Saturday 8 March 1941

Friday 13 September 1940

A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter.

Overview: The British know that today, 13 September 1940, is the decisive period of the Battle of Britain; a glance at the calendar can tell them that, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill said in his speech to the nation on the 11th. Tide conditions also are favorable to a landing. Accordingly, the Royal Navy begins final preparations to counter an invasion, including transferring battleships HMS Nelson and from Scapa Flow to Rosyth and HMS Revenge to Plymouth. HMS Hood also is detailed to Rosyth.

Meanwhile, Hitler is in the final stages of deciding whether to authorize an invasion. He requires Luftwaffe air superiority, and there is no sign of that. In addition, the barges assembled for the invasion require low winds and calm seas, and the weather has not been cooperating. The Wehrmacht wants to invade, the Kriegsmarine wants to do other things, and the Luftwaffe basically wants the issue to just go away.

Hitler has lunch with his senior Luftwaffe commanders (Hermann Goering, Milch, Kesselring etc.) and Wehrmacht operations staff where he makes equivocal statements about Operation Sea Lion. He seems much more interested in the bombing of London than in actually invading England. However, he reserves his decision until the morrow.

F/O Francis N "Fanny" Brinsden undertakes a cockpit check of Spitfire Mk I QV-B prior to takeoff from RAF Fowlmere on 21 September 1940. The aircraft was received by No 19 Squadron RAF on 13 September 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains unsettled, with rain and clouds. The Luftwaffe concentrates on "pirate raids," lone bombers taking advantage of cloud cover to bomb selected targets. These daylight raids are light and sporadic, but they also can hit targets further to the West than usual.

Among these targets are the Air Ministry offices at Harrowgate, a railway junction outside of Reading, and an aluminum factory in Oxfordshire. A Junkers Ju 200 Condor even attacks shipping off of Northern Ireland, a rarity during daylight hours, but it misses.

A small raid just before noontime by Heinkel He 111s splits up to hit various targets, including Wiltshire, but to little purpose. Many bombers abort their missions when intercepted by the RAF. Some bombers hit RAF Tangmere. A couple of bombers penetrate to central London and bomb Whitehall, Downing Street, Chelsea Hospital and Buckingham Palace grounds again. The raid on Buckingham Palace is the third one so far, and the King is in residence when the bombs miss. A few bombs hit the buildings and cause damage, but no royal lives are lost.

After dark, things pick up a bit, with London the primary target. Various areas in the vicinity are hit, including Westminster, Battersea, Mitcham, Clapham Junction, Wembley, and Hammersmith. The raids slack off after midnight but then resume about an hour later with hits on the London docks and areas nearby. The raids continue almost until daylight.

Overall, the day is pretty much a wash. The RAF loses a few planes and the Luftwaffe about 10 planes. The Luftwaffe, though, loses over a dozen aircrew.


European Air Operations: In line with the general strategy of frustrating an invasion, the RAF steps up its attacks on German shipping along the coast. It makes a daylight raid on a convoy of tankers off Zeebrugge; the plane crews report sinking one, that it is unclear if that actually happened. Bomber Command shifts its priority from strategy targets in Germany to the likely invasion ports.

The King and Queen inspecting bomb damage to Buckingham Palace, 13 September 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: Mines take a huge toll on shipping today, and for once the British are not on the receiving end. While the British have developed countermeasures to the feared German magnetic mines, they are costly and bulky. The only silver lining for the British is that the much scarcer Axis shipping is equally vulnerable to them, as shown by today's events.

A Vichy French convoy of 11 troopships in the Mediterranean near the island of San Pietro, off Sardinia, blunders into a minefield laid by the Italians, the "San Pietro minefield." The day turns into a series of explosions as one ship after another is struck.

The first to hit a mine is the Cap Tourane at 09:10. It is badly damaged but is able to proceed to Ajaccio. Along the way, it hits another mine, a rare instance of a non-military ship hitting two mines and surviving.

Next is 1544 ton ship Cassidaigne. It comes to the Cap Tourane's assistance and, at 09:22, also hits a mine. It sinks in five minutes. Everybody aboard survives.

The third ship in the convoy to hit a mine is the 1610 ton Ginette Le Borgne at 09:28. It explodes, breaks apart into two pieces, and sinks within two minutes.

Minefield troubles also occur elsewhere.

Kriegsmarine auxiliary minesweeper M-1306 "Hermann Krone" hits a mine and sinks off Hanstholm, Denmark in the Skagerak.

Soviet minesweeper T-104 hits a mine and sinks in the Gulf of Finland.

Other incidents also take a toll on shipping. The oddest thing about the day is that none of the day's many shipping incidents involve direct attacks, they are all passive.

Kriegsmarine trawler UJ-173 Hinrich Wesselhöft runs aground at Harandgerfjord, Norway and is badly damaged. It is floated off, but the damage is too significant and it sinks on the 14th while in tow.

The British, preparing for an invasion, is sinking blockships at the entrances to vulnerable harbors. While towing the British 9577 ton cargo ship Protesilaus to Scapa Flow to sink as a blockship, the Protesilaus - previously very badly damaged on 21 January 1940 by a mine - springs a leak. The ships are scuttled to no purpose off Skerryvore.

The British remain in pursuit of Vichy French Force Y, three cruisers which the British permitted to escape through the Straits of Gibraltar en route to Dakar. British Force H from Gibraltar combines with Force M coming up from Freetown, but there is no sign of the French cruisers.

British Convoy OB 213 departs Liverpool with passenger ship City of Benares. The Benares is transporting British schoolchildren being evacuated to Canada.

USS destroyer USS Kearny (DD 432, Commander Anthony L. Danis) is commissioned.

The Italian Army's plan, September 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: After several days trudging through the hot desert sand, the Italian invasion force (Operation E) of 200,000 men from Libya finally reaches the Egyptian frontier in force. Two divisions of the 10th Army's XIII Corps (five divisions) advance along the coast road. A southern prong of the Italian advance, led by the Maletti Group (armored), has been canceled due to difficulties navigating in the desert, so the advance along the vulnerable coast road constitutes the entire invasion, though it has been split into closely separated prongs.

In the northern prong, the 1st Blackshirt Division (23rd Marzo, in honor of the date of the founding of the Fascist party in 1919) retakes Fort Capuzzo at just west of Sollum, which the British had taken at the start of the war. This is still on the Libyan side of the border. The Italians bombard Musaid, which is a British base just across the border. The Italians also open fire on Sollum airfield, which the British have not used. An Italian attack takes the barracks near the airfield, so the Italians "take Sollum," though the British still hold the port.

Meanwhile, slightly inland on the southern prong, the Italians send two divisions and the Maletti Group toward Halfaya Pass. This creates a converging attack, as these troops will be met at the other end of the pass by the two divisions advancing past Sollum.

Opposing the Italians are two divisions of the British Western Desert Force under General O'Connor, the 7th Armoured and the 4th Indian. The British have orders to hold their positions. The Italians cut the barbed wire along the frontier but do not yet advance very far across it.

The British Long Range Patrol Unit (the "Desert Rats") reaches Siwa near the Libyan border, where they stock up on supplies.

In Ethiopia, the Italians also are on the move, but on a much smaller scale. Light forces penetrate 20 miles north into Kenya.

One apparent side effect of the Italian operations in North Africa is a period of quiet at Malta, which experiences no air raids again. Four Short Sunderland flying boats arrive for three days of operations, otherwise, it is a quiet day. Governor Dobbie informs the War Office that compulsory evacuation of British civilians would harm island morale, though voluntary evacuations at the person's own risk would be acceptable.

The Luftwaffe filming for the newsreels, 13 September 1940 (Jaeger, Federal Archive, Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2007-0200).

German/Japanese Relations: German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has his aide Heinrich Stahmer meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka. They reach a tentative agreement for an alliance, which of course must be negotiated further, written up and approved by both governments.

US Military: The USAAC drops the P-44 program, an attempt to upgrade a high-altitude Republic P-43 Lancer fighter with a Pratt & Whitney R-2180-1 Twin Hornet engine rated at 1,400 hp (1,000 kW). This is due to combat reports from Europe suggesting that the basic P-43 design already is obsolete. Incidentally, although the designation for the P-44 is "Rocket," it was never intended to use an actual rocket engine - a fact which confuses a lot of people.

China: Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters have been operational for months now, with pilots qualifying on the planes which are a quantum leap ahead of previous Japanese fighters. The workup period, however, is now complete and they are ready for action.

To date, they have seen little action aside from routine escort duties. Today, however, 13 Zeros led by Lieutenant Saburo Shindo serve as an escort for a bombing raid on the Nationalist capital, Chungking, and all that changes. For once, the Nationalist air force sends up a large formation to challenge the bombers, which have been ravaging the city for months. They meet the Zeros in combat with nine I-16 (monoplane) and 25 Polikarpov I-15 (biplane) fighters.

The Zeros shoot down 27 of the Nationalist fighters. They only suffer damage to four of their own planes. It is perhaps the most one-sided encounter in military aviation history.

Now, admittedly the Nationalists only have old Soviet fighters, Polikarpov I-15s and I-16s. These are not up to the standards of the European combatants, though of course, they have machine guns that are fully capable of taking down a Zero. Thus, the victory is not quite as fantastic as it appears from the numbers alone. However, this incident begins to open the world's eyes to the new kid on the block, a Japanese fighter that quickly gains the reputation of being unbeatable. It also imbues the Imperial Japanese Air Force with extreme confidence, perhaps overconfidence, in its new fighter.

The 27 Japanese G3M bombers thus get through to the target.

German Homefront: The government bows to reality and completes a plan to help parents voluntarily evacuate their children from Berlin.

Future History:  Óscar Arias is born in Heredia, Costa Rica. becomes President of Costa Rica and a Nobel laureate.

Australian Imperial troops, 13 September 1940. They likely are headed to the Western Desert.

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

Wednesday 11 September 1940

Firefighters battle a gas explosion from the previous night's air raid, Kingsway, London, September 11, 1940.

Battle of Britain: While Prime Minister Winston Churchill is sanguine on 11 September 1940 about prospects of a German invasion, he still thinks they might be stupid enough to try (see below). He sees the coming week as the period of maximum danger - which may be the result of good military intelligence because that is when Hitler will make his final decision one way or the other.

Since 7 September 1940, the Luftwaffe has changed its tactics from staggered morning and afternoon raids against airfields to massive raids against cities beginning in the late afternoon and continuing well past midnight. The RAF issues orders that Hurricanes, which are the true workhorses in Fighter Command, are to attack the bombers, while higher-performance Spitfires take on the escorts flying above.

The weather is good, and the weather is good. While we can always second-guess Luftwaffe tactics, today it has a very good day despite doing actually what all the armchair Generals (like us) say is the wrong thing.

The first major raid comes across at 14:45 from the Calais region, crossing the British coast at Ramsgate. There are two staggered formations, one ahead of the other. After following the Thames toward London, one group heads toward central London and the other toward Brooklands. Due to heavy RAF opposition, only 36 bombers actually bomb London, primarily on the docks, particularly the Surrey Commercial Docks. RAF Nos. 41, 249 and 609 Squadrons intercept bombers over north London and shoot down eight bombers, with 12 others damaged.

Another attack coming up from the south at Cherbourg hits Southampton and Portland. The RAF gets an early crack at this formation over the ocean, but the bombers get through and cause significant damage. There are 28 killed and 70 other casualties at the Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory at Eastleigh, and the Eastleigh Naval Air Station is attacked but receives no damage due to fierce RAF opposition.

After that, the remainder of the day is taken up with scattered raids over Kent until the usual massive raids on London after dark. The Luftwaffe fighters amuse themselves with shooting down barrage balloons over Dover while the bombers deliver the most powerful raid on it to date. These hammer the dock areas and central London, including Buckingham Palace.

Losses for the day are roughly even in the mid-20s, with many accounts putting RAF losses slightly higher for a change. While the Luftwaffe bombers suffer heavy losses over London, the British fighters and bombers also incur losses. The RAF loses half a dozen Spitfires and 19 Hurricanes, which is a pretty bad day. Worst of all for the RAF, it loses a dozen pilots killed and another four badly wounded.

While the Luftwaffe has a good day, more troublesome facts about its equipment are becoming apparent. The Bf 109 fighters, the only air superiority fighter in the Luftwaffe, operate at the extreme limits of its range over London. Many fighter pilots find they must choose between combat or returning back to France before their fuel runs out. Landings on French beaches by fighters that have run out of fuel or sustained damage are not uncommon.

Elite Squadron JG 26 has a good day, as Oblt. Joachim Müncheberg of 7./JG 26 gets his 19th victory, a Spitfire over Ashford, and Lt. Gustav Sprick of 8,/JG26 gets his 17th. Gerhard Schöpfel, Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26, shoots down a Blenheim for his twentieth victory. This earns him the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross).

Both Major Werner Mölders of Stab./JG 51 (Spitfire) and Major Adolf Galland of Stab./JG 26 (Hurricane) claim victories. Hans-Joachim Marseille scores his third victory, a Hurricane over the French coast. He receives damage, though, and has to crash-land on the beach at Wissant.

The coastal guns at "Hellfire Corner" open up again, exchanging bombardments that hit Dover and Cap Gris Nez.

During the late afternoon, RAF Coastal Command sends a dozen Blenheim bombers to attack the German barges assembling for the invasion in Calais. No. 826 Squadron loses an Albacore and has two others damaged, with one death and several wounded airmen.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-28 (Kapitänleutnant Günter Kuhnke) stalks Convoy OA 210 about 200 miles northwest of Ireland. During the middle of the night, it strikes quickly. He lets loose three torpedoes and hears three explosions - apparently two on the same ship.

At 03:26, U-28 torpedoes and sinks 1234 ton Dutch freighter Maas. There are 20 deaths and two survivors.

At 03:28, U-28 torpedoes and damages British freighter Harpenden. The torpedo strikes kill one crewman, but the Harpenden just makes it back to the Clyde in tow, where it is beached at Kilchattan Bay and can be salvaged.

U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) torpedoes and sinks 2468 ton British iron ore freighter Albionic in the Atlantic southeast of Rockall (northwest of Ireland). All 25 crew on board perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks Royal Navy 209 ton trawler HMT Beathwood while it is at anchor in the North Sea just east of Montrose Coastguard lookout (east coast of Scotland). The planes attack at 22:00 and sink it. It is unclear how many perished aboard it, but local newspapers noted that "Most of the crew were below deck when the plane attacked."

British destroyers HMS Malcolm, Veteran, and Wild Swan, on a more-or-less routine patrol off of Ostend, encounters a German convoy on the radar. The destroyers contact the RAF for assistance, which sends planes to drop flares over the convoy. The destroyers open fire and sink an escort ship, two trawlers towing barges, and a large barge.

Kriegsmarine tug Escaut sinks off the French coast of unknown reasons, perhaps due to hitting a mine.

Kriegsmarine freighter Cordoba hits a mine in the English Channel and is towed to Le Havre. The Cordoba is beached, but is a total loss and, after some preliminary repairs, ultimately scuttled in September 1944 to avoid capture by the Allies.

The Luftwaffe attacks convoy CW 11 and damages destroyer HMS Atherstone in the English Channel off Ramsgate.

In the Luftwaffe attacks on Dover, British motor torpedo boats MTB 29 and 71 are damaged, the latter severely.

In London, the Luftwaffe damages Swedish freighter Torkel and British freighter Norman.

Convoy FN 278 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 166 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 278 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 212 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 47 departs from Freetown.

British submarine HMS Porpoise lays minefield FD 26 in the North Sea, while several minelayers operating out of Loch Alsh lays mines in Operation SN 41.

Corvette HMS Asphodel (K 56, Lt. Commander Kenneth W. Stewart) is commissioned.

Amman celebrates the 24th anniversary of the Arab revolt under King Hussein & Lawrence of Arabia, Sept. 11, 1940 - Date Created/Published: 1940 September 11. - Library of Congress.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian advance from Libya toward Egypt continues. By most accounts, they have not yet crossed the border. There are air battles overhead as the RAF tries to slow them down.

The Vichy French flotilla (Force Y) heading from Toulon to Dakar (unknown to the British) is spotted at 05:15 in the Mediterranean 50 miles from the Straits of Gibraltar by destroyer HMS Hotspur. British battleship HMS Renown asks their destination, and in a friendly exchange, the French captain simply says they are southbound. The British tell the French to go no further south than Casablanca, Morocco.

It radios for instructions, but nobody is told to intercept the ships. The three cruisers and accompanying smaller ships speed through the Straits at high speed (25 knots), passing within sight of the British at 08:35. Long after the ships are out in the Atlantic, at 16:00, the Admiralty finally orders the battleship HMS Renown to pursue Force Y to make sure it goes no further south than Casablanca. Their presence at Dakar would cause problems for upcoming Operation Menace, the British attack on Dakar. The French ships put into Casablanca for the night by design, thereby avoiding a major confrontation with former ally Great Britain.

The fact that the British let the powerful flotilla pass through the straits without incident amazes both the French and British governments since the cruisers are easy targets without air cover and with minimal escorts. They easily could have been attacked by air, sea and land bombardment. Gibraltar commander Admiral Sir Dudley North is relieved of his command. Ultimately North is exonerated since the true blame lies with Whitehall. However, the smell of this incident lingers due to subsequent events, and North's career essentially is over.

The entire affair is confused. Ships on "opposing sides" sight each other and don't know whether to attack or wave hello. Whitehall also appears confused and conflicted - which actually may be appropriate under the circumstances, and certainly is understandable. Nobody really knows where the Vichy France/British relationship is headed, but it doesn't look good.

In Malta, it is a quiet day. Governor Lt. General Dobbie sends a request for more anti-aircraft guns in addition to the 60 already "on order," making a total request of 92 in all. He also requests searchlights and sound locators. A patrolling Skua reports spotting two Italian destroyers at Augusta, another destroyer outside Messina, and other small craft in Syracuse harbor.

The King and Queen of Great Britain inspect the damage to Buckingham Palace, 11 September 1940.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Italians bomb Convoy BS 4 in the Red Sea, without success.

Japanese/Vichy French Relations: The Vichy French, upset at the infiltration of French Indochina by Japanese troops in China, have been slow-walking further negotiations with the Japanese. Today, Japanese Army Major General Issaku Nishihara complains to the government in Tokyo about the impasse.

German/Norwegian Relations: Adolf Hitler meets with Vidkun Quisling and Reichskommissar for Norway Josef Terboven. With all political parties in Norway outlawed except for Quisling's pro-German party, Quisling has become a key player in maintaining peace in the country.

US/Japanese Relations: Okuda Ojiro becomes acting Japanese consul general in Hawaii. Part of his mission is to spy on the US fleet at Pearl Harbor.

"Cowra, NSW. 11 September 1940. Bren Gun Carriers of the 2/1st Australian Medium Regiment moving down the main street of Cowra during a parade. The street is lined with cars and people, some of whom are standing on the backs of trucks in order to get a better view. (Donor K. Warner)."

US Military: The US Navy continues its crash shipbuilding program, financed by the exorbitant fiscal year 1941 (the US fiscal year begins in September) appropriations that have just been approved. It orders six new Cleveland-class light cruisers, to be built by the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

German Military: The Germans make their first expansion of the Schutzstaffel (SS) outside of the Reich: they form the Nederlandsche SS (Dutch SS).

Generalfeldmarshall Fedor von Bock begins taking his Army Group B headquarters east in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.

British Homefront: Winston Churchill addresses the nation in a radio broadcast. Soaring into his usual rhetorical heights, he says:

If this invasion is going to be tried at all, it does not seem that it can be long delayed. The weather may break at any time. Besides this, it is difficult for the enemy to keep these gatherings of ships waiting about indefinitely while they are bombed every night by our bombers and very often shelled by our warships which are waiting for them outside.

Therefore, we must regard the next week or so as a very important week for us in our history. It ranks with the days when the Spanish Armada was approaching the Channel and Drake was finishing his game of bowls, or when Nelson stood between us and Napoleon's Grand Army at Boulogne. We have read about all this in the history books, but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilization than those brave old days of the past. Every man and woman will therefore prepare himself and herself to do his duty whatever it may be, with special pride and care.

The Lord Mayor of London starts an Air Raid Relief Fund. It quickly receives massive support.

Future History: Brian De Palma is born in Newark, New Jersey. He begins filming documentaries in the 1960s which make money and receive good notices (such as "The Responsive Eye" exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in 1965). He turns to features and casts young actor Robert De Niro in "Greetings" (1968) and "Hi, Mom!" (1970). In the 1970s, he moves to Hollywood and has a major breakthrough with the film "Carrie," starring John Travolta and Sissy Spacek. De Palma also wins acclaim as a screenwriter. He goes on to become one of the top directors in Hollywood. Brian De Palma remains active in Hollywood today.

On September 11, 1940, the U.S. Navy opens Naval Air Station Lee Field at Green Cove Springs, Florida. It was named after Ensign Benjamin Lee, a Great War soldier. It is used to train pilots for aircraft carrier landing operations and later is renamed Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs. It was used to store the "Mothball Fleet" after the war.

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

Tuesday 10 September 1940

The remains of a double-decker city bus in the City of London. September 10, 1940.

Overview: There is no question that Germany has the initiative on 10 September 1940. It has a free hand with Great Britain - Germany can attack it directly, or it can attack the Empire indirectly through its overseas possessions and military infrastructure. Since Italy now is taking on the latter task with its developing attack on Egypt from Libya, that presumably frees the Wehrmacht to make a maximum effort against England directly and finish it off once and for all.

However, the German high command is full of hopes and dreams, scattered objectives that have no coherent relationship to one another. Their own estimation of German power is sky-high - though only for land-based forces - and this leads to a situation akin to a child with too many toys with which to play. The plethora of choices induce a numbing effect which prevents success with any of the choices.

Recent successes in the field justify German confidence to a point: Germany has spent 20 years trying to defeat France, and now it is done. The army (Heer) always has been the heart of German military strength. However, Germany has gone from a standing start to its current military posture in just seven years due to the extreme restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles (and really less time than that, since Hitler only gradually ramped up his military effort over the several years after he took power in 1933). Thus, Germany is powerful, but its power is only relative to the countries it has defeated, which all to one extent or another have been easy prey due to the surprise of the German onslaught. There are other world powers remaining that far, far outclass Germany in military potential. In sports terms, the Wehrmacht has a strong starting team composed of recent acquisitions, but its bench is not deep. This fact, however, eludes the German elite, blinded by quick, cheap successes with its elite units.

The British also have wild-card advantages that will take time to play out, but eventually can trump any effort by Germany. For starters, the Americans are fast becoming de facto if not de jure allies. The United States military potential dwarfs anything that Germany ever can achieve. The Germans do not recognize any time pressure aside from the seasons, but time is their greatest enemy: the more threatening their posture toward US ally Great Britain, the sooner actual US intervention which would make a German victory over England impossible.

If Germany is to defeat Great Britain, it must do so quickly, taking advantage of the lingering effects of the surprise factor that led to its victories to date. In other words, it must attack before the US and Great Britain work through their diplomatic issues to pose a united - and unbeatable - front. Another factor in the balance is Vichy France, which is quite unstable in its political alliance with Germany and could at any time cause huge distractions for the Wehrmacht. A third factor is Italy, which is led by a regime whose rhetoric is not matched by military ability. Internal problems there also would greatly decrease Axis pressure on Great Britain's enormously important positions in the Mediterranean. The German position is powerful, but it is in large part built on an eroding edifice, not an expanding one as the German hierarchy sees it.

Thus, since it is still at war with powerful Great War enemy Great Britain, having it on the ropes should lead German leadership to the logical conclusion that the Wehrmacht's first priority is to finish the English off before taking on any new exertions, and do it now. That unquestionably should be the top military priority. An objective analysis suggests that this is achievable as of 10 September 1940 given proper focus and effort: Germany can defeat Great Britain, although it may take horrendous losses. However, from this point forward, there is a huge difference between an objectively wise military strategy and what Germany actually does.

Winston Churchill inspecting bomb crater in London, 10 September 1940 (Bridgeman Art Library).

German Military: Adolf Hitler previously has set 10 September 1940 as his date for deciding whether or not to approve Operation Sealion, the invasion of England. Now that the day has arrived, he postpones his decision until the 14th. Since Hitler has promised his service chiefs 10 days from his approval to the actual invasion date, that moves the earliest possible start date for Operation Sealion from 20 September to 24 September, with actual landings on the 25th.

Hitler's main requirement for approving Operation Sealion is that air superiority is achieved over England. The Luftwaffe came extremely close to achieving that by 6 September. However, the decision taken in early September to switch attacks from RAF infrastructure to major population centers, implemented as of 7 September, has degraded the Luftwaffe's burgeoning air superiority. By now, the Luftwaffe has had enough time to complete its mission against Great Britain according to the original timetable, but the RAF remains intact. The seasons are about to change, requiring a quick final decision on Operation Sealion.

Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht is busy increasing the number of panzer divisions. Hitler, obsessed with the Soviet Union, orders a doubling of the ten existing panzer divisions before the invasion of the USSR. The Wehrmacht does this in different ways: usually by taking units from existing divisions and building around them; and sometimes by converting infantry divisions into panzer divisions. For instance, around this time the 15th Panzer Regiment is taken from the 5th Panzer Division and forms the core of the new 11th Panzer Division, based in Poland; and the 2nd Infantry Division is reorganized completely and becomes the 12th Panzer Division, based at Stettin.

This process radically changes the Panzerwaffe. Whereas panzer divisions previously have had one tank regiment, one separate tank battalion, and one or two infantry regiments, the new structure of the typical panzer division (there are variations) is changed so that each now has one tank regiment and two motorized regiments. These changes are not all bad: in some ways, they make the panzer divisions more mobile and efficient. However, they show that the Wehrmacht is preparing, not for an invasion of England - there are plenty of panzers to cover that already - but for events in the East.

Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering appears at times to be the only member of the High Command actually interested in defeating Great Britain. Admiral Raeder, stating the obvious, writes that "There is no sign of the defeat of the enemy's Air Force over southern England or the Channel areas." Of course, Raeder has no faith in the Kriegsmarine's ability to support an invasion and would be happy to blame Goering's Luftwaffe for cancellation of Operation Sealion rather than attempt an invasion and have his entire fleet sunk out from under him.

Goering continues fine-tuning Luftwaffe operations on an almost daily basis. Today, he authorizes Pirateneinsatze, or Pirate Attacks, which involve solo or small-scale attacks by specially trained bomber crews in iffy weather conditions against British aircraft factories. Elite formations Epr.Gr 210 and ZG 26 are assigned this task and placed under the control of Sperrle at Luftflotte 3. However, Goering's ruinous (for the German side) attacks on London continue.

Winston Churchill inspecting bomb damage in Battersea, South London, 10 September 1940.

British Military: Faced with scores of ships lying half-sunk at London ports, the Admiralty bans all ocean-going vessels from London ports for the remainder of the year.

Italian Military: The Italian Commando Supremo begins transferring the Greek Expeditionary Corps (40,310 men, with 7728 horses, 701 vehicles, and 33,535 tons of material) from Brindisi to Albania. This is in preparation for an upcoming invasion of Greece, which Mussolini is keeping secret not only from the Allies but from his military partner Hitler.

Battle of Britain: It is around this time that Fleet Street newspaper writers - who came up with the term "Blitzkrieg" - shorten it to "Blitz" to describe the bombing campaign against London.

The day is rainy and overcast over much of northwestern Europe. It gives the RAF another day to recover, and the Luftwaffe only makes a few isolated penetrations during the day. Reconnaissance Dornier Do 215s operate sporadically, and there is an incident today where one fights with a Spitfire and both go down (the Spitfire to a forced landing).

After dark, the bombing raids resume. Aside from London, where 150 bombers drop bombs, the attacks focus on the western half of Great Britain, from Liverpool south to Wales and over to Bristol. Within London, the bombers damage the docks, the City of London (East Maternity Hospital burns), and Brentwood (hit by 1000 incendiaries), among other areas. Despite the rain, huge fires break out across the city.

Nurses salvage equipment from their hospital, September 1940.

A delayed-action bomb explodes in the northwest wing of Buckingham Palace, seriously damaging it. King George reveals later that his view at the time is that this is of tremendous benefit to the war effort because it shows shared sacrifice between the uppermost and lowest classes of society.

The Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI), the Italian contribution to the Battle of Britain, forms in Belgium under the command of Generale sa (Air Marshal) Rino Corso-Fougier. The force includes both bombers and fighters, along with a large transport force of a dozen Caproni 133Ts, one Savoia-Marchetti S.75, and nine Ca164s. In all, the Italians have 200 aircraft ready to enter combat. The planes are largely obsolete and are limited to daylight operations due to limited crew training. The Luftwaffe establishes close liaison with the CAI, but it operates independently. The entire force is under the command of 1a Squadra Aerea di Milano.

It is fair to say that many recognize from the start that the Italian equipment is not up to the standards of the Channel Front, and the Luftwaffe really doesn't need the help. The planes would do much more good in the Mediterranean, particularly supporting Italian operations in North Africa. However, Mussolini wants to appear as an equal partner to Germany so that Italy will get a larger share of the (inevitable) war spoils.

The Manchester Guardian, 10 September 1940.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids Berlin again. Hits are made on the Reichstag (still gutted and unusable since the 1933 fire which burnt it out) and Potsdamer Railway Station. Bomber Command makes other raids on barge concentrations all along the Channel coast, from France to Holland, against the German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez, Brussels, rail installations in Duisberg, and north German ports Bremen and Wilhelmshaven. The major Luftwaffe field at Eindhoven receives a visit from Blenheims which destroys 8 Heinkel He 111s and damages three more.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks the 4332-ton Norwegian freighter Eli about 12 miles (22km) off the Skerryvore Lighthouse in western Scotland. There are 28 survivors and 2 crew perish.

British submarine HMS Sturgeon spots U-43 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Ambrosius) transiting from its port in Bergen, Norway and fires torpedoes at it, but misses. British submarines have taken to lying in wait outside the harbor, knowing that U-boats transit the area on their way to and from their stations in the Atlantic.

German battleship Bismarck gets more target practice, firing off half a dozen 3.7cm anti-aircraft shells without hitting anything.

In the Channel, three British destroyers (HMS Malcolm, Wild Swan, and Veteran) depart Harwich for a patrol off Ostend, where there are reports of an enemy convoy. It is a fairly typical offensive sweep, and if the reports are true, there could be some action during the night.

A major British troop convoy, AP 3, departs from Liverpool. It consists of 8 transport ships (converted liners) carrying 6050 troops to the Middle East, along with two freighters. There is a large escort consisting of half a dozen destroyers. The first stop is Freetown. This is the last part of Operation Apology, reinforcement of the Middle East/Asian Command.

Convoy MT 165 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 277 departs from the Tyne, Convoy OB 211 departs from Liverpool, Convoys SC 4 and SHX 72 depart from Sydney, Canada, Convoy BN 5 departs from Bombay.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian 10th Army continues assembling and slowly slogging toward the Egyptian frontier, which it has not yet reached (accounts vary on when it actually crosses the frontier, and it really doesn't matter in the endless deserts anyway). The main striking force, the Maletti Group composed of the Italian armor, has great difficulty with the desert conditions, suffering numerous equipment breakdowns and getting lost in the desert. The Italian armor retreats, and the British sow mines in their path and do whatever else they can to harass them.

The Regia Aeronautica attacks Matruh and Khartoum, while the RAF attacks the Italian bases and harbors in eastern Libya where the Italian invasion force is massing. The RAF also attacks Massawa, Asmara, and Dessie.

The Vichy French flotilla which left Toulon on 9 September continues its journey to Dakar, which requires passage through the Straits of Gibraltar. The French finally inform the British Naval Attaché in Madrid that the ships are going to pass by Gibraltar, but still the British do nothing. During the night, the flotilla approaches Gibraltar, but the British do not know where they are yet. The presence of the three Vichy French cruisers in the Atlantic is not actually prohibited by any previous communications between London and Vichy - the two countries are not officially at war, and England previously has said that the French could keep their warships in the Caribbean since that would keep them out of the hands of the Germans - but it would seriously complicate the upcoming British Operation Menace if they head south to Dakar.

At Malta, a French crew takes General de Gaulle's representative Commandant Robert back to Tunisia. The day's poor weather extends all the way south to the Mediterranean, so the airmen barely make it back (and cause an air raid alert when they do). Otherwise, the foul weather prevents any attacks.

Damage to royal property, 10 September 1940.

Battle of the Pacific: Having completed an epic transit across the north of Russia with the help of Soviet icebreakers, German raider Komet is operational in the Pacific.

Spy Stuff: Danish citizen Wulf Schmidt parachutes into Oxon, England as a spy for the Abwehr. He is known to the Germans as Agent Leonhard. The German spy who had parachuted in a few days previously and been caught, Gösta Caroli, turned him in, and Schmidt is captured immediately. Schmidt quickly agrees to become a double agent (known to the British as Agent Tate) for MI5 under Operation Double Cross.

German/Hungarian Relations: Hitler meets with the Hungarian ambassador.

US Military: The cruiser USS Wichita departs Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for its last stop on its "Show the Flag" mission to Latin America.

The Greenslade Board, reviewing the new British bases in the Atlantic, makes port at Norfolk.

China: The Chinese Communists, operating independently of Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist regime, launches its "Hundred Regiments Offensive." This is a guerilla operation against infrastructure in Japanese-occupied Hebei and Shansi provinces.

The King and Queen pose in front of damage to Buckingham Palace, 10 September 1940.

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

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