Tuesday 23 July 1940

Spitfire Mk. Is of B Flight of No 609 Squadron RAF. They are preparing for take-off at RAF Middle Wallop in July 1940.

Battle of Britain: War nerves remain tight on 23 July 1940. There is a false invasion alarm at 19:58 when British aerial reconnaissance reports a large group of Kriegsmarine ships, including destroyers and possibly transports, heading northwest in the North Sea. The British Home Fleet makes ready to cast off, and RAF Skua and Swordfish torpedo planes are sent to attack.

There are indeed ships there, and the RAF planes go to work, with one plane sustaining damage but no hits made on the planes. In fact, it is just a relatively routine Kriegsmarine minelayer force out of Wilhelmshaven composed of the minelayers Kaiser, Konigin Luise, Roland, Cobra, and Hansestadt Danzig, escorted by a large formation of torpedo boats. The German ships lay their mines (minefield "NW 2") without further interference. The entire incident reveals how murky the entire situation is and how difficult it is for the Admiralty to know exactly what is going on.

Aerial operations remain light. The Luftwaffe continues to target British convoys in the English Channel, but the English are getting wise to the strategy. Air Marshal Dowding protests at the difficulty of adequately protecting the Channel convoys, so some are re-routed the long way around Scotland. This reduces the easy pickings in the Channel but also causes major air battles over the fewer convoys using that short route.

There are several Luftwaffe penetrations of English airspace, but few actual interceptions due to clouds and other factors. The scattered raids are mostly in the north along the coast, and the RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 and a Dornier Do 215. The RAF loses no planes - a first during the Battle of Britain - and the Luftwaffe loses up to 6 planes.

Polish F/L Franciszek Jastrzębski joins No 302 Squadron RAF at RAF Leconfield on 23 July 1940. He leads B Flight. He is a 34-year-old veteran of the Polish campaign with 3 enemy aircraft to his credit. KIA 25 October 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: British submarine HMS Narwhal sinks on or about this day. It is believed to have been sunk by a Dornier Do-17 flown by Lt. Karl Müller of 1/KF1Gr 606.

The Luftwaffe also bombs British submarine HMS Truant in the North Sea but escapes any damage.
Convoy FN 230 departs from Southend, Convoy MT 118 departs from Methil, Convoy FS 230 departs from the Tyne, Convoy HX 60 departs from Halifax.

In addition, a Canadian troop convoy, TC.6, also departs from Halifax with a destroyer escort, with one troopship destined for Iceland and the rest Scotland and England. The troopships are Batory, Antonia, Monarch Of Bermuda, Sobieski, Duchess Of York and Samaria, escorted by Canadian destroyers HMCS Assiniboine and Saguenay and British cruiser HMS Emerald.

Former British submarine HMS Seal, which the Germans previously captured, is commissioned as U-B.

Soviet submarine M-99 is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Force H, which includes aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, cruiser Enterprise and destroyers Escapade, Faulknor, Foresight, and Forester. The objective is an air assault on Bordeaux. The weather turns poor and the operation is scrubbed.

At Malta, there are false air raid alerts during the day, but overnight the Italians raid Hal Far airbase and Kalafrana.

War Crimes: At Malta, an examination of downed Regia Aeronautica aircraft reveals that the Italians are using explosive bullets that have a detonator in the nose cap. Governor Dobbie sends a report to the War Office because such bullets - at least arguably - are prohibited by international treaties.

US/Soviet Relations: The Baltic States missions to the US protest against their Soviet absorption. The US refuses to recognize the Soviet annexation (pursuant to local "votes") of the Baltic States. Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles applies the 1932 Stimson Doctrine, which states that the US is under no obligation to recognize territorial changes undertaken by force. There are numerous benefits to the Baltics of this position, such as protection of Baltic States foreign assets and the right to maintain diplomatic missions.

The document is known as the Welles Declaration, and the US is a leader in this area which precedes similar stances by many other nations. This Welles Declaration, incidentally, outlives World War II and remains in effect until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990-91.

In Estonia, the Soviet puppet assembly rubber-stamps the Soviet takeover, transforming the nation into the Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).

Hungary: Local Germans stage a pro-Hitler demonstration in Budapest.

Admiral Canaris (left) with good friend Reinhard Heydrich on the occasion of the latter's wedding in the 1930s.

Spain: Admiral Canaris, head of the German military intelligence service Abwehr, visits Madrid for consultations regarding the capture of Gibraltar. This, obviously, requires more than just military planning and any decision to do anything of the sort requires a Spanish war commitment.

Czechoslovakia: Britain recognizes the Czech National Committee as the Provisional Czech Government and forms a military alliance with it.

French Somaliland: The Vichy government continues replacing its administrators in colonies to prevent any more defections to the "Free French" of Charles de Gaulle. General Germain replaces Pro-Free French General Legentilhomme.

League of Nations: The League continues its collapse into irrelevancy with the announcement from Geneva that Secretary-General Joseph Louis Anne Avenol intends to resign.

French Homefront: The Vichy government states that former Prime Minister Daladier and three members of his Cabinet will be prosecuted for causing the war.

British Homefront: Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Kingsley Wood presents the Third War Budget. It raises the income tax 24% to 8/6 and imposes additional sin tax levies on beer, wine, tobacco products, furs, makeup, amusement businesses, and similar non-essential goods.

The Local Defense Volunteers officially is renamed the Home Guard, which Prime Minister Winston Churchill believes is a more descriptive name. The Germans have announced that they will shoot any civilians acting against their troops.

American Homefront: The British are in desperate need of aircraft, so the British Purchasing Mission secures permission (Roosevelt must approve) to purchase up to 40% of U.S. aircraft production. The mission is headed by Scottish-Canadian Montreal businessman Arthur Purvis (head of Canadian Industries Ltd (CIL)), who had performed essentially the same function during World War I. Purvis also wants destroyers and torpedo boats. Generally, everyone in the US military cooperates with the British even though technically they could prevent sales of anything deemed necessary for national security. A notable exception is Admiral Stark, who is adamantly opposed to parting with the US Navy destroyer inventory even though many of the destroyers are virtually obsolete World War I types.

Dc Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau and Arthur Purvis, 1940.

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

Wednesday 5 June 1940

This picture summarizes the early days of Fall Rot. A member of a German Luftwaffe Flak Artillery Unit stands by a broken down (hooked up for recovery) French Hotchkiss H-35 Nº5 (40099) of the 4th Cuirassiers, 1ère Brigade Légère Mécanique, 1ère Division Légère Mécanisée. Meanwhile, passing him are French refugees with all their worldly possessions. May/June 1940 (colorized).

Western Front: Following another massive reorientation of its axis of attack, the Wehrmacht leaps forward at 04:00 in a completely new and entirely expected direction - south. This is Operation Fall Rot: Case Red.

There are 119 German Divisions (sources vary depending upon which formations you include), including 10 panzer divisions, led by Panzer Group Guderian (Panzergruppe Guderian) and Panzer Group Kleist of First Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 1) of the 47 divisions of Army Group A (General von Rundstedt). Army Groups A and C also are participating.

Opposing the Wehrmacht along the line of the Somme are 65-66 mainly French divisions in Army Groups 3 (coast) and 4 (the Aisne), including 3 armored formations and 3 mechanized divisions. The British 1st Armored Division and Canadian 1st Infantry Division are involved in the defense.

The French defense is complicated by the elimination of the BEF, including its large French formations, and by the fact that there has not been sufficient time to trans-ship those forces rescued in Operation Dynamo back to France at Cherbourg, or move them forward to the front line.

The French line is known as the Weygand line and is based on a "hedgehog" strategy of fortified villages and other strong points. This is a defense "in depth" rather than a strictly linear defense of trenches. The Weygand Line ties into the Maginot Line at Montmédy. The French must defend an elongated front with fewer troops than they began the war with, while the Wehrmacht is near full strength. Having occupied former battlefields, the Germans have been able to recover much of their damaged equipment and repatriate some prisoners.

General Weygand issues an order of the day stating:

"The battle of France has started. Hold on to the soil of France, look only forward...."

The German 4th Army (Colonel-General Günther von Kluge) is opposed by the 51st Highland Division and takes a few bridgeheads across the Aisne. During the afternoon, it takes Saigneville, Mons, Cantigny, Pendé, and Tilloy. Some British troops of the 7th Argylls are surrounded at Franleu, and a relief attack fails. At day's end, the line is at Tœufles, Zoteux, and Frières, while the 152nd Infantry Brigade is on the Blangy-Abbeville road.

French artillery at Amiens proves decisive in frustrating German advances in that sector. However, operations on the first day show that the French hedgehog positions are unable to give each other mutual support, and the Germans can infiltrate between them. General Rommel's 7th "Ghost" Panzer Division makes gains of roughly 10 km, but there is no breakthrough.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe sends 30 bombers against the southeast British coast, causing minor damage. This is sort of "armed reconnaissance," as the Luftwaffe has little experience attacking southern England.

The RAF retaliates by bombing railways and oil storage facilities in the Rhineland and nearby points during the night. Oil tanks are set ablaze in Frankfurt and Mannheim.

The RAF Bomber Command also sends 23 aircraft against the German troops advancing across the Somme.

Hauptmann Werner Mölders, on his 133rd combat mission of the war, and in aerial combat for the 32nd time, is shot down near Compiègne at about 18:40 by Sous lieutenant René Pomier Layrargues, flying a French Air Force Dewoitine D.520. Mölders survives, though he is roughed up by his captors. Leyrargues is shot down 30 minutes later and killed. Mölders is the first German ace with 25 aerial victories to his credit and is the Gruppenkommandeur of III/JG 53.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-48 (Korvettenkapitän Hans Rudolf Rösing) sinks 798-ton British freighter Stancor about 80 miles northwest of the Butt of Lewis, Scotland at 23:18. All 19 aboard survive.

Swedish freighter Skandia hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by the British submarine HMS Seal.

British ship Capable hits a mine in the English Channel and sinks.

German minesweeper M-11 hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Narwhal and sinks.

Convoy OA 162 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 162 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 32 forms at Gibraltar, Convoy HX 48 departs from Halifax.

Bjerkvik at the head of the Herjangs Fjord, opposite Narvik, is shelled by the Royal Navy, 5 June 1940.

Norway: Operation Alphabet continues, with more British soldiers taken off from Narvik. About 5,100 soldiers are taken off from Harstad.

The Norwegian army knows that the Allies are leaving, but launches one last attack on General Dietl's mountain troops clinging to Norwegian territory east of Narvik.

French Government: Prime Minister Paul Reynaud removes former Prime Minister Daladier from the government, assuming his responsibility for Foreign Affairs himself. General de Gaulle, who has had little military success but at least represents an aggressive spirit, is named Under-Secretary of Defense.

Daladier has shown shaky judgment, but more importantly, he has alienated such important figures in the government as General Petain and Reynaud's mistress, Countess de Portes.

Reynaud phones Roosevelt and requests assistance.

German Homefront: Hitler broadcasts a patriotic appeal on the beginning of the invasion of France proper:

[F]rom today throughout the whole of Germany the flags shall be flown for a period of eight days. This is to be a salute for our soldiers. I further order the ringing of bells for a period of three days. Their sound may unite with the prayers with which the German nation will once again accompany her sons from this day forward.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the see-saw battle continues, as the Japanese 11th Army captures Shayang.

Japanese air raids on Chungking kill 1500 civilians.

British Homefront: Strikes are forbidden, which affects mainly coal-miners in the north. Farmers must maintain their farms. Workers are discouraged from taking holidays.

Prime Minister Churchill's "We shall never surrender" speech of 4 June resonates, although the message may have been slightly different than what Churchill intended. The Guardian notes that the "House of Commons is still trying to adjust to one of the gravest speeches ever made to it." Overall, though, the speech, perhaps the finest and most memorable of the 20th Century, resonates among all sectors of the populace.

As the BEF troops rescued from Dunkirk filter back into England, there are many joyous reunions as soldiers return to their families and loved ones who have had no information from them in weeks. Of course, there also is some sad news, but almost all of the British men have returned.
French Homefront: "The Exodus" continues and gains strength, as the peoples of northern France flee for safety on roads already clogged with refugees.

American Homefront: B.F. Goodrich Co. in Akron, Ohio exhibits the first synthetic rubber tire.

A Light Tank Mk VI of 8th Hussars in the western desert of Egypt, 5 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

2020

Saturday 11 May 1940

Belgian soldiers surrender to German paratroopers at the bridge at Veldwezelt, 11 May 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Western Front: The German offensive continues rolling on 11 May 1940. William Shirer, a US journalist, notes that there are "Great headlines today in Berlin papers over 'shameful' protests of the Low Countries against being invaded."

The 9th Panzer Division crosses the Meuse and finds an undefended bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal 50 miles from Rotterdam, enabling it to continue rolling westward.

The trapped Belgian troops at fortress Eben Emael surrender to the German 7th Flieger Division, clearing the pathway for the 6th Army to proceed over the Maas Canal and completing one of the most brilliant aerial assaults in history. German 6th Army pulls up to the Albert Canal below the fortress and sends tank spearheads across, which requires rushed reinforcements from further south - where the Germans are quietly rolling their main force through the Ardennes.
The Battle of the Grebbeberg gets rolling. This is the main defense line forward of "Fortress Holland" in the west. The Grebbeberg is a hill near Rhenen which offers panoramic views (a zoo which is a major tourist attraction is on the hill). German artillery of the 18th Army opens fire before dawn on the line's outposts, disabling Dutch communications. At first light, the SS brigade attacks. The Germans breach the right side of the line, which enables the attackers to surround the rest of the line. The entire outpost line falls. However, the hill itself - protected by a 47 mm (1.85 inches) gun) remains inviolate. The Dutch counterattack, but it degenerates into a chaotic disaster with Dutch units firing on each other - but it does forestall the Germans' own night attack.

The German columns pushing through the Ardennes face logistical issues on the forest roads, but no significant defenders. General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer "Ghost" Division is in the lead of Army Group A and disperses a French Cavalry Unit guarding the road. Allied bombers are noticeably absent, partly due to Luftwaffe air superiority.

The French 1st Army, 7th Army, 9th Army, and British Expeditionary Force execute the "Dyle Plan," advancing to take up defensive positions on the Dyle River line. The German main assault does not lie there. Retreating Belgian troops join them. Hitler, when informed of his classic decoy move producing the desired results, says "I could weep for joy!"

The Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) operation at The Hague is one of the few blemishes on the Fall Gelb offensive. Generalleutnant Hans Graf von Sponeck's paratroops are scattered across dunes and do not control any of the airports they were dropped to capture. With his objective now impossible, von Sponeck receives orders to aid the assault on Rotterdam. In reality, he and his men now are hunted fugitives behind enemy lines, with hundreds of wounded and missing troops.

The paratroopers at Rotterdam are doing somewhat better. The 22nd Flieger Division holds bridges over the Niewe Maas River. The Dutch Marines launch furious attacks, but the paratroopers have nowhere to retreat to anyway, so a stalemate develops - which is to the Germans' benefit.

'The biggest traffic jam in history': German armor squeezes through the narrow gorges of the Ardennes on its way to France on 11 May 1940.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe is concentrating on ground support missions - a key element of "Blitzkrieg." The Allies are hampered by few airbases close to the scene of the battles and, quite frankly, often inferior equipment.

In terms of that equipment, the Fairey Battle light bomber is struggling. The RAF sends eight of them to attack German troops in Luxembourg and only one returns.

The Luftwaffe also is aggressively targeting Allied airfields. They make a low-level attack on the field of No. 114 Squadron and destroy its Bristol Blenheim bombers on the ground.

The Luftwaffe sinks Dutch liners Statendam and Veendam at Rotterdam.

The RAF sends 23 aircraft to attack bridges over the Maas at Maastricht, which the Germans captured on the 10th.

Overnight, the RAF sends 37 bombers to attack Monchengladbach - the first RAF bombing of a German town without military priority.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-9 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Lüth) torpedoes and sinks 1,930-ton British freighter Tringa just off the West Hinder buoy at the mouth of the Scheldt River. There are 6 survivors and 17 perish.

U-9 also sinks 1,908-ton Estonian freighter Viiu. There are 5 survivors and 15 perish.

British submarine HMS Narwhal sinks Kriegsmarine vessel V-1109.

HMS Seal, the only British submarine captured during the war, arrives in Frederikshavn, Denmark, under tow by German "UJ 128" (Unterseebootsjäger 128). It is immediately investigated by German technicians.

Convoy OA 146 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 146 departs from Liverpool.

US Government: President Roosevelt fulfills various obligations under the Neutrality Laws, issuing executive orders :

1. Recognizing the state of war that exists between Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; 
2. Proclaiming American neutrality in the conflict; and 
3. Restricting belligerent submarines from using American ports and territorial waters, exclusive of the Panama Canal Zone.

War Crimes: The British Air Ministry takes the radical step of authorizing attacks on purely civilian targets in Germany. This is a clear violation of international law which the Germans have violated as well in Poland and Finland. While this particular decision is not considered a war crime by many historians and "they did it first"... if things had turned out differently, it would be. War can be unavoidably morally ambiguous.

Dutch Commander of 2nd Corps General Harberts at Grebbeberg impanels a summary court-martial of a sergeant, Chris Meijer, accused of abandoning his post. Meijer is shot by firing squad the same day. There are possible issues of undue influence of Harberts in the matter with murky motivations.

Norway: British General Claude Auchinleck is in command of the British-French ground forces of what has become a classic sideshow campaign. Even that is not going well for the Allies.

The two Independent Companies and accompanying British light anti-aircraft detachments (who have to abandon their equipment) at Mosjøen evacuate during the early morning hours on Norwegian vessel Erling Jarl. Lt. Col. Gubbins pays the owners 5000 kroner for their assistance. The accompanying Norwegians are forced to retreat by road after the Germans occupied Hemnesberget on the 10th by using the commandeered vessel Nordnorge.

The German 2nd Mountain Division troops at Hemnesberget attack toward Mo i Rana. Other troops from the division occupy the evacuated Mosjøen. Still, other units of the division continue their march north toward Narvik to relieve General Dietl's regiment there.

German/Swedish Relations: A Swedish delegation meets with Hermann Goering regarding German use of the Narvik railway which runs through Sweden.

Caribbean: British and French troops continue occupying Dutch islands such as Curaçao and Aruba. President Roosevelt states that these actions do not violate the Monroe Doctrine (no foreign military actions in the Americas).

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Chinese 5th War Area attacks the Japanese 11th Army around Tsaoyang, Tungpo, and Mingkang, but the Japanese break out of the encirclement and retreat eastward.

Belgian Homefront: The roads are clogged with refugees fleeing westward and southward. Most are on foot or on their bicycles. The Mayor of Bouillon, in a classic "business, is business" reaction to the war, refuses to quarter troops in hotels: "This is a resort town! Hotels are  reserved for tourists."

Dutch Homeland: Former Kaiser Wilhelm, living in exile in Holland, has had a somewhat dismissive opinion of Hitler. However, he refuses Winston Churchill's offer of sanctuary in the UK.

British Homefront: The  Manchester Guardian publishes an editorial stating that new Prime Minister Churchill "takes office with greater goodwill than any of our modern history."

"Contraband" starring Conrad Veidt hits the theatres. Veidt is a Lutheran German World War I veteran who fled Germany in 1933 due to the specter of Hitler's persecution of his Jewish wife.

The victors of Eben-Emael: Fallschirmjäger of Sturmabteilung Koch. (By Bundesarchiv, Billd 146-1971-011-27 / Büttner / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5441177)

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

2020

Monday 6 May 1940

French troops in the Narvik sector, 1940.

Norway: The saga of the Norwegian gold reserve reaches a turning point on 6 May 1940, as £33,000,000 arrives in London. Having traveled most of the vast length of Norway by train and British cruiser, there were some anxious moments before it finally wound up safely in England.

Norway Army Operations: With the Germans in control of all of Norway south of Trondheim, the Allies are massing strength around the vital transit hub Narvik. The South Wales Borderers (part of British 24th Brigade) are assembling five miles to the west, and the French Chasseurs Alpins and Colonial artillery troops continue to try to force their way through Labergdal Pass to the north, across the fjord. Getting into position on the opposite shore would provide prime artillery positioning for the Allies, so the pass must be held if the Germans are to hold the town.

Colonel-General Dietl in Narvik is sitting tight in Narvik. It is a small port whose only value is the rail line to Swedish ore mines. While easily defensible due to the towering mountain ranges on all sides, Dietl's regiment does not have the manpower to hold off a determined assault from all directions.

The Wehrmacht high command (particularly Hitler) is well aware that General Dietl's regiment is in trouble. The German 2d Mountain (Gebirgsjäger ) Division continues marching north from Trondheim across snow-covered mountain roads to help Dietl. It remains far away. Sea transport is out of the question due to British naval dominance.

Norway Naval Operations: Allied supply convoys reach Harstad and Tromso, jumping-off points for an attack on Narvik. The French 13th Demi-Brigade Legion Etrangere arrives at Harstad.

The Kriegsmarine is sending reinforcements to Norway across the Skagerrak and is somewhat careless about possible Allied interference. British submarine HMS Sealion sees two transport ships, Moltkefels and Neidenfels, at 14:00. Sealion fires six torpedoes at them but all miss.

In addition, HMS Snapper sees German armed merchant cruiser Widder, which left port on 5 May for its raid, about 30 miles east of Denmark around 15:25. Snapper fires two torpedoes - and both miss.

Norway Air Operations: While the British control the sea around Narvik, the Germans increasingly control the skies. Today, the Luftwaffe attacks part of the British fleet sitting nearby, with one bomb just missing cruiser HMS Enterprise, causing some damage and killing a Marine.

The Luftwaffe can operate from Værnes Air Station near Trondheim, which is rapidly upgraded to handle large forces, and also Hattfjelldal Airfield in Hattfjelldal, Norway. While not very close to Narvik, their planes outmatch anything that the British can put in the air over the isolated port.

Western Front: Hitler's Wehrmacht is silently moving over 90 divisions into launching points for the invasion of the Low Countries and France. Meanwhile, the Allies are focused on the sideshow in Narvik. The Germans, incidentally, are preparing more divisions for combat operations than the United States fielded at any point in World War II.

Belgian reconnaissance notices a large Wehrmacht Armoured column moving west through the Ardennes. It is part of General von Rundstedt's force for Fall Gelb.

Battle of the Atlantic: The HMS Seal, captured by the Wehrmacht on 5 May, is gone but not forgotten. During its patrol, it released some 50 mines. Today, German cargo ship Vogesen hits one and sinks.

British freighter Brighton hits a mine and sinks near Dunkirk.

Convoy OA 143GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 143 departs from Liverpool.

British corvette HMS Calendula (Lt. Commander Alan D. Bruford) is commissioned.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Ash (George A. Harrison) is commissioned.

Italian Battleship Vittorio is completed.

European Air Operations: RAF bomber command sends a dozen aircraft on minelaying operations during the night.

Vatican: The Vatican has been acting as a clearinghouse for off-and-on behind the scenes peace negotiations with Wehrmacht dissidents and thus has good sources. The Pope has been trying to get the word out that the Germans are preparing to attack. He faces massive Allied indifference or disbelief. The Pope tells Princess of Italy Marie José, the wife of the Italian Crown Prince, that Germany is about to attack the Low Countries. The Princess informs her brother, King Leopold of Belgium. Unfortunately, there have been several false alarms that have greatly embarrassed the Belgians and cost some highly placed officials their jobs, so one more alarm does not create as much excitement as it otherwise might.

Olympics: The International Olympics makes formal a decision that has been obvious for some time, canceling the 1940 Summer Olympics - the winter Games already having been canceled.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Japanese 11th Army captures Fengyao and Changchiachi.

British Homefront: The government releases employment figures showing that unemployment is at its lowest level in 20 years.

American Homefront: John Steinbeck wins the Pulitzer Prize for "The Grapes of Wrath," which already has been turned into a classic Hollywood film starring Henry Fonda.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge nearing completion, May 6, 1940. James Bashford Press Photos. PH Coll. 290.9 University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. The bridge opened in July 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

Sunday 5 May 1940

HMS Seal after its capture in Kiel.

Norway: Both sides on 5 May 1940 are now upping their bids on Northern Norway. Central and southern Norway are now solidly German-occupied, but the northernmost third of the country is still up for grabs. It is rugged, largely devoid of roads, and subject to fierce weather, with military supply dependent upon naval or aerial sources - at which the British and French can rightly claim an advantage. The prize is more desirable because, aside from general geographic convenience for U-boat operations and air bases, the only value of Norway to anyone lies in that northern third - the port of Narvik. It is the source of the iron ore which makes the tanks and ships and guns which the German war machine requires.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Professor Koht, and Minister of Defence Col. Ljungberg arrive in London for consultations with British ministers. A Norwegian Government-in-exile is established in London, though the seat of government remains under British/French protection in northern Norway.

Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler has everyone else looking above the Arctic Circle - and he is looking much closer to home.

Norway Army Operations: With food running out and only enough water for a few days, the garrison of Hegra Fortress (26 miles east of Trondheim) knows that its only hope would be relief by external Norwegian/Allied troops. However, there are no longer any potential saviors within a thousand kilometers due to the British/French evacuations and Norwegian surrenders. In fact, Hegra Fortress is the last pocket of resistance south of Nordland. Accordingly, at 05:00, Major Holtermann gives a speech thanking the volunteers - largely local gun club members - and a rendition of the Norwegian national anthem. At 05:25, he raises the white flag over Hegra Fortress. The Germans, led by Hauptmann Giebel, arrive at 06:30. The garrison, totaling 190 men and one woman (nurse Anne Margrethe Bang) is led out later in the day.

Adolf Hitler ultimately orders the Hegra Fortress prisoners' release in recognition of their valor, but not before they are forced to attempt to build a road to replace the bridges that they had blown. Total casualties at Hegra Fortress:

• Killed 6
• Wounded 14

Germans:

• 150-200 casualties.

German mountain troops advancing north from the Trondheim region continue their march toward Narvik. They reach the vicinity of Mosjoen. However, they are still hundreds of kilometers away from Narvik over rough ground.

The Allied troops near Narvik begin consolidating their positions. Norwegian 6th Infantry Brigade and 7th Infantry Brigade and French 27th Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs capture Elvenes just north of Narvik

Norwegian Air Operations: German aircraft from Norwegian bases fly support missions for General Dietl's troops at Narvik for the first time.

Norway Naval Operations: French Foreign Legionnaires and Polish troops land at Harstad and Tromso, preparing the way for a pincer movement on Narvik. They also can help block any relief attempts.

British submarine HMS Seal begins the day on the ocean floor in the Skagerrak after a mine explodes nearby. The Captain reads the Lord's Prayer to the crew. While damaged, it is intact enough for the men to somehow re-float it (using their very last, unexpected source of air) at 01:30. They head for Swedish waters to be interned, but the submarine can only go in reverse, and then the engine seizes up completely from mud collected on the sea bottom. A Luftwaffe Heinkel He 115 seaplane and two Arado 196s spot her dead in the water at 02:30. The crew surrenders using a white table cloth.

The captain of the Seal, Rupert Lonsdale, swims to the Heinkel to surrender. The crew is saved and HMS Seal (expected by its crew to sink) is taken in tow by the German "UJ 128" (Unterseebootsjäger 128) and brought to the German naval base at Frederikshavn, Denmark. It is about as near-death as a submarine crew can get and still survive - they truly looked death in the face -and one of the epic survival stories of submarine history.

Battle of the Atlantic: German raider Widder leaves Kiel bound for Bergen.

Convoy OG 28 forms at Gibraltar.

British light cruiser HMS Fiji (Captain William G. Benn) is commissioned.

Western Front: The front remains remarkably quiet. There is a report that, during the night, German patrols launched exploratory attacks on three Allied outposts supported by artillery fire, but were driven off.

Journalist William Shirer in Berlin, unlike the Allied intelligence services, notices something unusual going on: "More bans on private cars. Why is Germany saving oil? Do they need it for some big military plan?"

Spies: Ireland is defiantly neutral, but a large body of opinion sees the distraction of war against Germany as a handy way to pry the British out of the country. Taking advantage of this, the German military intelligence service sends Kapitän Hermann Goertz to Dublin by parachute. He is there to establish contacts with the IRA and sympathetic Irish Army Officers.

Australia: Troop convoy US 3 departs Victoria, bound for Egypt. It is transporting the Australian 18th Infantry Brigade.

Vatican: Pope, Pius XII issues a public anti-war prayer: "Christ, please stop the whirlwind of death which is crushing humanity."

French Homefront: RC Paris defeats Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in the Coupe de France Final.

Future History: Lance Henriksen is born in New York City. He becomes famous as an actor in the 1970s for such films as "Dog Day Afternoon," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Damien: Omen II" and, in the 1980s, "The Terminator" and "Aliens." He remains a working actor as of this writing.

Hauptmann Giebel enters Hegra Fortress to accept the Norwegian surrender, 5 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

Saturday 4 May 1940

Norway Army Operations: The allies are accumulating troops in the vicinity of Narvik on 4 May 1940. There are about 30,000 troops nearby (French Foreign Legion & Chasseurs Alpins [mountain infantry], Polish troops, British 24th Brigade & Norwegians), though in scattered locations to the north and south. The French troops march to Bjerkvik, opposite Narvik, but the Germans hold them at Labergdal Pass.

The British No. 1 Independent Company (special forces) occupies Mo between Namsos and Narvik.

Colonel-General Eduard Dietl’s 139th Mountain (Gebirgsjäger) Regiment has been isolated at Narvik since the beginning of the invasion, now almost a month old, and the Wehrmacht senses trouble (and also Hitler). The closest Wehrmacht formation, General Feuerstein’s 2nd Mountain (Gebirgsjäger) Division, begins marching 350 miles to the north to relieve them. The allies have troops at Mosjöen, Mo, and Bodö, and deploy about 300-500 at each along the way to stop or delay the German march.

The German 359th Infantry Brigade enters Namsos now that the Allies are evacuated.

At Hegra Fortress, the surrounded Norwegian volunteers begin destroying radios, machine guns, small arms and other items of value. Ski patrols leave carrying important documents and messages.

North of Trondheim, the Norwegian 5th Infantry Brigade surrenders its 2,000 troops.

Norway Naval Operations: The Royal Navy lands troops at Mo, south of Narvik.

British submarine HMS Seal is laying mines on the surface in the Kattegat at 02:30 when it is spotted by a Heinkel He 115 seaplane. The submarine dives to 30 feet and continues laying mines. German anti-submarine trawlers arrive. HMS Seal takes evasive action throughout the day, but then at 18:30 strikes a mine and settles on the bottom. The submarine does not flood, but it is stuck in the mud on the bottom and in big trouble.

German troops capture Norwegian submarine B-6.

Norway Air Operations: A Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 of KG 100 bombs the Polish destroyer Grom on her torpedo tubes in the fjord Rombaken off Narvik at 08:28. The Grom was bombarding German positions along with destroyer HMS Faulknor, which picks up the survivors quickly along with light cruisers HMS Enterprise (D 52) and HMS Aurora (12) and destroyer HMS Bedouin (F 67). There are 154 survivors and 59 perish, with the crew put on a hospital ship sailing for the Clyde.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 5,995 ton tanker San Tiburcio hits a mine and sinks four miles off Tarbett Ness, Moray Firth, Scotland. All 40 crew survive. The mine was laid by U-9 on February 10, 1940.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Severn sinks German freighter Monark in the North Sea.

Swedish freighter Aimy hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Seal.

Convoy OA 142 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 142 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 29F departs from Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 40 departs from Halifax.

Spies: The Papal Nuncio warns King Leopold of Belgium that the Germans are preparing to attack.

Douglas Bader.

RAF: Douglas Bader, a fighter pilot who lost his legs in a crash in 1931, has been fitted with metal legs and is flying missions. In some small ways, such as handling G-forces, his situation helps him. His story is well known by pilots on both sides and is quite inspirational.

Holland: The Dutch Premier announces that the military authorities have arrested 21 people as being a danger to the state. They are suspected saboteurs and German infiltrators ("fifth columnists").

Italy: There is an editorial in La Stampa which states that the Germans have demonstrated their invincibility in Norway and can defeat the British and occupy England.

American Homefront: Gallahadion wins the Kentucky Derby.

Americans are mildly curious about all that German business, as shown by this photo in the 4 May 1940 LA Times. It's just a guess, but those look like Heinkel He 111s.

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

Saturday 6 April 1940

A slow transport bringing German troops to southern Norway.

Operation Weserubung: The main German invasion force embarks for Norway on 6 April 1940.

• Kriegsmarine Marine Gruppe 1 departs from Cuxhaven for Narvik (10 destroyers carrying 2000 troops, plus battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau);
• Kriegsmarine Marine Gruppe 2 departs from Wesermünde for Trondheim (cruiser Admiral Hipper & 4 destroyers carrying 1700 troops).

The Operation Wilfred minelaying squadron is approaching the Norwegian coast between Trondheim and Narvik. Destroyer HMS Glowworm loses a crewman overboard and stops to find him in heavy seas. It gets separated from the main squadron.

German warships are being used as fast transports. Admiral Hipper carries 1,700 Mountain Troops to Trondheim.

Troopship Nordmark sails into the Atlantic to wait off the coast of Norway.

During the night, a sea transport squadron leaves from Stettin with 15 steamers. In is taking 3,900 troops, 742 horses, 942 armoured vehicles. It is headed for Oslo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-1 (Korvettenkapitän Jürgen Deecke) is missing and presumed lost as of this date. The leading theory is that it struck a British mine in Field No. 7. All hands are lost.

U-50 (Kapitänleutnant Max-Hermann Bauer) strikes a mine and sinks in the North Sea north of the Terschelling. All 44 crew perish.

U-59 (Kapitänleutnant Harald Jürst) torpedoes and sinks 2,118 ton Norwegian freighter Navarra 20 miles north of Scotland at 03:16. There are 14 survivors, picked up by Norwegian freighter Atlas, and 12 perish, six when their lifeboat capsizes.

German auxiliary cruiser Orion leaves Germany under the command of Korvettenkapitän (later Fregattenkapitän) Kurt Weyher. She is disguised as a neutral freighter and headed to the Indian Ocean.

British submarines HMS Truant and Seal depart from Rosyth, while HMS Tarpon heads for the Heligoland Bight. All are patrolling for German ships which are thought to be headed for Norway.

British corvette HMS Gladiolus (Lt. Commander Harry M. C. Sanders)  is commissioned.

Convoy OA 124 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 124 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 25F forms at Gibraltar, Convoy HX 33 departs from Halifax.

European Air Operations: "Operation Nickel," the leaflet campaign against the Reich, concludes. Begun on the first day of the war, Operation Nickel dropped 65 million leaflets and propaganda disguised as "newspapers" since 3 September 1940. The operation has received some public disdain as that "inglorious confetti war."

A French fighter squadron downs two Dornier Do 17 fast bombers over the Western Front.

British Military: The French idea to bomb the Soviet oil fields remains alive at the highest Allied levels. Aerial photos recently taken of the fields arrive in London as the Generals decide whether to proceed with the operation. This is a "panacea" mission: "This will decide the entire course of the war." The tentative plan is to bomb 122 Soviet oil refineries over the course of 45 days.

War Crimes: The executions of Polish officers continues. Polish prisoners are taken to certain locations to be killed. At Kalinin Prison, they kill 390 on the first day, 250 today. The NKVD executioners find that they must pace themselves, the pace of killings is too great.

Holocaust: The persecution of Jews in Poland now extends to those in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia (former Czechoslovakia). Jews are herded into synagogues as collection points, then put on trucks that will take them to Poland.

German Homefront: "Feuertaufe" ("Baptism of Fire") premieres in Berlin. Hermann Goering attends. The film glorifies the Luftwaffe attacks on Poland. Its theme song is "Bombs Over England," which has the pungent line,  "We drive the British lion to the last deciding battle.…"

The government recalls all 1, 2, 5 & 10 pfenning coins, which contain scarce and valuable copper and bronze. The replacement coins are made of plentiful zinc.

British Homefront: The Ministry of Food announces that the new rationing slogan is "The Kitchen Front."

Future History: Pedro Armendáriz Bohr, better known by his stage name Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., is born in Mexico City, Mexico. He becomes famous as an actor in Mexico in the 1960s, and gains international fame in the 1989 James Bond film "Licence to Kill."

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016