Saturday 23 August 1941

A Finnish soldier threatens a Stalin statue with his "puukko" knife, 23 August 1941. What appears to be a cut or two in the statue's cheek are actually scratches on the surface of the photograph (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder has a big day on 23 August 1941. He meets with Army Group Center commander Field Marshal von Bock and General Guderian at Army Group Center headquarters in Borisov, then flies to the Wolfsschanze in East Prussia to confer with Hitler. Guderian flies with Halder and makes an impassioned plea to Hitler for authorization to drive on Moscow. Hitler, however, rejects it and argues that advances in the north and south were ""tasks which stripped the Moscow problem of much of its significance." He tells Guderian that the situation at Kyiv represents "an unexpected opportunity, and a reprieve from past failures to trap the Soviet armies in the south."

Hitler, in fact, feels that there will be plenty of time to move on Moscow later. He says:

the objections that time will be lost and the offensive on Moscow might be undertaken too late, or that the armored units might no longer be technically able to fulfill their mission, are not valid.

Guderian and Halder return to the front with clear orders to push Guderian's Panzer Group 2 south to link up with Army Group South and encircle the Soviet troops at Kyiv. This is a bitter blow for Guderian, Halder, and von Bock, who all feel that a quick attack on Moscow will be decisive.

Finnish Maxim machine gun team in a position defending a river crossing, 23 August 1941 (SA-Kuva).

In the Far North sector, the Finns continue their advance on the Karelian Isthmus. The Finns capture the village of Taipale on the northwestern shore of Lake Ladoga. In addition, the Finnish 10th and 15th Divisions clear a "motif" (fortified position) held by Soviet 142nd Rifle and 198th Motorized Divisions on the Kilpola islands just off the shore of Lake Ladoga. The Soviets, however, have had time to evacuate 26,000 troops from the motif across the lake by boat.

A little to the southwest, the Soviet 115th and 123rd Rifle Divisions prepare to attack advance Finnish detachments of the Finnish Light Brigade T that have crossed the Vuoksi river. Finnish Group F, struggling forward toward Ukhta (Kalevala) on Ozero Sredneye Kuyto Lake, take another small village, Korpiyarvi, northwest of Ukhta. The Soviets are putting up fierce resistance, and the numerous small lakes and marshes in the area favor the defense.

Finnish 6th Division of 36 Corps have trapped some Soviet troops at Nurmi Lake and Nurmi Mountain, and the Soviet troops there are in desperate straits. The Finns intercept a Russian radio message during the night that claims the troops are in "complete encirclement." The Finns, though, also are very strained, and today use the last of their own reserves to extend its line northward to prevent the Soviets from escaping. The Soviets, though, discover a logging road which is not on any maps north of the lake along which they begin to withdraw. The battle becomes a race between the retreating Soviets and the extension of the Finnish troops to the north through rough terrain.

In the Army Group North sector, Marshal Voroshilov, in command at Leningrad, assigns 48th Army to the Northern Front and gives it responsibility for defending the approaches to Leningrad. General Alexander Novikov becomes his air commander.

German soldiers in the ruins of Gomel, 23 August 1941.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets plan an offensive to be led by reinforced 24th Army. It is planned to begin on 30 August. The plan is to smash a small hole through some weakened German divisions. It is hoped that this will force the entire Wehrmacht front back. Meanwhile, since General Guderian now has plans to head south with his Panzer Group 2, the Germans will have few reserves to counter a massive offensive - though the Soviets do not know this. On the German side, General Hoth's Panzer Group 3 continues attacking toward Velikiye Luki.

In the Army Group South sector, the Romanian 4th Army is bogged down in front of Odessa. The Soviet Black Sea Fleet has been instrumental in providing artillery support. Both sides have taken heavy casualties, but the Romanians have an easier time bringing in reinforcements than the Soviets, who can only be supplied by sea.

A Soviet Army soldier teaches Russian partisans how to operate a Browning Hi-Power handgun. Near Smolensk, Russia, Soviet Union. 23 August 1941.

European Air Operations: There is no major action today by either side. The RAF is beginning to equip Bristol Beaufighters with airborne radar sets, and these are beginning to make an impact. Beaufighter pilot John Cunningham, in particular, is developing a reputation in the press as "Cat's Eye Cunningham," but his eyes are nothing special - this is just a cover for his use of radar.

Later in the afternoon, six Luftwaffe Heinkel He-111H-5s of KG 26 attempt to intercept a reported convoy in the North Sea. One crashes into the sea after being hit by destroyer fire. The five crewman take to a dinghy and are taken prisoner by the British.

Battle of the Baltic: The Germans are pressing in on the port of Tallinn (Reval), Estonia, so Soviet cruiser Kirov and destroyers Gordy, Leningrad, and Minsk provide supporting gunfire.

Soviet minesweeper T-204 Fugas hits a mine and sinks west of Kronstadt.

Peter Ferdinand Freiherr von Malapert-Neufville (2 February 1922 – 23 September 1999) becomes an ace today. While flying a Bf 109 F-2 in 7 Staffel of JG 54, he shoots down an I-16 over Jan-Jedrow east of Ilmensee (Lake Ilmen) for his fifth victory. He is shot down and taken as a prisoner on 11 September 1941. There are sketchy reports that he collaborated with the Soviets thereafter, writing leaflets to Luftwaffe pilots urging them to defect. He receives the Eichenlaub and Ritterkreuz on 8 June 1942. After the war, he joins the Bundesluftwaffe and rises to the rank of Obstlt.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Germans have been stalking Convoy OG-71, and their reconnaissance is bearing fruit. The convoy loses several ships today, adding to two lost on the 22nd.

U-564 (KrvKpt. Reinhard Suhren), on its second patrol out of Brest, sank two ships of Convoy OG-71 west of Portugal on the 22nd, and today it adds a third. Suhren torpedoes and sinks 900-ton British corvette HMS Zinnia (K-98, Lt Cdr C. G. Cuthbertson DSO RNR). There are 49 deaths and 36 survivors.

U-564 also damages 2129-ton British freighter Spind from Convoy OG-71. U-552 (ObltzS Topp) then tries to finish off Spind with two torpedoes and then twenty rounds from its 88mm deck gun. The crew of Spind abandons ship but it remains afloat, blazing. Later Royal Navy destroyer Boreas scuttles Spind.

U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its third patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks two ships in Convoy OG-71:

• 787-ton British freighter Stork (19 deaths)
• 1974-ton British freighter Aldergrove (one death).

Elsewhere, U-143 (Oblt. Ernst Mengersen), on its fourth patrol and operating 130 miles northwest of Butt of Lewis, Scotland, torpedoes and sinks 1418-ton British freighter Inger. There are nine deaths (7 Norwegians, 2 British) and 14 survivors.

Finnish 1847-ton freighter Cisil hits a German mine and sinks off Kolberg, Germany.

The RAF bombs 4845-ton Finnish freighter Wisa in the Ems estuary with an aerial mine. Wisa is towed into Emden.

Royal Navy minesweeper Speedwell collides with 1951-ton British freighter St. Julian in the North Sea, damaging both ships. However, the destroyer's damage is minor.

Operations EGV1 and EGV2, whose objectives are to provide convoy protection in northern waters near Murmansk and Archangel, begin when Force M departs from Scapa Flow. It is led by heavy cruisers Devonshire and Suffolk.

German raider Orion (FKpt Weyher) arrives in the Gironde Estuary escorted by U-75 and U-205, completing its 510-day raiding mission by docking at Bordeaux. During that time, Orion sank 9 1/2 ships of 57,744 tons on its own and 7 ships in concert with raider "Komet." Perhaps just as importantly, Orion and the other raiders have spread fear and panic in the Pacific and Indian Ocean areas that otherwise the Germans cannot reach.

The Royal Navy receives reports of a German raider south of Bermuda, so it dispatches Canadian AMC Prince David to search. In addition, AMC Circassia is dispatched from Freetown to search for it. The reports may have referred to Orion, which makes port.

Royal Navy heavy cruiser Devonshire leads a group of minelayers to lay minefield SN-70A east of Iceland.

US Navy battleship USS New Mexico returns to Hampton Roads from a Neutrality Patrol.

Convoy OS-4 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown.

Royal Navy submarine HMS P39 is launched.

Canadian Corvette HMCS Calgary is launched in Sorel, Province of Quebec.

US Navy destroyer USS Emmons is launched.

U-155 (Kapitänleutnant Adolf C. Piening) is commissioned, U-629, U-630, and U-755 are laid down.

"The presentation of diplomas by Mr Paul Riddle to Royal Air Force cadets of the first course, Class 42-B, at Embry-Riddle Company. The cadets wear the white flash identifying aircrew in their caps. Shirts and trousers are USAAC issue." Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida, August 1941 (© IWM (TR 80)).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Tetrarch torpedoes and sinks two Italian ships near Sirte:

• 413-ton freighter Fratelli Garre 12 miles northwest of Sirte
• 395-ton freighter Francesco Garre 1 miles north of Sirte

Royal Navy submarine P-33, reported overdue on the 21st, is sunk while attacking a convoy off Pantelleria by Italian torpedo boat Partenope. This action may have taken place on 18 August.

An RAF Bristol Blenheim bombs and sinks 582-ton Italian freighter Constanza south of Lampedusa.

Italian aircraft bomb and sink Royal Navy destroyer Fearless south of Sardinia.

Italian aircraft bomb and damage Royal Navy light cruiser Manchester south of Sardinia.

Due to sightings of Italian ships sailing to Bardia, the Royal Navy dispatches destroyers Jackal and Napier to intercept them. However, no contact is made because the Italian ships change course back to the north.

Italian minelayers Aspromonte and Reggio lay minefield SN-44 in the Sicilian Strait. This is a massive minefield of 1125 mines.

Having heard of the departure of Royal Navy Force H from Gibraltar (Operation Mincemeat), the Italian fleet goes to sea. Led by battleships Littorio and Veneto based at Taranto and heavy cruisers Bolzano, Gorizia, Trento, and Trieste, along with five destroyers from Trapani and three light cruisers from Palermo, the fleet patrols off the western Italian coast.

There is a heavy air raid on Malta after dark. Corrodino, the area northeast of Ta Silch, Safi, and St. George's Barracks are hit with incendiary bombs. In addition, five incendiaries fall on the dockyard area, but they are put out quickly.

The RAF at Malta sends 10 Wellingtons to bomb the area northwest of Tripoli, while 5 Blenheim bombers attack a convoy.

"An Air Raid Precautions Warden reports for duty to the Chief ARP Warden, Mr Davies, at his local ARP post in Springfield, Essex." August 1941 (© IWM (D 4263)).

War Crimes: Strict new rules imposed by the German occupation authorities go into effect. The order by the Kommandant of Greater Paris, General Schaumberg, provides in part that due to the recent assassination of a German naval cadet at a Paris train station:

...all Frenchmen taken into custody, either by the German authorities in France or on orders originating with them, will be regarded as hostages. Should any further criminal action occur, hostages will be shot in a number corresponding to the seriousness of that action.

This practice of taking hostages from the civilian population and executing them is a common tactic by the Germans during World War II and is considered a war crime.

Partisans: Italian troops of the 2nd Army begin relieving German troops on garrison duty in the former Yugoslavia. The German troops' next assignment is the Russian Front, where replacements are badly needed.

US/Italian Relations: US authorities seize a handful of Italian freighters at Norfolk, Virginia and New York City:

• 5932-ton Laconia  in Norfolk (becomes Panamian Elwood)
• 6131-ton Alberta in NYC (becomes Panamanian Ballot)
• 5441-ton Aussa in NYC (becomes Panamanian Africander)
• 5060-ton Guidnia in Norfolk (becomes Panamanian Plaudit)
• 6140-ton Pietro Campanella in Norfolk (becomes Panamanian Equipoise)

Authorities also seize 5234-ton Italian freighter Ada O in New Orleans, which becomes Panamanian Hermes.

P-36 Hawks of the 18th Pursuit Squadron lined up at Elmendorf Field, Alaska, August 1941 (US Army Air Forces USGOV-PD).

US/Japanese Relations: The Japanese inform Ambassador Nomura that there have been reports in US newspapers about shipments of US goods to Russia. Tokyo instructs Nomura to explain to the US that shipments to Russia via Japanese coastal waters will be looked upon with disfavor. Nomura calls on Secretary of State Hull and expresses Japan's desire for peace, which Hull reciprocates. Hull, however, notes that the Japanese press has been touting a new policy of Japanese expansion in the Pacific. Nomura responds that his government knows about US oil shipments to Vladivostok and feels that this evinces a lack of sincerity on the US side.

Nomura returns to see Hull again later in the day and tells him that his government wishes the two countries' heads of state to have a summit meeting before 15 October 1941. He also asks that the US stop shipping supplies to Russia and delay a proposed Allies conference at Moscow. Hull is noncommittal but promises to tell President Roosevelt about the requests.

German/Japanese Relations: The Japanese are keeping their negotiations with the Americans secret and have been lying to the Germans about what they are doing. German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop meets with his Japanese Ambassador Oshima in Berlin and admits that the war in the USSR may last into 1942 - a very rare admission. When communicated to Tokyo, this reinforces the hotly contested decision not to invade the Soviet Union.

Canadian Military: Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King addresses 10,000 Canadian troops in Aldershot, England. He receives a mixed reception, as the soldiers are tired of waiting for action. Some boo and hiss his speech.

Soviet Military: Soviet Transcaucasus Military District is redesignated Transcaucasus Front, commanded by General Kozlov. He has four armies - 44th Army, 45th Army, 46th Army, and 47th Army - and it is given responsibility for the entire coastal region from Turkey to Tuapse.

Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku, which enters service on 23 August 1941.

Battle of the Pacific: Imperial Japanese Navy 30,000-ton aircraft carrier Shokaku departs from Yokohama on a shakedown cruise. Afterward Shokaku docks at Ariake, Tokyo and becomes the flagship of 1st Air Fleet of Carrier Division 5.

The IJN begins converting 7397-ton freighter Awata Maru into an auxiliary cruiser at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan.

The IJN begins converting 5181-ton freighter Hide Maru into an ammunition ship at Osaka Iron Works.
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Vichy French Government: Premier Petain authorizes courts to impose the death penalty for offenses deemed to be by terrorists.

Prommers at Last Night of the Proms, 23 August 1941.

British Homefront: It is Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall - the first-ever, as previously the annual event was held at the Queen's Hall at Langham Place, which was destroyed by the Luftwaffe in June 1941. Chief conductor Sir Henry Wood leads the London Symphony Orchestra through the night and gives the first-ever "Conductor's Speech."

American Homefront: "Daddy" by Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye with the Kaye Choir marks its eighth non-consecutive week at the top of the Billboard singles chart.

The Ryder Cup begins at Oakland Hills Country Club. Bobby Jones captains the Challengers and Walter Hagen is the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain. The US team defeats the British 8 1/2 to 6 1/2 on 24 August. Over 20,000 people attend. Jones wins his match against Henry Picard, 2 and 1.

Future History: Margaret Julia Leon is born in Ringwood, Hampshire, United Kingdom. As Julia Lockwood (her mother's last name), she becomes a child actress, first appearing in "Hungry Hill" (uncredited) and turns to television in the 1950s, appearing in shows such as "The Royalty" (1956-58), "Don't Tell Father" (1959), and "Birds on the Wing" (1971). Julia continues to act occasionally but mostly retired in 1976.

On 23 August 1941, an unidentified drummer during a jam session at the 'NW3 Group', a rhythm club in London. Original Publication: Picture Post - 858 - ...And This Is A Rhythm Club's Jam Session - pub. 1941 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images).

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

Tuesday 19 August 1941

German Panzer IIIs on the Eastern Front (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1975-078-27A).

Eastern Front: German General Buhle on 19 August 1941 delivers a report on an inspection tour he has made of Army Group South. As General Halder notes in the OKH war diary, Field Marshal von Rundstedt says that "Replacements urgently needed," and those that have arrived so far have been of "indifferent quality." The artillery cannot keep up with the pace of the advance because the horses that drag it are in poor shape. About 60% of the panzer force is in combat condition, which leaves little margin for error. Divisions are in varying states of readiness, with some in good shape, but some "less good" or even "poor."

In the Far North sector, Army Group Norway finally concedes that Group F of Finnish III Corps is stuck north of Ukhta (Kalevala). After a week of probing attacks, it has gotten nowhere. The Army Group shifts some of the troops to the attack on Loukhi on the Murmansk railway, which also has gotten stuck fast, and allocates a battalion to battles further north.

The Finnish 6th Division of XXXVI Corps embarks on an offensive during the early morning hours toward the Murmansk railway. It is foggy with spells of intense rain, and the main force achieves surprise and gets off to a good start. The objectives are Nurmi Lake and Nurmi Mountain, about halfway between Kayrala and Allakurtti. The main column reaches Lehtokangas by late afternoon, but the flank formations make virtually no progress. Still, it is the first movement in the area for some time, and the Germans continue to push forward with great hopefulness. They begin bringing forward a reserve regiment to reinforce the main thrust.

A soldier of the 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division in the Leningrad Oblast area, near Luga, August-Sept 1941.

In the Army Group North sector, the Soviets continue attacking the German position at Staraya Russa, but the Germans are dug in and are not being dislodged. At Novgorod, the Soviets finally are pushed out of the entire city by the end of the day after the Germans dislodge some holdouts in the eastern areas. General Hoepner's Panzer Group 4 breaks out toward the Luga Highway, which leads to Leningrad. However, a single camouflaged KV-1 tank wreaks havoc on the lead tanks and delays the advance. German 18th Army attacks Tallinn, Estonia.

In the Army Group Center sector, a German Cavalry division of the 2nd Army captures Gomel and advances through it to the east. The main problem for the Germans in this sector is poor roads. The usual Soviet attacks at Yelnya are repulsed.

In the Army Group South sector, the 11th Army crosses the Bug River with XI Corps. The Red Air Force attacks German troops in the Dneipr bend. At Dnepropetrovsk, the German attack begun by "Panzer" Meyer's small reconnaissance force holds its ground, and a Soviet counterattack with 100 tanks is beaten off, with 52 Soviet tanks destroyed. The Germans are trying to capture a bridge at Cherkasy. The Soviet Fifth Army is retreating, and the Germans fear they may escape from the trap they are trying to spring between General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 heading down from the north and General von Kleist's Panzer Group 4 driving north to meet it. Soviet Rear Admiral G.V. Zhukov (no relation to Red Army General Georgy) takes command of the Soviet defense of Odesa.

Still from the above brief film of an SS man near Luga in the Army Group North sector, ca. 19 August 1941.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends 18 Blenheim bombers on Circus missions to Gosnay and Hazebrouck. However, the bombers sent to Gosnay turn back, so only Hazebrouck is bombed. The British lose three bombers on these missions. Another two Fortresses are sent to attack Dusseldorf, but they turn back as well.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command mounts only one major attack instead of the two or three that was the standard recently. Tonight's target is Kiel, and the RAF puts 108 bombers (54 Wellingtons, 41 Hampdens, 7 Stirlings, and 6 Halifax bombers to attack railway targets. However, the weather is poor for flying, with clouds and icing conditions, and it is raining heavily over Kiel. Only 67 bombers even claim to attack the target. The British lose 3 Wellingtons and a Hampden. Damage to Kiel is barely noticed by the Germans, with no casualties and the only damage due to anti-aircraft fire returning to earth and some incendiaries that land on a swimming facility. Some of the bombers are off course and hit the airfield at Holtenau, north of Kiel, rather than the target.

The RAF also sends minor operations to Le Havre (6 Wellingtons and 3 Whitleys) and to do minelaying in the Frisian Islands (3 Hampdens). There are no losses in these minor missions.

A USAAF P-40 Warhawk crashes at Reykjavik, Iceland, killing pilot Lt. George Meeks, when he flies into a radio mast while landing and drops into the sea. He is the first US soldier to perish in Iceland. A new airfield being built at Keflavík is named "Meeks Field" in his honor before being renamed simply Keflavik Field.

Sturmgeschutz III and a column of Wehrmacht soldiers on the march in Soviet territory.1941.

Battle of the Baltic: German torpedo boat S-58 sinks 210-ton Soviet minesweeper T-51 "Pirmunas" near the south entrance to Moon Sound. Some sources say the name of this vessel is "Merikaru."

Soviet auxiliary minesweeper No. 80 is lost on this date. No reason or location is given.

According to some sources, the Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3767-ton Soviet hospital ship Sibir today at Reval, Estonia. Other sources state the sinking occurs on 14 August. There are over 400 deaths out of a complement of 2500 wounded. Whichever date it is, as mentioned in the entry for that date, it constitutes a war crime.

Soviet submarine M-121 is launched.

The New York newspapers on 19 August 1941 are full of news of freighter Panuco, which bursts into flame at its berth at the foot of Warren Street in Brooklyn. Tugs manage to pull the blazing ship away from the pier, but the sheds on the pier already are alight. Panuco is dragged aground on the Red Hook Flats and allowed to burn itself out. There are dozens of casualties from the fire.

Battle of the Atlantic: In Operation Gauntlet, a joint Anglo/Canadian/Norwegian expedition (Force K) arrives at Spitzbergen on August 19 to evacuate Norwegian and Russian mining communities. To prevent the Germans from using the coal mines on Spitzbergen, the British dynamite them. The operation lasts until 3 September. The Germans have considered, but rejected, invading Spitzbergen, but the British do not know this.

Allied troops landing on Spitzbergen, ca. 19 August 1941. The cargo on the dock represents the personal belongings of the inhabitants of the island who are being evacuated.

The Kriegsmarine has had multiple sightings of Convoy OG-71 which have enabled it to assemble a U-boat wolf pack in its path (these include Luftwaffe sightings and sightings by both U-106 and U-201). OG-71 is heading south to Gibraltar. Today the German preparation pays off with multiple sinkings southwest of Ireland:

• U-204 (Kptlt. Walter Kell) sinks 1060-ton Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Bath (43 survivors, 89 deaths, two of the 42 survivors also later pass away from wounds)
• U-201 (ObltzS Adalbert Schnee) sinks 3255-ton British liner Aguila (157 dead).
• U-201 sinks 1809-ton Ciscar (13 deaths, 35 survivors)
• U-559 (ObltzS Heidtmann) sinks 1584-ton British freighter Alva (one death).

The crew of Alva is picked up by Royal Navy corvette HMS Campanula. Norwegian destroyer Bath is the former US destroyer USS Hopewell (DD-181) and it sinks in three minutes. Bath's sinking is quick because two depth charges explode as the vessel sinks, blowing off its stern.

U-201 at sea. Note the victory pennants. U-201 gets credit for sinking two ships in Convoy OG-71 on 19 August 1941.

As usual with convoy battles, the fighting is confused, and different U-boat captains think they have sunk ships actually sunk by another U-boat. U-559, for instance, claims to sink another ship and damage another, but there is no confirmation of this. U-201 also claims to sink another ship, with no confirmation.

Fifteen survivors of Alva are picked up by 1203-ton British freighter Clonlara which itself is sunk on 22 August, and the 15 Alva survivors all perish. Six or seven other Alva survivors are picked up by tug Empire Oak and five by destroyer Boreas, but Empire Oak also is sunk later on the 22 August, killing the Alva crew that it picked up. There are similar stories for other ships - simply getting plucked out of the water by another ship does not guarantee that you ever will see land again. Some survivors are on three or even four ships before they make port.

U-559, which gets credit for sinking British freighter Alva on 19 August 1941.

Royal Navy submarine Trident (Cmdr. Sladen) uses its deck gun to attack 4770-ton German freighter off the Norwegian Arctic coast. Levante escapes and makes it back to port.

Italian submarine Tazzoli (Commander Fecia di Cossato) torpedoes and sinks 7313-ton Norwegian tanker Sildra south of Freetown. Everyone survives.

British 101-ton motor barge Golden Grain hits a mine and sinks a few miles east of Foulness Island. All three aboard perish.

Three survivors of 2727-ton British freighter Cathrine, sunk by U-43 (Kptlt. Luth) on 17 June, are picked up by trawler Boras in the North Atlantic convoy route. The other 24 men on board are never found.

Royal Navy destroyer Avon Vale intercepts Portuguese trawler Maria Leonor off Cape Juby and takes off survivors of British tanker Horn Shell, sunk on 26 July.

Convoy OG-72 departs from Liverpool.

Canadian corvette HMCS Sorel (Lt. John W. Dowling) is commissioned.

U-87 (Oberleutnant zur See Joachim Berger) is commissioned, U-509 is launched.

A captured Soviet 76 mm F-22 gun (FK.296(r) in German nomenclature). These guns are captured in large quantities in 1941. The Germans put them to use as anti-tank guns and also slap them on obsolete Panzer II chassis to create the tank destroyer known as the Marder II. The first proposals to create the Marder II in this fashion are made in August 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian troops in Tobruk with the Polish Carpathian Brigade, moves into high gear today. The timing is based upon the phases of the moon, as the British wish to avoid casualties by the Luftwaffe as much as possible. Tonight, Royal Navy destroyers HMS Hasty, Jervis, and Kimberley depart Alexandria with a large force of the Polish troops. The operation is covered by the cruisers of the 7th and 15th Cruiser Squadron.

The Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 Stukas) bombs and sinks Royal Navy whaler HMT Thorbryn off Tobruk. There are eight deaths, while 18 crew are taken as prisoners. Thorbryn is towing two lighters, one of which sinks (LCT-12, killing the skipper) and the other of which drifts ashore in an area of German control (skipper is taken as a prisoner). Overall, taking the three ships as a whole, 9 out of 29 men perish.

Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch (Lt Cdr Greenway) attacks an Italian freighter (the Cadamosto) just outside of Benghazi harbor but misses.

Royal Navy submarine Unbeaten (Lt Woodward) unsuccessfully attacks an Italian convoy about 15 miles north of Pantelleria.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues. Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta escorts transport Kevinbank to Famagusta.

Italian minelayers Aspromonte and Reggio lay minefield SN-43 in the Sicilian Strait.

An Italian convoy departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.

At Malta, RAF Hurricanes shoot down three Macchi 200 fighters after they patrol near Grand Harbour in the morning. In the evening, five Italian bombers drop incendiary bombs on Zeitun, killing 2 and wounding five without loss to themselves.

A group of young girls from public playgrounds of New Orleans about to take off for Camp Bena Lea near Covington, August 19, 1941. This is part of the popular WPA Recreation Project (Children of the WPA).

Battle of the Black Sea: The Soviet 2nd Destroyer Division attacks a German/Romanian convoy near Odesa, Ukraine. The destroyers fire over 450 shells but apparently cause little damage.

The Soviets scuttle river monitor Vidista at Kyiv to avoid capture.

Soviet submarine M-33 (Lt Surov) unsuccessfully attacks Romanian submarine Delfinul off Constanza, Romania.

Soviet submarine L-4 (Lt Cdr Polyakov) lays 20 mines off Cape Olinka, Romania.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Komet has been operating off the Galapagos Islands recently. Today, it scores its third success in the area, sinking 9036-ton British freighter Devon about 200 miles southwest of the islands. The entire crew of Devon survives and board Komet as prisoners.

Reza Shah Pahlavi hands second son Ali Reza his commission as an officer at graduation exercises at Iran's "West Point" in Tehran, 19 August 1941 (AP).

War Crimes:  The Soviets have been evacuating isolated positions in Estonia via ship, and this has led to some tragedies. Today is another one, as the Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3767-ton Soviet hospital ships Sibir in the Gulf of Finland. There are about 400 people on the ship who perish. By international law, sinking a hospital ship is a war crime, and the ships are clearly marked. On the Eastern Front, however, the Germans, in particular, have openly renounced the norms of warfare.

Partisans: The Germans execute Szmul Tyszelman and Henri Gautherot at the Vallée-aux-Loups in Châtenay-Malabry, Hauts-de-Seine. Tyszelman and Gautherot were among a group of about 100 demonstrators who staged a protest on 13 August 1941 at the Strasbourg – Saint-Denis metro station in Paris. The protest featured the group singing "La Marseillaise" and carrying the tricolor flag. This incident induced the German occupation authorities in France to ban the French Communist Party, and this, in turn, induces the communists to arm themselves and kill German soldiers. The entire situation escalates quickly, and by the end of August the Germans are executing numerous hostages and the resistance fighters are assassinating Germans.

US Military: The US Marine 1st Defense Battalion sets up a permanent military garrison on Wake Island with 449 recently arrived soldiers.

British artist Albert Perry at work with some of his pupils during their daily one-hour gas mask practice, August 19, 1941. (Fox Photos/Getty Images).

German Government: German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels recounts in his diary a discussion that he has with the Fuhrer:

We talked about the Jewish problem. The Führer is convinced that his earlier prophecy in the Reichstag is proving correct, that if the Jews succeed again in provoking another world war it would end with the annihilation of the Jews. This is being proved in these weeks and months with an apparently eerie certainty. In the East, the Jews must pay for this.

The Germans are still trying to figure out the most efficient way to exterminate large groups of people. At the moment, the usual method on the Eastern Front is to march people out of town to pits and shoot them. However, this is having a poor effect on German troop morale, so other methods are being tried.

Hitler later has dinner with his cronies and justifies his orders that can send thousands of men to their deaths:

If I am reproached with having sacrificed a hundred or two thousand men by reason of the war, I can answer that, thanks to what I have done, the German nation has gained, up to the present, more than two million five hundred thousand human beings. If l demand a tenth of this as a sacrifice, nevertheless I have given 90percent. I hope that in ten years there will be from ten to fifteen millions more of us Germans in the world. Whether they are men or women, it matters little: I am creating conditions favorable to growth.

He predicts that Ukraine and the Volga region will become the "granaries of Europe," England, he implies, will wither away on the fringes of humanity because "It is not tolerable that the life of the peoples of the Continent should depend upon England." Naturally, the United States and the Americas do not even enter the equation because, in Hitler's worldview, they simply don't count.

Captured female Soviet soldiers stand in front of a German light artillery tractor Kfz.69 "Krupp Protze" somewhere in Ukraine. 19 August 1941. Female soldiers are a great curiosity to the Germans, as they have virtually no females nearby.

Holocaust: Einsatzkommando 8, in conjunction with local collaborators, executes 3000+ Jews in Mogilev, Belorussia.

At Kiselin, Ukraine, 48 Jews are executed on the outskirts of town with the assistance of Ukrainian police.

American Homefront: Pittsburgh Pirates manager Frankie Frisch goes on the field at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field during the second game of a doubleheader (the Pirates lost the first game) because he feels it is too rainy to continue. To make his point, he carries onto the field an umbrella and opens it upright in front of the three umpires. Everyone in the stadium bursts into laughter and Head Umpire Jocko Conlan immediately ejects Frisch from the game. As he heads back to the locker room, Frisch turns and says, "Can’t a guy have any fun anymore?" Norman Rockwell uses the incident years later as an inspiration for his famous cover, "Bottom of the Sixth."

Norman Rockwell's famous painting based upon the 19 August 1941 incident at Ebbets Field involving Pirates manager Frankie Frisch. Strangely, however, it does not feature an umbrella. It is used on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post edition of 23 April 1949.

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

Sunday 8 June 1941

U-123 and U-201 at Lorient, 8 June 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 101II-MW-4260-37)

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: After some initial covert operations late on the 7th, Operation Exporter, the British invasion of Syria and Lebanon, begins in earnest at 02:00 on 8 June 1941. The British, directed by General Henry Maitland Wilson in Jerusalem, believe that French morale in Syria is collapsing based on reports from defectors, so they plan on a very short campaign with little resistance. In fact, the British are so confident that they have scheduled an offensive on the Libyan frontier which now is scheduled to begin on 15 June. In a grand strategic sense, the British campaign is defensive in nature, designed to protect their flank in the eastern Mediterranean and prevent future Axis adventurism further east in oil-rich Iraq.

While the British are confident, in fact, the Vichy French under General Dentz greatly outnumber the attacking British (all figures here are given differently in different sources, but everyone agrees that the Vichy French have more men). Dentz commands 45,000 men organized in 18 regular battalions that have 120 guns, 90 tanks, and about 100 aircraft. The British force comprises about 35,000 troops (18,000 Australians, 2000 Indian troops, 9,000 British troops, and around 6,000 French). The RAF has a large collection of aircraft available in Cairo, but allocate only about 70 to Operation Exporter. Both sides have modern fighters, the RAF P-40 Kittyhawks and Hawker Hurricanes, the French Dewoitine D.520 fighters, but both sides also have a motley assortment of planes from earlier eras.

The RAF (Hurricanes of No. 80 Squadron) raids the French airbase at Rayak, with the goal of the destruction of recently arrived Martin Maryland 167F bombers of French 39 Squadron, 1st Bomber Group. Australian 3rd Fighter Wing also raids Rayak with their P-40s, which confuses the French defenses because they are unfamiliar with US fighters.

Things in the air do not particularly well for the British in the air. The cutting edge French D520 fighters shoot down three Fulmar fighters of No. 803 Squadron, while the RAF claims one Potez 63 fighter. French ace Sous-Lt Pierre Le Gloan claims a Hurricane of RAF No. 208 Squadron, his 12th wartime victory and first in Syria.

The main British advantage lies in their control of the Mediterranean and the ability to blockade the Levant. The British also have a very handy jump-off point in Palestine and a massive infrastructure built up just behind the front in Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria. The recent British occupation of Iraq allows them to attack from the east as well, though that does not happen right away.

Three British columns and a Free French General Paul Legentilhomme) commands 6000 men) columns set out. Things begin to go wrong early when 420 men of the Scottish No. 11 Commando unit from Cyprus is unable to land due to rough seas at the mouth of the Litani River to capture key bridges and block reinforcements. The troopship, HMT Glengyle, returns to Port Said along with its escorts, with orders to try again on the 9th.

The Royal Navy assembles light cruisers HMS Ajax and Phoebe, and destroyers Jackal, Janus, Kandahar, and Kimberley, off the Syrian coast. Kandahar is assigned to bombard a French shore battery. Late in the day, Vichy French destroyers Guépard and Valmy sail from Beirut to bombard the Australians advancing along the coast on the 9th.

However, the war on land is unaffected by the weather. There are four lines of advance. The 5th Indian Brigade (Brigadier Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd) has the most success on the first day, advancing on the eastern front toward Quneitra and Deraa.

A British truck pulls an anti-aircraft gun across a duty track into Syria, June 1941.

On the vital coast road, which offers the greatest potential tactical profit and the shortest and quickest way to isolate the French, the 7th Australian Division under Major-General John Lavarack advances from Palestine from Haifa toward Beirut. The division notices how little notice the world is taking of its fighting and takes to calling itself the "silent seventh."

In the center of the front, the Australian 25th Brigade attacks toward the large Vichy French airbase at Rayak.

The fourth axis of advance is planned from the east, comprised of British forces in Iraq (Iraq Command). The 10th Indian Infantry Division is to advance northwest along the Euphrates River from Haditha in Iraq toward Deir ez Zor. The plan is for it to advance toward the French airfield at Aleppo and also Raqqa. This would open the road to Beirut. Habforce, which recently advanced east from Palestine to occupy Baghdad, is to advance toward Palmyra and secure the oil pipeline from Haditha to Tripoli.

Moshe Dayan, who led his company of the Palmach of the Haganah across the border late on the 7th, is looking through his binoculars early in the morning when they are hit by a bullet. He suffers an injury to his left eye. Dayan loses his eye and almost his life, and for the rest of his life must wear an eye patch that becomes his trademark.

The Free French under Charles De Gaulle attempt to turn the people of Syria and Lebanon against the Vichy colonial government by promising full independence.

Ack-Ack girls in London working on a predictor, 8 June 1941.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 360 planes to attack targets in Germany during the day. After dark, it sends 37 bombers against Dortmund. This is the largest British bomber effort of the war to date and a bad omen for the Reich.

East African Campaign: The British at Aden are preparing for a landing at Assab, the last Italian-held port on the Red Sea. This will be Operation Chronometer. It is scheduled for 10 June.

At 04.42 hours on 8 June 1941, the Adda (Master John Tate Marshall), the ship of the convoy commodore from the dispersed convoy OB-323, was hit aft by a G7a torpedo from U-107 and sank slowly 82 miles west-southwest of Freetown. The commodore (W.H. Kelly, CBE DSO RNR RD), seven crew members and two passengers were lost. The master, 141 crew members, four gunners, five naval staff members, and 264 passengers were picked up by HMS Cyclamen.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler), on its lengthy second patrol and operating about 82 nautical miles west of Freetown, is shadowing Convoy OB-323. It torpedoes and sinks 7816-ton British liner Adda. There are 10 deaths. The 415 survivors are picked up by corvette HMS Cyclamen.

U-108 (Kptlt. Klaus Scholtz), on its third patrol out of Lorient, is operating about 600 nautical miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland as part of Wolfpack West. It torpedoes and sinks:

• 7628-ton British freighter Baron Nairn
• 4240-ton Greek freighter Dirphys

There is one death on Baron Nairn (18 survivors) and six deaths on the Dirphys (19 survivors).

U-103 (Viktor Schütze), on its extended 4th patrol and operating in the vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands, torpedoes and sinks 4853-ton British freighter Elmdene. All 36 onboard survive, picked up by US freighter Carlton.

U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass), operating with Wolfpack West in the mid-Atlantic, fires two torpedoes at 6207-ton British tanker Ensis, which is traveling as an independent. Both hit, but one fails to explode, merely denting the hull. The Ensis turns and rams U-46, damaging its conning tower and periscope. This causes Endrass to abort its patrol and head back to port. Ensis, due to its compartmentalized construction, remains afloat and under power. It proceeds slowly to St. John's, arriving on 15 June, and then proceeds to Halifax for permanent repairs.

Tanker Ensis, damaged on 8 June 1941 by U-46 (Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart).

U-46 also torpedoes and sinks 5270-ton British freighter Trevarrack in the same engagement. There are no survivors.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), operating in the mid-Atlantic with Wolfpack West on its 12th patrol, torpedoes and sinks 10,746-ton Dutch tanker Pendrecht. Everyone survives on the Pendrecht, which has been dispersed from Convoy OB-329.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lieb), on its extended 8th patrol out of Lorient and operating midway between Brazil and Africa just north of the Equator, torpedoes and sinks 7628-ton British freighter Kingston Hill. Some sources state this happens on the 7th. There are 14 deaths and 48 survivors.

U-69 (Kapitän-Leutnant Jost Metzler) arrives back at its base at St. Nazaire, successfully dodging an attacking RAF Short Sunderland. The U-boat has spent 65 days at sea, twice the normal patrol time, a feat entirely due to the Kriegsmarine's overseas supply network. The patrol is significant because it proves that a Type VIIC U-boat can operate at great distances (U-69 covered 7680 nautical miles) and engage in multiple missions (U-69 successfully laid mines along the African coast and sank at least seven vessels). Other U-boats on even lengthier patrols remain at sea.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 97-ton Royal Navy drifter Cor Jesu off Almouth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 174-ton British trawler Remagio just north of Bamburgh. The master beaches the Remagio, and the crew abandons it. The Remagio later is refloated and repaired at Holy Island.

British 202-ton trawler Hopton hits a British mine and sinks off Iceland. There are 11 deaths. The incident apparently results from the port guide, the master of local trawler Hondo, mistakenly navigating through a prohibited area. He is suspended.

Convoy OB.331 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OB.332 also departs from Liverpool.

Baron Nairn (Master John Kerr), sunk by U-108 on 8 June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Walter Neumann-Silkow is appointed commander of the 15th Panzer Division. He has primary responsibility for the Egyptian frontier, though General Erwin Rommel keeps a very close eye on things there.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Clyde fires on an Italian destroyer off Naples but misses. Later in the day, though, the Clyde surfaces and uses its deck gun to sink 1196 ton Italian freighter Sturla about five miles (8 km) off Policastro.

In a daring operation, Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku lands some men at Benghazi Harbor. They manage to damage a freighter in the harbor, then return safely for pickup.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Parthian enters Mitylene Harbor and sinks two schooners and a lighter, apparently with its deck gun.

Invasion fears continue on Malta. Governor Dobbie issues an alert to the island's inhabitants over the island's Rediffusion radio service, saying in part:

Malta is better able to resist attack than Crete.... circumstances justify quiet confidence.... [T]he Government and fighting services are doing their utmost to see that Malta gives a good account of itself.

British troops have been laying defensive mines on Malta, and today they claim two victims - both island locals. One (14 years old) is killed, and the other (56) is badly wounded in her legs.

Convoy SL-77 departs from Freetown, bound for Liverpool.

German  Military: OKW clarifies that its Commissar Order of 6 June means that Soviet political commissars are to be shot - which really is obvious from the text of the original order, but the High Command wants to be certain that everyone "gets the message."

The Wehrmacht sends troops to Finland for contemplated operations in the far North aimed at Murmansk.

Freighter Kingston Hill, sunk by U-38 on 8 June 1941.

US Military: Mickey Rooney, Red Skelton, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Phil Silver, Chico Marx, Jane Withers, and others put on the very first Hollywood Camp Show for soldiers at the "Soldier Bowl" held at Camp Roberts in California.

A US Army Air Corps plane, a Douglas OA-46A observation plane, crashes in Panama on a training flight. Three US servicemen perish.

Egyptian Homefront: The government begins evacuating 40,000 civilians from Alexandria following a heavy Luftwaffe raid on the 7th.

American Homefront: Virginia Senator Harry Flood Byrd Sr. reports that there are currently 67 strikes in the defense industry. The most prominent is at North American in Los Angeles.

Joe DiMaggio hits safely in his 24th game in a row at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri. He plays a doubleheader and hits safely in both ends. He is 4-8 in the doubleheader (2-4 in each game), including a home run, raising his season average to .340.

In Chicago, meanwhile, Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams gets four walks in a doubleheader but fails to get any hits. This ends his own hitting streak at 23 games, which, it turns out, is the longest of his entire legendary career.

"The bows of HMS SUFFOLK cut a parallel path to the edge of the ice." June 1941 in the Denmark Strait (Lt. RGG Coote, © IWM (A 4191)).

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