On Borneo, the Japanese consolidate their position at Kuching. Dutch B-10s operating out of Samarinda attack Japanese shipping and sink a collier and a minesweeper. On land, the 2nd Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment continues retreating into the interior.

The Tulsa Incident continues in Rangoon. US Army Air Force Major General George Brett, the senior United States officer in Burma, has control over all Lend-Lease affairs, though the War Department intends that more for negotiating purposes than for actual control over the material goods. With the Japanese advancing into Burma, Brett is determined to divert Lend-Lease supplies from their intended destination in China to the British. He is abetted in this by British determination to seize the supplies, and Governor Reginald Dorman-Smith considers the military situation to be grave enough to seize them. U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Twitty, who actually is in charge of the Lend-Lease goods, also believes that the British need the supplies and that they cannot make it to China anyway. The British troops in Rangoon have moved all of the freighter Tulsa's cargo to a warehouse a dozen miles away from the docks even though technically they are "owned" by the Chinese. The Chinese are furious. The situation now has dragged on for over a week now and poses a growing threat to Allied relations. A Christmas day conference between representatives of the three governments turned explosive, with Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek threatening to withdraw all Chinese troops from Burma. Today, the Americans reassure Chiang Kai-shek that it is not the policy of the Americans to divert Lend-Lease goods while en route and they still are intended for China. This smooths things over for the moment, but the British remain committed to retaining the cargo.

Anglo/US Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in Washington for the Arcadia Conference, addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress. He warns that "many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us" and that the war will last at least another 18 months.

American Homefront: Lieutenant General John DeWitt, Commanding General Fourth Army and Commanding General Western Defense Command, is encountering widespread sentiment in southern California to intern all Japanese-Americans. He tells the Provost General in Washington, D.C. that the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce now supports the move. However, DeWitt personally is against the move because he considers many citizens of Japanese descent to be loyal Americans.

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

Friday 6 June 1941

"Prime Minister Sees Flying Fortresses, June 6, 1941." Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (121). LC-USZ62-49896. [Digital ID# cph 3a49988]. That would still be an impressive sight.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The British on 6 June 1941 prepare for an invasion of Syria by stationing the elite Australian 7th Division on the frontier. The Australian Official Historian makes a surprisingly candid observation:

[I]t was the first time in this war, or the one before, that British troops had hidden, like Germans, near a peaceful frontier, ready to make a surprise invasion.

Since one of the post-war claims against former Reich officials after the war is that Germany practiced "aggressive war," this is a surprising admission.

British military intelligence believes, based on statements by Vichy French defectors, that morale in Syria is low and the French will not resist. In fact, the French have positioned the 24th Colonial, 22nd Algerian and 6th French Foreign Legion Regiments along the main coast road, supported by seven battalions of artillery.

British preparations, in general, are minimalist, with commanding General Maitland Wilson in Jerusalem relying on 1:200,000 maps and only 70 RAF planes allotted for Operation Exporter by Cairo (versus 100 Vichy French planes, including the most modern fighters in the French arsenal, the  Dewoitine D.520).

The RAF shoots down a French reconnaissance plane over Palestine. It is a Martin Maryland, or Model 167F in French military terminology.

The British continue taking control of Iraq. They form "X" Flight at Habbaniya, consisting of Gloster Gladiators, to prepare to assist in Syria.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe sends a bomber over Durham which drops a single 500 kg bomb near the Liner Railway line at East Jarrow. Another bomber damages some houses at Whitefield Pit, Penshaw, causing three injuries.

"The Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, with Captain The Right Honourable David Margesson, Secretary of State for War, watching preparations being made in an unspecified UK location for the launch of a De Havilland Queen Bee seaplane L5984 from its ramp. The Queen Bee pilotless target drone was a radio-controlled version of the Tiger Moth trainer." © IWM (H 10307).

East African Campaign: Having just captured numerous Italian prisoners, the Nigerian 23rd Infantry Brigade heads south from the Omo River at Abalti in Galla-Sidamo. Italian defenders from Abalti begin withdrawing toward Jimma in Galla-Sidamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-106 (Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten), on its extended second patrol out of Lorient, shadows Convoy OB-334 east of the Cape Verde Islands. It torpedoes and sinks 4573-ton British freighter Sacramento Valley. There are three deaths.

U-43 (Kptlt. Wolfgang Lüth), on its 7th patrol out of Lorient, is operating about 1100 km (600 nautical miles, 690 miles) east of Newfoundland when it spots an independent freighter. It pumps two torpedoes into 4802-ton Dutch freighter Yselhaven. The torpedoes break the freighter's back, and it sinks within two minutes. There are 24 deaths and 10 survivors - who are in their lifeboats until 15 June, when Finnish freighter Hammarland picks them up.

U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze), on its 12th patrol, is operating with Wolfpack West south of Greenland. It torpedoes and sinks 5201-ton British freighter Tregarthen. Everybody on board perishes.

U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass), on its 12th patrol out of St. Nazaire, claims that it torpedoes and damages a tanker south of Greenland. According to Endrass, the tanker then rams U-46 while running in circles. There is no record of a tanker encountering a German U-boat at that time and place. In any event, U-46 continues with its patrol.

Finnish 5332-ton freighter Kastelholm, sailing southeast of Iceland. The cause of the sinking is unclear - some sources say it hit a mine (which is unlikely in the mid-Atlantic), others say that it is torpedoed by U-559 (Kptlt. Hans Heidtmann). U-559 is on its first patrol, having sailed from Kiel, and probably has not had sufficient time to reach this spot since sailing on 4 June. Whatever the cause, the Kastelholm sinks, and there is one death and 37 survivors.

North American Aviation Strike in Los Angeles, 6 June 1941. They seek a minimum wage of $10.98 an hour and a night differential of $1.46 an hour. After adding in other terms of the proposal, the workers on the night shift with one year of experience would earn $16.82 per hour, or about $35,000 per year (Los Angeles Times).

Italian submarine Marconi is operating off Casablanca when it attacks Convoy HG 64. The Marconi torpedoes and sinks 3395-ton British freighter Baron Lovat. Everybody survives.

Marconi also torpedoes and sinks 1392-ton Swedish freighter Taberg in Convoy HG 64. There are 15 deaths.

Italian submarine Venero, operating with submarine Marconi, also attacks Convoy HG 64 off Casablanca. It fires torpedoes but completely misses.

Italian submarines Emo and Velella also participate in the attack on Convoy HG 64, but their claims of successes are not supported by the Allied records.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2011-ton British freighter Glen Head west of Gibraltar. There are 27 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4767-ton Norwegian freighter Taurus a few miles off Johnshaven, Scotland in the North Sea. Everybody on board survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 168-ton British trawler Emulator about 8 miles east of Scarborough.

A Fairey Swordfish (RAF No. 824 Squadron) from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, operating in the South Atlantic, finds and sinks 9179-ton German blockade runner Elbe. There are 19 survivors, picked up on the 7th by ocean boarding vessel Hilary.

Convoy HX 131 departs from Halifax.

Canadian corvette HMCS Bittersweet is commissioned on the River Tyne, minesweeper Ingonish is laid down in North Vancouver.

USS Terror is launched. It is the first US naval vessel designed as a minelayer.

The East River is pictured below Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, on June 6, 1941 (Charles W. Cushman, color original)

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay uses its deck gun to shell 3357-ton French tanker Alberta about eight miles off Cape Helles, Turkey in the northeastern Mediterranean.  The British then board the damaged tanker, which the British suspect of supplying French forces in Syria from Turkey. The British sabotage the tanker, which is disabled, then submerge to see what happens to it. As the day ends, the tanker is in no danger of sinking, and the Turks have sent a tug out to tow it to port.

Operation Battleaxe, the planned British offensive on the Libyan frontier, is pushed back from 7 June to 15 June. The reason is the failure of British tanks to reach the units of General O'Moore Creagh.

Operation Rocket, the latest supply mission from Gibraltar to Malta, reaches its climax as Royal Navy aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Furious send 44 Hawker Hurricanes to the island. Of the 44 planes, 43 make it successfully and one turns back with mechanical problems. There are 25 of the faster Mark II model of the Hurricane. The RAF divides the planes among Malta's three airfields.

The Luftwaffe attacks Malta three times during the day. The targets are Kala Bay, Ta Qali airfield, and Luqa airfield. No planes are lost by either side, and not much damage is caused.

The view from Battery Park toward the Statue of Liberty, 6 June 1941 (Charles Weever Cushman). This picture is an original color photo taken on Kodachrome.

German/Finnish Relations: Talks occur in Kiel between military representatives regarding naval coordination in the event of hostilities with the Soviet Union. The Germans begin sending troops to Finland by air and sea to prepare for Operation Barbarossa. However, the Finns remain unaware, at least officially, of German plans to invade the Soviet Union within weeks. The top-level talks between the two sides in Salzburg conclude today.

The Waffen-SS has been recruiting in Finland. Today, the first 120 Finnish volunteers head to Germany for training. They are to form the Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS (German: Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS) of the SS-Regiment Nordland of the SS Division Wiking. The men have signed up for a two-year commitment.

The cover page of the 6 June 1941 Commissar Order.

German Military: The OKW issues another in its stream of highly illegal orders in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, still planned to begin on 22 June. This one is called the Commissar Order (German: Kommissarbefehl). The order singles out political commissars as "The originators of barbaric, Asiatic methods of warfare." The commissars are:

to be separated from the prisoners of war immediately, i.e., already on the battlefield.... These commissars are not to be recognized as soldiers; the protections due to prisoners of war under international law does not apply to them. Whey they have been separated, they are to be liquidated.

The order leaves it to the local commander's discretion as to whether the commissar is "guilty" and thus should be "finished off" based on the commander's "personal attitude and bearing of the commissar."

Commissars are attached to all military units in the Red Army. They have dual command authority over the troops, which includes military operations. They primarily are responsible for the political indoctrination of the troops.

This is a blatantly illegal order that flouts all principles of international law. The Reich is bound by the terms of the Geneva Convention of 1929 regardless of the fact that the Soviet Union did not sign it, as the Geneva Convention specifically provides:

In case, in time of war, one of the belligerents is not a party to the Convention, its provisions shall nevertheless remain in force as between the belligerents who are parties thereto.

Hitler argues that the Soviet Union is not protected by any terms of the Geneva Convention because it did not sign the Convention. There is little doubt, however, that the OKW does consider the Commissar Order, regardless of its perceived appropriateness, illegal.

Only the most senior commanders receive the order, and they are instructed to tell their troops of its contents verbally. Some do, and some don't.

During the day, Admiral Raeder meets with Hitler to discuss the war in the Mediterranean, which Raeder strongly believes is the key to defeating the British. Hitler, however, is not interested, his focus now is on the East.

British Military: The Air Ministry orders 454 Avro Lancaster Mk I heavy bombers. They are to be powered by Merlin engines.  The Air Ministry also orders two Lancaster Mk II bombers, to be fitted with Bristol Hercules VI engines.

(USS Enterprise CV-6) underway in the Pacific, June 1941 (US Navy).

US Military: The US Navy opens Naval Air Station (NAS) Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone.

US Government: President Roosevelt claims during a press conference that German propaganda is misleading many Americans into thinking that Great Britain is on the verge of surrender.

President Roosevelt signs a bill (Act of June 6, 1941, 55 Stat 242, "The U.S. Ship Requisition Act") allowing the US Navy to requisition all idle foreign merchant ships in US ports. He also signs an executive order (9848) authorizing the Maritime Commission to operate or dispose of the ships in the interest of national defense. These new laws affect 84 foreign vessels in US ports.

China: The Chinese 5th Pursuit Group receives six Soviet I-153s to use as night fighters. The need for such fighters became very clear on the 5th, when a Japanese raid in the evening hours, caused thousands of deaths in the Nationalist capital of Chungking.

New York Times, 6 June 1941.

American Homefront: Former Presidential Candidate Wendell L. Willkie makes a radio broadcast entitled "Let Us Not Be Divided." He notes:

I cannot tell you the point at which we may become involved in war. Neither can any other American. All we can know is that if and when Hitler thinks it is to his advantage, he will make war upon us.

Willkie notes, however, that the is "not divided but the United States of America."

Louis Chevrolet, the co-founder of the Chevrolet automobile company, passes away at age 62.

Strikes continue at North American Aviation and Walt Disney Studios.

Removal of the turntable at 26th and Castro, San Francisco, on 6 June 1941. The discontinuation of the Market Street Railway's Castro Street Cable line is a sign of the times - it is being replaced by the 24 Bus Line (John Henry Mentz, Market Street Railway).

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 27 February 1941

A noose on a gibbet is "Reserved for Hitler." London, 27 February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The front is quiet on 27 February 1941 aside from some artillery duels.

East African Campaign: The South African troops in Mogadishu become increasingly apprehensive about sanitary conditions. They discover unburied bodies, shallow graves, and other issues. However, they have to occupy the city, so strict sanitation and health practices are mandated.

Gazelle Force is disbanded, having achieved its mission of harassing the Italians north of Kassala. It is replaced by a new force named Kestrel under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel P. S. Myburgh DSO, MC, 25 Field Regiment.

At Mersa Taklai, Eritrea, the 14th Battalion of the Free French Foreign Legion arrives by boats to supplement the Indian 7th Infantry Brigade.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 30 Wellington bombers of Nos. 40, 115, 214 and 214 Squadrons against the newly commissioned German battleship Tirpitz, still at Wilhelmshaven. While 26 aircraft manage to press home their attacks through strong anti-aircraft fire and claim success, the attack causes little or no damage to the ship. The official report blames the poor weather on the failure, which is but one of many RAF failures against the battleship.

The Luftwaffe sends some planes over the English east coast, which drop some bombs and cause some damage. The Germans stay on the ground after dark.

SS Empire Tiger, which vanishes without a trace on 27 February 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London and meeting with all the government ministers, notes a simple but unassailable fact in his diary:

Another convoy beaten up. The shipping strain is enormous, and represents our only real chance of defeat.

It's unclear which particular convoy Menzies is talking about because two separate convoys have been "beaten up" within the past week: OB 289 and OB 290. He notes that this will have a direct effect on his country, as "Australia's export trade is going to suffer" due to the shipping losses.

Norwegian tanker Sandefjord, captured by German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer on 18 January 1941, arrives in France. It carries 11,000 tons of crude oil. It will be renamed Monsun for German service.

German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau refuel from tankers Ermland and Friedrich Breme in the mid-Atlantic west of the Azores. The tankers take the 180 POWs taken in the action of 22 February.

U-47 (Kptlt. Günther Prien) torpedoes and sinks 4233-ton British freighter Holmlea west of Ireland. There are 2 deaths and 11 survivors. Some accounts place this attack on the 26th or 28th.

Some sources place Italian submarine Michele Bianchi's sinking of British freighter Baltistan today, others on the 26th or 28th. There are 18 survivors and 51 deaths.

The Luftwaffe attacks 1562-ton British freighter Old Charlton off Harwich. There is one death, freighter Catherine Hawksfield rescues the crew.

The Luftwaffe attacks 1109-ton British freighter Blacktoft, disabling it. Taken in tow, the Blacktoft reaches Harwich.

The Luftwaffe damages 1556-ton British freighter Newlands at the Barrow Deep. Fortunately for the freighter, a German bomb that falls on it turns out to be a dud.

The Luftwaffe bombs 10,000-ton British transport Anchises west of Bloody Foreland. The Anchises is disabled but remains afloat as the day ends.

A Luftwaffe aerial mine hits British 5085-ton freighter Cape Clear west of Liverpool. The blast damages the engines, but the Cape Clear eventually makes it back to Liverpool.

Royal Navy 266-ton minesweeping trawler HMT Remillo hits a mine and sinks in the Humber. There are 17 deaths, including skipper H.H. Jarvis.

British 203-ton trawler Christabelle hits a British mine just southeast of the Faroe Islands and sinks. There are ten deaths.

German 1371-ton freighter Adele Ohlrogge hits a mine and sinks in the Jade Bight.

The weather is rough, and shipping suffers as a result. French destroyer Mistral collides with British oiler Black Ranger, slightly damaging it. Separately, the destroyer HMS Chesterfield also is involved in a collision with submarine H 32, but the damage is inconsequential.

British 1020-ton freighter Stanwold founders about 10 miles west of Selsey, Chichester near the Isle of Wight. The cause is unknown.

British 438-ton freighter Noss Head sinks near Gardenstown, Eastern Scotland. The cause of the sinking is unknown.

British 4886 ton pig iron freighter Empire Tiger is last seen today in the Atlantic. The ship is never seen or heard from again. It is a complete mystery what happened to it. There are 34 men on board, they are listed on Tower Hill Memorial. The location of the sinking is unknown, speculation is that it sank about 30 miles south of Iceland.

Norwegian 181-ton auxiliary schooner M/S Stjørnfjord, constructed in 1878, runs aground and is wrecked at Madsøgalten, Leka, Norway.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku breaks down in the Atlantic and has to be assisted back to Londonderry by tug Salvonia.

Italian submarine Bianchi attacks 7603-ton British freighter Empire Ability in Convoy 290 south of Iceland but misses.

Convoys OB 291 and OB 292 depart from Liverpool,

U-559 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans Heidtmann) is commissioned, U-603 and U-604 are laid down.

SS Stanwold sinks mysteriously, 27 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Abstention on Kastelorizo turns from bad to worse for the British, who landed troops successfully on the 26th but then saw them chased out of the main port by newly landed Italian soldiers. The weather is poor, and both sides suspend any landing operations after dark on the 26th. The Italians, however, have more troops on the way from their bases in the Aegean. This leaves the Italian troops already onshore, equipped with 99 mm artillery, free to harass the defenseless British commandos who now are back at their embarkation point.

The Italian destroyers carrying fresh troops arrive from Leros in the early morning hours of the 27th, and two MAS motor-launches ferry these troops from destroyers Crispi and Sella to reinforce the Italian troops already on the island. Faced with overwhelming force, the commandos are forced to flee from their position and the British who arrive later to try to evacuate them find nothing but a few stragglers and a dead body. At 03:00, the Royal Navy ships finally locate the commandos on the east side of Kastelorizo and come in to evacuate them. However, not all of the commandos can escape; the Italians take a number of them as prisoners.

Offshore, HMS Hereward spots the Italian naval force, but, instead of attacking immediately, looks for fellow destroyer HMS Decoy. It does not find the Italian ships again, which proceed with their operations unmolested. Italian destroyer Crispi attacks patrolling destroyer HMS Jaguar, inflicting some damage, then escapes.

After evacuating the commandos, the British retreat to Alexandria. This leaves the Italians in possession of the valuable island and marks a rare victory for the Italian military. Admiral Cunningham later opines that Operation Abstention was "a rotten business and reflected little credit to everyone." As usual, there are some claims that the operation served as a good "learning experience," but the evidence for this is scant. The Admiralty is not amused by the whole affair and court-martials the captain of HMS Hereward for lack of initiative in engaging the Italian destroyers when he first sighted them (found guilty).

Operation Abstention is another failed British commando mission, in company with the assault on an Italian aqueduct in southern Italy earlier in the month and several other rough operations. While many fondly remember the successful commando exploits from later in the war, remembering these early difficult operations provides a more balanced picture.

At Malta, the Luftwaffe drops mines across Grand Harbour and Marsamxetto. Four of the mines drop on land. The British close the harbor while the Royal Navy isolates the mines. There are several air raids during the day.

The Free French continue bombarding the Italians holed up in El Tag fortress at the Kufra Oasis in southwestern Libya. The Italians are taking a lot of damage and do not have any artillery to match that of the French.

Convoy ANF 16 departs from Port Said bound for Piraeus.

Italian raider Ramb I burning and on its way down, 27 February 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Italian 3667 ton raider Ramb I, a pre-war fast banana boat converted into an armed auxiliary cruiser, was based at the Eritrean port of Massawa until the British invasion earlier in February. Having successfully escaped from Massawa, Ramb I has made it to the area of the Maldive Islands. Today, Royal New Zealand Navy light cruiser HMNZS Leander spots and challenges her. Not receiving satisfactory responses, Leander's commander orders the ship to stop, at which point the Ramb I raises its real flag and opens fire. The Italians miss, but when Leander returns fire, it doesn't. With Ramb I a burning wreck, its captain lowers the colors and orders the crew to abandon ship. Shortly after most of them take to the boats, Ramb I blows up. Ultimately, 113 men survive, including the Captain, and they all become prisoners of war (save one who later perishes) in Colombo, Ceylon.

Spy Stuff: Japanese Acting Consulate General Ojiro Okuda sends another detailed spy transmission to Tokyo:

Apparently the Fleet goes to sea for a week of training and stays in Pearl Harbor one week. Every Wednesday, those at sea and those in the harbor change places. This movement was noted on last Wednesday, the 26th.

Okuda also, as usual, provides a detailed summary of the ships in port, noting that the USS Yorktown is absent.

Spanish/Italian Relations: With Spanish leader Francisco Franco having refused to side with the Axis per his letter to Adolf Hitler dated 26 February 1941, the reaction from the Axis is swift. The Axis leaders, with some justification, feel that Franco owes his position to their assistance during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. They take Franco's refusal as an abrogation of an implicit bargain: we help you, you help us. Accordingly, Italian Duce Benito Mussolini has his ambassador deliver to Spain a bill for sums expended by Italy to support Franco during that earlier war: 7.5 billion Lire.

Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers show off their Oscars, 27 February 1941.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: Discussions conclude today between the British (Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS John Dill) and the Turks (Turkish Prime Minister Dr. Saydam, and Mr. Sarajoglu, the Foreign Minister). While no real agreement on anything of consequence is reached, the official communique makes the best of it, stating "deep gratification at the tenor of the conversations" - whatever that means. Unofficial statements by Ankara Radio take a more pro-British stance, but nothing sufficient to suggest a swing in Turkish support toward the Allies.

German/Japanese Relations: Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yōsuke Matsuoka arrives in Berlin, the first stop in his tour of Axis capitals.

Dutch Homefront: The SS and local Dutch police take extreme measures, shooting protesters and taking others captive, to suppress the General Strike. By today, it basically is over, and Martial Law is in effect. This is the only direct action by civilians in Europe against the Holocaust.

American Homefront: The 1940 (13th) Academy Awards are held at the Biltmore Hotel. The format changes dramatically to inject more suspense into the proceedings; instead of the previous practice of releasing the names of the winners beforehand, now the identities of the winners are kept secret until the actual award. This change leads to the use of "May I have the envelope, please?" for each award. This is done because, before the previous ceremony, the LA Times published the names of the winners before the ceremony.

In terms of awards, David O. Selznick produces the Best Picture winner for the second consecutive year. Having won for "Gone With The Wind" previously, this year he wins for "Rebecca." However,  "Rebecca" wins only one other award, for Best Cinematography (Black and White), making it the least successful Best Picture winner from 1940 onward. Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" makes history by winning competitive Oscars for Best Song and Best Score, while "The Thief of Baghdad" wins three Academy Awards, the most of the night.

James Stewart wins for Best Actor for "The Philadelphia Story," Ginger Rogers wins Best Actress for "Kitty Foyle," John Ford is named the Best Director, Walter Brennan wins his third Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for "The Westerner," and Jane Darwell wins Best Supporting Actress for "The Grapes of Wrath." Henry Fonda does not win Best Actor for "The Grapes of Wrath," but his performance endures and is often reckoned the best of his legendary career.

Jimmy Stewart with his Oscar for "The Philadelphia Story," 27 February 1941.

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020