Saturday 3 May 1941

SS Malakand, an ammunition ship that blew up during a Luftwaffe raid on Liverpool and sank six other ships.

Anglo-Iraq War: With the war in Iraq now a day old, the British on 3 May 1941 are having no difficulty maintaining their positions. The Iraqis attack the British supply port of Basra today, but are beaten off. At Habbaniyah, the RAF continues its air strikes against the Iraqis who are shelling the besieged airfield from a plateau to the south. Additional RAF air attacks are launched against Rashid Airfield (previously RAF Hinaidi). The RAF shoots down an Italian SM 79 Savoia bomber. The British are continuing their sortie with ground troops out of the airfield, with some success.

The RAF receives some reinforcements, four Blenheim bombers. The British today send reinforcements toward Iraq from Palestine and Transjordan, but they have a long march across the desert. Additional forces continue to trickle into Basra.

While the Anglo-Iraq War is usually overlooked by histories of World War II, the Axis takes it very seriously for one reason: oil. Iraqi oil supplies the Royal Navy and RAF with a large portion of their fuel. German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop radios the German ambassador in Baghdad today and orders him to request permission from the Vichy French government in Syria for Luftwaffe transit rights. The French quickly agree and even chip in by sending their own munitions and other supplies being stored in Syria to help the Iraqis. The Luftwaffe and Italians prepare to send planes to Iraq via Syria.

A single bomb caused this massive destruction in North Shields on 3 May 1941. There are 107 deaths in a shelter underneath Wilkinson's Lemonade Factory. Of the 107 deaths, 42 are under the age of 16.

European Air Operations: May 3, 1941, generally is considered the worst night of destruction ever in Liverpool, with over 400 deaths. The Luftwaffe has been launching nightly raids (the "May Blitz") against Liverpool, the critical northern port through which supplies flow. Tonight, they send about 300 aircraft and cause widespread damage to shipping and the port facilities.

The Luftwaffe is having great success at Liverpool. In fact, it may be the most successful series of Luftwaffe raids during the Battle of Britain. The pilots target port infrastructure and gradually are putting docks and deep-water berths out of commission. The total tonnage of cargo being landed is falling drastically. This is a relatively rare instance when the Axis pilots "get it right" and successfully attack the right targets with great efficiency.
However, the ships themselves are vital targets, too, and under the proper circumstances hitting them can contribute to the destruction of the port itself. The Germans get a lucky hit at Liverpool on ammunition ship Malakand, which is full of 1000 tons of shells bound for North Africa. Four people lose their lives in the massive explosion. The cause of the catastrophe is disputed, with some accounts saying it was hit by a bomb, others saying a barrage balloon fell on it and caught fire. The Malakand blows up in spectacular fashion at Huskisson Dock, and a nearby ammunition train also explodes (the heroic railway crew successfully pulls the train out to a siding while the cars behind them are bursting). The impact of the exploding Malakand - parts of which are found miles away - sinks half a dozen other nearby ships. This includes 10,224-ton Canadian passenger ship and freighter SS Europa, which later is raised for repair (and again hit by bombs while in dry-dock and destroyed for good). Other ships lost in the Malakand explosion:

• 6598-ton freighter Elstree Grange
• 1453-ton freighter Domino
• 7924-ton freighter Tacoma Star (later raised)
• 6770-ton freighter Silversandal
• barge Ellesport

Minelayer Adventure, under repair, also is damaged.

County Road in Walton following the bombing in May 1941.

• 138-ton sailing barge Barnacle
• 65-ton tug Bonita
• 58-ton motor barge Emily Burton
• 168-ton sailing barge Pike
• 164-ton sailing barge Ling
• 82-ton steam barge Walton
• 176-ton sailing barge Silverdale
• 79-ton ship Ivy P.
• 106-ton flat Grosvenvor Rover Brill
• 143-ton flat Dace
• 143-ton flat Luce
• 81-ton flat Mus
• 91-ton flat Ray
• 108-ton flat Roach
• 7-ton launch Surveyor
• 177-ton barge Longendale
• 55-ton barge Ellesport
• barges Orrell and Pike
• 3778-ton Norwegian freighter Bra-Kar.

Many ships are damaged during the raid, too. These include:

• 12,614-ton Australian liner Australian Star
• 3178-ton freighter Cantal (one death)
• 8663-ton freighter Baronese
• 6479-ton freighter Lobos
• 208-ton tug Wapiti
• 7921-ton freighter Mahout
• 13,031-ton tanker San Fabian
• 943-ton freighter Busiris
• 164-ton sailing barge Limpet
• 133-ton sailing barge Oyster
• 166-ton sailing barge Glitto
• 159-ton sailing barge Clam
• 3582-ton freighter Kadin (Greek)
• 6447-ton freighter Salland (Dutch)

Fortunately, casualties are light on the ships because the crews are ashore. A couple of crewmen from the ships, though, are among the casualties in the city.

La Scala Cinema, Lime Street, Liverpool, bomb damage, 3 May 1941.

Demonstrating its depth, the Luftwaffe also mounts other raids. One, on Portsmouth, damages light cruiser HMS Sirius, which is under construction. Other Luftwaffe raids sink 2722 ton British freighter Royston in the Humber, and sink 1347 ton Norwegian freighter Trajan and damage 1143 ton Norwegian freighter Sitona northeast of Blakeney. Bombs fall throughout the northeast, including at Newcastle, Tynemouth, Throckley, Catcleugh, Morpeth, Lynemouth, Gosforth, Clifton and Stannington in Northumberland, Sunderland, West Hartlepool, Gateshead, Tees Bridge Roundabout at Billingham, Lambton Park, Castletown, Ryhope and South Shields in Co Durham and York and Hull in Yorkshire.

RAF Bomber Command sends 21 Blenheims against shipping off the French coast. Two from 2 Group/101 Squadron are shot down near Boulogne. After dark, Bomber Command sends 101 aircraft against Cologne, with a diversionary attack by 33 bombers against shipping at Brest.

Damage in Liverpool during the May Blitz.

East African Campaign: The British under Major General Mosley Mayne are closing up on Amba Alagi, the last Italian stronghold in Abyssinia. Amba Alagi is an important north-south road junction and controls access to Italian positions in caves between Asmara and Addis Ababa.

Mayne is approaching from the north, and he plans to squeeze the Italian defenders via a pincer move on the east and west. The 5th Indian Division also is approaching from Eritrea and forcing its way through the Falaga Pass, while some South African troops also are on the way. The Italian troops are led by Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, who is noted for his gallantry - for instance, he has respected the property of (formerly) exiled Emperor Haile Selassie. Morale among the Italians (actually, mostly colonial troops) remains fairly good, but several hundred surrender during the day.

The Wray Castle, sunk on 3 May 1941 by U-103 off Freetown.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-103 (Kptlt Viktor Schütze), on her fourth (and longest, at 103 days) patrol off the coast of West Africa, torpedoes and sinks 4253-ton British freighter Wray Castle off Freetown. There is one death.

U-95 (Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber), also on its fourth patrol, torpedoes and sinks 4873-ton Norwegian freighter Taranger about 150 nautical miles (280 km, 170 miles) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland in the Atlantic. There are two deaths.

British 468 ton freighter Corbet hits a mine and sinks just off Herculaneum Dock in Liverpool. There are 8 deaths and one man survives.

176-ton coaster Sirius hits a mine and sinks at the Albert Dock in London.

Royal Navy boarding vessel HMS Hilary captures 5595-ton Italian tanker Recco in the Atlantic. The crew of the Recco later manages to scuttle the ship.

The British Admiralty recalls battlecruiser HMS Hood from patrol off Iceland to Scapa Flow. Hood and its accompanying four destroyers call at Reykjavik to refuel.

Minelayer HMS Teviotbank lays minefield BS.55 in the English Channel.

The Kriegsmarine's overseas supply network remains intact. Today, tanker Nordmark has a rendezvous with U-105 and U-107 at sea. These supply arrangements greatly extend the U-boat range and mission duration, effectively amplifying the power of the fleet.

Royal Navy submarine HMS P-32 (Lt. David A. B. Abdy) is commissioned, minesweeping trawler Rosalind is launched.

U-205 (Kapitänleutnant Franz-Georg Reschke) and U-451 (Korvettenkapitän Eberhard Hoffmann) are commissioned, U-116 and U-654 are launched.

U-107 hooks up with the Nordmark in the Atlantic, 3 May 1941 (Jordan, Federal Archives).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Afrika Korps attack at Tobruk is at a standstill and on the evening of 3 May the Australian Brigade under General Morshead counterattacks. They send one battalion each in converging attacks, but the counterattack peters out during the night due to fierce resistance by Italian infantry and the Australians withdraw. General Paulus, in command during his "inspection tour" of North Africa, forbids further German attacks unless there is evidence that the Australians are evacuating the port.

The British at Tobruk have numerous assets with which to defend Tobruk, and one that they will return to again and again during the war on beachheads is naval shelling. Destroyers HMS Decoy and Defender shell the British positions in Tobruk during the night to support the Australian attack, then return to Alexandria.

The Luftwaffe raids Suda Bay, Crete, and damages 7258-ton freighter Araybank. The ship is bombed again later in the month and destroyed.

The RAF raids Italian shipping in Tripoli. The planes sink 5305-ton Italian freighter Birmania, which explodes and takes with it 3339-ton freighter Citta D'Bari. Italian torpedo boat Canopo also sinks.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Gloucester hits a mine early in the morning near Gibraltar. As Gloucester limps back to port, Italian bombers attack it and manage only a minor hit. The ship makes it back to port.

Italian 838-ton freighter hits a mine and sinks in Tripoli Harbour.

Submarine HMS Triumph surfaces and uses its deck gun to sink 425-ton Italian freighter Tugnin F. about a dozen miles northwest of Mersa Brega.

Submarine HMS Usk is reported overdue today, and it never turns up. Ultimately, it is presumed to have been lost around 1 May 1941 off Cape Bon.

At Malta, the Luftwaffe raids Floriana for the first time in a major attack by 30 bombers. There are 9 Royal Engineers and one local employee killed when an aerial mine lands on a barracks. There is extensive damage to the docks and St. Publius Church.

Anglo/Polish Relations: On the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Polish Constitution, Winston Churchill makes a radio broadcast directed, as he puts it, "to the Polish people all over the world." He calls the German occupiers of Poland "pitiless and venal" and "mechanized barbarians." He cautions that the war will be "long and hard," but "the end will reward all toil, all disappointments, all suffering."

The Rotunda Theatre on Stanley Road, Bootle, Liverpool collapses following the bombing on 3/4 May 1941.

British/Australian/US Relations:  Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies finally ends his extended visit to England when he boards a DC3 at Bristol bound for Lisbon. His eventual destination is Bermuda and then New York. His flight takes 6 1/2 hours, and it is a risky route patrolled occasionally by the Luftwaffe. Many in England are sad to see him go, as there is an undercurrent of sentiment which sees Menzies as a better alternative than Churchill to lead the British war effort. However, there have been rumblings of dissatisfaction against Menzies in Australia, and Churchill's grip on power remains strong, so it is time to go.

Anglo/US Relations: The Royal Navy has been using US ports for refits, and this pattern continues when light cruiser HMS Delhi arrives today in New York.

US Military: The Panama Canal Zone is assigned to the Panama Sector of the US Caribbean Defense Command.

Scientific Research: The University of California at Berkeley professor Glenn T. Seaborg and his team isolate plutonium as the best material for an atomic bomb.

South Africa: General Jan Smuts addresses the House of Assembly and reveals that South African troops are going to Egypt.

While the Germans hold a victory parade in Athens on 3 May 1941, British stragglers (in a lorry with shot-out windshields) continue to struggle to Nafplio for possible rescue. © IWM (E 2733).

Greece: The Germans mount a victory parade in Athens.

Yugoslavia: The Italians annex part of Slovenia and create the Province of Ljubljana.

Cambodia: Prince Norodom Sihanouk is crowned king of Cambodia.

China: The Japanese raid Chungking.

American Homefront: Frank Capra film "Meet John Doe," starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, opens to generally favorable, but mixed, reviews. The Warner Bros. film will go on to be listed on the 2006 American Film Institute "100 Years... 100 Cheers" list at No. 49.

Whirlaway wins the Kentucky Derby in the record time of 2:01 2/5.

4th Annual Field Day at Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center, Overton, Texas, May 3, 1941.

May 1941

Friday 2 May 1941

British wireless operators at Habbaniyah, Iraq, 2 May 1941 (AP photo).

Iraq War: Today, 2 May 1941, is generally considered the "start" of the Anglo-Iraq war, though the Iraqis have been increasingly hostile for the past week.

The Iraqis continue to shell the British airfield at Habbaniya, west of Baghdad, from a plateau to the south of the airfield. The Iraqis have 28 artillery pieces, but the Royal Air Force has complete control of the air despite the Iraqis having adequate planes. As the day opens, the Iraqis remain in a threatening posture, but British operations are not in any impinged or their forces really threatened - aside from the Iraqis controlling land routes between the isolated British garrisons.

The British decide enough is enough. They give the Iraqis a firm ultimatum to leave the area. The Iraqis refuse, so, before dawn, the British at Habbaniya make a sortie out of the perimeter. Using their lightly armed 80-100 old trainers, Gladiator fighters, and other obsolete aircraft, the RAF pilots support a battalion of the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), six companies of Assyrian Levies (Kurds), 18 armored cars and a company of RAF personnel. All told, the British have about 2,200 troops against the nearby Iraqi forces of about a division in size. Since the Iraqi government controls virtually the entire country, its forces potentially vastly outnumber the British - if they can bring them to bear.

The British objective is to give themselves some breathing room around Habbaniya and, if that goes well, restore land communications to their other bases. The air attack, timed to coincide with Muslim morning prayers, goes well, though Iraqi counterfire kills 13 and wounds 29 in Habbaniyah airbase, including civilians. The Iraqis immediately begin to fall back toward Fallujah. In addition to bombing Iraqi positions on the nearby plateau, the RAF raids the Iraqi airfield at Rashid airfield near Baghdad and destroy 22 planes on the ground at a cost of 5 of their own.

Mufti Amin al-Husseini declares jihad against the British "infidels." The Iraqi leader, Rashid el Gailani requests aid from Germany. The generals in Berlin basically shrug their shoulders due to the impossibility of sending help, but Hermann Goering is determined to provide assistance to Germany's allies in Iraq. He, along with the Italians, begins to send some planes that are crudely painted in Iraqi national markings. The Germans have no ground facilities for their aircraft in Iraq, however, as the British occupy all the airfields, and Iraq is far from the nearest Luftwaffe bases. These are daunting logistical issues, but it is the only form of assistance the Axis can send. The Arabs are willing Axis allies, and it is important for Germany to at least make a show of trying to help.

At Basra, the British seize oil installations. The situation in the port is very unsettled, with some guerrilla activity against the British, but so far the British there remain in control. Women and children (including travel writer Freya Stark) continue to seek refuge in the British embassy, many flown out of Habbaniya. In London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill deliberates about what to do with the extremely important Iraqi oil wells and pipelines. The British continue sending reinforcements from India, with both troops and additional aircraft expected to arrive soon at the southern port of Basra and overland from Palestine.

European Air Operations: The RAF continues its missions against German shipping, today with 25 aircraft. It has some success today, sinking 321-ton German anti-submarine trawler Vp 808 (formerly the Reichsprasident Von Hindenburg) northwest of Borkum, Lower Saxony, and 2000 ton "Channel Stop" off Ostend.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 95 planes against Hamburg and 17 against Emden.

The Luftwaffe also makes some sweeps over the North Sea. At 23:25, the Germans bomb and sink 1414-ton Norwegian collier Trajan (formerly the Doris). All 21 men aboard survive when picked up by destroyer and landed at Harwich, though some are injured. The wreck is located roughly a dozen miles northeast of Blakeneny, Norfolk.

The Luftwaffe continues its campaign against Liverpool after dark with 65 aircraft.

Captured Italian material and equipment. This picture was taken on May 2, 1941, at Agordat, Eritrea. Guns were captured when the British Troops took Agordat.

East African Campaign: The rainy season basically has halted operations for the time being. The Italians remain in their fortifications in the mountains near the Eritrean border under the command of the Duke of Aosta.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-201 comes across the wreck of the 8190-ton British tanker Capulet in the mid-Atlantic and sinks it. The Capulet has been adrift since being torpedoed on 28 April and already has been abandoned.

Royal Navy 286-ton minesweeping trawler HMT Alberic collides with destroyer St. Albans in Pentland Firth and sinks. There are 13 deaths. The St. Albans makes it to Southampton for repairs, which take a month.

Royal Navy 48 ton armed yacht HMY Nyula sinks in the Tyne after colliding with another ship.

Convoy OB 318 departs from Liverpool.

A Chinese sound detector - a forerunner of radar - in use at Chongqing, China, on May 2, 1941. This particular unit is being used to direct 3-inch anti-aircraft guns (AP Photo).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Germans continue their attack at Tobruk in the Wadi Giadia sector. A dust storm seriously hampers operations, preventing General Rommel from making use of his panzers. A stalemate has developed, with the Germans fighting hard to expand their bridgehead (roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) along a 3 mile (4.8 km) front) through the Australian 9th Infantry Division perimeter. They have little success, and the Australians prepare to counterattack. However, the two sides are in a classic "clinch," and the outcome of the battle is far from certain. The Germans have occupied some high ground, but the Italian infantry has had difficulty overcoming surviving Australian garrisons in the rear. General Paulus, who has an overall command for the time being in North Africa, continues to grant General Rommel operational control, but he is growing increasingly leery of chances of success and tells Rommel not to press his attack home.

The Royal Navy has several different ways of resupplying Malta. Sometimes, a direct approach is taken, but at other times more covert operations are used. In the first such clandestine attempt, the 4702-ton British freighter Parracombe, disguised as a Spanish tramp steamer, hits a mine (some sources say it was sunk by Italian aircraft) off Cape Bon while trying to make a run past at night and sinks. This is part of Operation Temple, a convoy to resupply Malta with Hurricane fighters and other supplies. Along with everything else, 21 crated Hurricanes go to the bottom. There are 18 survivors from the 47-man crew, who are rescued by the Vichy French in Tunisia and interned at Bizerte.

The Royal Navy bombards Derna with the gunboat HMS Ladybird.

The Royal Navy begins operations to ferry troops from Mersa Matruh to Tobruk aboard destroyers HMS Decoy and Defender. The 2041-ton Greek steamer Virginia makes it to Tobruk with badly needed supplies. The Luftwaffe attacks, but the steamer quickly makes it in and out of the port without damage.

The Luftwaffe mines Alexandria Harbour, temporarily closing it to traffic. Alexandria is the Royal Navy's irreplaceable port in the eastern Mediterranean. It is reopened by sunset.

Luftwaffe incursions continue at Malta, but they are just fighter sweeps and reconnaissance today. Minesweeper Fermoy is hit while in drydock for maintenance and utterly destroyed.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Jersey is returning from a sweep in search of Axis convoys to the Afrika Korps when it hits a mine dropped by the Luftwaffe at the entrance to Valletta Harbour in Malta and sinks. There are 35 deaths and an additional 48 wounded. The Luftwaffe has been successful in eliminating all Royal Navy minesweepers at Malta, making the waters treacherous. This incident causes the British immediately to transfer three warships (light cruiser Gloucester and destroyers Kashmir and Kipling) from Malta to Gibraltar rather than attempt to enter the harbor, which Jersey now blocks.

Hans-Joachim Marseille, now flying in Libya, is promoted to the rank of Unteroffizier.

The statue to Mathios Potagas in Vytina, Greece.

German/Greek Relations: With Operation Marita successfully completed, the Wehrmacht tightens its control over the Greek mainland and occupies various villages and towns. As in Norway, Hitler authorizes that enemy soldiers be granted amnesty if they will surrender their weapons and go home. This process begins today.

Mathios Potagas, a 17-year-old from the village of Vytina in the Arcadia province of the Peloponnese, spots a Wehrmacht column approaching his village and decides to do something about it. He grabs his father's old hunting musket and opens fire from a ridge while shouting insults. The Germans quickly kill him. Potagas has become a legendary figure in the area, and there is a statue of him in the village square.

Anglo/US Relations: Another US Coast Guard cutter, the fifth, is transferred to the Royal Navy pursuant to Lend Lease. The USCGC Chelan becomes HMS Lulworth, named, as have been the previous transfers, for a Royal Navy coast guard station. The Royal Navy crews her with men from the battleship HMS Resolution, which is in New York for repairs.

All is calm in the States as students gather blankets for a spring blanket party at Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, Kansas, May 2, 1941. Many, if not all of these fine fellows, will soon find their way into the military.

Anglo/Vichy France Relations: The British attitude toward Vichy France's military continues to descend into murkiness. Lord Halifax, in Washington, has complained to US Secretary of State Cordell Hull about humanitarian food shipments that have made their way to France. This attitude was fairly common within the British government around the turn of the year, but now some at Whitehall are having second thoughts. Winston Churchill, in fact, has completely changed his initial attitude against such US aid and now thinks it is a good idea to have the Americans involved a little more closely in European affairs. In fact, apparently, he thinks that the new US Ambassador to France Admiral Leahy may be able to use such aid to wring concessions from Petain, maybe even form a covert alliance with the French. Churchill sends Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden a memo basically telling Eden to tell Halifax to cool it and leave the Americans alone about it.

Anglo/New Zealand Relations: New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser is in Cairo, on his way to London for a visit. Churchill sends him a cable saying that "The successful defense of Crete is one of the most important factors in the defense of Egypt." New Zealand General Bernard Freyberg is in charge of Commonwealth forces there. Churchill notes that "an airborne attack" on Crete is expected "in the near future." Churchill, of course, does not mention that this very prescient intelligence is derived from reading German codes in the Ultra program.

Grand Rapids,  Michigan, 2 May 1941.

US Military: Admiral Ernest J. King takes command of the US Atlantic Fleet. He remains subordinate to CINCPAC.

The US Navy begins an in-depth course in intelligence basics for naval officers. It will last for three weeks.

German Government: Hitler has fixed 22 June 1941 as the date for Operation Barbarossa, and there is extreme confidence within the German government that large swathes of Soviet territory will fall quickly. The real issue at this point is not military operations, but rather an exploitation of the soon-to-be conquered territories in the East. Accordingly, the government forms an Economic Staff to plan and administer this gargantuan task. This is the Oldenburg Plan, and its sole objective is to take out as much from the USSR as possible both to help the German economy and destroy the Soviet one. As the report states, "many millions of people will starve to death in Russia if we take out of the country the things necessary for us." This is not considered a bad thing or even anything of much consequence. This strain of thinking will persist throughout the war.

British Government: Churchill, who is in a foul mood because he has discovered that his wife has been using his honey in her garden, tours Plymouth.

Cyprus: The government begins evacuating civilians from cities to the countryside due to fears of Luftwaffe raids.

Holocaust: In Romania, the government sets up the National Center for Romanianization. This euphemistically titled organization primarily expropriates Jewish property for distribution to ethnic Romanians.

May 2, 1941: "Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. Exhibition hall." (Large-format negative by Gottscho-Schleisner).

British Homefront: According to a poll reported in a Gallup survey printed in the News Chronicle, the British people favor retaliatory air raids on Germany - but only by a fairly close 53 - 38% margin, with 9% uncertain. Somewhat oddly, the people in heavily bombed areas are less likely to support such "vengeance" raids, with 76% supporting such raids in largely untouched North Riding/Cumberland/Westmorland areas, but only 45% in London. The further people are from the bombing, the more they approve of raids on Germany. This somewhat supports a pre-war thesis that terror bombing can destroy the will to resist, though different interpretations can be placed on such data.

American Homefront: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grants 10 stations commercial TV licenses, to take effect 1 July 1941. The television stations are to broadcast 15 hours per week with 525 lines and 30 frames per second. The first license is granted to W2XBS (WNBT), the second to W2XAB (WCBW). The experimental Dumont network already is on the air in New York City, but it is not granted a license in this first crop. These will be the only licenses granted until 2 May 1944 due to the outbreak of war involving the United States.

The original WNBT test pattern.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk

Saturday 8 March 1941

Thursday 9 January 1941

"Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspects the 1st American Squadron of the Home Guard on Horse Guards Parade, London, on 9 January 1941." © IWM (H 6547).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek offensive to capture the key Klisura Pass continues on 9 January 1941. The Klisura Pass is considered the gateway to the strategic Italian port of Valona. Greek II Corps is attacking, with 1st Division on the left and 15th Division on the right. Defending is the Italian Julia Division.

The Italians frantically deploy the Lupi di Toscana division immediately after a 24-hour forced march in a blizzard. The Toscana has no maps, has not reconnoitered the terrain, and is not in communication with the Julia Division. The Greek 11th Division joins the 15th Division in its attacks on the right flank and makes good progress, surrounding part of the Toscana. The Julia Division begins pulling back from the pass. It is another absolute fiasco for the Italian military.

Four Italian destroyers (Ascari, Carabiniere, Folgore and Fulmine) shell Greek bases at Porto Palermo, Albania.

Despite the continuing Greek success against the hapless Italian military, everyone is looking over their shoulders toward the German forces assembling in Romania and Bulgaria - for "training."

European Air Operations: The Malta-based Wellingtons raid Messina. Damage is done to oil facilities, but they miss the ships in the harbor.

RAF Bomber Command hits scattered targets in northwest Europe, including another attack on the oil facilities at Gelsenkirchen, Dusseldorf, Duisburg-Ruhrort, and various invasion ports such as Rotterdam, Flushing, Dunkirk, and Calais. Coastal Command chips in with attacks on Brest, where the Admiral Hipper continues to linger. The Luftwaffe night fighter forces continue gaining experience, as Oblt. Reinhold Eckhardt of 6./NJG 1 destroys a British Whitley bomber over Nijmegen.

The Luftwaffe continues its period of primarily sporadic daylight raids by lone raiders, with small raids against London (67 aircraft) and Liverpool during the night. The major raid is against Manchester with about 143 bombers total.

Italian bombers in Albania/Greece, 9 January 1941 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe), operating out of Kiel, gets its first kill. It torpedoes and sinks 4843-ton British iron/grain freighter Bassano in the mid-Atlantic due south of Iceland. There are one death and 55 survivors.

Italian submarine Glauco claims that it shells a large freighter just south of where U-105 is operating and makes some hits. However, it is unknown what ship this may be.

Royal Navy 40 ton drifter Dusky Queen runs aground and is wrecked in the Dover Straits.

British 646 ton freighter Dorset Coast hits a mine and is damaged south of Cardiff in the Bristol Channel. The ship makes it to Penarth Dock.

The Luftwaffe raids Portsmouth dockyard and slightly damages minesweeper Saltburn with a near miss.

The Royal Navy intercepts French trawler Urania in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar. The Urania is seized and sent to Gibraltar. The Urania has been en route from Saint Pierre et Miquelon off Canada to Casablanca.

Convoy FS 384 departs from Methil.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Pimpernel (K 71) and destroyer RNoN Bath (I-17) are commissioned.

U-410 is laid down.

"Pilots of No. 601 (County of London) Squadron run to their waiting Hurricane aircraft at RAF Northolt, 9 January 1941. Squadron scramble staged for General 'Hap' Arnold, USAAF." © IWM (HU 2408).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Today is known as the first Luftwaffe raid on Malta. There actually were scattered Stuka appearances over the island in 1940, but this is the beginning of the sustained German appearance in the Mediterranean and the first real Luftwaffe attacks on strategic targets by Fliegerkorps X. The Stukas appear just before sunset and attack the port of Marsaxlokk, without scoring any hits on shipping.

Australian 6th Infantry Division and British 7th Armoured Division have Tobruk encircled on the landward side. The 25,000 Italian defenders place great faith in fortifications remarkably similar to those that failed earlier in the month at Bardia.

Operation Excess, a typical 1940-41 supply operation to Malta, continues. Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal despatches five Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 821X Squadron to reinforce the RAF presence on the island. The Italians attempt an air raid on the Royal Navy ships, but it is beaten off with the loss of two SM 79 bombers to a Fulmar of 808 Squadron (Lt. Tillard). The Italians also lose two modern Macchi MC 200 Saetta (Arrow or Lightning) fighters during the day over Malta (island sources claim that four are shot down by Hurricanes and one by anti-aircraft fire, so it may be five planes altogether, but accounts differ).

As with all of these complex supply missions, there are diversions that sometimes take center stage. Swordfish raid Cagliari, losing one of their number (the crew is saved).

Force H turns back to Gibraltar once cruisers HMS Gloucester and Southampton return to the vicinity after unloading troops in Grand Harbor on the 8th.

Vichy French ocean liner Lamoricière (Commandant Milliaseau) gets caught in a storm about 10 km northeast of Cap Favaritx, Minorca, Spain. It has aboard 122 crew and 272 passengers. Despite sending out distress calls that bring several ships to her assistance, the Lamoricière capsizes during the night. There are 292 deaths, including the captain.

The Lamoricière was responding to a distress call herself, from 1708 ton freighter Jumièges. The Jumièges also vanishes on or around this date, taking with her 20 crewmen.

Italian 636 ton coastal freighter Giovanni Mari hits a mine and sinks a dozen miles off Bardia.

Royal Navy and Greek submarines are quite active today as part of the protective screen for Operation Excess. The Royal Navy subs are operating in the general vicinity of Sardinia and Corsica, positioned in case the Italian fleet chooses to seek battle as during the previous convoy runs. The Greek submarines are at the mouth of the Adriatic. The day is notable for the number of unsuccessful attacks.

Submarine HMS Pandora, operating off Cape Carbonara, Sardinia, torpedoes and sinks 2715 ton Italian freighter Palma and 5400-ton freighter Valdivagna.

Submarine HMS Parthian torpedoes 4208-ton Italian freighter Carlo Martinolinch off Calabria.

Submarine HMS Rover makes a surface attack on an unidentified Italian freighter, but the ship gets away.

Greek submarine Nereus attacks an Italian freighter off Brindisi, but it gets away.

Greek submarine Triton attacks an Italian submarine off Otranto, but it also gets away.

Italian submarine Beilul spots a convoy just northeast of the eastern tip of Crete and fires a couple of torpedoes. Both miss and the convoy gets away.

The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) continues driving toward Murzuk, the Italian administration center in southwestern Libya which its soldiers plan to attack. They cross a main Italian road, then spend a tense time brushing away traces of their vehicle crossing marks. It is a tense time, as if an Italian convoy happened along at this time, the entire surprise attack endeavor might be ruined. However, they are not spotted.

The Indian 5th Infantry Brigade continues transferring from Egypt to Sudan for future operations there.

In Ethiopia, the RAF bombs the Italian fort of Gubba with three planes. While the attack is not of any value, it signals a new phase of the campaign where the skies are not solely under Italian control.

Anglo/US Relations: President Roosevelt's crony, Harry Hopkins, arrives in London to schmooze with Churchill. Hopkins is a member of Roosevelt's kitchen cabinet who literally lives upstairs at the White House. He is on hand to assess the British will to win and is escorted all across the country personally by Winston Churchill. This is the first of Hopkins' unofficial visits to a key ally which will go a long way to smoothing relations within the sometimes fractious coalition-to-be.

Anglo/Free French Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill apologizes personally to Charles de Gaulle over the Muselier incident, which now has been closed. The Vice-Admiral is reinstated - to cause more trouble later.

US/Vichy French Relations: New US Ambassador to France Admiral William D. Leahy meets with Marshal Petain.

Separately, Secretary of State Cordell Hull gives French Ambassador Gaston Henry-Haye a diplomatic note of this date, entitled, "Refugee Problem in France." In the note, Hull notes numerous procedural obstacles to the US accepting German Jewish refugees currently living in Vichy France, as requested by the French. The biggest problem apparently is that:

forced migration in which people in great numbers are intended to be driven anarchically upon the receiving states [will create] unhappy consequences to the economic and social equilibrium of all.

Hull concludes by flatly denying this French request and even any further attempts to discuss it at all:

Accordingly, while this Government holds the view that the time will come when such conditions of order and peace will prevail in the world as will warrant a humane and orderly approach to the migration problem by the Governments collaborating in mutual confidence and mutual respect, it does not believe that any useful purpose can be served by discussing migration problems bilaterally with the French Government or multilaterally with the several Governments at this time.

US/Dutch Relations: The Dutch remain a major military presence in the Dutch East Indies. US Rear Admiral Purnell, Admiral Hart's chief of staff, visits Java for consultations.

The Avro Lancaster prototype BT308 right after its first flight, 9 January 1941.

British Military: The Avro Mk III Manchester (serial number BT308) makes its first flight at Manchester. This version has extensive modifications, including longer wings with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The name is changed to "Lancaster" immediately after the flight. Basically, the re-design - aside from everything else - is a success simply due to the substitution of the Merlins for the original Vulture engines, which have proven to be a disaster in terms of power and reliability. This plane, the Lancaster, has a longer range and heavier bomb load than any other British bomber - in fact, it is the very bomber that Hitler and Goering need very badly.

The British Chiefs of Staff and Defence Committee continue reviewing and weighing the conflicting priorities of the North African and Greek theaters. Today, the Chiefs of Staff wire Air Officer Commanding in the Middle East Air Marshal Arthur Murray Longmore that:

for political reasons, priority must now be given to Greece.... Absence of British help might put Greece out of the war, keep Turkey out and cause most serious political consequences both here and in America.

The units to transfer will be forwarded on the 10th. Longmore is not a fan of this decision, feeling that the battle in North Africa is far from over despite the huge recent successes in Operation Compass.

German Military: Adolf Hitler concludes a two-day conference at the Berghof in Berchtesgaden with his military chiefs. The main topic is the coming attacks the east, particularly in Greece and then Russia. Hitler, as usual at this stage of the war, is painting in broad strategic strokes. He figures that, by attacking the Soviet Union, the Japanese will be induced to launch their own campaign in the Far East, which will draw off US attention and forces. He basically shelves Operation Felix for the time being - but it remains on the back burner. His focus has turned to what the Italians should have been able to do by themselves, drive the British out of the Mediterranean.

Hitler does not seem to attach any significance to the economic might of the United States (and the Soviet Union) and how that might translate into the Allies being able to fight two major wars simultaneously, one in the Pacific and another in North Africa/Europe. To be fair, the US Navy also doubts this US ability at this time, as reflected in its most recent Rainbow plans. These plans envisage a holding operation in the Pacific while resources are devoted to the Atlantic - another possibility that Hitler does not seem to consider likely. Essentially, he just figures that Japan takes care of the US and keeps it occupied - a huge assumption. Everybody is about to learn quite a few basic lessons about how economic might translates into military power.

Soviet Military: The second set of Soviet war games proceeds. General Zhukov, in command of the "Red" or Soviet forces, is doing well against the "Blue" or German forces led by General Kulik. This series is tilted somewhat in favor of the Red forces, as the Red Army is given the initiative from the start from the original border - a scenario unlikely to happen in a real war, at least at the beginning of a conflict.

US Military: Construction crews begin building the new naval air station on Wake Island.

Members of the Chantiers de Jeunesse clearing a hillside above a roadway (A. D. Allier, 69 J 93, Crépin Leblond collection). Source: A. D. Allier.

Vichy France: The Chantiers de Jeunesse [Youth Workshops], voluntary until now, are slated to become mandatory for all men of age 20. Their duration also is extended to eight months. The entire organization is of a paramilitary character, with the men wearing uniforms, marching, and engaging in work designed to be of an educational character. The "educational" part is broadly defined, as the objective is to teach the young men to work together toward some common purpose, such as gathering firewood or building paths or creating ironwork. There are 52 camps with between 1500-2200 young men at each camp, and the daily routine very much resembles a Scout or summer camp - but with extreme discipline and often backbreaking work in harsh conditions.

China: The Nationalist Chinese (Kuomintang) 3rd War Area begins reducing encircled communist troops of the New 4th Army near Maolin on the Yangtze River.

American Homefront: CBS, under the auspices of Dr. Peter Goldmark, demonstrates field-sequential live color television ("Columbia Broadcasting Exhibits Color Television", Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 1941, p. 4. "CBS Makes Live Pick-up in Color Television", Radio & Television, April 1941). The Germans had demonstrated color television as early as August 1939, but the war interrupted further development - though the German television service is still very much in development.

Future History: Joan Chandos Baez is born in Staten Island, New York. She begins performing music in the late 1950s in various clubs near her father's job at MIT. Joan gets noticed, and records her eponymous first album in 1960 for Vanguard Records; it includes a pre-Animals recording of "House of the Rising Sun," one of many artists (including Roy Acuff, Andy Griffith, Woody Guthrie and Glenn Yarbrough) to record this classic folk song before it becomes a huge hit. Joan follows that with many other releases during the 1960s. Her singles begin making the charts in the mid-60s, with the most successful by far being the classic version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" in 1971. She becomes friends with many in the burgeoning "folk singer" music scene, including all the household names, and a household name herself.

Joan also becomes known for political activism, and this makes her a controversial figure. She begins with involvement in the '60s civil rights struggles and protests against the Vietnam War, among many other causes. Some of her personal experiences during a wartime visit to Hanoi, however, turn her off to the communist regime there, which she learns has its own human rights issues. Joan Baez continues in the 21st Century to perform at various venues and still releases live albums with some regularity. However, she has scaled back her political activism considerably in recent years after some more disillusionment with the political process.

Winston Churchill during his inspection of the 1st American Squadron of the Home Guard at Horse Guards Parade in London, 9 January 1941. Mrs. Churchill is fashionably attired aside from her sensible shoes. Lieutenant-General Sir Bertram N. Sergison-Brooke (GOC London Area) is on the right.

January 1941

January 1, 1941: Muselier Arrested
January 2, 1941: Camp Categories
January 3, 1941: Liberty Ships
January 4, 1941: Aussies Take Bardia
January 5, 1941: Amy Johnson Perishes
January 6, 1941: Four Freedoms
January 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Plans
January 8, 1941: Billions For Defense
January 9, 1941: Lancasters
January 10, 1941: Malta Convoy Devastation
January 11, 1941: Murzuk Raid
January 12, 1941: Operation Rhubarb
January 13, 1941: Plymouth Blitzed
January 14, 1941: V for Victory
January 15, 1941: Haile Selassie Returns
January 16, 1941: Illustrious Blitz
January 17, 1941: Koh Chang Battle
January 18, 1941: Luftwaffe Pounds Malta
January 19, 1941: East African Campaign Begins
January 20, 1941: Roosevelt 3rd Term
January 21, 1941: Attack on Tobruk
January 22, 1941: Tobruk Falls
January 23, 1941: Pogrom in Bucharest
January 24, 1941: Tank Battle in Libya
January 25, 1941: Panjiayu Tragedy
January 26, 1941: Churchill Working Hard
January 27, 1941: Grew's Warning
January 28, 1941: Ho Chi Minh Returns
January 29, 1941: US Military Parley With Great Britain
January 30, 1941: Derna Taken
January 31, 1941: LRDG Battered

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