Saturday 21 December 1940

Damage to Waterloo Dock, Liverpool after the bombing of 20/21 December 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks on 21 December 1940 continue pressing on through the snow and winds toward the secondary Italian port of Himarë (Himara). The 3/40 Evzone Regiment under Colonel Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos mounts a bayonet charge up the sides of Mount Pilur, capturing an Italian battery. They complete the capture of this mountain as well as the Kuç saddle, which opens up the valley of Shushicë.

I Corps, now comprising 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions, continues pressing up the heights that surround the town. The Greeks capture the heights of Tsipista northwest of the town, completing their removal of the Italian artillery. This forces the Italians, who have lost six artillery pieces, a mortar company, and other important equipment, to abandon the town during the night.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe attacks Liverpool and the Merseyside region again, badly damaging the docks and nearby warehouses. The manufacturing area of the city also receives extensive damage. The railway system is largely paralyzed by the attack. The Luftwaffe loses a Heinkel He 111 of 7,/KG 55 when it crashes upon returning to base in France.

The Italian Corpo Aereo Italiano chips in with its standard attack against Harwich.

RAF Bomber Command sends a small-scale raid against Berlin. The RAF also raids Porto Marghera, near Venice, hitting the docks and oil facilities.

The Leeds-Liverpool canal bank after the raids of 20/21 December 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-65 (K.Kapt. Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen), having crossed the Equator on the 11th, spots unescorted 8982-ton Panamanian tanker Charles Pratt and sinks it at 16:05. Stockhausen attacks despite neutral flags painted clearly on the sides of the tanker, reasoning that it was "clearly" heading for an enemy port. The survivors spend a few days in lifeboats before being picked up by British freighters Gascony and Langleegorse. There are two deaths and 40 survivors.

Italian submarine Mocenigo attacks Convoy OG 47 in the Atlantic about 250 miles west of Freetown. There is only one escort, HMS Leith. The Mocenigo crew claims to have sunk three ships in the convoy, but the only known loss is 1253-ton Swedish freighter Mangen, which is hit at 21:17 with the second of two torpedoes (the other passes underneath the ship). Once hit, the Mocenigo goes under in three minutes and eight men perish. The Mocenigo later also shells 2473-ton British freighter Sarastone, a straggler from Convoy OG 47, which receives minor damage. The incident is odd because, despite the lack of other known ships lost in the convoy, two more explosions are heard in the dark - presumably other torpedoes that explode after they complete their runs. The survivors are lucky, as the convoy goes into emergency evasions immediately, but the rear ship on the port wing column, the Garm, luckily spots the lifeboats in the dark and picks them up.

The Luftwaffe raids on Liverpool continue to wreak havoc on shipping there. Two vessels are destroyed or sunk: HMS Maplin is set on fire, and 1293 ton British freighter Silvio sinks at the Alexandra Dock (one death). The damaged ships include 1777-ton British freighter Alpera, 5318-ton freighter City of Corinth, 5251-ton British freighter Demeterton, and 6256-ton Dutch tanker Onoba. Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia has a near-miss in dry-dock. Fortunately, when in harbor, most crewmen seek land shelters, though there are the occasional crews or crewmen that refuse to leave the ship - and pay the price.

In the River Mersey, 3071-ton British ferry Innisfallen hits a mine and sinks at the entrance to Canada Dock at Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. There are four deaths, 216 survivors.

British 118 ton barge TIC.12 hits a mine and sinks. Everybody aboard survives.

Two tugs come to grief in the Thames Estuary. British 88 ton tug River Thames hits a mine and blows up. All the crew but one - the skipper - perish. British 196 ton tug Sun IX hits a mine and sinks between 1 and 2 Buoys, Yantlet Channel. There are three deaths.

German tug Anvers winds up on the rocks in the Chausey islands while ferrying across a barge from the mainland to the Jersey Channel Islands.

The Kriegsmarine lays a minefield, SWa, in the western part of the North Sea.

Convoy OB 262 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 364 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 366 and 367 depart from Methil.

Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare trawler HMS Cotillion is launched, and destroyer HMS Hursley is laid down.

U-651 launched, and U-173 and U-255 laid down.

Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke receives the Oak Leaves (only the 7th granted) to the Iron Cross, backdated to 1 December 1940. Nobody knows it, but Schepke already has sunk his last ship.

Battle of the Pacific: German raiders Orion and Komet have been lurking in the vicinity of Nauru, a key source of phosphate, since 8 December. They don't want the phosphate - which is important for agricultural purposes - but rather to destroy the facilities there so that nobody else can. So far, they have sunk a few ships in the vicinity, but with no success actually attacking the facilities due mainly to poor weather.

Today, the two raiders journey to nearby Emirau and release prisoners from some of the ships they have seized. They disembark 343 Europeans and 171 Chinese and South Pacific natives. Emirau is inhabited by two European families, but they do not have a radio. Instead, they send a canoe to Kavieng in New Ireland so that the Australian government can take their new guests off their hands. The Orion keeps 150 prisoners because its captain reasons that the British need the sailors as badly as ships.

After depositing their prisoners on the island, Orion sails to Lamutrik and then Maug in the Mariana Islands for an engine overhaul. Supply ship Kulmerland, which has been tagging along to house some of the prisoners, heads off to re-supply at Japan. Komet remains in the vicinity, continuing to plot ways to disrupt Nauru's phosphate trade, which is virtually the only worthwhile Allied target for it in the Pacific Ocean region aside from shipping.

Cartoon character "Blabbermouse" in "Shop, Look and Listen," his second and final appearance for Warner Bros. in the Merrie Melodies series (Warner Bros).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The 6th Australian Division moves forward toward Bardia, where it will lead the upcoming assault. The Italians are surrounded on the landward side, but they show no signs of surrendering - as they have everywhere else.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, in Operation MC 2, sends nine Swordfish of RAF No. 815 and 819 Squadrons against an Italian convoy east of the Kerkennah Islands. They sink 1926-ton Peucenta and 6511-ton freighter Norge. The Luigi Rizzo also is hit but makes it to port. The Italian escort shoots down one of the Swordfish, killing the three crew.

Convoy MG 1 departs Malta bound for Malta, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya and eight destroyers. Several empty merchant ships that have been waiting there for the opportunity finally get away from Malta in this convoy.

German/US Relations: In a quote picked up by press agencies around the world, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman at the Wilhelmstrasse calls President Roosevelt's Lend-Lease idea, first floated by him only days before at a press conference, part of a policy of "pinpricks, challenges, insults, and moral aggression." Such a policy, he adds, is "insupportable," but everyone knows there is nothing to deter the United States from doing everything it wants to do to support England, short of an outright German declaration of war.

Gadsden, Alabama, 21 December 1940. People are getting in their last Christmas shopping (John Vachon, Library of Congress).

Norwegian/German Relations: The Justices of the Supreme Court of Norway resign. This is in response to a letter from Reichskommissar for Norway Josef Terboven dismissing the concerns of the Justices. The Justices had written him in November disputing the government's right to hire and fire judges at will - in Norway, judges are elected. Terboven shot back a letter telling the Justices that it "was recommended" for them to mind their own business and that the German government was not subject to any legal restrictions.

Terboven simply makes clear in his letter that Norway is no longer an independent country and is under military rule. This really does not surprise anyone, but it gives the Norwegian Justices the impetus to make a big decision. The Justices send Terboven a resignation letter which states:

[T]he courts have, under Norwegian constitutional law, a duty to review the validity of laws and regulations.... We cannot conform to the view of judicial power expressed in the Reichskommisar's letter without violating our duties.

(Former) Norwegian Chief Justice Paul Berg becomes a leading figure in the resistance movement after resigning.

US/Vichy France Relations: U.S. chargés d'affaires to the Vichy French government Robert D. Murphy and French General Maxime Weygand, Delegate-General to the North African colonies, meet in Dakar, Senegal. The Americans believe that Weygand is a good political alternative to both Marshal Henri Petain and Charles de Gaulle, neither of whom is looked upon with much favor in Washington. This is the beginning of extensive American meddling in murky Gallic politics during the war.

US/Chinese Relations: Claire Chennault, an air advisor to the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, and T.V. Soong meet with Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau. They brainstorm how to form fund an American Volunteer Group in China to help fight the Japanese - with whom the US is not at war. This meeting will lead eventually to the famous Flying Tigers.

Swiss/Soviet Relations: The Swiss government severs diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union.

US Military: Captain Richmond Kelly Turner, director of war plans for the US Navy, completes WPL-44 (Navy Rainbow Three). This plan for the first time institutes a "Germany first" policy within the US military, relegating the Pacific theater to a defensive posture should the US find itself at war with both Germany and Japan. Essentially, US naval forces would adopt a defensive posture in case of aggression by the Japanese and shift resources to the Atlantic.

The army hates this plan, partly because this was purely a naval staff planning exercise and they were not consulted - and never, ever discount the importance of inter-service rivalries. However, the army generals do have some grounds for objecting. Recall that the US Army still controls the air force (the US Army Air Corps), so it does have ways (in theory) of taking the war to Japan immediately from bases in the Philippines and Guam. However, Naval Secretary Knox approves the plan - and it is difficult to believe that Rainbow 3 was not at least in concept all or partly his idea in the first place. Some feel in 1940 and afterward that the US would be quite capable of offensive action against Japan upon the outbreak of war. This theory will be put to the test in almost exactly one year as if it were a laboratory experiment. A definitive answer will result.

Rainbow 3 is an interim plan, and planners from both the army and navy immediately begin working together on a new plan that will become Rainbow 5 in the spring of 1941. Somewhat ironically, it is the US Navy that later will raise Winston Churchill's ire by prioritizing the Pacific Theater of Operations.

Separately, the US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion completes its move to Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill travels to Shell Mex House in The Strand to meet with Sir Andrew Duncan of the Ministry of Supply. Among other things, they review Britain's supplies of mustard gas, the offensive chemical used during World War I with great lethal effect but subsequently banned. Britain, he learns, has 1485 tons of mustard gas, and 650 additional tons is being produced.

F. Scott Fitzgerald passes away on 21 December 1940.

American Homefront: Writer F. Scott Fitzgerald passes away at his home in Hollywood, California from a heart attack at age 44. Fitzgerald wrote some of the classics of American literature, such as "The Great Gatsby" and "The Love of the Last Tycoon."

"Frenesí" (Spanish for frenzy), recorded on 3 March 1940 by Artie Shaw and his orchestra with an arrangement by William Grant Still, hits No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. The song remains there for 13 weeks and on the charts for 23 weeks altogether. It is the second most popular song of 1940 and also one of the most remembered songs of the war years by American servicemen.

Warner Bros. releases "Shop, Look and Listen" (a variation on the well-known railroad expression "Stop, look, and listen"). This is the second and last cartoon to feature the character Blabbermouse. Voiced by Mel Blanc, Blabbermouse never catches on with audiences.

Future History: Frank Vincent Zappa is born in Baltimore, Maryland. Frank starts out in the school band as a drummer, then develops a somewhat unique fascination with the music of classical composer Edgard Varèse. While at Antelope High School, Frank meets Don Vliet (born on 15 January 1941), and they become close friends. Frank begins composing rock music while still in school, and after graduation writes and produces songs for other local artists. Joining a local band known as the Soul Giants, Zappa catches on as co-lead singer, and the band changes its name first to Mothers, and then to Mothers of Invention. After the band disbands, Frank becomes a successful solo musician, reforms the band, and becomes one of the top musicians of the era, along with Don Vliet, who adopts the name "Captain Beefheart." Frank Zappa passes away in 1993.

Baked Alaska in a shelter - The New Yorker, 21 December 1940.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Thursday 12 September 1940

Lascaux cave paintings from 17,000 years ago are discovered on 12 September 1940.

Overview: The Luftwaffe campaign against London and other major population centers now, as of 12 September 1940, is in full swing. The devastation is enormous. Already, though, two favorite 1930s theories of terror bombing are being disproven:

1. That properly targeted terror bombing will inflame class divisions between rich ("plutocrats") and poor; and
2. That terror bombing will destroy civilian morale and force negotiations.

The attacks on Warsaw, Rotterdam and other major European cities during the lightning campaign of May/June 1940 had left these as open questions, with some people pointing to the quick defeats of those countries as evidence that terror bombing works. However, after about a week of the attacks on London, not only is British morale still high, but the bombing has created a sense of shared sacrifice. Wealthy residences such as Buckingham Palace take damage along with poorer areas, for which the royals are eternally grateful.

From a military perspective, the German change in strategy from bombing RAF infrastructure to cities already is known to be ineffective. Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park of No. 11 Group writes in a memo that:

confidence is felt in our ability to hold the enemy by day and to prevent his attaining superiority in the air over our territory, unless he greatly increases the scale or intensity of his attacks.

Fighter Command statistics as of 0900 hours 12 September 1940 show the following operational status:

• Blenheim - 50
• Spitfire - 208
• Hurricane - 392
• Defiant - 21
• Gladiator - 8
• Total – 679

This is very near the normal strength of around 700 fighters. This shows that, while the RAF has not quite recovered from its devastation suffered through 6 September, it is getting there. It also shows a healthy proportion of the more modern Spitfires to the other planes than at earlier times in the battle. The Defiants and the Gladiators, though, are largely out of the battle, and the Blenheims are used only in special situations, so the 679 total number is a bit deceptive in terms of actual front-line strength.

This is not to downplay the deaths, the suffering, and the damage to buildings old and new alike. Historic buildings made of wood tend to be dry and easy to burn. However, the RAF is recovering, rebuilding its shattered airfields, repairing its radar installations, replacing aircraft, and restoring aircraft production.

S/L Ernest A "Ernie" McNab of RAF No. 111 Squadron, pictured with his Spitfire at RAF Northolt on 12 September.

Battle of Britain: The weather is cloudy but good enough for operations. The morning, as usual recently, is quiet except for reconnaissance and "pirate raids" - lone intruders hiding in the clouds by special crews.

Around mid-day, a few small raiders attack the Fairlight radar station, without result. Another raid damages Harrogate, in particular, the Majestic Hotel, apparently targeting the nearby Ministry of Aircraft Production building and causing 15 casualties. Tunbridge Wells also takes damage, while RAF Hornchurch is bombed, with many bombs falling errantly on nearby houses (not a good place to live near at that time).

Hastings is bombed around 14:40, and the Luftwaffe planes strafe the area as rescue operations are in progress. Hampshire and Wiltshire also receive some hits. Rail service is interrupted near Reading due to a random strike on the rail line.

At dusk, III,/KG 51 and I,/KG 54 send about 50 bombers across to bomb London, while a few bombers from III,/KG 27 bomb Liverpool. After dark, there are further raids, but it is nothing like previous nights. Two Luftwaffe bombers are brought down, one by the Balloon Barrage at Monmouthshire and another by London flak (which quickly is becoming concentrated as nowhere else in Europe).

Lieutenant Robert Davies and sapper George Cameron Wyle of the British Royal Engineers disarm an unexploded one-ton bomb buried deep beneath the pavement at the southwestern corner of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Davies drives it to the countryside to detonate it. The two men receive the George Cross medal, which is unusual because it is intended for civilians.

Overall, losses are minimal, at least compared to previous days, with losses by the RAF in the single digits and those by the Luftwaffe not much higher. The fighter pilots on both sides basically get the day off.

An "abandon ship" drill on HMS Kelvin, 12 September 1940. © IWM (A 685).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks the ports of Emden and Flushing, where invasion barges have been gathering, and the seaplane base at Norderney in the East Frisian Islands. The RAF claims to have sunk 80 barges.

Other targets are the industrial centers/marshaling yards of Osnabruck, Hamm, Schwerte, Ehrang, and Brussels. Hamm is hit for the 6th time. Individually, the raids do not cause much damage and bombing accuracy is poor, but in some locations, the damage is starting to accumulate.

The Kriegsmarine admits in a report that the British attacks are hurting its efforts to assemble an invasion fleet. To date, the Germans have assembled about 1000 barges in the ports, and they provide tempting targets. However, despite the losses, the number of barges for Operation Sealion continues to grow.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 2444 ton tanker Gothic hits a mine 7500 yards southeast of Spurn Head, Yorkshire, and sinks. Half of her 24-man crew perishes.

Royal Navy Tug 1164 ton Salvage King runs aground off Duncansby Head, Scotland and is a total loss.

Force Y of the Vichy French Navy, which passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on the 11th without British interference and stopped for the night in Casablanca, leaves port at 04:00. Eluding a shadowing British force led by battleship HMS Renown, the three fast cruisers and accompanying destroyers speed down to Dakar in French West Africa. The British continue their bumbling pursuit, not even realizing that the cruisers have left until the Renown's floatplane can't find them in the Casablanca harbor and instead spots them far to the to south. The Admiralty dispatches the aircraft carrier Ark Royal from Freetown, accompanied by three cruisers, to intercept the French from the south - the British not knowing for certain that Dakar is Force Y's ultimate destination. Of course, the British are planning Operation Menace for Dakar, so that is the last place they want the cruisers to go.

The Liverpool raids the Liverpool harbor and damages freighter Tintern Abbey, Royal Navy storeship Glenroy and troopship HMT Highland Princess.

Convoys OA 213 and MT 167 depart from Methil, Convoy FS 279 departs from the Tyne, Convoy LG 1 departs from Liverpool, Convoy BS 48 departs from Suez.

Corvette HMS Heliotrope (K 03, Lt. Commander John Jackson) is commissioned.

U-153 and U-407 are laid down.

12 September 1940: German airmen, who parachuted from a Heinkel HE-111 bomber that was shot down in the Battle of Britain, are marched off by the Home Guard in Goodwood, Sussex. Notice how confident and self-possessed the German POWs are at this time of the war. Fox Photos/Getty Images.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin is patrolling 330 miles east of Madagascar when it intercepts the 5872-ton British freighter Benavon. The Benavos tries to fire its deck gun at the Pinguin, but the crew is untrained and its shells - well-aimed by the gunner - fail to explode. The Pinguin's own guns sink the freighter, and 24 crew perish. The Pinguin takes the 25 survivors as prisoners.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian 10th Army continues marching toward the Egyptian border, harassed by the RAF. It is a slow advance, held up more by the pace of Italian foot soldiers more than anything the British are doing.

On Malta, the military prepares for heightened military activity due to the overall war situation. The War Office instructs Governor Dobbie to raise more men from the local population to man the anti-aircraft guns.

Applied Science: The Tizard Mission team members have all crossed the Atlantic with their equipment, and today it holds a meeting in Washington D.C. with its American counterparts.

War Crimes: Wing Commander J.S.Dewar, D.S.O., D.F.C. of RAF No. 213 Squadron makes a personal flight from RAF Exeter to Tangmere during the quiet morning period. He disappears, and his body eventually washes up at Kingston Gorse, Sussex on 30 September 1940. There is a rumor/belief that enemy aircraft shot down his Hurricane and machine-gunned him in his parachute. This incident is not offered as an actual war crime, because there is no proof of this, however, this is the sort of atmosphere in which pilots on both sides are operating. The air war, an area of unusual gallantry in both world wars, has a potential sharp edge that pilots of both sides recognize.

German/Finnish Relations: The two countries sign their agreement granting the Germans transit rights within the country.

US/Japanese Relations: A Japanese trade delegation arrives to negotiate increased deliveries of raw materials to Japan from the Netherlands East Indies. US Ambassador to Tokyo Joseph Grew and Secretary of State Cordell Hull confer about the implications of US oil sanctions on Japanese aggressiveness. Grew sees the likelihood of Japanese adventurism if the sanctions are too severe. There is no agreement reached during the meetings.

US Military: The Greenslade Board departs Norfolk, Virginia for St. John's, Newfoundland to inspect the new US base there (obtained in the destroyers-for-bases swap).

Hungary: The Hungarian army completes the occupation of the territories in northern Transylvania Maramures and part of Crisana given to it in the Second Vienna Award.

Romania: The Germans establish a military mission in Bucharest with the stated purpose of training the Romanian military. The real German interest is in the Romanian oil fields, which fuels the Wehrmacht and which Adolf Hitler obsesses over. New leader Ion Antonescu, meanwhile, is busy reaching an agreement with Iron Guard leader Horia Sima.

Canada: Order in Council 4751 makes foreign sailors on foreign ships in Canadian ports subject to imprisonment.

Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto for Jews, the wall already constructed, is formally approved by Gauleiter Hans Frank in occupied Kraków. This is conceived as a somewhat temporary solution, with the more permanent solution (at this point) foreseen as forced resettlement of Jews to the French-administered island of Madagascar in the southern Indian Ocean (originally, and perhaps ironically, an idea of the Polish government itself in the late 1930s). The Poles, however, determined that the island could not support more than a few thousand such refugees, and there are about half a million Jews in occupied Poland.

Robot the Dog, the true discoverer of the Lascaux cave.

French Homefront: In an amazing archaeological find that gets lost in the war news, 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat from near Dordogne finds the entrance to the Lascaux Cave. As the story goes, he follows his dog down a hole. He returns with three friends, and they enter via a long shaft. They discover remarkable detailed 17,000-year-old Paleolithic cave paintings of animals. They announce their discovery, and eventually the caves open to tourists. This innocent find, of worldwide cultural importance, begins a long process of deterioration of the ancient artwork from the mold.

American Homefront: There is a suspicious explosion at the Hercules Powder Co. in Kenvil, New Jersey. There are 49 deaths and 200 other casualties.

In a typical Hollywood quickie marriage, Lana Turner and Artie Shaw, married on February 13, 1940, are divorced today after only seven months of marriage.

Future History: Mickey Lolich is born in Portland, Oregon. He becomes a top pitcher (3x All-Star) with the Detroit Tigers in the 1960s and then stars for other teams. In his biggest game, he wins Game 7 of the 1968 World Series against Bob Gibson. Lolich later runs a doughnut shop in Lake Orion, Michigan., which comports with his "everyman" attitude toward life.

Linda Gray is born in Santa Monica, California. She becomes a model in the 1960s, becomes a frequent television guest star in the 1970s, and then achieves Hollywood immortality ast Sue Ellen Ewing on CBS drama "Dallas." One of her lesser-known claims to immortality is that her legs are the ones featured on the posters for classic Dustin Hoffman film "The Graduate" in 1968. She remains active in the industry as of this writing, appearing, for instance, in British Channel 4 soap opera "Hollyoaks" as Tabitha Maxwell-Brown in late 2016.

The Beaufort News, September 12, 1940, North Carolina Newspapers. Not too much going on in that far-off European war, the big news is the back-to-school day.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

2020

Sunday 3 March 1940

Finnish artillery during the battle of Viipuri.

Winter War: The Finns on 3 March 1940 continue resisting the urge to convey their acceptance of the Soviet peace terms, which technically have expired. Finland’s Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner instead phones Sweden’s Foreign Minister Christian Günther and proposes an alliance between the two countries. Finland is ready to capitulate if the Soviets would drop their demand for the cession of Viipuri and Sortavala.

Winter War Army Operations: There is hand-to-hand fighting in the Viipuri suburbs. The Soviets capture the main railway station.

Marshal Mannerheim dishonorably discharges Major-General Kurt M. Wallenius from his position of coastal defense west of Viipuri. The Soviets have consolidated their bridgehead there, and Wallenius is said to be drinking heavily. Mannerheim vows never to re-employ Wallenius and removes him from the Defence Forces officer list. Lieutenant General Karl Lennart Oesch replaces Wallenius.

The fighting in Viipurinlahti Bay, Wallenius' command, is extremely dangerous to the Finnish strategic position, threatening a breakout to the Finnish industrial heartland. The Soviet 86th Motorized Rifle Division pushes across the frozen Gulf of Viipuri, taking the short route to the mainland. They take the island of Uuras and consolidate the beachhead on the western shore.

At Mikkeli, the Finnish HQ orders the staff of the army of the Isthmus to plan for a major withdrawal to the Virolahti-Kivijärvi-Saimaa-Hiitola line.

Winter War Air Operations: The Finns claim to have brought down 28 Soviet planes over the weekend.
Battle of the Atlantic: The crew of the 3,359-ton German freighter Arucas scuttles the ship rather than be captured by British heavy cruiser HMS York (Captain Reginald H. Portal) south of Iceland. Three crew perish.

British freighter Cato hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. The mine was laid on 2 March 1940 by U-29. There are 2 survivors, 13 perish.

Italy lodges a protest with the British about the blocking of German coal deliveries by sea.

The Luftwaffe takes First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's bait and bombs Southampton, the wrong destination he previously leaked to the press for Queen Elizabeth. Not so good for the people of Southampton, perhaps, but Queen Elizabeth is safely on her way to New York.

Convoy OA 103GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 103 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: RAF bombers over-fly Berlin again. The Germans notice and anti-aircraft guns and fighters intervene, but all of the British planes return to base.

RAF sorties over the seaplane bases on the Friesian Islands are met with anti-aircraft fire.

Some Luftwaffe fighters over-fly Belgium and shoot down one Belgian fighter while damaging two others.

US Government: US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles follows up his interview with Hitler by meeting with Hermann Goering at Carinhall and Rudolf Hess in Berlin. Goering adheres to the party line, but Welles thinks he has a slightly broader perspective than the other top Nazis and takes a relatively favorable impression. Welles then departs for Paris by train, stopping in Basel.

Terrorism: A mysterious bomb explodes in the Stockholm offices of communist newspaper Norrskensflamman. There are five dead.

American Homefront: Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (with an arrangement by William Grant Still) record "Frenesi" for Victor Records. Alberto Domínguez had composed "Frenesi for his marimba band - it means "frenzy" in Spanish. "Frenesi" will hit number one on the Billboard pop chart on December 21, 1940, and stay there for 13 weeks.

The good ship Queen Elizabeth in military drab gray.

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