Tuesday 4 March 1941

"Black smoke rising as the oil tanks are set alight." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (A 3332).

Western Front: It is fair to say that, to this point on 4 March 1941, the results of British commando raids on the Axis have been poor. From the first operations in Norway to the failed operation on the Channel Islands, to the botched affairs in southern Italy and Kastelorizo, the raids have had the earmarks of an idea that is good in the abstract, but with execution marred by amateurish gaffes.

That record of failure changes today. British commandos join with Norwegian partisans to stage Operation Claymore in epic fashion. A resounding and reverberating success, this raid on the Lofoten Islands in the north of Norway justifies all of the effort expended in training the commandos. The main targets are fish-oil plants that produce ingredients for explosives, but much more is accomplished than just blowing up a few buildings.

Commandos of No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando, a Royal Engineers Section and 52 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy are landed at Vestfjorden in the Lofoten Islands by the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and two troop transport ships of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy task force is Operation Rebel. Leading the landing craft (HMS Queen Emma and Princess Beatrix) to shore is submarine HMS Sunfish. Brigadier Charles Haydon of the Irish Guards leads the commandos into action.

Armed patrol trawler Krebs in Vestfjorden fires four shots at HMS Somali, but the Royal Navy ship quickly disables it. After the German crew abandons ship, the commandos board the ship, which has beached itself nearby. They capture its cipher machine and daily codebooks, which prove of great value at Bletchley Park. Several other small ships totaling 18,000 tons in all also are sunk:

• Gumbrinnen (1381 tons, shelled by HMS Tartar)
• Hamburg (shelled by HMS Tartar)
• Pasajes (shelled by HMS Tartar)
• Felix 
• Mira (1152 tons, shelled and sunk by HMS Bedouin, two deaths) 
• Eilenau 
• Rissen 
• Andø (demolition charges). 
• Grotto
• Felix Heumann
• Elbing (collier shelled by HMS Tartar, beached, later repaired and returned to service)
• Bernhard Schulte (shelled by HMS Tartar, later raised and repaired).

Norwegian 321-ton fishing vessel Myrand takes the opportunity to follow the British out and go to the Faroe Islands.

Arriving at the cusp of dawn, everyone is ashore by 06:50. The operation goes off without opposition. Factories are destroyed at Henningsvær, Stamsund, and Svolvær. The raiders destroy the oil, they don't take it back with them.

About 300 locals volunteer to serve in the Free Norwegian Forces in Great Britain and are taken off with the commandos (they likely fear reprisals if they stay). The commandos take 147 merchant marine sailors, 14 civilians ("Quislings"), 15 Luftwaffe crew, three German Army (Heer) soldiers, and 7 Kriegsmarine sailors captive. The British take no casualties, whereas the Germans suffer seven. Operation Claymore is a smashing success with long-term effects, as Hitler obsesses about defending Norway after this and grossly over-garrisons it.

"Troops returning from shore in boats having accomplished their work of destruction." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (A 3320).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks remain in their forward positions along the Bulgarian border. The British wish them to retreat to the Aliakmon Line, but the Greeks claim that any such move would damage the country's morale. Local British commander Sir Henry Maitland Wilson for Operation Lustre cannot even leave the British Embassy, as the Greeks fear that his appearance alone will incite the Germans to attack.

The first British troop transports for Operation Lustre arrives at Piraeus. One is British 3566-ton freighter Alavi, escorted by destroyer Greyhound. Another is 3791-ton transport HMS Ulster Prince, escorted by destroyer HMS Hotspur. The Ulster carries primarily RAF personnel, and it departs quickly carrying the remaining commandos from Operation Abstention (the failed attempt to occupy Italian-held Kastelorizo).

Going the other way, Convoy AS 16 departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria and Port Said.

A British troop convoy bound for Piraeus departs from Suda Bay, Crete. The soldiers are carried on four cruisers (HMS Ajax, Gloucester, Orion, and Perth). Meanwhile, Convoy AN 17 departs from Alexandria also carrying troops for Piraeus.

The Italians, meanwhile, are blissfully unaware of most of what the British and Greeks are doing. However, Mussolini is determined to salvage Italian pride by showing that his troops can achieve success against the Greeks before the Germans invade. Accordingly, he is reinforcing his garrison in Albania, both in terms of fighting men and air units. An offensive is planned by Italian VIII Army Corps in less than a week's time, with the preliminary objective the recapture of Klisura and a further advance south toward Ioannina.

The Greeks also are blissfully unaware of what the other side is up to. They continue to mount minor offensive operations by II Corps in the Klisura section. These are not major operations, but simply line-straightening attacks and the like.

The British cancel a planned attack on the large Italian base at Rhodes due to the failure of Operation Abstention.

Australian fighter ace Nigel Cullen is shot down near Himarë, Albania during an attack on Italian shipping.

"The oil blaze at the village of Stamsund, situated 70 miles up the West Fjord, with a few Norwegian fishing boats in the foreground." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (A 3315).

East African Campaign: The British are preparing another attempt to force their way past the firm Italian defenses at Keren. However, the strategy now is to bypass the narrow gorge which controls entry to Keren and instead secure other, nearby passes. The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade moves toward Cogai Pass, while the British troops at the Mescelit Pass expand their reconnaissance. Unfortunately for them, the British find that, while Keren is relatively close, another mountain range lies between them and the town. To get to Keren, they will have to force their way through another pass at Mendad. The Italians occupy the high ground in all of these places, and they also have mined the approaches to Keren. The actions at this point are patrol activity, with the British having some success taking isolated Italian outposts which really don't advance the overall strategic agenda.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe continues attacking Cardiff, one of its favorite targets recently. The Germans send 61 bombers over the city. RAF Coastal Command raids an airfield near Brest. After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids railway infrastructure at Calais.

"Commandos watching fish oil tanks burning." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (N 396).

Battle of the Atlantic: At the War Cabinet meeting today, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (apparently recovered from his cold) uses the term "Battle of the Atlantic" to describe the naval conflict. The term, noted by attending Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies in his diary, sticks.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) refuels from German 7747-ton tanker Charlotte Schliemann in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Doing this extends the range and time of station of the U-boats. Typically, a U-boat can remain at sea for only 30 days, with about ten of those days eaten up by transiting to and from the station. However, as an example, refueling at sea enables U-105 to spend 112 days on this patrol. This undoubtedly leads to more offensive opportunities.

The Charlotte Schliemann is refueling multiple U-boats - yesterday, U-124 refueled from her. The German maritime supply network is what keeps their raiders in operation, and amplifies the reach of the U-boats.

The Luftwaffe attacks shipping off Fastnet, damaging 192-ton British trawler East Coast. There are no casualties and damage is relatively minor.

British 303 ton freighter Anonity hits a mine and sinks near Skegness Pier. There are four deaths and two survivors. Another ship, 20-ton Lyndis Kitwood, also is damaged by a mine (perhaps the same one) off Skegness, but its damage is minor.

British 321-ton freighter Ruth II hits a mine in the Thames Estuary near the Bar Light Vessel. British 594-ton freighter Anglian Coast also hits a mine in the same area and also is damaged. Both ships make it back to port with no casualties.

Minelayer HMS Plover lays minefield ZME 21 in the Irish Sea.

"Troops returning from shore in boats having accomplished their work of destruction." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (A 3322).

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Afrika Korps continues digging defensive lines near El Agheila in Libya. The British remain unconcerned, their entire focus now on Greece.

General Richard O'Connor, the victorious commander of XIII Corps which captured Bardia, Tobruk, and Benghazi, is made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. This belies Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies' cynical conclusion that Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell would win all the plaudits for the successful campaign, but there is one salient fact which apparently eluded him: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill deeply dislikes Wavell and feels much more favorably toward O'Connor. There is no question that O'Connor deserves recognition for his troops' stunning accomplishments. Historians, however, actually adjudge Wavell one of the premier generals of the entire conflict - the British are blessed with an abundance of talent in the theater despite Churchill's misgivings.

In Malta, the government tightens curfew regulations. They now are from 21:00 to 06:30. The morning curfew is the hardest for many to bear because many people typically like to start the day well before sunrise.

Convoy BS 18 departs from Suez.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Convoy BM 4 departs from Karachi, bound for Singapore. It is a large convoy that later will be joined by several ships from Bombay.

Battle of the Pacific: Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra is patrolling off the Dutch East Indies when its Walrus seaplane spots two suspicious ships together. They are German raider Coburg and captured (by the Germans) Norwegian tanker Ketty Brøvig. The Canberra immediately heads toward the ships and orders them to stop for inspection. Instead, the two ships head off in opposite directions. Following the Coburg, Canberra fires at it from maximum range but misses. In all, Canberra fires 215 shells, but virtually all of them miss or cause inconsequential damage. Both the Coburg and Ketty Brøvig are scuttled by their crews. Mirroring one of the results of Operation Claymore, the British manage to capture some code documents when a quick-thinking seaplane pilot lands his Walrus next to the sinking Coburg, boards it, and carries out a quick search.

"Royal Engineers preparing to blow up barrels of fish oil on the quayside at Stamsund." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, 4 March 1941. © IWM (N 418).

German/Yugoslav Relations: Adolf Hitler knows how to handle smaller powers reluctant to join his empire. He summons the crown regent, Prince Paul, to the Berghof in Berchtesgaden. After hectoring the regent all night long, Hitler is satisfied that he has eliminated Yugoslavia as a problem and in fact turned it into a useful vassal state, though not a military ally. Prince Paul agrees to sign the Tripartite Pact after Hitler sweetens the deal (upon Prince Paul's insistence) by offering him Greece's northern port of Salonika (Thessalonika). In fact, Hitler agrees to virtually all of Paul's demands aside from one that the agreement between the two governments must be published. In effect, the agreement turns Yugoslavia into a neutral party, as the Wehrmacht is barred from using the country for its invasion.

Yugoslavia's signing is scheduled to take place in ten days' time. Prince Paul knows that there is far from unanimity at home about joining Germany and wishes to keep the signing ceremony as low-key as possible.

German/Turkish Relations: Both the British and the Germans have been courting the Turks, who possess a large army and a strategic geographical position. The Turks already, in effect, have turned down the British, and today they effectively turn down the Germans. Turkish President İsmet İnönü tells the German ambassador, Franz von Papen, that German troops should stay well clear of the Turkish border and that Turkey views Bulgarian military mobilization as a threat to its own integrity.

Anglo/Swedish Relations: The Swedish press is an independent lot that frequently angers the Germans with its outspokenness. Today, the British feel its bit when an article appears in Svenska Dagbladet about problems caused by British barrage balloons. According to the story, drifting British barrage balloons have become a positive menace to Sweden, with their cables snagging on chimneys (one tall one reportedly is toppled) and catching on the sails and rigging of fishing boats. Power lines also suffer, with areas of Goteborg left without power due to one of the drifting menaces.

Bulgarian/Dutch/Belgian/Polish Relations: Bulgaria, now a German satellite, severs relations with these four countries.

Latin American Homefront: Argentina defeats Chile 1-0 in football (soccer) to win the South American Championship.

Canadian Homefront: Canada requires registration of all Canadians of Japanese descent.

Dutch Homefront: The repercussions from the failed Dutch General Strike continue. The Germans sentence 18 of Bernardus IJzerdraat's De Geuzen rebels to death in The Hague. The Dutch resistance is very brave, but there are many informants looking for a little favoritism from the occupying authorities. There also are many ethnic Germans living in Holland who have more allegiance to Germany than to Holland (the Kaiser, of course, still lives in Holland, though that is a special case).

American Homefront: The Boston Bruins defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. This game sets two so-far unbroken records: shots on goal by one team (83 shots) and saves by a goaltender (80, by Sam LoPresti).

Future History: Adrian Lyne is born in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England. Raised in London, Adrian develops an early fascination with films, and in the early 1960s begins making his own films based upon the influence of French New Wave directors such as Truffaut and Godard. He begins his career by making television commercials, and also makes some short films. Lyne does not make his feature film directing debut until 1980 with "Foxes," starring Jodie Foster. It is a success, and his next film, 1983's "Flashdance," is an even bigger one. This sets Lyne on a path to directing all different types of films, and in 1986 he directs controversial (but surprisingly successful) erotic film "9 1/2 Weeks." Many other quite successful films followed, including 1993's "Indecent Proposal" starring Robert Redford, another huge box office success. Most recently, Lyne has been producing television series, including "Fatal Attraction" (based on his own extremely successful and controversial 1987 film) and "Back Roads."

"British officers with a captured German flag after the raid." Lofoten Islands, Operation Claymore, © IWM (N 419).

Wednesday 20 November 1940

Signed wartime photograph of Winston Churchill by Cecil Beaton. The photograph was taken by Beaton in Churchill's cabinet at 10 Downing Street on November 20, 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The battle for the summit of Morava continues on 20 November 1940. The Italians are holding on fiercely because the mountains control the key valleys below that lead toward the coast. The Greek Group under Lieutenant-General Georgios Kosmas, however, is tenacious and has the benefit of local knowledge of the mountains.

Elsewhere, the Greek Liuba Detachment attacks across the Kalamas River in the Thesprotia sector, the Greek 8th Infantry Division takes Vissani in the Kalamas sector, and the Greek 2nd Infantry Division advances in the direction of Aidonochori and Drymades in Negrades sector.

This is a Radio Orphan Annie ID bracelet. Below is the reverse.

These bracelets were a promotional item distributed by Ovaltine for the radio Orphan Annie show's November 20, 1940 broadcast. The initial on front corresponded to the first letter of the listener’s name, and the serial number on the reverse was filed with the Orphan Annie Identification Bureau. It is unclear where all that ID information ever went, somebody probably still keeps it somewhere.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe (I,/KG 55) bombs Birmingham for the second night in a row. The 116 bombers add another 132 tons of high explosives and 296 incendiary bombs. The Germans lose one bomber. The Luftwaffe does little during the day, and the short daylight hours make such missions unnecessary anyway.

The Corpo Aereo Italiano chips in by sending a dozen bombers against Harwich again during the night. It is unclear why the Italians always attack Harwich, perhaps because it is easy to find from the air and they do not have the sophisticated guidance beams used by the Luftwaffe bombers.

RAF Bomber Command raids Duisburg with 43 aircraft, and U-boat base Lorient with 8 bombers, overnight.

Oberleutnant Josef "Pips" Priller" joins 6,/JG 26 as Staffelkapitän of 1st Staffel.

Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering lifts a ban which he had placed on Stab,/JG 53 (headquarters unit) regarding its unit emblem. The pilots and ground crew were never happy with this slight. JG 53 is the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) squadron, and Goering had ordered the emblems removed because the wife of Geschwaderkommodore Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel was Jewish. The Geschwader picks up its 500th victory of the war shortly after the ban is lifted.

JG 53 is one of the Luftwaffe's elite fighter units, home to top aces Werner Mölders and Hans Karl Meyer. Such formations have a certain leeway within the Wehrmacht available to almost nobody else because they are highly skilled and irreplaceable personnel. The men of the unit have been removing the Swastikas from the tails of their planes as a form of silent protest about the Goering decision about Cramon-Taubadel's wife. Very few open acts of defiance against the German leadership occur during the war, especially successful ones, so this is worthy of note. The initiative for the change appears to have been a new Kommodore, Major Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, whose wife was not Jewish (in fact, it is unclear if he ever married).

Noel Coward arrives in Brisbane as part of a 7-week tour to raise money for the International Red Cross. His day will be full: a radio broadcast, a sherry party and then a military concert. This photo was in The Telegraph, 20 November 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: German coaster Snorre I hits a mine and sinks off Kjøkkelvik, Hordaland, Norway.

The Supermarine Walrus amphibious biplane from Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Manchester capsizes and sinks at Sullom Voe, Shetland, Scotland.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 8955-ton British tanker Chesapeake off the Lizard.

Convoy OB 246 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OB 247 is held in the port, Convoy FN 338 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 340 departs from Methil, Convoy HG 47 departs from Gibraltar (30 ships).

The Kriegsmarine begins converting cruiser liner Wilhelm Gustloff, which has been acting as a hospital ship, into a floating barracks at Gotenhafen (Gdynia). The ship will retain its engines and be capable of troop transport as the need arises.

The Kriegsmarine commissions captured Norwegian submarines B-5 and B-6 as training U-boats UC-1 and UC-2.

"Gloster Sea Gladiator Mark I, N5520, on the ground at an airfield in Malta, probably while being flown by No. 261 Squadron RAF at Ta Kali. The aircraft has been refitted with a Bristol Mercury engine and three-bladed Hamilton propeller salvaged from a Bristol Blenheim. N5520 is the only surviving Gladiator of the Malta-based Fighter Flight, and was presented to the people of Malta as "Faith" in 1943." © IWM (ZZZ 3915E).

Battle of the Mediterranean: As part of the RAF shakeup that has removed Air Marshal Dowding from his position, Air Marshal Owen Tudor Boyd (formerly Air Officer Commanding, Balloon Command, and only recently promoted to Air Marshal) has been appointed Deputy to the Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Middle East Command. To take up that post in Cairo, Boyd flies in a Blenheim bomber across the Mediterranean en route to refueling point Malta. This is a more-or-less normal route, but Boyd's bomber goes far off course. It winds up far to the north over Sicily. Italian fighters scramble and force it to land in a field, where Boyd and six others are taken as prisoners.

Boyd's loss, while most unfortunate, is not what really worries the uppermost echelons of the British government; it is what he knows that causes concern. Boyd is carrying confidential papers, which he destroys by setting alight the downed bomber; and he also knows about the Top Secret Ultra project. Boyd, to his credit, does not reveal what he knows about that potentially war-winning decoding operation, and the Italians and Germans, of course, have no idea that he is hiding such information. Boyd spends his captivity in the Castle Vincigliata (Castello di Vincigliata) camp near Florence, Italy.

This is a puzzling incident that may tie in with the loss of the 8 Hawker Hurricane fighters flying to Malta on the 18th. While it is unproven why the plane wound up over Sicily, some accounts state that the bomber was short of fuel. That is the same reason the fighters failed to make land at Malta. Boyd, incidentally, escapes from Axis control in December 1943 and finally takes up his command - three years late.

Elsewhere, RAF aircraft bomb and sink 57-ton Italian coastal freighter Ardita III off Assab, Italian Somaliland.

Italian torpedo boat Confienza collides with 2321 ton AMC Capitano A. Cecci off Brindisi, Italy, and sinks.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS York continues its delivery service in the eastern Mediterranean, dropping off its shipment of anti-aircraft artillery at Piraeus before heading back to Alexandria for another cargo.

In Malta, the issue of troop morale is a major concern. Mail deliveries have not improved. Accordingly, the island command grants all ranks the opportunity to send one private telegram per month to the United Kingdom. There are strict limitations placed on the content of such messages, which are only to relate to matters of importance (which do not include terms of endearment).

RAF No. 261 Squadron departs from Luqa and takes up operations at RAF Station Takali, or Ta'Qali (Maltese), on Malta. Wing Commander J R O'Sullivan is in command of the squadron of fighters.

"High oblique aerial view of Ta Kali airfield, Malta, taken at 5,000 feet from the south-east." © IWM ((MOW) H 18-5).

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin, operating in the Indian Ocean a thousand kilometers west of Australia, is heading southward when it spots smoke is on the horizon from a large westbound freighter. The crew of the Pinguin launches its seaplane, which buzzes the ship and drops a message instructing it to stop and maintain radio silence. The freighter gets off a distress call anyway before the seaplane can disable the wireless. The freighter then shoots down the seaplane, which the crew of the freighter chooses to ignore while trying to escape from the fast-approaching Pinguin.

The Pinguin has a hard time catching up with the freighter. Finally, after a long chase, and after two long-range (22 km) salvos from the German ship, the freighter heaves to and waits for the Pinguin. It turns out upon inspection to be British refrigeration ship Maimoa, en route from Fremantle to Durban. After taking what it needs from the ship (which is full of meat and dairy products), the Pinguin sinks the freighter and takes its 87 crew prisoner. The downed seaplane crew, meanwhile, has to wait until the next morning to be picked up with their damaged plane.

The distress call from the Maimoa reaches Royal Navy officers in Fremantle. They immediately dispatch heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra to the ship's reported position. While the ships have moved on from there during the chase, the downed seaplane is still at that position.

Separately, 223 ton Royal Australian Navy auxiliary minesweeper/trawler HMAS Goorangai (D. McGregor, RANVR) collides with 10,346-ton British passenger MV Duntroon as it is exiting Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. The warship, which is blacked-out, sinks. It is the Royal Australian Navy's first loss of the war. All 24 aboard the Goorangai perish. The Duntroon tries to pick up any survivors, but only finds six bodies. The Duntroon returns to Melbourne for bow repairs which last until 18 December. A court of inquiry finds no fault on the part of the skipper of the Duntroon.

An ad in the Vancouver Sun for "The Great Dictator," which opens this week in Vancouver. People still know Chaplin for his "tramp" character of decades earlier, so the advertisement emphasizes that despite the topical theme of the film itself.

Hungarian/German/Italian/Japanese Relations: Hungary adds its name to the Tripartite Pact of 27 September 1940 (which makes it a quadripartite pact, but as other nations start adding their names, people just call it the Axis for convenience). This makes Hungary a nominal ally of Germany, Japan, and Italy (though with some key reservations on its obligations thereto). The country that Hitler really wants to sign the pact is the Soviet Union, but that appears unlikely after the disastrous Molotov mission to Berlin earlier in the month. Hungarian Prime Minister Teleki and Foreign Minister Csaky sign the pact.

Hungary has benefited from the First and Second Vienna Awards (which gave it Romanian territory) and historically sides with Germany. Despite its recent acquisitions from Romania, Hungary still feels slighted by the Treaty of Trianon which ended World War I in the region. This is not the first entanglement that Hungary has entered into with Hitler: on 24 February 1939, it joined the Anti-Comintern pact after sharing in the spoils from the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Admiral Miklós Horthy rules the country with an iron fist and is united with Hitler in a fierce hatred of Communism. However, his alliance is based more on a shared fear of the Soviet Union than it is on a love of Germany.

Future History: Helma Sanders-Brahms is born in Lower Saxony, Germany. Sander-Brahms begins making (German) films in the late 1960s after interning with Italian "New Wave" directors. One of her most renowned films is "Germany, Pale Mother" (1980) about women in the Third Reich. While not very well known in the English-speaking world, she is considered a leader in the New German Cinema and receives many awards in Germany and France. Sanders-Brahms passes away in 2014.

With all the acting talent in "You'll Find Out," including Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Dennis O'Keefe, bandleader Kay Kyser is the one who takes top billing. Also involved are Ish Kabibble - yes, Ish Kabibble - and Jeff Corey in one of his first (uncredited) film roles (and that creates a Star Trek connection for ya!). Incidentally, even Helen Parrish has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, this cast is loaded - and yet the movie is completely forgotten except by film buffs. Go figure. Great to watch on Halloween! The Times-Picayune, November 20, 1940.

November 1940

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

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