Monday 7 April 1941

LSSAH (1st SS Panzer Division, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler) motorcycles in Bulgaria on their way to the Yugoslav border at Klistendil, April 7, 1941. The LSSAH is to follow the 9th Panzer Division of XL Panzer Corps (General der Panzertruppe Georg Stumme) and help exploit its breakthrough.

Operation 25: The Wehrmacht continues grinding forward in Yugoslavia against very light opposition - and often none at all - on 7 April 1941.

The XL Panzer Corps continues skidding across southern Yugoslavia at a lightning pace. Exactly when particular areas fall is difficult to ascertain, as the Germans are simply driving east as fast as they can. Today, the Germans pocket Prilep and the 9th Panzer Division moves on to regional center Skopje in Macedonia. Skopje is a major road junction from the Yugoslav coast to Greece, so this further isolates the bulk of the Yugoslav military and population to the north.

The Yugoslav Army counterattacks against the northern flank of the XL Panzer spearhead but fails to make any progress.

In the north, General Maximillian Baron von Weichs continues moving south with his 2nd Army. The Hungarians occupy territory north of the Danube that was lost in the treaties ending World War I.

Along the coast, the Italian 2nd Army under General Ambrosio makes a lunge south from the Trieste region. The Yugoslav 3rd Army attacks with five infantry divisions (13, 15, 25, 31 and 12 Divisions) in northern Albania west toward Elbasan, apparently to help the Greek Army conquer the Italians. This makes sense in the context of the Yugoslavs having watched the Italian/Greek conflict for months and contemplating how they could help the Greeks, and perhaps was a standing plan for the eventuality of hostilities with Italy. In the abstract, freeing the Greek forces to shift east would help the Allies to form a front there, but it assumes that the Yugoslavs can hold off the Germans while that plan plays out - a very risky bet.

The Luftwaffe continues pounding Belgrade in Operation Punishment. The Luftwaffe has complete command of the skies, but estimates of each side's losses during the battle vary widely and are completely unreliable. This is the climax of the Luftwaffe's attack on the capital. Estimates of Yugoslav casualties in Belgrade also vary widely and are completely unreliable, ranging from 1500 to 17,000, with the official figure 2,271.

Fires from yesterday's raid burn out of control, creating giant plumes of smoke and guiding follow-up raids to the city. The main targets hit today include the main railway station and a pontoon bridge across the Danube east of the city. The rail line is the major means of international communication from Belgrade, and XL Panzer Corps already has cut the mainline to Greece around Prilep. The Stukas also continue their work on the Yugoslav Air Force, which essentially has been missing in action, with many of its planes destroyed on the ground.

The Luftwaffe is having such an easy time that the fighters of 7,/JG 26, flying out of Taranto, return to their previous bases on Sicily. During this very brief operation over the Balkans, commander Oblt. Müncheberg scores a victory, a Yugoslav Fury biplane.

In Budapest, the government claims that the Yugoslav Air Force attacked three of its airfields and that its own forces shot down eight of the bombers. This is unconfirmed.

Croatian exile Ante Pavelic continues his broadcasts from Florence. He calls on Croats, who by and large are sympathetic to Germany, to resist the central government and set up their own state Naturally, Pavelic has some ideas on who might lead such an independent Croatian government.

New York Times, 7 April 1941.

Operation Marita: At this stage of the invasion, Greece remains of secondary importance while the Wehrmacht carves up Yugoslavia. The Wehrmacht has attacked the incomplete Greek Metaxas Line on the Bulgarian/Greek border, with the British positioned further back. The German XVIII and XXX Corps are leading the attack.

A simple glance at the map, however, shows that the panzers at Skopje are perfectly positioned to turn south and head toward Thessalonica (Thessaloniki). This would cut off the Greeks on the Bulgarian frontier and the British expeditionary force on the Aliakmon River line. Strategically, the German 12th Army under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelm List is best off by just keeping the Allied forces in place while they are enveloped to the west.

However, that does not mean that the Bulgarian/Greece front is quiet, and suggesting that does the men fighting there a huge disservice. Soldiers are fighting and dying there just like they are in Yugoslavia - in fact, given the ease of the German invasion of Yugoslavia, there may be more soldiers dying in Greece at any particular time. The Germans make progress on the western flank.

The people at the port of Piraeus continue picking up from the events of the 6th. Then, the harbor was rocked on the first day of the invasion when ammunition ship Clan Frazer blew up, sinking and damaging over a dozen ships. The dock facilities, which have been used to bring in British troops, are completely wrecked and the Royal Navy withdraws its remaining ships from the port to Suda Bay, Crete.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1012 Greek freighter Kyrapanagia off the port of Piraeus.

Greece severs diplomatic contact with Bulgaria and Hungary, while Great Britain breaks diplomatic relations with Hungary.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe remains active on the Channel Front despite the fact that numerous formations have been withdrawn to support Operation Marita. There are several different attacks that leave a lasting impression.

The Luftwaffe sends 179 bombers against Glasgow and 43 against Liverpool and Greenock. These attacks begin around 23:05.

A Heinkel He 111 equipped with X-Verfahren direction-finding equipment guides a small group of bombers from KG 54 and 55 to attack Bristol and Avonmouth after 21:00. A Beaufighter of RAF No. 219 Squadron shoots down a Heinkel from 1,/KG 55.

It is the first night of the "Belfast Blitz." This is not the first raid on Belfast, but it apparently is the first intentional bombing of the city. The Germans bomb the docks and also hit nearby residential areas. It is a small attack by half a dozen bombers and causes - by Blitz standards - only light damage, including destroying a factory used to manufacture fuselages for Short Stirling bombers. There are 13 deaths. The Luftwaffe loses a plane, but the pilots are delighted that the air raid defenses are relatively light.

During the day, the RAF conducts standard Rhubarb operations over France.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command, No. 2 Group, attacks the Kiel dock area, Cologne and Bremerhaven. The Kiel attack is the night's centerpiece, involving 229 bombers dropping 40,000 incendiaries and lasting for five hours. Kiel is easily accessible by the RAF bombers and receives poundings with great regularity - so far during the war, it has been attacked three dozen times. Despite that, the port remains fully functional. The RAF attack on Bremerhaven is much lighter, made by only 24 bombers.

East African Campaign: The South Africans consolidate their control over Addis Ababa. The Polizia dell'Africa Italiana (Police of Italian Africa) remain on patrol in the city with their approval. At Massawa, the British once again call on Italian Admiral Bonetti to surrender, but he refuses. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade Group, 10th Indian Infantry Brigade, and a tank squadron prepare to assault the port on the 8th.

The Royal Navy is standing offshore bombarding Massawa in Operation Atmosphere, but Admiral Bonetti still has naval forces at his disposal. He sends Italian MAS 213 (torpedo boat) out after dark to shoo the British off. The Italians torpedo light South African cruiser HMSAS Capetown, badly damaging its stern and killing four sailors. The Capetown must be towed to Port Sudan, and later to Bombay. The repairs will take until July 1942.

Convoy BN 23 departs from Suez.

Battle of the Atlantic: Invasion fears are mounting. The Admiralty for some reason fears a major Luftwaffe raid on Scapa Flow in northern Scotland, so it orders the Home Fleet to sail. There is no air raid, and the ships return.

U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz) is operating around the Cape Verde Islands thanks to the good Kriegsmarine supply network which has kept it at sea there for the past month. It torpedoes 1746-ton Canadian freighter Portadoc, then surfaces and uses its deck gun to finish it off. The entire crew escapes in two lifeboats. They sail east and, in six days, make it to Benty, French Guinea - where the Vichy French intern them. The Portadoc was sailing as an independent.

German tanker Nordmark replenishes U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) and U-106 (Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten) prior to their heading to Rio de Janeiro to escort a trapped German freighter, 3290-ton Lech, back to France.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks Royal Navy 258-ton minesweeping trawler Roche Bonne (Rochebonne) about eight miles southeast of the Lizard. Captain W.R. Settlefield and his ten sailors perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 213-ton British trawler Sylvia southeast of the main Faroe Islands, east of Suðuroy. There is one death.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 3829-ton British freighter Kirnwood east of Clacton on Sea.

British 945-ton freighter Elisabeth hits a mine and sinks five miles (9 km) southeast of Portscatho. There are two deaths.

Convoy OB 307 departs from Liverpool.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Cowichan (J 146) is commissioned.

Things are heating up in Alexandria, Egypt, but in Alexandria, Louisiana, the 3rd Battalion of the 164th Infantry Division marches for Army Day. 7 April 1941 (Dickinson Library).

Battle of the Mediterranean: In his diary, visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies notes after the War Cabinet meeting, with classic understatement: "Things have gone wrong in Libya."

The Afrika Korps continues its rampage across Libya. The panzers effectively capture Derna, capturing the airfield and block the Via Balbia - the British position there now is hopeless. At Mechili, reached by the Germans on the 6th, the Afrika Korps twice demands that the remnants of the shattered British 2nd Armoured Division surrender, but the British hold out. Rommel orders his panzers forward (Group Olbrich) for an immediate attack. After a difficult march over harsh terrain, Group Olbrich is in position around Mechili as night falls, ready for a final attack on the 8th. General Rommel is upset at the delay, feeling the attack should have been conducted today. General Johannes Streich, the commander of the 5th Light Division (of which Group Olbrich is a part), claims among other things that yesterday's sandstorms clogged his panzers' turrets.

This battle presents a sort of an alternate reality to the majority of World War II. Throughout the conflict, the Allies, via their Ultra decryption service, read many German communications in real-time - in fact, there may be cases when the British read German messages before the intended German recipient does. However, with General Rommel leading from the front and ignoring orders from his supposed Italian commander, the British have very little spy intelligence to work with. On the other hand, the British are retreating in a pell-mell fashion that approaches raw panic. As they go, they are sending radio messages in the clear and on the fly to headquarters identifying their positions - which the Wehrmacht's intelligence service is reading and forwarding to Rommel.

General Erwin Rommel continues flying in his personal Fieseler Storch observation plane above the battlefield. By doing this, he sees not only where the British forces are, but also exactly where his own forces are - which is a lot more than the British commanders know. The Luftwaffe also helps out, reporting that large British forces are concentrating around Gazala, now the westernmost tip of British control. Luftwaffe transport planes work overtime bringing in supplies to the forces investing Mechili. Supply is a major developing problem for the Wehrmacht, with some troops without rations for four days now - a consequence of unexpected success.

The Germans and Italians spirit Generals O'Connor and Neame, captured on the 6th, out of Libya to imprisonment in Italy.

At Malta, supplies continue to tighten. Food rationing is introduced.

William Faulkner's final screenplay of Twentieth Century Fox's "The Bouncer and the Lady," dated 7 April 1941.

Propaganda: Berlin radio reports that Allied shipping losses for March 1941 totaled 718,000 tons. Losses indeed were high for the month, but that is about double the actual amount. The broadcaster also does not mention the 5 U-boats lost during the month. Excessive shipping claims by the Germans become a running joke, especially among Allied POWs who keep running totals and show that, if the claims were remotely true, the entire Allied fleet of vessels would be at the bottom of the sea.

British Military: General Bernard Law Montgomery, aka "Monty," is appointed commander of XII Corps. This is a key command, responsible for the Kent/Sussex sector in southeast England. With invasion fears running wild as spring approaches, this is a key vote of confidence. Montgomery immediately institutes a training program for all ranks and begins sacking officers he believes are incompetent.

The Gloster E.28/39 (Meteor) prototype is delivered to Brockworth airfield for ground (taxiing) tests. This version does not include a fully working jet, the key component of any jet fighter, but the engine provided can power the aircraft sufficiently to make short hops off the ground. A Power Jets W.1 engine is just about ready for delivery to the airfield for full flight tests.

US Military: The US sends a force, TG 7.2, from New York Navy Yard to establish Naval Station Bermuda under the command of Captain Jules James, USN. TG 7.2 includes aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) and heavy cruisers Tuscaloosa and Wichita, which will stay and make Bermuda their home port. This relatively small force will be greatly augmented by large US naval forces. This is one of the bases ceded by the British to the US pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal of September 1940.

Iraq: The British forces at Habbaniyah are growing increasingly worried about the change in government from a pro-British to pro-Axis orientation. Whitehall telegrams Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell asking him what troops he can spare for Iraq. Wavell responds that, given operations in both Libya and Greece, all that he can spare is a battalion.

Newsweek Magazine, 7 April 1941.

China: Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, in an appearance before the Executive Yuan, vows to cooperate with the Communist military - temporarily. He previously has ordered his troops to attack the Communists when they come to close to his own sphere of control, but now changes his tune:

…these border imbroglios are mere secondary questions. We can’t worry too much over such trivialities. As the international situation improves, they will automatically be settled. Let's wait at least until we get a definite assurance from England and the United States before we clamp down on the Communists.

British Government: It is Budget Day. The government raises taxes again, raising the toll by 1s 6d to 10s in the £. Chancellor of the Exchequer Kingsley Wood aims to reduce inflation by increasing taxation and forcing the public to save more. The total tax increase is expected to increase revenues by £250, with a government budget deficit of £2.304 billion. This is a huge increase, made more onerous by the fact that numerous deductions are eliminated. Of course, technically the British government is insolvent given its growing obligations under Lend-Lease, so increases are borne, by and large, with good humor or at least acceptance by many citizens and the media.

American Homefront: The Gallup opinion research firm publishes the results of a poll. The question posed is:

Which of these two things do you think it is more important for the United States to try to do — to keep out of the war ourselves, or to help England win, even at the risk of getting into the war?

Of the respondents, 67% prefer to help England win. This is a 7% increase from a similar question asked in January 1941.

Life Magazine, 7 April 1941, "Spring Showers."

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020

Sunday 6 April 1941

Operation Retribution, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 6 April 1941.

Operation 25: Operation 25 is the German codename for the invasion of Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. Despite signals from Yugoslavia that it is willing to respect its obligations under the Tripartite Pact, Adolf Hitler has his troops invade Yugoslavia and Greece. At 05:15, the Germans unleash 15 divisions, including two Panzer divisions, and 800 aircraft. While Italy and Hungary also will contribute troops to the effort, they do not invade yet - with the small exception that the Italians in Albania continue to tie down virtually the entire Greek Army and the Italians at Trieste take a few local objectives in Venezia Giulia near Trieste. This is a companion to the invasion of Greece, "Operation Marita," with the specific attack on Yugoslavia called "Operation 25."

Hitler's order of the day to the troops reads in part (it is quite lengthy, usually they are maybe a paragraph long):

Since early this morning the German people are at war with the Belgrade Government of intrigue. We shall only lay down arms when this band of ruffians has been definitely and most emphatically eliminated, and the last Briton has left this part of the European Continent. These misled people realize that they must thank Britain for this situation, they must thank England, the greatest warmonger of all time.

Hitler reveals his real reason for Operation Marita in this order's opening paragraph. The Yugoslavs and Greeks pose no threat to Germany. However, Hitler worries about the British presence in that region of the continent. His worry is not about British land forces, but rather the RAF - as he later tells Marshall Mannerheim, he has nightmares of the Romanian oil fields burning from end to end from RAF attacks.

German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop is pithier: he notes that "a clique of conspirators" is the only reason Germany has had to unleash hell upon Yugoslavia. Italy declares war on Yugoslavia, while Hitler doesn't even bother.

Los Angeles Times, 6 April 1941, "Yugoslavia and Greece Invaded As Hitler Launches Balkan War."

On the ground, things go smoothly for the Wehrmacht. The XL Panzer Corps (Lieutenant-General Georg Stumme) of Panzer Group Kleist of the 12th Army (Field Marshal Wilhelm List) crosses the Yugoslavian frontier from Bulgaria at dawn and, by evening, has reached the vicinity of Prilep, cutting the railway line. This is a huge achievement because Prilep is on the mainline from Belgrade to Thessaloniki. By severing the rail link, the Germans effectively cut the capital off from outside aid - or escape - except by air. The 2nd Panzer Division advances through the Struma Valley and is only slowed by poor roads. It captures Strumica right on schedule.

In addition, the German 2nd Army (General Maximillian von Weichs) is to drive south from Austria toward Belgrade. This eventually, if all goes well, form a giant pincer cutting the country in two. The Yugoslav Army is large (28 divisions) but no match for the German Heer (army). The Yugoslavs have inherited the racial and regional disparities of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, and many divisions have no interest in fighting anyone. Only a handful of divisions actively resist the Wehrmacht invasion, and these primarily are composed of ethnic groups opposed to the Germans (Serb, Montenegrin and Albanian.

The Yugoslav Air Force is largely destroyed on the ground, losing an estimated 600 planes in the first wave of attacks. Creaky Luftwaffe planes such as the Dornier Do 17 and Junkers Ju 87 Stuka that have become liabilities over England retain their technological edge in the Balkans.

The Wehrmacht drive across southern Yugoslavia serves two purposes: it isolates Yugoslavia, and it also provides a springboard into Greece that is far to the west of the British. Once they get far enough west, the panzers can turn due south and drive straight to the port of Thessalonica (Thessaloniki), cutting the British troops off from their supply bases in southern Greece.

Wehrmacht motorcycle troops enter Greece, 6 April 1941.

Operation Marita: The Wehrmacht also attacks Greece at dawn. However, for the moment, the main action is north of the border in Yugoslavia, where the German panzers are sidestepping the Allied defenses facing Bulgaria and effectively outflanking the British and Greeks.

The Greeks have their troops far forward on the Metaxas Line, while the British are grouped further back in a natural switch position on the Aliakmon River. The Greek Army of Eastern Macedonia (Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos) defends. The British are under the overall command of General Henry Maitland Wilson, commanding W Force, and have three Greek divisions, a New Zealand division, the Australian 6th division, and the British 1st Armored Brigade.

German XVIII Corps hits the Greek left flank, while XXX Corps attacks the right flank. The Germans make only limited progress on their invasion into Greece directly from Bulgaria, but that invasion is distinctly secondary to the operations in Yugoslavia for the time being. Realistically, the only point of the Germans attacking at all at this point and time is to hold the Allies in place and not allow them to shift troops to the west to meet the real thrust. In that sense, these troops serve the same purpose as the Italians along the coast.

Seven RAF squadrons support the Allied effort in Greece and, to a much lesser extent, Yugoslavia. The Greeks have 15 excellent divisions in Albania, but they are fully occupied by the Italians - an oft-overlooked service for those who think the Italians never helped Germany with its military.

"Portrait of Kenneth Campbell RAF, awarded the Victoria Cross: France, 6 April 1941." Campbell presses home his attack against the Gneisenau despite intense Flak and puts a torpedo into it. He is killed immediately after. © IWM (CH 4911).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe begins Operation Bestrafung ("Retribution" or "Punishment," and also known as "Operation Castigo"), which is a concentrated attack on Yugoslavian airbases and major cities. The operational code name itself reflects the anger that the Germans continue to feel about the abrupt 27 March 1941 coup that compelled (in their eyes) the expansion of Operation Marita to include Yugoslavia.

Having learned its lessons over London, the Luftwaffe puts them to use over Belgrade. It flies 500 sorties of Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and medium bombers over the Yugoslav capital, taking the city by surprise and pounding it. Huge fires erupt, destroying hospitals, public buildings and the royal palace. It is possibly the worst single aerial assault in the war so far, and perhaps of the entire war because it is against a completely undefended urban center and imbued with the lessons learned from the Luftwaffe's seven months of practice in terror-bombing British cities. An estimated 17,000 people perish during the next few days - nobody will ever know how many died each day.

The Luftwaffe (KG 307) also raids Piraeus, and this raid also is one of the classics of World War II. This is the main disembarkation point for Operation Lustre, the British expeditionary force on mainland Greece. The Germans get a lucky hit on munitions ship Clan Fraser. The ship is carrying 350 tons of high explosives and explodes in a massive fireball, killing six men, destroying 13 ships, wrecking the port facilities and inflicting massive casualties ashore.

During the Luftwaffe attack on Piraeus and explosion of the Clan Fraser, the casualties include, but are not limited to:

• Greek tug Elpis (sunk)
• Corvette HMS Hyacinth (damaged, two officers ashore killed).
• 7108-ton British freighter City of Roubaix (sunk)
• 1988-ton British freighter Cyprian Prince (sunk, four deaths)
• 1706-ton British freighter Patris (sunk)
• 1393-ton Greek freighter Acropolis (sunk)
• 3256-ton Greek freighter Styliani (sunk)
• 4792-ton Greek freighter Evoikos (sunk)
• Greek caique Halcyon (sunk)
• 6565-ton Greek freighter Petalli (on fire, scuttled outside the port)
• 5314-ton British freighter Goalpara (damaged)
• 7264-ton freighter Clan Cumming (damaged)
• 8474-ton British tanker Cingalese Prince (damaged)
• 6054-ton British freighter Devis (damaged, one death)
• 3100-ton British freighter Katie Moller (damaged)
• 1656-ton Greek freighter Agailiani (damaged)
• 4697-ton Greek freighter Constantinos Louloudis (damaged)
• 496-ton Royal Navy armed yacht HMY Surf (sunk)
• 386-ton British salvage vessel Viking (sunk)
• 146-ton Greek auxiliary Georgios (sunk)

The loss of ships obviously is horrendous. However, the port is virtually destroyed and made unusable. As the main port of entry - and exit - to mainland Greece for the British expedition force, this poses a real problem for further reinforcement - or evacuation - of the British troops. It is not accurate that the British abandon the use of the port, but they withdraw what ships they can and send them to Suda Bay on Crete.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull weighs in on the German invasion, calling it "barbarous." The Yugoslavian military attache in Washington asks for as much immediate support as possible, including 700 aircraft, 100 tanks and so forth. The US is not in a position to supply anything immediately.

The RAF units based in Greece sends Wellington bombers against Sofia, Bulgaria.

The 2nd RAF Group raids a power station at Ijmuiden, Holland.

This picture apparently was taken during the KG307 raid on Piraeus Harbor by Hptm Hajo Herrmann of 6 April 1941.

East African Campaign: The 1st South African Brigade of the 11th (African) Division under Major-General H. E. de R. Wetherall, along with the 22nd East African Brigade (Brigadier Charles Fowkes) drives into Addis Ababa. The Italians under the Duke of Aosta have abandoned the city, fleeing to mountain redoubts from which they hope to carry on the fight. The Italian citizens of the city remain behind with elements of the local Italian police. General Agenore Frangipani, the Governor of Addis Ababa, commits suicide.

A telling political incident reflects the sensitivity of the situation and of the times. Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, Commander in Chief of East Africa Command, orders Fowkes to slow down and let Wetherall enter the city first. He has to do this by a special order dropped directly on his position by an RAF plane, as Fowkes refuses to acknowledge radio orders telling him to let Wetherall have the glory of the capture. The reason for the stop order? Fowkes commands largely black African troops, while Wetherall commands white South Africans. It would "look bad" for the black Africans to get their first. Yes, this is completely racist and everyone knows exactly what is going on. That's the real world of the times, folks.

At Massawa, the Italians scuttle a number of ships before the nearby British take the port:

• 5877-ton freighter Antonia C.
• 2136-ton freighter Riva Ligure
• 8150-ton tanker Nazario Sauro
• 2722-ton freighter Tripolitania
• 2316-ton freighter Capitano Bottego

All of the ships are later salvaged. In addition, the Italians scuttle freighter Capitano Bottego off the Dahlak Archipelago.

Hans-Joachim Marseille in his Messerschmitt Bf-109E JG27, 6 April 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: With the RAF now sending regular bombing missions overhead targeting cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, the German naval authorities decide to do something to protect them. Accordingly, they move the two ships out of their drydocks and anchorages in the harbor. They do so just at the wrong time.

The British are under the misapprehension that the two German cruisers are on the verge of another sortie into the Atlantic. Desperate to stop this, the RAF quickly takes note of their change of positions and switches from bombs to torpedoes for another attack while they are still in port. They send a massive formation of 71 Bristol Beauforts against the ships, and one, piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell (KIA, receives the VC posthumously), makes a successful torpedo run and gets a hit on the Gneisenau. While not threatening to the survival of the ship, the hit roughly beneath the aft main turret causes 3000 tons of water to enter the ship. There is tremendous internal damage due both to the concussive effects of the detonation on electronic components and stresses on the centerline propeller shafts. The ship quickly is returned to dry dock.

In addition to the attack on Brest itself, RAF Coastal Command attacks three German destroyers sailing off Brest on unrelated business. A couple of near misses do not cause any appreciable damage, nor does a failed submarine attack.

In addition to the RAF attacks, the Royal Navy puts its major surface vessels out to sea to confront the expected escape by the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. However, since the two ships do not leave Brest, the British ships - led by battlecruiser HMS Hood in Scapa Flow and HMS King George V at Gibraltar - return to port.

U-94 (Kptlt. Herbert Kuppisch) is operating in the Atlantic southwest of Iceland when it spots a 5580-ton Norwegian freighter, Lincoln Ellsworth. Kuppisch puts a torpedo into the ship, then surfaces and finishes it off with his deck gun. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 5149-ton Norwegian tanker Lincoln Ellsworth northwest of Scotland in the general vicinity of Rockall. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 7156-ton Greek tanker Nicolaou Zografia in the Northwest Approaches a bit to the southwest of the Lincoln Ellsworth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2252-ton British freighter Olga in the Northwest Approaches. Four crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 289-ton British trawler Daneland just west of Rathlin O'Birne Island off the west coast of Ireland. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 352-ton Faroes trawler Naeraberg south of the Faroes Islands. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 7525-ton British tanker Glenfinlas off Harwich. There are eleven deaths. The tanker is towed to Harwich, and then to the Tyne for repairs.

Royal Navy 336-ton armed yacht HMY Torrent hits a mine and sinks off Falmouth. There are a number of deaths on the yacht, including the commander, Lieutenant K. Sinclair RNR.

Royal Navy 15,400-ton armed merchant cruiser HMS Comorin suffers an accidental fire and is wrecked off Freetown. There are fourteen deaths, but 405 men survive. Destroyer HMS Broke scuttles the blazing cruiser.

Convoys OB 308 and OB 58 depart from Liverpool, Convoys HX 119, 119A and 119B depart from Halifax.

Damage in Belgrade caused by the 6 April 1941 raid.

Battle of the Mediterranean: It is one of the most successful days of the North African campaign for the Afrika Korps, but all the worldwide attention is directed toward events on the other side of the Mediterranean. The Afrika Korps continues rolling forward in a day marked by dust storms that keep the Luftwaffe grounded. The Germans capture the fortress of Mechili, south of Derna. However, bad as it is, that is not the worst loss of the day for the British.

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell has become increasingly worried about the course of the campaign in Libya under new General Officer Commanding & Military Governor of Cyrenaica Lieutenant-General Philip Neame. Wavell has sent the man that Neame replaced, Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor, who arrived yesterday, to see if he can be of help. Nobody at Neame's headquarters really knows where the Afrika Korps panzers are, but everyone knows they are getting closer. Accordingly, Neame and O'Connor lead a small convoy of vehicles to a new headquarters further back. However, the Afrika Korps is even closer than they obviously thought, because advance motorcycle units under Gerhard von Schwerin capture the convoy and the two generals. The Germans quickly spirit the two bemused officers to imprisonment in Italy, along with a travelling companion and now fellow prisoner Brigadier John Combe.

The 9th Australia Division, which starred in Operation Compass against the Italians, now is in rapid retreat against the Germans. It falls back into Tobruk, considered the most defensible position in Libya. Joining it are what remains of the 2nd Armored Division which had been holding the front, along with the 3 Indian Motor Brigade. The Australians and others have no interest in evacuating through the port, but rather intend to make a stand in the same place that they themselves captured in January.

Rommel's forces close the pincer on Mechili between Italian and German troops and capture about 3000 British soldiers. Rommel leads from the front, as is his habit. Afrika Korps also takes Msus. One might think that this would be viewed by headquarters as a monumental victory - but in Berlin, the high command is dismayed that so many British have escaped to Tobruk.

Convoy AC 3 departs from Alexandria bound for Tobruk, Convoy AG 11 (five British ships) departs from Alexandria bound for Suda Bay. The latter convoy, AG 11, is intended to beef up the British military presence on Crete.

Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels reads out Adolf Hitler's Order of the Day, 6 April 1941.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Operation Marita has repercussions around the globe. The Vichy French on Madagascar seize a number of Greek freighters:

• 4669-ton freighter Maroussio Logotheti
• 4391-ton freighter Yiannis

The French impress the ships into their own service and rename them Duquesne and Amiral Pierra, respectively.

Battle of the Pacific: Australian Heavy cruiser HMAS Australia has an accident while launching its Seagull floatplane. The catapult fails and the plane crashes, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the two others on board.

Soviet/Yugoslavian Relations: While the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia date their friendship/nonaggression treaty document 5 April 1941, it is not until 01:30 today that the two parties actually sign it. This is not unusual in diplomatic circles; in fact, the famous Ribbentrop/Molotov Agreement of 23 August 1939 actually was signed at 02:00 on the 24th. However, some read hidden meaning into this date issue, viewing it as a way for the USSR to avoid appearing to time the document during the German invasion of Yugoslavia. There are two problems with this: the Soviets like to have versions typed and dated and signed later as their typical practice (it takes a lot of typist time and effort to keep reformatting things in multiple copies), and there is no evidence whatsoever that the Soviets know that the Germans will launch their Balkans invasions about 4 hours later. It is, though, a possibility that they do know and want to avoid offending Germany.

Holocaust: The Germans in Poland transfer 1021 prisoners incarcerated at Pawlak Prison in Warsaw to Auschwitz. This includes many prisoners who are there for ordinary crimes. For instance, five famous actors (in Poland) incarcerated for murdering a pro-German actor are among those transferred to the death camp.

American Homefront: Craig Wood, 39, wins golf's Masters Tournament. It is his first Major victory after losing all four Majors at various times in extra holes.

Yugoslavian infantry surrendering, 6 April 1941 (German Federal Archive: Bild 146-1975-036-24).

April 1941

April 1, 1941: Rommel Takes Brega
April 2, 1941:Rommel Takes Agedabia
April 3, 1941: Convoy SC-26 Destruction
April 4, 1941: Rommel Takes Benghazi
April 5, 1941: Rommel Rolling
April 6, 1941: Operation Marita
April 7, 1941: Rommel Takes Derna
April 8, 1941: Yugoslavia Crumbling
April 9, 1941: Thessaloniki Falls
April 10, 1941: USS Niblack Attacks
April 11, 1941: Good Friday Raid
April 12, 1941: Belgrade and Bardia Fall
April 13, 1941: Soviet-Japanese Pact
April 14, 1941: King Peter Leaves
April 15, 1941: Flying Tigers
April 16, 1941: Battle of Platamon
April 17, 1941: Yugoslavia Gone
April 18, 1941: Me 262 First Flight
April 19, 1941: London Smashed
April 20, 1941: Hitler's Best Birthday
April 21, 1941: Greek Army Surrenders
April 22, 1941: Pancevo Massacre
April 23, 1941: CAM Ships
April 24, 1941: Battle of Thermopylae
April 25, 1941: Operation Demon
April 26, 1941: Operation Hannibal
April 27, 1941: Athens Falls
April 28, 1941: Hitler Firm about Barbarossa
April 29, 1941: Mainland Greece Falls
April 30, 1941: Rommel Attacks

2020