Friday 11 April 1941

Tea and sandwiches from a mobile canteen, courtesy of the Ministry of Food. Coventry, England, 11 April 1941 (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images via Los Angeles Daily News).

Operation Marita/Operation 25: On 11 April 1941, Hungary sends its forces, the 3rd Army, across the Yugoslav border in the morning. Admiral Horthy did not invade during the initial German crossings because he claimed to feel bound by the fact that Yugoslavia also had signed the Tripartite Pact. However, once Croatian separations proclaimed a new state in Zagreb, he decided that Yugoslavian no longer existed, and thus the Pact no longer applied.

Italy also is advancing south. General Ambrosio's 2nd Italian Army makes progress from Trieste, both south along the coast and toward Ljubljana. One of Ambrosio's intentions is to link up with the Italian forces in Albania, but for some reason, the Yugoslav Army has committed some of its best formations in that theater, and the going is slow.

Sepp Dietrich's 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) brigade is at the spearpoint of the German drive south from Vevi through the Klidi/Kleisoura Pass area (also known as the Kirli Derven). The defense is centered around the town of Kelli and the pass itself, and the German objective is the town of Kliki at the southern entrance to the pass.

"Panzer" Meyer's reconnaissance battalion ran into a mixed Greek /British /Australian /New Zealand force ("Mackay Force," named after Australian General Iven Mackay) on this drive south on the 10th, stopping it cold. The Germans regroup, and in the afternoon try to force their way down the main road. The hugely confident Germans drive their troops forward in lorries within sight of the defenders, which irks some on the Allied side. The Allied forces under Captain Gordon Laybourne Smith of the 2/3rd Field Regiment respond with accurate artillery fire, destroying five German trucks, which quickly forces the Germans to pull back.

The Germans again regroup and launch an attack in the evening. It then begins to snow. The Australians and New Zealanders have difficulties with their weapons and are exhausted from their quick march from their bivouacs on the Aliakmon Line, but they hold the line for the time being.

The German 30 Corps and Corps and XVIII Mountain Corps, and opposing British and Greek troops, continue to eye each other across the Aliakmon River just west of Thessaloniki. However, the Germans do not attempt to cross the river. Their basic strategy is to wait until the LSSAH and the rest of XL Corps advances to the west of the British line, then smash it between the two German formations. The British, meanwhile, are looking anxiously over their shoulders toward the advance of the LSSAH and related formations. They are shifting troops northwest to try and prevent this breakout.

The air war over Greece is going very well for the Germans at this point. The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 674-ton British cable ship Retriever off Phleva Island, Greece. There are 11 deaths, and 6 men become prisoners. There are 29 men who are rescued by the Allies.

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell meets with General Henry Maitland Wilson in Athens to discuss the situation. Among other things, they discuss a possible evacuation

The Greeks also are recognizing the likelihood of defeat. King George II requests permission to establish his government in Cyprus - but is told to stay in Athens.

"British troops use a bulldozer to pull down a fascist stone monument at Kismayu in Italian Somaliland, 11 April 1941." © IWM (E 2367).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe bombs Bristol with 153 aircraft in "The Good Friday Raid." It is the sixth major raid of the city, the first having been on 24 November 1940 - and the last. More than 1400 people have been killed in the raids, and the town's medieval center has been destroyed.

The primary damage is to the dock area (including Prince Street, Canon’s Marsh and Queen Square ) and residential areas. The raid causes a lot of damage, but it more notable in a historical context from some odd facts. First, that the Germans lose seven Heinkel He 111 bombers to Hurricanes from RAF No. 151 Squadron. Second, St. Philip's Bridge is hit, which disrupts power to the tramways - which are scrapped as a result. Thus, this raid ends tram service in Bristol forever.

Another Luftwaffe raid by 18 Heinkels made is on Bridlington. There are two deaths amidst a lot of damage, including to Lloyd Hospital. One of the deaths is a two-year-old boy.

The RAF conducts Rhubarb operations over Occupied France with 20 planes.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies summarizes the air-war outlook presented at the day's War Cabinet meeting:

More bombing of aircraft factories in England. The Hun is becoming too accurate, and picking our factories off too regularly.

First Sea Lord John Tovey comments that the Luftwaffe has command over the skies in the Straits of Sicily, affording protection to the Italian convoys that supply the Afrika Korps.

East African Campaign: The Italians for all intents and purposes have been evicted from their ports in East Africa or have scuttled their ships in the few that remain. Accordingly, President Roosevelt quickly lifts his designation of the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden as a "combat zone." This means that US freighters are free to bring supplies directly to the British troops there.

Battle of the Atlantic: President Roosevelt informs Prime Minister Winston Churchill that he intends to shift the US Security Zone to 26 degrees west. He further intends to have US escorts for convoys to that point and requests that the Admiralty provide the US Navy with convoy information to accomplish this purpose. This is an astonishing request - anyone with that information holds the fate of Great Britain in his hands - but such is the trust between the two men that there is no question but that Churchill will supply the information. It just shows the depth of the relationship between England and the United States in this situation.

U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz), operating in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands, torpedoes and sinks 5285-ton Greek freighter Aegeon. There are four deaths.

Royal Navy 201-ton boom defense vessel HMS Othello and 56-ton boom tender HMS Yorkshire Belle, apparently operating very closely together, hit a mine and sink together at the entrance to the Humber. There are 11 deaths on the Othello and four on Yorkshire Belle.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Blankney (L-30, Lt. Commander Philip F. Powlett) is commissioned.

Associate Justice to the US Supreme Court Hugo. L. Black pens a note to legal scholar and author Beryl H. Levy, 11 April 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Afrika Korps has surrounded Tobruk on the landward side with the 5th Light Division and the Brescia Division, but of course the British supply route from Alexandria remains intact through the port. A sandstorm hits the perimeter during the afternoon, and the Germans use that as cover for an attack. However, the Australian/British troops focus their artillery on the trucks that have brought the Germans close to the perimeter, destroying many. The German attacks make no progress.

To the south, the British send a group of 14 tanks to relieve the port. Panzerjäger-Abteilung (Sfl.) 605 is waiting for them, however, and knocks out half a dozen of the tanks. This sends the British at El Adem into further retreat, so Lieutenant General Rommel sends his own panzers in pursuit of Bardia. They set off at once, not waiting for daybreak, reflecting the excellent morale in the Afrika Korps. Rommel also orders Forward Detachment Knabe (Gustav Georg Knabe) to join the pursuit toward Sollum in the morning.

Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Gnat continue their bombardment of the Libyan coast that they began last night. Tonight, they bombard Bomba and the Gazala airfield. A squadron led by light cruiser HMS Orion begins a two-day sweep along the Cyrenaican coast in Operation MBD 3.

British 6372 ton freighter Thurland Castle delivers a load of (apparently Italian) captured tanks from Tobruk to Alexandria. The two escorting destroyers, HMS Vendetta and Waterhen, then immediately turn around and escort another freighter back to Tobruk on a similar mission.

The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages 2018 ton British freighter Draco in Tobruk Harbor. The captain quickly beaches the ship, where it makes a tempting immobile target for further raids. There is one death, a gunner.

The Royal Navy is determined to interdict the Italian convoys running from Naples to Tripoli, so they send out four destroyers from Suda Bay, Crete to Malta. Their mission is to operate between Lampione Island and Kerkenah Bank and sink the convoy. However, they find nothing and return to port at Malta. It is unclear as of this date if the flotilla will remain in Malta to conduct further attacks. The RAF also is trying to interdict the convoys from Malta with Wellington bombers and Beauforts.

The Luftwaffe continues to have success flying out of Italian airfields. 7,/JG 26 is based at Gela, Sicily, and has many opportunities due to the heightened British concern about the convoys to Tripoli that are supplying General Rommel's Afrika Korps. Oblt. Müncheberg and Oblt. Mietusch of JG 26 shoot down Hurricanes of RAF No. 261 Squadron today among three total scored by the Staffel. I,/JG 27 is scheduled to proceed to North Africa to support the Afrika Korps, and they will be among the first to receive the newest version of the premiere Luftwaffe fighter, Bf 109Fs.

Wirth's circus, Sydney, Australia, April 11, 1941 (National Film & Sound Archive).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: There is a lot of convoy activity in the Indian Ocean. This reflects the importance of Australian and New Zealand troops to the Allied war effort in both Greece and North Africa, and also the fact that the Empire's war machine is shifting into high gear.

Troop Convoy US 10 is forming up in Australia and New Zealand. Today, 81,235-ton converted liner Queen Mary joins the convoy at Sydney. The Queen Mary isn't even the largest ship in the convoy, that honor goes to 83,673-ton Queen Elizabeth. There are several other large converted liners in Convoy US 10: 43,450-ton Ile De France, 35,739-ton Mauretania, and 36,287-ton Nieuw Amsterdam. These ships will disperse toward their own destinations with the Nieuw Amsterdam, for instance, going to Singapore and the others going to Colombo and thence Suez. Another convoy departs Madras today heading for Singapore, and a third, Convoy BM6, departs from Madras bound for Malaya.

Manufacturing Bofors antiaircraft guns, Hamilton, Ontario, 11 April 1941 (Gordon W. Powley, Reference Code: C 109-2-0-18 Archives of Ontario, I0008800).

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini wind up a meeting in Salzburg. Mussolini is getting cold feet about the war (as well he might, considering his military's performance to date), but Hitler remonstrates with him to keep fighting.

Italian/Croatian Relations: Now that he is the leader of an independent state and not just a loudmouth in exile, Ante Pavelić has the standing to meet with Mussolini. Previously Mussolini went many months without deigning to meet with Pavelic, who was camped out in Florence. Now, the two men meet as leaders and discuss Italian recognition of Croatia.

Soviet/Chinese Relations: Soviet Ambassador to the Chungking government Panyushkin meets with Chiang Kai-shek and affirms that the USSR is not supporting Japan.

Anglo/US Relations: A RAF B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number AN-531) departs Seattle, Washington bound for England via Canada. Manned by a British crew, it is one of the lesser-known elements of Lend-Lease.

Special Forces: Royal Norwegian Navy destroyer HNoMS Mansfield (G 76 - on loan from the Royal Navy) parks offshore Øksfjord in the far north of Norway (north Alta Fjord). It destroys the Øksfjord fish oil factory, the British believing that fish oil is an important part of the German diet (and it also can be used to manufacture weapons). The Mansfield lands a crew of commandos who complete the factory's destruction. The mission is a success.
POWs: French officer Alain Le Ray, a company commander with the French Chasseurs Alpins (mountain troops), escapes from Colditz Castle. He is the first escapee from the prison, that is, the first to get out of prison (eventually he is recaptured). Le Ray already has escaped from a different camp and was brought to Colditz because the Germans feel it is exceptionally secure. He escapes, not through a tunnel dug from the clock tower that he has been helping to build, but on his own. Le Ray notices a deserted house near an exercise yard that the prisoners are allowed to use, and today he slips into it, waits for everyone to return to the castle, and then climbs a wall and is gone.

Manufacturing a Bofors antiaircraft gun in Hamilton, Ontario, 11 April 1941 (Gordon W. Powley, Reference code C-109-2-0-18, Archives of Ontario, 10008802).

War Crimes: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2561 ton Greek hospital ship Attiki in Doro Channel (between Euboea and Andros). There are 28 crew deaths. Hospital ships are clearly marked and intended to be left alone. It always is a fuzzy area whether such incidents can be prosecuted based on intent, accidents, mistaken identity and the like. However, make no mistake, sinking hospital ships is frowned upon by both sides.

US Military: The US Army Air Corps publishes a request asking for bids for a bomber meet the following specification:

• 450 mph/720 km/h top speed
• 275 mph/443 km/h cruising speed
• a service ceiling of 45,000 ft/14,000 m
• range of 12,000 miles (19,000 km) at 25,000 ft/7600m

These are extraordinary specifications that exceed anything in the air. In fact, there are no operational fighters in the world that can achieve that top speed, let alone bombers. US aircraft designers are left scratching their heads at this wish list. This tender, however, is the genesis, after a mid-course correction on the requirements, of post-war bombers such as the Northrop B-35 and the Convair B-36.

General George S. Patton, Jr. formally takes over command of the 2nd Armored Division. This involves promotion to Major General. Patton is one of the premier tank experts in the world, having directed tank operations during World War I. Like Rommel, Patton likes to fly above his units to see exactly what they are capable of doing.

A single panel from a U.S. comic strip, 11 April 1941.

US Government: President Roosevelt creates the Office of Price Administration via Executive Order. Leon Henderson is charged with controlling prices and profits for the good of the war effort. This office will be in charge of rationing if and when it should occur.

British Government: Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS John Dill have returned from their diplomatic efforts in the Balkans. They give a presentation to the War Cabinet about the situation in the Mediterranean, which visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies summarizes in his diary:

Libya represents a gross underestimate of German capacity. Tobruk is a poor place to defend, with an extended perimeter, but Dill thinks the supply of anti-tank guns and field artillery quite good.

On the larger question of overall armored strength between the two sides, Dill is reassuring. He states that Germany only has 15 armored divisions out of its 200 total divisions, while Britain is forming "as many armored divisions as humanly possible" - though he does not place a number on them.

The stamp portraying Hitler's likeness at left is first issued 11 April 1941. It is an early commemoration of his 52nd birthday (20 April 1941).

German Government: Adolf Hitler is on the way in his train to his forward headquarters at Mönichkirchen. Armored train Atlas arrives in the town's station just to show how serious the occasion is.

Holocaust: The German Ministry of Propaganda publishes a one-page document called “Joodsche Weekblad” (Jewish Weekly) in Amsterdam. Ostensibly produced by the "Jewish Council of Amsterdam," it portrays Jewish life in Occupied Europe as proceeding in a fairly normal way - as opposed to the reality of the Ghettos and concentration camps.

American Homefront: The strike at the Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant ends after ten days. While both sides make concessions, the strike is a turning point in labor relations in the automobile industry because Ford becomes the last of the Big Three automakers to recognize the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Paramount Pictures releases "The Road to Zanzibar," the second "Road" comedy featuring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour. The picture is written by the same writers as 1940's "The Road to Singapore," is extremely similar in terms of structure and plot - and also is similar in the huge success the film enjoys, becoming the eighth highest-grossing picture of 1941. "The Road to Zanzibar" ensures that the "Road" pictures will become a continuing series.

Starlet Deanna Durbin files papers to wed Vaughn Paul. Durbin is considered a competitor of Judy Garland, and her films reportedly saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy. Paul is an assistant director

Deanna Durbin marries Vaughn Paul.

Tonight's episode of "Mandrake the Magician" is "Tommy Has Found Princess." The series features 15-minute programs featured on the Mutual Broadcasting System and airs five days a week. Raymond Edward Johnson voices Mandrake, who is based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk.

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 18 February 1941

HMS Dido, first of the Dido class of Royal Navy cruisers, in the Firth of Forth during February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There is little ground fighting aside from artillery barrages on 18 February 1941. The RAF raids Italian airfields in the Dodecanese Islands.

East African Campaign: In Abyssinia, the South African forces from Kenya have been advancing on Mega for some time. Today, they quickly take it, netting about a thousand prisoners. This opens the main road to Addis Ababa. On the Juba River line, the Italians counterattack the South African 1st Infantry Brigade.

European Air Operations: Activity is light today again due to the continuing poor weather. A few Luftwaffe planes drop a few bombs and strafe a train in East Anglia.

RAF Bomber Command bombed Basel, Switzerland on 16 December 1940, killing four women. It also bombed Zurich on 22 December, killing 22 people. Today, the British ambassador delivers a note to the Swiss Federal Council in Bern expressing "deep regret" for these attacks and agreeing to pay for damages. Later scholarship suggests that at least the first bombing wasn't quite as accidental as the British pretended at the time; they were targeting a ball-bearing factory in Basel which was suspected of supplying the German war machine. As with many aerial attacks of the time, the bombers completely missed the factory and hit a residential area instead.

U-203 is commissioned on 18 February 1941. It is a Type VIIC U-boat. Its armament is  4 x 21 Inch (533mm) Torpedo Tubes (Bow) (14 Torpedoes or 26 TMA Mines) 1 x 3.5 Inch (88mm) Deck Gun and Various AA Guns. The complement is four officers and 40-56 enlisted men.

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Lütjens, commanding Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, searches today for eastbound Convoy HX 111 in the shipping lanes. He is ready for action but finds nothing. He intends to keep searching tomorrow.

U-96 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) is having a successful third patrol out of Lorient. at 02:27, it puts a torpedo into 5589-ton British freighter Black Osprey, a straggler from Convoy HX 107. When the ship doesn't sink immediately, Lehmann-Willenbrock puts a second torpedo into it and it sinks at 02:39. That does the trick. Despite being in a convoy, due to the poor weather, there are only 11 survivors while 26 men perish. Many of the survivors are half-dead from exposure when found by Norwegian freighter Mosdale after being adrift for only 53 hours.

U-103 (Kptlt. Viktor Schütze) also is having a successful patrol. It torpedoes and sinks 5459-ton British freighter Seaforth. All 59 men on board perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks and damages 10,354-ton Dutch tanker Taria in the Northwest Approaches. The tanker makes it to Rothesay Bay.

The 8651-ton refrigerated cargo ship Duquesa (renamed Herzogin upon capture by the Germans), known to the Kriegsmarine as a "floating delicatessen" due to its extensive supplies of fresh meat and dairy products, is scuttled in the south Atlantic by supply ship Nordmark. This is due to no more fuel being available to maintain its refrigeration systems.

Vichy French 286-ton auxiliary minesweeper Marie Gilberte (AD 158) is lost this date from unknown causes.

In Convoy SC 21, British 4297-ton steel/vehicles freighter Middleton collides with Norwegian freighter Tungsha. The Middleton gets the worse of the encounter and sinks, but the crew survives.

Convoy OB 288 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC 23 departs from Halifax, convoy SL 66 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Gurkha (G 63, Commander Charles N. Lentaigne) and corvette HMS Veronica (K 37) are commissioned.

U-203 (Kapitänleutnant Rolf Mützelbur) is commissioned, U-502 is launched.

Harbor tug USS Noka (YN-54), acquired and commissioned 18 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Rommel's forces in Tripolitania pursuant to Operation Sunflower receive their new title: Afrika Korps. General Rommel formally organizes the 5th Light Division in Tripolitania. Already his forces have encountered advance British forces at Sirte, but the British have stopped advancing.

The Italian air force stages a massive raid against Benghazi. Combined with other recent raids to mine the harbor, this compels the British to close the port and rely upon Tobruk and other ports further east. Since the British are not advancing any more, this is not a major problem.

In any event, the British are looking east, not west. British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell briefs General Thomas Blamey, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, on his plans for Greece. Wavell is planning to send 2nd New Zealand Division, the 1st Armored Brigade, the Independent Polish Brigade, and the 6th and 7th Australian Divisions, all commanded by the 1st Australian Corps. This is to be called "Lustre Force."

Wavell tells Blamey that he already has talked to Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies about this - which, if so, Menzies only refers to obliquely in his voluminous diary (and he has quite a bit to say about it when he finally reaches London later in February). They did indeed talk recently in Cairo, though whether or not Wavell told Menzies about the extent of this operation is unknown. Menzies might choose not to discuss the issue in his diary for security concerns (though he talks about everything else), so its absence there is not determinative. However, just how honest Wavell is being when he implies the Australian government is already solidly behind this plan remains somewhat murky.

New Zealand Major General Bernard Freyberg already has been briefed about this Lustre Force operation, and much later comments:

There was no question of our being asked if we agreed. We attended and were given instructions to get ready to go … At that meeting my opinion was never asked. I was told the bare facts … In any case I never expected to be asked my opinion by the Commander-in-Chief [Wavell]. He was far from co-operative. He had the secrecy mania.

David Horner, High Command — Australia’s Struggle for an Independent War Strategy, 1939–1945, Sydney, 1982, p.67. In Wavell's defense, he knows about Ultra and is honor-bound to treat the source of his information with the utmost secrecy.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. The first operation was quite successful, and so is this one. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is ready to pass the canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet, but this keeps it in the Red Sea.

The Free French under Colonel Leclerc in southwest Libya continue investing the fortress at Kufra. The fortress of El Tag is well-defended with hundreds of soldiers, but the reserve captain commanding the Italian troops is unprepared. The French have the advantage of a 75 mm field gun which is firing away from 3 km away, as well as mortars sited 1.5 km away.

In Malta, the Admiralty declares a wide zone between North Africa, Italy, and Sardinia an area where surface vessels can be attacked on sight. This greatly expands the area from the original unrestricted warfare zone in the Adriatic.

"HMS SCIMITAR (H21) on escort duty in the North Atlantic." Photo taken 18 February 1941, convoy ships in the distance. © IWM (HU 110297).

Battle of the Pacific: Thousands of Australian troops arrive at Singapore aboard the Queen Mary. The men are from General Gordon Bennett's Australian 8th Infantry Division, including parts of the 22nd Infantry Brigade (2/18th, 2/19th, and 2/20th Battalions).

Norwegian/Finnish Relations: Oberst Erich Buschenhagen, Norwegian military Chief of Staff, visits Finland for consultations. The two countries share a border in the far north and thus have mutual defense issues. However, the real purpose of the talks is to probe Finnish willingness to join Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union.

Panzer Deine Waffe!

German Military: Adolf Hitler calls a meeting at the Berghof relating to tank designs in the Panzerwaffe (armored forces). He asks the Generals and industry men there to up-gun the Mark III and Mark IV tanks - the main battle tanks of the Wehrmacht, the Panzer I and II now being considered obsolete. Specifically, he wants a 60 mm gun in the Panzer III and a 75 mm gun in the Panzer IV. The tank designers object. General Keitel also objects that the project would require 20,000 skilled workers that are not available. Hitler brooks no objections, however, and tells everyone to get moving on the project, find men for the work and train them. This is a critical decision that dramatically improves the Wehrmacht's prospects in Operation Barbarossa.

This is a significant meeting because it punctures holes in two pet theories by some historians. First, apparently, there is no mention at this meeting of building a much larger tank. This explodes the claims by some latter-day historians that Hitler ordered work done on the Tiger tank due to British tanks encountered in France almost a year before this meeting. The urgency lies in simply improving the existing stock of panzers, which the military leaders agree should be good enough already but, well, improvements are never a bad thing, so why not?

Second, the meeting shows that, at least at this point in the war, Hitler really does have better ideas than his generals and others in some military areas. In hindsight, there is absolutely no question that the panzers need to be upgraded in order to tackle the tasks allotted to them. While the Wehrmacht has all sorts of difficulties later in the year, they would have been far worse if the work had not begun now on improving the panzerwaffe. Not upgrading the panzers before Operation Barbarossa would have been a cataclysmic error - and much more work should have been done in this error beyond simply putting new guns in the existing panzers.

US Military: The US Coast Guard Reserve is established.

Rear Admiral William P. Blandy becomes Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

This is a picture from a Historic American Buildings Survey by photographer George Neuschafer taken on 18 February 1941. This is the Morris-Goodwin House, Fort Elfsboro Road, Salem, Salem County, NJ. (Library of Congress).

US Government: Averill Harriman becomes President Roosevelt's latest choice to be his special representative in London.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Menzies continues his epic journey from Melbourne to London. Today, he flies from Lagos to Freetown, which he describes as "a considerable and modern looking town with a fine spacious harbor." In a great coincidence (see above), Menzies repeats his disdain for Wavell:

It all takes me back to the Libyan campaign - Wavell will get a peerage and a place in history, while O'Connor will get a C.B.!

Holocaust: IG Farben meets with Schlesien-Benzin Co. The topic is creating a Buna Werke (factory) to manufacture synthetic oil. The locations discussed Auschwitz, which one of the Schlesien-Benzin directors (Josenhans) comments:

The inhabitants of Auschwitz consist of 2000 Germans, 4000 Jews and 7000 Poles... The Jews and Poles, if industry is established there, will be turned out, so that the town will then be available for the staff of the factory... A concentration camp will be built in the immediate neighbourhood of Auschwitz for the Jews and Poles.

There already is a camp at Auschwitz, but the company men are dismayed by the quality of the potential labor force there. However, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering also approves the use of the Auschwitz workers today and feels they are good enough, so construction is soon underway.

Spanish Homefront: Fires have been raging at Santander. They leave 35,000 people homeless. This gives some strength to Francisco Franco's arguments to Hitler that Spain is not ready to enter the conflict.

Dutch Homefront: The atmosphere remains tense in Amsterdam, where German soldiers and Dutch police have been battling to retain control. While not quite an uprising, there have been numerous street incidents over the past week, with rebels taking control of certain locations.

Thomas Maskell Store, Main & Pine Streets, Greenwich, Cumberland County, NJ, 18 February 1941 (George Neuschafer, Library of Congress).

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020

Monday 5 August 1940

Spitfires over England, August 1940.

Battle of Britain: It is typical summer weather for a change on 5 August 1940, and the Luftwaffe gets busy. It is not a bad day for its forces at all. The Luftwaffe still is preparing for its maximum effort, though, so this is just another warm-up.

First thing in the morning, bombers attack shipping south of Selsey Bill. They have no success and wisely depart upon sighting RAF fighters.

Another formation of Junkers Ju 88s attacks the convoy about an hour later, around 08:00. The Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron based at Hornchurch intervene, and a dogfight erupts between them and Bf 109s of I,/JG54. The British lose a plane and the Luftwaffe has two damaged.

Another battle erupts around the same time along the coastline near Kent. RAF No. 64 Squadron sends its Spitfires up against more JG 54 fighters, both sides losing a fighter and another Bf 109 damaged.

The afternoon features the main event of the day. Junkers Ju 88s escorted by Bf 109s of JG 51 once again fall on Channel shipping. RAF Nos. 41 and 151 Squadrons intercept. A wild melee develops, with 7,/JG51 claiming three Spitfires for one loss of their own.

There also are various small-scale raids around Dungeness, with RAF No. 145 downing a Junkers Ju 88 and Henschel Hs 126, but also losing a Hurricane. Around 15:12, a lone raider bombs Norwich and causes more damage than you might think, blowing up a railroad installation and some nearby lumber yards. Lone intruders also hit various unconnected spots such as Brighton, Leighton Buzzard, Milford haven, Isle of Grain and Middlesborough. There also are some bombs dropped basically in the middle of nowhere around midnight in Northumberland, likely by a lost bomber or two. The attacks are random and scattered, thus difficult to defend against.

Another convoy attack takes place during the afternoon off Yarmouth. RAF No. 242 Squadron downs a bomber or two.

For its part, RAF Bomber Command continues its raids on airfields and ports in northwest Europe, attacking its usual targets of Schiphol/Amsterdam, Borkum, Hamburg, Kiel and nearby areas.

Most accounts give the day to the RAF by a wide margin, but a close look at the individual actions suggest a much closer score.

1,/JG51 suffers perhaps the most serious loss on its home field when Staffelkapitän Hptm. Douglas Pitcairn of 1./JG 51 runs into his wingman on takeoff. He has to be replaced by Oblt. Hermann-Friedrich Jöppien.

Stukas, August 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-56 (Oberleutnant zur See Otto Harms) stalks Convoy OB 193 off the Western Approaches. Just after dark, at 21:38, it fires off two torpedoes, one of which hits the 5408-ton British coal freighter Boma. There are 50 survivors, 3 crew perish.

276 ton trawler River Clyde hits a mine and sinks off Aldeburgh Light float, a dozen men perish.

British 5112 ton rice freighter Cape St. George hits a sunken wreck southeast of Cape Verde and sinks. All 65 aboard survive.

German raider Atlantis embarks the captured freighter Tirranna with 274 prisoners - all that will fit, there are still almost 100 left on the Atlantis - and sends it back to France with a prize crew.

Troop convoy WS 2 departs a British port, bound for British garrisons in India and Egypt via the Cape of Good Hope.

The Queen Mary enters a graving dock in Singapore for full conversion to a troopship, complete with paravanes.

Convoys MT 131 and OA 194 depart from Methil, Convoy FS 243 departs from the Tyne.

Battle of the Mediterranean: On Malta, there is an air raid alert at 15:15, but it is only an Italian decoy mission to attempt to engage the new Hurricane fighters. They fly over the island for a while, then fly off after briefly tangling with one of two Hurricanes which rise to challenge them. The Italians may figure that the new pilots brought in on the 2nd via Operation Hurry are inexperienced and thus would be easier to dispose of now rather than after more time passes - a view shared by Malta's Governor-General Dobbie.

General Sir Archibald Wavell flies in from his headquarters in Alexandria. Visits like this are extremely important for island morale. This is the first leg on an extremely hazardous journey to London for consultations, and of course, the entire thing is extremely hush-hush.

British Somaliland: The Italian invasion from Abyssinia continues against light opposition. Two of the three Italian columns capture their objectives, Hargeisa and Zeila, without much hindrance. The third column is approaching its objective, Odweina. Italian bombers are active throughout the region, attacking various British strong points on the coast such as Berbera, Burao, and Zeila. The British have virtually no air presence in the region.

Anglo/US Relations: Imperial Airways flying boat Clare makes the first of a series of mail/courier flights from Great Britain to New York's La Guardia Field aka New York Municipal Airport via Newfoundland.

British Ambassador Lord Lothian presents his government's proposal for a swap of certain British possessions in exchange for 50 or 60 old US destroyers.

French Vice-Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert, in command of Vichy forces in the French West Indies, meets with American Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade regarding the powerful French naval forces in the Western Hemisphere. This is a touchy subject: while the US and France are both technically neutral, the US has been supporting the British and Vichy France has been actively collaborating with Germany. However, every overseas French command has been making its own individual decision about who to support.

US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold Stark coordinates the exchange of scientific information with Sir Henry Tizard's British mission, which has just arrived.

Life Magazine, 5 August 1940, has a big spread on US Vacations.

Anglo/Polish Relations: The British sign another set of agreements with the Polish government-in-exile. Already, the Poles have staffed two RAF Squadrons which to date are performing extremely well. There have been some agreements before, but the situation continues to evolve. General Sikorski, now Polish Prime Minister and Commander in Chief, signs the agreement. The agreement enables Polish military forces in England to retain their national identity and military customs, such as marches and salutes. They remain under Polish Command in conjunction with the British War Office - ultimately, of course, under British command. They wear British uniforms (with certain modifications to badges and insignia to reflect national traditions) but adopt British Army staff methods, procedures, and organizations. Many locals are taken aback by the presence of the foreign-speaking soldiers with weird badges.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini have discussions. For once, Mussolini has something to brag about in British Somaliland.

German Military: OKW Chief of Staff Franz Halder reviews the first operational plans for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union planned for 1941. They have been prepared by staff officer General of Artillery Erich Marcks. It is called Operation Draft East. It proposes two thrusts to reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line (the "A-A Line") during a summer campaign. This would require the capture of Leningrad, Kyiv, Moscow, Stalingrad, the occupation of all territory west of the Volga, and most of the industrialized areas of the USSR, the entire Donetz basin, and the Grozny/Maikop oil fields before the snows hit.

While first drafts are not expected to be perfect, the draft's fantastic assumptions demonstrate the extreme confidence - over-confidence - of the Wehrmacht in its outlook following the victory in France. The fact that Marcks is not laughed out of Halder's office, but instead has his draft taken seriously, speaks volumes. Having an artillery officer draft the plans, which will call for extravagant panzer thrusts and highly mobile operations just to occupy that amount of territory in that amount of time, much less pry it out of the hands of the Soviets, shows how unrealistic the entire planning process is.

The Manly ferry in Sydney Australia approaches wharf number three in Circular Quay, August 5, 1940 (Photo from the Fairfax archives).

US Military: Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and Quincy continue their "show the flag" cruise to ports in South America, departing from Bahia for Pernambuco, Brazil.

US Government: President Roosevelt and US Attorney General Robert H. Jackson appear before the Governors of 42 States and urge the passage of laws against foreign spies and "Fifth Columnists."

Baltic States: Latvia joins its fellow Baltic States in "voluntarily" becoming the Soviet Socialist Republic of Latvia.

Holocaust: Germans are now required to carry a Certificate of Ancestry, the Ahnenpass, showing their racial purity stretching back to 1800. Interesting, several German leaders, including Adolf Hitler himself, might have some difficulty producing such documentation themselves.

In Holland, butchers are arrested for violating a new law banning the kosher preparation of meat.

US Homefront: Frederick Albert Cook passes away in New York. He claimed to reach the North Pole a year before Robert Peary in 1908, and while that (along with other claims) soon was dismissed, he did make important discoveries during his expeditions.

"Commander of Britain's Defense" Sir Alan F. Brooke graces the cover of today's Time Magazine.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Wednesday 26 June 1940

The 26 June 1940 Los Angeles Times headline notes that the "Air war rages over Britain."

Battle of the Atlantic: U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) stops 5,252 ton Greek freighter Dimitris off Cape Finisterre, Spain at 15:30. Captain Schuhart disembarks the crew and then sinks the freighter with gunfire.

U-UA (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) sinks 3,828-ton Norwegian freighter "Crux" about 300 miles west of Cape Vincent, Portugal at 02:28. All 30 onboard survive. The Crux had been sailing with Convoy OG-34 but had separated from that convoy.

German raider Widder captures Norwegian freighter Krossfonn and sends it to France with a prize crew.

The Admiralty extends the blockade to include France.

RMS Queen Mary, in use as a troopship, sets sail for the Middle East with 5,000 troops aboard.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian vessel Loasso hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by the British submarine HMS Rorqual.

European Air Operations: The RAF makes daylight raids on German oil installations with 13 bombers, and during the night attacks seaplane bases at Texel and Heider and airfields in Holland and Germany.

Italian raids on Malta continue. The raids come from both Libya and Sicily for the first time. The British air raid warning system fails to give alerts due to overnight storms which topple a radar mast, leading to 37 civilian deaths.

The Luftwaffe's night raids against Great Britain continue. KG 27 sends about 100 aircraft against northern England and southern Scotland. In addition, about three Heinkel 111s attack the docks at Avonmouth and Portishead. Some others attack the train station at Bristol. The Luftwaffe loses one bomber.

The Luftwaffe is withdrawing many of its fighter units to their home bases in Germany for rest and refit. JG 26 returns to its home bases on the Rhine, but before it does, it loses ace Lt. Otto-Heinrich Hillecke of II./JG 26 in a dogfight.

A major Luftwaffe conference is held at The Hague to discuss the new strategies necessary for a war against England. In attendance are: Generalfeldmarschall Göring, Generalluftzeugmeister Ernst Udet, General Albert Kesselring, Chief of Personnel General Kastner, General Bruno Lörner and ZG 1 Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Wolfgang Falck. Goering instructs Falck to set up a Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) force, initial formation designated NJG 1, which will have two groups: one of Bf 110s, and the other of Bf 109s. Falck chooses Macki Steinhoff to lead the second group.

Barricades on the A23 near Brighton, Sussex. 26 June 1940.

Western Front: German occupation troops reach the Spanish border near Irum.

Hitler concludes his visit to his old World War I battlefields.

Soviet/Romanian Relations: Soviet Union Foreign Minister Molotov demands 17,000 square km of Romanian territory in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Romania appeals to Hitler, who does not want any trouble at this time with the Soviets and encourages King Carol to give in.

De Gaulle, meanwhile, creates the French Volunteer Legion in England and sets up a center for armaments and scientific research.

British Military: Sir Alan Brooke, fresh off his command of the BEF, is named to command the Southern Command.

Turkey: The country reiterates its non-belligerency. Both sides are frantically trying to woo it.

Iran: Ali Mansur becomes the new Prime Minister.

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army occupies Mingchiang without opposition. This gives it control over the border with French Indochina, along which the Japanese have long suspected the French of supplying arms to China. The French already have pledged to discontinue any such shipments.

Soviet Homefront: A 7-day work week is instituted. No worker may quit a job without authorization. Being more than 20 minutes late to work becomes a criminal offense which will result in a 25% pay cut. These draconian measures are somewhat curious, as the USSR is not at war with anybody. The official justification is to ward off "capitalist aggression." However, the only somewhat-capitalist country nearby of any power happens to be Germany, supposedly an ally.

A pillbox on the promenade at Worthing, England, 26 June 1940.

British Homefront: The meat ration is cut.

The London Times takes umbrage at the continued humiliation of Her Majesty's Armed Forces by the Germans. It sniffs at the "refined cruelty to UK prisoners at Malines. All helmets are replaced by top hats, bowlers, bonnets, berets to make the POWs appear clownish."

French Homefront: It is the day of national mourning proclaimed by the government on the 25th.
German Homefront: It is the first day of national celebration, with bell-tolling and flag-waving. The government distributes free beer and roast meat on Berlin street corners by order of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. However, Goebbels rejects a proposal by Labour Minister Robert Ley to provide prostitutes for free.

American Homefront: The British firm Rolls Royce gives Packard Motor Car Company the license to build its engines for the P-51 Mustang fighter.

Life returns somewhat to normal in Amsterdam. 26 June 1940.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Sunday 28 April 1940

Dead British "Green Howards" after the battle at Otta, Norway on 28 April 1940.

Norway: The British cabinet, given a strong recommendation on the morning of 28 April 1940 from General Massy, affirms the Military Coordination Committee (MCC) decision on 27 April to evacuate Norway. Everything is prepared for a quick exit.

Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck is appointed commander of the British forces in Norway, now named the North-Western Expeditionary Force. He will oversee the evacuation.

Norway Army Operations: General Paget at Otta and General de Wiart at Namsos both receive orders to evacuate.

Paget tells Norwegian Commander in Chief Ruge at 05:00. Ruge gets angry at both the decision and not being told previously. He still believes that the defensive 15th Brigade south of Dombås can establish a permanent line, but the decision is final. He offers to assist with the retreat as long as Norwegian troops are included in the evacuation.

The 15th Brigade at Otta holds its line during the day, destroying three German light tanks. During the night, it withdraws 25 north to Dombås, where it can protect its own flank. They conduct a scorched-earth policy, blowing bridges as they go.

General de Wiart in Namsos withdraws his forces into a tighter, more defensible perimeter as he prepares to depart. He faces Luftwaffe attacks only.

The French 27th Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs Alpins deploys on the mainland at Sjovegan, north of Narvik.

Norway Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues bombing the British ports in northern Norway.

The Luftwaffe sends reinforcements and supplies to General Dietl's troops at Narvik with 89 Junkers Ju-52 transport planes.

Having downed a German Heinkel 111 the previous night, RAF pilot Captain Partridge has crash-landed nearby. He finds a hut, then hears someone outside - it is the crew of the bomber he shot down. He invites them in, they become friends and are picked up this morning by a Norwegian ski patrol.


Battle of the Atlantic: The Queen Mary, impressed into British military service, completes a record-breaking, 12-day trip from New York to Cape Town.

U-13 (Kapitänleutnant Max-Martin Schulte) torpedoes and damages 9,491-ton British tanker Scottish American west of Pentland, Firth.

Convoy OA 138 GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 138 departs from Liverpool.

Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto completed.

John Cage performing with his "prepared piano" in Seattle, 28 April 1940.

German Homefront: The Bayerische Motorenwerke BMW Mille Miglia Touring Coupe wins the Mille Miglia with an average speed of 166.7 km/h (103.6 mph).

American Homefront/Future History: John Cage, described as an "Avante-Garde experimentalist," debuts his "Bacchanale." It features his "prepared piano. The Seattle Daily Times describes "Bacchanale" as being "breathtaking in its speed and rhythm as well as unusual in its piano accompaniment." The National Academy of Arts and Letters will award Cage a $1000 honorarium - good money in those days - for the invention.

BMW Sweeps the Mille Miglia, April 28, 1940.

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel

2019