26 Jul 1941
  • US Army recalled Douglas MacArthur to active service as the commander of units in the Far East; Philippine troops already under MacArthur's command were integrated into the US Army. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]
  • Three full Soviet armies were trapped and destroyed near Mogilev, Byelorussia. ww2dbase [Operation Barbarossa | TH]
  • US President Franklin Roosevelt passed executive orders to freeze all Japanese and Chinese assets, forbade the export of oil, iron, and rubber to Japan, as well as marking the Panama Canal off-limits to Japanese shipping. UK and the Netherlands followed suit. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | CPC]
  • Werner Mölders was presented Diamonds to his Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler. ww2dbase [Werner Mölders | CPC]
  • US Navy Admiral Husband Kimmel ordered long range air patrols to be conducted from various Pacific Ocean bases in case Japan reacted aggressively against US President Franklin Roosevelt's executive order to freeze Japanese assets. ww2dbase [Attack on Pearl Harbor | Detailed Timetable | CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • Alessandro Malaspina reached her new patrol area in the Atlantic Ocean at 2000 hours. ww2dbase [Alessandro Malaspina | CPC]
Italy
  • Commander Ernesto Forza took over command of 10th MAS Flotilla at La Spezia, Italy, which was in actuality a special forces unit for the Italian Navy. ww2dbase [La Spezia, Liguria | CPC]
Lithuania Malta
  • Six Italian explosive motorboats escorted by MC.200 fighters attempted to attack shipping in Valletta's Grand Harbour at Malta. The Hurricane fighters of Nos. 126 and 185 Squadrons were scrambled and set about the boats, sinking four and causing the other two to surrender. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | MT | Valletta | AC]
  • HMS Cachalot departed Malta for Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbase [Cachalot (Grampus-class) | CPC]
Russia
  • German aircraft bombed Moscow, Russia. Many bombs fell near the Kremlin, and the images were captured on film by journalist Margaret Bourke-White. ww2dbase [Kremlin and Red Square | Moscow | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Roderick Carr was named the commanding officer of No. 4 Group RAF. ww2dbase [Roderick Carr | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 26 Jul 1941
San Diego sliding down her shipways during her launching at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, 26 Jul 1941Grace Legler Benbough christened San Diego during launching ceremonies at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, 26 Jul 1941A Dornier Do-217 bomber on an airfield in Finland with reindeer in the foreground, 26 Jul 1941.

26 Jul 1941 Interactive Map

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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