EUROPE: Recruitment of volunteers willing to fight with Germany on the eastern front begins in Spain and Denmark.

GERMANY: Berlin: The German News Bureau announced:

An attempt by the Soviet air force on Tuesday morning to fly weak forces into East Prussia, has been frustrated by the German air defence. The enemy aircraft encountered such accurate flak fire that they were forced to turn around at once and to jettison their bombs over open country.

The German News Office announced:

Since early Monday morning the Luftwaffe has continued its successful attacks on Soviet military airfields. Large numbers of Russian aircraft were destroyed on the first day of battle, and we can now report that a great many more aircraft have been shot down on the same day.

U.S.S.R.: Vilna and Kaunas fall to the Germans on the Eastern Front while another assault is begun on the citidel of Brest Litovsk.

Vilnius and Kaunas had already been liberated by Lithuanian freedom fighters on June 23, a declaration of the restoration of the independence of Lithuania being broadcast over the radio the same day. A national government operated from June 24 to August 5 without German recognition. (Henrik Krog)

Moscow: the Headquarters of the Red Air Force reported concerning the previous days operations:

Our aerial forces have fought successfully to protect our towns and military installations. They have fought in the air and supported the counterattacks of the ground troops. In the course of the day 51 enemy aircraft were destroyed by our fighter planes and ground defenses. One enemy plane was forced to land at an airfield near Minsk.

Moscow is bombed by 100 aircraft this night.

The German embassy staff are taken to Kostroma-on-Volga where they are billeted in a workers' rest home for five days. Before being taken across Russia to Leninakan, near the Armenian-Turkish border, and kept their while the exact procedure for the exchange of exchange of personnel is being worked out by the protecting powers and Turkey, the country of transit. (Greg Kelley, 274, pp. 337 - 338)

Soviet submarine S-3 of the Baltic Fleet is sunk by German MTBs off Steinort or mined near the Uzhava lighthouse. (Mike Yared)(146 and 147)

NORTH AFRICA: A heavy price has to be paid for the supply of besieged Tobruk by the Royal and Australian Navy ships involved. Sloop HMS Auckland escorting the petrol carrier Pass of Balmaha to Tobruk is overwhelmed by three formations of 16 Ju. 87 and is sunk 20 ENE of Tobruk at 32 15N, 24 30E. There are 162 survivors. (Alex Gordon)(108)

SYRIA: 2/14 Bn attacks hills dominating road north of Jezzine but fail with heavy losses – the Senegalese defenders are well-prepared and courageous and artillery fire misses the mountain-top positions. North of Merdjayoun, Lt A. R. Cutler RAA (later VC) emplaces a field gun forward of 2/Kings Own to shell French posts at point-blank range. 16 Brit Bde is halted on advance from Damascus to Beirut by Jebel Mazar, towering 1600 feet above the road. French observers on the Jebel call in accurate CBF. At Palmyra, the Arab Nationalist leader Fawzi el Kawakji reinforced by French armoured cars captures a British supply convoy and attacks Warwickshire Yeomanry. (Michael Alexander)

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: 3^rd and 20^th  Pursuit Squadrons shifted to Clark due to flooding at Nichols airfield, 17^th to Iba for gunnery qualification. SS President Pierce arrives with 96 more pilots. (Marc Small)

U.S.A.: President Roosevelt">Roosevelt announces his intention to send aid to the USSR.

The German Charge d'Affaires in Washington sends a note to the U.S. Undersecretary of State regarding the sinking of the U.S. merchant ship SS Robin Moor by a German submarine on 21 May 1941. He writes, "I have the honor to advise you that I do not find myself in a position to pass on...the text of a message to Congress from the President of the United States for the information of my government." The text of the message was the speech that President Roosevelt">Roosevelt delivered to Congress on 20 June 1941.

In baseball, the New York Yankees begin a three game series against the St. Louis Browns in Yankee Stadium, New York City. Joe DiMaggio is hitless until the 8th inning when he singles against Browns pitcher Bob Muncrief thus extending DiMaggio's hitting streak to 36-games. Browns' manager Luke Sewell asks Muncrief why he didn't walk DiMaggio in the eighth to end the streak. Said Muncrief: "That wouldn't have been fair, to him or to me. Hell, he's the greatest ballplayer I've ever seen." The Yankees won the game 9-1.

Minesweeper USS Sheldrake laid down.