The second convoy of German troops arrived at Tripoli, Libya, which included the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion and the 39th Anti-Tank Battalion. General Erwin Rommel has orders to rescue the wretched Italian army, which in two months has lost 130,000 prisoners of war, 380 tanks and 845 guns to Britain. Rommel has been promised two divisions, one armored, but these will not arrive until late April. For the time being, then, he has to face the British with only a reconnaissance battalion and anti-tank battalion. He plans to hoax the enemy with dummy tanks mounted on Volkswagen motor cars. Despite orders that he should not attempt an offensive until his two divisions arrive, Rommel is already planning a probe into the British defenses. He could be luckier than he expects. The British are strung out along the coast of Libya for over 500 miles from the Egyptian border at El Agheila. He does not know it, but he is getting helped by the British decision to redirect their major effort toward Greece.
The Luftwaffe arrives to help Rommel, starting with a small assortment of various reconnaissance planes, Stukas and Bf 110s of III,/ZG 26. Rommel sends his available troops of the 5th Light Division to Sirte to form a defensive block — but this is unnecessary due to decisions being made on the other side. Many more troops are on the way. The Luftwaffe loses its first two planes in the desert.
General Wavell’s battle-weary 7th Armoured Division has been pulled back to Egypt for rest and refitting. Its place has been taken by the new and inexperienced 2nd Armoured Division. Other British forces have been diverted to Greece, greatly weakening Wavell’s strength in the Western Desert. The key to North Africa is the Mediterranean supply route. German aircraft are bombing Malta from Sicily, so the RAF can no longer strike at Axis shipping sailing for Tripoli. And the British, unable to use the Mediterranean, must take supplies round the Cape of Good Hope.
Now that the British have decided to terminate their offensive operations, they begin reorienting their forces. The 11th Hussars, who led the assault at Beda Fomm, enters the reserve while its position is taken over by the King’s Dragoon Guards. The Luftwaffe attacks the Hussars as they are leaving, devastating their convoy with Junkers Ju 87 Stukas. This is the Luftwaffe’s first attack on the 7th Armoured Division, a harbinger of future attacks.
The Italians on 14 February 1941 attack on the Skutara line near a height designated Height 504 in the coastal sector west of Klisura Pass. The Greek 6th Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Ioannis Theodorou, fights savagely to maintain their position. The Greeks succeed but suffer 109 killed and wounded. The Greeks were reported officially tonight to have broken through Italian defenses at many points in an offensive along the entire Albanian front which was ushered in by 48 hours of almost continuous artillery bombardment. The Royal Air Force also prepared the way with large-scale bombings which the R.A.F. called the “heaviest and most successful” yet carried out in Albania.
The 14th Demi-Brigade de marche de la Légion Étrangère under the command of Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey landed unopposed at Port Sudan, Sudan.
African Commonwealth troops captured the port city of Kismayu, Italian East Africa at 1400 hours, with gunfire support from cruisers HMS Shropshire, HMS Hawkins, HMS Ceres, and HMS Capetown. The port is the first major prize in what he plans will become a two-pronged drive, up the coast to Mogadishu, the colonial capital, and northwards up the river Juba to Ethiopia. His offensive into Italian territory began in earnest only three days ago, after an eight-week preliminary operation to recapture first parts of Kenya occupied by the Italians and then frontier posts on the Kenya-Somaliland border. The resistance on the road from Afmadu has been dealt with by the Gold Coast Regiment and an Indian mountain battery, while South African planes have pounded the port. Next stop: Mogadishu.
Things are quiet at Keren as the British regroup. Indian 7th Infantry Brigade takes Mersa Dersa on the Red Sea coast. Another action takes place near Cam Ceua.
Winston Churchill continues his attention to the WS7 (Winston Special Convoy) now being assembled at Plymouth. As he states in a memo to Sir Andrew Duncan, he remains opposed to sending any but front-line troops on the convoy, preferring to send “a complete infantry division” even though that means “displacing others.” He asks Duncan to find seven more transport ships for the convoy. Churchill is determined to improve the “tooth to tail” ratio in the Middle East Command and sees little need for service troops when there is fighting to be done.
Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies resumes his epic journey from Melbourne to London, today flying from Cairo to Khartoum.
British General Percy Hobart is appointed commander of the 11th Armoured Division.
French Admiral Darlan adds Interior Minister to his other government posts.
Norwegian war hero Max Manus (at the time in hospital under German supervision), flew by jumping out a window, the only time he was ever captured by the Germans.
German armed forces are expected to move through Bulgaria and perhaps Yugoslavia “in only a matter of days” to force Greece to agree to a negotiated peace with Italy, a high source said Friday. Bulgaria is resigned to the German occupation, regarding herself as being “on the spot,” and is powerless to put up any resistance, “which would be tantamount to committing suicide,” it was added.
The Bulgarian ambassador is seen at the Foreign Office in London by Sir Alexander Cadogan in an attempt to impress on the Bulgarians the great mistake they would be making if they threw in their lot with the Germans.
The British Foreign Office officially breaks relations with Rumania. Britain announced that beginning the next day it would consider Rumania to be “territory under enemy occupation” and would regard the country as an “enemy destination for contraband purposes..” This is a poignant moment because Rumania during the 1930s relied greatly on British guarantees of protection.
At Berchtesgaden, Hitler presses the Yugoslav Premier, Dragiša Cvetković, to join the Tripartite Pact. Hitler met with the Yugoslavian Prime Minister at the Berghof, but was unable to convince Cvetković to sign on to the Tripartite Pact. They talk for three hours. Hitler wants Yugoslavia to join the Tripartite Pact, which would obviate the need to invade it. He does not demand military support, but he does want transit rights so that he can send Wehrmacht forces south through Yugoslavia to invade Greece. However, Cvetković knows that there is immense opposition to joining the Axis, so he demurs.
Hitler also issues final orders for the occupation of Bulgaria. The Bulgarians can now complete their mobilization.
The RAF drops supplies to the Polish underground for the first time during the war.
The Luftwaffe sends lone raiders across to bomb Northeast Scotland and Kent. It also mounts fighter sweeps over southern England. There is another raid on London after dark, but it causes little damage.
An event supposedly happens during the night which enters legend; whether it is true or not is uncertain (like the “wooden bombs” story). A disoriented Luftwaffe pilot lands by mistake at an English airfield and does not realize his mistake until he spots the control tower. He takes off quickly, then does the same thing elsewhere. Eventually, the pilot makes it back to France.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 4 Blenheims during daylight; 1 bombed Calais docks. No losses. During the day, the RAF sends Rhubarb sweeps over the German invasion ports.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 44 Wellingtons overnight to the Nordstern oil plant at Gelsenkerchen but only 9 aircraft claimed to have hit the target. No losses. On the return of the bombers to England, what appeared to be a German aircraft landed among Hampdens of 57 Squadron at Feltwell. The flarepath was extinguished and the aircraft took off again.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 22 Blenheims and 22 Wellingtons overnight to oil plant at Homberg; 16 claimed to have bombed target. No losses.
RAF Bomber Command dispatches 11 Hampdens overnight minelaying in Gironde; 1 lost.
The 11th Hussars are attacked by a flight of fighter aircraft from Fliegerkorps X the first contact that 7 Armd. Div. has with the Luftwaffe in North Africa.
At Malta, Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88s drop the first land mines on the island. They damage homes in Valletta and Senglea, as well as other scattered locations such as St Elmo, Fort Leonardo, the Dockyard and Tigne areas, as well as in St Thomas’ Bay. These types of bombs, which cause devastation over wide areas, are common in England, but this is a first for the Mediterranean. There are five civilian deaths and twenty injuries. The parachute mines hit various structures, including a primary school, barracks, and other areas, and flatten wide areas. The Luftwaffe also drops anti-personnel mines on the beaches of Mellieha.
U-101, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Ernst Mengersen, sank British steamer Belcrest (4517grt), which was straggling behind convoy SC.21, in 54N, 21W. At 2257 hours the unescorted Belcrest (Master Norman Cecil Brockwell), a straggler from convoy SC.21 since 11 February, was hit on the port side by two torpedoes from U-101 about 300 miles west of Ireland. The torpedoes struck the bow and just aft of amidships and caused the ship to break in two and sink within 90 seconds. The master, 35 crew members and one gunner were lost.
Italian submarine Bianchi sank steamer Alnmoor (6573grt), straggling behind convoy SC.21, in 55N, 13W, south-southeast of Rockall in the northern Atlantic Ocean. All of the ship’s complement of 55 died. The 6,573 ton Alnmoor was carrying general cargo and was bound for Glasgow, Scotland.
Destroyer HMS Echo departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Loch Alsh to act as additional escort for operation SN.68, and arrived at 0800/15th.
Destroyer HMS Keppel at Londonderry was transferred to the Western Approaches, while destroyer HMS Cottesmore departed Londonderry for the Nore following working up.
Motor torpedo boat MTB.41 ( Lt Cdr J C Cole) was sunk on a mine in the North Sea. Cole, Sub Lt P R C Guinness and T/A/Sub Lt H H Nalder RNVR were lost.
Canadian destroyer HMCS St Laurent was damaged by the near miss of German bombing in the Northwest Approaches. The destroyer spent no time out of service. The destroyer arrived at Greenock on the 15th.
Minelayer HMS Teviotbank departed Immingham, escorted by destroyer HMS Whitshed. She was damaged by two near misses of German bombing off Flamborough Head. The minelayer was repaired in the Humber completing on 8 March.
German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper makes port at Brest (some sources place this on the 15th). It sank 8 ships during its 140-day cruise, a small return for the effort expended — but expanded by the effect it has had on the Royal Navy. Things have changed at Brest, and it is no longer as secure for warships as it had been in the past. Admiral Hipper draws a lot of RAF attention there.
German cruiser Admiral Scheer meets supply ship Tannenfels and raider Atlantis, which has with it a captured tanker, Ketty Brøvig. Scheer refuels from the tanker and the two ships exchange supplies.
German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau refueled at sea from German tankers Schlettstadt (8028grt) and Esso Hamburg (9847grt). The ships, south of Greenland, are biding their time before attacking the convoys passing just to the south.
German raider Thor, operating in the South Atlantic, meets up with supply ships Eurofeld and Alsterufer.
British steamer Elisabeth Marie (616grt) was sunk by German bombing in 54-58N, 12-30W. One crewman was lost on the steamer. Canadian destroyer HMCS Ottawa rescued the survivors.
British steamer Moorlands (420grt) was damaged by German bombing two miles north of Sands End Bay, off Banff. The steamer was bombed again on the 20th in Buckie Harbor.
Submarine HMS Rover damaged Italian tanker Cesco (6161grt) off Calabria in 38-45N, 17-25E.
Kismaya, Italian East Africa, was captured by the British. British Force T for these operations was composed of heavy cruisers HMS Shropshire and HMS Hawkins, aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, light cruisers HMS Ceres and HMS Capetown, destroyer HMS Kandahar.
Convoy AN.15, composed of six British and fourteen Greek ships, departed Port Said escorted by destroyers HMS Greyhound and HMAS Waterhen and from Alexandria escorted by destroyer HMS Hasty. Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta joined the convoy on the 16th, and arrived at Suda Bay on the 18th and Pireaus on the 19th.
Convoy AC.1 departed Alexandria for Benghazi escorted by anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry, minesweeping corvettes HMS Salvia and HMS Gloxinia, minesweeping whalers HMS Southern Isle and HMS Southern Maid. Two steamers were diverted to Tobruk. The other two steamers, British Palermo (2928grt) and Belgian Escaut (1087grt), of the convoy arrived at Benghazi on the 18th.
A Convoy of a small store ship and Belgian petrol carrier Escaut for Benghazi departed Alexandria. Monitor HMS Terror and anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Coventry accompanied this convoy. Monitor Terror arrived on the 17th.
Convoy SLG.1A of troopships Kenya and Sobieski departed Gibraltar escorted by light cruiser HMS Dunedin and destroyers HMS Foresight and HMS Fortune. The two F class destroyers were detached on the 16th. Destroyers HMS Wishart and HMS Vidette departed Gibraltar at the same time and covered in the local approaches before proceeding south to Freetown. On the 20th, destroyers ORP Garland, HMS Hesperus, HMS Hurricane, HMS Legion, and ORP Piorun joined the convoy, and arrived at the Clyde on the 22nd.
In Washington today, President Roosevelt received Admiral Nomura, the new Japanese Ambassador, who presented his credentials, invoked the Railway Mediation Act in the threatened strike of employees of the Rutland Railroad Company, accepted the resignation of Lewis Compton as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and sent to the Senate the nomination of Ralph A. Bard to be Mr. Compton’s successor.
The Senate adopted the bill to raise the national debt limit to $65,000,000,000, another revising the system of taking bids on warehousing of government-owned cotton, approved a treaty relinquishing the right of the United States to name customs collectors in the Dominican Republic, agreed to make the Lend-Lease bill the order of business Monday, and recessed at 5 PM until noon Monday.
The House was in recess.
Japanese Ambassador Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo presented his credentials to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt attended the first meeting of new Japanese ambassador, Admiral Nomura Kichisaburo and U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull to impress Nomura with the United States’ determination to achieve peace. Roosevelt firmly outlined the U.S. position. Noting that the American people were “seriously concerned . . . at the course of Japan,” Roosevelt referred to the “movements of Japan southward down to Indochina and the Spratley Islands and other localities in that area” as matters of “very serious concern.” Roosevelt warned that another incident like the 1937 sinking of the USS Panay, in the light of the American public’s hostility towards Japan, could lead to war.
Nomura, unlike his masters in Tokyo, actually wants to find some way to avoid a war. He promises to do what he can. However, both sides expect the other to grant concessions, and nobody is interested in doing that.
US diplomat Eugene Dooman, the US embassy counselor in Tokyo, submits a message from President Roosevelt to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The message, more an ultimatum than anything else, warns the Japanese that the US is helping Great Britain and would not tolerate any interference with British Asian possessions. The bottom line, the message states, is:
“it was quite possible to pass over the present critical period without war, but that one essential condition to this more or less happy issue out of our difficulties must be the realization on the part of the Japanese that they cannot substantially alter the status quo in Southeast Asia, particularly, without incurring the risk of creating a very serious situation.”
Deepening shadows of a possible new crisis in Europe and Asia led to a proposal in the U.S. Senate today for an extraordinary closed session to hear confidential diplomatic reports on world conditions. Taking note of the possibility that Japan might be preparing to strike against British and other interests in the far east in conjunction with new axis moves in Europe, Senator Wiley, Wisconsin Republican, called for the executive session of the full senate next week to hear Secretary of State Hull and other officials. The move, however, lacked administration support and Democratic leaders said there was little chance that such a session would be held. They said it was doubtful that the motion would reach a vote in the senate but if it should, they expressed confidence it would be defeated.
A strategy meeting of U.S. Senate critics of the lease-lend bill revealed today that an amendment prohibiting the transfer of any part of the navy to England would probably be offered by none other than Senator Walsh of Massachusetts, Democratic chairman of the naval committee. Nearly a score of senators gathered late in the day in the tiny, subterranean office of Senator Johnson, California Republican, in the oldest part of the capitol, discussed procedure, delegated Senator Clark, Missouri Democrat, to make the first speech in opposition to the bill in the senate next week, and talked about amendments which the group would support. The word that Walsh would throw his prestige as chairman of the naval committee behind the naval amendment in question came as almost a sensation in Washington.
The Senate today by voice vote passed the administration bill authorizing a $16,000,000,000 increase in the national debt limit. Democrats had urged higher taxes to finance defense spending and Republicans had criticized the New Deal’s “make shift” fiscal policy. The measure now goes to conference with the house, which approved it last week, for adjustment of minor differences.
Making a rare foray into Balkan politics, President Roosevelt warns Prince Paul not to help Germany.
Labor firebrand Harry Bridges was arrested today on a Justice Department warrant charging him with having been a member of an organization advocating violent overthrow of the United States government, and was cited to appear for his second deportation hearing March 31. The head of west coast C.l.O. longshoremen, cleared of Communist connections in a labor department hearing here in 1939, was served in the office of his attorney, Richard I. Gladstein. He was released on $3,000 cash bond posted by Louis Puccinelli, bail broker. The warrant was served by Earl A. Cushing, inspector for the United States department of immigration and naturalization, which has been transferred from the jurisdiction of the labor to justice department.
The navy today approved $7,355,000 worth of contracts with the General Motors Corp. for propelling machinery for 14 submarine chasers and one submarine tender. The construction will be done by the corporation’s Cleveland, Ohio, Diesel engine division. Contract for the propelling machinery for the submarine chasers amounted to $5,880,000; that for the submarine tender was $1,475,000.
The U.S. Army contracts with the Glenn L. Martin Company for the construction and operation of the Fort Crook Plant, Sarpy County, Nebraska. This plant is intended to assemble the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. The construction order will be sent tomorrow. In all, there will be nine primary buildings, including a 600×900 foot two-story manufacturing and assembly building (some of the plane parts are prefabricated by other companies and simply assembled here). The location was chosen because it was over 200 miles from a coast, as required by the government, and near the city of Omaha.
Production of military planes in the United States rose to a total of 1,002 in January, doubling the output of a year ago. Although a breakdown of types could not be revealed because of its military importance, it was said on good authority that 60 percent of the production was combat aircraft of various types. The rest was made up of trainer types. January production, more than a 20 percent increase over the December figure of 799, was acclaimed privately in defense headquarters as “more than satisfactory.” It was said to presage the fulfillment of hopes of William S. Knudsen, that production early this year would tend to reach the rate of 1,500 a month, which might be increased to as much as 2,000 planes a month later in the year when plant expansions are completed. In Defense Commission circles the expectation is heard that 1,500 planes a month may be attained by May. The date when production will be stepped up to 2,000 planes a month is still tentative in the mind of officials, but they are confident that it will come well before the end of the current year.
The one millionth vehicle traverses the New York Midtown Tunnel.
Cebrie Park in the Bronx is renamed Halsey Street.
John H. Tobin, newsreel editor and commentator for the Telenews Theatre, spoke in the Emporium Auditorium in San Francisco about “Propaganda in the War News.”
Fleet Landing Exercise No. 7, which had begun on 4 February, concludes in Culebra-Vieques, Puerto Rico, area.
The rear echelon of the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Defense Battalion arrived at Midway.
Carson McCuller’s “Reflections in a Golden Eye” published.
RKO Radio Pictures releases the short film “The Little Whirlwind,” starring Mickey Mouse and Minny Mouse. The film, produced by Walt Disney for Walt Disney Productions, is directed by Riley Thomson. It features the voices of Walt Disney and Thelma Boardman.
The entire Dodger squad leaves New York to train in Havana, Cuba for most of the spring. Babe Phelps, a reluctant traveler and still unsigned, will leave the team in Miami, rather than take a boat, and return to Maryland.
Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King, on the eve of the opening of Parliament, has moved to confine business in the House of Commons to essential war effort. The government, according to the motion he has presented, will have precedence at every sitting and other members will be deprived of their privilege of priority in certain matters.
The U.S. counselor of embassy in Japan, Eugene Dooman, exchanged views with a Japanese Vice Foreign Minister, Ohashi Chuichi. Declaring that “a Japanese threat to occupy lands from which the United States procured essential primary commodities would not be tolerated.” Dooman added “It would be absurd to suppose that the American people, while pouring munitions into Britain, would look with complacency upon the cutting of communications between Britain and the British dominions and colonies overseas. If, therefore, Japan or any other nation were to prejudice the safety of those communications, either by direct action or by placing herself in a position to menace those communications, she would have to expect to come into conflict with the United States. . . . The United States cannot but be concerned by the various initiatives taken by the Japanese in Indochina and elsewhere for the reason that if Japan were to occupy these strategic-important British and Dutch areas, it could easily debouch into the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific and create havoc with essential British lines of communication.” Dooman concluded by saying “it was quite possible to pass over the present critical period without war, but that one essential condition to this more or less happy issue out of our difficulties must be the realization on the part of the Japanese that they cannot substantially alter the status quo in Southeast Asia, particularly, without incurring the risk of creating a very serious situation.”
Japanese nationals in North and South America were advised officially today to disregard “sensational” reports of the situation between Japan and the United States, which was described as “cause for some concern” but not necessarily indicative of war.
Destruction of Britain’s fortress of Singapore was recommended today by Fukuichi Kawabata, Japanese far eastern expert, as the quickest means of ending the Sino-Japanese war. Writing in the newspaper Miyako he contended that Singapore authorities were actively cooperating in the continued flow of sea-borne supplies to aid China via the Burma road, and thus were prolonging the conflict.
Preparations to cope with a possible war emergency were noted throughout the Philippines today as new war strain swept the Far East. National assemblymen discussed the situation that would result should the islands become involved as a ward of the United States. Some said one of the first steps taken would be suspension of constitutional guarantees, and probably the constitution itself. Reliable private quarters said that a surprise order which sent one or more Dutch vessels scurrying to neutral waters yesterday came from the Netherlands East Indies admiralty.
British Commander-in-chief of the Far East Command Robert Brooke-Popham visits Australia (which is not part of his command). He meets with the Australian War Cabinet. Brooke-Popham gives an optimistic review of the state of British defenses in his realm, saying that Singapore is unlikely to be attacked from the landward side and that it could hold out for six to nine months if attacked.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 117.66 (-3.44)
Born:
Paul Tsongas, American politician (Senator-D-Massachusetts, 1979–1985), in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1997, of complications from pneumonia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma).
Donna Shalala, American educator and politician, U.S. Secretary of Health under Bill Clinton (Rep-Florida 2019-2021), in Cleveland, Ohio.
Lionel Aldridge, NFL defensive end (NFL Champions-Packers, 1965, 1966, 1967; Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II Champions, 1966, 1967; Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers), in Evergreen, Louisiana (d. 1998).
Tucker Zimmerman, American folk music singer-songwriter, in San Francisco, California (d. 2026).
Big Jim Sullivan [Tomkins], British session and touring rock guitarist, sitar, and banjo player, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England (d. 2012).
Naval Construction:
The Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) light cruiser HIJMS Ōyodo (大淀), first of a planned class of 2 (only Ōyodo was completed), is laid down by the Kure Naval Arsenal (Kure, Hiroshima, Japan).
The U.S. Navy Delta-class repair ship USS Briareus (AR-12) is launched by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. (Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A.).
The Royal Navy Isles-class minesweeping trawler HMS Ronaldsay (T 149) is launched by Cochrane & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd. (Selby, U.K.); completed by Amos & Smith.
The U.S. Navy Gleaves-class destroyer USS Woolsey (DD-437) is launched by the Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.).
The Royal Navy harbor defence motor launch HMS HDML 1007 is commissioned.
The U.S. Navy Gleaves-class destroyer USS Grayson (DD-435) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander Thomas M. Stokes, USN.
History Diaries 