March 14th, 1941 (FRIDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: An aircraft of 139 Squadron on patrol off Norway scores a near miss on an 800-ton ship.
London: Churchill orders Eden to remain in the Middle East until the deepening crisis has 'matured'.
Destroyer HMS Rocket laid down.
Submarine HMS Trusty launched.
ALBANIA: Italian offensive in Albania continues, as new attacks on Monastery Hill meet the same fate as earlier attempts. Two Allied planes* strafe the mountain on which Mussolini is observing the battle. Though never really in danger (as the bullets fall hundreds of yards away) he is the last man to enter the shelter. Renewed attempts by the Giulia alpini division on the Golico heights south of the Vojussa river suffer heavy casualties, so much so that in the coming week there will be instances of the Giulia alpini refusing to advance on further attacks. (NOTE: the Giulia Division was involved in some of the toughest fighting of the Greek campaign, from the very first day, and proved their mettle in difficult circumstances, but they have also demonstrated an alarming independence of thought when they disagreed with Fascist policies or Army orders). On the other flank of the offensive, the Pusteria alpini also sustain painful losses in a fresh push. In five days of fighting, the Italians have lost 12,000 men killed or wounded while gaining nothing. This forces Mussolini to consider ending the offensive, a course urged by his Chief of the General Staff, Cavallero. (Mike Yaklich)
EGYPT:
Cairo: HQ RAF ME to Air Ministry:
...we consider that air attacks now on vulnerable points on L of C Bulgaria would not have far-reaching effect on immediate military situation. ... Air effort we could produce would be far less than enemy retaliation against air bases.
ETHIOPIA: Major Orde Wingate
and Haile Selassie establish new headquarters at Burye. The main Italian
force in their area is now at Debra Markos. The Italians are negotiating
with a local chief called Ras Hailu and are preparing an attack with him.
INDIAN OCEAN: The German merchant ship COBURG (ca. 9000 tons) which had been sheltering in the Italian held port of Massawa on the Red Sea was intercepted off the island of Mauritius while trying the run the British blockade. She is scuttled and the crew taken prisoner. (Greg Kelley)
JAPAN: Tokyo: The territorial difficulties between Siam and Indochina have been settled. French Indochina handed over one of her largest rice-producing areas under a Japanese-mediated peace. It is stated that Siam acquired over 21,000 square miles of territory in Cambodia and Laos, areas she lost to Indochina in 1904 and 1907.
AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Mildura launched.
U.S.A.:
Destroyer USS Monssen commissioned.