Thursday, October 6, 2011

Day 769 October 8, 1941

Soviet Army suffers another disaster, this time in the Ukraine. Soviet forces on the Sea of Azov (Northern part of the Black Sea) are on the brink of forcing German 11th Army off the Perekop Isthmus which links the Crimean peninsula to the mainland. General von Kleist’s Panzergruppe 1 races South after the encirclement of Kiev to relieve 11th Army; they reache Berdyansk and Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Soviet 9th and 18th Armies (100,000 soldiers) are trapped between Panzergruppe 1, 11th Army and the sea.

Just after midnight, German Heinkel He111 bombers from Crete attack shipping at anchor at Safe Anchorage H in the Gulf of Suez. They sink British steamer Rosalie Moller (carrying 4680 tons of Welsh coal to Alexandria, Egypt, via the Cape of Good Hope) which is awaiting passage through the Suez Canal (2 crew killed, survivors rescued by Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta). Dive video.

British bombers from Malta (830 Squadron) sink Italian steamer Paolo Z. Podesta in a small convoy with a schooner, and two trawlers just leaving Trapani, Sicily, for Tripoli, Libya.

1 comment:

  1. Following with InterestOctober 8, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Just want to repeat again how great it is that you have picked up the task again, and to let you know there are interested readers who appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete