Barents Sea

U-132 sinks the Soviet steamer Argun (3487t) north of Murmansk.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-101 sinks the British destroyer Broadwater, astern of Convoy SC-48, with the loss of 56 on board. 85 survivors are picked up by the British anti-submarine trawlers Angle and Cape Warwick.
• 2 British steamers are lost on mines in Barrow Deep, the Empire Ghyll (2011t) and the Mahseer (7911t). 7 crewmen are lost on the Empire Ghyll. The entire crew of the Mahseer are rescued.

Eastern Front

In the continuing German advance on Moscow, Mozhaysk, one of the key points in the Soviet defense east of the capitol, is taken by troops from 4th Pzr Group.

The XL Panzer Corps breaks into Mozhaisk but has to fight for every yard of ground. By the end of the day, the 2nd SS Motorized Division Das Reich and the 10th Panzer Division has cleared the town. These units then move forward toward Dorohov, which is defended by the 50th Rifle Division. The LVII Panzer Corps penetrates the Soviet line at Maloyaroslavets and Borovsk, while fierce fighting continues at Kaluga. Tarusa also falls as the 49th Army is pounded. With steady progress being made by the German forces southwest of Moscow, communications between the capital and Tula becomes tenuous, particularly in the hardpressed Naro-Fominsk and Podolsk sectors. To bolster the line, the 33rd Army is committed and the 43rd Army reinforced.

Russian Tank Crew Taken Prisoner

The crew of a Russian T-34 tank is taken prisoner after the Russian was rammed by a Stug III assault gun, Germany's most prolific fighting vehicle, near Kalinin on 18 October 1941.

Reichenau's 6th Army captures Grayvoron. The LIV Corps begins and attack aimed at breaking through the Perekop isthmus and opening the road to the Crimea. Kuznetsov's 51st Independent Army, with 12 rifle and 4 cavalry divisions, has constructed formidable defenses on the narrow neck of land, but Kuznetsov has then spread his forces thinly to cover the extensive Crimean coast. The Russians have more than 200,000 troops in the Crimea, having been reinforced by the recently evacuated Odessa garrison.

Mediterranean

• Malta's air forces are augmented by a force of strike planes flown in from Gibraltar.
• The Italian steamer Caterina (4786t), part of a convoy bound for Tripoli, is badly damaged by British bombing. The ship sinks the next day 62 miles north of Tripoli.

Occupied Rumania

Rumania incorporates captured Russian territory between the Dniester and the Bug Rivers as 'Transnistria'.