Winter, 1941
Chapter 7
Escalation in the Balkans
January - March
Italian prisoners are marched away after the Fall of Barida
The British rung in the third calendar year of the Second World War with a raid on German industrial targets in Bremen on New Year’s Day, and the Germans retaliated on the second of January with a 100 bomber raid on Cardiff in Wales. It was already apparent that 1941 would only see more fighting, and no end was in sight for either side. Another raid on Britsol the next day only further demonstrated that the Luftwaffe’s aerial assault on Britain was not going to abate any time soon.
In North Africa the British and Australian attacked the Italian garrison at Barida on the third of January, entering the town on the fourth. 1,000 Italian soldiers were captured as they did, and when the fortress fell the following day the total rose to 36,000 Italians captured.
This catastrophic defeat would leave all of Italian Libya in imminent threat of collapse, and stir significant discontent at home, leaving Mussolini’s governance in doubt. In order to assess the situation, Hitler called an emergency conference to discuss a situation he considered unimportant militarily but greatly important politically.
Admiral Yamamoto studies a map during a conference
There was also movement in the Far East. The same day Barida fell, the Siamese, sensing weakness in the Vichy administration of Indochina after the Japanese invasion last year, invaded French Cambodia and Laos. This would quickly see the collapse of French control of Laos, but the troops in Cambodia would hold for some time.
Later, on January seventh, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s most powerful force, the Combined Fleet, submitted a report to the Imperial General Headquarters concerning the viability of launching an attack on the United States, along with suggestions on how to carry out such a strike.
Damage control crews respond to damage on the deck of HMS Illustrious after being attacked by German stukas off Malta
Heading back to the Mediterranean, the RAF launched an air raid on the Regia Marina base at Naples, where several of the Italian fleet’s surviving capitol ships had been relocated too after the attack on Taranto. One of the battleships stationed there was damaged in the attack.
Two days later, on January tenth, the British carrier that launched the raid on Taranto, the HMS Illustrious, is attacked by German stuka dive bombers off Malta, causing severe damage and forcing the carrier to retreat to the relative safety of the besieged island.
Also on the tenth, the Germans began to register all Jews living in the occupied Netherlands.
Greek troops advance in Albania
In a similar vein to the North African Front, the Balkan situation continued to deteriorate in January for the Italians. The Greeks pushed even further into Albania, taking the stategically important Klisura Pass on the eleventh of January, but the Italians were to get a reprieve, as the Greeks had overstretched their supply lines and are forced to halt at the Pass.
The general state of collapse of the Regio Esercito in Libya continued as well, as on the twelfth of January British and Australian troops began to envelop the strategic port of Tobruk. This was the only major port in Eastern Libya, and despite attempts to fortify it the Italians were severely understrength, with only the remnants of the 10th Army holding the port, vastly outnumbered by the advancing Commonwealth forces.
The German raider Pinguin
Another note takes place at sea on the fourteenth of January; as the German commerce raider Pinguin captures the entire Norwegian whaling fleet. The German raider, a simple freighter requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine and fitted with armament, encountered the fourteen ship fleet in the south Atlantic and slipped in with them. Revealing itself, Pinguin quietly seized two ships, before capturing the other twelve over the next few hours. This action, without a shot fired and no losses, was the most successful Kriegsmarine operation of the war.
Australian troops after taking Tobruk
In Indochina, the war between the Vichy administration and Siam continued to go poorly for the defenders, as major counterattacks on the sixteenth of January were repulsed in Cambodia. The following day the French fleet sailed for the Gulf of Thailand, scoring a small victory over the small Siamese fleet. The war would continue, but the Japanese, essentially the dominant power in the region, was by now eyeing the conflict with displeasure.
In Africa, the war likewise continued to go poorly for the defenders. In Ethiopia Emperor Haile Selassie, who had fled the Italian invasion after futilely appealing to the League of Nations before the war, returned to his homeland as the British swept Mussolini’s forces from the country. To the north, the beseiged port of Tobruk fell on January 22, with 20,000 Italian prisoners and over 2,000 killed, to only 400 Commonwealth casualties. The fall of Tobruk had denied the Italians their only major port in eastern Libya, and in turn allowed the advancing British and Australian troops to begin resupply by sea, further boosting their continuing offensive.
Italian troops in North Africa
The situation for the Italians continued to appear disastrous on all fronts. In Albania a counteroffensive was launched against the Greeks on 29 January, the same day that the Greek Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas, died. He was replaced by Alexandros Koryzis, who was in turn far weaker than the dictator Metaxas, with real power returning to the King. This offensive would bear as little fruit as earlier Italian campaigns. Two days later, back in North Africa, the Italians were besieged by Free French Forces at Kufra Oasis in Libya.
The same day, January 31, the Japanese oversee the signing of an armistice between the Siamese and the Vichy government regarding the Indochina conflict. The treaty mandated the French concede territory in Cambodia to the Siamese, and the weakened French, already partially occupied by the Japanese, head no choice but to comply.
On February third, the Germans took a major step toward their intervention in North Africa, which had been in preparation since the fall of Barida. General Erwin Rommel, who had distinguished himself commanding a panzer division during the Battle of France, was appointed commander of the new expeditionary corps. Three days later, as the British took Benghazi from the Italians, the first units of the Afrika Korps embarked for the Sahara.
General Erwin Rommel, commander of the new German Afrika Korps, greets his Italian counterparts after arriving in Libya
The British took El Agheila on the ninth of February, and with that ended their offensive in the desert, Operation Compass. The operation had resulted in the annihilation of the Italian 10th Army, but the British forces were exhausted, and their equipment worn out from months of hard riding in the harsh desert.
The next day the British launched their first airborne operation of the war, landing commandos in Italy to destroy an aqueduct. The operation fails with all commandos captured, but still results in the shattering of the Italian home front’s morale as the war comes home. In light of the situation, Mussolini had declared martial law in the southern part of the Italian peninsula on February second, and the British raid did little to boost public confidence.
The tide would soon turn on at least one front, however. The German Afrika Korps began to arrive in Libya on the fourteenth of February, and saw their first skirmish with the British the following day.
On February seventeenth the Italian counteroffensive in Albania halted, with the Greeks having actually gained yet more ground from Mussolini’s troops. The situation had progressed to such a point that the Germans made an offer to the Greeks to mediate the war, but Athens refused. This would be the beginning of a major escalation in the Balkans.
British commandos in Norway observe burning oil tanks during Operation Claymore
In another note, in the Indian Ocean on February twentieth the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer engaged and destroyed Greek and British shipping. This marked one of the longest excursions of German surface warships in the conflict, and caused some consternation to the British, who promptly dispatched warships to hunt down the cruiser. Despite these efforts, the German ship escaped. Also in reagrd to the Kriegsmarine, Hitler on February 24 announced in a speech his intention to escalate the U-boat war in the Atlantic.
Back in Greece, the government in Athens consented to a British force being dispatched to aid them against the Italians, as well as to defend against a German attack that was considered to be imminent. Indeed, the Germans were already moving troops to begin massing on the Greek border in Bulgaria.
For the Italians more gloomy news came on the 25th of February, as Mogadishu fell to the British, resulting in the collapse of Italian Somalia. One moment of good news would come, however, as the British attempted to invade the Italian island of Castellorizo in the Mediterranean, but were handily repulsed by the garrison and the Regia Marina.
Meanwhile, in early March the British commandos struck again, this time landing in German occupied Norway. Supported by Royal Navy destroyers, the force landed with a detachment of Norwegian troops, they destroyed manufacturing infrastructure and shipping, as well as achieving an intelligence coup with the capture of German enigma code machine rotors as well as codebooks from a Kriegsmarine trawler. The raid was judged a huge success, and spelled the future for commando operations going forward.
Mussolini personally oversees the Italian counteroffensive in Greece
On March seventh British forces began to arrive in Greece, representing the next major escalation of the war in the Balkans. The Italians, for their part, launched another counteroffensive in Albania on the ninth, with Mussolini announcing to the Italian public that he will be personally commanding the effort. A boost in morale was now badly needed in light of the Italian collapse on all fronts.
US President Roosevelt signs the Lend Lease Act
Across the Atlantic, the still neutral United States was also about to escalate its tacit involvement in the conflict. After passing both houses of Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, essentially writing a blank check to allow the British unfettered purchase of war material on basis of loans. The Germans’ escalation of the U-boat war was not helpful to American public conception of the German war effort, nor was the arrest of an American journalist in Berlin by the Gestapo on the fifteenth of March.
British anti-aircraft spotters in Leeds
Even though the focus of the war had decidedly moved to Africa and the Balkans, the Luftwaffe continued its aerial assault on Britain. Major raids had hit Cardiff and Bristol in January, as well as Swansea in February. In March a raid on London had hit Buckingham Palace, although the King and Queen were not injured. Major raids would also target Leeds and Bristol as March went on. Despite these and the near constant smaller raids, the British remained defiant, and soon German attention would be drawn elsewhere.
Anti-Axis rioters on the streets of Belgrade
On March sixteenth Mussolini’s offensive in Albania came to end with abject failure. By this point the Italian invasion of Greece, which the Duce had boasted would end with victory in two weeks, had resulted in the loss of half of Italian Albania. Meanwhile, the Germans were continuing to pressure Yugoslavia to join the Axis.
An ultimatum was issued on March nineteenth, and facing invasion the government in Belgrade agreed to alliance with the Germans. This was made formal on the 25th, but this was not well received by the populace. Anti-Axis riots broke out across the country a day later. Within 24 hours, the government of Prince Regent Paul was overthrown, and the young King Peter II declared old enough to rule. The new government was notably pro-British, rejected the German demands and declared the alliance with Germany null and void. This would result in great displeasure in Germany.
The Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto fires a salvo during the Battle of Cape Matapan
On March 27th the Regia Marina struck again, with a large force of one battleship, eight cruisers and several destroyers set sail, intending to destroy the British convoys heading toward Greece. The orders for this were intercepted and decoded by the British, who promptly ordered a strong force out to meet them. The Italians met the first British ships on the 28th, and skirmishes resulted in no damage to either side. The Fleet Air Arm had more success, attacking throughout the day and damaging several, including the flagship, Vittorio Veneto.
On the night of the 28th, the British battlefleet found the Italians. The Italian force lacked radar, and the British were able to vector in on them without the enemy being aware, closing to point blank range on them. The Italians were not ready for action, believing that the approaching warships were friendly, not realizing until the British opened fire. The result of this action was the damaging of Vittorio Veneto and the sinking of three Italian cruisers and two destroyers. The loss of these ships further crippled the Regia Marina heading into the spring.
Two actions of note took place on March 31. The first was an RAF raid on the Kriegsmarine at Brest, France. This was intended to destroy the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, both under repair after a modestly successful sortie into the Atlantic in February. This was unsuccessful, but did result in them not being available to aid the next intended German naval operation in the Atlantic.
The other took place in North Africa. The German Afrika Korps, now present in strength, attacked the British at Ajdabiya. In this first major action for the Germans in Libya they managed to expel the British forces occupying the town, signaling a shift in the balance of power on the front.
Timeline
1-1-1941
The RAF raids German aircraft plants in Bremen
1-2-1941
100 Luftwaffe bombers commence a saturation raid on Cardiff
1-3-1941
British and Australian forces attack the Italians at Barida in Libya
The Luftwaffe launches a major raid on Bristol
1-4-1941
British troops enter Barida, capturing 1,000 Italian troops
1-5-1941
The Italian fortress at Barida falls, with a total of 36,000 Italian troops captured during the three day battle
Siamese forces invade Vichy French Indochina via Cambodia
1-7-1941
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto submits a report on the viability of an attack on the United States, including suggestions as to how to carry out such an attack
1-8-1941
The RAF bombs the Regia Marina base at Naples, damaging a battleship
1-10-1941
German stukas attack and badly damage the carrier HMS Illustrious near Malta, which had launched the raid on Taranto last year.
The Germans begin registering all Jews in the occupied Netherlands
1-11-1940
Greek troops take the Klisura Pass in Albania, but are forced to halt their offensive due to supply problems
1-12-1941
British and Australian troops begin to surround the Italian Tobruk in Libya
1-14-1941
The German commerce raider Pinguin captures all 14 ships of a Norwegian whaling fleet in one of the most successful Kriegsmarine operations of the war
1-16-1941
The Luftwaffe joins the Italian aerial siege of Malta
1-19-1941
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie returns to his country as the British push the Italians out
1-21-1941
Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu moves to purge the Iron Guard, in a move similar to Hitler’s Night of the Long Knives
Bulgaria passes anti-Jewish legislation
1-22-1941
Tobruk falls to British and Australian forces
1-27-1941
The Vichy government begins imprisoning goverment employees who fail to swear personal loyalty to Marshal Petain
1-29-1941
The Italians launch a counteroffensive against the Greeks in Albania
Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas dies and is replaced by Alexandros Koryzis
1-31-1941
Free French Forces besiege the Italians at the Kufra Oasis
The Vichy French and Siamese sign an Armistice under Japanese direction
2-2-1941
Martial law is proclaimed in southern Italy
HMS Formidable arrives at Malta to replace the damaged HMS Illustrious
2-3-1941
General Erwin Rommel, who had distinguished himself during the Fall of France, is appointed to lead a German military force in North Africa
2-6-1941
The British take Benghazi in Libya
The newly formed German Afrika Korps is embarked for Libya
2-9-1941
The British take El Agheila in Libya, ending the massively successful Operation Compass
The Royal Navy bombards several Italian ports
2-10-1941
British commandos destroy an aqueduct in Italy, with all captured by the local population made fearful of enemy incursion
2-12-1941
The Germans seal off the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam
2-14-1941
The first Afrika Korps units arrive in Tripoli
Hitler meets with Yugoslavian Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković to persuade him to join the Axis, but is disappointed
2-15-1941
German units engage the British in a skirmish in Libya
2-17-1941
The Greeks stop the Italian counteroffensive in Albania while actually gaining ground, but their forces are weakening
2-18-1941
The British begin to reinforce Singapore with Australian troops, fearing Japanese aggression
2-19-1941
The Luftwaffe commences large scale raids on Swansea in Britain
2-20-1941
The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer destroys Greek and British ships in the Indian Ocean
The Germans offer to mediate the war between Greece and Italy, but the Greeks refuse
2-21-1941
The German raids on Swansea end with over 200 civilian deaths
2-22-1941
The British make an agreement in Athens to dispatch a British force to Greece
2-24-1941
Hitler gives a speech announcing his intention to escalate the U-boat campaign in the Atlantic
2-25-1941
Mogadishu, capitol of Italian Somalia, is captured by the British
The British land on the Italian island of Castellorizo near Turkey
A general strike begins in the Netherlands to protest the Germans actions against the country’s Jews
2-28-1941
The British invasion of Castellorizo is defeated by the Italians
3-1-1941
The Free French siege of Kufra ends in victory
Bulgaria formally joins the Axis
3-2-1941
German troops in Bulgaria begin massing on the Greek border
3-3-1941
The US Government orders Bulgarian assets frozen
3-4-1941
British commandoes raid occupied Norway, destroying infrastructure before extraction
Yugoslavian regent Prince Paul agrees to join the Axis during a meeting with Hitler
3-7-1941
British forces begin arriving in Greece
3-9-1941
Mussolini announces he is personally commanding a new offensive against the Greeks
In a raid on London, Buckingham Palace is hit, but both the King and Queen are unhurt
3-10-1941
Belgian Congo troops enter Italian Ethiopia
3-11-1941
President Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act
3-14-1941
The Luftwaffe commences a large raid on Leeds in Britain
3-15-1941
American United Press correspondent Richard Hottelet is arrested in Berlin by the Gestapo, accused of espionage
3-16-1941
Mussolini’s offensive in Albania ends in abject failure
3-17-1941
A large German air raid hits Bristol
3-19-1941
The Germans issue an ultimatum to Yugoslavia: join the Axis within the week or be invaded
3-20-1941
Yugoslavia agrees to the German ultimatum
The US shares intelligence with the Soviet Government that the Germans plan to invade the USSR
3-21-1941
Over 2,000 Italian troops surrender after the end of the three month Siege of Giarabub Oasis
3-24-1941
The US Congress authorizes $7 billion in war aid
3-25-1941
Yugoslavia joins the Axis
3-26-1941
Anti-Axis riots break out across Yugoslavia
3-27-1941
The Yugoslavian government is overthrown, with the 17 year old King Peter II taking control from his uncle, the Prince Regent Paul
3-29-1941
After the Battle of Cape Matapan off Greece the Regia Marina loses three heavy cruisers and two destroyers
3-31-1941
A large RAF force attacks the German docks at Brest, France, to destroy the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, but fails to damage the ships
The Afrika Korps attacks in Libya, forcing the British out of Ajdabiya in Libya