Sunday 2 February 1941

Dr. Serge Voronoff at his monkey-gland laboratory in France.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks (Cretan 5th Division of II Corps) on 2 February 1941 finally take full possession of the Trebeshina (Trebeshinë) massif. The nearby Greek 15th Division also makes small gains, completing the capture of the village of Bubeshi.

Italian forces in the area, however, remain unusually feisty for Italian troops of World War II. Thus, little profit appears likely from this commanding position in the area achieved by the Greek troops. Further progress may depend upon British troops, which remain in Egypt and Libya pending the completion of operations there and Greek approval to accept them. The RAF is busy in support of the Greeks. The Greeks are trying to take the strategically decisive port of Valona (Vlorë) quickly, and capture of the Trebeshinë heights is necessary to accomplish that. However, Klisura Pass is just the gateway toward Valona, not on its doorstep, and much work remains to be done (such as the capture of Tepelenë) before the port is even threatened, much less overcome.

With the benefit of hindsight and in light of later events (Operation Marita), the protracted defense of the Trebeshinë heights by two battalions of the Italian Blackshirts may be seen as having secured Valona and, thus, the entire Italian position in Albania for the duration of World War II. It salvages a tiny bit of Italian military honor. With the benefit of even more hindsight and perhaps a bit of arguable interpretation, the use of crack Cretan troops in Albania rather than keeping them in Crete may have contributed to future Allied defeats there as well.

Spinning things out a bit further.... perhaps beyond the breaking point... the successful Italian defense of the Trebeshinë heights may have played an even larger role in the outcome of World War II. If the Italians in Albania had folded completely in a short period of time, Hitler might not have authorized Operation Marita (at least partly intended to rescue the Italians). In that case, he might have had those troops available at the start of Operation Barbarossa. Many historians theorize that, had those troops been used in the Soviet Union right from the opening of hostilities, Moscow might have been captured before the winter snows and the entire course of world history altered. But, that is sheer speculation.

Map of initial attacks on Keren, Eritrea.

East African Campaign: The Italian collapse in Eritrea continues. The 5th Indian Infantry Division takes Barentu, with the Italians retreating at first down a small road that turns into a mule track. The reported prisoner haul is 8000, but this figure seems high. Ultimately, the Italians abandon the road altogether and simply hike overland toward the coast. While this prevents the pursuing British from catching up to them, it also forces them to abandon every single vehicle, including guns, trucks, and tanks. The Italian troops (largely colonial) from both the Cochen Mountain and Barentu fronts head for Keren on the Keren Plateau, which has fewer natural defensive advantages than the positions the British already have overcome. However, it is located at 4300 feet above sea level, which forces the British to attack essentially while going uphill.

Preliminary operations against Keren already are underway. Gazelle Force crosses the Baraka River with some difficulty (the Italians have blown the Ponte Mussolini bridge) and ascends toward the plateau. The British troops make it all the way to within about 6 km of Keren, where it is stopped at the Donglolaas Gorge. Normally, the area can be traversed without difficulty, but the Italians have dynamited the overhanging escarpments, filling the gorge with boulders and debris. The Italians also rather unhelpfully have mined the approaches.

In Abyssinia, the advancing South African troops capture Hobok.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command begins a sustained campaign against the Channel invasion ports, in conjunction with Coastal Command. Among the targeted ports today are Berck, Le Havre, and Ostend. After dark, the RAF bombs Brest.

The Circus Operations continue. As opposed to Rhubarb missions, which are fighters only, the Circus missions include a token force of bombers to make their interception by the Luftwaffe more potentially profitable. This attack in the daylight is by five Blenheims against Boulogne. The British claim three fighters destroyed.

The Luftwaffe remains dormant. There are scattered raids over eastern England, with a few bombs dropped here and there.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which have been in the far North Atlantic near Bear Island for several days waiting for the weather to improve, finally manage to complete refueling from tanker Adria. They each receive about 3400 tons of fuel and then quickly head to the southwest. Rather than head south of Iceland, as they did during their abortive breakout attempt in late January, the two ships head north of Iceland. Their objective is a passage through the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. Around this time, one of the Gneisenau's crewmen, named Liske, is lost overboard in the heavy seas and not recovered.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 834-ton British freighter The Sultan in the outer fringes of the Thames Estuary. There are two deaths and 12 survivors.

Royal Navy 505 ton trawler HMT Almond hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth. All 19 onboard perish.

Belgian 168 ton coaster Pallieter (formerly Hero) has its cargo shift during a storm. This causes the ship to sink in the Firth of Forth.

The Luftwaffe attacks 5135-ton British freighter Waziristan in the Atlantic shipping lanes west of the Faroes Islands. A near miss disables the ship, which eventually is taken under tow by tug Bandit and brought to Kirkwall.

Convoy FN 398 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 402 departs from Methil, Convoy BS 14 departs from Suez.

U-431 is launched.

Italian POWs are being brought to the fortress area at Tobruk for processing, 1941 (Australian War Memorial). Tobruk serves as the embarkation point for Italian POWs heading for Alexandria.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Australian 6th Division continues pursuing the Italians west of Derna. While not in wild flight, the Italians are moving with some alacrity back toward Benghazi - which itself is being evacuated. They also are engaging in skillful minelaying and combat destruction. This is slowing down the Australian infantry, as each minefield requires a methodical clearing before the advance can continue.

With Middle East Commander Archibald Wavell's permission in hand, General O'Connor of XIII Corps is preparing to send his armored forces south of the mountain (Jebel Akhdar, or Green Mountain) that bifurcates northeast Libyan operations. This requires supplies that must be shipped to Tobruk - not in perfect working order after the recent battles there - and then transport north toward Derna. O'Connor is torn between getting his supplies in order and then sending his troops (Combe Force) out fully prepared, or sending what he has available out quickly in order to increase the likelihood of blocking the Italian retreat.

O'Connor adopts the latter course. He orders Lieutenant Colonel J.F.B. Combe, commanding 11th Hussars, 2nd Rifle Brigade and assorted field, antitank and antiaircraft artillery) to set out first thing in the morning of the 3rd. The 7th Armoured Division will follow shortly thereafter. The basic plan is for the Australians to herd the Italians westward north of the mountain, while Combe Force moves directly westward and cuts them off further west. This unit becomes known as Combe Force.

Elsewhere, the Royal Navy is active. Operation Picket by Force H is launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. This is an attack by eight Skuas of RAF No. 810 Squadron on a strategically important San Chiara Ulla Dam at Lake Tirso, Sardinia. This attack, which aims to destroy hydroelectric facilities as well using torpedoes, is executed but does not damage the targets due to low clouds, hail, rain, antiaircraft fire, barking dogs and the whole lot. Four torpedoes are released, but apparently, they hit a sandbar or other obstruction. The British lose a Skua, with the three crewmen rescued by the Italians and taken prisoner. It is an interesting operation in the abstract, full of derring-do and the like, but results only in quite a bit of profitless effort on both ends of the Mediterranean.

Admiral Somerville still plans to carry off companion operation Operation Grog (formerly Result) (the bombardment of Genoa). However, he decides against it on this sortie due to the weather. Force H then retires to Gibraltar. Many lessons are learned from this somewhat embarrassing affair which is put to good use eventually in the famous "Dambusters" raid later in the war.

A diversionary operation for the disappointing Operation Picket and abortive Operation Result is underway in the eastern Mediterranean. In Operation MC 7, a large force of Royal Navy ships essentially simulates a typical convoy from Alexandria to Malta.

Italian tug Uso sinks between the islands of Korčula and Lastovo, Yugoslavia. The cause of sinking apparently is a mine; some accounts say it is by a torpedo, but the source of the supposed torpedo is not given. Sometimes, witnesses at the scene don't even know what happened and can only guess. Post-war record checks don't always resolve such issues.

In Malta, the government decides to set up a new department, the Food and Distributions Office. This office, under Marquis Barbaro of St George, will implement a rationing scheme. As part of this process, households will be issued rationing cards.

Wellingtons based on Malta attack Castel Benito, a Libyan airfield that the Italians enlarged in the late 1930s. This is but the latest in many air attacks on the field.

Keren, Eritrea, around the time of World War II.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst aren't the only German heavy ships operating in the Atlantic; battlecruisers Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper also are on the loose. There also are many other German ships of various purposes roaming the high seas which can help them fulfill their commerce-raiding missions. One of them operating in the western Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar, is German raider Atlantis. Today, it captures 7301-ton Norwegian tanker Ketty Brøvig, which is full of 6370 tons of fuel oil and 4125 tons of diesel oil from Bahrain. The Atlantis puts a prize crew aboard and will use the tanker to fuel itself and whatever other Axis ships it encounters. This is an example of how an entire fleet can "live off the land" in the middle of the ocean.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is on its way up the eastern African coast to join the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria. Its presence there is necessary to replace the battered HMS Illustrious, which is heading for permanent repairs in the United States (at some point the two carriers pass, which must give the boys on the Formidable quite an eyeful of what to expect for themselves). Today, it operates as part of Force K, a determined British effort to track down German raider Atlantis. While having no success in that mission, it is in the vicinity of Italian Somaliland (Somalia), and the British decide to take advantage of that fact. Formidable launches its Swordfish against Mogadishu harbor to lay mines. The nine Albacores then attack Mogadishu itself in Operation Breach.

Italian destroyers are operating in the Red Sea. After dark, they attack one of the BS convoys but are deterred by the Royal Navy escorts.

German battlecruiser Admiral Scheer transits from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion completes an overhaul at Maug Island in the Marianas and heads for the Indian Ocean.

Dr. Voronoff claims that monkey glands may contain the secret to eternal youth. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 13 July 1924.

British Government: General Alan Brooke, commander of United Kingdom Home Forces and in charge of anti-invasion preparations, records in his diary that he had dinner at Chequers and then gave a presentation to Prime Minister Churchill, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and various others in Churchill's coterie. Everybody is complimentary, he says, but Churchill "would not acknowledge that an invasion ... was possible in the face of partial sea-control and local air-control."

US Government: Dean Acheson is made Assistant Secretary of State.

Canada: Prime Minister William Mackenzie King makes a radio speech to the Canadian people. He states that the Germans are engaging in barbarity:

Total war means an indiscriminate attack on every front, by every means, however fiendish. Practiced by the [fascists], as we have seen, it is war against homes, hospitals, schools and churches. It is war on men, women and children.

King emphasizes the importance of fully supporting the war effort. He informs the public that Canada will double the number of troops it already is contributing to the war effort in Europe.

Australia: Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his epic journey from Melbourne to London, recorded in his voluminous diary (these entries most likely written on the plane). Today, he stops at Baghdad. He meets the Regent, who he describes as "clear-headed but only 25, afraid of his advisers." Menzies describes the new Iraqi Prime Minister as "a stop-gap, being a little better [than his predecessor] but not much." He then continues on to Jerusalem for the night.

China: The indeterminate fighting in Southern Honan (Henan) continues. The Japanese 11th Army evacuates Wuyang.

Dr. Voronoff claims that monkey glands may be able to create a race of supermen. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 September 1936.

French Homeland: For unexplained reasons, the Germans seize the monkeys of French researcher Dr. Serge Voronoff. Now, this leads to the question, who is Dr. Voronoff and who cares about his monkeys? Well, there's a story to that.

Dr. Voronoff is the 74-year-old brother-in-law of the wife of ex-King Carol II of Romania. He has maintained a monkey farm and laboratory near Mentone for decades. He is a specialist in monkey glands, specifically, applied uses of monkey glands for medicinal purposes.

Now, monkey glands may not sound like a particularly exciting field. However, at this point in time, there are many hopes that monkey glands may have special powers. Specifically, there are claims that monkey glands are the fountain of youth. Dr. Voronoff does not mind the publicity, and in fact has made some wild claims of his own, reported in the international press, that monkey glands literally can create an army of supermen. And, in German hands, that would be an army of Wehrmacht Supermen.

Which means there may be something quite special about these particular monkeys. Who knows what... alterations the good doctor has made to them? It makes the otherwise inexplicable decision of the Germans to seize the monkeys quite explainable. As for Dr. Voronoff - he and his 26-year-old wife previously booked tickets to New York and arrived there on 6 September 1940.

Italian Homeland: Apparently as a result of reversals in Libya, Benito Mussolini declares southern Italy a war zone and places it under martial law.

Dr. Voronoff's monkeys seized; 2 February 1941 Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

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

Sunday 2 February 1941

Dr. Serge Voronoff at his monkey-gland laboratory in France.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks (Cretan 5th Division of II Corps) on 2 February 1941 finally take full possession of the Trebeshina (Trebeshinë) massif. This is a strategic location vital for further operations. The nearby Greek 15th Division also makes small gains, completing the capture of the village of Bubeshi.

Italian forces in the area remain unusually spirited for Italian troops of World War II. Thus, little profit appears likely from this commanding position in the area achieved by the Greek troops. Further progress may depend upon British troops, which remain in Egypt and Libya pending the completion of operations there and Greek approval to accept them. The RAF is busy in support of the Greeks. The Greeks are trying to take the strategically decisive port of Valona (Vlorë) quickly, and capture of the Trebeshinë heights is necessary to accomplish that. However, Klisura Pass is just the gateway toward Valona, not on its doorstep, and much work remains to be done (such as the capture of Tepelenë) before the port is even threatened, much less overcome.

With the benefit of hindsight and in light of later events (Operation Marita), the protracted defense of the Trebeshinë heights by two battalions of the Italian Blackshirts may be seen as having secured Valona and, thus, the entire Italian position in Albania for the duration of World War II. It salvages a tiny bit of Italian military honor. With the benefit of even more hindsight and perhaps a bit of arguable interpretation, the use of crack Cretan troops in Albania rather than keeping them in Crete may have contributed to future Allied defeats there as well.

Spinning things out a bit further.... perhaps beyond the breaking point... the successful Italian defense of the Trebeshinë heights may have played an even larger role in the outcome of World War II. If the Italians in Albania had folded completely in a short period of time, Hitler might not have authorized Operation Marita (at least partly intended to rescue the Italians). In that case, he might have had those troops available at the start of Operation Barbarossa. Many historians theorize that, had those troops been used in the Soviet Union right from the opening of hostilities, Moscow might have been captured before the winter snows and the entire course of world history altered. But, that is sheer speculation.

Map of initial attacks on Keren, Eritrea.

East African Campaign: The Italian collapse in Eritrea continues. The 5th Indian Infantry Division takes Barentu, with the Italians retreating at first down a small road that turns into a mule track. The reported prisoner haul is 8000, but this figure seems high. Ultimately, the Italians abandon the road altogether and simply hike overland toward the coast. While this prevents the pursuing British from catching up to them, it also forces them to abandon every single vehicle, including guns, trucks, and tanks. The Italian troops (largely colonial) from both the Cochen Mountain and Barentu fronts head for Keren on the Keren Plateau, which has fewer natural defensive advantages than the positions the British already have overcome. However, it is located at 4300 feet above sea level, which forces the British to attack essentially while going uphill.

Preliminary operations against Keren already are underway. Gazelle Force crosses the Baraka River with some difficulty (the Italians have blown the Ponte Mussolini bridge) and ascends toward the plateau. The British troops make it all the way to within about 6 km of Keren, where it is stopped at the Donglolaas Gorge. Normally, the area can be traversed without difficulty, but the Italians have dynamited the overhanging escarpments, filling the gorge with boulders and debris. The Italians also rather unhelpfully have mined the approaches.

In Abyssinia, the advancing South African troops capture Hobok.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command begins a sustained campaign against the Channel invasion ports, in conjunction with Coastal Command. Among the targeted ports today are Berck, Le Havre, and Ostend. After dark, the RAF bombs Brest.

The Circus Operations continue. As opposed to Rhubarb missions, which are fighters only, the Circus missions include a token force of bombers to make their interception by the Luftwaffe more potentially profitable. This attack in the daylight is by five Blenheims against Boulogne. The British claim three fighters destroyed.

The Luftwaffe remains dormant. There are scattered raids over eastern England, with a few bombs dropped here and there.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, which have been in the far North Atlantic near Bear Island for several days waiting for the weather to improve, finally manage to complete refueling from tanker Adria. They each receive about 3400 tons of fuel and then quickly head to the southwest. Rather than head south of Iceland, as they did during their abortive breakout attempt in late January, the two ships head north of Iceland. Their objective is a passage through the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. Around this time, one of the Gneisenau's crewmen, named Liske, is lost overboard in the heavy seas and not recovered.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 834-ton British freighter The Sultan in the outer fringes of the Thames Estuary. There are two deaths and 12 survivors.

Royal Navy 505-ton trawler HMT Almond hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth. All 19 men on board perish.

Belgian 168-ton coaster Pallieter (formerly Hero) has its cargo shift during a storm. This causes the ship to sink in the Firth of Forth.

The Luftwaffe attacks 5135-ton British freighter Waziristan in the Atlantic shipping lanes west of the Faroes Islands. A near miss disables the ship, which eventually is taken under tow by tug Bandit and brought to Kirkwall.

Convoy FN 398 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 402 departs from Methil, Convoy BS 14 departs from Suez.

U-431 is launched.

Blindfolded Italian POWs are brought to the fortress area at Tobruk for processing, 1941 (Australian War Memorial). Tobruk serves as the embarkation point for Italian POWs heading for Alexandria.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Australian 6th Division continues pursuing the Italians west of Derna. While not in wild flight, the Italians are moving with some alacrity back toward Benghazi - which itself is being evacuated. They also are engaging in skillful minelaying and combat destruction. This is slowing down the Australian infantry, as each minefield requires a methodical clearing before the advance can continue.

With Middle East Commander Archibald Wavell's permission in hand, General O'Connor of XIII Corps is preparing to send his armored forces south of the mountain (Jebel Akhdar, or Green Mountain) that bifurcates northeast Libyan operations. This requires supplies that must be shipped to Tobruk - not in perfect working order after the recent battles there - and then transport north toward Derna. O'Connor is torn between getting his supplies in order and then sending his troops (Combe Force) out fully prepared, or sending what he has available out quickly in order to increase the likelihood of blocking the Italian retreat.

O'Connor adopts the latter course. He orders Lieutenant Colonel J.F.B. Combe, commanding 11th Hussars, 2nd Rifle Brigade and assorted field, antitank and antiaircraft artillery) to set out first thing in the morning of the 3rd. The 7th Armoured Division will follow shortly thereafter. The basic plan is for the Australians to herd the Italians westward north of the mountain, while Combe Force moves directly westward and cuts them off further west. This unit becomes known as Combe Force.

Elsewhere, the Royal Navy is active. Operation Picket by Force H is launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. This is an attack by eight Skuas of RAF No. 810 Squadron on a strategically important San Chiara Ulla Dam at Lake Tirso, Sardinia. This attack, which aims to destroy hydroelectric facilities as well using torpedoes, is executed but does not damage the targets due to low clouds, hail, rain, antiaircraft fire, barking dogs and the whole lot. Four torpedoes are released, but apparently, they hit a sandbar or other obstruction. The British lose a Skua, with the three crewmen rescued by the Italians and taken prisoner. It is an interesting operation in the abstract, full of derring-do and the like, but results only in quite a bit of profitless effort on both ends of the Mediterranean.

Admiral Somerville still plans to carry off companion operation Operation Grog (formerly Result) (the bombardment of Genoa). However, he decides against it on this sortie due to the weather. Force H then retires to Gibraltar. Many lessons are learned from this somewhat embarrassing affair which later will be put to good use in the famous "Dambusters" raid later in the war.

A diversionary operation for the disappointing Operation Picket and abortive Operation Result is underway in the eastern Mediterranean. In Operation MC 7, a large force of Royal Navy ships essentially simulates a typical convoy from Alexandria to Malta.

Italian tug Uso sinks between the islands of Korčula and Lastovo, Yugoslavia. The cause of sinking apparently is a mine; accounts say it is by a torpedo, but the source of the supposed torpedo is not given.

In Malta, the government decides to set up a new department, the Food and Distributions Office. This office, under Marquis Barbaro of St George, will implement a rationing scheme. As part of this process, households will be issued rationing cards.

Wellingtons based on Malta attack Castel Benito, a Libyan airfield that the Italians enlarged in the late 1930s. This is but the latest in many air attacks on the field.

Keren, Eritrea  around the time of World War II.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst aren't the only German heavy ships operating in the Atlantic; battlecruisers Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper also are on the loose. There also are many other German ships of various purposes roaming the high seas which can help them fulfill their commerce-raiding missions. One of them operating in the western Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar, is German raider Atlantis. Today, it captures 7301-ton Norwegian tanker Ketty Brøvig, which is full of 6370 tons of fuel oil and 4125 tons of diesel oil from Bahrain. The Atlantis puts a prize crew aboard and will use the tanker to fuel itself and whatever other Axis ships it encounters. This is an example of how an entire fleet can "live off the land" in the middle of the ocean.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is on its way up the eastern African coast to join the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria. Its presence there is necessary to replace the battered HMS Illustrious, which is heading for permanent repairs in the United States (at some point the two carriers pass, which must give the boys on the Formidable quite an eyeful of what to expect for themselves). Today, it operates as part of Force K, a determined British effort to track down German raider Atlantis. While having no success in that mission, it is in the vicinity of Italian Somaliland (Somalia), and the British decide to take advantage of that fact. Formidable launches its Swordfish against Mogadishu harbor to lay mines. The nine Albacores then attack Mogadishu itself in Operation Breach.

Italian destroyers are operating in the Red Sea. After dark, they attack one of the BS convoys but are deterred by the Royal Navy escorts.

German battlecruiser Admiral Scheer transits from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion completes an overhaul at Maug Island in the Marianas and heads for the Indian Ocean.

Dr. Voronoff claims that monkey glands may contain the secret to eternal youth. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 13 July 1924.

British Government: General Alan Brooke, commander of United Kingdom Home Forces and in charge of anti-invasion preparations, records in his diary that he had dinner at Chequers and then gave a presentation to Prime Minister Churchill, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and various others in Churchill's coterie. Everybody is complimentary, he says, but Churchill "would not acknowledge that an invasion ... was possible in the face of partial sea-control and local air-control."

US Government: Dean Acheson is made Assistant Secretary of State.

Canada: Prime Minister William Mackenzie King makes a radio speech to the Canadian people. He states that the Germans are engaging in barbarity:

Total war means an indiscriminate attack on every front, by every means, however fiendish. Practiced by the [fascists], as we have seen, it is war against homes, hospitals, schools and churches. It is war on men, women and children.

King emphasizes the importance of fully supporting the war effort. He informs the public that Canada will double the number of troops it already is contributing to the war effort in Europe.

Australia: Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his epic journey from Melbourne to London, recorded in his voluminous diary (these entries most likely written on the plane). Today, he stops at Baghdad. He meets the Regent, who he describes as "clear-headed but only 25, afraid of his advisers." Menzies describes the new Iraqi Prime Minister as "a stop-gap, being a little better [than his predecessor] but not much." He then continues on to Jerusalem for the night.

China: The indeterminate fighting in Southern Honan (Henan) continues. The Japanese 11th Army evacuates Wuyang.

Dr. Voronoff claims that monkey glands may be able to create a race of supermen. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 September 1936.

French Homeland: For unexplained reasons, the Germans seize the monkeys of French researcher Dr. Serge Voronoff. Now, this leads to the question, who is Dr. Voronoff and who cares about his monkeys? Well, there's a story to that.

Dr. Voronoff is the 74-year-old brother-in-law of the wife of ex-King Carol II of Romania. He has maintained a monkey farm and laboratory near Mentone for decades. He is a specialist in monkey glands, specifically, applied uses of monkey glands for medicinal purposes.

Now, monkey glands may not sound like a particularly exciting field. However, at this point in time, there are many hopes that monkey glands may have special powers. Specifically, there are claims that monkey glands are the fountain of youth. Dr. Voronoff does not mind the publicity, and in fact has made some wild claims of his own, reported in the international press, that monkey glands literally can create an army of supermen. And, in German hands, that would be an army of Wehrmacht Supermen.

Which means there may be something quite special about these particular monkeys. Who knows what... alterations the good doctor has made to them? It makes the otherwise inexplicable decision of the Germans to seize the monkeys quite explainable. As for Dr. Voronoff - he and his 26-year-old wife previously booked tickets to New York and arrived there on 6 September 1940.

Italian Homeland: Apparently as a result of reversals in Libya, Benito Mussolini declares southern Italy a war zone and places it under martial law.

Dr. Voronoff's monkeys seized. This appeared on the 2 February 1941 Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

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

Monday 17 February 1941

Adolf Hitler and Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Oshima.

Italian/Greek Campaign: After a very long and difficult struggle, on 17 February 1941 the Greeks complete the recapture of the Trebeshina massif. Overall, it has been an almost Pyrrhic victory, though. The Cretan 5th Infantry Division suffers terribly during the struggle, with 5776 casualties, and is effectively destroyed. Naturally, the Italians lose many men as well, but they just have to hold their positions and wait for the Germans eventually to bail them out by invading Greece from another direction. For the Italians, the battle has become a matter of national pride, and they vow to recapture the mountains and surrounding territory in the Spring.

East African Campaign: The South African 5th Infantry Brigade continues attacking toward Mega, while the 1st Infantry Brigade manages to cross the Juba River at Yonte against fierce Italian opposition.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids London with 50 bombers, its largest raid in some time. RAF Bomber Command stays on the ground.

Empire Knoll, which runs aground and is lost today.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans have quite a small fleet at work in the Atlantic. It involves numerous supply ships serving both heavy cruisers (currently three are on the loose: Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, and Admiral Scheer) and armed raiders. Today, German tanker Nordmark meets supply ship Alstertor to refuel it. The Nordmark has been towing captured British refrigerated ship Duquesa, which was taken full of meat and dairy products. However, all good things must come to an end, and today the Nordmark cuts loose the 8651-ton ship, not because it was out of food, but because there was no longer any fuel to power the refrigeration equipment - making it a stinky mess around the Equator. Some accounts state that Admiral Scheer sank the Duquesa upon encountering it on 18 December, but in fact, the refrigerated ship was taken as a prize and became legendary in the Kriegsmarine as the "floating delicatessen" which kept the crews of several ships well-fed for two months.

The weather is terrible. This causes all sorts of problems both for ships and for crews abandoning their sinking ships.
U-101 (Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen) torpedoes and sinks 5237-ton British pig iron freighter Gairsoppa three hundred miles southwest of Galway. Gairsoppa is a straggler from convoy SL 64. Mengersen misses with several torpedoes (the weather is terrible), but one hits and sets the ship afire. The U-boat then leaves, and the ship sinks after the crew barely escape in the lifeboats. Almost everyone dies of exposure. There are 82 deaths and only one survivor (the second officer, who brought his lifeboat to shore). After this, U-101 heads back to Lorient.

U-103 (Viktor Schütze) torpedoes and sinks 10,455-ton tanker Edwy R. Brown. The tanker is a straggler behind Convoy HX 107 in the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler) is on its first patrol operating out of Kiel southwest of the Faroe Islands when it spots a freighter. It is 8456-ton British freighter MV Siamese Prince, which becomes U-69's first victim. There are no survivors even though Metzler sees them take to the lifeboats - survival in the frigid ocean with storms and winter gales is problematic at best. Everybody (57 men) onboard perishes, and Admiralty searches by several destroyers find nothing and nobody.

British 307 ton collier Kyle Rona is sailing from Maryport for Portreath when it just disappears. None of the seven men on board, including Master Frederick Cook, survives. It may have hit a mine or broached deep and took water or...

British 156 ton freighter Ren Rein hits a mine off Falmouth, Cornwall in the English Channel and sinks. There are two deaths.

British 5817 ton freighter Casamance runs aground off Skinningrove, Yorkshire. The ship breaks in two and is written off. There are 38 survivors and 9 deaths.

British 2824 ton collier Empire Knoll comes aground due to the winter gales at Tynemouth in County Durham. The ship winds up on the old North Pier foundations there and is holed. It is a total loss.

Portuguese schooner Patriotismo sinks in the rough winter weather off Peniche. There are one death and seven deaths.

German raider Pinguin, in the south Atlantic, is joined by German supply ship Alstertor. Together, they sail for the Indian Ocean.

Admiral Sir Percy L.H. Noble becomes the new commander of the Royal Navy Western Approaches Command.

Convoys WS 6A and 6B (Winston Special) departs from various British ports. It includes numerous transports bound for the Middle East.

Convoy TC 9 departs from Halifax with numerous troop transports. They don't know it, but German heavy cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are lurking just north of the shipping lanes looking for good targets.

Convoy BN 16 departs from Aden.

Destroyer HMS Avon Vale (L 06, Lt. Commander Peter A. R. Withers) is commissioned.

Light cruiser USS Birmingham is laid down.

British guard duty west of Benghazi, 17 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British have been deliberating about sending troops to Greece for weeks, and now they finally are in a position to start telling some of their allies about their plans. They inform New Zealand General Bernard Freyberg that he will command the expeditionary force. Freyberg is a legendary officer, much admired by the British, who currently commands the New Zealand Division.

Colonel Leclerc in southwestern Libya is heading for their ultimate target of Kufra. Leclerc has about 350 men, but the Italians are aware they are coming. The Italian Saharan company of 70 men intercepts Leclerc's force with 20 mm guns in ten armored AS37 cars. After a vicious firefight, the French lost many of their trucks but are able to continue forward when the Italians at Kufra stay inside their fort and don't help the Sahariana. Leclerc's men surround the fort, El Tag, and place their only artillery piece, a 75 mm gun, about 3000 meters from the walls. The French also place several 81 mm mortars about 1500 meters from the fort. The Saharan company attacks again but is beaten off again. The French settle down to a siege.

Turkish/Bulgarian Relations: The two nations formally sign their nonaggression pact. While at first, this might seem favorable to the British, in fact, it is designed to allow Hitler to move troops through Bulgaria to invade Greece without Turkish interference. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill has been trying to cajole the Turks (and their 38 divisions) into joining the British side, but this move effectively ends that attempt for the time being.

German/Japanese/British Relations: Japan makes an offer to mediate the European conflict, just as it has been mediating the border war in Indochina. Nobody takes Japan up on the offer.

General Oshima arrives as minister to Germany, his second appointment there. Oshima is viewed by the Germans as very sympathetic to their war aims.

German Military: Adolf Hitler is thinking big. He dreams of capturing India from the British, and in fact, has been sending presents (such as a motorcar) to some princes in the region. He orders his military staff to explore the feasibility of advancing through Afghanistan to India.

"Cunningham, Admiral of the Mediterranean." February 17, 1941, | Vol. XXXVII No. 7 (Cover Credit: ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER).

British Government: Winston Churchill has a busy day sending memos and pontificating to all and sundry about his pet concerns.

During the war council meeting today, Churchill cautions against worrying about "divisions" in the military (as opposed to brigades or corps and so forth). The gist of his oration on this point is that the term "division" can refer to vastly different forces.

Churchill also memos CIGS General Ismay and Cabinet Secretary Sir Edward Bridges cautioning them not to reveal the source of their information about Japanese decrypts, information which apparently was sent around the office. He wants all copies tracked down and the information suppressed, all the way down to identifying what copying machine was used and "who gave the orders for it to go in this form." Naturally, he doesn't want the Japanese to know the British have broken their codes.

Ireland also is on Churchill's mind. He memos General Ismay that the Germans might invade Ireland before they invade England, which would give the British the "immediate pretext" to invade Ireland - something that Churchill appears eager to do. He urges Ismay to use "every scheme of which military and naval ingenuity are capable to move more troops across the Irish Channel" whether the Irish want them there or not. In fact, the Irish have made plain that they do not want to be involved in the British war.

Churchill also memos Viscount Cranborne and Sir Kingsley Wood to implement economic sanctions against southern Ireland "to make Southern Ireland realized how great a wrong they were doing to the cause of freedom by their denial of the ports" to the Royal Navy. At this point, it seems as if Churchill is much more interested in invading Ireland than Hitler ever is.

Policeman helping children with their gas masks, Brighton, 17 February 1941.

Japanese Government: Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka gives a speech which echoes the similar language of Adolf Hitler regarding the Soviet Union and "Lebensraum":

This region [Oceania] has sufficient natural resources to support from 600,000,000 to 800,000,000 people. I believe we have a natural right to migrate there.

Times, Feb. 18, 1941, p. 1. Oceania, of course, includes Australia, the Dutch East Indies, and New Zealand. Thus, the Japanese basically are telling all Europeans that they are not wanted in the Pacific and that they feel entitled by "natural right" to occupy lands now claimed by others.

US Government: The US Senate begins debating the Lend-Lease bill.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies is continuing his epic, month-long journey from Melbourne to London. Today, he stops over in Lagos, where he meets fellow Australian Sir Bernard Bourdillon, the Governor. Bourdillon blames the British fiasco at Dakar in September 1940, and a related incident in which French cruisers were allowed to cruise out of Mediterranean past Gibraltar to reinforce the Vichy French forces there, on unclear instructions from Winston Churchill. To be fair, Bourdillon has a point, as the British attitude toward Vichy France seems confused at best. Menzies seems quite impressed with Bourdillon and wonders if he and similar governors are "consulted enough." In fact, they are probably not consulted at all, as Churchill likes to run his own shop.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies viewing a burning tanker in Tobruk Harbor, 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 28 January 1941

British tank officers in North Africa on January 28, 1941, read an Italian newspaper. The puppy was "captured" at Sidi Barrani.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italians and Greeks continue to battle over the heights of Trebeshina (specifically Height 1923) on 28 January 1941. Two Italian Blackshirt battalions have recovered the peaks in appalling weather, while the Cretan 5th Division of II Corps is trying to dislodge them again. The Blackshirts, heavily indoctrinated political troops akin to the SS, are fighting strongly.

East African Campaign: In Eritrea, the Italian 4th Colonial Division under General Orlando Lorenzini is making a stand at Barentu Agordat. He has 76 guns and a company of both medium and light tanks, not an inconsiderable force in the area. Major-General Noel Beresford-Peirse, in command of the 4th Indian Division, sends his troops (3rd Battalion of the 14th Punjab Regiment) on a flanking move to the Cochen Hills to the south of the Italian defenses. Elsewhere, the British troops are advancing to catch up with the retreating Italians.

European Air Operations: The lousy winter weather continues to hamper air operations in northern Europe. The Luftwaffe continues its random nuisance raids on scattered targets in the southeast, dropping a few bombs dropped on London. The RAF raids the Naples airport, railway facilities, and marshaling yard. The bombers also attack Catania and Comiso airfields, the bases of Fliegerkorps X.

A carload of Germans pedals their way through the Bailiwick of Jersey on 28 January 1941. "To save petrol German soldiers use a pedal car to get around in town." (Photo- Keystone Photo Agency).

Battle of the Atlantic: The weather is extremely rough in the North Atlantic. This causes collisions, ship sightings that are hard to confirm, and similar issues. The Luftwaffe can't get enough planes in the air to provide proper scouting reports for the U-boats, due to the lack of sufficient Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condors in KG 40.

At about 06:49, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the two Kriegsmarine battlecruisers attempting to break out into the Atlantic to join Admiral Scheer, sight two British cruisers on radar patrolling south of Iceland. Admiral Lütjens, under strict orders not to engage capital ships, immediately turns around 180 degrees and heads back to the northeast. Hitler, in particular, is prone to giving his ship captains very cautious instructions which some feel unduly inhibit their discretion and opportunism. This time, Lütjens follows such orders, which is likely a good thing in this instance. Being too aggressive in the Atlantic can pay big rewards for German raiders - but it also, as will be seen in May 1941, be extremely hazardous to one's health. The entire British Home Fleet is at sea waiting in the general vicinity for the two German ships, and there would be a very little margin of error should a lucky Royal Navy hit slow them down or disable one of them.

The HMS Naiad also spots the two German ships at about the same time, but for some reason, the commander of the force - Admiral John Tovey - does not believe the lookouts. The Naiad thus does not shadow the German ships, but Tovey sends battlecruiser HMS Repulse and four destroyers to reinforce the two cruisers just in case. Admiral Lütjens does not intend to give up the mission but instead plans a rendezvous with tankers Adria and Schlettstadt in the far north near Bear Island and considers going north of Iceland instead of south.

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli torpedoes and sinks a straggler from Convoy HX 102 about 250 miles off Ireland in the Western Approaches. It is 5198-ton British freighter Urla. All 42 onboard survive.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40 Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condors) bombs 1944 ton British freighter Pandion in the Northwest Approaches north of the westernmost points of Ireland. The ship makes it to Loch Swilly, where it anchors. However, the damage proves too great for the crew to handle. First, the crew beaches the ship, and later abandon it. The weather eventually destroys the ship entirely.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 4574-ton British freighter Mendip Grelrosa about 400 miles off Malin Head, Ireland in the Northwest Approaches. There are five deaths.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and damages 3635-ton British freighter Baron Renfrew in the same general area in the Northwest Approaches. The ship eventually makes it to Loch Lathaich and later to Glasgow for repairs.

British oil refinery ship 13,640-ton Tafelberg hits a mine and is badly damaged in Bristol Channel southwest of Cardiff. This area has seen numerous mine-strikes recently. The crew beaches the Tafelberg at Porthkerry but declared a total loss (it breaks in two). However, salvagers recover it and take it to Whitmore Bay, where the ship is completely rebuilt as tanker Empire Heritage.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Bluebell collides with the destroyer HMS Westcott in the Western Approaches. Both ships head for port, the Westcott's damage very minor but Bluebell's repairs at Cammell Laird taking until 4 March 1941.

Norwegian freighter Erling Jarl runs aground and sinks at Brønnøysund, Nordland. There is one death. The ship later is raised, repaired and renamed Bodø.

Responding to completely erroneous rumors that liner Empress of Australia has been sunk, the Admiralty decides to issue an odd statement that the ship is "safe in port."

Convoy OB 279 departs from Southend, Convoy AN 14 departs from Port Said for Piraeus,
Royal Navy submarine HMS Urchin is commissioned, the submarine HMS P-33 is launched, the destroyer HMS Pakenham is launched, corvettes HMS Mignonette and Myosotis are launched.

Dutch submarine O-12, sunk and refloated earlier in the war, is recommissioned as UD-2 in the Kriegsmarine.

U-411 is laid down.

Recruiting poster for the SS in Norway.

Battle of the Mediterranean: At Derna, the Italians hold out throughout the day as Operation Compass grinds forward. However, the Australian 2/4th Battalion and British 7th Armored Division are threatening to cut the coast road. Rather than risk another catastrophe with the loss of the entire garrison, the Italian commanders order the evacuation of Derna during the night. While pulling out, the Italian Babini Group conducts a skillful retreat, harassing the advancing British troops, laying mines and wrecking the coast road. Italian artillery, situated north of Wad Derna, is particularly effective in slowing down the Australians and covering the retreat.

Elsewhere, the British consolidate at Mechili, which the Italians also abandoned. The issue is not one of tiredness or casualties, but more of fuel and supplies. The key supply port of Tobruk opened on the 27th, which will ease the supply situation going forward, but it will take time to resupply the troops, give the tanks proper maintenance, and the like. The Italians also are showing a bit more fight than they have before. In addition, the weather is lousy and heavy rain is causing issues.

Taking advantage of the start of a lull in the Libyan operations, British Middle East Commander General Wavell flies to Nairobi to discuss with General Cunningham plans for an offensive into Italian Somaliland. Wavell also meets with General Platt, commander of the forces entering Eritrea. Wavell will stay here for several days, leaving on 1 February.

Greek 5197 ton freighter Kate hits a mine and sinks in the Aegean.

Royal Navy submarine Upholder (Malcolm D. Wanklyn) torpedoes and damages 7389-ton German freighter Duisburg off Cape Bon, Tunisia. The Duisburg is towed into Tripoli. Wanklyn is one of the more enterprising Royal Navy submarine commanders.

Taking the Italian prisoners at Tobruk to prison camps once again becomes a major operation. Net layer HMS Protector sails from Suda Bay to bring prisoners from there to Alexandria.

Royal Navy submarine Rorqual lays 29 mines in the Adriatic off the port of Ancona.

The weather at Malta is overcast and it is a quiet day. While fears remain high about a planned German invasion from Sicily, reports from spies and observers (such as Americans) are mixed about what may actually be going on there.

Anglo/US Relations: Having read and pondered the handwritten note from President Roosevelt brought to him by Wendell Willkie, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill writes a lengthy "Personal and Secret" response. He notes the following:

• "All my information shows that the Germans are persevering in their preparations to invade this country";
• "[A]dvance parties of the German air force have already to the extent of several thousand infiltrated themselves into Bulgaria";
• "[Hitler] could carry out both offensives [in the East and against Britain] at the same time."

The reply does not really break any new ground, but definitely continues the brewing bromance between the two men.

US Military: Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson approves the construction of 12 detector radar stations in Alaska. Originally, the plan was for 8 locations, but a survey found that five of those sites were unacceptable and, in fact, a dozen sites were necessary. All of the sites are south of Cape Prince of Wales. Both Japan and the US fear an air attack using the Aleutian island chain, so these stations are oriented toward Japan, not the USSR. Commander General DeWitt of the Ninth Corps Area and Fourth Army is in charge of construction, while Colonel Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. is in charge of US troops in Alaska. Troops are being slowly inserted into Alaskan naval bases such as Sitka, Kodiak and Dutch Harbor due to rising war fears with Japan.

Heinrich Himmler in Norway, January 1941. Aside from work, Himmler dabbles in his theories about the origin of the Aryan Race during this visit (Mobius, Federal Archive).

German Military: General Keitel meets with Hitler and gives him the conclusion of the OKH (army high command) regarding Operation Felix (invasion of Gibraltar). They believe that:

[I]n the event of preparations being resumed on 1 February, the attack on Gibraltar was not possible before the middle of April and that therefore the forces envisaged for this operation would not be available in time for 'Barbarossa.'

Hitler may wish to invade Gibraltar, but he wants to invade the Soviet Union more. Accordingly, he states that "Operation Felix will have to be dropped because it was impossible to create the political prerequisites." While Hitler continues to cajole Franco into joining the Axis and permitting Operation Felix, a project which remains on the docket for years (like Operation Sealion), this marks the death knell for the planned operation.

Two hundred Norwegian volunteers, recruited by the SS, swear an oath of allegiance to Hitler. These Norwegian volunteers are to serve in the "Wiking" Division. They will be part of Army Group South, heading toward the Ukraine, where numerous atrocities will take place (of course, atrocities will take place across the entire front). Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler watches with approval.

British Government: Home Secretary Herbert Morrison appears before the House of Commons to defend his recent closure of the Daily Worker and other communist publications. He claims that the publication has been blaming the government for deaths from air raids, which Morrison claims is "cruel and cynical, sheer sniveling hypocrisy." The MPs support the move as removing a subversive element of the press. Support is not unanimous, with Labour MP Aneurin Bevan claiming it was an unjustified restriction on the press, but the move carries 297-11.

Minister of Food Robert Boothby gives a speech in the House as well, defending himself against charges of self-dealing. Churchill rises and reflects upon this "heartbreaking business" without really taking a position. In a note to his son Randolph, Churchill states that Boothby's speech was "a remarkable parliamentary performance." The House continues to consider the matter.

An official painting memorializing Ho Chi Minh's return to Indochina today.

Indochina: The Thai 50th Bomber Squadron bombs Sisophon, Cambodia with B-10 medium bombers. This is the last significant action of the brief border campaign between French Indochina and Thailand. This raid induces the Vichy French somewhat belatedly to agree to mediation by Japan, an offer previously accepted with some alacrity by Thailand. There is no question - from the outcome - which side Japan favors in this border war. An effective but unofficial ceasefire now takes place, which is formalized later. Negotiations proceed aboard Japanese battleship IJN Natori, anchored off Saigon.

Ho Chi Minh (Nguyễn Ái Quốc), a committed Chinese communist of Vietnamese descent who has studied in Europe, returns to Indochina today after 30 years overseas. Ho at first lives in a cave in Pac Bo and sets to work preparing for the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) 8th Party Congress. His ultimate goal is to form an organization eventually called the Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (Vietnam Independence League), or Viet Minh. The Viet Minh is a Communist front organization to organize resistance against French colonial rule and occupying Japanese forces. It ostensibly is more nationalist than communist (in order to appeal to a wider audience), and equally, voices outrage about "French jackals" and the "Japanese fascists." However, Ho's ICP actually controls the Viet Minh behind the scenes. Having learned from his experiences in China, Ho successfully stresses the unity of opposition within Indochina to achieve independence, contrary to the infighting between the Kuomintang and the Communists in China which hampers their opposition to the Japanese.

This date of 28 January - unremarked in the Western world - is considered to be a very significant date in Vietnam today, with various official commemorative meetings held on the anniversary.

Ho Chi Minh with happy American soldiers during World War II. As happens later in many other places around the world, the Americans support a revolutionary disruptive force in an area controlled by a temporary enemy... and learn to regret it.

China: The Battler of Southern Honan continues, with the Japanese 11th Army continuing its attacks against the Chinese 5th War Area near Hsianghokuan.

American Homefront: "The Pepsodent Show" aka "The Pepsodent Radio Show Starring Bob Hope" aka "The Bob Hope Show" features Basil Rathbone today.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

2020