3 Jan 1941
  • At 0530 hours, the British artillery barrage began, hitting Italian defensive positions at Bardia, Libya. At 0600 hours, Australian 6th Division began its assault from the west, clearing anti-tank obstacles for the 23 tanks of the British 7th Royal Tank Regiment that began attacking at 0650 hours. Between 0810 and 0855 hours, battleships HMS Warspite, HMS Valiant, and HMS Barham, along with destroyers, monitors, and gunboats, bombarded Bardia with 244 15-inch shells, 270 6-inch shells, 250 4.5-inch shells, and many smaller caliber shells. The ground forces would penetrate 2 miles into the Italian lines. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | CPC]
  • Luftwaffe X Fliegerkorps arrived in Italy. ww2dbase [TH]
  • German bombers attacked Bristol, England, United Kingdom overnight for 12 hours, targeting the docks and the railway station. 149 were killed and 351 were wounded. The granary on Princes Wharf was destroyed, along with most of the 8,000 tons of grain inside. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • The Corpo Aereo Italiano, which had been participating in the Battle of Britain alongside Luftwaffe units at Belgian bases, was recalled to Italy after suffering heavy losses. ww2dbase [AC]
Albania
  • The Italians launched a counter-offensive to the north and west of Korcë, Albania; two fresh Italian divisions were committed to the Klissoura sector on the Vlorë road to regain the initiative. ww2dbase [Main Article | AC]
Germany
  • RAF bombers attacked Bremen and the Kiel Canal in Germany. The Kiel Canal Bridge suffered a direct hit and collapsed on Finnish ship Yrsa. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 3 Jan 1941
Official document signed by Joachim Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, Hiroshi Oshima, and Bogdan Filov, entering Bulgaria into the Axis alliance, 3 Jan 1941Port quarter view looking forward showing submarines Gar and Grampus fitting out, Groton, Connecticut, United States, 3 Jan 1941

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Émile Bertin underway, date unknown




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"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"

Winston Churchill, 1935