Tuesday 30 July 1940

Dornier Do 17 bombers on a mission.

Battle of Britain: The weather continues to be poor on 30 July 1940, with a low cloud ceiling and occasional light rain. This prevents much flying activity. The prospects for Operation Sea Lion diminish further with each such day. This reveals the weakness of the German plan, which requires as a preliminary to the invasion major accomplishments which can only be performed in good weather.

The Luftwaffe still tries to entice the RAF fighters into giving battle as part of its attrition strategy. The theme of the day is timid Luftwaffe attacks being chased off by patrolling RAF fighters.

At 09:00, the Luftwaffe approaches the coast at Swanage, but never get near the coast as RAF fighters scare them off.

Around 09:45, another raid in the vicinity of the Isle of Wight runs into RAF No. 601 Squadron. There are some dogfights, with possible losses on both sides.

Some time after 11:00, an attempted raid on Portland fizzles when RAF fighters appear. Another raid around the same time by Stukas on a convoy does not cause any damage.
Significant operations only begin around noon due to the weather.

A few Heinkel 111s attempt to raid Montrose. RAF No. 603 Squadron rises to the defense and chases them off. The Germans lose one of the bombers.

An attack by Bf 110 fighter-bombers is intercepted by RAF No. 85 Squadron, with the Germans losing a plane off of Southwold around 15:30.

Around the same time, the Luftwaffe mounts its major effort of the day. A large formation of about fifty planes heads from the area of the Seine toward the Isle of Wight. Once again, patrolling RAF fighters shoo off most of the attackers. However, some of the planes make it across the coast near Dungeness, where RAF No. 65 Squadron shoots down a Bf 109.

During the evening at 18:48, another, slightly smaller effort approaches from the Cherbourg area. The large formation splits into multiple parts. This raid accomplished whatever objectives it had, as the patrolling RAF fighters never encountered it.

A Junkers Ju 88 suffers engine failure and crashes while attacking shipping in the Channel, the crew taking to a lifeboat.

Shortly before dusk, small raids take place around Esher, Chessington, Heysham, Tolworth, and Swm Bargoed railway tracks.

After dark, there are minor raids around Bristol, Plymouth, Dorset, Devon, South Wales, and the Midlands. The raids do not cause much damage, and the attacking forces lose a Heinkel He 111 from KG 55.

Destroyer HMS Delight, bombed on the 29th, sinks in Portland harbor.

The Channel is closed to convoys, with the area now known as "Hellfire Corner."

Overall, the day is fairly inconsequential, with the Luftwaffe losing about 5 planes and the RAF one or two.

Hitler remains unimpressed by the prospects for an invasion. His military advisors lean toward an earlier invasion rather than later, as time gives the British the ability to regroup the army and form a more effective defense. It is a common dilemma during the war for the Germans: attack quickly with forces available, or wait to build up assets. Usually, a decision to act quickly is more successful, as the main German advantages throughout are surprise tactics rather than larger forces and industrial production. Waiting dissipates the main Wehrmacht advantages.

Hitler decides to wait. He sets 15 September as the earliest time his preconditions for Operation Sea Lion could be met. They are so unrealistic, however, that likely no amount of time would be sufficient absent a complete collapse of the British economy due to bombing and the U-boat blockade. In addition, the OKL (Navy high command) and OKW (military high command) have not agreed on a proper size for the invasion and the location. Landings in the south on a broad front as proposed by the army would face the fiercest opposition anywhere in England. The OKL, on the other hand, believes a targeted landing on the short route toward Dover would be most likely to succeed. Basically, the whole subject of an invasion is unresolved at every level, because the Wehrmacht has never anticipated being placed in that opportunity so quickly by a sudden French collapse.

SS-Hauptsturmführer Helmuth Schreiber is decorated with the Knight’s Cross on 30 July 1943 for his leadership of 10./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment “Deutschland” of the Das Reich Division at Kursk. He wears the Close Combat Clasp in Silver in a shot taken in late 1943 or 1944.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command continues its attacks on barges, oil installations, and airfields in northwest Europe. Coastal Command raids German guns on the Norwegian coast and the Kriegsmarine base at Emden.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy submarine Narwhal sinks around this date. It is believed that it hits a mine off Norway.

The Luftwaffe attacks Belgian trawler John about 35 miles off southwest Ireland.

British mine layers Plover and Willem van der Zaan (from the Dutch Navy) lay minefield BS.29 in the North Sea.

Convoy HG 40 departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OA 192 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 191 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 40 departs from Gibraltar.

U-93 (Kapitänleutnant Claus Korth) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF raids Italian forces near Kassala.

The Anglo-Maltese League launches an appeal in England for funds to purchase fighter planes for Malta. Of course, the underlying problem is not lack of planes, but the inability to get them to Malta. However, this plays into the stirring accounts in the British media of the heroic defense of the island.

On the island itself, there is only one attempted raid in the morning which turns back before dropping any bombs. Air reconnaissance sights an Italian convoy heading south from Messina, Sicily, which may be an invasion fleet or simply carrying supplies to Libya.

While radar is rapidly being installed around the coastline, sound detectors remain important. Here paraboloids are installed in a sound detector for anti-aircraft batteries in England. July 30, 1940 (AP Photo).

German Propaganda: Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels broadcasts brave words about the course of the Battle of Britain, stating:

Britain was already weakening, it cannot muster the number of planes required to conquer our glorious Luftwaffe, they are losing a battle that they are intent on prolonging.

It is a classic case of talking loudly while in a tight situation rather than, as Teddy Roosevelt suggested, talking softly but carrying a big stick. In fact, the RAF shows no signs of weakening, as this very day's events show.

Anglo/Swedish Relations: A British destroyer flotilla commanded by Captain C. Caslon intercepts a flotilla of four destroyers built in Italy which have been purchased by Sweden and are en route to that country. While not a "war crime" because Sweden is not at war, it is a serious breach of international law, as the Royal Navy has no grounds for seizing the ships of a neutral country. The Swedes issue a diplomatic protest for the safe return of its ships.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: British Foreign Minister Lord Halifax issues a diplomatic protest against the recent Japanese arrest of British citizens on espionage charges.

German/Swiss Relations: Germany shuts down the German/Swiss border, heightening Swiss fears of an invasion.

Latin American Relations: The 21 nation-delegates in Havana sign the Act of Havana, which proposes a joint administration of European colonies in the Americas which appear vulnerable to "changes of sovereignty." While elegantly phrased in lawyerly language, the agreement basically provides that the signing nations will take over any areas controlled by nations invaded by Germany that look like they are going over to the Axis.

Baltic States: The new Soviet-controlled government continues its purge of former national leaders in the Baltic States, arresting former Estonian President Konstantin Pats and sending him to Siberia.

British Government: Victoria Crosses are awarded to two soldiers: Lieutenant (now Captain) H. M. Ervine Andrews of the East Lancashire Regiment and (posthumously) to Lance Corporal H. Nicholls of the Grenadier Guards. Andrews receives one for conspicuous gallantry on the Dunkirk perimeter on 31 May, while Nicholls is honored for commanding troops north of Tournai on 21 May despite being wounded and "firing from the hip" as he personally charged the enemy lines.

The Minister of Economic Warfare announces that the British blockade now encompasses all of Europe and North Africa - including Vichy France.

While this looks like it was taken in London during the Blitz, it actually is a factory fire in Camden, New Jersey on 30 July 1940. It is known as the Hollingshead Fire.

July 1940

July 1, 1940: Vichy France
July 2, 1940: Arandora Star
July 3, 1940: Operation Catapult at Mers El Kébir
July 4, 1940: Romania In Crisis
July 5, 1940: The Five Freedoms
July 6, 1940: Hitler's High Point
July 7 1940: Dakar And Ringo
July 8, 1940: Tea Rationing in England
July 9, 1940: Battle of Calabria
July 10, 1940: Battle of Britain Begins
July 11, 1940: "Nous, Philippe Petain"
July 12, 1940: Enter Laval
July 13, 1940: German Surface Raiders Attack!
July 14, 1940: Bastille/Mourning Day
July 15, 1940: Tallest Man Dies
July 16, 1940: Plans for Sea Lion
July 17, 1940: Burma Road Closed
July 18, 1940: FDR Runs Again
July 19, 1940: Last Appeal To Reason
July 20, 1940: First Night Fighter Victory
July 21, 1940: Soviets Absorb Baltic States
July 22, 1940: First RAF Night Fighter Victory
July 23, 1940: Invasion False Alarm
July 24, 1940: The Meknés Incident
July 25, 1940: Black Thursday for RAF
July 26, 1940: Capture The Duke?
July 27, 1940: What's Up, Doc?
July 28, 1940: Destroyers Pulled From Dover
July 29, 1940: Barbarossa On The Burner
July 30, 1940: Hitler Delays Sealion
July 31, 1940: Bloody Wednesday of Olkusz

2020

Wednesday 26 June 1940

The 26 June 1940 Los Angeles Times headline notes that the "Air war rages over Britain."

Battle of the Atlantic: U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) stops 5,252 ton Greek freighter Dimitris off Cape Finisterre, Spain at 15:30. Captain Schuhart disembarks the crew and then sinks the freighter with gunfire.

U-UA (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) sinks 3,828-ton Norwegian freighter "Crux" about 300 miles west of Cape Vincent, Portugal at 02:28. All 30 onboard survive. The Crux had been sailing with Convoy OG-34 but had separated from that convoy.

German raider Widder captures Norwegian freighter Krossfonn and sends it to France with a prize crew.

The Admiralty extends the blockade to include France.

RMS Queen Mary, in use as a troopship, sets sail for the Middle East with 5,000 troops aboard.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian vessel Loasso hits a mine and sinks. The mine was laid by the British submarine HMS Rorqual.

European Air Operations: The RAF makes daylight raids on German oil installations with 13 bombers, and during the night attacks seaplane bases at Texel and Heider and airfields in Holland and Germany.

Italian raids on Malta continue. The raids come from both Libya and Sicily for the first time. The British air raid warning system fails to give alerts due to overnight storms which topple a radar mast, leading to 37 civilian deaths.

The Luftwaffe's night raids against Great Britain continue. KG 27 sends about 100 aircraft against northern England and southern Scotland. In addition, about three Heinkel 111s attack the docks at Avonmouth and Portishead. Some others attack the train station at Bristol. The Luftwaffe loses one bomber.

The Luftwaffe is withdrawing many of its fighter units to their home bases in Germany for rest and refit. JG 26 returns to its home bases on the Rhine, but before it does, it loses ace Lt. Otto-Heinrich Hillecke of II./JG 26 in a dogfight.

A major Luftwaffe conference is held at The Hague to discuss the new strategies necessary for a war against England. In attendance are: Generalfeldmarschall Göring, Generalluftzeugmeister Ernst Udet, General Albert Kesselring, Chief of Personnel General Kastner, General Bruno Lörner and ZG 1 Gruppenkommandeur Hptm. Wolfgang Falck. Goering instructs Falck to set up a Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) force, initial formation designated NJG 1, which will have two groups: one of Bf 110s, and the other of Bf 109s. Falck chooses Macki Steinhoff to lead the second group.

Barricades on the A23 near Brighton, Sussex. 26 June 1940.

Western Front: German occupation troops reach the Spanish border near Irum.

Hitler concludes his visit to his old World War I battlefields.

Soviet/Romanian Relations: Soviet Union Foreign Minister Molotov demands 17,000 square km of Romanian territory in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Romania appeals to Hitler, who does not want any trouble at this time with the Soviets and encourages King Carol to give in.

De Gaulle, meanwhile, creates the French Volunteer Legion in England and sets up a center for armaments and scientific research.

British Military: Sir Alan Brooke, fresh off his command of the BEF, is named to command the Southern Command.

Turkey: The country reiterates its non-belligerency. Both sides are frantically trying to woo it.

Iran: Ali Mansur becomes the new Prime Minister.

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army occupies Mingchiang without opposition. This gives it control over the border with French Indochina, along which the Japanese have long suspected the French of supplying arms to China. The French already have pledged to discontinue any such shipments.

Soviet Homefront: A 7-day work week is instituted. No worker may quit a job without authorization. Being more than 20 minutes late to work becomes a criminal offense which will result in a 25% pay cut. These draconian measures are somewhat curious, as the USSR is not at war with anybody. The official justification is to ward off "capitalist aggression." However, the only somewhat-capitalist country nearby of any power happens to be Germany, supposedly an ally.

A pillbox on the promenade at Worthing, England, 26 June 1940.

British Homefront: The meat ration is cut.

The London Times takes umbrage at the continued humiliation of Her Majesty's Armed Forces by the Germans. It sniffs at the "refined cruelty to UK prisoners at Malines. All helmets are replaced by top hats, bowlers, bonnets, berets to make the POWs appear clownish."

French Homefront: It is the day of national mourning proclaimed by the government on the 25th.
German Homefront: It is the first day of national celebration, with bell-tolling and flag-waving. The government distributes free beer and roast meat on Berlin street corners by order of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. However, Goebbels rejects a proposal by Labour Minister Robert Ley to provide prostitutes for free.

American Homefront: The British firm Rolls Royce gives Packard Motor Car Company the license to build its engines for the P-51 Mustang fighter.

Life returns somewhat to normal in Amsterdam. 26 June 1940.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Wednesday 27 March 1940

Labour Front leader Robert Ley and his wife, Inge, with Hitler. Ley recently had been supplanted by Fritz Todt as the ultimate Reich labor boss but retained his position. He was noted for drunkenness and corruption, but Hitler reportedly had a thing for Inge.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-22 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinrich Jenisch) has not been responding to standard checks for the past week and is reported lost as of 27 March 1940. All hands are listed as lost, the cause is ascribed to a mine or depth-charge attack in the North Sea.

Convoy OA 118 departs from Scotland, Convoy OB 118 departs from Liverpool.
European Air Operations: There are battles across the Maginot Line. The Luftwaffe loses 5-7 Bf 109s according to the RAF.

The RAF attacks German shipping in the North Sea without a result.

Western Front: The French and Germans exchange perfunctory artillery fire in the Vosges forest and the Saar. The New York Times editorializes: "PARIS: Thoughtful observers here do not expect any change on the Western Front for a long time to come."

British Government: The Supreme War Council is to meet on 28 March, so the British War Council takes up French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud's proposal that the Allies attack the Soviet oil fields at Baku and Soviet shipping in the Black Sea. The decision is unanimous to oppose this plan and to continue the policy of avoiding direct conflict with the Soviet Union. The true purpose of Reynaud's proposal is perhaps indicated by the fact that it is leaked to the press, which the British find highly objectionable for such sensitive matters. The British, or at least Winston Churchill, consider this to have been done for domestic political purposes. The British tell General Gamelin and his colleagues of this decision at a preliminary meeting.

British Propaganda: An editorial in the Daily Mail notes the massive head start by the Nazis, led by Dr. Goebbels, in propaganda and urges effective British propaganda in response. While the British, particularly Churchill, have engaged in some very subtle propaganda during occasional speeches, the Nazis have been broadcasting nightly.

Finland: The government is reshuffled; Risto Ryti stays in charge.

New Zealand: The new Primes Minister of New Zealand is Peter Fraser, replacing Michael Savage who passes away today while in office.

China: The Japanese retain possession of Wuyuan, but local Chinese forces continue to pressure them. The Chinese 8th War Area attacks around Patzepu, Hsishantzu, Hsichiao, and Manko.

German Homefront: Robert Ley, long-time boss of the Nazi Labour Front and a close Hitler crony notes today that war "is a blessing, as women love fighters." His tall, blonde wife, Inge, is a close friend of Hitler, and some wonder just how close.

Holocaust: Heinrich Himmler authorizes the construction of a concentration camp at Auschwitz near Kraków, Poland. The site is convenient because it has served as an Austrian and later Polish Army barracks and a camp for transient workers. There already are 16 buildings on the site in various states of disrepair. Himmler has a vague idea of housing political prisoners there.

Ad on the 27 March 1940 NY Times: "When you insult your stomach, apologize" with the waters of French spa town Vichy. It is fair to say that almost nobody in the US has ever heard of Vichy, and may not even realize it is a town.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019

Wednesday 20 March 1940

A British reconnaissance photo of the German seaplane base on the Isle of Sylt with targets marked, 1940.

Winter War: The Soviet Navy occupies its new base at Hango in Southern Finland.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) continues its successful patrol on 20 March 1940 by torpedoing and sinking 1,153-ton Danish freighter Viking northeast of the Moray Firth at 05:00. Two crew survive, 15 perish.

Next, U-19 torpedoes and sinks the 2,109-ton Danish freighter Bothal at 05:15. Five of the crew survive, 15 perish.

The passenger liner Mauretania departs from New York with an unpublished destination.

The British respond to the Brazilian government's protest of the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire's stopping of the German freighter Wakama on 12 February. They claim that they were only protecting Brazilian commerce. The Brazilians are not amused, as stated by the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Oswaldo Aranha:

Indeed you are not, you are definitely not protecting our commerce by maintaining your warships off our coast. It is apparent to me that your blockade of Germany is plainly ineffective. If it were effective, you could stop the German boats [sic] on the other side before they entered German ports.

U-44 (Kptlt. Ludwig Mathes), if not sunk on 13 March 1940 by mine, is sunk today by destroyer depth charges. Either way, U-44 does not return from its mission, and all hands are presumed lost.

U-22 (Karl-Heinrich Jenisch) is lost either today or sometime thereafter from unknown causes after leaving Wilhelmshaven. All 27 crew are presumed lost.

Convoy HG 23 departs from Gibraltar.

European Air Operations: Ten Luftwaffe bombers attack a coastal convoy of neutral ships. The RAF and Coastal Command defend the convoy. Three of the vessels are damaged: Norwegian Syinta and Topra Elise, and Swedish Utklippan. Several of the attacking planes are damaged.

RAF Coastal command sinks a Kriegsmarine ship, the converted freighter Altenfels now called German Sperrbrecher 12, while it is clearing mines.

The Luftwaffe attacks British freighter Barn Hill off the Isle of Wight. She has to be beached and later breaks in two.

An RAF attack overnight scores damage on the Sylt Island Luftwaffe seaplane base. RAF reconnaissance on Sylt shows damage to the hangers, jetty, oil tanks and other infrastructure. One RAF plane fails to return.

Western Front: The BEF claims that in an encounter with a German patrol, five Wehrmacht soldiers were killed.

German Propaganda: German radio claims of Allied shipping losses become a running joke throughout the war due to incidents such as this one: Dr. Goebbels claims today that a Luftwaffe attack on a British convoy sank 9 British ships totaling 42,000 tons. The British quickly respond on the BBC, noting that in fact no ships were sunk and only four damaged. They describe the German claims as "42,000 tons in excess of the actual facts."

French Government: The French cabinet resigns along with Daladier.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles ends his fact-finding tour of Europe and boards a liner at Genoa to return to the United States.

Soviet/Scandinavian Relations: Moscow expresses its displeasure at reports that the Scandinavian nations are going to form a mutual defense pact.

India: The Assembly of Congress Party calls for independence.

China: In the Battle of Wuyuan, the Chinese 35th Corps and associated units enter Wuyuan by surprise after dark. The two sides engage in fierce combat for control of the city throughout the night.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese East Route Force attacks the Japanese 22nd Army at the city the Japanese just captured, Lingshan.

Future History: US photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark is born. She shot stills for films such as Federico Fellini's "Satyricon" (1969) and Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979). She passed away in 2015.

Scripps Institute of Oceanography research vessel, E.W. Scripps (ship), aground on a sandbar until the next high tide came in. March 20, 1940.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019

Wednesday 28 February 1940

Member of the Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren).

Winter War: Second Lt. Kermit Roosevelt of the Middlesex Regiment is appointed on 28 February 1940 to command British volunteers in Finland. Roosevelt, the second son of President Theodore Roosevelt, is a protege of Winston Churchill. Roosevelt is prepared to resign his commission in the British Army to lead the group but does not do so yet.

The Allies continue with their plan to send troops to Finland via the Narvik railway that passes through Norway and Sweden. Once again, they ask the Finns to request the right of passage from their Scandinavian brothers. There is no sign that such permission, which has been rejected repeatedly, is forthcoming.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns are retreating in the Viipuri sector of the Karelian Isthmus, but in some places, they still retain the stronger hand. The Soviet plan drawn up by Semyon Timoshenko focuses the entire military might of the Soviet Union on the Karelian Isthmus, which is the pathway to the heart of Finland. While this strategy is succeeding, the Soviets have all but abandoned their troops in other sectors, which are on their own and, for the most part, not doing well.

Moscow issues an order at 00:45 permitting the surrounded 34th Moscow Tank Brigade to retreat from their position at Kitelae. By itself, this order does not do much good to trapped men. However, the Finns surrounding this group - what they call the East Lemetti Motti - allow the brigade and other remnants of the 18th Rifle Division of Soviet 8th Army to retreat through their lines on foot if they so choose. About 2500 Soviet men, including many sick and wounded, choose this option.

It is a long, painful walk in brutal conditions, and only about 1,000 Soviets make it to the Red Army lines to the South. Another 1500, who attempt to escape to the East, are killed or captured by other Finnish troops or succumb to the elements. Some Soviets remain defiant in the pocket, and the Finns attack them unceasingly. The Finns ultimately capture 105 tanks (many of which have been converted to fixed firing positions), 200 trucks and several field cars.

Farther north, near Salla, the Finns also are successfully keeping the Soviets at bay. The overall military picture, though, requires their efforts on the Karelian Isthmus. The Swedish Volunteer Corps (Svenska Frivilligkåren) takes over front line duty at Märkäjärvi, freeing Finnish troops for duty where they are needed in the south.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Finnish Council of State convenes to discuss the Soviet terms, which include major territorial concessions in the Karelian Isthmus, a base at Hango, and the return to Finland of the port of Petsamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Royal Navy launches the first in a new class of battleships, HMS King George V.

The Kriegsmarine lays a defensive minefield in the Ems estuary and an offensive field off the British coast.

Convoy OA 100G departs from Southend and OB 100 departs from Liverpool.

Military Intelligence: The U-33, which was scuttled while laying mines, lies in relatively shallow water (30 fathoms). British divers from HMS Tedworth enter it and recover various items from the conning tower. Previously, the British had recovered three Enigma rotors from one of the U-boat's men who had been instructed to throw them overboard but hadn't.

European Air Operations: The RAF performs extensive reconnaissance over the Berlin/Hannover sector in north Germany, including naval bases at Kiel and Cuxhaven. Paris claims to have shot down two Luftwaffe planes.

Palestine: Mandatory Palestine is divided into zones by Land Transfers Regulations. This effectively hampers any land registry by Jews.

Australia: The government forms the 7th Division for deployment overseas.

German Propaganda: Dr. Goebbels warns Sweden not to violate its neutrality. He also tells neutral countries to "curb their public opinion" which is strongly in favor of helping Finland.

German Homefront: While hardly on a total war footing, the Reich closes non-essential factories.

American Homefront: Mario Andretti is born in Montona, Italy (now Motovun, Croatia). He becomes a champion US race car driver in the 1960s.

Kermit Roosevelt in 1939 while serving in the British Army.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Sunday 9 November 1939

Heinrich Himmler and fellow officers (including Reinhard Heydrich and Gestapo Müller (the two on the right))  during the investigation of the Bürgerbräukeller in November 1939 (Federal Archive).

German Opposition: On 9 November 1939, Johann Georg Elser is being held at Munich Gestapo Headquarters, one of many suspects of the 8 November 1939 bombing of the Bürgerbräukeller. At some point, he is identified by a waitress, Maria Strobl, as an odd patron who only drank one beer during his visits. Another witness, a storekeeper, identifies Elser as the man to whom he sold a a 'soundproofing insulation plate' to deaden the sound of ticking clocks. The head of the Vienna Gestapo, Franz Josef Huber, comes in and asks to see Elser's knees: they are bruised from his work in tight spaces planting the bomb. During the interrogation, Elser is savagely and repeatedly beaten. Heinrich Himmler himself, who could have been killed by the bomb, participates.

There is a sense of outrage throughout the German apparatus that is genuine and destructive. For instance, on this day, SS guards at Buchenwald Concentration Camp march 21 Jewish inmates out to a wall and shoot them in retaliation. Food rations for the entire camp are suspended for three days.

German Propaganda: Joseph Goebbels has the propaganda apparatus blame Great Britain for the Bürgerbräukeller explosion.

Battle of the Atlantic: The 961-ton British freighter Carmarthen Coast strikes a mine and sinks near Seaham Harbour. Two perish.

U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) stops Norwegian freighter Snar off southern Norway, then seizes it due to "contraband" (pulpwood). U-34 also searches Danish ship N.J. Ohsen and Norwegian ship Gimle, but allows them to proceed.

The Royal Navy destroyer Isis captures German vessel Leander off Cape Finisterre and starts bringing it to Scotland.

U-26, one of three U-boats previously ordered to enter the Mediterranean passes through the heavily guarded Straits of Gibraltar.

Spies: The Gestapo arrests/kidnaps two British spies (MI6), Major Richard Stevens and Captain S. Payne Best. The MI6 agents are attempting to contact the German opposition at the Dutch border town of Venlo. They have been meeting with a "Major Schaemmle," who in reality is loyal Gestapo officer Walther Schellenberg. Schellenberg has been "playing" them. Himmler ordered them to be abducted from just across the border as part of his investigation of the Bürgerbräukeller plot, as their information may help identify the culprits. A neutral observer at the meetings, Lieutenant Dirk Klop, is killed during the abduction.

The Venlo Incident undermines MI6 operations throughout Greater Germany. The captured officers have lists of British agents and provide other useful information. While they could be shot on sight under the rules of war, the two British secret agents are imprisoned instead.

Finland: The Finnish emissaries, Paasikivi and Tanner, rescind their government's offer to yield the Gulf of Finland islands in a meeting with Stalin and Molotov. Stalin is incredulous and asks, "Nothing doing?" Molotov tries to buy the Hanko Peninsula, and the Finns refuse. The Finns pack their bags and leave. Negotiations are over.

South Africa: A German plot to march on Johannesburg and Pretoria and sabotage vital industries is alleged.

Poland: Odilo Globocnik appointed SS and police leader in the Lublin district, the intended capital of the Jewish state.

Łódź is officially annexed to the Reich, becoming its tenth largest city. It is renamed to Litzmannstadt in honor of a German General of World War I.

Walter Schellenberg, the architect of the Venlo Incident.

November 1939

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

2019

Wednesday 8 November 1939

Hitler giving his speech at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, 8 November 1939. A commenter below helpfully identified the two SS men sitting in the front row as panzer leaders Hans Pfeiffer and Max Wünsche. Needless to say, sitting there was a huge honor.

German Opposition: November 8, 1939, is the 16th Anniversary of the 1923 Munich Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler always commemorates it by returning to the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich where the major steps in the attempted coup took place. As usual, his old cronies from the old days are there, including:

• Joseph Goebbels, 
• Reinhard Heydrich, 
• Rudolf Hess, 
• Robert Ley, 
• Alfred Rosenberg, 
• Julius Streicher, 
• August Frank, 
• Hermann Esser and 
• Heinrich Himmler. 

Hitler begins the speech 30 minutes earlier than usual to a packed house. He condemns the British as warmongers and for the first time predicts a five-year war. He can't fly home due to the weather, so he leaves earlier than he might otherwise to board his train for the ride back to Berlin.

Thirteen minutes later, at 21:20, a time bomb explodes that is concealed in a building support pillar near the speaking platform. Eight people are killed and 63 injured, sixteen seriously. Hitler, of course by now is on the train.

As usual, when something terrible happens and nobody knows the cause, people jump to various theories. Most blame Hitler himself, conjecturing that he planted the bomb himself to discredit the hard-core opposition to him that he may have gotten an inkling of at his dramatic meeting just a few days before, on 5 November 1939. However, this is unlikely, because Joseph Goebbels blames the British, and if it were a unified effort to discredit domestic foes, Goebbels would be on board with that theory.

George Elser.

That night, border control at the Swiss border at Konstanz is unaware of the bombing. However, they detain a carpenter, Johann Georg Elser, with what appears to be suspicious items (wire cutters, sketches of bombs, and a postcard of the interior of the Bürgerbräukeller). It is just odd enough for them to detain Elser, 25 paces from the Swiss border. During interrogation, news arrives of the attempt on Hitler's life, and Elser is returned to Munich for interrogation. However, he remains one of many suspects, including the entire staff of the Bürgerbräukeller.

Hitler rarely is in a specific public place at a specific time, varying times and places of visits with very little notice or none at all. The anniversary of the Putsch is a very rare exception. This unpredictability has been Hitler's best defense against assassinations in the past, and it is the breakdown in this pattern which placed him in jeopardy. If the bomb plot had succeeded, Hermann Goering, who was not at the event despite being a Putsch veteran, would have acceded to power. Goering being a confirmed opponent to the conflict (but always bowing to Hitler's wishes), the vast majority of World War II might have been averted.

The venue of Hitler's speech at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, 8 November 1939.

Western Front: There are three minor German attacks along the border.

European Air Operations: A New Zealand operates at extreme altitude over an RAF aerodrome in France and brings down a Luftwaffe reconnaissance plane.

A Heinkel 111 is reportedly shot down over the North Sea.

Battle of the Atlantic: US freighters Express and Exeter are detained, the first by the British, the second by the French. The Express is released the same day, along with the freighters Tulsa and Wacosta, which has some of its freight seized as contraband.

U-26 conducts a frustrated attempt to lay mines off heavily guarded Gibraltar.

Convoy OB 32 departs from Liverpool, OA 32G departs from Southend, SL8 departs from Freetown, HXF 8 departs from Halifax.

Collaborator Girls: British party girl Unity Mitford, one of Hitler's pre-war favorites and a member of his inner circle, is in the hospital in Munich following a suicide attempt. She had shot herself in the head due to her conflicting loyalties upon the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939. Hitler genuinely cares for Unity and, before his big speech, goes out of his way to visit her. He pays her bills, then arranges for her safe conduct home to England and her family via Switzerland.

Poland: Gauleiter Hans Frank takes office and plans to transfer 600,000 Jews and 400,000 Poles to un-annexed but German-occupied Poland. He plans this to begin 1 December 1939.

Holland: there are reports of German troop movements just across the border. The government authorizes the widening of the defensive areas just behind the border which will be flooded upon a German invasion.

Finland: The government takes a hard line in its negotiations with the USSR. Commander-in-chief Marshal Mannerheim instead favors trying to reach a settlement but is overruled.

Unity Mitford with Hitler before the war.

November 1939

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

2020

Sunday 22 October 1939

The view from the Admiral Graf Spee as the Trevanion sinks.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiral Graf Spee captures the 5,299-ton British freighter Trevanion, disembarks the crew, and sinks it on 22 October 1939.

The British vessel Whitemantle is sunk by a mine in the North Sea.

German vessel Poseidon is scuttled to avoid capture by the RN armed merchant cruisers Transylvania and Scotstoun.

Convoy HG 4 departs from Gibraltar for the UK.

Western Front: The ground is too muddy from the recent rains for operations. There are sporadic artillery exchanges.

Poland: The Soviets conduct "elections" in their occupied territory, which they have divided into "West Ukraine" and "West White Russia" (technically, the elections are to "the People's Assemblies of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus."

European Air Operations: A Luftwaffe intruder is shot down over Southeast Scotland.

German Propaganda: Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels makes a radio address and calls Winston Churchill a liar. He accuses the British of deliberately sinking the SS Athenia in order to provoke the United States against the Germans. In his version of events, the Athenia was sunk by British destroyers and also was intended to be outfitted as a raider (which are somewhat contradictory arguments).

Goebbels knows this is not what happened and that U-30 sank the Athenia. The captain of the U-boat has told him the exact sequence of events and shown his superiors the U-boat log proving it (which was quickly suppressed). Goebbels chooses to continue the false narrative for propaganda purposes anyway, knowing that the British cannot disprove the lie and making their denials sound suspicious simply because they are unprovable and sound reflexive. The Kriegsmarine, in particular, Admiral Doenitz, is put out by these blatant falsehoods (or so they later claim), but nobody does anything to correct the story until after the war when Admiral Raeder finally sets the record straight.

The French detain the US freighters Endicott and West Gambio. Carbon black and copper are removed from them as contraband.

USSR Military: General Boldin is appointed to the prestigious position of the Odessa Military District.

Estonia: Soviet destroyer Minks and seven Soviet submarines arrive in Tallinn to establish a base pursuant to the recent basing agreement between Estonia and the USSR.

Latvia: The Soviet cruiser Kirov makes port at Riga.

Turkey: General Wavell and General Weygand leave Turkey, their work completed with the signing of the Anglo-French-Turkish Treaty of Mutual Assistance.

India: The Congress Party condemns the British and refuses to support the Allied war effort.

American Homefront: Given the technical success of the recent college football game that it broadcast, NBC televises the first professional football game. It is available to roughly 500 viewers with television sets in the metropolitan New York area. Visitors to the New York World's Fair also can watch on monitors (the Philadephia Eagles beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 23-14).

Friday, October 22, 1939: Mother and Children on the Road. Texas tenant farmers displaced by power farming. Part of a photo-series on the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange.

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

2019