German soldiers manning a machine gun beside railway tracks on the outskirts of Kalinin, 14 October 1941.
Eastern Front: Operation Typhoon, the German attack on Moscow, has transformed into an attempt to envelop the city by 14 October 14, 1941. The Soviets are hastily assembling their remaining Western Front troops and those finally arriving from the East in a defensive ring anchored on Mozhaysk (Mozhaisk) on the high road to the Soviet capital. Rather than try to batter their way into the city, the Germans instead are sending their panzers to the northeast and southeast. This is part of an increasing German pattern of focusing their advances only where the Soviets have the fewest defensive forces and not actually confronting them where they are strong, a tendency that will get them in trouble in 1942.
Two German soldiers grab some rest in the field, 14 October 1941.
The Germans make good progress, but there's a problem: the distances are immense. An advance of hundreds of kilometers against fierce opposition is necessary to encircle Moscow, and there are many natural features that favor the defense. Nevertheless, the Wehrmacht is off to a good beginning today. The 1st Panzer Division under the command of Generalleutnant Walter Krüger skirts the Soviet defenses and advances an astonishing 75 miles (120 km) to take Kalinin (Tver), an important city on the main Moscow - Leningrad road. This is an extraordinary achievement after going cross-country from the south, it still leaves the panzers 93 miles (150 km) away from Moscow. This advance also cuts the Moscow - Leningrad railway, but Army Group North already did that in September. These sorts of achievements look great in the abstract, but they do not actually achieve anything significant - they simply set the stage for achieving something eventually. When that will be, or rather if that will be, remains very much in doubt.
Gander, Newfoundland is a key airfield on the air transport link from the United States and Gret Britain. Here, Sir Humphrey Walwyn, Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, chats with an unidentified RCAF ferry pilot. This photo was taken on 14 October 1941.
Krüger's troops also capture a bridge across the Volga and establish a small bridgehead on the north bank. This not strategically important - it does not really aid the advance on Moscow - but it conceivably could aid an advance further east using the Volga as a shield to the south against flank attacks. It is symbolically important as the only intact bridge over the Volga that the Germans ever seize, either here or much further south in the Stalingrad area. However, on the all-important Smolensk highway to Moscow, The Soviet 32nd Siberian Rifle Division from Vladivostok is dug in now and armed to the teeth. It incorporates three infantry regiments and two armored brigades newly equipped with T-34s and KV-2s. This unit is only there because of the work of master spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, who gave Stalin the information that led to its redeployment to the west.
Paul Hausser, wearing his eyepatch, and General Erwin J. Rommel.
While the general German plan now is to encircle Moscow, SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Paul Hausser probes the Soviet defenses at Borodino with his SS-Infanterie-Division (mot.) Das Reich and the attached "Hauenschild Brigade" of 10.Panzer Division. He gets an unpleasant surprise, as the Siberian troops are warmly attired, including fur caps, and amply equipped with the multi-purpose 7.62-cm gun that has proven extremely effective along with the Katyusha mortars (called "Stalin's organs" by the Germans due to their distinctive sound). While the Germans already are familiar with the T-34s and KV-2s, for the first time the Soviets deploy them in mass formations. The Germans take heavy casualties, and commander Obergruppenfuhrer Hausser himself suffers a serious wound to his right eye that forces him to wear a patch over it for the remainder of the war. However, the panzers' momentum proves unstoppable at this time, and they force their way through a key part of the Siberian line. Fighting continues at Borodino Field, but the Germans appear poised to overcome the Soviet defenses and continue moving east toward Moscow.
A bomb disposal unit in northeast England, 14 October 1941.
Overall, it is another good day for the Wehrmacht. The panzers blast through to new gains. However, the strength of Soviet resistance after almost four months of constant fighting is troubling. The presence of fresh and well-armed Soviet troops at the gates of Moscow is unexpected, and the vast distances that must be covered just to be in a position to attack are causing greater wear and tear on the panzers than in the past. The temperatures around Moscow are right around freezing, and the first heavy snowfall at Leningrad turns the entire area white. The lack of anti-freeze for vehicles forces the Germans to make a hard choice: they can either drain their radiators at night and hope that their vehicles don't freeze solid, or run them periodically throughout the night to keep them warm and thereby waste fuel and give the enemy an extremely easy way to know where they are. For now, the problem is not acute, but it is getting worse every day as the temperature drops.
Partisans: The partisan threat in the Soviet Union remains fairly muted as the panzers appear poised for victory. However, the rapid German advance has left many bypassed Red Army formations intact in between the roads. Today, the Germans begin Operation Karlsbad to pacify the region between Smolensk and Minsk in the vicinity of Orsha and Vitebsk and along the Berezina River. These Soviet units, some of which include tanks and airplanes, are no match for a determined German offensive, but the Germans front is far to the east and focused on Moscow, not Orsha. Partisan operations prove extremely difficult because the Wehrmacht simply doesn't have the spare infantry to enclose large areas under partisan control. Still, the attempt must be made, and Operation Karlsbad is just the first of many anti-partisan operations that usually achieve little but must be attempted due to the vulnerability of German supply lines.
HMS Syrtis (P241). Laid down: 14 October 1941 Launched: February 4, 1943. Commissioned: 23 April 1943. Sunk March 28, 1944.
Original caption: “Hiroshi Hamaya photographing the tank corps in Chiba, September 30, 1941. ” Hamaya was a Japanese photographer, perhaps the most famous one of World War II. He passed away in 1999.
Eastern Front: On 30 September 1941, the Wehrmacht begins its great drive on Moscow. With the codename Operation Typhoon (Unternehmen Taifun), this attack is viewed by many in the German Army as the rightful focus of Operation Barbarossa. After much hesitation, and only when it appeared that the other two main objectives of the invasion, Leningrad and Kyiv, were in hand, Hitler finally agreed. Reinforced by strong units from both Army Group North and Army Group South, Army Group Center under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock now has to race against the changing seasons to accomplish the key objective of the campaign during 1941.
A member of a German machine gun squad sometime during the opening stages of Operation Typhoon ca. 30 September 1941.
Field Marshal von Bock disposes of 70 divisions for Operation Typhoon and it begins two days earlier than previously scheduled. General Heinz Guderian's Panzer Group 2 has finished the conquest of Kyiv earlier than some had expected, and now it has reoriented itself to attack in the opposite direction - to the northeast - in a matter of days. While recent reports suggest that Guderian's panzer forces are only at 20% of pre-war effectiveness, they face a Red Army that just lost almost a million troops in the fighting at Kyiv. There isn't an army in the world that can just shrug off the loss of a million men along with their leaders and equipment and the economic resources of a major city... or is there.
Somewhat ironically on a day that the Germans launch their "final" offensive on Moscow, the outside world is being reassured that the Red Army holds the initiative. Of course, note the much smaller headline, "Report Reds are Set Back in The Ukraine," which is a classic understatement considering the recent loss of Kiev. This is the Piqua (Ohio) Daily Call of 30 September 1941.
While the Red Army has been greatly weakened, there are several factors that count in its favor. For one, while the weather remains good for campaigning, that won't be the case for much longer. The German troops have no experience with the Russian Rasputitsa or rainy season, but it is just around the corner. While the Germans find the ubiquitous peasant carts, or Panjes, somewhat odd-looking with their giant wheels and watertight construction like boats, they are built like that to survive the twice-yearly Rasputitsa. The German trucks are not built for those conditions, which should begin to appear within about a month or even less.
A 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun covers a road as troops pass by in coaches during Exercise 'Bumper', 30 September 1941.
Another Soviet advantage is that master spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo has assured Joseph Stalin that the Japanese are not interested in attacking the Soviet Union. This allows him to pull seven fresh Siberian Divisions west to the defense of Moscow. It will take time to get them through four or five time zones to Moscow, but they are experts at winter warfare and accomplished skiers. The lengthening German supply lines over deteriorating railroads and dirt roads, their worn equipment from three months of constant battle, and heavy losses also blunt the Wehrmacht's effort.
Japanese munitions workers inspecting empty shells in a factory in Japan on September 30, 1941.
Still, despite all the issues, it is not too late in the season to get started. General Guderian's panzers head east at 06:35. They achieve surprise, as the Soviets expect them to take longer to digest Kyiv (this may be in part because the attack starts earlier than OKH planned, and the Soviets may know this from intelligence sources). Two panzer corps lead the attack, followed by infantry and motorized divisions. Panzer Group 2 heads back to the northeast and heads toward Moscow without regard to its flanks. The panzers smash through five Soviet divisions of Major General’s Arkadii Ermakov’s operational group (three infantry, two cavalry, and two tank brigades) at Glukhov, then open a wedge into Soviet 13th Army under front commander Lieutenant General Yeremenko (Eremenko).
A victim of the Babi Yar massacre, Velvele Valentin Pinkert, which concludes today with over 30,000 people dead (Yad Vashem Photo Archives 5027/461).
While all seems rosy for the Germans, they have some unpleasant surprises. The Soviets use their new Katyusha rockets against the 3rd Panzer Division with good effect, though they are perhaps most effective now for their surprise value. In addition, the Soviets have trained dogs laden with explosives to run under German tanks, where they explode.
Many panzers are stopped by virtually undetectable antitank mines in wooden cases. The Germans, however, make good ground on the first day of the offensive, covering over ten miles. Everything is going according to plan, and the Germans plan to encircle Yeremenko's forces by closing a pocket at Bryansk. It is to be another giant battle of annihilation, and the Germans are confident that they will soon be chasing the fleeing remnants of the Red Army back toward Moscow.
Pic magazine, 30 September 1941, has the headline, "What Lindbergh's Home Town Thinks of Him." Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh has spent the year giving speeches for the America First Committee which urge the United States to stay out of the "European war."
A Panzer.Kampfwagen III on 8 August 1941 near Kiestinki.
Eastern Front: In a little-known and sketchy incident, both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini come very close to death at the hands of one or more Soviet soldiers on 8 August 1941 - if some unverified accounts are to believed. It is possible that Hitler comes closer to an armed and unsubdued Soviet soldier today than he does at any other point while he is alive - and the incident receives no attention at all. Why and how this happens requires a little explaining.
The Germans captured Brest Fortress back near the border with Poland on 29 June. According to some accounts, the fortress held out for another month, but that is contradicted by the evidence. The Wehrmacht's 45th Infantry Division (Austrian) which subdued the fortress then moved east to join the general offensive by 2 July. Virtually all sources agree that Brest Fortress was solidly in German hands by the end of July, if not in June.
However, Brest Fortress was in ruins after multiple Luftwaffe raids and days of tank and artillery fire. There were lots of bombed-out areas that made good hiding places - collapsed rooms and the like. Apparently, one or more Soviet soldiers remained hidden in the ruins, undetected by the occupying Germans, long past the surrender in June (or July, if you like). There is an inscription on the fortress walls that is dated 7 July 1941 ("I'm dying but I won't surrender. Farewell, Motherland. 20.VII.41"), presumably made by a trapped and uncaptured Soviet soldier. So, there is proof of Soviet resistance extending into July, at least.
At this point, the story gets sketchy. Major Pyotr Gavrilov, later decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union as if to stamp certainty on the later presence of unsubdued Soviet defenders, reportedly (everything about the details is uncertain) is captured only on 23 or 24 July (accounts vary on the exact date). That may be the end of Soviet resistance - but maybe not. Some believe that at least one Soviet soldier remains hidden even longer. And that's where Hitler and Mussolini (literally and figuratively) come in.
Adolf Hitler (center, in trench coat) and Benito Mussolini stroll through Brest Fortress, 8 August 1941.
After visiting the headquarters of Army Group Center and South on 6 and 7 August, respectively, Hitler decides to lead his fellow dictator on a tour of significant locations in the rear. It is a sort of sightseeing tour, designed to impress Mussolini with the mighty destructive power of the Wehrmacht. Today, 8 August 1941, the pair decide to visit Brest Fortress, which has received a great deal of attention in the international press during the first month of Operation Barbarossa. They come attended by the usual heavy security, walk through the fortress, and then leave.
Here is where the two stories intertwine. According to some accounts, only today are the final armed Soviet defenders rooted out of the bombed-out ruins of Brest Fortress. As noted, this coincides with Hitler's visit. Given Hitler's predilection for walking ahead of most of those accompanying him (as evidenced by photos of such walk-throughs by Hitler, including the one above), it is not beyond the realm of possibility that one of those hidden Soviet soldiers could have had a clear sight and gotten off a lucky shot at just the right moment. This would have altered history for both Germany and Italy and, really, the entire world.
But that doesn't happen. Hitler and Mussolini visit and then leave unharmed. And, the course of World War II continues on toward its inevitable conclusion.
Colonel-General Georg Lindemann (left), commander of German L Army Corps in 18th Army in Army Group North, 8 August 1941 (Gregor, Federal Archive, Bild 101I-212-0206-30).
In the Far North sector, The Finns consolidate their new holds on Kestenga and the northern shore of Lake Ladoga. Finnish Group J of 6th Division of III Corps (a reinforced regiment) Continues pursuing the retreating Soviets east past Kestenga. A good road and a railway line lead directly to the Murmansk railway a few dozen miles away, and prospects appear good for cutting that line and further isolating the Soviets from the West. The Soviets are frantically directing troops to Loukhi on the railway line, but there are few spare units to be found.
In the Army Group North sector, the Germans open an offensive against the Soviet Luga River defensive line. German 1 Panzer Division (Lieutenant General Friedrich Kirchner) and 6 Panzer Division (Major General Franz Landgraf) battle Soviet 111th and 125th Rifle Divisions. Other German troops in 41 and 38 Corps advance to attempt to cut the Narva-Leningrad railroad.
In the Army Group Center sector, German XXIV Corps (General of Panzer Troops Geyr von Schweppenburg) eliminates a Soviet pocket at Roslavl and take 38,000 prisoners. The German 3rd Panzer Division (Lieutenant General Model) complains that it has to wait too long for supplies to arrive on the overburdened railroads.
A captured Soviet General of the Soviet 6th Army (Lt. General Ivan N. Musychenko) is interrogated near Uman, 8 August 1941. (Hübner, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1975-086-05A)
In the Army Group South sector, Soviet resistance at Uman ends. About 103,000 captured Soviet troops, the commanders of the 6th and 12th armies, four corps commanders, and 11 division commanders are among those waiting to be processed and sent to POW camps. General von Kleist redirects his Panzer Group 1 north toward Kieve to support Sixth Arm and form a pincer envelopment by meeting Guderian's Panzer Group 2 advancing from the north.
It is day three of the Romanian investment of the Soviet-held port of Odesa. The Romanian 4th Army gradually extends its line to form a solid line around the city. Some sources claim that today is the real start of the Siege of Odessa and not 5 August. The surrender at Uman further isolates Odessa and makes any kind of relief increasingly unlikely.
The RAF has been having difficulty in making accurate bombing attacks. This is due to many factors, including poor weather, crew fatigue, and German air defenses. One such reason is excellent German camouflage, as illustrated in these comparison photos of Hamburg. While it looks at first glance as if the photos are taken at completely different places, in fact, they are of the same place in Hamburg altered by means of floating decoys to look completely different.
European Air Operations: Activity is minimal during the day. After dark, RAF Bomber Command mounts two main operations against Kiel and Hamburg. The results of these raids suggest that the RAF may not have an accurate picture of the actual results it is producing.
The RAF sends 50 Hampden and 4 Whitley bombers to attack the submarine base at Kiel. It loses 2 Hampdens and one Whitley. The planes encounter heavy Flak. The bombs kill 13 people, including 11 Italian "guest workers" at a farm outside Kiel. German sources indicate that bombing accuracy is poor, which also is suggested by the fact that most of the casualties occur outside of Kiel in a rural area. However, the RAF's weekly summary report describes the attack thusly:
Excellent weather over Kiel on the [8th] enabled 88 aircraft accurately to bomb the’ Deutsche Werke Shipyards. Of the 104 tons of H.E. bombs and 4,836 incendiaries released, a number fell directly in the centre of the target, starting many fires; a particularly large fire was also observed on the south side of the city.
The discrepancy between ground sources and the RAF is unexplainable. However, a hint as to what is going on may be gleaned from the fact that the RAF soon will decide (with the Butts Report) that bombing accuracy is extremely poor, with most attacks failing to come within miles of the intended target.
The RAF sends 44 Wellingtons to attack the railway and shipping yards at Hamburg. One plane fails to return. Visibility is poor and few planes are able to attack. The RAF reports this attack as follow:
At Hamburg, however, on the same night, weather was bad and identification of objectives was almost impossible; except for bombbursts and fires, no results were observed.
There are five deaths and 8 injured at Hamburg, with 20 people made homeless. While the RAF believes that the Kiel raid was much more accurate than the Hamburg raid, in fact, more people are killed at Hamburg than within Kiel itself.
The RAF also sends seven Hampdens without loss to lay mines in the Frisian Islands, off Kiel, and in the Norwegian fjords.
Questioning of the Russian Lieutenant-General Ivan N. Musychenko (center), captured during the fighting at Uman, by officers of the Wehrmacht, 8 August 1941. (Hübner, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1992-081-13A).
Battle of the Baltic: The RAF bombs and damages 1065-ton Swedish freighter Venersborg in the Great Belt at the entrance to the Baltic. The Venersborg is towed to a Danish port.
The RAF bombs and sinks 2546-ton Danish freighter Venus at the mouth of the Schlei River off Schleswig-Holstein.
The Luftwaffe (Ju-88 aircraft of KGR.806) bombs and sinks Soviet Izyaslav-class destroyer Karl Marx in Loksa Bay near the Estonian capital of Tallinn (Reval).
Soviet destroyers Statny and Surovy park offshore in Moon Sound and shell German coastal battery Markgraf.
Soviet patrol vessel No. 410 and auxiliary minesweeper No. 76 are lost today from unknown causes, perhaps scuttling to avoid German capture.
German minelayers lay minefields D.10 to D.30 and Finnish minelayers lay minefields F-18 to F-22 in the Gulf of Finland.
Raketen-Jagdflugzeug (rocket fighter) Messerschmitt Me 163 A-V4 "Komet" (Kennung KE+SW) at its airfield Flugfeld, ca. 8 August 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1972-058-62).
Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 202-ton British fishing trawler Ocean Victor off Iceland. All 13 crew on the Ocean Victor perish. There is some dispute about this incident, as there is a possibility that U-206 (ObltzS Herbert Opitz) sinks the Ocean Victor on 9 August.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks British freighter Cordene in the North Sea. The ship is traveling with Convoy FN-503 when it is attacked. Everyone survives.
The Luftwaffe bombs Royal Navy minesweeper Selkirk and scores a near-miss. No leaks develop, so the minesweeper stays in service.
Convoy WS-8C (Winston Special) departs from the Clyde and heads to Scapa Flow as part of Operation Leapfrog. This is a scheduled operation to seize the Azores Islands. There are numerous landing ships, oilers, and freighters escorted by eight destroyers.
Royal Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Coverley (Lt. Robert R. Taylor) is commissioned and boom defense vessel Barbridge launched.
Canadian minesweepers HMCS Ganonque (Lt. Edward M. More) and Nipigon (Lt. Commander Clarence A. King) are commissioned.
U-627 is laid down.
HMS Thunderbolt.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Famagusta, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues when Royal Navy sloop Flamingo departs Port Saudi with 6676-ton transport Salamaua heading for Famagusta.
RAF Fulmar bombers based on Malta bomb Gerbini airfield on Malta. This raid causes fires at the airfield and apparently causes enough damage to prevent the Italian Regia Aeronautica from attacking Malta during the night.
RAF bombers attack the Corinth Canal.
The Luftwaffe bombs Ismailia, Port Said, and Suez during the night.
An Axis convoy of four freighters and four destroyers departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt arrives in Malta carrying aviation fuel.
Battle of the Black Sea: The Russian Danube Flotilla supports the Red Army's withdrawal past the Bug River Delta from today through 12 August.
Battle of the Indian Ocean: Convoy BA-4 departs from Bombay bound for Aden.
The Walloon legion preparing to move to the East Front. In the center is Léon Degrelle. Brussels, August 8, 1941.
Partisans: Soviet Marshal Timoshenko, commanding the armies defending Moscow, issues a proclamation to all Soviet citizens behind enemy lines encouraging them to become partisans. He urges them to "wreak merciless vengeance on the enemy …. for the death of your children..." Given the style of the Wehrmacht's advance, which has been to drive east along the roads as fast as possible while bypassing Soviet troops in the forests and marshes, there is a large reservoir of potential Soviet manpower hidden to the west of the "front."
In Montenegro, General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli orders the confiscation of insurgents' property. The revolt that began on 13 July still continues with little interference from the Italian occupation authorities. The Italians are assembling strong forces for a counter-offensive which include six divisions (Messina, Puglie, Pusteria, Taro, Venezia, and Cacciatori delle Alpi), two Blackshirts Legion (Nos. 108 and 164), two combat groups (I group of Cavalry Regiment Cavalleggeri Guide and Skanderbeg) and two battalions of the border guard. While this is a formidable force, the territory is very rugged and difficult to subdue.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt continues waiting aboard a cruiser at Placentia Bay for the arrival of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard a battleship.
US/Japanese Relations: Talks continue between the US State Department and Japanese Ambassador Nomura in DC. The Japanese now are proposing a summit meeting between President Roosevelt and Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye, but US Secretary of State Cordell Hull merely agrees to take the proposal under consideration.
Anticipating a siege, Soviet authorities have camouflaged a Bronze Horseman so that it cannot be seen by Luftwaffe bombers, August 8, 1941.
Soviet Military: The Russian Black Sea Fleet (Rear Admiral G. V. Zhukov) establishes a new task group to support army operations along the coast in the Black Sea. Part of the new task group is based at the besieged port of Odesa.
A big fan of artillery (he calls it the "Queen of battle"), Joseph Stalin orders the formation of eight Guards mortar regiments to operate Katyusha rocket launchers. These units will be placed with Guards formations, which are ordinary army units that have distinguished themselves in combat.
The Soviets officially form the Stavka of the Supreme High Command [Stavka Verkhnogo Glavnokomandovaniia - SVGK]. This replaces some previous temporary command arrangements and more closely resembles the command structure of previous wars. Stalin, of course, is the Supreme High Commander and uses the other members of the Stavka (such as General Georgy Zhukov) to submit ideas and act as troubleshooters to go to special Fronts and run special operations there.
German Military: At the top-secret research center at Peenemünde, a German island in the Baltic, the Ministry of Aviation makes the first powered test flight of the rocket-powered Me-163 V1 KE+SW. Test pilot Heini Dittmar flies the revolutionary plane with its Walter RI-203b engine and achieves speeds of over 800 km/hr. Dittmar will continue testing this prototype throughout the fall, flying it roughly once a day while it is being tested, and achieve speeds over 1000 km/hr.
The swept-wing plane is extremely dangerous to fly for several reasons, including the fact that its rocket engine only works for about seven minutes to get to altitude, and then the pilot must glide from extreme heights to make an unpowered landing - with only one opportunity to "stick the landing." In addition, the fuel is composed of two separate liquids that must be keep separated until ignition - and if for some reason they come into contact with each other, a massive explosion occurs.
Luftwaffe General Alexander Löhr was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report for the third time. This is a high honor, akin to receiving a medal in terms of prestige gained. It is especially significant because Löhr is not German, but Austrian.
Léon Degrelle in Brussels making a farewell speech before embarking with his fellow troops for the Eastern Front, 8 August 1941.
Belgian Military: Rexist leader Léon Degrelle, a deeply committed fascist and now a member of the Walloon legion of the Wehrmacht, accompanies the 800+ troops east toward the front. As Degrelle will be otherwise engaged for some time to come, he turns over the leadership of the Rexists to Victory Matthys. While some sources claim that Degrelle "leads" the Walloon legion into combat, in fact, he has no military experience and has joined as a private.
Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy commissions 30,000-ton liner Shokaku (Captain Jojima Takatsugu) as a special-purpose ship (it will be converted into an aircraft carrier). The IJN also begins the conversion of 9975-ton tanker Nippon Maru into a naval auxiliary tanker in Kobe and requisitions 6615-ton oiler Manju Maru.
US Government: Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. addresses the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of taxation. He portrays as "taxation as an essential part of national defense." To do this, Morgenthau argues, taxation must be extended "to lower incomes." Morgenthau proposes that certain "discriminations" in the tax code be eliminated to make this "extension downward" more palatable, including removing deductions for oil depletion and eliminating certain provisions that are favorable to married couples.
Yugoslavia: The country officially is dissolved, and is taken over largely by Italy.
China: The Japanese continue their intensified air assault on the Nationalist capital at Chungking.
Following a recent order of the occupation authorities to turn in all radios, a Jewish woman is seen taking her radio into a police station on 8 August 1941 (Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris).
Holocaust: In the Netherlands, the "Liro" bank (Lippmann, Rosenthal, and Co.) issues a decree requiring Jews to register all assets and property. Jews also must turn over all foreign currency and paper assets. They are allowed to retain a thousand guilders in cash.
Hungary also enacts anti-Jewish laws.
Germans and Lithuanians murder an unknown number of Jews in the town of Zeimel. A plaque is later erected in the Chamber of the Holocaust at Mount Zion which reads:
For an everlasting remembrance. For the martyrs of the Zeimel Community (Lithuania) who were annihilated by the Germans and their Lithuanian collaborators (may their names be erased) on the 8th day of August 1941. Remembrance Day 15 Av 5701. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life. [Signed]The Emigrants of Zeimel in Israel and the Diaspora.
Thousands of Jews from Dvinsk, Latvia, are transported to the Pogulanka Forest and murdered.
American Homefront: Paramount Pictures releases "Wide Open Town," a Hopalong Cassidy film starring William Boyd and Russell Hayden. Evelyn Brent appears as a villainous saloon owner who develops feelings for Hopalong Cassidy, which ultimately dooms her corrupt regime in the town. A "wide-open town" is Wild West parlance meaning there is no sheriff.
MGM releases "Whistling in the Dark," a comedy directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, and Ann Rutherford. This becomes a very successful film about an actor in radio murder mysteries (Skelton) who gets involved in solving crimes. This film leads to two sequels, "Whistling in Dixie" (1942) and "Whistling in Brooklyn" (1943). Eve Arden also appears.
Bandleader Les Brown and his orchestra take advantage of the publicity engendered for New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio during his record 56-game hitting streak (which ended in July) and record "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio." Written by New York disk jockey Alan Courtney and songwriter turned Jehovah’s Witness Minister Ben Homer, singer Betty Bonney gives life to lyrics that recount DiMaggio's path to the record:
He tied the mark at forty-four
July the 1st you know
Since then he's hit a good twelve more
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio.
This is not the last time that DiMaggio will make an impact on the popular music scene, as in 1967 Simon & Garfunkel also make a famous reference to him in "Mrs. Robinson." "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" is not released until 10 November, the U.S. Marine Corps' birthday.
August 8, 1941 - A woman in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is trained by local police in the use of Thompson sub-machine guns.
Katyusha rockets, first used by the Red Army near Orsha on 14 July 1941.
Eastern Front: The spearheads of Army Group North reach the Luga River on 14 July 1941. The Luga is the last natural barrier before Leningrad. Leningrad is of top priority because the Finns are coming down on the other side, and linking up with them would free up a lot of formations. However, the real action is in the south, where a major battle appears to be shaping up around Kyiv.
In the Far North Sector, German General Dietl's attempt to get the advance toward Murmansk moving again fails as the Soviets land the 325th Rifle Regiment at the Bay of Litsa for a counterattack against German Army of Norway. Further south, however, the Finns continue making progress in Karelia. Their Army of Karelia takes the important road junction of Loimola and Muanto northeast of Lake Ladoga, sending the defending Soviet 7th Army and 23rd Army reeling back toward the lake. With the Wehrmacht advancing toward Leningrad swiftly from the southwest, Soviet forces in Karelia stand a good chance of being cut off.
In the Army Group North sector, German commandos of the Brandenburg special forces unit don Red Army and drive up in captured Soviet trucks in a daring operation to capture twin bridges at Porechye over the Luga River. Soviet Luga Operational Group counterattacks but cannot dislodge the Germans. German 6th Panzer Division takes a bridgehead over the Narva River. Soviet 11th Army, which has under command 41st and 22nd Rifle Corps and the 1st Mechanized Corps, counterattacks at Soltsy after Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group takes it. General Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group advances into the Lake Peipus area, while General von Manstein attacks toward Novgorod.
In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets deploy an experimental battery of seven Katyusha mobile rocket launchers for the first time near Orsha/Smolensk in Vitebsk Province. The goal is to recapture a railway station with two Soviet ammunition trains. Under the command of Captain Ivan Flyorov, the unit fires two volleys of 16-rockets each. The barrage destroys the advancing German unit of tanks and armored vehicles and chases them out of the town, enabling the Soviet recapture of the trains. This successful introduction causes the Red Army to expand the use of the Katyushas and organize new Guards mortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions (Guards units are those that have been honored for some success on the battlefield and given extra units). This use of Katyusha rockets is a tonic to Soviet morale and ushers in an entirely new class of weapons - mobile rocket launchers.
General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group continues to roll eastward and, late in the day, reaches the outskirts of Smolensk. His troops report that some of the enemy troops are running away "in wild flight," according to General Halder's war diary, but also some Soviets are trying to hold their positions. A Soviet counterattack centered on Gomel begins on the south flank of the army group, apparently to relieve pressure on Smolensk. General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group heads toward a major Soviet troop concentration centered at Nevel.
In the Army Group South sector, a Soviet counterattack at Zvyagol gains steam. OKH sends the 25th Motorized Division and the SS Adolf Hitler Division to clear the Zvyagol/Zhytomyr highway. This is an important conduit to III Corps further up the road, which already is under pressure itself and running low on ammunition. Elsewhere on the front, the heavy fighting at Berdichev is dying down, with 11th Army having taken 2000 casualties. Outside of Kyiv, the 13th Infantry Division cuts railroad lines into Kyiv from the west and south.
Newsweek's 14 July 1941 cover story is "Moscow's Hope: Red Blasters vs. Panzers." Coincidentally, 14 July 1941 also is the day the Soviet Red Army first uses Katyusha rockets against the Wehrmacht.
Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Armistice of Saint-Jean d'Acre (also known as the "Convention of Acre") is signed at the Sidney Smith Barracks on the outskirts of the city of Acre. The armistice agreement provides that the 37,563 Vichy French military and civilian personnel in the Levant will be repatriated to France in eight convoys in August and September. The French can retain their side-arms and remain in their units, but their equipment is handed over to the British victors. The Armistice provides that local levees of Syrian and Lebanese volunteers, organized as the Special Troops of the Levant, remain free and simply revert to British command.
An exchange of prisoners also is required, but the British are upset when they learn that the French took many prisoners out of the country. Demanding their return, the British hold Vichy commander General Henri Dentz and 29 of his senior officers in detention in Palestine until they are handed over.
The Convention of Acre effectively ends the campaign in Syria and Lebanon. From a strategic perspective, this is a big win for the Allies because it ensures the safety of the oil route from Basra/Baghdad in Iraq to Haifa, Palestine. It also removes the threat of a concentric attack on Egypt should General Rommel's Afrika Korps make further advances.
Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.
European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 29 Blenheim bombers on a coastal sweep all the way from Cherbourg to the Netherlands. They wind up in a Circus mission at the Hazebrouck railway yards after attacking several targets along the way. Two Blenheims fail to return.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Bremen with 78 Wellingtons and 19 Whitleys. They have three main targets:
the Alstadt
the goods station
the shipyards
The attack is considered a success despite the fact that four Wellingtons fail to return, as returning crews report "the whole town was ablaze."
RAF Bomber Command also attacks Hannover with 85 aircraft, 44 Hampdens, 21 Wellingtons, 14 Halifaxes, and 6 Stirlings. The targets are a rubber plant and the city center. This attack also is considered a success, although two Wellingtons fail to return.
RAF Bomber Command also sends six Wellingtons to attack Rotterdam and 10 Hampdens on minelaying operations in the Frisian Islands and the Elbe.
RAF fighter ace James Lacey shoots down a Bf-109.
A Vickers Wellington Mk I captured by the Luftwaffe from the Royal Air Force’s 311 Sqn (KX-T, RAF Serial L7842). 311 Squadron was first formed at RAF Honington, Suffolk on 29 July 1940, equipped with Wellington I bombers and crewed mostly by Czechoslovakian aircrew who had escaped from Europe. This was before the aircraft received its traditional bright yellow underside paint used by the Luftwaffe’s Rechlin test facility. L7842 was delivered in mid-1940. It was lost on 6 February 1941 while in service with No. 311 (Czech) Squadron - it was forced to land during a mission to Boulogne and captured intact, as shown.
RAF figures indicate that Bomber Command loses its 1000th aircraft during the war. These break down as follows:
328 lost during daylight operations
672 lost during night operations
The number of sorties breaks down as follows:
40,346 sorties total
3,737 daytime sorties
32,609 night-time sorties
While more bombers have been lost during the night-time, the figures show a much different story for casualty rates:
4.2% casualty rate during daylight operations
2.1% casualty rate during night operations
The 40,346 sorties have dropped a total of 28,642 bombs dropped.
Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Morosini torpedoes and sinks 5358-ton British freighter Rupert De Larrinaga in the Azores southeast of Ponta Delgada. There are 44-45 survivors, picked up by passing 6382-ton Spanish tanker Campeche.
Italian submarine Alessandro Malaspina torpedoes and sinks 3576-ton Greek freighter Nikoklis about 105 miles southwest of the Azores. There are 17 deaths.
The German 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla (S.26, 27, 28, 40, and 101) attacks a Soviet convoy off Ekholm, Finland without causing any damage.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1305-ton Swedish freighter Aspen 45 nautical miles (83 km) off Rotterdam/Ijmuiden. There are two deaths. Some accounts place this incident on 16 July.
British 5449-ton freighter Hannington Court catches fire about 9 miles south of Dyer's Island, South Africa, and is badly damaged. Later, because the drifting and abandoned ship is a navigational hazard, the Hannington Court is sunk by shellfire. There are two deaths.
Convoy OB-346 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.
Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) trawler HMS Quadrille is commissioned, submarine Simoon is laid down.
US submarine USS Herring is laid down, and the keel is laid for USCGC Storis.
Free French soldiers at Bethlehem French Hospital, 14 July 1941 (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection - Reproduction number: LC-DIG-matpc-21362).
Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Osiris torpedoes and damages 5293-ton Italian freighter Capo D'Orso in the Sicilian Strait northwest of Lampedusa.
The Luftwaffe torpedoes and sinks 3147-ton British freighter Brodwal in Beirut Roads off Beirut, Lebanon.
The Luftwaffe also torpedoes and sinks 2370-ton Vichy French freighter Lesbian at Beirut, Lebanon. Some sources say that the ship is intentionally scuttled due to the Armistice.
Junkers Ju-88 bombers based on Crete attack Suez, damaging ships and harbor infrastructure. British troopship Georgic of Convoy WS-9A (Winston Special) is hit and set afire. The ship drifts to the beach, entangling itself with landing ship Glenearn on the way, which also is badly damaged. There are 26 deaths. Glenearn later has to be towed to Bombay in August 1941, while Georgic is out of action until March 1943, when it arrives in England for repairs.
Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta runs supplies during the night along with British destroyer Hero. While tied up and unloading, an accident happens during which its hull is breached. It sails to Mersa Matruh anyway, where it undergoes temporary repairs and then heads to Alexandria.
An Axis convoy of five freighters departs Tripoli bound for Naples. The RAF sends Swordfish torpedo-bombers from Malta to attack, but they can't find the convoy.
At Malta, a Malta-based reconnaissance plane flown by Flight Officer Adrian Warburton is flying over Catania, Sicily on a routine reconnaissance flight when the Italians at an airfield mistake his plane for an Italian one. The ground crew flashes Warburton a green light to land on the field, so Warburton drops his wheels and pretends to make a landing approach. However, at the last second, he makes a strafing run on the planes parked along the runway.
Life Magazine, 14 July 1941, "Sand Sailing."
Battle of the Black Sea: The Red Air Force bombs and sinks 1201-ton Romanian bucket dredger Sir John Baldwin in the Danube Delta. She later is refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet makes a rendezvous with supply ship Anneliese Essberger.
Partisans: The uprising in Montenegro against Italian rule continues. Today, the rebels take Mojkovac, killing Italian gendarmes. The revolt (the 13 July Uprising) continues adding new supporters throughout the regime.
Applied Science: The MAUD Committee report, which states that an atomic bomb is feasible, finds its ways into the hands of Dr. Vannevar Bush, head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and Dr. James B. Conant, head of the National Defense Research Committee.
British papers, such as the 14 July 1941 News Chronicle, are full of news about the recent signing in Moscow of the Anglo/Soviet Pact.
German/Finnish Relations: General Halder notes in his war diary that General Erfurth has told him that Finnish leader Mannerheim is "showing a certain passive resistance against the idea of an operation east of Lake Ladoga." This is the first sign of Finnish reluctance to advance beyond what Finland considers to be its rightful historic lands and into Russia. "There are some misunderstandings, it seems," Halder concludes, noting that he has sent someone to "clear up the situation."
Japanese/Vichy French Relations: In Paris, Japanese Ambassador Kato asks Vice-Premier Darlan for French official recognition of the Japanese puppet regime in Nanking, China. Darlan vaguely replies that he will look into it. Kato also submits a list of Japanese demands for use of air and naval bases in southern French Indochina - which would come in handy for attacking Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Phillippines, and Singapore.
US Coast Guard Cutter Storis under construction at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company. "Storis" is a Scandinavian word meaning "Great Ice." With her keel laid on 14 July 1941, Storis is launched on 4 April 1942 and commissioned on 30 September 1942 as an ice patrol tender.
German/Japanese Relations: Hitler meets with Japanese Ambassador Oshima. As German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has been trying to do, Hitler asks Japan to attack Siberia (instead of attacking south) and suggests that the two countries could combine to isolate and subdue the United States. Japan, however, has no intention of attack Vladivostok, and Oshima politely indicates that to Ribbentrop.
German/Spanish Relations: Spanish General Agustin Munoz Grandes, the commander of the Spanish volunteer Blue Division, flies to Berlin for talks regarding the Wehrmacht's use of the Blue Division on the Eastern Front.
Time Magazine, July 14, 1941, | Vol. 38 No. 2. General Keitel on the cover, watched by the ghosts of Napoleon and the Kaiser (cover credit: Ernest Hamlin Baker). While the Allies do not know it, Keitel basically has been reduced to the status of Hitler's adjutant and does not control the Wehrmacht in the same fashion that those other leaders commanded their own militaries.
German Military: General Franz Halder, the OKH operations boss, is losing his patience with Fuhrer Headquarters. He writes in his war diary regarding back-and phone calls between the Wofschanze and the front commands:
Those futile telephone conversations continue until long past midnight; they only accomplish killing in field commands any desire to shoulder responsibility and waste everyone's time. The Fuhrer's eternal meddling in matters, the pattern of which he does not understand, are becoming more than anyone can stand.
Halder follows this with a brief note that another Fuhrer order has just arrived regarding troop strength.
Amon Göth is promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmführer.
Painter/sculptor Max Ernst discussing his entry to the United States at Ellis Island with US immigration officials. Standing to the left is Peggy Guggenheim, Ernst's future wife, who has helped Ernst to flee Europe.
British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech in Parliament which becomes known as the "Do your worst... and we shall do our best" speech. In it, he pays tributes to the "courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people" during the Blitz. He warns that the Blitz is not yet over, saying "We do not expect to hit without being hit back, and we intend with every week that passes to hit harder."
American Homefront: In a game against the Chicago White Sox in Comiskey Park, Chicago, New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio hits a single off of Sox pitcher Johnny Rigney. This extends his record hitting streak to 54 consecutive games.
Boston American, 14 July 1941. There were many false reports during World War II about Hitler jailing Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering - which did eventually come true, but not in 1941.
