Air Operations, Europe

The Luftwaffe makes a night raid on Southampton.

• 12 Bostons attack a cargo ship in Dunkirk harbor. All bombs miss the ship, but do hit railway lines near the ship. No planes are lost.
• In minor operations, 56 aircraft lay mines off St Nazaire and 2 make leaflet flights over France. 1 Wellington minelayer is lost.

Air Operations, Libya

During the night, 9 HALPRO B-24s attack the harbor at Benghazi after the target is illuminated by RAF bombers carrying flares and indendiary bombs.

Axis Planning

Mussolini writes to Hitler to ask for a decision on the invasion of Malta: 'It is my opinion, and surely yours too, that we must consolidate and build up on the successes achieved. Central to our strategic picture lies the problem of Malta on which we have in the past taken decisions of which you are aware. To maintain the positions we have gained in Marmarica, and to provide for future requirements, we must be able to provide the necessary transport. The occupation of Malta would not only solve the problem of sea traffic in the Mediterranean but also make our air forces available in other fields.' Together with this message Mussolini submits to his ally a problem that the Italian command has been studying for a long time, and for which they have been making operational preparations - the project (Operation C3) for a landing in Malta. Behind this project are the Italian Chief of Staff, Gen Ugo Cavallero, and the German Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring. These two senior officers have recognized how important the island can be in the overall picture of the Mediterranean war, not least in its contribution to Rommel's African campaign. Their plan has been worked out down to the minutest detail, and now the troops of the invasion force, after a meticulous rehearsal on the cliffs south of Leghorn (which are similar in form to those in Malta) have been transferred to Sicily and, since April, have been waiting for the order to go.

Some of the Allied Prisoners from the Tobruk Garrison

But Rommel wants priority. He asks for and receives authority from Hitler to attack Tobruk first. The Italians have to be content with a formal undertaking that, once the African fortress is taken, Rommel will stop and consider the possibility of carrying out the landing. Once Tobruk falls, Rommel tells Hitler he has no intention of stopping. He will go on to Suez and hopes the Italians will follow him. Hitler, always susceptible to the fascination of Rommel, and carried away by the grandeur of the plan, finally opts in Rommel's favor.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British submarine P-514 is sunk by the Canadian corvette Georgian off St John's, Newfoundland when receiving no reply to its identification challenge. There are no survivors.

Eastern Front

With the defeat of the last defenders of the Maxim Gorki fort, the 24th Infantry Division of the LIV Corps secure the Severnaya Bay area. The battle then enters its final stage as the Germans prepare to attack the final ring of defenses before the city itself.

Mediterranean

• The German steamer Reichenfels (7744t) is sunk by a British torpedo bomber east of Sfax, Tunisia.
• The South African minesweeping trawler Parktown is sunk by an Italian motor torpedo boat off Tobruk with the loss of 1 of her crew.

North Africa

At 2:00a.m. Gen Klopper, commander of the Tobruk fortress, tells Gen Ritchie that he will fight 'to the last man and the last round'. At 6:00a.m. Gen Klopper asks Gen Ritchie for permission to surrender. At 8:00a.m. Klopper sends officers forward with a white flag to ask Rommel for surrender terms. The garrison of Tobruk surrenders to the Germans and Italians. In addition to Klopper are five other generals and brigadiers among the 30,000 prisoners from the 2nd South African Div, the 29th Indian Brigade and two battalions of the Guards.

German Fighter in North Africa

British Surrender Tobruk

Mountains of stores of every kind are included in the capture by the Axis forces. One German soldier even records how his comrades sent home parcels of Australian bully beef. More importantly the captured stores, 3,000,000 rations and 500,000 gallons of gasoline, are a vital addition to the Afrika Korps' scanty reserves. Along with these supplies are 2,000 vehicles in working order in addition to the harbor and a big water distillation plant. According to the official South African history of the campaign: 'The capture of Tobruk crowned what was probably the most spectacular series of victories ever gained over a British army.' Rommel's cost for the victory, since May 26, is 3,360 men including about 300 officers. The Italians have lost about 3,000 men.

Gen Ritchie decides to fall back to Mersa Matruh, in Egypt, and orders XIII Corps to slow down the enemy advance while XXX Corps organizes the defense of Mersa Matruh.

Rommel wishes to drive on to Egypt, chasing his beaten enemy. He puts this suggestion to Hitler (see Axis Planning above) and Mussolini despite the objections of Kesselring, who prefers to carry out Operation HERKULES against Malta. Rommel has his way and, as the hero of the hour, is promoted to Field Marshal by Hitler. Rommel comments 'It would be better if he had sent me another division.' The fall of Tobruk has one consequence that Rommel could not have foreseen, however. On the 21st, while in a meeting with Roosevelt. Churchill is given the news and accepts a generous offer of immediate help. The result is that 300 Sherman tanks and 100 self-propelled guns are quickly sent off to 8th Army and in fact play a vital role at El Alamein.

Pacific

The US submarine S-44 (SS-155) sinks the Japanese gunboat Keijo Maru (2626t) 12 miles west of Gavutu, Solomons.

United States, Home Front

A Japanese submarine shells the military depot at Fort Stevens, Oregon, on the Columbia River estuary. The damage is minimal. This is the first attack on a military installation in the United States since the War of 1812, and it will be the only one of this war.

Vichy France

In a broadcast to the French people, Laval states his hope that Germany will win the war.