter of German bishops is read out in all Catholic Churches in Germany. It recognizes that euthanasia is taking place within Reich mental asylums, but absolves Catholics from resisting these exterminations because it is impossible to fight the government. This does not sit well with some pastors, as, even beyond the moral crisis such killings create, they also violate sections of Reich penal law.

American Homefront: Originally scheduled to be unveiled on 4 July (US Independence Day), Lou Gehrig's monument in Yankee Stadium is revealed. The scheduling issue, due to a rain-out on the 4th, will confuse memorabilia collectors forever.

During a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium against the Philadelphia Athletics, New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets hits in both games. In the opener, DiMaggio gets four hits in the first game, an 8-4 Yankees win. In the nightcap, he goes 2-4 with two runs batted in. This extends his major league record hitting streak to 48 games. New York wins, 3-1, with Phil Rizzuto going 3-3. DiMaggio now is hitting .357 for the season, well behind league leader Ted Williams at .405.

The New York Times reports on page 20 that an outbreak of sunspots is affecting transatlantic radio communication and distorting compasses.

The New York Times has an article, "Imagery For Profit," by R.W. Stewart. It discusses the use of Television for advertising. The article notes that only New York NBC station WNBT is equipped to show advertisements but that many other stations across the country would like to "ass soon as possible, some within thirty days." It notes that the first paid ad was for the Bulova Watch Company, which paid $4 for the privilege. The ad was a test pattern that resembles a clock face and remained on the air for a full minute as the second-hand traversed a minute.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's widow attend the belated unveiling of the monument at Yankee Stadium honoring Gehrig, 6 July 1941.

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

2020

Thursday 5 June 1941

The Japanese bombing Chungking.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The RAF sends three Blenheims to raid Aleppo airfield in Syria on 5 June 1941. The Luftwaffe and Italian Regia Aeronautica have used Aleppo as a transit hub for flights to Iraq, and the Italians still have CR.42 fighters and SM.79 transports there. Defending French Morane 406 fighters fail to avert the attack, which destroys a hanger and plane on the ground.

The Vichy French bomb the Transjordanian capital of Amman.

The British Middle East Command is ironing out the details of its planned invasion of Syria, Operation Exporter. General Maitland Wilson, who is planning the operation, will command the initial stages of the operation from the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Then, he will hand off the direction of operations to Major-General John Lavarack of the 1st Australian Corps once Damascus and Beirut have fallen and the campaign effectively has been decided.

Brigadier Sydney Rowell, chief of operations of the Corps, argues that control of operations should vest in the local commanders from the start, but Thomas General Blamey, on Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell's staff in Cairo, overrules him. The British feel, from intelligence information gathered from French defectors, that the invasion of Syria will be a simple affair, and Blamey wants to "not rock the boat." Rowell and Blamey have a lack of respect for each other which rapidly is turning personal.

Rowell and headquarters for the 1st Australian Corps move to Nazareth in anticipation of the invasion.

The Royal Navy continues re-deploying its ships to support the invasion of Syria. Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry and destroyers Hero and ISIS leave Alexandria. They are to rendezvous with troopship Glengyle at Port Said, which is to embark on invasion troops.

In Iraq, the British occupy Kirkuk.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler arrives at Lodz Ghetto (Litzmannstadt) on 5 June 1941. He is in a BMW 355 bearing his standard "SS-1" plates. Visible (grey hair) is Mordechai Chaim Rumkowski, the “leader” of the Jewish community. Himmler is on an inspection tour of the manufacturing process at the camp (they make uniforms and other items). Karl Wolff, Himmler's Chief Adjutant, is visible, as is Ghetto Administrator Hans Biebow (face at extreme left, over the shoulder of the political officer). Poland at this time is a beehive of activity due to the looming start of Operation Barbarossa.

European Air Operations: Before dawn, the Luftwaffe bombs Birmingham, England. However, bombing accuracy is extremely poor, and the bombs generally fall in the countryside.

Luftwaffe ace Heinz Wiest (six victories) of JG 51 perishes in a flying accident.

East African Campaign: East African 22nd Infantry Brigade captures over 1000 Italian troops near the Omo River at Sciola in Galla-Sidamo.

Heavy cruiser ORP Burza H-73 seen off Bangor, Ireland, 5 June 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy gets another victory in its campaign to eradicate the German supply fleet from the North and South Atlantic. Cruiser HMS London, accompanied by destroyer Brilliant, find 9789-ton German tanker Egerland midway between the Cape Verde Islands and Brazil. Following standard procedure, the 94-man German crew scuttles the Egerland and go into captivity. The Royal Navy now has eliminated over half the German supply network in only a few days, and this inevitably will hinder extended U-boat operations.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol out of Kiel in the Atlantic midway between Ireland and St. John's, torpedoes and sinks 6054-ton British tanker Wellfield. There are 8 deaths and 34 survivors. The survivors are picked up by Norwegian freighter Heina.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3540-ton British coal hulk Himalaya at Portland, Dorset.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 73-ton Royal Navy balloon barrage drifter Lavinia L. off Sheerness. There is one death.

Royal Navy 505-ton trawler Ash hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. There are some men wounded, but everybody survives.

British 6278-ton freighter Myrmidon hits a mine in the Crosby Channel. The Myrmidon makes it back to Liverpool. Eventually, it heads to New York for complete repairs.

Royal Navy destroyer Matabele hits a submerged object off Barrow. It has to return to Barrow for repairs and is out of service until August. With so many vessels being sunk all around Great Britain, underwater hazards not marked on charts are multiplying and becoming a serious problem.

The Royal Navy continues landing ground reinforcements in Iceland. This month, an infantry battalion and artillery battalion arrive. The British occupation presence is rapidly building to a total of 25,000 men. The Icelandic government remains officially neutral but offers no resistance to the British. The British build numerous facilities at Reykjavik and elsewhere, including No. 30 General Hospital and No. 50 General Hospital. The British are preparing to hand off occupation duties to the United States, but that process has not yet begun.

Canadian corvettes HMCS Buctouche (Lt. William W. Hackney) and Sherbrooke (Lt. Commander Eric G. M. Donald) are commissioned.

U-573 (Kptlt. Heinrich Heinsohn) is commissioned in Kiel.

The Kriegsmarine places an ambitious order for 102 new U-boats to be built. Germany only has so much steel, most imported from Scandinavia, and the army and navy both need what is available for their projects. Thus, there is constant competition for steel allotments, which is a symptom of a larger issue facing the Reich.

Fiat CR-42-Falco 161 Gruppo CT Stormo Autonom 164a 164 5 MM7475, Rhodes, June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Wehrmacht announces that its final count of prisoners taken on Crete amounts to about 15,000 British and Commonwealth troops. This number generally is considered a little high, the number is probably closer to 12,000, but there is no question that a lot of Allied troops become POWs on Crete. Many British and Commonwealth troops still remain at large, hiding in caves and with local villagers.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph encounters three small Italian ships in the Gulf of Sirte along the coast southeast of Misrata. Using its deck gun, Triumph sinks escorting Italian gunboat Valoroso, 245-ton freighter Frieda and 244-ton freighter Trio Frassinetti.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique (Lt. A.F. Collett, RN), on its 9th war patrol, makes a daring intrusion into Lampedusa Harbor early in the morning. At 08:22, it torpedoes and sinks 736-ton Italian freighter Arsia inside Lampedusa Harbor. Collett has to fire two torpedoes because the first at 07:53 misses and hits the shore just astern of the ship. There are no casualties. Shrapnel from the Arsia damages 275-ton freighter Egusa and small fishing boat Giuseppe Padre (two casualties). Some sources place this as occurring on 3 June, and that Unique arrives back at Malta today.

Operation Rocket is in progress. This is another in a regular series of operations from Gibraltar to fly fighter aircraft to Malta. Aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Furious carry Hawker Hurricanes, escorted by battlecruiser Renown and six destroyers. The two carriers, leading two separate groups, intend to fly off 43 Hurricanes once they are within range of Malta.

At Alexandria, Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual departs with a load of supplies for Malta. These trips take almost a week now because of the Luftwaffe's control over the skies now that Crete is in German hands. Australian destroyers HMAS Vendetta and Voyager also depart, carrying supplies to Tobruk. Vendetta and Voyager complete the journey after dark, quickly unloading and returning to Mersa Matruh before dawn.

The British reinforce Cyprus with Australian troops. The Germans, however, have their eyes fixed on the East and no longer are interested in more island adventures in the Mediterranean.

At Malta, the military government sends the War Office a warning that the island is not prepared to withstand a Luftwaffe invasion using airborne troops, as on Crete. The cable notes that local air superiority has been lost. On the bright side, the cable bravely states that "Malta is in a much better position to stand up to it than was Crete." The problem is that the risk of airborne landings requires defenses inland, while the danger of seaborne landings requires troops guarding the beaches. The British forces on Malta have insufficient troops to guard against both possibilities simultaneously. The cable concludes with a request for three squadrons of fighters (meaning an additional squadron to add to the two already present), two infantry battalions and additional artillery.

The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., 5 June 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Convoy VK-2 departs Sydney bound for Wellington. The two ships are escorted by Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Achilles.

Dutch/French Relations: The government of the Dutch East Indies closes the Karimata Strait and Sunda Strait to Vichy French vessels. The French in Indochina is completely dominated by Japanese Imperial forces.

Chinese packed tight into a Chungking air-raid shelter. Could the air could in such an enclosed space possibly be enough for all those people? Well... the Chinese sadly found out it wasn't enough.

US/French Relations: The US State Department issues a statement expressing its "sympathetic friendship and thought for the well-being of the French people and the French Empire." It notes that the US plans "to maintain full and friendly diplomatic relations with the French Government at Vichy."

US Government: President Roosevelt's administration requests funding of $10.4 billion in army defense spending in the fiscal year 1942 (which begins in September 1941). This is a vast sum for the time, especially with the country still supposedly at peace.

Chinese packed tight into a Chungking air-raid shelter.

China: The Japanese launch another of their regular air raids against the Nationalist capital of Chungking (Chongquing). The Chinese have built enormous air-raid shelters from sandstone caves in cliffs overlooking the city, and they are packed tight with people during air raids. Guards lock the public shelters' gates during raids so that people can't leave until the all-clear sounds. The shelters have some flaws: they are narrow, have no outlets aside from the front doors that are locked, no sources of air aside from that entrance (which, as noted, is closed during raids), and they are literally jammed with people standing one against the other. It does not take much imagination to see some problems developing from that design.

Damage from the Chungking air raid of 5 June 1941 (Mel Jacoby).

Today, the raid begins at about 18:00. During the three-hour raid, guards flee the Jiaochangkou air raid shelter tunnel downtown, leaving it locked and jammed with people. Finally, two hours after the raids end at midnight, someone arrives with the keys. About 700 people inside have suffocated.

Some people trampled in Chungking during the 5 June 1941 raid (Mel Jacoby).

There are problems at other shelters, too. The Japanese raids are intermittent, and following some attacks, the Chinese leave the shelters thinking the raid is over. However, as soon as the bombers return, the people surge to re-enter the shelters. Many people are trampled and killed. How many is impossible to say, but the pictures alone suggest it was a lot of people.

A casualty carried out of a Chungking shelter following the raid of 5 June 1941 (Mel Jacoby).

Some reports state that 4,000 Chinese perish in this incident, but there are widely varying estimates of the number killed. The higher figures may include people who perish during the mass panics at shelters during the raid, along with victims of the raid itself. Many victims result from stampedes of people on flights of stairs outside the shelters bored into the hills above town. Reporters Mac Fisher of United Press and Mel Jacoby snap pictures of dead people on one such set of stairs leading to a shelter that receives worldwide distribution. For many people, these pictures become their image of the war in China - and it isn't pretty.

Holocaust: Japanese luxury ocean liner Hikawa Maru departs from Yokohama for Vancouver carrying Jewish refugees from Europe. This is a continuation of a very roundabout escape route used by small numbers of Jews during the first two years of the war.

HMS Ariguani (F 105) in the Clyde, 5 June 1941. Ariguani is a Fighter Catapult Ship (FSC) that embarks a Fulmar, visible on the left.

Yugoslavian Homefront: Stored ammunition at historic Smederevo Fortress in Yugoslavia, located about 45 km to the southeast of Belgrade, explodes under mysterious circumstances. It kills about 2,500 people. Shrapnel lands as far as 10 km away. The blast destroys most of the southern wall of the fortress, and many casualties result from the destruction of a nearby railway station where many people are waiting for trains. Half the population of the city is killed or wounded, a total of 5500 people.

Greek Homefront: Greek Prime Minister-in-exile Emmanouil Tsouderos makes a radio broadcast from Alexandria to occupied Greece. He states in part:

Unite as one man more closely than ever around our national symbols, around our flag and our heroic King. Keep your heads high as men who have been victorious. Do not trust the enemy; and have confidence in the final victory. Help each one of you, with every means at your disposal in order that we may achieve the final victory. Help our country to overcome the present misfortunes until the glorious day of liberation of a Greece great and new.

Greek resistance to the occupying German troops is heightening due to recent atrocities committed against civilians on Crete at Kandanos and elsewhere.

HMS Roxborough is seen off Bangor, Ireland, on 5 June 1941.

American Homefront: Sandor Szabo wins the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship over former football star Bronko Nagurski in St. Louis.

Future History: Spalding Rockwell Gray, actor, and writer, is born in Providence, Rhode Island. He begins a theatrical career in New York in the late 1960s, and vaults to celebrity status with the film version of his classic monologue "Swimming to Cambodia" in 1987. The film, among other things, features Gray describing his quest for his "perfect moment." Gray, already a supporting actor, goes on to various film roles. Spalding Gray passes away in 2004, apparently by suicide following a car crash in Ireland. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Sag Harbor, New York.

Martha Argerich is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She becomes one of the top classical pianists in the world. She also is famous in medical circles for surviving malignant melanoma in the 1990s following experimental treatment at the John Wayne cancer institute in Santa Monica, California. As of 2018, her cancer remains in remission and she continues to give recitals.

Stuart Watkins is born in Newport, Wales. He becomes a top Welsh international rugby union wing. Watkins begins his rugby career at Cross Keys before switching to his home town of Newport in 1963.

Robert Kraft is born in Brookline, Massachusetts. He becomes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group and owner of NFL team the New England Patriots.

Beechcraft F-2 Expeditor reconnaissance aircraft near Ninilchik, Alaska, June 5, 1941 (3:35PM, USAAC photo).

June 1941

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

2020

Saturday 10 May 1941

Rudolph Hess prepares to fly to England, 10 May 1941.

May 10, 1941, is one of the most bizarre days during World War II. The idea of a leading member of one nation willingly placing himself, without conditions, under the power of his country's opponent is virtually unprecedented in world history. What makes the day even curiouser is that the motivations and purpose behind this strange decision also are murky and subject to interpretation.

Anglo/Iraq War: The Germans begin setting in motion Operation Iraq, their planned intervention in Iraq. The objective is to fly troop transports to Mosul in Junkers Ju 52s. Today, the first planes set out, escorted by Bf 110s of the 4th group of the 76th Zerstorergeschwader 76 (Destroyer Wing) under Lt. Col. Holbein, from Greece to Rhodes. The elongated route goes mainland Greece-Rhodes-Aleppo-Damascus-Mosul, and each stage will require a day's flight. The entire project under Luftwaffe General Felmy is a rushed job, and the pilots do not have maps and the planes have not been modified for desert conditions.

At Fort Rutbah in Iraq, the advance elements of Arab Legion which have been shadowing the fortress while the RAF bombs it receive some ground reinforcements. The No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF has arrived, and Squadron Leader Michael Casano, in command, attacks the defending Iraqis. The action is inconclusive, but the 40 Iraqi armoured cars which had arrived recently withdraw as RAF Blenheim bombers continue bombing the fort. After dark, the entire Iraqi Fort Rutbah garrison withdraws.

Damage in London from the 10 May 1941 raid.

European Air Operations: The RAF announces that a Dutch bomber squadron operated using RAF planes for the first time during the night of 9/10 May. They attacked a Luftwaffe base at Kristiansund in southern Norway.

Tonight marks the culmination of the London Blitz. A massive force of 570 Luftwaffe planes pounds the docklands area of London and the City of London. The Luftwaffe likes to time its London raids to natural phenomena such as moonless nights for maximum effect, and this raid occurs during an ebb tide which hampers firefighting efforts. The bombers drop 700 metric tons of high explosives and 2393 incendiary bombs. Despite upgraded fire prevention measures instituted following the great incendiary raids of late 1940, the bombs cause over 2000 fires of varying sizes.

Among the downtown areas hit is the House of Commons, the roof of Westminster Hall and the top of Victoria Tower. In the City of London, the Tower of London and the Mint are set afire. In the port, the bombs sink small (4 ton) Safari and Miss England,  (5 ton) Royal Navy auxiliary vessels Altais, Comet I, and Faislane, and (6-ton) Igloo, Jake II and Nomad III. Damaged during the raid are 4241-ton British freighter Tower Field and 1438 ton sludge vessel Henry Ward.

Overall, there are 3000+ casualties from the raid (around 1500 deaths), and some consider this the worst Luftwaffe raid against England during the entire war. It also, fortunately for the British, is the last mass raid against London of the war, though smaller raids continue for the next several years.

While the raid is an undoubted success in the sense that it causes a lot of damage, there also is a very bad omen for the Luftwaffe. It loses 21-27 planes (accounts vary) during the night, a massive and unsustainable number that reflects vastly improved British night fighter and anti-aircraft fire. This equals the number of planes the Luftwaffe lost during the great day raids of the fall of 1940 which caused its turn toward night raids. Raids in London are becoming too costly in general when easier pickings will soon be available in the East.

RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets (18 aircraft) during the day and Hamburg (119 aircraft) and Berlin (23 aircraft) during the night.

Damage to the Houses of Parliament following the raid of 10 May 1941.

East African Campaign: Having completed their capture of the Falagi Pass, Indian troops advance toward 11,400 foot Mount Gumsa. This is garrisoned by Italian troops and supposedly guards the key point of Amba Alagi from the east. However, the Italians immediately withdraw from the mountain after sunset and join the main force in Amba Alagi.

The 1st South African Brigade arrives at Amba Alagi after a long march. The Italian stronghold now is encircled, and the British plan a set-piece attack.

In the Gold Coast, the 24th Infantry Brigade captures Italian positions at Wadara in Galla-Sidamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, ends today with the sinking of the U-boat while under tow during a storm. It is unclear if this is intentional, but subsequent histories often will claim that it was in order to hide the fact that the submarine was captured and the extremely important Enigma Code Machine and codebooks retrieved.

It is a very good day for U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), on its first patrol out of Kiel and part of Wolf Pack West. It is stalking Convoy OB-318 before dawn when it attacks 4986-ton British freighter Aelybryn. The Aelybryn is disabled but ultimately makes it to port under tow with only one death.

A few hours later, U-556 torpedoes and sinks 4861-ton freighter Empire Caribou. There are 11 survivors and 34 deaths.

In the evening, U-556 then torpedoes and sinks 5086-ton Belgian freighter Gand. There are 43 survivors, with one man killed and another wounded.

Royal Navy boarding vessel HMS Hilary captures 5719-ton Italian tanker Gianna M. north of the Azores. The Hilary escorts the captured ship to join convoy HG 61, which is bound for Belfast. The Gianna M. will be renamed Empire Control and used by the British.

Convoy HX 126 departs from Halifax, Convoy SL 74 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

Minesweeper HMAS Bendigo (Lt. Commander James A. R. Patrick) is commissioned.

U-86 and U-374 are launched.

Damage on Carlisle Street W1 following the 10 May 1941 Luftwaffe raid. The damage here included the complete destruction of Carlisle House, the headquarters of the British Board of Film Censors.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Winston Churchill remains upset about the "bottleneck" at Takoradi airfield, the key transit hub on the 3700-mile route across Africa to supply Cairo with planes. He tells Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Porter that "A regular flying-boat service should be established to bring back pilots which are accumulating in Egypt." He emphasizes that "Speed is essential, as from every side one gets information of the efforts the enemy is making." One of those "sides," of course, is Churchill's top-secret Ultra decryption service.

Churchill is upset about the entire Middle East Command. His dissatisfaction with Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell is well known, and he is prone to venting his feelings both to Wavell directly and to the War Cabinet. Anthony Eden recalls in his subsequently published diary "The Reckoning" that today Churchill "was in favor [at the War Cabinet meeting] of changing [Indian Commander] Auchinleck and Wavell about." However, Eden notes there is a rare moment of disagreement about this within Churchill's cabinet of "yes men" (Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies' scathing term for them). Eden writes that "I have no doubt that Archie [Wavell] has a better mind, but one does not know how he is bearing the strain." For the moment, the War Cabinet dissuades Churchill from making a change, which would seriously disrupt British strategy in the region at a critical juncture.

Churchill's prime grievance against Wavell is that he is not using his forces efficiently and basically has accumulated an army of slackers who lack aggressive spirit. In Wavell's defense, he has shown great tactical and strategic judgment, such as being skeptical of Churchill's obsession with trying to defend Greece against the advice of Menzies and others. The garrisoning of Greece, and then the evacuation in Operation Demon, was accomplished with great skill and few unnecessary losses. Considering that Great Britain's lifeline to India and control of East Africa and the eastern Mediterranean hinges upon control of Egypt, being conservative with the stretched British forces there could also be deemed quite prudent.

Operation Tiger continues to steam east through the Mediterranean. The Luftwaffe or Regia Aeronautica bomb and damage destroyer HMS Fortune. A large force of Royal Navy destroyers from the force bombard Benghazi at sunset. Royal Navy gunboat Ladybird bombards Gazala during the night.

The Luftwaffe sinks a motor launch, ML 1011, which is crossing from Suda Bay to Sphakia Bay.

At Benghazi, Royal Navy submarine Triumph torpedoes and sinks Italian banana boat Ramb III. The Italians will raise the Ramb III and return her to Trieste for repairs.

Following discussions with Benito Mussolini, General Friedrich Paulus departs from Rome to Berlin. He will not return to the southern theater of operations, which his wife believes is not the place for him to make his reputation. Upon his arrival in Berlin, he reiterates his previous assessments that General Rommel is reckless and must be watched closely.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie praises the people of Malta for their support of the war effort and suggests that the government in London should issue a statement of thanks. He also requests 4000 rifles for the defense of the island; the rifle shortage has become an issue throughout the Middle East Command. The RAF loses a Beaufighter (two deaths) which was sent up to intercept a flight of Ju-52 transports flying from Sicily to North Africa.

Damage to the Westminster Abbey high altar (the roof has collapsed) following the attack of 10 May 1941.

POWs: British Lieutenant Anthony "Peter" Allan, held at the Oflag IV-C "officer's" prisoner of war camp at Colditz Castle, escapes. He hides in a straw mattress being removed from the camp by French laborers who know he is in it but do not give him away. Allan was sent to Sonderlager (high-security prison camp) Colditz because he already had escaped from another POW camp but then had been recaptured. Allan originally was captured at St. Valery in June 1940 by General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division. Allan intends to head to Poland but instead is given a lift to Vienna by a friendly (and clueless) SS officer. He ultimately will be recaptured and returned to Colditz to spend the next three months in solitary confinement.

Anglo/German Relations: Around 2:30 p.m., German Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess, second in succession to Adolf Hitler, leaves a personal letter for Adolf Hitler and says goodbye to his wife Ilse. He then has his driver take him and his adjutant from his villa in the Munich suburb of Harlaching to the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Augsburg. After making flight preparations for his personal Bf 110, Hess at 5:45 p.m. takes off and takes a northwesterly course to Bonn, where he then tracks the Rhine River all the way to the coast. Crossing the West Frisian islands, he veers north, then to the northwest again.

Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, is alerted to the flight and orders Adolf Galland, head of JG 26, to intercept him. However, Galland's fighters are based too far to the south and are unable to find Hess. Berlin Radio broadcasts a cryptic alert at 8 p.m. that  "Party member Hess had left on Saturday for a light form which he had not yet returned." That the Luftwaffe knows about Hess' flight on the 10th makes Adolf Hitler's surprised reaction to the flight on the morning of the 11th suspect.

Once he reaches the right latitude, Hess turns the craft due west past the final piece of land and heads toward the Northumbrian coast. Hess, concerned about being intercepted, descends to wavetop level and proceeds with skill. At RAF Fighter Command, the commanding officer responds to word that an unidentified fighter has been spotted and fighters vectored toward it by shouting, "For God's sake, tell them not to shoot him down!" Hess has taken care of that by descending, however, thereby evading the three RAF Spitfires far above.

The RAF pilots never see him, so Hess continues flying west, remaining at the treetop level and heads toward his destination: Dungavel. However, he overflies his destination in the blacked-out north, reaches the Firth of Clyde, and then turns back in confusion. At around 10:25 p.m., his fuel tanks empty, Rudolf Hess bails out and operates his parachute, watching his Messerschmitt glide on and then crash and burst into flames not far away.

Proving himself a fairly adept navigator as well as pilot, Hess lands in Eaglesham, only a dozen miles from his destination, in a Scottish field. Hess is, as he recalls later, elated and triumphant that he has made, despite his regret at not meeting the Military Intelligence officers and Service Agents waiting for him at his destination nearby.

Scottish Lanarkshire farmer David McLean, meanwhile, has seen many warplanes overflying his farm during the war, so the notion of a pilot bailing out nearby is hardly unexpected. Hearing the plane and then observing the descending parachute, McLean grabs a pitchfork and approaches the figure laying nearby on the ground. Unable to make out even whose side the man is on, McLean asks, "Are ye a Nazi enemy, or are ye one o' ours?" Hess replies, "Not Nazi enemy; British friend."

McLean takes Hess into his farmhouse, which Hess accomplishes with difficulty because he has wrenched his ankle during his landing in the dark. In the kitchen, McLean's mother makes tea (which Hess refuses), and Hess tells McLean that he is Alfred Horn and that he was flying to meet with the Duke of Hamilton, the owner of the great Dungavel estate. Soon some local Home Guardsmen (Jack Paterson and Robert Gibson), and Hess tells them that he is Alfred Horn, just come from Germany and trying to land at the Duke's private airfield. "Please tell the Duke of Hamilton that I have arrived."

The two Guardsmen take Hess to their local headquarters. Soon, a crowd gathers. A dozen Home Guardsmen soon arrive to stand watch, and when the Military Intelligence and Secret Service agents arrive to pick Hess up, they are skeptical. Only when a regular army unit arrives as a backup for the Military Intelligence and Secret Service men do the locals release "Alfred Horn" to their custody. They drive Hess to the Maryhill Barracks near Glasgow.

The timing of the flight, supposedly chosen by Hess' astrologer, serendipitously (apparently) occurs during the Luftwaffe's biggest raid of the war against London. This could be counted upon to draw RAF air defenses to the south while Hess sneaks in from the north. Naturally, there are many unanswered questions about this incident, not least how the British knew to expect Hess. The flight comes to be known as a "peace mission," though why such would be attempted in this fashion is unfathomable. However improbable, this begins one of the strangest tales of World War II, one that will have reverberate not just in the days and weeks and years, but even decades, to come.

Pieces of the Rudolf Hess plane gathered together in Scotland following his 10 May 1941 flight.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Churchill sends Alfred Duff Cooper a memo stating that "Eire has repudiated the status of a Dominion... It may well be that force will have to be used." His concern is Royal Navy access to Irish ports, a burgeoning issue due to the recent Luftwaffe success in bombing the northern British ports such as Liverpool and Hull.

Anglo/US Relations: Churchill cables President Roosevelt to thank him for allowing RAF pilots to train in the United States. "We have made active preparations and the first 550 of our young men are now ready to leave." General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the head of the US Army Air Corps, originally made the offer, which Churchill calls "unexpected and very welcome." Naturally, training a warring country's soldiers is hardly commensurate with true neutrality, but such distinctions long ago were discarded by the United States.

Bulgarian/Japanese Relations: Bulgaria becomes one of the few countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

Damage in London from the 10 May 1941 Luftwaffe raid.

British Military: The 200th Beaufighter is completed just as its predecessors complete their biggest victory of the war to date over London.

German Military: An experimental rocket - not jet - engine with the designation RII-203 is tested on a ground stand. Calculations show that it would reach a speed of 623 mph. The engine uses hydrogen peroxide, which the Germans call T-Stoff, oxidized by a potassium permanganate solution they call Z-Stoff. These mix in a combustion chamber and fuel a steam generator. The engine etches a distinctive purple exhaust flame behind it. Now that the engine has been shown to work, the Luftwaffe designers work on creating an airframe around it. This project ultimately, after many delays and setbacks, will result in the Me 163, but that is far in the future.

Italian Military: The Italian Navy at La Spezia takes delivery of midget submarines CB-3, CB-4, CB-5, and CB-6 from Caproni.

Japanese Military: Vice Admiral Toshio Shimazaki become chief of staff at the port of Makio on the Pescadores Islands, Taiwan.

British Government: Churchill urges Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Kingsley Wood to remove restrictions on pensions that give widows full pension rights only to those soldiers killed while on duty, whereas those whose husbands are killed while on leave - even by enemy action - get nothing. Removing this distinction, he writes, "would remove what seems to me to be a well-founded grievance."

Philippines: Ernest Hemingway, visiting Manila on his way back to the US from his China trip, gives the officers an informal briefing about events in Asia. He displays (in hindsight) an extremely accurate perception of coming events in the region, including his conclusion that Japan was on the verge of war with the US and that the Nationalist Chinese and Chinese Communists were on the verge of fighting each other as much as they were allegedly fighting the Japanese together. The US officers on the base are all recently arrived from the States, so have little idea of the realities of the theater. Robbie Robertson, recently the head of the 3d Pursuit Squadron and waiting for a return to the US aboard the USAT Washington, makes an appointment for Hemingway to brief the Philippines Department's intelligence service and air officer on the 12th.

Palestine: Winston Churchill sends Viscount Cranborne a note saying that "I have always been most strongly in favor of making sure that the Jews have proper means of self-defense for their Colonies in Palestine." He instructs Cranborne to help them.

China: The Japanese North China Front Army remains on the offensive, while the Imperial Air Force raids Chungking again.

The Salvation Army building collapses in Queen Victoria Street, City of London, as a result of the Luftwaffe raid of 10 May 1941.

Belgian Homefront: "The Strike of 100,000" takes place in Belgium. Led by Julien Lahaut, head of the Belgian Communist Party, the workers seek a wage increase. The strike originates at the Cockerill Steel Works in Seraing, eastern Belgium. This is the first anniversary of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the German invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands. While popularly known as a strike by 100,000, it is estimated that 70,000 workers participate. It is a brief strike that obviously has some nationalistic implications, and the Germans agree to 8% wage gains. The Germans display very strained tolerance for communists during this period due to the alliance with the Soviet Union.

American Homefront: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, recently arrived in Washington from England via Canada, discusses the situation in the United States at length with Walter Lippman, the respected columnist at the NY Times. Menzies concludes that:

General American sentiment is on our side, but the moral arguments of cowardice and short-range self-interest are being directed by [Herbert] Hoover, [Senator Burton] Wheeler, [Charles] Lindbergh & Co. to the mothers and possible draftees.

Menzies worries that the American public is not being properly told that the war is about their future as much as that of the actual combatants. He calls President Roosevelt's failure to properly shape public opinion in this regard "disturbing."

Menzies meets with Roosevelt for an hour and calls him "older and more tired" than he recalls, but their conversation "most vigorous." Menzies also says that Roosevelt is "jealous" of Churchill's "place in the center of the picture" and that Roosevelt is "not [emphasis in original] an organizer - very like Winston - and co-ordination of effort is not conspicuous." Reflecting on his meeting with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Menzies concludes that Hull and the rest of the Cabinet is "for war" [emphasis in original], but Roosevelt "trained under Woodrow Wilson in the last war," is awaiting a provocation. Menzies calls FDR's campaign promises to keep the US out of the war "foolish."

In San Francisco, soldiers hold a musical benefit show to raise funds for recreational purposes. This is a symptom of very low funding of the military during this period.

At the Preakness, Whirlaway is the winner.

Carefree times on Goat Island, Australia, 10 May 1941 (Adelie Hurley).

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