Friday 5 September 1941

A column of T-26E tanks and a DKW NZ500 Motorbike (1939) of the Finnish 3rd Armoured Company near the Juoksiala village on the Aunus Isthmus, September 5, 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Eastern Front: The Soviet Red Army achieves its first victory of the war by eliminating German opposition in the Yelnya salient. This exposed position on the road to Moscow had been a "lightning rod" for Soviet attacks for weeks. However, the departure of General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 south toward Kyiv sealed its fate. Writing  in his war diary, General Franz Halder, OKH Chief of Staff, praises the "great piece of staff work" that accomplished the "execution of the withdrawal from the salient." Some historians mark the evacuation of Yelnya as the first true German retreat during World War II, but it is only a temporary reversal as the Wehrmacht focuses elsewhere.

Japanese Government: The reverberations from President Roosevelt's refusal to meet with Prince Konoye continue. An Imperial Conference is scheduled to discuss the next steps, and those steps are decidedly warlike. Today, Prime Minister Konoye submits to the Emperor a draft of a decision taken on 4 September by the Cabinet to Emperor Hirohito. This Cabinet decision, in turn, is based on plans prepared by the Imperial General Headquarters, which is full of war hawks. The decision outlined in the report is to commit to war with the United States unless progress is made in peace talks with the United States by 10 October 1941.

Hirohito reviews the proposal and meets with Konoye, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army General Sugiyama, and Chief of Staff of the Navy Admiral Osami Nagano. This is an extremely unusual meeting, as the Emperor typically does not engage in discussions about policy but instead merely ratifies them.

In response to a question by Hirohito, Sugiyama claims that Japan could defeat the United States and its allies. Hirohito refuses to accept this, pointing out that the army has promised success in China but failed to achieve it. When Sugiyama counters that China is simply too big to conquer, Hirohito responds with anger that the Pacific Ocean also is vast and would be difficult to conquer.

Admiral Nagano later recalls to a friend:

I have never seen the Emperor reprimand us in such a manner, his face turning red and raising his voice.

Considering that Hirohito is renowned for his placid demeanor, this is quite a statement. Hirohito decides to take an active role in the Imperial Conference scheduled for 6 September.

Estonia: The Germans complete the occupation of Estonia as the final Soviet forces flee by ship. The USSR had occupied Estonia in 1940 as part of a deal with Hitler regarding the Polish campaign. The only Soviet troops remaining in the Baltic states now are a few holdouts on the Baltic islands.

The big news in Canton, Ohio is that Cab Calloway is opening at the Palace for three days only, 5 September 1941.

September 1941