Sunday 30 June 1940

Luftwaffe Officers on Guernsey handling the Union Jack with the Guernsey Crest, presumably folding it to replace with the Swastika flag, 30 June 1940.

Western Front: As of 30 June 1940, there have been 220,000 French soldiers sealed in their Maginot Line fortresses since the Armistice of June 22. They have not posed a threat, but the Wehrmacht has not been able to enter their entire zone of occupation. Today, the French holdouts bow to the inevitable and finally surrender after a direct order from Commander-in-Chief Weygand.

A Franco-German-Italian Armistice Commission meets at Wiesbaden. The French delegation is led by General Huntziger. Numerous captured Wehrmacht troops, including some (later) famous names. Oberst (Colonel) Josef Kammhuber of KG51 and Werner Mölders return from POW camps to their old units or new postings. Kammhuber becomes an Officer with Special Duties of the RLM and Commander-in-Chief Luftwaffe, which basically means that he helps to establish new Luftwaffe doctrines and strategies.

The Heer has two combat battalions waiting at their boats ready to invade the Channel Islands despite British announcements that they are demilitarized and "open towns." To test the waters, a Luftwaffe pilot, Hauptmann Liebe-Pieteritz of Luftflotte 3, lands at Guernsey aerodrome - outfitted with white flags as specified in leaflets dropped by the Luftwaffe - and finds it deserted. Based on his report, the Luftflotte quickly flies in a platoon of troops in a Junkers Ju 52 transport to the same place. They meet no resistance.

In a genteel moment of international diplomacy, Inspector Sculpher of the Guernsey police force drives down to greet the German soldiers at the aerodrome. He is carrying a letter in German:

This Island has been declared an Open Island by His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom. There are no armed forces of any description. The bearer has been instructed to hand this communication to you. He does not understand the German language.

Wehrmacht commanding officer Major Albrecht Lanz accepts the surrender and then proceeds to the best hotel, the Royal Hotel, where he and his successors will set up their headquarters. Lanz meets the top (remaining) officials on the island. Everyone agrees that the Germans now are in control and that nobody is going to resist. They then all go out for lobster dinner after Lanz radios the waiting invasion troops and tells them he has handled everything. One can be quite sure that Hermann Goering has quite a laugh out of one-upping the army like this. This is a British territory, now occupied by German troops, the first such instance in the war.

The Castle Guard, formed from members of the training battalion, Grenadier Guards, leaving the main entrance of Windsor Castle on the way to Victoria Barracks in Windsor, 30 June 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: Allied Shipping Losses for June:

• Atlantic: 130 ships of 505,453 tons
• Elsewhere: 10 ships of 268,075 tons

No U-boats were lost during the month.

U-65 and U-43 engage in embryonic "wolfpack" tactics against Convoy SL-25, beginning around 22:30.

U-43 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Ambrosius) torpedoes and sinks British liner Avelona Star (after taking a day to sink). There are 84 survivors and one crewman perishes.

U-65 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) torpedoes and damages British freighter Clan Ogilvy, which is taken in tow.

U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien) sinks 4,201 ton Greek freighter Georgios Kyriakides west of Ireland. There are 30 crewmen who all survive.

U-26 (Kptl. Heinz Scheringer) sinks two ships about 250 miles southwest of Land's End. Its first victim is 1,291-ton Estonian freighter Merkur. Four crewmen perish.

U-26 then sinks 3,214-ton Norwegian freighter Belmoira. All 25 crewmen survive.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Air raids continue throughout the day, with the first by four SM-79 Italian bombers at around 10:00. Malta notches its 50th raid since the war began.

The RAF Swordfish based at Malta bomb oil installations at Augusta, Sicily.

Malta imposes a curfew of midnight on private cars.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion (Kapitan zur See Kurt Weyher) is operating off Auckland. It sends captured Norwegian ship Tropic Sea to France loaded with prisoners. Captain Weyher renames the Norwegian ship the "Kurmark," which is Orion's name from before it joined the Kriegsmarine.

The Orion, “Schiff 16” to the Germans and codenamed “Raider A” by the British.

European Air Operations: The first daylight Luftwaffe raid on England occurs on East Hull when a single bomber sets a Saltend oil depot tank ablaze. The fires are put out quickly. The Heinkel 11 is later (17:00) shot down by RAF No. 616 Squadron and the crew rescued by a British destroyer.

The Luftwaffe attempts a raid for a second night in a row on the Bristol docks and nearby factories. For one reason or another, five of the six bombers abort the mission, but one Heinkel He 111 of III/KG55 makes it through to bomb the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton.

The Luftwaffe lays mines off Whitby. One of the Heinkel 111s has to ditch, and the crew is later rescued by the British after a full day adrift.

The RAF sends a raid against Merville and loses 3 of 9 Blenheims from RAF No. 107 Squadron. It also attacks Vignacourt, north of Abbeville. Targets in western Germany include oil storage tanks at Hamburg and an aerodrome at Norderney.

The fighters assigned to the Kriegsmarine aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, Tragergruppe 186, are re-assigned to JG 77 in defense of Berlin.

Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe boss Hermann Goering prepares the Luftwaffe for the upcoming Battle of Britain, stating that the mission is:

...to attack the enemy air force by day and night, in the air and on the ground, without consideration of other tasks.

Goering assigns three Luftflotten to the task of overcoming the RAF: Luftflotte 2 will operate from France, Luftflotte 3 from the Low Countries, and Luftflotte 5 from Stavanger airfield in Norway.

North Africa: The Regia Aeronautica bombs the 1st King's African Rifles unit at Moyale, Kenya.

War Crimes: The RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 59 which is clearly marked with white-painted, Red Cross emblems. The aircraft is engaged in a search and rescue mission and is not a legitimate target. This incident causes the Luftwaffe to camouflage and arm their search and rescue planes.

German Military: The Wehrmacht has been unstoppable to date, and everyone believes that the fall of Great Britain is now only a matter of (very little) time. However, Major General Alfred Jodl of the OKW proposes two alternative modes of attack:

• A direct invasion of Great Britain;
• A peripheral strategy of isolating England by overcoming its forces in the Mediterranean and elsewhere.

He and everyone else is confident that, either way, Great Britain cannot hold out for long. No clear choice on a strategy is taken, but the emphasis, for the time being, is on the first alternative.

US Navy: The US Navy continues its "show the flag" operation in Latin America. Heavy cruiser USS Wichita arrives at Montevideo, Uruguay, joining cruiser USS Quincy. The intention is to combat growing pro-German sentiment in certain circles there.

An inventory taken on this day, halfway through 1940, shows that the US Navy has 1,099 ships, with 160,997 in the Navy, 38,364 in the Marine Corps, and 13,766 in the Coast Guard, for a total of 203,127.

Prisoners of War: The SS Arandora Star departs from Great Britain for Canada carrying 1200 German and Italian POWs. Many of them are simply civilians being interned.

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army approaches Lungchin.

The British evacuate their women and children from Hong Kong.

Holocaust: Himmler suggests removing the entire existing Polish population - to where or how is not decided - and replacing it with German "settlers."

Polish Homefront: The Polish Government-in-exile places General Rowecki in command of the Polish underground.

French Homefront: The Chantiers de Jeunesse, a quasi-military youth organization somewhat reminiscent of the Hitler Youth, is formed.

German Homefront: Listening to the BBC is strictly forbidden anywhere in Germany or occupied Europe. Today, five such "radio criminals" are sentenced to five years in concentration camps. However, the BBC is widely viewed as more factual than the German propaganda broadcasts, so almost everyone tunes in at least occasionally.

Hitler in unguarded moments on 30 June 1940.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020

Monday 24 June 1940

Italy's Army chief Marshal Rodolfo Graziani on the cover of the 24 June 1940 Life magazine.

Franco/Italian Relations: General Huntziger and Marshal Badoglio sign an armistice agreement at Villa Olgiata in the Roman suburbs at 07:15 on 24 June 1940, to take effect early on the 25th. The terms reflect the reality that Italy, the "victor," is actually the weaker party. The parties establish demilitarized zones along both their European and African borders, with French troops to be evacuated from those zones within 10 days and all French naval and air bases in the Mediterranean to be demilitarized within 15 days. There are no big territorial changes or indemnities.

The whole Franco/Italian Armistice accomplishes virtually nothing useful. France never had threatened Italian colonies or the country itself, and France under German domination is becoming virtually an ally of the Axis powers anyway. The armistice, if anything, is simply a welcome by Italy to France into the Axis fold - although Gallic motivations in this area remain quite murky.

It is unfair to say that the entire border war was a "comic opera" and silly; many people died in the naval and air attacks during the short conflict. There also is the not-so-minor detail that Italy and Great Britain remain at war. That conflict shows no signs of ending any time soon even though that war, at least at first, will only be carried out in the two nations' colonies and at sea. This "loose end" from Mussolini's "piling on" of the Battle of France continues to fester.

Western Front: The British commandos, still styled No. 11 Independent Company, launch their first raid during the night in the Boulogne area. Operation Collar sends 115 men across the Channel to land on beaches at Neufchâtel-Hardelot, Stella Plage, Berck, and Le Touquet. It is almost a live-fire war game exercise because the men get ashore around 02:00 on the 25th and do little but muddle about on the beaches without accomplishing anything of note. There is a brief firefight with a German patrol at Stella Plage and the killing of two unfortunate German sentries at Le Touquet who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The landing does provide useful practice on beach landings. It allows the fine-tuning of things like ship-to-air communication (the RAF, uninformed about Operation Collar, almost attacks the landing craft before being warned off) and ship-to-shore coordination (one of the landing parties returns to the beach and finds its ride home is gone, but they get off later).

The British Ministry of Information quickly puts out a communique that quietly overstates the actual minimal result of the entire operation for propaganda purposes. The German high command does notice the incident and puts out its own propaganda that the commandos "acted outside the Geneva convention." The whole incident does feed into Hitler's paranoia about the danger of British naval landings all along the lengthy coastline now occupied by the Wehrmacht, which affects decisions about the Atlantic Wall.

The Italian offense on the Riviera ends after having occupied 5 miles of territory at the cost of an estimated 5,000 casualties. Foreign Minister Count Ciano notes in his diary, "We sent men to useless deaths two days before the armistice. If we go on like this, bitter disappointments await."
The French military headquarters at Bordeaux issues its final military communique about the war with Germany, announcing that the Wehrmacht had occupied Angoulême and Aix-les-Bains. "The military phase of the war of 1939-1940 is over." The government does not disclose where the new government will be located but does say it won't be in German-occupied Paris. The Germans announce that they have reached La Rochelle and Rochefort. The panzers continue down the Rhone Valley.

Operation Ariel continues at St. Jean de Luz. There still are numerous troops from the Polish, Belgian and other Allied armed forces wishing to be taken off.

Admiral Darlan reiterates his orders that French warships are not to surrender to the Germans. The main problem in controlling the French Navy is that it is dispersed not just at multiple European ports, but also at Dakar (French West Africa), Alexandria (Egypt), Casablanca (Morocco), Algiers and Mers-el-Kébir (Algeria) and Plymouth & Portsmouth (England) - and also at ports overseas. The British, particularly Prime Minister Winston Churchill, remain deeply skeptical about the ability and long-term willingness of the French to fulfill this promise.

The 24 June 1940 New York Times highlights the diplomatic split between the British and French.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids the southeast and southwest regions of England.

RAF Bomber Command sends 103 planes against German targets during the night.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien) stops 1,885-ton Panamanian freighter Cathrine in the eastern Atlantic and, after disembarking the crew, sinks it by gunfire. All 19 aboard survive after Prien gives the men food and red wine.

Italian torpedo boats sink Royal Navy submarine HMS Grampus off Syracuse.

Kriegsmarine S-boots (fast torpedo boats) are active in the English Channel and sink British ships Kingfisher and Albuera.

Convoy OA 173G departs from Southend, Convoy OB 173 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG Z departs from Gibraltar.

British corvette HMS Geranium (K 16, Lt. Alan Foxall) is commissioned.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: British sloop HMS Falmouth sinks Italian submarine Luigi Galvani in the Gulf of Oman. The Galvani had just sunk a British ship on the 23rd. The British make the interception based upon documents retrieved from the Italian submarine Galilei captured on 19 June 1940.
North Africa: The RAF attacks Asmara Aerodrome and Biri el Boggi in Eritrea. RAF bombers also attack Italian positions around Bir el Gubi. French bombers make their last attack of the war in Libya.

Georges Mandel arrives in French Morocco aboard the Massilia and tries to rally the local authorities to continue the war. He is accompanied by only 25 other deputies and one senator, and the locals do not recognize his "authority," continuing to recognize the existing government.

China: Japan, having closed off the Allied supply route to China via French Indochina (Vietnam), demands that the British stop using the Burma Road over the Himalayas and the port of Hong Kong to supply Chiang Kai-shek's military.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army captures Peichianghsu. This puts them astride the strategic Nanning - Lungtou highway.

USS Enterprise (CV-6) at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California (USA), 24 June 1940. Shown are 65 planes on deck, including: 16 Grumman F3F-3 fighters; 18 Curtiss SBC-3 Helldivers; 15 Northrop BT-1s; and 16 Douglas TBD-1 Devastators. Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-185303 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command

US Navy: Charles Edison resigns as Secretary of the Navy. Lewis Compton, Assistant Secretary of the Navy since February 9, 1940, becomes Acting Secretary. Edison wants to become Governor of New Jersey.

Rear Admiral Charles A. Blakely replaces Rear Admiral Joseph R. Defrees as Commandant, Eleventh Naval District and Commandant Naval Operating Base, San Diego, California.

US Government: President Roosevelt issues a secret order to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to infiltrate Central and South American governments to gauge their degree of German sympathies.

Holocaust: Dr. Nahum Goldmann of the World Jewish Congress warns that a German victory would mean the deaths of 6 million Jews. He advocates a "defense program" staffed by Jewish people.

French Homefront: The Germans impose various restrictions over the 60% portion of the country they occupy. Among other things, civilians are banned from owning radios or telephones without a license, and there is a 19:00 curfew.

American Homefront: The Republican National Convention opens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is scheduled to nominate Wendell Willkie of Indiana for President and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for Vice-President.

Nahum Goldmann predicts on 24 June 1940 that six million people of the Jewish faith will lose their lives during the war.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Saturday 22 June 1940

Left to Right: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Hermann Göring, Rudolf Heß, Adolf Hitler, and Walther von Brauchitsch in front of the railroad car that hosted the French surrender, Compiègne, France, 22 Jun 1940 (Ang, German Federal Archive).

Western Front: The Wehrmacht on 22 June 1940 continues moving forward until hostilities actually conclude as well. They reach the port of La Rochelle, but the Allies blow up the docks at the last minute. Other towns occupied include Lorient and St. Malo. Panzer columns advance down the Rhone valley.

The Germans and French at Compiegne sign the Armistice at 18:36 after minor revisions requested by the French. General Huntziger, who led the ineffective 2nd Army at Sedan whose collapse led to the decisive panzer thrust through to the sea, signs for France, General Keitel for Germany. General Weygand orders a cease-fire upon the signing.

A German soldier stands guard over a memorial to the French victory over Germany in the First World War - A German eagle stabbed by a French sword. Now damaged and with the German national flag hanging from it. Compiègne, France. 22nd of June 1940.

As specified by Hitler, the French are left with a 40% rump state which has no Atlantic ports (but does retain the Mediterranean ports). The Germans set up their headquarters in Paris, the French in the spa town of Vichy, under Prime Minister Marshal Philippe Pétain. French must pay for the cost of German occupation at a rate of 400 million francs/day - at an artificially inflated exchange rate.

A provision which the French do not contest because they believe that British defeat is just around the corner is that French POWs will remain imprisoned until there is "peace." In addition, the French must surrender any German POWs and anyone else in the country who has fled Germany. Any French from this point forward resisting the occupation are subject to summary execution.

An extremely sensitive topic is the disposition of the French fleet. Article 8 provides that it must be demobilized and disarmed - but remain under French control in French metropolitan ports. The British, watching from the outside, are not satisfied that this will keep the ships out of German hands.

It is impossible to exaggerate the impact of the French surrender has on the German martial psyche. After this, Hitler truly does acquire a virtually god-like status in the minds of many ordinary German civilians and military troops alike. This day erases a stain on the collective German memory that had been festering for 22 years, and the affair is masterfully stage-managed on short notice for maximum propaganda effect. In fact, Hitler easily could have completed the surrender on the 21st, but he stretches it out to this second day to prolong the good times.

The Armistice with Germany does not include Italy, and a separate French delegation leaves for Rome to negotiate with Mussolini. Mussolini hounds his commanders to grab as much territory in southern France as possible before the conclusion of hostilities. They only make it to the outskirts of Menon despite having over a dozen divisions against scattered French resistance. The Italians make no progress at all in the Alps.

Reduced British evacuations continue at St. Jean de Luz.

Just for comparison, this photo was taken in November 1918 in Compiegne when the Germans surrendered.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF bombs Merville airfield.

The RAF raids Krupps factories at Essen and aircraft plants throughout Germany during the night.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-30 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp) torpedoes and sinks 3,999-ton Norwegian freighter Randsfjord in the eastern Atlantic. There are 29 survivors, and 4 perish.

U-32 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans Jenisch) torpedoes and sinks 9,026-ton Norwegian tanker Eli Knudsen 100 miles southwest of Cape Clear, Ireland. All 37 aboard survive when picked up by the sloop HMS Sandwich.

U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and sinks 5,145 ton Greek freighter Neion in the Bay of Biscay.

U-65 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) torpedoes and sinks 7,011-ton French tanker Monique in the Bay of Biscay.

Destroyer USS Dickerson (DD 157) pays a visit to Bilbao, Spain to safeguard US interests on the Continent.

Free French corvette La Bastiasie hits a mine in the North Sea and sinks.

Italian submarine Capponi sinks Swedish freighter Elgo.

German raider Pinguin sails from Norway for the Atlantic. Its ultimate destination is the Indian Ocean.

New French battleship Jean Bart arrives in Casablanca, Morocco.

Convoy OB 172 departs from Liverpool.

North Africa: The Regia Aeronautica bombs the British base at Alexandria with a dozen S.81 bombers based on Rhodes. They also send a dozen SM-79 bombers against Matruh and send 22 bombers against French positions in Bizerte, Tunisia.

US Government: Congress passes the National Defense Act, which raises the national debt limit from $45 billion to $49 billion and frees up $994 million annually for defense.

French Government: Charles de Gaulle makes another broadcast, his third. For the first time, he uses the term "Free French." De Gaulle states that "all free Frenchmen" must "continue the fight" in any way possible:

Everything which can be collected by way of French military elements and potentialities for armaments production must be organised wherever such elements exist. I, General de Gaulle, am undertaking this national task here in England. I call upon all French servicemen of the land, sea, and air forces; I call upon French engineers and skilled armaments workers who are on British soil, or have the means of getting here, to come and join me.

Once again, de Gaulle uses his support from the British to establish his name in the public consciousness at a very emotional moment in the life of his country. Very few people know who de Gaulle is in France, which is probably why he always refers to himself in his speeches... repeatedly. It is a dangerous rhetorical tool that amazingly works - gloriously. De Gaulle reads the public mood perfectly and knows despairing patriots are looking for a savior, a strong man who stands for the world they knew just two months previously and, more importantly, is fighting to return it to reality. This speech is not as famous as some of his others, but de Gaulle's creation of a cult of personality is a gradual process that accumulates like a snowball rolling down the Alps where Frenchmen are still fighting successfully.

William Shirer (right) and another journalist reporting on the French surrender, Compiègne, France, 21-22 Jun 1940. (Kopf, German Federal Archive: Bild 183-L10819).

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Friday 21 June 1940

The victors meet the vanquished at Compiegne.

Western Front: Adolf Hitler on 21 June 1940 travels to Compiegne to be at the armistice negotiations, which commence at 15:30. The agreement, which is a foregone conclusion but whose exact terms are still to be negotiated, is to be signed in  Marshal Foch's old railway carriage at the Glade of the Armistice. Hitler, in a moment of inspiration, has decided that this museum piece would be the appropriate location for French capitulation because it is where the Germans surrendered in 1918.

It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of this day on the German psyche of the times. As one Wehrmacht officer notes, "The battle of France is over; it lasted 22 years."

Hitler is in an excellent mood. It likely is the happiest day of his life. A German diplomat, Erich Tuch, spots him in nearby woods practicing his "moves," laughing and strutting about, before the ceremony. He spends only about 15 minutes at what he considers to be a largely ceremonial occasion. British newsreels have endless fun looping some video of him which creates the appearance that he dances the jig at one point when in fact he simply lifts one leg high in exuberance as if to imitate dancing in joy.

Hitler high-stepping at Compiegne due to the French surrender.

The meeting itself is an anti-climax. Hitler casually hands the French a map showing his decision on occupation zones. He takes a seat in Foch's place in the car, listens to his aide General Wilhelm Keitel read out the preamble, and then quickly leaves to show how uninteresting he feels the entire issue has become. The French are given an opportunity to telephone their government to describe the terms of the agreement after he leaves.

Hitler then becomes unreachable, which causes problems. He has ordained that there be a vestigial French state in the south, that the French armed forces be demobilized, and that the French pay huge indemnities at an artificially inflated exchange rate. The French delegation led by General Huntzinger begins quibbling over details despite Hitler's peremptory attitude. Without Hitler present, General Keitel (who gets in some useful practice at surrenders which will come in handy later) does not feel authorized to make any decision. Thus, the "negotiations" drag on throughout the day in the stifling railway car. During the night, General Weygand, Admiral Darlan, and Prime Minister Petain's cabinet begin coming up with their own clever ideas about the terms, but caution Huntzinger to get the German signatures on the document one way or the other.

John Grierson, director of the Canadian information and propaganda departments, noticed that Hitler raised his leg rather high up while stepping backward. He looped this moment repeatedly to create the appearance that Hitler was dancing a jig. This was shown in newsreels around the world to gales of laughter.

Elsewhere, operations continue all along the front far to the south, though resistance is largely a formality now. There are some battles in the Vosges Forest near Thionville and at Colmar.

Evacuations pursuant to Operation Ariel continue at St Jean-de-Luz.

Mussolini is desperate to provide his military bona fides, so he launches a land offensive against French positions in the Alps. The troops take off at 05:30 while an unusual June snowstorm is in progress. Crown Prince Umberto has the honor of leading the 32 Italian Divisions divided into two armies (Italian 1st Army and 4th Army) in the pointless operation. The French, under the command of René Olry, defend with three divisions.

The French hold their positions at the Little Saint Bernard Pass in the Alps easily because the mountain passes are extremely easy to defend. The Italians have better luck along the narrow coastal plain on the Riviera/Côte d'Azur. There, they advance about five miles before being stopped by a scratch force composed of a French NCO with 7 men. Mussolini reportedly is embarrassed by the small gains, which he has been trying to wedge in before the signing of the Armistice at Compiegne.

Hitler (hand on hip) admires the statue of General Foch before boarding Foch's railway carriage for the Armistice proceeding.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe night raids over southern England continue. There are 50 bombers attacking various targets.

The RAF attacks German shipping and an oil depot at Willemsoord, Holland. RAF Bomber Command puts 10 aircraft over Germany during the day and 105 overnight.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-28 (Kapitänleutnant Günter Kuhnke)  torpedoes and sinks 4,443 ton Royal Navy special service ship HMS Prunella (X 02) on the Southwest Approaches. There are 40 survivors, and 56 crew perish.

U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and sinks 5,809-ton Belgian freighter Luxembourg west of St. Nazaire, France. There are 41 survivors and 5 perish.

U-43 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Ambrosius) torpedoes and sinks 8,627-ton British tanker Yarraville southwest of Figueira da Foz, Portugal in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. There are 45 survivors and 5 perish.

U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien) torpedoes and sinks 13,056-ton British tanker San Fernando 50 miles southwest of Cape Clear, Ireland. All 49 onboard survive.

U-52 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 1,144-ton French freighter Hilda in the Bay of Biscay. There are 11 survivors and 5 perish.

U-65 (Kapitänleutnant Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) torpedoes and sinks 1,177-ton Dutch freighter Berenice in the Bay of Biscay. The ship sinks in 3 minutes, and there are 9 survivors and 38 perish.

U-122 (Korvettenkapitän Hans-Günther Looff), which sank SS Empire Conveyor only one day ago, goes missing. There are several theories about its disappearance, and one of the more promising is that Polish submarine ORP Wilk rammed the U-boat while it was attempting to dive.

HMS H44, a submarine, sinks Danish freighter Alfa in the North Sea.

Kriegsmarine S-boots (fast torpedo boats) S-21 and S-32 hit mines and sink off Boulogne.

British Special Service (decoy) Vessel Prunella is sunk by U-28 off Ireland. There are 40 survivors and 54 crew perish.

U-99 (Otto Kretschmer) is unexpectedly returning to Bergen with a sick crewman when an Arado 196 scout plane from the Scharnhorst spots it. The seaplane attacks the U-boat and damages it, then two other Luftwaffe aircraft also attack, causing minor damage that requires repairs at Wilhelmshaven.

Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Scharnhorst is limping home from Trondheim. The RAF Coastal Command sends six Swordfish torpedo bombers against it at 15:00, but they make no hits as the Scharnhorst mounts an effective anti-aircraft defense. Gneisenau, also torpedoed, makes it safely back to Trondheim.

Convoy OA 172 departs from Southend, Convoy HG 35 departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 34 forms at Gibraltar, Convoy HX 52 departs from Halifax.

British destroyer HMS Hurricane (H 06, Lt. Commander Hugh C. Simms) is commissioned.

Hitler, left, listens as General Keitel (standing) reads the preamble to the Armistice agreement. Hitler left immediately afterward. Around the table are Hermann Goering, Admiral Raeder, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, General Huntzinger.

North Africa: The RAF attacks Italian shipping at Tobruk, Libya.

The Regia Aeronautica raids Malta and Bizerte and attacks French warships near the Balearic Islands.

French battleship Lorraine bombards Italian positions at Bardia.

Romania: King Carol, who has just pardoned Iron Guard members, forms the National Party for them. Jews are excluded from membership.

Canada: Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, becomes the 16th Governor-General of Canada. The parliament passes the National Resources Mobilization Act. Another contingent of Canadian soldiers arrives in Great Britain.

Estonia: The new Soviet puppet government is acclaimed in numerous demonstrations across the country by Soviet troops and sympathizers.

Poland: The Polish President arrives in England after being evacuated from southern France.

Brazil: US heavy cruiser USS Wichita (CA 45, Commander Cruiser Division Seven Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) arrives at Rio de Janeiro as part of the US Navy's "show the flag" operation for South America. Its next port of call will be Montevideo, Uruguay to join the USS Quincy (CA 39), which arrived there on the 20th.

Japanese Government: Prince Konoye forms a new Cabinet. General Tojo becomes Minister of War.

French Government: The French are still divided over the possibility of further resistance from North Africa. French warship Massilia takes Minister Georges Mandel, a few members of the French government, and a few members of Parliament to North Africa.

Applied Science: R.V Jones, head of British Scientific Intelligence, testifies to a secret committee that the Luftwaffe is using the "Knickebein" (crooked leg) radio beam navigational system to find their targets. This system has proven fairly effective despite being primitive. The British quickly put in motion a method to detect the beams using specially equipped RAF Anson aircraft and work on other counter-measures.

Henry Tizard, who is largely responsible for the British use of the radar detection system, resigns out of frustration at being side-tracked on his advice. His resignation means that Frederick Lindemann (Lord Cherwell), generally considered to be less clever than Tizard, becomes Churchill's principal scientific advisor.

French Homefront: Refugees terrified of the advancing Germans are stopped at the Spanish border by Franco's men and not allowed in.

British Homefront: Everyone is on edge throughout the country regarding infiltrators and paratroopers. The Times publishes a chart for distinguishing a German paratrooper from a regular British policeman.

American Homefront: General John T. Thompson dies in Great Neck, New York. Thompson was an officer during World War I who worked up the Thompson Machine Gun. The "Tommy Gun" became so ubiquitous during World War II that Wehrmacht troops took to calling Allied soldiers "Tommies."

Future History: Mariette Hartley is born in Weston, Connecticut. She becomes famous as a television actress in the 1960s and 1970s.

German Dornier Do 17Z light bombers fly over France on June 21, 1940.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Tuesday 4 June 1940

Winston Churchill.

Western Front: The Dunkirk bridgehead collapses on 4 June 1940 and the Germans occupy the port at 10:20. There are still 40,000 French soldiers and stragglers from all of the Allied armies who go into captivity. There also are piles of British and French equipment which the Germans will put to use.

The Germans immediately re-deploy their forces for an operation south towards Paris. The new attack will be Operation Fall Rot ("Case Red").

The French try attacking at Abbeville again at 03:00 pursuant to General Georges' plan. Little reconnaissance is performed beforehand, and communication - especially between French and British formations - is inadequate. The French tanks and British infantry attack at different times, and some of the attacking formation arrive only at the last moment.

French tanks of 2nd Armoured Division, part of the 4th Army Group under General Huntziger, advance at Abbeville but run into a minefield in a sector they mistakenly believe still to be held by the 51st Highland Division. Instead, the highlanders have pulled back during the night, and the Germans planted mines in the evacuated territory. The Allies lose at least fifty tanks, numerous other armored vehicles and take 1000 casualties. The Germans retain the high ground northwest of Caubert and the attack is a complete fiasco.

Dunkirk: Operation Dynamo ends at 03:40. The Allied navies have rescued 338,226 men, of which 112,000 are French. The evacuation greatly exceeded expectations of perhaps 50,000 evacuees and thus is considered a great victory. Destroyer HMS Ivanhoe is one of the last ships out and is hit with a bomb on its deck crowded with French soldiers.

Besides the tens of thousands of Allied troops who now are POWs, left behind in Dunkirk are

• 880 field guns, 
• 310 guns of large calibre, 
• some 500 anti-aircraft guns, 
• about 850 anti-tank guns, 
• 11,000 machine guns, 
• nearly 700 tanks, 
• 20,000 motorcycles, and 
• 45,000 motor cars and lorries.

Altogether, the Allies leave behind 2,472 artillery pieces, 84, 427 vehicles and 657,566 tons of supplies. In addition, the Allies have lost at least 89 merchant ships (126,518 tons), with 9 destroyers sunk and 20 damaged. In addition, the RAF has lost 80 scarce pilots killed.

Air losses by both sides are a subject of great controversy. The RAF lost 106-135 planes, while losses for the Luftwaffe vary from 100-240.

Dunkirk after the battle.

European Air Operations: In retaliation for the Luftwaffe's Operation Paula of 3 June, the French air force bombs Munich and Frankfurt, while the RAF sends 57 bombers to attack the Ruhr and Rhineland munitions factories.

The Luftwaffe bombs the port of Le Havre.

General Weygand asks the British for 20 RAF fighter squadrons, and the request is refused.

Battle of the Atlantic: Kriegsmarine pocket battleships Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, and Admiral Hipper, along with a squadron of destroyers (destroyers Karl Galster, Hans Lody, Erich Steinbrinck & Hermann Schoemann), depart for Norwegian waters under Admiral Wilhelm Marschall.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a stirring speech in the House of Commons. He states that Operation Dynamo, which brought 350,000 troops back to England, had turned a defeat into a victory:

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender... until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the Old.

The speech, Churchill's most famous, receives a mixed reception. The British love it, and it is considered the height of jingoistic rhetoric. On the other hand, the French find little to cheer about in the idea that England now envisions itself fighting alone despite the fact that its troops are still fighting and dying.

The Dunkirk docks are now quiet.

Norway: The evacuation of Narvik and Harstad begins pursuant to Operation Alphabet. The evacuation takes time because considerable military infrastructure has been created by the British. There are about 4900 Allied troops on the first ships out of Narvik, which is composed of 6 fast transport ships escorted by Royal Navy training cruiser Vindictive. The transports, actually passenger liners, hide in the fjords and small craft bring them the soldiers.

The Norwegians continue attacking General Dietl's mountain troops near the Swedish border.

Ireland: The government sets the size of the army at 40,000 troops.

Italy: The Italian high command sends its submarine fleet to sea.

China: The seesawing Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang continues. The Chinese 5th War Area counterattacks and recovers Nanchang and Yicheng.

Chiang Kai-shek sends representatives to Macau to discuss peace terms with Japanese representatives. There is no progress.

Soviet Military: General Andrei Eremenko becomes the leader of the Soviet 3rd Mechanized Corps, while Konstantin Rokossovsky takes over the Soviet 5th Cavalry Corps.

French Homefront: The refugee crisis is increasing, and it becomes known as L'Éxode ("The Exodus"). Tens of thousands of French citizens inhabiting northern French cities such as Chartres and Lille are heading south, while southern French cities such as Marseilles and Bordeaux are swelling in size.


June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Tuesday 14 May 1940

1st Panzer Regiment crosses the Meuse near Sedan, 14 May 1940.

Western Front: 14 May 1940 is a bad day at French headquarters, where General Georges sobs openly. The Germans are across the Meuse in force, and many French units supposedly opposing them have melted away. General Touchon becomes commander of the French reserves, who must be rushed into battle to fill gaps in the line between the French 2nd (General Andre Georges Corap) and 9th (General Charles Huntziger) Armies near Sedan.

Meanwhile, Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 11. It essentially just commands that the Dutch are to be defeated, which is happening swiftly anyway. Events on the ground are happening faster than the Generals and dictators can keep up with.

Late in the day, the Dutch surrender in all provinces except Zeeland, where they continue to fight. They have lost 2300 KIA, 7000 wounded, 3000 civilians dead. The Germans on that front have lost 2900 KIA, 7000 wounded and 1300 paratroopers captured and taken to Great Britain.

Within the city of Sedan itself, the last French holdouts surrender after dark. Local French counterattacks fail.

Among other things, the breakthrough over the Meuse threatens the Belgian K-W Line. This recent defensive line (first established after the beginning of the war) starts with the National Redoubt at Antwerp runs south along the River Dijle, then to just behind the main Fortified Position of Liège. Travel on the roads is becoming virtually impossible, as they are clogged with an estimated 2 million refugees.

The German General Rudolf Schmidt reaches the Nieuwe Maas River and issues a surrender ultimatum in Rotterdam. He threatens a Luftwaffe assault. The Mayor of Rotterdam refuses any civilian evacuation, stating, "It would only cause panic." The Luftwaffe appears quickly - before the surrender ultimatum has expired - with around 50-100 Heinkel He 111 bombers (sources vary). They drop 95 tons of bombs, causing huge fires. There are estimates of over 800 dead and 85,000 homeless (all figures vary and are very tentative, probably higher). Rotterdam surrenders after much needless damage and loss of life, with Army Commander-in-chief General Winkelman himself broadcasting the local ceasefire, which includes Utrecht. Fighting continues in Zeeland, where Dutch troops are fighting with the French.

General Guderian's panzer divisions are across the Meuse. Allied air attacks against the pontoon bridges achieve little.

Guderian wants to sprint forward with his mobile forces - the opening is there. Previously on 12 May, he had requested permission to establish a large bridgehead. The OKW has been considering this, but this morning at 11:45 Guderian's superior General von Kleist rejects his request and orders him to maintain a bridgehead of 8 km (5 miles). However, Guderian slyly gets von Kleist, who is almost certainly only parroting what Hitler has ordered, to agree that he may engage in "reconnaissance in force" (Guderian threatens to resign, which is a fairly common tactic of his). The result is that there is no halt order, and Guderian sprints ahead anyway - to his own glory or peril, as the case may be.

Guderian, however, has more in mind than just lunging westward. He sends the 10th Panzer Division and Großdeutschland infantry regiment southeast in a feint to take the Maginot Line from the rear. French General Huntziger was going to use the direction - the same road, in fact - to attack Guderian's left flank. The German panzers run head-on into the armored 3e Division Cuirassée (DCR) at the Stonne plateau. This results in a stalemate on the German flank, with the main Wehrmacht effort to the west unhindered.

Guderian's westward thrust is wildly successful. He eviscerates the French Sixth Army west of Sedan, eliminating the flank protection of the French Ninth Army. The entire French Ninth Army collapses and begins to surrender. This unhinges the flank of the French 102nd Fortress Division at Monthermé, which the 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions destroy.

Slightly to the north, Erwin Rommel and his 7th "Ghost" Panzer Division of German 4th Army are across the Meuse. He drives the Allied troops back 3 miles to Onhaye, narrowly avoiding major injury (he has a shell splinter in his cheek). He breaks through the French Second Army, heading southwestward to Philippeville.

The French order some portions of the vaunted Maginot Line which have been outflanked to retreat. This demoralizes the troops involved, who believe in the fortifications. Most of the Maginot Line to the south, however, remains intact and unbreached.

Further north, General Erich Hoepner is being delayed more than anywhere else, and he wants results. General Stumpff leads his 3rd Panzer Division against the new French 1st Army line at Gembloux and General Sever leads his 4th Panzer Division against the same line at Perwez. The attack fails under heavy artillery fire until the German infantry catches up, at which point they make some progress. The battle is a minor French victory, as the Germans have been stalled all day long and both sides have lost numerous tanks. The Germans must attack again on the morrow, with the 4th Panzer Division in a better position than 3rd.

At Grebbeberg, the Dutch line has collapsed and they are in full retreat to the Waterline position. The Dutch move quickly and establish their new defensive position with 6 divisions by morning. The Germans are slow to pursue but have won the Grebbeberg battle, eliminating the best defensive positions in the sector. Both sides lost 200-400 men killed in the battle, with the Dutch faring worse.

At the Afsluitdijk in the far north, the Germans once again begin an artillery barrage in the morning as preparation for an attack. The Dutch fire from the sloop HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau in the Wadden Sea, which arrived during the night (and which the Germans don't know about). The sloop's 150 mm (5.9 inches) guns are devastating against the German artillery, silencing it within an hour. The German commander, General Kurt Feldt, breaks off the attack. How many German troops perished is subject to wildly different estimates from either side, the Germans claiming 5 deaths and 25 wounded, while local civilians claimed to see literally hundreds of dead bodies.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command sends 30 bombers to attack Monchengladbach and Aachen, reiterating the decision to bomb civilians.

The RAF sends 22 aircraft out to lay mines after dark.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Dutch scuttle numerous ships at Rotterdam to keep them out of German hands, including destroyers Tjerk Hiddes and Gerald Callenburgh and submarine O-12. The Germans do capture submarines O-26 and O-8.

The Germans also capture submarine O-25 at Schiedam.

The Luftwaffe makes several attacks against Dutch shipping, sinking Dutch gunboats Johan Maurits van Nassau and Brinio (scuttled).

Dutch transport Texelstroom gets away with 300 German POWs.

Convoy OA 148GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 148 departs from Liverpool.

Norway: The British 24th Guards Brigade is on a transport heading to Mo i Rana south of Narvik when it is bombed. The ship is so badly damaged that it immediately departs for Scapa Flow, carrying the entire Brigade with it. As the force's commanding General, Brigadier Williams, on the ship, the person left in overall command of the force is Colonel Gubbins.

Junkers Ju 52s drop 66 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment troops at Narvik.

British Government: The new Minister of Aircraft Production is Lord Beaverbrook.

Secretary for War Anthony Eden broadcasts an appeal for volunteers to fill the Local Defence Volunteers (later renamed the Home Guard). Their role is to guard against German parachute landings.

Fires in Rotterdam, 14 May 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019