The first German strategic reports on progress in Russia claimed that Germany had taken nearly 900,000 prisoners and destroyed or captured 13,100 tanks, 9,100 aircraft and more than 10,000 heavy guns. The German high command as of 6 August 1941 has been compiling statistics on losses on the Eastern Front, and today divulges some of its findings. According to reports from the front, the Wehrmacht has taken 266,352 casualties on the Eastern Front since the beginning of Operation BARBAROSSA. This is compared to 895,000 prisoners taken and an unknown number of Soviet casualties. While it is generally accepted that the Red Army takes higher casualties than the Wehrmacht throughout the war, the number of German casualties dwarfs those in earlier campaigns and is making a noticeable impact on the strength of front-line units.
Adolf Hitler, who is visiting the front, has his noon Führer Conference at the headquarters of Army Group South. At the instigation of General Franz Halder, OKH Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, commander of Army Group South, advocates orienting the entire Eastern Front attack toward capturing Moscow. Halder (who does not attend the meeting) writes in his war diary:
“The Führer again showed himself absolutely deaf to these arguments. He still harps on his old themes: 1) Leningrad… and 2) Eastern Ukraine… 3) Moscow comes last.”
Hitler makes clear his priorities at the conference when he praises the advance of Panzer Group 1 on Kryvyi Rih, which has “high-grade iron-ore deposits and the large blast furnaces.” The difference between Hitler and the generals comes down Hitler’s planning for a long war which will require economic exploitation, while the generals seek a quick knockout of the Soviet Union. Neither solution necessarily is right or wrong, but the Wehrmacht is built more for short, sharp campaigns than a lengthy war of economic production and attrition.
[Ed: In my opinion, Hitler is a moron. He has not come to understand what war — economically if not on the battlefield — with the United States means. Lend-Lease, for Britain and now the Soviets, has transformed the conflict. What was a somewhat unfavorable logistical comparison is now catastrophic. Hitler has no hope whatsoever of winning a long war now.]
Romanian dictator (his title is “Conducator”) Ion Antonescu attends the noon briefing at Army Group South headquarters along with Adolf Hitler. The latter confers upon Antonescu the Knight’s Cross for his troops’ performance to date.
In the Far North sector, the Finnish 7th Division of the VII Corps continues its advance from Sortavala to the shore of Lake Ladoga at Lahdenpohja. Further north, Group J of Finnish III Corps advances rapidly toward Kestenga despite bitter Soviet opposition. The Soviets are trying to rush reinforcements to both areas, but they are remote and there are few available troops nearby. The Stavka calls down 600 headquarters troops of the 14th Army along with a replacement battalion from Murmansk, which does not appear in jeopardy at the moment.
Army of Norway has been calling for help in getting its stalled offensive toward Murmansk rolling again, so OKW sends some reinforcements. The German 6th Destroyer Flotilla and the 12th Antisubmarine Flotilla escort transports carrying the 6th Mountain Division from Stettin, Germany to Kirkenes, Norway.
In the Army Group North sector, the German 16th Army takes Staraya Russa (south of Lake Ilmen) and Kholm after a bitter struggle. General Halder at OKH headquarters writes about this, “signs of enemy demoralization (tanks desert to us!).” These stories about enemy desertions crop up throughout the war and never lead to much.
In the Army Group Center sector, the Wehrmacht is juggling units to give some front-line formations a chance to rebuild themselves behind the front. At the lightning-rod position at Yelnya, infantry moves forward to take over positions held by a battered panzer and SS formation. Halder writes in the war diary:
“Enemy elements thought to be trapped at Roslavl have escaped. The Russians have an uncanny ability for moving on roads impassable for our troops and build concealed river crossings.”
He adds, “Elsewhere, minor attacks.”
In the Army Group South sector, the Romanian 4th Army and German 11th Army continue putting pressure on the Soviet defenders of Odessa. Hitler has promised overlordship of the region to Romania if Ion Antonescu can secure it, while the Soviet defenders of the city have been told to defend it to the end. Meanwhile, at Uman, the Germans continue tightening their envelopment of the 100,000 Soviet soldiers trapped there, though the Soviets continue to resist. German 6th Army is almost at the Dniepr River south of Kyiv, while the Soviets score some local successes near Kyiv.
That Soviet morale remains high is demonstrated during an unusual incident over Moscow. The Luftwaffe continues to send raids over the Soviet capital, but they have become small nuisance raids. Red Army pilot Viktor Talalikhin, after running out of ammunition, rams a Heinkel He-111 bomber with his Polikarpov I-16 fighter. Both planes crash, but Talalikhin parachutes safely to the ground.
Soviet destroyers Statny and Surovy park offshore in Moon Sound and shell German coastal battery Hainasch.
Luftwaffe Leutnant Hans Thurner, commander of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing, receives the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. Hubert Mütherich, squadron commander of the 5th Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 54, also receives the Ritterkreuz.
Polish General Władysław Anders, recently released from the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army being re-formed from Soviet POWs in the USSR. This is pursuant to the Sikorski-Maisky agreement signed in London on 30 July 1941.
The Red Army hands out the first two “Hero of the Soviet Union” awards to detachment commanders Pavlovskiy and Bumazhkov.
The Croatian Ustaše under Ivan Jovanović (known as “Blacky”) perpetrate the Prebilovci massacre. The Croatian paramilitary group takes around women and children from the village of Prebilovci, Herzegovina and throws them into the Golubinka pit, near Šurmanci, to their deaths. This is just the beginning of killings at Prebilovici, as 820 of 1000 inhabitants ultimately are killed during the summer. The killings also extend into nearby communities with additional thousands killed. Those killing the villagers are their fellow villagers, with the victims tending to be Serbs.
Dutch submarine O-24 (Lt.Cdr. Otto de Booy) is operating six miles (10 km) off Fregene (near Rome) when it torpedoes and sinks 613-ton Italian freighter Bombardiere.
An Axis convoy of five large freighters and a tanker from Naples bound for Tripoli comes under attack by 7 Swordfish of RAF No. 830 Squadron based on Malta. While they have a heavy escort of four destroyers and a torpedo boat, that doesn’t protect the ships. During the run across the Strait of Sicily, the RAF bombs and sinks 6813-ton freighter Nita about 20 miles southwest of Lampedusa. The RAF pilots also claim to leave another freighter badly damaged and another torpedoed but in an uncertain state, but there is no confirmation that any ship other than the Nita is hit.
Royal Navy destroyers Decoy and Havock perform the nightly supply run to Tobruk. Later on, destroyers Jaguar and Nizam also make a run to Tobruk.
Italian submarines Atropo, Corridoni, and Zoea are used to transport supplies and fuel to Axis forces at the advanced position of Bardia, Libya today and through the 20th.
Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor spots a surfaced submarine off Gibraltar. Neither side scores any hits, but a torpedo fired by the U-boat narrowly passes alongside Nestor.
In the House of Commons, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden announces that he has made a diplomatic protest with the Iranian government concerning German “tourists” in the country.
In the British House of Commons, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden also warned Japan that any action threatening the independence and integrity of Thailand would be “of immediate concern” to the British government. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull mirrored those statements that same day when he said at a press conference that any move by Japan into Thailand would be a matter of concern to the United States.
The British execute Werner Heinrich Walti and Karle Theo Drucke at Wandsworth Prison. They were part of German Operation HUMMER NORD I to infiltrate agents into Britain and had flown into Gollachy, between Buckie and Port Gordon, on the night of 29/30 September 1940. They had been caught very quickly without achieving any results.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Hull.
The first Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter arrived in the United Kingdom. By the end of September 1941, eleven machines had been received by No. 601 Squadron RAF, but during trials by the Air Fighting Development Unit at Duxford it was found that the much publicized performance figures claimed by the manufacturer were much overrated (having been obtained by a highly polished machine weighing a ton less than the production aircraft delivered to the RAF). The maximum speed for example being some 33 mph slower than anticipated and, although pleasant enough to fly, was definitely inferior to the Hurricane and Spitfire in climb rate and ceiling. The Soviets would find the P-39 a very good low to medium altitude fighter in the skies over the USSR, where weather conditions forced combat down lower. But it would not meet the needs of the RAF.
The Belgian Legion Vlaandern (Flanders Legion) is established. It is a collaborationist unit.
After a maximum effort on the night of August 5th, the RAF returns to the same three cities — Frankfurt, Mannheim, and Karlsruhe — with smaller follow-up raids after dark. All of the raids target railway yards.
RAF Bomber Command, Day of 6 August 1941
25 Blenheims on coastal sweeps. 3 ships were attacked. 2 Fortresses to Brest jettisoned their bombs in the sea. No aircraft lost.
RAF Bomber Command, Night of 6/7 August 1941
Frankfurt
34 Whitleys and 19 Wellingtons to railway yards. 2 Wellingtons and 2 Whitleys lost
Mannheim
38 Wellingtons to railway workshops. No losses.
Karlsruhe
38 Hampdens to railway workshops. 1 aircraft lost.
Calais
38 aircraft — 21 Hampden, 11 Wellingtons, 6 Whitleys; only 14 could identify targets in the docks and were able to bomb. 1 Hampden lost.
2 O.T.U. sorties to France; 1 Wellington lost.
The Luftwaffe attacks Suez and Alexandria during the night.
The South African Air Force completes three consecutive days of bombing Italian positions at their last stronghold of Gondar.
U-652, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Georg-Werner Fraatz, sank Soviet anti-submarine trawler PS.70 (ex-Kapitan Voronin) (558grt) off Cape Teriberka in the Arctic Ocean. At 19.00 hours on 6 Aug 1941 the PS.70 was struck on port side aft by one G7e torpedo from U-652 while en route alone about seven miles northwest of Cape Teriberskij. A lookout had spotted the periscope of the U.boat in a distance of only 400 meters just before the torpedo explosion, too late to take evasive action. The vessel settled rapidly by the stern with a list to port and sank in less than one minute. The survivors were rescued by Soviet motorboats that were sent from the nearby coast.
The German B-Dienst intelligence service locates the position of Convoy HG.68 in the Atlantic and sets up a reception party. Spanish agents also report the likely sailing date of Convoy HG.69 from Cadiz, Spain, and a wolfpack assembles offshore.
Dutch submarine HNLMS O.24, commanded by Lt. Commander Otto de Booy, sank Italian steamer Bombardiere (613grt) six miles off Cape di Fregene, Italy, in 41-47N, 12-06E.
Destroyers HMS Castleton, HMS Charlestown, and HMS Echo departed Scapa Flow at 1000 for Greenock to join destroyer HMS Intrepid, which departed Loch Alsh for the Clyde, for escort duties with convoy SW.8 C. The destroyers arrived at 0700/7th.
Destroyer HMS Impulsive departed the Humber at 1900 on completion of refitting for Scapa Flow. The destroyer arrived at 1630/7th.
Anti-submarine trawler HMS Agate (627grt, Lt L. H. Cline RNVR) was lost when she ran aground off Cromer in heavy weather. Cline, T/Sub Lt P. G. Beard RNVR, T/Sub Lt A. G. Tree RNVR, and the entire crew were lost.
Anti-aircraft ship HMS Carlisle arrived at Suez to give anti-aircraft protection to ships in the anchorage.
Destroyers HMS Havock and HMS Decoy ran supplies to Tobruk.
Destroyers HMAS Nizam and HMS Jaguar departed Alexandria later that day to carry supplies to Tobruk. The destroyers arrived back at Alexandria on the 7th.
Netlayer HMS Protector departed Alexandria for Suez with nets to be laid as anti-torpedo baffles.
Destroyer HMS Highlander, which departed Freetown on 30 July, arrived at Gibraltar.
Dutch submarine HNLMS O.21 arrived at Gibraltar from patrol in the Mediterranean.
Anti-aircraft ship HMS Curacoa departed Scapa Flow at 1000 to join convoy EC.55 off Buchan Ness and escort it to Pentland Firth. After this escort, the ship arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0345/7th.
Convoy ON.4 departed Liverpool, escorted by corvette HMS Snowdrop and minesweeper HMS Seagull. The convoy was joined on the 7th by corvettes HMS Heather, HMS Orchis, and HMS Picotee, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Arab, HMS Ayrshire, and HMS St. Loman. Destroyers HMS Beagle, HMS Boadicea, HMS Rosborough, and HMS Salisbury, and anti-submarine trawlers HMS Lady Madeleine and HMS Norwich City on the 8th. These escorts were all detached on the 12th. On the 11th, corvettes HMCS Bittersweet, HMS Candytuft, and HMCS Fennel joined and on the 15th, corvettes HMCS Alberni, HMCS Orillia, and HMS Primrose joined. The corvettes escorted the convoy until it was dispersed on the 18th.
Convoy ON.5 departed Liverpool, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers HMS Man O’ War and HMS Northern Dawn. On the 7th, destroyers HMS Keppel, HMS Lincoln, and HMS Shikari and corvettes HMS Alisma, HMS Dianella, and HMS Sunflower. Minesweepers HMS Hazard and HMS Hebe joined on the 8th. These escorts were all detached on the 11th. On the 11th, destroyer HMCS Skeena, armed merchant cruiser HMS Montclare, and corvettes HMCS Alberni, HMCS Orillia, and HMS Primrose joined. These escorts were detached on the 14th when the convoy was dispersed.
Anti-aircraft ship HMS Alynbank departed Scapa Flow at 1830 and escorted convoy WN.62 to May Island. The ship arrived back at Scapa Flow at 0300 after parting company with convoy EC.56 in Pentland Firth.
On the 4th, an Italian convoy of steamers Aquitania (4971grt), NITA (6813grt), Castelverde (6666grt), Ernesto (7272grt), and Nirvo (5164grt) departed Naples for Tripoli escorted by destroyers Aviere, Geniere, Camicia Nera, Gioberti, Oriani and torpedo boat Calliope. Tanker Pozarica joined from Palermo on the 5th. On the 6th, Nita was sunk by British aircraft of 830 Squadron from Malta 20 miles SW of Lampedusa in 35-15N, 12-17E. Destroyer Camicia Nera and torpedo boat Calliope assisted her. The convoy arrived at Tripoli on the 7th.
Convoy HG.34F of steamers Thermopylae and Talabot for New York and Leinster and Amerika for Liverpool departed Gibraltar escorted by destroyers HMS Foresight, HMS Foxhound, HMS Highlander, and HMS Wishart. Destroyer Wishart was detached on the 8th and proceeded to Southampton for refitting. Destroyer Foresight was detached on the 8th to convoy OG.70 and return to Gibraltar. Destroyer Foxhound was detached on the 13th for refitting at Sheerness. Destroyer Highlander arrived with the two steamers at Liverpool on the 14th.
Senate considered the military service extension bill and defeated the Burton amendment to limit service to two years, approved the conference report on the bill authorizing withholding from the market of government loan stocks of cotton and wheat during the war, voted to override the veto of the defense highway bill and recessed at 5:25 PM until noon tomorrow. The Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination of Lincoln McVeagh to be Minister to Iceland; the Insular Affairs Committee delayed action on the nomination of Rexford Guy Tugwell as Governor of Puerto Rico.
The House completed Congressional action on the bill authorizing $22,600,000 for development facilities for lighter-than-air craft and passed the bill authorizing extension of Naval service under future enlistments. The Banking and Currency Committee heard Leon Henderson on price control; the Rivers and Harbors Committee ended hearings on the St. Lawrence Seaway project; the Roads Committee voted to recommend overriding of the defense highway bill veto.
President Roosevelt today did not choose to take notice of rumors that he had met or would meet British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at sea or in some New World port. A brief message received by the Navy Department this afternoon from the yacht Potomac, on which the Chief Executive left for a fishing trip read as follows: “Cruise ship proceeding slowly along coast with party fishing from stern. Weather fair, sea smooth. Potomac sailors responding to New England air after Washington Summer.” Secretary of State Cordell Hull said today that he had nothing new to say about the rumors of a meeting, and the White House was equally silent.
Reports neither confirmed nor denied in official quarters that President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had conferred or were about to confer at some secret North Atlantic rendezvous continued to circulate here tonight. They persisted in the face of a laconic statement issued today by the Navy Department stating that the Presidential vacation yacht Potomac spent the day cruising slowly along the Northeast Atlantic coast. The statement, quoting a radio report from the Potomac, did not mention Mr. Roosevelt, and some observers viewed this omission as indicating the President might have transshipped to one of the many United States warships operating in the North Atlantic for a quick trip to a rendezvous. One of the few definitely known facts was that Mr. Churchill-as well as United States Lend-Lease Administrator Harry Hopkins was missing from London.
Canadian Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King informed newspaper men today that he knew no more of the rumored meeting of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill than had appeared in the press and been told over the radio. He “knew nothing of” any possible meeting, he said, but he did not express any opinion as to whether it might or might not take place.
The Roosevelt Administration scored a victory of unexpectedly overwhelming proportions in the Senate today with the rejection of a hotly argued proposal that any extension of the service period of draftees, national guardsmen, reservists and army enlisted men be limited to 12 months. The result was that all factions were predicting the approval tomorrow of an 18-months limitation offered as a compromise by the military committee, and backed by Senator Barkley of Kentucky, the Democratic floor leader. The vote against the 12-months restriction, 50 to 21, came as a highly pleasing surprise to administration leaders. They had foreseen a much closer outcome and, in fact, at times were actually uncertain of winning.
The House unanimously adopted today and returned to the Senate a bill extending the period of service of future enlistees in the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard and doubling the bonuses paid to the men who reenlist.
With only Senator Vandenberg defending President Roosevelt’s stand, the Senate voted 57 to 19 today to override the Chief Executive’s veto of a $320,000,000 defense highway program.
Chairman George, Georgia Democrat, predicted today that the Senate Finance Committee would approve “fundamental principles” of the $3,206,200,000 House tax measure in an effort to expedite enactment but added that it should be followed early next year by another revenue measure. The Georgia senator said he hoped to get the present legislation to the senate floor by September1, declaring that “the people are entitled to know as early as possible what tax load they will have to bear.” Immediately after the pending measure is disposed of, George said, congressional and treasury authorities should begin drafting a “permanent” type of tax program which should be submitted to congress In January.
Favorable action by the House Rivers and Harbors Committee on the proposed St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project was forecast today after the committee had received the approval of President Roosevelt of a plan to include it in the 1942 omnibus flood control bill.
The Senate committee investigating defense heard a complaint today from President Francis H. Fenn of American Bantam Car Co. that his concern pioneered in development of the army’s new “jeep” (small reconnaissance car) and was then “frozen out” in favor of Willys-Overland Co. “This car is our baby,” Fenn said. He said Willys obtained a federal loan of $3,000,000 and then got a contract for 16,000 cars while his plant got nothing. Committee records showed, however, that Willys underbid the Bantam company by $40 a car. Fenn did not mention the fact that the Ford Motor Co. also is turning out the “jeeps.”
Local 16 of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, C.I.O., went on strike at midnight last night in the Kearny, New Jersey, yards of the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, where 16,000 workers were engaged on defense contracts totaling $450,000,000. The strike began officially when 3,000 men of the night shift left the yards at the end of their night’s work and 3,000 others, scheduled to replace them, failed to report at their jobs. Union picket captains, who threw a line of 250 marching men in front of the main gate of the yard, on Route 1, said none of the workmen entered. In the plant, they said, there remained only a skeleton crew of 100 maintenance men, manning pumps and boilers, and a handful of Navy inspectors.
Three defense officials announced today a coordinated program, both immediate and long-range, to re-establish the silk hosiery and other civilian silk industries, maintain the employment of as many as possible of the 175,000 displaced silk workers and to assure for the country an adequate supply of hosiery and other articles formerly made of silk.
TF 16 (Rear Admiral William R. Monroe), formed around carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41), heavy cruisers USS Quincy (CA-39) and USS Wichita (CA-45), and five destroyers, delivers U.S. Army troops, transported in transport USS American Legion (AP-35), stores ship USS Mizar (AF-12), and cargo ship USS Almaack (AK-27) to Reykjavik, Iceland. Carrier Wasp (CV-7) flies off USAAF P-40 Curtiss Warhawks and PT-13 Stearman biplanes (33d Pursuit Squadron) to Iceland to provide cover for the soldiers’ arrival.
President Roosevelt signs an executive order transferring Coast Guard’s Honolulu District from the Treasury Department to the Navy in the first step toward shifting the Coast Guard to naval control (see 11 September and 1 November).
U.S. Navy aircraft based in Reykjavik, Iceland began routine patrols of the North Atlantic. USN Task Force 16 (Rear Admiral William R. Monroe), led by the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and the battleship USS Mississippi, arrives at Reykjavik, Iceland. The flotilla brings 30 P-40Cs and three Stearman PT-13 Kaydets of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron to be based ashore for local defense. It also brings Catalina flying boats for patrol duties with VP-73 and VP-74. Transport American Legion, stores ship Mizar, and freighter Alamac bring troops and supplies.
The clearing of the forest land to build a U.S. Marine Corps airfield (future Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point) began in North Carolina, United States.
Major League Baseball:
In a mid week doubleheader at Boston, the Red Sox and Yankees split, New York taking the lidlifter, 6–3, and the Sox the nightcap, 3–1. Ted Williams is 1-for–6 but Pete Fox has a pair of hits in each game for Boston. In his last 5 games, Fox has collected 2 triples, 6 doubles, and 6 singles.
The Pirates won their fifth straight and their seventeenth in twenty games today when they romped off with an easy 13–3 triumph over the Cubs. Frank Frisch’s stars pounded three Cub pitchers for a total of 13 hits, including Truett Sewell’s first homer of the season, while the Cubs made nine hits off Sewell. It was Sewell’s eleventh victory of the season, including five over the Cubs.
The Reds came to life today to gain a 5–1 victory over the Cardinals behind the eight-hit, seven-walk, nine-strikeout hurling of Johnny Vander Meer. It was Vandy’s tenth decision of the year. Mike McCormick homers for the Reds.
In the 3rd inning against the Indians, Detroit pitcher Al Benton collects 2 sacrifices bunts, a Major League record, as the Tigers send 17 men to the plate. Detroit scores a Major League record-tying (for the inning) 11 runs on 6 hits, 7 walks, and 2 errors. That’s all the scoring needed, as Detroit rolls, 11–2, for a Benton victory.
In the Giants-Dodgers game, Bill Klem umps his first game of the year. Klem is filling in for Larry Goetz, whose arm was fractured when a foul ball hit him. The Dodgers, held to one run in eight innings by the masterful pitching of the maestro of the screwball, Carl Owen Hubbell, finally shook off the shackles in the ninth, rushed over two tallies in a three-hit salvo and beat the Giants for the eighth time this year, 3–1.
The Braves shut out the Phillies, 6–0, tonight behind the five-hit hurling of Emanuel Salvo. Si Johnson pitched two-hit ball for the Phils for six innings, but weakened, and the Braves pounded him for four runs in the eighth.
Thornton Lee held the Browns to six singles as the White Sox won the second game of a double-header today, 5–2, to break even, the Browns having won the first, 9–6. While Lee was sparing with hits, he was liberal with passes, granting seven, but the Browns turned only one of them into a run. Elden Auker, the Browns’ leading pitcher in 1940, won his ninth victory in the opener, although he allowed fifteen hits, and was relieved by George Caster in a three-run White Sox surge in the eighth. Auker has been charged with twelve defeats.
Dutch Leonard, veteran knuckleballer, turned in an eight-hit performance as the Senators defeated the Athletics, 5–1, tonight. It was Leonard’s twelfth victory of the season against 10 losses.
New York Yankees 3, Boston Red Sox 6
New York Yankees 3, Boston Red Sox 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 13, Chicago Cubs 3
St. Louis Cardinals 1, Cincinnati Reds 5
Detroit Tigers 11, Cleveland Indians 2
Brooklyn Dodgers 3, New York Giants 1
Boston Braves 6, Philadelphia Phillies 0
Chicago White Sox 6, St. Louis Browns 9
Chicago White Sox 5, St. Louis Browns 2
Philadelphia Athletics 1, Washington Senators 5
British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden issued another warning to Japan stating that any action against the independence of Thailand would be regarded as a threat to imperial security.
Haunted by the specter of encirclement by an American, British, Chinese, Netherlands Indies and Soviet alliance, Japan was further alarmed today by reports that Britain was preparing to occupy vital points in Thailand to protect the land flank of Singapore.
Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Admiral Nomura Kichisaburō, presented a counterproposal on withdrawal from French Indochina on its own terms to U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull: “As the United States Government has nevertheless manifested certain anxiety over the situation in regard to French Indochina, the Japanese Government, with a view to dispelling any such misgiving, has instructed me to transmit a proposal and to enter into negotiations in strict confidence and on an ‘off record’ basis. The proposal is intended to serve as a reply in a way to the suggestion, made by the President on July 24 during his conversation with me [Nomura], and to provide a fresh basis for Japanese-American understanding…”
After the Americans turn down some offers of concessions in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, the Japanese propose a meeting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Konoe. The Americans do not immediately reject this, but President Roosevelt secretly is otherwise engaged at the moment in Canada.
The Imperial Navy requisitions 8360-ton freighter Sanyo Maru. The IJN begins converting it to a seaplane carrier/tender. Among its modifications are the addition of a catapult, two 150-mm/45 cal single-mount guns, and two Type 93 13-mm single-mount machine guns. The IJN also requisitions 6795-ton salvage ship Yamabiko Maru.
Following up on recent decisions taken to not attack the Soviet Union, Tokyo instructs the Kwantung Army to avoid any border incidents with the Red Army.
Heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) continue their goodwill visit at Brisbane, Australia.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 128.1 (-0.04)
Born:
Ray Culp, MLB pitcher (MLB All Star 1963, 1969; Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox), in Elgin, Texas.
Lyle Berman, American professional poker player and business executive, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(Doris) “Sorrel” Hays, American pianist and composer (“The Glass Woman”), in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2020).
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Vigor (AMc-110) is laid down by the Snow Shipyards Inc. (Rockland, Maine, U.S.A.).
The U.S. Navy 77-foot Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-62 is laid down by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IXC/40 U-boat U-187 is laid down by AG Weser, Bremen (werk 1027).
The U.S. Navy 77-foot Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-45 is launched by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boats U-589 and U-590 are launched by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (werk 565 and 566).
The U.S. Navy transport ship USS Chateau Thierry (AP-31) [ex-army transport USAT Chateau Thierry; from 1943, army hospital ship USAHS Chateau Thierry] is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Commander John Kenneth Davis.
The Royal Navy MMS I-class motor minesweeper HMS MMS 38 (J 538) is commissioned.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-404 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Otto von Bülow.
History Diaries 