Acroma (west of Tobruk) through El-Adem to Bir El Gubi. June 15 – WWII: Erwin Rommel sends German forces from the 21st Panzer Division and 90th Light Division to attack the defensive boxes at El-Adem and Sidi Rezegh. In the evening, Point 650 box at El-Adem is overrun. June 17–21 – WWII: Siege of Tobruk: German forces of Panzer Army Africa led by Erwin Rommel attack Tobruk with massed air support. On June 21, they penetrate a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter, capturing the port and 33,000 prisoners. June 18 – WWII: The SS surrounds the church where Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich, are hiding. Kubiš is fatally wounded in the ensuing shootout, and Gabčík commits suicide to avoid capture. June 21 – WWII: The Japanese submarine I-25 surfaces off the US Pacific Coast and bombards Fort Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia River. The fort itself is not damaged, though a nearby baseball field is destroyed. June 23 – WWII: Erwin Rommel arrives in Bardia and gives the 90th Light Division orders to attack eastwards. The British 8th Army withdraws to Mersa Matruh, where the Indian 10th Division, elements of the Indian 5th Division and the British 50th Division takes up positions. The experimental early-type nuclear reactor L-IV has an accident, becoming the first nuclear accident in history and consisting of a steam explosion and reactor fire in Leipzig. June 26–29 – WWII: Battle of Mersa Matruh: German forces of the Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel pursues the Eighth Army as it retreats into Egypt. On June 28, the fortress port of Mersa Matruh and more than 6,000 prisoners are captured, along with plenty of supplies and equipment. June 27 – WWII: Allied Convoy PQ 17 sails from Iceland, with 35 merchant ships and 3 passenger ships that have been refitted for rescuing the crews of torpedoed ships. There's also one tanker, 6 destroyers and 13 smaller ships for close escort. The convoy is destined for the Soviet port of Archangelsk. June 28 – WWII: Operation Blue: German forces of Army Group South under Generalfeldmarshall Fedor von Bock drive to Stalingrad and the Baku oil fields. Spearheads of the 4th Panzer Army under General Hermann Hoth drive towards Voronezh, advancing nearly 50 km on day one. They crossed two rivers and cut the link one between the Soviet 13th and