The Greeks recaptured Samarina from the Italians. In the Pindus Mountains in northern Greece, Greek Pindus detachment counterattacked against Italian Julia Division, recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa. Further west, Italian tanks were brought up to attack the Greek defenses on the Kalamas River, but the terrain was poorly suited for mobile operations. Greek forces surround the Italian base at Koritsa, Albania. Near the village of Vouvousa, Greek evzone regiments trap the III Alpini Division and take 5,000 prisoners. Far to the south, British troops began arriving on mainland Greece.
In the Pindus Mountain sector, by far the most strategically significant prong of the Italian invasion, the Greeks counterattack on 3 November 1940. The Italian Julia Division is stretched out along a snowy valley, and the Greeks (The Pindus Detachment, supported by the 1st Infantry Division and attached units) swoop in behind and cut them off. There is a steady flow of Greek reinforcements. The Italians immediately request a relief attack from headquarters, which is unsuccessful. The local Greek civilians help the Greek troops to position their forces and block the attempted Italian relief by the Bari Division. The trapped Italians, cold, subjected to fire from the surrounding heights, and with no supplies, begin surrendering quickly. Many Italians in the division are killed. The Greeks begin recapturing the villages of Samarina and Vovousa, which is done methodically over the next couple of days.
On the Kalpaki front in the Negrades sector, the Albanian battalion which seized the Grabala heights on the 2nd is forced off of it and the Greeks re-occupy the hill. This is the start of a seesaw battle for possession of the heights which is to the Greeks’ advantage, as it is keeping the Italians penned into a restricted area and preventing re-allocation of forces to more strategically significant areas.
This is part of a larger attack on the Elaia-Kalamas Front, where the Italian Ferrara Division is trying to piece a well-fortified Greek defensive line of Kalamas–Elaia–Grabala–Kleftis hill (north of Ioannina). The Italians try using light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks, but the ground is too muddy and hilly. They make no progress. Directly to the right, the Italians continue their attempt to cross the Kalamas River and make some progress.
Destructive new raids on Greek cities were reported today as Greece’s unyielding mountain line kept the Italian invasion stalled near the Albanian frontier. The invaders apparently still held their shallow salient on Greek soil but there was no sign of a break in the defense line and the Greeks declared that heavy Italian air and artillery barrages had failed to dislodge them from their gains in Albania. Both sides resorted extensively to air attack and widely separated Greek cities again suffered heavily from bombardment. No new figures were issued, however, an army communique merely saying “there are dead and injured among civilians.” Greek air forces presumably a combination of Greece’s own planes and cooperating British bombers were said to have scored telling hits behind the Italian lines and to have shot down four of the Invaders’ planes at a loss of only two of their own.
German General von Thoma, just back from an inspection tour of Libya, briefs Hitler on the state of Italian forces there. He reports that the Italians were hostile to him, are inadequate to their mission, and do not want German troops in North Africa. He also comments on the supply difficulties faced in North Africa. Hitler will use this information during a major OKW meeting scheduled for the 4th.
General Richard O’Connor becomes commander of the British Western Desert Force, which is opposing the Italian advance from Libya.
Informed sources disclosed today that Great Britain had contracted for seven Consolidated Aircraft Corp. new long-range bombers, the first of which was given its initial test yesterday. It was reported the fleet of bombers first would be used to ferry Canadian pilots to the British isles and return to Canada fliers not suited for combat duty to fly fighting planes back to England. Official sources here indicated the British hoped to double the monthly delivery of planes to England if the national defense priorities board gave favorable consideration to that nation’s request for permission to purchase 12,000 additional ships in the United States. President Roosevelt recently asked the board to give “sympathetic consideration” to the request. The bomber tested yesterday is similar to the XB-24, the first land plane developed by Consolidated last February for the U. S. army. That 20-ton bomber was tested by the army air corps, and later returned to the factory for improvements, apparently In armament, which company offi cials said were regarded as highly advisable in the light of war developments.”
Virginio Gayda, Italian editor, who frequently has served as Premier Mussolini’s mouthpiece, today attacked the Swiss press, for allegedly representing Italy as the aggressor against Greece.
In Bucharest, Rumania, Iron Guards and police, tipped off in advance, broke up an organized Communist demonstration today. Twenty Communists were arrested. One policeman was wounded in the scuffle.
After enduring 57 consecutive nights of bombing since the Blitz began, London went a night without being bombed. Today brings a halt to the series of 57 night raids that began on the 5th/6th of September, and that had averaged 200 bombers each. The weather is poor, so the Luftwaffe bombers stay in their bases throughout the night. It is the first night with no bombing of London after 57 straight nights. The average attack during that time was 165 planes dropping 13,600 tons of high explosives and additional incendiary bombs. Many people are now basically living in the subway system and thus their routine alters little.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 Blenheims. Only 2 aircraft bombed. No losses.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 Hampdens overnight to Kiel; 1 lost. Kiel reports only a few bombs in the suburb of Wellingdorf, with no casualties.
RAF Bomber Command attacks the dockyards at Kiel and oil installations/railway targets in Naples, Italy. The latter attacks are mounted from Malta.
RAF No. 30 Squadron, equipped with Blenheim Mk. I light bombers and Mk. IF night fighters, arrives at Eleusis Airfield, Athens, from Egypt to support the Greek forces fighting the Italians. Three other squadrons will join British Air Forces Greece by 22 November.
At Malta, two Wellington bombers setting out to raid Naples crash just after takeoff from Luqa and destroy some houses in the nearby village of Qomi. The bombers apparently were overloaded. Six civilians are killed. One of the airmen survives by hanging to the edge of a quarry right the houses. A rescue worker has to be lowered to tie a rope around him so that he can be hauled up. After the raid by the surviving bombers, Italian fighters chase the bombers all the way back to Malta and strafe military installations before heading back to Sicily.
At Malta, Sgt Raymond Mayhew Lewin (1915-41), RAF, despite injuries, rescued his co-pilot from the blazing wreck of their plane, dragging him to safety before the bombs exploded. For this he receives the George Cross.
The South African Air Force shoots down two Italian bombers over Kenya.
Wilfrid Rhodes Freeman, 1st Baronet, moves from RAF Research and Development to become Vice-Chief of the Air Staff. Lord Beaverbrook replaces him (with eventually poor results). Freeman is opposed to this staffing change, but it is the first of a series of related changes in the RAF high command. Freeman has been the research and development guy most responsible for the development of the Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito, Avro Lancaster, Handley-Page Halifax, and Hawker Tempest, as well as the P-51 Mustang Fighter. He is one of the most far-sighted and insightful men in the RAF. While it is an institutional decision, the decision to replace the Mustang’s Allison V-1710 engines with the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine essentially flows from his desk. Freeman is one of those unsung heroes that set the stage for all the war heroes to take their bows, while nobody remembers his name.
U-99, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer, sank British steamer Casanara (5376grt) in 53‑58N, 14‑13W. At 21.40 hours the unescorted Casanare (Master John Allan Moore) was hit by one G7e torpedo from U-99 and sank later about 240 miles west-southwest of Bloody Foreland. Nine crew members were lost. The master and 53 crew members were picked up by HMS Beagle (H 30) (LtCdr R.H. Wright, RN) and landed at Greenock. Her distress messages brought the armed merchant cruisers HMS Laurentic (F 51) and HMS Patroclus to the scene and the U-boat began a dramatic battle in which both ships were sunk. The 5,376-ton Casanare was carrying bananas and was bound for Garston, England.
U-99 badly damaged the 18,724-ton armed merchant cruiser Laurentic (Captain E. P. Vivian Rtd), which had departed Liverpool on convoy duty on 18 October, in 54‑09N, 13‑44W. U-99 torpedoed armed merchant cruiser Laurentic again some six hours later sinking her. At 2140 hours, U-99 torpedoed the unescorted Casanare west of Bloody Foreland. Her distress messages brought the armed merchant cruisers HMS Laurentic (F 51) (Capt E.P. Vivian (Retired), RN) and HMS Patroclus (Capt G.C. Wynter (Retired), RN) to the scene and the U-boat began a dramatic battle at 2250 hours when the first torpedo struck the engine room of HMS Laurentic (F 51) from a distance of 1500 metres. At 2328 hours, a second torpedo hit the vessel, but did not explode. A third torpedo was fired at 2337 hours from a distance of 250 metres into the hole opened by the first torpedo, at this time the lookouts spotted the U-boat on the surface and Kretschmer had a hard time in evading the gunfire. In the meantime, HMS Patroclus began picking up survivors instead of participating in the fight against the U-boat and her lookouts did not see U-99 only 300 metres away. A first torpedo struck the ship at 0002 hours, a second at 0022 hours and a third at 0044 hours. 14 minutes later, the U-boat opened fire with the deck gun and hit with two of the four fired rounds, before Kretschmer had again to evade the gunfire and hit her with a fourth torpedo at 0118 hours. After that, U-99 searched for the Casanare to give the crew time for reloading the torpedo tubes, but only found two lifeboats at her position and questioned the survivors, the vessel had foundered in the meantime. At 0239 hours, a Sunderland flying boat suddenly appeared over the U-boat, which had to dive, but no bombs were dropped. At 0404 hours, the U-boat surfaced after reloading the torpedoes, went back to the auxiliary cruisers at high speed and fired at 0453 hours a coup de grâce from a distance of 250 metres at HMS Laurentic (F 51). The torpedo struck the stern and ignited the depth charges stored there, causing the ship to sink by the stern within minutes. Two officers and 47 ratings were lost. Around this time a destroyer was spotted and Kretschmer had to sink HMS Patroclus in a short time. A fifth torpedo at 0516 hours had no significant effect, but the sixth torpedo at 0525 hours broke the ship in two, the stern capsized and the bow sank slowly. The commander, six officers and 49 ratings were lost. After that, U-99 was attacked by HMS Hesperus (H 57) (LtCdr D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, RN), but the destroyer soon left the U-boat to pick up the commander, 51 officers and 316 ratings from HMS Laurentic (F 51). 33 officers and 330 ratings from HMS Patroclus were picked up by HMS Beagle (H 30) (LtCdr R.H. Wright, RN) and landed at Greenock. 49 men died on the Laurentic.
Light cruiser HMS Despatch, escorted by destroyers HMS Venomous, HMS Vesper, and HMS Windsor, which had departed Sheerness on the 1st and picked up Despatch at Portsmouth, arrived in the Clyde.
Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa departed Scapa Flow at 1000 to cover convoy WN.29 from Pentland Firth to Methil. Convoy WN.29 was under German air attack from 1821 to 1930.
British steamer Kildale (3877grt) was sunk by German bombing in 57‑45N, 01‑45W from the convoy. Two crewmen were lost on the British steamer.
British steamer Eros (5888grt) was damaged by German bombing in 57‑48N, 01‑54W from the convoy.
On her arrival at Methil, cruiser HMS Curacoa proceeded to Rosyth to boiler clean.
Destroyers HMS Mashona and HMS Keppel departed the Clyde at 1345 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 0700/4th.
Submarine HMS Sturgeon sank Danish steamer Sigrun (1337grt) in 58-59N, 10-21E in Oslofjord.
Britsh convoy FN.326 departed Southend, escorted by destroyer HMS Vivien and sloop HMS Londonderry. The convoy arrived at Methil on the 5th.
Convoy FS.327 departed Methil, escorted by destroyers HMS Quorn, HMS Wallace, and HMS Westminster. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 5th.
British steamer Windsor Castle (19, 141grt) was damaged by German bombing in 54‑12N, 13‑18W. The steamer was escorted to the Clyde by destroyer HMS Bulldog. Destroyer Bulldog departed the Clyde on the 4th for Liverpool, arriving at 2100/4th.
British steamer Cairngorm (394grt) was damaged on a mine in Bristol Channel.
Belgian fishing vessel Van Der Weyden (132grt) sank four and a half cables 262° from No. 4 Buoy, Milford Haven. Eight crewmen were lost from the vessel. There was only one survivor.
Destroyer HMS Achates attacked a submarine contact in 55-07N, 14-45W. Joined by destroyer HMS Active, there was no definite result. The destroyers proceeded to assist armed merchant cruisers Laurentic and Patroclus.
Aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, battleships HMS Valiant, HMS Ramillies, and HMS Malaya, and the 7th Cruiser Squadron arrived at Alexandria after supporting initial landings at Crete.
Light cruiser HMS Dragon departed Freetown.
German freighter Helgoland, which had departed Colombian waters on 24 October, skirts the Antilles near St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in her bid for freedom (see 30 November).
The 1940 presidential campaign roared toward a noisy end tonight with feuding leaders of organized labor joined in a forecast that the men and women who toil will decide the most bitterly fought contest in a quarter of a century The verdict actually lies with some 50,000,000 persons who are expected to exercise on Tuesday the greatest privilege a democracy gives its citizens use of the ballot. Polls open in the morning and gome hint of the will of the people may be available by midnight. Polls and private surveys forecast a “race horse” finish.
The survey of the American Institute of Public Opinion indicated a dramatically close race, with a telegraphic checkup as of noon yesterday giving President Roosevelt a narrow lead of 52 per cent of the popular vote. This small lead is not considered enough for a certain victory, because it includes surplus Democratic majorities in the South. The survey gave the President 198 “sure” electoral votes to 59 for Willkie, but found that in nineteen close States with 274 electoral votes President Roosevelt held an advantage in only nine of the States with 78 electoral votes, while Mr. Willkie had an advantage in ten States with 196 electoral votes. But if Mr. Willkie should win all the States “sure” and leaning to him he still would need eleven more electoral votes for the 266 necessary to win
The Fortune Magazine survey showed that President Roosevelt held 55.2 per cent of the popular vote in the country, but that a trend toward Wendell Willkie was gaining as the survey was completed. Possibilities were indicated of a substantial, but not a landslide, victory for President Roosevelt, or a narrow victory for Willkie in the Electoral College, without a popular majority.
The Dunn Survey forecast the election of Wendell Willkie with a total of 364 electoral votes from twenty-nine States, giving to President Roosevelt 124 electoral votes from ten Southern States and one border State. This survey did not include eight smaller States with 43 electoral votes.
Dr. Union S. Ward, 78, a physician arrested on a gun charge at Mndison Square Garden last night during the Republican rally at which Wendell L. Willkie spoke, was released on $500 bail today pending grand jury action. Charged with violating the Sullivan anti-firearms law, Dr. Ward, wearing a large Willkie hutton on his coat, was arraigned in felony court and waived examination. He was arrested 20 feet from where Willkie stood on a platform waving to the thousands packed into the garden. In his left pocket was a .32 caliber revolver loaded with five cartridges, but detectives said its firing pin was faulty and that the weapon was harmless. In his apartment police found two other loaded guns which, they said, Dr. Ward admitted owning for his protection. Dr. Ward was arrested while pushing his way through the crowd toward Willkie to “get a better look.” A man and a woman who paid they saw him shift a gun from a trouser pocket to his overcoat summoned a policeman who hustled him out of the arena. After questioning the physician, who said he once had been a cadet at the U. S. Military academy and later of the New York National guard, Assistant District Attorney Jacob J. Rosenblum announced that he was convinced Dr. Ward meant no harm
Wendell L. Willkie promised tonight that if he is elected president he will propose in his first message to congress a constitutional amendment “limiting the time any one president may serve to eight years or less.” Charging that President Roosevelt’s “renunciation” of a fourth term in his Cleveland speech Inst night was “based only on implication and indirection,” the Republican nominee declared: “If once our common law against a third term be repealed, there is no further law to restrain him or any of his successors, elected, hereditary or appointed, from an indefinite number of terms.
Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate for president, told a party rally today that “you will throw your vote away unless you vote the Socialist ticket.” “Those who have refused to support our Socialist case lest they permit the greater evil to overtake them cannot even agree which is the greater evil,” he said. “It has been our own experience that there is a practically even division between those who think that we must be saved from Willkie, and those who think we must be saved from Roosevelt.”
General George S. Patton, Jr. becomes acting commander of the 2nd U.S. Armored Division.
Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade departs Fort-de-France, Martinique, after concluding talks with Vice Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert. Among Admiral Greenslade’s recommendations: that every effort be made to alleviate the distress of the inhabitants by easing restrictions on frozen assets to allow for purchase of food, medical supplies and gasoline for automobiles and trucks; that the naval observer and U.S. vice consul maintain careful and complete liaison with Vice Admiral Robert; that a patrol plane make daily visits to Fort-de-France to improve communications and survey the situation from the air; and that the patrols off Martinique and Guadaloupe be continued.
U.S. Navy heavy cruiser Louisville (CA-28) departs Montevideo, Uruguay, for Buenos Aires, Argentina, as she continues to “show the flag” in Latin American waters.
Evidence that the Japanese are withdrawing from parts of China in accordance with an unexplained plan is accumulating. It was reported today that the evacuation of Kwangsi Province is nearly complete, while the garrison at Waichow Island off southwest Kwangtung has been withdrawn, apparently to Hainan. Meanwhile, Japanese planes heavily bombed Chinese troops reoccupying Kwangsi on the heels of the retreating Japanese, some of whom entered French Indo-China. Chinese reports state that the Japanese have evacuated Namou, an island lying east of Swatow, and that it is now reoccupied by the Chinese. Japanese merchants in Swatow, the reports said, were closing up their businesses and evacuating with their families to Amoy under orders from Tokyo, while Japanese troops were destroying the Swatow defences prior to evacuating.
Headquarters New Zealand 8 Infantry Brigade is established at Suva on Viti Levu Island.
A typhoon devastates Guam, Marianas Islands, rendering the U.S. Navy Yard at Piti a shambles, damaging the Marine Barracks, blowing away dwellings and poultry, destroying crops and completely disrupting the lives of the native farmers; it also reduces the Pan American Airways hotel to “kindling wood.” In addition, one of the recently arrived district patrol craft (YP-16 or YP-17) is sunk; dredge YM-13, being used to dredge a channel near Sumay, Guam, is blown ashore. Greek freighter Axios, in the harbor for repairs, parts her moorings at the height of the typhoon, and despite the fact that she possesses neither harbor chart nor pilot miraculously escapes foundering on nearby reefs. Governor of Guam (Captain George J. McMillin) later praises the people of the island for their “cheerful willingness and unremitting effort…to repair or replace their homes that reflected “character of which any group…might be proud.”
Born:
Harry T. Edwards, jurist (senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia) and legal scholar, in New York, New York.
Died:
Manuel Azaña, 60, Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic.
Lewis Hine, 66, American sociologist and photographer.
Naval Construction:
The Royal Canadian Navy Bangor-class (VTE Reciprocating-engined) minesweeper HMCS Miramichi (J 169) is laid down by Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada).
History Diaries 