Tuesday 21 January 1941

Troops of the 6th Australian Division going through the barricades at Tobruk on 21 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: While not yet attacking in full force on 21 January 1941, the Italians make some small advances near the Klisura Pass in the central sector of the front. This is the critical area right now, as further advances by Greek II Corps would threaten the Italian hold on their main supply port, Savona. A battle also develops near Berat, with the Greek 51st Infantry Regiment attacking the Italian 22nd Infantry Division ""Cacciatori delle Alpi," or "Hunters of the Alps." The RAF has been raiding key Italian bases in Albania, such as Valona and Elbasan, but activity is light today.

East African Campaign: The British advance from Kenya and Sudan continues. The 5th Indian Infantry Division (General Lewis Heath) advances 50 miles from Kassala on the border into Eritrea. It captures Aicota, which the Italians have abandoned. The Italians are forming a defensive line beyond the town at Keru Gorge, where the 4th Indian Division ("Gazelle Force") is being held up, so Heath attempts to outflank them to the north.

Brigadier William Slim is injured in the fighting and sent behind the lines. The RAF is active throughout the region, raiding Assab and Massawa, while the South African Air Force chips in with raids on Neghelli and Javello.

European Air Operations: Operations are light due to the weather. The Luftwaffe sends some bombers across, but they only reach the outskirts of London. RAF Bomber Command stays in its hangers after dark. Uffz. Gerhard Blum of 1./NJG 2 shoots down a Blenheim bomber before dawn for his first victory.

Greeks advancing near Tepelenë in Albania, winter 1940/41.

Battle of the Atlantic: There are heavy winter storms that cause the activity to be fairly light. One Royal Navy destroyer in the Orkneys, HMS Legion, slips its anchorage in the heavy seas and winds up on the Hoy Boom. It is saved by tugs that take it to a safe anchorage on the leeward side of the island of Cava. Another ship, minesweeper HMS Tedworth, is damaged by the weather in the Clyde, while 291-ton British trawler Merisia is driven onto the rocks in Bulgham Bay, Isle of Man and lost along with a dozen men.

Norwegian 7934-ton freighter Korsfjord also likely is a victim of the weather. It collides with freighter Banda Shahpour about 370 km north of Butt of Lewis and sinks. There are 19 survivors and 2 deaths.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of KG 40) braves the weather and bombs and sinks 4427-ton British freighter Temple Mead in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. There are 14 deaths. with seven perishing in a lifeboat from exposure, and 27 survivors.

The Luftwaffe also attacks and sinks 487-ton British tug Englishman forty miles west of Tory Island, off the north coast of Ireland. All 17 onboard perish.

The Luftwaffe scores another victory by sinking 4427-on British freighter Temple Mead at Southampton. There are 14 deaths.

German 688 ton freighter Brechsee hits a mine and sinks off Malmö, Sweden.

Convoy FN 389 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 104 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 104 departs from Bermuda.

U-763 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass resumes with a fierce attack by General O'Connor's Australian and British troops against Tobruk. The 2/3rd Australian Battalion leads things off at 05:40. They make good progress, and in an hour they clear a path a mile deep and a mile wide through the barbed wire, tank ditch, and other obstacles. The 16th and 19th Australian Brigades follow through, the first heading north, the other south. British 7th Armoured Division helps with the attack. Italian artillery is strong, but the British artillery responds in kind with suppressing fire.

The Italian 10th Army is a little more active in the defense than they were at Bardia earlier in the month. They have dug-in tanks and machine-gun posts at the key Bardia-El Adem crossroads right behind the line. The Australian troops try to bypass them on right and left, but are met by a counterattack on the left which includes seven tanks supported by infantry and artillery. The men on the right have little difficulty, and those on the left eventually break out after they bring up their own tanks. By the end of the day, the Australians have captured Solero and Mannella and are engaged in a fierce firefight at Pilastrino, all well behind the original line. Between a third and half of the supposedly impregnable base is in Allied hands when operations end for the day, though the port of Tobruk itself remains in Italian hands. Italian General Petassi Manella is captured late in the day but refuses to order his troops to surrender.

The RAF helps out throughout the day. The RAF sends Blenheim bombers to attack ground targets while Hurricanes and Gladiators provide cover. Royal Navy gunboats HMS Gnat, Ladybird and Terror along with three destroyers sit offshore and bombard the Italians throughout the day. Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire sinks 63-ton Italian schooner Diego west of Tobruk. The ten on board, undoubtedly fleeing the Australian attack, are taken as prisoners.

The Italians have warships in the harbor, including the beached armored cruiser San Giorgio, which provides effective covering fire until air attacks set it on fire. However, the Italians are hopelessly outmatched on the ground. While they continue fighting into the night, the Italians' situation looks hopeless.

The Chiefs of the General Staff send Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell an outline of his new priorities. Due to the Greek refusal to accept British ground troops, Wavell is to proceed to capture Benghazi, as he has wished to do all along. In addition, the Staff wants him to capture the Dodecanese and also create a strategic reserve that can be sent to assist Greece and/or Turkey if Germany invades one or both.

While General Wavell succeeds in another wildly successful attack, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once again appears to give him short shrift. He chooses today to broadcast a message to the people of Malta:

I send you on behalf of the War Cabinet heartfelt congratulations upon the magnificent and ever memorable defence which your heroic garrison and citizens, assisted by the Navy and above all by the Royal Air Force, are making against the Italian and German attacks. The eyes of all Britain and indeed of the whole British Empire are watching Malta in her struggle day by day, and we are sure that success, as well as glory, will reward your efforts.

Governor Dobbie also broadcasts a somewhat less ostentatious message to the people, noting that "We are living in stirring times." After several furious raids in recent days by Fliegerkorps X, there are no attacks today.

Italian freighter Burma is wrecked, apparently by a storm, at Puerto Santa Maria on the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. The ship is later salvaged for scrap.

The 37th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment has time for a spot of tea as it bombards Tobruk, 21 January 1941.

Prisoners of War: Many Luftwaffe and other prisoners are sent to Canada by the British for permanent housing (many never leave even after the war). Oberleutnant Franz Xaver Baron von Werra, an ace and propaganda hero (known for his pet tiger cub), captured on 5 September 1940, is one of them. Today, at 05:30, he is on a prison train heading from Montreal to the west when he jumps out of a window not far from Smith's Falls, Ontario. He is about 30 miles from the St. Lawrence River, across which is the neutral United States. His plan is to make it across the seaway, continue heading south, and then find a passage back to Occupied France from South America.
US/Soviet Relations: The US lifts its trade embargo on the Soviet Union that it had imposed during the Winter War. The "moral embargo" has run its course.

German Military: Following his now-concluded discussions with Mussolini, during which he prevailed on his fellow director to induce Spain to enter the war, Hitler once again is feeling optimistic about the prospects of bringing Spain into the war on the Axis side. He has the Wehrmacht issue an order stating:

Possible impending changes in political prerequisites render it necessary to amend earlier instructions and to maintain readiness for "[Operation] Felix" in so far as still possible."

As the tone of this order suggests, however, nothing is certain. Everything regarding Operation Felix, the planned attack on the British fortress and naval base at Gibraltar, hinges on Francisco Franco - but he hasn't indicated any change in his opposition to such a decision.

US Military: The US Navy and Marine Corps order 108 Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters to add to the Navy's 11 F2A-1s and 43 F2A-2s. This version is modified for a longer range and to carry two 100 lb (45 kg) bombs. These are the last Brewster Buffaloes ordered by the US military, as Brewster has difficulty keeping to a schedule. However, as happens several times during this period, the military puts in a token order to keep the factories humming while newer and better aircraft are developed. Brewster Buffaloes remain popular overseas, though as yet they have not seen combat anywhere.

A Brewster Buffalo F2A-3. The Buffalo is one of the more controversial fighters of World War II, with many liking it and finding it useful, while others - including the US Navy - quickly viewing it as a death trap.

British Government: Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Robert Boothby submits his resignation to Winston Churchill (who accepts it immediately). The reason is a minor infraction of not declaring a personal interest in a matter relating to his official duties. He will join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and serve with RAF Bomber Command. Boothby is a fascinating character who much later becomes famous for various sexual escapades.

Home Secretary Herbert Morrison bans Communist paper Daily Worker under Defence Regulation 2D for hindering the British war effort.

Japanese Government: Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka delivers a lengthy speech to the Japanese Diet in which he gives a review of the Pacific situation. He emphasizes that, under the terms of the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy (and now other European nations), Japan will lead the establish a "new order in greater East Asia." He gives a preview of Japanese war aims by stating that "It is our avowed purpose to bring all the peoples in greater East Asia to revert to their innate and proper aspect...." He also makes clear that Japan views China, or at least Manchukuo (Mongolia) as "inseparable" with Japan. After reviewing relations with all of the other nations of the Pacific Rim, he finally turns to the United States, complaining that:

The United States has evinced no adequate understanding of the fact that the establishment of a sphere of common prosperity throughout greater East Asia is truly a matter of vital concern to Japan. She apparently entertains an idea that her own first line of national defense lies along the mid-Atlantic to the East, but westward not only along the eastern Pacific-but even as far as China and the South Seas. If the United States assumes such an attitude, it would be, to say the least, a very one-sided contention on her part, to cast reflections on our superiority in the Western Pacific, by suggesting that it betokens ambitious designs. I, for one, believe that such a position assumed on the part of the United States would not be calculated to contribute toward the promotion of world peace.

He concludes by noting that there is "confusion" throughout the world which could result in the "downfall of modern civilization," and notes that it is the "responsibility" of the United States to maintain the peace.

What is particularly notable about this speech is how it attempts to absolve the Japanese military in an advancer for what might come next. Just as Hitler had opined that his own hands were clean once the British rejected his half-hearted attempts at negotiation in July 1940, Matsuoka goes to great pains to pin not only world peace but the survival of world civilization itself on the United States. This anticipatory blame-shifting is a clear harbinger of the coming war - for anyone who notices.

At the secret session, Prime Minister Konoye makes up his mind about something very important: he announces that Germany will win the war.

Jackson Daily News, 21 January 1941.

Romania: The Iron Guard rebellion continues into a second day. The Legionnaires remain in control of the media and many important public facilities such as police stations. Dictator Ion Antonescu remains holed up in his Bucharest palace, trying to coordinate a rescue with army troops based in other parts of the country.

The defining characteristic of the rebellion at this point is a vicious pogrom carried out against the country's Jews, particularly those in two Jewish Bucharest boroughs (Dudeşti and Văcăreşti). One of the several causes of the rebellion was Antonescu's preference to manage relations with Jewish citizens legally; the Iron Guard would have none of that. Instead, they loot and kill whoever they don't like.

While the Legionnaires, by and large, have the run of the capital throughout the day, there are some soldiers and police who refuse to participate. They are put under arrest. Mircea Petrovicescu, son of the former minister of the interior deposed by Antonescu, is particularly vicious, not just killing Jews but also mutilating and torturing them. There are acts of unspeakable cruelty that appear directly tied to the resentment of Jewish life in general, with a heavy focus on looting Jewish property. It is an orgy of bloodletting that lasts throughout the day and into the 22nd.

Hitler begins to take notice of what is going on. He has many troops in the country preparing for the invasion of Greece (Operation Marita). He has the Wehrmacht instruct them to support the Antonescu government, though without actively engaging in combat.

Bulgaria: No doubt coincidentally considering what is going on in Romania, Bulgaria passes anti-Semitic laws based on Germany's Nuremberg laws. Bulgaria is under intense German pressure to ally itself with the Axis, and this may be a way of ingratiating itself with Hitler. Among many other things, Jews are prohibited from intermarrying with ethnic Bulgarians, and various organizations such as B'nai B'rith are outlawed.

British Homefront: Churchill inquiries into the status of coal deliveries to London, to see if there is any way to increase them during the worst of the winter. He learns that deliveries are down to 250,000 tons per week versus demand of 410,000 tons. He also asks the Ministry of Health to look into what can be done about people made homeless in London. While people are grinning and bearing it, deep resentments are building up beneath the surface that someday will rise to the surface when people vote.

American Homefront: Homelessness is an issue on both sides of the Atlantic. PM Daily reports today that there are several shelters in New York City, including two city shelters, one for men and one for women. Altogether, the shelters can accommodate 7000 people (with many laying on top of each other or sleeping seated on benches). The men at the Municipal Lodging House on East 25th Street are turned out at 5 a.m., rain or shine, and then make their way to their "homes" in the Bowery. The Great Depression lingers, with few jobs to be had.

RKO Studios announces today that Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" will be released as scheduled despite attempts to blacklist everyone involved in the film by William Randolph Hearst. RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer has had his lawyers review the rough cut of the film, and they have asked Welles to cut three minutes of the film to avoid legal consequences. Despite his contract, which gives him complete control over the picture, Welles has agreed to make the cuts.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, signing for $30,000.

"High Sierra," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, is released.

Future History: José Plácido Domingo Embil is born in the Retiro district of Madrid, Spain. He develops an early interest in music, particularly opera, and by 1961 is performing in a leading role. Later in the decade, he makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and by the 1980s is a household name all across the world. He continues to perform and take on various other roles in the world of opera.

Józef Bednarski is born in Kraków, General Government. He emigrates to the United States shortly after the war. Under the name Ivan Putski, he becomes one of the most famous wrestlers in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1970s through the 1980s. He remains a fixture in the sport.

A synagogue destroyed by the Iron Guard during the riots of 21-23 January 1941.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Thursday 16 January 1941

The statue of Our Lady standing amidst the devastation at Senglea after the "Illustrious Blitz" Luftwaffe air raids on Malta, January 1941 (Times of Malta.com).

Italian/Greek Campaign: By now, on 16 January 1941, the Italian Lupi di Toscana division has been wrecked in the Klisura Pass. It has "ceased to exist as an organized force." Out of the initial force of many thousands of combat troops, it now is down to 160 officers and men, with over 4,000 casualties and thousands of men captured. While this is an epic disaster, there is a silver lining for the Italians: the lost division has bought time for other Italian units to form a new defensive line in front of the strategic Klisura Pass. In fact, the Italians are organizing a counterattack, but that will take about 10 days to set in motion. This is a decisive moment in the war on the Albanian front because the Italians cannot afford to lose the key port of Valona, through which all of their supplies in the sector flow.

The British and Greeks wind up their consultations in Athens. Prime Minister Metaxas declines the offer of British ground assistance since he considers it too little to affect the outcome but sufficient to provoke the Germans into invading. It should be mentioned, however, that the RAF will continue to operate from Greek soil.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues its focus on southwest England, switching its attention from Plymouth to perennial target Bristol. The focus of this attack is the port of Avonmouth. The raid by 126 bombers lasts for hours and destroys numerous homes and businesses. There also are scattered bombs drooped elsewhere in southern England.

RAF Bomber Command sends 81 bombers to raid the north German and French ports such as Wilhelmshaven, Emden, Ostend, Boulogne, and Calais.

Cover of WAAF recruitment booklet (Archives New Zealand, AIR 118 Box 114/78r).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-106 (Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten), on its first patrol out of Kiel (and ultimately headed for Lorient), torpedoes and sinks 10,578-ton British transport Zealandic in the mid-Atlantic south of Iceland. Everybody on board perishes. Some sources place this sinking on the 17th.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 14,118-ton British transport Oropesa in the early morning hours northwest of Ireland. The first torpedo hits in the stern and stops the ship, and about 45 minutes later U-96 sends another torpedo its way, but it misses (one wonders how you miss a sinking ship, but torpedoes at this stage of the war often are defective). The ship sinks at 06:16 after another two torpedoes. There are 106 deaths, including six passengers, while 143 people (including 33 passengers) are picked up by rescue tugs. It says something for the seamanship and professionalism of the crew that such a high percentage of passengers survived, while about half of the crew perishes - unsung heroes of the war. It isn't always that way during sinkings...

Italian submarine Torelli sinks 3111-ton Greek freighter Nicolaos Filinis in the mid-Atlantic. There are three deaths. I also have this listed as sinking on the 15th because the sources are unclear on the exact date, but it only sank once!

Royal Navy 213-ton minesweeping trawler HMS Desiree hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. Everybody survives.
The Luftwaffe also is active quite near where U-96 gets a kill northwest of Ireland (the Luftwaffe planes are coordinating now with the U-boat fleet). Led by Obst. Verlöhr, Gruppenkommandeur of I./KG 40, the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors sight a practically defenseless convoy west of Ireland. The damage to the British ships could have been much worse, but KG 40 only has about 8 planes serviceable, and many of them are not available.

The Condors bomb 4581-ton Greek freighter Meandros. Everyone survives, and the freighter is taken in tow. However, the seas are rough, but the tow line breaks during the night and cannot be found after dawn. A Royal Navy ship later finds and sinks the derelict.

The Luftwaffe attack in that area also claims 6256-ton Dutch tanker Onoba. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 360-ton British freighter Gladonia near the Sunk Lightvessel in the Thames. Lightvessels, incidentally, are a venerable feature of British waterways, placed in position with lights as navigational aids.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4966-ton British freighter Llanwern off Avonmouth.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1345-ton British freighter Skjold north of Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The ship later returns to service.

British 509-ton freighter Romsey hits a mine and is damaged at the entrance to Milford Haven (off St. Annes Head). The crew beaches the ship for later repair at Dale Road.

Convoy US008/1 departs from Colombo for Suez. This is a major troop convoy which includes numerous troop transports.

Convoy FN 385 departs from Southend, Convoy OG 50 departs from Liverpool.

U-77 is commissioned.

Leading Aircraftman Raymond Edward Thorold-Smith receives his wings from RCAF Wing Commander Arthur Dwight Ross, an officer in charge of No. 3 Service Flying Training School in Calgary. Thorold-Smith begins combat operations in July 1941, becomes an ace, and wins the DFC for actions over France. 16 January 1941. (RCAF).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe Fliegerkorps X, which recently devastated the Royal Navy during Operation Excess, sets its sights on Malta. This is considered the first German bombing of Malta, though there were scattered attacks by Stukas during 1940 which technically could be considered under the command of the Italians.

Escorted by Italian fighters, 70 Stukas stage a big raid on Grand Harbor (Parlatorio Wharf) and Valetta Harbour. The Stukas come in relentless waves for almost two hours in the afternoon. Among the destructions are damage to cruiser HMAS Perth and further damage to the previously hit aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (one more death). Both ships are more damaged by underwater near-misses than by actual hits, with the Perth, in particular, suffering from concussions that bend its propeller shafts. Other ships also sustain damage, including destroyer HMS Decoy and 11,063-ton transport Essex (15 crew dead along with 7 nearby Maltese dockyard workers).

Many of the bombs aimed at Illustrious fall instead within the surrounding ‘Three Cities’ of Senglea, Vittoriosa, and Cospicua. These are Malta's oldest urban communities, and many historic buildings are obliterated. About 200 houses are destroyed and 500 damaged, with thousands left homeless. Due to the primary target being aircraft carrier Illustrious, which is badly damaged and being repaired in the harbor, this sequence of raids becomes known as the "Illustrious Blitz."

The attack inflicts more casualties than it otherwise might because the half-hearted Italian attacks have induced many civilians to return to their homes in the area. There are 15 bodies that cannot be identified and dozens of civilian deaths. Valletta also is badly damaged, including heavy damaged in Old Mint Street. The defending Hurricane fighters and anti-aircraft guns do what they can and shoot down 5-11 Stukas (accounts vary).

In North Africa, the British Australian troops earmarked for the assault on Tobruk continue their preparations. The RAF bombs Tobruk and Derna. Other RAF planes attack Maritsa (Maritza), Rhodes, a town named for its local Italian commander named Maritza. The RAF based in Malta raids the Catania airfields, home of Fliegerkorps X, after dark due to their recent success against both the Royal Navy and Malta.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: While the Germans have conquered Holland, the Dutch remain a formidable military and colonial power in the Far East. The Japanese reopen negotiations with them in the Dutch East Indies, requesting more raw material deliveries and other concessions.

There seems to be some confusion about when the WAAF began. The WAAF was formed in Great Britain on 28 June 1939, absorbing units formed even earlier. They served with conspicuous gallantry as plotters, telephonists and in numerous other roles throughout the Battle of Britain, with some women continuing to work as buildings were bombed and in flames and so forth. The WAAF units formed on 16 January 1941 were those solely in New Zealand.

New Zealand Military: The New Zealand branch of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) is founded. The plans for this force are to use the women "in some clerical trades and jobs of a domestic nature, peculiar to the feminine temperament and unpopular with men." The minimum age for enlistment is 18, and the average age is 27. Just over half of women who apply are accepted. This marks the beginning of a permanent integration of women into the New Zealand airforce (RNZAF).

US Military: The War Department forms the 99th Pursuit Squadron. This is the famous "Tuskegee Airmen" unit, based at Tuskegee, Alabama and manned by African-Americans.

A US Army Air Corps Douglas B-18a Bolo, with seven crewmen, disappears after takeoff from McChord Field, Pierce County, Washington en route to Muroc Field in Southern California. The wreckage is found by local woodsmen on 3 February 1941 on Deschutes Peak, elevation 4322, the highest point in the vicinity. No survivors are found. It appears the pilots simply got unlucky and flew into the only obstruction at their altitude in the area after heavy winds forced them to attempt to return to McChord. The plane was climbing at 45 degrees to clear the ridge but didn't make it by 50 feet. Officially, it is a case of pilot error.

US Government: The administration requests an appropriation of $350 million for merchant ship construction. The Liberty ship design is still being worked up.

President Roosevelt has a meeting with Admiral Stark, George Marshall, Henry Stimson, and Cordell Hull to discuss a report prepared by Captain Richmond Kelly Turner (director of war plans in Naval Operations) and Colonel Joseph T. McNarney (of the Army War Plans Division). Known as the "Turner-McNarney Report," this document is titled "Study of the Immediate Problems Concerning Involvement in the War" and is dated 12 December 1940. The Turner-McNarney Report is extremely prescient in predicting how and why the Japanese might begin a war in the Pacific. The report predicts a major Japanese offensive that will aim to "capture the entire area," and that "The issues in the Orient will largely be decided in Europe." Roosevelt authorizes exploratory talks with the British regarding the major themes of the report, but he is not yet ready to contemplate sending ground troops to Europe. General Marshall writes of the meeting that Roosevelt feels:

the Army should not be committed to any aggressive action until it was fully prepared to undertake it; that our military course must be very conservative until our strength had developed.

This incident is often overlooked by those who claim that Roosevelt is thirsting to enter the war. What it shows is a President who is quite comfortable letting others fight a war he feels is necessary while the US takes as long as is given to arm to the teeth.

Ethiopia: British attacks from the Sudan and Kenya on Italian-held Ethiopia, timed to coincide with the return of Emperor Haile Selassie (or vice versa), make good progress. The South African 2nd Infantry Brigade attacks the Italian garrison at El Yibo. This is the first step of the British East-African counter-offensive.

India: Subhas Chandra Bose, a key Indian nationalist, adopts a disguise and flees Calcutta.

Battleship USS Massachusetts (BB-59) under construction at the Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, 16 January 1941. This shows the stern and rear turret.

Indochina: The French (Admiral Decoux) send light cruiser Lamotte Picquet, escorted by sloops Amiral Charner, Dumont D'Urville, Tahure, and Marne, as Task Force 7 from their base in Saigon. Their mission is to confront the Thai forces aiming to take possession of portions of the Mekong Delta which they claim the French stole from them in the late 19th Century. The Thai land army is much larger than the French forces, but the French naval forces are superior to anything that the Thais have. The Thai air force has over 140 aircraft, including Mitsubishi Ki-30s.

The French ships are heading for Koh Chang, southeast of Bangkok, one of the largest Thai islands in the Gulf of Thailand. They have the assistance of reconnaissance flying boat Loire 130, which locates the Thai ships. The objective is to wipe out the defending Thai fleet and bombard the country's coastal cities to force the Thai government to come to terms.

On land, the outnumbered French forces counterattack at the villages of Yang Dang Khum and Phum Preav in Cambodia in the Sisophon sector. The French Foreign Legion provides valuable covering fire which keeps the Thai tanks at bay. The French do not retain their gains but instead, fall back to more defensible positions. This may be considered a tactical victory but a strategic defeat, as the Thais continue their advance. The main problem for the French is that they don't have any military intelligence on the Thais and thus must be overly cautious.

British Homefront: Defeated Republican Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie arrives in England, his ship passing that of the new British ambassador to the US Lord Halifax.

Future History: Actress Claire Gordon is born in Cambridge, England. Claire Gordon goes on to become an acclaimed film actress and model. She enters history in a 1966 West End production of The Three Musketeers, produced by her husband-to-be William Donaldson. The reason? She becomes the first British actress to appear completely naked on stage in the bath scene. Heck, it's an important first in the theatre and otherwise, she might be forgotten. Claire Gordon passes away on 13 April 2015.

Helpful advice for women in the Grande Prairie Herald-Tribune, 16 January 1941.

The key part is soaking the shirt in cold water.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Wednesday 8 January 1941

HMS Gloucester enters Grand Harbour, Malta on 8 January 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos on 8 January 1941 launches a major attack on the Italian Julia division defending Klisura Pass. The Greek II Corps leads the attack, with the 1st Division on the left and the 15th and 11th Divisions on the right. The Greeks make good progress in very hard fighting, putting themselves in a position to finally capture the pass.

The Klisura Pass is considered necessary for the Greeks to press on and take the critical Italian port of Valona and free troops for the defense of eastern Greece against an anticipated German invasion from Bulgaria. The Italian commander in Albania, Cavallero, immediately begins transferring troops from other sectors with which he intended to launch his own offensive.

European Air Operations: The RAF air command on Malta launches a night raid against Naples. The Italians have dispersed their fleet to Naples and other points, but the RAF is tracking them down. Battleship Giulio Cesare is damaged slightly by three near misses and must be moved to La Spezia for repairs. It is not as significant a blow as it might be, because the Italians are not using their capital ships anyway - though they have plenty of fuel to do so if they wished.

Another benefit of the mission for the British is that it induces the Italians to move their battleship Vittorio Veneto to La Spezia as well, to get it out of harm's way - a rather incongruous way to handle what should be your mightest offensive weapon. The Italian naval command at this point appears obsessed with keeping a "fleet in being," a strategy that in a calculated fashion uses the threat of warships to draw enemy airpower away from on-shore targets. There are pros and cons to this strategy, which certainly appears to fit with the overall Italian mindset during the conflict, but essentially removes these warships from active operations where they might actually be of strategic use (such as off North Africa or Albania).

RAF Bomber Command also sends seven Wellington bombers to raid Wilhelmshaven. The target is German battleship Tirpitz, still under construction but almost finished. The RAF does not score any hits, though some near misses scuff up the paint a bit. This is another example of Axis warships drawing fire away from other, arguably more productive, targets. It is the one area in which the Axis navies constantly excel.

For its part, the Luftwaffe sends a few scattered raiders across during the day but stays on the ground after dark.

The prototype Vultee XP-54, nicknamed the "Swoose Goose."

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors of I,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 6278-ton British freighter Clytoneus in the Western Approaches. Everybody survives. KG 40 has just been turned over to Admiral Doenitz's forces to assist with U-boat operations.

British 683 ton Trinity House tender Strathearn hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. There are 15 deaths.

Royal Navy minelayers HMS Adventure and Teviotbank lay minefields ZME 12 and BS 48, respectively. These are in the St. Georges Channel and off the east coast.

Convoy OB 271 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 378 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 379 is postponed, Convoy HG 50 departs from Gibraltar.

Royal Navy destroyer HMAS Nizam (Lt. Commander Max J. Clark) commissioned.

U-559 launched.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Excess, the latest supply operation for Malta, continues with a complicated series of ship movements. Force A departs from Suda Bay, Crete and heads toward Malta. Force B warships arrive at Malta and disembark their troops, then quickly depart for escort duties of convoys still headed toward the island. Force D is reinforced by Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the destroyer HMAS Stuart. Force D then joins Force A southeast of Malta but then switches to escort Convoy ME 6. So far, Operation Excess is running as smoothly as previous convoys and virtually without incident.

The Australian 6th Division begins active patrols around the Tobruk perimeter, probing Italian defenses. They find a similar layout to the one at Bardia, two defensive lines with antitank ditches, barbed wire, and concrete pillboxes.

General Archibald Wavell, British Middle East Commander, replies diplomatically to Prime Minister Churchill's insinuations of the past couple of days that his army has become a haven for slackers:

I can assure you that I have always had question of rearward services constantly in mind and have been as anxious as anyone to cut down on non-fighting units. Except for anti-aircraft.... But the more I see of War, especially present-day War, the more I am impressed by the part that administration plays.

This dispute about the "Tooth-to-tail Ratio" will continue on both sides, though it really has not begun yet on the German side. As much as anything, such concerns are a sure sign of a military that is overstretched and unable to meet all of the threats that are popping up. Wavell, incidentally, is absolutely correct that modern wars are won not by valor in combat (alone), but by logistics and weaponry. This is a lesson that is and will be hammered home brutally to some participants during the course of the conflict.

At Malta, cruisers HMS Gloucester and Southampton dock just long enough to disembark their troops, then head back out to sea. These troops buttress the island's antiaircraft defenses.

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) approaches the Italian administration center of Murzuk, in the southwest corner of Libya and hundreds of miles distant from other British forces. They are aided by local French and tribesmen. Their intent is to attack the Italian airfield and headquarters at Murzuk both to disrupt Italian administration and to incite violence throughout Libya.

Convoy AS 10 departs from Piraeus for Suda Bay.

Battle of the Pacific: Contract workers arrive on Wake Island onboard the USS William Ward Burrows. They are to construct a naval air station (NAS) there.

USS Wasp (CV-7), in Norfolk Naval Shipyard for refitting, 8 January 1941.

Anglo/Free French Relations: The British release Vice Admiral Muselier, imprisoned since New Year's day on espionage and treason charges. The British MI5 intelligence branch concludes that Muselier has been set up with fake documents planted by two security people (Commandant Howard and Adjutant Colin) hired on their own recommendation. The reasons for the smear are murky, apparently, Muselier offended Howard in some way and he had Colin draw up the phony documents which, among other things, suggested that Muselier compromised Operation Menace (the failed attack on Dakar). Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden tenders a note of abject apology.

This decision avoids a very sharp rupture in Anglo/French relations. Charles de Gaulle views the entire affair as a plot by MI5 to discredit him personally, and had been on the brink of turning his back on the British - to the extent possible, as he essentially is a British client ruler - had the charges not been dropped.

This is a much better outcome politically than if Winston Churchill had followed his initial inclinations and had Muselier shot outright. However, de Gaulle forever after holds a grudge against the British intelligence service due to this incident. Muselier, for his part, returns to his duties in charge of Free French naval forces.

US/Vichy French Relations: Admiral William D. Leahy presents his credentials to the Petain government in Vichy. This comes one day after Roosevelt accepted former ambassador Bullitt's resignation.

Anglo/US Relations: Roosevelt observer "Wild Bill" Donovan arrives in Cairo for talks with British Middle East Commander General Wavell.

North Fort Lewis, Pierce County, Nebraska, home to the US 41st Infantry Division. President Roosevelt has inducted the 41st Division into federal service for a term of one year. January 8, 1941 (Courtesy Lewis Army Museum).

German Military: Adolf Hitler convenes a meeting of his senior military advisors at Berchtesgaden. He admits that Germany cannot invade England until it is "crippled" and the Luftwaffe "has complete air superiority." Neither of those things has happened or appears likely to happen any time soon (though the U-boat campaign is showing great promise in the former area). Hitler places his hopes on eliminating all opposition on the Continent, relying on the clear superiority of the Wehrmacht on land. Hitler plans to shore up the Italians both in Greece and North Africa, but he does not trust them and wants no communications to them which they can pass along to the British.

This meeting is the beginning of Hitler's acknowledgment that he has no real allies in Western Europe. He does not trust the Italians, and he knows now the Vichy French and Spanish will never help him conquer the British. Planning for Operation Attila, the occupation of Vichy France and seizure of the French fleet at Toulon continues.

Hitler evidently has been paying attention to events in Washington, too. President Roosevelt's veiled threats during his recent State of the Union speech obviously did not escape his attention. He tells his leaders that war with the United States may be approaching as well. Hitler and his cronies live under the delusion that the US cannot intervene on the Continent in any time frame that might affect the current wars in progress or others being contemplated. This is because of, among other reasons, the so-far successful U-boat campaign and the huge head start that Germany has in military preparations and achievements.

British Military: While Hitler is busy with his war conference at the Berghof, Winston Churchill is holding similar meetings at Whitehall. The Defence Committee is studying the Balkan situation. Anthony Eden, having a busy day, strongly advocates sending British troops to Greece immediately in order to induce Turkey to join the Allied side and form a "Balkan bloc." Churchill himself says that "there was no other course open to us but to make certain that we had spared no effort to help the Greeks who had shown themselves so worthy." Thus, the matter basically is decided, although it must be ascertained whether it is possible.

The Chiefs of Staff thus cable Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command Air Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore and ask him if air units are available for immediate transfer to Greece. Longmore replies that he wants to keep his units supporting General Wavell's advance, but he does not have the final say. Discussions of the Defence Committee on this key strategic question continue into the 9th.

Japanese Military: Army Minister Tojo Hideki issues a military decree, "Instructions For the Battlefield," which essentially commands Japanese soldiers to fight to the death rather than be captured.

Soviet Military: The second round of war games begins. This time, General Zhukov commands the Soviet forces, and General Kulik commands the invading "Blue" forces.

US Military: The USAAC orders the first prototype of the Vultee XP-54.

Due to lingering disagreements about whether the US Pacific fleet should be based at Hawaii (among other things), President Roosevelt decides to replace Admiral James Richardson as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (CinCPac) and CinCUS (should the Pacific and Atlantic fleets ever merge). Admiral Husband E. Kimmel will replace him effective 1 February 1941. In addition, Admiral Ernest J. King, an advocate of a strong US naval presence in the Pacific, will become Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet (CinCLant). Richardson will hold no further active commands.

Baltimore News-Post, 8 January 1941.

US Government: Following President Roosevelt's militaristic State of the Union address, his administration releases a proposed budget of $17.5 billion for the Fiscal Year 1942 (beginning 1 July 1941). This budget includes a massive $10.8 billion war (defense) budget (it is still called the War Department, not the Department of Defense, at this point). With military expenditures exceeding 50% of all government spending, this is a record peacetime commitment, the highest in US history.

Canadian Government: Accepting the recommendation of its subcommittee, the Canadian war council excludes Japanese-Canadians from military service.

Indochina: The conflict between Thailand and the Vichy French continues to sizzle. The Royal Thai Air Force attacks the French at Siem Reap and Battambang.

German Homefront: It has taken the better part of a year, but the port facilities at Narvik, Norway have been repaired. It is the key port for the shipment of Swedish iron ore to German war factories. Today, the first freighter departs for Germany carrying ore.

British Homefront: Lord Baden-Powell, the inspiration for the Boy and Girl Scout movement, passes away at age 83. Baden-Powell is one of the very few prominent British people ever to have kind words for Hitler's "Mein Kampf," calling it "A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organization etc. - and ideals which Hitler does not practice himself." Having spent the last few decades of his life in Africa, he passes away in Kenya.

American Homefront: Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" is nearing completion. Newspaper critics have received an advance rough-cut screening (minus the score), and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (uninvited) watches and later writes that the film is a "vicious and irresponsible attack on a great man" - the great man being William Randolph Hearst. Hearst hears about this and remonstrates with his own gossip columnist, Louella Parsons, about why she hasn't told him that the film was calculated to attack him.

Parsons, on or about this date, then angrily demands a private screening of the film herself (apparently she did not crash the critics' screening like Hedda). She threatens a lawsuit (on Hearst's behalf" and hints darkly about other means of professional retaliation. Nobody messes with William Randolph Hearst, not only because of his money, power, and influence as the boss of a national chain of newspapers but also because of the dead guy once found on his private yacht. RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer accedes to Parsons' demands and schedules a private screening for her (and Hearst's lawyers) on 10 January.

Future History: Graham Arthur Chapman is born in Stoneygate, Leicester. Chapman develops an interest in writing and teams up with John Cleese, another struggling comedian, whilst still in school. They write for various television comedy series, then team up with other young comedians (Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam) in the 1960s to form a sketch comedy group, Flying Circus. Together, they develop various classic comedy sketches, which lead to a television series of their own and a series of comedy films. Everyone within the group basically agrees that Chapman is the best actor in the troupe (at least at that time, though John Cleese also becomes a renowned comedy actor outside the group). Perhaps Chapman's high point with the group is playing the lead role in classic "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Chapman continues with Monty Python and branches out into his own successful career but passes away in 1989 from cancer at age 48.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about President Roosevelt's massive military preparations. "Thin Ice," published January 8, 1941, by S. J. Ray.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020

Monday 6 January 1941

"Australian infantry advancing during the assault on Bardia, 6 January 1941." © IWM (E 1573).

Italian/Greek Campaign: Minor operations continue on 6 January 1941 in the Klisura Pass and elsewhere. Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos is preparing a renewed effort at Klisura in an effort to secure the vital Italian port of Valona (Vlorë) before anticipated German intervention, which is projected to begin any time on or following 15 January. The Italians are fighting hard at Klisura, using Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 tanks.

Both sides have large naval forces in action during the night. Greek destroyers shell Valona during the night. A group of Italian destroyers and torpedo boats from the 9th Destroyer Division shell Greek bases at Porto Palermo in Albania. Porto Palermo is a few kilometers south of Himarë, which the Greeks recently captured.

The Great Powers are becoming increasingly interested in Greece as perhaps their next proxy battlefield. Hitler's plans for Operation Marita are well known, and becoming known at this time outside of his own country (it is impossible to hide the Wehrmacht troop movements in Romania, and the cover story of it being related to "training" is wearing thin). British Prime Minister Winston Churchill today memos his military aide, General Ismay, stating:

We must so act as to make it certain that if the enemy enters Bulgaria, Turkey will come into the war.... It is quite clear to me that supporting Greece must have priority after the western flank of Egypt has been secured."

Hitler also remains preoccupied with Turkey and maintains close diplomatic relations with it - as do the British.

European Air Operations: Operations remain light. RAF Coastal Command attacks German convoys off Norway and the Dutch coast. The Luftwaffe sends a few raiders against London and Kent but stays on the ground after dark.

The inter-service rivalries in the Wehrmacht continue. Admiral Karl Dönitz has requested control over air units - specifically Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors - in order to aid U-boat operations in the Atlantic. He hopes that they will operate as the U-boats' "eyes" and spot ships and convoys that the U-boats - at surface level - cannot see.

Hitler approves this request today, shifting I,/KG 40 to the Kriegsmarine's control. However, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering controls all air units in the Reich (under Hitler, of course). Seeing this as an infringement on his own authority, Goering quickly objects to the transfer. As a sort of compensation, Hitler returns KGr 806 (Junkers Ju 88s) from Kriegsmarine control and gives them to Field Marshal Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 for attacks on England. For now, though, the Condors remain with the Kriegsmarine, and this marks the start of a permanent increase in cooperation between German air units and U-boats. However, KG 40 itself is in poor shape and proves to be of little value to Dönitz.

"A column of Italian prisoners captured during the assault on Bardia, Libya, march to a British army base on 6 January 1941." © IWM (E 1579)

Battle of the Atlantic: U-124 (Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz), on her third patrol operating out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5965-ton British freighter Empire Thunder (on her maiden voyage) northeast of Rockall/west of the Hebrides in the Western Approaches. There are nine deaths and 30 survivors. The Empire Thunder was a straggler from Convoy OB 269 because of engine issues, and convoys wait for no ship.

German Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Kormoran (Korvettenkapitän Theodore Detmers) sinks 3729 ton Greek collier Antonis in the mid-Atlantic. The 29 men (and 7 sheep) on board are taken as prisoners. This incident sends Royal Navy heavy cruisers HMS Norfolk and Devonshire searching fruitlessly for the Kormoran, which of course quickly departs the scene. This is another incidence where the exaggerated value of surface raiders is demonstrated, as the Royal Navy expends huge amounts of effort trying to track the Kormoran down, while the much more effective U-boats attract little attention except at the times of sinkings.

British 87 ton tug Lion hits a mine and sinks in the River Medway. Everyone on board perishes.

British 219 ton trawler Gadra hits a mine (laid by the British) off Myling Head, Faroe Islands. There are three survivors, 7 deaths.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mashona collides with destroyer HMS Sikh while departing Scapa Flow on a convoy mission. The Mashona is taken to West Hartlepool for repairs. The Sikh also is damaged which puts it out of action for just short of two weeks.

Convoy FN 377 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 101 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 101 departs from Bermuda.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Dianella (T/Lt. James G. Rankin) is commissioned, while destroyers HMS Fitch and Forrest are laid down.

US battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) is laid down at the Brooklyn Navy Yard - quite a coincidence given President Roosevelt's speech today, in light of the events of 2 September 1945.

Time Magazine, January 6, 1941. | Vol. XXXVII No. 1.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Australian forces continue mopping up at Bardia, with the Italian position now completely hopeless. However, there are still some holdouts in the northern sector of the fortress.

Already, British eyes are turning elsewhere. The British 7th Armoured Division, having bypassed Bardia, takes El Adem airfield and Belhamed to the south of Tobruk (General Enrico P. Manella) and essentially cuts its Italian troops off from land communications. The Italians have other large troop formations sitting idle in Libya, but, as with Bardia, they appear uninterested in what happens to Tobruk. A surprise assault on the 7th Armoured Division, for instance, in theory, could crush it against the fortress of Tobruk like a hammer striking an anvil, but the Italians further west do not stir.

With yet another major British objective - Bardia - now crossed off the list, Churchill begins thinking about which theater of operations presents the greater threat: Greece or North Africa. He cables his Middle East Commander, General Wavell, to hurry things along because there are other pressing priorities:

Time is short. I cannot believe Hitler will not intervene soon [in Greece and other Balkan states].

Given that Wavell has just won another resounding victory and perhaps expects some thanks or congratulations rather than another lesson in the obvious, this perhaps comes as a bit of a downer.

Churchill, however, does not stop there. He even implies that Wavell's army has become a haven for slackers, urging that Wavell do something "about purging rearward services" and shifting more of the rear echelon establishment into the front line. Churchill further elaborates by commenting that more forces should be shifted to Greece, including aircraft, artillery and "some or all of the tanks of the 2nd Armoured Division, now arrived and working up in leisurely fashion in Egypt." These are all implied criticisms of Wavell's leadership, extending disagreements and resentments between the two men that have been bubbling to the surface since the quick loss of British Somaliland in August 1940.

This is a familiar theme that leaders on both sides will take up from time to time, the length of the supply "tail." However, modern armies require large-scale logistical support, and cutting back on that can result in degradation of combat effectiveness by those who do carry rifles.

General Wavell, for his part, flies to Khartoum. He wishes to evict the Italians from Eritrea, and also reinstall British pawn Haile Selassie as ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).

Meanwhile, the Germans are doing more than subtly sniping at each other. Today, General Geisler begins operations with his Junkers Ju 87s of Fliegerkorps X from their new bases in Sicily. They attack Royal Navy units involved in Operation Excess.

As part of Operation Excess, a convoy mission to Malta, Group B of Operation MC 4 departs from Alexandria. Operation Excess is designed to reinforce Malta with additional troops, and ships are coming from both Alexandria and Gibraltar.

RAF planes drop propaganda leaflets on Italian positions in North Africa. The leaflets emphasize the moral superiority of British war aims and recent British successes in Egypt and Libya.

In southwest Libya, the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) is camped near Tazerbo and continues patrolling to learn as much as possible about its objective, regional center Murzuk and its airfield. The men hear today that Bardia, about 700 miles to the east, has fallen via special poles they construct to aid communications. This is no small force; there are 23 vehicles and 76 men. Included in the group are Coldstream Guards and New Zealanders. They are all under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bagnold, with Major Pat Clayton leading the raid itself.

The Indian 11th Infantry Division transfers from Egypt to Sudan.

Battle of the Pacific: British 16810 ton transport Empress of Russia departs from Auckland, New Zealand with an escort of HMNZS Achilles. With known German raiders in the area following the shelling of Nauru in December, the Royal Navy is becoming much more security conscious about its assets in the Pacific.

US Navy TBD-1 Devastators, Torpedo Squadron 2, of USS Lexington (I think), 6 January 1941.

Applied Science: Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) test a prototype centimetric radar system on the roof of the university's Radiation Laboratory.

Anglo/US Relations: After quickly loading $148,342,212.55 (at 1941 prices) in British gold bars within about 24 hours, USS Louisville immediately departs from Simonstown, South Africa bound for New York. That is about $2 trillion in 21st Century value. This shipment, part of Operation Fish, will be used to pay for armaments and other items in the United States. In its path lies German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer (which today is replenishing its fuel stocks from tanker Nordmark), but the ocean is vast and the odds of the two ships encountering each other is remote. Even then, the USS Louisville is a heavy cruiser that can take care of itself.

If anything were to happen to this shipment, there could be cataclysmic consequences.

Irish/German Relations: The Irish government sends the Germans an official note of protest regarding recent air attacks on Dublin and the Irish coast to the south. The Luftwaffe bombed Ireland for three straight nights and killed several people. Many in Ireland and Great Britain do not think these bombings were accidental at all, but an intimidation tactic.

Soviet Military: The war games that began on 2 January conclude today. General Zhukov, in charge of the "Western" or "Blue" forces, has achieved a victory over Colonel-General D.G. Pavlov commanding the "Eastern" or "Red" forces. The precise outcome is somewhat murky, as the accounts of this exercise rely upon memoirs from those involved (some of whom did not survive the war). Another exercise is planned to begin on 8 January, with Zhukov commanding the "Red" side and General Kulik commanding the "Blue" side.

British Government: Winston Churchill sets the ultimate objective in North Africa as the capture of Benghazi. This he sees happening in March 1941, after which troops can be shifted to Greece and North Africa become basically a static front. He gives this appreciation both to General Wavell and to the Defence Committee for discussion.

President Roosevelt gives his 6 January 1941 "Four Freedoms" State of the Union address. Camera angles give the impression that he is standing, when in fact he is seated.

US Government: President Roosevelt gives his 1941 State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. It quite possibly is the most consequential address of the 20th Century. This becomes known as the "Four Freedoms" speech, and Roosevelt enumerates the "Four Freedoms" as follows:

1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedom of worship
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear

While the speech is a classic and the Four Freedoms have entered the lexicon, this is Roosevelt's second attempt at creating the list. On 5 July 1940, he gave a slightly different list at a press conference. Then, these "essential freedoms" were:

1. Freedom of information
2. Freedom of religion
3. Freedom to express oneself
4. Freedom from fear
5. Freedom from want

Obviously, the initial five-point list was not quite catchy enough. Whatever difference lies between "freedom of information" and "freedom to express oneself" got boiled down to "freedom of speech," which is essentially the idea underlying both - but not quite with the same nuances. Reviewing the two lists is like watching a brilliant writer editing his own work to make only the most fundamental points.

The idea also has an antecedent from an unlikely source: the 1939 New York World's Fair (which only closed at the end of October 1940). The Fair's four freedoms were:

1. Freedom of religion
2. Freedom of speech
3. Freedom of the press
4. Freedom of assembly

Roosevelt's final Four Freedoms list is a fundamental recitation of concerns which sometimes echo, if not outright paraphrase, the US Constitution, but also extend the Constitution with Roosevelt's own New Deal agenda (not included in the "Four Freedoms" but also listed in the speech are such things as jobs, equality of opportunity, and civil liberties). In effect, Roosevelt is proposing that US Constitutional - and his own philosophical - priorities should be the template for the entire world. That is, whether the rest of the world agrees or not - but mass acceptance of these principles, or "freedoms," is assumed.

While Hitler is busy trying to craft a New World Order by dividing the world up into military spheres of influence, Roosevelt is doing the same thing in a philosophical fashion (in fact, he actually uses the phrase "new order" in reference to the Axis and proposes instead the term "moral order."

The Baltimore News-Post, 6 January 1941.

One of the ironic aspects of Roosevelt's speech lies in how he describes "freedom of fear":

which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world.

In fact, President Roosevelt will preside over the greatest arms buildup in the history of the world. That defense establishment essentially remains into the 21st Century, with US defense expenditures continuing to amount to more than that of all other nations put together. There was no "reduction of armaments" under President Roosevelt, and there was none after his tenure, either. It is easy to say that Roosevelt's arms buildup was necessary, as well as that of post-war US governments - but it takes a certain myopic or ethnocentric point of view to refuse to see your own arms buildup as not violating the "freedom from fear." Apparently, it is okay if the other guys feel fear as long as you and those who agree with you do not. I'm not trying to be political here, just pointing out some inescapable realities of how the world works and how high-minded principles can't square with them.

Nobody can really argue with Roosevelt's list; that would be like saying that you are in favor of repressing or mistreating people. In a sense, the Four Freedoms speech is the dawn of the age of political correctness, where any dissent makes you morally a "bad person," though that takes decades to gather steam.

The speech provides a moralistic framework for US intervention abroad which ultimately is not necessary during the Roosevelt years, but helps to frame World War II (from the US perspective) as "the Good War" (some would say the last good war). It also imbues a conscious moralism to US foreign policy which never leaves - moralism which is not always applied or justified in the same ways, particularly during US military interventions. However, this moralism does imbue US military adventurism with the aspect of a modern Crusade (in fact, General Eisenhower's memoir is entitled "Crusade in Europe," so some at the time saw this, too). Some key US allies never follow these Four Freedoms (notably the USSR), so everything is relative in the context of the Four Freedoms. Again, those inescapable realities again.

The Four Freedoms will remain a catchphrase to which Roosevelt will return time and again and will inform the creation of the United Nations, perhaps his most lasting legacy.

Also included in the speech, almost casually and with almost no elaboration, is another tremendous topic with immediate ramifications: Lend Lease. While once again he does not use this term, President Roosevelt does everything but say the words. After noting in the abstract that Great Britain is about to run out of money - with an actual shipment of British gold leaving for the United States on this very day - Roosevelt says:

I do not recommend that we make them a loan of dollars with which to pay for these weapons -- a loan to be repaid in dollars. I recommend that we make it possible for those nations to continue to obtain war materials in the United States, fitting their orders into our own program. And nearly all of their material would, if the time ever came, be useful in our own defense.

In this way, in a single paragraph, Roosevelt announces a new policy that essentially turns Great Britain into a client state, a very willing mercenary army for the United States. Roosevelt makes this even plainer in the following paragraph when he reassures his listeners that "we are free to decide how much should be kept here and how much should be sent abroad to our friends." Not only does Roosevelt decide what goes where, but the British will wind up paying for the privilege of accepting these American handouts. It is an artful way of ramping up the munitions industries without actually going to war or, really, having any legal pretext at all (though that will soon follow).

East Indians: Local Dutch authorities arrest Nationalist leaders.

China: The Nationalist Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the retreating Communist New 4th Army near Maolin on the Yangtze.

The Nationalist (Kuomintang) government purchases 100 H81A-2 Curtiss Tomahawks (P-40Bs). These are intended for use by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), which Claire Chennault is still forming. Their armament is 2 x 0.5 in. and 4 x 0.3 in. machine guns, which is fairly substantial for this period of time, though 20 mm cannon would be better.

American Homefront: Unknown young actor Richard Widmark makes his radio debut on the CBS drama "The Home of the Brave."

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020