Showing posts with label Schwerin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Schwerin. Show all posts

Monday, April 17, 2017

April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks

Thursday 10 April 1941

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com USS Niblack
USS Niblack (DD-424), which launches depth charges today, 10 April 1941.

Operation Marita/Operation 25: The Germans of the XL Panzer Corps continue to roll in Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941. By the morning, the Germans have regrouped and now are ready to advance south toward Kozani. Capturing Kozani would put the Wehrmacht troops in position to drive to the coast at Larissa or nearby, cutting off the British forces holding on the Aliakmon Line near Thessaloniki. However, there is a lot of rough terrains to cover, things are a little different now than in the drive west against light opposition.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), under the command of Hitler's former chauffeur Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, captures Vevi in southern Macedonia and immediately turns to clear the enemy from the Kleisoura Pass southwest of Vevi. pass This leads to the town of Klidi in the south (it also is known as the Klidi Pass or Kirli Derven). The plan is to take Klidi and then drive downhill to Kastoria in northwest Greece.

SS-Sturmbannführer Kurt "Panzer" Meyer leads LSSAH's reinforced Aufklärungs-Abteilung (reconnaissance battalion) south into the pass, which is defended by scratch forces mixed Australian/New Zealand/Greek formation known as the "Mackay Force" under the Australian General Iven Mackay. Meyer's forces, backed by the 73rd Infantry Division, attack Glava Hill and Delinski Dol, but the Mackay Force is under orders from General Henry Maitland Wilson to "stop a blitzkrieg down the Florina Valley." Today, it does that, stopping the Germans cold.

In the north of Yugoslavia, the 14th Panzer Division of General von Kleist's 2nd Army takes Zagreb. Colonel Slavko Kvaternik of the Ustasa within the city declares an Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). Croatian fascist strongman Ante Pavelic returns from his exile in Italy to join in the proclamation, illustrating its Fascist orientation. This declaration of independence triggers an unexpected result, causing Hungary to decide that the Tripartite Pace to which both it and Yugoslavia are signatories no longer bars it from invading the now-dismembered country. Hungary prepares to send its tanks across the border tomorrow, the 11th.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Hitler Pavelic
Adolf Hitler and Ante Pavelic' at the Berghof.
Meanwhile, local Communist Party Secretary-General Josep Broz "Tito" (Tito is one of his assumed names taken when the Communist Party in Yugoslavia is outlawed) forms a Military Committee.

To the southeast in Greece, the battle of the Metaxas Line is over. The Greek commander of the Eastern Macedonian Army Section, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos, has ordered the forces holding out behind German lines to surrender. As of yet, the Germans at Thessaloniki and the British on the other side of the Aliakmon River have not engaged in any battles aside from a minor encounter between a German patrol and defending New Zealanders. Both sides took minor casualties, relatively speaking, during the battle, the Germans about 500 men killed.

The German government grows sensitive about the image it is projecting by bombing Belgrade in Operation Punishment. It ends the bombings, and the Ministry of Propaganda warns the media to "omit" sensational comments such as "its streets are covered with corpses of women and children." In fact, Luftflotte IV stops bombing northern Yugoslavia altogether - it hasn't bombed any Croatian areas at all - and turns its attention solely to southern Yugoslavia and Greece.

The Royal Hellenic Navy loses patrol boat A-2 to unknown causes. Axis troops seize Yugoslavian minesweeper Kobac at Sebenico.

Convoy AG 12 departs from Alexandria bound for Phaleron Bay. Previous convoys have gone to nearby Piraeus, which is the ordinary modern port for Athens, but German bombing temporarily has put the port out of commission. Convoy AS 25 (five Greek ships) departs from Piraeus.

British 3791-ton troopship HMS Ulster Prince, part of Convoy AC 3 which departed from Alexandria bound for Tobruk on the 6th, returns to Alexandria and grounds in Great Pass as it enters. It suffers minor damage.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Hungarian tanks
Hungary decides to join the invasion of Yugoslavia today, 10 April 1941, due to the declaration of independence by Croatia - until then, Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy felt bound by the fact that both it and Yugoslavia were signatories to the Tripartite Pact.
European Air Operations: Adolf Hitler is very upset at last night's bombing that gutted the Berlin Opera House. He confronts Luftwaffe boss Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering about antiaircraft defenses, then departs from his Fruhlingssturm headquarters south of Vienna to oversee Operation 25/Operation Marita. While he just as easily could review the operations from Berlin, Hitler likes to give the appearance of being at the front with his troops.

The Luftwaffe attacks Birmingham on the night of 10/11 April, with 206 bombers dropping 246 tons of high explosives and 1183 incendiaries. After dark, it attacks Coventry again. Overall, about 475 people are killed and 700 seriously wounded in the two Coventry raids of two nights earlier and tonight.

East African Campaign: The British now hold the key points in Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and Abyssinia. However, many Italian strongholds remain in far-flung places. The British 11th African Division advances southwest from Addis Ababa to attack one of them, Jimma. They have to halt at Abaiti on the Omo River, where the Italians have blown the bridges.

At Assab, Eritrea, the Italians watch British troops approach and do what Italians in other ports have done in that situation: they start scuttling their ships:
  • 6366-ton freighter India
  • 7565-ton tanker Piave
  • 9834-ton Sannio
  • 57-ton coastal freighter Scillin
  • 59-ton coastal freighter Circeo
  • 80-ton coastal freighter Dante
  • 64-ton coastal freighter Sicilia
The British later salvage India, Piave, and Sannio.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) torpedoes 6563-ton Dutch freighter Saleier east of Greenland. The ship goes down extremely quickly, in a  matter of seconds, but all 63 men on board survive pickup by the destroyer USS Niblack - unusual for a ship sinking so fast and during the colder months so far north. Saleier had been dispersed from Convoy OB 306. The Niblack, which is on its way to Iceland and nearby strictly by chance - then unsuccessfully attacks an (apparently false) submarine contact by dropping three depth charges. This apparently is the first US naval combat involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic - though nobody on the German side is aware of it and nothing comes of it, and thus it passes virtually unnoticed by anyone. But it most definitely is the first US combat incident of World War II, and shows just how close the US is coming to open conflict.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Tyne. A bomb strikes Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Naiad, already under repair, and damages it slightly some more.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4887-ton British freighter Thirlby about 140 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis. It is brought in to Loch Ewe in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 943-ton British freighter Busiris off Runnel Stone in Mount's Bay, Cornwall.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 397-ton Dutch freighter Virgo five miles northwest of Bar Light Vessel. It is towed to Liverpool.

The Admiralty, happy that the RAF damaged German heavy cruiser Gneisenau in Brest over the night with four bomb hits, transfers six of its submarines to the Mediterranean.

British Convoy DS 1 departs from Scapa Flow, the first of the DS convoys. It is composed of two troopships and two escorts, bound for Reykjavik. Return convoys are SD convoys.

Convoys T-10 and HX 120 depart from Halifax. Convoy TC-10 is a two-transport Canadian troop convoy that is escorted the entire way by battleship HMS Rodney and other ships as well.

U-401 (Kapitänleutnant Gero Zimmermann) and U-565 (Oberleutnant zur See Johann Jebsen) are commissioned.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Australian troops Tobruk
Australian soldiers defend Tobruk, 10 April 1941. Just three months earlier, they captured the fortress, today they are defending it themselves. It is one of numerous such reversals during World War II.
Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel records his thoughts today:
I am convinced the enemy is retreating, we have to push after him with all forces. Target to be made clear to every man is the Suez canal. To prevent a breakout of the enemy from Tobruk, an encirclement has to be pursued by all means.
Forward Detachment Prittwitz (led by Major General von Prittwitz) advances south on the Via Balbia, which runs east of Tobruk and is the main road in the region. At noon, the detachment encounters British troops. Everything is extremely fluid with no clear battle lines, and, just as with British Generals Neame and O'Connor recently, the Germans lose one of theirs due to the confusion. Prittwitz perishes when he is fired upon by them - his driver had driven past the lead elements of his detachment without noticing. Lieutenant Colonel Graf Schwerin takes over the detachment.

Rommel orders the Italian Brescia Division forward from Mechili to take over for Schwerin's force. He also orders the Ariete Division forward toward El Adem. Due to all these troop movements, today is often cited as the start of the siege of Tobruk. The port city is defended by the 9th Australian Division, with overall command under General Morshead. The British strengthen their defenses at Halfaya Pass to the south by bringing up the 22nd Guards Brigade.

Moving his headquarters forward to Gazala airfield, Rommel's biggest problem is one of supply. Some detachments have run out of food and water.

The Royal Navy sends off four destroyers from Suda Bay to be based in Malta. The purpose is to interdict Axis supply convoys operating between Naples and Tripoli. Rommel's advances on land, the British believe, can be stopped - at sea.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Abingdon is damaged by mines at Malta. Repairs will take until June. It is the second ship damaged or sunk by mines there recently.

Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Gnat bombard German positions at Gazala and Bomba.

An Italian convoy of four ships (Bosforo, Ogaden, Persiano, and Superga) departs from Palermo, Sicily for the final leg of its trip from Naples to Tripoli. Another convoy arrives at Tripoli.

The War Office transfers Special Service troops from Malta back to Alexandria. They have been among the troops guarding Gozo Island pursuant to Operation Picnic.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com El Paso Herald-Post
The war is creeping closer. Notice that the news of the capture of British Generals O'Connor and Neame now is being made public. The El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post, 10 April 1941.
Anglo/Irish Relations: Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is an advocate of less rigid English relations with Ireland. He has prepared a memo on the matter, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill finds it "very readable." Menzies continues in his diary:
Winston and Kingsley Wood exhibit the blank wall of conservatism. There is triangular prejudice on this matter. Winston is not a receptive or reasoning animal. But they will come to it! [Emphasis in original].
In this instance, Menzies' liberal instincts clash with Churchill's conservative ones. Throughout his diary, Menzies is alternately attracted and repelled by Churchill's very strong personality, and this is an instance of the latter. The bottom line is that Churchill has very definite ideas about how to handle the Irish question, and those ideas do not include being "soft" or "lenient."

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. The British will work up the cutters in Long Island Sound through the end of May.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: President Inonu once again declines to join the Allies.

US/Polish Relations: Having met with President Roosevelt, General Sikorski concludes his brief visit to the United States and returns to England.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Imperial Japanese Navy B5N Kate
An IJN B5N in early 1941. The "VI-324" on the tail would change to AII-324 due to today's changes (Famous Airplanes of the World - B5N "Kate", number 32, page 44, January 1992, by Bunrin Do Company via Japanese Aviation.).
Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy forms the First Air Fleet, composed of all seven of its aircraft carriers. Altogether, they can launch 474 aircraft. The carriers are arranged as follows:
  • Kaga - Carrier Division 1
  • Akagi - Carrier Division 1, also flagship of the First Air Fleet
  • Soryu - Carrier Division 2
  • Hiryu - Carrier Division 2
  • Hosho - Carrier Division 3
  • Ryuo - Carrier Division 4
  • Shoho - Carrier Division 4 (when it joins the fleet)
  • Shokaku - Carrier Division 5
  • Zuikaku - Carrier Division 5
Admiral Chuichi Nagumo is the First Air Fleet's first commander. Of interest to modelers is that the IJN changes all carrier aircraft tail codes are changed to reflect this

US Military: Admiral John Newton brings his fleet back into Pearl Harbor, concluding its "goodwill" missions to Australia and Fiji.

Japanese Government: War hawks Musatsume Ogura, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, and Lieutenant General Teiichi Suzuki join the cabinet. Admiral Osami Nagano becomes the new chief of the Naval Staff, replacing Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi, who has resigned (but technically remains in the cabinet). Seiichi Ito becomes the new chief of staff of the Imperial Combined Fleet.

Iraq: The British at Habbaniyah Airfield outside Baghdad are getting increasingly nervous about the new government of Rashid Ali. While there haven't been any attacks on the base yet, the Ali government is distinctly anti-British and pro-German. The British War Cabinet authorizes troop transfers from General Claude Auchinleck's command in India to Iraq.

In Berlin, meanwhile, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has his eye on Iraq as well. The country fits into the, shall we say, larger war aims of the Third Reich. However, it is far away over air space largely controlled by the British, so even getting airplanes to it is a chore. Goering believes that supporting the Ali government with his Luftwaffe would increase his own prestige within the hierarchy - which of course he is almost at the top of already, but there is a lot of infighting that he worries about nonetheless - so he is thinking of sending some units there. The main problem is that there is no ground support for Luftwaffe planes in Iraq because it is all controlled by the British, so capturing the RAF facilities is somewhat of a prerequisite to Luftwaffe operations. However, the facilities likely can't be captured without the Luftwaffe's assistance.

American Homefront: The Anthony and William Esposito trial begins in New York City. They are accused of the 14 January 1941 killing of a police officer and a holdup victim. The case receives a lot of media attention because the incident happened near the Empire State Building and a visiting photographer was on the scene to snap some pictures right after it happened. The Esposito brothers enter an insanity plea and exhibit odd "insane" conduct in the courtroom.

Hooverville, in Seattle's Pioneer Square, burns down today. A Depression-era shantytown begun about 1931, its burning causes the Seattle Port Commission to condemn all shacks and other rudimentary habitations in the area.

10 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com War Ambulance Birch Cliff Public Schools
Toronto Birch Cliff Public Schools teachers and students pose with an ambulance they have purchased for the Canadian Armed Forces. The school raised the money for the ambulance and an extra $200, both of which were presented today to the Department of National Defense, 10 April 1941.  
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

Sunday, April 9, 2017

April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi

Friday 4 April 1941

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Supermarine Spitfires
"A formation of Supermarine Spitfire Mark IIAs of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron dip their wings as they pass the saluting base during a visit by Władysław Raczkiewicz, the President of Poland, to RAF Northolt, 4 April 1941." © IWM (CH 2442).
Italian/Greek Campaign: On 4 April 1941, Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 27, which is not given a formal title, only a day after No. 26. Unlike the elaborate planning being undertaken for Operation Barbarossa, Operation Marita is being improvised at the last minute.

While a shot has yet to be fired, the Directive opens with the sentence, "The Yugoslav forces are in process of disintegration." The Directive enumerates the following "aims" for each country:
  1. The aim of the operation is to destroy the remaining Yugoslav forces and to clean up and occupy the country. 
  2. As soon as adequate forces have been concentrated in the area of the Florina and the Salonika Basin, the decisive attack against the Anglo-Greek forces in northern Greece will be launched. The object of this operation will be, by a quick breakthrough in the direction of Larissa, to encircle and annihilate the enemy forces there, and to prevent the establishment of a new defensive front.
The ultimate goal in Greece is "occupying the rest of the Greek mainland including the Peloponnese." The operation is considered so easy that Hitler even includes how many occupation forces will be left after the entire country is occupied.

Convoy ASF 23 (three supply ships) departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria with a lavish escort that outnumbers the ships being protected.

East African Campaign: Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham's forces approach Addis Ababa after an advance averaging 35 miles a day over a thousand miles. The Italians hurriedly evacuate the city. The British take 50,000 prisoners around the city at a cost of only 135 men killed. Taking the capital gives British control over 360,000 square miles of jungle and mountains. Italian commander the Duke of Aosta withdraws with his remaining forces. Aosta's forces are suffering from malaria and other maladies, and he himself has tuberculosis.

The game is almost up at Massawa. The Indian 5th Infantry Division arrives at the outskirts of the city to see the Italians and Germans in the harbor furiously at work scuttling their ships. Among those that sink there:
Italian torpedo boat Acerbi
  • 8045-ton tanker Crefeld
  • 7487-ton tanker Frauenfels (salvaged as Empire Niger)
  • 5155-ton freighter Gera (salvaged as Empire Indus)
  • 7566-ton freighter Lichtenfels (salvaged as Empire Nile)
  • 7885-ton freighter Oliva
  • 3564-ton freighter Adua
  • 5400-ton freighter Brenta
  • 5943-ton freighter Arabia
  • 5148-ton freighter Romolo Gessi
  • 4880-ton freighter Impero
  • 5430-ton freighter Vesuvio (salvaged)
  • 5006-ton freighter XXIII Marzo
4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com War Illustrated
The War Illustrated, No. 83, 4 April 1941.
European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe returns to Bristol and Avonmouth during the night with 83 planes from KG 77, KG 27, KG 54 and KGr 806, led by pathfinders from KG 26 and KGr 100. There are ten Heinkel He 111s equipped with X-Verfahren radio direction finders and a Y-Verfahren-equipped Heinkel from III,/KG 26 which crashes near Hewish, Somerset. The attack lasts from 21:00 to 01:30. The Germans attack Falmouth and sink Free French sloops Suippe and Conquerant.

The British try a new tactic to disrupt the Luftwaffe attacks. The civil defense authorities use Haslar Smoke Generators at Newcastle to obscure the city. This is the beginning of a ten-day period in which Newcastle and nearby towns are protected by this method. The Luftwaffe does not attack the towns while they are obscured by smoke, but there is no indication that they intended to do so in the first place.

RAF Bomber Command sends 54 bombers to attack Brest (see below). Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Lt. Hans Hahn downs two Hampden bombers for his fifth and sixth victories, making him an ace.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzie visits Dublin and notes, "In Dublin life goes on and there is no blackout - it seems queer!"

Battle of the Atlantic: The RAF knows that German heavy cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are in drydock in Brest, so it sends a second mission (the first was on 30-31 March) against the two ships. While there are no direct hits, a 500 lb (227 kg) armor-piercing bomb just misses Gneisenau. The local authorities decide that the ships are too vulnerable in the dry dock and decide to move them out into the harbor for safety.

The "Action of 4 April 1941" takes place. German raider Thor is on its way back to Germany when it comes across Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Voltaire, a converted passenger liner. As the two ships approach head-on, Captain Otto Kähler of the Thor orders his men to open fire. The first salvo destroys Voltaire's generator and radio room, meaning the ship is unable to radio its position. Only two of Voltaire's six six-inch guns are able to return fire, and they manage only one hit that destroys its radio aerial. Thor has trouble with its guns, which overheat and force it to cease firing, but at that moment the Voltaire raises the white flag. Thor stands off and rescues Voltaire's crew, taking off 196 of 296 men. After this incident, Thor continues heading north. This is the second armed merchant cruiser that Thor has beaten, the other being HMS Carnarvon Castle on 5 December (which made it to Montevideo).

The attacks on Convoy SC-26 in the mid-Atlantic continue today, as more fully described in the entry for the 3rd:
  • 2467-ton Norwegian freighter Helle (sunk by U-98, all survive)
  • 5122-ton British freighter Welcombe (sunk by U-98, 20 perish)
  • 5414-ton British freighter Harbledown (sunk by U-94, 16 perish)
  • 8132-ton British tanker Conus (sunk by U-97, all perish)
  • 5351-ton British freighter Athenic (part of Convoy SC-26, but traveling independently by choice; torpedoed and damaged, sinks on the 5th).
U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz), operating far to the south, also gets a victory north of the Cape Verde Islands. It sinks 6507-ton British tanker Marlene. There are 13 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4815-ton British freighter Salvus off Cromer. There are four deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sink 164-ton British trawler Whitby a few miles from Blackwater Light Vessel off the east coast of Wexford.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6914-ton British tanker Cape Verde in the middle of St. George's Channel off Wexford. Cape Verde makes it to port.

The first steps of Operation Principal take place. This is a projected attack on French battleship Dunkerque. The force is led by battlecruiser HMS Renown and aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Furious. This operation is based on spy information that the French ship is about to leave port.

German 8820 ton Dithmarschen-class fleet-replenishment tanker ("trosschiff," combining the roles fulfilled by tanker, a repair ship, ammunition ship, and dry cargo ship) Ermland completes its long journey from Japan, arriving at Bordeaux.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Cromer (J 128, Lt. Commander Arthur E. Coles) is commissioned.

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Afrika Korps Libya
General Rommel's troops advancing in Libya, Spring 1941 (Eric Borchert, Federal Archive).
Battle of the Mediterranean: Afrika Korp's reconnaissance observes the last British (Australian 20th Infantry Brigade) retreating east from Benghazi, with the main force retreating east from Barce. The British are at Msus by 11:00. The Germans surmise that the British will hold Mechili for flank protection of Tobruk. Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's headquarters radios Lt. Colonel Graf Schwerin of the 3rd Recon Battalion to:
push to the coast and carry out Operation Tmimi... prevent move of English to the east. Push forward to Tobruk with forward detachment.
Rommel also orders the Italian Ariete Division to take Mechili. Schwerin's unit takes the abandoned Benghazi without any issues by about midday. Rommel drives to Benghazi and tells Schwerin to join the attack on Mechili as soon as the Italian Brescia Division arrives to garrison Benghazi. The Germans duly head east to the Green Mountain, but run into a British minefield protected by artillery and tanks. The Germans lose several tanks and abandon the pursuit for the moment. However, the Luftwaffe is active and destroys a British column of 21 trucks, splashing 1600 tons of gasoline onto the desert.

The fast and unexpected pace of the offensive also is causing the Germans logistical problems. In addition, the Germans follow numerous British vehicle tracks into the desert which only cause their vehicles to bog down in the sand. In addition, sand often drifts across the roads during times of heavy winds, completely obscuring them and causing German vehicles to drive off of them and get bogged down. The 5th Light Division requests that all further supplies be sent only by 4-wheel-drive trucks.

The Regia Aeronautica attacks shipping off Corfu and sinks Greek torpedo boat Prousa and 932 ton Greek freighter Sussanna.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual makes port in Malta after a minelaying operation west of Sicily.

An incident takes place in Malta that shows the mixed feelings on the island about the war. Some conscripts from the local population are refusing service because they claim that their enlistment notices are out of date and thus unenforceable. Governor Dobbie requests instructions from Whitehall on how to proceed.

Battle of the Pacific: British mooring vessel HMS Buffalo hits a mine and sinks off Singapore. There are 32 killed. The only ones laying mines in the area are the British themselves.

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Salvus freighter
British freighter Salvus during its trials in 1928; sunk 4 April 1941 by the Luftwaffe in the English Channel.
Anglo/US Relations: Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends President Roosevelt a telegram giving an update on the Battle of the Atlantic. He notes that, because the Royal Navy has been able to "strengthen our escorts" - presumably as a result of the destroyers-for-bases agreement of September 1940 - the U-boats "have now moved further west." He requests "ten cutters" for operations out of Iceland because "our losses are increasingly serious."

Separately, President Roosevelt agrees to Churchill's request that British warships can be repaired in US shipyards. He goes further and orders that Royal Navy warships on combat missions can be refueled there, too. Naturally, the same courtesies are not extended to German warships.

US/Bulgarian Relations: The Roosevelt Administration orders that all Bulgarian assets in the United States be frozen.

US/Italian Relations: Due to a report that Italian Admiral Alberto Lais, the Naval Attache to the Italian Embassy, has been tied to "the commission by certain persons of acts in violation of the laws of the United States," President Roosevelt demands Admiral Lais' withdrawal. These "acts" were the orders to sabotage Italian ships interned in US waters (and since seized by the US government).

German/Japanese Relations: Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka wrangles a meeting with Adolf Hitler and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop. Hitler obviously places great priority on Germany's relationship with Japan to schedule the meeting at this time, with preparations for Operation Marita revving into high gear. Germany would "strike without delay" if a Japanese attack on British Asian possessions should cause the United States to declare war on Japan. Note that Hitler continues the Ribbentrop line of urging an attack on Great Britain, but not on the United States.

Matsuoka, for his part, asks that Germany provide Japan, via the Technical Military Commission of the Tripartite Pact, with submarine blueprints and cutting edge U-boat technology. This, Matsuoka says, would be necessary for an attack on Singapore, which is music to Hitler's ears. In addition, Matsuoka adds that Japan would be at war with the United States at some point and that the Japanese intent to attack Singapore should be kept quiet and not mentioned in cables to Tokyo lest it leak out to the Allies, suggesting that the Japanese are beginning to worry that at least some of their communications are being intercepted. Ambassador Oshima is to serve as the conduit of the technical information.

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Naoki Hoshino
Naoki Hoshino.
Japanese Government: Chief Cabinet Secretary Naoki Hoshino, chief of the "Project Department" inside the Finance Ministry, is elevated to the House of Peers. He is replaced by Lieutenant General Teiichi Suzuki, who is named President of the Planning Board and Minister without Portfolio. This is a subtle preparation for war; while it appears that Hoshino is being promoted, in fact, he is being removed at the behest of the military. Hoshino has been warning that, while there is sufficient oil in Japanese storage tanks to tide the military over until the Netherlands East Indies can be seized, that will only be the case if those stocks are carefully managed. Imperial Headquarters now wants someone it trusts - one might say "controls" - in charge of those stocks. Essentially, the Japanese economy now is going on a war footing.

Yugoslavian Government: Deputy Prime Minister Vladko Maček, leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, had been in Zagreb on 27 March. At that time, he had counseled Prince Paul to fight to retain his regency. However, under the new Simović government, his fate had been unclear. Today, Maček decides to accept Simović's request that he continue on as Deputy Prime Minister and arrives in Belgrade. He requires, among other things, that the new government respects the Cvetković–Maček Agreement and affirm the Tripartite Agreement. This all apparently is satisfactory to Simović.

Separately, exiled Croatian politician and Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić, broadcasting from Florence, Italy, uses his Radio Velebit program to call for an uprising against the Yugoslavian government by the pro-German Croatian people.

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com University of Chicago
Frank Etherton, a member of the Blackfriars at the University of Chicago, puts on a show as Frankie Etherton in "Typical Miss Campus 1941," April 1941 (University of Chicago Archival Photographic Files).
US Military: The US Navy orders many units transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic Fleets. These include:
  • Battleship USS Idaho
  • Battleship USS Mississippi
  • Battleship USS New Mexico
  • The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown
  • Light cruiser USS Philadelphia
  • Light cruiser USS Brooklyn
  • Light cruiser USS Savannah
  • Light cruiser USS Nashville
  • Nine destroyers of the 8th and 9th Destroyer Squadrons.
Departing Pearl Harbor within the next 60 days for their new ports in the Atlantic will be the Idaho, Yorktown, Mississippi, New Mexico, Brooklyn, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Savannah, among others.

General George S. Patton, Jr. takes command of the 2nd Armored Division with the temporary rank of Major General.

Swedish Military: Commander-in-chief General Olof Thörnell issues a memorandum recommending participation in a war against the Soviet Union in order, among other reasons, to aid sister nation Finland. This is an interesting position to take, seeing as how Sweden did not help Finland during the Winter War despite repeated pleas from the Finnish government. The real reason is buried in the text, "so that the land war can be held at a distance from our borders."

Canadian Government: Order in Council PC 2385, The Merchant Seamen Order, provides that authorities may detain unruly sailors from all ships in Canadian ports of any nationality.

German Homefront: Ohm Krüger (English: Uncle Krüger) opens. It stars Emil Jannings, winner of the first Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1929. Ohm Krüger is a biographical treatment of Paul Krüger, President of the Transvaal Free State during the time of the Boer War. As with other wartime films out of Germany, it is full of anti-British themes and pro-German undercurrents. So, Queen Victoria is portrayed as a lush, while Krüger bears obvious character similarities to how the Ministry of Propaganda would like the German public to think of Adolf Hitler. The British as greedy, obsessed with gold, while the Boers are hardworking peasants who only want to work the land. A major theme is how horrible the British concentration camps were. Gisela Uhlen co-stars as Petra Krüger, the strong Aryan wife, and Ferdinand Marian plays Cecil Rhodes. The film concludes with the Boers losing, of course, but also a "hopeful" (and certainly wishful) statement from the Krüger character about how someday things will be set right:
We were just a small and weak folk. Big and powerful folks will stand up against the British tyranny. They will beat England to the ground. God will be with them. Then the way is free for a better world. 

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Sydney Australia film premiere
A parade marking the opening of MGM film "The Power and the Glory" (aka "The Invaders," its re-release title) at the Mayfair Theatre in Sydney, Australia. It features a young Peter Finch, who is lightly injured during a parachute scene at RAAF Camden. Female lead Katrina Roselle, in fact, was an Austrian immigrant who moved to Hollywood after the film's production. The film is financed in large part by the New South Wales government. British freighter Turakina seen in the film becomes a victim of German raider Orion not long after filming, in August 1940, in the first gun battle ever fought in the Tasman Sea. There were 35 deaths.
Australian Homefront: "The Power and the Glory" opens today at the Mayfair Theater. It is an Australian film, written and directed by Noel Monkman, about a Czech scientist who escapes from Occupied Europe to live in Australia. The scientist, Professor Marnelle, has developed a deadly nerve gas that must not be allowed to fall into German hands. Katrin Rosselle, the female lead, is an Austrian who emigrates to the United States around this time. The 9700-ton freighter Turakina seen in the film was sunk for real in August 1940 by a German raider.

British Homefront: The government imposes "double summertime," meaning that the clock moves forward two hours from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) beginning on the first Saturday in May and ending on the second Saturday in August. Otherwise, the time is advanced one hour.

American Homefront: There is a major America's First Committee meeting at the Manhattan Center. The featured speakers are Colonel Charles Lindbergh, author Kathleen Norris, and isolationist Massachusetts Senator David Walsh. Walsh supported James Farley for President in 1940 and runs the key Naval Affairs Committee. The affair is extremely well attended.

As will become a matter of some controversy in the future, it is alleged by some that Walsh at around this time is patronizing a "house of degradation" (male prostitution) in Brooklyn during this time. This "house" in question also is patronized by three foreign agents. However, these charges are never proven and Walsh may, in fact, have nothing to do with it. It is true, though, that many fear Walsh's political views and are looking for any dirt they can find to smear and discredit him. The "homosexual" label is considered extremely toxic during this time and is a favorite weapon used to destroy political careers (as we will see with Sumner Welles). The charges are usually composed of extremely flimsy evidence. They are worth mentioning, however, to illustrate the polarized political climate developing in the United States, of which these America's First rallies are both a beneficiary and a cause.

4 April 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Camp Roosevelt
Students learn how to bandage patients at Camp Roosevelt, Ocala, Florida, 4 April 1941 (Charles Foster, Florida Memory).
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