February 1941

February

• 01

  • Husband Kimmel takes command of the Pacific FleetOn 1 February 1941 Husband Kimmel took command of the re-formed Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, replacing Admiral Richardson, who opposed basing it in Hawaii.
• 07

  • Key eventThe Battle of Beda FommOn 5–7 February 1941 the British 7th Armoured Division cut off the 10th Army fleeing Cyrenaica at Beda Fomm. On 7 February its remnants gave up; Tellera died.
• 08

  • The House of Representatives passes Lend-LeaseOn 8 February 1941 the House passed the Lend-Lease bill by 260 votes to 165. Next day Churchill appealed on the radio, “Give us the tools”.
• 09

  • The bombardment of GenoaOn 9 February 1941 Force H shelled Genoa, while aircraft from Ark Royal bombed Livorno and mined La Spezia. The Italian fleet failed to find the British.
• 10

  • Malta under the bombsFrom February 1941 X Fliegerkorps in Sicily attacked Malta day and night as Bf 109s shot down its Hurricanes. The island ceased to be a base against convoys.
  • Darlan named Pétain’s successorOn 10 February 1941 Admiral Darlan became Vichy's deputy premier and Pétain's successor. Laval, ousted in December, did not return despite German pressure.
• 14

  • Key eventRommel in TripoliHitler sent General Erwin Rommel to Libya. He flew into Tripoli on 12 February 1941, and on 14 February the first combat units of the Afrika Korps landed there.
• 15

  • Deportations of Jews from ViennaOn 15 February 1941 a train with a thousand Jews left Vienna's Aspang station for Opole Lubelskie. By 12 March five transports had deported some 5,000 people.
• 19

  • The Swansea Three Nights’ BlitzFrom 19 to 21 February 1941 the Luftwaffe bombed Swansea on three nights running. About 230 people died and the Welsh port’s town centre ceased to exist.
• 20

  • The first clash with the Afrika KorpsOn 20 February 1941 a British patrol near El Agheila exchanged fire with German armoured cars. Four days later the Germans laid their first ambush.
• 21

  • The Germans on the DanubeIn February 1941 the German Twelfth Army waited in Romania to enter Bulgaria. The Danube bridges were due on 28 February, as Britain readied help for Greece.
• 24

  • Attacks on convoys OB 288 and OB 290In the last week of February 1941 U-boats and Fw 200 Condors shattered three convoys sailing from Liverpool to America, sinking more than 20 ships.
• 25

  • The sinking of the cruiser Armando DiazOn 25 February 1941 the British submarine Upright torpedoed the Italian cruiser Armando Diaz, escorting a Libya convoy off Kerkennah. About 460 men died.
  • The British take MogadishuOn 25 February 1941 General Cunningham’s African troops entered Mogadishu unopposed, two weeks after advancing from Kenya into Italian Somaliland.
• 28

  • Raids on Asmara and fighting at KerenOn 28 February 1941 British aircraft bombed Asmara, capital of Eritrea. For four weeks Platt’s troops had been held by the Italians before the Keren mountains.