Day 823 December 1, 1941

Operation Typhoon. At the urging of Army Group Center commander Field Marshal von Bock, von Kluge finally sends German 4th Army into action 16 days after the beginning of the renewed advance on Moscow. This delay has allowed Red Army to move troops away from this sector to defend Moscow from the attacks from the North and South. At 4 AM, 3 infantry and 1 Panzer divisions move along the Minsk-Moscow highway, shattering the well-prepared defenses of Soviet 33rd Army and capturing the town of Naro-Fominsk (43 miles Southwest of Moscow) and crossing the Nara River.

Operation Crusader. In the morning, 15th Panzer Division again attacks New Zealand 2nd Division around Sidi Rezegh airfield but they are chased off by a counterattack by British 4th Armoured Brigade tanks. Despite this, New Zealand 2nd Division withdraws in the late afternoon. Rommel has pulled off the remarkable feat of breaking up the relief of Tobruk despite being outnumbered 7:1 by the British tanks.

British air reconnaissance from Malta spots an Italian supply convoy for Rommel in Libya and torpedo bombers sink tanker Iridio Mantovani (carrying 10,000 tons of fuel oil). 60 miles off the coast of Libya, British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope (escorted by destroyer HMS Lively) sink steamer Adriatico. Later, Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mosta, which is rescuing survivors from Iridio Mantovani, attacks HMS Aurora & Penelope with torpedoes and 120 mm guns but is blasted into oblivion by 6 inch shellfire from the British cruisers (200 killed).

In the South Atlantic 1150 miles West of South Africa, British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire locates German supply ship Python refuelling submarines UA and U-68. Python is scuttled and HMS Dorsetshire leaves due to the submarine threat. 414 crew and survivors from the sinking of raider Atlantis are rescued by 4 German submarines and 4 Italian submarines.

Day 822 November 30, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 84. A sudden warm up decreases the flow of trucks on the Road of Life. Only 61 tons of food arrives in Leningrad compared to the daily consumption of 600 tons. Soviet troopship Maya, 3 minesweepers, 2 submarine hunters and a gunboat leave Kronstadt to assist the evacuation of troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. They are attacked by Finnish gunboats and patrol boats but reach Hango safely next day.

Operation Typhoon. 19 miles North of Moscow, patrols from 2nd Panzer Division (4th Panzer Army) capture the railway station at Lobnya. However, the German attack is petering out in the face of exhaustion, cold, lack of supplies and stiff Soviet resistance. To the South, Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army is stationary around Tula while the infantry of von Kluge’s 4th Army has not moved out of trenches in the center. In Moscow, General Zhukov gets permission from Stalin to counterattack to relieve pressure on Moscow.

In the Caucasus, Field Marshal von Rundstedt is replaced by Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau as commander of Army Group South, for ordering a retreat in the Rostov sector.

Operation Crusader. While Italian Ariete Division holds off British tanks to the South, 15th Panzer Division forces the New Zealanders off Sidi Rezegh ridge, severing the brief link to Tobruk. British aircraft from Malta sink Italian steamer Capo Faro and damage Italian steamer Iseo carrying supplies to Benghazi, Libya, from Brindisi, Italy. Rommel is now desperately short of fuel.

At 7.26 PM 170 miles South of the Azores, U-43 sinks British SS Ashby (12 crew and 5 gunners killed, survivors rescued by Portuguese destroyer Lima). U-43 is depth charged for several hours but escapes undamaged.

At 10.35 PM, U-96 is attacked on the surface by a British Swordfish aircraft while trying to enter the Mediterranean via the Straits of Gibraltar. U-96 dives to avoid further attack, then surfaces next morning at 4.45 AM and returns to base in France. War correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim, on board U-96 to photograph and describe U-boat life, fictionalized this attack as the climax of his 1973 novel and subsequent film “Das Boot”.

U-206 goes missing in the Bay of Biscay (all 46 hands lost), 2 days out from St. Nazaire, France, possibly lost in minefield "Beech" laid by RAF aircraft. RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers (502 Squadron from Northern Ireland) attack U-71 and U-563 with depth charges in the Bay of Biscay. U-71 is undamaged but U-563 is unable to dive and returns to Germany for repairs, the first successful use of Air to Surface Vessel radar.

German armed merchant cruiser Komet arrives back in Hamburg after sailing 87,000 miles and circumnavigating the globe in a voyage lasting 516 days, capturing 1 ship and sinking 5 (plus 2 others shared with AMC Orion).

Day 821 November 29, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 83. Soviet destroyers Slavny & Stoiki and troopship Josif Stalin leave Kronstadt (escorted by 5 T-class minesweepers, 4 torpedo boats and 7 submarine hunters) to evacuate the remaining 12,000 troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. Icebreaker Oktyabr is sunk by German bombers but the force reaches Hango next day.

Operation Typhoon. At 5 AM 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division evacuates the Yakhroma bridgehead over the Moskva/Volga canal in the face of continued determined attacks from Soviet 1st Shock Army. German losses are 45 killed, 115 wounded.

Operation Crusader. At 8.30 AM, 21st Panzer Division commander General von Ravenstein runs into a 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division roadblock in the desert and is taken prisoner, becoming the only German General in captivity. 15th Panzer Division arrives back in the vicinity of Tobruk and reinforces German infantry attacking the narrow corridor at the Ed Duda ridge that links New Zealand 2nd Division to the garrison from Tobruk. 15th Panzer swings South of Ed Duda to threaten the corridor from the Southeast, despite heavy shelling by the New Zealanders and British tanks in the desert further South.

British aircraft from Malta sink Italian tanker Berbera at Navarino, Greece, and damage Italian tanker Volturno carrying fuel to Libya for Rommel from Navarino (Volturno returns to port). Royal Navy force B (cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Neptune and destroyers HMS Kimberly and HMS Kingston under the command of Admiral Rawling) arrives in Malta to disrupt Italian supply lines.

At 4.11 AM 240 miles North of the Azores, U-43 sinks British SS Thornliebank (all 66 crew and 9 gunners were lost). U-43 is hit by falling debris from SS Thornliebank, injuring the navigator.

German 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FN.564 off the coast of East Anglia, England, sinking British tanker Asperity and freighters SS Empire Newcomen & SS Cormarsh.

Day 820 November 28, 1941

Operation Typhoon. At 3.30 AM 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division (3rd Panzer Army) crosses the Yakhroma bridge over the Moskva/Volga canal. The tanks are very exposed and fall back across the bridge at 10 AM. German infantry hold a small bridgehead all day despite fierce counterattacks from Soviet 1st Shock Army as well as aerial bombing, artillery and Katyusha rocket launchers. The backdoor to Moscow is open but this is the Easternmost point of the German advance.

Operation Crusader. Aware of the return of 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions towards Tobruk, British 7th Armored Division again attacks 15th Panzer but runs into an anti-tank screen left behind in the wake of the advancing German tanks (a classic blitzkrieg tactic). Despite being outnumbered, 15th Panzer continues moving West towards Tobruk, holding off the British attack.

125 miles East of Gibraltar, U-95 stalks another submarine while trying to determine its identity. It turns out to be Dutch submarine O-21 which fires 2 stern torpedoes sinking U-95 (35 dead and 12 survivors taken prisoner by O-21).

Day 819 November 27, 1941

At 00.46 AM 40 miles Northeast of Tobruk, Libya, U-559 sinks Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta, escorting ammunition ship SS Hanne into Tobruk. 160 crew and 8 passengers from gunboat HMS Gnat are killed, 21 survivors are rescued by British destroyer HMS Avon Vale and 3 swim ashore behind British lines.

Operation Crusader. Overnight, New Zealand 2nd Division supported by 90 tanks breaks through the German cordon and links up with the garrison from Tobruk (which has 70 tanks). Both 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions head from Bardia to Tobruk to break up this attempt to raise the siege. 21st Panzer runs into New Zealand infantry while 15th Panzer encounters British 7th Armored Division (which has three times the number of tanks) at Bir el Chleta 30 miles west of Tobruk. 22nd Armored Brigade blocks the advance of 15th Division while 4th Armored Brigade pummels the extended German column from the side but at dusk the British tanks withdraw South to lie up for the night in a defensive huddle. 15th Panzer uses the respite to continue their move to Tobruk in the dark.

Operation Typhoon. 30 miles West of Moscow, SS Reich Division (4th Panzer Army) captures Istra from Siberian 78th Rifle Division. 37 miles North of Moscow, 7th Panzer Division (3rd Panzer Army) advances 15 miles East from Rogachevo to the Moskva/Volga canal at Yakhroma. They are faced by newly-formed Soviet 1st Shock Army.

In the Caucasus, Southern USSR, Soviet 37th Army recaptures Rostov-on-Don from General von Kleist’s 1st Panzer Army (which has held the city for only 6 days). Hitler orders that there be no retreat in the Rostov sector but Army Group South commander Field Marshal von Rundstedt refuses to cancel his orders to retreat back to the Mius River at Taganrog.

The last Italian stronghold in East Africa is Gondar in Ethiopia. After British 12th (African) Division capture 2 mountain passes overlooking the town of Gondar, the garrison of 23,500 troops under General Nasi surrenders.

Japanese Prime Minister Tojo Hideki rejects the American proposal (“Hull note”). The Japenese carrier will not be recalled and the stage is set for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Day 818 November 26, 1941

Japanese carrier fleet departs Tankan Bay, Iturup Island in the South Kuril Islands, for the 3300 mile voyage to attack Pearl Harbour, Hawaii (6 aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku & Zuikaku, 2 battlecruisers Hiei & Kirishima, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 3 submarines plus 8 tankers and supply ships). In Washington, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull responds to proposals from Japan, presenting Ambassador Kichisaburō Nomura with a counterproposal demanding withdrawal of Japanese troops from French Indochina and China. US government knows that the terms will not be accepted and that Japan is likely to attack, bringing USA into the war.

Operation Typhoon. South of Moscow, Guderian’s attempt to encircle Tula fails. 17th Panzer Division is held up outside Kashira only 65 miles from Moscow, while XLIII Panzer Corps is held up after capturing Aleksin 30 miles Northwest of Tula. The Tula/Moscow rail line is still open.

Operation Crusader. Rommel’s “dash to the wire” ends when the Panzers are recalled due to the capture of Sidi Rezegh by British 7th Armored Division and the progress of 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division along the coast, linking up briefly with the garrison from Tobruk. Initially furious, Rommel realizes his staff made the right decision in his absence. British C-in-C Middle East General Auchinleck is less satisfied, having lost faith in the ability of 8th Army commander General Cunningham to press the attack. Auchinleck appoints his deputy chief-of-staff General Neil Ritchie to replace Cunningham, with instructions to “attack the enemy relentlessly, even to the last tank”.

Day 817 November 25, 1941

British battleship HMS Barham is sailing with the Mediterranean Fleet from Alexandria hunting Italian convoys heading for Libya. At 4.29 PM 70 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, U-331 sinks HMS Barham with 3 torpedoes. HMS Barham rolls over in 4 minutes and her magazines explode (862 crew lost, 449 survivors rescued by destroyers HMS Jervis, Jackal, Nizam & Hotspur). VIDEO of sinking.

Operation Typhoon. 35 miles Northwest of Moscow at Peshki, 2nd Panzer Division (4th Panzer Army) advancing along the railway line from Solnechnogorsk towards Moscow encounters Soviet 146th Tank Brigade sporting new British Matilda tanks (some of the earliest Allied lend-lease supplies to see combat in USSR). 30 miles West of Moscow, 10th Panzer and SS Reich Divisions (4th Panzer Army) unsuccessfully attack Istra which is held by 78th Rifle Division fresh from Siberia. 100 miles South of Moscow, XXIV Panzer Corps (part of Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army) spreads out from Venyov. 17th Panzer Division advance North towards Kashira, while 4th Panzer swings back West to encircle Tula and cut the rail line to Moscow.

Operation Crusader. Rommel’s “dash to the wire” on the Egypt/Libya border sows much confusion in the British camp. Rear echelon troops turn and run for Egypt and even British 8th Army commander General Cunningham considers abandoning the attack. German General Johann von Ravenstein with 21st Panzer Division misses 2 huge Allied supply dumps that would have deprived Allies of critical fuel and supplies. Meanwhile, British 7th Armored Division has regrouped and repaired many of their damaged tanks. Instead of panicking at the chaos behind them, they attack the depleted German forces and take control of Sidi Rezegh. Overnight, Rommel and Crüwell cross the frontier into Egypt then cannot find their way back through the wire and are forced to hide out until morning as British trucks rumble by.

Soviet patrol vessel CKP-25 rams U-578 in the Arctic Sea, doing only slight damage.

Day 816 November 24, 1941

Operation Crusader. While British tanks reorganize and repair after the battle at Sidi Rezegh, Rommel gambles that the Allied excursion into Libya can be routed by further disrupting the rear echelons and supply lines (a tactic Rommel used so successfully in France last year). His aim is a repeat of Crüwell’s ride around the British yesterday, although on a broader sweep - to swing his Panzers behind the British tanks from the South, scatter the Allied infantry, link up with the German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum & Halfaya Pass and then advance into Egypt. At 10.30 AM, he leads 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions in a “dash to the wire”.

Operation Typhoon. Elements of LVI Panzer Corps advance 10 miles East from Klin to capture the town of Rogachevo and threaten Moscow from the North. 100 miles South of Moscow, Guderian relaunches his attempt to encircle and bypass the city of Tula. XXIV Panzer Corps (3rd, 4th & 17th Panzer Divisions) charges Northeast and captures the road junction at Venyov 30 miles East of Tula.

At 3.21 PM 650 miles East of Natal, Brazil, U-124 hits British cruiser HMS Dunedin with 2 torpedoes. HMS Dunedin sinks in 17 minutes (about 250 crew killed immediately and 250 escape into the water). 72 survivors on 6 Carley floats are found 3 days later by American merchant SS Nishmaha (the others drowned, died of injuries or sharks). 5 more die on board SS Nishmaha, leaving only 67 survivors from a crew of 486.

On the Normandy coast, British landing ship HMS Prince Leopold, escorted by 4 Motor Gun Boats, lands 90 British commandos (No. 9 Commando) at Butte de Houlgate. The commandos do not destroy their target (guns at Batterie de Tournebride) or take any prisoners but they capture some secret papers, then reboard and return to Portsmouth without loss.

In the North Sea off the coast of East Anglia, German 4th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FS.654, sinking British tanker Virgilia (23 killed, 17 survivors) and Dutch steamer Groenlo (10 lost).

Day 815 November 23, 1941

Operation Crusader. Confused fighting continues around Sidi Rezegh. Allied infantry arrive near Sidi Rezegh having covered 50 miles across the desert from the Egyptian border in 2 days. Rommel sends General Ludwig Crüwell with 15th Panzer and Italian Ariete Divisions circling around the British tanks from the South, to disorganize the Allied rear echelons and return next morning. Overnight, confused and beaten, British 7th Armored Division withdraws 20 miles having lost 60% of its tanks. Germans take control of Sidi Rezegh. General Cunningham commanding British 8th Army begins to doubt his ability to beat the Panzers.

Operation Typhoon. 50 miles Northwest of Moscow, LVI Panzer Corps (3rd Panzer Army) cuts the road North and South of Klin where Soviet 30th Army has been holding their advance for 5 days. General Lelyushenko withdraws 30th Army at the last minute back towards the Moskva/Volga canal. LVI Panzer Corps then races 10 miles Southeast along the railway line towards Moscow and captures the town of Solnechnogorsk.

Siege of Leningrad Day 77. Trucks begin making the 40 mile round trip along the Road of Life, carrying 100 tons daily across frozen Lake Ladoga. Leningraders need 600 tons a day to survive.

Day 814 November 22, 1941

At 0.38 AM, a Swordfish of 830 Squadron torpedoes Italian cruiser Abruzzi which loses her stern but is able to reach Messina, Sicily, under her own steam. The Swordfish is shot down (1 killed, 1 aircrew taken prisoner by Italian destroyer Pessagno).

Operation Crusader. New Zealand 2nd Division captures Fort Capuzzo (which has changed hands 11 times since June 1940). Battle of Sidi Rezegh continues with confused fighting between German Panzers and British tanks. British tanks attack the heavier Panzers piecemeal instead of in a concerted manner; consequently, the British are outgunned and outnumbered. Brigadier Jock Campbell wins the Victoria Cross for leading 9 tanks into attack, sitting on top of his armored staff car.

Siege of Leningrad Day 76. The ice of Lake Ladoga is 20 cm thick. 60 trucks cross the lake on the Road of Life carrying 33 tons of flour and 2.5 tons of sugars and fats, arriving in Leningrad the following day.

Royal Navy is aware from Ultra decrypts of Enigma messages that German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis is at large in the South Atlantic and sends cruisers HMS Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Dunedin to search. HMS Devonshire locates Atlantis refueling U-126. Atlantis is scuttled while U-126 dives (later rescues survivors from Atlantis). In a voyage lasting 622 days since March 31, 1940, Atlantis has sailed 102,000 miles and sunk or captured 22 ships (total 145,697 tons).

British destroyer HMS Sardonyx rams anti-submarine trawler HMT St. Apollo near the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides. St. Appollo sinks and Sardonyx is badly damaged.

Day 813 November 21, 1941

Operation Crusader. A massive clash of armor begins, lasting 3 days, as 15th Panzer Division and British 7th Armored Division converge on the airfield at Sidi Rezegh (largest tank battle in North Africa so far). New Zealand 2nd and Indian 4th infantry Divisions bypass German garrisons at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass and march to the guns to support the battle at Sidi Rezegh. Simultaneously, the Tobruk garrison attacks East to link up with the forces coming from Egypt. German infantry block the breakout, holding the Allied troops at the El Duda ridge. Rommel is so desperate for fuel that Italian cruiser Cardona leaves Brindisi unescorted carrying fuel drums lashed to the deck, arriving at Benghazi next day.

Siege of Leningrad Day 75. In the morning, Captain Murov’s horses and drivers return from Kobona on the Eastern shore of Lake Ladoga carrying much-needed flour, sugar and fat, making the 40 mile round trip across the ice in 24 hours. The ice is 18 cm thick and the Road of Life is now open.

In Southern USSR, General von Kleist’s 1st Panzer Army captures Rostov-on-Don (the gateway to the Caucasus).

At 11.12 PM 10 miles East of Catania, Sicily, British submarine HMS Utmost torpedoes Italian cruiser Trieste, which is able to reach Messina, Sicily, under her own steam.

Day 812 November 20, 1941

Operation Crusader. 15th Panzer Division finally responds to the concentration of British tanks in the desert but arrives to find only 4th Armored Brigade at Gabr Saleh. The heavier German tanks decimate the thinly-armored American M3 ‘Stuart’ tanks. The Stuarts often explode when hit, due to volatile aviation fuel used to power the Continental R-670 7-cylinder radial engine. 15th Panzer Division then withdraws back towards Tobruk, followed by the remaining tanks of 4th and 22nd Armored Brigades. Overnight, British cruisers HMS Ajax & HMS Neptune and Australian cruiser HMAS Hobart shell German positions at Bardia.

Siege of Leningrad Day 74. Near starvation point, daily bread rations are reduced to 500g for soldiers, 250g for engineers and technical workers, 125g from other workers and children (a 60-80% decrease since June). The ice on Lake Ladoga is 12 cm thick, enough to support a horse. In the morning, Captain Murov takes a convoy of horse-drawn sleighs from Kokorevo (20 miles from Leningrad) via Karedzhskiy Island, arriving in the evening at Kobona on the Eastern shore. Horses and drivers are fed while the sleighs are loaded up with flour, sugar and fat for the return journey.

Day 811 November 19, 1941

140 miles West of Shark Bay, Western Australia, Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney intercepts German armed merchant cruiser Kormoran (disguised as a Dutch steamer Straat Malakka). Both are armed with 6 inch guns and torpedoes. Kormoran opens fire without warning at 5.30 PM and both ships are badly damaged in the 20 minute exchange of shells and torpedoes. HMAS Sydney sinks after midnight (all 645 hands lost). Kormoran is abandoned at 9 PM due to raging fires and scuttled at midnight (81 killed). 318 Kormoran survivors in 5 lifeboats and 2 rafts are rescued by various Allied ships or drift ashore (they will be POWs in Australia until February 1947). Wrecks of both ships were discovered in March 2008, 11 miles apart. The engagement remains controversial to this day.

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, 4th Panzer Army pushes through the gap between Soviet 30th and 16th Armies but the German offensive stalls as they drive towards Klin and Istra. Soviet General Dmitry Lelyushenko is ordered by Zhukov to take command of 30th Army and hold Klin at all costs – they will delay German advance for 5 days. Istra is defended by 78th Rifle Division from Siberia (fresh troops with a full complement of artillery) and will be held until November 27.

Siege of Leningrad Day 73. Soviet 4th and 52nd Armies almost surround Tikhvin, attacking simultaneously from North and South, but German General von Arnim moves up 61st Infantry Division and the Germans hang on to the town. General Feofan Nikolaevich Lagunov, Chief of Rear Service Leningrad Front, drives an M1 scout car across Lake Ladoga to test the ice. He declares it safe to use.

Operation Crusader. British General Cunningham is confused by the lack of German response to his incursion into Libya, so 7th Armored Division tanks begin to spread out to secondary objectives. 22nd Armored Brigade runs into dug in tanks and anti-tank guns of Italian Ariete Division at Bir el Gubi, losing 40 new Crusader tanks. 7th Armored Brigade heads North to attack the Italian airfield at Gambut where Rommel has his HQ.

In the North Sea 10 miles East of Lowestoft, German 2nd Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla attacks convoy FS.650 (59 ships), sinking tanker War Mehtar and steamers Aruba and Waldinge. German Motor Torpedo Boat S.41 collides with a convoy escort and sinks. British destroyer HMS Garth is badly damaged by shellfire from another destroyer in the escort.

Day 810 November 18, 1941

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, General Erich Hoepner’s 4th Panzer Army attacks with 3 Panzer divisions (over 400 tanks) and 3 infantry divisions from Volokolamsk into the junction between Soviet 30th and 16th Armies. 30th Army falls back North to Klin while 16th Army falls back South to Istra, opening a yawning gap between the two. 120 miles South of Moscow, Guderian’s 3rd Panzer Army is still held up at the city of Tula. An attempt to encircle and bypass Tula is broken up 30 miles Southeast at Uzlovaya by 413th Rifle Division (one of the fresh units moved from Siberia for the defense of Moscow).

Operation Crusader. British 8th Army under General Alan Cunningham attacks from Egypt into Libya. Infantry of New Zealand 2nd and Indian 4th Divisions attack German border positions at Bardia, Sollum and Halfaya Pass in order to tie these garrisons down. To the South, tanks of 7th Armored Division swing through the desert to bring German armor to battle at Gabr Saleh and Sidi Rezegh. However, Rommel has just arrived back from vacation in Italy and is planning his own offensive to storm Tobruk. He is convinced this is a diversionary attack and does not send out his Panzers. Overnight, British cruisers HMS Naiad & HMS Euryalus and destroyers HMS Kipling & HMS Jackal shell German positions at Halfaya Pass.

25 Japanese submarines leave Japan to patrol the Hawaiian Islands. 5 of the submarines carry “midget submarines” to sneak into Pearl Harbour.

Day 809 November 17, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 71. Air reconnaissance indicates Lake Ladoga is frozen over. At 8 AM, teams set out to confirm and mark routes from Kokorevo (on the Western shore near Leningrad) via various tiny islands to the small port of Kobona on the ‘mainland’ side of Lake Ladoga, 18 miles away. Due back at 6 PM, they finally return at 4 AM next morning to report the ice on the lake is 10cm thick (half the thickness needed to support a laden 1 ton truck).

Operation Typhoon. At Musino near Volokolamsk, 70 miles West of Moscow, Soviet 44th Cavalry Division (recently arrived from Central Asia) charges German 106th Infantry Division (3rd Panzer Army) in broad daylight. 105mm howitzers supporting the German infantry decimate the Russian horsemen (claiming 2000 killed).

Operation Flipper. Keyes’ commandos again shelter during the day. At midnight, they attack Afrika Korps quartermasters HQ at Beda Littoria, which they have mistaken for Rommel’s HQ. They kill 4 Germans but Keyes is killed and another commando is wounded and captured. Another group of commandos on a diversionary raid a few miles away are nearly all killed or captured. Only 3 commandos are able to reboard British submarines to return to Alexandria. Colonel Robert Laycock and Sergeant Terry walk for 34 days through the desert, returning to British lines on Christmas Day.

U-331 lands 8 German commandos on the Egyptian coast to mine the railway line near Daba, 60 miles West of Alexandria. They are all captured within a day before completing the mission.

Day 808 November 16, 1941

Operation Typhoon. 70 miles West of Moscow, General Georg-Hans Reinhardt’s 3rd Panzer Army establishes a crossing over the Lama River along the highway to Klin.

Further South in the Crimean, German troops capture the town of Kerch on the Kerch peninsula linking to the Caucasus.

Operation Flipper. Colonel Keyes’s commandos shelter in a cave 1 mile from the target at Beda Littoria. Their attempt to kill Rommel must be timed to coincide with the launch of a combined infantry and armored attack from Egypt in 2 days (Operation Crusader).

At 10.55 PM 50 miles East of Gibraltar, British corvette HMS Marigold badly damages U-433 with depth charges. U-433 comes to the surface, is shelled and machinegunned by HMS Marigold and then scuttled (6 dead, 38 survivors rescued from the water and taken prisoner by HMS Marigold).

Day 807 November 15, 1941

Germans begin phase 2 of attack on Moscow (Operation Typhoon). Infantry with tanks from 1st Panzer Division push Soviet 30th Army back from around the Volga Reservoir and Moscow Sea Reservoir, 75 miles North of Moscow. Stalin orders Zhukov to mount spoiling attacks along the entire defensive line, which will only serve to weaken the Soviet defenses but do little to disrupt the German preparations.

At 5 PM just off the coast of USSR 150 miles Southeast of Murmansk, U-752 attacks Soviet minelayer ZM-93 Jushar (loaded with mines) and her escort, minesweeping trawler T-889. T-889 forces U-752 to dive with gunfire but is torpedoed at 6.49 PM (all 43 hands lost). At 9.48 PM in the Baltic Sea 90 miles Northeast of Gdansk, U-583 sinks after a collision with U-153 (all 45 hands lost).

Operation Flipper. Colonel Keyes’s commandos shelter during the day. Overnight, they hike 18 miles inland to a cave 1 mile from the target at Beda Littoria.

The second freighter in Operation Astrologer, SS Empire Defender, Italian SM.79 torpedo-bombers is sunk by off the coast of Tunisia near the Galite Islands (4 killed).

Day 806 November 14, 1941

At 3.37 AM, U-561 sinks Panamanian SS Crusader in mid-North Atlantic (33 dead). Only survivor is Brazilian coal passer Edward Barreto (possibly rescued by U-561, as he ends up a POW at Milag Nord, Germany, until 1945).

Soviet Navy loses 3 submarines. L-2 hits 3 mines between 1.07 and 6.17 AM and sinks in the Baltic Sea near the Estonian island of Keri (50 dead, 3 survivors) while M-98 is lost to mines in the Gulf of Finland (all hands lost). In the Black Sea, ShCh-211 disappears near Varna, Bulgaria, presumably to a Romanian mine (all hands killed).

Operation Flipper. British commandos of No.11 (Scottish) Group under Colonels Robert Laycock and Geoffrey Keyes (son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes) land from submarines HMS Talisman and HMS Torbay to kill Rommel. Due to rough seas, only 36 of the 59 commandos get ashore 12 miles from the target at Beda Littoria.

In an attempt to resupply Malta, British freighters disguised as French, Italian or Spanish ships are sent unescorted. Operation Astrologer comprises 2 ships, SS Empire Defender and SS Empire Pelican, traveling independently. Empire Pelican is attacked and sunk by Italian SM.79 torpedo-bombers off the coast of Tunisia near the Galite Islands (1 killed).

Day 805 November 13, 1941

At 00.42, U-126 sinks British MV Peru (all 50 hands rescued by South African whale factory ship Uniwaleco).

Operation Perpetual. Returning from delivering Hurricanes to Malta, British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is torpedoed 150 miles East of Gibraltar at 4.37 AM by U-81 (Able Seaman Mitchell is killed, 1487 crew taken off 13 hours later by destroyer HMS Legion). Destroyer escorts counterattack, dropping 130 depth charges, but U-81 escapes. HMS Ark Royal is taken in tow by tugs but sinks with almost all of her aircraft at 8.13 AM next day, only 35 miles from Gibraltar.

Siege of Leningrad Day 67. German 12th Panzer Division cannot reinforce or supply Tikhvin so General von Arnim organizes his tired troops into a hedgehog defense (small, mutually-defending strongpoints, often hidden, designed to frustrate the movements of a larger army). Soviet General Kirill Meretskov (reinstated after his poor performance against Finland in the Winter War and subsequent interrogation by NKVD) begins an attack with 4th, 52nd and 54th Armies including 3 fresh divisions brought in from Siberia and the Far East.

Operation Typhoon. Overnight, temperatures fall to -22C (-8F). As the mercury drops, the Rasputitsa comes to an end and Germans gear up for the second phase of the assault on Moscow. However, the bitter cold will cause them other problems, from frozen engine and gun lubricants to the death of thousands of thoroughbred German horses pulling wagons and artillery.

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Gordy and Surovy sail from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula (escorted by minelayer Ural, 4 T-class minesweepers & 4 MO-class submarine hunters). Surovy, T-206 and MO-301 sink on Finnish mines laid yesterday. Next day, Gordy sinks in the Corbetha minefield. The remaining ships arrive at Hango and wait, eventually return to Kronstadt on November 25.

Day 804 November 12, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Overnight, temperatures around Moscow fall to -15C (5F). Impassable mud freezes enough to allow movement of trucks and tracked vehicles. German Army Group Centre prepares to drive 3rd and 4th Panzer Armies in a massive armored punch North of Moscow while Guderian’s 2nd Panzer Army comes from the South. Soviet General Zhukov has rebuilt the Western Front to defend Moscow, gaining 22 new rifle divisions, 14 cavalry divisions, 11 ski battalions and some armor (often straight from the factory).

Black Sea. Soviet submarine S-34 is lost off the Bulgarian coast near Cape Emine, presumably to a mine (all 51 hands lost). At Sevastopol, German Stuka dive-bombers from StG 77 hit Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina with 3 bombs. Chervona Ukraina is badly damaged and sinks next day but her guns will be salvaged and used on land in the defense of the city. Destroyers Sovershenny and Besposhchadny are bombed in the Navy Yard while under repair from damage sustained in September, Sovershenny capsizes and Besposhchadny will be towed to Poti in the Caucasus on November 17 by destroyer Shaumyan for repairs.

Operation Perpetual. 37 Hurricane fighters fly to Malta from British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argus.

Finns lay mines in the Gulf of Finland to prevent evacuation of Soviet troops from the Hango Peninsula.

Day 803 November 11, 1941

U-580 collides with target ship SS Angelburg and sinks in the Baltic Sea, 33 miles West of Klaipėda, Lithuania (12 dead, 32 survivors). At 2.15 PM in the Bay of Biscay, an RAF Hudson (53 Squadron) drops 4 depth charges on which is returning to Brest, France. Despite damage to an engine and the aft diving planes, U-203 is able to reach base next day. At 11.35 PM, U-561 sinks neutral Panamanian SS Meridian (all 26 hands lost).

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Stoiki & Leningrad, minelayer Ural, troopship Andrei Zhdanov & 3 minesweepers set out in a storm from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula. The flotilla turns back to Suursaari after Andrei Zhdanov hits a mine and sinks (7 killed, 66 rescued by escort ships) and destroyer Leningrad is damaged by mines.

Day 802 November 10, 1941

Operation Flipper. British submarines HMS Talisman and HMS Torbay depart Alexandria, Egypt, carrying 59 commandos on an audacious mission to kill Rommel. Faulty intelligence leads them to believe that his HQ is at Beda Littoria, 250 miles inside German-held Libya. In any case, Rommel is vacationing in Italy with his wife Lucie to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Operation Perpetual. British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argus depart Gibraltar, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, cruiser HMS Hermione and 7 destroyers, transporting 37 Hurricane fighters to be flown to Malta.

In the Sea of Crete, British submarine HMS Proteus sinks German steamer Ithaka off the island of Milos and Greek submarine Glaukos damages German steamer Norburg, North of Crete.

Day 801 November 9, 1941

At 1 AM, British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope and destroyers HMS Lance & HMS Lively intercept and destroy the Italian/German Beta convoy from Italy to Libya. Using radar, they sink all 5 freighters and both tankers plus Italian destroyer Fulmine and badly damage destroyers Grecale and Maestrale. Without radar, the escorting Italian cruisers and destroyers are unable to find the British ships (which return to Malta with all haste). 704 survivors from the convoy are rescued. At 6.40 AM, British submarine HMS Upholder torpedoes Italian destroyer Libeccio involved in the rescue operation (Libeccio is taken in tow by destroyer Euro but sinks). HMS Upholder also unsuccessfully attacks Italian cruisers Trento and Trieste.

Soviet Separate Coastal Army under General Petrov is shipped into Sevastopol after resting in the Caucacus following the defense and evacuation from Odessa. They arrive with 19,894 troops, 10 T-26 tanks and 152 artillery pieces, bringing the total defense of the city to 52,000 troops, 170 guns and 100 aircraft.

In the Black Sea, Hungarian freighter Ungvar is destroyed by a mine laid by Soviet submarine L-4. Romanian torpedo boats Viforul and Vijelia are sunk by the explosion.

Day 800 November 8, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 62. German Army Group North finally captures Tikhvin, taking 10,032 casualties in the offensive since October 16. Tikhvin is the road and rail junction thru which flows the meager supply of food and ammunition for Leningrad (then carried 50 miles North by road to the small town of Syas'stroy on Lake Ladoga and by barge across the Lake to the besieged city, a hazardous journey under Luftwaffe attack). Leningrad Military District orders a ‘corduroy’ road of logs to be cut through the forest for 200 miles, around Tikhvin to a railhead further East at Zabor’ye.

British Royal Navy is aware from Ultra intercepts of a supply convoy for Rommel sailing from Italy. “Beta” convoy consists of 5 freighters (German SS Duisburg & SS San Marco and Italian MV Maria, SS Sagitta & MV Rina Corrado) carrying 145 Italian & 78 German troops, 389 vehicles and 34,473 tons of munitions. In addition, 2 Italian tankers Conte di Misurata & Minatitlan carry 17,281 tons of fuel for tanks, trucks and planes. Regia Marina provides an escort of 7 destroyers, with cruisers Trieste & Trento and 4 more destroyers as distant cover. 200 miles East of Malta, RAF Martin Maryland (69 Squadron), on reconnaissance from Malta, deliberately locates Beta as a cover for Ultra. British cruisers HMS Aurora & HMS Penelope and destroyers HMS Lance & HMS Lively are sent out from Malta to intercept the convoy overnight.

In the Black Sea, Soviet submarine M-59 is lost to mines near Constanza, Romania (all hands lost).

Day 799 November 7, 1941

In Moscow, Stalin pulls off a public relations masterpiece. Despite the risk of German air attack, the annual October revolution parade begins at 8 AM. Troops, artillery and tanks (mainly new T-34 and KV tanks) rumble through Red Square past Lenin’s Mausoleum (empty) and St. Basil’s Cathedral. They then turn West towards the front lines, going straight into action against the Germans.

In one of the great maritime tragedies of the war, Soviet hospital ship Armenia sinks with over 7000 civilians and wounded soldiers on board. Armenia leaves Yalta at 8 AM, against orders forbidding daylight sailing from the Crimea. At 11.29 AM, a single Heinkel He111 from KG26 torpedoes Armenia (despite Red Cross insignia painted on the deck and sides) which rolls over and sinks in 4 minutes. There are 8 survivors.

At 10.34 PM in the middle of the North Atlantic, U-74 sinks British MV Nottingham on her maiden voyage, after MV Nottingham tries to ram the U-boat. All 56 crew and 6 gunners escape in lifeboats but are never seen again.

Overnight, 160 RAF bombers raid Berlin but 20 or more are shot down with little damage done to the German capital. As a result of the ineffectiveness of raids like this, Sir Richard Peirse will be replaced as head of RAF Bomber Command by Sir Arthur Harris in January 1942.

Day 798 November 6, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 60. As the temperature drops, shattered underground steam pipes (due to German bombing and shelling) and lack of firewood prevent heating of buildings. Bitter cold compounded by reduced rations will lead to death of thousands of Leningraders.

Operation Typhoon. Frostbite appears in the German troops in front of Moscow. Although stationary, most are technically still on the offensive and have not dug trenches. The exception is Feldmarschall von Kluge’s 4th Army in the middle of the Mozhaysk line, which has already gone on the defensive and into Winter quarters.

Off Permanbuco, Brazil, US cruiser USS Omaha and destroyer USS Somers impound German blockade runner Odenwald carrying rubber from Japan to Germany.

British minesweeping trawler HMT Flotta sinks off the East coast of Scotland after running aground on October 29.

Soviet hospital ship Armenia (a converted liner) evacuates the main naval hospital in Sevastopol with 5498 wounded troops and medics, leaving at 7 PM for an overnight voyage to safety of the Caucasus ports. The ship is suddenly diverted to Yalta and Balaklava to pick up more wounded as well as military families and well-connected civilians.

Day 797 November 5, 1941

Japanese troops currently occupy parts of China and French Indo-China. To prevent further Japanese expansion, the Netherlands ,USA and Britain block exports to Japan, particularly oil,. The new Prime Minister of Japan (General Hideki Tōjō), Chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff (Admiral Osami Nagano) and Emperor Hirohito agree on war if final diplomatic initiatives fail. USA is presented with a weak compromise agreement but during the negotiations, the Japanese Fleet will leave on November 25 to carry out Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's plan to attack Pearl Harbor. The last day to recall the Fleet will be November 30.

In the Sea of Japan 200 miles South of Vladivostok, USSR, Japanese passenger ship Kehi Maru sinks on a Soviet mine 75 miles off the coast of Korea (131 killed from 80 crew and 430 passengers). The incident strains relations between USSR and Japan.

Soviet submarine ShCh-214 sinks Italian tanker Torcello in the Black Sea. Submarine ShCh-324 is lost in the Baltic Sea near Tallinn, Estonia, most likely on a mine (all 38 hands lost).

Day 796 November 4, 1941

Overnight, Soviet destroyers Smetlivy and Surovy (escorted by 4 minesweepers, 4 torpedo boats and 4 submarine hunters) sail from Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland to evacuate troops from Hango Peninsula, Finland. Smetlivy is hit by Finnish artillery during the embarkation at Hango naval base. On the return journey in the evening, Smetlivy sinks in the Corbetha minefield (several hundred troops killed, 350 rescued and returned to Hango by minesweeper T-205). 1200 troops arrive safely at Kronstadt near Leningrad.

Fighting continues on the Crimean peninsula, as German 11th Army cleans out the remaining Soviet troops. 170th Division captures the port of Feodosiya on the East side, at the base of the Kerch peninsula.

Soviet submarine M-34 is lost in the Black Sea near Constanza, Romania, presumably to a mine (all hands killed).

Day 795 November 3, 1941

While the forward elements of Guderian’s Panzers (renamed Panzer Army 2) attack Tula, other units capture the city of Kursk 180 miles Southwest, eliminating a threat to his flank.

U-202 and U-203 sink 4 British steamers in convoy SC-52 200 miles Northeast of Newfoundland. At 5 AM, U-202 sinks SS Flynderborg (3 killed, 21 survivors picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Windflower) and SS Gretavale (38 dead, 6 survivors picked up by HMCS Windflower). At 6.28 PM, U-203 sinks SS Everoja (all 36 crew and 5 gunners picked up by British corvette HMS Nasturtium) and SS Empire Gemsbuck (all 37 crew and 6 gunners picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Buctouche).

Soviet submarine ShCh-214 sinks Turkish schooner Kaynakdere with gunfire in the Black Sea.

British submarine HMS Proteus damages Italian tanker Tampico 50 miles Southeast of Athens, Greece. HMS Proteus is then chased off by Italian torpedo boats Monzambano and Castelfidardo.

Day 794 November 2, 1941

German 132nd Infantry Division attacks Sevastopol perimeter but is held near the town of Bakhchisaray by Soviet 8th Naval Brigade and shellfire from the 305mm guns at 30th coastal battery (Germans lose 428 casualties, 40 trucks and several armored vehicles). Manstein halts the attack on Sevastopol to consolidate his hold on the Crimean. 11th Army pushes Soviet troops to the perimeter of the Crimean peninsula, effectively encircling Sevastopol. Soviet Black Sea Fleet evacuates troops from Crimean ports of Yalta, Evpatoria and Feodosia (also from the Ukrainian mainland at Tendra peninsula near Odessa), taking them to Sevastopol. Cruiser Voroshilov is badly damaged by 2 bombs from 3 Junkers Ju88s (under repair at Poti, Georgian SSR until February 1942). Despite this, Black Sea Fleet will continue to operate in and around Sevastopol knowing that the Luftwaffe is fairly weak in the region (most aircraft diverted to attack Moscow).

At 5.26 AM 250 miles Southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, U-208 sinks British SS Larpool (22 crew and 4 gunners lost, 11 crew picked up by the Canadian corvette HMCS Bittersweet and 6 crew in a lifeboat will land at Burin, Newfoundland on November 10.

Day 793 November 1, 1941

Red Army begins evacuating 28,000 troops and their equipment to Leningrad from Hango Peninsula in Finland (USSR leased a naval base here in the Moscow Peace Treaty, March 12, 1940). Overnight, Soviet destroyers Slavny and Stoiki sail from island of Suursaari in the Gulf of Finland (escorted by minelayer Marti, 4 T-class minesweepers and 5 MO-class submarine hunters) and embark 4230 troops at Hango. On the return journey, Marti and T-210 are damaged by mines while submarine Kalev (captured from the Estonian Navy on August 19, 1940) does not return from covering the evacuation, presumably lost on a mine.

At Sevastopol, Soviet 30th coastal battery (called Fort Maxim Gorky I by the Germans) shells German 132nd Infantry Division as they assemble at 12.30 PM between Alma railway station and Bazarchik village. Planned German attack on Soviet 8th Naval Brigade is broken up by 68 rounds from the 305mm guns. Von Manstein’s 11th Army lacks enough tanks and air support to take Sevastopol by storm, so they fan out to surround and besiege the city.

At 6.54 AM 300 miles off the coast of South West Africa (now Namibia), U-68 sinks British MV Bradford City (carrying 9500 tons of sugar and rum from Mauritius). All 37 crew and 8 gunners abandon ship in 2 lifeboats and make land near Walvis Bay, South West Africa. U-68 collides with the sinking ship but is not badly damaged.

Day 792 October 31, 1941

First US Navy warship lost in WWII. At 8.34 AM 725 miles West of Ireland, U-552 sinks American WWI-era destroyer USS Reuben James (escorting convoy HX-156 with 4 other US destroyers). 2 torpedoes ignite the aft magazine, blowing off the bow. Primed depth charges sink and explode, killing survivors in the water (115 killed, 45 rescued by other escorts).

At 9.03 AM 120 miles East of St. John’s, Newfoundland, U-374 sinks British SS Rose Schiaffino (all 37 crew and 4 gunners lost).

At 10.47 AM 400 miles West of Ireland, U-96 sinks Dutch SS Bennekom (5 crew and 3 gunners killed, 46 survivors picked up the next day by British sloop HMS Culver). U-96 is attacked by British sloop HMS Lulworth with 27 depth charges (U-96 is not damaged).

Soviet destroyer Bodryy at Sevastopol shells German tanks 25 miles North on the Crimean coast at Nikolaevka. Luftwaffe Stukas attack the Soviet warships being used as floating artillery batteries, doing no damage but killing or wounding 50 crewmen with machinegun fire.

Day 791 October 30, 1941

Operation Typhoon. At 5.30 AM, Kampfgruppe Eberbach advances into Tula but is beaten back by Soviet anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns. They repeat the exercise at 10 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM with the same result. Tula’s Soviet defenders (Workers Militia and NKVD 156th Regiment) suffer severe losses, mainly to German artillery, but just manage to hold their ground. Overnight, Soviet 32nd tank brigade arrives (later reinforced with 3 rifle divisions) and Tula is safe. While fighting will continue at Tula and elsewhere on the Mozhaysk line for the next few weeks, the German advance on Moscow grinds to a halt until the Russian mud freezes over.

At 9 AM 700 miles east of Newfoundland, U-106 torpedoes US fleet oiler USS Salinas but USS Salinas is able to reach Argentia, Newfoundland, for repairs. U-106 is then hunted for 9 hours by escorts and seriously damaged.

On the Crimean peninsula, German 132nd Infantry Division (part of 11th Army) is stopped by the outer defenses at Sevastopol. Overnight, Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz ferries 8th Naval Infantry brigade from Novorossiysk (Caucasian port on the Black Sea coast) to beef up the defenses at Sevastopol. Black Sea Fleet moves WWI-era battleship Parizhskaya Kommuna, cruiser Molotov and smaller warships out of Sevastopol to safety in Caucasian ports while 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers are left to aid in the defense of the city as floating gun batteries.

Day 790 October 29, 1941

Operation Typhoon. At 4 PM, Kampfgruppe Eberbach, part of German 4th Panzer Division, reaches Tula (Southeast end of the Mozhaysk line, 100 miles from Moscow) having advanced 75 miles in a week despite the mud and stiff Soviet resistance. Reconnaissance of the Southern outskirts is turned back by Soviet anti-aircraft guns firing over open sights, so Eberbach decides to wait until dawn to attack.

Further South, Manstein’s German 11th Army has overrun most of the Crimean peninsula and is approaching the regional capital Simferopol and the massive port of Sevastopol, home of Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Germans want the Crimea as a base for operations further East into the Caucasus and need to eliminate the Soviet threat to their advance around the Black Sea. Moreover, Hitler wants the Crimean peninsula as a sun-drenched “German Gibraltar” for vacationers after the war.

Day 789 October 28, 1941

At 3.43 AM, U-68 sinks British SS Hazelside about 600 miles Southeast of St. Helena (2 killed, 44 picked up by British MV Malayan Prince and landed at Capetown).

At 5 AM 320 miles Northeast of the Azores, U-432 finishes the attack on convoy HG-75 sinking British SS Ulea (19 killed, 9 survivors picked up by British corvettes HMS La Malouine and HMS Bluebell).

At 7.19 AM, U-106 sinks British MV King Malcolm in the middle of the North Atlantic between Ireland and Canada (all 38 hands lost).

In North Africa, Rommel is preparing an all-out assault on the besieged Allied garrison at Tobruk, which is frustrating his plans to move on British interests in Egypt. He cannot afford to leave this threat to his rear and he needs the port as a forward supply base. German and Italian infantry rehearse storming bunkers, engineers plan routes through minefields and artillerymen range targets among the Allied defenses. Meanwhile Rommel plans a 2 week vacation in Italy with his wife Lucie, to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Day 788 October 27, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Germans slowly make progress towards Moscow all along the Mozhaysk line. At the Southeast end of the line, Kampfgruppe Eberbach advances to Plavsk 37 miles from Tula (140 miles from Moscow). At the Northwest end of the line, 4th Panzer Army finally defeats Soviet 316th Rifle Division at Volokolamsk 68 miles from Moscow (316th Rifle Division is reduced to only 3500 men but has delayed 4th Panzer Army for 2 weeks). In the middle of the line, the 11 infantry divisions of German 4th Army come to a standstill. Feldmarschall von Kluge lies to his superior Feldmarschall Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Center, about the strength of Soviet defenses. Amazingly, von Bock allows 4th Army to dig trenches and go on the defensive, losing all momentum towards Moscow.

British submarine HMS Tetrach, which left Malta yesterday to refit in Britain via Gibraltar, is lost in an Italian minefield between Sicily and Tunisia (all 59 hands plus 3 naval personnel returning to Britain are lost).

Day 787 October 26, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 49. Leningrad Front and Soviet 54th Army swap commanders. General Fedyuninsky, the better fighting general, moves from Leningrad to take command of 54th Army which is now defending against the German advance on the railhead at Tikhvin. General Mikhail Khozin is relieved of 54th Army to take charge in Leningrad (he is familiar with the area having commanded Leningrad Front in 1938).

Battle of convoy HG-75. At 3.54 AM, U-83 badly damages British fighter catapult ship HMS Ariguani with a torpedo (2 killed, survivors taken off by British corvette HMS Campion including those rescued 2 days ago from torpedoed steamer SS Carsbreck). HMS Ariguani will be towed to Gibraltar, decommissioned, repaired and returned to service as a merchant ship in January 1944. U-71 fires 4 torpedoes at an unidentified escort boat (all miss). The escort then counterattacks with depth charges for 7 hours, severely damaging U-71 which is forced to return to base.

Day 786 October 25, 1941

500 miles West of Gibraltar, Italian submarine Galileo Ferraris is homing in on convoy HG-75 when attacked by a British Catalina seaplane from Gibraltar. Although depth charges fail to explode, Galileo Ferraris is damaged by machinegun fire. British destroyer HMS Lamerton arrives but is hit with a 4 inch shell from Galileo Ferraris. The superior firepower of HMS Lamerton forces the submarine to scuttle (6 killed, 44 crew rescued). U-563 attempts to attack convoy HG-75 again but is counterattacked with depth charges by British corvette HMS Heliotrope. U-563 is driven under but is undamaged.

Odessa massacre continues. Romanian troops shell the fourth warehouses at Dalnik building, containing all the male Jews.

Operation Cultivate. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMS Hero, Hotspur & Encounter leave Alexandria, Egypt, for Tobruk, Libya. At 9.05 PM, they are attacked by 10 German Stukas and 2 Italian S.79 medium bombers 35 miles East of Tobruk. HMS Latona, carrying 1000 Polish troops into Tobruk, is hit by a 500-kg bomb which destroys the engine room (20 crew and 7 soldiers killed, HMS Hero and Encounter take off survivors and return to Alexandria). HMS Latona sinks at 10.30 PM when fire ignites the magazine. HMS Hero is damaged by near misses of 3 bombs (under repair at Alexandria for 4 weeks). 7234 Australian 9th Division troops and 727 wounded have been taken out of Tobruk during Operation Cultivate, and 7138 replacements brought in.

Day 785 October 24, 1941

Operation Typhoon. After the fall of Mtensk, an ad hoc formation of 4th Panzer Division under Colonel Heinrich Eberbach (Kampfgruppe Eberbach) advances 18 miles to Chern, on the road to Tula.

Further South, Germans rapidly encircle the major Soviet industrial city of Kharkov in the Eastern Ukraine. Infantry divisions from 6th & 17th Armies, using horse-drawn artillery and supplies, take Kharkov without any tanks or armored vehicles which have been diverted for Operation Typhoon. However, most heavy industry has been moved East beyond the Ural mountains (over 70 factories dismantled and loaded onto 320 trains) and the city is defended only by Soviet 216th Rifle Division.

Odessa massacre continues. At 5 PM, Romanian troops set fire to 3 warehouses at Dalnik containing the survivors, mainly women and children, from yesterday’s machinegunning. A fourth building with the men is left until tomorrow.

U-563 and U-564 attack convoy HG-75 300 miles west of Gibraltar. At 00.38, U-563 badly damages British destroyer HMS Cossack with 1 torpedo (159 killed, 60 survivors on rafts picked up by destroyer HMS Legion and corvette HMS Carnation). HMS Cossack will be towed towards Gibraltar and sink in heavy weather on October 27. At 6.36 AM, U-564 fires 5 torpedoes sinking 3 small British steamers (SS Carsbreck, SS Ariosto and SS Alhama; 30 killed, 96 survivors).

British minesweeping trawlers HMS Lucienne Jeanne and HMT Emilion hit mines and sink in the Thames estuary.

Germans execute 50 communist activists at Camp Souge, France, in retaliation for the killing 3 days ago of Dr. Hans-Gottfried Reimers, a civilian working for the German occupation forces.

Operation Cultivate. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Kandahar, Kingston & Griffin make the round trip from Alexandria, Egypt, carrying troops and supplies to Tobruk, Libya, and bringing out Australian 9th Division.

Day 784 October 23, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 46. Soviet breakout along the Southern shore of Lake Ladoga peters out in the face of stiff German resistance. Meanwhile, the German advance on the rail and road junction at Tikhvin continues. General Mikhail Khozin, commanding Soviet 54th Army which is attacking from the East to link up with the breakout, realizes the danger and diverts 2 rifle divisions to defend Tikhvin.

Operation Typhoon. 3rd Panzer Division (part of Panzergruppe 2 which had been involved in the destruction of the Bryansk pocket) moves through Bolkhov to outflank Soviet defenses at Mtensk 27 miles away. The road to Tula (the last Soviet defenses before Moscow) is now open.

Odessa massacre. Romanians continue murdering Jewish civilians in retaliation for the Soviet time-bomb blast yesterday. 19,000 Jews are herded to a square, doused with petrol and burned. Another 20,000 are taken to the village of Dalnik. Groups of 50 are shot in antitank ditches but this is too slow; the rest are locked in 4 warehouses and machine-gunned from outside. The survivors, many wounded, are left until the following day.

The 4-man watch (Oberleutnant zur See Werner Grüneberg, Fähnrich zur See Herbert von Bruchhausen, Oberbootsmannmaat Karl Heemann, Matrose Ewald Brühl) is all swept overboard off U-106 in the Bay of Biscay, 2 days after leaving base at Lorient, France.

Soviet submarine SC.323 sinks German merchant SS Baltenland in the Baltic Sea.

Overnight, British warships leave Alexandria, Egypt, to shell Axis positions on the Mediterranean coast. Cruisers HMS Ajax, Neptune & Hobart (escorted by destroyers HMS Eridge & Avonvale) bombard Bardia, Libya, while destroyers HMS Napier, Nizam, Jupiter & Hasty shell Sollum, Egypt. All return safely to Alexandria next day.

Day 783 October 22, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Guderian’s Panzergruppe 2 resupplies with fuel & ammunition and resumes the drive on Moscow from the Southwest despite the rasputitsa. 4th Panzer Division renews the attack near Mtensk where they have been held since October 10 but they are held by well dug-in Soviet infantry.

At 1.42 AM, U-68 sinks British Fleet oiler RFA Darkdale, serving as an oil storage vessel (with 3000 tons of fuel oil, 850 tons of aviation fuel, 500 tons of diesel and lubricating oil) off the island of St. Helena in the middle of the South Atlantic. All 37 crew and 4 gunners on board are killed in the explosion but the Captain, Chief Engineer and 4 crewmen are ashore. U-68 had been spotted the day before by a civilian on the island but his report was not taken seriously. Darkdale is first British ship sunk south of the Equator during WWII.

Romanian HQ in Odessa, Ukraine, is destroyed by a time-bomb left by Soviet Coastal Army during the evacuation of Odessa a week ago (67 killed including Romanian commander General Glogojeanu and 4 German naval officers). Jews and communists in the city are blamed for the blast. Romanian troops begin rounding up suspects and execute 5000 civilians overnight, mostly Jews.

German firing squads execute 48 civilians (mainly communist activists) in France, in retaliation for the killing 2 days ago of Colonel Karl Hotz, Feldkommandant of Nantes.

Day 782 October 21, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Rain and light snow turn roads in Western USSR to deep mud which hampers movement of wheeled movement of trucks, horse-drawn artillery & wagons and some tracked vehicles. This rasputitsa (quagmire season) and overextended German supply lines begin to slow the Panzers advance on Moscow.

Soviet submarine M58 sinks on a Romanian mine in the Black Sea near the Danube River (all 19 hands lost).

At 3.34 AM 30 miles Northeast of Bardia, Libya, U-79 torpedoes British gunboat HMS Gnat (returning from Tobruk to Alexandria), blowing away 20 feet of her bow all the way back to the 6 inch gun mount (no casualties). HMS Gnat is towed to Alexandria, beached and used as an anti-aircraft defense platform until the end of the war.

At 4.28 AM 400 miles West of Ireland, U-123 torpedoes British armed merchant cruiser HMS Aurania escorting convoy SL-89, causing a 25 degree list to port. Before the ship is righted, 6 men launch a lifeboat which is then swamped (2 killed, 3 rescued by destroyer HMS Croome, Leading Seamen Bertie Shaw is taken prisoner by U-123). HMS Aurania will be under repair at Rothesay Bay for 19 months and then return to service as base repair ship HMS Artifex. At 10 PM, U-82 attacks convoy SL-89 sinking SS Serbino (14 killed, 51 crew picked up by corvette HMS Asphodel) and SS Treverbyn (all 36 crew and 10 gunners lost).

Operation Cultivate. British cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Napier, Hasty & Decoy make the round trip overnight from Alexandria, Egypt, to bring supplies to Tobruk, Libya, and remove Australian 9th Division troops.

Day 781 October 20, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 43. Soviet General Fedyuninsky launches an attack with 70,000 troops plus 97 tanks and all available heavy artillery along the Southern shore of Lake Ladoga, to breakout and form a corridor to the rest of USSR. They make little progress against dug-in German troops on the swampy terrain. German Field Marshal von Leeb makes his own move in the area, heading Southeast from Lake Ladoga to the important rail and road junction at Tikhvin to cut off the supply route to Leningrad.

At 5.54 AM 80 miles off Sierra Leone, U-126 torpedoes British tanker SS British Mariner (3 killed, 48 survivors). British Mariner is towed to Freetown but declared a total loss and will be used as oil hulk. U-126 stalks another tanker but is chased away by a convoy escort.

Operation Cultivate. Overnight, British cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMS Kingston, Encounter & Nizam make the round trip overnight from Alexandria, Egypt. In addition, cruisers HMS Ajax, Hobart and Galatea (escorted by destroyers HMS Griffin and HMS Jaguar) shell German coastal guns near Tobruk to protect ships in the Cultivate convoys.

Day 780 October 19, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Evacuation of Moscow picks up pace with Germans taking Mozhaysk yesterday and the Mozhaysk line crumbling elsewhere. However, Stalin decides he will stay in Moscow. 68 miles away at Volokolamsk (the Northwest end of the Mozhaysk line), German 4th Panzer Army is held up by Soviet 316th Rifle Division (full-strength division recently arrived from Central Asia).

Off the coast of Morocco 35 miles Southwest of Tangier, U-204 sinks British tanker Inverlee carrying 13,880 tons of Admiralty fuel oil at 3 AM (22 dead and 21 survivors, the explosion is seen by ships 28 miles away) and U-206 sinks British SS Baron Kelvin at 6.14 AM (26 dead and 16 survivors). British corvettes are dispatched from Gibraltar to hunt the U-boats and HMS Mallow sinks U-204 at 9.46 PM with 7 depth charges.

After mistaking the neutral American steamer Lehigh for a Greek vessel 100 miles West of Freetown, Sierra Leone, U-126 sinks SS Lehigh at 10.51 AM (all 34 crew and 4 Spanish stowaways escape in 4 lifeboats).

Overnight, British gunboat HMS Gnat bombards a German artillery battery near Tobruk to protect ships in Operation Cultivate.

Day 779 October 18, 1941

In the final attack on convoy SC-48, U-101 blows the bow off British destroyer HMS Broadwater with 1 torpedo at 4.20 AM. 45 crew and all 11 survivors rescued a day earlier by HMS Broadwater (9 from British steamer W.C. Teagle and 2 from Norwegian SS Erviken) are killed. 85 crew are taken off by antisubmarine trawlers HMS St. Apollo, Angle and Cape Warwick. HMS St. Apollo scuttles HMS Broadwater by gunfire at 3.41 PM.

Operation Typhoon. Soviet 5th Army’s resistance crumbles as German SS Reich and 10th Panzer Divisions capture Mozhaysk. In the evening, a motorcycle battalion from SS Reich Division finds the Minsk Highway towards Moscow open. Soviet 5th Army has suffered 60% casualties defending Mozhaysk and only 5 weakened rifle divisions and 20 tanks stand before Moscow, 90 km away.

11 Albacore and 2 Swordfish of 828 Squadron fly to Malta off British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (escorted by battleship HMS Rodney, cruiser HMS Hermione and 7 destroyers). 1 Swordfish is lost en route (2 killed). These strike planes will harass Axis supply lines through the Mediterranean to North Africa.

Barents Sea. 5 miles off the coast of Russia, U-132 sinks Soviet SS Argun at 1.20 PM (all hands rescued) and trawler RT-8 Seld´ at 8.17 PM (all hands lost).

Day 778 October 17, 1941

The attack on convoy SC-48 intensifies. U-432 and U-558 sink 3 freighters each (35760 tons total). US destroyer USS Kearny is torpedoed by U-568 (11 killed, 22 wounded) but does not sink (under repair until April 1942). British corvette HMS Gladiolus disappears during the night, probably sunk by U-553.

At 3.25 AM 50 miles West of Alexandria, Egypt, U-97 intercepts a small convoy carrying supplies to Tobruk. U-97 torpedoes Greek SS Samos (31 dead, 3 survivors rescued by antisubmarine whaler HMS Cocker) and British tanker Pass of Balmaha (carrying aviation fuel and petrol, goes up in a ball of flame killing all 16 crew and 4 gunners instantly).

Operation Typhoon. Although German and Soviet armor and infantry are evenly matched at Borodino, Soviet 5th Army is worn down by losses of men and tanks. All day and through the night, German SS Reich and 10th Panzer Divisions advance slowly along the 2 East-West roads that run parallel only 2 miles apart (Moscow Highway and Minsk Highway). Soviet 5th Army resists doggedly as they fall back towards Mozhaysk.

Operation Cultivate. Overnight, British cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMS Jackal, Havock & Nizam make the round trip overnight from Alexandria, returning on October 18.

Day 777 October 16, 1941

At 1.14 AM 400 miles West of Ireland, U-568 sinks British SS Empire Heron in convoy SC-48 (42 dead, 1 survivor rescued by HMS Gladiolus).

Evacuation of Odessa. At 5.10 AM, the last ships depart, leaving only blazing ruins for the Germans and Romanians. The ‘Soviet Dunkirk’ is an unqualified success, although empty transport ship Bolshevik is sunk by German torpedo bombers (16 killed, 31 crew and 5 passengers rescued by Soviet motor torpedo boats). 121,000 troops and civilians have been evacuated from Odessa along with 400 artillery pieces, 1000 trucks and 20,000 tons of ammunition. The defense of Odessa has cost Soviet Coastal Army and Black Sea Fleet 16,578 killed and 24,690 wounded.

Operation Typhoon. SS Reich Division and 10th Panzer Division attack the Mozhaysk line at Borodino, the site of the 1812 Napoleonic battle, 125 km West of Moscow (allegedly, Soviet troops are shown 1812 Russian battle standards to motivate them). However, the Panzers lack infantry support and are turned back by Soviet rifle divisions (Feldmarschall von Kluge is resting 4th Army’s 11 infantry divisions after the battles around Vyasma). In Moscow, foreign diplomats and government staff are evacuated 1500 miles East to the reserve capital, Kuibyshev.

Returning from a raid on Mannheim, Germany, RAF Pilot Officer AJ Heyworth flies a Wellington bomber of No. 12 Squadron Bomber Command 500 - 600 miles on 1 engine (about 5 hours). He lands with the other engine on fire.

German raider Kormoran meets supply ship Kulmerland off Cape Leeuwin, Southwestern Australia. Kulmerland has sailed 5000 miles from Japan in 45 days, carrying 4,000 tons of diesel oil and 6 months supply of provisions which will take 7 days to transfer to Kormoran.

Day 776 October 15, 1941

Convoy SC-48 left Sydney, Australia, on October 5, then traveled up the East coast of USA and entered the North Atlantic through the Labrador Straits. At 8.15 AM, U-553 makes contact 500 miles West of Ireland, sinking British MV Silvercedar (21 lost, 26 survivors) and Norwegian SS Ila (14 lost, 7 survivors). Another ship in the convoy, MV Silverelm, tries to ram U-553 and later in the day Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia counterattacks with depth charges. Several U-boats in the area are ordered to converge on convoy SC-48. En route, U-558 sinks unescorted Canadian MV Vancouver Island at 11.17 PM (some of the 65 crew, 8 gunners and 32 passengers are seen to escape in lifeboats but are never found alive).

Siege of Odessa ends. At noon, Soviet troops start blowing up port facilities & coastal artillery batteries and boarding 30 transport ships. Overnight, Black Sea Fleet evacuates the garrison of 35,000 men to Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula.

Operation Typhoon, assault on Moscow. 1st Panzer Division advances Northwest from Kalinin towards Torshok to attack Soviet Northwestern Front from the rear; however, they are now heading away from Moscow and this will prove costly in the long run.

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.

Day 774 October 13, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 36. General Fedyuninsky is ordered to break the siege by breaking out to the East along the Southern shore of Lake Ladoga, beginning no later than October 20. However, there are 54,000 German troops well dug in on the swampy terrain.

Operation Typhoon, assault on Moscow. West of Moscow, Soviet 18th and 19th tank Brigades gradually fall back from Gzhatsk (now Gagarin) in the face of heavy German tank and Stuka attacks. They retreat along the Smolensk-Moscow road towards the main defensive line at Mozhaysk, which is still under hasty construction by 250,000 civilians (mostly women). 130 miles West-Northwest of Moscow, 1st Panzer Division captures Rzhev encircling and destroying Soviet 30th Army.

Day 773 October 12, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Germans move towards Moscow on a broad front, capturing Kaluga 100 miles Southwest of the capital. Many German formations have advanced over 70km in 5 days.

Soviet submarine S8 (which left Kronstadt yesterday) is blown apart, presumably by a German mine, and sinks 8 miles off the Swedish island of Öland (all 48 hands lost).

At 2.00 PM 100 miles off the coast of Portugal, U-83 stops and sinks neutral Portuguese SS Corte Real for carrying cargo to Canada and Australia. Remarkably, the U-boat tows 3 lifeboats with 42 crew and passengers for 3 hours enabling them to make land near Lisbon.

German motor torpedo boats S41, S47, S53, S62, S104, and S105 attack convoy FN531 just off the coast of East Anglia, England, sinking British SS Chevington (7 crew and 2 gunners killed) and Norwegian SS Roy (3 crew lost).

With the moon waning, the final phase to replace Australian 9th Division at Tobruk, Libya begins (Operation Cultivate). British cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Hero, Kipling & Nizam make the round trip overnight from Alexandria Egypt. However, German U-boats are now patrolling the Alexandria-Tobruk route. 35 miles West of Tobruk, U-75 sinks 2 British landing craft tanks which left Tobruk yesterday (29 crew, 4 Australian soldiers, a Royal Engineers officer and 2 Italian POWs are killed; 1 survivor is taken prisoner by U-75 and taken back to Germany).

Overnight, RAF mounts a big raid on Hüls and Bremen, Germany, with 118 bombers mainly Avro Manchesters (Bomber Command No.5 Group).

Day 772 October 11, 1941

Soviet troops encircled at Vyasma are ordered to break out at all costs, after having been refused permission to retreat before being surrounded. Instead, they are decimated by German artillery and air bombardment, particularly Stukas. Germans have reduced the Vyasma pocket from 75 x 35 km to 20 x 20 km. Further South at Bryansk, Soviet 3rd and 13th Armies mount a counteroffensive and break through the weak cordon held by Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 which is exhausted after months of fighting.

British bombers (830 Squadron from Malta attack) attack an Italian convoy from Naples to Tripoli (escorted by Italian destroyers Granatiere, Bersagliere, Fucliere & Alpino) and sink steamers Zena & Casaregis about 100 miles north of Tripoli.

A series of disasters begins for Soviet submarines. Shchuka class submarine ShCh-322 which departed Kronstadt near Leningrad yesterday, is lost in the Baltic Sea presumably to a mine (all 40 hands lost).

Day 771 October 10, 1941

The remnants of the Soviet Western Front, Southwestern Front and Reserve Front (troops that avoided encirclement at Kiev, Bryansk and Vyasma or escaped from these pockets) are reformed into a new Western Front under the command of General Zhukov. They are positioned to hold a line from Tula (South of Moscow), through Naro-Fominska and Mozhaysk to Volokolamsk (Northwest of Moscow) – the Mozhaysk Line. Defensive fortifications will be hastily built, mainly by civilians. In addition, Soviet 32nd Rifle Division (full-strength Division with 15,000 fresh, well-trained troops) begins arriving at Mozhaysk by train from Siberia.

At Gzhatsk (now known as Gagarin, 32 miles East of Vyasma and 40 miles from the main defensive line at Mozhaysk), Soviet 18th and 19th tank Brigades hold up the German spearhead, SS Reich Division which suffers about 500 casualties.

At 5.43 AM 150 miles Northeast of the Cape Verde Islands, U-126 sinks British SS Nailsea Manor carrying 6000 tons of military stores, including 1000 tons of ammunition and a landing craft (LCT-102 crated in four sections). All 36 crew, 5 gunners and a Royal Navy Petty Officer (in charge of the landing craft) abandon ship in haste due to the cargo of ammunition and are picked up by British corvette HMS Violet.

British submarine HMS Thunderbolt sinks Italian steamer Citta di Simi, just off the Northeast corner of Crete.

Day 770 October 9, 1941

There are massive encirclements of Soviet troops from Leningrad in the North to the Sea of Azov on the Black Sea, with the largest pockets in the middle around Bryansk and Vyasma. Coupled with the destruction of Soviet Southwestern Front around Kiev, these cauldron battles (Kesselschlacht) will result in 2 million unrecoverable Soviet losses. However, Stalin knows from his spy in Tokyo (Richard Sorge) that the Japanese have no plans to attack USSR and instead intend to expand South by moving on British and American interests. Stalin transfers troops from the Far East to protect Moscow.

Day 769 October 8, 1941

Soviet Army suffers another disaster, this time in the Ukraine. Soviet forces on the Sea of Azov (Northern part of the Black Sea) are on the brink of forcing German 11th Army off the Perekop Isthmus which links the Crimean peninsula to the mainland. General von Kleist’s Panzergruppe 1 races South after the encirclement of Kiev to relieve 11th Army; they reache Berdyansk and Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Soviet 9th and 18th Armies (100,000 soldiers) are trapped between Panzergruppe 1, 11th Army and the sea.

Just after midnight, German Heinkel He111 bombers from Crete attack shipping at anchor at Safe Anchorage H in the Gulf of Suez. They sink British steamer Rosalie Moller (carrying 4680 tons of Welsh coal to Alexandria, Egypt, via the Cape of Good Hope) which is awaiting passage through the Suez Canal (2 crew killed, survivors rescued by Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta). Dive video.

British bombers from Malta (830 Squadron) sink Italian steamer Paolo Z. Podesta in a small convoy with a schooner, and two trawlers just leaving Trapani, Sicily, for Tripoli, Libya.

Day 768 October 7, 1941

Operation Typhoon. A day after encircling 3 Soviet Armies around Bryansk, German Panzers close the Vyasma pocket and trap an even larger number of Soviet troops. At 10.30 AM, 10th Panzer Division (Panzergruppe 4 advancing from the South) takes Vyasma and links up with 7th Panzer (Panzergruppe 3) North of the city. 5 Soviet Armies are surrounded (30 Divisions). About 250,000 Soviet troops will escape from the Bryansk and Vyasma pockets, 300,000 are killed and 700,000 become POWs.

At 4.17 PM 100 miles South of Iceland, U-502 torpedoes British whaling ship Svend Foyn, which does not sink and is towed to Liverpool for repairs (returning to service in May 1942). Svend Foyn will sink in March 1943 after hitting an iceberg off Greenland (195 lives lost, 152 rescued).

Day 767 October 6, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 captures Bryansk when 17th Panzer Division rolls in unexpectedly from the East, surprising the HQ of Soviet General Yeremenko who is wounded but escapes. Panzergruppe 2 links up with German 2nd Army, encircling 2 large pockets of Soviet troops (23 Divisions of 3rd, 13th and 50th Armies).

Siege of Leningrad Day 29. General Zhukov leaves for Moscow to replace Konev in command of Soviet Western Front which is falling back in front of Operation Typhoon. Zhukov’s protégé General Ivan Fedyuninsky assumes command in Leningrad.

German bombers attack shipping in the Gulf of Suez, sinking British SS Thistlegorm carrying ammunition and other supplies including 2 steam locomotives to Alexandria, Egypt (4 crew and 5 gunners killed, survivors picked up by British cruiser HMS Carlisle). Australian SS Salamaua, Norwegian tanker Norfold and British SS Scalaria are also damaged.

Day 766 October 5, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Stalin orders Soviet Western Front to withdraw to Vyasma, falling right into the German trap. Stalin recalls Zhukov from Leningrad to replace General Ivan Konev who he blames for failing to stop the German advance. Stalin considers executing Konev but is talked out of it by Zhukov. Konev will command Soviet forces throughout the war, achieving great success and promotion to Marshal of the Soviet Union by Stalin in February 1944.

Overnight, Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers (Fleet Air Arm 830 Squadron from Malta) attack an Italian convoy from Naples to Tripoli, sinking tanker Rialto 67 miles North of Misrata, Libya (145 survivors rescued by Italian Destroyer Gioberti).

A single RAF Bristol Blenheim (Coastal Command 1404 Meteorological Flight from RAF St. Eval, Cornwall) unsuccessfully attacks two U-boats in the Bay of Biscay. A 250lb bomb misses U-563 (departing Brest, France) at 10.30 AM and another 250lb bomb hits the conning tower of U-565 (returning to Lorient, France) at 11.02 AM but does not explode.

Day 765 October 4, 1941

Operation Typhoon. As Soviet Western Front falls back along the main Smolensk/Moscow road in the face of Army Group Center’s attack, Hoth's Panzergruppe 3 bypasses them to the North while Hoepner's Panzergruppe 4 advances from the South (capturing the cities of Kirov and Spa-Demensk). The German aim is a massive double encirclement, converging on Vyasma, to trap the Soviet Western Front (31 rifle Divisions, 3 cavalry Divisions, 2 motorised Divisions and 3 tank Brigades, under General Ivan Konev). 3 German infantry Armies follow behind the Panzers to fence in Soviet troops for the coming battle of annihilation. Despite the obvious encircling of large Soviet forces at Vyasma and Bryansk, Stalin repeats the mistake of Kiev and refuses to allow a withdrawal.

225 miles West of Tenerife, British anti-submarine trawler HMS Lady Shirley brings U-111 to the surface with 3 depth charges. After a gun battle, U-111 is scuttled by the crew (8 dead and 44 survivors picked up by HMS Lady Shirley, 1 sailor on HMS Lady Shirley is killed by machinegun fire). Another anti-submarine trawler HMS Whippet (previously a Norwegian whaler taken over by the Admiralty in October 1940) is sunk by German bombing 30 miles North of Bardia, Libya (1 killed).

British submarine HMS Talisman sinks French steamer Theophile Gautier in a convoy from Crete to the Greek mainland (escorted by Italian torpedo boats Monzambano, Calatafimi and Aldebaran).

Day 764 October 3, 1941

Operation Typhoon. Panzergruppe 2 captures Orel 220 miles Southwest of Moscow, (Luftwaffe will use the airfield as a forward airbase). Another column of Panzergruppe 2 battles Soviet troops South of Bryansk. With 2nd, 4th and 9th Armies plus Panzergruppe 3 and 4 (part of Army Group Center) advancing from the West, Germans are now positioned to encircle Soviet Bryansk Front (3rd, 13th and 50th Armies under the command of General Andrey Yeremenko).

Just after midnight 650 miles East of Newfoundland, Canada, U-431 sinks British SS Hatasu (40 killed, 7 survivors in a lifeboat picked up after 7 days by US destroyer USS Charles F. Hughes and landed at Reykjavik).

North Sea. German bombers attack British destroyer HMS Vivacious (steering damaged, under repair until November). British motor torpedo boat MTB56 sinks Norwegian tanker Borgny off Bergen, escorted by Norwegian destroyer Draug (Operation Barefoot). MTB56 and Draug return next day to the Shetland Islands, Scotland.

300 miles Northeast of the Azores, a Walrus reconnaissance aircraft from British cruiser HMS Kenya spots German supply ship Klara (tender for the armed merchant raiders). HMS Kenya sinks Klara but does not stop for survivors due to the presence of a submarine (U-129). U-129 picks up 119 survivors and transfers them to a Spanish tug 2 days later.

Dutch submarine O.21 sinks Vichy French steamer Oued Yquem off Sardinia, Italy.

Day 763 October 2, 1941

German advance on Moscow (Operation Typhoon). At Sevsk 280 miles from Moscow, General Guderian splits Panzergruppe 2 into 2 pincers; one going North to Bryansk and one heading Northeast to Orel.

600 miles West of Ireland, U-94 repeatedly torpedoes British tanker SS San Florentino over 6 hours and finally sinks her at 5.52 AM (23 killed, 35 survivors picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Mayflower). In the same area, U-575 sinks Dutch MV Tuva at 7.09 AM (1 killed, 34 survivors in 2 lifeboats and 2 rafts picked up by Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix).

At 6.52 AM 250 miles East of Iceland, U-562 sinks British catapult armed merchant Empire Wave (20 crew and 9 RAF personnel killed, 31 survivors picked up by Icelandic trawler Surprise).

British submarine HMS Perseus sinks German steamer Castellon (escorted by Italian torpedo boats Calliope and Pegaso in a convoy from Naples to Tripoli) 60 miles West of Benghazi, Libya.

Day 762 October 1, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 24. Finnish forces reach Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the Soviet Republic of Karelia on the Western shore of Lake Onega, further increasing the isolation of Leningrad.

Germans refocus their attention on the Soviet capital, Moscow (Operation Typhoon), after having isolated Leningrad and destroyed Soviet Southwestern Front around Kiev. They aim to take Moscow before the beginning of Winter, precipitating a Soviet collapse and surrender. The German attack includes 1,929,406 troops, 14,000 artillery guns and 1000 tanks plus 1390 aircraft. Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 is first off the mark, having participated in the encircling of Kiev. Panzergruppe 2 attacks Northwest towards Orel and Bryansk, reaching Sevsk.

Day 761 September 30, 1941

German bombers attack shipyards at Tyneside, Northern England, badly damaging submarine HMS Sunfish which will require repairs at Portsmouth until October 9 1943.

In the Mediterranean 250 miles East of Gibraltar, Italian submarine Adua unsuccessfully attacks British warships returning from Malta (Operation Halberd). British destroyers HMS Gurkha and HMS Legion sink Adua with depth charges (all 46 hands lost).

Soviet Black Sea Fleet proposes evacuating to the Crimean peninsula from the port of Odessa which is now surrounded by German and Romanian troops.

Overnight, RAF again bombs the German ports of Stettin and Hamburg.

Day 760 September 29, 1941

Soviet foreign minister Molotov, British Minister of Supply Lord Beaverbrook and American envoy Averell Harriman meet in Moscow to discuss lend-lease aid to USSR to aid the fight against Germany.

Soviet submarine ShCh-319 attacks German minesweepers M151 and M203 off Liepāja, Latvia, but then goes missing presumably lost to a mine.

At 6.45 PM, convoy PQ.1 departs Hvalfjörður, Iceland (11 steamers escorted by British cruiser HMS Suffolk, destroyers HMS Antelope & HMS Impulsive and 4 minesweepers) and will arrive at Murmansk, USSR, on October 11.

Overnight, RAF bombs the German ports of Stettin and Hamburg.

Day 759 September 28, 1941

Convoy QP.1 (14 British and Soviet merchant ships escorted by British cruiser HMS London and 4 minesweepers) departs Archangel at midday and will arrive in British water on October 10. This convoy and PQ.1 leaving tomorrow in the opposite direction mark the beginning of regular supplies from Britain to USSR.

In the Mediterranean, British submarine HMS Tetrarch damages German steamer Yalova 20 miles South of Naples. Yalova beaches herself, but will be finished off by submarine HMS Talisman on October 3. Operation Halberd. Malta relief convoy arrives from Gibraltar, delivering 50,000 tons of supplies enabling the isolated island to hold out until May 1942. British corvette HMS Hyacinth sinks Italian submarine Fisala 35 miles of the coast of Palestine.

Day 758 September 27, 1941

Ethiopia. After a lengthy siege, British King's African Rifles capture Wolchefit Pass from the Italians (11 miles North of Gondar, the last Italian stronghold in East Africa).

Overnight, U-66 torpedoes unescorted and unarmed neutral Panamanian tanker I.C. White (3 dead and 34 survivors).

600 miles North of the Azores, U-201 takes over the attack on convoy HG-73 sinking 2 merchant ships and British anti-aircraft ship HMS Springbank (32 dead, 201 survivors rescued by HMS Jasmine, which also scuttles Springbank by gunfire, HMS Hibiscus and HMS Periwinkle).

Liberty Fleet Day in USA. SS Patrick Henry and 13 other Liberty ships are launched for supply to Britain under lend-lease to replace shipping lost to U-boats. Another 312 Liberty ships are on order, although 2710 will be built during WWII.

Operation Halberd. The Malta resupply convoy from Gibraltar is attacked by Italian bombers between Sardinia and Tunisia. British battleship HMS Nelson is hit in the bows by a torpedo and SS Imperial Star is sunk carrying 8,000 tons of supplies. Between Sicily and the Italian mainland, British submarine HMS Upright sinks Italian submarine chaser Albatros (42 survivors rescued by U-371).

Operation Supercharge. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Kandahar, Jaguar & Griffin make the last trip from Alexandria to Tobruk carrying troops and supplies. Since September 17, Royal Navy has carried 6308 British troops and 2100 tons of supplies into Tobruk and removed 5444 troops mostly Australian 9th Division, 544 wounded, and 1 POW.

Day 757 September 26, 1941

Most fighting ceases around Kiev, Ukraine. German Field Marshal von Rundstedt has been able to feed fresh infantry into the cauldron. In contrast, surrounded Soviet forces are staving and running out of ammunition, having not received supplies, and they are leaderless following the death of General Mikhail Kirponos in a German ambush on September 20. 4 Soviet Armies have been destroyed, comprising 850,000 men. 150,000 escaped the encirclement and about 300,000 are taken prisoner by the Germans – only 6,000 will return from captivity.

500 miles North of the Azores, U-124 and U-203 each sink 3 merchant ships in convoy HG-73 (total 12,828 tons) until both U-boats run out of torpedoes. U-203 is counterattacked with 26 depth charges by HMS Larkspur but not damaged.

in the Mediterranean, British submarine HMS Tetrarch sinks steamer Citta Di Bastia in an Italian convoy from Piraeus to Crete. Operation Supercharge. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Latona and destroyers HMS Jackal, Kimberley & Hasty make the round trip from Alexandria to Tobruk carrying troops and supplies.

Day 756 September 25, 1941

German and Romanian troops under German General Erich von Manstein seize the 7 km-wide Perekop Isthmus, linking the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. Soviet forces are now isolated on the Crimea itself and the major Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa.

At 7.44 AM 500 miles North of the Azores, U-124 sinks British SS Empire Stream carrying 3730 tons of potash (8 dead and 27 survivors picked up by British corvette HMS Begonia and landed at Milford Haven on September 30).

To prevent a breakout by Soviet Fleet from the Gulf of Finland, newly-formed German Baltic Fleet (battleship Tirpitz, battlecruiser Admiral Scheer, cruisers Köln and Nürnberg, 3 destroyers and 5 torpedo boats) patrols the Baltic Sea. Admiral Scheer is damaged when 2 depth charges explode on the deck (returns to Blohm & Voss shipyard at Hamburg via the Kiel Canal for repairs until October 24).

John F Kennedy enlists in the US Navy.

Day 755 September 24, 1941

350 miles West of the Portuguese island of Madeira, U-107 and U-67 sink 4 British freighters in convoy SL-87 (remarkably only 16 killed, 197 survivors mostly rescued by British sloop HMS Gorleston). Just after midnight, U-67 sinks SS St. Clair II. At 6.31 AM, U-107 sinks SS John Holt, SS Lafian and MV Dixcove.

Convoy ON.18 becomes the first westbound convoy escorted by the United States Navy. ON.18 (which left Liverpool on September 21 escorted by British destroyers HMS Leamington, Saladin, Skate and Veteran) is met in mid-Atlantic by US destroyers USS Madison, Gleaves, Lansdale, Hughes and Simpson.

600 miles West of the Maldives, Greek steamer Stamatios G. Embiricos mistakes German raider Kormoran for a British ship. Kormoran stops and scuttles the Greek ship which is to low on fuel to be used by the Germans. Kormoran picks up all 31 crew including 25 who try to row away in 2 lifeboats.

Operation Supercharge. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Napir, Kingston & Hotspur make the round trip from Alexandria to Tobruk carrying troops and supplies.

Day 754 September 23, 1941

Siege of Leningrad Day 16. Stukas attack Soviet warships at Kronstadt again and shipyards at Leningrad. WWI-era battleship Marat is hit with 2 1,000kg bombs, causing the forward magazine to explode, and sinks in 11 meters of water (326 killed). Marat will be refloated and her rear turrets used as a floating battery, firing 1971 12-inch shells in the defense of Leningrad. Soviet cruisers Maksim Gorki (damaged) and Kirov are attacked by German bombers while, under repair at Leningrad, and submarines P-2 & M-74 are sunk in the dockyards.

Day 753 September 22, 1941

British cruiser HMS London departs Scapa Flow carrying the Anglo American supply mission (Lord Beaverbrook and Averell Harriman) to Archangel, USSR, escorted by both British and Soviet destroyers. Beaverbrook and Harriman will arrive on September 27 and travel to Moscow to discuss Lend-Lease with the Soviet leaders.

At 2.33 AM 200 miles East of Iceland, U-562 sinks British SS Erna III (all 25 hands lost). U-103 and U-68 attack convoy SL-87 300 miles West of the Canary Islands. At 2.22 AM, U-68 damages British MV Silverbelle which sinks on September 29. At 11.46 PM, U-103 sinks British ships MV Edward (all 63 rescued) and SS Niceto de Larrinaga Blyden (2 killed, 53 rescued).

In the Black Sea near Odessa, Stukas bomb Soviet destroyers Bezuprechny (at 1.00 PM, badly damaged and towed to Odessa), Besposhchadny (at 5.30 PM, slight damage by near misses from 84 bombs) and Boyki (minor damage).

Operation Supercharge. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Kandahar, Jaguar & Griffin make the round trip from Alexandria to Tobruk carrying troops and supplies.

Day 752 September 21, 1941

In the Black Sea, Soviet cruisers Krasni Kavkaz and Krasni Krym, escorted by destroyers Boyki, Besposhchadny, Bezuprechny and Frunze, carry 1617 troops of 3rd Naval Rifle Regiment from Sevastopol to attack Romanian 15th Infantry Division near Odessa, simultaneous with a land attack by Soviet 157th and 421st Rifle Divisions. Destroyer Frunze is sunk by Stukas during the day but the landings go ahead overnight.

Siege of Leningrad Day 14. At Kronstadt, Stukas hit Soviet WWI-era battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsia with 6 medium bombs (damaged but remains afloat) and destroyer Stereguschy is also hit and capsizes.

U-boat and air attacks continue on convoy OG-74, 500 miles West of Brest, France. Between 10.50 and 11.20 PM, U-201 sinks British SS Runa, SS Lissa and SS Rhineland at 11.20 PM. A German Fw200 bombs British rescue ship, killing 16 survivors rescued from SS Baltallinn and SS Empire Moat which were torpedoed by U-124 yesterday. Walmer Castle is scuttled by British corvette HMS Marigold and sloop HMS Deptford which take off the remaining crew and passengers.

Day 751 September 20, 1941

Between 1.13 and 3.27 AM 200 miles East of Iceland, U-552 sinks 2 tankers and a cargo ship in convoy SC-44 and U-74 sinks escort catapult armed merchant SS Empire Burton. 102 survivors are picked up by British corvette HMS Honeysuckle.

500 miles East of Brazil, U-111 sinks British MV Cingalese Prince (57 dead, 20 survivors rescued after up to 12 days in lifeboats).

At 11.31 PM 500 miles West of Brest, France, U-124 sinks British SS Baltallinn (7 killed) and SS Empire Moat in convoy OG-74. 60 survivors picked up British rescue ship Walmer Castle. A Grumman F4F Wildcat (Martlet Mk II in British terminology) from escort carrier HMS Audacity shoots down a Folfwolf Condor trying to shadow convoy OG-74 (first kill by a carrier-based aircraft).

Operation Supercharge. Overnight, British minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers HMS Jervis, Kimberley & Hasty carry 1000 troops and 120 tons of stores to Tobruk. They unload in 30 minutes and return to Alexandria.

Day 750 September 19, 1941

Battle of Kiev, Ukraine. German infantry of 2nd, 6th and 17th Armies pour into the Kiev pocket to annihilate the Soviet Southwestern Front (850,000 troops under General Mikhail Kirponos). Yesterday, Kirponos finally received permission to abandon Kiev. He withdraws leaving the city to the Germans but the Luftwaffe continues bombing, following Hitler’s order “to reduce the city to rubble”.

At 6.03 AM 125 miles East of Iceland, U-74 sinks Canadian corvette HMCS Lévis which is escorting convoy SC-44 (18 crew members killed, 40 survivors picked up by Canadian corvettes HMCS Mayflower & HMCS Agassiz). U-372 claims a final victim in convoy SC-42, sinking British SS Baron Pentland at 2.33 PM 100 miles East of Iceland. Baron Pentland’s back had been broken on 10 September by a torpedo from U-652 (2 crew lost, 31 crew and 8 gunners picked up by HMCS Orillia and landed at Reykjavik) but she remained afloat on her cargo of timber.

Operation Supercharge. British cruisers HMS Ajax, Neptune & Hobart return to Alexandria, Egypt, with 6000 troops of British 70th Infantry Division. Over the next few nights, these men will be shuttled to Tobruk to replace Australian 9th Division. To reduce German air attacks, this has to be done using fast warships during moonless periods of the month.

Overnight, Italian submarine Sciré launches 3 manned torpedoes into Gibraltar Harbour sinking oiler RFA Denbydale & oil storage tanker SS Fiona Shell (1 killed) and damaging cargo ship Durham (beached and then towed back to Falmouth). All 6 Italian frogmen swim to Spain and return to a hero’s welcome in Italy.