Sunday 19 May 1940

Belgian tank on fire in Zwyndrecht, Antwerp, Belgium. 19 May 1940.

Western Front: The French Army on 19 May 1940 is completely discombobulated. The generals have little idea where the front is and what the Germans might do. The commander of the French 9th Army, General Giraud, is even captured by a German panzer unit.

Lord Gort, head of the BEF, has a conversation with General Edmund Ironside, the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Ironside recommends attacking southwest toward Amiens. Lord Gort replies that he has insufficient troops, as 7 of his 9 divisions are in action on the Scheldt. Somewhat bizarrely, Gort relates that his putative French commander, General Billotte of the 1st Army Group, has not issued him any orders in a fortnight.

Ironside then talks to General Billotte, who is nearby. He finds that Billotte is incapable of taking action. Ironside returns to England convinced that the end is near for the BEF and ramps up anti-invasion efforts. A code name is generated for a BEF evacuation: Operations Dynamo.

Much of the German Panzer force has been halted between Péronne and St. Quentin for refueling, maintenance, and re-supply. Today, General Guderian starts moving forward again. He takes Péronne, only 50 miles from the French coast. This disrupts the supply lines of the BEF and French forces fighting to the north.

General Rommel regroups at Cambrai.

Brigadier General de Gaulle launches his second attack from Laon into the German spearhead flank at Montcornet using the 4th Armoured Division. Once again, as on the 17th, he makes some progress, but the effort runs out of steam. However, there is no corresponding thrust from the other side of the bulge which might cut off the most advanced German units.

The Belgian army withdraws in the sector including St Nicholas, Lakeren, and Audenard.

The BEF pulls back near Lille.

On the Maginot Line, the German 71st Infantry Division, after a three-day battle, take the left-most anchor of the line, Fort La Ferté (known as Panzerwerk 505 to the Wehrmacht). The French inside succumb to the smoke and toxic fumes after their ammunition and other items catch fire. The fort, 20 km south of Sedan on a hill overlooking the Chiers River, has been blocking the German advance. The Germans occupy the village of Villy. Underneath Villy, the fort had been scaled back during construction due to cost, making it a death trap for the 107 soldiers inside.

European Air Operations: Fliegerkorps VII is covering the German advance toward Abbeville. This is a key component of "Blitzkrieg." There are radio-equipped forward liaison Luftwaffe officers traveling with the panzers who have direct lines to the Luftwaffe bases. The amount of time between a request for air support and its arrival is minimal, around 10 minutes for Henschel HS 123s and 45-75 minutes for the Ju 87 Stukas.

The Luftwaffe bombs Royal Navy destroyer HMS Whitley, which must be beached and scuttled.

The Luftwaffe bombs Dieppe.

The Luftwaffe also is supporting the attacks on the Maginot Line in the south. They are hitting fortresses and helping the ground to make progress against this supposedly invulnerable line.

The RAF once again bombs oil refineries in the Ruhr.

The RAF begins pulling its last squadrons in Belgium. They have lost over half of their aircraft and the German army is approaching their airfields. BEF air cover will be conducted henceforth from bases in England.

There are reports that 100,000 people perished in the Rotterdam air attacks, with a third of the city destroyed. This figure is likely wildly exaggerated for propaganda purposes, but then again, nobody knows how many people died. The high figure illustrates the depths of fear and terror being sown by the innovative Blitzkrieg. Rotterdam has joined "Warsaw" on the litany of Luftwaffe misdeeds chronicled in Allied propaganda.

Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 87 unit near Arras, France. May, 1940 (Strift, Federal Archive).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn) torpedoes and sinks 5,066-ton Swedish freighter MV Erik Frisell. All 34 aboard survive, picked up by armed trawler HMS Cobbers.

Royal Navy minelayer HMS Princess Victoria hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Convoy OA 151 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 151 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy OG 30 forms at Gibraltar.

Norway: The evacuation of Mo i Rana concludes, with the last rearguard troops of B Company of the Scots Guard and No. 1 Independent Company pulling out. The German 2d Mountain Division occupies the town and sends troops further north toward Bodo.

Military Intelligence: The cryptoanalysts at Bletchley Park crack the Enigma "Red" code being used by the Luftwaffe liaison officers to coordinate ground support.

Anglo/US Relations: Winston Churchill sends President Roosevelt a plea for quick aid while discussing something else. "If [the old destroyers] were here in 6 weeks, they would play an invaluable part."

Sweden: The government announces that, like Great Britain, it will form its own home defense corps. It also institutes gasoline rationing.

Ethiopia: A group of Italian settlers arrives.

War Crimes: Civilians live in fear of Allied troops who reportedly are shooting civilians who they are mistaking for German paratroopers or infiltrators. There are other anecdotal reports of Allied troops shooting civilians who they believe, for one reason or another, to be aiding the German advance.

British Homefront: Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes an address to the British people which he calls " Be ye men of valor," which is a quotation from 1 Maccabees in the Apocrypha. Churchill mentions that only "a very small part" of the French army has been engaged with the Germans, but that it would be "foolish ... to disguise the gravity of the hour." He vows to "wage war until victory is won, and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame, whatever the cost and the agony may be."

American Homefront: Charles Lindbergh makes another radio broadcast in support of isolationism:

"We need not fear a foreign invasion unless American peoples bring it on through their own quarreling and meddling with affairs abroad. If we desire peace, we need only stop asking for war. No one wishes to attack us, and no one is in a position to do so."

A commemorative day for war heroes of the Winter War in Joensuu, Finland. 19 May 1940 (SA-kuva).

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2020

Saturday 18 May 1940

German mounted troops, 18 May 1940 (Schweizer, Federal Archives).

Western Front: The XXVI Corps of General Georg von Küchler's 18th Army captures the vital port of Antwerp, Belgium on 18 May 1940.

Brigadier General de Gaulle regroups after his failure of 17 May and prepares for another flank attack on the German spearhead with his French 4th Armoured Division. He prepares for another attack.

At Noord-Beveland, the last Dutch holdout in Zeeland, a German under a flag of truce goes over and informs the Dutch that all of their comrades have surrendered. They have been out of touch, and now surrender.

General Erwin Rommel is at Cambrai, having advanced 85 miles to the west. He takes the town with one of his usual clever strategems: he has his tanks roll over a dusty field near the town, giving the defenders the impressions that his force is larger than it is, and causing them to flee in terror. Rommel is over halfway to the English Channel, having captured (by his own account) 10,000 prisoners and 100 French tanks for losses of his own of only 50 dead and 100 wounded. He pauses to refuel, resupply and plan his next axis of attack.

General Guderian's troops also are refueling and consolidating gains. The 1st Panzer Division troops reach the vicinity of Péronne in their drive toward Amiens.

Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive 12, Prosecution of the Attack in the West. It does not contain anything significant, and is more an expression of his desire to appear in charge and reassert control over a campaign which has developed due to decisions of commanders at the front rather than OKW headquarters.

Morale in the BEF is low, because they are being told to retreat despite giving a good account in every battle they have fought. The problem is not their military skill, but the German eruptions to the south that threaten their lines of communication.

In Belgium, a German 88mm gun model Flak 18 and crew pass Wehrmacht motorcycles (a BMW R18 and a DKW NZ350) alongside a British Morris C8.

Norway: Colonel Gubbins arrives at Mo i Rana. He has orders from Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck to defend Mo i Rana. However, the local commander, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax of the Scots Guards, tells him that he cannot hold out without reinforcement - of which none is available. Gubbins thus, against orders but based on the best available information, authorizes a withdrawal. In Gubbins' opinion, the Scots Guards withdraws "precipitately" toward the ferry terminus at Rognan and leaves behind much valuable equipment. The German 2nd Mountain Division approaches the town, though Gubbins leaves behind some skeleton forces.

The Luftwaffe continues its gradual reinforcement of General Dietl at Narvik, dropping another 16 troops of the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment. In addition, Luftwaffe seaplanes bring 15 more troops.

The Luftwaffe damages the Royal Navy battleship HMS Resolution off Narvik.

The Germans capture a Norwegian torpedo boat, Troll, at Floro.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 13 aircraft against German columns around le Cateau.

Battle of the Atlantic: The U-boat fleet has been occupied with tactical patrolling the Dutch/Danish/Norwegian coasts. They now resume strategic patrolling around Great Britain. U-37 and U-43 are already are at sea, while U-60 and U-62 leave Kiel for stations around Great Britain.

Convoy OA 150G departs from Southend, Convoy OB 150 departs from Liverpool.

Anglo/US Relations: Churchill sends Roosevelt a telegram stating, "if American assistance is to play any part it must be available [soon]."

Spies: A member of the US embassy staff, clerk Tyler Kent, is arrested for spying. He has been (allegedly) passing copies of Prime Minister Churchill's correspondence with President Roosevelt to Anna Wolkoff, a Russian emigre with ties to a Fascist organization. Wolkoff, also arrested, has been (allegedly) passing the documents to Italian diplomats, who (allegedly) forwarded them on to Hitler. The US waives Kent's immunity.

French Government: Prime Minister Paul Reynaud shakes up the cabinet. Former PM Daladier switches to Foreign Minister, Philippe Pétain becomes Vice Premier. Reynaud takes Defense. General Weygand, recalled from the Middle East, is the new Commander-in-chief. Both 84-year-old war hero Pétain, who was the Ambassador to Spain, and Weygand are somewhat "out of the loop" and bring a fresh attitude to the government which may not be entirely positive. Weygand arrives in Paris from the Levant via Tunis.

Pétain is a particularly interesting choice. He has developed a friendly relationship with Francisco Franco and has commented that "France's greatest mistake has been to enter this war" - not exactly a resoundingly enthusiastic position.

The Paris sector is declared a military zone, with martial law imposed. For now, the government remains in Paris.

Belgian Government: King Leopold and his cabinet set up improved headquarters in Brugges.

Holland: The new Reich Commissioner for Holland, which surrendered on 15 May, is Artur Seyss-Inquart.

Germany re-incorporates into its borders the small slices of territory handed to Holland pursuant to the Treaty of Versailles.

Queen Wilhelmina is in Great Britain and visits Dutch vessels at Portsmouth.

French Homefront: The refugee crisis is only growing. An estimated 6 million Frenchmen are on the road south, while the population of northern French cities has fallen by 90%.

Belgian Homefront: The Belgians now really have nowhere to run, so the refugee crisis is much less there than in France.
Norwegian Homefront: The Germans ban the celebration of Norwegian Constitution Day, which typically includes traditional children's parades.

British Homefront: British men continue volunteering for the local defense groups - and an estimated 250,000 have now signed up (eventually known as the Home Guard). They do not have any uniforms or equipment and are told: "We'll get back to you." They are nicknamed "parashots" due to their presumed role of guarding against German paratroopers.

American Homefront: In California, the El Centro earthquake hits at 21:35 Pacific Standard Time. It is the first earthquake recorded by a nearby strong-motion seismograph and registers 6.9 on the Richter scale. It is the strongest earthquake in Imperial Valley, killing nine people. The area is largely agricultural, so, while irrigation systems and other farming infrastructure are destroyed, the damage is much more limited than it if had hit, say, a little further northwest at Los Angeles.

It is a quiet morning in New York. Today's headline: "[German] Army Now 75 Miles From Paris." The sports section, however, is more interesting at the moment. Sixth Avenue and 40th Street, near Times Square, New York City. May 18, 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2020

Thursday 2 May 1940

German mountain troops landing at Trondheim Airport, Værnes, 2 May 1940.

Norway: The British and French are evacuating their tenuous positions near Trondheim on 2 May 1940, but that does not mean that they are abandoning Norway altogether. In fact, the emphasis is just shifting further north, to the key to the entire invasion in the first place: Narvik. This new operation will be called "Scissors Force." It is to be led by General Colin Gubbins.

General Gubbins has been raising "Independent Companies." These are embryonic Commandos (aka Special Forces). The plan is for him to use four or five of these Independent Companies to take and hold Narvik while also taking and holding Bodø, Mo i Rana and Mosjøen.

Prime Minister Chamberlain tells the House that Norway is not a "sideshow" nor a "Quixotic adventure."

Norway Army Operations: The evacuation of General de Wiart's Maurice Force troops (British 146th Infantry Brigade, French 5th Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs) at Namsos is completed. Lord Mountbatten leads in four destroyers and is joined by Vice Admiral John Cunningham with 3 cruisers, 5 destroyers, and 3 troop transport ships.

The German 196th Infantry Division takes Åndalsnes around 16:00, which had been evacuated by the British Sickle Force troops on 1 May. The British take off 4,400 men but leave behind much equipment in the devastated town. With this force gone, the Allied presence in Norway now has been halved.

The Germans seize control of the Dovrebanen railway line from Dombås to Støren.

The German 69th Infantry Division meets the German 163rd Infantry Division midway between Oslo and Bergen.

The Norwegians at Hegra Fortress hear radio reports of surrenders and evacuations elsewhere and consider their alternatives. Bread has now run out, and no resupply is forthcoming.

There is fighting in the Narvik area.

Norway Naval Operations:  Junkers Ju 87 Stukas attack the destroyer convoy which is arriving to take off the British 146th Brigade and associated French troops from Namsos. They sink  French destroyers Afridi and Bison and damage via near-miss HMS Maori (5 men perish and 18 are wounded). The flotilla stays offshore and finally comes in when heavy evening fog arrives to hide it from the Luftwaffe. The destroyers ferry about 5,350 men to the cruisers and transports after dark.

Norway Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Stavanger Airfield both during the day and at night. It also attacks Oslo airfield after dark.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Rye Airfield in Denmark both during the day and at night.

The RAF sends 26 bombers to lay mines during the night in the North Sea.

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoy OA 140G departs from Southend, and Convoy OB 140 departs from Liverpool.

Western Front: Having masterfully led the Allies to focus on Norway, Hitler and the Wehrmacht High Command start assembling troops for Fall Gelb, the invasion of France and the Low Countries. The attack will be led by 93 front-line divisions, 10 of them armored and 6 motorized. The main thrust will be through the Ardennes forest, with a subsidiary decoy thrust to the north through Holland.

German/Swedish Relations: The Swedes had sent their crown jewels to Norway for safekeeping during the Winter War. Now, they open secret talks with the Germans to get them back.

US Navy: Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry “Butch” O’Hare finishes his flight training at NAS Pensacola, Florida and is assigned to USS Saratoga (CV-3) Fighter Squadron Three (VF-3).

New Zealand: A New Zealand troop convoy departs from Wellington to Australia.

Egypt: Prime Minister Chamberlain announces that a British/French combined fleet is in the Mediterranean and en route to Alexandria.

Holocaust: SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) Rudolf Höss arrives at Auschwitz prison camp near the town of Oświęcim in western Poland. He will be its first commandant. His orders are "to create a transition camp for ten thousand prisoners from the existing complex of well-preserved buildings." Höss has had experience at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and is determined to make this new camp run with extreme efficiency.

German troops arriving by rail in northern Norway as the British depart, 2 May 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019