September 19th, 1941 (FRIDAY)
EUROPE: Jews in Germany and German-occupied areas are obliged to wear a yellow Star of David as a mark of recognition.UNITED KINGDOM: The first Rhubarb (armed recce) by Curtiss Tomahawks of the RAF is flown today by No. 239 Squadron from Gatwick. (22)
Corvette FS Roselys (ex-HMS Sundew) commissioned.
Submarine HMS Spiteful laid down.
FRANCE: Paris: Due to the recent shootings of German soldiers, a curfew is imposed from nine at night to five in the morning. Restaurants, cafés, cinemas are shut at eight o'clock. Anyone in breach of the curfew will be held hostage.
U.S.S.R.: Kiev
falls to the Germans after 40 days of fighting. German losses are estimated at
100,000 while Soviet losses are in excess of 500,000. Plus 665,000 Soviet
soldiers taken prisoner, 884 tanks and 3,018 artillery pieces.
In a series of communiqués the Nazis boasted: "The attack on Kiev was
begun in the course of encircling operations. After a bold thrust throught the
strong fortifications on the banks of the Dnepr our troops have penetrated into
the town. The Reich flag has been flying from the citadel since this
morning." The communiqué's claim that the jaws of Guderian and von
Kleist's pincer movement snapped shut at Lokhvitsa, 125 miles east of Kiev.
"The ring has thus been closed round four Soviet armies. Their annihilation
is now in progress."
Stalin's orders were "stand fast, hold out, and if need be die." When Marshal Budenny, the Soviet commander in the south, requested permission to retreat, Stalin sacked him.
General Kirponos, commanding in Kiev, eventually got Stalin's permission to withdraw, but it came too late. Kirponos has been killed in an ambush along with most of his 1,000 strong command column; the Red Army is facing its greatest disaster of this war.
Trapped in the open, the Russian infantrymen are fighting with their customary stubbornness as the German tanks hunt them down and Stukas blast their strongpoints. But they are running out of ammunition and food. The end cannot be long delayed. Kiev itself is a shattered shell of a once beautiful city, littered with the debris of war and stripped bare of anything of use to the invader. Power stations and waterworks have been put out of action, and thousands of timebombs have been left to complete the destruction. The executions of party officials and Jews, to "liquidate the Bolshevik menace", have already started in the city as the SS murder squads move in on the heels of the Panzers.
Luftwaffe bombers attack Leningrad and kill more than 1,000 Russians.
YUGOSLAVIA: Marshal Josip Tito, leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and Draza Mihajlovic, leader of the Cetniks, quarrel after attempting to discuss resistance to the Germans. There continued attempts to resolve their differences will fail and fighting between their followers will start.
IRAN: Tehran: They are changing the guard today at the Peacock Palace. Soviet troops who have occupied the city for several days are leaving and British troops are replacing them, with much saluting. This is the first time that British and Russian troops have seen each other. The British troops are impressed by the Russian soldiers' armour. The Russian troops seem surprised by the British soldiers' short trousers.
CANADA: Corvette HMCS Shawinigan commissioned.
U.S.A.: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull sends a note to the German Charge d'Affaires asking for $2,967,092 in reparations for the sinking of the US freighter SS Robin Moor. The unarmed freighter was sunk on 21 May 1941 about 700 miles (1,127 km) off the west coast of Africa. The ship had been stopped by the German submarine U-69 and is then sunk by gunfire and torpedo even though US flags were prominently painted on both sides of her hull. She is the first American merchant vessel sunk in the war. All 38-crewmen and 8-passengers make it into life boats and the U-boat captain provides rations; 35 of the 46 survivors are rescued on 3 June and the remaining 11 are rescued on 8 June. The German embassy acknowledges receipt of the note.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Canadian escort ship HMCS LEVIS is sunk by U-74 at 0115hrs, 120 miles East of Cape Farewell, Greenland, South of Iceland, 60-07N 38-37W. The initial explosion severed the forward portion of the ship, killing 17 crewmembers outright. LEVIS remained afloat for over 5 hours, in all 18 of the crew were killed. U-74 was VIIB type U-boat built by Bremer-Vulkan, Bremer-Vegesack, launched 31 Aug 40, commissioned 31 Oct 40, in service 19 months, with a record of sinking 5 ships, for a total 25,619 tons, plus 2 ships damaged a further 11,499 tons.U-74 was notable for having rescued 3 survivors from BISMARK. George Herzog, Otto Hontzch, and Herbert Mamthey, who had been fortunate to find an inflatable liferaft. Others found by U-74 in the water died from exposure.
In the Denmark Strait, the SS Baron Pentland, the 17th and last ship of Convoy SC-42 (Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, to the U.K.) is sunk about 563 nautical miles (1024 kilometers) west of Reykjavik, Iceland. This ship had been torpedoed on 9 September and is drifting, abandoned when sunk by U-372. Of the 64 ships in Convoy SC-42, 17 (26.5 percent) are sunk totalling 69,813 tons. (Dave Shirlaw & Jack McKillop)