Saturday 20 July 1940

London schoolchildren during an air raid drill ordered by the London Board of Education, July 20, 1940. The rules are to go to the middle of the room, away from windows, and hold their hands over the backs of their necks.

Battle of Britain: There is good weather over the Channel on 20 July 1940, a big change from the last few days. The Luftwaffe continues to focus on shipping, which has the added benefit of drawing the RAF up for combat, which the Germans hope will wear the RAF out. There are several large dogfights during the day, but some produce no downed planes.

During the afternoon, the Luftwaffe attacks destroyer HMS Acheron off the Isle of Wight. It is damaged by near misses and proceeds to Portsmouth for repairs. The Luftwaffe loses two Bf 109s of II,/JG51, while the RAF loses three fighters of No. 32 Squadron. Joseph "Pips" Priller, one of the Luftwaffe's great aces, gets one of the kills.

Luftwaffe Stukas of II,/StG1 attacks Convoy CW 7 off Dover. They sink destroyer HMS Brazen (sinks on the 21st, one death) and 960 ton freighter Pulborough, while damaging 710 ton freighter Westown and Norwegian freighters Kollskegg and Nina Borthen. The Germans lose two planes from 3,/JG27. The RAF loses three fighters.

Losses for the day are roughly even. The British lose 5 Hurricanes, a Spitfire and a Blenheim bomber, and the Luftwaffe lose 6 fighters, a couple of bombers and a seaplane.

The Gruppenkommandeur of JG27, Major Helmut Riegel, is shot down over Sark, Dover by Hurricanes of RAF No. 501 Squadron. His replacement is Major Eduard Neumann.

S/L Aeneas RD "Don" MacDonell of No 64 Squadron RAF, one of the pilots fighting over the convoys in the Channel.

European Air Operations: During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 24 aircraft against the German airfield at Flushing.

At night, RAF Bomber Command sends raids against Düsseldorf and Wismar. A force from Hemswell-Lincolnshire attacks battleship Tirpitz, under construction at Wilhelmshaven, but makes no hits.

The German night fighter force gets its first victory. Pilot Werner Streib of 2,/NJG1, in a prototype Do 17Z (one of a kind), shoots down a British Whitley bomber over the Ruhr without the use of radar. This kind of night visual interception will later be known as "Wild Boar." Streib himself becomes known as “The Father of Night Fighting.”

The Luftwaffe conducts minelaying operations off England, and the Germans lose an FW200C of 1,/KG40. The Luftwaffe bombs Stirling during the night, causing some damage to vehicles at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Forthside.

Reichsmarschall Goering orders Oberst (Colonel) Josef Kammhuber to follow up on the decisions made on 26 June and organize an expanded night fighter force. Kammhuber, a good organizer who briefly had been a prisoner of the French, will command the force. Kammhuber sets to work preparing a night fighter defensive line across Europe for Nachtverteidigung, or the protection of the skies. This becomes known as the Kammhuber Line, and Kammhuber effectively becomes the Night Fighter Czar with priority to get whatever equipment he needs.

3,/JG77 begins operating out of Tempelhof Airport in defense of Berlin.

Werner Streib (1911 - 1986).

Battle of the Atlantic: British 4886 ton Freighter Troutpool hits a mine and sinks near Bangor Pier. There are 11 deaths.

Destroyers HMS Havelock and Vanoc collide near Liverpool, but the damage is minor.

The British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow receives an erroneous report that German battlecruiser Gneisenau had left its port at Trondheim. It organizes its forces to intercept, but the report is proven false.

Convoy OA 187 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 186 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 40F departs from Freetown.

Battle of the Mediterranean: HMS Eagle launches airstrikes by Swordfish torpedo bombers on Tobruk, trying to finish off the damaged Italian cruiser Bande Nere. They sink Italian destroyers Ostro and Nembo in Tobruk Harbor, also damaging 2333 ton freighter Sereno. The British lose two planes. The Italians abandon Tobruk as a naval base, though of course, it remains a formidable fortress.

At Malta, there is an air raid at 02:42 by three airplanes which attacks the airbase at Hal Far and at Kalafrana. The raid causes extensive damage at Kalafrana, damaging a Sunderland Flying Boat and other assets. One of the Italian planes is damaged.

Morale at Malta is faltering, so the War Office plans a propaganda campaign to prop up the citizens' spirits.

German Military: Wehrmacht soldiers are warned to avoid too much mingling with the French in Paris and to patronize Wehrmacht coffee shops and canteens (which are being set up). France, particularly Paris, quickly is gaining a reputation as the favorite billet for Wehrmacht soldiers.

British Government: With Hitler having given his "Last Appeal to Reason" speech to the Reichstag on the 19th, there are some within the British government who at least want to open some kind of negotiations with the Reich. Churchill, however, remains adamantly opposed.

The Ministry of Home Security gives statistics on recent civilian casualties. During the month beginning 18 June 1940, there have been 336 civilian deaths and 476 other casualties.

Churchill continues to reshuffle the military top commands. He appoints Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, the former BEF commander, Inspector of Training and the Home Guard. Sir Alan Brooke, the new commander of the Home Guard, has full authority, so this is a meaningless post. However, Gort remains under consideration for posts with real authority, though not for anything critical.

New Zealand: The Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Air Staff depart Auckland and head for Suva on HMS Achilles for conferences.

France: New Hebrides Islands residents vote to join Charles de Gaulle's "New France."

Vichy France installs Admiral Decoux as Governor-General of French Indochina in place of General Catroux. This solidifies Vichy France's control over this sensitive foreign possession.

Dutch Homefront: In retaliation for the refusal of Dutch colonies to surrender, the Germans arrest Dutch leaders.

Italian Homefront: The University of Rome seeks the return of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.

British Homefront: New car sales are banned.

American Homefront: Glenn Miller tops the charts with "The Woodpecker."

The first Highland Park segment of the Arroyo Seco Parkway on its opening day, July 20, 1940. Courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.

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

Monday 3 June 1940

An RAF photograph of the Dunkirk beach taken on 3 June 1940, showing the beach littered with British equipment.

Western Front: The shrinking bridgehead at Dunkirk as of 3 June 1940 has been the focus of most land operations for the past week, but that is rapidly changing. The obvious next move is for the Wehrmacht to head south toward Paris, as the Maginot Line is holding up well - buttressed by the overwhelming majority of French troops sitting idly behind it. French General Georges readies a spoiling attack against the most advanced German positions along the Somme, but his preparations are disorganized and, despite having had several days to prepare, not all of the troops are near their launch points yet.

Dunkirk: General Harold Alexander visits Dunkirk port to personally assure that the British are all evacuated. At 10:50, Royal Navy "Beachmaster" Captain William “Dunkirk Joe” Tennant signals "Operation completed; returning to Dover.”

With all the British troops out, the Admiralty decides to spend another day evacuating French and Belgian troops. All Royal Navy evacuations continue taking place at night - except for small boats. There 26,175 men taken off during the night of 3/4 June, which is about what the Admiralty has been led to believe is the total number of men remaining - but in fact, there are tens of thousands of Allied men more than that. Stragglers appear from basements and under the quays, from every which way, as the front-line troops approach the harbor. Many of the stragglers are in very poor shape, suffering from battle fatigue and PTSD.

The French defenders continue giving ground. The perimeter shrinks to about a square with each side 2 miles.

The RAF carries out 171 reconnaissance missions during the day over the beachhead, 651 bombing sorties and 2,739 fighter sorties.

The RAF also sends 142 aircraft against targets in Germany during the night.

German Stuka dive bombers attacking Allied attempt to evacuate Dunkirk, France, June 1940; still from Frank Capra's 1943 documentary film Why We Fight #3.

Battle of the Atlantic: The British Admiralty issues a summary communiqué on Operation Dynamo, which is winding down rapidly. It states that the Royal Navy committed 222 naval vessels and 665 smaller boats. The Royal Navy admits to 24 losses of warships.

U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn) sinks 2,317-ton Finnish freighter Snabb about 300 miles off Cape Finisterre at 04:56. There are 20 survivors and 1 crew perishes.

Convoy OA 161G departs from Southend, Convoy OB 161 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe launches Operation Paula. This is the planned destruction of the Armée de l'Air (ALA), or French Air Force. The objectives include eliminating French airfields and aircraft factories. The operation has been postponed since 30 May due to poor flying weather. The Germans use both Luftflotte (Air Fleet) 2 and Luftflotte 3. The French have some warning of this operation from intercepted Enigma transmissions.

The Germans use 640 bombers and 460 fighters in three waves. They attack 28 railways and marshaling yards, 22 train stations, and 15 factories, causing slight damage. The Luftwaffe loses 4 bombers and a total of 10 aircraft, while the French Air Force loses 20 aircraft on the ground and 15 in combat. Josef Kammhuber, Geschwaderkommodore of KG 51, is shot down and taken prisoner and replaced by Johann-Volkmar Fisser, Geschwaderkommodore (Wing Commander) of KG 77. The Luftwaffe generally has air superiority despite causing little lasting damage on the ground. There are 54 French killed in the Paris suburbs.

Norway: The Allies know that their position at Narvik is untenable in the long run. They now prepare to evacuate their troops there pursuant to Operation Alphabet. French, Polish and Norwegian troops continue to harass General Dietl's mountain troops near the Swedish border - he has no idea how close he is to relief and is seriously considering crossing the Swedish border to be interned.

Anglo/US Relations: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill requests war supplies from President Roosevelt to replace the vast equipment stocks lost at Dunkirk. Roosevelt immediately sets in motion plans to send rifles, machine guns, field guns, and ammunition.

French/US Relations: French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud requests that the US sends aircraft to help with the defense of France.

British Military: Air Marshal Dowding calculates that the RAF will run out of Hurricane fighters - the backbone of British air defense - within two weeks if the rate of losses continues. Of course, that high loss rate covers the Dunkirk evacuation, when the RAF has suffered huge losses (and inflicted the same or worse, of course).

Applied Science: German physical chemist Dr. Paul Harteck conducts experiments with a uranium oxide-dry ice reactor in Hamburg. These experiments are unsuccessful due to insufficient uranium.

France: Pierre Fournier, President of the Bank of France, oversees the continued evacuation of French gold in cooperation with US Ambassador William Bullitt. French armed merchant cruiser Ville D'Oran is loaded with 212 tons of French gold from the reserves at Pauillac and sets off for Casablanca.

China: The Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang continues, with the Japanese 11th Army capturing Nanchang and Yicheng.

American Homefront: The US Supreme Court hands down its decision in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940). It holds that students could be compelled to salute the American Flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance despite religious objections (Jehovah's Witnesses).

Burning oil tanks at Dunkirk, taken by the RAF on or around 3 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

Thursday 11 January 1940

Gloster Gladiator in use in Finland during the Winter War.

Winter War: Kombrig Vinogradov, Commissar Parkhomenko, and Chief of Staff Volkov of the 44th Rifle Division each are found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. The charges are irrelevant, the outcome was preordained by the military defeat, but they are accused among other things of leaving behind wounded to die. They are executed on 11 January 1940 in Vazhenvaara by firing squad in front of what remains of their troops. The commissar of the Ninth Army, Furt, is appointed the acting commander of the 44th Rifle Division, which must be completely rebuilt.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finnish IV Corps (12th Infantry Division and 13th Infantry Division) surround the 34th Tank Brigade, Soviet 168th Division and 18th Rifle Division of Soviet 8th Army north of Lake Ladoga. They call this the "Great Mottie of Kitilä." The weather is good enough for the Soviets to supply the pocket by air, but the men inside are miserable and immobilized. The Finns beat off a Soviet relief attempt and set to work cutting up the pocket as they did near Suomussalmi. Major Matti Aarnio of the 4th Jaeger battalion leads the effort and becomes famous as "Motti-Matti."

At Salla, the Soviets try another attack toward the Kemijarvi-Tornio railway but make a little progress.

Winter War Air Operations: At frozen Lake Kemi, the Swedish volunteer air group, Flygflottilj 19, starts off with a dozen obsolete Gladiator Gloster fighters and 4 Hart light bombers. They are a good match for Soviet airplanes, however, which in general are also obsolete by current standards.
Future History: Flygflottilj 19 remains in operation to the end of the Winter War and claims 12 Soviet aircraft downed for 2 planes of their own lost to enemy action, and four lost in accidents.

"His Girl Friday" is remade in 1974 as the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau comedy "The Front Page."

Dutch soldiers training on the ice, 11 January 1940.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019