The same day, the real 3 NZ Division is established in Auckland. The Salamander and her group, joined by the corvette Lotus and convoy Commodore J.C. Dowding, forms its own little convoy, moving through fog to Murmansk. Organized Soviet resistance in the Crimea ends, while the German 4th Panzer Army reaches the Don at Voronezh, facing stiff opposition. Convoy QP 13, coming home from Murmansk, makes a navigational error, and runs into a British minefield off Iceland. Five merchant ships are sunk, along with the British minesweeper Niger and the Russian ship Rodina, carrying on board the wives and families of Soviet diplomats stationed in London.
German troops launch yet another attack on Soviet partisans.
This time it's Operation Swamp Flower, against Soviet partisans near Dorogobuzh. These partisans are reinforced by Soviet paratroopers. Meanwhile, Chinese representatives in Washington say their country needs more help. The Japanese bring no bulldozers, but two tiny locomotives, hopper cars, and rail tracks. Also arriving are the Navy's 13th and 11th Construction Units, and 400 infantrymen to guard them.