Saturday 30 November 1940

"Liverpool Street Underground Station Shelter: A woman watches her children sleeping in the station tunnel.Baltimore" November 1940. © IWM (D 1577) Photographer: Bill Brandt.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greek 13th Division of 3rd Army Corps on 30 November 1940 now is 20 miles past Korçë and captures much of Pogradec on Ohrid Lake. The city is not particularly significant, but the manner of its loss is troubling: the Italian troops simply abandon it. The local Italian commanders say that the Italian defensive stance is in poor shape. Mussolini loses confidence and considers asking for a truce through Germany (something that the London media has been hinting about for some time). This crisis of confidence will have consequences for the Italian command. However, the Italian defense already is stiffening.

Greek 3rd Infantry Division attacks around Kazania and Boularat.

The Greeks are on the heights overlooking Argyrokastro. However, the Italians there have decided to fight.

Greek civilian air raid casualties since the beginning of the war on 28 October: 604 killed, 1070 seriously injured.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe, which has been targeting individual medium-sized cities for attacks over consecutive nights, switches to Southampton and its suburbs. They send 128 bombers and cause (estimated) 137 deaths and 370 other casualties. The King visits during the day to inspect the damage, which is concentrated in the downtown area. Water pressure drops because 74 water mains are cut, hampering firefighting efforts. The Luftwaffe increasingly has been using incendiary bombs to start fires, then high explosives to spread them. In general, fire-fighting efforts are ineffective in most of the city and the strongest efforts are made to preserve the docks and most important downtown areas.

During the day, the Luftwaffe sends a large fighter-bomber raid over southern England. A few of the raiders make it to London.

RAF Coastal Command makes a dawn raid on U-boat base Lorient. However, RAF Bomber Command cancels its night operations due to poor weather.

British air raid casualties for November:

• 4588 killed
• 6202 wounded

"Liverpool Street Underground Station Shelter: The floor of a tunnel crammed with sleeping Londoners." November 1940. © IWM (D 1574) Photographer: Bill Brandt.

Battle of the Atlantic: Another short, sharp surface engagement takes place in the English Channel. Two Royal Navy motor torpedo boats engage in a sweep off Flushing and run into a German convoy off the Schelde Estuary. Both sides take damage, the British to MTB 31 and the Germans to 5943-ton German freighter Santos.

U-101 (Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen), on her 5th patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5378-ton British freighter Aracataca in the shipping lanes about 700 km west of Ireland. There are 8 deaths. The Aracataca, incidentally, is a banana boat coming from Jamaica, and its sinking somewhat justifies Lord Woolton's recent decision to stop the importation of bananas in favor of oranges.

Royal Navy 505-ton minesweeper trawler HMT Chestnut hits a mine and sinks off North Foreland, Kent. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe damages 187-ton Dutch freighter Gorecht off Southampton.

The weather in the western North Atlantic is terrible, with a hurricane passing near the Canadian coast. Destroyer HMCS St. Croix sustains damage and returns to St. John.

German cruiser Admiral Hipper departs from its anchorage at Kiel in the Elbe River on a raiding mission in the Atlantic.

German freighter Helgoland, which embarked on an extremely risky trip from Columbia to Europe, safely arrives at St. Nazaire.

Convoy OB 252 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 347 departs from Southend, Convoys FS 348 and FS 349 depart from Methil, Convoy FS 350 is canceled, Convoy SC 14 departs from Halifax, Convoy BS 9B departs from Aden, Convoy BS A departs from Suez.

During the month of November 1940, the following Allied shipping losses occur (the figures appear differently in different sources, usually due to slight definitional variations):

• U-boat sinkings - 146,613 tons
• Aircraft sinkings - 66,438 tons
• German raiders - 123,671 ton
• Mines - 46,672 tons

Total: 86 Allied ships of 294,054 tons in the Atlantic, 11 Allied ships of 91,661 tons elsewhere.

The Kriegsmarine loses two U-boats (one is presumed lost in November, but may, in fact, be lost in December). The Italians also lose a submarine.

U-boat sinkings of shipping have fallen by over 50% from October - 352,407 tons - but the other causes of sinkings have increased. The Germans have 27 U-boats available for patrols in the Atlantic. Typically, about 1/3 will be on patrol at any one time.

German destroyer DD Z-25 is commissioned.

Soviet submarine K-21 is commissioned.

"Liverpool Street Underground Station Shelter: Close-up of sleeping people, their heads resting against the arched walls of the underground tunnel." November 1940. © IWM (D 1575). Photographer: Bill Brandt.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy headquarters Mediterranean reports that the Malta supply situation has eased due to the attack on Taranto, which caused the dispersion of the Italian fleet, and the British presence at Suda Bay. RAF reconnaissance, though, has been hurt by the dispersion of the Italian fleet, and the Taranto thus has had the unexpected effect of making it harder to keep track of Italian fleet operations. This has impaired efforts to attack Italian convoys.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Pinguin, with captured freighter Storstad following, has headed to the southwest in the mid-Indian Ocean, taking it away from a searching Australian cruiser. The crew has painted the ship black. The crew spots a freighter and closes, opening fire and destroying the radio. After the first salvo, the freighter is a flaming wreck, its captain dying. It is 8301-ton British refrigerated ship Port Wellington - a sister ship of the Pinguin's last victim, Port Brisbane. The Pinguin takes the 82-man crew and seven women passengers as prisoners (the captain and one other perish from injuries). Pinguin then sinks the ship - but not before the Pinguin's first officer personally returns to the burning ship to retrieve clothing for the women (many in only their nightgowns). The Pinguin now has 405 prisoners on board.

Japanese/Chinese Relations: The Japanese recognize and conclude a treaty with their Chinese puppet government led by Ching-wei.

Being desirous that these two countries should respect their inherent characteristics and closely cooperate with each other as good neighbors under their common ideal of establishing a new order in East Asia on an ethical basis, establishing thereby a permanent peace in East Asia …

Ching-wei's government is based in Nanking. Setting up puppet governments in occupied territory is a typical tactic used throughout World War II by several governments. Essentially, it is just a propaganda move. The Nationalist Chinese government in Chungking led by Chiang Kai-shek has rejected secret peace feelers from the Japanese, and this is the result.

US/China Relations: The US extends $100 million in aid ($50 million for currency stabilization, $50 million in purchase credits) to China.

"Liverpool Street Underground Station Shelter: A family sleeps in the underground tunnel; even the girl's doll has its own improvised bed." November 1940. © IWM (D 1582). Photographer: Bill Brandt.

German/French Relations: The Germans have deported the Jewish residents of Lorraine (within their zone of occupation) under the Wagner-Burckel Aktion. They also have changed place names from French back to German (Germany held the territory prior to World War I). They even have required the French residents to change their French names to German (e.g., from Pierre to Peter). Failure to comply with the name changes is punishable by arrest and deportation to Germany. All that, however, was just a prelude to today's action: outright annexation of Lorraine to the Reich. The German press agency states:

Lorraine's return to the Reich has closed an historical chapter which liberated age-old German land and righted a political wrong. The century-long battle for the Rhine has now been ended. Within this territory the complete economical and political union of Lorraine and Saarpfalz will be effected.

US/Latin American Relations: In a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull, US Ambassador to Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson once again warns of virulent pro-German sentiment in the country. Such worries about Uruguay and Argentina are what have led to the succession of "Show the Flag" operations that are still on-going. Wilson paints a picture of a weak government unable to stop the growth in pro-German sentiment which he claims could lead to an "armed movement."

Lucille Ball wedding photo.

US/French Relations: President Roosevelt instructs Secretary of State Hull to reject former Ambassador to Vichy France Bullitt's request that the US send its fleet to the Mediterranean to over-awe the Fascists (the American embassy in Vichy is being run by Chargé d'Affaires ad interim Robert Murphy due to Bullitt's dismissal). In a somewhat ironic reply (in light of later events), Hull now tells Murphy:

The presence of the fleet in the Pacific at this time is a very practical contribution to the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Bullitt, meanwhile, is a controversial figure who is marked for replacement by Admiral Leahy.

British Military: Prime Minister Winston Churchill appoints legendary Air Marshal Hugh Trenchard to a new position reorganizing the military's intelligence services. Trenchard is a believer in the RAF fighters taking the fight to France and not remaining in a purely defensive posture - "lean toward France."

Romania: The turmoil in Romania continues, largely stirred up by the Iron Guard but also flowing from the country's recent territorial losses. The police are making mass arrests. It is the second anniversary of the announcement of the murder of Iron Guard Founder Corneliu Zelea Codreanu. The body of Codreanu, which the government dissolved in acid and placed under seven tons of concrete in the prison, is reburied. The Luftwaffe, reflecting a deep German interest in Romania, flies over the ceremony and drops wreaths over the open casket.

Codreanu, incidentally, remains a very popular figure in Romanian society in the 21st Century, fairly recently (2006) coming in 22nd in a Romanian Television poll of "100 Greatest Romanians" of all time. It is illegal in Romania, however, to talk about the fascist Iron Guard in a positive way, and where exactly that line is drawn with regard to Codreanu has become a very controversial issue in Romanian society.

China: The Japanese 11th Army, facing heavy Chinese counterattacks, retreats to its start line in the Central Hubei sector (Han River Operation). The Chinese 5th War Area re-occupies all territory lost during the failed Japanese offensive.

US Homefront: Navy wins the annual Army-Navy Game in Philadelphia, 14-0. It is the 50th game in the series.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz have eloped to Connecticut. They get married with a wedding ring purchased at the last minute from Woolworth's:

Eloping with Desi was the most daring thing I ever did in my life. I never fell in love with anyone quite so fast. He was very handsome and romantic. But he also frightened me, he was so wild. I knew I shouldn't marry him, but that was one of the biggest attractions.

"Lucy and Desi: The Legendary Love Story of Television's Most Famous Couple," Warren G. Harris (Simon & Schuster 1991).

Having eloped yesterday, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz get married today. The two met earlier in 1940 while filming the Rodgers and Hart stage hit Too Many Girls.

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

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

Sunday 6 October 1940

The great Legionnaire (Iron Guard) manifestation in Bucharest, October 6,1940.

Overview: Both sides have incidents of Friendly Fire on 6 October 1940 that unnecessarily take the lives of men simply doing their jobs in a routine way. These things happen in war, and they happened a lot more during World War II than either side ever acknowledged until many years later.

Battle of Britain: The poor weather returns, with more clouds and rain over England. In fact, the Luftwaffe actually begins a large raid at one point, but it turns back due to the weather. Instead, the day is characterized by lone "pirate" raiders conducted by specially trained crews who make hit-and-run raids on selected targets.

Late in the morning, a raider bombs Middle Wallop, while at 12:45 it is the turn of RAF Biggin Hill. Another raid on Eastbourne damages gas/water lines.

The Luftwaffe attacks the same convoy at 13:30 and then again an hour later. This is the largest raid of the day, with maybe a dozen bombers, but it accomplishes nothing. At 16:19, a bomber from Chartres starts to come across but turns back. A little while later, a Junkers Ju 88 strafes RAF White Waltham and Farnborough, and a bomber scores some minor hits on the Hawker Aircraft Factory at Stough. Another strafing attack on RAF Northolt catches a Hurricane about to take off and destroys it and kills the pilot, while the Junkers Ju 88 is hunted down and destroyed at Leatherhead, Surrey. Other attacks during the afternoon take place at Biggin Hill and Croydon.

London does have a few minor attacks during the day, but after dark, everything is very quiet. An occasional bomber crosses over, such as one at 20:00 and another at 21:00, but they don't accomplish much. There are a couple of more lone raiders before midnight, then the remainder of the night is peaceful.

Overall, losses are in the single digits for both sides. The RAF loses two planes, and the Luftwaffe about nine.

An airman refueling a Hawker Hurricane I aircraft of No. 1 (F) Squadron, RCAF. Northolt, England, October 6, 1940. Photographer unknown.

The RAF suffers a friendly fire incident when a Hampden bomber of RAF No. 106 Squadron shuttling between bases on a quiet day is mistakenly attacked by a pair of Hurricanes. A quick burst of fire kills the bomber's navigator, Sgt K.S Powers, but then the Hurricane pilots recognize their mistake. The bomber lands intact and without any great damage, but the man is dead. These kinds of things can happen on days of low visibility such as this, but generally, there is little tolerance for such incidents within the RAF. The Hurricane pilots hear about it with great emphasis from their commander when they land.

Sergeant Frederick Fenton Vinyard, flying a Spitfire for RAF No. 64 Squadron, has some kind of mechanical or weather issue and crashes into the sea near Beverley, Yorkshire. It is a typical incident, no glory, an accident, just another casualty of the war. However, sometimes we remember an individual now and then. His name is listed at the Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey, England.

Hauptmann Helmut Wick receives the Oak Leaves for his 40th victory on the 5th.

Oblt. Werner Streib, Gruppenkommanduer of I./NJG 1 is awarded the Ritterkruez. He is instrumental in developing the Luftwaffe's night fighter force.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that the Luftwaffe has a new version of the Bf 109 to play with. Geschwaderkommodore Werner Mölders of JG 51, the top scorer in the battle, is given the honor of being the first to fly the new Bf 109 F-1 WNr. 5628 'SG+GW' in action. The weather is so bad that he makes no interceptions.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command bombs several ports along the Channel coast, including Boulogne, Calais, and Ostend. along with the airfield at Diepholz. Coastal Command attacks a German convoy off the Dutch coast and loses a Hudson.

HMS Poulmic.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-123 (Karl-Heinz Moehle), U-103 (Kptl. Viktor Schütze)  and U-37 (Victor Oehrn) are all operating in the general area of the trade routes about 400 miles west of Ireland. This is becoming a favored spot by the U-boats based in France and Norway.

U-123 torpedoes and sinks 5943-ton British cargo ship Benlawers at 13:04. The Benlawers is loaded with trucks and other goods destined for British forces at Cairo. There are 27 survivors and 24 men perish. The Benlawers is a straggler from Convoy OB 221.

U-103 torpedoes and sinks 6123-ton Norwegian tanker Nina Borthen in the same general area as U-123's success at 22:04. The tanker refuses to sink, so the U-boat puts two more torpedoes into it at 22:14 and 22:38 - but it remains afloat. Finally, a fourth torpedo at 23:30 does the trick. There are no survivors, all 35 onboard perish. The Nina Borthen had been dispersed from Convoy OA 222.

U-37 (Kplt. Victor Oehrn), also operating in the same area, spots 6989-ton British tanker British General. Tankers are notoriously difficult for U-boats to sink due to their internal structures, and the British General has deck guns. The tanker also is empty, which gives its crew some flexibility in counter-flooding. U-37 puts one torpedo into it at 18:55 and the second at 23:10, but the tanker remains afloat and the U-boat cannot surface to use its deck gun due to the British General's armament. This is one instance where a deck gun plays a vital role in assuring a merchant ship's survival for a while. The ship remains afloat as the day ends, but the U-37 is waiting patiently to finish it off. The British General has been dispersed from Convoy OA 222.

British 910 ton freighter Jersey Queen hits a mine laid by German destroyers and sinks a couple of miles from St. Anthony Point in the English Channel. Two crewmen perish. This sinking is uncertain, and some sources claim it was sunk by the Luftwaffe.

British 300 ton auxiliary minesweeper HMS Poulmic (Le Poulmic, seized from France) also hits a mine and sinks in the same general area off Penlee Point, Cornwall. Divers describe the wreck - a popular dive spot - as being all strewn about as if caused by a particularly violent explosion.

British 84 ton coastal freighter Scotch Thistle runs aground in the Thames Estuary and is written off.

Swedish trawler Hugin hits a mine and sinks in the Skagerak.

Convoys OA 225 and Convoy FS 302 depart from Methil, Convoy FN 301 departs from Southend, Convoy OL 6 departs from Liverpool.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, as he is wont to do, conducts a surprise snap inspection of army units in northern Italy. The Roman press drops hints about "big things" in the offing.

Italian submarine Tricheco mistakes her fellow submarine Gemma for an enemy and torpedoes and sinks it five miles south of Karpathos (near Leros) in the Dodecanese. Everyone aboard perishes. The Italian Naval Command (Supermarina) fails at notifying both crews of the others' presence.

Yugoslavian 1919 ton freighter Vido hits a mine about 18 km off of Sulina, Romania in the Black Sea. The crew beaches the ship.

At Malta, there are no air raids, continuing a lengthy pause in operations. There are various patrols by Short Sunderland Flying Boats that spot an Italian hospital ship and a Greek freighter, but otherwise, it is a very uneventful day.

Anglo/US Relations: The US destroyers that arrived in Halifax on the 5th are turned over to the Royal Navy pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal.

• USS Branch -> HMS Beverley, 
• USS Hunt -> HMS Broadway, 
• USS Mason -> the HMS Broadwater, 
• USS Satterlee -> HMS Belmont, 
• USS Laub -> HMS Burwell, 
• USS Aulick -> HMS Burnham, 
• USS Edwards -> HMS Buxton, and 
• USS McLanahan -> HMS Bradford.

Horia Sima, Antonescu and King Michael I of Romania, 1940

Romania: Ion Antonescu presides over a massive rally by the Iron Guard in Budapest. He thereby skillfully creates the appearance of being in charge of the Iron Guard, when in fact that position is still held by Horia Sima. In fact, Antonescu, for now, continues a relatively moderate policy of tolerating the opposition parties (PNT and PNL) without massive reprisals or persecutions.

The Iron Guard pledges allegiance to Antonescu and Sima. The Iron Guard has gained a poor historical reputation for fascism and violence, but at least its ethos has a mystical, heroic quality that transcends current politics:

Walk only on the path of honour. Fight and never exhibit cowardice. Leave to lesser men the ways of infamy. Better to fall in battle, struggling on the path of honour, than to win the battle through the ways of infamy.

 - Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the Iron Guard in "Cărticica şefului de cuib."

American Homefront: Game 5 of the World Series. The Detroit Tigers win, 8-0, and lead the series 3-2 (best of 7).

The Tigers' Dick Bartell heads home in the first inning of Game 5 of the World Series. Center fielder Mike McCormick throws him out.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020