Saturday 17 February 1940

Philip Vian's HMS Cossack returns with its cargo of British sailors released from the Altmark.

Winter War: The Soviets advance on 17 February 1940 through the Mannerheim Line and draw up upon the V-Line. The Finns are behind this second line of defense. The Finnish 23rd Division has been brought up from reserve to fill a hole in the line, but its arrival is slowed by air attacks. The Red Army has 35 divisions, many fresh or reinforced, under the overall command of General Semyon Timoshenko.

The Finns have 15 divisions, almost all battered from their beating on the Mannerheim Line. There is no chance for the Finns to make a stand ahead of their prepared position because they are no match for Soviet armor on open ground. The Finns start digging in, but the Soviets are right behind them.

The Soviets are not invincible. They try to take Suursaari Island on Lake Muolaanjarvi but are beaten back.

Marshal Mannerheim tells his officers:

“The whole future of our people hangs in the balance. Only our loyalty and endurance can save the day. I am sure every officer will do his duty.” 

Some 158 American volunteers step off a ship at Oulu.

Western Front: General von Manstein meets with Hitler at a required dinner for new Corps commanders, and Hitler aid Colonel Schmundt makes sure to have Manstein near him. They talk about Manstein's Fall Gelb plan for an armored thrust through the Ardennes to circumvent the Maginot Line and the BEF.

The plan, unlike the rote, head-on plan drafted by the OKH (Army Command), would create the possibility of separating the BEF manning the line in the north from the French army to the south. Hitler has had similar ideas and now must find a way for the OKW (Command of all German armed forces) and OKH to come to a similar conclusion and draw up the appropriate plans.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-10 (Oberleutnant zur See Joachim Preuss) torpedoes and sinks 1,819-ton Norwegian freighter Kvernaas about four miles northwest of Schouwen Bank, Holland at 02:10. All 20 crew either survive or perish, reports are conflicting.

U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) torpedoes and sinks 7,418-ton British freighter Pyrrhus northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain at 16:00. The Pyrrhus has been traveling with Convoy OG-18, and there are 77 survivors while 8 perish.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 3,396-ton Finnish freighter Wilja south of Bishop Rock in southwest England at 20:36. All 35 crew survive, but they are picked up by a southbound steamer and wind up in Havana, Cuba.

British freighter Baron Ailsa hits a mine and sinks.

German freighter Baldur is scuttled by its crew to avoid capture by Royal Navy patrols.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Exhibitor.

Convoy OB 93 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HG 19 departs from Gibraltar.

Special Ops: The men rescued from the Altmark are landed from Captain Vian's HMS Cossack at Leith to great acclaim as the government issues a public announcement. Meanwhile, the Germans in Norway stage an elaborate funeral procession for their dead from the incident.

The British, Germans, and Norwegians all protest vigorously to each other about the Altmark Incident, but it is a fait accompli and the diplomatic protests are meaningless. As Hermann Goering liked to say, "Let the cannon speak!"

US Government: President Roosevelt appoints Myron C. Taylor as his "personal representative" to the Vatican.

US Homefront: The United States Lines sells the passenger liner President Harding and seven cargo ships to a Belgian company. This has become a standard practice by US shipowners who still need to do business with Europe. This is covert defiance of President Roosevelt's trade restrictions imposed under the Neutrality Act as amended.

British Homefront: The government draws up a new plan to evacuate the 400,000 children who have returned to London and other large cities.

Marshal Mannerheim in 1940.

February 1940

February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Friday 16 February 1940

The Altmark in Norway.

Winter War: Sweden on 16 February 1940 rejects the Finnish request for rights of passage of foreign troops across its territory. It is a right assumed by the Allied Supreme War Council in its plans to cross over Swedish territory to Finland and also "protect" Swedish iron ore mines. This unexpected Swedish decision, however, does not cause the Allies to alter those plans.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns admit in a communique that the Soviets have breached the Mannerheim Line in three places: east of Summa, and two between Muola Lake and Vuoksi River. This, of course, does not include the critical fact that the entire line now is in retreat to the V-Line.

The order to retreat came late on the 15th, and the units under the most pressure executed it immediately. Some units in better shape don't receive the order until this afternoon.

Finnish 9th Infantry Division, including Group Talvela, wipes out the remnants of the Siberian ski brigade "Dolin." There are 70 survivors of the unit out of the 1,800 skiers who initially crossed the frontier. The Siberians are/were well-equipped with automatic weapons, which the Finns can use.

Winter War Air Operations: The Finns bomb Soviet railway stations and tracks behind the lines. They also claim to have shot down 8 more Soviet planes.

Special Ops: Having spotted the Altmark a few days ago, the Admiralty, i.e., Winston Churchill, acts fast. It instructs the HMS Cossack to violate Norwegian neutrality and enter its territorial waters for the purposes of boarding the supply ship. The Altmark, crowded with 299 British prisoners from the ships sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, believes that it is safe, but it is not.

Located in Joessing Fjord, Southwest Norway, Admiral Vian menaces the Altmark at around 22:00, which then runs aground. A British boarding party kills seven German sailors, wounds 11, and releases the prisoners from the hold. Captain Philip Vian becomes a national hero for this, and the incident enters British naval lore for truths, half-truths, and unproven and unlikely legends about the affair (such as that the boarding party actually used cutlasses, like pirates, to free the men).

The Norwegian escort - a torpedo boat - watches the whole affair but does not intervene. Technically, the prisoners should have been released upon entering neutral waters, so the Norwegian involvement is equivocal, but the Germans never notified them of the prisoners. This, actually, is something the British have done as well, such as when a British ship passed through the US Panama Canal with German prisoners, so they have no cause to complain, and don't. The Cossack leaves the Jøssingfjord just after midnight on 17 February with the 299 prisoners.

While the fate of the 299 sailors is important, so is the larger course of the war. The Germans observe the high-handed British attitude to Norwegian neutrality and speed up their own plans regarding the country. Naturally, the Germans make the dead into martyrs.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-14 (Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Wohlfarth) has a big day northeast of Scotland. They are all carrying coal from Britain to Denmark and Sweden.

First, around midnight, U-14 torpedoes and sinks 1,064-ton Danish freighter Rhone. There are 11 survivors, 9 perish.

Second, it torpedoes and sinks the 1,066-ton Danish freighter Sleipner. There are 28 survivors and 13 perish. The Sleipner had stopped to help the people from the Rhone.

Third, at 21:25, U-14 sinks the 1,526-ton Swedish freighter Osmed. There are 7 survivors and 13 perish.

Fourth, about ten minutes later, U-14 sinks 1,646-ton Swedish freighter Liana. There are eight survivors, 10 perish. The area is full of passing freighters and trawlers, so the survivors all get picked up fairly quickly.

The British authorities at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Excalibur for a few hours, then let it and the freighter Exermont, which has been detained since 14 February, proceed.


Convoy OA 93 GF departs from Southend. Convoy HX 20 departs from Halifax.

Royal Air Force: Royal Air Force Hurricanes and Spitfires are converting over to 100 octane fuel. This gives them a performance boost by increasing engine power by raising the boost to +12 lb/sq.in. Every little bit helps against the equally matched Bf 109s, though the Bf 109s as yet cannot make it to Great Britain. No. 602's Operations Record Book notes today that "100 octane fuel now in all aircraft."

Anglo/Soviet Relations: Sir Stafford Cripps, a well-known Marxist sympathizer who plays that role well in the British government, meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. This is a fascinating example of the British minding their diplomatic fences. On the one hand, they are openly supporting the Finns in their fight against the Soviets, but on the other, they are secretly attempting to learn if there is any room for accommodation with the Soviets.

British Homefront: The British authorities stage a crackdown on "steakeasies" (like "speakeasies" during Prohibition) which are unauthorized slaughterhouses circumventing the rationing process.

Flag-draped coffins containing German dead are brought ashore for burial after the Altmark Incident in Jossingfjord, Norway.

February 1940

February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Wednesday 14 February 1940

Finnish soldiers sheltered from bombardment during the Russian attack on the Mannerheim line, February 1940.(Photo: SA-kuva).

Winter War: The Finns on 14 February 1940 send numerous foreign governments notes accusing the Soviets of using "illegal" methods in the Winter War. These include the indiscriminate bombing of unprotected towns, hospitals, railways, and other sensitive facilities. They also accuse Soviet soldiers of pretending to surrender while waving the white flag, then attacking.

The Finns also admit that their forward line on the Karelian Isthmus has been breached, but also say that the Soviet advance has been stopped at the second line of defenses.

The British government gives formal permission for British volunteers to serve in the Finnish armed forces. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the United Kingdom’s Home Department Osbert Peake says:

A general license has been granted to British subjects to enlist in the Finnish forces, and a license has been granted to the recruiting organization which has been established in London.

Winter War Army Operations: It has now been 72 continuous hours of horrific bombardment and Soviet attacks against the entire line. The temperature decreases in the morning to minus 31 degrees Celsius, and there are no reserves. When ammunition is sent forward, it typically is with a message that this is the last of it, so use it wisely.

The fighting becomes medieval. In one section of the line, on the eastern end of the Suursuo swamp, the Soviets open a renewed attack in the morning with the 24th Rifle Division, composed of the 274th and 168th Regiments. Earlier, at 03:45, the 1st Division HQ refused an order for the 2nd Brigade to retreat. The Soviet offensive on a wide track fails after desperate Finnish resistance by a dwindling group of men (248 men hold a 3-km front, all that is left of 3 battalions). The Finns counterattack by attempting to blow up a key Soviet bunker, but the Soviet 274th Regiment beats them back with a hail of machine gunfire. After that, the Soviets counterattack again, and the two sides remain in hand-to-hand combat all night long.

On a different section of the line, Finnish General-Major Laatikainen in command of the 1st Division orders his men in the 1st Brigade to withdraw behind the River Peronjoki. This is a switch position that can only be held temporarily. By withdrawing, the General uncovers the flanks of adjoining units, but the position simply cannot be held. War requires difficult decisions. The Finns have used up their reserves and the Mannerheim Line can no longer be held in the Lahde sector.
In the Lähde sector of the Mannerheim Line, the Soviet troops are in possession of a 2-3 km section of the line. The Soviets take the Kirvesmäki stronghold on the Taipale River for the final time after it has switched hands repeatedly.

The Finns all along the line are running out of ammunition, and losses in men are becoming critical. Among many other issues, Finnish artillery observers rely on phone lines which the Soviet artillery blasts continually sever despite the best efforts of the Signal Corps to keep them operational.

Battle of the Atlantic: A Hudson of Coastal Command spots the German supply ship Altmark making a run for Germany in Norwegian waters. The Altmark was the supplier for the Admiral Graf Spee and has the British prisoners that it took on board. It is near Trondheim and Captain Heinrich Dau believes that he is safe in Norwegian territorial waters.

U-57 (Oblt.z.S. Claus Korth) torpedoes large British tanker SS Gretafield 20 miles east of Wick, Scotland at 01:35. There are 31 survivors, 10 perish. Gretafield drifts ashore burning out of control.

U-53 (K.Kapt. Harald Grosse) torpedoes and sinks Danish freighter S Martin Goldschmidt west of Ireland at 05:00. There are 5 survivors, 15 perish.

U-26 (Heinz Scheringer) torpedoes and sinks British wheat freighter Langleeford (Master H. Thompson) 70 miles northwest of Fastnet, Ireland. There are 30 survivors, 4 perish. The Germans give the survivors some rum, cigarettes, bread, and bandages and point them in the direction of Ireland. The boat makes landfall at Ross, County Clare.

At 17:00, U-48 (Kptlt. Herbert Schultze) sinks the British food freighter SS Sultan Star some 200 miles from Land's End, England. The ship is part of a convoy, and destroyers HMS Whitshed, Vesper and Acasta drop 22 depth charges to no purpose. There are 72 survivors picked up by the Whitshed.

US passenger liner Manhattan is detained at Gibraltar for a few hours, then allowed to proceed. The US freighter Exermont is detained as well.

Convoy HG 19F departs from Gibraltar, and Convoy SL 20F departs from Freetown.

Terrorism: The IRA plants five bombs in Birmingham. Two shops are damaged in the explosions.

British Government: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill announces that all merchant ships are to be armed due to U-boat attacks.

Vatican: Rationing begins.

The temporary Filter Room set up at RAF Fighter Command HQ at Bentley Priory, Stanmore, Middlesex, 14 February 1940.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Wednesday 18 October 1939

Günther Prien and the crew of U-47 are received by Adolf Hitler in the Reichskanzlei in Berlin. October 18, 1939.

Western Front: Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 7, Preparations for Attack in the West, on 18 October 1939. It will have the code name, Fall Gelb.

The French notice signs of activity behind the German lines, but no renewal of their recent attacks.

Battle of the Atlantic: Wasting no time, Hitler brings the crew of the U-47 to the Chancellery and awards all of them the Iron Cross 2nd Class. He also gives Captain Günther Prien the Knight's Cross.

President Franklin Roosevelt bans all armed submarines from US ports and territorial waters except in cases of distress.

The Admiral Graf Spee transfers its prisoners to the Altmark, then departs to find new targets.

The British detain the US freighter West Hobomac.

The Kriegsmarine lays more mines along the English Channel.

Convoy SL 5F departs from Freetown for London.

European Air Operations: Once again, the Luftwaffe attacks Scapa Flow. Their mission is disrupted, however, by strong anti-aircraft fire, and the planes do not release their bombs.

Turkey: With the Turkish Foreign Minister back from the USSR, the British take their turn. British General Wavell and French General (former chief of general staff) Weygand arrive in Ankara for talks with their Turkish counterparts.

Germany recalls its own ambassador, Franz von Papen, from Turkey. Von Papen is not considered a particularly fervent Party man, and Hitler may want someone a little more attuned to his own thinking in the position.

Sweden: The heads of state of Norway, Denmark, and Finland meet with the King of Sweden in Stockholm. They discuss the recent diplomatic aggression by the Soviets, and also Hitler's promise to remain neutral in any conflict between Finland and the USSR.

Estonia: The Soviets continue increasing their presence in the country.

Lithuania: A protest is filed by the Polish government-in-exile over the transfer of Vilnius to Lithuania.

Spain: Francisco Franco appoints his brother-in-law Ramón Serrano Suñer to be Spain's Foreign Minister.

British Government: PM Chamberlain reports that eight Luftwaffe planes have been downed by the RAF so far. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill estimates that the Germans have lost a third of their U-boats. In addition, Churchill reports that there were 24 officers and 786 men lost on the Royal Oak.

German Government: Adolf Hitler institutes a new decoration for heroism, the War Merit Cross second class bronze with swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern), also know as the KVK 2. It is an award for bravery by anyone who is not on the front lines.

American Homefront: Grandma Moses becomes famous when an art exhibit including her paintings opens at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Future History: Lee Harvey Oswald is born in New Orleans, LA. He gains notoriety (and death) as the assassin of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

A typical Grandma Moses painting. She achieves prominence on 18 October 1939 due to an exhibition of her work that receives great reviews.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019

Tuesday 17 October 1939

October 17, 1939: U-47 passing the cruiser Emden at Wilhelmshaven, Germany following the sinking of HMS Royal Oak. Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien "The Bull of Scapa Flow" can be seen on the conning tower.

European Air Operations: Just like the day before, on 17 October 1939 four Ju 88s raid Scapa Flow in mid-afternoon. This time, they badly damage (it must be beached at Ore Bay) the training ship HMS Iron Duke (former flagship of Admiral Jellicoe in World War I) for the loss of one plane. There is a second raid on the Orkney Islands by ten planes, with no hits of importance by either side. There is a battle over the English Channel that claims two Luftwaffe planes.

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Doenitz orders U-boats to attack all enemy merchant ships without warning on the ground that resistance was to be expected. This is due to Doenitz learning that British merchant ships are being armed and were giving information by radio to the Royal Navy and were under orders to attack U-boats on sight. [This is according to Doenitz's testimony at the Nuremberg trials following World War II.]

German destroyers advance to the mouth of the Humber Estuary in the North Sea and lay some mines.

Churchill appears in the House of Commons to explain the loss of the Royal Oak and explains that it was lying quietly at anchor when it was sunk in the middle of the night.

U-37 torpedoes and sinks 10,183-ton British passenger ship Yorkshire off the coast of Spain. There are 58 dead with 223 survivors.

U-46 torpedoes and sinks 7,028-ton British freighter City of Mandalay. Of the 80 crew members, two perish.

U-48 torpedoes and sinks 7,256-ton British freighter Clan Chisholm. Four of the 78 people on board perish.

Admiral Graf Spee is working in conjunction with the supply ship Altmark. It transfers the crew of the Huntsman to the Altmark and then sinks the Huntsman.

One of the developing problems of the convoy system is that U-boats are having an easy time with un-escorted convoys. The Yorkshire, the City of Mandalay and Clan Chisholm were all sailing in convoys that had no escorts.

US freighter Cranford is detained by British authorities, who release the Black Falcon.

Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien "The Bull of Scapa Flow" returns to Wilhelmshaven to an epic hero's welcome in U-47, saluted by the entire harbor for his sinking of the HMS Royal Oak.

Convoy OA 21 departs from Southend, while OB 21 departs from Liverpool. At Gibraltar, convoy OG 3 is forming. Convoy HX 5 departs from Halifax.

Western Front: There are two BEF corps at the front, and one has taken over a section of the front. The French report some infantry engagements, while the Germans claim there is "absolute quiet."

Turkey: Like Spain, Turkey is in control of a key naval chokepoint and otherwise is not very vulnerable by land attack. Both sides are courting Turkey, which is remaining neutral. Turkey announces today that it is breaking off negotiations with Moscow and that its negotiator, Foreign Minister Sarajoglu, is returning to Ankara. The holdup is that Turkey has certain deals with France and Britain with which a proposed agreement with Russia would conflict.

Switzerland: Immigrants are prohibited from engaging in political activities.

Finland: Marshall Mannerheim becomes Finnish Commander-in-chief, just like in World War I. Unlike then, though, he now has a real army to command. Finland is not yet at war, but Mannerheim's appointment shows that nobody is under any illusions about what is likely to happen.

Canada: General Andrew McNaughton is appointed commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.

German Homefront: Reinhard Heydrich issues the so-called Settlement Edict: (Festsetzungserlaß) Romani may not leave their current place of residence.

Guenther Prien at Wilhelmshaven. He will be awarded the coveted Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuz (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) by Adolf Hitler only days later.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019

Tuesday 26 September 1939

A Dornier Do 18 flying boat M7+YK that was shot down 26 September 1939.

Battle of Poland: The second phase of the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski concludes when the remaining Polish forces capitulate on 26 September 1939.

After a massive artillery bombardment, the German 8th Army and other forces attack Warsaw. After losing Mokotow Airport, a furious Polish counterattack recaptures it. Six planes are repaired and fly out during the night.

The Luftwaffe sends 450 aircraft against the Fortress of Modlin.

European Air Operations: Four Junkers Ju 88 bombers and 9 Heinkel He 111 bombers attack the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. It is the first operational use of the Junkers Ju88 medium bomber. A close miss on the Ark Royal leads to another German propaganda claim that it has been sunk. Two planes are destroyed and one is badly damaged.

This day marks the first use by the British of naval air warning radar, which tracks the Luftwaffe attack on the Ark Royal.

Western Front: French artillery lays a barrage on the Siegfried Line.

Instructions dropped on Polish lines with surrender instructions.

European Air Operations: A Blackburn Skua of 607 Naval Air Squadron downs a Dornier Do 18 north of the Fisher Bank. Some consider this the first downing of a Luftwaffe aircraft by a Great Britain-based RAF plane.

British Government: Winston Churchill reports on the Battle of the Atlantic and estimates that up to a quarter of the U-boat fleet that began the war has been destroyed to date.

French Homefront: The French communist party is banned by Presidential decree due to the invasion of Poland by the USSR. The communist party also is leading an anti-war movement that the government considers unpatriotic.

Germany Homefront: Hitler returns to Berlin but skips a typically massive state funeral for Baron von Fritsch. He sends a wreath along with Hermann Goering.

Cargo from supply ship Altmark being loaded on the pocket battleship Graf Spee in the South Atlantic.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019