Tuesday 14 January 1941

"Free French sailors help salvage belongings and clear up amid the wreckage of a blitzed building in Portsmouth on 14 January 1941." © IWM (HU 55590).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue to consolidate their hold on Klisura Pass on 14 January 1941. The Italian Toscana Division is partially surrounded and the remainder scattered.

General Archibald Wavell, British Middle East Commander, is in Athens to visit with Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and Commander-in-chief Papagos. The Greeks tell Wavell that they only have four divisions on the Bulgarian front (Yugoslavia is not on anyone's mind at this time) versus 13 in Albania. Already, the Greeks are heavily outnumbered by the German forces assembling in Romania and Bulgaria. Papagos and Metaxas request 9 British divisions for the defense of Greece, along with air support. Wavell hesitantly promises two or three divisions, though it would take time to transfer them. Papagos says that is not enough troops to make a difference and basically tells Wavell to not even bother then, since posting insufficient British troops would only invite a German invasion.

Mussolini, meanwhile, continues his visit to Albania to confer with his generals about stopping the Greeks. After it is over, he will head to Berchtesgaden to confer with Hitler.

European Air Operations: There is very little activity during the day or night. Electrical power is restored in Plymouth, bombed heavily in recent days, but gas remains off and will for some time.

"Polish pilots serving with No. 607 Squadron RAF studying maps on the back wing of a Hurricane as part of their training at RAF Usworth, 14 January 1941. One of the identified airmen is Pilot Officer Mirosław Orzechowski (fourth from the left)." © IWM (HU 92830).

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Pinguin has been stalking the Norwegian whaling fleet (under British charter) in the South Atlantic (near Antarctica) since mid-December 1940. The whaling ships have been gaily chatting over the radio with each other, completely oblivious to any need for security or the dangers lurking so far from home. Captain Ernst-Felix Krüder has the luxury of timing his approach for a moment of maximum vulnerability, and today is such a day: the whaling ships are tied together transferring oil. Pinguin simply sails alongside them and sends over a couple of prize crews - no muss, no fuss.

The whole event is over within 45 minutes without a shot fired or a single radio signal sent. Krüder tells the Norwegian crew that nothing, really, has changed; they should continue with their work, only, instead of the British paying them for their wares, the Reich will. Pinguin then sails off to find capture a factory ship nearby and associated vessels. All told, Pinguin rounds up 36,000 tons of shipping, 20,000 tons of whale oil, and 10,000 tons of fuel oil. The ships seized include:

• 12,201-ton oil refinery Ole Wegger
• 12,246-ton oil refinery Solglimt
• 298-ton whaling boat Pol VIII
• 354-ton whaling boat Pol IX
• 247-ton whaling boat Torlyn
• 297-ton whaling boat Globe VIII
• 338-ton whaling boat Pol VII
• 249-ton whaling boat Thorarinn

With the Norwegian ships secured, Captain Krüder then runs hard for five days halfway to the Sandwich Islands, at the end of which he has his radio operator send a long message which Krüder knows will fix his location through triangulation. He then returns to the Norwegian fleet, having succeeded in misleading any pursuers. Compare this with a different decision made by Admiral Günther Lütjens in May 1941 aboard the Bismarck and you see the difference between a clever man... and a dead one.

Royal Navy auxiliary cruiser Eumaeus, sunk on 14 January 1941.

Elsewhere, Italian submarine Cappellini engages in a two-hour gun duel with 7472-ton British auxiliary cruiser and freighter/passenger ship Eumaeus off Freetown, finally sinking it. Responding to distress calls, seaplane carrier HMS Albatross launches a Supermarine Walrus, which drops life rafts and attacks the Cappellini. The Cappellini survives but is damaged. There are 27 deaths and 63 survivors on the Eumaeus.

German 280-ton pilot ship Borkum runs aground and is lost at Hubert Gat in the North Sea (near Emden).

Danish Emilie Mærsk runs aground and is lost off Borkum in the North Sea. The crew survives. This is one of a series of sinkings of Mærsk ships during the war.

Buitenzorg, lost on 14 January 1941.

Dutch 7073-ton freighter Buitenzorg runs aground at the Sound of Mull, Inner Hebrides and is wrecked.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Fitzroy hits a mine and is damaged in the North Sea. It makes it back to Harwich, where it is beached, and then Sheerness for repairs.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Adventure lays minefield ZME 15 in St. Georges Channel.

Convoy FN 383 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 384 is held back, Convoy AN 12 departs from Port Said for Piraeus, Convoy AS 11 departs from Piraeus.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay (Lt. Commander Anthony Cecil C. Miers) and minesweeping trawler HMS MacBeth (Lt. Reginald M. Thorne) are commissioned.

Corvette HMS Jasmine and destroyer HMS Oribi are launched, while destroyer HMS Onslaught is laid down.

A British soldier and a Canadian sailor exchange pleasantries, 14 January 1941 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The British continue to reinforce Malta. Light cruisers HMS Orion and HMAS Perth land troops there. Perth is laid up at Grand Harbor for a few days with machinery issues.

The RAF attacks Benghazi and Assab in Italian Eritrea.

German/Soviet Relations: The Soviet Union and Germany sign new trade agreements covering items such as grain.

German/Romanian Relations: Having met with King Boris of Bulgaria yesterday, Hitler today meets with Romanian Conducător Ion Antonescu in Berchtesgaden. Hitler backs Antonescu against the Iron Guard, which is fascist but unsupportive of Antonescu. Antonescu indicates that he would be supportive of Operation Barbarossa if he can eliminate the Iron Guard, which thus becomes a sort of quid pro quo, and together they discuss how to do that.

British Military: Sub-Lt John Bryan Peter Duppa-Miller and Stephen John Tuckwell receive George Crosses for disposing of a mine which fell into a stream feeding Barling Creek.

Danish steamship Emilie Maersk (German controlled), lost on 14 January 1941.

German Military: According to press reports (United Press News Agency), the Germans are in the process of dismantling the Maginot Line and turning the recovered ground into farmland.

Soviet Military: Army General, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Commissar of Defense Kirill Meretskov - a Hero of the Soviet Union - is abruptly dismissed from his posts without explanation. Stalin later sees him at the Bolshoi, and, in front of others, has this to say to Meretskov:

You are courageous, capable, but without principles, spineless. You want to be nice, but you should have a plan instead and adhere to it strictly, despite the fact that someone or other is going to be resentful.

Stalin will give Meretskov an object lesson on what it means to be "strict" in the Lubyanka after Operation Barbarossa starts. This is another step on a very tortuous and even torturous journey for Meretskov within the upper echelons of the Red Army. His career is by no means over, but Stalin will have his way with him before he restores Meretskov to any commands.

The disagreement appears to be personal (at least at this point), but Stalin has a reputation within the Red Army for acting ruthlessly toward his generals, dismissing them, practically killing them (and sometimes killing them) and then - when all seems lost for them - suddenly re-appointing the survivors to significant posts again. Without over-simplifying it or diminishing matters, Stalin's relationships with his generals at times resembles that of an abusive spouse. Firing them and even torturing them on very flimsy grounds is a challenging managerial technique - at least for subordinates - by which Stalin asserts his dominance and expresses his displeasure with certain characteristics of his generals.

Look Magazine, 14 January 1941.

Propaganda: Former Belgian Justice Minister Victor de Laveleye makes a BBC radio broadcast aimed at occupied Belgium. He proposes that Belgians (and others) use the letter "V" as a symbol of resistance. This letter begins both the French and Flemish words for "Victory." This is the beginning of the use of "V" throughout Occupied Europe as an anti-German code, with "V for Victory" being the intended meaning. This will lead to many covert uses of "V" in occupied areas throughout the war.

China: The Nationalist Chinese 3rd War Area completes the destruction of the encircled portions of the Chinese Communist New 4th Army near Maolin along the Yangtze River.

Holocaust: A deep frost has set in across Europe, which is particularly harmful to inmates at German concentration camps and ghettos such as those at Lodz and Auschwitz. Death tolls spike rapidly during chills due to insufficient food and heat.

German Homefront: With people spending more time in air raid shelters, Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels proposes that conduct there be regulated. He requests that a list of "Ten Commandments of the Air Raid Shelter" be posted in every shelter.

British Homefront: Minister of Food Lord Woolton imposes price controls on 21 food items, including chicken, coffee, cocoa, honey, tinned food, meat paste, rice and pasta, pickles and sauces, jellies and custard, biscuits, nuts, and processed cheese. Speculators have been gouging customers, and chicken prices have risen 50% recently. All prices are pegged to those at the beginning of December 1940. Other price controls are expected.

"Pilot Officer Mirosław Orzechowski, one of the Polish pilots serving with No. 607 Squadron RAF, standing on a wing of a Hurricane at RAF Usworth, 14 January 1941. He was known as "Shrimp" on account of his diminutive stature and treated as the Squadron's mascot." © IWM (HU 128318).

American Homefront: On or about this date, Nicholas B. Schenck, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's parent company, approaches RKO Pictures studio head George J. Schaefer with a proposed offer: drop "Citizen Kane" for cash. Schenck, acting on behalf of Louis B. Mayer and other Hollywood executives, offers Schaefer $805,000 to completely eliminate the film (which roughly is what it has cost to make). The Hollywood bosses are worried about the effect that alienating William Randolph Hearst might have on their own businesses - Hearst lackey Louella Parsons has been threatening them with exposés of their own business practices if they don't lean on Schaefer to drop "Kane." Schaefer does not want to take the deal but tells Schenck that he will talk to his lawyers and figure out what to do then.

Meanwhile, in New York City shortly after noon, two brothers, Anthony and William Esposito, kill a man during a robbery near the Empire State Building and then lead police on a violent chase. During their attempted escape, the brothers also murder a police officer (Edward Maher) and wound a taxi driver (Leonard Weisberg). The Esposito case will become famous for its expansion of the insanity defense (it doesn't work for the Esposito brothers but will for many others in decades to come).

Future History: Dorothy Faye Dunaway is born in Bascom, Florida. She studies acting in college, then begins appearing on Broadway. This leads to film roles, such as Otto Preminger's "Hurry Sundown," for which she is nominated for a Golden Globe. She quickly snags prime acting roles based in part upon this success, including "Bonnie and Clyde," which leads to "The Thomas Crown Affair," and "Little Big Man." Faye Dunaway goes on to win numerous acting awards and remains active in the film business.

Civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph proposes a march on Washington, D.C. to demand jobs in the defense industries for African Americans, which apparently is the first time this has been done.

January 1941

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

2020

Saturday 11 January 1941

RAF bombing the port of Valona, Albania, 11 January 1941. (AP Photo).

Italian/Greek Campaign: Greek II Corps has captured the key Klisura Pass by 11 January 1941. It is considered the gateway to the vitally important Italian port of Valona. The Italian Lupi di Toscana Division, which went into action after a 24-hour forced march and no preparation and no maps, continues to get mauled in its counterattack, with one of its battalions surrounded. The part of the division that has not been surrounded retreats to its starting point before launching the desperate counterattack.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe, true to form, hits Portsmouth again for the second night in a row. A lucky hit on the main water main while the tide is out - the Luftwaffe has been planning raids in conjunction with the tides recently, to good effect - cripples firefighting efforts. The one saving grace for the British is that many locals have gone elsewhere for this Saturday night. The City of London also is attacked by 137 aircraft. A bomb penetrates Bank Station, killing 51 people and causing a crater so large that the army has to build a bridge across it.

RAF Bomber Command sends 16 bombers over Wilhelmshaven in another attempt to bomb German battleship Tirpitz. There are no hits and no losses to either side. Other bombers hit Turin with good accuracy, starting fires at both the Royal Arsenal and a ball-bearing factory.

Royal Hospital, Commercial Road, Portsmouth, on January 11, 1941. During the attack on the hospital, a doctor, a constable, and several male nurses were killed.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe attacks on Portsmouth destroy an entire flotilla of motor torpedo boats under construction at Vosper yard: MTB 37, 39, 40, 74, 75, and 108.

The Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Condors of I,/KG 40 achieve another victory today in the shipping lanes west of Ireland. They sink 1600-ton convoy rescue ship HMS Beachy. There are 5 deaths, and the survivors in their lifeboat are not picked up until the 29th.

Swedish 1216-ton freighter Bertha hits a mine and sinks between Saltholm and Middelgrundens, Denmark. There are four deaths and 13 survivors.

British 172-ton fishing boat Oriole hits a mine and sinks off Stakken North Point, Faroes. Everyone on board perishes.

German 679-ton freighter Brechsee hits a mine and sinks off Malmö, Sweden. Some sources place this as happening on the 21st.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and damages 1142-ton British freighter Greyfriars off Grimsby, near Hull. There are five deaths. The freighter drifts ashore but is later salvaged and taken to Hull for repairs.

British 8465-ton tanker British Fidelity hits a mine and is damaged in the Bristol Channel. It is towed to Cardiff.

Royal Navy 92-ton drifter Uberous runs aground off Londonderry and is wrecked.

US liner Manhattan runs aground off Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida, about nine miles south of Palm Beach. The captain and first officer both are later suspended for negligence in this incident. The ship is refloated and repaired just over three weeks later.

Convoy FN 381 departs from Southend, Convoy BN 12A departs from Aden, Convoy HX 102 departs from Halifax.

U-598 laid down.

HMS Illustrious (under the crane in the center of the picture) at Malta on 11 January 1941. The smoke is from renewed attacks on the port.(Photo from the collection of P.O. Shipwright Wilfred George Heydon, R.N.) Courtesy of Philip J. Heydon, I.S.M.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Air Marshal Arthur Longmore, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East Command, begins transferring RAF forces north to Greece. The first to go are RAF Nos. 11 and 112 Squadrons. Equipped with Blenheims and Gladiators, respectively, these two squadrons set out for Athens immediately. This is done despite the sudden appearance of Fliegerkorps X operating out of Sicily, which already is achieving outstanding success against Royal Navy warships.

The Luftwaffe continues its attacks on the Royal Navy warships involved in Operation Excess, and once again draws blood. Having damaged heavy cruiser HMS Southampton on the 10th, Fliegerkorps X (2 Staffeln, Sturzkampfgeschwader 2) returns in the afternoon and finishes the job. The cruiser is hit three more times and must be abandoned. Cruiser HMS Gloucester, traveling in company with Southampton, also is hit (a bomb passes through five decks without exploding) and set on fire (9 deaths). Italian submarine Settimo fires three torpedoes at the Southampton, but it remains afloat. Royal Navy submarine HMS Orion later administers the kill shot. There are 668 survivors of Southampton, 80 dead and 87 other casualties (accounts vary on exact numbers).

Operation Excess basically concludes. Perversely, all the freighters and warships carrying troops and equipment reach Malta without any damage. However, the Royal Navy has lost destroyer HMS Gallant and light cruiser HMS Southampton, while having new aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious damaged to the point of sinking. Overall, Operation Excess has been a disaster for the Royal Navy due to the new, unexpected presence of the Luftwaffe operating out of Sicily.

On land, the Australians and English tighten their hold on Tobruk. General Wavell will have to complete its capture soon before Greece sucks up more of his remaining troops.

In Malta, the dockyard workers swarm over Illustrious in order to make her seaworthy again. They ignore the mangled flight deck and instead concentrate on repairing leaks and the ship's steering.

In southwest Libya, the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) boldly drives south into Murzuk, their objective, after almost being spotted by an Italian reconnaissance plane. They drive straight through town to the Beau Geste fort at the southern end. En route, they capture the town's postmaster, Signore Colicchia, who they find cycling toward the fort with the day's mail. The sentries in the fort spot the approaching British vehicles (23 in all) and close the gate. The LRDG then splits up, with half remaining outside the fort to contain the garrison while the rest go to shoot up the nearby airfield.

At the airfield, the LRDG men subdue about 20 soldiers guarding three Ghibli light bombers. They then destroy the planes and the hangar. Pat Clayton, in command of the New Zealanders, takes out an Italian machine-gun nest by driving over it. After destroying everything worthwhile there, the LRDG reforms in town and destroys the Italian fuel stores, ammunition, and everything else worthwhile in the town. They also damage the Murzuk fortress, which is impregnable to their light arms. The LRDG then leaves the town at about 16:00 and heads back toward British lines the way they had come. Overall, the Italians have ten killed and fifteen wounded, while the British lost two men and three wounded.

The raid has a devastating effect on Italian morale. The attack was completely unexpected and far behind the front. Damage at Murzuk airfield is never repaired, and in fact, remains exactly as the LRDG left it for decades after. More than any other single incident, this raid creates the legend of the LRDG.

The LRDG attack on Murzuk, 11 January 1941.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Atlantis, having recovered from grounding on a rock in the uninhabited Kerguelen Islands and completed various maintenance projects, departs to resume its patrol. It leaves behind one man, a sailor whose grave is reckoned to be the German war grave of World War II that is the furthest south.

German Military: Following his most recent round of discussions with his military staff at the Berghof, Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 22, "German Support For Battles In The Mediterranean Area." In essence, it aims to prop up the Italian effort in the Mediterranean, both in Albania and North Africa. For the first time, Hitler specifies that Germany will provide "covering forces" for the defense of Italian North Africa, and also in Albania.

Hitler proposes to move the "approximate strength" of one army corps, which he specifies will include the 1st Mountain Division. He is not so specific about German forces in North Africa, though, saying that "Special orders for the composition of this force will follow." The Albanian transfer is to happen first, and then, once shipping is freed up, the transfer of forces to North Africa. This Directive is the germination of the Deutsches Afrikakorps.

This directive is an admission of weakness, not strength, in the Axis. While Hitler gives passing lip service to "Italian approval" of these troop movements, the Italians have been asking for help for a month. Fuhrer Directive No. 22 is only necessary because of Italian military failures, and while Germany has plenty of military force available and sitting idle, this directive opens up an entirely new sector of German responsibility that it never should have had to worry about. There is a vast amount of territory to cover in the Mediterranean, and it would have been vastly better for the Axis if the Italians had been able to hold their own there - but they can't.

The Luftwaffe's presence in the Mediterranean, also specified in the Fuhrer Directive, already is paying dividends, as discussed above. These forces are to be augmented and sent against British assets throughout the Mediterranean under the codename Operation Alpine Violets.

HMS Southampton, sunk today.

Soviet Military: The second round of Soviet wargames concludes. General Georgy Zhukov, in command of the "Red" or Soviet forces, scores a convincing victory over General Kulik, in command of the "Blue" or German forces. The Soviets choose to publicize this round of the war games and not the first, which was won convincingly by the "Blue" forces. Of course, both of the "winning" sides were commanded by Zhukov, a fact which the Stavka notices.

US Military: The US Army Air Corps orders two prototypes of the Northrop XP-61, along with two wind-tunnel models. This is a large, all-metal, twin-boom fighter carrying a crew of three. The XP-61 is designed to be a heavily armed night fighter used to intercept Luftwaffe bombers attacking London at night. Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons, based in London, has used the latest progress by the British in airborne radar to craft the requirements and specifications for this plane. Ultimately, this project will turn into the Northrop P-61 Black Widow. This is the second twin-boom fighter design for which the USAAC has ordered prototypes recently, the other being the Vultee XP-54 on 8 January 1941.

The US command problems at Cavite in the Philippines continue. Rear Admiral Harold M. Bemis relieves Captain Eugene T. Oates as Commandant, the Sixteenth Naval District and Navy Yard. Oates had just replaced Rear Admiral John M. Smeallie in December. Many consider these rapid-fire command changes to be a major factor in the US's lack of preparedness when the time comes for... action.

Dutch Military: The Government-in-exile begins forming the Princess Irene Brigade.

French Indochina: The Thai Army continues to attack into the Mekong Delta.

China: The Nationalist Chinese (Kuomintang) continue to press in on encircled elements of the Communist Chinese New 4th Army at Maolin on the Yangtze River.

American Homefront: William Randolph Hearst has banned his chain of newspapers from covering RKO pictures due to his outrage over Orson Welles' forthcoming "Citizen Kane." The front page of today's Daily Variety screams, "HEARST BANS RKO FROM PAPERS." Hearst has his lawyers working over the weekend to draft a temporary restraining order to enjoin RKO from distributing "Citizen Kane," which Hearst feels is personally defamatory. So far, RKO remains determined to release the picture. He also continues to look for other means to apply pressure on the studio.

"Store Gift Exchange," with art by Douglass Crockwell. Saturday Evening Post - January 11, 1941.

January 1941

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

2020