Thursday 26 June 1941

German troops assault a burning Soviet village, 26 June 1941.

Eastern Front: Operation Barbarossa continues barrelling ahead on 26 June 1941. In the Army Group North sector, spearhead panzers reach Daugavpils and the Dvina River.

While Finland has declared war (the "Continuation War" of the "Winter War"), it is still preparing for its offensives towards Leningrad, the Svir River, and the Murmansk railway. The Germans in the far north of Finland - the German Army of Norway - also are preparing for operations toward Murmansk, but nothing major has begun yet.

However, the Soviet naval base at Hango in southern Finland is close at hand and a fairly easy target - if the Finns decide to mount a major effort. Hango, granted to the USSR under the armistice terms of the Winter War, is isolated both by land and by German control of the Baltic. However, the Soviet troops there are well-supplied and at this time they are determined to hold out.

In the Army Group North sector, the 1st Panzer Division and 36th Motorised Infantry Division of the XLI Panzer Corps and following infantry divisions slice through the rear of the Soviet mechanized corps and close an encirclement around Soviet 3rd Mechanised Corps (out of fuel) and the 2nd Tank Division.

Advance elements of LVI Panzer Corps (Brandenburg Division troops wearing Soviet uniforms) of General von Manstein's 4th Panzer Group seize two bridges at Daugavpils over the Dvina River, enabling the panzers to establish a bridgehead. This concludes the Battle of Raseiniai, a decisive German victory.

The Soviets are in the disarray, and the bridgehead is a major problem. General Kuznetsov is under orders (from Semyon Timoshenko) to defend the Dvina and begins to organize a counterattack to eliminate it using the 21st Mechanized Corps. However, this will take time to organize due to the chaotic state of supplies and troops behind Soviet lines. Adolf Hitler, however, is worried that the panzers are outrunning the infantry, so he orders a temporary halt to the advance.

Abandoned T-35 and T-26 Soviet tanks in June 1941.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviet Western Front is in disarray after a failed counterattack toward Grodno on the 25th. The Soviets are withdrawing toward Slonim and Minsk. The German 2nd (Guderian) and 3rd (Hoth) Panzer Groups aim toward a meeting near Minsk that they hope will bag huge Soviet forces. These Soviet forces struggling to avoid encirclement include General Boldin, deputy commanding officer of Soviet Western Front.

Brest Fortress continues to hold out behind the German lines. It is an important fortress because it controls the crossings of the Bug River and the Warsaw-Moscow railway and highway. In the evening, the Germans managed to capture most of the northern Kobrin fortification except for an installation known as the East Fort. The Soviet defenders refuse to surrender, so the Germans decide to destroy it using the Luftwaffe.

In the Army Group South sector, the Battle of Brody continues. The Germans continue advancing, but the Soviets launch several flank attacks to try to stop them. While the Soviets have many powerful forces in the area, their counterattacks suffer from a lack of coordination.

The 10th Tank Division has a savage day near Radekhiv, destroying 23 panzers at a cost of 13 KV and 12 BT-7 tanks. The 19th Mechanized Corps (Major General N.V. Feklenko) attacks from the north toward Dubno but comes up short. While there are heavy losses on both sides, these flank attacks do little to slow down the advancing panzers.

The most tactically significant battle of the day occurs when 8th Mechanized Corps attacks toward Brody–Berestechko. The 8th takes a column of the 11th Panzer Division advancing in a column by surprise and savages it. The Germans are reduced to using motorcycle troops of the 48th Panzer Corps against Soviet tanks. Soviet General Popel prepares to take advantage of this by preparing to it the rear of the 11th Panzer Division with his 300 tanks, but he is still assembling his forces when the day ends.

"Fierce Fighting on the Whole Front." Melbourne, Australia The Sun, 26 June 1941.

The Luftwaffe bombs Leningrad. This is one of the first raids, but Luftwaffe raids on Leningrad soon will become a daily occurrence. Hungarian Heinkel He 170s, flying as part of the I Long Range Reconnaissance Group, launch their first mission.

Near Daugavpils, Kommodore Werner Mölders downs two planes, a Soviet Pe-2, and an I-16. This raises his total number of victories to 77. Werner Mölders continues to be the leading air ace of the war at this time, with most of his victories against the RAF.

While flying a Fiesler Storch observation/transport plane, Hauptmann Lothar Keller of II./JG 3, a 20-victory Experten (ace), perishes. He is replaced as Gruppenkommandeur by Hauptmann Gordon Gollob.

The Red Air Force bombs Bucharest. Also, in a very controversial incident, two or three unidentified bombers bomb the Hungarian border town of Kassa (Kosice) and strafe a passenger train. The bombing of Kassa kills 20 and injures 41 (this previously was a part of Czechoslovakia), while 37 on the train also perish. In addition, there are hundreds of injured. The Hungarians assume that it is the Red Air Force, but it is just as likely that they are errant Luftwaffe bombers. Another theory is that it is a deliberate German false-flag operation, in which Luftwaffe pilots use captured Soviet planes to stage an "incident" that will provoke Hungary into declaring war on the USSR (which Hungary does on the 27th, using the Kassa bombing as a reason).

"Bren gun carriers manned by Indian troops outside Damascus, 26 June 1941. Note the wrecked Vichy French FT17 tank on the right, left by the retreating enemy." © IWM (E 3839).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: With the British in possession of Damascus, the Vichy French troops are consolidating their defenses around Beirut. The most consequential action occurs in the air, where a strafing run on Homs airfield by Tomahawks of 3 Squadron RAAF destroys five new Dewoitine D.520s of Fighter Squadron II/3 (Groupe de Chasse II/3) and cause damage to six others.

Lieutenant-General Lavarack, commanding operations in Syria and Lebanon, orders Major-General Allen of the 7th Australian Division to focus on the advance along the coast. The Vichy French Army is far from beaten, and their artillery maintains a fierce barrage. For the time being, a lull develops in ground operations as the Australian commanders ponder their next move.

The Royal Navy bombards Vichy French positions at Abey.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Cologne (51 bombers), Dusseldorf (44), and Kiel (41). During the day, RAF Fighter Command sends a Circus mission to the power station at Comines. However, thick haze forces the mission to abort.

During the Circus mission, RAF pilot James "Johnnie" Johnson gets a victory, downing a Bf-109.

Colonel Philibert Collet's Circassian Cavalry outside the railway station at Damascus, 26 June 1941.

Battle of the Baltic: The Soviets complete the withdrawal of their fleet from their bases at Liepāja, Ventspils, and Rīga. They have had to scuttle numerous ships (such as submarine M-83 scuttled at Liepaja today) that they are unable to move.

U-149 (Kptlt. Horst Höltring), a training boat of the 1st U-boat Flotilla based at Gdynia/Gotenhafen on its only patrol of the war, sinks 206-ton Soviet submarine M-99 (some sources say M-101 on 27 June) northwest of Dago Island.

Soviet submarine M-72 hits a mine and is damaged off Kronstadt. It makes it to port. The identities of all these ships - M-99, M-101, M-72 - is unclear from the sources.

Soviet warships lay mines in the Baltic and are attacked by German forces doing the same. A German S-boat torpedoes Soviet destroyer Storozhevoi in the Irben Strait. The destroyer makes it back to Leningrad. The S-boats, however, do sink Estonian freighter Lidaza.

Finnish vessels Vesihiisi and Iku-Turso lay mines off the Estonian coast.

U-576, a Type VIIC boat.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 275-ton Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMS Tranio in the Thames Estuary near No. 57 Buoy (Smith's Knoll). The ship is in tow at the time. There are no casualties.

Convoy OB-339 departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Convoy HX-135 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Euryalus is commissioned, corvette Sweetbriar and minesweeping trawler Eday are launched and minesweeper Horsham is laid down.

Canadian corvette HMCS Prescott (Lt. Henry A. Russell) is commissioned, while corvette Timmins is launched at Esquimalt BC and minesweepers Parrsborough and Rockhampton are launched.

Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen (previously HMS Scourge) is laid down.

U-453 (Kapitänleutnant Gert Hetschko) and U-576 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Dieter Heinicke) are commissioned, U-583 and U-584 are launched, and U-304 is laid down.

Rearming a Messerschmitt Bf.109E-7 of 7./JG 26. June 1941, North Africa. Note the "Schlageter" unit marking.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The situation on land is fairly quiet. The RAF raids Gazala.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Severn torpedoes and sinks 1292-ton Italian freighter Polinnia southeast of Ischia (south of Naples).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Utmost torpedoes and sinks 4080-ton Italian freighter Enrico Costa four miles off Cape Todaro (northern Sicily).

Force H of the Royal Navy, based at Gibraltar, begins another mission to supply aircraft to Malta. This is Operation Railway, and the aircraft are on aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal.

British troopship HMT Nieuw Amsterdam departs Suez bound for Durban. It carries the King of Greece and the royal family, other members of the Greek government, 1000 prisoners of war and their 75 guards, and 151 passengers.

Since the eastern Mediterranean has quieted down, battleships Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Warspite and numerous supporting vessels depart Alexandria for gunnery practice.

At Malta, there is a continuous bombing by the Italians over a five-hour period. The raid starts around 22:00 and lasts until around 03:00 the next morning. The residents of Malta consider these "nuisance" raids because they seem less intended to cause damage than to keep people awake by simply circling around Valletta.

"Passing out parade of newly trained merchant seamen. The Captain of HMS GORDON gives a parting address to the passing out draft." © IWM (A 4467).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Kormoran has a big day in the Bay of Bengal. First, it spots a darkened freighter that does not respond to a warning shot. Kormoran then opens fire and sinks 4153-ton Yugoslavian freighter Velebit. There are 17 survivors (two eventually succumb to their injuries), while 14 men perish. The Velebit actually doesn't sink right away, and 8 sailors who stay on it manage to keep the pumps working long enough for it to drift to a grounding on a nearby reef.
Kormoran then spots another ship. This one also ignores a warning shot, so Kormoran uses gunfire to sink 3472-ton Australian freighter Mareeba midway between Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are 26 deaths and the 25 survivors become prisoners of war (some sources say there the entire crew is saved, and it only numbers 48 people - ship records can be very sketchy at times). The Mareeba has enough time to get off a distress call, but nothing comes of it.

Australian freighter Mareeba, sunk on 26 June 1941 by German raider Kormoran.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet cruiser Voroshilov and accompanying destroyers bombard Constanta, which is being attacked by both sea and air. The Soviets blow up a Romanian ammunition train. However, they are chased off by the Royal Romanian Navy's coastal fortifications (Gruparea de artilerie de coasta Constanta, comprised of six batteries ranging in size from 150mm and 120mm down to 75mm) and Romanian destroyers Regina Maria and Marasti. German 28cm coastal battery "Tirpitz" aids in the defense.

Soviet destroyer Moskva is hit and sinks during the engagement, although which battery hit it and the effect of hitting a mine while withdrawing to Sevastopol has been debated ever since. Destroyer Kharkiv is damaged by a near miss when the Luftwaffe attacks, but makes it back to Sevastopol. Cruiser Voroshilov also hits a mine but also makes it back to port.

A fight takes place in the early morning hours on the Chilia branch of the Danube Delta, near the commune of Ceatalchioi which is known simply as the Action of 26 June 1941. Two Romanian pocket torpedo gunboats, V-1 and V-3 of the Romanian Danube Flotilla, take on three Soviet armored motor gunboats, which are there to lay mines. The Romanian commander of V-3 spots the Soviets and opens fire with his 47 mm gun. The middle of the three Soviet boats explodes, and the other two quickly retreat. One of the remaining Soviet boats hits a rock and is disabled, allowing the Romanians to capture it. This Soviet ship was repaired and commissioned in the Romanian Navy as V-7.

A Romanian CNLB-class riverboat of the type involved in the Action of 26 June 1941.

War Crimes: The Soviet NKVD takes a large but unknown number of prisoners from jails in Minsk to the Tsagelnya Forest and executes them. This is a well-known site, and after the conclusion of World War II a memorial will be erected with events held there every year.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Soviet/Finnish Relations: Soviet troops in Moscow seal the Finnish Embassy and disarm its guards. The Finnish staff is told to pack two suitcases immediately and then is taken into custody.

Anglo/Yugoslav Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets with the prime minister of the Yugoslavian government-in-exile.

Aerial photograph of Scorton airfield looking northwest, Scorton village is bottom right, 26 June 1941. Photograph from sortie number RAF/4F/UK653. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

Soviet Military: General Zhukov returns from an inspection tour of the front and meets with Premier Joseph Stalin and Generals Vatutine and Timoshenko. Stalin remains hidden from public view but retains control of the military via his place of preeminence on the Stavka.

Stalin is an unhappy man because of the military situation. In fact, he is so angry that he visits the General Staff headquarters twice during the day to vent. As usual, when he is unhappy, Stalin vents his wrath on subordinates. Today he recalls General Meretskov from Leningrad and arrests him. Meretskov is in for torture, during which he implicates other generals in a supposed anti-Stalin plot.

General Ivan Konev takes command of the Soviet 19th Army.

Spanish Military: Spain lives up to its commitment to provide troops to aid Operation Barbarossa by beginning to form its "Blue Division."

Italian Military: Leader Benito Mussolini announces plans to send an Italian expeditionary force to the Eastern Front.

Japanese Military: The Japanese Imperial Navy launches aircraft carrier Junyo. The Junyo is converted from a passenger liner.

US Military: Task Force 18 of the Atlantic Fleet forms out of the mixed Marine-Army I Corps (Provisional).

HMS Liverpool. "In dry dock at the Mare Island Navy Yard, 26 June 1941, for the repair of damage received in the Mediterranean Sea the previous October. The false bow had been fitted at Alexandria, Egypt, shortly after the cruiser was torpedoed." Naval History and Heritage Command NH 60379.

German Government: Adolf Hitler is in Rastenburg, East Prussia at his brand new Wolf's Lair headquarters. It is in a pine forest full of marshes and stagnant lakes that is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. On the plus side, the complex has a railway line that has been closed to through traffic but can be used when considered appropriate. Hitler is receiving constant reports from the front, but with everything going well has little to do.

However, Hitler takes care of some lingering business by issuing a "secret decree" that names his successor as Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering.

Norwegian Government: An advisor to Vidkun Quisling writes a letter to the leader suggesting that Slavic peoples should be removed from northern Russia because they "don't know how to make use of the land." The land, he writes, could be better used by Germanic peoples" (which he apparently believes includes Norwegians).

Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance photo of the Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad, showing a Sovietsky Soyuz-class battleship and a Chapayev-class cruiser under construction. 26 June 1941.

Andaman Islands: A powerful earthquake hits the largely uninhabited Andaman Islands.

Holocaust: At Jassy (Iasi), Romania, Romanian and German soldiers go from house to house in order to kill Jews. Some Jews are spared for the moment but put in cattle wagons in order to be taken to another location for eventual execution. The number of people executed is unknown, but could be as high as 12,000.

Italian Homefront: Artist Ettore Tito, famous for painting scenes of Venice, passes away in Venice at the age of 81.

German Homefront: The government cuts the meat ration to 14 ounces per week, but raises the artificial honey ration.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio goes hitless until the last out of the eighth inning in a game the Yankees are winning 3-1 in New York. However, when making an out virtually would ensure that his hitting streak ends, DiMaggio hits a double over third base and drives in a run. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 38 games.

Soviet destroyer Moskva, sunk off the Romanian coast on 26 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

Tuesday 24 June 1941

Staff Sergeant Eero Kinnunen and his Brewster 239 fighter (BW-352) of Squadron Lentolaivue/24 at Selänpää airfield, Kouvola, Finland. 24 June 1941 (colorized).

Eastern Front: Operation Barbarossa continues rolling eastward and northward on 24 June 1941. The day features various futile Soviet counterattacks that show convincingly that the Soviets do not even know where the advancing Germans are from one hour to the next. The Germans enter Kaunas (10th Army) and Vilnius (Panzer Group 3).

Army Group North beats off a powerful Soviet counterattack against 4th Panzer Group at the Battle of Raseiniai. Soviet Lieutenant-General Vasily Ivanovich Morozov takes his 11th Army back to Kaunas on the Niemen. The Soviet 8th Army also is taking a beating.

In Army Group Center, Soviet General Dmitry Pavlov orders his 6th and 11th Mechanized Corps and the 6th Cavalry Corps to attack toward Grodno to stop the panzers. The German 4th Army besieges Soviet defenders at Brest-Litovsk.

The German 3rd Panzer Group, however, already has passed through Grodno and is in Vilnius. Instead, the Soviets hit the following German infantry of V Army Corps of the German 9th Army, supported by Luftwaffe air attacks. This accomplishes nothing.

Children in a bomb shelter, Minsk, Byelorussia, 24 Jun 1941 (Russian International News Agency).

Army Grup South, led by 11th and 16th Panzer Divisions, begins the day 40 miles inside of Soviet territory. The 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions have reached the Styr River. German 17th Army takes Nemirov.

The Soviets under General Ivan Bagramyan attempt a counterattack at 04:00 today as part of the Battle of Brody but make no progress. The Soviet 22nd Mechanized Corps attacks toward Voinitsa, but the Germans make quick work of their tanks. Soviet armor and infantry are widely separated and it takes time to assemble them into a cohesive fighting force. The Soviets have powerful forces in the vicinity, but almost all are in the process of forming up today and make no attacks.

The Red Air Force attempts a raid against East Prussia. It accomplishes little. According to the German News Bureau:

An attempt by the Soviet air force on Tuesday morning to fly weak forces into East Prussia, has been frustrated by the German air defense. The enemy aircraft encountered such accurate flak fire that they were forced to turn around at once and to jettison their bombs over open country.

The Luftwaffe continues its own raids on Soviet airfields, destroying many planes on the ground. A large fraction of Soviet planes are obsolete, so their destruction is fairly routine for the experienced German pilots. The Luftwaffe bombs Moscow with 100 bombers after dark.

NY Times, 24 June 1941.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 25th Infantry Brigade recaptures Merdjayoun early today.

The Australian 2/14 Battalion tries to advance north from Jezzine. They are stopped cold in the hills north of town by Senegalese defenders who have excellent defensive positions.

The Vichy French make a stand at Jebel Mazar, a tall hill on the Damascus/Beirut road. They stop the British 16th Brigade advancing west from Damascus.

The Vichy French garrison at Palmyra continues its successful defense of the town and airfield. Arab auxiliaries, led by Arab Nationalist leader Fawzi el Kawakji, ambush a British supply convoy in conjunction with French armored cars.

New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Leander and destroyers Hasty and Jaguar park off the coast north of Beirut and shell Vichy French positions before dawn.

"British soldiers inspecting a captured German SdKfz 222 armored car, 24 June 1941." (© IWM (E 3776)).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Cologne (54 aircraft), Kiel (48 bombers), Dusseldorf (21 aircraft).

RAF Bomber Command sends Circus missions to the Thermal Power-Station at Comines. The formation is a success, with 7.5 tons of bombs dropped and the RAF claiming 9 kills, 7 probable kills and 5 damaged aircraft for the loss of two planes and pilots.

Battle of the Baltic: The Soviets scuttle more ships to avoid capture by the advancing Germans, all at Liepāja, Latvia:

• destroyer Lenin;
• submarine M-71
• submarine M-80
• submarine Ronis
• submarine S-1
• submarine Spidola
• torpedo boat TKA-27
• auxiliary gunboat Tunguska
• icebreaker Silach.

Events in the Baltic States ports are confused, with the Soviets hurriedly evacuating and partisans hot on their heels, so the exact dates when these scuttlings take place is uncertain.

Destroyed/abandoned Soviet tanks in western Ukraine, 24 June 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: A U-boat wolfpack begins attacking Convoy HX-133. It is passing Convoy OB-336 south of Greenland, which provides numerous targets within a small sector of the Atlantic. There are several stragglers from the convoy, which makes for easy targets. The action is confused, and who sunk which ships sometimes is not definite but is based on detailed analysis and guesswork.

U-203 (Kptlt. Rolf Mützelburg), on its first patrol out of Kiel, torpedoes and sinks 4956-ton British freighter Kinross of Convoy OB-336. Everyone survives. This is sometimes listed as happening on the 25th.

U-203 also torpedoes and sinks 4402-ton Norwegian freighter Solay of HX-133. All 32 aboard survive.

U-371 (Kptlt. Heinrich Driver), on its first patrol out of Kiel, torpedoes and sinks 4765-ton Norwegian freighter Vigrid. The Vigrid is a straggler from Convoy HX-133. There are 24 deaths, and 14 survivors (some sources say 21 survivors and 28 deaths) have to wait until 7 July before US destroyer Charles F. Hughes finds them.

U-651 (Kptlt. Peter Lohmeyer), on its first patrol out of Kiel, torpedoes and sinks 5297-ton British freighter Brockley Hill. The Brockley Hill is a straggler from Convoy HX-133. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 803-ton British freighter Levenwood off Tees Bay. The Levenwood is taken in tow and makes it to Hartlepool.

Convoy OG-66 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar, Convoy HG-66 departs from Gibraltar bound for Liverpool.

US minesweeper USS Sheldrake is laid down.

Someone having a bad day, Nemirow, 24-25 June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British forces at Alexandria have been conducting nightly supply missions to the embattled Australian garrison at Tobruk without too much trouble. Tonight, however, the Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 aircraft of II Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2, Luftwaffe) is waiting for the "Tobruk Express" about 20 miles (37 km) northeast of Tobruk. During the incessant attacks:

• The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages tanker Pass of Balmaha, which its crew abandons.
• The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks sloop HMS Auckland, with 34 deaths, 164 survivors (two die later), and 8 wounded.

The Pass of Balmaha is taken in tow by destroyer HMAS Waterhen and brought to Tobruk, where its fuel is unloaded. It is then taken back to Alexandria.

The Luftwaffe drops leaflets to the besieged Australians in Tobruk which read:

AUSSIES
After Crete disaster Anzac troops are now being ruthlessly sacrificed by England in Tobruch and Syria.
Turkey has concluded pact of friendship with Germany. England will shortly be driven out of the Mediterranean.
Offensive to relieve you totally smashed.
YOU CANNOT ESCAPE
Our dive bombers are waiting to sink your transports. Think of your future and your people at home. Come forward – show white flags and you will be out of danger!
SURRENDER!

Before dawn, Royal Navy submarine HMS Utmost lands some Commandos for a mission to destroy a railway line in Italy. The railway is used to bring supplies for shipments to North Africa. Two Commandos, Lt D R Schofield, Royal Fusiliers, and Lance Corporal F C Morgan, row ashore and place charges on the railway line. Then, they return to the waiting submarine. Unfortunately for their mission, their attempt to destroy a passing train fails when the charges fail to explode. Undeterred, the two men row ashore again and fix them. This time, they just blow up the tracks and return to the submarine without incident.

Turkish freighter Refah, previously torpedoed by an unidentified submarine (almost certainly a Royal Navy one), sinks. There are 168 deaths and 32 survivors.

Royal Navy battleship HMS Warspite, recently damaged by near misses that cause flooding, sails out of the Mediterranean for repairs. It is out of action until January 1942.

The Luftwaffe raids Benghazi and Tripoli.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet minesweeper T-208 Shkiv hits a mine and sinks at the Glotova Bank.

The siege of Brest fortress, June 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Kormoran, disguised as Japanese freighter Kinka Maru, approaches Madras to lay mines. However, the Germans notice another ship shadowing them. They take this to be a British auxiliary cruiser (it apparently is AMC Canton). However, the ship eventually disappears. Kormoran Captain Detmers decides not to take any chances and cancels the minelaying mission.

Battle of the Pacific: Captured whaler “Adjutant,” which now has a German prize crew, arrives in New Zealand waters for minelaying operations.

Propaganda: The Germans announce:

Since early Monday morning the Luftwaffe has continued its successful attacks on Soviet military airfields. Large numbers of Russian aircraft were destroyed on the first day of battle, and we can now report that a great many more aircraft have been shot down on the same day.

The Soviets paint a very different picture:

Our aerial forces have fought successfully to protect our towns and military installations. They have fought in the air and supported the counterattacks of the ground troops. In the course of the day 51 enemy aircraft were destroyed by our fighter planes and ground defenses. One enemy plane was forced to land at an airfield near Minsk.

Neither side provides many specifics about where their forces on the ground are.

Special Operations: Italian submarine Scire launches midget submarines off Malta. The intent is to penetrate Grand Harbour and attack shipping, but the attack fails.

Soviet/German Relations: The Soviets take the German embassy staff south to Kostroma-on-Volga and house them in a worker's settlement. Their destination is Turkey once arrangements are made for the safe conduct of Soviet embassy personnel from Berlin.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Anglo/Soviet Relations: Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden announces that he has reached a mutual aid agreement with the Soviets.

Original memorial erected to the victims of Einsatzgruppe A at Gargzdai/Garsden/Gorzdt on 24 June 1941 (courtesy of George Birman).

German/Spanish Relations: Hitler approves the use of a special "volunteer" Spanish formation on the Eastern Front. This becomes the famous Spanish Blue Division.

US/Soviet Relations: President Roosevelt is asked at a press conference what he intends to do about the Soviet Union. He promises to send aid to the Soviet Union, saying:

Of course we are going to give all the aid we possibly can to Russia.

It is unclear from this seemingly offhand response what the authorization for such aid would be, though presumably it would be included under Lend-Lease. Roosevelt also unfreezes about $40 million in Soviet assets.

Hungarian/Soviet Relations: Hungary breaks relations with the Soviet Union.

Slovakian/Soviet Relations: Slovakia declares war on the USSR.

German Military: The Wehrmacht begins recruiting volunteers in Denmark, while Spain begins soliciting volunteers (of which there are many) to join a division to fight with Germany on the eastern front.

Finnish Military: While not yet officially at war, the Finns continue laying mines in the Baltic. Finnish troops occupy the Aaland Islands.

Soviet Military: The Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Military District is renamed Soviet Northern Front. Its commander is General Popov. General Aleksei Antonov is appointed Chief of Staff, Southwestern Front.

US Military: In the Philippines, there is flooding at Nichols Airfield (which is not paved), so 3rd and 20th Pursuit Squadrons move to Clark Airfield. The US continues beefing up its presence as transport SS President Pierce arrives bringing 96 pilots.

Joseph Kennedy Jr. enlists in the US Naval Reserve.

IJN aircraft carrier Hiyō, launched 24 June 1941.

Japanese Military: The IJN launches aircraft carrier Hiryu, which has been converted from a passenger liner.

British Government: With war expenditures soaring, the British House of Commons votes for the second £1,000,000,000 war credit of the year.

Spain: There is strong support in Spain for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Large demonstrations take place in Madrid and other cities. Spanish Foreign Minister Ramón Serrano Suñer announces the formation of a Spanish volunteer division to serve beside the Wehrmacht in Russia. Volunteers rush to fill the 18,000 openings. Agustin Muñoz Guardes is selected as General commanding this "Spanish Blue Division."

Lithuania: The Lithuanian Activist Front forms a government, but not even the Germans recognize it.

China: The Japanese bomb Chungking (Chongqing).

German troops at Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania, 24 June 1941.

Holocaust: Einsatzgruppe A, following behind Army Group North, engages in the killing of about 800 Jews and 100 non-Jews in the vicinity of the Lithuanian border town of Gargzdai (called Gorzdt in Yiddish and Garsden in German). These liquidations may have occurred as early in the invasion as 22 June. The exterminations continue throughout the year.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a hit in the 8th inning against St. Louis Browns pitcher Bob Muncrief. This extends DiMaggio's club-record hitting streak to 36 games. It is a Yankees blowout (they win 9-1), and the at-bat is meaningless, so some (including Browns manager Luke Swewll) question Muncrief's decision to pitch to DiMaggio. Muncrief, who could have simply walked DiMaggio or hit him with a pitch and ended the streak, says after the game:

That wouldn't have been fair, to him or to me. Hell, he's the greatest ballplayer I've ever seen.

Future History: Charles Joseph Whitman is born in Lake Worth, Florida, US. He becomes the infamous "Texas Tower Sniper: on 1 August 1966 at the University of Texas in Austin. During his well-known shooting spree, Whitman (who in his suicide note claims to suffer from migraine headaches and at his autopsy is found to have a brain tumor) kills 16 people (including his wife and mother) and wounds 31 others. Eventually, after a lengthy standoff, the Austin police shoot Whitman dead. Whitman's murder spree adds a 17th victim in 2001 when someone wounded during the attack dies of his wounds.

German death card for Johann Wocherl, 24 June 1941, perished in Russia.

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

Wednesday 16 April 1941

Motorcyclists of Panzer Regiment 3 rolling toward the Platamon Railway tunnel. Things are going so smoothly that the lead motorcyclist appears to be enjoying a smoke (Jesse, Federal Archives).

Operation Marita/Operation 25: Things are going poorly for the Allies in the Balkans on 16 April 1941. The Yugoslav government - what there is left of it in the country, most of it already having fled to Greece - sues for peace. The two sides arrange a meeting to discuss terms, but the Yugoslav representative is considered by the Germans to have insufficient authority to sign such a document. They send him back to Belgrade with a draft and continue their operations.

Croatian strongman (and Mussolini pawn) Ante Pavelic assumes power over the Independent State of Croatia.

General Henry Maitland Wilson, commander of the British forces in Greece, meets with Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos at Lamia. He tells Papagos that the British are retreating to Thermopylae. This effectively cedes all of northern and central Greece to the Wehrmacht.

The British retrograde move to the south is complicated. Australian Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, in charge of the ANZAC units which comprise the bulk of the British forces, has only a few good north/south roads at his disposal. General Freyberg commands the New Zealand Division which holds the center of the withdrawal, while Australian General Mackey's troops guard the flanks. The first switch position is a line running through the city of Larissa, the main communications center in the region. The Australians and New Zealanders have to get to this new line in good order - and before the Germans do.

Ante Pavelić at a ceremony with Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac in Zagreb, 16 April 1941.

The Germans of Kampfgruppe (Hermann) Balck are not giving Blamey much time. They are heading south at lightning speed. It is Blitzkrieg at its ultimate, motorcyclists leading the way, followed by the panzers. They are following an open, undefended road - but actually, it's not a road at all, but a single-track coastal railway.

The coast railway line, however, is interrupted at Platamon, north of Larissa, by a large ridge on which sits Platamonas Castle. Under the ridge is a convenient tunnel (there are new, larger tunnels nearby, but this is a one-track tunnel). Wehrmacht motorcyclists have been using the railway tracks on the drive south from Katerini like a road, and, once past the Platamon ridge, the railway and nearby roads lead south all the way to Athens. The Germans intend to roll through the tunnel to continue the journey south on the tracks.

Unfortunately for the Germans, however, the New Zealand 21st Battalion has been in position there since the end of March and is blocking the tunnel. The Germans halted before the New Zealanders late on the 15th after making a perfunctory attack, but today the Germans make a determined effort.

Basically, the Germans are trying to seize a shortcut that would give them a quick route to Larissa and the main roads south that the city controls. Without it, they would have to make a circuitous journey through a gorge to the west between two mountains (Ossa Oros and Olympus Oros) or surmount the coastal mountain that the tunnel cuts through. The tunnel is critical for the bulk of the division's panzers to continue on this route in any timely fashion. If the Germans can take the tunnel, the short road to Larissa and Athens lies open, with the prospect of trapping huge Allied formations still evacuating from the north.


Exterior view of the old Platamon railway tunnel. (This photo of Platamonas Castle is courtesy of TripAdvisor).

At dawn, the German Kradschützen Truppen-Bataillon 2 (Motorcycle Battalion 2) of the 3rd Panzer Division attacks, preceded by mortar fire. The Germans make good progress, and around 09:00 about 50 panzers (PzKpfw IIs) arrive and start pounding the New Zealand positions. Some of the New Zealanders on the flanks withdraw, while others on the main hill hold firm.

The New Zealanders are overwhelmed by 10:15, when Lieutenant Colonel N. Macky, in charge of the 21st Battalion, issues the order to retreat. They block the tunnel - it is not completely destroyed, but demolished enough to prevent a quick pursuit. In one version of the battle, they blow explosive charges to seal it; in another, they disable a panzer in the tunnel, blocking it. Either way, the Germans can't use the tunnel quickly enough for it to be practical. Their German motorcyclists suffer 25% casualties during the attack and their unit is pulled out of the line.

Without the Platamon tunnel, the men of the I,/Panzer Regiment 3 have a decision to make: go west, or try to get over the ridge. By mid-day, they begin across the ridge on a narrow mule track. However, it is very rough going. The Panzer IIs are narrower than Panzer IIIs and would make it over the ridge easier, but the Panzer IIs were all disabled during the morning attack. The Panzer IIIs start across but begin losing their tracks on the uneven and rocky surface or experience other issues with the slope and narrow path. Every time a panzer is disabled, it stops the entire column. Frustrated, the tankers try to go off-road - two get stuck in a swamp and a third runs into a minefield. After losing several tanks, the Germans late in the day finally clear the mule track, sweep it for mines, and get their tanks across - a process that would have taken fifteen minutes through the tunnel.

The New Zealand troops, meanwhile, use a ferry to cross a nearby river in a gorge. They then sink the ferry and take up defensive positions in the gorge.

Elsewhere, the Italians advancing down the Yugoslav coast occupy Split. They also make small gains in Albania as the Greeks pull out. The German 6th Mountain Division, taking the slow route, advances along mountain paths on Mount Olympos.

The old Platamon railway tunnel (Katarzyna DJ via Skyscrapercity.com).

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4359 ton Greek freighter Memas at Chalkis, Greece.

A Yugoslavian submarine, the Nebojsa, and two torpedo boats, the Kajmakcalan and Durmitor, leave port to escape the advancing Germans.

Royal Navy armed boarding vessel HMS Chakla runs aground in stormy weather, but later is towed off by net layer HMS Protector.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe on the Channel Front has entered one of its active phases again. So far in 1941, it has had long spells of inactivity, followed by bursts of heavy raids. Last night, the main target was Belfast (that raid only ends at 05:00 today), and tonight it is London.

There is another reason for the ferocity, indeed savagery, of tonight's raid, and it has nothing to do with London specifically. Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering send in the bombers in seemingly endless waves because of the Paris Opera House. One of the favored forms of amusement for the Third Reich's leaders is in the opera - it is not only their preferred form of music but a major form of socializing outside of the work environment. However, the RAF threw a spanner in the works with their raid on Berlin of 9 April which devastated the Paris Opera House. Hitler has ordered the building rebuilt and London flattened in reprisal.

About 300 bombers participate, and they each fly multiple sorties. This is one of the biggest raids of the entire Blitz, rivaling the one at the end of December and some of the others from 1940. The bombers make two and even sometimes three sorties, for a total of 685 payloads dropped over the city. The East End takes tremendous damage. This is probably not coincidental, as it plays to Hitler's pet theory that he can stir up class resentment against the "Plutocrats" by targeting certain districts. British night air defenses are getting better, and the Luftwaffe loses half a dozen bombers. There is no question that tonight's raid is one of the climaxes of the Blitz, perhaps not a turning point but with subtle hints of change in the air.

In a sense, Hitler achieves his aim of revenge in one grisly respect. Among the casualties of the night's raid is Al Bowlly, a Mozambican-born South African/British music hall performer. Thus, both sides are deprived of musical entertainment as a result of the initial RAF raid.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in London during the attack. He hears the bombers overhead but believes at first that they are heading further west. He notes that "a dozen large bombs fell within 100 yards" of his hotel. The room he is in is damaged, with the windows and door blown in. He notes that "The sky beyond the Palace was red with fire and smoke, the sky was flashing like lightning." At 05:00 on the 17th, he surveys the damage, and finds that "buildings were blazing" on Brook Street and that "gas mains blazed in Piccadilly." He wonders: "How can it go on for years?"

RAF Bomber Command continues its mission of attacking Axis shipping. Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 110 Squadron of No. 2 Group bomb Heligoland, while other Blenheims of No. 107 Squadron spot a submarine off Prestkjac, Norway and get a couple of near misses. Other similar operations are made, and overall, the RAF loses a couple of bombers. The RAF also conducts a Circus sweep over Berck-sur-Mer.

Kommodore Werner Mölders of Stab./JG 51 shoots down two Hurricanes of RAF No. 601 Squadron in a Bf 109F. This gives him 65 claims and opens some ground between him and No. 2 Adolf Galland.

British railway workers at the main London terminal of Southern Railway (photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images).

Battle of the Atlantic: During the April 15/16 night bombing of Belfast, aircraft carrier HMS Furious is lightly damaged. The damage does not interfere with operations.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks three ships, 1151-ton British freighter Angelesea Rose, 1548 ton British freighter Amiens and 1167 ton Norwegian freighter Bolette, north of St. Ives at the mouth of the Bristol Channel. There are eight deaths on the Amiens.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2826-ton Norwegian freighter Favorit south of the Faroe Islands. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 159-ton British trawler King Athelstan near Ballinskelligs, Ireland. The skipper beaches the ship, but it later floats off after minor repairs and makes it to port.

The Luftwaffe damages British 5379-ton freighter Swedru in the Northwest Approaches. There are 24 deaths, including 7 passengers. The ship remains afloat as a derelict and eventually has to be sunk by gunfire.

German raider Kormoran is southwest of the Azores, on her way back to Germany, when the lookouts spot the 7739-ton Swedish iron ore carrier Sir Ernest Cassel. The Kormoran takes the crew aboard as guests/POWs depending on their nationality, then scuttles Sir Ernest Cassel. This is the final hostile encounter by the Kormoran on its first cruise, which began on 6 June 1940.

British 1578 ton collier Parnu collides with freighter Fluor about a dozen miles off Cape Wrath, Scotland. The Parnu eventually sinks.

The Kriegsmarine supply network remains active in the Atlantic, as tanker Nordmark refuels Italian submarines Archimede, Ferraris, and Gugliemotti.

Convoy OB 311 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 121 departs from Halifax.

The 52nd Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery crew of a British 4.5-inch anti-aircraft gun unpack ammunition, 16 April 1941 (© IWM (H 8917))

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British have come to the realization that the battle for North Africa will be decided at sea. Specifically, the key area is the convoy route from Naples to Tripoli. Accordingly, they are positioning submarines in this area, and also sending surface patrols there at night.

Captain P.J. Mack is leading the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, composed of HMS Janus, Jervis, Mohawk, and Nubian and based in Malta, on a more-or-less routine patrol off Tunisia. His lookouts spot an Italian/German convoy commanded by Commander Pietro de Cristofaro. It is composed of five freighters and escorted by three Italian destroyers. Mack attacks the convoy (called the "Tarigo Convoy" after the lead escort destroyer) and sinks not only all five freighters/transports but also all three of the destroyers. Mack accomplishes this at the price of the Mohawk, which is scuttled off the Kerkenneh Islands. There are 168 survivors of the Mohawk and 43 deaths.

On the German side, there are 384 deaths of men who had been en route to the Afrika Korps, mainly from the 15th Panzer Division. The Italian navy puts to sea and eventually rescues 1248 out of about 3000 men who had been on the sunk ships.

The Axis ships lost are:

• 4205-ton Andana
• 2447-ton Aegina
• 2452-ton Arta
• 3704-ton Iserlohn
• 1590-ton Sabaudia
• Destroyer Tarigo
• Destroyer Lampo
• Destroyer Baleno

Winston Churchill immediately sends off a telegram to President Roosevelt informing him of the success. However, he does not tell him that the Royal Navy knew about the convoy in advance due to Ultra Intercepts. This is a wise move, because periodically throughout the war, Adolf Hitler receives copies of these telegrams (sent by underseas cable) from an unknown source.

On land, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel "personally, from the most forward lines" leads an attack on the Tobruk perimeter (quotes are from the Afrika Korps War Diary). This is at Ras Mdaauar. He uses his Italian forces, specifically the armored battalion of the Ariete Division and infantry from the Trento Division. The attack fails "because of the hesitant advance of the armored battalion" of the Ariete Division. The War Diary notes sourly that two Italian companies surrendered without putting up any fight.

General Wavell hurriedly stops further convoys of Operation Lustre bringing troops from Egypt to Greece. From now on, the convoys will move in the other direction, evacuating the expeditionary forces from Greece.

The British attempt a commando-style raid on Bardia, but the ships embarking the troops are recalled due to poor weather. The operation is rescheduled for when the skies clear. Another such raid is attempted on Marakeb, Libya, but destroyer HMS Decoy runs aground and the operation cannot be completed.

An officer in a Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. E of the 2nd Panzer Division interrogates a captured New Zealand prisoner at the village of Pandeleymon during the Battle of Platamon, 16 April 1941 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Anglo/US Relations: US heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) arrives in New York. It has come from Simonstown, South Africa pursuant to Operation Fish, the transfer of British gold to the United States.

The first shipment of food to Great Britain under Lend-Lease arrives.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The Japanese government issues a statement flatly denying that it has any designs on Singapore.

US/Canadian Relations: Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King visits with President Roosevelt. They will spend the next four days conferring in Washington, Virginia Beach and Roosevelt's home at Hyde Park. At some point during these meetings, they sign a defense production agreement.

US Military: MacDill Air Force Base, operational since 16 April 1940, receives its name today. It is named after World War I veteran Colonel Leslie MacDill.

British Homefront: Around this date, the British demolish with explosives the north water tower of the old Crystal Palace. This is simply done - there is no reason given or fuss made about it. The Crystal Palace grounds are being used to manufacture radar equipment, and the reason may be to make more room for this. Another conjecture is that the tower provides a navigational aid to Luftwaffe crews. In any event, it is the final and definitive end to the 1851 Hyde Park structure.

Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin introduces a National Registration of Women for war work. Previous attempts to enlist women had been voluntary; this is compulsory. The first registrations for the youngest (20-21) age group are set for 19 April 1941.

Site of an Eastern Airlines DC-3 crash on 3 April 1941 in the Everglades west of Vero Beach, Florida. The crash is due to a storm. This photo was taken 16 April 1941 (Photo courtesy of the Indian River County Historical Society via TCPalm)

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020