Wednesday 27 August 1941

U-570 is captured by a Royal Navy anti-submarine warfare trawler on 27 August 1941. This picture was shot by an Allied plane circling the U-boat.

Iran Invasion: The invasion of Iran by British and Soviet forces continues without too much hindrance from the defenders on 27 August 1941, but there are some isolated situations where the Iranian Army shows its mettle. British forces reach Ahvaz, where Iranian troops under General Mohammad Shahbakhti has prepared a fortified position on the far side of the Karun River. Ahvaz controls the entrance to the Zagros Mountains, through which the British hope to drive north toward Tehran. However, British probing attacks show that Ahvaz would require a costly battle, so the British Indian troops come to a halt and wait for the campaign to be decided elsewhere.

In central Iran, the 10th Indian Infantry Division is hindered more by the rough terrain than by the defenders. Defenders in the town of Gilan-e-Gharb put up a spirited resistance, but it is soon overcome. This opens the Pai Tak Pass, which leads toward Tehran. The retreating Iranians cut down some trees across the road and dynamite it in places, slowing the British down but not stopping them.

In the northwest, the Soviets face stiffer opposition, but overcome it with the aid of Red Air Force bombers and utter ruthlessness (along with taking a lot of casualties of their own). The Iranians retreat on Ramsar and hope to make a stand there. In the northeast, the Soviets invading from Turkmenistan SSR have a real battle against Iran's 9th Infantry Division at Mashhad and Khorasan province. The Soviets have been stopped for three days at the frontier, but the Iranians have taken heavy casualties and their hold on Mashhad is becoming tenuous.

Australian sloop HMAS Yarra captures 4901-ton Italian freighter Hilda at Banda Addas. The Iranian crew sets Hilda on fire, but the British put them out. Royal Navy tug Sydney Thubron tows Hilda to Karachi, where it is converted into a Royal Navy repair ship.

In Tehran, everyone can see how things will turn out. The Prime Minister resigns and German nationals look for escape routes. Mohammad Ali Foroughi becomes the new Prime Minister, but everyone knows that it won't be for long.

Members of the ground crew paint victory bar number 44 on the rudder of Erich Schmidt`s "Yellow 11," Surash, Bf 109F, 27 August 1941.

Eastern Front: OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder's war diary for the 27th is full of notations that the Soviet positions are "weak" and "beaten." He notes that the Soviets in the Valdai Hills are trying to regroup their "beaten" forces, that that the Soviet position southeast of Bryansk is "still very weak," that the Soviet troops on the Dneipr between Kyiv and Zaporozhe  are "weak forces," that the Soviets on the lower Dneipr are building up a defensive line "though only with weak forces." These are not the only times he points out how "weak" the Soviets are. What is missing from Halder's diary, however, are any indications that the Germans are strong enough to take advantage of all this Soviet weakness.

The Germans are beginning to formulate a plan for taking Kyiv. General von Sodenstern, Chief of Staff at Army Group South, cautions that Sixth Army must not become "locked" with the Soviet defenders, but instead should circle around the city to the east and cut off its supplies and escape route. This is extremely wise counsel that the same Sixth Army would have been well to heed exactly a year later at Stalingrad.

In the Far North sector, the Finns mount major attacks on the Soviet-held port of Hango in southwest Finland by both land and sea. The heavily fortified Soviets, though, are well-provisioned and the small beachhead is heavily armed. The Soviets resist the assaults.

The Finnish Light Brigade T, 12th Division, and 18th Division continue pursuing the Soviet 43rd, 115th, and 123rd Rifle Divisions near the Vuoksi River. Finnish troops are spreading out all across the Karelian Isthmus, cutting off Viipuri tightening their grip on the shore of Lake Ladoga. However, despite being experts at forest warfare, they are having difficulty drawing tight lines to hem in the retreating Soviets because the terrain offers too many chances to escape unseen.

Northeast of Nurmi Lake, a bloody battle develops between Finnish XXXVI Corps and fleeing Soviet troops. A German SS battalion fails to close a pincer at the narrows at Kayrala in the morning, allowing Soviets to escape on foot without any equipment. The Axis troops quickly regroup, and XXXVI Corps sends some Finnish troops to the Wehrmacht's 169th Division while attaching three SS battalions to the Finnish 6th Division. The Axis troops hurry toward the town of Allakurtti along a road and a railway line, but the Soviets get there ahead of them and prepare fortified positions. The Soviets fight for their lives and manage to hold their line sufficiently for most of their troops to escape.

Finnish soldiers examine a disabled Soviet tank, 27 August 1941 (SA-Kuva).

In the Army Group North sector, German troops of 18th Army advance on Tallinn (Reval), the capital of Estonia as the Soviet 10th Rifle Corps and affiliated troops and civilians begin a massive evacuation. Once Tallinn is taken, it will free up German soldiers for the all-important advance on Leningrad. So, no matter how the evacuation turns out, it is a strategic victory for the Wehrmacht.

In the Army Group Center sector, Panzer Group 3 recaptures Velikie Luki after Soviet counterattacks. Group Stumme at Velikie Luki prepares for a drive on Toropets. General Stumme reports to headquarters that his troops have captured 34,000 Soviet soldiers and 300 guns of 22nd Army. German 250th Infantry Division, the Spanish Blue Division, begins marching on foot from the Polish border to Smolensk. General Guderian's Panzer Group 2 expands its bridgehead south of the Desna River at Novgorod-Seversk, but the going is slow both for the Panzer Group and Second Army which is also moving toward Kyiv.

In the Army Group South sector, the Germans complete their movement of an assault battalion and ten heavy artillery battalions to assist the Romanians in a resumption of the attack on Odessa. The Soviets have little chance of prevailing but have been ordered to fight to the end. Hitler and Mussolini tour areas behind the front lines and meet with army leaders. In what may be a related incident, the leader of Panzer Group 2, General Paul von Kleist, is mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht, one of the Reich's highest honors.

Soviet bombers hit Koenigsberg during the night.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Stępina during their inspection tour, 27 August 1941.

European Air Operations: During the day, the RAF sends 13 Blenheim bombers on Circus operations to Lille and St. Omer. However, the missions are recalled.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 91 bombers (35 Hampdens, 41 Wellingtons, and 15 Whitleys) against favorite target Mannheim. The bombers must overcome ground haze and cause only moderate damage, damaging 13 buildings and injuring 13 people at a hotel. The RAF loses 7 Wellingtons and a Whitley when the planes return to England, apparently due to bad weather.

In addition, the RAF sends 2 Wellingtons to bomb Boulogne, 2 Wellingtons to bomb Dunkirk, and 17 Hampdens on minelaying operations in the Frisians. There are no losses.

Pilot Officer William R. Dunn, an American pilot flying a Spitfire Mk II with RAF No. 71 "Eagle" Squadron, downs two Bf 109 Fs. Dunn, who also got the squadron's first confirmed victory on 21 July 1941, thereby becomes the first American ace of World War II. Dunn is wounded in the right leg in the action and, after recovery, becomes an instructor.

German troops manhandling an artillery piece. The arrow points to a German soldier using a captured SVT 38/40 rifle (screen capture from Die Deutsche Wochenschau, 27 August 1941).

Battle of the Baltic: There is a short, sharp action off Cape Domesnas, Latvia. Four Soviet TKA boats attack a German motorboat convoy. No boats are sunk, but two of the German boats (Adele and Diete Korner) are damaged and beached

The Soviet Baltic Fleet evacuates Tallinn, Estonia in a maximum effort of over 200 vessels. The ships head toward Kronstadt, Kotlin Island near Leningrad. There are four separate convoys and a Soviet main covering force commanded by Vice Admiral V.F. Tributs. Prior to leaving, the Soviets scuttle a number of vessels, including:

• sailing ship Juno
• sailing ship Kodu
• sailing ship Leidus
• sailing ship Minnalaid
• sailing ship Delphin
• sailing ship Kihelkonna
• 185-ton freighter Salmi
• 403-ton freighter Saturn.
• minelayer Amur (blocking ship)
• 696-ton freighter Gamma (blocking ship)
• 80-ton tugboat Virre (blocking ship)
• 160-ton freighter Alar (blocking ship)
• freighter Diana (blocking ship)

The Soviet evacuation proceeds without incident today (it runs into difficulties on the 28th). Shortly after the last ship leaves, the Germans occupy the port. It is an audacious gamble made in the teeth of German aerial and naval supremacy of the mine-infested Baltic even though the route only covers 150 miles.

An RAF Catalina takes a picture of U-570 surrendering to a British Royal Navy ship, 27 August 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-570 (Kptlt. Hans-Joachim Rahmlow), on its first patrol out of Trondheim, surfaces directly below a patroling RAF Hudson of RAF No. 269 Squadron due south of Reykjavik. The plane quickly drops depth charges on U-570 south of Iceland, forcing it to the surface and to surrender. There are 44 survivors. The Royal Navy captures the submarine and tows it to Thorlakshafn, Iceland. The Royal Navy ultimately recommissions it in the Royal Navy as HMS Graph and uses it operationally.

U-557 (KrvKpt. Ottokar Arnold Paulssen), on its third patrol operating out of Lorient, has a big day. It torpedoes and sinks several ships of Convoy OS-4 west of Ireland and south of Iceland:

• 4414-ton Norwegian freighter Segundo (seven deaths, 27 survivors)
• 6303-ton British freighter Saugor (59 deaths, 23 survivors)
• 4736-ton British freighter Tremoda (32-35 deaths, 18-21 survivors )
• 4954-ton British freighter Embassage (39 deaths, 3 survivors).

U-202 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinz Linder), on its second patrol out of Brest, torpedoes and sinks 230-ton British freighter Ladylove. Ladylove is part of Convoy OS-4 south of Iceland. All 14 men on board perish.

There is a tragedy on HMS Lulworth when Canadian seaman Lt. C.A. Keeler jumps off the ship to rescue a female survivor from 439-ton Norwegian freighter Ingria of Convoy OS-4. Both are lost at sea and their bodies are never found. Keeler receives the Albert Medal posthumously.

The German 6th Destroyer Division, based at Kirkenes, Norway, already is suffering from combat and the elements. After only six weeks in Northern Norway, destroyers Richard Beitzen and Hermann Schoemann must return to German for repairs. This leaves only two destroyers to patrol the northern convoy routes - right when activity is starting to ramp up with British supply missions to Murmansk and Archangel.

US Battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) departs from Hampton Roads, Virginia on a neutrality patrol. American Task Group TG-2.5, led by aircraft carrier Yorktown, arrives at Bermuda to conclude a neutrality patrol. Royal Navy battleship Rodney departs from Bermuda and joins American Task Force TG2.6 to search for a reported Kriegsmarine cruiser in the North Atlantic (reported by Canadian AMC Prince David).

Convoy ON-10 departs from Liverpool.

Royal Navy destroys Rotherham and corvettes Eglantine and Soroy are commissioned, destroyer Aldenham and submarine Traveler are launched.

"A soldier of the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifles Brigade with his monkey mascot onboard one of the Royal Navy destroyers on the way from Alexandria to Tobruk, 27 August 1941." © IWM (E 5050).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Operation Treacle, the replacement of Australian soldiers at Tobruk with Polish soldiers of the Carpathian Brigade, continues. Royal Navy minelaying cruiser HMS Abdiel and destroyers Hotspur, Kingston, and Kipling are escorted to Tobruk after dark from Alexandria. Unlike previous Treacle missions, however, the Italian Regia Aeronautica makes a successful attack on the convoy. An Italian S.79 of 279 Squadron hits escorting light cruiser Phoebe with an aerial torpedo about 100 miles northeast of Tobruk. The attack kills eight sailors. Phoebe makes it back to Tobruk under its own power, and the rest of the ships make it to Tobruk and back without suffering further attacks. Phoebe later proceeds to New York Navy Yard for repairs that last until 15 April 1942.

While en route from Naples to Tripoli, an Italian convoy is attacked. Royal Navy submarine Urge (Lt Cdr Tomkinson) torpedoes 497-ton Italian freighter Aquitania, but Aquitania is able to return to Trapani, Sicily at reduced speed. Italian torpedo boat Clio counterattacks Urge and damages the British submarine. Two other Royal Navy submarines, Unbeaten and Utmost, also attack ships in the area but miss.

Royal Navy submarine Triumph (Cdr Woods) captures and then sinks an Italian fishing boat off the Furano River, Sicily.

Operation Guillotine, the British reinforcement of Cyprus, continues today with the departure from Port Said of Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta and transport Salamaua. The ships proceed to Famagusta, arriving on the 29th, and then return to Alexandria to conclude the operation.

The Luftwaffe attacks Tobruk, and a Junkers Ju-87 Stuka sinks 245-ton whaler Skudd III. There are three deaths immediately, another man dies later of wounds, and two sailors are missing. An additional six men are wounded.

Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille shoots down a Hurricane fighter near Gambut, Libya.

There is an invasion alert on Gozo beach at Malta due to reports of Italian torpedo boats in the area. However, there is no invasion.

USS North Carolina firing her forward 16" guns during trials, 26-27 Aug 1941.

Partisans: Pierre Laval attends a review of the Legion des Volontaires Français contre le Bolshevisme (LVF), a collaborationist militia unit on its way to the Eastern Front. Laval is shot by 21-year-old Paul Collette, a disaffected former member of the nationalist Croix-de-Feu and then French Social Party (PSF). The bullet just misses Laval's heart and, for a bullet shot, causes minimal injury. Marcel Déat, another collaborationist, also is shot and injured.

The incident hardens the Vichy government's resolve to eliminate dissent within its zone. It arrests political opponents and simply calls them "communists" to justify the arrests regardless of their true political affiliations.

Laval, shortly after being shot, prevents the Germans from immediately shooting Collette. He tells the German officer who has apprehended the shooter, "Don't do that. You do not know how the French will react like I do." Laval is not particularly popular in France despite being a long-time politician and former head of the government, so he has no illusions that the public will support his ordering instant executions by the occupying army. However, Collette is not let go - he will go on trial, be sentenced to death, have his sentence commuted by Petain, and then be sent to a succession of French prisons and ultimately Mauthausen concentration camp.

Collette, despite his own arduous path for the duration of the war and murky motives, becomes something of a symbol for the French Resistance. He survives the war, publishes a book, "I Shot Laval," in 1946, and dies in 1995.

U-570 is captured by the Royal Navy, 27 August 1941.

Spy Stuff: U-570, captured by the Royal Navy today, has its cipher gear intact. The scientists at Bletchley Park know all about German cipher equipment already, though extra and current copies are always welcome. Contrary to myth, this capture does prove of war-winning benefit to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. The German crew has plenty of time (actually, all day long, as the British take that long to get ships in the area) to destroy its current codes and anything else of value before being taken as prisoners. Thus, the capture is worth less than it might seem from a codebreaking standpoint, though of course it is a daring feat and does deprive the Kriegsmarine of a submarine. Many Kriegsmarine codes remain unbreakable throughout the war because German sailors are the best-trained and most disciplined ciphers in the Wehrmacht. Lapses in coding are the main source of codebreaking - not having copies of the equipment used - and the Kriegsmarine makes relatively few errors that give codebreakers an opening.

In Washington, D.C., Dusko Popov meets with FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover. Popov is a putative spy for the Germans who is a double agent for the Allies. Popov has in his possession a list of questions given to him to ask about which prominently features Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - the main base of the US Pacific Fleet. Hoover, however, sees no significance in these questions.

Special Operations: Operation Gauntlet continues in Spitzbergen without any interference from the Germans. The Norwegians are sending the Germans in mainland Norway false weather reports of fog which keep away Luftwaffe reconnaissance flights by Wettererkundungsstaffel (Wekusta 5). The Canadians settle in and continue destroying mining equipment and coal dumps in the midnight sun. The Germans don't know anything is amiss, so they continue sending colliers to pick up loads of coal - which the Canadians gladly seize.

Applied Science: Winston Churchill approves the MAUD Committee's suggestion that an atomic bomb should be developed:

Although personally, I am quite content with the existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement, and I therefore think that action should be taken in the sense proposed by Lord Cherwell.

The Americans already are working toward an atomic bomb, and also have reached the same conclusions as Churchill based on their reading of the same MAUD Report.

"Soldiers of the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifles Brigade getting their mascot pets, a monkey and a dog, used to each others company, 27 August 1941. Photograph was taken on board of one of the Royal Navy destroyers on the way from Alexandria to Tobruk." (© IWM (E 5051))

US/Japanese Relations: Ambassador Nomura hand-delivers a note from Prime Minister Prince Fumimaro Konoye to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. It states in part that he wants:

to discuss from a broad standpoint all important problems between Japan and America covering the entire Pacific area, and to explore the possibility of saving the situation.

In a sign of things to come, the Japanese embassy staff has difficulty completing the translation of Prince Konoye's message in time for Nomura's meeting with the Secretary of State - even though they have the message a full day in advance. Thus, Nomura must deliver the message only partly in writing and partly orally. Hull denies Nomura's request to see President Roosevelt immediately but says he will try to set up a meeting in the morning.

The Director of the American Bureau for Japanese Foreign Affairs, Mr. Terasaki, delivers a statement intended for US Ambassador Joseph Grew. It demands that the US tankers bound for Vladivostok be recalled or, if that is impossible, be rerouted to avoid passing through the Straits of Saya and Tsugaru. The Japanese note says that Imperial Japan resents supplies being sent through Japanese waters to the USSR, which may later use those supplies against Japan.

A Finnish soldier receives his cigarette ration, 27 August 1941 (SA-Kuva).

Japanese military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 6667-ton freighter Onoe Maru.

British Government: Giving in to its usually latent socialistic impulses, the British Government nationalizes the railways for the duration of the conflict. The owners are given £43,000,000 per year as compensation.

China: At Macau, the Japanese issue an ultimatum to the Portuguese administrators of the city: either the city takes a pro-Japanese stance, or the Japanese will block all food imports.

Hungarian Jews being led to their executions at Kaments-Podolski, 27 or 28 August 1941.

Holocaust: SS units under the command of the Higher SS and Police Leader for the southern region, SS General Friedrich Jeckeln, murder 23,600 Hungarian Jews at Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukrainian SSR. This figure is taken from Jeckeln's own report, and some estimates place the number closer to 25,000. As usual in such incidents, the victims are marched to pits outside of town and shot so that they fall into them (in this case, bomb craters). This incident is the largest mass execution to date and a precursor of much larger ones to come in September 1941 and thereafter.

Soviet Homefront: An Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-6-G2 (TB-3) (CCCP-L1996) crashes into a hill near Kyzyl-Arviat, Turkmenistan. It is carrying cargo on the Tashkent-Ashgabat route, apparently in support of the Soviet invasion of Iran. The pilot apparently cannot find the airport and tries to land in the countryside, but the plane is destroyed and all six crew are killed.

American Homefront: Charlie Root gets his 200th win, the first to do so in Chicago Cubs history, in a 6-4 win over the Boston Braves. Root gave up the famous "called homerun" to Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series. Root will retire at the end of the season with 201 career victories.

Paramount's "Aloma of the South Seas" premieres. It stars Dorothy Lamour as Aloma and is directed by Alfred Santell. The film, in Technicolor, is later nominated for two Academy Awards for cinematography and visual effects.

Future History: Cesària Évora is born in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde. She becomes a popular singer and earns the nickname "The Barefoot Diva" due to her penchant for singing without shoes. She passes away on 17 December 2011 in her hometown.


August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Tuesday 21 May 1940

A German patrol in the silent streets of Luxembourg, potato mashers, pistols and rifles at the ready. 21 May 1940.

Western Front: A small force of British and French tanks counterattacks Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division in front of Arras on 21 May 1940. It is one of the very few counterattacks by the Allies.

Major-General Harold Franklyn commands tank forces in the Arras area of the British 5th Infantry Division, the 50 Infantry Division and the French 3rd Light Mechanized Division. The Allied high commands have not formulated a coordinated plan to pinch off the German spearhead, so he essentially is acting on his own despite large nearby French armored forces, including some of the SOMUA S35 heavy tanks that had proven superior at the Battle of Hannut. Franklyn's mission is muddled: he is not told of a clear objective, just to attack. In the event, he assumes that his mission is to relieve Arras, not re-establish vital communications to the south with France.

Franklyn sends in 74 Matilda tanks and 14 light tanks, keeping the strong French tanks for flank protection. He achieves surprise. The British Matilda tanks stand up quite well to standard German antitank guns. Radio communication is poor, and the tanks are not adequately supported in a modern combined-arms fashion. The British make some early gains. Rommel's 7th Panzer Division is vulnerable because he has sent units ahead, bypassing Arras - and leaving his center weak. If there is one weakness of Rommel's style of leadership, this is it.

As is often the case with unexpectedly powerful enemy tanks, the Germans always have an ace in their pocket with their 88 mm (3.46 in) FlaK guns and 105 mm (4.1 in) field guns). While not particularly mobile, they are devastating when used over open sights against nearby ground targets - at great risk to the guns' crews, of course. In addition, Rommel's penchant for stringing out his forces - which so panics his tradition-minded superiors - pays massive dividends. Rommel is able to recall an advanced panzer regiment which returns and takes the advancing British in a devastating flank attack.

The British tanks falter, then retreat, harassed by the Luftwaffe all the way. The British lose 60 of their 88 tanks, while Rommel only loses 89 killed, 110 wounded and 173 missing. It is a huge tactical defensive victory for the Wehrmacht. However, the attack greatly impresses the German OKW high command - and particularly Hitler. It might have made some real impact if coordinated with de Gaulle's abortive attack from the south on 19 May.

The Battle of Arras has long-lasting effects. One theory of German tank development is that this encounter at Arras so impresses Hitler with the superiority of heavily armored British tanks that he puts in place the design program that ultimately leads to the Panzer VI Tiger Tank of 1942. The battle also is when the Allies begin to speak of "German 88s" with respect. The failure of the attack makes the senior British leadership - if not the French - even leerier about the BEF's prospects on the Continent. Finally, the ferocity of the attack is giving the top brass second thoughts about pressing home the attack against the quickly contracting First Army Group as it bellies up beside the sea.

To the southwest, General Guderian's panzers consolidate their hold on the Somme. The 1st Panzer, 2nd Panzer, and 10th Panzer Divisions take bridgeheads across the river. These will be quite handy when the time comes to head south.

The Germans besiege Maubeuge, west of Dinant on the River Sambre. The French Ninth Army, having lost its commander General Giraud when captured by German troops, is in a state of collapse.

French Commander-in-chief Weygand is continuing to "assess the situation." He goes to Ypres to meet with King Leopold, General Gaston Billotte, commander of the 1st Army Group, and General John Vereker Lord Gort, commander of the BEF. Billotte is depressed and pessimistic, and Gort misses the meeting entirely. After the meeting, Billotte - who has Weygand's plan in his head for a coordinated attack against Rommel's panzers from north and south - gets in a major car accident, leaving him in a coma and near death. Gort's Chief of Staff, not one to mince words, observes caustically, "With all respect, he's no loss to us in this emergency" - which is a bit unfair because Billotte was the key to the counterattack, which now does not take place. General Blanchard, heretofore in charge of French 1st Army, takes over as Cinc of 1st Army Group.

The gun camera still from Spitfire Mk I ZP-A records the first victory of acting F/L Adolph G "Sailor" Malan of No 74 Squadron RAF over Dunkirk on the early evening of 21 May 1940. Breaking out of the cloud at 17,000 ft, the 30-year-old South African leader of A Flight nearly rams a Heinkel He 111 before firing from 150 yds whilst in a banking turn. With debris and smoke issuing from the starboard engine and a wheel dropped, the claim still was categorized as unconfirmed.

European Air Operations: The RAF is in full battle mode. It attacks the German ground troops during the day and sends 124 bombers total (sources vary) to take out road and rail targets at night in Namur, Dinant, and Aachen, as well as the German troops outside Arras.

The RAF completes its evacuation from Belgium. Air cover over the BEF henceforth will originate from either France or England. This is not optimal for the gun-carrying infantry still trying to hold tenuous lines that keep shifting back toward the coast.

First victory of "Sailor" Malan of RAF No. 74 Squadron.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe catches French destroyer L’Adroit off Dunkirk and bombs and sinks it. They also sink - perhaps inadvertently - British hospital ship Maid of Kent off Dieppe, along with British ship Hubbastone at Dieppe.

British ship Firth Fisher hits a mine and sinks off Boulogne.

The British commission corvette HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (Lt. Commander Reginald Phillips).

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion rounds Cape Horn into the Pacific.

Norway: The German 2nd Mountain Division continues advancing past Mo i Rana toward Bodo and takes up positions on the north shore of the Rombaksfiord. Colonel Gubbins plans to mount a defense at Storjord, 20 miles (32 km) south of Rognan - if he can get the Scots Guards under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax to stop their retreat.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier Furious sends off 18 Gladiators of No. 263 Squadron and 18 Hurricanes of 46 Squadron to man a base at Bardufoss north of Narvik. Luftwaffe dominance of the northern Norway skies is becoming a problem, perhaps a decisive one. It is easy to question priorities since British fighters are being withdrawn from the decisive Western Front at the same time as they are being sent to the sideshow in northern Norway. This is just another indication of the tremendous strategic importance placed on the Swedish iron ores which flow through northern Norway at Narvik.

War Crimes: There are many anecdotal reports of Luftwaffe fighters and Stukas strafing refugees on the roads. Doing so would both block the roads and sow terror about the chilling new aerial weapons of the Luftwaffe - the Stukas have had air horns installed specifically to enhance the terror effect. These types of incidents are extremely difficult to prove, and they may not necessarily be intentional war crimes. However... intentionally targeting civilians in such a manner most definitely is a war crime.

German Military: Hitler and Raeder hold a conference. Raeder has radical ideas about naval strategy - he was the architect of the invasion of Norway, Operation Weserubung - and now he has another idea: invade Great Britain. This is the first record of anyone even broaching this topic in a serious manner. Hitler agrees with the proposal but also tells Commander-in-chief Brauchitsch and his chief of staff Halder that he wants to do a deal with Great Britain.

Soviet Military: General Alexander Vasilevsky becomes 1st Deputy Head of Operations Directorate of the Stavka.

USS Military: The submarine USS Trout is launched.

Gibraltar: Non-essential personnel being evacuated to England. Nobody knows Francisco Franco's intentions, and Gibraltar would be indefensible if Spain joins the Axis.
French Government: While the Generals as a group are almost moribund with pessimism, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud is full of vigor despite the "disaster," telling the Senate:

France cannot die! …. if I were told tomorrow that only a miracle could save France, I should reply: I believe in miracles because I believe in France!

His ultimate conclusion is that the problem facing the nation stems from failure to understand the recent evolution of military doctrine - something that Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle has become known for.

United States Government: President Roosevelt sends a secret executive order to FBI Director Edgar Hoover: wiretap foreign agent suspects. This includes members of foreign embassies and consulates. This is a highly controversial decision that is of dubious legality - especially with the US not at war with anyone.

Dutch Homefront: The influence of the German occupation already is being felt. Radio broadcaster AVRO dismisses its Jewish employees.

American Homefront: While the Germans and the Allies are locked in their brutal beat-down in Belgium and France, US journalists are able to provide stateside readers with accounts from both sides. Journalist William Shirer, for instance, is one of several US newspapermen accompanying the Wehrmacht on its glory ride. He notes rather tonelessly that "Our Wehrmacht officer guide is very complimentary to the French." It is not safe to report from the front, as the journalists are as exposed as anyone to air attacks.

Future History: Tony Sheridan is born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He becomes famous as a singer after he collaborates with an unknown group known as The Beat Brothers in 1961. They release a single ("My Bonnie") that makes it to No. 5 on the German chart. This is not when he becomes famous as a result of the collaboration, but rather after The Beat Brothers change their name to The Beatles.

One of the RAF pilots evacuating from Belgium on 21 May 1940 is P/O Keith T Lofts (right). He had flown out with No 615 Squadron RAF from RAF Croydon to Merville on 15 November 1939, and today he returns with them from Moorsele to RAF Kenley. The 22-year-old pilot claimed 3 enemy aircraft damaged operating over France/Belgium, but the details have been lost. He later shares a He 111 with S/L Joseph R "Joe" Kayll on 22 June, the bomber coming down west of Rouen.

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

Tuesday 16 April 1940

Oberleutnant Herbert Schmidt of the Dombås Fallschirmjäger.

Norway: The Norwegian government continues the "white paper wars" on 16 April 1940 by releasing the demands made by the German Minister in Oslo.

Numerous Norwegian formations are either surrendering outright or marching into internment in Sweden. They have no orders to do either. Norwegian morale is at rock bottom.

The standard line from Wehrmacht troops to the Norwegians: "We're here to protect you from the English."

Winston Churchill goes into rhetorical overdrive and says that British troops are there to "cleanse the German plague from the ancestral shores of the Vikings."
Norway Air Operations: The RAF bombs Stavanger airfield again during the night. The bombs start two big fires. All the British aircraft return. Other RAF planes attack Oslo and Trondheim.

Once again, Norwegian biplanes attack Junkers Ju 52 unloading supplies for Narvik on frozen Lake Hartvigvann. The landing area is deemed unsafe, and the remaining transports there are abandoned.

The Luftwaffe attacks the British troops unloading at Namsos.

Norway Army Operations: German troops of the 138th Mountain Regiment in an improved armored train continue east toward Sweden from Trondheim, reaching Skurdalsvold a few miles from the Swedish frontier. This effectively cuts the country in half at the waist. However, there are still Finnish forces all around the surrounding countryside. The British also are making landings near Trondheim.

At Dombås, the day begins with the Fallschirmjäger under Oblt. Schmidt occupying a strategic position overlooking the main road. Two Norwegian companies arrive, and one I/IR 5 attacks the Germans from the south, while the other II/IR 11 attacks from the south. The Norwegians bring two 81 mm (3.19 in) mortars and Colt M/29s. There is a brief firefight, and then the Germans wave the white flag. The Germans send over a Norwegian POW who states that the Germans are demanding that the two Norwegian companies surrender or the Germans will shoot their prisoners. There may have been something lost in the translation. The Norwegians respond by sending over a German POW who says that the Norwegians are demanding that they surrender. Neither side surrenders.

The Fallschirmjäger soldiers know they cannot last long in their present positions due to the Norwegian mortars, and ammunition is running low. Schmidt continues talking, waiting for darkness so he and his men can make a run for it. Instead, the Norwegians attack again, but then suddenly a blizzard descends on the area. The Germans launch an unexpected attack, and it sends the Norwegians reeling back to Dombås. After dark, the Fallschirmjäger slip away to the south.

Norwegian troops nearby capture numerous Fallschirmjäger who had wound up far from the drop zone. Some 22 are captured at Kolstad and another 23 at Bottheim train station. They were not participating in the battle anyway.

At Hegra Fortress, the Luftwaffe commences attacks on the castle. The German troops surround the fortress but have no way to break in. They bring up a mountain howitzer, and it destroys buildings around the fortress but does little damage to the structure itself. One shell hits a parapet and kills a Norwegian soldier. Hans Reidar Holtermann, commanding officer, keeps his men safe but vigilant.

At Narvik, some 200 Norwegian troops retreat along the rail line into Sweden, where they are interned. The German 139th Mountain Regiment clears the line all the way to the border.

Major Holtermann on Constitution Day in 1945.

Norway Naval Operations: More British troops of the 148th Territorial Infantry (reserve) Brigade depart for Norway from Rosyth. They are under the command of Brigadier Harold Morgan and already have spent two days cramped up in cruisers HMS Galatea and Arethusa and another transport ship.

Instead of going to Namsos with their brother troops, however, the Brigade troops are to be shipped to Andalsnes, to the south of Trondheim. To do this, they must disembark the cruisers they are on and board two other cruisers, HMS Carlisle and Curacoa. Doing this causes them to lose valuable equipment on the former two cruisers, which cannot be brought over due to lack of space and time. The whole affair makes absolutely no sense and is a complete staff cock-up. The strategic picture is that they will attack Trondheim from the south while the troops already ashore attack from the north, but the hurried nature of the change creates huge problems.

General Mackesy lands his 24th Brigade at Harstad, 37 miles to the north of his objective, Narvik. This area is quiet and suitable for the landing operation since it is not equipped for an opposed beach landing. While everyone gets ashore safely, the troops are of little use so far north. An overland march to Narvik would be extremely difficult due to the weather situation.

The British 15th Brigade is en route from France, where they were serving with the BEF, to Norway.

British submarine HMS Porpoise sinks U-boat 1 off Stavanger.

HMS Porpoise and U-3 exchange torpedo firings at each other 10 miles southwest of Egersund, Norway. Both miss.

British Military: The government issues a mobilization order for men turning 27 years old in April and May 1940.

Anglo/US Relations: J. Edgar Hoover and William Stephenson of MI6 meet to discuss cooperation regarding British intelligence needs in the United States.

US Military: First planes fly out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Soviet Union: The Red Army convenes a conference in Moscow to analyze whatever lessons can be learned from the Winter War.

Italy: Foreign Minister Count Ciano announces over Rome radio that "the bugles will soon sound," which some take to mean that Italy is about to enter the war on the side of the Axis. The world is awash with jokes on both sides about Italian fighting prowess:

Germans: Hitler is told Italy joining war. "Send 2 divisions, that'll finish them!" "Mein Führer, they're on our side!" "Oh! Send 10." 

At a dinner with Winston Churchill, German Minister Ribbentrop had said that, in a future war with Britain, Germany would have the Italians on its side. Churchill responded: “That’s only fair – we had them last time." 

Churchill: "Italians lose wars as if they were football matches and football matches as if they were wars." 

Churchill: "My Generals tell me that if Italy joins our side we shall defeat Germany in a year, and if they join the German side, six months."

Iceland: The island officially declares its independence and asks for US recognition.

HMAS Perth sails into Sydney Harbor, 16 April 1940.

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

2019

Friday 5 April 1940

The Mig-1.

Operation Weserubung: Operation Wilfred, the British mining of Norwegian territorial waters, gets underway on 5 April 1940 when British minelayers set out at 06:30. British battlecruiser HMS Renown, destroyers HMS Inglefield, Ilex, Imogen, Isis, Greyhound, Glowworm, Hyperion, Hero & minelayer HMS Teviotbank depart Scapa Flow to mine the Norwegian coast.

German warships are on their way to Norway, many carrying armed troops. They are disguised as UK vessels, including actual false flags and manning their radio sets with English speakers who identify themselves as "British ship."

Numerous persons sympathetic to the Allies have learned of Operation Weserubung and try to warn the Norwegian/Danish governments and/or the Allies. The Norwegian ambassador in Berlin warns both his own government and Copenhagen. The British also receive quite specific warnings, including the key information that Narvik is on the docket.

Danish Ambassador in Berlin Herluf Zahle sends a memorandum to his Foreign Minister dated 5 April 1940 and marked "strictly confidential" which notes that there is "disturbing circumstantial evidence" of German war preparations aimed at the neutral Danish and Norwegian states.

The British and French hand Norway and Sweden diplomatic notes containing "admonitions" that the Allies will take the steps necessary to deprive the Germans of Norwegian resources regardless of whether Oslo approves. This obviously is related to Operation Wilfred, but the Norwegians misinterpret this to imply that the Allies - not the Germans - are about to invade.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is another quiet day on the Atlantic as the U-boat fleet has been re-oriented to protect Kriegsmarine transports around Norway.

British submarine HMS Spearfish departs from Blyth to join the ring of British and allied submarines around Norway.

Convoy HG 25 departs from Gibraltar.

Soviet Military: First flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 at the Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow with chief test pilot Arkadij Ekatov at the controls.

British Military: General Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, echoes Prime Minister Chamberlain's "missed the bus" speech of 4 April at a press conference: "Thank goodness Germany didn't attack in the first 7 months of the war - we've now made a fine army." He also gives some unsolicited advice: "German army must do something, or its morale will crack. I believe the great silence is worse to the Germans than anything else."

Swedish Military: The Swedish Anti-Profanity League donates 1500 signs for barracks, which state: "Don't curse. Cursing proves a lack of culture."

Anglo/French Relations: Georges Monnet, the French Minister of Blockade, arrives in London for talks with the British Minister of Economic Warfare, Ronald Cross.

War Crimes: The Katyn Forest Massacre by Soviet troops against Polish officers is under way. Polish officers leaving prisons believe that they are being taken home to Poland. Instead they are taken by train and bus to the Katyn Forest at bayonet point. Some prisoners are killed in their cells and then their corpses are taken to the forest. The corpses are stacked like wood, feet to head, until they fill each van. About 1,000 are killed on the first day, over 20,000 left. Pits are dug, and the corpses are thrown into them.

Turkey: All high school girls are required to obtain military training before graduation, with 11-16 year olds to study sharpshooting, tactics and first aid.

British Homefront: Captured German merchant ship Uhenfels, renamed renamed Empire Ability, is brought up the river Thames. It was captured in November 1939.

April 5, 1940. Washington, D.C. "Informal photo of J. Edgar Hoover, Director of FBI, Department of Justice."

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