Monday 9 June 1941

Adolf Hitler greets Croatian strongman Ante Pavelić at the Berghof, 9 June 1941 (US Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The British invasion of Syria, Operation Exporter, continues on 9 June 1941. The main battle is at the mouth of the Litani River. The 21st Australian Brigade heading for Beirut must cross the river to reach its goal of Beirut, but the British Commandos sent to seize the important Qasmiye bridge over the river can't land due to rough seas. The French thus have time to destroy the bridge.

The 420 Commandos (British No. 11 (Scottish) do land - but in daylight. This deprives them of the element of surprise, a key advantage of Commando forces. They arrive in three different places, and the French barely notice them because they are fighting the advancing Australians. Subsequently, the Commandos under Lieutenant Colonel R.L. Pedder (Highland Light Infantry) serve as infantry and take heavy casualties (including Pedder himself, who is replaced by Geoffrey Keyes). By dint of hard fighting, the Commandos and some Australian troops of the 2/16 Australian Brigade do land on the other side of the river by using canvas boats. Australian engineers immediately begin building a pontoon bridge, which they complete after midnight.

The French use armored cars to counterattack the bridgehead, but the Commonwealth troops hold their position. The war then becomes active out at sea. Vichy French destroyers Valmy and Guépard sortie to bombard the British troops in the bridgehead. It is one of the few times during the war when British troops face naval bombardment (which turns out to be quite inaccurate).

The Royal Navy quickly responds by sending destroyer HMS Janus, followed by New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Leander and. Destroyers HMS Kandahar and Kimberley are nearby bombarding the Khan Bridge, and they also sally against the Vichy French destroyers. The Australian shore-based artillery also fires at the attacking French ships.

Faced with overwhelming firepower, the French ships withdraw to Beirut, chased by destroyers Hotspur, Isis, and Jackal. However, before they go, the French ships damage two of the British ships, destroyers Janus and Jackal, the former badly. Janus must be towed to Haifa by Kimberley, taking two British ships out of the fray. Jackal, only slightly damaged by one shell strike, stays in service.

French submarine Caiman is operating off the Syrian coast. It attacks British light cruiser HMS Phoebe. However, the attack fails and the Phoebe is undamaged. The incident induces the British to withdraw their ships to Haifa.

Elsewhere, Australian troops capture Fort Khiam but are stopped there. Free French 1st Infantry Brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade advance to Kissoue south of Damascus.

The Luftwaffe, as in Iraq, has a very minimal presence in Lebanon and Syria. The Vichy French, though, have a formidable array of new fighters, including the new Dewoitine D.520. The RAF sends Gloster Gladiators from Amman to support the advancing British trips on the road to Damascus.

The outcome of the day's fighting is that the advancing Commonwealth troops are slightly behind schedule but still crossed the river. The road to Tyre, and beyond to Beirut, is now accessible.

RAF Bomber Command sends 18 planes on a sweep of the French coast.

East African Campaign:  The 3/15th Punjab Regiment in Aden prepare to invade Assab, the last Italian port on the Red Sea, on 10 June. This is Operation Chronometer. Destroyer HMS Dido heads out during the night to bombard the port just before sunrise on the 10th.

Kapitänleutnant Herbert Kuppisch of U-94, St. Nazaire, France, 9 June 1941 (Buchheim, Lothar-Günther, Federal Archive, Bild 101II-MW-3495-04).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass), on its 12th patrol out of St. Nazaire and in the mid-Atlantic southwest of Ireland, torpedoes and sinks 5623-ton British freighter Phidias. There are 8 deaths and 43 survivors.

While U-46 has one more patrol to go, this is its last sinking. During its career, U-46 has sunk 20 merchant ships of 85,792 tons, two auxiliary warships of 35,284 tons, and damaged five other ships (one written off). After its next uneventful patrol, U-46 serves as a training boat with the 26th U-boat Flotilla.

U-101 (Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen), on its 8th patrol out of Lorient in the mid-Atlantic west of Ireland, torpedoes and sinks 1190 ton British freighter Trevarrack. All 45 men onboard perish despite Mengersen seeing three lifeboats launch.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 40) bombs and sinks 942-ton British freighter Diana southeast of Iceland. There is one death, the survivors are taken aboard ASW trawler Cape Portland.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 844-ton British freighter Dagmar south of Bournemouth. There are three deaths.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 40) bombs and sinks 1894-ton Finnish freighter Fenix west of the Faroe Islands and southeast of Iceland. There is one death.

The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages 174-ton British freighter Remagio off Bamburgh, Northumberland in the North Sea. The crew abandons the ship, and it drifts ashore. Efforts are made to salvage it, and eventually, it will be refloated and repaired. Some sources place this incident on 8 June.

Belgian 5382-ton freighter Persier, beached during a storm east of Vik in Myrdalur, Iceland in February, breaks her keel while being towed to the Kleppsvik Strand and is beached again.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Urge attacks an Italian freighter northwest of Lampedusa but misses.

The NEF continues expanding its support services at St. John's when auxiliary oiler HMS Clam arrives.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Zetland (L59) is launched.

Canadian corvette HMCS Saskatoon ( Lt. Joseph S. Scott) is commissioned, minesweepers Canso (North Vancouver) and Granby (Quebec) are launched.

HMS Zetland (L59), launched at Glasgow, Scotland on 9 June 1941. It later became Norwegian destroyer KNM "Tromsø."

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British continue assembling their forces for Operation Battleaxe, another attack on the Libyan frontier south of Tobruk. Tanks finally arrive at the front in General O'Moore Creagh's units. Operation Battleaxe now is scheduled for 15 June. The 15th Panzer Division (General Walter Neumann-Silkow) is the main defender of the frontier.

Spanish 2421 ton freighter Sabina hits a mine and sinks 40 miles (74 km) off Genoa, Italy. Everyone survives.

Royal Navy landing barge SD15 "Leaving" makes it to Sidi Barrani from Crete. It is sailed by an English and Australian crew who stole the craft from the Germans. It is one of the last escape boats from Crete.

In Malta, there is an uproar because they find out there is an Axis informant on the island. Lord Haw-Haw, who makes propaganda broadcasts from Berlin, mentions that gas respirators on Malta feature yellow flaps. The flap is to differentiate British soldiers from enemy invaders who also are wearing gas masks. However, the islanders get some good news when two captured Italian aviators deny that an invasion force is being assembled in Sicily.

RAF fighters shoot down an Italian SM-79 bomber off Malta, and perhaps another, and two others are damaged. The RAF loses a Hurricane.

Chopping cotton on rented land near White Plains, Greene County, Georgia. The photograph was taken in June 1941 by Jack Delano (original color photo, Library of Congress LC-USF35-599).

Spy Stuff: Light cruiser HMS Neptune arrives in Gibraltar. It lands German prisoners and captured documents from German supply ship Gonzeneheim.

German Military: The Wehrmacht continues assembling along the Soviet border. The Luftwaffe now is transferring planes to forward airfields. Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, remains scheduled to begin on 22 June.

From Berchtesgaden, Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 31, "German Military Organisation in the Balkans." It intends to "establish a clear and unified system of command in the occupied areas of the Balkans." He appoints Field Marshal List, still in the region following his command of German forces during Operation Marita, as the first Commander Armed Forces Southeast. He lists other appointments in the region to be filled by others. The order seeks to ensure the "coordinated defense" of the region, both from external and internal (partisan) threats. He sets the organization and establishment of Crete as the "most urgent task confronting us in the southeast" due to its usefulness to the Luftwaffe. The Italians shall occupy the eastern portion of Crete, but be subordinate to the Wehrmacht. This Directive supersedes Fuhrer Directive No. 29 of 17 May "in so far as it is superseded by the above orders."

Hitler calls his top generals to the Berghof for the final planning of Operation Barbarossa. While the plan is finalized, there remains quite a bit of disagreement about the proper objectives of the advance - Hitler prefers to focus on the southern prong to secure the grain of the Ukraine and Soviet oilfields, while some generals feel that Moscow in the center is the proper objective.

Canadian Military: Leading Airman W. McCulloch of 31 SFTS Kingston, Ontario, is killed when his Battle crashes near Gananoque, Ontario during training.

US Military: The US military terminates plans to occupy the Azores in the event of a German invasion due to military intelligence indicating that Hitler has no plans to invade Spain and Portugal.

Funeral of Kaiser Wilhelm, 9 June 1941. Leading the dignitaries is Field Marshal August von Mackensen.

Dutch Homefront: The funeral of former Kaiser Wilhelm II takes place in Doorn. The family decides that it must respect the Kaiser's wishes for a funeral in Doorn due to his position that he would never return to Germany unless the monarchy were restored. The Wehrmacht sends an honor guard, and German Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart attends. While Hitler, who desired a state funeral in Berlin, does not attend, he makes sure that Swastikas feature prominently at the funeral.

British Homefront: The UK establishes a national Fire Service Council. This results from issues arising during the Blitz from fire services in one town not wishing to help fight fires elsewhere - or only doing so for a price. The 1400 local fire brigades are merged into 32 regional brigades.

Original caption: "The Busiest Man is the Boss. Complete relaxation comes to Walt Disney every day at the noon hour when he strolls around the paths of his studio at Burbank, Calif. In the background are some of the staff who helped produce "The Reluctant Dragon," the latest Disney feature-length film." Dated 9 June 1941.

American Homefront: The former Governor of Ohio and Democratic candidate for US President in 1920 (with Franklin D. Roosevelt as his running mate), James Cox, gives the commencement address at the Georgia School of Technology in Atlanta. In his speech, entitled "We are Now Nearing the Fateful Hour," Cox states in part:

I have never believed, nor do I now, that the need will come of sending our soldiers overseas. It is machines not men that we must supply.

This capsulizes the Isolationist view, that the US should not get entangled in overseas wars, but it is fine to give them the weapons with which to fight.
Future History: John Douglas Lord is born in Leicester, England. In 1968, Jon Lord co-founds rock group Deep Purple. Lord retires from the band in 2002 and passes away in 2012. John Lord is posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 8 April 2016 for his work with Deep Purple.

U-46, which gets its final victory today, becomes the subject of "Das Boot" (1981), directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Jürgen Prochnow, which is based on the novel by Lothar G. Buchheim.

Benito Mussolini on the cover of Time magazine, 9 June 1941.

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

Wednesday 16 April 1941

Motorcyclists of Panzer Regiment 3 rolling toward the Platamon Railway tunnel. Things are going so smoothly that the lead motorcyclist appears to be enjoying a smoke (Jesse, Federal Archives).

Operation Marita/Operation 25: Things are going poorly for the Allies in the Balkans on 16 April 1941. The Yugoslav government - what there is left of it in the country, most of it already having fled to Greece - sues for peace. The two sides arrange a meeting to discuss terms, but the Yugoslav representative is considered by the Germans to have insufficient authority to sign such a document. They send him back to Belgrade with a draft and continue their operations.

Croatian strongman (and Mussolini pawn) Ante Pavelic assumes power over the Independent State of Croatia.

General Henry Maitland Wilson, commander of the British forces in Greece, meets with Greek Commander-in-chief Papagos at Lamia. He tells Papagos that the British are retreating to Thermopylae. This effectively cedes all of northern and central Greece to the Wehrmacht.

The British retrograde move to the south is complicated. Australian Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, in charge of the ANZAC units which comprise the bulk of the British forces, has only a few good north/south roads at his disposal. General Freyberg commands the New Zealand Division which holds the center of the withdrawal, while Australian General Mackey's troops guard the flanks. The first switch position is a line running through the city of Larissa, the main communications center in the region. The Australians and New Zealanders have to get to this new line in good order - and before the Germans do.

Ante Pavelić at a ceremony with Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac in Zagreb, 16 April 1941.

The Germans of Kampfgruppe (Hermann) Balck are not giving Blamey much time. They are heading south at lightning speed. It is Blitzkrieg at its ultimate, motorcyclists leading the way, followed by the panzers. They are following an open, undefended road - but actually, it's not a road at all, but a single-track coastal railway.

The coast railway line, however, is interrupted at Platamon, north of Larissa, by a large ridge on which sits Platamonas Castle. Under the ridge is a convenient tunnel (there are new, larger tunnels nearby, but this is a one-track tunnel). Wehrmacht motorcyclists have been using the railway tracks on the drive south from Katerini like a road, and, once past the Platamon ridge, the railway and nearby roads lead south all the way to Athens. The Germans intend to roll through the tunnel to continue the journey south on the tracks.

Unfortunately for the Germans, however, the New Zealand 21st Battalion has been in position there since the end of March and is blocking the tunnel. The Germans halted before the New Zealanders late on the 15th after making a perfunctory attack, but today the Germans make a determined effort.

Basically, the Germans are trying to seize a shortcut that would give them a quick route to Larissa and the main roads south that the city controls. Without it, they would have to make a circuitous journey through a gorge to the west between two mountains (Ossa Oros and Olympus Oros) or surmount the coastal mountain that the tunnel cuts through. The tunnel is critical for the bulk of the division's panzers to continue on this route in any timely fashion. If the Germans can take the tunnel, the short road to Larissa and Athens lies open, with the prospect of trapping huge Allied formations still evacuating from the north.


Exterior view of the old Platamon railway tunnel. (This photo of Platamonas Castle is courtesy of TripAdvisor).

At dawn, the German Kradschützen Truppen-Bataillon 2 (Motorcycle Battalion 2) of the 3rd Panzer Division attacks, preceded by mortar fire. The Germans make good progress, and around 09:00 about 50 panzers (PzKpfw IIs) arrive and start pounding the New Zealand positions. Some of the New Zealanders on the flanks withdraw, while others on the main hill hold firm.

The New Zealanders are overwhelmed by 10:15, when Lieutenant Colonel N. Macky, in charge of the 21st Battalion, issues the order to retreat. They block the tunnel - it is not completely destroyed, but demolished enough to prevent a quick pursuit. In one version of the battle, they blow explosive charges to seal it; in another, they disable a panzer in the tunnel, blocking it. Either way, the Germans can't use the tunnel quickly enough for it to be practical. Their German motorcyclists suffer 25% casualties during the attack and their unit is pulled out of the line.

Without the Platamon tunnel, the men of the I,/Panzer Regiment 3 have a decision to make: go west, or try to get over the ridge. By mid-day, they begin across the ridge on a narrow mule track. However, it is very rough going. The Panzer IIs are narrower than Panzer IIIs and would make it over the ridge easier, but the Panzer IIs were all disabled during the morning attack. The Panzer IIIs start across but begin losing their tracks on the uneven and rocky surface or experience other issues with the slope and narrow path. Every time a panzer is disabled, it stops the entire column. Frustrated, the tankers try to go off-road - two get stuck in a swamp and a third runs into a minefield. After losing several tanks, the Germans late in the day finally clear the mule track, sweep it for mines, and get their tanks across - a process that would have taken fifteen minutes through the tunnel.

The New Zealand troops, meanwhile, use a ferry to cross a nearby river in a gorge. They then sink the ferry and take up defensive positions in the gorge.

Elsewhere, the Italians advancing down the Yugoslav coast occupy Split. They also make small gains in Albania as the Greeks pull out. The German 6th Mountain Division, taking the slow route, advances along mountain paths on Mount Olympos.

The old Platamon railway tunnel (Katarzyna DJ via Skyscrapercity.com).

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4359 ton Greek freighter Memas at Chalkis, Greece.

A Yugoslavian submarine, the Nebojsa, and two torpedo boats, the Kajmakcalan and Durmitor, leave port to escape the advancing Germans.

Royal Navy armed boarding vessel HMS Chakla runs aground in stormy weather, but later is towed off by net layer HMS Protector.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe on the Channel Front has entered one of its active phases again. So far in 1941, it has had long spells of inactivity, followed by bursts of heavy raids. Last night, the main target was Belfast (that raid only ends at 05:00 today), and tonight it is London.

There is another reason for the ferocity, indeed savagery, of tonight's raid, and it has nothing to do with London specifically. Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering send in the bombers in seemingly endless waves because of the Paris Opera House. One of the favored forms of amusement for the Third Reich's leaders is in the opera - it is not only their preferred form of music but a major form of socializing outside of the work environment. However, the RAF threw a spanner in the works with their raid on Berlin of 9 April which devastated the Paris Opera House. Hitler has ordered the building rebuilt and London flattened in reprisal.

About 300 bombers participate, and they each fly multiple sorties. This is one of the biggest raids of the entire Blitz, rivaling the one at the end of December and some of the others from 1940. The bombers make two and even sometimes three sorties, for a total of 685 payloads dropped over the city. The East End takes tremendous damage. This is probably not coincidental, as it plays to Hitler's pet theory that he can stir up class resentment against the "Plutocrats" by targeting certain districts. British night air defenses are getting better, and the Luftwaffe loses half a dozen bombers. There is no question that tonight's raid is one of the climaxes of the Blitz, perhaps not a turning point but with subtle hints of change in the air.

In a sense, Hitler achieves his aim of revenge in one grisly respect. Among the casualties of the night's raid is Al Bowlly, a Mozambican-born South African/British music hall performer. Thus, both sides are deprived of musical entertainment as a result of the initial RAF raid.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in London during the attack. He hears the bombers overhead but believes at first that they are heading further west. He notes that "a dozen large bombs fell within 100 yards" of his hotel. The room he is in is damaged, with the windows and door blown in. He notes that "The sky beyond the Palace was red with fire and smoke, the sky was flashing like lightning." At 05:00 on the 17th, he surveys the damage, and finds that "buildings were blazing" on Brook Street and that "gas mains blazed in Piccadilly." He wonders: "How can it go on for years?"

RAF Bomber Command continues its mission of attacking Axis shipping. Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 110 Squadron of No. 2 Group bomb Heligoland, while other Blenheims of No. 107 Squadron spot a submarine off Prestkjac, Norway and get a couple of near misses. Other similar operations are made, and overall, the RAF loses a couple of bombers. The RAF also conducts a Circus sweep over Berck-sur-Mer.

Kommodore Werner Mölders of Stab./JG 51 shoots down two Hurricanes of RAF No. 601 Squadron in a Bf 109F. This gives him 65 claims and opens some ground between him and No. 2 Adolf Galland.

British railway workers at the main London terminal of Southern Railway (photo by Planet News Archive/SSPL/Getty Images).

Battle of the Atlantic: During the April 15/16 night bombing of Belfast, aircraft carrier HMS Furious is lightly damaged. The damage does not interfere with operations.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks three ships, 1151-ton British freighter Angelesea Rose, 1548 ton British freighter Amiens and 1167 ton Norwegian freighter Bolette, north of St. Ives at the mouth of the Bristol Channel. There are eight deaths on the Amiens.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2826-ton Norwegian freighter Favorit south of the Faroe Islands. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 159-ton British trawler King Athelstan near Ballinskelligs, Ireland. The skipper beaches the ship, but it later floats off after minor repairs and makes it to port.

The Luftwaffe damages British 5379-ton freighter Swedru in the Northwest Approaches. There are 24 deaths, including 7 passengers. The ship remains afloat as a derelict and eventually has to be sunk by gunfire.

German raider Kormoran is southwest of the Azores, on her way back to Germany, when the lookouts spot the 7739-ton Swedish iron ore carrier Sir Ernest Cassel. The Kormoran takes the crew aboard as guests/POWs depending on their nationality, then scuttles Sir Ernest Cassel. This is the final hostile encounter by the Kormoran on its first cruise, which began on 6 June 1940.

British 1578 ton collier Parnu collides with freighter Fluor about a dozen miles off Cape Wrath, Scotland. The Parnu eventually sinks.

The Kriegsmarine supply network remains active in the Atlantic, as tanker Nordmark refuels Italian submarines Archimede, Ferraris, and Gugliemotti.

Convoy OB 311 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 121 departs from Halifax.

The 52nd Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery crew of a British 4.5-inch anti-aircraft gun unpack ammunition, 16 April 1941 (© IWM (H 8917))

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British have come to the realization that the battle for North Africa will be decided at sea. Specifically, the key area is the convoy route from Naples to Tripoli. Accordingly, they are positioning submarines in this area, and also sending surface patrols there at night.

Captain P.J. Mack is leading the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, composed of HMS Janus, Jervis, Mohawk, and Nubian and based in Malta, on a more-or-less routine patrol off Tunisia. His lookouts spot an Italian/German convoy commanded by Commander Pietro de Cristofaro. It is composed of five freighters and escorted by three Italian destroyers. Mack attacks the convoy (called the "Tarigo Convoy" after the lead escort destroyer) and sinks not only all five freighters/transports but also all three of the destroyers. Mack accomplishes this at the price of the Mohawk, which is scuttled off the Kerkenneh Islands. There are 168 survivors of the Mohawk and 43 deaths.

On the German side, there are 384 deaths of men who had been en route to the Afrika Korps, mainly from the 15th Panzer Division. The Italian navy puts to sea and eventually rescues 1248 out of about 3000 men who had been on the sunk ships.

The Axis ships lost are:

• 4205-ton Andana
• 2447-ton Aegina
• 2452-ton Arta
• 3704-ton Iserlohn
• 1590-ton Sabaudia
• Destroyer Tarigo
• Destroyer Lampo
• Destroyer Baleno

Winston Churchill immediately sends off a telegram to President Roosevelt informing him of the success. However, he does not tell him that the Royal Navy knew about the convoy in advance due to Ultra Intercepts. This is a wise move, because periodically throughout the war, Adolf Hitler receives copies of these telegrams (sent by underseas cable) from an unknown source.

On land, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel "personally, from the most forward lines" leads an attack on the Tobruk perimeter (quotes are from the Afrika Korps War Diary). This is at Ras Mdaauar. He uses his Italian forces, specifically the armored battalion of the Ariete Division and infantry from the Trento Division. The attack fails "because of the hesitant advance of the armored battalion" of the Ariete Division. The War Diary notes sourly that two Italian companies surrendered without putting up any fight.

General Wavell hurriedly stops further convoys of Operation Lustre bringing troops from Egypt to Greece. From now on, the convoys will move in the other direction, evacuating the expeditionary forces from Greece.

The British attempt a commando-style raid on Bardia, but the ships embarking the troops are recalled due to poor weather. The operation is rescheduled for when the skies clear. Another such raid is attempted on Marakeb, Libya, but destroyer HMS Decoy runs aground and the operation cannot be completed.

An officer in a Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. E of the 2nd Panzer Division interrogates a captured New Zealand prisoner at the village of Pandeleymon during the Battle of Platamon, 16 April 1941 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Anglo/US Relations: US heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) arrives in New York. It has come from Simonstown, South Africa pursuant to Operation Fish, the transfer of British gold to the United States.

The first shipment of food to Great Britain under Lend-Lease arrives.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The Japanese government issues a statement flatly denying that it has any designs on Singapore.

US/Canadian Relations: Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King visits with President Roosevelt. They will spend the next four days conferring in Washington, Virginia Beach and Roosevelt's home at Hyde Park. At some point during these meetings, they sign a defense production agreement.

US Military: MacDill Air Force Base, operational since 16 April 1940, receives its name today. It is named after World War I veteran Colonel Leslie MacDill.

British Homefront: Around this date, the British demolish with explosives the north water tower of the old Crystal Palace. This is simply done - there is no reason given or fuss made about it. The Crystal Palace grounds are being used to manufacture radar equipment, and the reason may be to make more room for this. Another conjecture is that the tower provides a navigational aid to Luftwaffe crews. In any event, it is the final and definitive end to the 1851 Hyde Park structure.

Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin introduces a National Registration of Women for war work. Previous attempts to enlist women had been voluntary; this is compulsory. The first registrations for the youngest (20-21) age group are set for 19 April 1941.

Site of an Eastern Airlines DC-3 crash on 3 April 1941 in the Everglades west of Vero Beach, Florida. The crash is due to a storm. This photo was taken 16 April 1941 (Photo courtesy of the Indian River County Historical Society via TCPalm)

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

Tuesday 15 April 1941

Igor Sikorsky with the second configuration of the VS-300, just after setting the endurance record for US flights on 15 April 1941.

Operation Marita/Operation 25: The Allied situation in Greece is deteriorating rapidly on 15 April 1941, and Yugoslavian resistance basically is over. The Germans are mushrooming out in all directions from the penetration across the Greek border. The Germans are heading west toward the coast in order to bottle up the Greek Epirus Army that has been fighting the Italians since October; the Germans also are heading south toward Athens, and in addition, the Germans are heading east toward Larissa in order to cut off the retreating British on the Aliakmon Line. Essentially, it is a race to see who can get to the main roads in these areas first and secure them. If the Germans do, the large Allied forces to the north are trapped.

Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell meets with his deputies, and they resolve to begin evacuating from Greece rather than continue Operation Lustre - and there currently are ships loaded with troops and equipment still on their way to Greece. This is an indication of how quickly the situation has fallen apart. Wavell sends his man in Athens, General Henry Maitland Wilson, a message:

We must of course continue to fight in close cooperation with Greeks but from news here it looks as if early further withdrawal necessary.

Australian General Thomas Blamey, commander of the Australian and New Zealand troops in Greece (the ANZAC Corps), all along has assumed that he would have to evacuate his troops. He sets his units in motion to the south, preparing a series of rearguard positions to the Thermopylae/Corinth line. Blamey positions the 16th Australian Brigade at the Pinios Gorge in order to block a German breakout to Larissa - which, as a key crossroads near the east coast, would seal the fate of all Allied units to the north. The British already are putting men on transports at Volos (just south of Larissa) and other nearby ports.

The Wehrmacht has blasted south from western Yugoslavia and brushed aside Allied resistance in several key passes. The Greeks 12th and 20th Divisions are heading south over rough country, as the Germans now control the main roads. The Germans today attack Siatista Pass, and the Greek 12th Division is so worn down that it can only find 1000 men with which to defend itself.

The Italian 9th Army takes Koritsa (Korçë) from the retreating Greeks without a fight. The Axis forces now are sweeping up huge numbers of Greeks forced out of their secure positions in the mountains and attempting to walk south over the mountains.

Having taken Sarajevo, what do you suppose would be a good thing to do right away, with priority? Well, for the Germans, it is removing a plaque erected there in 1930 to commemorate the 28 June 1914 assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip. The plaque is sent to Hitler on his special train in Monichkirchen in time for his 52nd birthday (Serbianna).

The Germans (16th Motorized Division) heading south from Austria for a linkup with the Italians take Sarajevo from the Yugoslav 2nd Army. Many Yugoslavian army units are simply "going to ground" in the mountainous western part of the country.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH, still brigade-size) attacks toward the Metsovon Pass at Grevena, which is on the main road to Ioannina. Already, the Germans have cut off any escape routes for the Greek forces in Albania, and each mile they advance tightens the noose. The Greek 13th and Cavalry Divisions there are encircled and surrender, opening the road west. Greek leader General Papagos frantically directs more troops in that direction to hold open his Western Macedonian Army's escape route.

Troops at the battle of Platamon, April 1941 (NZ Official History).

The Germans wish to get to Platamon on the east coast south of Thessaloniki. Doing this would cut off large Allied forces to the north, forcing them to fight their way out, evacuate from Thessaloniki, or surrender. The Germans try to gain control quickly of a ridge which dominates the mountain pass which leads to Platamon using motorcycle troops, but the New Zealand 21st Battalion (General Neil Macky) is in place and holds its ground. Later in the day, the Germans try again with a tank battalion, but the New Zealanders once again stand firm. The Germans accumulate forces for another attempt early on the 16th. There is a convenient railway tunnel that runs to the coast there which the New Zealanders desperately try to keep out of the German grasp.

Elements of the German 164th Infantry Division occupy the island of Thasos.

RAF pilots of No. 33 Squadron at Larissa, Greece circa April 1941. Several of these pilots are KIA beginning today, 15 April 1941, and through and until 17 June 1941. Others become POWs in May on Crete. © IWM (ME(RAF) 1246).

The Regia Aeronautica attacks the RAF base at Paramythia, near the Greek/Albanian border, through which Yugoslavian King Peter II passed just yesterday. They destroy or damage 17 Yugoslavian aircraft, including many Dornier Do17 and Italian SM-79 bombers purchased from the Axis during the reign of former regent Prince Paul.

The Luftwaffe (the II Staffeln, Lehrgeschwader 1) bombs Eleusis Bay at Piraeus. The Germans hit 7765-ton British transport Quiloa and 5314-ton freighter Goalpara. Everyone survives, and the ships are beached.

The Luftwaffe also bombs the RAF airfield at Larissa. They destroy 10 Blenheim bombers on the ground. Another attack on Niamata also destroys some Blenheims.

The RAF attacks the Italian base at Valona (Vlorë), Albania. Fairey Swordfish of No. 815 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm torpedo and sink freighters Luciano and Stampalia. Some accounts place these sinkings on the 14th.

Today marks the final combat between Hellenic Royal Air Force aircraft and the Luftwaffe. Twelve Greek fighters (five Bloch MB 151s, five Gloster Gladiators and two PZL P24s) take off from Vassiliki to challenge Junkers Ju 87 Stukas heading for Trikala. The Bf 109Es escorting the Stukas shoot down five Greek planes, while the Greeks down a Stuka. Luftwaffe pilot Gustav Rödel claims three victories. After this, the Greek Air Force does not challenge the Luftwaffe again.

Bulgaria severs diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia and sends its 5th Army troops across the border to take chunks of Morava and Macedonia.

Adolf Hitler sends Croatian strongman (Poglavnik) Ante Pavelić a congratulatory telegram upon his assumption of power in a new independent state of Croatia. Rome and Bratislava also immediately recognize the new government.

"The Emperor of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) [Haile Selassie] with Brigadier Daniel Arthur Sandford on his left and Colonel [Orde] Wingate on his right, in Dambacha Fort after it had been captured, 15 April 1941." © IWM (E 2462).

East African Campaign: The Italians remain holed up in western Abyssinia. Today, the Italian colonial forces at Gambela fight Belgian Congolese troops.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe, after a pause while it focused on the Balkans, resumes its attacks on Great Britain. Tonight's target is Belfast in Northern Ireland, as 180 bombers focus on the Harland & Wolff shipyards (destroying three ships nearing completion) and York Road railway station. This is known as part of the Belfast Blitz.

William Joyce (known as “Lord Haw-Haw”) had announced in recent radio broadcasts that there would be "Easter eggs for Belfast."
During the afternoon, spectators at a football match at Windsor Park notice a Luftwaffe reconnaissance plane flying over Belfast. It is unclear what this means until the air raid sirens go off at 22:45; the attacks begin around 23:00 and last for six hours. One issue is that the government has not provided nearly enough antiaircraft defenses for the city, with only 16 heavy guns to protect all of Belfast.

The Germans drop bombs on the docks and nearby terrace houses, a working-class district. It is estimated later that bombs destroyed half the houses in the city and left 100,000 people homeless. The Dublin Fire Brigade helps put out the fires, crossing the international boundary twice, but 500 people are killed and 400 badly injured (some estimates are much higher). This assistance by Eire, incidentally, is a violation of neutrality laws, but Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera orders all but one fire crew from Dublin and nearby towns (Dun Laoghaire, Drogheda, and Dundalk) be sent.

The Luftwaffe also attacks Liverpool with about 50 bombers and the Newcastle region with 38 bombers. An additional 11 bombers attack Hull, killing 55 and injuring 20. As occasionally happens, a bomb hits a shelter and kills everyone inside at Ellis Terrace, accounting for roughly half of the deaths.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command targets Borkum with Blenheims of No. 105 Squadron. Bomber Command targets Kiel once again tonight. There are 110 deaths. Another attack with 23 aircraft hits Boulogne, and there are assorted other, smaller attacks up and down the French/Belgian/Dutch coast.

The Admiralty takes over control of RAF Coastal Command. This is very similar to the Kriegsmarine recently arguing for - and getting - control over some Luftwaffe air units.

Charles de Gaulle notes that Frenchmen serving in the RAF are violating French law. He gives them until 25 April to apply to serve in the Free French Air Force. It is a curious requirement and perhaps reflects a bit of empire-building by de Gaulle, whose reputation and prestige have suffered lately due to the disaster at Dakar and some other incidents.

Operating in the Balkans, Luftwaffe ace Lt. Hans-Jacob Arnoldy of II./JG 77 is shot down by a Hurricane and succumbs to his injuries.

Adolf Galland of JG 26 scores his 60th victory. The incident is noteworthy because Galland (with wingman Lt. Westphal) is heading for a birthday party for Theo Osterkamp at Le Touquet but decides to take a detour on the way and fly over England. Galland shoots down a Spitfire, then scoots back to his destination and delivers the lobster and champagne he is carrying for the party.

Kommodore Major Mölders of JG 51 also downs a Hurricane over Boulogne in a brand new Bf 109F. This gives him 63 victories, the most in the world, and keeps him ahead a bit ahead of No. 2 Galland.

Damage in Belfast due to the 15 April 1941 Luftwaffe raid.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy destroyer HMS Bath collides with an unidentified ship during the night along the east coast of England and has to put into the Tyne for repairs. The repairs will last until 19 May. Navigating at night under blackout conditions, without running lights or radar, is extremely hazardous.

Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli torpedoes and sinks 4733-ton British freighter Aurillac midway between the Azores and Portugal. There is one death among the crew (some accounts say there were no survivors).

The Luftwaffe attacks Hull and bombs and sinks 59-ton British tug Aquila.

A Vichy French flotilla of submarines (Acteon, Fresnel, and Henri Poincare) passes through the Straits of Gibraltar en route from Toulon/Oran to Casablanca.

Convoy OG 59 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 59 departs from Gibraltar bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Abdiel (M 39, Captain Edward Pleydell-Bouverie) and Australian minesweeper HMAS Burnie (J 198, Lt. Commander Lt. George E. Gough) are commissioned.

HMS Abdiel.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies notes in his diary:

Tobruk is holding out and Sollum is recaptured pro tem, but the cutting of supplies to Tripoli is the only hope. The navy must take great risks to do this.

In fact, the British have not recaptured Sollum. This is an indication of how muddy the view of the battle in Libya has become even for people privy to reports directly from the front.

The British attack Forward Detachment Knabe, located near Sollum, at 05:30 with a company supported by artillery. The British climb over a rocky hill without the Germans noticing. The Germans hold their position. This is another probing attack, like the failed German assault on the 14th. In essence, the two sides are settling down already to an extended siege, the First Siege of Tobruk.

The Germans observe steady ship traffic in and out of Tobruk Harbor. Somewhat hopefully, they assume this means that the British are evacuating. In fact, it is simply a normal supply and Royal Navy ship movement.

RAF Hurricanes attack the airfield at Bardia and destroy four Junkers Ju 52 transport planes. The airfield is deemed too vulnerable to make a base for operations. The RAF is active in attacking the Afrika Korps units surrounding Tobruk.

Royal Navy gunboat Ladybird bombards Gazala.

At Malta, there is a large Luftwaffe raid that targets Luqa and Ta Qali airfields and numerous other spots. There are many "duds" among the bombs, which cause their own problems because each has to be disarmed with great skill and care. Separately, Governor Dobbie opens up the labor pool to those over 60 years of age and those under 21 years due to labor shortages.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt's special envoy to Great Britain, W. Averell Harriman, tells Winston Churchill that England is not acting to create enough support in the United States. This is a very sensitive topic for Churchill that he has pondered before and rejected, feeling that it would be seen as presumptuous. He politely asks Harriman what he thinks the British government should do differently.

US/Soviet Relations: US Ambassador Laurence Steinhardt warns Joseph Stalin that Germany is preparing to invade the USSR. Stalin does not place much credence in these types of warnings but is gradually firming up defenses in the western zone of the Soviet Union anyway. As the Stavka builds up forces in the west, however, they are placing them on the frontier and not further back in more defensible locations. The Soviet theory is that they will quickly counterpunch any German aggression and invade Poland.

Soviet Military: While known details are sketchy, apparently on or about this date a German transport (either a Junkers Ju 52 previously ordered by the Soviets or a civil DC-2) lands in Moscow without detection by the Soviet air defense system. This breeds suspicion within the Politburo that the Red Air Force is engaging in a conspiracy against the state. This incident and a high accident rate within the air force eventually lead to a purge of air force officers in May/June 1941.

US Military: While the Allies are far behind Germany in helicopter development, Igor Sikorsky is determined to catch up and take the lead. Flying his experimental Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 at his factory in Stratford, Connecticut, Sikorsky stays in the air for over an hour. Total flight time - much of it motionless - is 65 minutes and 14.5 seconds. While this is not yet an army project, the helicopter definitely is seen as having military applications once it is developed.

A view of the Flatiron Building from the Worth Monument, NYC, 15 April 1941. The view is largely unchanged today.

US Government: President Roosevelt signs an executive order which provides for servicemen to fight the Japanese in Asia without declaring war. This is approved by the Chinese government. They cannot do this in an official capacity; the workaround is that they will sign contracts with a "private" company, the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO). After fulfilling a one-year contract fighting for CAMCO in Asia (many actually are based in Burma), the soldiers can automatically return to their military careers. This is a key step toward the formation of Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group (AVG), which is better known as the Flying Tigers.

The US Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, aka the Truman Committee, holds its first meeting. Harry S. Truman, a senator from Missouri, heads an effort to investigate solutions to problems with US war production. In practice, Truman will crackdown on war profiteering and waste in the procurement system. Personally driving his own Dodge car throughout the eastern half of the country, Truman will see first-hand how government contracts are enriching the few at the expense of the working people. He will work to open up the bidding process so that all regions of the country will benefit from military spending. Truman is not a Roosevelt backer and finds that many of Roosevelt's own programs are wasteful. While not a very sexy topic, procurement reform is vitally important to the development of the war effort and will propel Truman into the national consciousness.

Yugoslavian Government: The Yugoslavian government, headed by King Peter II, reunites in Athens after hurried flights from Belgrade. Peter is the acknowledged leader of the government in exile.

Mexican Homefront: The Colima earthquake hits the State of Michoacán. It is a roughly 7.7 earthquake that kills about 90 people and destroys the Colima cathedral and damages numerous other buildings in the city. Almost a quarter of all homes in the city collapse.

American Homefront: Miners from the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) attempt to post a picket line at Fork Ridge mine in Middlesboro, Tennessee. However, when 50 men try to cross the state line from Kentucky to set the lineup, 15-18 armed company guards open fire on them. There is one death of a union worker, and the miners - also armed - take cover and return fire. Over a thousand shots are fired during the day and more men go to the hospital.

It is opening day for baseball season, with a game between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field.

The state line about five miles from Middlesboro, where a gunbattle between company men and union workers took place on 15 April 1941 (Appalachian History).

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

Thursday 10 April 1941

USS Niblack (DD-424), which launches depth charges today, 10 April 1941.

Operation Marita/Operation 25: The Germans of the XL Panzer Corps continue to roll in Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941. By the morning, the Germans have regrouped and now are ready to advance south toward Kozani. Capturing Kozani would put the Wehrmacht troops in position to drive to the coast at Larissa or nearby, cutting off the British forces holding on the Aliakmon Line near Thessaloniki. However, there is a lot of rough terrains to cover, things are a little different now than in the drive west against light opposition.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), under the command of Hitler's former chauffeur Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, captures Vevi in southern Macedonia and immediately turns to clear the enemy from the Kleisoura Pass southwest of Vevi. pass This leads to the town of Klidi in the south (it also is known as the Klidi Pass or Kirli Derven). The plan is to take Klidi and then drive downhill to Kastoria in northwest Greece.

SS-Sturmbannführer Kurt "Panzer" Meyer leads LSSAH's reinforced Aufklärungs-Abteilung (reconnaissance battalion) south into the pass, which is defended by scratch forces mixed Australian/New Zealand/Greek formation known as the "Mackay Force" under the Australian General Iven Mackay. Meyer's forces, backed by the 73rd Infantry Division, attack Glava Hill and Delinski Dol, but the Mackay Force is under orders from General Henry Maitland Wilson to "stop a blitzkrieg down the Florina Valley." Today, it does that, stopping the Germans cold.

In the north of Yugoslavia, the 14th Panzer Division of General von Kleist's 2nd Army takes Zagreb. Colonel Slavko Kvaternik of the Ustasa within the city declares an Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). Croatian fascist strongman Ante Pavelic returns from his exile in Italy to join in the proclamation, illustrating its Fascist orientation. This declaration of independence triggers an unexpected result, causing Hungary to decide that the Tripartite Pace to which both it and Yugoslavia are signatories no longer bars it from invading the now-dismembered country. Hungary prepares to send its tanks across the border tomorrow, the 11th.

Adolf Hitler and Ante Pavelic' at the Berghof.

Meanwhile, local Communist Party Secretary-General Josep Broz "Tito" (Tito is one of his assumed names taken when the Communist Party in Yugoslavia is outlawed) forms a Military Committee.

To the southeast in Greece, the battle of the Metaxas Line is over. The Greek commander of the Eastern Macedonian Army Section, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos, has ordered the forces holding out behind German lines to surrender. As of yet, the Germans at Thessaloniki and the British on the other side of the Aliakmon River have not engaged in any battles aside from a minor encounter between a German patrol and defending New Zealanders. Both sides took minor casualties, relatively speaking, during the battle, the Germans about 500 men killed.

The German government grows sensitive about the image it is projecting by bombing Belgrade in Operation Punishment. It ends the bombings, and the Ministry of Propaganda warns the media to "omit" sensational comments such as "its streets are covered with corpses of women and children." In fact, Luftflotte IV stops bombing northern Yugoslavia altogether - it hasn't bombed any Croatian areas at all - and turns its attention solely to southern Yugoslavia and Greece.

The Royal Hellenic Navy loses patrol boat A-2 to unknown causes. Axis troops seize Yugoslavian minesweeper Kobac at Sebenico.

Convoy AG 12 departs from Alexandria bound for Phaleron Bay. Previous convoys have gone to nearby Piraeus, which is the ordinary modern port for Athens, but German bombing temporarily has put the port out of commission. Convoy AS 25 (five Greek ships) departs from Piraeus.

British 3791-ton troopship HMS Ulster Prince, part of Convoy AC 3 which departed from Alexandria bound for Tobruk on the 6th, returns to Alexandria and grounds in Great Pass as it enters. It suffers minor damage.

Hungary decides to join the invasion of Yugoslavia today, 10 April 1941, due to the declaration of independence by Croatia - until then, Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy felt bound by the fact that both it and Yugoslavia were signatories to the Tripartite Pact.

European Air Operations: Adolf Hitler is very upset at last night's bombing that gutted the Berlin Opera House. He confronts Luftwaffe boss Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering about antiaircraft defenses, then departs from his Fruhlingssturm headquarters south of Vienna to oversee Operation 25/Operation Marita. While he just as easily could review the operations from Berlin, Hitler likes to give the appearance of being at the front with his troops.

The Luftwaffe attacks Birmingham on the night of 10/11 April, with 206 bombers dropping 246 tons of high explosives and 1183 incendiaries. After dark, it attacks Coventry again. Overall, about 475 people are killed and 700 seriously wounded in the two Coventry raids of two nights earlier and tonight.

East African Campaign: The British now hold the key points in Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and Abyssinia. However, many Italian strongholds remain in far-flung places. The British 11th African Division advances southwest from Addis Ababa to attack one of them, Jimma. They have to halt at Abaiti on the Omo River, where the Italians have blown the bridges.

At Assab, Eritrea, the Italians watch British troops approach and do what Italians in other ports have done in that situation: they start scuttling their ships:

• 6366-ton freighter India
• 7565-ton tanker Piave
• 9834-ton Sannio
• 57-ton coastal freighter Scillin
• 59-ton coastal freighter Circeo
• 80-ton coastal freighter Dante
• 64-ton coastal freighter Sicilia

The British later salvage India, Piave, and Sannio.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) torpedoes 6563-ton Dutch freighter Saleier east of Greenland. The ship goes down extremely quickly, in a  matter of seconds, but all 63 men on board survive pickup by the destroyer USS Niblack - unusual for a ship sinking so fast and during the colder months so far north. Saleier had been dispersed from Convoy OB 306. The Niblack, which is on its way to Iceland and nearby strictly by chance - then unsuccessfully attacks an (apparently false) submarine contact by dropping three depth charges. This apparently is the first US naval combat involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic - though nobody on the German side is aware of it and nothing comes of it, and thus it passes virtually unnoticed by anyone. But it most definitely is the first US combat incident of World War II, and shows just how close the US is coming to open conflict.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Tyne. A bomb strikes Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Naiad, already under repair, and damages it slightly some more.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4887-ton British freighter Thirlby about 140 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis. It is brought in to Loch Ewe in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 943-ton British freighter Busiris off Runnel Stone in Mount's Bay, Cornwall.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 397-ton Dutch freighter Virgo five miles northwest of Bar Light Vessel. It is towed to Liverpool.

The Admiralty, happy that the RAF damaged German heavy cruiser Gneisenau in Brest over the night with four bomb hits, transfers six of its submarines to the Mediterranean.

British Convoy DS 1 departs from Scapa Flow, the first of the DS convoys. It is composed of two troopships and two escorts, bound for Reykjavik. Return convoys are SD convoys.

Convoys T-10 and HX 120 depart from Halifax. Convoy TC-10 is a two-transport Canadian troop convoy that is escorted the entire way by battleship HMS Rodney and other ships as well.

U-401 (Kapitänleutnant Gero Zimmermann) and U-565 (Oberleutnant zur See Johann Jebsen) are commissioned.

Australian soldiers defend Tobruk, 10 April 1941. Just three months earlier, they captured the fortress, today they are defending it themselves. It is one of numerous such reversals during World War II.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel records his thoughts today:

I am convinced the enemy is retreating, we have to push after him with all forces. Target to be made clear to every man is the Suez canal. To prevent a breakout of the enemy from Tobruk, an encirclement has to be pursued by all means.

Forward Detachment Prittwitz (led by Major General von Prittwitz) advances south on the Via Balbia, which runs east of Tobruk and is the main road in the region. At noon, the detachment encounters British troops. Everything is extremely fluid with no clear battle lines, and, just as with British Generals Neame and O'Connor recently, the Germans lose one of theirs due to the confusion. Prittwitz perishes when he is fired upon by them - his driver had driven past the lead elements of his detachment without noticing. Lieutenant Colonel Graf Schwerin takes over the detachment.

Rommel orders the Italian Brescia Division forward from Mechili to take over for Schwerin's force. He also orders the Ariete Division forward toward El Adem. Due to all these troop movements, today is often cited as the start of the siege of Tobruk. The port city is defended by the 9th Australian Division, with overall command under General Morshead. The British strengthen their defenses at Halfaya Pass to the south by bringing up the 22nd Guards Brigade.

Moving his headquarters forward to Gazala airfield, Rommel's biggest problem is one of supply. Some detachments have run out of food and water.

The Royal Navy sends off four destroyers from Suda Bay to be based in Malta. The purpose is to interdict Axis supply convoys operating between Naples and Tripoli. Rommel's advances on land, the British believe, can be stopped - at sea.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Abingdon is damaged by mines at Malta. Repairs will take until June. It is the second ship damaged or sunk by mines there recently.

Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Gnat bombard German positions at Gazala and Bomba.

An Italian convoy of four ships (Bosforo, Ogaden, Persiano, and Superga) departs from Palermo, Sicily for the final leg of its trip from Naples to Tripoli. Another convoy arrives at Tripoli.

The War Office transfers Special Service troops from Malta back to Alexandria. They have been among the troops guarding Gozo Island pursuant to Operation Picnic.

The war is creeping closer. Notice that the news of the capture of British Generals O'Connor and Neame now is being made public. The El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post, 10 April 1941.

Anglo/Irish Relations: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is an advocate of less rigid English relations with Ireland. He has prepared a memo on the matter, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill finds it "very readable." Menzies continues in his diary:

Winston and Kingsley Wood exhibit the blank wall of conservatism. There is triangular prejudice on this matter. Winston is not a receptive or reasoning animal. But they will come to it! [Emphasis in original].

In this instance, Menzies' liberal instincts clash with Churchill's conservative ones. Throughout his diary, Menzies is alternately attracted and repelled by Churchill's very strong personality, and this is an instance of the latter. The bottom line is that Churchill has very definite ideas about how to handle the Irish question, and those ideas do not include being "soft" or "lenient."

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. The British will work up the cutters in Long Island Sound through the end of May.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: President Inonu once again declines to join the Allies.

US/Polish Relations: Having met with President Roosevelt, General Sikorski concludes his brief visit to the United States and returns to England.

An IJN B5N in early 1941. The "VI-324" on the tail would change to AII-324 due to today's changes (Famous Airplanes of the World - B5N "Kate", number 32, page 44, January 1992, by Bunrin Do Company via Japanese Aviation.).

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy forms the First Air Fleet, composed of all seven of its aircraft carriers. Altogether, they can launch 474 aircraft. The carriers are arranged as follows:

• Kaga - Carrier Division 1
• Akagi - Carrier Division 1, also flagship of the First Air Fleet
• Soryu - Carrier Division 2
• Hiryu - Carrier Division 2
• Hosho - Carrier Division 3
• Ryuo - Carrier Division 4
• Shoho - Carrier Division 4 (when it joins the fleet)
• Shokaku - Carrier Division 5
• Zuikaku - Carrier Division 5

Admiral Chuichi Nagumo is the First Air Fleet's first commander. Of interest to modelers is that the IJN changes all carrier aircraft tail codes are changed to reflect this

US Military: Admiral John Newton brings his fleet back into Pearl Harbor, concluding its "goodwill" missions to Australia and Fiji.

Japanese Government: War hawks Musatsume Ogura, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, and Lieutenant General Teiichi Suzuki join the cabinet. Admiral Osami Nagano becomes the new chief of the Naval Staff, replacing Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi, who has resigned (but technically remains in the cabinet). Seiichi Ito becomes the new chief of staff of the Imperial Combined Fleet.

Iraq: The British at Habbaniyah Airfield outside Baghdad are getting increasingly nervous about the new government of Rashid Ali. While there haven't been any attacks on the base yet, the Ali government is distinctly anti-British and pro-German. The British War Cabinet authorizes troop transfers from General Claude Auchinleck's command in India to Iraq.

In Berlin, meanwhile, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has his eye on Iraq as well. The country fits into the, shall we say, larger war aims of the Third Reich. However, it is far away over air space largely controlled by the British, so even getting airplanes to it is a chore. Goering believes that supporting the Ali government with his Luftwaffe would increase his own prestige within the hierarchy - which of course he is almost at the top of already, but there is a lot of infighting that he worries about nonetheless - so he is thinking of sending some units there. The main problem is that there is no ground support for Luftwaffe planes in Iraq because it is all controlled by the British, so capturing the RAF facilities is somewhat of a prerequisite to Luftwaffe operations. However, the facilities likely can't be captured without the Luftwaffe's assistance.

American Homefront: The Anthony and William Esposito trial begins in New York City. They are accused of the 14 January 1941 killing of a police officer and a holdup victim. The case receives a lot of media attention because the incident happened near the Empire State Building and a visiting photographer was on the scene to snap some pictures right after it happened. The Esposito brothers enter an insanity plea and exhibit odd "insane" conduct in the courtroom.

Hooverville, in Seattle's Pioneer Square, burns down today. A Depression-era shantytown begun about 1931, its burning causes the Seattle Port Commission to condemn all shacks and other rudimentary habitations in the area.

Toronto Birch Cliff Public Schools teachers and students pose with an ambulance they have purchased for the Canadian Armed Forces. The school raised the money for the ambulance and an extra $200, both of which were presented today to the Department of National Defense, 10 April 1941.

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