Monday 29 January 1940

HMS Achilles steams past the wreck of the Admiral Graf Spee, 29 January 1940.

Winter War Army Operations: At 05:00 on 29 January 1940, the Finnish 9th Division attacks and ultimately encircles the Soviet 54th Division at Kuhmo. The Soviets had been moving forward slowly, but now the division is immobile. In any event, the division has no authority to retreat. Airdrops now are the Soviets' only means of supply. The Soviet government is turning its attention further south and leaving the operations above Lake Ladoga in abeyance.

Winter War Air Operations: The Soviets launch sharp air raids along the coastal towns on the Gulf of Bothnia. At Hango and Turku, two of their favorite targets, they cause extensive damage. At Hango, 50 perish and 200 are injured, whereas at Turku, 28 men perish and 46 are injured. In addition, the Soviet bombers, perhaps mistakenly, bomb the Red Cross hospital on the Karelian Isthmus, killing 23.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Soviets for the first time send a note to Alexandra Kollontai, their ambassador in Stockholm, for transmission to the Finnish government. The note indicates that they are willing to at least sit down with the Finnish government and talk about things:

The Soviet Union has no objection in principle to a possible agreement with the Ryti government.

This appears to end the Soviet pretense that their puppet government staffed by former Comintern members is the "legitimate" Finnish government, which nobody took seriously anyway. The Soviets are preparing a major offensive, so the sincerity of this offer is highly suspect - unless the Soviets consider it to be a prelude to surrender negotiations.


Battle of the Atlantic: The British Admiralty warns US ships not to enter the war zone previously established by President Roosevelt.

U-51 (Kapitänleutnant Dietrich Knorr) torpedoes and sinks 1,503-ton Norwegian freighter Eika south of Ireland out in the Atlantic at 15:00. Fourteen perish, 2 survive. Knorr states that he saw no neutral markings and that the ship was using a zig-zag pattern. At the last moment, he states, it aimed right at his U-boat and tried to ram it, so he had to sink it. The German Government sends the Norwegian Department of foreign affairs a note stating:

The circumstances leading to the torpedoing of the steamship Eika is a typical example of what the consequences can be for neutral ships when they do not pay heed to the German Government's repeated warnings against un-neutral or suspicious behaviour.

Knorr's account is disputed in all particulars. What is not disputed is that Knorr stops and carries the two survivors, Harald Støle (age 16) and Alfred Johansen, with him until returning to Bremerhaven. The two Norwegians ultimately get home after returning to port on 14 February and state they were treated well by the Captain and crew. There is a memorial in Stavern, Norway for the ship and its crew.

Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bombers sink two British merchant ships between the Shetlands and Kent, the Stanburn and the Leo Dawson (assumed to be the Luftwaffe). They also bomb the unarmed "East Dudgeon" lightship, killing seven of the eight-man crew when it capsizes near shore. There were other attacks on British shipping that damage and sink some smaller craft.

The British detain US freighter Exochorda at Gibraltar.

Convoy OA 82 departs from Southend, and Convoy OB 82 departs from Liverpool, while Convoy HG 17 departs from Gibraltar.

German Military: Admiral Raeder, who is leading the planning for Weserubung, declares the Friesian Islands as military security districts. All local inhabitants are removed.

German/Italian Relations: The Germans release Italian aircraft destined for Finland that they had detained.

French Homefront: Premier Daladier delivers another emotional speech in a national broadcast, stating: "Germany hopes to encompass our downfall by exploiting the weakness at home …" It is a common refrain from him, as he sees the internal enemy of communists working in conjunction with Stalin as a huge threat, perhaps even greater than the Germans.

Holocaust: The Polish Government-in-exile releases a report estimating that 18,000 Poles drawn from all segments of society have been executed in occupied Poland.

Future History: Katherine Ross is born today in Hollywood, California. She becomes famous in the 1960s as an actress in such films as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." She remains active in the television/film industry as of 2016 in shows such as "Family Guy."

Lana Turner is the cynosure of all eyes today in Life Magazine.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Saturday 27 January 1940

The good ship Faro drifts ashore in Tarcliff Bay.

Winter War: General Siilasvuo's 9th Division completes its deployment opposite the Soviet 54th Mountain Division on 27 January 1940. His plan is a copy of his plan to destroy the 44th Rifle Division on the Ratte road. First, his men will destroy the Soviet division's lines of communication by using mobile ski groups. Then, his men will cut the column - stretched out on the road - into the "logs" that are easier to "burn." This has become known as the "motti" strategy.

The 7,000-shell bombardment of Summa continues for another day. It has now been a continuous rain of artillery shells for two weeks.

The final preparations are now being made for a massive Soviet offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. Comrade Stalin likes to begin his offensives on days that have some larger significance. The first of the month is the nearest one available.

Battle of the Atlantic: US freighter City of Flint arrives back in Baltimore after a historic journey that sparked repeated international incidents.

U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) goes on a wild U-boat spree, with four victories in a matter of hours. However, they are all small, empty, neutral steamers, so the effect is not as great as appears at first glance. Operating just to the east of the Orkneys, he sinks in order:

• 844 ton Norwegian SS Faro (8 men perish, 7 survive);
• 2,094 ton Danish SS Fredensborg (20 men perish);
• 2,319 ton SS England (20 men perish, one survivor);
• 1,591 ton Norwegian SS Hosanger (17 men perish, one survivor).

Klot-Heydenfeldt could have sparked wars with the neutrals by these sinkings. However, neither Norway nor Denmark is looking for a fight.

The winter waters are extremely rough on the survivors. The sole survivor of the Hosanger, Magnus Sandvik, is near death, and a crew member of the HMS Northern Reward must jump into the water to help him aboard. The Fredensborg and England are both torpedoed as they came to help the stricken Faro, which somewhat ironically does not itself sink but instead drifts ashore and was wrecked in Taracliff Bay, Deerness. The crew reboarded the Faro at one point, but her list drew the propeller out of the water, making her un-maneuverable. She then broke free of the anchor the crew set.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Cold Harbor.

Convoy OA 80G departs from Southend, and Convoy OB 80 departs from Liverpool.

German Military: Hitler okays the expanded Kriegsmarine plan for the invasion of Norway and orders preparations to begin, and the code name Weserubung is adopted - which suggests that Admiral Raeder already has the ultimate date in mind.

British Homefront: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, undaunted by the very mixed reviews to his previous radio address, takes to the broadcast waves again. At the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, he gives a pep talk to workers, stating: "each to our station. . . there is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to be lost!" He almost sounds disappointed that England has not been bombed yet, which would spur the national effort.

South Africa: After five days of debate in Parliament, General Hertzog's peace resolution is defeated, 81-59. PM Jan Smuts says of Hertzog's arguments, "Goebbels could not have done it better."

China: Chinese 3rd War Area forces the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division to withdraw to Hsiao-shan.

The evening papers in Baltimore are full of news about the City of Flint.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Thursday 14 December 1939

Honor Guard on the Admiral Graf Spee, December 14, 1939.

German Government: Hitler meets Vidkun Quisling on 14 December 1939. Admiral Reader, the originator of the idea of invading Norway, has convinced Adolf Hitler to meet Vidkun Quisling. Quisling is a minor Norwegian politician who is pro-German, pro-defense and also a huge anti-Semite. A friend of explorer Fridtjof Nansen, Quisling among other things had been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Britain in the Soviet Union (there are rumors he was a spy), given the Romanian Crown Order and also the Yugoslav Order of St. Sava for humanitarian efforts. More recently, he had become the "Fører" of his Nasjonal Samling, the Norwegian equivalent of the NSDAP. He has an awesome resume, particular with the kinds of international contacts that Hitler envies - the one catch is that he isn't very popular in Norway, seen as more of a quaint quack than a national leader.

At the Hitler meeting, Quisling is like a Hitler dream. He asks for help with a pro-German coup that would open the huge Norwegian coastline to the U-boat fleet and save them days of transit to their Atlantic stations. Thereafter, he - as leader of Norway - would help to broker an Anglo/German settlement. Hitler is polite and promises to fund Quisling's party, but he is enough of a realist to see many of Quisling's promises as puffery, "broker's talk." His financial and moral encouragement of Quisling does not dissuade Hitler in the slightest from continuing to plan the invasion of Norway, which is not really what Quisling has in mind, and in fact, encourages it. Basically, Hitler sees Quisling as a potentially useful tool for managing a conquered nation, while Quisling sees himself as a future potentate.

The main result of the meeting is that Hitler orders the OKW (military high command) to begin a preliminary study on invading Norway. The first operational name for the project is "Studie Nord." The eventual code name is Weserubung ("Weser Exercise," because it is planned for April 9, which is the little-known holiday "Weser River Day" in Germany).

Winter War Army Operations: In the far north, the Soviets begin a new offensive in the Petsamo region, the one area where they still have freedom of action.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet destroyers Gnevny and Grozyaschi shell Uto Island.

Battle of the Atlantic: German liner Columbus, perhaps emboldened by the successful return to Germany of the Bremen from Murmansk, slips out of Vera Cruz, Mexico to return to Germany. There is an involved situation wherein Australian cruiser HMAS Perth is shadowing the Columbus, while several American destroyers and the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA 44) are shadowing the Perth, much to the latter's annoyance.

The Columbus almost slips out unnoticed, but two US destroyers see it leave and tail it. German freighter Arauca also departs from Vera Cruz before Columbus, perhaps as a decoy. The US ships in pursuit openly broadcast the Columbus' position for anyone who might be interested.

Admiral Graf Spee is given 48 hours to leave Montevideo port or be seized by the government after Captain Langsdorff requests two weeks. The British through their naval attaché Henry McCall are all over the Uruguayans and force this decision, though the authorities give the ship an extra day more than required (or allowed) by international law. Commodore Harwood of Force G, meanwhile, is lurking outside the estuary - 120 miles wide - with his battered ships, pondering what might happen in another action against the pocket battleship.

British destroyer Kelly (Lord Mountbatten) is damaged by a mine off the Tyne. Freighter Inverlane hits a mine but is beached before sinking and is later re-floated.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Ursula sinks Kriegsmarine escort vessel F-9.

The British release US freighter Extavia from detention at Gibraltar.

Convoys OA 53 and OB 53 depart from Southend and Liverpool, respectively.

Kapitän zur See Hans W. Langsdorff at the funeral of his men. (Photo courtesy of Hugo R. Sochi, from the private collection of Delia S. Neumann wife of Matrosenobergefreiter Gustav Neumann, Division 3, Admiral Graf Spee)

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 42 planes, its largest force yet, to attack German harbors. The Luftwaffe has a successful day, shooting down 5 of the attacking bombers.

Western Front: Premier Daladier summarizes the results of the first three months of the year in a communiqué, stating that 2,100 French soldiers had lost their lives. He rather incongruously contrasts this with 2,975 road deaths in Great Britain during the same period - road deaths having increased dramatically due to the blackout.

League of Nations: The League expels the USSR, which doesn't really notice since it has been boycotting the League anyway. The reason is for violating (among other things) the UN charter the USSR signed in 1934. Furthermore, the League coordinates relief efforts for the Finns. With Italy, Germany, and Japan already having left the League for one reason or another, it is losing relevance.

China: The Chinese Winter Offensive continues. Chinese 40th Army and 27 Army surround Japanese 36 Infantry division at Changtze and Tunliu; River North Army crosses the Han River; 19th Army Group of Chinese 9th War Area beats off a Japanese counterattack by Japanese 33rd and 40th Infantry Divisions Yuchiafan, Lungkang, and Dafan.

American Homefront: Festivities are in full swing for the Atlanta premiere of "Gone With the Wind," attended by Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and most of the cast. There are extended festivities, including a costume ball and various parades, which all culminate on 15 December 1939. It is probably the most elaborate film premiere of all time.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard flying to Atlanta for the premiere of Gable's film "Gone With The Wind" - the salary of which had enabled Gable to marry Lombard.

December 1939

December 1, 1939: Finland Fights for its Life
December 2, 1939: First RAF Bombs on Germany
December 3, 1939: Soviets Still Advancing in Finland
December 4, 1939: Molotov to Roosevelt - Mind Your Own Business
December 5, 1939: Prien Returns
December 6, 1939: Attacks on Mannerheim Line
December 7, 1939: Kollaa Holds!
December 8, 1939: Polish Pilots Return
December 9, 1939: First British BEF Fatality
December 10, 1939: The Soviets Capture Salla in Finland
December 11, 1939: Finns Make Their Move
December 12, 1939: Finnish Success in the Winter War
December 13, 1939: Battle of River Platte December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019

Sunday 22 October 1939

The view from the Admiral Graf Spee as the Trevanion sinks.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiral Graf Spee captures the 5,299-ton British freighter Trevanion, disembarks the crew, and sinks it on 22 October 1939.

The British vessel Whitemantle is sunk by a mine in the North Sea.

German vessel Poseidon is scuttled to avoid capture by the RN armed merchant cruisers Transylvania and Scotstoun.

Convoy HG 4 departs from Gibraltar for the UK.

Western Front: The ground is too muddy from the recent rains for operations. There are sporadic artillery exchanges.

Poland: The Soviets conduct "elections" in their occupied territory, which they have divided into "West Ukraine" and "West White Russia" (technically, the elections are to "the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus."

European Air Operations: A Luftwaffe intruder is shot down over Southeast Scotland.

German Propaganda: Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels makes a radio address and calls Winston Churchill a liar. He accuses the British of deliberately sinking the SS Athenia in order to provoke the United States against the Germans. In his version of events, the Athenia was sunk by British destroyers and also was intended to be outfitted as a raider (which are somewhat contradictory arguments).

Goebbels knows this is not what happened and that U-30 sank the Athenia. The captain of the U-boat has told him the exact sequence of events and shown his superiors the U-boat log proving it (which was quickly suppressed). Goebbels chooses to continue the false narrative for propaganda purposes anyway, knowing that the British cannot disprove the lie and making their denials sound suspicious simply because they are unprovable and sound reflexive. The Kriegsmarine, in particular, Admiral Doenitz, is put out by these blatant falsehoods (or so they later claim), but nobody does anything to correct the story until after the war when Admiral Raeder finally sets the record straight.

The French detain the US freighters Endicott and West Gambio. Carbon black and copper are removed from them as contraband.

USSR Military: General Boldin is appointed to the prestigious position of the Odessa Military District.

Estonia: Soviet destroyer Minks and seven Soviet submarines arrive in Tallinn to establish a base pursuant to the recent basing agreement between Estonia and the USSR.

Latvia: The Soviet cruiser Kirov makes port at Riga.

Turkey: General Wavell and General Weygand leave Turkey, their work completed with the signing of the Anglo-French-Turkish Treaty of Mutual Assistance.

India: The Congress Party condemns the British and refuses to support the Allied war effort.

American Homefront: Given the technical success of the recent college football game that it broadcast, NBC televises the first professional football game. It is available to roughly 500 viewers with television sets in the metropolitan New York area. Visitors to the New York World's Fair also can watch on monitors (the Philadephia Eagles beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14).

Friday, October 22, 1939: Mother and Children on the Road. Texas tenant farmers displaced by power farming. Part of a photo-series on the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange.

October 1939

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

2019

Wednesday 11 October 1939

The Iroquois arrives in New York City, 11 October 1939.

Western Front: Heavy artillery duels and probing attacks on French outposts on 11 October 1939.

Battle of the Atlantic: The passenger liner Iroquois arrives in New York, accompanied by a coast guard cutter and two US destroyers. It thus arrives safely despite the Admiral Raeder warnings of a potential false-flag sinking.

The British detain the US freighter Sundance in London and the US freighter Black Tern at Weymouth. The British release the US freighter Black Gull.

Finland: Anti-aircraft and other defensive armament being installed in all large Finnish towns. Voluntary evacuations continue. Paasikivi arrives in Moscow.

Anglo-Soviet Relations: The British and Soviets sign a trade agreement. The Soviets will trade timber for rubber and Cornish tin.

Population Movements: Ethnic Germans are being "returned" to Germany from the Baltic states.

Polish Government: The Poles have set up a government-in-exile in Paris. Foreign Minister August Zaleski arrives in London for consultations with Lord Halifax.

British Government: Secretary of War Baron Leslie Hore-Belisha reports to the House of Commons on the state of the BEF.

In a by-election in Clackmannan and East Sterling, the Labour Party candidate receives 15,645 votes, the Pacifist candidate only 1,060.

British Military: The War Office increases weekly production of mustard gas from 310 to 1200 tons.

US Government: President Roosevelt attempts to intercede in the Soviet/Finnish negotiations, urging Soviet President Mikhail Kalinin to "make no demands on Finland which are inconsistent with the maintenance and development of amicable and peaceful relations between the two countries, and the independence of each."

Manhattan Project: FDR finally receives the Einstein–Szilárd letter from last August. He orders investigation into the technical possibility of an "atomic bomb."

German Homefront: There is an erroneous radio broadcast that the British government has fallen and the new government wishes to make peace. This leads to widespread rejoicing.

Future History: The passenger liner Iroquois will be acquired by the US Navy on 22 July 1940. The Navy will put it into service as a hospital ship at Ford Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, where it will be on 7 December 1941.

Albert Einstein and Leo Szilárd re-enact their August 1939 meeting about the letter the latter had drafted to President Roosevelt about the atomic bomb.

October 1939

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

2019

Tuesday 10 October 1939

The Huntsman as seen from the Admiral Graf Spee, 10 October 1939.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiral Graf Spee captures the 8,196 ton British freighter Huntsman on 10 October 1939 and puts a prize crew on it.

The British detain the US freighter Patrick Henry.

 The British remove US mail destined for Holland and Belguim from the US freighter Black Gull.

German authorities release the Norwegian freighter Brott from detention in Sivinemünde.

Western Front: On 10 October 1939, there is artillery action and German reconnaissance between the Moselle and Saar.

General von Bock, who had commanded Army Group North in Poland, re-locates his headquarters for the newly renamed Army Group B to Godesberg.

Lithuania: In a Soviet-Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty, Lithuania agrees to Soviet bases on its territory. In exchange, the Polish city of Vilnius that is historically Lithuania will be given to Lithuania, including accompanying territory. This is a backrolling of one of the territorial revisions that were part of the settlement of World War I.

Finland: The government orders a black-out in fear of air attacks. Civilians are evacuated from Helsinki and Viipuri (Vyborg) on a voluntary basis. The army begins maneuvers and begins bringing staffs up to full strength. Two divisions are deployed to the Karelian Isthmus.

Estonia: The Estonian government resigns. Uluots is the new Premier and Piip the new Foreign Secretary.

Poland: Hitler orders a General Government in Poland. This is popularly seen as a sham state that simply acts as another province of Germany.

Peace talks: French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, in a radio address, rejects Hitler's peace offers and that France will continue to fight for assured peace. Agreeing to terms now "would only consecrate conquests by deceit or violence and would not prevent preparation for new ones."

British Government: Winston Churchill speaks before the House of Commons and advocates mining the Norwegian coastal waters, which are a supply route for German iron ore from Narvik.

Sir Kingsley Wood tells the House of Commons that there will be a doubling of aircraft production.

Two participants in the 4 September 1939 raid on Wilhelmshaven are to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

German Government: Hitler opens the winter relief fund campaign.

Admiral Raeder suggests invading Norway to gain naval bases and protect German iron-ore shipments.

October 1939

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

2019

Wednesday 4 October 1939

Troops in action between the Bug and Vistula rivers, October 1939.

Battle of Poland: General von Wietersheim of the XIV Motorised Corps finally accepts on 4 October 1939 that the trapped Polish forces between the Bug and Vistula rivers will have to be subdued by force. He adds the 29th Motorised Infantry Division to the 13th Motorised Infantry Division and tells General Otto to get the job done. On the other side, General Kleeberg decides that his best tactic is to eliminate the two divisions one by one. He picks the 13th ID as his first victim.

The 13th ID attacks in the morning and advances until halted around noontime. The Poles adjust their forces to meet the German thrusts, and after much back-and-forth, the Poles hold their line.

In Berlin, Hitler issues an order to blow up the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-35 lands in Ireland the 28 Greek crewmen that it saved after torpedoing their ship and then returns to patrol.

U-21 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) sinks the British merchant ship Glen Farg northeast of Scotland. One crew member dies and 16 are picked up by the HMS Firedrake. It is Kretschmer's first victory in three patrols. He allows the crew to disembark before sinking it.

British authorities release the US freighter Black Hawk from detention.

The U.S. Naval Attaché in Berlin reports that Grand Admiral Erich Raeder had informed him of a brewing "false flag" situation. The U.S. passenger liner Iroquois, that had sailed from Cobh, Ireland, with 566 American passengers on October 3, would be sunk (by the British) as she neared the east coast of the United States under "Athenia circumstances" to arouse anti-German feeling.

Convoy KJ 3 departs from Kingston for the UK.

Western Front: The Germans are quietly evacuating cities directly behind the Siegfried Line and militarizing them. Karlsruhe is the latest. Perhaps as cover for this operation, the Germans launch some minor attacks.

European Air Operations: No. 219 Squadron, a World War I unit, is re-formed at Catterick with Blenheim fighters to protect shipping.

Soviet Propaganda: Nikita Kruschev, the Secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party, announces the "Communization" of Soviet-occupied Poland.

German/Soviet Diplomacy: There is back and forth between Ribbentrop and Molotov about the "Lithuania strip of territory." Ribbentrop is against the Soviet decision to cede this territory to Lithuania without his authorization.

German Government: Hitler issues a secret decree absolving all German military and police personnel of criminal liability for the period 1 September through 4 October. Any crimes committed, he explains, were compelled by "atrocities committed by the Poles."

Hitler orders the Reichstag to meet on that Friday, 6 October.

United States Government: The Department of the Interior issues a press release from the "Bureau of Biological Survey." It states that foreign supplies of furs are in grave danger of being cut off by the war and that this might cause certain American fur-producing animals to be "exterminated." It urges more effective "fur-animal conservation."

American Homefront: The NY Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1, at Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the 1939 World Series.

Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer ('Silent Otto") and his U-boat.

October 1939

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

2019

Sunday 3 September 1939

Winston Churchill and other top leaders on 3 September 1939.

World Affairs: At roughly 11:15 a.m. on the Sunday morning of 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Chamberlain broadcasts a brief speech to the country. After setting forth the particulars, he concludes, "consequently, this country is at war with Germany." King George VI also delivers a speech later in the day, an event later recalled in the film "The King's Speech." He states, "all my long struggle to win peace has failed."

Behind the scenes, the Germans are still trying to prevent the declaration right up to the last second. Their unofficial diplomat, Birger Dahlerus, remains on the phone to Whitehall from Berlin as the speech is made, attempting to broker a deal. Both Alexander Cadogan and Lord Halifax, however, remain adamant: no deal without a prior German withdrawal from Poland.

Australia Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies immediately confirms with his own radio address that his country also is at war with Germany. France declares war at 5 p.m. India and New Zealand follow suit. Belgium reaffirms its neutrality, with King Leopold assuming command of the Belgian Army.


British Government: Winston Churchill, a long-time war hawk now proven correct, resumes his World War I post as First Lord of the Admiralty. A Ministry of Economic Warfare (blockade) is established. The House of Commons meets on a Sunday for the first time since 1820.

Battle of Poland: While Polish radio reports nothing but victories, spiked by the welcome news that England has declared war in Poland's support, mass evacuations continue of government officials and their families from Katowice, Krakow and other threatened cities.

The Polish troops are already retreating eastward. The 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions cross the Warta River and are bombed by Polish bombers in the Radom-Plotrkow sector without much effect. The German capture Czestochowa. General Guderian's XIX Corps crosses the Polish Corridor in the north.

Stukas sink the Polish destroyer Wicher at Hela.

Battle of Britain: at 11:28 a.m., barely ten minutes after the conclusion of Chamberlain's speech, there is a false alarm of an air raid in London, with people taking to the shelters for the first time.

European Air Operations: Shortly after the declaration of war, the RAF sends a Bristol Blenheim of No. 139 Squadron out of Wyton on a mission to obtain photographic reconnaissance of the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven. It returns unscathed.

That night, 10 Whitley bombers of Nos. 51 and 58 Squadrons drop 6 million anti-German leaflets over Hamburg, Bremen and the Ruhr industrial area without incident.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German Kriegsmarine has 17 U-boats on station guarding the western approaches to Great Britain in preparation for war. Germany announces an immediate blockade. The U-boats are under orders to follow the German Prize Ordinance taken almost literally from the Naval Protocol of 1936. The Kriegsmarine interprets this to mean that U-boats are to attack all merchant ships in convoy, and all that refused to stop or used their radio upon sighting a submarine. [This is pursuant to evidence and testimony of Admiral Karl Doenitz at the Nuremberg trials following World War II.]

Having sailed the previous day from Liverpool for Montreal despite strong indications that war was about to break out, liner SS Athenia is proceeding westward as the day begins. At roughly 200 nautical miles (370 km) northwest of Ireland and 60 nautical miles (110 km) south of Rockall, U-30 under the command of Oberleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp spots her. Mistaking her for a troopship or other armed vessel, Lemp fires two torpedoes, and one strikes on her port side toward the stern. Several ships rush to the Athenia's assistance, including, somewhat ironically, the large yacht the Southern Cross, owned by Dahlerus' boss at Electrolux, Axel Wenner-Gren. They get there well before the Athenia sinks, which takes a full 14 hours.

Sinking of the SS Athena on 3 September 1939.

There is much controversy about the sinking, which brings home the reality of the war to the startled public. The Germans disclaim responsibility in order to avoid an incident with the United States: among the 98 passengers and 19 crew members who perished were 28 Americans. While the attack is after the declaration of war, the manner of the sinking is illegal under international law due to it being a passenger liner. The Kriegsmarine under Admiral Raeder, along with the Propaganda Ministry, willfully misrepresent the incident as not being their fault in the press. The truth only comes out at the Nuremberg trials following the war, when it is still a very touchy subject.

German Government: Reinhard Heydrich, in his capacity as head of the State Security Police and the Security Service, issues a decree to the heads of all police officers. The decree states in part that "Any attempt to undermine the unity of the German people and its determination to fight must be ruthlessly suppressed." It calls for the arrest of anyone that speaks out against the war, though anyone who can be straightened out through "educational means" should be treated lightly.

Nobody is pleased with Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, who had repeatedly assured Hitler that Great Britain, in particular, would never declare war over Poland. Ribbentrop falls into disfavor from which he never really recovers. Goering somewhat vicariously yells at him: "Now you've got your... war! You alone are to blame!"

September 1939

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