Tuesday 25 March 1941

Adolf Hitler and Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Things have quieted down on land in Albania on 25 March 1941. The Italians finally have given up on their Primavera Offensive, which accomplished nothing but rack up casualties. Overall, Italian casualties for the Primavera Offensive number 11,800 dead and wounded, while the Greeks suffer 1243 dead, 4016 wounded and 42 missing.

Operation Lustre, the British reinforcement of mainland Greece, continues. Convoy AG 8 departs Alexandria bound for Piraeus carrying troops and supplies, while Convoy AS 22 departs Piraeus bound for Alexandria. Norwegian 5062 ton freighter Hav departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria.

"Goodwill visit to Brisbane by the American fleet in March 1941. This was the first visit to Brisbane during World War Two of an American Naval Squadron. At this time, the United States of America had not entered the war. Entry was a few months away after Pearl Harbour in December 1941." 25 March 1941. State Library of Queensland.

East African Campaign: The latest British 5th Indian Infantry Division attack on Keren continues today. Started late on the 24th, the attack quickly yields tactical successes. One objective of British General Heath is to capture the areas overlooking the Dongolaas Gorge that control access to Keren. Another is to neutralize Italian positions at the head of the gorge from which Italian troops can fire down on British sappers trying to clear the gorge of the obstacles placed there by Italian engineers.

As the day beings, the West Yorkshire and 3/5th Mahrattas advancing down the hill from Fort Dologorodoc to the right of the gorge seize some lower hills overlooking the gorge. The Italians resist fiercely, but the British occupy the entire southeastern side of the gorge by 07:30.

At 03:00, another attack is launched by the 2nd Highland Light Infantry and the 4/10th Baluch Regiment. They emerge from a railway tunnel that is to the left of the gorge in order to attack Italian troops at the head of the gorge. The British maintain heavy artillery fire on the Italian positions from the area around the Sanchil heights. Other troops (3/2nd Punjab Regiment) then enter the gorge itself to clear it. By 05:30, the entire gorge is cleared of Italian troops and the Italians can no longer fire down directly into it.

The Italians counterattack in the afternoon. Italian troops continue to hold out on Mount Sanchil on the left side of the gorge. The Indian troops use artillery to break up the Italian attempts to counterattack.

British engineers quickly begin clearing the Dongolaas Gorge of the obstacles placed there to prevent British vehicular traffic. On the surrounding rim, the Italians and British continue struggling for dominance. The British take 500 prisoners in the early morning hours.

European Air Operations: The RAF switches strategic targets. Rather than attack factories in and around cities, for the time being, RAF Bomber Command will attack Axis convoys. These include the iron ore shipments flowing down the Norwegian coast from Narvik to Hamburg, convoys from Hamburg to occupation forces along the North Sea and Channel coast, and oil shipments coming up from Spain. Initiating this strategy, the British bombers attack shipping off of Ameland in the north of Holland.

The Luftwaffe sends small raids against towns on the south coast. A fighter sweep over southern England with fighter-bombers (Jabos) produces few results.

Cable ship C.S. Faraday is lost on 25 March 1941 to Luftwaffe attack.

Battle of the Atlantic: While German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau have made port at Brest, there remain many German raiders at sea. Today, they make their mark.

German raider Kormoran captures 11,309-ton Canadian tanker Canadolite midway between Africa and Brazil. The Germans put a prize crew on board and sent it to Brest.

German raider Thor remains a thorn in the Admiralty's side. Today, it torpedoes and sinks 8799-ton British liner Britannia in the mid-Atlantic about 750 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa. The Thor's captain hears British radio transmissions and assumes they mean that the Royal Navy is nearby. He departs the scene after rescuing only one man from the 203 crew and 281 passengers on board. The Britannia is carrying a large number of Royal Navy officers heading to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

While almost everyone on board the Britannia survives the initial sinking, many perish after the Thor leaves. The weather may be warming up a bit, but the seas remain cold. A Spanish freighter, the Bachi, rescues 51 men, another, the Cabo De Hornos, rescues 77, and British freighter Raranga rescues 67 men. Another 33 men reach Brazil in their lifeboat, but it takes them 23 days. Two men on the Britannia, Lieutenant I. S. McIntosh and Frank L. West RNVR (who writes a book about the incident) receive MBEs for their service on the ship, while four others receive commendations. The Thor's captain, Otto Kähler, acts correctly in terms of his legal wartime obligations; however, this is not the best moment of the Kriegsmarine.

Thor later comes across 5047-ton Swedish freighter Trolleholm. This time, Thor takes all 31 men on board prisoner after scuttling the ship.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 627-ton British freighter Rossmore about a dozen miles from Godrevy Island in Bristol Channel. There are six deaths.

The Luftwaffe at 19:45 bombs and damages 5533-ton cable ship CS Faraday in the Bristol Channel. The Heinkel He 111 bombs and strafes the Faraday, causing a fire that forces the crew to abandon ship - after it shoots down the Heinkel. There are 8 deaths and 25 wounded. The blazing Faraday later grounds at St. Anne's Head, and the cable on board is mostly recovered. However, the remains of the ship, such as they are, remain there and in fact have become a favored diving location in shallow water at Hooper's Point, Pembrokeshire.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condors) bombs and sinks 9956-ton British tanker Beaverbrae in the Northwest Approaches. All 86 men on board survive. One of the destroyers picking up the men, HMS Gurkha, collides with a small wooden ship while returning to Pentland Firth outside Scapa Flow, but everyone is fine and the destroyer makes it back to base. However, the drifter sinks and nobody on it survives. The Gurkha has to go to Roslyn for repairs to its bow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 347-ton Dutch freighter Escaut southwest of Hartland Point. After the crew abandons it, the ship drifts ashore near Bude but is later refloated and repaired at Appledore.

British 21-ton fishing boat Alaskan hits a mine and sinks northeast of Hartlepool. All five on board survive.

US 8013-ton tanker Cities Service Denver is under tow off the coast of North Carolina when an unexplained explosion occurs beneath the crew quarters. There are 19 deaths.

The Admiralty sends a troopship, HMS Circassia, from the Clyde to Iceland. It carries more personnel for the growing British presence there.

Convoy HG 57 departs from Gibraltar.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Hermione (Captain Geoffrey N. Oliver) is commissioned.

British liner Britannia, sunk on 25 March 1941 by German raider Thor.

Battle of the Mediterranean: It is fair to say that, at this stage of the war, the Italian military has not covered itself with glory. They have been forced back in Albania, East Africa, and North Africa, while the Italian fleet largely has stayed in port. However, there is one area of the military at which the Italians are ahead of everyone: small-scale attacks at sea which can produce big results. However, so far these operations have been canceled for various technical reasons.

That changes today. Italian destroyers Crispi and Sella each carry three 2-ton motor assault boats from Leros in the Dodecanese Islands. They head for the vicinity of the major British naval base at Suda Bay, Crete. The destroyers release the boats from about 10 miles (18 km) offshore at 23:30. The small boats proceed toward the large Royal Navy ships at anchor in the bay for an attack on the 26th. The prime target is heavy cruiser HMS York.

On land, the German Afrika Korps continues consolidating its recent acquisition of El Agheila. The British have withdrawn to Mersa Brega, which occupies a narrow point between the coast and the rocky interior where larger operations are impossible. The Germans also note that the British have abandoned Maaten Bescer, too, with British patrols in the area west of Mersa Brega vastly reduced.

Having completed their mission in Athens and Cairo, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS John Dill begin their journey back to London. Today, they lay over at Malta around midnight on the 24th from Athens. The original plan was for them to continue on to Lisbon immediately, but the weather forces a layover, so they spend the day playing billiards and visiting various highly placed individuals on the island. It is a memorable day for Malta, which does not get many highly placed visitors who stick around for any length of time.

British submarine HMS Rorqual lays mines off Palermo west of Sicily.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin completes its refit at the uninhabited Kerguelen Islands and departs, along with supply ship Adjutant, for further operations. The crew has disguised Pinguin as Norwegian freighter Tamerlane.

British 11,092 ton transport Waimarama runs aground after departing Port Said bound for Alexandria. The ship is pulled off by two tugs, but the ship requires 2-3 months of repairs.

The Admiralty transfers aircraft carrier HMS Eagle's two squadrons of Swordfish bombers to Port Sudan.

Spy Stuff: The British learn through their decoding operations and spy network, along with "hard" intelligence such as observed Luftwaffe reconnaissance missions, that the Italians are planning a major operation at sea.

U.S. Navy cruiser Chicago makes port at Brisbane, Australia, 25 March 1941. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 77816.

German/Yugoslavian Relations: Despite fierce opposition even within his own cabinet, regent Prince Paul authorizes signing of the Tripartite Pact. In Vienna's Belvedere Palace, Yugoslavia Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković signs the Pact, adding his name to those from Japan, Romania, Italy, and other nations. Hitler and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop are in attendance, signifying the importance they place on this event.

By joining the Axis, Yugoslavia allows German troops to cross its territory but does not have to fight - at least according to the secret terms promised by Hitler. There is immediate disagreement with Prince Paul's decision throughout the country, but particularly within certain sections of the military. There also is a division along ethnic lines that foreshadow events decades later, with Serbs favoring the British and Croats favoring the Germans.

The Germans are ecstatic about Yugoslavia signing the agreement. The Propaganda Ministry orders its outlets to describe this as another step toward a New World Order.

German/Soviet Relations: One of the remaining sticking points between Germany and the USSR is removed today. Ethnic Germans from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia complete their resettlement to Germany, while ethnic Lithuanians, Russians, and White Russians are resettled in the USSR. That many of these people, such as the White Russians, may not particularly want to make the move is irrelevant. These mass dislocations of people (an estimated 60,000 people head west while 20,000 head east) is a common and continuing feature of World War II. Of course, the people heading east will see the Germans again before too long, but nobody outside of the top German government and military circles is supposed to know that. The people brought in from the east are housed for the most part in camps to await properties the Germans plan on seizing or otherwise acquiring soon from others.

German/Japanese Relations: Japanese Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka is visiting Berlin and says:

The Japanese nation is with you in joy or sorrow...to arrange the world on the basis of the new order.

Matsuoka is visiting both Berlin and Moscow, and his trip will have repercussions that reverberate for years. He is a proponent of Japan attacking the USSR in concert with Germany, but that view is not shared within the higher levels of the Japanese government and military.

German/Greenland Relations: Greenland long ago declared its independence from mother country Denmark due to German domination there. However, Greenland never declared war on Germany. Today, Germany declares that it will observe only a three-mile territorial limit around Greenland.

Australians greet visiting American sailors, Brisbane, Queensland, 25 March 1941. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 104176.

US/Australian Relations: Rear Admiral John Newton takes his cruiser squadron (USS Chicago and Portland, along with five destroyers) to Brisbane for a three-day visit. This follows an extremely successful visit to Sydney.

In the same vein, Captain Ellis S. Stone brings his light cruiser squadron (USS Brooklyn and Savannah, along with three destroyers) to Tahiti.

Italian Military: Following the disaster of the British Operation Compass, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani is formally replaced by General Italo Gariboldi as Commander-in-chief of Italian North Africa and as Governor-General of Libya. Despite his lack of success on the battlefield, Graziani remains good friends with Benito Mussolini, traveling with him and acting as a military confidante. This is not the end of his military career, either, but Graziani will remain inactive for the time being.

Japanese Military: Captain Kiichi Hasegawa takes command of aircraft carrier Akagi.

Romanian Military: Petre Dumitrescu takes command of the Romanian Third Army. This formation is oriented toward northern Bukovina, which the Soviets occupied in June 1940.

British Government: The Admiralty holds a conference on shipping and shipbuilding. Visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzies, who has been visiting ports around the country, shares his thoughts. He decries the control being exercised by the Admiralty over shipyards. In Menzies' view, private industry would be much more efficient. Somewhat unusually, since he views many in the Churchill government as "Yes men," Menzies notes with satisfaction in his diary that he gains support from others at the meeting.

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding is in the United States inspecting aircraft factories. He has made some public statements with which British Ambassador Lord Halifax disagrees. Halifax requests Dowding's recall.

China: At the Battle of Shonggao, the Japanese 11th Army has given the Chinese 19th Army Group of the Chinese 9th War Area its best shot - and come up short. Having used all of its resources to try to punch through the Chinese lines, the army gives up the fight as pointless given the high cost. The lines remain where they are for the time being, but the Japanese launch no more attacks. The city of Shangkao, though, is destroyed. This has been a very important Chinese defensive victory. The Chinese try to take advantage of this victory by moving to encircle the advanced Japanese positions, but the Japanese begin edging back toward their base.

Author Ernest Hemingway is in the Far East on a "tourist" visit which may be a little more than that. Today, he and his wife Martha Gellhorn depart from the British base in Hong Kong for China.

British Homefront: Lord Woolton cuts the jam and marmalade ration, as previously announced. Everyone gets 8 ounces per month. He also cuts the meat ration to 6 ounces per month.

Occupation currency issued on Guernsey in the Channel Islands, dated 25 March 1941.

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Becomes Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Monday 6 January 1941

"Australian infantry advancing during the assault on Bardia, 6 January 1941." © IWM (E 1573).

Italian/Greek Campaign: Minor operations continue on 6 January 1941 in the Klisura Pass and elsewhere. Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos is preparing a renewed effort at Klisura in an effort to secure the vital Italian port of Valona (Vlorë) before anticipated German intervention, which is projected to begin any time on or following 15 January. The Italians are fighting hard at Klisura, using Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 tanks.

Both sides have large naval forces in action during the night. Greek destroyers shell Valona during the night. A group of Italian destroyers and torpedo boats from the 9th Destroyer Division shell Greek bases at Porto Palermo in Albania. Porto Palermo is a few kilometers south of Himarë, which the Greeks recently captured.

The Great Powers are becoming increasingly interested in Greece as perhaps their next proxy battlefield. Hitler's plans for Operation Marita are well known, and becoming known at this time outside of his own country (it is impossible to hide the Wehrmacht troop movements in Romania, and the cover story of it being related to "training" is wearing thin). British Prime Minister Winston Churchill today memos his military aide, General Ismay, stating:

We must so act as to make it certain that if the enemy enters Bulgaria, Turkey will come into the war.... It is quite clear to me that supporting Greece must have priority after the western flank of Egypt has been secured."

Hitler also remains preoccupied with Turkey and maintains close diplomatic relations with it - as do the British.

European Air Operations: Operations remain light. RAF Coastal Command attacks German convoys off Norway and the Dutch coast. The Luftwaffe sends a few raiders against London and Kent but stays on the ground after dark.

The inter-service rivalries in the Wehrmacht continue. Admiral Karl Dönitz has requested control over air units - specifically Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors - in order to aid U-boat operations in the Atlantic. He hopes that they will operate as the U-boats' "eyes" and spot ships and convoys that the U-boats - at surface level - cannot see.

Hitler approves this request today, shifting I,/KG 40 to the Kriegsmarine's control. However, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering controls all air units in the Reich (under Hitler, of course). Seeing this as an infringement on his own authority, Goering quickly objects to the transfer. As a sort of compensation, Hitler returns KGr 806 (Junkers Ju 88s) from Kriegsmarine control and gives them to Field Marshal Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 for attacks on England. For now, though, the Condors remain with the Kriegsmarine, and this marks the start of a permanent increase in cooperation between German air units and U-boats. However, KG 40 itself is in poor shape and proves to be of little value to Dönitz.

"A column of Italian prisoners captured during the assault on Bardia, Libya, march to a British army base on 6 January 1941." © IWM (E 1579)

Battle of the Atlantic: U-124 (Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz), on her third patrol operating out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5965-ton British freighter Empire Thunder (on her maiden voyage) northeast of Rockall/west of the Hebrides in the Western Approaches. There are nine deaths and 30 survivors. The Empire Thunder was a straggler from Convoy OB 269 because of engine issues, and convoys wait for no ship.

German Hilfskreuzer (Auxiliary Cruiser) Kormoran (Korvettenkapitän Theodore Detmers) sinks 3729 ton Greek collier Antonis in the mid-Atlantic. The 29 men (and 7 sheep) on board are taken as prisoners. This incident sends Royal Navy heavy cruisers HMS Norfolk and Devonshire searching fruitlessly for the Kormoran, which of course quickly departs the scene. This is another incidence where the exaggerated value of surface raiders is demonstrated, as the Royal Navy expends huge amounts of effort trying to track the Kormoran down, while the much more effective U-boats attract little attention except at the times of sinkings.

British 87 ton tug Lion hits a mine and sinks in the River Medway. Everyone on board perishes.

British 219 ton trawler Gadra hits a mine (laid by the British) off Myling Head, Faroe Islands. There are three survivors, 7 deaths.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Mashona collides with destroyer HMS Sikh while departing Scapa Flow on a convoy mission. The Mashona is taken to West Hartlepool for repairs. The Sikh also is damaged which puts it out of action for just short of two weeks.

Convoy FN 377 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 101 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 101 departs from Bermuda.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Dianella (T/Lt. James G. Rankin) is commissioned, while destroyers HMS Fitch and Forrest are laid down.

US battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) is laid down at the Brooklyn Navy Yard - quite a coincidence given President Roosevelt's speech today, in light of the events of 2 September 1945.

Time Magazine, January 6, 1941. | Vol. XXXVII No. 1.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Australian forces continue mopping up at Bardia, with the Italian position now completely hopeless. However, there are still some holdouts in the northern sector of the fortress.

Already, British eyes are turning elsewhere. The British 7th Armoured Division, having bypassed Bardia, takes El Adem airfield and Belhamed to the south of Tobruk (General Enrico P. Manella) and essentially cuts its Italian troops off from land communications. The Italians have other large troop formations sitting idle in Libya, but, as with Bardia, they appear uninterested in what happens to Tobruk. A surprise assault on the 7th Armoured Division, for instance, in theory, could crush it against the fortress of Tobruk like a hammer striking an anvil, but the Italians further west do not stir.

With yet another major British objective - Bardia - now crossed off the list, Churchill begins thinking about which theater of operations presents the greater threat: Greece or North Africa. He cables his Middle East Commander, General Wavell, to hurry things along because there are other pressing priorities:

Time is short. I cannot believe Hitler will not intervene soon [in Greece and other Balkan states].

Given that Wavell has just won another resounding victory and perhaps expects some thanks or congratulations rather than another lesson in the obvious, this perhaps comes as a bit of a downer.

Churchill, however, does not stop there. He even implies that Wavell's army has become a haven for slackers, urging that Wavell do something "about purging rearward services" and shifting more of the rear echelon establishment into the front line. Churchill further elaborates by commenting that more forces should be shifted to Greece, including aircraft, artillery and "some or all of the tanks of the 2nd Armoured Division, now arrived and working up in leisurely fashion in Egypt." These are all implied criticisms of Wavell's leadership, extending disagreements and resentments between the two men that have been bubbling to the surface since the quick loss of British Somaliland in August 1940.

This is a familiar theme that leaders on both sides will take up from time to time, the length of the supply "tail." However, modern armies require large-scale logistical support, and cutting back on that can result in degradation of combat effectiveness by those who do carry rifles.

General Wavell, for his part, flies to Khartoum. He wishes to evict the Italians from Eritrea, and also reinstall British pawn Haile Selassie as ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).

Meanwhile, the Germans are doing more than subtly sniping at each other. Today, General Geisler begins operations with his Junkers Ju 87s of Fliegerkorps X from their new bases in Sicily. They attack Royal Navy units involved in Operation Excess.

As part of Operation Excess, a convoy mission to Malta, Group B of Operation MC 4 departs from Alexandria. Operation Excess is designed to reinforce Malta with additional troops, and ships are coming from both Alexandria and Gibraltar.

RAF planes drop propaganda leaflets on Italian positions in North Africa. The leaflets emphasize the moral superiority of British war aims and recent British successes in Egypt and Libya.

In southwest Libya, the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) is camped near Tazerbo and continues patrolling to learn as much as possible about its objective, regional center Murzuk and its airfield. The men hear today that Bardia, about 700 miles to the east, has fallen via special poles they construct to aid communications. This is no small force; there are 23 vehicles and 76 men. Included in the group are Coldstream Guards and New Zealanders. They are all under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bagnold, with Major Pat Clayton leading the raid itself.

The Indian 11th Infantry Division transfers from Egypt to Sudan.

Battle of the Pacific: British 16810 ton transport Empress of Russia departs from Auckland, New Zealand with an escort of HMNZS Achilles. With known German raiders in the area following the shelling of Nauru in December, the Royal Navy is becoming much more security conscious about its assets in the Pacific.

US Navy TBD-1 Devastators, Torpedo Squadron 2, of USS Lexington (I think), 6 January 1941.

Applied Science: Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) test a prototype centimetric radar system on the roof of the university's Radiation Laboratory.

Anglo/US Relations: After quickly loading $148,342,212.55 (at 1941 prices) in British gold bars within about 24 hours, USS Louisville immediately departs from Simonstown, South Africa bound for New York. That is about $2 trillion in 21st Century value. This shipment, part of Operation Fish, will be used to pay for armaments and other items in the United States. In its path lies German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer (which today is replenishing its fuel stocks from tanker Nordmark), but the ocean is vast and the odds of the two ships encountering each other is remote. Even then, the USS Louisville is a heavy cruiser that can take care of itself.

If anything were to happen to this shipment, there could be cataclysmic consequences.

Irish/German Relations: The Irish government sends the Germans an official note of protest regarding recent air attacks on Dublin and the Irish coast to the south. The Luftwaffe bombed Ireland for three straight nights and killed several people. Many in Ireland and Great Britain do not think these bombings were accidental at all, but an intimidation tactic.

Soviet Military: The war games that began on 2 January conclude today. General Zhukov, in charge of the "Western" or "Blue" forces, has achieved a victory over Colonel-General D.G. Pavlov commanding the "Eastern" or "Red" forces. The precise outcome is somewhat murky, as the accounts of this exercise rely upon memoirs from those involved (some of whom did not survive the war). Another exercise is planned to begin on 8 January, with Zhukov commanding the "Red" side and General Kulik commanding the "Blue" side.

British Government: Winston Churchill sets the ultimate objective in North Africa as the capture of Benghazi. This he sees happening in March 1941, after which troops can be shifted to Greece and North Africa become basically a static front. He gives this appreciation both to General Wavell and to the Defence Committee for discussion.

President Roosevelt gives his 6 January 1941 "Four Freedoms" State of the Union address. Camera angles give the impression that he is standing, when in fact he is seated.

US Government: President Roosevelt gives his 1941 State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress. It quite possibly is the most consequential address of the 20th Century. This becomes known as the "Four Freedoms" speech, and Roosevelt enumerates the "Four Freedoms" as follows:

1. Freedom of speech
2. Freedom of worship
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear

While the speech is a classic and the Four Freedoms have entered the lexicon, this is Roosevelt's second attempt at creating the list. On 5 July 1940, he gave a slightly different list at a press conference. Then, these "essential freedoms" were:

1. Freedom of information
2. Freedom of religion
3. Freedom to express oneself
4. Freedom from fear
5. Freedom from want

Obviously, the initial five-point list was not quite catchy enough. Whatever difference lies between "freedom of information" and "freedom to express oneself" got boiled down to "freedom of speech," which is essentially the idea underlying both - but not quite with the same nuances. Reviewing the two lists is like watching a brilliant writer editing his own work to make only the most fundamental points.

The idea also has an antecedent from an unlikely source: the 1939 New York World's Fair (which only closed at the end of October 1940). The Fair's four freedoms were:

1. Freedom of religion
2. Freedom of speech
3. Freedom of the press
4. Freedom of assembly

Roosevelt's final Four Freedoms list is a fundamental recitation of concerns which sometimes echo, if not outright paraphrase, the US Constitution, but also extend the Constitution with Roosevelt's own New Deal agenda (not included in the "Four Freedoms" but also listed in the speech are such things as jobs, equality of opportunity, and civil liberties). In effect, Roosevelt is proposing that US Constitutional - and his own philosophical - priorities should be the template for the entire world. That is, whether the rest of the world agrees or not - but mass acceptance of these principles, or "freedoms," is assumed.

While Hitler is busy trying to craft a New World Order by dividing the world up into military spheres of influence, Roosevelt is doing the same thing in a philosophical fashion (in fact, he actually uses the phrase "new order" in reference to the Axis and proposes instead the term "moral order."

The Baltimore News-Post, 6 January 1941.

One of the ironic aspects of Roosevelt's speech lies in how he describes "freedom of fear":

which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world.

In fact, President Roosevelt will preside over the greatest arms buildup in the history of the world. That defense establishment essentially remains into the 21st Century, with US defense expenditures continuing to amount to more than that of all other nations put together. There was no "reduction of armaments" under President Roosevelt, and there was none after his tenure, either. It is easy to say that Roosevelt's arms buildup was necessary, as well as that of post-war US governments - but it takes a certain myopic or ethnocentric point of view to refuse to see your own arms buildup as not violating the "freedom from fear." Apparently, it is okay if the other guys feel fear as long as you and those who agree with you do not. I'm not trying to be political here, just pointing out some inescapable realities of how the world works and how high-minded principles can't square with them.

Nobody can really argue with Roosevelt's list; that would be like saying that you are in favor of repressing or mistreating people. In a sense, the Four Freedoms speech is the dawn of the age of political correctness, where any dissent makes you morally a "bad person," though that takes decades to gather steam.

The speech provides a moralistic framework for US intervention abroad which ultimately is not necessary during the Roosevelt years, but helps to frame World War II (from the US perspective) as "the Good War" (some would say the last good war). It also imbues a conscious moralism to US foreign policy which never leaves - moralism which is not always applied or justified in the same ways, particularly during US military interventions. However, this moralism does imbue US military adventurism with the aspect of a modern Crusade (in fact, General Eisenhower's memoir is entitled "Crusade in Europe," so some at the time saw this, too). Some key US allies never follow these Four Freedoms (notably the USSR), so everything is relative in the context of the Four Freedoms. Again, those inescapable realities again.

The Four Freedoms will remain a catchphrase to which Roosevelt will return time and again and will inform the creation of the United Nations, perhaps his most lasting legacy.

Also included in the speech, almost casually and with almost no elaboration, is another tremendous topic with immediate ramifications: Lend Lease. While once again he does not use this term, President Roosevelt does everything but say the words. After noting in the abstract that Great Britain is about to run out of money - with an actual shipment of British gold leaving for the United States on this very day - Roosevelt says:

I do not recommend that we make them a loan of dollars with which to pay for these weapons -- a loan to be repaid in dollars. I recommend that we make it possible for those nations to continue to obtain war materials in the United States, fitting their orders into our own program. And nearly all of their material would, if the time ever came, be useful in our own defense.

In this way, in a single paragraph, Roosevelt announces a new policy that essentially turns Great Britain into a client state, a very willing mercenary army for the United States. Roosevelt makes this even plainer in the following paragraph when he reassures his listeners that "we are free to decide how much should be kept here and how much should be sent abroad to our friends." Not only does Roosevelt decide what goes where, but the British will wind up paying for the privilege of accepting these American handouts. It is an artful way of ramping up the munitions industries without actually going to war or, really, having any legal pretext at all (though that will soon follow).

East Indians: Local Dutch authorities arrest Nationalist leaders.

China: The Nationalist Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the retreating Communist New 4th Army near Maolin on the Yangtze.

The Nationalist (Kuomintang) government purchases 100 H81A-2 Curtiss Tomahawks (P-40Bs). These are intended for use by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), which Claire Chennault is still forming. Their armament is 2 x 0.5 in. and 4 x 0.3 in. machine guns, which is fairly substantial for this period of time, though 20 mm cannon would be better.

American Homefront: Unknown young actor Richard Widmark makes his radio debut on the CBS drama "The Home of the Brave."

January 1941

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

2020

Monday 25 November 1940

Prototype Martin B-26-MA Marauder 40-1361 taking off on its maiden flight, 25 November 1940 (US Air Force).

Overview: There is a tendency among students of the war to see Hitler and the Germans as holding the stronger hand during negotiations with the Soviet Union in 1940. The Soviet Union is portrayed as weak and trying to make a deal, whereas the Germans are in a position of strength and ability to dictate the terms of the relationship. To be fair, the Germans felt the same way at the time. The evidence for Soviet diplomatic inferiority is scant but generally relies on Stalin's accommodating attitude toward Germany during the weeks preceding Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. However, Stalin had personal reasons to fear an invasion that had little to do with overall Soviet power.

The Soviets, however, at no point saw their diplomatic position as inferior. In fact, the Stavka (Soviet General Staff) never felt a sense of military inferiority toward Germany in the months before the invasion. During planning for their own operations against Germany - which is ongoing on 25 November 1940 - the Stavka focuses not on defensive strategies, but on offensive plans that would respond to an act of aggression. Thus, the question posed in their operational studies was not how to defend areas of the Soviet Union, but instead where the strongest German forces would be located so that the effect of an immediate Soviet counterstrike would be as devastating as possible when the German advances were reversed. Once you defeat the enemy at his strongest point, the rest of the battle becomes easy - at least, if you can do that.

There is no question there was some self-deception on both sides during this period. The German leaders felt that the Soviet system and government were inherently weak and unpopular - both untrue to one extent or another - while the Soviet leaders were a bit too complacent in their own military strength. Of the two sides, history shows that the Soviets were closer to reality than the Germans. The gulf between their versions of how things stood was enormous. This made a true, lasting deal utterly impossible.

Hence, when Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov adopts a stance of diplomatic equality with the Germans, it comes as quite a shock to the Germans, because Hitler and much of the Wehrmacht resented these "subhumans" pretending to be equals. In fact, Molotov's proposals really are fairly mild, address real concerns, and represent an honest attempt at accommodation. In other words, the Molotov proposal of November 1940 is not an intemperate and overreaching grasp at German rights and influence, as the Germans felt, but instead an honest diplomatic attempt to reach a modus vivendi.

The Germans should have taken Molotov's proposals much more seriously than they did. They are quite reasonable, do not really impact core German interests, and are infinitely more acceptable than betting the life of the German nation on an uncertain campaign in Russia. In hindsight, this is a decisive moment of World War II.

If you believe that Operation Barbarossa is Germany's greatest mistake of the war, then reaching some kind of agreement now with the USSR would avoid that entire invasion and create a new paradigm. This may be the single moment that seals the fate of the Axis. With some negotiation, the rougher edges could be smoothed over and the Soviets would sign the Tripartite Pact, presenting a united front to the Allies. However, the German grasp of reality about the true balance of global power - for now, the entire globe is revolving around the European conflict - is very shaky at this time due to their cheap run of successes on the Continent.

The prototype B-26 Marauder, 25 November 1940 (US Air Force).

Soviet/German Relations: Soviet Minister Molotov summons German Ambassador Count von Schulenburg to the Kremlin and presents him with the official Soviet reply to German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop's October proposal of a "New World Order." The Molotov reply states that the USSR would be willing to sign the Tripartite Pact, but only under certain conditions:

1. The area of the south of Batum and Baku - the Persian Gulf - is recognized as within the Soviet sphere of influence;
2. The Soviets require a naval base in the Dardanelles;
3. Turkey must either join the Tripartite Pact willingly or be subject to "the necessary military and diplomatic steps" to remove it as a hindrance;
4. Germany must withdraw all troops from Finland;
5. Japan must renounce its rights to energy resources in Northern Sakhalin;
6. Bulgaria must be recognized as lying within the Soviet sphere of influence, with a separate Soviet/Bulgarian pact to be negotiated.

The Germans quickly discount the entire Soviet counterproposal. It flies in the face of current German activities. In particular, German troops are standing by to pour into Bulgaria in order to invade Greece (and Bulgaria already would have joined the Tripartite Pact except for Bulgarian hesitancy, see below). Revealing this to the Soviets might, in light of Molotov's demands, provoke an open breach. The Germans consider any Soviet infringement on the Baltic - which is an obvious implication of German troop withdrawals from Finland - as quite out of the question (this point, in fact, seems to be the Germans' main objection to the Molotov proposals).

The Germans never reply to this Molotov letter, despite repeated Soviet requests for such. This represents the final attempt at an agreement between the two powers before Operation Barbarossa.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek offensive continues. Greek I Corps continues moving into Albania along the Drinos River, and Greek II Corps continues in the direction of Frashër. The Italians are forming a new defensive line east of Berat on the Tomorr Mountain range. Greek 1st Infantry Division takes Mali Piscalit and Gostivisti.

European Air Operations: Weather is poor, so flying operations are reduced. RAF Bomber Command sends out 36 bombers to bomb Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. Other attacks are made against Willemsoord, Hamburg, and the former Dutch seaplane base at De Mok, Texel. Five British bombers attack the Tirpitz, with no success.

The Luftwaffe engages in light day raids due to the weather against targets in southern England, losing four aircraft. It only launches a few isolated attacks after dark.

The official handover from Air Marshal Dowding to Air Officer Commanding, RAF Fighter Command Sholto Douglas takes place.

"Soldiers of the East Surrey Regiment pose with fixed bayonets at Chatham in Kent, 25 November 1940." © IWM (H 5694). (Photo by Mr. Putnam of the War Office).

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy 225-ton trawler HMT Kennymore (T/Skipper J. W. Greene RNR) hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. There are four deaths and Greene is wounded.

While rescuing people from the Kennymore, 224-ton British naval trawler HMT Conquistador (T/Skipper J. Paterson (act) RNR) collides with a passenger vessel and sinks in the Thames Estuary. The Conquistador is carrying survivors of HMT Kennymore.

Royal Navy Fairmile A motor launch HMS ML 111 (Lt A. V. C. Hoadley RNR) hits a mine and sinks off the mouth of the Humber. There are two deaths, and Lt. Hoadley is wounded.

British 698-ton hopper barge Tees Hopper No. 3 hits a mine and sinks off Stockton on Tees, County Durham. Everybody survives.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Talisman reports torpedoing a German tanker off of Lorient in the Bay of Biscay. It is unclear what ship this is or what happened to it. The Talisman reports that a trawler was taking off the crew.

HMS Talisman also captures a French fishing vessel, the 40-ton Le Clipper, in the same general area. The British later use this as a spy ship.

Convoy HX 91 departs from Halifax, a Greek convoy (seven freighters) departs from Suda Bay for Piraeus.

Canadian corvettes HMCS Cobalt and Orillia are commissioned, along with antiaircraft ship HMS Springbank (converted freighter).

The Germans are stepping up their U-boat construction. They lay down U-92 and U-177 today.

"A lance corporal of the East Surrey Regiment poses with a 'Tommy gun,' Chatham in Kent, 25 November 1940." That is a Thompson m1928 submachine gun (drum magazine).  © IWM (H 5680). (Photo by Mr. Putnam of the War Office).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Collar, a supply run to Malta with associated subsidiary operations, continues. Force H (Admiral Somerville) from Gibraltar is led by battlecruiser HMS Renown and the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. Force F is led by two cruisers, HMS Southampton and Manchester and is heading for Alexandria. The Mediterranean Fleet also is at sea for Operation Collar, led by battleships HMS Warspite and Valiant and aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. The overall plan is for Force H to escort Convoy ME 4 to the area of Sardinia/Sicily, at which point the Mediterranean Fleet will escort them to Malta. The handoff is scheduled for 27 November.

The British Western Desert Force is preparing in great secrecy an offensive in Egypt. Under Operation Compass, British Troops Egypt (Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson) is planned as a five-day raid, with extensions based on the progress of the attack. Today, the British forces involved undergoing training exercises.

The RAF bombs Assab and performs reconnaissance missions over Sicily, Bari, and Taranto.

In Malta, the government bans the operation of motorcycles without a special permit. There are three air raid alerts, and the first two accomplish nothing, as the planes turn back quickly. During the third raid, the Italians lose a CR 42 fighter and the British lose a Hurricane, with both pilots perishing.

Battle of the Pacific: German raiders Komet and Orion (with tanker/supply ship Kulmerland) are operating about 400 miles (650 km) east of New Zealand (about 40 km southwest of Chatham Island) when they spot a ship at 07:20. The Germans stop it and identify it as 546-ton New Zealand coastal freighter/passenger ship Holmwood. The Germans take off the 29/30 people on board (including four women and four children) and 1370 sheep, two dogs and a horse and distribute them among the three ships (they kill the horse). The Germans then sink the ship.

Applied Technology: In the continuing technology battle of the war at sea, the British take a step forward when they fit minesweepers with devices that successfully explode three acoustic mines. The solution? Specially modified jackhammers that generate enough noise to blow the mines up at a safe distance.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 25 November 1940 (photographer unknown). The bridge sags on the left because of the lack of weight where the central span should be. Eventually, the entire roadway will be salvaged for scrap, though the central piers will be re-used for the next attempt.

German/Bulgarian Relations: Hitler and Ribbentrop have been trying to get Bulgaria to sign the Tripartite Pact. If they had their way, the Bulgarians would be present in Berlin right now with the representatives of Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia to add their signature. However, Bulgarian minister in Berlin Parvan Draganov scotches these plans, at least for the time being. Bulgaria fears reprisals from both the Soviet Union and Turkey. Draganov also explains that Bulgaria has a natural affinity for the peoples of Russia and its associated republics which might make an agreement now politically unpopular at home. However, Draganov is clear on one point: Bulgaria may be ready to sign at a later date.

Things are very confused about the Soviet/German/Bulgaria issue at this time. Both sides may be making somewhat overstated promises to the Bulgarians in exchange for short-term concessions. For instance, today the Soviet Secretary-General of Soviet Foreign Ministry, Arkadi A. Sobolev, arrives in Sofia to confer with Bulgarian Prime Minister Bogdan Filov. Sobolev requests permission for Soviet troop transfers across the country - for what purpose is unclear - in exchange for the Soviets dropping their objections to Bulgaria joining the Tripartite Pact. Sobolev broadly hints that with just a little cooperation from Bulgaria, both Bulgaria and the USSR might join the Tripartite Pact. These discussions appear tightly coordinated with Foreign Minister Molotov's letter to Ribbentrop.

Anglo/Italian Relations: The London press is full of speculation about the course of the war against Italy. The current rumor is that Mussolini would be willing to conclude a peace deal with the Allies. There is nothing concrete to prove this - yet. However, Mussolini indeed is having serious anxiety attacks about his failed offensive in Greece and the stalled offensive in North Africa.

Prototype DH.98 Mosquito marked W4050 taking off on its first flight at Hatfield, 25 November 1940. While you can't tell from the picture, the bomber is painted yellow overall. Interesting that they already have the service markings on this prototype's maiden flight, but then, neither side's pilot's would recognize the plane as belonging to their side. (Royal Air Force)

British Military: Geoffrey de Havilland and John E. Walker, Chief Engine Installation designer, take the new serial number E0234, msn 98001, prototype of the De Havilland D.H. 98 Mosquito bomber on its maiden flight at Hatfield, England. The flight goes smoothly, and the plane reaches 220 mph (350/km). The only issues spotted are a problem with the undercarriage doors and a tendency of the plane's left wing to drag slightly. Both problems are fixed eventually, though the undercarriage problem takes some time.

US Military: Glenn L. Martin Company test pilot William K. "Ken" Ebel at Martin Airport in Middle River, Maryland takes the new serial number 40-1361, msn 1226 B-26 MA Marauder on its first flight. It goes smoothly, and deliveries to the US Army Air Corps at Wright-Patterson field in Ohio are scheduled to begin in February 1941.

The US Army calls up two more National Guard units to active duty, Alabama's 31st and Texas' 36th.

Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs Santos, Brazil for Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil as part of its continuing "Show the Flag" operation in Latin America.

The Patria listing heavily after the bombing.

Palestine: At Haifa, the 11,885 ton SS Patria is loaded with about 1800 Jewish refugees from Occupied Europe. The British authorities have denied entry to the refugees due to their lack of entry permits. The ship is to be sent to Mauritius. Zionist paramilitary group Irgun aka Irgun Zvai Leumi, a subsidiary of Haganah, decide to bomb the ship in order to disable it and prevent its departure (but not necessarily kill anyone, though that seems unavoidable). Miscalculating the force required (the ship is old and fragile), the Zionists plant a bomb that blows a huge hold in the side, causing the Patria to sink within 16 minutes. There are 267 dead and 172 injured (these are disputed British government estimates, and 50 dead are British crewmen).

In 1957, Munya Mardor claims responsibility for planting the bomb, clearing up the mystery of the explosion. The British allow the survivors to remain in Palestine, so Haganah/Irgun accomplish their objective. Needless to say - but I'll say it anyway, despite how controversial this entire subject is - this is a humanitarian disaster that needlessly kills hundreds of innocent people, but which some feel worthwhile for the greater good of the right of Jewish settlement in the Palestinian territories.

China: The Japanese 11th Army attacks the Chinese in Hubei Province. This is known variously as the Han River Operation and the Central Hupei Operation. The Japanese send five separate columns to attack the Chinese 5th War Area.

German Homefront: Hitler issues a decree entitled "Basic Law of Social Housing Construction." Robert Ley's Labour Front is directed to build 6 million dwellings, at 300,000 per year. Simple math shows that this program would take two decades to complete. The decree gets into minutiae such as how big the homes must be (62 square meters), what rooms they must include (kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a hallway, and a balcony), and - tellingly - that they must have air raid shelters large enough for all occupants. The German bureaucracy has a well-defined habit of cutting corners to present large statistical achievements which reap glory on those in charge - as Hermann Goering likes to say, "The Fuhrer does not ask me how large my bombers are, only how many I have" - thus the need for the detail.

American Homefront: Andy Panda cartoon "Knock Knock" is released. It features an annoying woodpecker who disturbs the two pandas. The woodpecker's name is the not-very-original Woody Woodpecker. He is drawn by Alex Lovy and voiced by Mel Blanc, who gives Woody his distinctive laugh. The film is produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures.

While Lantz did not actually draw Woody Woodpecker for this short, he created the character along with legendary storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway - the artist who earlier came up with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck at Warner Bros. Lantz has been looking for a replacement for tired star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, and Woody is perfect. The character is an instant hit, and Woody Woodpecker will star in films during the war and cartoons on television beginning in 1957.

Life Magazine, 25 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

Tuesday 12 November 1940

Hitler and Molotov at their meeting in Berlin.

Soviet/German Relations: Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov arrives on 12 November 1940 at the Berlin train station at midday. German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop meets him there and they then sit down for a meeting. They then proceed to the Reich Chancellery, where Molotov meets Adolf Hitler.

At the first meeting, Ribbentrop sets forth the New World Order which he has outlined in his letter of 14 October (delivered several days later). He states that the Axis Powers will divide the world, with the Soviet Union to possess India and Southeast Asia to the Persian Gulf. Basically, Germany will possess Europe, while the Soviet Union will take the remainder of the Eurasian landmass with the exception of areas in the Far East (primarily China) claimed by Japan. Italy would have, well, Italy, as well as parts of Africa where it had historic interests (but Hitler undoubtedly had desires for at least the restoration of the old German colonies in Africa, that was a common desire in Germany after World War I).

At the meeting with Hitler, the two reach some surface agreement about German/Soviet relations as benefiting from peace between the two nations - though both secretly are dealing in bad faith: Germany and the Soviets both are in the process of drawing up invasion plans against the other. The gist of Hitler's remaining remarks is that the Soviet Union's future lies in the East, not in Europe. Molotov, for his part, is not impressed by Hitler. Personal impressions aside - Molotov has some smart remarks to make about that later - Molotov is not impressed by Hitler's attempt to focus the Soviet Union on Asia and the Indian sub-Continent. Instead, he zeroes in on issues in Europe, such as recent German agreements for troop movements in Finland which the USSR sees as threatening.

The essence of Molotov's argument is that it is much too early to worry about Asia, as there are many issues in Europe that need to be resolved first. He is adamant that the Soviet Union has an interest and security concerns in the region. Molotov also finds it of concern that the Soviet Union is being left with areas that have yet to be conquered, such as British India.

Molotov will be in Berlin for another two days, so the talks adjourn after this meeting, with more meetings scheduled on the morrow.

Molotov and Hitler on 12 November 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks begin reorganizing their troops for a counteroffensive against the Italian invasion into two field armies, Ninth Army (Korçë sector) and Eleventh Army (Epirus sector). In the Epirus sector, I Army Corps under Lieutenant-General Panagiotis Demestichas takes over, with its troops including the Greek 8th Division. Along the coast, the independent Lioumabas Detachment takes over. The Greeks on the coast are still pushing the Italians back to the Kalamas River, attacking toward Igoumenitsa.

The Greeks are assembling overwhelming power against the Italians. Due to the absence of other threats and the assistance of the British, who are landing troops in Crete and near Athens, the Greeks can assemble their entire military to oppose the Italians. Greek commander-in-chief Alexander Papagos now has over 100 infantry battalions facing fewer than 50 Italian battalions.

The RAF bombs energy facilities in the Italian supply port of Durazzo in Albania.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks oil installations in Cologne and Gelsenkirchen, an inland port at Duisburg-Ruhrort, and railway installations both near Cologne and in the Ruhr industrial region. In addition, it attacks the U-boat pens at Lorient, the ports of Flushing and Dunkirk, and airfields in northwest Europe.

The Luftwaffe sends numerous small attacks against England during the day. At night, a large raid against London hits a movie theater, two American ambulance centers, and working-class areas. Other attacks take place in the Liverpool area and the Midlands.

Der Adler ("The Eagle"), 12 November 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 661 ton coaster Argus hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary northeast of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. There is one death, and 34 men are rescued.

British 91 ton trawler Lord Haldane sinks in or near the Bristol Channel, perhaps due to mines (many other ships have been lost to mines in the area).

Dutch naval tug Witte Zee runs aground at Oxwich Point, Glamorgan and is wrecked.

Five Royal Navy minelayers create minefield SN 43, another minelayer (HMS Adventure) puts down mines east of Inishtrahull.

Convoy FS 334 departs from Methil, Convoy BN 88 departs from Bombay (it has the troops from Convoy WS 3 in 11 transport ships, plus additional freighters carrying supplies), Convoy SL 55 departs from Freetown, Convoy BS 8A departs from Suez.

Royal Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler HMS Rumba (T 122, Lt. Norman E. Hendy) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: In the Battle of the Strait of Otranto, an Allied naval squadron is in the Adriatic as a diversion from the Royal Naval attack on Taranto completed on 11 November. Around 01:00, Vice Admiral Henry Pridham-Whipple in the light cruiser HMS Orion leads Vice Admiral Henry Pridham-Whipple in the light cruiser HMS Orion between Bari and Durazzo. They stumble upon six Italian ships of unknown composition. The Royal Navy ships open fire at a distance of 11 km. They inflict damage as follows:

• Freighter Catalani - sunk
• Freighter Premuda - sunk
• Freighter Capo Vado - sunk
• Freighter Antonio Locatelli - sunk
• Torpedo boat Fabrizi - damaged (11 dead, 17 wounded)
• auxiliary cruiser Ramb III - undamaged.

The Royal Navy ships sink all four merchantmen in the convoy and suffer no damage to themselves. The Regia Marina suffers 36 dead and 42 wounded. Two Italian torpedo boats rescue 140 survivors after daylight; it is unclear how many perish.

The Royal Navy considers a second strike on Taranto by aircraft from HMS Illustrious during the night, but Admiral Cunningham cancels it due to poor weather at 17:00. The Italians, meanwhile, disperse their shipping them to the ports of Naples, Messina, and Palermo until defenses at Taranto can be improved. The remaining Italian naval forces remain formidable, including three intact battleships, but the Italians apparently do not even consider sending them out against the Royal Navy.

Separately, RAF bombers raid Bahir Dar in the Horn of Africa (Italian East Africa).

At Malta, reinforcements received in Convoy MB 8 of the 11th are put into position. The island now has six British battalions, two batteries of 25-pounder artillery, and a company of light I-tanks. The British War Cabinet considers these troops adequate for the time being and views Malta as a strategically important base from which to interdict possible Wehrmacht troop movements to North Africa. In part, the ongoing occupation of Crete is viewed as a bridge to Malta, which operates as a forward base against Axis troop movements across the Sicilian Narrows.

The Italians pull one of the two Royal Navy Swordfish bombers lost in the Taranto Raid out of the harbor.

Spy Stuff: Under interrogation, a downed Luftwaffe airman reveals that a "colossal raid" on Coventry or Birmingham by:

…every bomber in the Luftwaffe….will take place by moonlight between November 15 and 20.

Interesting, the official code name for the attack (unknown to the interlocutors) actually is Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata).

The intelligence staff passes along the information, which it considers likely to be false. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, however, has the benefit of Top Secret Ultra decrypts. He knows the information to be true and also knows that the target will be Coventry. However, Churchill feels that he cannot say anything about this for fear of revealing the critically important Ultra operation.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: The Japanese and Dutch authorities - the Dutch remain a major power in the Far East - conclude an agreement regarding oil supplies to Japan. The agreement provides that the Japanese will receive 1.8 million tons of oil annually. This will partially make up for the Japanese shortfall due to the American oil embargo.

Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov at the Berlin train station, shaking Heinrich Himmler's hand. Ribbentrop is behind him.

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 18. It summarizes staff discussion of the previous two weeks which reflect the disaster of the Italian invasion of Greece and the need to seal off the Mediterranean. The Directive outlines Operation Felix, the conquest of the British base at Gibraltar. The plan is set out in four phases:

1. Isolation of Gibraltar by mobile troops;
2. Luftwaffe attacks from French bases;
3. Army attack on Gibraltar and, if necessary, Portugal;
4. Closure of the Straits of Gibraltar, and operations in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, Madeira, and Azores.

In addition, this far-reaching directive states that German troops will only cross to North Africa after the Italians take Mersa Matruh, the Wehrmacht will invade Greece "if necessary," and that planning for Operation Barbarossa is to continue - "all preparations for the East for which verbal orders have already been given will be continued." The order also curiously states that Operation Sealion might be "possible, or necessary" in the Spring - making it clear that such an invasion is not, at present, necessary.

Fuhrer Directive 18 is notable for its lengthy treatment of operations with virtually no chance of occurring - Operation Felix and follow-up operations dependent upon it - and the short shrift it gives to truly monumental and looming issues - invasions of England and the Soviet Union. Fantastically, Hitler issues this order on the very day that Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov arrives in Berlin, revealing that Hitler expects nothing from those talks. In the event, the operations mentioned in Directive 18 that are never carried out make a whole lot more sense than the ones in it which do take place.

Separately, Adolf Hitler notices that his staff is making contingency plans to secure Molotov in an air raid shelter in case of an RAF attack (plans which come in quite handy). This sets him to thinking. He decides that he has no protection himself in the Reich Chancellery. He directs that plans be drawn up for a personal command bunker behind the Chancellery - which would become known as the Fuhrer Bunker.

US Military: U.S. Secretary of the Navy William “Frank” Knox asks his Special Naval Observer in London, Rear Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, to find out more details about the successful Royal Navy raid on Taranto. Everyone in the US military is extremely happy about the raid and the effectiveness of torpedo destruction of fleets at anchor in fortified harbors. The Japanese are also quite interested in the technical aspects of the raid and will let the Americans know how much on 7 December 1941. This goes into the special file marked "Be careful what you wish for."

Heavy cruiser USS Louisville departs from Buenos Aires, Argentina for Santos, Brazil on its "Show the Flag" mission.

Canadian Military: The Chief of the General Staff rejects for the second time a proposal from Colonel Tommy Burns that it form a parachute unit.

Gabon: The Free French under Generals de Gaulle and Koenig complete the capture of Libreville and Port Gentil, which is 70 miles south of Libreville. Vichy French Governor Georges Pierre Masson surrenders without a fight, then commits suicide.

American Homefront: The US Supreme Court decides Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940). This case limits res judicata ("a thing decided") to the parties to a case. Of course, the previous case can serve as a precedent, but not as a bar to further litigation. The case involves a racially restrictive covenant in a Chicago neighborhood; the defendants argued - unsuccessfully - that a different plaintiff cannot also challenge the covenant because an earlier court already found it valid.

The US is digging out of the Armistice Day Blizzard.


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