Battle of the Atlantic

• U-43 sinks the British steamer Cathrine (2727t), a straggler from Convoy SL-76, 600 miles west of Cape Clear with the loss of 24 of her crew. 3 survivors are picked up 19 July by the British steam trawler Boreas.
• The British armed merchant cruiser Pretoria Castle captures the Vichy steamer Desirade (9645t) east of the Antilles.

Finland

Finland begins mobilizing its forces. A partial mobilization had been ordered on June 9, and the northern Finnish air defense troops (30,000 men) had been placed under German command, although in reality the Wehrmacht already held the northern half of the border with the USSR. On June 14, the Finnish III Army Corps had been mobilized and put under German command.

German Raiders

The British steamer Tottenham (4762t) is sunk by the German raider Atlantis in the middle of the South Atlantic. 17 of her crew are landed at Trinidad on 2 July. 26 crewmen are made prisoners of war.

Germany, Planning

Hitler decides that the attack on the Soviet Union will commence on June 22, 1941. He has an extreme hatred of the Slav people and the communism that rules them. Hitler aims to enslave the 'inferior' Slav peoples, exploit their resources, and occupy their lands as part of his Lebensraum ('living space') policy for the Aryan race.

North Africa

Rommel attempts to move his tank forces together early in the day to threaten the now-weakened British armor guarding the inland flank. The German 5th Light reaches the top of Sidi Omar and turns east towards Sidi Suleiman. Rommel orders up the 8th Arm Regt from Fort Capuzzo and sends them first southwest and then east. He hopes to launch a joint attack on the British at Halfaya Pass. After some confusion the whole British force begins to withdraw and Wavell is left to signal the failure of BATTLEAXE to Churchill. By the end of the afternoon the military situation on the Libyan-Egypt is back the way it was 2 days previous.

German Panzer Mk IIs and Mk IIIs Cross the Desert, June 1941.

Syria

There is fierce fighting at Kuneitra, which changes hands twice. Australian troops take Jezzine, just inland from Sidon. The Habforce group, which had an important role in the fighting in Iraq and is now made up of a cavalry brigade and some small infantry units, is ordered to begin an advance from Iraq due west along the main oil pipeline leading to Palmyra.