February 1941

The following events occurred in February 1941:

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February 1, 1941 (Saturday)

February 2, 1941 (Sunday)

February 3, 1941 (Monday)

February 4, 1941 (Tuesday)

February 5, 1941 (Wednesday)

February 6, 1941 (Thursday)

February 7, 1941 (Friday)

February 8, 1941 (Saturday)

February 9, 1941 (Sunday)

  • British forces captured El Agheila. Winston Churchill halted the British advance in North Africa and began withdrawing troops to assist in the defense of Greece.[13]
  • Force H of the Royal Navy bombarded Genoa, La Spezia and Livorno, inflicting heavy damage on Italian shore installations.[14]
  • Churchill gave an international radio address that concluded with a direct appeal to the United States: "Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and under Providence all will be well. We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job."[15]
  • François Darlan became vice-president of the Council of Vichy France.
  • Died: Reed Smoot, 79, American senator and leader of the LDS Church

February 10, 1941 (Monday)

  • Operation Colossus: A British paratrooper raid destroyed an aqueduct in Calitri, Italy. The operation had negligible impact on the war and 35 paratroopers were captured, but lessons learned from it helped to improve the effectiveness of later airborne operations.
  • The Luftwaffe bombed British-held Iceland.[5]
  • Britain severed diplomatic relations with Romania due to the presence of 500,000 German troops in the country.[2]
  • Merwin K. Hart told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Lend-Lease bill would probably lead the country into the war and eventually result in the establishment of a fascist or communist dictatorship in the United States.[16]
  • Born: Michael Apted, film and television director, in Aylesbury, England (d. 2021)

February 11, 1941 (Tuesday)

February 12, 1941 (Wednesday)

  • Mussolini met Franco for a two-day conference at Bordighera in another attempt to persuade Spain to join the Axis and enter the war. Franco once again insisted that his country was simply not in a position to do so.[10]
  • German cruiser Admiral Hipper attacked the unescorted convoy SLS 64 west of Gibraltar and sank six steamers.[21]
  • Erwin Rommel arrived in Libya on a Junkers Ju 52.[22]
  • Germans closed off the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam with barbed wire.[2]
  • Former King of Spain Alfonso XIII, living in exile in Rome, renounced the throne in favour of his third son Juan.[2]
  • Santiago, Chile celebrated the 400th anniversary of its founding.[23]
  • German submarine U-651 was commissioned.
  • Born: Naomi Uemura, explorer, in Hidaka, Japan (d. 1984)
  • Died: Richhpal Ram, 41, Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (killed in action in Keren, Eritrea)

February 13, 1941 (Thursday)

  • German authorities ordered all gentiles to leave Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter.[2]
  • The British minister to Sofia said in a statement that "If the Germans occupy Bulgaria and make it a base against our ally, obviously we shall have to break off relations with Bulgaria and take whatever measures the situation requires."[24]
  • German submarine U-557 was commissioned.
  • Born: David Jeremiah, televangelist, in Toledo, Ohio; Sigmar Polke, painter and photographer, in Oels, Poland (d. 2010)
  • Died: Blind Boy Fuller, 33, American blues musician (pyemia)

February 14, 1941 (Friday)

  • British and South African forces captured Kismayo.[2]
  • The first units of the Afrika Korps arrived in Tripoli.[2]
  • Hitler met with the Yugoslavian Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković at the Berghof, but was unable to convince Cvetković to sign on to the Tripartite Pact.[25]
  • Kichisaburō Nomura came to the White House to present his credentials to President Roosevelt. The president told the ambassador that "there are developments in the relations between the United States and Japan which cause concern," and Nomura replied that he would do all he could to establish better understandings between the two nations.[26]
  • Britain announced that beginning the next day it would consider Romania to be "territory under enemy occupation" and would regard the country as an "enemy destination for contraband purposes."[27]

February 15, 1941 (Saturday)

  • British and German troops engaged each other in North Africa for the first time in a skirmish near Sirte.[1]
  • A great fire broke out in the Spanish city of Santander.
  • Italy forced the United States to close consulates in Naples and Palermo.[2]
  • German submarine U-78 was commissioned.
  • Died: Guido Adler, 85, Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer

February 16, 1941 (Sunday)

  • The British light cruiser HMS Neptune, in dock for repairs at Chatham, was damaged again by German bombing.[1]
  • Born: Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, in Vyatskoye, Khabarovsk Krai, USSR (d. 2011) (year and place of birth are according to Soviet records; official North Korean biographies give year of birth as 1942)

February 17, 1941 (Monday)

February 18, 1941 (Tuesday)

February 19, 1941 (Wednesday)

Battle of Los Angeles Foo Fighters unknown lights that appeared to be aircraft converging over Los Angeles were fired at for 90 minutes

February 20, 1941 (Thursday)

February 21, 1941 (Friday)

February 22, 1941 (Saturday)

February 23, 1941 (Sunday)

February 24, 1941 (Monday)

  • The British destroyer HMS Dainty was sunk by German bombers off Tobruk.
  • Hitler gave a speech in Munich on the 21st anniversary of the founding of the Nazi Party declaring that the U-boat offensive would intensify in the coming months.[35]
  • The results of a Gallup poll were published asking Americans, "Do you think the United States should try to keep Japan from seizing the Dutch East Indies and Singapore?" 56% said yes, 24% said no, 20% expressed no opinion. A different version of the question asked, "Do you think the United States should risk war with Japan, if necessary, in order to keep Japan from taking the Dutch East Indies and Singapore?" 46% said no, 39% said yes, 15% gave no opinion.[36]
  • Died: Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, 54, German U-boat commander (plane crash)

February 25, 1941 (Tuesday)

February 26, 1941 (Wednesday)

  • Northwest of Ireland, German submarine U-47 sank four ships from convoy OB-290.[38] Five Fw 200 patrol bombers of I/KG.40 arrived and sank seven more steamers of the convoy.
  • Franco belatedly replied to Hitler's three-week-old letter, expressing support for the Axis but making exorbitant demands for the price of Spain's entry into the war.[39]
  • The February strike was largely put down.

February 27, 1941 (Thursday)

February 28, 1941 (Friday)

References

  1. "1941". World War II Database. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  2. "1941". MusicAndHistory. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  3. Le Tissier, Tony (1996). Zhukov at the Oder: The Decisive Battle for Berlin. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-275-95230-3.
  4. Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2015). Pearl Harbor: The Essential Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-4408-3719-7.
  5. Mercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-582-03919-3.
  6. Davidson, Edward; Manning, Dale (1999). Chronology of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. pp. 58, 60. ISBN 0-304-35309-4.
  7. "Was war am 05. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  8. Yust, Walter, ed. (1942). 1942 Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. p. 2.
  9. "Wendell Willkie Issues Message to Germans". Townsville Bulletin. Townsville. February 7, 1941. p. 3.
  10. Schreiber, Gerhard; Stegemann, Bernd; Vogel, Detlef (1995). Germany and the Second World War, Volume III: The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa 1939–1941. Oxford University Press. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-0-19-822884-4.
  11. "U. S. Policy Encourages War, Invites Invasion -- Lindbergh". Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn. February 6, 1941. p. 1.
  12. "Events occurring on Saturday, February 8, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  13. "Events occurring on Sunday, February 9, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  14. Morgan, Daniel; Taylor, Bruce (2011). U-Boat Attack Logs: A Complete Record of Warship Sinkings from Original Sources 1939–1945. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-84832-118-2.
  15. "'Give Us the Tools to Finish the Job'". World War II Today. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  16. "Says Bill Kills U. S. Democracy". Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn. February 10, 1941. p. 1.
  17. "5 to 10 Warships a Month Willkie's Plea for Britain". Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn. February 11, 1941. p. 1.
  18. "Events occurring on Tuesday, February 11, 1941". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  19. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-80". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  20. Editors of Chase's (24 September 2019). Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-64143-316-7.
  21. Bertke, Donald A.; Kindell, Don; Smith, Gordon (2012). World War II Sea War, Volume 3: The Royal Navy is Bloodied in the Mediterranean. Bertke Publications. pp. 278–280. ISBN 978-1-937470-01-2.
  22. Butler, Daniel Allen (2015). Field Marshal: The Life and Death of Erwin Rommel. Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-61200-297-2.
  23. "Was war am 12. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  24. "British Warn Bulgars Anew". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. February 14, 1941. p. 1.
  25. "Was war am 14. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  26. "Roosevelt Warns Japan's Envoy". Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn. February 14, 1941. p. 1.
  27. "Rumania Gets Final Warning From Britain". Brooklyn Eagle. Brooklyn. February 14, 1941. p. 1.
  28. "Was war am 18. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  29. "Was war am 20. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  30. "President Signs Bill For a Coast Guard Reserve". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. February 21, 1941. p. 2.
  31. Matanle, Ivor (1995). World War II. Colour Library Books Ltd. p. 84. ISBN 1-85833-333-4.
  32. "Was war am 22. Februar 1941". chroniknet. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  33. "Speech Delivered by Premier Benito Mussolini". ibiblio. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  34. Long, Tony (February 23, 2007). "Feb. 23, 1941: One Step Closer". Wired. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  35. "Hitler Predicts Deadly U-Boat War on Britain". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. February 25, 1941. p. 3.
  36. "1941 Gallup poll results". ibiblio. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  37. Koburger, Charles W. Wine-dark, Blood Red Sea: Naval Warfare in the Aegean, 1941–1946. p. 32.
  38. "February 1941 events of the Battle of Atlantic". WW2Timelines.com. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  39. Preston, Paul (1995). The Politics of Revenge: Fascism and the Military in 20th-century Spain. Routledge. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-1-134-81113-7.
  40. Girkout, Alexa (February 27, 2014). "The Oscar Envelope Decoded: Design Secrets Behind the Winners' Cards". Pret-a-Reporter. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
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