Thursday 10 October 1940

HMS Revenge bombards Cherbourg, 10/11 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather on 10 October 1940 is mostly rainy with intermittent sunny periods. This does permit a couple of fairly large raids. While the Luftwaffe is said to change its tactics to targeting only cities today, it doesn't appear that anything has changed from the day's action.

The morning is occupied with minor fighter-bomber (Jabo) raids. At 10:00, about 30 from JG 26 cross into Kent and attack Hastings, Brighton, Eastbourne and Bexhill. The attack does what is really intended - drawing some RAF fighters into the air for battle - but the bombing itself is virtually inconsequential.

Another raid around noontime is more serious. Over 100 aircraft, including fighters from JG 53, head over the Dorset coast. Fighter Command is ready and gets eight squadrons in the air. The Germans shoot down several Spitfires, but again the bombing damage is slight.

After 15:00, another slightly smaller raid of over 65 planes crosses the Kent coast and heads for London, followed by a second wave of 80 planes over Dover. The RAF gets a dozen squadrons in the air. The Bf 109s fly high, even with their bombs, and interception is difficult. Some of the Spitfires do make contact. The bombers hit London, but again it is a raid with minimal effectiveness.

 After dark, the Luftwaffe bombers hit the usual targets in London, South Wales, Gloucester, and RAF Debden and Duxford. There are some "lucky hits" which cause especially bad damage in London. Bombing accuracy is fairly poor, with bombs dropped in the river and other harmless areas. A Wembley war main is hit, some railway lines cut, and some smaller towns also bombed (apparently at random).

At dusk, the German coastal batteries at Cap Gris Nez open fire on Dover and surrounding areas. This leads to a brief artillery duel at a range of 20 miles.

Losses for the day are minimal. Losses are generally given as around 4 apiece. There is enough bomb damage to make this a "win" by the Luftwaffe, but nothing that is of any strategic significance.

War in the air can lead to crazy results at times. Today, for instance, a Luftwaffe reconnaissance Dornier Do 17 is over RAF Tangmere when some RAF fighters intercept it. Two of the fighters collide, killing both pilots, while the bomber's gunner shoots down a third, which crash-lands. The bomber? It limps back to France and crash-lands there, having destroyed three front-line RAF fighters and accomplished its mission.

European Air Operations: Before daylight, RAF Bomber Command attacks Brest. The bombers damage destroyers Eckholdt, Loy, and Riedel. The RAF loses an Albacore bomber, the crew becoming POWs.

During the night, the RAF bombers hit ports up and down the coast, including Hamburg, Hannover, Wilhelmshaven, Kiel, Amsterdam, Calais, Den Helder, Boulogne, Le Havre, and Brest. The Fokker factory in Amsterdam and oil installations at Hamburg receive special attention. At Wilhelmshaven, the RAF has 14 bombers attack the Tirpitz (under construction), without success.

Naval recruits learn to handle a bayonet at their training school in England. October 10, 1940. (AP Photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: After dark, in a rare sortie by a capital ship, the British battleship HMS Revenge departs from Plymouth and bombards the Cherbourg docks from long range. This is Operation Medium. The Revenge is accompanied by six destroyers and seven motor anti-submarine boats, along with a separate cruiser force to the west. The bombardment lasts from 03:33 to 03:51, including 120 15-inch and 801 4.7 inch shells. The objective is to disrupt invasion preparations, and several transport ships are hit. The Germans put E-boats to sea from Cherbourg, but accomplish nothing.

Further up the coast, Royal Navy motorboats MTB 22, 31 and 32 attack German trawlers Brandenburg and 234-ton Nordenham near Calais. The motorboats torpedo and sink both trawlers. The crew survives and 34 Kriegsmarine sailors are made prisoners. The British force returns to base unscathed.

The British also lose a trawler when 23 ton Royal Navy patrol boat HMT Girl Mary hits a mine and blows up in the Firth of Forth about 7.4 km off Inchcolm. Two crewmen die, another is wounded.

U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle) finishes 3697-ton British freighter Graigwen, which had been badly damaged on the 9th by U-103 (Viktor Schütze).

British 367 ton freighter Till hits a mine and is damaged in the English Channel.

British submarine HMS H28, an old World War I sub, is in the Bay of Biscay when it spots a smallish 1000 ton freighter. It fires a torpedo but misses.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Jersey returns to service after repairs from a mine strike, exiting the Humber.

Convoys OA 227 and FS 305 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 305 departs from Southend.

Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia arrives at Gibraltar and is temporarily assigned to Force H.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable is completed and prepares for trials.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF attacks Benghazi and Assab, Eritrea.

In Malta, it is a quiet day. There is a lot of aerial reconnaissance due to a convoy coming from Alexandria, but there is little activity by the Italian fleet at Taranto. The Air Chief of Staff at Whitehall believes that, with winter fast approaching, fighters can be transferred from England to Malta in order to do more good there. Another dozen Hurricanes will soon be on their way.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion meets up with supply ship Regensburg in the Marshall Islands.

The Lake Superior Regiment prepares to depart from Port Arthur, Quebec. 10 October 1940 (Thunder Bay Public Library).

Luxembourg: Somewhat hopefully, the German occupation government decides to conduct an honest plebiscite in Luxembourg (now incorporated into the Reich). The question is: are you happy with the occupation? As a result that surprises nobody except apparently the Germans, 97% of the responses are in the negative. It is the only such plebiscite held.

Cuba: Fulgencio Batista (elected in July) officially becomes the 9th President of Cuba. In practice, he rules like an autocrat.

China: Communist Chinese New 4th Army and 8th New Army link up at Baiju Village, Dongtai County, Jiangsu Province. The former has been engaged recently with the Nationalist Chinese.

Separately, the Japanese launch an air attack against Kunming.

German Homefront: Adolf Hitler begins the new Führer-Sofortprogramm (Leader's Emergency Programme). This is an effort to build bunkers for civilians and other essential personnel. The initial goal is to build 6000 bunkers in 92 cities across the Reich. This program will be a massive undertaking, with deliveries of concrete for the bunkers and other supplies requiring alteration of railroad timetables across German. It is the largest public works program ever, and is a major success of the current German regime, saving countless lives. It includes the construction of the massive flak towers in places like Berlin and Vienna that have such extraordinary structural integrity that they could not feasibly be destroyed after the war and remain in situ to this day (though some were buried). It also is an early acknowledgment that the war is going to last a lot longer, and involve a lot more effort and hardship, than originally thought. The results of this program are visible across Europe.

British Homefront: Pianist Myra Hess gives a dramatic concert at the National Gallery in London. It commemorates the anniversary of her first ceremony a year earlier. The windows are blacked out and the sound of bombing can be heard in the distance. This and similar contributions to morale eventually earn her the honor of being named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1941.

American Homefront: Earl Browder, American Communist Party Candidate for President (and head of the party), is indicted by a federal grand jury for passport fraud. He ultimately is sentenced to 4 years in prison. Browder advocates closer ties between the US and the Soviet Union.

Earl Browder, American Communist Party candidate for President.

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Sunday 14 July 1940

Marshal Pétain leaving a church at Vichy for the Monument aux Morts on July 14, 1940. Pierre Laval (right, black coat), Vichy's prime minister, follows.

Battle of Britain: In the morning of 14 July 1940, the Luftwaffe sends small and scattered raids against ships in the English Channel. This is a warm-up for the day's main event.

Things pick up around 15:00, when about 40 Stukas of II./LG 1, with Bf 109s from III./JG 3 and JG 51, attack the daily "Bread" convoy off Dover. Other Luftwaffe bombers from KG2 with with their own fighter escort join the party, and soon there is a wild melee over the water composed of 100 or more aircraft. Several British ships are damaged and the 779-ton cargo ship SS Island Queen is sunk. The Luftwaffe loses three Stukas and three fighters, while the RAF loses a Hurricane of No. 615 Squadron (the pilot perishes).

Many people watch the epic dogfight from the Cliffs of Dover, including BBC reporter Charles Gardner. He spots someone bailing out into the Channel who he describes with some indifference as being a Luftwaffe pilot. In fact, it is a badly injured RAF airman who later perishes.

In the evening, the weather closes in and once again there are just scattered bomber raids, with the Luftwaffe losing a couple of bombers during a raid on Avonmouth and other areas. The Luftwaffe bombs Manston airfield and Swanage Harbour, Dorset.

After dark, the Luftwaffe launches attacks against Bristol, the Isle of Wight, Kent, and Suffolk. There also was enemy activity over the Thames estuary.

The Air Ministry issues Bulletin 1254 in response to suspicions, confirmed by some evidence, that German search-and-rescue planes are being used for other purposes. This authorizes RAF planes to shoot down Luftwaffe planes performing search-and-rescue missions:

It has come to the notice of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom that enemy aircraft bearing civil markings and marked with the Red Cross have recently flown over British ships at sea and in the vicinity of the British coast and that they are being employed for purposes which HM Government cannot regard as being consistent with the privileges generally accorded to the Red Cross... 

HM Government is unable, however, to grant immunity to such aircraft flying over areas in which operations are in progress on land or at sea, or approaching British or Allied territory, or territory in British occupation, or British or Allied ships... 

Ambulance aircraft which do not comply with the above requirements will do so at their own risk and peril.

This makes all search-and-rescue aircraft over the English Channel legitimate targets for the RAF.

General De Gaulle and his followers celebrate Bastille Day at the Cenotaph in London, England on July 14, 1940.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 9 Whitley bombers of No. 102 Squadron against Paderborn and also a dozen Whitley bombers of No. 10 Squadron and EAF No. 51 Squadron against Diepholz.

Vichy France sends bombers against Gibraltar, without result.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 4111 ton Greek freighter Thetis A. off Brest, France at 18:18. There are 20 survivors and 9 crew perish.

U-A (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) sinks 5824-ton Norwegian tanker Sarita 100 miles west of Cape Verde at 11:45. All 29 onboard survive, spend four days at sea, and then are taken on board the freighter Dunstan on the 18th.

German raider Thor sinks British freighter Gracefield off Brazil after taking the 36 crew prisoner.

Convoy OA 184 departs from Methi.

The Bismarck leaves drydock.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italians send a fighter sweep over Grand Harbor at 06:45. Otherwise, the day is fairly quiet. The British are expanding Luga Airfield. The defending fighter force, vital for chasing away hesitant Regia Aeronautica bombers, is down to two Gladiators and one Hurricane of the Hal Far Fighter Flight. There is a myth of just three Gladiator biplanes named Faith, Hope, and Charity defending the island, but that is never the case. This is as close as it gets.

Western Front: During the night, Operation Ambassador takes place. This is a landing on the islands of Guernsey and Little Sark (accidentally) by Col. Gubbins' new commando force. The 140 men, taken from H Troop of No. 3 Commando (John Dumford-Slater) and No. 11 Independent Company, follows reconnaissance on Guernsey by Channel Islands native 2nd Lieutenant Hubert Nicolle on 6 July. Landed by destroyers HMS Scimitar and HMS Saladin, the men wander about for a while, cut some telegraph lines, find some empty German barracks, and leave at 03:00 on the 15th. Three commandos are left behind and become POWs, as is one of the destroyer men thrown from a dinghy that sinks. The enemy is never sighted. Overall, the operation is a fiasco that is perhaps of some use for training purposes and as a "dry run" for later endeavors.

North Africa: The British 1st King's African Rifles garrison at Moyale, Kenya withdraws under pressure by the Italians.

South Africa sends its Ist Infantry Brigade for Kenya.

General Wavell begins inspection of British bases in Sudan and Kenya.

War Crimes: The British respond to the shoot-down of the He 59 floatplane on 11 July, claiming that it is justified because they believe that the German search-and-rescue planes are circling British convoys for purposes of reconnaissance for later attacks.

Baltic States: The Soviets hold phony elections in occupied Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The results are published "by accident" in London before the actual elections.

France: It was a tale of two cities... It is Bastille Day (Le Quatorze Juillet), celebrated by General de Gaulle on the Cenotaph in London. De Gaulle is accompanied by a guard of honor of 200 French soldiers, sailors and airmen when he lays a wreath at the monument. In Vichy France, meanwhile, this is announced to be a Day of National Mourning with flags flown at half-mast.

Cuba: Fulgencio Batista is elected President with support from, among many others, the small communist party.

US Government: William Donovan - later known as "Wild Bill Donovan" - leaves New York for London for consultations.

Winston Churchill gives his BBC speech, 14 July 1940.

British Government: Operation Fish continues when British cruiser HMS Esperance Bay leaves Plymouth with £10,000,000 in gold bound for Halifax. Unlike previous shipments, however, this one runs into problems. About 100 miles out to sea, the Luftwaffe finds and bombs the ship. While 7 crew perish, the Esperance Bay makes it back to port with the gold.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a BBC radio address in which he references the "war of the unknown warriors." Britain will fight on alone, he vows:

be the ordeal sharp or long, or both, we shall seek no terms, we shall tolerate no parley; we may show mercy - we shall ask for none.

He also describes the Royal Navy destruction of the French fleet in North Africa as having "come to an end" - as long as they don't try to go back to German-controlled ports in Europe.



July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020