Wednesday 30 July 1941

Finnish soldiers rest before an attack, 30 July 1941.

Eastern Front: At OKH headquarters, chief of operations General Franz Halder on 30 July 1941 continues to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty. Facing tremendous resistance before Kyiv, he rather hopefully writes:

In Army Group South, the weeks of grinding at the Russian front in the Ukraine are beginning to tell. The enemy front is crumbling.

However, in the very next sentence, a shadow appears on this rosy evaluation:

Nothwithstanding, we must expect that owing to the absence of any pressure from the Romanians and the existence of several well-preserved enemy divisions in the sector of the Front Group South, an attempt will be made to hold the coastal district around Odessa. Odessa may become a Russian Tobruk.

Halder's rather gratuitous slap at the Romanians (whose leader, Ion Antonescu, today pledges his military's support throughout the campaign) is symptomatic of growing stress on the front for the Wehrmacht. Before setting out on Operation Barbarossa, allied involvement was considered helpful but not necessary. In fact, Hitler did not secure Romanian participation until virtually the last moment. Now, however, Romanian failures are portrayed as the cause of major problems. The endemic German scapegoating of its allies has just begun.

In the Far North sector, the Axis advance is stalled except on a few fronts where Finnish troops are taking advantage of their forestland expertise to confound the Soviets. Finnish Group J of 14th Division of III Corps has reached a strongly defended So'yanga canal between Lake Pyaozero and Lake Topozero. In a daring assault, the Finns smuggle a battalion of Group J across the western tip of Top Lake. This effectively flanks the Soviet canal position between the lakes and provides the leverage the Finns need to pry them out of their defenses. Meanwhile, Group F also is advancing on two fronts (moving along the north shore of the large Sredneye Kuyto Lake and along the Korpi Yarvi - Ukhta (Kalevala) road) to the Yeldanka Lake area. As this advance develops, it places Group F about 12 miles northwest of Ukhta, putting further pressure on the Soviet defenders in the sector.

The way now appears open to Kestenga and, much further beyond, the strategically critical Murmansk railway line. The Stavka, realizing the danger, begins transferring reinforcements (the independent Grivnik brigade and the 88th Rifle Division) to defend Kestenga. Both sides rely upon the very few roads in the endless wilderness, which greatly aids the defense. This particularly delays the Germans, who are unfamiliar with the wilderness and, like the Soviets, prefer to remain on the roads. However, the Finns have proven in the Winter War that they are comfortable operating off the roads, which greatly reduces the ability of the Soviets to simply blockade a road and thereby stop the Axis advance.

"Magdeburg.- Irene Proietti with bicycle south of the Hindenburg bridge (ex Königsbrücke, northbridge) in front of the Elbe." 30 July 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-259).

In the Army Group North sector, the German I Corps (General of the Infantry Kuno-Hans von Both) pushes Soviet General Morozov's 11th Army and General Berzanin's 27th Army out of Staraya Russa. This position south of Lake Ilmen becomes the linchpin of the German line for much of the next three years.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviet 20th Army leads the 16th and 19th armies in an attempt to break out of the pocket near Smolensk. The Soviets do manage to open a hole in the perimeter, aided by other attacks by Soviet forces to the east. A relatively small number of Soviet troops escape. However, the Wehrmacht's Panzer Group 2 and 3 quickly seal the front again and trap 300,000 Soviet soldiers for good.

German 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions of 47 Corps are so depleted from a month of fighting and maneuvering that the OKH considers merging them. The truth is, though, that many other divisions are in similar states. Still, even in their depleted states, panzer divisions can still hold their own against the Soviet formations opposing them.

General Zhukov activates a new front, the Reserve Front. It contains the 24th Army, 28th Army, 29th Army, 30th Army, 31st Army, and 32nd Army. This is a sign of Soviet strength, as it demonstrates that the Soviets have entire armies that they have not yet been committed while the Wehrmacht has very few reserves at hand. Zhukov's task is to batter the advanced German position at Yelnya.

In the Army Group South sector, the Soviet commands are more worried about following a Stavka order to defend the Dnieper River crossings than they are defending Kyiv. The German Sixth Army, after first trying to batter the Kyiv defenders frontally, now is sliding around the Soviet concentration to potentially encircle it. Considering that the Soviets have 1.5 million troops in the area, an encirclement would be disastrous to the Red Army, but Stalin has ordered the position held. In fact, he is so adamant about this that he has demoted his chief military lieutenant, General Georgy Zhukov, to the command of a new front defending Moscow near Yelnya.

Unterscharführer of the Waffen-SS Erich Rossner. According to his Knight's Cross citation, Rossner, a member of the "Das Reich" artillery battery, destroyed 13 Soviet tanks during one operation in July 1941. He succumbs to wounds on 30 July 1941 in a field hospital.

European Air Operations: After some quiet days due to poor flying weather, the RAF resumes normal operations. During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 43 Blenheim bombers to attack the Kiel Canal and also sweeps along the coast. The day is pretty much a disaster because of the fierce anti-aircraft and fighter defenses, which down 7 of the bombers.

After dark, the British send 116 bombers (62 Wellingtons, 42 Hampdens, 7 Halifaxes, and 5 Stirlings) against Cologne. However, it turns out that, although the skies have cleared over England, they are still rough over the Continent. The British pilots do their best but wind up bombing blind through clouds and thunderstorms. Most of the bombloads wind up dropping harmlessly in the countryside, with minimal damage to Cologne itself. Once again the raid causes more damage to the attackers than the target, as the Germans shoot down 2 Hampdens and one Wellington and six more planes crash while trying to make it back to base. An additional raid on Boulogne by 12 Whitleys also turns back due to the weather.

Battle of the Baltic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet submarine S-6 off Saaremaa, Estonia.

Soviet auxiliary minesweeper No. 51 Zmey sinks today of unknown causes.

General der Panzertruppe Konstanz Johann Georg Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim (6 July 1897 – 26 April 1994) wins the Knight's Cross on 30 July 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Radfahr-Abteilung 1.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation EF, a British raid on Kirkenes, Norway, and Petsamo, Finland, reaches its climax. The raid was planned as a secret strike from aircraft carriers HMS Victorious and Furious, but somebody at Whitehall apparently forgot that daylight is 24-hours long in the extreme northern latitudes during the summer. The Germans who occupy Petsamo with Finnish acquiesence indeed spotted the massive Royal Navy fleet on the 29th and are lying in wait for the attacks.

Furious launches its aircraft of RAF No. 800 Squadron at Petsamo. The Germans, however, having been forewarned and not being completely stupid, have virtually emptied the harbor of ships. The pilots do claim sinking one small ship (the Rotvær) and some harbor infrastructure, but they encounter vicious anti-aircraft fire - go figure - lose two planes (a Fulmar and an Albacore). Another plane fails to make it back.

Victorious takes on Kirkenes, and that becomes a true disaster. The Luftwaffe is ready and waiting for the RAF raid by Nos. 827, 828, and 809 Squadrons. There are operational problems on the British end which cause the different groups of planes to deliver uncoordinated attacks, and the planes approach from the wrong side - over the mountains. Once again, as at Petsamo, the harbor is virtually empty. The planes do sink one 2000-ton ship and damage another, but the defending Bf 109s, Bf 110s and even a Junkers Ju 87 inflict horrendous damage. The British lose 11 Albacores and two Fulmars, and an additional 8 Albacores are damaged. The Luftwaffe does lose a few planes, but overall Operation EF is a flaming disaster of wasted effort and lost planes for the British.

U-371 (Kptlt. Heinrich Driver), on its second patrol out of Brest, is operating southeast of the Azores when it spots two ships that recently have dispersed from Convoy OS-1. It torpedoes and sinks:

• 6935-ton British freighter Shahristan (65 deaths, 33 survivors)
• 7049-ton Dutch freighter Sitoebondo (17 deaths, 70 survivors).

The Sitoebondo launches three lifeboats, but one is lost at sea with 17 people on board and never found.

German 238-ton fishing trawler Pickhuben is hit with an aerial mine and sinks in the southern part of the North Sea.

The RAF bombs and damages German freighter Inga Essberger at the mouth of the Elbe River.

Royal Navy submarine Seawolf (Lt Cdr Raikes) spots U-562 making its way across the Bay of Biscay. It attacks but misses.

US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown leads task force TG-2.5 from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol that is scheduled to last until 10 August.

Royal Navy minelayer Port Quebec lays minefield SN-21C in the North Sea.

Convoy OG-70 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Trusty (William D. A. King) and destroyer Puckeridge are commissioned, while submarine Unseen is laid down.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ingonish is launched at North Vancouver, British Columbia.

Free French corvette FS Renoncule (Lt. Herbert B. Acworth) is commissioned.

U-504 (Korvettenkapitän Fritz Poske) is commissioned, U-508 is launched, U-382 is laid down.

"Men of the Saxmundham Home Guard prepare to fire a 'Blacker Bombard' during training with War Office instructors, 30 July 1941. The weapon was a 29mm spigot mortar, designed by a Lieutenant Colonel V V S Blacker, and could fire a 20lb bomb some 900yds." © IWM (H 12299).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In poor visibility, Royal Navy submarine HMS Cachalot (Lt Cdr H. R. B. Newton) is rammed by an Italian torpedo boat Achille Papa off Benghazi. The Cachalot's commander orders the ship abandoned, and it sinks in 200 feet of water. The torpedo boat rescues all but one crewman. The submarine is carrying 18 passengers (naval personnel traveling to Alexandria) and they become prisoners, too.

Operation Style commences when a large force leaves Gibraltar. This is another supply mission to Malta. British Force X, led by lighter cruisers Arethusa and Hermione, carry troops and supplies to Malta that had been on troopship Leinster, which grounded and was scratched from Operation Substance. While not involving a major convoy, Operation Style does involve numerous diversions and feints over the next few days.

At Tobruk, No. 8 Commando stages a special operation to basically kidnap an enemy soldier from the no-man's land in order to gather military intelligence. It is a typical mission, and successful, but the young officer, David Sutherland, who writes about it adds a few personal thoughts:

My own feelings at being besieged in Tobruk were depression and unease. The experienced enemy had the initiative. One did not know what was going to happen next. Our job was to rest by day and patrol in no-man’s-land during the night.

Sutherland's feelings are not unique. The Australian commanders know that morale is suffering because of the trying conditions within the Tobruk perimeter, and already have begun shipping some soldiers out for rest and recreation at Mersa Matruh. While Mersa Matruh is hardly a garden spot, at least there the men don't have to suffer through continual artillery barrages and wonder where their next meal is coming from.

Royal Navy submarine Olympus (Lt Cdr Dymott) is operating off Cape Camino when it makes an unsuccessful attack on an Italian freighter.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues with Australian sloop Parramatta escorting transport HMS Gujarat to Famagusta.

At Malta, Governor Lt. General Dobbie sends a telegram to the War Department warning that food supplies are an issue because wheat mills are concentrated in one small area of the island and need to mill about 100 tons of flour every day to feed the population. He warns that, even with stockpiles of food, without the wheat mills, Malta could only withstand a siege for 100 days.

An Axis convoy departs from Naples to Tripoli. It includes four freighters escorted by an Italian destroyer and four torpedo boats.

Battle of the Pacific: The US Navy decides to inspect 17 Japanese fishing trawlers parked off the main islands of Hawaii. When they find radio transmitters, cameras, and a reserve officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy on each ship, the USN ships detain all of the spy ships.

Australian troop convoy US-1B departs Melbourne bound for Fremantle and then Singapore. Troop Convoy WS 9AX arrives at Colombo en route to Singapore.

Special Operations: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique (Lt Collett) lands commandos at the western tip of Calabria, Italy. Their mission is to sabotage railways and trains.

A newspaper photograph of the signing of the Sikorski-Maisky Agreement, 30 July 1941. British Prime Minister Winston S.Churchill (with cigar) and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (on Churchill's right) sit at the head of the table; General Sikorski sits on the left with a British official. R. Dunbar, standing to his left; Ambassador Maisky with his assistant, Novikov, sits on the right.

Soviet/Polish Relations: As the first step in what will become an increasingly convoluted and insincere relationship, the Soviets execute an agreement (the "Sikorski–Mayski agreement") with the Polish government-in-exile, led by General Sikorski, in London. The agreement provides in part:

The Government of the U.S.S.R. expresses its consent to the formation on territory of the U.S.S.R. of a Polish Army under a commander appointed by the Polish Government in agreement with the Soviet Government, the Polish Army on territory of the U.S.S.R. being subordinated in an operational sense to the Supreme Command of the U.S.S.R., in which the Polish Army will be represented. All details as to command, organization and employment of this force will be settled in a subsequent agreement.

This is not an ideal arrangement. Basically, it makes such a Polish army a mercenary force for the Soviet Union. It does meet the Soviet goal as to the formation of a Polish Army (ultimately known as the Anders Army after its commander Władysław Anders) from 25,700 POWs held in the USSR.

Winston Churchill grandly proclaims this treaty as:

proof of the fact that hundreds of millions of men all over the world are coming together on the march against the filthy gangster power which must be effectively and finally destroyed.

The treaty is only a first step and creates a great deal of ambiguity. More importantly for the Poles, they have no way to enforce proper conditions for the Anders Army and no recourse if it is misused or maltreated.

German/Romanian Relations: Romanian leader Ion Antonescu pledges that his forces will fight beside the Wehrmacht until the final defeat of the Soviet Union.

A clearer picture of the signing of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, 30 July 1941.

US/Soviet Relations: President Roosevelt's crony Harry Hopkins arrives at Archangel in Russia's far north and proceeds to Moscow for talks. The Soviets are quite happy to see Hopkins because they covet US lend-lease aid. Timed to coincide with Hopkins' visit, the United States officially announces that it will indeed supply lend-lease supplies to the Soviet Union. This is an open-ended commitment with no strings attached, and these two factors will cause problems in the future for relations between the two powers.

US/Japanese Relations: President Roosevelt extends the sanctions against Japan to include aviation fuel.

The US government grants an exception to one Japanese freighter, the Tatsuta Maru so that its owners can pay for enough fuel for it to return to Japan.

US/Czech Relations: The United States formally recognizes the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in London.

German Military: The OKW issues Fuhrer Directive No. 34, "Strengthening Soviet Resistance." As compared to previous Fuhrer Directives, which tended to have a broad, strategic scope, Directive No. 34 deals with tactical situations of the moment. More than anything, this directive shows that Hitler gradually is losing his perspective and is being drawn into the day-to-day tactical decisions of the Wehrmacht.

In terms of substance, the directive categorically orders Army Group Center to "go over to the defensive, taking advantage of suitable terrain." This is diametrically opposed to what Field Marshal Fedor Bock and his generals wish to do, and already they are scheming about how to frustrate this order.

"Troops of the 3rd Canadian Division are carried ashore on a tender, having disembarked from a troopship at Gourock in Scotland, 30 July 1941." © IWM (H 12340).

US Military: US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall makes clear to the War Department Staff that, given the appointment of General Douglas MacArthur as the new commander in the Philippines, it is now official US policy to defend the Philippines. However, that said, the European Theater of Operations remains the top priority.

US Government: President Roosevelt sends a lengthy message to Congress requesting wage and price controls. He warns that inflation is taking off, up 3.5% since the beginning of 1941 alone.

Roosevelt also issues Executive Order No. 8839. It establishes the Economic Defense Board and is to be chaired by Vice President Henry A. Wallace.

"Castle near Magdeburg, Magdeburger Straße.- "Sharp corner", in the background Church of St. Nicolai / lower church." 30 July 1941. (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-257).

China: The Japanese bomb the Nationalist capital of Chungking after dark. While in most respects it is a typical bombing raid, it stands out because one of the bombs damages USS Tutuila (PR-4). Tutuila is hardly a strategic US asset - it is trapped in Chungking because of Japanese control all the outlets to the sea - but it is a symbol of US support for the Chiang Kai-shek regime. The Japanese bomb lands right next to the gunboat as it is moored at Lungmenhao Lagoon, holing the ship at the waterline and destroying Tutuila's outboard-motor equipped dinghy.

The US quickly protests the damage to Tutuila, and the Japanese just as quickly apologize and call it a "tragic accident." While not an enduring international incident, the bombing heightens tensions and reinforces the prevailing American view that the Japanese are "testing" the United States. There seems to be at least a grain of truth to this, as observers on the ground report that the Japanese bombers, far from trying to avoid hitting the US ship, actually go out of their way to target it.

The graves of two Wehrmacht soldiers of the 34th Infantry Regiment KIA 30 July 1941.

American Homefront: The Chinese Consul-General in Honolulu, King-Chau Mui, delivers a radio address from Hilo, Hawaii. He calls for the "development of the international war front today" in order to preserve the "security of peace, justice, and freedom."
Future History: Paul Albert Anka is born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Paul Anka goes on to become a renowned singer, songwriter, and actor during the 1950s onward. He is credited with hits such as "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," "(You're) Having My Baby," and the theme for the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Anka becomes a US citizen in 1990 and remains active as a performer as of the time of this writing in 2018.

Serbs gather in a church in Gilna, Croatia, 30 July 1941. A wave of executions begins on that date with 700-2000 Serbs massacred by Ustaše paramilitary forces led by Vjekoslav Luburić. This is known as the Gilna Massacre. In 1969 a monument and museum at the site, but these are later removed by Croatian authorities.

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

Tuesday 3 June 1941

Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima Meets Hitler at the opening of the Japanese art exhibition in Berlin in 1939.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: Now that the situation in Iraq has stabilized on 3 June 1941, the British turn their full attention to Syria. The Vichy French hold on Syria only has become an issue because of the French decision to allow its use to the Axis as a transport hub to Iraq, but even though that is no longer an issue, the ball is rolling toward a British invasion. Today, the RAF bombs and strafes oil installations in Beirut, French Lebanon.

The Vichy French government states that it will defend both Syria and Tunisia against the British.

The British begin stockpiling landing craft and equipment in Port Said for Operation Exporter, the invasion of Syria. Royal Navy troopship Glengyle heads there from Alexandria, while two destroyers (HMS Hotspur and Ilex) leave Alexandria for Famagusta, Cyprus to embark commandos for transfer to Glengyle for upcoming Exporter.

In Iraq, the British continue mopping up. Gurkha troops (2/4 Gurkha Rifles) fly into Mosul and occupy it. Baghdad settles down after the two-day Farhud of 1-2 June, with the British and local police enforcing a strict curfew. The hundreds of dead are being buried.

The Maori Battalion performing the Haka for the King of Greece at Helwan, Egypt during June 1941. This is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. The Maori Battalion are hard fighters, leading German General Erwin Rommel to comment, “Give me the Maori Battalion and I will conquer the world.”

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe attacks Hull and Tweedmouth before dawn. A lone raider bombs and strafes the village of Boulmer. There are strafing attacks across northern England.

A private British de Havilland Dragon aircraft unwisely is taken up for private use for a flight between St. Mary's on the Isles of Scillies to Penzance. Unfortunately for the people on the Dragon, a passing German Heinkel He 111 bomber (I./KG 28) on its way back from bombing England spots it. The Heinkel shoots down the Dragon, killing all six aboard, including two girls aged 9 and 11. Pilot Captain W.D. Anderson DFC (Australian) and the entire Leggitt family is killed, including the mother of Mrs. Leggitt. Mrs. Sheelagh Leggitt was the Secretary to Sir Walter Monckton, Director-General of the Ministry of Information. A group of six Hawker Hurricanes of RAF No. 87 Squadron was withdrawn from the island only days before.

East African Campaign: A fierce battle on the approaches to Gondar, a key Italian stronghold in Abyssinia, develops. The British take Debarech, but then the Italians take it back. The town seesaws back and forth, but ultimately the British wind up with it. It is about 100 miles west of Amba Alagi, which fell in May, and the fierce battle shows that the Italians are going to put up a fierce battle for their remaining bastions in East Africa.

"View of Fleet Tender C, off Lincolnshire Coast." This photograph is from early October 1941 taken from a passing destroyer, HMS Whaddon, while escorting a convoy. You can see how the liner Mamari was disguised to look like an aircraft carrier. © IWM (A 5915).

Battle of the Atlantic: In order to prevent more German surface raiders from emerging like the Bismarck, and also to crimp the U-boat offensive, the Royal Navy has made it a priority to hunt down the Kriegsmarine's overseas supply network of disguised oil tankers and freighters. The Germans have nine such supply ships cruising the Atlantic in support of the abortive German Operation Rheinübung. Today, cruisers HMS Aurora and Kenya spot 6367-ton German tanker Belchen about 80 miles southwest of Greenland. The cruisers badly damage the German ship, and the Belcher's crew scuttles it. U-boat U-93 (Kptlt. Claus Korth), which the Belcher was in the process of refueling, stays nearby and rescues about 50 men after the British leave.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol out of Lorient, is operating in the mid-Atlantic west of Brest (650 miles north of the Azores). It is shadowing Convoy OB-327, which recently has dispersed. At 01:01, U-48 torpedoes and damages 9456-ton British tanker Inversuir. Schultze gets impatient and fires a second torpedo at 01:11, then surfaces and uses his deck gun. Some accounts claim that U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), also involved in attacks at the same location, actually sinks the Inversuir with a coup de grace torpedo at 03:59. The entire crew survives.

U-75, operating with U-48 in the mid-Atlantic east of Brest and on its second patrol out of Lorient near U-48, torpedoes and sinks 4801-ton Dutch freighter Eibergen. There are four deaths, and 35 survivors are picked up by anti-aircraft vessel HMS Cairo on the 7th.

SS Prince Rupert City, sunk on or about 3 June 1941 by the Luftwaffe.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4749-ton British tramp steamer Prince Rupert City in the mid-Atlantic. Some sources place this sinking on 2 June. There are 4 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2187-ton British freighter Royal Fusilier in the English Channel east of High Buston. The ship sinks about four miles from May Island. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1600-ton British freighter Dennis Rose about 50 miles southwest of Start Point. The Dennis Rose makes it to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages Royal Navy minesweeper Franklin as it is laying mines in the North Sea. The damage is not serious and Franklin continues with its mission.

Royal Navy decoy shop Fleet Tender C (formerly the Mamari aka liner Zealandic), disguised as aircraft carrier Hermes, hits a sunken wreck (tanker Ahamo, sunk by a mine on 8 April) southeast of Grimsby. It cannot get unstuck, and during the night, German S-boats attack. The Mamari is a write-off, but the entire crew survives. The half-sunken ship becomes a prominent "landmark" off the coast for years.

A Royal Navy stores ship, City of Dieppe, arrives in St. John's to join the fledgling Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF). The NEF's first convoy operation already is at sea, having sailed on 2 June, but there are very few support facilities in St. John's for the large and growing force. The British and Canadians are making plans to bring more ships and construct shore infrastructure to support the fleet.

Royal Navy battleship Rodney, fresh off the victory over the Bismarck, heads from the Clyde to Boston, the US to refit.

Submarine P.32, damaged on its journey by the Bay of Biscay by air attack, limps into Gibraltar.

Convoy WS 9A (Winston Special) departs from Liverpool en route to Freetown, Capetown, Durban, Aden, and Suez.

The Inversuir, sunk today in the North Atlantic.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Parthian torpedoes and badly damages 5232-ton Italian tanker Strombo in Salamis Bay. The Strombo's master manages to beach the ship, but it is a write-off.

Royal Navy submarine Unique torpedoes 736-ton Italian freighter Arsia off Lampedusa. The Arsia manages to make it to Trapani, Sicily.

Royal Navy submarine Torbay uses its deck gun to sink a caique carrying oil drum off Mitylene.

Royal Navy motor torpedo boat MTB 215 sinks Turkish schooner Iki Kardeshler a few miles off Anamur, Turkey (north of Cyprus). This is a violation of Turkish neutrality, the Royal Navy explains this by arguing that it thought the ship was involved in covert operations ("false orders").

The Luftwaffe damages a Royal Navy service ship, the KLO, during an air raid on Mersa Matruh. The ship's master and one other man are killed (the other man, Lt. Pullman, dies of his wounds on 2 July).

A large Italian force that includes light cruisers Atttendolo, Duca D'Aosta, and Eugenio D'Savoia of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, and light cruisers Bande Nere and Di Guissano of the 4th cruiser squadron, lays two minefields northeast of Tripoli. This is an area where Royal Navy submarines like to lie in wait for Axis convoys coming and going from Tripoli.

An Italian convoy of six transport ships/freighters departs Naples bound for Tripoli.

On Malta, RAF Martin Maryland and Blenheim bombers of No. 89 and 139 Squadrons on patrol claim to attack a convoy off Tunisia and sink a freighter while setting fire to another. The sunk ships apparently are the Italian freighters Montello and Beatrice C.. The RAF loses a Blenheim during the patrol, hit by flying debris as the first ship hit explodes.

There is one minor bombing raid on Malta by the Luftwaffe which causes no damage, while the RAF claims a victory over an Italian tri-motor transport west of Malta.

Invasion fears are rampant in Malta. The British troops garrison Gozo, normally uninhabited, and practice fighting paratroopers. The War Office issues an alert to expect an invasion within a week by a force of 6000 Axis troops based on spy sources.

A German sign at the site of Kandanos (one of two, with separate wording) which reads: “Kandanos was destroyed in retaliation for the savage ambush murder of a paratrooper platoon and a half-platoon of military engineers by armed men and women.” (Segers, German Federal Archive, Bild 101I-779-0003-22)

War Crimes: Following on atrocities committed at Kondomari and Alikianos, Crete on 2 June, the German 1III Battalion of the 1st Air Landing Assault Regiment (most probably led by Oberleutnant Horst Trebes) storms into the village of Kandanos. Acting pursuant to standing orders of temporary island commandant General Kurt Student, the Germans destroy the town. This is in retaliation for civilian resistance during Operation Mercury. The German troops execute most of the population, about 180 people, and kill the livestock.

The Germans declare Kandanos a "dead zone" which nobody can visit or inhabit. The Germans post two warnings in both German and Greek, one of which reads: "Here stood Kandanos, destroyed in retribution for the murder of 25 German soldiers, never to be rebuilt again." A war memorial using this exact language will be built after the war at the site of the village.

The Germans also attack the villages of Floria and Kakopetro.

Spy Stuff: German Ambassador Graf von Schulenburg is strongly opposed to Operation Barbarossa. He violates his duty by telling the head of Soviet International Affairs that Adolf Hitler had decided to begin a war with the Soviet Union on June 22. The Soviets treat this as proof that the Germans are engaging in a disinformation campaign and that there will not be any invasion.

German/Japanese Relations: Adolf Hitler meets with Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Ōshima at the Berghof. He informs Ōshima of the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. There are some hopes within the German high command that Japan will join Germany in attacking the Soviet Union.

Repair ship USS Prometheus (AR-3) laid up at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, while being reconditioned for a return to active service after lying "in mothballs" since 1924, 3 June 1941 (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives).

German/Finnish Relations: Following up on preliminary negotiations held in Salzburg on 25 May 1941, German members of the OKW arrive in Helsinki to discuss upcoming operations.  President Ryti, Foreign Minister Witting, Defence Minister Walden, Field Marshal Mannerheim, and Lt Gen Heinrichs agree to military cooperation, but not to Finnish initiation of hostilities. 

Specifically, agreements are negotiated regarding Finnish use of its army and air force against the Soviet Union in certain circumstances, both of which the Germans consider top quality. Tentative plans are formed for the Germans to occupy northern Finland and use that as a springboard to invade the Soviet Union in the far north and take the Soviet port of Murmansk. The Finns are not doing the Germans any favors - they want assistance to recover their historic territory lost during the Winter War.

The Finns remain wary about granting the Germans a "blank check." Heinrichs even warns them that any attempt to mount a coup in Finland and install a puppet government favorable to Germany would be met with absolute resistance. However, overall the talks are cordial and the Finns begin preparations for some kind of military activity. Based on the agreements reached at this meeting, Luftwaffe transport planes carrying service personnel begin arriving at Finnish airfields.

While the Germans are coy about the likelihood of Operation Barbarossa, it is hard to believe that the Finns can't figure out that the Germans intend to invade the Soviet Union, and soon. 

These meetings last until 6 June.

German/Vichy France Relations: Premier Petain, supported by his Council of Ministers, refuse to ratify Vice Premier Admiral Darlan's recently negotiated Paris Protocols. However, they have gone into effect anyway.

"HMS SUFFOLK's Supermarine Walrus amphibian taxi-ing back to the ship after a flight over the Arctic ice. Ice can be seen in the background." June 1941 on Arctic patrol in the Denmark Strait. © IWM (A 4185).

US Military: Due to a shortage of pilots, the US Army has decided that it needs to train enlisted men as pilots. There have long been enlisted pilots in the Army (the Air Corps Act of 1926 authorized their training, but trained pilots have served beginning in 1912), but the educational requirements are stiff and few enlisted men can meet them to get trained. To meet that need, Public Law 99 goes into effect today. For the first time, it authorizes the US Army Air Corps (and its successors) to take men without a college education. With the introduction of Sergeant pilots, the average age of pilots goes down to between 18 and 22. Enlisted pilot candidates will train six days a week in class or in the air and spend Sundays doing drills.

British Government: A memorandum drafted by Clement Attlee which provides that "A necessary prelude to a just peace is a total victory" is approved at a Labour Party conference by 2,430,000 to 19,000.

China: The new Nakajima Ki-43 Type 1 Fighter ‘Hayabusa’ (Allied codename "Oscar") is allocated to the Japanese 59th Sentai at Hankou. The unit begins transferring them from Japan. The Ki-43, however, turns out to have wing problems that requires repair.

Aerial view of the construction progress of Camp Polk, Louisiana on 3 June 1941.

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