January 1940
8th January 1940 - Conscription extended from 20 to 27
9th January 1940 - Rationing of Butter Sugar and Bacon begins
11th January 1940 - More britons killed on roads since blackout started than by enemy action
12th January 1940- Europe experiencing cold spell 50 degrees of frost in some places
16th January 1940 - Hitler orders postponement of his planned attack in the west until spring
31st January 1940 - Sir John Simon announces that food subsidies are running at £1000.00 per week
February 1940
3rd February 1940 - First German aircraft since first world war is shot down over England. A Heinkel 111 crashes near Whitby in Yorkshire. Shot down by Flight Lieutenant PW Townsend of 43 squadron flying a Hurricane.
4th February 1940 - The American Liner SS Manhattan is intercepted by the French Navy.
Taken to Gibraltar where she was later released but before she departed, a large quantity of German mail sacks was seized.
5th February 1940 - The Governments of both the United Kingdom and France agree to provide military aid to Finland in its winter war with the Soviet Union.
6th February 1940 - New Regulations regarding the start of British summer time introduced. The BBC also issued with new reporting guidelines with regard to reporting losses in the ever growing threat from German U Boats.
7th February 1940 - one of the most famous Propaganda posters of the Second World War is released by the Ministry of Propaganda. Careless Talk Costs Lives.
10th February 1940 - The very first German Magnetic Mine is swept by with the us of a towed cable by HMS Salve and HMS Servitor off the East Coast of England.
12th February 1940 - A German U Boat U33 was spotted and by HMS Gleaner while minelaying in the Clyde. U33 dived but suffered damage and was forced to surface after a depth charge attack. The U Boat was not able to be scuttled in time and when the crew were searched after rescue the U boats telegraphist was found to have on him 3 rotors for the top secret Enigma machine. They were immediately sent to the British code-breakers at Bletchley Park who until that moment were totally unaware of their design.
15th February 1940 - The IRA were active on mainland Britain. Two bombs exploded in Birmingham. And after further searches by police five more were located. No loss of life or injury was caused other than minor damage.
18th February 1940 - After the attack and sinking of HMS Royal Oak by the German U Boat U47 in october 1939 , security at Scapa Flow is improved by the sinking of the SS llsenstien to act as a block-ship in the entrance where the U Boat entered Scapa Flow.
20th February 1940 - Twenty Vickers Wellington Bombers of RAF Bomber Command attack German Shipping in Heligoland.
Two Aircraft crash one of 38 Squadron in the North Sea and one on return to the UK.
21st February 1940 - The Cavity Magnetron.(The high powered vacuum which works microwaves) was tested at Birmingham university.The beginning of the microwave revolution.Later in the war it played a huge part in Airborne Radar equipment.
22nd February 1940 - An aircraft of 602 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Douglas Farquhar takes the first gun camera film of the war while attacking a German Heinkel 111 bomber over Berwickshire.
23rd February 1940 - The Crews of HMS Exeter and HMS Ajax are proudly marched through london to the Guildhall to celebrate the actions that lead to the sinking of the German Pocket Battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the Battle of the River Plate.
24th February 1940 - The Prototype of Hawkers Typhoon flies for the first time piloted by Philip Lucas.
25th February 1940 - The first civilian casualties to die in the UK are caused during a training exercise after the crash of an RAF aircraft at Wallington in Surrey. The Trainee pilot was also killed.
26th February 1940 - The first of many Royal Canadian Airforce units arrives in the UK.
March 1940
1st March 1940 -
A BBC survey reveals that two thirds of the Adult population of the United kingdom listen to the English
language propaganda broadcasts made by Lord Haw-Haw.Who's programme "Germany Calling"
is broadcast after the BBC nine o'clock news each night.That meant some 16 million people listening
to BBC and some 6 million switching over to hear Lord Haw-haw. British women are requested to wear light colored fabrics to economise on dye for the making of uniforms.
Hitler orders his Generals to start planning for the invasions of Denmark and Norway.
>In Hollywood the 12th Academy awards take place. Winners include Vivienne Leigh and R Donat,
for the film "Gone with Wind" which wins a total off 8 Oscars including one for Hattie McDaniel the first
ever Black American to win an oscar.
2nd March 1940 - Soviet Russia begins attacks on the city of Vipuri Finland's second Largest City
The worst attack of the war so far on a British Merchant ship occurs.
The passenger Cargo Liner SS Domala was attacked by He111's of the Luftwaffe's KG26.
108 members of the crew and passengers are killed. The Italian Government protests to the British Government about the Allied Blockade of its ports.
3rd March 1940 - The New passenger Liner Queen Elizabeth sets sail from the Clyde.
it was only possible to achieve this as there were only two suitable high tides.
Arriving in New York via Halifax it was to provide a sight for New Yorkers of
four of the worlds greatest liners. The Mauretania, Normandie, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary.
By wars end the two Queens would have transferred over a million serviceman overseas.
4th March 1940 - £100,000,000 raised so far for the British war effort through savings certificates and defence bonds.
5th March 1940 - Finland tells soviets that they will agree to their terms for ending its war.
6th March 1940 - A British patrol ship captures the German Woermann line ship Wahehe also the German HamburgAamerica line ship Troja is scuttled off the Dutch West Indies.
7th March 1940 - Secretary of State for Air, Sir Howard Kingsley announces the srength of the RAF had doubled over the last year.
8th March 1940 - The German cargo ship Hanover is intercepted off Dominica by HMS Dunedin and HMS Assiniboine.
The liner had been set on fire by it,s crew but despite this she was towed to Jamaica. The Public are made aware for the first time about the counter measures being taken to combat German magnetic mines.
British scientists develop a method to reverse ships magnetic fields by 'degaussing' .
11th March 1940 - An RAF Blenheim of 82 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Miles Villiers Delap attacks and sinks
the German submarine U-31. The U-Boat sank with the loss of 58 men.
Squadron Leader Delap is awarded the DFC for this action.
Areas in Northern Scotland are designated training areas by the war office.
Meat rationing is introduced this day into the Uk.
12th March 1940 - Finland signs peace treaty with the Soviet Union ending 105 days of War.
14th March 1940 - Hong Kong provides £1000,000 to the British Government for "War purpose ".
15th March 1940 - Release in the US of John Fords movie drama 'The Grapes of Wrath' starring Henry Fonda.
16th March 1940 - The Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow is attacked by the Luftwaffe causing Britains first civilian casualties. Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner pass in Austria, Mussolini guarantees Hitler that italy will enter the war on Germany's side at the first opportune moment.
19th March 1940 - The Admiralty announces that up to 13th March 1940 a total of 12,816 ships had been convoyed by the Royal Navy with the loss of 28 ships. The RAF in retaliation for the attack on Scapa Flow attack the German sea plane base on Sylt Island.
20th March 1940 - French General Gamelin orders that if Germany attacks, seven divisions should be ready to race
through Belgium to the Dutch border.
21st March 1940 - Paul Reynard becomes Prime Minister of France.
22nd March 1940 - French intelligence reports that the Germans are studying routes from Sedan to Abbeville.
They conclude that an attack through Belgium is imminent.
23rd March 1940 - In India the all India Moslem league call for a Muslim homeland.
25th March 1940 - Official instructions are issued to all British POW's not to take part any broadcasts for the enemy.
27th March 1940 - Himmler orders the construction of Auschwitz concentration camp at Katonice.
Intense aerial activity over the Maginot line in eastern France, the RAF claim 5 Messerchmitt fighters.
28th March 1940 - Britain and France agree that neither country would seek peace separately with Germany.
The decision to mine inshore passages off the Norwegian coast is made.
29th March 1940 - Dutch Naval Attaché warns the Danish authorities that Germany is planning to invade Denmark and Norway.
In the US boxer Joe Louis ko's Johnny Paycheck to retain the Heavyweight boxing title.
30th March 1940 - The minister of Agriculture announces some 1,370,000 additional acres of farmland out of a target of 2,000,000 have been ploughed.
31st March 1940 - The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis sets sail from German waters on her first patrol.
She went onto roam the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans sinking a total of 22 merchant ships with a total of 146,000 tons. The first RAF raid on German soil takes place. Two Wellington bombers raided the city of Emden.
April 1940
1st April 1940
- Luftwaffe aircraft attack the shetlands, one aircraft is shot down.
British steamer Box Hill and Norwegian steamer Luna are both sunk.
2nd April 1940 -
Hitler orders preparations to begin for the invasion of Norway and Denmark.
3rd April 1940 - Sswedish steamer Svarton sunk North of Scotland, war cabinet re-shuffle includes Winston Churchill, who takes over the chair on the committee directing general war policy.
5th April 1940 - British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces that Hitler has missed the bus, meaning that an attack or invasion in the west is now unlikely to succeed.
The RAF attacks shipping in Wihemshaven.
7th April 1940 - RAF Aircraft spot units of the German Navy steaming North towards Narvik and Trondheim in Norway. Amongst the ships are Transport ships loaded with men and equipment.
The German invasion of Norway is about to ommence. In the US first Black American's image appears on a postage stamp. "Booker T Washington". The 7th Masters golf championship at Augusta is won by Jimmy Demart with a winning score of 280.
8th April 1940 - British submarines torpedo three German ships, the Destroyer HMS Glowworm is sunk after reporting on the German fleet movements, and after she attempted to ram the cruiser Hipper.
The Royal Navy lays mines in Norwegian waters prior to the landings at Narvik and Andalswer by British and French forces in support of Norway. The polish submarine Ozel sinks the German transport ship Rio de Janeiro. German survivors rescued by the norwegians claim that they were en-route to help the Norwegians against the invading British and French.
9th April 1940 - The German invasion of Norway officially commences, the German Navy loses the cruiser Blucher which is sunk by coastal batteries plus the ships Konisberg and Karlsruhe to British naval and air attacks.
10th April 1940 - Six British Destroyers surprise ten German Destroyers in Narvik Fiord and sink two two with the loss of two of their own ships. In command of this flotilla is Captain Lee Warburton who is unfortunately killed during the action. He is later awarded the VC . This becomes known as the 1st Battle of Narvik. Vidkum Quisling announces the formation a National Norwegian goverment. His name will forever be associated with those who collaborated with the Nazi's . and hated by all loyal Norwegians.
11th April 1940 - RAF attacks the Norwegian airfield at Stavanger. Royal Navy submarine HMS Spearfish torpedos the German Pocket Battleship Lutzow which will be out of action for a year caused by the damage sustained in this attack.
12th April 1940 - The Faroe Islands are occupied by British forces . Italy annexes Albania, taking control of the country as Hitler had done previously with Austria.
13th April 1940 - British Naval forces supported by the Battleship HMS warspite engage German forces, again at Narvik in the Jossling fiord. Sseven German destroyers and one U-Boat are sunk, this is the 2nd Battle of Narvik.
14th April 1940 - The German Minesweeper M6 sinks the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tarpon.
15th April 1940 - At home British unemployment figures are the lowest since 1920 at 973,000.
17th April 1940 - Royal Navy bombard enemy forces in Stavanger.
18th April 1940 - British submarine HMS Starlet is sunk off Norway.
19th April 1940 - A state of siege is declared by the Netherlands government to cover the whole of the country.
22nd April 1940 - An inter allied war council meets in Paris. In the US Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before the US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with japan is Inevitable.
23rd April 1940 - In Britain Budget day raises taxes on beer by 1d {9p] and 1d is also put on postage. Estimates for 1940 war expenditure is £2,0000 million pounds, MP's criticise this amount as being too low.
24th April 1940 - The commons approves a trade agreement with spain, the first such agreement since the Spanish civil war.
25th April 1940 - New figure released in Britain show that the evacuation scheme introduced showed that only 8% of children eligible had been registered 19% of parents had refused to do so and 73% did not bother to reply.
28th April 1940 - Glenn Miller records his hit record Pennsylvania "6-5000".
29th April 1940 - The Norwegian King Haakon and his family as well as his Government are evacuated aboard a British warship to Britain.
30th April 1940 - RAF attacks airfields in Oslo to prevent use by German forces.
May 1940
May 1st 1940 - Norwegians defending the town of Lillehammer surrender to German forces.
May 2nd 1940 - German forces reach Andalsnes in Norway.
May 3rd 1940 - RAF attack Stavanger. General Ewald Von Kliest takes command of the German First Panzer Army .
May 4th 1940 - Naval and land forces bombard Narvik in Norway. Luftwaffe carries out two raids on the south east coast of England.
May 5th 1940 - The US Government gives permission to export the Mustang Aircraft to the UK.
May 6th 1940 - German Forces advance North from Trondheim in Norway. The evacuated Norwegian Government arrives and sets up in London.
May 7th 1940 - German forces face allied pressure at Narvik from allied forces.
All military leave in Holland is cancelled. British collier Brighton is sunk by enemy action.
May 8th 1940 - Soviet Marshall Timoshenko is appointed the countries Defense Commissar.
May 9th 1940 - Hitler issues the order to begin the offensive in the west.
May 10th 1940 - Germany without warning invades Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
The main armored thrust is through the Ardennes by Army group A.
British and French troops enter Belgium from france in response to the attack. Iin the Uk Neville Chamberlain resigns as Prime minister and is replaced by Winston Churchill.
RAF Whitley bombers attack German targets including Munchen Gladbach.
British troops occupy Iceland to prevent a German invasion which could threaten the transatlantic supply route.
May 11th 1940 - German Paratroops capture with speed and surprise the important Belgian Fort at Eben- Emel, near Liege.
It is the first occasion that Paratroops are used in World War 2.
German forces are then able to cross the Albert canal in force.
In London the british war cabinet is formed under the leadership of new Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
May 12th 1940 - German Forces outflank the main Dutch Fortifications.
May 13th 1940 - Further German Paratroops are reported in North Western France.
In the Uk Winston Churchill makes the first of many wartime speeches with his Nothing but blood toil tears and sweat speech.
May 14th 1940 - Queen Wilhemina and Princes Juliana of Holland arrive safely in London, after escaping German forces.The Luftwaffe delivers the first of many devastating air raids on Rotterdam.
The battle for Holland despite a heroic effort from the outnumbered Dutch forces is fast coming to an end.
May 15th 1940 - Dutch resistance ends and Holland capitulates to German forces.
Meanwhile German Panzer troops commanded by Irwin Rommel reach Sedan in France.
In the Uk the Local Defence Volunteers are formed, later to be renamed The Home-guard.
The BEF are forced by the fast advance of German forces, in what would be called the Blitzkrieg to move to a line
west of Brussels.
In the United States President Roosevelt urges the US aircraft industry to produce 50,000 aircraft per year.
Mussolini assures both Greece and Yugoslavia that Italy will not invade either country.
May 17th 1940 - German forces enter Brussels, Louvain and Malines.
Further German offensives develop between Sambre and the Meuse.
The Dutch Islands of Walcheren and Beneland are evacuated.
May 18th 1940 - German troops enter Antwerp and Amiens.
73 year old French General weygand is appointed commander in chief of allied forces, in fhe face of a worsening situation.
20th 1940May - German troops reach the old battlefields of the first world war, the Somme scenes of terrible slaughter during that war.
German forces reach the Channel at Abbeville on the French coast, this effectively cuts the allied armies in France in two.
In Defeated Holland the infamous Seyss Inquart is appointed as Reichkommissar of Holland.
May 21st 1940 - British and French forces Launch an attack at Arras in France to try and stem the German advance.
Despite some small success it fails in its overall plan.
May 22nd 1940 - In Britain the emergency powers act is passed.
German forces reach the outskirts of Boulogne, they are stopped by British and French troops.
Who include the Irish and Welsh Guards, who had arrived in Boulogne that same day. British troops also arrive at Calais to attempt to link up with forces at Dunkirk.
May 23rd 1940 - A further attack on Boulogne by German Panzers is stopped by its defenders.
A decision is made to evacuate the British troops from the port.
Leaving French forces to continue the defence, 3,060 troops are evacuated. In Britain Oswald Moseley the British Facist leader is arrested.
May 24th1940 - Hitler orders his Panzers to halt, and the Luftwaffe starts its bombing of Dunkirk and the perimeter. Boulogne falls to the Germans despite a heroic defence.
Heavy Fighting at Calais forces the British and defending French troops to pull back into the inner defenses of the town. The 10th Panzer Division increases its attacks to capture the port.
May 25th 1940 - The last few remaining defenders of Boulogne who continued to offer resistance surrender.
RAF aircraft attack the oil tanks near the city of Rotterdam to prevent the fuel supplies being taken by the Germans.
Lord Gort the commander of the BEF, with the situation worsening daily makes the decision to withdraw his forces
to the coast and evacuate his army from Dunkirk .Control of the Naval operation and the plans for evacuation are placed under
the command of vice Admiral Bertram Ramsey. Who will co-ordinate the operation from his HQ at Dover castle.
With the evacuation about to begin from Dunkirk Winston Churchill makes the surprising decision to not evacuate or save the remaining Allied forces fighting in the same day Luftwaffe aircraft attack targets in yorkshire and East Anglia.
May 26th 1940 - The first days of the Dunkirk evacuation start operation Dynamo is underway.
Despite the British and French fighting hard at Calais they are overwhelmed by the 10th Panzer Division, the entire garrison is either killed or captured.
May 27th 1940 - Over the first two full days of Dynamo 7,699 men are rescued from Dunkirk.
The Belgium army capitulates with the support of the Belgium king despite government orders not to do so.
May 28th 1940 - On this day a total of 17,804 troops are rescued from the Harbor and Beaches of Dunkirk.
Meanwhile in the Norway campaign allied forces finally gain control of Narvik, only to begin immediately to evacuate.
May 29th 1940 - British government places an order in the US to purchase 320 of the new Mustang 1 Fighter.
fourth day of the evacuation from Dunkirk sees 47,310 rescued.
German troops capture Ypres,Ostend and Lille.
May 30th 1940 - 53,823 rescued from Dunkirk.
May 31st 1940 - German submarine U-13 is sunk by the Royal Navy near Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Sixth day of Dynamo sees 68,014 men rescued this bring the total to 194,620 troops who have so far been gotten away safely.
In the US President Roosevelt announces a million dollar Defence spending program.
June 1940
1st June 1940 - Allied forces still being evacuated from Dunkirk
the French government announced that it had struck Leopold 3rd
the king of the Belgium's from the order of the Legion 'd' Honneur
because he had surrendered to the germans a few days earlier.
Ironically the French would do the same in a few days.
2nd June 1940 - With the situation across the channel worsening a decision is made to
evacuate nearly 50,000 children from the south eastern coastal towns and villages opposite the channel ports.
Many parents decide to send their children abroad with the threat
of invasion looming. Meanwhile Hitler is sight seeing in france and tours a number of
battlefields that he had served on in WW1 including Ypres and Vimy
4th June 1940 - Prime minister Winston Churchill makes his famous we will fight them on the beaches speech to the house.
5th June 1940 - In Britain strikes and lockouts are banned. Factories , miners and farm workers are told they are
in reserved occupations. New laws regarding employment
are passed no employer can engage workers without government
permission particularly arms factories and engineering companies.
workers are advised that they can have one day a week rest in seven.
Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin, suggests that they should save
part of their wages for when they can have a week or two off after the war.
6th June 1940 - The first VC of the second world war is awarded to posthumously to Captain
Bernard Warburton-Lee of Destroyer HMS Hardy for actions during the raid on Narvik in April 1940.
10th June 1940 - With the end of operations in Norway Allied losses are
one aircraft carrier two cruisers and nine Destroyers
as well as a number of smaller craft.
6,100 killed and 100 wounded.
A costly and unsuccessful short-lived campaign. Mussolini declares war on the allies and sides with Germany.
11th June 1940 - Following the Italian declaration of war, the RAF creates a bomber
force consisting of 99 sqd and 149 sqd flying Vickers Wellington's.
Known as Haddock Force they are instructed to attack Italian industrial
targets. Flying from bases in southern France.
However when arriving at Salon airfield the local French commander
blocks the runway fearful of Italian retaliation and also as a result of
policy disagreements , The Raid is abandoned. The force is then switched to attack targets in the Black Forest in Germany to start
forest fires but no evidence is available to show if it was in anyway successful. French Prime Minister Reynaud after dining with Winston Churchill
tells him that Marshall Petain had written an appeal to the Germans for an armistice.
Although Reynauld admitted that he had not shown it to him out of shame.
Churchill tells the french that Britain will fight on no matter what.
13th June 1940 - The first war aid and shipment of arms agreed to by Roosevelt with Churchill
sets sail en-route to Britain aboard the SS Eastern Princess.
17th June 1940 - The united kingdoms worst ever maritime disaster occurs.
Cunards White Star Liner Lancastria is sunk off Saint Nazaire
She is carrying 3,000 men from the BEF and RAF, who had been
left behind in France after Dunkirk. The Luftwaffe bomb the ship
while she lay at anchor, survivors later claimed that they continued
to attack the men in the water after the ship had sunk.
The sinking is not made public for fear of the damage to an already shaky
morale following The Dunkirk Evacuation.
20th June 1940 - Britains Dominions and Empire Rally to her side.
The first convoy bringing Austrailians and New Zealanders
arrives in Britain.
Bringing much needed troops to aid in her hour of need.
23rd June 1940 - France surrenders, Britain is now alone in the fight against Nazi Germany.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a statement that he received the news with
"Grief and amazement" The BBC launches "Music While You Work" programs for war factories
It will prove over the years to be a great success considerably increasing
efficiency. Two popular songs were discouraged from being played
during its time on air one bring Deep in the heart of Texas and Yes my Darling Daughter,
because they encouraged people to either clap hands or foot stomp which slowed production !
28th June 1940 - The British Government gives formal recognition to General Charles de Gaulle
as the leader of the free French in exile.
29th June 1940 - Britain starts to prepare defenses to face the German invaders.
Gun emplacements, barbed wire, pill boxes camouflaged as tea stalls
and haystacks start appear along the south coast of England.
Piers are cut to stop them being used to land troops, concrete blocks
and scaffolding appear on beaches to prevent landings.
All signposts and station names are removed or painted out
to prevent helping the enemy locate its position.
Invasion is imminent.
30th June 1940 - The Island of Malta suffers its 50th air raid of the war, an indication of what will
lay ahead for the besieged Island.
July 1940
1st July 1940 - Royal Navy ships attack the french fleet at Oran.
After unsuccessful negotiations to persuade
them to sail the fleet to England, Churchill
orders that the French ships are to be attacked to prevent
them being used by the Germans.
10th July 1940 - The Battle of Britain Begins. The Luftwaffe attack Airfields on the South Coast of England,b
But their main attacks concentrate on Channel
convoys off the kent coast. Up to 120 enemy aircraft
are reported attacking numerous convoys, attacks continue
throughout the day and early evening.
At the days end the RAF claim 14 destroyed 23 damaged,
for the loss of two British Fighters, with one of the pilots safe.
14th July 1940 - Winston Churchill after making such stirring speeches
in the weeks previous such as 'We Shall Fight On the beaches',
'Their Finest Hour', Delivers another stirring speech
'The unknown warrior'.
15th July 1940 - In the US the Democratic Party at their national convention
in Chicago nominates Franklin D Roosevelt for a record 3rd term in office as their leader and President.
19th July 1940 - Hitler makes a peace appeal to Britain in a broadcast.
22nd July 1940 - Britains Foreign Minister Lord Halifax rejects any peace
terms in a broadcast reply.
27th July 1940 - In the Us Bugs Bunny makes his debut in the
oscar nominated cartoon short "A wild Hare".