World War II in real time

Day 614 of World War II, May 8th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

The war in Iraq itself is going well for the British, but Prime Minister Winston Churchill remains a troubled man. It is clear that the Germans have designs on the oil of the Middle East, and the Vichy French in Syria appear to hold the key. Churchill writes to General Ismay:

I must have the advice of the Staffs upon the Syrian business available for Cabinet this morning. A supreme effort must be made to prevent the Germans getting a foothold in Syria with small forces and then using Syria as a jumping-off ground for the air domination of Iraq and Persia. ... We ought to help in every way without minding what happens at Vichy.

The British and Transjordanian forces crossing the desert from Palestine arrive at Rutbah Fort. They find it occupied by Iraqi forces under Rashid Ali, but the defenders are mostly just local policemen. The RAF sends four Blenheim bombers of No. 203 Squadron to bomb the fort while the British troops wait outside.

At the port of Basra, the Indian 10th Infantry Division continues fighting its way out of the port and consolidates its capture of Ashar.

East African Campaign: After an opening attack by Indian troops at Amba Alagi that proved unsuccessful, fighting largely has died down at the Italian stronghold of Amba Alagi. An Indian 9th Infantry Brigade diversionary attack through the Falagi Pass to the east makes some progress and essentially clears the pass. However, the Italians counterattack and recover Centre and Khaki Hills. The British Army has reinforcements on the march only days away.

Photo: Arb Legionnaires guard the landing ground at H4 pumping station on the Iraq Petroleum Company pipeline in Transjordan, as Gloster Gladiators of No. 94 Squadron RAF Detachment refuel during their journey from Ismailia, Egypt, to reinforce the besieged garrison at Habbaniyah, Iraq. On arrival at Habbaniyah these aircraft formed No. 1 Flight of 'A' Squadron for operations against the Iraqi rebels.



North African Campaign

Tobruk is quiet, but the sea war in the Mediterranean is becoming ferocious. The Tiger Convoy bound from Gibraltar to Alexandria has come within the reach of the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe, and today the first attacks on the critical convoy occur. Italian planes based on Sardinia are the first to attack, but Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal sends up its dozen Fairy Fulmars and they drive off the attacking 50+ aircraft at the cost of one of their own. The loss, however, is felt deeply, because the dead pilot is Admiral Somerville's nephew. Another Fulmar also is lost, but the crew is picked up.

General Friedrich Paulus, who has been in North Africa on an "inspection tour" since being sent there on 24 April, flies to Rome for a meeting with Benito Mussolini. This leaves General Rommel in sole command of the Afrika Korps. Paulus is of the view, shared (perhaps not coincidentally) by his superiors at OKW, that Rommel is too headstrong and prone to over-extending his forces. However, neither Mussolini nor Hitler are dissatisfied with Rommel's handling of the Afrika Korps, so they do not act on Paulus' recommendations.

Winston Churchill keeps the pressure on his staff regarding the Takoradi route, which shuttles planes from the west coast of Africa to Cairo. He tells the War Cabinet that "greater efforts" are necessary, and that "It was evident that inadequate steps had been taken to secure American aid in erecting American aircraft."

Photo: A Marmon-Herrington Mk II armored car armed with an Italian Breda 20mm gun, near Tobruk



Battle of the Mediterranean

Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant is proceeding from Malta to Gibraltar for repairs when it spots and captures 1775 ton French freighter Gallium. The Truant takes the Gallium as a prize and continues with it toward Gibraltar. However, the Gallium has alerted the Vichy French of its situation, and the French decide to dispatch ships from Oran to recover it. This continues the very murky pattern of naval incidents between the Royal and French Navies during this period.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal, as it has in the past, during the night.

Royal Navy submarine Cachalot arrives in Malta from Alexandria. It carries badly needed supplies. The bombing has become so regular at the island that the government there decides to relocate facilities underground. There is only one problem: everyone is in the military and there aren't enough miners to do the job. Governor Dobbie requests that miners be sent from Gibraltar for the job. Dobbie also bans the dissemination of all printed material, including newspapers such as the Government Gazette.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-97 on its third patrol out of St. Nazaire, is operating off of Cape Farewell on May 7th when it spots two freighters that have been dispersed from convoy OB-317. After missing in its first try and having to engage in a long chase, U-97 finally catches and sinks 4553-ton freighter Ramilles. There are 29 deaths and 12 survivors, who are rescued by freighter Geddington Court and taken to Halifax.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 521-ton anti-submarine yacht HMY Viva II about 13 miles west of Trevose Head. There are 22 deaths and ten survivors.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 93-ton naval drifter Uberty at Lowestoft. There are 13 deaths.

Royal Navy 79-ton drifter Thistle V hits a mine off Lowestoft and sinks. There are nine deaths and one survivor.

British 16-ton smack Thistle hits a mine and sinks off Clacton-on-Sea. Everyone survives.

Spanish 106-ton fishing trawler Luis Puebla hits a mine and sinks 160 miles northeast of Gijon. All nine aboard the ship survive.

Royal Navy patrol sloop Puffin has an accident with depth charges during exercises off the Humber. It requires two days of repairs.

Convoy OB 320 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sickle is laid down.

U-569 is commissioned, U-515 is laid down.

Air War over Europe

In a long war, there are often small changes that some like to call "inflection points." In one small area, could be called an inflection point in the air war. For the first week of May 1941, the Luftwaffe absolutely pounded several British cities. Liverpool, the critical gateway to North American supplies, has been reduced to 25% of capacity, and many other industrial cities in the north also have been ravaged. London, the most worthless target of the German air campaign, has been spared. In essence, the first week of May 1941 has shown what the Luftwaffe is capable of achieving given proper focus and target selection.

However, now it is the second week of May 1941, and things begin to change. Tonight, RAF Bomber Command launches a massive 359-aircraft raid on Hamburg, Bremen and diversionary targets, its largest effort of the war to date (317 against Hamburg and Bremen alone, with 19 sent against the Kiel Canal). The Luftwaffe gives up on Liverpool - right when the port is reeling - and shifts to the Rolls Royce works at Derby (which, of course, manufactures the all-important aircraft engines that some say are war-winning material). The British institute radio countermeasures that they have been refining for months, and this appears to have the desired effect of confusing the German navigators. Bombs fall all across the countryside in the Peak District, Nottingham, the agricultural Vale of Belvoir and nearby locations.

The Luftwaffe, which finally has figured out how to make its city raids pay real dividends by destroying port infrastructure, now shifts back to attacking 20 airfields during the night. While much damage is still being wrought in England, the air battle never again will be as one-sided in favor of the Luftwaffe as it was from 1-7 May 1941.

The Luftwaffe raids the Clyde, setting back construction of destroyer HMS Pakenham and monitor Roberts. An attack on the Tyne damages destroyers Vivacious and Whaddon, but nobody is aboard them because they are under repair.

The Luftwaffe raids Hull for the second consecutive (and last) night. The military helps with rescue work. The Germans hit Alexandra Dock and sink four ships.

Portsmouth also receives attention. The Germans sink 99-ton tug Irishman and 83-ton dredger F.W. No. 20. There are 8 deaths total, five on the Irishman and three on the dredger.

Nottingham suffers extensive damage in what comes to be called, appropriately enough, the Nottingham Blitz. Fortunately, the city government has built numerous shelters. The British successfully jam the X-Gerät beams being used to guide the Luftwaffe bombers, and most of their bombs fall harmlessly in the moors. In addition, a Starfish decoy (fires lit intentionally in the countryside to misdirect Luftwaffe attackers) confuses some of the German planes, and they drop their bombs harmlessly near Cropwell Butler in the Vale of Belvoir. However, there are over 100 bombers in this raid, which is directed at the Rolls Royce works. Dropping incendiaries, they start 12 serious fires, 40 major fires, and 42 medium fires.

Damage to Liverpool continues to be assessed. In the final raid on the 7th, which crept into the early hours of the 8th, sinks nine ships.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Action of 8 May 1941

German raider Pinguin, which is operating in the Arabian Sea and has been cruising since June 15th 1940, added to its phenomenal victory string on May 7th by sinking 3663-ton British freighter British Emperor. However, before being silenced, the radio operator on the British Emperor managed to get off a radio signal. The British have been searching fruitlessly for the Pinguin for months, and once again they send out an assortment of vessels to track it down. Heretofore the effects have failed, but today is different.

British cruiser HMS Cornwall, which had been 500 nautical miles (930 km) to the south of Pinguin, heads north and intercepts the German raider 400 miles off Somaliland. The Pinguin spots the Royal Navy ship first and tries to run away to the southwest at flank speed, but the Cornwall's Supermarine Walrus search plane spots the fleeing ship. The Cornwall is cautious: there are a lot of innocent ships in the vicinity, and Cmdr. Ernst-Felix Krüder of the Pinguin has disguised his ship carefully as Norwegian freighter Tamerlane. After returning to the Cornwall, the Walrus returns for a closer look. Once again the Walrus returns to the Cornwall, but then the decision is made to look over the suspicious ship a third time, and the captain of the Cornwall decides to take a look himself.

The Cornwall approaches and fires a warning shot, but the Pinguin attempts to flee. After numerous warning messages, the Pinguin finally runs up her battle flag and opens fire, straddling the Cornwall. It scores a hit in the cruiser's stern, causing one sailor to perish and wounding three, and the Cornwall has to retire. However, the damage is quickly dealt with and the Cornwall returns to the attack and begins to score hits. Within 27 minutes, the Pinguin receives a direct hit that triggers the 130 high-explosive mines stored in its hold, blowing the Pinguin apart. Cornwall then heads to Durban for repairs which take about one month.

There are 60 survivors of the Pinguin (Krüder goes down with his ship), and 24 of 238 prisoners held on the ship survive. In total, 214 prisoners and 341 crew of the Pinguin perish in the encounter. In total, during its 59,000-mile cruise, the Pinguin sank or captured 28 ships for a total of 136,642 gross register tons, and it has laid mines that have sunk an additional four ships of 18,068 tons. The biggest prize of all was the Pinguin's capture of the entire Norwegian Antarctic Whaling fleet, including two factory ships, eleven whalers, and a tanker. That is all over now, though, and the Pinguin has the additional distinction of becoming the first German raider to be sunk.

Minesweeper HMAS Warrnambool is launched.

Photo: Warrnambool slides down the slipway at Mort's Dock, Sydney, 8 May 1941



German/Spanish Relations

German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signs an agreement with his Spanish counterpart by which Spanish workers will head north to work in German war plants.

Anglo-US Relations

Winston Churchill keeps a very close eye on political developments in the United States and is quick to react. He notices an article in the London Times quoting isolationist US Senator Vandenberg on 6 May that Churchill interprets as representing "efforts to belittle our losses." He tells his staff to publish actual shipping losses. While this may provide useful information to the Germans, Churchill views "the present state of American opinion" as more important. By the evening War Cabinet meeting, Churchill has a telegram ready to send to Harry Hopkins containing the true figures, which goes out before midnight. The telegram states:

Our shipping losses for April amount to just under 500,000 tons sunk and 285,000 damaged. Of tonnage lost, over 300,000 were incurred in the Atlantic and the rest in the Mediterranean fighting. Besides the loss in ships sunk and damaged at sea we are losing very heavily in the bombing of our western ports when cargoes are destroyed or damaged.

British Military

Vice Admiral L. E. Holland, CB, formerly Vice Admiral 18th Cruiser Squadron, is named temporary commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron, replacing Vice-Admiral W.J. Whitworth. Holland will raise his flag on HMS Hood on May 12th.

China

The Japanese offensive by the North China Front Army called the Battle of Southern Shansi (Chungyuan Operation) gathers steam. They attack Tungfeng and capture Tsiyuan, Menghsien, Fulochen, and Yuanchu. The Chinese Nationalist forces in the area are in trouble and call on nearby Communist forces for help, but the communists are slow to respond due to previous incidents with the Kuomintang.

Day 616 of World War II, May 10th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

The Germans begin setting in motion Operation Iraq, their planned intervention in Iraq. The objective is to fly troop transports to Mosul in Junkers Ju 52s. Today, the first planes set out, escorted by Bf 110s of the 4th group of the 76th Zerstorergeschwader 76 (Destroyer Wing) under Lt. Col. Holbein, from Greece to Rhodes. The elongated route goes mainland Greece-Rhodes-Aleppo-Damascus-Mosul, and each stage will require a day's flight. The entire project under Luftwaffe General Felmy is a rushed job, and the pilots do not have maps and the planes have not been modified for desert conditions.

At Fort Rutbah in Iraq, the advance elements of Arab Legion which have been shadowing the fortress while the RAF bombs it receive some ground reinforcements. The No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF has arrived, and Squadron Leader Michael Casano, in command, attacks the defending Iraqis. The action is inconclusive, but the 40 Iraqi armoured cars which had arrived recently withdraw as RAF Blenheim bombers continue bombing the fort. After dark, the entire Iraqi Fort Rutbah garrison withdraws.

North African Campaign

Following discussions with Benito Mussolini, General Friedrich Paulus departs from Rome to Berlin. He will not return to the southern theater of operations, which his wife believes is not the place for him to make his reputation. Upon his arrival in Berlin, he reiterates his previous assessments that General Rommel is reckless and must be watched closely.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Winston Churchill remains upset about the "bottleneck" at Takoradi airfield, the key transit hub on the 3700-mile route across Africa to supply Cairo with planes. He tells Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Porter that "A regular flying-boat service should be established to bring back pilots which are accumulating in Egypt." He emphasizes that "Speed is essential, as from every side one gets information of the efforts the enemy is making." One of those "sides," of course, is Churchill's top-secret Ultra decryption service.

Churchill is upset about the entire Middle East Command. His dissatisfaction with Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell is well known, and he is prone to venting his feelings both to Wavell directly and to the War Cabinet. Anthony Eden recalls in his subsequently published diary "The Reckoning" that today Churchill "was in favor [at the War Cabinet meeting] of changing [Indian Commander] Auchinleck and Wavell about." However, Eden notes there is a rare moment of disagreement about this within Churchill's cabinet of "yes men" (Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies' scathing term for them). Eden writes that "I have no doubt that Archie [Wavell] has a better mind, but one does not know how he is bearing the strain." For the moment, the War Cabinet dissuades Churchill from making a change, which would seriously disrupt British strategy in the region at a critical juncture.

Churchill's prime grievance against Wavell is that he is not using his forces efficiently and basically has accumulated an army of slackers who lack aggressive spirit. In Wavell's defense, he has shown great tactical and strategic judgment, such as being skeptical of Churchill's obsession with trying to defend Greece against the advice of Menzies and others. The garrisoning of Greece, and then the evacuation in Operation Demon, was accomplished with great skill and few unnecessary losses. Considering that Great Britain's lifeline to India and control of East Africa and the eastern Mediterranean hinges upon control of Egypt, being conservative with the stretched British forces there could also be deemed quite prudent.

Operation Tiger continues to steam east through the Mediterranean. The Luftwaffe or Regia Aeronautica bomb and damage destroyer HMS Fortune. A large force of Royal Navy destroyers from the force bombard Benghazi at sunset. Royal Navy gunboat Ladybird bombards Gazala during the night.

The Luftwaffe sinks a motor launch, ML 1011, which is crossing from Suda Bay to Sphakia Bay.

At Benghazi, Royal Navy submarine Triumph torpedoes and sinks Italian banana boat Ramb III. The Italians will raise the Ramb III and return her to Trieste for repairs.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie praises the people of Malta for their support of the war effort and suggests that the government in London should issue a statement of thanks. He also requests 4000 rifles for the defense of the island; the rifle shortage has become an issue throughout the Middle East Command. The RAF loses a Beaufighter (two deaths) which was sent up to intercept a flight of Ju-52 transports flying from Sicily to North Africa.

Battle of the Atlantic

Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, ends today with the sinking of the U-boat while under tow during a storm. It is unclear if this is intentional, but subsequent histories often will claim that it was in order to hide the fact that the submarine was captured and the extremely important Enigma Code Machine and codebooks retrieved.

It is a very good day for U-556 on its first patrol out of Kiel and part of Wolf Pack West. It is stalking Convoy OB-318 before dawn when it attacks 4986-ton British freighter Aelybryn. The Aelybryn is disabled but ultimately makes it to port under tow with only one death.

A few hours later, U-556 torpedoes and sinks 4861-ton freighter Empire Caribou. There are 11 survivors and 34 deaths.

In the evening, U-556 then torpedoes and sinks 5086-ton Belgian freighter Gand. There are 43 survivors, with one man killed and another wounded.

Royal Navy boarding vessel HMS Hilary captures 5719-ton Italian tanker Gianna M. north of the Azores. The Hilary escorts the captured ship to join convoy HG 61, which is bound for Belfast. The Gianna M. will be renamed Empire Control and used by the British.

Convoy HX 126 departs from Halifax, Convoy SL 74 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

Minesweeper HMAS Bendigo is commissioned.

U-86 and U-374 are launched.

Air War over Europe

The RAF announces that the No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF operating Lockheed Hudson Mk.II Bomber, reconnaissance, transport, maritime patrol aircraft for the first time during the night of 9/10 May have attacked a Luftwaffe base at Kristiansund in southern Norway.

Tonight marks the culmination of the London Blitz. A massive force of 570 Luftwaffe planes pounds the docklands area of London and the City of London. The Luftwaffe likes to time its London raids to natural phenomena such as moonless nights for maximum effect, and this raid occurs during an ebb tide which hampers firefighting efforts. The bombers drop 700 metric tons of high explosives and 2393 incendiary bombs. Despite upgraded fire prevention measures instituted following the great incendiary raids of late 1940, the bombs cause over 2000 fires of varying sizes.

Among the downtown areas hit is the House of Commons, the roof of Westminster Hall and the top of Victoria Tower. In the City of London, the Tower of London and the Mint are set afire. In the port, the bombs sink small (4 ton) Safari and Miss England, (5 ton) Royal Navy auxiliary vessels Altais, Comet I, and Faislane, and (6-ton) Igloo, Jake II and Nomad III. Damaged during the raid are 4241-ton British freighter Tower Field and 1438 ton sludge vessel Henry Ward.

Photo: Damage to the Houses of Parliament following the raid of May 10th 1941



Overall, there are 3000+ casualties from the raid (around 1500 deaths), and some consider this the worst Luftwaffe raid against England during the entire war. It also, fortunately for the British, is the last mass raid against London of the war, though smaller raids continue for the next several years.

While the raid is an undoubted success in the sense that it causes a lot of damage, there also is a very bad omen for the Luftwaffe. It loses 21-27 planes (accounts vary) during the night, a massive and unsustainable number that reflects vastly improved British night fighter and anti-aircraft fire. This equals the number of planes the Luftwaffe lost during the great day raids of the fall of 1940 which caused its turn toward night raids. Raids in London are becoming too costly in general when easier pickings will soon be available in the East.

RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets (18 aircraft) during the day and Hamburg (119 aircraft) and Berlin (23 aircraft) during the night.

East African Campaign

Having completed their capture of the Falagi Pass, Indian troops advance toward 11,400 foot Mount Gumsa. This is garrisoned by Italian troops and supposedly guards the key point of Amba Alagi from the east. However, the Italians immediately withdraw from the mountain after sunset and join the main force in Amba Alagi.

The 1st South African Brigade arrives at Amba Alagi after a long march. The Italian stronghold now is encircled, and the British plan a set-piece attack.

In the Gold Coast, the 24th Infantry Brigade captures Italian positions at Wadara in Galla-Sidamo.

Anglo/German Relations

Around 2:30 p.m., German Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess, second in succession to Adolf Hitler, leaves a personal letter for Adolf Hitler and says goodbye to his wife Ilse. He then has his driver take him and his adjutant from his villa in the Munich suburb of Harlaching to the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Augsburg. After making flight preparations for his personal Bf 110, Hess at 5:45 p.m. takes off and takes a northwesterly course to Bonn, where he then tracks the Rhine River all the way to the coast. Crossing the West Frisian islands, he veers north, then to the northwest again.

Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, is alerted to the flight and orders Adolf Galland, head of JG 26, to intercept him. However, Galland's fighters are based too far to the south and are unable to find Hess. Berlin Radio broadcasts a cryptic alert at 8 p.m. that "Party member Hess had left on Saturday for a flight form which he had not yet returned." That the Luftwaffe knows about Hess' flight on the 10th makes Adolf Hitler's surprised reaction to the flight on the morning of the 11th suspect.

Once he reaches the right latitude, Hess turns the craft due west past the final piece of land and heads toward the Northumbrian coast. Hess, concerned about being intercepted, descends to wavetop level and proceeds with skill. At RAF Fighter Command, the commanding officer responds to word that an unidentified fighter has been spotted and fighters vectored toward it by shouting, "For God's sake, tell them not to shoot him down!" Hess has taken care of that by descending, however, thereby evading the three RAF Spitfires far above.

The RAF pilots never see him, so Hess continues flying west, remaining at the treetop level and heads toward his destination: Dungavel. However, he overflies his destination in the blacked-out north, reaches the Firth of Clyde, and then turns back in confusion. At around 10:25 p.m., his fuel tanks empty, Rudolf Hess bails out and operates his parachute, watching his Messerschmitt glide on and then crash and burst into flames not far away.

Proving himself a fairly adept navigator as well as pilot, Hess lands in Eaglesham, only a dozen miles from his destination, in a Scottish field. Hess is, as he recalls later, elated and triumphant that he has made, despite his regret at not meeting the Military Intelligence officers and Service Agents waiting for him at his destination nearby.

Scottish Lanarkshire farmer David McLean, meanwhile, has seen many warplanes overflying his farm during the war, so the notion of a pilot bailing out nearby is hardly unexpected. Hearing the plane and then observing the descending parachute, McLean grabs a pitchfork and approaches the figure laying nearby on the ground. Unable to make out even whose side the man is on, McLean asks, "Are ye a Nazi enemy, or are ye one o' ours?" Hess replies, "Not Nazi enemy; British friend."

McLean takes Hess into his farmhouse, which Hess accomplishes with difficulty because he has wrenched his ankle during his landing in the dark. In the kitchen, McLean's mother makes tea (which Hess refuses), and Hess tells McLean that he is Alfred Horn and that he was flying to meet with the Duke of Hamilton, the owner of the great Dungavel estate. Soon some local Home Guardsmen (Jack Paterson and Robert Gibson), and Hess tells them that he is Alfred Horn, just come from Germany and trying to land at the Duke's private airfield. "Please tell the Duke of Hamilton that I have arrived."

The two Guardsmen take Hess to their local headquarters. Soon, a crowd gathers. A dozen Home Guardsmen soon arrive to stand watch, and when the Military Intelligence and Secret Service agents arrive to pick Hess up, they are skeptical. Only when a regular army unit arrives as a backup for the Military Intelligence and Secret Service men do the locals release "Alfred Horn" to their custody. They drive Hess to the Maryhill Barracks near Glasgow.

The timing of the flight, supposedly chosen by Hess' astrologer, serendipitously (apparently) occurs during the Luftwaffe's biggest raid of the war against London. This could be counted upon to draw RAF air defenses to the south while Hess sneaks in from the north. Naturally, there are many unanswered questions about this incident, not least how the British knew to expect Hess. The flight comes to be known as a "peace mission," though why such would be attempted in this fashion is unfathomable. However improbable, this begins one of the strangest tales of World War II, one that will have reverberate not just in the days and weeks and years, but even decades, to come.

Photo: The wreckage of Hess's Messerschmitt Bf 110



Anglo/Irish Relations

Churchill sends Alfred Duff Cooper a memo stating that "Eire has repudiated the status of a Dominion... It may well be that force will have to be used." His concern is Royal Navy access to Irish ports, a burgeoning issue due to the recent Luftwaffe success in bombing the northern British ports such as Liverpool and Hull.

Anglo/US Relations

Churchill cables President Roosevelt to thank him for allowing RAF pilots to train in the United States. "We have made active preparations and the first 550 of our young men are now ready to leave." General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the head of the US Army Air Corps, originally made the offer, which Churchill calls "unexpected and very welcome." Naturally, training a warring country's soldiers is hardly commensurate with true neutrality, but such distinctions long ago were discarded by the United States.

Bulgarian/Japanese Relations

Bulgaria becomes one of the few countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

Italian Military

The Italian Navy at La Spezia takes delivery of midget submarines CB-3, CB-4, CB-5, and CB-6 from Caproni.

Japanese Military

Vice Admiral Toshio Shimazaki become chief of staff at the port of Makio on the Pescadores Islands, Taiwan.

China

The Japanese North China Front Army remains on the offensive, while the Imperial Air Force raids Chungking again.

Day 618 of World War II, May 12th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

Having just secured permission from Vichy Vice Premier Admiral Darlan on May 11th for Reich use of Syria as a transit hub for the military supply of Iraq, the Luftwaffe flies six Heinkel He 111s (Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck)) toward Damascus. Having flown from Greece via Rhodes under the command of Luftwaffe Oberst (Colonel) Werner Junck (Commander of Aviation Iraq. (Fliegerführer Irak)), these are the first major Reich attempt at interdiction in the Iraq war. Their ultimate destination is Mosul, Iraq.

Photo: Messerschmitt Bf-110 in Iraqi Air Force markings flown by German pilots of the expeditionary air force Fliegerführer Irak, sits idly in Mosul Airbase surrounded by Luftwaffe ground personal; Iraq May of 1941 (colorized)



British reconnaissance planes spot several German aircraft in Iraq.

Joseph Stalin is keeping an eye on the situation in Iraq. The Soviet Union/Russia long has had its eyes to the south. Stalin decides today to recognize the Rashid Ali government.

North African Campaign

Royal Navy gunboat HMS Ladybird has given sterling service in support of British ground forces in North Africa. She is bombarding Tobruk during the night when her luck finally runs out. Italian aircraft catch and sink the Ladybird (some sources say these are Luftwaffe Stukas). There are four deaths and 14 wounded. On the bright side for the British, the gunboat settles in only ten feet of water, meaning her guns remain above water level and can remain in operation with the assistance of another ship to provide power. Admiral Andrew Cunningham commends the ship's captain, stating:

Great fighting finish worthy of highest ideals and tradition of the Navy and an inspiration for all who fight on the seas.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Operation Tiger (Convoy WS 8A) completes its bold passage through the Mediterranean when it arrives at Alexandria. It brings some 238 precious tanks (including 135 Matildas, 82 of the new 2-pounder-gunned Mark VI Crusader cruiser tanks and 21 light tanks), vital for the defense of the Nile River Valley and Tobruk. Also included are 43 Hawker Hurricanes. With this desperate operation completed successfully, the Mediterranean Fleet returns to Alexandria and Force H returns to Gibraltar.

An Italian convoy of two freighters departs from Tripoli escorted by torpedo boats Clio, Orione, and Pegaso. The torpedo boats attack a submarine, which may be HMS Undaunted, which is lost around this date of unknown causes. There are 32 deaths on the Undaunted.

The Regia Aeronautica (Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft of 281 Squadron) bombs and sinks 4998-ton British freighter Rawnsley during an attack on Ierapetra Bay, southeast Crete. The wreck has become a very popular dive site.

Royal Navy submarine Rorqual is off Lemnos when it torpedoes and sinks 25 ton Greek freighter Aghios Paraskavi and accompanying schooner. These are transports carrying Wehrmacht troops to garrison Aegean islands.

The Royal Navy command structure in the Mediterranean experiences a shakeup. Among the changes:

Vice Admiral Pridham Wippell CB, CVO, former Vice Admiral Light Forces => Vice Admiral, 1st Battle Squadron with his flag on battleship Queen Elizabeth.

- Rear Admiral E. L. S. King CB MVO => Rear Admiral, 15th Cruiser Squadron with his flag in anti-aircraft cruiser Naiad.

- Rear Admiral H. B. Rawlings CBE => Rear Admiral, 7th Cruiser Squadron with his flag in light cruiser ORION.

- Rear Admiral I. G. Glennie => Rear Admiral (D) the Mediterranean with his flag in anti-aircraft cruiser Dido or depot ship Woolwich, if Dido was required at sea as a private ship.

At Malta, a second permanent fighter squadron is formed at Hal Far, No. 185. The Squadron Leader is Flight Lieutenant P W O Mould, DFC. The other fighter squadron on Malta remains No. 261 and is based at Ta Qali. By some accounts, RAF No. 261 Squadron is disbanded at this time and its equipment is given to No. 185. RAF No. 249 Squadron - composed of planes flown in from aircraft carrier Ark Royal - also participates in the island's defense.

There is a major air raid over Malta around 22:00 and continuing almost to midnight. There is extensive damage to numerous points on the island, including Luqa, Kalafrana, Garden Reach and St. Georges Bay. The Bighi Royal Naval Hospital is badly damaged.

Luftwaffe bomber prisoners are interrogated at Malta and their morale is excellent. They exhibit great confidence in an early victory by the Reich and have great faith in Adolf Hitler.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 4484-ton British freighter Fowberry Tower near the Humber Light Vessel. There are six deaths.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 5358-ton freighter Richard De Larringa in the Tyne. An attempt is made to tow her to port, but she sinks near Hard Sands.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages destroyer HMS Ripley near Londonderry, but the destroyer continues with her mission.

British freighter Speybank, captured by German raider Atlantis in the Indian Ocean in January 1941, finally arrives at Bordeaux.

Convoy OB 322 departs from Liverpool.

Admiral Günther Lütjens and embarks on battleship Bismarck at Gdynia/Gotenhafen in preparation for Operation Rheinübung, a planned sortie into the Atlantic in the company of cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Corvette HMS Bergamot is commissioned, minesweeping trawler Bute, minesweeper Fraserburgh, destroyer Middleton, corvettes Snowdrop and Stonecrop, and submarines Turbulent and Unbending are launched, and submarine Unrivalled is laid down.

Minesweeper HMAS Whyalla is launched.

U-128 is commissioned, U-155 is launched, and U-516 is laid down.

Submarine USS Drum is launched.

Photo: Drum (SS-228) gets a tug at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME



Air War over Europe

RAF Bomber Command continues raiding ports in northern Europe. Tonight, it sends 105 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.

During the day, the Luftwaffe launches standard anti-shipping sweeps by 125 planes in the English Channel. After dark, the Luftwaffe launches scattered attacks on Newcastle and Eshott in Northumberland, Billingham, Stockton, Darlington, North Hylton, Darlington, and Hartlepool in Co Durham and Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Thornaby and Hull in Yorkshire. Billingham, in particular, suffers from an attack on a chemical factory by 19 bombers.

In England, Air Marshal John Slessor takes over RAF No. 5 Group of Bomber Command.

Map: map in the 12 May 1941 Guardian showing flight distances to Reich targets



East African Campaign

The East African 21st Infantry Brigade captures the Italian position at Alghe in Galla-Sidamo.

The British Indian troops at Amba Alagi prepare another battle to take the Italian stronghold.

US/Australian Relations

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies meets with President Roosevelt. He finds Roosevelt looking older and more tired than he remembers, but still sharp and up-to-date on the war.

US/Japanese Relations

Ambassador Nomura and US Secretary of State Cordell Hull continue their discussions regarding a settlement of claims in the Pacific. Nomura presents Hull with a draft proposal.

German/Vichy French Relations

The Germans invite a select delegation of Vichy French officers to a meeting to discuss participation in Operation Barbarossa.

Soviet Military

Soviet Chief of Staff General Zhukov, wary of continuing reports from many sources warning of a brewing German attack on the USSR, orders four Soviet Armies to forward positions. The Soviet border is so long, however, that they can only provide a local defense.

German Government

Joseph Goebbels meets with Hitler at the Berghof to discuss the Hess affair. After a curiously long delay, the German government issues a formal statement concerning the flight of Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess to Scotland on 10 May. The release ascribes the incident to "hallucinations and a mental disease" in Hess. In addition, it states that all those who assisted Hess are to be arrested, but this is not done - though apparently astrologers, occultists, and clairvoyants are rounded up because Hess supposedly consulted them before making his flight.

Hitler abolishes the post of Deputy Fuehrer and creates instead the new post of Chief of the Party Chancellery (Head of the Parteikanzlei). Martin Bormann, who has been Rudolf Hess's party secretary since 4 July 1933 and has done personal tasks for Hitler such as overseeing renovations at the Berghof in 1935, takes the position. In his new role, Bormann controls access to Hitler in much the same manner that a US President's Chief of Staff does, and in addition, he controls all NSDAP appointments. Due to his ability to restrict access to Hitler even by such Hitler confidantes as Albert Speer and Joseph Goebbels, Bormann instantly becomes one of the most hated figures within the hierarchy of the Third Reich.

In Glasgow, military intelligence officer Ivone Kirkpatrick continues listening to the injured Hess describing the terms of a fantastic peace offer. Hess basically offers peace on Great Britain's terms so as to free the Reich's rear for the real war in the offing in the East. In a carefully memorized statement, Hess claims that he has come "to save humanity."

British Government

Ivone Kirkpatrick, interviewing Hess in Scotland, is keeping Whitehall informed of his findings. Churchill's aide Sir Alexander Cadogan notes in his diary that Churchill has been informed about Hess' announcement which claimed that he "had come here 'in the name of humanity.'" Cadogan notes next, "This won't do - looks like a peace offer, and we may want to run the line that he has quarreled with Hitler." The last thing the Allies want to do is dangle the possibility of peace before a war-weary nation - why is open to debate. However, this has been Churchill's consistent attitude throughout the war.

Members of Parliament meet in the House of Lords due to the extensive damage to their own chamber.

Queen Elizabeth sends a very rare note to Churchill from Windsor Castle to offer her "thanks... for his kindness in sending news of the progress and safe arrival of Tiger." She adds, "Any risk was well worth taking," and adds that she is "dreadfully sorry" about the destruction of the House of Commons and Westminster Abbey during the air raid of 10/11 May.

China

The Battle of South Shanxi continues, with the Japanese North China Front Army capturing Kuangkou, Maotien, and Shaoyuan. The Japanese now have reached their first objective, the north bank of the Yellow River. Elsewhere, the Japanese also continue attacking Tungfeng.

Doubt Stalin would have allowed his forces to be somewhat away from the border, forcing the Germans to cross more into the Soviet Union before they encounters resistance.

Day 619 of World War II, May 13th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

The remainder of Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck), commanded by Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck, arrives in Aleppo, Syria. The squadron composed of Bf 110 Zerstörer heavy fighters (12 aircraft in total) from the 4. Staffel/ZG 76 Heinkel He 111 bombers (12 aircraft) is spotted by British agents. Sonderkommando Junck intends to fly on to Mosul, Iraq in order to aid Rashid Ali in his war against the British. Today, for the first time, the RAF encounters a Luftwaffe plane (flying under Iraqi colors) in the theater. This contributes to a growing British conclusion that they must invade Syria.

Vichy French weapons already are arriving in Mosul from Syria. The first shipment includes 15,000 rifles, 6 million rounds of ammunition, 200 machine guns, four 75mm field guns, and 10,000 artillery shells.

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, in exile in Baghdad, renews his calls for a jihad against the British from Baghdad.

North African Campaign

The British start preparing for Operation Brevity, a small offensive planned for the Libyan/Egyptian border. The Luftwaffe notices the growing troop concentrations and attacks them.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Churchill is ecstatic about the safe conclusion of the Tiger convoy to Alexandria directly through the Mediterranean and sends a memo to David Margesson and General Sir John Dill noting that the success of the Tiger convoy "may well have transformed the situation in the [Middle East]." He reasons that:

It is much better to provide ample forces in war so as to achieve a swift result, rather than to budget for a continued flow of wastage over a long period of months. I am therefore of the opinion that we should send all we can from [England] at the very earliest moment.

Churchill says that he has asked the Admiralty to consider sending a repeat of the Tiger Convoy and also to return some convoy ships from Alexandria to England via the same direct route.

Operation MD 8, composed of light cruisers HMS Ajax and Orion and HMAS Perth, accompanied by three destroyers, departs from Alexandria. The objective is to bombard El Fateyah airfield near Derna. They get lost in the dark and fail to fire a shot.

Royal Navy gunboat HMS Gnat parks offshore during the night and bombards Galala Airfield.

The Luftwaffe bombs Malta, sinking tug Cornflower at Mersa. The strange case of the "Miracle" bell happens when a church bell used to warn of impending air raids tolls at 14:00, sending residents of a home for the elderly and disabled in Qomi to shelters. Seconds later, the building is bombed and destroyed. However, the church had not been informed of an impending raid, and nobody admits to ringing the bell. The Spiritual Director of the building ascribes it to "truly miraculous deliverance."

Battle of the Atlantic

U-98, part of Wolfpack West and on its second patrol out of Lorient, is operating south of Cape Farewell, Greenland when it spots a large ship. It is the 10,549-ton British armed merchant cruiser (AMC) HMS Salopian, part of the escort for Convoy SC-30. At about 04:00, U-98 fires two torpedoes but misses. At 06:20, U-98 tries again but again misses. Fortunately for U-98, the AMC apparently does not spot the torpedo tracks in the morning gloom. Finally, around 07:30, U-98 succeeds in hitting the AMC, with two torpedoes striking and opening holes in the bow and amidships.

Salopian is badly damaged, losing engine power and wireless communications, but it opens fire anyway. This forces U-98 to submerge. Gysae pumps two more torpedoes into the stricken AMC at 08:00 and 08:50, but it stays afloat. Finally, the sixth torpedo from U-98, fired at 10:43, causes the Salopian to split in two. It sinks in two minutes.

Overall, Gysae has to use nine torpedoes, an extraordinary number to sink one ship and over half the normal U-boat load. The Salopian's survival for so long is partially due to the practice of filling the holds of AMCs with empty barrels and other buoyant material. Despite the ship's dramatic ending, only three men perish, and the 228 men on the ship are picked up by HMS Impulsive on the 14th.

U-105 is operating about 700 miles off of Freetown when it spots 6434-ton British freighter Benvrackie, part of Convoy OB-312. The U-boat had suffered from the explosion of its 105mm deck gun on May 5th but remains serviceable. U-105 torpedoes the Benvrackie, sending it to the bottom. The Benvrackie had picked up 25 survivors from the Lassell on 30 April, sunk by U-107, and 15 of those survivors now perish in this sinking. In addition, 13 crew of the Benvrackie perish, for a total of 28 deaths. There are 55 survivors, ten of both sinkings.

U-111 is part of Wolfpack West, operating with U-97 south of Greenland, and it is on the first day on station on its very first patrol when it spots 5170-ton British freighter Somersby. The Somersby, part of Convoy SC-30, has failed to maintain convoy speed and become a de facto independent. U-111 fires two torpedoes at 11:41, with one hitting the Somersby. At 12:46, U-111 fires another torpedo, causing the Somersby to capsize and sink. Everyone on board survives and is rescued by Greek freighter Marika Protopapa.

British 496 ton hopper barge F hits a mine and sinks just 350 yards south of Dingle Oil Jetty at Liverpool. There are five deaths and six survivors.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 203-ton British trawler Fort Rona about 15 miles southwest of Bardsey Island (which lies 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd). Everyone survives.

A Spanish fishing trawler, Nueva Elisa, hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 2468-ton British freighter Lottinge about three miles off the mouth of the Tyne. The Lottinge makes it back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs destroyer HMS Franklin in the North Sea, but a near miss does not cause significant damage.

German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen practice refueling at sea in preparation for their upcoming sortie into the Atlantic.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Townsville is launched.

Photo: German battleship Bismarck as seen from cruiser Prinz Eugen during refueling exercises, May 13th 1941



Royal Navy destroyer Lance, corvette Clover and ASW trawler Valse are all commissioned.

Air War over Europe

The Luftwaffe again attacks London. One new characteristic of these night raids is that they now are accompanied by a fighter escort (day fighters that operate at night without radar are known in the Reich as "wild boar" fighters). This is an indication of growing RAF success at interdicting the nightly Luftwaffe bomber streams with Beaufort night fighters.

The damage to London is growing and alters daily life there. The chamber of the House of Commons is in ruins, so the MPs must meet in Church House, Westminster. Prime Minister Winston Churchill states there that "Parliamentary business will not be interrupted by enemy action." Big Ben is damaged, but still functional. The historic hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall is intact, but the lobby roof is destroyed. Westminster Abbey also has lost its lantern roof for lack of water to fight the fires - something that the Luftwaffe helped cause by timing its recent mass raid of 10-11 May to low tide in the Thames.

RAF Bomber Command attacks Heligoland with 44 aircraft, while the Luftwaffe sends 40 aircraft against shipping targets along the Channel coast.

Photo: a Bristol Beaufort MkI operating with No. 217 Squadron RAF shot down Carpiquet airfield Caen



East African Campaign

The Indian troops of the 5th Indian Division renew their attacks on the Italian stronghold of Amba Alagi. They attack the Twin Pyramids position. The newly arrived 1st South African Brigade prepares to join in the attacks on the 14th. The Italians continue to put up fierce resistance, but they have no source of supply and small stockpiles of essential goods such as food and water.

Anglo/Vichy French Relations

It is fair to say that Vichy France is caught between the millstones of the Reich and Great Britain at this time, and relations with both are murky at best. Both sides have been reaching separate agreements with Vichy, some public but many private. The Royal Navy is the flashpoint for many incidents, and one happens today which threatens to poison relations between the two powers.

Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser (AMC) Bulolo seizes 4484 ton Vichy French freighter Bourbonnais several hundred miles southwest of Dakar. The Bourbonnais, however, have time to send out a distress call that is received in Dakar, and the French authorities there are tired of having their ships seized on the high seas. They send out destroyers Fantasque and Terrible to "assist" the Bourbonnais. More ships follow. However, they can't find the Bulolo and Bourbonnais.

German/Turkish Relations

German ambassador to Turkey Franz von Papen, former chancellor of Germany and Vice-Chancellor in 1933-34 under Hitler, reports from Ankara. He indicates that Turkey is increasingly favorably disposed to the Reich. Turkey, due to von Papen's influence, is steadily increasing its trade with the Reich.

German Military

OKW Chief Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, on behalf of the OKW and Adolf Hitler, issues the first in a stream of flagrantly illegal orders to the Wehrmacht concerning the upcoming Operation Barbarossa. Entitled (in German, of course) "Application of Military Jurisdiction in the Barbarossa Region and Special Army Measures," the order provides that German soldiers of all ranks are relieved of responsibility in advance for future crimes committed within the Soviet Union. Basically, the order suggests, "anything goes" and anything up to and including outright murder by Wehrmacht troops is not only permitted, but encouraged.

Photo: First page of the Barbarossa decree



As translated, the 13 May 1941 order provides in pertinent part:

Persons [Russian civilians] suspected of criminal action will be brought at once before an officer. This officer will decide whether they are to be shot.

With regard to offences committed against enemy civilians by members of the Wehrmacht, prosecution is not obligatory...

This broad order, under an interpretation, dispenses with due process completely and is contrary to every law of warfare regardless of specific treaties, and everyone within the Wehrmacht must realize this instantly - but it stands. Keitel will, on 27 June, order all copies of this infamous order destroyed, but the Soviets will obtain copies and retain them in the Kremlin.

Soviet Military

Soviet Chief of General Staff Georgi Zhukov has ordered four armies sent to the Western and Kyiv army groups. The Soviet armed forces sent west, however, are poorly equipped and understrength. The Soviet western border is roughly 2000 miles long, and four armies can only man isolated strong points.

Pursuant to Stalin's expressed desire to attack the Reich, which he stated clearly on 5/6 May 1941, Soviet Defense Commissar Marshal Timoshenko and Zhukov submit a plan of operations. They project sending 152 divisions and over 3000 aircraft toward southern Poland. However, reviewing all the data of troop readiness and dispositions, Stalin decides against an attack at this time. He also rules against a general mobilization, though Soviet citizens are being called up in increasing numbers to serve in the armed forces.

British Military

Churchill's Tank Parliament meets at 10 Downing Street and reviews armored formation strategy for the defense of the British Isles, a German invasion still being considered an imminent threat. Churchill emphasizes the need for close cooperation between the RAF and tanks. In fact, he states that ground forces should have control over air operations and that "he would like a scheme prepared to equip as early as possible fourteen Army Co-operation Squadrons." These, he adds, "would then be completely at the disposal of the Army." Air Commodore Robert Goddard notes that equipping such squadrons, flying Blenheims, and Tomahawks, could only come at the expense of Bomber Command, but the decision is made and Lord Beaverbrook is instructed to begin the conversions.

The RAF refine their wireless navigation system known as Oboe. It is not ready for use yet. Oboe is a more sophisticated system of navigation than the current German systems that have proven effective, but easy to jam.

German Government

Adolf Hitler flies back to Berlin and addresses an emergency meeting of party functionaries. He announces that Martin Bormann has taken office as NSDAP Party Chancellor. Bormann will control all appointments to the NSDAP and access to Adolf Hitler from this point forward. This enrages others within the German government whose own power depends upon their access to the Fuhrer, but Hitler wants to free his hands for tighter control over military operations now that war with the Soviet Union is looming. This marks a major reorientation of German life from one in which the NSDAP is dominant to one in which the Wehrmacht becomes increasingly predominant.

China

The Battle of South Shanxi continues as the Japanese North China Front Army captures Tungfeng. The Japanese effectively have surrounded elements of the Chinese 1st War Area, which are ordered to break out to the north in any way possible. The Chinese begin to try to slip through Japanese lines in small groups.

Day 621 of World War II, May 15th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck, in command of Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck), arrives in Mosul, Iraq with the balance of his command. He now has a dozen Bf 110s, 5 Heinkel He 111 bombers, some light aircraft for communications, 3 Junkers Ju 52 transport planes, and a unit of anti-aircraft guns.

Oberst Junck sends a Heinkel bomber to Fort Rutbah, which it finds under British command and bombs. While this does little to damage the fort, it confirms British intelligence that the Luftwaffe has arrived in Iraq. Some accounts state that Major Axel von Blomberg, head of the reconnaissance group that preceded Junck's flight, is shot and killed by ground fire today while flying to Baghdad, other accounts state that this happened several days previously.

The RAF also continues conducting air attacks. The Iraqis get a rare success against the British airplanes today when they shoot down a Swordfish of 814 Squadron during a dive-bombing attack on some military barracks at Samawah, midway between Baghdad and Basra.

The air situation in Iraq is confused. The Iraqis have some Bristol Blenheims, and they use one today to attack Kingcol, the troop convoy coming from Palestine. However, the RAF basically has control of the air even despite recent Luftwaffe reinforcements. The French High Commissioner in Syria, General Dentz, protests to the British about the recent RAF air raids on his airfields at Palmyra and Aleppo which are being used by the Luftwaffe.

General William Slim assumes command of the Indian 10th Infantry Division at Basra.

Free French General Catroux issues a demand for Vichy Syria to surrender to British forces.

North African Campaign

At 0600, the British Under Major General William "Strafer" Gott launch Operation Brevity. This is a counteroffensive in southeast Libya to put pressure on the Afrika Korps and possibly relieve Tobruk.

The British attack with three columns aimed squarely at Halfaya Pass and the surrounding coast and inland area. The 22nd Guards Brigade and 4th Tanks under the overall command of Brigadier William Henry Ewart "Strafer" Gott, commander of the 7th Support Group, open the offensive at Halfaya Pass and achieve complete surprise against Italian defenders. However, the Italians recover quickly and make use of the heights to destroy seven heavy Matilda tanks before giving up the top (but not the bottom) of the pass. The Germans occupying Fort Capuzzo then move forward and put up a spirited resistance. The battle seesaws back and forth throughout the day, with Fort Capuzzo changing hands several times and the Germans recapturing Musaid at the top of Halfaya Pass. General Rommel acts quickly and sends his own panzers forward, both to repel the British attack and to reinforce the southern perimeter of Tobruk. As the day ends, the British have secured the critical Halfaya Pass, but little else of value, and are under pressure by the German response.

Map: A map of the area in which Operations Brevity and Battleaxe were fought



Battle of the Mediterranean

The Royal Navy gets ready for the coming Luftwaffe attack on Crete by organizing its forces into Forces A, B, C, and D. Force A, led by battleships Barham and Queen Elizabeth, is the most powerful. During the night, the Royal Navy sends elements of the 2nd Battalion Leicester Regiment to Heraklion aboard cruisers HMS Fiji and Gloucester.

The Luftwaffe continues its attacks on British shipping and airfields on Crete in preparation for Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete. They complete the destruction of Greek destroyer Leon, first damaged on 22 April, at Suda Bay.

Italian 861 ton freighter San Giusto hits a mine and sinks about 15 miles from Tripoli.

The Luftwaffe raids Cyprus, perhaps as misdirection for Operation Mercury. The British, amply informed by Ultra, are not fooled.

Air raids continue on Malta. During the day, the airfields at Luqa and Hal Far are hit. The Luftwaffe continues using Bf 109 fighter-bombers (Jabos) with great success. While the Jabos can't carry large bomb loads, they have great accuracy and incur few losses. During the night, there is a large raid centered on Grand Harbour and Luqa. Destroyer HMS Encounter is hit in a bomb that explodes in its boiler room, while MV Amerika suffers from a near-miss.

The Germans lay many mines at the entrance to Grand Harbour, a problem for the British magnified by the fact that so many minesweepers at Malta have been sunk recently. These include the new G mine.

New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser arrives in Cairo on an inspection tour of New Zealand forces.

Air war over Europe

The Luftwaffe launches scattered night attacks against targets including Newcastle, Scarborough and Middlesbrough's dock installations. Notably, the 39 bombers are accompanied by 14 night fighters, a sign of increasing Luftwaffe bomber vulnerability at night.

The RAF sends Rhubarb operations composed of 20 planes along the French coast. RAF Bomber Command raids Berlin (14 bombers), Cuxhaven and Hannover (101 aircraft).

During the RAF Rhubarb attacks, the Junkers Ju 52 transport of Luftwaffe Generaloberst Ulrich Grauert, commander of the 1st Air Corps, is spotted flying near St. Omer, France. F/Lt Jerzy Jankiewicz, flying a Supermarine Spitfire, and Sgt Wacław Giermer, flying a Spitfire II, from the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, combine to shoot the plane down and kill Grauert. This is a sign of increasing RAF penetrations over the Continent during daylight hours. There is the possibility that this interception is not a moment of serendipity, as the British are reading many Luftwaffe coded messages in the Ultra program.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-105 on a lengthy second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5920-ton British freighter Benvenue a little over 400 miles off Freetown. There are two deaths and 55 survivors.

U-43 on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, spots a three-masted sailing ship on the fourth day of its patrol. It is 488-ton French sailing ship Notre Dame du Châtelet. Rather than waste a torpedo on it, U-43 surfaces and uses his deck gun. U-43 pumps 45 shells into the ship, sinking it. The French crew reflects the state of confusion in their country's allegiances by assuming they had been sunk by a British submarine. There are ten survivors and 28 deaths.

The RAF sinks 1564 ton Swedish freighter near Heligoland. There are three deaths. Great Britain, of course, is not at war with Sweden, but the ship is operating in a well-known war zone.

Free French submarine Surcouf is assigned to patrols based on Bermuda. US Navy heavy cruisers USS Quincey and Vincennes of the 11th Destroyer Squadron also join the Central America Neutrality Patrol there.

Photo: French submarine Surcouf



The 1st Minelaying Squadron lays minefield SN 9B.

Convoy OG 2 departs from Liverpool bound for Gibraltar.

Battleship USS Washington, a sister ship of USS North Carolina, is commissioned at the Washington Navy Yard. While this is months ahead of schedule and a boost to US Navy morale, the commissioning is a bit premature, as Washington's engines have not been run at full power. In fact, the engines have some unnoticed issues (acute longitudinal vibrations from her propeller shafts) that will be noticed when they are properly tested and require further work. USS Washington is scheduled for Atlantic service.

Photo: Washington shortly after commissioning on May 15th 1941



Submarines USS Amberjack and Halibut are laid down.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Coltsfoot is launched.

Canadian corvette HMCS Galt (Lt. Alexander D. Landles, K 163) is commissioned.

U-577 and U-578 are launched, and U-169 and U-195 are laid down.

East African Campaign

At Amba Alagi, the British attacks make progress against the Italians. The recently arrived South African troops link up with Indian troops at Triangle Hill. The British have the support of Abyssinian guerilla fighters who are loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie. The Italians, meanwhile, are running short of the most basic and essential supplies, a situation made direr by shell damage to an oil tank containing the Italians' only source of drinking water.

Photo: a RAF Vickers Wellesley taking off in East African, May 15th 1941



German/Vichy French Relations

Marshal Petain gives his approval of Vice Premier Admiral Darlan's recent agreement with the Germans. Pursuant to this agreement, Germany has free access to Syrian airfields held by Vichy French forces. This is a sign of growing collaboration between the two governments.

Anglo/US Relations

US Navy Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52) transfers from Naval Air Station (NAS) Quonset Point, Rhode Island north to NAS Argentia, Newfoundland. The ten PBY-5A Catalinas, serviced by seaplane tender USS Albemarle (AV-5), are intended to fly anti-submarine patrols along the North Atlantic convoy routes to Great Britain.

US/Vichy French Relations

President Roosevelt addresses relations with France by issuing a statement:

The policy of this government in its relations with the French Republic has been based upon the terms of the armistice between Germany and France and upon recognition of certain clear limitations imposed upon the French Government by this armistice.

Roosevelt strongly disapproves of French collaboration:

The people of the United States can hardly believe that the present Government of France could be brought to lend itself to a plan of voluntary alliance, implied or otherwise, which would apparently deliver up France and its colonial empire, including French African colonies and their Atlantic coasts, with the menace which that involves to the peace and safety of the Western Hemisphere.

Soviet Military

Stalin, following his bellicose May 5th speech to graduating officers in Moscow, has had General Zhukov prepare a plan of attack against the Reich. In the Zhukov Plan of May 15, 1941, the Southwestern and Western Fronts (centered around Zhukov's former command at Kyiv) will be the axis of advance. The objective of the invasion will be to destroy the opposing Wehrmacht defense and advance across Poland toward the Reich border. This, Zhukov believes, would force the Wehrmacht to abandon Greece and Yugoslavia and cut the Germans off from their essential Romanian, Hungarian and Bulgarian allies (Romania is important more for its oil fields than its military). Once the Red Army has broken through, it could turn north and northwest to encircle the northern wing of the German defenses. Furthermore, the Red Army would invade Finland and complete the unfinished business from the Winter War.

The plan, which has no start date, and of course is never executed, reflects the poor state of Soviet military intelligence at this time. Zhukov is under the impression that the main Wehrmacht forces are across the border from Kyiv rather than further north, and that defeating them would eliminate the Wehrmacht's ability to resist. This is an easy mistake to make because Hitler also prefers to place more emphasis on this sector than the Baltic states and Moscow, which he thinks are pointless political objectives. The Wehrmacht generals, however, are of the opinion that taking Moscow is a top priority, and the OKW subtly has been orienting the main attack further north.

British Military

The Gloster E.28/39, the first British jet-engined aircraft to fly and powered by a single 860-lb thrust Whittle W. 1 turbojet engine (designed by Frank Whittle), has its first flight at dusk. Piloted by Gloster's Chief Test Pilot Flight Lieutenant Gerry Sayer, the jet flies under its own power from RAF Cranwell, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire. The jet-powered flight lasts for 17 minutes and attains 350 mph, which is in line with the top-performing propeller aircraft. Great Britain thus becomes the third member of the jet aircraft club, following German (August 1939) and Italy (August 1940).

Photo: Gloster E.28/39, c. 1941



The Royal Navy transfers corvettes HMS Arrowhead, Bittersweet, Eyebright, Fennel, Hepatica, Mayflower, Snowberry, Spikenard, Trillium and Windflower to the Royal Canadian Navy. This is a reflection of the continued move westward of U-boat attacks. The corvettes all retain their names but now will be manned by Canadians.

British Government

Prime Minister Winston Churchill answers questions in the House of Commons. He inadvertently lets slip that Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton (who coincidentally marks his one-year anniversary in the post today) is part of the country's propaganda efforts. Since Dalton presumably is providing real information regarding trade, this calls into question his ministry's regular press releases.

Churchill rejects a request that representatives of all three major political parties be included in the War Cabinet - and not just Churchill's cronies. Churchill's reasoning is that the War Cabinet is composed of non-Departmental Ministers, and the leader of the Liberal Party is Air Minister.

Regarding Rudolf Hess, Churchill denies that his mission was intended to seek a separate peace for Scotland, stating, "Whatever delusions may exist, that is not among them." He does not mention that Hess has proposed a complete peace, not just one with Scotland.

At the evening War Cabinet meeting, Churchill claims that the Japanese "always showed nervousness when either the United States or [Great Britain] took a strong line." Reasoning that the Japanese would never attack the Dutch East Indies without the certainty of US neutrality, he denies an Admiralty request that naval forces be sent to the Far East to strengthen its defenses.

Labour Minister Ernest Bevin makes the first official government statement on the Rudolf Hess incident, stating:

I do not believe that Hitler did not know that Hess was coming to England. From my point of view Hess is a murderer. He is no man I would ever negotiate with and I don't change even for diplomatic reasons. I am not going to be deceived.

The government announces that, in operations in Norway and France, there were 13,250 men killed and 41,000 captured out of a total of 437,000 soldiers deployed.

US Government

The US Senate passes the Ship Seizure Bill, which already had passed the House on 7 May. This bill has been drafted and passed in accordance with President Roosevelt's request for congressional authority to purchase or lease 83 European ships (including 2 German, 26 Italian, 36 Danish, 1 Belgian, 14 French, 2 Estonian, 1 Lithuanian, 1 Romanian) lying idle in New York Harbor. These ships total half a million tons in total. This bill as drafted grants the US Navy the right to take over vessels "by purchase, charter, requisition" or into "protective custody."

New York congressman Hamilton Fish has called the bill "the grossest breach of international law in history," while Illinois congressman Leo Allen has warned of German and Italian retaliatory seizures of US property. US Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg also thinks the move imprudent, terming it a "provocative step toward war."

Now that the bill has passed Congress, all that remains is for President Roosevelt to sign it for it to become law, which he promptly does. It is commonly believed that this bill is passed in retaliation for Vichy French collaboration with the Reich. French freighters are still coming into US ports, and they now are liable to seizure as they arrive. The biggest prize of all is the 83,423-ton liner Normandie, berthed in New York City. FDR sends guards to board all French ships in US ports pursuant to the new law.

Day 623 of World War II, May 17th 1941

Anglo-Iraq War

Recently arrived Special Force Junck (Sonderkommando Junck), under the command of Commander of Aviation Iraq (Fliegerführer Irak) Oberst Werner Junck, raids the advancing British relief column (Kingcol) with three Bf 110s. The RAF sends two recently arrived Hawker Hurricanes (flown in from Egypt) and six Bristol Blenheim bombers of No. 84 Squadron to attack Junck's own airfield at Mosul. While the RAF loses one precious Hurricane, the Luftwaffe loses two planes and has four more damaged. In a separate action, two RAF Gloster Gladiators from Habbaniya Airfield catch two Bf 110s taking off from Rashid Airfield at Baghdad and shoot them down. One of these Bf 110s crashlands and will be repaired and placed in RAF service. While Junck still has a sizeable and effective force, it is suffering rapid attrition, and Iraqi/Luftwaffe ground support services are virtually nonexistent.

On the ground, the scratch British garrison at Habbaniya Airfield continues its unexpectedly stout defense against the Iraqi military with great success. The British relief column, Kingcol, reaches Habbaniya late in the evening, but the Habbaniya garrison was in no need of rescue. The newly arrived British forces then continue their advance east to within ten miles of Fallujah on the road to Baghdad.

The Soviet TASS News Agency announces that the Soviet Union and Rashid Ali government in Iraq have reached an agreement for diplomatic, trad and consular arrangements.

North African Campaign

The British attack on the Axis line centered on Halfaya Pass, launched on 15 May, lives up to its codename Operation Brevity by coming to an inglorious end. German Colonel Maximilian von Herff, in command of Group Herff, launches a counterattack in the area near Bir Wair and Musaid at 1600 hours. British Brigadier General William "Strafer" Gott withdraws his troops into the Halfaya Pass, Egypt, ending his offensive operation.

The only tangible benefit of the offensive is that the British remain in possession of strategically important Halfaya Pass. However, that that small gain has cost the British five tanks destroyed and 13 damaged in addition to 206 casualties. The Germans have suffered 295 casualties and Italians 395 (347 captured), along with losing three tanks lost and about the same number damaged.

At Tobruk, fresh Australian troops and their artillery pieces arrive during the night on destroyer HMAS Vampire. By first light, the troops and guns are used to attack the investing Axis troops, but they make no progress.

Winston Churchill cables Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell and begins with "Results of action [Operation Brevity] seem to us satisfactory." He notes that "News from Tobruk is also good." He makes an extremely rare direct reference to Ultra decrypts (which Wavell knows about) when he writes that "Enemy is anxious about Tobruk and reports with apparent satisfaction when it is quiet."

Photo: A Messerschmitt Bf 110D in British markings in North Africa. This aircraft served with II/ZG76 in Iraq and was captured after crash-landing near Mosul on 17 May 1941. The RAF named it "The Belle of Berlin" and used it as a communications aircraft and later as a unit 'hack' in RAF No.267 Squadron.



Battle of the Mediterranean

The RAF (Beaufighters of No. 252 Squadron based on Malta) raids Athens airfield and destroys the second - and last - Junkers G.38 (the "Generalfeldmarschall von Hindenburg") being operated by the Luftwaffe (after long service with Lufthansa) on the ground. The G.38 is an obsolete 1929 design but has an advanced design that foreshadows the "Blended Wing Body" design that offers aerodynamic advantages and will experience a resurgence of popularity by Boeing and NASA in the 21st Century. It also is one of the few four-engine designs ever used by the Wehrmacht and features unique seats in the wings for passengers with forward-facing windows.

The Luftwaffe continues its attack on British installations on Crete in preparation for Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete. At Suda Bay, the German planes sink 10,694-ton British tanker Eleonora Maersk (20 killed, 7 later become POWs, 17 rescued) and 5719 ton Greek freighter Themoni. The Eleonora Maersk will stay sunk throughout the war but will be raised and repaired thereafter.

The Luftwaffe drops mines in the Suez Canal.

Tanker Rondine, carrying 5000 tons of aviation fuel, arrives later than expected at Athens. Operation Mercury accordingly is postponed to 20 May, which now appears to be a firm invasion date.

Quiet day on Crete, with the Luftwaffe only performing minimal reconnaissance.

Air war over Europe

Battle of the Atlantic

U-107 on its lengthy second patrol, is operating off Freetown. The U-boat has been stalking independent 8029-ton Dutch tanker Marisa, which is full of oil, since mid-day on the 16th. At 00:36 on the 17th, U-107 finally gets into firing position and hits the Marisa with one torpedo. The explosion kills two or three men, but the rest of the crew takes to the lifeboats. Tankers being difficult to sink due to their compartmentalized structures,U-107 hits it with another torpedo in the stern at 01:15, then surfaces to use deck guns - both of which misfire. The survivors take to three lifeboats, two of which are picked up by Royal Navy destroyers (Columbine and Surprise), and the third of which makes landfall at French-Guinea on 23 May.

The Luftwaffe (Focke-Wulf Fw 200 aircraft of I Staffeln, Kampfgeschwader 40) bombs and sinks 7939-ton British freighter Statesman in the Northwest Approaches. There is one death.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1091 ton British freighter Arthur Wright and 933-ton Norwegian freighter Ala five miles south of Shoreham. Ala has to be beached near Shoreham but later is refloated and repaired. There is one death on Ala, the rest of the two crews survive.

Winston Churchill, in a memo to First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander and First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dudley Pound, requests that ten of the Royal Navy's 40 large armed merchant cruisers (AMCs) be converted into troop transports.

Royal Navy ocean boarding vessel HMS Registan captures 488 ton Vichy French auxiliary schooner Izarra near Canada and sends it to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Four German freighters are reported to have left Chilean ports in an attempt to run the Royal Navy blockade of Europe.

Convoy OB 323 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 75 departs from Freetown bound for Liverpool.

Canadian corvette HMCS Dauphin is commissioned and corvette Summerside is launched in Quebec City.

U-206 is commissioned, U-134 is launched, U-212, U-261, and U-465 are laid down.

East African Campaign

The Sudan Defense Force, accompanied by Abyssinian guerilla forces, attack Italian positions at Chilga west of Gondar.

At Amba Alagi, surrender negotiations are concluded between the Duke of Aosta and the British (Indian and South African troops). An agreement for the Italians to surrender is reached at 17:30. It is to be a "surrender with honor," and the Italians will be permitted to march out with their rifles (to be surrendered later) but leave behind their other equipment and stores.

Photo: Surrender of the Duke of Aosta at Amba Alagi



The ceremony of surrender is to take place on May 19th. The Italians are forced to surrender due to lack of supplies, a situation exacerbated when a British artillery shell damaged the oil tank they were using to store their potable water.

YouTube (The Duke Of Aosta Surrenders (1941)



US/Vichy French Relations

Four US Senators of President Roosevelt's Democratic Party publicly advocate seizing Vichy French possessions in the Western Hemisphere. These include but are not limited to Martinique and small islands off the Canadian coast. This would be done in collaboration with Latin American republics pursuant to the pact of Havana.

German Military

Adolf Hitler issues his Directive No. 29, which addresses "The aim of German operations in the southeast," i.e., the Balkans and Crete. The main points of the Directive are that the Italians will be primarily responsible for defending Greece, and how Crete will be garrisoned - its capture being assumed in upcoming Operation Mercury.

Italian Government

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy is in Albania visiting Albanian Prime Minister Shefqet Vërlaci when both are shot at in their car. The culprit is 19-year old Albanian nationalist Vasil Laçi, who will be executed on 27 May.