Friday 9 May 1941

Damage at Friar Lane, Nottingham, this picture was taken 9 May 1941.

Anglo/Iraq War: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 9 May 1941 sends a telegram to Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell which states:

Our information is that Rashid Ali and his partisans [actually Iraqi government military forces] are in desperate straits. However this may be, you are to fight hard against them... [Y]ou should exploit situation to the utmost, not hesitating to try to break into Baghdad even with quite small forces and running the same kind of risks as the Germans are accustomed to run and profit by.

Churchill adds that "There can be no question of negotiation with Rashid Ali" unless he surrenders unconditionally. Furthermore, Wavell is to aid Free French General Catroux in an invasion of Syria "In face of your evident feeling of lack of resources" - a typical Churchillian dig at what he personally judges to be Wavell's lack of fighting spirit.

At Fort Rutbah, the RAF bombs the fort and loses a plane to small-arms fire. The Iraqi government sends a convoy of 40 trucks armed with machine guns to reinforce the small garrison. The British of the Arab Legion who are an advance party of Habforce continues to wait for reinforcements from the main column before attacking and withdraw to a more defensible position.

Jihad has been proclaimed by the Grand Mufti.

A Junkers Ju-52 transport being used for training exercises in preparation for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.

European Air Operations: The two sides engage in a war of communiques today. Berlin Radio announces successful raids on Derby and Nottingham, where they targeted the critical Rolls-Royce aircraft engine plant. The British Air Ministry engages in a little humor when it responds that, during last night's raids, two cows and a few chickens had been killed in the East Midlands. What the RAF actually is saying in surprisingly candid fashion (if you know what actually happened) is that many Luftwaffe bombers missed their target cities due to successful deception measures. The Germans aren't told about that little secret, however, and no doubt take it as a little innocent bravado.

London is the main target during the night when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attack. There are subsidiary attacks at RAF airfields including RAF Waddington, where a direct hit on an air-raid shelter kills ten people, including seven women.

Liverpool, Hull, and many other cities in the industrial north are devastated by the recent Luftwaffe raids. In Hull alone, there are an estimated 1000 dead and 40,000 homeless out of a population of 330,000. The Germans have been extremely effective at targeting the docks in their target cities recently, but the British are stepping up their jamming attempts of the crude German navigational system based on radio waves. That jamming already is having some effect, as evidenced by the "cows and chickens" remark.

Attacks continue at Hull, but few planes hit anything of importance. The Luftwaffe focuses on the port and damages 64-ton sailing barge Whitaker's No. 17, 5117-ton British freighter Dan Y Bryn, and 3067-ton British freighter Castilian. There are two deaths on the Castilian.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks coastal targets. It then sends 146 bombers against Mannheim and Ludwigshafen during the night.

East African Campaign: The perimeter at Amba Alagi remains quiet as the British forces await reinforcements which are only a day away. The East African 22nd Infantry Brigade moves to the southwest around Laka Shala in Galla-Sidamo.

Winston Churchill sends Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie and congratulates him on being "the first [monarch deposed by the fascists] to return in triumph."

HMS Bulldog alongside U-110, 9 May 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Events of 9 May 1941 are little remembered by the public after the fact, but they are of far-reaching consequence. They are so important that this almost could be considered a case of losing a battle but thereby winning a war.

The British recently captured German weather ship Munchen near Iceland, securing prized Kriegsmarine naval codes, and today they pull off an even greater intelligence coup. U-100 (Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp), one of the top U-boat commanders (he sank the Athenia on 3 September 1939), is operating off of Cape Farewell, Greenland and shadowing Convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West. Lemp attacks the convoy, and all goes well at first as he sinks to ships:

• 4976-ton British freighter Esmond (all survive)
• 2609-ton British freighter Bengore Head (40 survivors, one dead).

However, the convoy escorts (HMS Bulldog, Broadway, and Aubretia) force the U-boat to the surface with depth charges. Lemp and his crew abandon ship (15 dead, 32 survivors) a little too quickly, and U-110 fails to sink. Lemp himself perishes during the incident under very murky and controversial circumstances.

Noticing the U-boat failing to sink, a boarding party from the Bulldog, led by 20-year-old Sub-Lt. David Balme, quickly rows over to the U-boat despite the ever-present fear that scuttling charges could go off at any moment. The Royal Navy sailors grab the extremely valuable Enigma coding machine along with its codebooks, rotor settings, and charts.

After everything of value has been removed from the U-boat (including the submarine's chronometer), the British sink it (during a storm, so perhaps not intentionally) to maintain the secret of its capture. It is an astonishingly lucky find for the British Ultra operation at Bletchley Park, which has been in need of the equipment and information. Of immediate benefit, the documents aboard enable the British to break the German Reservehandverfahren code, a reserve German hand cipher. The capture also becomes is a key step on the road to British scientist Alan Turing's first computer, Colossus. The capture of U-110 is so significant that it later is given the code name Operation Primrose. Winston Churchill will not even tell President Roosevelt about it until January 1942.

Fritz-Julius Lemp, Captain of U-110, KIA 9 May 1941.

U-103 (KptLt.Viktor Schütze), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient and operating off of West Africa, torpedoes and sinks 7120-ton British freighter City of Winchester. There are 91 survivors and six deaths.

U-201 (Kptlt. Adalbert Schnee), on its first patrol out of Kiel, also attacks convoy OB-318 as part of Wolf Pack West a couple of hours after the capture of U-110. Schnee hits two ships:

• 5969-ton Empire Cloud (badly damaged)
• 5802-ton Gregalia (sunk)

While the Empire Cloud is disabled and considered unsafe, so the crew abandons ship. However, a tug is called from Greenock, which manages to tow it back to port, where it is repaired and returned to service. There are no casualties on either ship.

Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli torpedoes and sinks 8817-ton Norwegian tanker Alfred Olsen several hundred miles off Freetown. Everyone survives.

Off Freetown, Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Cilicia captures 4564-ton Vichy French transport SS Criton. The Criton is carrying shells for the French base at Dakar. The British send the ship to Freetown, with a skeleton party of armed guards supervising the Vichy French crew.

U-107 (KrvKpt. Günter Hessler), on its second patrol and operating off of Freetown, Sierra Leone, is in the midst of a wildly successful patrol during which it sinks or damages a phenomenal 14 ships during more than two months at sea. To stay at sea that long, U-boats need regular supply from "Milch" ships. Today, U-107 is supplied with food and 14 torpedoes when it hooks up with the Egerland, which is disguised as an American freighter.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 3010-ton Royal Navy mine destruction ship HMS Queenworth in Outer Dowsing Channel. Everybody survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 97-ton British trawler Tankerton Towers off St Govan's Light Vessel in the mouth of Bristol Channel. All eight aboard survive.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 1737-ton British freighter Ostrevent near Helwick Light Vessel in the Humber.

The Luftwaffe damages a mine destruction ship, HMS Corfield, with near misses in the Humber.

The Luftwaffe damages 4950-ton British freighter Fishpool at Barrow.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages British tankers San Roberto (5890 tons) and British Statesmen (6991 tons) just over twenty miles northeast of Spurn Point, East Riding of Yorkshire. The tankers are towed to Immingham.

Spanish fishing trawler Luis Puebla hits a mine and sinks in the Bay of Biscay north of Gijón, Asturias. There are three survivors and nine deaths.

US aircraft carrier USS Ranger and heavy cruiser Vincennes, with a destroyer escort, conduct a neutrality patrol in the Atlantic.

Another Italian submarine that has escaped from Eritrea, the Ferraris, arrives at Bordeaux after a long journey.

Convoy SC 31 departs from Halifax, bound for Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Brocklesby, minesweeper Polruan (Lt. Commander John S. Landers), and Anti-Submarine Warfare trawler Tarantella (Lt. Robert A. Balfour) are commissioned.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Ungava and corvette Matapedia (Lt. Ronald J. Herman) are commissioned.

HMS Nigella, which picked up 45 survivors from Empire Cloud northeast of Cape Farewell. The Empire Cloud had been torpedoed by U-201.

Battle of the Mediterranean:  The first four ships related to Operation Tiger (MW 7A and 7B out of Alexandria) reach Malta. They carry 30,000 tons of supplies. In addition, two tankers and a destroyer loaded with supplies, HMS Breconshire, also arrive. This is the largest convoy to arrive at Malta during the war and is aided by very cloudy weather. The main force of Operation Tiger coming from Gibraltar is still at sea.

One ship, however, fails to make it. British 9200-ton freighter Empire Song hits a mine during the night which sets off its ammunition cargo, causing it to explode. The Empire Song and its 57 tanks, 10 aircraft and several trucks quickly sink. There are 18 deaths and 130 survivors.

In addition, freighter New Zealand Star hits a mine but manages to make it to Malta.

At Tobruk, General Rommel's men intercept a British wireless communication that leads them to suspect that a major British offensive may be in the offing. Rommel orders defenses along the perimeter of Tobruk strengthened and orders Kampfgruppe von Herff to initiate offensive patrols.

The Royal Navy's nightly shuttle to Tobruk continues as Australian destroyer HMAS Vendetta evacuates wounded and takes them to Alexandria.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie draws up a plan to replace soldiers with female auxiliaries. The jobs will include service as cooks, dining hall waitresses, messengers, and similar functions. Among other things, this involves an increase in pay for the women (subject to Whitehall approval).

Convoy AS 30 departs from Suda Bay, Crete under heavy escort, bound for Alexandria.

An Enigma machine (lower left) aboard U-124 in March, 1941 (Dietrich, Federal Archives).

Spy Stuff: Bulgarian agents confirm other warnings, such as the one on 6 May from Richard Sorge in Tokyo, that the Germans are planning an attack on the Soviet Union.

Anglo/Free French Relations: There is a muddle within the British hierarchy about how to deal with Vichy Syria, which is in the formative stages of being used to transfer German planes and troops to Iraq. The British have been allowing the Vichy government in Syria wide latitude and even been paying some Vichy sailors interned at Alexandria. This passive attitude has extended to permitting regular passages of French transport SS Providence between Marseille and Beirut - even as other Vichy ships have been captured on the high seas. In effect, the British Middle East Command has been conducting its own independent foreign relations with the Vichy forces in Syria even though there is a growing sense that the French will soon be allowing the Germans transit rights to Iraq.

First, Major-General Edward Spears, who is on the staff of Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell, is a fervent Francophile and has been acting as a liaison to General De Gaulle, cables De Gaulle in Brazzaville that there is no need for him to visit Cairo to plan an attack on Syria. "There would, in fact, be some disadvantage to your doing so," he writes, which presumably means that De Gaulle's presence would antagonize the Vichy authorities in Syria.

However, in the evening Winston Churchill himself cables De Gaulle. Among other things, Churchill casually mentions that De Gaulle should go to Cairo. Surprised, De Gaulle quickly replies (in English, which is very rare for him) "I shall go to Cairo soon." The entire incident is very revealing of the general confusion that infests relations between Great Britain and France during this period. Another outcome of this incident is that relations between Spears and De Gaulle deteriorate, to Spears' personal regret.

Junkers Ju-52 transports standing in wait for Operation Mercury, the airborne assault on Crete, 9 May 1941.

Australian/US Relations: Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in Washington, D.C. In the morning, he meets with Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Menzies notes that:

I gather that the whole Cabinet would come into the war tomorrow if Roosevelt would say the word. But he hangs back, preferring an "incident" (e.g., as a result of the Atlantic patrol) to a formal declaration.

Menzies notes that Dean Atcheson is "friendly but confused. Famous Harry Hopkins a great disappointment - a sort of gangling yokel."

Soviet/Yugoslav Relations: The Soviet Union withdraws diplomatic recognition of the Yugoslav government-in-exile. Led by King Peter, the exiles have been camping out in Jerusalem under British protection, along with remaining remnants of the Yugoslav Army, Navy and Air Force that managed to leave the country. Some army elements do remain in Yugoslavia, and they are in the process of regrouping as partisans and forming the primarily Serbian "Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland" (Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini, or JVUO, or Četniks) under Royalist General Draža Mihailović. However, communist partisans in the region also are stirring, and the Soviets may prefer to back them. The official reason for withdrawing recognition is that the German government now controls the country.

Soviet/Belgian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the exiled government of Belgium.

Soviet Norwegian Relations: The Soviets also withdraw recognition of the Norwegian government.

Fort Rutbah, Iraq, 9 May 1941. This photograph was taken from an RAF Blenheim bomber that attacked the fortress.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The inconclusive border wall between Thailand and French forces in Indochina comes to an official end with the signing of a peace treaty in Tokyo. Thailand basically gets all the territory that it sought in the war. The Japanese, who have been serving as an "honest broker" in the affair (but actually strongly favor the Thais), guarantee the new borders. The Vichy French in Indochina are isolated and have been largely powerless to influence the one-sided negotiations.

British Military: The Air Ministry announces the existence of "a large number of paratroops who have completed their training and are ready for action."

Philippines: Now that his staff has arrived on USAT Washington, Brigadier General Clagett, the newly arrived commander of the Philippines Department Air Corps, begins organizing his command. Ernest Hemingway, on his way back to the States from his six-week stay in Asia, is in Manila and parties with the enlisted men, at least one of whom he knows personally through a mutual female acquaintance. Hemingway, who claims never to have gotten anywhere near the war, makes eerily insightful comments about the situation in China. These include views that the Nationalists and Communists soon will be fighting each other in addition to the Japanese, and that Japan might well be at war with the United States soon.

City of Winchester (Master William Samuel Coughlan), sunk on 9 May 1941 by U-103 (Victor Schutze) while transiting from London to Capetown. The City of Winchester carried 6500 tons of general cargo and was sunk off Freetown about 400 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. The 91 survivors included the master, and they were rescued by Norwegian freighter Herma and taken to Takoradi.

Serbia: At Sanski Most, the Germans kill 27 Serb civilians as reprisals for the recent uprising. The troops force townspeople to hang the bodies in the town square for two days. This incident leads to bitter hatred between the Serbs and the Ustaše, who start contemplating how to wipe out (ethnically cleanse) the population of the entire region. A reign of terror against the Serbian locals commences. There remain many rebels in the nearby hills who will lay low until July.

China: At the Battle of South Shanxi, the Japanese North China Front Army continues to attack the 9th Army of the Chinese 1st War Area at Fengmenkou and Lungwanwo. The Japanese also capture Wangyuan and attack Tungfeng. In addition, the Japanese Imperial Air Force raids the Nationalist capital of Chungking.

American Homefront: Singer Billie Holiday records "God Bless the Child" at the Okey Records studio on Seventh Avenue in New York City. It is the first recording of the jazz song written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. "God Bless the Child" will not be released until 1942. The song will become one of Holiday's signature songs and a major event in her eventual autobiography "Lady Sings the Blues."

Future History: Operation Primrose, the capture of U-110, will become the starting point for the screenplay of "U-571" (2000).

A memorial to the Sanski Most Revolt will be set up at Šušnjar in 1971 and designated a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.

Monument to the Sanski Most uprising of May 1941. The monument was constructed in 1970 and designed by Sarajevo architect Petar Krstić. The monument is controversial because tiles bearing the names of Muslim victims of the revolt have been removed.

May 1941

May 1, 1941: British Hold Tobruk
May 2, 1941: Anglo-Iraq War
May 3, 1941: Liverpool Hammered
May 4, 1941: Hitler Victory Speech
May 5, 1941: Patriots Day
May 6, 1941: Stalin In Command
May 7, 1941: May Blitz
May 8, 1941: Pinguin Sunk
May 9, 1941: U-110 Captured
May 10, 1941: Hess Flies Into History
May 11, 1941: The Hess Peace Plan
May 12, 1941: Tiger Arrives Safely
May 13, 1941: Keitel's Illegal Order
May 14, 1941: Holocaust in Paris
May 15, 1941: Operation Brevity
May 16, 1941: Blitz Ends
May 17, 1941: Habbaniya Relieved
May 18, 1941: Croatia Partitioned
May 19, 1941: Bismarck at Sea
May 20, 1941: Invasion of Crete
May 21, 1941: Robin Moore Sinking
May 22, 1941: Royal Navy Destruction Off Crete
May 23, 1941: Crete Must Be Won
May 24, 1941: Bismarck Sinks Hood
May 25, 1941: Lütjens' Brilliant Maneuver
May 26, 1941: Bismarck Stopped
May 27, 1941: Bismarck Sunk
May 28, 1941: Crete Lost
May 29, 1941: Royal Navy Mauled Off Crete
May 30, 1941: Sorge Warns, Stalin Ignores
May 31, 1941: British Take Baghdad

2020

Monday 28 October 1940

The Italian Julia Alpini Division marches into the mountains. 28 October 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas on 28 October 1940 rejects all demands from Italian dictator Mussolini by silence and appoints General Papagos as Commander in Chief. Half an hour before the expiration of the deadline, the Italians attack.

At 05:30, the Italians, under the command of General Visconti Prasca, attack with a total of 27 (understrength and ill-equipped) divisions (85,000 men, or less than 4000 men per division) at three points on the narrow frontier between Albania and Greece:

1. Adriatic Coast;
2. Pindus Mountains;
3. Macedonia.

Employing 380 (largely obsolete) aircraft, 163 (light) tanks and large naval forces (which must look over their shoulders toward the Royal Navy) along the coast, the Italian land forces march forward. It is an odd time to attack, as the weather already is turning, especially at the higher elevations. This favors the defense. The power of air supremacy is limited against dug-in defensive positions in the mountains, too.

The Greeks are ready for the attack, being well-positioned and holding excellent defensive positions supported by natural geographical features. They have 30,000 men in position, but no armor and only 77 (also obsolete) planes.

The Italians cross the Kalamas River five miles off the front along the coast, but this direction basically leads nowhere. In the mountains, which is the strategic direction, they face poor weather and make virtually no progress. The Italian Julia Division moves forward in the opening moves of the Battle of Pindus. Their objective is the vital communications point of Metsovo, whose capture would decide the battle to the north. A long column of men advances single-file up narrow tracks.

The Italians bomb Patras, Greece, the main port of Athens in the Morea, and airfields around Athens.

This day becomes known as Oxi (No!) Day in Greece in celebration of Metaxas' rejection of Mussolini's ultimatum. The Greeks view their defense against Italy as a defense of their religion, their homes, of Western Civilization itself. The Greeks still, incidentally, revere the day that Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, they have a long memory. US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, reflecting on the Greek decision to fight, states:

The Greeks shattered forever the myth of Axis invincibility.

Greek troops defending against the Italians in the mountains.

Anglo/Greek Relations: Metaxas asks the British ambassador for assistance. Great Britain promises aid to Greece. Churchill goes into rhetorical overdrive, saying:

When you speak of Greek warriors, don’t say Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks.

Churchill is probably secretly relieved by the invasion because it dilutes Italian strength away from the Egyptian front and also takes the pressure off of Malta. He plans on sending British troops to Crete, which shields the British naval base at Alexandria. However, he is not the only one eyeing Crete.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler has been informed of the Italian plans to invade Greece in recent days, including the date and time. He has done nothing to dissuade Mussolini from attacking and has expressed no sense of ill-will about the somewhat reluctant Italian attitude toward keeping him informed of developments. The myth persists that Hitler is "taken by surprise" by the invasion, but the evidence proves that this is incorrect. A better take on the situation is that Mussolini is acting alone or with Hitler's tacit approval, and Hitler chooses not to interfere. However, different accounts of his attitude throughout the week present a mixed picture of exactly what he knows and is expecting, with evidence on both sides of the ledger.

Hitler's train "Amerika" is traveling through Bologna at 10:00 when he receives the news of the Italian attack. According to his adjutant Major Engel, he begins "swearing and cursing" at his liaison officers in Rome for not informing him previously. He calls them "idlers, but not spies." All of this is odd, given the clear evidence in previous days that in fact his liaison officers in Rome have kept him very well informed, with communication at noon on the 27th informing him of the precise start-time of the invasion. Besides... shouldn't his allies the Italians have told him? All sorts of analyses have been made as to why Hitler reacts this way upon learning the news when it is clear that he has been informed previously of what was planned.

An hour later, at 11:00, Hitler's train pulls into Florence. He is greeted at the station by Mussolini, who says:

Fuhrer, we are marching! This morning a victorious Italian army has crossed the Greek border!

They - Hitler, Mussolini, Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop - adjourn to the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. As always, it turns into a Hitler monologue, in which he rambles on upon his recent meetings with Franco and Petain. The gist of his rambling is that he does not like Franco or Laval, but Petain was a true gentleman (Petain was double-dealing the whole time with Churchill). He also brushes aside Mussolini's recent demands for territory in southern France and other concessions as being unnecessary.

Hitler offers an airborne division and a parachute division for an invasion of Crete - which Churchill also has his eyes on. Mussolini tells Hitler:

Don't worry, in two weeks, it will all be over.

Hitler departs at 18:00, having spent only about seven hours at the meeting. The Italians are happy because Hitler has reassured them that Italy is his most important partner, while Hitler is relieved because Mussolini has given up his exorbitant demands for concessions. However, after leaving, Hitler rails that the invasion was "pure madness" and Mussolini should have left Greece alone and invaded Malta instead.

Meanwhile, the invasion of Greece continues.


Battle of Britain: The weather remains acceptable for flying, though low-hanging clouds make the conditions quite different at ground level, with typical drizzly weather. There are only a few big raids during the day and long periods of little activity.

The Luftwaffe focuses on convoy attacks in the morning and does not attack inland until the afternoon. At 13:00, German fighter-bombers (Jabos) crosses into Kent and splits up to attack various targets. The RAF sends up No. 257 Squadron to intercept the fighters of JG 27. The Germans claim two Spitfires, but the RAF does not lose any planes.

At 16:00, the Luftwaffe sends across a variety of formations, including medium bombers such as Dornier Do 17s, some heading up from the south. They attack the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth without apparently any losses on either side. Other raiders, all Jabos, cross over at Dover and points south. This is a moderate-sized raid, and the RAF puts up nine squadrons in the defense. JG 51 and 53 tangles with the Hurricanes and Spitfires and comes off the worse for wear.

After dark, the Luftwaffe starts strong but the attacks peter out quickly. London, Birmingham and the Midlands are the primary targets, but there are scattered attacks all across southern England. Several RAF fields are attacked by a bomber or two each including Biggin Hill, Digby, Linton-on-Ouse, Driffield, Binbrook, and Massingham. In London, there is a huge fire at the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich and a public shelter is hit at Southwark, which causes 100 casualties.

Biggin Hill is the airfield hit the hardest, with an estimated 300 bombs falling. The Luftwaffe drops a new kind of incendiary which acts somewhat like napalm on RAF Digby, but by the time it hits the ground, it is inert.

Birmingham also is hit with incendiaries as well as high explosives. New Street Station is hit by incendiaries at platforms 3, 4 and 5, while the Midlands Parcel Office also is hit.

Overall, the Luftwaffe took a beating in the air. It loses about ten planes, while the RAF records show no losses. It is a half-hearted attempt at best by the Luftwaffe, which almost seems bored with the whole campaign by this point.

Ioannis Metaxas was no saint: he was a typical European strongman of his day. He had studied at the Prussian Military Academy and knew how to fight. Metaxas is revered in Greece not for his rule, but for saying Oxi! (No!) to the Italians.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks the ports of Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Hamburg, Emden, Cuxhaven, and Boulogne. In addition, it bombs oil installations at Cologne, Hamburg, and Homburg and railway infrastructure at Cologne, Coblenz, Krefeld, and Mannheim. Other targets include various airfields in northwest Europe.

Battle of the Atlantic: Weather is worsening in the North Atlantic as a late-season hurricane heads north. This is going to damage ships over the next few days. All of the mining that the Luftwaffe has been doing recently continues to pay off, though the ships sunk tend to be smaller craft, coasters, and tugs.

U-32 (Kptl. Hans Jenisch) maneuvers into position around midnight to finish off the Empress of Britain, the stricken 42k ton liner which is disabled and under tow back to the Clyde. Jenisch orders three torpedoes pumped into the liner, the first of which detonates prematurely but the latter two of which blow holes in her side. The liner immediately settles in the water and lists. It sinks around 02:05 northwest of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal. There is only a skeleton crew remaining on board, and they escape without incident. The ship capsizes and settles upside down at 500 feet (150 m). Rumors persisted for many years that there was a large cargo of gold aboard, but if there was, subsequent investigation revealed that it had been removed after the initial air attack on 26 October. U-32 and Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope, the pilot of the Focke-Wulf 200C Condor which bombed the liner originally, share equally in the sinking, each being credited with 1/2 ship and 21k tons of shipping sunk.

The British Home Fleet is alerted to the passage of the German battlecruiser Admiral Scheer to the Atlantic. A large force sets out to the Denmark Strait to intercept it, led by battlecruisers HMS Hood and Repulse and the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. The object of all this attention, Admiral Scheer, is safely in port at Stavanger, Norway.

Force H at Gibraltar, led by battleship Barham, puts to sea after receiving reports of a Vichy French destroyer flotilla putting to sea from Casablanca.

British 420 ton cargo ship Wythburn hits a mine in the Bristol Channel off Newport, Monmouthshire. Five men perish.

British 98 ton tug Devonia also hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel off Newport, Monmouthshire. There is one survivor and three deaths.

British 490 ton coaster Sagacity hits a mine and sinks in the Humber southwest of Spurn Point, Yorkshire. Everybody aboard survives.

British 2719 ton freighter Sheaf Field hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off the River Deben, Suffolk. All 26 aboard survive.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 96 ton Royal Navy trawler HMT Harvest Gleaner off Southwold, Suffolk in the North Sea. There are four deaths.

The Luftwaffe torpedoes and sinks Norwegian coaster H.J. Kyvig in Sunnfjord, Sogn og Fjordane. Five men perish.

Soviet icebreaker Malygin sinks in a storm off Kamchatka. All 98 men aboard perish in the frigid water.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Walpole hits a mine and is badly damaged. It is taken under tow by HMS Windsor.

Royal Navy minelayers HMS Teviotbank and Plover and destroyers Intrepid and Icarus lay minefield BS 43 in the North Sea.

The Germans seize Greek freighters Belgion (2844 tons) and Leontios Teryazos (4479 tons) at Bordeaux.

The Italians seize Gree freighters Athinai (2897 tons) and Maria Nomikou (1165 tons) near Messina.

Convoy HX 84 departs from Halifax.

Metaxas inspired fierce loyalty and still does in some people. His legacy is controversial.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle patrols off western Greece, but despite the intense Italian activity around Albania finds no targets.

In Malta, the garrison is on edge because of the Italian invasion of Greece. The British War Cabinet meets at 17:00 and decides that Malta would be the best spot from which to launch air raids on Italy. It is close enough to attack Rome and achieve some political effects. They decide, however, to send a battalion which had been allocated to Malta to Crete instead. The Royal Navy priority from this point forward will be Crete, not Malta, with naval forces focusing on defending it. In essence, Malta increasingly will have to fend for itself.

Battle of the Pacific: After dark, German raider Pinguin and converted minelayer Passat begin laying mines, the Pinguin off Sydney, Australia and the Passat in the Banks Strait off Tasmania on the shipping lanes to Melbourne. They will continue doing this for the next ten days.

Anglo/African Relations: South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts, Anthony Eden, General Wavell and Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia meet in Khartoum to discuss strategy.

Spy Stuff: Alan Turing, in charge of the Enigma code-breaking operation, writes to Winston Churchill complaining about lack of support. Churchill orders that the code-breakers be given what they need.

British Military: General Neil Ritchie becomes commander of the British 51st Infantry Division.

US Military: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville arrives in Montevideo as part of the US Navy's continuing "Show the Flag" visits.

Vichy France: Pierre Laval, who has been acting unofficially as Marshal Petain's right-hand man in dealings with Germany, officially becomes Foreign Minister.

China: In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese withdraw from Lungching and head for Nanning to recover it. The Chinese take possession of Lungching.

New Zealand Homefront: The New Zealand 8th Infantry Brigade begins leaving Wellington for Fiji.

Belgian Homefront: In occupied Belgium, the Germans place new limits on Jewish employment and business dealings.

British Homefront: The authorities continue evacuating children from London to rural areas. The government reports that 489,000 children have departed to date. Evacuations overseas have been halted due to losses at sea.




October 1940

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

Friday 15 March 1940

Bletchley Park Bombe.

Winter War: The Finnish Diet ratifies the Moscow Peace Treaty 145-3 (52 abstentions) on 15 March 1940 after Prime Minister Risto Ryti states:

Finland, as well as the whole of Western civilization, is still in the greatest danger, and no one can say what tomorrow may bring. We believe that by choosing peace we have acted in the best way for the moment.

The Soviet troops receive a different message:

The mighty force of the Red Army has again secured safety and a lasting peace!

Battle of the Atlantic: British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle suffers damage near the Nicobar Islands when a stowed 250 lb. aircraft bomb accidentally explodes. There are 14 deaths, 3 injured. The aircraft carrier needs minor repairs.

British freighter Melrose hits a mine and sinks off Dunkirk.

British freighter Peridot hits a mine and sinks off Dover.

Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser Kanimbla, a converted Australian passenger ships, is operating in the Sea of Japan. It captures two Soviet freighters, the Selenga and the Vladimir Mayakovsky (US copper), carrying ore to Germany. The captured ships are taken to Saigon in French Indochina via Hong Kong.

Convoy OA 110G departs from Southend.

European Air Operations: The RAF drops leaflets over Warsaw after dark. In an odd interlude during the Phony War, one of the Whitleys lands by mistake in a field behind the Siegfried Line. The startled inhabitants not only do not call the authorities, but they also chat with the British airmen and refuel their plane. They take off again before the authorities arrive amidst some small-arms fire.

Military Intelligence: Alan Turing's Government Code and Cypher School group at Bletchley Park makes a giant stride in reading German codes. Its first working Bombe, the "Victory," is completed at the British Tabulating Machine Company at Letchworth, Hertfordshire. The Bombe goes operational and begins reading some German codes in virtually real-time.

Terrorism: Indian nationalist Udham Singh is charged with the assassination of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, colonial ex-governor of Punjab.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles returns to Rome.
Middle East: Turkish and French commands hold a conference at Aleppo.

Czechoslovakia: There is unrest on the first anniversary of the German takeover. The SS imposes harsh discipline with numerous arrests.

Romania: The government grants an amnesty for the fascist Iron Guard ("Greenshirts"), outlawed since the 21 September 1939 assassination of Prime Minister Calinescu. The 800 released from prison must swear an oath of allegiance to King Carol II. This is a key moment in the gradual shift of the country's allegiance away from the Western Allies due to their ineffectiveness on the Continent.

Australia: The new Chief of the General Staff is Sir Cyril Brudenell White. He had held the same position from 1920-1923 and is recalled to service and promoted to General to take this position, which became available when his predecessor Lieutenant-General Ernest Squires unexpected passed away.

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army captures Yung-shun east of Nanning.

American Homefront: "The Grapes of Wrath," starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford from the novel by John Steinbeck, is released.

Future History: Phil Lesh is born in Berkeley, California. He becomes famous in the '60s and '70s as a bass guitarist for the Grateful Dead.

HMS Eagle.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019