Monday 10 March 1941

The King and Queen visit Dundee, 10 March 1941. © IWM (A 3383).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italian Primavera Offensive continues into a second day on 10 March 1941. On the left flank, the Pusteria Division captures, then loses Mali Spadarit, a peak overlooking the strategic Klisura Pass. In the center, Italian attacks to take Monastery Hill fail, and the Italians begin to bring up the reserve Bari Division. Elsewhere, the Italians are stopped cold by fixed Greek defenses of the Greek 1st Division. The weather turns poor, with cold rain negating any advantage that the Italians have in the air. The Italian high command decides to try to outflank the main Greek positions.

Operation Lustre, the British reinforcement of Greece, continues. The troop convoys from Alexandria and Suda Bay are arriving every three days. So far, the first troop tranche has arrived at Piraeus, and the second is en route.

East African Campaign: At Keren, Eritrea, Lieutenant-General William Platt remains frustrated at his troops' inability to fight through the narrow Dongolaas Gorge. The fierce Italian resistance at Keren is the only thing standing between the British and the coast at Massawa. Platt is assembling his troops for another attempt at the middle of the month.

Keren is a key crossroads whose capture will enable the British to scoop up all of Eritrea and head south into Abyssinia toward Addis Ababa, which is being threatened by the South African advance far to the south. Once the British are past Keren, the entire Italian position in East Africa will become unhinged - but there are very few routes in this rough country that are able to support large military operations. So far, attempts to flank Keren using secondary routes have produced no results.

Far to the south, the South African forces continue to advance north from the vicinity of Mogadishu. Operation Canvas continues without any meaningful results despite swallowing large amounts of territory. Now about 500 miles (900 km) past it, the Italian resistance begins to stiffen forward of the fortress of Jijiga, Abyssinia. The Italians top the 23rd Nigerian Brigade of the British 1st African Division at Dagabur (Degehabur), about 100 miles (160 km) south of Jijiga.

Belgian Congolese troops, meanwhile, cross the border into Abyssinia from the west and take Italian base Asosa.

Battery "Pooh," located at St. Margaret's near Dover, on 10 March 1941. It is a 14-inch gun designed to counter the German batteries at the Pas de Calais at Hellfire Corner.

European Air Operations: After the winter lull, air operations are picking up again. Both sides launch damaging raids, though the Luftwaffe continues to have the upper hand in terms of the devastating effects of their raids.

The Luftwaffe raids Portsmouth after dark for the second night in a row. It is one of the most devastating raids outside of London for some time. The Germans put around 240 bombers over the city, the most since 1940, and cause extensive damage to the docks and shipping. They sink a minesweeping trawler, HMT Revello, killing one man, and damage destroyers HMS Sherwood, Tynedale and Witherington, training ship HMS Marshal Soult and four other minesweeping trawlers. Four sailors on shore also perish.

RAF Bomber Command raids Le Havre. While just another raid against a Channel port, this is the first raid by Handley Page Halifax bombers by No. 35 Squadron flying out of Yorkshire (Linton-on-Ouse). One of the Halifax bombers (L9489) goes down over Hog's Back in Surrey, killing four of the six crew, crashing on fields near Merrist Wood, Worplesdon. This is what is known as a "nursery raid," the first operational raid by new equipment which is intended as much to test it operationally as to produce actual results. The crash is a friendly fire incident, as the bomber is shot down over England by an RAF night fighter (Squadron Leader P A Gilchrist DFC) whose crew is completely unaware that it just shot down one of its own planes. One of the engines will be recovered from the field in 1996, and a plaque will be erected on the lonely spot on 8 March 1997.

Other RAF targets during the night are Cologne (19 bombers) and St. Nazaire (14 bombers). The RAF also conducts Rhubarb sweeps over the French coast during the day.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies writes down in his diary his impression of the Blitz:

Curious to see the North Lodge at Buckingham Palace lying in ruins this morning. Houses shattered in Curzon Street. Germans are poor psychologists. If they had left the West End alone the East Enders might have been persuaded that they alone were bearing the brunt of the war. And Buckingham Palace again! ha ha!

Of course, the German bombs at Buckingham Palace came within whiskers of killing the King, which would not have been such a laughing matter.

The Reykjaborg, sunk by U-552 today.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-552 (KrvKpt. Erich Topp), on its first patrol just south of Iceland, comes across 687-ton Icelandic fish trawler Reykjaborg.  Topp fires a torpedo that fails to explode. Refusing to waste another torpedo, Topp surfaces at 23:14 and uses his deck and anti-aircraft guns to sink the ship about 460 miles southeast of Iceland. There are 12 deaths (13 if you count a man who dies just before his mates are rescued by HMS Pimpernel) and three survivors.

A convoy of British freighters blunders into a minefield off Hastings. Three ships sink:

• 870-ton Corinia (14 deaths)
• 708-ton Sparta (9 deaths)
• 1107-ton Waterland (7 deaths)

German S-boats (fast boats) attack Convoys FN 428 and FS 429A in the English Channel. The Royal Navy escorts fight them off without loss.

The Luftwaffe attacks a freighter off Wexford in St. George's Channel. It is the 4343-ton Norwegian ship Bur. The Bur is damaged and barely makes it to Fishguard, where the captain beaches it. The ship is repaired at Barry in the Bristol Channel. Another freighter, 391-ton Dutch ship Libra, also is damaged and towed into Swansea.

Royal Navy submarine HMS H.28 is damaged by a collision with an unidentified freighter in the Irish Sea. Repairs in Belfast take until mid-April.

German supply operations in the Atlantic operate without much hindrance these days. German tanker Nordmark rendezvouses with supply ship Alsterufer.

German minelayers lay minefield Pregel as part of minefield Westwall.

Convoy OB 296 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC 25 departs from Halifax.

Destroyer HMS Chiddingfold is launched.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable completes its journey to join the British Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria. HMS Illustrious, badly damaged but seaworthy, departs from Alexandria for Port Said.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Unique torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter Fenicia 160 km (100 miles) north of Tripoli.

In Malta, there are repeated attacks by the Luftwaffe throughout the day. At 12:21, nine German Bf 110s strafe the Sunderland flying boats in St. Paul's Bay, destroying one and damaging two others. In addition, a fuel lighter has to be beached with damage. The defending Hurricanes shoot down one of the Bf 110s. After dark, up to 20 bombers attack in bright moonlight, damaging Luqa Airfield and various other points on the island.

Convoy BN 19 departs from Aden, bound for Suez.

Applied Science: Centimetric radar is being developed both by the Americans and the British, and today both countries try out a prototype mounted in a bomber. The USAAC uses a Douglas B-18 Bolo bomber to try out the radar, but it is a first test of the equipment with no real results beyond making sure the aircraft can handle it. The British are at the next stage in their development and today use the radar to make an air-to-air detection. It is hoped that centimetric radar will have useful applications in naval warfare.

Spy Stuff: Acting Japanese Consul General Ojiro Okuda is continuing his spying operations on the US Pacific Fleet. Today, he sends another message to Tokyo listing the ships present there on the 9th. This includes "Four battleships... Five heavy cruisers... Six light cruisers... [and the aircraft carrier USS] Yorktown."

French diplomat Gaston Henry-Haye on the cover of Time Magazine, March 10, 1941, | Vol. XXXVII No. 10 (Cover Credit: DAVID E. SCHERMAN).

Vichy French/US Relations: Marshal Petain requests humanitarian aid from the United States. The hold-up for such aid is not President Roosevelt or the US government, because Roosevelt has been pressing for such aid since late 1940. Instead, the British government, meaning Prime Minister Winston Churchill, is against such aid to any country that is not strictly neutral. The official British position is set forth concisely and coldly:

Nothing has since occurred to alter the view of His Majesty's Government that it is the responsibility of the German Government to see to the material welfare of the countries they have overrun, nor to weaken their conviction that no form of relief can be devised which would not directly or indirectly assist the enemy's war effort.

Speaking to US journalists, Admiral Darlan, now Petain's chief deputy, warns:

I am responsible for feeding 40 million people, plus millions more in Africa. I will feed them even if I have to use force.

The issue of humanitarian aid will remain throughout the war, with the US wishing to help the people of Europe, but the British government objecting on the grounds that any aid of any sort to countries controlled by the Germans will help the Axis war effort.

France confirms the Murphy-Weygand Agreement today. Pursuant to the agreement, the United States agrees to supply French North Africa with certain basic commodities, so long as the French do not build up stockpiles and do not export them.

Anglo/US Relations: The Lend-Lease Bill is not yet law, but President Roosevelt gets a jump on the process by requesting $7 billion in aid to England.

US Military: The USAAF 73rd Squadron (Douglas B-18s) begins transferring from McChord Field outside Tacoma, Washington to Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska.

Japanese Military: Japanese rear admiral Takijirō Ōnishi submits to Isoroku Yamamoto a plan for the Pearl Harbor attack.

British Government: There is a rare meeting of the War Cabinet at the Cabinet War Room bunker ("Paddock") located in Brook Road, Dollis Hill, northwest London. It is a massive, two-story underground facility under a corner of the Post Office Research Station site. The bunker is only used for two meetings during the war. Visiting Australian Prime Minister Menzies gives a summary of Australian achievements in the war to date.

Soviet Government: Nikolai Voznesensky becomes the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Maksim Saburov becomes Chairman of the State Planning Committee.

"Squadron Leader James Wheeler, a Flight Commander of No. 85 Squadron RAF, gets into the cockpit of a Hawker Hurricane Mark I night fighter, 'VY-X', at Debden, Essex, for a sortie while taking advantage of the clear moonlit nights during the period of the full moon from 10-16 March 1941." © IWM (CH 2249).

Yugoslav Government: Regent Prince Paul convenes the Crown Council again to consider signing the Tripartite Pact. There is great disagreement about what course to take - support the British or succumb to the Germans.

Vichy French Government: The Vichy government orders that, as of this date, compulsory ceremonies be conducted in every school Dahomey. This includes raising and lowering the French flag to the sounds of choral music.

Indochina: The Japanese mediate the French into giving the Thais everything that they originally sought. Thailand takes possession of all land up to the Mekong River. As their "fee," the Japanese take a monopoly on Indochinese rice production and basing rights for their planes at a Saigon airfield. This is a major expansion of Japanese influence in Indochina, which formerly was confined to the northern area around China.

Australia: Queensland's Public Works Department begins construction of the Rocklea Small Arms Factory/Munitions Works.

China: The Western Hupei Operation continues. Japanese 13th Infantry Division advances to take Kuankungling, Hutzuchung, and Hsianglingkou along the Yangtze River as the Chinese (Kuomintang) continue retreating on Chunking.

French Homefront: The Vichy government rations beer. It cannot be sold on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

German Homefront: The government constantly monitors public views about the war and toward the regime. These reports continue throughout the war and, unlike German propaganda, are as accurate as the preparers can make them. This week's report notes that hawking pictures of Hitler at fairs next to those of religious icons is meeting resistance with the public.

American Homefront: Following upon the test of batting helmets in Havana, Cuba, the General Manager Lee MacPhail of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization announces that the team's players will wear them throughout the season.

Future History: Naw Louisa Benson is born in Burma. She becomes Burma's first Miss Universe contestant in 1956 and again becomes Miss Burma in 1958. Benson joins the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in 1964 and takes over command of her husband's brigade after he is assassinated.

On 10 March 1941, Transport Workers Union bus drivers in New York City go on strike over wages, hours, working conditions, and benefits. The strike halts most of Manhattan’s bus service.

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Become Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Friday 27 December 1940

This photo of Douglas Bader and his squadron mates appears in newspapers around the world today. This example is from page 4 of the 27 December 1940 San Bernardino Sun. There's one little problem with this news item: Bader, the subject of the item (for his recent DFC), is not Canadian and apparently never even visited Canada. However, the brief caption to the photo does manage to work in not once, but twice that Bader had lost his legs in a 1930s air accident. To be fair to the press agency, RAF No. 242 Squadron commanded by Bader was largely composed of Canadian pilots - just not Bader himself, who was born in London. Not to be too technical, but the piece also describes him as a Squadron Leader, but in fact, at this time Bader is only an acting Squadron Leader.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Except for local gains, the Greek offensive basically has ground to a halt by 27 December 1940. The Greek government and military commanders assess the situation to see if perhaps now it is time to go over to the defensive. The weather in the mountains simply is too brutal at this point to facilitate major advances. To the credit of the Greek forces, they have secured strong defensive positions, with V Army Corps taking Mount Tomorr and establishing a connection between II and III Corps, which have been blocked by the Italians in the valleys below. Greek I Corps captures Kalarati and Boliena in the coastal sector.

There are rumors in the press that "an Italian peace commissioner" is "seeking a discussion" with the British for an armistice. The press theory is that Italy is trying to force Germany to help it out militarily by threatening to surrender. This brings up another, more ominous development: possible German involvement in the Balkans and North Africa. A perceptive UPI analysis piece is picked up by news services around the world. An example is one on page four of the San Bernardino Sun's 27 December 1940 edition, placed under the banner headline "Mystery Attached to Movement of Huge German Army Through Rumania." It continues:

REASONS FOR [GERMAN] ACTION UNDISCLOSED
Several Courses Open, but All Dangerous for Germany and Axis Partner Italy 
By J. W. T. MASON (United Press War Expert)

Reports from Budapest that Germany is moving between 20 and 30 fully equipped divisions into Rumania through Hungary have no basis in known facts of any new conditions in southeastern Europe. If the reports are true, they would imply the sudden development of a critical situation facing the axis with Germany being called upon to try to readjust it. An army as large as the Budapest reports describe would be sufficient for the first phases of a thrust through Bulgaria against both Turkey and Greece. But it was recently announced that demobilization of the Bulgarian army had been ordered, which could scarcely have occurred without assurances that the axis did not intend to invade Bulgaria. It is possible that Italy has secretly asked Herr Hitler to create a double diversion in the Balkans, hoping to lessen Greek pressure in Albania and British pressure in Libya. A German military concentration in Rumania, threatening Greece and the Dardanelles, might disturb Greek strategy.

Of course, there most definitely are German troop movements in Romania, though not necessarily of the scope reported in the article. They are heading for Bulgaria as part of Operation Marita - it remains unclear to the Germans at this point if they will invade Yugoslavia as well. And, the author of the piece is absolutely correct when he states that the German troops "might disturb Greek strategy."

Part of today's article in the 27 December 1940 San Bernardino Sun recounting German troop movements through Romania.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe returns to the attack, bombing London with 108 bombers over the course of four hours overnight. There is heavy damage in the City and Whitehall, with 141 deaths. Damage is concentrated in certain neighborhoods such as Islington.

RAF Bomber Command counters with a strike by 75 bombers against an aircraft factory at Bordeaux.

RAF No. 252 Squadron receives the first Beaufighter to be delivered to a coastal fighter squadron.

The plaque at Tower Hill for the Araby. Only victims actually buried at Tower Hill are listed on the memorials there. One crewman was cremated at Glasgow, another buried at a Roman Catholic cemetery.

Battle of the Atlantic: Prime Minister Churchill asks the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, whether merchant ships, particularly tankers, can be converted to launch "expendable aircraft" (which apparently means battle-worn Hawker Hurricanes) from catapults (as from battleships and cruisers) for convoy protection. This indeed is possible, and such craft first are called Auxiliary Fighter Catapult Ships, and later become known as Catapult Aircraft Merchant ships (CAM ships). The Hurricanes carried by the CAM ships become known as "Hurricats" or "Catafighters" or "Sea Hurricanes."

Following its abortive attack on Convoy WS 5, Admiral Hipper makes port at Brest. Is is the first major Kriegsmarine warship to reach any of the French ports. This concludes Operation Nordseetour, the codename for Hipper's raiding expedition. Nordseetour must be adjudged only a partial success because Hipper sank only one ship of 6078 tons during the entire cruise - but its mere presence in the Atlantic jumbled Royal Navy deployments and kept the Admiralty wasting men and ships on fruitless searches in both the North and South Atlantic. In addition, it now is in position to sortie out into the Atlantic at will and also preoccupy RAF Bomber Command, drawing bombs away from other targets. Thus, saying that Operation Nordseetour is "unsuccessful" as many do is untrue - it simply is not as successful as it might otherwise have been. Getting Admiral Hipper to the Atlantic coast ports is a strategic gain for the Kriegsmarine.

Meanwhile, heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer remains in the Atlantic, meeting with German raider Thor and supply ships Nordmark and Duquesa (captured) east of St. Helena.

The German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez shell British convoys off Dover and score some rare successes, hitting and damaging 530-ton Royal Navy armed trawlers HMT Blackthorn and Deodar.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and damages 4980-ton British freighter Ardanbhan in Convoy OB 263 in the Northwest Approaches. The freighter and its 40-man crew are left for dead in the water. About 13 hours later, Italian submarine Enrico Tazzoli (TZ) comes across the Ardanbhan and sends it to the bottom. Everybody perishes in the frigid seas.

Meanwhile, shortly after midnight on the 27th U-38 comes across the abandoned 12,823 ton Waiotira, which U-95 torpedoed on the 26th and left for dead, and sinks it. There is one death on the Waiotira, with 89 survivors.

U-65 (K.Kapt. Hans-Gerrit von Stockhausen) torpedoes and sinks 5455-ton Norwegian freighter Risanger east of the Cape Verde Islands. After stopping the ship with one torpedo, the U-boat surfaces and finishes it off with the deck gun. All 29 men aboard survive.

British 4936-ton freighter Araby hits a mine and sinks about 1800 meters west of Nore Light Vessel near Southend. There are six deaths.

British 449-ton freighter Kinnaird Head hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary north of Sheerness. There are six deaths.

An RAF Hudson bombs and sinks 1200-ton Norwegian freighter Arnfinn Jarl at anchor off Egersund, Rogaland. However, the freighter is not badly damaged and sinks in shallow water, so it can be refloated and repaired. As with many ships sunk in World War II, this ship bears the name of a similar freighter sunk during World War I. The attack on Egersund is one of half a dozen attacks on shipping launched during the day by Coastal Command, which reports other successes which have not been confirmed.

British 2284-ton freighter Lady Connaught hits a mine and is damaged in the English Channel. However, she makes it back to port.

British 1641-ton freighter Victoria hits a mine and suffers damage in the River Mersey. However, the Victoria makes it back to port.

The Luftwaffe bombs 4668-ton Dutch tanker Woensdrecht, damaging it.

Convoy FN 368 departs from Southend, Convoy 372 and 373 depart from Methil, Convoy BN 12 departs from Bombay, Convoy BS 11B departs from Suez.

Memorial at Tower Hill for SS Waiotira.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Weather in the Mediterranean Basin is especially severe, heavy storms blowing cold winds all across the region. It is turning into the coldest month in 17 years. In Malta, it rains for 36 hours straight, and morale is so poor that the military offers another extra rum ration.

Cairo signals "No change" in the battlelines. With military operations at a standstill again - the Italians are defending Bardia and Tobruk, while the British are bringing up Australian troops to launch assaults on them - the British begin strategizing over the next steps. A big meeting is planned in Cairo between General Wavell, General O'Connor and Major General Iven Mackay, commander of the 6th Australian Division currently deploying to launch an assault on Bardia.

Battle of the Pacific: Having futzed around in the general vicinity for a week - including an abortive attempt to lay mines near Rabaul on 24 December - German raider Komet returns to Nauru today. At 05:45, it appears off the main phosphate loading facilities and issues a warning to the inhabitants not to radio for help and to avoid the phosphate installations. Then, at 06:40, Captain Kurt Weyher orders the Komet's crew to open fire with some combination of its six 15 cm, one 7.5 cm, one 3.7 cm, and four 2 cm guns. The bombardment wrecks the phosphate operation, destroying the loading plant, the oil tanks, boats, buildings, even the mooring buoys.

Having crippled the island's phosphate trade, Captain Weyher sets sail to the southeast. This is the only attack by German raiders on Nauru and the most effective attack of any kind by German forces in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The British Admiralty quickly acts to station forces on the island for its protection, but the damage is done. Fertilizer production in the entire region is crippled, and New Zealand eventually must institute rationing. In a somewhat ironic twist, Japan's imports of phosphate are cut, and Japan has harsh words with the German government. There also is the little matter that the Komet flies the Japanese flag during the attack.

One may well ask, why raid Nauru? Who cares about fertilizer? True, this incident does little to advance the German war effort. It also somewhat hampers future German raider operations, since the prisoners released by Orion and Komet tell the British authorities many useful details about Kriegsmarine operations in the region.

However, in 21st Century parlance, Nauru is a "soft target" and, as a British colony, certainly fair game for attack. The island has no defenses at hand, and none close enough to matter. Thus, attacking it can bring virtually no consequences to the Germans - at least immediately. A common German belief throughout this period of the war is that the British commonwealth nations are stretched extremely thin, and disrupting their economies aids the overall war effort. Attacking Nauru forces the Royal Navy to divert ships to guard the island - and that alone justifies the attack, in order to thin out the fleet available to search for Komet and its fellow raiders.

There also is a more subtle reason for German attacks on Nauru: the island is a former German colony. Annexed by Germany in 1888 and incorporated into Germany's Marshall Islands Protectorate for administrative purposes, German recalls a long, profitable relationship with the island. Phosphate was discovered there in 1900, and exports began in 1907. It still would be a German colony in 1940, except the Australians captured it during World War I. The League of Nations then gave it to Great Britain under a mandate as part of the overall resolution of the war.

One of the reasons behind the rise of Adolf Hitler in the first place was the desire to "right the wrongs" of the decisions made by the victors after the Great War (which go far beyond just the Treaty of Versailles, though that is the easy handle to remember). Just before this raid, on 24 December, Captain Weyher tried to attack another target with mines - Rabaul. What do Rabaul and Nauru have in common? They are both former German colonies, stripped from Germany after its defeat in World War I (Rabaul went to Australia). Out of all the targets in the South Pacific, the Germans pick the two that were taken from them as part of "victor's justice." There may be an edge of vengeance or even spitefulness behind the apparent German obsession with this remote island in 1940. One word can explain this choice of targets: resentment.

The damaged phosphate elevator at Nauru. While the dock was repaired within 10 weeks, the factory equipment such as this had to wait until after the war.

German Military: Admiral Raeder meets with Adolf Hitler in Berlin. He tells Hitler that Italy's reverses mean that "The threat to Britain in the entire eastern Mediterranean, the Near East and in North Africa has been eliminated." Raeder essentially is admitting that the peripheral strategy that he pushed on Hitler just months earlier has become a complete failure, and essentially Germany is left with no effective strategy against England at all. Raeder also expresses "grave doubts" about attacking the Soviet Union with Great Britain still unsubdued.

Even though Raeder is one of the very few advisors from whom Hitler sometimes takes advice, perhaps because he knows little about naval warfare and grand strategy involving sea transport, the issue of the Soviet Union is a closed issue in his mind. Several other top advisors, including Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, also are extremely skeptical of the wisdom of tangling with the Soviet Union. However,  Hitler considers himself - apparently due to his own war service and his past successes with invasions as Fuhrer - as the best strategist for land operations.

Hitler remains positive about the prospects for Operation Sea Lion, the proposed invasion of England. He states that "in all probability, it will not take place until the summer of 1941." During this period, Hitler seems to be balancing the competing ideas of invading Great Britain or invading the Soviet Union, which, despite his Fuhrer Directive No. 21 of 18 December setting forth planning and a target date for Operation Barbarossa, he still seems uncertain about.

British Military: Churchill sends a memo to General Hastings "Pug" Ismay, who holds several top military positions but essentially is Churchill's personal military advisor and adjutant (basically fulfilling a role similar to that of Keitel in Germany). Churchill suggests that preparations for Operation Marie, the invasion and occupation of Djibouti, should be set in motion by the sailing of several French battalions to Port Sudan on a convoy departing on 4 January 1941.

Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, recently unceremoniously ousted from his command of No. 11 Group defending London, is given command of the RAF Fighter Command No. 23 Training Group.

Sub-Lieutenant Richard Valentine Moore receives the George Cross for his heroism in disarming five aerial mines without any formal training. Another George Cross is given posthumously to Sub-Lieutenant John Herbert Babington, who perished while attempting to disarm a bomb at Chatham.

Submarine tender Fulton (AS-11) launching at Mare Island, 27 December 1940.

Philippines: The musical chairs game of who is US Commandant of the Sixteenth Naval District and Cavite Navy Yard continues. Captain Eugene T. Oates assumes temporary command.

Vichy France: Premier Marshal Petain has released Pierre Laval, but has not restored him to his offices despite German pressure via Ambassador Otto Abetz. The official French press agency alludes to Laval's "retirement" today and notes that he is living in Paris as a private citizen.

American Homefront: RKO Radio Pictures releases "Kitty Foyle." It stars Ginger Rogers and is directed by Sam Wood based upon a book by Christopher Morley and a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and Donald Ogden Stewart. This very successful film - it is RKO's top film for 1940 and essentially finances 1941's "Citizen Kane" - starts a new fashion craze, the "Kitty Foyle dress."

Continuing the H.G. Wells "Invisible Man" franchise, Universal Pictures releases "The Invisible Woman." Starring Virginia Bruce and John Barrymore, this outing plays the concept for laughs, with a model using her invisibility as a means to get even with her boss, Mr. Gowley (Charles Lane). Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges (with whom he is not working at this time, but has before and will again) makes a brief appearance as a hapless thug. This film also becomes a big hit, though it's not a big prestige picture like "Kitty Foyle."

A German escort ship showing nice dazzle camouflage photographed off Holland while being attacked on 27 December 1940. The ship was not damaged in this attack. However, another attack later in the day did badly damage it, though at the cost of a Beaufort and its crew.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Tuesday 10 December 1940

An Italian POW carries his dog into captivity, guarded by a British soldier. 10 December 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Compass, the British attack on advanced Italian positions in Egypt, continues on 10 December 1940. Thousands of Italian troops of the Italian 4th Blackshirt Division and some Libyan formations have been pushed northward from their desert camps - place inland in part due to Royal Navy bombardments - to a 16x8 km pocket near Sidi Barrani. The British 16th Infantry Brigade of the 4th Indian Division comes forward to hem them in. The attack beings at 16:00, and by nightfall a couple of hours later, the British have taken Sidi Barrani itself.

With Selby Force blocking any retreat, the Italian 4th Blackshirt Division 3 Gennaio and two Italian Libyan Divisions must while away another night in the pocket without any food, water or shelter. The British troops are held up more by a sudden sandstorm than by anything the enemy is doing. The British don't even know how many Italian prisoners they have caught: the Coldstream Guards report simply that there are hundreds of acres of prisoners. General Wavell in Cairo, satisfied that the Italians no longer pose a threat, begins withdrawing troops to send south to Sudan. There, he hopes to terminate the endless back-and-forth around the border outpost of Kassala.
The Royal Navy sends the Mediterranean Fleet to sea from Alexandria in order to assist operations in the Western Desert. Force C (led by battleships HMS Barham and Valiant) and D (led by the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious) sail to bombard Sollum and Tobruk, respectively. The fleet also will come in handy if the Italians attempt a seaborne rescue. Overnight, monitor HMS Terror and gunboats HMS Ladybird and Aphis shell the Italian base at Maktila and causes the Italians there to abandon it.

The RAF also is very active today, particularly in harassing Italians retreating along the coast road to Libya. Force H sails from Gibraltar to help out as well.

In the Gulf of Aden, Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Southampton bombards Kismayo, Somalia. Japanese 5028-ton freighter Yamayuri Maru is damaged. This may be the first Japanese ship damaged by a western power during World War II.

Italian 5257-ton freighter Marangona hits a mine and sinks 50 km south of Pantelleria. It apparently hit an Italian mine.

German freighter Marburg hits a mine and sinks northeast of Ithaca, Greece in the Ionian Sea.

Pilots of No 312 (Czechoslovakian) Squadron RAF mock a scramble after receiving an alert at RAF Duxford in December 1940. The Czech fourth in line has been identified as Sgt Jan Truhlář. These guys fought in France, fought through the Battle of Britain, and are still fighting.

Western Front: In a unique incident, a German coastal gun at Cap Gris Nez scores a lucky hit in Hellfire Corner near the 13.5-inch British "Peacemaker" rail gun sited at Martin Mill, England. The explosion destroys one of the gun's sets of carrying wheels (bogies) and kills one of the accompanying Royal Marine gunners. This may be the only military fatality on English soil caused by German ground fire in two world wars.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks continue slogging through the snow in the mountains, with Greek II Corps capturing the high ground northwest of Pogradets. The RAF raids the port of Valona (Vlorë).

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends a small raid of four Blenheims against the Focke-Wulf plant at Bremen. The RAF also bombs several invasion ports along the Channel coast. The Luftwaffe sends a few desultory raids into East Kent and Esses.

Fliegerkorps X transfers from Norway to Sicily and southern Italy. This force includes Junkers Ju 87 Stukas and is under the command of General Hans Ferdinand Geisler. His first priority, according to Hitler: "Illustrious mussen sinken" ("Sink HMS Illustrious"). The force will include about 100 aircraft, most based at Comiso and Catania.

Tory Member of Parliament John Rathbone, serving in the RAF as a Flight Lieutenant, is killed in the Bristol Blenheim Mark IV bomber he is piloting on a mission over Antwerp. He is buried at Schoonselhof cemetery, Antwerp, Belgium. Rathbone is the sixth MP to be KIA during the conflict.

John Rathbone's 1935 election address, KIA 10 December 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: Greek 4330-ton freighter Aghia Eirini runs aground at Achill Head, Clew Bay, County Mayo, Ireland after its steering gear fails, perhaps in part due to the rough weather during its crossing.

287-ton Faroes trawler Tor I hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

German 109-ton freighter Thor sinks near Cherbourg. This is not the famous German raider Thor (Schiff.10), which is operating in the South Atlantic with Admiral Scheer. This Thor apparently sinks during a sweep by Royal Navy destroyers.

Convoy FN 356 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 358 departs from Methil, Convoy HX 95 departs from Halifax.

Minesweeper HMAS Ballarat launched.

U-125 launched.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Captain Bernhard Rogge of the German raider Atlantis receives a signal from Berlin informing him that he has been awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross). The Atlantis is currently refueling with the Pinguin from captured Norwegian tanker Storstad in the southern Indian Ocean.

Spy Stuff: Karl Heinrich Meier and Jose Waldberg are executed in the Pentonville Prison in London. Both had been convicted of spying at the Old Bailey in November. Meier is a Dutchman of German origin who was caught by a suspicious landlady at the Rising Sun Pub in Lydd after rowing ashore in Kent. Waldberg, a native German, claimed that he had been coerced into cooperating with the Germans due to Gestapo pressure on his father. These are the first two executions under the Treason Act.

US/Japanese Relations: President Roosevelt expands the list of items that cannot be exported without a license - which currently includes oil and scrap metal - to encompass steel and iron.

Anglo/Chinese Relations: The British government extends a $40 million loan to China. This is quite generous, as the British themselves are running out of money.

The graduation picture of the first class of No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School at Sky Harbour, Ontario. This is part of the Imperial Training Scheme, and these men now are all RAF pilots. 10 December 1940 (photographer J. Gordon Henderson).

German Military: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 19, "Operation Attila." This directive instructs the Wehrmacht to plan for the eventual occupation of unoccupied Vichy France "In case those parts of the French Colonial Empire now controlled by General Weygand should show signs of revolt." This operation, given the codename Operation Attila, would be essentially a continuation of the Battle of France, with all resistance "ruthlessly suppressed." The Directive specifically instructs Admiral Raeder, using Admiral Canaris' Abwehr military intelligence organization, to keep tabs on the French Navy so that it can be seized or neutralized. Tellingly in light of current events, the Directive specifies at the end that "The Italians will be given no information about our preparations and intentions."

Fuhrer Directive No. 19 is telling in another way. Hitler realizes, given the obstinacy of Francisco Franco in Spain, that trying to convince other European leaders not yet under his thumb to cooperate in his war effort isn't working. Thus, he must plan to resort to force with them. This is one of the few Hitler Directives that essentially will be carried out as stated, but he much rather would have France with him than against him.

Separately - and not in Hitler's Directive - General Wilhelm Keitel issues an order announcing that Operation Felix, the planned subjugation of Gibraltar, is suspended indefinitely. Hitler, having read Admiral Canaris' negative report about his meeting with Franco on 7 December, has decided that Operation Felix cannot be pursued due to Spanish unwillingness to cooperate.

Taken in conjunction, this order and the Fuhrer Directive show how much things have changed since October when Hitler was hopeful that Petain and Franco would join in his war against England. Now, there appears to be no hope of that. Backroom planning for Operation Felix remains alive, however, until 1944.

US Military: The US Navy opens NAS Tongue Point, Oregon. It will service patrol planes.

Polish Military: Marshal Rydz-Smigly escapes from captivity in Romania and heads for Hungary to join the Polish underground there.

German Homeland: Even during 1940, which many consider the peak of German military success, Adolf Hitler repeatedly adopts a defensive tone. Today, he gives a speech at a Berlin munitions plant and says:

I am not a man who, once he is engaged in a fight, breaks it off to his own, disfavor.... [T]here will be no defeat of Germany, either by military or economic means, or by time.

It is a remarkable statement, full of foreboding, and sounds as if it were made in 1945, not 1940.

American Homeland: The NFL Draft is held. NFL Champions the Chicago Bears select Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan with the number one overall pick.

The Benjamin Fitzpatrick Bridge opens, connecting Tallassee and East Tallassee, Florida.

Tom Harmon, a University of Michigan halfback, poses with his 1940 Heisman Trophy. Today, 10 December 1940, Harmon gets drafted by the NFL's Chicago Bears. In five months, he will be drafted again... in a much different way.

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Tuesday 22 October 1940

Deportations begin in Baden pursuant to Aktion Wagner-Burckel. This is Gailingen on Lake Constance. As refugees enter an Order Police truck, officers from the Order Police and neighbors look on. A total of 178 Jewish men and women from Gailingen, the biggest Jewish rural community in Baden, are deported to Gurs camp in the south of France. October 22, 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains poor throughout the day of 22 October 1940, only clearing up a bit in the afternoon. On days like this, simply flying can be almost as dangerous as encountering the enemy. The Germans lose a handful of planes (and pilots) to crashes caused or aided by the weather. While offensive operations are curtailed, those that do occur generally face little opposition, as interceptions are extremely difficult in the wet, cloudy air.

During the morning, there are some pirate raids and the like. Eastbourne is hit at about 10:30, killing two and injuring 16. A stick of bombs may not destroy anything industrial of strategic value, but it can wipe out a neighborhood in an instant.

Around 14:00, the Luftwaffe mounts its largest raid of the day. A few dozen fighter-bombers (Jabos) cross over toward London. RAF Nos. 74 and 605 Squadrons intercept, and bombs fall on RAF Brockworth, where there are two dead and 32 injured.

Other, smaller raids take place throughout the afternoon, including a large raid around 16:00. Many of the raiders turn back before attacking due to the weather, others head for the usual airfields around London such as Biggin Hill and Hornchurch. The two top Luftwaffe fighter formations, JG 26 (Galland) and 51 (Molders) are in action, and the RAF sends up eight squadrons to intercept. It is one of Werner Molders' best days, as he claims three Hurricanes to bring his score to 50, tops in the war to date.

The night raids on London are notable for how small they are in comparison to other raids since the start of the Blitz on 7 September. Many call this the easiest night of the Blitz. The bulk of the raids occur right after darkness sets in between 18:30 and the next few hours. Coventry is hit hard, suffering 150 fires and extensive damage to goods yards and factories. KGr 606 Dornier Do 17s bomb Liverpool at about 20:30, but the damage is not as great as at Coventry. Bombing accuracy is especially poor on a poor-weather night like this, and a lot of damage is avoided when bombs drop in undeveloped areas.

Total losses for the day are minimal. The RAF loses a handful of planes (4 pilots killed) and the Luftwaffe roughly the same number of Bf 109s.

Unexploded bombs remain a real problem. They are everywhere in major cities, and it can take weeks to address them. Meanwhile, they sit silently, nobody knowing if they will suddenly go off - and this includes some large land mines. At Seal, a bomb disposal officer working on such a bomb that had sat quietly for three weeks does something wrong with the fuse as he is working on it, and the bomb goes off - no trace of the body anywhere.

The Luftwaffe loses two Focke-Wulf FW 200C-1 Condors at sea near Ireland, one while attacking a ship near Cape Clear.

The coastal guns at "Hellfire Corner" (the Dover Strait) exchange a few shells between 07:50 and 09:04. While not achieving much strategically, the German shelling does make life worse for many in Dover. The occasional "lucky hit" destroys numerous houses and cuts roads. Today, 30 houses suffer light damaged and four people are lightly injured, while the A259 road to Folkestone is hit and partially closed. It is a "keep calm and carry on" situation.

European Air Operations: The weather continues to be poor, so RAF Bomber Command does not get in the air during the night.

Tree-class trawler HMT Acacia, similar to HMT Acacia which hits a mine and sinks today.

Battle of the Atlantic: After suffering through a very rough patch from 18-21 October 1940, the Royal Navy and British merchant marine get a relatively calm day. However, even "quiet" periods now involve multiple sinkings.

While providing escort duties to Convoy OL 8 sailing out of Liverpool, Royal Navy destroyer HMCS Margaree (Cdr J. W. R. Roy RCN) collides with 8337-ton British ammunition ship Port Fairy in rough seas about 483 km west of Ireland. The destroyer sinks quickly, taking her captain and 140 other men with her. Port Fairy comes off much the better in the incident and rescues 34 men. This was the Margaree's first mission for the Canadian Royal Navy, having been destroyer USS Diana with the British Home Fleet before being transferred to Canada on 6 September. The crew of the Margaree had been largely composed of survivors of the HMCS Fraser, lost on 25 June after a collision with cruiser HMS Calcutta. In addition to the large loss of life, many of the survivors are wounded.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 825-ton collier Kerry Head a few miles south of Blackball Head, near Cape Clear Island, County Cork. There are no survivors, all 12 men perish.

British freighter Cairnglen runs aground and is lost at Marsden, Northumberland. Everybody survives.

Royal Navy 545 ton trawler HMT Hickory (T116, Lt. Ralph Eric Harding, RNZNVR) hits a mine and sinks south of the Isle of Portland, Dorset. There are 20 deaths, survivors are picked up by HMT Pine (including Harding, who is wounded).

The Admiralty fears an invasion of the Shetland Islands after dark, and so sends out a destroyer patrol (HMS Somali, Punjabi, Matabele) east of the islands. This is Operation DNU. They find nothing and soon return to their regular patrols.

Convoys OA 233 and FS 317 depart from Methil, Convoy SLF 52 departs from Freetown.

U-108 (Kapitänleutnant Klaus Scholtz) is commissioned.

The sister ship of Royal Canadian Navy destroyer HMCS Margaree, HMS Defender, sinking in the Mediterranean on 11 July 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Mussolini has the Regia Marina form a "Special Naval Force" for a landing on Corfu contemplated at the end of the month (later canceled). This includes cruisers, numerous destroyers, landing craft, and other supporting units.

The South African Air Force raids Birkau in Italian East Africa. This is the fifth time they have done this.

The Italian Air Force raids Alexandria with fifteen S-81 bombers.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie works on getting gas masks and related equipment. Recent reinforcements are unprotected and vulnerable. The basic problem, of course, is that getting any supplies at all to Malta is extremely hazardous and costly for the Royal Navy.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, disguised as Dutch freighter Tarifa, captures 5623-ton Yugoslavian freighter Durmitor. Atlantis' Captain Rugge converts the freighter into a prison ship while he sails the Atlantis into the Sunda Strait in search of more victims.


German/French Relations: Having traveled somewhat leisurely on his Special Train (Führersonderzug) "Amerika" from Berlin to France, Adolf Hitler at 18:30 meets at  Montoire-sur-le-Loir with French Vice-President of Vichy's Council of Ministers Pierre Laval. Conferring with Hitler and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop an hour later, Laval is non-committal about signing any documents but expresses his personal willingness to work (collaborate) with the Germans. The conference is encouraging for Hitler but does not provide Ribbentrop with any opportunities to have Laval sign the agreement he has brought which would create a formal alliance between Germany and France on economic, political, and military grounds. Anything along those lines obviously would have to be approved (and signed) by Marshal Petain, with whom Hitler will meet on his return trip.

Some like to portray this meeting as a German "failure" to form an alliance with France. Perhaps, but that really is vastly overstating matters. Instead, the meeting is inconclusive. Laval has no real power. All power in Vichy France resides in Petain, who can dismiss him or anyone else at will. Hitler stays the night at Montoire in his train before proceeding to his meeting with Spanish leader Franco at Hendaye.

Anglo/French Relations: On the same day that Hitler is conferring with Laval, Petain's representative Louis Rougier arrives in London from Vichy to discuss Anglo-French reconciliation.

Anglo/Belgian Relations: Hubert Pierlot, Belgian Premier, and Paul-Henri Spaak, Foreign Minister, arrive in London by airplane from Lisbon. After being imprisoned by the Francoist regime at the Hotel Majestic in Barcelona, they had escaped Spain recently by hiding in a truck and then crossing the border to Portugal (Their escape is still commemorated at the Hotel Majestic with a plaque.). Lisbon is a well-known destination for fugitives, providing one of the few safe (relatively) conduits between the German and British orbits due to the truly neutral attitude (extremely rare in Europe) of Portuguese leader António de Oliveira Salazar. Their new digs are the Carlton Hotel in London.

Italian/Bulgarian Relations: Mussolini previously has asked King Boris III to participate in the invasion of Greece. This would stretch Greek forces out by requiring them to defend two widely separated fronts. King Boris, however, declines.

Free France: Charles de Gaulle reviews troops in Cameroon.

Aktion Wagner-Burkel, 22 October 1940. Photo courtesy of and copyright ©Stadtarchiv Mannheim - Institut für Stadtgeschichte.

Holocaust: Aktion Wagner-Burckel (often referred to as just Aktion Burckel) begins. This is an operation in the German frontier wine region begun by Gauleiters Robert Wagner of Baden and Josef Burckel of the Saar and Pfalz (now, in 1940, reworked together as Westmark). Deportation begins of almost 30,000 Jews from the German-occupied zone of France to the Vichy-controlled area, basically expelling them from the Reich. They are not much safer there - but anything is better than Poland. Burckel, in particular, is a virulent anti-Semite who has been working to achieve his schemes since Hitler first came to power in 1933.

Early in the morning, teams of police fan out and pound on doors. They have lists of names of everyone to be deported, secretly compiled in July 1940 shortly after the fall of France. Everything is done by a strict timetable: victims are told how much time they have to pack, what they could bring with them (not much), and how their remaining property left behind was to handled. Pets are given to neighbors and receipts for them obtained. It is all very orderly and brutal.

Burckel's and Wagner's motivations are to "cleanse" or "sterilize" the frontier region of both Jews and its historical culture so that it may be absorbed as just another nondescript region of the Greater Reich. Partly, they aim to stamp out "Landesgeschichte," or regional identity/history, and replace it with "Volksgemeinschaft," or "common history of the people." This attitude flows from the fact that, in the past, all of Germany had been composed of local fiefdoms, and the idea of a national, as opposed to regional, identity is new in the grand scheme of things. This type of "cleansing" later also will be undertaken by Reinhard Heydrich in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia (formerly Czechoslovakia), with mixed success (people tend to protect their own history). The Aktion Wagner-Burckel operation will continue for a year and basically achieve the "cleansing" ends to one extent or another for the duration of the war.

Speaking of Poland, some pinpoint 22 October 1940 as the true establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto. Hans Frank has been working on that all year long, and it has been a gradual process with several dates possible as the true "beginning" of this walled-off community.

Holland House Library in London. 22 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