World War II in real time

Day 533 of World War II, February 14th 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign

The Italians attack on the Skutara line near a height designated Height 504 in the coastal sector west of Klisura Pass. The Greek 6th Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Ioannis Theodorou, fights savagely to maintain their position. The Greeks succeed but suffer 109 killed and wounded. The RAF chips in with attacks in the area.

Battle of the Mediterranean

At Malta, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88s drop the first land mines on the island. They damage homes in Valletta and Senglea, as well as other scattered locations such as St Elmo, Fort Leonardo, the Dockyard and Tigne areas, as well as in St Thomas’ Bay. These types of bombs, which cause devastation over wide areas, are common in England, but this is a first for the Mediterranean. There are five civilian deaths and twenty injuries. The parachute mines hit various structures, including a primary school, barracks, and other areas, and flatten wide areas. The Luftwaffe also drops anti-personnel mines on the beaches of Mellieha.

Convoy AN 15 departs from Port Said bound for Suda Bay, Convoy AC 1 departs from Alexandria bound for Benghazi

North Africa Campaign

The newly arrived German forces led by Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel, are supplemented with Bf 110s of III./ZG 26. This is in addition to a few Ju 87 Stukas, Hs 123 recon planes and Fieseler Storches. Rommel begins planning an attack against the British to relieve the Italians. The second convoy of German troops arrived at Tripoli, Libya, which included the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and the 39th Anti-Tank Battalion. Lead elements of three Italian divisions leave Tripoli, heading toward Sirte. Leading elements of the German 5th Light Division are immediately moved up to Sirte to take up defensive positions.

General Erwin Rommel only has a small group of troops in Tripoli, but he sees opportunity in the British over-extension past Benghazi. He does not know it, but he is getting helped by the British decision to redirect their major effort toward Greece.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Rover torpedoes and damages 6161-ton Italian tanker Cesco off Calabria. Tankers are very tough to sink by torpedo due to their compartmentalized construction, so Cesco makes it back to port.

East African Campaign

The withdrawal of the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade and Gazelle Force was completed by 0100 hours on 14 February without any loss. Both concentrated in the area of kilometre 110. At 1500 hours Cubcol made contact with the Italians two miles north of Cam Ceua. The road was heavily mined and Cubcol was held up. South African 2nd Infantry Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade begin advancing on Mega overnight while Indian 7th Infantry Brigade enters Mersa Dersa on the Red Sea coast.

The Free French land at Port Sudan, Sudan. This is the 14th Demi-Brigade de Marche de la Légion Étrangère under the command of Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey.

Battle of the Atlantic

Today is a rare day, as four German heavy cruisers at sea have news. It is unusual for the Kriegsmarine to maintain that many warships in the Atlantic, and if operating together they could be a formidable force. This, however, never happens.

German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper makes port at Brest (some sources place this on the 15th). It sank 8 ships during its 140-day cruise, a small return for the effort expended - but expanded by the effect it has had on the Royal Navy. Things have changed at Brest, and it is no longer as secure for warships as it had been in the past. Admiral Hipper draws a lot of RAF attention there.

German cruiser Admiral Scheer meets supply ship Tannenfels and raider Atlantis, which has with it a captured tanker, Ketty Brøvig. Scheer refuels from the tanker and the two ships exchange supplies.

German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst meet German tankers Schlettstadt and Esso Hamburg in the North Atlantic to refuel. The ships, south of Greenland, are biding their time before attacking the convoys passing just to the south.

German raider Thor, operating in the South Atlantic, meets up with supply ships Eurofeld and Alsterufer.

U-101 or U-123 torpedoes and sinks 5462-ton British freighter Holystone in the mid-Atlantic. Holystone had been in Convoy OB-284, which had been dispersed. All 40 men on board perish. Since there are no survivors, the cause of the sinking is debated. Among the candidates for this sinking are U-101, U-123 and Italian submarine Bianchi, all operating in the same area. If this is the ship attacked by U-123, then Kptlt. Moehle uses six torpedoes to sink the freighter. The first five torpedoes miss. The actual sinking is during the first minutes of the 15th. The ship explodes in a massive explosion caused by a detonation of ammunition or explosives carried within the ship.

Italian submarine Bianchi happens upon a straggler from Convoy SC 21 in the mid-Atlantic south of Iceland. It torpedoes and sinks 4517-ton British freighter Belcrest. All 36 men on board perish.

Royal Navy torpedo boat MTB 41 hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. There are two deaths.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40) bombs and sinks 616-ton British freighter Elisabeth Marie in the Northwest Approaches. There is one death, the rest of the 25-man crew is picked up by destroyer HMCS Ottawa.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 420-ton British freighter Moorlands just off Sands End Bay near Banff. The ship makes it to Buckie Harbour.

The Luftwaffe attacks Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent in the Northwest Approaches. The destroyer is lightly damaged but remains in service.

The Luftwaffe also bombs minelayer HMS Teviotbank off Flamborough Head. The minelayer proceeds to the Humber for repairs lasting about a month.

Convoy SLG 1A departs from Gibraltar. It includes two troopships.

US destroyer USS Grayson is commissioned; and USS Woolsey is launched.

Air War over Europe

During the day, the RAF sends Rhubarb sweeps over the German invasion ports. RAF Bomber Command sends 44 bombers against the Gelsenkirchen oil installations (a favored target) and a similar number to attack Homberg oil installations.

The Luftwaffe sends lone raiders across to bomb Northeast Scotland and Kent. It also mounts fighter sweeps over southern England. There is another raid on London after dark, but it causes little damage.

German/Yugoslavian Relations

Hitler pressured Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact. Hitler met with the Yugloslavian Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković at the Berghof, but was unable to convince Cvetković to sign on to the Tripartite Pact. They still refuse to commit their country, in the hope that Hitler will soon be preoccupied with relations with the Soviet Union and that they can get aid from Britain and the USA. US President Roosevelt sends a message to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia warning against cooperation with the Axis.

US/Japanese Relations

New Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura presents his credentials to President Roosevelt at the White House. President Roosevelt comments, in a classic understatement, "there are developments in the relations between the United States and Japan which cause concern." He specifically mentions the "movements of Japan southward down to Indochina and the Spratly Islands and other localities in that area."

Nomura, unlike his masters in Tokyo, actually wants to find some way to avoid a war. He promises to do what he can. However, both sides expect the other to grant concessions, and nobody is interested in doing that.

US diplomat Eugene Dooman, the US embassy counselor in Tokyo, submits a message from President Roosevelt to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The message, more an ultimatum than anything else, warns the Japanese that the US is helping Great Britain and would not tolerate any interference with British Asian possessions. The bottom line, the message states, is:

it was quite possible to pass over the present critical period without war, but that one essential condition to this more or less happy issue out of our difficulties must be the realization on the part of the Japanese that they cannot substantially alter the status quo in Southeast Asia, particularly, without incurring the risk of creating a very serious situation.

British/Romanian Relations

The British Foreign Office officially breaks relations with Romania. It announces that Romania is "territory under enemy occupation" (which is not the case) and that Great Britain would deem Romania an "enemy destination for contraband purposes." This is a poignant moment because Romania during the 1930s relied greatly on British guarantees of protection.

Singapore/Australian Relations

British Commander-in-chief of the Far East Command Robert Brooke-Popham visits Australia (which is not part of his command). He meets with the Australian War Cabinet. Brooke-Popham gives an optimistic review of the state of British defenses in his realm, saying that Singapore is unlikely to be attacked from the landward side and that it could hold out for six to nine months if attacked.

Anglo/Polish Relations

The RAF drops supplies to the Polish underground for the first time during the war.

US Military

USN/USMC Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 7 at Culebra/Vieques concludes.

The US Army contracts with the Glenn L. Martin Company for the construction and operation of the Fort Crook Plant, Sarpy County, Nebraska. This plant is intended to assemble the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. The construction order will be sent tomorrow. In all, there will be nine primary buildings, including a 600x900 foot two-story manufacturing and assembly building (some of the plane parts are prefabricated by other companies and simply assembled here). The location was chosen because it was over 200 miles from a coast, as required by the government, and near the city of Omaha.

British Military

General Percy Hobart is appointed commander of the 11th Armoured Division.

British Government

Winston Churchill continues his attention to the WS7 (Winston Special Convoy) now being assembled at Plymouth. As he states in a memo to Sir Andrew Duncan, he remains opposed to sending any but front-line troops on the convoy, preferring to send "a complete infantry division" even though that means "displacing others." He asks Duncan to find seven more transport ships for the convoy. Churchill is determined to improve the "tooth to tail" ratio in the Middle East Command and sees little need for service troops when there is fighting to be done.

Vichy France Government

Admiral Darlan adds Interior Minister to his other government posts.

Day 535 of World War II, February 16th 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign

Fierce fighting continues on the Trebeshina massif, the gateway to the vital Italian port of Valona. The Greeks, led by the 5th Cretan Division of III Corps, are making ground but taking huge numbers of casualties from the Italian 11th Army (which also is suffering). The Greeks have been trying to move past the Klisura Pass area for a solid month, but for the first time in the war, Italian troops are providing effective resistance.

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Luftwaffe sends eleven air raids against Malta in 24 hours. Many of the raids are to lay mines, and the raids are usually by single or duo bombers. One raid on Luqa airfield by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas of 7,/JG 26 results in escort fighters shooting down three RAF Hurricanes. Governor Dobbie sends a telegram to the War Office stating:

The proposed establishment of anti-aircraft batteries in Malta is utterly inadequate. Raids are now frequent throughout the 24 hours and personnel have been standing to for long hours continuously day and night. With normal sick wastage in other ranks there are no reliefs, and the officer establishment allows no reliefs even with none on sick leave. Unless an adequate establishment is allowed to Malta, it will be necessary to put 25 per cent of guns out of action for resting.

A Fairey Swordfish of RAF No. 830 Squadron, based on Malta since the bombing of HMS Illustrious, torpedoes and sinks 4957-ton Italian freighter Juventus east of Monastir, Tunisia (northeast of Kuriat Island).

The British are still evacuating Italian POWs from Tobruk. Armed boarding vessel HMS Fiona takes 417 prisoners from there to Alexandria.

North Africa Campaign

French Colonel Philippe Leclerc has been consolidating his position in southwest Libya ever since the destruction of his attached Long Range Desert Group forces on January 31st. Leclerc leaves behind two armored cars (but keeps an artillery piece) and takes 350 men to capture Kufra (more men set out, but several trucks break down and they must be left behind). The Italians receive word that the French are approaching and form a blocking force, 70 men of the Saharan company. The stage is set for a major battle outside Kufra.

East African Campaign

The British 1st South African Brigade is trying to break out across the river to the coast and ultimately take Mogadishu.

South African aircraft dive-bomb Italian positions on East bank of river Juba, in Southern Italian Somaliland. German Junkers Ju 86 Z-7 ex-passenger planes were used by the 11th and 12th squadrons of the South African Air Force (SAAF) as bombers in East Africa.

Photo: Junkers Ju.86K ZS-ANI in SAAF service, still retaining the ANI part of the registration.



The Royal Navy is able to bring troops to Eritrea in the Mersa Teclai inlet. The Free French Brigade d'Orient begins arriving there. In Abyssinia, the South African 5th Infantry Brigade attacks Mega.

Battle of the Atlantic

German heavy cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst remain stationary in the North Atlantic south of Greenland. They have been refueling from tankers Esso Hamburg and Schlettstadt. Admiral Lütjens in command of Operation Berlin is contemplating his next move while the Allied navies have no idea where his two ships are - or even whether they are at sea.

Coastal Command Western Approaches completes its move from Plymouth north to Derby House, Liverpool. It is under the command of Admiral Sir Percy Noble. It is supported by RAF No. 15 Group, while a new group, No. 19, takes over the Plymouth command.

Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Repulse leaves Scapa Flow for a refit at Rosyth. Many British warships are taking advantage of the latter part of winter to undergo maintenance there, including destroyer HMS Escapade.

Photo: HMS Repulse, July 1938 in Haifa.



The Luftwaffe bombs Chatham, site of Royal Navy repair facilities. The Germans damage light cruiser HMS Neptune, already in the repair dock to address some earlier damage.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 250-ton minesweeping trawler HMT Ormonde off Peterhead off the east coast of Scotland. There are 20 deaths, including skipper W.T. Coull, RNR.

The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors) bombs and sinks 340-ton British trawler Naniwa in the Atlantic west of Dunquin, Ireland. There are five deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 3000-ton British transport Coryton northeast of the Farne Islands. The ship is holed, but the Captain (Josiah Evans) manages with great skill to beach the ship in Budle Bay. At first, the crew refuses to abandon the ship, but the weather turns bad. Captain Evans orders the 39 crew ashore but remains aboard (if the ship is abandoned, it becomes prey for salvagers). During the night, the storm wrecks the ship and kills Captain Evans, who washes ashore.

British 4670 ton tanker Empire Otter hits a mine and sinks off Hartland Point, Devon. Everybody survives. The Bristol Channel has claimed numerous ships to mines in the past month.

British 276 ton trawler Thomas Deas hits a mine and sinks a few miles from Spurn Point, Yorkshire. Everybody perishes.

Australian auxiliary minesweeper HMAT Southsea hits a mine and is badly damaged in the Tyne. The crew beaches it, but it is written off. There are seven deaths.

British 1514 ton freighter Varna, damaged by the Luftwaffe off the coast of Portugal on the 9th and left a flaming derelict, finally sinks after drifting further north and west.

Convoy OB 287 departs from Liverpool.

U-261 is launched.

Air War over Europe

The Luftwaffe attacks Seaham Harbour with high explosive bombs, destroying four houses and causing other damage. The railway bridge across Lord Street is wrecked, blocking the road, and a subway shelter caves in. There are four deaths. The Germans also dropped some bombs on London and nearby areas by individual bombers during the day. They lose a bomber at Shoreham.

RAF Bomber Command makes daylight attacks on some of the invasion ports such as Zeebrugge, Middleburg and Den Helder.

Battle of the Indian Ocean

German raider Komet heads south into the Antarctic, searching for whaling vessels.

Troop carrier Queen Mary splits off from Convoy US 9 and heads for Singapore.

The Royal Navy continues mining the waters around Singapore.

Turkish/Bulgarian Relations

The two countries conclude a nonaggression pact. Both Hitler and Churchill feel that Turkey is the balance of power in the region, but it remains steadfastly neutral.

British Military

General O'Connor, commander of XIII Corps, is appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief the British Troops in Egypt. XIII Corps is being effectively disbanded since Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell intends to send its troops to Greece. This is being done at the very time when the Germans are landing troops in Tripolitania to form the Afrika Korps.

Day 537 of World War II, February 18th 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign

There is little ground fighting aside from artillery barrages.

The RAF raids Italian airfields in the Dodecanese Islands.

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. The first operation was quite successful, and so is this one. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is ready to pass the canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet, but this keeps it in the Red Sea.

In Malta, the Admiralty declares a wide zone between North Africa, Italy, and Sardinia an area where surface vessels can be attacked on sight. This greatly expands the area from the original unrestricted warfare zone in the Adriatic.

North Africa Campaign

General Rommel's forces in Tripolitania pursuant to Operation Sunflower receive their new title: Afrika Korps. General Rommel formally organizes the 5th Light Division in Tripolitania. Already his forces have encountered advance British forces at Sirte, but the British have stopped advancing.

The Italian air force stages a massive raid against Benghazi. Combined with other recent raids to mine the harbor, this compels the British to close the port and rely upon Tobruk and other ports further east. Since the British are not advancing any more, this is not a major problem.

In any event, the British are looking east, not west. British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell briefs General Thomas Blamey, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, on his plans for Greece. Wavell is planning to send 2nd New Zealand Division, the 1st Armored Brigade, the Independent Polish Brigade, and the 6th and 7th Australian Divisions, all commanded by the 1st Australian Corps. This is to be called "Lustre Force."

Wavell tells Blamey that he already has talked to Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies about this - which, if so, Menzies only refers to obliquely in his voluminous diary (and he has quite a bit to say about it when he finally reaches London later in February). They did indeed talk recently in Cairo, though whether or not Wavell told Menzies about the extent of this operation is unknown. Menzies might choose not to discuss the issue in his diary for security concerns (though he talks about everything else), so its absence there is not determinative. However, just how honest Wavell is being when he implies the Australian government is already solidly behind this plan remains somewhat murky.

New Zealand Major General Bernard Freyberg already has been briefed about this Lustre Force operation, and much later comments:

There was no question of our being asked if we agreed. We attended and were given instructions to get ready to go … At that meeting my opinion was never asked. I was told the bare facts … In any case I never expected to be asked my opinion by the Commander-in-Chief [Wavell]. He was far from co-operative. He had the secrecy mania.

The Free French under Colonel Leclerc in southwest Libya continue investing the fortress at Kufra. The fortress of El Tag is well-defended with hundreds of soldiers, but the reserve captain commanding the Italian troops is unprepared. The French have the advantage of a 75 mm field gun which is firing away from 3 km away, as well as mortars sited 1.5 km away.

East African Campaign

In Abyssinia, the South African forces from Kenya have been advancing on Mega for some time. Today, they quickly take it, netting about a thousand prisoners. This opens the main road to Addis Ababa. On the Juba River line, the Italians counterattack the South African 1st Infantry Brigade.

Photo: Mega Fort, prior to the attack. 1941



Battle of the Atlantic

Admiral Lütjens, commanding Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, searches today for eastbound Convoy HX 111 in the shipping lanes. He is ready for action but finds nothing. He intends to keep searching tomorrow.

U-96 is having a successful third patrol out of Lorient. at 02:27, it puts a torpedo into 5589-ton British freighter Black Osprey, a straggler from Convoy HX 107. When the ship doesn't sink immediately, Lehmann-Willenbrock puts a second torpedo into it and it sinks at 02:39. That does the trick. Despite being in a convoy, due to the poor weather, there are only 11 survivors while 26 men perish. Many of the survivors are half-dead from exposure when found by Norwegian freighter Mosdale after being adrift for only 53 hours.

U-103 also is having a successful patrol. It torpedoes and sinks 5459-ton British freighter Seaforth. All 59 men on board perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks and damages 10,354-ton Dutch tanker Taria in the Northwest Approaches. The tanker makes it to Rothesay Bay.

The 8651-ton refrigerated cargo ship Duquesa (renamed Herzogin upon capture by the Germans), known to the Kriegsmarine as a "floating delicatessen" due to its extensive supplies of fresh meat and dairy products, is scuttled in the south Atlantic by supply ship Nordmark. This is due to no more fuel being available to maintain its refrigeration systems.

Vichy French 286-ton auxiliary minesweeper Marie Gilberte (AD 158) is lost this date from unknown causes.

In Convoy SC 21, British 4297-ton steel/vehicles freighter Middleton collides with Norwegian freighter Tungsha. The Middleton gets the worse of the encounter and sinks, but the crew survives.

Convoy OB 288 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC 23 departs from Halifax, convoy SL 66 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Gurkha and corvette HMS Veronica (K 37) are commissioned.

U-203 is commissioned, U-502 is launched.

Photo: commissioning of U 203, Krupp-Germaniawerft, Kiel



Air War over Europe

Activity is light today again due to the continuing poor weather. A few Luftwaffe planes drop a few bombs and strafe a train in East Anglia.

RAF Bomber Command bombed Basel, Switzerland on December 16th 1940, killing four women. It also bombed Zurich on 22 December, killing 22 people. Today, the British ambassador delivers a note to the Swiss Federal Council in Bern expressing "deep regret" for these attacks and agreeing to pay for damages. Later scholarship suggests that at least the first bombing wasn't quite as accidental as the British pretended at the time; they were targeting a ball-bearing factory in Basel which was suspected of supplying the German war machine. As with many aerial attacks of the time, the bombers completely missed the factory and hit a residential area instead.

Battle of the Pacific

Thousands of Australian troops arrive at Singapore aboard the Queen Mary. The men are from General Gordon Bennett's Australian 8th Infantry Division, including parts of the 22nd Infantry Brigade (2/18th, 2/19th, and 2/20th Battalions).

Norwegian/Finnish Relations

Oberst Erich Buschenhagen, Norwegian military Chief of Staff, visits Finland for consultations. The two countries share a border in the far north and thus have mutual defense issues. However, the real purpose of the talks is to probe Finnish willingness to join Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union.

German Military

Adolf Hitler calls a meeting at the Berghof relating to tank designs in the Panzerwaffe (armored forces). He asks the Generals and industry men there to up-gun the Mark III and Mark IV tanks - the main battle tanks of the Wehrmacht, the Panzer I and II now being considered obsolete. Specifically, he wants a 60 mm gun in the Panzer III and a 75 mm gun in the Panzer IV. The tank designers object. General Keitel also objects that the project would require 20,000 skilled workers that are not available. Hitler brooks no objections, however, and tells everyone to get moving on the project, find men for the work and train them. This is a critical decision that dramatically improves the Wehrmacht's prospects in Operation Barbarossa.

US Military

The US Coast Guard Reserve is established.

Rear Admiral William P. Blandy becomes Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

US Government

Averill Harriman becomes President Roosevelt's latest choice to be his special representative in London.

Day 539 of World War II, February 20th 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign

The situation remains stable in Greece, with neither side making much progress. However, the British military mission in Athens chooses to see the glass as half full. It sends a telegram to the War Office in Whitehall that is full of optimism:

All Italian counter-attacks have been repulsed. Today concentric Greek attacks are to take place southwards and westwards with a view to clearing up Southern portion of Shennell ridge north-east of Tepelene. If these succeed Tepelene should fall and second-phase operation will include operations towards Berat and also between Tepelene and the sea.

The report does note that the 5th Cretan Division has incurred "about 3000 casualties... many with frostbite." In fact, the division has suffered horribly, over 5000 casualties, both from the weather and fierce Italian resistance near Tepelene. When one reads reports such as this, a natural conclusion is that the military observers know that Prime Minister Churchill is bent on sending troops to Greece, so they are painting a rosy picture to support or buttress that decision that may not exactly comport with the actual fighting.

The Germans make an offer to mediate in the Greco-Italian war. Greece immediately rejects it.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent attacks a convoy of transports bringing the Afrika Korps to Tripoli. It torpedoes 5609-ton transport Menes. Menes is disabled and taken in tow, making it to Tripoli later in the day. Italian escort destroyer Saetta attacks Regent and damages it, forcing it to return to Malta.

Operation MC 8, a typically convoluted supply operation to Malta, continues. Several ships depart from Malta for Alexandria. The Luftwaffe quickly attacks them but fails to make any significant hits.

Royal Navy 462-ton trawler HMS Ouse hits a mine and sinks at Tobruk. There are 12 deaths and nine survivors, including the commander, Sub Lt. W.V. Fitzmaurice.

Convoy AS 15 departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria and Port Said, Convoy BS 16 departs from Suez.

North Africa Campaign

There is a minor skirmish between advance units of General Rommel's Afrika Korps and British troops of XIII Corps in the vicinity of El Agheila.

The Free French under Colonel Leclerc continues to invest the El Tag fortress at Kufra. The French are pounding the well-garrisoned Italian base with a 75mm field gun and several mortars. So far, the Italian troops have held firm, but their commander is very unsure of himself and looking for a way out.

Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) Sir John Dill, who is in Cairo with Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, pays a surprise (and surreptitious) visit to Malta with Eden. The two discuss the situation with Governor Dobbie, tour the island's defenses, then return to Cairo on a Sunderland flying boat.

East African Campaign

The South African assault across the Juba River near Jumbo continues today. At 06:30, the Natal Carbineers head across the pontoon bridge under fire. Some troops head north to cut the road north of Jumbo that the Italians could use to escape, while the Transvaal Scottish heads directly toward the town.

The Italians, as so often during the campaign, are abandoning their positions. By 10:30, the remaining troops in Jumbo - not many - surrender. Lieutenant-Colonel G.T. Senescall accepts the capitulation, and the British take 30 officers, 100 other Italian troops and an unknown number of native troops. The South Africans then quickly head for Yonte, making 14 miles in armored cars before coming under fire. They plan an attack on the Italians in the morning.

A separate advance across the Juba River also takes place. The 11th African Division and 22nd East African Brigade, supported by armored cars and South African light tanks, force a crossing at 04:00 near Bardera. This puts them within striking distance of Mogadishu.

The Italians in Massawa, Eritrea see the writing on the wall regarding the advancing British, just as other ships did at Kismayu earlier in the month. Four ships attempt to break out into the Indian Ocean. Italian armed merchant cruisers Ramb I and Ramb II set a course for the Pacific and elude all British patrols, while Italian sloop Eritrea and German supply ship Coburg also make good their escape.

Photo: Ramb II in Adriatic (August 1937).



Battle of the Atlantic

The Luftwaffe is very active against shipping today. It causes havoc in the Northwest Approaches and elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Admiralty is worried about German surface raiders and is implementing - or re-implementing - a policy of including submarines as escorts. Today, the first convoy, HG 54, includes a submarine escort, HMS Tuna.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1278-ton British freighter Rigmor south of Falmouth. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages minesweeper HMS Bramble off Harwich. The damage is light and the ship is back in service by the end of the month.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 162-ton British trawler Scarborough In the Atlantic west of Limerick. The bomb knocks out its engines, but it is towed into port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 7138-ton British tanker British Splendor just off Lizard. The British Splendor makes it back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4312-ton British freighter St. Rosario in the Atlantic northwest of Ireland. The ship turns back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1997-ton British freighter Rosenborg in the same area as the St. Rosario. The St. Rosario also turns back and barely makes it to the Clyde.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 12,223-ton British tanker D.L. Harper in the Atlantic northwest of Ireland. The empty tanker continues on to Halifax.

British 5261-ton iron ore freighter Fort Médine hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel near Swansea (off Mumbles Head). There are one death and 46 survivors.

Royal Navy 244-ton minesweeping trawler Marjory M. Hastie hits a mine off the Tyne. The captain quickly beaches the ship at Whitburn. It later is refloated and repaired.

Three destroyers, escorted by four other destroyers, lay minefield GS in the English Channel.

Convoy OB 289 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 54 departs from Gibraltar,

U-558 is commissioned, U-128, U-565, and U-566 are launched.

Air War over Europe

The Luftwaffe's Three Nights Blitz continues in Swansea. The attacks are focusing on the heart of the city - there is no subtlety to these attacks. Most of the damage is done by high explosives, as the British are getting better at putting out incendiaries. During the day, there are the usual random bombs dropped in East Anglia.

RAF Bomber Command attacks the docks at Ymuiden, Holland during the day and does a Rhubarb Mission over France after dark.

The Bristol Beaufighter holds high promise, and the Air Ministry has dispersed its production to several different companies. The first Beaufighter Mk I built by Fairey flew on 7 February 1941, and today the first Weston-built Beaufighter Mk IF (F meaning it is destined for Fighter Command) flies at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. These Beaufighters all use the Hercules engine, but shortages of this engine are anticipated, so Merlin engines will be adopted in future versions.

JG 51 Kommodore Mölders, after a long interval, gets two more victories, giving him 58 total to lead the war. This keeps him ahead of Adolf Galland.

Hans-Joachim Marseille of JG 27 returns to his unit at Berck-sur-Mer from leave. The unit soon will be heading to the East to support Operation Marita.

Luftwaffe ace Heinz Pohland of Stab LG 2 perishes in a flying accident.

Battle of the Indian Ocean

The Admiralty is right to be concerned about the German warships, a point proven by heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer. While it has been fairly quiet, Admiral Scheer has been on an extended cruise in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, defying Admiralty attempts to locate it. Today, operating west of Seychelles, it uses its Arado 196 floatplanes to locate and capture two ships: 6994-ton British tanker British Advocate and 2546 ton Greek freighter Grigorios C II. Admiral Scheer keeps the tanker, but sinks the freighter and takes its 27 men prisoner. A third freighter, 7178 freighter Canadian Cruiser, is also in the vicinity and spots Admiral Scheer, sending a distress call to the Admiralty.

Convoy BA 1 departs from Bombay, bound for Aden.

Anglo/US Relations

Prime Minister Winston Churchill telegrams President Roosevelt with information about Japanese Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka. Churchill has been a font of information recently about Japanese plans without disclosing the source of his knowledge: decrypts of coded Japanese transmissions:

I have better news about Japan. Apparently Matsuoka is visiting Berlin, Rome and Moscow in the near future. This may well be a diplomatic sop to cover absence of action against Great Britain. If Japanese attack which seemed imminent is now postponed, this is largely due to fears of United States. The more these fears can be played upon the better....

Churchill is painting quite a melodramatic picture. There is no indication that the Japanese are planning an attack in early 1941 aside from idle speculation. He is achieving his purpose, though, of keeping Roosevelt focused on potential war danger to the United States and thereby putting England and the US "in the same boat" - if only in Churchill's (and Roosevelt's) mind. The lingering danger for the United States, of course, is quite real - but not quite yet.

At the War Cabinet meeting, Churchill reveals that he had received a personal telegram from Ambassador to the US Lord Halifax. The ambassador recommended that Great Britain simply hand over its remaining assets to the United States and trust that the Lend-Lease Bill would pass and the US would underwrite the British war effort. The only issue left - as noted by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kingsley Wood - is to provide an orderly liquidation of whatever money the country has left.

US/Japanese Relations

Financial attaché of the Japanese embassy in Washington D.C. Nishiyama Tsutomo makes a concrete proposal to the Roosevelt administration to avoid conflict. In effect, he asks that the US allow Japan to take over the Dutch East Indies - with all of its oil - so that the two countries can have a "commercial understanding." Roosevelt, of course, is using oil as an economic weapon against Japan and refuses. Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Cordell Hull to warn the Japanese discretely that if they so much as look at the Dutch East Indies, there will be war. In fact, any Japanese move south of China - which includes Taiwan and Indochina - would be a big no-no. Basically, Roosevelt draws a line in the South China Sea and warns the Japanese not to cross it.

And we all know it is going to gett more bloodier as the Germans increase production of U-boats.

Here is the list from 1935 to February 20th 1941, you can clearly see the production of U-boats increasing:

July 20th 1934: 6 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

December 17th 1934: 2 U-boats ordered (Type IA).

February 2nd 1935: 18 U-boats ordered (Type IIA and Type IIB).

March 25th 1935: 4 U-boats ordered (Type VIIA).

April 1st 1935: 6 U-boats ordered (Type VIIA).

July 29th 1936: 4 U-boats ordered (Type IX).

November 21st 1936: 11 U-boats ordered (Type VIIB and Type IX).

May 15th 1937: 2 U-boats ordered (Type VIIB).

June 17th 1937: 4  U-boats ordered (Type IIC).

July 16th 1937: 4  U-boats ordered (Type IXB).

July 21st 1937: 4  U-boats ordered (Type IIC).

September 28th 1937: 2 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

December 15th 1937: 7 U-boats ordered (Type VIIB and Type IXB).

May 24th 1938: 8 U-boats ordered (Type IXB).

May 30th 1938: 8 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

June 2nd 1938: 4 U-boats ordered (Type VIIB).

June 9th 1938: 5  U-boats ordered (Type VIIB).

January 17th 1939: 4  U-boats ordered (Type XIB U-Cruiser).

January 25th 1939: 13  U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

January 31st 1939: 3  U-boats ordered (Type XB Minelayer).

August 7th 1939: 16 U-boats ordered (Type IXC, Type VIIC and Type XB Minelayer).

August 8th 1939: 1 U-boat ordered (Type IXB).

INVASION OF POLAND

September 23rd 1939: 25 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

September 25th 1939: 42 U-boats ordered (Type IID).

October 9th 1939: 34 U-boats ordered (Type IXC).

October 16th 1939: 28 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

October 20th 1939: 6 U-boats ordered (Type IXC).

October 24th 1939: 12 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

October 26th 1939: 4 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

October 30th 1939: 8 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

December 23rd 1939: 14 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

January 5th 1940: 4 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

January 8th 1940: 12 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

January 16th 1940: 16 U-boats ordered (Type IIB).

January 20th 1940: 1 U-boat ordered (Type VIIC).

February 14th 1940: 12 U-boats ordered (Type IXC).

February 16th 1940: 6 U-boats ordered (Type VIID Minelayer).

FALL OF FRANCE

August 6th 1940: 12 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC and XB Minelayer).

August 15th 1940: 88 U-boats ordered (Type IXC/40, Type IXD2 and Type VIIC).

November 4th 1940: 12 U-boats ordered (Type IXC/40, Type IXD1 and Type IXD2).

November 21st 1940: 18 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

December 7th 1940: 20 U-boats ordered (Type IXC/40, Type VIIC and Type XB Minelayer).

December 17th 1940: 2 U-boats ordered (Type VIIC).

January 20th 1941: 75 U-boats ordered (Type IXC/40, Type IXD2 and Type VIIC).

Day 541 of World War II, February 22nd 1941

YouTube (The British Will Walk 500 Miles, and They Will Walk 500 more)



Italian/Greek Campaign

British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS Sir John Dill move on from Cairo to Athens today, having also made a top-secret visit to Malta as well. Accompanying them are Mediterranean Royal Navy commander Admiral Cunningham and Air Marshal Longmore. They meet with King George II, Commander in chief Alexander Papagos and the government, who continue the Metaxas position that insufficient British troops would be worse than none at all. The two sides also disagree on proper strategy, with the Greeks wishing to defend the fortified Metaxas line at the frontier and the British preferring a line further back. However, ultimately the British convince the Greeks to accept a British expeditionary force.

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Admiralty realized on the 21st that the Luftwaffe was beginning to pose too great a risk to shipping, so it withdrew all of its ships from Benghazi Harbor - except for one. Monitor HMS Terror, which has been providing sterling service throughout the campaign by bombarding Italian fortifications, stayed in the harbor overnight to provide anti-aircraft support (experience in Norway should have proven that ships providing antiaircraft support are themselves vulnerable). Today, overwhelmed by the Luftwaffe attacks, Terror makes a run for Tobruk. The monitor finally runs out of luck when the Luftwaffe spots it running along the coast and attacks. Bombs cause the monitor to lose power, and the crew abandons ship. It is disabled and bombed again on the 23rd. The British finally get tired waiting for it sink on the 24th and fire some depth charges at it, sinking it. All 204 crew survive, quite a lucky outcome.

At Tobruk, the confusion continues in the port. Several ships have hit mines in the harbor, which supposedly has been swept clean. Today, Royal Navy anti-submarine whaler Southern Seas collides with a lighter and suffers damage.

HMS Upright torpedoes and sinks 2365 ton Italian freighter Silvia Tripcovich off Kuriat Island.

Photo: HMS Upright, 2nd from left, with other submarines of the Flotilla alongside the parent ship in Holy Loch. P 43 and possibly P 23 also visible.



Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent fires at Italian shipping off Tripoli but misses.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. Previous minings have been extremely successful at disrupting traffic through the canal.

North Africa Campaign

The Free French continue shelling the Italian El Tag fortress at Kufra. The fort is well-garrisoned, but the Italians have no defense to the French 75mm field gun or mortars that are firing at them. The inexperienced Italian commander of the fort also is unwilling to make a sortie out to confront the French directly, despite the fact that he outnumbers them.

General Rommel is determined to take the initiative on land with his fledgling Afrika Korps despite the fact that all of his troops have not yet landed. He sends troops to forward positions near El Agheila to conduct probing attacks.

East African Campaign

The 12th African Division and Gold Coast Brigade attack Jelib frontally while another force, 1/1 King's African Rifles, comes in from the rear. The 22nd East African Brigade cuts the road to Mogadishu, blocking the Italians from retreating. The action begins at 05:45, and the Italian Colonial Infantry rapidly gives way. The British advance in armored cars and brush aside all resistance. By 13:00, the 12th African Division takes Jelib, which effectively ends Italian resistance on the key Juba River line. Firefights continue in the area throughout the afternoon, but the Italians are sent into full retreat. They try to establish another line between the river and Mogadishu, but the Italian command had staked everything on defending the river and have nothing in reserve. Some 30,000 Italian troops (mostly native) are either killed, captured or fleeing in wild terror.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Shropshire sits offshore and bombards Brava. General Cunningham cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell in Cairo, telling him that his forces can continue operations toward Harar, some 800 miles beyond Mogadishu.

British troops take Cub Cub from the 112th Colonial Battalion.

Battle of the Atlantic

Admiral Lütjens, commander of Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, has been searching daily for targets for his heavy cruisers Scharnhorst (Kapitan Kurt Caesar Hoffmann) and Gneisenau (Kapitan Otto Fein). Several days have passed, and nothing so far.

Today, his luck changes. At about 10:55, the lookouts spot a convoy heading west. This means that the ships are empty... but they are still worthy targets. Best of all, they appear to have no escorts at all. The two cruisers move in for the kill, but the ships disperse as soon as they see the German warships. During the entire engagement, they sink the following:

- British tanker Lustrous (6156 tons).

- British freighter Kantara (3237 tons).

- British freighter Trelawny (4689 tons, one death).

- British freighter A. D. Huff (5866 tons, ten deaths).

- British freighter Harlesden (5483 tons, seven deaths).

Scharnhorst sinks the Lustrous, while Gneisenau sinks the A.D. Huff and Trelawny. The two ships combine to destroy the Kantara (that must have been quick work). After dispatching these ships, Lütjens orders his seaplane aloft, and it spots the Harlesden about fifty miles away. Fortunately, as they are trained to do, the crew of the Arado seaplane destroys the Harlesden's radio aerial. After a long chase, Gneisenau sinks this fifth victim. All told, 25,431 tons of precious Allied shipping is sent to the bottom. Lütjens takes 180 prisoners, and the merchantmen crews suffer only 18 deaths - a relatively small number for so many ships sunk in the middle of the Atlantic without escorts.

Then, an event full of portent happens. Lütjens, of his own initiative, decides to send a radio report to Berlin detailing his force's success against the convoy. This, of course, ensures that his force's success will make the next day's propaganda broadcasts, which is highly prized in the Wehrmacht. Anyone familiar with the voyage of battleship Bismarck will recognize instantly that this unnecessary message-sending is a Lütjens trademark. It does not cost him anything... this time.

Lütjens now decides to move on, knowing that the surviving members of the convoy would have signaled the Royal Navy about his position. He signals tankers Schlettstadt and Esso Hamburg to meet him far to the south, near the Azores. The German ships steam on, unmolested and victorious.

U-96 is lurking around the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland on its third patrol when it spots an abandoned tanker west of the Hebrides. It is 6999-ton British tanker Scottish Standard, which the Luftwaffe bombed on the 21st. The crew has abandoned ship, but there is a destroyer, HMS Montgomery, standing guard. Lehmann-Willenbrock quickly puts two torpedoes into the tanker, finally sinking it, then dives to avoid the inevitable escort attack. The Montgomery spends five hours and drops 37 depth charges, but U-96 gets away. There are five deaths.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Montgomery, which rescued the survivors of the Scottish Standard, spots a submarine - but it isn't U-96. Instead, it is the Italian submarine Marcello. The Montgomery attacks and sinks the Marcello with all hands. One of the rebadged US destroyers sent to the Royal Navy in the destroyers-for-bases deal, the Montgomery is proving its worth.

U-108 on its first patrol out of Wilhelmshaven, is operating south of Iceland when it spots 1617-ton Dutch freighter Texelstroom and sinks the freighter, making it U-108 first victory.

British 6554-ton tanker Luxor is damaged during the final night of the Luftwaffe bombing of Swansea on 21/22 February.

The Luftwaffe also damages 7628-ton British freighter Kingston Hill far out in the Northwest Approaches. The ship manages to make it to Loch Ewe in tow.

In the same attack as on the Kingston Hill, the Luftwaffe damages 3621-ton British freighter Keila. The ship manages to make it to the Clyde without assistance.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Icarus lays minefield JK in the English Channel.

Kriegsmarine minelayers Brummer, Cobra, and Konigin Luise lay minefield Swine east of the Shetlands.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Union is commissioned, as is antisubmarine warfare trawler HMS Mazurka (T 30, Lt. Victor R. Tyrrell).

U-81 is launched, U-257 is laid down.

Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest during the night with 42 bombers. Admiral Hipper is still in port but escapes damage.

The Luftwaffe switches targets after dark. It sends 17 bombers against the port of Hull. There are many deaths, and extensive damage is caused by aerial mines.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London, provides a fresh and objective perspective on the effects of the Blitz in his diary. He notes that:

Once you get past St. Paul's, you come on whole blocks of which only an occasional twisted girder or brick wall remains.

This also is what contemporary photos show. However, the British press for one reason or another is minimizing the extent of the devastation by using such tricks as cropping photos to show St. Paul's and not the devastation around it.

RAF No. 317 "Wilno" (Polish) Fighter Squadron forms at RAF Acklington.

Image of 317 Squadron logo



Battle of the Indian Ocean

Admiral Scheer has just sunk three ships east of Madagascar after a long dry spell, and today it adds a fourth. Dutch 2542 ton freighter Rantaupandjang succumbs, but it is able to send a distress call before the crew abandons ship (two men perish). Royal Navy cruiser HMS Glasgow already is on its way, having received similar calls from Scheer's victims on the 21st. It launches its Walrus seaplane, which spots Scheer. The admiralty quickly vectors in half a dozen cruisers and an aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes. Captain Krancke on the Scheer realizes his danger just in time, though, and makes good his escape to the southeast.

US/Chinese Relations

Ernest Hemingway and wife Martha Gellhorn are in Hong Kong on an unofficial mission to gather data on the war situation.

British Military

Churchill's contempt for the Middle East Command surfaces again in a memo to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal. He complains about the "tone" of a recent message from Middle East RAF Commander Air Chief Marshal Arthur Longmore. Among other things, Longmore has annoyed Churchill by calling visiting Foreign Minister Anthony Eden "Anthony" and CIGS Sir John Dill "John." Calling Longmore "unappreciative" and "most pessimistic," Churchill wishes for Portal to give Longmore "a hint" as to how to improve his attitude and be more respectful. Considering that Longmore is an Air Marshal with an important command, this incident illustrates just how hierarchical the British command is right to the very top.

Churchill, in a memo to Secretary of State for War David Margesson, fixes the projected size of the British army at 53 divisions, 11 of them armored. By comparison, the Wehrmacht at its peak has about 300 divisions, the US Army 90 divisions and the Soviet Union over 600, though the divisions of each army differ greatly in size and equipment (a full-strength Wehrmacht Division, for instance, is generally comparable to a Soviet Corps). Of course, it is still reasonably early in the war, and the British army could be expanded beyond that figure by taking more men from the British industry. Churchill proposes to take a "wait-and-see" attitude about transferring more men to the army.

In another example of his repeated attempts to control the media, Churchill sends a memo to Minister of Information Alfred Duff Cooper about Sir Robert Vansittart. Churchill is upset about broadcasts that Vansittart has been making which "do not represent the policy either of HMG [His Majesty's Government] or the USA." He commands Duff Cooper to end the broadcasts.

Soviet Military

General Dmitry Pavlov, the big loser of the war games held in January, is promoted to the new rank of General of the Army. This is the second-highest rung on the ladder, under Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is the commander of the key Western (Belorussian) Special Military District which defends Moscow.

Filipp Golikov, boss of the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), receives the Order of Lenin from Mikhail Kalinin. This is the Soviet Union's highest decoration, and it is Golikov's first of four - which actually is not very unusual. The record-holder is Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinov, who received the award 11 times, and ten men received it at least 8 times. The principal characteristic of recipients is not necessarily quality of service, but rather their degree of fervor for the regime.

British Government

Menzies, in his diary, as usual, makes some sharp observations of the people that he meets. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Lord Cranborne, for instance, strikes Menzies as "an earnest lightweight whose fidelity to Anthony Eden has gained him advancement." Menzie views him as one of the "Yes men" of whom Churchill is so fond. As for Churchill himself, Menzies finds him "a tempestuous creature... pacing up and down the room, always as if about to dart out of it, and then returning." He also finds Churchill "Oratorical even in conversation," "the master of the mordant phrase," and "yes, I would think, almost without real humor." Churchill "Enjoys hatred," much of which he reserves for Irish leader Eamon De Valera who he calls "a murderer & perjurer." One thing Churchill is sure of, though, is "America's full help."

Bulgaria

Opinion within the country remains deeply unsettled about helping the Germans. When German troops begin openly crossing into the country during the day (as opposed to military officers in mufti which has been the case for months), citizens in several cities protest.

Australia

It is Greece Day, and massive celebrations are held in Melbourne and other cities to honor the Greek war effort.

Photo: The A.I.F. Marches – Australian Holds out a Helping Hand to the Heroic Greeks’



Indochina

Negotiations continue in Tokyo for a final resolution of the Thai/Vichy French border war in Indochina. The Vichy government resists settling on the proposed terms, which basically call for it to accept all Thai demands and cede the territory originally sought. However, the Japanese - who are seen as holding the balance of power in the region - have their thumb on the Thai side of the scale.

German occupied Netherlands

In what is usually referred to as a pogrom, German Grüne Polizei (Orpo) and Dutch police continue rounding up hostages at the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in reprisal for recent attacks on police. All told, 389-450 Jewish hostages (sources vary) will be taken, detained at the police camp (Internierungslager) in Schoorl, and ultimately sent to the worst concentration camps. Two will survive the war. Tensions on both sides throughout the city are inflamed, and the Dutch resistance - led by the Communist Party of the Netherlands - plans to call a general strike.