Battle of the Atlantic

The German trawler Buskoe is seized in Mackenzie Bay, Greenland by the US Coast Guard cutter Northland (PG-49). The German ship has been sent to the area to serve as a weather monitoring and reporting station for the German military.

Eastern Front

Guderian's and von Kleist's forces link up near the small town of Lokhvitsa (or on the 15th?), cutting off the huge Soviet forces in the pocket between there and Kiev, 100 miles to the west. 105 miles to the east of Kiev they join up at Rovno. The 5th and 38th Armies of Budenny and Timoshenko are in this pocket. At least 600,000 men are encircled. The II Luftflotte has made valuable contributions to these operations. North of Kiev, Chernigov, on the banks of the Desna midway between Kiev and Gomel, is evacuated in the face of attacks by the German 2nd Army.

The first snowfall on the Eastern Front is reported. The immediate effect on the German advance is a considerable slowdown of their mechanized forces.

Although they capture Podporogye, the Finns are unable to make any further progress across the Svir.

As the bloodletting increases around Leningrad, the 1st Panzer Div captures Krasnoye Selo and the XLI Panzer Corps threatens to outflank the Soviet 42nd Army's defenses at Krasnogvardievsk. The German XXVIII Corps launches an assault towards Slutsk and Pushkin. The Stavka disbands the 48th Army and allocates its units to the 54th Army. The 4th, 52nd and 54th Armies are ordered to muster along the Volkhov. German losses reinforce Hitler's desire to starve Leningrad into submission rather than take the city by force.

The XXIV Panzer Corps continues to drive south. Realizing the danger to Kiev, the Stavka orders the Bryansk Front to organize an attack against the 2nd Panzer Group's left flank.

Col-Gen Eugen Ritter von Schobert and his pilot before their last flight. They were killed when their plane crashed in a minefield.

Last Flight of Col-Gen von Schobert

For advocating a withdrawal, Marshal Budenny is sacked and replaced by Timoshenko as commander of the Red Army in the south. But Stalin's obstinacy is about to spell disaster as the 1st Panzer Group strikes from the Kremenchug bridgehead. The German 2nd and 6th Armies continue their remorseless drive against the west of the forming Kiev Pocket. The pincers are about close around Kiev.[MORE]

Mediterranean

The Italian steamer Caffaro (6476t) is sunk by British swordfish from 830 Squadron from Malta northwest of Tripoli. The Italian steamers Tambien (5584t) and Nicolo Odero (6003t) are damaged in the same attack. The latter is sunk at Tripoli by an RAF bombing raid.

North Africa

Beginning this day and continuing for a week and a half there is another series of relief operations to Tobruk. The fast transports bring in about 6,300 men and a large quantity of supplies, and take out 6,000 of the Australian garrison. The new troops are from Gen Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie's 70th British Div.

The commander of an armored unit receives a messasge at his HQ located in a tunnel within the Tobruk perimeter, 12 September 1941.

Armored Unit HQ Located in a Tunnel

Norway, Home Front

The Quisling government bans the Boy Scouts and other youth organizations. Boys are to be obliged to join youth sections of the Nasjonal Samling (National Unity) Party.

Red Sea

The British tug Tai Koo (688t) sinks on a mine between Aden and Massawa.