Category Archives: World War II

SECOND WORLD WAR April 1941

SECOND WORLD WAR April 1941

(The Desert War)

When Italy entered the war in June 1940 they already had an army of 236,000 men, equipment and supplies in Libya. Their attempt to captured Egypt had been halted by the British and they were driven back into Libya. Germany intervened by sending re-enforcements under Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps. By the end of March 1941 Rommel had reached and captured El Agheila. The British were in retreat and Rommel, known as the “Desert Fox”, was set to continue the desert war.

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By the 6th April 1941 Rommel’s Afrika Korps had advanced 400 miles, forcing the British to retreat to Egypt, when he assigned some of his force to begin the siege of Tobruk. The German siege of Tobruk began on the 10th April 1941, where a garrison of British troops, mostly Australian remained, to deny the German/Italian axis powers access to the town’s port. The Siege of Tobruk was to last for two hundred and forty one days. The reason the British and the Axis Powers wanted control of Tobruk was that it had a deep protected harbour, for the British so they could defend Egypt and the Suez Canal. For the Axis Powers, to bring in supplies rather than having to transport them from the distant port of Tripoli in Libya. On the 13th/14th April 1941 German tanks attacked the Australian defences but they were held off by artillery fire and the German infantry was forced back by the Australian infantry. In the meantime, Rommel had advanced eastward toward Egypt and was at the frontier by the 24th April 1941. With the failure to capture Tobruk during the march eastward, Rommel believed the only way to take Tobruk was by a deliberate attack. This attack was not possible until sufficient support units had arrived in the area. On the 27th April 1941 Major-General Friedrich Paulus a Deputy Chief of the General Staff, arrives from Berlin to enquire about Rommel’s intentions. Also to let him know there was little chance of more help being available and to concentrate on holding defensive position on the Egyptian frontier.

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 (The Battle for Greece)       

When Italy failed to win the Greco-Italian War which had begun on the 28th October 1940, Hitler decided to intervene on the 4th November 1940. The Greek Army had forced the Italians to retreat into Albanian territory and by the 24th March 1941 the Italian offensive was cancelled as it had ended in complete failure. British troops were transferred from North Africa to Greece beginning on the 4th March 1941. They were required to assist the Greeks in their battle against the advancing German troops.

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The German invasion of Greece, known as Operation Marita began on the 6th April 1941 with the Greek Army occupying the Greek border with Albania. British and Commonwealth reinforcements had arrived in anticipation of a German attack. However, the Germans invaded from Bulgaria, thereby creating a second front. By the 8th April 1941 Salonika in Greece was captured. On the 11th/12th April 1941 the Battle of Vevi was fought between Commonwealth troops and forces from Nazi Germany. The battle took place near the town of Amyntaion close to the Greek North West border. The Allies withdrew owing to adverse weather conditions in the mountains passes. Kleisoura Pass in the Greek mountains and was strategically important as it stood on the main Allied defensive line from Albania. Between the 13th and 14th April 1941 organised resistance by some elements of the Greek 20th Infantry Division were in position to halt the rapid German advance through Yugoslavia. With intense effort and artillery support the attacking Germans managed to split the line and drive some Greek forces into the higher ground, and the remainder surrendered to the Germans. The retreating element of the Greek armed forces was forced to surrender around mid-day on the 14th April 1941 as there was not sufficient transport to bring reinforcements from the Albanian border. German Blitzkrieg tactics overwhelmed the British troops who had been sent to assist Greeks. Outnumbered on the ground and in the air the Greek and Allied forces were unable to deploy sufficient troops to stop the German advance at any one position. With the Germans approaching Athens the city was placed under martial law and the Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis committed suicide by shooting himself on the 18th April 1941. The same day the British began to plan for the evacuation of Greece as it was clear the Allied forces could not halt the German advance. The Greek government agreed that the armed forces should be evacuated. On the 23rd April 1941 the Greek Army surrendered to the Germans and the Greek government including King George II of Greece escaped to Crete. Beginning on the 24th April 1941 British and Allied forces began their evacuation from Greece. Despite an acute shortage of Allied shipping more than 50,000 Allied troops were evacuated, mostly to Crete but others went to Egypt. Tanks, heavy equipment and trucks had to be abandoned. On the 27th April 1941 German troops occupied the Greek capital Athens. Jointly Germany and Italy occupied the capital while the country was divided into three separate zones occupied by the Germans, Italians and the Bulgarians.

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(Britain)

April 1941 was the month for the Blitz of British Cities. Luftwaffe raids targeted major city centres including industrial and dock areas.

Bristol and Avonmouth suffered heavy air attacks on the 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 11th April 1941. However, the attack on Bristol on the 7th April 1941 was acting as a diversionary raid as the Luftwaffe were making Liverpool their main target for the night. Although not realised at the time the Blitz on Bristol had ended on the 11th April 1941 as the Luftwaffe switched their attention to Belfast, London, Plymouth, Coventry and Birmingham.

Coventry suffered two heavy night raids by the Luftwaffe on the 8th/9th and the 10th/11th April 1941. The damage caused by the two raids included some factories, the central police station, the Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital, King Henry VIII School and St. Mary’s Hall. Christ Church was the main architectural casualty of the raids when most of the building was destroyed leaving only the spire standing. The two raids resulted in the death of 451 people and over 700 seriously injured.         

Two separate raids by the Nazi Luftwaffe against the City of Birmingham took place on the 9th & 10th April 1941. The first raid was made up of 235 bombers who dropped 280 tons of explosives and 40,000 incendiary bombs on the city centre. The Bull Ring suffered heavy damage and the Prince of Wales Theatre together with the Midland Arcade were destroyed. Outlying areas including Small Heath, Aston and Nechels also suffered heavy damage. The second raid had 245 bombers dropping 254 tons of explosive and 43,000 incendiary bombs causing major damage to Solihull, Hall Green and Erdington and the combined two raids caused 1,121 casualties.       (Continue from here again)

The Belfast Blitz comprised four separate German air raids during April/May 1941. The first raid was probably only to test the Northern Ireland City of Belfast’s defences on the 7th/8th April 1941. Two hundred Luftwaffe bombers attacked military and manufacturing targets in the city on the 16th April 1941. Aircraft carrier HMS Furious was berthed in the dockyard having a refit when she was hit by a single small bomb but only sustained light damage. The raid consisted mainly of high explosive bombs causing the death of approximately 900 people and 1,500 injured, which was the greatest loss of life in any night raid during the Blitz. Only London had a higher casualty rate on any one night. The 3rd and 4th raids were carried out during early May 1941.

The Luftwaffe returned to London in waves lasting all night on the 19th April 1941 and dropped hundreds of tons of bombs for which they lost only two aircraft. Many important landmarks and public buildings were hit. St Paul’s Cathedral had the north transept slightly damaged and the remaining stained glass windows were shattered. The Speakers House at Westminster, the Law Courts, Selfridges and Christie’s Auction House were also damaged. The total casualties were roughly 2,300 killed and another 3,000 seriously wounded. With many homes hit the raid proved to be one of heaviest of the war.

The Royal Dockyards at HMNB Devonport was the main target carried out by the Luftwaffe on the city of Plymouth. On the evening of the 24th April 1941, during a heavy bombing raid, the communal air-raid shelter at Portland Square took a direct hit. Seventy-six people who had taken refuge in the shelter were killed and just three people survived. The square was away from the dock area but in the central area of the city.

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During April 1941, the Battle of the Atlantic saw the loss of forty-four ships sunk (247,758 tons) and a further four damaged (28,793 tons) giving a total loss of 276,550 tons. Convoy SC-26 was an east-bound convoy of twenty-three ships which sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Liverpool. The convoy was intercepted by eight U-boats in the Atlantic on the 2nd /3rd April 1941. Thirteen ships were either sunk or damaged that night (56%) with the loss of 72,631 tons. The only escort was Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) Worcestershire who managed to destroy one U-boat, U-76.

German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were anchored at Brest in France on the 22nd March 1941. After a successful raid on British convoy shipping in the Atlantic the two ships made for safe anchorage at Brest. One of the surviving British convoy ships radioed their position to British battleships HMS Rodney and HMS King George V but the German ships escaped to safety. The two ships entered dry-dock for routine maintenance but were subjected to repeated British air raids. Gneisenau was moved from the dry-dock to the harbour and on the  6th April 1941 she was struck by a torpedo from a  British Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber inflicting heavy damage. The attack killed 72 servicemen initially and wounded a further 90, of whom 16 later died of their wounds. Scharnhorst also suffered numerous attacks and although damaged she had not been struck by any torpedo.

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Malta, a strategically important island in the Mediterranean and pitted the air forces and navies of Italy and Germany against the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy. The Siege of Malta had begun in June 1940 and the Axis Powers resolved to bomb or starve Malta into submission. Malta, a British colony ideally positioned to defend North Africa and to attack Axis ships transporting supplies and reinforcements from Europe. Consequently it was one of the most intensely bombed island during the war. German General Erwin Rommel stated that the Axis Powers would end up losing control of North Africa unless Malta was defeated. The Axis Powers air superiority was taking its toll on the island with their bombing raids but the Allies had some success during April 1941. The Royal Navy had intercepted the Axis 14th Destroyer Fleet on 15th/16th April 1941, carrying German Afrika Korps supplies, when they sank eight German and Italian ships for the loss of destroyer HMS Mohawk. Further success was had when the Malta convoys began to get through bringing with them much needed Hurricane fighter planes as reinforcements for the obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiators and Hurricanes already on the island.

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In the Kingdom of Iraq, British forces begin to land in Basrah on the 18th April 1941. The Kingdom was an independent state which had been governed by the United Kingdom until 1932. Under the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 the U.K. had obtained permission to build two military bases to ensure control of Iraqi petroleum. The Iraqi government was responsible for internal security, but the U.K. had been allowed to retain the bases, RAF Shaibah near Basra and RAF Habbaniya between Ramadi and Fallujah. As well as protecting British petroleum interests they were an air link between Egypt and India. Nationalist and anti-British Rashid Ali became Prime Minister of Iraq in March 1940. In January 1941 Rashid Ali resigned as P.M. but on the 1st April 1941 he seized power in a coup d’état. British relations with Rashid Ali had become unsatisfactory which resulted in Britain sending troops to assist the Iraqi Army. (See Other Theatres – 1st April 1941)          

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(Germany)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by German troops advancing through Romania and Hungary on the 6th April 1941. Hitler had ordered the invasion of Yugoslavia at the end of March 1941 after Yugoslavia had rejected entry into the Tripartite Pact. The Luftwaffe had been ordered to attack Yugoslavia’s capital Belgrade and the two day assault began on the 7th April 1941. Germany ordered the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to be split into two separate territories which would be annexed to German and Italy on the 10th April 1941. The city of Belgrade surrendered on the 12th April 1941 and the German Army continuing the invasion of Yugoslavia on the 16th April 1941 until Yugoslavia finally surrendered on the 17th April 1941. Yugoslavia became a Fascist State by conquest.          

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(Italy)

Italy’s North African War effectively ended on the 6th April 1941 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Previously Abyssinia), when the Italian flag was hauled down and the Union flag was hoisted over the Italian Viceroy’s official residence. The residency had previously been the palace of Emperor Haile Selassie. The British, under the command of General Archibald Wavell, had planned and executed a three-pronged attack. Although outnumbered by the Italians Wavell had RAF air support. In January 1941 Lieutenant-General William Platt led his forces from Sudan into Eritrea and the Italians soon retreated. Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham advanced north from Kenya into Italian Somaliland while a third force crossed from Aden and took Somaliland by amphibious assault. These three forces linked up to push deep into Ethiopia. The great majority of Italy’s forces had already abandoned the city leaving it in charge of armed police who surrendered to British divisional commander Cunningham. Remnants of the Italian army in Eritrea were retreating toward the Eritrean town of Dessie in March 1941. Several thousand Italian troops continued a guerrilla war until September 1943 when Italy surrendered to the Allies. Hitler’s invasion of Poland and declaration of war with Britain and France had brought Italy into the war which then exposed their weaknesses in its military. Greece and North Africa soon fell. And only German military intervention in early 1941 saved Mussolini, who went by the nickname “Il Duce” (“the Leader”), from a military coup.

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(Other Theatres)

In Iraq Rashid Ali staged a military coup d’ état on the 1st April 1941. He was nationalistic and anti-British who resented the British having air force bases at RAF Shaibah near Basra and RAF Habbaniya between Ramada and Fallujah. The government had broken off diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany but in March 1939 Rashid Ali was the new Prime Minister of Iraq. Although not a pro-Axis supporter he made some initial contacts with German representatives in Ankara and Berlin. He resigned as P.M. in January 1941 and seized power in a coup d’ état on the 1st April 1941. A Pro-Axis government was installed in Iraq on the 3rd April 1941 with Nazi support and funding. The British response was to air lift re-enforcements to Iraq on the13th April 1941 and arriving at RAF Shaibah on the 18th April 1941. The new Iraqi government moved ground forces to occupy the plateau south of RAF Habbaniya on the 30th April 1941. This was the opening moves of the Anglo-Iraqi War during May 1941. (See Britain – 18th April 1941)                  

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The United States of America occupied Greenland on the 10th April 1941 to act as a protectorate for Greenland’s neutrality. Following the fall of Denmark in April 1940 Greenland was left an unoccupied territory of an occupied Denmark. American President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorised Secretary of State Cordell Hull to sign an agreement with the Danish envoy to the USA Henrik Kauffman. This agreement allowed the presence of American troops to guarantee Greenland’s neutrality. This action was independent to the occupied Danish Government’s wishes declaring the agreement void and Kauffman a traitor to the state. Greenland automatically entered the war in December 1941 after the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbour, allowing Greenland to provide “stepping stones” for America’s aircraft delivery to Europe.   

American destroyer USS Niblack patrolling off Iceland on the 10th April 1941 escorted a task force which landed American troops in Iceland. Before the landings Niblack was making a preliminary patrol and picked up three boatloads of survivors from a torpedoed merchantman vessel. A German U-boat was detected and driven off after Niblack’s commander ordered the dropping of depth charges in the area. This action was believed to be the first act of war between Germany and the USA even though America was still neutral at the time.  However, on the 11th April 1941 the United States began sea patrols in the North Atlantic in order to safeguard the American servicemen based on occupied Greenland.

On the 10th April 1941 Roosevelt declared the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden should no longer be combat areas but should be open to United States shipping owing to their neutrality.        

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The Independent State of Croatia was established on the 10th April 1941. It became a puppet state of Germany and Italy and was founded by utilising occupied Yugoslavia. Adolf Hitler had issued a directive for the Axis Powers to invade Yugoslavia on the 27th March 1941. Croatia was created utilising territories of Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Independent State of Croatia was governed by a one-party state run by the fascist Ustasa organisation. The regime targeted Serbs, Jews and Roma as part of a large-scale campaign of genocide, as were the anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Muslims.          

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The Soviet Union/Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed in Moscow on the 13th April 1941. Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka and Ambassador Yoshitsugu Tatekawa signed on behalf of Japan and Foreign Minister Vyacheslau Molotiv for the Soviet Union. The pact was signed to ensure the neutrality between the two countries allowing the Soviet Union to safeguard its eastern border and concentrate on the European theatre of war. It also allowed Japan to continue its war with China. Japan was aware that the diplomatic relationship with the United States of America was rapidly deteriorating.         

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Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service March 1941.

Air Raid Damage Reports Brentwood Division Essex Fire Service March 1941.

Date                Time   Location         Damage

01/03/1941    13.00  Langdon        Joseph William O’Neil 17 years, a member of the

Hills                A.F.S. attached to East Ham Fire Station of “Landour” Park Avenue was tampering with a Cannon Shell at home when it exploded.  Parts of both hands were blown away.  O’Neil and his mother Emily were seriously injured and his sisters Theresa 3 years and Peggy 13 years slightly injured.  O’Neil died in Billericay Hospital 3.3.41.

08/03/1941    04.00  Hadleigh        Damage to glass at “Joyclin” by A.A. Shrapnel.  No

                                                            casualties.

08/03/1941    23.05  Ashingdon    1 – H.E exploded on Bentalls Farm, 130 yards

North East of Ulverstone Road.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    07.09  Rochford       11 – H.Es exploded and a number of I.Bs burnt out

in fields at the corner of Rectory and Ashingdon Road.  Damage to telephone wires and property.  1 slight casualty.

09/03/1941    20.35  Rochford       I.Bs (a number) in the vicinity of Ashingdon Park

Estate and Rectory Farm.  Slight damage to property.  No casualties.

09/03/1941    21.40  Doddinghurst            2 – H.Es exploded in fields at Pear Tree

                                                            Green.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    21.45  Mountnessing          4 – H.Es exploded in fields near May’s Café,

Church Road.  Damage to property and overhead electric and telephone cables.  No casualties.

09/03/1941    21.55  Billericay        3 – H.Es and a number of I.Bs in line from

Littlebrook Farm Outwood Common Road to 200 yards South of Outwood Common Railway Bridge.  Slight damage to property.  1 slight casualty.

09/03/1941    21.55  Wickford        2 – H.Es exploded in fields near L.N.E.R. Goods

                                                            Yard.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    21.55  Runwell         1 – H.E. exploded in a field 150 yards North East of

“Ingraf”.  Slight damage to property.  No casualties.

09/03/1941    21.55  Laindon         1 – H.E. exploded in a field North of A.127 near

East end Waverley Avenue.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    22.05  New                4 – H.Es exploded on New England Island.  No

                                    England         damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    22.05  Haven Gore   3 – H.Es exploded 2 on Havengore Island and 1

500 yards West of Havengore Farm.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    22.15  South Weald 4 – H.Es exploded 3 in the stackyard of Rochetts

Farm and 1 in a ditch at side of Weald Road.  Damage to property and water main.  Weald Road blocked.

09/03/1941    22.15  Bentley          I.Bs (about 30) burnt out in fields surrounding

Hillfields House, slight damage to property.  No casualties.

09/03/1941    23.15  Raweth          1 – H.E. unexploded in a field 200 yards North of

Wardens Post M.12 Raweth Lane.  No damage or casualties (removed by B.D.S. 15.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Laindon         1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. 200 yards North of

Ghyillgrove Farmhouse, Honeypot Lane, in a field.  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    Night  South Weald 1 – Small U.X.B. and wire at Prieze Hall.  No

damage or casualties (dealt with by B.D.S. 30.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Fobbing         1 – Small U.X.B. and wire (dealt with by B.D.S.

                                                            28.3.41)  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    Night Laindon           1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in garden of “North Crisp”. 

No damage or casualties (dealt with by B.D.S. 19.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Laindon         1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in field 1/2 mile East of

Hotwater and Lee Wootons Lane.  No damage or casualties (dealt with by B.D.S. 11.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Langdon        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in garden of “Myosotes”

Hills                Lee Chapel Lane.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S 19.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Pitsea             1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. 8 yards North East of

Mess room of Sewerage Works.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 11.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Wickford        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in a field at rear of

“Janroe” Waterworks Road.  No damage or casualties dealt with by B.D.S. 28.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Langdon        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. and Parachute in field 40

Hills                yards North of Dry Street.  No damage or casualties.  (dealt with by B.D.S. 28.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Langdon        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. and Parachute in field 1/2

Hills                mile West of Dunton Wayletts Signal Box 20 yards North of Railway. No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 14.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Little Warley  1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in Brickfields Yard.  No

damage or casualties (dealt with by B.D.S. 10.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Vange            1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in roof of shed at “Glen

Lowge” Glen Road.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 28.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Hutton            1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in field at Tally-Ho! Drive

Hunters Chase.  No damage or casualties (dealt with by B.D.S. 10.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Laindon         1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. near allotments 60 yards

West of “White House” in a tree at Albemarle Crescent.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 28.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Brentwood     1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in a swamp in Harts Wood

Hartswood Road.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 10.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Langdon        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. in a field Nr Lee Chapel

Hills                and High Road.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 19.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Thundersley 1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. wire and parachute,

balloon and board in field 600 yards South of Great Burches Farm.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 10.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Downham     1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. found near “Frenwill”.  No

                                                            damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 12.3.41).

09/03/1941    Night  Raweth          1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. wire parachute and board

opposite Good Companion Garage, Chelmsford Road (dealt with B.D.S. 10.3.41).  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    Night  Rayleigh        2 – Parachutes and wire found at Hylands Farm

                                                            (taken by B.D.S. 10th).

09/03/1941    Night  Raweth          1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. wire parachute balloon

and board at Dallymans Farm, London Road.  No damage or casualties (dealt with B.D.S. 28.3.41).     

09/03/1941    Night  Billericay        1 – Small Yellow U.X.B. wire parachute and board

at Buckwyns Farm, Buckwyns Estate (dealt with B.D.S. 28.3.41).  No damage or casualties.

09/03/1941    Night  Laindon         10 – H.Es unexploded in fields East of Noak Hill

Road.  No damage or casualties. (all dealt with B.D.S. 28.3.41).

11/03/1941    06.55  Foulness       2 – H.Es exploded on Ridge Marsh Farm.  No

                                    Island             damage or casualties.

11/03/1941    22.55  Childerditch  1 – A.A. unexploded Shell in a field at Nuttys Farm,

60 yards West of farm buildings.  No damage or casualties.

12/03/1941    20.30  Brentwood     1 – A.A. Shell exploded on tennis courts at

“Merrymead” Sawyers Hall Lane.  No damage or casualties.

12/03/1941    23.15  South             Parts of Barrage Balloon in a field near Clifford

                                    Benfleet         Road (removed by RAF).   

13/03/1941    20.30  Hockley          1 – H.E exploded in field at Brammerton Road.  1

                                                            slight casualty.  Slight damage to property.

13/03/1941    20.45  Hockley          1 – H.E exploded 50 yards West of Southlands

Railway Crossing of L.N.E.R.  Damage to track, telephone wires and signals.  Train service suspended.  No casualties.

13/03/1941    20.55  Thundersley 1 – H.E. unexploded in a field near St Michaels

                                                            Avenue Daws Heath.  No damage or casualties.

13/03/1941    21.00  Canvey          1 – H.E exploded in a field between Coastal Wharf

Island             and Catholic Church. 1 50 yards from Tank of Oil.  No damage or casualties.

13/03/1941    21.30  Raweth          1 – H.E. exploded near “Downwood” Hooley Drive,

Trende Hayes.  Slight damage to property.  No casualties.

13/03/1941    21.30  Raweth          1 – H.E. exploded at Maple Drive, Trende Hayes. 

                                                            No damage or casualties.

13/03/1941    21.45  Rochford       2 – H.Es exploded, 1 near stackyard at Doggetts

Chase and 1 150 yards North of Russell Terrace, Stambridge Road.  Slight damage to property. 1 slight casualty.

13/03/1941    Found   Downham   1 – H.E. exploded in a field at Grange Road.  No

damage or casualties.  Time of occurrence not known.

14/03/1941    00.45  Foulness       2 – H.Es exploded in fields North East of Church. 

                                    Island             Damage to telephone wires.  No casualties.

14/03/1941    03.00  Doddinghurst            1 – A.A. unexploded Shell at Cows Farm. 

                                                            No damage or casualties.

14/03/1941    20.55  Thundersley 1 – H.E exploded in field 250 yards South of

Southend Arterial Road and 200 yards East of St Michaels Avenue Daws Heath.  No damage or casualties.

15/03/1941    00.30 Raweth           1 – H.E exploded and 1 I.B. burnt out at Beeches

                                                            Farm.  No damage or casualties.

15/03/1941    00.40  Foulness       1 – H.E exploded on main Military concrete road

Island             opposite New Wick Farm.  Damage to road which is blocked, telephone and electric cables.  No casualties.

15/03/1941    01.00  Thundersley 1 – A.A. unexploded Shell fell in field 1/4 mile North

East of “Ivedene”  Daws Heath Road.  No damage or casualties. (dealt with B.D.S. 22.3.41)

15/03/1941   03.35   Creeksea       1 – H.E. exploded on disused timber shed at

Creeksea Ferry.  Timber shed demolished.  Telephone and electric cables down. No casualties.

15/03/1941    10.00  Childerditch  1 – A.A. exploded Shell crater found in gateway of

Childerditch Farm Cottages, 150 yards from Brickfields Road.  No damage or casualties.

15/03/1941    20.45  Hullbridge     I.Bs (about 50) at Coventry Corner.  1 serious

casualty, the occupant of a bus which was set on fire (property of Westcliff Motor Services Limited.  Also garden shed fired.

15/03/1941    21.00  Hullbridge     I.Bs (about 16) at Abbleside Gardens.  No damage

                                                            or casualties.

15/03/1941    22.00  Doddinghurst            1 – H.E. exploded in a field at Pettettes

Farm Mountnessing Road.  No damage or casualties.

17/03/1941    10.00  Wallasea        1 exploded Sweep Cutter of German origin found

Island             on the sea wall near Grass Farm.  (Navy Depot informed.)

19/03/1941    00.50  Laindon         3 – H.Es exploded, one in garden of “Woodlands”

Norfolk Road, 1 at Alexander Road and 1 at Rosebury Avenue.  Damage to property, gas main fractured.  No casualties.

19/03/1941    00.50  Little                I.Bs (about 50) burnt out in fields at Rectory Road

                                    Burstead        and near the Church.  No damage or casualties.

19/03/1941    01.15  Basildon        10 – H.Es exploded in fields 500 yards North of

                                                            Bethwick Lane.  No damage or casualties.

19/03/1941    01.15  Laindon         1 – H.E. unexploded  in a field 300 yards North of

Bencons Farm, Wash Road.  No damage or casualties B.D.S. 10.5.41.

19/03/1941    03.05  Great Warley I.Bs (about 100) burnt out at Codham Hall.  No

                                                            damage or casualties.        

19/03/1941    03.05  Shenfield &   I.Bs (a number) at Highlands and Priests Lane. 

                                    Hutton            Damage to property.  No casualties.

19/03/1941    03.30  Great Warley 2 – H.Es exploded in field at Codham Hall Farm. 

                                                            No damage or casualties.

19/03/1941    13.30  Ramsden       1 – A.A. unexploded Shell found in garden of

Bellhouse      Malveas Cycle Shop premises, 50 yards East of Fox & Hounds P.H.  No damage or casualties.  (removed by B.D.S. 29.3.41).

19/03/1941                Billericay        1 – A.A. Shell exploded in a field 50 yards North of

Thrift Wood Lane Tye Common.  No damage or casualties.

19/03/1941    21.10  Paglesham    4 – H.Es exploded and a number of I.Bs burnt out

at East Hall.  Slight damage to property.  Overhead electric cables down.  18 pigs killed.

20/03/1941    00.60  Hutton            1 – H.E. exploded on North side of River Wid, 400

yards from Wash Road.  Electric cables down.  No casualties.

20/03/1941    01.15  Mountnessing          Damage to property in Brentwood Division

at Burnt House Lane and main road, Padham Green, due to mine exploding in Chelmsford Division.  No casualties.

21/03/1941    13.50  Runwell         1 – H.E. unexploded found in bed of River Crouch,

100 yards East of “Ilgars”.  No damage or casualties.

21/03/1941    21.00  Bowers           4 – H.Es exploded craters found on Marshes, 500

Gifford            yards South of Great Russels Farm.  No damage or casualties.

22/03/1941                Great              1 – H.E. unexploded found 1/4 mile West of

Wakering       Croftman’s House Paynters Lane Road.  No damage or casualties.  Road closed.  Dealt with B.D.S. 27.3.41

23/03/1941    13.00  Rochford       A pear shaped object (metal) of German origin, 3

feet long having the appearance of a Buoy which appeared to have contained a canister which had exploded, was found in the River Crouch.  (Removed by Admiralty.)

24/03/1941    11.00  Great              A fatal accident occurred at the New Ranges when

Wakering       Sapper William Frederick Walden, 20 years.  No. 2118986 of the 200th Field Co. R.Es stationed at Battlesbridge was killed while working in a mine field as the result of a land mine exploding.

25/03/1941    11.45  Dunton          1 – H.E unexploded was found 50 yards South of

railway and 50 yards East of Berry Lane.  No damage or casualties.  (Dealt with by B.D.S. 10.5.41).

26/03/1941                Shenfield       2 – A.A. unexploded Shells found on a spare plot of

                                                            land in Middleton Road.  No damage or casualties.

27/03/1941                Mountnessing          1 – A.A. unexploded Shell found in Turnip

field at Arnolds Farm, 40 yards East of Lower Road.  No damage or casualties.  (disposed of B.D.S. 8.4.41).

29/03/1941    10.00  Rayleigh        1 – A.A. exploded Shell found1/2 mile North West

                                                            of gas holder.  No damage or casualties.

29/03/1941    East Horndon           1 – A.A. Shell exploded in Jackson’s Wood

Meadow, at rear of Mount Thrift Farm.  No damage or casualties.

SECOND WORLD WAR March 1941

SECOND WORLD WAR March 1941

(Britain)

British commandos conducted a raid on the Nazi- occupied Lofoten Islands off Narvik in Norway, known as Operation Claymore on the 4th March 1941. They achieved their objective of destroying fish oil factories and over 3,600 tons of oil and glycerine. As well as capturing German code information they took over 200 German prisoners, destroyed eleven ships and one German armed trawler surrendered to destroyer HMS Somali. The commandos suffered only one casualty in the whole operation which was an accidental self-inflicted wound by an officer who managed to shoot himself in the leg with his own pistol.

Operation Lustre began on the 4th March 1941 during the Middle East Campaign when British troops were transferred by a series of naval convoys from Alexandria in Egypt to Greece. The first British troops landed in Greece on the 7th March 1941. British troops were required to assist the Greeks in their battle against advancing German troops. The Greek army were opposing the Italian forces who had been virtually defeated. Germany sent troops to re-enforce the Italians and Britain reciprocated by re-enforcing the Greeks. It did however, leave the Allied forces weakened in North Africa leading to Rommel’s successful counter-attack in April 1941. (See Germany – 24th March 1941)

During the Blitz on Britain’s cities, a Luftwaffe bomber flew over Buckingham Palace in London on the 8th March 1941 and dropped a single high explosive bomb. The North Lodge was hit and demolished but one policeman was killed. Later the same day another wave of German aircraft dropped high explosive bombs over the Palace forecourt. No casualties were reported among the Palace staff and the Palace itself did not sustain any major damage. On the 19th March 1941 London was subjected to the worst bombing raid of the year when it was one of twelve cities having been hit by numerous Luftwaffe raids during March 1941.  On the night of the 10th March 1941 Portsmouth was raided by the Luftwaffe who dropped thousands of incendiary and hundreds of high explosive bombs. Although serious damage was caused the city coped remarkably well in extinguishing the fires and securing the damaged buildings. 93 people were killed, over 200 were injured and over 1,000 were made homeless. On the nights of the 13th-14th and the 14th-15th March 1941 Luftwaffe bombers raided the Clydebank district of Glasgow. The main targets were the armaments factory at the Singer Sewing Machine works, John Brown & Co shipyard and Beardmore’s engine works. Over the two nights 528 people were killed and 617 seriously injured. 11,350 homeless people were given temporary accommodation. Plymouth Docks and neighbouring Devonport was subjected to a series of devastating raids from the 19th March 1941. The city lost its historic Guildhall and the main shopping streets were badly damaged and more than 900 people were killed and over 40,000 were made homeless.                           

The Battle of Keren in Eritrea was a conflict during The East Africa Campaign and was fought between a mixed Italian Army of regular and colonial troops and the British/Free French forces. The British army consisted mainly of Sudanese and Indian troops under the British flag. Keren is surrounded on most sides by a jumble of steep granite mountains and sharp ridges with road and rail access along a valley. The natural fortification was ideal for the Italians to defend against an attack along the valley road to Keren, as they occupied the high ground. The British attacked on the 27th March 1941 and forced the Italian army off the high ground. The Italian defence positions at Keren were untenable and the defenders withdrew along the road from Keren to Aasmara with the British in pursuit.  

On the Mediterranean island of Crete British heavy cruiser HMS York was disabled in Souda Bay by two explosive motorboats of the Italian Regina Marina on the 25th March 1941. Six motorboats packed with explosives attacked three targets in pairs. Of the six motorboats only three were successful, two struck York which was run aground to prevent her sinking. The third damaged Norwegian tanker Pericies. Submarine HMS Rover supplied electrical power to enable York’s guns to operate as anti-aircraft defence. After Rover was damaged by German aircraft she was towed away for repair. York was further damaged beyond repair and was abandoned after having her main guns wrecked by demolition charges on the 21st May 1941.                    

At Cape Matapan, off southern Greece, a naval engagement took place between the 27th -29th March 1941. The Battle of Cape Matapan was fought between the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy against the Italian Regia Marina. Italian messages had been intercepted and decoded by “enigma” at Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park in England. The messages informed the British that an Italian battleship, six heavy and light cruisers were about to attack merchant convoys supplying British forces in the Mediterranean. This enabled ships of the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy to intercept and sink or severely damage several ships of the Italian navy. In order not to disclose “enigma” a Sunderland flying boat was dispatched and the Italian ships located. Two separate British patrols converged on the Italian fleet. The first was commanded by Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippel with cruisers HMS Ajax, HMS Gloucester, HMS Orion and HMS Perth and a number of destroyers sailed from Greek waters. Admiral Cunningham with HMS Formidable, HMS Warspite, HMS Barham and HMS Valiant left Alexandria the same day to join up with the cruisers. On the morning of the 28th March 1941 a number of Italian ships engaged with Pridham–Wippel’s group but the Italians experienced range finding problems with their guns and they changed course to join up with the remainder of the Italian ships. The British had inflicted considerable damage to the Italian Regia Marina. They had one battleship damaged, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers sunk and one destroyer badly damaged. In the battle over 2,300 Italian sailors were killed and 1,015 were taken prisoner. The British suffered four light cruisers slightly damaged, one torpedo bomber shot down and three killed. On the early morning of the 29th March 1941 Admiral Cunningham ordered a signal to be sent to the Italians that they were unable to rescue any more of the 1,015 survivors due to the risk of air attacks. He gave the location of the remaining survivors for the Italian hospital ship Gradisca to recover.    

In the Battle of the Atlantic the Allies suffered huge convoy losses during March 1941. A total of forty ships were sunk (234,847 tons) and a further ten ships were damaged (98,329 tons) mainly from German U-boat attacks.                

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(Germany)

German dictator Adolf Hitler instructed Chief of German Police of the dreaded SS Heinrich Himmler to order the expansion of Auschwitz concentration camp on the 1st March 1941. The new camp was to house 100,000 prisoners of war and be located outside the village of Birkenau in Poland.                

In North Africa German Panzers began to arrive in greater numbers on the 12th March 1941 following Lt-General Erwin Rommel’s appointment as head of the Afrika Korps in February1941. Rommel’s attack on El Agheila on the 24th March 1941 began a new stage in the war. It was the beginning of the German involvement in one of the war’s major fronts. Fighting against the Italians the British had extended their front from Egypt to Tobruk in Libya and the Italians were defeated and surrendered. The British were substantially weakened when some of the forces were sent to assist in the Greco-Italian War. Rommel sensed the British weakness and ordered an attack on El Agheila Fort. The British realised they could resist against a concerted German attack and retreated. There was little action apart from the British setting delaying tactics and the Germans reoccupied El Agheila. For Rommel the campaign to take El Agheila was a success and the North African Campaign had begun.  Mersa Brega in Libya is the most southerly part of the Mediterranean Sea and was the opening phase of Rommel’s first offensive on the 31st March 1941. The Afrika Korps took Mersa Brega by pinning down the British with his infantry whilst despatching his Panzers across the open desert flanks. This tactic was the first example of moves that were to become his signature.

 On the 27th March 1941 Hitler issued a directive to his military leaders to plan for an invasion of Yugoslavia. The new government of Yugoslavia had rejected the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany negotiated by Prince Regent Paul earlier in the month. When the pact was rejected Hitler was enraged which led him to order the invasion. (See Other Theatres – 4th March 1941)

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(Italy)

The Italian Spring Offensive began on the 9th March 1941 during the Greco-Italian War. The Greek Army had advanced deep into Albanian territory and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini supervised the last Italian attempt of the war to defeat the Greeks. The Greek artillery had not been neutralised and the exploitation of advantageous terrain allowed the Greeks to maintain an active defence. The Italians began the attack with heavy artillery and air bombardment followed by numerous infantry assaults. On the 14th March 1941 Italian General Ugo Cavallero advised Mussolini to halt the offensive as the attacks were futile. On the 24th March 1941 the offensive was cancelled as the offensive had ended in complete failure. Italian casualties amounted to over 18,000 dead and wounded while the Greeks suffered 5,300 dead, wounded and missing.                 

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(Other Theatres)

Bulgaria officially signed the Tripartite Pact on the 1st March 1941 in Vienna. The Tripartite Pact was a defensive military alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan and the agreement was signed in Berlin during September 1940. The Kingdom if Bulgaria had been an ally of Germany during the Great War but hesitated to sign the new pact due to internal differences of opinion. However, Bulgaria was finally forced to agree Germany’s wishes when Germany needed to move their troops through Bulgaria to assist in the Italo-Greek War. By signing the Tripartite Pact there was not any possibility of Bulgaria militarily resisting German access through the country side.              

Following months of negotiations between Germany and Yugoslavia, Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia met with Adolf Hitler on the 4th March 1941 at his country retreat of Berghoff where Paul agreed to join Axis Pact. He set his conditions for Yugoslavia to join the Axis Powers and Hitler agreed providing all the terms were published.  Following discussion with the Yugoslav government some members of the cabinet resigned on the 21st March 1941 in protest at Prince Paul’s Pact with the Nazis. On the 25th March 1941 Paul’s commitment to the Tripartite Pact was signed in Vienna. However, the regime was overthrown and a new government was proclaimed when the seventeen year old Crown Prince Peter was declared King on the 27th March 1941. The government refused to ratify the Yugoslav signing of the Tripartite Pact which enraged Hitler who issued a directive to invade Yugoslavia. (See Germany – 27th March 1941)                    

In America the Lease-Lend programme had been approved by Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the act on the 11th March 1941. The Lease-Lend programme was devised as a means of aiding Great Britain in its war against Germany. America’s reasoning for granting the aid was that if your neighbour was successful in defending his home, the security of your home was enhanced. British morale was bolstered in the knowledge they were not alone in their struggle against Germany.                 

The Western Defence Command (WDC) of America was established on the 17th March 1941. The command formation of the U.S. Army was responsible for the training of soldiers prior to their deployment overseas. The coordination for the defence of the Pacific Coast region of the United States was little more than a planning agency until the 11th December 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.                

Japanese Takeo Yoshikawa arrived in Hawaii on the 27th March 1941 under the cover of being a vice-consul named Tadashi Morimura. Yoshikawa had been discharged from the Imperial Japanese Navy after having suffered a severe stomach ailment in 1936. He began a career in Naval intelligence at the Navy Headquarters in Tokyo after studying every source he could access to become an expert on the United States Navy. In 1940 he passed Foreign Ministry English examinations to qualify as a junior diplomat. Upon arriving in Hawaii he began his spying career by observing the U.S. Fleet movements and security arrangements at Pearl Harbour. His observations were transmitted to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.                    

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Second WORLD WAR February 1941

Second WORLD WAR February 1941

(Britain)

In the Western Desert Campaign on the 7th Feb 1941 the Italian Special Armoured Brigade (10th Army) saw initial success in a dawn attempt to break out of the encirclement of the Benghazi-Tripoli Road in Libya. After several days of desperate fighting the retreating Italians were cut off by the British Combe Force during the Battle of Beda Fomm. The Combe Force was a mobile flying column commanded by Major-General John Frederick Boyce Combe, CB. DSO & Bar. The 25,000 strong Italian 10th Army formally surrendered before the end of the day. On the 9th February 1941 British troops captured El Agheila from the Italians. During this campaign, known as Operation Compass, the British took 138,000 Italian and Libyan prisoners, hundreds of tanks and more than one thousand guns and aircraft. British losses were approximately 1,900 men killed or wounded. On the same day British Prime Minister Winston Churchill halted the advance at El Agheila and began to withdraw troops to assist in the defence of Greece. By the 14th February 1941 the withdrawal of the British troops in North Africa had weakened their defences. In the meantime Germany’s Afrika Korps was heading toward El Agheila.  When the British halted and having weakened their forces at El Agheila they had underestimated the German’s ability to wage war in the desert. German Lt-General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps took the opportunity to successfully attack and capture El Agheila on the 20th February 1941. Rommel was able to use this time to prepare for an offensive in which they retook El Agheila. (See Germany  – 14th February 1941)                         

When American Mr. Wendell Willkie visited Britain at the end of January 1941 he carried with him a letter of introduction from American President Roosevelt. Churchill’s response to this letter was to make an international radio address on the 9th February 1941 in which he gave his speech “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job”. Concluding the speech he quoted Roosevelt’s hand written verse from Longfellow, which said “Applies to you people as it does to us”. Here is the verse:

… Sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears, With all the hope of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

“What is the answer that I shall give, in your name, to this great man, the thrice-chosen head of a nation of a hundred and thirty million? Here is the answer I will give to President Roosevelt: Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and under Providence, all will be well. We shall not fail or falter, we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilism and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job”.

Operation Grog was the name given to the attacking of Genoa Harbour in Italy by British battleships on the 9th February 1941. The British fleet comprised of HMS Malaya, HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and HMS Sheffield was accompanied by ten destroyers. While four destroyers carried out anti-submarine sweeps, the heavy ships attempted to deceive Italian and German observers into thinking they were supporting a convoy as a feint movement. The harbour was bombarded and four cargo ships were sunk and a further eighteen were damaged. Italian battleship Caio Duilo was being repaired in dry dock but a salvo from HMS Malaya failed to hit the target. An error by a gunnery officer on HMS Sheffield caused an armour-piercing shell to hit Genoa Cathedral but it failed to explode. The shelling of Genoa caused 144 civilians to lose their lives and a further 272 were wounded. After the Italian fleet failed to intercept the British fleet returned to Gibraltar on the 11th February 1941.

In East Africa, British forces entered Italian held Somaliland on the 11th February 1941. With the Italians demoralised over their losses in the North African campaign Italian Viceroy Aosta withdrew his advanced position and consolidated his forces in Italian East Africa. The British had broken the Italian communication codes which enabled them to advance and capture Italian Somaliland capital Mogadishu on the 25thFebruary 1941.                            

In the Mediterranean, during the North African Campaign, British Royal Navy Submarine HMS Upright attacked an Italian convoy on the 25th February 1941. The convoy was sailing from Naples in Italy to Tripoli in Libya and Upright sank Italian cruiser Armando Diaz 45 miles off Sfax in Tunisia. On board Armando Diaz, 464 members of the crew were killed and 147 survived.                             

The “Three Nights Blitz” of Swansea occurred during the 19th, 20th and 21st February 1941. The German Luftwaffe selected Swansea, on the south coast of Wales, as a legitimate target due to its importance as a port, docks and oil refinery. Swansea’s destruction was seen as being a major boost to Germany’s war effort by crippling coal exports and demoralising the civilian population and emergency services. A sustained total of fourteen hours of bombing activity over the three nights saw the city unprotected by Allied fighters allowing German bombers unrestricted access. The centre of Swansea was devastated with 857 properties destroyed and 11,000 damaged. At the end of the three days 230 people had died, another 409 injured and a total of 7,000 people had lost their homes. Following the Swansea blitz the King, Queen and Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Swansea to help boost morale.                          

During the course of February 1941, daily heavy attacks saw British controlled Malta entering into their critical period. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy continued to oppose both German and Italian air and sea forces. The Axis powers resolved to bomb or starve Malta into submission, by attacking ports, towns, cities and Allied shipping supplying the island. German “Afrika Korps” commander General Erwin Rommel (see Germany- 3rd February 1941) recognised that without the defeat of Malta they would not be able to control and supply their North Africa campaign.

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(Germany)

On the 3rd February 1941 Lt-General Erwin Rommel was appointed as head of “Afrika Korps” to command the small blocking force to shore up Germany’s failing Italian ally in Libya. Hitler had selected Rommel to lead the German forces in North Africa in January 1941. Elements of the Afrika Korps began to arrive in Tripoli in Libya on the 11th February 1941. Rommel arrived in Tripoli on the 14th February 1941 and his Afrika Korps began moving east towards the British held positions in El Agheila on the Mediterranean coast of Libya. (See Britain – 20th February 1941)                 

On the 20th February 1941 Greece rejected a German offer to mediate in the Greco-Italian War. On the 21st February 1941 German troops moved through Bulgaria toward the Greek front to give assistance to the struggling Italian army.             

In February 1941 the German U-boat offensive in the Atlantic was increasingly successful. However, on the 24th February 1941 the “Happy Time” peaked when Britain’s Western Approaches Command (WAC) was transferred from London to Liverpool and given the responsibility for defending the trade in the North Atlantic. During February 1941 a total of 44 Allied ships were sunk (211,885 tons) and a further 3 ships damaged (28,340 tons).

In German controlled Vichy France Admiral Francois Darlan was appointed head of the Vichy Government on the 24th February 1941. When France surrendered to Germany in 1940, Philippe Pétain formed a new Vichy government with a view to entering into an armistice with Germany. Darlan served as the Minister of Marine in the Pétain administration and replaced Pierre Étienne Flandin as “Vice President of the Council”. He was became de facto head of the Vichy government by becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Interior and National Defence answerable only to Pétain. On the 11th February 1941 he was named as Pétain’s eventual successor.                          

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(Italy)

In the Battle for North Africa German Dictator Adolf Hitler realised he would have to support Italy in the war against Britain in the desert. He informed Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini on the 9th February 1941 that reinforcements were on the way to North Africa. (See Germany – 3rd February 1941)

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(Other Theatres)

In America Admiral Husband E. Kimmel took over the position of Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet on the 1st February 1941 from Admiral James Richardson. The previous year the fleet’s base had been transferred from San Diego in California to Pearl Harbour on Hawaii. This move was designed to be more responsive to any aggression by the Japanese. In early 1941 Kimmel wrote an account stating he believed a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was a possibility and he took all practical steps to minimise the damage should an attack take place. Kimmel’s instinct proved to be correct as the Japanese did invade Pearl Harbour in December 1941.                            

The United States House of Representatives voted 265-165 in favour of the Lend-Lease bill on the 8th February 1941. American President Franklin Roosevelt had presented the bill to the Senate on the 10th January 1941 in order to aid Britain in her war against Germany.

The Nazi officials of Vienna in Austria began to deport Austrian Jews to ghettos in Poland on the 15th February 1941. A total of 5,000 Jewish men, women and children were transported in order to make Vienna “free from Jews”. When the officials were satisfied the task was complete the transportations ended in the autumn of 1941. The Jewish people were rounded up and put onto “transport” trains each carrying approximately 1,000 people who were totally unprepared for what faced them when they reached their destination.                         

In Spain on the 26th February 1941, Dictator Francisco Franco belatedly replied to Adolf Hitler’s three week old letter. He stated that the price for Spain’s entry into the war supporting the Axis Powers would come with demands of his own. To repay Germany for their assistance in the Spanish Civil War, he would permit volunteers to join Germany on the Eastern Front to fight against communism. Hitler approved the use of Spanish volunteers on the 24th June 1941. In order to claim neutrality, Franco had not committed Spain to the Second World War on the Axis side, as he did not wish to fight against Britain and her allies.

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SECOND WORLD WAR December 1940

SECOND WORLD WAR December 1940

(British)

Throughout the month beginning the 1st December 1940 bombing raids were exchanged between Britain and Germany. First Germany bombed Britain then Britain retaliated by bombing Germany. These raids were a continuation of the raids on the Midlands and the North West of England during November 1940.

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On the night of the 4th December 1940 around sixty German bombers attacked Birmingham in which the Wilton tram depot was damaged in the raid. On the night of the 11th December 1940 the largest raid lasting thirteen hours was launched against the city involving 278 bombers. Apart from explosives, 2,500 incendiaries were dropped causing widespread fires in both the residential and industrial areas. Two hundred and sixty people were killed and another two hundred and forty three were seriously injured.

Simultaneously, the German city of Düsseldorf and the Italian city of Turin were bombed by the RAF on the 5th December 1940.

On the 16th December 1940 the first RAF night raid on Mannheim was launched in revenge for the German attack on Coventry. One hundred and eight tons of high explosives and over 13,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on the industrial centre of the city. Countless fires were started and were fairly widespread but casualties were low with only 34 people killed.

The heaviest raids on Manchester by the German Luftwaffe occurred on the 22nd /23rd and the 23rd /24th December 1940 killing an estimated six hundred and eighty four people and injuring a further two thousand. On the 22nd/23rd December 1940 two hundred and seventy two tons of high explosives were dropped followed by two hundred and seventy two tons the following night. Manchester Cathedral, the Royal Exchange and the Free Trade Hall were among the large buildings damaged.

London sustained another large German air raid on the 29th/30th December1940 when the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral was attacked. Almost every building in the area had been burned down with the Cathedral surviving in a wasteland of destruction. To protect the Cathedral Prime Minister Winston Churchill had urged the special group of firemen to ensure its survival. Twenty nine incendiary bombs fell on and around the Cathedral. One burned through the lead dome but the bomb fell outward from the roof onto the stone gallery below and was quickly extinguished. The photograph, taken by the Daily Mail’s photographer Herbert Mason, and called “St. Paul’s Survives” shows the Cathedral surrounded by thick black smoke. This iconic photograph became the symbol of London’s stand against the enemy. The survival of St. Paul’s came at a cost when more than one hundred and sixty people died in that night’s raid including sixteen firemen with five hundred more being injured.

Operation Compass was the first large scale Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign and was fought between 6th and 9th December 1940. The Italian 10th Army had advanced into Egypt in September 1940 and set up a defensive position at Sidi Barrani 95 km (59 miles) from the Egyptian/Libya border. The British Western Desert Force advanced from their defensive position in Mersa Matruh with approximately 36,000 men against 150,000 men stronghold of the Italian 10th Army. The British swiftly defeated the Italians and pursued the remnants of the army to El Agheila. For the loss of 1,900 British men killed or wounded they took over 138,000 Italian prisoners, hundreds of tanks and more than 1000 guns and aircraft on the 12th December 1940. By the 16th December 1940, the British were in command at Sollum and had taken Fort Capuzza in Libya.

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(Germany)

On the 18th December 1940 German Dictator Adolf Hitler issued a directive to begin preparing for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Germany was already committed to the invasion and was ready for any re-action the Soviet Union may undertake. Hitler did not want the Soviet Union participating in the Tripartite Pact, although they had been invited to join on the 18th November 1940, as Germany had their own plans for the division of Europe.

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(Italy)

Between the 1st and 8th December 1940, in the Greco-Italian War, the Greek Army continued to push the Italians further back into Albania. The Greeks captured the Albanian cities of Pogradoc, Sarande and Gjirokasser. The war continued to go badly for Italy and by the 28th December 1940 the Greeks occupied roughly 25% of Albania. On the same day Italy requested military assistance from Germany against Greece.

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(Other Theatres)

On the 1st December 1940 the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Joseph P. Kennedy, was asked by President Roosevelt to resign after he gave a newspaper interview expressing his view that “Democracy is finished in England”.

On the 8th December 1940 following Hitler’s meeting with Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco, Spain ruled out the countries’ entry into the war. As a consequence Hitler was forced to cancel the proposed attack on Gibraltar. Franco had considered joining the war and invading Gibraltar but he knew his armed forces would not be able to defend Spanish Morocco and the Canary Islands from a British attack.

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THE SECOND WORLD WAR November 1940

THE SECOND WORLD WAR November 1940

(Britain)

On the 5th November 1940 Acting Captain Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen commanded the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay who was escorting thirty seven merchant convoy ships in the North Atlantic. The convoy was attacked by German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer and the Royal Navy vessel Jervis Bay immediately engaged with the enemy head on. Although outgunned and on fire, Jervis Bay maintained the unequal battle for three hours thus giving the convoy time to scatter. Badly wounded, Fegen went down with his ship when Jervis Bay finally sank. His courageous action enabled thirty one of the convoy vessels to escape and he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Neville Chamberlain died on the 9th November 1940 aged 71, one month after he had resigned from the House of Commons. He had resigned as Prime Minister in May 1940 and Winston Churchill had taken over as the new Prime Minister. Churchill wished for Chamberlain to return to the Exchequer but he refused, however, he did accept a seat in the five member War Cabinet. He had been diagnosed with terminal cancer which resulted in him retiring from politics. By refusing Britain’s highest chivalry award, the Order of the Garter, he wished to remain as plain Mr. Neville Chamberlain.

In the Mediterranean on the night of the 11/12th November 1940 British naval forces launched the first all aircraft, ship to ship naval attack against the Italian battle fleet which was at anchor in Taranto in Italy.  Twenty-one Fairy Swordfish biplanes armed with torpedoes from HMS Illustrious damaged 3 battleships, 2 cruisers and multiple auxiliary craft. This attack against the Italian navy at Taranto secured the British supply lines in the Mediterranean. A Japanese officer, who was in attendance at Taranto, witnessed the engagement and realised the potential for the Japanese navy.

The Battle of Gabon in French Equatorial Africa (FEA) concluded on the 12th November 1940. The French Free Force, allied to Britain, wrestled Central Africa from the Vichy French occupying the country. The Vichy government administered authority over all unoccupied French territory. Gabon was last colony in FEA not to rally to Charles De Gaule’s radio appeal to reject the Vichy regime. On the 27th October 1940 Free French Forces crossed into FEA, with British Royal Naval support, and gained control over the Vichy regime. On the 12th November 1940 the final Vichy forces surrendered without a fight at Port Gentil.     

The air raid to hit Coventry on the 14th November 1940 was the most severe the city had sustained during the war. At around 7.20 pm thirteen specially modified Luftwaffe aircraft, fitted with electronic navigational aids, accurately dropped marker flares on the city. The first wave of follow up bombers dropped high explosive bombs destroying many of the utilities of water, electricity and telephone facilities. The following wave of bombers dropped a combination of high explosive and incendiary bombs. Many war manufacturing businesses were the targets which were based close to the city centre. At around 8.00 pm Coventry Cathedral was set alight by incendiaries and the flames rapidly spread out of control. The raid reached its climax around midnight and the all clear sounded at 6.15 am on the morning of the 15th November 1940. The raid was concentrated on the city centre with over 4,300 homes destroyed and around two thirds of the city’s buildings damaged including two hospitals, two churches and a police station. An estimated 568 people lost their lives in the raid and over 1,200 people were injured.

On the 16th November 1940 Churchill ordered some British troops based in North Africa to assist Greece in the Greco-Italian War. See the invasion of Greece by Italy.     

The De Havilland Mosquito made its first flight on the 25th November 1940. The Mosquito was a twin engine shoulder winged combat aircraft. The frame was constructed almost entirely of wood coupled with twin Merlin engines, made it one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. It was originally designed as an unarmed fast bomber but later developed into a multi role combat aircraft, being used as a bomber, pathfinder, fighter bomber and fighter. The Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery of the first operational Mosquito bomber on the 15th November 1941. The Mosquito served with other air forces in the European, Mediterranean and Italian theatres.             

The Luftwaffe launched a massive overnight bombing raid against Liverpool on the 29th November 1940. The worst single incident was when a large underground shelter in Durning Road, Edge Hill received a direct hit. Inside the shelter were approximately 300 people tightly packed together. The building collapsed into the basement shelter crushing many of the occupants. In all, 166 men, women and children were killed with many more being badly injured.

On the following night, the 30th November 1940, the Luftwaffe launched the first of two consecutive bombing raids on Southampton in southern England which became known as the ‘Southampton Blitz’. The town was a key target for the Luftwaffe not only for being the U.K.’s main military port but also the Supermarine factory at Woolston manufacturing the Spitfire fighter aircraft.

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(Germany)

On the 12th November 1940 German Dictator Adolf Hitler and Foreign Ministers Joachim von Ribbentrop for Germany and Vyacheslav Molotov for the Soviet Union met in Berlin to discuss the New World Order. Hitler believed Britain was defeated and offered India to the Soviet Union. However, Molotov expressed Soviet interest in Finland, Bulgaria, Romania and Bosporus. On the 13th November 1940 Molotov again met Hitler asking for German acceptance to destroy Finland but Hitler resisted any attempt to expand Soviet influence in Europe. On the 18th November 1940 the three signatories of the Tripartite Pact formally invited the Soviet Union to join, which the Soviets considered to be an update of the existing agreements with Germany. The result of joining would be to have a share in the spoils of the British Empire. Following the meetings, on the 25th November 1940 the Soviet Union issued her terms to join the Tripartite Pact including substantial new territorial gains for the Soviet Union.                                                                                                                                                        

The Tripartite Pact was an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan signed in Berlin on the 27th September 1940. The Pact was a defensive military alliance which was primarily directed at the United States in the event that America would enter the war. On the 20th November 1940 Hungary was the first country apart from the original three signatories to sign the agreement. Three days later on the 23rd November 1940, Romania also signed the agreement. When German troops entered Romania, Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini was determined to launch an invasion of Greece, starting the Greco-Italian War. Romania was one of the largest oil producers in Europe which supplied approximately 30% of all the axis oil production. The Slovak Republic signed the agreement on the 24th November 1940 and became the third new country to join the Pact. Slovakia had been closely aligned with Germany following the declaration of independence from Czechoslovakia in March 1939.

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(Italy)

On the 1st November 1940 Turkey declared neutrality after the Greco-Italian War began on the 28th October 1940.

The Italian advance continued into Greece on the 2nd November 1940 and Vovousa was captured whilst Italian aircraft bombed Salonika (Thessalonica). The Greeks began to retreat toward the main defensive line of Elaia-Kalamas. The Italians faced difficulties in advancing because of the harshness of the terrain and the Battle of Elaia-Kalamas on the 8th November 1940 ensured the defensive line could not be breached. The Italians ended their futile offensive in Greece. In the mountains near the Greek-Albanian border the Battle of Pindus ended with a Greek victory on the 13th November 1940. The   Greek counter-offensive against the Italians began on the 14th November 1940 and on the 19th November 1940 the Italians were evicted from Greek soil. The Battle of Korytsa was fought and won on the 22nd November 1940. Korytsa, in Southern Albania, was defended by the Italian Army against the attacking Greek Army. Greek victory was complete when the town was captured but the remnants of the Italian Army avoided capture as the Greeks were unable to pursue the retreating Italians.     

On the 16th November 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered some British troops in North Africa be sent to Greece. British military leaders were concerned that the troops were needed for the campaign against the Italians in North Africa.  

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(Other Theatres)

On the 5th November 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was re-elected for the third term as president of the United States of America. He was elected on the speech he made in Boston on the 30th October 1940 that America would remain neutral as far as foreign wars were concerned or that any American “boy” would not be sent to Europe to fight. Within a year the USA would be at war with Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.   

On the 21st November 1940 the Belgian government, in exile, declared war on Germany.

In America the Martin B-26 Marauder was twin-engine medium bomber which made its first flight on the 25th November 1940. Manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin Co. from 1941 to 1945 they first saw action in the Pacific Theatre of War. In March 1939 the United States Army Air Corps. Issued a specification for a medium twin-engine bomber with a maximum speed of 350 mph (560 km/h) a range of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) and a bomb load of 2,000 lb (909 kg). The Martin Co. submitted their design in July 1940 which was accepted and it only took two years to produce an operational bomber from the original concept.

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