Wednesday 23 October 1940

A young lady is rescued from rubble after an unexpected daylight raid. 23 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The day remains cloudy and dreary. As on previous days, the poor weather on 23 October 1940 greatly slows the tempo of all operations. It also causes various flying accidents which are becoming almost as deadly as actual combat.

The morning is taken up with scattered reconnaissance flights. One of these just past noontime penetrates the London Inner Artillery Zone successfully and causes damage there. There are a couple of abortive raids in the early afternoon in which planes cross the Channel but don't actually make any attacks. RAF No. 145 Squadron intercepts this raid and loses two Hurricanes for its pains.

After dark, London bears the brunt of the damage. The Luftwaffe also hits Glasgow and mines off the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas and off the west coast. A land mine at Tynemouth Park creates a huge crater and damages numerous nearby buildings, including well over 200 homes. St. Pancras is bombed, cutting the rail line and damaging rail cars.

The weather appears to be implicated in some crashes. An RAF No. 600 Squadron Blenheim on a training mission crashes into a hillside at Kirkby Malzeard, Yorkshire, killing the pilot.

In France, a Heinkel He 111H of 1,/KG 27 misses the runway at Tours and hits a nearby barracks, killing not only the four crewmen but 13 occupants of the building. There are 11 other casualties from the ground crew.

In another bad weather accident, a Swordfish of RAF No. 767 Squadron collides with a Shark aircraft of No. 758 Squadron, killing the pilot of the Swordfish.

Overall, there are fewer than a handful of losses on both sides, probably the lowest number of overall planes lost since the battle began.

European Air Operations: After a respite due to poor weather, RAF Bomber Command returns to the attack today. The primary targets are railway installations and power plants around Berlin. Other bombing raids are sent against the port of Emden, oil installations at Hanover and Magdeburg, the port of Hoek van Holland, and various communications points in northwestern Europe, including airfields.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a quiet day at sea because the U-boat fleet is back in port after a stunningly successful week. Convoys SC 7 and HX 79 are still struggling into port after being mauled. The Royal Navy Admiralty reassesses how its escorts are performing.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Taku torpedoes and sinks Norwegian freighter Prinsesse Ragnhild off Bodo.

Swedish 65 ton trawler Essie hits a mine and sinks in the Skagerrak about 19 km south of Skagen, Denmark. Six crew perish.

Norwegian 1590 ton liner Prinsesse Ragnhild hits a mine and sinks in the Norwegian Sea off Bodø, Nordland. There are 78 deaths and 62 survivors.

The Luftwaffe damages British 7603-ton freighter Empire Ability at Gare Loch, Scotland.

Battlecruisers Hood and Repulse are at sea supporting Operation DNU, a destroyer sweep in the North Sea by HMS Somali, Matabele and Punjabi, and accompanying vessels.

German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer sails from Gotenhafen (Gdynia) in Poland to Brunsbuttel en route to a raiding cruise in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.

Convoy OB 233 departs from Liverpool, Convoys FN 316 and FN 317 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 318 departs from Methil.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF raids Gura, Asmara Airfield, Gondar, Tessenie, Kassala and Sidi Barrani.

At Malta, the island loses a scarce Swordfish when it ditches in the sea close to shore. A trawler recovers the crew. In addition, after a lot of hard work all the ammunition recently received is stocked away, and a one-week bomb disposal course - the island's first - is instituted. Previously, untrained men have been disarming bombs.

Hitler and Franco at Hendaye.

German/Spanish Relations: Hitler travels by train to Hendaye. Ramón Serrano Súñer, Francisco Franco, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Hitler meet in the Hendaye railway station. This is one of the most fateful meetings of the war. They speak for three and a half hours. Franco is completely noncommittal about entering the war and repeats the demands for enormous supplies he would require that previously have been communicated by Serrano Suner. Hitler offers Gibraltar and North African territory, but Franco wants territory on the far side of the Pyrenees, Morocco and much of Algeria. All of these demands would spoil relations with France and Italy, and Franco probably knows that. It is becoming clear that Franco is not interested in entering into another war so soon after gaining power. However, for what it is worth, he reaffirms that he is strongly pro-Axis and does promise to enter the war at some point if his numerous and onerous conditions are met.

Hitler leaves with nothing, and later comments that the discussion was worse than "having three or four teeth pulled." He likely expected more cooperation given the aid he had given Franco during the Spanish Civil War - without which Franco likely would no longer even be alive. Unlike the talks with Laval on the 22nd, this meeting at Hendaye absolutely can be deemed a failure. There now is no possibility of performing Operation Felix, the conquest of Gibraltar. After the war, Reichsmarschall Goering will claim that the single biggest mistake that the Axis made was not simply invading Spain after this failed meeting and seizing Gibraltar anyway. That would have closed off the Strait of Gibraltar to the British fleet and vastly improved communications to North Africa.

The next stop on Hitler's itinerary is a meeting with Marshal Petain. The trip is becoming an exercise in why you should have agreements ready to sign due to prior negotiations before you actually travel to meet with your counterpart. The idea of a "continental bloc" against Great Britain is evaporating before Hitler's eyes. However, he still might be able to work something out with Petain, who today meets with Laval at Vichy regarding Laval's meeting with Hitler on the 22nd and appoints him Foreign Minister.

Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler and Franco. 23 October 1940.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler's journey to France already is having an effect - a bad one - on Italy. Mussolini is described as being in "a black mood" over the fact that "the Germans prefer the French to us." Mussolini instructs Count Ciano to demand control of the French Mediterranean coast and Marseilles, which is far more than they could ever hope to achieve through military action. The sole reason for this apparently is Mussolini's feeling abused like a spurned lover.

German/Italian/Arab Relations: German radio endorses German/Arab relations. There is a lot of support within the Middle East for Germany, though Great Britain and France maintain a somewhat precarious hold on the region. Italian radio does the same thing at the same time in obviously coordinated outreach.

Anglo/French Relations: At the same time that Hitler is about to woo Marshal Petain, Petain has his man in London, Louis Rougier, to meet with British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax. They work to see if there can be some kind of reconciliation between the countries.

Anglo/US Relations: Another tranche of US destroyers are transferred to the Royal Navy pursuant to the destroyers-for-bases deal. They are:

USS Evans -> HMS Mansfield
USS Philip -> HMS Lancaster
USS Wickes -> HMS Montgomery
USS Stockton -> HMS Ludlow
USS Conway -> HMS Lewes
USS Conner -> HMS Leeds
USS Twiggs -> HMS Leamington
USS Yarnall -> HMS Lincoln
USs McCalla -> HMS Stanley
USs Rodgers -> HMS Sherwood

The new Royal Navy destroyers man up with Royal Navy sailors and begin departing piecemeal for ports in Great Britain.

Luxembourg: What remains of the Luxembourg government, the Chamber of Deputies and the Council of State, is formally dissolved.

Japan: The country gives a one-year notice of withdrawal of the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911. Signed by the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Empire of Japan, and the Russian Empire, the treaty led to later treaties of a similar nature. The Convention is considered a landmark in wildlife preservation issues.

Holocaust: The Gauleiter of the Saar, Robert Wagner, boasts that he has made the area "Judenfreie" (free of Jews) due to the Aktion Wagner-Burckel began on the 22nd. The Aktion will continue for another year.

American Homefront: President Roosevelt gives a speech in Philadelphia in which he vigorously denies wanting to lead the country into war. He emphasizes:

We will not participate in foreign wars and will not send our Army, naval or air forces to fight in foreign lands outside of the Americas except in case of attack. It is for peace that I have labored; and it is for peace that I shall labor all the days of my life.

Roosevelt will abide by this promise, though one could interpret his blatant support of Great Britain in the war against Germany and embargoes he has imposed against Japan as subtly pushing the Axis to attack the United States. In other words, Roosevelt may be provoking an attack on the United States in order to achieve a larger goal of entering the war. However, there is no direct evidence that this is his plan.

British Homefront: Prime Minister Churchill and wife Clementine inspect Polish troops at St. Andrews in Scotland. General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Premier of the Polish Government-in-Exile and commander of Polish forces, accompanies them.

Future History: Edson Arantes do Nascimento is born in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He receives the (nonsense) nickname "Pelé" in school due to his fan worship of a Brazilian goalkeeper with a similar name. He becomes the local amateur soccer (football) star, then in the late 1950s a member of the national team. This begins a legendary soccer career that makes Pelé a household name around the world. He remains an ambassador of Brazilian soccer.

Winston Churchill, Clementine and Sikorski at St. Andrews. 23 October 1940.

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

2020

Wednesday 19 June 1940

German women, children, and soldiers show their enthusiasm for the lightning victory over France. 19 June 1940 (AP Photo).

Western Front: The Germans on 19 June 1940 crash through the hastily prepared French defensive line on the Loire. There is scattered resistance, such as by 800 troops of the Samur Cavalry School led by Colonel Michon against the 1st Cavalry Division. Overall, though, the Germans are mostly unopposed and approach Lyons.

General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, in the occupation of the port area of Cherbourg, shell the citadel that is still occupied by the French. Resistance is pointless, so the local townspeople prevail upon the French soldiers to surrender at 17:00.

Pursuant to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's agreement with General Sikorski, the Royal Navy takes off 4,000 Polish troops stranded at La Pallice. Almost all British troops already are evacuated pursuant to Operation Ariel. General Sikorski makes a broadcast telling Polish troops to get to England.

At Brest, the evacuation ends. The French destroy the port facilities. The demolition party escapes just before the arrival of the German 5th Panzer Division. The last Allies depart on the destroyer HMS Broke.

At St. Nazaire, seven empty transport ships wait for a reportedly large Polish group of refugees. About 2,000 men ultimately appear and are taken off. BEF commander Sir Alan Brooke has been taken off from here and arrives in England.

At Bordeaux and nearby ports on the Garonne River, the Hunt-class destroyer HMS Berkeley (Lieutenant-Commander H. G. Walters) evacuates the remaining British consular staff. The President of Poland and his cabinet also depart.

Polish ships Batory, Sobieski and the Ettrick and Arandora Star take on board everybody looking to escape from Bordeaux and remain through the night.

Responding to Germany's demand, the French government appoints plenipotentiaries to receive Hitler's terms. General Huntziger leads the delegation.

This Pz Kpfw 35 (t) of 6 Panzer Division was destroyed on 19 June 1940 in Épinal, France by a 25 mm anti-tank gun of the 46e GRDI.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe bombs Bordeaux during the night, where the French government has fled, killing 63 and wounding 180. They also attack St. Jean-de-Luz on the Spanish border. These are both major evacuation ports for the British.

The Luftwaffe raids England again during the night.

The RAF raids German airfields near Amiens and Rouen with about 30 bombers and sends 112 bombers against industrial targets in the Ruhr.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a big day for the U-boat fleet. It accounts for 40,000 tons in the Atlantic alone.

U-28 (Kapitänleutnant Günter Kuhnke) torpedoes and sinks 3,443 ton Greek freighter Adamandios Georgandis southwest of Ireland.

U-32 sinks Yugoslavian ship Labud.

U-48 (Korvettenkapitän Hans Rudolf Rösing) torpedoes and sinks 3,164-ton British freighter Baron Loudoun northwest of Cape Ortegal, Spain. There are 30 survivors and 3 crew perish.

U-48 also torpedoes and sinks 6,607-ton Norwegian freighter Tudor northwest of Cape Finisterre. There are 38 survivors, one crewman perishes.

U-48 also torpedoes and sinks British freighter Monarch.

U-52 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 824-ton British freighter The Monarch in the Bay of Biscay. All 12 aboard perish.

U-52 also torpedoes and sinks 7,463-ton Belgian freighter Ville de Namur. There are 54 survivors and 25 perish.

U-25 (Kapitänleutnant Heinz Beduhn) torpedoes and damages 7,638-ton French tanker Brumaire in the eastern Atlantic. The Brumaire survives the day but is in bad shape.

Kriegsmarine S-boots (fast torpedo boats) sink British freighter Roseburn in the English Channel.

Convoy OA 171G departs from Southend, Convoy 171 departs from Liverpool.

North Africa: The Regia Aeronautica bombs Bizerta, Tunisia. It also bombs Calvi and Bonifacio in Corsica. They target British vehicles, while French aircraft bomb Italian airfields.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Orpheus is sunk by Italian destroyer Turtine off Tobruk.

A Royal Navy anti-submarine trawler, HMS Moonstone, working in conjunction with the British destroyer HMS Kandahar, captures Italian submarine Galilei in the Red Sea. The Galilei is towed to Aden and renamed the HMS X 2.

Lithuania: A demonstration occurs in Vilnius in support of the new Soviet occupiers.

Canada: The Canadian National Unity Party, a fascist organization, has been broken up and 11 of its members are brought to trial.

China: The Japanese government, taking advantage of France's difficulties, demands an end to the transit of war materials through French Indochina (later Vietnam).

British Homefront: The government has resumed its efforts to evacuate schoolchildren. It establishes the Children’s Overseas Reception Board to send them to safer cities overseas.

The BBC cancels its regular music program to broadcast war news. Reviews for PM Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" speech of 18 June are good.

American Homefront: Dale Messick publishes her first "Brenda Starr" comic strip in the Chicago Tribune.

Braves outfielder Paul Waner hits a single for his 3,000th hit, the seventh man in history to achieve the feat and the first since 1925.

French refugees on a road near Gien, France on 19 Jun 1940. (Tritschler, German Federal Archive: Bild 146-1971-083-01).

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

Monday 17 June 1940

The Lancastria sinking on 17 June 1940.

French Government: New French Prime Minister Petain, through his Foreign Minister Paul Baudouin, on 17 June 1940 has instructed his Ambassador to Spain to seek terms from Germany (and Italy). At 00:30, he broadcasts to the French people that "With a broken heart, I tell you fighting must stop":

Frenchmen, having been called upon by the President of the Republic, I today assume the leadership of the government of France. Certain of the affection of our admirable army that has fought with a heroism worthy of its long military traditions against an enemy that is superior in number and in weapons, certain that by its magnificent resistance it fulfilled its duties to its allies, certain of the support of veterans that I am proud to have commanded, I give to France the gift of my person in order to alleviate her suffering. 

In these painful hours, my thoughts go out to the unfortunate refugees who, in an extreme penury, are furrowing our roads. I express to them my compassion and my concern. It is with a broken heart that I say to you today that the fighting must stop. 

I spoke last night with the enemy and asked him if he is ready to seek with us, soldier to soldier, after the honorable fight, the means to put an end to the hostilities. May all Frenchmen rally to the government over which I preside during this difficult ordeal and calm their anxieties, so that they can better listen only to the faith they have in the destiny of the fatherland.

The French remain undecided as to whether to carry on the conflict from North Africa, where French possessions remain undisturbed. Italy, however, has large forces in Libya. The government is in a state of chaos. Petain (mistakenly) orders the arrest of Minister Georges Mandel on suspicion of staging a coup.

General Charles de Gaulle is in London with no authority and no troops. However, he has one thing the others in the French government do not have: British backing. He also has 100,000 French francs in gold, provided by (now former) PM Reynaud. One thing de Gaulle is certain of: he will not be serving any French governments on occupied French soil.

The other allied governments, such as the Polish government-in-exile, also are in flight. General Sikorski of the Polish government reiterates that his Polish forces will continue to fight.

Adolf Hitler on June 17, 1940, as he hears the French are surrendering. Taken by one of his photographers, Walter Frentz.

Western Front: While the French government wants an armistice, PM Petain is careful not to say in his speech how the Germans have responded. In fact, the German government is not ready to stop its wildly successful troops. Operations continue, with German troops advancing all along the front against largely nominal resistance. The French fortress of Metz surrenders.

Panzer Group Guderian reaches the Swiss Frontier south of Besancon at Pontarlier, completing the isolation of the 17 French Division of the Maginot Line. Otherwise, the front is so fluid and the German gains so extensive that the "front" no longer really exists.

The French 3rd Army Group is surrounded and on the verge of surrendering. News during the night of Petain's decision to negotiate robs the French troops of motivation. There also is massive confusion about whether the French government even wants its troops to continue fighting. Discipline disappears in some formations, with reports of looting by French troops. There are many luxuries, such as expensive champagne, to nullify the pain - and besides, the Germans will only take it themselves later.

Operation Ariel, the (third) evacuation of troops from France, is in high gear. This time, though, the Wehrmacht is in better shape to intervene than at Dunkirk.

The 16,243 ton British Cunard Liner HMT Lancastria (16,243 tons) (Captain Sharp) at St Nazaire is carrying an unknown number of soldiers - someone hears the captain say 6,700 are aboard. At around 15:45, sustained Luftwaffe bomber raids finally break past the defenses. Junkers JU 88 fast bombers strike the ship with three bombs, including one down the stack which blows a hole in the bottom, sinking the liner within 20 minutes.

Roughly 4-5,000 British, French, Canadian and Belgian men (and some women) aboard perish - the exact number cannot be determined. There are 2,477 survivors. The men on the doomed ship sing "Roll Out the Barrel" as the Lancastria rolls over on them. The Luftwaffe reportedly strafes the oil-slicked water, hoping to set the entire scene on fire and incinerate everyone, but this is completely unprovable.

The Lancastria sinking goes down as the worst British maritime tragedy of the war and, indeed, in history. It is the largest loss of life for the UK during the entire war and includes both soldiers and civilians. Churchill, reportedly weeping, issues what is known as a "D-Notice" on the Lancastria, which prevents any government official from communicating about it, even to the families of the deceased.

Elsewhere, the evacuation proceeds smoothly. Men of the 1st Canadian Division are taken off at St. Malo. In a mini-repeat of Dunkirk, private boats of the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club of Jersey arrive to help ferry troops to the larger British ships.

At Cherbourg, the Beauman Division and Norman Force, both improvised BEF formations, leave in the evening. They are not too far ahead of advancing German forces.

At Brest, mostly RAF ground crew are taken off. With the evacuation completed, the French troops wreck the port facilities with assistance from British demolition squads.

Evacuations also take place from Nantes. It is 50 miles (80 km) up the Loire. There is a large fleet of destroyers and some larger ships available, but the British troops need time to get there. The RAF provides vital air cover to protect numerous vulnerable transports.

At Bordeaux and nearby ports on the Garonne River and nearby, Polish and Czech soldiers and civilians board the British destroyers after the Admiralty gives permission. There also are certain VIPs such as the President of Poland who embark here.

General Rommel has re-oriented his axis of attack once again. This time, he heads southwest toward Normandy. His objective is the key port of Cherbourg, which is the closest deepwater port to Great Britain. His troops face no significant opposition, and he covers 125-150 miles during the day.

The Lancastria still crowded with passengers as it rolls over and sinks on 17 June 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-48 (Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass) torpedoes and sinks 3,651 ton Greek freighter Elpis hundreds of miles off of Cape Finisterre, Spain. All 28 crew survive.

Troop Convoy US 3, carrying troops from New Zealand and Australia, departs from Suez.

Convoy HX 51 leaves Halifax for Liverpool, carrying the 150 US aircraft originally intended for France.

Convoy OA 169 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 169 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 34F forms off Gibraltar.



European Air Operations: The RAF sends 139 bombers to attack oil installations and other industrial targets in the Rhineland, Ruhr and northwest Germany.

North Africa: The RAF attacks Massawa, Eritrea.

German/Italian Relations: Italian Duce Benito Mussolini departs for Germany to meet with Hitler.

Spanish/French Relations: Spanish Generalissimo Francisco Franco instructs his ambassador to France to demand the transfer of some French North African territory to Spain.

US Government: Admiral Stark requests sufficient appropriations from Congress to establish a "two-ocean" navy.

Soviet Government: Nikita Khrushchev is with Stalin as news of the French decision to seek terms arrives. He later recalls that Stalin is furious that France "rolled over for Hitler" - even though he purportedly is Hitler's ally. Khrushchev also states that while the rest of the world tries to figure out who is winning, Stalin just adds the German and French casualties together to see if he is winning. A quick German win is not what he wants.

Baltic States: Pursuant to the pro forma ultimatums delivered to the Estonian and Latvian governments on 16 June, The Soviets occupy the two nations. As anticipated, the western Allies - preoccupied with larger events - take no official notice of this blatant land grab. There is some scattered resistance, and the Single Signal Battalion holds out in Tallinn with no hope of succor.

A new puppet government is formed in Lithuania, which already has been occupied. President Antanas Merkys, who assumed power on 16 June, is arrested by Soviet authorities

North Africa: British patrols remain active. The Regia Aeronautica attacks Buq Buq.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Chinese 5th War Area recaptures Ichang in a seesaw battle. Japanese 11th Army, however, immediately recovers it. The Japanese 22nd Army captures Suilou west of Nanning on the road to French Indochina.

US Homefront: The British Purchasing Commission assumes French arms contracts and seeks additional contracts to purchase war material from the United States. This is done pursuant to the "cash and carry" rules. The French representatives, understanding the larger situation, give their consent.

The Lancastria settles in the water, still crowded with survivors.

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 November 1939

The "Dyle Plan."

Battle of the Atlantic: On 14 November 1939, German vessel Trifels is captured by French auxiliary cruiser Koutoubia near the Azores.

Convoy OA 35 departs from Southend and OB 35 departs from Liverpool.

Anglo/French Military Command: The British and French high commands agree on a strategy in the event of an invasion, the "Dyle Plan." The plan calls for holding in the south with the Maginot Line and meeting a German thrust through the Ardennes and low countries with the deployment of the BEF north from where they are encamped around Sedan to the British Channel. They will form a defensive line called the "Meuse-Antwerp Line." This line barely covers Brussels and, if the Germans invade Holland as well, Amsterdam as well. However, Liege and vast parts of Belgium and Holland would be unprotected.

The Maginot Line itself, of course, remains incomplete due to its massive cost. The Dyle plan inherently requires a violation of Belgian neutrality which is assumed to be acceptable to the Belgians (the Belgians have not agreed to this and in fact remain non-committal). It also includes an advance into Holland, though that could more easily be side-stepped if the Dutch protested. The Dyle Plan is called "Plan D." It brilliantly covers the German Empire's attack of 1914.

Finland: The Finnish Army, some 175-200,000 men, digs in on the Karelian Isthmus north of Leningrad. The Soviets muster an army approaching a million men opposite them.

Venezuela: An oil refinery fire kills some 500 people and destroys the town of Lagunillas.

Peace Offers: Adolf Hitler joins the Allies in rejecting the offer of mediation by the royal houses of Belgium and Holland.

German/Swedish Relations: Trade talks between Sweden and Germany are broken off.

Polish/British Relations: General Sikorski and Foreign Minister Zaleski arrive in London for talks.

German Opposition: Continued turmoil in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia (former Czechoslovakia).

Holocaust: The President of Lódz joins other jurisdictions and mandates that Jews wear the Yellow Star of David armbands. In addition, the Germans burn to the ground the city's Great Synagogue of Łódź.

Admiral Byrd's snow cruiser loaded for its voyage to the Antarctic.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019

Tuesday 7 November 1939

Bob Hope and Judy Garland on 7 November 1939.

European Air Operations: Two Polish destroyers and other light craft are attacked by the Luftwaffe in the North Sea on 7 November 1939. There are no losses on either side.

A Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft is fired upon by anti-aircraft batteries and driven off by the RAF. There are scattered other intrusions of British airspace.

The RAF conducts further reconnaissance over western Germany without incident.

British Propaganda: Lord Halifax makes a radio broadcast setting forth Great Britain's war aims.

German Propaganda: The German Navy Ministry states to the U.S. Naval Attaché in Berlin that it had been "definitely established that no German U-boat had torpedoed the Athenia." In addition, the German Navy considered the incident "closed as far as the Navy was concerned" and possessed only "an academic interest in how the ship was sunk." This, of course, is all a complete fabrication, as the German Naval Ministry knows exactly how the Athenia sank when one of its U-boats put torpedoes into it.

Finland: The Finnish government tells its negotiators to tell the Soviets "Nyet."

Poland: General Władysław Sikorski is named General Inspector of the Armed Forces by the Polish government-in-exile in Paris.

General Sikorski is named Commander-in-Chief of Polish armed forces (in exile) in addition to being Prime Minister. He and the government form a General Staff.

American Homefront: Judy Garland guests on Bob Hope's "The Pepsodent Show."

Future History: The Academy Theater in Inglewood California opens on 7 November 1939. It was originally designed to host the Academy Awards but never did. It served as a major suburban theater for the Fox West Coast Theaters chain with many film premieres and showed movies until 1976 when it became a church. Designed by architect S. Charles Lee.

The Academy Theater is showing "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" starring Jimmy Stewart, released 19 October 1939.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019

Saturday 30 September 1939

Graf Spee sinks the freighter Clermont, 30 September 1939.

Battle of Poland: The Battles of Parczew, Jabłoń and Milanów end on 30 September 1939 when the Polish Polesie Group (18,000) pushes the Soviet 143rd Rifle Division aside and heads toward the Świętokrzyskie Mountains. It is a major tactical victory for the Poles, but it only sends them toward the waiting German forces.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German pocket battleship Graf Spee sinks British steamship Clermont (Captain F. Harris).

Germany formally notifies Great Britain that henceforth merchant ships will be sunk without warning. This is contrary to existing law stating that ships must be given warnings and passengers allowed to debark in lifeboats. The German justification is that Britain has been using armed vessels disguised as merchantmen to hunt down U-boats, which is true.

British shipping losses in September 1939:

• 37 British merchant ships;
• 155,000 tons.

German Government: Having concluded his latest deal with Stalin, Hitler issues Directive No. 5, Partition of Poland.

Polish Government: Władysław Raczkiewicz and General Władysław Sikorski, the president and prime minister respectively, establish the Polish government-in-exile in London. Sikorski is also the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Polish President Ignace Moscicki, interned in Romania, resigns.

British Government: The cabinet authorizes the transfer of poison gas to France for possible retaliatory use.

American Homefront: NBC broadcasts on television the Waynesburg v. Fordham college football game. It is the first game of American football ever televised.

Waynesburg versus Fordham, 30 September 1939.

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