Wednesday 19 March 1941

King George and Queen Elizabeth visit Swansea on 19 March 1941 (WalesOnline).

Italian/Greek Campaign: Following a three-day pause, the Italian Primavera Offensive resumes on 19 March 1941. The Italian Sienna Division attack Height 731 for the eighteenth time. As in the preceding 17 times, nothing comes of it except more dead soldiers on both sides. Operation Lustre, the British reinforcement of Greece, continues. The Australian 16th Infantry Brigade and General Blamey arrive at Piraeus.

East African Campaign: Major-General Lewis Heath, in command of the Indian 5th Infantry Division, is planning a thrust straight up the Dongolaas Gorge that controls access to Keren. The Italians rather unhelpfully have dumped rocks and other debris into the gorge to make travel through it impossible except by hikers. The Italians are sitting at the head of the gorge with clear fields of fire against anyone attempting to advance through it. Heath's plan is to neutralize those Italian positions via diversionary flank attacks which draw their fire elsewhere, giving the Royal Engineers time to clear a path through the gorge. This will require taking positions overlooking the gorge. Heath begins assembling his entire division, which will take some time. Thus, the Battle for Keren once again goes into abeyance for a few days while the British build up their troop strength and logistics.

The Italian attacks on Fort Dologorodoc continue. At 04:00, the 10th Alpini Battalion attacks and gets to within 70 yards of the fort. However, the British defenders beat them back, pursuing them with bayonets and grenades. The British reshuffle their forces, with Indian 3/5 Mahratta occupying the fort and the 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment taking up positions outside the walls.

The British forces at Jijiga begin advancing further. They now are about eight miles beyond the town. Indian troops continue advancing from Berbera and are about 100 miles past it.

HMS Helvellyn, sunk during the Luftwaffe attacks on London on 19 March 1941.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe has been ramping up its raids this month after essentially a two-month lull. Most of the attacks have been against secondary city targets such as Bristol and Glasgow. Tonight, the Luftwaffe returns to its primary target, London, in a major way. About 370-479 bombers drop 122,292 incendiaries. The weekly Home Security Situation report states:

On the 19th/20th March : Bombing was concentrated on East London and the London Docks, where there were more major fires than on any date since the 29th December, causing considerable damage.

The fires and other damage kill about 750 people. In addition, many ships in the harbor are damaged or sunk, including:
4962-ton British freighter Nailsea Meadow (damaged at Victoria's Dock, two deaths)

• 5780-ton British freighter Telesfora De Larringa (one death)
• 5248-ton British freighter Lindenhall (sunk and refloated)
• Royal Navy auxiliary anti-aircraft ship HMS Helvellyn (sunk).

RAF Bombing Command attacks Cologne (36 bombers) and Rotterdam oil installations and the Lorient U-boat pens.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies is in the north visiting manufacturing plants. He is in Sheffield and notes:

Sheffield has suffered gravely. 60,000 out of 180,000 houses affected - But Industries going magnificently. Spirits superb. No surrender. No compromise (emphasis and punctuation in original).

The factories in Sheffield, Menzies notes, are manufacturing 14" plates and 14" gun barrels.

Glasgow Herald, 19 March 1941. This headline about U-boats heading toward the US coast is a bit premature - but the Battle of the Atlantic indeed is creeping ever closer to North America.

Battle of the Atlantic: Following orders, Admiral Lütjens sets a course toward Brest for Brest, France for his Operation Berlin cruisers, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. Steaming at 23 knots, he has timed it so that the ships will make the final approach during the early morning hours and reach Brest - and Luftwaffe and destroyer protection - at dawn on the 22nd. The Royal Navy is completely unaware of Lütjens' location or destination.

The Luftwaffe (KG 40 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors) attacks Convoy OB 298 in the Northwest Approaches and sinks 5193-ton British freighter Benvorlich. There are 5-20 deaths (accounts vary), the rest of the crew is picked up by another convoy freighter, the Zamalek.

The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks 1367-ton Norwegian freighter Leo northwest of the Butt of Lewis. Everyone survives.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 8245-ton Dutch tanker Mamura in the mid-Atlantic. Tankers are tough to sink, and Mamura is able to make it to Halifax.

The Luftwaffe bombs and damages 642-ton British freighter Juno at the Surrey Commercial Dock. The Juno is written off.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe), on its second patrol out of Lorient, continues his attacks on Convoy SL-68. Just after midnight, at about 00:25, he fires a spread of torpedoes at the ships. Only 7750-ton transport Mandalika is hit and sunk. There are three deaths and 62 survivors, picked up by HMS Marguerite. Some sources claim that U-106 makes this attack.

Convoy SL-68 is experiencing all sorts of strains due to the German attacks, and this kind of unrelenting stress can lead to mistakes and disaster by itself. British 6114-ton freighter Clan MacNab collides with Norwegian freighter Strix and sinks near the Cape Verde Islands.

British 4762-ton freighter Tottenham hits a mine and is damaged at the Southend Anchorage. It is towed to Gravesend.

Norwegian coaster Nyegg runs aground at Egersund, Norway.

German tanker Nordmark meets German raider Kormoran for resupply midway between Africa and Brazil.

Convoy OB 299 departs from Liverpool.

The Benvorlich, sunk by the Luftwaffe today.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel is in Berlin to meet with Adolf Hitler, Army Commander-in-Chief Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch, and OKH Chief of Staff General Franz Halder. The German high command has other fish to fry right now, but promise Rommel the 15th Panzer Division in May. Rommel is itching to get started with his offensive, but this is not yet the time. During this visit, Hitler makes Rommel the 10th recipient of the Oak Leaves to the Iron Cross for his service in command of the 7th Panzer Division.

British Middle East Commander General Archibald Wavell now is receiving Ultra decrypts. He learns from them that Luftwaffe leaves have been canceled and the Germans are planning an offensive.

Another Malta resupply convoy operation, MC 9, departs. Three ships, with escorts, departs from Haifa, and another leaves Alexandria to join the others. The convoy is MW 6/Force C.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Truant attacks an Italian barge at Buerat El-Hsun, Libya, but misses.

The Admiralty makes the difficult decision to pull the remaining Sunderland flying boats from their base at Kalafrana and send them to Alexandria. The Luftwaffe has destroyed or damaged several of them recently, and they are too vulnerable lying at anchorage when the Luftwaffe has a dominance of the skies. Weather is poor today, and there are no bombs dropped on the island though there are some close approaches to the island.

An Italian convoy carrying troops and supplies for the Afrika Korps departs from Naples bound for Tripoli.

Battle of the Pacific: US destroyers USS Aylwin and Farragut collide during night tactical exercises off Hawaii. There is one death aboard the Aylwin.

Lonsdale Avenue, East Ham bomb damage. 19 March 1941.

Anglo/US Relations: Prime Minister Winston Churchill asks President Roosevelt, who is about to go fishing off the Florida coast, to extend the US Navy's patrols to cover more of the Atlantic. It is common knowledge that the US Navy is helping the Royal Navy by quickly alerting the British when they spot any German ships. Churchill wants the US Navy's eyes everywhere that the Royal Navy's eyes are not, though they don't have to do anything other than locate German ships:

It would be a very great help if some American warships and aircraft could cruise about in this area as they have a perfect right to do.

Churchill, of course, would like a great deal more than this, but feels this is both helpful and fairly benign in terms of US neutrality. In addition to this, Churchill wants the US Navy to seize interned Axis ships and use them as Allied shipping, and also to begin convoys of their own. Roosevelt and his team, such as Navy Secretary Frank Knox, are very sympathetic and looking into some other ways to help, too, including having US Navy aviators fly British search aircraft. However, it will take a little time before everyone in the US government has meetings about this and actual steps are taken.

German/Yugoslav Relations: Adolf Hitler is running up against some hard deadlines. Spring is approaching and with it the campaigning season. The Wehrmacht needs to know what role Yugoslavia and its military will play in the events that are about to unfold in the Balkans. Accordingly, Hitler tells the Yugoslav Regent, Prince Paul, that he wants Yugoslavia to sign the Tripartite Pact by the beginning of next week, five days hence.

German/Japanese Relations: Following up on discussions he has had with Hitler, Admiral Raeder floats the idea of attacking Singapore with the Japanese ambassador.

Jackson Daily News, 19 March 1941.

Japanese/Australian Relations: A reception is held for the first Japanese minister to Australia, Tatsuo Kawai, in Canberra. The Australian parliament adjourns so that members can make their way to Sydney to welcome US Admiral Newton's cruiser squadron at 08:00.

German Dissidents: German refugees in London form the Union of German Socialists, a group that opposes Hitler and his form of government.

US Military: The 99th Pursuit Squadron is activated. This formation, based at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois, trains hundreds of enlisted men for ground support duties for formations such as the famous Tuskegee Airmen.

British Government: Churchill's "Battle of the Atlantic" committee has its first meeting.

US Government: "Wild Bill" Donovan has just returned from his extended fact-finding mission in Europe. He meets with President Roosevelt to discuss his findings.

China: At the Battle of Shanggao, the Japanese now are in possession of the first line of Chinese defenses. Both sides call in reinforcements, the Japanese from their bases, the Chinese from the third line of their defenses. Basically, this is the beginning of a short lull in the battle.

British Homefront: Woolton Pies - mass-produced vegetable casseroles - go on sale for 8 pence per pound. They are composed primarily of potatoes, onions and other foods in plentiful supply. Cheese rationing is to begin next week.

Arthur Fellig aka Weegee is a tabloid news photographer in New York City who has a permit to monitor the police bands and arrives at the scenes of crimes and fires with the authorities. He has an elaborate set-up in the trunk of his 1938 Chevy with where he types his copy for quick submission to his clients. Here is one of his photos of a fire rescue on 19 March 1941.  (Weegee / International Center of Photography).

March 1941

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

2020

Tuesday 18 March 1941

"Police and Army bomb disposal officers with a defused German 1000kg 'Luftmine' (parachute mine) in Glasgow, 18 March 1941." © IWM (H 8281).

Italian/Greek Campaign: The Italian Primavera Offensive has been officially suspended on 18 March 1941. However, local Italian commanders, full of spirit and wishing to impress Mussolini no doubt, launch a number of attacks south of the Vojussa River anyway. As with offensives launched before the suspension, these attacks do not succeed, but they do get a lot of soldiers on both sides killed.

The main activity is in the air, with the Allies bombing Italian installations at the ports of Valona and Durazzo. They sink Italian torpedo boat Aldebaran.

East African Campaign: In east-central Abyssinia, the Italian defenses are oriented around Debre Marqos (Mankorar). It is a major Italian fortification. Naturally, that makes it a prime target for the British. Gideon Force and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (Resistance Fighters), spurred on by the presence relatively nearby of Emperor Haile Selassie, approach the town to isolate it. This is an old hat for the native troops, who previously besieged the town in 1938. Only determined counterattacks by General Ugo Cavallero, supported by 60,000 troops, tanks and planes had crushed the native uprising.

At Keren in Italian Eritrea, the British basically are stymied again. They have taken some ground on both sides of the strategic Dongolaas Gorge, including the important Fort Dologorodoc to the right of the gorge. However, the Italians still occupy the high ground overlooking all of the British positions and are counter-attacking furiously. Major-General Lewis Heath, commander of the Indian 5th Infantry Division that now is in possession of Fort Dologorodoc, now feels that another attempt should be made to force the gorge, that is, simply attack straight up the gut in the hope that the Italians may have neglected their defenses there.

Accordingly, the British begin surveying the gorge itself. Heath has his troops escort engineers into the gorge. They find that the Italians have dumped rocks and debris into it, blocking the way. The engineers make a start to clearing the way. However, the small parties come under heavy Italian defensive, and the effort must be abandoned.

Heath, though, has learned something from the attempt. He sees that the most effective Italian fire is coming from two features called the "Railway bumps" which overlook the gorge. This area is accessible from Cameron Ridge on the left of the gorge by following a railway line that goes through a tunnel beneath the ridge. General Platt and Heath decide to discontinue the current attacks, simply hold what has been achieved so far, and prepare an attack on the Railway bumps. This, the theory goes, would give the engineers enough time to clear the gorge and make it possible for British forces to get through it.

The Italians indeed are counterattacking furiously. One attack to retake Fort Dologorodoc is led personally by General Raimondo Lorenzini. Lorenzini is the tactical commander for the most important sector of the Italian defenses. Lorenzini, considered one of the best and brightest of the new generation of colonial commanders, perishes in the attack.

Douglas Bader at RAF Tangmere (Tangmere Military Aviation Museum).

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe switches its target from Bristol. It bombs several cities lightly. The night's major raid, though, is Hull, which is hit with 378 bombers. The weekly Home Security Situation Report states:

On the 18th/19th March: Hull suffered most, but other places in the East Riding were involved, noticeably Scarborough, which was bombed intermittently for four hours. This seems incongruous in comparison with the value of other objectives in the district. Some bombing took place in the North Midlands, Eastern Regions, London, the South and South-East Counties and Folkestone.

RAF Bombing Command puts 99 bombers over Kiel, 44 over Wilhelmshaven and 19 over Rotterdam.

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies continues his tour of northern England. He visits the recently bombed Old Trafford Cricket Grounds and notes, "Hole in pitch. Stands ruined." He also notes, "In Manchester, as much as 3 blocks adjoining completely destroyed."

Douglas Bader receives a promotion to Acting Wing Commander. He commands RAF Nos. 145, 610, and 616 Squadrons at Tangmere.

An aerial mine in Liverpool, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: German cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau meet in the mid-Atlantic as planned to refuel from supply ships Uckermark and Ermland. They also transfer hundreds of prisoners to the supply ships. Admiral Lütjens intends to follow orders and make for the French port of Brest in the morning.

The seas quiet down, so German raider Kormoran finally has a chance to transfer the seven torpedoes that it has been carrying to U-124.

German battleship Bismarck departs from Gotenhafen (Gdynia), where it just arrived yesterday, to conduct sea trials in the Baltic.

The German 1st S-boat Flotilla sends half a dozen motor torpedo boats to attack shipping off the English east coast. S-102 badly damages 1970 ton British freighter Daphne II off the Humber Estuary near Buoy 59. The captain quickly beaches the ship near the Bull Lightship, but it eventually breaks up and is lost.

U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) stalks Convoy SL-68 off the Cape Verde Islands. It sinks 4380-ton British freighter Medjerda.

Italian submarine Emo launches a torpedo at 4500-ton British freighter Clan MacIver southwest of Iceland but misses.

German 51,731-ton liner Bremen, which caught fire yesterday apparently due to an arsonist cabin boy, explodes and is lost. The hulk will remain where it is throughout the war.

The RAF drops an aerial torpedo on 5972-ton German freighter Widar and sinks it.

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Rothesay and submarine Thorn are launched.

US destroyers USS Cowie and Knight are laid down.

U-464 is laid down.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Afrika Korps commander General Erwin Rommel once again flies from Tripoli to meet with Hitler. They are to plan offensive operations for the growing German presence in North Africa. Hitler tells Rommel to wait for reinforcements before attacking.

RAF Swordfish torpedo bombers of No. 830 Squadron based in Malta (since the attacks on HMS Illustrious) attack Tripoli Harbor. The British lose one plane, while its crew becomes POWs.

RAF Albacore torpedo planes from HMS Formidable, RAF No. 826 Squadron, torpedo 510-ton Italian freighter Labor and destroy two Italian lighters at Buerat el Hsur. The Labor makes it to Tripoli despite the damage. The British lose one of the Albacores, and the crew perishes.

Royal Navy 1552 ton armed boarding vessel HMS Rosaura hits a mine and sinks near Mersa Tobruk. There are 14 crew deaths, five military guard deaths, and 59 Italian POW deaths.

Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Gloucester departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. It carries 1087 Australian troops and General Blamey, Commander of the Australian Corps.

Convoy AG 7 departs from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. It has seven ships escorted by a light cruiser (HMS Carlisle) and two destroyers (Voyager sand Wryneck). It will be joined by a troopship (Ulster Prince) departing from Tobruk. Convoy AN 21's 13 ships depart from Alexandria bound for Piraeus. Convoy AS 20 of six ships departs from Piraeus bound for Alexandria and then Port Said.

Convoy BS 20 departs from Suez.

The future Queen Elizabeth II, 1941.

Anglo/Turkish Relations: Everyone on both sides know that Turkey potentially holds the balance of power in the Balkans and the Middle East. So far, neither side has made much headway in convincing the Turks to repeat their error of World War I and enter the conflict. However, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill does not like taking "no" for an answer, so today he had Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden meet Turkish Prime Minister Sukru Saracoglu in Cyprus.

Anglo/Free French Relations: The Free French establish their own bank in London.

US/Canadian Relations: The US military and Canadian military have been coordinating defense efforts. Today, they make it official with a joint defense pact. This includes enhanced efforts at cooperation in shipbuilding on the Great Lakes.

British Government: The Pilgrims Society, an organization designed to promote Anglo/US relations, has a major luncheon at London's Savoy Hotel. Attending are all the bigwigs of London wartime society: Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US Ambassador John Winant, and many ministers. One of those ministers is Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food. Woolton has a surprise for the guests: Woolton Pie. This is a brand new culinary creation that Woolton has asked the hotel's chef to create. Basically, it is a vegetarian pie composed of potato, cauliflower, swedes, carrots, spring onions seasoned with a teaspoonful of vegetable extract. Churchill hates it and tells the waiter to bring him some beef.

German Government: Adolf Hitler meets with his senior military staff to discuss high-level strategy. Admiral Raeder asks Hitler to recommend to the Japanese that they attack Singapore and to reveal to them plans for Operation Barbarossa so the two countries can coordinate attacks.

The Germans reorganize coal mining and distribution. The German railway system, upon which all major Wehrmacht movements depend, relies on coal. It is the only energy source that is in relatively plentiful supply in wartime Germany.

USS Matagorda (AVP-22) at the Boston Navy Yard. "The U.S. Navy seaplane tender USS Matagorda (AVP-22) just after her launching at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts (USA), on 18 March 1941. The stern of her sister ship, USS Humboldt (AVP-21), launched a day earlier, is visible to the left." Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives and Naval History and Heritage Command.

US Government: "Wild Bill" Donovan returns to the United States after his lengthy "fact-finding" mission to Europe.

American Samoa: The US Marine Corps 7th Defense Battalion arrives. Rear Admiral Newton's cruiser force there prepares to depart for its visit to Sydney, Australia.

Spain: Spain officially annexes the international zone of Tangier, on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar. Officially, Tangier is a condominium jointly governed by France, the UK, and Spain, but during wartime, nobody wishes to complain. In a way, this benefits the Allies, as the annexation essentially takes the strategically useful territory, which otherwise is basically surrounded by French territory, out of play. This will be reversed immediately after the war when nobody cares any longer about offending Franco.

India: Subhas Chandra Bose, having escaped from India, is traveling under an assumed name as an Italian Embassy official. He is in Afghanistan and departs from Kabul today. He is seeking sanctuary in the Soviet Union and, ultimately, Europe.

China: At the continuing Battle of Shanggao, the Japanese breach the Chinese first line of defenses after vicious fighting. The Chinese 19th Army Group's 9th War Area holds against further Japanese penetrations by the Japanese 11th Army around Kuchuao and Huamento. After that, the fighting dies down as both sides recover and bury their dead.

British Homefront: After lunch, Lord Woolton appears before the House of Commons and gives a speech about the challenges facing the country in his domain of the food supply. He focuses on the milk trade, praising their dedication in maintaining milk supplies in the face of many obstacles. He notes, though, that "certain other difficulties arising from the war" necessitate a "a policy governing the consumption of milk as well as its production." Finally getting to the point, he states:

I have decided to restrict the consumption of milk by the ordinary man and woman who do not come under the categories I have already described (such as expectant and nursing mothers and children). I am asking dairymen, from the middle of April, to reduce their domestic sales by approximately one-seventh.... I appeal to the public to support the milk man in carrying out these instructions.

He also announces other economies, such as requiring bakers to forego the use of milk and a continuance of the ban on the use of fresh cream.

Future History: Wilson Pickett is born in Prattville, Alabama. As a child, he sings in the church choir, then moves to Detroit to live with his father. In 1955, Wilson joins gospel group the Violinaires, and in 1959 records "Let Me Be Your Boy" with Florence Ballard and the Primettes. It ultimately is released in 1963 as the B-side of "My Heart Belongs to You." He continues recording, occasionally hitting the R&B charts, then hits the big time with Atlantic in the mid-1960s. His big hit is "In the Midnight Hour" in 1965, which sells over a million copies. He later records at Stax and has more hits, but records only sporadically, especially after RCA drops him in 1975. Aside from his singles, he is perhaps best remembered for his appearance in "Blues Brothers 2000," singing "634-5789." Wilson Pickett passes away on 19 January 2006 in Reston, Virginia.

"The U.S. Navy seaplane tender USS Matagorda (AVP-22) during her launching at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts (USA), on 18 March 1941." Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives and Naval History and Heritage Command.

March 1941

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

2020

Tuesday 2 April 1940

Frederick Marquis, 1st Lord Woolton (1883–1964) demonstrates his "Woolton Pie" at the Savoy Hotel. It is made of commonly available vegetables that were available during the darkest days of World War II. It was concocted by the hotel's Maitre Chef de Cuisine, Francis Latry.

Operation Weserübung: Hitler on 2 April 1940 signs the order authorizing the invasion, to commence at 05:15 on 9 April 1940.

One of Hitler's concerns is to prevent the royal houses of the occupied nations from escaping to England. Hitler has had enough of "governments-in-exile" and wants to see no more of them established.

British submarines begin taking up positions on the German route to Norway pursuant to Admiral Horton's plan. He anticipates major German warships leaving Heligoland Bight, Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, Cuxhaven & Swinemünde. HMS Unity departs Blyth sub base in Northumberland today to take up station a the Heligoland Bight, and HMS Sunfish departs Harwich to patrol the Kattegat.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe, with Operation Weserubung in the offing, begins to up its attacks on British North Sea infrastructure. It stages a raid on Scapa Flow at dusk, then attacks the lighthouses at Duncansby Head and Stroma Island. Little damage is done.

Luftwaffe bombers attack convoys in the North Sea. Three Hurricanes tangle with Heinkel He 111s flying at wavetop level.

RAF fighters engage nine Messerschmitt Bf 109s over the Western front. The Luftwaffe reportedly loses five fighters, two to the French.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and sinks 1,540 ton Finnish freighter Signe at 00:21. All 19 crew perish. The Signe is a straggler from Convoy HN-23A and close enough for the convoy escort HMS Sikh to hear the explosion, but it can do nothing.

Convoy OA 122 departs Southend, Convoy HG 25F departs Gibraltar, Convoy HX 32 departs Halifax.
The Germans launch destroyer Z26.

Battle of the Pacific: The US Navy holds major maneuvers in Hawaiian waters. It is Fleet Problem XXI, and it posits two fleets of roughly equal size. One fleet is concentrated and the other dispersed. DIfferent types of engagements are practiced, including protecting convoys, seizing bases and fleet actions.

Anglo/Danish Relations: Great Britain and Denmark sign a trade agreement.
Holland: Dutch troops go on full alert along the German border - again.

Romanian Homefront: Children 7-18, some 4 million of them, to be impressed into farmwork in order to maintain food exports to Germany. There are labor shortages due to recent increases in the military.

French Homefront: After a brutal winter, the weather is beginning to turn warmer on the Continent. Author Eugen Weber writes "Paris has never looked more radiant!" However, he also notes that the city is locked down due to the war, with British soldiers everywhere and monuments surrounded by sandbags.

British Homefront: Minister of Food Lord Woolton promises to keep food prices low (albeit via rationing) and encourages everyone to dig Victory Gardens: "Dig for victory!"

FDR completes his census form at the White House, 2 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


2016