Łukasz
Author
(1129)1941
January
- 10
- The German–Soviet border and commercial agreementOn 10 January 1941 Germany and the USSR signed a border treaty, a trade agreement and a secret protocol selling Moscow a strip of Lithuania for $7.5 million.
- The attack on HMS IllustriousOn 10 January 1941 German Ju 87s from Sicily hit the carrier Illustrious off Malta. For two weeks the Luftwaffe tried to finish her off in the Grand Harbour.
February
March
- 27
- Key eventThe Yugoslav coup d’étatOn 27 March 1941 air force officers in Belgrade ousted Prince Paul’s regency and the government that signed the pact. Hitler resolved to destroy Yugoslavia.
- The British take KerenOn 27 March 1941 the Italians abandoned Keren and British tanks drove into the town. After twelve days of assault Platt had opened the road to Asmara.
April
- 06
- Key eventGermany attacks YugoslaviaOn 6 April 1941 Germany invaded Yugoslavia without declaring war and the Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade. The partly mobilised army quickly fell apart.
- Key eventGermany attacks GreeceOn 6 April 1941 the 12th Army struck Greece from Bulgaria. The Metaxas Line forts beat off the first attacks; at night an ammunition ship blast wrecked Piraeus.
- 10
- The United States takes Greenland under its protectionOn 10 April 1941 the US announced an agreement with Denmark's envoy Kauffmann, signed without Copenhagen's consent. Greenland joined US Atlantic defences.
- The siege of Tobruk beginsOn 10–11 April 1941 Rommel’s forces encircled Tobruk. Morshead’s Australians repelled assaults on 14, 16–17 and 30 April, and a long siege began.
- 16
- The Belfast BlitzOn the night of 15–16 April 1941 Luftwaffe bombers devastated north Belfast. Several hundred died, the highest toll of any single raid outside London.
- The Battle of the Tarigo convoyOn the night of 15–16 April 1941 four British destroyers from Malta wiped out a convoy bound for Tripoli and its three Italian escorts off Kerkennah.
- 25
- Rommel takes the Halfaya PassOn 25–26 April 1941 Colonel von Herff's group drove the British from Sollum and the Halfaya Pass. Axis forces stood in Egypt but went no further.
- The Battle of Thermopylae (1941)On 24 April 1941 New Zealanders at Molos and Australians on the Brallos Pass held the Germans all day, then withdrew at night to the evacuation ports.
- 27
- Key eventThe Germans enter AthensOn 27 April 1941 the Germans entered Athens and raised their flag on the Acropolis. The Greek army had capitulated, but the King fought on from Crete.
- New Hurricanes for MaltaOn 27 April 1941, 23 Hurricanes flew to Malta from the carrier Ark Royal. The island was enduring its heaviest month of German bombing.
May
- 09
- The capture of U-110On 9 May 1941 the escort of convoy OB 318 forced U-110 to the surface. The British boarded her and carried off an Enigma machine and secret cipher documents.
- The fatwa of the Mufti of JerusalemOn 9 May 1941 the Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, proclaimed in Baghdad a fatwa calling on Muslims to wage holy war against Britain.
- 10
- Key eventRudolf Hess’s flight to ScotlandOn 10 May 1941 Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess flew alone to Scotland to make peace with Britain. He bailed out by parachute and was taken prisoner.
- The strike of the 100,000On 10 May 1941, the anniversary of the invasion, a strike began at the Cockerill works in Seraing and spread to 60,000–70,000 workers in occupied Belgium.
- 31
- The bombing of DublinDuring the night of 30–31 May 1941 four German bombs fell on Dublin. In North Strand 28 people were killed and some 300 houses were destroyed or damaged.
- Baghdad surrendersOn 31 May 1941 an armistice ending the Anglo-Iraqi War was signed outside Baghdad. Rashid Ali and the Mufti had fled to Iran; the Regent returned on 1 June.
June
- 14
- The June deportationOn the night of 13–14 June 1941 the NKVD began deporting people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Over 40,000 were taken in days, Poles from Wilno among them.
- The Battle of JezzineIn mid-June 1941 Australians took Jezzine in Lebanon after a night march through the mountains and occupied Sidon; the Vichy French struck back.
July
- 03
- The Summer War in EstoniaFrom 3 July 1941 the Estonian Forest Brothers attacked Soviet units in the south. The Germans entered Estonia on 7 July and the front halted on the Emajõgi.
- The surrender of GazzeraOn 3 July 1941 Belgian troops from the Congo attacked the Italians at Saïo. That afternoon General Pietro Gazzera sought terms; he surrendered on 6 July.
- 10
- The Italian Expeditionary Corps in RussiaOn 10 July 1941 Italy formed its Expeditionary Corps in Russia (CSIR), some 62,000 men in three divisions. The first transports set off east.
- The Jedwabne pogromOn 10 July 1941 Polish residents of Jedwabne, acting on German inspiration, murdered their Jewish neighbours. The IPN puts the dead at no fewer than 340.
- 12
- The Armistice of AcreAt midnight on 12 July 1941 fighting ceased in Syria and Lebanon. Armistice terms were initialled at Acre and signed on 14 July by Wilson and de Verdilhac.
- The Anglo-Soviet AgreementOn 12 July 1941 Cripps and Molotov signed an agreement on joint action in the Kremlin. Britain and the USSR pledged mutual help and ruled out a separate peace.
August
September
- 28
- Key eventBabi YarOn 28 September 1941 the Germans summoned Kiev’s Jews to assemble. On 29–30 September Sonderkommando 4a and German police shot 33,771 people at Babi Yar.
- The Drama uprisingOn the night of 28–29 September 1941 Greeks around Drama rose against Bulgarian occupation. The Bulgarians crushed the revolt and shot thousands of civilians.
October
November
- 22
- The British ultimatum to FinlandOn 22 November 1941 Stalin received Churchill’s pledge of war on Finland if it did not stop fighting. On 28 November London sent Helsinki an ultimatum.
- The Battle of Sidi RezeghOn 22 and 23 November 1941 the Afrika Korps retook Sidi Rezegh airfield, shattered British armoured brigades and destroyed the 5th South African Brigade.
December
- 03
- The conscription of women in BritainIn early December 1941 Churchill announced the call-up of unmarried women aged 20–30 and of men up to 51. The Act was passed on 18 December.
- Actions in the Wilno Ghetto in DecemberBetween 3 and 22 December 1941 Germans and Lithuanians took people from the Wilno Ghetto to Ponary three more times. At least 850 people were killed.
- 08
- The “Day of Infamy” speechOn 8 December 1941 Roosevelt called Pearl Harbor a day of infamy and Congress declared war on Japan. Within days a dozen or more other states had done the same.
- The Japanese invasion of ThailandOn 8 December 1941 the Japanese landed on the Thai coast and crossed from Indochina. After hours of fighting, Bangkok ceased fire and let them pass to Malaya.
- The Malayan campaign beginsJust after midnight on 8 December 1941 the Japanese landed at Kota Bharu in Malaya and in Thailand. Five days later Yamashita's army beat the British at Jitra.
- 19
- Hitler takes command of the ArmyOn 19 December 1941 Hitler accepted Brauchitsch's resignation and took command of the Army himself. Amid the crisis at Moscow a purge of the generals began.
- The human torpedo attack on AlexandriaOn the night of 18–19 December 1941 Italian frogmen riding human torpedoes disabled the battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria harbour.
- 21
- Famine in LeningradIn December 1941 almost 53,000 people died of hunger and cold in besieged Leningrad, and the death rate rose from week to week.
- The Bogdanovka massacreOn 21 December 1941 the massacre of Jews from Odessa and Bessarabia began at the Romanian camp at Bogdanovka. By 31 December over 40,000 had been killed.
- 22
- The landing at Lingayen GulfOn 22 December 1941 the main body of General Homma's 14th Army landed at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Next day MacArthur decided to fall back to Bataan.
- The Arcadia ConferenceOn 22 December 1941 Churchill arrived in Washington to confer with Roosevelt. They agreed on “Germany first” and set up a joint Allied command.