German armies completed the isolation of Soviet forces in the Crimea. The Germans begin attacks, with support from paratroop units, near Perekop. Having recently replaced the deceased General Eugen Ritter von Schobert in command of the 11th Army, General Erich von Manstein takes advantage of the Soviet disarray after their loss at the first battle of Kyiv to seize the neck of the Crimean Isthmus of Perekop. On September 25, 1941, the German and Romanian forces continue on the second day of a five-day battle that results in a complete German victory. German paratroop forces (Fallschirmjäger), fighting as infantry, close in on Perekop.
German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship of the sunk Bismarck, operates on its first mission as the lead ship of the temporary Kriegsmarine Baltic Fleet. Accompanied by the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, Leipzig, and Emden, several destroyers, and two flotillas of minesweepers, Tirpitz patrols off the Aaland Islands. The Germans anticipate a breakout attempt by the Soviet fleet based at Leningrad and Kronstadt, but the Soviets have no intention of leaving their bases there. After some fruitless cruising and a depth-charge accident aboard Admiral Scheer that requires a month of repairs, Tirpitz returns to its anchorage on the 26th.
Hitler speaks of extending Europe to the Ural Mountains and creating a human barrier against Asia.
Hitler orders all attacks by Heeresgruppe Nord (von Leeb) on Leningrad stopped; the city is to be besieged and starved-out, and after its eventual surrender, levelled to the ground.
In Berlin, Reinhard Heydrich receives a report from Einsatzgruppen RSHA IV-A-1 (Operational Report USSR no. 94) stating that 75,000 liquidations have been conducted in Lithuania in response to a rise in Jewish propaganda.
The Jager Report (issued on 1 December 1941) noted that 215 adult male, 229 adult female, and 131 children, all Jews, were killed in Jahiuna, Lithuania for a total of 575 people.
Italy reoccupied the demilitarized zone in Croatia.
Convoy HG.73 came under attack in the North Atlantic. The British liner SS Avoceta was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-203.
RAF Bomber Command, Day of 25 September 1941
1 Fortress to Emden was forced to turn back. This was the last attempt by the R.A.F. to operate Fortress bombers by day. The raids flown since 8 July by the handful of aircraft available to 90 Squadron had met with little success. The British are unhappy with the performance of the Flying Fortresses during the day and hereafter use them only at night.
U-124, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Johann Mohr, sank British steamer Empire Stream (2922grt) in 46-03N, 24-40W on the 25th. At 0744 hours on 25 September 1941 the Empire Stream (Master Stanley Herbert Evans) in station #33 of convoy HG.73 was hit by two torpedoes from U-124 and sank north-northeast of the Azores. Four crew members, two gunners and two stowaways were lost. The master, 24 crew members and two gunners were picked up by HMS Begonia (K 66) (T/Lt T.A.R. Muir, RNR) and landed at Milford Haven on 30 September. The 2,922-ton Empire Stream was carrying potash and was headed for Dundee, Scotland.
Heavy cruiser HMS Suffolk with destroyers HMS Impulsive, HMS Anthony, and HMS Antelope departed Scapa Flow at 2000 for Hvalfjord to fuel prior to escorting convoy PQ.1. The ships arrived on the 27th.
The Flag of Rear Admiral, 1st Cruiser Squadron, was transferred from heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire to heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk. The heavy cruiser proceeded to the Clyde, where she arrived on the 27th, for duty escorting convoy WS.12.
Sloop HMS Ibis departed Rosyth at 0500 and arrived at Scapa Flow at 1900 to carry out working up exercises.
New Zealand P/T/Sub Lt (A) D. Simmonds, RNZVR, was killed when his Fulmar of 761 Squadron crashed near West Camel.
Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta arrived at Alexandria from Haifa.
Ocean boarding vessel HMS Maron departed Gibraltar for Western Patrol, escorted by anti-submarine trawlers HMS Lady Shirley and HMS Erin. Trawler Erin was to join arriving tanker La Carriere for escort duties to Gibraltar. Trawler Lady Shirley was detached on the 28th to relieve sloop Commandant Duboc towing damaged steamer Silverbelle to Las Palmas.
Convoy ON.20 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers HMS Vanoc, HMS Volunteer, and HMS Walker and corvette HMS Hydrangea. The convoy was joined on the 26th by destroyer HMS Caldwell. These escorts were relieved on the 30th by American destroyers USS Benson, USS Hilary P. Jones, USS Niblack, USS Reuben James, and USS Winslow. Corvette HMCS Algoma joined on 3 October and was detached the next day. The American destroyers were detached on 9 October when the convoy was dispersed.
In Washington today, President Roosevelt canceled official appointments because of the death of his brother-in-law, G. Hall Roosevelt, but received the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
The Senate received the McKellar bill to repeal the Neutrality Act, approved the conference report on the property requisitioning bill and adjourned at 1:54 PM until noon on Monday. An Interstate Commerce subcommittee heard Harry M. Warner on charges of war propaganda in the movies.
The House received the Martin J. Kennedy bill to repeal the Hatch act, heard discussion of oleomargarine standards and of the railroad car shortage and adjourned at 1:51 PM until noon Mnday. The Banking and Curency Committee continued questioning of Leon Henderson on the Price Control Bill.
The U.S. Senate received a resolution calling for outright repeal of the neutrality act today, amid a mounting tumult of controversy. It was introduced by Senator McKellar, Tennessee Democrat, long a firm supporter of the administration’s foreign policies, with a statement that the act violates the principle of freedom of the seas. Presenting a short resolution during a session of the Senate, Mr. McKellar said that the Neutrality Act was a mistake in the first place, that it was “at war” with the age-old American doctrine of freedom of the seas, that it was being disregarded in great degree by the people and government, and that its partial operation was playing into the hands of Nazi Germany. Senator Connally, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, stated yesterday that he stood ready to sponsor an amendment to the Neutrality Law removing the prohibition against arming merchant ships and, perhaps, dissolving the bar which prohibits vessels flying the United States flag from going into certain combat zones.
Secretary Morgenthau shook up congress and the stock market today by disclosing that treasury experts already were drafting proposed legislation to carry out his suggestion that corporation profits be limited to 6 percent until the emergency ends. When the treasury secretary first advanced this idea yesterday, there had been an apparent disposition in congress to regard it as one not to be taken too seriously.
For the second time within a month, personal tragedy was added to the burdens of the first family today when G. Hall Roosevelt, only brother of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, died at the army’s Walter Reed hospital here. Tho 50-year-old engineer, banker and transport executive had been ill of a liver ailment for many months. Mrs. Roosevelt was at his bedside when death came at 5 a.m. Because of Hall Roosevelt’s Illness, the White House had canceled 12 hours earlier a luncheon arranged today for the duke and duchess of Windsor.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are greeted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and cheering crowds as they arrive in Washington for their first visit together. The Duke of Windsor, one-time ruler of the British Empire, brought to Washington today a pledge of British support for defense of America’s eastern coast line. The duke, vacationing from his duties as governor of the Bahamas, addressed the National Press club near the end of a crowded day that included a visit with President Roosevelt, two cabinet members and Chairman Emory S. Land of the maritime commission. “It is the settled policy of the British government,” the duke told press club members, “to assist the United States to the utmost in providing for the security of their eastern coast line.”
The Senate investigation into alleged war propaganda in the movies turned into a rough-and-tumble argument over foreign policy today, culminating in a shouted assertion from Wendell L. Willkie that Chairman Clark of Idaho had broadcast over the country “un qualified falsehoods” regarding his position in this matter.
First ballots returned in a nation-wide Gallup survey of public sentiment on the Administration’s new “shoot on sight” policy indicate a sizable majority — 56% — approving that policy.
Plans to triple the output of 100-octane aviation gasoline by building fifty new refineries at a cost of $150,000,000 were announced by Secretary Ickes today.
A longer work week was advocated today by Leon Henderson, Administrator of Price Control, as one way of taking up the slack in defense production.
U.S. Navy escorts (see 18 September) turn over convoy HX 150 to British escort vessels at the Mid-Ocean Meeting Point (MOMP). All convoyed vessels reach port safely. U.S. Navy Task Unit 4.1.1, commanded by Captain Morton L. Deyo, which was escorting convoy HX 150 turned over the screening duties to British escort vessels at the Mid-Ocean Meeting Point (MOMP). TU 4.1.1 had been escorting convoy HX 150 since September 18. All the vessels in the convoy reached their destinations safely. This was the first time. that U.S. Navy ships escorted an east bound British transatlantic convoy.
Marshall requests Stark delay converting three freighters into escort carriers to increase shipping lift for the reinforcements being sent to the Philippines.
John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph Kennedy, enlists in the U.S. Navy. JFK is appointed an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
The motion picture “A Yank in the RAF” premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California. Directed by Henry King, this war musical/drama stars Tyrone Power, Betty Grable and Reginald Gardiner. Tyrone plays a “hot shot” pilot who enlists in the RCAF and ferries aircraft to the U.K. There he meets his old girlfriend (Gable). He then begins to understand what the war is about.
The motion picture “Lydia” is released today. Directed by Julien Duvivier, this romantic drama adopted from the French film “Un Carnet de Bal” stars Merle Oberon, Alan Marshal and Joseph Cotton. This tearjerker has an elderly woman (Oberon) meeting her former beaux and recalling their courtship. The film is nominated for a musical Academy Award.
Major League Baseball:
Whitlow Wyatt throws a 5-hit shutout to stop the Braves 6–0, in a pennant clincher. It is Wyatt’s 6th win over the Hubbers. Bama Rowell, Boston’s second baseman, helps by making 3 errors in the 3rd inning, tying the National League mark, as the Dodgers score a lone run in the frame. Bama will top the National League’s second basemen with 40 errors this year. As Wyatt takes the mound in the 9th, the scoreboard flashes the news that the Pirates had beaten the Cards. He completes the inning with 9 pitches and the Dodgers clinch their first pennant in 21 years. For Wyatt, it is his 22nd victory. The Dodgers have a wild celebration on the train ride back from Boston and, reaching New York, they are greeted by thousands of jubilant fans at Grand Central Station.
At Crosley Field, The two-hit hurling of Ray Starr, veteran minor leaguer up from Indianapolis, gave the Reds their second consecutive shut-out over the Cubs today, 6–0, in the season’s final home game.
Pinch hitting with the bases full and the score tied in the ninth inning, Johnny McCarthy hoisted a puny fly that fell safely near the right-field foul line to send in the winning run of the Giants’ 3–2 victory over the Phillies today.
Perhaps it was never in the Cards for the outcome to be otherwise, and a few minutes after 5 o’clock this afternoon St. Louis bowed to the inevitable as Billy Southworth’s grim Redbirds went down to a 3–1 defeat in their series finale with the Pirates. The Pirates scored two runs on Elbie Fletcher’s inside-the-park 2-run homer. Rookie shortstop Billy Cox scores another after hitting a triple.
Brooklyn Dodgers 6, Boston Braves 0
Chicago Cubs 0, Cincinnati Reds 6
New York Giants 3, Philadelphia Phillies 2
St. Louis Cardinals 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
Whipping up to near-hurricane velocity in some sections, a roaring September storm fanned out to sweep along the coast of Lake Ontario east from Toronto tonight. At least three persons were killed, many others were injured and first reports of property loss indicated thousands of dollars’ damage.
Argentine General Angel Maria Zuloaga, Commander of Army Aviation, was relieved of his command today by order of the executive because his position had been rendered untenable by Tuesday’s seditious military movement that was largely confined to the flying branch of the service.
A Japanese military spokesman said today that Japanese forces attacking Changsha, capital of Hunan province, south of Hankow, had launched “a battle of annihilation” against 300,000 crack Chinese troops defending the city. The spokesman said a great battle was raging on the Hankow-Changsha Railway after Japanese troops crossed the Mi River. Another battle was reported to the south on the Canton-Hankow Railway after a Japanese crossing of the river. Domei, Japanese news agency, said Changsha was bombed heavily today and that twenty fires had been started.
A large force of Japanese warplanes made a “devastating” raid on the Chinese capital of Chungking today, the Japanese announced, while both air and ground forces hammered against Chinese positions in Hunan Province. In the attack on Chungking the Japanese planes destroyed “important military objectives,” the Japanese announced. In Hunan the Japanese reported that ground troops pressed to within twenty-six miles of the city. Japanese planes strafed Chinese troops elsewhere in Northern Hunan.
Seigo Nakano, Japanese pro-German political leader, said in an interview last night that the Japanese people demand a firmer foreign policy and that if “Japan submits to the United States she will be destroyed.” Nakano, leader of the Fascist organization Tohokai, said President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill had been too clever for Premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye and Foreign Minister Admiral Tijiro Toyoda and had intimidated the Japanese government. He said Konoye would be able to affect a rapprochement with the United States only “at the cost of Japanese surrender.” “The Japanese people will not tolerate this,” he said.
Japanese conversations with the United States are compatible with the spirit of the Tripartite Alliance, Saburo Kurusu, Japan’s Ambassador in Berlin when the pact was signed, declared in an interview published yesterday.
The newly-commissioned Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier HIJMS Zuikaku departs Kobe.
Captain Tsunekichi Fukuzawa was named the commanding officer of repair ship HIJMS Akashi.
Australian light cruiser HMAS Adelaide departed Melbourne escorting a steamer to southeast of Chatham Island. The light cruiser then proceeded to Wellington, arriving on the 30th.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 126.38 (-1.16)
Died:
Clifford Grey, 54, English songwriter, librettist and actor.
Hall Roosevelt, 50, American engineer, banker and soldier, brother of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Naval Construction:
The Royal Navy LCT (Mk 2)-class landing craft, tank HMS LCT 141 is laid down by Stockton Construction (Thornaby, U.K.).
The U.S. Navy Gato-class submarine USS Sunfish (SS-281) is laid down at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, United States.
The Royal Navy modified Black Swan-class sloop HMS Kite (U 87) is laid down by the Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.).
The Royal Navy Bar-class boom defense vessel HMS Barking (Z 181) is launched by Lobnitz & Co. Ltd. (Renfrew, Scotland).
The Royal Canadian Navy Fisherman’s Reserve Nenamook-class patrol boat HMCS Kuitan (FY 14) is launched by Star Shipyards (Mercer’s) Ltd., New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
The U.S. Navy 77-foot Elco patrol motor torpedo boat USS PT-56 is launched by the Electric Launch Company Ltd. (Elco), (Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.). She is transferred to the Royal Navy on completion and commissions as HMS MTB 314.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ranger-class tanker RFA Gray Ranger is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain Howard D Gausden, RFA.
The Royal Navy Fairmile B-class motor launch HMS ML 283 is commissioned.
The Royal Navy MMS I-class motor minesweeper HMS MMS 113 (J 613) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is T/Lieutenant Albert Edward Blackburn, DSC, RNR.
The Royal Navy Fairmile C-class motor gun boat HMS MGB 329 is commissioned.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type IXC U-boat U-158 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Erwin Rostin.
The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) Type VIIC U-boat U-589 is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Kapitänleutnant Hans-Joachim Horrer.
The Nihon Kaigun (Imperial Japanese Navy) Shōkaku-class aircraft carrier HIJMS Zuikaku (瑞鶴, “Auspicious Crane”) is commissioned. Her first commanding officer is Captain Yokokawa Ichibei.
