ONE DAY TO BARBAROSSA.
It is the last day of the old world, with multiple power centers. Adolf Hitler has managed the unthinkable, to amass over three million men on the Soviet border without having his plans discovered by Soviet leadership. After this day, the course is set for a world of very few superpowers who keep the peace by having complete control within their own domains.
Soviet military attaché to France Major General Ivan Sousloparov warned his superiors in Moscow, Russia of a potential German invasion, which Joseph Stalin immediately disregarded as British provocation. Stalin’s opinion was agreed by head of Soviet State Security Lavrentiy Beria, who told Joseph Stalin that Germany would not attack the Soviet Union in 1941. Georgy Zhukov disagreed, but it would not be until 1905 hours when the military attaché to Germany Mikhail Vorontsov provided concrete evidence of German movement when Stalin and the Politburo were finally convinced to organize two new wartime fronts (rather than peacetime military districts) to prepare the defenses. By the time the telegrams were deciphered many units would already be bombed by German aircraft. Elsewhere, in the evening, Soviet Foreign Minister Vycheslav Molotov met with German Ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg and asked him regarding the rumors of invasion, which Schulenburg denied as false. Within hours, however, to Schulenburg’s surprise, he would receive orders from his superiors to destroy documents, code books, ciphers, and communications equipment, and he would receive a declaration of war to be delivered to Molotov in the morning.
Semyon Timoshenko belatedly ordered the manning of fortifications along the Molotov Line in Soviet-occupied Poland, but only some would be ready for fighting when the German invasion commenced in few hours’ time.
Soviet fighter pilots are ordered not to fire on a German plane which flies over Soviet airspace. The border guard is put on alert, but is forbidden to take any “provocative” action.
In the afternoon, Adolf Hitler wrote a message to Benito Mussolini, informing him of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union. This message would not reach Mussolini until early in the next day, less than an hour before the operation began. Hitler sent Benito Mussolini a secret message informing him of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. “I waited until this moment, Duce, to send you this information, it is because the final decision itself will not be made until 7 o’clock tonight,” Hitler wrote. “I earnestly beg you, therefore, to refrain, above all, from making any explanation to your Ambassador at Moscow, for there is no absolute guarantee that our coded reports cannot be decoded. I, too, shall wait until the last moment to have my own Ambassador informed of the decisions reached..”
In the evening German Brandenburg special mission units and the Polish White Guard began operations in Soviet controlled territory. These units infiltrated across the border in order to secure bridges and other important facilities and to cut communications in the Soviet rear area in preparation for the invasion of the next day.
Rastenburg, East Prussia: Hitler and his staff arrive at the Wolfsschanze [Wolf’s Lair], Hitler’s eastern headquarters.
In response to the failed attack on the US battleship Texas Doenitz instructs his U-boats thus: “Führer orders avoidance any incident with USA during next few weeks. Orders will be rigidly obeyed in all circumstances. In addition attacks till further orders will be restricted to cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers and then only when identified beyond doubt as hostile. Fact that warship is sailing without lights will not be regarded as proof of enemy identity.”
The Battle of Damascus ended in Allied victory. Allied forces occupied ancient Damascus tonight and General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French forces, said this “must end Vichy resistance.” “As a soldier,” De Gaulle said in a statement to the press, “I think the occupation of Damascus must end Vichy resistance.” Capture of Damascus, ancient center of civilization, came two weeks after Anglo-Free French forces had swept into Syria from Palestine and Transjordania and a week after they had begun their attack on the Syrian capital’s outer defenses.
Free French troops captured the city of Damascus in the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, but fighting would continue in the surrounding villages. Elsewhere in the region, at the village of Mezze, the Indian 5th Infantry Brigade surrendered to Vichy French troops after being surrounded for two days; the victorious Vichy French troops, however, would fall back toward Beirut, allowing Australian troops to capture the village later on the same day.
Australian forces occupied Damascus after the Vichy French garrison withdrew. The “Habforce” Commonwealth army advances from Syria into Iraq. Habforce is three British and Indian brigades including the British 4 Cav Bde. They are still subject to persistent French air attack on the approaches to Palmyra.
The Italian garrison at Jimma surrenders to Ethiopian troops under British command. General Gazzera escapes capture
Vichy France enacted a law to exclude Jews from schools. A law in Vichy France limited Jews to only 3 percent of university students.
Churchill decided to dismiss Archibald Wavell as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East and replace him with Claude Auchinleck. Wavell took Auchinleck’s old post of Commander-in-Chief, India.
Peter II of Yugoslavia arrived in exile in London.
The British steam collier Gasfire struck a mine in the North Sea and sank. All 26 crew were rescued.
After dark, German bombers bombed Southampton, England, United Kingdom and dropped many naval mines in surrounding waters. The bombing caused a leak in the King George V Dry Dock, and demolished the down-line platform of the Southern Railway Central Station, blocking much rail traffic.
Over France, Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland was shot down for the first time after scoring his 68th and 69th victories, both of which were British Blenheim aircraft; the fighters that shot him down were British Spitfire fighters from No. 145 Squadron RAF; Galland crash landed his fighter in a grassy field, returned to base, and took off from another mission by the afternoon. After achieving his 70th kill in the afternoon, he was shot down again. This time he ditched the aircraft, his parachute barely opening before reaching ground, and was brought to a first aid station by French civilians using a horse-drawn cart. When he returned to base that evening, he found that he had been awarded Swords to his Knight’s Cross for achieving 69 kills.
Douglas Bader shot down a German Bf 109E aircraft off Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, France.
RAF Bomber Command, Day of 21 June 1941
23 Blenheims on coastal sweeps and a Circus operation to St-Omer airfield. The airfield was bombed and a ship attacked off the Dutch coast. 1 Blenheim was lost.
RAF Bomber Command, Night of 21/22 June 1941
Cologne
68 Wellingtons; cloud and haze were encountered. Out of 500 high-explosive and nearly 5.000 incendiary bombs carried by the bombers, none are recorded as dropping. inside Cologne’s boundaries, only a few in villages to the west. No aircraft lost.
Düsseldorf
28 Hampdens and 28 Whitleys dispatched and claimed many fires started. No aircraft lost. Düsseldorf reports 2 loads of bombs in the city and 1 in nearby Neuss. There were no casualties and the only damage caused was broken windows.
Minor Operations: 18 Manchesters to Boulogne, 10 Wellingtons to Dunkirk, 2 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Manchester was shot down by an RA.F. fighter over England and its crew were killed.
Soviet aircraft engineer A. M. Isayev proposed to use compressed air rather than a pump to force propellant into the rocket engine that he was developing for a new fighter design.
Aircraft carrier HMS Victorious arrived in the Clyde after ferrying aircraft to Malta.
Light cruiser HMS Hermione was attached to the Western Approaches Command. The light cruiser departed Scapa Flow for the Clyde to escort aircraft carrier HMS Furious on a ferry trip to Gibraltar. On the 22nd, the ships with destroyers HMS Lance and HMS Legion departed the Clyde for Gibraltar.
Light cruiser HMS Aurora departed Scapa Flow to relieve light cruiser HMS Nigeria on patrol west of the Iceland Faroes minefield.
Destroyer HMS Arrow departed Chatham to rejoin the Home Fleet after repairs. However, off Flamborough Head, the destroyer struck a mine at 2000 and was badly damaged. Destroyer Arrow arrived at Middlesborough for repairs on the 22nd. Repairs were completed on 20 November.
Destroyer HMS Electra departed Scapa Flow at 1015 for Sheerness for refitting. The destroyer arrived at 1330/22nd.
Sloop HMS Stork departed Scapa Flow at 0530 for Rosyth on completion of working up exercises.
Destroyer HMS Anthony departed Scapa Flow at 1115 for Rosyth to clean boilers. The destroyer arrived at 1930.
Destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Echo arrived in Iceland. The Echo departed that day to join heavy cruiser HMS Suffolk on Denmark Straits patrol.
Anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank departed Methil at 1130 and escorted convoy EC.35 to Pentland Firth, arriving at 0930/22nd. The ship then proceeded to Scapa Flow.
Destroyer HMS Pytchley was escorting convoy FN.483 with destroyer HMS Vortigern. Destroyer Pytchley was damaged by a mine two miles off Flamborough Head. There were no casualties. Destroyer Vortigern towed the destroyer to the Tyne. Destroyer Pytchley was under repair until December 1942.
Minesweeper HMS Plover, escorted by destroyer HMS Eglinton, laid minefield BS.60 off the east coast of England.
British steamer Gasfire (3001grt) was sunk on a mine ten miles east of Southwold in 52-19N, 1-59E.
British steamer Kenneth Hawksfield (1546grt) was sunk on a mine in 52-18N, 1-59E. One crewman was lost on the steamer.
British steamer Dorine (3176grt) was damaged by German bombing off Sheringham. The steamer arrived at Hartlepool on the 23rd.
Norwegian steamer Skum (1304grt) was damaged by German bombing near No. 57 Buoy. The steamer was towed to Great Yarmouth and subsequently to London for repairs.
German supply ship Babitonga (4422grt) was scuttled when she was intercepted by Heavy cruiser HMS London at 02-05N, 27-42W, near St Paul Rocks.
French steamer Criton (4564grt) was captured by armed merchant cruiser HMS Cilicia on 9 May off Freetown at 10-11N, 20-17W. The steamer was taken to Freetown arriving on 11 May. The steamer joined convoy SL.78 on the 19th for passage to Belfast. The steamer fell out of the convoy and was returning to Freetown. She was intercepted by French patrol vessel Air France IV which ordered her to proceed to Konakri. When the steamer made a radio report, the patrol vessel sank the steamer. Ten crewmen were killed on the steamer. Twenty four crewmen and the armed guard from armed merchant cruiser Queen of Bermuda under the command of Sub Lt S.K. Stretton RNR, were interned at Konakri.
Minelayer HMS Latona arrived at Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Fleet. The minelayer had departed England on 16 May and proceeded, via Capetown.
Corvette HMS Erica arrived at Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Fleet.
French destroyer Vauquelin arrived at Beirut at 0840/same mission as destroyer Chevalier Paul had attempted earlier. The destroyer had been sighted by British aircraft at 1340/20th in 35-56N, 29-25E. However, contact was lost and no attack was made.
French hospital ship Canada (9684grt) was intercepted by destroyer HMS Jackal in 34-12N, 31-05E at 1400. Force B of light cruiser HMS Naiad and destroyers HMS Decoy, HMS Hotspur, and HMS Havock supported the operation. The hospital ship was taken to Haifa, escorted by destroyer HMS Jackal, for inspection and released on the 22nd.
Submarine HMS Osiris arrived at Gibraltar from Holy Loch after refitting at Chatham from 25 January to 10 May.
Convoy OB.338 departed Liverpool. On the 22nd, destroyers HMS Malcolm, HMS Scimitar, and HMS Watchman, catapult ship HMS Maplin, corvettes HMS Arabis and HMS Violet, minesweepers HMS Niger and HMS Speedwell, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Northern Gem, HMS Northern Pride, HMS Northern Spray, and HMS Northern Wave joined the convoy outside Liverpool. This group was detached on the 26th. On the 26th, destroyers HMCS Niagara and HMCS Saguenay, armed merchant cruiser HMS Ranpura, and corvettes HMCS Pictou and HMCS Rimouski joined. Destroyer Niagara was detached on 2 July. The convoy was dispersed on 3 July.
Canadian troop convoy TC.11 departed Halifax with liners Andes (25,689grt), Britannic (26,943grt), Indrapoera (10,825grt), Pasteur (29,253grt), Stirling Castle (25,550grt), and Windsor Castle (19,141grt). Battlecruiser HMS Repulse, battleship HMS Ramillies, and destroyers HMCS Assiniboine, HMS Buxton, HMS Havelock, HMCS Skeena, and HMCS St Laurent departed Halifax on the 21st.Battleship Ramillies was detached on the 27th. Destroyer Assiniboine was detached on the 24th. Destroyer Havelock was detached on the 27th. Destroyers Skeena and St Laurent were detached on the 24th. The battlecruiser and destroyer Buxton proceeded to England with the convoy. Destroyers HMS Achates, HMS Active, HMS Antelope, HMS Inglefield, and HMS Intrepid departed Iceland to meet TC.11 at 0100 hours on the 25th. Destroyer HMS Icarus, detailed for the duty, was unable to proceed due to damaged propellers and was replaced by destroyer HMS Sherwood. These destroyers and HMS Cossack and HMS Sikh joined the convoy. On the 28th, Dutch cruiser HNLMS Heemskerk joined the convoy on the 26th. Destroyer Sherwood was detached on the 28th. The rest arrived in the Clyde with the convoy at 0800/30th.
The U.S. State Department requested the closing of all Italian consulates in U.S. territory. The “continued functioning of Italian consular establishments in territory of the United States,” Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles informs Italian Ambassador Don Ascanio dei principi Colonna, “would serve no desirable purpose.” The Italian government was informed that such withdrawals and closures be effected before July 15.
President Roosevelt sent Germany today a copy of the grim message he had given congress on the sinking of the Robin Moor, and thereby told the Nazi government his views without cloaking and blunting them with the stilted and inexpressive language of a formal diplomatic protest. This message called the sinking of the American freighter last May 21 an act of “piracy,” asserted that reparations were expected of Germany, and declared that this country would resist Nazi efforts to dominate the seas. Its dispatch to the Berlin government, along with a brief message of transmittal, will constitute the formal American protest over the sinking.
A deliberate silence was the only answer in Berlin today to President Roosevelt’s message to Congress on the Robin Moor case and the ebbing of American-German relations to the lowest point in years.
President Roosevelt signed promptly today the bill passed yesterday by Congress giving him full control over immigration and emigration. The measure is designed principally to control espionage and other subversive activities. It authorizes him to prescribe rules and regulations governing entry into and departure from the country of all persons, if he deems the interests of the United States so require. Mr. Roosevelt remained in the Executive Mansion during the day and received no official callers. He had no special plans for tomorrow.
An American who refused to turn over a transport plane to the government at its request was today cited as an example by President Roosevelt in a letter which he wrote to Senator Robert R. Reynolds, chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, stating that the Administration believes the property requisitioning bill now being considered by that committee should be passed. The man who would not give the plane to the government remains anonymous, but Mr. Roosevelt attached the official correspondence in the case to his communication to the committee and said: “The enclosed correspondence shows how one citizen places his own predilection over and above the national need. I think this correspondence will be of interest to your committee.” Earlier in his letter Mr. Roosevelt said: “I cite an example, relatively unimportant in itself but significant of the difficulty. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that any American citizen who owned a needed transport plane would have set up his personal and private judgment against that of his own government as to the government’s need for such a plane?”
Simultaneously with a War Department recommendation that the National Guard be kept in federal service beyond the single year originally planned, the author of the selective service act said today that congress would quickly authorize an additional year’s training for draftees if the administration requests it. Representative Wadsworth, New York Republican, who introduced the draft bill, added that if it is decided to prolong the training period of the selectees, men over 28 years of age, now in service, should be permitted to withdraw after completing their 12-month training periods.
A conference of naval officers and an A.F.L. International officer at San Francisco yesterday was followed by reports that the navy, perhaps in conjunction with the army, would take action Monday to put the strike-bound Bethlehem shipyard back into production on $300,000,000 worth of defense contracts.’ The conference followed by a day a demand by Harvey W. Brown, international president of A.F.L. machinists, that the union local striking at the Bethlehem plant and other shipyards In the area return to work. The executive board of the local deliberated for several hours, then rejected Brown’s order. Admiral John W. Greenslade, commandant of the 12th naval district, and nine navy officers talked with Brown for nearly three hours. A navy spokesman said only that the conference dealt with the strike and that “there were no concrete results.”
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee postponed action today on the nomination of Attorney General Robert H. Jackson as associate justice of the Supreme Court after hearing a charge that he “abused his official office” in 1940.
The federal government, extending far-reaching control over all manufacturing use of rubber, today suspended private imports from the Far East and ordered civilian consumption cut 20 per cent in the next six months.
As hope faded rapidly for the crew of the Submarine USS O-9, which failed to rise after submerging yesterday morning twenty-four miles east of this city, it became known tonight that the Navy might be unable to complete its salvage operations, and might be compelled to leave the bodies entombed where they lie — 440 feet below the surface of the Atlantic.
“Daddy” by Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra hit #1 on the Billboard singles charts.
Major League Baseball:
At Boston, Lefty Grove finally loses at Fenway after 20 consecutive wins at home, as the St. Louis Browns pound the Red Sox, 13–9. Grove is knocked out in 2nd inning. Harland Clift leads the day’s slugging with 2 doubles and a triple, good for 4 RBIs. Grove’s streak began on May 3, 1938 and went through May 12th. He’ll end this year with a record of 55–17 (1934–41), and his .764 winning percentage is the highest ever for a lefty at Fenway. The Browns today hammered three Red Sox pitchers for sixteen hits — including homers by George McQuinn, Wally Judnich and Chet Laabs.
The Boston Braves came from behind today to defeat the Cubs, 4–3, on Max West’s pinch home run that tied the score in the ninth and Gene Moore’s double that tallied Paul Waner with the winning run in the tenth. The combined efforts of three Boston pitchers then stopped a counter-rally by the Cubs, who loaded the bases in their half of the tenth without scoring. Art Johnson received credit for the victory, although Manny Salvo and John Hutchings were rushed to his rescue in the tenth. Bill Lee went the route for the Cubs, who broke away to an early lead on second-inning homers by Billy Nicholson, his fourteenth, and Babe Dahlgren, his eleventh of the year.
Elmer Riddle, 23-year-old rookie right-hander, and Mike McCormick, outfielder who has been on the bench most of the season, stopped the hopeful Dodgers in their tracks today. Riddle allowed six hits and had a shutout until the ninth inning. McCormick walloped his first homer of the season over the left-field wall with two on inthe fourth for more than enough runs to win for the Reds. The final score was 4–1.
The Detroit Tigers play the second game of a three game series against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in New York City. Yankee centerfielder Joe DiMaggio manages to hit one single off Tiger pitcher Dizzy Trout thus extending his hitting streak to 34-games. Trout and Al Benton put a chill on the Yankees as the Tigers won, 7–2, to the disappointment of a gathering of 20,067.
Clubbing fifteen hits to offset three Chicago home runs, the Athletics swamped the White Sox, 11–5, today to break a three-game losing streak. Wally Moses, Dee Miles and Frank Hayes paced the attack as the A’s drove Jack Hallett to the showers in the second inning and continued the assault on Lee Ross and Pete Appleton. Meanwhile Jack Knott, right-hander, who came to Philadelphia from Chicago last Winter, held his former team-mates in check to score his fourth victory against six defeats.
Pitcher Joe Bowman, who once toiled for the Phillies, pushed them deeper into the National League cellar today by hurling a 2–0 shutout for the Pirates. It was the sixth straight defeat for the Phils. Lefty Lee Grissom hurled a good game for the losers aside from the third, when Pittsburgh bunched three hits, one a double by Vince DiMaggio, for both runs.
Quick to retaliate for the manner in which they had been bludgeoned out of last night’s battle, the Cardinals turned considerable power on the Giants today, and with their young left-hander, Ernie White, spinning a two-hit shutout, routed Colonel Bill Terry’s troops, 6–0, in the second engagement of the four-game series. Bill Lohrman took the loss for New York.
Shortstop Lou Boudreau, as dependable an infielder as there is in the big leagues, tossed away a 13-inning ball game for the Indians today, giving the Senators a 1–0 victory. Boudreau’s misplay brought a well-deserved victory to Washington’s Ken Chase, who allowed only five hits, particularly since the last time Cleveland was here he hurled shut-out ball for ten innings only to lose in the eleventh.
St. Louis Browns 13, Boston Red Sox 9
Boston Braves 4, Chicago Cubs 3
Brooklyn Dodgers 1, Cincinnati Reds 4
Detroit Tigers 7, New York Yankees 2
Chicago White Sox 5, Philadelphia Athletics 11
Philadelphia Phillies 0, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
New York Giants 0, St. Louis Cardinals 6
Cleveland Indians 0, Washington Senators 1
An ambulance unit of fifty American, British and Canadian volunteers will embark from Los Angeles on Monday for service along the Burma Road in China, James G. Blaine, national chairman of the United China Relief, announced in New York.
Visions of an East Asiatic “Axis,” comprising Japan, China and Manchukuo, marching side by side with the European Axis powers, Germany, Italy and their satellites, for the construction of a “new world order” were described to the foreign and Japanese press today by Wang Ching-wei, head of the Japanese-sponsored puppet regime in Nanking, who is now visiting in Japan as the guest of the Emperor and the nation.
The Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier HIJMS Kaga departed Sasebo, Japan.
The Philippine Islands are rapidly being transformed into the first line of defense of the United States in the Orient, in conjunction with the British and the Dutch for the protection of the Netherlands Indies and Singapore, it was said by an official who has just returned from those areas.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 122.51 (+0.32)
Born:
Joe Flaherty, American actor and comedian (“SCTV”; “Freaks and Geeks”), in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2024).
Mitty Collier, American gospel and R&B singer (“I Had A Talk With My Man”), playwright, and church pastor, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Gene Breen, NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams), in Crafton, Pennsylvania.
Jimmy Rayl, ABA point guard (Indiana Pacers), in Kokomo, Indiana (d. 2019).
Valeri Zolotukhin, Russian theatrical and cinema actor, in Altai Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 2013).
Died:
Elliott Dexter, 71, American film and stage actor.
Naval Construction:
The Royal Indian Navy Basset-class minesweeping trawler HMIS Shillong (T 250) is laid down by Burn & Co. (Calcutta, India).
The Royal Navy Bangor-class (Reciprocating-engined) minesweeper HMS Lyme Regis (J 197) is laid down by Lobnitz & Co. Ltd. (Renfrew, Scotland). She is transferred to the Royal Indian Navy on completion and commissions as the HMIS Rajputana (J 197).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-264 is laid down by Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack (werk 29).
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Defiance (AMc-73) is launched by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. (Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S.A.).
The U.S. Navy 77-foot Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-36 is launched by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIB U-boat U-87 is launched by Flender Werke AG, Lübeck (werk 283).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IXC U-boat U-158 is launched by AG Weser, Bremen (werk 1000).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-436 is launched by F Schichau GmbH, Danzig (werk 1478).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-455 and U-456 are launched by Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel (werk 286 and 287).
The Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette HMCS Oakville (K 178) is launched by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. (Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada).
The Royal Navy Dance-class ASW trawler HMS Minuet (T 131) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant Alexander Michael Sullivan, RNVR.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-374 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Oberleutnant zur See Unno von Fischel.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-434 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Heyda.
The Royal Navy Hunt-class (Type II) escort destroyer HMS Heythrop (L 85) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander Robert Sydney Stafford, RN.
History Diaries 