Thursday 6 March 1941

German heavy cruiser Scharnhorst on 6 March 1941. This photo was taken by a crewman on U-124 near the Cape Verde Islands (Scharnhorst-class.dk).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The seesaw battles in the center of the Albanian front continue on 6 March 1941. The Greeks and Italians have been fighting over the heights near the Klisura Pass for two months, with neither side able to make lasting gains. Today, the Greeks recapture some of the high ground, aided by the RAF and Greek Air Force. The Greeks claim to capture a thousand Italian prisoners.

The Italians are preparing their own offensive in the area within a few days. Mussolini is in Albania to oversee the preparations and watch the start. This offensive is extremely important to Mussolini because he wants to prove that his troops can succeed against the Greeks before the Wehrmacht invasion scheduled for April.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in Athens. Churchill believes that defeat in Greece may be inevitable without intercession by Turkey or Yugoslavia. Eden replies that everyone in Athens feels that the British expedition to Greece, Operation Lustre, was "the right decision." Eden, CIGS John Dill, and General Wavell all return to Cairo today, where they confer with South African leader Jan Smuts.

Convoys for Operation Lustre, the British expedition to Greece, are in full swing. Royal Navy cruisers HMS York, Gloucester, and Bonaventure depart from Alexandria for Piraeus loaded with troops. Two freighters also leave the port carrying tanks and other equipment. This is the general pattern for all convoys to Piraeus, troops carried on fast cruisers and freight carried on slower and more vulnerable cargo vessels.

The Greeks are looking over their shoulders toward the Bulgarian front. Commander-in-chief Papagos prepares contingency plans for the event of a German invasion from that direction.

The SS Artillery Division on the parade grounds of the Hauptkadettenanstalt (Cadet's Institute) in Lichterfelde, Berlin, 6 March 1941.

East African Campaign: Haile Selassie has taken command of a motley force called Ethiopia's Patriots. They take Burye, using native troops. The Italians evacuate the fort during the night. Meanwhile, South African troops in Eritrea are advancing from Mogadishu north toward Harar and, further on, Addis Ababa.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues its pattern of sending lone raiders over the Channel during the daytime. There are scattered bombings in London, Kent, and East Anglia. There is a small attack northeast of London after dark.

Minister of War David Margesson reports to the House of Commons that Luftwaffe losses outside the Mediterranean Theater number 5,346 planes versus 854 British planes. Real Luftwaffe losses are nowhere near that figure, which would have completely eliminated the Luftwaffe by now. However, the figure for RAF losses appears realistic. Most historians likely would assign a figure roughly double the RAF losses to the Luftwaffe, though estimates vary wildly. Since the war, estimates of Luftwaffe losses have declined fairly steadily.

Battle of the Atlantic: Having first used the phrase during a War Cabinet meeting recently, Winston Churchill today issues a directive titled "The Battle of the Atlantic." It sets forth the nation's priorities in the sea war. Looking remarkably like a Fuhrer Directive, Churchill's directive wants to "defeat the attempt to strangle our food supplies and our connection with the United States" by:

1. Hunting down U-boats, both at sea and in their pens/shipyards;
2. Giving "Extreme Priority" to catapult ships able to launch fighters;
3. Concentrating Coastal Command's forces upon the vulnerable Northwestern Approaches
4. Formation of a "Battle of the Atlantic Committee chaired by Churchill himself.

Today technically is viewed as beginning "the Battle of the Atlantic." However, this is just an arbitrary date based on Churchill's adoption of the phrase; the true battle at sea has been in progress since the first day of the conflict, and nothing changes at this time other than Churchill issuing this directive giving the battle the very highest priority.

German battleship Bismarck receives orders to depart from Hamburg and move to Kiel. The Luftwaffe escorts the Bismarck with Bf 109 fighters and two armed merchant cruisers. An icebreaker accompanies the Bismarck. The battleship is approaching operational status, though it still must stock up with supplies and ammunition before it can embark on a raiding voyage.

German heavy cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst sit astride the shipping lanes heading south from Great Britain to Freeport. Today, they rendezvous with U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz), which recently refueled from a German tanker in the Canary Islands. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are steaming at half speed up and down the convoy lanes, waiting for targets to appear.

An attempt to recover a mine for study in the Falmouth Inner Harbour goes disastrously wrong. The mine explodes, sinking 196-ton British barge Queen Wasp and accompanying echo sounding boat Mouse, and killing five men from shore establishment ship HMS Vernon (which was used to capture mines for study throughout the war). There are six deaths and four injuries.

Royal Navy 252-ton minesweeper HMT Keryado hits a mine and sinks about 12 km south of Newhaven. There are 9 deaths.

British 202-ton tug Sun VII hits a mine and sinks near the Barrow Deep. There are five deaths.

Norwegian 3017-ton tanker Mexico hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel off Ipswich. There are ten deaths and 23 survivors. The partially sunk wreck remains a navigational hazard throughout the war.

British 781-ton freighter Eilian Hill hits a mine and is damaged off Barry Island in South Wales.

The Kriegsmarine lays minefield Wollen about 70 km east of the Out Skerries, Shetland.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Puckeridge is launched.

U-560 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche) is commissioned, U-567 and U-568 are launched.

Flemish volunteers train with the SS, 6 March 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Luftwaffe once again mines the Suez Canal. These are acoustic mines, which the British have not yet learned how to counter, and they are particularly effective in the narrow waters of the canal. This effectively closes the canal for three weeks, though some high priority ships are allowed through. Among other things, this delays the transit of aircraft carrier HMS Formidable to the Red Sea, where it could be extremely useful in protecting convoys in the eastern Mediterranean.

The British convoys to Pireaus are in full swing, and the Italians have taken notice. Italian bombers (about ten each of S-79s and S-81s) attack British Convoys AN-17 (going to Greece) and AS-16 (returning from Greece) to the northeast of Crete in the Kaso Straits. They do not score any hits. The Italians lose a bomber, with half a dozen others damaged by antiaircraft fire. The Luftwaffe also attacks the convoys.

East of Crete, Italian 590-ton Sirena class submarine Anfitrite attacks British troop convoy AS-17 (some sources say GA.8) heading toward Athens. However, the attack fails and HMS Greyhound sinks the Anfitrite. The Greyhound takes 39 prisoners, including the submarine's commander.

The British Mediterranean Fleet, led by battleships HMS Barham and Valiant, sorties from Alexandria, first for gunnery exercises, then to support convoy operations west of Suda Bay, Crete.

There are some minor encounters between the Afrika Korps and the British forces west of Agheila. The British have noticed that the enemy is using armored vehicles, but finds nothing significant about that, as the Italian tanks have been relatively ineffective. An Italian convoy of four freighters makes it to Tripoli carrying German troops and supplies without the British noticing.

On Malta, the RAF is still recovering from yesterday's massive Luftwaffe attacks that devastated Hal Far airfield. The Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Squad clears nineteen unexploded bombs from the base.

Flemish volunteers to the SS, 6 March 1941. They have machine gun equipment.

US/Italian Relations: The "War of the Consulates" continues. In apparent retaliation for Italy closing some US consulates (ostensibly for security concerns following a Royal Navy raid on Genoa), the US closes several Italian consulates (Detroit, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey). In addition, the Italians must provide information on any movements within the United States by Italian soldiers.

US/Japanese Relations: Some US companies still have licenses to export high-grade petroleum and rich crude stocks to Japan. Today, the US move to block the export of these 5 million barrels of oil.

Anglo/Romanian Relations: Churchill memos personal secretary Alexander Cadogan that King Carol II of Romania, who abdicated and fled the country under fire from the Iron Guard, should be "offered accommodation."

Anglo/Australian Relations: At the war cabinet meeting, visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies has sharp words. He complains about London making important decisions for the Dominions (such as committing Australian and New Zealand troops to Greece) without first properly consulting their governments. Churchill has been mounting a charm offensive with Menzies, but the Australian PM is not being swayed from his skepticism about such risky decisions.

Applied Science: Edward Teller, a native of Hungary, becomes a naturalized US citizen, following in the footsteps of Albert Einstein and other émigré scientists.

Yugoslav Military: The Royal Yugoslav Air Force (Serbo-Croatian: Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Kraljevine Jugoslavije, VVKJ) is secretly mobilized. It remains completely unclear who it would be used against - the Germans or the British.

Japanese Military: Tatsuta Maru departs from Yokohama under Captain Toichi Takahata. The 16,975-ton liner is being used to scout out obscure routes for an attack on the Hawaiian Islands and engage in deception operations against the US Navy.

Merchantman Mormacmail, prior to its conversion to escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1). It is taken to Newport News for conversion.

US Military: The US Navy officially acquires USS Long Island (AVG-1), the country's first escort carrier. Its first skipper is Commander Donald B. Duncan.

British Government: Churchill has lunch with a small group of friends in the basement of No. 10 Downing Street. The editor of the Sunday Dispatch, Charles Eade, attends and writes a detailed account for his personal use. Churchill dwells on Operation Claymore, the successful commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands, noting that the whale oil factories were important to the German diet. Churchill also mentions a 4,000 lb bomb the Luftwaffe recently dropped on Herndon, killing 80 people and injuring 300 others. Among the other topics covered at the luncheon, downed Luftwaffe airmen being treated well by Englishwomen who come across them (a tendency later turned around in "Mrs. Miniver" (1942)) is downplayed by Mrs. Churchill, who says that "before this war is over, we should be hating our enemies all right."

Yugoslavian Government: Regent Prince Paul convenes the Crown Council to discuss joining the Tripartite Pact.

China: The Japanese launch an offensive with a heavy artillery bombardment at 05:30 in western Hubei (Hupeh). Then, they launch an attack from bridgeheads taken on the south bank of the Yangtze River. The offensive is intended to push the Chinese (Kuomintang) back toward Chungking, into the mountains. The Japanese troops of the 13th Infantry Division take Chang-Kang-Ling and Fan-Chia-Hu. This is known as the Western Hubei Operation.

Captain John W. Reeves, Jr. of the USS Wasp (CV-7), 6 March 1941. The Wasp is operating off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (US Naval Institute).

British Homefront: A rare wartime strike breaks out at the John Brown Shipyard in Clydeside.

For the first time, women become signalmen on Britain's mainline railways. They have had two weeks of training and begin their duties on the South Yorkshire joint line.

German Homefront: A large number of Polish workers is being used within Greater Germany for farming. Their relationships with German women are becoming scandalous, at least in the minds of the Reich's leaders. New laws decreed today forbid these workers from any relationships whatsoever, and also forbid these "guest workers" from complaining or participating in civic life.

Dutch Homefront: The fallout from the February 1941 General Strike continues. The Germans are in complete control and are taking reprisals. Today, they execute Dutch Communist resistance fighter Leen Schijveschuurder.

American Homefront: John Gutzon Borglum passes away from complications following surgery in Chicago, Illinois, age 73, and is to be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. Borglum is a sculptor who has specialized in massive projects such as Stone Mountain, Georgia (though Borglum's work there was replaced after he quit the project). The Stone Mountain project honed his skills, leading him to take up a project by South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson to carve a figure the figures of two United States Presidents into Mount Rushmore. Eventually, the project expanded to four Presidents.

Borglum's son Lincoln takes over the Mount Rushmore project now, which is in an advanced state of completion. No further work of any note will be made on the tableaux due to the war and Borglum's passing. The original design now never will be completed, including the completion of President Jefferson's jacket.

Future History: Johannes Marinus van Zon is born in Utrecht, Netherlands. As Hans van Zon, he goes on a wild killing spree during the 1960s. Van Zon violently murders five people (three men and two women) and attacks others in the Netherlands before being arrested on 13 December 1967. Despite being sentenced to life, he is released from custody in 1986 and lives a free man until 11 May 1998.

The Johnson House, Salem, New Jersey, 6 March 1941 (Photographer George Neuschafer for the Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress).

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Become Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Thursday 6 February 1941

U-107 returning from a successful patrol, as evidenced by all the victory pennants. Today, 6 February 1941, it sinks its third ship on its very first patrol, the 3388-ton Canadian freighter Maplecourt.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Operations in Greece remain at a standstill on 6 February 1941. The weather is inhibiting both sides. The Greeks have captured the gateway to the strategic port of Valona, the Klisura Pass, but so far they have been unable to capitalize on this success. The Greeks are planning another attack for the middle of the month. At this point, the Greek hopes to capture Valona fast so that they can shift forces to the Bulgarian frontier to oppose an expected German invasion there  have been frustrated despite early indications of success. The RAF bombs Italian positions west of the Telepini Heights which the Greeks have recently recovered despite fierce resistance from Italian Blackshirts.

East African Campaign: At Keren, Eritrea, the British troops (the 11th Indian Brigade of the 4th Indian Division) are supplemented by the arrival of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade. The Indian soldiers retain an exposed position to the left of the Dongolaas Gorge which controls entry to Keren proper, much like a drawbridge and gate control entrance to a castle. However, while the British are off to a good start, the Italians have heavily fortified positions in the surrounding heights and retain a tight grip on the gorge itself, which, because of the terrain, the British troops cannot bypass. The Indian troops rest after their march from Agordat and prepare for a major attack on the 7th.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Boulogne with 25 bombers during the day, and Dunkirk with 24 bombers after dark. The Luftwaffe does little during the day or after dark.

German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in rough North Atlantic seas during Operation Berlin in February 1941. This picture was taken from the Gneisenau.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau refuel from tanker Schlettstadt south of Cape Farewell, Iceland and proceed south toward the shipping lanes. Admiral Lütjens, in command of Operation Berlin, decides to first attack the HX and SC convoys between Canada and Great Britain. He heads to the southwest, closer to the North American mainland than previous naval battles south of Greenland.

The Allies still have no idea where the German raiders are, though they are looking for them furiously. The Germans are under standing orders to avoid engagements with capital ships and certainly do not want to draw any attention until they strike a convoy. While most convoys have few escorts at all in the mid-Atlantic, and fewer still have battleship escorts, it is impossible to know in advance which do and which do not have protection, and what degree of protection they have. Thus, as much as anything, the two German ships are heading into the unknown.

The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau aren't the only German surface ships in operation. The Kriegsmarine 2nd MTB Flotilla makes a sortie against a convoy in the Ipswich area. S-30 sinks 501-ton British freighter Angularity. There are two deaths, and one crewman is picked up by the Germans and made prisoner.

U-107 (K.Kapt. Günther Hessler), on its first (and very successful) patrol, torpedoes and sinks 3388-ton Canadian freighter Maplecourt. It is traveling in Convoy SC 20 in the Northwest Approaches. Everybody on board perishes.

Battleship HMS King George V arrives back in Scapa Flow from its journey to America to deliver Lord Halifax to Washington.

Convoy WS (Winston Special) 6A forms off Liverpool. It includes more large troop transports bound for the Middle East.

Convoy HG 53 departs from Gibraltar, bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Quantock (Lt. Commander David J. A. Heber-Percy) and minesweeping trawler HMS Coriolanus (W. D. Bishop) are commissioned.

U-556 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Wohlfarth) is commissioned, U-176 is laid down.

At the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wing B, 2nd Floor, Gallery 18A, an exhibit opens today called “French Fashions, 1800-1900.” It runs from February 6 to March 26, 1941 (© The Metropolitan Museum of Art.) This is such a timeless historical picture; while taken in 1941, it could just as easily have been taken at a similar exhibit last week. Roughly speaking, this exhibit in 1941 showed a period which is about as far back in time as World War II is as I write this.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Many histories place today as when the British capture Benghazi. That, however, seems a bit premature. The Italians are evacuating the city, but it remains in their hands as the day ends. In any event, the actual date of the "fall" of the city is of little moment, as the Italians have no intention to defend it.

South of Benghazi, in the Battle of Beda Fomm, the Italian 10th Army is trapped on the main road (the Italo Balbo) between the Australian 6th Infantry Division behind them and the Combe Force in front of them. The retreating Italian column is strung out along 7 miles of the road. The Italians have new tanks and a 4:1 advantage in numbers, but their tanks - though new - are inferior and the Italian tactical situation dire.

Lieutenant-General Annibale Bergonzoli in command of the XX Motorised corps tries to break out first thing in the morning, making a diversionary frontal attack while sending the Babini Group (mainly tanks) through the desert to try to get behind Combe Force. However, the British have brought up 32 cruiser tanks and 42 light tanks, and the Italians make little progress. The Australians, meanwhile, reach Benghazi and attack it from the north.

The Italians continue evacuating Benghazi, sending a greater force to the southwest, but the British block on the main road to the south holds. Italian M13 tanks arrive from the city, but many are quickly knocked out - the Italians quickly lose 40 tanks. The Italian artillery proves effective against the British cruiser tanks, though, and Italian vehicles manage to make some progress over rough terrain to the south. A running battle develops, with some Italian vehicles making a run for Tripoli, others surrendering, and more British armor arriving. In confused actions, the Italians make some progress, but the mass of British armor remains intact and draws a tighter cordon around the Italians.

While Operation Compass is an astounding success, it also has imposed a huge strain on the British forces. While the Italians are not much of an obstacle, the climate and terrain are. The desert air becomes loaded with sand at regular intervals, playing havoc with aircraft and other engines. The Middle East Command's RAF headquarters wires Whitehall today, noting that problems are developing with engine maintenance. Simply operating in the desert without adequate engine filters and equipment specially designed for such conditions is softening the British up for a possible counterstroke by fresh Axis forces.

Erwin Rommel already is a legend in February 1941. A hero of two world wars, if he never does another thing, his place in history still would be secure. However, fate now leads him to entirely new challenges.

In Germany, events of far-reaching significance for the war in Africa take place today which in fact promises just such a counterstroke. Having watched the continuing collapse of Italian resistance despite good defensive possibilities, the German high command - Hitler - issues an order to deploy German troops to North Africa. This is Operation Sonnenblume - “Sunflower.” Chosen to command Operation Sunflower is General Erwin Rommel, the hero of the Battle of France while leading the 7th Panzer "Ghost" Division.

The Operation Sunflower force is envisaged as a supplement to the Sperrverband (blocking detachment) previously authorized in Fuhrer Directive No. 22 of 11 January 1941. This is just a couple of divisions, the 5th Light Afrika Division (Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein) and elements of the 15th Panzer Division (Oberst Maximilian von Herff). None of those troops have reached North Africa yet, but the 5th Light Division is almost ready to go. The North African Wehrmacht force (later named Afrika Korps (DAK)) is not intended as a war-winning effort by itself, but simply as a way of stiffening Italian troops already there so that the Italian position can be maintained and the Italians perhaps encouraged to fight better.

Rommel apparently is not Hitler's first choice to lead this new operation. Lieutenant General Friedrich Paulus, deputy chief of the German General Staff (Oberquartiermeister I), later recalls that he was offered the position first, but turned it down. However, when discussing it with his wife, she apparently says that being a secondary theater, North Africa is not a place where a General could ever make a name for himself. Russia - that was the place for a German General to really succeed.

Force H out of Gibraltar departs for another attempt to launch Operation Result (now Grog), the bombardment of Genoa. The Force (Group 1) is lead by battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, and battlecruiser HMS Renown. The operation will include a feint toward Sardinia, the scene of the recent aerial attack on a dam which failed and presumably the Italians may believe will be repeated.

The British lose two more ships due to the German mining of the Suez Canal. The ships, 1500 ton hoppers No. 34 and No. 39, compound the problems the British are facing in clearing the Canal, which remains blocked from earlier sinkings. There are two deaths on No. 39.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt nominates John Gilbert "Gil" Winant as Joseph Kennedy's Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Winant is publicly on record as supporting Roosevelt's own view that Great Britain constitutes the "front lines" against Hitler, and its war effort should be supported wholeheartedly without any thought of negotiation or the possibility of Great Britain losing. This is directly contrary to Kennedy's view that England was sure to lose to Germany and should be negotiating, not fighting.

German/Spanish Relations: Adolf Hitler already basically has given up on Operation Felix due to the logistical requirements of preparing for the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. However, today he sends another lesson to Caudillo Francisco Franco. In it, Hitler says that England has no intention of helping Spain, while German already has promised 100,000 tons of grain. He concludes that "the British power in Europe is broken," and that the Wehrmacht is "the mightiest military machine in the world."

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The War Cabinet minutes for today mention a report by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden about Japan. According to Eden, the Japanese government has told its Embassy staff in London to be ready to "leave the country at short notice," and that Washington has been apprised of this information. A separate diary entry by Sir Alexander Cadogan addresses this more bluntly: "Some more very bad-looking Jap telephone conversations, from which it appears they have decided to attack us."

104th Medical Battalion, 29th Infantry Division as it moves to its new post at Fort Meade, 6 February 1941. The 104th later landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 23, "Directions For Operations Against The English War Economy." It begins "Contrary to our former view" - apparently meaning that the Luftwaffe bombing command on English factories has failed - "the heaviest effect of our operations against the English war economy has lain in the high losses in merchant shipping." The order candidly confesses that:

The least effect of all (as far as we can see) has been made upon the morale and will to resist of the English people.

Thus, those who supported the switch to terror bombing on 7 September 1940 are recognized as having been wrong - and disastrously so, though that will not become apparent for some time.

The "consequences" of all these mistakes in the aerial campaign against Great Britain are:

More focused air attacks against British shipping assets;
An increased orientation on stopping British imports.

The striking thing about this Directive is how pessimistic it is and how low a priority Great Britain is to become. Operations are to be continued "by such forces as remain available for operations against England." It also gets into minutiae of target priorities, showing that the high command feels the Luftwaffe needs special guidance to attack the right places. The order may not be an actual slap in the face of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering (who opposes Operation Barbarossa), but it certainly comes close.

Grooms and stablehands at Santa Anita Park vote to strike, 6 February 1941 (LA Times).

British Military: The RAF establishes the Directorate of Air Sea Rescue aka Air Sea Rescue Services (ASRS) aka the RAF Search and Rescue Force. This force operates closely with Coastal Command.

British Government: The British House of Commons votes for a£1,600,000,000 war credit, money which the country essentially does not have.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues his war against the British press. He sends a memorandum to Information Minister Alfred Duff Cooper noting a recent BBC report that apparently gave hints as to future British strategy in North Africa. He tells Duff Cooper to "clean up your arrangements and tone up your men."

US Government: Charles Lindbergh testifies before Congress again today. This time, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he opposes the Lend-Lease Bill, saying that it will only deplete US defenses.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his long journey from Melbourne to London. Today, he is in Cairo. Menzies has dinner with British Middle East Commander General Wavell and RAF chief Longmore, among others. Menzies notes in his diary that his talk "seems encouraging to these Generals & Marshals." His words of encouragement are probably very welcome by the Middle East command team, as London has been far from encouraging recently with all of its talk about the supposedly inefficient "tooth to tail ratio" and switching forces to Greece.

Norway: The Bishops of Norway begin to resist the German occupying forces.

China: The Chinese 5th War Area takes possession of Nanyang, burnt to the ground by the departed Japanese 11th Army.

Future History: Gigi Perreau is born in Los Angeles, California. Gigi goes on to become a child actress in films such as "Madame Curie" (1943). She remains popular until she is too old for her child roles, and in 1959 turns to television. Gigi Perreau remains active in the industry, doing voice work in "Time Again" (2011) and other recent films. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is or was a member of the board of directors of both the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts and the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Babe Ruth cuts the cake in his New York City apartment at the Ansonia on his 46th birthday, 6 February 1941.

February 1941

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

2020

Tuesday 4 February 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign: While the Greeks have possession of the Trebeshinë massif on 4 February 1941, the Italians in the vicinity are not giving up as quickly as other Italian troops have done. The battle for the heights continues.

East African Campaign: The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Indian Division is on the outskirts of Keren, Eritrea. While an unprepossessing town, Keren is heavily fortified and offers excellent defensive advantages for the Italians and their colonial troops. Located on a plateau at high altitude, the Italians have positions on the mountains on either side which offer excellent fields of fire. In addition, the Italians have engaged in expert demolition work and mined the approaches. The British advance troops, though, are full of confidence from past Italian military ineptness. They spend the day reconnoitering the vicinity and prepare to attack on the 5th, without waiting for the rest of the division. Elsewhere, British troops continue forward in Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland.

"Troops of the 1st Polish Corps manning an armored train on a line at North Berwick in Scotland, 4 February 1941. The train is armed with a 6 pounder gun, two Boys anti-tank rifles, and six Bren machine guns." © IWM (H 7031).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Düsseldorf, killing 35. After dark, the RAF sends 38 bombers against Brest and Le Havre, 31 bombers against Bordeaux and Calais, and 37 bombers to bomb airfields and other targets in northwest France (including Vannes, Ostend, and Dunkirk). Coastal Command raids Cherbourg twice during the day.

The Luftwaffe continues its winter hibernation. There are small raids against London and the rest of England after dark.

"Dr. Wallace H Cole (on the left) and Dr. Norman Egel (on the right) read a copy of the Daily Express newspaper outside the American Hospital in Britain on Tuesday 4 February 1941." © IWM (D 2067).

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather remains rough, and that causes some collisions and other difficulties. It also probably helps the German surface raiders avoid detection. The day's sinkings also illustrate the special perils faced by convoy stragglers, as three are sent to the bottom.

At dawn, German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst emerge from the Denmark Strait (between Iceland and Greenland) and enter the Atlantic. They have not been spotted by the Allies, and plan to meet up with a German tanker, Schlettstadt, before heading into the convoy lanes.

U-52 (Kptlt. Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 1298-ton Norwegian freighter Ringhorn in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. There are five survivors and 14 deaths. Ringhorn is a straggler of Convoy OB 280.

U-93 (Kptlt. Claus Korth) is operating in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland when it spots 2660-ton British freighter Dione II straggling behind Convoy SC 20. It sinks the Dione II with gunfire. There is only one survivor in the rough seas.

U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 5358-ton British refrigerated cargo ship Empire Engineer. Empire Engineer also had straggled behind Convoy SC 20, making it an easy target. All 39 men on board perish.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors) bombs and sinks 4443-ton Greek freighter Calatatis in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. There are 18 deaths and 13 survivors.

The RAF attacks Le Havre. It bombs and badly damages German 7908-ton tanker Forbach. Another RAF attack on Brest sinks 739-ton tanker John. A. Essberger.

Royal Navy 92-ton drifter HMS Imbat is sunk in a collision at Scapa Flow, while minesweepers HMS Kellett and Leda suffer damage from a collision at Aberdeen.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Humber. One of its aerial parachute mines hits 1177-ton British freighter Gwynwood. There are 11 deaths.

U-43 (Wolfgang Luth) has some kind of issue with its ballast tanks and sinks at its moorings in Lorient. The submarine is raised but requires extensive repairs that last three months.

Norwegian tanker Passat, which had been used by German raider Pinguin to lay mines off Australia in late 1940, arrives in France with its prize crew and prisoners.

The Royal Navy's First Minelaying Squadron lays minefield SN 7A in the North Sea. One of the ships, minelayer HMS Menestheus, runs into a mine in minefield SN 3 and has to be towed back to port. Minelayer Teviotbank operates separately off the east coast and lays minefield BS 50.

Convoys FN 399 and FN 400 depart from Southend, Convoy

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Glaisdale is laid down, and corvette HMCS Alberni (K-103, Gerald O. Baugh) is commissioned.

"Troops of the 1st Polish Corps manning an armored train on a line at North Berwick in Scotland, 4 February 1941. The train was armed with a 6 pounder gun, two Boys anti-tank rifles, and six Bren machine guns." © IWM (H 7033).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant Colonel John Combe leads his "Combe Force" to the south of Green Mountain (Jebel Akhdar) west of Derna. He is in command of 11th Hussars, followed by the 7th Armoured Division (which departs from Mechili at dawn). The infantry is in wheeled vehicles and must cross 150 miles of desert. The terrain is difficult, but Combe Force makes good progress and reaches Msus around dark. The 7th Armoured Division arrives shortly afterward, and Colonel Combe plans to send his troops toward the main raid being used by the Italians in the morning.

The motorized force aims to cut the retreating Italian 10th Army off between Benghazi and Tripoli. While he only has about 2000 men, Combe can stop the Italian retreat cold if he can get to the coast road (Via Balbia) south of Benghazi and form a block. Then, he merely has to hold his position while the Australian 6th Infantry Division presses against them on the coast road from the east. The timing is going to be tight because the Italians have a head start and already have begun evacuating Benghazi. Arriving after the Italians have passed by would make the whole endeavor profitless, but getting there in time could bag an entire Italian army.

Fliegerkorps X drops aerial mines in Tobruk Harbour. This forces the Royal Navy, which has no minesweepers immediately available, to turn back two troopships to Alexandria. Four corvettes are fitted with minesweeping gear at Alexandria to sweep Tobruk Harbour.

The Luftwaffe's aerial mining of the Suez Canal pays more dividends today. Greek 3283 ton freighter Aghios Georgios hits a mine and sinks, temporarily blocking part of the channel. The ship later is hauled out to re-open the shipping lanes. There are three deaths.

At Malta, Fliegerkorps X attacks Hal Far and Luqa airfields with two formations of Junkers Ju 88 bombers at 17:50. It is a particularly effective raid, damaging all the hangars at Hal Far. RAF Gloster Gladiator Hope, one of the famous trio "Faith, Hope and Charity" that in legend saved Malta, is destroyed by a direct bomb hit. Another raid a little later sees bombs drop between Sans Souci and Marnisi.

German radio is quick to crow about the unusually effective raid on Malta. It states that the Wehrmacht will capture Malta "in a fortnight."

Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant (Lt. Commander H.A.V. Haggard) launches torpedoes at Italian freighters Utilitas and Silvia Tripcovich off Benghazi. However, they all of the torpedoes miss.

The Jackson Daily News, 4 February 1941. Conversations between Wendell Willkie and Irish leader Eamon de Valera get the banner headline, while the status of the Lend-Lease Bill takes secondary billing.

Battle of the Pacific: The US Navy resumes its search for the unidentified underwater contact off Oahu made on the 3rd by USS Dale. A handful of destroyers patrol the waters near the island, but they find nothing and eventually call off the search.

Convoy US 9 departs from Sydney. It is composed of troopships Aquitania, Mauretania, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Queen Mary. Its first stop is Fremantle. US 9 carries the Australian 8th Infantry Division (General Gordon Bennett) to Malaya.

US Military: Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7 starts. The Atlantic Fleet under the command of Admiral King practices landing the US Army's 1st Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division at Vieques-Culebra, Puerto Rico. This is a well-equipped exercise, with the troops arriving in new transports.

The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) forms at the behest of President Roosevelt. This organization is designed to work in conjunction with the War Department to provide entertainment and recreational services to members of the military, particularly while they are on leave. The USO is created by The Salvation Army, the YMCA and YWCA, National Catholic Community Services, National Travelers Aid Association, and National Jewish Welfare Board.

The USO is a unique endeavor; congressionally chartered, the government builds the infrastructure while private organizations handle fundraising and entertainment services. Thomas Dewey is the first national campaign chairman. The USO is remembered by World War II veterans for its famous USO shows, for things like free dances (as opposed to the 10-cents-a-dance dives), and for its centers in cities where traveling servicemen could grab a cup of java or a boiled egg. The USO continues to the present day. Several Hollywood legends devote extensive amounts of time to the USO, including Edward G. Robinson, Ann Miller, and Bob Hope.

"Troops of the 1st Polish Corps manning an armored train on a line at North Berwick in Scotland, 4 February 1941. The train was armed with a 6 pounder gun, two Boys anti-tank rifles, and six Bren machine guns." © IWM (H 7034).

German Military: Admiral Erich Raeder confers with Hitler. The topic is Japan. While sometimes Raeder offers shrewd analysis (the invasion of Denmark and Norway was largely his idea), this is not one of those times. It is Raeder's opinion that baiting the United States into the war could draw Japan into the war as well, helping the Axis cause overall. This cataclysmic misreading of the respective military potential of the two countries reflects both Germany's overestimation of Japanese military power and the massive underestimation of potential US power.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill exhibits two of his prime wartime traits today: his tendency to delve into the minutiae of military matters, and his unceasing desire to censor the press.

He sends a memo to Secretary of State for War David Margesson protesting against a Times article detailing a supposed military requirement that all troops - including the most senior officers - are required to complete a 7-mile cross-country run. Churchill concludes that "In my experience, based on many years' observation, officers with high athletic qualifications are not usually successful in the higher ranks."

Churchill also sends a memo to Minister of Information Alfred Duff Cooper decrying that the newspapers publishing "facts about the war and our policy which should not be disclosed." He urges that Duff Cooper file complaints with the newspaper in question when this happens. As a matter of fact, Hitler routinely receives copies of foreign newspapers every morning, and they inform many of his decisions - though it is unlikely that Churchill knows this.

US Government: Both houses of Congress continue their deliberations regarding the Lend-Lease Bill. Historian Charles A. Beard testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in opposition to the bill, stating:

All provisions of law and the Constitution to the contrary, notwithstanding, an Act to place all the wealth and all the men and women in the United States at the free disposal of the President, to permit him to transfer or carry goods to any foreign government he may be pleased to designate, anywhere in the world, to authorize him to wage undeclared wars for anybody, anywhere in the world, until the affairs of the world are ordered to suit his policies, and for any other purpose he may have in mind now or at any time in the future, which may be remotely related to the contingencies contemplated in the title of this Act.

China: In the continuing Battle of Southern Honan, the Japanese 11th Army captures Nanyang. The Chinese 5th War Area tries to recover Hisinghokuan, but fails.

The new type of anti-gas helmet. The Ministry of Home Security begins distributing new anti-gas respirators to those unable to wear ordinary gas masks. February 4, 1941 (Credit: AP).

February 1941

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

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