Monday 6 May 1940

French troops in the Narvik sector, 1940.

Norway: The saga of the Norwegian gold reserve reaches a turning point on 6 May 1940, as £33,000,000 arrives in London. Having traveled most of the vast length of Norway by train and British cruiser, there were some anxious moments before it finally wound up safely in England.

Norway Army Operations: With the Germans in control of all of Norway south of Trondheim, the Allies are massing strength around the vital transit hub Narvik. The South Wales Borderers (part of British 24th Brigade) are assembling five miles to the west, and the French Chasseurs Alpins and Colonial artillery troops continue to try to force their way through Labergdal Pass to the north, across the fjord. Getting into position on the opposite shore would provide prime artillery positioning for the Allies, so the pass must be held if the Germans are to hold the town.

Colonel-General Dietl in Narvik is sitting tight in Narvik. It is a small port whose only value is the rail line to Swedish ore mines. While easily defensible due to the towering mountain ranges on all sides, Dietl's regiment does not have the manpower to hold off a determined assault from all directions.

The Wehrmacht high command (particularly Hitler) is well aware that General Dietl's regiment is in trouble. The German 2d Mountain (Gebirgsjäger ) Division continues marching north from Trondheim across snow-covered mountain roads to help Dietl. It remains far away. Sea transport is out of the question due to British naval dominance.

Norway Naval Operations: Allied supply convoys reach Harstad and Tromso, jumping-off points for an attack on Narvik. The French 13th Demi-Brigade Legion Etrangere arrives at Harstad.

The Kriegsmarine is sending reinforcements to Norway across the Skagerrak and is somewhat careless about possible Allied interference. British submarine HMS Sealion sees two transport ships, Moltkefels and Neidenfels, at 14:00. Sealion fires six torpedoes at them but all miss.

In addition, HMS Snapper sees German armed merchant cruiser Widder, which left port on 5 May for its raid, about 30 miles east of Denmark around 15:25. Snapper fires two torpedoes - and both miss.

Norway Air Operations: While the British control the sea around Narvik, the Germans increasingly control the skies. Today, the Luftwaffe attacks part of the British fleet sitting nearby, with one bomb just missing cruiser HMS Enterprise, causing some damage and killing a Marine.

The Luftwaffe can operate from Værnes Air Station near Trondheim, which is rapidly upgraded to handle large forces, and also Hattfjelldal Airfield in Hattfjelldal, Norway. While not very close to Narvik, their planes outmatch anything that the British can put in the air over the isolated port.

Western Front: Hitler's Wehrmacht is silently moving over 90 divisions into launching points for the invasion of the Low Countries and France. Meanwhile, the Allies are focused on the sideshow in Narvik. The Germans, incidentally, are preparing more divisions for combat operations than the United States fielded at any point in World War II.

Belgian reconnaissance notices a large Wehrmacht Armoured column moving west through the Ardennes. It is part of General von Rundstedt's force for Fall Gelb.

Battle of the Atlantic: The HMS Seal, captured by the Wehrmacht on 5 May, is gone but not forgotten. During its patrol, it released some 50 mines. Today, German cargo ship Vogesen hits one and sinks.

British freighter Brighton hits a mine and sinks near Dunkirk.

Convoy OA 143GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 143 departs from Liverpool.

British corvette HMS Calendula (Lt. Commander Alan D. Bruford) is commissioned.

Minesweeping trawler HMS Ash (George A. Harrison) is commissioned.

Italian Battleship Vittorio is completed.

European Air Operations: RAF bomber command sends a dozen aircraft on minelaying operations during the night.

Vatican: The Vatican has been acting as a clearinghouse for off-and-on behind the scenes peace negotiations with Wehrmacht dissidents and thus has good sources. The Pope has been trying to get the word out that the Germans are preparing to attack. He faces massive Allied indifference or disbelief. The Pope tells Princess of Italy Marie José, the wife of the Italian Crown Prince, that Germany is about to attack the Low Countries. The Princess informs her brother, King Leopold of Belgium. Unfortunately, there have been several false alarms that have greatly embarrassed the Belgians and cost some highly placed officials their jobs, so one more alarm does not create as much excitement as it otherwise might.

Olympics: The International Olympics makes formal a decision that has been obvious for some time, canceling the 1940 Summer Olympics - the winter Games already having been canceled.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Japanese 11th Army captures Fengyao and Changchiachi.

British Homefront: The government releases employment figures showing that unemployment is at its lowest level in 20 years.

American Homefront: John Steinbeck wins the Pulitzer Prize for "The Grapes of Wrath," which already has been turned into a classic Hollywood film starring Henry Fonda.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge nearing completion, May 6, 1940. James Bashford Press Photos. PH Coll. 290.9 University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. The bridge opened in July 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019

Friday 26 January 1940

Pope Pius XII before the microphone in his study at Vatican City in Rome, 1940.

Winter War: Marshal Voroshilov, who has been directing the war from the Kremlin, is on his way to the Finnish front on 26 January 1940. It does not take a military genius for anyone in possession of this fact to figure out that something big is about to take place.

Winter War Army Operations: At Taipale, Finnish 7th Division calculates that it has suffered 816 men killed and 2020 men wounded since the beginning of the war. While huge for Finland, those figures are no doubt dwarfed by those of Soviet forces opposing it.

Group Talvela of Finnish 9th Division consolidates in Kuhmo and prepares to launch an assault on the Soviet 54th Infantry Division.

At Lahde, the two 152-mm guns (Lieutenant Grachev) of the 4th Battery, 402nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment, 24th Corps. Artillery Regiment fire opposite the Millionaire bunker opens up at 12:00, along with other artillery. A Finnish observation tower on the bunker (one of three) is blown up almost at once, and the central section is hit seconds later. Several rounds penetrate the bunker and explode inside. The bunker is a total write-off within minutes. The Soviet artillerymen, possessing a deep understanding of the Soviet system, immediately ask their superiors to sign a document attesting to their part in the destruction of the bunker.

At Summa, the daily 7,000 round artillery bombardment continues.

Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Durham Castle, an 8,240-ton special service vessel, hits a mine laid by U-57 and sinks on 21 January 11 miles northeast of Cromarty in the North Sea. A former passenger ship owned by Union-Castle Mail SS Co. before being requisitioned by the Admiralty, Durham Castle was being towed to Scapa Flow to serve as a store ship and floating barracks.

Convoy OG 16F forms at Gibraltar.

German/Vatican Relations: The German ambassador protests against the recent Vatican broadcasts about German atrocities in Poland.

French Homefront: "Radio Traitor" Paul Ferdonnet, broadcasting propaganda in French from Stuttgart, is tried in absentia by a military tribunal.

British Homefront: The government reports that the massive evacuation of London at the beginning of the war largely has reversed itself. Half of the 734,883 children evacuated, some 316,192, have returned to their homes in London as of 8 January 1940. It is not just the absence of air raids that caused them to return, but a growing feeling that the entire war with Germany has been completely avoided.

US/Japanese Relations: The US allows the US-Japanese Treaty of Navigation and Commerce to lapse due to the continuing Japanese invasion of China.

US Military: US Seabees begin building an airfield at Palmyra Island in the Line Islands (south of Hawaii).

Australia: Brisbane is suffering from an intense heatwave, with temperatures extending above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in many places in the state.

Holocaust: Hans Frank decrees that Jews in occupied Poland are no longer allowed to travel on trains. Limitations also are placed on Jewish worship.

China: The Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division west of Shaohsing.

The Royal Norfolk Regiment of the BEF man a trench in France. Hand grenades are being handed out to the soldiers behind them. 26 January 1940.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Saturday 2 December 1939

Doric Star ~ Coup de grâce by a torpedo from the Admiral Graf Spee ~ The track visible on right-hand side  ~ 2/12/1939 ~ Courtesy Ron Young.

Winter War: The Finns on 2 December 1939 claim 36 tanks destroyed and 19 planes shot down. They also claim to have sunk a Soviet warship off the island of Russaro (the ship was only damaged, though with numerous casualties).

Winter War Army Operations: Finnish troops are slowly withdrawing to the Mannerheim Line. They are proving adept at ambushing Soviet tanks and setting booby traps. There are some 13,000 front-line Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus facing several times their number. The lines are still well ahead of the major Mannerheim Line defenses.

At the north end of the Front, the Soviets have occupied Petsamo and are advancing toward Rovaniemi against light opposition. The Finish 10th Separate Company and 5th Separate Battery, both part of the Lapland Group, face two Soviet Divisions (the 52nd and the 104th).

Soviet 8th Army north of Lake Ladoga captures Suojarvi.

Winters in Finland are cold. December 2, 1939. Suvilahti, Finland.

Finnish Government: The government issues an appeal to the League of Nations.

Soviet Propaganda: The Soviet government signs a "pact of mutual assistance" with its puppet Finnish People's government.

German Propaganda: The German state media launch a campaign against Sweden. This contributes to the general sense of unease felt throughout Scandinavia.

Western Front: A French communique states that it is "a quiet day."

Battle of the Atlantic: Battleship HMS Renown and cruiser HMS Sussex attack the German freighter Watussi off South Africa, whose crew scuttles it. HMS Renown rescues the 155 crew and 43 passengers and deposits them for internment in South Africa.

Admiral Graf Spee's Arado floatplane spots the 10,086 British Blue Star Line freighter Doric Star near St. Helena. Captain Stubbs has the British crew radio a distress message and disables the ship. Admiral Graf Spee then takes off the crew and sinks it after taking all worthwhile moveable objects such as sextants and binoculars.

U-56 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Zahn) torpedoes 3,829-ton British freighter Eskdene off Tyne in the North Sea. All 28 crew survive and abandon ship. The Eskdene remains afloat, though abandoned.

U-56 also sinks Swedish vessel Rudolf.

British freighter Calisto hits a mine and sinks.

Convoy OA 45G leaves Southend, Convoy SL 11 leaves Freetown, and Convoy HXF 11 departs from Halifax.

Doric Star, sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 24 Vickers Wellington bombers of 115 Squadron against the Kriegsmarine base at Heligoland. A bomb is dropped on land when it "hangs up" in the bomb bay and eventually drops on Heligoland Island, where it apparently quite fortuitously hits an anti-aircraft battery. This marks the first RAF bombs dropped on the Reich in World War II.

US Government: President Roosevelt proposes a "moral embargo" on the sale of American arms to unnamed countries perpetuating "terror bombing."

British Government: The government extends conscription to all men aged between 19 and 41 years. There are very limited occupational deferments.

Italy: There are pro-Finnish demonstrations in Rome as the Vatican condemns the Soviet attack.

Sweden: The Army calls up reserves. The Foreign Minister resigns when the government refuses to send troops to help Finland.

Olympics: The IOC announces that, just as in November they had canceled the Winter Olympics at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, they also now were canceling the summer 1940 Games. Those Games had been planned for Helsinki, but the Winter War makes holding them there impossible.

American Homefront: US politician Harry Reid is born in Searchlight, Nevada. He becomes Senate Majority Leader in the 2000s.

LaGuardia Airport opens.

On December 2, 1939, LaGuardia opened to commercial traffic when a TWA DC-3 from Chicago landed minutes after midnight. Within a year, LaGuardia was the busiest airport in the world.

December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019