April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

Tuesday 21 April 1942

A Soviet soldier sets up a loudspeaker to broadcast propaganda to German soldiers somewhere in Russia, 21 April 1942 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Pacific: From a safe house in Chuchow (Quzhou), China, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle manages to get a message out to Washington, D.C. on 21 April 1942. In the message, he tells his superior officer, General "Hap" Arnold, that:

[The] mission to bomb Tokyo has been accomplished. On entering China, we ran into bad weather and it is feared that all planes crashed. Up to the present five fliers are safe.

Hap Arnold himself is receiving other information that indicates that most of the other Doolittle crewmen are safe, but that the Japanese also had captured a few. Doolittle himself is apprehensive that he faces a court-martial when he returns to the States due to the likely loss of all of the bombers in the mission (only one survives intact but is interred in the Soviet Union near Vladivostok).

President Roosevelt finally addresses the press today about the Doolittle raid. He confirms that US planes indeed had bombed Japan but for national security reasons gives few details. When a reporter asks Roosevelt what "base" the bombers had flown out of, Roosevelt takes the advice of an aide (Samuel Rosenman) and replies, "They came from our new secret base at Shangri-La." Of course, everyone at the time realizes that this was the fictional location in James Hilton's recent best-selling novel "Lost Horizon." Doolittle himself is not mentioned and the public is not given any more details about the raid until April 1943.

In China, the Japanese occupation forces carry out a retaliatory action for the Doolittle Raid known as the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign. This leads to the deaths of an estimated 250,000 Chinese people over the course of the next month.

Chinese civilians helping downed airmen of the Doolittle raid ca. 21 April 1942. The Japanese occupation authorities were not pleased with this sort of assistance and launched a retaliatory campaign that led to many Chinese deaths (AP Photo/US Army Air Force).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese advance in Burma continues as the Allies slowly retreat northwest toward India. Kyidaunggan on the road to Mandalay falls to the Japanese 18th Infantry Division.

Eastern Front: A German relief force under General Seydlitz (Operation Brückenschlag) manages to push through fading Soviet resistance in Ramushevo and reach the Lovat River. This creates a corridor (over the river) to the besieged garrison of almost 100,000 troops in the Demyansk pocket for the first time in ten weeks. The men of SS "Totenkopf" trapped in the pocket have battled their way to the river through the deepening spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") that makes any troop movement through the woods extremely difficult. This is a major German victory that deepens Adolf Hitler's belief that surrounded troops can always be rescued given sufficient will within leadership to do so.

General Franz Halder, not yet informed of the success at Demyansk, notes blandly in his war diary, "On the whole quiet, except for new attacks on the Volkhov."

In Crimea, the enhanced Luftwaffe forces remain very active. General Wolfram von Richhtofen has built the air force's Fliegerkorps VIII presence there up to the standards of an entire air fleet as planes and pilots return from the Reich after being restored to top service over the winter. Planes of KG 55 today damage the Soviet minesweeper Komintern and sink 4156-ton transport ship Kalinin at Novorossiysk. These raids are greatly interfering with Soviet General Kozlov's attempts to supply and reinforce his troops on the Kerch peninsula.

U-571 and U-459 at sea, with a supply submarine refueling another submarine using a fuel hose (which the crew is grabbing with a hook), 21 April 1942 (Jostling, Federal Archive Fig. 101II-MW-4835-12).

In a rare display of independence, the Soviet Stavka (military high command) notes the obvious trends in Crimea and asks Stalin to consider evacuating the Kerch position. Stalin refuses and today orders preparations for yet another offensive against the German 11th Army units holding the Parpach Narrows to break through to Sevastopol. Stalin also refuses to send any more reinforcements, considering the forces he already has allocated to Crimea to be adequate for the mission. General Kozlov now is placed in an impossible position, with inadequate forces for an offensive, no hope of getting any more, and orders to put his forces into an attack orientation that will make them vulnerable to an attack. German General Manstein is planning exactly such an attack for the earliest time after the Rasputitsa subsides.

The Wehrmacht requests Italian naval forces for an unusual mission that will go under the code name Operation Hobgoblin. This is an attempt to interdict Soviet naval traffic across Lake Ladoga that is keeping Leningrad from surrendering. The Soviets are believed to have a large force of 6 gunboats, 2 large and 5 small torpedo boats, 32 armed minesweepers, 9 armed transport ships, 17 armed tugboats, and one submarine, plus another 25 other boats on the lake. The Italians are renowned for their small-boat force and immediately agree to supply four torpedo boats (MAS 526 to 529) of the 12th MAS Flotilla, commanded by Capitano di Corvetta (Lt-Commander) Bianchini. He has four officers, 19 NCO's, and 63 other ranks. These forces will be supplemented by Kriegsmarine Siebel ferries once the ice on the lake melts.

Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches Admiral Sir Percy Noble's personal aircraft, photographed on 21 April 1942. "The Admiral's plane, An Airspeed AS 6J Envoy III (P5629). Note the Admiral's flag on the nose." Note the overcast skies and rainwater on the airstrip, foul weather that day on the Channel Front (© IWM A 8386).

European Air Operations: For the second day in a row, there are no operations due to ground haze and light rain.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-576 (Kptlt. Hans-Dieter Heinicke), on its fourth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 5102-ton US freighter Pipestone County about 475 (880 km) miles east of Cape Henry, Virginia. The U-boat stops and gives provisions to one of the four lifeboats after questioning the survivors. All 46 aboard survive, rescued by USCGC Calypso, fishing vessel Irene and May, and Norwegian freighter Tropic Star.

U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 2027-ton Norwegian freighter Bris about 475 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. There are 4 deaths and 21 survivors.

U-84 (Oblt. Horst Uphoff), on its fourth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 3014-ton Panamanian freighter Chenango about 60 nautical miles (110 km) southeast of Cape Henry, Virginia. There are 31 deaths and one survivor who is picked up by a Consolidated PBY Catalina of the US Coast Guard.

"The Duke of Gloucester inspects the Royal Marine Guard of Honour onboard HMS CLEOPATRA." Alexandria, Egypt, 21 April 1942 (© IWM A 8773).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Heavy Luftwaffe attacks on Malta continue. Of the 47 Spitfire fighters flown to the island from USS Wasp (CV-7) in Operation Calendar on the 20th, already about 30 have been destroyed and many others damaged. The Axis planes also sink 392-ton Royal Navy trawler HMT Jade in Grand Harbor, Malta.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, noting Malta's crumbling defenses, asks Hitler to take the island using paratroopers (Fallschirmjaeger). This is something that Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring has been urging as well. Hitler, however, refuses to use paratroopers in an offensive role due to the heavy losses on Crete. This may be a wise decision because the British intelligence services could prepare a hot welcome for paratroopers dropping on British-controlled territory just as they did on Crete due to the secret Enigma codebreaking team.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Torbay shells and sinks 170-ton Kriegsmarine patrol boat 13V2 Delpa II off Cape Drepano near the Corinth Canal.

Assembly line for the M4A1(75) at Pacific Car & Foundry of Renton, Washington, 21 April 1942. The completed tanks first rolled off the line in May of 1942, and the tank nearest to the camera was the pilot tank. PCF was the only West Coast manufacturer of Sherman tanks, with many used for training purposes in California and others sent overseas to fight the Japanese.

Special Forces: No. 4 Commando, in conjunction with 50 men from the Canadian Carleton and York Regiment, (2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade) and some Royal Engineers conduct Operation Abercrombie. This is an overnight reconnaissance in force begun after dark on 21 April 1942 in the vicinity of the French coastal village of Hardelot. Continuing a pattern of widely varying results of these commando raids, the raid accomplishes very little after a great deal of effort and planning. Among other issues, the Canadian contingent loses its way in the night and has to completely abort its participation in the mission. 

While no meaningful opposition is encountered, the Commandos lack time to accomplish minimal mission objectives such as destroying a nearby searchlight array. There are no casualties on either side. The raid is most notable for being the first time that the new LCS (Landing Craft Support) is used, providing valuable experience for future missions.

Partisans: The German authorities in France shoot 20 French hostages in retaliation ("complicity") for the successful British Commando raid on St. Nazaire in March 1942. Shooting hostages for attacks on German soldiers already has become an established practice by the occupation authorities.

A British Royal Navy Grumman Martlet IV (Grumman F4F-4B) at Naval Air Station, Anacostia, Washington D.C. (USA), on 21 April 1942, after application of British markings. Official U.S. Navy photo NH 89676 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command.

POWs: French General Henri Giraud reaches the presumed safety of Switzerland after a daring escape from the high-security POW camp at Königstein Castle near Dresden. Giraud accomplished his escape by using bedsheets and other articles to make a 150-foot (46 m) rope to lower himself down from his prison cell. Giraud had the advantage that many other POWs did not of having established a simple code in his letters home to inform his family of his plans. A Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer then met him and escorted him to Switzerland.

Giraud is stopped at the border by two Swiss border guards. At times these guards are known to have returned POWs to the German authorities, but these guards take this prize prisoner to Basel instead. News of Giraud's escape creates a sensation in France. Giraud then becomes a murky figure in murky French politics, remaining loyal to Pétain and the Vichy government but refusing to cooperate with the German authorities. Heinrich Himmler eventually tries to have the Gestapo assassinate Giraud but fails. Giraud refuses Pierre Laval's attempts to force him to cooperate with the Germans, but Laval does not turn Giraud over to the Gestapo when he has the chance. The Allies give Giraud the codename Kingpin and plan to make use of him when they invade French North Africa. After a long series of important appointments and politically charged events, they find out that Giraud is a loose cannon and cut their ties with him.

President Roosevelt awards Lieutenant (j.g.) Edward H. O'Hare the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony, 21 April 1942. In the background are Secretary of the Navy William Franklin Knox, Admiral Ernest J. King, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Mrs. O’Hare (US Navy).

US Military: US Navy aviator Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare becomes the first naval recipient of the Medal of Honor. O'Hare receives the award for exploits on 20 February 1942 that his commanding officers, including Vice Admiral Wilson Brown (commander of Task Force 11) and Captain Frederick C. Sherman, believed may have saved his aircraft carrier USS Lexington from destruction. O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois, is named after Lt. O'Hare, who later went missing near the Gilbert Islands on 26 November 1943 and was declared dead exactly one year later.

US Government: President Roosevelt orders the seizure of all patents owned or controlled by enemy nations. This action is mainly directed against Germany, which has close ties to several important US industries.

The Roosevelt administration okays the "Big Inch" pipeline from Texas to New York. This is in response to the recent loss of many oil tankers off the US east coast during German Operation Drumroll (Paukenschlag).

The wife of the last US ambassador to Vichy France, Louise Leahy, passes away unexpectedly of an embolism. Admiral Leahy already has been ordered to return to the United States at the end of the month and this is a crushing experience to him. He will leave France at the beginning of May 1942.

Japanese American evacuees, Camp Harmony (Puyallup Assembly Center), 1942 Photo by Howard Clifford, Courtesy UW Special Collections (UW526).

American Homefront: In Seattle, Washington, evacuation announcements are posted on telephone poles, bulletin boards, and other highly visible public places. These direct Japanese-American to leave the city in three groups on the following Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Japanese population of Seattle is around 7,000 people, with about another 7,000 living in the remainder of Washington State. Of these 14,000, a total of 12,892 persons of Japanese ancestry wind up in internment camps, first in the Puyallup assembly center and then to Minidoka in Idaho. The FBI already is arresting members of this community.

The San Francisco News on 21 April 1942 prints a report by Harry Ferguson of United Press giving an eyewitness account of the Manzanar internment camp. Ferguson reports that newcomers "found comfortable wooden buildings covered with tar paper, bathhouses and showers and plenty of wholesome food." He quotes an internee who calls Manzanar a "Nice place to live" that is "better than Hollywood." However, "Those whose sympathies lie with Japan are keeping quiet about it."

In another article in the San Francisco News today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is reported as suggesting "rehabilitation" of "Little Tokio." This "rehabilitation" actually means obliterating it. The article states:

All parties concerned have endorsed the idea of slum clearance programs for the section, but there have been differences over whether Federal or private money should be used.

The article suggests that there is some urgency to the matter as other minorities are quickly moving into the areas abandoned by the Japanese-Americans.

Look magazine, 21 April 1942.

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt

Tuesday 14 April 1942

Finnish ski patrol on the move. Petsamo, Kukkesjaur. April 14, 1942 (original color photograph, SA-Kuva).

Battle of the Pacific: The Bataan Death March continues on 14 April 1942. The march to the San Fernando railhead takes six days and new groups of POWs are just starting out, so the roads north from Mariveles and Bagac are full of shambling, mistreated men. The two separate columns, one from each starting point, merge at Pilar, Bataan, into one massive wave of bodies moving north. The Japanese guards are walking alongside the prisoners and also feeling mistreated, plus they look down upon prisoners as cowards who should have fought and died rather than surrender. Thus, the Japanese are becoming increasingly angry and resentful and the mistreatment of the Allied prisoners increases every day. Men who fall behind or stop at the roadside for any reason are often executed on the spot, with their bodies left as examples for those following.

The Doolittle raiders in Admiral "Bull" Halsey's Task Force 16 continue heading west toward Japan. The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet carries 16 B-25 bombers for a raid on Tokyo. The Japanese have an inkling that something is happening because of intercepted radio signals, but await word from their picket ships stationed about 600 miles east of Japan. Back in Washington, D.C., Admiral Ernest King visits President Roosevelt at the White House to give the President a detailed summary of the planned raid and its progress.

Royal Navy ratings at rifle training at Formby, Lancashire, 14 April 1942. © IWM  A 8326.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese offensive in the Irrawaddy River valley north toward the Yenangyaung oil fields continues to make steady progress while the Allies pull back. The Japanese 214th Regiment, accompanied by artillery, bypasses the British Burma Division to take possession of a critical ford of the Pin Chaung River, north of Yenangyaung. This unexpected success has the potential to block the British escape route and places the entire British position in jeopardy. Lieutenant General William Slim, commander of Burma Corps, realizes his command may have to fight its way out of a developing trap.

Finnish troops in action during the battle of Pertjärvi on 14 April 1942 (Koukinsky, SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: Korpsgruppe Zorn begins Operation Fallreep, a breakout from the Demyansk pocket toward the Lovat River at Ramushevo. General Seydlitz's relief force is still struggling north on the road to Ramushevo, so this is a gamble that Seydlitz will actually get to Ramushevo so the two columns can meet across the river from each other. The Soviets are defending tenaciously and Seydlitz's men already have taken 10,000 casualties, so there are no guarantees of success.

Hitler refuses to authorize abandonment of the Demyansk and Kholm pockets, so the weary 95,000 men within the Demyansk pocket must both hold the perimeter and extend a hand to Seydlitz. This is a daunting task for under-supplied troops who have been isolated for months in the dead of winter. Time is of the essence because the spring thaw ("Raputitsa") is beginning and soon will make all movement difficult. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

General Eric von Manstein, commander of 11th Army in the Crimea, flies to Fuhrer Headquarters in Rastenburg for the evening Fuhrer Conference. He submits plans for an artillery assault on Sevastopol, where Soviet troops continue to hold out behind the German front on the Parpach Narrows. No decisions are made, but Manstein wants to attack in force on the Parpach Narrows to drive the Soviets from the Kerch peninsula before making a set-piece assault on Sevastopol. On the Soviet side, Stalin still has hopes of relieving Sevastopol by piercing Manstein's line along the narrows, so the situation remains in flux.

The deck gun of U-85 which sank off the North Carolina coast on 14 April 1942 (Courtesy of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary).

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends a dozen Boston bombers to bomb the Mondeville power station without loss. After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids a new target, Dortmund, with 208 aircraft (142 Wellingtons, 34 Hampdens, 20 Stirlings, 8 Halifaxes, 4 Manchesters). Five Wellingtons and 4 Hampdens fail to return. As with the recently completed series of raids on Essen, bombing accuracy is poor and bombs strike all along a 40-mile stretch of the Ruhr River. In Dortmund, an industrial building and a military post are destroyed, along with four homes. Four other homes are damages with four deaths and 27 injured. In other operations, the RAF sends 23 bombers to Le Havre (which the bombers completely miss), five Blenheim intruders to Soesterberg airfield, and one Stirling on a minelaying mission off Heligoland. One bomber fails to return from the Le Havre mission.

The RAF loss ratio continues to be poor. In 237 sorties, the RAF loses ten aircraft for a loss ratio of 4.2%. Anything around 5% means the average flight crew required to fly 20 missions will likely not last his entire tour of duty.

The Luftwaffe has been strained ever since the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, which has given Great Britain relief from major air attacks. However, the German public has begun to notice the sting of RAF Bomber Command raids, particularly the destruction of the historic seaport of Lubeck on 28 March 1942. Hitler, always sensitive to public opinion although he rarely lets it interfere with his own plans, directs Hermann Goering's planes to retaliate. These missions become known as the "Baedecker Blitz" after the famous guidebook. as they pinpoint small British towns that typically appear in it.

Men lining up to buy tickets at Union Station in Los Angeles, 14 April 1942 (Paul Calvert / Los Angeles Times).

In any event, there have been very few, if any, major raids against England for almost a year, but that is about to change. The Luftwaffe Operations Staff announces:

The Fuehrer has ordered that air warfare against England is to be given a more aggressive stamp. Accordingly, when targets are being selected, preference is to be given to those where attacks are likely to have the greatest possible effect on civilian life. Besides raids on ports and industry, terror attacks of a retaliatory nature [Vergeltungsangriffe] are to be carried out against towns other than London. Minelaying is to be scaled down in favor of these attacks.

This operation is notable for the first use in the German high command of the word "Vergeltungsangriffe," or "Vengeance," whose use will become much more common as the war progresses.

The Luftwaffe assigns the task to Luftflotte 3. The bomber squadron Erg. U. Lehr Kdo 100 will use its Heinkel He 111 bombers as pathfinders for a larger bomber force. About 80 bombers of II and III./KG 2 and II./KG 40, equipped with Dornier Do-217 and other models, compose the main strike force. KuFlGr 106 will use its Junkers Ju 88 bombers and I./KG 2 with around 25 Do-217s will also participate.

Attacks are to begin in strength later in April. The main targets will include York, Norwich, Canterbury, Bath, and Exeter - all towns roughly of the same size and importance to England as Lubeck was to the Reich. A representative of the German Foreign Office, Gustav Braun von Stumm, offhandedly claims (without authorization) that "We shall go out and bomb every building in Britain marked with three stars in the Baedeker Guide." This, however, is not how the German leadership wishes to characterize the raids, which are intended to be solely retaliatory and not targeting any specific cultural areas.

USS Roper, which sank U-85 on 14 April 1942 (Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command).

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a bad day for submarine crews, with two German (in the Atlantic) and one British submarine (in the Mediterranean) sunk. World War II submarine work is extremely hazardous with a high percentage of submarine sailors perishing during the war.

U-85 (Oblt. Eberhard Greger), on its fourth patrol out of St. Nazaire, is caught on the surface off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, by US Navy destroyer USS Roper. The crew of the Roper makes quick work of U-85 with gunfire because for some reason Greger remains on the surface throughout the engagement. All 46 crewmen of U-85 perish, many when Roper drops depth charges that kill swimming U-85 crewmen who had abandoned the sinking U-boat. This is the first U-boat sunk off the North American coast. U-85, which finishes its career with three ships sunk of 15,060 tons, sits in about 110 feet (34 m) of water 14 miles (23 km) east of Oregon Inlet along the Outer Banks between Wimble Shoals and Cape Hatteras. It is a popular dive site despite tricky currents. Incidentally, 29 bodies from U-85 were recovered and are buried under cover of darkness at Hampton National Cemetery.

U-252 (Kptlt. Kai Lerchen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, is sunk at 22:30 by depth charges from escorts of Convoy OG-82. Royal Navy sloop HMS Stork and corvette Vetch take credit for the sinking southwest of Iceland. U-252, which had just landed German agent Ib Riis in Iceland, finishes its career with one sinking of 1355 tons.

U-85, sunk by USS Roper on 14 April 1942 (Courtesy of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary).

U-203 (Kptlt. Rolf Mützelburg), on its sixth patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 6160-ton British tanker Empire Thrush about 8 miles north of Diamond Shoals near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. All 55 men aboard survive, picked up quickly by US Navy Q-ship USS Asterion (AK 100), which witnessed the attack from a distance.

U-66 (KrvKpt. Richard Zapp), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, gets its first victory of what turns out to be a very successful patrol in the Caribbean, 2116-ton Greek freighter Korthion. It hits Korthion with one torpedo south of Barbados and the ship sinks quickly. There are 14 dead and 9 survivors.

U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 3352-ton US sugar freighter Margaret about 45 miles east of Cape Hatteras. The ship sinks within five minutes after a boiler explodes. All 29 men on board perish.

German 5032-ton freighter Kellerwald hits a mine and sinks off Helgoland. The RAF has been expending a great deal of effort recently in dropping mines in the German Bight.

The Luftwaffe attacks Murmansk, sinking the 5172-ton British freighter Lancaster Castle. There are ten dead, mostly Indian sailors.

Convoy TC-14 departs from the UK for Halifax. This is a special convoy that carries 10 tons of Russian gold that had been transferred from Archangel to the UK by light cruiser Kenya in Convoy QP-3.

Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn, lost at sea on 14 April 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder (Lieutenant-Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn) disappears on or about this date. There are no survivors of Upholder's 32-man crew, so the exact circumstances and location of her loss are unknown. There are several theories, including depth charges from Italian torpedo boat Pegaso north of Tripoli or hitting a mine. The Admiralty report of her loss - ending with "The ship and her company are gone but the example and inspiration remain" - has an enduring place in Royal Navy history, with that phrase repeated verbatim after another loss during the Falklands War in 1982. Upholder ends its career having sunk 97,000 tons of enemy shipping, one destroyer, and three U-boats. Wanklyn is considered one of the top Royal Navy heroes of World War II.

Royal Navy submarine Turbulence (Cdr. J.W. Linton) uses its deck gun to sink 73-ton Italian sailing ship Franco about 10 miles south of Sebenico, Croatia. There is no record of the fate of the crew of three.

The air offensive against Malta continues, with constant air raids throughout daylight hours. The Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3, Hptm. Karl-Heinz Krahl, an Experten (ace) with 24 victories, is shot down and killed over Malta near Luqa Aerodrome. Major Kurt Brandle replaces him as Gruppenkommandeur.

The Enigma machine from U-85, recovered by divers in 2001. This is the type of machine used to encode messages by the Germans that the British Ultra program intercepted and decoded in real-time (The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources).

The RAF theater command in Cairo assembles a special strike force to attack Italian convoys known to be crossing from Sicily to Benghazi. This information is based on Ultra intercepts, though very, very few people know this. They build up a strike force within RAF No. 39 Squadron (along with elements of No. 22 Squadron, which happens to be passing through on its way to Ceylon) at Sidi Bu Amud, Libya. This is to be a shuttle mission, with the planes taking off in Egypt, attacking the convoy, and landing in Malta. At least, that's the plan.

The ships are known to be passing within 100 miles of Malta due to the German belief that the Luftwaffe air offensive has incapacitated the island. Basically, they are sailing on the shortest route south from Naples without any worry about attacks from Malta - normally, they would route around Sicily via Palermo. Nine RAF Beauforts and four Beaufighters set out (one Beaufort aborts early), but they have difficulties locating the convoy and then, when they do find it, run into unexpected Luftwaffe air cover. The mission makes no hits on the convoy and it turns into an RAF disaster,  Only three Beauforts make it back to base, two badly damaged, with seventeen of the aircrew lost. The mission effectively ends this strike force and deprives Ceylon of some air reinforcement. The lone serviceable plane flies back to Egypt.

"Sunset picture [on 14 April 1942] at Freetown Harbour showing a convoy at anchor. On the left is HMS DEVONSHIRE and on the extreme right is AMC ALCANTARA." This photo was taken from HMS Adamant. © IWM A 9225.

Battle of the Black Sea: Several Soviet ships supplying the troops on the Kerch peninsula of the Crimea sink after hitting mines. These sorts of mine strikes by multiple ships within a short time often happen right after mines are dropped by air in a new spot before ships can be routed around them.

Soviet troop transport Anton Chekhov hits a mine and sinks near Kerch. The mine likely was dropped by the Luftwaffe, which is being built up into an overpowering force in support of General Manstein's 11th Army. There are 200 deaths and 50 wounded men.

Soviet minesweeper KT-608, Soviet transport SS Kommunar, and submarine chaser SKA-042 also hit mines off Kerch. Eight men on the SKA-042 perish and 72 on the Kommunar.

Map of the encounter between USS Roper and U-85 on 14 April 1942.

Anglo/US Relations: The British quickly agree to a framework by Harry Hopkins and General George C. Marshall, who are in England for talks, for "Operation Bolero." This is the buildup of US forces in the British Isles which eventually leads to Operation Overlord, the Normandy Invasion. However, many details remain to be worked out that will be the province of a combined committee of American and British logistical officers. This committee begins to take shape quickly. At this time, there are only vague plans for a cross-Channel invasion in late 1942 at the earliest or more likely in mid-1943.

Australian/US Relations: The Australian government approves the 30 March directive in which General Douglas MacArthur was named Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). This effectively places an American in charge of the Australian military for the duration of the conflict, though, when pressed, the Australian government generally gets its way on the commitment of the Australian military.

British Military: Vice-Admiral W.T.R. Ford succeeds Vice-Admiral Sir Gordon Ramsey as Commander in Chief, Rosyth.

French Government: Premier Philippe Petain invites Pierre Laval to return to his former position leading the Vichy French government under Petain's nominal supervision. The Germans (meaning, Hitler) greatly prefer arch-collaborationist Laval to nationalist Petain and have demanded the change. After this, Petain becomes a figurehead. The decision is announced publicly on 15 April and Laval assumes office on 18 April.

Laval's appointment causes a crisis in relations with the United States, which still maintains diplomatic relations with Vichy France. Admiral William Leahy, the US Ambassador to France, cables the State Department about the news. It quickly replies that Leahy will be recalled once Laval assumes power.

The big news of the day in the Lima, Ohio, News is the return to power of Pierre Laval.

British Government: It is Budget Day in the UK, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kingsley Wood delivers the bad news. Taxes must be doubled, to 66%, on a wide variety of non-essential goods such as alcohol, tobacco, cosmetics, and theater tickets. Government expenditures for the year ending 31 March 1942 totaled £4 billion, £285 million above projections, while the current budget year is projected at £5.286 billion. Without Lend-lease, of course, the expenditures and deficits would be dramatically higher. Kingsley calls this the "sacrifices for the victory" budget. The standard income tax remains 50%.

Soviet Homefront: Premier Joseph Stalin, perhaps impressed by the successful US War Bond drive, opens his own war loan subscription. The goal is to raise 10 Billion Rubles.

American Homefront: Attorney General Francis Biddle writes a letter to Postmaster General Frank Walker suggesting that "Social Justice," Father Charles Coughlin's periodical, be banned from the United States mails by for violating the Espionage Act of 1917. The publication has been parroting German propaganda since before the German invasion of Poland. Biddle also considers indicting Father Coughlin himself for his political activities.

Biddle's letter sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the cessation of publication of Social Justice. With a hearing set for 4 May 1942, Coughlin's superior in the Church, Bishop Edward Aloysius Mooney, orders Coughlin to end all political activities. Coughlin complies, ends his involvement with Social Justice (which continues publication for a short time available only on newsstands and hereafter confines his activities solely to those of a local parish priest. This ends Coughlin's political career, and he quietly serves as pastor of his church, Shrine of the Little Flower, until 1966.

Future History: Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev is born in Moscow, Russia. He becomes a cosmonaut who makes two flights into space, including spending 211 days in space aboard Space Station Salyut 7 in 1982. He is a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union and as of 2020 remains active in Russian scientific circles.

New Masses magazine, dated 14 April 1942, showing the disembodied heads of Father Coughlin (lower left) and Gerald L.K. Smith, both considered fascist sympathizers in the United States. This Marxist magazine featured an expose of Father Coughlin. Perhaps this is what caught the eye of Francis Biddle and caused him to shut down Coughlin's "Social Justice."

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal

Monday 6 April 1942

M4A1 tanks on parade for Army Day, 6 April 1942, in front of the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Japanese Indian Ocean raid, Operation C, continues on 6 April 1942. The Japanese Kido Butai strike group wreaks devastation throughout the Bay of Bengal, sinking freighter and tankers left and right, most of whom are probably completely oblivious to the presence of the most powerful enemy fleet in existence nearby. The ships sunk are listed below.

However, despite clearing the seas of enemy shipping, the Japanese have a problem. While he does not realize it, Japanese Admiral Nagumo is sailing away from the British Eastern Fleet that it is his mission to destroy. On the British side, Admiral James Somerville now realizes that the Japanese fleet includes four aircraft carriers and three battleships and that this force is superior to his own forces. Thus, he does not get overly aggressive. During the day, the British reinforce their Force A with Force B and they advance to the vicinity of where the Japanese recently sank cruisers heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire. There, the British rescue 1122 survivors. However, Somerville does not know where the Japanese are and thus is operating in the dark.

The Clarksville, Tennessee, Leaf-Chronicle accurately sums up the war situation on 6 April 1942.

The massive Japanese fleet, meanwhile, after withdrawing to the southwest after their attack on Colombo, has circled around again to the northeast roughly toward Ceylon (Sri Lanka). During the day, heavy cruisers Kumano and Suzuya along with destroyer Shirakumo of the Northern Group under rear Admiral Kurita Takeo encounter and sink British freighters Silksworth, Autolycus, Malda, and Shinkuang and the American ship Exmoor. The Central Group also sinks a freighter, while the Southern Group sinks three freighters.

To give some perspective, let's look at the damage going on in the Bay of Bengal on 6 April 1942. Ships sunk and damaged today in the Bay of Bengal include:

• Dutch freighter Van Der Capellen (damaged by planes from aircraft carrier Ryujo)
• British freighter Taksang (sunk by cruisers Yura and Yugiri)
• British freighter Silksworth (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo, 50 survivors)
• British freighter Shinkuang (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo)
• British freighter Shinkiang (sunk by planes from Ryujo)
• US freighter Selma City (sunk by floatplanes from cruiser Chokai)
• British freighter Malda (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo)
• British freighter Indora (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo
• Norwegian freighter Hermod (sunk by two cruisers, all 36 men survive)
• British freighter Ganges (sunk by floatplanes from cruiser Chokai)
• British freighter Gandara (sunk by cruisers Mikuma, Mogami, and Amagiri)
• US freighter Exmoor (sunk by cruisers Kumano and Suzuya)
• Norwegian tanker Elsa (sunk by two cruisers, 1 of 30 crew dead)
• Norwegian freighter Dagfred (sunk by two cruisers (all 40 men survive)
• US freighter Bienville (sunk by planes from Ryujo and cruiser Chokai with 24 dead)
• Dutch freighter Batavia (sunk by cruisers Yura and Yugiri)
• Dutch freighter Banjoewangi (sunk by cruisers Uyra and Yugiri)
• British freighter Autolycus (sunk by cruisers Kumano, Suzuya, and Shirakumo).

No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of sunk and damaged ships. The only "silver lining" for the Allies is that they manage to avoid losing any major warships today. However, they've already lost two cruisers and other naval vessels during the Indian Ocean raid - and, without giving anything away, they're about to lose more, too.

Nagumo's next target to draw out the British fleet is Trincomalee on Ceylon, but this will take a couple of days to set up. In the interim, his overpowering might will continue to clear the seas of Allied shipping.

Twin Falls, Idaho, Times News, 6 April 1942.

Separately, Japanese submarine HIJMS I-5 catches and sinks a US freighter about 216 miles northwest of the Maldive Islands. I-4 also sinks a US freighter at the entrance to Eight Degree Channel, the Washingtonian. The 42-man crew makes it to the Maldive Islands. Japanese bombers also sink Indian sloop HMIS Indus at Akyab, Burma, with ten crewmen wounded.

While the British Eastern Fleet is occupied with the Kido Butai strike group, the Japanese land troops at Rangoon. General Chiang Kai-Shek decides to send another division to help the Burma I Corps and directs the Chinese 200th and 96th Divisions in Burma to hold Pyinmana and Taungdwingyi, Burma.

The Japanese Air Force also creates problems for the Allies by conducting their first bombing raid on India. They attack Coconada and Madras. 

Honolulu, Hawaii, Advertiser, 6 April 1942. This copy was sent by a US Army Private to his mother in Kansas.

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese continue occupying areas that the Allies have abandoned. They send a small force from Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands to the Lorengau on the eastern shore of Manus Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. Also on the Bismarck Archipelago, the US Army Air Force bombs Gasmata, New Britain Island. 

Lieutenant Colonel Jame H. Doolittle remains at sea aboard the USS Hornet en route to Japan. This is a complex operation, and today the Assam-Burma-China Ferry Command begins hauling 30,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 500 gallons of lubricants from Calcutta to Asansol in West Bengal, India, for his bombers. Of course, the Doolittle bombers will need to survive the mission and make it to India via China to be able to use these supplies.

On the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, the situation does not improve for the Allies. A counterattack by II Corps (eastern end of the line) runs head-on into a Japanese attack and is forced back. A separate counterattack a little further east by US 31st Infantry and the Filipino 21st Division to close the breach at Mount Samat also fails. Another counterattack toward Mount Samat from a little to the west is smashed, with the Filipino 33rd Infantry surrounded and presumed lost. The situation at II Corps is in chaos, while the I Corps holding the western end of the line is doing only a little better. The Allied troops in the west withdraw to the San Vicente River. Two river gunboats, USS Mindanao and Oahu intercept the Japanese landing craft and claim four sunk, but later in the day, the Mindanao is damaged in another firefight.

Military police on a watchtower overlooking the Santa Anita Assembly Center in California, 6 April 1942 (Photographer Clem Albers. National Archives Ctrl.#: NWDNS-210-G-B389; NARA ARC#: 537020).

Eastern Front: The five divisions of German General Seydlitz are making very slow progress along the Staraya Russa - Demyansk road. While the Germans only have six miles to reach the Lovat River and a total of 20 miles to relieve the Demyansk pocket, the Soviets have brought in heavy reinforcements and the going is very slow. There is some question about whether the roughly 100,000 Germans trapped in Demyansk (and the much smaller force at Kholm) can hold out much longer, so the Luftwaffe comes to their rescue. It flies 360 sorties today to and from the pockets, escorted by fighters of JG 51 and 53. The Germans are fortunate that the Soviets have been unable to bring up heavy anti-aircraft units in the 20 miles between the lines, but the flights are still somewhat hazardous due to ground fire. The German Ju 52s fly at treetop level to minimize the danger and drop many of their supply pallets by parachute, some of which drift into Soviet hands or into no-man's land, causing firefights to break out.

The Luftwaffe continues its air offensive against the Soviet fleet at the naval base on Kronstadt island just outside of Leningrad. Soviet battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and cruiser Maksim Gorki are hit and badly damaged by Heinkel He 111 medium bombers of Kampfgeschwader 4, but no ships are sunk.

RAF aerial reconnaissance photo of the Kriegsmarine base at Swinemünde (Świnoujście), 6 April 1942. Number 1 is cruiser Emden, No. 2 is cruiser Leipzig (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 80497).

European Air Operations: Tonight's main target for RAF Bomber Command is Essen, a frequent objective. The RAF sends 157 bombers, but they encounter terrible weather conditions including cloud cover of the target. While 49 bomber crews claim to have reached and bombed the target, few bombs actually fall in Essen and there are no casualties and light damage. The RAF loses five bombers (2 Hampdens and one apiece of Manchesters, Stirlings, and Wellingtons) on this failed raid.

In other attacks, one RAF bomber attacks Schipol Airfield and another the port area at Ostend.

Norwegian tanker Koll, sunk by U-571 on 6 April 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-160 (Oblt. Georg Lassen), on its first patrol out of Helgoland, scores its fourth victory at 08:07 when it damages 6837-ton US tanker Bidwell about 50 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Showered with burning oil, the second mate jumps overboard and is drowned, but that is the only casualty. The tanker continues to steam forward, but the steering gear is damaged so it just steams in a circle (like the Bismarck in May 1941). Two US destroyers arrive within two hours, and the ship's steering issues are repaired sufficiently for it to make port in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

U-571 (Kptlt. Helmut Möhlmann), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 10,044-ton Norwegian tanker Koll east of Cape Hatteras. When it doesn't sink right away, the U-boat surfaces to give the men in the boats some crackers and uses its deck gun to fire 30 rounds and finish off the tanker. There are three dead and 33 survivors. Two lifeboats from Koll are at sea until the 14th before being picked up by passing freighters.

U-754 (Kptlt. Hans Oestermann), on its second patrol out of Brest, winds up a very successful patrol (its best of the war) by torpedoing and sinking 9858-ton Norwegian tanker Kollskegg about 350 miles northwest of Bermuda. There are 4 dead and 38 survivors. This incident is unusual in that the men in the Kollskegg boats spot the lifeboats from the Koll, also sunk today as mentioned above, though they are later separated.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy destroyer HMS Havock runs aground at Kelibia on the Cap Bon peninsula, Tunisia. Havock is wrecked (later finished off with a torpedo from Italian submarine Aradam) and one crewman perishes, with 150 crewmen and 100 soldier passengers rescued. The Vichy French control Tunisia, and they follow the rules of war by interning the British crew and passengers (released in November 1942 due to Operation Torch). 

Axis bombers attack Alexandria and continue their air offensive against Malta. Among the victims today is the Royal Navy tugboat HMS West Cocker.

Japanese internment evacuation at Van Ness in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco, 6 April 1942 (Bancroft Library).

Partisans: Operation Bamberg, a German antipartisan military attack on known partisan hideouts in the area of Bobruysk in the Belorussian region of the German-occupied western USSR, concludes. Bamberg is the prototype for future German antipartisan operations. Mounted by the reinforced 707th Division, a Slovak infantry regiment, and the 315th Schutzpolizeibataillon, Operation Bamberg involved drawing a "noose" around the partisan area and then moving inward to flush out the partisans. This strategy comports with the recent Fuhrer Directive No. 41 order to "mop up" behind the front.

While closely followed by the German high command (including Adolf Hitler via the OKH) which placed high hopes in it, Bamberg turns out at best to be a mixed success. On the positive side, any actual partisan bases are torched and active partisan operations in the area are stopped, at least for the time being. However, there are many questionable results. The Germans find that identifying actual partisans is difficult, as they purposefully blend in with local inhabitants. Many people identified as partisans may or may not be so, so any numbers on partisans eliminated (the Germans claim 3600) are suspect. One of the German tactics is to destroy villages and farms in the "hot zone" at the center of the target area, which earns the Germans enmity in the region and probably just creates more partisans. However, despite its failings, Operation Bamberg becomes the template for future antipartisan operations, of which there are many to come.

Spy Stuff: U-252 (Kptlt. Kai Lerchen) lands spy Ib Arnason Riis in northern Iceland on the remote Langanes Peninsula. Riis is half-Iceland and half-Danish and a reluctant Abwehr recruit. After being dropped off in poor weather, Riis walks for 17 hours through rain and snow until he finds a farmhouse where he gives himself up. After being interrogated in Reykjavik, Riis leads army officers back to Langanes where he digs up his buried radio and other equipment. He becomes a double agent, feeding the Germans false information under the supervision of a British naval officer. The Germans are completely unaware of his treachery and award him the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class - making Ib Riis the only Icelander to receive those awards.

Japanese/Soviet Relations: After riding the Trans-Siberian Railway, Naotake Satō, the new Japanese Ambassador to the USSR, presents his credentials to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. In the confusing politics of the era, Japan is at war with several of the Soviet Union's main allies but is not at war with the Soviet Union. Satō will serve as the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union for the remainder of World War II and be involved in murky negotiations with Molotov regarding possible peace deals with the Allies that never pan out.

A Coca Cola ad, 6 April 1942 Life magazine.

US Military: US troops continue to flow into Australia. Today, the 41st Infantry Division, the 163d Infantry, the 167th Field Artillery Battalion, and other units arrive in Melbourne, Victoria. They become part of General Douglas MacArthur's Army Forces in Australia.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force sends the 11th and 12th Bombardment Squadrons, 7th Bomber Group (Heavy) sans equipment back to the United States to re-equip. The units will proceed to Columbia, South Carolina, to receive B-25 bombers.

Canadian Military: The First Canadian Army forms in the United Kingdom. Its commander is Lieutenant General Andrew McNaughton.

Life magazine, 6 April 1942.

American Homefront: In Proclamation 2542 of 20 March 1942, President Roosevelt proclaimed April 6, 1942, as Army Day. In that Proclamation, FDR wrote:

Army Day becomes, therefore, in fact a total-war day. It becomes a day when all of our citizens in civil pursuits can rally to the support of our armed forces, for only in the united effort of all of our forces—Army, Navy, and civilians—can we find the strength to defeat our enemies.

The Axis powers have not yet adopted the phrase "Total War" to describe their war effort. The Reich will not do that until after Stalingrad, in another year.

Future History: Barry Levinson is born in Baltimore, Maryland. After starting out as a television writer, Levinson becomes a prominent filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional actor. His major breakthrough is with "Diner" (1982), set in his native Baltimore. His extensive list of films written, directed, or produced includes "High Anxiety" (1977), "Tin Men" (1987), and "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987). Barry Levinson remains active in the film industry as of 2020.

Time magazine, 6 April 1942, with Ezequiel Padilla (Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs) on the cover (cover credit Ernest Hamlin Baker).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021