In the North Atlantic... The Hood and the Prince of Wales come up and engage the Bismark and Prinz Eugen. The Hood is sunk very quickly. Only three men of the Hood's complement of 1416 are saved. A short while later the Prince of Wales breaks off the action after receiving some damage. After the action the British cruisers continue to shadow the German ships. The Bismark has been hit three times, which has caused the loss of some fuel and the contamination of more. Admiral Lutjens therefore decides to put in to Brest. The British battleships Rodney and Ramillies leave the convoys they have been escorting to join the hunt. Force H, with the battle cruiser Renown and the carrier Ark Royal, puts to sea from Gibraltar. During the night of the May 24-25th aircraft from the Home Fleet carrier Victorious attack, and hit the Bismark with one torpedo. The damage is negligible. Later in the night Prinz Eugen slips away to operate independently, and later still contact is lost between the shadowing British cruisers and the Bismark.

In the Mediterranean... On Crete, the Allied forces in the Canea area are not in positions around Galatas. The German buildup at Maleme continues.

In East Africa... In southern Abyssinia Soddu falls to the Allied forces. In this area General Gazzera leads seven weak Italian divisions. The attacking Allied force is made up of the 11th and 12th African Divisions.