Important events of 1941, including the start of the final phase of the German attack on Russia (pictured to the left).
| 3 Jan | Italy launches a counter-offensive in Albania against the Greeks, the first of 46 Italian attacks – all repulsed by the Greeks. |
| 22 Jan | British and Australian forces capture Tobruk in North Africa. The Italian defenders lost 25,000 either killed, wounded or captured. |
British troops in North Africa |
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| 29 Jan | South African forces cross the border from Kenya and enter Italian Somaliland. The main attack does not begin until 10 February. |
| 4 Feb | The British start a mechanised movement which encircles the Italians to the south of Benghazi. |
| 6 Feb | British and Australian forces enter Benghazi. Rommel is appointed commander of the German Afrika Corps |
| 10 Feb | Mussolini accepts Hitler’s offer of a German armoured division to support his Italian forces in North Africa. |
| 12 Feb | Rommel arrives in Tripoli, Libya. |
| 24 Feb | German and British forces clash for the first time in the Western Desert. |
| 2 March | In Europe Bulgaria joins the Axis bloc, German troops now have direct access from which to invade Yugoslavia and Greece. |
| 6 March | British forces invade Ethiopia. The start of a three week blockage of the Suez Canal by the Germans. |
| 4 April | Italian and German forces capture Benghazi. |
| 6 April | Germany invades both Yugoslavia and Greece – Operation Marita. British forces occupy Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. |
| 10 April | Start of the siege of Tobruk after the Germans fail to capture it, the first time advancing German Panzers had been brought to a halt! The Rats of Tobruk would continue to defend the Libyan port until they are relieved towards the end November, some 240 days later. The Germans capture Zagreb. |
| 17 April | The Royal Yugoslavian Army surrenders, Axis forces annex and occupy the region. |
| 10 May | Last of the heavy air raids on Britain and the end of the Blitz (German – “lightning”). During the eight months of bombing by the Luftwaffe, London has seen more than a million houses damaged or destroyed and 40,000 civilians killed. Hitler’s attention had thankfully transferred to Eastern Front and Operation Barbarossa. |
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| 22 June | The German invasion of Russia – Operation Barbarossa begins. More than 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invade the USSR along a front stretching almost 3,000 km – the largest military operation in history would also result in the largest casualty rate. |
| 28 Sept | The first Allied convoy to Russia takes place. |
| 2 Oct | The final phase of the German attack on Russia starts. |
| 6 Oct | Churchill promises Stalin that a convoy would sail to Russia every 10 days. |
| 28 Nov | Italian forces surrender at Gondar and so ends Mussolini’s East African venture. |
| 5 Dec | With new reserves transferred from Siberia and the Far East, the Russian counter-attack in Moscow starts on the Kainin Front. |
| 7 Dec | The Japanese attack the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour. In the two hour raid that followed, 18 warships, 188 aircraft and 2,402 servicemen were lost. Luckily, the 3 aircraft carriers of the fleet were all at sea at the time of the attack. |
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| 8 Dec | Britain and America declare war on Japan. |
| 11 Dec | Germany declares war on America. |
| 31 Dec | By year end, a total of 53 merchant ships had reached Russia, delivering 750 tanks, 800 fighter planes, 1,400 vehicles and 100,000 tons of general stores. |
Related Links:Presenting the major events for each year of World War II – now with Audio! |
