Saturday 28 June 1941

A Soviet 32nd Division T-34 tank destroyed near Suhovolja west of Lviv, Ukraine, 28 or 29 June 1941.

Eastern Front: The big news of 28 June 1941 is the German capture of Minsk. This is the most famous Soviet city taken to date and a key stop on the high road to Moscow. Italian puppet state Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.

In the Army Group North sector, the Wehrmacht advances across the Dvina River on a railway bridge at Riga. The Red Army is in full retreat and the Dvina River line essentially lost already. Soviet Marshal Timoshenko virtually takes over the Northwestern Front from General Kuznetsov (who technically remains in command) and orders a stand on the Velikaya River. Soviet 21st Mechanized Corps unsuccessfully attacks the German 4th Panzer Group at the Daugavpils bridgehead.

Far behind the front, the fortress of Brest still holds out at Brest-Litovsk. The German 45th Infantry Division (Generalmajor Fritz Schlieper) makes slow progress, but the defenders are resisting every step and the Germans have lost literally hundreds of men. The German infantry units assigned to the task of reducing the east fort and citadel, the only points still in the hands of the Soviets, use captured Soviet and French tanks to blast the defenders. Included among the Soviets is at least one commissar, Yefirm Fomin, would be shot on sight, and about 300 families of Soviet servicemen. Rather than continue pressing forward solely using costly ground attacks or sit through an extended siege, the Wehrmacht finally calls for the Luftwaffe to prepare to soften up the trapped Soviet soldiers on the 29th. The fortress is important because it stands along the main German supply line on the road to Moscow.

A Soviet T-28 with extra armor abandoned after mechanical issues. Ukraine. Summer of 1941. Tanks breaking down is a major problem for the Red Army during this period of time.

In the Army Group Center front, the 2nd (Guderian) and 3rd (Hoth) Panzer Groups, having closed a pincer movement west of Minsk on the 27th, advance east and take the city. The Soviet Western Front under General of the Army Dimitri Pavlov is virtually completely encircled, with the trapped armies including all or large parts of Soviet 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, and 13th Armies. In addition, the German Fourth and Ninth Armies link east of Bialystok, splitting the Soviet pocket.

A mass panic develops among Soviet troops and civilians alike as they flee eastward in the direction of Moscow. The OKH (German Army headquarters) and Army Group Center commander General Fedor von Bock are unanimously in agreement that the panzers need to head toward the Soviet capital at full speed. However, at his new Wolfschanze headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia, Adolf Hitler is getting nervous about the panzers outrunning the infantry. As at Dunkirk a year earlier, Hitler considers halting the panzers so the infantry can catch up.

Soviet General Pavlov.

Stalin had had enough with General Pavlov. He decides to recall the entire Western Front staff to Moscow and accuse them of intentional disorganization of defense and retreat without a battle. The sentence of death is a mere formality, they are all shot within weeks. The new Acting Western Front commander (not yet chosen at this time) will be Colonel General Andrey Ivanovich Yeryomenko (aka Eremenko and Yeremenko). Eremenko, recalled to Moscow on 30 June, cannot make it to the Front headquarters at Mogilev until 1 July.

In the Army Group South sector, the Battle of Brody continues. It is not going well for the Soviets, who are losing tanks in a series of disjointed attacks. The Germans are most alarmed at an advance by General Nikolai Popel's powerful force of 300 tanks which has cut 11th Panzer Division's lines of communications at Dubno. The Germans quickly reshuffle their forces and attack Popel with elements of the 16th Motorized, 75th Infantry Division, two other infantry divisions, and General Hans-Valentin Hube's 16th Panzer Division. The Wehrmacht quickly surrounds Dubno, stopping Popel's advance and forcing him onto the defensive.

A photo of demolished buildings in Tauroggen, Lithuania that was taken on 28 June 1941. (Dumm, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1974-171-14).

Soviet troops attempting to follow Popel to Dubno have little success. General Ryabyshev sends his 300 tanks (49 T-34 and 46 KV) against the German 57th Infantry and 75th Infantry Divisions, as well as elements of 16th Panzer Division. The attack fails and Ryabyshev retreats, isolating Popel. Soviet General Andrey Vlasov orders his 4th Mechanized Corps (313 T-34 and 101 KV tanks) to protect the rear of the retreating General I.I. Karpezo's 15th Mechanized Corps, which has seen little action because Karpezo keeps changing his mind and issuing contrary orders. Soviet 19th Mechanized Corps (General Feklenko) comes within a few miles of Dubno but then is pushed back.

Elsewhere, German forces take Rivne. The Germans intend to make Rivne the administrative center of Reichskommissariat Ukraine. However, first, Rivne must be "cleansed" to German standards. Half of Rivne's population is Jewish and the SS Einsatzgruppen move into the town quickly to begin liquidations.

A major problem for the Soviets is that their tanks are breaking down in large numbers. Their formidable numerical superiority over the Germans masks the fact that the roads are littered with broken-down tanks, including the most advanced models.

A photo that was taken on 28 June 1941 somewhere in the Soviet Union. "Two Bolshevik soldiers, disguised as peaceful civilians, were tracked down in a cornfield. These snipers and saboteurs will be ruthlessly [dealt with]." (Leßmann, Federal Archives Bild 146-1989-038-36).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The British Habforce in Iraq continues pressing its attack toward the Vichy French airbase at Palmyra. Today, Habforce ally Glubb Pasha takes his Arab Legion to capture the French fort of Seba' Biyar (Seba Biya, about 60 miles south-west of Palmyra) when the French garrison simply surrenders. Habforce unit 21st Indian Brigade of the 10th Indian Division advances across the Iraq/Syrian border along the Euphrates, but are slowed by French air attacks and supply issues.

Further west, the Vichy French and Australians battle over mountain peaks east of Beirut. The Australian 2/3 Battalion is dislodged from the top of Jebel Mazar, a key position because it controls the road from British-occupied Damascus and French-occupied Beirut. Elsewhere, though, the Australians occupy other peaks abandoned by the French (and Senegalese).

In the air, the battle the Vichy French and RAAF continues with great ferocity. The Australian P-40 Tomahawks claim six victories over the French. Flight Officer Lt. A.C. Rawlinson files three claims.

Off the coast, Australian light cruiser Perth and accompanying destroyers bombard Damur during the afternoon.

Mickey Sprick with his JG 26 (note the Schlageter logo) BF 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command sends Circus missions against Comines. During the night, RAF Bomber Command has 34 aircraft lay mines.

Luftwaffe ace Oblt. Gustav “Mickey” Sprick, Staffelkapitän of 8./JG 26, perishes in an accident when his wing sheers off during a turn over St. Omer. He has 31 victories.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet submarine M-99 of the Baltic Fleet hits a mine off Hiiumaa Island and sinks.

A German motor torpedo boat torpedo and sinks Soviet submarine S-10 in Danzig Bay.

The Soviets scuttle destroyer Lenin at Libau (Liepāja), Latvia.

Finnish ship Vetehinen lays mines off the Estonian coast.

A photo was taken on 28 June 1941. Original caption: "Too good for a bullet: these Jews betrayed 5 German soldiers and some national Poles to the Russians; the betrayed were captured and martyred to death by the Red Army. The Jews shown here were shot immediately." (Herrmann, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1995-063-34).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-146 (Oblt. Otto Ites), on its first patrol out of Kiel, gets its only victory of the war about 100 nautical miles (190 km, 120 miles) northwest of the Butt of Lewis, Scotland. It is 3496-ton Finnish freighter Pluto. There are 36 survivors, including ten marines, rescued by HMS Northern Duke. There are 12 deaths.

U-146 goes on a second patrol from 26 July - 11 August 1941, but scores no more victories. After that, it remains in Wilhelmshaven as a training boat in the 22nd U-boat Flotilla. It is scuttled on 2 May 1945 and later scrapped.

Italian submarine Da Vinci torpedoes and sinks 8030-ton British tanker Auris several hundred miles off Casablanca. There are 32 deaths and 27 survivors, picked up by HMS Farndale.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Tatar intercepts and sinks German weather ship Lauenburg with gunfire off Jan Mayen.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4972-ton British freighter Barrhill north of Great Yarmouth. There are five deaths and 35 survivors.

US destroyer USS Madison runs aground at the southeast tip of Moratties Shoal, Placentia Harbor, Argentia, Newfoundland. It sustains some damage but remains in service, heading as scheduled for Boston on the 29th.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Euryalus is commissioned, escort carrier Chaser is laid down.

The US Navy lays down submarines USS Wahoo and Whale, both at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California.

Nurses aboard TSS Oranje II. This is a hospital ship that is handed over by the Dutch Netherlands Indies Government on 28 June 1941 to Australia and New Zealand for use as a hospital ship (Sam Hood, Australian National Maritime Museum No. 00021317).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Severn torpedoes and sinks 2900-ton Italian freighter Ugo Bassi about five miles off Capo Monte Santu in the Gulf of Orosei (off Orosei, Sardinia).

Force H at Gibraltar executes a quick turnaround at Gibraltar after completing Operation Railway 1. It quickly departs on Operation Railway 2, another supply mission to Malta. Aircraft carrier HMS Furious carries 8 Hurricanes and Ark Royal carries 26 Hurricanes. Following standard practice, the ships first head west from Gibraltar to throw off any shore-based spies.

Italian light cruisers Attendolo and Duca D'Aosta lay mines in the Sicilian Channel.

On Malta, the RAF forms new fighter squadron No. 126 at Ta Qali. Its commander is Wing Commander Alexander C Rabagliati.

A photo that was taken on 28 June 1941 in Prienai, Lithuania. Original title in German: "Where Germans are - the Jew has to work. As in Poland, as now in Lithuania. And there is so much to do on the streets alone...." (Trautvetter, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1974-170-23).

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet gunboat No. 204 is hit by Romanian shore artillery and badly damaged. The Soviet master runs the ship aground to avoid sinking. The Romanians later refloat and repair the ship for their own use, designating it V12 of the Romanian Navy.

Spy Stuff: During the Royal Navy encounter with German weather ship Lauenburg north of Iceland, the British of HMS Tartar board the ship. They find codes and equipment useful for cracking German codes, then Tartar sinks the ship.

Propaganda: Well-known British author P.G. Wodehouse ("My Man Jeeves") begins the first of five broadcasts from Berlin entitled "How to be an Internee Without Previous Training." They are not political except in the broadest sense and include humorous anecdotes and personal experiences. Wodehouse tells how he was trapped at Le Touquet during the Battle of France, then taken to prisons at Loos (Lille) and then Tost, Upper Silesia before being allowed to return home to Le Touquet. The Gestapo recently has forced Wodehouse to move to the expensive Hotel Adlon in Berlin - at his own expense - through a mixture of coercion and persuasion (they allow him access to his frozen assets in exchange for cooperation). All the British public knows, though, is that he is living in "luxury" while helping the Germans.

The broadcasts over CBS are aimed at the United States but recorded for later rebroadcast to England in August. The original broadcasts continue on 9, 23 and 30 July, and 6 August 1941. They lead to hostility toward Wodehouse throughout Britain (but not in the United States, partly due to the fact that he is not as well known there). The broadcasts also create enduring post-war problems for Wodehouse with the British authorities, though no charges are ever brought against him.

Special Ops: The Italians cancel the mission of Italian submarine Scirè to launch midget submarines against Grand Harbour, Malta.

Vannevar Bush and Arthur Compton, 1940.

Applied Science: President Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8807 creating the Office of Scientific Research and Development. This umbrella organization includes the National Defense Research Committee and the newly established Committee on Medical Research. Dr. Vannevar Bush, president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is appointed the head of the new organization. Dr. James B. Conant replaces Bush on the National Defense Research Committee.

German/Soviet Relations: German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop sends a diplomatic request to the Berlin Japanese Embassy. It requests that Japan join Operation Barbarossa from the east. The suggested target for the Japanese attack is Vladivostok, which the Soviets can use at this time as a port of supply from the United States. This would violate the recent Japanese/Soviet Neutrality Pact.

At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Japanese Military: After consideration, the government decides not to join the German invasion of the Soviet Union. While this is not required under the Tripartite Pact, which is defensive in nature, the German government has harbored hopes that Japan would "join the party." The Japanese, however, remember the lesson taught to them in Manchuria by Soviet General Zhukov.

Finnish Military: While Finland is at war with Germany, very little fighting has occurred to date. Today, the Finnish General Staff finalizes plans for an offensive into Ladoga Karelia. It is planned for 10 July. In the Salla/Kandalasksha region, Finnish troops prepare for an offensive against the Murmansk railway in conjunction with German forces. At this time, the Finns are ready to invade the historically Soviet territory near Finland and not just recover Finnish territory recently lost during the Winter War.

Spanish Military: General Agustin Munoz Grandes is appointed to command the new volunteer Blue Division. It is being formed to support Operation Barbarossa in the Soviet Union.

A restored 1941 Plymouth P12 Special Deluxe 4 Door Sedan Staff Car.

British Military: Whitehall asks Australia to send a division to reinforce Malaya.

British Government: Oliver Lyttelton becomes British minister in the Middle East.

US Government: The US Senate confirms Harlan F. Stone to be the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Soviet Government: The Soviet NKVD, NKGB, and the Chief Prosecutor Office sign a secret order regarding the investigation of subversives. This will be used quickly to liquidate many Ukrainian nationalists.

Philippines: Admiral Thomas C. Hart transfers his headquarters ashore from USS Houston.

A victim of the Jassy pogrom (the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum).

Holocaust: The pogrom against Jews in Kaunas/Kovno continues. It is largely carried out by local citizens, though the Germans stand by idly, allowing it to proceed. The extent of German participation is disputed, but there is little question that the German troops at least silently condone and encourage the pogrom. An estimated 3800 Jews are massacred in the city during this period.

In newly captured Minsk, the Gestapo quickly immediately all men 15-45 years of age to register at a central collection point. The Germans immediately apprehend the registrants and march them to the Drozdy concentration camp.

The Soviet NKVD begins killing an unknown number of Ukrainian nationalists in Lviv. Those not liquidated are transported to the east.

The Croatian Ustaše are committing so many atrocities against Serbs that the German representative there signals the OKW that it may cause problems.

A pogrom begins in Jassy (Iassy, Iasi, Yassy), Romania.

A 1941 Ford Super Deluxe two-door convertible.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio goes 2-5 with a double against the Philadelphia Athletics in Shibe Park. This is the 40th straight game in which he has hit, extending his club record of consecutive games with a hit.

Colonel Bill "Wild Bill" Donovan, founder of the OSS/CIA, makes a speech broadcast over the CBS radio network. Framing the war as a religious crusade, he concludes:

We must reassert our belief in a Christian democracy—a democracy whose chief concern is not for human life but for human liberty; not for peace but for the dignity of man in the image of his Master.

He also states that "we must assume that Germany will defeat Russia," which is a common view at this time.

Future History: David Johnston is born in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. He later becomes the 28th Governor General of Canada from 2010-2017.

Alphonso Downing is born in Trenton, New Jersey. He becomes a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees on 19 July 1961 and plays on various teams until 13 July 1977. Al Downing is most famous for giving up Hank Aaron's 715th home run (one more than Babe Ruth) as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers on 8 April 1974. After retiring, Downing becomes a Dodgers broadcaster and still attends Yankees Old-Timers Day festivities.

Three (of twelve) contestants for the title of "America's Dairy Queen" for 1942, a contest held in Chenango County, New York. Barbara Tingley, right, wins.

June 1941

June 1, 1941: Farhud Pogrom
June 2, 1941: Massacres on Crete
June 3, 1941: Kandanos Massacre
June 4, 1941: Kaiser Wilhelm Passes Away
June 5, 1941: Death in Chungking
June 6, 1941: Hitler's Commissar Order
June 7, 1941: Commandos Strike at Pessac
June 8, 1941: British Invade Syria and Lebanon
June 9, 1941: Litani River Battle
June 10, 1941: British Take Assab
June 11, 1941: Hitler Thinking Beyond Russia
June 12, 1941: St. James Agreement
June 13, 1941: Lützow Damaged
June 14, 1941: Latvian June Deportations
June 15, 1941: Operation Battleaxe
June 16, 1941: The Old Lion
June 17, 1941: British Spanked in North Africa
June 18, 1941: Turkey Turns Its Back
June 19, 1941: Cheerios Introduced
June 20, 1941: Birth of US Army Air Force
June 21, 1941: Damascus Falls
June 22, 1941: Germany Invades Russia
June 23, 1941: A Soviet KV Tank Causes Havoc
June 24, 1941: Kaunas and Vilnius Fall
June 25, 1941: Finland Declares War
June 26, 1941: Bombing of Kassa
June 27, 1941: Encirclement At Minsk
June 28, 1941: Minsk Falls
June 29, 1941: Brest Fortress Falls
June 30, 1941: Mölders Becomes Top Ace

2020

Wednesday 30 October 1940

Bristol Beaufighter Mk. 1 R2065 from No. 219 Squadron. On 30 October 1940, it took off from Redhill Airfield for its nightly patrol but crashed while landing due to the poor weather's bad visibility. The crash killed P/O Kenneth Worsdell and gunner Sergeant Eric Gardiner. This flight was honored with a memorial at the airfield on the 75th anniversary of the crash.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek forces on the coastal sector complete their retreat to the Kalpaki line on 30 October 1940. The Italian troops are still pursuing them and there is little combat there during the day aside from artillery and air bombardments. The Kalpaki line on the coast is extremely blessed with natural defensive features.

In the vital central sector in the Pindus Mountains, the Greek General Katsimitros determines to defend his line ahead of the critical road junction of Metsovo. He detaches some forces to cover his right flank at the Aoös River. The Italians struggle forward through the freshly fallen snow and icy rain and approach Konitsa as the Greek Pindos Detachment withdraws. During the day, the Greeks end their retreat and stabilize their line, with the 1st Infantry Division under Major-General Vasileios Vrachnos taking over local tactical control.

Turkey is proving decisive in the Greek Army's dispositions even though it technically is not involved in the war. Turkey threatens its neighbor to the north, Bulgaria, that it will join the Greek effort if the Bulgarians attack Greece, pursuant to the Balkan Pact of 1935. Knowing this, the Greeks are free to throw their entire army and any levees against the Italians on the Albanian front. This includes three divisions from the Bulgarian front and six reserve/cavalry divisions.

The Italians bomb Patras, the port of Athens, a handful of times.

The Soviet Union supports the Greeks and sends 134 fighter planes to their aid. The Greeks are particularly weak in modern aircraft, and the Soviet planes aren't much better, but the additional planes are very welcome.

The British land troops at Suda Bay on Crete.

As highlighted in this issue of the Yale News, Charles Lindbergh gives a speech at Yale on 30 October 1940 attacking US foreign policy. Yale is the birthplace of the "America First" antiwar movement.

Battle of Britain: The weather continues its wayward path in 1940, with low-hanging clouds and drizzle. Above the clouds, though, it is bright and sunny, so the Luftwaffe resumes its attacks. However, they are much reduced from the previous days when the Germans lost a number of planes.

Things start late after the usual early-morning reconnaissance flights. German fighters escort fighter-bombers (Jabos) and some Junkers Ju 88s across the Thames Estuary around noontime. This leads to massive dogfights, but the German bombers get through to East Anglia, where they are met by more fighters.

A second wave crosses the Channel at around 15:30. This one crosses over at Dover and then heads down to the London area. Southeast London is lightly hit, while another group of bombers hits Harwich. Fighter Command is on the ball and turns away a lot of the raiders. Losses are light and fairly even in both of these waves, and the damage caused is light as well.

After dark, the London area bears the brunt of the bombing. RAF Duxford, Feltwell and Debden are attacked, but the poor weather hampers accuracy. Feltwell is the hardest hit, with one plane badly damaged, but overall the targets get off lightly. The Luftwaffe continues its nightly mining operations, this time off Harwich and, as usual, in the Thames Estuary.

Losses for the day are about 8 for the Luftwaffe (one Heinkel He 111 bomber, the rest fighters) and a handful for the RAF. As usual, the Luftwaffe does better in relation to the RAF when it keeps operations light and fluid, as today, rather than overbearing and ponderous, as in recent days. The RAF loses four pilots killed.

Several bomb disposal men receive the George Cross: Robert Selby Armitage, Herbert John Leslie Barefoot, Wilson Hodgson Charlton, and William Horace Taylor. Not to take anything away from any of these gentlemen, but it is becoming clear that the best ways to earn the George Cross are to work in a bomb disposal unit or be a Home Guardsman who evacuates people from burning buildings (and more likely than not succumbs themselves). This is somewhat at odds with the original purpose of the award, which ostensibly was to reward civilian heroism. Basically, the George Cross is simply becoming another military award for non-combat situations. And, yes, all of these recipients undoubtedly deserved every bit of their medals, as bomb disposal work is a deadly serious business.

To give a flavor of the situation at the time, Pilot Officer A.E. Davies of RAF No. 222 Squadron is shot down and killed over Sussex around noontime. His Spitfire, though, is not too badly damaged - Davies must have crash-landed it before he succumbed to his injuries - and someone else soon gets his plane to fly. Nothing terribly wrong with that, but it shows that the RAF treasures every plane and must use even a dead man's plane in later operations. It is unclear how the next pilot of that plane would have felt about being assigned the "death ship," and pilots can be a superstitious lot.

Adolf Galland of JG 26 gains his 50th victory, at this time second in the world to the 56 of Werner Molders.

James Lacey gets a victory and damages another Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Cherbourg during the day. After dark, it bombs several ports, including Emden, Flushing, and Antwerp. Coastal Command chips in with an attack on Ostend.

The Air Ministry authorizes area bombing, meaning unrestricted aerial warfare on civilian population centers. Heretofore, the attacks at least technically have targeted industrial or military installations. There is no question that this is amply justified by Luftwaffe attacks on British cities. However, this also undeniably represents yet another step lower into the savagery of unrestricted warfare. In practice, the bomber aim is so poor at this point that the bombers may as well have been engaging in area bombing all along, but now they can just target the centers of cities and not just airfields or power plants sited far from downtown.

Walt Disney receives the Progress Medal of the Society of Motion-Picture Engineers from E. Allan Williford at the 47th Annual banquet held at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. October 30, 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: They say that bad things happen in threes. Well, today four different British ships run aground and are lost, an unusual coincidence - but in wartime, so many ships are buzzing around under peculiar circumstances that sometimes the unusual happens. There also are a number of collisions. Helping things along was a violent storm across the region.

The Kriegsmarine suffers a rare U-boat loss. U-32 (Oblt.z.S. Hans Jenisch) is on its ninth patrol and attacks 5372-ton freighter Balzac in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. The torpedo explodes prematurely, and the Balzac calls over some escorts from Convoy SC 8 dozens of kilometers away. The tables then are turned and the U-boat is attacked by destroyers HMS Harvester and Highlander. The depth charge attack forces the U-boat to surface, and the destroyers riddle it with gunfire. The U-boat is afloat long enough to enable the crew to escape and scuttle it. There are nine deaths, but 33 of the crew survive to become POWs - a relative rarity when U-boats are sunk in action. Jenisch - who has sunk 17 ships, including recently the 42k ton liner RMS Empress of Britain, for a total of 110,139 tons - survives and becomes an outspoken critic of the U-boat as an instrument of war. Goebbels' propaganda outlets, meanwhile, go on to announce his and U-32's glorious but completely fictional return to port.

Convoy SC 8 is nearing its destination in Great Britain when destroyer HMS Sturdy runs aground on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides. The ship is lost and five crew perish when they try to swim ashore (it's always further than you think). They are buried at Soroby on the island.

A British freighter, the 5213-ton Simonburn, also runs aground at Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire and is lost. It appears everybody survived.

British 1381 ton coaster Alcora runs ashore and is wrecked near Rattray Head, Scotland. Rattray Head is a ship's graveyard, with numerous wrecks there that haven't even be identified.

French requisitioned gate vessel HMS Placidas Faroult runs ashore and is lost off Salcombe estuary, South Hams, Devon. The wreck has been only tentatively identified.

British 92-ton tug Seagem, a new ship built in 1939, goes missing and is presumed sunk around this date. There are no survivors to explain what happened, but a mine could have essentially blasted the tug apart. However, the weather might have been the cause, too.

A Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor of the Luftwaffe (1,/KG 40) attacks Convoy SLS-51. It bombs and sinks 4202 ton Greek sugar freighter Victoria west of County Donegal, Ireland.

British 57-ton motor launch ML No. 109 (Lt A. Kirk RNR) hits a mine and sinks near the Chequer Shoal Buoy in the Humber. There are three deaths, including Captain Kirk.

Passenger liner Duke of York, later renamed HMS Duke of Wellington during the war apparently to avoid confusion with the battleship, collides with Icelandic (some sources say Irish) fishing trawler Bragi off Wyre Light, England. The 324-ton Bragi has no chance and sinks, apparently with no casualties.

Destroyer HMS Fearless collides with 1904-ton British freighter Lanark and is damaged in the bows.

Minesweeper HMS Leda collides with a freighter and is damaged lightly.

Convoy FN 323 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 323 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 45 departs from Gibraltar.

U-146 (Kapitänleutnant Eberhard Hoffmann) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Wing Commander J.R. O'Sullivan forms a fighter Squadron on Malta. It is to be based at Ta Qali, an airport that will be re-opened for the unit. Ta Qali is basically a junkyard now, used as a dumping ground for old vehicles such as buses and lorries. The airfield was left like this to obstruct an invasion attempt and will have to be cleared to become usable again.

Italian submarine Scire under command of Prince Borghese returns from its unsuccessful launch of manned torpedoes against the British fleet at Gibraltar.

Italian submarine Bragadino drops off mines near Navarino (Pylos), Greece.

Battle of the Pacific: Converted minelayer Passat continues laying mines in the Bass Strait, dropping 40 of them at the eastern entrance. The Pinguin also is laying mines off the coast of South Australia.

German Government: Adolf Hitler returns to Berlin in the evening. He orders General Ritter von Thoma, the head of a military mission to Rome/Libya, to report to him immediately on the status of the Italian position in North Africa. Based on this conversation, he cancels any plans to send Wehrmacht ground troops ("boots on the ground") to North Africa for the time being because:

• The Italians were adamantly opposed to a German presence there;
• Marshal Graziani had been all but rude to von Thoma;
• It would be difficult to supply troops across the Mediterranean.

Hitler, despite this decision, still looks upon the Italian effort in North Africa as being distinctly lacking. He continues plans to send Luftwaffe units to the Mediterranean and also ground troops - when the time comes.

Best's Apparel, Seattle, October 30, 1940. After shoe-store Nordstrom merged with Best's, it became Nordstrom-Best shoes and apparel.

French Homefront: Marshal Petain gives a radio speech. He says:

It is with honor and in order to maintain French unity, a unity which has lasted ten centuries, and in the framework of the constructive activity of the new European order that today I am embarking on the path of collaboration.

This is a famous speech - an infamous speech - that is long remembered in France. In fact, it is remembered quite well at Petain's post-war trial. It would have helped his case if he had said something in this speech about not declaring war on Great Britain as Hitler wished, but for the time being he is going along to get along.

China: In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese 35 Army Group occupies Nanning from the retreating Japanese.

American Homefront: Cole Porter musical Panama Hattie opens on Broadway, starring Ethel Merman, Arthur Treacher and Betty Hutton. It becomes his longest-running hit to date, running for 501 performances. Oddly enough, it doesn't feature any classic Porter songs. This musical begins a string of Broadway hits for Porter which he personally thinks are mediocre, but the audiences of the time love - and which now are largely forgotten because he was right, they were mediocre.

President Roosevelt, campaigning for his third term in Boston, promises:

I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars.

Future History: Charles Fox is born in New York City. He becomes a top - quite possibly the best - behind-the-scenes composer whose more recognized works include the theme music to ABC's Wide World of Sports ("Spanning the globe") and the original Monday Night Football, as well as his (and Norman Gimbel's) Grammy-winning song recorded separately by Roberta Flack and the Fugees, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Fox also writes (with Gimbel) a trove of absolutely unforgettable television themes, including "Wonder Woman," "The Last American Hero," "Ready to Take a Chance Again" (for the movie "Foul Play"), "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," "The Love Boat" - yes, he wrote the Love Boat theme with Paul Williams - and, well, too many more to list. Mr. Fox remains active and published his memoirs in 2010, "Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music." He is quite possibly the composer whose songs you know the best but whose name you have never heard. The man is a legend.

An ad in the 30 October 1940 Edmonton, Alberta paper.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020