Axis Diplomacy

Hitler receives the Italian Foreign Minister and the Spanish Foreign Minister in Berchtesgaden for important talks. He does not conceal his anger at the failure of the Greek campaign and his anxiety about the obvious disagreement at the heart of the Italian supreme command. He argues, and repeats it in a letter to Mussolini which he hands to Ciano, that if the British acquire air bases in Greece (at Athens, Thessaloniki, Larisa and Arta) they will be able to bomb the oil wells at Ploesti. He therefore considers it necessary for Germany to intervene, but this cannont be done before March 15.He calls on il Duce to make a radical change in his policy towards Yugoslavia, which must be attracted into the orbit of the Axis. This could possibly happen by promising the Yugoslavs the port of Thessaloniki when the Greeks are beaten.

Mussolini must not forget that the British air bases in Greece pose a threat to Albania and the whole of southern Italy. Finally, Hitler says it is necessary to close the Mediterranean, to seek an accord with Turkey, to persuade Rumania to accept a stronger German garrison and Hungary to allow the passage of German troops, to defeat the British in North Africa and to induce Spain to enter the war by attacking Gibraltar.

Battle of the Atlantic

• In an Atlantic operation a U-boat approaching a convoy is detected by a Sunderland flying boat fitted with an Air to Surface Vessel (ASVI) radar set. This is the first time such a location has been achieved by airborne radar in operational conditions.
• U-65 sinks the British tanker Congonia (5056t) west-southwest of Freetown with the loss of 1 crewman. 35 survivors are picked up by the British cruiser Devonshire.
• The Italian submarine Baracca sinks the British steamer Lillian Moller (4866t) from the dispersed Convoy SLS-53 in the North Sea with the loss of the entire crew.
• The British steamer Nestlea (4274t), a straggler from Convoy SL-53, is sunk by German bombing in the North Sea. The entire crew are rescued.

German Raiders

The German armed merchant cruiser Pinguin sinks the British steamer Nowshera (7920t) in the Indian Ocean with all Europeans on the ship being made prisoners of war.

Greek-Albanian Front

All invading Italian forces have now been driven back over the Kalamas River.

Italy, Politics

Mussolini says Italy attacked Greece because 'since May Greece has offered the French and English all her air and naval bases. It was necessary to bring an end to this situation.' He adds, 'We have enough men and means to annihilate all Greek resistance.'