Thursday, October 13, 2011

Day 775 October 14, 1941

British corvette HMS Fleur de Lys (built as La Dieppoise for the French Navy) is escorting convoy OG-75 towards Gibraltar. At 3.36 AM 60 miles West of Gibraltar, U-206 sinks HMS Fleur de Lys (71 killed, 3 survivors rescued by a Spanish merchant ship). Kriegsmarine places orders for 49 more U-boats.

Operation Typhoon, assault on Moscow. Germans announce that Soviet resistance West of Vyasma has ended; in reality Red Army will hold out in small pockets for another 10 days, tying down German infantry. In a bold move, 1st Panzer Division raids deeply between Soviet Northwestern and Western Fronts, scattering Soviet infantry formations. They advance 75 miles Northeast from Rzhev to capture the medieval Russian city of Kalinin (known previously and again now as Tver) which lies 100 miles Northwest of Moscow.

Stalin decides to evacuate Moscow. He briefs 23 senior military and Party officials between 3.30 and 6.15 PM to inform them. First to go are 4 Moscow theatrical groups; Lenin State Theatre, Maxim Gorky Artistic Academic Theatre, Little Academic Theatre and Vakhtangov Theatre.

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