Tuesday 18 February 1941

HMS Dido, first of the Dido class of Royal Navy cruisers, in the Firth of Forth during February 1941.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There is little ground fighting aside from artillery barrages on 18 February 1941. The RAF raids Italian airfields in the Dodecanese Islands.

East African Campaign: In Abyssinia, the South African forces from Kenya have been advancing on Mega for some time. Today, they quickly take it, netting about a thousand prisoners. This opens the main road to Addis Ababa. On the Juba River line, the Italians counterattack the South African 1st Infantry Brigade.

European Air Operations: Activity is light today again due to the continuing poor weather. A few Luftwaffe planes drop a few bombs and strafe a train in East Anglia.

RAF Bomber Command bombed Basel, Switzerland on 16 December 1940, killing four women. It also bombed Zurich on 22 December, killing 22 people. Today, the British ambassador delivers a note to the Swiss Federal Council in Bern expressing "deep regret" for these attacks and agreeing to pay for damages. Later scholarship suggests that at least the first bombing wasn't quite as accidental as the British pretended at the time; they were targeting a ball-bearing factory in Basel which was suspected of supplying the German war machine. As with many aerial attacks of the time, the bombers completely missed the factory and hit a residential area instead.

U-203 is commissioned on 18 February 1941. It is a Type VIIC U-boat. Its armament is  4 x 21 Inch (533mm) Torpedo Tubes (Bow) (14 Torpedoes or 26 TMA Mines) 1 x 3.5 Inch (88mm) Deck Gun and Various AA Guns. The complement is four officers and 40-56 enlisted men.

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiral Lütjens, commanding Operation Berlin in the North Atlantic, searches today for eastbound Convoy HX 111 in the shipping lanes. He is ready for action but finds nothing. He intends to keep searching tomorrow.

U-96 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) is having a successful third patrol out of Lorient. at 02:27, it puts a torpedo into 5589-ton British freighter Black Osprey, a straggler from Convoy HX 107. When the ship doesn't sink immediately, Lehmann-Willenbrock puts a second torpedo into it and it sinks at 02:39. That does the trick. Despite being in a convoy, due to the poor weather, there are only 11 survivors while 26 men perish. Many of the survivors are half-dead from exposure when found by Norwegian freighter Mosdale after being adrift for only 53 hours.

U-103 (Kptlt. Viktor Schütze) also is having a successful patrol. It torpedoes and sinks 5459-ton British freighter Seaforth. All 59 men on board perish.

The Luftwaffe attacks and damages 10,354-ton Dutch tanker Taria in the Northwest Approaches. The tanker makes it to Rothesay Bay.

The 8651-ton refrigerated cargo ship Duquesa (renamed Herzogin upon capture by the Germans), known to the Kriegsmarine as a "floating delicatessen" due to its extensive supplies of fresh meat and dairy products, is scuttled in the south Atlantic by supply ship Nordmark. This is due to no more fuel being available to maintain its refrigeration systems.

Vichy French 286-ton auxiliary minesweeper Marie Gilberte (AD 158) is lost this date from unknown causes.

In Convoy SC 21, British 4297-ton steel/vehicles freighter Middleton collides with Norwegian freighter Tungsha. The Middleton gets the worse of the encounter and sinks, but the crew survives.

Convoy OB 288 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC 23 departs from Halifax, convoy SL 66 departs from Freetown.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Gurkha (G 63, Commander Charles N. Lentaigne) and corvette HMS Veronica (K 37) are commissioned.

U-203 (Kapitänleutnant Rolf Mützelbur) is commissioned, U-502 is launched.

Harbor tug USS Noka (YN-54), acquired and commissioned 18 February 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: General Rommel's forces in Tripolitania pursuant to Operation Sunflower receive their new title: Afrika Korps. General Rommel formally organizes the 5th Light Division in Tripolitania. Already his forces have encountered advance British forces at Sirte, but the British have stopped advancing.

The Italian air force stages a massive raid against Benghazi. Combined with other recent raids to mine the harbor, this compels the British to close the port and rely upon Tobruk and other ports further east. Since the British are not advancing any more, this is not a major problem.

In any event, the British are looking east, not west. British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell briefs General Thomas Blamey, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, on his plans for Greece. Wavell is planning to send 2nd New Zealand Division, the 1st Armored Brigade, the Independent Polish Brigade, and the 6th and 7th Australian Divisions, all commanded by the 1st Australian Corps. This is to be called "Lustre Force."

Wavell tells Blamey that he already has talked to Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies about this - which, if so, Menzies only refers to obliquely in his voluminous diary (and he has quite a bit to say about it when he finally reaches London later in February). They did indeed talk recently in Cairo, though whether or not Wavell told Menzies about the extent of this operation is unknown. Menzies might choose not to discuss the issue in his diary for security concerns (though he talks about everything else), so its absence there is not determinative. However, just how honest Wavell is being when he implies the Australian government is already solidly behind this plan remains somewhat murky.

New Zealand Major General Bernard Freyberg already has been briefed about this Lustre Force operation, and much later comments:

There was no question of our being asked if we agreed. We attended and were given instructions to get ready to go … At that meeting my opinion was never asked. I was told the bare facts … In any case I never expected to be asked my opinion by the Commander-in-Chief [Wavell]. He was far from co-operative. He had the secrecy mania.

David Horner, High Command — Australia’s Struggle for an Independent War Strategy, 1939–1945, Sydney, 1982, p.67. In Wavell's defense, he knows about Ultra and is honor-bound to treat the source of his information with the utmost secrecy.

The Luftwaffe mines the Suez Canal again. The first operation was quite successful, and so is this one. Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Formidable is ready to pass the canal to join the Mediterranean Fleet, but this keeps it in the Red Sea.

The Free French under Colonel Leclerc in southwest Libya continue investing the fortress at Kufra. The fortress of El Tag is well-defended with hundreds of soldiers, but the reserve captain commanding the Italian troops is unprepared. The French have the advantage of a 75 mm field gun which is firing away from 3 km away, as well as mortars sited 1.5 km away.

In Malta, the Admiralty declares a wide zone between North Africa, Italy, and Sardinia an area where surface vessels can be attacked on sight. This greatly expands the area from the original unrestricted warfare zone in the Adriatic.

"HMS SCIMITAR (H21) on escort duty in the North Atlantic." Photo taken 18 February 1941, convoy ships in the distance. © IWM (HU 110297).

Battle of the Pacific: Thousands of Australian troops arrive at Singapore aboard the Queen Mary. The men are from General Gordon Bennett's Australian 8th Infantry Division, including parts of the 22nd Infantry Brigade (2/18th, 2/19th, and 2/20th Battalions).

Norwegian/Finnish Relations: Oberst Erich Buschenhagen, Norwegian military Chief of Staff, visits Finland for consultations. The two countries share a border in the far north and thus have mutual defense issues. However, the real purpose of the talks is to probe Finnish willingness to join Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union.

Panzer Deine Waffe!

German Military: Adolf Hitler calls a meeting at the Berghof relating to tank designs in the Panzerwaffe (armored forces). He asks the Generals and industry men there to up-gun the Mark III and Mark IV tanks - the main battle tanks of the Wehrmacht, the Panzer I and II now being considered obsolete. Specifically, he wants a 60 mm gun in the Panzer III and a 75 mm gun in the Panzer IV. The tank designers object. General Keitel also objects that the project would require 20,000 skilled workers that are not available. Hitler brooks no objections, however, and tells everyone to get moving on the project, find men for the work and train them. This is a critical decision that dramatically improves the Wehrmacht's prospects in Operation Barbarossa.

This is a significant meeting because it punctures holes in two pet theories by some historians. First, apparently, there is no mention at this meeting of building a much larger tank. This explodes the claims by some latter-day historians that Hitler ordered work done on the Tiger tank due to British tanks encountered in France almost a year before this meeting. The urgency lies in simply improving the existing stock of panzers, which the military leaders agree should be good enough already but, well, improvements are never a bad thing, so why not?

Second, the meeting shows that, at least at this point in the war, Hitler really does have better ideas than his generals and others in some military areas. In hindsight, there is absolutely no question that the panzers need to be upgraded in order to tackle the tasks allotted to them. While the Wehrmacht has all sorts of difficulties later in the year, they would have been far worse if the work had not begun now on improving the panzerwaffe. Not upgrading the panzers before Operation Barbarossa would have been a cataclysmic error - and much more work should have been done in this error beyond simply putting new guns in the existing panzers.

US Military: The US Coast Guard Reserve is established.

Rear Admiral William P. Blandy becomes Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

This is a picture from a Historic American Buildings Survey by photographer George Neuschafer taken on 18 February 1941. This is the Morris-Goodwin House, Fort Elfsboro Road, Salem, Salem County, NJ. (Library of Congress).

US Government: Averill Harriman becomes President Roosevelt's latest choice to be his special representative in London.

Australian Government: Prime Minister Menzies continues his epic journey from Melbourne to London. Today, he flies from Lagos to Freetown, which he describes as "a considerable and modern looking town with a fine spacious harbor." In a great coincidence (see above), Menzies repeats his disdain for Wavell:

It all takes me back to the Libyan campaign - Wavell will get a peerage and a place in history, while O'Connor will get a C.B.!

Holocaust: IG Farben meets with Schlesien-Benzin Co. The topic is creating a Buna Werke (factory) to manufacture synthetic oil. The locations discussed Auschwitz, which one of the Schlesien-Benzin directors (Josenhans) comments:

The inhabitants of Auschwitz consist of 2000 Germans, 4000 Jews and 7000 Poles... The Jews and Poles, if industry is established there, will be turned out, so that the town will then be available for the staff of the factory... A concentration camp will be built in the immediate neighbourhood of Auschwitz for the Jews and Poles.

There already is a camp at Auschwitz, but the company men are dismayed by the quality of the potential labor force there. However, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering also approves the use of the Auschwitz workers today and feels they are good enough, so construction is soon underway.

Spanish Homefront: Fires have been raging at Santander. They leave 35,000 people homeless. This gives some strength to Francisco Franco's arguments to Hitler that Spain is not ready to enter the conflict.

Dutch Homefront: The atmosphere remains tense in Amsterdam, where German soldiers and Dutch police have been battling to retain control. While not quite an uprising, there have been numerous street incidents over the past week, with rebels taking control of certain locations.

Thomas Maskell Store, Main & Pine Streets, Greenwich, Cumberland County, NJ, 18 February 1941 (George Neuschafer, Library of Congress).

February 1941

February 1, 1941: US Military Reorganization
February 2, 1941: Wehrmacht Supermen
February 3, 1941: World Will Hold Its Breath
February 4, 1941: USO Forms
February 5, 1941: Hitler Thanks Irish Woman
February 6, 1941: Operation Sunflower
February 7, 1941: Fox Killed in the Open
February 8, 1941: Lend Lease Passes House
February 9, 1941: Give Us The Tools
February 10, 1941: Operation Colossus
February 11, 1941: Afrika Korps
February 12, 1941: Rommel in Africa
February 13, 1941: Operation Composition
February 14, 1941: Nomura in Washington
February 15, 1941: Churchill's Warning
February 16, 1941: Operation Adolphus
February 17, 1941: Invade Ireland?
February 18, 1941: Panzerwaffe Upgrade
February 19, 1941: Three Nights Blitz
February 20, 1941: Prien's Farewell
February 21, 1941: Swansea Blitz Ends
February 22, 1941: Amsterdam Pogrom
February 23, 1941: OB-288 Convoy Destruction
February 24, 1941: Okuda Spies
February 25, 1941: Mogadishu Taken
February 26, 1941: OB-290 Convoy Destruction
February 27, 1941: Operation Abstention
February 28, 1941: Ariets Warns Stalin

2020

Thursday 25 July 1940

Searching the skies for Germany paratroopers, a soldier stands in a standard armored Beaverette reconnaissance car of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, Royal Armoured Corps, 25th July 1940.

Battle of Britain: The Luftwaffe, specifically General Kesselring's Luftflotte 2, continues pressing its attacks on the Channel convoys on 25 July 1940. They are proving successful in their mission to both destroy ships and draw the RAF up to combat. The Luftwaffe has installed some radar on the French coast, and it is making shipping attacks and air interceptions more precise. The Germans also have a wireless intercept station at Wissant that is proving useful. The beauty of the strategy from the German point of view is that the RAF fighters, acting on the defensive, must climb to meet the attacking Luftwaffe fighters who already are at altitude, leaving the Spitfires and Hurricanes vulnerable.

Sixty Stukas (II,/StG1 and IV StG1), assisted by S-boats, use the radar information to sortie against a convoy at first light. Convoy CW 8 "Peewit" loses five small freighters (Corhaven, Polgrange, Leo, Portslade, and Henry Moon), while five other freighters are damaged and two destroyers - HMS Boreas and Brilliant - are as well. Spitfires of RAF Nos. 54 and 65 arrive late, and the Bf 109s are waiting for them. JG26, still smarting from recent losses, escorts the Stukas. Adolf Galland of III,/JG26 pounces, and the British lose three planes in a hurry. The Stukas are vulnerable after their dives, and the RAF planes shoot two down. The action continues all afternoon, with both sides sending swarms of planes. During the afternoon, Ju 88s attack. The raids continue until 19:30.

After dark, it is fairly quiet. Most of the Luftwaffe activity is minelaying in the Firth of Forth, Newcastle and the Thames estuary.

Overall, it is a bloodbath at sea which appears to justify Luftwaffe chief Goering's strategy. Only 2 out of 21 ships of the convoy make it to Portland. It is estimated that the Luftwaffe lost about 16 planes and the RAF 8. This sounds like a big RAF victory, but all of the British losses are fighters, and the RAF fighter defenses are getting ground down. RAF No. 54 Squadron has been mauled over since the start of the Battle of Britain, losing five pilots and twelve airplanes. It is pulled from the line and sent north to regroup. Hugh Dowding of Fighter Command admits that "If we try to fight the Germans on a 1-to-1 basis, we'd soon have no fighters left."

Adolph Galland of JG 26 gets his 16th victory.

The Admiralty bows to the inevitable and orders that future convoys be conducted at night. This is difficult since the ships can't make it all the way down the coast during darkness.

Spitfire Mk I KL-O from No 54 Squadron. On 25 July 1940, it was flown by 22-year-old acting F/L Basil H "Wonky" Way from RAF Hornchurch. It crashed into the Channel at 15:00 after Way had been credited with a BF 109 destroyed 10 miles east of Dover. Way's body later washed up on a Belgian beach.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command raids northwest Germany and Holland, including Hamburg and the Ems canal.

Battle of the Atlantic: German battlecruiser Gneisenau completes temporary repairs (torpedoed by HMS Clyde on 20 June) at Trondheim and heads south to Kiel for a permanent repair. She is escorted by a large task force lead by cruiser Nürnberg and destroyers Galster, Jacobi, Lody and Ihn.

Convoy SL 41 departs from Freetown.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Italian Regia Aeronautica attacks Alexandria and Haifa.

Convoy Hurry, the plan to ferry a dozen Hurricane fighters to Malta, is now projected to reach the vicinity of the island on 31 July. Submarines HMS Pandora and Proteus will bring in supplies need by the planes.

In Malta, it is a quiet day with no air raids. Governor Dobbie appoints Lt Col Vella of King’s Own Malta Regiment to the position of Administrative Command of all Maltese infantry and volunteers. This new position is designed to integrate Maltese peoples into the armed forces.

Sgt John B Shepherd leans on the 1932 Aero Minx (which appears to have one headlight blacked out) of P/O Geoffrey K Gout, both of No 234 Squadron RAF based at RAF St Eval. A keen motorist who raced at Brooklands before the war, the 24-year-old pilot crashed to his death on 25 July near Porthtowan in Cornwall during a night patrol. Records indicate that he was disorientated when returning to the blacked-out base and pitched in a field close to a farm near Maval.

German/Romanian Relations: Hitler meets with the Romanian Premier and Foreign Minister at Berchtesgaden.

German/Italian Relations: Hitler agrees to allow Italian planes to participate in the Battle of Britain, which does not really seem necessary at this point as the battle is going reasonably well.

German Government: German Economics Minister Walther Funk gives a long speech entitled "The Economic Reorganization of Europe." It revolves around the idea of a "Greater Europe" which he admits "does not yet actually exist." He discusses a European currency union (led by Germany) free from any gold standard and notes that the "raw material situation of Greater Germany has improved immensely during the war." The Reichsmark will be the dominant currency, with all other currencies tied to it by fixed exchange rates. In fact, Germany already is doing this with Vichy France on draconian exchange rate terms.

Many of Funk's ideas sound quite similar to the later European Economic Community. It is an optimistic speech that looks forward to a seemingly early end to the war, which is the prerequisite for any of his ideas actually happening. The underpinning of the entire idea, however, is, as William Shirer points out, that the "Germans will abandon the gold standard and substitute their worthless Reichsmark, making US gold reserve useless."

Blenheim Mk IF of No. 25 Squadron taxiing at Martlesham Heath, watched by air- and ground crews, 25 July 1940. The squadron was used for night fighter operations.

US Government: The government ratchets up the pressure on the Japanese by banning the export of oil and scrap metal without a license. The Americas and Great Britain are excluded from this ban. This measure removes a major source of Japanese oil imports, and there are very tempting oil fields just to the south.

Heavy cruisers USS Wichita (CA 45, Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens) and USS Quincy (CA 39) depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for Bahia, Brazil on their "Show the flag" mission.

British Government: The RAF announces that it has made over 1000 raids into occupied Europe since the start of the war.

Free French: Philippe de Hauteclocque aka Captain Leclerc joins the Free French in London.

Switzerland: While the Swiss are tilting toward Germany, they still fear an invasion. Commander-in-chief General Henri Guisan delivers an impassioned address to the Swiss Officer Corps on the Rütli (Ruetti Meadow), a field of great military tradition. He exhorts the officers to be prepared to resist a German invasion and to fight to the last man in an Alpine redoubt sealed off by dynamiting mountain passes.

Luxembourg: The Royal Family arrives at the Navy Academy in Annapolis, Maryland aboard the USS Trenton (CL 11).

P/O Brendan EF "Paddy" Finucane took off in Spitfire Mk I YT-W with B Flight under F/L William H "Bill" Franklin for his first scramble on the morning of 25 July 1940, the day after No 65 Squadron RAF had moved to the satellite airfield at RAF Rochford. During the patrol, the aircraft developed a glycol leak, filling the cockpit with vapor from the cooling liquid condensing on the engine. After the R/T went dead, the 19-year-old Irishman made a wheels-up landing back at base.

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

Tuesday 25 June 1940

French surrendering (Ang, Federal Archive).

Western Front: The Franco/Italian armistice goes into effect at 00:35. The Italians have not advanced beyond Menton on the coast and had barely advanced at all further north. Italy has suffered 631 killed, 2,631 wounded and 4,494 missing/POWs. France has suffered virtually no casualties during the brief campaign on the Riviera.

Operation Ariel, the evacuation of people from France to England, concludes at 14:00 on 25 June 1940. Scattered evacuations, however, continue on the Mediterranean coast into August. There have been 214,000 people taken to England since the commencement of Operation Cycle (evacuations from Le Havre) and Operation Ariel (evacuations from Cherbourg and points south) since they began on 15 June. Among the last refugees evacuated is exiled King Zog of Albania, who departs with his family on British ship Ettrick.

Operation Collar, the commando raid near Boulogne, concludes with no British casualties and two German deaths.

The cease-fire in France goes into full effect. French Maginot Line fortresses surrender.

Hitler tours some of his old battlefields near the Somme with a couple of his Great War comrades. It is around this time when Hitler supposedly visits Charlotte Lobjoie. She is a Frenchwoman who lived near the battlefields with whom he is alleged to have had an affair in 1916 after she saw him sketching while she was cutting hay. While disputed by historians, this affair is claimed to have produced a son, Jean-Marie Loret. Hitler at around this time arranges regular payments to Lobjoie for the remainder of his time in power.

General der Infanterie Hermann Geyer (7 July 1882 – 10 April 1946) received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 25 June 1940 as General der Infanterie and commander of IX. Armeekorps.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-51 (Kapitänleutnant Dietrich Knorr) stalks Convoy OA-72 and finds some juicy targets starting at 15:45.

First, U-51 torpedoes and sinks 12,049-ton British tanker Saranac 270 miles southwest of Land's End. There are 40 survivors and 4 crew perish.

Then, U-51 torpedoes and sinks 5,395-ton coal freighter Windsorwood. All 40 crew survive.

The anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta in the Gironde estuary accidentally rams and sinks Canadian destroyer Fraser as Operation Ariel winds down. All but 45 of the crew are rescued by nearby ships, including her sister ship HMCS Restigouche.

Royal Navy submarine Snapper sinks Kriegsmarine patrol vessel V-1107 off Stavanger, Norway.

Convoy OA 174 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 174 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 37 departs from Freetown, Convoy HX 53 departs from Halifax.

The headline in the 25 June 1940 Los Angeles Times is "Hitler ends war in France."

Battle of the Mediterranean: An Italian convoy carrying 1727 Italian troops on the transports Esperia and Victoria departs from Naples for Tripoli. Auxiliary cruiser Ramb and torpedo boats Orsa and Procione form a protective screen.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe raids the British midlands. The RAF intercepts and loses two fighters.

The RAF sends 25 planes to attack German targets during the day, and 48 aircraft after dark.

Fifteen Bf 109 fighters intercept a Royal Air Force sweep over Abbeville.

US Government:  Congress abolishes the Construction Corps of the Navy and gives them line officer status designated for Engineering Duty Only (EDO). In addition, the status of those line officers who had previously had been designated for Aeronautical Engineering Duty Only (AEDO) was also redesignated EDO.

The US begins creating an airborne force, with its first commander Major William Lee.

British Government: Winston Churchill gives a speech to the House of Commons in which he expresses concern about the ultimate disposition of the French Navy.

Switzerland: Technically neutral, Switzerland's true sympathies are called into question when President Pilet-Golaz broadcasts that he feels "relief" about the "end of the war in Europe." He announces that there a "new order" in Europe and that it is time for Switzerland to join with its own Fuhrer (using the same word as in German). "The people should follow the government as a sure and devoted Fuhrer who will not always be able to explain, elaborate and give the reasons for his decisions." He partially demobilizes the army, since in his view there is no longer a threat to Swiss sovereignty. This speech is usually described as "Petainist" and an example of collaboration by another name.

China: Admiral Decoux, commanding French naval forces in the Far East, replaces Catroux as Governor-General of French Indochina (Vietnam). He comes in determined to create infrastructure and make development progress throughout the country.

German Homefront: Adolf Hitler announces more church bell ringing and other "joyous celebrations" for what he modestly characterizes as "the most glorious victory of all time." The bells will ring for a full week, and flags fly for ten days. Many ordinary Germans, including those in the Wehrmacht, believe that this means that the entire war is over.

French Homefront: As opposed to Hitler's required celebrations, the French government announces a day of mourning, with flags to be flown at half-mast.

Hitler orders the demolition of the French memorial to the end of the First World War at Compiegne. However, he brings Marshal Foch's railway carriage, the Alsace-Lorraine Monument depicting a German eagle impaled by a French sword, and the dedication tablet back to Berlin. All that is left at the site is a statue of Marshal Foch, staring out over nothing.

There remain 1.5 million French soldiers in German POW camps.

American Homefront: New taxes are imposed to add 2.2 million new taxpayers. This will partially pay for new armaments spending, with the balance paid by bonds and deficit spending.

Admiral Decoux, French Governor-General in French Indochina during World War II.

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 26 April 1940

Fire in Voss, Norway after the bombing of 23 and 24 April 1940. Much of the wooden center of town burns. The Germans occupy Voss on 26 April 1940.

Norway: The gold reserves of the Norges Bank (Bank of Norway) had been in Oslo at the beginning of the war, then taken to Lillehammer. There it had to stay until the end of the Battle of Dombås. Once the Fallschirmjäger company there led by Oblt. Herbert Schmidt surrendered on 19 April, the path was clear to get it out of the country. The gold, contained in 820 large boxes and 725 smaller crates, was sent by train via Dombås to the British base at Åndalsnes during the afternoon of the 19th, arriving at the port late in the evening.

While the whole shipment weighs 49 tons, it is to be shipped beginning on 26 April 1940 in smaller chunks to minimize the risk of loss. The first chunk, 8 tons, is loaded onto the cruiser HMS Galatea on the night of 25/26 April and shipped to England. With it goes Norwegian Director of Shipping Oyvind Lorentzen, who is to arrange for the Norwegian merchant fleet to be placed at the Allies' disposal.

The British War Cabinet, unlike the Supreme Allied War Council, is facing reality. It contemplates evacuating Namsos and Åndalsnes. General de Wiart agrees and declines the offer of additional troops: “in case of evacuation, this would complicate matters.” Everyone starts thinking about evacuation, and it becomes the common wisdom that all that is left to do is arrange an orderly evacuation.

Norway Army Operations: The British 15th Infantry Brigade begins the day defending its positions of the 25th at Kvam in the Gudbrandsdal. It has been a rare night when the Allies didn't have to retreat. Hopes soar on the Allied side. Norwegian CinC General Ruge issues a heroic Order of the Day:

"now the time of retreat has come to an end…, Stand fast … and the victory will be ours !"

The Germans of the 196th Infantry Division under General Pellengahr attack again in the morning, supported by their remaining armored vehicles, artillery, and heavy machine guns. The British hold the line through the day but sustain steady losses.

At dusk, General Paget orders a retreat in the direction of Dombås to preserve his fighting force. Kvam itself is a wreck, with fires everywhere, and three civilians perish along with 50 British soldiers and four Norwegian soldiers. German casualties are similar, but they are left in possession of the field of battle. The British set up a new, temporary line 3 km back, at Kjorem.

The German 3rd Mountain Division troops at Narvik have been largely cut off from their supplies throughout the campaign. Today, some rations, medical supplies, and a few specialized personnel arrive by train via Sweden.

The Germans enter Voss after the Luftwaffe devastated it.

Norway Air Operations: The Luftwaffe bombs the British base at Åndalsnes on the personal orders of Hitler, who is furious with reports of the British 15th Infantry Brigade getting through there. He wants the Luftwaffe to "raze: the town. The handful of Gloster Gladiators which have flown to Stetnesmoen get into the air one more time to shoot down one of the attacking Heinkel He 111s, but they are running out of fuel and ammunition. Burning their craft, the airmen board ships at Åndalsnes.

The Luftwaffe attacks on the port are effective. They destroy the wooden pier and piles of British equipment and ammunition.

The Luftwaffe sinks Norwegian torpedo boat Garm.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-13 (Max-Martin Schulte) torpedoes and sinks 1,281-ton Danish freighter Lily north of Scotland at 01:17. All 24 crew perish.

Royal Navy warships off Norway sink German vessel Schiff 37, which is disguised as a Dutch ship.

Convoy OB 137 departs from Liverpool. Convoy OG 27 forms at Gibraltar. Convoy HG 28F departs from Gibraltar. Convoy HX 38 departs from Halifax.

Anglo/Swiss Relations: The British and Swiss conclude a trade agreement. The Germans have been extremely respectful of Swiss neutrality so far, just as in World War I.

British Homefront: With the recent news of higher taxes and other higher government fees, the public begins quietly re-allocating its resources. Prices of UK antiques are up dramatically since September, and the current joke is that foreign collectors "hope to buy up Britain cheap before Hitler gets it." Likewise, UK silver, art, rare books and gems are in great demand; fearful of wartime taxation and inflation, the rich are buying small, portable, concealable wealth rather than keeping their wealth in cash assets which can be taxed or seized.

Nuestro Pueblo artist Charles Owens draws a full-page map on the war in Norway which appears in the LA Times, 26 April 1940.

April 1940

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

2019

Saturday 30 March 1940

The "P" badge that Polish workers in Germany must wear.

European Air Operations: The Anglo-French Supreme War Council on 30 March 1940 is still considering bombing the Soviet oil fields of Baku upon the outbreak of hostilities, though they have passed on French Prime Minister's recommendation that it be done now. Its code name is Operation Pike, and its aim is to collapse the Soviet oil industry. The plan as developing would be to bomb the oil fields in Baku, Batum, and Grozny from bases in Iran, Turkey and Syria under "Western Air Plan 106."

The Soviets have some inkling about all this, perhaps from spies within one or both of the Allied governments. The Soviet authorities of the Soviet Transcaucasian Military District are conducting desk exercises on how to respond to such an attack. The plan is to start a counter-offensive toward Erzurum and Tebriz.

Plan Pike, while somewhat far-fetched and lacking political backing, is not complete fantasy. Today, as a test, a British reconnaissance plane - painted in civilian colors - flies from Iraq to the Soviet oil fields on the Absheron Peninsula and takes photographs. It attracts no Soviet notice.

Along the Swiss border, both Germany and France now have spotlights set up marking the Swiss border in order to avoid the accidental bombing of neutral Swiss towns. It is a rare example of wartime cooperation by opposing sides.

Battle of the Atlantic: Convoy SL 26 departs from Freetown.

 U-122 (Korvettenkapitän Hans-Günther Looff) is commissioned.

French Government: French Minister of Defense Édouard Daladier is not in agreement with Operation Royal Marine, Winston Churchill's pet plan to mine the Rhine River. He persuades the French war cabinet to reject the operation. The British respond by threatening to suspend Operation Wilfred, the mining of Norwegian coastal waters.

British Government: British Shipping Minister  Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet passes away at age 63.

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill warns neutrals about the course of the war, which he expects to intensify.

The Ministry of Agriculture reports that the effort to bring more land into cultivation has resulted in 1,370,000 extra acres of tillage had been plowed, versus the overall target of 2,000,000 acres.

Turkey: The Turkish government shuts down Turkische Post, a German newspaper, in Istanbul.

China: The Japanese establish their puppet Chinese government in Nanking. Ching-wei, a former colleague and rival of Chiang Kai-shek with a long history in Nationalist politics, leads the government as President of the Executive Yuan and Chairman of the National Government. Such governments rarely have any power at all and generally, are ignored by foreign governments. They are used as propaganda devices until they are no longer needed, then discarded. The government's official name is Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China. The Japanese have been under severe military pressure since the opening of the Chinese Winter Offensive in late December, and feel this might help stabilize their reign.

The guiding principles of the new government are the Three Principles of pan-Asianism, anti-Communism, and opposition to Chiang Kai-shek. Ching-wei is in contact with the German and Italian governments and is interesting in joining the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy, also known as the Axis.

On the battlefield, the Japanese at Wuyuan begin to retreat under pressure. The city does not yet switch hands. The Chinese 8th War Area attacks around Patzepu, Hsishantzu, Hsichiao, and Manko. The Chinese claim they have killed 3400 Imperial Japanese Army troops, but the Japanese respond that they actually have lost only 13 troops while killing 1500 Chinese.

There are Japanese air attacks on Chinn, Yushan, Shangjao, and Yingtanchen.

In a sign of the sacrifices being made by the Japanese people due to the China invasion, Japanese Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai visits children whose fathers have perished in China.

German Homefront: The Nazis are - as always - concerned with racial purity. There are 300,000 Polish workers in German factories. This causes concern about possible "mixing." From now on, they are required to wear a "P" badge or face 6-weeks imprisonment. While not the same as the Yellow Star of David being forced upon Jews in Poland, it is an attempt to reinforce the Poles' second-class status.

American Homefront: "When You Wish Upon a Star" by Ray Eberle & Glenn Miller, featured in the current Walt Disney animated film "Pinocchio," has the top spot in "Your Hit Parade." The film itself is lauded by critics but is encountering resistance at the box office.

Future History: Jerry Lucas is born in Middletown, Ohio. He becomes a key player on the championship New York Knicks basketball teams of the early 1970s and later becomes a memory education expert.

Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonai visits children whose fathers have perished during the Japanese invasion of China.

March 1940

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

2019

Monday 13 November 1939

Mine damage to HMAS cruiser Adventure after being mined.

European Air Operations: November 13, 1939 marks a key "first": the first Luftwaffe bombing of Great Britain. The Luftwaffe bombs the Shetland Islands (home of Royal Navy bases) twice, with tragic results: a rabbit is killed. Otherwise, there are no casualties or damage to property. The RAF and anti-aircraft guns help to drive the bombers off. In addition, another raid, on the East Coast, is driven off by the RAF.

There is an air raid warning in Paris, with anti-aircraft guns firing for the first time. It turns out just to be German reconnaissance.

Battle of the Atlantic: During the night, Kriegsmarine destroyers (Zerstörer) Z20, Z18, Z19, Z21 lay mines in the mouth of the River Thames. This pays off quickly.

British destroyer HMS Blanche hits a mine and sinks in the Thames Estuary. It is the first destroyer loss for the Royal Navy (of course, the battleship HMS Royal Oak and other vessels have been lost before).

Cruiser HMAS Adventure also hits one of the Thames mines. It makes it back to port with 23 lives lost.

Freighters SS Ponzano and SS Matra also hit the mines and sink.

U-26 (Kplt. Klaus Ewerth) torpedoes 4,285-ton French freighter Loire off Malaga, Spain. Everyone perishes. U-26 is the U-boat that previously entered the Mediterranean (the only U-boat managing to do that).

Royal Australian Navy destroyers Stuart, Vampire, Vendetta, Voyager, and Waterhen sail for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

US freighter Black Hawk is detained by the British at Ramsgate.

Battle of the Pacific: British vessel Sirdhana hits a British mine at Singapore and sinks.

Holland: Prime Minister de Greer states that there does not appear to be any imminent danger - the (unknown to the public, but not to the Allied authorities) 12 November 1939 date of Hitler's planned Fall Gelb having passed.

Finland: Negotiations in Moscow end. The Finns head home to Helsinki. If there is one single stumbling block, it is the Soviet demand for a base at the port of Hanko. The Finnish government somewhat paradoxically relaxes some defensive measures.

Soviet Union Government: Stalin orders plans for the invasion of Finland.

As part of a plan of subversion of Finland, the NKVD begins recruiting Finnish expatriates in the Soviet Union to govern the country after the conquest and, perhaps, formulate a casus belli.

South Africa: The government forms a South African Seaward Defense Force.

Canada: General Henry Crerar establishes Canadian military headquarters.

Switzerland: The government expels Otto Strasser due to anti-Hitler comments made to a foreign newspaper in October. Strasser is an NSDAP member who broke from the majority of the party over Hitler's dominance and became an exile. This expulsion is undoubtedly due to the ongoing investigation of the 8 November 1939 Munich Bürgerbräukeller bombing. The inference is that the anti-Hitler exile Strasser may have been involved in that bombing, and Switzerland does not wish to be seen as harboring an assassin.

Holocaust: Former Abwehr agent Oskar Schindler signs lease for his private German enamelware factory in Krakow. He uses his contacts to secure contracts to provide cookware to the Wehrmacht

Igor Sikorsky continues developing his VS-300 prototype helicopter for the US Army. This picture dated 13 November 1939 shows numerous modifications to the main landing gear with swiveling wheels, dual tail rotor pedals, dampers on the main rotor flapping hinge, and a “T” bar to provide a horizon reference. These are noticeable changes from Sikorsky's recent first flight configuration.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019

Thursday 1 November 1939

Polish teachers from Bromberg being taken into the "Valley of Death" (Dolina Śmierci) in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 1 November 1939. It is estimated that there are some 5-6,000 Poles buried there in mass graves.

Western Front: German long-range artillery is shelling French villages and fortifications well behind the front lines on 1 November 1939.

Battle of the Atlantic: The British detain US freighter Exminster in Gibraltar.

Convoy OB 28 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: The RAF makes reconnaissance flights over northwest Germany.

The He 178 in flight.

Luftwaffe: The new jet He 178 V1, which first flew in late August, is demonstrated for top Luftwaffe chiefs at the Luftwaffe test center at Rechlin. Amazingly, despite the advances made, the Air Ministry (RLM) has not been told of the extensive progress made, so the demonstration comes as something of a surprise. Ernst Udet and Erhard Milch, who essentially control Luftwaffe purchasing decisions, attend, but Air Minister Goering does not. The demonstration is an absolute technical success, as the jet performs flawlessly. However, Milch and Udet are not sold on the design due to a weak engine that limits the He 178's speed to an unimpressive (for a supposedly revolutionary technology) 372 mph (598 km/hr) and flight endurance of only ten minutes. No orders are placed.

Ernst Heinkel, however, is certain the technology will revolutionize aviation. He decides to proceed with his own private development of a jet fighter based on the He 178, the He 280, despite the RLM's disinterest. He does not know, though, that the RLM already is backing other jet projects, though their prototypes have not flown yet.

Poland: The Reich merges the portions of West Poland that had been ceded by the Treaty of Versailles into itself.  This includes Danzig and the Polish Corridor. It creates within this territory new districts (Reichsgaue): Posen, Greater East Prussia, and Danzig West Prussia.

The Soviet Union similarly proceeds with its own annexation of eastern Poland into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. While it has not Great War claims on its territory, it bases this decision on supposed "plebiscites" held in the territory which, naturally, supported the Soviet desires.

Holland: A "state of siege" is proclaimed along the border with Germany by Dutch Royal Decree. This means martial law.

Switzerland: The country prepares for a possible invasion, issuing decrees related to that eventuality.

British Government: Physicist Hans Ferdinand Mayer submits the Oslo Report on German weapons development.

Finland: The delegation returns to Moscow after Molotov's ultimatum of the day before.

Australia: Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces that the country will increase the size of the armed forces.

China: Chiang Kai-Shek launches a Winter Offensive in several places against the Japanese.

American homefront: The International Olympics Committee meets and decides that the 1940 Olympics cannot take place in Finland as planned. This effectively cancels the Games for 1940.

Holocaust: Mass killings of undesired inhabitants pursuant to Operation Tannenberg continues in Poland with liquidations in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) by "Volksdeutscher Selbstschutz" and the Gestapo.

Future history: Barbara Bosson is born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. She becomes famous in such 1960s films as "Bullitt" and 1980s television series as "Hill Street Blues."

October 1939

October 1, 1939: Occupation of Warsaw
October 2, 1939: Hel Peninsula Falls
October 3, 1939: The Diamantis Incident
October 4, 1939: Otto Kretschmer Gets Rolling
October 5, 1939: Polish Resistance Ends
October 6, 1939: Hitler Peace Effort
October 7, 1939: The British Have Arrived
October 8, 1939: First RAF Kill from UK
October 9, 1939: "City of Flint" Incident
October 10, 1939: Lithuania Under Pressure
October 11, 1939: The Atomic Age Begins
October 12, 1939: England Rejects Hitler's Peace Offer
October 13, 1939: Charles Lindbergh Speaks Out
October 14 1939: Royal Oak Sunk
October 15, 1939: Cuban Rockets
October 16, 1939: First Aircraft Shot Down Over UK
October 17, 1939: Marshall Mannerheim Returns
October 18, 1939: Prien Receives His Award
October 19, 1939: Preliminary Plan for Fall Gelb
October 20, 1939: Hitler Grapples with the Jews
October 21, 1939: Hurricanes to the Rescue!
October 22, 1939: Goebbels Lies Through His Teeth
October 23, 1939: Norway the Center of Attention
October 24, 1939: German "Justice" Gets Rolling
October 25, 1939: Handley Page Halifax Bomber First Flies
October 26, 1939: Jozef Tiso Takes Slovakia
October 27, 1939: King Leopold Stands Firm
October 28, 1939 - First Luftwaffe Raid on Great Britain
October 29, 1939: Tinkering with Fall Gelb
October 30, 1939: Defective Torpedoes
October 31, 1939: Molotov Issues an Ultimatum

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins

2019