Day 73 November 12, 1939

At 7 AM, U-41 (Kapitänleutnant Gustav-Adolf Mugler in command) shells and sinks the British steam trawler Cresswell off the Outer Hebrides, Scotland (6 lives lost). U-41 picks up 8 survivors, At 10 AM, U-41 sinks Norwegian tanker Arne Kjøde (cargo of gas oil, en route to Denmark) with one torpedo. Note that both Denmark and Norway are neutral at this time. The crew takes to 2 lifeboats but one capsizes with 5 lives lost, including the captain. 34 survivors will be picked up on Nov 14 by the British trawler Night Hawk and the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Isis.

British and French governments politely refuse offers of mediation by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and King Leopold of Belgium, suspecting they are acting for Hitler. First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill broadcasts a speech on the first 10 weeks of the war, emphasising the continued threat to Europe from Nazi Germany. “If words could kill, we should be dead already.”