Australia, Politics

The Robert Menzies Country Party government falls. The new prime minister is John Curtin of the Labor Party. Menzies, so loved and respected in Great Britain for his whole-hearted support in the war to date, has come to be seen by the voters as too acquiescent toward London and unconcerned with matters closer to home.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-562 sinks the British CAM ship Empire Wave (7463t) from Convoy ON-19 500 miles east of Cape Farewell with the loss of 29 crewmen. 31 survivors are picked up by the Icelandic trawler Surprise.
• U-575 sinks the Dutch steamer Tuva (4652t) from Convoy ON-19A west of Ireland with the loss of 1 crewman. 34 survivors are picked up by the Canadian destroyer St Croix.
• U-431 sinks the British steamer Hatasu (3198t), a straggler from Convoy ON-19, 600 miles east of Cape Race with the loss of 40 of her crew. 7 survivors in a lifeboat are picked up after 7 days by the US destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD-428).

Diplomatic Relations

• A border agreement is reached between Ecuador and Peru. A 15-km 'neutral' zone is established and will be patrolled by Ecuadorian police.
• The US seeks clarification from Japan about whether it plans to withdraw troops from China and Indochina. On the advice of Hull, Roosevelt turns down the idea of a direct meeting with Konoye. The failure to arrange this conference is one of the factors that lead to Konoye's downfall.

Eastern Front

The German attack on Moscow, Operation 'TAIFUN' (TYPHOON), officially begins. Hitler issues the Order of the Day: 'Today is the beginning of the last decisive battle of the year.' Hoth's 3rd and Hoeppner's 4th Panzergruppen, 2nd, 4th and 9th Armies all join the advance, which was started 2 days previously by Guderian's forces on the right wing.

Assault Guns Sturmgeschütz III, 2 October 1941

A German assault on a Russian railway station. Behind the two German soldiers a destroyed Russian KV-1 tank.

On the way to Moscow

The Germans have considerably superior forces on the ground and an even greater preponderance in the air. The main efforts are by the tank units. Guderian's Panzergruppe breaks through the Russian defenses at Glukhov and moves towards Orel. Then the drive suddenly turns north towards Tula, about 125 miles from Moscow. The 2nd Army and some of Guderian's forces converge on Bryansk. The 4th Army and the IV Panzergruppe under Hoeppner break through the right wing of the Soviet western front under Gen Ivan S. Konev east of Roslavl and move on towards Vyazma as Hoth's III Panzergruppe converge on the same town.

In the southern sector begins the battle of the Sea of Azov.

Operation TYPHOON begins at 5:30am with the German 4th and 9th Armies, 3rd and 4th Panzer Groups and VIII Air Corps attacking. The Soviet 19th and 30th Armies are shattered, and a 30-mile gap opens up between them. The German 4th Army attacks at Roslavl against the 43rd Army, and thr 4th Panzer Group smashes into the juncture of the 43rd and 24th Armies. The 2nd Panzer Group and 2nd Army force the Bryansk and Southwestern Fronts apart.

The German 6th and 17th Armies attack the northern flank of the Southwestern Front as the 1st Panzer Group lances into the rear of the Southern Front. The German 11th Army forces the Soviet XXX Corps back along the Sea of Azov coast.[MORE]

Germany, Home Front

The Me-163 V1 rocket-propelled research aircraft achieves a speed of 1,000 km/hr in level flight over Peenemünde. A fighter version of this aircraft is developed later and enters service in 1944.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Perseus sinks the German steamer Castellon (2086t) 10 miles from Benghazi.

Occupied France

Gestapo troops begin destroying the synagogues of Paris.