Thursday 24 July 1941

Russian POWs loaded onto trucks to be taken to their final destination. Zhytomyr Lager, Ukraine, 24 July 1941.

Eastern Front: Marshal Mannerheim on 24 July 1941 reaches his conclusion regarding the advance of Finnish VI Corps to the old Finnish-Soviet border on the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga: halt. Finnish troops there are refusing to cross the border, as nobody wants to provoke the Soviet Union. Instead of ordering the troops to continue heading southeast, Mannerheim orders them to form a line along the Tuulema River. The Germans are dismayed, as they want the advance to continue, but there is nothing that they can do.

On the other side of Lake Ladoga, Finnish VII Corps continues forcing its way forward against heavy Soviet resistance. It approaches the town of Sortavala on the road that runs along the fringes of Lake Ladoga. The Finns capture Vidlitsa and Rajakonru northeast of Lake Ladoga. Further north, Finnish 14th Infantry Division (Colonel Erkki Raappana) takes Omelia, wiping out Soviet 337th Rifle Regiment.

In the Army Group North sector, the Wehrmacht consolidates its position as it prepares for the final advance on Leningrad.

In the Army Group Center sector, Soviet troops attack the exposed Panzer Group 2 bridgehead at Yelnya. At Velikiye Luki, Soviet counterattacks cut German lines of communication and the Wehrmacht retreats in the area. The Germans are under heavy pressure in this sector and have to throw service troops into the line.

In the Army Group South sector, Romanian Third and Fourth Armies in conjunction with the German 11th Army complete the occupation of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and Hertsa. These are territories ceded by Romania to the Soviet Union in 1940. This completes Operation München. Romania intends to reincorporate the region into the Romanian State.

The Luftwaffe, after a night off, again attacks Moscow. Tonight, the number of bombers is reduced to 100. Red Army night fighter pilot Kapitan Konstantin Titenkov claims a bomber for his third success in three nights.

The wrecked Bf 109E7 "Yellow One" of Staffelführer 3./JG 2 Lt. Julius Meimberg at Saint-Renan near Brélès, France, 24 July 1941. Meimberg is lying on the ground with someone holding an umbrella to shield him from the sun. Meimberg is out on medical leave until the spring of 1942.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends more raids against the German warships parked along the French coast, and today they succeed in damaging two of them. During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 100 planes over Brest in Operation Sunrise. It is a complicated plan that works well, with Operation Sunrise I being the main raid and Operation Sunrise II a diversionary raid. An initial force of 3 Fortresses and 18 Hampdens accompanied by a Spitfire escort draw up the Luftwaffe defenses by bombing at 30,000 feet. Immediately after this, 79 Wellingtons fly over and make the real attack. Neither of the two heavy cruisers in port, Gneisenau (in drydock) and Prinz Eugen, take any hits. The British lose 10 Wellingtons and 2 Hampdens. Luftwaffe ace Julius Meimberg claims three bombers shot down, but he also is shot down and seriously injured.

RAF Bomber Command also sends a diversionary raid of 36 Blenheims against Cherbourg. The raid causes some damage to the docks but does not attract any defending fighters away from Brest as desired. So far so good for the Germans - but there is more to come.

A third raid targets La Pallice, where heavy cruiser Scharnhorst arrived on the 23rd. This is an additional 200 miles further south, so there are no escorting RAF fighters. The attack by 15 Halifaxes of RAF No. 35 and 76 Squadrons are pressed home with great courage against heavy Luftwaffe opposition and score five hits. Three bombs pass straight through the ship, and two other bombs explode and cause only light damage. However, the Germans are forced to concede that the move to La Pallice was a mistake, so, despite the ship taking on water, they send Scharnhorst back to Brest after dark. Scharnhorst is out of action until November, at a cost to the RAF of five Halifax bombers and damage to the rest.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 34 Wellingtons (one lost) and 30 Hampdens (one lost) against Kiel. As has been the case often recently, accuracy is poor, and the only deaths are five people in the nearby village of Wellsee, Germany, which is near Kiel. Another raid by 31 Whitleys and 16 Wellingtons against Emden results in the loss of two Wellingtons. The RAF also sends 4 Wellingtons over Rotterdam and six on minelaying missions in the Frisian Islands, both without loss.

During the raid on La Pallice, the German defenders accidentally down a returning Focke-Wulf FW-200 returning from an Atlantic reconnaissance flight.

RAF Pilot/Officer Joseph Francis Patrick John McKenna, KIA 24 July 1941 at Nantes, France. He is buried at the War Cemetery in Loire-Atlantique, about fifty kilometers from Nantes in France.

The RAF flies a Circus mission to Hazebrouck. RAF ace James Lacey files claims for two Luftwaffe Bf 109 fighters after observing them collide nearby during a dogfight.

Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, Kommodore of JG 53 and a 42-victory ace, is awarded the Eichenlaub.

The weekly RAF operations report shows that for the week ending 23 July:

• Coastal Command flew 252 patrols and 364 sorties
• RAF Fighter Command flew 704 ship protection patrols.

The report notes that attacks on Axis shipping were "highly successful in spite of intense A.A. [anti-aircraft] fire from Flak ships."

Australian troops with captured Morane-Saulnier MS.406C1 fighters of Groupe de Chasse I/7, Aleppo-Nerab, Syria, 24 July 1941. (Australian War Memorial 008990).

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation EF, a large raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo, continues northward toward Seidis Fjord, Iceland, and remains undetected.

The RAF (No. 42 Squadron) sinks 370-ton Norwegian freighter Vestkyst I off Skadberg, Norway.

German destroyer Hermann Schoemann, operating off of Kharlov Islands, uses gunfire to sink 540-ton Soviet whaler Meridian.

U-652, operating off the Russian Kildin inlet in the far north, attacks Russian patrol boat SKR-23 "Musson" but misses.

German scouts spot Allied convoys OG-69 and SL-80 at sea and U-boat Command (BdU) direct U-boats toward them.

US Aircraft carrier USS Wasp loads 30 P-40s and three Stearman PT-13 Kaydet trainers at Norfolk for transport to Iceland.

Convoy OS-1 departs from Liverpool bound for Freetown, Convoy SL-82 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool. Convoys SL-79 and HG-67 both arrive in Liverpool.

U-454 and U-580 are commissioned.

MV Sydney Star which was damaged on 24 July 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Substance, a Royal Navy supply convoy from Gibraltar to Malta, continues. Most of the ships of Convoy GM-1 reach Malta safely despite continued Italian air and motor torpedo boat attacks. Royal Navy destroyer HMS Nestor (Cmdr. A. S. Rosenthal, DSO, RAN) unloads 487 troops at Malta. Royal Navy submarines Perseus and Regent engage in fake radio traffic designed to create the impression to the Italians that the main Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet based at Alexandria is at sea, when in fact it is in port.

Italian torpedo boat MAS-533 torpedoes and damages 11,219-ton freighter Sydney Star. Destroyer Nestor tows the Sydney Star to Malta, where the freighter is put in drydock for repairs.

Italian bombers based in Sardinia damage 9351-ton British tanker Hoegh Hood, part of Convoy MG-1 returning to Gibraltar from Malta. The Hoegh Hood, which is empty, is able to continue to Gibraltar.

An Italian CANT Z.506 reconnaissance seaplane, escorted by 42 Macchi C.200 fighters, spots the Operation Substance ships arriving in Malta. The RAF launches 22 Hawker Hurricanes to attack the Italian formation, and the British shoot down three of the Italian fighters without loss to themselves. Overall, the Italians lose about a dozen aircraft during their operations surrounding Operation Substance.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes and damages 4964-ton Italian freighter Dandolo off the west coast of Sicily.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Upright, operating off Cape dell Armi, uses its deck gun to attack floating dock G022. The Italians immediately send ships out to launch depth charge attacks, but Upright gets away.

Italian submarine Squalo claims to damage a British tanker northeast of Tobruk, but there is no confirmation or identification of what ship it is.

Operation Guillotine, the reinforcement of Cyprus, continues. Royal Navy transport Gujarat, escorted by Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta, travels from Port Said to Famagusta without incident.

Italian soldier executing civilians in Sinj, Croatia, 24 July 1941.

Partisans: The partisan revolt in the Balkans continues. Italian troops, attempting to regain control, engage in repressive measures. This includes executing civilians in the Croatian town of Sinj.

POWs: A group of Dutch troops, 68 officers, arrives at Colditz Castle, an Oflag IV-C camp. They are the first Dutch prisoners.

German/Italian Relations: Mussolini offers to add another Italian army corps to the one already allocated to the eastern front.

US/German/Italian Relations: US troopship USS West Point (AP-23) arrives in Lisbon. It carries German and Italian consular personnel and their families who have been ordered to return to Europe by the United States government.

Two USAAF B-18 bombers in the Philippines, 24 July 1941.

US/Japanese Relations: President Roosevelt meets with Japanese Ambassador Nomura in the Oval Office. Roosevelt defends his policy in the Pacific, noting that he has permitted oil to be shipped to Japan. However, he notes that the Japanese occupation of French Indochina is a problem for relations. Nomura says that he personally disagrees with the aggressive Japanese policies in the Pacific and is a good friend of new Foreign Minister Toyoda. Both Roosevelt and Nomura agree that Germany's goal is world conquest and is pressuring Japan. Nomura promises to ask his government not to occupy French Indochina, and Roosevelt promises to guarantee that the Allies would leave it alone if Japan does as well. Nomura responds that it may be too late because Japan would lose face if it pulled out of Indochina now.

After the meeting, Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a statement regarding the Japanese/Vichy French agreement regarding Japanese use of French Indochina. It notes in part:

By the course which it has followed and is following in regard to Indochina, the Japanese Government is giving clear indication that it is determined to pursue an objective of expansion by force or threat of force.

The statement does not, however, indicate that the United States will take any direct action as a result of the Japanese establishment of military bases in the territory.

Anglo/Free French Relations: Charles de Gaulle remains extremely upset about having Free French forces not included in the treaty ending the conflict in the Levant. At his demand, Free French forces revert to his command from British control at noon.

Japanese troops enter Saigon by bicycle, 24 July 1941. (Japanese army photo).

French Indochina: Japanese marines land at Cam Ranh Bay to secure port facilities, pursuant to the recent Japanese agreement with the Vichy French. Army troops are following along behind.

German Military: General der Panzertruppe Walther Kurt Josef Nehring is awarded the Knight's Cross. He is Generalmajor and commander of the 18th Panzer-Division.

US Military: The US Marine Corps establishes a detachment of the 1st Defense Battalion at Johnston Island southwest of Hawaii in the Pacific.

Fw 200 C-2 W.Nr. 0026 "F8+CH", 1./KG 40, Bordeaux, before 24 July 1941, the date when it was shot down with all its crew near Ireland.

German Government: During his evening talks with cronies, Adolf Hitler opines:

The German army is technically the most perfect in the world; and the German soldier, in a moment of crisis, is safer and sounder than any other soldier. I'm truly happy that it has been granted to me to see, in my lifetime, the German soldier rewarded by Providence. For an elite force, like our SS, it's great luck to have suffered comparatively heavy losses. In this way, it's assured of the necessary prestige to intervene, if need be, on the home front — which, of course, won't be necessary. But it's good to know that one disposes of a force that could show itself capable of doing so, on occasion.

Ordinary soldiers may not agree that their losses are worth it for the prestige granted their formations. There is no question, however, that the SS is loaded with fanatical troops who might, in fact, agree with Hitler.

One of two checkpoints at the Kishinev Ghetto circa 1941.

Holocaust: The Romanian governor of the Kishinev (Chișinău) district of Bessarabia (Moldova) and the local German commander of the Einsatzkommando order a Ghetto established for Jews who have survived previous executions. Some 11,000 people squeeze into the confined space.

A local SS commander reports to headquarters that 4435 Jews have been exterminated at Lachowicz.

German SS troops execute Jewish citizens of Grodz, Lithuania.

Canadian Homefront: About 700 workers in Arvida, Quebec begin an illegal strike against their employer, the Alcan aluminum company. Alcan is considered essential to the war effort, and thus the strike is illegal.

American Homefront: The New York Times publishes a quote from Senator Harry Truman of Missouri regarding the German invasion of the Soviet Union: "If we see that Germany is winning we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and in that way let them kill as many as possible."

Motor launch for hospital ship MS Oranje, Cockatoo Island, 24 July 1941.

July 1941

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

2020

Wednesday 28 May 1941

The 9th Cavalry passes in review at its new home at Camp Funston, Ft. Riley, Kansas, 28 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: Things begin heating up in Syria on 28 May 1941, which is on the list of British targets because it is considered the gateway to the ongoing battle in Iraq. The RAF raids Aleppo, a key transit hub for the Axis support of operations in Iraq. During this raid, an RAF Blenheim reconnaissance is shot down by Vichy French pilot Lt. Vuillemin of 7 Squadron, 1st Fighter Group (GCI/7) in a Morane 406. This is the first aerial victory of a Vichy French pilot over the RAF.

The Vichy French also send 28 new Dewoitine D.520s of the 6th Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group (GCIII/6) from Algeria via Athens, which unit arrives on 28 May 1941 at Rayak (two planes failing to make it).

The British continue their concentric attack on Baghdad. The main thrusts are from the south (Indian troops from Basra) and west (Habforce advancing from Fallujah). Today, the 20th Indian Brigade captures Ur after a march of 110 miles.

In Baghdad, rioting and looking take hold as the British approach. Dr. Fritz Grobba, head of the German diplomatic mission, cables Berlin with the warning that the British are approaching with "one hundred tanks." While this is a vast exaggeration, it conveys the key message that the city is about to fall. The Luftwaffe mission, Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck) led by Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck, has only two Heinkel He 111s left and only four bombs for them. A force of eleven Italian Fiat CR-42 fighters has arrived but is having little effect.

A London housewife gets her washing up to dry, Monday, May 28, 1941 in London. (AP Photo).

European Air Operations: RAF Fighter Command conducts an anti-shipping sweep off the French coast. RAF Bomber Command sends 14 planes to attack Kiel. This is one of the countless RAF raids throughout the war that targets the remaining German battleship, Tirpitz. The planes make no hits.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructs General Ismay to begin setting up "Air Squadrons and also at least a Brigade Group" composed of Yugoslav expatriates. A similar agreement is reached with Norwegian refugees.

Churchill also sends a telegram to William Averell Harriman ("My dear Harriman"), one of President Franklin's "special envoys," thanking him for a recent note promising delivery of six Douglas DC-2 transport planes and fourteen Lockheed transports.

A censored war photo was taken by a press agency photographer on 28 May 1941. © IWM (HU 131478).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-107 (Kptlt. Günther Hessler) continues its lengthy second patrol off of Freetown, Sierra Leone. AT 14:52, it torpedoes and sinks 3748 ton Greek freighter Papalemos. The Papalemos is an independent, and the hit on the stern in the port side destroys the superstructure and a lifeboat. Captain Hessler has his men accelerate the sinking with some target practice with the anti-aircraft gun, then sails over to the two lifeboats. In a rare act of kindness, he gives the survivors some food, cigarettes and other provisions after asking them a few questions.

HMS Edinburgh intercepts German blockade runner Lech about 400 nautical miles (740 km) north of the Azores, at the Bay of Biscay. The Lech's crew scuttles it. Some sources place this as happening on 22 May.

The Luftwaffe is active over the Atlantic searching for Royal Navy ships returning from the interception battleship Bismarck. Many of the Royal Navy ships are low on fuel and traveling slowly and without zig-zagging or other precautions. The German planes attack Canadian destroyer HMCS St Clair (formerly USS Williams (DD-108)) and HMS Mashona about 100 miles west of Galway Bay, Ireland. The handful of German planes (Junkers Ju 88 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 77) sink the Mashona, and St Clair picks up the survivors.

German flak ship (vorpostenboot) V 1610 "Innsbruck" sinks today of uncertain causes, probably RAF bombing.

British freighter City of Rangoon spots and rescues three survivors of Greek freighter Marionga, sunk by U-103 on 24 May, off Freetown. The U-boats have sunk so many ships in the area recently that there are lifeboats and rafts in many places.

Convoy OB 327 departs from Liverpool

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Lightning is commissioned, and destroyer Panther, corvette Cowslip, and minesweeping trawler Professor are launched.

Canadian minesweepers HMCS Kelowna launched at Prince Rupert and Guysborough laid down in North Vancouver.

Polish destroyer ORP Krakowiak (formerly HMS Silverton) is commissioned (Tadeusz Gorazdowski).

Free French corvette Roselys (formerly HMS Sundew) is launched.

U-579 and U-580 are launched, U-183 is laid down.

"6-inch howitzers towed by AEC Matador artillery tractors of 79th (The Scottish Horse) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, pass over a bridge near Huntly in Banffshire, 28 May 1941." (Lockeyear W T (Lt), War Office official photographer, Imperial War Museum).

Battle of the Mediterranean: With the British decision to evacuate Crete having been made at the highest levels on the 27th, Commonwealth troops fight rearguard actions as they head south for pickup at Sfakia (Sphakia, south of Canea/Chandia) and other points. Two companies of the Māori Battalion under Captain Rangi Royal in the New Zealand 5th Brigade make a temporary stand at Stylos, beating up the 1st Battalion of the 141st Gebirgsjäger (Mountain) Regiment and 85th Gebirgsjäger Regiment in order to allow the main force to gain ground. Sgt Alfred Clive Hulme (1911-82) of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force wins the Victoria Cross for actions here and elsewhere on Crete throughout the past week. Many other anonymous soldiers also fight valiantly.

However, not all of the Commonwealth troops get away clean. The 800 men of Layforce (so named for commander Colonel Robert Laycock), which landed at Suda Bay on the 26th and 27th, are caught there along with some other units (20th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery). At the end of the day, Laycock's men stage a night retreat to Beritiana, but it is too late - most are killed or captured. In all, only 179 of the 800 Commandos of Layforce make it to Egypt. Laycock himself, along with brigade major Evelyn Waugh (the famous author), escape in one of the unit's three tanks.

The Luftwaffe is active over the ports and airfields on the north coast such as Heraklion, Suda, and Rethymno which the Germans need to bring in more reinforcements. This gives the retreating British time to get to the southern embarkation points - but they have to hurry. The German planes sink 667 ton Greek freighter Georgos at Heraklion (Candia) Harbour and 298 ton Greek freighter Aghia Kyriaki at Cape Kephola.

Fallschirmjager heading back to Major Edgar Stentzler’s temporary field headquarters, near Platanias, Kreta, 28 May 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 1011-166-0508-15).

The Italian relief convoy which set out on the afternoon of 27 May from Rhodes arrives at Sitia at 17:20. They are surprised to encounter no Royal Navy ships at all, which they don't realize are all to the south of the island supporting the evacuation. The Italians bring 13 L3/35 tanks and 3000 men of the 50th Infantry Division. This is the first Axis armor on Crete. The Italians ignore the retreating British and hook up with the German troops at Ierapetra.

The Royal Navy sends Force B, led by light cruisers Ajax, Dido, and Orion, from Alexandria to take men off from Heraklion. They arrive at 23:30 and evacuates 3486 men from Heraklion after dodging Luftwaffe bombs, with Ajax hit and forced to return to base. On the way home, the Luftwaffe bombs and sinks destroyer Hereward, with 71 men killed or missing and 85 taken prisoner.

Royal Navy Force C heads for Sfakia. Consisting of destroyers Kandahar, Kelvin, Napier and Nizam, it takes off 608 men without loss.

President Roosevelt's declaration of a National Emergency during a radio broadcast takes precedence over the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in the Arizona Daily Star, 28 May 1941.

Evacuations from Sfakia generally wait for the 29th. There are 32,000 Commonwealth troops on Crete, which is a manageable number to evacuate, but they are spread out throughout the island and some either can't make it to the south coast or have to fight their way through to get there. Men try to get off every which way they can - motor launch HMML 1030 (Lt W. M. O. Cooksey RNVR)  sinks while trying to escape from Suda Bay.

Greek civilians participate in the attacks on the advancing Wehrmacht. There are snipers, groups of civilians actively participating in the defense of key points, and supply services given to the defending Commonwealth troops. The defense is fiercest around Heraklion. The Germans view such civilian participation as illegal and treacherous, beginning a cycle of hatred between the local inhabitants and the occupying forces.

While the disastrous situation on Crete is being wound up, the British turn to other sectors. Winston Churchill sends Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell with "observations" about the Middle East which Wavell is much more able to judge himself. Churchill opines that "Everything must now be centered upon destroying the German forces in the Western Desert" considering that "you and Freyberg pronounced situation [on Crete] hopeless." He urges Wavell to fight until he has "beaten the life out of General Rommel's army." He hopes that in this way "the loss of Crete will be more than repaired."

Woman reading to children outside, The University of Iowa, May 28, 1941, by The University of Iowa Libraries, via Flickr (photo by Kent, Frederick W. (Frederick Wallace), 1894-1984).

As usual, Churchill cannot resist some covert digs at Wavell. He notes that "We were all very much puzzled" at some of Wavell's appointments of commanders. It is akin to a baseball team owner questioning a manager's lineup. Churchill notes that, while one such appointment to command troops in the western desert, Noel Beresford-Peirse, "is a good Divisional Commander, it is difficult to believe that he can compare with Wilson [sent to Palestine] in military stature, reputation or experience." One can only imagine Wavell's reaction to such second-guessing from afar.

Wavell indeed is planning his next operation on the Libyan frontier. He signals London that this operation, codename "Battleaxe," will include all available armored strength. This includes the "Tiger cub" brought in by the Tiger convoy of which Winston Churchill is so fond. The 7th Armoured Division will lead the advance. Wavell includes in his message some criticism of British armor - he considers the army's armored cars too lightly armored and inadequate to provide protection against either Luftwaffe strafing or Wehrmacht armored cars.

The RAF attacks Italian shipping off Tripoli, damaging Italian freighters Sebastiano Venier and Marco Foscarini. The master of the Foscarini beaches it near Tripoli.

In Malta, soldiers begin wearing their summer uniforms. The government decides to clamp down on a long-standing issue of soldiers selling their uniform equipment such as boots and shirts to civilians by stamping clothing with the soldiers' serial numbers.

Original capture on the back of this photograph: “The motley tribal army listens to Haile Selassie message after the defeat of 30,000 Italians.” 28 May 1941.

Anglo/US Relations: Hamilton Fish, a New York congressman who chairs the naval affairs committee (and who is not a favorite of President Roosevelt), reviews some data about US cooperation with the British. He reveals that the Royal Navy has filed 132 requests with the US government for permission to have damaged warships repaired at US naval yards. This, of course, violates the rules of war for neutrals, but the US is neutral in name only at this point.

Today, the light cruiser HMS Liverpool adds to the list of Royal Navy ships repaired in the US as it departs from Manila bound for repairs in San Francisco due to damage sustained in October 1940.

South Africa: Prime Minister Jan Smuts officially vests as the first South African Field Marshal in the British Army.

Maximilian Kolbe.

Holocaust: Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar and a future saint of the Catholic church, arrives at the German Auschwitz camp from Warsaw.

British Homefront: Minister of Food Lord Woolton introduces egg, fish, and milk rationing. He also announces that successful prosecutions under Food Control Orders now totaled 17,319, a sign that the black market is thriving.

American Homefront: Animation workers vote to go on strike at the Walt Disney studios after Walt Disney fires Union leader Art Babbitt. They are members of the AFL Screen Cartoonists Guild.

Original caption: "Bringing mention of 'Mickey Mouse' and 'Pluto' into the picket line, members of the A.F. of L. Screen Cartoonists Build are shown picketing the Walt Disney Studios on 28 May 1941 after a strike call. Some of the placards they carry show pictures of Disney characters and such slogans as 'Are We Mice or Men?'" This incident is known as The Great Walt Disney Cartoonists Strike of 1941. The photo is dated 28 May 1941, though many accounts state the strike officially begins on 29 May.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020