Sunday 17 August 1941

German troops entering the Kremlin of Novgorod, 17 August 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 183-H26513).

Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht on 17 August 1941 continues to hold the initiative, but every day more trucks break down and more men get killed and more tanks need new tracks and engines and other maintenance. Generalleutnant Wolfgang Fischer at the 10th Panzer Division headquarters notes in the war diary that there are no spare parts available, and when trucks break down, the choice either is to leave them or to tow them.

In the Far North sector, the Finnish 18th Division crosses the Vuoksi River and establishes a secure bridgehead. Other Finnish forces continue putting pressure on trapped Soviet troops throughout the Karelian Isthmus. For most of them, the only possibility of escape is by boat across Lake Ladoga.

Infantry support gun (7.5 cm light infantry gun) of the German 291st Infantry Division on the firing position near the Narva River, on or about 17 August 1941.

In the Army Group North sector, the Germans take Narva, Estonia, and 56th Panzer Corps of Panzer Group 4 strengthens its grip on Novgorod. The Wehrmacht is busy transferring three divisions from Army Group Center to Army Group North, but Field Marshal von Bock at the former is resisting releasing one of the motorized divisions because of the ongoing Soviet offensive south of Lake Ilmen.

In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 continues driving toward Bryansk, while 2nd Army advances on Gomel. The Soviets continue attacking the exposed German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya, but the Germans are holding fast. Field Marshal von Bock calls off an offensive planned against Mozir. Halder talks with von Bock during the day, and the latter remains fixated on the possibility of renewing the attack on Moscow as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Soviet 24th Army attacks a German bridgehead at El'nia.

In the Army Group South sector, the Romanian 4th Army scores a major success by capturing the water supplies of Odessa. The Soviets are under strict orders to hold the city for as long as possible, an order underscored by Stalin's Order No. 270 issued on the 16th which prescribes death for anyone who exhibits dereliction of duty. The Romanians still have not made a real assault on the city, however.

The Soviets are retreating in the vicinity of Dnepropetrovsk, which the German Panzer Group 1 captures. The Luftwaffe sends fighter-bombers from I. and II./JG 3 along with III./JG 52 against the city. The Luftwaffe pilots claim to shoot down 33 Soviet planes, including 29 bombers. The Soviets complete their evacuation from Nikolayev, covering their final withdrawal with 8 destroyers of the Black Sea Fleet. The Germans also take Nikopol on the Dneiper.

Home Guard troops practice defending a roadblock with smoke and rifle fire, 17 August 1941.

European Air Operations: Today's RAF missions are distinguished by few losses. However, the results of the missions are mediocre, so not much is accomplished by either side. All in all, it is a fairly unremarkable day in the air.

During the day, the RAF sends 20 Blenheims on the usual coastal sweeps. These include all three major types of aerial operations: Circus, Roadstead, and Rhubarb operations. Some shipping is attacked off Terschelling. All of the aircraft return safely.

After dark, the RAF continues its series of heavy attacks on German. Tonight's targets are Bremen and Duisburg.

The RAF puts 39 Hampdens and 20 Whitleys over Bremen. The targets are the Focke-Wulf factory and railways yards. The Germans shoot down two Hampdens. The RAF pilots claim hits on the airplane factory.

The RAF puts 41 Wellingtons over the Duisburg railway yards, with all of the planes returning. Not much is accomplished on this raid because the weather prevents accurate aiming.

Also during the night, a dozen Hampdens also lay mines off of Denmark, a Wellington raids Dunkirk, and 6 bombers go on training missions over Europe. No losses on these missions.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet submarine Shch-307 hits a mine and sinks near Suursaari Island (Gogland).

German torpedo boat S.58 sinks Soviet minesweeper/patrol boat No. 80 in the Gulf of Finland.

German auxiliary minesweeper M-1707 hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Finland.

Soviet patrol boats attack a German convoy in the Gulf of Finland off Cape Domesnas. They cause the ships to engage in evasive maneuvers, during which German minesweeper M.1707 "Luneburg" comes under fire from Soviet coastal artillery, which causes Luneburg to engage in more evasive maneuvers. The end result is that Luneburg blunders into a German minefield off Arensburg, Ösel Island and strikes a mine, and sinks.

Estonian submarines Kalev (Lt. Cmdr. Nyrov) and Lembit (Lt. Cmdr. Poleschuk) lay mines off Bornholm.

Soviet submarine ShCh-216 is commissioned.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris torpedoes and sinks 1482-ton Norwegian freighter Haakon Jarl off Svaerholt, Norway in the Barents Sea. There are three deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1999-ton British freighter Kindersley a few miles off Blyth. Kindersley makes it to the Blyth on the 18th.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy WN-68 off Aberdeen but scores no hits.

In Operation Kedgreree (part of Operation Ration), the Royal Navy sends ships to sea to intercept what is believed to be a Vichy French convoy carrying contraband destined for Germany. There is a similar mission in the Indian Ocean by cruisers HMS Hawkins and HMAS Australia, with the same code names. Neither of these operations spots any French ships.

A Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condor of I,/KG 40 spots Convoy OG-71 and radios the location to BdU in Paris. The Kriegsmarine vectors in U-201 (ObltzS Adalbert Schee), which shadows the convoy.

Spanish freighter Navemar departs from Lisbon bound for Cuba and New York. The ship is overcrowded with 1800 refugees, mainly Jews fleeing Hitler, and conditions are terrible. The ship acquires the nickname "the floating concentration camp."

Convoy WS-10 arrives at Freetown

Group photos of some Royal Marines aboard either HMS Neptune or HMS Kandahar, 17 August 1941. These men all lost their lives later in the year when their ship hit a mine and sank. (Neptune Association).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Dutch submarine O-23, operating in the Sicilian Strait, attacks an Italian convoy sailing from Naples to Tripoli. O-23 torpedoes and badly damages 5479-ton Italian freighter Maddalena Odero. The freighter, escorted by Italian torpedo boats Pegaso and Sirtori, heads for Lampedusa. The RAF (Bristol Blenheim aircraft of No. 105 Squadron) later attacks Maddalena Odero twice, setting its cargo on fire. Maddalena Odero is written off on the 18th.

Tonight's Tobruk run is made by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Kipling and Nizam. The British land supplies and rotate in some Polish troops, then make it back to Alexandria without incident.

Royal Navy submarine Regent is damaged at the dock in Alexandria when one of its own torpedoes explodes. Nobody is injured, but the submarine is damaged.

At Malta, RAF Hurricanes shoot down a Caproni seaplane east of  Zonqor Point. RAF No. 800 Squadron Swordfish attack the Italian convoy that O-23 also attacks, claiming hits on three ships, but only the hits on Maddalena Odero are confirmed. Three Hurricanes attack seaplanes in Syracuse harbor, claiming hits on several targets.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet (AMC Schiff 45), operating southeast of the Galapagos Islands, captures 7322-ton Dutch freighter Kota Nopan. The cargo includes valuable commodities including 2800 tons of sago, 1500 tons of rubber, 1200 tons of tin, and 1200 tons of manganese. The Germans put a prize crew on the ship and send it to France (where it arrives safely in November). This is Komet's second success in the area in recent days after a long quiet period in the vastness of the Pacific.

Public hanging in Belgrade, 17 August 1941 (Muzej Revolucije Narodnosti Jugoslavije).

Spy Stuff: German agent Juan Pujol Garcia, who has been sent to London via Lisbon, instead is camping out in Lisbon and only pretending to be in London. His mission is to recruit British spies - in London. Today, from Lisbon, he radios his handler, Friedrich Knappe-Ratey aka "Frederico," and claims that he has successfully recruited a local agent. At this time, Garcia is not yet working as a double-agent - he is simply making up believable nonsense and reporting it as fact.

Partisans: The Germans stage a public hanging on Terazije in Belgrade. This is becoming a standard punishment for suspected partisans and terrorists.

Tito, who has led the partisan movement in Yugoslavia, begins to coordinate his partisan activities with Moscow (Comintern).

The repair workshop on Maleme airfield, Crete, where the dozens of Luftwaffe transport planes damaged during Operation Mercury are being repaired (Krempl, Federal Archive, Bild 183-B10713).

US/Japanese Relations: With President Roosevelt back in Washington following the Atlantic Conference, Secretary of State Cordell Hull brings Japanese Ambassador Nomura in to see him. This is the fourth meeting between Roosevelt and Nomura. Responding to Nomura's request for a summit meeting between Roosevelt and the leader of the Japanese government, Prince Konoye, Roosevelt says he requires a clear statement of Japan's intentions in the Pacific. Roosevelt says that the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union wished for peace for in the Pacific, but few others did (a veiled reference to the Tripartite powers).

Roosevelt seems open to a summit meeting with Konoye. However, he says it cannot be in Hawaii because "I am not permitted to travel in an airplane." He proposes that Konoye come to Juneau, Alaska, Seattle, Washington, or San Francisco. Nomura casually mentions that such a meeting would best be held by mid-September.

Anglo/US/Chinese Relations: The Nationalist Chinese government in Chungking indicates its approval of the Atlantic Charter - though everybody in Asia is scratching their heads about its implications for the region. A common interpretation is that the Americans have refused to go along with British attempts to drag the United States into the war and thus may be more accommodating to the Japanese than previously thought.

Benigno Aquino Sr. (4th from left) with President Manuel L. Quezon, August 17, 1941.

Soviet Military: Admiral Vladimir Tributs is put in charge of the defense of Leningrad.

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy continues requisitioning merchant ships for use in various roles within the navy. Today, those include:

• 6486-ton freighter Kenyo Maru
• 7158-ton Sanuki Maru
• 17,526-ton liner Kamakura Maru

The IJN converts the Snauki Maru into a seaplane tender, mounting two 150-mm/45 cal single-mount guns, two 80-mm single-mount guns, two 13.2-mm single-mount machine guns, and a catapult. The IJN converts Kamakura Maru into a charter vessel for the Yokosuka Naval District.

American Aggregates railroad car in service at the Oxford, Michigan, gravel pit, 17 August 1941. It remains in existence in 2018 in a railway museum (Donald S. Moore photo from IRM Collection).

British Government: Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden submits a report to the War Cabinet on the current state of morale in Italy. The report finds that Italian civilian and military morale has plummeted during the war and that many Italians dislike the Germans and like the British. The reports cautions, however, that:

The chances of knocking Italy out of the war (ie forcing her to a separate peace) can now be discounted since the Germans would certainly forestall any such move in Italy by converting the present moral occupation into a physical occupation of the country. But the more depressed and restless the Italians become the less effective is the Fascist Government’s contribution to the German effort, and the greater do Germany’s policing responsibilities in Italy become.

The report concludes:

The moral of this is that, even though we cannot now hope to knock Italy out, we should not relax efforts to hit metropolitan Italy by air and from the sea whenever opportunity offers.  Each blow against Italy is a blow against Germany.

The RAF based at Malta has been bombing Rome, Milan, and Naples, but overall it has not suffered nearly as much from Allied bombing as has Germany.

Australia: The government approves the formation of the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS).

Memorial to the Ludza Massacre of 17 August 1941 (Find a Grave).

Holocaust: From now until 27 August, the Jews of Ludza, Latvia, about 800 people, are taken 7 km out of town. There, they are marched into two long pits, shot, and buried.

Walt Disney, wife Lillian, and his party arrive in Rio de Janeiro, 17 August 1941.

American Homefront: Walt Disney begins a goodwill tour of Latin America. Accompanying Walt on the trip, which is underwritten by a $70,000 government grant, is his wife Lillian and studio personnel Mary Blair, Frank Thomas, Bill Cottrell, Ted Sears, and a dozen other animators. Flying Pan American Airways, the group arrives today in Rio de Janeiro. This is the beginning of a 10-week journey. Thomas later recreates the trip in the documentary "Walt and El Grupo." Thomas credits the trip with enhancing Mary Blair's skills - she becomes one of the most renowned artists, animators, and illustrators in Disney history.

Future History: John Wesley Powell is born in Lakeland, Florida. As "Boog" Powell, he becomes a Major League baseball player best known for his years on the Baltimore Orioles. He wins the American League Most Valuable Player award in 1970 and plays on championship teams in Baltimore in 1966 and 1970. Boog Powell retires in 1977. Boog later explains that "Boog" is a shortening of "bugger," an affectionate nickname for children in the South.

Fritz Wepper is born in Munich, Germany. He becomes a well-known German actor in the late 1950s and plays Inspector Harry Klein in the crime series "Derrick."

Francesco Columbu is born in Ollolai, Sardinia. He becomes a renowned bodybuilder who wins Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981. He alternates titles with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wins the 1980 Mr. Olympia, and the two become friends, with Columbu serving as Schwarzenegger's best man during his marriage to Maria Shriver. Columbu generally is considered to be Schwarzenegger's most famous contemporaneous bodybuilding competitor. Like Schwarzenegger, Columbu branches out into acting, appearing in movies such as "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "Ancient Warriors" (2003), as well as television shows and commercials. Schwarzenegger appoints Columbu to the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners, where he serves from February 2006 to January 2014.

Gabriella Farinon is born in Oderzo, Italy. Farinon becomes an actress in films such as "Space-Men" (1960) and a prominent television presenter on Italian television public broadcasting company RAI. She remains active throughout the 1960s-1990s and apparently is retired as of this writing in 2018.

Wesel, Brückstraße, Altstadt. In the background Willibrordi Cathedral (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-291)

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Saturday 12 July 1941

German Fallschirmjäger II./Fallsch.Sturm- regiment parade in Goslar, Crete, July 12, 1941.

Eastern Front: The Luftwaffe raids Moscow on 12 July 1941 for the first time after several false alarms.

In the Far North sector, the Finns continue to make progress while the Germans farther north are stuck. Finnish Army of Karelia captures Kokkari and Tolvayarvi northeast of Lake Ladoga.

In the Army Group North sector, XLI Panzer Corps reaches the Plyussa River. The terrain is more of a hindrance to the German advance than the Soviet resistance. General Halder notes in his war diary that General Erich Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group is "growing increasingly tired and weak," which accounts for the panzers making "no substantial advance in the direction of Leningrad." However, the Soviets are withdrawing, giving the German tankers some time to rest.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets are counterattacking against General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group at Vitebsk. The Soviets have a large troop concentration at Nevel composed of stragglers collected from all across the front, and they are using this motley assortment to attack southward. German Ninth Army is rapidly closing on Hoth's panzers and providing some support. Hoth's tanks and General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group forces are attacking north and south of Orsha, respectively.

In the Army Group South sector, the Soviets are in full retreat to the Dniestr River to the south of Kyiv. The Soviets attempt a counterattack at Korosten, but Sixth Army shrugs it off. Panzer Group 1 is involved in a more serious battle around Berdichev. General Halder notes in his war diary that General Paulus has submitted some aerial photographs of Kyiv from which "one does not get the impression of unusually extensive preparations for a large-scale withdrawal" - which is a classic understatement for the likelihood that the Soviets intend to make a major stand in defense of Kyiv. Meanwhile, Romanian troops make an advance to Balti.

"A 15-cwt truck passes a sentry as it leaves Fort Weygand at Palmyra, Syria, 12 July 1941" (© IWM (E 4079)).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: A ceasefire is in place, effective today at 12:01 a.m. and both sides respect it. The two sides continue to negotiate over a final armistice, and since there is no real disagreement over how things will resolve - the British will take over the Levant and the Vichy French there shall be treated well so as not to offend Paris - things are proceeding quickly.

During the fighting, the Vichy French in the Levant lost:

• 1092 killed (according to Vichy commander General Henri Dentz)
• 1790 wounded
• 466 missing
• 3004 taken prisoner
• 5688 defecting to the Free French
• 179 aircraft (most destroyed on the ground)
• 1 submarine

British and Commonwealth losses:

• 1552 Australian casualties (416 killed, 1136 wounded)
• 1300 (approximate) Free French casualties
• 1800 British and Indian casualties
• 1200 British captured
• 3150 sick (350 malaria cases)
• 27 aircraft (RAF and RAAF)

Both sides have taken prisoners, and how that will be resolved is virtually the only delay in putting the entire affair behind everyone. The basic terms of the armistice are initialed informally in Acre in the street and appropriate documents are drafted. French Lieutenant-General Joseph-Antoine-Sylvain-Raoul de Verdillac attends the French-British negotiations. The process to draft the Armistice of Saint-Jean d'Acre begins at 2200 hours near Acre, British Mandate of Palestine.

Unbeknownst to the British, the Vichy French transport some British and Commonwealth prisoners out of the country by plane today. When they learn of this, the British are angered and demand their return. This will lead to the only complications to the ending of the conflict.

Vichy French submarines Caiman and Morse depart Beirut for Tunisia.

Martin B-26 Marauder in flight near Wright Field, Ohio, July 12, 1941.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 38 Blenheims on a sweep of the Dutch coast. Some hits are made on ships, and the RAF loses one Blenheim.

The RAF also sends three Stirling bombers to destroy the Arques "ship-lift" near St. Omer. The raid is a failure, the bombers completely miss the target and instead hit the town. All aircraft return without incident.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 33 Hampden and 2 Wellington bombers against Bremen. The RAF loses two Hampdens.

Wing Commander Douglas Bader shoots down a Bf 109 and damages three others over Pas-de-Calais, France.

Wittmann (left) with StuG III Ausf.A, somewhere in Russia, July 12, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy corvette HMS Arbutus collides with 4637-ton British freighter Blackheath in the Northeast Approaches. Arbutus is damaged and proceeds to Liverpool for repairs that last until 19 August.

Having recently transferred to the far north of Norway, German destroyers patrol off the Kola Peninsula (off Cape Teribirski, Kharlov). They run into a Soviet convoy and sink:

• Patrol vessel Passat
• Auxiliary patrol ship RT 67 (trawler Molotov)

Another Soviet patrol vessel escapes.

A Lockheed Hudson bomber S/N T9452 of RAF No. 269 Squadron crashes while escorting a convoy in the Denmark Strait off Iceland. The plane and its four-man crew are never found.

Convoy OG-68 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar, Convoy SC-37 departs from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, bound for the Clyde.

Royal Navy minesweepers HMS Taitam and Waglan are laid down.

U-160 launched, U-415 laid down.

Canadian Car & Foundry G-23 Goblin, RCAF (Serial No. 339), gear up belly landing, 12 July 1941.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3616063).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Luftwaffe bombs Port Said and scores hits on at least two ships:

• 5483-ton Dutch freighter Alphard (damaged, four deaths)
• 1977-ton Greek freighter Patria (sunk, raised after the war)

The RAF raids Tripoli, Libya and sinks German freighter Sparta. It is later raised and repaired and returned to service as Sperrbrecher.

During the night, the Luftwaffe sends 20 planes to mine the Suez Canal.

Royal Navy Otus departs from Gibraltar bound for Malta, carrying supplies.

At Malta, there are no air raids. However, a Wellington bomber taking off from Luqa Airfield bound for Cairo crashes, killing all eight on board.

Finnish soldiers crossing the 1940-agreed border (Moscow Peace Treaty) at Tohmajärvi on 12 July 1941, two days after the invasion of Karelia started.

Battle of the Black Sea: The Luftwaffe raids Sevastopol harbor and scores hits on at least two ships:

• Soviet destroyer Bditelny (badly damaged)
• Soviet destroyer Kharkiv (slightly damaged)

Spy Stuff: Juan Pujol García, a Spanish citizen pretending to be a spy for the Reich, departs Lisbon bound for London. Eager to work for the British, Garcia has created an identity as a fanatically pro-German Spanish government official who could travel to London on official business and enlisted as an agent of the Abwehr (Reich military intelligence).

German/Ukrainian Relations: The Gestapo arrests members of the nationalist, anti-Soviet Provisional Ukrainian Government. While these would be useful allies against the Soviet Union, Hitler does not want any impingement on absolute German rule.

Stalin and Molotov watch Sir Stafford Cripps sign a treaty at the Kremlin, 12 July 1941.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: In Moscow, British Ambassador Sir Stafford Cripps (a socialist appointed for that reason) and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov sign an Anglo/Soviet Mutual-Assistance Agreement at the Kremlin. It has two key points:

1. "The two Governments mutually undertake to render each other assistance and support of all kinds in the present war against Hitlerite Germany.
2. "They further undertake that during this war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement."

Stalin, standing behind the men, looks on with a big smile, exactly as he did on 23 August 1939 when German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signed a somewhat similar agreement with Molotov at the very same desk. In fact, Molotov was in Berlin only eight months ago to try and arrange another deal with the Reich. Everyone then adjourns to an anteroom to enjoy some chocolate and fine Georgian champagne.

The first point has been clarified already by the British as "mutual help without any precision as to quantity or quality - a key point for Stalin, who wants a lot of aid. The second point - the one about not making a separate piece - is critical to the British. Prime Minister Winston Churchill has a long memory, and that includes the pact made with Lenin in 1918 that very nearly enabled the Germans to take Paris. In this case, there are indications at certain points during the war that Stalin may entertain similar ideas, pact or no pact.

Hilo International Airport, Hawaii (General Lyman Field). This shows the airport after a six-year program to expand the airport that has cost almost $300,000 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (“Hawaii and Aviation: An Archive of Historic Photos and Facts,” State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division).

US Military: The US Navy commissions NAS Quonset Point in Rhode Island. This will be used to train RAF Fleet Air Arm pilots using the Vought F4U Corsair.

The Office of the Coordinator of Research and Development goes into operation. Its mandate is to unify the U.S. Navy's research activities, and to evaluate the best ways of advising tactical officers of air, ground, and sea forces of the "latest applications of science to the problems of modern warfare."

Italian Military: General Gariboldi, who has been in disfavor for some time, officially is replaced as Commander-in-chief of Axis forces in North Africa and Governor of Libya. His replacement is General Ettore Bastico. Officially, this makes Bastico Rommel's superior in the chain of command to Afrika Korps commander General Erwin Rommel. This, however, is not the reality of the situation.

Bastico is difficult, autocratic, and violent, but Rommel pays him no mind. Privately, Rommel calls Bastico "Bombastico," but, in fact, Rommel kind of likes him and later describes Bastico as a "fundamentally decent man with a sober military understanding and considerable moral stamina." Whenever Bastico tries to interfere in his plans, Rommel simply rings up Commando Supremo in Rome and gets his way, and whenever Commando Supremo disagrees, he calls OKW in Berlin and has them exert their influence. The bottom line is that Rommel simply does what he wants without regard to Bastico's wishes.

Montenegro: In line with Italy's agreement with the Reich, Montenegro's national assembly restores the monarchy - giving at least nominal control to Italy.

Venice, California Japanese Community Association Picnic dated July 12, 1941.

Holocaust: The Pavelic government in Croatia begins sending Jews to a camp in Zagreb.

SS Officer Felix Landau, a member of an Einsatzkommando unit, records the following in his diary on 12 July 1941:

At 6:00 in the morning I was suddenly awoken from a deep sleep. Report for an execution. Fine, so I’ll just play  an executioner and then gravedigger, why not. Isn’t it strange, you love battle and then have to shoot defenseless people. Twenty-three had to be shot, amongst them the two above-mentioned women. They are unbelievable. They even refused to accept a glass of water from us. 

I was detailed as a marksman and had to shoot any runaways. We drove one kilometer along the road out of town and then turned right into a wood. There were only six of us at that point and we had to find a suitable spot to shoot and bury them. After a few minutes, we found a place. The death candidates assembled with shovels to dig their own graves. Two of them were weeping.

Landau was later imprisoned for his wartime activities from 1959 to 1971. He died in 1983.

Saturday Evening Post, 12 July 1941.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio goes 2-5 against the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri. This extends DiMaggio's major-league-record hitting streak to 51 games.

Postmaster General Frank C. Walker gives a speech over the NBC radio network in which he urges the country to support President Roosevelt and his policies until Hitler is deposed:

There can be no peace; there can be no security by treaty or pact, so long as Hitler and his doctrines rule Germany. Within Germany and throughout the world, implemented by force, he has attacked with corruption, the liberty of every individual and the sanctity of Almighty God. Hitler can have no friends; he can have no allies. A handshake with Hitler is a prologue to suicide.

Of course, if the administration truly thought this, it would go to war - but Roosevelt isn't ready yet. However, with speeches like this, his administration certainly is baiting Hitler to do just that.

Future History: Benjamin Stewart Parsons is born in Wilkes County, North Carolina. As Benny Parsons, he goes on to become a top US NASCAR driver and radio commentator. After passing away on 16 January 2007, Parsons enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.

Wild West Weekly, 12 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