September 1, 1941 – NBC Red Network – News Of The World – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
September 1, 1941 –Labor Day in America on this day, but hardly a holiday in the rest of the world, which marked this September 1st as the second anniversary of the beginning of World War 2. War in Europe – we weren’t quite there yet. We wouldn’t be there until December.
But news from Berlin pained a glowing picture of German advances into Russia. Prisoners in the hundreds of thousands and casualties in the millions. The German Army was heading to Kiev and working its way to Leningrad but not without resistance, according to Berlin Radio. The High Command was quoted as saying the Red Army was formidable and were putting up a vicious fight. How vicious, it just depended on who you spoke to.
Even though it was holiday here, the German Press made scant mention of it, instead focusing on the progress of the War as seen from German eyes.
From Moscow came word that Russia’s Central Army was still counterattacking strongly, trying to smash back the German drive toward Moscow. Additional reports came in that the Russian Army had driven out an attack by Germans on an unidentified town, somewhere along the Leningrad and Southern fronts. Allied bombers paid a visit to Berlin the night before – the morning papers stated that the planes were British, but a later report, carried by the German Radio, said the planes flew in from the Baltic Sea. The Germans reported the British attackers were turned back before they reached the city proper. Long formations of German bombers carried out what were heavy raids on England overnight. With the city of Hull being particularly hard hit. It was reported that two British planes, sent up to intercept the Germans, were shot down.
German figures on British daylight air losses for the month of August were released on this day. Royal Air Force losses for the month totaled 260 planes, which worked out to roughly 8 1/2 planes per day – 216 of those planes were fighters.
From London came reports that British planes flew bombing runs over Cologne and Essen and several other industrial targets in the Ruhr and Rhineland – and Russian bombers also joined. Seven British bombers were missing and one didn’t come back from a night patrol of German occupied France. More German planes than usual flew over Britain the night before to stage a sharp attack on Hull – one German plane was shot down.
All that, and much more for this September 1, 1941 – as reported by NBC’s News Of The World.
