September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea

Thursday 25 September 1941

A Junkers Ju-88 on its way from North Africa to Greece, 25 September 1941 (Petertil, Eduard, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0881-25A).

Eastern Front: Having recently replaced the deceased General Eugen Ritter von Schobert in command of the 11th Army, General Erich von Manstein takes advantage of the Soviet disarray after their loss at the first battle of Kyiv to seize the neck of the Crimean Isthmus of Perekop. On September 25, 1941, the German and Romanian forces continue on the second day of a five-day battle that results in a complete German victory. German paratroop forces (Fallschirmjäger), fighting as infantry, close in on Perekop.

A Junkers Ju-88 on its way from North Africa to Greece, 25 September 1941 (Petertil, Eduard, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0881-25A).

European Air War: RAF Bomber Command sends one of its B-17 Flying Fortresses of No. 90 Squadron on a mission to Emden. After two months of operations, the RAF decides to withdraw the Fortresses from daylight operations. The British are unhappy with the performance of the Flying Fortresses during the day and hereafter use them only at night.

Luftwaffe ace Horst Carganico receives the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) on 25 September 1941 for being credited with 27 victories. He operates in the far north at Kirkenes, Norway, where the pickings are slim for gaining victories. Flying 600 missions, Carganico records 60 victories before he is killed by flying into high tension cables while attempting a forced landing on 27 May 1944 at Chevry, France.

Battle of the Baltic: German battleship Tirpitz, sister ship of the sunk Bismarck, operates on its first mission as the lead ship of the temporary Kriegsmarine Baltic Fleet. Accompanied by the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, Leipzig, and Emden, several destroyers, and two flotillas of minesweepers, Tirpitz patrols off the Aaland Islands. The Germans anticipate a breakout attempt by the Soviet fleet based at Leningrad and Kronstadt, but the Soviets have no intention of leaving their bases there. After some fruitless cruising and a depth-charge accident aboard Admiral Scheer that requires a month of repairs, Tirpitz returns to its anchorage on the 26th.

A Panzer III in North Africa during September 1941 (Federal Archive Picture 101I-434-0912-24A).

US Military: John F. Kennedy, son of the former U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph Kennedy, enlists in the U.S. Navy. JFK is appointed an ensign in the US Naval Reserve.

John F. Kennedy around the time that he enlists in the U.S. Navy in September 1941.

September 1941

September 1, 1941: Two Years In
September 2, 1941: Germans Pushed Back at Yelnya
September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Japanese
September 4, 1941: Hitler Furious at Guderian
September 5, 1941: Germans Evacuate Yelnya
September 6, 1941: Japan Prepares for War
September 7, 1941: Hitler Orders Drive on Moscow
September 8, 1941: Leningrad Cut Off
September 9, 1941: Germans Attack Leningrad
September 10, 1941: Guderian Busts Loose
September 11, 1941: Convoy SC-42 Destruction
September 12, 1941: Starve Leningrad!
September 13, 1941: Zhukov at Leningrad
September 14, 1941: Germany's Growing Casualties
September 15, 1941: Sorge Warns Stalin Again
September 16, 1941: Soviets Encircled at Kiev
September 17, 1941: Iran Conquest Completed
September 18, 1941: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in Action
September 19, 1941: Germans Take Kiev
September 20, 1941: Death at Kiev
September 21, 1941: Raging Soviet Paranoia
September 22, 1941: Defense of Nickel Mines
September 23, 1941: Air Attacks on Leningrad
September 24, 1941: Japanese Spying Intensifies
September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea
September 26, 1941: Kiev Pocket Eliminated
September 27, 1941: Massacre at Eišiškės
September 28, 1941: Ted Williams Hits .400
September 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre
September 30, 1941: Operation Typhoon Begins

2020