Sunday 13 April 1941

Soviet premier Joseph Stalin presides over the signing of the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, 13 April 1941.

Operation Marita/Operation 25: While Belgrade officially surrendered on the 12th, the mass of Wehrmacht troops enter the city today, 13 April 1941. It is a hub of activity and the start of a very long and dark chapter in Belgrade's history.

General Henry Maitland Wilson in Athens (actually he usually is in Piraeus) orders all Allied forces to abandon the Aliakmon Line before they are cut off by the XL Panzer Corps heading south from western Yugoslavia. He sends them past Mount Olympus and to a new area further south where the terrain favors the defense. The new defensive line beginning at Molos on the Gulf of Euboea, run through the pass at Thermopylae, and end on the Gulf of Corinth. The main question is whether the British and their allies can get to this 50-mile line ahead of the Germans and garrison it sufficiently to halt the Wehrmacht's panzers.

The Germans in Thessaloniki watch the British go from across the Aliakmon River, not wishing to rush them and biding their time before they cross the river. While the British are retreating, they retain strong rear guards just west of the river.

The main action continues to rest with the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), which at this stage of the war is still of brigade size (about 6,000 men). After having taken the Klidi Pass and advanced well into the Kleisoura Pass, the LSSAH is pursuing a beaten enemy. The Mackay Force of Australians, New Zealanders, British and Greeks is in disarray, with units spread to the four winds and heading south by whatever roads they can find that have not yet been blocked by the fast motorcycle troops of "Panzer" Meyer's LSSAH reconnaissance force.

Members of the Australian 2/1st Anti-Tank Regiment on or about 13 April 1941, after retreating from the Vevi area through the Klidi Pass (Weapons and Warfare).

The Greeks held their ground too long at Klidi, and the other Allied troops basically left them holding the bag. The Greek 20th and 12th Divisions are trapped on Mount Siniatsiko and facing a nightmarish cross-country trek to the south. As the British attempt to form a line of resistance at Mount Olympus, their 1st Armoured Brigade today fights delaying engagements in the Ptolemaida area against the German 9th Panzer Division at Sotir and Proasteion (Proastio). The Germans are barely halted at all, and, while accounts vary, the British lose at least 30 tanks versus the Germans losing 8 - and German claims suggest a much higher disadvantage to the Allies of up to 80 British tanks lost.

This British tank action is intended to cover the retreat of the Greek 12th Division through snowstorms over Mount Vermion, but the Germans are moving fast to cut off as much of that division as they can. They manage to split the 12th roughly in half, and by nightfall, the Germans are in contact with the next Allied line at Kleisoura with much of the Greek part of the Allied Army cut off or useless.

The powerful Greek forces in Albania accelerate their withdrawal south. In retrospect, one can say that they took to long to begin moving, but nobody expected the Yugoslav and British defenses to crack so easily. In addition, the Greek forces have been pinning down large Italian formations which now can join the German advance, so the withdrawal has its drawbacks as well as its benefits.

The Luftwaffe attacks the port of Volos with 70 bombs, causing massive destruction to the harbor facilities. Among the damage is a hit on 7140-ton British freighter City of Karachi. There are no casualties. The City of Karachi is towed to a nearby bay and beached, where it makes a tempting target for further attacks. Another ship, 4968-ton Norwegian freighter Brattdal, also is damaged and disabled. There is one death on the Brattdal.

The port of Piraeus is back in action after the violent Luftwaffe attacks on the first days of the invasion. Convoys GA 12 and ASF 25 depart for Alexandria. However, the Luftwaffe is still focusing on Piraeus and the nearby seas - the German consulate overlooks the harbor and they know how important it is - and today they bomb and damage Greek destroyer Basileus Georgios I in the Saronikos Gulf. The destroyer makes it to Salamis.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks Greek destroyer Psara in the Gulf of Athens.

German radio mentions General von Kleist, whose 2nd Army forces took Belgrade, in the nightly Wehrmachtbericht communique. This is an honor even for a senior general and shows that he is in good favor with the German hierarchy.

Greek officers in Ioannina, 13 April 1941 (WW2 Militaria).

European Air Operations: The RAF performs engine modifications on its 40 Avro Manchester bombers, putting them temporarily out of action. They also are adopted to carry 4000 lb bombs. Otherwise, the RAF sends 16 aircraft to attack shipping off France and points north, and 17 aircraft to conduct minelaying.

East African Campaign: The South African 1st Infantry Brigade advances north from Addis Ababa toward Dessie, while the East African 22nd Infantry Brigade advances south from Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, the Indian 29th Infantry Brigade advances south toward Amba Alagi. The Italians under the Duke of Aosta have bottled themselves up in mountain fortress, and while the British control the main cities, the Italians remain an oppressive presence.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-108 (K.Kapt. Klaus Scholtz), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 16,444-ton armed merchant cruiser HMS Rajputana in the Denmark Strait west of Reykjavik, Iceland. The ship sinks in about an hour. There are 42 deaths, including the Commodore of Convoy HX 117 (which it recently had left), while about 280 men are saved by destroyer HMS Legion. All else aside, the loss is serious to the Royal Navy because it depends on these AMCs to free up its cruisers and capital ships for other, less mundane, tasks. The Rajputana thus joins her sister ship HMS Rawalpindi on the bottom.

U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz) continues its highly successful fourth patrol north of the Cape Verde Islands by sinking another ship. This one is 4823-ton British freighter Corinthic. Kptlt. Shulz's first torpedo fails to explode - a fairly common occurrence in northern waters - but the second explodes.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6591-ton British freighter Baron Belhaven at the mouth of the Bristol Channel off Milford Haven. The ship is towed to that port. There are four deaths.

OB 310 departs from Liverpool.

SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg, a company commander in the Das Reich Division’s reconnaissance battalion responsible for the timely and peaceful capture of Belgrade on 12/13 April 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies records in his diary that everyone at Chequers, including President Roosevelt's special envoy W. Averell Harriman, is "depressed by the news of what I call the 'botch' in Libya." He is too polite to note in his diary, of course, that he was the only one at the time to call into question Churchill's fixation on transferring troops from the winning campaign in Libya to the almost inevitable defeat in Greece.

The First Siege of Tobruk is underway. The Italians finally give Afrika Korps commander Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel blueprints of the port fortress' defenses so that he can plan his attacks better.

The Australian 9th Division (General Morshead) remains trapped in Tobruk, and no relief is in sight. The Germans, astounded by their quick advance, become confident and attempt to seize as much of Egypt as they can before the British and Australian troops return from Greece. Rommel orders Forward Detachment Knabe to take Sollum and then advance toward Marsa Matruh. The Ariete Division advances to El Adem while Knabe occupies Fort Capuzzo. The next British blocking position is at Sollum as the Germans basically roll up the British gains of Operation Compass.

The Australians bottled up in Tobruk have something to say about all this, however. They repulse an attack on a key road junction south of Tobruk. After dark, the Germans infiltrate through the Tobruk wire defense, but a fierce local counterattack kills a dozen Germans and sends the rest fleeing. Basically, the Australians let the Germans know that they are going to fight it out in the port city. Without taking Tobruk, Rommel's advance cannot hope to advance far into Egypt.

The RAF bombs Tripoli Harbor, bombing and destroying medium-sized Italian tanker Santa Giulia. There is one death.

The Luftwaffe raids Tobruk Harbor and damages anti-submarine whaler Skudd IV just outside the port. The whaler makes it back into Tobruk in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs Malta just after midnight on the 14th. The bulk of the destruction takes place at Mdina and nearby areas, but Luqa and some areas along the coast also are hit. It is a "lucky" raid for the British because many of the bombs narrowly miss causing much worse damage. For instance, bombs hit a large shelter protecting a hundred people, cut all escape unharmed.

Malta is facing another, more insidious problem than daily bombing raids. The constant action is wearing out the antiaircraft guns that are the main source of protection. In addition, there are not enough anti-aircraft soldiers, so many guns are manned by "amateurs" or they won't be operated at all.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle completes its transit of the Suez Canal and re-embarks its two Swordfish squadrons that had been flying out of Port Sudan.

German soldiers enter Belgrade, April 13th 1941.

Soviet/Japanese Non-Aggression Pact: The two nations sign a 5-year non-aggression pact in Moscow. The Pact recognizes existing borders, and from the Japanese standpoint is desirable because the Soviets finally recognize Japanese control of Manchukuo (Manchuria). It is not an agreement like the Tripartite Act, in which one party agrees to come to the aid of the other when acted, just a promise not to join an attack on the other country. In some ways, the course of World War II will turn on which side observes this treaty, and which does not. In grand strategic terms, the Pact will free each party to cast their military eyes elsewhere. The Pact is almost entirely the doing of Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka, who negotiated it at the end of his visit to Europe.

President Roosevelt takes notice of this development and orders less focus to be placed on the Atlantic. It is clear to everyone that Japan would only desire this Pact if it were focusing its military ambitions to the south.

Vatican: Pope Piux XII broadcasts an Easter appeal calling for an end to terror attacks against population centers. He also obliquely asks the Germans to follow the Golden Rule, saying:

let your conscience guide you in dealing justly, humanely and providently with the peoples of occupied territories. Do not impose upon them burdens which you in similar circumstances have felt or would feel to be unjust.

Hitler is no fan of the Pope but does recognize that deposing or harming him would be politically disadvantageous.

Annie Jump Cannon.

American Homefront: Annie Jump Cannon passes away. She is an astronomer who created the Harvard Classification Scheme which for the first time organizes stars into categories based on their temperatures. Cannon personally classified over 225,000 stars during her career, publishing her work over a span of more than 40 years, from 1881 to 1924. She is said to have been able to classify up to three stars a minute.

Future History: Michael Stuart Brown is born in Brooklyn New York. He will become a top geneticist and win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph L. Goldstein in 1985 for describing the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.

A locomotive of the Santa Fe Railroad at Topeka, 13 April 1941 (Ray Hilner via The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society).

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

Wednesday 2 April 1941

Collier Fermain, sunk today by the Luftwaffe in the English Channel.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The British Operation Lustre has brought over large British Army troop concentrations by 2 April 1941, and more are arriving daily. Major General Sir Bernard Freyberg positions his New Zealand Division on the Aliakmon Line, which follows the river Aliakmon from the Aegean coast around Katerini westwards on the river's south bank. This is as far forward as the British feel may be defensible, but the Greeks prefer a line along the border with Bulgaria.

East African Campaign: The Italians at Massawa know that, with The Indian 5th Infantry Division moving quickly from Asmara toward Massawa, time is short. They send five destroyers (Battisti, Manin, Pantera, Sauro, and Tigre) on a one-way mission to attack Port Sudan and then scuttle themselves. The Royal Navy and RAF both have strong forces in the area, so the Italian destroyers face a daunting task in carrying out their mission.

Around this date, British Major General Lewis Heath, commander of the Indian 5th Infantry Division, gets on the telephone and calls Massawa. Italian commander Rear Admiral Mario Bonetti gets on the line and refuses an ultimatum to surrender. Heath also demands that Bonetti not block the harbor with sunken ships, else the British would not protect Italians from natives after the Italian troops are disarmed (which has become a problem recently for the Italians remaining behind in cities to be occupied by the British). Bonetti also refuses this obvious attempt at extortion.

The RAF bombs and sinks two Italian freighters near Dalac Island off Abyssinia: 7669 ton Giuseppe Mazzini and 7099 ton Urania. The British later will salvage these for their use.

A Gordon bomber over Iraq operating out of RAF Habbaniya, April 1941.

European Air Operations: The RAF continues attacking Axis shipping off the Dutch coast. In addition, the RAF flies Circus and Rhubarb missions over occupied France. The British are aware that the Luftwaffe is sending units east and wants to take advantage of their absence and perhaps force the Germans to bring some back.

RAF Bomber Command conducts one of its most famous missions. It is a propaganda flight over Holland during which it drops 75,000 bags of Dutch East Indies Tea. Each bag contains about 20 grams (10 oz) of high-quality tea. The bags have tags bearing the Dutch flag and the words, “The Netherlands will rise again. Greetings from the Free Netherlands East Indies. Chins Up.” The Dutch East Indies Teaplanters donated the tea for this purpose. The Dutch News Agency reports the event:

“Never have the Dutch people so gratefully received a gift from the Dutch East Indies, Especially as it is almost impossible to get an ounce of tea in the Dutch shops.”

While undoubtedly a propaganda coup, the tea-raid presents a couple of odd contradictions. One, the British love tea, but Lord Woolton has had to ration it due to its short supply - making a showy expenditure of so much fine tea a slap in the face of British tea drinkers. Second, the British have been adamantly opposed to any US humanitarian aid to Occupied Europe - and then they drop perfectly usable tea on it.

U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass) torpedoes and sinks 7000-ton British tanker British Reliance southeast of Greenland. Everybody survives.

Operating in roughly the same region as U-46, U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 9957-ton British refrigerated cargo ship Beaverdale. There are 21 deaths.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris (Lt. Cdr. H.F. Bone) attacks and sinks 5486-ton German armed tanker Thorn about 75 miles (110 km) southwest of St. Nazaire in the Bay of Biscay. The attack is distinguished by the huge amount of effort that Bone puts into the attack: no less than seven torpedoes and gunfire. Tankers are always difficult to sink because of their construction, but that is an inordinate amount of munitions for one medium-sized ship.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping off St. Abb's Head in Berwickshire, Scotland. The planes sink two Royal Navy minesweeping trawlers, 180 ton HMT Cramond Island and 259 ton HMT Fortuna. All 15 men on board the Fortuna perish, while two men perish and three are wounded on Cramond Island.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 759-ton British collier Fermain in the English Channel off Boulogne. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 873-ton British tanker Wild Rose about 12 miles (20 km) southeast of Tuskar Light House, County Wexford, Ireland. Towed to Rosslare Harbour and beached, the tanker is later refloated and taken to Dublin for repairs.

British 1908-ton freighter Melrose Abbey hits a mine and sinks north of Aberdeen in the River Ythan. It is later refloated and taken to Aberdeen for repairs.

British coaster Coombe Dingle runs aground at Carnalea, County Down and is written off.

Greek freighter Nestos runs aground in Liverpool Bay and is written off.

German battleship Bismarck is still receiving items for its planned sortie into the Atlantic. Today, it is supplied with two of the four Arado Ar 196 floatplanes that are to be housed in a hangar behind its main superstructure.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield ZME 27 in the Irish Sea. It is to lay multiple minefields in the ZME series over the next three weeks.

Convoy OB 305 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Uproar (P 31, Lt. John Kershaw) is commissioned.

WQXR News Commentator Lisa Sergio, April 2, 1941. WQXR broadcasts in FM, which is still somewhat exotic, and Lisa Sergio is a pioneer female radio news commentator (NYWT&S Collection, Library of Congress).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Afrika Korps maintains its momentum. When the Germans spot the British heading east around noontime, Lieutenant General Rommel at 13:00 orders the 5th Light Division panzers take Agedabia (Ajdabiya). Rommel also sends one column apiece toward Derna and Tobruk. Tellingly, Rommel only issues these orders verbally, knowing that they are contrary to standing orders not to attack.

After putting up a defense in the morning, the British 2nd Armoured Division withdraw under orders to Antelat about 35 miles (56 km) to the northeast. This leaves Benghazi open to attack.

Despite the stunning Afrika Korps advance, perhaps the most interesting thing that happens during the day is Italian Commander General Gariboldi's reaction to it. Gariboldi previously has forbidden further advances until more Wehrmacht and Italian troops arrive. Late in the day, Rommel receives a message from the Commando Supremo:

From messages I have received I take it that your advance continues. This is contrary to what I have ordered. I politely request that you wait for me before you continue the advance.

This rather perfectly encapsulates the state of Italian generalship during World War II.

At sea, Operation Winch begins. This is a resupply of Malta, including a flight of a dozen Hurricanes to be flown off HMS Ark Royal. The Ark Royal is accompanied by battlecruiser Renown and light cruiser Sheffield.

The Luftwaffe attacks Convoy AS 23 in the Aegean off Gavdo Island. The German planes sink 4914-ton Greek freighter Coulouras Xenos and badly damage 5324-ton British freighter Homefield. The Royal Navy escorts later sink the Homefield. Greek 2747 ton freighter also is damaged by near misses, but makes it to port in Crete. The German planes also damage 6054-ton British freighter Devis of Convoy ANF 24 in the same area.

Two Yugoslavian freighters hit mines and sink off Croatian city Šibenik: 1293-ton freighter Karadjordje and 1726-ton freighter Prestolonaslednik Petar (Star). Everybody on both ships survives.

A convoy of five freighters departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.

A 1941 Chrysler Royal 4-Door Sedan. This one survives in Indonesia.

Indian/German Relations: Subhash Chandra Bose, having fled British custody in India, finally reaches Berlin after a circuitous route.

Japanese/Italian/Papal Relations: Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka visits with Mussolini that the US was trying to initiate a conflict. Matsuoka then visits with Pope Pius XII, and Matsuoka reports to Tokyo:

The Pope took an utterly detached attitude, free of any favoritism regarding the European war, and approached the question from the point of view of a general peace throughout the world.

Propaganda: Lord Haw-Haw, the German radio propagandist who speaks in curiously cultured tones, identifies himself on-air as William Joyce.

The Shop Motor Repair building at Fort Ord, California, completed 2 April 1941 (Fort Ord Buildings, Completion Report Pictures.

US Military: Cruiser USS Astoria departs Hawaii for Long Beach, California. It is to be upgraded with quadruple-mount 1.1 in (28 mm)/75 cal anti-aircraft guns and preparations for air-search radar.

German Military: Some sources place the first flight of the Heinkel He 280 jet fighter under its own power today. However, other sources place it on 30 March, where we have put it.

Hungarian Government: Prime Minister Pal Count Teleki de Szek learns that Chief of the General Staff General Werth secretly has agreed to allow Wehrmacht troops into Hungary. Teleki denounces Werth as a traitor and then commits suicide because of his abhorrence of working with Hitler. The new Prime Minister is Foreign Minister Laszlo Bardossy, known to be extremely sympathetic to Germany.

Yugoslavia: The German government basically closes its embassy in Belgrade, reducing it to a skeleton staff and destroying all documents. Its counselor, Gerhard Feine, reports that the Yugoslavs are having second thoughts about opposing Germany and even about the coup itself. Feine is told to warn members of friendly embassies to seek safety elsewhere.

The Yugoslavian military attaché reports to Prime Minister Simovic that the Germans are to invade on the 6th. Simovic continues to refuse to contemplate military coordination with Great Britain.

Iraq: Rashid Ali consolidates power in Baghdad after his successful coup. British ambassador Sir. Kinahan Cornwallis arrives in a situation vastly changed from when he set out from London.

China: The Japanese 11th Army continues its gradual withdrawal to its bases after the Battle of Shanggkao. The Chinese continue to pressure the Japanese and recover Hsishan, Wanshoukung, and Shihchachieh.

Hattie McDaniel (Mrs. Donald Crawford) caught by photographers at the exhibit of the Press Photographers Exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in New York City. 2 April 1941 (© Bettmann/CORBIS).

American Homefront: Harlan County, Kentucky has been the scene of violent Union confrontations throughout the past decade. Today, it explodes into violence once again. On 1 April, miners went on strike due to the expiration of a Union contract. Union pickets (United Mine Workers Association) enter the Crummies Creek Company Store at 10:00 today and attempt to purchase a Coca-Cola using cash. The store's manager refuses, citing company policy that only company script is accepted there. There are few other places in mining towns to buy supplies, which is a key element of company control. The Union men refuse to leave without their soft drink, and an altercation ensues (with the particulars disputed by both sides). The store has a machine gun hidden under a butcher's apron, mounted on a meat block, and an employee runs to it and opens fire.

There are four dead and four seriously wounded Union workers, along with a wounded African American bystander and a lightly wounded company worker. The Union charges that the company men opened fire "from the bushes." The Company, meanwhile states that the shooting occurred only after the Union men roughed up the store manager and tried to force him to sign Union "check-off" slips. He also alleges that the striking Union men had .45 pistols and "started trouble." There also are reports of various other assaults on journalists and company men.

Future History: Barret Eugene Hansen is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Barry, as he becomes known, hangs out with rock band Spirit after earning his master's degree in the '60s, then catches on as an A&R man for Specialty Records. This leads to a radio show for Specialty, which leads to a job with Warner Bros. Records. Barry also writes extensively on the rock scene and does liner notes and other rock-associated tasks. His real love is radio, however, and he develops an on-air persona known as Dr. Demento who plays novelty records. The Dr. Demento Show becomes wildly popular playing offbeat tunes by artists such as Judy Tenuta, Emo Philips. Barnes & Barnes and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Dr. Demento remains on the radio and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in November 2009 and the Comedy Hall of Fame in June 2005.

Canadian Railways train 3665, oil-fired with a wood pilot and stack exhaust deflector. Salmon Arm, April 2, 1941 (Bud Laws Collection).

April 1941


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

2020

Sunday 5 May 1940

HMS Seal after its capture in Kiel.

Norway: Both sides on 5 May 1940 are now upping their bids on Northern Norway. Central and southern Norway are now solidly German-occupied, but the northernmost third of the country is still up for grabs. It is rugged, largely devoid of roads, and subject to fierce weather, with military supply dependent upon naval or aerial sources - at which the British and French can rightly claim an advantage. The prize is more desirable because, aside from general geographic convenience for U-boat operations and air bases, the only value of Norway to anyone lies in that northern third - the port of Narvik. It is the source of the iron ore which makes the tanks and ships and guns which the German war machine requires.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Professor Koht, and Minister of Defence Col. Ljungberg arrive in London for consultations with British ministers. A Norwegian Government-in-exile is established in London, though the seat of government remains under British/French protection in northern Norway.

Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler has everyone else looking above the Arctic Circle - and he is looking much closer to home.

Norway Army Operations: With food running out and only enough water for a few days, the garrison of Hegra Fortress (26 miles east of Trondheim) knows that its only hope would be relief by external Norwegian/Allied troops. However, there are no longer any potential saviors within a thousand kilometers due to the British/French evacuations and Norwegian surrenders. In fact, Hegra Fortress is the last pocket of resistance south of Nordland. Accordingly, at 05:00, Major Holtermann gives a speech thanking the volunteers - largely local gun club members - and a rendition of the Norwegian national anthem. At 05:25, he raises the white flag over Hegra Fortress. The Germans, led by Hauptmann Giebel, arrive at 06:30. The garrison, totaling 190 men and one woman (nurse Anne Margrethe Bang) is led out later in the day.

Adolf Hitler ultimately orders the Hegra Fortress prisoners' release in recognition of their valor, but not before they are forced to attempt to build a road to replace the bridges that they had blown. Total casualties at Hegra Fortress:

• Killed 6
• Wounded 14

Germans:

• 150-200 casualties.

German mountain troops advancing north from the Trondheim region continue their march toward Narvik. They reach the vicinity of Mosjoen. However, they are still hundreds of kilometers away from Narvik over rough ground.

The Allied troops near Narvik begin consolidating their positions. Norwegian 6th Infantry Brigade and 7th Infantry Brigade and French 27th Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs capture Elvenes just north of Narvik

Norwegian Air Operations: German aircraft from Norwegian bases fly support missions for General Dietl's troops at Narvik for the first time.

Norway Naval Operations: French Foreign Legionnaires and Polish troops land at Harstad and Tromso, preparing the way for a pincer movement on Narvik. They also can help block any relief attempts.

British submarine HMS Seal begins the day on the ocean floor in the Skagerrak after a mine explodes nearby. The Captain reads the Lord's Prayer to the crew. While damaged, it is intact enough for the men to somehow re-float it (using their very last, unexpected source of air) at 01:30. They head for Swedish waters to be interned, but the submarine can only go in reverse, and then the engine seizes up completely from mud collected on the sea bottom. A Luftwaffe Heinkel He 115 seaplane and two Arado 196s spot her dead in the water at 02:30. The crew surrenders using a white table cloth.

The captain of the Seal, Rupert Lonsdale, swims to the Heinkel to surrender. The crew is saved and HMS Seal (expected by its crew to sink) is taken in tow by the German "UJ 128" (Unterseebootsjäger 128) and brought to the German naval base at Frederikshavn, Denmark. It is about as near-death as a submarine crew can get and still survive - they truly looked death in the face -and one of the epic survival stories of submarine history.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Widder leaves Kiel bound for Bergen.

Convoy OG 28 forms at Gibraltar.

British light cruiser HMS Fiji (Captain William G. Benn) is commissioned.

Western Front: The front remains remarkably quiet. There is a report that, during the night, German patrols launched exploratory attacks on three Allied outposts supported by artillery fire, but were driven off.

Journalist William Shirer in Berlin, unlike the Allied intelligence services, notices something unusual going on: "More bans on private cars. Why is Germany saving oil? Do they need it for some big military plan?"

Spies: Ireland is defiantly neutral, but a large body of opinion sees the distraction of war against Germany as a handy way to pry the British out of the country. Taking advantage of this, the German military intelligence service sends Kapitän Hermann Goertz to Dublin by parachute. He is there to establish contacts with the IRA and sympathetic Irish Army Officers.

Australia: Troop convoy US 3 departs Victoria, bound for Egypt. It is transporting the Australian 18th Infantry Brigade.

Vatican: Pope, Pius XII issues a public anti-war prayer: "Christ, please stop the whirlwind of death which is crushing humanity."

French Homefront: RC Paris defeats Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in the Coupe de France Final.

Future History: Lance Henriksen is born in New York City. He becomes famous as an actor in the 1970s for such films as "Dog Day Afternoon," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Damien: Omen II" and, in the 1980s, "The Terminator" and "Aliens." He remains a working actor as of this writing.

Hauptmann Giebel enters Hegra Fortress to accept the Norwegian surrender, 5 May 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019

Friday 26 January 1940

Pope Pius XII before the microphone in his study at Vatican City in Rome, 1940.

Winter War: Marshal Voroshilov, who has been directing the war from the Kremlin, is on his way to the Finnish front on 26 January 1940. It does not take a military genius for anyone in possession of this fact to figure out that something big is about to take place.

Winter War Army Operations: At Taipale, Finnish 7th Division calculates that it has suffered 816 men killed and 2020 men wounded since the beginning of the war. While huge for Finland, those figures are no doubt dwarfed by those of Soviet forces opposing it.

Group Talvela of Finnish 9th Division consolidates in Kuhmo and prepares to launch an assault on the Soviet 54th Infantry Division.

At Lahde, the two 152-mm guns (Lieutenant Grachev) of the 4th Battery, 402nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment, 24th Corps. Artillery Regiment fire opposite the Millionaire bunker opens up at 12:00, along with other artillery. A Finnish observation tower on the bunker (one of three) is blown up almost at once, and the central section is hit seconds later. Several rounds penetrate the bunker and explode inside. The bunker is a total write-off within minutes. The Soviet artillerymen, possessing a deep understanding of the Soviet system, immediately ask their superiors to sign a document attesting to their part in the destruction of the bunker.

At Summa, the daily 7,000 round artillery bombardment continues.

Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Durham Castle, an 8,240-ton special service vessel, hits a mine laid by U-57 and sinks on 21 January 11 miles northeast of Cromarty in the North Sea. A former passenger ship owned by Union-Castle Mail SS Co. before being requisitioned by the Admiralty, Durham Castle was being towed to Scapa Flow to serve as a store ship and floating barracks.

Convoy OG 16F forms at Gibraltar.

German/Vatican Relations: The German ambassador protests against the recent Vatican broadcasts about German atrocities in Poland.

French Homefront: "Radio Traitor" Paul Ferdonnet, broadcasting propaganda in French from Stuttgart, is tried in absentia by a military tribunal.

British Homefront: The government reports that the massive evacuation of London at the beginning of the war largely has reversed itself. Half of the 734,883 children evacuated, some 316,192, have returned to their homes in London as of 8 January 1940. It is not just the absence of air raids that caused them to return, but a growing feeling that the entire war with Germany has been completely avoided.

US/Japanese Relations: The US allows the US-Japanese Treaty of Navigation and Commerce to lapse due to the continuing Japanese invasion of China.

US Military: US Seabees begin building an airfield at Palmyra Island in the Line Islands (south of Hawaii).

Australia: Brisbane is suffering from an intense heatwave, with temperatures extending above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in many places in the state.

Holocaust: Hans Frank decrees that Jews in occupied Poland are no longer allowed to travel on trains. Limitations also are placed on Jewish worship.

China: The Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division west of Shaohsing.

The Royal Norfolk Regiment of the BEF man a trench in France. Hand grenades are being handed out to the soldiers behind them. 26 January 1940.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Sunday 21 January 1940

Germans being taken off the Asam Maru.

Winter War: The Soviet units on the Karelian Isthmus are using the month for training and reconnaissance of Finnish defenses. Starting from 10 Soviet rifle divisions, the number is growing to 23 during the month. More heavy artillery is brought in as well. The divisions are distributed between the 7th Army and the 13th Army. Seventh Army has 14 divisions, 13th Army has 9. Seventh Army is headed toward Vyborg, the key point on the Mannerheim Line.

Winter War Air Operations: On 21 January 1940, Finnish Blenheim bombers, piloted by foreign volunteers, raid the Soviet naval base at Kronstadt. There are similar raids on the Soviet air base south of Tallinn and other Soviet bases in Estonia.

The Soviets bomb Finnish port Oulu.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets continue their artillery bombardment of Summa. They are firing 7,000 shells every day to soften the Finnish line preparatory to a full-scale assault. Otherwise, the action is quiet as the weather is still frosty.

Lines of barbed-wire obstacles stretch across snow-covered fields near Menin in France, 21 January 1940 (Imperial War Museum).

Battle of the Atlantic: Italian liner Orazio catches on fire off Barcelona, apparently accidentally. French destroyers take off passengers, there are 104 deaths.

U-22 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinrich Jenisch) sinks Royal Navy destroyer HMS Exmouth (Captain Richard Stoddart Benson) off Tarbett Ness in the Moray Firth. All 175-189 (sources vary) crewmen perish. Jensch first tried to get the British freighter Cyprian Prince that the Exmouth was escorting but missed.

U-22 also torpedoes and sinks 1,469-ton Danish tanker Tekla. Nine perish (four in the ship, five when a mast falls on their lifeboat) and nine survive.

U-22 gets the third success during the day, but this one is from a mine that the U-boat laid on 20 December 1939 near Blyth in north-central England. The 1,086-ton British Ferryhill freighter sinks. Nine perish and two survive.

U-55 (it is believed) sinks Swedish freighter Andalusia. All 21 crew are lost. U-55 never returned from its patrol.

British freighter Protesilaus hits a mine laid by a U-boat and sinks.

British cruiser HMS Liverpool stops Asama Maru, a Japanese liner, off Honshu (35 miles from Japan) and takes off 21 German passengers (of 51 total Germans on board). The Germans are sailor survivors of the German liner Columbus that was scuttled off the US east coast on 19 December 1939). They are returning to Germany by a circuitous route. The men are considered suitable for military service and are to be taken to Hong Kong to be interned. The Japanese government is irate and sends destroyers to intercept the HMS Liverpool, so it makes top speed to the British base.

US freighter Nishmaha is detained by the British at Gibraltar (again).

Convoy OA 77 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 77 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 16F departs from Gibraltar and Convoy OG 15 forms at sea off Gibraltar.

British Government: The Duke of Windsor (former heir to the throne) steps down ("takes leave") from his duties as a liaison between the BEF and the French government.

Anglo/French Relations: The British Ministry of Information gives 8 French war correspondents a tour of the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and other key spots.

Holland: The government announces that leave for the military will soon be restored.

Norway: The government announces that 28 Norwegian-flagged ships have been lost.

Vatican: The Pope, Pius XII, broadcasts to the US about German atrocities against priests in Poland.

China: Ching-wei, the puppet ruler over Japanese-occupied China from Nanking, denies the veracity of a published document that supposedly shows that he has given the Japanese complete economic and political dominion over China. Two former associates of his published the supposed agreement.

Future History: Jack Nicklaus is born in Columbus, Ohio. He becomes nationally famous as a golfer in the late 1950s for performing well as an amateur in major tournaments and becomes internationally famous in the 1960s as he dominates the golfing world. Nicklaus goes on to become what many people consider to be the greatest golfer of all time, winning 18 Major Championships as a regular touring pro and many more as an amateur and Senior golfer.

The "Golden Bear," golfer Jack Nicklaus, born on 21 January 1940.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Thursday 24 December 1939

Winter War Army Operations: International aid to the Finns continues. Volunteers from virtually other European nations have been pouring in. Today, 24 December 1939, 50 Finnish-American volunteers arrive at the port of Oulu to serve in the military.

The campaign now has been in progress for 24 days, twice the amount of time expected in the Soviets' overly optimistic plans.

The remnants of Soviet 75th and 139th Divisions have been on the run in the Tolmojaervi and Aglajaervi (Ägläjärvi) districts. Group Talvela is pursuing them and enter into Soviet territory, though only briefly.

At Suomussalmi, the trapped Soviet 163rd Division tries to break out east down the Ratte road but makes no progress against the Finnish 9th Division. Soviet 44th Division, trapped further down the road, does not have enough strength to help them. The winter is working its magic on the Soviet troops and their vehicles, robbing them of strength and initiative. Part of the problem is that the Soviet 44th Division has plenty of skis, but no ski troops. The Finns can maneuver through the woods on skis and attack the Soviets all along the road.

Soviet troops further north are being pushed back to Salla from the Kemijoki River by the Finnish troops under the command of  Major General Kurt Martti Wallenius.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 17 planes to attack German shipping but has no success.

Battle of the Atlantic: The fire on the Admiral Graf Spee finally burns out.

Convoy OB 59 departs from Liverpool and HG 12 from Gibraltar.

German/Soviet Relations: The two nations sign an agreement restoring rail links between their occupied areas.

German Government: Hitler is still inspecting the Siegfried Line.

Vatican: Pope Pius XII makes an appeal for peace on Christmas Eve before 25 Cardinals. He denounces aggression and the right of small countries to exist. He says that there have been "acts which cry for the vengeance of God." The Pope also offers a 5-point program to achieve "a just and honorable peace."

China: While elements of the Chinese forces remain on the offensive, the Japanese counterattacks are increasing. Japanese 21st Army Yinchanao and Pachiangkou north of Canton, while the Japanese 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade helps out the Japanese at Paotou and sends the Chinese 8th War Area on to the defensive. The Chinese West Route Force is attacking the Japanese 5th Infantry Division near Lungchow but is making slow progress.

Holocaust: German troops accompanied by Polish policemen encircle the synagogue in Siedlce, remove the two Torah scrolls, and set the synagogue on fire. They also burn the scrolls separately. The fire spreads to nearby Jewish offices. The Polish police prepare a report blaming the fire on the Jews. The Germans then prepare to deport many of the Jews of Lublin to labor camps.

The synagogue in Siedlce burning on 24 December 1939.

December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019