Eastern Front: General Erich von Manstein has been given the task of conquering the Crimea with his 11th Army. So far, it has gone quickly and fairly routinely as these things go. On 10 November 1941, he launches his first planned attack on the Soviet naval base of Sevastopol in the southeastern section of the Crimea. It is well-defended and surrounded by natural obstacles but defended by isolated and presumably demoralized troops. Sevastopol does not seem like much of a problem. As OKH Chief of Staff Franz Halder confidently notes in his war diary on 10 November 1941:
Good progress has been made in the Crimea, but it will take a few more days before we have cleared out the last enemy.
So, everything thing is going as planned and Soviet resistance is collapsing as everyone knew it would. Manstein uses the 50th Infantry Division to begin the assault in the area southeast of Sevastopol. It is commanded by Lieutenant General Karl-Adolf Hollidt, a recipient of both classes of the Iron Cross during World War I who is considered a true fighting general. General Hollidt is just the man to roll into Sevastopol and accept the honor of the surrender.
Private Nancy Stewart Eglinton of Adelaide. She volunteered on 10 November 1941 to serve in the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) and later served with the newly formed Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (Australian War Memorial P03947.001).
Hollidt's attack makes good ground in the direction of Balaklava. His men capture Uppa near the upper reaches of the Chorna (Chernaya) River, which flows into Sevastopol. As the day progresses, though, Manstein waits before expanding the attack with additional forces, which blunts the effort. Thus, Hollidt's offensive turns into more of a probing attack than a full-scale attempt to conquer the elaborate Soviet defenses, which include numerous bunkers and fortifications. The Sevastopol perimeter is 44 kilometers long, which poses problems for both armies but more so for the Germans, who have difficulty concentrating their forces for a determined attack. However, the Germans have heavy Luftwaffe support, though its effectiveness is somewhat lessened due to the hilly terrain. Manstein is confident that he can expand the gains in the morning.
USS Long Island (AVG-1, later ACV-1, Commander Donald B. Duncan), photographed in Measure 12 (Modified) camouflage, 10 November 1941. Planes on her flight deck include seven Curtiss SOC-3A scout observation types and one Brewster F2A fighter. The Long Island was the first ship of her class and the first escort carrier in the US Navy (US Navy).
On the Soviet side, Major General Ivan Efimovich Petrov commands the Coastal Army that had been evacuated in good order by sea from Odesa, which fell to the Romanians. Petrov first had led his forces north of Sevastopol after entering the Crimea at Sevastopol to try to defend the Perekop Isthmus. However, after discussing it with his divisional commanders, Petrov then had decided to retreat to Sevastopol rather than east to the safer Kerch Peninsula (because it would be easier to retreat further east from there). Petrov's decision rests on his belief that it is important to defend this main base of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and that he has enough men to do it. Petrov commands about 52,000 Red Army soldiers, an impressive number. However, they have left much of their equipment and supplies behind in Odessa, and 21,000 of them are sailors untrained in land warfare. His best asset is 170 artillery pieces, some protected by massive concrete bunkers constructed in the 1930s that are impervious to all but the largest artillery shells or bombs. Petrov's troops only returned to Sevastopol one day ago, so the terrain is almost as new to them as to the Wehrmacht.
Hollidt's attack follows the coastal route from Yalta to Sevastopol along the old Vorontsov road which achieved fame during the Crimean War of the 1850s. This is the traditional attack route into Sevastopol by those coming by sea, as did the British 90 years earlier. The advantage of this route is that it avoids the hills in the central and northern sectors of the Sevastopol perimeter which serve almost as towering walls. However, Petrov is no fool and also realizes that the coastal road is easy to perceive as the "easy" road into the port and thus a likely avenue of attacks. He defends the area with crack troops of the first and second defensive sectors. Their objective is to give ground in the flatlands but hold the hills around Balaklava and at the village of Kamary (Oboronnoye), where the east-west valleys coming from the east end and the ground becomes flat again into the port itself. Hollidt today gets nowhere near these vital spots. Thus, while Hollidt does make some progress, he does not succeed in capturing anything vital to the Soviet defense. Manstein prepares to feed in another division on the 11th and see what happens. So far, everything still seems to be going according to plan on the German side.
Actress Rita Hayworth on the cover of Time magazine, 10 November 1941.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal completes its mission of ferrying aircraft to Malta and turns to head back to Gibraltar with the rest of Force H. The Germans have received word of this operation and have positioned U-81 (Friedrich Guggenberger) along the route.
Rita Hayworth in the 11 August 1941 issue of Life magazine. This shot by Bob Landry (there are a couple of slightly different versions) becomes a classic pin-up of World War II soldiers, second only to a Betty Grable photo from 1943.
Eastern Front: Adolf Hitler on 11 August 1941 reiterates that he wants the Wehrmacht to take Kiev before advancing on Moscow. To do this, Army Group Center is to divert forces to the south. With much grumbling and half-hearted cooperation, General Guderian and the other generals comply.
In the Far North sector, Finnish 15th Division, with 10th Division, capture Khitola (Khityola) just northwest of Lake Ladoga. This forces Soviet 142nd Rifle and 198th Motorized Division to withdraw into a "motti" (surrounded fortress) on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The Soviets there can serve as a thorn in the side of the Finnish advance toward Leningrad, with the availability of escape over the lake. In the center of the Karelian Isthmus, Finnish troops of IV Corps take Vuosalmi.
Finnish Group J of III Corps continues a rapid advance from Kestenga toward the Murmansk railway. Today, following the embankment of a spur line of the railway, it reaches the vicinity of the narrows between Yelovoye Lake and Lebedevo Lake. At this point, about 20 miles southwest of Loukhi, the Soviets make a stand and bring the Finns to a grinding halt. The Soviets are bringing in the 88th Rifle Division from Archangel (Arkhangelsk). Ordinarily, the arrival of one rifle division on the main front would mean little, but in the far north, it can have a huge impact. The Germans know something is up because they have been monitoring frantic Soviet radio traffic in the area, but they don't know what. The only question is if the Soviet defenders on the spot can hold out until the reinforcements arrive in a few days.
Another Finnish advance by Group F a little further south has become stalled at the Kis Kis River line on the Korpiyarvi-Ukhta Road. The Finns are attempting some probing attacks, but there are no signs of weakness.
In the Army Group North sector, the Germans continue pushing across the Luga River toward Leningrad.
In the Army Group Center sector, Red Army counterattacks continue at Yelnya. Guderian continues sending his panzers south to Gomel.
In the Army Group South sector, the Hungarian air force attacks Nikolayev. They manage to destroy a key bridge which eliminates a prime escape route for retreating Soviet soldiers (there are only three crossings on the entire southern section of the Dnepr River).
Soviet auxiliary river gunboats Issa, Plyussa, and Surop are lost today while in action on rivers within the Soviet Union. Soviet monitor SB-37 (Zhemchuzin) is heavily damaged by German panzers and artillery on the Dnepr River. SB-37 is a total write-off and scuttled on the 12th. Incidentally, there is some confusion about this sinking of SB-37. It often is confused with a completely separate Soviet warship sunk in the Arctic Ocean by U-451 on 10 August (that one is Soviet corvette Zhemchug No. 27).
Newsweek, 11 August 1941. "U.S. Women Answer Call of National Defense."
European Air Operations: There is little activity during the day aside from training and the usual reconnaissance.
After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Rotterdam, Krefeld, and Monchengladbach.
The Rotterdam raid is completed with 31 Hampden and 3 Wellington bombers. They target the dockyards. All of the bombers, including another bomber that goes to Antwerp, return safely. This raid is notable because Hampdens of RAF No. 50 Squadron drop 500 pounds of teas intended for civilians as a "gift" from the Dutch East Indies.
The Krefeld raid is made with 20 Hampdens and 9 Whitleys. They target railway marshaling yards. Bombing accuracy is terrible due to clouds over the target, and only one bomber even claims to hit the target. All of the planes return safely.
The Monchengladbach raid is completed with 29 Wellington bombers. This raid is almost identical to the Krefeld raid, as the bombers target railway yards, find cloud cover, and bomb at random.
The RAF uses two Wellington bombers to test out the new Gee navigational device during this raid. The test is a success, and plans are made to perform further tests over the next two nights.
Time, 11 August 1941. "[Sumner] Welles, Under Secretary of State."
Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper T-213 "Krambol" hits a mine and sinks off Cape Yuminda.
The Soviets use motor torpedo boats to intentionally sink Soviet destroyer Karl Marx at Loxa Bight, Estonia. It was damaged by the Luftwaffe on 8 August 1941.
Before dawn, German 2nd S-Boat Flotilla lays 24 mines in minefield Allirahu in Riga Bay. After dark, German 5th M-Boat Flotilla lays 45 EMC mines in minefield Pinnassi I, Pinnassi II, and Pinnassi III off Cape Domesnas.
Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe (a Focke-Wulf FW-200 of I,/KG40) attacks and sinks 2852-ton British freighter Empire Hurst in the Atlantic about 100 miles southwest of the southern tip of Portugal. Empire Hurst had fallen behind Convoy HG-70 and was being escorted by anti-submarine trawler HMS Lady Hogarth. There are 26 deaths and nine survivors.
Italian submarine Guglielmo Marconi I (Lt Cdr Pollina) attacks Convoy HG-70 about 100 miles off the southern Portuguese coast. It misses and then is attacked by Royal Navy corvette Convolvulus and sloop Deptford, but the submarine escapes.
German E-boats attack shipping in the Thames Estuary. S-49 (LtzS Günther) of the 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla sinks 1548-ton British freighter Sir Russell near No. 10 Buoy. Everyone survives. S-20 also claims to sink a freighter, but there is no confirmation of this.
Norwegian 124-ton wooden transport Cito hits a mine and sinks in the Sognefjord (north of Bergen). This apparently is a German mine left over from the Battle of Norway in 1940, though it may also have been a defensive mine laid later.
U-93 and U-94 intercept Convoy HG-69 west of Gibraltar, but the escorts force them to abandon any attacks.
U-501, operating west of Ireland, spots outbound convoy ONS-4 and reports it to BdU in Paris.
An RAF De Havilland DH.91 Albatross AX903 on a cargo flight from Ayr, Scotland to Reykjavik, Iceland spots a U-boat on the way and reports its position to Reykjavik. After landing and while slowing, the Albatross' landing gear collapses and the plane skids off the airfield and hits a Fairy Battle aircraft parked by the runway. The Albatross is written off, but the crew survives.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Tigris is based in Murmansk for the time being. Today, it leaves on patrol.
Minelayer Port Quebec lays minefield SN.22A in the North Sea.
Convoy ON-6 departs from Liverpool.
Royal Navy corvette HMS Bellwort and minesweeper Ipswich are launched and submarine Unsparing is laid down.
Canadian minesweepers Gananoque and Nipigon are commissioned, corvette Moncton is launched.
US Navy cruisers USS Belleau Wood and Independence are laid down as Cleveland-class cruisers. They are later diverted into becoming light fleet carriers.
U-655 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf Dumrese) is commissioned and U-416 is laid down.
"Exterior view of Rubber Products Co. at 114 East G Street, in Wilmington." [photo dated August 11, 1941]. Note the vintage hot rod in the drive and the Wilmington Oil Field rig in the background, a common sight in Los Angeles, California then. Source: waterandpower.org.
The same building as seen on Google street view, 31 May 2018. It looks like the building behind the old rubber store has survived and the power lines, too. The oil rig is long gone, though.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages Royal Navy net-layer Protector with an aerial torpedo while en route from Port Said to Alexandria. Corvette HMS Salvia takes Protector in tow back to Port Said, where they arrive in the evening.
The Red Sea is full of German mines, and US ships have been traversing it since the last Italian port in East Africa fell. Today, one of those US freighters, 5685-ton Iberville, hits one and is damaged. It makes it to port.
Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues as Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta departs from Port Said for Famagusta.
At Malta, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-87 reappear over Malta for the first time in weeks. Nine Stukas attack the Ta Qali area and Grand Harbour, damaging some warehouses and private dwellings. The RAF claims two of the Stukas. Rome radio claims that this small raid is a massive success, stating "A veritable shower of bombs was rained down on [Luqa] aerodrome" and "The attack on the naval base of Valletta was extremely effective. Loud explosions were heard and huge fires visible from a great distance were started."
Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarines M-33, SHCH-211, and SHCH-301 are all in operation today. M-33 unsuccessfully attacks Romanian submarine Delfinul off Constanza, SHCH-211 (Lt Cdr Devyatko) lands two spies off Varna, Bulgaria, and SHCH-301 (Lt Cdr Grashchev) unsuccessfully attacks Romanian convoys off Landsort, Romania.
War Crimes: RAF Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers of RAF No. 830 Squadron based on Malta attack shipping in Syracuse harbor on Sicily. This is a standard target for the RAF which they hit every week, and sometimes daily. This attack is slightly different than the norm because one of the torpedoes sink 13,060-ton Italian hospital ship California (formerly SS Albania pre-1930). The wreck is in 30 feet of water.
While all sorts of factors are usually taken into account to "define away" war crimes ("It was a mistake" "I was aiming at something else") and they seldom are prosecuted, sinking a hospital ship - they are clearly marked - is a war crime.
Rita Hayworth.
Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill spend their third day (second official day of the Atlantic Conference) conferring at Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. They meet twice aboard Roosevelt's ship USS Augusta (CA-31). The British War Cabinet is kept apprised of developments and writes in the Minutes:
America is as yet far from being prepared for active operations on a war footing. While the American Navy is in a more advanced state of readiness, the building up, training and equipping of the American army and air corps is still in embryo and the shortage of equipment is acute.
The bottom line, the Minutes reveal, is that American needs come first, and then surplus production will be sent to Great Britain.
Most of the real work of the meeting, of course, is being done by their staff throughout the day.
Life magazine, 11 August 1941. This is the issue that contains the famous Rita Hayworth pin-up that adorns countless barracks around the world.
British Military: King George VI, who arrived at Scapa Flow on 9 August, continues his inspection tour of the naval base. Today, he visits destroyers, including HMS Charlestown and Eclipse, and also destroyer depot ship Tyne. He then boards on destroyer Inglefield at 12:30 to Scrabster, returning to Scapa Flow later in the day.
Japanese Military: The new chief of staff of the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet is Matome Ugaki.
Rita in an out-take from her Life photo-shoot. I don't know, I kind of like this one better than the cover version they chose.
French Military: General Huntziger, Minister of War who signed the armistice with Germany in 1940, becomes Commander-in-Chief of Vichy French ground forces.
US Military: Lieutenant Colonel Harold D. Shannon, executive officer of the US Marine Corps 6th Defense Battalion, arrives at Midway. He is there to prepare for his battalion to relieve the 3rd Defense Battalion.
A barracks on Adak Islands, Aleutians, 1943 (Dmitri Kessel—Time & Life Pictures: Getty Images).
Polish Army: General Wladyslaw Anders, released from the Soviet Lubianka prison in Moscow on 4 August, is made commander of a new Polish Army in the Soviet Union and begins collecting Polish POWs in Buzuluk and Totskoye. It is estimated that 1.7 million men are POWs, but, in fact, about a third of those are dead from mistreatment. Those that survive and are able to serve, about 400,000 men, are given amnesty and struggle to get to the collection points in rags and using whatever transportation they can find. The Poles forming the army notice a surprising absence of officers among the released Polish POWs. Poles in the prison camps who are not soldiers are sent to work on collective farms (Kolkhoz) in Tashkent and Bukhara and the southern Aral regions.
China: Japanese bombers attack Chungking again. The Japanese lose another three out of four I-153 fighters sent up to intercept them. In a subsequent action, the last of the I-153 fighters is destroyed. The Chinese manage to shoot down one plane.
Holocaust: Vichy France forbids Jews from serving as doctors.
Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in production on MGM's "Babes On Broadway," 11 August 1941 (The Judy Garland Experience).
American Homefront: Glenn Miller and his Orchestra record "Elmer's Tune," written by Elmer Albrecht, Dick Jurgens, and Sammy Gallop. Previous versions of the song did not have lyrics, so Miller has the song's publisher, Robbins Music Company, hire Sammy Gallop to write some lyrics. Ray Eberle does the lead vocals, backed by the Modernairnes. Released later in the year, it hits No. 1 on the Billboard Best Selling Retail Records chart of 13 December 1941 and spends 20 weeks in total on the chart. It becomes a classic of the big band era.
Actress Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino) appears in a classic spread in Life magazine. One of the shots inside, of Rita on a bed dressed in a satin negligee and black lace bodice sitting on a bed, becomes the most requested pin-up for GI's during World War II until a 1943 shot of actress Betty Grable appears. Hayworth broke through as a major film star with "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939) and is at the peak of her fame during World War II. Incidentally, that nightgown in the photo is preserved and sold for $26,888 in 2002.
Adak island barracks in the Aleutians, 1943, showing typical pin-ups. That appears to be a different Rita Hayworth pin-up on the right (Dmitri Kessel—Time & Life Pictures: Getty Images).
A German soldier stands in the cathedral of Strasbourg, 15 July 1940 (AP Photo).
Battle of Britain: There are low clouds on 15 July 1940, which give good cover for Luftwaffe bombers but curtail most defensive operations. The poor weather continues into the night.
Today is often called the beginning of the "Brighton Blitz." The beaches are closed and mined, and civilians have been evacuated.
Junkers Ju 88s take advantage of the cloud cover and bomb two airfields and a railway around Avonmouth. Raids occur in the Cardiff, Swansea, Portsmouth, and Southampton areas.
The Channel convoys remain a prime Luftwaffe target, and 15 Dornier Do 17s of KG2 attack Convoy "Pilot" in the Thames Estuary. Hurricane fighters rise to the defense and beat them off.
There also are attacks near the Scottish border by LG1. Among the targets are a Westland Aircraft factory and the airfields at Yeovil and St Athan RAF Station. RAF Nos. 213 and 92 Squadrons intercept and shoot down a Junkers Ju 88 of LG1.
JG26 begins transferring back to the French coast, winding up its period of rest and refit and indicating that serious operations against the British were about to begin.
During the day, the Luftwaffe loses a bomber, while the RAF loses four Hurricanes. Several of the RAF fighters crash on landing. Despite the weather, the RAF flies 470 sorties.
European Air Operations: The RAF sends Hampden bombers from Hemsworth airfield to raid Wilhelmshaven. The targets are the battleship Tirpitz, still under construction, and Admiral Scheer. The raid faces fierce anti-aircraft fire and the British lose four bombers, with many of the rest damaged, while missing the ships.
The Italians raid Gibraltar with S.82 bombers.
Hurricane Mk I of 17 Squadron, which crashed at RAF Debden on 15 July 1940.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) torpedoes and sinks Greek freighter Evdoxia about 40 miles southwest of Ireland at 03:21. There are 22 survivors, and one crewman perishes.
British 1199-ton freighter Bellerock hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. There are 17 crewmen that perish.
184-ton German (formerly Norwegian) tug Draugen hits a mine and sinks off Salhus, north of Bergen.
The Luftwaffe, apparently a Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor, attacks and sinks 1282-ton Panamanian freighter Fossoula about 240 nautical miles northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain. There are 32 survivors and 4 perish.
The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 2088-Polish freighter Zbaraz in the North Sea about 10 miles north of the Aldeburgh lightship. Everybody aboard survives.
The Luftwaffe catches 2855-ton British freighter Heworth about 10 miles south of Aldeburgh Light Vessel. The Heworth later sinks while in tow. Four crew perish.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1359-ton Irish freighter City of Limerick about 100 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain. Of the crew, two perish.
The 2136-ton Estonian freighter Merisaar, which had been stopped and captured by U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) on 12 July and sent to St. Lorient, is bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe off Queenstown. The German prize crew winds up as POWs.
The 833-ton freighter Alpha is bombed and sunk southwest of Cornwall. Everybody aboard survives.
Minesweeper HMS Burlington is damaged by a mine at Aultbrea.
Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch misses with three torpedoes sent against U-57 near Bergen, Norway.
British cruiser HMS Esperance Bay, badly damaged by the Luftwaffe, makes it back to Plymouth Harbor with its cargo of gold being sent to Canada pursuant to Operation Fish.
The Luftwaffe lays mines in the Thames estuary.
Convoy HX 58 departs from Halifax, Convoy OB 184 departs from Liverpool.
French battleship Richelieu is commissioned.
Soviet submarine K-22 is commissioned.
British corvette HMS Godelia (K 72, Lt. Commander George V. Legassick) is commissioned.
Rita Hayworth on the cover of Life Magazine in pictorial "Picnic Time." Photo via Classic Cinema Images.
Battle of the Mediterranean: RAF Blenheim bombers attack Gazala.
At Malta, there is an air raid alert at first light, but it is just reconnaissance.
The Admiralty considers options for resupplying Malta, which has been isolated since France signed its armistice on 22 June. There are no good options, the best being the long way around the Cape of Good Hope and back up through the Suez Canal. Western Front: Operation Ambassador, the brief commando landing on Channel Islands Guernsey and Little Sark, ends as the 140 commandos (less three left behind along with one destroyer crewman) re-board their destroyers at 03:00.
German/French Relations: Germany demands unrestricted military access through Vichy France. It also requests the use of French bases in Vichy North Africa. The French screw up their courage and reject these requests.
German/Romanian Relations: Hitler offers King Carol German protection only if it remains flexible about its frontiers.
Soviet/Baltic Relations: Pursuant to the vote administered by Soviet officials, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join the Soviet Union. All of the votes are near-unanimous, of course.
Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov is the timely subject of Time Magazine's cover on 15 July 1940.
British Military: Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders RAF pilot training cut from three months to one, reasoning that the pilots can get their final training against the Luftwaffe. This flies against military orthodoxy, and the order stands despite protests by General Sir Alan Brooke.
Italian Military: The Duce Benito Mussolini orders his new Libyan commander Marshal Rodolfo Graziani to prepare an attack into Egypt on 8 August.
US Military: The US Marine Corps sends the 12th Marine Company to London to establish a Marine Detachment.
The first flight of the Stinson L-1 Vigilant observation aircraft. The aircraft is capable of flying at an extremely low speed of 31 mph and in fact, is said by pilots to sometimes fly backward in a headwind.
Colonel George S. Patton, Jr., one of the original tank innovators of World War I, is part of the newly formed US 2nd Armoured Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. The overall division is under the command of Major General Charles L. Scott, and Patton commands a brigade in addition to being in charge of training.
Palestine: Some bombs, presumably Italian, drop in the Haifa area. This is the area's first air raid and is aimed at a key oil pipeline from Iraq.
Luxembourg: The royal family sets sail from Lisbon on the light cruiser USS Trenton (CL 11).
Holocaust: Erich Mußfeldt joins the staff at Auschwitz.
British Government: The government announces that unemployment was 827,766 people in June, up 60,431 from May. The unemployment levels remain at historically low levels despite the increase.
German Government: The Reich informally annexes the province of Alsace-Lorraine, always a point of contention between France and Germany.
German radio agrees with Winston Churchill's 14 July speech that London indeed is now a legitimate military target.
British Homefront: The Home office bans anything that might interfere with air operations, including fireworks, kites, and balloons.
The ringing of church bells has been banned, and the rector of Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire receives four weeks in jail for violating this rule.
American Homefront: The Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago, Illinois, poised to nominate Franklin Delano Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term.
Robert Wadlow, 22, who recently incurred an infected foot at an appearance, passes away. Wadlow is the tallest person in recorded human history.
