Battle of Atlantic: President Roosevelt slowly has been ratcheting up the pressure on the U-boat menace in the Atlantic. This has included, among many other things, sending U.S. warships on armed neutrality patrols for the benefit of the Royal Navy and escorting convoys from the United States to Iceland. As a major escalation in this process, FDR on 9 October 1941 FDR sends a message to Congress asking it to amend the Neutrality Act to permit U.S. flag merchant vessels to be armed for self-defense:
We cannot permit the affirmative defense of our rights to be annulled and diluted by sections of the Neutrality Act which have no realism in the light of unscrupulous ambition of madmen. We will not let Hitler prescribe the waters of the world which our ships may travel…The American flag is not going to be driven from the seas either by his submarines, his airplanes or his threats.
This follows long-established United States Navy police (which continues actively into the 21st Century) to keep open international sea lanes. Since FDR's political party controls Congress, approval of this request is a foregone conclusion.
British Commandos from No. 6 Special Service Brigade train around Inverary, Scotland (October 9, 1941). The front soldier carries an Artillery Luger fitted with a 32-round "snail" magazine. The other Commando wields a Thompson submachine gun with the 100-round larger drum magazine.
Manhattan Project: In line with his increased determination to confront Hitler's Germany at sea and to support his enemies with Lend-Lease supplies, President Franklin Roosevelt repeatedly authorizes actions in 1941 to shift the United States to a war-time posture even though the nation is at peace. On 9 October 1941, in addition to ramping up the war at sea, FDR takes a major step on a completely different track in his efforts that will have much more dramatic and long-lasting implications. These revolve around the development of nuclear weapons.
A Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber attacks a supply depot within the British Tobruk perimeter in North Africa, October 1941 (AP).
President Roosevelt has been a supporter of research into atomic energy since receiving Albert Einstein's and Leó Szilárd's famous 2 August 1939 letter urging research and development of nuclear energy and perhaps an atomic bomb. That letter stated in pertinent part:
This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable — though much less certain — that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.
Roosevelt authorized such research in October 1939 (after the letter was brought to his attention) and has received periodic briefings ever since. He has taken periodic organizational steps to push the project forward. The British also have been investigating prospects for an atomic bomb, which resulted in its British Military Application of Uranium Detonation (MAUD) Committee Report on the topic. However, neither government is anywhere close to developing an atomic bomb. On 9 October 1941, this process speeds up dramatically.
Dr. Vannevar Bush and Arthur Compton in 1940.
Dr. Vannevar Bush, chairman of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) since 28 June 1941, briefs FDR and Vice President Henry A. Wallace on the MAUD Report today. The MAUD Report, in brief, postulates that an atomic bomb of immense power is possible. Further, Bush briefs the two on Tube Alloy research and the very little that is known of German nuclear research. Bush advocates cooperating with the British and indicates that he will begin corresponding with his British counterpart, Sir John Anderson.
Illinois state employees Joseph Haverly, left, and Joseph Murphy together display a scale model of the statehouse. It was on a flatbed truck after being retrieved from New York City, where it had been on display at the World's Fair (File/The State Journal-Register).
Impressed, Roosevelt authorizes Bush to explore further what it would take to build such a bomb - which remains completely theoretical and uncertain - and how much it would cost. He creates the Top Policy Group composed of himself, Wallace, Bush, James B. Conant, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General George Marshall to review progress. In essence, Bush becomes a "Bomb Czar" with outsized influence to create organizational structures and to commandeer resources to pursue the development of an atomic bomb. There is little question that Bush is the "prime mover" behind nuclear weapons development and deserves much of the credit - or blame - for their eventual appearance. While there are many important dates in the progress of the Manhattan Project (which is not yet its name, that happens in 1942), the events of 9 October 1941 are perhaps the biggest acceleration in the development of nuclear weapons.
Joe Louis featured in the Rockford (Illinois) Morning Star for an exhibition match at Camp Grant, 9 October 1941.
U-570 is captured by a Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare trawler on 27 August 1941. This picture was shot by an Allied plane circling the U-boat.
Iran Invasion: The invasion of Iran by British and Soviet forces continues without too much hindrance from the defenders on 27 August 1941, but there are some isolated situations where the Iranian Army shows its mettle. British forces reach Ahvaz, where Iranian troops under General Mohammad Shahbakhti has prepared a fortified position on the far side of the Karun River. Ahvaz controls the entrance to the Zagros Mountains, through which the British hope to drive north toward Tehran. However, British probing attacks show that Ahvaz would require a costly battle, so the British Indian troops come to a halt and wait for the campaign to be decided elsewhere.
In central Iran, the 10th Indian Infantry Division is hindered more by the rough terrain than by the defenders. Defenders in the town of Gilan-e-Gharb put up a spirited resistance, but it is soon overcome. This opens the Pai Tak Pass, which leads toward Tehran. The retreating Iranians cut down some trees across the road and dynamite it in places, slowing the British down but not stopping them.
In the northwest, the Soviets face stiffer opposition, but overcome it with the aid of Red Air Force bombers and utter ruthlessness (along with taking a lot of casualties of their own). The Iranians retreat on Ramsar and hope to make a stand there. In the northeast, the Soviets invading from Turkmenistan SSR have a real battle against Iran's 9th Infantry Division at Mashhad and Khorasan province. The Soviets have been stopped for three days at the frontier, but the Iranians have taken heavy casualties and their hold on Mashhad is becoming tenuous.
Australian sloop HMAS Yarra captures 4901-ton Italian freighter Hilda at Banda Addas. The Iranian crew sets Hilda on fire, but the British put them out. Royal Navy tug Sydney Thubron tows Hilda to Karachi, where it is converted into a Royal Navy repair ship.
In Tehran, everyone can see how things will turn out. The Prime Minister resigns and German nationals look for escape routes. Mohammad Ali Foroughi becomes the new Prime Minister, but everyone knows that it won't be for long.
Members of the ground crew paint victory bar number 44 on the rudder of Erich Schmidt`s "Yellow 11," Surash, Bf 109F, 27 August 1941.
Eastern Front: OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder's war diary for the 27th is full of notations that the Soviet positions are "weak" and "beaten." He notes that the Soviets in the Valdai Hills are trying to regroup their "beaten" forces, that that the Soviet position southeast of Bryansk is "still very weak," that the Soviet troops on the Dneipr between Kyiv and Zaporozhe are "weak forces," that the Soviets on the lower Dneipr are building up a defensive line "though only with weak forces." These are not the only times he points out how "weak" the Soviets are. What is missing from Halder's diary, however, are any indications that the Germans are strong enough to take advantage of all this Soviet weakness.
The Germans are beginning to formulate a plan for taking Kyiv. General von Sodenstern, Chief of Staff at Army Group South, cautions that Sixth Army must not become "locked" with the Soviet defenders, but instead should circle around the city to the east and cut off its supplies and escape route. This is extremely wise counsel that the same Sixth Army would have been well to heed exactly a year later at Stalingrad.
In the Far North sector, the Finns mount major attacks on the Soviet-held port of Hango in southwest Finland by both land and sea. The heavily fortified Soviets, though, are well-provisioned and the small beachhead is heavily armed. The Soviets resist the assaults.
The Finnish Light Brigade T, 12th Division, and 18th Division continue pursuing the Soviet 43rd, 115th, and 123rd Rifle Divisions near the Vuoksi River. Finnish troops are spreading out all across the Karelian Isthmus, cutting off Viipuri tightening their grip on the shore of Lake Ladoga. However, despite being experts at forest warfare, they are having difficulty drawing tight lines to hem in the retreating Soviets because the terrain offers too many chances to escape unseen.
Northeast of Nurmi Lake, a bloody battle develops between Finnish XXXVI Corps and fleeing Soviet troops. A German SS battalion fails to close a pincer at the narrows at Kayrala in the morning, allowing Soviets to escape on foot without any equipment. The Axis troops quickly regroup, and XXXVI Corps sends some Finnish troops to the Wehrmacht's 169th Division while attaching three SS battalions to the Finnish 6th Division. The Axis troops hurry toward the town of Allakurtti along a road and a railway line, but the Soviets get there ahead of them and prepare fortified positions. The Soviets fight for their lives and manage to hold their line sufficiently for most of their troops to escape.
Finnish soldiers examine a disabled Soviet tank, 27 August 1941 (SA-Kuva).
In the Army Group North sector, German troops of 18th Army advance on Tallinn (Reval), the capital of Estonia as the Soviet 10th Rifle Corps and affiliated troops and civilians begin a massive evacuation. Once Tallinn is taken, it will free up German soldiers for the all-important advance on Leningrad. So, no matter how the evacuation turns out, it is a strategic victory for the Wehrmacht.
In the Army Group Center sector, Panzer Group 3 recaptures Velikie Luki after Soviet counterattacks. Group Stumme at Velikie Luki prepares for a drive on Toropets. General Stumme reports to headquarters that his troops have captured 34,000 Soviet soldiers and 300 guns of 22nd Army. German 250th Infantry Division, the Spanish Blue Division, begins marching on foot from the Polish border to Smolensk. General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 expands its bridgehead south of the Desna River at Novgorod-Seversk, but the going is slow both for the Panzer Group and Second Army which is also moving toward Kyiv.
In the Army Group South sector, the Germans complete their movement of an assault battalion and ten heavy artillery battalions to assist the Romanians in a resumption of the attack on Odessa. The Soviets have little chance of prevailing but have been ordered to fight to the end. Hitler and Mussolini tour areas behind the front lines and meet with army leaders. In what may be a related incident, the leader of Panzer Group 2, General Paul von Kleist, is mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht, one of the Reich's highest honors.
Soviet bombers hit Koenigsberg during the night.
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Stępina during their inspection tour, 27 August 1941.
European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends 13 Blenheim bombers on Circus operations to Lille and St. Omer. However, the missions are recalled.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 91 bombers (35 Hampdens, 41 Wellingtons, and 15 Whitleys) against favorite target Mannheim. The bombers must overcome ground haze and cause only moderate damage, damaging 13 buildings and injuring 13 people at a hotel. The RAF loses 7 Wellingtons and a Whitley when the planes return to England, apparently due to bad weather.
In addition, the RAF sends 2 Wellingtons to bomb Boulogne, 2 Wellingtons to bomb Dunkirk, and 17 Hampdens on minelaying operations in the Frisians. There are no losses.
Pilot Officer William R. Dunn, an American pilot flying a Spitfire Mk II with RAF No. 71 "Eagle" Squadron, downs two Bf 109 Fs. Dunn, who also got the squadron's first confirmed victory on 21 July 1941, thereby becomes the first American ace of World War II. Dunn is wounded in the right leg in the action and, after recovery, becomes an instructor.
German troops manhandling an artillery piece. The arrow points to a German soldier using a captured SVT 38/40 rifle (screen capture from Die Deutsche Wochenschau, 27 August 1941).
Battle of the Baltic: There is a short, sharp action off Cape Domesnas, Latvia. Four Soviet TKA boats attack a German motorboat convoy. No boats are sunk, but two of the German boats (Adele and Diete Korner) are damaged and beached
The Soviet Baltic Fleet evacuates Tallinn, Estonia in a maximum effort of over 200 vessels. The ships head toward Kronstadt, Kotlin Island near Leningrad. There are four separate convoys and a Soviet main covering force commanded by Vice Admiral V.F. Tributs. Prior to leaving, the Soviets scuttle a number of vessels, including:
sailing ship Juno
sailing ship Kodu
sailing ship Leidus
sailing ship Minnalaid
sailing ship Delphin
sailing ship Kihelkonna
185-ton freighter Salmi
403-ton freighter Saturn.
minelayer Amur (blocking ship)
696-ton freighter Gamma (blocking ship)
80-ton tugboat Virre (blocking ship)
160-ton freighter Alar (blocking ship)
freighter Diana (blocking ship)
The Soviet evacuation proceeds without incident today (it runs into difficulties on the 28th). Shortly after the last ship leaves, the Germans occupy the port. It is an audacious gamble made in the teeth of German aerial and naval supremacy of the mine-infested Baltic even though the route only covers 150 miles.
An RAF Catalina takes a picture of U-570 surrendering to a British Royal Navy ship, 27 August 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-570 (Kptlt. Hans-Joachim Rahmlow), on its first patrol out of Trondheim, surfaces directly below a patroling RAF Hudson of RAF No. 269 Squadron due south of Reykjavik. The plane quickly drops depth charges on U-570 south of Iceland, forcing it to the surface and to surrender. There are 44 survivors. The Royal Navy captures the submarine and tows it to Thorlakshafn, Iceland. The Royal Navy ultimately recommissions it in the Royal Navy as HMS Graph and uses it operationally.
U-557 (KrvKpt. Ottokar Arnold Paulssen), on its third patrol operating out of Lorient, has a big day. It torpedoes and sinks several ships of Convoy OS-4 west of Ireland and south of Iceland:
4414-ton Norwegian freighter Segundo (seven deaths, 27 survivors)
6303-ton British freighter Saugor (59 deaths, 23 survivors)
4736-ton British freighter Tremoda (32-35 deaths, 18-21 survivors )
4954-ton British freighter Embassage (39 deaths, 3 survivors).
U-202 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 230-ton British freighter Ladylove. Ladylove is part of Convoy OS-4 south of Iceland. All 14 men on board perish.
There is a tragedy on HMS Lulworth when Canadian seaman Lt. C.A. Keeler jumps off the ship to rescue a female survivor from 439-ton Norwegian freighter Ingria of Convoy OS-4. Both are lost at sea and their bodies are never found. Keeler receives the Albert Medal posthumously.
The German 6th Destroyer Division, based at Kirkenes, Norway, already is suffering from combat and the elements. After only six weeks in Northern Norway, destroyers Richard Beitzen and Hermann Schoemann must return to German for repairs. This leaves only two destroyers to patrol the northern convoy routes - right when activity is starting to ramp up with British supply missions to Murmansk and Archangel.
US Battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) departs from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol. American Task Group TG-2.5, led by aircraft carrier Yorktown, arrives at Bermuda to conclude a neutrality patrol. Royal Navy battleship Rodney departs from Bermuda and joins American Task Force TG2.6 to search for a reported Kriegsmarine cruiser in the North Atlantic (reported by Canadian AMC Prince David).
Convoy ON-10 departs from Liverpool.
Royal Navy destroys Rotherham and corvettes Eglantine and Soroy are commissioned, destroyer Aldenham and submarine Traveler are launched.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian soldiers at Tobruk with Polish soldiers of the Carpathian Brigade, continues. Royal Navy minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers Hotspur, Kingston, and Kipling are escorted to Tobruk after dark from Alexandria. Unlike previous Treacle missions, however, the Italian Regia Aeronautica makes a successful attack on the convoy. An Italian S.79 of 279 Squadron hits escorting light cruiser Phoebe with an aerial torpedo about 100 miles northeast of Tobruk. The attack kills eight sailors. Phoebe makes it back to Tobruk under its own power, and the rest of the ships make it to Tobruk and back without suffering further attacks. Phoebe later proceeds to New York Navy Yard for repairs that last until 15 April 1942.
While en route from Naples to Tripoli, an Italian convoy is attacked. Royal Navy submarine Urge (Lt Cdr Tomkinson) torpedoes 497-ton Italian freighter Aquitania, but Aquitania is able to return to Trapani, Sicily at reduced speed. Italian torpedo boat Clio counterattacks Urge and damages the British submarine. Two other Royal Navy submarines, Unbeaten and Utmost, also attack ships in the area but miss.
Royal Navy submarine Triumph (Cdr Woods) captures and then sinks an Italian fishing boat off the Furano River, Sicily.
Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues today with the departure from Port Said of Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta and transport Salamaua. The ships proceed to Famagusta, arriving on the 29th, and then return to Alexandria to conclude the operation.
The Luftwaffe attacks Tobruk, and a Junkers Ju-87 Stuka sinks 245-ton whaler Skudd III. There are three deaths immediately, another man dies later of wounds, and two sailors are missing. An additional six men are wounded.
Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille shoots down a Hurricane fighter near Gambut, Libya.
There is an invasion alert on Gozo beach at Malta due to reports of Italian torpedo boats in the area. However, there is no invasion.
USS North Carolina firing her forward 16" guns during trials, 26-27 Aug 1941.
Partisans: Pierre Laval attends a review of the Legion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolshevisme (LVF), a collaborationist militia unit on its way to the Eastern Front. Laval is shot by 21-year-old Paul Collette, a disaffected former member of the nationalist Croix-de-Feu and then French Social Party (PSF). The bullet just misses Laval's heart and, for a bullet shot, causes minimal injury. Marcel Déat, another collaborationist, also is shot and injured.
The incident hardens the Vichy government's resolve to eliminate dissent within its zone. It arrests political opponents and simply calls them "communists" to justify the arrests regardless of their true political affiliations.
Laval, shortly after being shot, prevents the Germans from immediately shooting Collette. He tells the German officer who has apprehended the shooter, "Don't do that. You do not know how the French will react like I do." Laval is not particularly popular in France despite being a long-time politician and former head of the government, so he has no illusions that the public will support his ordering instant executions by the occupying army. However, Collette is not let go - he will go on trial, be sentenced to death, have his sentence commuted by Petain, and then be sent to a succession of French prisons and ultimately Mauthausen concentration camp.
Collette, despite his own arduous path for the duration of the war and murky motives, becomes something of a symbol for the French Resistance. He survives the war, publishes a book, "I Shot Laval," in 1946, and dies in 1995.
U-570 is captured by the Royal Navy, 27 August 1941.
Spy Stuff: U-570, captured by the Royal Navy today, has its cipher gear intact. The scientists at Bletchley Park know all about German cipher equipment already, though extra and current copies are always welcome. Contrary to myth, this capture does prove of war-winning benefit to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. The German crew has plenty of time (actually, all day long, as the British take that long to get ships in the area) to destroy its current codes and anything else of value before being taken as prisoners. Thus, the capture is worth less than it might seem from a codebreaking standpoint, though of course it is a daring feat and does deprive the Kriegsmarine of a submarine. Many Kriegsmarine codes remain unbreakable throughout the war because German sailors are the best-trained and most disciplined ciphers in the Wehrmacht. Lapses in coding are the main source of codebreaking - not having copies of the equipment used - and the Kriegsmarine makes relatively few errors that give codebreakers an opening.
In Washington, D.C., Dusko Popov meets with FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover. Popov is a putative spy for the Germans who is a double agent for the Allies. Popov has in his possession a list of questions given to him to ask about which prominently features Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - the main base of the US Pacific Fleet. Hoover, however, sees no significance in these questions.
Special Operations: Operation Gauntlet continues in Spitzbergen without any interference from the Germans. The Norwegians are sending the Germans in mainland Norway false weather reports of fog which keep away Luftwaffe reconnaissance flights by Wettererkundungsstaffel (Wekusta 5). The Canadians settle in and continue destroying mining equipment and coal dumps in the midnight sun. The Germans don't know anything is amiss, so they continue sending colliers to pick up loads of coal - which the Canadians gladly seize.
Applied Science: Winston Churchill approves the MAUD Committee's suggestion that an atomic bomb should be developed:
Although personally, I am quite content with the existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement, and I therefore think that action should be taken in the sense proposed by Lord Cherwell.
The Americans already are working toward an atomic bomb, and also have reached the same conclusions as Churchill based on their reading of the same MAUD Report.
US/Japanese Relations: Ambassador Nomura hand-delivers a note from Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoye to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. It states in part that he wants:
to discuss from a broad standpoint all important problems between Japan and America covering the entire Pacific area, and to explore the possibility of saving the situation.
In a sign of things to come, the Japanese embassy staff has difficulty completing the translation of Prince Konoye's message in time for Nomura's meeting with the Secretary of State - even though they have the message a full day in advance. Thus, Nomura must deliver the message only partly in writing and partly orally. Hull denies Nomura's request to see President Roosevelt immediately but says he will try to set up a meeting in the morning.
The Director of the American Bureau for Japanese Foreign Affairs, Mr. Terasaki, delivers a statement intended for US Ambassador Joseph Grew. It demands that the US tankers bound for Vladivostok be recalled or, if that is impossible, be rerouted to avoid passing through the Straits of Saya and Tsugaru. The Japanese note says that Imperial Japan resents supplies being sent through Japanese waters to the USSR, which may later use those supplies against Japan.
A Finnish soldier receives his cigarette ration, 27 August 1941 (SA-Kuva).
Japanese military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 6667-ton freighter Onoe Maru.
British Government: Giving in to its usually latent socialistic impulses, the British Government nationalizes the railways for the duration of the conflict. The owners are given £43,000,000 per year as compensation.
China: At Macau, the Japanese issue an ultimatum to the Portuguese administrators of the city: either the city takes a pro-Japanese stance, or the Japanese will block all food imports.
Hungarian Jews being led to their executions at Kaments-Podolski, 27 or 28 August 1941.
Holocaust: SS units under the command of the Higher SS and Police Leader for the southern region, SS General Friedrich Jeckeln, murder 23,600 Hungarian Jews at Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukrainian SSR. This figure is taken from Jeckeln's own report, and some estimates place the number closer to 25,000. As usual in such incidents, the victims are marched to pits outside of town and shot so that they fall into them (in this case, bomb craters). This incident is the largest mass execution to date and a precursor of much larger ones to come in September 1941 and thereafter.
Soviet Homefront: An Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-6-G2 (TB-3) (CCCP-L1996) crashes into a hill near Kyzyl-Arviat, Turkmenistan. It is carrying cargo on the Tashkent-Ashgabat route, apparently in support of the Soviet invasion of Iran. The pilot apparently cannot find the airport and tries to land in the countryside, but the plane is destroyed and all six crew are killed.
American Homefront: Charlie Root gets his 200th win, the first to do so in Chicago Cubs history, in a 6-4 win over the Boston Braves. Root gave up the famous "called homerun" to Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series. Root will retire at the end of the season with 201 career victories.
Paramount's "Aloma of the South Seas" premieres. It stars Dorothy Lamour as Aloma and is directed by Alfred Santell. The film, in Technicolor, is later nominated for two Academy Awards for cinematography and visual effects.
Future History: Cesària Évora is born in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde. She becomes a popular singer and earns the nickname "The Barefoot Diva" due to her penchant for singing without shoes. She passes away on 17 December 2011 in her hometown.
A blown bridge at Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, 15 July 1941.
Eastern Front: Demonstrating that the Wehrmacht's striking power remains intact on 15 July 1941 despite weeks of unrelieved wear and tear and Soviet counterattacks, Generals Hoth and Guderian brush aside Soviet opposition at Smolensk. Ultimately, the Germans encircle about 300,000 Soviet troops in the Smolensk–Orsha pocket. It is an unalloyed victory and one of the great triumphs of Operation Barbarossa.
In the Far North sector, Finnish VI Corps advances toward Lake Ladoga from the northeast and continues clearing resistance on the eastern shore of the Jänisjärvi Lake (north of Lake Ladoga). The defending Soviet 7th Army opposing VI Corps is outnumbered and over-matched and struggles to maintain a front north of Lake Ladoga. However, Finnish VII Corps has been having much more trouble advancing parallel to VI Corps on the western shore of Jänisjärvi Lake, and only today does it run up against the main Soviet fortifications. The Finns hope that both Corps will be able to round the lake and meet to the south of it and surround the remaining Soviet defenders, but the two Finnish Corps are operating completely independently and must both overcome their respective opponents for that to happen. An advance to Lake Ladoga also would split the Soviet defenders.
In the Army Group North sector, Soviet 11th Army counterattacks against German 4th Panzer Group in the Lake Ilmen region. The Soviet forces are ravaged, but buy time for Soviet forces further back to build fortifications. In Leningrad, citizens begin building tank traps and other fortifications.
In the Army Group Center sector, the German 29th Motorized Division (General Walter von Bolternstern) of 47 Panzer Korps, supported by 17th Panzer Division, reach the outskirts of Smolensk by 04:00 and take the heart of the city by dark. Soviet 16th Army remains in the suburbs and launches counterattacks, which results in house-to-house fighting. This is a rarity so far during Operation Barbarossa, as the panzers so far have been able to stick to the roads and follow them east toward Moscow. German 7th Panzer Division and 20th Panzer Division bypass Smolensk and reach Yartsevo, to the city's east. Isolating the Soviet forces around Smolensk is more significant in the long run than actually taking the city, and to do both in the same day is a phenomenal achievement. General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group takes Nevel.
In the Army Group South sector, the Battle of Uman begins when General Ewald von Kleist’s 1st Panzerarmee separates the two Soviet sectors of the front south of Kyiv and north of Vinnytsia by capturing Berdychiv. General Karl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel’s 17th Field Army advances to the south of Uman and General Eugen Ritter von Schobert’s 11th Field Army advances northward from the Romanian border. The plan is to encircle large Soviet formations in the vicinity of Kyiv, but the Soviets wrongly interpret the moves as part of an advance to the Dniepr between Kyiv and Cherkasy and further to the east. Romanian troops advance toward Kishinev.
Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders.
Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders makes files his 100th and 101st victory claims. He celebrates by making a victory roll over his JG 51 airfield. Mölders will receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten) for reaching the "C" mark.
Hartwig von Ludwiger is awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 July 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 83 of the 28th Infantry Division for bravery in the vicinity of Smolensk.
The US 1st Armored Division on July 15, 1941. It is celebrating the first anniversary of its founding, hence the giant cake.
European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 38 Wellington bombers to Duisburg after dark. The weather is cloudy, and little is achieved for the loss of 4 bombers to German Flak.
Battle of the Baltic: The German 3rd Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla (S-47, 54, 57, and 58) attacks a Soviet destroyer in the Bay of Riga, but the destroyer gets away.
Just south of Finland, Soviet commandos invade the small Finnish island of Morgonland. The island is important to the Soviets because properly garrisoned, it could restrict access to their port of Hanko on the Finnish mainland, which is still holding out. The Finns only have five lightly armed men on Morgonland, and they are captured and sent to Kazakstan. One survives to see Finland again.
Soviet Zhytomyr-class river monitor Vinnytsia is operating in the Berezina River when it is hit by German field artillery. The master runs the ship aground to avoid sinking, then the crew later scuttles on the 16th to avoid capture.
Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Morosini torpedoes and sinks 3500-ton Royal Navy ocean boarding ship HMS Lady Somers southeast of Ponta Delgada, Azores. All 138 men aboard survive, being picked up by 6382-ton Spanish freighter Campeche. The Admiralty is worried that Axis-leaning Spain will intern the sailors, so they send a small flotilla to intercept the Campeche. However, Campeche makes it to Lisbon and releases them there, from where 1033-ton British freighter Procris takes them to Gibraltar.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 468-ton British freighter Farfield about five nautical miles off South Stack in the Irish Sea. There are eight deaths, but one passenger, a naval rating, survives.
Royal Navy 2938-ton landing ship HMS Prince Philippe collides with 7463-ton freighter Empire Wave west of Scotland and sinks. There is one death.
Swedish freighter Iris collides with RFA Blue Ranger in the Firth of Forth about 4 nautical miles off Pladda, Buteshire, UK, and sinks.
Royal Navy minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield SN.21A in the North Sea.
Convoy SL.81 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.
Canadian destroyer HMCS Huron is laid down at Vickers-Armstrong Ltd. in Newcastle-on-Tyne.
US aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16, currently named the USS Cabot) and anti-aircraft cruiser Oakland are laid down. The Cabot will be renamed the Lexington after its namesake, CV-2, is lost at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
U-507 is launched, U-223, U-224, U-623, and U-624 are laid down.
The Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Maikaze on 15 July 1941.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten sinks Italian patrol boat Nettuno off Mara Zuag Roads, Libya. The submarine crew also claims to sink a second patrol boat, but that is unverified.
Royal Navy submarine HMS P.33 torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter Barbarigo about 8 nautical miles (15 km) south of Pantelleria.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku sinks 270-ton Italian patrol boat Vincenzo Padre east of Ras Auegla, Libya.
The Luftwaffe attacks two Royal Navy lighters A.10 and A.11) while they are sailing to Tobruk. The planes badly damage A.10 east of Tobruk and later sinks while in tow. There is one death and three wounded in A.10 and one wounded in A.11.
The Regia Aeronautica raids Malta several times after dark, but the bombs are dropped virtually at random. There are a few wounded soldiers. A Maryland reconnaissance plane fails to return from a mission and the crew of three deaths. Also, a crewman on a Blenheim that is attacking a Tripoli convoy perishes when hit by anti-aircraft fire.
Battle of the Black Sea: The Red Air Force bombs and sinks Romanian Navy minelayer NMS Aurora at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube, the easternmost part of Romania.
Battle of the Pacific: Two Soviet submarines, M-49 and M-63, hit mines and sink off Vladivostok.
Japanese light cruiser Kashii, July 15, 1941.
Partisans: The revolt in Montenegro against Italian occupation authorities continues to grow. Two units of 80 insurgents (from Ljubotinj and Upper Ceklin) ambush a convoy of trucks transporting Italian II Border guard battalion from Podgorica.
Italian forces are sent to relieve Cetinje, which is besieged by the insurgents. After eight hours of battle, the insurgents are victorious and kill 70–80 Italian soldiers and officers, wound 260, and capture the remaining 440 Italians.
At Virpazar, rebels capture several small boats. They intend to use them to trade with Italian authorities in Scutari.
Spy Stuff: The Japanese are keeping a close eye on US military activity all across the Pacific. Today, the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines reports to Tokyo about the status of construction at the Cavite military base due to an electricity outage caused by bad weather.
Howard Florey.
Applied Science: The MAUD Committee in London approves its final report on nuclear research and disbands ("Maud" does not stand for anything and is not an acronym; it actually is just taken from a cryptic comment made by Niels Bohr in a telegram from occupied Europe about his children's nanny, named Maud Ray Kent). The MAUD Committee is a secret unit of the Air Ministry tasked with discussing the feasibility of atomic weapons.
While they are still only a theoretical concept, atomic bombs are described in great detail and with precise accuracy in the MAUD report. The report includes a concrete proposal for building atomic weapons, including cost estimates and how long the project could take. It states in part:
We have now reached the conclusion that it will be possible to make an effective uranium bomb which, containing some 25 lb of active material, would be equivalent as regards destructive effect to 1,800 tons of T.N.T. and would also release large quantities of radioactive substance, which would make places near to where the bomb exploded dangerous to human life for a long period.
Vannevar Bush has reviewed drafts of the report but awaits the receipt of an official final copy before taking any action.
British researcher Howard Florey and his graduate student assistant, Norman Heatley, arrive at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois. They bring with them freeze-dried mold cultures and information that will lead to the mass production of Penicillin.
A bloodless bullfight at an unknown location on July 15, 1941 (AP Photo).
Japanese/Mexican/US Relations: There is a very quiet economic war in progress between the United States and Japan even though the guns remain silent. This explodes today in an unexpected direction: Mexico.
Mexico and the US sign an agreement today instituting an embargo of Mexican exports outside the Americas. This obviously is directed at Japan, given that Japan relies heavily on Mexican mercury and other items.
Yoshiaki Miura, Japanese Minister in Mexico City and who also happens to be the head of the Japanese Intelligence Network in Mexico and Central America, calls a meeting of local Japanese businessmen to discuss the situation. They decide to test the Mexican position by requesting approval to export goods already under contract to Japan. Miura decides that, if Mexico refuses to approve the exports, Japan, in turn, will take steps against Mexico. These include stopping the export from Japan to Mexico of rayon, which Mexico greatly needs (it has no other source of supply). Japan also would refuse the use of Japanese shipping to Mexico.
The upshot is that Minister Miura has his agents successfully work a deal with Mexico's Economic Minister: Japan will trade 20,000 cases of rayon for 8,000 bottles of Mexican mercury despite the embargo. Miura sends the proposed deal to Tokyo for approval.
Anglo/US Relations: The US Marine Corps activates its Marine Detachment at the American Embassy in London, England.
Commissioning Ceremony, NAS Argentia, 15 July 1941.
US Military: Having finally been supplied with Prestone antifreeze for their P-35As in the Philippines, the pilots of the 3rd and 20th Pursuit Squadrons finally complete their qualifications on the fighter.
The US sets up a base at Argentia Bay, Newfoundland. Opening today is the Argentia US Naval Air Station and the US Naval Operating Base.
German Military: Throughout the war, working on the front lines is extremely hazardous for German war correspondents and photographers. Today, two men in this capacity perish, namely, Max Kretzer, 87, German writer; and Walter Ruttmann, 53, German film director.
Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel is named the official commander of Panzer Group Afrika.
Italian Military: Inigo Campioni is appointed the governor of the Italian Aegean Islands, also known as the Italian Dodecanese.
Joseph P. Kennedy in his pilot's uniform while training at the Squantum, Massachusetts Naval Air Station, 15 July 1941.
British Government: The British government begins requiring import permits for all cargo passing through English ports. Any cargo without a permit is subject to seizure. This is of concern to the Japanese (as revealed by Magic intercepts), who don't like their activities scrutinized.
Libya/Syria: Having conquered Syria and Lebanon from the Vichy French, the British offer local people self-rule. This fulfills a promise made by Free French leader Charles de Gaulle.
Leaders of the Jewish community of the town of Balti (right) are seen before their execution on July 15, 1941. Soldiers/executioners stand at left. (Photo: Matatias Carp, Cartea Neagra - Bucharest, 1947 - Volume III).
Holocaust: There is a mass execution of Jews at Balti, Moldova. This is part of a targeted campaign against Jews instituted by the government of Prime Minister Ion Antonescu.
American Homefront: In the final game of a series against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, Chicago, New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio goes 2-4 against White Sox hurler Eddie Smith. This extends DiMaggio's hitting streak to 55 consecutive games, extending his major league record.
Look magazine, 15 July 1941, features an article by Mrs. Roosevelt.
Katyusha rockets, first used by the Red Army near Orsha on 14 July 1941.
Eastern Front: The spearheads of Army Group North reach the Luga River on 14 July 1941. The Luga is the last natural barrier before Leningrad. Leningrad is of top priority because the Finns are coming down on the other side, and linking up with them would free up a lot of formations. However, the real action is in the south, where a major battle appears to be shaping up around Kyiv.
In the Far North Sector, German General Dietl's attempt to get the advance toward Murmansk moving again fails as the Soviets land the 325th Rifle Regiment at the Bay of Litsa for a counterattack against German Army of Norway. Further south, however, the Finns continue making progress in Karelia. Their Army of Karelia takes the important road junction of Loimola and Muanto northeast of Lake Ladoga, sending the defending Soviet 7th Army and 23rd Army reeling back toward the lake. With the Wehrmacht advancing toward Leningrad swiftly from the southwest, Soviet forces in Karelia stand a good chance of being cut off.
In the Army Group North sector, German commandos of the Brandenburg special forces unit don Red Army and drive up in captured Soviet trucks in a daring operation to capture twin bridges at Porechye over the Luga River. Soviet Luga Operational Group counterattacks but cannot dislodge the Germans. German 6th Panzer Division takes a bridgehead over the Narva River. Soviet 11th Army, which has under command 41st and 22nd Rifle Corps and the 1st Mechanized Corps, counterattacks at Soltsy after Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group takes it. General Hoepner's 4th Panzer Group advances into the Lake Peipus area, while General von Manstein attacks toward Novgorod.
In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets deploy an experimental battery of seven Katyusha mobile rocket launchers for the first time near Orsha/Smolensk in Vitebsk Province. The goal is to recapture a railway station with two Soviet ammunition trains. Under the command of Captain Ivan Flyorov, the unit fires two volleys of 16-rockets each. The barrage destroys the advancing German unit of tanks and armored vehicles and chases them out of the town, enabling the Soviet recapture of the trains. This successful introduction causes the Red Army to expand the use of the Katyushas and organize new Guards mortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions (Guards units are those that have been honored for some success on the battlefield and given extra units). This use of Katyusha rockets is a tonic to Soviet morale and ushers in an entirely new class of weapons - mobile rocket launchers.
General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group continues to roll eastward and, late in the day, reaches the outskirts of Smolensk. His troops report that some of the enemy troops are running away "in wild flight," according to General Halder's war diary, but also some Soviets are trying to hold their positions. A Soviet counterattack centered on Gomel begins on the south flank of the army group, apparently to relieve pressure on Smolensk. General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group heads toward a major Soviet troop concentration centered at Nevel.
In the Army Group South sector, a Soviet counterattack at Zvyagol gains steam. OKH sends the 25th Motorized Division and the SS Adolf Hitler Division to clear the Zvyagol/Zhytomyr highway. This is an important conduit to III Corps further up the road, which already is under pressure itself and running low on ammunition. Elsewhere on the front, the heavy fighting at Berdichev is dying down, with 11th Army having taken 2000 casualties. Outside of Kyiv, the 13th Infantry Division cuts railroad lines into Kyiv from the west and south.
Newsweek's 14 July 1941 cover story is "Moscow's Hope: Red Blasters vs. Panzers." Coincidentally, 14 July 1941 also is the day the Soviet Red Army first uses Katyusha rockets against the Wehrmacht.
Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Armistice of Saint-Jean d'Acre (also known as the "Convention of Acre") is signed at the Sidney Smith Barracks on the outskirts of the city of Acre. The armistice agreement provides that the 37,563 Vichy French military and civilian personnel in the Levant will be repatriated to France in eight convoys in August and September. The French can retain their side-arms and remain in their units, but their equipment is handed over to the British victors. The Armistice provides that local levees of Syrian and Lebanese volunteers, organized as the Special Troops of the Levant, remain free and simply revert to British command.
An exchange of prisoners also is required, but the British are upset when they learn that the French took many prisoners out of the country. Demanding their return, the British hold Vichy commander General Henri Dentz and 29 of his senior officers in detention in Palestine until they are handed over.
The Convention of Acre effectively ends the campaign in Syria and Lebanon. From a strategic perspective, this is a big win for the Allies because it ensures the safety of the oil route from Basra/Baghdad in Iraq to Haifa, Palestine. It also removes the threat of a concentric attack on Egypt should General Rommel's Afrika Korps make further advances.
Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.
European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 29 Blenheim bombers on a coastal sweep all the way from Cherbourg to the Netherlands. They wind up in a Circus mission at the Hazebrouck railway yards after attacking several targets along the way. Two Blenheims fail to return.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Bremen with 78 Wellingtons and 19 Whitleys. They have three main targets:
the Alstadt
the goods station
the shipyards
The attack is considered a success despite the fact that four Wellingtons fail to return, as returning crews report "the whole town was ablaze."
RAF Bomber Command also attacks Hannover with 85 aircraft, 44 Hampdens, 21 Wellingtons, 14 Halifaxes, and 6 Stirlings. The targets are a rubber plant and the city center. This attack also is considered a success, although two Wellingtons fail to return.
RAF Bomber Command also sends six Wellingtons to attack Rotterdam and 10 Hampdens on minelaying operations in the Frisian Islands and the Elbe.
RAF fighter ace James Lacey shoots down a Bf-109.
A Vickers Wellington Mk I captured by the Luftwaffe from the Royal Air Force’s 311 Sqn (KX-T, RAF Serial L7842). 311 Squadron was first formed at RAF Honington, Suffolk on 29 July 1940, equipped with Wellington I bombers and crewed mostly by Czechoslovakian aircrew who had escaped from Europe. This was before the aircraft received its traditional bright yellow underside paint used by the Luftwaffe’s Rechlin test facility. L7842 was delivered in mid-1940. It was lost on 6 February 1941 while in service with No. 311 (Czech) Squadron - it was forced to land during a mission to Boulogne and captured intact, as shown.
RAF figures indicate that Bomber Command loses its 1000th aircraft during the war. These break down as follows:
328 lost during daylight operations
672 lost during night operations
The number of sorties breaks down as follows:
40,346 sorties total
3,737 daytime sorties
32,609 night-time sorties
While more bombers have been lost during the night-time, the figures show a much different story for casualty rates:
4.2% casualty rate during daylight operations
2.1% casualty rate during night operations
The 40,346 sorties have dropped a total of 28,642 bombs dropped.
Luftwaffe ace Joseph "Pips" Priller of I./JG 26 on 14 July 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: Italian submarine Morosini torpedoes and sinks 5358-ton British freighter Rupert De Larrinaga in the Azores southeast of Ponta Delgada. There are 44-45 survivors, picked up by passing 6382-ton Spanish tanker Campeche.
Italian submarine Alessandro Malaspina torpedoes and sinks 3576-ton Greek freighter Nikoklis about 105 miles southwest of the Azores. There are 17 deaths.
The German 1st Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla (S.26, 27, 28, 40, and 101) attacks a Soviet convoy off Ekholm, Finland without causing any damage.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1305-ton Swedish freighter Aspen 45 nautical miles (83 km) off Rotterdam/Ijmuiden. There are two deaths. Some accounts place this incident on 16 July.
British 5449-ton freighter Hannington Court catches fire about 9 miles south of Dyer's Island, South Africa, and is badly damaged. Later, because the drifting and abandoned ship is a navigational hazard, the Hannington Court is sunk by shellfire. There are two deaths.
Convoy OB-346 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.
Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare (ASW) trawler HMS Quadrille is commissioned, submarine Simoon is laid down.
US submarine USS Herring is laid down, and the keel is laid for USCGC Storis.
Free French soldiers at Bethlehem French Hospital, 14 July 1941 (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection - Reproduction number: LC-DIG-matpc-21362).
Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Osiris torpedoes and damages 5293-ton Italian freighter Capo D'Orso in the Sicilian Strait northwest of Lampedusa.
The Luftwaffe torpedoes and sinks 3147-ton British freighter Brodwal in Beirut Roads off Beirut, Lebanon.
The Luftwaffe also torpedoes and sinks 2370-ton Vichy French freighter Lesbian at Beirut, Lebanon. Some sources say that the ship is intentionally scuttled due to the Armistice.
Junkers Ju-88 bombers based on Crete attack Suez, damaging ships and harbor infrastructure. British troopship Georgic of Convoy WS-9A (Winston Special) is hit and set afire. The ship drifts to the beach, entangling itself with landing ship Glenearn on the way, which also is badly damaged. There are 26 deaths. Glenearn later has to be towed to Bombay in August 1941, while Georgic is out of action until March 1943, when it arrives in England for repairs.
Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta runs supplies during the night along with British destroyer Hero. While tied up and unloading, an accident happens during which its hull is breached. It sails to Mersa Matruh anyway, where it undergoes temporary repairs and then heads to Alexandria.
An Axis convoy of five freighters departs Tripoli bound for Naples. The RAF sends Swordfish torpedo-bombers from Malta to attack, but they can't find the convoy.
At Malta, a Malta-based reconnaissance plane flown by Flight Officer Adrian Warburton is flying over Catania, Sicily on a routine reconnaissance flight when the Italians at an airfield mistake his plane for an Italian one. The ground crew flashes Warburton a green light to land on the field, so Warburton drops his wheels and pretends to make a landing approach. However, at the last second, he makes a strafing run on the planes parked along the runway.
Life Magazine, 14 July 1941, "Sand Sailing."
Battle of the Black Sea: The Red Air Force bombs and sinks 1201-ton Romanian bucket dredger Sir John Baldwin in the Danube Delta. She later is refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet makes a rendezvous with supply ship Anneliese Essberger.
Partisans: The uprising in Montenegro against Italian rule continues. Today, the rebels take Mojkovac, killing Italian gendarmes. The revolt (the 13 July Uprising) continues adding new supporters throughout the regime.
Applied Science: The MAUD Committee report, which states that an atomic bomb is feasible, finds its ways into the hands of Dr. Vannevar Bush, head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and Dr. James B. Conant, head of the National Defense Research Committee.
British papers, such as the 14 July 1941 News Chronicle, are full of news about the recent signing in Moscow of the Anglo/Soviet Pact.
German/Finnish Relations: General Halder notes in his war diary that General Erfurth has told him that Finnish leader Mannerheim is "showing a certain passive resistance against the idea of an operation east of Lake Ladoga." This is the first sign of Finnish reluctance to advance beyond what Finland considers to be its rightful historic lands and into Russia. "There are some misunderstandings, it seems," Halder concludes, noting that he has sent someone to "clear up the situation."
Japanese/Vichy French Relations: In Paris, Japanese Ambassador Kato asks Vice-Premier Darlan for French official recognition of the Japanese puppet regime in Nanking, China. Darlan vaguely replies that he will look into it. Kato also submits a list of Japanese demands for use of air and naval bases in southern French Indochina - which would come in handy for attacking Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Phillippines, and Singapore.
US Coast Guard Cutter Storis under construction at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company. "Storis" is a Scandinavian word meaning "Great Ice." With her keel laid on 14 July 1941, Storis is launched on 4 April 1942 and commissioned on 30 September 1942 as an ice patrol tender.
German/Japanese Relations: Hitler meets with Japanese Ambassador Oshima. As German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has been trying to do, Hitler asks Japan to attack Siberia (instead of attacking south) and suggests that the two countries could combine to isolate and subdue the United States. Japan, however, has no intention of attack Vladivostok, and Oshima politely indicates that to Ribbentrop.
German/Spanish Relations: Spanish General Agustin Munoz Grandes, the commander of the Spanish volunteer Blue Division, flies to Berlin for talks regarding the Wehrmacht's use of the Blue Division on the Eastern Front.
Time Magazine, July 14, 1941, | Vol. 38 No. 2. General Keitel on the cover, watched by the ghosts of Napoleon and the Kaiser (cover credit: Ernest Hamlin Baker). While the Allies do not know it, Keitel basically has been reduced to the status of Hitler's adjutant and does not control the Wehrmacht in the same fashion that those other leaders commanded their own militaries.
German Military: General Franz Halder, the OKH operations boss, is losing his patience with Fuhrer Headquarters. He writes in his war diary regarding back-and phone calls between the Wofschanze and the front commands:
Those futile telephone conversations continue until long past midnight; they only accomplish killing in field commands any desire to shoulder responsibility and waste everyone's time. The Fuhrer's eternal meddling in matters, the pattern of which he does not understand, are becoming more than anyone can stand.
Halder follows this with a brief note that another Fuhrer order has just arrived regarding troop strength.
Amon Göth is promoted to the rank of SS-Untersturmführer.
Painter/sculptor Max Ernst discussing his entry to the United States at Ellis Island with US immigration officials. Standing to the left is Peggy Guggenheim, Ernst's future wife, who has helped Ernst to flee Europe.
British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech in Parliament which becomes known as the "Do your worst... and we shall do our best" speech. In it, he pays tributes to the "courage, the unconquerable grit and stamina of our people" during the Blitz. He warns that the Blitz is not yet over, saying "We do not expect to hit without being hit back, and we intend with every week that passes to hit harder."
American Homefront: In a game against the Chicago White Sox in Comiskey Park, Chicago, New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio hits a single off of Sox pitcher Johnny Rigney. This extends his record hitting streak to 54 consecutive games.
Boston American, 14 July 1941. There were many false reports during World War II about Hitler jailing Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering - which did eventually come true, but not in 1941.
