Air Operations, Europe

There are several attacks on general targets in the Ruhr and the Rhineland. Berlin is also hit. There are more operations against ports in France and Germany (see July 24). R.A.F. bombers drop 4,380 tons - the highest total achieved until mid-1942. Over 3,800 sorties are flown and 188 aircraft are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

Allied shipping losses are much less severe this month. Only 22 ships of 94,200 tons are sunk by U-boats out of a total of 121,000 tons. (Allied Ships Lost to U-boats) The strength of the U-boat fleet is increasing, however. There are now 63 boats operational and a further 93 in training. About 20 new boats will be commissioned during the month and only one of the operational fleet will be lost. The strength of the British escort forces is increasing also. Outward convoys to North America and convoys to West Africa can now be given continuous escort and the Gibraltar convoys have their escorts strengthened. Until this time the U-boats have been able to take supplies from German ships sheltering in the Canary Island harbors but British diplomatic pressure on the Spanish government now brings this to an end.

Air Operations, Europe

The R.A.F. attacks Brest harbor and hits Prinz Eugen, causing much damage and killing 60 of her crew.

Axis Diplomacy

• Ribbentrop urges Japan's Foreign Minister Matsuoka to press his government to declare war on the Soviet Union. The Russians are withdrawing a great number of units from the Far East in order to reinforce the west. They have never left themselves so weak in that area. The Japanese, however, categorically refuse. Their reason, as reported by the spy Sorge, is that their chosen line of expansion is in a different direction. They are looking to move towards southeast Asia and the oilfields in the Dutch East Indies.
• Germany, Italy and the other Axis nations recognize the pro-Japanese government of Wang Ching-wei in China.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Aircraft from the United States Navy start anti-submarine patrols from bases in Newfoundland.
• The British steamer Homefire (1262t) is sunk in a German air attack north of Norwich with the loss of 2 crewmen.
• U-108 sinks the British steamer Toronto City (2486t), being used as a weather observation ship since October 1940, about 500 miles north of the Azores. All 43 of her crew are lost.
• The British armed boarding vessel Malvernian is badly damaged and abandoned after a German air attack. 24 of the crew are lost, 57 are landed and the rest of the crew of 164 are made prisoners of war.
• The German steamer Durazzo (1153t) is taken over by Venezuela at Maracaibo and renamed Pampero.

Britain, Command

Gen Auchinleck is appointed to command the British forces in the Middle East. Gen Wavell takes Auchinleck's old post as Commander-in-Chief in India. Churchill has finally tired of Wavell with the failure of the 'BATTLEAXE' offensive. The British government recognizes that the Commander in Chief, Middle East, has had heavy political responsibilities up to now in addition to his military duties and to avoid the distraction which this has caused in the past Oliver Lyttleton is appointed minister of state, resident in the Middle East.

Diplomatic Relations

Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Kuomintang government breaks diplomatic relations with Germany and Italy following their recognition of the rival Japanesse puppet regime, the Reformes Kuomintang.

Eastern Front

Units of Army Group North take Riga while to the south other German troops are already well beyond the Dvina, making for Ostrov. West of Minsk the Berezina has been crossed by Guderian's Panzers and the advance towards Pskov continues.

Soviet Prisoners of War

Air Operations, Europe

Blenheims, with a strong escort including the American volunteer 'Eagle Squadron', bomb an airfield and rail junction near Lille.

There are night raids by the R.A.F. on Bremen and Cologne.

Diplomatic Relations

China breaks off relations with the Axis powers.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Torbay sinks the Italian steamer Citta di Tripoli (2933t) in the Aegean Sea.

Eastern Front

In the Army Group North sector, after a rapid concentration and regrouping Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Group attacks with renewed vigor toward the Russian fortifications on the border with Latvia successfully breaking through at Ostrov.

In the south the Amonescu Army Group, comprising the Rumanian 3rd and 4th Armies and the German 11th Army begin full-scale attacks on the right wing increasing the pressure on the Russians in the Moldavia sector and in the direction of Vinnitsa.

An attack by the Soviet X Mechanized Corps in front of Vyborg is stopped by the Finnish IV Corps.

The Soviet XII Mechanized Corps is forced to retreat by XLI Panzer Corps as the XXI Mechanized Corps tries to hold off the LVI Panzer Corps.

Happy Welcome in Latvia

Timoshenko takes direct command of the Western Front and brings the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd Armies from the reserve into the line. The 19th Panzer Div reaches the Disna River but is stopped by resistance, and the 18th Panzer Div farther south establishes a bridgehead over the Berezina River. The XLVII Panzer Corps is also approaching the Berezina to the south.

Eastern Front

The Soviet front is reorganized in three sectors, northwest, with the Baltic and Northern fleets, entrusted to Kliment E. Voroshilov; western, placed under the command of Semyon K. Timoshenko; southwestern, with the Black Sea fleet, entrusted to Budenny. Each of these commanders is given a politico-military adviser: Andrei Zhdanov, Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev.

Battalions are also raised for service in the big cities. All men between the ages of 16 and 60 and women between 18 and 50 are called up to take part in civil defense. Positions are to be defended to the last man; the line to be held at all costs, according to the Soviet leaders, is from Smolensk to Moscow.

Gen Franz Halder, chief of the German general staff, notes in his Diary that the task given to the German armed forces may be considered fulfilled if the bulk of the enemy are driven back beyond the Dvina and the Dniepr.

The marshy and woody terrain is hindering the advance of the panzers, but the Soviet 8th, 11th and 27th Armies are falling apart under the relentless German assault.

Resistance in the Bialystok Pocket ends. The Soviet 3rd and 10th Armies have been destroyed, the 4th and 13th Armies reduced to remnants. The Germans have taken 290,000 prisoners, 2,500 tanks and 1,500 artillery pieces. Meanwhile, the 19th Panzer Div forces a crossing of the Disna.

The Soviets suffer heavy losses attempting to destroy Axis bridgeheads on the Prut River. The XLVIII Rifle and II Mechanized Corps in particular incur severe losses.[MORE]

Italian East Africa

In southern Abyssinia the Italian resistance comes to an end with the surrender of Gen Pietro Gazzera and 7,000 troops to a Belgian unit. In the northwestern Gondar area there are more Italian surrenders around Debra Tabor.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Upholder sinks the Italian steamer Laura Cosulich (5870t) east of Calabria.

Syria

Deir el Zor falls to the troops from 10th Indian Div. The Vichy fort at Palmyra surrenders to Habforce after a long defense.

Air Operations, Europe

11 Blenheims carry out a daylight raid on Bremen factory targets at roof-top height.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-69 sinks the British steamer Robert L. Holt (2918t) from dispersed Convoy OB-337 northwest of the Canary Islands. The entire crew of 56 are lost including Vice-Adm N. A. Wodehouse.
• U-123 sinks the British steamer Auditor (5444t) 600 miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands with the loss of 1 crewman. 51 of the crew land at St Michael Island, Azores and 24 more land at San Antonio Island, Cape Verde Islands.
• The British ocean boarding vessel Cavina intercepts the German steamer Frankfurt (5522t) in the middle of the North Atlantic. The ship scuttles herself. 26 survivors are picked up, 20 crewmen are missing.

Eastern Front

The Germans capture Ostrov, south of Pskov.

The Finnish 14th Infantry Div makes good progress along the Repola axis against sparse resistance.

The 6th Panzer Div easily penetrates the Stalin Line as the 1st Panzer Div enters Ostrov. The Stavka orders the fortification of the Luga River Line to stop the German advance on Leningrad. However, Gen Markian Popov's Northern Front is short of ment and equipment and is having to commit forces to fend off Finnish attacks in Karelia. The German 16th Army, covering the army group's southern flank, is being held back by Hitler's insistence that it protect the junction with Army Group Center.

Timoshenko organizes a counterattack using the 22nd Army at Polotsk against the LVII Panzer Corps; the 20th Army, with the V and VII Mechanized Corps in support (1,000 tanks each), agaisnt the XXXIX Panzer Corps at Lepel; and the 21st Army in the south near the Pripet Marshes.

The 3rd Panzer Group continues the advance on Kiev as the Soviet 18th Army manages to escape across the Dniester River, being subjected to Luftwaffe attack as it does so. The German 6th Army is divided into two groups: the northern group supports the 3rd Panzer for the drive on Kiev, the southern group will link up with XIV and XLVIII Panzer Corps and will swing south to join up with the 11th Army to encircle the Soviet 6th, 12th, 18th and 26th Armies.[MORE]

Panzer IV Almost Falls Off Russian Bridge

Air Operations, Europe

There are R.A.F. night raids on railway targets in Münster, the first of 3 consecutive nights which destroy a quarter of the city, and a power station in Bielefeld. There are heavy civilian casualties.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British submarine Tigris sinks the Italian submarine Michele Bianchi in the Bay of Biscay. There are no survivors.
• The British auxiliary minesweeper Snaefell is sunk by German bombing off Newcastle with the loss of 1 of her crew.
• U-96 sinks the British troop transport Anselm (5954t) about 300 miles south of the Azores. 4 crewmen and 250 troops are lost on the steamer of a crew of 98 and 1210 troops. The British surveying ship Challenger rescues 970 survivors and the corvette Starwort 240. They are all later transferred to the British armed merchant cruiser Cathay.
• The Swedish steamer Stig Gorthon (2241t) sinks on a mine off Borkum. The entire crew is rescued.
• The British steamer Bencruachen (5920t) sinks on a mine northwest of Mex High Light. 3 of the crew are lost.

Eastern Front

The German 6th Army under von Reichenau breaches the Soviet defense line west of Zhitomir. This area is defended by the Russian 6th and 26th Armies. Von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group begins to move through the gap heading for Berdichev and Zhitomir, southeast and east of Kiev. But the drive is somewhat held back by orders from Hitler. Farther north in the attacks east of Minsk the German advance reaches the Dniepr.

The German advance toward Salla grinds to a hald amid ferocious Soviet defense and difficult conditions. SS Nord is attacking the town frontally, the 169th Infantry Division is attacking from the north and the 6th Finnish Infantry Division from the south. The Finns send up their 14th Infantry Division to support the attack.

The XLI Panzer Corps comes under heavy attack at Ostrov as the XXIV Rifle Corps counterattacks. German fire crushes the assault, however, forcing the battered rifle divisions to fall back.

To the south, the LVI Panzer Corps advances toward Opochka, but finds the going extremely difficult in the trackless forest and marsh that cut across its line of advance.

Gen Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg's XXIV Panzer Corps succeeds in reaching the Dniepr during the afternoon, moving near the river at the small settlement of Stary Bykhov. The Germans become embroiled in heavy fighting with the retreating elements of Gen Fyodor Remezov's 13th Army. At the same time, the XXXIX Panzer Corps encounters strong resistance from Gen Pavel Kurochkin's 20th Army on the approaches to Vitebsk, the Soviets preventing the early capture of that city. The Soviet V and VII Mechanized Corps also move into the combat line and begin to counterattack in conjunction with the 20th Army, striking the exposed southern wing of the XXXIX Panzer.

The 6th Army and the 1st Panzer Group unleash a fierce attack upon Gen Ivan Muzychenko's 6th Army. Furious fighting erupts around Zhitomir where the XIV Panzer Corps fights a bitter battle. To the north the III Panzer Corps pushes closer to the Irpen at Radomyshl.

In Moldavia, Gen Ivan Tyulenev's Southern Front begins to abandon its positions west of the Dniestr above Kishinev. The 9th Army continues to hold out around the Moldavian capital against the weaker forces of the LIV Corps.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

British aircraft raid Palermo, Sicily.

Air Operations, North Africa

Italian and German aircraft bomb the Tobruk fortress and the area of Sidi Barrani.

Eastern Front

Rumanian forces take Chersovtsy, just over the Carpathians, and are welcomed enthusiastically by the civilian population, which is Rumanian, on entering the city. The Soviets claim to have carried out successful counterattacks in Latvia and in Belorussia.

In the outskirts of Vitebsk, not far from Smolensk, the 16th Army of Army Group North makes contact with the 9th Army of Army Group Center. The northernmost German army, the 18th, continues its advance north, establishing a line from Lake Peipus through Tartu to Parnu, north of the Gulf of Riga.

The Soviet 52nd and 14th Rifle Divs withdraw to the Litsa River. The German advance toward Salla grinds to a halt in the face of Soviet resistance.

The Luftwaffe's, 54th Fighter Wing shoots down 65 of 73 Soviet bombers that attacked the German bridgehead at Ostrov.

As LVII Panzer Corps holds off an assault by the 22nd Army at Disna, Timoshenko launches his counterattack. The 20th Army stops XXXIX Panzer Corps from taking Vitebsk, and XXIV Panzer Corps is attacked by the 21st Army from Zhlobin. The V and VII Mechanized Corps also engage the XXXIX and XLVII Panzer Corps.

With Red Army forces disintegrating, III, XIV and XLVIII Panzer Corps approach Kiev. To the south, the 17th Army pushes back the Soviet 26th Army, which forces the 12th Army to retrat in Moldavia. To date the Southwestern Front has lost 165,000 killed or missing, 65,700 wounded, 4,400 tanks, 5,800 artillery pieces and 1,200 aircraft.[MORE]

A Scene from the Senno-Lepel Tank Battle

Mediterranean

The British submarine Triumph sinks the Italian steamer Ninfea (607t) and its escorting gunboat De Lutti off Benghazi.

Air Operations, Europe

There is a heavy night bombing raid on Southampton.

Battle of the Atlantic

A powerful naval task force lands US Marines in Iceland to relieve the British garrison there. Marines also arrive in Trinidad and British Guiana to supplement and eventually replace the British forces in those two locations. The US states that the move is made to prevent 'the occupation by Germany of strategic outpost in the Atlantic to be used as air or naval bases for eventual attack against the Western Hemisphere.'

Diplomatic Relations

Churchill sends a letter of encouragement to Stalin in which he speaks of 'utterly unprovoked and merciless invasion of the Nazis'. He adds that 'the longer the war lasts the more help we can give', suggesting that Stalin must fight his own battles while Great Britain attends to its own priorities. By this time, however, the Soviet defenders have been pushed back between 200 and 400 miles from their first positions; the Baltic states, White Russia and the Ukraine are severely threatened.

Eastern Front

German pressure continues from the Baltic to the Black Sea, while mopping-up operations liquidate the pockets in which huge Soviet forces have been trapped.

The 52nd Rifle Division repels a heavy attack of Gen Eduard Dietl's Mountain Corps on the Litsa. German forces are just 50 kilometers away from Murmansk. The XXXVI Corps launches strong attacks upon Salla and, after a fierce battle, takes the town. Repola falls to the 14th Finnish Division.

The XLI Panzer Corps overcomes the XXIV Rifle Corps barring its way at Ostrov and advances north along the Velikaya toward Pskov. The I Corps advances rapidly behind in support of the panzers.

Elements of the 20th Panzer Division crosses the Dvina at Ulla. After a furious battle, Soviet counterattacks are repulsed. The 19th Panzer Division is struck by heavy Soviet attacks out ot Polotsk and becomes involved in heavy fighting. The 7th and 12th Panzer Divisions of the XXXIX Panzer Corps attack the junction of the 20th and 22nd Armies, a move which causes Gen Andrey Eremenko to order Gen Ivan Koniev's 19th Army to move up to Vitebsk.

As these battles rage, Guderian moves his XLVII Panzer Corps north to protect his left flank against the increasingly violent Soviet attacks at Senno. A little to the south, the XXIV Panzer Corps captures Bortniki as it extends its hold on the west bank of the Dniepr. Between the two corps the XLVI Panzer is establishing strong positions.

The 16th Panzer Division of the XLVIII Panzer Corps is involved in pitched battles with Muzychenko's 6th Army near Starokonstantinovka. The 11th Panzer Division captures Berdichev after a brisk battle.

By this stage of the battle, the Southwest Front has been reduced to 627,000 effectives, deployed between 20 rifle, 1 cavalry, 4 motorized and 13 tank divisions and 6 tank brigades.

On the southern wing of the combat front, the 18th Army is involved in heavy fighting with elements of the XXX Corps at Mogilev Podolski. The XLVIII Rifle and II Mechanized Corps continue to counterattack northeast of Kishinev, joined also by the II Cavalry Corps. Amid heavy fighting, the LIV Corps pushes back the exhausted Soviet units, inflicting further heavy losses upon the already weakened divisions.

Air Operations, Europe

The first daylight operation by R.A.F. 4-engined Fortress I bombers occurs as Wilhelmshaven is bombed. These bombers are B-17C Flying Fortresses.

China

After being damaged repeatedly in previous Japanese air raids on Chungking, the British Embassy there is completely destroyed.

Diplomatic Relations

The Soviet Military Mission arrives in London.

Finnish Tank Crew, 8 July 1941

Eastern Front

In the advance on Leningrad, Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Group takes Pskov, near the southern tip of the lake of the same name, and advances northeast towards Novgorod.

The XLI Panzer Corps enters Pskov.

Commanders Discuss Operations

Timoshenko's counterattack fails to stop the German advance as XXXIX Panzer Corps attacks the flanks of the 20th and 22nd Armies near Vitebsk, and then becomes involved in heavy street fighting with Konev's 19th Army in Vitebsk itself. The V and VII Mechanized Corps fail to smash through at the juncture of the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups. the LVII Panzer Corps advances from the Dvina and the Germans take Polotsk.

Air Operations, Europe

The British bomb Naples during a night raid and also Aachen.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-98 sinks the British steamer Designer (5945t), from dispersed Convoy OB-341, north-northwest of the Azores with the loss of 67 of her crew. 11 survivors are picked up by the Portuguese sailing ship Souta Princesca. The u-boat next sinks the British steamer Inverness (4897t) a little further west with the loss of 6 of her crew. 37 survivors land at Corvo Island, Azores.

Eastern Front

The pockets earlier surrounded by Army Group Center have now all been wiped out. At least 300,000 prisoners have been taken and more than 40 divisions have been eliminated from the Soviet Order of Battle along with about 2,500 tanks and 1,500 artillery pieces. 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups are united to form 4th Panzer Army and the forces of this new formation have now crossed both the Dniepr and the Dvina, aiming to encircle Smolensk on the way to Moscow. Vitebsk is captured by the Germans.

OKH issues new orders to Army Group North regarding objectives: XLI Panzer Corps will advance to the Luga River prior to an assault against Leningrad, and LVI Panzer Corps will mount a flanking attack toward Lake Ilmen. Trying to stop them is the Northwestern Front, which to date has lost 73,900 troops killed or missing, 13,300 wounded, 2,520 tanks, 3,500 artillery pieces and 990 aircraft.

Resistance in the Minsk Pocket ends, signalling the destruction of the Soviet 3rd, 4th, 10th and part of the 13th Armies. The ruins of Vitebsk fall to the XXXIX Panzer Corps although the Soviet 19th Army continues to counterattack. To date the Western Front has lost 418,000 killed, wounded and missing; 4,800 tanks; 9,427 artillery pieces, and 1,777 aircraft. However, it has received reinforcements totalling 45 divisions, giving it a strength of 579,000 troops by early July.

The XIV Panzer Corps captures Zhitomir as the Soviet IV Mechanized Corps and units of the 6th Army batter the 11th Panzer Div at Berdichev. However, it is a temporary reprieve for the front and Kirponos orders a further retreat. Losses among the Southwestern Front have been huge: 242,000 troops, 4,400 tanks, 5,800 artillery pieces and 1,200 aircraft.[MORE]

German Tank Column in Zhitomir

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Norwegian steamer Svint (1174t) is sunk by German bombing 7 miles east-northeast of Longstone with the loss of 3 of her crew.
• The German steamer Hermes (7209t), formerly Karnak, is scuttled when intercepted by the British armed merchant cruiser Canton 300 miles northwest of St Paul.

Eastern Front

Finnish forces smash across the Karelian defenses and penetrate into Soviet territory. Panzers of Army Group Center cross the Dniepr River and advance to within 10 miles of Kiev. In the southern sector units of the Soviet 5th Army launch an unexpected and violent counterattack southwest of Kerosten. Von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group holds the attack amid heavy fighting, but with severe losses.

4 Italian divisions, the Torino, the Pasabio, the Principe Amedeo Duca D'Aosta and the Tagliamento Blackshirt Legion, leave Italy bound for the Eastern Front.

The Finnish Karelian Army begins its offensive, advancing southeast to clear the Karelian Isthmus. The IV Corps breaks through Soviet positions at Korpiselka.

Damage in Leningrad

The XLI Panzer Corps fails to take Luga but LVI Panzer Corps captures Porkhov after heavy fighting. The Soviet Northern Front totals 153,000 troops, and the Northwestern Front 272,000 troops.

As the 19th Army continues to battle at Vitebsk, the XXIV Panzer Corps crosses the Dnieper River and pushes back the 13th Army.

The German 6th Army is attacked by the XXXI Rifle, IX, XIX and XXII Mechanized Corps near Korosten, although the Soviet assaults make little headway. Meanwhile, Gen Mikhail Kirponos mounts desperate attacks against enemy positions at Berdichev, Zhitomir and Fastov in an effort to protect Kiev.[MORE]

Germans Watch Enemy Movements

Eastern Front

Having driven off the Soviet counterattack, von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group renews its advance toward Kiev and adavances to within 15 miles of the city where the Soviet defense stiffens.

The Soviet 52nd Rifle Div holds a German assault on the Litsa line.

The LVII Panzer Corps attacks toward Velikiye Luki, XXXIX Panzer Corps strikes from Vitebsk toward Smolensk, and the 2nd Panzer Group pushes the 13th Army back from the Dnieper.

The Soviet 5th, 6th, 12th and 26th Armies continue in their efforts to hold the German advance, but the tanks of the 1st Panzer Group are pouring through a 40 mile gap between the Soviet 5th and 6th Armies.[MORE]

Russian Tanks under Attack

Air Operations, North Africa

There is a German night raid on Port Said and Ismalia.

Malta

There is a fierce air battle in the sky over the island. The Italians claim 4 British aircraft are shot down and many more are destroyed on the ground.

Mediterranean

During the night, the British destroyer Defender is bombed by German aircraft while making a supply run to Tobruk. The destroyer Vendetta tows her for a time before she sinks 7 miles north of Sidi Barani.

British Destroyer Defender Sinking

Secret War

William J. Donovan is appointed to head a new civilian intelligence agency with the title 'Co-ordinator of Defense Information'. This appointment will lead to the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which will in turn develop into the modern CIA.

Air Operations, Europe

Moscow suffers its first air raid. There will be 3 other large-scale attacks during this month and a total of 73 minor raids to the end of the year.

Diplomatic Relations

Britain and the Soviet Union sign an agreement in Moscow providing for mutual assistance and forbidding the making of a separate peace. It states: 'The two governments mutually undertake to render each other assistance and support of all kinds in the present war against Hitlerite Germany. They further undertake that during this war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement.'

Eastern Front

Moscow is bombed by the Luftwaffe for the first time.

The X Mechanized and XLI Rifle Corps are assigned to the Luga Operational Group to reinforce the Soviet defense line along the river.

Heavy fighting rages near Novgorod Volynsky as the XXXI Rifle, IX, XIX and XXII Mechanized Corps try to free the VII Rifle Corps. Despite repeated attacks, the Soviets are repulsed with heavy losses. Gen Eberhard von Mackensen's III Panzer Corps establishes strong positions over the Irpen and stands poised to strike at Kiev but is forbidden to do so by Hitler's halt order. The Soviet 5th, 26th and 37th Armies are re-deployed to protect the city in the extreme south. To the south the XIV and XLVIII Panzer Corps begin their surge toward the Bug, away from the Dniepr and into the rear of the 6th, 12th and 26th Armies.

On the other side of the lines, the Soviets move Gen Andrey Vlassov's 37th Army up to cover the direct route into the city. Gen Mikhail Kirponos also pulls the headquarters of the 26th Army into front reserve and then assigns it control ov all forces east and northeast of Belaya Tserkov. It is ordered to link up with the 5th Army to the north.

On the extreme southern wing, Rumanian forces advancing in Moldavia capture Balti.

Eastern Front

Army Group North hurriedly regroups its XLI and LVI Panzer Corps, the XLI being moved along the eastern shores of Lake Peipus to attack toward the lower Luga and the LVI being moved from its original axis back to Ostrov to resume the advance to Lake Ilmen. After only a brief rest, the Germans resume the offensive along and around the Luga. Heavy fighting sees the XLI Panzer Corps establish a number of small bridgeheads across the Luga south of Kingisepp. The sheer ferocity of the Soviet defens, however, stall the XLI Panzer and XXXVIII Corps. Manstein attacks with the LVI Panzer Corps, still being supported by the I Corps. Elements of the 8th Panzer Division reach Soltsy but are then attacked by the X Mechanized Corps and rifle units from Group Vatutin. In heavy fighting the Soviets have isolated the 8th Panzer from the 3rd Motorized on its left and the SS Totenkopf to the rear.

Finnish Bicycle Battalion Advancing

The Soviets concentrate the new 34th Army around Staraya-Russa to forestall a German attempt to penetrate the Lovat line. On the southern approaches to Leningrad, the battered but still intact 8th Army is removed from Northwest front command and transferred to the North Front, as was the XLI Rifle Corps.

The XXXIX Panzer Corps continues to attack the 19th Army, having inflicted heavy casualties upon Koniev's green troops. To the south, the 29th Motorized Division of the XLVII Panzer Corps advances to within 11 miles of Smolensk, while the XLVI Panzer advances north of Mogilev and the XXIV Panzer to the south. The LXI Rifle and XX Mechanized Corps are isolated inside Mogilev and the XLV Rifle Corps close to it.

As the West Front disintegrates, the 21st Army launches the first of many counterattacks. This fresh force attacks with the 3 rifle divisions of the LXIII Rifle Corps from the Rogachev-Zhlobin area to the west, striking the XLIII and LIII Corps of the German 2nd Army. At the same time the LXVII Rifle and XXV Mechanized Corps attack the southern flank of the 2nd Panzer Group. With bitter fighting, the LXIII Corps throws the Germans out of both Rogachev and Zhlobin.

Balkans

Yugoslavia and Montenegro see the start of armed resistance by 'partisans' against the occupying Italians and Germans. The resistance is led by the mysterious Tito (Josip Broz). There are many fabulous stories about his origin; some western journalists even say that he is a woman.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Swedish steamer Aspen (1305t) is sunk by German bombing 45 miles from Rotterdam with the loss of 2 crewmen.
• The Italian submarine Morosoni sinks the British steamer Rupert de Larrinaga (5358t) from dispersed Convoy OG-67 southeast of the Azores. 44 survivors are picked up by the Spanish tanker Campeche.
• The Italian submarine Malaspina sinks the Greek steamer Nikolis (3576t) from dispersed Convoy Convoy OG-67 105 miles southwest of the Azores with the loss of 17 of her crew.

Eastern Front

The German advance continues and the Luga River is reached in the northern sector. They now threaten Leningrad. Soviet resistance in the area is disorganized. The Russian leaders are well aware of the seriousness of the situation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front, Voroshilov, and the chief of the party organization for Leningrad, issue a general order addressed 'to all units on the northwestern front' in which it says: 'Leningrad, cradle of the proletarian revolution, is directly threatened with invasion by the enemy. While the troops in the line from the Barents Sea to Tallinn and Hanko are fighting back bravely against the hordes of the Nazi and Finnish aggressors, defending every inch of our beloved Soviet ground, the troops on the central-western front (those in the Leningrad sector) often fail to stand up to the enemy attacks and abandon their positions without fighting, and by such behavior encourage the ever-increasing arrogance of the Germans. There are cowards who not only desert the front line without orders but are spreading panic among good, brave soldiers; and in some cases officers and political leaders not only do nothing to allay the panic, but by their disgraceful conduct actually increase it, causing serious disorder at the front.'

The order goes on to warn that anyone who leaves the front line without orders from a superior will be court-martialled and may be shot 'absolutely regardless of their rank or position.' It is clear that the Russians admit that the situation is critical, but that they are determined to hold firm at any cost.

The XLI Panzer Corps approaches the mouth of the Luga, and the 8th Panzer Div captures Soltsy.

Although the German panzers are advancing north and south of Smolensk, the infantry of their 2nd and 9th Armies are struggling to keep up with the armored units and are marching up to 30 miles a day. The Soviet 13th Army engages in heavy combat with the enemy at Gorki and Mstislavl. Multiple rocket salvos are fired against the German 5th Infantry Div by the 20th Army.

The Katyusha Enters the Battle

The Soviet III Airborne Corps is deployed to Borispol in anticipation of a German airborne assault across the Dnieper.[MORE]

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British landing ship Prince Philippe (2938t) sinks after a collison with the British steamer Empire Wave west of Scotland.
• The Italian submarine Morosini sinks the British ocean boarding vessel Lady Somers east of the Azores. The entire crew of 138 are picked up by the Spanish steamer Campeche.

Eastern Front

The Soviets counterattack for the next 3 days between Lake Ilmen and Solcy to gain time for the building of further fortifications round Leningrad. The attacking forces lose heavily in their efforts because the troops are very inexperienced. The most the Russians can do, however, is slow down the enemy advance. Their opolcenie divisions, civilian militia recruited in Leningrad, are eager but inexperienced; they are routed and massacred by the German tanks. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of men and women are mobilized to build fortifications. New defense lines are constructed, one from the mouth of the Luga to Chudova, Gatchina, Urick and Pulkove and then along the Neva, another, the 'external' line from Peterhof to Gatchina, Pulkove, Kolpino and Kolrushi, east of the city and north of the Neva. Other lines are prepared in the immediate outskirts of the city ond one in the northern suburbs facing Finland.

In the end 35 miles of anti-tank ditches are dug, 400 miles of barbed wire erected, 16,000 miles of open trenches dug; 5,000 wood and concrete emplacements for guns and machine guns are built, as well as a total of 185 miles of barriers made from felled trees.

Artillery Opens Fire

As the XLI Panzer Corps approaches Leningrad, thousands of the city's civilians begin to build a cordon of pillboxes, trenches and artillery positions. Near Lake Ilmen, the LVI Panzer Corps is surrounded by the Soviet 11th Army.

The 19th Panzer Div captures Nevel, and the XXXIX Panzer Corps swings south to take Yartsevo and threaten the rear of the Western Front. As the XLVII Panzer Corps bulls its way into Orsha it becomes apparent that the panzer pincers are closing around Smolensk.

The southern flank of the Soviet Southwestern Front is being encircled as the 17th Army breaks through the Stalin Line near Bar. Meanwhile, the Romanian V Corps is marching toward Kishinev, the capital of Bessarabia.[MORE]

Eastern Front

The Finnish attacks north of Lake Ladoga take Sortavala and reach the Lake to the southeast of the town, cutting off Soviet forces to the west. The Soviets will be able to get some of their troops away by boat.

In the central sector of the front the troops of Army Group Center, continuing their advance, begin the destruction of the enormous Soviet forces trapped in a pocket in the Uman area, as well as mopping-up operations in the Dnieper basin.

The system of political commissars is re-introduced in the Red Army. The commissars are disliked by the commanders for functional reasons, and a year later they are abolished again.

The Katyusha weapon is tested for the first time by Russian special units near Smolensk. The highly effective rocket mortar is to play a significant part in the upcoming battles. It is an area weapon that could be mounted on any kind of vehicle and shower dozens of solid-fuel rockets on an enemy more than three miles away.

The Finnisn VII Corps, advancing to the north of Lake Ladoga, captures Sortavala and reaches the shores of the lake. The threatening Finnish advance in this region causes the separation of the Soviet 7th Army between Lakes Onega and Ladoga from the 23rd Army on its left, north of Leningrad.

On the left winf of Army Group Center, the 19th Panzer Division pushes on from Nevel toward Velikiye Luki. In the center, the XLVII Panzer Corps fights its way into the center of Smolensk and captures much of the town. The very considerable Soviet forces fighting between Orsha, Smolensk and Yartsevo are in real danger of isolation, but a narrow corridor remains open to the east, through which the Soviet units begin their efforts to withdraw. Try as they might, the Germans are unable to close this gap. Inside the pocket, the 16th, 20th and 19th Armies mill around suffering terrible casualties as the German panzers, with Luftwaffe support, launch ferocious attacks upon any units that try to break free.

Japan, Politics

In order to remove Matsuoka from the Foreign Ministry, Prince Konoye resigns and plans to re-form a cabinet in 2 days.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Italian submarine Malaspina sinks the British steamer Guelma (4402t) north of the Canary Islands. The entire crew is rescued by the British submarine Thunderbolt.

Eastern Front

The invading forces continue their pressure all along the line. In the central sector the Germans establish an important bridgehead over the Dniepr near Mogilev, east of Minsk.

The Rumanians in the southern sector take Kishinev, the capital of Bessarabia. Near Vitebsk, Stalin's eldest son, Jakov Djugashvili, an artillery lieutenant in an armored division, is taken prisoner by the Germans.

Gen Giovanni Messe takes over command of the Italian expeditionary force in Russia.

In an attempt to stiffen resistance the political commissars are restored to the Soviet army and navy units.

Finns Reach Kollaa

Soviet forces attacking the LVI Panzer Corps along its long line from Lake Ilmen to Dno wear themselves out, having suffered crippling casualties. The 27th Army, attacking the lines of communication of the LVI Panzer Corps, is exhausted.

The 19th Panzer Division breaks into and captures Velikiye Luki after hard fighting. At the same time, the XXXIX Panzer Corps struggles to push its way forward from Yartsevo as strong Soviet concentrations attacking from the east try to hold off the German armor.

In Moldavia, the Germans and Rumanians capture Kishinev. The Germans peel north to cross the Dneistr at Dubossary and push into the rear of the South Front, while the Rumanian 4th Army pushes southeast, across the river and Tiraspol and on to Odessa.

Jews Removed from their Homes

When Romanian and German units enter Kishinev, many Jews are slaughtered in the streets and in their homes. In total, around 10,000 Jews are killed (Einsatzgruppe D is active in this part of the USSR). In addition, Antonescu, dictator of Romania, issued a secret order before Operation BARBAROSSA that all Jews in Bessarabian villages were to be murdered on the spot, Jews in the towns were to be removed to ghettos and anyone who served the Soviets during their rule ws to be executed after being found guilty. Following this murder spree the occupiers established a ghetto in the town that held 11,000 Jews.

B-17s Enter Combat

Czechoslovakia, Politics

Britain formally recognizes the Beneš government as the legal provisional government. A friendship and mutual assistance agreement between the Czechs and the Soviets is signed in London.

Eastern Front

The Soviet 11th and 27th Armies launch attacks against the Germans, with little success.

The 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups struggle to contain trapped Red Army units in the Smolensk Pocket. The 7th Panzer Div is halted near Yartsevo.

Soviet Emblems Removed

The Soviet 37th Army prepares to defend Kiev as the German 17th Army crosses the Bug River and establishes a bridgehead around Vinnitsa. The Stavka orders a partial withdrawal of the 6th, 12th and 18th Armies.[MORE]

Japan, Politics

Prince Konoye forms a new cabinet with Baron Hiranuma as Deputy Prime Minister and Adm Toyoda as Foreign Minister. Already personally unpopular, Matsuoka is removed because he has been urging that the Neutrality Agreement with the Soviets should be abandoned and that Japan should join with Germany in the attack on the USSR. The other Japanese leaders do not wish to take such a decisive step, and have decided that without Matsuoka and his known liking for Hitler they have a better chance of reaching an agreement with the US over the pressing problem of the oil resources.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

The German and Italian air offensive against Malta continues.

Air Operations, North Africa

Benghazi and Tripoli are raided by British aircraft.

Axis Diplomacy

Japan issues a virtual ultimatum of French authorities in Indochina which will give the Japanese full military control over the Vichy colony.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The United States Atlantic Fleet forms TF1 for the protection of the American forces on Iceland and support for convoys bound there. The carrier Wasp flies a cargo of P-40 fighters to the island. Early in August flying boats begin patrols from Iceland. The USN commits up to 25 destroyers to the Iceland operation as well as heavier forces. They are ordered to provide escorts for ships of any nationality sailing to and from Iceland.
• U-66 sinks the British steamer Holmside (3433t) northeast of the Cape Verde Islands with the loss of 21 of her crew. 16 survivors are rescued by the Portuguese steamer Sete Cidades.

'V' for Victory!

Eastern Front

Guderian receives orders that after the Smolensk battle is over he is to move his II Panzergruppe along with the 2nd Army south to join the Kiev battle. The immediate goal will be to wipe out the Soviet 5th Army under Mikhail I. Potapov, surround Kiev and join up with I Panzergruppe in a pincer movement. This proposal is very much Hitler's idea. Guderian objects strongly, arguing that it will be far better to continue the attack toward Moscow, but his objections are overruled.

The 10th Panzer Division of the XLVI Panzer Corps reaches Elnya.

With the battle for Smolensk barely underway, Hitler issues Directive No. 33, instructing the infantry of Army Group Center to continue their advance toward Moscow, while the panzer groups, so vital to the success of the German offensive, are to transfer to the northern and southern sectors of the line to aid in the capture of Leningrad and of the eastern Ukraine. Hoth's 3rd Panzer Group is to be split apart, Kuntzen's LVII Panzer Corps moving up to the Leningrad area in order to aid the 18th Army and the 4th Panzer Group in their assault upon the city, while XXXIX Panzer Korps is to attack to the east from the Volkhov River in the general direction of the Svir River, where a junction with the Finnish Army of Karelia is planned.

The 2nd Panzer Group is to drive south, into the rear of Gen Mikhail Kirponos' Southwest Front, while the 1st Panzer Group advances north from the Kremenchug bridgehead on the Dniepr, bringing about the encirclement of Budenny's Glavkom Southwest in the Kiev region.

Europe, Resistance

At midnight there is a BBC broadcast by 'Col Britton' urging the creation of resistance forces with the slogan 'V for Victory'. The BBC has been introducing programs to Europe with the Morse signal V for some time. Following this resistance members paint V signs on walls and German posters and it becomes a symbol for all Western European resistance movements.

Road Sign with a 'V for Victory'

Air Operations, Europe

The British bomb Naples causing casualties and damage.

Eastern Front

Gen Eduard Dietl is forced off commanding heights to his rear by the surprise attack of the Soviet infiltration force. The already bitter fighting along the Litsa now intensifies as the Germans fight to stabilize their lines. Fighting will rage through to the end of the month without any significant gain by either side, but the Soviets achieve their goal of protecting Murmansk.

While the 10th Panzer Division consolidates its lines at Elnya the SS Das Reich moves up on its left to support. The XXIV Panzer Corps thrusts to the Sozh River and gains a firm foothold between Krichev and Mstislavl. Bock orders Guderian to encircle enemy forces around Smolensk before any further advances east.

With yet another defensive position broken, the Stavka orders the Reserve Front to move its units forward and enter the main combat line. The 29th, 30th, 24th and 28th Armies all push west to aid the struggling 16th and 20th Armies at the mouth of the Smolensk pocket. The 29th Army is ordered to attack south from Toropets with the three rifle divisions of Group Maslennikov (Gen Ivan) to bring pressure to bear upon the outer German perimeter, while 30th Army's Group Khomenko (Gen Vasily) with another three rifle divisions attack around Belyi and the 24th Army's Group Kalinin (Gen Stepan) attack at Yartsevo with three more divisions. In addition, Gen Vladimir Kachalov's 28th Army is to hold down the threatening German advance at Roslavl with two rifle divisions and one tank division.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The German steamer Hans Christopherson (1599t) sinks on a mine off Terschelling.
• The Italian submarine Torelli sinks the Norwegian tanker Ida Knudsen (8913t) west of Casablanca with loss of 5 crewmen. 14 survivors are picked up by the Portuguese trawler Altair.

World Affairs

Shipping through the Panama Canal is curtailed, ostensibly for 'repairs', but the action has the effect of preventing the passage of several Japanese ships.

Eastern Front

There are more German air attacks on Moscow. Hitler had goaded Göring into ordering the raid by disparaging the Luftwaffe for its failure to attack the Russian capital. A total of 127 Ju-88s and He-111s drop 100 tons of high-explosive bombs and 45,000 incendiaries. The Soviet authorities announce that they have withdrawn their forces from the line of the Dniestr.

After heavy fighting, the Army of Karelia reaches the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga at Salmy.

Germans Prepare for an Attack

Further to Hitler's Directive No 33, and specifically his desire to 'burn the Kremlin to ashes', the Luftwaffe mounts its first air raid against Moscow. Some 195 bombers are involved: Junkers Ju-88s from KG-3 and KG-54; Heinkel He-111s from KG-53, KG-55, KG-28, III/KG-26 and K.Gr-100; and Dornier Do-17s from KG-2 and KG-3. They are met by 170 Soviet fighters and heavy anti-aircraft fire over the city. In total, Soviet anti-aircraft guns fire 29,000 artillery shells and 130,000 maching-gun bullets during the raid. The Luftwaffe loses 4 aircraft shot down and drops 104 tons of high explosives and 46,000 incendiaries on the city. The Kremlin survives.

Soviet forces trapped inside the Smolensk pocket begin to pull back to the west of the Dniepr but suffer tremendous casualties due to constant German attacks. Fighting outside the pocket also intensifies as the LVII Panzer Corps comes under furious attack near Velikiye Luki and the XLVI Panzer Corps struggles to repel Soviet attacks at Elnya.

German tanks close in upon Tarasche and Uman, all but enveloping the 24 divisions of the 6th and 12th Armies. The two armies number 130,000 men, 1,000 artillery pieces and 384 tanks. Gen Mikhail Kirponos orders Gen Fyodor Kostenko to wheel his 26th Army southwest to protect the withdrawal of the two embattled armies. Heavy fighting breaks out against German panzer units until July 25. The 9th and 18th Armies, falling slowly back toward the Dniepr, number 280,000 men.

Indochina

Military bases in French Indochina are occupied by the Japanese. The Vichy government is in no position to resist the Japanese ultimatum. The government states that France 'sees no inconvenience in permitting Japan temporarily to occupy military bases in Indochina on the condition there is no menace to Indochinese integrity and French sovereignty. Japan has made no territorial demands. We merely want to protect Indochina.' Japan's ambassador explains to the US that Tokyo wishes to insure the uninterrupted flow of food and raw materials from Indochina, and there is no need to guarantee military security in the light of alleged Free French and Chinese 'agitation'.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British light cruiser Dunedin captures the Vichy French steamer Ville de Rouen (5383t) east of Natal. The ship is taken to East London, South Africa arriving on 4 August.

Eastern Front

Exhausted by their ceaseless drive, the German forces come to a temporary halt in their Russian offensive. The Germans have advanced to Lake Ilmen in the north, more than 400 miles from their starting point. After a month of the offensive the Germans and their Axis Allies have conquered 720,000 square miles of Russian territory.

There are more heavy night attacks on Moscow.

After protracted fighting, the 11th and 21st Infantry Divisions overcome elements of the 27th and 11th Armies attacking near Soltsy, capturing the town after a bloody battle.

The Stavka orders the 6th and 12th Armies to attack east to link up with the 26th Army.

Mediterranean

Part of the SUBSTANCE convoy is located by Italian planes but the Italian fleet stays in port, expecting only a repeat of the previous carrier operations to fly planes to Malta.

Battle of the Atlantic

A Focke-Wulf Fw-200 Kondor

Diplimatic Relations

Under Secretary of State Welles tells Ambassador Nomura the US feels there is no reason to continue talks with Japan since the Indochinese actions show the 'Japanese Government intend to pursue the policy of force and of conquest'.

Eastern Front

Having used their giant mortar Karl, a 615mm caliber weapon and firing a projectile weighing over 2 tons, for the first time, the heroic garrison of Brest-Litovsk, besieged since 22 June and ceaselessly hammered by bombers and artillery is finally forced to surrender.

Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Group becomes involved in bitter fighting with mixed Soviet forces on the hastily constructed Luga defense line. Pyadyshev, commander of the LOG, is dismissed and executed. Gen Markian Popov, commanding the North Front, is placed in charge of this position in addition to his existing responsibilities to the north of Leningrad.

Attempting to rebuild the shattered Western theater, the Stavka creates a new Central Front between the West and Southwest Fronts. Commanded by Col-Gen F. I. Kuznetsov, this formation comprises the newly reformed and redeployed 3rd Army (this unit recently having taken up defensive positions along the line of the Sozh River) and the 21st Army and is supported by 140 aircraft. The front later takes under its control Gen Vladimir Kachalov's 28th and Gen Fyodor Remezov's 13th Armies as the German attacks in the center develop.

Keitel issues a supplement to Directive No. 33, instructing the 3rd Panzer Group to move north to aid the capture of Leningrad and then move back to the center in preparation for an advance as far east as the Volga. Hoeppner's 4th Panzer Group is to be take out of the line altogether and withdrawn to Germany. Guderian is to join Kleist in the Ukraine and thrust east to occupy the Donbas and the Caucasus. Halder emphasizes the need for an autumn thrust upon Moscow, considering Leningrad and the Ukraine to be of secondary importance.

Germany, Strategy

Keitel orders the 3rd Panzer Group north to assist in the capture of Leningrad and then move back to the center to take part in an advance to the Volga. The 4th Panzer Group will be withdrawn back to Germany, and the 2nd Panzer Group is to link up with Kleist in the Ukraine to assist in the occupation of the Donbas and Caucasus. Halder, however, wants an autumn attack against Moscow.

Indochina

With the consent of the Vichy government Japanese forces begin the complete occupation of Indochina to collaborate with the French forces in its defense.

Eastern Front

After heavy fighting the Soviet recapture Velikiye Luki.

Downed German Dornier Do-17Z

Heavy losses and a lack of supplies compel the 6th and 12th Armies to abandon their break out efforts. Most rifle divisions inside the pocket are down to fewer than 4,000 men. Kirponos, in no position to support the faltering armies, request permission to subordinated the armies to the South Front.

Air Operations, Europe

The Scharnhorst is hit 5 times by bombs from a force of 15 Halifax bombers while lying in the port of La Pallice, a German naval base on the Bay of Biscay. The repairs will not be completed until 1942. Since Prinz Eugen had been hit earlier in the month and Gneisenau is under repair, this means that none of the German heavy ships in and around Brest is fit for operations in the near future.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Italian submarine Barbarigo sinks the British steamer Macon (5135t) west of Casablanca with the loss of 28 on board. 21 are rescued.
• The German steamer Erlangen (6101t) scuttles herself when she is intercepted by the British light cruiser Newcastle southeast of the River Plate.

Eastern Front

The German 18th Army pushes back the Soviet 8th Army in Estonia.

The Southwestern Front withdraws on Uman as III Panzer Corps moves east along the Dnieper, and XIV and XLVIII Panzer Corps advance south toward Pervomaisk to link up with the 11th and 17th Armies and trap the 6th and 12th Armies around Uman (these formations have now been assigned to the Southern Front.[MORE]

Japan, Policy

Foreign Minister Toyoda tells US Ambassador Grew that Japan is being encircled by hostile forces in southeast Asia, and he compares Japan's moves in Indochina to the British occupation of Syria.

Malta

During the night Italian assault vessel crews try to enter the harbor at Valletta with explosive punts and piloted torpedoes ('pigs'). They are spotted before they can line up on their targets. 33 men are involved in the operation; 15 are killed and 18 taken prisoner.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-141 sinks the British steamer Botwey (5106t) 365 miles west of Bloody Foreland. All 53 crew members are picked up by the British rescue ship Copeland.
• The Italian submarine Barbarigo sinks the British tanker Horn Shell (8272t) northwest of the Canary Islands with the loss of 17 of her crew. The survivors are picked up by the Portuguese trawler Maria Leonor.

Diplomatic Relations

• Japanese assets in the United States and Britain are frozen following their invasion of Indochina. The US action was taken 'to prevent the use of financial facilities of the United States in trade. . . in ways harmful to national defense and American interests, to prevent the liquidation in the United States of assets obtained by duress or conquest, and to curb subversive activities in the United States.' Japan loses 80 percent of its oil imports as well as vital supplies of foodstuffs, minerals and military materials. Since Japan controls the Chinese financial centers, the Chinese government asks Britain and the US to freeze its assests as well.
• Canada renounces its trade treaty with Japan.

German Airfield in Finland

Air Operations, Europe

The Luftwaffe's Dive-Bomber Wing 210 has completed 1,574 sorties since the beginning of BARBAROSSA. Its aircraft have thus far destroyed 915 enemy aircraft (823 on the ground), 165 tanks, 2,136 vehicles and 60 trains.

Eastern Front

The Army of Karelia reaches Lake Onega at Petrozavodsk, but the Red Army is putting up heavy resistance at Suoyarve and around Lake Yanisyarve.

The Germans seal the Smolensk Pocket, trapping 700,000 Red Army troops. The Soviets mount a series of desperate attacks to break out from the encirclement, with particularly heavy fighting at Yelnya and in the Yartsevo corridor. In addition, the Soviet 13th, 21st and 28th Armies launch assaults at Gomel, Rudnya and Roslavl against the German southern wing of the pocket.[MORE]

German Air Raid on Moscow

Air Operations, Europe

After a pause of several weeks, the Germans carry out a severe air raid on London.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-79 sinks the British steamer Hawkinge (2475t) from Convoy OG-69 about 800 miles southwest of Fastnet with the loss of 15 of her crew. 16 survivors are picked up by the British corvette Sunflower and the British destroyer Vanoc.
• U-203 sinks the British steamer Kellwyn (1459t) from Convoy OG-69 350 miles west-northwest of Cape Finisterre with the loss of 14 crewmen. 9 survivors are picked up by the British armed trawler St Nectan.
• U-126 also attacks Convoy OG-69 sinking the British steamer Erato (1335t) and the Norwegian steamer Inga I (1304t) about 200 miles west of Cape Finisterre. The Erato loses 9 crewmen, 27 survivors are picked up by the British corvette Begonia. The Inga I loses 3 crew members, 16 survivors are picked up by an escort vessel and landed at Gibraltar.

Eastern Front

The Soviet forces in and around Smolensk are cut off by the German pincer movement. The Russians, however, manage to organize a new defensive line 25 miles east of the city, and their artillery reveals a certain superiority. In the Smolensk 'cauldron' their multiple rocket-launchers firing 320 rockets in 25 seconds (called 'Katyusha' by the Russians and 'Stalin's tools' by the Germans) make their first appearance, striking mortal terror into the Germans - and into the Russian infantry too, since they had not heard of this new weapon.

In the north the Baltic port of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is attacked and taken by the Germans.

The XLI Panzer Corps crosses the Luga at Kingisepp, the remnants of the Soviet 8th Army dig in at Tallinn and Narva.

The Soviet LXI Rifle Corps attempts to break out of Mogilev, and the XLV Rifle Corps fights its way east across the Sozh.

The Soviet 26th Army counterattacks against the flank of the 1st Panzer Group between Kiev and Cherkassy. Despite heroic but foolhardy mass infantry attacks, the Germans break up the assault. On the southern flank of the Southwestern Front, the German 17th Army launches an assault against Red Army units in the Uman area.[MORE]

Germany, Command

Kluge's 4th Panzer Army is disbanded, with the 4th Army becoming an infantry force once again. Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group is thus removed from under Kluge's command and is place directly under the control of Army Group Center. This is due to disagreements between Guderian and Kluge regarding strategy and objectives, which were having an adverse effect on operations.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-144 is sent to the Eastern Baltic to attack Soviet submarines. After sinking the Soviet boat M78, she is torpedoed by the Soviet submarine Shch-307.

U-144

Diplomatic Relations

Japan retaliates with similar measures for action taken against them by Britain, the Dutch and the United States on the 25-26 July. Japanese assets in the Dutch East Indies are frozen and oil deals cancelled. This means that almost 75 percent of Japan's foreign trade is at a standstill and that 90 percent of its oil supplies have been cut off.

Eastern Front

In the central sector the Germans begin the liquidation of the Russian troops trapped in the Smolensk area.

After a protracted struggle, the Soviets abandon the Kingisepp bridgehead across the Luga, units on the west bank withdrawing from the town, which falls to Reinhardt's XLI Panzer Corps.

Gen Ivan Tyulenev reports to Stavka: 'it is impossible to determine the situation in the 6th and 12th Armies...because of the absence of communications.' The Stavka believe the Germans are planning to seize the Dniepr crossings at Kiev and Cherkassy and therefore order the Southwest and South Fronts to prevent the German advance. The Soviet command totally misreads the German plan to isolate the 6th and 12th Armies.

In Moldavia the XVIII Rifle Corps of the 18th Army pulls out of Kotovsk, while theanticipated counterattack by the II Calvary Corps toward Balta rattles the XXX Corps. Elements of the XXXV Rifle Corps are fighting before Dubossary in an effort to prevent the Germans from expanding a bridgehead across the Dneistr.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British steamer Adam's Beck (2816t) is badly damaged by German bombing about a mile southeast of the Tyne with the loss of 1 crewman. The ship sinks on the 30th.
• The German steamer Bernhard (1890t) is lost in a collison with the Swedish steamer Frode near Norderney.

Diplomatic Relations

Japan freezes Dutch assets.

Eastern Front

Fighting continues in Estonia as Kuchler's 18th Army relentlessly batters Ivanov's 8th Army. On the line of the Luga, the LOG is deactivated, its forces continuing to operate in its three separate groupings.

In an effort to seal the Smolensk Pocket, the XLVIII Panzer Corps is ordered to advance on Pervomaisk. In Moldavia, the XXX Corps forces a gap between the Soviet 9th and 18th Armies.

The 6th and 12th Armies continue to fight on inside their ever-decreasing pocket. In an effort to finally close the circle around the Soviet forces, Kleist orders the XLVIII Panzer Corps to push on to Pervomaisk. In turn the 17th Army moves the XLIX Mountain Corps to the southeast, inadvertantly opening an escape route up to the Soviet armies. Unfortunately, they fail to take it.

In Moldavia, the XXX Corps continues to attack, pushing a wedge between the 18th and 9th Armies. Heavy fighting rages at Balta as the II Cavalry Corps is outflanked.

As he delivers one of his regular reports Zhukov clashes with Stalin over the need to hold on to Kiev. Accusing Zhukov of talking nonsense, Stalin dismisses his deputy, but at Zhukov's own request, keeps him on active service, appointing him commander of the Reserve Front. Gen Boris Shaposhnikov is appointed Chief of the General Staff in place of Zhukov. Zhukov advises Stalin to withdraw Gen Mikhail Kirponos' Southwest Front behind the Dniepr and abandon Kiev. Stalin states this was rubbish, prompting Zhukov to give up his post as Chief of the General Staff. Despite being demoted to commander of the Reserve Front, Zhukov retains his membership on the board of Stavka.

Battle of the Atlantic

In attacks on dispersed ships from Convoy OS-1 U-371 sinks the British steamer Shahristan (6935t) and the Dutch steamer Sitoebondo (7049t) southeast of the Azores. 65 are lost from the British ship, 33 survivors are picked up by the Spanish steamer Campeche, 37 by the British corvette Sunflower and 6 by the British armed merchant cruiser Derbyshire. The 77 on board the Dutch ship abandon the ship in 3 life boats. The occupants of 2 of the lifeboats are picked up the next day by the Campeche. The 19 occupants of the 3rd lifeboat are never found.

China

The US gunboat Tuttula is damaged by an attack by Japanese bombers in Chungking. Japan apologizes for the incident but it does nothing to ease the strained relations between the two countries.

Diplomatic Relations

Harry Hopkins, an advisor to Pres Roosevelt, is in Moscow to discuss the dispatch of help to the Soviet Union. At the end of his visit Hopkins concludes that Russia can somehow survive the German onslaught, a view not widely held by others who see the Red Army on the brink of collapse. He reports his optimism to Roosevelt who henceforth comes to the same conclusion.

Signing of the Sikorski–Mayski Agreement

In Moscow	In London

Eastern Front

Elements of the I Corps reach Schimsk forcing the 11th and 27th Armies back upon a line Staraya Russa-Kholm. The 16th Army moves forces up to pursue the retreating Soviet forces.

The German High Command claim that between 22 June and 30 July, the field armies have captured 800,000 Soviet soldiers and destroyed or captured 12,000 armored vehicles. The number of Red Army killed is thought to be in excess of 750,000 men.

Germany, Strategy

Hitler issues Führer Directive No 34 regarding the progress of BARBAROSSA: 'In the Northern Sector of the Eastern front the main attack will continue between Lake Ilmen and Narva towards Leningrad, with the aim of encircling Leningrad and making contact with the Finnish Army. North of Lake Ilmen this attack will be covered in the Volkhov sector; south of Lake Ilmen it will be carried northeastwards only so far as is required to protect the right flank of the attack north of the lake. The situation around Velikiye Luki will have been previously cleared up. All forces not required for these operations will be transferred to take part in the flank attacking north of Lake Ilmen. The intended thrust by Panzer Group Three against the high ground around Valdai will be postponed until armored formations are fully ready for action. Instead, the left flank of Army Group Center will advance sufficiently far northeastwards to afford protection to the right flank of Army Group North.

'Estonia must first of all be mopped by all the forces of the 18th Army; only then may divisions advance towards Leningrad. Army Group Center will go over to the defensive. Panzer Groups Two and Three will be withdrawn from the frontline for quick rehabilitation as soon as the situation allows.

'Operations on the Southeastern front will... be conducted only by formations of Army Group South. Their objective must be to destroy the strong enemy forces west of the Dnieper and... to establish the conditions necessary for bringing Panzer Group One later to the eastern bank of the Dnieper. The Fifth Red Army, fighting in the marshland northwest of Kiev, must be brought to battle west and annihilated.

'Finnish Front: The attack in the direction of Kandalaksha will be halted.

Air Operations, Europe

The British raid several locations in Sicily. The R.A.F. also attack German and Finnish ships in Petsamo harbor in northern Finland.

Baltic Sea

U-140 sinks the Soviet submarine M-94 in the Baltic Sea off Hirmuste, Estonia.

Eastern Front

The German 16th Army from Army Group North continues the advance reaching the south side of Lake Ilmen. When they breach the Russian positions on Lake Ilmen and Peipus the road to Leningrad lies open as the city is also attacked from the south. In southern Finland Finnish attacks toward Viipuri and Vuosalmi begin.

The Finnish assault toward Leningrad commences as the Southeastern Army assaults the Soviet 23rd Army. Meanwhile, Finnish forces continue to attack Vyborg and Vousalmi.

The German X Corps reaches the southern shore of Lake Ladoga.

The 2nd Panzer Group finishes its redeployment to the southern flank of Army Group Center along with the 2nd Army. The XXIV Panzer Corps attacks Group Kachalov (Gen Vladimir) south of Smolensk.[MORE]

Germany, Policy

Göring issues the first known written order for the elimination of Jews living under Nazi rule. In a memorandum to Reinhard Heydrich, Göring said, '. . . I instruct you further to submit to me as soon as possible a general plan showing the measures for organization and for action necessary to carry out the desired final solution (endlosung) of the Jewish question.'

Göring Memo to Heydrich