Saturday 2 November 1940

U-31 going on its final dive.

Italian/Greek Campaign: At the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas on 2 November 1940, Italian infantry of the Ferrara Division attack Greek forces on their main defensive line of Elaia-Kalamas, north of Ioannina. The Italians make no progress despite having light L3/35 tankettes and medium M13/40 tanks because the mountainous terrain is hostile to vehicles.

In the central Pindus Mountain sector, the Italian Julia Division struggles forward and captures the villages of Vovousa, Samarina, and Distrato. This is still 30 km short of their objective, Metsovo, whose capture would have strategic significance (it is a key transit point to Greek supplies). Greek Colonel Konstantinos Davakis, in charge of the two battalions, cavalry and artillery of the Pindus Detachment, is badly wounded during reconnaissance near Fourka. The Greeks work through the night to prepare an ambush of these advanced Italian troops.

On the Coastal Sector, the Italians begin their attack on Kalamas River along the Kalpaki front. It starts to snow, which aids the defense. An Albanian battalion captures the Grabala heights in the Negrades sector and holds it through the night, but otherwise, the attack makes little progress.

In the Koritsa sector, the Greek 9th Infantry Division and 4th Infantry Brigade attack static Italian positions at the border.

The Italian air force bombs Salonika again, killing 200 civilians. Other targets include Corfu, Patras, and Janina. The attack on Salonika is especially strong, with 15 Italian Cant 1007Z bombers escorted by Fiat CR 42 fighters. The Greeks intercept the formation and shoot down three of the Italian bombers.

A downed Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM-70 bomber, 2 November 1940.

The Greeks bomb Koritsa airfield.

The Greeks report repelling an Italian naval attack near the Corinth Canal with antiaircraft guns and fighter attacks.

Royal Hellenic Air Force pilot Marinos Mitralexis, out of ammo in his PZL P-24 (serial no: Δ 130) because he already has shot down one bomber, rams another Italian bomber in its rudder, causing it to crash. Mitralexis then lands nearby (his engine is out) and, knowing where the Italian plane crashed, runs over with his pistol and arrests the Italians who parachuted to safety. Mitralexis is promoted to Wing Commander and received Gold Cross of Valour, Greece's highest award.

Turkey, which has declared its neutrality in the Italian/Greek war and warned Bulgaria to stay out also, pointedly keeps 37 divisions on the Bulgarian border "just in case."


European Air Operations: During the day, the Luftwaffe sends a couple of raids against London, but the RAF scatters the German planes, which drop their bombs at random over the Kent/Sussex countryside. The weather is bad during the night, so the RAF bombers stay on the ground today, and the Luftwaffe bombers finish their minor raids by midnight.

Michael Marwood in later years.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-31 (Kptlt. Wilfried Prellberg) is sunk by depth charges by Royal Navy HMS Antelope (Lieutenant-Commander RT “Dick” White) in the shipping lanes northwest of Ireland. Prellberg is stalking Convoy OB 237 when the Antelope spots it. After several hours, during which Asdic contact is lost and regained, a depth charge ruptures the U-boat's ballast tanks. Captain Prellberg manages to surface the boat and even opens fire with his deck gun. The U-boat still has its engines running when the crew abandons it and the sub collides with the destroyer before sinking (the men of the Antelope get a boat in the water to board U-31, but it sinks before they can get to it). The Antelope will require a month of repairs.

This is the second time that U-31 goes under, having been sunk in shallow water on 11 March 1940 by the RAF and later raised and repaired. This time, the sinking is permanent, and U-31 still rests where it fell that day. U-31 has sunk 11 ships of 27,751 tons and an additional auxiliary warship of 160 tons.

Prellberg gets off 43-44 of the 45-46 man crew (two ratings are lost) to become POWs. Lieutenant Commander Michael Marwood, the navigator who guides the destroyer by Asdic to the U-boat's location, receives the DSC for the action. At this point in the war there is still some civility at sea, and Marwood lends some of the German officers his own clothes, “but received little thanks. They thought we were mad. As the war became total and cruel, we treated future prisoners very differently!” Michael Marwood passes away on 5 January 2016.

Royal Navy 429 ton tug HMT Rinovia (Chief Skipper T. Fraser RNR) hits a mine in the English Channel off Falmouth, Cornwall, and sinks. There are 14 deaths.

German aerial mines of IX Air Corps sink British 168 ton tug Lea and 148-ton Deanbrook in the River Thames. Six crew perish on the Lea and everyone on board the Deanbrook (apparently also six crew) also perishes. The tugs sink in shallow water and are salvaged for scrap.

British 28 ton drifter Goodwill hits a mine and sinks in the Firth of Forth.

British 138 ton grain schooner Penola collides with another ship during the morning and sinks in the Clyde off Toward Point, Argyllshire (just west of the Toward Lighthouse). The crew abandons ship safely. The ship comes to rest upright in shallow water but later breaks up. Some sources place this incident on November 9th.

Greek 1588 ton freighter Menelaos capsizes in heavy weather and sinks in the outer Owers in the English Channel south of Selsey Bill, West Sussex.

Minelayers HMS Teviotbank and Plover and destroyers HMS Intrepid and Icarus lay minefield BS 44 in the North Sea. The Intrepid itself hits a mine off Hartlepool (it is unclear if it is one that it itself is laying, it appears not), which damages its engines. It limps into Hartlepool for repairs, joining the 50 other Royal Navy destroyers currently under repair.

Royal Navy HMS Campbeltown, one of the destroyers received from the US Navy in the destroyers-for-bases deal, collides with 793-ton Norwegian freighter Risoy. The Campbeltown sustains only minor damage which requires repairs of about three weeks at Liverpool.

Royal Navy Armed Merchant Cruiser Ranpura has a fire onboard which causes minor damage.

Royal Navy submarine Taku (Lt J. F. B. Brown) attacks 8923-ton German freighter Gedania in the Bay of Biscay off the Loire but misses.

Royal Navy submarine Tigris also spots an enemy ship, the Italian submarine Veniero, off the Gironde. Its attack also is unsuccessful. Submarines are difficult for other submarines to attack.

Convoys FN 324 and FN 325 depart from Southend, Convoy OB 238 departs from Liverpool,

U-69 (Kapitänleutnant Jost Metzler) is commissioned.

Adolf Hitler with Günther von Kluge, 1940. Von Kluge was known as der Kluge Hans, a play on his name which translates as "Clever Hans." Hans also was a famous horse of the day who supposedly was good at arithmetic. Hans also happened to be Kluge's own nickname, and English-speakers can somewhat grasp the nickname with the incorrect translation "Clever Hands Hans." Kluge was known as being extremely slippery in a political sense for a general (Federal Archive).

Battle of the Mediterranean: With the Crete landings successfully completed, the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet, led by battleship Warspite and aircraft carrier Illustrious, returns to Alexandria. Italian bombers attack the departing ships and score some near misses against cruisers HMS Ajax and Coventry.

Royal Navy submarine Tetrarch joins the other Royal Navy submarines making unsuccessful attacks today, missing an Italian freighter off Benghazi.

At Malta, there is an air raid around 12:30 when 20 SM 79 bombers escorted by 30 Macchi 200 and CR 42 fighters fly over the island from the north. There is a massive dogfight. One Macchi 200 is shot down by Hurricanes (pilot killed when chute fails to open), and a second Macchi and two CR 42s badly damaged. The bombs hit Luqa airfield and four houses near Aabbar.

A Maryland of RAF No. 431 Squadron is photographing Taranto Harbor when the pilot is wounded by a fire from an Italian fighter and knocked unconscious. The navigator takes over the controls until the pilot recovers sufficiently to pilot the aircraft back to base.

Spy Stuff: Free French submarine Rubis (CC Cabanier), which was in the port of Dundee, Scotland at the time of the French surrender on 22 June, drops off a British agent at Korsfjord, Norway during the night.

US Military: Rear Admiral John W. Greenslade arrives in Fort-de-France, Martinique. This is a continuation of amicable discussions between the US and the local commander, Vice Admiral Georges A.M.J. Robert, about the French situation there. The French have an aircraft carrier there which is immobilized.

US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson contracts with a subsidiary of the Pan American Airport Corporation to construct airfields and seaplane bases from the border of French Guiana along the Brazilian coast and down to Uruguay.

American Homefront: Doc Holliday's common-law wife, Hungarian "Big Nose" Kate, passes away at age 89.

Professor F. Bert Farquharson at the University of Washington completes studies he has been conducting of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State. Contracted by the Toll Bridge Authority in March, Farquharson has built a 1:200 scale model of the bridge to try to duplicate in a wind tunnel the vibrations which have given the bridge the nickname "Galloping Gertie." He is successful at this and decides the bridge has a major problem. Farquharson, however, believes one of two solutions should be implemented: drill holes in the bridge's girders to allow wind to pass through or affix wind deflectors. The State, meanwhile, has taken the temporary expedient of tying the bridge spans down with cables. The State plans a meeting with Farquharson on the 6th to discuss the remedies.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge around 2 November 1940. In the foreground are cables (anchored restraining wires 1-9/16 inches in diameter) that were affixed in October to suppress the bridge's twisting motion during high winds. One of the cables snapped on 1 November but was quickly repaired. There were no cables, however, on the critical center span.

November 1940

November 1, 1940: Hitler Irate
November 2, 1940: U-31 Sunk - Again
November 3, 1940: Kretschmer's Master Class
November 4, 1940: Spain Absorbs Tangier
November 5, 1940: Jervis Bay Meets Admiral Scheer
November 6, 1940: San Demetrio Incident
November 7, 1940: Galloping Gertie
November 8, 1940: Italian Shakeup in Greece
November 9, 1940: Dutch Fascists March
November 10, 1940: Fala and Doc Strange
November 11, 1940: Taranto Raid
November 12, 1940: Molotov Takes Berlin
November 13, 1940: Molotov Foils Hitler
November 14, 1940: Moonlight Sonata
November 15, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Sealed
November 16, 1940: France Keeps Battleships
November 17, 1940: Malta Hurricane Disaster
November 18, 1940: Hitler Berates Ciano
November 19, 1940: Birmingham Devastated
November 20, 1940: Hungary Joins Axis
November 21, 1940: Dies White Paper
November 22, 1940: Italians Take Korçë
November 23, 1940: U-Boat Bonanza!
November 24, 1940: Slovakia Joins In
November 25, 1940: Molotov's Demands
November 26, 1940: Bananas Be Gone
November 27, 1940: Cape Spartivento Battle
November 28, 1940: Wick Perishes
November 29, 1940: Trouble in Indochina
November 30, 1940: Lucy and Desi Marry

2020

Tuesday 29 October 1940

Father Louis Cheray stands in his ruined Edmundite church in Whitton, England. It was destroyed on the night of 29 October 1940. Unlike today, when someone (usually the government) steps in and fixes things, back then if your building was bombed, you were out of luck. Father Cheray raised some money and set to work repairing the church himself. He completed repairs in 1941, doing a lot himself, and the church as he fixed it remains in service today.

Italian/Greek Campaign: There are three main sectors of the Greek front with varying degrees of activity on 29 October 1940.

Along the coastal sector, the main Greek 8th Infantry Division force on the coast breaks contact and retires in good order to the Kalpaki line. This area has swamps at the mouth of the Kalamas River directly in front of Kalpaki which would retard any attack. Two Greek battalions under Major-General Nikolaos Lioumbas hold this area. Further inland, nine Greek battalions hold the Kalpaki pass. This line looks sturdy due to its natural advantages despite the presence of Italian warships offshore that can bombard the Greeks.

In the central sector, the Julia Division is moving forward in the critical Pindus Mountains sector of the front. Their goal is the crossroads of Metsovo, which would cut Greek lines of communications to their forces further north. The Greeks of the scratch Pindus Detachment (soon to be supplemented by the 1st Infantry Division) are retiring in good order to Samarina. It begins to snow in this area, which helps the defense.

The northern Macedonian sector is fairly static, with minimal Italian gains. Advances in this sector depend upon the Italian forces further south taking Metsovo, through which Greek supplies and reinforcements pass.

A planned Italian landing on Corfu is scrubbed due to poor weather.

A Paris shopgirl displays her wares for appreciative Wehrmacht boys, October 1940.

German/Italian Relations: An underlying tension between the Italians and the Germans concerns North Africa. The Germans want to put their own troops there for a variety of reasons, including sheer imperialism. The Italians, however, consider North Africa their own private domain and want it to remain German-free. Mussolini has been uncertain about the ability of the Italian Army to advance past the British defensive line at Mersa Matruh and take Alexandria without German assistance. At the Brenner Pass meeting on 4 October, Mussolini had waffled on whether to allow German troops to participate in this "third stage" of the North Africa offensive, indicating that he "might be forced" to use German tanks to take the British base (which would lever the British completely out of the Middle East entirely).

In hindsight, it is fairly obvious that the Italian Army had absolutely no hope of reaching Alexandria by itself, much less capturing it. However, the Italians are full of themselves at this point and truly believe they are world-conquerors.

Italian Commander in Chief Marshal Badoglio - adamantly opposed to German involvement in North Africa - today convinces Mussolini that the "third stage" of the offensive, taking Alexandria, is completely impossible with or without German assistance. He convinces Mussolini to cancel any plans for an Italian advance beyond Mersa Matruh (which itself would be extremely difficult for the Italians to take). This eliminates any excuse for the Germans to intrude troops into North Africa. It cripples the "peripheral strategy" favored by many of Hitler's Generals and Admirals - at least for the time being. Armchair historians who wonder why the Germans didn't just boot the British out of Egypt and Gibraltar early on when it would have been feasible - here is your reason.

This is an eminently sensible conclusion for the Italians to draw from the situation. Italian troops have miserable morale and terrible equipment and supplies. The important thing to note, though, is that the Italians don't make this decision at this time because of the British defenses or anything to do with the state of the Italian military - but because of their desire to keep the Germans out of North Africa.

Japan's home fleet on October 29, 1940, off the coast of Yokohama, Japan.

Battle of Britain: The Luftwaffe steps up its raids today, requiring a maximum effort by the RAF. It is a bad day for the Luftwaffe's fighter force, which suffers heavily. Today's operations usually are considered the last major, or climactic, Luftwaffe daylight attacks over England, though the battle continues of course.

German fighter-bombers (Jabos) cross the coast around 10:30, with many evading interception and bombing central London. The Charing Cross bridge is hit. A Hurricane of RAF No. 213 Squadron bales out near Selsey but perishes.

Some Dornier Do 17s mount a rare daylight raid just past noontime. They are intercepted by RAF No. 1 Squadron and don't accomplish much.

The largest operations of the day begin at 13:00 when 100+ Jabos and accompanying fighters head for central London and nearby airfields (Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Maidstone). JG 51 runs into the main force of RAF fighters and is attacked from above, losing 8 fighters. The Jabos drop their bombs and scramble for home quickly.

Around the same time, a large formation approaches Portsmouth from the south. This includes a dozen Junkers Ju 88s, and they run into RAF Nos. 145 and 213 Squadrons. The Luftwaffe bombs cause 39 casualties, with three deaths, along with dozens of houses destroyed and damage to the railway line.

As these other raids are in progress, the Italian CAI force sends over 15 BR 20 bombers with 39 CR 42 and 34 G.50bis escorts to bomb Ramsgate. They stray off course and bomb the Royal Marines Barracks at Deal, killing 8 men and wounding a dozen others.

The Jabos have great success later in the afternoon, and they are accompanied again by Junkers Ju 88 bombers. These raids proceed against airfields across East Anglia. This is Operation Opernhall (Opera Hall). There are 71 Ju 88s and 52 Jabos escorted by well over 120 Bf 109s and Bf 110s. North Weald, Leeming, Linton, Wattisham, Honington, Leeming, Newmarket, West Raynham, and Linton-on-Ouse and other airfields take damage.

The fighting is wild and wooly all afternoon. There are Luftwaffe planes going every which way, including a diversionary attack on the London docks by Epr210. There were planes falling out of the sky in all directions, most of them German.

After dark, the main targets are London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Coventry. The raids are spread out all across southern England. One bomber raids Bristol, another causes a fire at the Wrays Optical Works which destroys the factory. Junkers Ju 88s act as dive bombers (all Luftwaffe bombers are required to have some dive-bombing capability), attacking airfields in East Anglia, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.

The Luftwaffe drops mines in the Thames Estuary. These include new acoustic mines, which explode due to noise caused by ship propellers. One of the mines is recovered by two Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers in the River Ogmore for study.

Overall, as with most days when the Luftwaffe mounts a major effort, it is a bad day for the Germans. They lose over two dozen planes (22 Bf 109s, 3 Bf 110s and 2 Do 17s), and the RAF fewer than a dozen planes.

Werner Mölders claimed his 54th victory, keeping his lead over second-place Adolf Galland. Major Helmut Wick of JG 2 files two claims for Hurricanes over Portsmouth, giving him 44 victories.

Check out Tommy Dorsey and Frank at the Palladium tonight.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends its 25th raid against Berlin.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 1500 ton sludge barge G.W. Humphreys hits a mine and sinks Thames Estuary north of Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent. Seven crewmen perish.

U-31 (Kptl. Wilfried Prellberg) torpedoes and sinks 5389-ton British freighter Matina. The Matina is a drifting derelict that was attacked by U-28 on 26 October. This will be U-31's final success.

U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) rendezvouses with German raider Widder in the Bay of Biscay. Widder is operating at a reduced power of 5 knots due to engine difficulties and is slowly returning to base.

Norwegian 3015 ton freighter Jamaica hits a mine and is damaged.

Dutch submarine O-24 attacks a freighter off Norway but misses.

German E-boats Iltis and Jaguar lay minefield Alfred off Dover.

Convoy OB 236 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 322 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 322 departs from Methil, Convoy SC 10 departs St. John, Convoy OG 45 departs from Liverpool/Milford Haven/Glasgow, Convoy BM 3 departs from Bombay.

Daily Worker, 29 October 1940.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Greece formally requests British military assistance per the guarantee of 13 April 1939, which states:

[I]n the event of any action being taken which clearly threatened the independence of Greece, His Majesty's Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend all the support in their power.

England already has offered its assistance, so this request is a mere formality.

Operation BN: Pursuant to their mutual defense obligations to the Greeks, the British land troops on Greece. It is a reconnaissance party drawn from members of the Royal Navy, RAF, and the army. The men arrive at Suda Bay in a flying boat. The Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet based at Alexandria, led by battleships HMS Warspite, Valiant, Malaya, and Ramillies along with aircraft carriers HMS Eagle and Illustrious sorties to the west of Crete to cover landing operations there. A convoy of troopships also depart for Suda Bay. Operation BN is planned to continue for the next week and land a large body of British troops. The initial force of battleships also carries an extempore initial landing force of 158 sailors from the crew of damaged HMS Liverpool to form a shore party at Suda Bay.

Italian submarine Scirè parks off Gibraltar and releases its three manned torpedoes. All three submersibles, however, experience technical difficulties and the mission is scrubbed.

Italian submarine Atropo lays mines off Zante in the Aegean.

RAF bombers raid Italian positions in North Africa.

At Malta, the Malta Fighter Plane Fund is closed to contributions today, being announced a great success. A total of £12900 has been raised over three months, which is to be sent to the Minister for Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook, in London.

Battle of the Pacific: German raider Pinguin and converted minelayer Passat continue laying mines off southeast Australia. The Passat lays 30 mines in the Banks Straits.

Italian Military: The government begins full mobilization of the Italian Blackshirt units.

Actress Carole Landis learns her future from phrenology, 29 October 1940.

Vichy France: French Brigadier-General Paul Legentilhomme, who has been the Commander in Chief of the French military units stationed in French Somaliland, arrives in London to join Charles de Gaulle. Legentilhomme condemned the French Armistice on 18 June and left his command on 2 August.

China: At the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese withdraw from Nanning as the Chinese advance. The Chinese capture Kaofengyi, Santang, and Chientaohsu.

American Homefront: The first draft number is drawn pursuant to the  Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 lottery by Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He uses a blindfold to fish a number out of a fishbowl. This is the beginning of the first peacetime draft in US history. Chinese laundryman Yuen Chong Chan is the first choice and announces that he is eager to fight Japan.

October 29, 1940, U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson draws the third draft lottery number, watched by President Roosevelt. You can see the first two numbers drawn on the board.

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

2020

Friday 26 October 1940

North American Aviation’s prototype fighter, NA-73X, NX19998, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. (North American Aviation).

Battle of Britain: The weather continues to offer acceptable flying conditions today, so operations on both sides again are busy.

The day begins with the usual reconnaissance flights. Around 10:30 on 26 October 1940, a fighter-bomber (Jabo) sweep accomplishes little, though the Luftwaffe pilots down a Spitfire of 4,/JG53 near Biggin Hill. There also is an exchange of losses off the coast.

A little later, a large formation heads across from Boulogne. Per recent policy, there are patrolling Hurricanes who intercept. A massive dogfight erupts which extends all the way across the Channel. A pair of Hurricanes of No. 229 Squadron attack a Heinkel He 59 rescue plane - standing orders for the RAF - and are both shot down by Bf 109s. One of the pilots becomes a POW, a relative rarity for RAF fighter pilots at this stage of the war, the other perishes.

During the noon hour, Jabos raid Kent and Sussex. Once again, there is a major dogfight. The RAF takes the worst of this encounter, but there are only a few planes lost altogether.

After that, there are primarily only small raids and RAF Fighter Command does not bother with them. There is one major action over Kent in which JG 26 tangles with RAF No. 605 Squadron (Hurricanes) and No. 222 Squadron (Spitfires). Adolf Galland of JG26 claims his 46th victory, a handful behind leader Werner Molders.

Toward dusk at 18:00, a small raid on RAF Wick by two Heinkel He 111s kills three and wounds a dozen other civilians. It causes moderate damage to the airfield and demolishes several nearby houses. The raid is a bit unusual because the Heinkels pretend to be RAF planes, flashing proper recognition signals. Among other damage, a Hudson plane is destroyed and two others damaged.

At 18:30, a somewhat similar raid by a pair of Heinkels is made on RAF Lossiemouth. They destroy one Blenheim and damage two others. There are two dead and a dozen wounded. The planes fly so low that one of the Heinkels is destroyed by its own stick of bombs.

After dark, the weather takes a turn for the worse, but both sides continue operations. The fledgling RAF night fighter service has a bad night when two Hurricanes of RAF No. 151 Squadron crash for unknown reasons shortly after taking off.

London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, and the Midlands take the brunt of the night attacks. While the raid on London is considered one of the longest of the Battle of Britain, the attack on Birmingham is particularly notable and effective. Bombs hit the center of the city and destroy a large area of important buildings. Several factories are completely flattened, and an unexploded bomb comes to rest on one of the station platforms at New Street (LMS). Large fires break out at Saffron Hill but are brought under control after maximum effort.

In London, mass transit is in trouble. The subway station at Victoria Station, St. Pancras, is demolished along with nearby portions of Victoria Station itself. More and more provincial buses are in town to replace buses lost in bomb craters and the like. Numerous other stations, such as Balham, are completely out of service. The underground is vital to the functioning of the city, but "lucky hits" slowly are making it difficult to use.

The Luftwaffe also continues its mining operations in the Thames Estuary. Mines have taken an increasing toll on smaller ships, though larger vessels have been lucky recently.

Overall, it is a fairly normal day in terms of losses. The Luftwaffe loses about 10 planes and the RAF roughly half as many.

A Swordfish from RAF No. 821 Squadron on a training flight crashes into Quendale Bay in the Shetlands, killing the three men on board.

RAF ace James Lacey scores a victory, shooting down a Bf 109.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command launches a heavy raid on Berlin. It also attacks the ports of Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Flushing, Antwerp, and Bremen. Other targets include oil installations at Stettin, Leuna, and Cologne and various rail lines and airfields in northwest Europe.

Coastal Command attacks a power plant at Brest.

RAF Beauforts attack shipping in Sognefjord (Norway's largest fjord). They bomb and sinks 763-ton Norwegian freighter H.J. Kyvig. Five crew perish. Some sources place this incident on the 28th.

Empress of Britain (in naval gray) on fire and listing after being bombed. If you look closely, you can see the lifeboats being lowered.

Battle of the Atlantic: Royal Navy troopship (Canadian Pacific line) Empress of Britain, a 42,348-ton liner, is about 70 miles northwest of Aran Island, Ireland off the west coast and nearing its destination of Liverpool when it is spotted at about 09:20 by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor long-range bomber of I./.KG 40, commanded by Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope. The Empress of Britain is a fast, modern liner, but fortunately, it only has few passengers on board for its size. Jope strafes the liner and drops two 250 kg bombs on it. The bombs start a fire, and the bulk of those on board (416 crew, 2 gunners, 205 passengers) quickly abandon ship and are picked up by nearby destroyers and trawlers.

The Luftwaffe meanwhile sends reconnaissance planes to review the Empress of Britain's situation and they conclude that because the passengers are abandoning ship and it is on fire, that it is sinking. The ship, however, is only disabled and listing but not sinking. As the day ends, the Royal Navy makes plans to tow the Empress of Britain to port. There are 25 crew and 20 passengers who die in the attack and all subsequent events.

The Empress of Britain is the largest Allied liner hit during the war. Liners, being fast, are difficult to attack. The bombing is big news in Germany. Berlin radio strongly implies that the liner has been sunk, but the Kriegsmarine vectors in U-boats just to make sure.

British 8053 ton tanker Dosinia hits a mine and sinks in Liverpool Bay near Southport, Lancashire. Everybody aboard survives.

Royal Navy 8053 ton destroyer HMS Delhi stops Vichy French freighter Albi off Western Africa. The crew of the Albi scuttles it.

Belgian freighter Katanga hits a mine in the River Mersey near the Bar Lightship and is damaged.

Swedish 6549 ton tanker Strombus hits a mine near Mumbles Light and sinks. Everybody aboard survives.

Swedish 9583 tanker Pegasus also hits a mine a couple of kilometers south of Bar Light Vessel, Mersey and is damaged.

Norwegian 6549 ton whale factory ship hits a mine in the Bristol Channel off Swansea and sinks. All 40 crew aboard survive.

Destroyer HMS Sikh hits a tug at Rosyth and suffers minor damage.

Convoy FN 320 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 320 departs from Methil.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt (N 25, Lt. Cecil B. Crouch) is commissioned.

Oberleutnant Bernhard Jope (center) after he bombs the Empress of Britain.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Malta government long ago made hoarding illegal, but that hasn't stopped anyone. Police now are authorized to search houses for stockpiles. Petrol and silver are in short supply - both being hoarded - and buses only run a few hours a day. Nobody really knows where everything is heading, the German rapprochement with Romania, a key trading partner of Malta which heretofore has supplied much of its fuel, has created numerous problems on the island.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: German raider Atlantis, operating in the eastern Indian Ocean, transfers 216 POWs to captured Yugoslavian freighter Durmitor. The freighter then is sent toward Italian Somaliland with insufficient provisions for a large number of people on board. It is not a happy trip.

German Government: Adolf Hitler spends the entire day in Munich, his original power base, as he prepares for his meeting with Benito Mussolini in Florence on the 28th. Hitler, in fact, still maintains an apartment there (and will throughout the war). He stays in Munich until 18:00 on the 27th when his train heads south.

Commonwealth Relations: To coordinate Far Eastern defenses, representatives of Britain, Australia, and New Zealand meet in Singapore.

Soviet/Romanian Relations: Continuing its high-handed and predatory behavior to its neighbors, the Soviet Union occupies islands in the Danube Delta, contending that they are part of Bessarabia - which the USSR already has occupied.

Italian/Greek Relations: Italy has been making aggressive moves against Greece in recent years as part of an ancient rivalry that stretches back to the dawn of time. Today, Italy lodges a diplomatic protest against Greece alleging incursions across the Albanian border due to "anti-Italian bigotry." Italian forces in Albania are preparing for the invasion of Greece still scheduled for 28 October 1940.

Three Italian bombs attack Greek territory even though the countries are not yet at war.

German Military: Hubert Lanz, Chief of Staff for XVIII Corps, takes over command of the 1st Mountain Division. This division had been earmarked for Operation Felix, the capture of Gibraltar, but that mission essentially has been scrubbed due to Spain's unwillingness to join the war effort on the Axis side. The 1. Gebirgs-Division soon will head east, along with many other army units. Lanz is an interesting figure during the war, a stout, relentless soldier who leads many successful operations but also a covert opponent of the Hitler regime. That said, he certainly is no saint and is implicated in war crimes.

Vance Breese in the cockpit of the NA-73X after the first five-minute test flight, 26 October 1940. (North American Aviation).

US Military: Prototype NA-73X of the North American P-51 Mustang has its first flight, only 102 after the order was first placed. An all-aluminum design, test pilot Vance Breese reports that the plane handles during a five-minute flight well despite a heavy fuel load. It is heavily armed, with two .50 caliber Browning machine guns in the fuselage and four .30 inch Browning machine guns in the wings. Even fitted out with armament and everything else, the plane is 56 km/hour faster than the Spitfire V. The Allison engine, however, does not do well at altitude and soon shows other issues.

The US Marine Corps forms a Marine Parachute Detachment at the naval air station at Lakehurst, New Jersey.

A program for the Indiana-Northwestern game, 26 October 1940.

China: Japanese aircraft raid Loiwing (Leiyun), China. They cause extensive damage to the CAMCO factory which assembles CW-21 fighters from kits.

In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, Japanese army troops at Lungching and Pinghsiang are cut off and begin retreating to French Indochina.

British Homefront: The British government realizes some basic things about the homefront:

1. Many citizens love fish and chips;
2. Potatoes are one food item that people can grow at home fairly easily and thus are in fairly plentiful supply.
3. The daily fish catch is sufficient for present needs.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Food begins subsidizing the consumption of fish and chips.

American Homefront: US Secretary of State Cordell Hull makes a radio broadcast about the necessity of a strong defense. He states:

To have peace, we must have security. To have security, we must be strong … Essential to effective national defense are constant and skilful use of political and economic measures, possession of' military weapons, and continuous exercise of wisdom and of high moral qualities. We must have planes and tanks and ships and guns. We must have trained men. We must hold to the ideal of a world in which the rights of all nations are respected and each respects the rights of all; in which principles of law and order and justice and fair dealing prevail. Above all, we must be a united people - united in purpose, and in effort to create impregnable defense … Thus can we maintain our inheritance.

A game program for the 26 October 1940 football game between the Eagles and the Dodgers at Shibe Park.

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

2020

Monday 30 September 1940

Vera von Schaburg.

Battle of Britain: There is fine flying weather again on 30 September 1940, which taunts the Germans whose grand plans over the summer came crashing down to earth due to erratically poor weather. The Luftwaffe shows once again that it has no plan when it alters tactics once again, returning to the close-escort formula which annoys the fighter pilots and tends to shift losses from the bombers to fighters. The attacks once again are heavy, continuing the on-again, off-again pattern that the Luftwaffe has set throughout the battle.

The first large attack is at 09:00 when about 60 aircraft (only twelve bombers) cross the coastline and attack RAF Biggin Hill and Kenley. It apparently is an attempt to bait Fighter Command into a pointless dogfight, but fails.

At 10:10, another, slightly larger formation of 75 planes follows the first. This time, Fighter Command intervenes and disperses the bombers, which cause little damage. However, it loses five Hurricanes to JG 26, the premiere Luftwaffe fighter squadron at the time.

Around 11:00, an even larger formation of 100 aircraft heads north from Cherbourg. RAF No. 10 Group intervenes, and fierce dogfights erupt. Once again, the bombers turn back before reaching any important targets.

The usual break for lunch hour takes place, and then another raid appears at 13:10 with 100 planes, followed closely by another 80 planes. Along with fighters making sweeps over the Channel, the total number of Luftwaffe planes in the air is well over 200. The raid aims for London, and many of the bombers make it there. RAF No. 12 Group sends up its Duxford "Big Wing," and they chase the bombers and the few escorting fighters back to France, getting several kills. Once again, the "Big Wing" is effective once in operation, but very slow off the mark, allowing many bombers to escape that might have been caught with a more timely interception.

At 16:00, another raid of 200 aircraft heads across at Dungeness. The target once again is Biggin Hill and other airfields in the general East Kent vicinity. Weymouth and Yeovil take the most damage. RAF No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, RAF No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron, and No. 229 Squadron attempt to form a "Big Wing" but get separated. However, they all stumble upon a huge formation of Bf 109s and Bf 110s and can only take some potshots before escaping into the clouds. Overall, the British fighters feast on this bomber attack, shooting down numerous planes. This is the most memorable action of the day, with bombers crashing to earth regularly, and the pilots of JG 2 also claiming several victories. Sgt. Franciszek, the Czech ace flying with the Poles, gets a Bf 109 before also escaping into the clouds for the final victory of his career.

As is usually the case when the Luftwaffe launches repeated attacks, it is a massively bad day for its planes and pilots. The figures are usually given as 47 Luftwaffe losses and 20 RAF losses. Such high losses are unsustainable, and it is becoming unclear why the Luftwaffe insists on these large daylight raids when night-time operations are productive and incur far fewer losses.

Daily Mail, 30 September 1940.

For the month of September 1940, some ballpark estimates on the outcomes for both sides in the Battle of Britain:

• Luftwaffe plane losses: 433
• British fighter losses: 242
• Luftwaffe bombs on London: 6532 tons
• 6954 killed and 10,615 other casualties - not counting those made homeless.

All figures should be taken with a grain of salt. Even if historians have all the contemporary records available (many are lost or incomplete), disagreements about what constitutes a "loss" will never be resolved (many planes are badly damaged, some return to service, others are scavenged for parts, some spend long periods unavailable before receiving repairs, etc.). These figures also do not reflect the human cost, either in the air or on the ground. Further, planes lost on the ground and RAF bombs dropped on European targets make the score much more even. There is no question that at this stage of the conflict, the Luftwaffe is losing more planes and pilots, while England is suffering more in numerous ways (bombing, rationing, shipping losses) than the Continent.

Wing Commander Laurence Frank Sinclair drags an airman from a crashed, burning plane, and for this later is awarded the George Cross. British Air Raid Precaution Officer Thomas Adlerson is awarded the George Cross for actions in saving civilians in Bridlington in August 1940. It is worth pointing out that the George Cross, in theory, is supposed to be oriented toward civilian heroism, as it is the "equivalent" of the VC, but in practice, it usually goes to men acting in their official capacity on the home front (loosely defined).

F/O Urbanowicz of No. 303 Squadron claims two Bf109s and a Dornier Do 215 near the French coast. Dornier Do 215s are the German search and rescue planes, but the RAF considers them fair game despite that being of highly questionable legality. Pilot/Officer Radomski also shoots down a Do 215. Despite shooting down the German rescue planes, they remain effective at rescuing downed airmen from the Channel.

James Lacey downs a damaged Junkers Ju 88 bomber.

Oblt. Werner Machold of 9./JG 2 gets his 24th, 25th, and 26th victories. Hptm. Helmut Wick of Stab I./JG 2 claims a Hurricane and a Spitfire for his 33rd and 34th claims.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command attacks Berlin, spending four hours over the city. Extensive damage is caused to industrial, rail and power targets. Other raids target the German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez, the port of Cuxhaven, Amsterdam, and various airfields and railway targets in northwest Europe. Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm chip in with attacks on the port of Rotterdam and Ostend, along with other ports on the Channel. During a raid on Vlaardingen, the Fleet Air Arm loses an Albacore. Overall, the RAF loses five planes.

Damage caused by an RAF raid on Amsterdam (Rechtboomsloot) during the night of 29/30 September.

Battle of the Atlantic: While it is easy to say at this distant point that all invasion worries have dissipated in England by now. However, the facts suggest otherwise. For instance, the Admiralty orders the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow to remain on four-hours notice throughout the night. In addition, aircraft carrier Ark Royal and cruiser HMAS Australia, escorted by destroyers, depart Freetown bound for the Clyde. There also are rampant invasion rumors regarding the Azores and Canary Islands, which these ships will investigate along the way.

On its eighth patrol and operating out of Lorient along the trade route 300 miles west of Ireland, U-37 (Kapitänleutnant Victor Oehrn) has a big day.

At 10:13, U-37 torpedoes and sinks banana boat 5390-ton British freighter Samala (the British love bananas, and 1500 tons go down with the Samala). All 68 onboard, including 2 passengers, perish.

At 21:56, U-37 strikes again. It torpedoes and sinks 2499 ton British collier Heminge, part of Convoy OA 222. There are 25 survivors, and one crewman perishes. The crew gets lucky by being picked up by British freighter Clan Cumming and landed at Liverpool.

U-32 (Kptl. Hans Jenisch) at 15:02 fires a torpedo at empty 3278-ton Dutch freighter Haulerwijk on the trade route west of Ireland. It is a straggler from Convoy OB 219. The torpedo runs under the empty freighter, and Jenisch has to spend hours chasing the now-alerted freighter as it zig-zags along in a panic. U-32 finally surfaces and uses its deck gun on the freighter. The ship stops and starts a couple of times, so U-32 keeps firing. Finally, the crew gives up and abandons ship, and after guiding the crew in its lifeboats toward land, U-32 sinks the ship by gunfire at 20:35. There are 27 survivors, while four crew perish.

The minefield audaciously laid recently by a Kriegsmarine destroyer flotilla at the southern end of the English Channel off Falmouth continues to pay dividends. It racks up a score with smaller ships that explode spectacularly. Due to the size of the mines, the crews of smaller victims tend to have little chance of survival.

Royal Navy minesweeping trawler HMT Comet hits one of the Falmouth mines There are 2 survivors, while 15 crew perish.

Some sources claim that Royal Navy armed yacht HMY Sappho hits a mine and sinks today in the same area as the Comet. Other sources say it occurs on the 29th. In any event, 29 are killed and nobody survives.

In Operation MW, the British bring monitor HMS Erebus and its two 15-inch guns to Hellfire Corner between Dover and Calais. It fires 17 rounds at the German coastal guns at Cap Gris Nez and nearby, joined by destroyers HMS Garth and Vesper, with little effect.

U-31 (Kptl. Wilfried Prellberg) narrowly escapes two torpedoes fired at it at 03:16. This is a mystery, as there is no record of any submarine by either side firing the torpedoes.

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Kipling collides with British freighter Queen Maud while escorting Convoy FN 295. It returns to the Humber for minor repairs.

Patrol Sloop Mallard is damaged by a mine off Harwich and is taken by tug Kenia back to port for extensive repairs.

British freighter Sussex, sailing with Convoy SL 47 off Kinnaird Head, is damaged in a Luftwaffe attack at around 20:00.

A British minelaying flotilla departs from Loch Aish to lay Field NS 42 north of Scotland.

The Kriegsmarine sends torpedo boats to lay minefield Werner off Dover.

British freighter Automedon, a spy ship, departs from London for Singapore with highly classified information, codes and other materials on board regarding British Far East dispositions and plans.

Convoy OA 222 departs from Methil, Convoy FN 295 departs from Southend, Convoy HX 77 departs from Halifax, Convoy BHX 77 departs from Bermuda.

Kriegsmarine cruiser Admiral Hipper makes port in Kiel after experiencing engine trouble.

Allied Shipping Losses for the month of September 1940 total approximately 403,504 tons sunk in the Atlantic and about 450,000 tons overall.

Overall, 92 Allied ships sunk in the Atlantic:

• 295,335 tons sunk by U-boat;
• 56,328 tons sunk by aircraft
• 96,288 tons sunk by raiders
• 8,269 tons sunk by mines.

In addition, there were 6 Axis ships sunk in the Mediterranean totaling 21,466 tons. Elsewhere, there were 8 Allied ships sunk, primarily in the Indian Ocean, totaling 45,117 tons (overall figures may not exactly add up as taken from different sources). The Axis loses one U-boat during the month and has 28 ready for duty in the Atlantic. Italy continues to transfer submarines to its new base at Bordeaux and will focus on the area of Spain and to the south.

U-73 (Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum) is commissioned.

Light cruisers HMS Dido (37), Nigeria (60), Phoebe (43) and corvette HMS Cyclamen (K 83) are commissioned.

HMS Gloucester enters Grand Harbour, Malta. Naval-history.net.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF continues to focus on Italian supply lines. It bombs Marawa, Libya, a key crossroads about 65 km south of Bayda.

Some sources place the sinking of Italian submarine Gondar by HMS Stuart and Short Sunderland flying boats today, others on the 29th. In any event, all 47 onboard survive.

At Malta, cruisers HMS Gloucester and Liverpool make port at Grand Harbour at 22:00. They carry 1000+ troops, primarily anti-aircraft gunners and infantry, and general cargo, including anti-aircraft guns and munitions. Furious unloading begins immediately so that the ships can clear out on the 1st. The troops have been at sea for weeks on the long way around the Cape of Good Hope. This completes Operation MB 5 (once they unload and sail).

The Italian fleet has been at sea due to reports about Convoy MB 5, but, having not spotted the enemy, returns to port.

Spy Stuff: During the night of September 29th/30th, the Germans implement a key part of Operation Lobster (Unternehmen Hummer), which encompasses the collection of military data about Great Britain. This particular part of Operation Lobster has been planned in early September 1940 to coincide with Operation Sealion and proceeds despite the latter operation's suspension. This particular sub-operation is part of Operation Lena, the infiltration of spies ("HUMINT") into England and Scotland. Major Klug in the Abwehr Office WN 2 (Section 2), under the general direction of Admiral Canaris, gives the final go-ahead.

At 02:30, three Abwehr agents board a Heinkel He 115 seaplane in Stavanger, Norway. They fly across the Channel to the west of Scotland and land just off the Banff coast, paddling ashore. The agents are (they all have multiple names and variations of those names, which, if any, are real is a little unclear):

• Vera de Witte (alias for Vera Schaburg aka Vera Erikson aka Vera de Cottany-Chalbur), 
• Theodore Drueke (aka Karl Druecke aka Karl Drucke, his name is spelled differently in every source) and 
• Werner Waelt (aka Robert Petter). 

It is a favorite subject of historical conjecture to posit that the entire operation has been designed to fail (through poor choices of agents etc.) by anti-German officials within the Abwehr. That is based on general anti-German attitudes of those officers, not on actual proof. The entire affair is murky, including some of its outcomes.

The three agents are to observe military bases and airfields and report back to Germany using wireless in order to facilitate Operation Sealion. They carry in their luggage bundles of cash, lists of RAF airfields to observe, and 19 magazines of ammunition. It is widely believed by historians that Vera Schaburg is a double agent, but this has never been proved conclusively. This incident was made into a German television movie, "The Beautiful Spy" (2013), directed by Miguel Alexandre.

The agents attempt to act like normal train travelers. However, they are spotted at Port Gordon and two, Schaburg and Drucke, are arrested at Buckle on the Moray Firth. The third agent, named Petter, is arrested around the same time in Edinburgh after he deposits a disguised wireless set at the train baggage claim area. The two men are executed as spies at Wandsworth Prison on 6 August 1941, while Vera Schaburg disappears from history. She is presumed by many to be a double-agent whisked away to parts unknown by MI5/MI6 - or perhaps they found another use for her.

Many rumors float around about this woman, a notorious spy both in Russia/Soviet Union and Germany on a par with Mata Hari, but very few facts. Let's just say that you could trust her about as far as you could throw her. The last hint of her fate is that she returned to Germany after the war. Born in 1912 in Russia, it is highly unlikely but not impossible that Schaburg still survives.

German Military: Georg von Bismarck, the commander of the 7th Schützen-Regiment (motorized infantry regiment) of Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division during the famous Channel Dash, receives the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

British Military: Already a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order since 23 January 1937, Air Marshal Hugh Dowding becomes a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (investiture 8 October 1940).

US Military: Battleship USS Arizona makes port at Long Beach, California.

A Bantam Blitz Buggy, currently undergoing tests at Camp Holabird, Maryland on 30 September 1940.

Australia: Convoy US 5A departs from Sydney, including 1908 troops on Dutch liners Nieuw Zeeland and Johan De Witt. The convoy includes three freighters carrying munitions. The first stop is Fremantle.

China: The Communist Chinese New 4th Army leaves Jiangyan for Huangqiao to form a defensive position against an expected Nationalist Chinese attack. Much effort is wasted by the Chinese in these fraternal battles. The Japanese send an air attack against Kunming.

Free France: General Charles de Gaulle, in Freetown following the failed Operation Menace, departs by air for Lagos.

British Homefront: The government announces that 50 London firemen have perished during the month of September 1940.

German Homefront: Berlin Children are encouraged to visit rural relatives by being given extra vacation time if they do.

Future History: Dewey Martin is born in Chesterville, Ontario. He becomes famous in the 1960s as the drummer with Buffalo Springfield, and also for session work with The Monkees. He passes away in 2009.

Battleship USS Iowa (CV 16) under construction at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, 30 September 1940.

September 1940

September 1, 1940: RAF's Horrible Weekend
September 2, 1940: German Troopship Sunk
September 3, 1940: Destroyers for Bases
September 4, 1940: Enter Antonescu
September 5, 1940: Stukas Over Malta
September 6, 1940: The Luftwaffe Peaks
September 7, 1940: The Blitz Begins
September 8, 1940: Codeword Cromwell
September 9, 1940: Italians Attack Egypt
September 10, 1940: Hitler Postpones Sealion
September 11, 1940: British Confusion at Gibraltar
September 12, 1940: Warsaw Ghetto Approved
September 13, 1940: Zeros Attack!
September 14, 1940: The Draft Is Back
September 15, 1940: Battle of Britain Day
September 16, 1940: Italians Take Sidi Barrani
September 17, 1940: Sealion Kaputt
September 18, 1940: City of Benares Incident
September 19, 1940: Disperse the Barges
September 20, 1940: A Wolfpack Gathers
September 21, 1940: Wolfpack Strikes Convoy HX-72
September 22, 1940: Vietnam War Begins
September 23, 1940: Operation Menace Begins
September 24, 1940: Dakar Fights Back
September 25, 1940: Filton Raid
September 26, 1940: Axis Time
September 27, 1940: Graveney Marsh Battle
September 28, 1940: Radio Belgique Begins
September 29, 1940: Brocklesby Collision
September 30, 1940: Operation Lena

October 1940

October 1, 1940: Wait Daddy October 2, 1940: Hitler's Polish Plans
October 3, 1940: British Cabinet Shakeup
October 4, 1940: Brenner Pass Meeting
October 5, 1940: Mussolini Alters Strategy
October 6, 1940: Iron Guard Marches
October 7, 1940: McCollum Memo
October 8, 1940: Germans in Romania
October 9, 1940: John Lennon Arrives
October 10, 1940: Führer-Sofortprogramm
October 11, 1940: E-Boats Attack!
October 12, 1940: Sealion Cancelled
October 13, 1940: New World Order
October 14, 1940: Balham Tragedy
October 15, 1940: Mussolini Targets Greece
October 16, 1940: Japanese Seek Oil
October 17, 1940: RAF Shakeup
October 18, 1940: Convoy SC-7 Catastrophe
October 19, 1940: Convoy HX-79 Catastrophe
October 20, 1940: Convoy OB-229 Disaster
October 21, 1940: This Evil Man Hitler
October 22, 1940: Aktion Wagner-Burckel
October 23, 1940: Hitler at Hendaye
October 24, 1940: Hitler and Petain
October 25, 1940: Petain Woos Churchill
October 26, 1940: Empress of Britain Attack
October 27, 1940: Greece Rejects Italian Demands
October 28, 1940: Oxi Day
October 29, 1940: US Draft Begins
October 30, 1940: RAF Area Bombing Authorized
October 31, 1940: End of Battle of Britain

2020