Thursday 16 May 1940

Germans crossing the Meuse on 16 May 1940 (Schmidt, Federal Archive).

Western Front: The Allied line is in disarray on 16 May 1940 in both France and Belgium. Paris is still safe - for the moment - but the Belgian government packs up and moves to Ostend.

Following a disastrous meeting with British Prime Minister Churchill (see below), French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud replaces General Gamelin with General Weygand - who is unfamiliar with the condition of the campaign and must fly up from Syria.

The Wehrmacht is moving with lightning speed. The Blitzkrieg is at its height, with the Luftwaffe blazing a trail for fast mobile forces. The speed of the panzers is preventing a coherent Allies response. Nobody really knows where the front is from hour to hour, and this prevents effective counter-measures. French attempts to counter-attack are hampered by refugees clogging the roads, an inability to know precisely where the Germans are, and roads littered with the destruction already caused by the German panzers, artillery, and Luftwaffe.

In France, "Fast Heinz" Guderian is now 60 miles west of Sedan, at Montcornet and around St. Quentin. General Hoth has his XV Panzer Corps, led by Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division, a little further north in the Avesnes-sur-Helpe/Cambrai vicinity. As part of his move forward, Rommel's panzers serendipitously cut through the French 5th Motorised Infantry Division which is conveniently bivouacked on both sides of the very road that Rommel is using. Rommel destroys the French unit, leaving it with just 3 tanks as it retreats in disarray.

Raadhuisstraat, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 16 May 1940. The Wehrmacht arrives in strength. “Thousands of citizens of Amsterdam lined the roads to watch the impressive panzer vehicles, motorcycle brigades, army vehicles and so forth, that filed past in perfectly disciplined columns.”

On Army Group A's left flank, the battle on the Stonne Plateau continues. The village of Stonne changes hands repeatedly, but the French counterattack makes no lasting gains. To the Wehrmacht, this battle is meaningless, but it protects the flank of the panzer forces moving quickly westward. The further they go, however, the more vulnerable their flanks become to other attacks - if the French can find the troops to mount them. The Battle of Stonne Plateau also reveals that the French tanks are quite capable and a match for the best German tanks, the Panzer IV medium tanks. A French Char B1 Bis tank destroys 2 Panzer IVs and 11 Panzer IIs while shrugging off dozens of standard German anti-tank hits.
The strategic implication of the Rommel/Guderian advance is that the Wehrmacht could separate the BEF and some French forces from the heart of France. By advancing independently on parallel lines, they provide each other with flank protection. This part of the campaign is known as "The Dash to the Channel." The dash is to Abbeville, which effectively would seal off Allied forces farther north.

The Germans are also waging a campaign against the Maginot Line. Around mid-day, the artillery of the 71st Infantry Division begins shelling the town of Villy and a fortress of the Line that overlooks it called La Ferté.

In Belgium, the Allies retreat from the Dyle Line to a new line on the Scheldt River, which was their jumping-off point before springing forward to the Dyle Line. This effectively abandons Belgium to the Wehrmacht.
The German 6th Army under Reinhardt disperses the Belgian K-W Line.

At Gembloux, the day's battle ends in a tactical stalemate, but a strategic victory for the Germans. The French line is never pierced and they batter the attacking Germans, but the deteriorating situation west of Sedan imperils the Allied lines of communication. At dusk, the French are ordered back to the French border to protect their own flanks. The failure to finish off the French today, though, has huge negative consequences in the coming weeks for the Germans.

Map noting German advances in France and the Low Countries between 10 and 16 May 1940. (US Military Academy).

Battle of the Atlantic: The French send their destroyers Fougueux, Frondeur, Cyclone, and Siroco to bombard the Germans in the vicinity of Walcheren and South Beveland.

The Royal Navy sends the carrier Furious to Norway to ferry Gladiator and Hurricane fighters.

German raider Widder meets supply ship Nordmark to refuel.

Troop convoy US 2 from Australia brings the 17th Infantry Brigade to Egypt.

Convoy OA 149 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 149 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 30F forms at Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 43 departs from Halifax.

European Air Operations: France sends 26 of its brand new LeO 451 second-generation bombers against the panzers refueling at Montcornet. They lose four of their number.

The RAF moves its bases from near the Meuse closer to Paris, near Troyes at Anglure.

P/O Kenneth NT "Hawkeye" Lee was rushed with No 501 Squadron RAF to Bétheniville on 10 May 1940 and accounted for 3 enemy aircraft in the next 3 days. Forced to retreat to Anglure on 16 May and to Le Mans on 2 June, the 24-year-old pilot destroyed two more. On exhausting his ammunition while attacking a Heinkel He 111 on 10 June, he turned away when his Hurricane Mk I blew up and bailed out, hitting the tailplane. Injured in the hand and leg, he was evacuated to Britain 10 days later from Saint-Malo.

Narvik: The Luftwaffe continues its gradual reinforcement of General Dietl's troops at Narvik, dropping another 76 paratroopers (Fallschirmjaeger) of the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment.

Anglo/French Relations: Winston Churchill flies to Paris to consult with Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, Defense Minister Daladier and General Gamelin. In his memoirs, Churchill recalls that he asked Gamelin at this meeting, first in English and then in French, “Where is the strategic reserve?” (“Où est la masse de manoeuvre?”). Gamelin simply replied, “Aucune!” ("There is none"). This led Reynaud to replace Gamelin with Weygand.

Churchill also notes: "In the garden of the Quai d'Orsay I see venerable officials burning secret documents. Already evacuation of Paris is being prepared." It is a common scene in European capitals recently.

Anglo/American Relations: President Roosevelt responds to Prime Minister Churchill's shopping list of 14 May. He notes that he will require "specific authorization of the Congress" for some of the requests and that he will keep the US fleet at Hawaii "at least for the time being."

US Government: President Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress. He establishes a target of 50,000 military aircraft a year. This appears from all experience to be an unreachable goal. He requests a total of $900,000,000 appropriation to fund this project. His individual requests include $546 million for the Army, $250 million for the Navy/Marine Corps, and $100 million for the Executive branch to handle contingencies. These are all unheard-of amounts of money.

Ireland: The Irish government, which has been maintaining strict neutrality, requests arms from the British government to equip the Irish Army.

Holocaust: In Occupied (rump) Poland, Gauleiter Hans Frank orders arrest and execution of Polish political, professional and religious leaders.

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the commander of the Chinese 33rd Army Group of the Chinese 5th War Area, General Chang Tze-Chung, is killed in action as his troops recapture Tsaoyang.

Germans crossing the Meuse, 16 May 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

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

2020

Sunday 12 May 1940

German tanks in the Ardennes, May 1940 (Blucher Federal Archive).

Allied Headquarters: General Gamelin, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, has his headquarters at Vincennes on 12 May 1940. He has no radio and notes that he does not even have a radio - so he has "no idea" where the front lies.

German Headquarters: Heinz Guderian is in command of German XIX Armeekorps (as he was during the Polish campaign) at Sedan. He favors an aggressive stance and proposes enlarging his bridgehead across the Meuse (he has 3 intact bridges) to 20 km (12 miles) deep. His superior, General Ewald von Kleist, orders him to be more cautious and limit his penetration to 8 km (5 miles). Hitler is wary of the tanks outrunning the infantry and seems to envisage a static campaign with a definite, unchanging front forming - as in his own experiences during World War I.

Western Front: The Dutch are making valiant defensive efforts at key points, but overall are being pushed back into their Fortress Holland defensive zone between Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The Germans advancing near Tilburg run into the French 7th Army and there is heavy fighting. The German advance continues.

The German Army Group A, led by Panzer Group Kleist, advances through the Ardennes and reaches Sedan without serious opposition. The column of military vehicles stretches back to the German border. This is the first German intrusion on French soil.

The French form up on the opposite bank with artillery support. The artillery shells Sedan during the night. The importance of Sedan is not the city itself, but the entry it provides to the heart of France. Its capture in 1870 essentially decided the Franco-Prussian war.

North of Sedan, the Germans are on the Meuse at Dinant. General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division is on the riverbank and he personally scouts out a way to cross it.

The Germans send a three-man scouting part to see if Fort Kornwerderzand at the Afsluitdijk is defended. The fort opens fire and kills two of the three men. The Germans decide to take the fort, beginning with Luftwaffe strikes.

The first tank battle of the campaign erupts between General René Prioux’s 2d French armored divisions (confusingly, Corps de Cavalerie) and the 3d and 4th Panzer Divisions at the Gembloux Gap. The 4th Panzer Division assaults toward Hannut, which protects the 6th Army's flank. They engage 25 French tanks and destroy 7 of them for no losses. The Germans probe toward Tirlemont, drawing Allied forces there while continuing toward Hannut. The French attempt a flank attack, which fails, and the German panzers run into a French strongpoint at Crehen.

The French are forced to retreat to Medorp after breaking out of an encirclement. They also abandon Hannut. In the evening, the Germans renew the attack and force the French strongpoint at Wansin to withdraw, but the rest of the French line holds. The outcome is a tentative French victory for having stopped the German advance, even if only temporarily. The French Somua S35 and Hotchkiss H35 tanks are good equipment, though they have their faults. They outclass the German Panzer Is and IIs, though the Panzer IIIs are more of a match.

The German 18th Army captures Eindhoven and continues pushing forward.

At Grebbeberg, the German 207th Infantry Division, supported by the SS Brigade Der Fuhrer, directly attacks the hill that dominates the defense. After an artillery barrage of several hours, the SS Brigade attacks. The SS men take an 18th Century fort, the Hoornwerk. This provides a wedge into the Dutch battle line, whose other guns cannot fire sideways. Dutch counterattacks fail. Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Hilmar Wäckerle, contrary to orders, moves his battalion forward, penetrates the Dutch line, and gets surrounded - but holds on. The Dutch bring up reinforcements and plan a flank attack on the Germans. It is a confusing situation, but the Germans have the initiative - if they can rescue the impetuous Wäckerle.

German 6th Army pushes across the Albert Canal toward Gembloux.

The German 9th Panzer division is heading to the Moerdijk bridges over Hollands Diep estuary. They are still held by German paratroopers. These bridges, 10 miles south of Rotterdam, prevent the Allies from reinforcing Rotterdam.

The Allies have occupied the Dyle Line with the French 1st Army, 7th Army, 9th Army, and the British Expeditionary Force. The BEF is in position in Belgium.

The Allies hold a conference near Mons, including French Defense Minister Daladier, General Georges, General Billotte, British General Pownall, and Belgian King Leopold.

Fokker C.5RR 645 of III-2 LvR at Middenmeer after an emergency landing on 12 May 1940 (Photo: collection Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie).

European Air Operations: Fairey Battle light bombers of No. 12 Squadron attack the Veldwezelt bridge over the Albert Canal. The Germans have brought up anti-aircraft batteries to protect the bridge, which survives with damage.

The RAF sends 38 bombers over Hannut to support the defense of that town, losing 22, and the Arme de l'air sends over 18 new Breguet 693 bombers, losing 8. The Luftwaffe supports the ground operation there with 85 Bf 109s of JG 26, flying 340 sorties during the day. They claim 26 Allied planes for 4 of their own numbers. German anti-aircraft there also claims 25 planes.

The Allies send every available light bomber - some called from Hannut, which thereby loses air support - to attack the Meuse bridges at Sedan. They fail to make any hits and lose 44 percent of their number.

There are Luftwaffe air raids on Rotterdam, including incendiary bombs.

The Luftwaffe attacks and heavily damages Dutch gunboat Friso. It also performs minelaying operations in Belgian waters.

A French pilot, Capt. René Gavoille, reports miles-long Wehrmacht columns in the Ardennes. His superiors are dismissive, calling them "night phantoms." He has spotted Panzer Group Kleist and its 41,140 vehicles on narrow two-lane roads. When he takes off again and takes pictures, they call them "obvious fake tanks."

Adolph Galland, a veteran Luftwaffe ground-attack pilot from the Spanish Civil War, is now a fighter pilot and gains his first aerial victories of the war, destroying three Hurricanes.

Battle of the Atlantic: British ship Roek hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Convoy OA 147 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 147 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 30F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 29 forms at Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 42 departs from Halifax.

Norway: The British reinforce Mo i Rana with the British Scots Guards battalion from Harstad. The Germans have troops near Hamnesberget brought in by the seized Norwegian vessel Nord Norge, which the British have sunk (while empty).

Holland: The Dutch Crown Princess, her two daughters Irene and Beatrice, and Prince Bernharddeparts for the UK aboard destroyer HMS Codrington.

Spain: Francisco Franco reaffirms Spain's neutrality.

British Government: The new Chancellor of the Exchequer is Sir Kingsley Wood.

American Homefront: Shirley Temple cancels her film contract with 20th Century Fox and retires (temporarily) - at age 11.

German bicycle troops prepare to cross a river in Belgium by first removing their pants, 11/12 May, 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

Saturday 21 October 1939

No. 46 Squadron, a Great War unit, re-formed in the 1930s and saw early action.

Battle of the Atlantic: German mine-laying in recent days pays off on 21 October 1939, as three ships are sunk.

British freighter Orsa, 1,478 tons, strikes a mine in the North Sea and sinks, with eleven dead and four survivors.

French freighter Capitaine Edmond Laborie, 3,087 tons, also strikes a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Norwegian freighter Deodata strikes a mine off eastern England. All 23 crew survive.

German vessel Gloria captured by Royal Navy cruiser Sheffield.

US freighter Meanticut is detained by the British at Gibraltar.

The French Force de Raide is put into service to escort convoys.

Convoy OA 23 departs from Southend. Convoy OB 23 departs from Liverpool.

The Heinkel He 115 B/C Seaplane. These were the biggest seaplanes during World War Two

European Air Operations: A flight of Luftwaffe He 115B seaplanes flying at sea level to avoid detection attacks a convoy near the Humber. RAF fighters out of RAF Digby shoot down 4 of the nine or twelve (depending upon the source) attacking planes. British forces incur no casualties or damage. Squadron Leader Barwell and Pilot Officer Plummer both received credit for victories.

The Hawker Hurricane begins to prove its worth today. Hurricanes compose the "A" Flight of 46 Squadron that intercepted the Heinkels on the Lincolnshire Coast. Two 72 Squadron Spitfires also engaged the Heinkels, but the Hurricanes got all four kills. On the other hand, the Heinkel He 115s are not suitable for operations in contested airspace.

There was some over-claiming in this incident, as the Spitfires claimed two victories but got none, whereas the Hurricanes claimed five downed planes but were determined to have only gotten four. Both sides of the conflict will be very studious about disallowing pilot claims that have no backing evidence.

Western Front: There are artillery barrages but little other action as the heavy rains continue.

General Gamelin, Allied Commander-in-chief, states that French forces are under orders not to attack Germany, and to withdraw into the Maginot Line upon any attack.

German Government: Hitler summons Gauleiters to Berlin for consultations.

Finland: Negotiators return to Moscow for the second round of talks.

Slovakia: Hitler promises to return Slovakian territory that has been "taken from it" by Poland.

Philippines: A new US High Commissioner, Sayre, arrives in Manila.

China: Claire Chennault, who resigned from the US Army in 1937, departs for Hong Kong to organize the Chinese Air Force.

Population Transfers: Germany and Italy reach agreement on the "return" of ethnic Germans to the Reich from the South Tyrol. Under the terms of the South Tyrol Option Agreement, the ethnic "option" is that Germans can either emigrate to the Reich or remain where they are and become Italianized.

October 1939

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

2019

Saturday 14 October 1939

HMS Royal Oak (British government photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: At 01:30 on 14 October 1939, U-47 (Kplt Guenther Prien) weasels its way into Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, the main fleet base of the Royal Navy and one of the most secure places on earth. It is one of the most audacious operations of the war, and Prien is presented with a plethora of targets. He chooses the Battleship Royal Oak and sends seven torpedoes into it. Down it goes when three torpedoes strike it, sending it down amidst the sunken hulks of the German battlefleet from World War I. Some 833 men die (including Rear Admiral Henry Blagrove) and 414 survive among the 1200-man crew.

After an investigation, it is revealed that there is a 50-foot gap in the net over Kirk Sound. The Royal Fleet changes its location to Loch Ewe.

The Polish submarine Orzel has been at sea for almost a month after escaping from Estonian detention. It now completes its journey to the British Isles.

Southwest of Ireland, British destroyers HMS Inglefield, Ivanhoe and Intrepid sink U-45 (Kapitänleutnant Alexander Gelhaar). The crew perishes. This is after U-45 sank two members of Convoy KJF-3, the French Bretagne and the British Lochavon.

The Deutschland continues its extended raid in the Atlantic, sinking the 1,918-ton Norwegian freighter Lorentz W. Hansen 420 miles east of Newfoundland.

The British detain the US freighter Scanstates in the Orkney Islands, and the freighter Exporter at Gibraltar. The French detain the US freighter Nashaba at Le Havre.

Western Front: French Commander-in-chief General Gamelin issues an order of the day predicting a German attack "at any moment."

Finland: The country mobilizes its military as the Finnish delegation to Moscow returns to Helsinki. Finnish proposals for a land swap so that the USSR can get the territory it wants north of Leningrad have been rejected.

The Finns have 340,000 men in ten divisions and accompanying units, a formidable force that is expert in winter weather.

Italy: A new ambassador is sent to London, Signor Bastianini.

British Military Intelligence: Having brought over two copies of the Enigma machine, Polish cryptanalysts resume their efforts to break the German ciphers in France.

Population Transfers: Ethnic Germans in Latvia begin sailing to the Reich.

American Homefront: There is great umbrage taken by various constituencies in the United States at the sharp America First radio address by Charles Lindbergh on 13 October.

China: at Changsha, Japanese forces of the 11th Army withdraw to their starting points on both the eastern flank (101st and 106th divisions) and the center of the line (33rd Division).

Future History: Ralph Lauren is born in the Bronx, New York.

The Royal Oak today.

October 1939

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

2019

Tuesday 12 September 1939

Hitler continues his tour of the front, 12 September 1939.

Battle of Poland: The German 1st Mountain Division under Colonel Ferdinand Schörner arrives near Lwów on 12 September 1939, capturing Sambor. He orders an immediate assault on the fly. His advance troops bypass the Polish defenders but are pushed back by garrison troops when they try to take the city.

After the heroic Polish counterattack at Kałuszyn near Mińsk Mazowiecki, the Germans retake the town.

The Polish Army of Poznan advances to the rear and takes the German 8th Army in its flank. Thus begins the Battle of the Bzura River.

Polish troops recapture Lowicz. They evacuate Gdynia.

The Luftwaffe inexplicably bombs Krzemieniec (Kremenets), which has been declared an open village for the temporary housing of evacuated Warsaw diplomats.

German radio announces that German troops have wiped out Polish troop concentrations west of the Vistula and captured their equipment. The German forces are consolidating at Modlin on the north bank of the Vistula, 15 miles from Warsaw.

Western Front: Operation Saar reaches its maximum penetration into German territory, occupying roughly 45 square miles. The French continue to maintain that the operation has drawn off six German divisions from Poland. The French never make contact with the Siegfried Line and contact with the Wehrmacht is minimal despite their overwhelming firepower. General Gamelin declares victory and ends the operation, content to occupy useless territory pursuant to the wishes of the Supreme War Council (see below).

Battle of the Atlantic: Four British cargo vessels - Inverliffey, Firby, Blairlogie, and Gartavon - are reported sunk. The Finnish merchant ship Olivebank sinks after hitting a mine.

In a very touchy maneuver, a German U-boat stops and searches the American freighter Wacosta near Ireland.

Anglo-French War Council: The Council has its first meeting at Abbeville, France. British Prime Minister Chamberlain and Lord Chatfield meet with their French counterparts. They agree to postpone military operations for the time being as they beef up their forces.

British Government: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor return to England after an extended stay in France.

Germany: The government confiscates all rubber tires in the country and restricts the sale of gasoline to those holding special permits.

Foreign Minister Ribbentrop issues an ultimatum to the Romanian Government not to offer asylum to Poles crossing the border: if they do, Germany will consider it an act of war.

Canada:  Minister of National Revenue James Lorimer Ilsley announced a new 20% surtax on personal income, including tax increases on alcohol, tea, coffee, and cigarettes.

Czech Exile Government: The Czechs form an army-in-exile.

British Homefront: Due to reports of numerous violations of the blackout rules, the home office opens an inquiry.

US Navy: Neutrality patrols begin along the Eastern seaboard of the United States and in the Caribbean.

War Crimes: Wehrmacht soldiers massacred the Jewish population of the Polish town of Konskie on September 12, 1939.

Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl with the 14th Army Corps in Poland. Her crew was known as "Special Film Troop Riefenstahl" [Sonderfilmtrupp Riefenstahl]. Her stay on the Polish front only became publicly known at the end of the 1940s, with the discovery of photographs that showed her standing by as Wehrmacht soldiers massacred the Jewish population of the Polish town of Konskie on September 12, 1939.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2020

Friday 8 September 1939

Heinz Guderian and his XIX Panzer Corps receive orders to advance to Brest-Litovsk, which is in the allocated Soviet zone (see the entry about Ribbentrop below). They are heading south along the line of the Bug River toward Wizna, the scene of fighting by the 10th Panzer Division and and "Lötzen" Brigade.

German troops of the 4th Panzer Division arrive at the Warsaw suburb of Ochota in the southeast. Polish General Czuma, in charge of the city, orders 100,000 civilians to begin digging anti-tank ditches. General Czuma broadcasts somewhat incongruously that "We shall fight to the last ditch!" The Germans claim to have entered Warsaw, which Polish radio denies. The Poles do, however, admit to some retreats in other areas. News reports around the world echo the German claim.

German troops begin attacking Gdynia.

Polish troops at the village of Wola Cyrusowa near Stryków make a stand. The Poles are the Polish Piotrków Operational Group under Gen. Wiktor Thommée, who has replaced a more senior officer who abandoned the army and left for Warsaw. The attacking German forces of the 10th Infantry Division and 24th Infantry Division are slowed, but not stopped.

Other troops of the 10th Infantry Division encircle some 60,000 Polish troops to the west of Radom, south of Warsaw.

German/Soviet Diplomacy: German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop notifies the Kremlin that German forces for tactical reasons will be impinging upon territories assigned to the Soviets under the August Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact.

Western Front: French forces continue advancing timidly in the Saar. The invading force includes some 600 tanks. The Germans have evacuated Saarbrücken of non-essential personnel. General Gamelin is suspicious of the absence of German defensive activity and fears an ambush. Wild rumors are spread by Paris radio that the Germans have rushed six divisions to defend the area. Concerned, Gamelin orders his forces to maintain distance from the Siegfried Line. He also cautiously orders his forces to plan for a withdrawal to the nearby Spicheren Heights in France in the event of an attack. The French remain close to the comforting Maginot Line. The Germans, meanwhile, are just watching the proceedings with scratch forces. Factories in Saarbrücken continue working.

There are rumors of food shortages along the Siegfried Line.

Air War, Western Front: Curtiss Hawk fighters of l'Armee de l'Air (French air force) meet  5 Bf 109 fighters. They file claims for 2 of the Messerschmitts.

The RAF launches another propaganda drop over Germany, the fourth of the war so far.

Rumors are spreading of transfers of French and British aircraft to Poland.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe sinks the British steamer Manaar.

The British Ministry of Information releases a statement on the war at sea:

It is now palpably evident that Germany is prosecuting an unrestricted submarine campaign against merchant shipping as violent as that on which Germany embarked in 1917, and that the German submarine commanders have been given orders to sink merchant ships on sight and without warning. 

This, of course, is in direct contravention of the rules of submarine warfare which were unconditionally accepted by Germany in 1935, for all time and irrespective of the actions of any other Power. 

It is also quite clear that German submarines were on their stations on the ocean trade routes, with these orders, several days before war broke out.

The statement is correct in all particulars, as the U-boats were sent to sea on 15 August.

War Crimes: German troops entering  Bromberg (the German name for the Polish city of Bydgoszcz) claim to find hundreds of civilians slain by Polish snipers. This initiates the "Bloody Sunday" affair.

Meanwhile, in the village of Dąbrowa (near Ciepielów), Oberst Walter Wessel, acting commander of the German 15th Motorized Infantry Regiment, 29th Motorized Infantry Division, orders the execution of about 300 Polish POWs of the Polish 74th Infantry Regiment of Upper Silesia commanded by Major Józef Pelc. Wessel claims that they have been acting as partisans.

British Navy: The Admiralty expands the blockade of Germany. Three protected routes for convoys are established, two out of Liverpool and one from the Thames to the Atlantic. German ships overseas head for neutral ports for internment.

Polish/British Diplomacy: A Polish mission headed by General Novid-Neugebauer arrives in London.

German Homefront: Patients are "voluntarily" evacuated from hospitals to free up room for war casualties.

United States Government: President Roosevelt declares a limited national emergency and authorizes increases in the armed forces. A sum of $500,000 is authorized for the return of US citizens from the war zone. He reiterates the country's neutral status, and these measures are designed to protect it.

American Homefront: Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians becomes the youngest pitcher to win 20 games in a season.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2021

Thursday 7 September 1939

These prisoners were taken at Westerplatte, 7 September 1939.

Polish Military: With Warsaw already threatened from the west, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły relocates his Polish Army headquarters further east from Warsaw to Brest-Litovsk (Brest, Belarus). He and the rest of the government now realize that the line of the Narew cannot be held.

Battle of Poland: Westerplatte, which the Germans had attacked first thing during the invasion, finally falls to the Germans. It had held out for a full week and inspired resistance elsewhere despite intense German shelling. Its fall is a shock to the nation. However, it remains a national symbol of resistance somewhat akin to the Alamo in the United States. The battleship Schleswig-Holstein, which had begun the war by firing on Westerplatte, now switches its fire to the Polish naval base at Hela.

The Polish town of Wizna is part of the Polish line of defenses of Łomża. The 10th Panzer Division of the XXI Army Corps (General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst) captures it, but the retreating Poles blow up the bridge across the Narew. German patrols cross the river late in the day and attack Giełczyn, but are stopped. This becomes part of the larger battle of Łomża,  which straddles the Narew River. Around mid-day, the 21st Infantry Division advances directly into Polish defenses at Łomża without preparation (aside from scattered Luftwaffe attacks in previous days) but is repelled. The Germans lose 6 tanks and relatively heavy infantry casualties. The Poles hold out, causing the 21st ID to withdraw north and taking 57 German prisoners.

German radio announces that its forces have reached Pultusk, 30 miles north of Warsaw.

Western Front: The French Army mounts an expedition in the Saarland against German screening forces. The area is in peacetime conditions, with German power plants still supplying the French towns with electricity.

Operation Saar, one of the more controversial episodes of the war because of its missed opportunities, is launched by French General Maurice Gamelin's Third, Fourth and Fifth Armies (11 divisions total). They advance timidly into the Cadenbronn and Warndt Forest salients. The advance is extremely measured, and the German outposts retreat without any fuss. The Germans leave behind placards in French stating that Germany has no quarrel with France. They also position loudspeakers blasting propaganda message in French with a similar theme. The defending German forces are light in infantry and have no panzers. They also are very weak in anti-tank weapons. The French military, of course, knows none of this.

Along with the propaganda efforts, the Germans have mined the roads and fields and booby-trap the towns. General Gamelin orders the hesitant French infantry to drive a herd of pigs through the mines, with many of the animals blown up.

Hitler appoints General Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein to be the commander of Army Detachment A, an ad hoc force for the defense of the Siegfried Line. Hammerstein is overdue for retirement, and his appointment is an expression of Hitler's desire that nothing dramatic occurs along the Western Front. Factories in Saarbrücken continue to operate as normal with French forces just miles away and virtually no defenses in between.

Battle of the Atlantic: Winston Churchill organizes and sends out the first British convoy to America. However, many ships still sail without convoys due to being particularly fast or slow. These are called "independents" and provide the easiest targets for U-boats.

The Dutch steamship Batavia is attacked but the torpedoes miss. British freighter Olivgrove is sunk in the Bay of Biscay 200 miles northwest of Spain.

Hitler meets with Admiral Raeder, CIC of the Kriegsmarine. He issues the Athenia Order, which is that "in order not to provoke neutral countries, the United States, in particular, it is forbidden to torpedo passenger steamers, even when sailing in convoy. Warfare against French merchant ships, attacks on French warships and mine laying off French ports is prohibited."

British Government: Ambassador to Germany Sir Neville Henderson is repatriated to England. General Viscount Lord Gort is appointed to command the British Expeditionary Force.

German Government: The death penalty is prescribed for anyone "hindering the defensive power of the German people."

United States Military: The military takes over control of the Panama Canal.

Irish Government: The Eire government calls up volunteers to supplement Army reserve.

Yugoslav Military: Yugoslavia mobilizes its military.

International Relations: Iraq, independent since 1932, breaks diplomatic relations with Germany. The British maintain two RAF bases there,  RAF Shaibah, near Basra, and RAF Habbaniya, between Ramadi and Fallujah.

United States Homefront: In the Webster Times of Webster, Massachusetts, the big news is of the finale of sailboat racing at the lake.

September 1939

September 1, 1939: Invasion of Poland
September 2, 1939: Danzig Annexed
September 3, 1939: France, Great Britain Declare War
September 4, 1939: First RAF Raid
September 5, 1939: The US Stays Out
September 6, 1939: Battle of Barking Creek
September 7, 1939: Polish HQ Bugs Out
September 8, 1939: War Crimes in Poland
September 9, 1939: The Empire Strikes Back
September 10, 1939: The Germans Break Out
September 11, 1939: Battle of Kałuszyn
September 12, 1939: The French Chicken Out
September 13, 1939: The Battle of Modlin
September 14, 1939: Germany Captures Gdynia
September 15, 1939: Warsaw Surrounded
September 16, 1939: Battle of Jaworów
September 17, 1939: Soviets Invade Poland
September 18, 1939: Lublin Falls
September 19, 1939: Germans, Soviets Hook Up
September 20, 1939: the Kraków Army Surrenders
September 21, 1939: Romania Convulses
September 22, 1939: Joint Soviet-German Military Parade
September 23, 1939: The Panama Conference
September 24, 1939: The Luftwaffe Bombs Warsaw
September 25, 1939: Black Monday for Warsaw
September 26, 1939: Warsaw on the Ropes
September 27, 1939: Hitler Decides to Invade France
September 28, 1939: Warsaw Capitulates
September 29, 1939: Modlin Fortress Falls
September 30, 1939: Graf Spee on the Loose

2019