This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

Halder's Diary 16 August 1941

17 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Schuka class Sub VMF SHCH-216


UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-109

Departures
Kiel: U-141

At Sea 17 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-79, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-93, U-94, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-139,U-141, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-204, U-205, U-206, U-331, U-371, U-501, U-553, U-559, U-563, U-566, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-751

42 Boats

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CL PENELOPE departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow to work up after long repairs. DD LAMERTON departed Rosyth for Scapa Flow to work up.

CLA CURACOA departed Rosyth on completion of boiler cleaning and proceeded northwards to meet convoy WN.68 in Moray Firth. The ship escorted convoy WN.68 to May Island. Off May Island on the 18th, CURACOA transferred to convoy EC.61 and escorted it northward. The convoy was attacked off Aberdeen by the LW, but no damage was done and also successfully repeling the attack on the convoy. In Pentland Firth on the 19th, the ship parted company with convoy EC.61 and arrived at Scapa Flow that evening.

British steamer KINDERSLEY was damaged by the LW three miles southeast by east of B.1 Buoy (Blyth). The steamer arrived at Blyth on the 18th.

Northern Patrol
Steamer LONGTAKER (Pan 1700 grt), ex Danish freighter SESSA, whilst in US Govt service was sunk by U-38. Some sources say this event happened on the 18thAugust 1941. The ship was on passage from USA to Reykjavik carrying a cargo of timber and food stuffs for the US installed military garrison. U-38 reported the sinking, but after the identity and purpose of the vessel was found, the records of the sinking were suppressed by BDU. It remains a sinking not reported in German sources (although U-Boat Net does now acknowledge its sinking). It is believed the sinking was suppressed to try and avoid tensions with the US govt.

On September 6th, USN DD LANSDALE (DD-426) rescues only three survivors from Panamanian freighter. 24 crewmen (one of whom is an American) had perished.
++

Northern Waters
AA ship PALOMARES departed Scapa Flow on completion of work up. The ship joined convoy EC.60 and proceeded to Belfast where she came under the orders of the Western Approaches Cmd .

Med/Biscay
An Italian convoy of steamers MADDALENA ODERO, NICOLO ODERO, CAFFARO , MARIN SANUDO, GIULIA , and MINATITLAND escort DDs FRECCIA, EURO, and DARDO and TBs PROCIONE, PEGASO, and SIRTORI was attacked by RNeN submarine O.23.

Steamer MADDALENA ODERO (FI 5479 grt) was torpedoed by the submarine. The steamer, escorted by TBs PEGASO and SIRTORI, but was sunk by British aircraft on the 18th at Lampedusa. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 19th.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DDs KIPLING and NIZAM landed supplies at Tobruk during the night of 17/18 August.
The DDs then returned to Alexandria.

Submarine REGENT at Alexandria was damaged when an air vessel of a torpedo exploded. There were no casualties.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
RAN CA AUSTRALIA and CA HAWKINS were ordered to search for a French convoy which departed Tamatave on the 12th. The operation which was a RATION operation was given the codename of KEDGREREE. AUSTRALIA departed Durban on the 18th and HAWKINS departed Durban on the 19th. The convoy consisted of Vichy steamers VILLE D'ORAN, LINOIS, DALNY, LEPARI (tons), and SAGITTAIRE (7706grt). The operation ended on the 25th, without contact with the French convoy.

Pacific/Australia
Steamer KOTA NOPAN (Ne 7322 grt) was captured by German raider KOMET off the Galapagos Islands. The ship came within range of an unidentified ship with Japanese markings. Capt. Hatenboer of the KOTA NOPAN ordered his ship to swing around and make all speed away from the ship, the unidentified ship pursued him, raised the Kriegsmarine battle ensign and opened fire. The gunners on KOTA NOPAN fired back, but the raider was out of range, following several more shots from the raider, none of which hit the ship, and clearly being unable to outrun her, Hatenboer ordered his ship to stop and surrender.


The commander of KOMET, Kapitän Eyssen found the ship he had stopped was carrying valuable cargo to the Reich as she was carrying tin, rubber and manganese ore. Germany was in great need of the material in this ship, but as she was bound for New York she did not carry enough fuel to make the return to France so Eyssen contacted his superiors. He was sent to the Tuamote archipeligo to rendezvous with the ATLANTIS and the supply ship MUNSTERLAND.


KOMET and KOTA NOPAN, now a prison ship carrying her 51 man crew and 42 crewmen from the AUSTRALAND (captured and sunk Aug. 14) and 144 crewmen from the DEVON (captured and sunk Aug. 19) arrived at the prearranged position on Sept. 24. After supplies were divided and the ships refueled, they departed and headed for Bordeaux, KOTA NOPAN arrived at that port on Nov. 17, 1941. She was renamed KARIN and used as a fast blockade runner completing two more voyages before being detected and forced to scuttle in 1943.



Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 17 AUGUST TO DAWN 18 AUGUST 1941

Weather Sunny and fresh.

PM Eleven Hurricanes are scrambled to intercept a formation of six enemy aircraft spotted 60 miles north of Malta. Four of the raiders turn back towards Sicily, followed later by the other two. Five Hurricanes are ordered to land and three others develop various troubles and have to land. The remaining three are ordered to intercept a single aircraft identified as a Caproni seaplane which is reported 10 miles east of Zonqor Point. Two Hurricanes open fire and see black smoke emitting from the seaplane's port wing; the aircraft then jettisons a large object, believed to be a mine. Later reconnaissance of the area reveals a large patch of oil and some wreckage on the surface.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SUNDAY 17 AUGUST 1941

AIR HQ Arrivals 1 Sunderland. Departures 1 Sunderland. 69 Squadron Marylands on shipping patrols. Three Hurricanes sent to attack seaplanes in Syracuse Harbour, damaging several aircraft. 38 Squadron 4 Wellingtons attacked Tripoli Harbour, Spanish Quay and area. 105 Squadron 3 Blenheims sent to attack shipping south of Pantelleria.

HAL FAR 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm 7 Swordfish attacked a convoy of 6 merchant ships and 6 destroyers. One merchant ship was torpedoed and bombed, a second was hit and down by the bows, one tanker was struck by a torpedo and left on fire. One Fulmar patrolled over Gerbini and Catania aerodromes dropping bombs on Gerbini.

Halder's diary 17 August 1941

August 18 Monday
ASIA: The Japanese flew a reconnaissance sortie over Kyedaw to do reconnaissance on the AVG.

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: The plan of operations submitted to Hitler on 18th August by Colonel-General Franz Halder, Chief of the Army General Staff, as the proposal of the High Command, to strike at Moscow included the Bryansk area. Guderian, on the other hand, did not wish to strike via Bryansk, but to drive towards Moscow from the Roslavl area along both sides of the Moscow highway. Hitler rejects the proposals from General Halder and Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch, the army C-in-C, for an attack on Moscow.

Heeresgruppe Nord: German troops take Kingisepp, on the Luga River, east of Narva. There is also heavy fighting near Novgorod, on the Volkhov River, north of Lake Ilmen.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: Heeresgruppe Mitte (Centre) is involved in fierce engagements with Soviet troops that have been overrun during the massive advances of Barbarossa but are still fighting behind the lines, near Gomel, east of the Pripet Marshes. Guderian's panzers and Second Army infantry move into Pochep. The Soviet 19th Army supported by the 101st Tank and 64th Rifle Divisions force the Vop river and penetrate six miles deep into the German 161.Infanterie Divisionen (Lieutenant General H. Wilck) line.

Heeresgruppe Süd: In southern Ukraine, German troops established a bridgehead across the Dnieper River at Zaporizhia. Further southwest along the river, German 1.SS-Infanterie-Brigade (mot.) Leibstandarte der SS Adolf Hitler (Obergruppenfuhrer Sepp Dietrich) began an attack on the city of Kherson situated on the western bank of the river. Budenny, commanding the Soviet armies in the Ukraine, begins to withdraw as many of his troops as possible behind the line of the Dniepr River. Red Army engineers blow the dam and hydroelectric station at Dnepropetrovsk before Tiuleneve's 9th and 18th Armies can get across the Dnepr delaying their crossing until the 22nd. The port facilities of Odessa, Ukraine were struck by He 111 bombers of German Luftwaffe KG 27. The pilots reported overwhelming success in terms of Soviet shipping destroyed. Out at sea, two Romanian torpedo boats, NMS "Viscolul" and NMS "Vijelia", damaged a Soviet destroyer south of Odessa.

Lt. Max-Hellmuth Ostermann of 7./JG 54 shoots down two Russian I-16s over Leningrad.

"The situation has a bad effect upon on the troops, for everyone is aware of the absence of harmony. That is the product of unclear orders and counter orders, absence of instructions sometimes for weeks...we are missing so many opportunities. But it is annoying when no one knows the reasons. These most probably cannot be put right in this war which we will win despite it all. That is human nature in great moments and with great men." - General Heinz Guderian.

Click to expand...

Soviet destroyer "Statny" is mined and sunk in Moon Sound.

GERMANY: Hitler also orders the deportation of Berlin's remaining 76,000 Jews to ghettos in Poland. Hitler also orders that the systematic murder of the mentally ill and handicapped be brought to an end because of protests within Germany. This program had been initiated in 1939 and 50,000 German adults and children had been killed before it was terminated.

Cologne is raided by 62 Blenheims of No. 2 Group RAF. They are escorted by the Westland Whirlwind twin-engined fighter. RAF Bomber Command sends 41 aircraft to attack Duisburg overnight.

Soviet Air Force sends 5 bombers to attack Berlin overnight.

The Nazis arrested over 300 Swing Kids in Hamburg. Most were sent home and some had their long hair cut as punishment, but the suspected leaders of the swing youth were imprisoned in concentration camps or sent to the front lines.

MEDITERRANEAN: Radio Belgrade played an obscure German record which had been found in a pile of dusty 78s in the cellar of Radio Vienna. The song, Lili Marleen, sung by Lale Andersen, was an instant success. Within a week the station was receiving thousands of requests from the soldiers of the Deutsche Afrika Korps for it to be played over and over again. The song's success did not end there for, with English lyrics, it would become equally popular with the British and Commonwealth soldiers fighting in the Western Desert.

Italian troop transports are sunk in the en route to North Africa as the battle for the Mediterranean Sea begins to heat up.

RN Submarine P33 is believed to have been lost in a depth charge attack off Tripoli on this day. The only clues to her fate were reports of a severe depth charge attack by P.32 and HMS "Unique" which appeared to come from the area allocated to P.33. Subsequent attempts by P.32 to contact P.33 were unsuccessful. After hearing the depth charge attack, which may have foretold the demise of P.33, RN submarine P.32 attempts to manoeuvre into a position to attack a convoy of five merchant ships under escort in the swept channel approach to Tripoli Harbour. Realizing that they were not in a good position to carry out an attack Lt. D. A. B. Abdy (Later Lt.Cdr.) decided to run under a minefield, running at full speed for about ten minutes until he believed that he had reached the swept channel. Periscope depth was ordered and P32 was just rising when she struck a mine forward on the port side. The whole of the boat forward of the control room had been destroyed, killing the eight crew members forward. The remaining 24 sought refuge in the after spaces. The decision to attempt escape was taken. The engine room offered the brighter prospect of escape , however, taking into consideration the number of crew members in the engine room (23 besides himself) and the amount of time that P.32 had been submerged Lt. Abdy decided to split the group up. The Coxswain (Petty Officer E. Kirk), and ERA Martin volunteered to join Abdy in an attempt to make what was believed to be the more dangerous escape via the conning tower. Abdy and the coxswain escaped successfully but ERA Martin was dead on his arrival on the surface (in actuality, any successful escape, even with DSEA gear, was considered impossible beyond 150'). Both Abdy and Kirk were later picked up by an Italian naval vessel shortly after being spotted by an aircraft which had been searching the area after the mysterious explosion. When it was reported by Abdy that others would appear shortly, the Italians opted to remain for several hours but no other survivors were seen to escape. Abdy and Kirk were made prisoners of war and eventually chosen for prisoner exchange in March 1943.

NORTH AFRICA: Relief of Australian troops in Tobruk begins. The eyes of the world have focused since April on the dusty, sand-blown seaport of Tobruk, much of it lying in ruins after four months of bombardment. In Berlin, the Göbbels propaganda machine has delighted in calling the Australian garrison "rats caught in a trap". It was not long before the Aussies themselves took up the title and were calling themselves "the Rats of Tobruk." They beat off one massive German assault and have remained a major thorn in the flesh for Rommel, who desperately needs Tobruk's port facilities to ease his heavily-stretched supply lines. Despite the Luftwaffe's nightly bombings - the record so far is 21 raids between dusk and dawn - the real hazards for the garrison are boredom and monotony of a diet of bully beef, tinned stew and canned fruit supplemented by vitamin tablets. Although the siege continues, night-time ferries have nonetheless brought in some supplies, and the Australians were delighted last night when Polish, British, South African and Indian troops broke through to join them after a daring naval operation in darkness.

NORTH AMERICA: President Franklin D Roosevelt announces that the U.S. is ferrying combat aircraft via Brazil and Africa to the British in the Near East. The company that will ferry the aircraft is Pan American Air Ferries, a subsidiary of Pan American World Airways. This activity resulted from a meeting between Juan Trippe, the head of PanAm, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London in June 1941. Over dinner, Churchill asked if PanAm could fly aircraft and supplies to Cairo, Egypt, to counter the Germans in North Africa. On his return to the U.S., Trippe met with President Roosevelt and was told to set up the routes across Africa as soon as possible; the U.S. Government also provided money to assist in this effort. Pan American Air Ferries was established on 24 July 1941, all available pilots were hired, and the operation began shortly thereafter.

The government tasks the U.S. Coast Guard with enforcing laws to protect war-lanes in Alaskan waters.

NORTHERN FRONT: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles informs the Finnish Ambassador Hjalmar Procope that Soviet Union is willing to discuss peace terms with Finland. The Soviets are even willing to modify the terms of the Peace of Moscow of 1940 (ending the Winter War) more advantageous to Finland. Welles stresses that he is merely passing the information on, not acting as an official middle-man. Stalin had earlier, on 4 Aug, written to Roosevelt that he would appreciate if Finland could be withdrawn from the war. Procope replies by asking if the western powers are willing to give guarantees to Finland in the case Germany loses the war. Welles is unwilling to discuss the matter. In the end Finnish government is forced to give no definite answer to the tentative peace offer. As the German armies are advancing everywhere in the eastern front, there is perceived to be no sound basis for a peace between Finland and Soviet Union.

From Kairala in northern Finland, 20.Gebirgsarmee (Dietl) begins an offensive with the objective of capturing the vital Lend-Lease port of Murmansk. Elements of Finnish Army of Karelia cross Vuoksi River north of Pakkola while other elements push south from Kegsgolm along western shore of Lake Ladoga. The supply of the Soviet front in the Far North as well as Anglo-American lend-lease shipments to Russia remained completely undisturbed by the loss of the southern portion of the Murmansk railroad.

UNITED KINGDOM : The Butt Report is issued. British War Cabinet member Mr. Butt wrote a report to the RAF Bomber Command, noting "[o]f those aircraft recorded as attacking their target, only one in three got within five miles" of the intended targets. The conclusion was reached after studying post-bombing reconnaissance photos taken between 2 Jun and 25 July 1941.

The National Fire Service was inaugurated today. 118,000 strong, with 180,000 auxiliaries and 60,000 women, under Sir Aylmer Firebrace, a former London fire chief. Some 1,450 previous commands have been merged into 37 fire forces and 200 divisions. Fire drills have been standardized and emergency water tanks are now installed on bomb sites.

Luftwaffe raiding was not of a serious nature this evening, but there was some concentration on the Tyneside and Teesside areas. Shops, houses and an ambulance depot were wrecked at West Hartlepool and twenty-three people were killed, six houses were demolished, service pipes and cables superficially affected. At Middlesbrough, the slag disposal plant of a steel-works were damaged. The offices, buildings and coke ovens of the works were slightly damaged by blast. At West Hartlepool, Twenty-three dead, forty-five injured. (includes a Special Constable who was not on duty). Damage was caused to gas and electric mains but repairs were soon under way. Approximately one hundred persons rendered homeless. In Norton, during the early hours, a bomb, believed to be a PM, fell between Benson Street and Pine Street causing considerable damage. Nos 25-41 and 32-36 Benson Street and 32 and 34 Pine Street were demolished and Norton Board School was damaged. Twenty-one were seriously injured and a fifty-three year old woman, her eighty-three year old mother and her twenty-one year old son were killed at 33 Benson St. At No 31 a forty-nine year old man, his forty-five year old wife and an air raid warden, aged thirty-seven, of 35 Benson Street were killed or are missing. A woman from Junction Rd was injured on duty at 27 Benson Street and died in hospital a few days later. Approximately twenty people made homeless.

WESTERN FRONT: The RAF is very active over the Continent. RAF Bomber Command sends aircraft on coastal sweeps. RAF Bomber Command sends aircraft on Circus operations covered by fighters from RAF Fighter Command. RAF Fighter Command also flew a Roadstead operation. Finally RAF Bomber Command sends 18 aircraft to attack Dunkirk overnight.

The concentration camp at Amersfoort, Netherlands, opened.

.

18 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
1937 Class TB DKM T 17


Neutral
Acceptor Class MSW USS BATELEUR (AMc-37)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Allied
Type II Hunt Class DD HMS BADSWORTH (L-03)


HDML 10
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

BPB 63' TYPE MA/SB 30
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fairmile C MGB326
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Coastal MSWs HMS MMS-37 (J-537), MMS 47 (J-547)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Submarine Depot Ship RNeN COLOMBIA


Losses
None

UBOATS
Arrivals
Stormelo U-139
Unknown: U-79, U-94

Departures
St. Nazaire: U-552
Trondheim: U-571, U-752

At Sea 18 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-93, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-141, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-204, U-205, U-206, U-331, U-371, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-559, U-563, U-566, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-751, U-752

42 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Baltic
Type 7U (Storozhevoi) Class DD STATNY (VMF 2192 grt) was mined and sunk off Oesel while with the Baltic Fleet.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer AXEL CARL (SU 2170 grt) was sunk by the LW in Leningrad Harbour.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

North Sea
DD QUORN, between Harwich and Chatham, was damaged on a mine. The damage was repaired at Chatham and was completed on 13 September.

Northern Patrol
DD ANTHONY departed Scapa Flow for Greenock to join DDs INTREPID and ANTELOPE to provide escort for CVE ARGUS and troopship EMPRESS OF CANADA. The ships sailed on the 19th. On the 19th, Force A in CL NIGERIA with CL AURORA and DDs TARTAR, ICARUS, and ECLIPSE departed Scapa Flow to meet the ARGUS force. Fifteen miles north of the Butt of Lewis at 2100, the two forces rendezvoused. ARGUS with DDs TARTAR, INTREPID, and ECLIPSE proceeded to Scapa Flow where they arrived on the 20th. The troopship and cruisers NIGERIA and AURORA and DDs ICARUS, ANTELOPE, and ANTHONY proceeded to Reykjavik, where they arrived on the 21st.

ASW whaler WASTWATER departed Scapa Flow for Iceland, escorting motor launches ML.1043 and ML.1045, via the Faroes

Northern Waters
CA LONDON arrived at Scapa Flow from convoy WS.10 escort and Biscay patrol. DD NEWARK arrived at Scapa Flow to work up. P/T/Midshipman (A) J. M. Down RNVR, was killed when his Martlett of 802 Sqn crashed after an engine failure on take off near Campbeltown.

Med/Biscay
DDs JACKAL and KINGSTON departed Alexandria to carry supplies to Tobruk. The DDs arrived back at Alexandria on the 19th.

U-Class Submarine HMS P.33 (RN 540 grt), which departed Malta on the 6th, was sunk by mining or by RM ASW attack north of Tripoli on the 18th. All hands were lost. Her sister boat P-32, which was attacking the same convoy along with HMS UNIQUE, reported hearing a prolonged depth charge attack on 18 August and subsequently attempted unsuccessfully to contact P33. P32 was herself sunk later that day. P33 became overdue on 20 August and was almost certainly have been sunk in this attack.. Lost aboard P33 was Lt Richard Cunningham, the son of Vice Admiral John ("ABC") Cunningham, C in C Med Flt.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

U-Class Submarine HMS P.32 (RN 540 grt) had departed Malta on the 12th. Attempting to attack the convoy, she was damaged on a mine off Tripoli. The damage killed the eight crew forward in the submarine. The submarine was grounded on the bottom. Only one officer and one rating were able to successfully evacuate the submarine and were picked up by an RM MAS boat. 30 others of the crew were lost on the submarine.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Submarines UNBEATEN and URGE departed Malta to intercept a convoy north of Pantelleria.

Submarine TETRARCH fired torpedoes into Benghazi Harbour. The torpedoes exploded on the boom defense.

Central Atlantic
DDs AVONVALE and ERIDGE departed Gibraltar for Freetown, en route to the Med Flt. Submarine CLYDE departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Atlantic.

Red Sea/Indian Ocean
RAN Corvette BATHURST arrived at Port Said from Alexandria to pass through the Suez Canal. The Corvette joined the East Indies Fleet. RAN Corvette LISMORE was also transferred to the East Indies Fleet, passing through the Canal on the 21st. In exchange, armed boarding vessels CHANTALA, which passed through the Canal on the 20th, and CHAKDINA, which arrived at Suez on the 29th, were attached to the Med Flt.

Armed boarding vessel CHAKDINA arrived at Alexandria on 2 September.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 18 AUGUST TO DAWN 19 AUGUST 1941
Weather Sunny and hot.

No air raids.

OPERATIONS REPORTS MONDAY 18 AUGUST 1941

ROYAL NAVY Unbeaten and Urge sent out to intercept convoy north of Pantelleria.

AIR HQ Departures 2 Wellington. 69 Squadron Maryland patrols Tunisian coast and searches for convoy. Patrols of western Ionian Sea, Messina, Reggio Calabria, Augusta and Syracuse. 38 Squadron 5 Wellingtons sent to attack Tripoli harboub, dropping bombs and incendiaries form 4-9000 feet. 105 Squadron 3 Blenheims set to attack shipping near Lampedusa.

Halders Diary 18 August 1941

August 19 Tuesday
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The first small supply convoy is sent from Iceland to the Soviet Union. The carrier "Argus" also brings a cargo of Hurricanes to the Soviet Union, complete with RAF pilots who will fly them in combat for the first few weeks.

USS "Hopewell" (DD-181), (commissioned as HNoMS Bath (I-17) (LtCdr Frederick Melsom) on 23 Sep. 1940) while escorting her sixth convoy (OG-71) between Liverpool and Gibraltar, as part of the 5th Escort Group about 400 miles southwest of Ireland Bath is torpedoed by U-204 and sank rapidly today at 02.05 hours. The commander and 88 crewmembers were lost. U-201 sank SS "Aguila" and "Ciscar" in Convoy OG-71. U-559 sank SS "Alva" in Convoy OG-71. The surviving crew members from "Alva" were picked up by corvette HMS "Campanula" and transferred to destroyer HMS "Velox" and landed at Gibraltar on 25 August 1941.

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: Joachim von Ribbentrop requested Japan to join in the attack on the Soviet Union by attacking Vladivostok in eastern Russia; Japan responded by saying that such a venture would require much time for deliberation and planning.

Heeresgruppe Nord: LVI.Armeekorps (mot.) (General of the Infantry Erich von Manstein) launches its attack against the Soviet 34th Army west of Staraya Russa. The Corps' attack caught the 34th Army in the flank and by surprise. The 34th Army was badly damaged and attempted to withdraw. The Russians crumble quickly having exhausted themselves in their offensive and the German X. Armeekorps (General of the Artillery Christian Hansen) is saved from destruction. However, the redirection of the Panzer Corp against the Russian attack also may have saved Leningrad from direct assault. German 18.Armee begins attacking Tallinn.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: German 2.Armee enters Gomel.

Heeresgruppe Süd: Admiral G.V. Zhukov is placed in command of the Odessa Defensive Region. German 6.Armee (General of the W. von Reichenau) is attacking in the Korosten sector while German 1.Panzergruppe (Colonel General Ewald von Kleist) is fighting in Dnepropetrovsk. The Stavka alters the defenses around Kiev first by ordering Kirponos to withdraw Potapov's 5th Army back across the Dnepr where it is to defend the west bank. Vlasov's 37th Army is assigned to defend a bridgehead around Kiev, and Lieutenant-General K.P. Podlas's 40th Army is deployed between the 21st and 13th Armies to protect the north from Guderian.

GERMANY:

"We talked about the Jewish problem. The Führer is convinced that his earlier prophecy in the Reichstag is proving correct, that if the Jews succeed again in provoking another world war it would end with the annihilation of the Jews. This is being proved in these weeks and months with an apparently eerie certainty. In the east the Jews must pay for this..." - Joseph Goebbels.

Click to expand...

RAF Bomber Command sends 108 aircraft to attack Kiel overnight.

NORTH AFRICA: Polish troops begin the relief of Tobruk. The Australian and Indian troops are scheduled for rest in Egypt.

NORTHERN FRONT: Operation Gauntlet: A joint Anglo-Canadian-Norwegian expedition lands on Spitsbergen, Norway to sabotage the coal mines and bring the miners back to Britain. RN Force K departs Scapa Flow for Spitsbergen and lands Allied troops. The population of Spitsbergen is evacuated and the Norwegians taken to Britain and the Soviets to the USSR.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The first permanent military garrison was established at Wake Atoll, which consisted of 449 men of the US Marine Corps 1st Defense Battalion under the command of US Navy Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham. The Wake Detachment arrives in the cargo ship USS "Regulus" (AK-14) to begin work on defensive positions.

WESTERN FRONT: RAF Bomber Command sends 18 aircraft on Circus operations escorted by RAF Fighter Command. Lt. Erich Rudorffer of II./JG 2 shoots down three RAF Spitfires in sixteen minutes. Shortly before noon, Major Johannes Seifert of I./JG 26 downs a Spitfire near Gravelines. Later at 1940 hours he destroys a Spitfire from RAF No 111 Squadron near Cassel.

Replacement prosthetic leg for captured Douglas Bader was dropped by a British bomber over Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France with permission by German Luftwaffe leaders. After the delivery, the British bomber took the opportunity to surprise-attack a power station in occupied France (though the attack would fail to materialize due to weather).

In Paris, two demonstrators captured on the 13th are executed, "the Jew Szmul Tyszelman,... Henry Gautherot".

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19 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIB DKM U-87


Allied
Flower Class Corvette HMCS SOREL (K-153)


KIWI Class ASW Trawler HMNZS MOA (T-233)

Sister Ship HMS BLACKBIRD. The Kiwi class was a subtype of the RNs Bird Class

Isles Class ASW Trawler HMS MULL (T-110)


HDML 1044
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fairmile B HMS ML 288
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
RM submarine TAZZOLI sank tanker SILDRA (Nor 7313 grt) in 5-30N, 12-50W. The entire crew were rescued.


Motor barge GOLDEN GRAIN (UK 101grt) was sunk on a mine in the Nth Sea. The crew of three were all lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Convoy OG-71
After several months of relatively light losses the U-bots counterattacked with fury on OG-71. The convoy departed Liverpool on 13 August 1941 and was found on 17 August by a FW200 of KG40. The convoy was attacked by a wolfpack of 8 U-boats from DKM SubFlot 1, operating out of Brrest. Ten ships comprising a total tonnage of 15,185 tons were sunk before the U-boats lost contact on 23 August.

This convoy was known in the Merchant service as the "Nightmare Convoy". Eight merchant ships, two naval escorts and over 400 lives were lost, including 152 from the convoy command ship AGUILA. They included the 22 "lost " WRENS who were en route to Gibraltar. After this, WRENS were never sent again moved on Liners in convoys, but transported on HM Ships. Five of the convoy's surviving merchant ships reached Gibraltar; 10 retreated to neutral Portugal. This was described as "a bitter act of surrender could ever come our way". After this experience, ships from the Irish free state, on the advice of their masters, decided not to sail their vessels in British convoys, a practice that continued until the entry of the US to the war.

On the first day the close escort to the convoy comprised of sloop LEITH, corvettes CAMPANULA, HYDRANGEA, BLUEBELL, CAMPION, WALLFLOWER, and ZINNIA and ASW trawler LORD NUFFIELD, attacks began on the 19th and continued through 23 August.

Liner AGUILA (UK 3255 grt) was sunk by U-201. 168 crew and passengers were aboard when she went down, as well as about 1500 tons of general cargo. Her planned route was Liverpool to Gibraltar then back to Lisbon. At 0406 hrs, U-201 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy OG-71 WSW of Fastnet Rock and observed two detonations on a tanker and two further detonations on two ships beyond her. UBoat skipper Schnee claimed three ships sunk with 20,000 grt, but in fact only the CISCA and AGUILA were sunk.

The AGUILA was the ship of the convoy commodore and sank within 90 seconds after being hit by two torpedoes. The commodore, five naval staff members, five gunners, 54 crew members and 88 passengers were lost. The master, five crew members, one naval staff member and two passengers were picked up by Corvette HMS WALLFLOWER and landed at Gibraltar. Five crew members and one passenger were rescued by the EMPIRE OAK, but five of them were lost when this ship was sunk as well by U-564 on 22 August. One crew member was picked up by Corvette HMS CAMPANULA, transferred to DD HMS VELOX and landed at Gibraltar on 25 August.

Among the passengers on board the AGUILA were 22 WRENS who had volunteered for cypher and wireless duties in Gibraltar. None of the WRENS survived the sinking. As a tribute to their memory, a lifeboat named AGUILA WREN was built and launched on 28 June 1952 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.


Steamer CISCAR (UK 1809 grt) was hit and sunk by U-201 in its attack on OG-71. The ship had 48 crew embarked, 13 of whom were to be lost, she was on passage from Bristol to Gibraltar carrying General cargo and government stores when lost. The master, 29 crew members and five gunners from the CISCAR were picked up by PETREL and landed at Lisbon. Nine crew members and four gunners were lost. Four crew members from the CISCAR were later repatriated on the CERVANTES, which was sunk by U-124 on 26 September. Three of them were lost when this later ship went down. .


U-204 sank Town Class DD BATH (RNorN 1060 grt) in the SW approaches, whilst escorting OG-71. HnoMS BATH was a unit of the 5th Escort Group. She was detached from convoy OG-71 and was proceeding behind the convoy about 400 miles SW of Ireland, when hit amidships by one G7e torpedo from U-204 at 0205 hrs. The U-boat then fired a coup de grace from the stern torpedo tube, but it passed underneath the vessel, which shortly thereafter capsized to port and sank within 6 minutes. As the vessel sank, her depth charges exploded and killed the commander and many other survivors swimming in the water. 39 survivors were picked up by Corvette HMS HYDRANGEA and all but nine transferred to DD HMS WANDERER, which picked up four survivors herself. The survivors were taken to Gibraltar, but two of them died of wounds en route. The commander, two Norwegian officers, 68 Norwegian ratings, two British officers and ten British ratings were lost.

Steamer ALVA (UK 1559 grt) was sunk by U-559. She was part of OG-71 at the time of her loss. She had a crew of 25, 1 of whom was to be lost in the attack, with a cargo of Coal on passage from Glasgow to Lisbon. At 0208 hrs, U-559 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy OG-71 about 600 miles west of Ushant, observed one hit and heard one double and one single detonation. The assessment of the BdU was that two ships of 17,000 grt had been sunk and another ship of 7000 grt damaged. In fact, only the ALVA was sunk in this attack. One crew member was lost.

The master, ten crew members and two gunners were picked up by the CLONIARA, but nine of them died when this vessel was sunk by U-564 some days later.. The survivors were picked up by Corvette HMS CAMPION and landed at Gibraltar on 24 August. Eight crew members and three gunners were picked up by the EMPIRE OAK which was sunk by the same U-boat later on 22 August. Four shipwrecked men from ALVA were lost and the survivors picked up by HMS CAMPANULA, transferred to HMS VELOX and landed at Gibraltar on 25 August.
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UBOATS
Arrivals
Brest: U-371
Kirkenes: U-556
Lorient: U-331

Departures
Kirkenes: U-451
Lorient, France:U-108
Trondheim, Norway: U-452

At Sea 19 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-93, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-108, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-143, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-204, U-205, U-206, U-451, U-452, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-559, U-563, U-564, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-751

42 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Baltic
Hospital ship SIBIR (SU 3767 grt) was sunk by the LW in the Gulf of Finland. Some 400 passengers were lost on the ship.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

North Sea
DD INGLEFIELD departed Rosyth after boiler cleaning and arrived at Scapa Flow that day.

Northern Waters
CA LONDON departed Scapa Flow for boiler cleaning in the Clyde, arriving on the 20th.

SW Approaches
Convoy OG.72 departed Liverpool. On the 20th, DDs CHELSEA, CROOME, HEYTHROP, and WOLVERINE, sloop ROCHESTER, corvettes CARNATION, HELIOTROPE, LA MALOUINE, and MALLOW, and CAM ship MAPLIN joined the convoy. DD DUNCAN departed Londonderry on the 22nd and joined the convoy. DDs CHELSEA and WOLVERINE were detached on the 23rd. DDs CROOME and HEYTHROP were detached on the 27th and arrived at Gibraltar on the 30th. DD LANCE joined the escort from patrol on the 26th and DD BOREAS departed Gibraltar on the 27th to join. Destroyer DUNCAN arrived at Gibraltar on the 31st. The convoy arrived at Gibraltar on 1 September with DDs BOREAS and LANCE, sloop ROCHESTER, corvettes MALOW, HELIOTROPE, CRNATION, and LA MALOUINE, and CAM ship MAPLIN.

Med/Biscay
Operation TREACLE began. 6000 troops of the Polish Carpathian Bde were ferried to Tobruk, covered by the cruisers of the 7th and 15th Cruiser Squadrons. On the first night of TREACLE, DDs JERVIS, KIMBERLEY, and HASTY departed Alexandria for Tobruk in the first series. The DDs returned at Alexandria on the 20th. Whaler THORBRYN (RN 150 grt (est), towing two D.lighters, was sunk by the LW off Tobruk. 7 of the crew were killed on the whaler. 19 others were taken prisoner.

One D lighter (RN 50 grt (est)) as sunk and the second drifted onto the enemy coast. Skipper P. D. Jackson RNR, was killed and T/Skipper J. J. Fortune RNR taken prisoner.

CL GALATEA arrived at Suez to join the Med Flt. CLA COVENTRY departed Alexandria for the Canal Area. The cruiser arrived at Suez on the 20th. There she escorted liners ILE DE FRANCE, NIEUW AMSTERDAM, and ORION to Port Taufiq.

DD HOTSPUR departed Alexandria to relieve DD HAVOCK at Haifa. DD HAVOCK returned to Alexandria on the 20th.

Submarine TETRARCH unsuccessfully attacked Italian steamer CADAMOSTO, which was arriving at Benghazi from Tripoli.

Submarine UNBEATEN unsuccessfully attacked a convoy of liners MARCO POLO, ESPERIA, NEPTUNIA, and OCEANIA, escorted by DDs VIVALDI, DA RECCO, GIOBERTO, and ORIANO and TB DEZZA, 15 miles nth of Pantelleria. After the attack, the convoy was joined by DDs MAESTRALE, GRECALE, and SCIROCCO. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 20th.

RAN sloop PARRAMATTA departed Port Said escorting MV KEVINBANK to Famagusta in Serial S.23 of the GUILLOTINE operation. The sloop arrived on the 21st and then sailed for Port Said.

Pacific/Australia
Steamer DEVON (NZ 9036 grt) was sunk by DKM raider KOMET about two hundred miles SW of the Galapagos Island, in 5S, 91W. The entire crew was rescued and made prisoners of war.



Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 19 AUGUST TO DAWN 20 AUGUST 1941
Weather Sunny and hot.

1034-1055 hrs Air raid alert for twelve Macchi 200 fighters which approach to within six miles of Grand Harbour at 23000 feet before turning away northwards. Twelve Hurricane fighters are scrambled and have time to reach sufficient height to pursue the raiders towards the coast of Sicily. F/Lt Lefevre shoots down one Macchi over land and is attacked as he turns away but evades damage. P/O Burke shoots down one Macchi in flames over land and a second over the sea. His own aircraft is slightly damaged but he is able to land safely. The remaining nine Macchis turn away from the engagement.

2122-2200 hrs Air raid alert for five enemy aircraft which approach the Island from the north at 17000 feet and drop hundreds of incendiary bombs on Zeitun and along a ridge Ghaxaq-Bir-id-Deheb-Luqa causing a string of fires, including a large one near Gudja. Two people are killed and five wounded in Zeitun. Five fall near HQ of 1stBn Hampshire Regiment at Xlejli Tower and ignite but are extinguished within three minutes. One other rank is slightly injured. A large number of high explosive bombs are dropped in the sea. Two Hurricanes are scrambled. Searchlights effect one illumination but there is no engagement.

OPERATIONS REPORTS TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 1941

AIR HQ Arrivals 3 Beaufort, 9 Wellington. 69 Squadron Maryland reconnaissance of Tripoli, Lampedusa, and several aerodromes in Sicily. 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm Two Swordfish carried out shipping searches in the Pantellaria area.

Halder's Diary 19 August 1941

August 20 Wednesday
ASIA: Captain Takahiko Kiyota was named the commanding officer of "Nachi". Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki stepped down as the chief of staff of Kure Naval District, Japan.

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: Hitler, in discussion with chief architect Albert Speer, orders the inclusion of captured booty from the Russian front be included as decorations for Berlin buildings in recognition of his victory over the Bolsheviks.

Heeresgruppe Nord: The German siege of Leningrad, Russia began. Marshal Voroshilov calls on the citizens of Leningrad to defend their city to the death. Leningrad would be besieged by Army Group North for 900 days. By the time it was finally liberated in January 1944 over 600,000 Leningraders had starved to death and 200,000 had been killed by the German bombardment. As starvation set in with the onset of winter those who could find a few frozen potatoes, some glue or linseed oil, or a share in a dead horse, dog or rat regarded themselves as lucky.

German 16.Armee cuts the Leningrad-Moscow rail line at Chudovo. Towards noon, Sergeant Fege with his platoon of German 45th Infantry Regiment rushed the road bridge leading over the Kerest stream towards Chudovo from the south-east and seized it by a surprise coup. Second Lieutenant Kahle occupied the railway bridge over the Kerest before the Soviet bridge guard was able to touch off the demolition charge. Meanwhile the 24th Regiment took the bridge which carried the October Railway. They captured it intact. And that was not all. That day seemed an unending string of lucky incidents. Lieutenant-Colonel Matussik with his 2nd Battalion, 45th Infantry Regiment, with great presence of mind seized the chance to drive on towards the east. There lay the huge railway bridge over the Volkhov, the line to Moscow. In a captured lorry Matussik drove right up to the bridge. There was no guard. On and across! The battalion raced over to the other side of the river. It was shortly to become a fateful river for Heeresgruppe Nord.

German XXXXII.Armeekorps (Gen. d. Pio. Walter Kuntze) begins an attack on Tallinn.

Marshal-of-the-Soviet-Union G.I. Kulik's 54th Army abandons the region north of Luga and tries to infiltrate through a German encirclement to Krasnogvardeisk, but are utterly destroyed by German forces. XXXXI. Armeekorps (mot.) (General of Panzer Troops G-H Reinhardt - now reinforced with the 8. Panzer-Division) and 18.Armee (Colonel General Georg von Kuchler) had isolated the main elements of the Soviet's Luga Operational Group and trapped 30 000 men. The remnants of the Luga Operational Group contained 9 divisions (including a tank division): the fact that the average division was down to regimental strength (around 3 300 men each) is an indication of the fierce fighting in this sector, the tenacity of the Soviet defenders, and the speed with which the German Army could wear down even a dug in enemy force.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: German 2.Panzergruppe and 2.Armee are turning southward. 2.Panzergruppe continues pushing toward Bryansk while the Soviet 24th Army is attacking the Yelnya sector. 267.Infanterie-Division (Major General R. Martinek) of the 2.Armee reports that over the last 6 days they have lost around 1,000 men and that since the start of the war in the east they had lost a total of 2,700 men.

Heeresgruppe Süd: The German 17.Armee (General of the Infantry C-H von Stumpfnagel) gained a bridgehead over the Dnieper at Kremenchuk. German 11.Armee (Colonel General E. Ritter von Schobert) captured Kherson, Ukraine. Romanian aircraft destroyed a Soviet armored train at Odessa Ukraine. 1. Panzergruppe (Kleist) crosses the Dnepr as the southern pincer against Southwestern Front. 6.Armee (General of the W. von Reichenau) is now face to face with Kiev. The gate to the Crimea lies open to the Germans.

The Red Army, pursuing Stalin's scorched-earth policy, have blown up the Lenin-Dnieproges Dam at Zaporoje, on the Dnieper, one of the Soviet Unions' greatest achievements. The dam was the world's greatest hydro-electric power complex. Completed in 1932, it was proudly shown to foreign visitors as an example of Communist efficiency, although American engineers designed and built most of it. It consisted of nearly half a mile of ferro-concrete, and contained huge sluices and docks which enabled cargo ships to pass along the river. The importance of the dam to Soviet industry cannot be over-estimated. The industries of the Dnieper valley, including the iron mines at Krivoi Rog, captured by the Germans, depend on the power it produces. Kharkov, a vital part of the Soviet defence industry, with its tractor works and machine-tool factories, is heavily dependent on the dam's power. The Russians claim that new factories now coming into operation east of the Urals will compensate for the loss. This will deprive the Germans of much of the riches of the Ukraine.

German 250th Infantry Division, nicknamed "Blue Division" and consisted of Spanish volunteers, was formed and began to move to Poland.

Erich Koch officially appointed Reichskommissar for the Ukraine.

GERMANY: Dornberger and von Braun present Hitler and Keitel film and information about rocket weapons. Based upon the presentation, Hitler authorizes the development of the V-2 rocket.

Soviet Air Force sends 9 bombers to attack Berlin overnight.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian troops in Yugoslavia occupy the island of Pag. There they discover evidence of mass murder of Serbs and Jews by local Ustachi fascists. The mass grave was exhumed to find 791 bodies including 293 women and 91 children.

RAF bombers attack Augusta.

British tanker "Turbo" heavily damaged by air attack and subsequently sinks. But British submarines score success in the Med. Italian vessel "Enotria" sunk by RN submarine "Upholder". RN submarine "Unique" sinks Italian vessel "Esperia" with 1770 men aboard, of which 1139 rescued. Greek vessel "San Stefano" sunk by RN submarine "Thrasher".

NORTH AFRICA: Advance elements of Polish Carpathian Brigade arrive at Tobruk by naval transport from Egypt.

NORTHERN FRONT: General der Infanterie Waldemar Erfurth, the representative of the OKW at the Finnish Supreme Headquarters, informs Mannerheim that Hitler wishes that the Finns would encircle Leningrad from the north with as many troops as possible. Mannerheim rejects the proposal and says that he has to negotiate with the President and cabinet first. Erfurth gets the impression that the Finns don't want to have anything to do with Leningrad.

WESTERN FRONT: After sundown, the second mass round-up of Jews in Paris began at the request of the Gestapo's Jewish Affairs Department. 5,000 foreign born Jews are arrested and sent to the deportation camp at Drancy. Their French passports were confiscated, and they would eventually be deported to Drancy and later to various concentration camps in Germany and Eastern Europe. 50,000 people are arrested in occupied and Vichy France as a hunt goes on for railroad saboteurs.

RAF Fighter Command flew sweeps and escort operations. RAF Bomber Command sends 18 aircraft on coastal sweeps.

.

20 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Allied
Bangor Class MSW HMS ILFRACOMBE (J-95)


HDMLs 1036, 1066
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
Convoy OG-71
DDs GURKHA and LANCE from convoy WS.10 X reinforced the convoy from 20 to 23 August. DD VIDETTE, which departed Gibraltar on the 21st, from 21 to 23 August.

UBOATS
Departures
Brest: U-561
Lorient: U-557

At Sea 20 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-93, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-108, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-143, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-204, U-205, U-206, U-451, U-452, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-557, U-559, U-561, U-563, U-564, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-751

44 Boats

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Steamer CZESTOCHOWA (Pol 1971 grt) was sunk by DKM S Boat S.48 in the Nth Sea and damaged British steamer DALEWOOD. One crewman was lost on the Polish steamer. Three crew and a naval gunner were lost on the British steamer. The steamer was towed to Humber badly damaged aft.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Northern Patrol
DD TARTAR departed Scapa Flow for Skaalefjord, arriving on the morning of the 21st. TARTAR escorted damaged DD ACHATES in tow of tug ASSURANCE and with salvage vessel LE LUTTEUR in company departed Skaaleford for the Tyne. The ships arrived in the Tyne on the 24th.

Northern Waters
BB KING GEORGE V departed Scapa Flow at 2100 for Rosyth, escorted by DDs INGLEFIELD, LIGHTNING, and PUNJABI. The ships arrived off May Island at dawn on the 21st. DD PUNJABI continued to Rosyth to boiler clean. DDs INGLEFIELD and LIGHTNING returned to Scapa Flow, arriving that mid afternoon.

DD PUCKERIDGE departed Scapa Flow to convey the CinC, Home Flt to Scapa Flow. On arrival, she returned to Scapa Flow, to carry out practices in the Pentland Firth on passage.

Trawler SOLARRIS (Faroes 236 grt) was sunk on a mine off Seidisfjord. Four crew were rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

West Coast
BB DUKE OF YORK (Captain C. H. J. Harcourt, CBE) was completed (not yet commissioned) at John Brown Shipyard on the West Coast of Scotland. DD BADSWORTH departed Greenock for Scapa Flow to work up. The DD arrived on the 21st.

Convoy ON.9 departed Liverpool, escort DDs BEAGLE, BOADICEA, SALISBURY, and WINCHELSEA, corvette NARCISSUS, MSW SEAGULL, and ASW trawlers AYRSHIRE and LADY MADELEINE. Corvette HEATHER joined on the 21st. DDs BOADICEA and WINCHELSEA and the trawlers were detached on the 23rd. DDs BEAGLE and SALISBURY, corvettes HEATHER and NARCISSUS, and MSW SEAGULL were detached when the convoy was dispersed on the 25th.

SW Approaches
Fishing trawler JULIET (UK 173 grt) was sunk by the LW thirty miles south of Old Head of Kinsale (off the sth coast of Ireland). The entire crew was rescued.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Med/Biscay
On the 19th, an Italian convoy of troopships ESPERIA, MARCO POLO, NEPTUNIA, and OCEANIA departed Naples for Tripoli escorted by DDs VIVALDI, DA RECCO, GIOBERTI, and ORIANI and TB DEZZA. The convoy was reinforced later the same day by DDs MAESTRALE, GRECALE, and SCIROCCO after an attack by submarine UNBEATEN. Submarine UNIQUE sank troopship ESPERIA (FI 11,398 grt) eleven miles north of Tripoli on the 20th. 31 troops were lost on the troopship. 1139 men were rescued. All of their equipment was of course lost. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 20th.


Submarine UPHOLDER sank steamer ENOTRIA (FI 852 grt) six miles NW of Cape St Vito, NW Sicily.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Submarine THRASHER sank steamer SAN STEFANO (ex-Gk 250 grt (est)) off Cape Malea with gunfire.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

CLs AJAX and NEPTUNE departed Alexandria covering ML cruiser LATONA and DDs KIPLING, NIZAM, and KINGSTON en route to Tobruk in the second series of the TREACLE operation. Returning from the operation, destroyer NIZAM was damaged by a near miss nth of Bardia. The DD was taken in tow by DD KINGSTON for a time until she could proceed under her own power. The light cruisers provided cover for the DD's return to Alexandria.

DDs HOTSPUR and DECOY were sailed from Haifa to Beirut.

Tkr TURBO (UK 4782 grt) was badly damaged by SM-79s of the RA nth of Port Said. Sloop FLAMINGO and trawlers from Port Said assisted the tanker. The entire crew was rescued. The tanker arrived at Port Said on the 21st. On 23 September, the tanker was moved to Suez. On 1 April 1942, the tanker departed Suez for Aden in the tow of British steamer GLADYS MOLLER. At 25-16N, 35-25E on 4 April 1942, the tkr broke in half and sank.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

RNeN submarine O.23 arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Med.

Submarine OTUS arrived at Malta from Alexandria with stores, including a submarine generator, twelve cases of U-class submarine spares, petrol, and 18 passengers.

Submarine URGE arrived at Malta from patrol.

Central Atlantic
Submarine SEVERN departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Atlantic.

MSW trawler LORINDA (RN 348 grt), en route to Port Harcourt in company with trawler BALTA, was lost through engine trouble and a fire off Freetown. Corvette LAVENDER proceeded to assist. The entire crew were rescued by trawler BALTA which returned to Freetown
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 20 AUGUST TO DAWN 21 AUGUST 1941
Weather Sunny and hot.

No air raids.

OPERATIONS REPORTS WEDNESDAY 20 AUGUST 1941

ROYAL NAVY Otus arrived with petrol and stores from Alexandria. Urge returned from patrol having sighted convoy, but was prevented from attacking by counter attacks.

AIR HQ Arrivals 2 Blenheim. 69 Squadron Maryland patrols Lampedusa, eastern Ionian Sea, Trapani and Tripoli harbour. 126 Squadron 6 Hurricanes attacked barrage balloons, seaplanes and petrol tanks at Augusta.

Halder's Diary 20 August 1941

August 21 Thursday
ASIA: Japanese aircraft sank Chinese gunboats "Jiangxi" and "Jiangkun" at Bazhong, Sichuan Province, China.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The first Allied Arctic convoy, codenamed Dervish, set sail from Hvalfjörður, Iceland for Archangelsk, Russia.

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: Adolf Hitler orders the investment, not capture, of Leningrad, (aiming for the linking up with Finnish forces) and the transfer of several divisions from the North and Center to capture the Crimea and the Donets Basin, (aiming for the oil fields in the Caucasus region) an industrial region vital to the Soviet war effort. He believes that the loss of the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution would deal a crushing blow to Soviet morale.

"The proposal by the army for the continuation of the operations in the east, dated 18.8, do not meet with my approval. I order the following: The principal objective that must be achieved before the onset of winter is not the capture of Moscow, but rather in the south the occupation of the Crimea and the industrial and coal region of the Donets, together with the isolation of the Russian oil regions in the Caucasus. In the north, the encirclement of Leningrad and the union with the Finns." - Adolf Hitler.

Click to expand...

General Alfred Jodl of OKW issued a directive, which summarized Hitler's instructions, to Brauchitsch commander of the Army. The paper reiterated that the capture of Moscow before the onset of winter was not a primary objective. Rather, that the most important missions before the onset of winter were to seize the Crimea, and the industrial and coal region of the Don; isolate the oil-producing regions of the Caucasus from the rest of the Soviet Union and in the north, to encircle Leningrad and link up with the Finns. Among other instructions, it also instructed that Army Group Center is to allocate sufficient forces to ensure the destruction of the "Russian 5th Army" and, at the same time, to prepare to repel enemy counterattacks in the central sector of its front. Hitler referred to the Soviet forces in the salient collectively as the "Russian 5th Army". Halder was dismayed, and later described Hitler's plan as "utopian and unacceptable", concluding that the orders were contradictory and Hitler alone must bear the responsibility for inconsistency of his orders and that the OKH can no longer assume responsibility for what was occurring; however, Hitler's instructions still accurately reflected the original intent of the Barbarossa directive of which the OKH was aware of all along. Halder offered his own resignation and advised Brauchitsch to do the same. However, Brauchitsch declined, stating Hitler would not accept the gesture, and nothing would change anyhow. Halder withdrew his offer of resignation.

Heeresgruppe Nord: German armored formations cut the Moscow-Leningrad railroad at Chudovo and take Gatchina, 25 miles from Leningrad. Hitler ordered that the Russian city of Leningrad was to be besieged, not captured.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: Soviet 24th Army continues attacking Yel'nia sector. After significant loses, Rakutin gets permission to halt his attack on the Yel'nia bridgehead by his 24th Army. The 24th Army was then seriously reinforced with replacements and new divisions. German 2.Armee and elements of 2.Panzergruppe continued pushing south between Bryansk and Gomel. The Red Army retreats from Gomel after a long series of unsuccessful counterattacks against the Germans.

Heeresgruppe Süd: Hitler orders 2.Armee and 2.Panzergruppe southward into the Ukraine. German 1.SS-Infanterie-Brigade (mot.) Leibstandarte der SS Adolf Hitler (Obergruppenfuhrer Sepp Dietrich) captures Kherson on the lower Dniepr River but by this time the 18th and 9th Armies had managed to evacuate across the Dnieper. German 6.Armee launched a concerted attack against the retreating 5th Army. German 51st Corps rushed the retreating defenders (the 27th Rifle Corps) and gained a crossing (of the Dnepr) at Okuminovo, north of Kiev.

The Red Army blows up the Dnieper Dam to halt the German advance and as part of their "scorched-earth" policy. The Zaporozhye dam astride the Dneiper river was a huge and impressive structure—2500 feet long, with a railway track and a dual-carriageway road running along its top. With the water backed up by the dam the turbines of the power-station generated 550,000 kilowatts. The power-station supplied electric current to the whole West Ukrainian industrial region. The plant was a showpiece of the Bolshevik regime, a symbol of the communist aim of electrifying and industrializing the whole country. For that reason the power-station bore the name of Lenin, the man who in 1920 coined the slogan: "Communism means Soviet power plus electrification of the whole country." The dam was blown up and the shipping lock rendered useless.

After Hoth's scheduled refit of the Panzer divisions, there was not appreciable increase in force strength. His report showed division strengths as follows: 7.Panzer-Divisionen 45 percent, 19.Panzer-Divisionen 60 percent, 20.Panzer-Divisionen 49 percent, and 12.Panzer-Divisionen 45 percent.

M-172, under the command of Israel Fisanovich, became the first M-class submarine to have broken into an enemy port and to successfully sink a target.

The Bila Tserkva massacre was the mass murder of Jews by the Nazi Einsatzgruppen and its Ukrainian auxiliaries in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. German General Walther von Reichenau, commander of the 6.Armee, ordered his men to assist the Einsatzgruppen and its Ukrainian auxiliaries with killing the Jews of Bila Tserkva. Over the course of the following days, virtually the entire adult Jewish population of Bila Tserkva was shot. All that remained were the children and a few of the women, who were dumped off at a school to await execution. The two chaplains attached to the 295th Infantry Division, the Catholic Father Ernst Tewes and the Lutheran Pastor Gerhard Wilczek, visited the school. They were appalled by the condition of the frightened, hungry children. The chaplains asked the local army commander to free the children, but he refused. The chaplains won over staff officer Lieutenant-Colonel Groscurth to their cause. He ordered a postponement of the planned massacre of the children. Ultimately, General von Reichenau himself intervened and ordered the executions to go ahead. The protests at Bila Tserkva were unique as being the only time during the war that Wehrmacht chaplains tried to prevent an Einsatzgruppen massacre.

GERMANY: German General Herman Bernhard Ramcke who flew out to Crete in May to replace the dead Gen. Meindl receives the Knight's Cross for his decision and subsequent leadership. As does Dr. Heinrich Neumann who took over command of I. Battalion Sturm Regiment.

Spanish Blue Division begins moving to the Russian Front.

MEDITERRANEAN: HMAS "Nizam", (destroyer), was damaged by near-misses from German bombers east of Tobruk. "Nizam" was taken in tow by HMS "Kingston", but after self-repairs "Nizam" returned to port under her own steam.

NORTH AFRICA: Polish Carpathian Brigade begins arriving in Tobruk by sea to relieve Australian 18th Infantry Brigade. Australian 18th Infantry Brigade begins departing Tobruk for Alexandria by sea.

NORTH AMERICA: President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the U.S. Congress about the Atlantic Chargers. He says,

"Finally, the declaration of principles at this time presents a goal which is worthwhile for our type of civilization to seek. It is so clear cut that it is difficult to oppose in any major particular without automatically admitting a willingness to accept compromise with Nazism; or to agree to a world peace which would give to Nazism domination over large numbers of conquered nations. Over a week ago I held several important conferences at sea with the British Prime Minister. Because of the factor of safety to British, Canadian, and American ships, and their personnel, no prior announcement of these meetings could properly be made."

Click to expand...

NORTHERN FRONT: Finnish Army of Karelia captures Suvilakhti northeast of Lake Ladoga. In the Finnish attacks farther north Kexholm is taken from the Soviets. In southern Karelia IV Corps (Lt. Gen. Lennart Oesch) starts its attack today, one day earlier than originally planned. The Corps consists of 12th ID (Col. Vihma), IR 25 and 8th ID (Col. Winell) with 4th ID (Col. Viljanen) in reserve. It is opposed by the three divisions of the Soviet 23rd Army (123rd, 43rd and 115th divisions). The aim is to encircle and destroy the Soviet troops around Viipuri and western Karelian Isthmus. The attack is originally planned for 22 Aug, but on the 21st it is found out that the Soviet troops are withdrawing along the whole front. The Finnish troops are ordered to immediately pursue the enemy.

UNITED KINGDOM: An RAF Hurricane Mk. IIB, s/n Z5070, which was on a delivery flight, makes a forced landing at Athboy, County Meath, Ireland. This aircraft is repaired by the Irish Army Air Corps and becomes their sixth fighter aircraft in service; the six consist of three Gloster Gladiator Mk. Is, a biplane with a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h), and three Hurricanes, two Mk. IIBs and a Mk. X.

WESTERN FRONT: A German naval cadet became the first victim of French Resistance, shot in a Metro station in Paris, France. Pierre Georges, a French communist who would become 'Favien' in the underground, kills Lt. Moser, a German naval attaché, in the Paris subway. Over 150 Parisians were shot in reprisal. Fabien will soon assume the rank of colonel in the FTP.

RAF Bomber Command sends 24 aircraft to attack Ijmuiden during the day while RAF Fighter Command flew Circus and Roadstead operations. Lt. Erich Rudorffer of II./JG 2 shoots down another Spitfire.

.

21 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type VIIc DKM U-376


Type VIIc DKM U-455


Type VIIc DKM U-584


Cagni Class Sub RM Ammiraglio Cagni


Allied
HDML 1071

Losses
None

UBOATS
Arrivals
St. Nazaire: U-93

Departures
Lorient: U-141
St. Nazaire: U-69, U-95

At Sea 21 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-69, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-95, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-108, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-141, U-143, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-204, U-205, U-206, U-451, U-452, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-557, U-559, U-561, U-563, U-564, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-751

46 Boats

OPERATIONS
East Front
Baltic
MV LEENI (SU 1842 grt) was mined and sunk in the gulf of Finland; No information about crew losses or whose mine sank her is available.
NO IMAGE FOUND
]
North Sea
FFL submarine RUBIS, which departed Dundee on the 14th, laid mines in minefield FD 33 off Jaederens (sth of Stavanger Fjord). On the 21st, the submarine attacked two steamers and sank steamer HOGLAND (FN 4360 grt) whilst the ship was in Axis controlled waters. In the attack, two torpedoes exploded shortly after leaving the torpedo tubes and damaged the submarine. Early on the 22nd, the submarine was able to signal her situation. CLA CURACOA, which was already at sea with convoy WN.70, DDs LIVELY and LIGHTNING, which departed Scapa Flow at dawn on the 22nd, DD WOLFHOUND, ASW trawlers CLEVELLA and FILEY BAY, and tug ABEILLE IV were sent to assist. DDs LIVELY and LIGHTNING arrived back at Scapa Flow late on the 24th. En route, DD LIGHTNING rescued three Norwegians from Bergen in a dinghy. The submarine, escorted by destroyer WOLFHOUND, arrived at Dundee on the 24th for repairs.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

CA SHROPSHIRE departed Hvalfjord for Scapa Flow, via Akureyri and East of Iceland.
The cruiser arrived at Scapa Flow on the 24th.

Operations GAUNTLET and BENEDICT

Force K of CLs NIGERIA and AURORA and DDs ANTHONY, ANTELOPE, and ICARUS departed Hvalfjord escorting troopship EMPRESS OF CANADA on Operations GAUNTLET and BENEDICT (a large scale Combined Operations raid by Cdn troops, with British Army logistics support and Free Norwegian Forces) on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, 600 miles south of the Nth Pole, carried out from 25 August to 3 September 1941. The objective was to destroy the important coal mines there together with associated equipment and stores, which the Germans intended to make use of. These mines on Norwegian territory were owned and operated by Norway and a second mine by the USSR and both governments agreed to their destruction and the evacuation of their nationals).

Oiler OLIGARCH arrived at Spitzbergen on the 24th, escorted by trawlers HAZEL and ELM. After demolishing the coal fields at Bergensburg, NIGERIA departed on the 26th with DDs ANTHONY, ANTELOPE, and ICARUS escorting troopship EMPRESS OF CANADA to Archangel.

On the 26th, colliers INGERTO (ex-Nor 3089 grt), NANDI (Ex-Nor1999 grt), and MUNIN (Ex-Nor 1285 grt) were taken as prizes, escorted by ASW trawler SEALYHAM, and until the morning of 27 August by CL AURORA, The ships departed Spitzbergen fully loaded for Hvalfjord, arriving on 1 September. This convoy was designated Convoy Drover. The warships returned to Spitzbergen on 1 September and joined r AURORA.

Convoy DERVISH
Convoy DERVISH departed Liverpool on the 12th, escorted by AA ship POZARICA and MSW trawlers CELIA, HAMLET, and MACBETH, ASW trawlers ST.CATHAN and LE TIGRE for Reykjavik. The convoy called at Scapa Flow on the 15th and departed at dusk on the 16th with DDs ELECTRA, IMPULSIVE, and ACTIVE with CL AURORA as additional escort until 18 August. The convoy departed Reykjavik on the 21st with British steamers LANCANSTRIAN PRINCE, NEW WESTMINSTER CITY, ESNEH, LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE, and TREHATA, Dutch steamer ALCHIBA, and British oiler ALDERSDALE escorted by DDs ELECTRA, ACTIVE, and IMPULSIVE, MSWs HALCYON, HARRIER, and SALAMANDER, and MSW trawlers HAMLET, MACBETH, and OPHELIA.

Distant cover for the convoy was provided by CV VICTORIOUS, CAs DEVONSHIRE and SUFFOLK, and DDs ECLIPSE, ESCAPADE, and INGLEFIELD from 24 to 30 August, when the ships called at Spitzbergen to refuel. The convoy arrived on the 31st at Archangel.

DERVISH was an adhoc operation hastily organized. It delivered raw materials and just 15 Hurricane aircraft (reserves for the 24 hurricanes with pilots delivere by CVE ARGUS at the same time). After DERVISH proved the proof of concept of the arctic run, the British Govt organized regular transport convoys to the Arctic, folloed somewhat reluctantly by the US after her entry.

Northern Waters
DDs SOMALI and ORIBI departed Scapa Flow escorting CVL FURIOUS to Greenock.
The ships arrived at Greenock early on the 22nd. ORIBI proceeded to Glasgow for repairs. SOMALI returned to Scapa Flow, arriving on the 23rd.

DD NEWARK departed Scapa Flow to rejoin the Minelaying Command at Loch Alsh. At 2100 a U-boat was suspected attempting to force a passage into Scapa Flow. A patrol was established through the night with DDs LIGHTNING, MATABELE, INTREPID, and PUCKERIDGE, trawlers, and motor launches.

CLA CURACOA departed Scapa Flow and escorted convoy WN.70 from Pentland Firth to May Island. The CLA and AA ships operating with the WN.and EC.convoys came under the administration of Commander in Chief, Rosyth.

Channel
FFL drifter GLORIA IN EXCELSIO DEO was damaged by the LW at Southampton. The drifter sank, but was later raised and repaired.

Med/Biscay
Force H departed Gibraltar with BB NELSON, CV ARK ROYAL, CLA HERMIONE, and DDs NESTOR, FORESTER, FURY, FORESIGHT, and ENCOUNTER for operations against Sardinia in Operation MINCEMEAT.

In response, RM BBs LITTORIO and VENETO cleared Taranto with 6 DDs and CAs TRIESTE, TRENTO, BOLZANO, and GORIZIA with 4 DDs departed Messina to guard against Force H operations. 5 DDs departed Trapani and joined the Italian force. CLs ABRUZZI, ATTENDOLO, and MONTECUCCOLI and 5 DDs departed Palermo and were stationed north of Tunisia. The Italian dispositions were made on the assumption that another Malta re-supply operation was in progress.

On the 24th, British recon sighted the RM BB force. After ARK ROYAL aircraft dropped incendiary bombs in the cork woods west and southeast of Tempio, Sardinia, Force H returned to Gibraltar.

The Force H operations were a diversion for a minelaying operation by ML MANXMAN which slipped into position undetected by the Italians. The ML cruiser had departed England on the 17th and arrived at Gibraltar on the 21st. Minelayer MANXMAN departed Gibraltar early on the 22nd, disguised as a French LEOPARD DD for the passage to and from off Livorno in the Gulf of Genoa, where mines were successfully laid.

Submarine UPHOLDER reported sighting one RM BB, two CAs, and six DDs in the Central Mediterranean on the 24th. The submarine made an unsuccessful attack on CL LUIGI DI SAVOIA.

British steamer DURHAM, which departed Malta independently on the 21st for Gibraltar, was damaged by mining west of Pantelleria. The steamer continued, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th and was drydocked for repairs.

British steamer DEUCALION (7516grt) departed Malta on the 26th and proceeded independently to Gibraltar, followed by DD FARNDALE. Both arrived at Gibraltar on the 29th. The steamer having sustained slight damage by mine explosions.

On the 26th, while the Italian forces were returning to port, Submarine TRIUMPH sighted a group of these ships composed of battleship LITTORIO, heavy cruisers BOLZANO and TRIESTE, and 10 DDs. TRIUMPH torpedoed and badly damaged CA BOLZANO north of Messina.

BB NELSON, CV ARK ROYAL, CLA HERMIONE, and the DDs of the operation arrived back at Gibraltar on the 26th. ML MANXMAN returned to Gibraltar on the 25th. The ML departed Gibraltar on the 26th and arrived back in England on the 30th.

DDs KANDAHAR, GRIFFIN, and JACKAL departed Alexandria for Tobruk in the third series of the TREACLE operation. The DDs returned to Alexandria on the 22nd. DD NAPIER departed Port Said for Alexandria after turbine repairs to rejoin the Med Flt.

On the DD's arrival at Alexandria on the 22nd, CinC DesFlot 7 reembarked.

A report that British liner DUNERA was under attack by a/c caused RAN Corvette BATHURST to be diverted to search for her. CLA COVENTRY was sailed from Suez to protection shipping in anchorage F. Sloop FLAMINGO departed Port Said for Suez.

It was later discovered the report was an inaccurate re-broadcast of "SOS"of the tanker TURBO attack.

Gunboat GNAT departed Alexandria to relieve gunboat APHIS at Mersa Matruh.

RHN armoured t cruiser AVEROFF departed Port Sudan for Aden and Bombay for boiler repairs.

Egyptian steamer EL FATH was damaged by the RA at Famagusta. Four crew were killed.

Subamrine TAKU arrived at Malta from Alexandria with stores. On the 25th, the submarine departed for Gibraltar, arriving on 1 September. She departed on 4 September and proceeded to Chatham for refitting, arriving on 15 October, via Rothesay on 13 September and Blyth on 6 October.

Submarine UNBEATEN arrived at Malta after patrol.

Nth Atlantic
HX.146 departed Halifax escorted by AMC WORCESTERSHIRE and corvettes KENOGAMI, MOOSE JAW, and PRESCOTT. Corvettes BARRIE and MATAPEDIA joined on the 22nd. The corvettes were detached on the 24th when relieved by DD BROADWAY and corvettes COBALT, POLYANTHUS, and TRAIL. The entire escort, including the AMC was detached on 2 September when relieved by DDs KEPPEL, LINCOLN, NIAGARA, SABRE, SHIKARI, and VENOMOUS, corvettes ALISMA, ALYSSE, COLLINGWOOD, DIANELLA, and SUNFLOWER, and ASW trawlers LADY ELSA and MAN O.WAR. DD NIAGARA and corvettes ALYSSE and COLLINGWOOD were detached later that day. DDs LINCOLN and SABRE, corvettes ALISMA, DIANELLA, and SUNFLOWER, and the trawlers were detached on 5 September. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 6 September.

Central Atlantic
British steamer ATLANTIC COAST departed Gibraltar for Freetown, escorted by ASW trawler STELLA CARINA until dark.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 21 AUGUST TO DAWN 22 AUGUST 1941
Weather Very windy.

0602-0700 hrs Just before dawn there are a number of reports from ground stations of the report of an aircraft with navigation lights on. A formation of enemy raiders appears 20 miles north east of the Island. Hurricanes are ordered to carry out a dawn patrol and are scrambled when a single aircraft appears 18 miles north of Malta. Several enemy aircraft follow and 105 Squadron are scrambled. Three raiders eventually make low-flying attacks on Hal Far and the Safi dispersal area. Hurricane fighters are scrambled and engage the raiders in a dogfight over Luqa. Bofors, light anti-aircraft guns and light machine guns engage the raiders vigorously. A Bofors guns claims two hits on one Macchi.

Another formation of nine enemy aircraft appears 18 miles north and 126 Squadron are scrambled. The raiders circle 30 miles north of the Island before turning back towards Sicily. The Hurricanes do not intercept.

OPERATIONS REPORTS THURSDAY 21 AUGUST 1941

ROYAL NAVY Taku arrived from Alexandria en route to UK; discharged bulk kerosene. Unbeaten returned from patrol, having obtained 1 hit on convoy or escort, results unobserved owing to counter attack. P33 did not arrive at 0700 as ordered. SS Durham sailed independently for Gibraltar.

AIR HQ Arrivals 5 Wellington. Departures 1 Beaufort. 69 Squadron Patrols Pantellaria to Marittimo Island and Tripoli. Beaufort patrolled Tunisian coast. 38 Squadron 16 Wellingtons sent to attack Tripoli harbour damaged buildings and port facilities

HAL FAR 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm 9 Swordfish attacked three escorted troopships returning from Tripoli but attack hampered by poor visibility.

Halder"s Diary 21 August 1941

August 22 Friday

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: The Axis armies pause in their advance, having conquered 700,000 square miles of Russian territory. Popov's Northern Front is disbanded, with forces split into Karelia Front and Leningrad Front. Stavka forms Soviet Karelia Front, commanded by General Frolov. Stavka forms Soviet Leningrad Front, commanded by Popov with 8th Army, 23rd Army, and 48th Army.

Heeresgruppe Nord: The LVI.Armeekorps (mot.) (General of the Infantry Erich von Manstein) reached the Lovat river having captured 12 000 men from the retreating 34th Army. The 16.Armee and LVI.Armeekorps (mot.) pushed deeper into the Valdai Hills.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: German 3.Panzergruppe attacking toward Velikiye Luki. German 6.Armee attacking toward Kiev.

Heeresgruppe Süd: German forces occupied Cherkasy. Soviet 9th Army and 18th Army withdraw across the Dniepr River. Major Kononov's 436th Infantry Regiment of Soviet 155th Rifle Division deserts en masse and crosses to German lines, subsequently reformed as Don Cossack unit in German service.

Soviet passenger ship "Pomorie" hit a mine and sank in the White Sea in northern Russia; 60 were killed, 20 survived.

Joseph Stalin decreed that every Soviet soldier should receive 100 grams of vodka per day.

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command sends 97 aircraft to attack Mannheim overnight.

MEDITERRANEAN: Operation Mincemeat: RN minelaying cruiser "Manxman" departed Gibraltar early in the morning disguised as a French LEOPARD-class destroyer for the passage to and from the Livorno area in the Gulf of Genoa, where she successfully laid mines.

HMAS "Stuart", (destroyer), left the Mediterranean. With the departure of "Stuart", the famous 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet ceased to exist. The 10th was Australia's 'Scrap Iron Flotilla'. C-in-C Mediterranean, ADML A. B. Cunningham, signaled the Australian Naval Board:

"It is with great regret that we part with HMAS "Stuart" from the Mediterranean Station. Under the distinguished command of CAPT Waller, she has an unsurpassed record of gallant achievement. She has taken a leading part in all the principal operations of the Mediterranean Fleet and has never been called upon in vain for any difficult job."

Click to expand...

MIDDLE EAST: Third Vichy French convoy departs Haifa with 4952 troops being repatriated to France from the Levant.

NORTHERN FRONT: Finnish Army of Karelia begins attacking toward Viipuri.

WESTERN FRONT: German authorities in Paris threaten to shoot hostages if attacks on German troops continue. A German order signed by Otto von Stülpnagel decreed that in response to the previous day's assassination of a member of the German Armed Forces, all Frenchmen detained by or on behalf of German authorities would be considered as hostages. If any further incident occurred, a number of these hostages were to be shot. About 20,000 German troops are engaged in searches in the city for suspects.

The Communist Law was passed in Nazi-occupied Denmark, banning the Communist Party of Denmark and other communist organizations.

RAF Bomber Command sends 23 aircraft to attack Le Havre overnight. RAF Bomber Command sends 18 aircraft on coastal sweeps. RAF Fighter Command flew Rhubarb operations and sweeps.

.

22 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
S-boat DKM S-52
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Allied
Bangor Class MSW HMCS CLAYOQUOT (J 174)


HDML 1047

Fairmile C MGB 327

Losses
Convoy OG-71
DDs BOREAS and WIVERN reinforced the convoy from 22 to 23 August.

Submarine U.564 made four attacks on the 22nd and sank British steam tug EMPIRE OAK (484grt) and British steamer CLONLARA (1203grt) in 40-43N, 11-39W. She reported damaging two other steamers.

U-564 sank the MV CLONLARA (Eire 1203 grt) from OG-71 whilst she was transporting coal from Cardiff to Lisbon for the British. She hadf a crew of 33 embarked, 20 of whom would perish in the attack. At 2331 hrs, U-564 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the OG-71 west of Aveiro, Portugal and observed four different detonations and three columns of fire, later lifeboats were seen. The U-Boat skipper Suhren thought that he had sunk two ships and damaged two others. However, only two ships were hit and sunk, the EMPIRE OAK and CLONLARA.

The CLONLARA had picked up 13 survivors from the ALVA on 19 August. The master, ten crew members and nine survivors were lost. Eight crew members and five survivors were picked up by Corvette HMS CAMPION and landed at Gibraltar on 24 August.



U-564 also sank MV EMPIRE OAK (UK 464 grt) as she travelled withy OG-71 to Gibraltar. There are no details of her cargo , if any when lost. The EMPIRE OAK had picked up 6 survivors from AGUILA and 11 survivors from ALVA on 19 August. 11 crew members, 3 gunners, 5 men from AGUILA and 4 from ALVA were lost. The master, five crew members and eight of the shipwrecked men were picked up by Corvette HMS CAMPANULA, transferred to DD HMS VELOX and landed at Gibraltar on 25 August.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Brest: U-204
Kirkenes: U-752
St. Nazaire:U-559

At Sea 22 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-69, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-95, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-108, U-111, U-123, U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-141, U-143, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-205, U-206, U-451, U-452, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-557, U-561, U-563, U-564, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-571, U-751

44 Boats

OPERATIONS
North Sea
Netlayer HMS TONBRIDGE (RN 682 grt) was sunk by the LW three cables 108° from Scroby Elbow Buoy off Yarmouth. Brown and 34 ratings were lost.


Northern Patrol
ML AGAMEMNON, escorted by DD NEWARK, laid minefield SN.22B in the Northern Barrage.

USN DD HUGHES was damaged in a collision with British steamer CHUMLEIGH at Reykjavik.

Med/Biscay
An Italian convoy of Italian transport LUSSIN with steamer ALCIONE in tow and steamer ALBERTO FASSIO departed Palermo for Tripoli escorted by TBs CIGNO and PEGASO. On the 22nd, submarine UPHOLDER sank MV LUSSIN (FI 3958 grt) near Cape St Vito.


ML cruiser ABDIEL and DDs JERVIS, HASTY, and KIMBERLEY departed Alexandria for Tobruk in the fourth series of the TREACLE operation. The operation was covered by CLAs PHOEBE, NAIAD, and CL GALATEA. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 23rd.

RAN DD STUART departed Alexandria with one engine inoperative to return to Australia, arriving on 16 September at Fremantle. The 10th Destroyer Flotilla (the "scrap iron flotilla") at this time ceased to exist. DD VENDETTA was then attached to the 7th Destroyer Flotilla and DD DECOY was attached to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla. DD STUART was sent on to Williamstown for refitting.

Greek steamer LESBOS was damaged by the LW at Tobruk.

Nth Atlantic
BB RODNEY departed Newport, Rhode Island, for Bermuda to work up after repairs

Central Atlantic
Corvettes FLEUR DE LYS and AZALEA departed Gibraltar escorting tankers BENEDICK and CAPSA. The corvettes then joined arriving tanker CORDELIA and escorted her to Gibraltar, arriving on the 31st.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 22 AUGUST TO DAWN 23 AUGUST 1941
Weather Sunny and hot.

No air raids.

OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 22 AUGUST 1941

ROYAL NAVY P33 reported as overdue.

AIR HQ Arrivals 2 Blenheim. 69 Squadron Maryland patrols of Lampedusa and western Ionian Sea. 105 Squadron 5 Blenheims carried out a sweep off the coast between Misurata and Seurat for shipping found none and attacked military targets on land, destroying vehicles.

Halder's Diary 22 August 1941

23 AUGUST 1941
Known Reinforcements
Axis
R Boat DKM R-80
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Type IXc DKM U-155


Acciaio Class Sub RM PORFIDO


Allied
Fairmile C MGB 320
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Fairmile B MLs 233 and 287
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

MMS I Class MSW HMS MMS 50 (J-50)
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Losses
U-143 sank Steamer INGER (Nor 1409 grt) off the coast of the Outer Hebrides. The ship was carrying coke and coal when lost, on passage from Newport to Reykavik via Milford Haven. A crew of 23 was embarked, of whom 9 were to perish in the attack. At 2347 hrs the INGER was torpedoed and sunk by U-143 about 30 miles NW of Butt of Lewis, Scottland. The ship had been ordered to return to Loch Ewe escorted by two ASW trawlers for unknown reasons. She was hit by two torpedoes and sank immediately. One of the lifeboats floated free and three survivors rescued 11 more, but no more survivors were seen the following morning. Seven Norwegian crew members and two British gunners were lost. The escort ships had continued without looking for possible survivors. The lifeboat was later located by an aircraft and the survivors were picked up by the HMS LADYBIRD that evening and taken to Stornoway.


Convoy OG-71
U-201 sank steamers STORK (UK 787 grt) with the loss of 19 crew and ALDERGROVE (UK 1974 grt) in 40-43N, 11-30W on the 23rd. She reported damaging two other steamers. One naval rating was lost on steamer ALDERGROVE. DD BOREAS rescued four survivors from the steamer. Corvette CAMPANULA rescued the remainder of the survivors. Three crew were rescued by corvette CAMPION. U-564 on the 23rd claimed to have damaged Norwegian steamer SPIND (2129grt) in 40-43N, 11-39W. The submarine reported damaging another steamer. Corvette ZINNIA was sunk by U.564 in 40-43N, 11-39W west of Portugal on the 23rd.

U-552 was the U-Boat that actually damaged steamer SPIND (Nor 2129grt) in 40-43N, 11-39W with the vessel finally scuttled by DD HMS BOREAS. The entire crew was rescued by DD BOREAS.

U-201 sank the Steamer ALDERGROVE (UK 1974 grt) in the SW Approaches, west of Portugal. The ship was carrying drum fuel when lost, with 39 aboard, 1 of whom was lost in the attack. At 0214 hrs, U-201 fired a spread of four torpedoes at the convoy OG-71 nw of Lisbon and saw one hit on a freighter and two on a tanker which sank burning after 15 minutes. Two minutes later a stern torpedo was fired and a detonation heard. U-201s skipper Schnee claimed two ships with 9000 grt sunk and two with 12,000 grt damaged. In fact, only the STORK and ALDERGROVE were sunk in this attack.

On the ALDERGROVE , the master, 32 crew members and five gunners were picked up from the lifeboats after two hours by Corvette HMS CAMPANULA and landed at Gibraltar the next day. The only crewmember lost was a naval rating who was aboard at the time..


As indicated above, U-201 sank the steamer STORK (UK 787 grt) in its attack on OG-71. It was carrying aviation fuel in drums when lost. She was n passage from Preston to Gibraltar with a crew of 22, of whom 19 were to perish in the attack. The master, 16 crew members and two gunners from STORK were lost. Three crew members were picked up by Corvette HMS Campion and landed at Gibraltar on 24 August.


U-552 sank the MV SPIND (Nor 2129 grt) whilst she was on passage from Barry to Lisbon with a load of coal, coke and engines. A crew of 25 were aboard all of whom would survive the attack

At 0648 hours on 23 August, U-552 fired a spread of two torpedoes at the SPIND, but both were surface runners and missed. After surfacing seven minutes later, the U-boat opened fire with all guns and fired 20 rounds of 8.8cm and 250 rounds of 20mm before the Germans were forced to dive at 0715 hrs because DD HMS BOREAS was approaching the area and fired at the U-boat. The gun crew of SPIND was able to fire two shots at the U-boat before all men abandoned ship in two lifeboats and by jumping overboard after about 20 minutes. The second mate was shot and badly injured while lowering himself down to the starboard boat. U-Boat skipper Karl Topp then tried to sink the burning SPIND with a coup de grace, which was a dud. The escorting DD first approached the lifeboats to tell the survivors that they will be picked up later and went on to drop DCs, but U-552 managed to escape unharmed.

The SPIND was by now in a sinking condition, and was burning in the accommodations amidships and the bunker coal in the ´tween deck. The BOREAS tried to extinguish the fire before picking up the survivors. After a second attempt to extinguish the fire, the ship was shelled by the DD and sank within five minutes. All survivors were landed in Gibraltar on 25 August.


U-564 sank Flower Class Corvette HMS ZINNIA (K-98) (RN 940 grt) in the battle for Convoy OG-71. At 0525 hrs, U-564 fired three single torpedoes at ships in OG-71 about 80 miles WNW of Cabo Mondego, Portugal and claimed the sinking of two steamers and a corvette. However, only the loss of HMS ZINNIA was scored. 17 survivors were rescued by the corvettes HMS WALLFLOWER, HMS CAMPION and HMS CAMPANULA. One injured crewmen that was rescued died shortly after being picked up and another died in Gibraltar where the survivors were landed in the evening.

A rendered image of the HMS ZINNIA, produced by a modeller by the name of "Spiton"

UBOATS
Arrivals
Lorient: U-123, U-205

Departures
Kirkenes: U-752
Trondheim: U-570, U-652

At Sea 23 August 1941
U-38, U-43, U-46, U-69, U-71, U-73, U-75, U-77, U-82, U-83, U-84, U-95, U-96, U-101, U-105, U-106, U-108, U-111,U-124, U-125, U-126, U-129, U-141, U-143, U-145, U-201, U-202, U-206, U-451, U-452, U-501, U-552, U-553, U-557, U-561, U-563, U-564, U-567, U-568, U-569, U-570, U-571, U-652, U-751, U-752

45 Boats

OPERATIONS
North Sea
MSW SPEEDWELL was damaged in a collision with British steamer ST.JULIAN in the North Sea. The damage to the minesweeper was minor.

Northern Patrol
CAs DEVONSHIRE (SO Force M) and SUFFOLK, CV VICTORIOUS, and DDs INGLEFIELD, ECLIPSE, and ESCAPADE departed Scapa Flow as Force M.to operate in the northern waters in Archangel and Murmansk areas in Operations E. G. V. 1 and E. G. V. 2. An Albacore of 832 Sqn ditched off Cape Wrath. DD INGLEFIELD rescued the crew who were unhurt.

MLs SOUTHERN PRINCE, PORT QUEBEC, and ADVENTURE, escorted by DDs CASTLETON, NEWARK, and CHARLESTOWN, laid minefield SN.70A east of Iceland. The CA DEVONSHIRE force provided cover for this minelay as they proceeded on their operation.

West Coast
Convoy OS.4 departed Liverpool escorted by DDs CALDWELL, CASTLETON, VANOC, VOLUNTEER and WALKER. The DDs were detached on the 28th. Also departing with the convoy was FFL sloop CHEVREUIL which was detached on the 27th, special service vessel FIDELITY, which was detached on 2 September, escort vessels GORLESTON and LULWORTH, which were detached on 9 September, and AA ship PALMORES which as detached on the 28th. On the 31st, escort vessels SENNEN and TOTLAND joined the convoy and were detached on 9 September. On 9 September, DD VANSITTART joined the convoy and escorted it into Freetown arriving on 11 September.

Med/Biscay
Submarine TETRARCH sank steamer FRATELLI GARRE (FI 413 grt) twelve miles NW of Sirte and MV FRANCESCO GARRE (FI 395 grt) at one miles from Sirte.
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

DDs NAPIER and JACKAL departed Alexandria to intercept any supply ships attempting to enter Bardia. A merchant ship was sighted by submarine TALISMAN in 33-30N, 24-20E. No further contact was made. The ship turned northward to avoid the British ships and managed to escape. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 24th.

Steamer CONSTANZA (FI 582 grt) was sunk by British Blenheims from Malta south of Lampedusa.
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Central Atlantic
German raider ORION arrived at Bordeaux, escorted by submarines U.75 and U.205, after raiding in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The cruiser in her voyage had sunk 9.5 (some shared) for 57,744 tons. She shared seven kills with cruiser KOMET.

Malta
AIR RAIDS DAWN 23 AUGUST TO DAWN 24 AUGUST 1941
Weather Sunny and hot.

2354-0020 hrs Raid no 824 Air raid alert for two enemy aircraft which approach separately from the north. The first crosses the coast north east of Grand Harbour and large numbers of incendiary bombs on Corrodino. The second drops incendiaries north east of Ta Silch, on Safi and on St George's Barracks as well as in the sea. A line of fires extends from Grand Harbour to Luqa aerodrome but they quickly burn out. Five small incendiaries fall within Dockyard area; the resulting small fires are quickly extinguished and there is no appreciable damage. Two Hurricanes are scrambled but searchlights do not illuminate the raiders and there are no engagements.

OPERATIONS REPORTS SATURDAY 23 AUGUST 1941

ROYAL NAVY Unique returned from patrol northwest of Tripoli, having sunk 14,000 ton Esperia.

AIR HQ 69 Squadron Maryland patrols south of Pantellaria and around Lampedusa. 38 Squadron 10 Wellingtons sent in three waves to attack the north west of Tripoli, causing several fires. 105 Squadron 5 Blenheims sent to attack a convoy scoring hits on ships scores hits on several smaller vessels.

HAL FAR 830 Squadron Fleet Air Arm 5 Swordfish took off to attack a merchant ship off the Tunisian coast but all aircraft overheated and developed engine trouble and returned to base.

August 23 Saturday
ASIA: "Shokaku" arrived at Ariake, Tokyo, Japan and became the flagship of 1st Air Fleet of Carrier Division 5.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Whilst escorting convoy OG.71, Flower class corvette HMS "Zinnia" is torpedoed by U-564 West of Portugal. The corvette exploded after the torpedo struck and caused 49 casualties. SS "Spind" was damaged by U-564 in Convoy OG-71 and then sunk by U-552. U-143 sank SS "Inger". U-201 sank SS "Aldergrove" and SS "Stork" in Convoy OG-71.

EASTERN FRONT: Unternehmen Barbarossa: General Franz Halder convened with General Feld Marshal Fedor von Bock and Colonel General Heinz Guderian in Borisov (in Belorussia), and afterwards flew with Guderian to Adolf Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia. During the meeting, with neither Halder nor Brauchitsch present, Hitler allowed Guderian to make the case for driving on to Moscow. Guderian provided the Führer with a true picture of the state of his armor, two thirds of which was already out of action and was just beginning its rehabilitation. For example, since the beginning of the campaign, 2.Panzergruppe strength had dwindled from 988 to 494 tanks, and the quantity of trucks had fallen by about 50 percent in his armored (panzer and motorized) divisions and 25 percent in his infantry divisions. Guderian argued that Geyr's XXIV Motorized Corps, his only corps still in action, was in no condition to conduct the armored thrust Hitler was ordering, which extended a total of 200 kilometers south from Starodub, across the Desna River, and across the Kiev-Konotop railroad between Nezhin and Konotop. Although Geyr's corps was indeed closest to the OKW's desired objective, it was also Guderian's weakest corps in terms of its strength and combat readiness and effectiveness. Specifically, Geyr's corps retained only 15 percent of its tank strength (of roughly 250 tanks), 50 percent of its armored infantry, and, as was usually the case, 75 percent of its artillery strength. Therefore, on a good day, Geyr's corps could field a force of roughly 30-40 operational tanks, and its 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions, about 15-20 tanks each. Even the most optimistic estimates suggested Geyr's corps would require at least two weeks of rest and refitting in order to increase its strength to the 75 percent level across the board. Nor was Lemelsen's XXXXVII Motorized Corps in much better condition. Since it lacked 50 percent of its tanks (roughly 120), 35 percent of its armored infantry, and more than 10 percent of its artillery, it would also require two weeks to restore its combat effectiveness. Finally, even Vietinghoff's XXXXVI Motorized Corps, which was at about 75 percent of its required combat effectiveness, needed 10 days to rehabilitate its units and restore their effectiveness. In short, if the three corps were to restore their effectiveness, they would have to do so by relying on their own resources and ingenuity, since they would receive no new equipment. Hitler is unimpressed by the argument of Guderian, and rejected his advice and instead, he orders troops moved to the south. Hitler reiterated that once the flanks of Army Group Center were cleared, especially the salient in the south, then he would allow the army to resume its drive on Moscow, an offensive, he concluded, which "must not fail.". In point of fact Hitler had already issued the orders for the shift of Guderian's panzer group to the south. Guderian returned to his panzer group and began the southern thrust in an effort to encircle the Soviet forces in the salient. The bulk of 2.Panzergruppe and 2.Armee were detached from Army Group Centre and sent south. Its mission was to encircle the Southwestern Front, commanded by Budyonny, in conjunction with 1.Panzergruppe of Army Group South under Kleist, which was driving up from a southeasterly direction.

Heeresgruppe Nord: Voroshilov assigns the 48th Army to the Northern Front and ordered it to defend the approaches to Leningrad. General Alexander Novikov appointed to command air forces of Soviet Leningrad Front.

Heeresgruppe Mitte: After being seriously reinforced with replacements and new divisions, the Soviet 24th Army contained 10 divisions, including 2 tank and 1 motorized division (effectively an armoured corps), as well as no fewer than 21 corps and RVGK artillery units. This massive artillery force was going to pound an exposed salient only 20km wide at the neck and 32km deep! The new offensive was scheduled to commence on 30th August, planned to coordinate with the much larger Western and Briansk Front's offensives further north and south. Timoshenko was mandating and Khomenko and Konev were organizing a massive assault by the forces on 30th and 19th Armies' adjoining left and right wings. The front commander's hope was that, in three days of combat, the combined forces, reinforced by virtually all of their available tanks (roughly 30 in each army), could smash a hole through V and VIII Army Corps' defenses in the sectors of their seriously weakened 106th, 35th, and 5th Infantry Divisions. If they could do so from 29-31 August, then they were convinced the entire front could do the same on 1 September with reasonable expectations for success. Therefore, 30th and 19th Armies were, in reality, completing the first stage of Timoshenko's grand counteroffensive.

Heeresgruppe Süd: Soviet Transcaucasus Military District is redesignated Transcaucasus Front, commanded by General Kozlov with 44th Army, 45th Army, 46th Army, and 47th Army. District headquarters was subordinated to the front's military council and directed the formation of new units. The boundary of the Front extended along the border with Turkey and along the Black Sea coast from Batumi to Tuapse. It was commanded by Lieutenant-General Dmitri T. Kozlov. Also part of the District were three fortified regions and District troops, which included artillery and NKVD frontier units.

GERMANY: Ribbentrop concedes to the Japanese ambassador in Berlin that the war against the Soviet Union might last into 1942. Japanese Kwantung Army officials and senior Japanese Army officials decide to not fight the USSR.

MEDITERRANEAN: Italian troops from their 2nd Army begin relieving German forces from their garrison duties in Yugoslavia. The Germans thus relieved are earmarked to make up for the massive losses in Russia.

Operation Mincemeat: Italian fleet begins searching unsuccessfully for RN Force H. RN submarine P-33 sunk by Italian torpedo boat "Partenope" off Pantelleria. Italian vessels "Fratelli Garre" and "Francesco Garre" were sunk by RN submarine "Tetrarch".

NORTHERN FRONT: The Finnish reconquest of Ladoga Karelia was completed. Finnish Army of Karelia isolates elements of Soviet 23rd Army around Viipuri.

UNITED KINGDOM: Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King made a speech to 10,000 Canadian troops in Aldershot, England. Some of the soldiers, tired of endless training exercises and anxious to see some action, booed and heckled the Prime Minister.

Towards evening, six Luftwaffe aircraft were engaged on a search for a convoy believed to have been off the Northumberland coast. A Heinkel He 111H-5 (3691) from Stab./KG 26 was hit by fire from a destroyer and crashed into the sea. Hptm G. Wilhelm, Dep Staffelkapitän, Uffz H. Hilpert, Uffz O. Seidel and Obergefr F. Schmidt picked up in a dinghy after twenty minutes and taken prisoner. Aircraft 1H+EA sank in sea.

WESTERN FRONT: Vichy French officials begin a concerted campaign to crack down on anti-Nazi activities. General Schaumburg as Kommandant von Gross-Paris announces:

"...all Frenchmen taken into custody, either by the German authorities in France or on orders originating with them, will be regarded as hostages. Should any further criminal action occur, hostages will be shot in a number corresponding to the seriousness of that action."

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Marshal Pétain established Vichy military courts with the authority to impose the death penalty for acts of terrorism and sabotage. He decrees death by guillotine for terrorist attacks.

The German merchant cruiser "Orion" returns from its cruise and arrives in the Gironde Estuary. The cruise has lasted 510 days and six ships of 39,000 tons have been sunk, as well as seven more in company with the raider "Komet". This 235,828-kilometer voyage would prove to be "Orion's" only war time mission. On 4 May 1945, en route to Copenhagen, Denmark, she was hit by bombs off Swinemünde (now Swinoujscie, Poland) and sank, killing all but 150 of her over 4,000 passengers.

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