Battle of the Pacific: On the Malay Peninsula, the Indian 11th Division moves behind the Slim River on 3 January 1942. The Allied troops on the east coast also withdraw under pressure. Reinforcements arrive in Singapore, but these are newly formed units (45th Indian Brigade and an Indian Pioneer battalion) of little value. Of greater value are 51 disassembled Hurricane Mk IIBs that arrive with them along with 24 pilots (many of whom were veterans of the Battle of Britain). The 151st Maintenance Unit begins assembling the planes at breakneck speed. They are badly needed in Singapore and over the Malay Peninsula, where the Japanese have established aerial supremacy.
Arthur Edward Cûmming.
Arthur Edward Cûmming, a 45-year-old lieutenant colonel commanding the 2/12th Frontier Force Regiment in the Indian Army, counterattacks with a small party of men near Kuantan after the Japanese penetrate into their position. Despite receiving two bayonet wounds to the stomach and all of his other men also being wounded, Cûmming manages to stabilize the situation. He later drives an armored personnel carrier to rescue parties of his men who have been unable to withdraw and again is wounded, but rescues the men. For his valor, Cûmming is awarded the Victoria Cross. It is on display at the National Army Museum, Chelsea. Arthur Cûmming passes away in 1971.
Stern view of USS Runner (SS-275) from the south catwalk, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, 3 January 1942. It is a Gato-class submarine.
In British Borneo, the Japanese invade Labuan Island in Brunei Bay. The British have withdrawn in the mainland jungles, so there is no opposition. Later, the Japanese sail to the mainland at Mempakul and spread out from there.
In the Philippines, the Japanese continue advancing in Luzon toward the Bataan Peninsula. The Filipino 21st Army Division makes a stand near Pio, but the Japanese advance near Guagua.
USS Fitch (DD-462) under construction at the Boston Navy Yard, 3 January 1942. (Boston Navy Yard photograph 116-42, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-11125 via NavSource).
Eastern Front: German command problems continue on 3 January 1942 as the Red Army counteroffensive broadens. Already, two army group commanders and numerous generals such as Heinz Guderian have been sacked. The generals now are fighting over retaining control over units the OKH and Hitler want to be transferred between commands. General Georg-Hans Reinhardt, commander of 3rd Panzer Army, refuses an order from General Adolf Strauß at Ninth Army, who has been given control over the 3rd Panzer Army. The situation in Army Group Center always has had these ad hoc commands, where one army is given command of another, but Reinhardt is upset about the refusal of Strauß to give him command over V Panzer Corps, which had been transferred to his sector. Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge finally has to threaten Reinhardt with a court-martial if he does not obey Ninth Army's orders. This is a prime example of the diva-ish behavior that regularly breaks out within the upper ranks of the Wehrmacht.
Soviet troops are advancing Rzhev, which had been far behind the front lines a few weeks ago. The Luftwaffe manages to operate despite -40 °F temperatures and flies in a battalion of reinforcements. The Germans have requisitioned winter clothing from the local inhabitants and learned ways to keep their machine guns and other automatic weapons working. This gives them a fighting chance to hold Rzhev, which is an important railhead and the entrance to the "land bridge" to Moscow.
SS Langkoeas, a 7395-ton Dutch freighter that is torpedoed and sunk in the Java Sea north of Bawean, Dutch East Indies, by I-58 on 3 January 1942. The crew takes to lifeboats. I-58 surfaces and rams a lifeboat and machine-guns almost all fo the survivors. The Japanese then take three survivors aboard the submarine, where Lt. Cdr Kitamura interrogates them and then has them thrown back into the sea. The three men cling to a raft for four or five days until they wash ashore on Bawean Island. A Dutch PBY Catalina later arrives and takes them to Surabaya.
Further south, Junkers Ju 87 Stukas of StG 77 attack Soviet shipping off the Kerch Peninsula. They bomb and badly damage Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz. It is under repair until October 1942. On land, the Germans begin building up forces for a counterattack along a line about 10 miles west of Feodosia while the Soviet 51st, which has occupied the entire Kerch Peninsula, begins moving slowly west to reinforce the 44th Army. General Erich von Manstein, commander of 11th Army, sends 30 Corps under the command of Generalmajor Maximilian Fretter-Pico and also two other divisions from the Sevastopol perimeter to buttress the new line in the east. The Germans plan a counterattack as quickly as possible but it will take a couple of weeks to launch.
Allied Relations: At the Arcadia Conference in Washington, D.C., the Allies announce their formation of the American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA, or ABDACOM) command. British General Sir Archibald P. Wavell is the overall commander, with US Major General George Brett his deputy. Wavell's task is to stop the Japanese advance, restore communications with the Philippines, and save Australia, Singapore, and Burma.
The American Dancer, Vol. 15, no. 3, January 1942.
Eastern Front: There are many command changes during World War II on both sides. However, on 5 October 1941, the Wehrmacht makes a seemingly routine change that reverberates across the conduct of the war in the East and also reveals some unpleasant truths about the state of the Wehrmacht in 1941.
The Peterhof Memorial. This commemorates a failed Soviet landing at Peterhof Palace at Petergof, Leningrad on 5 October 1941. The Soviets landed 510 troops with the intent of seizing the town, which the Germans had captured on 23 September, and blocking the highway. The landing was a complete and utter disaster, with the German defenders killing or capturing the entire landing party by 7 October.
The southern flank of the German advance during Operation Barbarossa has been both the most and the least, successful of the three main prongs of the offensive. While it is the only army group that has actually met its main objective by capturing Kyiv, this required a diversion of the main striking power from Army Group Center, namely General Guderian's Panzer Group 2, to the south. The major port city of Odessa has been given to the Romanians to subdue, and while it now is far behind the main front, the Soviets there still hold out. Dissatisfaction at the pace of operations throughout the sector under the leadership of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt has been growing for weeks.
Oberleutnant Peter Kiesgen wins the Knight's Cross on 5 October 1941. Kiesgen is Führer (Leader) of 1./Infanterie-Regiment 239 of the 106. Infanterie-Division. Note the five tank destruction badges on his sleeve, earned by personally destroying an enemy tank. He also is wearing the Infantry Assault Badge, Iron Cross First and Second Class, Wounded Badge in Black and on the right-center pocket the Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords. Obviously, Kiesgen is a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and someone who engages in combat.
The commander of the 11th Army at the extreme south of the line at the start of Operation Barbarossa, Colonel-General Eugen Ritter von Schobert, perished on 12 September 1941 when his Fiesler Storch observation plane landed in a minefield. He was replaced by General Erich von Manstein, previously a corps commander. On 5 October 1941, the army holding the line just to the north of the 11th Army, 17th Army, also gets a new commander. However, this command change is a little different and has nothing to do with anyone dying. Instead, the reason is a little more subtle and much more complex.
General of Infantry Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel.
General of the Infantry Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel is a World War I veteran and a former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Army. However, his actual command experience is very limited. General Franz Halder, Chief of Staff of OKH, has been hinting in his diary that von Stülpnagel's performance has been unacceptable. For instance, on 3 October 1941 Halder cryptically wrote in his war diary that:
Regrouping of Sixth and Seventeenth Army has been initiated. The method chosen by the Army Group, to order the two left-wing Corps of Seventeenth Army to strike northeast, under its direct control, for the time being, is an indication of tensions within the Army Group.
The next day, on 4 October 1941, Halder wrote the following:
[17th Army] Commanding General, von Stülpnagel, has reported sick. This illness is the result of the pressure brought to bear on him because of his timid leadership. Intervention by the Army Group a few days ago in taking the command of his northern wing out of his hands and so getting the movement underway again, probably is as much a cause of this illness as is the letter from the Army Commanding General.
It is very rare for Halder to be openly caustic about his colleagues in his war diary, so to see him openly calling von Stülpnagel "timid" is shocking. This is about the worst thing that a commanding general can be called during the war on either side and invariably leads to their replacement. Being too aggressive can be worse than being too timid, but it seldom gets a general fired.
Panamanian 744-ton freighter SS C. Jon, sunk southwest of Ireland on 5 October 1941 by U-204.
Some note that Von Stülpnagel's history of riding a desk may be one cause of this "timidness." However, there may be a darker reason that Halder does not know. For some time, von Stülpnagel has been a secret opponent of Hitler. Like many of the generals, von Stülpnagel was upset by the Blomberg–Fritsch affair in January 1938. The Sudeten Crisis later in 1938 changed von Stülpnagel from being a passive resister to an active one. He initiated contact with the Schwarze Kapelle (Black Orchestra, a group of officers within the Wehrmacht who wished to overthrow Hitler) and revealing the secret plan for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. He remained a conspirator for the rest of his life. Thus, von Stülpnagel does not his heart in German conquest, which may explain his "timid" leadership.
Having reported himself sick, which is a typical ruse by German generals to resign without actually resigning, von Stülpnagel needs to be replaced. The German high command now makes the utterly unfathomable decision to replace von Stülpnagel with Hermann Hoth, the commander of Panzer Group 3. There are several reasons why this is odd. Hoth is a panzer expert, one of the best of World War II, and the 17th Army is not a panzer formation. In addition, Hoth has been having great success with his command of Panzer Group 3, which is about to be upgraded to a full Panzer Army. Finally, Panzer Group 3 is in an absolutely critical situation, being the left arm of the Wehrmacht's advance on Moscow. Replacing its commander at such a critical juncture is just asking for trouble. Hoth is replaced at Panzer Group 3 by General Georg-Hans Reinhardt, the commander of XLI Panzer Corps. While Reinhardt is a capable officer, switching command right as the panzer group is delicately trying to execute a movement that may determine the outcome of the entire war is a very risky decision. In addition, Reinhardt also will have to be replaced in his critical position in Panzer Group 3. This is akin to taking a winning formula and starting from scratch.
General Hermann Hoth.
It is unclear why Hoth is forced to move at this time from a critical point on the front to an unimportant, but a hardly critical, area. The reason may be that Field Marshal von Rundstedt in charge of the army group is the senior officer in the Wehrmacht and basically has his pick of replacements. He previously chose Manstein for the 11th Army because they had worked together well in planning the successful invasion through the Ardennes in 1940. Hoth is a dashing, aggressive tactician who does not carry the baggage of General Guderian at Panzer Group 2, who is well known to be a difficult subordinate. General Hoth can be expected to be aggressive without becoming a problem, exactly what von Rundstedt needs.
German Prisoners being loaded on ships in exchange for British prisoners waiting in Dieppe, France, 5 October 1941. There were several such trips during this exchange, including German women nurses repatriated for British nurses.
How this impacts Operation Typhoon, the drive to Moscow, is not really his concern - German generals are notorious for only worrying about their own operations and not those being handled by other commands. However, from a larger perspective, removing a successful commander such as Hoth from an absolutely critical operation, the advance on Moscow, is not positive for the German war effort. It is one of those oft-overlooked "details" that can be the difference between ultimate victory and defeat.
October 1941. An exterior view of the White Tower (called "White Tavern" in the LOC captions and eventually to be called "White Castle") restaurant in Amsterdam, New York. Medium-format nitrate negative by John Collier for the Farm Security Administration.
A Luftwaffe officer checks his flare gun in North Africa on 16 September 1941 (Billhardt, Willi, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0859-09).
Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht scores a major success on 16 September 1941. German General Hans-Valentin Hube's 16th Panzer Division (General von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group) meets 3rd Panzer Division (General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group) at Lokhvista, Ukraine, 125 miles (201 kilometers) east of Kiev. While the German line still needs to be strengthened, this meeting is the first major step in trapping four Soviet armies (5, 21, 26 and 37) and over 600,000 soldiers at Kiev.
Marshal Budyenny, in command of the Southwest Direction, already has asked for permission to retreat. Joseph Stalin has denied that request. General Timoshenko of the Stavka does authorize a withdrawal by Budyenny today. However, the order must be ratified by Stalin, and he does not do so for 48 more hours.
As most military historians would agree, major encirclements generally require the cooperation of both the attacker and the attacked. The Soviets are cooperating in this encirclement of Kiev.
Italian submarine Smeraldo is presumed lost due to a mine somewhere between Sicily and Tunisia around 16 September 1941.
The Germans make more symbolic progress toward another major objective. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, gives the upcoming attack on Moscow the code name "Unternehmen Typhoon." This is in accordance with Adolf Hitler's recent Fuehrer Directive authorizing the attack.
On the Black Sea coast, Romanian troops make a little progress in their attack on Odessa. They capture the heights northwest of the Gross-Liebenthal district of Odessa, Ukraine. The Soviets quickly send troops by sea from Novorossisk in the Caucasus to reinforce the reeling defense of Odessa.
At Leningrad, the news is a little better for the Soviets. The following day, Recently arrived General Georgy Zhukov manages to halt his troops' withdrawals at Uritsk despite continued fierce fighting in the city’s suburbs. Army Group North Commander Field Marshal von Leeb now has run out of time, as he is under orders to transfer his panzer troops south for the upcoming Operation Typhoon.
Generalleutnant Georg-Hans Reinhardt (in goggles) and Generalmajor Walter Krüger in 1941 (Tannenberg, Hugo, Federal Archive Bild 101I-209-0076-02).
Accordingly, General George-Hans Reinhardt, commander of XLI Corps, begins pulling the 1st Panzer and 36th Motorized out of the line. He makes plans to move his corps headquarters to move with the 6th Panzer to deploy for Operation Typhoon. Panzer Group 4 Headquarters also prepares to move southeast for the offensive. This brings to a close the Germans' attempt to take Leningrad by force. Now, the only option is to starve the city into submission. Leningrad has been saved, but its worst days lie ahead.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-98 (Kptlt. Robert Gysae), on its fourth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 4392-ton British freighter MV Jedmoor, which is traveling with Convoy SC-42 in the Western Approaches. There are 32 deaths and five survivors. Among those lost in the Jedmoor is Merchant Navy Able Seaman Percy Wilfred Turner, age 55, the son of Captain William Thomas Turner, the captain of the Lusitania when it was sunk in 1915. Turner had died in 1933.
RN Smeraldo, sunk ca. 16 September 1941..
Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian submarine Smeraldo, which departed on a patrol on 15 September 1941, is not heard from after 16 September 1941. It is presumed that Smeraldo hit a mine and sank at some point between 16 and 26 September 1941, the latter date being its scheduled return to port.
Partisans: Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel orders that for every German soldier killed by partisans (who the Germans call "bandits"), 100 Russians are to be executed. This is one of a series of very controversial and illegal orders that Keitel issues in the summer of 1941.
A Stuka crew assembles its equipment in North Africa on 16 September 1941 (Billhardt, Willi, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0859-12).
Eastern Front: Throughout World War II, the Germans learn certain "tells" about Soviet intentions. For instance, when Soviet units suddenly stop using their radios and "go dark" in a certain sector, that invariably means they are about to launch an offensive there. Every army has such tendencies, though some are more subtle than others.
The presence of General (later Marshal) Georgy Zhukov in a sector was such a "tell." Zhukov was a close Stalin confidante and the hero of, among other things, the victory over the Japanese at Khalkin Gol in Manchukuo/Mongolia in August 1939. Whether or not Zhukov was a military genius, which he apparently was, he had Stalin's absolute backing and could count on whatever resources he required to achieve his ends. For the Germans, it was an ominous indication that the Soviets placed great importance on whatever was planned for that area.
U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastator aircraft of Torpedo Squadron 5 (VT-5) parked at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia (USA), on 13 September 1941. Beyond them are Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless planes of Bombing Squadron 5 (VB-5), with Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters and Vought SB2U Vindicator scout bombers further in the left background. These aircraft are from USS Yorktown (CV-5) (Official U.S. Navy photo 80-CF-55215-7 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command, US National Archives).
On 13 September 1941, Zhukhov flies into besieged Leningrad along with Major-Generals Ivan Ivanovich Fediuninsky and Mikhail Semenovich Khozin. As soon as he steps off the plane, Zhukov walks over to Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, himself one of the top Soviet commanders, and hands him a note from Stalin. It names Zhukov as Voroshilov's replacement:
Hand over the Front to him and come back by the same plane. Stalin.
And that was it. Zhukov was in command at Leningrad.
For the garrison of Leningrad, Zhukov arrives like the first icy winds of winter. He institutes the death penalty for dereliction of duty, orders immediate costly but effective counterattacks, and brings the scattered military and civilian forces available for the defense under a tight grip.
Zhukov sends General Fedyuninsky to the headquarters of the 42nd Army. Fedyuninsky finds General Ivanov, commander of the army, "sitting with his head in his hands, unable to even point out the location of his troops." Fedyuninsky reports this to Zhukov, who replies, "Take over the 42nd Army - and quick."
A German diver getting into the water to clear water from the harbor at Reval (Tallinn), the capital of Estonia (Dumm, Federal Archives Bild 146-2004-225).
Meanwhile, the Germans are still pressing in on Leningrad. Army Group North commander Field Marshal von Leeb is under orders to sends his panzer divisions south for the attack on Moscow, but he uses them today to tighten the grip on Leningrad. General George-Hans Reinhardt’s XLI corps (1st and 6th Panzer and 36th Motorized Divisions) and General Wilhelm von Chappius' 38th Army Corps (1st, 58th, 254th, and 291st Infantry Divisions) break through the Soviet line north of Krasnoe Sela. L Army Corps takes Krasnogvardiesk in conjunction with Reinhardt's troops.
While von Leeb does advance a bit closer to Leningrad, this does not really accomplish much. He has been ordered to blockade the city, not take it, and he already has done that. Von Leeb already is under orders to relinquish the panzers and send them south for the drive on Moscow. Small gains on the city's outskirts mean little. Using the armor in fierce attacks causes losses and wear and tear, and the panzers are already in bad shape after having had little downtime since Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. Thus, for no real benefit, von Leeb impairs the effectiveness of armor that might make a difference in the advance planned toward Moscow. This is typical behavior for the German generals, who tend to focus on their own army's affairs at the expense of the greater good of the German war effort.
Battle of the Baltic: Finnish capital ship Ilmarinen, participating in Operation Nordwind, hits a mine and sinks. There are 271 casualties or 7% of the entire Finnish naval arm. It is the costliest loss in the history of the Finnish Navy.
German Military: Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders marries Luise Baldauf.
The wedding ceremony of Werner Mölders and Luise Baldauf. This is her second marriage, and she will give birth to their daughter Verena following his death in November. Luise passed away on 21 April 2011.
Germans crossing the Meuse on 16 May 1940 (Schmidt, Federal Archive).
Western Front: The Allied line is in disarray on 16 May 1940 in both France and Belgium. Paris is still safe - for the moment - but the Belgian government packs up and moves to Ostend.
Following a disastrous meeting with British Prime Minister Churchill (see below), French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud replaces General Gamelin with General Weygand - who is unfamiliar with the condition of the campaign and must fly up from Syria.
The Wehrmacht is moving with lightning speed. The Blitzkrieg is at its height, with the Luftwaffe blazing a trail for fast mobile forces. The speed of the panzers is preventing a coherent Allies response. Nobody really knows where the front is from hour to hour, and this prevents effective counter-measures. French attempts to counter-attack are hampered by refugees clogging the roads, an inability to know precisely where the Germans are, and roads littered with the destruction already caused by the German panzers, artillery, and Luftwaffe.
In France, "Fast Heinz" Guderian is now 60 miles west of Sedan, at Montcornet and around St. Quentin. General Hoth has his XV Panzer Corps, led by Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, a little further north in the Avesnes-sur-Helpe/Cambrai vicinity. As part of his move forward, Rommel's panzers serendipitously cut through the French 5th Motorised Infantry Division which is conveniently bivouacked on both sides of the very road that Rommel is using. Rommel destroys the French unit, leaving it with just 3 tanks as it retreats in disarray.
Raadhuisstraat, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 16 May 1940. The Wehrmacht arrives in strength. “Thousands of citizens of Amsterdam lined the roads to watch the impressive panzer vehicles, motorcycle brigades, army vehicles and so forth, that filed past in perfectly disciplined columns.”
On Army Group A's left flank, the battle on the Stonne Plateau continues. The village of Stonne changes hands repeatedly, but the French counterattack makes no lasting gains. To the Wehrmacht, this battle is meaningless, but it protects the flank of the panzer forces moving quickly westward. The further they go, however, the more vulnerable their flanks become to other attacks - if the French can find the troops to mount them. The Battle of Stonne Plateau also reveals that the French tanks are quite capable and a match for the best German tanks, the Panzer IV medium tanks. A French Char B1 Bis tank destroys 2 Panzer IVs and 11 Panzer IIs while shrugging off dozens of standard German anti-tank hits.
The strategic implication of the Rommel/Guderian advance is that the Wehrmacht could separate the BEF and some French forces from the heart of France. By advancing independently on parallel lines, they provide each other with flank protection. This part of the campaign is known as "The Dash to the Channel." The dash is to Abbeville, which effectively would seal off Allied forces farther north.
The Germans are also waging a campaign against the Maginot Line. Around mid-day, the artillery of the 71st Infantry Division begins shelling the town of Villy and a fortress of the Line that overlooks it called La Ferté.
In Belgium, the Allies retreat from the Dyle Line to a new line on the Scheldt River, which was their jumping-off point before springing forward to the Dyle Line. This effectively abandons Belgium to the Wehrmacht.
The German 6th Army under Reinhardt disperses the Belgian K-W Line.
At Gembloux, the day's battle ends in a tactical stalemate, but a strategic victory for the Germans. The French line is never pierced and they batter the attacking Germans, but the deteriorating situation west of Sedan imperils the Allied lines of communication. At dusk, the French are ordered back to the French border to protect their own flanks. The failure to finish off the French today, though, has huge negative consequences in the coming weeks for the Germans.
Map noting German advances in France and the Low Countries between 10 and 16 May 1940. (US Military Academy).
Battle of the Atlantic: The French send their destroyers Fougueux, Frondeur, Cyclone, and Siroco to bombard the Germans in the vicinity of Walcheren and South Beveland.
The Royal Navy sends the carrier Furious to Norway to ferry Gladiator and Hurricane fighters.
German raider Widder meets supply ship Nordmark to refuel.
Troop convoy US 2 from Australia brings the 17th Infantry Brigade to Egypt.
Convoy OA 149 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 149 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 30F forms at Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 43 departs from Halifax.
European Air Operations: France sends 26 of its brand new LeO 451 second-generation bombers against the panzers refueling at Montcornet. They lose four of their number.
The RAF moves its bases from near the Meuse closer to Paris, near Troyes at Anglure.
P/O Kenneth NT "Hawkeye" Lee was rushed with No 501 Squadron RAF to Bétheniville on 10 May 1940 and accounted for 3 enemy aircraft in the next 3 days. Forced to retreat to Anglure on 16 May and to Le Mans on 2 June, the 24-year-old pilot destroyed two more. On exhausting his ammunition while attacking a Heinkel He 111 on 10 June, he turned away when his Hurricane Mk I blew up and bailed out, hitting the tailplane. Injured in the hand and leg, he was evacuated to Britain 10 days later from Saint-Malo.
Narvik: The Luftwaffe continues its gradual reinforcement of General Dietl's troops at Narvik, dropping another 76 paratroopers (Fallschirmjaeger) of the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment.
Anglo/French Relations: Winston Churchill flies to Paris to consult with Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, Defense Minister Daladier and General Gamelin. In his memoirs, Churchill recalls that he asked Gamelin at this meeting, first in English and then in French, “Where is the strategic reserve?” (“Où est la masse de manoeuvre?”). Gamelin simply replied, “Aucune!” ("There is none"). This led Reynaud to replace Gamelin with Weygand.
Churchill also notes: "In the garden of the Quai d'Orsay I see venerable officials burning secret documents. Already evacuation of Paris is being prepared." It is a common scene in European capitals recently. Anglo/American Relations: President Roosevelt responds to Prime Minister Churchill's shopping list of 14 May. He notes that he will require "specific authorization of the Congress" for some of the requests and that he will keep the US fleet at Hawaii "at least for the time being." US Government: President Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress. He establishes a target of 50,000 military aircraft a year. This appears from all experience to be an unreachable goal. He requests a total of $900,000,000 appropriation to fund this project. His individual requests include $546 million for the Army, $250 million for the Navy/Marine Corps, and $100 million for the Executive branch to handle contingencies. These are all unheard-of amounts of money.
Ireland: The Irish government, which has been maintaining strict neutrality, requests arms from the British government to equip the Irish Army.
Holocaust: In Occupied (rump) Poland, Gauleiter Hans Frank orders arrest and execution of Polish political, professional and religious leaders.
China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the commander of the Chinese 33rd Army Group of the Chinese 5th War Area, General Chang Tze-Chung, is killed in action as his troops recapture Tsaoyang.
Germans crossing the Meuse, 16 May 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).
The SS crosses the Meuse near Mook on 13 May 1940.
Western Front: It is a good day for German Generals who lead from the front.
On the morning of 13 May 1940, General Erwin Rommel's 7th "Ghost" Panzer Division is the first Wehrmacht unit across the Meuse near Dinant. He personally finds a weir and lock gate across the river that his troops can use to establish a bridgehead, and sends over motorcycle troops. His troops spend the rest of the day slowly expanding the bridgehead against scattered French opposition. Taking the broadest view, Rommel's troops threaten to separate the BEF from France if they eventually reach the coast at Abbeville.
The other German formations further south are also across during the day. Generals Guderian and Reinhardt make crossings at Sedan and Monthermé, respectively. Guderian's crossing by XIX Corps includes portions of 1st Panzer Division, 2nd Panzer Division, 10th Panzer Division, and (SS) Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland. This part of Panzer Group Kleist's breakout threatens a penetration into good tank country in the French heartland and is a serious breach of the Allied line. Guderian's men take a more traditional approach than Rommel's, with their initial crossing in rubber boats. There are still some French holdouts in Sedan, but many are beginning to surrender as the Luftwaffe launches mass raids at them (1000 bombers, including Stukas, engage in hours of bombing). Guderian is the first General firmly on French territory, and he gains the nickname "Fast Heinz."
This is true Blitzkrieg stuff, with the Stukas blasting holes through the French lines for the German troops to capitalize on. All of the German bridgeheads quickly put up pontoon bridges by evening. Tanks are able to cross and help expand the slender German footholds. French General Huntzinger has brave words about the penetrations: "That will just mean we take more prisoners."
However, the nearby French troops are not nearly as sanguine. The French troops begin to panic - in fact, the situation is known as the "Panic of Bulson" due to French troops fleeing a portion of the line on Bulson ridge 10 km (6.2 miles) behind the river. Any French chance to pierce the German bridgehead or even contain it is lost within the opening hours due to this panic and slow reflexes by the Supreme Allied Headquarters.
Northeast of Namur, Belgium, the French 2nd and 3rd Light Mechanized Divisions fight the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions of the German XVI Corps of the 6th Army. There is fierce fighting with many destroyed tanks throughout the day. The French tanks line up in a long line to cover the Gembloux gap, a strategy that fails. The Germans prevail through sheer numbers. While many German tanks are disabled, the Wehrmacht retains possession of the battlefield and many of them can be repaired; the French, however, incur staggering tank losses (roughly 105 tanks lost), with all complete write-offs. The French retreat to a defensive position at Gembloux.
The Germans take Liege.
German ground troops link with the paratroopers holding the bridges at Moerdijk, a rare success for the airborne troops. The 9th Panzer Division of 18th Army breaks into "Fortress Holland" and is approaching Rotterdam from the south. The 22nd Flieger Division holds key bridges in the city. The Germans are approaching the Nieuwe Maas River.
At the Afsluitdijk in the far north, German troops advance after 62 Luftwaffe planes bomb Fort Kornwerderzand, losing four of their number. The assault fails completely, with heavy German casualties.
At Grebbeberg, the Germans shift their axis of attack to the north of the main hill. The Dutch are hampered by the withdrawal of support aircraft to fight the German penetrations across the Meuse to the south. Attacking first, the Dutch make some gains, but the Germans begin their own preparatory bombardment for an attack, and this, combined with rampant confusion and much friendly fire, destroys the Dutch attack. The Germans seize upon the confusion, mount attacks all along the line, and in the end, the entire Dutch line falls. In the process, Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Hilmar Wäckerle and his battalion of the SS brigade, who had impetuously advanced through the Dutch lines on the 12th and then been surrounded in a factory, are relieved.
The Allies, ensconced on the Dyle Line, have taken some prisoners. Some 900 German POWs are transported to Britain aboard Dutch ship Phrontis.
The BEF receives reinforcements, as the British 2nd Battalion of Irish Guards Regiment arrives at Hook of Holland.
Rommel's troops cross the Meuse. That building in the background is still there. You can recognize that it is near Dinant by the steep bluffs.
European Air Operations: New French fighters appear over the front. Dewoitine D-520 fighters, which match any other fighters in the world, engage Bf 109s over the Meuse front and have a great debut, destroying four Luftwaffe planes without loss to themselves.
RAF bomber command switches to tactical missions, attacking bridges and roads around the German breakouts near Maastricht and Eindhoven.
Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Widder continues its journey along the Norwegian coast. British submarine HMS Clyde spots Widder but is unable to damage it.
Dutch submarines HNLMS O-23 (P-23) ( Lt. Commander Gerard Koudijs) and HNLMS O-24 (P-24) (Lt. Commander Gerardus B. M. van Erkel) are commissioned.
Norway: It is twilight throughout the night in Narvik. The Allies advance on Narvik from Harstad. Norwegian 6th Infantry Brigade leads the assault on Narvik. The Wehrmacht troops in Narvik are heavily outnumbered, one regiment facing several divisions, but are well-led and have advantages of terrain. British cruisers HMS Aurora and HMS Effingham bombard Bjerkvik early in the morning. At 01:00, the French land the Foreign Legion and light tanks at Bjerkvik and Øyjord (13th Demi-Brigade Legion Etranger). This position can be used for landings across the Rombaksfjord, and also offers the chance to cut the main Narvik rail line to Sweden. The French take 36 casualties, and the local citizens also suffer. British No. 2 Independent Company arrives in Bodo.
British Government: While introducing his new war cabinet in a radio broadcast, Winston Churchill fires off one of his best lines: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." The aim is:
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival.
His new Minister of Labour and National Service is Ernest Bevin, appropriately a Labour politician in Churchill's coalition government.
War Crimes: The Battle of Grebbeberg is fiercely fought, and there have been potential war crimes on both sides. Obersturmbannführer Wäckerle, in a desperate situation (he could not foresee the fall of the Dutch defenses so quickly), uses Dutch prisoners as human shields to break out. He also orders his men to don Dutch uniforms - though they forget to put on Dutch boots, which gives them away. The real Dutch units recognize the deception and fire on the escaping SS men, whose breakout fails. Wäckerle himself is badly wounded and evacuated once his troops are rescued.
Holland: Several members of the royal family, including Queen Wilhelmina (aboard HMS Hereward), and part of the Dutch government (HMS Windsor) arrive in London.
Canada: Robert Manion, whose leadership of the Conservative Party has been disastrous and who even was defeated in his own seat, formally resigns as leader of the party.
British Homefront: The British government interns all Germans and Austrians in England as possible saboteurs.
China: US gunboat USS Tutuila (PR 4), stranded on a reef in the Yangtze River near Chungking, escapes from its predicament.
