Tuesday 3 June 1941

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 A group of six Hawker Hurricanes of RAF No. 87 Squadron was withdrawn from the island only days before.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Inversuir, sunk today in the North Atlantic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Germans also attack the villages of Floria and Kakopetro.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

These meetings last until 6 June.

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Sunday 25 May 1941

"Parachute troops jump from a Whitley bomber during a demonstration for the King near Windsor, 25 May 1941." © IWM (H 9955)

Anglo/Iraq War: The Luftwaffe based at Mosul sends two Bf 110s fo II./ZG76 to raid Habbaniya Airfield on 25 May 1941. One is forced to land behind British lines. The British will repair it using spare parts from other destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft and restore it to flying service. This aircraft is used both in Iraq and in Cairo for testing purposes and is named "The Belle of Berlin," RAF serial No. HK846.

Eleven Fiat CR-42 fighters of Italian 155th Squadriglia arrive at Aleppo, Syria en route to Mosul, Iraq.

European Air Operations:  RAF Bomber Command sends 30 aircraft on anti-shipping missions. The sink Kriegsmarine minelayer Sperrbrecher-33. After dark, it sends 48 bombers on minelaying operations off Brest and Saint-Nazaire, likely in anticipation of the German battleship Bismarck heading for one of those ports.

The RAF bombs and sinks 1538-ton Danish freighter H.P. Hansen about 6 nautical miles (11 km) northwest of Schiermonnikoog Lighthouse, Friesland, Netherlands. Sources say the Luftwaffe sinks the Hansen, and it may be a case of mistaken identification, but it seems much more likely (to me at least) that the RAF sinks it during its normal anti-shipping missions - draw your own conclusion. Allied ships generally don't operate in that area during 1941.

During its anti-shipping raids today, an RAF plane crashes for unknown reasons (probably anti-aircraft fire) at Den Helder. It crashes into and sinks German the sperrbrecher (functional minesweeper) Silvia. There is some likelihood that the pilot of the falling plane directs it at the Silvia, which would make it a kamikaze strike.

The captain of Suffolk, Robert Meyric Ellis, remained on the bridge throughout the chase of the German battleship Bismarck. It was he who Lütjens fooled with his brilliant maneuver. © IWM (A 4330).

Battle of the Atlantic: Now alone after having parted ways with Prinz Eugen, the battleship Bismarck is slowed by damage and being shadowed by two Royal Navy cruisers. Admiral Lütjens wants to head to a port in France for repairs, but first needs to shake his pursuers. Lütjens knows that the shadowing cruiser - the other British cruiser is lagging behind - is zig-zagging due to the threat of U-boats. If Lütjens times it just right, when the British cruiser is moving away from his intended escape route, it may catch the British captain flat-footed. However, it has to be done just right, because making the attempt likely would cause the British to take a "tighter rein" on the pursuit that would make escape impossible.

Vice-Admiral (later Admiral) Lütjens aboard the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940. Photo courtesy of Dieter Troester.

At 03:00, Lütjens orders Captain Lindemann to increase to the ship's current maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h, 32 mph), and at the same time veer off to the west (away from his chosen destination) while the British cruiser is zigzagging to the east.

The maneuver works brilliantly. Bismark breaks the radar contact of shadowing cruiser HMS Suffolk, opening a gap that is beyond the British cruiser's radar range. Lütjens then has the ship circle around to the north, then break back to a heading to the east - toward France. The captain of the pursuing British ship assumes Bismarck has headed west on its raiding mission and heads that way - completely losing contact. Basically, Bismarck winds up behind the British cruisers who still think the German ship is ahead of them.

"The 8" guns of HMS SUFFOLK firing." This is during the chase of Bismarck in May 1941. © IWM (A 4312).

It is a brilliant maneuver and leaves the entire Royal Navy stumped. The British have to resort to searching the entire North Atlantic for the Bismarck. With no idea where the Bismarck has gone, Rear Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker, commander of the two cruisers shadowing Bismarck, decides to head his three ships (Prince of Wales, Suffolk, and Norfolk) to the southwest - away from Bismarck's actual direction.

Then, having executed a masterstroke, Admiral Lütjens makes a massive blunder. He sends a long message to Naval Group West headquarters in Paris describing his situation and plans. The British use direction-finding equipment to pinpoint the ship's location, but make their own error and mistakenly conclude that Bismarck is heading back the way it came to Germany. Thus, the mass of Royal Navy ships heads off in that direction, opening up a path for Bismarck to slip through to a French port. Bismarck spends the 25th heading toward safety without being spotted. It now looks good for the Germans, they only have to stay hidden throughout the 26th to make it to France. That sounds easy... but the entire Royal Navy is looking for Bismarck.

A typical headline on 25 May 1941, highlighting the sinking of HMS Hood. The story, incidentally, is uncannily accurate, as after extensive research is it agreed that the Hood sank because the Bismarck's shell set fire to Hood's magazine.

At his country home of Chequers, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is in a foul mood when he hears of the loss of battlecruiser Hood to the Bismarck. Among other things, he snaps at his piano player for playing a somber tune. Churchill loudly expresses his opinion is that the Prince of Wales should have closed on Bismarck rather than turning away and concludes (according to the diary of private secretary John Colville) that the Royal Navy has become a haven for shirkers. Colville also notes that Churchill is well aware by bedtime that the Bismarck is heading for France, and this likely is due to Ultra.

U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, is operating off Monrovia and is having great success. Schütze sinks two ships:

• 3575-ton Egyptian freighter Radames
• 7789-ton Dutch freighter Wangi Wangi (one dead)

The Luftwaffe bombs 125-ton Faroes fishing trawler Harry about thirty miles north of Rattray Head. An attempt to tow it fails and it sinks northwest of Kinnaird Head.

The RAF bombs and sinks 1049-ton German freighter Silvia near Den Helder.

Brazilian cargo ship Atalaia sinks in the South Atlantic of unknown causes. All 66 crew aboard perish.

Portuguese schooner Silvina catches fire and sinks off the Grand Banks. Everyone survives.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), on its third patrol out of Lorient, lays seven mines within Lagos Harbour.
The Admiralty diverts Convoy SC-31 to port at Hvalfjord, Iceland in order to avoid the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The Admiralty also sends oiler Cardinale and store ship the City of Dieppe out of Gibraltar into the mid-Atlantic to supply the massive Royal Navy forces searching for battleship Bismarck. Submarine HMS Severn is recalled from its normal patrol to guard the Straits of Gibraltar against a possible passage by Bismarck.

The Italian Navy forms a screen west of Gibraltar composed of submarines Argo, Brin, Emo, Marconi, Mocenigo, Velella, and Venero.

Convoy OG-63 departs Liverpool bound for Gibraltar, Convoy HG 63 departs from Gibraltar bound for Liverpool.

The Kriegsmarine orders a dozen new U-boats with consecutive numbers from U-983 to U-994.

U-653 is commissioned.

The British Mk VI tank (Lieutenant Farran) destroyed during the counter-attack on Galatas, Crete, 25 May 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Germans on Crete continue slowly expanding their lodgement at Maleme airfield, but the Commonwealth troops launch counterattacks and otherwise put up stiff resistance. The Germans now have a good grip on the western portion of the island, but the British are trying to regroup in the eastern half. The battle is still in doubt, but the Germans continue to pour in reinforcements on Junkers Ju 52 transport planes without hindrance. The Royal Navy, meanwhile, has had to retreat from its blocking positions to the north of the island due to the Luftwaffe's domination of the air.

In an indication of growing German confidence in the battle, Lieutenant General Kurt Student flies into Maleme to direct operations.

The 1st Greek Regiment fights hard at Kastelli on the outskirts of Heraklion. German attempts at seaborne reinforcement come to naught, as a half-hearted attempt to tow a lighter containing two Panzer IIs has to put into port at Kithira when Royal Navy ships are spotted. The Royal Navy brought a small force of commandos into Suda Bay as reinforcements on the 24th, but the vast majority are unable to land today due to poor weather. Basically, the German advance is stalled, but the British are unable to bring enough force to bear to dislodge them.

'Germans enter Galatas', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/the-germans-enter-galatas, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 15-Jul-2013. This was taken on the morning of 26 May 1941. The Mk VI light tank lost on the 25th is visible in the distance.

At 16:00, German troops attack at Galatos with support from Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. Galatos is a major British defensive position on the road to the main Royal Navy base at Suda Bay and one of the most fought-over positions in Crete. The Allies retreat except for one group under Major John Russell. New Zealand Colonel Howard Kippenberger quickly organizes a scratch rescue force to rescue the trapped men. The New Zealand troops mount a fierce charge with bayonets fixed and supported by light tanks, yelling a Maori war chant (haka). The counterattack at Galatos succeeds in freeing Russell and his men, but the Germans regroup, use mortar fire to destroy a British tank, and take back the town later in the day.

The Germans are expanding their holdings throughout Crete. Today motorcycle and anti-tank troops of the 5th Gebirgsdivision occupy Kandanos. They face unexpected resistance there from the locals, and the German troops are infuriated by an ambush laid by them at Kandanos' gorge and vow to get revenge.

Salvation Army and AIF personnel load Australian Comforts Fund items onto trucks on 25 May 1941 for distribution to the men of the AIF during the Siege of Tobruk. These supplies are brought in during the nightly supply runs and are hugely important to morale (Australian War Memorial 007478).

The Royal Navy has been running nightly supply missions to Tobruk under cover of darkness. Usually, they pass uneventfully. Today, the Luftwaffe catches sloop HMS Grimsby and accompanying 3471-ton British tanker Helka near the port and sink them about 40 miles northeast of Tobruk. There are 11 deaths on the Grimsby and two deaths on the Helka. A third ship, trawler Southern Maid, escapes damage and picks up the survivors.

The Luftwaffe keeps up the pressure on British shipping at Crete. During attacks on Heraklion, German planes sink 846 ton Greek freighter Leros.

The Royal Navy largely has abandoned the waters north of Crete due to Luftwaffe pressure, at least during the daytime. It does send a sweep north of the island during the night led by light cruisers Ajax and Dido.

A large Royal Navy formation led by battleships HMS Barham and Queen Elizabeth and aircraft carrier Formidable leaves Alexandria at noon. This is Operation MAQ3. The destination is Scarpanto Island, where a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka base is located. The plan is to launch strikes against the Luftwaffe airfield during the night to reduce German airpower in the eastern Mediterranean. The Formidable, however, has many planes that are beset with mechanical problems, but something must be done immediately about the Luftwaffe's supremacy in the area.

The Italian convoy attacked by HMS Upholder (Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn), losing 18,500-ton troop transport Conte Rosso on the 24th (some sources say early on the 25th) returns to Naples despite its heavy escort.

Vichy French sloop-of-war runs aground off Corsia and is wrecked.

On Malta, the RAF sends a handful of Swordfish to drop "cucumber" magnetic mines off Lampedusa, which the Axis is using during its convoys to Tripoli. Due to anti-aircraft fire, the mission fails and the Swordfish return with their mines.

Whitehall decides to replace Malta Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice Marshal Forster Maynard, AFC. His replacement at the end of May will be Air Vice Marshal Hugh Pugh Lloyd MV DFC.

HMAS Voyager at Suda Bay, May 1941.

Special Operations: Italian submarine Scire departs Cadiz. It carries two midget submarines (SLC) and frogmen for an attack on the Royal Navy ships at Gibraltar.

US/German Relations: Wrapping up on the incident that occurred on 19 January 1941, the  US State Department informs the German Charge d'Affaires in Washington that a sailor is serving "an appropriate sentence" for ripping down a German flag over the German consulate in San Francisco. In fact, two sailors had ripped down the flag, and a municipal court had found them guilty, but their sentences had been stayed pending court-martials. One had received a medical discharge in the interim, while the Navy quietly discharged the other, Harold Sturtevant Jr. Sturtevant, incidentally, reenlists on 15 December 1941 and serves in the US Navy again.

A Jewish funeral procession at the cemetery gate, Warsaw, 25 May 1941 (Knobloch, Federal Archives).

German/Finnish Relations: As agreed on 20 May 1942, Finland sends a top-ranking military delegation to the Reich regarding possible military cooperation between the two nations. They meet in Salzburg - conveniently close to Hitler's Berchtesgaden residence. Ostensibly, this meeting is about military coordination in case of a possible Soviet attack, not an invasion of the USSR. Gradually, however, the talks pivot to simply talk of a "military confrontation" without specifying which side initiates it. Artillery General Alfred Jodl gives a lecture on possible operations stretching from northern Finland to the Balkans but continues the charade of refraining from mentioning that these would be offensive, not defensive, in nature.

The Finns have no authority to enter into any agreements, but Lt. General Heinrichs indicates a general approval of the German presentation and eventual military cooperation. He promises to give some official response to the German presentation by 2 June 1941. However, it is unclear exactly what the Finns would be agreeing to, as the Germans continue claiming they are negotiating with the Soviets.

German Military: The Wehrmacht continues moving trains full of troops to Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. There are 100 troop trains sent every 24 hours, with the OKW operating with absolute priority and on a strict timetable.

Warsaw Ghetto street scene, 25 May 1941. Jews are not yet required to wear Yellow Stars of David patches.

British Government: Winston Churchill asks Lord Beaverbrook, who recently (30 April) resigned as Minister of Aircraft Production and currently is Minister of State, to "draw up a proposal" to get a "large infusion of civilian management" into the supply services of the Mediterranean command. The intent is for such supply experts to "take this burden off the Commander-in-Chief." Churchill long has felt the ferrying of aircraft from Takoradi has been poorly managed, and he also feels that Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell has assorted failings, so taking this "burden" off Wavell neatly serves two purposes.

Vichy French Government: Former Vice Premier Pierre Laval gives an interview to US journalist Ralph Heinzen of UPI at Chateldon Castle, France. Laval states that Hitler had agreed that "after the war" France would play a large role in Europe. Laval views this as a promise by Hitler to "guarantee French independence in post-war Europe."

French Indochina: Japanese soldiers, technically guests of the Vichy French government, raid two warehouses in Haiphong and steal $10 million worth of US goods.

French Homefront: The 1941 Coupe de France Final is held at Stade Municipal, Saint-Ouen. Girondins ASP defeats SC Fives 2–0, with both goals by Santiago Urtizberea.

Wake Island, taken by a Consolidated PBY patrol plane on 25 May 1941. The view is west along the northern side of Wake and shows the Pan American Airways base.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020