Saturday 2 August 1941

Two Finnish soldiers manning a Maxim machine gun, August 2, 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: Japanese Ambassador to Germany Oshima cables Tokyo on 2 August 1941 with news about the Eastern Front. He reports that an unnamed Swedish reporter who claims to have visited the front in the Baranovichi area has related that, while Germany must inevitably triumph over the Soviet Union, not everything is going well for the Wehrmacht. The Red Air Force remains powerful, and the Red Army has substantial reserves that it is throwing into the front around Leningrad. The reporter also relates to Oshima that German officers he has talked with already have noticed US tanks and planes being used in the Volga and Siberia areas.

Oshima's report also notes that:

Germany's greatest ordeals have been the result of guerrilla tactics used by the Soviet soldiers and civilian inhabitants. There is a thickly wooded area in the Pripet swamps. There are many, many remaining troops taking refuge in it. A German force endeavored to rout them, but knowing nothing of the area, failed completely.

The report seems grounded in solid fact (though the presence of US equipment at this time is questionable). The German offensive has prospered by sticking to the roads and quickly heading east to capture cities and Soviet military bases. This strategy, however, has the inherent drawback of leaving many Soviet troops and even entire units in the rear areas, fully capable of resisting and even taking offensive action against nearby Wehrmacht units and bases. Perhaps most tellingly, the German officers are surprised and even worried because captured Soviet troops remain loyal to the Stalin regime and appear committed to continuing their guerrilla warfare even if Moscow falls.

A Finnish patrol leader’s kit, including a KP-31 submachine gun, grenades, and a Luger pistol, August 2, 1941 (SA-Kuva).

In the Army Group North sector, German 16th Army (Colonel General Ernst Busch) continues attacking Staray Russa below Lake Ilmen.

In the Army Group Center sector, General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 attacks toward Roslavl as it heads south on Hitler's express orders to help with the conquest of Kiev. The Soviet, meanwhile, ramp up their attacks on the advanced German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya.

In the Army Group South sector, after many days of very hard fighting, Panzer Group 1 (General Ewald von Kleist) completes the encirclement at Uman. This happens when German XLVIII Corps (General Kempf) hooks up with German 17th Field Army (General Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel). The closure southwest of Uman is all the more dangerous to the trapped Soviet forces because 16th Panzer Division and Hungarian Mechanized Corps (Gyorshadtest) also are close to forming a second, separate closure at Pervomaisk. The Soviets have parts of 20 divisions of their 6th, 12th, and 18th armies inside the pocket, including four corps commanders and 11 division commanders. Resistance does continue until about 8 August. However, except for small parties, the Soviets trapped today are unable to break out, and 103,000 Soviet soldiers go into captivity.

Young Finnish soldiers marching to the front. Laamala, August 2, 1941.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 24 Blenheim bombers on Rhubarb coastal sweeps during the day between Cherbourg and Texel. The British lose one plane. Another attack is made on Kiel with three Fortresses. Kiel takes light damage, with one person killed and 9 injured, and all the Fortresses make it back to base.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command goes back into action in a big way after about a week of unsettled weather and light operations. There are multiple raids, as the British believe in diversionary raids to distract the Luftwaffe night fighters. It is one of the RAF's biggest efforts of the war to date but produces only modest returns.

The main British attack is on Hamburg with 80 bombers (58 Wellingtons, 21 Whitleys, 1 Stirling). They lose two Wellingtons. Hamburg takes moderate damage, with 5 dead, 38 wounded and 738 made homeless. Five large fires and five other small fires break out, some of which burn throughout the night.

A secondary attack on Berlin is made by 53 aircraft (40 Wellingtons, 8 Halifaxes, and 5 Stirlings). The sky still is a bit opaque and bombing accuracy is poor. The British lose 3 Wellingtons and one Stirling.

Another attack is made on Kiel by 50 Hampdens. The British lose five planes. The damage to Kiel is light, with one injury and one house hit, though the RAF pilots claim that the raid is a great success on the dockyards area.

The RAF also sends 20 Wellingtons to Cherbourg, but little is accomplished there because of low-lying clouds. In addition, five Hampdens are sent to lay mines off of Kiel. There are no losses from these operations.

Overall, for 208 sorties, the RAF loses 11 aircraft during the night. This works out to a 5.3% loss rate, which is at the upper margins of sustainable losses.

RAF No. 129 Squadron (Mysore), equipped with Supermarine Spitfires at RAF Leconfield, becomes operational and its pilots quickly shoot down a Junkers Ju-88 near Flamborough Head. No. 129 Squadron is named after an Indian province in recognition of the Indian government raising substantial sums of money for the war effort. However, it is not manned by Indian pilots.

A Finnish soldier looks down the sights of a 20mm Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle, 2 August 1941 (SA-Kuva). At this time, a 20-mm anti-tank weapon is still capable of destroying most armor except for Soviet KV tanks. A well-placed round could blow off a tread or penetrate the rear or the sides of most tanks.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet submarine S-11 hits a mine and sinks in the Soela Väin Strait, Estonia (between Saaremaa and Hiiumaa). There are 44 deaths and three survivors. The submarine is raised after the war and scrapped. Soviet submarine M-99 also sinks around this time due to mines.

German 2nd S-Boat Flotilla lays 36 TMB mines off Cape Rista in the Gulf of Finland.

The Luftwaffe (KG4) drops 22 aerial mines north of Moon Sound, 15 east of Moon Sound, and 18 LMB mines west of Worms Island.

Finnish submarine Veshiisi (Lt. Cdr. Kijanen) lays eighteen mines in Minefield F.17 east of Odensholm.

Experts of the British Ministry of aircraft production examine a Bf 109F forced down near Kent, England, August 2, 1941. (AP Photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy finally concedes that Operation EF, the Force K attack on Kirkenes and Petsamo, has turned into a liability when it spots German reconnaissance shadowing the fleet. The Admiralty calls off a planned attack on Hammerfest, Norway due to inability to maintain surprise and heads for home.

The RAF bombs and sinks Dutch pilot boat Loodsboot No. 12 west of Den Helder.

German guard ship H 855 Stoomloodsvaartuig 12 sinks, perhaps due to an RAF attack.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1110-ton British freighter Koolga about 20 km off Great Yarmouth. It makes it to Great Yarmouth under tow on the 3rd.

Two Dutch tankers, 8252-ton Murena and 2068-ton Rozenburg, collide at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The bigger ship usually wins in such situations, and that is the case this time, as Rozenburg goes to the bottom.

Some sources pin the Luftwaffe bombing of British freighter Trident to today, while others list it on 1 August.

U-204 (Kptlt Walter Kell) spots Convoy SL-81 in the North Atlantic and informs U-boat headquarters in Paris.

US Navy battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) returns to New London, Connecticut from a neutrality patrol.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Tadoussac is launched, submarine HMS P-48 and minesweeper Wedgeport are laid down.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Minas (Lt. Commander Lt. James B. Lamb) is commissioned.

US Navy light cruiser USS Miami is laid down in Philadelphia.

U-154 (Korvettenkapitän Walther Kölle) is commissioned.

Liberty magazine, 2 August 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: There is a brief stir on the usually static Tobruk perimeter when two Australian companies attack Italian positions, supported by a heavy artillery barrage of over 60 guns. The Australians are attempting to recover some tactically useful territory lost during the May fighting but fails with heavy casualties. The Italian 7th Bersaglieri Regiment holds its ground against the Australian 2/43rd and 2/28th Battalions.

Operation Style, a convoy mission to Malta, continues. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal launches a load of Hurricanes to Malta. Light cruisers Arethusa and Hermione continue on to Malta with fast minelayer Manxman and destroyers Lightning and Sikh, unloading collectively 54 officers and 970 other ranks, along with 130 tons of supplies. All of the ships unload quickly and the entire force, including Ark Royal, returns to Gibraltar.

During the afternoon, Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Hermione, sailing with the Operation Style ships, spots a submarine shadowing the convoy. It rams and sinks Italian submarine Tembien off Tunis.

The Luftwaffe attacks Australian destroyer Vendetta and Royal Navy destroyer Havock off Tobruk during the night supply run. However, South African fighters drive the Germans off. Both sides lose about three planes.

Battle of the Black Sea: Soviet submarine L-5 (Lt Cdr Zhdanov) lays 14 mines off Mangalia, Romania.

Battle of the Pacific: Dutch patrol boat Bellatrix seizes Vichy French vessel Dupleix and gives it to the Netherlands East Indies naval forces for use.

To make a point about the consequences of unlawful communications with England, the Germans post this notice (in English, right) in the Channel Islands about a Frenchman being executed on 2 August 1941. In fact, someone on the Channel Islands will at one point also be shot for supposedly using carrier pigeons to communicate with England.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese continue to keep a close eye on US activities across the Pacific. Interest is keen on US intentions given the recent imposition of sanctions on Japan. The Japanese embassy in Manila reassures Tokyo that the number of planes flying over Manila has decreased considerably, and the US planes flying over the Philippines have not been camouflaged or otherwise altered in a war-like fashion. This information helps to defuse tensions in Tokyo.

The Japanese also are spying on US fleet movements in the Atlantic. Tokyo receives a report today from its spies in Cuba stating the composition of US naval forces in Guantanamo Bay from 16-24 July 1941: two battleships, four light cruisers, four destroyers, two Coast Guard cutters, and two bombers.

US/Japanese Relations: The economic sanctions imposed by President Roosevelt on Japan recently have caught some ships at sea without instructions as to how to proceed. Tatsuta Maru sits off San Francisco Bay with a load of $2.5 million of raw silk, but the captain refuses to make port without assurances that the US government will not seize his cargo. A Japanese liner, 16,975-ton Asama Maru, is sailing about 980 miles north of Honolulu but also is unsure how to proceed.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry scrambles to come up with a solution. Finally, it instructs Tatsuta Maru to stop at Honolulu. It also orders freighter Heian Maru at Seattle to proceed to Vancouver and unload there.

Japanese Ambassador Nomura has a conversation with an unidentified US Cabinet member. As Nomura informs Tokyo after the meeting:

The United States is trying to restrain Japan, first of all, by waging an economic war... [T]he United States is at the same time making military preparations against the possible eventuality of a clash of arms... That the Russo-German war is lasting longer than expected has proved to be an advantage to the United States... The cabinet member believes firmly in the necessity of this war lasting for several years for the reason that due to destruction of her men and materials, and due to the shortage o foil, Germany would not be able to do anything on a great scale even after the fighting on the Eastern Front has come to an end.

This, of course, proves prophetic, but not exactly in the manner intended.

Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Kleczynski (holding cane) with his ground crew of RAF No. 305 Polish bomber squadron in front of a Wellington (Lindholme, August 2, 1941). Kleczynski Papers, Box 2, Hoover Institution Archives.

US/Dutch Relations: US Army Air Force General Henry Clagett arrives in Java to coordinate future air operations with the local Dutch authorities and to survey airfields and base sites.

US/Soviet Relations: President Roosevelt's personal emissary to the Soviet Union, Harry Hopkins, announces that he has arranged with Joseph Stalin for the commencement of US lend-lease shipments to the Soviet Union.

Chinese/Soviet Relations: The local Soviet army in Outer Mongolia orders the Chinese Communist forces under Liu Po-Chao to transfer to Suihoku, which the Chinese do. This is the beginning of cooperation between Soviet and Chinese forces. The Soviets also promise to provide supplies to the Chinese via Outer Mongolia, which the Chinese help to transport.

Japanese/Thai Relations: The Japanese reach an agreement with the Thai government in which the Thaiese authorities will extend a letter of credit worth 10 million bahta to finance Japanese purchases of Thai goods. This enables trade to continue between the two nations despite the recent economic sanctions imposed by the United States and Great Britain.

Oliver Wendell Harrington, The Amsterdam News, 2 August 1941. "That jive he's playin' on his tooter may not be in the army manual, Major, but that's the only way we can get them cats up in the mornin'." This cartoon plays upon the idea in the Andrew Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," recorded on 2 January 1941 and included in the Abbott and Costello film "Buck Privates, released in January 1941.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: Due to heightened tensions and the Dutch impositions of sanctions, Japanese nationals in the Dutch East Indies are fleeing the territory, swarming shipping agencies for passage back to Japan. The Netherlands Indies do relent just a bit on the sanctions recently imposed on Japan in conjunction with the United States and Great Britain. The Dutch allow one shipment of rubber, tin, and Ilmenite. The Japanese, meanwhile, are putting pressure on the Dutch by restricting food shipments from French Indo-China.

Japanese/Croatian Relations: Croatia, an Italian puppet state, officially recognizes the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The subject of British aid to China is a sore spot for the Japanese. Tokyo receives a report from Shanghai today revealing that the British are cooperating closely with Chinese military authorities.

Anglo/Finnish Relations: Having broken relations with Finland on the 1st, the Royal Navy extends its blockade of Europe to include the northern Finnish ports. For the moment, this is somewhat symbolic, as the British have nowhere nearby to supply their ships that far north.

Anglo/Iran/Afghani Relations: The British demand that Iran and Afghanistan expel all German nationals immediately. Having retained Iraq, the British feel they are in a strong position in the Middle East. Some Germans caught in Iraq have escaped to Iran and Afghanistan, but, still, there are very few there.

Errol Flynn on his yacht "Scirocco," 2 August 1941. There later are unproven allegations that Flynn was a German sympathizer at this time.

German/Italian Relations: The Italian Pasubio Infantry Division and Torino Infantry Division move to the Eastern Front in the Army Group South region. However, they do not see combat at this time.

Japanese Military: The Nakajima Ki-43-I Hayabusa ("Peregrine Falcon," or "Oscar" in US military nomenclature) begins arriving at the Japanese 59th Flight Regiment (FR) at Hankow Airfield. The pilots begin training with the new plane, which will see operational use beginning on 29 October 1941.

Soviet Military: The NKVD is given orders to shoot on sight anyone suspected of injuring themselves to avoid combat. This is a pet suspicion of Joseph Stalin, who also suspects cowardly troops of sabotaging their own equipment. Deserters, meaning anyone walking away from the battlefield, already are subject to summary execution.

British Military: The British open a mosque in London for Muslim soldiers serving in the British armed forces.

US Military: The U.S. War Department dedicated the Millville Army Air Field (MAAF) as “America’s First Defense Airport.” The Millville, New Jersey airport serves as a gunnery school for fighter pilots, with training first conducted in the Curtiss P-40F Warhawk, then for most of the war in the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

US Government: With trade severed between the United States and Japan, rayon (some forms are called "artificial silk") imported from Japan suddenly is in short supply. The US government thus decides to ration rayon.

Hildesheim Marketplace, showing the Town Hall, 2 August 1941 (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-274).

German Government: In the early morning hours, after the midnight conference, Hitler sits around with his cronies expostulating on random topics as he often likes to do. Today, his topic is bureaucracy:

It's certain that we have a clean, incorruptible administration, but it's also too punctilious. It's over-organized, and, at least in certain sectors, it's overloaded. Its principal fault is that nobody in it is seeking for success and that it includes too many people without responsibility. Our functionaries fear initiative worse than anything else — and what a way they have of behaving as if they were nailed to their office chairs! We have much more elasticity in the army, with the exception of one sector of the Wehrmacht than in these civilian sectors. And that although the salaries are often inadequate!

Some neutral observers would likely agree that the World War II German bureaucracy is over-organized. However, that also, in the view of some, is one source of the efficiency of Wehrmacht divisions, which are very good at logistics and planning.

Rexist leader Léon Degrelle (center) during his medical examination on August 2, 1941, before his departure to the Eastern Front. Degrelle is one of Hitler's favorites - reportedly (accordingly to Degrelle after the war, at least), Hitler likes to say that if he had a son, he wishes it would be someone like Degrelle. The notation on the back of the photo reads: "Medical examination of the Walloon volunteers for the anti-Bolshevist front."

Holocaust: Germans massacre a large number of Jews at Ponary, Lithuania, allegedly numbering in the thousands.

Germans kill approximately 200 Jews at Kovno, Lithuania. This massacre apparently includes an American Jewish woman.

Norwegian Homefront: The German occupation authorities confiscate all civilian radios that they can find. However, as in other occupied nations, many remain used with great secrecy to listen to the BBC, which is considered a much more accurate source of news than German or Norwegian radio broadcasts.

American Homefront: The first Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, designated V-1650-1, rolls off the assembly line. It is a version of the Mark XX generating 1,390 hp (1,040 kW). It is intended for the Curtiss P-40F and XP-60 fighters. Packard Motor Car Company is producing the Merlin under license from Rolls Royce that was granted in September 1940. Rolls Royce made an order for $130 million worth of the engines. Packard will produce a total of 55,523 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines under license during World War II. Some remain in use well into the 21st Century.

Picture Post, 2 August 1941. Is this the prettiest face in films? The magazine answers that question with a "yes." It is US actress Veronica Lake.

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Friday 1 August 1941

A Finnish soldier with a Carcano rifle on August 1, 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: In the Far North sector on 1 August 1941, Finnish II Corps continues its new offensive toward Lake Ladoga. The defending Soviet 198th Motorized Division is in full retreat. The Finns have benefited from having captured a copy of Soviet plans for a counteroffensive. The first Finnish objective is the town of Lahdenpohja on the extreme northern shore of Lake Ladoga. Capturing it will cut the preferred retreat route for Soviet forces still holding out to the northwest and force them to fall back on Leningrad - if that route is not also cut by then.

The Germans are still determined to cut the Murmansk railway in the "waist" of the country despite the fact that its offensive has stalled east of Salla. The goal is Kandalaksha (Belomorje), which does not appear very far away on the map but requires crossing rough terrain full of positions favoring the defense. General von Falkenhorst is pressuring XXXVI Corps commander, General Hans Feige, to get moving. Feige takes a calculated risk and thins his front in order to make a flanking thrust east with the Finnish 6th Division in the south. As the Soviets withdraw, Feige plans to take all of the German 169th Division and create a pincer from the north. The plan depends upon the Soviets being caught by surprise and being leveraged out of their prepared defenses by the threatening Finnish flanking move.

In the Army Group North sector, the German 16th Army (Colonel-General Ernst Busch) continues attacking toward Staraya Russa south of Lake Ilmen.

In the Army Group Center sector, fierce fighting continues in the vicinity of the Smolensk pocket of trapped Soviet troops. The trapped Soviets bitterly defend Orsha and Vitebsk, while also continuing fierce counterattacks against the advanced Panzer Group 2 position at Yelnya. Soviet attacks along the northern edge of the Pripet Marshes are beaten off. German XXIV Armeekorps (General Geyr von Schweppenburg) advances from a bridgehead on the Sozh River and against the eastern flank of the trapped 28th Army and Group Kachalov. General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 is attacking toward Roslavl.

In the Army Group South sector, the Germans are getting closer to encircling the massive Soviet troop concentration at Uman. Panzer Group 1 (General von Kleist) is advancing to meet advance elements of the 17th Field Army. A secondary meeting between the German 16th Panzer Division and Hungarian Mechanized Corps (Gyorshadtest) also is nearing completion. The Soviets are forbidden to retreat, and at least are buying time for the Stavka to form a defensive line on the far side of the Dnieper River.

Soviet General Kirponos launches a counterattack by the 5th Army against the flank of the German Sixth Army (General von Reichenau). The attack is centered around Malin south of the Pripet Marsh. The German line bends but does not break, while advances to the east continue at Dubossary on the far side of the Dniester and elsewhere.

German fighter squadron JG 54 gets its 1000th victory when Lt. Max-Hellmuth of 7./JG 54 downs a Russian DB-3 near Luga.

F-32 Armed KV-1 Model 1940 knocked out and ready for a tow in Korkino in the Tosnensky District, Leningrad Oblast in August 1941. Note the numerous shell hits.

European Air Operations: Operations continue to be light after an extended period of poor flying weather. The RAF resumes Operation Channel Stop with a Circus attack by three Blenheim bombers with heavy fighter escort on shipping off Nieuport. The attack is unsuccessful and the RAF loses two bombers.

RAF No. 133 Squadron becomes active. It is to be composed of volunteer American pilots and is one of the "Eagle" squadrons (the first two being Nos. 71 and 121 Squadrons). 133 Squadron actually is an old World War I squadron that was disbanded on 4 July 1918. The squadron becomes the third of the Eagle Squadrons. At first, it is based at RAF Coltishall but quickly moves to RAF Duxford.

Uffz. Hugo Dahmer, of 1./JG 77 based in Norway, is awarded the Ritterkreuz.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet motor torpedo boats attack the German 1st torpedo boat flotilla off Cape Domesnes, Latvia. The Germans sink Soviet MTB TK-122. Soviet torpedo boat TK-74 sinks German minesweepers RA-53 and 55, though it is unclear if this is during the same engagement. The Soviets also lose torpedo boat No. 123 on this date.

Before dawn, Luftwaffe KG4 lays 38 LMB imines in the mouth of the Triigi River, while later the German 2nd S-Boat Flotilla lays 24 TMB mines off Dago Island and Muhu (Moon) Island.

German coastal guards at Dieppe, 1 August 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation FB, a Royal Navy attack on Spitsbergen, continues as oiler HMS Oligarch refuels the ships at Spitsbergen.

Operation EF, the Royal Navy raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes, is largely concluded. Aircraft carrier Furious and its support vessels depart the area for Scapa Flow, while carrier Victorious remains in the area roughly 40 miles northeast of Bear Island. Minelayer Adventure, detached from the force, arrives safely in Archangel carrying a cargo of parachute mines.

The Luftwaffe bombs and badly damages 4317-ton Royal Navy submarine HMS Trident in the Tyne. The entire crew has time to abandon ship and be rescued before Trident sinks on 2 August.
U-331 (Kptlt. Hans-Diedrich Freiherr von Tiesenhausen) joins the list of U-boats refueling from "interned" German supply ship Thalia in Cadiz.

US Task Group TG 2.5 is on patrol out of Hampton Roads, Virginia. It is led by aircraft carrier Yorktown (CV-5).

US transport USS West Point (AP-23) arrives safely in New York from Lisbon carrying American and Chinese consular personnel who have been ordered to leave Germany, Italy and occupied Europe.

The German B-Dienst naval intelligence service identifies the location of Convoy SL-81 and sends the information to the U-boat command in Paris. The Germans set up a U-boat picket line to intercept the convoy.

Convoy HX-142 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool, Convoy SC-39 departs from Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada bound for Liverpool.

Canadian armed yacht HMCS Vencedor is commissioned (formerly Exmouth II).

US Navy submarine USS Marlin (Lt. George A. Sharp, Jr.) is commissioned, anti-aircraft cruiser Reno is laid down.

U-154 (K.Kapt. Walther Kölle) is commissioned, U-198, U-226, and U-266 are laid down.

Cruiser Mk V Covenanter III tanks of British 9th Queen's Royal Lancers on exercise, Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, 1 August 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian submarine Delfino shoots down an RAF Short Sunderland flying boat of No.230 Squadron boat north of Bardia while the plane is dropping six depth charges at it. The Royal Navy sends out destroyers HMS Jackal, Jervis, Kingston, and Nizam to search for the submarine, but it escapes. This is the first time a submarine shoots down a flying boat. The Delfino picks up four survivors of the downed flying boat.

Operation Style, a Royal Navy convoy mission to Malta, continues. Before dawn, aircraft carrier Ark Royal launches nine Swordfish against Alghero airfield on Sardinia as a diversion. One of the Swordfish crashes while returning to the carrier, killing the 3-man crew and two men on the flight deck. The main body of the convoy continues toward Malta unmolested.

The RAF sends nine Blenheim bombers to attack German army vehicles at Sidi Omar. The RAF continues night attacks against the harbors at Benghazi and Derna.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues with corvette HMS Hyacinth escorting transport Salamaua from Port Said to Famagusta.

Royal Navy troopship Glenearn, damaged in the Luftwaffe raid of 14 July 1941 on Suez, Egypt, is taken in tow by 6169-ton freighter City of Kimberley for repairs at Bombay, India.

The nightly supply run to Tobruk is by destroyers Decoy and Hero.

Royal Navy submarine Thunderbolt departs from Gibraltar carrying a load of aviation fuel for Malta.

At Malta, three RAF No. 82 Squadron Blenheim bombers attack Lampedusa. One is hit by anti-aircraft fire and crash-lands in the sea. Everyone survives.

Battle of the Black Sea: The Red Air Force attacks Constanza, Romania, causing damage to harbor and oil facilities. This is the first use during the war of airplanes - where bombers are modified to carry fighters and launch them near a target to extend their range. Tupolev TB-3 bombers are used to carry modified Polikarpov I-16 fighters. In this mission, two Zveno-SPB (a variant of the TB-3 aircraft), each carrying two I-16 fighter-bombers, destroy an Axis oil depot in Constanta County, Romania. All Soviet aircraft return to base safely.

This is the culmination of a decade-long Soviet preparation of such forces. While the operation concludes successfully, the use of such parasitic aircraft in an offensive role is never repeated by the Soviets, perhaps because it makes more sense just to have the bombers themselves bomb the targets.

A P-40 formation over Oahu, 1 August 1941 (Hawaii Aviation).

War Crimes: German General Alexander Andrae, the new commander-in-chief on Crete, approves of further repressive measures against the population of Crete in retaliation for its opposition to Operation Mercury in May. Accordingly, today the Germans conduct the second wave of executions at Alikianos, which previously saw dozens of civilians executed in June. The Germans gather 118 civilians at a bridge over the Keritis River near Alikianos, force them to dig their own graves, and then shoot them.

The dead are from Aliaknos (12) and nearby villages Fournes (Greek: Φουρνές), Skines (Σκηνές), Vatolakos (Βατόλακκος), Koufo (Κουφό), Prases (Πρασές), Karanou (Καράνου), Lakkoi (Λάκκοι), Orthouni (Ορθούνι), Nea Roumata (Νέα Ρούματα) and Hosti (Χωστή).

A monument commemorating this execution stands near the Keritis bridge.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese Imperial Navy changes its operating code from B.6 to B.7 of JN.25. This requires US Navy cryptographers to seek ways to break this new code, which they have difficulty doing.

The Japanese continue keeping a close eye on US military activities throughout the Pacific. Today, the Manila embassy reports the arrival of US liner President Coolidge.

Experimental Lockheed XJO-3 in 1938.

Applied Science: United States researchers begin testing a specially modified Lockheed Electra XJO-3 that has been equipped with an AI-10 microwave radar installed for airborne testing. The radar has been developed by Radiation Laboratory from MIT. The flight tests are made out of Boston Airport. The radar includes a PPI (Plan Position Indicator) for display. During testing, which continues until 16 October 1941, the microwave radar detects aircraft at a range of 3.5 miles and ships at 40 miles (64 km). Among the advantages of this radar is that it enables pilots to plan approaches on aircraft from miles away in all weather conditions.

Anglo/Finnish Relations: Following the British raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes on 31 July, Finland completely severs relations with the UK and closes the British legation in Helsinki. The British do likewise. Finland previously had "paused" relations, but with some prospect of restoring them. The raid, however, ends that possibility despite the fact that the British achieved very little by it. From the Finnish perspective, the raid was completely unjustified, as it views the Continuation War as separate and apart from Operation Barbarossa. The West, however, views the Finnish Army as nothing but an arm of the Wehrmacht seeking world domination. The move pleases the Germans, who have been pressuring Finland to terminate relations with the UK.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a message to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin that is received today. This is one in a long line of such messages to which Stalin does not respond. This one states that "Following my personal intervention," the UK is sending 10,000 tons of rubber by sea. This, Churchill adds, is in addition to 10,000 tons already on its way.

US/Soviet Relations: Having completed his talks with Stalin to set up lend-lease deliveries, President Roosevelt's personal emissary, Harry Hopkins, departs from Moscow and heads back to the United Kingdom by air.

German crew sighting the 20mm cannon on a Bf 109F fighter of JG 54 'Grünherz' fighter wing, near Leningrad, Russia, Aug 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 101I-390-1220-19).

US/Japanese Relations: The Japanese Foreign Office opens discussions with the US State Department on ways to resume passenger service between the US and Japan.

The Japanese Board of Information publishes an article in the Tokyo Gazette that justifies the recent Japanese advance into French Indochina. It calls the situation in the country "complicated and chaotic" and claims that the Nationalist government in Chungking had its own designs on Indochina. The French simply have come to recognize the "ring of hostile nations" surrounding Indochina which is "jeopardizing its self-preservation and defense." The Japanese "reinforcement" of Indochina thus was "no more than an action calculated to remove the menace" posed by China and its allies Great Britain, the United States, and the Netherlands.

The US imposes an oil embargo against Japan for being an aggressor state in Asia.

Japanese/Thai Relations: Japanese Foreign Minister Toyoda is negotiating with the Thai government to set up a funding mechanism for Japanese purchases of Thai goods despite the recent British fund-freezing of Japanese accounts. The two sides reach a tentative agreement today by which Thai currency laws would be revised to permit a large loan by Thailand to finance Japanese purchases. All that remains to be settled are the rate of interest and time limit on such a loan, and that is soon overcome. The 10,000,000 baht loan is finalized on 2 August.

Thailand officially recognizes the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

German/Japanese Relations: Japanese Ambassador to Germany Oshima cables to Tokyo that a "reliable German source" has told him that Soviet casualties had reached 2.5 million men. The Germans also tell Oshima that the Wehrmacht already has reached Leningrad, but that can't be revealed publicly until the city actually is taken. Furthermore, the Germans claim to have destroyed 10,000 Red Air Force planes. The Germans claim that negative reports about fighting in the USSR are due to Allied attempts to woo neutrals such as Turkey. The Hess flight to Scotland is explained away as a failed attempt to gain British assistance in the fight against communism in the Soviet Union.

The Germans clearly are feeding Oshima lies or at least exaggerations in an attempt to create the impression that the Soviet Union is closer to defeat than it actually is. For instance, the Wehrmacht is still far away from Leningrad and is not in the practice of "withholding" news of military achievements.

Danish/Japanese Relations: Denmark establishes diplomatic relations with the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

P-40s over Oahu (Hawaii Aviation).

US Military: Naval Air Station Midway is established on Midway Island. While geographically a part of the Hawaiian chain, Midway heretofore has been used primarily as a way-station for commercial flying boats crossing the Pacific. NAS Midway run by Commander Cyril T. Simard.

The first mass-produced military jeep is completed at Willy's Overland factory in Toledo, Ohio. This is generally considered the jeep's "birthday," though it has been in development for some time.

Major General Jacob L. Devers is named by General Marshall as Chief of the Armored Force. Devers' new headquarters is at For Knox, Kentucky. He replaces Major General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who is terminally ill with cancer. General Devers has the 1st Armored Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Knox, and an independent tank battalion at Fort George Meade, Maryland, the 70th Tank Battalion. Devers quickly takes up planning for a large-scale wargame called the Louisiana Maneuvers to begin later in August 1941.

Japanese Military: Imperial Japanese Navy 6863-ton seaplane tender Kimikawa Maru completes her conversion at Kure, Japan. It embarks six "Jake" reconnaissance floatplanes with two in reserve and is assigned to the Sasebo Naval District.

Soviet Military: Stalin, impressed by tests of rocket-powered fighters, issues an order dated today that calls for a prototype to be developed within a month.

Stalin appoints General Vasilevsky Head of the Operations Directorate for the General Staff General Pavel Batov is appointed Deputy Commanding Officer of the 51st Army.

Sheet music for "Too Many Blondes," released 1 August 1941 and starring Rudy Vallee and Helen Parrish. Vallee will enlist in the United States Coast Guard and become a Lieutenant in charge of a 40-piece band.

German Military: The 5th Light Division, serving with the Afrika Korps, is redesignated 21st Panzer Division.

Walter Grabmann becomes commanding officer of the prestigious Zerstörerschule 2 training unit based in Memmingen, Germany.

Around this time, Joachim Peiper returns from Heinrich Himmler's personal staff to an informal position within the SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). Peiper previously served with the LSSAH as a platoon leader during the Battle of France but returned to Himmler's staff as his first adjutant thereafter. Throughout the war, Peiper alternates between the LSSAH and Himmler's staff, often working on both at the same time. Officially, Peiper does not formally transfer to the LSSAH until October, but he appears to "free-lance" as an observer there with Himmler's approval. Thus, he likely is lurking around the LSSAH during this time though not officially within the chain of command there.

New Zealand Military: Lieutenant General Edward Puttick, commander of the 2nd New Zealand Division serving in Egypt, is chosen as the new Chief of the General Staff by Prime Minister Peter Fraser, who is visiting Puttick's headquarters in Cairo. He cannot take up the position until he returns to New Zealand in September 1941.

Australian Military: The RAAF No. 20 Squadron forms at Port Moresby, New Guinea. It is equipped with Catalina and Empire flying boats.

Cecilia Parker and Gale Storm in "Gambling Daughters," released on 1 August 1941 (Producers Releasing Corporation).

China: The Japanese launch the "Three All" campaign ("Loot all, Kill all, Burn all") against Communist Chinese troops in the Shansi-Chahar-Hopeh border area. This is a controversial campaign in the sense that widely varying estimates of the number of people killed have been put forth, from one million killed up to many multiples of that. It is undeniable that the Japanese kill large numbers of civilians while engaging in a "scorched earth" policy.

The Japanese also are attacking in Yunnan Province and further south.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist government at Chungking, issues an order establishing the American Volunteer Group ("Flying Tigers"). It provides in part:

Col. Chennault will organize this group with the American Volunteers now arriving in China to participate in the War.

Claire L. Chennault, the AVG leader, reports directly to Chiang Kai-shek. He cooperates with the Chinese Air Force and takes support from it but does not take operational orders from anyone but Chiang. Since Chiang does not speak English and Chennault does not speak Chinese, all communications flow through Madame Chiang. Incidentally, the "Colonel" in the Chiang order appears to be an honorific, as Chennault is not a member of the Chinese Air Force (at least according to any known documentation) and at this time is a retired Captain of the USAAF (cashiered out in 1937 due to deafness). Chennault himself simply calls himself a civilian advisor or contractor operating under a contract for pay, a forerunner of such arrangements that become widely used decades later. He is an old "China hand" who has been there since leading the USAAC in order to train Chinese pilots.

Holocaust: The Germans establish ghettos at Lviv and Bialystok. The Bialystok Ghetto, which is divided by the Biala River, quickly has a population of 50,000 people, and has two gates, with a third added later.

At Kishinev, Romania, executions proceed of at least 1000 Jews.

Shmuel Verble, chairman of the Jewish Council (Judenrat) in the Ukrainian village of Kamien Koszyrski (Kamen-Koshirsk), volunteers for death after discovering an execution list with the names of 80 ghetto residents. Joining the 80 Jews being executed, he instructs his children: "Children, be good Jews. If you can, take revenge!"

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable and a Vermont State Police trooper before the official ceremony commemorating the joining of the Portland–Montreal Pipe Line. August 1, 1941 (Credit: National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada).

American Homefront: New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez beats the St. Louis Browns 9-0. He sets a mark for most walks given in a shutout with 11. He gets the shutout by stranding 15 Browns baserunners.

Senator Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota gives a radio address from St. Louis in which he decries the "madness" of current US policy toward the current conflicts around the world. He argues that "any emergency confronting our country is immeasurably less than it was a year ago" due to increased US preparedness and "potential enemies growing weaker with every hour of war abroad." He concludes that it is time for "freedom from foreign influence" and that the United States should not be "waiting for the cue that Churchill gives."

Paramount releases "Kiss the Boys Goodbye," a comedy directed by Victor Schertzinger based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce. While this sounds like a service film, in fact, it is loosely based on the search for the lead role in "Gone With The Wind" in 1939. Mary Martin stars as Cindy Lou Bethany, while Don Ameche and Oscar Levant play supporting roles.

Monogram Pictures releases "Bowery Blitzkrieg," the latest (sixth) in the East Side Kids film franchise. As with the others in the series, it stars Leo Gorcey. This is Huntz Hall's first East Side Kids film ("Introducing Huntz Hall"). Hall is a veteran of Universal's Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys series, which also feature former Dead End Kids, so he is a familiar face in this type of film even though technically this is his first film in the series. He appears as "Limpy," though that changes to "Gimpy" in subsequent films in the series. Keye Luke also makes an appearance.

Universal releases "Too Many Blondes" starring Rudy Vallee, Helen Parrish, and Lon Chaney, Jr.

Producers Releasing Corporation releases "Gambling Daughters." Starring Cecilia Parker, "Gambling Daughters" revolves around college girls forced to steal from their parents to feed their gambling addiction - until they take revenge upon the gamblers.

Future History: Ronald Harmon Brown is born in Washington, D.C. He goes on to become US Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton in January 1993. Brown perishes on 3 April 1996 a few kilometers north of Dubrovnik Airport when his US Air Force CT-43 (a modified Boeing 737) crashes into a mountainside in Croatia.

Francine Canovas is born in Oujda, Morocco. Francine becomes a top French model and actress and marries actor Alain Delon. She is better known as Nathalie Delon and is retired as of this writing in 2018.

Braunschweig.- Alley in the old town with half-timbered houses (suitcase and leather goods business Habermann). In the background is the Church of St. Katharine (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-268).

July 1941

July 1, 1941: US TV Broadcasting Starts
July 2, 1941: MAUD Report
July 3, 1941: Stalin Speaks
July 4, 1941: Pogroms in Eastern Europe
July 5, 1941: Germans on Schedule
July 6, 1941: Australians Attack Damour
July 7, 1941: US Marines in Iceland
July 8, 1941: Flying Fortresses In Action
July 9, 1941: British Take Damour
July 10, 1941: Sword and Scabbard Order
July 11, 1941: Cease-fire in Syria and Lebanon
July 12, 1941: Anglo/Russian Assistance Pact
July 13, 1941: Uprising in Montenegro
July 14, 1941: Katyusha Rocket Launchers in Action
July 15, 1941: Smolensk Falls
July 16, 1941: Stalin's Son Captured
July 17, 1941: Heydrich Orders Mass Executions
July 18, 1941: Twin Pimples Raid
July 19, 1941: V for Victory
July 20, 1941: The Man Who Wouldn't Shoot
July 21, 1941: Moscow in Flames
July 22, 1941: Soviet Generals Executed
July 23, 1941: Secret Plan JB 355
July 24, 1941: Operation Sunrise
July 25, 1941: US Naval Alert
July 26, 1941: Italian E-Boat Attack on Malta
July 27, 1941: MacArthur Returns
July 28, 1941: Auschwitz Exterminations
July 29, 1941: Rescue From Crete
July 30, 1941: Raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes
July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Monday 21 April 1941

"British Bren gun carriers on the road in Greece, 21 April 1941" © IWM (E 2524).

Operation Marita: Following the suicide of Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis, a new government forms on 21 April 1941 under banker Emmanouil Tsouderos. Tsouderos has minimal qualifications as a political or military leader, having served as Minister of Transportation and Minister of Finance decades earlier and, since 1931, Governor of the Central Bank of Greece.

General Georgios Tsolakoglu, commander of the Greek Epirus Army, follows through in Larissa on his decision to sign the surrender documents to which he agreed on the 20th. He does this despite instructions from his government not to sign the document. The terms also cover the Western Macedonian Army. SS Obergruppenführer Josef “Sepp” Dietrich signs on behalf of the Wehrmacht/German government - he later recalls it as the highlight of his military career.

The issue of the Italian participation is a matter of controversy. Field Marshal Wilhelm List has ordered that Italian troops not be allowed south of the Albanian border so that that the Greeks cannot surrender to them there. The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH, still only of brigade-size) physically intervenes to stop Italian troops from pursuing the retreating/surrendering Greek troops. Italian leader Benito Mussolini is furious, feeling that the Greeks are snubbing the Italian army - which absolutely is Tsolakoglu's intention as well as that of the Germans. Mussolini refuses to accept the surrender on behalf of Italy unless the Greeks sign a separate document with them. He tells his forces to continue fighting and has the Regia Aeronautica bomb Ioannina and Arta to illustrate his displeasure.

The Germans take Volos after the British evacuate their troops (but leave behind lots of supplies). They also reach Thermopylae and at 18:00 make their first attempt to cross through this critical chokepoint. The ANZAC defenders stop the attack despite Luftwaffe attacks from nearby airfields. For such an important spot, the defense is very spotty - the Australians rely on only 2 Australian 25-pounder field guns.

The British War Cabinet sees where things in Greece are heading and have had enough. After being told by the King of Greece that no Greek troops remain to protect the British left flank, they make the final decision to fully evacuate all troops from the mainland. In fact, Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell and local commander General Henry Maitland Wilson already have agreed at a morning meeting with the King of Greece that this is inevitable, and the War Cabinet simply acquiesces in a fait accompli. Evacuations are to commence within days from various ports in East Attica and later from ports in the eastern Peloponnese. The New Zealand troops that have survived their delaying action further north head for coastal ports such as Koritza and Volos. The Wehrmacht is in hot pursuit, and nobody really knows where the enemy is - panzers could be around the next corner or over the next rise.

HMS Breconshire entering Grand Harbor, Malta on 21 April 1941.

The War Cabinet Minutes also touch lightly on another brewing problem. They note:

The Prime Minister commented on the fact that he had received no adequate situation reports from Greece reporting any of the heavy fighting of the last ten days.

This is something that Prime Minister Churchill already has remonstrated with Wavell about in writing. While Wavell is a brilliant commander with outstanding tactical and strategic judgment, his one failing is that he has difficulties in his personal relationship with Churchill - who keeps him on only because of his obvious talent.

The Luftwaffe ramps up its sustained attack on Greek shipping. It bombs and sinks:

• 1192 ton Ionna at Patras
• 1364 ton Archon at Euboea

Reportedly, the Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks over 20 other smaller ships. The Luftwaffe continues to move forces into the general region, with KG 4 (Oberst Hans-Joachim Rath) taking up a new post at Zilistea, Romania.

South of Crete, the Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6098-ton British tanker British Lord. The tanker is part of Convoy AS 26. There is one death, and sloop HMNZS Auckland takes the ship in tow back to Alexandria. Greek destroyer Thyella also is bombed and sunk off Vouliagmeni.

Convoy AN 29 departs from Alexandria and Port Said, bound for Suda Bay, Crete with five freighters/transports.

"A British Army 15-cwt truck in Greece, 21 April 1941." © IWM (E 2535).

Iraq War: Very little is happening in Iraq, but tensions are extremely high. The government of Rashid Ali is assembling tanks, artillery, and infantry on a plateau overlooking the British airbase at Habbaniya. However, they are making no attacks despite demanding that nobody enter or leave the base. Meanwhile, the British have consolidated control over the port of Basra, which is far to the south. A standoff appears to be developing, with the British fully capable of defending themselves against a hostile populace. The British also are preparing to send forces ("Habforce," short for Habbaniya Force) from the British Mandate of Palestine, but they are far away and have to cross a desert.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe targets Plymouth today in what is known as the start of the Plymouth Blitz. The 120 bombers focus on the center of town around the Guildhall, destroying the medieval heart of the city. Taken together with other raids, about 1000 people have or will have perished, with 18,000 houses destroyed and 30,000 inhabitants made homeless (many take refuge in barns and sheds in the surrounding countryside). The Germans, however, continue to fail to put the important port of Devonport out of operation, allowing the Royal Navy to continue its operations from there.

That is not to say that the Luftwaffe misses the port completely. Several ships are damaged during the raid. Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Kent, already under repair, is damaged further during the attack, as is destroyer Leeds (out until December 1941) and destroyer Lewes). British 688-ton freighter Maidstone is hit and it is taken to Falmouth for repairs.

RAF Bomber Command continues to focus on Axis shipping in the North Sea. It loses two planes from RAF No. 21 Squadron of 2 Group. Luftwaffe ace Lt. Heinz Bär of 1./JG 51 gets his fifteenth victory during British attacks on coastal targets.

East African Campaign: Operations continue in Abyssinia. The Gold Coast 24th Infantry Brigade reaches Wadara in Galla-Sidamo, while the South African 1st Infantry Brigade continues attacking Italian General Frusci's forces near Cambolcia Pass on the road to Dessie.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-107 (K.Kapt. Günther Hessler), continuing its length second patrol, is operating about 550 miles north of the Cape Verde Islands when it spots 10305-ton British passenger ship Calchas. Hessler pumps two torpedoes into the ship at 14:20, sinking it. There are 24 deaths, including the master. The survivors take to three lifeboats and spend 10-14 days at sea: 33 head south and make it to Sal Maria Island, Cape Verde; another 23 make it to Boavista Island, Cape Verde; while a further 33 head east and make it to St. Louis, Senegal.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6997-ton British tanker British Renown a few miles southeast of Dartmouth. the tanker makes it back to Dartmouth.

British 76 ton tug Regency is towing three or four barges off Ford's, Dagenham when it hits a mine. All of the ships sink and two men perish. The tug and a barge later are raised and repaired.

British 11 ton fishing boat Alpha hits a mine in Whittaker Channel, Essex, but makes it back to port. It likely is an acoustic mine that exploded some distance away, else it would have completely destroyed the vessel.

U-154 is launched, and U-612 is laid down.

US submarine USS Gudgeon is commissioned (SS 211, Lt. Commander Elton W. Grenfell), and submarine USS Albacore is laid down.

Greek soldiers in retreat in Greece, April 1941 (Bauer, German Federal Archive: Bild 101I-163-0318-09).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet to bombard the port of Tripoli (Operation MD2). This is partly to cover the arrival of a convoy at Alexandria. Thus, battleships HMS Barham, Valiant and Warspite join with 9 destroyers and cruiser Gloucester off the coast, putting themselves at great peril to Luftwaffe attack. This is done in conjunction with an RAF bombing attack, with the planes from HMS Formidable dropping flares to help with spotting. Admiral Cunningham protests, to no avail. The Germans claim that the destruction was minimal due to inaccuracy.  As the ships make their way back to Alexandria, they also bombard Benghazi. The Luftwaffe mounts an attack and scores a near miss on destroyer HMS Greyhound which causes no appreciable damage. Churchill, in fact, wants to sink battleship Barham in the entrance to Tripoli Harbor to block the Axis convoys but is dissuaded. The bombardment damages the Italian torpedo boat Partenope and 6 freighters).

Late in the day, the War Cabinet minutes not that Operation Tiger, "the plan to pass the convoy through the Mediterranean," has been approved by the First Sea Lord (Admiral Sir Dudley Pound). Churchill proposes to add 100 additional tanks to the convoy, which is part of WS (Winston Special) 7. After opposition from CIGS John Dill that the tanks are needed in England, that is cut to an additional 67 tanks.

In Libya, the RAF mounts a raid against the Afrika Korps troops before dawn, and "lively" (according to the German status report) air operations continue throughout the day, with both sides losing a fighter. The tensions of the combat are illustrated by a belief - put in the official German war summary for the day - that the RAF intentionally shot the Luftwaffe pilot in his parachute. It is impossible to confirm such incidents after the fact with any degree of certainty - but that is what the German high command believes happened. The RAF, incidentally, claims that downed four German planes.

The RAF bombs Derna airfield, destroying four Italian CR 42 fighters, and also kills several people at Gazala airfield.

The Luftwaffe raids Tobruk with 24 bombers and 21 fighters, damaging two ships:

• 3185 ton British freighter Bankura, beached and never repaired (everyone survives);
• 1953 ton British freighter Patmos/Urania 

The Italian Division Brescia captures 13 British stragglers from the 2nd Armoured Division. Lieutenant General Rommel tells his commanders to prepare for an attack on Tobruk on 1 May. Additional troops continue to flow into the Afrika Korps through Tripoli, some survivors of the destroyed Lampo convoy.

British submarine HMS Truant is patrolling off Tripoli when it spots 1080 ton Italian tanker Prometeo. The Truant launches two torpedoes, which miss. In evading them, the Prometeo runs aground. It later is refloated and repaired.

The Regia Aeronautica attacks Malta around midday with three SM-79 bombers escorted by half a dozen CR 42 fighters and two Bf 109s. They bomb Fort San Rocco, losing three CR 42s in the process. Another raid drops some bombs in the Grand Harbour area.

An Axis convoy with four troops transports departs from Naples bound for Tripoli. The British take note and prepare to send some destroyers from Malta to intercept it.

Businesses on East 14th Street, 21 April 1941. All of this area up to the Con Ed power plant with smokestacks in the distance (still there) was cleared to make room for the Riis Houses apartment complex (New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) photo collection at the La Guardia and Wagner Archives/CUNY).

POWs: General Carton de Wiart is en route from Malta to Cairo when his plane crashes off Tobruk. The Italians capture him after he and the rest of the crew swim a mile to shore - another entry into the epic feats of General de Wiart.

War Crimes: The Luftwaffe scores another hit on an Allied hospital ship today. It bombs and damages 876 ton Greek hospital ship Ellenis off Patras. The ship makes it back to Patras, where it disembarks its patients. The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 1461 ton Greek passenger ship Esperos, which is being employed as a hospital ship, off Missolonghi, Greece.

German/Finnish Relations: The German Waffen SS begins recruiting in Helsinki.

Anglo/US/Dutch Relations: The American-Dutch-British (ADB) Conference convenes in Singapore under chair Air Chief Marshal Sir H. Robert Brooke-Popham. The conference is scheduled to last until 27 April. American preparation is haphazard and scanty, while the British are thoroughly prepared. This is a pattern that will continue for some time during the war. The conference is separated into two consecutive groups, with all three parties meeting first, then only the British and Dutch. The conference's purpose is to prepare an appreciation of the coalition's (eventual US military involvement is assumed) military capabilities, predict likely Japanese moves, and prepare a strategic concept of operations for the coming conflict. This will result in the "ADB Report."

There are 26 delegates in attendance. The US representatives are Navy Captain Purnell and Army Colonel A.C. McBride, respectively staff officers from Admiral Hart and Major General George Grunert in the Philippines. The British are nonplussed at the low-level American participants, but then, the US is not at war with anybody while the British and Dutch already are.

US/Canadian Relations: President Roosevelt returns to Washington from his upstate New York home at Hyde Park. There, he and Canadian leader Mackenzie King hammered out the Hyde Park Agreement, which provided for wartime economic cooperation between the two nations. The media reports that this is a "virtual merging of the economies of the United States and Canada." Canadian Munitions Minister Mr. Howe is very supportive of the agreement, and King tells the media that the agreement is:

a real answer to Hitler's birthday celebrations - an expressed determination by the two countries to use all their resources in the common cause. Briefly, what the arrangement proposes is the mobilization of the resources of this continent to assist Britain in the quickest possible and most efficient way.

The real benefit of this agreement to Canada, he adds almost as an afterthought, is that the US will finance war construction from now on under Lend-Lease, taking that burden off of Canada. King also says that President Roosevelt may visit Ottawa on 10-11 May.

A total of 36 Serbian partisans caught by the Germans are treated like this on 21-22 April 1941 at Pancevo (Gerhard Gronefeld). Photographer Gronefeld, an employee of Heinrich Hoffmann, later viewed this and the accompanying pictures as the most important that he ever took. "These eyes will always pursue me."

British Military: General Bernard Law Montgomery takes command of XII Corps.

US Military: Theodore Roosevelt Jr. becomes commander of the 26th Infantry Regiment.

Battleship USS Arizona (BB 39) and destroyer USS Davis (DD 395) collide during fueling at sea without major consequences.

The US Marine Corps establishes the temporary command Marine Aircraft, South Pacific to administer its fighter wings in the theater.

Australian Government: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies has been absent from Australia for months now, and it has been a time of heavy fighting by Australian troops. There is a vocal, if relatively small, pacifist sentiment brewing in Australia. Menzies had planned to begin returning home by now but has postponed his return due to the tense war situation and the extremely supportive welcome he has found in London. Back in Australia, however, dissatisfaction with the heavy losses in Greece and North Africa is growing, and opposition to his continued leaderships concomitantly is growing. Menzies only retains office due to the support of two Independents, and some within his own U.A.P. party are plotting his ouster.

Menzies, meanwhile, continues to work for Australian interests in London. He notes in his diary that General Wavell now is prepared, due to Menzies' urging, to make Australian General Blamey Deputy Commander in Chief Middle East.

Cutting down the largest tree in Battery Park, New York City, 21 April 1941.

British Government: Menzies is a provocateur with keen judgment, and today he puts both traits to good use. At lunch with Churchill, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and Clement Attlee - all current or future prime ministers - he provokes Churchill with his long-held belief that Churchill needs contrary voices around him and not just "yes men." Churchill, of course, is miffed, but, according to Menzies, basically agrees. It is fair to say that Menzies is the only man in England who could say such things to Churchill and get away with it.

American Homefront: The country is at odds with the idea of joining the war or even supporting Great Britain. Author Rex Stout makes a speech in New York City in which he directly attacks isolationist Charles Lindbergh:

I wish I could look you in the eye, Colonel Lindbergh, when I tell you that you simply don't know what it's all about ... A desperate war is being fought, and the winners of the war will win the oceans. No matter what we do, we shall be either one of the winners, or one of the losers; no shivering neutral will get a bite of anything but crow when the shooting stops. It would therefore seem to be plain imbecility not to go in with Britain and win.

Public opinion polls continue to show a great split within the public - while many want Great Britain to win and want to help it win, they also don't want any US soldiers in harm's way.

The film stars Constance Bennett and Gilbert Roland the day after their wedding, April 21, 1941. Bennett is the subject of much speculation during 1941 as to the cost of her personal wardrobe - a film magazine that year claims that it has cost a full $250,000, which she vehemently denies.

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020