Thursday 19 June 1941

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, wife Marga, and daughter Gudrun gather daisies together in Valepp Valley, 19 June 1941 (Realworks Ltd./Die Welt).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Britsh approach toward Damascus during Operation Exporter has gained ground on 19 June 1941, but suddenly shows signs of stalling due to fierce Vichy French counterattacks. This has resulted in overall control of the advance being taken away from General Henry Maitland Wilson on the 18th, and today results in Major-General John Evetts, commander of the British 6th Infantry Division, replacing Brigadier Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd as commander of Gentforce east of Merdjayoun.

The 5th Indian Brigade has taken Mezzeh, a key junction on the Damascus/Beirut road, during the night. However, they spend the 19th trying to keep it against furious French counterattacks. Evetts quickly requests reinforcements and receives the British 16th Infantry Brigade from the 7th Australian Division and three Australian battalions: the 2/3rd Machine Gun Battalion and the 2/3rd and 2/5th Infantry Battalions.

The British and Australian reinforcements, however, require time to get to Mezzeh, and it is time that the embattled Indian troops may not have. By evening, they are isolated and taking tremendous casualties from the French and their Renault R35 tanks. Expecting the advance to continue straight to Damascus, the Indian troops have not carried with them mundane things like food and water for an extended siege. So, there is no food or water, and there are dead men everywhere. After dark, the Indian troops send three men who manage to get past the encircling French forces and report the dire situation to Evetts. The French claim to have taken 400 prisoners.

The British still fear an invasion and practice to prevent one. Here, the 53rd Battalion The Reconnaissance Corps ride in Beaverettes (RAF light armored cars) during maneuvers at Ballykinlar in Northern Ireland. They are armed with .303 light machine guns or Boys .55 inch anti-tank rifles. Unfortunately, despite the heavy armor, they are powered by a 46-hp engine and the top speed is only 24 mph (38 km/h). 19 June 1941.

Near Merdjayoun, meanwhile, the situation if anything is even worse for the British. Easily taken a week ago by the Australian 25th Brigade, the majority of those troops were sent east to help with the advance along the coast. The 25th had left behind only a small force to defend Merdjayoun, but this was considered acceptable because the Vichy French were giving ground.

This turns out to have been a bad idea, as the French already have retaken part of Merdjayoun and have placed the embattled Australians in a precarious position. On the 19th, the Vichy French there continue the attack against the outnumbered Australians and claim to take 80 prisoners. Australian Lieutenant Roden Cuttler, a forward artillery observer, takes over a Bren gun and anti-tank rifle after others at his outpost are killed and helps to hold an outpost in the town against the French. After being surrounded, he escapes in the dark. For this and subsequent valor, Cuttler earns the Victoria Cross, the only Australian artilleryman to earn it during World War II.

Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack, who now has operational control in Syria and Lebanon, confers with Wilson in Jerusalem. Lavarack gets permission from Wilson to let the forces around Damascus and around Merdjayoun work things out as best they can while the main effort remains on the coast road to Beirut.

The Vichy government, meanwhile, already is asking the British via the American consulate for peace terms. However, there is no indication that this will end the conflict anytime soon, at this point it is just casual talk.

A report in the 19 June 1941 Yorkshire Post about a Luftwaffe bombing the previous day. Note that they do not identify the actual town bombed for security reasons - it was Bridlington. There were seven deaths.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command conducts Operation Blot III, a Circus mission. This is an attack by 24 Bristol Blenheims of No. 2 Group and then 12 more Blenheims on the Le Havre dockyards. There is a thick haze that confuses many of the RAF navigators, and only 24 of the bombers make the rendezvous over Tangmere. An additional 15 bombers failed to find the target, and only nine bombers actually make it to Le Havre. They bomb No. 1 Dry-Dock successfully. RAF No. 616, flying escort, tangles with the Luftwaffe near Le Havre and claims one fighter.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command sends 28 aircraft against Cologne and 20 against Dusseldorf.

Grimsby class sloop HMAS Parramatta at Mersa Matruh, Egypt, 19 June 1941. The Parramatta sank just over five months later, on 27 November (Photo: RAN Historical, it appears in Paul and Frances Margaret McGuire's 'The Price of Admiralty' [Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1944] opp. p243).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 40) bombs and sinks 1306-ton British freighter Empire Warrior a few miles off Guardians Bar, Gulf of Cadiz. All 25 aboard survive, picked up by a Portuguese destroyer.

The Luftwaffe in the same attack also bombs and badly damages 1770-ton Swedish freighter Gunda in the same area as the Empire Warrior. British freighter Peterel takes the Gunda in tow, but it eventually sinks. The entire crew survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages Royal Navy destroyer HMS Vanessa in the North Sea. During the encounter, the Vanessa collides with 430-ton ASW trawler Turquoise. Vanessa has to be towed to Yarmouth by destroyer Vesper and is out of action until 15 April 1942.

Dutch patrol boat Sirius seizes Vichy French vessel Compiegne. However, in light of the confused state of relations between the UK and Vichy France (note that the British and Vichy French right now are battling each other in Syria and Lebanon while the British still wish to curry favor with France), the Admiralty ultimately orders the French ship released.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield BS.59 in the North Sea.

Canadian corvette HMCS Moose Jaw (Lt. Frederick E. Grubb) is commissioned.

United States destroyers USS Redoubt and Roebuck are laid down.

U-619 and U-620 are laid down.

'Matilda', or `I', tanks in the Western Desert, Egypt in June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The German News Bureau in Berlin crows about General Erwin Rommel's recent defeat of the British during Operation Battleaxe. It notes:

The most recent reports indicate that the British have lost more tanks than was earlier estimated: When we cleared up the battlefield, we found 200 British tanks destroyed or immobilized by German and Italian guns, which the British were forced to abandon when they retreated.

The German figures are exaggerated - British tank losses were far fewer than 100, let alone 200 - but the complete British defeat gives the Germans a welcome opportunity to pat their staggering Italian allies on the back in the shared victory.

An Axis convoy departs from Naples with five freighters/transports bound for Tripoli. It is escorted by four Italian destroyers.

The Royal Navy headquarters at Alexandria institutes a major resupply of the embattled British forces in the Western Desert. It begins the "Tobruk Ferry," which entails sending destroyers to Mersa Matruh and Tobruk at night. The Luftwaffe dominates the skies over North Africa at this time and such naval missions are extremely hazardous.

Following a review of Malta's defenses, the War Office promises large reinforcements. Whitehall promises thousands of additional troops to prevent a German takeover as in Crete - but there remains the small matter of actually getting them there. Governor Dobbie replies that the most urgent needs are additional RAF forces and an infantry battalion.

Spy Stuff: Soviet agents in Germany and Finland continue issuing warnings to the Kremlin of a coming German attack on the Soviet Union. The spy reports now routinely identify the date of the attack as 22 June.

Wellington W5665, shot down by a German night fighter during the night of 18-19 June 1941 over Frisian Isle Ameland. Of the six-man Polish crew, four were killed and buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Nes there, and two captured. The interred men were later reburied in Nijmegen pursuant to a 1960s centralization scheme for war dead (RAF via Traces of War).

German/US Relations: Following the US State Department's 16 June order to the Germans to close their consulates, Germany and Italy respond by ordering the Americans to do the same in their countries no later than 15 July. This appears to be another reverberation from the 21 May 1941 sinking by a U-boat of US freighter Robin Moore off the African coast. This is a blow for Allied intelligence, as the US consulates have served as valuable "listening posts" within Occupied Europe.

German/Hungarian Relations: General Halder, Chief of the OKH (Army High Command), visits Hungary for a conference.

Anglo/US Relations: Lord Halifax, the British Ambassador to the United States, gives a speech at the Harvard Alumni luncheon. He notes:

The President has declared in terms that no man can mistake on which side in this grim contest stands the United States. And there is no need for me to dwell upon the encouragement that his words have brought to my people, to the whole British Commonwealth, or to lovers of freedom everywhere.

He calls England "the last home of freedom in Europe."

Apparently given as a response to the University of Rochester, New York conferring an honorary degree on Winston Churchill, Oxford University confers the degree of Doctor of Civil Law on President Franklin Roosevelt. Neither man, of course, attends the ceremony.

A map of military units along the German/Soviet border around 19 June 1941. Shown are three German Army Groups, North, South, and Center in Poland, with additional allied Romanian troops to the south.

German Military: The Kriegsmarine is mining the Baltic, while the Luftwaffe continues reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.

Luftwaffe night-fighter ace Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld is mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht bulletin of the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht. This is considered one of the highest honors a German officer can receive and is coveted even by generals. Prince Lippe-Weißenfeld (he is an heir to the throne of the Principality of Lippe, which was abolished under the Weimar Republic) now has about 10 victories over the bombers, which are considered the most prestigious enemy aircraft to destroy.

The Wehrmacht cancels all soldier leaves. Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler, however, who technically is not in the Wehrmacht, flies home to his private house on Lake Tegerness to visit with his family. They go to a nearby field in the Valepp Valley and pick daisies by the roadside for the propaganda cameras.

Soviet Military: The Soviet Navy issues a Grade 2 Alert to its units. The Red Air Force orders camouflaging of airfields, and the government orders blackout in cities along the western border. Some of these orders, such as the camouflaging of airfields, take days to begin implementing and are barely started when Operation Barbarossa begins.

General Pavel Batov assumes command of the 9th Rifle Corps.

Field Manual No. 30-55, Basic Field Manual, Military Intelligence, Identification Of German Naval Ships, 19 June 1941.

British Military: Rear Admiral E.N. Syfret CB becomes commander of 18th Cruiser Squadron.

German Government: After some meetings during the day, Adolf Hitler spends the evening drafting his "Proclamation" for Operation Barbarossa. This will be issued to the troops shortly before the opening of Operation Barbarossa. It is a curiously dour document that pins the entire future of European civilization itself on the outcome of the invasion.

Around 18:00, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop telephones to say that Soviet Ambassador Dekanozov has stopped by the Ministry, transacted some normal business, made some small talk and jokes, and then left without incident. This ends 24 hours of uncertainty after Dekanozov on the 18th had indicated he needed to visit the German Ministry for unspecified reasons.
British Government: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit factories and war ruins in Billingham and other areas in the northeast.

An RAF Second World War vertical aerial photograph of Crail airfield, 19 June 1941. © Courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland (RAF Air Photographs Collection via Airfields of Britain).

Holocaust: Hitler talks to Hans Frank, the Governor-General of the occupied Polish territories (Generalgouverneur für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete). Frank controls all of the territories, known as the General Government, that encompass pre-war Poland aside from those directly incorporated into the Reich - roughly half of the original 187,000 square miles occupied by the Wehrmacht (which of course does not include the far larger portion allocated to the Soviet Union).

Frank long has objected to having Jews from throughout Occupied Europe shipped to the General Government for internment. This is partly because he resents having them under his administration, but more importantly, because controlling them has expanded the influence in the General Government of Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler - at Frank's expense. Frank sees himself as a sort of overlord and chafes at having other authority in "his" territory.

Hitler tells Frank that the territories soon to be wrested from the Soviet Union will become the new "home" of the Jews. These new destinations in "the East" are to replace the nebulous destination of Madagascar that has been bruited about within the government as the eventual home of European Jewry. Frank is delighted and quickly tells his staff that there will be no need for more Ghettos such as the ones in Warsaw and Lodz because all the Jews from now on - including the ones already in the Ghettos - will be heading "east.'

Hitler, however, is unclear about what he really intends for the Jews. The only thing that Frank cares about is that the Jews are heading "east" of his own domain, so he does not press for further details. Where in the "east" Hitler means is left undefined, and what would happen to the Jews once they got there is deemed an unimportant detail at this stage. This will be resolved at the Wannsee Conference in January 1942.

In Romania, the government orders Jews to move to city Ghettos.

The big news in northern Michigan is the introduction of dial service. Mayor Hinkley makes the first dial call to his mother. Northern Michigan Review, 19 June 1941.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets a home run and two singles in New York against the Chicago White Sox. DiMaggio now has hit in a club-record 32 games in a row.

General Mills introduces Cheerioats on store shelves. Designed by food science expert Lester Borchardt, they arise from his experiments in "puffing" oats into tiny ovals (each 1/2-inch (12.7 mm) diameter, .0025 ounce (71 mg)). The name is changed to Cheerios® in 1945 and remains a staple on breakfast tables into the 21st Century.

Future History: Václav Klaus is born in Prague, which at this time is within the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He grows up in the middle-class neighborhood of Vinohrady. He later says that, at age 3, he helps to build barricades in Prague during the uprising of May 1945. Klaus grows up to become a top politician within the Czech Republic and, ultimately, the 2nd President of his country for two terms from 2003-2013. He survives a weird assassination attempt with an airsoft gun by a communist in 2012 and remains as of this writing an elder statesman of the Czech Republic.

Roden Cuttler, as described above a recipient of the VC for his actions in Medjayoun on 19 June 1941 and subsequent days, goes on to earn a Knighthood and become Governor of New South Wales, Australia.

Irina Petrescu is born in Bucharest, Romania. She grows up to become a top Romanian film actress in the 1960s and wins the Best Actress award at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival for her role in "A Woman for a Season" (1969). Petrescu passes away on 19 March 2013.

Gravestone of Joseph Jossie Goldman, a 22-year-old South African Sergeant-Pilot in the RAF who perished on 19 June 1941. He perished near Baynards Green when his training flight in a Hampden crashed near the airport. This is located at Upper Heyford Cemetery.

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

Friday 24 January 1941

In a somewhat confusing picture for historians, British soldiers sport a captured Italian flag on a British Matilda tank en route into Tobruk, Libya, 24 Jan 1941 (Australian War Memorial). You can only pull stunts like this after the fighting is really over, else you risk unwanted attention from your own side.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue consolidating their newly acquired territory in the area of the Klisura Pass on 24 January 1941. The Italians are bringing up troops for a counteroffensive, their previous attempts to recover the pass - gateway to the main Italian supply base of Valona - having come to naught.

East African Campaign: The Italian 4th and 5th Indian Divisions continue advancing past Keru Gorge, abandoned by the Italians. They are proceeding in the direction of Agordat. On the Kenya front, Lieutenant General Cunningham's forces move alongside South African troops into the Moyale frontier districts. Cunningham has 75,000 men at his disposal, though most are locals from the colonies.

European Air Operations: Activity remains light due to the weather. The Luftwaffe barely appears over Great Britain at all during the day and night, and the RAF is grounded as well.

HMS King George V arriving in the Chesapeake Bay, 24 January 1941. The battleship brings Lord Halifax to the United States.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 1570 ton Norwegian freighter Vespasian in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. There are 18 deaths. Vespasian is a straggler from Convoy OB 276 due to the weather.

British 1096 ton freighter Corheath hits a mine and sinks near the Botany Buoy in the Thames Estuary. There are three deaths.

British 6405 ton freighter Tasmania hits a mine off Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire. The weather is horrendous and the stricken steamer cannot make port anywhere nearby, but instead must head back to Methil where she makes port.

Finnish 4028 ton freighter Wirta runs aground at Skerjafjord, Iceland. The ship is wrecked, but the crew is saved.

German supply ship Nordmark meets the cruiser Admiral Scheer in the South Atlantic and replenishes it. The Scheer continues to travel in company with captured Norwegian tanker Sandefjord, but the pickings have been lean for the Scheer up to this point.

Convoy OB 278 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMAS Lismore (J-145, Lt. Stanley H. Crawford) is commissioned and HMAS Gawler is laid down.

U-562 launched.

Australian soldiers using captured Italian M11/40 tanks and M11/39 tanks (note the white kangaroos on the tanks' sides) watch Tobruk burn, 24 January 1941 (© IWM (E 1766).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Concluding another successful phase of Operation Compass, the Australians and British mop up around Tobruk. They take possession of all Italian outposts in the vicinity. The real action has shifted north along the coast road, where the Italian Special Armoured Brigade (Brigata Corazzato Speciale) under the command of General Valentino Babini (the "Babini Group") and the overall command of General Giuseppe Tellera has formed a defensive line outside of Derna. While the British Army has the upper hand militarily, they are having supply difficulties and their tanks are low on fuel. This slows their operations.

The Italians for the first time in the campaign show some real fight, and fierce battles break out around the outskirts of Derna. Babini sends about fifty M13/40 tanks against the advancing 7th Hussars as they are advancing to cut the important Derna/Mechili road. The new Italian tanks give a good account of themselves against British Mk. VIs, forcing the advanced British elements to pull back and call for help. The request is ignored for a time by the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (2 RTR), perhaps partly because the Italians heretofore have not been fighting and the feeling may simply be that nothing regarding the Italians could have much urgency. Eventually, the British tankers return with Matildas, 2-pounders and even 25-pounder field guns. This time, they route the Italian armor, sending them retreating into an ambush and destroying about 8 of the Italian tanks while capturing another. For their pains, the British lose a cruiser tank and six light tanks. The reasonably equal losses indicate how hard the fighting has become. However, the advantage still lies with the British, as the Italians are forced to retreat to Mechili.

Supporting the Babini Group is the Italian 60th Infantry Division Sabratha, which holds the line from Derna to Mechili. There, the 2/11th Australian Battalion also finds its going blocked for the moment. It calls for reinforcements.

At Malta, the islanders are still recovering from the massive air raids by the Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps X during the "Illustrious Blitz." The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has left, but many unexploded bombs remain to be defused.

The Luftwaffe continues to attack Illustrious as she heads for Alexandria. Fliegerkorps X sends 30 aircraft to bomb it about 130 miles north of Benghazi. The Stukas and Junkers Ju 88s manage some near misses but cause little damage to the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers escorting the stricken aircraft carrier away. In fact, the Luftwaffe does not even spot the carrier and must content itself with attacking vessels better able to defend themselves.

Italian armor with For Mechili in the background. 1941-42.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis is back on the prowl after its extended Christmas break at the Kerguelen Islands. About 300 miles east of the Seychelle Islands, it attacks 5145-ton British freighter Mandasor. The British ship gets off a distress message before it sinks after the crew ingeniously rigs a second aerial after the first is disabled by the Atlantis' scout plane. There are 5 deaths and the remaining 76 onboard become POWs. The crew of the Mandalor does accomplish a major victory when it destroys the Atlantis' Heinkel He 114 seaplane. Captain Hill of the Mandasor later receives the OBE for his handling of the ship during this incident, but he spends the rest of the war in a POW camp. The crew of the Atlantis saves many of the sunken ship's crew from death when they chase off sharks with machine gunfire.

Knowing its position, the Royal Navy in the area organizes four cruisers into Force V to hunt down the raider. They have known about raiders in this part of the world for some time, and the Christmas raid on Naaru inflamed their passion to track them down. Unfortunately for the British, they have no long-range aerial reconnaissance available and Captain Rogge in the Atlantis gets away. This incident does impel local Royal Navy authorities to give greater priority to allocating forces in that region of the Indian Ocean, but the British do not have many available assets to spare at this time.

Anglo/US Relations: Lord Halifax, erstwhile Foreign Secretary, arrives in the Chesapeake Bay aboard the battleship King George V, having departed Scotland on 15 January. He is in the United States to replace the deceased Lord Lothian as ambassador to the United States. At Winston Churchill's urging, President Roosevelt is there to greet him. Few men in history have had as honored a trans-Atlantic journey on both ends as Halifax, considering that the King, Queen, and Churchill saw him off from Scapa Flow and Roosevelt was there to greet him upon his arrival.

Anglo/Australian Relations: Prime Minister Robert Menzies flies from Melbourne for a visit to England, taking off in a flying boat from Rose Bay, Sydney. The first major stop is Darwin, which will take two days to reach. Due to the war situation, he will take a roundabout journey through central Africa and thence up to Lisbon. The entire journey to London will take about a month.

Menzies' mission is to impress upon the British high command the perilous situation in the Pacific Theater. He wants better defenses in Singapore and more wartime industry sited in Australia. The timing of the trip is striking, coinciding with the battles of Australian troops in North Africa.

German/Spanish Relations: The Germans remain optimistic that they can convince the Spanish leader Francisco Franco to join the Axis. Foreign Minister Ribbentrop gets involved in this effort, which so far has gone nowhere and which shows no signs of changing Franco's attitude of military neutrality.

Some unknown person in Seattle, Washington owns this classic Plymouth Army P11 staff car of 1941 and appears to keep it driveable. There's another classic military vehicle in the driveway, so someone is really into World War II-era vehicles. (Photo: Ryan Haarsager).

US Government: Navy Secretary Frank Knox writes a memorandum to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. Knox warns that it:

is believed easily possible that hostilities would be initiated by a surprise attack upon the fleet or the naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Knox foresees "inherent possibilities of a major disaster" and lists the following "dangers envisaged in order of their importance and probability," to wit:

air attack
torpedo plane attack
sabotage
submarine attack
mining
bombardment by gunfire.

Knox suggests that army and navy plans be coordinated in the event of such an air raid against Hawaii.

The Jackson, Mississippi Daily News, 24 January 1941.

Romania: With the Iron Guard rebellion now over, some of its leaders and participants flee to Germany to avoid certain execution by a vengeful Prime Minister Ion Antonescu. Showing their equivocal role in the entire affair, the Germans help the Legionnaires to escape and provide them with the safe harbor in the Reich.

Indochina: Thai bombers raid the French airbase at Angkor, Cambodia, near Siem Riep. This is the final battle of the conflict.

At this point, the Japanese decide they have seen enough squabbling over territory they covet, so they step in as mediators. The Thais accept Japanese mediation in the conflict with the French colonial administrators despite US warnings that the Japanese are simply managing events for their own benefit. The two parties, Thailand and Vichy France, enter into negotiations on Japanese cruiser Vatori, which arrives in Saigon on or about this date. Naturally, the Japanese have a seat at the table and guide things to benefit the Thais.

Antarctica: USMS North Star, an Arctic supply ship, arrives to pick up the crew of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third expedition to Antarctica at West Base.

Holocaust: A ghetto is opened in Sochaczew, Poland, with the Jews having to leave their homes in the town and get to the ghetto within 24 hours. The Judenrat provides ten carts for 2000 people, limiting to the extreme the number of personal possessions that families can take. Many notice the actions of the Judenrat, whose members appropriate for themselves and their families the best lodgings and manage to travel more comfortably.

Future History: Today is quite a day in the world of music, though nobody will realize if for about 30 years.

Neil Leslie Diamond is born in Brooklyn, New York. He attends Erasmus Hall High School, where one of his classmates is Barbra Streisand. On his 16th birthday, Neil receives a guitar as a gift, and he develops a love for singing at a summer camp in upstate New York. He begins writing poetry to pick up girls, and this informs his music, and he begins writing songs. Sunbeam Music Publishing offers him a temporary job writing songs, so he drops out of NYU. However, he is not retained after the temporary gig ends, so he begins recording demos. He writes several hit songs recorded by The Monkees, including "I'm a Believer," "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," and others. Other big artists like Elvis Presley begin recording his songs, and he begins to establish himself as a performer as well. After signing with Uni (Universal) Records in 1968, he gains some traction performing, and in 1969 begins a string of major hits with "Sweet Caroline." He becomes one of the top performers of the '70s, and turns to films in 1980 with "The Jazz Singer." His song "Heartlight" inspired by the hit movie "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" in 1982 becomes a huge hit. Neil Diamond remains a household name and continues to perform.

Aaron Neville is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Neville records with brothers Art, Charles and Cyril as The Neville Brothers, and later becomes a top solo act. His hit singles include "Tell it Like It Is," "Don't Know Much" with Linda Ronstadt, and "Everybody Plays the Fool," among many others. Aaron Neville continues to perform and release albums.

Michael Chapman is born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. He becomes a professional musician, writing songs and performing in the "progressive music scene" in England. Chapman continues to perform and has recorded over 40 albums to date.

Destroyers USS Butler and Gherardi under construction at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 24 January 1941.

January 1941

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

2020

Wednesday 15 January 1941

Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V on its journey from Scapa Flow to the United States in January 1941. "A view of the fore guns of "A" turret with spray breaking over the fo'c'sle." © IWM (A 3017).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue to consolidate their grip on the key Klisura Pass on 15 January 1941. The Italian forces have been badly mauled, especially the Lupi di Toscana Division, and many Italians have become POWs. However, both the remaining Italian forces and the weather are preventing the Greeks from exploiting this victory and marching on the strategic port of Valona. The RAF bombs Italian supply lines near Berat.

Air Marshal Longmore joins General Archibald Wavell in Athens, where the two discuss reinforcing the Greeks with British forces. Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas requests equipment to help in Albania. Wavell offers the immediate transfer of a combined anti-aircraft and anti-tank regiment, but Metaxas refuses. Wavell argues that sending even a token British force will impress the Turks and Yugoslavs to stay out of the war, and even lead them to the Allied side. Metaxas, however, responds that such a small force "would provoke the Germans to attack." Metaxas only wants British troops on the mainland if they are able to act offensively as well as defensively, and until such time as such forces are available, the British should stay out.

The heart of the issue is Greek mistrust of the British, who they feel are only trying to get Greece involved in the war against Germany. The British also mistrust the Greeks, who they feel will make a separate peace with Italy and leave the British troops with another front to defend in Greece/Albania. Wavell puts on a good show, but he (along with Longmore) already has indicated internally that he does not want to send British troops to the Greek mainland. Metaxas, in a sense, is just playing into his hands and permitting the British offensive in North Africa to continue. However, truth is that the British simply do not have the troops to spare that Metaxas feels would justify a British ground presence in Greece.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Wilhelmshaven with 70-76 bombers out of 96 that set out. The 20 that fail to attack either get lost or turn back. At this stage of the war, that is considered a successful attack. Another, smaller force attacks Emden.

The RAF lists new priorities for its bomber attacks. They are to be oil, industrial towns, and communications in that order. The order reads, "Oil considered the sole primary aim of our Bomber Offensive." Major targets are to include Bremen, Hanover, Magdeburg, and Oppau, among others.

The Luftwaffe sends 49 bombers against Derby during the night, and night fighters also attack RAF airfields in the north, including Church Fenton and Driffield. Action during the night is confused, and the darkness prevents British anti-aircraft from operating while RAF bombers are operating. The German night fighters get in some useful practice, tracking RAF bombers back to their bases after their missions and forcing down three of them.

During this night's action, Oblt. Egmont zur Lippe of 4./NJG 1 shoots down a Whitley bomber over Holland for his second victory claim. Oblt. Albert Schulz of 2./NJG 2 shoots down two Blenheims in fifteen minutes for his first two claims. It is dangerous work, however; another fighter pilot with six claims, Heinrich Kopperschläger of JG 53, perishes in a flying accident.

Strong hurricane-force winds sink three US Navy PBY Catalina flying boats of the US Navy squadron VP-73 and two PBM Mariner aircraft of VP-74 at Iceland.

Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet Vice-Admiral Sir John C. Tovey (right), and Vice-Admiral Sir Bruce A Fraser (front left) aboard HMS King George V at Scapa Flow. January 15, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Pinguin rounds up some more parts of the Norwegian whaling fleet, including 12,083-ton oil refinery tanker Pelagos and several whalers. Three whalers have escaped to the Falkland Islands, where they will report what happened.

German tanker Nordmark, operating in the South Atlantic, rendezvouses with captured refrigerated ship Duquesna and replenishes its food stocks. The German sailors have grown to love the Duquesna, which they call a "floating delicatessen" full of frozen meat and dairy products.

Italian submarine Torelli (Captain C.F. Primo Longobardo) is one of the most successful Italian submarines under its able commander. Operating in the mid-Atlantic west of Ireland, Torelli torpedoes and sinks 5198 ton Greek freighter Nemea and 4079-ton Norwegian freighter Brask. There are 17 deaths on the Nemea and a dozen on the Brask (20 survivors). The incident is a bit unusual because, after the survivors of the Nemea abandon ship, the survivors of the Brask board the abandoned Nemea. The Greek survivors of the Nemea then themselves re-board their own ship. However, soon everyone is out of luck because the Nemea eventually sinks. Happily, the survivors are all rescued by HMS Highlander.

The Torelli also torpedoes and sinks 3111-ton Greek freighter Nicolaos Filinis from the same group of about six ships that it originally spotted. This sinking either occurs on the 15th or the 16th, accounts differ. Three crewmen perish.

British 1286-ton sludge ship Mancunium hits a mine and sinks off Liverpool in the Mersey. Everyone survives. Another freighter, 354 ton Karri, also hits a mine in the same vicinity but makes it to shore to be beached and later repaired. One man perishes on the Karri.

British 1823-ton freighter Maywood hits a mine and is damaged in the Bristol Channel south of Cardiff. Several vessels have hit mines there recently. Maywood temporarily is beached at Whitmore Bay, then goes to Barry for repairs.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British 197-ton freighter Stalker in Hawke Roads, Grimsby. It sinks but is refloated and repaired.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Adventure hits a mine and is badly damaged.

Convoys FS 388 and 389 depart from Methil, Convoy HX 103 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 103 departs from Bermuda.

U-151 and U-554 are commissioned, U-179 is laid down.

US destroyer USS Gwin is commissioned.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Felixstowe and minesweeping trawler HMS Hoxa launched, corvettes HMS Godetia and Anchusa are laid down and launched, respectively.

An inauguration ceremony for local officials in Tagkawayan, Quezon, the Philippines on 15 January 1941. Visible is Benigno Aquino Sr., whose grandson, Benigno S. Aquino III, will become the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016 (Tripod).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Australian and British troops earmarked for the assault on Tobruk in under a week's time to continue their preparations. The British 7th Armoured Division is getting its tanks repaired, while the Australian infantry works on the tactics that it successfully employed at Bardia.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent torpedoes and sinks 2472 ton Italian freighter Citta di Messina off Benghazi.

Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham, already commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet, is promoted to the rank of full Admiral. Cunningham was before a board of inquiry only a few months ago, so this is a vote of confidence in him by the Admiralty.

At Malta, a Luftwaffe plane bearing a red cross in a white circle - an internationally recognized symbol for rescue operations that are immune from attack - is spotted at high altitude over eastern Malta. While the RAF does not get airborne in time to shoot it down, the use of this symbol is considered by the RAF to be a ruse. The RAF is notorious for shooting down such planes over the English Channel, which, if they actually are search and rescue planes, is a war crime. However, the British view these planes as performing reconnaissance, particularly since they appear at times when no rescue is needed and fly at altitudes used by reconnaissance planes, not search and rescue missions. This is another sign that the fierce contest of over the Channel is heading down to Malta as well, with the Germans and British gearing up for similarly heated warfare.

The Axis planes also stage a couple of air raids over Malta, but foul weather prevents them from releasing any bombs of consequence. RAF reconnaissance over Catania, Sicily shows that the results of the 13 January British air raid were quite good, with 25 Axis planes destroyed or badly damaged and hangars badly damaged.

Japanese Military: The Japanese Navy forms the 11th Air Fleet under Vice-Admiral Eikichi Katagiri, commander, and Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi, chief of staff.

US Government: The US House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Relations debates HR 1776, the Lend-Lease bill. In a sign of the importance attached by the administration to this bill, Secretary of State Cordell Hull addresses the House committee in a speech entitled, "The Defense of the United States: Speed is Our Greatest Need Today.”

Italian Somaliland: British forces mount major attacks on Italian positions from Sudan and Kenya.

HRH Haile Selassie during his return trip to Ethiopia, January 1941. With him are two heavily armed bodyguards and a priest.

Abyssinia: His Royal Highness Haile Selassie, deposed (and future) Emperor of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), returns to his country for the first time since May 1936 with British assistance. He is one of several claimants to thrones or exiled nationalist figures that the British have chosen to support for their own purposes, Charles de Gaulle being a famous example. Other claimants have not proven so fortunate, such as exiled King Zog of Albania, but Selassie inspires fervent devotion in his followers. The British hope that Selassie will spark an uprising and, should the Italians be chased out of his country, govern with policies favorable to them. Selassie is accompanied by his two sons and a retinue.

He issues a royal proclamation:

Italy is cornered by the grip of Great Britain by sea, air and land power. The Italians will not escape my trusted warriors.

Selassie is not just popular in his own country; many - the Rastafarians - actually consider him to be a living god. Selassie's return is a harbinger of increased British attacks to wrest the entire region from Italian hegemony. There are reports of uprisings upon his return. Haile Selassie, despite being from an impoverished third-world nation, is one of the enduring figures of 20th Century politics and this is his most stressful period.

Indochina: The Thai army pushes back Vichy French troops near Pakse and in the Sisophon area. French naval units in the area form up and head out toward the Thai-Cambodian border around 21:15.

China: The Nationalist Chinese (Kuomintang) government completes the destruction of the surrounded Communist Chinese New Fourth Army. The Nationalists demand that the remainder of the New Fourth Army be disbanded. The Communists, on the other hand, decry the entire Nationalist attack as a plot to destroy internal opposition and help the invading Japanese. Chairman Mao tells his troops not to trust the Nationalist Chinese.

British Homefront: King George and Prime Minister Churchill travel to Scapa Flow to see off Lord Halifax for his voyage to Washington as the new British ambassador. After lunch, battleship King George V departs for the US carrying Ambassador Lord Halifax, escorted by four destroyers, in Operation Parcel. Separately, Sir Gerald Campbell, British High Commissioner to Canada, is transferred to Washington to become British Consul General to the United States.

"Jack Delano - Street in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania January 1941" (Chris Tancock, Pictify)

American Homefront: RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer has his lawyers study the issue of whether or not to release Orson Welles' forthcoming motion picture, "Citizen Kane." Schaefer believes strongly in Welles and the picture but wants to make sure that there are no legal issues involved in releasing it. The RKO lawyers review the film and ask Welles to cut three minutes of its running time to satisfy their concerns about a possible defamation action by William Randolph Hearst. Welles complies.

Future History: Don Glen Vliet is born in Glendale, California. Vliet shows artistic inclinations at an early age and attends high school with Frank Zappa (born on 21 December 1940). While Don later is full of fanciful tales about his early days, some of which appear somewhat suspect, it is clear that he is extremely talented in multiple fields - perhaps not quite so much as he claims, but who knows - but drops out of high school to help support his family. Don and Zappa begin collaborating on music, and at some point, he and Zappa decide to rename Don "Captain Beefheart" (something that Don later asks Rolling Stone "don't ask me why or how"). Anyway, as Captain Beefheart, he begins recording in the early 1960s, and gains as admirers none other than John Lennon and Paul McCartney, though it is unclear if the two Beatles ever actually met Don (he claims to have met McCartney, who has no recollection of this). Captain Beefheart goes on to become a legend in avant-garde music, one of the true characters of the rock scene and passes away in 2010.

"Director Humphrey Jennings (left) stretches up to touch a piece of sculpture in Poets' Corner, as he suggests a shot for Camera Operator Chick Fowle of the Crown Film Unit, probably during the filming of 'Words For Battle' in Westminster Abbey, 1941." This was taken during January 1941. © IWM (D 1861).

January 1941

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

2020