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• The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union jointly attacked pro-German regime in Iran. While the British troops crossed the western border and Soviets to the north, the respective ambassadors in Tehran demanded Iran to accept British and Soviet protection of oil supplies. British forces sank two small Iranian warships. ww2dbase [Campaigns in the Middle East | CPC]
• German submarine U-752 sank Soviet minesweeping trawler T-898 in the Barents Sea 80 miles east of Cape Chernyi, northern Russia at 1011 hours; 41 were killed, 2 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The German Navy placed orders for 61 submarines to be constructed. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Destroyer HMS Wolsey rammed and sank British minesweeper Kos XVI (with Norwegian crew) 30 miles off Grimsby, England, United Kingdom just before midnight. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Richard "Dick" Winters enlisted in the US Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
• German Navy issued the order to build the future submarine U-869. ww2dbase [U-869 | CPC]
• Submarine Finback was launched, sponsored by Mrs. A. E. Watson. ww2dbase [Finback | CPC]
• Asasaburo Kobayashi was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. ww2dbase [Asasaburo Kobayashi | CPC]

• British anti-submarine trawler HMS Vascama and a British Catalina aircraft sank German submarine U-452 with depth charges in the North Sea, killing all 42 aboard. ww2dbase [North Sea | CPC]
• A British RAF Catalina Mk. 1 of No. 209 Squadron cooperating with naval forces sank German submarine U-453 off Iceland. ww2dbase [AC]

• Lennart Oesch began a period of sick leave. ww2dbase [Lennart Oesch | CPC]

• Pierre Laval was shot four times by student Paul Collete as he saw off French volunteers going off to fight with the Germans in Russia. Laval survived the assassination attempt, but was seriously wounded particularly by a bullet that penetrated his body about an inch from his heart. ww2dbase [Pierre Laval | AC, CPC]

• Held responsible for the failure of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, and believing that his superiors had abandoned him, and convinced that his arch rival Inspector General Erhard Milch was plotting his down fall, the normally ebullient Ernst Udet (who was already showing signs of illness through depression and strain) reported sick. His duties were assumed by Milch. ww2dbase [Ernst Udet | Erhard Milch | AC]
• Benito Mussolini arrived at Adolf Hitler's Wolfsschanze headquarters in eastern Germany (now Poland). ww2dbase [Benito Mussolini | Rastenburg, Ostpreußen | CPC]
• The order to build U-1059 was issued. ww2dbase [U-1059 | CPC]

• The 25 survivors of Norwegian merchant steamer Spind, sunk by German submarine U-552 two days prior off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, were landed in Gibraltar. ww2dbase [HM]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille returned to Ain el Gazala, Libya from his home leave in Berlin, Germany to Libya. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | Gazala | CPC]

• Radio Gaulle, a black radio station operated by the propaganda section (S01) of SOE, began broadcasting from Britain, though claiming to be from France. ww2dbase [Special Operations Executive | CPC]

25 Aug 1941 Interactive Map