Timeline of World War II (1941) - May 1941

May 1941

• 1: Seven nights of bombing of Liverpool begins, resulting in wide devastation.
• 2: British forces at RAF Habbaniya launch pre-emptive air strikes against Iraqi forces besieging them and the Anglo-Iraqi War begins.
• 3: Belfast, Northern Ireland, experiences another heavy bombing.
  : British forces in Ethiopia begin the investment of Amba Alagi where Italian forces under the Duke of Aosta have taken up defensive positions.
• 5: Five years from the day he was forced to flee, Emperor Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, his capital, in triumph.
• 6: With much of the Iraqi air force destroyed and facing regular bombardment themselves, the Iraqi ground forces besieging RAF Habbaniya withdraw.
  : The Luftwaffe arranges to send a small force to Iraq.
• 7: Between Habbaniya and Fallujah, two Iraqi columns are caught in the open and attacked by roughly forty British aircraft; the Iraqis suffer heavy casualties.
• 8: Heavy convoy losses in the Atlantic continue; however, one U-boat (U-110) is captured by the British navy and another copy of the "Enigma" machine is discovered and saved. It will help to turn the fortunes in the Atlantic battle.
  : Bombing of Nottingham.
• 9: A Japanese brokered peace treaty signed in Tokyo ends the French-Thai War.
• 10: Rudolf Hess is captured in Scotland after bailing out of his plane; his self-appointed mission was to make peace with the United Kingdom.
  : The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid. Other targets are Hull, Liverpool, Belfast, and the shipbuilding area of the River Clyde in Scotland. This is close to the end of the Blitz, as Germany shifts its focus toward Soviet Union and the East.
• 12: The RAF bombs several German cities, including Hamburg, Emden, and Berlin.
  : The Soviet Union recognizes Rashid Ali's "National Defence Government" in Iraq.
• 13: Yugoslav Army Colonel Draža Mihailović summons up the "Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland" which mostly consists of Serbs, but also includes Slovenes, Bosnians, and Croats. Mihailović trecks from Bosnia into central Serbia, Ravna Gora, and issues an uprising call promising a struggle against the occupiers and the restoration of the Yugoslavian Monarchy. At this point, Josip Broz Tito and the Yugoslav Partisans are aligned with the Soviet Union which is still friendly with Germany.
  : The bulk of the German "Flyer Command Iraq" (Fliegerführer Irak) arrives in Mosul to support the Iraqi government of Rashid Ali.
• 14: The RAF is authorized to act against German aircraft in Syria and on Vichy French airfields.
• 15: First Civilian Public Service camp opens for conscientious objectors in the United States.
• 16: Rommel defeats a counter-attack, "Brevity", at Halfaya Pass. The two sides trade alternating control of Fort Capuzzo and Halfaya Pass.
• 17: British forces in the Habbaniya area advance on Iraqi-held Fallujah and, in five days fighting, push the Iraqis out.
• 18: The Duke of Aosta, Viceroy of Italian East Africa, surrenders his forces at Amba Alagi.
• 20: German paratroopers land on Crete; the battle for Crete will continue for seven days.
  : The German military mission to Iraq, Special Staff F (Sonderstab F), is created to support of "The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East. Sonderstab F is to include Fliegerführer Irak and other elements already in Iraq.
• 21: The US merchantman SS Robin Moor is sunk by German submarine U-69. The incident startles the nation, and President Roosevelt shortly announces an "unlimited national emergency."
  : The Italian Viceroy in Ethiopia surrenders. Remnants of Italian troops keep on fighting.
• 22: Iraqi forces unsuccessfully counter-attack the British forces in Fallujah and are rebuffed.
• 23: German dictator Adolf Hitler issues "Fuhrer Directive No. 30 in support of "The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East", his "natural ally against England."
• 24: British battle cruiser HMS Hood is sunk by a powerful salvo from German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic.
  : The Greek government leaves Crete for Cairo.
• 26: In the North Atlantic, Fairey Swordfish aircraft from the carrier HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the Bismarck in torpedo attack.
• 27: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic, after evasive tactics, and a damaged steering system which forced it into an endless series of circular movements.
  : The British forces from the Habbaniya area begin an advance on Baghdad and, within four days, approach the city from the west and from the north.
  : Twelve Italian aircraft arrive at Mosul to join Fliegerführer Irak.
• 28: British and Commonwealth forces begin to evacuate Crete.
  : By this date, it is clear that operation "Brevity" has failed.
• 29: Members of the German military mission flee Iraq.
• 30: Rashid Ali and his supporters flee Iraq.
• 31: Heavy Luftwaffe bombing on neutral Ireland's capital; numerous civilian casualties.
  : The Mayor of Baghdad surrenders the city to British forces and ends the Anglo-Iraqi War.