Sunday 22 June 1941

German troops of Army Group South cross the Bug River on 22 June 1941.

Eastern Front: As Adolf Hitler has planned since July 1940, the Reich invades the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. The attack is made without a declaration of war and proceeds along a 2000-mile (2900 km) front. It is one of the greatest miscalculations in history.

The Wehrmacht has sent sappers and saboteurs across the border after dark on the 21st, and they work through the night securing bridges across key waterways and neutralizing border fortifications. These advance groups secure every single bridge across the 500-mile length of the Bug River that divides the two sides.

At about 01:00, the Soviet Stavka notifies Soviet military districts along the border to "bring all forces to combat readiness" but to "avoid any provocative actions" (NKO Directive No. 1). Very few units even receive the directive before hostilities begin, much less implement it. The directive suggests that Stalin, at last, has begun to believe the massive amount of intelligence suggesting that Germany has been preparing an invasion - but much too late.

The Luftwaffe has planes in the air as the day begins, and at around 03:15 they begin bombing Soviet-occupied cities in Poland and further north and east. The targets include the naval base at Kronstadt, Sevastopol, and Ismail in Bessarabia.

As dawn breaks on 22 June 1941, German troops are heading east (Federal Archive).

At roughly 03:15, the Wehrmacht sets into motion roughly three million men organized into 140 division. A fierce artillery barrage breaks out to pave the way for the advance. The advance before dawn on a front that stretches from northern Finland to Romania. They are highly organized and mechanized (17 panzer divisions and 12 motorized divisions), with 3200 tanks and full artillery and air support. They face a roughly equal number of Soviet soldiers and armor in the border region, but they are disorganized, lack artillery and aerial support, and are undermined by German infiltration units.

General Zhukov telephones Premier Joseph Stalin at 03:25 to inform him of the invasion. Stalin is dismissive and refuses a request to strike back immediately, which is the standard planned response to an invasion.

The main battles of the day are the Defense of Brest Fortress, Battle of Hanko and Battle of Białystok–Minsk.

The Soviets have about 230 divisions in the border area. However, Soviet divisions are only roughly half the size of German division (depending upon how degraded the German divisions are from combat), so numbers alone do not tell the whole story.

The German general plan for the invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. The main weight is to the north of the front, though Adolf Hitler feels the most important acquisitions are to be made in the south.

There are four main lines of advance:

1. The Far North, attacking from Petsamo, Finland toward Murmansk.
2. Army Group North, pointing toward Leningrad
3. Army Group Center, pointing toward Moscow
4. Army Group South, pointing toward Kiev

Soviet Chief of Staff Georgy Zhukov travels to the headquarters of General Kirponos' Southwest Front to coordinate a defense. Zhukov quickly sees that pre-war plans for an immediate counteroffensive into German-occupied Poland and occupation of German territory are impossible.

German headquarters troops head east, 22 June 1941.

German soldiers advancing past the Soviet state border marker, 22 June 1941.

During the night, Vichy French destroyer Guépard sorties from Beirut Harbor. It engages two Royal Navy cruisers and six destroyers off the Syrian coast. With the odds stacked against it, the French ship quickly retreats to Beirut after taking one 6-inch shell from HMS Leander. The RAF raids Beirut Harbor during the day and damages Vichy French destroyer Vauquelin.

The Vichy French forces that evacuated Damascus on the 21st make their way west to Beirut. Habforce continues advancing and takes the Vichy French airfield at Palmyra. However, the French counterattack and retake the airfield, forcing Habforce back into Iraq.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 17 aircraft on anti-shipping missions. It also sends a Circus mission on the rail-yards at Hazebrouck. Blenheim IV bombers from 2 (B) Group are escorted by 16 fighter squadrons. After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 70 aircraft to attack Bremen and 27 aircraft to attack Wilhelmshaven.

German troops rush across a captured bridge, 22 June 1941.

Battle of the Baltic: Heretofore a quiet German lake, the Baltic Sea becomes a contested battle zone as the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe join in the attacks on the Soviet Union.

German S-28 torpedoes and sinks Estonian freighter Estonia.

German S-59 and S-60 combine to torpedo and sinks Lithuanian freighter Gaisma.

German S-31 uses its deck guns to sink Estonian freighter Litsa.

German S-31 torpedoes and sinks Soviet freighter Shuka off Liepāja.

German S-44 torpedoes and sinks Soviet patrol boat MO-238 off Hanko.

Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 aircraft of 806 Küstenfliegergruppe bombs and sinks Soviet freighter Luga off Kronstadt.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Soviet tugboat Perkunas.

Estonian freighter Ruhno hits a mine and sinks off Kronstadt.

German troops advancing, 22 June 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-77 (Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Schonder), on its first patrol out of Kiel, torpedoes and sinks (2379-ton British weather ship Arakaka about 450 nautical miles (520 miles, 830 km) east of St. John's. There are 45 deaths.

U-141 (Oblt.z.S. Philip Schüler), on its second patrol about 100 nautical miles (190 km, 120 miles) torpedoes and sinks 1277-ton Swedish freighter Calabria. There are three deaths and 21 survivors.

German raider Atlantis, disguised as Dutch freighter Brastagi, stops and sinks 5372-ton British freighter Balzac hundreds of miles east of Salvador, Brazil and west of Africa. There are three deaths, and the Atlantis takes 45 crew prisoner.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy transport HMT Beech at Scrabster, Caithness. There is one death.

U-48 completes its patrol career, returning to Kiel.

U-467 is laid down.

A reconnaissance Ju 88 D bomber of the 3/F, 22, June 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Union torpedoes and sinks 1004-ton Italian freighter Pietro Querini south of Pantelleria.

The Royal Navy mounts some supply missions to Tobruk, sending 758-ton British tanker Pass of Balmaha and 951-ton Greek store ship Antiliklia, both with a heavy escort. However, the Luftwaffe is dominating the skies and forces the Antiklia to take refuge in Mersa Matruh.

At Malta, a Bristol Blenheim bomber making an attack on an Axis convoy suffers severe damage. The pilot is badly wounded, so the observer, Sergeant JS Sargent, takes control and manages to get the plane back to Malta despite having no flying training.

Soviet searchlights illuminate the sky over Moscow, 22 June 1941. However, there are no Luftwaffe attacks - yet.

German/Soviet Relations: German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop calls Soviet Ambassador Dekanozov to the Foreign Ministry at the Wilhelmstrasse. Once Dekanozov is there, Ribbentrop reads him a long-winded tirade accusing the Soviets of numerous offenses, and then sums up with a terse declaration of war. Ribbentrop then dismisses the Soviet ambassador.

In the morning, Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels announces the invasion. He later quotes Hitler as saying:

At this moment a march is taking place that, for its extent, compares with the greatest the world has ever seen. I have decided today to place the fate and future of the Reich and our people in the hands of our soldiers. May God aid us, especially in this fight!

On the Soviet side, Stalin does not make any appearances either in person or over the radio on the 22nd. Instead, Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov makes a radio broadcast around noontime:

Without a declaration of war, German forces fell on our country, attacked our frontiers in many places ... The Red Army and the whole nation will wage a victorious Patriotic War for our beloved country, for honor, for liberty ... Our cause is just. The enemy will be beaten. Victory will be ours!

After having gotten a few hours of sleep after staying up much of the night following the advance of the invasion, Hitler addresses the Reichstag. Giving a characteristically distorted account of the events leading up to the invasion ("For weeks constant [Soviet] violations of this frontier have taken place"), Hitler casts the battle as one for the preservation of Europe:

German and Rumanian soldiers are united under Chief of State Antonescu from the banks of the Pruth along the lower reaches of the Danube to the shores of the Black Sea. The task of this front, therefore, no longer is the protection of single countries, but the safeguarding of Europe and thereby the salvation of all.

Italy and Romania also declare war, while Hungary and Slovakia break relations with the USSR. Hungary's leader Admiral Horthy prefers to wait until the invasion proves itself before declaring war.  So, he and his staff leave word that they have "gone fishing" (nobody is actually going fishing on such an eventful day). Finland does not declare war despite the fact that Wehrmacht troops are operating from its soil against the Soviet Union, the first of many lukewarm Finnish contributions to the invasion.

The Soviet NKVD orders all German embassy personnel, including Ambassador Schulenberg, to assemble in the embassy chancellery. This is standard practice in such situations, as much for the safety of embassy personnel as anything else, but it has an element of foreboding. Nobody is harmed. Schulenberg already has taken the precaution of sending his dog back home to Germany.

Smoke rising over Kovno from German shelling, June 22-25, 1941. Credit: George Kadish, photographer, Beit Hatefutsoth, Israel.

German/Spanish Relations: Spanish Foreign Minister Serrano Suner telephones to inform Foreign Minister Ribbentrop that Spain would be happy to contribute a volunteer division - the "Blue" Division - for operations against the Soviet Union.

Anglo/Soviet Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast in which he pledges all aid to the Soviet Union that Great Britain can provide:

Any man or State who fights against [Hitler] will have our aid. ... It follows, therefore, that we shall give whatever help we can to Russia and to the Russian people.

He also calls Hitler "this bloodthirsty guttersnipe" and, countering Hitler's pose as a defender of Europe from communism, states that Hitler's regime "is indistinguishable from the worst features of communism."

British Ambassador Sir Stafford Cripps is in Moscow and is able to coordinate the early stages of an alliance. Soviet Ambassador Maisky meets with Foreign Secretary Eden in London.

Soviet Military: The Stavka issues a general mobilization and proclaims martial law.

New York Times, 22 June 1941.

German Military: The Wehrmacht issues a communique. Somewhat surprisingly, it focuses mainly on the western front, most likely because it does not want to give any useful information about Operation Barbarossa to the enemy.

Since the early morning hours of today, we have been engaged in hostilities along the Soviet Russian border. An attempt by enemy aircraft to fly into East Prussia, has been repelled with heavy losses. German fighter planes shot down large number of Red bombers. In the struggle against the British Isles, powerful German aerial formations bombed the harbour installations of Southampton last night. Extensive fires broke out in the docks, warehouses and food manufacturing works. Further air attacks were aimed at airfields in northern Scotland and the Midlands. A large British freight vessel was severely damaged by bombs north of Sunderland. Yesterday afternoon a small number of British bombers with powerful fighter cover flew against the French Channel coast. German fighter planes shot down 26 British aircraft in violent dogfights. German flak and naval artillery brought down two more enemy aircraft. [German ace] Lt. Col. Galland won three air victories in these struggles.

As usual, the Wehrmacht's figures are exaggerated, though the three victories cited for ace Adolf Galland are accurate. As if anybody needed a reminder, though, this emphasizes that the Reich is now in a two-front war.

A captured Red Army officer in Przemysl, on or about 22 June 1941.

Finish Military: Finland has mobilized its entire military and is busy stationing units along the Soviet border. It is planning attacks toward Leningrad and the Svir River. Finnish ships continue laying mines in the Gulf of Finland. An infantry regiment and a light artillery battalion occupy the demilitarized Ahvenanmaa (Aland) islands in the Baltic Sea.

Finnish commandos, wearing civilian clothing, fly across the border in Luftwaffe Heinkel He 115s to see if they can cut off the Stalin canal. However, it is too heavily guarded, and the men return on foot back toward Finland. On the way, they cut (temporarily) the Murmansk railway. While the railway is a top objective throughout the war, this is the only time the Finns manage to seriously disrupt it for any length of time. In a sense, this is the high point of the war for the Finns in their repeated attempts to block this vital artery.

US Military: US Marines embark on ships bound for Iceland. They will take over occupation duties there from the 25,000 British troops.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy William F. "Frank" Knox personally conducts a memorial ceremony, held onboard submarine USS Triton (SS 201), over the last known location of the lost submarine USS O-9.

Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, in the Bundesrat Hall of the Foreign Office in Berlin, read to the press on 22 June 1941 at 5 o'clock in the morning a note intended to justify the attack on the Soviet Union. Note the prominent picture of Hitler in the background.

German Government: After finishing his business in Berlin, Hitler boards his command train Amerika. He sets out for his new military headquarters in the pine forests of East Prussia near the town of Rastenburg - the Wolf's Lair (Wolfsschanze). Hitler chooses that name on the train because it was his own code name during the 1920s. While he would be perfectly capable of running operations from Berlin, Hitler prefers to be seen as commanding the war effort "from the front."

Soviet Government: After he comes to accept that Germany has launched a full-scale invasion, Stalin loses his nerve. He appears (according to those present) as if he cannot make decisions. Stalin spends more time talking with his internal security chief, Lavrentiy Beria, and Foreign Minister Molotov than he does with his generals. This suggests that he is more concerned for the moment about protecting his own position as leader of the Soviet Union (or whatever will be left of it after the invasion) than figuring out how to stop the Germans. This begins a lengthy period in which Stalin retreats, makes no public appearances or speeches, but retains control of the government with an iron hand using the state security apparatus.

Lithuania: In conjunction with Operation Barbarossa, a popular rebellion breaks out called the June Uprising. The rebels seek a restoration of Lithuanian independence. There are hopes that German troops will help ensure this. The Lithuanian Activist Front seizes key installations in Kaunas, including the Presidential Palace, post office, telephone and telegraph, radio station and radiophone.

Holocaust: Romanian Jews from the Dorohoi district are transported in cattle cars to concentration camps in Tirgu and Craiova.

British Homefront: Taking advantage of the dramatic news about Operation Barbarossa, the British government releases casualty figures for the war to date. It states that the British armed forces have lost 18,627 killed, with civilian casualties totaling 35,756 dead. The RAF has lost 6,326 dead, 1338 wounded, 1879 missing and 408 taken as prisoners.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio gets two hits in five at-bats against the Detroit Tigers in New York. One of his hits is a home run. This extends his hitting streak to a club-record 35 games.

Moscow citizens listening to the announcement of the German attack on the Soviet Union, 22 June 1941.

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

Thursday 12 June 1941

"Shells from HMS SHEFFIELD hitting the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4392).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australian 21st Brigade continues pushing up the key coastal road towards Sidon on 12 June 1941. The Vichy French assemble six battalions, including two French Foreign Legion, and a large group of tanks between Mount Hermon and the desert. The Vichy French also send three Tunisian battalions in the Jebel Druse sector.

The Australian 25th Brigade splits its forces, leaving a skeleton force to hold Merdjayoun (Medjayun) while sending the bulk as flank support for the 21st Brigade on the coast.

Free French troops capture Deraa, Sheikh Meskine, and Ezraa on the road to Damascus in the southwestern French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. They finally are held up Kissoué (Kiswe). During the battle to take Kiswe, General Paul Legentilhomme of the Free French is wounded and replaced by Lloyd of the Indian 5th Brigade.

The RAF torpedoes 1105-ton French tanker Adour off Syria. The tanker makes port in Turkey, which interns it.

Back in Cairo, the British are surprised at the fierce Vichy French defense of Syria and Lebanon. Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell orders the 16th British Brigade to Syria to add some force to the invasion.

Damage on Randolph Road, Dover, from bombing on 12 June 1941 (Dover).

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends a dozen bombers against coastal targets. RAF Fighter Command conducts more Rhubarb and Roadstead operations. These include RAF No. 11 Group sending 24 fighters of RAF No. 74 and 92 Squadron along with 12 fighters of No. 611 Squadron against Gravelines. As bait to draw the Luftwaffe fighters up, the RAF fighters escort three Blenheim IV bombers from No. 2 Group.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 91 aircraft to attack Soerst, 84 to bomb Schwerte, 61 to attack Osnabruck, 82 to bomb Hamm and 18 to bomb Huls. The German civil defense authorities finally begin to realize the scale of the threat and warn people to seek shelter during raids.

The Luftwaffe has most of its assets in the East. Before dawn, they send one Heinkel He 111 of 1,/KG 28 to bomb Birmingham. The Luftwaffe also raids Dover, killing 16 people.

Hauptmann Herbert Nebenfuhr takes over as Gruppenkommandeur of Erg. Gruppe./JG 27 from Hptm. Erich Gerlitz.

"One of the lifeboats from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME, full of prisoners, comes alongside the SHEFFIELD." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4402).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy continues its sweep of the Atlantic Ocean for German supply ships. Cruiser HMS Sheffield finds 10,397-ton German tanker Friederich Breme and sinks it. There are 88 German survivors (two of 12 wounded crew later die as well). Eliminating these supply vessels intended to support (now sunk) battleship Bismarck has the benefit of crimping U-boat operations.

German heavy cruiser Lützow passes out of the Skagerrak on her way to Norway and a later breakout to the North Atlantic. This is Unternehmen Sommerreise (Operation Summer Trip).

The Royal Navy is keeping a close eye on Lutzow's progress and sends battleship King George V and light cruisers Arethusa and Aurora to reinforce the Northern Patrol. Just before midnight, the British Ultra service decodes German messages indicating where the German ships are. To intercept them, the RAF launches five Bristol Beaufort Mk I torpedo bombers of No. 22 Squadron from Wick and nine Beaufort Mk I machines of No. 42 Squadron from Leuchars in Scotland. Just after midnight on the 13th, a Bristol Blenheim of RAF No. 114 spots the German ships and reports their position.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol and operating Lorient and operating north of the Azores, at 02:51 torpedoes and sinks 7005-ton British Empire Dew. There are 23 deaths. The 19-20 survivors, including the master, are picked up on the 13th by destroyer KNM St. Albans.

This is U-48's final victory of the war. After this, it will return to Kiel and become a training vessel. During its career, it has sunk 51 ships for a total of 306,875 tons, plus one warship of 1060 tons and three ships damaged totaling 20,480 tons.

U-371 (Kptlt. Heinrich Driver), on its first patrol out of Kiel and operating south of Iceland, at 03:26 torpedoes and sinks 6373-ton British freighter Silverpalm (the identity of the ship is assumed from British records but officially is undetermined). In any event, everybody on the Silverpalm perishes - 68 people - and a lifeboat containing 8 bodies is found on 15 July.

U-552 (K.Kapt. Erich Topp), on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire and operating 370 nautical miles (690 km) northeast of the Azores (south of Ireland), at 04:14 torpedoes and sinks independent 8593-ton British freighter Chinese Prince south of Rockall. There are 45 deaths, while 19 survivors (including the master) are picked up by Royal Navy corvettes Arbutus and Pimpernel.

"The German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME on fire after gunfire from HMS SHEFFIELD." © IWM (A 4399).

U-553 (Kptlt. Karl Thurmann), on its second patrol out of St. Nazaire and operating north of the Azores, stalks Convoy OG-64 and sinks two ships in quick succession:

• 5590-ton Norwegian tanker Ranella (sinks in 90 seconds)
• 2355-ton British freighter Susan Maersk (breaks in half)

The U-boat surfaces and uses its deck gun to finishes off the Ranella at 17:06. Everybody on the Ranella survives, though the Ranella's crew has to endure 12 days at sea in two separate lifeboats before making landfall at Figueira da Foz, Azores. All 24 on the Susan Maersk perish.

U-557 (KrvKpt. Ottokar Arnold Paulssen), on its first patrol and operating with Wolfpack West south of Iceland, is spotted by Royal Navy ships off St. John's, Newfoundland and attacked. The U-boat survives without damage.

Royal Navy auxiliary minesweeper HMT Sisapon hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Harwich, Essex.

Royal Navy escort ship HMS Sennen, a former US coast guard ship, collides with 88-ton drifter Animate in the Clyde. The Sennen continues with its duties.

At 01:27, Royal Navy light cruiser Arethusa, on its way to reinforce the Northern Patrol, intercepts 6537-ton Finnish freighter Kronoborg near the Scottish coast and sends it to Kirkwall for inspection. Light cruiser Aurora, accompanying Arethusa, also stops 1831-ton Finnish freighter Rolfsborg at the same time and also sends it to Kirkwall.

Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk departs from Freetown carrying 181 German prisoners taken from sunk German supply ships Esso Hamburg (9849 tons) and Egerland (9789 tons).

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unshaken is laid down, the destroyer HMS Ulster is ordered.

US destroyers USS David W. Taylor and Capps are laid down.

U-574 (Oberleutnant zur See Dietrich Gengelbach) and U-575 (Kptlt. Günther Heydemann) are commissioned, U-135, U-581, and U-582 are launched, U-518 is laid down.

"Captain Otto Schultze, the Captain of the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME being interrogated on board HMS SHEFFIELD by Royal Marine officers." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4408).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine Torbay sinks 239-ton Italian schooner Gesù e Maria off Skiros Island.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku torpedoes and sinks Italian 1367-ton freighter Silvio Scaroni about 70 miles off Benghazi. Italian torpedo boats Pallade and Polluce attack the Taku, but it escapes undamaged.

Dutch submarine O.24 torpedoes and sinks 6660-ton Italian tanker Fianona south of Vada.

During the night, O-24 then attaches demolition charges to 143-ton Italian auxiliary patrol trawler Carloforte about 36 miles from Gorgara.

At Malta, an unusual naval action results when Royal Navy trawler HMS Jade goes out early in the morning to rescue a missing RAF pilot about 17 miles off the coast of Sicily. Two E-boats come out to confront the Jade and fire torpedoes. The torpedoes miss, and Jade opens fire, which returns fire. One man is killed on the Jade and the two E-boats take serious damage. The downed pilot, meanwhile, is never found.

The Italians send a formation over Malta from north to south and lose five fighters. The RAF loses two fighters, with one pilot killed and the other badly wounded. A third RAF fighter is damaged. Flight Commander Thomas Francis Neil of RAF No. 249 Squadron claims a Macchi MC-200 Thunderbolt fighter.
The South African Air Force conducts its first combat missions in North Africa.

"A wounded prisoner from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME being interrogated on board HMS SHEFFIELD." © IWM (A 4421).

Battle of the Pacific: US freighter Iowan runs aground on a reef a few hundred yards off Government Point, near Point Conception, California. The Iowan is towed off the reef late in June and repaired.

War Crimes: While this incident isn't intended as a war crime, it illustrates how even good intentions can go awry. At Malta, two Hawker Hurricanes are sent up to intercept enemy planes approaching the island. The fighters fire on one of the planes they find, a flying boat, in the darkness. The plane turns out to be an Italian Red Cross plane. The RAF pilots break off the attack when they realize their mistake, but it is too late - the Cant plane crashes into the sea, with unknown casualties.

This kind of incident resulting from the fog of war builds up hard feelings and leads to later incidents. The Italians, of course, don't know anything about good intentions and mistakes, they only know that the RAF shot down a Red Cross plane. Each side very much notices and keeps a score of these types of incidents.

Spy Stuff: The Japanese Vice-Consul in Hawaii, Takeo Yoshikawa (a Japanese military intelligence operative under the assumed name Tadashi Morimura), continues spying on US fleet and freighter movements in Pearl Harbor. Today, he reports that transport President Pierce has sailed for the Philippines with about 900 soldiers and 100 pilots on board.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler concludes his meetings with Romanian leader Ion Antonescu in Munich. They reach an agreement for Romania to participate in Operation Barbarossa. Hitler then prepares to return to Berlin.

Anglo/US Relations: RAF Air Marshal Arthur Harris arrives in the United States. He is head of the RAF purchasing mission.

Representatives at the St. James conference. Visible are King George VI, Polish leader Wladyslaw Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister Zaleski, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, South African High Commissioner Sidney Waterson, New Zealand Commissioner W.J. Jordan, Australian Commissioner S.M. Bruce, Canadian Commissioner Vinzent Massey, and Yugoslav minister Ivan Soubbotitch (Federal Archive Bild 183-M1023-508).

Allied Relations: An inter-allied meeting is held in London at St. James' Palace. Present are representatives of the governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the Government of Belgium, the Provisional Czechoslovak Government, the Governments of Greece, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia, and the Representatives of General de Gaulle, leader of Free Frenchmen.

Prime Minister gives a speech to the delegates, stating in part:

Hitler may turn and trample this way and that through tortured Europe. He may spread his course far and wide and carry his curse with him. He may break into Africa or into Asia. But it is here, in this island fortress, that he will have to reckon in the end. We shall strive to resist by land and sea.

The governments agree in the "St. James Agreement" on the following points:

1. That they will continue the struggle against German or Italian aggression until victory has been won and they will mutually assist each other in this struggle to the utmost of their respective capacities;
2. There can be no settled peace and prosperity so long as free peoples are coerced by violence into submission to domination by Germany or her associates or live under the threat of such coercion;
3. That the only true basis for enduring peace is the willing cooperation of the free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security; and that it is their intention to work together with other free peoples both in war and peace to this end. 

Notably absent from the conference is an American representative.

"Oblique aerial view of Exeter airfield, Devon, from the north-east. Damage caused by the severe night air raids mounted against the airfield in April and May 1941 is still apparent among the buildings of the technical site on the left, including the large pre-war civilian hangar used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. In the foreground repairs to the grass surfaces have been carried out by filling in bomb craters with rubble from bombed houses in Exeter. Aircraft, many of which belong to the Gunnery Research Unit, are dispersed around the airfield and in the adjoining fields. Boulton Paul Defiants of No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron RAF can be seen parked in the double aircraft pens constructed around the dispersal loop track (lower right), which cuts across fields and hedge boundaries of land requisitioned from nearby Treasbeare Farm." © IWM (HU 91898).

US Military: The US Navy calls up the Naval Reserve to active duty who are not in a deferred status (e.g., married).

German Military: Hitler's adjutant, Rudolf Schmundt, travels to a pine forest near Rastenburg in East Prussia. Hitler has ordered him to check to make sure that a forward military headquarters is being built for him there.

The OKW distributes the infamous "Kommissarbefehl" [Commissar order] of 6 June 1941 under the innocuous title "Guidelines for the Conduct of the Troops in Russia."

The Wehrmacht is in the final stages of assembling 130 divisions on the border with the Soviet Union. There also are allied forces in Finland and Romania preparing to take part.

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler begins a three-day conference of senior Schutzstaffel (SS) men (SS-Gruppenführer rank and higher) at Schloß Wewelsburg in Büren, Germany. The SS has been building up fighting (Waffen) forces in anticipation of Operation Barbarossa.

"German prisoners from the German tanker FRIEDERICH BREME going on board HMS SHEFFIELD." 12 June 1941. © IWM (A 4404).

Holocaust: It is Anne Frank's 12th birthday. The family now lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her father Otto has had to transfer his shares in his company, Pectacon (a wholesaler of herbs, pickling salts, and mixed spices) to a non-Jew, Johannes Kleiman. The company was then liquidated. The family still lives openly on the Merwedeplein, but Otto's income has been greatly reduced.

In the Warsaw Ghetto, 15-year-old Mary Berg writes in her diary:

The ghetto is becoming more and more crowded; there is a constant stream of new refugees. These are Jews from the provinces who have been robbed of all their possessions. Upon their arrival the scene is always the same: the guard at the gate checks the identity of the refugee, and when he finds out he is a Jew, gives him a push with the butt of his rifle as a sign that he may enter our Paradise. […] These people are ragged and barefoot, with the tragic eyes of those who are starving. Most of them are women and children. They become charges of the community, which sets them up in so-called homes. There they die sooner or later.

She concludes her entry: "The community is helpless."

Members of C Company, 2/33rd Battalion loading up a donkey with rations and ammunition to supply troops occupying a strategic position overlooking one of the mount roads to Merdjayoun [Australian War Memorial AWM 008205].

American Homefront: President Roosevelt nominates Harlan F. Stone to be the 12th Chief Justice of the United States, and also James Byrne as an associate justice. Stone will be confirmed on 28 June, and Byrne on 8 July.

In his weekly radio address, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron states that the Los Angeles Police Department has done a good job handling the recent North American Aviation Strike. He claims that the police were unable to handle the violent confrontation, requiring the presence of US Army troops to secure the plant and return it to operation pursuant to President Roosevelt's recent executive order.

Future History: Marvin Philip Aufrichtig is born in Brooklyn, New York. As Marv Albert, he becomes a broadcaster who serves for 37 years beginning in 1967 for the New York Knicks NBA team. He also becomes the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the NBA on NBC in the 1990s. As of this writing, Marv Albert continues to serve as a broadcaster for the NBA, NCAA, TNT and in other venues.

Armando Anthony Corea is born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. As Chick Corea, he becomes a legendary jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer. He continues to perform as of this writing.

Reginald Maurice Ball is born in Andover, United Kingdom. Adopting the stage name of Reg Presley, he becomes the lead singer and composer with 1960s rock and roll band The Troggs. He is best known for classics "Wild Thing" and "With A Girl Like You." Reg Presley passes away on 4 February 2013.

A nurse with a patient at Sandleford Priory, a country house at Sandleford in Berkshire. Sandleford is one of many taken over by the Joint War Organization (of the British Red Cross and Order of St John) to provide convalescent care and rehabilitation for injured servicemen, 12 June 1941.

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

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