29 Mar 1941 | World War II Database

29 Mar 1941

Vichy France established an office to deal with Jewish affairs, placing Xavier Vallat at its helm. ww2dbase [CPC]
British battleships HMS Barham, HMS Valiant, and HMS Warspite continued to shell the Italian fleet off Cape Matapan, Greece. Italian cruiser Fiume, cruiser Zara, destroyer Alfieri, and destroyer Carducci were sunk, while destroyer Oriani was heavily damaged. At 0400 hours, British destroyers HMS Jervis and HMS Nubian approached damaged Italian cruiser Pola, captured her crew, and sank her with torpedoes. British ships rescued 905 Italian sailors but hurriedly departed at daybreak, fearing Luftwaffe attack; the Royal Navy would provide coordinates of remaining survivors to Italian ship Gradisca to continue to rescue. The Battle of Cape Matapan would close with 5 Italian warships lost, killing 2,303 men; the British suffered only 3 killed, the air crew of a single torpedo bomber lost on 28 Mar 1941. ww2dbase [Battle of Matapan | Warspite | CPC]
After 3 days of inaction caused by sandstorms, German tanks and armored cars advanced at El Agheila, Libya, engaging British counterparts in the desert between El Agheila and Mersa Brega. Behind Allied lines, Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed an Allied train carrying gasoline. ww2dbase [Operation Sonnenblume | CPC]
German submarine U-48 attacked Allied convoy HX-115 120 miles south of Iceland between 0619 and 0806 hours, sinking 3 freighters. Most survivors were picked up by British corvette HMS Dianella. ww2dbase [CPC]
German submarine U-46 sank Swedish ship Liguria 300 miles southwest of Iceland at 1750 hours; 19 were killed, 10 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]

Ethiopia

South African 1st Brigade relieved the Nigerian Brigade in the Allied assault into Italian-occupied Ethiopia, capturing railway town of Diredawa and its airfield. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Diredawa | CPC]

Germany

Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka again met with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop in Berlin, Germany. Ribbentrop offered Matsuoka that, should the Soviet Union attack Japan while Japan embarked on a military campaign against British possessions in Asia, Germany would lend military assistance. Matsuoka countered, noting that the Soviet Union seemed to be friendly toward Japan. ww2dbase [Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact | Berlin | CPC]

United Kingdom

The 109-ton fishing trawler Kimberley (GY167) was sailing from Grimsby to Hartlepool in England, United Kingdom when she foundered and was lost in the North Sea, due to an attack by German aircraft, near 62D buoy, 22 miles southeast of Flamborough Head. The nine crew on board were rescued. ww2dbase [Bridlington, England | HM]

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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