Showing posts with label U-B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U-B. Show all posts

Saturday, May 19, 2018

July 31, 1941: Final Solution Order

Thursday 31 July 1941

Finnish gunner in Bristol Blenheim, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
A Finnish gunner inside the dorsal turret of a Bristol Blenheim bomber, July 31, 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: The Germans on 31 July 1941 capture and interrogate an unnamed Soviet General Staff officer who gives tantalizing hints that the Soviets may be in the process of abandoning Leningrad. He says that the Stavka is shifting troops from the Leningrad perimeter to south of Lake Ilmen to defend the approaches to Moscow. The Germans also notice heavy rail traffic between Moscow and Leningrad. General Halder hopefully notes in the OKH war diary a single word: "evacuation?"

Halder also notes something more troubling in the war diary. He writes that Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, the head of the German Army (ObdH), is simply transcribing Hitler's most recent Fuhrer directive directly into operational orders. Halder writes plaintively:
Unfortunately I cannot induce ObdH to inject into this order the slightest overtone expressive of a will of his own. Its wording is dictated by an anxiety to avoid anything that could be suspected as opposition to his superior.
This continues a constant refrain in Halder's diary, that Hitler is tightening his grip on military operations and squeezing out all sense of direction aside from his own.

Finnish soldiers pose with Soviet soldier, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
Finnish soldiers stand in lake Paanajärvi over the dead body of a Soviet soldier killed near Rukajärvi, Karelia, Finland (now Rugozero, Republic of Karelia, Russia). 31 July 1941 (SA-Kuva).
In the Far North sector, Finnish II Corps (Maj. Gen. Laatikainen) begins an offensive north of the Karelian Isthmus toward Lake Ladoga. One goal is to cut off the Soviet divisions that are northwest of the lake from their shortest withdrawal routes. The geographical target is the city of Viipuri (Vyborg), which Finland considers naturally its own possession and not Russian for historical reasons. The overall goal is the reconquest of the entire Karelian Isthmus. The defending Soviet 115th and 142nd Divisions have strong defensive positions and blunt the Finnish offensive.

In the Army Group North sector, German forces of the 16th Army secure the southwestern shore of Lake Ilmen. The Soviets counterattack from the direction of Toropets. General von Manstein's troops continue in the direction of Luga. The Soviets are putting up a strong defense at Kholm, which is preventing the Germans from transferring troops further south.

In the Army Group Center sector, there are only local Soviet counterattacks. The Soviets are building fortifications all along their positions and evidently they intend to make a stand where they are. The Soviets continue attacking the German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya from all directions. The Germans, meanwhile, continue reducing the Smolensk pocket while the trapped Soviet forces such as Group Kachalov attempt to break out.

In the Army Group South sector, the German Sixth Army continues to sidestep the large Soviet troop concentration at Kyiv to the south. Panzer Group 1 (General von Kleist) is operating west of Pervomaisk and attempting to envelop Soviet forces of the 12th Army. Soviet attacks against the 11th Army begin to increase in intensity during the day. Progress is slow for the Germans all across this sector.

RAF Captain Eric Lock, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
Captain Eric S. Lock of the RAF in the cockpit of his Spitfire Mk.V with his dog, 31 July 1941.
European Air Operations: It is a quiet day on the air front in northwest Europe following several days of unsettled weather. The RAF sends four Blenheim bombers on a Roadstead sweep over St. Valery en Caux, and they return undamaged.

The Air Ministry reports that civilian air raid casualties during July 1941 were 900 killed and 908 injured.

Battle of the Baltic: U-140 (Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel) torpedoes and sinks 206-ton Soviet submarine M-94 (Lt Dyakov) at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. Some sources place this on 21 or 22 July. There are three survivors. U-140 also attacks M-98 but misses.

Soviet minesweeper No. 46 sinks from unknown causes off Tallinn, Estonia.

The Luftwaffe (KG4) drops 38 mines at the mouth of the Triigi River, Saaremaa, Estonia.

HMCS Battleford, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
HMCS Battleford, commissioned on 31 July 1941, off the East Coast of the United States, 5 October 1943.
Battle of the Atlantic: In Operation FB, the Royal Navy arrives at Advent Fjord, Spitsbergen. There are no Germans there, but about 700 Norwegians. Other ships arrive at Gronfjord, where there are 1800 Russians.

The Luftwaffe attacks 209-ton British freighter Onward about 20 miles east of Nolso, France.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Vansittart intercepts 792-ton Vichy French freighter Oued Grou several hundred miles south of Dakar. The British take the ship to Freetown.

The Germans at Arcachon, France requisition 329-ton Italian trawler Sardella.

German 3172-ton blockade runner Natal arrives at Gironde, France.

Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny meets British minelayer HMS Adventure near the Gorodetski lighthouse at the entrance to the White Sea in northern Russia. Adventure has been detached from Operation EF, the raid on Petsamo and Kirkenes.

Convoy ON-3 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL-82 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool. Ships intended for Convoy WS-10 (Winston Special) depart from Liverpool to join other ships arriving from other ports at sea.

Royal Navy corvettes HMS Monkshood (Lt. Commander James E. R. Wilford) and Pentstemon (Lt. Commander John Byron) are commissioned, escort carrier Pursuer is laid down.

Canadian corvette HMCS Battleford is commissioned in Montreal, Quebec (named after Battleford, Saskatchewan).

US destroyers USS Duncan, Lansdowne, and Pringle are laid down.

U-581 (Kapitänleutnant Werner Pfeifer) is commissioned, U-172 is launched, U-711 is laid down. The Kriegsmarine decommission U-B, which is the former Royal Navy submarine HMS Seal, at Kiel.

Allied shipping losses drop sharply in July 1941, from 389,316 tons in June to 109,276 tons in July. This undoubtedly is due to the diversion of German resources toward the Soviet Union. Allied losses are down sharply in every category, such as losses by U-boat down from 310,143 tons in June to 94,209 tons in July.

The silver lining for the Kriegsmarine is that they do not lose any U-boats during July after losing four in June. For its part, the Axis loses 12 ships of 47,055 tons in the Mediterranean. Admiral Doenitz has a fleet of 65 U-boats in operation during the month of July 1941.

Scots Dragoons of the "Royal Scotts Greys" Regiment , 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
Scots Dragoons of the "Royal Scotts Greys" Regiment fall in on horseback near Nablus, Palestine on July 31, 1941. The photo was taken after the regiment returned from fighting in Syria and Lebanon.
Battle of the Mediterranean: As part of Operation Style, a British Force S convoy run from Gibraltar to Malta, the Royal Navy Force H detaches destroyers HMS Cossack and Maori to bombard Italian positions at Alghero, Sardinia. They also fire star shells to guide in RAF planes from aircraft carrier Ark Royal. This attack is intended to distract the Italians away from the convoy ships heading to Malta.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent (Lt. Knox) surfaces and uses its deck guns to sink 160-ton Italian sailing ship Igea about seven miles northeast of Benghazi (or a similar distance from Carcura, Libya).

The Luftwaffe bombs Tobruk before dawn and are met with heavy anti-aircraft fire.

The Italians attack St Angelo, Malta with three BR-20 bombers. They cause some damage to military facilities there and injure three people. Three other BR-20 bombers attack the Grand Harbour area.


Braunschweig, Germany, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
Braunschweig, Ruhfäutchenplatz. On the left is the New Town Hall, at the center of the picture is tram line 3, at the right is Dankwarderode Castle (Proietti, Ugo, Federal Archive, Bild 212-267).
US/Soviet Relations: President Roosevelt's personal emissary Harry Hopkins meets with Joseph Stalin in Moscow to discuss the terms of the United State's lend-lease aid to the USSR.

US/Japanese Relations: Japan lavishly apologizes for the bombing of USS Tutuila during a bombing raid of Chungking on the 30th. They call it "an accident, pure and simple."

Effective today, US exports of aviation motor fuels and lubricants and No. 1 heavy melting iron and steel scrap to Japan are put on the restricted list pursuant to the Export Control Act signed on 2 July 1940.

German/Swedish Relations: Having successfully transferred the 163rd Infantry Division in its entirety from Narvik, Norway to Finland on the railway line that runs across Swedish territory, the Germans ask for Swedish permission to transfer another division. The Swedes, who have been conflicted about the earlier decision, refuse.

German/Spanish Relations: Troops of the Spanish Blue Division are formally designated the Wehrmacht's 250th Infantry Division. They assemble prior to their departure to the front and swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler. They are destined for the Army Group North sector.

German Relations: Romanian leader Ion Antonescu acquiesces to Hitler's recent request to have Romanian troops conquer and occupy Ukrainian territory between the Bug and Dniester Rivers.

Lord Derby at the opening of the new Flotilla Club extension, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
"Lord Derby is seen talking with Mrs. T A Hussey." The opening of the new extension of the Flotilla Club, 31 July 1941. © IWM (A 4698).
Ecuadorian/Peruvian Relations: After several days of discussion during which military operations continued, the two sides agree to a ceasefire in their border war. As a last military movement in the war, Peruvian troops arrive at Puerto Bolivar by ship and continue to operate against Ecuadorian troops in the Amazonian jungle.

German Military: General Ludwig Crüwell becomes commander of Afrika Corps while Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel is promoted to command of the new Panzerarmee Afrika. Panzer Army Africa is more the size of a corps than an army because it has only one infantry and two panzer divisions. While there are large Italian forces in North Africa, they remain under nominal Italian command. Crüwell is ill and does not take up his position until 15 September.

Lockheed Ventura, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
A Lockheed Ventura of RAF No. 21 Squadron ca. 1941.
US Military: The Lockheed Ventura, a twin-engine medium bomber, makes its first flight. It is developed from the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar transport. The British Purchasing Commission ordered 188 Venturas in February 1940 while the plane was still in the early stages of development.

US heavy cruiser USS Astoria arrives at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands.

Soviet Military: Soviet 43rd Army (Lieutenant General Ivan Zakharkin) becomes operational as part of General Georgy Zhukov's new Reserve Front pursuant to a Stavka order dated 30 July 1941. Its mission is to defend the Desna River south of Yelnya on the line of Kholmets and Bogdanovo.


Hermann Goering's Final Solution order to Reinhard Heydrich, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
A translation of the 31 July 1941 letter from Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering to Reinhard Heydrich regarding the "Final Solution" (Truman Library).
Bulgarian Government: The Bulgarian government annexes its portion of the former Yugoslavia.

Holocaust: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering sends RSHA (Reichssicherheitshaupamt) Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich an order to make:
all the necessary preparations with regard to organizational, practical and financial aspects for an overall solution (Gesamtlosung) of the "Jewish question" in the German sphere of influence in Europe.
Heydrich already has verbally instructed the SS to exterminate entire groups of people, including Jews, and even put it in writing. However, some later assume that Heydrich specifically asks Goering for this after-the-fact authorization letter. In colloquial terms, it is a "cover your butt" letter for Heydrich's benefit.

As it works out, the letter is meaningless to Heydrich (who is assassinated in 1942) but provides a "smoking gun" against Goering at the Nuremberg Trials (who futilely claims that the letter is mistranslated and only refers to a "desired solution," not a "final solution"). While things may have progressed as they did without this order, it provides legal cover for Heydrich to do whatever he wants to do - and Heydrich wants to do a lot where the Jews are concerned.

At Kishinev, Bessarabia (Moldova), the SS has killed about 10,000 Jews by the end of the month. At Zhytomyr, an additional 2500 are dead.

Einsatzcommando 3 reports executing 235 Jewish men, 16 Jewish women, and 5 non-Jews in the "Jäger Report."

Norwegian Homefront: Reich Commissar Josef Terboven issues a regulation that authorizes him to declare a civilian state of emergency. He does not do so at this time, however.

American Homefront: The New York Yankees lead the American League by 12.0 games over the second-place Cleveland Indians, while the St. Louis Cardinals leads the National League by 2.0 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Hermann Goering Final Solution letter to Reinhard Heydrich, 31 July 1941 worldwartwo.filminspector.com
The original and infamous "final solution" letter from Hermann Goering to Reinhard Heydrich, 31 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

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

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm

Tuesday 23 July 1940

23 July 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Spitfires Mk 1
Spitfire Mk. Is of B Flight of No 609 Squadron RAF. They are preparing for take-off at RAF Middle Wallop in July 1940.
Battle of Britain: War nerves remain tight on 23 July 1940. There is a false invasion alarm at 19:58 when British aerial reconnaissance reports a large group of Kriegsmarine ships, including destroyers and possibly transports, heading northwest in the North Sea. The British Home Fleet makes ready to cast off, and RAF Skua and Swordfish torpedo planes are sent to attack.

There are indeed ships there, and the RAF planes go to work, with one plane sustaining damage but no hits made on the planes. In fact, it is just a relatively routine Kriegsmarine minelayer force out of Wilhelmshaven composed of the minelayers Kaiser, Konigin Luise, Roland, Cobra, and Hansestadt Danzig, escorted by a large formation of torpedo boats. The German ships lay their mines (minefield "NW 2") without further interference. The entire incident reveals how murky the entire situation is and how difficult it is for the Admiralty to know exactly what is going on.

Aerial operations remain light. The Luftwaffe continues to target British convoys in the English Channel, but the English are getting wise to the strategy. Air Marshal Dowding protests at the difficulty of adequately protecting the Channel convoys, so some are re-routed the long way around Scotland. This reduces the easy pickings in the Channel but also causes major air battles over the fewer convoys using that short route.

There are several Luftwaffe penetrations of English airspace, but few actual interceptions due to clouds and other factors. The scattered raids are mostly in the north along the coast, and the RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 and a Dornier Do 215. The RAF loses no planes - a first during the Battle of Britain - and the Luftwaffe loses up to 6 planes.

23 July 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Polish pilot
Polish F/L Franciszek Jastrzębski joins No 302 Squadron RAF at RAF Leconfield on 23 July 1940. He leads B Flight. He is a 34-year-old veteran of the Polish campaign with 3 enemy aircraft to his credit. KIA 25 October 1940.
Battle of the Atlantic: British submarine HMS Narwhal sinks on or about this day. It is believed to have been sunk by a Dornier Do-17 flown by Lt. Karl Müller of 1/KF1Gr 606.

The Luftwaffe also bombs British submarine HMS Truant in the North Sea but escapes any damage.

British 305 ton freighter The Lady Mostyn hits a mine and sinks a couple of miles from the Formby Light Vessel. All aboard perish.

Convoy FN 230 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 118 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 230 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HX 60 departs from Halifax.

In addition, a Canadian troop convoy, TC.6, also departs from Halifax with a destroyer escort, with one troopship destined for Iceland and the rest Scotland and England. The troopships are Batory, Antonia, Monarch Of Bermuda, Sobieski, Duchess Of York and Samaria, escorted by Canadian destroyers HMCS Assiniboine and Saguenay and British cruiser HMS Emerald.

Former British submarine HMS Seal, which the Germans previously captured, is commissioned as U-B.

Soviet submarine M-99 is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Force H, which includes aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, cruiser Enterprise and destroyers Escapade, Faulknor, Foresight, and Forester. The objective is an air assault on Bordeaux. The weather turns poor and the operation is scrubbed.

At Malta, there are false air raid alerts during the day, but overnight the Italians raid Hal Far airbase and Kalafrana.

War Crimes: At Malta, an examination of downed Regia Aeronautica aircraft reveals that the Italians are using explosive bullets that have a detonator in the nose cap. Governor Dobbie sends a report to the War Office because such bullets - at least arguably - are prohibited by international treaties.

US/Soviet Relations: The Baltic States missions to the US protest against their Soviet absorption. The US refuses to recognize the Soviet annexation (pursuant to local "votes") of the Baltic States. Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles applies the 1932 Stimson Doctrine, which states that the US is under no obligation to recognize territorial changes undertaken by force. There are numerous benefits to the Baltics of this position, such as protection of Baltic States foreign assets and the right to maintain diplomatic missions.

The document is known as the Welles Declaration, and the US is a leader in this area which precedes similar stances by many other nations. This Welles Declaration, incidentally, outlives World War II and remains in effect until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990-91.

In Estonia, the Soviet puppet assembly rubber-stamps the Soviet takeover, transforming the nation into the Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).

Hungary: Local Germans stage a pro-Hitler demonstration in Budapest.

23 July 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Admiral Canaris Reinhard Heydrich
Admiral Canaris (left) with good friend Reinhard Heydrich on the occasion of the latter's wedding in the 1930s.
Spain: Admiral Canaris, head of the German military intelligence service Abwehr, visits Madrid for consultations regarding the capture of Gibraltar. This, obviously, requires more than just military planning and any decision to do anything of the sort requires a Spanish war commitment.

Czechoslovakia: Britain recognizes the Czech National Committee as the Provisional Czech Government and forms a military alliance with it.

French Somaliland: The Vichy government continues replacing its administrators in colonies to prevent any more defections to the "Free French" of Charles de Gaulle. General Germain replaces Pro-Free French General Legentilhomme.

League of Nations: The League continues its collapse into irrelevancy with the announcement from Geneva that Secretary-General Joseph Louis Anne Avenol intends to resign.

French Homefront: The Vichy government states that former Prime Minister Daladier and three members of his Cabinet will be prosecuted for causing the war.

British Homefront: Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Kingsley Wood presents the Third War Budget. It raises the income tax 24% to 8/6 and imposes additional sin tax levies on beer, wine, tobacco products, furs, makeup, amusement businesses, and similar non-essential goods.

The Local Defense Volunteers officially is renamed the Home Guard, which Prime Minister Winston Churchill believes is a more descriptive name. The Germans have announced that they will shoot any civilians acting against their troops.

American Homefront: The British are in desperate need of aircraft, so the British Purchasing Mission secures permission (Roosevelt must approve) to purchase up to 40% of U.S. aircraft production. The mission is headed by Scottish-Canadian Montreal businessman Arthur Purvis (head of Canadian Industries Ltd (CIL)), who had performed essentially the same function during World War I. Purvis also wants destroyers and torpedo boats. Generally, everyone in the US military cooperates with the British even though technically they could prevent sales of anything deemed necessary for national security. A notable exception is Admiral Stark, who is adamantly opposed to parting with the US Navy destroyer inventory even though many of the destroyers are virtually obsolete World War I types.

23 July 1940 worldwartwo.filminspector.com Arthur Purvis Henry Morgenthau
Dc Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau and Arthur Purvis, 1940.

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020