Adolf Hitler meets with Chief of the OKW Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the General Staff of the OKH Colonel-General Halder, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch. This is at the headquarters of the Army High Command and the occasion is Brauchitsch's 60th birthday (Federal Archives Picture 183-L20362).
Eastern Front: There are many dark moments during World War II for Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Among these are the first days of Operation Barbarossa, when he unsuccessfully begs Hitler for peace via a Bulgarian emissary. Perhaps the greatest, however, is in the first two weeks of October. On 4 October 1941, signs begin to emerge that Stalin fears that the war is lost and all that is left is to await the end. Today, we might say that Stalin is "losing his nerve."
20th Panzer Division troops of Army Group North supported by a Panzer 38(t) made in Czechoslovakia enter a pine grove near Leningrad during October 1941. To be more precise, that is Panzerkampfwagen 38 (t) Ausf. S (Sd.Kfz. 140) Nr. 9 (Gebauer, Federal Archive Bild 101I-213-0267-13).
Lieutenant-General Ivan Konev is the commander of Western Front. This force is defending the high road to Moscow that runs through Minsk and Smolensk. Currently, Konev's troops are fighting the Vyazma Defensive Operation and having a very tough time of it, with German pincers threatening a massive encirclement at Vyazma - the last major city before Moscow. Loss of Western Front, whose main component is the Konev's former command 19th Army (General M.F. Lukin) would make a successful defense of Moscow extremely difficult. Konev recalls:
On 4 October I reported to Stalin about the situation in the Western Front and about the enemy penetration of the Reserve Front... and also about the threat of a large enemy grouping reaching our forces' rear area...Stalin listened to me, however, made no decision. Communications were disrupted and further conversation ceased.
To sum up, Stalin is paralyzed and incapable of making decisions. However, in the Soviet state, nobody dares to make any decisions on their own without approval from the Stavka - and Stalin controls the Stavka. It is a very dangerous situation for the Red Army.
The Illustrated London News, October 4, 1941.
Stalin has good reason to be scared. German General Erich Hoepner's Panzer Group 4, composed primarily of LVI Panzer Corps (Erich von Manstein) and XLI Panzer Corps (George-Hans Reinhardt) is attacking Vyazma from the south while General Hermann Hoth's Panzer Group 3 is approaching it from the north. Should those two forces meet in the vicinity of Vyazma, the Red Army could lose another massive force (31 Rifle Divisions, 3 Cavalry Divisions, 2 Motorized Divisions, and 3 tank Brigades). Today, Hoepner eliminates Soviet 33rd and 43rd Armies as it captures Kirov and Spa-Demensk, not far to the southwest of Vyazma. Soviet Group (Ivan) Boldin is counterattacking Hoth's panzers, but Hoth, having reached an area southwest of Belyi, decides to head due east to sideslip the Soviet defenders for a deeper encirclement. Hoth also sends VI Army Corps north to take Belyi, which the Soviets contest bitterly.
USS Mississippi (BB-41) and RN destroyers at Hvalfjordur, Iceland on 4 October 1941 (US Navy).
Stalin's refusal to issue orders means that the endangered Soviet troops are not authorized to retreat. Without authorization to retreat, no Soviet commanders will issue such orders lest they suffer the same fate as generals like Pavlov in the early days of the war who were shot for "cowardice." Thus, another situation like Kyiv is developing, where any retreat orders may be issued too late and a giant hole may be blown through the Soviet lines - one that points directly at Moscow.
SB2U Vindicator code 42-S-17 of VS-42 in flight over the carrier USS Ranger CV-4 sometime during October 1941 (US Navy).
As with all other successful German offensives, the Luftwaffe has complete control of the skies. Air support is a critical component of the Blitzkrieg formula, and there are many top German aces clearing the way for the army. Luftwaffe fighter squadron JG 27 has a particularly good day, with the pilots starting early in the morning and flying multiple missions. Oblt. Erbo Graf von Kageneck of 9./JG 27 claims three Soviet planes - a DB-3, an SB-2, and a Pe-2 - and finishes the day with 60 victories. Ofw. Erwin Sallwisch of Stab/JG 27 (the headquarters group) claims four Soviet I-18 planes during the day. Top ace Hannes Trautloft of the same group downs an I-26, while several other JG 27 pilots also claim victories.
"Jews move their household possessions to new quarters following the Small Ghetto Action of October 4, 1941." (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of George Kadish/Zvi Kadushin).
It is a virtual shooting gallery in the skies because these are areas the Red Air Force must defend, and so they are forced to do battle and be shot down. However, there are always more Soviet planes to replace the ones lost, which may be welcomed by victory-hungry Luftwaffe pilots but which is a troubling omen for the future.
Starlet Glynis Johns on the cover of Picture Post magazine, 4 October 1941. She is promoting her 1941 film "49th Parallel," a British propaganda film about German sailors on the run in Canada. Incidentally, Glynis Johns, born in Pretoria, South Africa, is still alive as of 2019, though, apparently, she retired at the very end of the 20th Century. She was in Sandra Bullock's 1995 film "While You Were Sleeping" and in "Superstar" (1999).
"Flight Lieutenant J H "Ginger" Lacey of No. 501 Squadron RAF, in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire Mk I at Colerne, Wiltshire, 29 May 1941." At this time, he has 23 victories gained in 1940 (Imperial War Museum CH2793).
Anglo/Iraq War: The end is at hand on 29 May 1941 in Iraq for the Rashid Ali pro-Axis government as British troops near the capital from the south and west. The German military mission, which effectively means Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck) led by Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck, flies out after dark in its last two serviceable Heinkel He 111s. There are still Italian Fiat Cr-42 fighters operating over Baghdad, but their effectiveness is minimal. When the RAF attacks the Italians' airfield at Kirkuk, the Italians (2nd Lt. Valentini) damage an RAF Audax and wound the pilot, forcing it to land. An RAF Gladiator (Wing Commander W.T.F. ‘Freddie’ Wightman of No. 94 Squadron) shoots the Fiat down. It is a rare World War II battle where biplane fighters take each other on, with both sides losing planes.
Rashid Ali, the Grand Mufti, and Ali's cabinet flee to Persia. The British under Major-General Clark are still five miles from Baghdad, but rioting and panic have begun there as Iraqi control collapses. The disparity of forces between the two sides is immense - some 20,000 Iraqi troops face about 1450 British troops - but the British are used to facing such odds against native forces and prevailing against them.
The British air-lift the 2/4th Gurkha Battalion of Indian 20th Brigade from Basra to Habbaniya, which now is well behind the lines.
The real action now is in Syria, which is in British sights because it has been providing the Luftwaffe with transit hubs for flights to Iraq at Palmyra and Aleppo. Germans on 29 May 1941 send forces from the Italian Dodecanese Islands to the port of Latakia in northern Syria. These troops, in armored cars, head down to Beirut.
Wrecked Junkers Ju 52 transport planes on the beach at Maleme airfield, Crete, May/June 1941 (Federal Archive Bild 101I-166-0512-39).
European Air Operations: It is a quiet day on the Channel front, with the Luftwaffe sending its units to Poland for Operation Barbarossa and the RAF only performing normal patrol operations.
East African Campaign: According to the evening War Cabinet minutes, Churchill feels that French Somaliland is ripe for invasion. He suggests that "the Foreign Office should be prepared to take action in French Somaliland at the psychological moment of our entry into Syria."
Daily Sketch, Number 1941, 29 May 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), on its ninth patrol out of Lorient and operating hundreds of miles off of Freetown, Sierra Leone, torpedoes and sinks 6251-ton British freighter Tabaristan. There are 39 survivors.
U-557 (KrvKpt. Ottokar Arnold Paulssen), on its first patrol out of Kiel, is part of patrol line West, formed in support of the Bismarck operation. At 20:43, Paulssen puts a torpedo into 7290-ton British freighter Empire Storm south of Cape Farewell. The Empire Storm goes down, and three crew are killed. The 40 survivors are picked up by freighter Marita and taken to St. John's.
West of Gibraltar (northwest of Rabat), an inconclusive action develops between Royal Navy destroyers and Italian submarine Venero. Destroyer HMS Forester reports attacking the Venero on the surface, and Venero reports torpedoing a destroyer. Neither side suffers any damage.
Putting a final period on the failure of Operation Rheinübung, German cruiser Prinz Eugen - the always overlooked part of the operation - develops engine trouble and heads for France. Her destination is Brest, and she will make it there unhindered on 1 June. She has not sunk a single ship. In a cable today to President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill notes how "most important" it is to find the Prinz Eugen quickly. He also notes in passing that the Bismarck was "a terrific ship and a masterpiece of naval construction."
The Royal Navy decides to make a sweep of the Atlantic for supply ships sent out by the Kriegsmarine to support battleship Bismarck (now sunk) and the Prinz Eugen. A powerful force led by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle departs from Freetown to seek out such German ships in the South Atlantic.
U.S. Navy Patrol Squadron Fifty Two (VP-52), based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Argentia, Newfoundland with PBY-5 Catalinas, expands its reach. It sends planes to survey the remote east coast of Greenland, suspected of being used by the Germans at abandoned Danish weather stations. Royal Navy auxiliary oiler Teakwood arrives at St. John's to support the Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF), which has a lot of ships but virtually no support services. The NEF already is up and running, however, escorting its first convoy bound for Liverpool.
U-262, a Type VIIC U-boat of German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 29 May 1941 at the Bremer Vulkan yard at Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 27, launched on 10 March 1942 and commissioned on 15 April under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Schiebusch
The U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) activates the Air Corps Ferrying Command. This is designed to supply US pilots to ferry planes built in the United States to England and anywhere else the British need them. At this stage, the pilots fly the planes to Canadian airports, where RAF pilots take them over. This is a far cry from the early days of the war when the USAAC refused to fly planes into Canada and instead flew them to airports in Maine and then pulled them across to Canada using tractors and barges.
The US Navy sends Task Group Three (TG3), led by the aircraft carrier USS Ranger and heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa, departs from Bermuda for a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic. They will cover over 4000 miles (6400 km). The US today extends its boundaries for Neutrality Patrols to include both the North and South Atlantic.
Royal Navy ocean boarding vessel Malvernian captures 407-ton German weather ship August Wriedt in the mid-Atlantic northwest of the Azores. The Malvernian puts a prize crew aboard and sends it to St. John's. The August Wriedt will be renamed Maria and used by the Royal Navy.
Convoy OB 328 departs from Liverpool.
Dutch destroyer HNLMS Isaac Sweers (Commander Jacques Houtsmuller) is commissioned.
Royal Navy destroyers HMS Grove and Southwold and minesweeper Whitehaven are launched.
Canadian minesweeper HMCS Swift Current is launched in Montreal.
US destroyer USS Swanson (Lt. Commander Marvin P. Kingsley) is commissioned, and destroyers Carmick, MacKenzie and McLanahan are laid down.
U-132 (Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Vogelsang), U-452 (Kapitänleutnant Jürgen March) and U-572 (Kapitänleutnant Heinz Hirsacker) are commissioned, U-262 and U-618 are laid down.
U-132, a Type VIIC U-boat laid down on 10 August 1940 by Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack as 'werk' 11, launched on 10 April 1941 and commissioned on 29 May 1941.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The British evacuation from Crete moves into high gear today. During the early morning hours, 4000 men of the British 14th Infantry Brigade are taken off from Heraklion. After dark, another 1500 men are taken off. The German 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment takes possession of Heraklion as the British leave.
Force D evacuates 6029 men from Sfakia, including the Greek Commander in Chief. Light cruiser HMS Phoebe takes some minor damage from a bomb, but otherwise, the large force escapes unscathed.
The Germans, of course, notice what is going on. The Luftwaffe shifts its focus from the north coast ports that the Germans need for supplies to the south shore ports such as Sfagia where the Royal Navy is frantically loading as man men as possible. It becomes a situation of "every man for himself" both on Crete and in the waters to the south.
Junkers Ju 87 Stukas catch two light cruisers, HMS Orion and Dido, on their way back to Alexandria during the afternoon and damage them. While the ships remain maneuverable, Orion suffers 105 crew and 260 troops killed, with 280 troops wounded. Dido has 27 crew and 100 troops killed by fire or water pumped in to prevent the magazine from exploding. Destroyer Decoy also is damaged during this action. The flotilla makes it to Alexandria around 20:00.
HMS Dido is bombed on 29 May 1941 (Australian War Memorial).
The Stukas also hit sink destroyer Hereward about five miles south of Crete. With daylight approaching the rest of the Royal Navy force abandons Hereward and its crew to its fate. The Hereward's captain tries to make it to shore to beach his ship, but Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 Stukas finish the job and the ship sinks before he can make it. Italian motorboats pick up some survivors. There are 165 survivors and 76 deaths.
Also during the early morning hours, Italian bombers from 41° Gruppo damage I-class destroyer HMS Imperial. While the ship makes it partway to Alexandria, the steering goes out. The crew tries to make repairs, but ultimately they are forced to scuttle the Imperial (with the assistance of HMS Hotspur) 55 nautical miles (102 km; 63 mi) east of Kassos.
There are British Commonwealth troops trapped all over Crete who have no hope of making it to an embarkation point on the south coast. Colonel Campbell, for instance, is trapped at Heraklion because he has too many men for the meager evacuation convoys to take off. A large contingent also remains at Rethymno (Retimo), where the original drop of German Fallschirmjäger has not made a dent in the British defenses. However, the Fallschirmjäger unit from Maleme rapidly approaches from the west.
The Walt Disney Studios strike officially begins on 29 May 1941. Cartoonish picket lines always have the best signs!
The Italians who have landed at Sitia with their 13 tanks move westwards to link up with the Germans heading east from Maleme, Canea, and Suda. They are harassed as much by local proto-partisans as by the fleeing British.
In Cairo, Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell is planning another offensive on the Libyan frontier. British intelligence reports tell him that the Germans have placed about two-thirds of their tank force on the Tobruk perimeter, leaving the frontier sparsely defended. Assuming that the "Tiger Cub" tanks will arrive from Alexandria quickly, Wavell sets 7 June as the start date for Operation Battleaxe.
Churchill is increasingly annoyed about General Wavell. Private Secretary John Colville notes in his diary:
PM [Churchill] much upset by telegram from Wavell, who shows some sign of defeatism. "He sounds a tired and disheartened man," said the PM.
Churchill long has felt that Wavell lacks an aggressive spirit and does not use his troops efficiently. Wavell's quick plea to give up Crete after Churchill had sent a message only hours earlier on the 27th clearly still rankles. It is worth mentioning here that Wavell has kept the British position intact in the Middle East and has consolidated it by largely eliminating the longstanding Italian presence from East Africa with minimal troop investment.
Winston Churchill sends General Ismay a memo telling him to hold off for now on seizing the Vichy French ships being detained at Alexandria. "We must wait at present to see how things go in Syria."
At Tobruk, the Luftwaffe (Junkers Ju 87 aircraft of II Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2) sinks 913-ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Sindonis. In Malta, the government sets up a mobile machine-gun company to guard against Fallschirmjäger dropping on the island as they did on Crete. The company is formed from 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment.
Battleship USS Washington off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, United States, 29 May 1941 (United States National Archives). She is departing for her shakedown cruise after her recent commissioning.
POWs: Winston Churchill sends a memo to David Margesson, Secretary of State for War, suggesting that "Italian white prisoners" be brought to Great Britain to work in British factories. Churchill makes a backhanded slap at the Irish in his memo, saying that it would involve "complications," but concludes:
However, it might be better to use these docile Italian prisoners of war instead of bringing in disaffected Irish, over whom we have nothing like the same control.
Churchill proposes bringing "say, 25,000 of these Italians" and using them as farmers. Churchill's proposal is at the very least arguably contrary to accepted rules of war, as prisoners of war are not supposed to be used as slave labor in war industries.
At Colditz Castle, the Oflag IV-C "Officer's Camp," a dozen British and Polish prisoners attempt a breakout. They crawl through a sewer pipe from the canteen to an outer courtyard, where they have to descend a 40-foot wall. To pull of the escape, they have bribed a seemingly sympathetic guard. However, the guard double-crosses them and reports the escape plan, and other guards are waiting. The prisoners, including later author Pat Reid, are sent to solitary confinement (the "Cooler").
Staff Sergeant William Light, Service Company, 12th Infantry (motor maintenance sergeant) modeling the World War II Summer Khaki Uniform. Standing at attention wearing garrison cap and the khaki summer service uniform. Arlington Cantonment, Arlington, VA, 29 May 1941.
Propaganda: During the evening War Cabinet meeting, President Roosevelt's recent speech beginning a state of emergency is discussed. The meeting minutes state:
Referring to the comment on the disappointing reception accorded in the British Press to President Roosevelt's speech, the Prime Minister directed that the Ministry of Information should arrange for a more enthusiastic line to be taken.
Of course, it goes without saying that the entire German press is controlled and a mouthpiece for the German government to a much, much greater extent than any other government uses its media (outside of Moscow). However, this is evidence that the British press also is not completely independent during the war. Great pains are made throughout the conflict to shape public opinion through manipulation of the British press.
Anglo/US Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sends a cable to President Roosevelt in which Churchill praises Roosevelt for his recent fireside chat declaring an unlimited state of emergency. He hints at upcoming events:
[US Ambassador John Gilbert] Winant will tell you what I managed to send out there secretly, and the hopes I have of some good news coming to hand before long.
Churchill apparently is referring to the 200+ tanks sent to Alexandria in the Tiger convoy, and the "good news" the upcoming operation planned on the Libyan border, Operation Battleaxe.
A USAAF A-20A Havoc ('70') painted with the early-war USAAF stars flies over Oahu Island, in the Hawaii Islands, on 29 May 1941. Handwritten caption on reverse: '38365.' Printed caption on reverse: '38365 AC - Douglas A-20-A in flight over Oahu, T.H., 29 May 1941. U.S. Air Force Photo.' Also on reverse: U.S. Air Force Photo 1361st Photographic Squadron AAVS (National Archives).
US Military: In Washington, the Joint Board (the oldest inter-service agency, established in 1903 to facilitate Army-Navy planning) draws up contingency plans to be put into effect should the Wehrmacht invade Spain and Portugal. The plan envisions an occupation force of 14,000 Marines and 14,000 Army troops being sent to the Azores. They would be under the command of Major General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith, Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division. British Government: Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden gives a talk at The Mansion House. He argues that the German "vast and sinister fabric" of "tyranny" cannot last because the "despotism is utterly ruthless" and "no system that is built upon hate can survive." In a remark that is part prescient and part massive understatement, he states:
In speaking of the reconstruction of Europe I do not overlook the fact that its settlement may affect and may be affected by developments elsewhere, such as, for example, in the Far East.
He disavows any British interest in "economic exploitation either of Germany or of the rest of Europe" after the war.
King George VI, wearing the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet, visits HMS King Alfred, a training establishment at Hove.
Croatia: The Duke of Spoleto (newly crowned King Tomislav II of Croatia) pays Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano a visit. According to Ciano's diary, "the tone of his conversation was distinctly anti-German."
British Homefront: The London Daily Mail writes a scathing editorial bemoaning the state of the war:
When are we really going to get down to the job of winning the war? When are we going to run machines, factories, and shipyards to full capacity; when are we going to see an end of masterly retreats ...?
Most of the British media, however, is focused on the victory of battleship Bismarck to the exclusion of continuing problems elsewhere. This is a low point in the war for the British despite flashy victories in the Atlantic.
Strikers holding very artistic and witty signs outside of the Walt Disney Studios building in Burbank, California on or about 29 May 1941.
American Homefront: A strike ("The Great Disney Strike") by the AFL Animators Union gets underway at the Walt Disney Studios building in Burbank, California. The Screen Cartoonists Guild has been working on this since the fall of 1940. Walt Disney himself instigated the timing of the strike by firing one of his workers who was organizing the union. There are a lot of hard feelings generated by this strike on both sides. Disney workers also protest in front of theaters showing Disney Studios films such as "Pinocchio." Incidentally, there are many female strikers because the Disney ink and paint department - which colors animated films up until the 1980s - is staffed almost exclusively by women.
Future History: Robert David Simon is born in The Bronx, New York. As Bob Simon, he becomes a well-known correspondent for CBS News and a fixture on news programs "60 Minutes" and "60 Minutes II." He becomes as 60 Minutes' senior foreign correspondent. He perishes on 11 February 2015 in an auto accident in New York City.
Robert F. Logan, Jr. is born in Brooklyn, New York. While attending the University of Arizona at Tucson, Logan is spotted by a Warner Bros. talent agent. He goes on to a long television and film career, including starring in "77 Sunset Strip" from 1958-1963 and "Daniel Boone" in 1965-66.
A Dr. Seuss cartoon from 29 May 1941. Hamilton Fish is a well-known isolationist congressman from New York (image from "Dr. Seuss Went to War" by Richard H. Minear).
Damage at Friar Lane, Nottingham, this picture was taken 9 May 1941.
Anglo/Iraq War: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 9 May 1941 sends a telegram to Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell which states:
Our information is that Rashid Ali and his partisans [actually Iraqi government military forces] are in desperate straits. However this may be, you are to fight hard against them... [Y]ou should exploit situation to the utmost, not hesitating to try to break into Baghdad even with quite small forces and running the same kind of risks as the Germans are accustomed to run and profit by.
Churchill adds that "There can be no question of negotiation with Rashid Ali" unless he surrenders unconditionally. Furthermore, Wavell is to aid Free French General Catroux in an invasion of Syria "In face of your evident feeling of lack of resources" - a typical Churchillian dig at what he personally judges to be Wavell's lack of fighting spirit.
At Fort Rutbah, the RAF bombs the fort and loses a plane to small-arms fire. The Iraqi government sends a convoy of 40 trucks armed with machine guns to reinforce the small garrison. The British of the Arab Legion who are an advance party of Habforce continues to wait for reinforcements from the main column before attacking and withdraw to a more defensible position.
Jihad has been proclaimed by the Grand Mufti.
A Junkers Ju-52 transport being used for training exercises in preparation for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.
European Air Operations: The two sides engage in a war of communiques today. Berlin Radio announces successful raids on Derby and Nottingham, where they targeted the critical Rolls-Royce aircraft engine plant. The British Air Ministry engages in a little humor when it responds that, during last night's raids, two cows and a few chickens had been killed in the East Midlands. What the RAF actually is saying in surprisingly candid fashion (if you know what actually happened) is that many Luftwaffe bombers missed their target cities due to successful deception measures. The Germans aren't told about that little secret, however, and no doubt take it as a little innocent bravado.
London is the main target during the night when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attack. There are subsidiary attacks at RAF airfields including RAF Waddington, where a direct hit on an air-raid shelter kills ten people, including seven women.
Liverpool, Hull, and many other cities in the industrial north are devastated by the recent Luftwaffe raids. In Hull alone, there are an estimated 1000 dead and 40,000 homeless out of a population of 330,000. The Germans have been extremely effective at targeting the docks in their target cities recently, but the British are stepping up their jamming attempts of the crude German navigational system based on radio waves. That jamming already is having some effect, as evidenced by the "cows and chickens" remark.
Attacks continue at Hull, but few planes hit anything of importance. The Luftwaffe focuses on the port and damages 64-ton sailing barge Whitaker's No. 17, 5117-ton British freighter Dan Y Bryn, and 3067-ton British freighter Castilian. There are two deaths on the Castilian.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets. It then sends 146 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen during the night.
East African Campaign: The perimeter at Amba Alagi remains quiet as the British forces await reinforcements which are only a day away. The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade moves to the southwest around Laka Shala in Galla-Sidamo.
Winston Churchill sends Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie and congratulates him on being "the first [monarch deposed by the fascists] to return in triumph."
HMS Bulldog alongside U-110, 9 May 1941.
Battle of the Atlantic: Events of 9 May 1941 are little remembered by the public after the fact, but they are of far-reaching consequence. They are so important that this almost could be considered a case of losing a battle but thereby winning a war.
The British recently captured German weather ship Munchen near Iceland, securing prized Kriegsmarine naval codes, and today they pull off an even greater intelligence coup. U-100 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp), one of the top U-boat commanders (he sank the Athenia on 3 September 1939), is operating off of Cape Farewell, Greenland and shadowing Convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West. Lemp attacks the convoy, and all goes well at first as he sinks to ships:
4976-ton British freighter Esmond (all survive)
2609-ton British freighter Bengore Head (40 survivors, one dead).
However, the convoy escorts (HMS Bulldog, Broadway, and Aubretia) force the U-boat to the surface with depth charges. Lemp and his crew abandon ship (15 dead, 32 survivors) a little too quickly, and U-110 fails to sink. Lemp himself perishes during the incident under very murky and controversial circumstances.
Noticing the U-boat failing to sink, a boarding party from the Bulldog, led by 20-year-old Sub-Lt. David Balme, quickly rows over to the U-boat despite the ever-present fear that scuttling charges could go off at any moment. The Royal Navy sailors grab the extremely valuable Enigma coding machine along with its codebooks, rotor settings, and charts.
After everything of value has been removed from the U-boat (including the submarine's chronometer), the British sink it (during a storm, so perhaps not intentionally) to maintain the secret of its capture. It is an astonishingly lucky find for the British Ultra operation at Bletchley Park, which has been in need of the equipment and information. Of immediate benefit, the documents aboard enable the British to break the German Reservehandverfahren code, a reserve German hand cipher. The capture also becomes is a key step on the road to British scientist Alan Turing's first computer, Colossus. The capture of U-110 is so significant that it later is given the code name Operation Primrose. Winston Churchill will not even tell President Roosevelt about it until January 1942.
Fritz-Julius Lemp, Captain of U-110, KIA 9 May 1941.
U-103 (KptLt.Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off of West Africa, torpedoes and sinks 7120-ton British freighter City of Winchester. There are 91 survivors and six deaths.
U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its first patrol out of Kiel, also attacks convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West a couple of hours after the capture of U-110. Schnee hits two ships:
5969-ton Empire Cloud (badly damaged)
5802-ton Gregalia (sunk)
While the Empire Cloud is disabled and considered unsafe, so the crew abandons ship. However, a tug is called from Greenock, which manages to tow it back to port, where it is repaired and returned to service. There are no casualties on either ship.
Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli torpedoes and sinks 8817-ton Norwegian tanker Alfred Olsen several hundred miles off Freetown. Everyone survives.
Off Freetown, Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Cilicia captures 4564-ton Vichy French transport SS Criton. The Criton is carrying shells for the French base at Dakar. The British send the ship to Freetown, with a skeleton party of armed guards supervising the Vichy French crew.
U-107 (KrvKpt. Günter Hessler), on its second patrol and operating off of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is in the midst of a wildly successful patrol during which it sinks or damages a phenomenal 14 ships during more than two months at sea. To stay at sea that long, U-boats need regular supply from "Milch" ships. Today, U-107 is supplied with food and 14 torpedoes when it hooks up with the Egerland, which is disguised as an American freighter.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3010-ton Royal Navy mine destruction ship HMS Queenworth in Outer Dowsing Channel. Everybody survives.
The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 97-ton British trawler Tankerton Towers off St Govan's Light Vessel in the mouth of Bristol Channel. All eight aboard survive.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1737-ton British freighter Ostrevent near Helwick Light Vessel in the Humber.
The Luftwaffe damages a mine destruction ship, HMS Corfield, with near misses in the Humber.
The Luftwaffe damages 4950-ton British freighter Fishpool at Barrow.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British tankers San Roberto (5890 tons) and British Statesmen (6991 tons) just over twenty miles northeast of Spurn Point, East Riding of Yorkshire. The tankers are towed to Immingham.
Spanish fishing trawler Luis Puebla hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay north of Gijón, Asturias. There are three survivors and nine deaths.
US aircraft carrier USS Ranger and heavy cruiser Vincennes, with a destroyer escort, conduct a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic.
Another Italian submarine that has escaped from Eritrea, the Ferraris, arrives at Bordeaux after a long journey.
Convoy SC 31 departs from Halifax, bound for Liverpool.
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Brocklesby, minesweeper Polruan (Lt. Commander John S. Landers), and Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Tarantella (Lt. Robert A. Balfour) are commissioned.
Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ungava and corvette Matapedia (Lt. Ronald J. Herman) are commissioned.
HMS Nigella, which picked up 45 survivors from Empire Cloud northeast of Cape Farewell. The Empire Cloud had been torpedoed by U-201.
Battle of the Mediterranean: The first four ships related to Operation Tiger (MW 7A and 7B out of Alexandria) reach Malta. They carry 30,000 tons of supplies. In addition, two tankers and a destroyer loaded with supplies, HMS Breconshire, also arrive. This is the largest convoy to arrive at Malta during the war and is aided by very cloudy weather. The main force of Operation Tiger coming from Gibraltar is still at sea.
One ship, however, fails to make it. British 9200-ton freighter Empire Song hits a mine during the night which sets off its ammunition cargo, causing it to explode. The Empire Song and its 57 tanks, 10 aircraft and several trucks quickly sink. There are 18 deaths and 130 survivors.
In addition, freighter New Zealand Star hits a mine but manages to make it to Malta.
At Tobruk, General Rommel's men intercept a British wireless communication that leads them to suspect that a major British offensive may be in the offing. Rommel orders defenses along the perimeter of Tobruk strengthened and orders Kampfgruppe von Herff to initiate offensive patrols.
The Royal Navy's nightly shuttle to Tobruk continues as Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta evacuates wounded and takes them to Alexandria.
At Malta, Governor Dobbie draws up a plan to replace soldiers with female auxiliaries. The jobs will include service as cooks, dining hall waitresses, messengers, and similar functions. Among other things, this involves an increase in pay for the women (subject to Whitehall approval).
Convoy AS 30 departs from Suda Bay, Crete under heavy escort, bound for Alexandria.
An Enigma machine (lower left) aboard U-124 in March, 1941 (Dietrich, Federal Archives).
Spy Stuff: Bulgarian agents confirm other warnings, such as the one on 6 May from Richard Sorge in Tokyo, that the Germans are planning an attack on the Soviet Union. Anglo/Free French Relations: There is a muddle within the British hierarchy about how to deal with Vichy Syria, which is in the formative stages of being used to transfer German planes and troops to Iraq. The British have been allowing the Vichy government in Syria wide latitude and even been paying some Vichy sailors interned at Alexandria. This passive attitude has extended to permitting regular passages of French transport SS Providence between Marseille and Beirut - even as other Vichy ships have been captured on the high seas. In effect, the British Middle East Command has been conducting its own independent foreign relations with the Vichy forces in Syria even though there is a growing sense that the French will soon be allowing the Germans transit rights to Iraq.
First, Major-General Edward Spears, who is on the staff of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, is a fervent Francophile and has been acting as a liaison to General De Gaulle, cables De Gaulle in Brazzaville that there is no need for him to visit Cairo to plan an attack on Syria. "There would, in fact, be some disadvantage to your doing so," he writes, which presumably means that De Gaulle's presence would antagonize the Vichy authorities in Syria.
However, in the evening Winston Churchill himself cables De Gaulle. Among other things, Churchill casually mentions that De Gaulle should go to Cairo. Surprised, De Gaulle quickly replies (in English, which is very rare for him) "I shall go to Cairo soon." The entire incident is very revealing of the general confusion that infests relations between Great Britain and France during this period. Another outcome of this incident is that relations between Spears and De Gaulle deteriorate, to Spears' personal regret.
Junkers Ju-52 transports standing in wait for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.
Australian/US Relations: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in Washington, D.C. In the morning, he meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Menzies notes that:
I gather that the whole Cabinet would come into the war tomorrow if Roosevelt would say the word. But he hangs back, preferring an "incident" (e.g., as a result of the Atlantic patrol) to a formal declaration.
Menzies notes that Dean Atcheson is "friendly but confused. Famous Harry Hopkins a great disappointment - a sort of gangling yokel."
Soviet/Yugoslav Relations: The Soviet Union withdraws diplomatic recognition of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. Led by King Peter, the exiles have been camping out in Jerusalem under British protection, along with remaining remnants of the Yugoslav Army, Navy and Air Force that managed to leave the country. Some army elements do remain in Yugoslavia, and they are in the process of regrouping as partisans and forming the primarily Serbian "Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland" (Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini, or JVUO, or Četniks) under Royalist General Draža Mihailović. However, communist partisans in the region also are stirring, and the Soviets may prefer to back them. The official reason for withdrawing recognition is that the German government now controls the country.
Soviet/Belgian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the exiled government of Belgium.
Soviet Norwegian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the Norwegian government.
Fort Rutbah, Iraq, 9 May 1941. This photograph was taken from an RAF Blenheim bomber that attacked the fortress.
Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The inconclusive border wall between Thailand and French forces in Indochina comes to an official end with the signing of a peace treaty in Tokyo. Thailand basically gets all the territory that it sought in the war. The Japanese, who have been serving as an "honest broker" in the affair (but actually strongly favor the Thais), guarantee the new borders. The Vichy French in Indochina are isolated and have been largely powerless to influence the one-sided negotiations.
British Military: The Air Ministry announces the existence of "a large number of paratroops who have completed their training and are ready for action." Philippines: Now that his staff has arrived on USAT Washington, Brigadier General Clagett, the newly arrived commander of the Philippines Department Air Corps, begins organizing his command. Ernest Hemingway, on his way back to the States from his six-week stay in Asia, is in Manila and parties with the enlisted men, at least one of whom he knows personally through a mutual female acquaintance. Hemingway, who claims never to have gotten anywhere near the war, makes eerily insightful comments about the situation in China. These include views that the Nationalists and Communists soon will be fighting each other in addition to the Japanese, and that Japan might well be at war with the United States soon.
City of Winchester (Master William Samuel Coughlan), sunk on 9 May 1941 by U-103 (Victor Schutze) while transiting from London to Capetown. The City of Winchester carried 6500 tons of general cargo and was sunk off Freetown about 400 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The 91 survivors included the master, and they were rescued by Norwegian freighter Herma and taken to Takoradi.
Serbia: At Sanski Most, the Germans kill 27 Serb civilians as reprisals for the recent uprising. The troops force townspeople to hang the bodies in the town square for two days. This incident leads to bitter hatred between the Serbs and the Ustaše, who start contemplating how to wipe out (ethnically cleanse) the population of the entire region. A reign of terror against the Serbian locals commences. There remain many rebels in the nearby hills who will lay low until July.
China: At the Battle of South Shanxi, the Japanese North China Front Army continues to attack the 9th Army of the Chinese 1st War Area at Fengmenkou and Lungwanwo. The Japanese also capture Wangyuan and attack Tungfeng. In addition, the Japanese Imperial Air Force raids the Nationalist capital of Chungking.
American Homefront: Singer Billie Holiday records "God Bless the Child" at the Okey Records studio on Seventh Avenue in New York City. It is the first recording of the jazz song written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. "God Bless the Child" will not be released until 1942. The song will become one of Holiday's signature songs and a major event in her eventual autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues."
Future History: Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, will become the starting point for the screenplay of "U-571" (2000).
A memorial to the Sanski Most Revolt will be set up at Šušnjar in 1971 and designated a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.
Monument to the Sanski Most uprising of May 1941. The monument was constructed in 1970 and designed by Sarajevo architect Petar Krstić. The monument is controversial because tiles bearing the names of Muslim victims of the revolt have been removed.
Western Front: Two German infantry attacks on 10 November 1939. Not in force, more probing in nature. Reinforcements are moving in behind the Siegfried Line.
European Air Operations: There are German flights over eastern and northern France. The RAF downs a flying boat off the east coast, while another plane escapes.
Battle of the Atlantic: The French release US freighter Exeter.
German liner New York, which had been holed up in Murmansk, finishes a dash down the Norwegian coast and makes it to Kiel.
Convoy OA 33 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 33 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HX 8 departs from Halifax.
Holland: Spooked on 10 November 1939 by the Venlo Incident, which violated Dutch sovereignty, the Dutch increase their precautions against invasion. This includes some precautionary flooding, canceling army leave and similar measures. The US consulate in Amsterdam warns US citizens to leave Holland.
Since Hans Oster's leaks contained out-of-date information pinning the date of the German invasion to 12 November, the Dutch are scrambling as the day approaches. The Venlo Incident - entirely unrelated to Fall Gelb - fed into the paranoia. This is a typical example of solid military intelligence leading to wasted effort and perhaps ultimately a "boy who cried wolf" situation later due to a change in planning by the other side.
France: There is a meeting between top officials of France and the British commonwealth, including among others British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and French Prime Minister Daladier. Delegates from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India
British Government: Prime Minister Chamberlain reports that he has gout, thus explaining his absence from the Paris commonwealth meeting.
USS Ranger (CV-4) with her stacks down and Devastator torpedo bombers. She was engaged in Neutrality Patrols, operating out of Bermuda. November 10, 1939.
