Friday 21 November 1941

General Erwin Romel discusses the situation at Italian headquarters with Italian General Enea Navarini and liaison officer Colonel Diesener on 21 November 1941. Notice that Rommel is seated and the Italian general is standing (Moosmüller, Federal Archive Picture 183-1982-0927-502).

Eastern Front: The III Panzer Corps, led by the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH) under Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, captures Rostov-on-Don on 21 November 1941. This is a major feat, achieved by forming a wedge to the southeast against fierce Red Army opposition. Dietrich is Adolf Hitler's former personal bodyguard and an aggressive commander, but he does not have any formal military training. This works in Dietrich's favor in this offensive because it is a very risky endeavor, exposing his forces in three directions to counterattacks that could trap his men far from the main German troop concentrations to the west.

General Erwin Rommel arrives at the headquarters of the Italian Army Corps that is manning the line around Tobruk, 21 November 1941 (Moosmülle, Federal Archive Bild 183-R95988).

Far to the north, the winter weather finally has frozen Lake Ladoga sufficiently for surface traffic across it. The trip from the nearest Soviet-held town is 40 miles round-trip. Captain Murov's horses and wagons make the first risky trip across carrying flour, sugar, and other foodstuffs in 24 hours. This becomes the "Road of Life."

General Udet's casket is brought in to the Reich Ministry of Aviation in the presence of Reichmarschall Hermann Goering (left) and Adolf Hitler (on the overlooking portico) on 21 November 1941. Adolf Galland leads the procession to the casket's left. All of the pallbearers are holders of the Knight's Cross. Udet's suicide has been described as being the result of an accident to the Reich press (Federal Archive Picture 146-1981-066-11A).

South of Moscow, General Guderian's attempt to bypass Tula is making a little progress every day, and today shows some small gains. General Karl Weisenberger’s LIII Army Corps takes Uzlovaya, southeast of Tula. This gives Colonel Heinrich Eberbach's dwindling panzers some flank protection. However, it does nothing to help the all-important drive to reach the road to Moscow north of Tula. The Stavka decides that they need someone new in charge of the 50th Army, so the chief of the Red Army General Staff, Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov, appoints Lt. Gen. Ivan Vasilievich Boldin. Boldin sets out for Tula, where he will arrive on the 22nd through the narrow opening north of the city that the Soviets still hold.

"Prime Minister Winston Churchill poses outside 10 Downing Street, London, England, wearing a 'Thumbs up' badge on 21 November 1941" © IWM (H 15674).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British attempt to relieve Tobruk, Operation Crusader, has led to a wild melee involving the British Eighth Army, Panzer Group Africa, and the garrison of Tobruk. The British still have not reached Tobruk, but they have one more ace to play. British 70th Division launches a three-pronged attack out of the besieged port, with the 2nd Black Watch in the center, the 2nd King's Own on the right, and the 2nd Queen's Own on the left. This takes the Italians who are on garrison duty by surprise, and the Black Watch loses about 200 men and its commanding officer but advances about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) towards Ed Duda. The Italians rally, however, and manage to retain their strongpoint at Tugun. The official New Zealand history recounts:

The more elaborate attack on Tugun went in at 1500 hours and gained perhaps half the position, together with 250 Italians and many light field guns. But the Italians in the western half could not be dislodged and the base of the break-out area remained on this account uncomfortably narrow... [The] strong Italian opposition at Tugun was part of the reason for the decision to halt the sortie at this time.

Another fierce battle develops around Sidi Rezegh that leads to heavy casualties by both sides but little change in positions.

Recruits of the Singapore Volunteer Force training with a Lewis gun, November 1941.

The day's fighting leaves the Axis forces still in control of their critical defense points, but the outlook is grim due to the British advances. New Zealand troops advance across the Egyptian-Libyan frontier and occupy the vacant Fort Capuzzo. Everything is not rosy for the British, however. The British 7th Armored Brigade has lost 132 of its initial force of 160 tanks due to Italian gunners on the heights surrounding the battlefields. Still, the British are attacking and advancing and the Axis forces are defending and retreating, and that is usually a bad omen in the desert for the forces that are defending and retreating.

Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku waits at Hitokappu Bay (Kasatka Bay) at Iturup, the Kuril Islands on or about 21 November 1941. The Japanese carrier strike force is waiting for final orders to proceed across the Pacific Ocean to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. All communications from Iturup have been blocked for the time being by Japanese authorities to prevent disclosure of the strike force's presence.

US Military: The US Navy is well aware of threatening moves by the Japanese despite the continuation of largely pointless negotiations in Washington. The Navy Department transmits a warning message to commanders of the Asiatic and Pacific Fleets:

Have been informed by Dutch Legation that they have received a dispatch as follows: 

“According to information received by the Governor General of The Netherlands East Indies a Japanese expeditionary force has arrived in the vicinity of Palau. Should this force, strong enough to form a threat for The Netherlands Indies or Portuguese Timor, move beyond a line between the following points Davao (Philippine Islands) Waigeo (Island, Netherlands East Indies) Equator the Governor General will regard this as an act of aggression and will under those circumstances consider the hostilities opened and act accordingly."

Inform Army authorities of foregoing. Request any information you may have concerning development of this Japanese threat against the Dutch East Indies and your evaluation of foregoing information.

Thus, events are rapidly approaching a crisis point in the Pacific. The real question is not whether hostilities will commence, but when and where. The Dutch have strong naval forces present and a willingness to use them, and it is quite possible that the Pacific flashpoint could have nothing to do with United States forces.

William Powell as Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as Nora Charles in "Shadow of the Thin Man," released by MGM on 21 November 1941. The film features 20-year-old Donna Reed in one of her first film roles. (Entertainment Pictures).

November 1941

November 1, 1941: Finns Attack Toward Murmansk Railway
November 2, 1941: Manstein Isolates Sevastopol
November 3, 1941: Japan Prepares to Attack
November 4, 1941: German Advances in the South
November 5, 1941: Last Peace Effort By Japan
November 6, 1941: Stalin Casts Blame in an Unexpected Direction
November 7, 1941: Stalin's Big Parade
November 8, 1941: Germans Take Tikhvin
November 9, 1941: Duisburg Convoy Destruction
November 10, 1941: Manstein Attacks Sevastopol
November 11, 1941: Finland's Double Game Erupts
November 12, 1941: T-34 Tanks Take Charge
November 13, 1941: German Orsha Conference
November 14, 1941: German Supply Network Breaking Down
November 15, 1941: Operation Typhoon Resumes
November 16, 1941: Manstein Captures Kerch
November 17, 1941: Finland Halts Operations
November 18, 1941: British Operation Crusader
November 19, 1941: Sydney vs. Kormoran Duel
November 20, 1941: The US Rejects Final Japanese Demand
November 21, 1941: Germans Take Rostov
November 22, 1941: Kleist in Trouble at Rostov
November 23, 1941: Germans Take Klin, Huge Battle in North Africa
November 24, 1941: Rommel Counterattacks
November 25, 1941: HMS Barham Sunk
November 26, 1941: Japanese Fleet Sails
November 27, 1941: British Relieve Tobruk
November 28, 1941: Rostov Evacuated, German Closest Approach to Moscow
November 29, 1941: Hitler Furious About Retreat
November 30, 1941: Japan Sets the Date for its Attack

2020

Monday 20 October 1941

German tanks (a Panzer III in the foreground with a Panzer IV behind it, I'm not sure of the third vehicle but perhaps another Panzer III) of the 19th Panzer Division in northern Russia stuck in the mud on or about 20 October 1941. Note that these tanks have not been abandoned, as there is an officer poking his head out of the turret of the Panzer III.

Eastern Front: With most of the world's attention focused on the defense of Moscow on 20 October 1941, the Germans remind everyone that they are a threat all along the Eastern Front by launching a surprise attack east from the vicinity of Leningrad. Despite having lost his armored formations to Army Group Center for Operation Typhoon, the attack on Moscow, Army Group North commander Ritter von Leeb has been working on this attack for weeks. The main objective is the town of Tikhvin, a key Soviet road and rail junction.

At the end of a minesweeping patrol in the Clyde, sailors haul in the "sweep," 20 October 1941 (© IWM (A6186)).

This attack was originally planned to begin on 6 October but was called off pending the arrival of fresh divisions. While von Leeb wanted to attack in the direction of Volkhov, Hitler ordered him to aim his offensive a little further south, from the vicinity of Chudovo toward Tikhvin. Once that city was taken, von Leeb could turn north along the railroad tracks and take Volkhov. Thus, it was a slightly more ambitious plan than von Leeb had in mind.

"Men hauling in the "sweep" at the end of a patrol." This photo was taken during a minesweeping patrol in the Clyde operating out of Greenock, 20 October 1941. © IWM (A 6187).

Field Marshal von Leeb has General Rudolf Schmidt’s 39th Army Corps (motorized), composed of 8th and 12th Panzer and 18th and 20th Motorized, attack toward Tikhvin. They are supported by the I Army Corps (11th, 21st, 126th, and 254th Infantry Divisions under the command of General Hans-Kuno von Both). They are opposed by Leningrad Front, commanded by Soviet Col. Gen. Ivan Ivanovich Fedyuninsky. Fedyuninsky is a protege of Stalin's favorite general, Georgy Zhukov, and leads 70,000 troops supported by 97 tanks.

A photo that was taken during a minesweeping operation out of Greenock in the Clyde on 20 October 1941 (© IWM (A 6008)).

Tikhvin in 1941 is an unprepossessing town but a vital Soviet road and rail connection between Moscow and the shores of Lake Ladoga. The supplies sent through Tikhvin (and thence through Volkhov) are ferried across Lake Ladoga and are absolutely critical to sustaining it. Tikhvin is part of the "Road of Life" during World War II due to its peculiar importance to Leningrad's survival and also a status as an escape route for starving Leningrad inhabitants. Thus, Tikhvin is the key to Leningrad, and thus the Soviets are forced to defend it. If the Germans can take Tikhvin, they can starve Leningrad into submission.

Japanese battleship Yamato during its sea trials near Bungo Strait, 20 October 1941. It is the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleship in the world, displacing 72,000 tons at full load. Those are nine 46 cm (18.1-inch) main guns. The wreck of Yamato in the East China Sea was not discovered until 1982. There has been some discussion in Japan about raising the wreck (Yamato Museum in Kure).

Field Marshal von Leeb's attack begins in the early hours of 16 October. It is preceded by a brief artillery barrage and achieves complete surprise, as the Soviets are focused on Leningrad and Moscow, not the area in between. The order “Kompanie vorwarts" ("Troops forward!") is issued, and the main German assault led by General von Both's infantry hits between Gruzino and Kirishi. General Otto Sponheimer’s 21st Infantry Division quickly crosses the 300-meter wide Volkhov River at Gruzino, and by the end of the day is entirely on the east bank. At Kirishi, General Herbert von Böckmann’s 11th Infantry Division also gets across the Volkhov River without any problems. It is a smashing success and the leaders at both German bridgeheads plan to expand their firm grips on the east bank on the 17th.

German soldiers leading Serbian civilians out of the town of Kragujevac, Serbia on 20 October 1941. The roughly 2300 Serbian men were executed in a reprisal action. The people shot include about 300 boys taken from the First Boys High School, along with their 18 teachers. All were shot on the outskirts of town. In such actions, the Germans typically do not tell the victims what is in store for them, and they may have thought they were simply being deported.

Partisans: German occupation troops in Kragujevac, Serbia commit an atrocity against local civilians. They round up about 2300 men and boys and execute them on the outskirts of town. The Wehrmacht later issues the following statement:

The cowardly and treacherous surprise attacks on German soldiers during the previous week, on which occasion 10 German soldiers were killed and 26 wounded, had to be punished. For that reason, 100 people were shot for each killed German soldier, and for each wounded 50, mainly communists, bandits, and their siders, 2300 altogether. Every similar case, even if it only sabotage, will be dealt with the same severity. 

Chief of Local Command

This massacre is intended as a warning to other partisans in Serbia, of which there are many. There are many other such atrocities in the area during World War II, as the Serbians are hostile to German rule.

A rainy day in Amsterdam, New York (northwest of Albany), 20 October 1941 (photo by John Collier).

October 1941

October 1, 1941: Germans and Finns Advance in USSR
October 2, 1941: Operation Typhoon Broadens
October 3, 1941: Air Battles Near Moscow
October 4, 1941: Stalin Contemplates Defeat
October 5, 1941: Hoth Goes South
October 6, 1941: First Snowfall After Dark
October 7, 1941: Stalin Gets Religion
October 8, 1941: FDR Promises Stalin Aid 
October 9, 1941: FDR Orders Atomic Bomb Research
October 10, 1941: Reichenau's Severity Order
October 11, 1941: Tank Panic in Moscow
October 12, 1941: Spanish Blue Division at the Front
October 13, 1941: Attack on Moscow
October 14, 1941: Germans Take Kalinin
October 15, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Odessa
October 16, 1941: Romanians Occupy Odessa
October 17, 1941: U-568 Torpedoes USS Kearny
October 18, 1941: Tojo Takes Tokyo
October 19, 1941: Germans Take Mozhaysk
October 20, 1941: Germans Attack Toward Tikhvin
October 21, 1941: Rasputitsa Hits Russia
October 22, 1941: Germans Into Moscow's Second Defensive Line
October 23, 1941: The Odessa Massacre
October 24, 1941: Guderian's Desperate Drive North
October 25, 1941: FDR Warns Hitler About Massacres
October 26, 1941: Guderian Drives Toward Tula
October 27, 1941: Manstein Busts Loose
October 28, 1941: Soviet Executions
October 29, 1941: Guderian Reaches Tula
October 30, 1941: Guderian Stopped at Tula
October 31, 1941: USS Reuben James Sunk

2020