Wednesday 20 August 1941

"'Mark', a dog ammunition carrier, delivers 'ammo' to a Bren gun team, Eastern Command, 20 August 1941." © IWM (H 12984).

Eastern Front: Some historians consider 20 August 1941 to be the day that the siege of Leningrad begins, and this is the day that most "900-day siege" references use. This is because 20 August 1941 is the day the Germans cut the railroad line from Moscow, effectively isolating Leningrad from the rest of Russia. However, it is an arbitrary date, as the Germans are still struggling on the 20h to reach Leningrad and are facing fierce opposition from Soviet troops guarding the approaches to Leningrad (see below. In Leningrad, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov orders the formation of Home Guard battalions in the city. These ad hoc units are formed mainly by women and teenagers armed with knives, ceremonial swords they have taken from above family fireplaces, hunting equipment, and whatever can be found in Leningrad museums.

German OKW Chief Wilhelm Keitel notifies the Finnish high command (General Waldemar Erfuth) that he will be sending a plan for Finnish military involvement in the capture of Leningrad. Marshall Mannerheim, however, confides to Erfuth that he has no plans to make anything more than a token attack on Leningrad. Mannerheim has both political and military reasons to avoid an attack on the Soviet Union regardless of what the Germans want. When the German plan arrives, he says that he intends to say "No." This is not a unique attitude: already some Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus have balked at marching past pre-war borders. Mannerheim's consistent position throughout his career is that he has no intention of ever trying to invade Russia, he simply wants to recover territory to which he believes that Finland has historical claims. The Soviets, of course, consider all territory currently occupied by Soviet troops to be theirs regardless of such historical claims.

In the Far North sector, the Finns prepare an attack by IV Corps to capture Viipuri. The Soviet 43rd and 123rd Rifle Divisions are withdrawing in that direction already. The Finnish 18th Division of the II Corps, with the 12 Division and Light Brigade T (Colonel Tiiainen) crosses the Vuoksi River, and the Soviet 115th Rifle Division moves to block them. While the Finns are advancing steadily in the Karelian Isthmus, the terrain increasingly favors the Soviet defenders as the Isthmus grows narrower as the fighting approaches Leningrad.

The Finnish attack toward the Murmansk railway line at Loukhi is bogged down after offering much promise only a week ago. The Finnish high command sends a battalion from the force that has bogged down near Ukhta (Kalevala) to help out. As seems always to be the case in the Far North, the Soviets have moved just enough troops into position at Loukhi at the last minute to avoid losing truly strategic positions.

"A Gypsy tribe on the way to Lviv." 20 August 1941 (Hans Joachim Paris, Federal Archive, Bild 146-2004-0026)

In the Army Group North Sector, the Wehrmacht approaches Voiskovitsy on the road to Leningrad in the afternoon. A small group of Soviet tanks armed with 76-mm guns and reinforced with additional armor is hidden along the road and allow the advance German units to pass unopposed. Soviet Senior Lieutenant Zinovy Kolobanov then gives his "Klim Voroshilov" KV-1E heavy tank the order to fire, and the Soviet tankers implement their usual tactic of destroying the first and last vehicles within sight. It is a bloodbath. The Soviets destroy 22 panzers and a total of 43 armored vehicles, plus artillery pieces and other equipment. Kolobanov's task force takes over 150 hits but remains in action. For firing the first shot, Kolobanov receives the Order of the Red Banner, his gun commander the Order of Lenin, his senior driver the Order of the Red Banner, and two others in his tank are given the Order of the Red Star.

Elsewhere, the German 32 Corps (General Walter Kuntze) begins attacking Tallinn, Estonia. The Soviet forces there are surrounded, and their only hope of escape is by sea. Remnants of Soviet Marshal G.I. Kulik's 54th Army tries to escape through German lines north of Luga and are destroyed. German 41 Corps of Panzer Group 4 (General Reinhardt) and elements of the 18th Army isolate about 30,000 Soviet troops of the Soviet Luga Operational Group.

German troops south of Leningrad stage daring assaults that succeed due to sheer surprise and audacity. A unit of German 16th Army led by Sergeant Fege of the 45th Infantry Regiment cuts the Moscow-Leningrad rail line southeast of Chudovo by taking a railway bridge in a surprise attack before the Soviet defenders can blow it up. Other German troops led by Lieutenant-Colonel Matussik of the 2nd Battalion, 45h Infantry Regiment proceed further east in a captured truck and take another important railway bridge over the Volkhov River after finding it unguarded. These successes sever the last Soviet railway line from Leningrad to Moscow and solidify the German line - for the moment.

In the Army Group Center sector, both Panzer Group 2 (General Guderian) and the 2nd Army continue moving toward Bryansk. Soviet 24th Army continues the Soviet attacks against the German "lightning rod" position at Yelnya. The German defenders at Yelnya are holding their position but report that they have lost about 1000 men in the last six days.

Royal Castle in Warsaw in 1941. The Germans have removed the roof to hasten the process of destruction by the elements (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie, red. A. Gieysztor, 1972).

In the Army Group South sector, the German 11th Army moves close to the capture of Kherson (Cherson) on the Black Sea. The Germans already have their eyes on the Crimea further to the south. Hitler, in particular, is worried about the Soviets using Crimea as a launching point for Red Air Force raids on the Romanian oil fields. The Romanian Air Force, assisting the troops attacking Odesa, destroy a Soviet armored train. German 17th Army establishes a bridgehead across the Dneipr River at Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

In a top-secret mission, Soviet NKVD troops under Boris Epov and Aleksandr Petrovsky, sent specially from Moscow on personal orders from Stalin, blow up the Lenin-Dnieproges Dam at Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhya). The resulting water surge kills an estimated 20,000-100,000 Ukrainians. The dam had the largest statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine. The flow of water temporarily cuts off part of the city of Zaporizhzhya from the advancing Wehrmacht. The dam's destruction is filmed, perhaps to prove to Stalin that it had been done as ordered.

The Red Air Force sends nine bombers to attack Berlin.

The Dnieper hydroelectric station on October 10, 1932, when it was put into service. After its destruction on 20 August 1941, the dam was later repaired and remains in service today.

European Air Operations: It is a quiet day on the Channel Front. RAF Bomber Command sends 18 Blenheim bombers on coastal sweeps without loss. The bombers attack some shipping without success and also bomb Texel airfield.

Battle of the Baltic: Soviet minesweeper Buy hits two mines and sinks in the Baltic Sea off Hogland.

German torpedo boat S-58 torpedoes and sinks Soviet minesweeper Pirmunas in the Väinameri Sea (Gulf of Riga).

Soviet reefer Sibir is lost today of unknown causes.

Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (originally HMS Cygnet), 20 August 1941 (Canadian Navy Heritage website. Image Negative Number IKMD-04199, Ken Macpherson / Naval Museum of Alberta).

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 173-ton British fishing trawler Juliet about 30 miles south of Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Everyone survives.

Faroes 236-ton auxiliary trawler Solarris hits a mine and sinks off Seydisfjordur (Seidisfjord), Iceland. There are four survivors.

Royal Navy 348-ton minesweeping trawler HMT Lorinda sinks due to a fire caused by engine trouble off Freetown. Everyone survives, picked up by accompanying trawler Balta.

The German 4th S-Boat Flotilla (Kptlt. Bätge) attacks a routine British convoy off Cromer. S-48 (ObltzS v. Mirbach) torpedoes and sinks 1971-ton Polish freighter Czestochowa (one dead). S-48 also badly damages 2774-ton British freighter Dalewood. There are four deaths. A tug tows Dalewood into the Humber with major damage aft.

German 200-ton trawler Charlotte is stranded and lost in the North Sea.

Mexican Navy patrol boat Halcon sinks of unknown causes.

Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York (Captain C.H.J. Harcourt) receives its final touches and is fully ready for battle.

Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet Admiral Sir John Tovey visits Scapa Flow on an inspection tour.

Convoy ON-9 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Ilfracombe (J-95, Lt. Commander Harry L. D. Hoare) is commissioned.

U-591 and U-592 are launched.

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79. The SM-79 generally is considered the best Italian bomber of World War II. It served in a variety of roles such as transport, torpedo-bomber, and reconnaissance. Due to its distinctive hump, it acquired the nickname "Gobbo Maleditto" (Damned Hunchback).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique torpedoes and sinks Italian troopship Esperiea about 11 miles north of Tripoli. There are 31 deaths and 1139 survivors. The rest of the Italian convoy reaches Tripoli safely.

Royal Navy submarine Upholder torpedoes and sinks 852-ton Italian freighter Enotria six miles northwest of Cape St Vito, northwest Sicily.

Royal Navy submarine Thrasher uses its deck guns to sink a small Greek freighter, the San Stefano, off Cape Malea.

Italian S-79 torpedo bombers under the command of Captain Buscaglia hit and damage 4782-ton British tanker Turbo north of Damietta, Egypt. The tanker is taken under tow to Port Said. Everyone survives, but Turbo is in very bad shape. On 4 April 1942, when an attempt is made to tow the Turbo to Aden for repairs, the tanker breaks in half and sinks.

Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian troops at Tobruk, continues with a small convoy departing from Alexandria. It consists of minelaying cruiser Latona and destroyers Kipling, Nizam, and Kingston carrying Polish troops of the Carpathian Brigade while escorted by light cruisers Ajax and Neptune. During the withdrawal from Tobruk, destroyer Nizam is damaged by a near miss from a Luftwaffe attack off Bardia but makes it back to Alexandria, partially in tow.

Royal Navy submarine Otus arrives at Malta carrying supplies from Alexandria. Its cargo includes 18 passengers.

The British military command at Malta warns homeowners to remove inflammable items from roofs. It is a quiet day with no air attacks. RAF bombers attack Augusta, Sicily.

Obertsleutnant Helmuth Groscurth, 1941/1942 (Federal Archive, Bild 146-1997-017-20).

War Crimes: At Bila Tserkva in Ukraine, the German 295th Infantry Division is ordered to assist with the killing of schoolchildren locked in a school for days without food or water. The unit's two army chaplains protest. Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Helmuth Groscurth, who privately agrees with the chaplains, calls the Sixth Army headquarters for instructions, and they tell him to put it in writing. Groscurth duly forwards a written report to headquarters written by the chaplains - a daring act since merely submitting such a report implies disagreement with previously issued orders. The report concludes:

In the case in question, measures against women and children were undertaken which in no way differ from atrocities carried out by the enemy about which the troops are continually being informed

The commander of the Sixth Army, Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau reads the report and characterizes it as:

incorrect, inappropriate and impertinent in the extreme.

Reichenau personally orders the children killed and sends a representative, SS-Obersturmfuhrer August Hafner, to the division to make sure that the order is carried out - which it is on 21 August. Hafner writes that, when he arrives, the German troops already have dug a grave in the woods. Following normal procedure, the children are lined up along the edge of the pit and shot so that they fall into it. Local Ukrainians, no doubt including some relatives of the children, are made to watch.

Incidents like these belie later claims that ordinary German Army units did not participate in exterminations on the Eastern Front and that only SS units carried them out. Evidence shows that this and similar incidents badly affected the morale of ordinary German soldiers such as Groscurth. Naturally, the Soviets also learned of such incidents, with predictable consequences.

On the Yugoslavian island of Pag, Italian troops that arrive to occupy the island find evidence of mass murders of Serbians and Jews by local Ustachi fascists. A total of 293 women, 91 children, and 791 bodies overall are found.

A German train in Serbia destroyed by Serbian partisans, 1941.

Partisans: Pro-German Serbs propose collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Detachments to aid in suppressing Yugoslavian partisans. In general, Serbs support the British while Croats support the Germans, so this is a welcome development for the Germans and Italians.

Propaganda: Italian radio claims "a particularly daring attack was carried out on Malta" on 19 August. The attacking aircraft "machine-gunned the highly equipped airbase of Hal Far" and "Two large twin-engined bombers were set on fire and destroyed, while another two bombers and two single-engine planes were hit and rendered unserviceable."

US/Japanese Relations: Ambassador Nomura reports to Tokyo that President Roosevelt is not "anti-Japanese." However, Postmaster-General Walker has indicated that any talk of a summit between the leaders of Japan and the US would encounter very strong opposition from both Congress and the public. Walker, Nomura writes, feels there is a good possibility of peace if talks continue.

"Astounding Science-Fiction," Volume 27 #6, August 1941, John W. Campbell, Jr. Editor, cover painting by Hubert Rogers.

German Military: Luftwaffe General Walter Dornberger, Werner von Braun, and pilot Johannes "Macki" Steinhoff make a presentation to Adolf Hitler at the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) headquarters in East Prussia. They show Hitler a film demonstrating the progress being made in rocketry, particularly the large A-4 rocket (which becomes better known as the V-2). Hitler, impressed, lauds “this development is of revolutionary importance for the conduct of warfare in the whole world." Hitler orders the men to develop the A-4 into a "vengeance weapon" (Vergeltungswaffe) for use against London. The three men return to Peenemunde with new access to the resources necessary to develop the rocket.

The Spanish "Blue" Division (250th Division) begins moving to the Front south of Leningrad.

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 9997-ton tanker Toho Maru and assigns it to the Yokosuka Naval District.

Battleship Haruna joins the Japanese First Fleet (Vice Admiral Takasu Shiro), joining Battleship Division 3 (Vice Admiral Mikawa Gunichi). This powerful force already includes battleships Hiei, Kirishima, and Kongo.

Submarine chasers CH-20 and CH-21 are completed and join the Kure Naval District.

US Government: The Department of Agriculture announces that it is negotiating with the governments of Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Britain to create an "international granary" in the United States. Surplus food from participating countries is to be accumulated in the United States for distribution wherever needed when the war is over - though, of course, the US is not at war. Yet. In the meantime, the United States already has a stockpile of 400 million bushels of wheat that is increasing with each harvest.

Erich Koch (Federal Archives, Bild 183-H13717).

German Government: Erich Koch officially is appointed Reichskommissar for Ukraine.

Iraq: The new pro-British government announces that it is reopening the military academy in Baghdad.

Costa Rica: The French Charge d'Affaires and the Secretary of the French Legation switch sides, submitting their resignations to the Vichy government and accepting identical positions in the Free French movement.

"Jewish refugee children wait to board SS Mouzinho in Lisbon.” August 20, 1941. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a gift of Milton Koch.

Holocaust: The Vichy government begins arresting the first of 4232 foreign-born Jews in Paris at the request of the Gestapo's Jewish Affairs Department. Over the next five days, the French send them to a new transit camp at Drancy (opens today) for eventual deportation.

German Homefront: Adolf Hitler asks his personal architect, Albert Speer, who at this time has no formal role in the war, to use captured Soviet booty to decorate Berlin buildings to build morale.

French Homefront: Due to recent attacks on the French railway system, the Vichy government arrests 50,000 people for questioning.

British Homefront: Former Governor-General of Australia (1925-1930) John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven dies peacefully at his home in Ury House, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, UK.

Marshals Stalin and Voroshilov (right) at the 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow.

Soviet Homefront: Stalin continues his purge against field commanders who have failed against the Germans, and, in typical Stalinesque style, this extends to their families. The NKVD arrests the wife, E.N. Khanchin-Kachalova, and her mother, E.I. Khanhchina, of the deceased and disgraced (by Soviet standards) commander of the Soviet 28th Army, General V.Ia. Kachalov. The entire Kachalov incident is murky, with some evidence that Kachalov actually survived for a time after his supposed death and that he perished while fighting as a partisan. However, there is little question that Kachalov died a hero by most normal standards. The two women ultimately are sentenced to 8 years in Siberian camps, where the older woman perishes in 1944. Mrs. Kachalov is finally released in 1949 and returns to Moscow. This incident turns into a long-lasting campaign by Kachalov's wife to clear his name which proved successful only after Stalin had died in 1953. Mrs. Kachalov in 1957.

With the situation on the Leningrad front grim, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov attends the first meeting of the Leningrad "aktiv" (Council for the Defense of Leningrad). He and Andrei Zhdanov, the local Communist leader, craft an appeal for release to the press, the famous "Appeal to the People of Leningrad." It is also signed by Pyotr Popkov, chairman of the Leningrad Soviet. It calls for the citizens of Leningrad to stand up and fight the approaching Wehrmacht. The Appeal is released on the 21st.

American Homefront: A strike in the Federal Shipbuilding Company's yards in Jersey City, New Jersey which began on 7 August continues. President Roosevelt asks the 18,000 striking men who are working on $493 million worth of war and merchant ship orders to return to work within a fortnight. Roosevelt asks the strikers to put "the importance of national defense before their points of difference."

A transportation strike in Detroit is hindering defense industries there.

Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd circa 1930.

Rear Admiral Richard S. Byrd delivers a speech at Madison Square Garden in New York. Byrd urges his listeners to support President Roosevelt. He states:

The President has been accused of trying to get this nation into war. I can give you my personal word that Roosevelt, the man, has a deep hatred for war—deeper perhaps than many who have made this criticism. Roosevelt, the President, has the task of carrying American democracy forward under God against any resistance, and it is his duty to do that above all things. If he can do it without war he will do it. But there are things infinitely worse than war, and the worst of these is slavery.

Byrd concludes by asking, "are we going to stand united behind the President as if at war with unconquerable morale? Americans, what is your answer?"

Future History: Slobodan Milošević is born in Požarevac village in Podgorica (Požarevac), Yugoslavia. He becomes President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He is arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities on 31 March 2001 on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. Milošević dies in prison of a heart attack on 8 May 1989.

Samuel Goldwyn Company gives "The Little Foxes," starring Bette Davis, its world premiere today at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The film earns 9 Academy Award nominations but does not win any because among other competitors it is up against "Sergeant York," "How Green Was My Valley," "Citizen Kane," "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," and other renowned films. This sets a new mark for futility which stands for decades, until "The Turning Point" (1977) with 11 nominations and no wins.




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 5 February 1941

This is the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor that crashed in Ireland on 5 February 1941.

East African Campaign: Today, 5 February 1941, generally is considered the start of the Battle of Keren.This is one of the hardest-fought battles during the war south of the North African desert and salvages some of the Italian military honor lost in Libya and Albania.

The 11th Indian Brigade of the 4th Indian Division now has had time to reconnoiter the area around Keren, Eritrea. Its commander decides not to wait for the main force to arrive from Agordat and instead attack straightaway. Attacking from the left of the Dongolaas Gorge (the gateway to Keren), the 2nd Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders quickly take a key ridge (feature 1616, Cameron Ridge) near Mt. Sanchil (overlooking the Gorge) and appear nicely positioned to occupy the higher peaks (Sanchil and Brig's Peak) which dominate the Gorge the next day. Once in possession of those, the British would be able to sweep the Gorge with gunfire and completely break the Italian defenses.

However, the Italians still occupy the high ground nearby, particularly to the right of the pass. These positions remain well-defended and stocked with ample supplies. The most advanced British troops, meanwhile, are forced to bring their supplies over an exposed hill of up to 1500 meters to their positions on the ridge, under the watchful gaze of the Italians on the peaks nearby. More British troops are approaching on the road from Agordat, so resumption of attacks appears likely on the 6th, but this first British attack accomplishes less than it seems due to the Italians' still-dominant possession of the high ground.

The British, anticipating total victory in Libya, name Henry Maitland Wilson as the Military Governor and General Officer Commanding Cyrenaica.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends a Circus raid of 12 Blenheim bombers with a heavy fighter escort to attack St. Omer. The Luftwaffe is ready and waiting and shoots down nine of them. It is a stunning setback for the RAF and its new offensive philosophy. The Luftwaffe, meanwhile, continues its random attacks on various parts of eastern England, with a small raid against London after dark.

In an extremely odd incident, a Luftwaffe KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor crashes into a mountain near Dunbeacon, West Cork, apparently after getting lost. Local nurse Mary Nugent is on the scene quickly and finds the plane in flames. Five of the crew are dead, but one of the plane's crew, radio operator Max Hohaus, is alive, though trapped in the plane. Mary and her brother drag Hohaus out of the plane, saving his life despite his massive burns and a broken leg. The Red Cross takes care of him and eventually repatriates Hohaus to Germany.

Well, all that is not all that unique, as planes crashed in Ireland many times during the war. The odd part is that the Germans are very grateful to Mary for saving the crewman's life. The Luftwaffe later arranges to present her with a medal for bravery personally signed by Adolf Hitler. Thus, Mary Nugent becomes the only Irish native decorated during the war by the Wehrmacht.

Volunteer American unit Eagle Squadron becomes operational. It is to aid the RAF against the German in Great Britain.

Mary Nugent, the Irish lady who received a special commendation signed personally by Adolf Hitler.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continue into the Atlantic. They are heading further west than the British expect them to, with a scheduled rendezvous with a tanker south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. After topping off their fuel tanks there, the two German ships will be excellently positioned to wreak devastation on the Allied convoys passing just to the south.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sealion torpedoes and sinks 1151-ton Norwegian freighter Ryfylke just north of Kvitenaes Point near Stadlandet, Norway. Fellow freighter Christian Bugge picks up all 45 men from the Ryfylke.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy 641-ton anti-submarine trawler HMT Tourmaline near North Foreland, Kent.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 3734-ton Greek freighter Ioannis M. Embiricos in the North Sea. Everybody survives.

British 7939-ton freighter Politician hits the rocks off Roshinish Point on the Island of Eriskay in the Hebrides. The ship is wrecked on the rocks, though it is later refloated to help salvage it. This is a fairly famous wreck for the region because the ship, in addition to RAF and army stores and some general merchandise, is carrying 22,000 cases of Scotch Whisky. Evidently, the locals have quite a time with the whiskey, and this incident becomes the subject of the 1947 book "Whisky Galore" by Compton Mackenzie. Some whiskey bottles from the wreck have been kept through the years as keepsakes.

Another British ship also runs aground. This is the 7457-ton Empire Breeze, which comes to grief at the Bondicar Rocks near Amble, Northumberland. However, the seas are kind to the Empire Breeze, and the ship is refloated and repaired.

The Royal Navy sinks 5046-ton British ship Minnie de Larinaga at Dover as a blockship.

Convoy OG 52 departs from Liverpool.

US submarine USS Finback is laid down.

U-563 is launched.

Italian troops during the battles around Benghazi, on or about 5 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Combe Force, under the command of Lieutenant General John Combe of the 11th Hussars Regiment, resumes its advance from Msus during the day. As part of his force, Combe has a squadron of the King's Dragoon Guards and the RAF Armoured Car Squadron. Just after noon, the Combe Force trucks reach the Via Balbia main road south of Benghazi. There are no Italians there, so the British fear that they were too late; however, in fact, they arrive just in the nick of time. The British setup roadblocks at Sidi Saleh, some 48 km southwest of Antelat. The tanks of the 7th Armored Division are lagging behind, so the initial block is minimal. Combe Force has crossed 150 miles of desert in just 30 hours.

About half an hour later, the Italian 10th Army shows up, driving from Benghazi toward Tripoli without seemingly a care in the world. Their advance vehicles hit mines laid by Combe Force, stopping the entire convoy. After a few scattered attacks by the 10th Bersaglieri, the British 4th Armoured Brigade arrives with its 29 cruiser tanks and the Italians give up for the day. Rather than mount a major attack to break through, the Italians encamp for the night and prepare to attack in the morning. The day ends with the relatively small (but well-armed) Combe Force of about 2000 men, reinforced with the tanks of the 4th Armoured Brigade, blocking the road against about 5,000 Italian troops, who are equipped with 107 tanks and 93 guns. The Italians spread out on both sides of the road looking for an escape route, but there is nowhere to go.

The Australians, meanwhile, are advancing on the Italians from the rear, effectively surrounding the Italian troops with the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) on one side and the sea on the other. They take Barce, sealing off the north, while the terrain to the south is rough and not suitable for a breakout - which in any event is in the direction of approaching British reinforcements. This collectively becomes known as the Battle of Beda Fomm.

Mines remain a problem at Tobruk Harbor despite frantic British attempts to sweep it. A motor schooner hits a mine and sinks, killing the Assistant King's Harbour Master for Tobruk, Lt. Commander Cochrane.

The Luftwaffe's mining of the Suez Canal scores another victim today, with 5060-ton British freighter Ranee sinking. There are nine deaths. Part of the wreck is salvaged for Royal Navy use.

The Italians, abandoning Benghazi, scuttle 2532 ton freighter Snia Amba in the Harbour. It sinks in shallow water and later is refloated.

The Italians send a major convoy of four large troop transport ships from Naples bound for Tripoli.

Applied Science: General Walter Dornberger, an artillery officer who has been working closely with Wernher von Braun, is told to focus on research and development of rockets, not production. This is a sign of extreme confidence by Hitler that the Reich is not in any jeopardy. Neither the V-1 flying bomb nor the V-2 ballistic missile is ready for production yet anyway.

RAF Draft No. 6 in Sydney embarks on 5 February 1941 (Australian War Memorial).

German/Italian Relations: Hitler writes a letter to Mussolini. In it, he praises the work of Italian officers in North Africa and offers to send a division to North Africa on the condition that the Italians hold their positions there.

German/Danish Relations: Under intense pressure, the Danes give the Germans six new torpedo boats. Technically, the Danes have not been conquered by the Germans and retain their own form of government. In practice, though, Denmark essentially is a German possession, albeit one that retains its king and government. It is less than a satellite and more than a Protectorate.

US/Anglo Relations: President Roosevelt's special envoy, Republican Wendell Willkie, winds up his visit to Great Britain. He makes a statement for distribution to Germany:

I am proud of my German blood, but I hate aggression and tyranny, and I now tell the German people that my convictions are fully shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans of German descent. They, too, believe in freedom and human rights. We German-Americans reject and hate aggression and the lust for power of the present German government.

US Military: General Walter C. Short is in Hawaii to command the US Army's Hawaiian Department. Short basically is in control of all aspects of Hawaii's defense except naval units (army, air force, antiaircraft forces).

Aerial photo of the crash site of the B-18A Bolo bomber that crashed in the mountains on January 16th after taking off from McChord Field. Investigators said the cause of the crash was pilot error. Two woodsmen notified the Lewis County Sheriff that they had found the wreck on February 3rd. This photo was taken near Deschutes Peak, Snoqualmie National Forest, February 5, 1941 (Seattle Post Intelligencer).

Australian Government: Prime Minister Robert Menzies resumes his lengthy journey from Melbourne to London. He flies from Gaza to Lydda (Lod). Reflecting on recent Italian reversals in Libya, he makes a fairly common military assessment for the period in his diary, namely that "One German is worth 15 Italians."
British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues his efforts to shape the news flow. He sends a letter to Cecil King, director of the Daily Mirror, urging him not to "try to discredit and hamper the Government in a period of extreme danger and difficulty." Instead, he urges King to have his paper focus on British "war aims."

The War Cabinet approves Royal Navy interceptions of Italian convoys proceeding down the Tunisian coast. These ships are traveling in French territorial waters. Heretofore, the area has been off-limits (unlike the areas near Gibraltar).

Occupied Europe: The Germans begin standardizing the currency on the Continent. They eliminate the Luxembourgish and Belgian francs and replace them with the Euro, er, Reichsmark.

China: Japanese 11th Army torches Nanyan and occupies Tangho.

Australian Homefront: The author of "Waltzing Matilda," Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, passes away in Sydney, New South Wales.

Separately, the Australian Women’s Australian Auxiliary Air Force (WAAAF) established.

British Homefront: The Ministry of Defence and the RAF sponsors the Air Training Corps (ATC), a successor to the Air Defence Cadet Corps (ADCC). The ATC is a British youth organization, composed primarily by volunteers, intended to give cadets some experience with aviation. King George VI agrees to be the air Commodore-in-Chief, issuing a Royal Warrant for it. The ATC is an instant success

Future History: Stephen J. Cannell is born in Los Angeles, California. Stephen begins selling scripts to Universal in 1968, which hires him to write scripts for series like "Ironside" and "Columbo," and soon lands a full-time job as Jack Webb's story editor on "Adam-12." After that, Stephen J. Cannell goes on to create or co-create (writing pilots for lucrative compensation) about three dozen series, including World War II-themed "Black Sheep Squadron" (which focuses on the adventures of Pacific ace Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. His last huge success is "The Commish," which airs from 1991-1996, and after that takes only some occasional acting gigs and writes novels (including the Shane Scully series). Stephen J. Cannell passes away on 30 September 2010 from melanoma and is interred at Forest Lawn.

David Lynn Selby is born in Morgantown, West Virginia. He becomes famous for playing Quentin Collins in "Dark Shadows" (1969-71). He later stars as Richard Channing in "Falcon Crest" and stars in other series. David Selby remains active in the business as of this writing.

The War Department Air Corps, Materiel Division performs flight tests at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio on the P-39 (Bell YP-39) and submits its results of the findings today, 5 February 1941. The report finds that top speed is 368 mph, it can reach 20,000 feet in 7.3 minutes, and that "the P-39 should not be spun intentionally under any circumstances." The overall tenor of the report is that the Allison V-1710-35 engine has serious issues.

February 1941

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

2020

Saturday 23 March 1940

The A-4 rocket combustion chamber.

Battle of the Atlantic: At 11:30 on 23 March 1940, Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant (it may have been HMS Trident) sinks German freighter Edmund Hugo Stinnes IV six miles from the west coast of Denmark. After the sub fires warning shots, the freighter actually heads for shore to scuttle, but the submarine finishes it off with two torpedoes.

German ship Schiff 16 aka "Atlantis," anchored at Süderpiep Bay, Norway and readying for its Atlantic sortie, adopts a disguise as Norwegian freighter Knute Nelson.

Convoy OA-0115G departs from Southend, Convoy-OB 115 departs from Liverpool.
Royal Navy: The Admiralty forms a special Malaya Force to keep track of 17 German merchant ships anchored in Dutch East Indies ports.

Destroyer Atherstone (Commander Hugh W. S. Browning) is commissioned.

Applied Science: At Peenemünde Research Center, Wernher von Braun test-fires the engine of the A-4 rocket he is designing.

French Government: Prime Minister Paul Reynaud holds a meeting of his inner war council, with briefings from Admiral Darlan, General Gamelin, and others. Edouard Daladier, now Minister of War, rejects Major de Gaulle's idea of separate tank divisions such as the Wehrmacht has developed.

German/Romanian Relations: A German mission led by Dr. Karl Clodius visits Bucharest to negotiate more trade deals.

Italian/Hungarian Relations: The Premier of Hungary, Count Teleki, visits Rome. He meets with Foreign Minister Ciano, and both find common ground: they dislike the Third Reich regime in Germany.

Terrorism: A dozen IRA convicts imprisoned in HM Prison Dartmoor riot and take two warders as hostages. They start a fire that is put out after 90 minutes.

India: The All-India Muslim League adopts the Lahore Resolution.

Italy: The Fascists celebrate the 21st anniversary of the founding of their party.

Japan: Japan's Foreign Minister states that his country does not intend to take sides in the European war, though he expects it to last for a long time.

China: The Japanese 26th Infantry Division continues attacking the Chinese 8th War Area at Ta-Tsai-chu 10 km (6.2 miles) from Wuyuan, without making gains.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese 40th Army continues attacking the Japanese 22nd Army at Lingshan.

German Homefront: Owners of private automobiles are required to donate their car batteries to the war effort. There isn't sufficient petrol to run them anyway.

Bronze church bells are requisitioned, to be melted down into armaments, a sort of reversal of the usual Biblical admonition.

American Homefront: "Truth or Consequences" premieres on NBC Radio.

Peenemünde Research Center was located on the Baltic island of Usedom. It became the Germans' secret test range for Heer and Luftwaffe Wunder Waffen (wonder weapons) such as rockets. Wernher von Braun's mother suggested it based on memories of her father hunting ducks there.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019