Thursday 22 May 1941

Junkers Ju 87 Stukas flying in open formation from the Argos airfield (Peloponnese) to perform attacks near Crete, 22 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: The real action in the Iraq war on 22 May 1941 has shifted far to the east. All German supplies to the Rashid Ali government must pass through Vichy Syria, which has given the Luftwaffe transit rights. The British are gearing up to invade Syria in response. General Maitland Wilson, who is drawing up plans for the invasion, today meets with Major General John Lavarack, who will command British troops in the assault, at Sarafand.

Wilson plans to invade Syria in three separate brigade columns along isolated roads - a risky gambit, as the columns would not be able to support each other. However, British military intelligence reports that French morale in Syria is very low and the invasion will be easy.

At Fallujah, the Iraqi 6th Infantry Brigade counterattacks. They have Italian-made light tanks, but the RAF provides critical support with 56 sorties. The RAF destroys an Iraqi relief column of 40 vehicles heading for Fallujah, losing an Audax biplane (the crew reaches British lines by removing the Lewis machine gun and using it to hold off Iraqis trying to capture them). The British hold their ground and capture six light tanks.

Six sailors from HMAS Yarra go undercover to conduct reconnaissance at Maqil, Iraq. This is pursuant to Operation Scoop, the full-scale invasion of Iraq.

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command conducts Rhubarb operations during the day. RAF Bomber Command sends 16 planes on anti-shipping missions. There is extensive reconnaissance on both sides regarding the Bismarck/Prinz Eugen sortie to the North Atlantic.

British troops in Iraq, May 1941.

East African Campaign: The Allies (East African 22nd Infantry Brigade) capture Sodo (Soddu) in Abyssinia. The Italian 21st and 24th Colonial Divisions withdraw across the Omo River in Galla-Sidamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-111 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Kleinschmidt), on its first patrol and operating with Wolfpack West south of Greenland, torpedoes and sinks 4813-ton British freighter Barnby. This is additional destruction to Convoy HX-126, which has suffered badly and now is dispersed with every ship on its own. After this, U-111 heads for Lorient.

U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on her fourth patrol and operating off Freetown, torpedoes and badly damages (later sinks) 6857-ton British freighter British Grenadier. The entire crew is picked up by Portuguese freighter Ganda before the ship sinks and taken to Freetown.

German Battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen continue up the Norwegian coast. At 04:14, the destroyers detach from the Flotilla and head to Trondheim. At the very end of the day, around midnight, Admiral Lütjens orders the turn toward the northwest for the breakout through the Denmark Strait.

HMS Hood heads toward the Denmark Strait, 22 May 1941.

At 23:00, Battleship HMS King George V, battlecruiser Hood, fleet carrier HMS Victorious, cruisers and destroyers head to sea to support the ships (cruisers Birmingham and Manchester and five trawlers) guarding the Denmark Strait.

The minelayer HNMS Nautilus (M 12) of the Royal Dutch Navy, lost to a collision on 22 May 1941.

Royal Dutch Navy minelayer HNLMS Nautilus collides with British freighter Murrayfield near Saltfleet at 00:23. The Nautilus sinks, but there are no casualties.

British freighter Ben Veg collides with freighter Brittany and sinks in the Irish Sea about 8 miles north of Point of Ayre, Isle of Man. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British 5249-ton freighter Empire Progress southwest of Needles. There are four deaths. The master beaches the ship at Totland Bay, and it is later taken to Southampton for repair.

German 5088-ton freighter Ditmar Koel hits a mine and sinks off the island of Juist near Norden in Lower Saxony.

German freighter Käte Grammerstorf hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea north of Ameland, Friesland.

Italian torpedo boat Lupo (Captain Francesco Mimbelli), badly damaged on the night of 21/21 May 1941 while escorting a convoy to Crete.

HMS Edinburgh intercepts and captures German freighter Lech in the Bay of Biscay.

Royal Navy destroyer HMCS Saguenay completes a refit at Barrow-in-Furness.

Minelayer Teviot Bank lays minefield BS-61 in the English Channel.

Convoy SL-75 departs Gibraltar for England, Convoy WS-8B (Winston Special) departs the Clyde bound for Freetown (and ultimately Suez).

Corvette HMCS Arvida is commissioned.

US Navy tug USS Hoga is commissioned and minesweeper Nuthatch is laid down.

U-564 (Oblt. Reinhard Suhren) rescues the four-man crew of a downed Junkers Ju-88 off of Gdynia (Gotenhafen).

U-373 (Oblt. Paul-Karl Loeser) and U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann) are commissioned.

HMS Gloucester undertaking evasive maneuvers prior to being sunk, 22 May 1941. This photo was taken from a Luftwaffe bomber (IWM (HU 24829)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Two completely separate, but inextricably intertwined - battles develop at Crete. The British lose both of them.

At Sea Off Crete:

Everyone on both sides by this point understands that Maleme airfield in the western portion of Crete is the key to the German invasion of Crete (Operation Mercury). From the British perspective, the goal is preventing German reinforcements and supplies to that location, which can only come in by two routes: Junkers Ju 52 transport planes flying from the north, and caiques from Greek ports. The Luftwaffe understands that, if it cannot maintain effective communications with its troops on Crete, they are doomed and the entire invasion will fail.

Both German routes to Crete depend upon airpower. The commander of the Luftwaffe VIII Air Corps, General Freiherr Wolfram von Richthofen, has a powerful force of Bf-109s, Bf 110s, Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers, and Dornier Do-17 and Junkers Ju-88 medium bombers. These oppose Royal Navy Admiral Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet, which has gathered 14-19 large warships (including battleships HMS Valiant and Warspite) to block the German supply routes. The Germans and Italians have no naval presence worth mentioning, and the RAF is too distant to play much of a role (considering that it evacuated Crete on 19 May). The events of Operation Mercury on 22 May 1941 thus develops into a classic confrontation between air and naval power, something that has been debated by all major powers for over twenty years.

While little recognized, the real problem for the Royal Navy is far away. Two desperately needed aircraft carriers are far away, at Gibraltar with Force H, after having just completed Operation Splice (sending planes to Malta). They could steam east... but the Bismarck is on the loose, and the carriers will be needed in the Atlantic. The Royal Navy is being stretched, and the ships off Crete are paying the price.

HMS Gloucester, sunk off Crete on 22 May 1941. The Gloucester was a modern ship, commissioned on 31 January 1939.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance identifies the locations of the Royal Navy units at first light. Stukageschwader 2, commanded by Lt. Col. Oskar Dinort, takes off immediately. The Junkers Ju-87 dive bombers spot two cruisers and two destroyers about 25 miles north of Crete. Cruisers HMS Fiji and Gloucester are slightly damaged by near misses, while the Germans ignore destroyers Greyhound and Griffin. After the Luftwaffe planes leave, the Royal Navy flotilla heads west to join the rest of the fleet about 30 miles off the coast.

East of Crete, the Royal Navy has gotten out of position due to its successful blocking of a German convoy during the night. Admiral Cunningham (in Alexandria) has ordered the ships to pursue the caiques and destroy them. This has brought them far to the north and them easy to attack. The Stukas fall on them next, slightly damaging cruisers HMS Carlisle and Naiad. These ships also escape to the west without being able to destroy the German convoy.

The early success of the Royal Navy ships in defending themselves is due to their use of massive quantities of anti-aircraft ammunition. Already, their stocks are running low, and should their guns fall silent, they would become easy prey to the accurate Luftwaffe Stukas. Gloucester has only 18% of its ammunition left, and Fiji only 30.

Around 10:30, British Force C spots an Axis convoy, escorted by torpedo boat Sagittario, south of Milos. The British ships open fire and damage Sagittario and some caiques. However, the British are soon chased off by the Luftwaffe, and light cruiser HMS Naiad suffers four near misses and has two turrets knocked out. While the ship can still steam at 16 knots, the damage is structural and thus severe. Light cruiser Carlisle is hit on the bridge, killing Captain T.C. Hampton. The entire force heads back to Port Said for repairs. Light cruiser Perth also suffers damage.
Shortly after noontime, Bf 109s escort Dornier Do-17 bombers to attack the Royal Navy ships that are heading west. While the Dorniers are usually thought of as level bombers, every bomber in the Luftwaffe is designed to serve as a dive bomber, too. The planes destroy battleship Warspite's starboard 4- and 6-inch batteries. The planes cause chaos on the deck by strafing and killing many sailors manning guns.

"Photograph taken by a German airman recording the sinking of HMS GLOUCESTER off the coast of Crete, 22 May 1941." © IWM (HU 1997D).

The first flight of Luftwaffe planes of Stukageschwader 2 now has had time to return to base, rearm and refuel, and return to battle. They catch destroyer Greyhound off Antikythera, east of Crete, where it has been sent to intercept a reported German seaborne convoy to Crete. Greyhound sinks quickly. Cunningham orders several ships to the area to pick up survivors, but he has not been told that the ships have expended their anti-aircraft ammunition. The Luftwaffe pounces again and sets cruiser Gloucester ablaze. It sinks at 16:00. Out of a crew of 807, 722 perish.

At this point, Rear Admiral Edward King, in local command, gives up. He leaves all of the survivors of both Gloucester and Greyhound to their fate and runs back toward Alexandria with cruiser Fiji and destroyers Kandahar and Kingston. The Luftwaffe sends floatplanes to help pick up more than 500 British sailors who otherwise would perish, along with some Royal Navy destroyers who return during the night.

HMS Fiji under attack, with bombs falling astern, just before her sinking.

King's ships, however, are still exposed. A single Bf 109 fighter-bomber (Jabo) carrying a 550-pound bomb spots the fleeing Fiji. The bomb is a near miss which opens the cruiser's plates and causes extensive flooding. The pilot radios in the position and half an hour later a Junkers Ju 88 (Lieutenant Gerhard Brenner) arrives and hits the cruiser with three 110-pound bombs in the forward boiler room. Fiji sinks around 18:00.

The Admiralty is furious at King's "lack of aggression." After the battle, he is court-martialed for his decision and relegated to a desk job at the Admiralty. He will never go to sea again and will retire on 15 June 1944.

The Admiralty decides to reinforce failure and sends five more destroyers from Malta. Two of them, Kashmire and Kelly, shell Maleme after dark. However, this exposes their position to the Germans, who radio Athens to send more planes early on the 23rd.

The Luftwaffe also attacks Force A1 west of Crete, damaging battleship HMS Valiant. The Luftwaffe loses five Junkers Ju-87s and five Junkers Ju-88s and has sixteen more planes damaged. Significantly, the Luftwaffe does not lose any fighters because the RAF has withdrawn theirs.

After dark, the Royal Navy maintains patrols off Crete, but the Luftwaffe continues attacking. Destroyer Havock suffers damage to its boiler room from a near miss. There are 15 deaths and ten wounded.

Force D shells and sinks Romanian freighter Carmen Sylva.

Another view from a Luftwaffe plane of HMS Gloucester rolling over on 22 May 1941 (Imperial War Museums (collection no. PC 2250).

In Suda Bay, half-sunk cruiser York, which is beached and has been used as a gun platform, finally is abandoned after being hit by more bombs. The Royal Navy opens the seacocks and does other things to render it unusable to the Germans.

Seeing the way things are going, the Admiralty orders Royal Navy destroyers HMS Decoy and Hero to evacuate Greek King George and the rest of the Greek government from Crete.

Submarine Rorqual lays mines in the Gulf of Salonika. The ships of Operation Splice, the air-ferry mission to Malta, arrive back in Gibraltar. At Malta, it is a fairly quiet day, with reconnaissance patrols spotting an Axis convoy off the eastern Tunisian coast (likely returning from Tripoli). The RAF launches attacks and claims a sinking, though apparently, the Axis ships suffer no damage.

According to his Private Secretary John Colville's diary, Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the evening dismisses the losses of Fiji and Gloucester and the other ships, saying:

What do you think we build the ships for?

Churchill, of course, is the former head of the Royal Navy. It is interesting to compare this sort of statement with the endless criticism that Adolf Hitler receives for similarly callous statements about Wehrmacht casualties.

Map of British counterattack, 22 May 1941.

Maleme Airport:

The New Zealand troops at Maleme require time to be relieved by other troops in order to counterattack the vital Hill 107 which overlooks Maleme airport. The British still worry about a sea landing, so they keep many available forces on the coast nearby. Two New Zealand battalions, the 20th Battalion of the 4th Brigade and the 28th Maori Battalion of the 5th Brigade, finally launch a counterattack. While planned for 02:00, it does not get into motion until after daylight. The Allied counterattack under New Zealand Second Lieutenant Charles Upham fails despite wreaking havoc on machine-gun nests and other positions, and the Germans tighten their grip on the airfield. Upham, who goes out of his way to rescue several isolated soldiers, wins the Victoria Cross.

Aerial view of Maleme Airfield during Operation Mercury, with planes scattered all about on the runway.

Maleme airfield is still under artillery fire throughout the day. The Luftwaffe continues feeding planes into the inferno with reinforcements and supplies. While able to land, most either crash into other planes at the chaotic end of the runway or are blasted by shellfire. Still, enough planes get through to maintain the German position and enable it to expand as the day goes on. The Luftwaffe loses dozens of transports but saves the bridgehead.

The Allies, meanwhile, are utterly confused about German intentions, and some commanders believe the German transports are taking Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) off the island rather than bringing them in.

Ruins at Heraklion following fighting on 22 May 1941.

Elsewhere On Crete:

The Australian 19th Infantry Brigade contains the Fallschirmjäger attacking Retimo. The German 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment withdraws under heavy pressure to positions east of Heraklion. With the main effort now clearly at Maleme, the goal of other German forces on the island is first and foremost to avoid capture or death.

Elsewhere in North Africa, there is little ground activity. RAF bombers raid Benghazi.

"A German Pzkw Mk III tank advances through the desert during Rommel's drive on Bir Hakeim, June 1942. The tank was superior to its British rival, the Matilda, in terms of both reliability and armament." This photo may have been taken on 22 May 1941, as that is its production date. © IWM (MH 5852).

Propaganda War: The propaganda agencies of both the Reich and Great Britain paint very different pictures of the fighting on Crete. The German public is told of stirring air attacks, but the dire straits of the Fallschirmjäger are glossed over. The British press, on the other hand, dwells on Luftwaffe losses and the supposedly solid position of the British forces on land.

German/Soviet Relations: Reich Ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg with Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov in Moscow, Russia. Schulenburg, who knows about Operation Barbarossa (or at least strongly suspects it), reports that it is a friendly meeting.

Anglo-US Relations: Churchill gives a candid evaluation of the fighting on Crete to President Roosevelt, calling the battle "severe, because, having no airfields within effective range, we cannot bring any Air Force into action." He adds:

Two of our cruisers and two destroyers sunk today. We are destroying many of highest-class German troops and have sunk at least one convoy.

This is an extremely accurate appraisal, and much more honest than what the statement he issues to the House of Commons.

Regarding the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Churchill comments that "Should we fail to catch them going out, your Navy should surely be able to mark them down for us." All pretense of US neutrality, of course, is long gone.

Anglo/Ireland Relations: Churchill has an unpleasant meeting with Irish High Commissioner John Dulanty, as reported in the War Cabinet minutes. Churchill claims that Dulanty has used "the usual arguments" in opposition to an Irish draft in Northern Ireland, such as the likelihood of violent protests. Churchill responds that British public opinion is "hard and bitter" and would lead to a "permanent embitterment of feeling after the war." The War Cabinet minutes suggest that plans for a draft in Ireland will proceed despite objections, but be limited to those already in the Home Guard.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking east towards Tower Bridge." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131469).

Anglo/Vichy France Relations: The British demand that the Vichy French government stop collaborating with Germany:

If the Vichy government, in pursuance of their declared policy of collaboration with the enemy, take action or permit action detrimental to our conduct of the war or designed to assist the enemy's war effort, we shall naturally hold ourselves free to attack the enemy wherever he may be found, and in so doing we shall no longer feel bound to draw any distinction between occupied and unoccupied territory in the execution of our military plans.

Vichy continues its drift toward further collaboration.

German Military: Field Marshal Albert Kesselring moves his headquarters of Luftflotte 2 from the Channel coast to Bielany, a suburb of Warsaw. The Air Fleet will operate in support of Army Group Center under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, whose target is Moscow. Kesselring and von Bock established a close working relationship during the invasion of Poland and, later, of the Netherland and Belgium. Airfields in Poland, however, are not yet complete for all of the Luftwaffe units - many Poles are being impressed into service to clear land and build structures.

Heinrich Himmler forms a Norwegian SS organization, basing it on the German original.

Soviet Military: Destroyer Razjarennyj is launched.

P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the Philippines in 1941.

US Military: Both the US Army Air Corps and the RAF place orders for the P40D/Kittyhawk I/Curtiss Hawk 81 fighter.

The US Navy continues transferring ships from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

US President Roosevelt issues orders to prepare for the seizure of the Azores.

British Government: Churchill makes a statement to the House of Commons about Crete, his third in the past three days. He states in part:

Fighting is continuing with intensity, and, although the situation is in hand, the Germans have gained some local successes, at heavy cost. They are using large numbers of airborne and parachute troops, and these are increasing daily.... At Maleme Aerodrome, 10 miles South-West of Canea, it appears that the enemy are now in occupation of the aerodrome and the area to the West of it, but the aerodrom is still under our fire. Elsewhere in this sector the coastal line remains in our hands.

Churchill is silent on the Royal Navy losses at sea, which his private secretary confirms he is well aware of at this time. He simply says, "I am sorry to say that I have got no definite information as to the results, but I feel they can hardly be other than satisfactory."

In fact, the results are sea are far from satisfactory for the Royal Navy, as he well knows. Churchill also does not mention the issue of German troops wearing New Zealand uniforms, something he has claimed to be the case in the previous two statements.

"Aerial perspective of the City of London looking southeast." 22 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131470).

German Government: Hitler ends his brief stay at his old apartment in Munich and heads up to Berchtesgaden. He holds a war conference, and Admiral Raeder notifies Hitler about the Bismarck mission. Hitler, who at one point during the war confesses that he "can't sleep a wink with large ships operating, first asks somewhat plaintively, "Herr Grossadmiral, can’t we fetch the ships back?" However, he reluctantly consents to Operation Rheinübung due to the effect it would have on Kriegsmarine's morale. Hitler is worried about the effect the Bismarck operation will have on the United States.

Hitler's adjutant and personal friend, Walther Hewel, writes in his diary for 22 May:

... Drove up the mountain. Conference with the Chief [Ribbentrop], Raeder, and Keitel on naval strategy, convoy issue, the Raeder “interview,” and on Dakar, the Canaries and the Azores! Very interesting. The Fuhrer still vacillates in his attitude toward America, as “you cannot peer into Roosevelt’s mind.” If he wants a war, he will always find the means, even if legally we are in the right. Japan holds the key.

Adolf Hitler ends his two-day vacation in Munich and meets with Admiral Erich Raeder. They discuss a possible Kriegsmarine invasion of the Azores. Hitler sees it as a base for Luftwaffe bombers. Raeder reports that, should the Germans take the Azores, they would have no way of defending them.

China: Chinese 4th Pursuit Group disperse to new airfields, and just as they are landing, 25 Japanese G3M bombers with an escort of A6M Zero fighters appear overhead. The Japanese bomb Lanzhou. Kao You-hsing, flying an I-16, still has his engine running after landing and takes off to fight the Japanese formation singlehandedly and disrupts the attack. This buys enough time for other Chinese planes to get in the air, preventing them from being destroyed on the ground. The Japanese lose one bomber, but the bomb the city without further interference.

The Chinese redirect 17 I-153s of the 5th Pursuit Group to Lanzhou to defend against the attack. However, while refueling at Tianshu (Gansu Province), all of the planes are destroyed on the ground by bombing. Lu Enlung, leader of the 5th Pursuit Group, is relieved of command.

Japanese aircraft of the 12th Kokutai also attack Chengu during the day.

Grave of Private Walter Fleming, number 3710998, 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, at Habbaniya War Cemetery, Iraq. KIA 22 May 1941.

Holocaust: Jews in Croatia are required to wear a Yellow Badge, also known as the Yellow Star of David, reflecting similar medieval practices. The practice will spread around Occupied Europe. The badges include the word "Jew" in local languages.

Norwegian Homefront: The German occupation authorities call striking theatrical workers in to remonstrate with them. The workers are told to get back to work "or else."

American Homefront: Technicolor film "Blood and Sand" is released. Starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth, it features supporting roles by Anthony Quinn, John Carradine, and Lynn Bari. It becomes quite popular and will win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, due in part to set designer Rouben Mamoulian using the paintings of Spanish painters Goya, El Greco and Velázquez for inspiration.

Future History: Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, born in Glasgow, Scotland. He will become a top British track-and-field athlete, holding the British record for the 100-meter sprint from 1967-1974, and thereafter a leading British politician. As of this writing, Lord Campbell is the Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.

HMS Greyhound, sunk 22 May 1941 off Crete.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Tuesday 20 May 1941

German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) drop on Crete, 20 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: In London, Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20 May 1941 decides to support Free French General Catroux in an invasion of Syria. As the War Cabinet minutes state, he decides that "It was worth taking a chance which might come off, rather than watch the Germans establishing themselves in Syria."

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell transfers the 7th Australian Division (Major General John Lavarack) from Mersa Matruh, Egypt to Palestine. This is a key step in preparing for an invasion of Syria, which the Luftwaffe is using as a transit point for operations in Iraq.

RAF planes attack the Luftwaffe planes based at Mosul, while the Luftwaffe bombs Habbaniya. There are dogfights over Fallujah, just occupied by the British. Four of Habbaniya's Gloster Gladiators tussle with four ZG 76 Bf 110s. One of the Gladiators is damaged and the German (future night fighter ace) Martin Drewes takes credit for a victory.

Luftwaffe General Hellmuth Felmy takes command of Sonderstab F, which controls air operations in Iraq. He is not the overall commander of German operations in Iraq, though, which are projected to include ground troops.

The 1st Fallschirmjäger artillery regiment, 7 Kompanie, Crete, 20 May 1941.

European Air Operations: It is another quiet day on the Channel Front, with no major raids. The Luftwaffe engages in some aerial reconnaissance in support of Operation Rheinübung, the sortie into the Atlantic by battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen. The British continue to dig out from the May Blitz which recently ended.

East African Campaign: During an appearance in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill describes the recent victory over the Italians at Amba Alagi in Abyssinia. He is careful to give credit to local army commanders Generals Cunningham and Platt, who he says "discharged so well the task assigned to them by the Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East, Sir Archibald Wavell."

Battle of the Atlantic: Today is one of the big days of the war for the U-boat fleet, though it is little remembered. Attacks in multiple areas inflict a great defeat on the Allies at sea.

Convoy HX-126, heading west to Liverpool from Halifax, is spotted by Wolf Pack West around 160 miles south of Greenland (220 miles southeast of Cape Farewell) and comes under attack by several U-boats. While largely forgotten because several other high profile events are taking place (such as the Bismarck mission and the invasion of Crete), this is one of the epic wolfpack battles of the war. As with all major wolfpack battles, details are sketchy, and who sank what on which day is often unclear and subject to further research.

At 04:58, U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch), on its seventh patrol out of St. Nazaire and which recently survived depth charging by escorts of OB 318, torpedoes 4718-ton British freighter Norman Monarch in the starboard side. All 48 men aboard survive, taken aboard the designated rescue ship Harpagus. However, their day is not over yet.

It is unclear if U-109 (Kptlt. Hans-Georg Fischer), on its first patrol out of Kiel, knows that the 5173-ton Harpagus is a rescue ship, but in any event, it is fair game. Fischer spots the Harpagus trying to catch up to the convoy after picking up the survivors from the Norman Monarch. He pumps a torpedo into the Harpagus and sinks it. There are 26 deaths from the survivors of the Norman Monarch and ultimately only 22 crewmen survive that ship to see another day.

U-556, seen here coming alongside battleship Tirpitz.

At 14:48, U-556 (Kptlt. Herbert Wohlfarth) strikes HX-126. He sinks three ships in rapid succession (again at 14:50 and 15:16):

8740-ton British freighter British Security
5995-ton British freighter Cockaponset
4974-ton British freighter Darlington Court.

These will be U-556's final three victories, as it will be sunk on its next mission.

At 18:17, Kuppisch in U-94 strikes again against Convoy HX-126. He torpedoes a 6128-ton Norwegian tanker, John P. Pedersen. There are 37 survivors and one death. The tanker requires two more torpedoes, at 18:50 and 19:20, to finally sink.

At 17:29, U-98 (Kptlt. Robert Gysae), on its second patrol out of Lorient, also gets in on the action against Convoy HX-126. He torpedoes and sinks 5356-ton British freighter Rothermere.

Italian Glauco-class submarine Otaria (Lt. Commander Giuseppe Vocaturo) torpedoes and badly damages 4662-ton British freighter Starcross several hundred miles west of Ireland. The crew abandons ship, and the Starcross is scuttled. Survivors are picked up by Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Francis, a former US (USS Bancroft) Clemson-class destroyer.

At 21:24, U-138 (Oblt.Wolfgang Lüth), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating about 155 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis, torpedoes and sinks 8593-ton British tanker Javanese Princess. Some accounts state this took place on 15 May, but the 20th seems more likely. There are 57 survivors (including some passengers) and one death. Survivors are picked up by HMS Faulknor, Lincoln Assurance (a tug).

U-103 (Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off Freetown, torpedoes and sinks 3575-ton Egyptian freighter Radames. There is one death. Some sources place this sinking on 25 May.

At 16:44, U-111 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Kleinschmidt), on its first patrol and operating near U-138, hits 13,307-ton British tanker San Felix. The San Felix develops a list to starboard but escapes further damage in a rain squall. It makes it to St. John's and is repaired.

One of the seven Junkers Ju 52s shot down over Crete today, 20 May 1941.

Completing an arduous journey to which they were not suited, the last of four Italian coastal submarines, Perla, completes its journey to Bordeaux, France from Massawa on the Red Sea. The submarines are too small to carry enough supplies for lengthy journeys, and the sailors become malnourished on the trip around the Cape of Good Hope, but they complete the journey rather than surrender. The submarines now join the other Italian submarines operating in the Atlantic.

German freighter Dresden arrives in Bordeaux with prisoners captured by raider Atlantis from the Zamzam.

German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen reach the Norwegian coast, and the accompanying minesweepers are sent back to base. Aerial reconnaissance shows that the Royal Navy Home Fleet remains at anchor at Scapa Flow, Scotland. Pursuant to Operation Rheinübung, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen continue northward along the Norwegian coast to Bergen. At 13:00, neutral Swedish seaplane-cruiser Gotland sights the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen and reports this (through circuitous means) to the Royal Navy.

A major USN Neutrality Patrol leaves Bermuda. It includes aircraft carrier USS Wasp and heavy cruiser Quincy (CA-39). This is Task Force 2 and it will cover over 4000 miles (6500 km) on its two-week patrol.

Convoy HX 128 departs from Halifax and BHX 128 from Bermuda.

Royal Navy sloop HMS Landguard (Lt. Commander Rowland E. S. Hugonin) is commissioned.

Destroyer USS Barton is laid down.

Operation Mercury, 20 May 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Unternehmen Merkur - Operation Mercury - commences. It is treated lightly by the Wehrmacht, almost as an afterthought to Operation Marita, and Adolf Hitler spends little time on it. The operation is directed by General Kurt Student in the King George Hotel in Athens and is exclusively a Luftwaffe operation (though reinforcement of the initial lodgement by sea is contemplated). The British know the Germans are coming from their Ultra decrypts, but there remains a gap between knowing the invasion is coming and being able to stop it.

The Fallschirmjäger (German paratroopers) of the 7th Flieger Division board their Junkers Ju 52 transport planes and DFS 230 gliders on mainland Greece around daylight and beginning dropping on Crete around 07:15-08:00. The drops are in the three battlegroups (Kampfgruppen) East, West and Center. There are several airfield objectives, as the plan is to seize at least one airfield and then sluice reinforcements into it to create a defensible bridgehead. One of the failings of the plan is that sea reinforcement is difficult not just because of the presence of the Royal Navy, but the lack of good landing sites. The targets are Maleme airfield and Chania in the west, Rethymno in the center, and Heraklion further east. Group West has the highest number of attacking troops. Overall, Luftwaffe transport losses are lighter than expected (seven are shot down).

German Fallschirmjäger troops prepare for the mission to Crete.

The first landings are at Maleme, where many Fallschirmjäger land west of the airfield and form up for an advance on the airfield and Chania. The 21st, 22nd and 23rd New Zealand battalions in the vicinity respond quickly, and the Germans take heavy casualties. Some Junkers Ju 52s land on the airfield itself, and the surviving Germans (many planes are destroyed immediately) form a small perimeter at the southern end of the field. An Allied counterattack by the 22nd New Zealand Infantry Battalion makes some progress but ultimately fails because of command confusion which results in no reinforcements being sent. As the day progresses, the Germans west of the field advance and take Hill 107, which overlooks the field. However, the field itself is still raked by Allied fire and unsuitable for normal use.

Fallschirmjäger at Crete, 20 May 1941. Odds are good that this is a composite or otherwise doctored photo prepared for propaganda purposes.

In the afternoon, the second tranche of transports drop waves of Fallschirmjäger at Rethymno and Heraklion. The Germans attack Rethymno at 16:15 and Heraklion at 17:30. The Heraklion defenders - 14th Infantry Brigade, the 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion, and the Greek 3rd, 7th and "Garrison" (ex-5th Crete Division) battalions - respond quickly, and the Germans essentially surround the field without penetrating it. The attackers have even less success at Rethymno and wind up spending more time trying to evade capture than secure the airfield.

As the day ends, the Germans are in the best shape at Maleme, but even there they have not secured the airfield. During the night, General Student decides to concentrate his entire effort on Maleme and basically leaves the other forces to fend for themselves. He bases this decision on a report that a Ju 52 flown by Captain Kleye managed to land at the airport while only subject to small arms fire. While the planes may be destroyed, this may be a way to get reinforcements to the island.

Fallschirmjäger on Hill 107 overlooking Maleme airfield, 20 May 1941.

On the other side, General Bernard C. Freyberg authorizes a pullback at Maleme during the night, leaving Hill 107 uncontested. Freyberg makes plans for a set-piece attack on the 21st using the handful of British tanks available on the island. The entire invasion and control of Crete now depend upon who can concentrate the most force at one point: Maleme airfield.

The RAF and Luftwaffe battle over Crete, neither side using its airfields (the RAF withdrew to Alexandria on the 19th). The Luftwaffe sinks minesweeper HMS Widnes at Suda Bay (later salvaged by the Germans as UJ.2109). In addition, 353-ton armed trawler Kos XXIII is badly damaged and ultimately written off.

One of the air casualties is Flt. Lt. Montague T St. John "Pat" Pattle of RAF No. 80 Squadron, who has dozens of confirmed victories (the exact number of his actual victories is subject to debate but likely is somewhere around 30-40).

Crete, 20 May 1941.

The Royal Navy has Force A-1, including battleship HMS Warspite, west of Crete. Force B is west of Cape Matapan but en route to join Force A-1. Force C, with two light cruisers, is in the Kaso Strait. Force D, also including light cruisers, is in the Antikythera Strait. Force C comes under air and motorboat attack, without results.

Italian 52 ton freighter Padre Eterno and 194-ton freighter Aghios Georgios spotted by Force A-1 and sunk by gunfire.

Italian destroyer escort Curatone is operating in the Gulf of Athens when it hits a mine and sinks.

Italian 5165 ton freighter Zeffiro and 4856-ton Perseo hit mines just off Cape Bon. The mines are newly laid Italian mines. The Zeffiro sinks, and the Perso is badly damaged.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Urge fires a torpedo at Italian destroyer Alpino (thought to be a tanker) near Lampedusa (midway between Malta and Tunisia) but misses.

German troops occupy the island of Antikythera, near Crete.

Another mission to ferry planes to Malta, Operation Splice, reverses its feint into the Atlantic from Gibraltar and heads into the Mediterranean. HMS Ark Royal and Furious carry 48 planes for the island.

Fallschirmjäger of the 3./FjSR having just been dropped about one kilometer from the Tavronitis bridge, Maleme sector, Crete, 20 May 1941.

Second Lieutenant Roy Farran (in command of "C" Squadron of the 3rd King's Own Hussars) earns the Victoria Cross for actions near Canea. He manages to block a key road with tanks and has his men shoot a group of Fallschirmjäger who have captured a group of 40 hospital patients. See below for a darker side of this incident.

General Freyberg reports to Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell:

At dawn on Tuesday, powerful German forces began heavy assault on Crete. Large numbers of paratroops jumped onto the island, and according to reports received so far, airborne troops have landed in transport aircraft. British and Greek units have engaged the enemy. A number of German paratroops have been killed and captured. The battles are continuing.

Wavell has limited options to help on Crete, as he already has a full commitment of the Royal Navy and RAF.

Winston Churchill announces the invasion in the House of Commons in the evening, saying:

The third matter is not yet known to the House. For the last few day our reconnoitring aeroplanes have noticed very heavy concentrations of German aircraft of all kinds on the aerodromes of Southern Greece.... It is now clear that these concentrations were the prelude to an attack upon Crete. An airborne attack in great strength started this morning, and what cannot fail to be a serious battle has begun and is developing.

Churchill may be correct in stating that he knew about the German preparations for the invasion due to reconnaissance aircraft, but he is careful not to mention the real source of his information: the Ultra decrypts.

Churchill elaborates on the invasion in a statement:

After a good deal of intense bombing of Suda Bay and the various aerodromes in the neighborhood, about 1,500 enemy troops, wearing New Zealand battle-dress, landed by gliders, parachutes and troop carriers in the Canea-Maleme area.

It is unclear why Churchill states that the Fallschirmjäger are wearing Allied uniforms, which would be a violation of the rules of warfare. What is clear now is that they were not, so either Churchill is misinformed or he is lying to the House of Commons intentionally for some reason.

In Malta, there are more Luftwaffe attacks. They damage Luqa airfield, damaging the control tower and destroying Beaufighter on the tarmac. There is one death.

A Junkers Ju 52 comes in low over Crete, avoiding artillery fire (but exposing itself to ground fire), 20 May 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Orion turns toward home. It will have to round the Cape of Good Hope, and South Africa is a British ally, so this is a dangerous trip. This will be a leisurely journey. The Orion carries a Japanese floatplane, which it acquired from supply ship Münsterland on 1 February.

German/Finnish Relations:  Minister Karl Schnurre arrives in Helsinki as the German Special Envoy to meet the Finnish President Ryti. He depicts an increasingly tense relationship between the Reich and the USSR. Schnurre also warns about a possible Soviet preemptive attack somewhere along the border, perhaps in Finland.

The Finns agree to his suggestion that they send a delegation to Berlin to coordinate possible responses to a Soviet attack. Field Marshal Mannerheim prepares a delegation to be sent within a few days, led by the Chief of the General HQ, Lieutenant General Heinrichs, accompanied by four other high-ranking officers. They will not be authorized to enter agreements but simply perform some fact-finding.

Anglo/US Relations: US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Shoshone (CGC-50) is transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Landguard. This is the ninth transfer of USCGC vessels pursuant to Lend Lease.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant departs from Gibraltar to refit in the United States at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

German/Venezuelan Relations: The LA Times reports that German diplomats have been expelled, though on very cordial terms.

May 20, 1941. Ack-Ack Girls, members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), run to action at an anti-aircraft gun emplacement in the London area when the alarm is sounded. (AP Photo)

War Crimes: Second Lieutenant Roy Farran, who as described above wins the Military Cross for actions today near Canea, later writes that his troops encountered some Fallschirmjäger attempting to surrender. Farran claims to have ordered the surrendering Germans shot. He claimed that this was done on the spur of the moment.

Spy Stuff: Japanese Ambassador to the US Kichisaburō Nomura reports to Tokyo that the US is reading their coded messages. However, he claims that the most important diplomatic codes are still secure - when in fact they are not.

POWs: Polish Lieutenant J. Just, a prisoner of war of Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, temporarily escapes but is quickly recaptured.

Winston Churchill, during his remarks in the House of Commons, refuses to comment on Rudolf Hess.

British Government: Prime Minister Churchill takes questions in the House of Commons. Among other things, he refuses requests to appoint a Minister of Civil Defence or a minister devoted to the development of military armored formations.

German Government: Apparently completely unconcerned about Operation Mercury, Adolf Hitler drives down to Munich to spend two days at his old apartment there - and not at nearby Berchtesgaden. What he does during such solitary visits is not known. His next meeting will be on the 22nd.

Powell's house at the intersection of 195th Street and 58th Avenue, Queens, New York, May 20, 1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)

China: The Chinese manage to shoot down an A6M Zero in fairly good condition near the city of Chengdu, north of Chungking (Chongqing). Marine Corps Major James McHugh gets drawings and data on the plane and passes them along both to the Navy Department in Washington and (much later) to Flying Tigers commander Claire Chennault. The Chinese drawings and analysis are good as far as they go, but the Zero's tail has been destroyed and this part of the fuselage remains a mystery to the Allies.

The Japanese launch the Jidong Operation. Its goal is to capture the eastern part of Hebei Province.

Chinese Communists form the CCP Central China Bureau.

Holocaust: Germany bans emigration of Jews from France and Belgium in anticipation of an imminent broader solution to their situation (which is not specified). While this obviously is ominous, at this time it may still mean their transport to newly captured territories in the East for use as slaves rather than outright extermination.

American Homefront: The LA Times reports that the mother of Desi Arnaz, who is a US citizen at least since marrying Lucille Ball on 30 November 1940, is told that she must return to Cuba (which she has left for Mexico) in order to emigrate to the United States with a quota number. The Arnaz family is not welcome in Cuba since Fulgencio Batista seized the family's properties in the 1930s. Note that Arnaz did not mention this in his autobiography "A Book" (1976), where he states that the family fled to Miami.

The Young Women's Republican Club of Milford, Connecticut has a "smoker" party on 20 May 1941 to show that they enjoy wild parties just as much as men do (photo and story were in the 16 June 1941 Life magazine).

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Tuesday 13 May 1941

German battleship Bismarck as seen from cruiser Prinz Eugen during refueling exercises, 13 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: The remainder of Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck), commanded by Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck, arrives in Aleppo, Syria on 13 May 1941. The squadron composed of Bf 110 Zerstörer heavy fighters (12 aircraft in total) from the 4. Staffel/ZG 76 Heinkel He 111 bombers (12 aircraft) is spotted by British agents. Sonderkommando Junck intends to fly on to Mosul, Iraq in order to aid Rashid Ali in his war against the British. Today, for the first time, the RAF encounters a Luftwaffe plane (flying under Iraqi colors) in the theater. This contributes to a growing British conclusion that they must invade Syria.

Vichy French weapons already are arriving in Mosul from Syria. The first shipment includes 15,000 rifles, 6 million rounds of ammunition, 200 machine guns, four 75mm field guns, and 10,000 artillery shells.

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in exile in Baghdad, renews his calls for a jihad against the British from Baghdad.

A Bristol Beaufighter MkI RAF of 217 Squadron (W6494) shot down at Carpiquet airfield, Caen, France, 13 May 1941.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe again attacks London. One new characteristic of these night raids is that they now are accompanied by a fighter escort (day fighters that operate at night without radar are known in the Reich as "wild boar" fighters). This is an indication of growing RAF success at interdicting the nightly Luftwaffe bomber streams with Beaufort night fighters.

The damage to London is growing and alters daily life there. The chamber of the House of Commons is in ruins, so the MPs must meet in Church House, Westminster. Prime Minister Winston Churchill states there that "Parliamentary business will not be interrupted by enemy action." Big Ben is damaged, but still functional. The historic hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall is intact, but the lobby roof is destroyed. Westminster Abbey also has lost its lantern roof for lack of water to fight the fires - something that the Luftwaffe helped cause by timing its recent mass raid of 10-11 May to low tide in the Thames.

The list of damaged and destroyed architectural treasures goes on and on:

Tower of London
British Museum
Tower Pier
Royal College of Surgeons
Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn
Law Courts
Victoria Station
War Office
Scotland Yard
Lambeth Palace
The Deanery
15 hospitals, including Charing Cross and St. Thomas'
Numerous Christopher Wren churches.

The London Palladium Theatre has a lucky escape - a parachute mine of devastating power crashes through the roof but catches on the beams, remaining suspended above the stage. It later is removed and intentionally exploded elsewhere.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Heligoland with 44 aircraft, while the Luftwaffe sends 40 aircraft against shipping targets along the Channel coast.

East African Campaign: The Indian troops of the 5th Indian Division renew their attacks on the Italian stronghold of Amba Alagi. They attack the Twin Pyramids position. The newly arrived 1st South African Brigade prepares to join in the attacks on the 14th. The Italians continue to put up fierce resistance, but they have no source of supply and small stockpiles of essential goods such as food and water.

SS Somersby, sunk on 13 May 1941 by U-111. Everyone on board survives.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-98 (Kptlt. Robert Gysae), part of Wolfpack West and on its second patrol out of Lorient, is operating south of Cape Farewell, Greenland when it spots a large ship. It is the 10,549-ton British armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMS Salopian (Captain Sir John Meynell Alleyne), part of the escort for Convoy SC-30. At about 04:00, Gysae fires two torpedoes but misses. At 06:20, Gysae tries again but again misses. Fortunately for U-98, the AMC apparently does not spot the torpedo tracks in the morning gloom. Finally, around 07:30, Gysae succeeds in hitting the AMC, with two torpedoes striking and opening holes in the bow and amidships.

Salopian is badly damaged, losing engine power and wireless communications, but it opens fire anyway. This forces U-98 to submerge. Gysae pumps two more torpedoes into the stricken AMC at 08:00 and 08:50, but it stays afloat. Finally, the sixth torpedo from U-98, fired at 10:43, causes the Salopian to split in two. It sinks in two minutes.

Overall, Gysae has to use nine torpedoes, an extraordinary number to sink one ship and over half the normal U-boat load. The Salopian's survival for so long is partially due to the practice of filling the holds of AMCs with empty barrels and other buoyant material. Despite the ship's dramatic ending, only three men perish, and the 228 men on the ship are picked up by HMS Impulsive on the 14th.

U-105 (Kptlt. Georg Schewe) is operating about 700 miles off of Freetown when it spots 6434-ton British freighter Benvrackie, part of Convoy OB-312. The U-boat had suffered from the explosion of its 105mm deck gun on 5 May but remains serviceable. Schewe torpedoes the Benvrackie, sending it to the bottom. The Benvrackie had picked up 25 survivors from the Lassell on 30 April, sunk by U-107, and 15 of those survivors now perish in this sinking. In addition, 13 crew of the Benvrackie perish, for a total of 28 deaths. There are 55 survivors, ten of both sinkings, and they must spend 13 days in lifeboats until picked up by HMHS Oxfordshire. The Benvrackie's master, William Edward Rawlings Eyton-Jones, was awarded the Lloyd's War Medal for bravery at sea.

U-105 during a mid-ocean rendezvous with another U-boat during World War II.

U-111 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Kleinschmidt) is part of Wolfpack West, operating with U-97 south of Greenland, and it is on the first day on station on its very first patrol when it spots 5170-ton British freighter Somersby. The Somersby, part of Convoy SC-30, has failed to maintain convoy speed and become a de facto independent. Kleinschmidt fires two torpedoes at 11:41, with one hitting the Somersby. At 12:46, Kleinschmidt fires another torpedo, causing the Somersby to capsize and sink. Everyone on board survives and is rescued by Greek freighter Marika Protopapa.

British 496 ton hopper barge F hits a mine and sinks just 350 yards south of Dingle Oil Jetty at Liverpool. There are five deaths and six survivors.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 203-ton British trawler Fort Rona about 15 miles southwest of Bardsey Island (which lies 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd). Everyone survives.

A Spanish fishing trawler, Nueva Elisa, hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2468-ton British freighter Lottinge about three miles off the mouth of the Tyne. The Lottinge makes it back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs destroyer HMS Franklin in the North Sea, but a near miss does not cause significant damage.

German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen practice refueling at sea in preparation for their upcoming sortie into the Atlantic.

Royal Navy destroyer Lance (Lt. Commander Ralph W. F. Northcott), corvette Clover (Lt. Commander Frank A. Shaw) and ASW trawler Valse (Lt. Donald S. Hutton) are all commissioned.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Townsville is launched.

SS Shropshire before its conversion into HMS Salopian (F 94) (Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Churchill is ecstatic about the safe conclusion of the Tiger convoy to Alexandria directly through the Mediterranean and sends a memo to David Margesson and General Sir John Dill noting that the success of the Tiger convoy "may well have transformed the situation in the [Middle East]." He reasons that:

It is much better to provide ample forces in war so as to achieve a swift result, rather than to budget for a continued flow of wastage over a long period of months. I am therefore of the opinion that we should send all we can from [England] at the very earliest moment.

Churchill says that he has asked the Admiralty to consider sending a repeat of the Tiger Convoy and also to return some convoy ships from Alexandria to England via the same direct route.

The British start preparing for Operation Brevity, a small offensive planned for the Libyan/Egyptian border. The Luftwaffe notices the growing troop concentrations and attacks them.

Operation MD 8, composed of light cruisers HMS Ajax and Orion and HMAS Perth, accompanied by three destroyers, departs from Alexandria. The objective is to bombard El Fateyah airfield near Derna. They get lost in the dark and fail to fire a shot.

Royal Navy gunboat HMS Gnat parks offshore during the night and bombards Galala Airfield.

The Luftwaffe bombs Malta, sinking tug Cornflower at Mersa. The strange case of the "Miracle" bell happens when a church bell used to warn of impending air raids tolls at 14:00, sending residents of a home for the elderly and disabled in Qomi to shelters. Seconds later, the building is bombed and destroyed. However, the church had not been informed of an impending raid, and nobody admits to ringing the bell. The Spiritual Director of the building ascribes it to "truly miraculous deliverance."

A Mennonite farmer in Lancaster with a load of tobacco, May 1941.

War Crimes: Following the delivery of a report of the court of inquiry into the conduct of military personnel on board the HMT Dunera in the summer of 1940, an order to court-martial the captain and other military personnel on the vessel is issued. The crew of Dunera is accused of malicious and predatory conduct of evacuees from England to Australia, including, inter alia, savage beatings, and theft.

Spy Stuff: A German consul in Chunking, China has access to Soviet secret diplomatic circulars. He reports today, on May 7th, the Soviets had instructed all missions to ascertain the probable attitude of other countries in the event of a German-Soviet conflict. Since the Soviets are presumed not to know about Operation Barbarossa, this suggests to the Germans that the Soviets are planning an attack of their own. This jibes with military intelligence gained after the invasion which claims that Stalin had made many warlike statements to graduates of Moscow staff colleges on 5/6 May.

Professor Karl Bömer, head of the Foreign Press Department, is at a diplomatic reception in the Bulgarian embassy in Berlin when he states in a drunken stupor to diplomats and journalists that he in line to be promoted to Gauleiter of the Crimea. Of course, the Crimea is a Soviet possession well behind the frontier, and this comment draws a lot of attention. Bömer is brought up on charges and sentenced by the People's Court for "negligent treason" to three years in prison. Bömer later is sent to the army to serve in Russia, where he perishes in 1942.

Partisans: Yugoslav Army Colonel Dragoljub Mihailovich establishes new headquarters on the western slopes of the remote Suvobor Mountains in Serbia. Mihailovic is a royalist whose ultimate goal is the restoration of the monarchy. His resistance movement, one of the first open resistance movements within Occupied Europe, is called the Ravna Gora.

Anglo/Vichy French Relations: It is fair to say that Vichy France is caught between the millstones of the Reich and Great Britain at this time, and relations with both are murky at best. Both sides have been reaching separate agreements with Vichy, some public but many private. The Royal Navy is the flashpoint for many incidents, and one happens today which threatens to poison relations between the two powers.

Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser (AMC) Bulolo seizes 4484 ton Vichy French freighter Bourbonnais several hundred miles southwest of Dakar. The Bourbonnais, however, have time to send out a distress call that is received in Dakar, and the French authorities there are tired of having their ships seized on the high seas. They send out destroyers Fantasque and Terrible to "assist" the Bourbonnais. More ships follow. However, they can't find the Bulolo and Bourbonnais.

German/Turkish Relations: German ambassador to Turkey Franz von Papen, former chancellor of Germany and Vice-Chancellor in 1933-34 under Hitler, reports from Ankara. He indicates that Turkey is increasingly favorably disposed to the Reich. Turkey, due to von Papen's influence, is steadily increasing its trade with the Reich.

US/Australian Relations: Prime Minister Robert Menzies travels from Washington to New York and addresses the Council on Foreign Relations dinner at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. He states:

. . . for parliamentary liberty and the ordered rights of self-government are our joint and several heritage. . . . it is essential for the world not only that tyranny should be defeated but that it should be defeated quickly before the scars made by it are too deep and too lasting.

Menzies soon will head west on his epic circumnavigation that includes meetings with virtually of the world's Allied leaders.

A rare copy of the 13 May 1941 OKW order to troops in preparation for Operation Barbarossa (Russian Military Historical Society, Moscow, Russia).

German Military: OKW Chief Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, on behalf of the OKW and Adolf Hitler, issues the first in a stream of flagrantly illegal orders to the Wehrmacht concerning the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. Entitled (in German, of course) "Application of Military Jurisdiction in the Barbarossa Region and Special Army Measures," the order provides that German soldiers of all ranks are relieved of responsibility in advance for future crimes committed within the Soviet Union. Basically, the order suggests, "anything goes" and anything up to and including outright murder by Wehrmacht troops is not only permitted, but encouraged.

As translated, the 13 May 1941 order provides in pertinent part:

Persons [Russian civilians] suspected of criminal action will be brought at once before an officer. This officer will decide whether they are to be shot.

With regard to offences committed against enemy civilians by members of the Wehrmacht, prosecution is not obligatory....

This broad order, under an interpretation, dispenses with due process completely and is contrary to every law of warfare regardless of specific treaties, and everyone within the Wehrmacht must realize this instantly - but it stands. Keitel will, on 27 June, order all copies of this infamous order destroyed, but the Soviets will obtain copies and retain them in the Kremlin.

Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, who distributed the OKW order of 13 May 1941.

Soviet Military: Soviet Chief of General Staff Georgi Zhukov has ordered four armies sent to the Western and Kyiv army groups. The Soviet armed forces sent west, however, are poorly equipped and understrength. The Soviet western border is roughly 2000 miles long, and four armies can only man isolated strong points.

Pursuant to Stalin's expressed desire to attack the Reich, which he stated clearly on 5/6 May 1941, Soviet Defense Commissar Marshal Timoshenko and Zhukov submit a plan of operations. They project sending 152 divisions and over 3000 aircraft toward southern Poland. However, reviewing all the data of troop readiness and dispositions, Stalin decides against an attack at this time. He also rules against a general mobilization, though Soviet citizens are being called up in increasing numbers to serve in the armed forces.

British Military: Churchill's Tank Parliament meets at 10 Downing Street and reviews armored formation strategy for the defense of the British Isles, a German invasion still being considered an imminent threat. Churchill emphasizes the need for close cooperation between the RAF and tanks. In fact, he states that ground forces should have control over air operations and that "he would like a scheme prepared to equip as early as possible fourteen Army Co-operation Squadrons." These, he adds, "would then be completely at the disposal of the Army." Air Commodore Robert Goddard notes that equipping such squadrons, flying Blenheims, and Tomahawks, could only come at the expense of Bomber Command, but the decision is made and Lord Beaverbrook is instructed to begin the conversions.

The RAF refine their wireless navigation system known as Oboe. It is not ready for use yet. Oboe is a more sophisticated system of navigation than the current German systems that have proven effective, but easy to jam.

Bridgeport, Connecticut Municipal Wharf at Stratford Avenue, 13 May 1941 (National Archives No. 7290326).

British Government: Having listened to Rudolf Hess drone on for two days in Glasgow about his (and presumably Adolf Hitler's) peace proposal, military intelligence expert Ivone Kirkpatrick flies down to London and reports to Prime Minister Winston Churchill at 10 Downing Street. Churchill already knows the main outlines of the proposal, and nothing that Kirkpatrick tells him has any influence on his absolute refusal to consider any peace proposals.

Churchill's main concern at this time is to prevent Hess from spreading his proposal to a wider audience. In a memo to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, Churchill calls Hess "potentially a war-criminal" and the other German leaders possibly "outlaws." This is one of the first indications that this is how the Allies intend to treat the German leaders after the war.

Churchill further states:

In the meanwhile [Hess] should be strictly isolated in a convenient house not too far from London, fitted by "C" [head of the Secret Intelligence Services Stuart Menzies] with the necessary appliances, and every endeavour should be made to study his mentality and get anything worthwhile out of him.

Churchill emphasizes that Hess "should not have any contacts with the outer world or visitors except as prescribed by the Foreign Office." However, Churchill specifies that Hess "should be treated with dignity as if he were an important General who had fallen into our hands."

Churchill never meets with Hess despite the latter's repeated requests to do so. The former deputy fuehrer is kept in isolation and not informed of Churchill's adamant refusal to consider his proposal, instead of being allowed to believe that the offer was being actively considered. For the time being, Hess is kept isolated from all news and sources of outside information.

German Government: Adolf Hitler flies back to Berlin and addresses an emergency meeting of party functionaries. He announces that Martin Bormann has taken office as NSDAP Party Chancellor. Bormann will control all appointments to the NSDAP and access to Adolf Hitler from this point forward. This enrages others within the German government whose own power depends upon their access to the Fuhrer, but Hitler wants to free his hands for tighter control over military operations now that war with the Soviet Union is looming. This marks a major reorientation of German life from one in which the NSDAP is dominant to one in which the Wehrmacht becomes increasingly predominant.

View of the post incinerator at Camp Polk, Louisiana on 13 May 1941 (The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum).

Philippines: Ernest Hemingway leaves Manila for Hawaii via flying boat, and things begin to return to normal after the recent massive influx of new soldiers on USAT Washington (which sets off on its return voyage carrying departing soldiers and dependents). Major Kirtley Gregg, newly made commanding officer of the 4th Composite Group, prepares to move his quarters to Nichols Field, the only asphalt runway suitable for fighter squadrons (Clark Field is turf and only suitable for old bombers). This is a time of great upheaval in the Philippine Department, with many new officers and men and new positions for old hands.

China: The Battle of South Shanxi continues as the Japanese North China Front Army captures Tungfeng. The Japanese effectively have surrounded elements of the Chinese 1st War Area, which are ordered to break out to the north in any way possible. The Chinese begin to try to slip through Japanese lines in small groups.

Yugoslavian Homefront: The Glina massacres continue and come to a temporary conclusion. The Ustaše executes 100 Serb males in the nearby village of Prekopi. All told, roughly 260-300 Serbs have been killed in the previous few days (historians vary on their figures).

American Homefront: "Dangerous Moonlight," a typical wartime British propaganda drama directed by Desmond Horst, receives its US premiere via Republic Pictures under the title "Suicide Squadron." Future star Michael Rennie appears in a small role. The film, not very well remembered, is notable for aerial scenes of actual combat featuring RAF No. 74 Squadron, its planes featuring the unit's "ZD" marking. The film is a big success due less to its cinematic quality than its patriotic tale of a love story between a US female journalist (Sally Gray) and a Polish ace (Anton Walbrook) flying for the RAF.

Vic Ghezzi wins the PGA Championship.

Senta Berger, born on 13 May 1941.

Future History: Richard Steven Valenzuela is born in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He teaches himself to play the guitar and learns how to sing, often improvising lyrics and riffs. He joins local group the Silhouettes at age 16 and is discovered in San Fernando High School by Bob Keane, the owner of a small record label, in 1958. Keane convinces Richard to change his professional name to Ritchie Valens in order to broaden his appeal. As Ritchie Valens, Valenzuela goes on to record classic songs such as "La Bamba" and "Come On, Let's Go." "La Bamba" is one of the first popular songs in the US sung entirely in Spanish, and Valens is the first Latino to cross over into mainstream popular music. Ritchie Valens passes away in a plane crash in the early morning hours of 3 February 1959. His death helps to inspire singer/songwriter Don McLean to write his own classic song, "American Pie," immortalizing the day of Valens' death as "The day the music died." Also perishing in that crash are Buddy Holly and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, who was given his seat by Waylon Jennings because Richardson was ill.

Senta Berger is born in Vienna, Austria. She goes on to marry director Michael Verhoeven and become a major film star in her own right. One of her more memorable films is Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron" (1977), a searing look at soldiers during World War II that is a huge success in Germany. Senta continues to perform into the 21st Century and has won many awards for her acting.

Richard Valenzuela aka Ritchie Valens.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020