Monday 8 April 1940

Famous shot taken from the Admiral Hipper of the HMS Glowworm turning to ram the Admiral Hipper off of Norway, 8 April 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: Shortly after midnight on 8 April 1940, Kriegsmarine Marine Group 3 departs from Wilhelmshaven for Bergen. It includes cruisers Königsberg & Köln, transport Karl Peters, minelayer Bremse & 5 torpedo-boats carrying 1900 troops.

At dawn, Marine Group 4 and Marine Group 6 depart from Cuxhaven. They are carrying 1250 troops for the south coast of Norway.

Marine Group 5 departs Wilhelmshaven Swinemünde for Oslo. It includes cruisers Blücher, Lützow and Emden, 8 minesweepers & 3 torpedo-boats carrying 2000 troops.

Operation Wilfred, the British mining of Norwegian territorial waters, proceeds southwest of Narvik and northwest of Bodo at 05:00. Both British and French ships take part, and the entire operation only takes an hour. HMS Esk, Icarus, Impulsive & Ivanhoe lay mines in the Vestfjord, gateway to Narvik. The British government announces the mining operation publicly at 17:15 and also announces where the mines are being placed: Vest Fjord, Bud and Stadtland.

The British tell the Allies of Operation Wilfred at 06:00. They justify it as necessary to prevent passage of ships "carrying war contraband." The Norwegian government immediately protests to the British about their minelaying in Norwegian territorial waters.

Captain Hellmuth Heye, in command of the Admiral Hipper.

At first light, destroyer HMS Glowworm, separated from the mining operation due to having had to search for a man overboard, calls off its search for the missing man. It then happens upon the German destroyers Bernd von Arnim (Z11) and Hans Ludemann (Z18), part of Marine Group 1 headed for Trondheim. Heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, 14,000 tons, accompanied by four destroyers, is heading for Trondheim. Glowworm, in one of those epics of the Royal Navy, battles the cruiser and its 8-inch shells. It misses with four torpedoes, then makes a smoke screen. Then, instead of running away, he turns and rams the cruiser before being sunk, inflicting major damage. Some 130 feet of her armoured belt is ripped away, with 500 tons of seawater entering.

There are 118 dead, with 31 crew being taken prisoner on the Admiral Hipper. Captain Heye spends an hour rescuing them. Rooper himself was found and was being pulled up on a rope when he lost his grip and fell back into the water, never to be seen again.

Captain Roope, V.C.

Captain Gerard Broadmead Roope earns the first Victoria Cross of World War II, but only after the war ends and the log of the Admiral Hipper is read by British authorities. He is killed in the engagement after helping survivors put on life jackets. Captain Hellmuth Heye of the Admiral Hipper supports the award by writing to the British authorities via the Red Cross giving a statement of Commander Roope’s courage and actually recommending the V.C. for the dead captain.

Roope manages to radio his position and situation before sinking to the HMS Renown, in charge of the Home Fleet. However, it is too late for the Home Fleet, which has sailed in the wrong direction, to intervene.

Survival in the oil-coated waters was virtually impossible except for those lucky enough to be near the Admiral Hipper. Here, oil-coated crew of the Glowworm try to climb aboard. Some make it, others cannot due to the slick oil.

HMS Ursula, Triad and Sterlet leave to patrol the Skagerrak. Placement of the British submarine fleet around Norway by Admiral Horton begins to bear fruit. Kriegsmarine transport Rio de Janeiro, on her way to Bergen, is sunk in the Skagerrak at 12:00 by the Polish submarine Orzeł under British command. This sends fully armed German troops into the water. About 150 are drowned, another 150 are pulled out of the water by Norwegian fishing boats. They freely tell their saviours that they were headed to Bergen. The Norwegians, thus alerted, do not inform the Admiralty.

German tanker Posidonia is sunk by Royal Navy submarine HMS Trident.

Convoy OA 125 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 125 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: Today is the first sortie by German long-range Focke Wulf FW 200 Condor four-engine reconnaissance bombers over the North Sea.

The Luftwaffe raids the British Home Fleet base at Scapa Flow and causes some slight damage on land. The British fleet is largely out to sea and suffers no damage. Two of the planes are shot down by Coastal Command, while a third is badly damaged.

RAF: The Civilian Repair Organisation (CRO) comes into being. It is intended to repair damaged RAF planes using civilian resources.

Australian sloop HMAS Parramatta (Lt. Commander Jefferson H. Walker) is commissioned.

Sweden: The government begins a limited military mobilization.

Future History: John Havlicek is born in Martins Ferry, Ohio. He becomes a legendary player with the Boston Celtics basketball team in the 1960s and 1970s.

Gun camera shot of the remnants of the HMS Glowworm.

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016

Sunday 7 April 1940

Wehrmacht troops departing on the morning of 7 April 1940. Photo: Polfoto / Ullstein.

Operation Weserubung: Things get in motion on 7 April 1940, with the bulk of the fleet sailing. It is a standard Wehrmacht everything-that-can-float-goes operation, including school squadrons and unarmed trawlers and tugs.

The Kriegsmarine has tight control over the entire operation, which is divided into two commands: Marine Group Command East and Marine Group Command West, divided at the Skagerrak. Vice Admiral Lütjens covers the entire operation with the pocket battleships Scharnhorst (Kpt.z.S. Hoffmann) and Gneisenau (Kpt.z.S. Netzbandt). Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are scheduled to proceed from the operation into the Atlantic to raid merchant shipping.

The covering forces are divided up as follows:

1. Warship Group 1 (Narvik): Commodore Bonte with the destroyers Wilhelm Heidkamp, Georg Thiele, Wolfgang Zenker,  Bernd von Arnim, Erich Giese , Erich Koellner , Diether von Roeder, Hans Lüdemann, Hermann Künne and Anton Schmitt.
2. Warship Group 2 (Trondheim): Kpt.z.S. Heye on the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and the destroyers Paul Jacobi, Theodor Riedel, Bruno Heinemann and Friedrich Eckoldt .
3. Warship Group 3 (Bergen): Rear Admiral Schmundt with the light cruisers Köln (Kpt.zS Kratzenberg) and Konigsberg (Kpt . Z . S. Ruhfus), the artillery training ship Bremse (FKpt. Förschner), the torpedo boats Leopard and Wolf, speedboat Begleitschiff Carl Peters with the S - boats S 19 , S 21 , S 22 , S 23 and S 24 and the auxiliary ships ship 9 / Koblenz and ship 18 / Old country. When approaching Stavanger, S 19 and S 21 collide, with the former heavily damaged.
4. Warship Group 4 (Kristiansand South and Arendal): Kpt.z.S. Rieve on the light cruiser Karlsruhe, with the T - boats Luchs , Griffin, Eagle and speedboat Begleitschiff Tsingtao and S - boats S 9 , S 14 , S 16 , S 30 , S 31 , S 32 , S 33rd.
5. Warship Group 5 (Oslo): Rear Admiral Kummetz with the heavy cruisers Blücher (Kpt.zS Woldag) and Lutzow (Kpt.zS Thiele), the light cruiser Emden (Kpt.zS Lange), the T - boats Albatross, Condor and Gull, the 1st Minesweeper Group (Kptlt. Forstmann) with R 17, R 18, R 19, R 20, R 21, R 22, R 23, R 24 and whale boats 7 and 8.
6. Warship Group 6 (Egersund): KKpt Thoma (Captain of the 2nd Minesweeping flotilla) with the Minesweeping boats M 1 , M 2 , M 9 and M13.
7. Warship Group 7 (Nyborg and Korsor): Kpt.z.S. Kleikamp on the battleship Schleswig - Holstein and the experimental boats Claus von Bevern, Nautilus, Pelikan, van Campinas (4541 BRT) and Cordoba (4611 BRT), 2 tugs and the B.S.O. - School Flotilla (FKpt . Dannenberg) with 6 trawlers.
8. Warship Group 8 (Copenhagen): KKpt Schröder on the minelayer Hansestadt Danzig and the icebreaker Stettin, passing through the Belt of boats of 13 Vp. flotilla (Kptlt Fischer).
9. Warship Group 9 (Middelfart and Beltbrücke): Kpt z p Leissner (FdV East) on the steamer Rugard (1358 BRT) , and the M - boats M 157, Otto Braun, Arkona, the R - boats R 6 and R 7, the outposts boats V 102 and V 103, the submarine hunter UJ 172 and the Navy tugs Passat and Monsoon.
10. Warship Group 10 (Esbjerg and Nordby on Fanoe): Commodore Ruge (FdM West) with leading boat Queen Louise (F 6) , the M - boats M 4 , M 20 , M 84 , M 102 , the 12th Minensuchflottille (KKpt Marguth) M 1201 M 1202 M 1203 M 1204 M 1205 M 1206 M 1207 M 1208 (large trawlers) and the 2nd Räumbootflottille (KKpt . von Kamptz) with R 25 , R 26 , R 27 , R 28, R 29, R 30, R 31 and R 32.
11. Warship Group 11 (Tyborön, the Limfjord): KKpt Berger (head of the 4th Minesweeping Flotilla) with M 61, M 89, M 110, M 111, M 134 and M 136 and the 3rd Minesweeping Flotilla directed from the escort ship (previously Kptlt Sexton) Groeben, with the R-boats R 33, R 34, R 35, R 36, R 37, R 38, R 39, R 40th

In Danish waters, there is coverage from the old Battleship Silesia (Kpt.z.S. Horstmann), which has sailed from Kiel.

U-boat coverage also is heavy. The Submarine Group (management of individual boats is handled directly by B.d.U. Rear Admiral Doenitz):

• 1 (West Fjord): U-25, U-46, U-51, ​​U-64, U-65
• 2 (Trondheim): U-30, U-34
• 3 (Bergen): U-9, U-14, U-56, U-60, U-62
• 4 (Stavanger): U-1, U-4
• 5 (East Shetland): U-47, U-48, U-49, U-50, U-52, U-37 (later)
• 6 ( Pentland Firth): U-13 , U-19 , U-57, U-58 , U-59
• 8 (Lindesnes): U-2 , U-3 , U-5 , U-6
• 9 (Shetland Orkney): U-7, U-10

The U-boat operation turns into a failure with few successes due to torpedo failures. It is not yet understood that northern waters (higher latitudes) cause problems with torpedo depth control and their magnetic exploding processes. Operation Weserubung at least exposes the problem so that it can be corrected.

The transports carry three divisions, including the elite 3rd Mountain Division. There are three divisions allocated for a second wave.

Air support is provided by 500 transport planes, over 300 bombers and 100 fighters. The success of Luftwaffe coverage hinges upon quickly taking forward airfields in northern Denmark and Norway (Stavanger, for instance, is a major air base).

Battle of the Atlantic: The British are fairly clueless about the entire operation (except for some guesswork) until a British reconnaissance Hudson of 220 Squadron spots the German fleet (part of Marine Group 1) heading north at 13:25. Part of the fleet is in action already, to conduct Operation Wilfred, the mining of the Norwegian territorial waters.

However, once the Kriegsmarine fleet movement is seen, the Royal Navy springs into action. The problem, though, is that it misreads the situation as a massive attempt by the Kriegsmarine to sail into the Atlantic, not invade Norway. The British Fleet thus heads in the wrong direction, and the Home Fleet also feels it has more time than it does to intercept the Kriegsmarine ships. It leaves late in the day, not realizing that instead of heading towards them, the German ships will turn north and head away from them.

• Scapa Flow: At 21:15, Admiral Forbes, Commander-in-chief of the Home Fleet, sails from Scapa Flow with the battleships Rodney and Valiant, the battlecruiser Repulse, cruisers Sheffield and Penelope, and destroyers Somali, Matabele, Mashona, Bedouin, Punjabi, Eskimo, Kimberley, Kelvin, Kashmir and Jupiter. They are followed later by the French French cruiser Emile Bertin (Rear Admiral. Derrien) and the destroyers Maillé-Brézé and Tartu.
• Rosyth: Vice Admiral Edward Collins of the 1st Cruiser Squadron leaves in the afternoon with the cruisers Arethusa, Galatea and the destroyers Codrington, Griffin, Electra and Escapade. Several of the ships have been on convoy duty. Polish ships Blyskawica, Burza and Grom also sortie.

Among the effects of the British intelligence failure is that Collins at Rosyth disembarks the expeditionary troops that were allocated for Norway so that he can engage in this "sea battle." This makes the British unable to quickly land troops in response to the Wehrmacht landings.

Some convoys are recalled, as their escorts are needed and they will be denuded of protection, including HN 24 and ON 25. Admiral Layton, in command of ON 25, sends the cruisers Manchester, Southampton and the destroyers Janus, Javelin, Grenade and Eclipse to support the Home Fleet.

British submarines HMS Shark and Seawolf depart from Harwich to patrol off the Dutch coast. HMS Clyde and Thistle depart from Scapa Flow to patrol off Norway.

Convoy SL 27 departs from Freetown for Liverpool.

European Air Operations: Luftwaffe patrols have increased over the Western front, perhaps to divert attention away from Scandinavia. The RAF reports downing five Bf 109s.

A flight of Bf 109s encounters RAF fighters over the North Sea and downs two RAF planes, losing one of their own.

During the afternoon, after the sighting by the Hudson, the RAF sends 12 Blenheims and 24 Wellingtons to attack the German fleet heading to Norway, but they make no hits.

US Navy: While the British and German fleets are on a collision course, the only US Navy activity is an attempt by destroyer USS Twiggs to tow the Norwegian freighter Spind off of some rocks about six miles from Cape San Antonio. However, it fails, while salvage tug Warbler comes along and manages the job.

Separately, USS J. Fred Talbott leaves the Panama Canal Zone on a humanitarian mission. It has a rendezvous at sea with Japanese passenger liner Arimasan Maru to help a passenger in trouble. The destroyer transfers its medical officer to the Japanese ship and then returns to base.

Poland: The Hans Frank government expels all foreigners, including the International Red Cross.

China: The Japanese puppet government in Nanking announces conscription of all men 19 and older. It will begin in the new year.

French Homefront: A wreck is discovered at Rouen from the 1790s, with high hopes that it is a pirate ship. However, nothing of value is found inside.

American Homefront: Jimmy Demaret wins the 7th Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

A British propaganda poster showing Nazi conquests of the future. Dr. Goebbels dismisses it as an "obvious English fabrication."

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016

Saturday 6 April 1940

A slow transport bringing German troops to southern Norway.

Operation Weserubung: The main German invasion force embarks for Norway on 6 April 1940.

• Kriegsmarine Marine Gruppe 1 departs from Cuxhaven for Narvik (10 destroyers carrying 2000 troops, plus battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau);
• Kriegsmarine Marine Gruppe 2 departs from Wesermünde for Trondheim (cruiser Admiral Hipper & 4 destroyers carrying 1700 troops).

The Operation Wilfred minelaying squadron is approaching the Norwegian coast between Trondheim and Narvik. Destroyer HMS Glowworm loses a crewman overboard and stops to find him in heavy seas. It gets separated from the main squadron.

German warships are being used as fast transports. Admiral Hipper carries 1,700 Mountain Troops to Trondheim.

Troopship Nordmark sails into the Atlantic to wait off the coast of Norway.

During the night, a sea transport squadron leaves from Stettin with 15 steamers. In is taking 3,900 troops, 742 horses, 942 armoured vehicles. It is headed for Oslo.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-1 (Korvettenkapitän Jürgen Deecke) is missing and presumed lost as of this date. The leading theory is that it struck a British mine in Field No. 7. All hands are lost.

U-50 (Kapitänleutnant Max-Hermann Bauer) strikes a mine and sinks in the North Sea north of the Terschelling. All 44 crew perish.

U-59 (Kapitänleutnant Harald Jürst) torpedoes and sinks 2,118 ton Norwegian freighter Navarra 20 miles north of Scotland at 03:16. There are 14 survivors, picked up by Norwegian freighter Atlas, and 12 perish, six when their lifeboat capsizes.

German auxiliary cruiser Orion leaves Germany under the command of Korvettenkapitän (later Fregattenkapitän) Kurt Weyher. She is disguised as a neutral freighter and headed to the Indian Ocean.

British submarines HMS Truant and Seal depart from Rosyth, while HMS Tarpon heads for the Heligoland Bight. All are patrolling for German ships which are thought to be headed for Norway.

British corvette HMS Gladiolus (Lt. Commander Harry M. C. Sanders)  is commissioned.

Convoy OA 124 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 124 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 25F forms at Gibraltar, Convoy HX 33 departs from Halifax.

European Air Operations: "Operation Nickel," the leaflet campaign against the Reich, concludes. Begun on the first day of the war, Operation Nickel dropped 65 million leaflets and propaganda disguised as "newspapers" since 3 September 1940. The operation has received some public disdain as that "inglorious confetti war."

A French fighter squadron downs two Dornier Do 17 fast bombers over the Western Front.

British Military: The French idea to bomb the Soviet oil fields remains alive at the highest Allied levels. Aerial photos recently taken of the fields arrive in London as the Generals decide whether to proceed with the operation. This is a "panacea" mission: "This will decide the entire course of the war." The tentative plan is to bomb 122 Soviet oil refineries over the course of 45 days.

War Crimes: The executions of Polish officers continues. Polish prisoners are taken to certain locations to be killed. At Kalinin Prison, they kill 390 on the first day, 250 today. The NKVD executioners find that they must pace themselves, the pace of killings is too great.

Holocaust: The persecution of Jews in Poland now extends to those in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia (former Czechoslovakia). Jews are herded into synagogues as collection points, then put on trucks that will take them to Poland.

German Homefront: "Feuertaufe" ("Baptism of Fire") premieres in Berlin. Hermann Goering attends. The film glorifies the Luftwaffe attacks on Poland. Its theme song is "Bombs Over England," which has the pungent line,  "We drive the British lion to the last deciding battle.…"

The government recalls all 1, 2, 5 & 10 pfenning coins, which contain scarce and valuable copper and bronze. The replacement coins are made of plentiful zinc.

British Homefront: The Ministry of Food announces that the new rationing slogan is "The Kitchen Front."

Future History: Pedro Armendáriz Bohr, better known by his stage name Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., is born in Mexico City, Mexico. He becomes famous as an actor in Mexico in the 1960s, and gains international fame in the 1989 James Bond film "Licence to Kill."

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016

Friday 5 April 1940

The Mig-1.

Operation Weserubung: Operation Wilfred, the British mining of Norwegian territorial waters, gets underway on 5 April 1940 when British minelayers set out at 06:30. British battlecruiser HMS Renown, destroyers HMS Inglefield, Ilex, Imogen, Isis, Greyhound, Glowworm, Hyperion, Hero & minelayer HMS Teviotbank depart Scapa Flow to mine the Norwegian coast.

German warships are on their way to Norway, many carrying armed troops. They are disguised as UK vessels, including actual false flags and manning their radio sets with English speakers who identify themselves as "British ship."

Numerous persons sympathetic to the Allies have learned of Operation Weserubung and try to warn the Norwegian/Danish governments and/or the Allies. The Norwegian ambassador in Berlin warns both his own government and Copenhagen. The British also receive quite specific warnings, including the key information that Narvik is on the docket.

Danish Ambassador in Berlin Herluf Zahle sends a memorandum to his Foreign Minister dated 5 April 1940 and marked "strictly confidential" which notes that there is "disturbing circumstantial evidence" of German war preparations aimed at the neutral Danish and Norwegian states.

The British and French hand Norway and Sweden diplomatic notes containing "admonitions" that the Allies will take the steps necessary to deprive the Germans of Norwegian resources regardless of whether Oslo approves. This obviously is related to Operation Wilfred, but the Norwegians misinterpret this to imply that the Allies - not the Germans - are about to invade.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is another quiet day on the Atlantic as the U-boat fleet has been re-oriented to protect Kriegsmarine transports around Norway.

British submarine HMS Spearfish departs from Blyth to join the ring of British and allied submarines around Norway.

Convoy HG 25 departs from Gibraltar.

Soviet Military: First flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 at the Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow with chief test pilot Arkadij Ekatov at the controls.

British Military: General Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, echoes Prime Minister Chamberlain's "missed the bus" speech of 4 April at a press conference: "Thank goodness Germany didn't attack in the first 7 months of the war - we've now made a fine army." He also gives some unsolicited advice: "German army must do something, or its morale will crack. I believe the great silence is worse to the Germans than anything else."

Swedish Military: The Swedish Anti-Profanity League donates 1500 signs for barracks, which state: "Don't curse. Cursing proves a lack of culture."

Anglo/French Relations: Georges Monnet, the French Minister of Blockade, arrives in London for talks with the British Minister of Economic Warfare, Ronald Cross.

War Crimes: The Katyn Forest Massacre by Soviet troops against Polish officers is under way. Polish officers leaving prisons believe that they are being taken home to Poland. Instead they are taken by train and bus to the Katyn Forest at bayonet point. Some prisoners are killed in their cells and then their corpses are taken to the forest. The corpses are stacked like wood, feet to head, until they fill each van. About 1,000 are killed on the first day, over 20,000 left. Pits are dug, and the corpses are thrown into them.

Turkey: All high school girls are required to obtain military training before graduation, with 11-16 year olds to study sharpshooting, tactics and first aid.

British Homefront: Captured German merchant ship Uhenfels, renamed renamed Empire Ability, is brought up the river Thames. It was captured in November 1939.

April 5, 1940. Washington, D.C. "Informal photo of J. Edgar Hoover, Director of FBI, Department of Justice."

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel

Thursday 4 April 1940

Queen Wilhelmina reviews a military parade of the 3rd Division troops stationed at Noordwijk and Katwijk. Here, she is reviewing bicycle troops of the 1st Squadron stationed at Katwijk.

Operation Weserubung: German transports have set sail for the far reaches of Norway as Operation Weserubung, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway, begins. The date of the invasion is set for 9 April 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: Operations remain relatively quiet - too quiet - on 4 April 1940 because the U-boats are aiding Operation Weserubung instead of attacking merchant ships.

The Norwegian passenger liner "Mira" reaches Norway after its 107 passengers and crew have suffered numerous (failed) Luftwaffe attacks during its 6-day crossing.

Convoy OA 123GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 123 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends up bombers to attack German destroyers at the Jade estuary at Wilhelmshaven.

RAF Sunderland flying boats encounter six Stukas (Ju 87) over the North Sea. They shoot one down and force another to crash-land in Norway.

Western Front: It is raining heavily all along the front, so little action.

Royal Navy: Admiral Horton continues sending his submarines to patrol on the likeliest routes from Germany to Norway. HMS Snapper departs today from Harwich to the Skagerrak. Horner also commands allied submarines, so he sends French subs Amazone and Antelope from Harwich to patrol the Frisian Islands and Heligoland.

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill is flummoxed by the French intransigence about cooperating with mining activities in the Rhine (Operation Royal Marine). He flies to Paris and makes a decision: "[Operation] Wilfred should go forward notwithstanding the French refusal of Royal Marine (mining of the Rhine)." The British War Cabinet concurs.

US Military: Curtiss-Wright’s Chief Test Pilot H. Lloyd Child flies the first production P-40 Warhawk, c/n13033, Air Corps serial number 39-156, at Buffalo, New York. The cruising speed of the P-40 is 272 miles per hour (438 kilometers per hour) and the maximum speed is 357 miles per hour (575 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The Warhawk has a service ceiling of 30,600 feet (9,327 meters) and the absolute ceiling is 31,600 feet (9,632 meters). The range is 950 miles (1,529 kilometers) at 250 miles per hour (402 kilometers per hour). These are all good figures for 1940, and the Air Corps designates the fighter as "pursuit."

German/Italian Relations: Hitler authorizes staff talks between the OKW (military high command) and Italian Commando Supremo.

French Government: The Minister of Marine reports that the French Navy has destroyed 23 U-boats during the conflict. In actual fact, the number is well below a dozen, and none of those were due to the French Navy.

The government sentences 34 French communists to five years in prison. Eighty others receive 4-year suspended sentences. The charge is illegally attempting to reorganize the banned Communist Party. It is now illegal, subject to the death penalty for treason, to read or spread communist or anti-war propaganda.

British Government: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announces that the government has set up a special trading corporation backed by the Treasury to foster economic penetration of the Balkans, which trade Germany dominates.

Soviet Government: The NKVD reports to Molotov: out of the 22,000 Polish officers, 395 are "of value" and thus should be spared. The rest should be liquidated per the Politburo's decision of 5 March 1940. The way to get on the "of value" is to be an informer in one of the camps, or to have some foreign connection that would make their sudden absence noticed abroad.

German Homefront: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering broadcasts an appeal to the nation's young to behave with decency and morality "not only in the light of day but also in the blackout."

British Homefront: Prime Minister Chamberlain takes a little-used expression (first used in George Reid's "My Reminiscences" (1917)) and takes it to the next level. Before an audience of friends, he for once exceeds Winston Churchill's oratorical heights by stating that Hitler has "missed the bus" by running afoul of the British empire and not destroying it when he had the chance. He is now "ten times" as confident of final victory as he had been in September. He states that it is "extraordinary no such attempt was made" to invade during the fall.

By point of fact, of course, the bus, er, boats indeed had set sail - Nazi transports were at that moment on their way to Norway.

Rather oddly, the British newspapers comment upon large concentrations of German troops at Kriegsmarine bases. Nobody in the Allies' military services appears to find this of interest.

China: The Chinese 8th War Area, having recovered Wuyuan and other objectives, changes to the defensive. The Winter Offensive is now for all intents and purposes over. It was a huge success, bringing down the Japanese government and sending Japanese forces reeling.

Summary of the Chinese Winter Offensive:

• Japanese military casualties: 50,000;
• Chinese military casualties: 150,000;
• Chinese civilian casualties: unknown.

4 April 1940: Curtiss-Wright’s Chief Test Pilot H. Lloyd Child flies the first production P-40 Warhawk, c/n13033, Air Corps serial number 39-156, on its first flight at Buffalo, New York.

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel


2016

Sunday 31 March 1940

A 5.9 inch gun on the Atlantis, disguises as "industrial machinery" bound for the Philippines.

Battle of the Atlantic: It was a quiet week to end March 1940 in the endless Battle of the Atlantic, with only one British ship, the SS Daghestan of 5,742 tons, lost. For the entire month of March 1940, losses are:

• 45 Allied ships
• 107,009 tons
• 3 U-boats sunk.

The German armed merchant cruisers (Hilfskreuzer) Atlantis, Orion and Widder set out on 31 March 1940 from Kiel for extended solo missions. It is the first mission for Atlantis. They will be resupplied at sea in the same fashion as happened with the Admiral Graf Spee. World War I-era battleship SMS Hessen acts as an icebreaker and escort for the first part of their journey. These ships are heavily armed and designed to appear as neutral vessels, complete with actual false flags.

In one of those odd incidents that happen in the real world but not in war games, Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Wilhelm Behrens somehow falls overboard from U-43 and drowns.

Convoy OA 120G departs from Scotland, and Convoy OB 120 departs from Liverpool, while Convoy HX 31 departs from Halifax.

The Atlantis taking on water at Kerguelen.

European Air Operations: Luftwaffe planes attack the Shetlands and the Orkneys, but drop no bombs. A Spitfire from Coastal Command patrolling the east coast of Suffolk damages a Dornier Do 17, which limps home. A Belgian fishing trawler fired upon a German bomber.

There also are interventions by Allied fighters over France. Hurricane fighters chase off a Dornier Do 17 at maximum altitude, 19,000 feet.

Luftwaffe Bf 109s intercept French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighters. The MS 406 is France's best fighter. The Messerschmitts inflict heavy damage on the French fighters near Morhange.

Western Front: The British 44th Infantry Division begins shipping to France. The New York Times is cynical about the course of the war:

As the 8th month of war begins, it seems likely April will be much like March, with no large-scale military operations." It illustrates the parochialism of American newspapers and US society in general, as the Finns and Chinese certainly would disagree that there have been no "large-scale military operations.

Anglo-French Relations: The French are not interested in mining the Rhine River, which is a favored project of the British. In return, the British call off the mining of the Norwegian territorial waters, Operation Wilfred. The two sides are annoyed with the other for not supporting their respective pet projects, and the interesting feature is that each nation only wants the project completed that the other would actually implement. Thus, the two separate operations have basically become quid pro quos for each other. Chamberlain explodes in frustration at the French unwillingness to implement Operation Royal Marine in the Rhine and tells Charles Corbin, the French ambassador, "No mines, no Narvik!"

Estonia: The Soviets have been occupying bases in Estonia per the agreement reached in 1939. Tallinn now reports that the Soviets are demanding immediate possession of Baltiski, which the Soviets have leased as of 1 May.

Finland: The Soviet government wastes no time incorporating the newly acquired territories in Finland into the Soviet construct. The Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic is created, with the territory including the Karelian Isthmus and the cities of Viipuri and Sortavala.

British Homefront: As noted previously, the British government has grown concerned about the increasing number of evacuated children and others who have returned to vulnerable cities over the past six months. While 1 million schoolchildren were evacuated in the days following 3 September 1939, only about 300,000 remain in their evacuation areas.

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill gives a radio speech, "Dwelling in the Cage with the Tiger," the title being the dilemma of small neutral countries living with Germany nearby. The main thrust of the talk is aimed at the Dutch and the other neutral nations in the path of German expansionism. He castigates them for not joining the Allied war effort sooner:

It might have been a very short war, perhaps, indeed, there might have been no war, if all the neutral States, who share our conviction upon fundamental matters, and who openly or secretly sympathize with us, had stood together at one signal and in one line.

Churchill makes the point their attempt to coexist with the Germans, in fact, is condemning them to servitude:

But the fact is that many of the smaller States of Europe are terrorized by German violence and brutality into supplying Germany with the material of modern war, and this fact may condemn the whole world to a prolonged ordeal with grievous, unmeasured consequences in many lands.

Churchill broadly hints that the time for respecting international law has passed:

"There could be no justice if in a moral struggle the aggressor tramples down every sentiment of humanity, and if those who resist him remain entangled in the tatters of violated legal conventions."

It is a popular address, and Winston Churchill is one of the great orators of his time and any other time. When looked at closely, the speech betrays barely concealed cynicism about the futility of trying to find accommodation with the Reich. It also betrays a sense that the war is descending into unique savagery and lawlessness. One can liken his prescription to, fight fire with fire.

Separately, the British government institutes paper rationing for publishing and printing companies.

Italy: Mussolini has an audience with King Victor Emmanuel and informs him that Italy will ally with Germany and fight a "parallel" war against the Allies.

Iraq: Rashid Ali al-Gailani becomes Prime Minister. This is a pro-Axis change, as Ali is considered anti-British.

China: The Japanese troops complete their withdrawal from Wuyuan toward Anpei and Paotou. The Chinese 8th War Area does not occupy the city yet.

The new Japanese puppet government of China headed by Ching-wei officially invites Japan to occupy China. Germany and Italy quickly recognize the new government.

American Homefront: Glenn Miller's "In The Mood" has been No. 1 on the jukebox charts for 12 straight weeks.

Future History: Barney Frank is born in Bayonne, New Jersey. He becomes a powerful Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts for many years beginning in 1981 and currently works in media.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

April 1940

April 1, 1940: Weserubung is a Go
April 2, 1940: British Subs On Alert
April 3, 1940: Churchill Consolidates Power
April 4, 1940: Missed the Bus
April 5, 1940: Mig-1 First Flight
April 6, 1940: Troops Sailing to Norway
April 7, 1940: Fleets At Sea
April 8, 1940: HMS Glowworm and Admiral Hipper
April 9, 1940: Invasion of Norway
April 10, 1940: First Battle of Narvik
April 11, 1940: Britain Takes the Faroes
April 12, 1940: Germans Consolidate in Norway
April 13, 1940: 2d Battle of Narvik
April 14, 1940: Battle of Dombås
April 15, 1940: British in Norway
April 16, 1940: Germans Cut Norway in Half
April 17, 1940: Trondheim the Target
April 18, 1940: Norway Declares War
April 19, 1940: Dombås Battle Ends
April 20, 1940: Germans Advancing in Norway
April 21, 1940: First US Military Casualty
April 22, 1940: First British Military Contact with Germans
April 23, 1940: British Retreating in Norway
April 24, 1940: British Bombard Narvik
April 25, 1940: Norwegian Air Battles
April 26, 1940: Norwegian Gold
April 27, 1940: Allies to Evacuate Norway
April 28, 1940: Prepared Piano
April 29, 1940: British at Bodo
April 30, 1940: Clacton-on-Sea Heinkel

2019

Thursday 28 March 1940

Armed merchant cruiser HMS Transylvania.

Battle of the Atlantic: The 4,007-ton German freighter Mimi Horn is scuttled by its crew on 28 March 1940 after being intercepted in the Denmark Strait by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Transylvania.

Norwegian freighter SS Burgos hits a mine and sinks 30 miles west of Skegness, England. The crew survives and is rescued by sloop HMS Pelican.

Convoy OA 119 departs from Southend, Convoy HG 24 departs from Gibraltar.

Battle of the Pacific: British warships stop Soviet ore ships Selenga and Vladimir Mayakovski and order them to Hong Kong.

Allied Air Operations: Overnight, the RAF sent reconnaissance flights over northwest Germany. Three aircraft of the New Zealand No. 75 Squadron take part in the flights for the first time. Three aircraft never return. One bomber makes a forced landing in Holland after being attacked by Dutch fighters.

Two Dornier Do 17 Luftwaffe aircraft make a sweep over the North Sea but make no successful attacks. Coastal Command intercepts them and scored hits on one, while also one RAF plane is damaged.

Allied Supreme War Council: The Supreme War Council meets for the sixth time in London. There is a new leader for the French, new Prime Minister Paul Reynaud. Reynaud's suggestions regarding attacking Soviet oil fields and shipping are rejected, though they will be "studied."

The leaders reach the same conclusion that they had in World War I, namely that neither country will conclude any armistice or other cessation of hostilities without mutual consent. They also decide to mine Norwegian territorial waters to disrupt German iron ore shipments from Sweden via Narvik (Operation Wilfred). A further plan to drop mines in the Rhine River (Operation Royal Marine) at the same time is approved pending approval by the French War Committee. Churchill, whose pet idea this Rhine operation is, says, "It will cause the utmost consternation."

The Council also make a tentative decision to send an expeditionary military force to Norway should the Germans appear to be ready to invade. The Council sets a projected date of 5 April 1940.

While an Allied landing in Norway would have been legal under the League of Nations resolutions pertaining to the Winter War, that authorization now is gone due to the Moscow Peace Treaty. An Allied invasion would be a hostile incursion on a neutral nation's territory, just as would a German invasion. Norway has given no indication that it would accept foreign troops of any nation on its soil. Churchill, though, sees an added benefit from throwing a spanner in the works: "No people are more completely upset when their plans miscarry than the Germans. They cannot improvise."

The Germans, of course, are thinking along identical lines, and their planned invasion has been set for roughly the same time. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill hopes to provoke the Germans into some rash action with the mining of Norwegian waters, thus justifying Allied "protection" of Norway and Sweden. This would cripple the German war effort, which is based upon Swedish iron ores shipped through Norway.

Propaganda: The issue of German propaganda is on everybody's mind. Churchill notes that "Reynaud spoke of the impact of German propaganda on French morale. The radio blares each night..."

British Government: The Foreign Office calls six ambassadors from southern and central Europe back to London for consultations.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles meets in Washington, D.C. with President Roosevelt following his discussions with European leaders.

Finland: While Finland lost territory during the Winter War in the Moscow Peace Treaty, the country is full of pride for the outstanding showing of its military against an overpowering opponent. Finnish ski soldiers march in Helsinki in a parade, complete with their reindeer.

China: In the Battle of Wuyuan, the Chinese 8th War Area continues attacking around Patzepu, Hsishantzu, Hsichiao, and Mankosu.

Holocaust: 1,600 Jewish refugees fleeing the Germans arrive in Palestine after a journey that took six months. UK troops intern them for illegal entry.

The New Zealand (No. 75) Squadron in 1942.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019