Sunday 9 March 1941

Greek troops at Doliana, Arcadia, Greece, March 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: Mussolini is in Tirana on 9 March 1941 to personally oversee the launch of a major offensive to recapture ground in the center of the line. The Italians begin the attack, the "Primavera Offensive," with a two-hour artillery barrage by 300 guns. The attack is in the mountains, so the artillery size is small due to transport difficulties. While 100,000 shells are dropped on a 6 km front, the effect of the shelling on the Greek defenses is minimal. The Italian Regia Aeronautica chips in with attacks by Junkers Ju 87 Stukas.

The offensive by a dozen Italian divisions is designed on the left of the advance to break through the pass over Mt. Trebeshina north of the Vojussa. The Cagliari Division is to lead this assault, but its commander, General Gianni, is not well. This contributes to the attack losing impetus. On the right wing of the attack, the Pinerolo Division aims for the Qafa Lusit Pass. The most important area is in the center, where the Puglie Division heads toward Monastery Hill. This promontory is close to the front, but is heavily defended.

There is no subtlety to the attack; it is what the Germans might call a "cleaving stroke" in which 50,000 Italian troops will try to overcome the determined Greek defenders by sheer weight of numbers. The Greek First Army is dug in and knows the area well. The Italians make small gains of less than a mile during the day.

East African Campaign: South African troops continue advancing along the road to Mogadishu.

Fireboats at the West India docks, London. Some sources date this as 9 March 1941, others as some time in 1940.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe is quiet during the day, with its usual scattered raids by lone raiders in southern England. After dark, the German bombers once again attack London and Portsmouth. The docks burn throughout the day from the attacks that began late on the 8th.

As part of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's "Battle of the Atlantic," RAF Bomber Command switches bombing target priorities in favor of U-boat bases and construction yards. Throughout the war, tension will arise over what parts of the German war effort are targeted - each service has its own preferences, such as tank factories, aircraft factories, and U-boat pens.

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visiting London, records his view of last night's big air raid on London:

Last night London has its first real blitz since I arrived, and I missed it [Menzies was at Churchill's Chequers home]. Bombs & incendiaries all round my hotel & the West End generally - Cafe de Paris, where a bomb cam right through into the ballroom. Curzon St. incendiaries on roof of No. 10 [Downing Street] & so on. There is no pretence of a military objective.

Menzies also has dinner today with Sir Alan Brooke, in charge of the United Kingdom Home Forces. Brooke explains in detail the predicates for areas where conditions favor a German invasion of England:

• Adequate Luftwaffe fighter cover for bombers
• Restricted waters to minimize Royal Navy defense

According to Brooke, these conditions mean an invasion must occur somewhere between Plymouth and The Wash, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire.

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Lütjens continues taking his two ships in Operation Berlin, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, west into the Atlantic. As it retreats from the shipping lanes, Scharnhorst comes across 6352-ton independent Greek collier Marathon. Scharnhorst takes the entire crew prisoner.

The Luftwaffe bombs local Convoys EN 83 and WN 95. British 4976-ton freighter Esmond suffers damage off Buchan Ness. There are seven casualties.

The Luftwaffe also bombs and damages a 1040-ton British freighter, Sylvia Beale, off of Dungeness.

Anti-submarine trawler 730-ton HMS Gulfoss hits a mine and sinks in the English Channel. There are 10 deaths and the skipper, A. Hill, is wounded.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler 295-ton HMS Hatsuse hits a mine off Penlee Point. The captain beaches the ship at Cawsand Bay. The ship later is salvaged and repaired at Plymouth.

The Royal Navy's 1st Minelaying Squadron departs to lay minefield SN.68 B.

Signal Magazine, March 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Rommel in command of Afrika Korps considers going over to the offensive. He sends a message to the OKW which offers three objectives:

1. Recovery of ground to the British Operation Compass;
2. An advance into Northern Egypt;
3. Taking the Suez Canal.

Rommel's supply and troop convoys have been getting through from Naples, so he is rapidly building up his military strength.

The Royal Navy has been hard at work sweeping the Suez Canal of mines dropped by the Luftwaffe. While the entire canal is not yet clear, enough of it is for the Royal Navy to finally give aircraft carrier HMS Formidable the go-ahead to begin its transit to the Mediterranean. Formidable makes the entire passage and departs Port Said for Alexandria with an escort of two destroyers (HMS Juno and Griffin).

The Germans are famous for their Wolf Pack attacks, but a little-known fact from the war is that the British occasionally try the tactic, too. Today, four Royal Navy submarines (HMS Unique, Upholder, Upright and Utmost) position themselves astride the convoy route between Palermo and Tripoli about 50 km from Tripolitania in the Gulf of Hammamet. HMS Utmost spots a convoy and attacks, torpedoing and sinking 5683-ton Italian freighter Capo Vita. Another freighter, 6476-ton Caffaro, has mechanical issues and must return to Trapani.

Another Italian convoy of four freighters (Ankara, Kybfels, Marburg, and Reichenfels) makes port in Tripoli without incident.

A British troop convoy departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. The British soldiers are carried on Royal Navy cruisers HMS Bonaventure, Gloucester, and York.

Convoy GA-2 departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria.

Vichy French submarine depot ship Jules Verne, escorted by destroyers Albatros and Tempete, passes through the Straits of Gibraltar without British interference.

In Malta, the first Luftwaffe attack is at 06:27. Four Bf 110s escort a lone bomber across the coast at wavetop level, evading the island's radar. They come in so low that one of the Bf 110s hits a ridge and crashes. The remaining planes strafe Ta Qali airfield, destroying a Hawker Hurricane and damaging two others. About two hours later, a single Junkers Ju 88 bomber drops bombs on the Grand Harbour area. Late in the afternoon, at 18:08, another lone Ju 88 drops four bombs near St. Clements Bastion. The first attack continues the Luftwaffe's gradual destruction of the defending RAF fighter forces which is becoming a real problem.

Spy Stuff: At around this time, the Japanese begin coordinating their spying efforts within the United States. Spying is to be done both by official Japanese government officials, such as embassy personnel and by ethnic Japanese with or without American citizenship. A meeting is held at the Japanese Embassy in which it is decided to request $500,000 to purse these spying activities. The Nichibei Kogyo Kaisha propaganda/espionage organization in Los Angeles is reorganized as the Nichibei Kinema Company, Inc., and it is suspected by the US government as acting as a front for other suspect organizations and firms. A spy ring in San Diego, a major naval port, also is organized around this time.

Superman Sunday No. 71, 9 March 1941.

Dutch/Bulgarian Relations: The Dutch government breaks diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.

US Military: A flotilla led by heavy cruiser USS Chicago (CA-29) under the command of Rear Admiral John H. Newton, Commander Cruisers Scouting Force) arrives in Samoa. This is their original destination, but that may change. For now, the ships will anchor as the military authorities contemplate their next move.

China: The Western Hupei Operation continues. The Japanese 11th Army's 13th Infantry Division captures Kaolingpo. The Chinese defenders continue withdrawing toward Chunking.

Holocaust: The German Occupation authorities begin deporting the Jews of Oswiecim to Chrzanow in southern Poland. Oswiecim is the home to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and also is the location of synthetic oil and other plants which are to make use of slave labor.

French Homefront: The Vichy government continues restricting the freedom of Jewish citizens. It now requires government authorization before Jews can sell or rent their companies. The Germans have noticed that many Jews who wish to flee the Continent are apt to "rent" their companies to Gentiles for the duration of the conflict while they escape to England or the United States.

British Homefront: Labour Secretary Ernest Bevin gives a speech directed at women civilians. He appeals for:

1. 100,000 women to volunteer to work at munitions factories
2. 50,000 former skilled shipbuilding workers (men) who have retired to return to their old jobs
3. businessmen and others in non-essential jobs to take on unskilled positions in shipyards.

The New York Herald Tribune on 10 March 1941 refers to this as a "triple-barreled appeal. He adds:

I have to tell the women that I cannot offer them a delightful life. They will have to suffer some inconvenience. But I want them to come forward in the spirit of determination to help us through.

To assist women in taking on these tasks, the government expands day nurseries and prepares a register of "minders."

Capitol Homes, public housing project, Atlanta, Georgia, March 9, 1941. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographs.

American Homefront: Ernesto Arturo Miranda is born in Mesa, Arizona. He quickly becomes a petty criminal, and by the 1960s is a hardened criminal who has been in and out of jail. On 13 March 1963, Miranda is arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and rape by the Phoenix Police Department. After participating in a police lineup, Miranda gives a confession for the crimes. However, the confession is obtained without informing Miranda of his constitutional rights against self-incrimination and to have an attorney present. The victim also identifies Miranda as her attacker. Miranda then writes down a confession.

A public defender, Alvin Moore, defends Miranda. The confession is used as evidence, to which Moore objects. The court overrules Moore and allows the confession as evidence. The jury convicts Miranda of rape and kidnapping, and the court sentences him to 20-30 years. Moore then hands to the case off to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which submits a petition for certiorari (appeal) to the United States Supreme Court.

In Miranda v. Arizona, the US Supreme Court holds that:

The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him.

This warning to persons in custody becomes known as the "Miranda Warning." Generally, the Miranda Warning is:

You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at no cost. During any questioning, you may decide at any time to exercise these rights, not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?

The Supreme Court sets aside Miranda's conviction due to its tainting by an unconstitutionally derived confession. However, the state of Arizona retries Miranda without using the confession, but he is convicted on other evidence. He once again is sentenced to 20-30 years in prison. Paroled after only a few years, Miranda makes a living selling autographed Miranda warning cards, and on 31 January 1976 perishes in a knife fight in a bar.

Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe match in Turkey, 9 March 1941. The two teams have a fierce rivalry, representing parts of Istanbul on different sides of the strait that divides the city. Fenerbahçe wins, 2-0. It is the 87th meeting between the two teams (the rivalry currently approaches 400 games, and the most recent game in November 2016 also was won by Fenerbahçe 2-0).

March 1941

March 1, 1941: Rettungsboje
March 2, 1941: Oath of Kufra
March 3, 1941: Germans in Bulgaria
March 4, 1941: Lofoten Islands Raid
March 5, 1941: Cooperation With Japan
March 6, 1941: Battle of Atlantic
March 7, 1941: Prien Goes Under
March 8, 1941: Cafe de Paris
March 9, 1941: Italian Spring Offensive
March 10, 1941: Humanitarian Aid
March 11, 1941: Lend Lease Become Law
March 12, 1941: A New Magna Carta
March 13, 1941: Clydeside Wrecked
March 14, 1941: Leeds Blitz
March 15, 1941: Cruisers Strike!
March 16, 1941: Kretschmer Attacks
March 17, 1941: Happy Time Ends
March 18, 1941: Woolton Pie
March 19, 1941: London Hit Hard
March 20, 1941: Romeo and Juliet
March 21, 1941: Plymouth Blitz
March 22, 1941: Grand Coulee Dam
March 23, 1941: Malta Under Siege
March 24, 1941: Afrika Korps Strikes!
March 25, 1941: Yugoslavia Joins The Party
March 26, 1941: Barchini Esplosivi
March 27, 1941: Belgrade Coup
March 28, 1941: Cape Matapan Battle
March 29, 1941: Lindbergh Rants
March 30, 1941: Commissar Order
March 31, 1941: Cookie Bombs

2020

Monday 5 August 1940

Spitfires over England, August 1940.

Battle of Britain: It is typical summer weather for a change on 5 August 1940, and the Luftwaffe gets busy. It is not a bad day for its forces at all. The Luftwaffe still is preparing for its maximum effort, though, so this is just another warm-up.

First thing in the morning, bombers attack shipping south of Selsey Bill. They have no success and wisely depart upon sighting RAF fighters.

Another formation of Junkers Ju 88s attacks the convoy about an hour later, around 08:00. The Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron based at Hornchurch intervene, and a dogfight erupts between them and Bf 109s of I,/JG54. The British lose a plane and the Luftwaffe has two damaged.

Another battle erupts around the same time along the coastline near Kent. RAF No. 64 Squadron sends its Spitfires up against more JG 54 fighters, both sides losing a fighter and another Bf 109 damaged.

The afternoon features the main event of the day. Junkers Ju 88s escorted by Bf 109s of JG 51 once again fall on Channel shipping. RAF Nos. 41 and 151 Squadrons intercept. A wild melee develops, with 7,/JG51 claiming three Spitfires for one loss of their own.

There also are various small-scale raids around Dungeness, with RAF No. 145 downing a Junkers Ju 88 and Henschel Hs 126, but also losing a Hurricane. Around 15:12, a lone raider bombs Norwich and causes more damage than you might think, blowing up a railroad installation and some nearby lumber yards. Lone intruders also hit various unconnected spots such as Brighton, Leighton Buzzard, Milford haven, Isle of Grain and Middlesborough. There also are some bombs dropped basically in the middle of nowhere around midnight in Northumberland, likely by a lost bomber or two. The attacks are random and scattered, thus difficult to defend against.

Another convoy attack takes place during the afternoon off Yarmouth. RAF No. 242 Squadron downs a bomber or two.

For its part, RAF Bomber Command continues its raids on airfields and ports in northwest Europe, attacking its usual targets of Schiphol/Amsterdam, Borkum, Hamburg, Kiel and nearby areas.

Most accounts give the day to the RAF by a wide margin, but a close look at the individual actions suggest a much closer score.

1,/JG51 suffers perhaps the most serious loss on its home field when Staffelkapitän Hptm. Douglas Pitcairn of 1./JG 51 runs into his wingman on takeoff. He has to be replaced by Oblt. Hermann-Friedrich Jöppien.

Stukas, August 1940.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-56 (Oberleutnant zur See Otto Harms) stalks Convoy OB 193 off the Western Approaches. Just after dark, at 21:38, it fires off two torpedoes, one of which hits the 5408-ton British coal freighter Boma. There are 50 survivors, 3 crew perish.

276 ton trawler River Clyde hits a mine and sinks off Aldeburgh Light float, a dozen men perish.

British 5112 ton rice freighter Cape St. George hits a sunken wreck southeast of Cape Verde and sinks. All 65 aboard survive.

German raider Atlantis embarks the captured freighter Tirranna with 274 prisoners - all that will fit, there are still almost 100 left on the Atlantis - and sends it back to France with a prize crew.

Troop convoy WS 2 departs a British port, bound for British garrisons in India and Egypt via the Cape of Good Hope.

The Queen Mary enters a graving dock in Singapore for full conversion to a troopship, complete with paravanes.

Convoys MT 131 and OA 194 depart from Methil, Convoy FS 243 departs from the Tyne.

Battle of the Mediterranean: On Malta, there is an air raid alert at 15:15, but it is only an Italian decoy mission to attempt to engage the new Hurricane fighters. They fly over the island for a while, then fly off after briefly tangling with one of two Hurricanes which rise to challenge them. The Italians may figure that the new pilots brought in on the 2nd via Operation Hurry are inexperienced and thus would be easier to dispose of now rather than after more time passes - a view shared by Malta's Governor-General Dobbie.

General Sir Archibald Wavell flies in from his headquarters in Alexandria. Visits like this are extremely important for island morale. This is the first leg on an extremely hazardous journey to London for consultations, and of course, the entire thing is extremely hush-hush.

British Somaliland: The Italian invasion from Abyssinia continues against light opposition. Two of the three Italian columns capture their objectives, Hargeisa and Zeila, without much hindrance. The third column is approaching its objective, Odweina. Italian bombers are active throughout the region, attacking various British strong points on the coast such as Berbera, Burao, and Zeila. The British have virtually no air presence in the region.

Anglo/US Relations: Imperial Airways flying boat Clare makes the first of a series of mail/courier flights from Great Britain to New York's La Guardia Field aka New York Municipal Airport via Newfoundland.

British Ambassador Lord Lothian presents his government's proposal for a swap of certain British possessions in exchange for 50 or 60 old US destroyers.

French Vice-Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert, in command of Vichy forces in the French West Indies, meets with American Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade regarding the powerful French naval forces in the Western Hemisphere. This is a touchy subject: while the US and France are both technically neutral, the US has been supporting the British and Vichy France has been actively collaborating with Germany. However, every overseas French command has been making its own individual decision about who to support.

US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold Stark coordinates the exchange of scientific information with Sir Henry Tizard's British mission, which has just arrived.

Life Magazine, 5 August 1940, has a big spread on US Vacations.

Anglo/Polish Relations: The British sign another set of agreements with the Polish government-in-exile. Already, the Poles have staffed two RAF Squadrons which to date are performing extremely well. There have been some agreements before, but the situation continues to evolve. General Sikorski, now Polish Prime Minister and Commander in Chief, signs the agreement. The agreement enables Polish military forces in England to retain their national identity and military customs, such as marches and salutes. They remain under Polish Command in conjunction with the British War Office - ultimately, of course, under British command. They wear British uniforms (with certain modifications to badges and insignia to reflect national traditions) but adopt British Army staff methods, procedures, and organizations. Many locals are taken aback by the presence of the foreign-speaking soldiers with weird badges.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler and Mussolini have discussions. For once, Mussolini has something to brag about in British Somaliland.

German Military: OKW Chief of Staff Franz Halder reviews the first operational plans for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union planned for 1941. They have been prepared by staff officer General of Artillery Erich Marcks. It is called Operation Draft East. It proposes two thrusts to reach the Arkhangelsk-Astrakhan line (the "A-A Line") during a summer campaign. This would require the capture of Leningrad, Kyiv, Moscow, Stalingrad, the occupation of all territory west of the Volga, and most of the industrialized areas of the USSR, the entire Donetz basin, and the Grozny/Maikop oil fields before the snows hit.

While first drafts are not expected to be perfect, the draft's fantastic assumptions demonstrate the extreme confidence - over-confidence - of the Wehrmacht in its outlook following the victory in France. The fact that Marcks is not laughed out of Halder's office, but instead has his draft taken seriously, speaks volumes. Having an artillery officer draft the plans, which will call for extravagant panzer thrusts and highly mobile operations just to occupy that amount of territory in that amount of time, much less pry it out of the hands of the Soviets, shows how unrealistic the entire planning process is.

The Manly ferry in Sydney Australia approaches wharf number three in Circular Quay, August 5, 1940 (Photo from the Fairfax archives).

US Military: Heavy cruisers USS Wichita and Quincy continue their "show the flag" cruise to ports in South America, departing from Bahia for Pernambuco, Brazil.

US Government: President Roosevelt and US Attorney General Robert H. Jackson appear before the Governors of 42 States and urge the passage of laws against foreign spies and "Fifth Columnists."

Baltic States: Latvia joins its fellow Baltic States in "voluntarily" becoming the Soviet Socialist Republic of Latvia.

Holocaust: Germans are now required to carry a Certificate of Ancestry, the Ahnenpass, showing their racial purity stretching back to 1800. Interesting, several German leaders, including Adolf Hitler himself, might have some difficulty producing such documentation themselves.

In Holland, butchers are arrested for violating a new law banning the kosher preparation of meat.

US Homefront: Frederick Albert Cook passes away in New York. He claimed to reach the North Pole a year before Robert Peary in 1908, and while that (along with other claims) soon was dismissed, he did make important discoveries during his expeditions.

"Commander of Britain's Defense" Sir Alan F. Brooke graces the cover of today's Time Magazine.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Friday 26 July 1940

Officers of the 11th Hussars use a large umbrella to give shade during a halt, while out patrolling on the Libyan frontier, 26 July 1940. The vehicle is a Morris CS9 armored car, which would be quite hot in the mid-day sun.

Battle of Britain: Poor flying weather returns on 26 July 1940, with a low cloud ceiling and heavy rain. Operations over England are limited, and the few that are sent are turned back by RAF interceptors.

The few attacks that do get through cause little damage. At first light, a lone wolf attacker bombs Mayfield and Hastings.

A large formation of Bf 109s flying south of the Isle of Wight is intercepted by Hurricanes of RAF No. 601 Squadron. The German planes shoot down a Hurricane and damage another but sustain damage to several of their own planes.

Another raid on Portland is turned back around noontime, with the Luftwaffe losing a Bf 109 from II,/JG 27 and one from III,/JG27.

During the afternoon, another large force of Luftwaffe planes approaches the Isle of Wight, but again is turned back. The RAF is maintaining standing patrols in the area which are effective.

After dark, the Luftwaffe sent over several solo raiders. The Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton, Bristol proper, some Channel shipping, Kent and Brentwood, Essex all suffer some damage.

German E-boats are not troubled by the weather and attack a convoy off of Shoreham. They sink 821 ton British freighter Lulonga, 1,013 ton cargo ship Broadhurst, and 646 ton freighter London Trader.

Losses for the day are light, with the Luftwaffe losing three fighters and the RAF a Hurricane.

Some help for the weary RAF planes arrives in the form of Canadian-built Hurricanes manned by Canadian pilots.

The Admiralty prohibits ships from venturing past Dover during daylight hours due to the strain that such convoys are putting on resources.

F/O Derek H Ward of No 87 Squadron RAF with a Hurricane Mk I LK-M deployed to RAF Hullavington to extend the night defenses. The aircraft was flown by P/O John R "Johnny" Cock on the night of 26 July 1940 to score his sixth victory. In one of the first successful nocturnal interceptions performed by No 10 Group, the 22-year-old Australian succeeded in knocking out a mine-laying He 111 in the glare of Bristol's searchlights.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends a risky daylight raid against the Dortmund power station. Operations during the daylight hours are more precise, but they invite fighter interception and more accurate anti-aircraft fire. Today, though, the weather is so poor that it is almost like bombing at night anyway. Not much damage is done.

Other RAF raids are launched on airfields in Holland at Amsterdam/Schiphol and Waalhaven. Attacks are made on Hamm and Ludwigshafen. Night raids are launched on ports such as Cherbourg, St. Nazaire, and Nantes.

RAF Bomber Command sends a dozen planes on minelaying operations during the night.

The Axis raids Gibraltar during the night without causing much damage at all.

Air Intelligence reports that the German high command is concerned about RAF raids on Germany because they are causing substantial damage. Delayed action bombs also are causing concern.

The NY Times highlights the decision by President Roosevelt to ban the sale of oil and scrap metal to Japan. The ship referred to in the headline is the  Meknés, which sank on the night of 24/25 July.

Battle of the Atlantic: The convoy escorting the partially repaired Gneisenau back to Kiel is rounding Stavanger, Norway when it is spotted by the British submarine HMS Thames. It fires a torpedo at the ship that instead hits torpedo boat Luchs which unexpectedly crosses in between at extremely close range to the submarine, blowing it up. The Thames is never heard from again and is assumed to have been destroyed by depth charges or by hitting a mine shortly after this incident. Another possibility is that the nearby explosion of the torpedo itself caused some kind of damage to the submarine, or the sinking Luchs fell on it.

U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) sinks 9,337-ton British liner Accra about 320 miles west of Ireland at 14:47. There are 465 survivors and 35 perish. The Accra is with Convoy OB 188, so picking up the survivors happens quickly.

U-34 also torpedoes 4,359-ton British freighter Vinemoor in the same convoy. Everybody on board, 32 crew, survives, and the ship is wrecked and sinks on the 27th.

British 1,189 ton cargo ship Haytor strikes a mine in the North Sea and sinks.

Convoy OA 190 departs from Methil, Convoy OG 39 departs from Liverpool.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF bombs the Italian airfield at Derna, Libya, damaging or destroying half a dozen aircraft. The Italians bomb Mersa Matruh, causing four casualties, and armored cars at Sidi Rezegh.

A raid on Malta at 02:37 causes damage at Valletta, Grand Harbour, Marsa Creek, Kirkop, and RAF Ta Silch. The bombs hit a power station which puts the local electrical supply out of operation.

At Malta, hotels now are advertising that passersby may shelter in them during air raids.

The Italian Stefani news agency asserts that Malta has been destroyed as a British military base, though it remains active as an airbase.

Spy Stuff: German Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop remains hopeful that he can use the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as pawns in negotiations with the British. Under orders from Hitler, he dispatches SS officer Walter Schellenberg to the neutral city of Lisbon, Portugal to see if the pair, who have refused Ribbentrop's attempts to have them return to German voluntarily, can be kidnapped. Schellenberg hopes to lure the couple back to Fascist Spain, where presumably Franco will play along and arrest them on some pretext. Schellenberg begins spreading rumors that the British secret service has orders to kill the couple due to their pro-German leanings.

The Duke and Duchess are staying near Estoril while they await passage to the Duke's new posting as Governor-General of the Bahamas. They are in a villa owned by the banking brothers, Espirito Santos. They have been traveling in a small party of three cars, a trailer and a truck. It is unclear at this point if the Royal Navy will send a destroyer to take them, or they will fly the Clipper. Their presence in Portugal is well-known around the world and news of them appears in society pages everywhere.

The crew of a Bristol Blenheim Mk IV of No. 40 Squadron exit their aircraft at Wyton, July 1940.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler concludes his talks with the Romanian Premier and Foreign Minister, who then leave for Rome to see Mussolini. A topic of conversation is two Romanian tankers detained in Port Said by the British. Hitler also advises them to give Hungary the territory it wants.

German/Bulgarian Relations: Next on Hitler's diplomatic list are the Bulgarian Premier and Foreign Minister, who arrive in Salzburg ready to make the drive up to Berchtesgaden.

League of Nations: Joseph Avenol, the French Secretary-General of the League of Nations, resigns effective at the end of August. He is considered sympathetic to Vichy France. The League of Nations itself has dwindled to about 100 employees of all kinds as Avenol has sanctioned the firing of the British employees.

Soviet Government: General Golikov becomes Deputy Chief of the General Staff (Stavka), while General Nikolai Vatutin becomes Head of the Operations Directorate.

British Government: Home Guard chief Sir Alan Brooke confides that he is growing pessimistic about the prospects of heading off an invasion. The power of the Royal Navy, in his opinion, diminishes greatly in value as the Luftwaffe becomes more ascendant.

Brooke, of course, is right. The feasibility of a successful German landing with the forces available is probably at its height during this period. However, on the German side, Hitler's preconditions for Operation Sea Lion as set forth in his Fuhrer Directive of 16 July are not being met. Those preconditions, such as sealing off the English Channel with mines, are extremely unrealistic in any event, but they underscore the fact that nobody in the Wehrmacht really wants to make the attempt. One problem is that the German invasion plan envisages a landing where the British are strongest, in the south, rather than in the north where perhaps Scapa Flow could be neutralized with a quick assault and a sustainable beachhead grabbed nearby.

At the heart of the matter, Hitler's complete ignorance about naval operations and unbridled German pessimism about the Kriegsmarine's abilities is the ultimate barrier to any attempt. It is easier to simply punt and wait for the completion of the battleships Tirpitz and the Bismarck and perhaps the aircraft carriers, with the shaky assumption that they will make a difference, rather than risk everything on a weak navy and a Luftwaffe which is showing distinct weaknesses operating over the Channel. Meanwhile, the British are scrambling successfully to upgrade their defenses with each passing day, though the RAF's attrition remains a serious matter.

Australia: The government forms the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS).

China: The Japanese have been so successful at cutting off supply routes over the Himalayas and through French Indochina that the Nationalists resort to trading with the Soviet Union. This requires using pack mules and camels to cross the roadless deserts.

Latin America: Light cruiser USS Phoenix (CL 46) departs from Callao, Peru, ending its "Show the Flag" mission. It returns to base.

American Homefront: "Pride and Prejudice," starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, is released. While the film is very well received by critics, it produces a loss of $241,000 for MGM. There is criticism that Garson is too old for the part and that the entire thing has been "Hollywoodized" by changing the time period of the original Jane Austen novel and overly compressing the narrative.

Future History:  Mary Jo Kopechne is born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She becomes famous in 1969 when she perishes in a car accident while driving with future Senator Ted Kennedy.

RAF Fordson tractor towing a bomb trolley at No. 10 Operational Training Unit, RAF Abingdon, Berks. 26 July 1940.

July 1940

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

2020

Friday 19 July 1940

General Dietl, the first recipient of the Oak Leaves on 19 July 1940.

German Government: In a speech on 19 July 1940 made to the Reichstag but intended for international distribution, Adolf Hitler confirms the doubts expressed in his 16 July 1940 Directive No. 15 regarding Operation Sea Lion. As stated in the directive, he would prefer not to have to invade England. What he has in mind as a settlement is unknown, but he is the only one making peace offers - the British are adamantly opposed to even considering the idea.

In this hour, I feel it to be my duty before my own conscience to appeal once more to reason and common sense in Great Britain as much as elsewhere. I consider myself in a position to make this appeal, since I am not a vanquished foe begging favors, but the victor, speaking in the name of reason. I can see no reason why this war need go on. I am grieved to think of the sacrifices it must claim.

Hitler adds that if Churchill ignores him, "I shall have relieved my conscience in regard to the things to come." He somewhat dilutes the "peace" offer, though, with some rather fanciful trash talk:

Fighting alone all these weeks on the Channel front, Jagdgeschwader 51 has already shot down 150 of the enemy's aircraft, quite enough to weaken him seriously. Think now of all the bombers we can parade in the English sky. The few R.A.F. fighters will not be able to cope. 

The timing of the speech suggests that the start of the true Battle of Britain is not 10 July, as the British claim, but August as the Germans maintain. The British date is somewhat arbitrary, as the Luftwaffe had been staging raids during late June. US journalist William Shirer considers the speech a "masterpiece," though of little value as a basis of peace. He considers Hitler the "finest liar in History."

The British government takes its time refusing the peace offer, but the BBC - on its own initiative - immediately rejects it. The Germans use the speech as the basis of a propaganda campaign, dropping leaflets with that theme in London. This is the last open peace proposal of any kind between the UK and Germany before the closing days of the Reich, though there are various half-hearted attempts by the Germans to start some kind of negotiations along the way.

It is easy to dismiss Hitler's proposal. However, to him, it is quite serious - he does not want to invade and probably knows that he can't launch a successful invasion. As for the British, while Churchill is adamantly opposed to the mere idea of negotiations, there is a large faction headed by Lord Halifax within the British War Cabinet that believes there is no harm with at least discussing the matter with the Germans even if nothing comes of it.

Of more importance to the future conduct of the war, Hitler stages the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony at the Kroll Opera House. For the first time, he elevates Generals to the rank of Field Marshal, a rank banned under the Treaty of Versailles:

• Colonel-General Walther von Brauchitsch
• Colonel-General Fedor von Bock
• Luftwaffe General Albert Kesselring
• Colonel-General Wilhelm Keitel
• Colonel-General Günther von Kluge
• Colonel-General Wilhelm von Leeb
• Colonel-General Wilhelm List
• Colonel-General Erhard Milch
• Colonel-General Walther von Reichenau
• Colonel-General Gerd von Rundstedt
• General Hugo Sperrle
• Colonel-General Erwin von Witzleben

Hermann Goering, Hitler's chosen successor, receives the new ranks of Reich Marshal of the Greater Reich, or Reichsmarschall. This maintains his status as a sort of Vice President of the Reich.

As a special gesture toward one of his favorite Generals, Hitler bestows the first Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross upon Eduard Dietl, who managed to avoid either being defeated or forced to flee into internment in Sweden during the Battle of Narvik. There are other awards, such as the award of the Knight's Cross to Major Michael Pössinger. While military rank, of course, is always important, the huge separate track of medals created by the Wehrmacht is often more important in terms of how a soldier is perceived. A major with a Ritterkreuz has infinitely more status in the eyes of his comrades, for instance than a mere office General. Rank confers power, but top medals grant unique status.

Hitler at the Kroll Opera House before the Reichstag, 19 July 1940 (Federal Archive).

Battle of Britain: Overall, it is a bad day for the RAF, not so much do the number of losses, but what the day means about part of the British fighter force. The weather is fair, good enough for most flying operations.

The Luftwaffe bombs the RAF airfield at Norwich at first light, destroying a hangar.

Bolton Paul Defiants remain front-line fighters for the RAF. In the morning, a formation from RAF No.141 Squadron intercepts some Bf 109Es south of Folkestone during a Luftwaffe raid on shipping. The Messerschmitts make mincemeat of the Defiants, shooting down 6 and damaging another with one loss to themselves. The Battle of Britain shows that 2-seat fighters on both sides are not quite ready for prime-time, especially ones like the Defiants which rather incredibly have no forward armament. More Defiants likely would have been lost if not for the timely intercession of Hurricanes from RAF No. 111 Squadron.

The action is made much, much worse than just the loss of fighters due to the fact that 10 pilots/crew perish. Three Hurricanes go down in the action as well.

The Luftwaffe sends four Dornier Do 17s against the Rolls Royce engine factory at Glasgow. There are 42 casualties.

The Luftwaffe again raids Dover at 14:00 to disperse British Royal Navy ships preparing to meet any invasion. The destroyer HMS Griffin is damaged by near misses. Destroyer HMS Beagle also is damaged off Dover by near misses. The 5574-ton British tanker HMS War Sepoy is damaged by the attack in Dover Harbor and ultimately sinks, used as a blockship. British 550 ton trawler HMS Crestflower also sinks, with two deaths.

During the night, the Luftwaffe sends bombers from KG55 to attack the port of Southampton, with the Germans losing on Heinkel 111.

The Luftwaffe lays mines in the Thames estuary during the night.

Luftwaffe III,/LG1, a Junkers 88 formation based at Lille, has a new Gruppenkommandeur. Hptm. Karl-Friedrich Knust is appointed in place of Major Dr. Ernst Bormann.

European Air Operations: The RAF Bomber Command makes night raids on northern German ports and on Channel ports where barges are being assembled for an invasion. Coastal Command attacks naval bases at Emden and Harlingen. Among the targets is the battleship Tirpitz, still under construction at Wilhelmshaven, and Admiral Scheer.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-62 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Bernhard Michalowski) torpedoes and sinks 4581-ton British iron freighter Pearlmoor in the Western Approaches. There are 26 survivors and 13 perish. The ship is a straggler from Convoy Sl-38.

German raider Thor sinks Dutch freighter Tela off Brazil after taking the 33 crew prisoner.

The Kriegsmarine lays mines in the North Sea.

Convoy HX 59 departs from Halifax.

British corvette HMS Bluebell (K 80, Lt. Commander Robert E. Sherwood) is commissioned.

HMAS Sydney.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Australian cruiser HMAS cruiser Sydney, escorted by five destroyers, intercepts Italian cruisers Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni delle Bande Nere off Crete. In the Battle of Cape Spada, the Colleoni sinks and the Sydney and Bande Nere are damaged. Sydney retreats under pressure from Regia Aeronautica bombers, Bande Nere to Benghazi. Royal Navy destroyers pick up 525 survivors from the Bande Nere. RN destroyer Havock is badly damaged by air attack but makes it back to Alexandria.

At Malta, there is an air raid shortly after noontime. Two Gloster Gladiators defending the island are damaged by air raids, but they prevent any bombs from being dropped. There is now only one serviceable aircraft left, aptly nicknamed "Faith." The other two Gladiators and a Hurricane can be repaired with a little time, but reinforcements from Egypt or England are difficult.

Applied Science: The British radar research center (TRE) at Swanage receives its first prototype cavity magnetron.

US/Latin American Relations: Cruisers USS Wichita (CA 45) and Quincy (CA 39), meeting by destroyers Wainwright and Walke, arrive at Rio de Janeiro on their "show the flag" mission. The destroyers transfer a marine contingent to the cruisers.

Soviet/Baltic States Relations: The Soviets continue their purge of former Baltic States leaders. They deport Estonian General Johan Laidoner to Siberia. Others, of course, are simply being shot with little fanfare.

Denmark: The government, under German domination, withdraws from the increasingly irrelevant League of Nations.

British Government: There is a major shakeup of the military.

General Sir Alan Brooke, former commander of the BEF, is appointed Commander in Chief, Home Forces. He replaces General Edmund Ironside. Churchill makes the change because he gets along better with Brooke, who secretly feels that Churchill has a wobbly sense of military strategy. This completes Ironside's dramatic fall from grace since the Battle of France, but at least he is promoted to Field Marshal as he retires.

General Claude Auchinleck, who has been in charge of British Egyptian forces, becomes the commander of Southern Command.

The British Army Intelligence Corps forms. Churchill also wishes for commando operations to be centralized and coordinated in a Special Operations Executive (SOE). He also suggests forming a foreign legion, like the French Foreign Legion.

Canadian Government: The new commander of the Canadian 1st Corps. is General Andrew McNaughton.

Japanese Government: The new government is much more militaristic and looks toward nearby French possessions as possible targets.

American Government: President Roosevelt receives and quickly signs the Vinson-Walsh Act (the Two-Ocean Navy Act). There are 1,325,000 tons of ships and 15,000 naval aircraft authorized in order to create two separate navies on both coasts. The ambitious plan is for 35 battleships, 20 carriers, and 88 cruisers.

Roosevelt accepts the Democratic nomination for President.

British Homefront: The British are setting up internment camps on the Isle of Wight for German and Italian nationals caught up in the war. Conditions are quite poor, with not enough food or shelter. Many of those imprisoned actually are anti-German refugees, but their official documents just list them as German.

Future History: Dennis Cole is born. He becomes famous as an American television actor in such productions as The Love Boat and Charlie's Angels.

Hermann Goering's official portrait taken on 19 July 1940 by Hitler's personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann. He is holding his new Reichsmarschall baton (he must have known this was coming, those batons are hand-crafted and take time to prepare). It includes a note in Goering's own hand. The photo is said to be retouched to make him appear thinner.

July 1940

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

2020