Friday 4 July 1941

A Panzer IV at Lepel being pulled off a bridge with a chain. The panzer slipped off the bridge and broke the bridge railing. (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1994-009-33).

Eastern Front: The German advance slows on 4 July 1941 due to recent rains that make the roads muddy. This problem with the roads is only a foretaste of serious difficulties the Wehrmacht will have in the Soviet Union with muddy roads throughout the war.

General Halder notes in his war diary that the panzers are outrunning the infantry, something Hitler already has tried to prevent by temporarily halting the panzers. Halder notes that "special measures will be necessary to bridge the gap." Overall, though, Halder notes that "on the whole, we discern distinct withdrawal movements, covered by armored counter-thrusts." He concludes optimistically that:

The situation supports the assumption that the enemy does not have sufficient forces left for a sustained defense of the line running from the old Russo-Estonian frontier along Dvina and Dniepr to the south. This theory is borne out also by a Russian order, intercepted yesterday, to the effect that the Dvina river will be held only by groups concentrated at the crossings.

In the Far North sector, Operation Arctic Fox, the joint German/Finnish operation toward Salla and ultimately the Murmansk railway, has stalled. The problem is that the Germans do not have sufficient forces at the point of attack just west of Salla. Army of Norway commander General Dietl moves some troops up from 163rd Infantry Division in Southern Finland (the division controversially moved across Sweden on the railway line) and asks the Finns to make a flank attack to restart the offensive. This will take a couple of days, and until then, the operation is on hold.

In the Army Group North sector, advance units of General Erich Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Group reach the vicinity of Ostrov. This marks the pre-1939 Russian frontier. A little further south the panzers meet strong opposition, but Army Group commander Field Marshal von Leeb brings up infantry in trucks and sustains the advance.

In the Army Group Center sector, the 19th Panzer Division of General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group reaches the Western Dvina River at Rogachev. Guderian's men immediately seize a bridgehead from Soviet 51st Rifle Corps of 22nd Army. The Germans quickly move the 18th Motorized Division into the bridgehead. A little further north, General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group crosses the Beresina River. Hoth reports to OKW that he is down to 50% of combat strength.

The Soviets are taking advantage of the stormy weather which hit on 2 July to plan a counterattack along the main Moscow road. To do this, they mass troops in the vicinity of Smolensk. However, this will take them a couple of more days.

Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, moves his headquarters to Baranovichi. General Günther von Kluge, whom von Bock has put in command of Hoth's and Guderian's panzer groups, moves his headquarters to Minsk.

In the Army Group South sector, the panzers reach Buchach, Ukraine and take it without opposition after the Soviets abandon it. The Hungarian 3rd and 4th Armies reach the northern rim of the Carpathian Mountains. The Soviet forces are retreating to the east within the Pripet Marshes. Heavy fighting breaks out in the Mogilev-Podolski area.

The Jewish residents of Storow or Slarov, Ukraine digging their own graves prior to their executions, 4 July 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 183-A0706-0018-029).

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The Australians plan a major attack for the 5th on Damour, which is a Vichy French administrative center. This town on the coast and the associated Damour River is the last major obstacle for the Australian advance north toward Beirut.

To the northeast, General Slim's Indian troops prepare to advance west from Deir ez-Zor. Their next objective is Raqqa, a road junction to the northwest on the road to Aleppo.

Off the coast, light cruisers Naiad and Ajax lead a destroyer force to shell Vichy French positions.

Flight Lieutenant A. Keith Ogilvie, DFC, Ottawa became a German POW on 4 July 1941. Flight Lieutenant Ogilvie had shot down seven enemy aircraft when he was wounded in combat when a German cannon shell fragment lodged in his shoulder. Ogilvie took part in the famous "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was recaptured. He passed away in 1998. (PHOTO: DND Archives, PL-36843).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 11 Bristol Blenheim bombers of RAF Nos. 105 and 107 Squadrons to Bremen. Using an unusual tactic, they come in low at 50 feet and attack factories and a minesweeper, dropping 6 tons of bombs. The daring raid, led by Australian Wing Commander Hughie Idwal Edwards, is very nearly a disaster for the RAF. Every plane is damaged, and four fail to return. This adds to the growing body of evidence that daylight bomber raids, long since abandoned on the western front by the Luftwaffe, are too costly to be profitable.

Edwards, already partially disabled from earlier injuries and further wounded during this raid, ultimately receives the Victoria Cross for his leadership during the raid.

There also is a Circus mission during the day to Choques.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest (88 aircraft) and Lorient (47).

The Luftwaffe sends 75 aircraft on scattered missions over Great Britain after dark.

East African Campaign: It is the rainy season in Abyssinia. The Italians slowly are being rounded up by the British forces. General Pietro Gazzera, the Governor of Galla-Sidama and the new acting Viceroy, is trapped at Kulkaber (Culqualber) with a large body of troops by Free Belgian forces under Major-General Auguste Gilliaert and has no chance to escape.

Battle of the Baltic:  Following a close escape on 3 July from one Finnish submarine, the Vetehinen, Soviet freighter Viborg (Vyborg) sees its luck run out. Finnish submarine Vesikko torpedoes and sinks Viborg east of Gogland Island. There is one death.

U-69 commander Kptlt. Jost. Metzler.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, is operating several hundred miles north of the Cape Verde Islands when it spots and sinks 5444-ton British freighter Auditor. There is one death. The 75 survivors make land in the Azores and Cape Verde islands in lifeboats.

U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler) is returning to France after a lengthy patrol and is out of torpedoes, but it spots a freighter off the west coast of Africa. Metzler cannot resist attacking, so he orders the U-boat to the surface. His men use the deck guns to sink 2918-ton British freighter Robert L. Holt (Master John Alexander Kendall). This sinking sometimes is listed as taking place on either 2 or 3 July 1941. Nobody survives, 56 men perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy trawler Akranes off Bridlington Bay, Yorkshire. There are no casualties.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 362-ton British freighter Balfron a few miles off Ravenscar, Yorkshire. There are four deaths.

Local 454-ton vessel Goldfinch hits a mine about ten miles off St. Bees Head, Solway Firth. The ship is taken under tow to Whitehaven.

British 363-ton freighter Lunan hits a mine and sinks off Cardiff in Bristol Channel. There are five deaths and one survivor.

Royal Navy ocean boarding vessel Cavina stops 5522-ton German blockade runner Frankfurt in the mid-Atlantic hundreds of miles southwest of the Azores. Rather than allow the Frankfurt to be captured, the crew scuttles it. There are 26 survivors and 20 deaths.

Minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield BS.67 in the North Sea.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Furious leads a convoy of empty troops ships north from Gibraltar to the Clyde.

Convoy OG-67 departs Liverpool bound for Gibraltar.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Cowichan is commissioned.

Jews of Storow or Slarov, Ukraine being forced to dig their graves prior to their execution on 4 July 1941. The overseers in this picture are ethnic Germans local to the area. (Federal Archive, Bild Y 01-3861).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine Torbay sinks two caiques transporting troops and supplies off Doro Channel (near Euboea).

The RAF spots Vichy French auxiliary cruiser St. Didier off Adalia, Turkey. The St. Didier is disguised as a Turkish merchant ship. The RAF planes proceed to sink the St. Didier.

The Luftwaffe attacks Tobruk.

The RAF based in Malta sends five Wellington bombers to raid Tripoli, causing some damage.

It is a quiet day on Malta, with no air raid alarms. Royal Navy submarine HMS Osiris arrives and offloads 70 tons of bulk petrol in Marsaxlokk. Submarine Utmost also makes port after its patrol.

Bedford QLD GS (1941) (Alfvan Beem via Wikipedia).

Spy Stuff: The Japanese decide that they will link their espionage agents in the United States into a network that funnels its spy information south through the Mexican Embassy and its Ambassador Miura. In order to avoid US scrutiny, the Japanese intended to be the conduits of such information flows are to be reduced from official status to civilian status so that they can move across the border without incident.

Partisans: Joseph Broz aka Tito is named Military Commander by the Central Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party. He issues a call to Yugoslavians to revolt against German/Italian rule. Meanwhile, the Chetniks, a completely separate Yugoslavian partisan group led by monarchist Draža Mihailović, attacks a police station in Serbia.

British Military: Orde Wingate, recently demoted and removed from his dismantled Gideon Force command in Abyssinia, attempts suicide by stabbing himself in the neck. The authorities decide to repatriate him to England. The incident may be attributed to side effects of Atabrine that Wingate is taking to combat a bout of malaria. Wingate's military career is not destroyed, however, because he has personal support from highly placed individuals within the British government.

Soviet Military: The NKVD arrests General of the Army Dimitry Pavlov, disgraced former commander of Western Front. He faces the death penalty for failing to stop the German invasion.

Iceland: Patrol Squadron Seventy Two (VP-72) begins operating PBY-5 Catalinas from Reykjavik, Iceland. These are in anticipation of the upcoming occupation of Iceland by US Marines to replace British troops. The Marines already are at sea, having left Argentia at dawn on 2 July. They are due to arrive at Reykjavik by 7 July. The Icelandic government is not thrilled at being occupied, but the prime minister reluctantly has cabled President Roosevelt that it is "in the best interest of Iceland."

The corpse of a dead German soldier, 4 July 1941 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1981-151-15A).

Holocaust: Riga's main synagogue is destroyed. There are many people trapped inside the structure who perish.

Einsatzkommando 9 (a unit of Einsatzgruppen B) in partnership with Lithuanians, begins shooting Jews in the pits of Ponary, a holiday destination before the war that is 10 km (6 miles) from Vilna. In addition, Germans arrive at the Synagogue on Zydowska (Zydu) Street in Vilna and demand that the Shamash (beadle), Haim Meir Gordon, form a governing group. This is the birth of the "First Judenrat," which is established on 24 July.

In one of many similar incidents all along the front, Soviet Army deserters ransack Jewish homes in Buchach after the Red Army retreats and before the Wehrmacht marches in later in the day. Joining them are various local people looking to take advantage of a temporary period of lawlessness. Many Jews lock themselves in their homes and welcome the arrival of the German troops as restoring order. Locals quickly sense the mood of the new occupiers and resume their depredations against the Jews, sometimes robbing them and kidnapping them as slaves.

At Tarnopol, German and local Ukrainian forces begin a pogrom against Jews. The Germans begin shooting at Jews in the street and invading Jewish homes. The reason for this incident appears, from local accounts, to be related to German anger at Soviet executions of prisoners at the Tarnopol prison - presumably including German POWs. The occupiers force Jews to dig up the courtyard of the prison in search of corpses and then carry them out for burial elsewhere.

At the Polish city of Lwów, several units composed of the SS, police and field gendarmerie under the command of SS officers arrest professors of the higher academic institutions at their homes. The SS men don't make distinctions and simply arrest all men over 18 in the homes (many adult children live with their parents). According to the sole survivor, Professor Groër, the arrested people are taken to the Abrahamowicz dormitory and told to stand against a wall for over an hour. The victims are taken to a cellar and shot one by one. When it is Groër's turn, he is asked why he, of German descent, did not leave the town when the Soviets (Bolsheviks) took over in 1939. He replies that he considers himself Polish and, in any event, the Soviets would not have allowed him to leave due to his university position. The only reasons Groër is spared are that he is married to a titled English woman, which for some reason impresses the executioners, and also has prewar contacts within the SS. This incident is a good example of Holocaust executions that are not based on the victims being Jewish.

British Homefront: Coal is in short supply because the miners have been called to active service duty. Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin now requires ex-miners to register for recall. Until production is increased, domestic users of coal are restricted to one ton a month of coal, coke or any related fuel. While this does not affect most private homes, it is a serious inconvenience to hotels and offices.

The British Communist Party, recognizing the reality of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, belatedly decides to support the war effort.

Lou Gehrig's memorial plaque at Yankee Stadium that is dated 4 July 1941 but actually was unveiled on 6 July 1941 due to a rained-out game.

American Homefront: It is Independence Day in the United States, and that means a number of speeches. President Roosevelt gives a relatively brief radio address from his home in Hyde Park, New York in which he warns that:

I tell the American people solemnly that the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship.

He urges sacrifice to preserve freedom.

Failed Presidential candidate Wendell L. Willkie also gives a speech over the NBC radio network. He urges free trade and a form of globalism:

We must see to it that the trade areas of the world are enlarged, that artificial barriers between men are removed, so that there will be a constantly rising standard of living for all men who work, in which men of all races and creeds and religions and nations can live in peace and harmony, in which the just fruits of enterprise will find their just fulfillment, in which children may look forward to a constantly better world, free of hatred and bitterness and narrow isolationism and of economic degradation.

He concludes his speech by hopefully predicting the end of tyranny before the next fourth of July.

The New York Yankees wish to honor the recently deceases Lou Gehrig by unveiling a monument in Memorial Park, directly behind center field, today. He is the second player to be so honored. Gehrig is not buried there - his grave is in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York - but this is considered "his place" by many fans. Unfortunately, today's doubleheader against the Senators is rained out, so the date of the unveiling is moved to 6 July. Rainchecks for today's rained-out games become prized collector's items because they bear the Iron Horse's picture.

Paramount film "Caught in the Draft" is released. It stars Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, both taking a break from the "Road" films with Bing Crosby. Capitalizing on the war situation, the comedy featured Hope as a movie star who wants to evade the draft by getting married, but winds up with a colonel's daughter - and in the army. The film goes out of its way to make the military seem lenient and understanding in order to aid the war effort. The film opens at the Paramount in New York and becomes only the second film in the theater's 15-year history to run for five weeks.

A Rain Check for the 4 July 1941 Memorial Game honoring Lou Gehrig. The ceremony finally took place on 6 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

Thursday 3 July 1941

Remarks of Joseph Stalin, 3 July 1941.

Eastern Front: On 3 July 1941, after disappearing from public view for ten days, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin gives a radio speech. It is a remarkable event in the history of the Soviet Union. It is one of the most dramatic and influential speeches of the 20th Century because it produces results that change the history of the world. As British newsman Alexander Werth writes, for the first time Stalin speaks to the country as if his listeners are his friends. Listeners can hear the clink of Stalin's glass as he takes occasional sips and marvel at his very thick Georgian accent. It is as if Stalin is sitting at the table with you, explaining the tragedy that has befallen the country and asking personally for your help.

The gist of the speech is that the entire Soviet Union must engage in total war. On a tactical level, Stalin advocates that his "brothers" and "sisters" adopt "Guerilla tactics." He admonishes "We must not leave … a single kilogram of grain or a single liter of petrol to the enemy." He summarizes the strategic situation quite honestly, one of the few times the Soviet government gives a clear picture of the situation throughout the war:

Hitler's troops have succeeded in capturing Lithuania, a considerable part of Latvia, the western part of White Russia, a part of the western Ukraine. The Fascist air force is extending the range of the operations of its bombers and is bombing Murmansk, Orsha, Mogilev, Smolensk, Kiev, Odessa, Sevastopol.

However, the speech touches on themes that go far beyond the tactical or even strategic.

Thus the issue is one of life or death for the Soviet state, for the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; the issue is whether the peoples of the Soviet Union shall remain free or fall into slavery. The Soviet people must realize this and abandon all heedlessness; they must mobilize themselves and reorganize all their work on new, war-time lines, when there can be no mercy to the enemy.

Stalin concludes with a populist call to "the people" - unheard of in the Soviet state to date:

The State Committee of Defense has entered in its functions and calls upon all our people to rally around the party of Lenin-Stalin and around the Soviet government so as self-denyingly to support the Red Army and Navy, demolish the enemy and secure victory. All our forces for support of our heroic Red Army and our glorious Red Navy. All the forces of the people—for the demolition of the enemy! Forward, to our victory!

The results of Joseph Stalin's speech will become clear as we continue our review of the days of World War II.

German soldiers recovering a fallen StuG III assault gun in the Pruth River, 3 July 1941 (Federal Archives, Bild  B 145 Fig. F016207-0008).

In the Far North sector, General Dietl's Army of Norway 3rd Mountain Division establishes a bridgehead across the Litsa River on the way to Murmansk in Operation Silver Fox. The Soviets quickly send reinforcements to the area and stop any further German penetration. Further south, the Operation Arctic Fox advance toward Salla bogs down, largely due to the inexperience of the German SS-Infantry Kampfgruppe Nord division. The Germans call for reinforcements from southern Finland and ask the Finns to mount a flank attack on the Soviet defenders to free up their front, but this will take several days to organize.

In the Army Group North sector, Field Marshall von Leeb's troops continue attacking the Stalin Line with 4th Panzer Group. The Soviet defenders manage to hold their positions through great sacrifices.

On the Army Group Center Front, the panzers of General Walter Model's 3rd Panzer Division of Panzer Group 2 reach the Dneipr River at Rogachev southeast of Minsk despite determined Soviet counterattacks. There is some confusion on the German side, with local commanders determined to move forward while Hitler's 29 June "stop" order technically remains in place. Field Marshal von Bock supports Generals Guderian and Hoth against Army Commander von Brauchitsch, and the panzers continue eastward past Minsk.

Some of the 290,000 Soviet troops taken prisoner at Bialystok. 3 July 1941 (Hermann, Federal Archives, Bild 101I-006-2212-30).

Behind the front, General Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group helps infantry troops to subdue the large Soviet Bialystok pocket west of Minsk. Ultimately, 290,000 Soviet troops and 2500 tanks surrender.

Soviet Colonel Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer, commander of the elite 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division, attacks the bridgehead established by General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group at Borisov (near Lipki). The attack is spotted before it arrives by Luftwaffe reconnaissance. The attack is sharp and vicious but fails. Guderian's 18th Panzer Division in the bridgehead is aided in planning its defense by intercepts of Soviet communications made "in the clear" - not in code - and also by Luftwaffe reconnaissance. The Soviets have a success of sorts, getting the remnants of 4th and 13th Armies across the Dneipr, but all of the Soviet armies are battered an no longer worthy of the name. Marshal Timoshenko orders the 21st Army forward to hold the river line, which the Germans are unable to cross before nightfall.

In the Army Group South sector, the main action is in Soviet Moldavia, where Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies and German 11th Army continue their offensive. The Soviets attempt some counterattacks, but they barely slow the Germans.

Soviet Naval Air unit 402 IAL, based at Idritsa in Russia and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel P. Stefanovsky, goes into action with its new MiG-3 fighters for the second straight day with outstanding results. It destroys six more Luftwaffe planes, as it did on the 2nd. The unit has as its adjutant an aerobatic champion, Major K. A. Gruzdev, who devises special strategies for the unit's pilots such as picking an altitude where the new MiG-3 fighters enjoy a performance advantage over the Bf 109s. Gruzdev quickly develops into one of the top aces in the Red Air Force.

Wilhelm Pruller writes in his diary, published after the war as "Diary of a German Soldier," about the general German tactics used at this stage of the war. The panzers use the road network to push east, "Without securing the land lying to the right and left of the road." This means that uncounted numbers of Soviet troops are left behind the Wehrmacht spearheads hidden in gullies and forests. Pruller's unit is in Kamionka. Early in the morning, Pruller's unit encounters and wipes out a force of Russian cavalry hiding in a ravine by using artillery. Later, a Soviet tank (apparently a KV) drives alone into town from the north carrying a large party of Soviet soldiers armed with pistols. The tankers are just trying to make it back to Soviet lines, but they have to get through the German-held town. The tank makes it through Kamionka and across a bridge almost to safety before German artillery finally destroys it. The Germans find that some of the soldiers on the tank were women - they all were burned alive.

British troops under fire near Damascus, 3 July 1941.

Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The main action in Syria switches today from Palmyra, which fell to the British on 2 July, to northeastern Syria. General William "Bill" Slim of Iraq Command controls 10th Indian Infantry Division plus the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles from 20th Indian Infantry Brigade. Based in Haditha, its goal is to advance westward toward Aleppo, and Slim's forces so far have not met much opposition.

The 2/10th Gurkha Rifles attacks Deir ez-Zor from the south-west at 09:00. They take the garrison by surprise and seize important bridges intact. Other Gurkha Rifles then advance from the southeast and clear the town against heavy Vichy French air attacks. By 15:30, Deir ez-Zor is in British hands, with the British capturing booty of five aircraft, nine guns, and 50 trucks. However, the defending Syrian troops hurriedly take off their uniforms and blend into the civilian population, evading capture. Only about 100 prisoners are taken.

Vichy France sends more aerial reinforcements for Syria from Tunis. They take the northern route via Brindisi, Italy, and Athens. Today, 21 Dewoitine D.520 fighters of No. 3 Squadron, 2nd Fighter Grup (GD II/3) land at Rhodes, their last stop before entering the battle zone.

Jewish forced laborers unloading German ammunition at Isbica railway station (15 km north of Zamosc, Poland), 3 July 1941 (Paris, Hans Joachim, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1994-027-33).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe makes a rare daylight raid on Great Britain, attacking Land's End in southwestern England. The attack fails, however, when the bombs fail to explode. Many British observers conclude that the Luftwaffe has so many defective bombs because slave laborers in German factories are secretly sabotaging their ordnance.

During the day, RAF Fighter Command conducts two Circus missions to Hazebrouck. The RAF loses two Spitfires in the first mission and four in the second to JG 2 and JG 26, most near St. Omer.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command attacks Essen (90 bombers) and Bremen (68). Bombing accuracy is terrible, and the entire area around Essen is hit (including Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Hagen, and Wuppertal).

During the RAF night raids, at 01:00, Luftwaffe night fighter pilot Oblt. Reinhold Knacke of 2./NJG 1 destroys a British Whitley bomber and a Hampden bomber.

Luftwaffe Major Wilhelm Balthasar, Kommodore of JG 2, is shot down and killed. He had 47 victories. His replacement is Oblt. Walter Oesau.

Following a recent air battle in which he shot down five Soviet bombers, Werner Mölders, now serving on the Eastern Front as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51, is awarded the Swords to his Knight's Cross from the hand of Adolf Hitler.

East African Campaign: The Italian garrison at Debra Tabor surrenders. In addition, Free Belgian troops under the command of Major-General Auguste Gilliaert surround General Pietro Gazzera's army of about 7000 men at Saio in the south Ethiopian Highlands. The Belgians also attack Dembidollo in Galla-Sidamo.

A funeral in Zăicani, Rîșcani, Moldova, 3 July 1941. Note German soldier on horseback watching as others carry the coffin behind a priest (Federal Archives, Bild B 145 Fig. F016207-0029).

Battle of the Baltic: Finnish submarine Vetehinen uses its deck gun to attack 4100-ton Soviet ship Vyborg north of Stenskaar. The Viborg gets away for the time being (sunk on 3 July by submarine Vesikko).

Soviet Navy transport Imanta hits a mine off Suursai. The master manages to beach the ship before it sinks, but it is a total write-off.

German naval trawler KOL-72 hits a mine and sinks at Kołobrzeg, Poland.

Soviet motor torpedo boat No. 12 is lost somewhere in the Baltic of unknown causes.

The Soviets scuttle freighter Everiga at Pyarnu rather than allow it to be captured by the advancing Germans.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler), on its third patrol out of Lorient and operating southwest of the Canary Islands, sinks 2918-ton British freighter Robert L. Holt at 06:50. The Robert L. Hold happens to be the ship of Commodore Vice-Admiral N.A. Wodehouse of recently dispersed Convoy OB-337. It is an unusual encounter because the U-boat is out of torpedoes, so Metzler decides to surface and use his deck gun. This proves to be a risky decision when the armed freighter fires back, which Metzler probably wasn't expecting. Ultimately, U-69 fires 102 high explosives and 34 incendiary rounds from the deck gun, along with 220 rounds from the 20mm anti-aircraft gun and 400 rounds from its MG 34 machine gun. There are 49 deaths. This is the final success of U-69 on this eventful patrol, which has seen it almost bring the United States into the war six months earlier than would be the case with its sinking of US freighter Robin Moor.

British 86-ton drifter Receptive hits a mine and sinks in The Swale near Uplees. There is one death.

Royal Navy 82-ton auxiliary ship Rosme hits a mine and sinks off Foulness Island.

Convoy SL-80 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Rothesay (Commander Alaster A. Martin) is commissioned.

U-577 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schauenburg) is commissioned, U-265 and U-521 are laid down.

Jews being forced to carry ammunition by German troops near Zamość, Izbica, 3 July 1941 (Paris, Hans Joachim, Federal Archives, Bild 146-1991-014-08).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes and sinks 5870-ton Italian freighter Laura Cosulich east of Calabria.

Spanish 308-ton freighter Felipe Crespi hits a mine and sinks off Genoa, Italy.

Off the Libyan coast east of Tobruk, Italian submarine Malachite spots light cruiser HMS Phoebe making a sweep in the company of light cruiser HMAS Perth and three destroyers. Malachite fires a torpedo, but misses.

British submarine HMS Osiris makes it to Malta with 70 tons of bulk petrol.

Danish/US Relations: Expanding the recent "Consulate War" between the US, Germany, and Italy, Denmark leaps into the fray by demanding that the US evacuate its consular staff by 15 July. In general, these expulsions are a bad thing for the Allies, as the US consulates behind the Reich lines can provide valuable intelligence to Great Britain.

"Kennedy family friend, Stanley Rogers "Stan" Resor (with a towel draped around his head, and one foot on a pair of water skis), stands on a dock at Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, during the Fourth of July holiday; Gaspard d'Andelot "Don" Belin sits in the stern of a docked boat at left." This photo was taken circa 3 July 1941. Resor goes on to serve in Europe, wins the Silver Star and Bronze Star, and serves as Secretary of the United States Army from 1965 to 1971. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Libary and Museum).

Soviet Military: All men aged 16-60 and women aged 18-50 are mobilized, with very few exceptions.

British Military: The Handley-Page Halifax Mk II makes its maiden flight. It features improved Merlin 22  engines, a more streamlined nose, a four-gun Defiant-type dorsal turret, and some minor structural improvements.

Bell P-39C Aircobra fighter planes arrive at RAF Colerne, the first of 675 ordered by the British Purchasing Commission. They will serve with RAF No. 601 Squadron. RAF pilots, however, take an immediate dislike to the planes once they find that the rate of climb and performance at altitude is lacking.

Romanian Government: Romanian leader Ion Antonescu reveals his thinking during an address at the Ministry of Internal Affairs:

We find ourselves at the broadest and most favorable moment for a complete ethnic unshackling, for a national revival and for the cleansing of our people of all those elements alien to its spirit.

Holocaust: In Tallinn, Estonia, the Soviet NKVD shoots prominent politician Friedrich Akel. The Soviets imprisoned Akel in October 1940 but apparently preferred to shoot him rather than evacuate him with the rest of the retreating Soviet population. His wife Adele Karoline Tenz already has been deported.

July 3, 1941, The Sporting News- Detroit All-Star Game Issue- All-Stars & Briggs Stadium Cover. The game is scheduled for 8 July 1941.

American Homefront: Eleanor Roosevelt publishes a column with the United Feature Syndicate, Inc. entitled "My Day, July 3, 1941." In her column, she simply describes her thoughts during the day and philosophizes about "modern life." Among her thoughts today are the plight of "underprivileged youngsters," including "above all, our young Negro people," whom she feels are not getting enough recreation. She encourages people to send soldiers "packages of small luxuries, and even of necessities."
Future History: Gloria Rachel Bloom is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gloria grows up and becomes a lawyer, becoming interested in women's issues. Using her married name of Gloria Allred, she goes on to become a prominent attorney in California who is still active at the time of this writing.

 Wylie Walker Vale is born in Houston, Texas. He becomes a top endocrinologist who discovers the stress hormone.


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

Sunday 29 June 1941

Marshal CGE Mannerheim discusses strategy with the hero of the Winter War General Talvela, at the beginning of Finland’s second war with the USSR during WWII, the Continuation War.

Eastern Front: As of 29 June 1941 is one week into Operation Barbarossa, and the invasion is going right on schedule for Germany. The biggest success so far has been the capture of Minsk, the largest city on the high road to Moscow. Today, the Germans also clean up their supply route to Minsk by eliminating Soviet resistance at the Brest Fortress. If anything, the German success is greater than expected - which provides Hitler with his first real chance to interfere with operations.

The Soviets issue a directive - the first of many - aimed at punishing cowardice and desertion. The NKVD is instructed to set up posts behind the lines and apprehend any troops retreating without authorization. Summary courts-martial are established that have the authority to impose the severest penalties on soldiers and civilians alike.

In the Far North, Finland finally launches its first offensive in conjunction with Wehrmacht troops commanded by the hero of Narvik, Eduard Dietl. The overall Finnish military commander is Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, a legendary World War I leader.

As part of larger Operation Silver Fox (German: Unternehmen Silberfuchs; Finnish: Operation Hopeakettu), Operation Platinum Fox aims to take the USSR's only ice-free port available to western supply convoys, Murmansk. The German Army of Norway and the Finnish forces must cross very rugged terrain before reaching the port. The Finnish 3rd and 6th Divisions are attached to the German forces and nominally under their command, and they face Soviet 14th Army and 54th Rifle Division. The 3rd Mountain Division advances through the Titovka Valley and secures a key bridge over the river in the valley, while the 2nd Mountain Division takes the neck of the Rybachy Peninsula.

The main Finnish objective during all these attacks, as always during the Continuation War, is the recovery of Finnish territory lost as a result of the Winter War. Finnish 18th Division (Colonel Pajari) advances into Enso, a formerly Finnish town just across the border. The Soviets put up fierce resistance, and elsewhere the operation is hampered by German troops who are unfamiliar with the terrain and the climate. The Soviets land reinforcements on Fisherman's Peninsula. The German advance slows and then stops very quickly.

Gebirgsjäger of 7th Company/II. Bataillon/137th Regiment in Norway. From left to right: Franz Hollerweger, Feldwebel Kepplinger, and Gefreiter Josef Köchl. Köchl perished died on 29 June 1941 during a battle near the village of Titovka, Murmansk Oblast.

In the Army Group North sector, the Soviets are in disarray. Stalin recalled General of the Army Dimitri Pavlov and his entire staff on the 28th and replaced him with General Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko. Eremenko arrives at the Western Front headquarters at Mogilev in the morning to hear that the German 3rd Panzer Division has captured a bridgehead over the Berezina at Bobruisk and other panzers are across the Dvina at Riga. Considering that the plan was for the Soviet 4th Army to make a stand on the Berezina, this creates a dangerous situation. The Stavka rushes the elite 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division to Borisov to try to hold the line.

General Timoshenko, who has virtually taken over command of the Northwestern Front from General Kuznetsov, orders a stand on the Velikaya River. The Stavka now for the first time becomes concerned about the defense of Leningrad and hopes to make a successful defense of the city on the Stalin Line.

The Wehrmacht seizes the port of Libau after overcoming a fierce Soviet defense. The Germans take many casualties, and the fighting only ends when the defending Soviet 67th Rifle Division runs out of ammunition.

A 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket of the type used at Brest Fortress.  Introduced in 1940, it fired from six pipes and the shots could travel 5500 meters.

The Soviets at Brest Fortress in Brest-Litovsk remain dug in when the day begins. The Wehrmacht has used an assortment of advanced weaponry, including 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket mortars and flamethrowers, but the Soviets are dug in and refusing to surrender. Today, the German 45th Infantry Division calls in air support and the Luftwaffe sends Junkers Ju 88 bombers twice during the day. They drop 3,970 lb (1,800 kg) "blockbuster" bombs, the maximum that the planes can carry and the heaviest dropped by the Luftwaffe during World War II. This does the trick, and the 360 Soviet defenders surrender. However, some isolated Soviet soldiers remain hidden in the ruins until 23 July, when a Soviet lieutenant is captured - and perhaps longer.

In the Army Group Center sector, Hitler is tired of simply watching the brilliant offensive unfold through the Baltic states. He decides to impose his will and do something similar to what he did just over a year ago - put a brake on the advance. Hitler has Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Walther von Brauchitsch order commander of Army Group Center Fedor von Bock to stop his panzers and consolidate his position. In the first of many such instances, the Wehrmacht complies with the order in form but not in substance. Von Bock quietly encourages General Guderian to continue sending his 2nd Panzer Group east toward Bobruisk. The continued advance is explained to Hitler as a "reconnaissance-in-force," though in reality the generals simply ignore him.
In the Army Group South sector, massive Soviet tank forces have done little to hurt the advancing panzers at the Battle of Brody. However, at the cost of hundreds if not thousands of tanks, the Soviets at least have slowed the panzers. Soviet 22nd Mechanized Corps (Major-General S.M. Kondrusev) reports that it is down to only 19% of the tanks with which it began the war.  Major-General N.V. Feklenko's 19th Mechanized Corps reports that it has only 32 tanks remaining out of its starting force of 453 tanks. General Popel still has a large force of tanks, but he is trapped in Dubno and attempts by other Soviet forces have failed. German 16th Motorized, 75th Infantry Division, two other infantry divisions, and the 16th Panzer Division begin the process of reducing Popel's pocket.

Luftwaffe boss Hermann Goering, eager to burnish his own credentials with Hitler, claims:

In the first week of the campaign, the Luftwaffe has destroyed 4,990 Russian enemy aircraft for the loss of 175 of its own.

This, in fact, is not far from the truth if you count all of the Soviet aircraft destroyed on the ground. However, many of the Soviet planes destroyed were obsolete or non-combat planes. In any event, the USSR has thousands of planes further from the front.
Syrian/Lebanon Campaign: The British advance on Palmyra from Iraq continues today. Habforce's Arab Legion troops occupy Sukhna, which is about 40 miles northeast of Palmyra. The Vichy French notice this and prepare a counterattack. Right outside Palmyra, meanwhile, the Vichy French Foreign Legion drives the Wiltshire Yeomanry from a ridge overlooking the town and airfield.

In the Damour Valley east of Beirut, French artillery pounds British troops. British Brigadier William George Stevens keeps his main forces in the rear to avoid casualties but sends armed reconnaissance patrols to probe the French defenses.

From Paris, the government issues a communiqué:

The British Fleet has bombed our coastal positions in the Middle East. We have evacuated several of our bases in the mountains of southern Lebanon under cover of artillery fire which inflicted heavy losses on our assailants. Out aerial forces, supported by naval aircraft, repeatedly intervened in the ground fighting, especially around Palmyra (Syria). A British colonel and 40 men were captured.

As the communiqué suggests, there continues to be very hard fighting in the mountains east of Beirut.

The RAF stages a rare assassination mission aimed at Vichy French General Henri Dentz, bombing his official residence. Dentz escapes injury. The French Havas News Agency quickly issues a communiqué:

This afternoon British aircraft bombed and destroyed the residence of the French High Commissioner in Beirut. There were large numbers of dead and wounded.

Events throughout World War II will establish that it is extremely difficult to kill a specific person with aerial bombing. Generally, to be successful, such operations must isolate the target and kill him directly rather than sending bombers over a particular house or town.

Offshore, Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Naiad and two accompanying destroyers bombard Damur during the night.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Bremen (106 aircraft) and Hamburg (28) during the night, losing six planes.

Battle of the Baltic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Estonian freighter Märta at Ventspils.

Finnish minelayers lay mines off the Soviet coast.

U-103, a Type IXB U-boat. It mistakenly sinks friendly Italian freighter Ernani on 29 June 1941 (Federal Archives Bild 101II-MW-3930-23A).

Battle of the Atlantic: A running battle which began on 23 June continues in the North Atlantic around Convoy HX-133. Both sides have taken losses, with the Allies' losses "expected" and the German wolfpack losses a little less so. The Allies have reinforced HX-133 due to Ultra intercepts to a total of 13 escorts, much greater than usual at this stage of the war.

U-651 (Kptlt. Peter Lohmeyer), on its first patrol due south of Iceland, participates in the HX-133 attacks. It torpedoes and sinks 6342-ton British freighter Grayburn. There are 18 survivors, including master John Williams Sygrove, while 35 men perish.

U-651 then is sunk during a depth charge attack by British destroyers HMS Malcolm and HMS Scimitar, the British corvettes HMS Arabis and HMS Violet and the British minesweeper HMS Speedwell. The U-boat has enough time to surface and disgorge its entire crew of 45 men before it sinks.

U-651 only went on one patrol. It sank two ships during the patrol totaling 11,639 tons. Royal Navy Intelligence interviews the crew and writes up an extremely uncomplimentary summary of them, including the following:

The First Lieutenant, Oberleutnant zur See (Lieutenant) Karl Josef Heinrich, was an extremely unpleasant person, uncouth and ill-informed, and made every effort to be a general nuisance; both he and the Engineer Officer (Engineer Lieutenant) Benno Brandt, believed that they were furthering the cause of Hitler’s New Order by making innumerable minor complaints and by attempting to bully sentries and others who were unfortunate enough to have to come into contact with them.

The obviously annoyed British interrogators note in the report that the captives incessantly quote "propaganda" and "apparently had very little home-life or parental influence." They note further that the prisoners "alleged that the prostitutes of Lorient knew more about past and present plans than many German officers," and that the French at Lorient secretly worked against the Germans.

U-564 (KrvKpt. Reinhard Suhren), on its first patrol out of Kiel, is operating in the northern convoy routes when it spots an independent freighter. It torpedoes and sinks 1215-ton Icelandic freighter Hekla. There are seven survivors who spend ten days on a raft, but one man perishes right after they are picked up by HMS Candytuft. Another survivor is so badly wounded that he spends six months in a hospital. In total, there are 14 deaths.
U-103 (KrvKpt. Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, is operating about 450 miles west of Las Palmas when it spots a freighter. After an eight-hour chase and missing with a torpedo late on the 28th, U-103 finally torpedoes and sinks the ship at 00:51 on the 29th. Schütze surfaces and questions some of the survivors in a lifeboat and learns that he sank an Italian blockade runner, 6619-ton freighter Erani, which was disguised as Dutch freighter Enggano. So, this was a case of friendly fire. Ernani was trying to escape being interned at Teneriffe and make it to Bordeaux, so it had not told Italian authorities about its route. Schütze had no reason to think it was a friendly ship and did not get in any trouble for sinking an ally's ship.

U-123 (Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient and operating about 200 miles southeast of the Azores, spots Convoy SL-78. At 19:36, Hardegen hits 4088-ton British freighter Rio Azul. The ship breaks in two and sinks within minutes. There are 33 deaths, including the master, while 15 crew survive and are picked up by HMS Esperance Bay.

U-66 at Lorient. It sank two Greek freighters near the Canary Islands on 29 June 1941.

U-66 (Kptlt. Richard Zapp), on its second patrol out of Lorient, also spots Convoy SL-78 west of the Canary Islands. Zapp torpedoes and sinks two Greek freighters:

• 4345-ton freighter George J. Goulandris
• 5686-ton freighter Kalypso Vergotti.

The Vergotti was a straggler and thus easier to attack than the Goulandris. Everyone on both ships survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 626-ton British freighter Cushendall a few miles off Stonehaven. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 6142-ton British freighter Silverlaurel at King George Dock, Hull. There are no casualties.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 7457-ton British freighter Empire Meteor off Cromer. The Empire Meteor makes it to the Humber in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 486-ton British freighter Empire Larch off Great Yarmouth. The Empire Larch makes it to Great Yarmouth under its own power.

Norwegian 6118-ton tanker Leiesten hits a mine and is damaged in the Barrow Deep (north of Margate). The ship is taken in tow and makes it to Gravesend.

A US excursion boat, the Don, founders under mysterious circumstances in heavy fog off Ragged Island, Casco Bay, Maine. There are 34 deaths. It is unclear what happened, but one theory is that the engine exploded.

US Navy Task Group 2.8, led by the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) and heavy cruisers USS Quincy (CA-39) and USS Vincennes (CA-44), departs Hampton Roads, Virginia for a neutrality patrol.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Croome (Lt. Commander John D. Hayes) is commissioned.

Canadian corvette HMCS Kenogami (Lt. Commander Reginald Jackson) is commissioned.

HMAS Waterhen, sunk on 29 June 1941 (Australian Navy).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy destroyer HMAS Waterhen is making a nightly run to Tobruk when its luck runs out. A Regia Aeronautica Junkers Ju 87 bombs Waterhen about 100 miles east of Tobruk. The destroyer is taken in tow by HMS Defender, but Waterhen sinks on the way back to Alexandria. There are no casualties.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Urge makes an unsuccessful attack on Italian heavy cruiser Gorizia south of Messina, Sicily. While Urge's crew claims two hits and explosions, apparently Gorizia is undamaged. Gorizia and other ships then attack Urge, but it escapes. Royal Navy submarine Utmost attacks the same ships, also unsuccessfully.

Operation Railway II, another airplane ferrying mission to Malta by Force H out of Gibraltar, heads toward the island.

German/Soviet Relations: At some point during this week - details are very sketchy - Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin attempts to broker a peace deal with Hitler through a Bulgarian diplomat, Ivan Stamenov. Foreign Minister Molotov has Lavrentiy Beria arrange this by using one of Beria's subordinates, NKVD officer Pavel Sudoplatov, who has a "casual" lunch at a Moscow restaurant with the diplomat. Sudoplatov explains to Stamenov what to say to Hitler. Stalin is willing to offer huge concessions for peace, including Ukraine and all of the areas granted to him in the "secret protocol" to the 23 August 1939 Molotov/Ribbentrop Pact in the Baltic States. Stalin does, though, demand to know why Hitler invaded the USSR.

Hitler turns Stalin down flat and will not even consider the offer. This is one of Hitler's biggest mistakes. These revelations were hidden for many years but came to light during the period after Stalin died from natural causes in the 1950s. There are few other details of this little-known incident, but there is no reason to doubt that it happened. This peace offer was classified as treason and was one of the charges used to condemn Beria to death. The others involved - including the Bulgarian Stamenov diplomat used as the go-between - submitted affidavits confirming the incident. Sudoplatov confessed to it under interrogation and also was convicted of treason, serving 15 full years in prison (yes, there are many questions about the validity of such "proof," but there was a lot of corroboration). Molotov was never tried for treason despite his deep role in the incident, but gradually fell out of favor, lost his positions one by one, and by 1962 was a "non-person" in the Soviet bureaucracy.
German/Spanish Relations: Spanish leader Francisco Franco has agreed that German U-boats may receive supplies in Spanish waters as long as it is done in a low-key way. One such instance happens today when U-69 (Kptlt. Jost Metzler) refills its tanks from an interned German tanker, Charlotte Schliemann, which is berthed at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria harbor, then departs. The entire incident happens in the early morning hours so that nobody will notice.

Italian/Yugoslavian/Albanian Relations: Italy annexes to its puppet state of Albania districts of Yugoslavia that are adjacent to Albania.

Finnish Military: Finland forms Karelian Army (Karjalan Armeija) for operations in northern Karelia.

Lord Beaverbrook and Winston Churchill.

British Government: Lord Beaverbrook, formerly Minister of Aircraft Production and then briefly Minister of State, is appointed Minister of Supply. Beaverbrook is a close confidant of Winston Churchill, somewhat akin to the relationship that Harry Hopkins has to President Franklin Roosevelt and a key figure in England's wartime economy.

German Government: Hitler issues a secret decree which formally named Hermann Göring his successor in the event of his death. It gives Göring the power to act as Hitler's deputy with freedom of action in the event Hitler ever loses his freedom of action—either by way of incapacity, disappearance or abduction.

Romanian Government: Exiled King Carol II arrives in Mexico and establishes his residence there for the remainder of the war. He claims to be the leader of a government-in-exile but receives no recognition or support for the same.

China: The Japanese bomb Chungking (Chongqing), hitting the British Embassy and US gunboat USS "Tutuila" at Lungmenhao lagoon.

Holocaust: The pogrom in Jassy (Iasi), Romania continues. Local Romanian forces round up 5000 Jews for transport to concentration camps in sealed cattle trucks. The Romanian forces beat down doors and kill an estimated 260 Jews today, with thousands ultimately killed.

Soviet Homefront: The Soviet government begins evacuating 212,000 children from Leningrad. The government broadcasts a "scorched earth" policy, asking citizens to leave "nothing" for the Germans.

The burial of Ignacy Paderewski at Arlington National Cemetery, 1941.

American Homefront: Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and politician, passes away in New York at the age of 80. President Roosevelt announces that the body will rest for a short viewing period at Arlington National Cemetery at the USS Maine Monument. Roosevelt comments, "He may lie there until Poland is free," a wish that is granted; Paderewski's remains remain there until the fall of the Soviet Union and are only flown to Warsaw on 26 June 1992.

Former President Herbert Hoover gives a radio speech over the NBC network. It follows a speech he gave in May, and he notes:

In these six weeks, opposition against joining in this war has grown stronger in the American people. Yet we have moved officially nearer to war.

Hoover spends a large part of his speech discussing Japan. He notes that it "cannot make an effective air attack upon us," though it "could do some terrorization." He urges preparing for war in order to avoid having to declare war on Japan or Germany and urges that Roosevelt "Stop this notion of ideological war to impose the four freedoms on other nations by military force and against their will."

Hoover also raises a sensitive topic: communism:

If we go further and join the war and we win, then we have won for Stalin the grip of communism on Russia.... If we join the war and Stalin wins, we have aided him to impose more communism on Europe and the world.

Hitler similarly views the war as a struggle against war communism... in addition to being his means to global hegemony.

New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio plays a doubleheader at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. He gets a hit in the first game to extend his club-record hitting streak to 41 games. Between games, someone apparently steals his bat (a 36-ounce Louisville Slugger), and he goes hitless in his first three at-bats in the second game. Then, however, DiMaggio recalls that he lent an identical bat to right fielder Tommy Henrich earlier in the season. After getting the bat back, DiMaggio gets a hit in the seventh inning. This extends DiMaggio's hitting streak to 42 games - breaking George Sisler's major league record of 41 games set in 1922. Sisler, who is in attendance, comments "I'm glad a real hitter broke it."

Superman Sunday comics, 29 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