World War II in real time

Day 583 of World War II, April 5th 1941

Italian/Greek Campaign

General Henry Maitland Wilson, fresh of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell's staff in Cairo, takes command of British forces in Greece. He receives Ultra decrypts stating that the Germans will invade in the morning. While often such information is of inestimable value, for that to be the case, one must have the means to take advantage of it. There is nothing further that Wilson can do to meet the invasion.

The British line is stretched along the Aliakmon River in northeast Greece, and Wilson has his headquarters at the base of Mount Olympus in central Greece. This spot is handy for communications both with his own troops and the Greeks defending against the Italians in Albania. With the main Greek troop concentration in the west near the Adriatic coast, they have few troops to spare in the east. Thus, the British forces, hurriedly brought over pursuant to Operation Lustre over the past couple of months, play a critical role in defending the heart of the country - and the rear of the Greek army in Albania.

While General Wilson is in overall command of British operations in Greece as commander of "W" force, General Thomas Blamey takes command of newly formed 1st Australian Corps. This incorporates British, Australian and New Zealand units. General Carton de Wiart, a legendary military figure who led operations in northern Norway early in 1940, becomes head of the British military mission in Yugoslavia. De Wiart has had his residence in Poland and is considered a specialist about the region.

British Operation Lustre continues bringing troops into Athens. Convoy AN 25 (one Greek and five British ships) departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. In addition, some British garrisons are landed on Aegean islands - today, the 1st Battalion of the British Bedfordshire lands on Lemnos.

Balkans Campaign

Adolf Hitler has prepared the Wehrmacht for Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia. Field Marshal Wilhelm List has his Twelfth Army in position in Bulgaria to invade both Greece and Yugoslavia. Generaloberst Maximilian von Weichs, meanwhile, is assembling the Second Army in Austria for a second blow after List stages the actual invasion. Mussolini also intends to take part, sending General Vittorio Ambrosio down along the coast from the Fiume region toward Ljubjana, Zadar, Split, and Kotor after List's men force Yugoslav forces to abandon those places in order to meet the new threat. Originally, General Halder's plan was to use merely a reinforced corps to invade Greece - now three entire armies of approximately 85 divisions are waiting to attack, including five Hungarian ones.

The Wehrmacht makes final preparations for what is expected to be a very straightforward operation. German commandos occupy the docks along the Danube to facilitate landings. Adolf Hitler tells Romanian leader Ion Antonescu that the invasion will take place on the 6th.

Yugoslavia's policy, as set for in Plan R-41, is to defend the entire frontier - unlike, say, Holland, which from the start in May 1940 intended only to preserve "Fortress Holland," a roughly rectangular region bordered by Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This also is what Greece would like to do. However, the Yugoslav Army is too small to defend everywhere, and as the famous dictum goes, he who defends everything defends nothing.

British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS General John Dill were supposed to return to England in March, but have remained in the region due to the growing crisis. Today, they fly from Athens to Cairo.

The Yugoslavia government only now is beginning to return to some semblance of normalcy following the abrupt March 27th 1941 coup against the government of regent Prince Paul. The cabinet of new Prime Minister General Dušan Simović meets for the first time. Like the country as a whole, the new cabinet is deeply divided about whether to resist German demands for cooperation or work with the Axis. In fact, the cabinet is about equally divided in three parts between those who want to collaborate, those who prefer to resist, and those who don't know what to do.

North African Campaign

The Afrika Korps continues rolling eastward, moving out from Benghazi to take Barce. As with all operations in North Africa, the distances are astounding for those used to the tiny advances made in a typical European conflict. To date, the Afrika Korps has covered about 200 miles from El Agheila and faced barely any resistance from the British. The British 2nd Armoured Division has followed orders to retreat and avoid combat, but nobody on the British side expected this kind of massive retrograde movement. General Wavell has sent the former commander of XIII Corps during Operation Compass, Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor, forward to investigate and offer counsel to the current commanders there. O'Connor dutifully is driving west from Cairo, a difficult drive made dangerous by the fact that nobody really knows where General Erwin Rommel's panzers are at any given moment.

The British are scampering southeast on the Via Balbia toward Gazala. The Luftwaffe gets Bf 110s in the air to harass the retreating British around Derna and Junkers Ju 87 Stukas at Msus.

The Luftwaffe notes that the Royal Navy has brought in to Tobruk a cruiser and 13 transport ships for evacuations - though the road remains open to Egypt. In fact, the Germans are mistaken, the cruiser is almost certainly a wrecked Italian one (the San Giorgio). The British actually are using their transports to bring troops in, not take them out. This incident just illustrates the difficulties of relying on aerial reconnaissance.

On the ground, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel orders the Ariete Division toward the fortress at Mechili and the 5th Panzer Regiment, incorporating the Ariete Division's tanks, toward Msus. Rommel also orders Fliegerfuehrer Afrika to transport elements of the 5th Light Division to At Tmimi in the evening to block the British retreat on the Via Balbia coastal road.

The troops in the lead are those of Graf Schwerin. At this time, he is moving his forces to the northeast. They arrive at Tengeder around 21:00. Schwerin needs air supply for further maneuvers, however. A pincer movement directed at Msus is developing, though how many British troops will remain to be captured is an open question. The Italian Brescia Division also is on the move, reaching Regima and Driana at 22:00.

Today is one of General Rommel's classics. He flies to the front in his Fieseler Storch observation plane and takes personal of the Ariete Division troops approaching Mechili. It is this kind initiative that the British, relying on Ultra decrypts and spy reports to allocate their forces, cannot foresee. It is one of the few times of the war when the British are operating blind, on an even footing with the Germans who of course don't have anything like Ultra reports - which helps to explain the otherwise inexplicably chaotic British retreat. It also is a high point for German arms, with their troops in Libya sending the British packing and final preparations for Operation Marita on the other side of the Mediterranean.

Photo: undated photo of Rommel leaving his Fieseler Storch somewhere in the Western Desert. Rommel frequently used this airplane to inspect the progress of his troops, often landing near the front lines to speak to the commanders in person.



Battle of the Mediterranean

In Malta, major shortages are developing in several basic areas. Water supplies to the troop are shut off for 18 hours a day to conserve water. In addition, civilians have taken to hoarding kerosene, so rationing is instituted. Each purchase is limited to half a gallon, and the police are instructed to watch supplies carefully.

East African Campaign

Riding in armored cars, the 11th (African) Division (Major-General H. E. de R. Wetherall) crosses the Awash River and arrives at the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the capital of Italian East Africa. The Italians do not put up a fight, and in fact, they have abandoned the city, but the South Africans wait until negotiations conclude before entering. The Italian commander, the Duke of Aosta, has taken his remaining forces out of the capital for continued resistance. From his positions in mountain fortresses in Gondar, Amba Alagi, Dessie and Gemma, the Duke of Aosta intends to form a "redoubt" which will continue the resistance. Aosta orders the Italian leader in the city, Agenore Frangipani, to surrender the city rather than cause harm to its Italian residents. The South African air force raids the airfield.

At Massawa, the situation is not much better for the Italians. The 10 Infantry Brigade of the 5th Indian Infantry Division has reached the outskirts of the well-defended port, where it has hooked up with Briggs Force, which has come from a completely different direction. Things look dire for the Italians. Italian Rear Admiral Mario Bonetti asks for surrender terms at 13:30, but then an order arrives from Rome to "fight to the last man." British General Cunningham, meanwhile, warns that if Bonetti does not surrender, Cunningham will not instruct the British to protect Italian civilians from native tribesmen. At Addis Ababa, the Polizia dell'Africa Italiana (Police of Italian Africa) have remained in the city to maintain order, which is probably best for both the Italians and the British.

YouTube (Eritrea's Last Stand (1941)



Air War over Europe

The Luftwaffe continues shifting units east. These include units of JG 54 and SKG 77.

Operation Savanna, a Special Operations Executive (SOE) mission, ends in complete failure. This was the operation begun on 15 March 1941 in which an RAF Whitley inserted an assassination squad near Vannes to kill Luftwaffe pilots of the pathfinder group. British intelligence was faulty, and the pilots did not travel on one bus to their airport as believed. Without a target, the Special Operations Executive men accomplished nothing and headed for the coast for extraction. Out of five paratroopers involved in the operation, one goes missing, another fails to reach the rendezvous spot, and three make it to the Sables d'Olonne beach on schedule for a submarine pickup. In the event, the kayaks used for the extraction are damaged on the submarine, so only two of the three men can be taken off in a dinghy paddled ashore by Geoffrey Appleyard of the SOE's Small Scale Raiding Force. The third SOE man, Joël Letac, remains behind and proceeds to join partisans in Paris.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British note the approach of good campaigning weather, stoking their invasion jitters. After all, the chatter out of Berlin during the fall was that the invasion of England, Operation Sea Lion, would simply be postponed until the spring. Four Royal Navy minelayers (Agamemnon, Menestheus, Port Quebec and Southern Prince) depart from Scapa Flow to lay minefield SN 8. These operations may seem mundane, but they are taken extremely seriously by the British, and they withdraw heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk from the patrols on the Denmark Strait to provide cover, along with cruiser Suffolk. Separately, minelayer Teviotbank lays minefield BS 53.

The Kriegsmarine sends half a dozen destroyers through the Straits of Dover just after dark to reinforce their forces in the Bay of Biscay. The RAF observes these movements and sends some of its own destroyers out to investigate, but there is no contact. The Admiralty assumes that this presages some kind of cruiser sortie such as Operation Berlin - but, in fact, it is a simple ship transfer unrelated to larger operations.

U-105 is operating off the coast of South America - such extended operations are made possible by the German supply ship network - when it spots a freighter. U-105 torpedoes and sinks 5200-ton British freighter Ena de Larrinaga. It is the first U-boat success off the coast of South America, extending the conflict into a completely new sector. There are 5 deaths on the Ena de Larrinaga, while 38 survivors are left adrift at sea for 13 days before being found.

U-76 on its first patrol, is part of the wolfpack attacking Convoy SC-26 about 250 miles south of Iceland. The convoy already has taken massive losses. The repeated attacks have put the British are on high alert. When U-76 fires a torpedo shortly before dawn that damages and ultimately sink 5351-ton British freighter Athenic, the Royal Navy escorts swarm to attack the submarine. HMS Scarborough and Wolverine force U-76 to the surface, enabling the crew to escape before it sinks. There are 1 death and 42 survivors. On the Athenic, all 40 people are rescued by HMS Arbutus.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 450-ton British freighter St. Clement just off Aberdeen. There is one death.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 496-ton British freighter Rattray Head in the same area as the St. Clement off Aberdeen. There are three deaths.

Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine collides with 789-ton British freighter Lairdswood in the Irish Sea. The destroyer proceeds to Greenock for repairs which take well over a month.

The Regia Aeronautica bombs and sinks 2290 ton Greek freighter Sifnos off the island of Milos, north of Crete.

U-431 is commissioned.

Battle of the Pacific

Australian trading schooner Gerard is commissioned as an auxiliary patrol vessel.

Soviet/Yugoslavian Relations

The two countries announce a treaty of friendship and nonaggression in Moscow. There are no economic responsibilities nor military guarantees, as there are with the Tripartite Pact - it is more a symbolic statement. The most important aspect is that, with this agreement, the Soviet Union gives public de jure recognition of the new Yugoslav government, something that actually had been given on 3 April in private between Andrey Y. Vyshinsky, the Soviet Vice-Deputy of Foreign Affairs, and Milan Gavrilovic, the Yugoslav Ambassador to the USSR and a Cabinet member in the Simovic government.

In hindsight, some view this agreement as more of a slap at Germany by the Soviets than signifying anything of consequence regarding Yugoslavia. However... this seems to be more a case of reading meanings into actions based on later events that may not really have been there originally. The Soviets simply don't want to be involved in a Balkan war at this time which might embroil them in a larger war with Germany.

Italian/Yugoslav Relations

Italy closes its land border with Yugoslavia at Fiume. Not only that, the Italians mine the bridge. The Yugoslavs at the Fiume consulate decide not to get trapped on the wrong side of the bridge and return to Yugoslavia.

German Military

At Rechlin airbase north of Berlin, Ernst Heinkel demonstrates his prototype Heinkel He 280 V1 jet fighter to skeptical Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) big shots such as the head of development Ernst Udet. While the viewers are impressed by the fact that the jet burns kerosene, which is much easier to obtain than high-octane airplane fuel, overall the presentation falls flat. Udet does not approve of the project. Heinkel has been developing the plane, designed by his chief designer Robert Lusser, on his own dime because he feels very deeply that it is a major step past current piston-engine fighters. While Heinkel badly wants the RLM to approve the project and fund it, he is prepared to continue developing it on his own - for patriotic reasons as much as financial ones.

As with all the early Luftwaffe jets, the main factor delaying the prototype's refinement is the engine. The HeS 8 engine is coming along slowly, and another engine, the HeS 30, is also proceeding along at about the same pace and may even be a better choice. What Heinkel does not know is that the RLM has other jet projects that it feels have more potential than the He 280. They don't feel the need to pursue two of these iffy projects at this stage - especially with the war going so well.

Photo: a Heinkel He 280 taking off



Soviet Military

Some sources claim that the Soviets make the maiden flight of the MiG-3, designed by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich, today. However, the I-200, as it is designated at this stage, flew on 5 April 1940. In fact, over 20 MiG-3 fighters already have been delivered to the Red Air Force by this time.

Day 584 of World War II, April 8th 1941

Balkans Campaign: invasion of Yugoslavia - Battle of Greece: Operation Marita

At day's end, the Germans have broken through the Greek lines along the Bulgarian border, while the Germans have isolated Yugoslavia from the outside world and are in the vicinity of Zagreb and advancing toward Belgrade.

Belgrade is the prize in Yugoslavia, and Ewald von Kleist wants it. He sends his panzers off at 05:30 toward the city from the northwest. They capture Nis in Serbia and head down the Morava Valley toward the capital. 

The weather is poor over Belgrade, so the Luftwaffe's Operation Punishment ends today. There is tremendous devastation, but total casualty estimates vary from the as low as 1,500 to 17,000. Later estimates of the extent of the damage also vary wildly, with some stating that half of the housing stock is destroyed. Among many other national treasures, the National Library of Serbia is destroyed, along with its medieval manuscripts and other irreplaceable artifacts.

The 1st SS Division Adolf Hitler has moved into the front lines and now sits astride the main railway link between Belgrade and Thessalonica (Thessaloniki). The Yugoslavs in Belgrade now are effectively isolated.

Greece along the Bulgarian border is still a secondary theater as events play out to the north. The Greek Army vigorously defends the Rupel Pass but it badly outnumbered. The British 1st Armoured Division moves forward when the Wehrmacht's 30 Infantry Corps begins breaking out through the Dorian Gap. The weather is poor here as well, a typical late-winter scene of snow at the higher elevations and rain in the valleys. The Germans begin to push through the Florina Gap. The British further back on the Aliakmon Line prepare for the onslaught on their own positions, which is only a day or two away now.

Photo: a German tank, possibly Mark III, set on fire by Greek artillery fire, April 1941



The British hurry some of their units (such as the 16th Australian Brigade) forward to support the Greeks on the frontier, but the battle is rapidly becoming a lost cause. The Australians are inexperienced in snow and there is virtually no transport in the mountains they are crossing. The Germans, meanwhile, have mountain troops leading their attack, with the 6th Mountain Division in the vanguard. The 164th Infantry Division captures Xanthi, and the 50th Infantry Division has Komotini and is advancing beyond it.

Strategically, what is happening is obvious on the map. While von Kleist in the north picks apart the internals of the Yugoslav state virtually at his leisure, the panzer forces in southern Yugoslavia have completely bypassed the Greeks and the British to the south. Worst of all for the Allies, the Germans have taken almost no casualties in their drive west through a non-essential portion of the country (from the Yugoslav view). The Greek High Command, of course, notices this, and they put out a communique to that effect which states that the German advance is "exposing the left flank of our brave army."

Some Yugoslav units do see what is going on and take pains to try and prevent it. The 20th "Bregalnička" Infantry Division, part of the 3rd Territorial Army of the Yugoslav army, ties in with the Greeks on the Metaxas Line. It works hard to stop the German 2nd Panzer Division of XVIII Mountain Corps from outflanking the Greek divisions, a task which is vital for the Metaxas Line to have any chance of holding. The 20th Infantry Division, however, can do nothing about the Germans heading due west to the north in what everyone recognizes is a deep flanking maneuver.

Meanwhile, the Yugoslav 3rd Army is fighting well - but headed in completely the wrong direction. While the Germans invade from the north and east, the Yugoslavs are heading... west. In what must have seemed like an extremely clever strategy over holiday dinners, the Yugoslavs intend to defeat the Italians in Albania before turning back around and then dealing with the Germans. This, the strategy posits, would free the mass of the Greek Army stuck in Albania to head east and stop the Germans flooding in from Bulgaria. However, while the Italian Army is weak, it isn't that weak, and in fact, has been dramatically strengthened for their recently concluded Primavera Offensive. The Yugoslavs are making a high stakes gamble based upon the assumption that the Germans can be held at the frontiers until the Italians surrender - a fatal misreading of the situation.

German General Stumme in command of LX Corps, the spearhead cutting east through southern Yugoslavia, is not troubled by any of the Allied moves. He consolidates his grip on southern Yugoslavia and sets his sights on the real prize: the Greek port of Thessalonica (Thessaloniki) not far across the border to the south.

So, some units of the Yugoslav Army do make some progress in the wrong direction. The Yugoslav "Komski" Cavalry Regiment takes the village of Koljegcava in the Valjbone River Valley of Albania, while the 31st "Kosovska" Division breaches the Italian line along the Drin River. However, the Yugoslav High Command begins hedging its bets and recalls the "Vardarska" Division to confront the XL Panzer Corps at Skopje. The Greek Western Macedonian Army Section in Albania also makes some progress toward Durrës, capturing about 250 Italians. However, in strategic terms, the slight gains made by the two armies are meaningless.

The Luftwaffe pays Piraeus another visit, which they are doing every day during this period. They previously virtually destroyed the port on the 6th when they scored a lucky hit on ammunition ship Clan Fraser. Today, the Germans damage 7777-ton Greek tanker Ekaterini Coumantarou.

Yugoslavia, always a tenuous state created out of disparate elements, begins to crumble. Croatian separatists proclaim a new Croatian government in Zagreb. German troops of von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group already are on the city's outskirts. On cue, Croatian soldiers mutiny in Bjelovar. The Luftwaffe quite noticeably is not targeting any Croatian cities, as Croatians tend to favor the Axis over the Allies - as opposed to Serbians, whose cities are getting savaged.

Convoy ASF 24 (five freighters) departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria. Other convoys at sea are AN 25 and AG 11.

North African Campaign

The Afrika Korps takes the fortress of Mechili in the morning. The remnants of the 2nd Armored Division get some new stragglers from the west during the night to reinforce their position and try to break out, but the 5th Light Division (Major Bolbrinker) takes the fortress by 08:00. Major-General Gambier Parry, General Officer Commanding 2nd Armoured Division, surrenders and now joins Generals Neame and O'Connor in captivity.

Photo: German Afrika korps soldiers in an armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251/1 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) Ausf.B advances past the fortified Fort Mechili in Cyrenaica/Libya, Western Desert, North Africa, 8 April 1941



General Erwin Rommel quickly tasks the Italians with occupying Mechili while the sends the German 5th Light Division troops to help out at Derna. By nightfall, the Germans have taken the Derna airfield, the town itself, and about 800 prisoners. While some British troops still hold out, their cause is hopeless.

With Benghazi, Derna, and Mechili in their pocket, the Germans now can focus on Tobruk. Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell flies out of Tobruk, but his plane experiences engine trouble (likely due to desert sandstorms) and lands in the desert near Sollum. An armored car picks him up.

Meanwhile, the British still don't know what has happened to General O'Connor and Lieutenant General Philip Neame, their military leaders in Libya (they are in German custody). As visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies notes in his diary following discussions at the War Cabinet:

Balkans bad. O'Connor & Neame missing in Libya. The clouds are dark and there is a lurid patch in the sky - I hope not sunset.... The generals of the War Office are still behind the times. "We have so many divisions" - as if divisions counted. Armour and speed count, and when we catch up to that idea, we will catch up to the Germans.

Menzies notes that "we hope to make a stand" at Tobruk. Until Neame can be located, Major General John Lavarack assumes his duties.

Battle of the Mediterranean

British mooring vessel Moor hits a mine and sinks near the Ricasoli Breakwater Light Vessel at the entrance to Grand Harbour, Malta. There are only one survivor and 28 deaths. The ship suffers a massive explosion around 17:00 that attracts attention from many viewers, turns on its side, and sinks rapidly.

An Axis convoy of five freighters departs Naples for Tripoli.

East African Campaign

British troops enter Massawa after a brief struggle, but the battle is not yet over. The 7th and 10th Infantry Brigades lead the charge as they capture hill forts surrounding the port. The French Foreign Legion captures the Italian Admiralty building, at which point Rear Bonetti quickly surrenders, sending 9590 surviving Italian troops into captivity.

Map: Fort Otumlo



The Italians still man the ships in the harbor, and four Italian submarines escape, but the Allies have their eyes on the 17 large merchant ships and many smaller ones anchored there. General Cunningham already has designated the 4th Indian Infantry Division, one of the key components of Operation Compass, for shipment back to Egypt, and he would love to use the port to do it. The port has modern facilities, but the Italians have wrecked the equipment and scuttled ships in the harbor, making it quite a chore for the British to return the port to working order.

YouTube (Fall of Asmara and Massawa to the British Forces, 1941)



After learning of Admiral Bonetti's surrender, the Italian crews of many ships finally bow to the inevitability of the British occupation today and scuttle 9 ships in total.

Photo: bombed and scuttled ships at Massawa



In addition, the RAF bombs and sinks Italian minelayer Ostia. Italian 18 ton coastal ship Mario M. sinks in the Red Sea of unknown causes.

These sinking greatly complicate the British task of putting the port back into service to repair vessels damaged in the conflict in the Mediterranean.

At Addis Ababa, the British occupation forces turn their attention to securing their lines of communication back to Asmara. The Duke of Aosta and his Italian and colonial forces now are bottled up in the mountains and no longer poses an immediate threat even as they continue to hold out. However, at some point, the British will have to flush these troops out.

Photo: British troops marching through the capital city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1941.



Air War over Europe

The Luftwaffe returns to Coventry with 230 bombers. They drop a combined 330 tons of high explosives, causing extensive damage and casualties. Among the devastation, the main body of the "new" Christchurch off New Union Street, constructed in 1830-32, is destroyed.

RAF Bomber Command, No. 2 Group, continues to focus on Axis shipping. The bombers hit the Kiel Canal with 160 bombers, Bremerhaven with 22 bombers, and shipping off the Danish coast. The RAF also attacks a bridge under construction at Ringkøbing on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-107 (is on its second patrol. U-107 is one of the war's most successful U-boats, and this extended patrol (it lasts for over two months) is the most successful. Today, U-107 is stalking dispersed ships from Convoy OG 57 south of the Azores, and it torpedoes and sinks British freighter Helena Margareta and British freighter Eskdene.

U-124 operating in the same general area as U-107, is north of the Cape Verde Islands and sinks 2697-ton British freighter Tweed. There are three survivors and 25 deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2848-ton British freighter Cormarsh off Sheringham Buoy (near Cley, Norfolk). The ship makes it to Hull.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British 5792-ton freighter Chaucer near the Humber Light Vessel.

British 8621-ton tanker Ahamo hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea east of Sutton on Sea. There are fourteen deaths.

German freighter Kurzesee sinks from unexplained causes off Skjervøy, Norway. A likely cause is hitting a mine, but an air attack is possible, too.

Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Bulolo captures Vichy French 4279-ton freighter Fort de France in the Atlantic between Martinique and Casablanca. Bulolo's crew takes it to Gibraltar.

German raider Atlantis crossed into the South Atlantic from the Indian Ocean.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Intrepid lays minefield JO in the English Channel.

Convoy SL 71 departs from Freetown.

Canadian corvette HMCS Chilliwack is commissioned.

U-80 is commissioned.

US/Greenland Relations

Greenland is an odd case. While it is part of Denmark, Greenland's government has announced its effective independence. However, the Danish Minister to the United States, Henrik de Kauffmann, still represents Greenland's interests. He prepares a document, "Denmark-United States: Agreement Relating to the Defense of Greenland," setting forth joint defense of Greenland. This effectively grants the United States responsibility for Greenland's defense from the Axis powers.

US/Yugoslavian Relations

The Yugoslav attaché in Washington has requested as much US assistance that it can provide. In fact, the US can offer virtually no assistance except words, some of which President Roosevelt provides today. He states:

the United States will speedily furnish all material assistance possible in accordance with its existing statutes. I send Your Majesty my most earnest hopes for a successful resistance to this criminal assault upon the independence and integrity of your country.

The Germans already have a stranglehold on Yugoslavia, and the Italians and Luftwaffe dominate the skies, making any shipments by sea extremely unlikely.

US/Polish Relations

President Roosevelt meets with General Sikorski, leader of the Polish government in exile.

Day 586 of World War II, April 10th 1941

Balkans Campaign: invasion of Yugoslavia - Battle of Greece: Operation Marita

Map: invasion of Yugoslavia April 6th - April 20th 1941



The Germans of the XL Panzer Corps continue to roll in Yugoslavia. By the morning, the Germans have regrouped and now are ready to advance south toward Kozani. Capturing Kozani would put the Wehrmacht troops in position to drive to the coast at Larissa or nearby, cutting off the British forces holding on the Aliakmon Line near Thessaloniki. However, there is a lot of rough terrains to cover, things are a little different now than in the drive west against light opposition.

The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), under the command of Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, captures Vevi in southern Macedonia and immediately turns to clear the enemy from the Kleisoura Pass southwest of Vevi. pass This leads to the town of Klidi in the south (it also is known as the Klidi Pass or Kirli Derven). The plan is to take Klidi and then drive downhill to Kastoria in northwest Greece.

SS-Sturmbannführer Kurt "Panzer" Meyer leads LSSAH's reinforced Aufklärungs-Abteilung (reconnaissance battalion) south into the pass, which is defended by scratch forces mixed Australian/New Zealand/Greek formation known as the "Mackay Force" under the Australian General Iven Mackay. Meyer's forces, backed by the 73rd Infantry Division, attack Glava Hill and Delinski Dol, but the Mackay Force is under orders from General Henry Maitland Wilson to "stop a blitzkrieg down the Florina Valley." Today, it does that, stopping the Germans cold.

In the north of Yugoslavia, the 14th Panzer Division of General von Kleist's 2nd Army takes Zagreb. Colonel Slavko Kvaternik of the Ustasa within the city declares an Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). Croatian fascist strongman Ante Pavelic returns from his exile in Italy to join in the proclamation, illustrating its Fascist orientation. This declaration of independence triggers an unexpected result, causing Hungary to decide that the Tripartite Pace to which both it and Yugoslavia are signatories no longer bars it from invading the now-dismembered country. Hungary prepares to send its tanks across the border tomorrow, the 11th.

To the southeast in Greece, the battle of the Metaxas Line is over. The Greek commander of the Eastern Macedonian Army Section, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bakopoulos, has ordered the forces holding out behind German lines to surrender. As of yet, the Germans at Thessaloniki and the British on the other side of the Aliakmon River have not engaged in any battles aside from a minor encounter between a German patrol and defending New Zealanders. Both sides took minor casualties, relatively speaking, during the battle, the Germans about 500 men killed.

Photo: a German gun crew fires a Czechoslovak-made 15 cm schwere Feldhaubitze 37(t) / sFH 37(t)



The German government grows sensitive about the image it is projecting by bombing Belgrade in Operation Punishment. It ends the bombings, and the Ministry of Propaganda warns the media to "omit" sensational comments such as "its streets are covered with corpses of women and children." In fact, Luftflotte IV stops bombing northern Yugoslavia altogether - it hasn't bombed any Croatian areas at all - and turns its attention solely to southern Yugoslavia and Greece.

The Royal Hellenic Navy loses patrol boat A-2 to unknown causes. Axis troops seize Yugoslavian minesweeper Kobac at Sebenico.

Convoy AG 12 departs from Alexandria bound for Phaleron Bay. Previous convoys have gone to nearby Piraeus, which is the ordinary modern port for Athens, but German bombing temporarily has put the port out of commission. Convoy AS 25 (five Greek ships) departs from Piraeus.

British 3791-ton troopship HMS Ulster Prince, part of Convoy AC 3 which departed from Alexandria bound for Tobruk on the 6th, returns to Alexandria and grounds in Great Pass as it enters. It suffers minor damage.

North African Campaign

Forward Detachment Prittwitz (led by Major General von Prittwitz) advances south on the Via Balbia, which runs east of Tobruk and is the main road in the region. At noon, the detachment encounters British troops. Everything is extremely fluid with no clear battle lines, and, just as with British Generals Neame and O'Connor recently, the Germans lose one of theirs due to the confusion. Prittwitz perishes when he is fired upon by them - his driver had driven past the lead elements of his detachment without noticing. Lieutenant Colonel Graf Schwerin takes over the detachment.

Photo: Australian soldiers defend Tobruk, April 10th 1941



Rommel orders the Italian Brescia Division forward from Mechili to take over for Schwerin's force. He also orders the Ariete Division forward toward El Adem. Due to all these troop movements, today is often cited as the start of the siege of Tobruk. The port city is defended by the 9th Australian Division, with overall command under General Morshead. The British strengthen their defenses at Halfaya Pass to the south by bringing up the 22nd Guards Brigade.

Moving his headquarters forward to Gazala airfield, Rommel's biggest problem is one of supply. Some detachments have run out of food and water.

Battle of the Mediterranean

The Royal Navy sends off four destroyers from Suda Bay to be based in Malta. The purpose is to interdict Axis supply convoys operating between Naples and Tripoli. Rommel's advances on land, the British believe, can be stopped - at sea.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Abingdon is damaged by mines at Malta. Repairs will take until June. It is the second ship damaged or sunk by mines there recently.

Royal Navy gunboats HMS Aphis and Gnat bombard German positions at Gazala and Bomba.

An Italian convoy of four ships (Bosforo, Ogaden, Persiano, and Superga) departs from Palermo, Sicily for the final leg of its trip from Naples to Tripoli. Another convoy arrives at Tripoli.

The War Office transfers Special Service troops from Malta back to Alexandria. They have been among the troops guarding Gozo Island pursuant to Operation Picnic.

East African Campaign

The British now hold the key points in Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, and Abyssinia. However, many Italian strongholds remain in far-flung places. The British 11th African Division advances southwest from Addis Ababa to attack one of them, Jimma. They have to halt at Abaiti on the Omo River, where the Italians have blown the bridges.

At Assab, Eritrea, the Italians watch British troops approach and do what Italians in other ports have done in that situation, they start scuttling a total of seven ships.

YouTube (Mopping Up In Eritrea (1941)



Air War over Europe

Adolf Hitler is very upset at last night's bombing that gutted the Berlin Opera House. He confronts Luftwaffe boss Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering about antiaircraft defenses, then departs from his Fruhlingssturm headquarters south of Vienna to oversee Operation 25/Operation Marita. While he just as easily could review the operations from Berlin, Hitler likes to give the appearance of being at the front with his troops.

The Luftwaffe attacks Birmingham on the night of 10/11 April, with 206 bombers dropping 246 tons of high explosives and 1183 incendiaries. After dark, it attacks Coventry again. Overall, about 475 people are killed and 700 seriously wounded in the two Coventry raids of two nights earlier and tonight.

Photo: The eastern end of New Street in Birmingham, England, looking East, in April 1941 after Luftwaffe bombing damage to the northern side of New Street and part of High Street. The destroyed building on the street corner was formerly the Midland Arcade. The Times Furnishing building (still extant; now Waterstones) can clearly be seen standing undamaged amongst the ruins of the surrounding buildings.



Battle of the Atlantic

U-52 torpedoes 6563-ton Dutch freighter Saleier east of Greenland. The ship goes down extremely quickly, in a matter of seconds, but all 63 men on board survive pickup by the destroyer USS Niblack - unusual for a ship sinking so fast and during the colder months so far north. Saleier had been dispersed from Convoy OB 306. The Niblack, which is on its way to Iceland and nearby strictly by chance - then unsuccessfully attacks an (apparently false) submarine contact by dropping three depth charges. This apparently is the first US naval combat involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic - though nobody on the German side is aware of it and nothing comes of it, and thus it passes virtually unnoticed by anyone. But it most definitely is the first US combat incident of World War II, and shows just how close the US is coming to open conflict.

Photo: USS Niblack



The Luftwaffe attacks shipping in the Tyne. A bomb strikes Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Naiad, already under repair, and damages it slightly some more.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4887-ton British freighter Thirlby about 140 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis. It is brought in to Loch Ewe in tow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 943-ton British freighter Busiris off Runnel Stone in Mount's Bay, Cornwall.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 397-ton Dutch freighter Virgo five miles northwest of Bar Light Vessel. It is towed to Liverpool.

The Admiralty, happy that the RAF damaged German heavy cruiser Gneisenau in Brest over the night with four bomb hits, transfers six of its submarines to the Mediterranean.

British Convoy DS 1 departs from Scapa Flow, the first of the DS convoys. It is composed of two troopships and two escorts, bound for Reykjavik. Return convoys are SD convoys.

Convoys T-10 and HX 120 depart from Halifax. Convoy TC-10 is a two-transport Canadian troop convoy that is escorted the entire way by battleship HMS Rodney and other ships as well.

U-401 and U-565 are commissioned.

Anglo/US Relations

President Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. The British will work up the cutters in Long Island Sound through the end of May.

Anglo/Turkish Relations

President Inonu once again declines to join the Allies.

Japanese Military

The Imperial Japanese Navy forms the First Air Fleet, composed of all seven of its aircraft carriers. Altogether, they can launch 474 aircraft. The carriers are arranged as follows:

- Kaga - Carrier Division 1

- Akagi - Carrier Division 1, also flagship of the First Air Fleet.

- Soryu - Carrier Division 2

- Hiryu - Carrier Division 2

- Hosho - Carrier Division 3

- Ryuo - Carrier Division 4

- Shoho - Carrier Division 4 (when it joins the fleet).

- Shokaku - Carrier Division 5

- Zuikaku - Carrier Division 5

Admiral Chuichi Nagumo is the First Air Fleet's first commander. Of interest to modelers is that the IJN changes all carrier aircraft tail codes are changed to reflect this

US Military

Admiral John Newton brings his fleet back into Pearl Harbor, concluding its "goodwill" missions to Australia and Fiji.

Japanese Government

War hawks Musatsume Ogura, Admiral Teijiro Toyoda, and Lieutenant General Teiichi Suzuki join the cabinet. Admiral Osami Nagano becomes the new chief of the Naval Staff, replacing Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi, who has resigned (but technically remains in the cabinet). Seiichi Ito becomes the new chief of staff of the Imperial Combined Fleet.

Iraq

The British at Habbaniyah Airfield outside Baghdad are getting increasingly nervous about the new government of Rashid Ali. While there haven't been any attacks on the base yet, the Ali government is distinctly anti-British and pro-German. The British War Cabinet authorizes troop transfers from General Claude Auchinleck's command in India to Iraq.

In Berlin, meanwhile, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering has his eye on Iraq as well. The country fits into the, shall we say, larger war aims of the Third Reich. However, it is far away over air space largely controlled by the British, so even getting airplanes to it is a chore. Goering believes that supporting the Ali government with his Luftwaffe would increase his own prestige within the hierarchy - which of course he is almost at the top of already, but there is a lot of infighting that he worries about nonetheless - so he is thinking of sending some units there. The main problem is that there is no ground support for Luftwaffe planes in Iraq because it is all controlled by the British, so capturing the RAF facilities is somewhat of a prerequisite to Luftwaffe operations. However, the facilities likely can't be captured without the Luftwaffe's assistance.

US/Polish Relations: Having met with President Roosevelt, General Sikorski concludes his brief visit to the United States and returns to England.

Day 588 of World War II, April 12th 1941

Balkans Campaign: invasion of Yugoslavia - Battle of Greece: Operation Marita

The Germans of the XLVI Panzer Corps and their allies occupy Belgrade. The garrison surrenders at the first opportunity. Before the main body of German troops arrives, SS-Obersturmfuhrer Fritz Klingenberg, commanding the 2nd SS Division Das Reich, sends men across the Danube in rafts to accept the Yugoslav surrender. The Swastika flag flies over what remains of the German legation by 17:00. At 19:00, the mayor of Belgrade hurries over and issues Klingenberg a formal surrender.

Photo: Soldiers of the 2nd SS Division Das Reich enter Belgrade, April 12th 1941



Hungarian troops (3rd Army) join the invasion of Yugoslavia.

While the occupation of Belgrade, of course, is a matter of great significance, its fall has been a foregone conclusion. The real issue of decision is playing out far to the south. Sepp Dietrich's 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), still of brigade-size at this time, begins the day being held up in the Klidi Pass. This is the key route for the Wehrmacht LX Corps (Lieutenant-General George Stumme) heading south from Yugoslavia into the Greek interior. This battle effectively decides the campaign in Greece, though much fighting remains to be done.

Snow fell during the night. At 09:00, the Germans, after being frustrated on the 11th by the British, Australian and Greek troops ("Mackay Force") that had hurriedly been redirected to the Pass from the Aliakmon Line to the east, resumes its attack. The LSSAH first takes a hill off their left flank, Hill 997, taking it by 11:00 and wiping out all but 6 of the Australian defenders. These Germans, the 1st Company of LSSAH, then take another hill nearby. The Australians troops begin to withdraw around mid-day, though the Greek troops nearby stay put - though sources are mixed on exactly who did what.

The Germans then bring up assault guns and Panzerjäger vehicles and continue their assault from the two hills they have taken. By 14:00, the Greek troops also are ordered to retreat by General Iven Mackay, and Obersturmbannfuhrer "Panzer" Meyer leads his assault guns forward into hills that had been thought inaccessible. By 16:00, the Germans take Klidi at the southern end of the pass, then spread out quickly to take nearby towns Kelli and Petra. By 20:00, the German armor (six StuG and nine PzJg I) are through the pass and harassing a retreating Greek column, forcing the British to riposte with about 25 tanks of their own. By 22:30, after a very hard day of fighting, the Germans have secured the entire pass, inflicting severe casualties on the defending Australians.

Photo: German sIG 33 gun on Pz.Kpfw. I chassis, DKW NZ350 motorbike in Greece 1941



General Iven Mackay renames his troops from 1 Australian Corps to Anzac Corps to honor the New Zealanders taking part.

The powerful Greek Western Macedonia Army formations in Albania to the west are seeing their lines of communication cut by the German LX Corps advance, but are reluctant to retreat. General Stumme's forces also attempt to broaden their gains to the west. With this German breakthrough, their position is even less secure. However, it is a matter of Greek pride to give no ground to the Italians, so today they only grudgingly begin heading south, blowing up the roads as they leave to slow the Italian advance. The Italians, meanwhile, watch them go without pursuing them today.

The British reinforcement of mainland Greece, Operation Lustre, continues despite the reversals to the north. The Australian 17th Infantry Brigade arrives today at Athens.

The Luftwaffe attacks Piraeus again, bombing and sinking 8271-ton British tanker Marie Maersk. The Italians later re-float and repair her, putting her in use as the Luisa. This sinking continues the devastation wrought on the Danish Mærsk shipping line, which began the wars with a total of 46 ships but dwindles to 7 by war's end, with an additional 14 under control of the US shipping board until 1946. Denmark, of course, is a non-combatant that is occupied by Germany.

The Luftwaffe raids Kozani, the Germans' first major objective on the push south. The RAF is caught flat-footed, putting up no opposition, and there is widespread damage to the town.

The Luftwaffe raids Yugoslav shipping on the Danube and sinks river monitor Drava. There are 54 deaths and 13 survivors.

For his successes in Yugoslavia and Greece, Lieutenant General Alexander Löhr, commander of Luftwaffe IV in Austria, receives a highly coveted mention in the evening's Wehrmachtbericht radio despatches. The Yugoslavs consider the bombing of Belgrade to be a war crime, and they have long memories.

One of the common themes of April 1941 is a large number of ships scuttled to avoid enemy capture. Up to now, those have been primarily Italian freighters in the Red Sea. Today, the shoe is on the other foot as the Yugoslavs scuttle three monitors at the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers near Belgrade to avoid capture: Morava, Sava, and Vardar. The captains decide to sink the ships because the water levels are too high (spring flood) and nearby bridges too low to prevent departure. As the crews are taken off by a tugboat, they pass under a railway bridge rigged for demolition and set off the charges accidentally. This causes the bridge to collapse on the tug, killing 95 of the 110 crew from the three ships. The Independent State of Croatia will raise and repair two of the ships (Sava and Morava), putting them back into service.

Photo: Yugoslavian cruiser Dalmacija and minelayer Mljet and Meljine (left)



North African Campaign

The Germans take Bardia in the morning without a fight. Afrika Korps Detachment Graf Schwerin closes the German landward envelopment of Tobruk. Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel somewhat hopefully orders the occupation of Tobruk as well. A force composed of the 5th Light Division, 5th Panzer Regiment and Trento Division attacks the Tobruk perimeter but is stopped at an anti-tank ditch constructed by the Italians and has to retreat.

The Germans wish to move quickly against Tobruk, and they have an excellent source of intelligence about the fortress: the Italians who built it. However, the Italians are very slow to provide detailed information, forcing the Germans to rely on 1:400,000 maps which provide no worthwhile details. General Rommel moves his command post to about 4 km west of the Via Balbia that runs parallel to Tobruk. At this time, his intelligence sources are unclear about the amount of opposition that he faces in Tobruk. While he thinks that there are few troops holding the fortress, in fact, the British have accumulated about 30,000 men there. The Luftwaffe attacks Tobruk and loses three Junkers Ju 87 Stukas.

Map: map of Siege of Tobruk, as defended by the 9th Division, from April to November, 1941. You can see the both the Red and Blue lines as well as post numbers and dispositions of the Royal Horse Artillery guns.



While the British are determined to hold Tobruk, considered virtually impregnable (but the Italians thought so in January), they fortify Halfaya Pass and the coastal strip nearby to prevent an Afrika Korps eruption into Egypt. There are some minor skirmishes in that area, with the RAF bombing and strafing German columns and the Germans claiming to knock out some British tanks.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Royal Navy submarine HMS Tetrarch torpedoes and sinks Italian tanker Persiano about 30 miles (56 km) northeast of Tripoli. It goes down with 2200 cubic meters of gasoline headed to the Afrika Korps tanks.

A flotilla of four destroyers now based on Malta leaves port to intercept a southbound convoy from Naples to Tripoli. However, the destroyers find no sign of the convoy. The RAF also sends patrols out from St. Angelo on Malta to find the convoy, and they do - but they score no hits while losing a plane and four men from No. 803 Squadron. The four airmen wind up interned by the French.

Four Royal Navy destroyers conduct a patrol off Cyrenaica in Operation MBD 3. However, they find no sign of Axis shipping.

British evacuations begin again, this time in Greece. Four ships, including troopship HMS Glenroy, evacuate an entire battalion of troops, forty army vehicles, and 1000+ tons of stores from Moudros on the northern Aegean island of Lemnos.

The British beef up their naval forces in Gibraltar. Among the ships arriving is battlecruiser HMS Repulse and light cruiser Fiji. Submarine HMS Olympus arrives at Malta, but is in poor repair and quickly is sent back to Gibraltar.

Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Dunnottar castle, cruising off of Mauretania, seizes Vichy French freighter Banfora off Port Etienne (Nouadhibou). The Banfora is taken to Freetown.

In Malta, air attacks continue. Just before midnight, nine Luftwaffe planes strafe the airbase at Kalafrana and drop bombs on the St. Paul's Bay area. Another raid causes damage to the Ta Qali airfield area.

East African Campaign

Air War over Europe

With Operations Order 17, the RAF expands its anti-shipping priority to include the area from Norway to Bordeaux. During the day, 20 RAF planes attack Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen and also conducts Rhubarb operations over France. After dark, RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest with 66 aircraft and Bordeaux's airfield with 24 aircraft.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-124 continues its very successful patrol north of the Cape Verde Islands. It torpedoes and sinks unescorted 4313-ton British freighter St. Helena, which is carrying 7600 tons of canned meat and also grain, rice, cotton, and other goods. It is en route from Montevideo and Bahia bound for Hull. All 38 crew survive.

German raider Kormoran sinks 5486-ton Greek freighter Nicolaos D. L. midway between the closest points of Africa and Brazil. All aboard are taken as prisoners.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 901-ton Belgian freighter Arbel just northwest of Land's End, Cornwall. There are three deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3815-ton Swedish freighter Kexholm south of the Faroe Islands. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe sinks grain elevator Chicago at Millwall Dock, London. There apparently is nobody on board.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 4093-ton British freighter Dartford just south of Mumbles Lighthouse south of Swansea. The freighter is towed back to port.

Royal Navy 31-ton drifter HMT Rypa, manned by a Norwegian crew, sinks in Loch Ewe in stormy weather.

German raider Thor refuels from tanker Ill. It now heads back to Germany.

Convoy OB 309 departs from Liverpool.

US/Greenland Relations

With an agreement in hand to establish bases in Greenland, the US sends three coast guard cutters and some US Marines to Greenland. The German government and (occupied) Danish government protest, but the US government ignores them.

German occupied Norway

Norwegian-manned HNoMS Mansfield completes its destruction of the Øksfjord fish oil factory near Alta Fjord. Commandos landed at the factory completely the demolition caused by the destroyer's guns. However, they fail to locate the local Quisling leader for capture.

Soviet Military

Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin has been receiving a wave of warnings from numerous sources about a possible German invasion to commence as soon as 15 May. While he dismisses the warnings, he hedges his bets by issuing a secret directive to construct fixed defenses on the western frontiers.

US Military

The US Army Air Corps makes operational the 8th airfield in the Panama Canal Zone.

Day 590 of World War II, April 14th 1941

Balkans Campaign: invasion of Yugoslavia - Battle of Greece: Operation Marita

The German 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) is through the Klidi and Kleisoura Passes. It now is pursuing the retreating British and Greek armies south. The German 9th Panzer Division comes up against the new Allied blocking position at Siatista Pass, but such is the disarray on the Allied side that only one battalion of the 82nd Regiment of the 12th Greek Division is in place to delay them.

The spearheads of the 9th Panzer Division reach Kozani in northern Greece, which was the first main objective following the XL Panzer Corps' turn south. In addition, the Germans send some units across the Aliakmon River near Thessaloniki and take Katerini, which is only 6 km from the coastline. The British have pulled back slightly there, but remain in the vicinity to prevent further German advances.

The British strategy right now still is to stop the Germans, not to evacuate. They put forces into three main zones: the Olympus Pass, the Servia Pass, and the Platamon tunnel sector west of Olympus. In effect, the British have abandoned the Aliakmon Line even though they still have scattered units trying to hold it. The British organize "Savige Force" under Brigadier S. G. Savige with 1st Armored Brigade and 17th Australian Brigade to defend their left flank.

The Yugoslavian Zetska Division had been leading the advance to the west against the Italian positions in Albania, but the sudden appearance of German forces on its flank has compelled it to retreat. Today, it sits on the Pronisat River, watched carefully by the Italian 131st Armored Division Centauro. Because of this withdrawal, the Greek forces in Albania are now completely cut off. However, the Italians in Albania are very quiet.

The RAF bombs the Italian port of Valona (Vlore) with Swordfish torpedo bombers of RAF No. 815 Squadron. They sink 3329-ton Italian freighter Luciano and 1228 ton Italian freighter Stampalia. The British lose a Swordfish, with one man killed and two becoming prisoners.

King Peter II abandons Yugoslavia and flees to Athens. He departs from Kopino Polje airport in Niksic, Montenegro, thence to Paramythia, the site of a top-secret RAF airfield (near the Yugoslav/Albanian border) previously used (in February) by Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden and CIGS John Dill. Prime Minister (and Yugoslav Chief of Staff) Dusan Simovic and other top military and government leaders also flee separately. The Yugoslav gold reserves also are flown out. Peter flies from here to Athens, then to Alexandria, then to Jerusalem, then to Cairo.

King Peter's plane is escorted by a German-made Royalist Yugoslav Air Force Dornier Do17K of 209 eskadrila. It is a rare case of a Dornier Do 17 being used by the Allies, but not the only one, as Dornier exported several before the war. Prince Paul, due to his favoritism toward the Axis, had purchased 40 Savoia-Marchetti bombers from Italy and 69 Dorniers and numerous Bf 109s from Germany. Somewhat incongruously, the German planes were used against the Luftwaffe, with the Yugoslavs losing 4 Dorniers in the air and 45 on the ground. Two Dornier Do 17Ks escape from Yugoslavia and serve with the RAF in Egypt.

Photo: a Royal Yugoslav Air Force Dornier Do17K before the war



The Yugoslav government is under no illusions. It is considering asking the Germans for a ceasefire. Some accounts state that they request one late today.

British Col. Oakley-Hill, an old Albanian hand, has been trying to organize the Albanian resistance. With the situation rapidly changing, he is recalled. Resistance efforts, however, will continue.

The Luftwaffe damages British 7264-ton transport Clan Cummin at sea, then it hits a mine and sinks in Eleusis Bay northwest of Athens. While 36 men are rescued by the Allies, 77 become German prisoners.

North African Campaign

The first coordinated German attack on Tobruk happens and it is a complete flop. It starts well enough when German sappers cut defensive wires and fill in the Italian-built anti-tank ditch at 02:30. Then, supported by heavy machine-gun fire, they advance. At 04:30/05:20, 38 Afrika Korps tanks break through the first line of fortifications and into the Tobruk perimeter. Supported by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas, they make good progress at first. The Australian defenders, though, have been told to let the tanks pass so they can trap the accompanying infantry.

The British have artillery sited on the spot and knock out 17 of his 5th Panzer Regiment tanks of Group Olbrich (General Olbrich). The remaining panzers withdraw at 07:30 into the desert in disarray, but the 8th Machine Gun Battalion which follows them in is trapped. The 8th loses about 900 men to death or capture, leaving it with a strength of only about 300 men (casualty estimates for this action vary widely, but those figures are from the Germans themselves, though they may include some earlier casualties, too). General Rommel is furious at the failure to capitalize on the initial breakthrough and will sack General Streich, commander of the 5th Light Division, as a result.

Photo: Colourised photo of a Bren gunner from the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment at Tobruk.



The German prepare for a siege. They bring up the Italian Trento Division and put it under the command of the Brescia Division. They also put Detachment Schwerin in the line, along with most of the 5th Light Division. A second attack scheduled for 18:00 is canceled, an indication of the depth of the fiasco in the morning. The Afrika Korps also goes over to the defense of Bardia/Sollum/Sidi Oma. The RAF has complete air superiority, and forward Detachment Knabe is bombarded by Royal Navy gunboat HMS Gnat and its accompanying two destroyers in the Bay of Sollum. Royal Navy gunboat HMS Aphis bombards Bardia.

Photo: Italian troops and arms on their way to Tobruk 



The Luftwaffe is doing what it can. It attacks the Gnat in the Bay of Sollum and badly damages it, killing one sailor. The Gnat makes it to port in Mersa Matruh, then proceeds to Port Said. Lieutenant General Rommel requests control over Luftwaffe operations in Libya by X Fliegerkorps.

Australian soldiers at Tobruk report seeing what almost certainly are German 88-mm antiaircraft ("8.8 cm Flak 41") guns (they call them "long-barrelled guns on strange carriages"). The guns are not used and are there to exploit the expected breakthrough into Tobruk (German 88's, as they are routinely called, also are used as ground artillery and even, in a dire emergency, as anti-tank weapons). General Rommel used the guns in an anti-tank role at Arras in May 1940, so he is well aware of their versatility. They are sort of a halfway ground between tanks and artillery, with many mounted on vehicles. Their chief drawback, however, is that they have no armor protection and are vulnerable not just to artillery and tanks, but even to rifle fire.

Photo: a German 88-mm antiaircraft in action



Battle of the Mediterranean

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 2485-ton Turkish freighter Trabzon off Laurium/Lavrio/Lavrium (about 60 km southeast of Athens and north of Cape Sounio).

Royal Navy auxiliary tanker RFA Pericles, which had been damaged during the Luftwaffe bombing of Suda Bay, Crete, sinks (it breaks in half) while en route to Alexandria. Everyone aboard survives.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku is proceeding from Gibraltar to Malta, along with fellow submarines Torbay and Undaunted, when a torpedo - apparently launched by an Italian submarine - is spotted coming toward it. Taku takes evasive action and avoids the torpedo. Apparently, because of this incident, the Admiralty (CinC Mediterranean) orders Taku and Torbay back to Gibraltar for other missions.

Convoy AN 27 (four British and six Greek ships) departs from Port Said bound for Suda Bay, Crete. The ships carry reinforcements and supplies for the troops in Greece.

Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command attacks Dutch power stations with 14 bombers and coastal targets with another 14 bombers during the day. Then, after dark, the RAF sends 94 bombers to attack the French port of Brest, where German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are in drydock.

The RAF has a tragic accident when a Halifax bomber crashes at Tollerton, near RAF Linton on Ouse. The engineer apparently shuts off the engines accidentally. Two of the crew are injured.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-52 on its 8th and final patrol, torpedoes and sinks 6563-ton Belgian freighter Ville de Liège about 810 miles (1300 km) east of Cape Farewell, off southern Greenland. There are ten survivors. This is U-52's final victory, it will return to port after this and spend its remaining years as a training boat. During its eight patrols, it sank 13 Allied ships.

Photo: a photo taken pre-war of U-52



The Luftwaffe attacks shipping at Falmouth and bombs and sinks Free French Naval Forces gunboat Conquérante. Also sunk is French gunboat Suippe, which is later refloated.

German guard ship H 453 Gretchen sinks of unknown causes.

USS Gar is commissioned at New London, Connecticut.

Battle of the Pacific

The US Marines garrison Palmyra Atoll (due south of the Hawaiian Islands) with the Marine Detachment, 1st Defense Battalion. Legally, this is the southernmost point in the United States because it is an incorporated territory. It operates under the jurisdiction of the US Department of the Navy and is the center of the Palmyra Island Naval Defensive Sea Area established by President Roosevelt on February 14th 1941.

German/Egyptian Relations

King Farouk of Egypt sends Hitler a personal note through his ambassador in Tehran. Farouk states that ''he was filled with admiration for the Fuhrer'' and was ''certain that the Germans are coming as liberators" and would "soon liberate Egypt from the British yoke." But Egypt was not the only goal, important as it was. The Grand Mufti also met with Hitler around this time and wished "the elimination of the Jewish national home in Palestine."

Egypt is the cornerstone of the British position in the Mediterranean. It is more important than Gibraltar. The Suez Canal enables them to bring in troops from their dominions in India, Australia, New Zealand and their other holdings in Asia to counter the German and Italian positions in North Africa and the Balkans. It also is a potential British escape route for their massive forces in Greece and North Africa. In fact, seizing Egypt is the fundamental goal of German military policy in the Mediterranean, the heart of Adolf Hitler's "Peripheral Strategy."

Hitler has been cultivating his ties to the Arab world for years. For instance, he gave King Farouk of Egypt a Mercedes Benz 540k sports cabriolet for the king's wedding in 1938. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem also is on close personal ties with Hitler, while Rashid Ali in Iraq is eyeing the British at the Habbaniyah airbase near Baghdad and wishing them to be gone. King Farouk without question is the monarch in position to help further Hitler's war aims in the Mediterranean Basin.

The mere fact that Farouk feels confident enough to send this (top secret) sign of dissatisfaction with British hegemony over his country is telling. It suggests that the British hold on Egypt - and elsewhere in the Arab world - may be weakening.

US/Icelandic Relations

Fresh off its agreement to occupy Greenland, the US begins talking with the Icelandic government to see if a similar arrangement can be made there.

Australian/British Relations

Australian delegates to the ABDA Conference being held in Singapore later in the month embark on Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. Attending will be representatives of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the Netherlands East Indies.

US Military

The US Army Air Corps places an order for 2000 Model 74 (BT-13A) Vultee (Stinson) L-1 Valiant observation planes. These planes will bear the designation O-49 and perform various auxiliary services such as towing, artillery spotting and espionage flights.