Children in Gas Masks

A horde of children wearing gas masks carry out a practice evacuation of a school in Kingston, Greater London, after a canister of tear gas was discharged on June 9, 1941. (Parker/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-46 sinks the British steamer Phidias (5623t) north of the Azores with the loss of 8 crewmen. 43 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Embassage.
• U-101 sinks the British steamer Silverpalm (6373t) west of Ireland with the loss of all 68 on board.
• The British steamer Diana (942t) is sunk by German bombing southeast of Iceland with the loss of 1 crewman. The survivors are picked up by the British anti-submarine trawler Cape Portland. Also sunk in a German air attack is the British steamer Dagmar (844t) near Southampton with the loss of 3 of her crew. The Finnish steamer Fenix (1894t) is sunk by German bombing west of the Faroes with the loss of 1 of her crew.

Mediterranean

• The Vichy destroyers Guépard and Valmy bombard Australian troops advancing along the coast of Lebanon. 4 British destroyers move in to drive them off which results in a naval battle off the coast between the 2 destroyer groups. The Vichy ships are forced to retire but inflict some damage.
• The Spanish steamer Sabina (2421t) sinks on a mine 40 miles from Genoa. The entire crew are rescued.

Syria

The Allied advance continues to make good progress. Tyre, Marja-youn and El Quneitra are all taken in the advance from Palestine. In the drive from Transjordan Dera'a is taken.

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Croatian Fascist Leader Ante Pavelic Meets with Adolf Hitler

Croatian Fascist leader Ante Pavelic met with Adolf Hitler on an official state visit on June 9, 1941 at the Berghof near Berchtesgaden in Bavaria. He was accompanied by Andrija Artukovic and was also greeted by Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Göring.