Tuesday 26 September 1939
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| 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.
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.
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
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.
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| Instructions dropped on Polish lines with surrender instructions. |
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.
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| Cargo from supply ship Altmark being loaded on the pocket battleship Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. |
September 1939
September 1, 1939: Invasion of PolandSeptember 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
