Adolf Hitler and cronies during his speech at the Kroll Opera House on 11 December 1941.
German/US Relations: On 11 December 1941, Adolf Hitler instructs Reich Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop to deliver a formal declaration of war to United States Chargé d'Affaires in Berlin Leland B. Morris. The primary reason for this, as stated in the text of the declaration, is the order given by President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt on 11 September 1941 for US warships to "fire upon" Kriegsmarine war vessels "on sight." The United States Congress then votes to declare war on Germany within hours, passing the:
Joint Resolution Declaring That a State of War Exists Between The Government of Germany and the Government and the People of the United States and Making Provisions To Prosecute The Same.
Adolf Hitler gives a long speech to the Reichstag at the Kroll Opera House explaining this decision. President Roosevelt, however, merely sends down a written request to Congress asking for a declaration of war.
The Reich's declaration of war against the United States is considered Hitler's worst blunder of the war, topped only, perhaps, by his invasion of the Soviet Union. The reasons for Hitler's decision are debated, but his previous speeches indicate a deep resentment about the United States for flouting the international rules of warfare in support of Great Britain. Another possible motivation is to draw attention away from the Eastern Front, where the Wehrmacht is reeling due to the Red Army counteroffensive at Moscow. Hitler also is a creature of the Great War, and many of his strategies mirror those taken by the German Empire in that conflict. In this instance, Hitler adopts the thinking of the German high command in 1917 that unrestricted submarine warfare could finally isolate England and cause its eventual starvation and surrender. This would prevent United States intervention on the Continent and free the Reich's military to finally subdue the USSR. The strategy did not work in World War I, but perhaps Hitler thinks that the United States Navy is inadequate to fight a two-ocean war. In any event, the Reich is not bound by a treaty to support the Empire of Japan. While the Japanese Ambassador has sought such written assurance, the Reich has not provided them. In any event, Hitler never shows much deference to treaties regardless of how applicable they may be. This is Hitler's decision alone, made after four days of consideration, and stands as his only formal declaration of war.
President Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Germany, 11 December 1941.
Axis Relations: In Italy, Benito Mussolini issues a statement declaring war on the United States. Germany, Italy, and Japan, the original signatories of the Tripartite Pact, sign a new agreement that bars any of them from making a separate peace with either the United States or Great Britain. Various other countries declare war on one side or the other in the coming days, but the main battle lines now are drawn.
The New York Times continues lacing real news with not-so-real news in its headlines. The United States has not even seen any of Japan's battleships or aircraft carriers yet, much less damaged them. While two Japanese destroyers are sunk off Wake Island today, that is merely a happy coincidence of which the Times reporters are completely unaware. As for stopping the Japanese on land, that also sort of is true on Wake Island, but not anywhere else - particularly on Guam, where the US garrison already has surrendered.
Battle of the Pacific: Four days have gone by at Pearl Harbor, and still the military in the Hawaiian Islands has no idea where the attackers of 7 December 1941 came from or where they went. The priority since the attack has been recovery and self-preservation, but no countermeasures. Today, the US Army Air Force finally attempts to find out, sending six Douglas B-18 Bolos to investigate the waters offshore. They find nothing: the Imperial Japanese Navy's main striking force, Kido Butai, is long gone.
Destruction at Wheeler Field in Hawaii, as photographed on 11 December 1941.
The war in the Pacific proceeds much as it has since the first Japanese attacks, with steady Japanese gains and only occasional flashes of success by the Allies. Hong Kong's defenses are under artillery fire and aerial attack, and the British defenses on Kowloon and the New Territories already are crumbling. The British begin to evacuate all forces to Hong Kong Island, with no assurance that it can be held, either. In the Philippines, the Japanese already are on Luzon and heading south on Route 5 toward Tuguegarao and Laoag. They also embark 2500 men of the 16th Division for landings in southern Luzon to take place early on the 12th. On the Malay Peninsula, the Indian 9th Division of Indian III Corps begins pulling out of Kelantan, retreating from the airfields at Gong Kedah and Machang which the Japanese are now happy to use. The Japanese harass the retreating Indian troops as they head south.
While driving to the Kroll Opera House to give his speech to the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler's Mercedes passes by the Foreign Ministry. Note that everyone except the soldiers on duty offer Hitler the "Hitler greeting" (Hitlergruß) (AP Photo).
At Wake Island, however, things are a bit brighter for the Americans, as the 1st Defense Battalion defeats attempted landings by the South Seas Force and even manages to sink destroyer Hayate (one survivor) using six 5-inch coastal defense guns. US Navy F4F-3 Wildcats, flown in less than a week ago, also bomb and sink destroyer Kisaragi (no survivors). The Japanese are forced to withdraw. US reporters, hungry for any positive news, make up a legend that the US commander on the island, naval aviator Commander Winfield S. Cunningham, USN, sends his superiors the cheeky message "Send us more [Japanese]" when asked what he needs. This charming invention makes headlines around the world, but it does sum up the feelings of many following the first United States success against the Empire of Japan. The Japanese, however, are not happy to lose two destroyers and hand the enemy a propaganda victory, so they immediately divert aircraft carriers Sōryū and Hiryū from Kido Butai (which is in the vicinity following its successful strike against Pearl Harbor) to help take Wake Island. The US Navy, meanwhile, is still unable to send any aid to the embattled US Marines and hundreds of civilian construction workers on the island.
Judy Garland and Lana Turner on the set of "Ziegfeld Girl," 11 December 1941 (Clarence Sinclair Bull, via The Judy Garland Experience).
The Reich's Declaration of War upon the United States:
MR. CHARGE D'AFFAIRES: The Government of the United States having violated in the most flagrant manner and in ever increasing measure all rules of neutrality in favor of the adversaries of Germany and having continually been guilty of the most severe provocations toward Germany ever since the outbreak of the European war, provoked by the British declaration of war against Germany on September 3, 1939, has finally resorted to open military acts of aggression. On September 11, 1941, the President of the United States publicly declared that he had ordered the American Navy and Air Force to shoot on sight at any German war vessel. In his speech of October 27, 1941, he once more expressly affirmed that this order was in force. Acting under this order, vessels of the American Navy, since early September 1941, have systematically attacked German naval forces. Thus, American destroyers, as for instance the Greer, the Kearney and the Reuben James, have opened fire on German submarines according to plan. The Secretary of the American Navy, Mr. Knox, himself confirmed that-American destroyers attacked German submarines. Furthermore, the naval forces of the United States, under order of their Government and contrary to international law have treated and seized German merchant vessels on the high seas as enemy ships. The German Government therefore establishes the following facts: Although Germany on her part has strictly adhered to the rules of international law in her relations with the United States during every period of the present war, the Government of the United States from initial violations of neutrality has finally proceeded to open acts of war against Germany. The Government of the United States has thereby virtually created a state of war. The German Government, consequently, discontinues diplomatic relations with the United States of America and declares that under these circumstances brought about by President Roosevelt Germany too, as from today, considers herself as being in a state of war with the United States of America. Accept, Mr. Charge d'Affaires, the expression of my high consideration. December 11, 1941. RIBBENTROP
Hermann Goering, upper left, presides over the Reichstag as Adolf Hitler declares war upon the United States.
Finnish tanks on parade at Petrozavodsk on the western shore of Lake Onega, 12 October 1941.
Eastern Front: On 12 October 1941, the Spanish Blue Division troops of the 250th Infantry Division in the German Army (Heer) numbering system deploy on the Volkhov River in the Army Group North sector. The Spanish troops establish their headquarters on the outskirts of Veliky Novgorod in a village called Grigorovo. The Blue Division is responsible for a 50 km section of the front which runs from north of Novgorod south along the banks of the Volkhov River and behind Lake Ilmen.
An RAF technical intelligence team inspects a downed Luftwaffe Dornier Do-217 near Rye, England. The pilot and crew got disoriented while flying and thought they were crashlanding in France after running out of fuel. The Dornier wound up at RAF Farnborough for testing.
While used by the Wehrmacht as garrison troops to hold a quiet part of the line, the Spanish Blue Division is marked by high morale in its all-volunteer ranks. Serving on the eastern front is considered a high honor, and virtually everyone graduating from the Spanish military academy volunteers. While in the Soviet Union, General Agustín Muñoz Grandes, the Blue Division's leader, has his men replace their symbolic Blue Division uniforms. These uniforms include the red berets of the Carlists, the khaki trousers of the Spanish Legion, and the blue shirts of the Falangists. While in German service, however, the men wear the ordinary field grey Heer uniform.
A Blue Division soldier in 1941 wearing the normal Wehrmacht field grey uniform with the distinctive Spanish patch on his sleeve.
The Blue Division division gets its nickname from its blue shirts, though those are only worn while on leave in Spain. As with other affiliated troops in the Wehrmacht, the Blue Division's uniform is individualized with a special shoulder patch marking the soldiers' nation of origin. In this case, the badge has the Spanish national colors with the word "Espana."
Vought Kingfisher OS2U-3 (shown at another time) runs into trouble on 12 October 1941 during a ferry flight from NAS New York to NAS San Diego. After hitting a tree in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, the seaplane crashes, killing Pilot Sgt. McMahon. A passenger is thrown clear and survives. There is still debris at the crash site.
The Blue Division men have good reason to be tired, as they have just completed a 900 km march from the nearest railhead at Suwałki, Poland. Throughout the war, the main means of transportation within the Wehrmacht remains the railway system, which is both a strength and a weakness of the German Army. The railways are easy to control and make quick moves across long distances possible and efficient. However, troop moves are restricted by the absence of railway workers in the occupied eastern territories, the insufficient numbers of Soviet locomotives and rail cars, and the vulnerability of the rail system to partisan attack and aerial bombing. The Soviet rails are of a different gauge than the German ones, and so German trains cannot just continue east until new rails are laid - a massive undertaking that requires time and men. The result is that the German infantry, like the Blue Division, is forced to walk long distances and cannot possibly keep pace with the panzers and panzer grenadiers leading the offensive.
As the headline on this 12 October 1941 edition of The Wisconsin State Journal indicates, it seemed obvious that the "climax" of the German attack on Moscow was just around the corner and the city would soon fall.
It is unclear why the Germans diverted the Blue Division from the attack on Moscow, Operation Typhoon, their original assignment, to a quiet sector further north. Throughout the war, there is a general feeling within the Wehrmacht that "foreign" troops cannot be entrusted with critical missions. However, it also may be the case in this particular situation that the Germans want to keep the glory of taking Moscow to themselves - it would not do at all if a Spanish Division played a key role in taking the Soviet capital.
In any event, the German Army (Heer) does not seem to need any help at this point. The OKH today sends Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Fedor von Bock curt instructions:
The Führer has reaffirmed his decision that the surrender of Moscow will not be accepted, even if it is offered by the enemy.
With these "no surrender" orders in hand, von Bock orders an immediate advance on Moscow all along the line. However, like the Blue Division men, the German troops already have marched hundreds of kilometers, including a quick advance of 70 km just in the past five days - all while fighting. As usual, the panzers move quickly, with 1st Panzer Division taking Rzhev and Staritsa, while General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 takes Kaluga about 100 miles southwest of Moscow. The German infantry is still marching to catch up, however, and two Soviet rifle divisions break out from the Vyazma pocket through swamps where the panzers can't operate.
Three sailors at Father Duffy statue in Duffy Square (northern half of Times Square), Manhattan, NY, October 12, 1941. Incidentally, this monument to a World War I chaplain is still there. Note that Humphrey Bogart's "The Maltese Falcon" is playing at the Strand Theater across the street (Rodney McCay Morgan/NYC Parks Photo Archive).
Even the panzers are feeling the strain, however. Where once missions could be accomplished by just one panzer division, now they have to be combined. Today, for instance, SS Obergruppenfuhrer Paul Hausser’s SS-Infanterie-Division (mot.) ‘Das Reich’ from XLVI. Armeekorps (mot.) is given a critical mission of pushing east along the Minsk-Moscow main road. However, it has been so weakened by months of constant combat that it must be joined by a Kampfgruppe from the 10th Panzer Division. The weather is terrible, the roads are muddy, and General Guderian notes in his diary that it snows throughout the day.
Judy Garland with producer Ted Sherdeman on 12 October 1941 while appearing on the CBS Radio "Silver Theater" adaptation of "Eternally Yours" (Kim Lundgreen via JudyGarlandNews.com).
Rita Hayworth in the 11 August 1941 issue of Life magazine. This shot by Bob Landry (there are a couple of slightly different versions) becomes a classic pin-up of World War II soldiers, second only to a Betty Grable photo from 1943.
Eastern Front: Adolf Hitler on 11 August 1941 reiterates that he wants the Wehrmacht to take Kiev before advancing on Moscow. To do this, Army Group Center is to divert forces to the south. With much grumbling and half-hearted cooperation, General Guderian and the other generals comply.
In the Far North sector, Finnish 15th Division, with 10th Division, capture Khitola (Khityola) just northwest of Lake Ladoga. This forces Soviet 142nd Rifle and 198th Motorized Division to withdraw into a "motti" (surrounded fortress) on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The Soviets there can serve as a thorn in the side of the Finnish advance toward Leningrad, with the availability of escape over the lake. In the center of the Karelian Isthmus, Finnish troops of IV Corps take Vuosalmi.
Finnish Group J of III Corps continues a rapid advance from Kestenga toward the Murmansk railway. Today, following the embankment of a spur line of the railway, it reaches the vicinity of the narrows between Yelovoye Lake and Lebedevo Lake. At this point, about 20 miles southwest of Loukhi, the Soviets make a stand and bring the Finns to a grinding halt. The Soviets are bringing in the 88th Rifle Division from Archangel (Arkhangelsk). Ordinarily, the arrival of one rifle division on the main front would mean little, but in the far north, it can have a huge impact. The Germans know something is up because they have been monitoring frantic Soviet radio traffic in the area, but they don't know what. The only question is if the Soviet defenders on the spot can hold out until the reinforcements arrive in a few days.
Another Finnish advance by Group F a little further south has become stalled at the Kis Kis River line on the Korpiyarvi-Ukhta Road. The Finns are attempting some probing attacks, but there are no signs of weakness.
In the Army Group North sector, the Germans continue pushing across the Luga River toward Leningrad.
In the Army Group Center sector, Red Army counterattacks continue at Yelnya. Guderian continues sending his panzers south to Gomel.
In the Army Group South sector, the Hungarian air force attacks Nikolayev. They manage to destroy a key bridge which eliminates a prime escape route for retreating Soviet soldiers (there are only three crossings on the entire southern section of the Dnepr River).
Soviet auxiliary river gunboats Issa, Plyussa, and Surop are lost today while in action on rivers within the Soviet Union. Soviet monitor SB-37 (Zhemchuzin) is heavily damaged by German panzers and artillery on the Dnepr River. SB-37 is a total write-off and scuttled on the 12th. Incidentally, there is some confusion about this sinking of SB-37. It often is confused with a completely separate Soviet warship sunk in the Arctic Ocean by U-451 on 10 August (that one is Soviet corvette Zhemchug No. 27).
Newsweek, 11 August 1941. "U.S. Women Answer Call of National Defense."
European Air Operations: There is little activity during the day aside from training and the usual reconnaissance.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Rotterdam, Krefeld, and Monchengladbach.
The Rotterdam raid is completed with 31 Hampden and 3 Wellington bombers. They target the dockyards. All of the bombers, including another bomber that goes to Antwerp, return safely. This raid is notable because Hampdens of RAF No. 50 Squadron drop 500 pounds of teas intended for civilians as a "gift" from the Dutch East Indies.
The Krefeld raid is made with 20 Hampdens and 9 Whitleys. They target railway marshaling yards. Bombing accuracy is terrible due to clouds over the target, and only one bomber even claims to hit the target. All of the planes return safely.
The Monchengladbach raid is completed with 29 Wellington bombers. This raid is almost identical to the Krefeld raid, as the bombers target railway yards, find cloud cover, and bomb at random.
The RAF uses two Wellington bombers to test out the new Gee navigational device during this raid. The test is a success, and plans are made to perform further tests over the next two nights.
Time, 11 August 1941. "[Sumner] Welles, Under Secretary of State."
Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper T-213 "Krambol" hits a mine and sinks off Cape Yuminda.
The Soviets use motor torpedo boats to intentionally sink Soviet destroyer Karl Marx at Loxa Bight, Estonia. It was damaged by the Luftwaffe on 8 August 1941.
Before dawn, German 2nd S-Boat Flotilla lays 24 mines in minefield Allirahu in Riga Bay. After dark, German 5th M-Boat Flotilla lays 45 EMC mines in minefield Pinnassi I, Pinnassi II, and Pinnassi III off Cape Domesnas.
Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (a Focke-Wulf FW-200 of I,/KG40) attacks and sinks 2852-ton British freighter Empire Hurst in the Atlantic about 100 miles southwest of the southern tip of Portugal. Empire Hurst had fallen behind Convoy HG-70 and was being escorted by anti-submarine trawler HMS Lady Hogarth. There are 26 deaths and nine survivors.
Italian submarine Guglielmo Marconi I (Lt Cdr Pollina) attacks Convoy HG-70 about 100 miles off the southern Portuguese coast. It misses and then is attacked by Royal Navy corvette Convolvulus and sloop Deptford, but the submarine escapes.
German E-boats attack shipping in the Thames Estuary. S-49 (LtzS Günther) of the 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla sinks 1548-ton British freighter Sir Russell near No. 10 Buoy. Everyone survives. S-20 also claims to sink a freighter, but there is no confirmation of this.
Norwegian 124-ton wooden transport Cito hits a mine and sinks in the Sognefjord (north of Bergen). This apparently is a German mine left over from the Battle of Norway in 1940, though it may also have been a defensive mine laid later.
U-93 and U-94 intercept Convoy HG-69 west of Gibraltar, but the escorts force them to abandon any attacks.
U-501, operating west of Ireland, spots outbound convoy ONS-4 and reports it to BdU in Paris.
An RAF De Havilland DH.91 Albatross AX903 on a cargo flight from Ayr, Scotland to Reykjavik, Iceland spots a U-boat on the way and reports its position to Reykjavik. After landing and while slowing, the Albatross' landing gear collapses and the plane skids off the airfield and hits a Fairy Battle aircraft parked by the runway. The Albatross is written off, but the crew survives.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris is based in Murmansk for the time being. Today, it leaves on patrol.
Minelayer Port Quebec lays minefield SN.22A in the North Sea.
Convoy ON-6 departs from Liverpool.
Royal Navy corvette HMS Bellwort and minesweeper Ipswich are launched and submarine Unsparing is laid down.
Canadian minesweepers Gananoque and Nipigon are commissioned, corvette Moncton is launched.
US Navy cruisers USS Belleau Wood and Independence are laid down as Cleveland-class cruisers. They are later diverted into becoming light fleet carriers.
U-655 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf Dumrese) is commissioned and U-416 is laid down.
"Exterior view of Rubber Products Co. at 114 East G Street, in Wilmington." [photo dated August 11, 1941]. Note the vintage hot rod in the drive and the Wilmington Oil Field rig in the background, a common sight in Los Angeles, California then. Source: waterandpower.org.
The same building as seen on Google street view, 31 May 2018. It looks like the building behind the old rubber store has survived and the power lines, too. The oil rig is long gone, though.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages Royal Navy net-layer Protector with an aerial torpedo while en route from Port Said to Alexandria. Corvette HMS Salvia takes Protector in tow back to Port Said, where they arrive in the evening.
The Red Sea is full of German mines, and US ships have been traversing it since the last Italian port in East Africa fell. Today, one of those US freighters, 5685-ton Iberville, hits one and is damaged. It makes it to port.
Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta departs from Port Said for Famagusta.
At Malta, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-87 reappear over Malta for the first time in weeks. Nine Stukas attack the Ta Qali area and Grand Harbour, damaging some warehouses and private dwellings. The RAF claims two of the Stukas. Rome radio claims that this small raid is a massive success, stating "A veritable shower of bombs was rained down on [Luqa] aerodrome" and "The attack on the naval base of Valletta was extremely effective. Loud explosions were heard and huge fires visible from a great distance were started."
Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarines M-33, SHCH-211, and SHCH-301 are all in operation today. M-33 unsuccessfully attacks Romanian submarine Delfinul off Constanza, SHCH-211 (Lt Cdr Devyatko) lands two spies off Varna, Bulgaria, and SHCH-301 (Lt Cdr Grashchev) unsuccessfully attacks Romanian convoys off Landsort, Romania.
War Crimes: RAF Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers of RAF No. 830 Squadron based on Malta attack shipping in Syracuse harbor on Sicily. This is a standard target for the RAF which they hit every week, and sometimes daily. This attack is slightly different than the norm because one of the torpedoes sink 13,060-ton Italian hospital ship California (formerly SS Albania pre-1930). The wreck is in 30 feet of water.
While all sorts of factors are usually taken into account to "define away" war crimes ("It was a mistake" "I was aiming at something else") and they seldom are prosecuted, sinking a hospital ship - they are clearly marked - is a war crime.
Rita Hayworth.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill spend their third day (second official day of the Atlantic Conference) conferring at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. They meet twice aboard Roosevelt's ship USS Augusta (CA-31). The British War Cabinet is kept apprised of developments and writes in the Minutes:
America is as yet far from being prepared for active operations on a war footing. While the American Navy is in a more advanced state of readiness, the building up, training and equipping of the American army and air corps is still in embryo and the shortage of equipment is acute.
The bottom line, the Minutes reveal, is that American needs come first, and then surplus production will be sent to Great Britain.
Most of the real work of the meeting, of course, is being done by their staff throughout the day.
Life magazine, 11 August 1941. This is the issue that contains the famous Rita Hayworth pin-up that adorns countless barracks around the world.
British Military: King George VI, who arrived at Scapa Flow on 9 August, continues his inspection tour of the naval base. Today, he visits destroyers, including HMS Charlestown and Eclipse, and also destroyer depot ship Tyne. He then boards on destroyer Inglefield at 12:30 to Scrabster, returning to Scapa Flow later in the day.
Japanese Military: The new chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet is Matome Ugaki.
Rita in an out-take from her Life photo-shoot. I don't know, I kind of like this one better than the cover version they chose.
French Military: General Huntziger, Minister of War who signed the armistice with Germany in 1940, becomes Commander-in-Chief of Vichy French ground forces.
US Military: Lieutenant Colonel Harold D. Shannon, executive officer of the US Marine Corps 6th Defense Battalion, arrives at Midway. He is there to prepare for his battalion to relieve the 3rd Defense Battalion.
A barracks on Adak Islands, Aleutians, 1943 (Dmitri Kessel—Time & Life Pictures: Getty Images).
Polish Army: General Wladyslaw Anders, released from the Soviet Lubianka prison in Moscow on 4 August, is made commander of a new Polish Army in the Soviet Union and begins collecting Polish POWs in Buzuluk and Totskoye. It is estimated that 1.7 million men are POWs, but, in fact, about a third of those are dead from mistreatment. Those that survive and are able to serve, about 400,000 men, are given amnesty and struggle to get to the collection points in rags and using whatever transportation they can find. The Poles forming the army notice a surprising absence of officers among the released Polish POWs. Poles in the prison camps who are not soldiers are sent to work on collective farms (Kolkhoz) in Tashkent and Bukhara and the southern Aral regions.
China: Japanese bombers attack Chungking again. The Japanese lose another three out of four I-153 fighters sent up to intercept them. In a subsequent action, the last of the I-153 fighters is destroyed. The Chinese manage to shoot down one plane.
Holocaust: Vichy France forbids Jews from serving as doctors.
Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in production on MGM's "Babes On Broadway," 11 August 1941 (The Judy Garland Experience).
American Homefront: Glenn Miller and his Orchestra record "Elmer's Tune," written by Elmer Albrecht, Dick Jurgens, and Sammy Gallop. Previous versions of the song did not have lyrics, so Miller has the song's publisher, Robbins Music Company, hire Sammy Gallop to write some lyrics. Ray Eberle does the lead vocals, backed by the Modernairnes. Released later in the year, it hits No. 1 on the Billboard Best Selling Retail Records chart of 13 December 1941 and spends 20 weeks in total on the chart. It becomes a classic of the big band era.
Actress Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino) appears in a classic spread in Life magazine. One of the shots inside, of Rita on a bed dressed in a satin negligee and black lace bodice sitting on a bed, becomes the most requested pin-up for GI's during World War II until a 1943 shot of actress Betty Grable appears. Hayworth broke through as a major film star with "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939) and is at the peak of her fame during World War II. Incidentally, that nightgown in the photo is preserved and sold for $26,888 in 2002.
Adak island barracks in the Aleutians, 1943, showing typical pin-ups. That appears to be a different Rita Hayworth pin-up on the right (Dmitri Kessel—Time & Life Pictures: Getty Images).
Hitler and Petain in Montoire. This was taken by Hitler's personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, the only photographer authorized to take pictures of Hitler and who received royalties (along with Hitler) for use of the shots. Ribbentrop in the background. (Federal Archives).
Battle of Britain: Air Marshal Dowding, still in charge of Fighter Command on 24 October 1940 despite being targeted for removal, remonstrates with AVM Keith Park at No. 11 Group, telling him to cut AVM Leigh-Mallory some slack at No. 12 Group. Leigh-Mallory has been dilatory in responding to requests for assistance over London, standing firm in his commitment to the "Big Wing" strategy which takes longer periods of time to assemble. Relations between the leaders of the two groups continue to deteriorate, and Dowding is helpless to smooth over their differences.
The weather remains poor for flying, rainy and low-hanging clouds. However, this is an important day in the Battle of Britain because the Italians join in. They are based in Belgium, the zone of Luftflotte 2, and engage in operations with them against Harwich and Felixstowe after dark. The standard Italian fighter is a biplane long past its prime, and Italian bombers are 1930s tri-motor marvels that are, by late-1940 standards, lumbering and inadequately armed. Handled properly, though, they can be effective.
Italian General Corso Fougier has his Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI, literally, "Italian Air Corps") HQ in Petite Espinette of Rhode-St-Genesis (between Brussels and Waterloo) and other operations are based at Evere airfield. The Italians operate under the command of II Fliegerkorps
Shown is the train bridge on Blackfriars Road between London Bridge and Waterloo Station, which, along with the trams beneath is, has sustained bomb damage. 24 October 1940). (London Fire Brigade).
The morning is extremely quiet. A Dornier Do 215 reconnaissance plane is shot down over St. Neots by a Hurricane of RAF No. 1 Squadron around 11:00. That is about the only activity until the afternoon.
Around 14:30, the Luftwaffe sends across a small formation of Dornier Do 17s. They attack Hayes and damage the Farley Aviation Company.
As has been happening quite a bit lately, the weather causes some casualties. Two Hurricanes collide in the clouds near Taunton. One pilot is killed, the other plane, which only suffered damage to its tail, makes it back to base. The third Hurricane of No. 43 Squadron crashes upon landing due to fierce cross-winds, killing pilot Sgt. D.R. Stoodley. Another Hurricane of No. 303 Squadron crashes during dog-fight exercises.
After dark, the primary targets are London, Liverpool, and Manchester. The raids begin around 19:00 and come from all along the Channel coast. In London, New Street Station is engulfed in flames. Bombing accuracy in the iffy weather is poor, and bombs drop at random. The RAF somewhat charitably figures that the Luftwaffe was aiming for water mains and the like, and indeed there are some lucky hits. The Luftwaffe also continues mining the Thames Estuary and all along the eastern coastline.
The Italians send twelve BR.20Ms of 13o Stormo and six from 43o Stormo against Felixstowe and Harwich. They get off to a bad start when one of the bombers crashes shortly after takeoff near the church at Houtem, Belgium. Ten of the bombers make it to the target and drop their bombs, but two get lost on the way back and the crews have to bail out. A third bomber lands at the wrong airfield (Lille-Epinoy), damaging the aircraft. Only 8 of the 12 bombers sent off manage to return to their original base.
Losses for the day are low - assuming that you do not include the Italian bomber losses - at about 8 for the Luftwaffe and 4 for the RAF.
European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks shipping off Zeebrugge, industrial targets around Calais, and the ports of Gravelines and Ostend.
After dark, the RAF launches the first attacks on Berlin which produce extensive civilian casualties. Other targets include oil installations at Hamburg, Hanover, and Gelsenkirchen; the ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Rotterdam, Le Havre, and Lorient; and various airfields in northwest Europe.
Battle of the Atlantic: Things at sea continue to quiet down after the massive destruction recently visited upon Convoys SC 7, HX 79 and elsewhere. The U-boats are returning to port for re-stocking - but they will be back. It is this stage of the war - the "Happy Time - that the Kriegsmarine would most benefit from having more U-boats of ocean-going design.
In Operation DNU, Royal Navy destroyers HMS Matabele, HMS Punjabi and HMS Somali engage in a sweep off Norway. They are supported at a distance by the Home Fleet, represented by battlecruisers HMS Hood and Repulse and two cruisers. The destroyers sink German weather ship WBS 5 Adolf Vinnen (a 391-ton trawler) off Stadtlandet, Norway (north of Bergen) (some accounts state that accompanying submarine HMS Seawolf actually sank the weather ship). The destroyers attempt to intercept a group of 20 fishing vessels escorted by one ship nearby but make no contact. After this, the destroyers and supporting battlecruisers head back to Scapa Flow. It is an unproductive operation not worth the fuel and time; the Admiralty must have thought something more important was happening off Norway. Kriegsmarine battlecruiser Admiral Scheer is heading that way and may have been the real target, but it has not yet left German waters.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mendip is sailing just off Barrel of Butter when it accidentally sets off one of its own depth charges. This blows the stern of the ship off and it must be towed to Scapa Flow. The repairs, made at the Tyne, will take until February 1941.
German 3664 ton freighter Helgoland departs from Puerto Columbia, Colombia in a risky bid to return to a French Atlantic port of St. Nazaire. Not only must it evade the Royal Navy, but also patrolling US destroyers who typically make sure that the Royal Navy is informed of their whereabouts. The journey will pass by St. Thomas on its way toward the Atlantic. The US destroyers are alerted to its departure and give chase.
Convoys OA 234 (last of this OA series) and Convoy FS 319 depart from Methil, Convoy OB 234 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 318 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 83 departs from Halifax, Convoy SC 9 departs from St John.
RAF ground crew preparing a bomb to be used against Italian positions in North Africa, 24 October 1940.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF bombs Italian supply lines in both Libya/Egypt and East Africa. Also attacked are Benghazi, Berka, Gura, and Asmara. Swordfish flying out of Fuka lay mines in Tobruk Harbor.
In Malta, there is an air raid alert around noontime. As they often do, however, the Italian raiders stay far off the coast, circle for a while, then return to base. It is a curious routine, perhaps the pilots are not interested in actually attacking the island but want to make it look like they did to their superiors. The citizenry on the island shows increasing signs of anti-Italian sentiment, with many wishing to change street names and accusing neighbors of being secret Italian sympathizers. The sight of Italian POWs also sets off many residents. German/French Relations: Following his unproductive meeting with Franco at the Spanish border, Hitler travels to Montoire-sur-le-Loir and meets with Marshal Philippe Pétain. This location is both convenient to the main railway line from Berlin-Paris-Hendaye but also has a tunnel nearby in case of an air attack. That railway tunnel, in fact, has steel doors affixed to it for this meeting that still remain in the 21st Century.
Hitler is on much more solid footing with Petain than with Franco, but things do not go particularly well in this meeting. Yes, Petain does state that he is willing "to collaborate," but those are just words that must be fleshed out with substance to have any real consequences. As in his meetings with Mussolini and other leaders, Hitler engages in long monologues while Petain says little. Petain says nothing that could be considered sympathetic to Germany. At the end of the meeting, Petain takes out a list of French demands for collaboration and sticks it in Hitler's pocket.
The most important thing that happens at the meeting is that Petain says "no" when Hitler asks him to join the war against England. This is usually what the French take away from this meeting, that Petain "said no to Hitler." However, to the Allies, collaborating alongside the Germans was almost as bad. French resources prove immensely valuable to the Reich's war effort from this point forward.
There is also a feeling among some that Petain "stared Hitler down." The story goes that Petain's advisor, Rene Gillouin, had told Hitler to stare at him unflinchingly. This very basic trick supposedly unnerves Hitler. It is fair to say that modern French opinion about Petain is overwhelmingly negative, but there is an undercurrent of pride in the way he handled this meeting.
An interesting outcome in this meeting is in the way that Petain describes it a week later in a radio broadcast. On 30 October, he refers to "the new European order," a phrase that resonates with one Ribbentrop has been using in secret communications with the Soviet Union (though there he uses "New World Order"). In that speech, Petain also states that he will "enter today the path of collaboration." While Montoire is not the start of a new war for France, it is the beginning of the long, dark collaborationist journey that blackens the name of the Vichy regime. In that sense, the meeting constitutes an overwhelming success for Hitler.
US/French Relations: The US State Department cautions the Vichy government not to permit the Germans to use French warships.
Arming one of the bombers heading to Berlin. 24 October 1940 (AP Photo).
German/Italian Relations: Mussolini is outraged that Germany has been dickering with Spain and France behind his back without offering him (and Italy... of course) any stroking at the same time. "Since this is how it is going to be," he has ordered his Foreign Ministry to start making noises about Italian demands for further cooperation - including cession by France of large stretches of the French coastline stretching clear to Marseilles.
The Italians hint darkly that Petain and de Gaulle are actually in cahoots to hoodwink Hitler and demand numerous territorial and economic demands to be imposed upon France, including her overseas colonies. Basically, Spain and Italy now both want to dismember France to their own benefit - or, put more accurately, they want Hitler to do it for them.
Having, at last, realized that Italy - or at least Mussolini - is acting like a spurned lover over the German wooing of Spain and France, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop (traveling with Hitler in his own separate train) springs into belated action. Ribbentrop calls his Italian counterpart, Count Ciano, during the evening. The call does not go well - Ciano conveys his "fears and suspicions" that Germany is about to sell out its staunch ally Italy in favor of the French and Spanish floozies. Ribbentrop immediately drafts a letter which summarizes the current situation:
The talks with Spain had failed;
France was willing to cooperate with Germany (how far he does not explain, and in fact that remains an open question);
Hitler would soon send Mussolini a letter of his own summarizing matters and would like to set up another meeting with Mussolini ASAP in northern Italy.
Ribbentrop's sudden agitation about the Italian situation is underlined by the extreme speed with which he prepares this soothing letter (Ribbentrop is notorious for going through numerous drafts): he stays up all night and has the letter typed out on the large-lettered "Fuhrer typewriter" and approved by Hitler in the early morning hours (also a sign of how sensitive the matter is). The signed letter is at the Foreign Ministry for delivery before daylight. Sent by a fast courier plane, Ribbentrop's letter is in the hands of German ambassador Mackensen in Rome by 08:00 on the 25th, only about 12 hours from start to finish. He just could have, you know, called a florist and sent over some roses instead.
US Military: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs from Rio de Janeiro for Montevideo, Uruguay as part of its "Show the Flag" mission.
Lighter cruiser St. Louis arrives at Hamilton, Bermuda with the members of the Greenslade Board who are inspecting British bases acquired in the destroyers-for-bases deal.
Belgium: Taking a much different route than France, Belgium opens a government-in-exile in London. It is led by Hubert Pierlot and Paul-Henri-Spaak, who only recently escaped from detention in Francoist France, and Camille Gutt. The new government quickly declares war on Italy for operating air missions from Belgian airfields.
British Homefront: The recent call to outlying cities to supply buses to London produces its first results. The first provincial buses appear on London streets. Driving in London is increasingly dangerous due to the deteriorating streets and the continued need for the blackout. You never know when a recent bomb hit may have left some debris in the road, and that is tough to see in the dark. Ultimately, about 2000 buses will go into service to keep the capital functioning.
Unlike in 1939, the government decides to extend British Summer Time throughout the winter.
American Homefront: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938’s mandate of a 40-hour workweek with time-and-a-half overtime pay for hours of work beyond that takes effect. The same basic scheme has been in place ever since.
October 24, 1940. Publicity shot by Virgil Apger at MGM and used to promote the new "Judy Garland Doll" to be marketed at Christmas 1940. Not a particularly good likeness, but it's the thought that counts. (MGM serial number MG81797).
