Sunday 1 June 1941

Farhud Riot, Baghdad, 1 June 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: Prince 'Abd al-Ilah (Abdullah), who has been waiting patiently at the British airbase at Habbaniya, returns to Baghdad as the Regent on 1 June 1941. The pro-British monarchy and government are put back in place. British troops, by and large, remain outside Baghdad because they are vastly outnumbered by Iraqi troops and the city's populace.

There now begins two days of violence in Baghdad that occur during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. This is known as the Farhud (pogrom, literally "violent dispossession") and is directed against the Jewish Quarter. The incident begins (this is disputed) when a delegation of Jewish Iraqis leaves their homes to journey to the Palace of Flowers (Qasr al Zuhur) to pay their respects to the newly returned regent. An Arabic mob attacks them as they cross Al Khurr Bridge. The riot builds in intensity throughout the day.

This begins a long process and persecution that virtually eliminates historic communities of Sephardic Jews from the Arab world. This incident is sometimes referred to as the "forgotten pogrom." It apparently is a spontaneous reaction to the British defeat of the Rashid Ali government, because Jews have lived in Iraq for hundreds and hundreds - 1200 - years.

Everything about the Farhud is disputed, including what actually happens during it and its long-term effect. It is estimated that 130-180 Jews - maybe hundreds more - are killed during the Farhud pogrom. There also are 1000 injured. Many non-Jews also are killed, some when they attempt to intervene to protect Jews. Some 900 Jewish homes are destroyed and there is widespread looting of Jewish property. Some call this part of the Holocaust, others define it as a separate event.

Another view of the Farhud pogrom in Baghdad, 1 June 1941.

European Air Operations: In order to cover up the movement of the mass of its planes to the East, the Luftwaffe raids Great Britain with 110 aircraft. The main target is Manchester. Another force of about 130 planes bombs Merseyside (Liverpool).

The Luftwaffe begins making command appointments preparatory to Operation Barbarossa. Oblt. Wilfried Balfanz becomes Gruppenkommandeur of I / JG 53. Major Joachim Seegert is made Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 77.

Premier fighter squadron JG 26 (Adolf Galland) moves to new bases. I group to Clairmarais near St. Omer, II Gruppe to Maldegem in Belgium and III Gruppe to Ligescourt (Liegescourt) north of Abbeville. While elements of JG 26 fight at various times in the Mediterranean and the Soviet Union, most of the formation remains on the Channel Front throughout the war.

British sailors bring their kits aboard a Lend-Lease vessel, ready to sail her across the Atlantic, on June 1, 1941 (AP Photo)/

Battle of the Atlantic: U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe), on its extended second patrol out of Lorient and operating off Freetown, Sierra Leone, torpedoes and sinks 4719-ton British collier Scottish Monarch southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. There is one death and 44 survivors rescued by Dutch freighter Alphard and British freighter Christine Marie.

U-107 (K.Kapt. Günther Hessler), on its second patrol and operating 140 miles off Sierra Leone, Freetown, torpedoes and sinks 5013-ton British freighter Alfred Jones. Alfred Jones is part of Convoy OB 320 and, among other things, carries RAF planes bound for Gambia (and thence Egypt). There are two deaths, the 62 survivors are picked up by corvette HMS Marguerite.

U-204 (Kptlt. Walter Kell), operating northwest of Dyrafjord, Iceland, is on its first patrol and en route to Wolfpack West when it spots a fishing trawler. Kell surfaces and uses his deck gun to sink 16-ton Icelandic trawler Holmsteinn. Some sources place this on 31 May.

Italian submarine Marconi uses its deck gun to sink 318-ton Portuguese fishing trawler Exportador I about 137 miles southwest of Cape St. Vincent. There are two deaths, twenty crew are rescued.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4333-ton Norwegian freighter Fernbank off Peterhead, Scotland. The ship makes it into Aberdeen before the end of the day.

June 1941. "Interior of Negro rural house. Greene County, Georgia." Negative by Jack Delano, Farm Security Administration (Shorpy).

Prinz Eugen sails into the French port of Brest unnoticed by the Royal Navy. Prinz Eugen has engine trouble that requires extensive repairs, and it will spend the rest of 1941 being repaired. This concludes Operation Rheinübung, a failure by the Kriegsmarine.

Prinz Eugen joins idle battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the port. They all sit idle in the port with no plans for use, which likely would have been the fate of battleship Bismarck as well had it survived. German warships no longer will challenge Royal Navy supremacy on the high seas, though there will still be occasional deadly encounters. The U-boat fleet, however, remains as deadly as ever and is increasing in size and range.

The Royal Navy now begins a concerted effort to find and eliminate the Kriegsmarine's highly effective overseas supply network. These "milch" ships have been supplying both German surface raiders and the U-boat fleet. The German supply ships typically sail under false flags, but their true defense is simply operating in areas outside the shipping lanes and depending upon the vastness of the Atlantic to hide them.

The US Coast Guard establishes the South Greenland Patrol under Commander Harold G. Belford, USCG. This consists of Coast Guard cutters USCGC Modoc (CGC-39) and USCGC Comanche (CGC-57); yard tug USCGC Raritan (CGC-72); and the U.S. Navy's unclassified auxiliary vessel USS Bowdoin (IX-50), a schooner. Their patrol line is Cape Brewster in the northeast to Cape Farewell to Upernivik Island on the northwest coast.

RAF No. 120 Squadron forms at Nutts Corner, Northern Ireland. It uses American-built Consolidated Liberator long-range maritime patrol aircraft. There remains a large mid-ocean gap where aerial reconnaissance remains impossible at this time, but this covers of the Northwest Approaches makes that area much safer for Allied ships.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Teviotbank lays minefield BS.63 in the English Channel.

Convoy HX 130 departs from Halifax with a heavy escort including battleship HMS Ramillies, Convoy SC 33 departs Sidney, BC.

"Female members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) unit attached to the 1st Polish Corps (commanded by Diana Napier) doing maintenance work on their ambulance at Cupar, 1 June 1941." © IWM (H 10164).

Battle of the Mediterranean: On Crete, 3710 British troops and others are taken off by the Royal Navy during the night of 31 May/1 June. After that, evacuations end. A total of about 16,511 people out of the starting force of 32,000 make it off the island to safety in Egypt.

During the day, the Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 88) hits retreating cruiser HMS Calcutta with two bombs. The cruiser sinks within minutes about 100 miles northwest of Alexandria. There are 255 survivors and 118 perish.

During the day, the embarkation port of Sfakia falls to the Wehrmacht. About 5000 Commonwealth troops (Australian Lieutenant Colonel Theo Walker) defending Sfakia surrender and immediately go into captivity. It is estimated that about 12,000 British and Dominion troops and uncounted thousands of Greek troops remain on the island. Some of them surrender now, some of them surrender later at some point during 1941, some of them go into hiding in the numerous caves on the island and work with partisans, and some still attempt to somehow make it to Egypt, with little success.

The remnants of Layforce, Australian 19th Infantry Brigade, and Brigadier Vasey all surrender. A large group of Commonwealth troops that defended Retimo (Rethymno) also surrenders.

The British Air Ministry announces:

After twelve days of the bitterest fighting of the war so far, it has been decided to withdraw our forces from Crete. Although the enemy has suffered massive losses of men and material, we would not in the long term have been able to continue successful troop operations on the island without substantial support from the aerial and naval forces.

The battle for Crete is over: German Operation Mercury has been a resounding success. That the Germans have scored an impressive victory using a new kind of warfare - airborne troops - is undeniable. However, in achieving the victory, the Germans have taken a lot of casualties (as have the British). The numbers lost on both sides have been studied endlessly, and all of the results have methodological assumptions that call into question how accurately they reflect the fighting on Crete during May 1941. Let's go through this briefly.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. sits with schoolchildren in his office at the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. June 1, 1941. (The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum).

The tendency is to overestimate the number of German troops lost during Operation Mercury. Winston Churchill claims that the Germans have lost over 15,000 casualties, while Admiral Andrew Cunningham pegs the figure well above there. Over Allied assessments place the figure in that general vicinity. The United States Army Center of Military History places the number of German casualties around 6,000-7,000 men.

The actual number almost certainly is far lower than the amounts claimed by the Allies. Figures as low as 1,990 Germans killed, 2,131 wounded, and 1,995 missing for a total of 6,116 total casualties have been thrown out. Generally, German sources place the figure far lower. Daniel Marcus Davin, in his "The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War, but the figures at 2,124 Germans killed and 1,917 missing men, totaling 4,041 killed and missing. Add to that 2,640 wounded and 17 Germans captured and you come up with 6,698 total German casualties during Operation Mercury - some of whom could be healed and returned to action. So, realistically the Germans lost roughly 5,500 soldiers to death and incapacitating wounds in taking Crete, but any number you use is subject to attack.

British losses are vastly higher than the German losses. The British began the Crete battle with about 32,000 men. Their losses on Crete are listed as 1,742 killed, 1,737 wounded, and 11,835 taken prisoner. British Major General I.S.O. Playfair and his colleagues in 1956 come up with 3,579 British Commonwealth men killed and missing (presumed to be the same thing), with an additional 1,918 wounded and 12, 254 captured for 17,754 total British permanent losses on land.

However, to those British land losses must be added 1,828 Royal Navy crewmen killed and 183 wounded. In addition, 5,255 of 10,000 Greek refugees from the mainland are listed as captured. In addition, thousands of civilians are lost during the battle, partly due to bombing, but also partly due to the fact that many take up guns and try to defend their own villages. The best figures on Cretan deaths during Operation Mercury are 6,593 men, 1,113 women, and 869 children. The Cretan civilian casualties, however, are just beginning, so it is difficult to attribute some to Operation Mercury and others to post-battle German reprisals.

"A woman makes a purchase of silk stockings at a stall in London’s famous Petticoat Lane on June 1, 1941" Stockings now are rationed, along with other clothing - but not used clothes, which can be bought without rations coupons (AP Photo).

The Royal Navy has lost cruisers HMS Calcutta, Fiji and Gloucester and destroyers Greyhound, Hereward, Juno Kashmir, and Kelly. It also has incurred serious damage to aircraft carrier Formidable, battleships Barham and Warspite, cruisers Ajax, Dido, and Perth, submarine Rover, and destroyers Kelvin and Nubian. Heavy cruiser York, beached on 26 March and used thereafter as a gun platform, now is a total write-off.

The Luftwaffe certainly has taken losses, as the British claim 22 aircraft definitely destroyed, 11 probably destroyed, and 21 damaged. However, the Luftwaffe has thousands of planes available. In the broadest sense, the battle between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Navy - the RAF barely intervened in the battles off Crete - has proven decisively that airpower is superior to naval power. Big ships cannot operate when the skies are dominated by the enemy.

In sum, the battle for Crete has been a complete disaster for the Royal Navy and the British Commonwealth in general. Its strength is now reduced to two battleships and three cruisers. The Italian Navy in the Mediterranean now outnumbers it with four battleships and eleven cruisers, but the Italians don't use their big ships very often, preferring to maintain them as a "fleet in being."

Operation Mercury also proves something more troubling to the British: simply knowing in advance what the Germans are going to do doesn't mean they can be stopped. It is certain that the British government knows before the first airborne troops land on Crete that it is going to be invaded, and how. This, however, does not prevent the German victory - though it likely contributed to the size of Wehrmacht casualties. When Adolf Hitler decides to no longer use airborne troops in offensive operations, it is a wise decision because the British Ultra decrypts enable the British to kill the descending German soldiers at their most vulnerable points and isolate those that survive. Hitler doesn't know about Ultra - but his decision to shelve future projects such as an airborne invasion of Malta probably avoids some disasters due to Ultra.

The war on Crete is not over - in some respects it is just beginning. The Germans already have standing orders from temporary island commander Luftwaffe General Kurt Student to enact reprisals against Greek civilians. Crete is a hugely valuable German defensive bulwark against British attacks on southeastern Europe, but otherwise, it is a relatively useless victory that brings little profit.

Some Afrikakorps boys have some fun cooking eggs on their Panzer II tank, mid-1941.

The British begin reorganizing their RAF command in the Middle East. Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder is appointed Air Officer Commanding in Chief, RAF Middle East Command. Previously, he has been Air Officer Commanding in Chief, RAF Middle East Command. He retains his temporary rank (since 29 November 1940) of air marshal. Winston Churchill previously, in December 1940, sent Air Vice-Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd to take over the position, but Boyd's plane crash-landed on Sicily and he was taken as a prisoner. Marshal Tedder commands the RAF in its continuing operations over North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Lloyd becomes Air Officer Commanding Malta, replacing Air Commodore F. H. M. Maynard. Lloyd previously was Senior Air Staff Officer at RAF No 2 (Bombing) Group Abingdon in England. His mission is to bomb Axis convoys between Naples and Tripoli.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Clyde torpedoes and sinks 3076-ton Italian freighter San Marco about five miles off Capo Carbonara, southeast of Sardinia. The Clyde misses with a torpedo fired at another ship.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay uses its deck gun to sink a caique carrying Wehrmacht troops in the Doro Channel (east of Athens).

The Royal Navy sends 758-ton tanker Balmaha from Alexandria to supply the garrison at Tobruk. It is a hazardous journey that will take days, and the tanker has escorts of sloop Auckland and trawler Southern Maid.

An Axis convoy leaves Naples bound for Tripoli with a heavy escort that includes two cruisers and six destroyers.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Furious arrives at Gibraltar carrying 48 Hawker Hurricane Mk II planes. It transfers 24 to fellow carrier Ark Royal and sends 4 ashore. Taking aboard the aircraft from aircraft carrier Argus, Furious then prepares to lead another supply mission to Malta, Operation Rocket.

The Shadow magazine, 1 June 1941. "The Shadow knows!"

Spy Stuff: Soviet sleeper spy Richard Sorge makes another covert wireless transmission to Moscow. He tells them that German Lt. Colonel Edwin Scholl has told him that the Germans have massed 170-190 divisions along the Soviet border and plan to invade on 15 June. In Moscow, Stalin is tired of reading these endless warnings. The transmission is marked "suspicious" and "provocative." If Sorge were to return to Moscow at this time, he likely would be cashiered and perhaps imprisoned. However, the staff in the Kremlin maintains a record of the warnings for possible future use.

A Blohm & Voss BV 141. The engine is on the left fuselage, the right fuselage is just a gondola for the observer.

German Military: First flight of the Blohm & Voss BV 141 tactical reconnaissance aircraft. Its distinctive design includes a separate, engine-less fuselage that serves as an observation gondola. A total of 20 will be built, but the Luftwaffe prioritizes other planes that use engines that are more readily available.

US Military: The United States military commissions a naval and air base at Chaguaramas, Trinidad. This has been in the works since the USS St. Louis brought a party of workers to the site on 10 October 1940. It is not yet at full operation (that doesn't happen until 1943). British Governor Young of Trinidad is unhappy - he does not like that the US base displaces locals and closes the nearby beaches. Authority is pursuant to the Lease Land Agreement, the Defence Regulations, and the Trinidad Base Agreement. This base will remain open (as Waller Air Force Base) until 1949, with some Americans remaining there until 1977.

Camp located is completed in Hitchcock, Texas (located at the present site of Jack Brooks Park in Hitchcock). It is an Army Basic Training Camp that ultimately includes 399 buildings and is operational from 1941 to 1946.

"A view of the Canadian Munition Plants float with the slogan, "Shell out for Shells" in the Victory Loan Parade, June 1, 1941, Port Arthur, Ontario." (Thunder Bay Public Library, Gateway to Northwestern Ontario History).

Channel Islands: Major General Erich Muller relieves Rudolf von Schmettow as military governor of the Channel Islands. Von Schmettow, however, remains in command of Jersey. During the month, Infantry Division 319 relieves ID 216 on the islands.

China: A Japanese air raid destroys four Chinese Soviet SBs of the 12th BG at Zhaotung.

Vatican: Pope Pius XII makes a radio broadcast in celebration of the feast of Pentecost. The speech is entitled "The Individual Right Cannot in Any Way Be Suppressed." The Pope only obliquely references the war, noting that he is making the speech at a time that "pregnant with events that are known only to the divine counsels which rule the story of nations and watch over the church," a statement that can be interpreted as implying that, being behind Axis lines, the Church cannot speak out more about the war. He does make occasional veiled references to "the growing paganism of public life" and emphasizes the importance of respect for private property.

"Diana Napier, a section commander of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) unit attached to the 1st Polish Corps, at the wheel of one of her section's ambulances in conversation with a Polish Army Major at Cupar, 1 June 1941. The unit was presented with 62 ambulances from the USA in the last 10 months. Mrs. Napier was a creator of this medical unit and a first ambulance was a gift from her." © IWM (H 10146). Diana "Mollie" Napier, incidentally, was at the time a well-known English film actress. She joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in April 1940.

British Homefront: Minister of Food Lord Woolton begins rationing of clothing. It is based on a points (coupon) system. Every person is allotted 66 points per year, and different articles of clothing have their own points: 16 points for a woman's raincoat (mackintosh), a woman's petticoat 4 points, 2 points for a pair of stockings (if you can find them), and so on. The point values for men are 13 points for a jacket, 8 for pants, 7 for shoes, 5 for a waistcoat, socks 3 points. Coupons can be passed around within families. The good news is that used clothing is not rationed, only new clothing. Women flock to Petticoat Lane today to buy stockings.

Brockville, Ontario Victory Loan Parade, King St W, June 1, 1941 (Handbook of Brockville History).

American Homefront: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen delivers a speech at the commencement of Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. He tags "the decline of patriotism in America" to "a decline of religion" which causes people to "cease to love their neighbor." The speech is pro-intervention in Europe, with Sheen noting:

And if there are certain things that are not worth fighting for, there are some things that are; above all else, that one thing is the foundation of our rights and liberties.

More pointedly, he concludes:

Democracy has within itself no inherent guarantee of freedom; these guarantees are from without. That is why I say our Declaration of Dependence on God is the condition of a Declaration of Independence of Dictatorship.

Sheen equates being religious with defeating what he views as anti-religious impulses in the world, which can only mean the Axis.

In Chicago, Jenny Dolly of The Dolly Sisters, a popular Hungarian twins act of the 1920s, hangs herself after years of depression. She is buried in  Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.

Chuck Aleno of the Cincinnati Reds.

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Chuck Aleno goes hitless in New York. This ends his 17-game hitting streak, which set a Major League record because they were the first 17 games of Aleno's Major League career. The record is tied in 2016 by Colorado Rockies left fielder David Dahl, but it never has been broken. In the same game, Mel Ott of the New York Giants hits his 400th career home run and gets his 1500th RBI at the Polo Grounds in a 3-2 Giants win.

In Cleveland, Joe DiMaggio extends his current hitting streak to 18 games by getting hits in both ends of a twin-bill that results from a rained-out game on Saturday.

Future History: Wilmer Dean Chance is born in Wooster, Ohio. He becomes a Major League Baseball pitcher and wins the 1964 Cy Young Award, the youngest at the time to win the award. He also will begin the International Boxing Association during the 1990s. Dean Chance passes away on October 11, 2015.

The Farhud pogrom will be virtually forgotten until the 21st Century. Then, beginning around 2005, some books will mention it. The United Nations designates June 1, 2015, as International Farhud Day.

Farhud Memorial in Ramat Gan, Baghdad.

May 1941

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

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 30 May 1941

On or about 30 May 1941, a Fordson Armoured Car of No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF, operating with 'Habforce', waits outside Baghdad, Iraq, while negotiations for an armistice take place between British officials and the rebel government (Imperial War Museum Collections Collection No.: 4700-20; Reference Number: CM 923).

Anglo/Iraq War: The British 4th Cavalry Brigade of 1st British Cavalry Division, an advance party of Habforce troops, arrives at Baghdad on 30 May 1941 and opens talks for surrender. The entire Habforce only numbers 1200 men, with eight guns and a few armored cars, but the numerically superior Iraqi troops refuse to fight them. The British occupy the nearby airfield.

Iraqi leader Rashid Ali has left for Persia, taking his soldiers' monthly payroll of 17,000 dinars. Accompanying him are the Grand Mufti and the rest of the Iraqi government. They head for Germany.

The British are expanding their cushion around their main base at Habbaniya airfield. They attack Ramadi, about a dozen miles northwest of Habbaniya. Another large British force from Basra advances past Ur. The Indian 25th Infantry Brigade arrives aboard ship at Basra.

Dr. Fritz Grobba, the head of the German diplomatic mission to Baghdad, leaves the capital today. There now is no longer any German presence in Iraq, as the small Luftwaffe contingent is in disarray with all of its planes out of operation. There is a force of about ten Italian Fiat Cr 42 biplane fighters, but they also prepare to flee from their base at Kirkuk.

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell's Air Force releases a statement:

In Iraq our fighter squadrons flew patrols throughout the day in support of our advancing troops while Italian aircraft tried to prevent them. One of these aircraft was shot down ar Khanugh (Iraq). A number of British reconnaissance planes and bombers operated in cooperation with motorised units. We have destroyed the hangars on the airfield at Deir ez Zor in Syria. In Abyssinia, South African aircraft attacked Italian troops still fighting near Gimma. Direct hits were observed on buildings, as were a number of fires. Several Italian motor trucks went up in flames north of Alegh. Forts Azozo and Digya were bombed at Gondar (Ethiopia). In Libya, an enemy bomber wing yesterday undertook an assault on Tobruk; anti-aircraft succeeded in shooting down four of them and several others were damaged. Five of our own aircraft failed to return from these operations.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is still concerned about the Iraqi oil fields - he sends a memo to General Ismay warning of a "fierce and justifiable outcry if we fail to destroy these oil fields before they fall into enemy hands."

"Lockheed Hudson Mark IIs and IIIs of No. 233 Squadron RAF based at Aldergrove, County Antrim, flying in starboard echelon formation over Northern Ireland." 30 May 1941 © IWM (Daventry B J (Mr), CH 2841).

European Air Operations: After dark, Luftwaffe bombers attack the Bristol area and the Mersey industrial area.

About 30 German planes cross England and bombs Dublin just after midnight on 31 May. The local inhabitants send up a flare to denote their status as neutrals, which the Germans disregard. Areas hit include Phoenix Park (home of the Dublin Zoo) and the North Strand area. Overall, 34 people perish, 90 are wounded, twenty homes are destroyed, 55 greatly damaged and 400 people left homeless. The Irish lodge a diplomatic protest in Berlin, to which the Germans reply that "there can be no question of any intentional attack on Éire territory." The Reich blames "high winds" on the "error."

RAF Bomber Command sends a dozen aircraft on a coastal sweep.

Churchill tells Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air (and also the leader of the Liberal Party) that the RAF should supply the Army with "the modest force they require" for Army co-operation squadrons. This means transferring 30 Blenheim bombers now and 30 more (for an army reserve) at a later date.

"Pilot Officer James 'Ginger' Lacey DFM and Bar, hard at work on a model airplane in No 501 Squadron's dispersal hut at Colerne, 30 May 1941." © IWM (CH 2814).

East African Campaign: Churchill sends Middle East Commander Wavell a cable about "Jibuti," meaning French Somaliland:

It will be convenient to have this place in the near future, and I shall be glad if you will consider what forces would be necessary to break the French resistance.... The time to strike depends, of course, upon events in Syria which ma lead to a breach with Vichy.

In the meantime, he urges a continuation of the blockade "with the utmost strictness."

The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade, advancing west from Soddu, reaches Sciola in Galla-Sidamo. The Italian defenders withdraw from Sciola after dark.

Empire Protector, sunk 30 May 1941 by U-38 off Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-106 (Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten), on its second patrol out of Lorient and operating west of the Cape Verde Islands, torpedoes 6373-ton British freighter Silveryew at 00:36. There is one death. The 53 survivors take to the boats and land at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), on its 9th patrol out of Lorient and operating off Freetown, Sierra Leone, torpedoes and sinks 6181-ton British freighter Empire Protector. There are five deaths, including the Master, John Cringle. The 33 survivors are taken aboard Dutch freighter Arundo.

Italian submarine Marconi, operating on its third patrol out of Bordeaux as part of BETASOM, torpedoes and sinks 8129-ton British naval tanker Cairndale southwest of Trafalgar. There are 4-5 killed. A large group of Royal Navy escorts attack the Marconi, but it gets away.

An unidentified submarine torpedoes 6990-ton British tanker British Yeoman in the same general vicinity where the Marconi is operating. However, apparently, the torpedo is defective, because minimal damage is caused. The British Yeoman makes it to Gibraltar for inspection.

British 2842-ton freighter Westavon hits a mine and sinks south of Clacton-on-Sea in the Thames Estuary. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 700-ton British freighter Kyleclare off Limerick.

HMCS Ottawa and Restigouche arrive in St. John's, Newfoundland to join the new Newfoundland Escort Force (NES).

Convoy SL 76 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Myosotis (Lt. Gerald P. S. Lowe), sloop Gorleston (Commander Ronald W. Keymer) and submarine P-33 (Lt. Reginald D. Whiteway-Wilkinson) are commissioned.

New York Times, 30 May 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Evacuations continue of British soldiers on Crete. At Sfakia, destroyers HMS Napier and Nizam take off 1510 men. The Luftwaffe catches them as they sail for Alexandria and damage both with near misses. Overall, 6029 Commonwealth troops are taken off on 30 May before dawn and again before midnight, but there are many more waiting for evacuation.

German motorcycle troops moving east from Suda and Canea (Chandia) link up with Italian troops and armor heading west from their landing ground at Sitia. They can now head south toward Sfakia, where the British are busy evacuating their troops. Troops of the 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment reach Heraklion (Candia), linking up with the German garrison there. While in doubt only days earlier, Operation Mercury is turning into a roaring success.

The Luftwaffe attacks the Royal Navy ships evacuating the Commonwealth troops from Crete. These include Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, damaged in its engine room with 13 dead, destroyer HMS Kelvin, also damaged, and cruiser Calcutta sunk northwest of Alextrania.

A map on page 2 of the 30 May 1941 New York Times showing the situation on Crete.

Brigadier Vasey's Australian 19th Infantry Brigade serves as the rearguard for the evacuation, but British, Greek and New Zealand troops also fight hard. New Zealand soldier Charles Hazlitt Upham receives the Victoria Cross for his services on Crete through 30 May. Today, his platoon disperses an advance party of German soldiers coming down a ravine near Force Headquarters at Sfakia.

There are British troops left behind all across Crete. Remnants of Australian 2/1 and 2/11 battalions, which have been cut off, surrender near Retimo (Rethymno).

Partisan activities continue on Crete. At this stage, they mainly involve helping Commonwealth troops defend specific locations, but there are instances of sniping and full-scale armed defense of villages. The Germans are quite upset that non-soldiers are fighting them and vow revenge.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 105 ton Greek freighter Aghios Pantlemon off Tobruk.

There is a major incident when 3821-ton Bulgarian freighter Knyaguinya Maria Luisa (Fürstin Maria Luisa) explodes at Piraeus, Greece. As it blows up, it also destroys 2140 ton German freighter Alicante and 3127-ton Romanian freighter Jiul (Ziul). There are multiple casualties on all three ships, a tug, and also Italian freighter Adis Abeba. Damage to the city of Piraeus is minimized only because the ship does not explode at once, but only while being towed to a shipyard by tugs. There is a dispute as to the cause of this explosion: Greek partisans claim that their sabotage sinks the Maria Luisa, while RAF Wellington bombers also may be the cause.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph torpedoes and damages 3667-ton Italian armed merchant cruiser (AMC) Ramb III. The Ramb II is sailing from Tripoli to Benghazi and makes it to port.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Utmost attacks an Italian convoy off Sirte but causes no damage.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay claims to sink two caiques in the Aegean using its deck gun.

At Malta, the Cheshire Regiment lands on Gozo, which the British fear may be used for an invasion of Malta.

Spy Stuff: In Tokyo, Richard Sorge sends another message to Moscow. It begins:

Berlin informed [German Ambassador to Japan] Ott that German attack will commence in the latter part of June. Ott 95 percent certain war will commence.

As he has with numerous other warnings about Operation Barbarossa, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin disregards this warning. In fact, he has had his staff work up plans for an invasion of Germany (see the Zhukov Plan of 15 May 1941).

Actress Hansi Knoteck on the cover of Filmwelt, 30 May 1941.

Anglo/US Relations: The US Coast Guard transfers the tenth Lake-class cutter, USCGC Itasca, to the Royal Navy as HMS Gorleston. The Itasca is famous for being the ship anchored at Howland Island in the Pacific which received the final transmissions from aviators Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan.

Anglo/Arab Relations: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a memo to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden telling him that "No encouragement should be given to those suggestions of treachery and bad faith on our part towards the Zionists." The Revisionist Zionist Movement has alleged that the British are moving toward a more conciliatory policy toward Arab interests due to the war in Iraq. He notes that "I am quite certain that we should lose in America far more than we should gain in the East."

German Military: Admiral Raeder meets with Hitler to argue for his "peripheral strategy" against Great Britain. He proposes that the Wehrmacht launch a "decisive Egypt-Suez offensive for the autumn of 1941 which would be more deadly to the British Empire than the capture of London." Hitler decides to wait until after he defeats the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. There remains a large body of opinion among members of the German government and Wehrmacht that is opposed to Operation Barbarossa, and this is one of their final attempts to dissuade Hitler from invading the Soviet Union.

Ireland: The Fianna Fáil government of Éamon de Valera signs into law the Second Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. Among other things, it includes restrictions on the right to habeas corpus, an extension of the right of the government to declare a state of emergency, changes to provisions dealing with the reference of bills to the Supreme Court by the president and various changes needed to bring the official Irish text of the constitution into line with the English text.

Siam: King Rama VII Prajadhipok, former King of Siam from 1925 to 1935, passes away.

Holocaust: The German occupation authorities introduce repressive measures against the Jewish population of Yugoslavia. Among other things, all persons now identified as Jews (the definition has just been decided) are forced to wear the yellow Star of David.

Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas, who tear down the Reich swastika flag on the Acropolis on 30 May 1941.

Greek Homefront: Two university students named Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb on the Acropolis and tear down the swastika flag. This is considered a seminal point in the Greek resistance of World War II.

American Homefront: Drivers Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose win the Indianapolis 500. This is the last race involving a winning car carrying two drivers. After this, the race is suspended until 1946.

Abbott and Costello comedy "In the Navy" is released. The Andrews Sisters, Dick Powell, and Shemp Howard also appear. This is the comedy duo's follow-up to smash hit "Buck Privates" and is another big hit, becoming the sixth most popular film of 1941.

Future History: Marisa Solinas is born in Genoa, Italy. She goes on to become a popular singer and actress in Italy. She appears in Bernardo Bertolucci's film debut, "La commare secca" (The Thin Gossip) (1962).

Roberto Calasso is born in Florence. He becomes a top Italian intellectual and writer.

USS North Carolina. "View looking aft from the battleship's bow, showing her forward superstructure and 16"/45 guns. Photographed during her maiden voyage, circa May 1941. Note Measure 1 camouflage paint, CXAM-1 radar antenna, anchor chains, and deck planking." (US Navy).

May 1941

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

2020

Saturday 9 November 1940

Standing in the car is Anton Mussert, founder and leader of the NSB Weerbaarheids Aldeling (Weerbaarheidsafdeling), typically called the WA. The WA is a paramilitary unit of the Dutch Fascist NSB party, somewhat similar to the German SA. They engage in violent attacks on their perceived enemies, including Dutch Jews. This is a parade of 5000 NSB members on Dam Square.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians have stopped advancing into Greece on 9 November 1940, and in fact are withdrawing to their starting points in most areas. The Greek 8th Division on the Epirus sector begins launching local counterattacks to recover lost ground and push the Italians back over the Kalamas River. The Italian troops in the Vovousa Valley are trapped and gradually surrendering. The Greeks basically have recovered all the ground lost in this sector with the exception of areas still controlled by surrounded Italian formations, which are now little more than armed prison camps.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command raid the U-boat pens at Lorient, the ports of Boulogne and Calais, and various airfields along the coast such as the one at Le Havre, where a Bf 109 is shot down.

The Luftwaffe only sends some lone raiders across the Channel during the day, with minor damage caused in London, the Home Counties, eastern areas of England, the Midlands, and Liverpool and nearby areas. After dark, the Luftwaffe hits the usual targets such as London and Liverpool.

The Luftwaffe continues consolidating its fighters in France. two groups of JG 77, 5 and 6, transfer south from Stavanger airfield to Brest. 4,/JG 77 also moves to Brest (from  Herdla and Mandal). All of JG 77 now is in France except for III,/ JG 77, which remains for the time being in Norway.

Dutch NSB members march in Amsterdam. These fellows would engage in such activities as forcing owners of restaurants and cafes to put up signs saying Jooden niet gewenscht ("Jews not welcome") and trolling inhabitants of neighborhoods with Jewish inhabitants. WA members are called "Blackshirts" due to their uniforms. November 9, 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: German acoustic mines - detonated by the sound of passing propellers - are becoming an increasing problem. The British adopt several countermeasures, including using modified jackhammers to set them off.

Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors attack 26,032-ton liner RMS Empress of Japan off the west coast of Ireland. They drop two 250 kg bombs that hit the ship but deflect off of a stern railing and a lifeboat, respectively. The planes also strafe the ship, forcing the helmsman, Ho Kan, to steer the ship in evasive maneuvers from a prone position. The ship sustains non-critical damage in the same region where the Empress of Britain had been bombed and sunk two weeks earlier. Captain Thomas receives the CBE, Ho Kan receives the BEM.

British 1699 ton freighter Baltrader hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. There are two deaths. The minefield was "Alfred" laid by Kriegsmarine torpedo boats on 29/30 October.

Vichy 1970 ton French Navy colonial-service patrol boat (aviso) Bougainville is operating off Libreville in opposition to the Free French landings there when it is attacked and sunk by Free French sister ship Savorgnan de Brazza and sloop Commandant Dominé. This is known as the Battle of Gabon. The ship sinks in shallow water and is re-floated in March 1941.

The Commandant Dominé captures 3081 ton Vichy French armed merchant cruiser Cap Des Palmes off Libreville. The crew of the Vichy ship tries to scuttle it but fails.

British 1811-ton collier Gartbrattan collides with freighter Melrose Abbey to the west of Cape Clear, Ireland in the Atlantic. It sinks without any casualties. This was the ship's second collision during the war, clearly an unlucky ship.

Finnish 2139-ton freighter Minerva hits a mine and suffers severe damage off Borkum, Germany. The ship, en route from Jakobstad to Emden carrying pit props, is a total loss, but there are no casualties. The ship was built in 1889.

British 504-ton freighter Beal hits a mine off Tees and is damaged.

The Luftwaffe attacks Cleveland Wharf, Shoreham and damages 695-ton British tanker Shelbrit II.

Italian submarine Marconi, which narrowly escaped destruction by Royal Navy vessels on the 8th, comes across the disabled Swedish 2734 ton freighter Vingaland. Vingaland is traveling in Convoy HX 84 and had been damaged by the Luftwaffe bombing on the 8th. The Marconi sends the Vingaland to the bottom. There are six deaths total on the ship.

U-65 (Korvettenkapitän Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), on her fifth patrol, refuels at sea from German tanker Nordmark. The U-boat has been at sea since 15 October 1940. Since they have not sighted any targets, all U-65 and its crew need are some fuel and food/water and it can continue at sea for some time. In fact, this patrol will last into January, an extremely long patrol since most patrols are only about a month long.

Convoy OB 241 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 330 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 332 departs from Methil, Convoy SC 11 departs from St. John.

The Royal Navy commissions corvette HMS Columbine (K 94, Lt. Louis A. Sayers) and minesweeper HMS Rhyl (J 36,  Lt. William L. O'Mara).

Canadian corvette HMCS Collingwood (K 180, Lt. Norman G. Bennett) is commissioned.

Keele Street just north of Dundas Street, Toronto, Canada. 9 November 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Koenig's Free French forces fight the Vichy French forces holding Libreville. There is street fighting. Free French Westland Lysanders based in Douala, Cameroon bomb the airfield. The Free French Foreign Legion troops ultimately capture the airfield, which decides the battle. General Tetu formally surrenders to Free French Admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu aboard the aviso Savorgnan de Brazza on the 10th.

Greek 489 ton coaster Vivi hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Patras. The mine had been laid by the Greeks, so this is a "friendly fire" incident. There is some controversy over whether the ship was sunk by a mine or by air attack, but it appears to have been off course and sunk in the "Araxos" minefield.

The RAF raids Agordat, Assab, and Keren. Gibraltar Force H aircraft carrier Ark Royal launches aircraft to attack Cagliari.

At Malta, there are two air raids by Italian CR 42 biplane fighters. There are some bombers, but they turn back well short of the island. The Italian fighters strafe Hal Far airfield, damaging a Swordfish torpedo bomber. One Italian fighter is damaged by anti-aircraft fire. A Glenn Martin Maryland reconnaissance plane is lost at sea with the crew lost.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, operating in the Bay of Bengal, captures 6750-ton Norwegian tanker Teddy. The Atlantis currently is disguised as armed merchant cruiser HMS Antenor. The 32 men aboard the Teddy are taken as prisoners. The 10,000 tons of fuel oil on the tanker will come in handy.

Cheerleaders at the Georgia Institute of Technology vs. University of Kentucky football game, November 9, 1940 - Kentucky Digital Library.

Battle of the Pacific: Some sources place the sinking of the US freighter City of Rayville east of Cape Otway, Australia in the Bass Strait today, but others on the 8th. This sinking also is described in our entry for the 8th of November. The sinking is announced unusually quickly today by the Admiralty - perhaps because of the ship's flag and the potential implications. In any event, the ship hits a mine laid by German converted minesweeper Passat and sinks. It is the first US ship sunk due to enemy action in the war, a key moment in the war that goes virtually unnoticed both at the time and by historians. There is one death, the rest of the crew makes landfall in Apollo Bay. The US government does not, contrary to British hopes, make an issue of this sinking.

Romania: The Bucharest/Ploesti region is hit by a massive earthquake. This causes massive damage and 400 deaths.

British Homefront: Former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain passes away from bowel cancer at the age of 71.

Saturday Evening Post, 9 November 1940.

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020