Monday 15 July 1940

A German soldier stands in the cathedral of Strasbourg, 15 July 1940 (AP Photo).

Battle of Britain: There are low clouds on 15 July 1940, which give good cover for Luftwaffe bombers but curtail most defensive operations. The poor weather continues into the night.

Today is often called the beginning of the "Brighton Blitz." The beaches are closed and mined, and civilians have been evacuated.
Junkers Ju 88s take advantage of the cloud cover and bomb two airfields and a railway around Avonmouth. Raids occur in the Cardiff, Swansea, Portsmouth, and Southampton areas.

The Channel convoys remain a prime Luftwaffe target, and 15 Dornier Do 17s of KG2 attack Convoy "Pilot" in the Thames Estuary. Hurricane fighters rise to the defense and beat them off.

There also are attacks near the Scottish border by LG1. Among the targets are a Westland Aircraft factory and the airfields at Yeovil and St Athan RAF Station. RAF Nos. 213 and 92 Squadrons intercept and shoot down a Junkers Ju 88 of LG1.

JG26 begins transferring back to the French coast, winding up its period of rest and refit and indicating that serious operations against the British were about to begin.

During the day, the Luftwaffe loses a bomber, while the RAF loses four Hurricanes. Several of the RAF fighters crash on landing. Despite the weather, the RAF flies 470 sorties.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends Hampden bombers from Hemsworth airfield to raid Wilhelmshaven. The targets are the battleship Tirpitz, still under construction, and Admiral Scheer. The raid faces fierce anti-aircraft fire and the British lose four bombers, with many of the rest damaged, while missing the ships.

The Italians raid Gibraltar with S.82 bombers.

Hurricane Mk I of 17 Squadron, which crashed at RAF Debden on 15 July 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) torpedoes and sinks Greek freighter Evdoxia about 40 miles southwest of Ireland at 03:21. There are 22 survivors, and one crewman perishes.

British 1199-ton freighter Bellerock hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. There are 17 crewmen that perish.

184-ton German (formerly Norwegian) tug Draugen hits a mine and sinks off Salhus, north of Bergen.

The Luftwaffe, apparently a Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor, attacks and sinks 1282-ton Panamanian freighter Fossoula about 240 nautical miles northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain. There are 32 survivors and 4 perish.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and sinks 2088-Polish freighter Zbaraz in the North Sea about 10 miles north of the Aldeburgh lightship. Everybody aboard survives.

The Luftwaffe catches 2855-ton British freighter Heworth about 10 miles south of Aldeburgh Light Vessel. The Heworth later sinks while in tow. Four crew perish.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1359-ton Irish freighter City of Limerick about 100 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain. Of the crew, two perish.

The 2136-ton Estonian freighter Merisaar, which had been stopped and captured by U-99 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) on 12 July and sent to St. Lorient, is bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe off Queenstown. The German prize crew winds up as POWs.

The 833-ton freighter Alpha is bombed and sunk southwest of Cornwall. Everybody aboard survives.

Minesweeper HMS Burlington is damaged by a mine at Aultbrea.

Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch misses with three torpedoes sent against U-57 near Bergen, Norway.

British cruiser HMS Esperance Bay, badly damaged by the Luftwaffe, makes it back to Plymouth Harbor with its cargo of gold being sent to Canada pursuant to Operation Fish.

The Luftwaffe lays mines in the Thames estuary.

Convoy HX 58 departs from Halifax, Convoy OB 184 departs from Liverpool.

French battleship Richelieu is commissioned.

Soviet submarine K-22 is commissioned.

British corvette HMS Godelia (K 72, Lt. Commander George V. Legassick) is commissioned.

Rita Hayworth on the cover of Life Magazine in pictorial "Picnic Time." Photo via Classic Cinema Images.

Battle of the Mediterranean: RAF Blenheim bombers attack Gazala.

At Malta, there is an air raid alert at first light, but it is just reconnaissance.

The Admiralty considers options for resupplying Malta, which has been isolated since France signed its armistice on 22 June. There are no good options, the best being the long way around the Cape of Good Hope and back up through the Suez Canal.

Western Front: Operation Ambassador, the brief commando landing on Channel Islands Guernsey and Little Sark, ends as the 140 commandos (less three left behind along with one destroyer crewman) re-board their destroyers at 03:00.

German/French Relations: Germany demands unrestricted military access through Vichy France. It also requests the use of French bases in Vichy North Africa. The French screw up their courage and reject these requests.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler offers King Carol German protection only if it remains flexible about its frontiers.

Soviet/Baltic Relations: Pursuant to the vote administered by Soviet officials, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join the Soviet Union. All of the votes are near-unanimous, of course.

Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov is the timely subject of Time Magazine's cover on 15 July 1940.

British Military: Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders RAF pilot training cut from three months to one, reasoning that the pilots can get their final training against the Luftwaffe. This flies against military orthodoxy, and the order stands despite protests by General Sir Alan Brooke.

Italian Military: The Duce Benito Mussolini orders his new Libyan commander Marshal Rodolfo Graziani to prepare an attack into Egypt on 8 August.

US Military: The US Marine Corps sends the 12th Marine Company to London to establish a Marine Detachment.

The first flight of the Stinson L-1 Vigilant observation aircraft. The aircraft is capable of flying at an extremely low speed of 31 mph and in fact, is said by pilots to sometimes fly backward in a headwind.

Colonel George S. Patton, Jr., one of the original tank innovators of World War I, is part of the newly formed US 2nd Armoured Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. The overall division is under the command of Major General Charles L. Scott, and Patton commands a brigade in addition to being in charge of training.

Palestine: Some bombs, presumably Italian, drop in the Haifa area. This is the area's first air raid and is aimed at a key oil pipeline from Iraq.

Luxembourg: The royal family sets sail from Lisbon on the light cruiser USS Trenton (CL 11).

Holocaust: Erich Mußfeldt joins the staff at Auschwitz.

British Government: The government announces that unemployment was 827,766 people in June, up 60,431 from May. The unemployment levels remain at historically low levels despite the increase.

German Government: The Reich informally annexes the province of Alsace-Lorraine, always a point of contention between France and Germany.

German radio agrees with Winston Churchill's 14 July speech that London indeed is now a legitimate military target.

British Homefront: The Home office bans anything that might interfere with air operations, including fireworks, kites, and balloons.

The ringing of church bells has been banned, and the rector of Old Bolingbroke, Lincolnshire receives four weeks in jail for violating this rule.

American Homefront: The Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago, Illinois, poised to nominate Franklin Delano Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term.

Robert Wadlow, 22, who recently incurred an infected foot at an appearance, passes away. Wadlow is the tallest person in recorded human history.

Robert Wadlow.

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

Sunday 14 July 1940

Marshal Pétain leaving a church at Vichy for the Monument aux Morts on July 14, 1940. Pierre Laval (right, black coat), Vichy's prime minister, follows.

Battle of Britain: In the morning of 14 July 1940, the Luftwaffe sends small and scattered raids against ships in the English Channel. This is a warm-up for the day's main event.

Things pick up around 15:00, when about 40 Stukas of II./LG 1, with Bf 109s from III./JG 3 and JG 51, attack the daily "Bread" convoy off Dover. Other Luftwaffe bombers from KG2 with with their own fighter escort join the party, and soon there is a wild melee over the water composed of 100 or more aircraft. Several British ships are damaged and the 779-ton cargo ship SS Island Queen is sunk. The Luftwaffe loses three Stukas and three fighters, while the RAF loses a Hurricane of No. 615 Squadron (the pilot perishes).

Many people watch the epic dogfight from the Cliffs of Dover, including BBC reporter Charles Gardner. He spots someone bailing out into the Channel who he describes with some indifference as being a Luftwaffe pilot. In fact, it is a badly injured RAF airman who later perishes.

In the evening, the weather closes in and once again there are just scattered bomber raids, with the Luftwaffe losing a couple of bombers during a raid on Avonmouth and other areas. The Luftwaffe bombs Manston airfield and Swanage Harbour, Dorset.

After dark, the Luftwaffe launches attacks against Bristol, the Isle of Wight, Kent, and Suffolk. There also was enemy activity over the Thames estuary.

The Air Ministry issues Bulletin 1254 in response to suspicions, confirmed by some evidence, that German search-and-rescue planes are being used for other purposes. This authorizes RAF planes to shoot down Luftwaffe planes performing search-and-rescue missions:

It has come to the notice of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom that enemy aircraft bearing civil markings and marked with the Red Cross have recently flown over British ships at sea and in the vicinity of the British coast and that they are being employed for purposes which HM Government cannot regard as being consistent with the privileges generally accorded to the Red Cross... 

HM Government is unable, however, to grant immunity to such aircraft flying over areas in which operations are in progress on land or at sea, or approaching British or Allied territory, or territory in British occupation, or British or Allied ships... 

Ambulance aircraft which do not comply with the above requirements will do so at their own risk and peril.

This makes all search-and-rescue aircraft over the English Channel legitimate targets for the RAF.

General De Gaulle and his followers celebrate Bastille Day at the Cenotaph in London, England on July 14, 1940.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 9 Whitley bombers of No. 102 Squadron against Paderborn and also a dozen Whitley bombers of No. 10 Squadron and EAF No. 51 Squadron against Diepholz.

Vichy France sends bombers against Gibraltar, without result.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-52 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Salman) torpedoes and sinks 4111 ton Greek freighter Thetis A. off Brest, France at 18:18. There are 20 survivors and 9 crew perish.

U-A (Kapitänleutnant Hans Cohausz) sinks 5824-ton Norwegian tanker Sarita 100 miles west of Cape Verde at 11:45. All 29 onboard survive, spend four days at sea, and then are taken on board the freighter Dunstan on the 18th.

German raider Thor sinks British freighter Gracefield off Brazil after taking the 36 crew prisoner.

Convoy OA 184 departs from Methi.

The Bismarck leaves drydock.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italians send a fighter sweep over Grand Harbor at 06:45. Otherwise, the day is fairly quiet. The British are expanding Luga Airfield. The defending fighter force, vital for chasing away hesitant Regia Aeronautica bombers, is down to two Gladiators and one Hurricane of the Hal Far Fighter Flight. There is a myth of just three Gladiator biplanes named Faith, Hope, and Charity defending the island, but that is never the case. This is as close as it gets.

Western Front: During the night, Operation Ambassador takes place. This is a landing on the islands of Guernsey and Little Sark (accidentally) by Col. Gubbins' new commando force. The 140 men, taken from H Troop of No. 3 Commando (John Dumford-Slater) and No. 11 Independent Company, follows reconnaissance on Guernsey by Channel Islands native 2nd Lieutenant Hubert Nicolle on 6 July. Landed by destroyers HMS Scimitar and HMS Saladin, the men wander about for a while, cut some telegraph lines, find some empty German barracks, and leave at 03:00 on the 15th. Three commandos are left behind and become POWs, as is one of the destroyer men thrown from a dinghy that sinks. The enemy is never sighted. Overall, the operation is a fiasco that is perhaps of some use for training purposes and as a "dry run" for later endeavors.

North Africa: The British 1st King's African Rifles garrison at Moyale, Kenya withdraws under pressure by the Italians.

South Africa sends its Ist Infantry Brigade for Kenya.

General Wavell begins inspection of British bases in Sudan and Kenya.

War Crimes: The British respond to the shoot-down of the He 59 floatplane on 11 July, claiming that it is justified because they believe that the German search-and-rescue planes are circling British convoys for purposes of reconnaissance for later attacks.

Baltic States: The Soviets hold phony elections in occupied Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The results are published "by accident" in London before the actual elections.

France: It was a tale of two cities... It is Bastille Day (Le Quatorze Juillet), celebrated by General de Gaulle on the Cenotaph in London. De Gaulle is accompanied by a guard of honor of 200 French soldiers, sailors and airmen when he lays a wreath at the monument. In Vichy France, meanwhile, this is announced to be a Day of National Mourning with flags flown at half-mast.

Cuba: Fulgencio Batista is elected President with support from, among many others, the small communist party.

US Government: William Donovan - later known as "Wild Bill Donovan" - leaves New York for London for consultations.

Winston Churchill gives his BBC speech, 14 July 1940.

British Government: Operation Fish continues when British cruiser HMS Esperance Bay leaves Plymouth with £10,000,000 in gold bound for Halifax. Unlike previous shipments, however, this one runs into problems. About 100 miles out to sea, the Luftwaffe finds and bombs the ship. While 7 crew perish, the Esperance Bay makes it back to port with the gold.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives a BBC radio address in which he references the "war of the unknown warriors." Britain will fight on alone, he vows:

be the ordeal sharp or long, or both, we shall seek no terms, we shall tolerate no parley; we may show mercy - we shall ask for none.

He also describes the Royal Navy destruction of the French fleet in North Africa as having "come to an end" - as long as they don't try to go back to German-controlled ports in Europe.



July 1940

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

2020

Wednesday 10 July 1940

A No. 19 Squadron Spitfire, 10 July 1940.

Battle of Britain: Today, 10 July 1940, is considered by the British to be the first day of the Battle of Britain. This is despite the fact that there have been growing Luftwaffe attacks since mid-June, and that the "official" Luftwaffe operation did not begin until 13 August. The intensity of the Luftwaffe raids definitely do pick up today, with more mass attacks as opposed to scattered penetrations by small groups of bombers at individual targets.

Up to now, losses of aircraft have been fairly even. On many days, the Luftwaffe has shot down more planes than it lost. However, the scales begin to tip against it now with its new aggressive tactics. This is a day of massive dogfights with the sky full of planes.

A single Luftwaffe Dornier Do 17 escorted by 10 Me109s attacks a convoy off Manston at about 11:00 but is driven off by the RAF. This may be some sort of decoy operation.

There is a Luftwaffe raid by about 25 Dornier Do 17s at about 13:30 on a convoy near Dover. They sink one ship in Convoy "Bread." There is a massive fighter presence by both sides, the RAF sending 5 squadrons to the defense against about dozens of Bf-109Es (sources vary). British lose seven fighters, the Luftwaffe 13 (sources vary, Luftwaffe losses may be significantly lower). There is some cynical belief that this big (and unusual given past results) RAF victory leads to the 10th of July being chosen by the British as the start of the Battle of Britain. Another factor is a change in the weather to clear skies, leading to increased opportunities for attacks.

Another raid sends 60 Junkers Ju 88 bombers against the Falmouth and Swansea docks and the Royal Ordnance Factory at Pembrey in South Wales. The raid kills 60 people. This is a large escalation in the Luftwaffe's land attacks against England.

The Falmouth raid is particularly successful. The damage to the key Falmouth docks is extensive and disrupts merchant operations. 7085-ton British freighter British Chancellor is badly damaged at Falmouth, eventually sinking. The 6499-ton British tanker Tascalusa is sunk at Falmouth, and freighter Mari Chandris, alongside the blazing Tascalusa, apparently was damaged or sunk.

There also is an attack on Martlesham airfield, near Ipswich.

RAF Squadron 310, which is composed of the First Free Czech fighter squadron, forms at Duxford. It will become operational on 17 August, led by Squadron Leader František 'Dolly' Dolezal.

The New York Times, 10 July 1940; "Massed German Planes Raid Britain." Due to the time difference, US publishers can get the "same day" events of Europe into their papers, especially in "Late City Editions" such as this one.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks airfields at St. Omer and Amiens during the day.

The British examine the Bf 109Es which landed in England on the 9th and learn about their armament (they have 2, not 3, cannon as originally thought).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) torpedoes and sinks 4,596-ton Finnish freighter Petsamo just off the Irish coast near Cork at 14:26. There are 34 survivors, and 4 stokers perish in the explosion. The U-boat spends 6 hours getting into firing position and does so just in time before the ship makes landfall.

U-61 (Oberleutnant zur See Jürgen Oesten) fires two torpedoes and sinks 4,533-ton Dutch freighter Alwaki about 10 miles northeast of Cape Wrath, Scotland. All 51 aboard survive. The U-boat is positioned in the middle of two columns of Convoy OA-180. The torpedoes do not explode because the target ship is only 200 meters away, but the inertia of the torpedoes sends them through the hull anyway. Due to the odd nature of the attack, with the U-boat's presence masked by passing ships, the convoy does not even realize that the ship was torpedoed. Sabotage is put down as the likely cause of the holes created in the ship's side.

German raider Widder sinks 6333-ton British freighter Davisan in the middle of the Atlantic about 500 miles off Guadalupe. The Widder takes the crew captive.

The Luftwaffe sinks 1905 ton British freighter Waterloo about three miles off Smith's Knoll Buoy in the North Sea. All aboard survive.

The Luftwaffe damages Dutch freighter Bill S. a few miles from Dungeness. It later sinks. All aboard survive.

British aircraft carrier Hermes collides with AMC HMS Corfu about 130 miles northwest of Freetown. The Hermes had recently been participating in Operation Catapult, the destruction of the French fleet in North Africa. Everybody survives, the Hermes continues on to Freetown, and the Corfu is towed into Freetown. Hermes is put out of action and must be repaired.

The Orkneys-Iceland-Greenland is established by the Royal Navy. This is to narrow the key breakout point to the North Atlantic by German raiders.

Five U-boats leave for patrol from Bergen, which has become a major U-boat hub.

German raider Pinguin meets up with U-UA and resupplies it.

Convoy OA 182 departs from Methil, Convoy OB 181 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 38 departs from Gibraltar.

Helen Donath, a US soprano with a career spanning fifty years, on 10 July 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: HMS Eagle launches an air attack by 9 Swordfish against Augusta, Sicily. They sink Italian destroyer Leone Pancaldo in shallow water (later refloated). They also damage an Italian oiler and sink a hulk used as a storeship.

Italian submarine Scirè sinks French ship Cheik, then rescues the crew. Just who is on whose side is getting very tricky to figure out in the Mediterranean.

At Malta, there is an air raid against Grand Harbour at 07:45. There is one death, three wounded. The attackers lose three aircraft. Another raid at 21:55 near the entrance to Grand Harbour and nearby locations also causes some damage.

The convoy which had sailed from Malta and which led to the Battle of Calabria on the 9th reaches Alexandria. A second, slower convoy departs from Malta today at about 21:00, escorted by HMS Kirkland, Masirah, Novasli, Tweed, and Zeeland.

North Africa: The Italians continue their air raids on the King's African Rifles at Moyale, Kenya.

The Italians also continue their air raids on Sidi Barrani, this time with a dozen SM-79 bombers.

The RAF sends Blenheim bombers against Tobruk, hitting oil storage tanks. The British also attack Macaac airfield.

Western Front: British Lieutenant Hubert Nicolle returns to England from his spy mission on Guernsey. He has accumulated valuable intelligence about the estimated 469 Wehrmacht troops on the island, most of whom are concentrated in St. Peter Port. Gubbins begins planning a commando raid (Operation Ambassador) for a few days hence.

2-pounder anti-aircraft gun aboard HMCS Assiniboine firing in exercise en route between Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and Britain, 10 Jul 1940.

Spy Stuff: Highly placed sources in a neutral country report to the British that the German High Command is growing leery about an invasion of Great Britain. One of the problems is the successful attacks by RAF Bomber Command on the invasion barges being assembled in Holland and Belgium. This intelligence, in hindsight, appears accurate but perhaps a bit premature.

British Prime Minister Churchill, of course, is right on top of this. In a "secret" memorandum to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, circulated to the War Cabinet, he concludes that the prospects of a German landing depend upon the strength of the Royal Navy. In the memo, he notes that the battleships HMS Nelson and HMS Barham would soon be ready for sea and would enable the creation of further battle groups that could break up any invasion force. He further states that the largest German ships are under the close surveillance of the RAF and would be unable to stage a surprise breakout. For these reasons, he concludes that an invasion is unlikely. His only worry is the need for the ‘strong air support’ necessary to protect the Royal Navy during daylight hours.

Churchill, as a 2x former First Lord of the Admiralty, knows the overwhelming dominance of the Royal Navy prevents an invasion. That and the protection afforded by the RAF - a bit less certain - are the keys to the kingdom which Hitler does not have. However, Churchill tells his cabinet that he does not want to downplay the chances of invasion to the public, but rather wants war fears to remain strong so that the people remain motivated.

War Crimes: 2,542 persons, including Italian and German POWs and British citizens suspected of being German sympathizers and aliens interned in England, are sent on British troopship Dunera to Australia for internment. Among the 2,542 are 2,036 anti-Germans, mainly Jewish refugees. During the trip, the British guards mistreat the passengers savagely, leading to numerous court-martials. Conditions on the overcrowded ship are abysmal and lead to dysentery and other illnesses.

This is a very serious matter. It is easy for POWs to get word back to their own governments about mistreatment through the International Red Cross. Proper treatment of POWs is of intense interest to both sides throughout the war, and it is easy for one side to take reprisals against the other for violations of the Geneva Convention and other international agreements. As a general matter, POW treatment is one of the few areas where the warring sides (at least in the ETO) maintain close and continuing contact throughout the war, with generally satisfactory and humane results.

German/Hungarian Relations: Hitler and new Hungarian Prime Minister Count Teleki meet. Hitler agrees to support Hungarian territorial claims against Romania. Teleki has no desire to pursue those claims or enter the war at this time but instead is more concerned with establishing his own credentials back home as someone acceptable to the Germans. In return for German support and protection, though, Hitler wants a full alliance.

China: Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters (pre-series of 15 A6M2) go into operation with the 12th Rengo Kōkūtai in China on about this date.

French Government: Marshal Petain becomes a virtual dictator when the French National Assembly votes 569-80, with 17 abstentions, to grant him extensive plenary powers. This officially ends the Third Republic. After the vote, the Marshal adjourns the National Assembly.

US Government: President Roosevelt goes back to Congress for more defense appropriations. He sets an objective of 1.2 million men in the US Army and desires the procurement of an additional 15,000 planes for the USAAC and 4,000 for the Navy.

Republicans Henry L. Stimson becomes the US Secretary of War and Frank Knox the Secretary of the Navy.

Captain Laurence Wild relieves Captain Edward W. Hanson as Governor of American Samoa and Commandant of the Naval Station, Tutuila, Samoa.

British Government: The government bans the British Union Party, which is fascist.

Not everybody in the UK is certain about the wisdom of fighting the Germans, though of course, later accounts portray public opinion as monolithic. England is a land of long-standing class divisions, and some question fighting to preserve such privilege. The recent bans on spreading false rumors and defeatist talk are partially aimed at worries about this issue. A clerk, for instance, is sentenced to a year in prison for saying, "We are fighting to provide dividends for the ruling class." Free speech rights take a serious hit everywhere during the war.

This clerk conviction supports a pet theory of Hitler's, that the "plutocrats" are mistreating the workers who will rise up against their rich masters. There is a kernel of truth to this view, but only a kernel. Hitler wildly overestimates the degree of this sort of sentiment and plans bombing raids to heighten a sense of disproportionate sacrifice, such as by targeting worker tenements and not the mansions of the rich. This is detrimental to the overall Luftwaffe campaign.

The British government is aware of this undercurrent of sentiment and does not want to publicize this potential issue at all by passing laws directly aimed at it. Instead, it takes subtle steps to combat the appearance of privilege and excess, such as the ban on "false rumors." One of these is a new law that bans "luxury eating" at restaurants, which remain outside the ration limits. For instance, restaurant meals may have only one meat/fish course, and no iced cakes. This may seem petty, but there is a larger purpose behind such restrictions.

In a comment on this general topic that seems uncannily prescient for political rhetoric in the 21st Century, George Orwell comments about the wealthy that "Nothing will ever teach them that the other 99% of us exist."
American Homefront: The first group of British child evacuees arrives in New York.

The New Yorker, 10 July 1940.

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