February 16, 1942: Operation Neuland Begins

Friday 25 October 1940

This picture is from Holborn, London on 25 October 1940. The London bus system takes a beating throughout the Blitz, not just from bombs falling on them, but from drivers not seeing fresh bomb craters in the dark. (Imperial War Museum).

Battle of Britain: After an extended period of poor flying weather, on 25 October 1940 the skies clear and the Luftwaffe gets back into action. It is a busy day, with raids throughout and a return to large numbers of planes lost. As has been the case for a couple of weeks, the Luftwaffe emphasizes daylight fighter-bomber (Jabo) attacks, which are particularly difficult to prevent because the Jabos fly high and fast. The RAF, meanwhile, now has standing patrols over key sectors which make interception quicker and more effective.

The Luftwaffe fighter squadrons all fly three (or more) missions during the day, as is usually the case on days of maximum effort. The ratio of Jabos to fighters is usually 2 bomb-less Bf 109s per Jabo (which also, of course, are often Bf 109s).

The raids begin around 09:00, when JG 26 and JG 51, the two premier formations on the Channel coast, head for the South London area. Other Luftwaffe formations head toward Hastings and Dungeness, still others toward Central London. RAF Biggin Hill takes a beating despite fierce defense. The RAF fighters take a beating over Madstone, losing three fighters to one Bf 109.

Another large effort takes place around noontime. Once again, it heads for Maidstone and RAF Biggin Hill/Hornchurch. This is a large raid of over 100 planes crossing at Dover. As it flies inland, the formation breaks up to attack different targets. No. 12 Group has three squadrons in the air on patrol which lie in wait around London. The Jabos drop their bombs more or less over their targets, and then both sides take losses.

Another large formation crosses at around 13:00. This time, RAF Fighter Command has planes ready to confront the attackers near the coast. The Luftwaffe formation splits up, some remaining to tangle with the RAF fighters and the others heading west for Westminster, Blackfriars Road and areas nearby. This raid causes casualties at the Air Provost Marshal's department at Westminster (four dead, 8 others wounded). Both sides take losses as the Jabos fight their way through to their targets.

The next large raid is around 15:00, and once again the main target is London and nearby areas. Fighter Command is late off the mark and makes few interceptions and the few RAF fighters that do take a beating. Two Hurricanes collide, killing one of the pilots.

Around dusk, RAF Montrose in Scotland suffers a rare raid from KG 26 Heinkel He 111s based in Norway. Five men are killed and 21 wounded in this raid, which is completely unexpected and causes a lot of damage. Perhaps as a result of poor bombing accuracy, nearby towns also suffer damage.

A 20-plane Luftwaffe formation attacks a convoy off North Foreland around 17:45. This results in one ship sunk.

After dark, the population centers of London, the Midlands, South Wales, Pembroke, Cardiff, and Liverpool are the primary targets. Airfields at Wittering and Middle Wallop also suffer damage. London is hit by about 150 bombers. The Luftwaffe continues its extensive recent mining operations (see below), dropping mines off Aberdeen, Liverpool, East Anglia and along the northeast coastline.

Overall, it is a day of moderate losses for both sides. The Luftwaffe loses roughly 15 planes while the RAF about 10. RAF No. 610 Squadron also loses two Hurricanes in a mid-air collision during training off Exmouth around 15:00 (this is in addition to the collision described above).

Maj. Werner Mölders of JG 51 downs a Spitfire off Dover for his 51st victory.

The British Air Ministry issues a statement noting that airmen from numerous countries are contributing to the defense of Great Britain, including the United States, Poland, France, Belgium, Holland, and Czechoslovakia. The US pilots are part of the Eagle Squadron of volunteers.

Shown is Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 (W.Nr. 1988) ‘Black 7’ of 5./JG54. It crash-landed at Broom Hill, near Lydd, Kent at 09:30 on 25 October 1940. Pilot Oberleutnant Schypek was captured.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command focuses on the coast today. Targets include the coastal guns at Hellfire Corner and the Kriegsmarine ports, such as Kiel, Bremen, Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Amsterdam, Den Helder, and Ostend. Some of the raids target oil installations in northern Germany. Berlin and Hamburg are recovering after the massive raid on the night of 24/25 October.

Battle of the Atlantic: The U-boats that have been on patrol in the Atlantic, having gorged on Convoys SC 7 and HX 79 earlier in the week, make port in France to re-stock their torpedoes and other supplies. This period thus marks a lull in U-boat successes, but the Germans have other ways to keep the pressure on Allied shipping. These make their mark today in the form of mines and the Luftwaffe.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks the South Goodwin Lightship off St. Margaret's Bay, Kent.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 89-ton Royal Navy trawler HMT Duthies at Montrose, Angus. Everybody aboard survives.

In the same attack at Montrose, the Luftwaffe damages 25-ton fishing boat Janet.

Royal Navy 338 ton trawler HMT Lord Inchcape hits a mine and sinks near Plymouth, Devon. The ship sinks in shallow water and is later salvaged.

British 45 ton trawler Encourage also hits a mine and sinks off  Plymouth. All four men on board perish.

British coaster Buoyant hits a mine and blows up at the mouth of the Humber.

British 207 ton trawler Carlton also hits a mine at the mouth of the Humber and sinks. There are seven survivors and three men perish.

British 222 ton fishing boat Windsor also hits a mine in the Humber, just south of Spurn Point, Yorkshire. One crew member perishes.

British freighter Kyle Skye runs aground on the Isle of Arran, Bute. The ship is lost, but the crew survives.

British freighter Blairsprey, part of Convoy SC 7 and torpedoed on the 18th by U-101 and on the 19th by U-100, makes it under tow to the Clyde in Scotland, where it is beached. The ship will be repaired.

U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass), still on patrol in the Atlantic after its numerous victories against the convoys earlier in the week, is attacked by three RAF Lockheed Hudson bombers. The submarine gets away, but one crew member (Matrosengefreiter (Able Seaman) Plaep) perishes from his wounds on the 26th.

Convoy OL 9 departs from Liverpool, Convoy Fn 319 departs from Southend, Convoy SLS 53 departs from Freetown, Convoy BN 8 departs from Bombay bound for Suez.

Avro Lancaster B Mk.I. The second production Lancaster is delivered on 25 October 1940 to No. 207 Squadron at Waddington (Wing Commander Hyde). Production has been slow due to numerous modifications to the original design. The Squadron will receive 20 machines by the end of the year.

Battle of the Mediterranean: A large portion of the British Mediterranean fleet, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, departs from Alexandria to launch raids against Italian bases. It intends to patrol as far north as the Dardanelles.

British gunboat HMS Aphis bombards Italian troop positions 15 miles east of Sidi Barrani. The RAF bombs Tobruk.

The war on Malta is causing serious morale problems that result from safety measures. One of these today is the closing of a cemetery, Addolorata Cemetery, which lies on a direct path between Grand Harbour and Luqa Airfield. The cemetery has become a hot spot for bombs, so public access is restricted. While this in normal times might seem a minor inconvenience, local citizens have paid an unusual amount of attention to gravesites of their ancestors since the start of the war - perhaps because they know they might soon be joining them. Also, a new bomb disposal course concludes, the first one for men on the island.

German/Italian Relations: Ribbentrop's rushed letter to Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, completed from start in France to hand delivery in Rome in about 18 hours, is greeted with joy by Ciano when ambassador Mackensen hands it to him around noontime. Ciano sees it as a tacit agreement by Germany that Italy is entitled to additional territory in southern France - which is not the intent behind the letter. Ciano off-handedly proposes a date of 3 or 4 November for the meeting between Mussolini and Hitler that Ribbentrop proposes in it. Ribbentrop calls immediately after German ambassador Mackensen has left and proposes an even earlier date. They agree on 28 October - only three days hence - for the meeting, to be held in Florence. Hitler redirects his train "Amerika" from its scheduled return to Berlin to go over the Alps for the meeting. It all fits perfectly into his schedule.

The timing of all this frantic activity has become a matter of historical debate. The 28th also just so happens to be the planned start date for Mussolini's invasion of Greece. The theory is that Hitler suddenly changes his plans and hurries down to Italy to try to stop the invasion of Greece. However, there is doubt whether the Italians have actually told the Germans the actual start date of the invasion, which Ciano previously has indicated would be 23 October but obviously has been postponed. The better view appears to be that Hitler was not planning to interfere with the Italian attack at all - he had not when informed of it previously - but instead decides to visit with Mussolini in Florence simply to smooth things over after the agitation caused by his visits to Spain and France. In other words, Hitler did not suddenly rocket down to Italy in a panic to try to stop the Italian offensive, but instead as a quick show of support to Mussolini and the alliance with Italy.

Hitler's quick schedule change also may fit into some broader themes. For security purposes, he likes to vary his itinerary on the fly. This, in fact, already has saved his life at least once (at the Braun Haus in Munich in late 1939). His visit to Paris in June also was unplanned. One never knows when the RAF or some lone wolf terrorist might want to try to bomb his train (and an awful lot of people know his general itinerary by this point).

Hitler also likes to take care of diplomatic visits all at once, in quick succession. An example of this is on D-Day, 6 June 1944, when he spends the day with such visits rather than reviewing the dire war situation. Since Hitler already is on his train, with all of his necessary staff close at hand, it makes sense to just do a quick jog over the mountains rather than disrupt his entire schedule to get his train ready at some future point. He also has the Molotov visit approaching, and it would be better to get his own house in order before making big decisions with the USSR. Finally, winter is approaching, and better to get this kind of travel over the Alps out of way now.

On 25 October 1940, acting F/L Charles BF "Brian" Kingcome is awarded the DFC, the citation attesting him leadership "with judgment, skill, and keenness," for his command of No 92 Squadron RAF. Between 20 September and 2 October, the 23-year-old pilot often ignored the controller's instructions, instead of gaining height by turning north before heading south. Pouncing in a vertical dive from head-on often split up a portion of the bombers before the fighter escort could interfere.

Anglo/French Relations: While Hitler is gallivanting across Europe meeting foreign leaders to little purpose, Marshal Petain in Paris is reaching across the Channel. His man Louis Rougier is in London meeting with Churchill and Foreign Minister Lord Halifax. Halifax, always a dove in such matters, is sympathetic, but Churchill, an adamant war hawk, is suspicious about Petain's motives in light of his recent meeting at Montoire with Hitler. Churchill says vaguely that he would support an anti-German regime in North Africa under overall French auspices, which Petain takes as a willingness to ally with Vichy France - which is a bit further than what Churchill intends. Anglo/French relations remain murky.

German Military: General Johannes Blaskowitz is appointed commander of the German 1st Army. He takes over from Generalfeldmarschall Erwin von Witzleben, who remains in good standing but is a silent opponent to the regime. Von Witzleben will receive future appointments of significance, but for now, it is on to the reserve rolls for him.

British Military: Air Marshal Charles Portal officially takes over as RAF Chief of Staff. He takes the temporary rank of air chief marshal. Issues confronting him include a desire by the Royal Navy to absorb RAF Coastal Command and the wishes of the British Army to form its own air force. Air Chief Marshal Richard Peirse remains in charge of Bomber Command, but there is some grumbling that bombing operations should be more aggressive.

The War Cabinet decides to continue the battleship construction program due to concerns about developments in the Far East.

Italian Military: Commando Supremo forms the Forza Navale Speciale (FNS). The first commander is Vice Admiral Vittorio Tur.

General Davis in August 1944.

US Military: Benjamin O. Davis becomes the first African-American in the US Army, becoming a Brigadier General.

Light cruiser USS St. Louis leaves Hamilton, Bermuda for Norfolk, Virginia. It carries the Greenslade Board, which is inspecting bases acquired in the destroyers-for-bases deal with the UK.

Indochina: The Japanese 5th Infantry Division is withdrawing in northern Indochina, and the French re-occupy the territory around Lang Son. The French also launch operations against nationalists who have been taking over local governments in the area.

China: The Japanese (13th Kokutai) bomb Chungking again, which they have been doing regularly for months. This raid is different because the bombs fall close to US Navy gunboat Tutuila and the US embassy. The bombs fall within 300 yards of the US assets. The Japanese later blame the incident on faulty bomb-release mechanisms.

American Homefront: The US Presidential campaign is in the home stretch. Republican candidate Wendell Willkie campaigns today in Lackawanna Station.

Future History: Robert Montgomery Knight is born in Massillon, Ohio. Knight plays on the 1960 Ohio State NCAA Championship team (and also the team that played in the Championship game in 1961), then begins coaching JV basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School. After joining the US Army, he becomes an assistant coach with the Army Black Knights team at West Point. One of his players is Mike Krzyzewski. In 1971, he joins Indiana State as head coach. He coaches some of the best college basketball teams of all time, including going the entire 1975-76 season without a single loss - the only time in history that has happened. Known as "Bobby Knight" for much of his career, he later indicates a preference for Bob Knight or, in most circumstances, Coach Knight. Bob Knight remains active to this day as both a coach and a broadcaster and dabbled in politics in 2016.

Wendell Willkie speaks to a huge crowd at the Lackawanna Station on October 25, 1940. Present are Mrs. Willkie, Supreme Court Justice George W Maxey, Mrs. Joseph F. Gunster, wife of the Republican nominee for congress. J. Russell Phillips, GOP candidate for representative in the Second Legislative district is standing at the extreme left of the photograph. (Times-Tribune Archives).

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Saturday 19 October 1940

Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien has a terrific 48 hours as he participates in the attacks on Convoy HX 79 on 19 October 1940 (Schulte, Federal Archive).

Overview: With the Battle of Britain winding down on 19 October 1940, the real action is moving out to sea. The period 18-20 October 1940 is one of the most devastating of the war for the British due to huge losses at sea. Air raids can be handled, though of course they inflict great punishment; but Britain relies on imports for its very survival. Winston Churchill later comments that the war at sea was always his greatest concern during the war's early years, and, as discussed below, today is an extreme example of why that is.

Battle of Britain: The poor weather continues, restricting flight operations. There are scattered reconnaissance flights and an occasional "pirate raid," with some houses destroyed in Coventry.

At 14:00, some fighter-bombers (Jabos) set out for London, but they don't accomplish anything. At 15:00, the day's major daylight raid takes place. About 60 aircraft, including some Dornier Do 17s and Junkers Ju 88s, head for London. The RAF sends up five squadrons to intercept them. The RAF loses a couple of Spitfires.

The poor weather continues into the night, but the Luftwaffe attacks the usual targets: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol, and South Wales. London takes the brunt of the attack, with the rail lines and dockyards suffering greatly. In the silver lining department, so much has been destroyed in the dockyards area that the bombs only stir up old debris. Eastbourne also takes damage to its gas works, where the gasometer is damaged.

Overall, it is a quiet day and a rare "victory" for the Luftwaffe. It loses two planes to the RAF's five. The Luftwaffe tends to do well on days with little action, whereas it gets its head handed to it when it mounts massive daylight attacks.

Pips Priller, 6./JG 51, gets his 20th victory and is awarded the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Pips Priller is known for a flamboyant lifestyle, driving a fancy red car, and dressing well.

European Air Operations: The weather remains poor today. RAF Bomber Command carries out only a few operations on airfields in northwest Europe and railway installations at Osnabruck.

U-100 on the final approach to the German base at Lorient.

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoys SC 7 and HX 79 begin to merge in the Western Approaches to Liverpool. A U-boat wolfpack has been attacking SC 7 on the night of 18/19 October, and the convoy's survivors begin to recede to the east. Today, an entirely new convoy, HX 79, hoves into view from the west. The wolfpack begins stalking Convoy HX 79 as well. Yesterday we summarized the attacks on SC 7, which continue through the morning of the 19th; today, we summarize the attacks on HX 79.

Convoy HX 79 is composed of 49 ships that sailed out of Halifax on 8 October. It is about four days from landfall at Liverpool. It had been several days behind Convoy SC 7 but has since almost caught up to it. While originally the convoy had no escorts in the mid-Atlantic, the Admiralty, realizing by reports from Convoy SC 7 that U-boats are in the area, quickly sends 11 Royal Navy vessels (LCdr. Russell) out to protect it. These consist of:

• Destroyers HMS Whitehall and HMS Sturdy
• Corvettes HMS Hibiscus, HMS Heliotrope, HMS Coreopsis, and HMS Arabis
• A/S Trawlers HMS Lady Elsa, HMS 
• Blackfly, HMS Angle
• Minesweeper HMS Jason
• Submarine O-14

The U-boats had savaged Convoy SC-7 during the night of 18-19 October. Some U-boats depart the scene after that, due to running out of torpedoes or under instructions to stalk another target, Convoy HX 72. Those left are:

U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien);
 U-100 (Joachim Schepke);
U-46 (Engelbert Endrass);
U-48 (Heinrich Bleichrodt); and
U-38 (Heinrich Liebe).

Everything is being coordinated and controlled by Konteradmiral Karl Dönitz at his U-boat headquarters in Lorient. Doenitz relays instructions through Prien, who spotted the convoy originally. The sequential attacks on Convoy SC 7 and HX 79 are the first classic wolfpack action of the war, though there has been some small-scale cooperation previously.

The U-boats wait throughout the day as Convoy HX 79 approaches from the west. As darkness falls, they approach on the surface. Prien brazenly sails into the middle of the convoy from the south, Endrass from the north. This is Prien's favorite tactic, and Endrass had been Prien's second before receiving his current command, so they know what the other is likely to do without communicating. The convoy escort is completely ineffective, as was the one for Convoy SC 7.

Location of the attack on Convoy HX 79.

After the U-boats are in position, all blazes break loose. The battle continues past midnight into the 20th, but we will look at the entire night's results here.

U-47 sinks (damages) the following ships:

• 4966-ton Uganda
• 6023-ton Shirak (damaged)
• 4947-ton Wandby
• 5185-ton La Estancia
• 5026-ton Whitford Point
• 8995-ton Athelmonarch (damaged).

U-100 sinks the following:

• 8230-ton Caprella
• 6218-ton Sitala
• 5452-ton Loch Lomond

U-46 sinks:

• 4548- ton Ruperra
• 9965-ton Janus

U-38 sinks:

• 7653-ton Matheran
• 6856-ton Bilderdijk

U-48 sinks:

• 6023-ton Shirak (U-47 damages her first)

Altogether, the U-boats sink 12 ships of 75,069 tons and damage two others of 15,018 tons. The Allied escort not only is ineffective, it also trips all over itself, as the surface escorts mistake their own submarine O-14 for a U-boat and attack it without, fortunately, sinking it.

It is a classic U-boat attack. Just like on the previous night, there are burning ships, sinking ships, derelicts getting in the way, lifeboats, U-boats, flotsam, jetsam, explosions, men drowning left and right, ships careening at full speed into the night - everything. The U-boats make a clean getaway, though an armed merchant ship takes a few potshots at U-1010 and misses.

The British take losses elsewhere, too.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Venetia (Lt Cdr D. L. C. Craig), on a patrol with two other destroyers in the Straits of Dover, hits a mine and sinks off Margate, Kent. There are 34 deaths and 18 other casualties.

Royal Navy 290 ton trawler HMS Velia hits a mine and sinks off the Kentish Knock Lightship. Everyone survives.

British coaster Aridity hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary.

There is a violent storm in eastern Canada. Canadian 221 ton auxiliary minesweeper Bras D'Or sinks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as a result while engaged in traveling with Romanian freighter (Ingner N. Vlasspol) from Quebec to Sydney, Nova Scotia. There are no survivors among the 29 crew.

Polish submarine Wilk attacks Danish freighter Norge in Lister Fjord but misses.

Convoys OB 231 and OL 8 depart from Liverpool, Convoys FN 312 and FN 314 depart from Southend, Convoy FS 314 departs from Methil.

Winnipeg Ukrainians (note native dress) gather to promote a concert they are giving on the 23rd to raise money for the war effort. Among the performers: radio artists The Dirty Dozen. Winnipeg Free Press Archives.

Battle of the Mediterranean: On the 18th, the Royal Navy obtained documents from Italian submarine Durbo before sinking it. Today, the Royal Navy uses that information to hunt for Italian submarine Lafole operating off Cape Tresforcas.

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Ajax is in port at Alexandria getting repairs for shell holes suffered in its encounter with Italian destroyers on 12 October.

Brazilian 8265 ton freighter Ipanemaloide (formerly the Cuma) sinks in the Mediterranean south of Sicily. This is usually ascribed to a torpedo hit, but there are numerous minefields in the area and that may have been the cause.

The RAF attacks Italian positions at Benghazi, Berka, Halfaya, Maritza (in the Dodecanese), and Diredawa, Abyssinia. The Italians respond during the night with attacks on Cairo, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, targeting British ARAMCO oil installations. There are reports in the press that the Italians are sending out patrols in anticipation of a continuation of their offensive, but the Italian Commando Supremo has its eyes on Greece, not North Africa.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie once again complains about the mail and newspaper service to the island. Everything comes around Africa and takes weeks, if not months, to reach soldiers stationed on Malta. This is creating a real morale problem. For instance, at this time, the latest mail received by the troops is from August, and some just recently received is from as far back as May. This was before the start of the bombing of London, so there is increasing anxiety about the safety of relatives and property.

General Sir Alan Cunningham becomes commander of British forces in East Africa.

Military men have very practical reasons for wanting to get news from home. Saturday Evening Post, 19 October 1940.

Italian/German Relations: While the Germans are frantically trying to uncover Italian intentions toward Greece using their own sources, Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano continues to dribble out information. Today, he sends a telegram summarizing the planned invasion but puts the start date as 23 October. In fact, the projected start date is 28 October, as he should know. Shortly after, German Ambassador to Rome Hans Georg Mackensen telegrams that Ciano has informed him that Hitler has approved Mussolini's plan to attack Greece. This is news to Ribbentrop, who was present at the Brenner Pass meeting and has no inkling that this was supposedly discussed. Upon being informed of these communications, Hitler tells Ribbentrop to do nothing regarding the matter - which some interpret as approval of the invasion by silence. However, the entire affair is muddled and subject to interpretation.

Spanish/German Relations: The OKW completes planning for Operation Felix. This, however, requires the participation of Spain, and thus Spanish entry into the war.

Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler travels by train to Spain to meet with Franco and get in a little tourist time devoted to his mystical beliefs about German ancestors.

German Government: Hitler decides to meet with French leader Petain and Spanish leader Franco. He will depart on his train Amerika late on the 20th.

Actress Anne Nagel shows how to celebrate the upcoming US holiday of Halloween, 1940.

US Military: The US Army Air Corps establishes the Hawaiian Air Force at Fort Shafter.

Light cruiser USS St. Louis departs from Guantanamo Bay Naval Station for San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is carrying the Greenslade Board to examine British bases received in the destroyers-for-bases deal.

Soviet Military: The Stavka plans a major ship-building program.

Spain: Belgian Prime Minister Pierlot and Foreign Minister Spaak have been interned in Barcelona since the fall of Belgium in May. They elude their captors and escape to neutral Portugal hidden in a truck. Technically they can also be interned there, too, but the Portuguese government is notorious for not doing so.

Australia: A convoy, US 6, carrying the Australian 7th Division, Australian Imperial Air Force, 20th Infantry Brigade and 21st Infantry Brigade sets sail for the Middle East.

Future History: Michael Gambon is born in Cabra, Dublin. He becomes a British television actor, later a famous Hollywood actor, and throughout a respected stage actor. He remains active, though he has retired from the stage.

Early snow in Delaware, USA signals the change of seasons.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020