Monday 25 August 1941

Finnish troops fire (perhaps) a Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle (20mm x 138mm Solothurn) outside Viipuri (Vyborg), 25 August 1941 (colorized from SA-Kuva). The soldiers appear to be wearing foreign helmets.

Iran Invasion: The British and Soviet Armies jointly invade Iran from different directions on 25 August 1941. The two nations divided Iran into separate spheres of influence in 1908, making the division of the country preordained. The invasion is an immediate success with no serious issues encountered by the invaders from either the defenders or the terrain.

In Operation Countenance, RAF aircraft based in Iraq beginning bombing Tehran, Qazvin, and other targets before dawn. The Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, under the command of Commodore Cosmo Graham, land at Abadan (Operation Demon), Khorramshahr and Bandar Shapur in the Persian Gulf. Resistance is extremely light, and the British sink two Iranian gunboats and quickly seize 7 Axis ships. The British are aided by clandestine reconnaissance missions conducted since the collapse of resistance in Iraq in May 1941. The invading units are organized as "Iraq Command."

Soviet troops of the 44th Army cross the Iranian border, 25 August 1941.

The Soviet 44th, 47th and 53rd armies of the recently formed Transcaucasian Front (General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov) invade by land primarily from Transcaucasia. The Soviets use about 1,000 T-26 tanks and quickly occupy large portions of Iran's northern provinces. Red Air Force and naval units also participate where they can be used, with planes bombing Tabriz, Ardabil, and Rasht.

The Iranian Army is taken by complete surprise. It mobilizes nine infantry divisions, two armored. The Iranians have good equipment, including the vz. 24 rifle that compares with the Wehrmacht's Mauser, and also has about 100 tanks (FT-6 and Panzer 38(t) light tanks that the Wehrmacht also uses). In addition, the Iranian army has La France TK-6 armored cars. However, the Iranian equipment by and large is obsolete, poorly handled, and overwhelmed by tactical surprise.

Iranian generals argue for a "scorched earth" policy of destroying bridges and other infrastructure in order to at least slow the invasion. Reza Shah refuses because he is proud of the great advances in roadways and buildings made in Iran during his reign and does not want to destroy them.

Iranian leader Rezā Shāh Pahlavi quickly summons Sir Reader Bullard and Andrey Andreyevich Smirnov, the British and Soviet ambassadors to Iran, to demand an explanation. They refer to two previous warnings made on 19 July and 17 August to expel German nationals which had not been carried out. There indeed are many Germans and Italians working on railways, telegraphs and the like, but they have been there for decades. Reza Shah also sends a telegram to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt lamely responds that the "territorial integrity" of Iran should be respected, but otherwise does nothing.

Electricity goes out in Tehran at around 22:00, causing the lights to go out everywhere, including the Shah's palaces. For many Iranians, this is the first that they learn of the invasion.

By the end of the day, the British are control of Abadan after fierce hand-to-hand fighting around the refinery. There are light casualties on both sides, but the Iranian Naval Commander in Chief Rear Admiral Bayendor dies in defense of the naval base. Other areas such as Qasr Sheikh and Khorramshahr, both near Abadan also fall today. The Soviet troops capture Jolfa and drive south toward Tabriz and Lake Urmia against virtually no resistance. The Soviet Caspian Sea Flotilla (Rear-Admiral Sedelnikov) lands troops in Gilan Province wile 44th Army enters the same province by land. The Iranians score some rare successes at Pahlavi Harbour in Bandar Pahlavi, where they prevent a Soviet landing by sinking barges at the entrance to the harbor and fiercely defend Rasht.

Iranian gunboat Babr sunk at Khorramshar, Iran, on 25 August 1941 (Iranian government).

Eastern Front: In the Far North sector, the Soviet 115th and 123rd Rifle Divisions continue their attempt to throw leading Finnish elements of Light Brigade T back across the Vuoksi river. Soviet artillery kills Light Brigade T's commander, Col. Tiiainen. Finnish reinforcements soon arrive, however, and force the Soviets back. Finnish reinforcements soon arrive, however, and force the Soviets back.

Further north, Finnish troops find themselves blocked in their attempt to cut the Murmansk railway line at Loukhi. General Hjalmar Siilasvuo, commander of III Corps, tells General Falkenhorst, commander of Army of Norway, that the attack has failed and that he needs a fresh Finnish division to resume the offensive. Falkenhorst arranges a meeting with Siilasvuo for the 29th.

Finnish 36 Corps, operating between Nurmi Lake and Nurmi Mountain, is trying to cut off Soviet troops who have discovered an unmarked logging road. The Finns managed to cut the escape route today, trapping at least some of the fleeing Soviet troops. The weather improves, and bombers and dive-bombers are able to attack the Soviet troops. The Soviets, though, refuse to give up on their escape route and fight savagely to reopen it.

A young Soviet soldier in a BA-20 light armored car. Red Army armor crossed the Iranian border on 25 August. 1941.

In the Army Group North sector, the Germans capture Novgorod south of Leningrad. German LVI Corps (General von Manstein) and 39 Corps (motorized) attack east of the Volkhov River toward Lyuban and the Neva River. The Soviets defend with the 4th, 52nd, and 54th Armies. German LVI Corps pushes the Soviet 34th and 11th Armies back to the Lovat River.

In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian has Panzer Group 2 begin its offensive south toward Kyiv from Starodub, while the 2nd Army also joins in 75 miles to the west. Second Army quickly seizes a key bridge, but Panzer Group 2 just as quickly runs into fierce Soviet resistance which slows his advance to a crawl. Panzer Group 3 continues fighting into Velikiye Luki.

In the Army Group South sector, General von Kleist's Panzer Group 2 captures Dnepropetrovsk south of Kyiv. Kleist aims to secure the town and its important river crossing and then head north to meet Guderian's Panzer Group 2 heading south to encircle the Soviet troops at Kyiv. Fighting dies down on the Odesa perimeter, with the Romanians relying on artillery based at Kubanka to wear down the defending Soviet troops.

Luftwaffe ace Hermann-Friedrich Joppien, an Experten with 70 victories (42 on the Western Front), is shot down and killed southwest of Bryansk. A Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter shoots him down while Joppien and his wingman are attacking three Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers. He receives a posthumous Wehrmachtbericht mention on 29 August 1941, his third mention.

Hauptmann Hermann-Friedrich Joppien, Kommandeur of I./JG 51. KIA 25 August 1941 in the Soviet Union.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends six Blenheim bombers on a routine patrol to the mouth of the River Scheldt without incident.

During the night, the RAF sends 37 Wellington and 12 Stirlings against Karlsruhe and 38 Hampden and 7 Manchester bombers against Mannheim. There are 2 Wellingtons and one Stirling lost on the Karlsruhe raid and 3 Hampdens lost over Mannheim. The weather is poor over Karlsruhe, leading to poor accuracy, while the RAF does moderate damage to Mannheim.

One of the Vickers Wellington bombers going to Karlsruhe doesn't make it for an odd reason. Near Niederdonven, a bolt of lightning strikes it, causing the plane to explode. All six crewmen perish and are temporarily buried in Niederdonven cemetery, where a memorial plaque is placed.

There are scattered Luftwaffe raids across northeast England, with reports of five reconnaissance aircraft crossing the coast. Slight damage at Ashington, Whitley Bay, and Wallsend.

Battle of the Baltic: The German 3rd S-Boat Flotilla lays 30 TMB mines off Cape Ristna (Dago). German minelayers Brummer and Roland lay 170 EMC mines in minefield Rusto north of Cape Ristna.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet tanker Zheleznodrozhnik and freighters Daugava and Lunacharsk. There are seven deaths on the Lunacharski.

Soviet icebreaker Truvor hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Finland. There are 22 survivors.

Auxiliary Soviet river gunboat Vernyy is sunk during action while assisting the Red Army.

HMS Newark, damaged on 25 August 1941 (© IWM (FL 3299)).

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy antisubmarine trawler HMS Vascama (Lt Walgate) joins with an RAF Catalina J of No. 209 Squadron based at Reykjavik, Iceland to sink U-452 south of Iceland. U-452 (Kptlt. Jürgen March) was on its first patrol out of Trondheim. All 42 men on the submarine perish.

U-752 (Karl-Ernst Schroeter), on its first patrol out of Kirkenes, torpedoes and sinks 553-ton-ton Soviet minesweeping trawler Dvina (T-898 (No. 44)) about 80 miles east of Cape Chernyj northwest of Svyatoy, Russia. Some accounts state that U-752 also torpedoes auxiliary minesweeper Nenets as well, but that may refer to the same ship by another name.

Royal Navy minelayers Adventure, Port Quebec, and Southern Prince lay minefield SN-70A in the North Atlantic. While returning to port, 10,917-ton Southern Prince is spotted by U-652 (Oblt. Georg-Werner Fraatz), which is on its second patrol out of Trondheim, and torpedoed and damaged midway between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. There are no casualties, and Southern Prince makes it back to Scapa Flow and later Belfast for repairs.

Royal Navy destroyer Newark, formerly USS Ringgold, is torpedoed while in the company of Southern Prince. It is towed into Belfast for repairs. It is under repair until May 1942. It is unclear if U-652 also hit Newark or if it was another vessel or plane.

German 2288-ton freighter Troyburg is stranded and lost at Farsund, southwest Norway.

US aircraft carrier USS Wasp leads American Task Group TG.2.6 on a neutrality patrol out of Hampton Roads today.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Welshman (Captain Wiliam H. D. Friedberger) is commissioned and corvette Loosestrife is launched.

United States Navy submarine USS Finback is launched.

U-333 (Kptlt. Peter Erich Cremer) is commissioned. The Kriegsmarine places orders for 61 new U-boats.

"Small boys prefer to smoke cigarettes than eat candy. In this picture, a 2.5-year-old tot easily identifiable as male." - Russo-Finnish front, 25 August 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian troops at Tobruk with Polish troops of the Carpathian Brigade, continues. Minelaying cruiser Abdiel and destroyers Jackal, Hasty, and Kandahar take the troops from Alexandria to Tobruk late in the day. The Luftwaffe spots them and attacks at twilight but scores no hits.

Royal Navy minelayer Manxman completes laying its mines off of Livorno, Italy as part of Operation Mincemeat and heads back to Gibraltar.

Royal Navy submarine Rorqual (Lt. Napier) lays mines off Cape Skinari, Greece.

Nine Wellington bombers based on Malta attack Tripoli, causing moderate damage. One Wellington crashes while landing at Luqa airfield.

Battle of the Pacific: German blockade river Munsterland departs from Yokohama carrying supplies for other raiders in the Pacific.

Soldiers of the Waffen-SS looking over a map on the Eastern Front, 25 August 1941.

Special Forces: Operation Gauntlet, a raid on Spitzbergen, begins at 04:30 when destroyer HMS Icarus lands a signal party at the Kap Linne radio station at the entrance to Isfjoren on Spitzbergen Island. At first, the local Norwegians think the soldiers are Germans, but soon spot the flag of Norway on an officer's shoulder. Finding no resistance (the Norwegians are happy to see the British and there are no Germans), the Royal Navy ships steam into Isfjorden and then on to Grønfjorden at 08:00. The ships anchor at Barentsburg, populated by Russians who also are happy to see the Royal Navy. Brigadier Arthur Poss, commander of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade, goes ashore and offers the Russians safe transport to Archangelsk if they wish. Facing no opposition, other Canadian units occupy strategic points along the coast. The locals now have a tough choice of whether to stay on the island or be evacuated.

The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Hitler, Major-General Alfred Jodl and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel confer at Hitler’s headquarters in East Prussia, the Wolfsschanze, on 25 August 1941.

German/Italian Relations: Mussolini visits Hitler at the latter's headquarters at the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) headquarters in East Prussia along with Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano. Hitler rails against Franco, who still refuses to join the war, while Mussolini complains that his army is disloyal. Hitler asks for more Italian troops to take over garrison duty in the Balkans to free up German troops to serve on the Eastern Front. The men then depart for an inspection tour of captured towns in Ukraine. This will be Mussolini's longest visit with Hitler of the war, lasting until 29 August.

German/Japanese Relations: Hitler meets with Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima in East Prussia.

US/Italian Relations: US authorities seize 5039-ton Italian tanker Colorado at San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is renamed Typhoon under Panamanian registration.

Soviet soldiers gathered outside the headquarters established at the only hotel in Qazvin, Iran, 1941 (George Rodgers).

German Military: Ernst Udet, Director-general of Equipment for the Luftwaffe, reports sick. Udet indeed is sick, but it is not a physical illness - he is beset by depression and raging paranoia.

In essence, Udet's job is to decide what plane designs get built and which to terminate. An ace pilot and World War I hero, Udet finds administrative work extremely stressful - though he is good at it and largely responsible for turning the Luftwaffe into a deadly instrument of war. Udet is a great friend of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, to whom he owes his position, and feels that he has let both Goering and himself down by failing in the Battle of Britain. Udet is replaced for the time being by Inspector General Erhard Milch.

Soviet Military: General Malinovsky takes over the Soviet 6th Army.

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy begins converting 10,020-ton tanker Shinkoku Maru into a naval auxiliary at Naniwa Dockyard, Osaka.

Fred Astaire and son on the cover of Life magazine, 25 August 1941.

US Military: Richard "Dick" Winters enlists in US Army. He becomes famous later in the war for commanding Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division. He is a major character in "Band of Brothers" (2001).

Holocaust: In the Tykocin pogrom, the SS takes about 1400-1700 Jewish residents of Tykocin in occupied Poland to nearby Łopuchowo forest and execute them.

German SS and civilian authorities meet at Vinnytsia, Ukraine to discuss the fate of 20,000 Hungarian Jews interned at Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. The plan arrived at is to liquidate them by 1 September.

German authorities in Belgrade transport about 8000 Jewish residents to Topovske Supe for execution.

Fishing/excursion boat "Hod."

Norwegian Homefront: A group of about 20 Norwegian citizens attempting to flee the Germans boards fishing boat "Hod" at Ulstein. They leave for England on the evening of 25 August 1941. The boat is never seen again, but one woman's body is found later offshore and the boat's registration plate and some parts of it are later found. It is speculated that a German patrol plane spotted the boat offshore and bombed it.

Members of the Italian Consulate in Essen. Note Queen Elena's picture on the wall (Federal Archive, Bild 212-303).

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Tuesday 29 April 1941

Soldiers of the DAK (Deutsches Afrika Korps) salute at the graves of 23-year-old gunner Georg Böttiger and 22-year-old PFC Franz Dahmen, both killed near Sollum on 29 April 1941.

Operation Marita: The climax is at hand on the Greek mainland on 29 April 1941, and this is considered the "end" of the British evacuation, Operation Demon. Resistance ceases at 05:30. The New Zealanders continue to form the vital rearguard as the main Allied forces embark at various ports for transport to Crete and North Africa. While the process may seem fairly perfunctory - get the troops to the ships and get them out - the delaying actions involve desperate fighting at times. Today, Sergeant John Daniel Hinton of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force leads a charge that takes a German-held house, a mortar, and three machine guns. Sgt. Hinton receives the Victoria Cross for his pains, which are very real as he is wounded in the action and taken prisoner.

The 5th Panzer Division reaches the south coast of the Peloponnese, joined there by SS troops coming from Pyrgos.

A small force of 33 men is rescued from Kalamata. However, 8000 British, New Zealand, Australian, Greek and Yugoslavian men are left behind there to surrender.

Major General Bernard Freyberg arrives at Suda Bay to assume command there. Overall, 50,000 troops evacuate today, but 223,000 men are left behind to become POWs. Fortunately for future British operations, only 12,000 of them are Tommies, but the ANZAC forces lose all their heavy equipment. The Germans lose 2,559 men dead in the campaign, 5820 wounded, and 3,169 missing. With the mainland cleared, the only significant part of Greece left to conquer is Crete.

Convoy GA 15 takes off troops from the mainland, under heavy escort. Five destroyers are dispatched to rescue any men stranded on Greek islands. The Luftwaffe attacks the departing convoy and scores a near-miss on destroyer HMS Nubian and sinks 125 ton Greek ship Aetos.

The Luftwaffe also attacks Suda Bay in Crete. They sink Greek freighters 1433 ton Elsi and 3537 ton Konistra. The Germans later raise them and return them to service.

The Italians begin to tighten their hold on Croatia: Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano writes in his diary that "The Croatian situation has moved forward many steps. The crown is offered to a prince of the house of Savoy..."

Meanwhile, Yugoslav Serb General Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović crosses into Serbia to form a resistance. He grandly styles it the "Command of Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army." He heads toward Ravna Gora. Accompanying him are seven officers and 24 others. He does not find much help during his journey.

The victory in Greece does not come a minute too soon for the Germans. They now have their Twelfth Army out of position for Operation Barbarossa, and there is not enough time to redirect it in time for the proposed operations in the East. This will have major implications on the strategic options available to Army Group South.

Short Sunderland Mark I’s of No 228 Squadron RAF (T9048 ‘DQ-N’ in foreground), and No 230 Squadron, RAF (L2160 ‘NM-X’ center), moored in Messinia Bay off Kalamata while evacuating RAF personnel from Greece, 28 or 29 April 1941 (IWM photo).

Iraq War: While there is no real ground fighting in Iraq, the clinch between the two sides - British and Iraqis - intensifies when the latter army surrounds the British airbase at Habbaniya (80 km west of Baghdad). The British are in no imminent danger, as they have unimpeded contact with their other bases by air - but their overland communications are cut. British civilians in Baghdad seek asylum at the US embassy.

The main Iraqi force is on a plateau overlooking the airfield and comprises both infantry and artillery brigades, a dozen armored cars and some tanks. The Iraqis command the British to cease all movement in and out of the base, including by land and air. The British, nonplussed, ask the Iraqis to leave the area. Neither side does what the other wants, and there is a stalemate. The RAF launches some strikes against the encroaching Iraqi forces.

The British in London are kept well-informed of the brewing situation and already have landed troops at the port of Basra, with more on the way. However, those troops are far away, and the strain on British resources is growing just as the Greek situation is falling apart and the East African campaign is reaching its climax. Fortunately for the British, they have extensive resources reasonably close at hand in their colony of India, and the Italians in East Africa are not putting up much of a fight. More troops from the British 10th Indian Division land at Basra today despite Iraq's prohibition.

While there is no possibility of supporting Iraq with ground forces (which is what they really need), the Germans are contemplating support for the Iraqis by air. However, such efforts are hampered by the extreme distances involved from the nearest bases in Greece and North Africa and Allied control over much of the intervening territory. The Germans also have no ground facilities in Iraq. The Vichy French in Syria and Lebanon, however, have offered the use of their airfields, and Hermann Goering is anxious to curry favor with Hitler by showing the reach of his Luftwaffe.

Middle East: The always murky relations between the British and French become murkier today when the British warn the Vichy French - who are not actually British Allies - that they fear a Luftwaffe airborne landing in Syria. Commander in Chief of the Army of the Levant (Armée du Levant) and High Commissioner of the Levant General Henri Dentz replies simply that he intends to repel all aggression - an ambiguous statement that seems to apply as much to the British as the Wehrmacht. Dentz commands 45,000 men and the vital (at the moment) bridge to Iraq. The British, not operating in the best faith, decide to attack Dentz' Vichy airfields and contemplate invading Syria and Lebanon - though that would increase the strain on their Mediterranean resources.

RAF personnel boarding Short Sunderland Mark I, T9048 'DQ-N', of No. 228 Squadron RAF at Kalamata, on or about 29 April 1941.

European Air Operations: RAF 101 Squadron sends three Blenheims to attack shipping off Nieuport, with one Blenheim badly damaged. RAF No. 82 Squadron sends a larger force of 15 Blenheims on a routine patrol off Norway, damaging a freighter but losing two planes. Other operations are launched during the day against shipping off Calais and various other coastal targets, while RAF Bomber Command attacks Rotterdam overnight with 31 aircraft. Another attack is sent overnight against Mannheim with 71 aircraft.

The Luftwaffe raids Devonport, damaging light cruiser HMS Trinidad, under construction. It also raids Plymouth with 162 planes, sinking Lighter C. 293 and sinking 775-ton auxiliary patrol vessel Pessac (later raised and repaired) and British ship Moncousu.

General Draža Mihailovich during World War II. Mihailovich is a controversial figure because he collaborated with the Germans while fighting Josip Broz Tito's communist partisans. On 14 May 2015, Mihailović was rehabilitated after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cassation, the highest appellate court in Serbia.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-75 (Kptlt. Helmuth Ringelmann), on its first patrol, torpedoes and sinks 10,146-ton British freighter City of Nagpur in the mid-Atlantic west of Ireland. There are sixteen deaths, the survivors picked up by destroyer HMS Hurricane.

The Luftwaffe (a Junkers Ju 88 of KGr 506) sinks 722-ton British freighter Kalua in the mouth of the Tyne. Everyone survives.

In the same attack at the Tyne, the Luftwaffe damages 2822-ton British freighter Corglen and 2498-ton Norwegian freighter Askeladden. Both ships return to port in tow.

The German 1st MTB Flotilla sends three boats (S. 26, 27, 29 and 55) against convoy EC 13 off Cromer. Though escorting destroyers HMS Worcester, Eglinton, Whitshed and Wallace disperse the attackers, they sink 1555-ton British freighter Ambrose Fleming (11 deaths).

Chilean passenger ship Chiloe runs aground on Puchoco Point and is lost.

British 207 ton freighter Prowess hits a mine in the Humber. It makes it back to port.

A harbor launch, HMML 278, hits a mine at Portsmouth and blows up. Everyone aboard perishes.

British ship Canadolite, captured by German raider Kormoran, arrives in France.

British ship Advocate, captured by Admiral Scheer near Seychelles in February, also arrives in France at the Gironde.

Convoy SC-30 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.
Minesweeper HMS Hildasay is launched.

Canadian corvettes HMCS Brandon and Shediac launch in Quebec, while Pictou is commissioned.

U-84 (Kptlt. Horst Uphoff) is commissioned, and U-514 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Erwin Rommel has planned a major attack on British forces in the south of the Tobruk perimeter on 30 April. However, he is no longer the supreme authority in North Africa: recently arrived Major-General Friedrich Paulus a Deputy Chief of the General Staff officially has been sent to "observe" and, informally, put the brakes on Rommel's wild pace of operations. After conferring with Italian leader Gariboldi and studying the situation, Paulus allows the operation to proceed. The German and Italian forces plan to proceed to their take-off spots.

Winston Churchill informs Air Chief Marshal Longmore in the Middle East that the Royal Navy is planning another operation to send "up to 140 Hurricanes" to Malta "by the 25th May."

The RAF attacks Benghazi.

At Malta, six Junkers Ju 88s raid Valletta Harbor at dusk and lose one plane.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks convoy service ship 3081 ton HMS Chakla in Tobruk Harbor. Two men are wounded, none lost.

Anthony R. Basile on 29 April 1941 while working as a truck driver and field lineman for the headquarters, 50th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Army. Basile would participate in the battle of Metz, France in 1944/45, and for his heroism would, on 22 November 2016, receive the  French Legion d’Honneur from Valéry Freland, Consul General of France, in Boston.

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill sends a cable to President Roosevelt which begins "At this moment much hangs in the balance." He makes the following points:

• Turkey is the key to protecting British forces in Egypt and may help the Germans in small ways;
• The Germans are eyeing attacks on Syria, by airborne troops using Rhodes as their jump-off point, and also Crete. He seems much more concerned about Syria than Crete, however;
• Spain is "most critical" and Franco may grant the Germans transit rights;
• The US should force Vichy France to "break with" the Germans.

Churchill concludes the message by saying that "I feel Hitler may quite easily now gain vast advantages very cheaply, and we are so fully engaged that we can do little or nothing to stop him spreading himself."

German Military: Adolf Hitler addresses 9,000 officer candidates in the Berlin Sportpalast. Following his discussion with Count Schulenburg the previous evening, he is more determined than ever to invade the Soviet Union, and he loves to drop hints in his speeches:

If you ask me, ‘Fuhrer, how long will the war last?’ I can only say as long as it takes to emerge victorious! Whatever may come! As a National Socialist during the struggle for power I never knew the word ‘capitulation.’ And there is one word I will never know as leader of the German people and your Supreme Commander, and again it is ‘capitulation’— that is, to submit to the will of another.  Never, never! And you too have to think like that.

It is around this time that he decides to launch Operation Barbarossa on Sunday, 22 June 1941.

Illustrations in New York daily newspaper PM accompanying an article about inventions that would be useful for the military. Pictured on the left is a "traveling controllable land mine" (which the Germans did develop later) and, on the right, "a really good aircraft detector" (which the RAF already had in the form of radar, though that was top secret at the time) (Jack Coggins).

British Military: The Admiralty issues a request for six Liberty Ship hulls to be converted to aircraft carriers (HMS Archer, Avenger, Biter, Dasher, and Tracker).

General Percival in Singapore appoints a new commander of Malaya.

US Military: Charles Lindbergh's letter of resignation from the Army Air Corps Reserve is accepted by the US War Department. President Roosevelt has called Lindbergh unpatriotic for being a leading member of the America First movement.

British Government: Winston Churchill faces some disquiet in the House of Commons. He brusquely dismisses questions that aim to clarify British war and peace aims and a proposal to appoint a supreme War Cabinet composed of ministers with no other responsibilities "as in the last war," and including visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzies. The clear implication is that Churchill's one-man show running the entire war effort needs to be reined in a bit.

For his part, Menzies, who has come to be seen as almost a savior by the anti-Churchill faction within the government (and there indeed is one), in fact, is winding up his time in London. This is his second anniversary as Prime Minister of Australia, a fact he proudly notes in his diary. He expresses frustration that he is the only member of the Defence Committee who questions Churchill's decisions.


April 1941

Monday 28 April 1941

Short Sunderland flying boats in Kalamata Harbor to evacuate British troops in Operation Demon, Kalamata, Greece, April 28, 1941.

Operation Marita: Having pocketed Athens without a fight, on 28 April 1941 the Wehrmacht continues to occupy the remaining portions of mainland Greece after collapsing British opposition. The 5th Panzer Division continues its drive across the Peloponnese, pursuing Allied troops that are evacuating as quickly as they can in Operation Demon.

Today, three Royal Navy ships - sloop HMAS Auckland, HMS Hyacinth, and HMS Salvia, take off 750 RAF personnel from Kithera, while another force of ships takes off 4320 men of the New Zealand 6th Infantry Brigade from Monemvasia. An attempt to pick up troops from Kalamata runs into trouble when the port is found to be in German hands, but four destroyers do manage to take aboard 450 Yugoslavians.

The Commonwealth troops literally are fighting for their lives on the docks as the Germans bear down on them. Sergeant Jack Hinton of New Zealand 2nd Division leads a small force to retake the dock at Kalamata. For this, Hinton, who is shot and taken prisoner, will win the Victoria Cross.

Wasting no time, the Germans appoint Günther Altenburg as the Reich Plenipotentiary for Greece.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill telephones Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell from Chequers. He warns of an imminent "heavy airborne attack by German troops and bombers" against Crete. He notes that such an attack "ought to be a fine opportunity for killing the parachute troops." The War Cabinet minutes state that Churchill "felt no regret over the decision to send troops to Greece."

The Greek government convenes at Canea, Crete. Prime Minister of Greece Emmanouil Tsouderos requests reinforcements of the island from the British, who already have sent many troops to the island and are sending the troops evacuated from the mainland there.

The Luftwaffe continues its attacks on Greek shipping, sinking the following ships:

• Torpedo boat Kyzikos at Salamis
•  462-ton freighter Aikaterini at Spetsopoulou
• 797-ton freighter Eleni Canavarioti in the Aegean
• Greek trawler Aixos at Syros.

The Luftwaffe also bombs Royal Navy Landing Craft, Tank HMS LCT-5 off Monemvasia. The crew manages to beach the ship, where it is abandoned.

The Luftwaffe shoots down a Seagull amphibian plane flying off of HMAS Perth near Anti Kyrethia, Greece. The crew survives by swimming to an island and eventually is picked up by HMS Havock.

At Suda Bay, the Royal Navy ceases attempts to repair the heavy cruiser HMS York. The York had been severely damaged by the Luftwaffe in March 1941. This leads to the complete loss of York.

Italian forces begin occupying the Ionian and Aegean Islands. Troops land at Corfu.

A map on the front page of The Michigan Daily showing the geographical possibilities in the Mediterranean following the German conquest of Greece. As the caption points out, the next Hitler conquest is likely to be Crete.

European Air Operations: The British begin their "Channel Stop" campaign. This is an effort to interdict enemy shipping in the English Channel and deprive its use to the Wehrmacht. The Germans have flak ships along the French Channel coast to protect their shipping, so this requires a battle. Today, RAF No. 101 Squadron sends Blenheims against trawlers near Calais, losing a plane to the vicious flak.

RAF Bomber Command, No. 7 Squadron, attacks Emden, Germany during the day and Brest, France after dark. Fighter Command conducts a Roadstead Operation and Rhubarb Operation over France.

The Luftwaffe raids Plymouth with 124 planes and sinks Royal Navy depot ship HMS Moncousu.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies visits with Air Marshal Lord Trenchard, a hero of World War I. Trenchard, Menzies writes in his diary, is "Against bombing in France, because the bombs that miss kill Frenchmen, whereas the ones that miss in Germany kill Germans."

Iraq War: The Royal Navy dispatches aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and light cruiser Enterprise (not the famous U.S. Navy aircraft carrier) to the Persian Gulf to cover upcoming British landings at Basra. Convoy BP 1 is at sea carrying troops to land there to reinforce British positions in Iraq.

East African Campaign: Free French troops move into pro-Vichy French Somaliland.

Time Magazine, 28 April 1941, showing Sir Percy Noble, Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, based in Liverpool (Cover Credit: ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER).

Battle of the Atlantic: A major battle develops around Convoy HX 121 on the North Atlantic convoy route. Called in by U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), which spots the convoy, U-65 (Kptlt. Joachim Hoppe), U-95 (Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber), U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) and U-552 (K.Kapt. Erich Topp) participate in these attacks.

U-552 starts things off at 04:15 when it torpedoes 8190-ton British tanker Capulet. The tanker is abandoned and eventually sunk by Royal Navy gunfire. There are 9 deaths on the tanker.
A few hours later, at 07:25, U-96 attacks Convoy HX 121 at 19:25 by firing three torpedoes, hitting and sinking three ships:

• 8516-ton British motor tanker Oilfield (47 dead, 8 survivors)
• 9892-ton Norwegian tanker Caledonia (12 dead, 25 survivors)
• 8897-ton British freighter Port Hardy (one dead).

U-96 is damaged during the aftermath of the attack but resumes its patrol. U-65, however, is sunk by Royal Navy destroyer HMS Douglas in a depth charge attack, and all 50 men on board perish.

The Luftwaffe damages 2157-ton British freighter Marie Dawn off Sheringham Buoy and 2824-ton British freighter Empire Strait off Great Yarmouth.

Royal Navy transport/trawler HMT Johanna Caroline hits a mine in the Bristol Channel off Milford Haven and sinks with all hands.

Royal Navy submarine HMS H.31 collides with destroyer Venomous at Londonderry. Both ships require repairs.

Convoy OB 316 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Calpe, mooring vessel Moorfire, boom defense vessel Baronia and submarine P-36 are launched.

Canadian corvette HMCS Port Arthur is laid down in Port Arthur, Ontario.

US aircraft carrier USS Essex is laid down.

Construction site of the Todd-Bath yard in South Portland where many Liberty ships would be built, 28 April 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Following the devastating outcome of the battle on the Greek mainland, the British are feeling very insecure about their position in Egypt. Prime Minister Winston Churchill asks to see all "plans which had been prepared in certain eventualities for the evacuation of Egypt."

Major-General Friedrich Paulus a Deputy Chief of the General Staff, remains in Tripoli reviewing Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps operations. Italian General Gariboldi, Rommel's nominal superior in the chain of command, arrives in Tripoli to join the deliberations. Paulus has halted Rommel's planned attack on Tripoli scheduled for the 30th for the time being.

On the ground, both sides conduct patrol activity which the D.A.K. War Diary remarks is "lively." At dawn, the Luftwaffe attacks on Tobruk continue, with the Junkers Ju 87 Stukas concentrating on anti-aircraft defenses and fighters conducting strafing missions. Gruppe Herff continues to edge forward southeast of Sollum, with the British forces having retreated on the coastal plain.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy lighter A-15 while on a rescue mission to help another ship, sinking Greek contraband chaser A-3, at Monemvasia. All aboard perish.

The Luftwaffe mounts a large raid on Malta. The German bombs hit destroyer HMS Encounter in drydock, damaging it, along with anti-submarine trawler Coral and minesweeping drifter Trusty Star. The bombs sink minesweeper HMS Fermoy.

The Royal Navy tries a new tactic to supply Malta. Instead of sending convoys, it despatches unescorted freighters that seek safety from stealth rather than defensive escorts. Freighter Parracombe carries 21 cased Hurricane fighters to the island along with other supplies. The Parracombe flies a Spanish flag first, then the French flag. This is Operation Temple. Another convoy, MD 3, departs from Malta to Gibraltar.

Force H returns to Gibraltar after successful Operation Dunlop, a mission to deliver RAF Hurricanes to Malta.

Obfw. Joachim Marseille shoots down an RAF Blenheim bomber near Tobruk for his 8th victory overall and 2nd in North Africa.

In this picture from the 28 April 1941 issue of Life Magazine, steamship SS Cadiliac is caught in the ice while attempting to pass the Mather. This is the "Allouez Express," ships transiting the ice-choked Lake Superior.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin sinks 7266-ton British transport Clan Buchanan in the Arabian Sea east of Sri Lanka. The Pinguin takes on board the entire crew of the Clan Buchanan. Radio signals from the Clan Buchanan alert nearby Royal Navy forces, which set out in search of the raider.

Spy Stuff: Concluding what is widely viewed (at least in hindsight) as a fact-finding mission for the US military, Ernest Hemingway departs from China. His wife, Martha Gellhorn, continues on to Burma.

War Crimes: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a memo to Chief of Staff General Ismay in which he notes that "I see a statement that the Italians shot all the Free French prisoners they took at Tobruk." Churchill writes "you should consider the following proposal":

Hand over 1,000 Italian officers to the Free French in Central Africa as working capital, and announce that for every Free Frenchman shot by the Italians, two (or three (?)) Italian officers would be executed. The question is whether an announcement of this kind might not be advantageous.... On the whole, I think we should give the Italians to de Gaulle and let him say what he likes about it. This is a matter upon which I have reached no final conclusion.

Italians shooting war prisoners out of hand is a war crime (if true); the British turning over Italian prisoners to be shot by the Free French would be a similar war crime (if it were to happen). Churchill does note that the prime consideration weighing against this plan is the fact that "the Huns have 50,000 of our men in their hands" against whom reprisals could be taken.

Remains of a Blenheim bomber (Mk IV F) of RAF No. 203 Squadron shot down near Crete by friendly fire on 28 April 1941. The plane went down less than 2 km off the coast near Rethymno, Crete. The crew survived (ww2wrecks.com).

Anglo/US Relations: In a rare communication with his ambassador to the United States, Lord Halifax, Prime Minister Churchill orders that Halifax and his staff "not discourage the President from posing his questions directly to me." Churchill is eager to cultivate his "personal relations" with Roosevelt, which he notes are "of importance."

In line with an overall British strategy to de-emphasize the Pacific Theater, British Rear Admiral Victor H. Danckwerts respond to a request for advice from Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner, the U.S. Navy’s Director of the War Plans Division. Turner had asked whether it would be efficient to transfer US Navy ships from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Danckwerts responds that "the consequential reduction in the strength of the United States Pacific Fleet would not unduly encourage Japan."

German Military: The army high command (OKH) issues a directive that regular army units are to provide assistance to special Schutzstaffel SS units during Operation Barbarossa. The army is to provide logistical support such as food and ammunition to SS units, which are subject to army orders but have unique missions for which they must operate independently. Just how far this cooperation extends remains a subject of debate, as German army veterans often minimize the extent of regular army participation in some of the Einsatzgruppen (special task forces) activities that involve crimes against humanity. The Waffen (fighting) SS units technically are subject to regular operational orders, but this relationship deteriorates with time and they tend to operate either completely independently or subject to their own whims (for instance, SS units tend to attack when they are good and ready, not at the time ordered). This murky relationship between the SS and the regular army chain of command remains a source of tension throughout World War II.

US Military: Admiral Hart in the Philippines establishes Task Force 5 (TF 5). This task force has responsibility for the Singapore area.

Charles Sweeney, the future pilot of the crew that drops the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, joins the US Army Air Corps.

Australian Military: The Royal Australian Navy employs a dozen Women's Emergency Signalling Corps women as telegraphists at Harman wireless station in Canberra. This apparently is the first employment of women in the Australian Navy.

German Government: Having spent the duration of Operation Marita in Austria "overseeing" operations from his command train "Amerika" (something that was completely unnecessary but part of his image-building and also a nostalgic return to his own homeland), Adolf Hitler returns to Berlin in triumph. Hitler meets with his ambassador to the Soviet Union, Count Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg, at 17:15. Count Schulenburg - with Foreign Minister Ribbentrop's approval - submits a memorandum arguing against Operation Barbarossa. Schulenburg later recalls that Hitler was upset that Russia had supported the anti-German "putsch" in Yugoslavia and had begun mobilizing its army. Hitler brushes aside Schulenburg's observation that Stalin is desperate to avoid war and eager to supply grain and other raw materials to Germany; Hitler abruptly ends the interview after half an hour to have tea.

Among other things, this incident with Count Schulenburg illustrates that many of Hitler's top lieutenants, including Ribbentrop and Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, are opposed to Operation Barbarossa. As happens repeatedly throughout the Hitler regime, top figures in the Reich use surrogates to express their own views that are contrary to Hitler's. These surrogates tend to be intimidated by Hitler to one extent or another and press their case weakly.

Newsweek, 28 April 1941, cover showing an invasion patrol on Dover Cliffs.

British Government: In a War Cabinet Directive, Prime Minister Churchill forecasts that "Japan is unlikely to enter the war unless the Germans make a successful invasion of Great Britain." Accordingly, he directs (through the War Cabinet) that "There is no need at the present time to make any further disposition for the defense of Malaya and Singapore."

In a memo to General Ismay, Churchill writes that it "seems probable" that the next German moves will be:

1. to attack Crete
2. to attack Malta
3. to advance through Spain toward Morocco to take Gibraltar.

He asks for plans to counter this expected German thrust toward Morocco.

Menzies, in his diary, questions Churchill's accuracy regarding Commonwealth casualties in Greece and observes that "W. [Churchill] is a great man, but he is more addicted to wishful thinking every day." He openly disputes Churchill in the War Cabinet, arguing that information being supplied to Australia and the United States is bad "propaganda." As usual, though, Menzies receives little support from Churchill's appointees.

Norwegian Homefront: The German authorities conduct a massive book-burning as part of a crackdown on "degenerate" literature.

Ann-Margret, born on 28 April 1941.

American Homefront: Charles Lindbergh, associated in the public mind as much for his America First speeches as for his famous aerial exploits, resigns his commission as a Colonel in the US Army Air Corps Reserve. Among others, President Roosevelt has questioned Lindbergh's loyalties given his strident efforts to keep the United States out of the European war, particularly a well-publicized speech that Lindbergh gave on 23 April 1941. In his resignation letter to President Roosevelt, Lindbergh takes exception to these "implications." Lindbergh still retains a vast reservoir of positive sentiment in the public, though. Many people, including some highly placed politicians, agree with Lindbergh that the United States should avoid ongoing conflicts.

During the evening, Lindbergh gives a speech at an America First rally in Chicago. The crowd boos any mention of Winston Churchill and cheers when he recites facts about England's "devastated cities."

Resolving a long-standing mineworkers strike, the White House announces that the Southern Coal Operators Wage Conference, a consortium of mine owners, "accept [the Roosevelt Administration's] proposal without equivocation." Roosevelt had proposed on 21 April that the mines be reopened pending continued negotiations over wages. This effectively ends the strike, though negotiations at some mines continue.

The United States Supreme Court issues two significant rulings today:

• In a suit brought by the only African American in Congress, Representative Arthur W. Mitchell (D-Ill.), the court rules that minorities must be furnished comparable accommodations to those of whites for interstate travel. Mitchell brought the suit after he was forced from a Pullman coach to a "Jim Crow" day coach while traveling in Arkansas in 1937;
• The Court upholds the Wagner Act, which prohibits anti-union discrimination in the hiring and firing of workers.

A Gallup poll is released that reinforces Lindbergh's isolationist position. The question is, "If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote — to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?" The response of 81% of respondents is to stay out, with only a slight 7% decrease from a similar question asked in January. However, as always, the public is split on the issue. Another question posed is, "If it appeared certain that there was no other way to defeat Germany and Italy except for the United States to go to war against them, would you be in favor of the United States going to war?" The answer to this is 68% favoring entering the conflict and 24% saying no, with 8% having no opinion. To some extent, these polls reflect the embryonic state of the polling industry as much as public opinion, with the questions asked to some extent influencing the responses.

Future History: Ann-Margret Olsson is born in Valsjöbyn, Jämtland County, Sweden. She moves with her mother to the United States in November 1946, where they live just outside Chicago. During high school, Olsson joins a group known as the "Suttletones." She begins performing at Chicago nightclubs, and she eventually makes her way to Las Vegas and then Los Angeles. Back in Las Vegas, she drops her last name from her act and becomes known as Ann-Margret. George Burns discovers her, and by the early 1960s, Ann-Margret is recording albums. She appears on television programs such as The Jack Benny Program in 1961, and all this leads to a successful screen test at 20th Century Fox, where she lands a standard seven-year contract. This begins a hugely successful film career with roles in such films as "Pocketful of Miracles," "State Fair," and "Bye Bye Birdie." A long association with Elvis Presley began during this time. Ann-Margret continues to act occasionally, and on 29 August 2010 won an Emmy for an appearance on "SVU."

Congressman Arthur Mitchell (D-Illinois), who won a case in the US Supreme Court on 28 April 1941 which held that African Americans are entitled to equal accommodations on interstate railroad trains.

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020

Sunday 27 April 1941

Germans raise the Swastika flag over the Acropolis, 27 April 1941 (Federal Archives).

Operation Marita: In an event of worldwide importance, on 27 April 1941 the Wehrmacht enters and occupies Athens at 09:25. German soldiers immediately climb up to the Acropolis beside ordinary tourists and raise the Swastika flag. The Wehrmacht troops, fueled by vast supplies of oil and related valuable items captured in the capital, continue south, pursuing the retreating Commonwealth troops.

Operation Demon, the British evacuation from mainland Greece, continues. The British take off 4200 troops from Raphina and Raphtis. There is some unhappiness among the Greek troops awaiting evacuation in the Peloponnese, as the British take off their own troops and leave the Greek Cretan 5th Division behind.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ("LSSAH," still of brigade-size) completes its crossing of the Gulf of Patras to take the key port of Patras at 17:30. However, it is an empty victory because the British forces have chosen to evacuate from other ports such as Nafplio. In addition, Wehrmacht troops advancing through Athens already have advanced into the Peloponnese and relieved the Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) of Operation Hannibal that was holding the Gulf of Corinth. While the rapid LSSAH advance south from Ioannina across the Gulf of Patras was an outstanding technical achievement, in a military sense it becomes essentially superfluous. However, it greatly enhances the reputation of the formation, and plans are made to expand it to division size.

An undated photo of Luftwaffe bombers over Athens.

While the British troops largely escape the Wehrmacht ground forces, they are not quite so lucky with the Luftwaffe. Nine Junkers Ju 87 Stukas of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 attack a troop convoy fleeing from Nafplio in the Peloponnese. They bomb and sink Dutch troopship Slamat, which is part of a convoy carrying 3,000  British, Australian and New Zealand troops (the Slamat only has a portion of them). Two Royal Navy destroyers, HMS Diamond and Wryneck, pick up as many survivors as they can, but as they head to Suda Bay, Crete, the Luftwaffe Stukas sink them, too. A total of roughly 1,000 British troops perish, with only 8 troop and 11 crew survivors from the Slamat, 20 from the Diamond, and 27 from the Wryneck.

The German 5th Panzer Division advances rapidly south through Athens and down to the Corinth Canal. It throws across a temporary bridge on or about this date and heads south toward the fleeing British.

The Luftwaffe continues its depredations against Greek shipping in the Aegean, sinking:

• 441-ton freighter Evanghelos Georgiou off Kithara
• 1350-ton freighter Astir at Kapsalion
• 333-ton freighter Tassos at Hermione (Ermioni)
• 441-ton freighter Fragiscos in the Greek Archipelago
• 1759-ton freighter Hollandia at Hermione

The Luftwaffe damages other Greek ships, including 2113 ton freighter Danapris at Piraeus, which the Germans later repair.


European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids Portsmouth with 38 bombers.

East African Campaign: Local Abyssinian forces loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie capture Socota from the Italians.

Iraq War: Diplomatic efforts continue to defuse the tensions in Iraq, where the Rashid Ali government refuses to allow additional British troops into the country. The British ambassador informs Ali's government that additional troops are at sea and bound to arrive at Basra any day. Within Iraq, the British troops are secure but unable to travel by land between their bases. However, their airlift capability is unimpeded, so the British airlift elements of the British 1st Battalion of King's Own Royal Regiment from RAF Shaibah to RAF Habbaniya, where Iraqi troops have assembled.


Battle of the Atlantic: U-552 (K.Kapt. Erich Topp), on its second war patrol, torpedoes and sinks two ships south of Iceland:

• 227-ton British trawler Commander Horton
• 10,160-ton British ship HMS Beacon Grange (two perish)

U-147 (Oblt.z.S. Eberhard Wetjen) torpedoes and sinks independent 1334-ton Norwegian freighter Rimfakse about 240 km northwest of Scotland. There are eight survivors and eight deaths.

U-110 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp) torpedoes and sinks 2564-ton British freighter Henri Mory about 610 km northwest of Blasket Islands, Ireland. There are four survivors and 28 perish.

The Luftwaffe sinks 5355-ton Royal Navy auxiliary fighter catapult ship (CAM ship) near Coquet Island. There are about 50 deaths, including the skipper, Commander D.M.B. Baker.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 943-ton British freighter Celte west of the Faroe Islands. Everyone survives.

Royal Navy sloop HMS Rosemary collides with 754-ton British freighter Carrickmacross at Milford Haven. It is under repair at the port until 6 June.

Norwegian freighter Rimac collides with Royal Navy transport HMT Lord Plender off Great Yarmouth. The Rimac sinks, and five of its crew perish while 14 survive. There also are three deaths on the Lord Plender, which rescues the Rimac's survivors.

The shifting Admiralty position on Vichy ships changes again. After ocean boarding vessel HMS Maron intercepts five French freighters escorted by a patrol boat between the Canary Islands and Africa, the Sea Lords direct that the ships be released and allowed to proceed to Dakar.

Convoy OB 315 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 73 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Farndale (Commander Stephen H. Carlill, L 70) is commissioned.

Canadian Royal Navy corvette HMCS Rimouski is commissioned.

Panzers in Athens.

Battle of the Mediterranean: In Operation Dunlop, Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sends off 24 Hawker Hurricanes to reinforce the RAF presence on Malta; 23 reach the island.

Despite recent military successes in North Africa, the German high command has become increasingly leery of Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's conduct of operations there. Among the concerns is Rommel's decision to stage a major offensive before receiving all of the troops en route to Tripoli - the fact that the offensive was wildly successfully does not enter into this assessment. Rommel repeatedly disregards orders sent by either the OKH and his Italian military superiors. The Germans cannot know this now, but that is one of the keys to Rommel's successes since the British are reading German communications but Rommel just disregards them. When the OKH orders something and then Rommel does something else, the British are caught flat-footed.

To assuage their concerns, the OKH (Oberkommando des Heeres, army high command) sends staff officer Friedrich Paulus, a Deputy Chief of the General Staff, to Tripoli to investigate the situation. Paulus later recalls that he was offered command of the Afrika Korps in place of Rommel, but turned it down. However, Paulus does assume control of operations during his tenure in the theater and cancels a planned offensive against Tobruk pending his later approval.

In the field, the Germans consolidate their recent gains in the south. Gruppe Herff sets up outposts at Sidi Suleiman, about ten miles east of the British lines. Some of its units are sent north through Sollum in preparation for a renewed attack on Tobruk - which depends upon General Paulus' approval.

The Luftwaffe attacks Australian artillery positions in Tobruk in preparation for the planned assault. The Luftwaffe employs level bombers to attract anti-aircraft fire while Junkers Ju 87 Stukas pound the anti-aircraft guns. The attack is successful, with four guns destroyed and 8 killed at a cost of one bomber. The Australian defenders set up dummy gun emplacements and move the artillery.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Usk (Lt. G.P. Darling) hits a mine and sinks near Cape Bon, Tunisia. All 32 men on board perish.

Italian freighter SNA7/2679 hits a mine and sinks off Cape Bon, Tunisia. There also is a theory that HMS Usk, believed lost on this date, sank SNA7/2679 before itself sinking, but this is unconfirmed.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 8672-ton Dutch transport Costa Rica north of Crete. Costa Rica is part of Convoy GA 14, and everybody aboard is rescued.

Convoy GA 14 departs from Suda Bay, Crete to free up space for the transports soon to arrive from the Greek mainland.

Heinrich Himmler inspects the Mauthausen concentration camp, 27 April 1941. These appear to be the infamous steps in which inmates climb with heavy rocks until all perish.

American/Dutch/British/Australian Relations: A military meeting (the "ABDA" conference) in Singapore between the (future) allies ends with an agreement on combined operations in the event of Japanese aggression. The United States, which sent only junior officers led by Captain William R. Purnell to the meeting, takes the plan lightly, with the US War and Navy Departments rejecting the plan. The British, Dutch and Australians, who already are at war with Germany but not yet Japan, take the plan extremely seriously.

German Government: After a brief stop in Maribor/Marburg and a return trip to Graz on the 26th, Adolf Hitler embarks on his command train "Amerika" for the trip back to Berlin.

Captured Allied troops turn in their weapons in Corinth.

British Government: Winston Churchill addresses the nation on the BBC. He has a somber tone, as Churchill knows that Greece is lost and the British have lost their last foothold on the European mainland. He crows about the inability of the Germans to invade Great Britain, noting that

with every week that passes we grow stronger on the sea, in the air and in the number, quality, training and equipment of the great armies that now guard our island.

Of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, he notes that "we cheered in good days and will back through the bad." He then turns to the Axis leaders and Italian leader Mussolini a "whipped jackal" and Hitler "that bad man" prone to "raving outbursts." He essentially places all of England's hopes on America, concluding with an Arthur Hugh Clough poem that has the last line, "But westward, look, the land is bright."

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies meets with US Ambassador to Great Britain John Gilbert Winant. Menzies writes in his diary that Winant agrees with him that, in terms of the news media, "most stuff going to the USA is of German origin." The AP, for instance, continues to obtain photographs from Germany through its Lisbon contacts. Menzies jots down that "news to America badly handled." Churchill muttered darkly during his BBC broadcast about supposed tensions between Australia and England due to German propaganda, and if Menzies' private thoughts are any indication, such tensions do indeed exist.

Holocaust: Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler inspects the Mauthausen concentration camp. Mauthausen is a Category III camp and perhaps the most brutal in the entire system.

The Croatian Ustashi militia kills an unknown number of civilians in the Serbian town of Gudovac. There is no love lost between the Croats and the Serbs, with the Croats firmly in the German camp while the Serbs back Great Britain.

Heinrich Himmler inspects the Mauthausen concentration camp, 27 April 1941. Note the inmate standing at attention, ignored by Himmler.

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020