A new Iranian government under Mohammad Ali Foroughi was formed. Hostilities in Iran cease.
The British/Russian invasion of Iran continues on 28 August 1941 without much interference from the defending Iranian Army. In central Iran, the British reach Shahabad, while the Soviet troops in Gilan province force the defending Iranians to surrender after several days of hard fighting. The Soviets take Mashhad after taking heavy casualties.
Not everything is easy for the Allies. At Ahvaz, the entry to the Zagros Mountains, Iranian forces are dug in and the Indian troops facing them decide to wait for developments elsewhere before attacking. In the Soviet sector, Iranian diehards make a stands at Ramsar. However, the Iranian military is in a shambles, with only isolated units holding out while others simply allow themselves to be bypassed and taken prisoner.
The Red Air Force bombs Tehran and drops leaflets urging surrender. While there are few casualties and there is no likelihood of the capital falling any time soon, everyone knows that the Allies are on their way. The royal family, with the exception of Reza Shah and Crown Prince, leave for Isfahan. When the Shah learns that his generals have been discussing surrender, he throws their ringleader to prison.
Foroughi forms a new government after the resignation of the previous Prime Minister on 27 August. He immediately begins negotiations for a surrender and orders a cease-fire, stating that this is:
“… in pursuance of the peace‑loving policy of His Majesty, [Iran] is issuing orders to all armed forces of the country to refrain from any resistance so that the causes for bloodshed and disturbance of security shall be removed and public peace and security assured.”
The Iranian troops have barely been resisting anyway except in a few key areas, so this cease-fire order is easy to carry out. This order effectively ends hostilities in Iran.
General Franz Halder, Chief of Staff of OKH, summarizes the army’s appreciation of Soviet military strength. He notes that German units have identified 110 Soviet divisions, which equal 66 German divisions in real strength (Soviet divisions being smaller than those in the Wehrmacht), and an addition 40 divisions as a Soviet reserve. He writes that 19 of the 40 Soviet reserve divisions have had to be thrown into the line at Velikie Luki, leaving only 19 Soviet divisions as a reserve. The Germans are drastically underestimating Soviet reserve strength, as they will do throughout the war.
Halder is optimistic about the Wehrmacht’s supply situation. He writes that the army expects to bring two panzer divisions and a motorized division up to full strength “Within six days,” with another two-division panzer corps also being brought up to full strength within nine days. All of the panzer divisions have suffered serious losses since the beginning of Operation BARBAROSSA and are at between 20-60% of their original strength.
In the Far North sector, the Finnish forces which have crossed the Vuoksi River encircle the remnants of Soviet 43rd, 115th, and 123rd Rifle Divisions which had counterattacked the bridgehead. The Soviets are trapped in the villages of Sommee and Porlampi with little or no hope of rescue. However, the terrain is rough, full of swamps and forests, and the Soviets begin sneaking out through gaps in the Finnish line.
Elsewhere, Soviet troops facing encirclement also manage to escape destruction. At the narrows at Kayrala, a joint German and Finnish effort to encircle Soviet defenders fails when fierce Soviet defenders manage to keep open an escape route northeast of Nurmi Lake. The Soviet troops escape but they are not out of trouble completely, because they have had to leave their equipment and supplies behind. The Axis divisions are advancing throughout the region and remain in hot pursuit, but at least the fleeing Soviet troops survive to fight another day on the Verman Line.
Finnish troops continue pressuring the Soviet defenses at the port of Hanko in southwestern Finland. The Soviets there are in no danger of being defeated at this time, but they cannot look at the loss of Tallinn to the south in Estonia without realizing this makes their own position even more perilous.
In the Army Group North sector, the German XLII Corps occupies the Estonian capital of Tallinn (Reval) following the Soviet evacuation of 27 August. South of Lake Ilmen, General von Manstein’s panzer corps and affiliated troops make “satisfactory progress,” but elsewhere on the front there are “slow advances.”
In the Army Group Center sector, Panzer Group 2 and Second Army continue heading south toward Kyiv despite heavy counterattacks. Group Stumme is heading toward Toropets.
Late in the morning, the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Bock, calls up Halder and is “highly excited.” Von Bock claims that his defenses at Yelnya and elsewhere are “near breaking point.” He warns that it may be necessary for a retreat — which would be highly unusual for the Wehrmacht at this stage of the war. Halder says he will send some reinforcements early in September. Halder also notes a call from General Paulus, who has been inspecting Panzer Group 2. Paulus warns that Guderian is facing stiff resistance and recommends reinforcing General Guderian by taking some units away from the Second Army. Halder rejects this out of hand, reasoning that, since Guderian does not like to be supervised and came up with his plan of attack on his own, it is best to “let him worry how he gets through.”
In the Army Group South sector, the Romanians 4th Army at Odessa resumes its offensive. They have been reinforced by a German assault battalion and ten heavy artillery battalions, and the Romanian 4th, 11th, and 1st Army Corps make progress toward Gnileakovo and Vakarzhany. Halder writes that “The enemy situation is obscure.”
The Soviets publicize the blowing up of the massive Dnieper Hydroelectric Station and dam at Zaporizhia (Zaporozhe) to prevent its capture by the Germans. They blew it up about 20 August 1941, causing many local casualties.
Hermann-Friedrich “Jupp” Joppien, a Luftwaffe ace of I,/JG51 with 70 confirmed victories, including 42 accumulated over the Western Front, is shot down and killed in his Bf 109F-2 near Yelnya, 18 km southwest of Bryansk, by a MiG-3 fighter.
The Soviet evacuation from Tallinn only has to cover 150 miles to reach safety at Kronstadt, but those are extremely treacherous miles to traverse. It is a rough day for the Soviets, and many of their 200 ships involved in the four evacuation convoys are lost.
The Luftwaffe attacks the Soviet convoys leaving Tallinn during the day. German planes damage Soviet light cruiser Kirov in the harbor. In the afternoon, Junkers Ju-88 bombers of II/KG77 and KGR806 continue the attacks and hit a handful of fleeing ships.
When staff ship Vironia tries to return to Tallinn (Reval), it hits a mine and also sinks.
Things only get worse after dark, when the main Soviet evacuation convoys also blunder into the German minefield off Juminda. The Izyaslav-class destroyer Kalinin, Soobrazitelnyy-class destroyer Skoryi, Orfey-class destroyer Volodarski and Novik-class destroyer Yakov Sverdlov were all among the many Soviet ships that struck naval mines and sank in the Baltic Sea during the evacuation of Tallinn. 15 warships and 15 transports would be sunk.
This is not the extent of the Soviet Baltic Fleet’s losses for the day, either. Additional ships hit mines off Seiskaari in a completely different minefield.
Overall, it is the worst day of the war for the Soviet Navy. The Germans also send ships of the 1st S-boat Flotilla based in Helsinki to attack the fleeing Soviet ships on the 29th.
Soviet submarine L-5 (Lt.Cdr. Zhdanov) lays 14 mines off of Mangalia, Romania.
The Stavka abolishes Marshal Voroshilov’s Northwestern Theater headquarters, as he is consumed with the defense of Leningrad.
On the night of 27/28 August 1941, Hitler parks his command train “Amerika” in the Strzyżów tunnel of Anlage Süd, while Mussolini parks his train nearby at Stępina. This is the only time that Hitler uses Anlage Sud, while Mussolini uses Anlage Mitte, which are purpose-built headquarters for command trains built by Organization Todt precisely for this purpose. The complexes are never used again except for war production and storage.
Later today, Mussolini and Hitler are touring the Russian Front. During a flight from Uman to Lvov carrying Hitler, Mussolini, Himmler, Ribbentrop and others, Mussolini asked to pilot the aircraft himself. Hitler was so surprised that he said nothing and managed only an awkward smile. Since no one was willing to voice an objection, Mussolini took the controls and flew the plane himself for over an hour while everyone else on board was made extremely nervous. Many of the passengers, including Heinrich Himmler and Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop, wonder how much experience Mussolini has flying planes (apparently very little) and become very uncomfortable. However, this is not one of those times when “manly men” raise a fuss and make themselves look “weak” while questioning a key ally’s abilities. Fortunately for the Fuehrer, Mussolini causes no issues and Hitler’s regular pilot Hans Baur retakes control and lands the plane.
Soviet Marshal Josef Stalin issued a formal Decree of Banishment, which abolished the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (A.S.S.R.) and exiled all Volga Germans to the Kazakh S.S.R. and Siberia, fearing they could act as German spies, and many were interned in labor camps. The Republic was formally extinguished in September 7, 1941.
The SS completes its execution of roughly 25,000 Hungarian Jews at Kamenets Podolski. The victims are made to march to bomb craters outside of town, undress, and then stand at the edge of the pits so that they will fall in when machine-gunned. Not everyone is killed by the bullets, but they succumb when other bodies fall on them and then when the pit eventually is filled in.
The incident is extremely cold-blooded and comes about only because Hungary has refused to take back the Jews, who previously had been expelled from or fled Hungary for the “safety” of the USSR. Tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews had been expelled from Hungary and had migrated to the Ukraine. The German authorities tried sending them back, but Hungary would not take them. That is when SS General Franz Jaeckeln vowed to deal with the influx of refugees by the “complete liquidation of those Jews by September 1.”
At Kedainiai, Lithuania, SS troops conduct another mass execution using the usual method of marching the victims to pits outside of town and gunning them down so they fall into the pits. This is the entire population of the town. A Jewish butcher feigns death and then leaps up and bites an SS soldier in the throat, leading to the soldier’s death. He is immediately shot dead.
There is a mass execution at Czyzewo-Szlachecki, Poland, of an uncertain number.
Operation TREACLE, the replacement of Australian troops in Tobruk with Polish troops of the Carpathia Brigade, continues. Royal Navy minelaying cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMS Decoy, HMS Jackal, and HMAS Napier carry Polish troops to the besieged port. This convoy is the penultimate voyage of Operation TREACLE, which concludes on 30 August.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Rorqual (Lt. Napier) torpedoes and sinks 2747-ton Italian freighter Cilicia off Morea, Greece. Italian torpedo boat Antares rushes to the scene and rams Rorqual before it can fully submerge, damaging its periscope.
Royal Navy submarines HMS Unbeaten and HMS Utmost attack Italian vessels in the vicinity of Sicily, but both miss.
Royal Navy submarine HMS Triumph (Cdr Woods) lands Commandos on the north coast of Sicily. They successfully blow up some water aqueducts and the main rail line from Palermo to Messina.
The German submarine U-570 was beached and captured at Þorlákshöfn, Iceland after being forced to the surface by depth charges from a Lockheed Hudson of 269 Squadron the day before. The British later put the submarine back into service as HMS Graph.
Adolf Hitler, who recently terminated the T-4 euthanasia program due in large part to opposition by leading German Catholic clerics, makes another gesture toward the Church. He rescinds a decree issued by Bavarian Gauleiter Adolf Wagner in April 1941 that made it illegal to allow Catholic prayers and Crucifixes in Bavarian schools. This is in large part due to mass demonstrations by Bavarian mothers, encouraged by sermons delivered by Archbishop of Munich-Freising, Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber.
Nobody is punished for the demonstrations because Hitler knows that the Church is the only institution in the Reich that can challenge his own popularity. However, in private, Hitler mutters darkly to his cronies that he will get even with the Church and its leaders when the time is right.
Erich Fromm’s “Escape from Freedom” (Die Furcht vor der Freiheit) is published in Germany. It becomes Fromm’s best-known work. A philosophical work, “Escape from Freedom” examines medieval society to show that people may say that they want “freedom,” but their acts and the institutions they create suggest exactly the opposite.
Three French Resistance members are condemned to be guillotined in Paris under the new anti-terrorist laws. The execution order was given for Henri Louis Honoré, comte d’Estienne d’Orves; Maurice Barlier, and Jan Doornik. The three condemned were granted to spend their last night together, and to be shot standing and without a blindfold. The execution took place on 29 August 1941 at dawn at the Fort du Mont Valérien. Honoré d’Estienne d’Orves was buried in Verrières-le-Buisson. The Capitaine de corvette d’Estienne d’Orves was later posthumously promoted to Capitaine de frégate (Commander) and made a Compagnon de la Libération (“Fellow of the Liberation”).
A German poster advertised their deaths. A number of people joined the Resistance as a consequence of this execution.
German authorities in Yugoslavia warn that the partisan uprising has become worse with time. The Italian troops have been ineffective in regaining control of large sections of Serbia.
German submarines U-101 and U-558 attacked Allied convoy OS.4 330 miles west of Ireland; U-558 sank British merchant ship Otaio (13 were killed, 58 survived); U-101’s attack was unsuccessful and invited a 3-hour counterattack by 30 depth charges which caused little damage. A number of other U-boats in Wolfpack Markgraf set up a picket line southwest of Iceland.
The Royal Navy forms a strike group around battleship HMS Revenge to track down a reported German heavy cruiser in the North Atlantic. The Royal Navy ships are joined by American Task Force TG2.5, led by aircraft carrier Yorktown. They search but find nothing.
First Lord of the Admiralty A.V. Alexander completes his inspection tour of Scapa Flow and heads back to London.
The Special Air Services (SAS), a highly secretive successor to the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), is formed today. These are the famous “Desert Rats.”
British prisoner of war Lieutenant Airey Neave attempted to escape the Oflag IV-C camp at Colditz Castle in Germany with a fake German guard uniform; he was spotted near the front gate and captured.
18 British Bleinheim bombers attacked German targets at Rotterdam, the Netherlands; 7 bombers were shot down.
RAF Bomber Command, Day of 28 August 1941
Rotterdam
18 Blenheims carried out a costly low-level raid on shipping in Rotterdam docks. 1 aircraft crashed on take-off and 7 other aircraft were lost during the raid. At least 2 large cargo ships were hit and possibly other damage was caused in the docks.
RAF Bomber Command, Night of 28/29 August 1941
Duisburg
118 aircraft — 60 Wellingtons, 30 Hampdens, 13 Stirlings, 9 Halifaxes, 6 Manchesters — to railway targets. 6 aircraft — 3 Wellingtons, 1 Halifax, 1 Hampden, 1 Stirling — lost. 6 further Hampdens made searchlight-suppression flights near the target; 2 of these were lost. Good bombing was claimed in clear visibility but Duisburg reports only 63 high-explosive and 500 incendiary bombs with no details of damage or casualties.
Minor Operations: 23 Wellingtons and Whitleys to Dunkirk and Ostend, 2 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
A Blackburn Botha aircraft with a Polish crew crashes into the sea about 500 meters offshore from Rhosnegir after an aborted takeoff from RAF Valley. All three crewmen perish. Two 17-year-old boys who attempt to rescue the crew, John Wood and Derrick Baynham, receive the George Medal. Eleven local men, including the local Police Constable, lose their lives trying to rescue the crew when their boat overturns in rough seas.
On his first combat mission after returning from home leave to recover from dysentery, Hans-Joachim Marseille shot down a South African Air Force Hurricane fighter flown by Lieutenant V. F. Williams; it was his 14th kill.
U-558, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech, sank British steamer Otaio (10,298grt) from convoy OS.4 in 52-16N, 17-50W. At 16.41 hours on 28 Aug 1941 the Otaio (Master Gilbert Kinnell) in convoy OS.4 was torpedoed and sunk by U-558 about 330 miles west by north of Fastnet Rock. Twelve crew members and one gunner were lost. The master, 53 crew members and four gunners were picked up by HMS Vanoc (H 33) (LtCdr J.G.W. Deneys, DSO, RN) and landed at Liverpool. The 10,298 ton Otaio was carrying General cargo, including stores and mail and was headed for Sydney, Australia.
Destroyer HMS Puckeridge embarked the First Lord of the Admiralty and transported him to Scrabster. The destroyer arrived back at Scapa Flow at 1600.
British tanker Donovania (8149grt) was damaged by German bombing three miles 208° from St Ann’s Head. The steamer proceeded to Milford Haven. One crewman was killed on the tanker.
Soviet light cruiser Kirov was damaged by German bombing at Tallinn.
Soviet destroyer Kalinin was mined and sunk off Cape Juminda.
Soviet destroyer Artem was mined and sunk off Cape Juminda.
Soviet destroyers Skory and Volodarski were mined and sunk off Seiskaari.
Soviet destroyers Leningrad and Minsk were badly damaged in minings off Tallinn.
Light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Neptune departed Alexandria escorting minelaying cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMAS Napier, HMS Jackal, and HMS Decoy in the ninth series of the TREACLE operation. The ships arrived back at Alexandria on the 29th.
Submarine HMS Rorqual sank Italian steamer Cilicia (2747grt) off Morea in 36-00N, 21-30E. Escorting torpedo boat Antares rammed the submarine and damaged her periscope.
Submarine HMS Unbeaten unsuccessfully attacked an Italian submarine north of Sicily.
Submarine HMS Utmost unsuccessfully attacked a steamer east of Calabria.
Dutch submarine HNLMS O.24 departed Gibraltar for patrol in the Gulf of Genoa.
President Roosevelt in Washington signed an executive order creating a new Supply Priorities and Allocations Board designed to be the over-all body in deciding matters of priorities for defense and civilian supply. His callers included Cordell Hull, Secretary of State; Admiral Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador; John D. Biggers and Mayor F. H. La Guardia, director of the Office of Civilian Defense.
The Senate approved the Maloney resolution for investigation of the gasoline shortage, received the nomination of Artemus L. Gates as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, received the report of the Pensions Investigating Committee and adjourned at 12:20 PM until noon tomorrow. A Commerce subcommittee began hearings on the gasoline shortage; the Finance Committee continued work on the tax bill.
The House met and adjourned at 12:07 PM until noon Monday.
The Supply, Priorities, and Allocations Board is established. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8875 establishing the Supply, Priorities, and Allocations Board for the purpose of assuring effective coordination of the priority powers and supply allocation activities. A super-board headed by Vice-President Wallace was created by President Roosevelt tonight to determine how the nation’s supply of materials, power, fuel and other commodities shall be divided between military needs and the civilian population. The far-reaching step followed criticism that there had been over lapping functions and friction between defense agencies. The Office of Production Management headed by William S. Knudsen and Sidney Hillman will continue to have jurisdiction over the vast work of producing armaments for this country and the nations it is aiding.
Two steps to require budgetary control of non-defense items were unanimously approved today by the Senate Finance Committee. The first would direct the Bureau of the Budget to furnish not later than September 15 estimates on how savings of $1,000,000,000. $1,500,000,000 and $2,000,000,000 could be effected in this and subsequent fiscal years. The second provided for a committee to inquire into methods of saving, comprising fourteen members, three each from the Appropriations Committees of both houses, three each from the Senate Finance Committee and the Ways and Means Committee, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Budget. The first proposal was adopted as an amendment to the Defense Tax Bill, increased by new and revised levies today by $209,100,000 to a total estimated yield of $3,688,500,000. The second would be accomplished through a resolution approved by the Finance Committee.
Declaring that the gasoline shortage in eastern states was so real that September deliveries to filling stations must be cut 15 percent below July, an aide to Secretary Ickes suggested today that saboteurs were circulating reports that supplies were plentiful. Ralph K. Davies, acting defense petroleum coordinator, told a senate committee he was aware of rumors that a shortage was being “played up to foster war psychology,” and that it had been created artificially to assure passage of a pipeline bill.
Between 90 and 100 vessels of axis or axis-dominated nations, now in refuge in western hemisphere ports, may go to sea again flying the flags of the 21 American republics. The American governments, acting through the inter-American financial, and economic advisory committee, announced today they had agreed that foreign ships tied up in ports of the Americas because their normal operations had been interrupted by the war “may now be utilized by the American republics.”
Governor Leon C. Phillips tonight appealed to persons attending the America First rally tomorrow night at which Charles A. Lindbergh is the speaker, “to refrain from any heckling or boisterous mob spirit.” Phillips conferred with Lindbergh after providing him with an escort of 20 state policemen and deputy sheriffs when the flier arrived in an airliner. America First leaders said they were afraid an “embarrassing Incident” might develop at the rally because of the attitude of the city council in voting unanimously to deny Lindbergh the use of the municipal auditorium.
Professor James H. Sheldon, chairman of the board of directors of the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League, told the Jewish War Veterans of the United States today that the America First Committee was “a front for Adolf Hitler.”
Two hundred and fifty-four carefree youngsters returning to New York and New Jersey from vacations passed in three Summer camps in the Berkshire Mountains escaped death or injury today when a six-car special train of the New York, New Haven Hartford Railroad was derailed on a curve at South Kent, Connecticut, the engine and the first three coaches plunging into Hatch Pond.
Reacting to a ban on a birth control exhibit at the New York State Fair held in Syracuse by acting Governor Poletti, Margaret Sanger writes an angry letter:
“We have been informed that Mr. Poletti’s stand was taken as a result of protests by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. If this be so, we protest as undemocratic and inimical to public welfare the fact that pressure of a minority religious group can effectively bar the majority of the citizens of New York State from information they desire on a subject considered of sufficient importance as a health measure to be included in the state public health programs of North and South Carolina and of Alabama, and in 209 health department programs in 39 states.”
Poletti does not change his mind, and the exhibit is not held.
TG 2.7, comprising aircraft escort vessel USS Long Island (AVG-1) (with USN squadron VGS-1), light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43) and destroyers USS Livermore (DD-429) and USS Kearny (DD-432) departs Bermuda. It will conclude the patrol — the first involving the prototype “escort carrier” — at Bermuda on 9 September.
Royal Navy submarine Parthian departs from Portsmouth, England for Portsmouth, New Hampshire for repairs which last until 30 January 1942.
The Inter-American Financial and Economic Advisory Committee adopted and made effective a plan to use foreign merchant vessels in American ports.
The final Republic P-43 Lancer fighter delivery was made to the United States Army.
U.S. Marine Corps officer Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller returns to the U.S. from China. He subsequently assumes command of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, 1st Battalion is still in training at the newly opened amphibious training facility at New River, North Carolina (later, Camp Lejeune).
8th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Chicago Bears 37, All-Stars 13 (98,203).
Major League Baseball:
Tom Earley’s two-hit pitching gave him a slight edge in a stirring hurling duel with Vallie Eaves of the Cubs today, enabling the Braves to take a 2–1 verdict and the rubber tilt of their three-game series.
Southpaw Thornton Lee made his seventeenth victory a four-single shutout of the Washington Senators today as the second-place Chicago White Sox closed their long home stand with a 4–0 triumph.
Three walks in a row by Al Milnar, Cleveland pitcher, and a single by Dick Siebert produced three seventh-inning runs for the Athletics today to help them to a 5–3 victory over the Indians.
In Detroit, the Tigers rally with 5 runs in the 7th to edge the Boston Red Sox. Rudy York, whose recent batting slump was attributed to a broken wrist about which he kept silent, slammed a home run into the left field stands with the bases filled in the seventh inning today to give the Tigers an 8–7 victory over the Red Sox.
Left-hander Howard Pollet, 20-year-old pitcher, who only recently came up from Houston to help the Cardinals in their pennant battle, pitched Billy Southworth’s band to a 5–0 triumph over the New York Giants, visiting the ninth shutout of the campaign on them. Pollet yielded only three hits in a masterful performance.
For eight innings today Ike Pearson, Philadelphia Phillies righthander, had a shutout victory, but the Pittsburgh Pirates exploded in the ninth to score three runs with, two out for a 3–2 victory.
The New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 8–5, in ten innings in St. Louis. The Cardinals scored three runs in the last two innings to force the extra frame, but the Yankees scored three in the top of the tenth on a Red Rolfe sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, followed by a two-run Tommy Henrich single.
Chicago Cubs 1, Boston Braves 2
Washington Senators 0, Chicago White Sox 4
Philadelphia Athletics 5, Cleveland Indians 3
Boston Red Sox 7, Detroit Tigers 8
St. Louis Cardinals 5, New York Giants 0
Pittsburgh Pirates 3, Philadelphia Phillies 2
New York Yankees 8, St. Louis Browns 5
In Newfoundland, Naval Air Station Argentia is commissioned NAS Argentia. It is used for base convoy protection, coastal patrols, and anti-submarine aircraft.
Representatives of the twenty-one American republics agreed today to put into operation about eighty German, Italian and Danish ships immobilized in Western Hemisphere ports.
In the morning, Secretary of State Cordell Hull brings Japanese Ambassador Nomura Kichisaburō in to see President Roosevelt. Nomura gives the President a proposal from Prime Minister Prince Konoe for resolving issues in the Pacific. Among Konoe’s requests is a summit meeting with Roosevelt in Hawaii. Roosevelt responds that Juneau, Alaska would be better for him, to which Nomura immediately agrees, with the request that the meeting should take place as soon as possible. Roosevelt thanks Nomura for the note and indicates that he would like to spend three or four days with Konoe in Juneau.
Nomura then hands the President another note which states that Japan desires “to pursue courses of peace in harmony with the fundamental principles to which the people and Government of the United States are commuted.” At the conclusion of the reading of the communication, the President said to the Ambassador that he could say to his Government that he considered this note a step forward and that he was very hopeful. He then added that he would be keenly interested in having three or four days with Prince Konoe, and again he mentioned Juneau.
In an extraordinary meeting in Washington, D.C., Japanese Military Attaché Major General Isoda Saburo tells Colonel R.S. Bratton, Chief of the Far East Section, Intelligence Branch that the Japanese made a mistake allying themselves with Germany. Saburo also tells Bratton that the Japanese already have begun using their war reserve of petroleum. Saburo also confesses that the Imperial Japanese Army is increasingly warlike and being restrained only with great difficulty. Given US sanctions and lack of respect, it is becoming a matter of national honor to go to war. This is part of a coordinated Japanese “peace offensive” that is timed to coincide with the visit by Ambassador Nomura with President Roosevelt.
Admiral Hart, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, writes a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Stark. He suggests the withdrawal of U.S. Naval Forces from China because “the weakness of their military position is so obvious.” He adds that “it should be made clear, beyond any possible misapprehension in any quarter, that every military consideration calls for their withdrawal.” He suggests that if a military presence in China is considered necessary, it should only be a token force, as “in the event of war with Japan they would be quickly contained or destroyed, probably without being able to inflict even a comparable loss on the enemy.”
Japan is making a strong final diplomatic effort to settle her differences with the United States and if the effort fails the Japanese people “must be prepared for the worst,” newspaper commentators said today.
Tatsuta Maru departed Kobe, Japan; among the passengers were 349 Jewish refugees.
Imperial Japanese Navy freighter Santos Maru, 7266-tons, assists Japanese submarine HIJMS I-5 off of a reef at Staring Bay, Kendari, the Celebes. Santos Maru then repairs the submarine.
Imperial Japanese Navy light cruiser Tenryu was assigned to Truk, Caroline Islands to join Cruiser Division 18 of Japanese 4th Fleet. Captain Mitsutaro Goto was named her new commanding officer.
The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 6776-ton freighter Yamashimo Maru and 1192-ton oiler Kyoei Maru No. 2.
Australian Prime Minister Menzies resigned. Prime Minister Robert Menzies resigns as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) and as Prime Minister. He is replaced by Country Part leader A.W. Fadden. Menzies had formed a coalition government before the war but victories by the Labour Party in the September 1940 election had severely weakened the coalition forcing him to resign. His party’s partner in his coalition government, the Country Party, elects Fadden as its leader, and this effectively makes Fadden the 13th Australian PM upon Menzies’ resignation. However, Fadden is not popular, and his government does not last past October 1941.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 127.77 (+0.69)
Born:
John Marshall, British jazz-rock drummer (Nucleus, 1969-72; Soft Machine, 1972-84 & 2015-22), in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom (d. 2023).
Michael Craig-Martin, Irish-born artist known for “The Oak Tree”, mentor to the Young British Artists of the 90s, in Dublin, Ireland.
Paul Plishka, American opera singer (Metropolitan Opera, 1967-2018; La Scala, 1976-89), in Old Forge, Pennsylvania (d. 2025).
Don McKinnon, AFL linebacker (Boston Patriots), in Arlington, Massachusetts (d. 2015).
Syed Mahmood Naqvi, Indian earth scientist, in Amroha, British India (d. 2009).
Naval Construction:
The U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyer USS Taylor (DD-468) is laid down by the Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.).
The Royal New Zealand Navy Manuka-class minesweeping trawler HMNZS Hinau (T 399) is launched by Senior Foundry (Auckland, New Zealand); completed by Gourlay (Dundee, Scotland, U.K.).
The U.S. Navy Accentor-class coastal minesweeper USS Stalwart (AMc-105) is launched by the Snow Shipyards Inc. (Rockland, Maine, U.S.A.).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-209 is launched by F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 638).
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-704 is launched by H C Stülcken Sohn, Hamburg (werk 763).
The Royal Navy Flower-class corvette HMS Oxlip (K 123) is launched by A & J Inglis Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland); completed by Kincaid.
The Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) Attilio Regolo-class light cruiser Pompeo Magno is launched by Cantiere Navale Riuniti (Ancona, Italy).
The Royal Navy Bar-class boom defense vessel HMS Barstoke (Z 32) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant Henry Scott, RNR.
The Royal Navy Bangor-class (Turbine-engined) minesweeper HMS Beaumaris (J 07) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Lieutenant Thomas Edward Williams, RNR.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type 37 torpedo boat T17 is commissioned.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-352 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Hellmut Rathke.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-585 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Ernst-Bernward Lohse.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-754 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Hans Oestermann.
History Diaries 