September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Hirohito

Wednesday 3 September 1941

Soviet POWs captured during street fighting in Ukraine on their way to German camps, 3 September 1941 (Deutsches Bundesarchiv/AP Photo).

US/Japanese Relations: The Japanese have been pressing for a summit meeting between Prince Konoye and President Roosevelt for weeks in the hope that this could lead to better relations between the two powers. After much hesitation and deliberation, on 3 September 1941. the Americans finally tell the Japanese that President Roosevelt will not agree to such a meeting.

This decision effectively scuttles settlement talks. The Japanese hold an emergency liaison conference where it is decided that:

if by the early part of October there is still no prospect of being able to obtain our demands, we shall immediately decide to open hostilities against the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.

The Japanese fleet already is planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor under the direction of Admiral Yamamoto. However, there are many moderates in both governments - almost all outside of the military - who continue to hold out hopes for a peaceful resolution in the Pacific.

In Germany, 16th Army Commander Colonel-General Ernst Busch (later a field marshal) inspects an anti-aircraft gun position on September 3, 1941 (Photo credit: Deutsches Bundesarchiv / AP Photo).

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

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