Wehrmacht troops fire across the Dniepr River using a 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun on or about 20 September 1941 (Schmidt, Federal Archive Bild 183-L29208).
Eastern Front: Having surrounded an immense pocket of Soviet troops near Kyiv and taken the city itself on the 19th, the Wehrmacht begins reducing the cauldron on 20 September 1941. There are over 800,000 Red Army men in the area, all desperate to avoid the horrors of special German POW camps for captured Russians. Men attempt to break out in all directions, and some succeed. However, large groups are blocked by the German panzers and about 75% of the trapped men ultimately go into captivity.
"Zone of Interior, Camp Roberts, San Miguel, California. Partial view of 155th Station Hospital personnel and ambulance vehicles. This picture was taken on 20 September 1941." (WW2 US Medical Research Centre).
Among the trapped Soviet soldiers are numerous generals. Stalin could have rescued them - but he sacrifices them as an example to the rest of the Red Army. Some try to slip away through the woods, but the Germans are everywhere. In the Shumeikovo Woods, General Mikhail Kirponos, the commander of the Kyiv Military District, leads an ad hoc force composed of 1000 men from his headquarters staff and about the same number recruited on the way in a desperate escape attempt. Kirponos is killed, Major General V. I. Tupikov also perishes, and Lieutenant General Potapov is captured.
The New Yorker, 20 September 1941 (Peter Arno).
The 5th Army's artillery commander, General V.N. Sotensky, also is captured near Lokhvista by the 3rd Panzer Division under the command of Lieutenant General Walter Model. This helps to raise Model's profile, whose forces previously closed the encirclement of Kyiv at Lokhitsa by meeting the 16th Panzer of Army Group South there. Because of these achievements, Model soon will be promoted to General of Panzertruppen and given command of XLI Panzer Corps.
On the Soviet front on 20 September 1941. The commander-in-chief of Army Group North, Field Marshal Ritter von Leeb, and Commander-in-Chief of the 18th Army, Colonel-General von Küchler, at a forward artillery observatory at Krasnejo Selo looking through a scissors telescope. (Schröter, Federal Archive Figure 183-B12786).
As the day ends, the Soviet pocket is a scene of chaos and fleeing men. Each hour brings more German troops to strengthen the line so that the Red Army soldiers cannot escape. As is often the case in such situations, the Soviet forces to the east of the pocket do almost nothing to try to relieve their trapped comrades, a tendency that mystifies the Germans throughout the war. However, the trapped Soviet soldiers, having lost the battle, now are deemed unworthy and thus appropriate to leave to their doom.
"Tobruk, Libya. 1941-09-20. Warrant Officer I.T. Fisher of No. 5 Field Unit, Military History and Information Section directing a cine camera through the window of a ruined building." 20 September 1941. (Australian War Memorial 020634).
It all seems like a perfect victory for the Wehrmacht. However, OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder, privy to reports from across the front and now extremely cynical of "final victories," is not so sure. He writes in his war diary:
The enemy must have been able to extricate from Kiev more troops than we thought he would, and he now seems to be fighting for elbow room in the northeastern and eastern direction. We are now approaching the crisis stage of the encirclement.
The encirclement is complete and the enemy commanders are dead - and the "crisis stage" has not even been reached because there are large Soviet forces nearby that haven't made a serious effort to relieve the trapped men at Kyiv! This reflects another tendency that repeats itself throughout the war on the Eastern Front and which also mystifies the Germans: no matter how badly they are beaten, the Soviets always have more troops available to create more crises. It is a problem the Germans never understand, never solve, explain away repeatedly in highly detailed staff analyses, and which ultimately dooms them.
"400213 Squadron Leader K. W. Truscott DFC (left) and 402150 Sergeant K. B. Chisholm (center) of No. 452 (Spitfire) Squadron RAAF at an RAF station, with the Squadron Intelligence Officer." 20 September 1941 (Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: SUK10019).
German soldiers at Brårudåsen Fort in Horten, Norway (on the coast south of Oslo) on 10 September 1941. This is now a historical landmark. Notice how they put the biggest guy in the unit right behind the officers, he seems kind of amused by it. Norway is a backwater area suitable for training purposes by the Wehrmacht throughout World War II. However, there are some labor troubles there that require the imposition of martial law on 10 September 1941.
Eastern Front: General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 has been diverted from the road to Moscow in order to encircle Kyiv. However, as of 10 September 1941, for the past week or so the panzers have been stalled on the Desna River while beating off furious Soviet attacks on its eastern flank. This has led to a furious Hitler row and the Fuehrer's meddling in Guderian's troop dispositions, which Hitler believed too far to the east.
Today, Guderian's armor shakes off the Russian attacks and breaks loose to the southeast again. His forces take Konotop, cutting the main road from Kyiv to the east. Even further south, General Walter Model's 3rd Panzer Division of XXIV Army Corps (motorized) takes Romny. The grand plan is starting to come together
The Central Theater opens in Passaic, New Jersey on 10 September 1941. This becomes a favorite venue for top performers such as Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, the Andrews Sisters, Jerry Lewis, the Three Stooges, and Sammy Kaye, among countless others. This was where Glenn Miller gave his farewell performances on 24-27 September 1942. Notice the pronounced art deco influence. The Central Theater was torn down in 1978 and replaced by a McDonald's, which still stands there.
OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder notes this sudden success with puzzlement in his war diary:
Curiously, there are no attacks against [Guderian's] east flank. Perhaps this has something to do with the extensive railroad demolitions by our air efforts. On the defensive front, the danger zones west of Bryansk and east of Smolensk stand out as never before, but temporarily at least there is a lull in the attacks Nevertheless, resumption of the attacks must be imminent in view of the railroad movements from Moscow or Tula to Bryansk, and of the very heavy motorized movement toward Smolensk.
Today is usually marked as the end of the battle of Smolensk. Operation Barbarossa was supposed to go like this all along, so Halder's skepticism is a sign of how different the reality has been.
This sudden fortuitous change in events seems to confirm Hitler's recent interference in Guderian's dispositions, which adds to his growing confidence in his own military judgment. These affirmations of Hitler's amateurish interference have long-term consequences.
Not only is Guderian suddenly breaking out, but there are good signs for the Wehrmacht elsewhere as well. A couple of hundred miles to the south, General Ewald von Kleist's Panzer Group 1 also breaks out from its bridgehead across the Dneipr at Kremenchuk. Soviet 38th Army counterattacks Kleist's panzers ineffectively.
A quick glance at the map shows the extreme peril of the massive Soviet troop concentration holding Kyiv that is led by Marshal Budyenny. Hard-pressed by German Sixth Army's frontal assault, the Soviets holding the city now face encirclement a hundred miles to the east. This area of Ukraine is an excellent tank area for tank movements, with flat plains and relatively few waterways. While Kleist's and Guderian's panzers are far apart on the map, they theoretically could meet within only a few days. The noose around Kyiv is tightening, and all of the military professionals on both sides can see it.
Soviet Colonel-General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos, in command of the Southwestern Front at Kyiv, urges the Stavka to take precautions as diplomatically as he can. Instead of asking for himself, he simply "relays the concerns of others," a standard tactic when one knows the request is likely to be denied:
The enemy tank group has penetrated to Romny and Gaivoron. The 21st and 40th Armies are not able to liquidate this group. They request that forces be immediately transferred from the Kiev Fortified Region to the path of the enemy advance and a general withdrawal of front forces.
Kirponos has a good grasp of the situation and is a competent commander. Among other things, he took the prospects of a German invasion seriously on the eve of Operation Barbarossa and managed to keep his forces in better shape than other frontier commanders. However, in Moscow, Kirponos, despite his proven success, is seen as a bit of a weak figure, someone without the true offensive spirit. That Kirponos urges a tactical focus on the defensive again is seen as just another sign of his lack of intestinal fortitude. The Stavka ignores him.
Soviet troops under artillery fire in western Ukraine, 1941.
In any event, overall Southwestern Direction Commander Marshal Budyenny already has requested permission to withdraw from Kyiv, and that request has been denied. Stalin has told Budyenny to keep his forces where they are no matter what happens. This defies tactical logic but at this point in the war, Stalin is simply playing for time. Stalin needs to prolong the situation in the south at all costs because, otherwise, the situation in the north will deteriorate faster. He is awaiting lend-lease shipments, and the weather won't stay nice forever. Stalin's forces have to continue to hold out for weeks for his delaying tactics to work, but the Germans will decide if that happens more than Stalin will.
Norway: The German occupation government declares martial law in Oslo today due to a labor strike by shipyard workers. The workers were upset that their milk rations were ended. This was the famous "Milk Strike." The authorities arrest five labor activists and shoot two of them, lawyer and Communist Viggo Hansteen and labor activist Rolf Wickstrom. There is a monumental joint tombstone and memorial to them in Oslo.
Dutch 3205-ton freighter SS Winterswijk was torpedoed and sunk off southern Greenland on 10 September 1941 by U 432 under the command of Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze. The Winterswijk had served briefly as USS Winterswijk for the US Navy in 1918.
A Panzer.Kampfwagen III on 8 August 1941 near Kiestinki.
Eastern Front: In a little-known and sketchy incident, both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini come very close to death at the hands of one or more Soviet soldiers on 8 August 1941 - if some unverified accounts are to believed. It is possible that Hitler comes closer to an armed and unsubdued Soviet soldier today than he does at any other point while he is alive - and the incident receives no attention at all. Why and how this happens requires a little explaining.
The Germans captured Brest Fortress back near the border with Poland on 29 June. According to some accounts, the fortress held out for another month, but that is contradicted by the evidence. The Wehrmacht's 45th Infantry Division (Austrian) which subdued the fortress then moved east to join the general offensive by 2 July. Virtually all sources agree that Brest Fortress was solidly in German hands by the end of July, if not in June.
However, Brest Fortress was in ruins after multiple Luftwaffe raids and days of tank and artillery fire. There were lots of bombed-out areas that made good hiding places - collapsed rooms and the like. Apparently, one or more Soviet soldiers remained hidden in the ruins, undetected by the occupying Germans, long past the surrender in June (or July, if you like). There is an inscription on the fortress walls that is dated 7 July 1941 ("I'm dying but I won't surrender. Farewell, Motherland. 20.VII.41"), presumably made by a trapped and uncaptured Soviet soldier. So, there is proof of Soviet resistance extending into July, at least.
At this point, the story gets sketchy. Major Pyotr Gavrilov, later decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union as if to stamp certainty on the later presence of unsubdued Soviet defenders, reportedly (everything about the details is uncertain) is captured only on 23 or 24 July (accounts vary on the exact date). That may be the end of Soviet resistance - but maybe not. Some believe that at least one Soviet soldier remains hidden even longer. And that's where Hitler and Mussolini (literally and figuratively) come in.
Adolf Hitler (center, in trench coat) and Benito Mussolini stroll through Brest Fortress, 8 August 1941.
After visiting the headquarters of Army Group Center and South on 6 and 7 August, respectively, Hitler decides to lead his fellow dictator on a tour of significant locations in the rear. It is a sort of sightseeing tour, designed to impress Mussolini with the mighty destructive power of the Wehrmacht. Today, 8 August 1941, the pair decide to visit Brest Fortress, which has received a great deal of attention in the international press during the first month of Operation Barbarossa. They come attended by the usual heavy security, walk through the fortress, and then leave.
Here is where the two stories intertwine. According to some accounts, only today are the final armed Soviet defenders rooted out of the bombed-out ruins of Brest Fortress. As noted, this coincides with Hitler's visit. Given Hitler's predilection for walking ahead of most of those accompanying him (as evidenced by photos of such walk-throughs by Hitler, including the one above), it is not beyond the realm of possibility that one of those hidden Soviet soldiers could have had a clear sight and gotten off a lucky shot at just the right moment. This would have altered history for both Germany and Italy and, really, the entire world.
But that doesn't happen. Hitler and Mussolini visit and then leave unharmed. And, the course of World War II continues on toward its inevitable conclusion.
Colonel-General Georg Lindemann (left), commander of German L Army Corps in 18th Army in Army Group North, 8 August 1941 (Gregor, Federal Archive, Bild 101I-212-0206-30).
In the Far North sector, The Finns consolidate their new holds on Kestenga and the northern shore of Lake Ladoga. Finnish Group J of 6th Division of III Corps (a reinforced regiment) Continues pursuing the retreating Soviets east past Kestenga. A good road and a railway line lead directly to the Murmansk railway a few dozen miles away, and prospects appear good for cutting that line and further isolating the Soviets from the West. The Soviets are frantically directing troops to Loukhi on the railway line, but there are few spare units to be found.
In the Army Group North sector, the Germans open an offensive against the Soviet Luga River defensive line. German 1 Panzer Division (Lieutenant General Friedrich Kirchner) and 6 Panzer Division (Major General Franz Landgraf) battle Soviet 111th and 125th Rifle Divisions. Other German troops in 41 and 38 Corps advance to attempt to cut the Narva-Leningrad railroad.
In the Army Group Center sector, German XXIV Corps (General of Panzer Troops Geyr von Schweppenburg) eliminates a Soviet pocket at Roslavl and take 38,000 prisoners. The German 3rd Panzer Division (Lieutenant General Model) complains that it has to wait too long for supplies to arrive on the overburdened railroads.
A captured Soviet General of the Soviet 6th Army (Lt. General Ivan N. Musychenko) is interrogated near Uman, 8 August 1941. (Hübner, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1975-086-05A)
In the Army Group South sector, Soviet resistance at Uman ends. About 103,000 captured Soviet troops, the commanders of the 6th and 12th armies, four corps commanders, and 11 division commanders are among those waiting to be processed and sent to POW camps. General von Kleist redirects his Panzer Group 1 north toward Kieve to support Sixth Arm and form a pincer envelopment by meeting Guderian's Panzer Group 2 advancing from the north.
It is day three of the Romanian investment of the Soviet-held port of Odesa. The Romanian 4th Army gradually extends its line to form a solid line around the city. Some sources claim that today is the real start of the Siege of Odessa and not 5 August. The surrender at Uman further isolates Odessa and makes any kind of relief increasingly unlikely.
The RAF has been having difficulty in making accurate bombing attacks. This is due to many factors, including poor weather, crew fatigue, and German air defenses. One such reason is excellent German camouflage, as illustrated in these comparison photos of Hamburg. While it looks at first glance as if the photos are taken at completely different places, in fact, they are of the same place in Hamburg altered by means of floating decoys to look completely different.
European Air Operations: Activity is minimal during the day. After dark, RAF Bomber Command mounts two main operations against Kiel and Hamburg. The results of these raids suggest that the RAF may not have an accurate picture of the actual results it is producing.
The RAF sends 50 Hampden and 4 Whitley bombers to attack the submarine base at Kiel. It loses 2 Hampdens and one Whitley. The planes encounter heavy Flak. The bombs kill 13 people, including 11 Italian "guest workers" at a farm outside Kiel. German sources indicate that bombing accuracy is poor, which also is suggested by the fact that most of the casualties occur outside of Kiel in a rural area. However, the RAF's weekly summary report describes the attack thusly:
Excellent weather over Kiel on the [8th] enabled 88 aircraft accurately to bomb the’ Deutsche Werke Shipyards. Of the 104 tons of H.E. bombs and 4,836 incendiaries released, a number fell directly in the centre of the target, starting many fires; a particularly large fire was also observed on the south side of the city.
The discrepancy between ground sources and the RAF is unexplainable. However, a hint as to what is going on may be gleaned from the fact that the RAF soon will decide (with the Butts Report) that bombing accuracy is extremely poor, with most attacks failing to come within miles of the intended target.
The RAF sends 44 Wellingtons to attack the railway and shipping yards at Hamburg. One plane fails to return. Visibility is poor and few planes are able to attack. The RAF reports this attack as follow:
At Hamburg, however, on the same night, weather was bad and identification of objectives was almost impossible; except for bombbursts and fires, no results were observed.
There are five deaths and 8 injured at Hamburg, with 20 people made homeless. While the RAF believes that the Kiel raid was much more accurate than the Hamburg raid, in fact, more people are killed at Hamburg than within Kiel itself.
The RAF also sends seven Hampdens without loss to lay mines in the Frisian Islands, off Kiel, and in the Norwegian fjords.
Questioning of the Russian Lieutenant-General Ivan N. Musychenko (center), captured during the fighting at Uman, by officers of the Wehrmacht, 8 August 1941. (Hübner, Federal Archive, Bild 146-1992-081-13A).
Battle of the Baltic: The RAF bombs and damages 1065-ton Swedish freighter Venersborg in the Great Belt at the entrance to the Baltic. The Venersborg is towed to a Danish port.
The RAF bombs and sinks 2546-ton Danish freighter Venus at the mouth of the Schlei River off Schleswig-Holstein.
The Luftwaffe (Ju-88 aircraft of KGR.806) bombs and sinks Soviet Izyaslav-class destroyer Karl Marx in Loksa Bay near the Estonian capital of Tallinn (Reval).
Soviet destroyers Statny and Surovy park offshore in Moon Sound and shell German coastal battery Markgraf.
Soviet patrol vessel No. 410 and auxiliary minesweeper No. 76 are lost today from unknown causes, perhaps scuttling to avoid German capture.
German minelayers lay minefields D.10 to D.30 and Finnish minelayers lay minefields F-18 to F-22 in the Gulf of Finland.
Raketen-Jagdflugzeug (rocket fighter) Messerschmitt Me 163 A-V4 "Komet" (Kennung KE+SW) at its airfield Flugfeld, ca. 8 August 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1972-058-62).
Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 202-ton British fishing trawler Ocean Victor off Iceland. All 13 crew on the Ocean Victor perish. There is some dispute about this incident, as there is a possibility that U-206 (ObltzS Herbert Opitz) sinks the Ocean Victor on 9 August.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks British freighter Cordene in the North Sea. The ship is traveling with Convoy FN-503 when it is attacked. Everyone survives.
The Luftwaffe bombs Royal Navy minesweeper Selkirk and scores a near-miss. No leaks develop, so the minesweeper stays in service.
Convoy WS-8C (Winston Special) departs from the Clyde and heads to Scapa Flow as part of Operation Leapfrog. This is a scheduled operation to seize the Azores Islands. There are numerous landing ships, oilers, and freighters escorted by eight destroyers.
Royal Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Coverley (Lt. Robert R. Taylor) is commissioned and boom defense vessel Barbridge launched.
Canadian minesweepers HMCS Ganonque (Lt. Edward M. More) and Nipigon (Lt. Commander Clarence A. King) are commissioned.
U-627 is laid down.
HMS Thunderbolt.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Famagusta, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues when Royal Navy sloop Flamingo departs Port Saudi with 6676-ton transport Salamaua heading for Famagusta.
RAF Fulmar bombers based on Malta bomb Gerbini airfield on Malta. This raid causes fires at the airfield and apparently causes enough damage to prevent the Italian Regia Aeronautica from attacking Malta during the night.
RAF bombers attack the Corinth Canal.
The Luftwaffe bombs Ismailia, Port Said, and Suez during the night.
An Axis convoy of four freighters and four destroyers departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt arrives in Malta carrying aviation fuel.
Battle of the Black Sea: The Russian Danube Flotilla supports the Red Army's withdrawal past the Bug River Delta from today through 12 August.
Battle of the Indian Ocean: Convoy BA-4 departs from Bombay bound for Aden.
The Walloon legion preparing to move to the East Front. In the center is Léon Degrelle. Brussels, August 8, 1941.
Partisans: Soviet Marshal Timoshenko, commanding the armies defending Moscow, issues a proclamation to all Soviet citizens behind enemy lines encouraging them to become partisans. He urges them to "wreak merciless vengeance on the enemy …. for the death of your children..." Given the style of the Wehrmacht's advance, which has been to drive east along the roads as fast as possible while bypassing Soviet troops in the forests and marshes, there is a large reservoir of potential Soviet manpower hidden to the west of the "front."
In Montenegro, General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli orders the confiscation of insurgents' property. The revolt that began on 13 July still continues with little interference from the Italian occupation authorities. The Italians are assembling strong forces for a counter-offensive which include six divisions (Messina, Puglie, Pusteria, Taro, Venezia, and Cacciatori delle Alpi), two Blackshirts Legion (Nos. 108 and 164), two combat groups (I group of Cavalry Regiment Cavalleggeri Guide and Skanderbeg) and two battalions of the border guard. While this is a formidable force, the territory is very rugged and difficult to subdue.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt continues waiting aboard a cruiser at Placentia Bay for the arrival of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard a battleship.
US/Japanese Relations: Talks continue between the US State Department and Japanese Ambassador Nomura in DC. The Japanese now are proposing a summit meeting between President Roosevelt and Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye, but US Secretary of State Cordell Hull merely agrees to take the proposal under consideration.
Anticipating a siege, Soviet authorities have camouflaged a Bronze Horseman so that it cannot be seen by Luftwaffe bombers, August 8, 1941.
Soviet Military: The Russian Black Sea Fleet (Rear Admiral G. V. Zhukov) establishes a new task group to support army operations along the coast in the Black Sea. Part of the new task group is based at the besieged port of Odesa.
A big fan of artillery (he calls it the "Queen of battle"), Joseph Stalin orders the formation of eight Guards mortar regiments to operate Katyusha rocket launchers. These units will be placed with Guards formations, which are ordinary army units that have distinguished themselves in combat.
The Soviets officially form the Stavka of the Supreme High Command [Stavka Verkhnogo Glavnokomandovaniia - SVGK]. This replaces some previous temporary command arrangements and more closely resembles the command structure of previous wars. Stalin, of course, is the Supreme High Commander and uses the other members of the Stavka (such as General Georgy Zhukov) to submit ideas and act as troubleshooters to go to special Fronts and run special operations there.
German Military: At the top-secret research center at Peenemünde, a German island in the Baltic, the Ministry of Aviation makes the first powered test flight of the rocket-powered Me-163 V1 KE+SW. Test pilot Heini Dittmar flies the revolutionary plane with its Walter RI-203b engine and achieves speeds of over 800 km/hr. Dittmar will continue testing this prototype throughout the fall, flying it roughly once a day while it is being tested, and achieve speeds over 1000 km/hr.
The swept-wing plane is extremely dangerous to fly for several reasons, including the fact that its rocket engine only works for about seven minutes to get to altitude, and then the pilot must glide from extreme heights to make an unpowered landing - with only one opportunity to "stick the landing." In addition, the fuel is composed of two separate liquids that must be keep separated until ignition - and if for some reason they come into contact with each other, a massive explosion occurs.
Luftwaffe General Alexander Löhr was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht daily radio report for the third time. This is a high honor, akin to receiving a medal in terms of prestige gained. It is especially significant because Löhr is not German, but Austrian.
Léon Degrelle in Brussels making a farewell speech before embarking with his fellow troops for the Eastern Front, 8 August 1941.
Belgian Military: Rexist leader Léon Degrelle, a deeply committed fascist and now a member of the Walloon legion of the Wehrmacht, accompanies the 800+ troops east toward the front. As Degrelle will be otherwise engaged for some time to come, he turns over the leadership of the Rexists to Victory Matthys. While some sources claim that Degrelle "leads" the Walloon legion into combat, in fact, he has no military experience and has joined as a private.
Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy commissions 30,000-ton liner Shokaku (Captain Jojima Takatsugu) as a special-purpose ship (it will be converted into an aircraft carrier). The IJN also begins the conversion of 9975-ton tanker Nippon Maru into a naval auxiliary tanker in Kobe and requisitions 6615-ton oiler Manju Maru.
US Government: Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. addresses the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of taxation. He portrays as "taxation as an essential part of national defense." To do this, Morgenthau argues, taxation must be extended "to lower incomes." Morgenthau proposes that certain "discriminations" in the tax code be eliminated to make this "extension downward" more palatable, including removing deductions for oil depletion and eliminating certain provisions that are favorable to married couples.
Yugoslavia: The country officially is dissolved, and is taken over largely by Italy.
China: The Japanese continue their intensified air assault on the Nationalist capital at Chungking.
Following a recent order of the occupation authorities to turn in all radios, a Jewish woman is seen taking her radio into a police station on 8 August 1941 (Bibliotheque Historique de la Ville de Paris).
Holocaust: In the Netherlands, the "Liro" bank (Lippmann, Rosenthal, and Co.) issues a decree requiring Jews to register all assets and property. Jews also must turn over all foreign currency and paper assets. They are allowed to retain a thousand guilders in cash.
Hungary also enacts anti-Jewish laws.
Germans and Lithuanians murder an unknown number of Jews in the town of Zeimel. A plaque is later erected in the Chamber of the Holocaust at Mount Zion which reads:
For an everlasting remembrance. For the martyrs of the Zeimel Community (Lithuania) who were annihilated by the Germans and their Lithuanian collaborators (may their names be erased) on the 8th day of August 1941. Remembrance Day 15 Av 5701. May their souls be bound up in the bond of life. [Signed]The Emigrants of Zeimel in Israel and the Diaspora.
Thousands of Jews from Dvinsk, Latvia, are transported to the Pogulanka Forest and murdered.
American Homefront: Paramount Pictures releases "Wide Open Town," a Hopalong Cassidy film starring William Boyd and Russell Hayden. Evelyn Brent appears as a villainous saloon owner who develops feelings for Hopalong Cassidy, which ultimately dooms her corrupt regime in the town. A "wide-open town" is Wild West parlance meaning there is no sheriff.
MGM releases "Whistling in the Dark," a comedy directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, and Ann Rutherford. This becomes a very successful film about an actor in radio murder mysteries (Skelton) who gets involved in solving crimes. This film leads to two sequels, "Whistling in Dixie" (1942) and "Whistling in Brooklyn" (1943). Eve Arden also appears.
Bandleader Les Brown and his orchestra take advantage of the publicity engendered for New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio during his record 56-game hitting streak (which ended in July) and record "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio." Written by New York disk jockey Alan Courtney and songwriter turned Jehovah’s Witness Minister Ben Homer, singer Betty Bonney gives life to lyrics that recount DiMaggio's path to the record:
He tied the mark at forty-four
July the 1st you know
Since then he's hit a good twelve more
Joltin' Joe DiMaggio.
This is not the last time that DiMaggio will make an impact on the popular music scene, as in 1967 Simon & Garfunkel also make a famous reference to him in "Mrs. Robinson." "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" is not released until 10 November, the U.S. Marine Corps' birthday.
August 8, 1941 - A woman in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is trained by local police in the use of Thompson sub-machine guns.
Eastern Front: On 3 July 1941, after disappearing from public view for ten days, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin gives a radio speech. It is a remarkable event in the history of the Soviet Union. It is one of the most dramatic and influential speeches of the 20th Century because it produces results that change the history of the world. As British newsman Alexander Werth writes, for the first time Stalin speaks to the country as if his listeners are his friends. Listeners can hear the clink of Stalin's glass as he takes occasional sips and marvel at his very thick Georgian accent. It is as if Stalin is sitting at the table with you, explaining the tragedy that has befallen the country and asking personally for your help.
The gist of the speech is that the entire Soviet Union must engage in total war. On a tactical level, Stalin advocates that his "brothers" and "sisters" adopt "Guerilla tactics." He admonishes "We must not leave … a single kilogram of grain or a single liter of petrol to the enemy." He summarizes the strategic situation quite honestly, one of the few times the Soviet government gives a clear picture of the situation throughout the war:
Hitler's troops have succeeded in capturing Lithuania, a considerable part of Latvia, the western part of White Russia, a part of the western Ukraine. The Fascist air force is extending the range of the operations of its bombers and is bombing Murmansk, Orsha, Mogilev, Smolensk, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol.
However, the speech touches on themes that go far beyond the tactical or even strategic.
Thus the issue is one of life or death for the Soviet state, for the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the issue is whether the peoples of the Soviet Union shall remain free or fall into slavery. The Soviet people must realize this and abandon all heedlessness; they must mobilize themselves and reorganize all their work on new, war-time lines, when there can be no mercy to the enemy.
Stalin concludes with a populist call to "the people" - unheard of in the Soviet state to date:
The State Committee of Defense has entered in its functions and calls upon all our people to rally around the party of Lenin-Stalin and around the Soviet government so as self-denyingly to support the Red Army and Navy, demolish the enemy and secure victory. All our forces for support of our heroic Red Army and our glorious Red Navy. All the forces of the people—for the demolition of the enemy! Forward, to our victory!
The results of Joseph Stalin's speech will become clear as we continue our review of the days of World War II.
German soldiers recovering a fallen StuG III assault gun in the Pruth River, 3 July 1941 (Federal Archives, Bild B 145 Fig. F016207-0008).
In the Far North sector, General Dietl's Army of Norway 3rd Mountain Division establishes a bridgehead across the Litsa River on the way to Murmansk in Operation Silver Fox. The Soviets quickly send reinforcements to the area and stop any further German penetration. Further south, the Operation Arctic Fox advance toward Salla bogs down, largely due to the inexperience of the German SS-Infantry Kampfgruppe Nord division. The Germans call for reinforcements from southern Finland and ask the Finns to mount a flank attack on the Soviet defenders to free up their front, but this will take several days to organize.
In the Army Group North sector, Field Marshall von Leeb's troops continue attacking the Stalin Line with 4th Panzer Group. The Soviet defenders manage to hold their positions through great sacrifices.
On the Army Group Center Front, the panzers of General Walter Model's 3rd Panzer Division of Panzer Group 2 reach the Dneipr River at Rogachev southeast of Minsk despite determined Soviet counterattacks. There is some confusion on the German side, with local commanders determined to move forward while Hitler's 29 June "stop" order technically remains in place. Field Marshal von Bock supports Generals Guderian and Hoth against Army Commander von Brauchitsch, and the panzers continue eastward past Minsk.
Some of the 290,000 Soviet troops taken prisoner at Bialystok. 3 July 1941 (Hermann, Federal Archives, Bild 101I-006-2212-30).
Behind the front, General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group helps infantry troops to subdue the large Soviet Bialystok pocket west of Minsk. Ultimately, 290,000 Soviet troops and 2500 tanks surrender.
Soviet Colonel Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer, commander of the elite 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division, attacks the bridgehead established by General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group at Borisov (near Lipki). The attack is spotted before it arrives by Luftwaffe reconnaissance. The attack is sharp and vicious but fails. Guderian's 18th Panzer Division in the bridgehead is aided in planning its defense by intercepts of Soviet communications made "in the clear" - not in code - and also by Luftwaffe reconnaissance. The Soviets have a success of sorts, getting the remnants of 4th and 13th Armies across the Dneipr, but all of the Soviet armies are battered an no longer worthy of the name. Marshal Timoshenko orders the 21st Army forward to hold the river line, which the Germans are unable to cross before nightfall.
In the Army Group South sector, the main action is in Soviet Moldavia, where Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies and German 11th Army continue their offensive. The Soviets attempt some counterattacks, but they barely slow the Germans.
Soviet Naval Air unit 402 IAL, based at Idritsa in Russia and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel P. Stefanovsky, goes into action with its new MiG-3 fighters for the second straight day with outstanding results. It destroys six more Luftwaffe planes, as it did on the 2nd. The unit has as its adjutant an aerobatic champion, Major K. A. Gruzdev, who devises special strategies for the unit's pilots such as picking an altitude where the new MiG-3 fighters enjoy a performance advantage over the Bf 109s. Gruzdev quickly develops into one of the top aces in the Red Air Force.
Wilhelm Pruller writes in his diary, published after the war as "Diary of a German Soldier," about the general German tactics used at this stage of the war. The panzers use the road network to push east, "Without securing the land lying to the right and left of the road." This means that uncounted numbers of Soviet troops are left behind the Wehrmacht spearheads hidden in gullies and forests. Pruller's unit is in Kamionka. Early in the morning, Pruller's unit encounters and wipes out a force of Russian cavalry hiding in a ravine by using artillery. Later, a Soviet tank (apparently a KV) drives alone into town from the north carrying a large party of Soviet soldiers armed with pistols. The tankers are just trying to make it back to Soviet lines, but they have to get through the German-held town. The tank makes it through Kamionka and across a bridge almost to safety before German artillery finally destroys it. The Germans find that some of the soldiers on the tank were women - they all were burned alive.
British troops under fire near Damascus, 3 July 1941.
Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The main action in Syria switches today from Palmyra, which fell to the British on 2 July, to northeastern Syria. General William "Bill" Slim of Iraq Command controls 10th Indian Infantry Division plus the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles from 20th Indian Infantry Brigade. Based in Haditha, its goal is to advance westward toward Aleppo, and Slim's forces so far have not met much opposition.
The 2/10th Gurkha Rifles attacks Deir ez-Zor from the south-west at 09:00. They take the garrison by surprise and seize important bridges intact. Other Gurkha Rifles then advance from the southeast and clear the town against heavy Vichy French air attacks. By 15:30, Deir ez-Zor is in British hands, with the British capturing booty of five aircraft, nine guns, and 50 trucks. However, the defending Syrian troops hurriedly take off their uniforms and blend into the civilian population, evading capture. Only about 100 prisoners are taken.
Vichy France sends more aerial reinforcements for Syria from Tunis. They take the northern route via Brindisi, Italy, and Athens. Today, 21 Dewoitine D.520 fighters of No. 3 Squadron, 2nd Fighter Grup (GD II/3) land at Rhodes, their last stop before entering the battle zone.
Jewish forced laborers unloading German ammunition at Isbica railway station (15 km north of Zamosc, Poland), 3 July 1941 (Paris, Hans Joachim, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1994-027-33).
European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe makes a rare daylight raid on Great Britain, attacking Land's End in southwestern England. The attack fails, however, when the bombs fail to explode. Many British observers conclude that the Luftwaffe has so many defective bombs because slave laborers in German factories are secretly sabotaging their ordnance.
During the day, RAF Fighter Command conducts two Circus missions to Hazebrouck. The RAF loses two Spitfires in the first mission and four in the second to JG 2 and JG 26, most near St. Omer.
During the night, RAF Bomber Command attacks Essen (90 bombers) and Bremen (68). Bombing accuracy is terrible, and the entire area around Essen is hit (including Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Hagen, and Wuppertal).
During the RAF night raids, at 01:00, Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Oblt. Reinhold Knacke of 2./NJG 1 destroys a British Whitley bomber and a Hampden bomber.
Luftwaffe Major Wilhelm Balthasar, Kommodore of JG 2, is shot down and killed. He had 47 victories. His replacement is Oblt. Walter Oesau.
Following a recent air battle in which he shot down five Soviet bombers, Werner Mölders, now serving on the Eastern Front as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51, is awarded the Swords to his Knight's Cross from the hand of Adolf Hitler.
East African Campaign: The Italian garrison at Debra Tabor surrenders. In addition, Free Belgian troops under the command of Major-General Auguste Gilliaert surround General Pietro Gazzera's army of about 7000 men at Saio in the south Ethiopian Highlands. The Belgians also attack Dembidollo in Galla-Sidamo.
A funeral in Zăicani, Rîșcani, Moldova, 3 July 1941. Note German soldier on horseback watching as others carry the coffin behind a priest (Federal Archives, Bild B 145 Fig. F016207-0029).
Battle of the Baltic: Finnish submarine Vetehinen uses its deck gun to attack 4100-ton Soviet ship Vyborg north of Stenskaar. The Viborg gets away for the time being (sunk on 3 July by submarine Vesikko).
Soviet Navy transport Imanta hits a mine off Suursai. The master manages to beach the ship before it sinks, but it is a total write-off.
German naval trawler KOL-72 hits a mine and sinks at Kołobrzeg, Poland.
Soviet motor torpedo boat No. 12 is lost somewhere in the Baltic of unknown causes.
The Soviets scuttle freighter Everiga at Pyarnu rather than allow it to be captured by the advancing Germans.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), on its third patrol out of Lorient and operating southwest of the Canary Islands, sinks 2918-ton British freighter Robert L. Holt at 06:50. The Robert L. Hold happens to be the ship of Commodore Vice-Admiral N.A. Wodehouse of recently dispersed Convoy OB-337. It is an unusual encounter because the U-boat is out of torpedoes, so Metzler decides to surface and use his deck gun. This proves to be a risky decision when the armed freighter fires back, which Metzler probably wasn't expecting. Ultimately, U-69 fires 102 high explosives and 34 incendiary rounds from the deck gun, along with 220 rounds from the 20mm anti-aircraft gun and 400 rounds from its MG 34 machine gun. There are 49 deaths. This is the final success of U-69 on this eventful patrol, which has seen it almost bring the United States into the war six months earlier than would be the case with its sinking of US freighter Robin Moor.
British 86-ton drifter Receptive hits a mine and sinks in The Swale near Uplees. There is one death.
Royal Navy 82-ton auxiliary ship Rosme hits a mine and sinks off Foulness Island.
Convoy SL-80 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.
Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Rothesay (Commander Alaster A. Martin) is commissioned.
U-577 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schauenburg) is commissioned, U-265 and U-521 are laid down.
Jews being forced to carry ammunition by German troops near Zamość, Izbica, 3 July 1941 (Paris, Hans Joachim, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1991-014-08).
Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes and sinks 5870-ton Italian freighter Laura Cosulich east of Calabria.
Spanish 308-ton freighter Felipe Crespi hits a mine and sinks off Genoa, Italy.
Off the Libyan coast east of Tobruk, Italian submarine Malachite spots light cruiser HMS Phoebe making a sweep in the company of light cruiser HMAS Perth and three destroyers. Malachite fires a torpedo, but misses.
British submarine HMS Osiris makes it to Malta with 70 tons of bulk petrol.
Danish/US Relations: Expanding the recent "Consulate War" between the US, Germany, and Italy, Denmark leaps into the fray by demanding that the US evacuate its consular staff by 15 July. In general, these expulsions are a bad thing for the Allies, as the US consulates behind the Reich lines can provide valuable intelligence to Great Britain.
"Kennedy family friend, Stanley Rogers "Stan" Resor (with a towel draped around his head, and one foot on a pair of water skis), stands on a dock at Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, during the Fourth of July holiday; Gaspard d'Andelot "Don" Belin sits in the stern of a docked boat at left." This photo was taken circa 3 July 1941. Resor goes on to serve in Europe, wins the Silver Star and Bronze Star, and serves as Secretary of the United States Army from 1965 to 1971. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Libary and Museum).
Soviet Military: All men aged 16-60 and women aged 18-50 are mobilized, with very few exceptions.
British Military: The Handley-Page Halifax Mk II makes its maiden flight. It features improved Merlin 22 engines, a more streamlined nose, a four-gun Defiant-type dorsal turret, and some minor structural improvements.
Bell P-39C Aircobra fighter planes arrive at RAF Colerne, the first of 675 ordered by the British Purchasing Commission. They will serve with RAF No. 601 Squadron. RAF pilots, however, take an immediate dislike to the planes once they find that the rate of climb and performance at altitude is lacking.
Romanian Government: Romanian leader Ion Antonescu reveals his thinking during an address at the Ministry of Internal Affairs:
We find ourselves at the broadest and most favorable moment for a complete ethnic unshackling, for a national revival and for the cleansing of our people of all those elements alien to its spirit.
Holocaust: In Tallinn, Estonia, the Soviet NKVD shoots prominent politician Friedrich Akel. The Soviets imprisoned Akel in October 1940 but apparently preferred to shoot him rather than evacuate him with the rest of the retreating Soviet population. His wife Adele Karoline Tenz already has been deported.
July 3, 1941, The Sporting News- Detroit All-Star Game Issue- All-Stars & Briggs Stadium Cover. The game is scheduled for 8 July 1941.
American Homefront: Eleanor Roosevelt publishes a column with the United Feature Syndicate, Inc. entitled "My Day, July 3, 1941." In her column, she simply describes her thoughts during the day and philosophizes about "modern life." Among her thoughts today are the plight of "underprivileged youngsters," including "above all, our young Negro people," whom she feels are not getting enough recreation. She encourages people to send soldiers "packages of small luxuries, and even of necessities."
Future History: Gloria Rachel Bloom is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gloria grows up and becomes a lawyer, becoming interested in women's issues. Using her married name of Gloria Allred, she goes on to become a prominent attorney in California who is still active at the time of this writing.
Wylie Walker Vale is born in Houston, Texas. He becomes a top endocrinologist who discovers the stress hormone.
