Sunday 1 June 1941

Farhud Riot, Baghdad, 1 June 1941.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The British Air Ministry announces:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More pointedly, he concludes:

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

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

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

Chuck Aleno of the Cincinnati Reds.

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

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

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

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

Farhud Memorial in Ramat Gan, Baghdad.

May 1941

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

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Tuesday 27 May 1941

"HMS RODNEY with BISMARCK covered by smoke in the distance, 27 May 1941." © IWM (MH 15929).

Anglo/Iraq War: In the evening of 27 May 1941, the British Habforce troops that have occupied Fallujah under Major-General George Clark begin advancing on Baghdad. The British are in multiple columns in a concentric attack, with Indian 20th Brigade coming from the south on the Euphrates, Indian 21st Brigade advancing along the Tigris River from Basra while Habforce troops marching from Fallujah. The defending troops of Rashid Ali destroy bridges and dams, slowing the advance. However, while Clark's force is far smaller than the defending Iraqis, militarily it is far superior.

The German military mission also is under intense pressure in Iraq. The Luftwaffe force has been vastly reduced in size, while the eleven Italian Fiat Cr-42 fighters that have just arrived can do little. All continue to fight, but prepare to leave the country should Baghdad fall.

As the British near Baghdad, rioting and looting begin to break out.

In London, Prime Minister Winston Churchill tells the House that "In Iraq, our position has been largely re-established, and the prospects have greatly improved."

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 14 aircraft on anti-shipping sweeps during the day. It attacks Cologne during the night with 84 aircraft and also lays mines off Boulogne, Brest and St. Nazaire.

The Luftwaffe performs an armed reconnaissance across the Channel. The Germans lose a Heinkel He 111 from 4./KG 55 west of St. Ives, Cornwall to Pilot/Officer F. Oliver of RAF No 66 Squadron.

German battleship Bismarck under fire from battleships HMS Rodney and King George V (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

Battle of the Atlantic: As the day begins, the German battleship Bismarck has been crippled by a torpedo hit in the stern that has jammed its left rudder. This prevents it from proceeding to the southeast and safety under the protection of the Luftwaffe. The Royal Navy closes in, and within hours the Bismarck is surrounded and everyone awaits daylight for the end.

Everyone on the Bismarck knows the situation is hopeless. Around midnight, Admiral Günther Lütjens, in command aboard the Bismarck, makes his last radio transmission to headquarters: "Ship unmaneuverable. We shall fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer."

The Royal Navy's 4th Destroyer Flotilla, under the command of Captain Philip Vian, arrives on the scene after being diverted from escorting troop convoy WS8B from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. His destroyers make runs at the battleship, launching torpedoes. It is unclear (and unlikely) if the destroyers make any hits, but they keep the Germans busy.

U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth), which has completed its patrol with Wolfpack West in the North Atlantic and returning to base in France, receives orders to retrieve the logbooks from Bismarck. Wohlfarth heads to the position, and on his way spots aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the battlecruiser Renown. However, U-556 is out of torpedoes and can do nothing.

Bismarck under fire from the Royal Navy, 27 May 1941 (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

At 08:47, the Royal Navy begins firing. British battleships HMS Rodney and King George V achieve quick hits, silencing the Bismarck's guns. After closing in, at around 10:00 each British battleship achieves two penetrations of Bismarck's armor, two on the starboard side by King George V and two on the port side by Rodney. The British battleships, low on the fuel, then leave the scene and leave the ending to smaller ships.

Heavy cruiser Dorsetshire then closes and sends three torpedoes into the blazing German ship. Around the same time, the surviving Bismarck crew sets off scuttling charges. It is unclear if the torpedoes would have sunk the Bismarck, or if it required the Bismarck crew scuttling the now-defenseless ship - but the Bismarck capsizes and sinks at 10:40.

Survivors of the Bismarck being pulled aboard HMS Dorsetshire.

The sea is full of the Bismarck's crew, but there is great fear in the British ships about U-boats. Dorsetshire and destroyer Maori spend an hour picking up survivors, and 110 men are saved. The British ships then quickly depart the scene, leaving many sailors to drown. Later, U-74 (Kptlt. Eitel-Fredrich Kentrat) and Kriegsmarine weather ship Sachsenwald arrive, with U-74 picking up three men and the weather ship two. One man later dies, so 114 men survive the sinking. About 2200 Bismarck crew perish during the battle, including Admiral Lütjens and Bismarck Captain Lindemann (both of whom likely died early on when the bridge was hit, but some survivors reported seeing Lindemann standing at attention on the stern as it sank).

Operation Rheinübung involved two ships: Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. The latter ship is forgotten by virtually everyone, Prinz Eugen - almost out of fuel - has made a rendezvous with tanker Spichern far to the south. Today, it develops some engine trouble, reducing its speed to 28 knots. Ultimately, this will force Prinz Eugen to abandon its mission and seek haven in France.

At Berchtesgaden, Hitler crony Walther Hewel notes in his diary, "Bismarck sunk … Fuehrer melancholy beyond words."

U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler), operating off Freetown, is on its second patrol. It uses two torpedoes to sink 5108-ton British freighter Colonial, which has been dispersed from Convoy OB 318. 100 men, including Convoy Commodore Rear Admiral W.B. Mackenzie RN, are picked up by target ship (formerly battleship) HMS Centurion and landed at Freetown.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 239 Royal Navy ton minesweeping trawler Evesham off Yarmouth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe damages anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank off Cape Cornwall. There are 65 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages ocean boarding vessel HMS Registan in Bristol Channel. The master beaches it at Falmouth, Cornwall, and the Registan is later refloated and repaired. There are 70 deaths. Those lost include Dudley Joel, 37, a British businessman and a Member of Parliament. Some sources place this as happening on the 28th.

Swordfish 5S of 818 Squadron, FAA returns to HMS Ark Royal after observing the sinking of Bismarck.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 695-ton Norwegian freighter Røyksund in the outer reaches of Bristol Channel. There are ten survivors of Royksund rescued by destroyer HMS Cleveland, while six men perish (one crewman dies later).

Norwegian 1655-ton freighter Thyra, part of Convoy OB 325, collides with escort destroyer HMS Leamington and sinks. There are four deaths, and 20 survivors are taken aboard the Leamington, which is largely unscathed.

British 7628-ton freighter Michael E has been converted into the first Royal Navy Catapult Aircraft Merchant (CAM) ship. It sails late in the day from Glasgow for Halifax, Nova Scotia with Convoy OB 327 on its first mission carrying a Hawker Hurricanes modified for sea duty.

Minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS.62 in the English Channel.

Convoy OB 327 departs from Liverpool. Convoy HX 129, delayed by the Bismarck battle, departs from Halifax and BHX departs from Bermuda. Convoy HX 129, incidentally, becomes the first convoy to have continuous escort protection across the Atlantic due to the new escort headquarters at St. John's.

"A Fairey Swordfish flying over HMS KING GEORGE V during the BISMARCK action." © IWM (MH 15930) (photo from the collection of P.O. George H. J. Monk, R.N., courtesy of Reg Monk).

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Erwin Rommel unleashes Kampfgruppe von Herff on the Libyan frontier in Operation Skorpion. The battle plan involves a feint to the west of Fort Capuzzo by Group Bach acting as a decoy, intended to fool the British into thinking that they are about to be outflanked. This, the thinking goes, will induce the British out of their defensive positions and expose them to attack. The British, however, barely react, so Oberst Maximilian von Herff orders Group Cramer (which has the bulk of the panzers) to move northwards directly on the objective: Halfaya Pass. At dawn, Group Knabe attacks the head of the pass and Group Bach attacks the foot. The British only have nine tanks in Halfaya Pass, and they are out-matched by the massive German attack.

After an hour or two of the unequal battle, British commander Lieutenant-General William "Strafer" Gott authorizes a withdrawal. Lieutenant-Colonel J. Moubray, in command of the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards and the other units garrisoning the pass (including the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4th RTR, Major C. G. Miles), field, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns, and the 7th Support Group of the 7th Armoured Division), blasts his way out of his encirclement with some troops captured by Group Bach.

While not a major battle, Operation Skorpion deprives the British of their last gain from their Operation Brevity of May 15-16. It also provides an unusual incident where the roles of the two sides are reversed, the Germans being able to intercept some British wireless messages while the British get no help from Ultra. The British Army loses 173 men (40 prisoners), four 25-pounder field guns, eight 2-pounder anti-tank guns, and five Infantry tanks. The Germans capture nine 25-pounder field guns, seven Matilda (A12) tanks, and two other tanks. Most importantly, the battle eliminates any British hope of a quick relief of Tobruk.

The Afrika Korps wastes no time in reinforcing its defenses both at Tobruk and along the Gazala Line. Rommel orders a defensive line built just over the border in Egypt, based on Halfaya Pass, in an arc through Qalala and Hafid Ridge 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Fort Capuzzo to Sidi Aziz.

At 00:50, Churchill sends Wavell a brief cable, "Hope you are preparing your desert stroke and that Tobruk will not be idle." The British in Egypt now brings forward the tanks from the Tiger Convoy (Churchill's "Tiger Cubs") for another offensive planned in mid-June (Operation Battleaxe). At the evening War Cabinet meeting, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound emphasizes the "vital importance from the naval point of view of the recapture of Cyrenaica."

A map of the Battle of 42nd Street, Suda, Crete, 27 May 1941.

On Crete, the situation is getting desperate for the British. In the morning, the New Zealand 28th (Māori) Battalion, the Australian 2/7th Battalion, and the Australian 2/8th Battalion fix bayonets and charge the German 141st Mountain Regiment which is blocking the road from Suda (Souda) to Chania (Canea). In this "Battle of 42nd Street," the Commonwealth troops succeed. This re-opens a line of retreat for the Commonwealth troops still fighting in and around Chania, which the Germans now completely take.

At 02:00, Prime Minister Winston Churchill cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell: "Victory in Crete essential at this turning point in the war. Keep hurling in all aid you can." At 08:42, Wavell responds. He has a much closer view of the actual situation on Crete and knows that events at sea or in Iraq mean nothing for his defense of the island. Wavell cables back, "Fear we must recognize that Crete is no longer tenable…."

Wavell's cable arrives while the War Cabinet is in session. As the meeting's minutes state:

The Prime Minister said that all chances of winning the battle in Crete now appeared to have gone and we should have to face the prospect of the loss of most of our forces there.

Churchill casually adds that he will reveal nothing of this to the House of Commons in his morning statement. In fact, he simply states that the army's "magnificent resistance hangs in the balance."

Fallschirmjäger march into Canea (Chandia/Hania) after a long battle, 27 May 1941 (Australian War Memorial 106492).

The decision to withdraw from Crete is made formal when Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which states:

In view of General Wavell's latest message, he should be ordered to evacuate Crete forthwith, saving as many men as possible without regard to material, and taking whatever measures, whether by reinforcement or otherwise, are best.

So, London now accepts the inevitable. British island commander General Bernard Freyberg quickly orders Allied troops to begin withdrawing to the south shore for evacuation. The British troops at Suda and Beritania, including 800 Commandos just landed on the 26th, begin heading down the road to Vitsilokoumos, north of Sfakia. The Germans occupy the critical naval base at Suda Bay as the British depart.

Responding to an OKW request made on the 26th, the Italians send a convoy from Rhodes to reinforce the Germans on Crete. It contains a brigade from the 50th Infantry Division Regina, supported by 13 L3/35 light tanks. As many have noted, Operation Mercury has been an odd battle because the Germans have had no tanks, and the British Army has had no air support. This Italian convoy, comprising a motley collection of four fishing vessels, two steamships, one riverboat, two reefer ships, three tugs, and three tankers, aims to bring ashore some Axis armored support. Their planned landing date is the afternoon of 28 May. The convoy is escorted by destroyer Crispi and two torpedo boats (Lince and Lira).

Royal Navy battleship HMS Barham is covering the withdrawal of minelayer Abdiel from Suda Bay, where it landed Commandos on the 26th when the Luftwaffe bombs it. The bomb destroys Y turret and kills seven crewmen while wounding six. Barham makes for Alexandria, then Durban, for repairs, which take until 30 July.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 305-ton armed trawler HMT Thorbryn off Tobruk.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 307-ton Naval whaler Syvern en route to Crete.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1187 ton Greek freighters Antonios and 5452 ton Julia at Suda Bay, Crete. Everyone survives.

The RAF bombs and damages Italian freighter Marco Foscarini off Tripoli. The master beaches her, and the Foscarini is refloated and scrapped after the war.

More troops are embarked on three destroyers (Hotspur, Imperial, and Kimberley) at Alexandria for transport to Crete when the decision to evacuate to the island is received. The troops are not sent.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten suffers damage from grounding at Malta and requires repairs until 4 June.

The RAF force based on Malta loses two Blenheims of RAF No. 82 Squadron while attacking a large Italian supply convoy that reaches Tripoli safely. At Malta, the Luftwaffe drops mines in Grand Harbour.

Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch at the Corinthian Canal, Greece 27 May 1941.

Special Operations: Italian submarine Scirè launches three midget submarines manned by frogmen to penetrate the Royal Navy base at Gibraltar. The mission fails for technical reasons and no Royal Navy ships suffer damage.

POWs: In the House of Commons, Winston Churchill rejects a request that prisoner Rudolf Hess be tried as a spy or illegal alien.

German/Vichy French Relations: Vichy Vice Premier Admiral François Darlan and German ambassador to France, Otto Abetz sign the Paris Protocols. These Protocols grant the Germans military facilities in Syria, Tunisia, and French West Africa, while the French get a reduction in occupation costs (from 20 to 15 million Reichsmarks a day) and the release of 6800 more French POWs. These are not formally ratified, but provide a framework for French collaboration.

US/Japanese Relations: US Ambassador to Japan Joseph Grew sends a cable to Washington:

A member of the Embassy was told by my ------- colleague that from many quarters, including a Japanese one, he had heard that a surprise mass attack on Pearl Harbor was planned by the Japanese military forces, in case of "trouble" between Japan and the United States; that the attack would involve the use of all the Japanese military facilities. My colleague said that he was prompted to pass this on because it had come to him from many sources, although the plan seemed fantastic.

Grew's unnamed friend, of course, is absolutely correct - the Japanese have been planning for an attack on US, British and Dutch interests in the Pacific for some time. The US already has a defensive plan prepared for such possibilities, so the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) files the warning without acting on it.

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill cables Roosevelt thanking him for the decision to release half a dozen small aircraft carriers to the Royal Navy. "All this will be most helpful."

Anglo/Irish Relations: At the morning War Cabinet meeting - usually held in the evening, but assembled due to the naval battle occurring at the time involving the Bismarck - Churchill gives his thoughts about conscription in Northern Ireland. Irish leader Eamon De Valera has warned against conscription as having a negative effect on public opinion. Churchill opines that a statement should be issued that states in part:

His Majesty's Government had now come to the conclusion that, although there could be no dispute about our rights, or about the merits, it would be more trouble than it was worth to apply conscription to Northern Ireland.

The War Cabinet, of course, agrees with this very grudging concession, as it does with virtually everything that Churchill proposes throughout the war. This is exactly what he tells the House.

British Military: Winston Churchill sends a memo to General Ismay which urges expansion of the British paratrooper force "on the German model" based on its success on Crete. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Churchill is paying the Fallschirmjäger a huge compliment. This is somewhat ironic considering the opposite conclusions about Operation Mercury that the German leadership are drawing at this time.

The War Cabinet's "Tank Parliament" meets, and it agrees that tank production must be greatly expanded.

The War Office issues a secret memo barring Fascists and Communists from serving in the Home Guard. All such members currently serving are to be cashiered forthwith.

The front page of the Syracuse Herald-Journal, 27 May 1941.

US Military: The garrison at San Francisco, California test-fires the 12-inch coastal artillery in the evening, a spectacle seen throughout the city.

Albania: The Albanian who recently attempted to assassinate the king of Italy and the prime minister of Albania, Vasil Laçi, 19, is executed.

China: The Japanese North China Front Army defeats the Chinese 1st War Area in the Battle of South Shanxi. This is one of the worst land defeats for the Chinese forces of the entire war and is largely due to refusal of the Communist 8th Route Army to rescue trapped Nationalist (Kuomintang) forces. The Nationalists are wiped out despite having an almost 2:1 advance in troop strength.

British Homefront: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast to the nation. He states that Britain is heading into a "long, stern, scowling valley of war, to victory."

American Homefront: In a long, rambling radio address broadcast (fireside chat) from the White House, President Roosevelt proclaims a state of unlimited national emergency. He re-uses his famous phrase from 1933, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Roosevelt lists the things the United States has done to support the British war effort, announces new policies which include a decision to:

actively resist wherever necessary, and with all our resources, every attempt by Hitler to extend his ... domination to the Western Hemisphere.

He then casts the confrontation as:

divided between human slavery and human freedom—between pagan brutality and the Christian ideal. We choose human freedom—which is the Christian ideal.

There is no mention in the speech of actually declaring war, or how the US actions he lists would relate to the proper role of neutrals. It is as close to a declaration of war, and the obvious significance of the speech is that the United States is going to do everything possible to fight German without actually firing weapons.

USS St. Augustine off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 27 May 1941 (Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives).

May 1941

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

2020

Monday 19 May 1941

Battleship Bismarck, seen from the Prinz Eugen, 19 May 1941 (United States Navy Naval History and Heritage Command).

Anglo/Iraq War: The RAF bombs Fallujah on 19 May 1941 with ten tons of bombs from 57 aircraft, and the advancing British forces take the city. About 300 Iraqi troops are taken as prisoners, with the remaining Iraqi troops falling back on Baghdad.

The Rashid government in Baghdad releases a typical "everything is fine" communique:

Our bombers have attacked British tank units, which have suffered substantial losses in men and material. Our reconnaissance flights over Cineldebbana and other locations have proceeded without incident. Enemy aircraft overflew the area surrounding the capital and released several bombs over the base at Rashid without inflicting much damage.

The Luftwaffe presence in Iraq is diminished by losses, but still capable of attacks. They attack Habbaniya Airfield, which is now safe from ground attack due to the presence of the Kingcol forces that have crossed the desert from Palestine.

RAF planes based in Egypt also attack fields being used by the Luftwaffe in Damascus.

European Air Operations: It is another quiet day on the Channel front, without any major operations.

"Nigel Grey Leakey VC, King's African Rifles, awarded the Victoria Cross, Abyssinia, 19 May 1941." KIA 19 May 1941 (© IWM (MH 4038)).

East African Campaign: The battle at the Italian stronghold of Amba Alagi ends as the remaining 4777 Italian troops (including a large contingent of colonial soldiers) march out of the mountains. The Duke of Aosta is treated well by the British, but he is sent to a POW camp. The Duke has contracted tuberculosis and malaria and has not much longer to live. Out of the 230,000 or so Italians who occupied Abyssinia, very few troops remain, and this was the largest remaining force. The British War Cabinet Minutes in the evening summarize the situation;

This meant the end of Italian resistance in the North of Abyssinia, but enemy forces were still resisting in the South and near Gondar.

The Italian surrender at Amba Alagi generally is considered the climax of the campaign in Abyssinia. However, Italian units remain at Assab, the last Italian harbor on the Red Sea, and in the lakes district inland. As illustrated below, much hard fighting remains.

Well south of Amba Alagi, at Kolito, Abyssinia, a powerful force of Italians counterattack against an Allied bridgehead. It is a fierce battle, as the Italians use both light and medium tanks to dislodge the Allies. The Italians make some progress, but once their tanks are destroyed, they retreat.

Critical in the destruction of the Italian tanks are the actions of Sergeant Nigel Leakey (cousin of the famous anthropologist) of the 1/6th Battalion, King's African Rifles, 22nd (East African) Brigade (12th African Division). Leakey dramatically drops out of a tree or a rock outcropping on top of a tank, opens the turret, and shoots the Italians inside (aside from the driver, who he forces to drive to a place of his choosing). Leakey and some of his cronies then try this again with other tanks, but during this second attempt, Leakey is shot dead. Leakey wins the Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions.

Another shot of battleship Bismarck, seen from the Prinz Eugen, 19 May 1941 (United States Navy Naval History and Heritage Command).

Battle of the Atlantic: At 02:00, battleship Bismarck leaves the port of Gdynia (Gotenhafen). This begins an operation that will become legendary and reverberate through history. This is the first step of Operation Rheinübung, a sortie into the North Atlantic. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, both under the control of Admiral Günther Lütjens, depart without being spotted by spies and rendezvous near Cape Arkona on Rügen Island in the western Baltic. The crews of the Prinz Eugen and Bismarck have not been made aware yet that they are on an actual mission and not another training exercise.

Destroyers Z-23 (Commander Friedrich Böhme) and Z-16 “Friedrich Eckoldt” (Commander Alfred Schemmel) escort the Bismarck. Destroyer Z-10 “Hans Lody” (Commander Werner Pfeiffer) with the Chief of the 6th Flotilla (Commander Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs) join at 22:30. Accompanying the other ships are minesweepers, and the Luftwaffe provides air cover. The flotilla then passes through the Great Belt (a strait between Danish islands) shortly before midnight. One of three straits available, the Great Belt one offers maximum protection against the ships being observed by spies.

The Royal Navy actively patrols the Denmark Strait, which is the route for the two warships into the Atlantic. On patrol, there is cruiser HMS Suffolk. Today, cruiser HMS Norfolk (Rear-Admiral W.F. Wake-Walker, Rear-Admiral Commanding First Cruiser Squadron) departs from Hvalfjord, Iceland to relieve Suffolk temporarily while Suffolk proceeds to Iceland to refuel.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its fourth patrol operating out of St. Nazaire and operating about 100 miles (170 km) west of Bloody Foreland, Ireland, spots a ship early in the morning. At 03:24, Lehmann-Willenbrock identifies it as a large tanker and pumps two torpedoes into it. In fact, it is the 2922-ton freighter Empire Ridge, and the two torpedoes are overkill. The ship immediately breaks in half and sinks quickly killing 31 of the 33-man crew. The two survivors are picked up by destroyer HMS Vanquisher. After this, U-96 heads back to port.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), on its third patrol out of Lorient, refuels from German tanker Egerland. The Kriegsmarine has upgraded its supply network in the Atlantic in preparation for the breakout of the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in Operation Rheinübung. U-69 has been laying mines off of Lagos and Takoradi, but now is ready to go on normal patrol looking for prey.

British 5279-ton freighter Winkfield hits a mine in the Thames Estuary and sinks. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe drops a parachute mine that sinks British 194-ton paddle minesweeper HMS City of Rochester in Acorn Yard, Rochester. This is not serious, however, because the ship was in the scrapyard awaiting disassembly and this is almost helpful to that process. There are no casualties.

British 3790-ton freighter Dixcove hits a mine off Courtsend in the outer Thames Estuary and is disabled. Taken under tow, the Dixcove makes it to Gravesend.

The Luftwaffe bombs Finnish 6549-ton tanker Josefina Thorden near Thorshavn and is disabled. The Josefina makes it to Kirkwall in tow and is repaired in the Tyne.

Royal Navy 23 ton armed yacht HMY Sea Angler catches fire and sinks.

Several small Royal Navy ships lay minefields PW9-PW-14 in the English Channel.

Convoy SC 32 departs Halifax bound for Liverpool.

Destroyer USS Murphy is laid down.

The third shot of battleship Bismarck, seen from the Prinz Eugen, 19 May 1941 (United States Navy Naval History and Heritage Command).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Luftwaffe raids continue on Crete in preparation for Operation Mercury, projected to begin on the 20th. The RAF is shot up and relocates its remaining six planes today from Crete to Alexandria, leaving the British troops there without air cover. Eleven Italian submarines ('Nereide', 'Tricheco', 'Uarsciek', 'Fisalia', 'Topazio', 'Adua', 'Dessie', 'Malachite', 'Squalo', 'Smeraldo' and 'Sirena') take up stations off of Crete. The Luftwaffe continues adding to its planes in mainland Greece. Everything appears set for the start of Operation Mercury in the early hours of the 20th.

The War Cabinet Minutes summarizes the British attitude toward the recent action south of Tobruk:

In the recent operation around Sollum, Capuzzo and Halfaya Pass we had taken all our objectives, but Capuzzo had afterwards been lost to a counter-attack by at least 40 enemy tanks. The capture of 500 German prisoners was satisfactory, while our forces in Tobruk had also done well.

This is a very generous appraisal of the results of Operation Brevity by the British high command. In fact, the British accomplished virtually nothing during Operation Brevity beyond occupying Halfaya Pass, a useless acquisition in and of itself. They also had lost some ground to Italian attacks at Tobruk. It is somewhat ironic that after many instances of giving Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell little credit for actual and meaningful victories, Winston Churchill is happy about the truly spurious victory of Operation Brevity.

However, Churchill still nags at Wavell. In another telegram today, he reminds Wavell that:

I have asked in earlier telegrams... to be told programme of using tigercubs [tanks recently arrived on the daring Tiger Convoy] when they arrive.... Tremendous risks were run to give you this aid, and I wish to be assured that not an hour will be lost in its becoming effective.

Churchill goes on to give specific instances of freighters having unloaded tanks, and pointedly asks "Shall be obliged if you will tell me in detail what has happened since those cruisers were landed." Well versed in details of the conflict, Churchill also gets into such minutiae as how the "German 6-pdr gun" (apparently the very effective German 88 mm flak gun) is being used.

Churchill's private secretary, John Colville, notes in his diary that "Before going to bed the PM told me he expected the German attack on Crete to begin tomorrow." Ultra, of course, is the source of Churchill's uncanny "insight." However, according to the War Cabinet minutes, Crete did not even come up.

Royal Navy units have been on station off Crete for some time, and now they need to refuel. Thus, they head to Alexandria. While Churchill has his "suspicions" about a coming assault on Crete, he maintains a firm policy of not interfering with military dispositions at lower levels with the information he has obtained through Ultra so as to not reveal his war-winning secret. So, Force A and Force B, including Battleships Barham and Queen Elizabeth, leave the vicinity of the island.

HMS Ark Royal, which departs Gibraltar for Operation Splice today.

Operation Splice, a supply convoy to Malta, begins when aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, carrying 48 Hawker Hurricanes, departs from Gibraltar under heavy escort from Force H. However, in order to deceive spies, the ships first head west, into the Atlantic, as a feint.

An Axis convoy that includes five freighters and 6212-ton tanker Panuca depart Naples bound for Palermo en route to Tripoli. This convoy has been delayed since the 16th. An unidentified Royal Navy submarine, perhaps HMS Urge, is spotted, and the ships maneuver. This results in a collision between two of the ships, the Panuca and 8230-ton freighter Preussen. They are not badly damaged and continue on.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten, operating off Tagiura, Libya (just east of Tripoli), attacks 1367-ton Italian freighter Silvio Scaroni. The Unbeaten's attack fails, and the Silvio Scaroni and escorts continue on from Tripoli to Benghazi.

Lieutenant-General Sir William George Sheddon Dobbie, KCB, CMG, DSO, who has been acting Governor and Commander in Chief of Malta since 24 May 1940, finally is confirmed in the position. However, Winston Churchill is not happy about one aspect of the island's defense: air defense.

Thus, Churchill has decided to replace the Air Officer Commanding RAF Malta, Forster Herbert Maynard. He notes that "Everyone here appreciates the splendid work Maynard has done... but it is felt that a change would be better now." This is never a good sign for an officer. Maynard will be given a desk job in Coastal Command in the UK. Maynard's successor is not yet identified, as the first choice turned out to have health issues - but Churchill definitely wants him gone, so is in the process of finding someone else.

It is an overcast day on Malta, and the Luftwaffe only mounts one raid on the island. Shortly after 04:00, four fighter-bombers (Jabos) bomb Valletta and St. Julian's Bay. The attack destroys a church and 15 houses in Valletta.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Pirie is laid down.

Luftwaffe paratroopers (fallschirmjäger) in Greece making final preparations for their drop on Crete in gliders on the 20th pursuant to Operation Mercury.

Spy Stuff: In Tokyo, sleeper Soviet agent Richard Sorge uses his wireless once again to warn the Soviets of German plans to invade the USSR. This adds to a growing pile of such warnings received by the Kremlin.

German/Vichy France Relations: As part of the recent deal granting the Luftwaffe transit rights to Syrian airfields, the Germans begin releasing approximately 100,000 French POWs.

Anglo/Vichy French Relations: The minutes of the nightly War Cabinet meeting show that Churchill:

thought that we might give the French one last chance of stopping the passage of the German air force through Syria. If they did not take this chance, we should proclaim Syria to be an independent Arab State. It was relevant that Syria was territory mandated to France by the League of Nations, and that France had ceased to be a member of the League.

This is an instance of Churchill using sharp reasoning about legal technicalities in order to give a veneer of legality to a desired military action, i.e., an invasion of Syria. It is a favored tactic of Adolf Hitler, too. In fact, everyone accepts that France has operated a mandate in Syria for years without any question as to its legality.

In a telegram to Canadian leader William Mackenzie King, Churchill notes that:

Clearly, there is nothing further to hope from Vichy. They have gone over into the German camp and will collaborate with Hitler to the utmost extent that French opinion will allow.

Churchill suggests that Canada proceed to "complete rupture of relations" with Vichy France. France, of course, has possession of some small islands off the Canadian coast.

In a memo to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, Churchill states:

I do not contemplate a breach of relations between the British and Vichy Governments, but only that we shall knock them about as much as may be necessary.

All of this worry about Vichy France is due to their agreement to allow Luftwaffe planes to use Syrian airfields on their way to Iraq. Hitler also is fretting about that decision, because he thinks his foreign ministry people have given up too much in exchange for that concession.

"Spitfire Mark VB, R6923 QJ-S, of No 92 Squadron RAF based at Biggin Hill, Kent, banking towards the photographing aircraft. R6923 was originally a Mark I, converted to a Mark V after serving with No. 19 Squadron and No. 7 Operational Training Unit in 1940. It was shot down over the sea by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 on 22 June 1941." This photo was taken on 19 May 1941. © IWM (CH 2929).

Anglo/US Relations: The War Cabinet Minutes begin by noting a number of shipping losses recently off Freetown. They say that Churchill "intended to bring the position in the Central Atlantic to the notice of President Roosevelt."

Churchill also rejects a draft telegram to the governments of Australia and New Zealand regarding the state of United States "opinion" because it "was unduly depressing and seemed to take no account of the value of the American gesture in moving a large part of the Pacific Fleet into the Atlantic."

German Military: The OKW (military high command) issues another in a string of highly questionable orders covering the conduct of soldiers in upcoming Operation Barbarossa. This one is entitled "Guidelines for the Behavior of Troops in Russia." It states in part that the invasion:

demands ruthless and energetic action against Bolshevik agitators, guerrillas, saboteurs (and) Jews, and the total elimination of all active or passive resistance.

Special care is to taken with prisoners, the Guidelines state, as those of Asian origin are "devious, unpredictable, underhanded and unfeeling." As with many other OKW orders issued during this period, the "Guidelines" are highly illegal under any remotely reasonable interpretation.

German Government: Adolf Hitler is buoyed by recent Italian infantry successes in North, stating:

It is quite clear that the Duce is one of the greatest men in modern history. He has extracted from the Italian people every ounce of what there was to be extracted—and what he has extracted from the Italian people is quite marvelous. If he did not get any further, it was simply because he had reached the extreme limit of their capabilities. After him there will not be another with his energy and talents for a long time, so events in Italy will definitely run downhill later.

Hitler does not spend much time worrying about Operation Mercury. As his recent Directive made clear, he considers it a minor operation that is certain of success.

US Government: New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia appointed head of the new Office of Civilian Defense (OCD). This is the national agency responsible for preparing for blackouts, air raid wardens, sirens, and shelters in case of enemy air raids. From this point forward, La Guardia - who has a fan in President Roosevelt - will remain the Mayor of New York, shuttling back and forth with three days in Washington and four in the city. At this time, the OCD is an organization designed more to stir interest in the war rather than a real project, because there is little chance of any air attacks on the continental United States (and Hawaii and Alaska are not yet states at this time).

"Panoramic view of a group portrait of the 51st Training Battalion, Battery "A" at Camp Callan, May 19, 1941, WWII training camp for coast artillerymen. Shows four rows of soldiers, the first row seated, others standing; flag, center, background with emblem and letters "RTC 51A"; buildings in the background. Camp Callan (San Diego, Calif.); 1941." California State Library.

British Government: Churchill writes an undistributed note which can be viewed as a sort of personal diary entry. He analyzes the military situation in Syria and is hopeful that the Vichy French in Syria "will come over to us," thus obviating the need for an invasion. Regarding Iraq, he ponders trying to install Ibn Saud as a sort of viceroy over "Iraq and Transjordania." He concludes:

As soon as the enemy forces in Cyrenaica have been destroyed, as they should be, having regard to our large numerical superiority in troops, artillery and tanks and the Air reinforcements we are sending, and provided Crete is held, we should invade Syria in force unless in the meanwhile a favourable situation has been created by the internal action of the Syrian Arabs.

As can be seen from later events, Churchill's prerequisites for an invasion of Syria will be discarded as they are wildly optimistic.

Life magazine, 19 May 1941. Ruth Ownbey on the cover.

French Indochina: Ho Chi Minh and Pác Bó together form the Viet Minh. This is a form of national independence front and seeks independence for the country (Vietnam) from the French, and also opposes future occupation by any foreign power such as the Japanese.

Future History: Nora Ephron is born in New York City. The family soon moves to Beverly Hills, and after graduating from Wellesley College, she works briefly as an intern in the John F. Kennedy White House as a mail girl. She then embarks on a long career as a writer, which includes a stint writing about gossip in the New York Post, and marries journalist Carl Bernstein. This makes her privy to many secrets of Bernstein's Watergate coverage, including the identity of "Deep Throat" (Mark Felt), though nobody believes her when she tells them until Felt himself finally admits to it shortly before his passing. A famous writer and director with numerous awards and highly praised films, including "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "When Harry Met Sally" (1989), Ephron passes away at age 71 on 26 June 2012 from pneumonia. There now is a Nora Ephron prize awarded by the Tribeca Film Festival for female writers who offer "a distinctive voice."

Tania Mallet is born in Blackpool, England. She becomes a model and actress who is best known for playing the role of Tilly Masterson in "Goldfinger" (1964). She is a cousin of actress Helen Mirren.

Burnt remains of a Jewish-owned store in Paris, 19 May 1941 The French recently rounded up thousands of Jews for transport to concentration camps (Yad Vashem Photo Archives, Federal Archive 4520/123).

May 1941

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

2020