Sunday 27 October 1940

Tommies on patrol in the Western Desert, 27 October 1940.

Battle of Britain: The weather remains acceptable for flying on 27 October 1940, and the pattern of recent days continues - that is, no real pattern. There are disjointed Luftwaffe raids throughout the day which primarily are made by fighter-bombers (Jabos) and cause little damage. They do stretch out the RAF fighter defenses, but they stress the Luftwaffe planes and pilots as well. As usual, the daylight attacks are bifurcated between the usual city targets and RAF airfields, with neither suffering particularly much due to the Jabos' small bomb loads.

The day has low-hanging clouds which allow the planes to battle it out in blinding sunshine, but on the ground, it is dark, drizzly and miserable. For some reason, Fighter Command loses (at least temporarily out of action) several planes today due to running out of fuel. This may be related to the standing patrols that it has begun implementing.

The Jabos start early this morning, coming across in waves beginning around 07:30. The primary targets are the airfields around London (Biggin Hill, Kenley) and the city itself. As usual with the early morning raids, Fighter Command is slow off the mark and makes relatively few interceptions. Both sides take losses.

The first series of raids last for two hours, and another series begins around 11:30. This formation flies high and fast and heads for the London docklands. Two Hurricanes run out of fuel and are forced to crash-land, and a Spitfire is lost at Andover.

Another wave of Jabos crosses around 12:30. Fighter Command is ready and waiting for them and prevents any major damage.

The next wave of attacks is just after lunchtime at 13:30. The Jabos split up after crossing the coast, some heading for Central London, others for points further east. RAF No. 603 Squadron takes a beating in this encounter, losing three planes and two pilots.

The largest raids of the day take place around 16:30. This one includes medium bombers, a rare sight during daylight hours. Junkers Ju 88s, Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s fly over the Thames Estuary to East Anglia. RAF Martlesham and Coltishall are attacked, but they sustain little significant damage. The medium bombers strafe the airfields to little purpose, and the bombs, including some with delayed action fuses, only lightly damage the facilities.

At the same time, Junkers Ju 88s escorted by fighters attack Southampton and Portsmouth. Both sides claim victories in this attack. Further, but smaller, raids take place beginning around 18:30 against a bunch of RAF airfields: Leconfield, Feltwell, Driffield, Kirton-in-Lindsey, and Martlesham. One of the Junkers is shot down near Driffield, and the men at the base recover one of the MG 15 machine guns for their trophy case. Italian BR 20M bombers participate in an attack on Ramsgate

After dark, the main targets are London, Liverpool, and the Midlands. The London raids are of moderate intensity, and the bombers drop their loads all across the southern part of England without any main target. The LMS railway at Tottenham takes a hit which puts it out of action when a water main bursts. The Luftwaffe also drops mines all along the eastern coast, including Harwich and the Thames estuary.

Losses for the day are about even at roughly a dozen apiece. While the Luftwaffe attacks appear disorganized, they cause a fair amount of damage. The Germans do much better when they do not send their formations over "parade-style" but instead, vary the targets and intensity of their raids. The RAF loses four pilots killed, which is much worse than losing planes.

A Bf 109 shot down today in the marshes near Canterbury - flown by Oblt. Ulrich Steinhilper of I./JG 52 - will be recovered in 1980 for preservation by the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge. Steinhilper himself, who survived the war as a POW in Canada, visits the plane a few years later.

Another plane lost today at Congburn Dean, Edmondsley, a Hurricane of No. 43 Squadron flown by Sergeant L.V. Toogood, is recovered in October 1978. Toogood perished in the crash. This apparently was not a combat crash, but due to some equipment malfunction such as oxygen failure.

Major Hannes Trautloft of JG 54 claims a Spitfire over Ashford.

“The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E Oberleutnant Karl Fischer shot down in Windsor Great Park. October 1940.”

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks several targets in Greater Germany, including oil installations at Hamburg, Hanover, Gelsenkirchen, Magdeburg, and Ostermoor. Other targets include the Skoda plant at Pilsen, ports such as Antwerp, Flushing, Ostend, Lorient, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg, and warehouses at Krefeld, Hamm, and Mannheim.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 42k ton troopship Empress of Britain is taken in tow by oceangoing tugs HMS Marauder and HMS Thames around 09:30. They make for the Clyde at 4 knots, covered by destroyers and Short Sunderland flying boats. U-32 (Kptl. Hans Jenisch), directed to the scene by U-boat Command, approaches the British ships during the day but must remain submerged throughout the day due to the British escorts. After dark, he surfaces and locates the stricken liner using hydrophones. Destroyer escorts HMS Broke and Sardonyx are zig-zagging. U-32 maneuvers into position to attack just after midnight.

Italian submarine Nani torpedoes and sinks 1583 ton Swedish freighter Meggie about 130 km off Santa Maria Island, Azores. Everybody aboard survives.

Dutch 325 ton coaster Margaretha hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel near Newport, Monmouthshire. Everybody aboard survives.

British 20 ton drifter Persevere hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth.

British 634 ton coaster Suavity hits a mine and sinks off Hartlepool, County Durham in the North Sea. Everybody aboard survives.

The Luftwaffe damaged 5013-ton British freighter Alfred Jones in Convoy OB 234 in the Irish Sea. There are 12 deaths.

The Luftwaffe also damages 411-ton British freighter Conister and 1556 ton British freighter Newlands.

Royal Navy light cruiser Arethusa collides with freighter Flaminian in the North Sea, slightly damaging its bow.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Swordfish reports damaging a freighter off Cherbourg.

German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer departs Germany for a raid into the Atlantic, proceeding north along the Norwegian coast.

Convoy OB 235 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 321 departs from Southend, Convoy FN 321 departs from Methil, Convoy SL 53 departs from Freetown.

USS Wasp decked out for Navy Day. 27 October 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General de Gaulle's Free Free troops in French Equatorial Africa are on the march into Vichy French Gabon. Under the command of General Edgard de Larminat, they advance from the Congo Valley, take the town of Mitzic, and invest the fortress of Lambarene. These events in central Africa are intended to consolidate de Gaulle's strength and set up bases for air attacks on the Italian positions further north and east.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, on a mission out of Alexandria, launches air attacks against the Italian seaplane base at Maltezana, Rhodes, Greece.

At Malta, there is an air raid around 10:00 which results in a massive dogfight over the island. Eight RAF planes (six Hurricanes, two Gladiators) take on an equal number of Macchi 200 aircraft. There is no bomb damage and both sides take some damage to a plane (the Italian plane may not have made it back).

Spy Stuff: An Enigma intercept puts British fears of an imminent invasion to rest. The German message refers to "training" for the invasion - which means it can't happen any time soon, if at all.


Italian/Greek Relations: Italian ambassador in Athens Emanuele Grazzi peremptorily delivers a demand from Mussolini late in the evening. The note demands that Italian troops be permitted to occupy key points in Greece. Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas replies:

Alors, c'est la guerre ("Then, it's war").

Everybody knows this is tantamount to a declaration of war. Metaxas is fully aware of increasing Italian provocations, such as their air raid on Greece on the 26th, but censors such news from the media.

Metaxas has been mobilizing his own troops in great secrecy and they are dug in along the mountains facing Albania. Mussolini, of course, did not deliver the demand in the expectation that it would lead to anything other than such a refusal. The Greek/Albanian front - the traditional invasion route from Italy for millennia - is full of good defensive positions. It also is an extremely restricted front, with almost no maneuvering room. For the time being, Metaxas can concentrate his entire army there, because the Italians also have to worry about the Royal Navy and thus cannot embark on tenuous amphibious invasions further south. Deep-seated historical enmity guarantees that any conflict between the two countries will be fought with great savagery.

German/Italian Relations: The Germans remain in the dark about Italian intentions toward Greece, and news flows to them sporadically from various sources. German Generalmajor Enno von Rintelen, the liaison with the Italian military, calls the OKW at noon and informs them that it is now "practically certain" that the invasion will take place the next morning. This is the first "confirmation" of when the attack will take place, as Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano has been uncommunicative. German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, meanwhile, already is on his train "Heinrich" for the meeting on the 28th with Mussolini in Florence and remains completely out of the loop. General Alfred Jodl, OKW Chief of Operations, reviews the information and informs Hitler that the Italian attack will take place in the morning; Hitler simply accepts the information, issues no instructions, and leaves as scheduled in his train "Amerika" at 18:00 for Florence. If the attack does take place as anticipated, it will be while Hitler is still crossing the Alps in his train. By 21:00, the Italians reveal their plans officially to the Germans.

Today is Navy Day in the US. Here, the battleship USS Texas shows its colors on 27 October 1940 (US National Archive).

US Military: The Greenslade Board investigating the British bases acquired in the destroyers-for-bases deal winds up its travels aboard light cruiser USS St. Louis at Norfolk, Virginia.

Free France: In a symbolic exercise, the Free French government officially is established in London. General de Gaulle, in Africa, broadcasts:

As long as the French Government and the representation of the French people do not exist normally and independently of the enemy, the powers formerly performed by the Chief of State and by the Council of Ministers will be exercised by the leader of the Free French forces assisted by a Council of Defense.

Albania: The Italians, preparing for their invasion of Greece, order all Jews out of Albania.

American Homefront: The 1939-40 New York World's Fair, which opened in April 1939, closes. A cultural success, it is a financial failure at least in part due to the outbreak of the war in Europe. Many countries have not participated or have withdrawn their participation due to the conflict. The site in Flushing Meadows remains a park to this day and was later used for the 1964-65 World's Fair, which obliterated the remnants of the earlier fair but used the same basic geography. The monuments leftover from the latter remain clearly visible to travelers on the nearby New York highways. Little is left of the 1939-40 Fair, however, which most people consider having been more historically significant and a classier affair. The site, incidentally, also will be used briefly as the first home of the United Nations.

Future History: John Joseph Gotti, Jr. is born in the Bronx, New York. Born in poverty, he rises through the ranks of organized crime and becomes the boss of the Gambino crime family. He ultimately is convicted of five murders and numerous other crimes. He dies in prison on 10 June 2002.

Frieda Siegel (Miss Brooklyn) at the Fair. The Crosley Pavilion and Trylon and Perisphere can be seen in the background.

October 1940
October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020

Friday 18 October 1940

Air raid warden Mary Couchman, 24-year-old, shields three little children as bombs fall. October 18, 1940.

Battle of Britain: Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, perhaps gilding the lily a bit too much, on 18 October 1940 continues his lavish praise of the Luftwaffe's lackluster campaign during the Battle of Britain. He thanks his pilots for "reducing the British plutocracy to fear and terror." This statement smacks of overkill, but the Luftwaffe's success or failure reflects directly upon him, so the better he makes their failures sound, the better he looks as well.

The fickle weather of 1940 once again puts many flying operations to a stop. The increased strength of the RAF is shown as it successfully prevents the usual reconnaissance flights over England during the morning.

There are no large-scale raids. Instead, there are numerous small-scale intrusions. The largest incident involves some Junkers Ju 88s that Fighter Command intercepts over Kent on the way to London. However, that is the exception.

After dark, the Luftwaffe swings back into action. It bombs London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Southampton, and East Anglia.  A direct hit on the Rose and Crown Pub results in 42 killed and 6 injured. The night's activity ends early, though, by 01:45, giving Londoners a chance to get some good rest. The Luftwaffe also lays mines in the Thames Estuary.

The Luftwaffe manages to lose 15 planes and the RAF only four. In the foul weather, pilots get disoriented and planes head off in the wrong direction. This happens on both sides. The RAF loses four Hurricanes when RAF No. 302 (Polish) Squadron becomes disoriented over Surrey and runs out of fuel and the planes have to land with dead sticks. This leads to four Hurricanes lost, along with their pilots. The Luftwaffe also has two planes crash back in France, killing the pilots.

There is an exchange of gunfire by the big coastal guns at Hellfire Corner (Straits of Dover), with little consequence.

Sergeant Michael Gibson is killed while defusing a bomb that fell on Coventry city center. After taking it to the Whitley Common, the bomb explodes, killing him and his squad of seven. Gibson is awarded the George Cross (posthumously) for an earlier incident on 18 September - obviously, he was a very brave man. The medal later sells at auction in 2012 for £93,000. Collectors view the George Cross as less valuable than the Victoria Cross, but fewer have been awarded and thus it is rarer.

European Air Operations: Poor weather restricts operations. RAF Bomber Command attacks the ports of Duisberg, Kiel and Hamburg, warehouses at Schwerte, Osnabruck, and Dortmund (also a factory there), and an aluminum factory at Lunen.

Major Werner Streib replaces Hptm. Radusch as Gruppenkommandeur of night fighter unit I./NJG 1. Meanwhile, a night fighter Do 17Z-10s of 4./NJG 1 shoots down an RAF Wellington bomber over the Zuider Zee in Holland.

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoys, by and large, and relatively speaking, have been unmolested until now. U-boats have been picking off stragglers and "independents," ships traveling alone. There have been various attacks on convoys, but they have been uncoordinated affairs that have not sunk more than a few ships at a time. That changes today with the first true wolfpack, directed and coordinated by U-boat headquarters in France. This marks a new phase in the naval war.

Half a dozen U-boats have been shadowing Convoy SC 7, which is an eastbound convoy that left Sydney, Nova Scotia on 5 October bound for Liverpool, for several days. SC 7 is composed of 35 ships but has had only a few escorts: destroyer HMS Scarborough, sloop HMS Fowey and corvette HMS Bluebell. Today, a couple of more escorts arrive from Great Britain: sloop HMS Leith and corvette HMS Heartsease. These five escorts, however, are outnumbered by the shadowing U-boats.

U-38 (Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe), operating out of Lorient, starts things off today, already having sunk the Greek freighter Aenos on the 18th. At 02:04, U-38 torpedoes and damages 3670-ton British freighter Carsbreck. The Carsbeck is carrying timber and thus is buoyant, and the ship manages to make port escorted by HMS Heartsease. The Leith and Heartsease attack U-38 without success, and then Heartsease joins Carsbeck as Convoy SC 7 sails on.

U-38, meanwhile, stumbles upon Convoy OB 229 in the same area. It torpedoes and sinks British freighter Sandsend. There are 34 survivors and five crew perish.

Now back down to four escorts, Convoy SC 7 heads into the night knowing it is in trouble. It is about 300 km northwest of Rockall.

Now, with U-38 out of the picture, five U-boats make a joint attack:

• U-46 (Oblt.z.S. Peter-Ottmar Grau)
• U-99 (Kplt. Otto Kretschmer)
• U-100 (Kptlt. Joachim Schepke)
• U-101 (Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim)
• U-123 (Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle)

This is not a seat-of-the-pants operation, where everybody just "does their thing." Strict control is maintained throughout by Konteradmiral Karl Dönitz at his headquarters in Lorient. The convoy escorts are completely ineffective and do not prevent any attacks - though they are instrumental in saving a lot of lives of merchant marine sailors. The night becomes a wonderland of flaming and sinking ships, with one torpedoed after another going down in flames, drifting onto other torpedoed ships, and generally causing chaos over many square miles of the open sea.

Adalbert Schnee, Karl Dönitz and Eberhard Godt at the Kriegsmarine Headquarters in Berlin, Germany. January 1943.

U-101 torpedoes and sinks 3913-ton British iron ore cargo ship Creekirk at 21:12. Loaded with 5900 tons of iron ore, it sinks quickly with all 36 men perishing in the dark.

U-101 also torpedoes 4155-ton British freighter Blairsprey at 23:08. With a load of timber, the Blairsprey is buoyant and, while abandoned, remains afloat. Another U-boat, U-100, torpedoes it at 02:50 on the 19th, but that doesn't sink Blairsprey, either. The ship eventually makes the Clyde in tow and is beached, and later repaired.

U-101 also torpedoes 2962 ton British freighter Assyrian (the convoy commodore's ship). The Assyrian is out of formation because earlier it had spotted another U-boat and chased it in order to ram it - unsuccessfully. U-101 sends a torpedo into its starboard side, which puts out its lights and engines but leaves the crew enough time to abandon ship. There are 34 survivors and 17 men perish. Captain Kearon later was awarded Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea and the OBE.

U-101 had fired four torpedoes in rapid succession, one of which sank the Assyrian. While two miss, another hits and sinks Dutch freighter Soesterberg. There are 19 survivors and 6 men perish.

Kptlt. Fritz Frauenheim of U-101.

U-99, led by legendary captain Kretschmer on his fifth patrol, has an epic night. It sinks in rapid succession:

• British 6055 ton freighter Empire Miniver (35 survive, 3 dead)
• British 4815 ton freighter Fiscus (38 dead, 1 survivor)
• Greek 3854 ton freighter Niritos (27 survive, one death)
• British 5154 ton freighter Empire Brigade (35 survive, 6 dead)
• Norwegian 1643 ton freighter Snefjeld (all survive)
• Greek 5875 ton freighter Thalia (22 perish, 6 survive)
• British 3106 ton freighter Clintonia (damaged, later sunk by gunfire from U-123) (34 survive, one death).

U-123 torpedoes and sinks 5556-ton British freighter Sedgepool. There are 36 survivors and three men perish.

U-123 torpedoes and damages British freighter Skekatika, which has grown tired of the slow pace of Convoy SC 7 and run ahead of it. This is one of those situations where those who figure that the faster ships should just go at their own pace are proven wrong. Skekatika's crew of 36 all survive and are taken on board HMS Fowey.

U-46 torpedoes and sinks 4885-ton British freighter Beatus in Convoy SC 7. All 37 men aboard are rescued.

U-46 also torpedoes and sinks 1996 ton Swedish freighter Convallaria in Convoy SC 7. Everybody aboard survives and is taken on board HMS Fowey.

U-100 torpedoes and damages Dutch freighter Boekelo. U-123 later comes along and finishes her off. All 25 men aboard survive.

U-46 torpedoes and sinks 1572 ton Swedish freighter Gunborg. All 23 men aboard survive and are taken aboard HMS Bluebell.

Locations of ships lost in Convoy SC 7.

Just to sum up, the ships lost in Convoy SC 7.

• Trevisa (1,813 grt. ca.)
• Languedoc (9,512 grt. br.)
• Scoresby (3,843 grt. br.)
• Aenos (3,554 grt. gr.)
• Beatus (4,885 grt. br.)
• Convallaria (1,996 grt. sw.)
• Creekirk (3,917 grt. br.)
• Empire Miniver (6,055 grt. br.)
• Gunborg (1,572 grt. sw.)
• Niritos (3,854 grt. gr.)
• Fiscus (4,815 grt. br.)
• Assyrian (2,962 grt. br.)
• Soesterberg (1,904 grt. nl.)
• Boekelo (2,118 grt. nl.)
• Empire Brigade (5,154 grt. br.)
• Sedgepool (5,556 grt. br.)
• Thalia (5,875 grt. gr.)
• Snefjeld (1,643 grt. nw.)
• Shekatika (5,458 grt. br.)
• Clintonia (3,106 grt. br.)

Meanwhile, Convoy HX 79 also is about to get devastated. This also is an eastbound convoy of 49 ships which left Halifax on 8 October 1940. This is a case of two convoys merging as they funnel into the Western Approaches, making one formless mass with ships exposed to attack everywhere the U-boats can look. Prien, in fact, initiated the entire attack because he spotted HX 79 and informed U-boat headquarters about it. However, those attacks occur on the 19th and 20th, which is where we will address them.

There is also U-boat action elsewhere.

German patrol craft (U-Jäger) UJ 116 and UJ 118 of the 5th German anti-submarine flotilla are operating in the North Sea off Texel when they spot British submarine HMS H49 ((Lt R. E. Coltart). They depth-charge and sink it. There are 21-25 deaths (accounts vary), and only one man, Leading Stoker George William Oliver, survives. He winds up in Marlag M as a POW for the rest of the war. This is a known war grave off Terschelling. Divers visiting it have been prosecuted by the Dutch government.

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Argus sails to Reykavik, Iceland to take aboard planes of RAF No. 701 Squadron.

Royal Navy 448 ton anti-submarine trawler Kingston Cairngorm, in tow since being mined off Portland on the 17th, sinks at 03:18.
The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 159-ton British trawler King Athelstan about 20 km off Mizzen Head.

Royal Navy heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall seizes Vichy French freighter Indochinois off Casablanca. It boards it with a prize crew and sends it to Freetown.

Convoy OA 231 departs from Methil, Convoy SL 52 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy escort destroyer HMS Exmoor (L 61, Lt. Commander Robert T. Lampard) is commissioned.


Battle of the Mediterranean: General de Gaulle meets with General Catroux. This is a relationship fraught with intrigue because technically Catroux outranks de Gaulle (though technically they both no longer serve in any nation's army). De Gaulle is known to fear that the British will replace him with Catroux. This meeting allays some of de Gaulle's fears on that score, but this will not be the last time that a possible battle for supremacy of the Free France movement arises.

A Royal Navy operation including two Saunders-Roe London Flying boats of RAF 202 Squadron and destroyers HMS Firedrake, HMS Vidette, and HMS Wrestler find Italian submarine Durbo 120 miles east of Gibraltar (off Alboran Island). The British forces torpedo and sink the Italian submarine, with everybody on board surviving. The 48 Italians become POWs (ultimately in the US). This sinking has lasting consequences because, before sinking the sub, Royal Navy sailors get aboard and grab documents that will be helpful in tracking down other submarines.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Regent, having collided with a caique in the Ionian Sea, arrives at Malta for repairs with damage to its forward hydroplanes.

The South African Air Force, based in Sudan, attacks the Italian airfield at Barentu. The RAF attacks various Italian bases, including Benghazi, Sollum, Gura, Diredawa, Rhodes (an airfield) and the Dodecanese Islands.

At Malta, Governor Dobbie responds to a recent memorandum from the Chief of the Imperial Staff which suggested that additional forces need not be stationed on the island to repel an invasion, as forces could be transported in quickly. This degenerates into an argument over tactics - Dobbie wants the ability to attack the landing zones, while the Imperial Staff feels a counter-attack after a four-day delay (the minimum amount of time to bring in new forces) would suffice. Dobbie is probably right because the islands are so small that any delay likely would result in quick defeat.

North Judah streetcar, San Francisco, California. October 18, 1940.

Battle of the Pacific: US schooner Director II runs aground off Gladstone, Queensland and is lost.

German raiders Orion and Komet, operating in tandem, rendezvous with supply ship Kulmerland at Lamotrek Atoll in the Caroline Islands.

Italian/German Relations: Having made his decision to invade Greece on the 15th, Mussolini has been studiously quiet about it. Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano has told neither the German ambassador nor his German counterpart. The decision has immense implications for Germany, but Mussolini throughout the war occasionally allows his annoyance at being the junior partner in his relationship with Hitler to manifest itself.

Finally, word starts seeping out today. First, Lt. General Emil (Enno) von Rintelen, Wehrmacht liaison to Rome, tells the OKW that Mussolini has decided to attack Greece on the 26th. In this sense, he is almost acting in the role of a spy, as perhaps the Italian Generals don't even realize this is still top secret information. The information is outdated because army commander Marshal Badoglio already had convinced Mussolini to postpone the attack for two days, until the 28th. However, it is the first information Germany receives about Mussolini's intentions at all.

Then, Ciano sends an odd telegram to German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop stating that army commander Marshal Badoglio had opposed any Greek invasion and even Mussolini had been hesitant. Ciano professes himself enthusiastic about it, which is at odds with his usual attitude toward military entanglements. The telegram does not even say that such an invasion has been planned - it comes out of the blue as if the Germans already should know about the operation. All of this rather casual communication creates an appearance of insincerity or deception, to put it mildly.

All of this information sends the German command at Zossen and the Foreign Ministry into a whirlwind of activity. They contact their agents from Belgrade to Ankara to Tirana to Rome to get confirmation, and General von Pohl (liaison to the Italian Air Force) confirms that he has heard the same thing. Ribbentrop, meanwhile, remains in the dark about the status of the projected Italian operation, as the Italians are being cute about divulging the information.

Italian/German/Greek Relations: Germany and Italy begin ratcheting up pressure on Greece, submitting demands to the Greek government which they do not expect to be met.

The War Illustrated, Vol. 3 No 59, October 18, 1940.

Japanese/Dutch Relations: There are reports that the Japanese and the government in the Dutch East Indies in Batavia have reached a "concrete understanding" on oil deliveries to Japan. The actual agreement will be signed on the 19th.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: The British in India suspend indefinitely the export of scrap iron to Japan. This follows upon a similar ban imposed by the United States and appears to be tied to the re-opening of the Burma Road.

US Military: Heavy cruiser USS Louisville arrives in Rio de Janeiro as part of the continuing "Show the flag" operation.

China: The Chinese announce that in the first 18 hours of the re-opening of the Burma Road, more than 1500 tons of cargo have embarked on the long journey from Lashio (the start) to Kunming (the terminus). The truck convoys travel at night and a mile apart to avoid attacks. The trucks are described as "the latest American types."

The Japanese also have noticed the Burma Road's opening, and today the Japanese South China Seas Fleet Command announces that they sent 36 planes to bomb sections of the road (Bunna Road) at and near Kunming. This included a bridge which they "seriously damaged." Naval Air Force Commander Chikao Yamamoto (not the famous Yamamoto), noting bad weather over the target, states:

Heaven helped us by enabling us to sight and bomb the bridge. We saw no enemy aircraft and no anti-aircraft fire. 

There is some confusion about how the road will be used; the Colonial Secretary (N.L. Smith) issues, then retracts, a statement that gasoline and some other prohibited items under the July Anglo-Japanese agreement would be sent over the road. The Japanese would not be happy with that, and they retain the ability to pressure the British enclaves in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

French Homefront: The Vichy government publishes the new anti-Semitic laws (Statute of 4 Oct 1940) that it has recently announced. This specifies that Jews who are not French citizens are no longer protected by French laws and will be housed in new "Special camps." Now, where could they have gotten that idea?

British Homefront: Another evacuation of London children begins. Some 2000 depart every day for the more rural parts of the country. In fact, many Londoners now are living in caves in Kent. Most, however, have relocated to places such as Reading, Basingstoke, and Oxford.

An ad in The Pilot (Vass, N.C.), 18 October 1940.

October 1940

October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020