Sunday 22 December 1940

Deansgate in the center of Manchester, 22 December 1940.

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Greeks celebrate a major victory on 22 December 1940, with I Corps taking the Italian supply port of Himarë (Himara or Klimara). While a widely touted victory, this is another case of the Italians simply picking up and leaving when the situation "got out of hand." The Greeks simply occupied the high ground, and the Italians fled. The Greek locals in Himara are ecstatic and stage mass celebrations, evincing the high morale of both the Greek troops and the population at large. Overall during the battle for Himara, the Italians have had about 400 casualties and lost 900 prisoners, while the Greeks have had about 100 casualties.

The real prize is Valona, to the north, but there is little chance of the Greeks advancing that far during the winter. This is the final big Greek achievement of the winter counteroffensive. Many read more into the Himara success than it warrants, concluding that the Italians are now beaten. However, the Italians are not beaten, they simply haven't been fighting - a subtle but vital distinction.

Elsewhere, the Greek II Corps is fighting in the vicinity of Klisura between the Aöos and the Apsos rivers, but so far has been unable to break through the strategically vital Klisura Pass.

The Royal Navy bombards Valona in southern Albania, a key Italian supply port, while the RAF bombs oil facilities at Kuçovë.

Piccadilly in Manchester ablaze as a result of the Luftwaffe attacks of 22 December 1940.

European Air Operations: Continuing its recent strategy of attacking isolated medium-sized English cities with recurrent air raids, the Luftwaffe tonight switches from Liverpool (two nights of bombing) to Manchester. Previously in this series, the Germans have targeted cities such as Coventry and Sheffield with devastating effect. How much damage is caused to each of these targets depends upon factors such as how heavily protected they are by anti-aircraft guns - usually not very - and whether the citizens have taken to sleeping in shelters yet.

Tonight is the heaviest raid on Manchester during the Blitz. About 270 German bombers attack as night falls at 18:38, followed later in the night by a second wave. Liverpool, with its blazing fires, provides an easy guide for the bombers, who drop 272 tons of high explosives and 1032 incendiary bombs. Hardest hit are the Piccadilly area, the city center, and the docks area. Also hit are Safford and Stretford. Overall during this campaign, there will be 684 deaths and 2364 injured. There is a near-tragedy when a bomb hits a Gibson shelter at Hulme Town Hall, inside which 450 people are trapped. However, unlike some other situations where broken mains and the like flood the shelter and drown many people, these people get out alive.

The Luftwaffe also hits Liverpool again for the third night in a row with a subsidiary effort. In fact, the night is notable for a large number of secondary attacks throughout England. The Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI) bombs Harwich again, this time with four bombers.

The RAF scores a night fighter success when a No. 141 Squadron Defiant shoots down a Heinkel He 111 of KG 55, which lands at Underwood House in Etchingham, Sussex.

RAF Coastal Command, meanwhile, attacks the ports of Wilhelmshaven, Brest, and Lorient. RAF Bomber Command attacks Mannheim and Ludwigshafen in the Rhineland, the inland docks at Cologne, oil facilities at Frankfurt, and various invasion ports.

The "Tree of Remembrance" in Piccadilly Gardens. This is a memorial to the civilians who perished during the Manchester Blitz, commissioned in 2005 by the Manchester City Council.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Luftwaffe raids on Liverpool continue to do damage. Using both aerial attacks and mines, the Germans continue to send ships either to the bottom or to the repair yards.

A bomb just misses destroyer HMS Foresight, which is in drydock. Holes are punched in its side and minor damage from bomb splinters roughs up the superstructure. However, it remains nicely positioned for further repairs.

British 179-ton tug Poolgarth hits a mine and sinks off Canada Dock in Liverpool. Everyone on board perishes.

British 7402-ton tanker Elax hits a mine off Liverpool and is damaged.

The Luftwaffe damages 5400-ton British freighter Pardo, 14,935-ton freighter Almeda Star, and 671-ton hopper barge No. 9 at Liverpool.

At Caernarvon Bay, Wales, Greek 3298 ton freighter Anthippi N. Michalos collides with a much bigger ship, the 9957-ton freighter Beaverdale, and sinks. The Beaverton also is damaged, but not enough to impair its operations.

Royal Navy submarine HMS H.31 sinks at Campbelltown, Argyllshire apparently due to some kind of hatch issue near the engine room. It is quickly refloated, however, and repaired at Elderslie.

British 4966-ton freighter Llandilo hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary near the Yantlet Buoys.

Royal Navy corvette HMS Columbine collides with sloop HMS Aberdeen. Columbine must be towed to Stornoway, while Aberdeen is only lightly damaged and continues on with its convoy duties.
MAC 7, a Motor Attendant Craft, sinks at Portsmouth from some unknown issue. It also is swiftly raised and returned to service.

German cruiser Admiral Scheer remains on the loose in the South Atlantic despite a fleet-sized Royal Navy effort to find it. Today, it rendezvouses with supply ship Nordmark and captured "delicatessen" Duquesa (which contains extensive supplies of fresh meat and eggs).

Convoy FN 365 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 368 departs from Methil, Convoy HX 98 departs from Halifax, Convoys SL 60 and SLS 60 (the slow group) depart from Freetown.

U-557 launched.

The Poolgarth, lost to a mine with all hands today.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Things have settled down considerably in Libya. The Italians are defending Bardia and Tobruk with vigor, while the British are moving Australian troops forward to attack them in sequence. This process will take until early January 1941. The RAF stages a night raid on Benina.

Royal Hellenic Navy submarine Papanikolis spots an Italian convoy off Brindisi. It attacks 364-ton Italian freighter San Giorgio with its deck gun, and rams 70-ton wooden Italian sailing ship Antonietta, sinking it. The Papanicolis is not damaged.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious continues its depredations on the Italian positions in Libya, launching 15 Swordfish to bomb Tripoli. Convoy MG 1, traveling to Gibraltar before dawn via the Strait of Sicily, is attacked by Italian submarine Serpente. The Serpente damages destroyer HMS Hyperion, which is taken in tow, but ultimately is scuttled due to the danger of towing the ship so close to Italian territory.

British battleship HMS Warspite, carrying Commander in Chief Mediterranean Admiral Cunningham, departs Malta's Grand Harbour in the morning after a 40-hour stopover. The Warspite is headed back to Alexandria.

HMS Hyperion, lost today off Libya.

Battle of the Pacific: Having temporarily completed operations off phosphate-producing island Naura, German raider Komet heads to Rabaul with the intention of laying mines. Raider Orion proceeds to Lamutrik in the Mariana Islands for an engine overhaul. Supply ship Kulmerland heads for Japan to re-stock.

US/Vichy French Relations: At Norfolk, Virginia, new Ambassador to France Admiral Leahy boards heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa - recently back from carrying President Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins on a tour of the Caribbean - for his new position in France.

German Officer Heinz Butoew, taken 22 December 1940.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill has a busy day. He elevates Anthony Eden to become Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for the second time. Lord Halifax, who has held the position since 21 February 1938, is "designated for reassignment" to become the new UK Ambassador to the United States, replacing Lord Lothian. While the ambassador spot in Washington may seem vitally important during wartime - and in some ways, it is - Churchill has been personally handling relations with President Roosevelt. In effect, Halifax is being sent to a supposedly prestigious posting which actually has no power and minimal influence and which is of only ceremonial importance - a typical fate of prominent individuals in the British government and military who have been found wanting by their superiors, i.e., Churchill.

Eden's elevation is more a case of getting rid of Halifax than it is putting the proper man in a key role. Halifax, who came extremely close to becoming Prime Minister earlier in the year instead of Churchill, is tarnished by his association with the disastrous Chamberlain appeasement policy. He also has butted heads with Churchill since Churchill's elevation about the delicate issue of peace talks with Germany, reinforcing the impression that he is not "all in" for the war. Halifax is the last of Chamberlain's cronies to leave the Cabinet and will be little-noticed from here on out despite remaining the ambassador to the US throughout the war.

Replacing Eden as Secretary of State for War is David Margesson, who has been Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury.

Churchill, meanwhile, continues his discussions with the Ministry of Supply today. Among other things, he casually mentions that the government may have to begin requisitioning private property to house refugees from the big cities.

Whereas yesterday he found out how much mustard gas was available, today Churchill gets into the nitty-gritty of industrial production, things such as aluminum production, brass strip, and drop-forging stocks. Drop forging is the process of heating metal and hammering it into dies. Basically, it is the process of shaping metal to fit the contours of a mold. This process is important for producing weapons of war such as ships and tanks and artillery pieces. Churchill learns that the British Isles are only producing 208,000 tons of drop-forgings, with another 7,000 tons imported from the United States. The armaments industry, however, needs to produce 441,000 tons annually. This shortfall must be made up somehow, either via increased imports from abroad (meaning the United States) or by increased British production. Otherwise, this somewhat arcane process may become a bottleneck for the entire British war effort.

Churchill also meets with the Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison, about another ticklish situation: Oswald Mosley. Mosley is a former MP and Great War veteran who has been interned (with wife Diana) at Holloway Prison since 23 May 1940 under Defence Regulation 18B. The charge against them is Fascist sympathies (he is the founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists). Churchill and Morrison decide to do nothing about the Moseleys. However, while reviewing other cases, Churchill recommends that Pandit Nehru in India - who has been imprisoned in one form or another since engaging in nonviolent protests against British rule over the summer - be handled more respectfully.

American Homefront: Labor leader Philip Murray, president of the CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) and a Scottish-born steelworker, submits a plan to the government to soak up excess manufacturing capacity in Detroit's auto plants. He proposes to convert shuttered production lines to the manufacture of 500 fighter planes per day. He is a strong supporter of the Roosevelt administration and the war effort, the right man in the right place to ease the industrial transition toward military production.

"General Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), converses with glider pilots and inspects a training glider at the Central Landing Establishment at RAF Ringway near Manchester, December 1940." © IWM (H 6215).

December 1940

December 1, 1940: Wiking Division Forms
December 2, 1940: Convoy HX 90 Destruction
December 3, 1940: Greeks Advancing
December 4, 1940: Italian Command Shakeup
December 5, 1940: Thor Strikes Hard
December 6, 1940: Hitler's Cousin Gassed
December 7, 1940: Storms At Sea
December 8, 1940: Freighter Idarwald Seized
December 9, 1940: Operation Compass Begins
December 10, 1940: Operation Attila Planned
December 11, 1940: Rhein Wrecked
December 12, 1940: Operation Fritz
December 13, 1940: Operation Marita Planned
December 14, 1940: Plutonium Discovered
December 15, 1940: Napoleon II Returns
December 16, 1940: Operation Abigail Rachel
December 17, 1940: Garden Hoses and War
December 18, 1940: Barbarossa Directive
December 19, 1940: Risto Ryti Takes Over
December 20, 1940: Liverpool Blitz, Captain America
December 21, 1940: Moral Aggression
December 22, 1940: Manchester Blitz
December 23, 1940: Hitler at Cap Gris Nez
December 24, 1940: Hitler at Abbeville
December 25, 1940: Hipper's Great Escape
December 26, 1940: Scheer's Happy Rendezvous
December 27, 1940: Komet Shells Nauru
December 28, 1940: Sorge Spills
December 29, 1940: Arsenal of Democracy
December 30, 1940: London Devastated
December 31 1940: Roosevelt's Decent Proposal

2020

Thursday 31 October 1940

British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft (bottom) flying past a German Heinkel He-111 bomber (top) during the Battle of Britain. Since the Spitfire is trailing smoke, it may be in trouble itself. Bombers shot down a lot of fighters.

Overview: Today, 31 October 1940, is when the British officially view the Battle of Britain as ending (date first established by a British Air Ministry pamphlet published in 1941). Just as their start date of 10 July 1940 is somewhat arbitrary, so too is this date. The Luftwaffe attacks continue, and the Germans retain the initiative throughout the winter. On the other hand, the likelihood of an invasion in 1940 has ended long ago, and there are few prospects for one in 1941. Hitler's wandering eye and strategic obligations to his allies, and the continuing inability of Fighter Command to subdue the Royal Air Force, rules out any kind of a repeat of the opportunities so briefly afforded during the summer of 1940. There was a brief window of opportunity to conquer England, and he walked right by it.

The ironic thing about the battle ending now is that the Germans finally have figured out a coherent strategy which, if pursued long enough and with enough vigor, conceivably could turn the battle in their favor. Fighter-bomber (Jabo) raids during the day and medium bomber waves at night is a winning formula - given the right targets. Combined with a heightened U-boat campaign, the battle conceivably could still turn in Germany's favor. Churchill always maintains that the real threat to England, the thing that worries him the most, is the economic strangulation posed by the U-boats. However, Hitler knows that his strength lies on land, not at sea and that quite accurate belief, ironically, will be his downfall.

This is a mapping based on data from original bomb census maps of bombs dropped on London during the Blitz. For the map's purposes (and not the RAF's) the Blitz is calculated to last from 10 July 1940 through 6 June 1941 (which is far more representative of damage caused than ending it at the end of October 1940). The map is interactive and shows the entirety of London, quite good fun to play with if you are interested in the Battle of Britain.

Estimates for losses during the Battle of Britain (as defined by the British) vary wildly. If you were to take accounts from the media of the day, German losses would be several times what their records establish them to be. However, there is no question that the RAF soundly trounced the Luftwaffe over England.

• Luftwaffe losses (approximate): 1733-2200 planes, 3893 men
• RAF losses (reasonably certain): 544-828 planes 1007 men

These figures, incidentally, are constantly changing. I have seen figures as high as 1100+ for RAF planes lost. Generally, more recent figures have the loss ratio much closer than earlier figures. Eventually, historians easily could conclude that both sides lost the same numbers of planes - the figures have changed that much. If I can make a parenthetical observation, it is extremely unlikely that the Luftwaffe lost 2000 planes, considering that they only began the campaign with about that many planes (some estimates say 2800) and the German factories were hardly producing fast enough at this time to cover those kinds of losses. Many planes made it back to France smoking like a chimney but were repaired and sent up again. So, to be realistic, it is probably wise to take any official estimates and ratchet up the RAF losses and ratchet down the Luftwaffe ones.

However - and this is a huge "however" - the Luftwaffe lost the vast majority of pilots and aircrew that were shot down (yes, some were picked up by the very efficient Luftwaffe He-59 air-sea rescue crews). The RAF lost a much smaller fraction of its personnel to death and severe injury. This was the real damage to the Luftwaffe, not the number of planes lost (many of which would soon have been replaced by better models anyway). The Luftwaffe was never really short of planes, even during the war's last days: the constraining factors were trained pilots and, most importantly, fuel. Losing all those great pilots was the real cost to Germany of the battle - well, that and the anger from Hades unleashed upon them by killing so many civilians essentially to no purpose.

To the British side of the loss-ledger should be added the cities ruined, the civilian lives lost, the businesses destroyed, the families separated, the ships sunk, the bombers lost over Europe, and many other costs to which the war summaries pay lip service. The Luftwaffe dropped over 35,000 tons of bombs on Great Britain. London was attacked 19 times by 18,800 tons of bombs, razing 16,000 houses, damaging 130,000 others and making 60,000 uninhabitable. The worst area hit was the East End. All of this damage to England evens the "score" between the two sides somewhat, but destroying houses and killing women and children brought the Luftwaffe no closer to victory and made any talk of peace talks political suicide in England.

The Battle of Britain was won by the pilots, and they came from throughout the British Empire. 595 of the RAF pilots were non-British:

• 145 pilots from Poland
• 127 from New Zealand
• 112 from Canada
• 88 from Czechoslovakia
• 28 from Belgium
• 32 from Australia
• 25 from South Africa
• 13 from France
• 10 from Ireland
• 7 from America
• 1 from each of Jamaica, Palestine, and Rhodesia.

It should be noted that virtually everyone then and now agrees that the best RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain were the Polish pilots who escaped before their country's surrender.

The most successful pilots of the Battle of Britain were Werner Molders and Adolf Galland of the Luftwaffe, both of whom had 50 victories to their credit (some earned previously) by the battle's conclusion. On the RAF side, Eric Stanley Lock had 21 victories by 31 October 1940 (he wound up with 26 confirmed and 8 probable kills). James Lacey - often erroneously reported as the top ace of the Battle of Britain - only shot down 18 during the battle itself. He wound up with 28 kills and four probable kills by 1945. Lacey's greatest feat was, like Galland, to be on duty on both the first day of the war and the last.

Eric Stanley Lock. This photo was taken sometime between 14 July 1941 and 3 August 1941; on the former date, Lock was credited with his 26th kill, and on the latter, he went missing off Calais after being forced down in the Channel by ground fire. Most likely, he had this photo taken immediately after his 26th victory to commemorate it.

Battle of Britain: During the day itself, the weather is rough and little takes place. In fact, it is one of the quietest days since the campaign began. The day is occupied by reconnaissance and occasional raids, primarily on airfields at Bassingbourn, Poling, Lawford Heath, and Martlesham. The raids are primarily by lone "pirate" bombers and don't accomplish much.

The Royal Ordnance Factory at Glascoed, the British Portland Cement Company, and The Repairable Equipment Ltd Factory all took damage. The raids are so scattered and sparse that Fighter Command can't even vector in any fighters for a confrontation - the bombers slip in and out.

After dark, London and the Midlands are bombed, and mines are dropped in the Thames Estuary. The winds are so bad that they blow the German bombers off course. This causes most of the bombers to miss London - which shows how strong the winds. Other attacks on Birmingham also achieve little. London is bombed throughout the night, but sporadically, and only by a handful of bombers at a time.

For the first time in four months, neither side takes any combat casualties. The weather, though, does take something from both sides, so generally, it is accepted that the Luftwaffe lost 2 planes today in weather-related incidents and the RAF one.

A Spitfire making a pass by a Dornier Do 17 during the Battle of Britain.

Italian/Greek Campaign: In the vital Pindus Mountains sector in the center of the line, the Italian troops struggle forward through the snow and icy rain. Their first objective (40 km off their initial front) is the town of Vovousa, which they have not yet reached and is only a stepping-stone to the key Greek supply crossroads of Metsovo. The Greek line is stabilizing and giving ground grudgingly. On the coastal sector, the Italians are still moving forward to reestablish contact with the Greeks who have withdrawn to the Kalpaki Line. At this point, the Italians are still giving the North African front priority over the Albanian one.

Most histories state that this is the day that the Italian advance "stalls." That is a little premature. Greek resistance is stiffening, but the Italians are still moving forward in the central and coastal sectors.

The British land forces on the islands of Lemnos and Crete.

Greek destroyers Spetsai and Psara, operating out of Patras, cruise up to Albania and bombard Italian positions there using their 120 mm guns. This incident and the looming presence of the Royal Navy (the British Mediterranean Fleet is operating to the south) helps to cause Italy to scrub its projected operation to occupy Corfu (there are other reasons as well, such as troops being diverted to other operations).


European Air Operations: There is no bombing activity by the RAF out of England owing to the poor weather. RAF Bomber Command in Egypt, however, stretches its operations to the maximum (so far) and bombs oil installations in Naples, Italy. Coastal Command attacks enemy shipping off Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoy stragglers are ships that have difficulty maintaining convoy speed (which already is slower than many captains would like, usually 5-10 knots). The convoy system is having a Darwinian effect on shipping, eliminating older and poorly maintained ships at the expense of newer, faster ships.

U-124 (Kptlt. Georg-Whilhelm Schulz), the "Edelweisseboot," is on its second patrol out of Lorient when it finds a straggler to Convoy HX 82 west of the Outer Hebrides. She torpedoes and sinks 1437 ton British bauxite/sundries freighter Rutland. There are 25-29 deaths (accounts vary) - all of her crew.

Royal Navy trawler HMT Wardour hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea. The 12 crew survive and are picked up by HMS Douglas.

Royal Navy motor torpedo boat MTB 16 (Lt P. F. S. Gould) hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Another motor torpedo boat, MTB 22, is damaged.

British 1535 ton collier Hillfern hits a mine (apparently, or maybe it was a Luftwaffe attack, in the foul weather nobody is sure) and sinks about 35 miles off Kinnaird Head/Buchanness. There are 8 deaths.

German 433 ton trawler Aldebaran hits a mine and sinks in the Baltic near Liepāja, Estonia.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 5702-ton British freighter Starstone.

German raider Widder (Captain Helmuth von Ruckteschell), running on greatly reduced power due to issues with its engines, arrives at Brest after a long journey home. The Widder has had a very successful cruise, sinking 10 ships of 58,645 tons.

There are a couple of incidents that illustrate the complicated nature of Anglo/Gallic relations at the moment.

French destroyers Brestois, Bordelais, Simoun, Tempete and L'Alcyon sail through the Straits of Gibraltar to the Atlantic. HMS Griffin shadows the French flotilla, and Force H, led by battleship HMS Barham, leaves Gibraltar. The Admiralty is concerned that they might turn north toward England, but instead, they turn south and Force H returns to port.

French 5205 ton transport Congo, having departed on the 24th, is en route from Fort de France bound for Casablanca. It has aboard 1206 French naval officers and 53 other passengers. Royal Navy AMC Moreton Bay intercepts it and orders it to Freetown. The 1259 men on board, though, eventually are allowed to proceed to Casablanca by other means.

German battlecruiser Admiral Scheer leaves Stavanger, Norway to break out into the Atlantic.

German supply ship Rio Grande departs from Rio de Janeiro to replenish raider Thor and then head for France. She has to elude the Neutrality patrols and the Royal Navy.

Convoy OB 237 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FS 324 departs from Methil, Convoy HG 46 (51 ships) departs from Gibraltar.

During the month of October 1940, Allied losses due to U-boats and mines increase, while losses to surface raiders and aircraft decrease:

• Sunk by U-boat: 352,407
• Sunk by Aircraft: 8752
• Sunk by Raider: 32134
• Sunk by Mine: 32548

There is one U-boat lost. The month of October is considered perhaps the height of the first U-boat "Happy Time" of the war, exemplified by the catastrophes of Convoys SC 7 and HX 79.

To the Atlantic losses should be added 4 Allied ships of 24,721 tons lost elsewhere (including the Mediterranean).

At the end of the month, the Royal Navy has 50 destroyers under repair at various facilities including Portsmouth, Plymouth, the Tyne, the Humber, Rosyth, and Malta. This, coincidentally, is the same number of destroyers obtained from the US in the destroyers-for-bases deal.

U-74 (Kapitänleutnant Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat) is commissioned.

Royal Navy corvette HMCS Trillium (Lt.Cdr. R.F. Harris, RCNR)  is commissioned.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder (Lt. Malcolm D. Wanklyn) is commissioned.

Nehru in prison.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian bombers attack the British base at Mersa Matruh with 26 bombers escorted by 37 fighters. The RAF also attacks Italian airfields.

South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts is flying home from a conference in Sudan when RAF fighters mistake his plane for Italian and attack it. The plane lands safely in Kenya.

The British establish the Combined Bureau in Cairo. It is staffed by specialists from Bletchley Park to handle Ultra decrypts, which are closely guarded.

Axis shipping losses for October 1940 in the Mediterranean are:

• 6 Axis ships (all Italian);
• 19,968 tons

The government of Malta reports on the results of the war during its first four months of the war with Italy. It finds that there have been distinct phases in the battle:

• First Stage: Italian SM 79 bombers attacked without escorts;
• Second Stage: Italian fighters made sweeps without bombers;
• Third Stage: Day bombings resumed with fighter escorts, including by Stuka dive-bombers.

Air activity, the reports also states, died down completely in October.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Pinguin continues laying mines between Australia and Tasmania. It lays 40 mines off Hobart. Meanwhile, converted minelayer Passat lays another 40 mines in the Bass Strait.

India: The British government continues to crack down on Nationalists who are engaging in coordinated nonviolent protests. Jawaharlal Nehru gives a speech, is arrested, and ultimately is sentenced to four years of hard labor.

China: At the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army is under pressure and retreats to Chinhsien for evacuation to Hainan Island.

President Franklin Roosevelt dedicates the new National Institute of Health campus at Bethesda, Maryland.

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy 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

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020