Monday 16 June 1941

"The Cheshire Yeomanry patrolling on horseback at Marjuyan in Syria, 16 June 1941." "At the outbreak of war, the British Army had only eight mounted units. Its cavalry horses last saw action in the Middle East during 1940-1942 where they were used for patrol and reconnaissance work" (Major Geoffrey Keating, © IWM (E 3593)).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: Operation Exporter continues. The Battle of Kissoué, which controls access to Damascus, reaches a climax on 16 June 1941. Vichy French resistance has stiffened, and a company of the 7th Chasseurs d'Afrique advance to take Quneitra (Kuneitra or El Quneitra) from the Royal Fusiliers. The French tanks surround the town and at 19:00 take 13 British officers and 164 other ranks prisoner.

The French thus save Damascus for the moment. However, the British remain on the offensive by bringing in the 16th British Brigade from Egypt (diverted from other operations). This forces the Vichy French to withdraw their forces attempting to outflank the advancing British and prepare for a frontal defense. During the French withdrawal, British troops take up positions above the road the French must use and kill over 50 troops before withdrawing during the night.

The Vichy French are held at Jezzine, which the 25th Australian Brigade holds with difficulty. At Merdjayoun, Brigadier Berryman takes command.

The war at sea heats up. Vichy destroyer Chevalier Paul, carrying supplies to Syria and Lebanon, is sunk near Latakia by British Swordfish of RAF No. 815 Squadron (one plane shot down). There are six deaths and nine wounded. French destroyers Valmy and Guepard pick up the survivors. While they withdraw, Guepard and Valmy are damaged by Royal Navy destroyers Jervis and Kimberley.

Another French destroyer, Vaquelin, makes port in Beirut with supplies, but the RAF damages it there. The Royal Navy, meanwhile, continues providing support to the Australians advancing north from Sidon.

"40mm anti-aircraft gun being towed in Syria, 16 June 1941." (Major Geoffrey Keating © IWM (E 3561)).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids Gloucester with 60 bombers.

RAF Bomber Command sends three Blenheims of No. 21 Squadron on a special mission to sink trawlers parked in the North Sea to act as a primitive early-warning system. These trawlers are known to the British as "squealers." The Blenheims, flying at wavetop level, manage to sink a squealer but lose a Blenheim when it hits one of the trawlers' masts.

RAF Bomber Command sends 25 planes on an anti-shipping mission.

The RAF conducts "Circus No. 14." This is a raid on Boulogne, with ten No. 11 Group fighter squadrons escorting ten Coastal Command Blenheim bombers. Luftwaffe fighters of elite I,/JG 26 (Adolf Galland) intercept the formation, and the RAF loses two Blenheims and nine Supermarine Spitfires. The Luftwaffe loses four Bf-109s, and two of the pilots perish.

During this action, Lt. Joseph "Pips" Priller shoots down a Spitfire and a Blenheim over Boulogne. Galland, meanwhile, downs a Hurricane. Both men will wind up the war with 100 victories (Galland with 104, Priller with 100) and are considered two of the greatest fighter pilots of the war - if not all time.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 105 bombers to attack Cologne, 72 to attack Dusseldorf and 39 to attack Duisburg.

HMS Rapid (H32) - R class destroyer. Ordered: 1 April 1940. Laid down: 16 June 1941. Launched: 16 July 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: British invasion fears continue during prime summer weather. Upon unconfirmed reports of a German sortie from Brest, the Home Fleet is brought to one hour's notice. However, the ships leaving port are only freighters and the alert is canceled.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 167-ton British trawler Atlantic three miles southeast of Eddystone. The Atlantic makes it back to Plymouth.

German Patrol Vessel (Vorpostenboot) V-5606 runs aground near Vagsoy, Norway. The 204-ton former whaler ("Treff") is a write-off and eventually sinks in 35-45 meters of water. It remains in good shape and is a dive site.

Royal Navy minelayers Agamemnon and Menestheus lay minefield SN-66 in the Iceland Faroe field. This has been a favored breakout point for German surface raiders into the Atlantic.

Convoy OB-335 departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Convoy HX 133 departs from Halifax.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Bryony is commissioned, minesweeper Seaham is launched, and destroyers Rapid and HNLMS Kortenaer (nee Scorpion) are laid down.

Canadian corvette HMCS Vancouver is laid down at Esquimalt, British Columbia.

United States USS Gansevoort and Gillespie are laid down.

U-406 is launched, U-220, U-221, and U-222 are laid down.

An Afrika Korps soldier gets out of his Panzer III, June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: It is Day 2 of Operation Battleaxe, the latest British attempt to push the Germans and Italians back from the Libyan frontier and relieve Tobruk. Today does not go any better than the opening day of the offensive for the British, and it runs tight today due to smart and quick German ripostes.

The 11th Infantry Brigade attacks into Halfaya Pass, a critical objective that divides the front into thirds, with the pass being the center section. Afrika Korps Major Wilhelm Georg Bach controls the outnumbered Axis forces in the Pass, and the British quickly surround him. Bach, an unorthodox officer who flouts Wehrmacht convention by being indifferent about his attire and kindly to his men, is an expert with 88 mm flak guns being used in an anti-tank role, and he puts his skills to good use. He holds out throughout the day and continues destroying British tanks. This is the linchpin of the German defense, and it holds despite great privations.

General Walter Neumann-Silkow, the Commander of the 15th Panzer Division, attacks the lone British success of the opening day of the British offensive, Fort Capuzzo, at 06:00. Neumann-Silkow has 80 tanks and forms them into two columns. Like the British in Halfaya Pass, however, the advancing panzers run into the fierce anti-tank fire from 25-pounders and tanks hull-down in well-chosen defensive positions. The panzer force loses 50 tanks within four hours, and the attack is over by noon. This is a mirror-image of the failed British tank attack on Halfaya Pass and Hafid Ridge on the 15th. This failure frees the Scots Guards to pursue them, and the British take the Sollum barracks on the east flank. This further isolates Bach in Halfaya Pass.

Meanwhile, the German 5th Light Division also attacks down the coastal sector at dawn. It rolls southward past Hafid Ridge, shadowed by the 7th Armoured Brigade and 7th Support Group. The panzers once again demonstrate their superiority over the British tanks, standing off and shelling the British while still out of range of British tank fire. The Germans thereby eliminate their true threat - the vulnerable towed British 25-pounder anti-tank guns. Once those are gone, the Panzer IIIs (50 mm gun) and Panzer IVs close and destroy the thinly armed British cruiser tanks. The battle goes so poorly for the British that they have to retreat not just to their starting positions, but east of them - losing ground. The day ends with 5th Light continuing to harass the retreating British tank force.

General Erwin Rommel keeps close tabs on the battle and notices the brilliant success on the flank by the 5th Light Division. At 16:00, Rommel orders the 15th Panzer Division to leave only a screen against the advancing Scots Guards and shift its tanks to support 5th Light's advance. The British at first try to continue attacking into Halfaya Pass, but after dark the British accept defeat. They consolidate their remaining Matilda Tanks (over half have been destroyed) as a blocking force while the British infantry withdraws back into Egypt. The British only have 21 cruiser tanks left in the 7th Armoured Brigade and 27 Matildas in the 4th Armoured Brigade.

The events of 15 June effectively end Operation Battleaxe. However, the battle is not over. Now, the Afrika Korps is on the offensive due to superior equipment and tactics. While the British Army still holds Fort Capuzzo, the Germans are advancing into position not only to cut them off but stream further east into Egypt.

Overhead, Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille takes damage to this fighter in the aerial battles over the battle. Oil spraying on his windshield blinds him, but he is "talked down" to a safe landing by flight leader Reiner Pöttgen.

At Malta, a Wellington bomber arriving from Gibraltar crashes in the sea on approach to Hal Far airport. The entire crew perishes. Another Wellington fails to arrive and is presumed lost.

British propaganda dropped on Germany, 16 June 1941 (EH.510/4, Luftpost, Nr. 4, 16. Juni 1941Psywar.org).

POWs: Realizing that his peace mission has failed and that Germany faces a two-front war, Rudolf Hess throws himself down a flight of stairs at his place of confinement in Aldershot in order to commit suicide. However, he only manages to break his leg.

The reverse side of the 16 June 1941 British propaganda leaflet (EH.510/4, Luftpost, Nr. 4, 16. Juni 1941Psywar.org).

Anglo/US Relations: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a stirring radio speech from London that is broadcast in the United States. It is a brief three-minute speech, but very effective. The occasion is the University of Rochester awarding Churchill an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, his first honorary degree from the United States. In a speech entitled "The Birth Throes of a Sublime Resolve (‘The Old Lion’)," Churchill says in part:

But what is the explanation of the enslavement of Europe by the German regime? How did they do it? It is but a few years ago since one united gesture by the peoples, great and small, who are now broken in the dust, would have warded off from mankind the fearful ordeal it has had to undergo. But there was no unity. There was no vision. The nations were pulled down one by one while the others gaped and chattered. One by one, each in his turn, they let themselves be caught. One after another they were felled by brutal violence or poisoned from within by subtle intrigue.

England, he implies, now is the "old lion with her lion cubs at her side" standing ready to deter aggression, alone against hunters who are armed with deadly weapons and impelled by desperate and destructive rage" after the others have been overcome. It is classic Churchill, one of his best speeches.

Winston Churchill addresses the American people, 16 June 1941.

US/German Relations: Further to his recent Executive Order freezing German, Italian, and other European assets connected to the Axis, President Roosevelt orders the closing of all German consulates (other than the embassy in Washington D.C.) by 10 July. All related personnel must return to Germany. This includes ancillary services such as the German Library of Information in New York City, the German Railway and Tourist Agencies, and the Trans-Ocean New Service. The reason given is that these German services "have been engaged in activities...of an improper and unwarranted character" and "wholly outside the scope of their legitimate duties." These activities are "inimical to the welfare of this country."

The Germans, of course, quickly respond in kind.

Chinese General Chen Chang on the cover of Time magazine, 16 June 1941 (Boris Artzybasheff).

US/Japanese Relations: The US Ambassador in Tokyo, Joseph Grew, delivers a diplomatic protest over Japanese Imperial Air Force flights over the US naval base at Guam on 11 and 14 June. The Japanese government denies any culpability in the matter. Grew, incidentally, is wary of Japanese intentions, having cabled Washington in January 1941 with warnings of a brewing Japanese attack.

German/Italian Relations: Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano meets with German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop in Venice. Ribbentrop denies rumors of a pending German attack on the Soviet Union. He does say, though, that should war break out, Germany would win quickly.

Aerial reconnaissance of Kharkiv, the fourth-largest city in the Soviet Union and the most fought-over city in Russia.

German Military: Luftwaffe General Eugen Meindl, commander of Meindl Group during Operation Mercury on Crete until badly wounded at Platanias Bridge, receives the Knight's Cross.

Field Marshal Albert Kesselring meets with Field Marshal Fedor von Bock. Kesselring commands Luftflotte 2, which is to operate in support of Bock's Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte) on the road to Moscow. Kesselring and others move to their forward headquarters in anticipation of the 22 June 1941 scheduled start to Operation Barbarossa.

Reich port authorities are ordered to prevent any Soviet vessels from leaving. German U-boats already have carte blanche to sink Soviet vessels, so this is probably a necessary move because U-boats are lurking around all Baltic ports.

Finnish Military: In preparation for Operation Barbarossa and the Continuation War, the Finns withdraw their troops from the island of Morgonland. Morgonland is used to spy on Soviet forces in Hanko, which the Soviets use pursuant to the surrender terms of the recently concluded Winter War. The Finns begin to mine the waters around Hanko. It is difficult to conceive of the Finns making these moves if they are not already informed about Operation Barbarossa.

Finnish Naval HQ also gives orders to prepare for occupying the Åland Islands, which are demilitarised in peacetime. These islands have been a perpetual bone of contention between the Finns and the Soviets but have minimal strategic significance because they are demilitarized in peacetime. These preparatory moves are indicative of Finnish motivations to settle old scores with the Soviets and recover lands they believe belong to them for historical and pragmatic reasons.

USS R-2 (SS-79) R-class coastal and harbor defense submarine. Assigned to Div. 12 on 1 June 1941, R-2 departed New London on 16 June 1941 and 6 days later arrived in Key West, Florida. This photo is from the 1920s or 1930s (Photograph # NH 41873, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.).

US Military: The US Marine Corps establishes the 1st Marine Brigade (Provisional) at Charleston, South Carolina. Brigadier General John Marston is in command. Marston trains his men for their next assignment, the occupation of Iceland.

Canadian Military: The First Canadian Tank Brigade departs from Canada, bound for England.

British Homefront: Member of Parliament Captain J. Henderson Stewart denounces slackers in the munitions industry, saying in the House of Commons:

Today, when the flower of our land has been mowed down through lack of arms to defend themselves, arms factories at home are frequent scenes of deliberate slacking, deliberate idleness and shameless agitation for higher and higher wages for the same work done.

While there are always slackers in any industry and country, British workers are operating under intense pressure and danger. This is more a statement of how some British troops view their inferior equipment (such as tanks) and supplies than any reflection on dedicated war workers.

British Homefront: The government issues figures showing that unemployment for May 1941 was 243,656 people. This is down from 600,000 in May 1940.

Washington National Airport, opening day, 16 June 1941.

American Homefront: Washington National Airport (renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport in 1998) opens southwest of Washington, D.C. The airport, according to a 1945 act of Congress, is within Virginia but controlled by federal authorities.

New York Yankees centerfielder Joe DiMaggio ties the Yankee record for hitting streaks (held jointly by Roger Peckinpaugh and Earle Combs, both of whom attend this game) at 29 games when he gets a double to left field in the fifth inning. The record is at risk (at least in pure terms) when a rain delay in the middle of the fifth inning almost ends the game. However, after an hour the game resumes and DiMaggio quickly gets his hit against Cleveland Indians pitcher Al Milnar.

"British Sailor A First Soda," Life magazine, 16 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

Sunday 15 June 1941

Soldiers of the 4th Indian Division decorate their truck during Operation Battleaxe, North Africa. 15 June 1941. "Hell-Fire Pass" is the common British nickname for Halfaya Pass.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: After a two-day battle, on 15 June 1941 Australian troops of the 21st Brigade walk into Sidon after the Vichy French retreat during the night. While a bit of a hollow victory, it is still a victory and solidifies Australian/British control over the vital coast.

The Battle of Kissoué begins at 04:00 when 5th Indian Infantry Brigade troops (Brigadier Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd) begin a frontal assault on the town, which is a key stop on the road to Damascus. By 08:30, the Indian troops take the town, and by 09:00, they are probing the hills beyond. By 10:00, the Indian troops have taken Tel Kissoué slightly further north, and Free French marines occupy Mokelbe on the river along the flank. The Free French forces then advance across the river into the hills beyond and take Jebel Kelb, but then run into determined Vichy French resistance at Jebel Abou Atriz just beyond. An artillery battle develops on the extreme right flank, stopping a sortie by Free French tanks. A large Vichy French force then sorties out of Damascus, and other Vichy French advance from the east and take Ezraa.

Brigadier Lloyd then decides that the best defense is a good offense. He sends two companies of Free French troops to the south to hold the Vichy French advancing from the east and orders the Indian brigade to march on Damascus. The Indian troops make some ground, taking Aartouz on the left flank and severing Vichy French lines of communication. As the day ends, the entire sector is in the midst of a wild melee with no clear winner and pockets of troops of both sides scattered in the hills to the south of Damascus.

At Merdjayoun (Merjayun), the Vichy French attack the Australian troops who have been left behind while the main forces moves toward the coast. The French recapture Merdjayoun, but lose a number of their Renault R35 tanks to British 25-pounder anti-tank guns. The French advance stalls after this. Another French counterattack at Jezzine is beaten off.

Overhead, French Dewotine D.520 fighters bounce six Gloster Gladiators above Kissoué and shoot one Gladiator down (Fl-Off J. N. Craigie) and badly damage another. The French lose two fighters, one of which crash-lands at Rayak airfield and is destroyed.

Offshore, Vichy French destroyers Guephard and Valmy once again sortie out of Beirut Harbor. They run into Royal Navy destroyers HMS Jervis and Kimberley, and after a brief fight, the French destroyers retreat back into the harbor. Vichy French bombers attack light cruisers Phoebe and Leander and destroyers Ilex, Isis and Hasty while they are bombarding Sidon. Isis is damaged by a near miss and proceeds to Haifa, and thence to Singapore until 1942.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber command sends 23 aircraft on anti-shipping missions. RAF Bomber Command also sends 35 bombers to the oil refinery at Hamburg, with 26 reaching the target. After dark, another 91 aircraft attack Cologne, 31 attack Dusseldorf and 16 bombers attack Hannover.

German tanker Lothringen, captured 15 June 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy winds up its destruction of the German supply network (the "Etappendienst") in the Atlantic. Aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle disable 10,746-ton German tanker Lothringen, allowing cruiser HMS Dunedin to capture it. The entire crew survives. The tanker is renamed Empire Salvage and used by the Royal Navy. The Lothingren had been seized from the Dutch while under construction.

Acting on Ultra intelligence, Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt conducts a rare attack on another submarine. It fires a six-torpedo spread at U-557 (Oblt. Ottokar Paulssen), but all six torpedoes miss. U-557, operating with Wolfpack West, never even notices. The two submarines will meet again on 15 December 1941, incidentally, with the tables turned.

The RAF bombs and sinks Danish freighter Hans Broge about 15 nautical miles (28 km) southwest of Texel, Northern Holland. The Hans Broge is later refloated and used for target purposes.

British 7-ton fishing boat Audacious hits a mine and blows up in the Thames Estuary south of Great Wakering. There is one survivor.

U.S. Navy Task Force 3, under command of Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram, begins patrol operations from the Brazilian ports of Recife and Bahia. The force consists of four Omaha (CL 4)-class light cruisers and five destroyers.

Convoy OB-336 departs from Liverpool.

Transports 26,454-ton USS West Point (Captain Frank H. Kelley, Jr., Ap-23, formerly liner America) and 33,560-ton Wakefield (AP-21, formerly liner Manhattan) are commissioned.

Troop transport USS West Point in camouflage gray paint, 15 June 1941 (Photo No. 19-N-24557 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command). The West Point is the converted SS America, constructed in 1940. Retaking its original name after the war, SS America wrecked on the Canary Islands in 1994 and parts of it remain visible at low tide.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Battleaxe, the latest British attempt to push the Germans and Italians back from the Egyptian frontier, begins. Lt. General Noel Beresford-Peirse sends his troops forward around 02:00 and they attack around dawn. It is a long day of attacks and counterattacks, with the British taking ground but scoring no breakthroughs.

At 05:15, Brigadier Reginald Savory leads Coast Force toward Halfaya Pass. His force has Halfaya Group (2nd Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the 13 tanks (twelve Matildas and one light tank) of C Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment) on the escarpment overlooking the pass. Advancing from the east are the 1st Battalion 6th Rajputana Rifles and 2nd Battalion 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, two troops of A Squadron, 4th Royal Tank Regiment and a few 25-pounder guns.

Opposing them in Halfaya Pass are 15th Panzer Division and assorted German and Italian infantry. British artillery fails to correctly position itself in time to launch a preparatory bombardment, so the British tanks attack at the top of the pass without artillery support at 06:00. The forewarned German and Italian troops - the Germans intercepted news of the offensive from careless Australian wireless transmissions before midnight - quickly open up with anti-tank fire that knocks out all but one of the advancing British Matilda tanks and one light tank.

The German troops respond quickly with a counterattack led by armored cars and motorized infantry in Halfaya Pass. At Fort Capuzzo, the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment has early success, but 8th Panzer Regiment of the 15th Panzer Division launches several counterattacks that the British tank regiment and 22nd Guards Brigade blunt with great difficulty. The British wind up with Fort Capuzzo. Rommel, however, is keeping the bulk of the 15th Panzer Division back for defensive purposes.

A map diagram of Operation Battleaxe, 15-17 June 1941.

The Germans use a favored tactic of launching feints against the British, such as with the 8th Panzer Regiment. These draw the British forward onto concealed anti-tank guns, which blast the advancing tanks from point-blank range. Five British tanks advancing up along Hafid Ridge are knocked out by German 88 mm flak guns being used as anti-tank artillery. Another 11 Crusader tanks are destroyed and six damaged a little later. Late in the day, the 5th Panzer Regiment of the 5th Light Division sends forward 30 panzers to solidify the defenses.

However, when all is said and done, the British overall score minor gains along the frontier during the and take over 500 German and Italian prisoners. The British now hold Fort Capuzzo, but fail to take Halfaya Pass and Hafid Ridge.

The British problem is not their minimal gains, but their very real losses in armor and infantry. They have lost dozens of tanks, with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment down to 20 cruiser tanks and the 6th Royal Tank Regiment down to 20 out of its original 50 Crusader tanks. The 4th Armoured Brigade winds up with only 48 of its starting allotment of 100 tanks (after 11 are repaired overnight). Perhaps just as importantly, the Germans chase the British off the battlefield and prevent the British from recovering their damaged tanks, of which there are many. Among the British tank losses is that of Major Miles, the Commander of "C" Squadron.

The British learn the expensive lesson that their tanks are no match for German 88 mm guns. The Matildas and others also are out-ranged and outgunned by the panzers, and many of the British shots bounce off the panzers' armor. Panzer shells, however, have little trouble destroying British tanks.

Overhead, Luftwaffe I./JG 27, 7./JG 26 and 8./ZG 26 shoot down eight Hawker Hurricanes and two bombers at a cost of two Bf 109s.

The biggest lesson from the first day of Operation Battleaxe, though, is the importance of knowing when your opponent is going to attack. This is a luxury that the British usually have due to Ultra, but in this instance, the tables are turned and the Germans and Italians are the ones who know the enemy's intentions. This enables the Germans to position and man their anti-tank guns along projected axes of the British advance and implement tactics to draw the British tanks into kill zones. The British, incidentally, generally are in the dark about Rommel's intentions because he operates independently from OKW in Berlin and often communicates with his troops directly or via messengers.

The British plan to resume their offensive on the 16th. General Rommel, on the other hand, brings up his 5th Light Division to Sidi Aziz during the evening and night and plans an attack on the advancing British from the rear in order to loosen the stress on the Axis troops defending Halfaya Pass. He orders them to attack before dawn, along with a frontal attack on Fort Capuzzo to pin down the leading elements of the British advance, because he knows from intercepts that the British intend to attack just after dawn.

Elsewhere, in a classic demonstration of the durability of Catalina flying boats, one flying near Gibraltar fights off four Axis planes. The attackers lose one plane, which crashes in Portugal.

General Ritchie takes up his position as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Middle East Command.

Australian Squadron Leader Peter Turnbull atop the Martin Maryland 167 he shot down on 15 June 1941 over Sheik Meskine. The victory, in a Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks, was Turnbull's fifth, making him an ace and thus meriting a celebration. Turnbull later earns the DFC for his service (Edmunds Collection-PVR Image)

Battle of the Pacific: Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Emerald collides with light cruiser Dauntless near Malacca Light. Both ships proceed to Singapore for repairs.

Spy Stuff:  The US government arrests Japanese naval officer Itaru Tachibana and Charlie Chaplin's former valet, Toraichi Kono for espionage. It is a joint operation by the FBI and Office of Naval Intelligence, and evidence is obtained via a break-in of the Japanese consulate in San Francisco. This becomes known as the "Tachibana Affair." The raid yields a large amount of evidence that effectively destroys the Japanese espionage network on the U.S. West Coast. The US agents, led by Lt. Cdr. Kenneth Duval Ringle, learn to their surprise that the Japanese agents look down on American Japanese as cultural traitors who are not to be trusted.

Axis Relations: The Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH) becomes the final country to sign the Tripartite Pact. While nominally an independent nation ruled by the Duke of Savoy, Ante Pavelić controls the country. There now are nine signatories of the Pact, including Germany, Italy, Japan (the original three), Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union has asked to join the Pact, but Germany has ignored them. Germany does want Finland to sign, but the Finnish Government knows that signing it would produce a crisis in relations with the United States (with which it is never at war).

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill sends President Roosevelt a cable warning that the Japanese are preparing an attack toward the southern Pacific sometime later in the year. Churchill asks Roosevelt to station warships in Singapore in order to deter a Japanese attack there, which, all things considered in light of later developments, is not such a bad idea.

Italian/Hungarian Relations: Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano informs the Foreign Minister of Hungary that the Soviet Union is poised to attack Hungary. Neither man knows about Operation Barbarossa, though there is a possibility that their national leaders do to one extent or another.

German Military: Wehrmacht troops continue assembling in their forward positions for Operation Barbarossa. U-boats in the Baltic are given permission to begin attacking any Soviet warships they spot - but there aren't very many of those at sea. These sinkings, if there are any, are to be excused as "accidents." This is reminiscent of the Kriegsmarine ordering its U-boats to sea on 15 August 1939 in preparation for the attack on Poland.

US Military: The US Navy commissions its new Naval Air Station (NAS) at Kodiak, Alaska. This NAS in the Aleutian Islands has been under construction since September 1939. It is to become home to PBY patrol squadrons which patrol 4,000,000 square miles covering the Gulf of Alaska, Bristol Bay, the Bering Sea, and Alaska's Pacific coast.

General Miles Dempsey takes command of the 46th Infantry Division.

German troops execute 10 Polish hostages in German-occupied Gąbin, 15 June 1941.

German Government: Adolf Hitler spends the day at home in Berlin with his cronies, including Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. He is in a good mood, laughing at Goebbels' jokes and biding his time until Operation Barbarossa opens in one week's time. The Wehrmacht is used to receiving delays in its invasions, such as of Poland in 1939 and France, Belgium and the Netherlands in 1940, but Hitler has no intention of delaying his grand design.

Hitler, for all his confidence, is having trouble falling asleep. He spends the early morning hours rambling with his attentive minions. This is a pattern that will recur frequently in the coming months, and at times become his daily habit. His personal physician, however, has sedatives for when he really needs some rest.

China: The Japanese bomb Nationalist capital Chungking (Chongqing) again. US gunboat USS Tutuila (PR-4) is docked in the river and some bombs land nearby. Some slight damage to the US Embassy there results. After the US files a diplomatic protest, Japanese Admiral Shimada Shigetaro issues an apology and tells the Americans that it was "not intentional." The US also complains in general about Japanese raids on the civilian population of Chungking.

Holocaust: In German-occupied Gąbin, Poland, German troops stage a public execution of 10 Polish hostages.

German striker Hans Fiederer (on the right) shoots at the Croatian goal, which is devotedly defended by Miroslav Brozović (on the left) and goalkeeper Franjo Glaser (on the ground). The first match of the national football team of Croatia, played against Germany in Vienna, 15 June 1941.

German Homefront: The first football game between Germany and Croatia is played at the Vienna's Prater Stadium. Germany wins 5-1.

American Homefront: Reflecting a pessimistic tone to many commencement speeches this year, James B. Conant, President of Harvard University and recently head of a mission to Great Britain on behalf of President Roosevelt, says to the graduating class of Harvard:

It is conceivable that the next fifty years for the United States will be as black as the last year has been for France.

He also somewhat cheerlessly notes that the Draft will cause "for most of you some frustration of your ambitions."

Future History: Harry Edward Nilsson III is born in Brooklyn, New York. He becomes a top recording star during the 1960s and 1970s, having big hits with albums Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) and Son of Schmilsson (1972). He also is known for being close friends with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. Harry Nilsson passes away on 15 January 1994 at age 52.

Neal Adams is born on Governors Island, Manhattan, New York. He becomes a top comic book and commercial artist, working for DC Comics and Marvel among others. He creates the definitive portrayals of characters Batman and Green Arrow. As of this writing, Neal Adams continues to work on various projects, including a "Deadman" limited series.

Essy Persson becomes a Swedish film star.

Essy Ingeborg Vilhelmina Persson is born in Gothenburg, Sweden. Essy works as a secretary while studying to be an actress and gets parts in Stockholm City Theater beginning in 1963. Essy Persson makes her film debut in "Jeg - en kvinde" ("I - A Woman") (1965), a seminal Swedish erotic drama. The film becomes an international success, and  Essy makes additional appearances through the 1980s on television and in such films as "Mission Stardust" (1967), "Therese and Isabelle" (1968), "Das Rasthaus der Grausamen Puppen" (1967), and "Cry of the Banshee" (1970). Persson concentrates on Swedish television productions later in her career, the last in 1987. As her career in film dries up, Essy Persson studies art at Konsthögskolan Valand and Konstfack from 1981 to 1984. Essy then becomes a painter, which craft she apparently continues as of 2018.

German soldiers on leave in East Prussia, 15 June 1941 (Federal Archive N 963 Bild-14-12A).

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