Battle of the Atlantic

• The Italian submarine Marconi sinks the British naval tanker Cairndale (8129t) 170 miles west-southwest of Trafalgar with the loss of 5 of her crew.
• U-38 sinks the British steamer Empire Protector (6181t) southwest of Freetown with the loss of 5 crewmen. 33 survivors are picked up by the Dutch steamer Arundo.
• U-106 sinks the British steamer Silveryew (6373t) west of the Cape Verde Islands with the loss of 1 crewman. 53 survivors make landfall at San Antonio, Cape Verde Islands.
• The British steamer Westavon (2842t) sinks on a mine north of Margate. The entire crew is rescued.

Crete

The Germans take Retimo and Heraklion. 2 more British destroyers are hit by German aircraft on their way to the embarkation points. The evacuation proceeds; Gen Freyberg embarks. Some 9,000 troops, some of them separated from their units, still remain on the island.

Fallschirmjäger pressing on toward Sphakia in pursue of Allied troops

Germans Looking for More Allied Troops

Before first light Royal Navy Force D (3 destroyers and 3 light cruisers under Rear-Adm I. G. Glennie) embarks 6,000 Allied troops at Sphakia and leaves for Alexandria, while Force C (4 destroyers under Rear-Adm E. L. S. King) is on its way to Sphakia.

6,000 Allied Troops Leave Sphakia

Iraq

Although the main Allied force is held up at Ur and the small British force from Habbaniyah is only advancing very slowly. Rashid Ali gives up the struggle and flees to Iran. An armistice is agreed on the 31st. The British right to station troops in the country is confirmed and the Iraqis undertake to do nothing to help the Axis.

Mediterranean

The Bulgarian steamer Knyaguinya Maria Luisa (3821t) is sunk near Piraeus by a torpedo from a British Wellington aircraft. The steamer blows up and sinks the German steamer Alicante (2140t) and the Romanian steamer Jiul (3127t) nearby.

North Africa

A report by the Italian Supreme Command considers an attack in force on the fortress of Tobruk to be 'inadvisable': 'Unless the enemy forces receive substantial reinforcements it is felt that the situation can be regarded with calm... Only in the event of the enemy receiving large reinforcements, with an obvious aggressive intention, and we ourselves receiving only modest reinforcements (or none at all), could the situation be reversed and become sufficiently dangerous to make it necessary for us to raise the siege of Tobruk.'