October 12th, 1941 (SUNDAY)
GERMANY: During the night of 12/13 October, RAF Bomber Command sends 373 aircraft (a new highest total) to three targets, 152 to Nuremberg, 99 to Bremen and 90 to Hüls, while 32 others are on minor operations such as minelaying. The Nuremberg raid highlights the problems of navigating by dead reckoning with a changeable wind as bombs are reported from Stuttgart, 95 miles (153 kilometers) west of the target and Lauingen 65 miles (105 kilometers) away. The crews sent to the other main targets are only marginally more successful.
U.S.S.R.: On the northern flank of the German Army Group Center, the 1st Panzer Division takes Rhzev and moves on to the outskirts of the vital communications hub of Kalinn. On the southern flank, Kaluga (less than 100 miles southwest of Moscow falls to German forces. The worsening weather has caused problems with the advance, but has not been able to stop it. Today the Russians evacuate Bryansk, and civilians start to be evacuated from Moscow.
Over 440,000 Moscow citizens, mostly women, children and old men, are mobilized to build defenses in and around Moscow. In four days they would dig 60 miles (97 kilometers) of anti-tank ditches, 5,000 miles (8 047 kilometers) of troop trenches and lay 177 miles (285 kilometers) of barbed wire.
Remnants of the Soviet forces still encircled at Viazma continue to attack east in a feeble attempts to escape the German encirclement.
The first large convoy from England reaches the Soviet port of Archangel, bringing 20 heavy tanks and 193 aircraft to the beleaguered Soviets.
LIBYA: A series of relief efforts for Tobruk begin today. During the next 14 days
over 7000 troops of the British 70th Infantry Division will be transferred in and almost 8000
Australians will be pulled out. The British lose minelayer Latona and damage to one destroyer.
U.S.A.: THE NEW YORK TIMES lists two commercial TV stations in New York City, WNBT (now WNBC-TV) on channel 1 and WCBW (now WCBS-TV) on channel 2.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-75 sank HMS LCT-2 and LCT-7.
U-83 sank SS Corte Real.