Sunday 23 June 1940

Speer, Hitler, and Brekker.

German Government: Adolf Hitler on 23 June 1940 takes a typical victory tour after his conquest of France, flying to Le Bourget airport in Paris on short notice at first light. He tells nobody in advance, and the visit is a complete surprise to everyone around him and the German authorities in Paris. He visits the Paris Opera House - where he impresses the elderly guide with his knowledge of the building - and Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides. Just like other tourists, he walks up Montmartre and stands to observe the city as bemused Parisians going to church walk by in astonishment. Imagine just walking by and seeing Hitler standing there! But that's what happened. Hitler has little protection, but his best security, as always, is his planned spontaneity which prevents possible assassins from planning an attack. That spontaneity and frequently changing his schedule on the fly saves Hitler's life several times.

After a few hours, he flies back to his headquarters, never to visit Paris again. "That was the greatest and finest moment of my life,” he says, ""It was my life's dream to be allowed to see Paris." His companions, architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker, professor of visual arts in Berlin, are there to get ideas about how to remake Berlin. Speer later notes that he hears Hitler say, "Compared to France, an invasion of Russia would be child's play in a sandbox."


French Government: Charles de Gaulle forms the French National Committee. French officials are forced to choose sides between the "legitimate" Vichy government and the "continuation" de Gaulle organization - which has no legitimacy at all beyond the sheer force of his personality.

The "official" government of France, which remains very much in power, is not impressed by de Gaulle's freelance act. General Weygand is still the Commander-in-chief. He dismisses de Gaulle, who remains in London and technically is AWOL, in absentia. De Gaulle continues to call himself General de Gaulle as a self-described leader of the Free French.

Prime Minister Marshal Philippe Pétain appoints former Premier Pierre Laval - currently Minister of Foreign Affairs - as Vice-Premier and Minister of State. Laval is a firm believer that German total victory is inevitable, and this is often viewed as being pro-German, or, at the very least, "the agent of collaboration." This view is solidified by the fact that Pétain is more or less a figurehead figure in terms of day-to-day governance, while Laval handles the hard work of making arrangements with the Germans.

British Government: The British are shifting to a "battle of the periphery," where they confront the Wehrmacht in commando raids and secondary theaters (such as North Africa) rather than head-on. A Commando force is established which comes under the jurisdiction of the Combined Operations Headquarters. Admiral Sir Roger Keyes takes command, and he begins working up operations to start quickly. The nucleus of the new Commando force is composed of the men of the disbanded Independent Companies.

Related to this same strategic shift, Major Ralph A. Bagnold meets with General Archibald P. Wavell, the commander of the Middle East Command in Alexandria, Egypt. Bagnold sets forth a strategy whereby small, mobile groups of men will conduct long-range reconnaissance patrols behind the Italian lines in Libya. Wavell approves, allowing Bagnold six weeks to organize such a force, and gives Bagnold letters providing that his supply/personnel needs “should be met instantly and without question.” The Long Range Desert Group, popularly known as the "Desert Rats," is born.

Hitler at Les Invalides.

Western Front: Some French holdouts in the Maginot Line refuse to surrender, but they are bottled up in fortresses and cannot do any harm. The only troops still "fighting" are Italian troops. A massive Italian force occupies the beach resort town of Menton - or, in Italian news summaries, the "strongly fortified town of Menton." In addition, the Italian troops in the Alps make some perfunctory attacks on the French dug in behind mountain passes.

Some evacuations continue at St. Jean de Luz pursuant to Operation Ariel. The Germans are not yet in possession of this region, which is under their administration pursuant to the Armistice. Today, they reach Rochefort and Royan.

French/Italian Relations: French and Italian representatives meet at Villa Incisa in the Roman suburbs. The French, which is the same group led by General Huntziger that just completed the armistice with Germany, are not as anxious to resolve the war with Italy as they had been with Germany. However, Mussolini is stage-managing the entire event (including the war itself) for propaganda purposes. His representatives Count Ciano and General Badoglio do not ask for very much in the actual armistice.

Soviet/Norwegian Relations: The Soviets demand access to the nickel mines at Petsamo.

Battle of the Atlantic: French destroyer Lansquenet is taken out of the Gironde Estuary under German artillery fire. The crew heads for North Africa on its own initiative.

French battleship Richelieu, operating on half-power, arrives in Dakar.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian cruisers sortie near Sardinia, but they meet no French shipping. French aircraft sent to intercept them don't spot them.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Italian submarine Galvani sinks Indian Navy sloop Pathan near Bombay.

In the Persian Gulf, three British destroyers and a sloop find Italian submarine Evangelista Torricelli off Perim. The destroyers blow the submarine up, but destroyer HMS Khartoum also goes down when one of its own torpedoes explodes on deck. The interception was possible due to papers captured on the submarine Galileo Galilei on 19 June.

European Air Operations: French bombers raid Palermo, Sicily.

The RAF bombs targets in Holland (Osnabruck and Hamm) and the Bremen/Hamburg area in northern Germany.

North Africa: French bombers attack Italian bases in Zuara, Libya.

Egypt: The pro-British government of Aly Pasha Maher loses its support, but it is unclear what will replace it. In any event, the absolute British dominion over the country is not in doubt..

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army captures Panli and Leishihhsu.

US Navy: Destroyer USS Herbert (DD-160) leaves Casablanca, French Morocco for Lisbon with more American refugees for transport to New York.

British Homefront: Three downed Luftwaffe airmen who perished in their Heinkel (shot down by ‘Sailor’ Malan) on 21 June are buried with full military honors (paid for by local RAF officers) at Chelmsford. The Bishop of Chelmsford officiates, and the RAF sends a wreath. In 1966, their graves are removed to the newly formed German Military Cemetery at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire.

Stuart Sutcliffe.

Future History: Adam Faith is born Terence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright in Acton, London. He forms a skiffle group in the late 1950s and turns this into a long-lasting pop career. Faith has the first number one hit for Parlophone, a classical music label that later - perhaps partly due to its success with Faith - signs The Beatles after they have been rejected by other labels.

Wilma Rudolph is born in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee. She becomes known as the fastest woman in the world in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

And, speaking of the Beatles, Stuart Sutcliffe is born on 23 June 1940 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sutcliffe is the original bassist for the group. While extremely creative and a key figure (along with the friends that he brings into the Beatles' orbit) in the fabrication of the Beatles' memorable visual style, Sutcliffe's musical skills are lacking. He leaves the band before it becomes famous just like Pete Best. Stu Sutcliffe perishes in 1962 from a brain aneurysm and is remembered by many fans as the "Fifth Beatle."


June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Friday 14 June 1940

Western Front: With the French retreating in disarray and many Parisians heading south, the Wehrmacht on 14 June 1940 walks into a quiet Paris. There are only 700,000 inhabitants left in a city of 5 million.

French General Aubert Frere follows orders and pulls his French 7th Army out of Paris. Since the city is not defended, all of its businesses - such as the Renault tank factory at Billancourt and Schneider-Creusot armament works - are intact and ready to churn out weapons for the German conquerors. General Henri Dentz surrenders Paris at the Hotel Crillon.

The Germans stage victory parades with Major General Bogislav von Studnitz's 87th Infantry Division of the 18th Army at the Place de la Concorde and at the Arc de Triomphe. General von Bock of Army Group B reviews the parades, which glide through silent streets. As a fine point, the Wehrmacht men do not march under the arch, but around it.

Elsewhere, the war continues. Hitler, chafing at his Wolfsschlucht headquarters, issues Fuhrer Directive No. 15. Noting the "collapse" of the Allied front, he sets two objectives:

1. Prevent the formation of a new Allied front in the south; and
2. Destroy the Maginot Line.

To accomplish these objectives, Hitler orders quick seizure of the naval bases on the Atlantic coast (to avoid another Dunkirk) and attacks by the Saarbrucken Shock Group against the Maginot Line. Basically, he is implicitly revoking his previous Directive which anticipated a strong French defense of Paris - the shock at the absence of which the text of the Directive conveys between each line.

The Wehrmacht's Army Group C (von Leeb) sends its 24 divisions against the Maginot Line. The attack is led by the 7th Army against the French 8th Army and has mixed success, scoring some advances in some areas. German 1st Army (Erwin von Witzleben) breaks through at Saarbrücken. To support those attacks, Panzer Group Guderian and other troops swing east to encircle the French positions.

The German spearheads approach Romilly and St. Dizier to the east of Paris.

The 1st Panzer Division reaches Chaumont. German 12th Army is in a position to surround the French 2nd Army Group.

British Prime Minister Churchill, still reeling from the French decision to go it alone on 13 June 1940, telephones Sir Alan Brooke, commander of the BEF, and orders the evacuation of all British personnel from France. Brooke, who has only just arrived, heartily endorses the decision. For its part, French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud's government leaves General Weygand's headquarters at Briare for Bordeaux.

Contrary to virtually every other source you will find, this extremely famous photo was not taken in Paris on 14 June 1940. In fact, it was taken in Marseilles in September 1940 during a French military parade prior to sending the French battle flags to North Africa. I include it here just to make note of that - and also because the photo aptly summarizes French feelings of 14 June, even if it wasn't actually taken then. Incidentally, his name was Monsieur Jerôme Barzetti, and it appeared in Life Magazine in its 3 March 1941 issue. The photographer was W. Eugene Smith, a Life Magazine staff photographer who used a 35 mm camera, which was somewhat unusual in those days for professional photographers.

European Air Operations: The RAF attacks German ammunition dumps in the St. Michel area, the Boulogne docks, and Dunkirk Flushing and Ostend. It also sends 29 aircraft against the Ruhr during the night.

The French air force attacks oil storage facilities in the Venice region. They are scrupulously careful not to bomb the historic islands of Venice.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-101 (Kapitänleutnant Fritz Frauenheim) spots 3,557-ton Greek freighter Antonis Georgandis northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain. The U-boat surfaces and forces the crew to disembark, and then sinks the Greek ship by gunfire using its deck gun.

U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) spots 5,403 ton Greek freighter Mount Myrto south of Ireland. It also surfaces and attacks the Greek ship with gunfire, but when that proves ineffective, sinks it with a torpedo. There are 24 survivors and 4 crew perish.

U-47 (Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien) torpedoes and sinks 5,834-ton British freighter Balmoralwood about 70 miles southwest of Cape Clear. All 41 aboard survive and are picked up by British freighter Germanic. The Balmoralwood is a straggler from convoy HX-47 and, among other things, was transporting four aircraft to England.

German raider Widder sinks British tanker British Petrol in the north Atlantic.

US destroyer USS Gleaves (DD 423, Lt. Commander Edward H. Pierce) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Three fast Italian destroyers (Turbine, Nembo, and Aquilone) shell Sollum, Egypt.

French warships of the 3rd Squadron (cruisers Foch, Algerie, Dupleix, Colbert and 11 destroyers) bombard oil storage tanks on the Italian Coast in the Genoa/Vado region. Nine civilians perish. French light cruiser Albatross is damaged by Italian coastal fire, with 12 crew perishing.

North Africa: The British 7th Hussars, a company of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and the Royal Engineers, all led by Lt. Colonel G. Fielden of the 7th Hussars, attack and capture Italian Fort Capruzzo and Maddalena on the Libyan border. The Italians put up little resistance, and 16 Italian officers and 200 other soldiers become POWs.

About 3000 Spanish Moroccan troops occupy Tangiers, heretofore an "International Zone" condominium under joint Spanish, French and British administration. Franco is counting on his "partners" being distracted by larger events, such as the fall of Paris, and he is correct. True to his nature, however, Franco does not actually annex the territory as many in his government urge but instead announces that this is only a temporary wartime measure.

The Regia Aeronautica attacks Sollum in Egypt and Berbera in British Somaliland.

The first dogfight between Italian and RAF fighters takes place over North Africa.

Norway: The German 2nd Mountain Division has been dutifully marching north to relieve General Dietl's 3rd Mountain Division at Narvik. Today, they link up. The event, of course, is of little consequence due to the Allied evacuation. The two divisions now form Mountain Korps Norway under the command of Dietl, who has become one of Hitler's favorite Generals due to his deft handling of his troops when the outlook was very dark.

The German troops marched around the Arc de Triomphe, not under it (Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-126-0347-09A).

Soviet/Lithuanian Relations: Stalin, like Franco, sees a golden opportunity to clean out his inventory of invasions while the western powers are otherwise occupied. His overall objective is to restore the pre-1918 Tsarist borders, which included both Estonia and Lithuania.

Accordingly, the Soviets decide to issue an ultimatum to Lithuania. It demands unrestricted access to the country by the Red Army, with the proviso that these troops would form a pro-Soviet government. This is done pursuant to the "secret protocols" of the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact of 23 August 1939.

The president of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, proposes to stand and fight. However, the rest of the government has a somewhat more realistic view of the situation and decides to capitulate, so Smetona goes into exile rather than be used to legitimate the takeover.

As part of its emphasis that "Stalin means business," two Soviet DB-3T torpedo bombers shoot down a French-owned Junkers Ju 52 "Kaleva" being used on a Finnish route from Tallinn to Helsinki. All 9 onboard perish. The French government does not lodge any diplomatic protest due to its tenuous military situation. Soviet submarine Щ-301 surfaces and does not rescue anyone, but does fish French diplomatic mail out of the wreckage.

French/US Relations: French Prime Minister Reynaud sends another appeal to President Roosevelt for assistance, pleading that he "throw the weight of American strength into the scales." Roosevelt, however, has no authority or ability - while it would still count - to do any such thing.

French Military: General de Gaulle departs for London.

US Navy: President Roosevelt signs the 11% Naval Expansion Act. Once fully implemented, this will increase the naval tonnage of aircraft carriers, cruisers, and submarines by 187,000 and auxiliary shipping by 75,000 tons. It also will increase naval aircraft by 4,500 planes.

Spies: French and Polish codebreakers, who have been working on cracking the Wehrmacht's Enigma codes, flee south toward Toulouse with their Enigma machines.

Holocaust: Initial shipments of inmates (after those who actually built the camps) arrive at Auschwitz and Theresienstadt in occupied Poland: 728 Poles are marched through Tarnow to Auschwitz.

Cyprus: The company begins forming its Cyprus Volunteer Force.

China: The Japanese are continuing their aerial assault on Chiang Kai-shek's capital of Chungking. They advise the British, American, Russian and German diplomatic communities to seek safer quarters.

The Wehrmacht turned a blind eye to fraternization in Paris, as evidenced by this photograph outside of a prehistoric ancestor of Starbucks. The Germans found that it was a good stop for a first date.

French Homefront: The final broadcast of French radio before the occupation is a recording of French National Anthem, La Marseillaise.

The French operators of the Eiffel Tower cut the elevator cables. Wehrmacht troops climb 900+ steps to hang the Swastika flag.

The German occupation forces settle comfortably into Paris immediately. Overall, the Wehrmacht does not discourage fraternization with the locals, many of whom reciprocate.

The Wehrmacht sets up headquarters at the finest hotels in St. Germain and elsewhere, including most notoriously the Hotel Ritz. The draw up a "Parisian campaign map" that shows the best cafes, restaurants and other assorted amusements.

On the whole, the occupation troops act with restraint. However, inevitably there are instances of troops acting with cruelty, taking without paying, and the like. Troops accustomed to rough life in the field are somewhat over-awed with the varied decadent opportunities in Paris and often lose the edge off their military discipline.

The Wehrmacht imposes a 20:00 curfew in Paris using loudspeakers on trucks.

American Homefront: MGM releases "The Mortal Storm," a James Stewart/ Margaret Sullavan drama that is distinguished by being overtly anti-German (though in an abstract fashion that does not name any actual German politicians and so forth). This film directly leads to a ban of MGM films in Germany - though Adolf Hitler continued to snag copies for his own private viewing pleasure. As such, the release of "The Mortal Storm" is a very rare pre-war instance of an American company willingly abandoning the lucrative German market.

The flow of refugees continues. Here, a tandem bicycle carries a whole Belgian family of four with their possessions strapped to their backs. June 14, 1940 (AP).

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Thursday 13 June 1940

German light infantry mountain troops (Gebirgsjäger) of 6th Company, 2nd Battalion, 137th Regiment in occupied Norway. Pictured (from left to right) are Ranger Franz Hollerweger, Sgt. Kepplinger and Ranger Köhl. Köhl would later be killed in action near the village of Titovka, Murmansk Oblast, Russia, the Soviet Union on 29 June 1941. Narvik, Nordland, Norway. The picture date is 13 June 1940.

Western Front: The Allied Supreme War Council meets on 13 June 1940 for what will turn out to be its last time at Briare near Tours. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud tells British Prime Minister Churchill that France will have to negotiate a separate peace, contrary to the 28 March 1940 agreement of no separate peace agreements. This is something that Churchill adamantly opposes but can do nothing to prevent. Churchill rather lamely suggests that Reynaud appeal to President Roosevelt, which Reynaud, of course, has been doing all along. Churchill also suggests that resistance can continue in North Africa. Reynaud refuses.

Churchill, Lord Halifax, Lord Beaverbrook and the rest of the British delegation fly back to London. They decide that enough is enough and that another BEF evacuation is necessary. This is the parting of the ways of the British and the current French national government, though everything remains amicable and civil. It is now a question of managing the dissolution of the military alliance. The future of France and its relations with the United Kingdom is extremely uncertain.

German spearheads are crossing the Seine over three bridgeheads. They are attacking towards Pacy-sur-Eure and Evreux. Meanwhile, another dozen German divisions are attacking toward Senlis and Betz. Panzer Group Kleist captures Saint-Dizier and Troyes. The 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions of German 12th Army break through the French 2nd Army line in the vicinity of Bar-le-Duc.

French forces are withdrawing all along the line past Paris, which is an open city, to the Loire. Oil tanks in the suburbs are burning. German troops of the 18th Army are in the suburbs and moving steadily toward the city center. French troops launch a pointless counter-attack at Persan-Beaumont 17 miles north of Paris. It advances 5 miles, but German troops are streaming in the other direction all around it. There are no troops between the Germans and the entire city of Paris, and they are advancing steadily.

22-year-old Scotsman P/O David G. Gorrie standing by his Hurricane Mk I on 13 June 1940, the day after sharing a He 111 with B Flight and 5 days after having moved to No 43 Squadron RAF at RAF Tangmere. He goes on to fight in the Battle of Britain.

Battle of the Atlantic: At dawn in the Arctic (02:43), British carrier Ark Royal launches 15 Skua dive-bombers against the German warships in Trondheim. The British lose eight planes (six dead, 10 POWs), and manage to hit the Scharnhorst with one 500 lb bomb that fails to explode. The surviving aircraft return by 03:45. Kriegsmarine battlecruiser Nurnberg arrives in Trondheim later in the day from Germany.

U-25 (Kapitänleutnant Heinz Beduhn) torpedoes and sinks 17,046-ton armed merchant cruiser Scotstoun (converted Anchor Line passenger ship Caledonia) about 80 miles off of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The attack lasts all day, but Scotstoun finally succumbs. Seven crew perish, 345 others are picked up by destroyer HMS Highlander (H 44).

British tanker Inventor hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel.

Escort destroyers HMS Antelope and Electra collide in the fog off Norway and both require extensive repair.

A German seaplane spots two survivors of the HMS Ardent in the water. They somehow have survived since 7 June. After picking them up, one dies from exposure, malnutrition, etc. The other man, able seaman Roger Hooke, is Ardent's only survivor and, in extremely poor condition, is taken as a prisoner.

Convoy OA 167 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 167 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 34F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy HX 50 departs from Halifax.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Italian destroyers Baleno and Strale sink Royal Navy submarine Odin. All 56 crew perish.

A French cruiser squadron bombards Genoa during the night.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Orion lays mines off of Auckland, New Zealand.

European Air Operations: Italy's Regia Aeronautica raids the French naval base at Toulon. It also raids Aden but is driven off with losses, and Malta.

The RAF raids German bridgeheads on the Seine all along the front to the Maginot Line.

The RAF is gradually evacuating its units from France.

North Africa: The British Army captures 52 Italian soldiers during the night, many of whom have no idea that they are at war.

The RAF raids Fort Capruzzo on the Libyan border with Egypt. It also raids Assab in Italian East Africa. South African aircraft chip in with a raid on Kismayo in Italian Somaliland.

The Regia Aeronautica hits British vehicles near the Libyan border in Egypt.

Norway: While the Allies have departed and the Norwegians have surrendered, many areas of the large country remain unoccupied by the Germans. Today, some of General Dietl's 3rd Mountain Division troops quietly occupy Tromso.

13th June 1940: London schoolchildren are evacuated. (Photo by David Savill/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images).

US Military: Rear Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., relieves Vice Admiral Charles A. Blakely as Commander Aircraft, Battle Force, onboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV 5) at Lahaina Roads, Maui, Territory of Hawaii. Halsey is given the temporary rank of Vice-Admiral.

US Government: President Roosevelt signs a $1.3 billion Navy bill, which is unprecedented in amount. The first shipment of surplus artillery, rifles and other smaller weapons leaves the USA on the SS Eastern Prince. To avoid the Neutrality Laws, the arms are first sold to a steel company, which then re-sells them to the British government.

Holland: The Dutch government-in-exile announces the formation of a Netherlands Legion to be composed of all available domestic and overseas troops.

Spain: Generalissimo Francisco Franco reiterates his policy of non-belligerency, which of course tilts toward Germany. Spain is of vital strategic importance to both sides due to its ability to take Gibraltar and close off the Mediterranean.

China: The Japanese launch a terror raid on Chungking that starts massive fires.

French Homefront: Paris is largely deserted. Jewish citizens, in particular, have been quick to leave, for obvious reasons. There are oddities of a suddenly abandoned major city: for instance, herds of cattle roam the streets, as the men operating the slaughterhouses have left.

British Homefront: The government renews its evacuation plans for schoolchildren since so many returned home over the winter. Plans are to disperse 120,000 kids from London and other large cities in the south such as Dover. All children are required to carry gas masks at all times. Many of the masks have been brightly colored to make them more attractive to children, and they are carried in ubiquitous boxes.

A new law specifies that church bells are to be rung only as a signal of a German invasion.

Members of Parliament ask to be issued sidearms since rumors are flying that they are on German assassination lists. The request is refused.

F/O Frank J Howell of No 609 Squadron RAF. Howell is among the air party that escorted PM Winston Churchill to Briare and Tours on 11 and 13 June for the last meetings of the War Council. Flying Spitfire Mk I PR-H, the 28-year-old pilot noted that in the absence of trolley accumulators on the French airfield, starting up was accomplished with French infantrymen on hand cranks and some assistance from the aircraft batteries. I find it amusing that he also is holding a camera, sort of an assisted selfie.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020

Monday 10 June 1940

Mussolini announces that Italy is at war from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia on 10 June 1940.

Western Front: Italian Duce Benito Mussolini - with the support of the King of Italy - appears in public at 18:00 on 10 June 1940 and declares war on Great Britain and France. Hostilities begin at midnight.

An hour appointed by destiny has struck in the heavens of our fatherland. The declaration of war has already been delivered to the ambassadors of Great Britain and France. We go to battle against the plutocratic and reactionary democracies of the west who, at every moment have hindered the advance and have often endangered the very existence of the Italian people...

General Erwin Rommel continues his own separate campaign against the French IX Corps and British 51st (Highland) Division, reaching Dalles near Dieppe. The Seventh "Ghost" Division continues pressing the Allies into a pocket along the coast north of Le Havre (St-Valery-en-Caux) which resembles the Dunkirk situation of May, though on a much smaller scale. The Royal Navy begins Operation Cycle for the evacuation of this trapped force along the coast. The Allies evacuate 3321 men from St-Valery-en-Caux and 11,059 men from Le Havre, with 9,000 of the latter trans-shipped to Cherbourg and the remainder taken to England.

Panzer Group Guderian advances in the direction of Chalons-sur-Marne. French 3rd Division Cuirasse de Reserve (DCR) attacks Guderian's spearhead at Juniville with 86 Char B and Hotchkiss 35/39 tanks. The French counterattacks take about two miles of occupied territory back and destroy about 100 German armored vehicles. General Guderian, who always leads from the front, personally mans a captured French 47 mm anti-tank gun and finds that the Char B tanks are impervious to direct hits. It is a real, but minor, French success with no lasting impact.

The French line at Péronne proves obstinate, so 16th Panzer Corps sidesteps it and support Panzer Group Guderian.

The German 38th Corps (Manstein) crosses the Seine west of Paris.

Wehrmacht troops gain ground across the Aisne.

Italian forces prepare to invade French territory in the Alps from Savoy. The French do not divert any additional troops there.

The French government declares Paris an open city. German 18th Army advances toward the city.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Italian fleet joining the Axis theoretically changes the balance of power within the Mediterranean. Italy has two battleships at sea and four more on the way, along with a large support fleet. Of perhaps more interest to the Kriegsmarine, Italy has 116 submarines, which ranks as the largest such force in the world. A major imponderable, though, is what happens to the very large French fleet, which would nullify any Italian naval advantage in the Mediterranean.

The Luftwaffe badly damages Royal Navy destroyers HMS Bulldog and Boadicea, killing six sailors.

Stukas catch and sink Royal Navy armed boarding vessel VanDyck off Åndalsnes, Norway. Seven crew perish, the rest wind up in Norway and become POWs.
The Royal Navy dispatches six submarines from Malta to take up positions around Italy.

Italian submarines begin operations in the Red Sea from Massawa, Eritrea.

Norwegian freighter Sverre Sigurdsson hits a mine laid by French submarine Rubis in the North Sea.

German raider Atlantis captures Norwegian freighter Tirranna in the Indian Ocean and sends it with a prize crew to Italian Somaliland.

The last Allied troops leaving Norway pursuant to Operation Alphabet reach the Clyde at 06:00.

Convoy OA 165 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 165 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: The RAF Skuas from aircraft carrier Ark Royal attack Kriegsmarine pocket battleship Scharnhorst at Trondheim.

General Rodolfo Graziani commands Italian forces in Libya.

North Africa: In what apparently is the first hostile act of World War II in North Africa, RAF Air Commodore Collishaw is said to conduct a symbolic and unofficial bombing mission overnight, dropping grenades on Italian positions.

US Navy: Heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA 44), escorted by destroyers USS Truxton (DD-229) and Simpson (DD-221) depart Casablanca, Morocco loaded with French gold, bound for New York.

Destroyer USS Dickerson (DD-157) arrives in Lisbon loaded with US citizens from Casablanca who wish to return to the US aboard the liner Washington, which also arrives in Lisbon.

US/French Relations: Prime Minister Reynaud asks President Roosevelt for "all moral and material support."

British Government: Minister of Information Duff Cooper reacts to the Italian decision:

[he] has declared war upon the Allies with whom Italy fought in the last Great War and who … saved Italy from destruction.

Canadian Government: Defence Minister Norman McLeod Rogers, 45, dies in a plane crash.

US Government: At the University of Virginia commencement, President Roosevelt comments on the Italian declaration and the influence of "gods of force and hate":

On this tenth day of June 1940 the hand that held the dagger has struck it in the back of its neighbor.

Norwegian Government: King Haakon and the rest of the Norwegian Government-in-exile arrives in London.

Errol Flynn on vacation in Puerto Rico, June 10, 1940.

French Government: The French government heads south from Paris, to Tours, explaining the obvious in a radio broadcast:

The government is compelled to leave the capital for imperative military reasons....

The French government officials are busy burning official documents. One of them in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris sets his chimney on fire.

Norway: The last Norwegian troops lay down their arms pursuant to the order of Commander-in-chief Otto Ruge.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Japanese 11th Army captures Kulaopei and Tangyang and pushes to the outskirts of Ichang.

British Homefront: There are anti-Italian riots in major cities across the UK. The police make 100 arrests in Edinburgh alone.

American Homefront: The NY Times notes the dangers afoot:

The idea that neutrality brings safety is gone. There can be no security, no peace, while Hitler is in the saddle. 

"Back to Africa" advocate Marcus Garvey passes at age 52.

A Texaco advertisement in Time Magazine, June 10, 1940.

June 1940

June 1, 1940: Devastation at Dunkirk
June 2, 1940: Hitler Visits France
June 3, 1940: Operation Paula
June 4, 1940: We Shall Fight
June 5, 1940: Fall Rot
June 6, 1940: Weygand Line Crumbling
June 7, 1940: British Evacuating Narvik
June 8, 1940: Operation Juno
June 9, 1940: Norway Capitulates
June 10, 1940: Mussolini Throws Down
June 11, 1940: Paris an Open City
June 12, 1940: Rommel at St. Valery
June 13, 1940: France Goes Alone
June 14, 1940: Paris Falls
June 15, 1940: Soviets Scoop Up Lithuania
June 16, 1940: Enter Pétain
June 17, 1940: The Lancastria Sinks
June 18, 1940: A Day of Leaders
June 19, 1940: U-boats Run Wild
June 20, 1940: Pétain Wilts
June 21, 1940: Hitler's Happiest Day
June 22, 1940: France Is Done
June 23, 1940: Hitler in Paris
June 24, 1940: Six Million Jews
June 25, 1940: German Celebrations
June 26, 1940: USSR Being Belligerent
June 27, 1940: Malta in Peril
June 28, 1940: Channel Islands Bombed
June 29, 1940: Gandhi Insists on Independence
June 30, 1940: Channel Islands Occupied

2020