Air Operations, Mediterranean

The British air raids on Sicily continue. Several targets between Syracuse and Licata are hit several times.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British submarine Trident sinks the German auxiliary patrol vessel UJ-1213 in Honningsvaag, Norway.
• In attacks on Convoy SC-52 U-569 sinks the British steamer Rose Schiaffino (3349t) about 225 miles east of St Johns, Newfoundland with the loss of her entire crew of 41.
• U-202 sinks the British steamers Flynderborg (2022t) and Gretavale (4586t) northeast of Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland. 3 crewmen are lost on the Flynderborg, 18 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvette Windflower. The Gretavale loses 38 of her crew, 6 survivors are also picked up by the Windflower.
• U-203 sinks the British steamers Empire Gemsbuck (5626t) and Everoja (4830t) northeast of Cape Charles, Labrador. The entire 43-man crew of the Empire Gemsbuck is rescued by the Canadian corvette Buctouche. The entire crew of 41 from the Everoja is picked up by the British corvette Nasturtium.
• The German steamer Anneliese (726t) sinks on a mine off Dievenow.

Caribbean

The British carrier Indomitable, due to be headed to Ceylon, is damaged in a training exercise in the West Indies.

Diplomatic Relations

The German government informs the US that it will not offer compensation for the loss of the Robin Moore.

Eastern Front

In the Leningrad sector there are further German attacks in the continuing effort to complete the isolation of the city. The Germans try to take the whole southern shore of Lake Ladoga, including the rail junction of Volkhov (Tikhvin) 100 miles east of the city.

During this battle there will be repeated Soviet counterattacks but they will be foolishly directed against some of the strongest German positions. The Germans fail to make their objectives but they do succeed in cutting the railway line from Leningrad to Vologda.

The ruins of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, blown up November 3, 1941, during the German occupation of Kiev. There are several versions of the cause of the explosion: the Germans, partisans or the NKVD

Ruins of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

At the junction between Army Group Center and Army Group South, Kursk, north of Kharkov, falls to the Germans.

Heavy fighting continues around Teploye as the LIII Corps struggles to withstand Soviet attacks. Kempf's XLVIII Panzer Corps fights its way into and captures Kursk.

German Units Pass Through Simferopol

When the Nazis succeeded in penetrating the Russian defenses on the Perekop Isthmus, they succeeded in dividing the defending armies into two groups, one of which retired towards the great naval base of Sevastopol and the other towards Kerch. On November 1, Simferopol fell, and above, German motorized units pass through the town after the surrender.

Japan, Planning

The plan to attack Pearl Harbor, drawn up by Adm Isoroku Yamamoto, is approved by the Japanese command.

Occupied Soviet Union

Einsatzgruppe C reports to Himmler that it has shot 75,000 Jews in Russia.

Jewish victims from Einsatzgruppe C behind Army Group South at Lvov. Desperate family members search for their dead.

Family Members Search for Their Dead

Pacific Islands

American dependents are evacuated from the islands of Guam, Wake and Midway.

United States, Politics

US Ambassador Grew cables from Tokyo that Japan 'might resort with dangerous and dramatic suddenness to measures which might make inevitable war with the United States.' He also says that 'it would be shortsighted for American policy to be based upon the belief that Japanese preparations are no more than saber rattling, merely intended to give moral support to the high pressure diplomacy of Japan.'