Day 282 June 8, 1940

Operation Juno. German cruiser Admiral Hipper sinks British tanker Oil Pioneer and escorting armed trawler HMS Juniper (20 lives lost, Hipper picks up 29 survivors). Later, Hipper sinks empty British troopship Orama (19 lives lost, 280 rescued by German destroyers) but spares hospital ship Atlantis. Atlantis obeys the rules of war and does not attempt to radio any signals; Hipper does not sink her. http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/ships/orama.html

Evacuation of Narvik. French and Polish troops, pursuing General Dietl’s forces towards Sweden, pull out overnight and return to Narvik leaving dummies to fool the Germans. Group II troopships embark the final 4600 Allied troops (British, French and Polish) and depart Narvik, escorted by aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, cruisers HMS Southampton and HMS Coventry and 11 destroyers. The convoy is spotted by German reconnaissance planes and bombed continuously until out of range but without damage. Germans quickly assess the withdrawal and retake Narvik.

Operation Juno meets Evacuation of Narvik. At 3 AM, aircraft carrier HMS Glorious sails for Scapa Flow with destroyers HMS Ardent & HMS Acasta (these vessels are not needed to escort troop transports). Captain Guy D’Oyly Hughes does not post top look-outs or fly patrol aircraft and runs into German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, 170 miles off the Norwegian coast. At 4.30 PM, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau open fire from 24km, one of the longest hits ever recorded. Glorious is hit with several 11 inch shells, preventing aircraft taking off. Ardent & Acasta lay smoke and close on the German battleships firing 120 mm guns and torpedoes but both are hit. Acasta hits Scharnhorst with 1 torpedo (50 dead). Ardent sinks at 5.20 PM (151 lives lost, 2 survivors). Glorious sinks at 7.10 PM (1162 sailors and 59 RAF personnel killed, 42 survivors). Acasta sinks at 7.20 PM (161 dead, 2 survivors). Admiral Wilhelm Marschall, aboard his flagship Gneisenau orders his flag lowered to half mast to honor the crews of the British destroyers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Juno
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_glorious.htm

France. 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions cross River Seine. 5th Panzer captures Rouen. Further East, Kleist’s 14th Panzer Corp breaks through at Amiens but 16th Panzer Corp is still held at Péronne by French 7th Army, showing the true fighting character of the French troops and the effectiveness of the hedgehogs.

Day 281 June 7, 1940

France. Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division and 5th Panzer Division continue their drive down the Channel coast towards Rouen. Further East, General Kleist’s Panzers meet stiff resistance and make no progress between Amiens and Péronne.

Evacuation of Narvik. More British troopships (Group II) arrive and embark 5200 troops overnight. Slow container ships with supplies and equipment leave Narvik. Group I troopships (that departed yesterday with 15,000 troops on board) are spotted by German reconnaissance planes but mistaken for empty supply ships returning to England, probably due to the single escort vessel HMS Vindictive. Admiral Marschall’s German flotilla does not attack the convoy, instead refueling the destroyers and cruiser Admiral Hipper.

Off Narvik, RAF pilots, untrained in aircraft carrier landings, safely land 10 Gloster Gladiators and 8 Hawker Hurricanes on aircraft carrier HMS Glorious (the remaining fighters of 46 and 263 Squadrons).

At 8 PM, Norwegian King Haakon VII, his son Crown Prince Olav and members of the Norwegian government leave Tromsø (in the far North of Norway) for exile in England on British cruiser HMS Devonshire.

Between midnight and 3.30 AM, U-48 sinks British steamer Francis Massey carrying 7500 tons of iron ore (33 dead, Captain rescued by destroyer HMS Volunteer) and damages British steamer Eros (all 62 crew survive) 10 miles North of Ireland. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/340.html

Day 280 June 6, 1940

Rommel quickly learns to use his tanks to bypass Weygand‘s hedgehogs. The Panzers make rapid progress as there is no secondary defensive line and infantry contain & reduce the hedgehogs. 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions make an initial breakthrough between Abeville and Amiens. Elsewhere, camouflaged hedgehogs in wooded areas continue to confound the Germans, with fire coming suddenly from the side or rear. French 75mm field guns (1898 vintage), obsolete as artillery, turn out to be as effective as German 88mm Flak used in flat fire anti-tank role.

Evacuation of Narvik. Another 5100 men embark overnight. About 15,000 Allied troops leave aboard 6 fast liners (Monarch Of Bermuda, Batory, Sobieski, Franconia, Lancastria & Georgic) escorted by destroyer HMS Arrow & sloop HMS Stork. They rendezvous with WWI-era cruiser HMS Vindictive (Arrow & Stork turn back for Narvik). Only Vindictive will escort the troopships back to the Clyde.

At 1.13 PM, U-46 hits British armed merchant cruiser HMS Carinthia (a converted Cunard liner) with one torpedo, west of Galway Bay (4 lives lost). Carinthia stays afloat for another 30 hours, but sink while under tow by rescue tug HMS Marauder. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/338.html

Norwegian submarine B.3 departs Harstad for Tromso but is crippled by an explosion. Unable to reach England, B.3 will be scuttled on June 9 in Gavlfjord near Tromso.

Day 279 June 5, 1940

At 5 AM, Germany begins the second phase of the conquest of France (“Fall Rot”), attacking South across the Somme and Aisne rivers with 130 divisions plus 10 Panzer divisions reequipped with fresh tanks. In contrast, France has lost 30 of its best divisions (and the BEF) along with most of its vehicles and armour. French CiC General Weygand has only 66 divisions, including 17 in the fortified Maginot Line defenses, to hold a front longer than before the invasion. He organizes a series of strongpoints bristling with artillery & anti-tank guns (the “Weygand Line”) in woods and villages along the Somme and Aisne rivers joining the Maginot Line at Montmédy. These ‘hedgehogs’ confuse the Germans & hold their initial advance to 10km.

At 11.18 PM, U-48 shells British armed merchant Stancor (300 tons of fish) 80 miles Northwest of Scotland. All 19 crew (10 in a lifeboat and 9 picked up by British trawler Kinaldie) make land on Isle of Lewis. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/337.html

French soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk are returned via channel ports still under French control. To reinforce Weygand, Churchill also sends Canadian 1st Infantry Division to France, joining parts of British 1st Armoured Division & 51st Highland Division which avoided encirclement at Dunkirk.

French Prime Minister Reynaud ousts his nemesis ex-PM Daladier and reshuffles his Cabinet. Charles de Gaulle, promoted to General on May 25, is made Under-Secretary for Defense.

Evacuation of Narvik. Another 4900 Allied troops board transport ships.

Day 278 June 4, 1940

Operation Dynamo, evacuation of Dunkirk, ends. Overnight, British Royal Navy embarks 26,175French troops mostly from Dunkirk harbour. In total, 338,226 men have been evacuated including 112,000 French troops. At 10:20 AM, Germans raise the swastika over Dunkirk, capturing 30,000 - 40,000 French troops. British material losses include 2000 field guns, 60,000 vehicles & 676,000 tons of ammunition, fuel and supplies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:21May-6June_Battle_of_Belgium.PNG

Evacuation of Narvik begins. Overnight, British destroyers and Norwegian fishing boats start shuttling Allied troops to 6 fast liners (troop transports) hidden in various small fjords and inlets on the main Ototfjord.

Operation Juno. British supply lines to Narvik are vulnerable to naval as well as air attack. Admiral Wilhelm Marschall leads German battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau, cruiser Admiral Hipper and destroyers Karl Galster, Hans Lody, Erich Steinbrinck & Hermann Schoemann from Kiel to attack Allied warships and supply vessels off Norway.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives one of his finest speeches in the House of Commons, reviewing the conduct of the war in France and Belgium “the German eruption swept like a sharp scythe around the right and rear of the Armies of the North….. cut off all communications between us and the main French Armies”,
the evacuation of Dunkirk “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations”
and the prospect of invasion of the Britain “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” (text and MP3 at http://www.fiftiesweb.com/usa/winston-churchill-fight-beaches.htm, stream all Churchill speeches http://www.archive.org/details/Winston_Churchill)

Day 277 June 3, 1940

At 4.56 AM, U-37 sinks Finnish SS Snabb with the deck gun, 300 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain (1 killed). 20 survivors are picked up by Greek SS Kyriakoula and landed at Cork on 6 June. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/336.html

Dunkirk. The last of the BEF embark overnight. General Harold Alexander commanding British 1st Infantry Division uses a small boat to check no-one is left behind. At 10:50 AM, Royal Navy "Beachmaster" Captain William “Dunkirk Joe” Tennant signals "Operation completed; returning to Dover”, after calling on a megaphone for any British soldiers, but Churchill insists on evacuating as many French troops as possible, so the Royal Navy returns in the evening. In total, 24,876 Allied troops embark from Dunkirk harbour & only 1,870 from the beaches. However, the shrinking beachhead and crumbling perimeter allow German forces within 2 miles of Dunkirk.

French armed merchant cruiser Ville D'Oran evacuates 212 tons of gold including sacks of gold coins from French gold reserves at Pauillac, arriving at Casablanca June 7. The gold will journey on to USA for safekeeping.

Day 276 June 2, 1940

Dunkirk. British Admiralty stops daytime embarkation due to devastating German bombing yesterday. However, the bulk of the Allied troops have already been evacuated. 19,561 Allied troops embark from Dunkirk harbour & 6,695 from the beaches under cover of darkness. During the day, French defenders (covering the British retreat) start falling back to be evacuated also.

Norway. While Polish and French troops pursue the Germans East towards Sweden, the British begin falling back towards Narvik to be transported home. British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and Glorious arrive to provide air cover for the evacuation of 26,000 British troops.

At 3 AM, U-101 sinks British SS Polycarp 41 miles south of Lands End (all 43 crew picked up by the French merchant Espiguette and landed at Newlyn, Cornwall).

At 6 AM, British boom defense vessel HMS Astronomer sinks 20 miles off the northeast coast of Scotland after taking 3 torpedoes over 6 hours from U-58 (4 lives lost). 52 civilian crew members, one gunner and 48 Royal Navy sailors are picked up by anti-submarine trawlers HMS Stoke City & HMS Leicester City and landed at Rosyth. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/334.html

Day 275 June 1, 1940

Dunkirk. Overnight, BEF pulls out of the defensive line and head for the ships, leaving French troops to hold a reduced perimeter closer to Dunkirk. Good flying weather returns and renewed German bombing sinks French destroyer Le Foudroyant (19 killed), British destroyers HMS Basilisk (9 lives lost, scuttled by destroyer HMS Whitehall), HMS Havant (8 lives lost, scuttled by minesweeper HMS Saltash after taking off the crew), and HMS Keith (36 killed, 130 rescued by various ships).

Minesweeper HMS Skipjack is bombed after embarking 275 soldiers from the beach and sinks (19 crew and most of the troops drown). British steamer Scotia is bombed and sinks (32 crew and 200-300 troops lost). Numerous other ships are badly damaged and many smaller ships are also sunk. Despite this, 47,081 Allied troops embark from Dunkirk harbour & 17,348 from the beaches. http://www.halcyon-class.co.uk/skipjack/hms_skipjack.htm

Norway. With Britain itself now threatened by German invasion from France, British troops begin evacuating Narvik and returning home. British ambassador to Norway, Sir Cecil Dormer, informs King Haakon VII that there will be a withdrawal. The King, his son Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government are encouraged to leave their country.


At 11 PM, U-37 sinks Greek SS Ioanna carrying onions 120 miles west of Cape Finisterre. All crew survive and make land at Vigo, Spain. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/333.html

Day 274 May 31, 1940

Operation Dynamo. After the carnage of German bombing of the last 2 days, cloudy weather restricts Luftwaffe activity & the Admiralty returns the modern destroyers to Dunkirk. Despite the clouds, French destroyer Leopard and British destroyers HMS Express, Icarus, Keith & Winchelsea are damaged by German bombing. The evacuation continues in full swing embarking 68,014 Allied troops including General Lord Gort, commander of the BEF (45,072 from Dunkirk harbour & 22,942 off the beaches). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10169745.stm

In addition to the British small craft, 39 Dutch coasters (that escaped the German occupation) assist the evacuation, saving a total of 22,698 men during the whole operation.

French destroyer Sirocco and Cyclone are torpedoed by German Schnellboote. Sirocco is then sunk by German bombing with 180 crew and 700 men of the 92nd French Infantry Regiment on board (59 crew and over 600 French troops die). Sirocco goes down flying the 92nd Regiment’s colours.

14 miles Southeast of Lowestoft, England, Sloop HMS Weston sinks U-13 with depth charges (all 26 crew, are rescued and taken prisoner).

At 2 PM, U-101 attacks convoy HG-31F and sinks British SS Orangemoor carrying 8150 tons of iron ore 25 miles West of Guernsey (18 crew lost). 22 survivors are rescued by the Brandenburg and landed at London. U-101 is then attacked for 8 hours with 41 depth charges by the convoy escorts, but survives. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/332.html

Day 273 May 30, 1940

Evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo). British Admiralty orders all modern H, I, J class destroyers out of Dunkirk due to yesterday’s intensive German bombing, leaving only 18 old destroyers to continue the evacuation. Despite this, 24,311 Allied troops embark from Dunkirk harbour & 29,512 from the beaches, including the first French soldiers to be evacuated. Small craft from Britain ferry troops out to waiting warships or even back to England.

Although Luftwaffe attacks are reduced by poor weather, destroyers HMS Anthony & Sabre, minesweeper HMS Kellet, armed boarding vessel HMS King Orry and steamers St. Julien & Normannia are damaged by German bombs. French destroyer Bourrasque hits a mine & is sunk by German artillery off Ostend (about 660 crew and troops evacuated from Dunkirk are killed or swim to shore and are captured by the Germans). 100 survivors are rescued by French torpedo boat Branlebas and 200 more by other ships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Memoriale_Dunkerque.jpg "To the glorious memory of the Pilots, Sailors and Soldiers of the French and Allied armies who sacrificed themselves in the Battle of Dunkirk May June 1940".

Norway. After capturing Narvik, Allied forces begin pushing General Dietl’s mountain troops and sailors back to the Swedish border, only 18 miles East. Dietl, isolated in Narvik since April 10, has been sporadically resupplied and reinforced by airdrops. However, his only real hope of survival is 2nd Gebirgsjäger Division which has been marching North from Trondheim since May 4. Naturally, Hitler does not give Dietl the option to surrender or cross into Sweden to be interned, instructing him instead to fight on.

As part of Operation Fish (the shipment to Canada of British gold and negotiable securities, for storage in the Bank of Canada vault in Ottawa) battleship HMS Revenge (carrying £40 million in gold) and troopships Antonia & Duchess of Richmond (£10 million in gold each) leave Britain. They will arrive in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June. http://rightclickhome.com/Numis/micc/11nov2009/MICC.HTM

U-101 sinks British SS Stanhall carrying sugar and onions 10 miles North of Quessant (1 life lost). 36 survivors are picked up by another British steamer Temple Moat and landed at Weymouth. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/331.html

Day 272 May 29, 1940

Dunkirk. 33,558 British troops are evacuated from Dunkirk harbour and 13,752 from the beaches. As the weather clears, Luftwaffe planes strafe and bomb the ships and waiting soldiers. Despite Göring’s promise, it is clear that the Luftwaffe cannot prevent the evacuation in the face of RAF patrols and anti-aircraft fire from the Royal Navy ships.

At 12.40 AM, British destroyer HMS Wakeful is torpedoed by German torpedoboat S-30 13 miles North of Nieuport and sinks immediately (97 crew and 640 soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk killed, 25 crew and 1 soldier rescued by minesweepers HMS Gossamer& HMS Lydd, destroyer HMS Grafton and armed trawler HMS Comfort). HMS Grafton is torpedoed by U-62 (4 crew killed). Remaining crew and those just rescued from Wakeful are taken off by destroyer HMS Ivanhoe which then sinks Grafton with gunfire. HMS Comfort is mistaken for another torpedoboat and rammed by HMS Lydd (4 killed, 2 survivors). http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/328.html

Destroyer HMS Grenade is hit by three bombs (one going down her funnel) at East mole, Dunkirk (18 killed). Alongside Grenade, destroyer HMS Jaguar is badly damaged by a bomb (13 killed, 19 wounded). Minesweeper HMS Waverley (carrying around 600 troops just rescued from the beaches) is also bombed and sinks rapidly (about 350 lives lost).

U-37 sinks French steamer Marie José and British oil tanker Telena (18 dead, 18 survivors picked by up Spanish fishing boats) off Cape Finisterre, Spain. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/330.html

Day 271 May 28, 1940

Narvik, Norway. British, French, Polish & Norwegian forces attack across the Rombaksfjord from Oyord in landing craft and by land from the East and West. Naval bombardment of German positions begins at midnight, aided by the broad daylight at this latitude (it is dark at the same time at airfields further South, preventing Luftwaffe bombers taking off in response). French Foreign Legion comes ashore with 5 French light tanks at 12.15 AM. Luftwaffe arrives at 4.30 AM, forcing the Allied fleet to withdraw & damaging the command vessel cruiser Cairo with 2 bombs (10 killed, 7 wounded). Narvik is in Allied hands by midday after several hours of back & forth hand-to-hand fighting. http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/UK-NWE-Norway-13.html

Just after midnight, King Leopold III as Commander-in-Chief accepts Hitler’s terms and surrenders Belgian Army. He does not consult the Allies or the Belgian government and both hold him in strong contempt for his actions.

Dunkirk. While heavy fighting rages around the perimeter, 11,874 Allied troops are evacuated from Dunkirk harbour and another 5,930 from the beaches. A flotilla of British fishing boats and small pleasure craft arrives to assist in the rescue. The small boats are able to get into shallow water and ferry men out to the larger warships for the journey to England.

Seige of Lille. 40,000 French soldiers, the remainder of the once-mighty First Army, are surrounded at Lille by 7 German divisions (3 armoured divisions, including Rommel’s). They will fight a delaying action until May 31, while the evacuation of Dunkirk proceeds.

Near Abbeville, French Char B1 Bis tank 'Jeanne d'Arc' remains functional after 90 hits in 2 hours.

At 9.24 AM, U-37 sinks French liner SS Brazza 100 miles West of Cape Finisterre, Spain (79 crew & 300 passengers killed). 53 crew & 144 passengers are rescued by French gunboat Enseigne Henry and armed merchant cruiser HMS Cheshire. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/327.html

Day 270 May 27, 1940

Dunkirk. British & French fall back towards the coast, pressured by Panzer divisions (released from Hitler’s stop order) and bombed by Luftwaffe at Poperinge. 4 British divisions under General Alan Brook hold the Ypres-Comines canal (Battle of Wytschaete). The first 7,669 British troops are evacuated from Dunkirk harbour. Germans advance within 4 miles, bringing Dunkirk in artillery range.

British withdrawal uncovers the Belgian right flank and allows Reichenau's 6th Army to storm through. At 5 PM, King Leopold III of the Belgians appeals to the Germans for peace terms, with Belgian refugees crowded in a thin strip of land behind the collapsing line. Hitler’s reply at 10 PM, “unconditional surrender”.

3rd SS Panzer Totenkopf Division troops under Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein machinegun 97 British prisoners of war in the French village of Le Paradis. The only 2 survivors will later testify against Knöchlein, leading to his execution for war crimes in 1949. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

150 miles West of Cape Finisterre, Spain, U-37 sinks British SS Sheaf Mead (32 lives lost, 5 rescued and taken to Ireland) and scuttles Argentinian SS Uruguay (13 crew rescued and taken to Spain; a lifeboat with 15 others is never found).
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/325.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/324.html

Day 269 May 26, 1940

200 German bombers and artillery pound the Citadel at Calais and German troops cross the canals forming the last Allied defensive line. At 4 PM, Brigadier Claude Nicholson surrenders at the Citadel. British losses are 300 killed, 200 wounded evacuated by boat and 3500 taken prisoner. Thousands of French and Belgian troops are captured. German losses are 750-800 killed or wounded.

Dunkirk. British War Cabinet sends a telegram to General Lord Gort authorizing the British Expeditionary Force withdrawal to Dunkirk. RAF Vice-Marshal Keith Park assigns 16 squadrons of No. 11 Group to protect the port. BEF’s retreat around Lille, France, leaves a gap in the Allied lines exposing the French left flank and Belgian right flank to the Walther von Reichenau's 6th Army. The Belgians fall back to the River Leie. The French 1st Army is essentially encircled.

Narvik. Anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curlew sunk by German Ju-88 bombers (9 lives lost). The loss of Curlew’s aircraft warning radar outfit deprived the Allies of early warnings of incoming aircraft. http://www.naval-history.net/Photo06clCurlewNPIngoBauernfiend.jpg

U-13 and U-48 leave dock at Kiel to join the growing fleet attacking Allied shipping around the British Isles.

Day 268 May 25, 1940

With 1st Panzer Division only 10 miles from Dunkirk (plus 2nd & 6th Panzer Divisions ready to tear up the coast) Hitler maintains his orders to hold them in their current positions. British, French and Belgian forces continue to fall back towards the Channel coast in an orderly retreat, covering each other’s flanks, under pressure by Bock’s Army Group B from the North and West. British Expeditionary Force uses the respite to reinforce defenses around Dunkirk, including the many canals.

Despite Guderian’s orders to leave Calais to the Luftwaffe, 10th Panzer continues to attack. British and French defenders fall back but still hold the city and harbour, where small fishing and pleasure boats begin evacuating the wounded. http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ww2%20europe/EuropeanTheaterGIF/WWIIEurope13.gif

In the evening, General Lord Gort decides to withdraw the BEF to Dunkirk, following assurances from War Minister Anthony Eden on May 23 that naval and air forces would be available for an evacuation by sea.

Day 267 May 24, 1940

10th Panzer Division attacks Calais but British and French defenders hold them off.

Further North, 1st Panzer reaches the Aa Canal 10 miles from Dunkirk, threatening encirclement of French and British armies in Belgium. Only 1 BEF battalion defends Dunkirk. However, Hitler halts the Panzers, not risking his precious armour against Allied armies in the coastal wetlands of Belgium. He is assured by Göring that the Luftwaffe can prevent any evacuation. Generals Brauchitsch and Halder rail against the order but are told it comes from the very top. Even Guderian, who has bent and ignored orders to get to the coast, had no choice but to comply.

With BEF trapped in Belgium and British Isles potentially under threat of invasion, British War Cabinet decides to bring home their remaining troops in Norway. They inform French General Béthouart, in command of the attack, who decides to continue with the capture of Narvik anyway before evacuation. Revenge anyone?

At 2.48 AM, 200 miles West of Brest, France, U-37 sinks Greek SS Kyma carrying 6000 tons of maize and 90 tons of trucks from Argentina to England (7 lives lost). http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/323.html

Day 266 May 23, 1940

At 12.54 AM, U-9 torpedoes German steamer Sigurd Faulbaum (captured by Belgium on May 10) while under tow by 2 tugboats, 15 miles northeast of Zeebrugge. The stern sinks but the crew is rescued from the floating forepart by one of the tugs. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/322.html

2nd Panzer Division attacks Boulogne, triggering the evacuation of British 20th Guards Brigade which has just arrived. Several British and French destroyers are bombed until RAF fighters arrive at 7.20 PM. However, Germans are so close that tank shells and small arms fire claim several lives on the ships, including the captains of HMS Keith and HMS Vimy. 4,360 troops are rescued (naval losses; 61 dead, 62 wounded). http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_boulogne_1940.html

Further North, British 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (equipped with cruiser tanks) and the 30th Motor Brigade land at Calais and hold off probing attacks by the 1st Panzer Division.

General Lord Gort withdraws British Expeditionary Force from Arras, where they had previously stopped Rommel’s Panzers.

Day 265 May 22, 1940

In Britain, the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act is passed, giving the government authority over persons and property for the duration of the war. In Paris, Churchill and Reynaud agree to a proposal by new French Commander-in-Chief General Weygand to attack the German salient caused by the Panzer thrust to the coast (essentially the same plan proposed by his predecessor, the disgraced Gamelin). However, it is too little, too late. The Germans are well established and Allied forces in Belgium are too busy fighting a retreat to attack.

Rommel holds near Arras, believing he faced 5 divisions in the British attack yesterday rather than 2 divisions plus 2 tank battalions. Guderian, however, pushes his Panzers North up the coast towards Calais and Boulogne.

Armed British merchant vessel Dunster Grange fights off a surface attack by U-37 using the deck gun, after U-37 misses with 4 torpedoes, off Land’s End. Dunster Grange will arrive safely in Liverpool on May 24. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/321.html

Day 264 May 21, 1940

While Guderian consolidates his position on the English Channel, Rommel bypasses Arras to the West and aims for the coast 50 miles away. However, French and British commanders (notably Churchill) have been urging a counterattack on the Panzer spearhead. 74 British tanks, supported by 2 infantry divisions, attack Rommel’s infantry near Arras. The German 37mm PaK anti-tank guns have no effect on the British “Matilda” tanks. In desperation, Rommel uses his 88mm Flak 18, 36 & 37 anti-aircraft guns in flat fire. The famous “88” anti-tank gun is born. An advanced Panzer regiment turns around and attacks the British from the rear, helping to push the British tanks back to Arras. Rommel has 89 killed, 110 wounded and 173 “missing” (AWOLs, who mostly return). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1940FranceBlitz.jpg

Narvik. RAF 263 Squadron returns to Norway with 18 Gladiators & 46 Squadron provides 18 Hurricanes. They are unable to provide much protection to Allied warships in Ototfjord.

Day 263 May 20, 1940

The Panzers reach the sea. In 10 days they have traveled 200 miles from the German border to the English Channel. Almost a million Allied soldiers are surrounded in Northern France and Belgium, leaving Allied plans to defend Belgium and France in ruins.

At 1.40 AM, Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division moves out of Cambrai and in 6 hours advances 20 miles. They pull up 2 miles from Arras, which is strongly held by the British Expeditionary Force, to allow the infantry to catch up.

The advance of Guderian’s Panzer Corps is even more spectacular. At 9 AM, 1st Panzer Division takes Amiens. At 7 PM, 2nd Panzer Division takes Abbeville. At 8 PM, a reconnaissance unit of 2nd Panzer Division reaches the sea at Noyelles-sur-Mer on the Somme estuary. They have covered 50 miles in a day, isolating British, French, Dutch, and Belgian forces to the North.

Day 262 May 19, 1940

At 6.31 AM, U-37 sinks Swedish MV Erik Frisell off Scotland. All 34 crew abandon ship and are picked up by the British armed trawler HMS Cobbers and landed at Stornoway. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/320.html

While Rommel waits at Cambrai to regroup his troops and repair his tanks, Guderian resumes his charge through St. Quentin to Péronne, only 50 miles from the French coast. The Panzers are beyond the French defensive line and advance rapidly, capturing supply dumps and disrupting Allied rearguard areas. They cut the supply lines of the British Expeditionary Force and French Armies trapped in Belgium, further disorganizing their resistance. BEF commander General Lord Gort ignores orders to attack South into the German flanks and instead considers a withdrawal to the Channel ports, including Dunkirk. Colonel De Gaulle’s French 4th Armoured Division attempts another failed attack on Guderian’s flank at Montcornet.

The RAF has lost over half the aircraft deployed to France & Belgium and the German advance now threatens its airfields. Squadrons begin returning to Britain. Future fighter operations over France will be carried out from bases in southern England.

Day 261 May 18, 1940

Despite the stop order imposed on the German tanks, Rommel pushes 7th Panzer Division on to Cambrai and then halts to consolidate his supply lines and protect his flanks. He has advanced 85 miles due West (more than half way to the English Channel) in 5 days, capturing over 10,000 French prisoners & 100 tanks. His losses are about 50 dead and 100 wounded. The rapid pace constantly wrecks Allied counterattack plans; French formations are overrun while they prepare to attack. 7th Panzer becomes known as the “Ghost Division” for its ability to appear unexpectedly. Over 6 million French refugees take to the roads, convinced they will be occupied any minute. Populations of cities in Northern France drop by 90%.

German U-boats resume harassing Allied shipping in North Atlantic and around Britain, after several weeks patrolling the Dutch, Danish and Norwegian coasts in support of the invasions. U-60 & U-62 sail from Kiel, joining U-37 & U-43 at sea.

Day 260 May 17, 1940

French 4th Armoured Division with 200 tanks including the formidable Char B (under Colonel Charles De Gaulle) attacks Guderian’s Panzer Corps at Montcornet. They take 500 prisoners but make little ground against improvised German defenses and then withdraw. German tankers are shocked by the French lack of aggression. Despite the halt imposed on the Panzers, Guderian is given permission for ‘strong reconnaissance’. He interprets this liberally and advances several km.

The dominos begin to fall in Belgium. Instead of attacking the German salient into Allied territory, British Expeditionary Force commander General Lord Gort sees the danger of encirclement in the Panzer thrust to his South and orders a retreat to the Scheldt River. This allows German 6th Army under General Reichenau to enter Brussels. Churchill, likewise worried by the panic in the French command, begins to think about saving the British Army. Churchill also considers recalling troops from Narvik.

Day 259 May 16, 1940

Churchill flies to Paris to assess the situation and confer with French PM Reynaud. He finds French officials burning government archives. Churchill asks “Where is the strategic reserve”? French Commander-in-Chief General Gamelin replies “Aucune” (“There is none”). Reynaud replaces Gamelin and recalls WWI veteran Maxime Weygand from obscurity in Syria.

The Panzers of Rundstedt’s Army Group A race out of their bridgeheads on the Meuse, cutting through the weaker parts of the French Army left to defend this region. French morale and resistance crumble as thousands of soldiers surrender. Guderian reaches Montcornet, 64km West of Sedan. Rommel drives another 35km from Cerfontaine, advancing through the night to Avesnes-sur-Helpe. German high command gets nervous about the extended flanks of this salient. Overnight, they order the tanks to hold while the infantry catches up.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/10May-16May1940-Fall_Gelb.jpg

Despite the amazing success of the Panzers in Northern France, the French actually have more and better tanks than Germany. Demonstrating the strength of French armour, Char B1 Bis tank 'Eure' engages Guderian’s Panzers at Stonne, destroying 2 Pz IV, and 11 Pz II. 'Eure' survives hit 140 times by 20mm, 37mm and 75mm shells.

Day 258 May 15, 1940

At 7:30 AM, French PM Reynaud phones Churchill saying “We are beaten. We have lost the battle”. At 10:15 AM, Dutch commander General Winkelman signs the surrender of armed forces in the Dutch homeland.

British, Belgian and French troops believe they face bulk of the German army (it is, in fact, Bock’s Army Group B) on a line from the Channel coast in Zealand, Holland, South to Sedan on the French/Luxembourg border. Meanwhile, the Panzers of Rundstedt’s Army Group A prepare to spring the trap. Reinhardt gets his 2 Panzer divisions across the Meuse at Monthermé, Guderian begins to break out from Sedan and Rommel advances 40km West from Dinant to Cerfontaine.

Battle of Gembloux. In the morning, Germans again attack the French line but they are pushed back French 75mm artillery & Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank guns. In 4 days of attacking the Gembloux Gap, General Hoepner has lost about 250 tanks, the equivalent of an entire Panzer division. However, due to the Allied collapse at Sedan, the French pull back to the French border overnight.

Following the Rotterdam Blitz, British Bomber Command reverses a policy banning deliberate bombing of civilian property, outside combat zones. In the first bombing of German interior, 99 RAF bombers attack industrial targets in the Ruhr overnight.

Day 257 May 14, 1940

Holland capitulates. 9th Panzer’s Corps commander General Rudolf Schmidt threatens to bomb Rotterdam unless the Dutch garrison surrenders. Although the surrender is agreed, Luftwaffe planes do not get the order to abort & drop 95 tons of bombs destroying most of the city (1000 civilians killed, 85000 made homeless). General Schmidt will be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 June 1940 for his role in the campaign in Holland.

Dutch Commander-in-Chief General Winkelman instructs his forces to lay down arms, although sporadic fighting continues for a few days. Dutch have 2300 dead, 7000 wounded (plus 3000 civilians killed). German lose 2900 killed and missing, 7000 wounded and 1300 airborne troops, captured on the first day, imprisoned in Britain.

Rommel secures his narrow bridgehead at Dinant by personally leading 30 tanks to drive French and Belgian troops back 3 miles to the Belgian border village of Onhaye (his tank is hit & a shell splinter wounds his cheek). 7th Panzer crosses the Meuse in strength. Further South at Sedan, Guderian also has his 3 divisions of Panzers across.

In central Belgium, General Erich Hoepner rashly sends 3rd & 4th Panzer Divisions in pursuit of Prioux’s Corps de Cavalerie. At Gembloux they come under fire from emplaced French artillery, losing many tanks.

Day 256 May 13, 1940

Norway. Allies launch their first amphibious assault of WWII to capture Bjerkvik and Øyjord, for use as staging post for landings at Narvik across the Rombaksfjord. Cruisers HMS Aurora & Effingham and battleship HMS Resolution bombard Bjerkvik at midnight, broad daylight in the latitude of Narvik but dark enough at Trondheim to prevent German aircraft taking off. French Foreign Legion and light tanks come ashore at Bjerkvik in landing craft at 1 AM (36 casualties). Many Norwegian civilian die in the fighting. French motorcycle troops ride along the coast and take Øyjord unopposed. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/maps/UK-NWE-Norway-9.jpg

Northern France. In the morning, Rommel sends motorcycle troops across River Meuse over a weir & lock gate at Dinant, while Guderian’s troops cross in rubber boats at Sedan in the afternoon following intensive bombing of French defensive positions. Despite French artillery bombardment, they both establish bridgeheads and by the evening they have pontoon bridges in place and tanks are rolling over.

Holland. German 9th Panzer Division reaches the outskirts of Rotterdam and 22nd Flieger Division holds onto bridges in the city. Dutch Queen Wilhelmina leaves at noon on HMS Hereward. Her government exiles to London at 5.20 PM on HMS Windsor.

Belgium. Battle of Hannut continues. To cover the Gembloux gap, French tanks line up abreast in a long thin line. Large groups of Panzers easily punch through, causing havoc in the French rear and Prioux retreats to the defensive line at Gembloux. Over 2 days French lost 105 tanks, Germans 160.

Winston Churchill first enters the House of Commons as Prime Minister, accompanied by his predecessor Chamberlain who receives a better reception by far. Churchill gives his “Blood, toil, tears and sweat” speech (text and MP3 at http://www.fiftiesweb.com/usa/winston-churchill-blood-toil.htm)

Day 255 May 12, 1940

Holland. While Dutch defensive line holds German infantry in North and Central Holland, 9th Panzer Division races to Moerdijk bridges over Hollands Diep estuary (held by paratroops since the morning of May 10) 10 miles South of Rotterdam, preventing Allied forces reinforcing Fortress Holland. Dutch Crown Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard leave for Harwich, England on HMS Codrington.

First Allied-German tank battle. 3rd & 4th Panzer Divisions attack through a 30 km gap between Dyle and Meuse rivers in Central Belgium (Gembloux Gap). At Hannut, they meet General René Prioux’s 2 French armoured divisions (confusingly, Corps de Cavalerie). French Somua S35 & Hotchkiss H35 tanks win the day with superior firepower and armour, destroying large numbers of German Panzer MkI & MkIIs.

Panzers emerge from the Ardennes forest and prepare to cross the River Meuse at Sedan, Monthermé and Dinant. Guderian’s Panzer Corps at Sedan are the first Germans on French soil.

Day 254 May 11, 1940

Holland. German advance into Central Holland continues. 9th Panzer Division crosses the Meuse River and at noon finds an undefended bridge over Zuid-Willemsvaart canal 50 miles from Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, German 22nd Flieger Division holds onto bridges along Nieuwe Maas River. Dutch Marines attack but cannot dislodge them, leading to stalemate for several days.

Belgium. German tanks cross Albert Canal bridges secured by paratroops yesterday and spread out behind the Belgian defenses, drawing even more Allied troops North to bolster the defensive line. Belgian troops retreat and join the French and British arriving at planned positions on Dyle River (“Dyle Plan”). In the Southeast corner of Belgium between Luxembourg and France, 7 Panzer divisions spearhead the advance into the Ardennes forest of Runstedt’s massive Army group A (about 50 divisions total). They brush aside French cavalry guarding this unlikely route into France. The “Sickle Cut” has begun.

Day 253 May 10, 1940

At 5.30 AM, Germany invades neutral Luxembourg, Belgium & Holland without declaring war. Luftwaffe dominates the skies, bombing French, Dutch & Belgian airfields in the early hours & destroying many planes on the ground. For the first time, airborne troops find widespread use, under the innovative leadership of General Kurt Student. German tanks and infantry advance 10-15 miles into Holland and Belgium. The Allies enact the Dyle plan in response & begin moving towards the Dyle River in Belgium where they intend to hold a defensive line. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19556739/Blitzkrieg-02-France-Holland-and-Belgium-19401941

News of the invasion causes Chamberlain to consider staying on as Prime Minister but he is advised by many that he cannot now lead effectively. He resigns and advises King George VI to send for Churchill to invite him to form a government. Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister.

In Holland, German paratroops secure key bridges & airfields around Rotterdam & The Hague. Ju52 transport planes land 22nd Flieger Division in the Dutch heartland behind the main defensive line. Dutch Air Force manages to shoot down 18 Ju52s & prevent landings at Ypenburg airfield near The Hague, foiling German plans to capture Dutch Royal family, government & military leadership.

In Belgium, 10 DFS 230 gliders land 78 engineers under Oberlt. Rudolf Witzig on top of the massive underground Ebel Emael Fort, which dominates the Albert Canal and River Meusse crossings. They use secret magnetic hollow charges to disable steel & concrete gun emplacements and pen in the 700 defenders. Glider-borne troops also take two key bridges over the Albert Canal.
Northern Luxembourg is occupied easily, giving German tanks access to the Ardennes forest. The Royal Family is evacuated to safety in Luxembourg City in the South of the country.

Day 252 May 9, 1940

British Prime Minister Chamberlain awakens determined to stay in power. He suggests an alliance with the opposition Labour party to form a National Government but he is rebuffed. In the afternoon, he meets with Churchill and Halifax to determine a successor. Churchill silently refuses to support Halifax, who bows out. Churchill is the heir apparent.

While Chamberlain ponders his future, Germany prepares to advance on a broad front along its Western border from Luxembourg to the North Sea. The plan is to draw the French Army and British Expeditionary Force Northeast into Belgium and then encircle them with a fast armoured sweep across Northern France to the Channel. This requires moving huge armoured columns secretly through the Ardennes forest which the French have deemed impassable and left undefended.

At Narvik, Polish Podhale Brigade (4 battalions) arrives. Poles and French Chasseurs Alpins move to positions 5 miles West of Narvik, to reinforce South Wales Borderers. Allied artillery in the Narvik area totals 24 guns (French 75's & British 25-pounders) and 10 small French tanks.

At 0.14, U-9 torpedoes French submarine Doris (Q135) on the surface 40 miles off the Dutch coast. Doris sinks immediately (45 French & 3 British sailors killed). http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/317.html

British destroyer HMS Kelly (captained by Lord Louis Mountbatten) is on patrol in the Skagerrak between Sweden and Germany with cruiser HMS Birmingham and destroyers HMS Kandahar, Bulldog, Kimberley, Kelly and Hasty, searching for German warships and troop transports. In the evening, they are attacked by 5 torpedo boats (Schnellboot). Kelly is hit amidships with one torpedo by S-31 and badly damaged (27 lives lost). Kelly will be towed back to Newcastle for repairs by HMS Bulldog, arriving May 13 after further Schnellboot attacks. She will be out of commission until December. http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-38K-Kelly.htm

Day 251 May 8, 1940

The Norway Debate in the House of Commons continues. The Labour opposition party calls for a vote of no confidence in Chamberlain’s government. Liberal party’s David Lloyd George (a former Prime Minister during WWI) attacks Chamberlain, asking him to sacrifice his premiership for the good of the country. Chamberlain expects to keep his usual large majority in a party-line vote, saying “At least I shall see who is with us and who is against us and I call upon my friends to support us in the lobby tonight. I have friends in this House.” However, his own party turns against him and he wins by only 281 votes to 200 and it is clear that he must resign.

Chamberlain’s critics are careful to spare his likely successor Winston Churchill from censure or blame. Chamberlain is depressed and confers late into the night with Churchill, debating whether he should step down.

Day 250 May 7, 1940

Debate opens in British parliament on the conduct of the war. Prime Minister Chamberlain is ridiculed by opposition parties taunting him with his statement that Hitler had “missed the bus” in Norway. He is also denounced by Conservative MPs. Former Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, in full uniform & 6 rows of medals, details the government’s mishandling of military events in Norway. Backbencher Leo Amery rouses the House with a stunning critique and dooms Chamberlain with a quote from Oliver Cromwell “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Debate

Luftwaffe continues to pound Allied ships near Narvik. At 4.41 PM, British cruiser HMS Aurora is hit putting A and B turrets out of action (7 Marines are killed) but she will stay in action until 25 May. 5 die in a gun accident on WWI-era cruiser HMS Curlew.

Day 249 May 6, 1940

At Narvik, the Allies tighten the noose around General Dietl’s Regiment. South Wales Borderers (part of British 24th Brigade) are in position 5 miles West of Narvik, while French Chasseurs Alpins and Colonial artillery troops continue to press their attack on Labergdal Pass to the North, across the fjord. Both are held by German perimeter forces. However, Germans bomb Allied ships near Narvik. British cruiser HMS Enterprise is slightly damaged by a near miss (1 Marine killed).

German 2nd Gebirgsjäger Division continues their slow march North from Trondheim to reinforce Dietl’s Regiment.

At 2.00 PM, British submarine HMS Sealion attacks German transports Moltkefels and Neidenfels in the Skagerrak. Sealion fires 6 torpedoes, claiming three hits. But all torpedoes miss the targets and the transports are not damaged.

At 3.25 PM 30 miles East of Denmark, British submarine HMS Snapper fires 2 torpedoes at German armed merchant cruiser Widder but both miss.

Day 248 May 5, 1940

HMS Seal comes to the surface at 1:30 AM with no power or steering. 2 Arados & a Heinkel attack at 2:30 and Seal surrenders using a white table-cloth. All 60 crew are taken prisoner 3 hours later but fail to scuttle Seal, which is towed to the new German base at Frederikshavn, Denmark. She will be repaired & commissioned into the Kriegsmarine November 30 as UB. http://www.naval-history.net/WW2Ships-Seal.htm
http://www.uboat.net/boats/ub.htm

To support the landings of British Independent Companies (intercepting 2nd Gebirgsjäger advance towards Narvik), destroyers HMS Juno & Veteran arrive at Mosjöen while HMS Nubian & Firedrake go to Bodö.

At 5.25 AM, Hegra Fortress surrenders (under siege since April 12, resisting infantry and artillery attack plus Luftwaffe bombing), following Allied evacuation around Trondheim and the surrender of Southern Norway. 190 volunteer soldiers and civilian nurse Anne Margrethe Bang become POWs. 150-200 Germans have been killed or wounded attacking the Fortress while 6 Norwegians died (14 wounded).

(The next day, 6 May, the prisoners from Hegra were marched 50 kilometres to Berkåk where a PoW camp was established. At Berkåk the prisoners were set at work at building an improvised road from the river Orkla near Berkåk across the woods to Brattset, to help the German logistic system that had been severely hampered by the numerous blown bridges. Due in part to the poor physical condition of the prisoners after the harsh siege they had just experienced the road was never completed. At the end of May, Adolf Hitler personally ordered their release as an act of recognition of the defense they had put up under difficult conditions. The release happened in groups and by mid-June the last PoWs had been let go.)

Day 247 May 4, 1940

British mine-laying submarine HMS Seal, running on the surface for speed in the Kattegat, is bombed by a Heinkel He115 at 2:30 AM. Seal dives to 30m & lays 50 mines from 9 to 9:45 AM but German anti-submarine trawlers begin searching the area. Seal zigzags to avoid detection until 6.30 PM when she hits a mine & settles on the bottom, stuck in mud overnight & running out of air.

Allies mass 30,000 troops (French Foreign Legion & Chasseurs Alpins [mountain infantry], Polish troops, British 24th Brigade & Norwegians) around Narvik, still hoping to retake the town & disrupt iron ore traffic from Sweden.. French move overland to secure Bjerkvik, on the shore opposite Narvik, but are held at Labergdal Pass.

General Feuerstein’s 2nd Gebirgsjäger (mountain) Division starts marching 350 miles North from Trondheim to relieve Dietl’s 139th Gebirgsjäger Regiment isolated in Narvik. Allies deploy 300-500 troops each at Mosjöen, Mo & Bodö to stop them.

Polish destroyer Grom and British destroyer HMS Faulknor are patrolling off Narvik bombarding German positions when Grom is struck on her torpedo tubes by a German bomb at 8.28 AM and sinks (58 lives lost). British cruisers HMS Enterprise & Aurora and destroyers HMS Faulknor & Bedouin rescue survivors, starting at 8.35. The Polish survivors are embarked on a hospital ship for the passage back to England, departing Harstad on April 10 for the Clyde.

Day 246 May 3, 1940

Evacuation of Namsos (1850 British, 2345 French & some Norwegian troops, 30 German POWs) is complete at dawn. HMS Afridi leaves at 4.45 AM, staying to shell vehicles left behind on the dock. Luftwaffe bombers attack the convoy at 9.45 AM. French destroyer Bison sinks at 10.10 (103 lives lost). Destroyers HMS Afridi, Imperial & Grenade rescue survivors from the water. Afridi is also bombed at 2 PM and sinks in 45 minutes (49 of Afridi’s crew, 13 men of 146th Brigade and 30 of the 69 just rescued from Bison are killed). HMS Griffin & Imperial pick up survivors.

With the British gone and the Norwegian King, government & CiC General Ruge safely in Tromsø 1000km North, Norwegian General Hvinden-Haug surrenders all troops South of Trondheim. In the evening, fighting ends in Southern Norway.

British and French troops evacuated from Åndalsnes arrive safely at Scapa Flow. French units are put on French passenger ships to Brest, to help with the defense of France.

Day 245 May 2, 1940

Vice-Admiral John Cunningham’s flotilla (3 cruisers, 5 destroyers & 3 transports) joins Mountbatten’s 4 destroyers off Namsos to evacuate General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade. However, yesterday’s evacuation at Åndalsnes alerted the Luftwaffe to British intentions at Namsos. Bombing runs start as the destroyers move up the Namsenfjord to begin embarking troops. HMS Maori is damaged by a near miss (5 lives lost, 18 wounded), delaying the operation until weather or nightfall blinds the Luftwaffe to their activities. In the evening heavy fog comes in and the destroyers safely ferry 5350 men out to the cruisers & transports overnight. 146th Brigade has lost 153 men killed or captured.

While the French & British are distracted by events in Norway and withdraw troops from the Western Front, Hitler prepares for his knockout punch against the Allies. 93 front-line divisions (including 10 armored & 6 motorised) are assembled to invade Northern France and the Low Countries (Fall Gelb).

Day 244 May 1, 1940

At 1.15 AM, 15th Brigade’s train from Dombås crashes into a bomb crater (8 dead, 30 wounded). British troops march 17 miles through deep snow, arriving 9 AM at Åndalsnes.

In the evening, Admiral Layton’s flotilla arrives at Åndalsnes to evacuate 148th & 15th Brigade. Destroyers HMS Inglefield, Diana & Delight ferry troops from the dock to cruisers HMS Manchester & Birmingham. They embark 5084 men overnight, leaving for Scapa Flow by 2 AM the following day (May 2) unnoticed by the Lutfwaffe. British leave behind 1301 men killed, missing or captured. Norwegian General Ruge and his staff leave on destroyer HMS Diana to join the King and government at Tromsø. http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/UK-NWE-Norway-9.html

Mountbatten’s 4 destroyers arrive at Namsos to evacuate General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade. Overnight fog prevents them all entering Namsenfjord, so only 850 French Chasseurs Alpins are embarked. Anti-submarine trawler St. Goran is dive bombed and sunk.

In the Kattegat, British submarine HMS Narwhal fires six torpedoes at a German merchant convoy carrying parts of 2nd Gebirgsjager Division to Norway. German steamer Buenos Aires sinks (62 men, 240 horses killed) and Bahia Castillo is badly damaged (10 men, 26 horses killed).

Day 243 April 30, 1940

German 196th Division infantry arrive at Dombås on foot (their vehicles are blocked by the blown bridges) and are held by 15th Brigade inflicting heavy casualties. At dusk, the British troops withdraw from Dombås by train, destined for Åndalsnes to be evacuated. Meanwhile at Namsos, General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade awaits evacuation by Mountbatten’s destroyer squadron which is en route.

RAF bombs German airfields in Norway at Stavanger & Fornebu (Oslo) to reduce German air attacks on the planned evacuations. This is only marginally successful. British aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal & Glorious, bringing fighter support to cover the evacuation sites, are driven off by Luftwaffe bombing. Germans will dominate the skies during the evacuations.

At 5 PM, cruisers HMS Manchester & Birmingham and destroyers HMS Inglefield, Diana & Delight, under Vice Admiral Layton, depart Scapa Flow to evacuate 15th Brigade from Åndalsnes and nearby Molde.

Allied warships suffer several defeats and disasters.

French destroyer Maille Breeze sinks at Greenock, Scotland when 2 torpedoes of her own discharge accidentally in the forward section (25 dead, 48 wounded).

Minesweeper HMS Dundoon hits a mine at Smith's Knoll near Great Yarmouth and sinks (27 lives lost).

Anti-submarine sloop HMS Bittern, on anti-aircraft duty off Namsos, is dive bombed by Ju 87s and set on fire in the stern (20 lives lost). Destroyer HMS Janus takes off survivors, then torpedoes and sinks Bittern to prevent the capture of her anti-submarine detection equipment. Anti-aircraft ships have proved vulnerable & ineffective at defending shore targets (only 9 German bombers shot down during 1050 sorties).

ASW trawler HMS Warwickshire is sunk by German aircraft off Trondheim, Norway. She will be raised by the Germans on June 1 and used until 19 July 1943 when sunk again near Narvik by Soviet submarine S-56.

Day 242 April 29, 1940

Having blown bridges to slow the German advance up the Gudbrandsdal valley, Paget’s 15th Brigade rests at Dombås while the remaining Norwegian troops withdraw through their lines. Oberst Fischer’s Kampfgruppe (196th Division) emerges from the Østerdal valley North of Dombås and links up with German troops from Trondheim, surrounding 15th brigade. Their evacuation now seems the correct course of action.

Destroyers HMS Kelly, Maori & Imperial plus French destroyer Bison (under Commander Lord Louis Mountbatten) leave Scapa Flow to evacuate Namsos, screened by cruisers HMS Devonshire and York & several destroyers.

At 5.30 PM, British submarine HMS Unity collides in fog with 1173-ton Norwegian freighter Atle Jarl in Blyth harbour and sinks in 5 minutes (4 lives lost, including Lieutenant John Low and Able Seaman Henry Miller who are posthumously awarded the George Cross for gallantry in assisting other crewmembers to escape from the sinking submarine). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Unity_(N66)
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/20681-hm-submarine-unity-ss-atle-jarle.html

Day 241 April 28, 1940

British War Cabinet orders the evacuation of Paget’s and de Wiart’s troops around Trondheim, fuelled by Brigadier Hogg’s gloomy assessment of the situation at Åndalsnes. At 5 AM, Paget informs Norwegian General Ruge who is expecting landings at Trondheim instead of evacuation. Ruge, who has not been told of Operation Hammer’s cancellation, flies into a fit of rage. Calming himself, Ruge agrees to assist with the British retreat if Norwegian troops are withdrawn too, although he too believes 15th Brigade can hold out.

Justifying the faith in their abilities voiced by Ruge and Paget, 15th Brigade again holds German 196th Division all day at Otta & destroys 3 more light tanks. They then withdraw overnight 25 miles North to Dombås, blowing road & rail bridges to delay the German advance during the evacuation.

At Namsos, General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade retreats into a defensive perimeter. They are not pursued by German ground forces who allow Luftwaffe bombing to take its toll.

Day 240 April 27, 1940

Continued bombing of Åndalsnes forces the port HQ commander Brigadier Hogg to signal London that the situation is hopeless without air cover or antiaircraft guns. He suggests evacuation. An arriving supply convoy is bombed from 1.45 to 5 PM and turns away from Åndalsnes without landing much-needed antiaircraft batteries.

Hogg fails to consult his superior General Paget, who is furious and believes 15th Brigade can win if given fighter and antiaircraft support. Indeed, 15th Brigade holds German 196th Division all day at Kjorem then makes an orderly overnight withdrawal 17 km North to prepared defenses at Otta.

However, Oberst Fischer’s Kampfgruppe (196th Division) under has met little resistance in the Østerdal valley to the East. They are 60 miles Northeast of Dombås at Alvdal, threatening 15th brigade from the rear.

Day 239 April 26, 1940

RAF Gladiators at Stetnesmoen engage the Luftwaffe, shooting down another He111 but using up all their fuel and ammunition. The last Gladiators are burned. The pilots board ships at Åndalsnes; Squadron Leader Donaldson will be awarded the DSO. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/gladiator_norway_kills.htm

Hitler is furious at the landing of British 15th Brigade. Åndalsnes is bombed all day on his personal orders, destroying the wooden pier and all the British equipment & ammunition. However, 15th Brigade is 172 km away at Kvam, holding back German 196th Division which loses 50 men, 5 light tanks & 3 armored cars. In the evening 15th Brigade withdraws 3 km to new defensive lines at Kjorem.

British War Cabinet, now aware of defeats at Steinkjer & Tretten Gorge, starts to consider evacuating Namsos & Åndalsnes. Likewise, General de Wiart declines an offer of additional troops at Namsos since “in case of evacuation, this would complicate matters”. This “evacuation” mentality will gain momentum, despite 15th Brigade’s successes.

At 1.17 AM, U-13 sinks British steamer SS Lily with 2 torpedoes (the first does not detonate). All 24 hands lost. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/314.html

Day 238 April 25, 1940

3000 British troops of General Paget’s 15th Brigade advance to the village of Kvam, 55 km South of Dombås, where they engage General Pellengahr’s 196th Division (8500 motorised infantry with tanks, artillery and dive bomber support) moving up the Gudbrandsdal from Lillehamer. 15th Brigade’s Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank guns destroy 1 Neubaufahrzeug heavy tank, 1 light tank and an armored car in an initial skirmish. For the first time, a British line holds the German advance.

RAF Gloster Gladiators on Lake Lesjaskogsvatnet are discovered by the Luftwaffe and bombed for 8 hours. 13 Gladiators are destroyed or fall through the broken ice. Several Gladiators get off the ice and provide air cover for Paget’s 15th Brigade at Kvam. Returning, they shoot down 3 Heinkel He111s. 263rd Squadron Leader John Donaldson abandons the undefended lake airstrip and withdraws the remaining 5 Gladiators to Stetnesmoen, near Åndalsnes. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/types/uk/gloster/gladiator/gladiator.htm

Day 237 April 24, 1940

RAF arrives in Norway! 18 Gladiator biplanes (263 Squadron) from HMS Glorious land on Lake Lesjaskogsvatnet, midway between Åndalsnes and Dombås. Notably, they have no anti-aircraft support. http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_donaldson2.htm

General Bernard Paget’s 15th Brigade lands at Åndalsnes, having sailed from France on April 15, and moves South down the Gudbrandsdal valley towards Lillehammer to reinforce Norwegian troops holding the German advance. They pass Morgan’s defeated 148th Brigade falling back to Åndalsnes.

In heavy Lutfwaffe attacks on Åndalsnes, anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Curacoa is badly damaged when she is struck by a bomb below the bridge, which explode between decks killing 45 and wounding 36. She will returned to Chatham for repairs and resume active duty in August.

U-23 make two unsuccessful attacks on British cruiser HMS York (returning to Scapa Flow from Åndalsnes having disembarked General Paget’s 15th Brigade).

Norwegian 6th Brigade under General Carl Gustav Fleischer attacks Dietl’s perimeter North of Narvik. They are held by the Germans at Lapphaug Pass but those marching over Fjordbotneidet mountain find Gratangsbotn undefended. Germans falling back from Lapphaug surprise the resting Norwegians (killing 34, wounding 64 and 130 prisoners) and retake Gratangsbotn (for 9 dead or missing, 16 wounded).

Battleship HMS Warspite, cruisers HMS Effingham, Enterprise, Aurora and destroyer HMS Zulu (screened by British destroyers HMS Encounter, Escort, Faulknor, Foxhound, Havock, Hero, Hostile and Polish destroyers Blyskawica and Grom) sail into Ofotfjord and bombard Narvik. HMS Effingham sinks captured British steamer Riverton, docked in the harbour. Naval commander Lord Cork and Orrery goes ashore away from Narvik to assess conditions on the coastline and again concludes that deep snow will make opposed landings impossible.

Hitler appoints Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven as Reichskommissar or Gauleiter of Norway. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101III-Moebius-029-12,_Norwegen,_Besuch_Himmler,_Terboven_und_Quisling.jpg

Day 236 April 23, 1940

General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade retreats back to Namsos. Since arriving, they have lost 19 dead, 42 wounded & 96 missing.

Greater catastrophe befalls Morgan’s 148th Brigade at Tretten Gorge. Germans artillery pounds their line all morning & 3 light tanks break through defenses along the river road at 1 PM. Simultaneously, German mountain troops climb through the highlands and at 6 PM circle behind the Allied lines. At 7 PM, 148th Brigade retreats North but is bombed and strafed from the air. Only 309 men manage to escape to safety up the Gudbrandsdal. Since arriving, they have lost 705 men killed, missing or captured. http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/maps/UK-NWE-Norway-s2.jpg

Supreme War Council meeting in Paris agrees on the importance of capturing Trondheim, unaware of the British reverses at Namsos and Tretten Gorge. British have not yet inform the French that Operation Hammer has been cancelled.

Day 235 April 22, 1940

General de Wiart, the old soldier, can smell defeat. German air strikes paralyse Namsos and his supply lines South. Moreover, he risks 146th Brigade becoming encircled at Vist by German landings on his flank. He orders a fighting withdrawal to Namsos.

Further South, Morgan’s 148th Brigade digs in at Faaberg, North of Lillehammer. However, they are flanked by German mountain troops scaling the 2,165ft high Balbergkamp, forcing another overnight retreat. They fall back 20 miles North and prepare to make a final stand at Tretten Gorge, one of the narrowest and most defensible point in the Gudbrandsdal.

At the Supreme War Council meeting in Paris, strategy takes a backseat to French political infighting between Reynaud and Daladier. Allies believe success is at hand and, out of touch with reality, contemplate a “march on towards Oslo”.

2 Lockheed Hudsons bomb U-43 in the North Sea. U-43 escapes with slight damage.

Day 234 April 21, 1940

A German destroyer and troop transport ship sail up through the melting ice of the Trondheimfjord and land mountain troops at Verdal and Kirknessvag, on the flank of General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade which retreats back to Vist. British and Norwegian base at Steinkjer is bombed into the ground, worsening 146th Brigade’s position.

Further South, Morgan’s 148th Brigade joins Norwegian positions around Lake Mjøsa which are being pummeled by German heavy artillery and 8 He111 bombers. However, 148th Brigade is swept up in retreat before they have dug in (or in some instances even arrived at the front). They set out at midnight on a 14 mile march over hilly, snow-bound lanes back to Lillehammer.

U-26 sinks British MV Cedarbank in supply convoy AP-1 (carrying motor transports, AA guns, ammunition and 75 tons of rations for 148th Brigade) 50 miles northwest of Ålesund, Norway (15 lives lost). 30 survivors are picked up by destroyer HMS Javelin and landed at Ålesund.

First American military casualty of WWII. Air attaché to American embassies in the Nordic countries, Captain Robert M. Losey, is killed observing Luftwaffe bombing attack on Dombås railway junction from the safety of a tunnel. http://www.afsa.org/fsj/dec03/cleverley.pdf

Day 233 April 20, 1940

At 2.50 AM, Morgan’s 148th Brigade arrives in Lillehammer by train from Åndalsnes and moves South towards rapidly-crumbling Norwegian defensive positions either side of Lake Mjøsa.

The Allies lack of anti-aircraft guns and absence of air cover is exposed when Luftwaffe bombing obliterates Namsos, destroying supplies & equipment piled up on the single stone wharf. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30353421@N06/3218093191 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bangsundeveloped/3218094771/in/set-72157607833868488/

To provide some air support, RAF 263 Squadron flies 18 Gloster Gladiator biplanes (under Squadron Leader John Donaldson) to Scapa Flow, where Fleet Air Arm pilots land them on the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._263_Squadron_RAF

British War Cabinet cancels direct landings at Trondheim (Operation Hammer) fearing naval losses to German air attack and coastal batteries. However, they do not inform the Norwegians or French (or the British commanders on the flanks of Trondheim). General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade maintains dangerously exposed positions on Trondheimfjord to support the landings.

Day 232 April 19, 1940

General de Wiart’s 146th Brigade joins Norwegian forces at Steinkjer, at the Northern end of the Trondheimfjord, and also pushes forward 10 km to Verdal. They are met by German 138th Gebirgsjäger Regiment, advancing North from Trondheim. This is the first engagement between British and German land forces.

Further South, Brigadier Morgan meets Norwegian General Ruge, at Ruge’s HQ in Øyer, near Lillehammer. German 196th Division takes the towns of Hamar and Elverum only 50 miles South. Morgan is persuaded to abandon his orders to move on Trondheim and instead instructs 148th Brigade to advance from Åndalsnes, 200 miles Southeast down the Gudbrandsdal to reinforce Ruge’s troops blocking the German advance from Oslo.

Overnight, 3 battalions of French Chasseurs Alpins (mountain infantry) arrive at Namsos, to reinforce 146th Brigade, but their skis, mules, trucks and anti-aircraft guns do not. When their skis do arrive, they lack straps and are useless.

3 prototype Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks (35 tons, three turrets with 75 mm main and 37 mm secondary gun) arrive in Oslo and are paraded through the streets to intimidate the locals, before joining the drive to Trondheim.

The Fallschirmjägers at Dombås surrender, surrounded, outnumbered, out of ammunition and bombarded by a railway howitzer. Of 185 that parachuted in, only 45 survive. Oberleutnant Schmidt has remained in command despite serious wounds to the hip & stomach. He will survive and receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 May.

Day 231 April 18, 1940

German 181st infantry division begins reinforcing Trondheim, arriving in numerous transport planes, one conventional transport ship and 2 submarines operating as undersea troop transports.

British 148th Brigade under Brigadier Morgan arrives in Åndalsnes overnight with orders to advance 150 miles Northeast to Trondheim. However, Morgan has also received opposite instructions (directly from Chief of the Imperial General Staff General Ironside) to support the Norwegian troops currently to the Southeast defending the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys leading up from Oslo.

German troops moving North out of Oslo are held up by Norwegian forces in the village of Bagn in the district of Valdres, approximately midway between Oslo and Bergen. http://hem.fyristorg.com/robertm/norge/history_section.html

Operation Hammer, the proposed landings at Trondheim, suffers a further setback. Brigadier Berney-Ficklin is put in charge but he is injured when his plane crashes en route to embark at Scapa Flow.

British submarine HMS Sterlet disappears, either sunk by German anti-submarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126 and UJ-128 or striking a mine.

Day 230 April 17, 1940

Before dawn, cruiser HMS Suffolk shells German airbase at Sola Air Station, Stavanger, attempting to disrupt German air superiority over Norway. However, Suffolk’s Walrus seaplane, used to illuminate the airfield with flares & call in fire, is shot down. The shelling is inaccurate & does little damage, destroying only 4 German aircraft. Suffolk is bombed for 7 hours by German Ju88s & hit twice, reaching Scapa Flow the next morning nearly sinking (she will be out of action until February 1941).

British War Cabinet approves direct troop landings at Trondheim after naval bombardment of the coastal batteries (Operation Hammer), to be supported by land attacks from Namsos in the North and Åndalsnes in the South. General Hotblack is put in charge of Hammer but suffers a stroke the same day.

At 5.33 PM, U-13 sinks British steamer SS Swainby with one torpedo 25 miles north of Shetland Islands. 38 crew members make land in lifeboats at Nor Wick Bay, Shetlands.

Day 229 April 16, 1940

General Mackesy lands 24th Brigade at Harstat, 37 miles North of Narvik. These regular Army troops are equipped for peaceful landings, not for offensive actions against German troops, & they will remain here while reserve troops see action around Trondheim. Lack of preparation characterizes all Allied landings in Norway.

British 148th Territorial (reserve) Brigade under the command of Brigadier Harold Morgan has been waiting for 2 days at Rosyth, on cruisers HMS Galatea & Arethusa and a transport ship destined for Namsos. They are ordered to Åndalsnes instead, to form a southern pincer for the advance on Trondheim. They disembark & board cruisers HMS Carlisle & Curacoa, losing anti-aircraft guns, ammunition & half a battalion (due to lack of space on the cruisers). They do manage to keep their now-useless maps of Namsos.

British 15th Brigade is en route to Norway, having been withdrawn from British Expeditionary Force (they left France on April 15).

Torpedo duel between U-3 and British submarine HMS Porpoise 10 miles southwest of Egersund, Norway. Neither sub is damaged.

Day 228 April 15, 1940

British 146th Territorial Brigade (a reserve formation) begins arriving at Namsos, North of Trondheim, coming under the energetic command of the much-decorated one-eyed one-handed WWI veteran General Carton de Wiart VC DSO. General de Wiart is made aware of German air superiority when his Short Sunderland flying boat is attacked by a German fighter on landing (his aide is wounded and invalided home). He immediately orders 146th to advance South towards Trondheim.

Major-General Pierse Joseph Mackesy (in charge of land forces at Narvik) is not convinced to land troops directly at Narvik, despite the enthusiasm of naval commanders Vice-Admiral Whitworth and Admiral of the Fleet William Henry Dudley Boyle, Earl of Cork and Orrery. General Mackesy’s force has been cut in half, leaving only 24th Brigade which is not armed to make opposed landings and, in any case, much of its equipment has been diverted to Namsos on ships carrying 146th Brigade. Narvik is under several feet of snow, has poor facilities for an amphibious landing and is defended by an unknown number of German troops. Mackesy is unwilling to subject the Norwegian inhabitants to the naval bombardment his colleagues advocate to remove the Germans from the town. Therefore, he elects to land his troops at safer locations North of Narvik and wait for the snow to melt.

Depth charges from British destroyers HMS Fearless and Brazen sink U-49 near Narvik (1 dead, 41 taken prisoner).

Day 227 April 14, 1940

Vice-Admiral Whitworth’s naïve opinion that landing will be easy, diverts troops away from Narvik. British 146th Territorial Brigade (having left the Clyde on April 11 in transport ships bound for Narvik) is sent South to Namsos for an attack on Trondheim. Sadly, their artillery, anti-aircraft guns & commanding officer continue on to Narvik. To prepare for 146th Brigade’s arrival at Namsos, cruisers HMS Sheffield & Glasgow (patrolling off Trondheim) put ashore an advance party of 350 Royal Marines– the first landing of British forces in Norway.

At dusk in foul weather, Oberleutnant Herbert Schmidt & 185 Fallschirmjägers (paratroops, 7th Flieger Division) parachute on the rail & road junction at Dombås, right into Norwegian Infantry Regiment 11’s basecamp. Most are killed or captured & Schmidt is severely wounded but about 65 survive. They blow up the rail line & occupy farmhouses overlooking Dombås, hampering Norwegian mobilization for several days.

British submarine HMS Sterlet torpedoes the German gunnery training ship and minelayer Brummer in the Skagerrak. Brummer sinks the next day. http://german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/training/brummer/history.html

Day 226 April 13, 1940

2nd Battle of Narvik. British battleship HMS Warspite & 9 destroyers, under Vice-Admiral William Jock Whitworth, enter Ototfjord to destroy the remaining German flotilla at Narvik. A Fairey Swordfish launched from Warspite bombs & sinks U-64 (8 dead, 38 survivors make a free ascent to the surface). Germans lose 8 destroyers; 3 are sunk (100 dead) & 5 scuttled, out of fuel or ammunition. 2600 sailors survive & join General Dietl’s forces in the defense of Narvik. German destroyers shell but do not sink HMS Punjabi (14 dead, 28 wounded) & HMS Cossack, which runs aground (9 dead, 21 wounded). HMS Eskimo’s bow is blown off by a German torpedo but she does not sink. Whitworth signals London that the Germans are beaten & Narvik can be taken with a single Brigade. http://www.battleguide.net/Narvik.htm

The 38 survivors from U-64 are rescued by German mountain troops. Out of respect, the crew will adopt the Edelweiss as the emblem for their new submarine U-124 when they are reassigned in June 1940. http://www.uboat.net/special/emblems/u124.html

Norwegian Cruiser-minelayer HNoMS Frøya, protecting the fortress of Agdenes at Trondheim, is damaged by German warships and beached. U-34 administers a coup de grâce to prevent salvage.

British War Cabinet dithers between landings at Trondheim, to help secure southern Norway from German advance, and the original strategic goal of Narvik to interfere with Swedish iron ore traffic. Churchill presciently warns of “the grave danger that we should find ourselves committed to a number of ineffectual operations along the Norwegian coast, none of which would succeed”.

Day 225 April 12, 1940

Norwegian artillery Major Hans Holtermann and 250 volunteers start reactivating the old fort at Ingstadkleiva near Trondheim, which will become known as Hegra Fortress. The fort has mothballed artillery (four 10.5 cm and two 7.5 cm in half-turrets and 4 Krupp m/1887 field guns) and plenty of ammunition. A German Major requests the fort’s surrender but Holtermann refuses.

Luftwaffe chief Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring forms Luftflotte 5, under his second in command Generaloberst Erhard Milch in Hamburg, to coordinate an expanding role in Norway. Luftwaffe duties include air defenses, airlifts and offensive strikes against Norwegian defenders and the Royal Navy. Milch will move his headquarters to Oslo to be closer to the action.

At 9.42 AM, U-37 sinks British steamer SS Stancliffe (carrying 7200 tons of iron ore) with 1 torpedo 45 miles northeast of Shetland Islands (21 lives were lost). 16 crew make land in the lifeboat at Haroldswick, Unst Island.

Day 224 April 11, 1940

British Vice-Admiral Horton’s submarine deployment pays off again. HMS Spearfish, patrolling in the Kattegat, encounters the already-damaged German cruiser Lützow returning from Oslo just after midnight. Spearfish fires a spread of 6 torpedoes then runs, not realizing that Lützow is unescorted. 1 torpedo hits Lützow nearly ripping off her stern. Lützow is towed back to Kiel but is out of action until repairs are complete in June 1941.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MN-1038-06,_Kiel,_Schwerer_Kreuzer_%22L%C3%BCtzow%22.jpg

German success depends on reducing Norwegian Army resistance in southern Norway. The key is to link up their forces at Oslo and Trondheim via the long parallel mountain defiles. German 196th Division under General Richard Pellengahr moves North from Oslo up the Gudbrandsdal and Østerdal valleys with air support, brushing aside improvised Norwegian roadblocks.

General Kristian Laake is removed from command of the Norwegian Army for being defeatist and failing to mobilize his troops. He is replaced with General Otto Ruge. http://www.generals.dk/general/Laake/Kristian_Kristiansen/Norway.html
http://www.generals.dk/general/Ruge/Otto/Norway.html

Day 223 April 10, 1940

1st Battle of Narvik. At dawn in heavy snow, 5 British destroyers under Captain Bernard Warburton-Lee enter Ototfjord & surprise the German flotilla at Narvik (10 destroyers, plus supply and cargo ships). German destroyers Wilhelm Heidkamp & Anton Schmidt are sunk, four more are damaged & 11 merchant ships in the harbor are also sunk. HMS Hardy is destroyed by shellfire & beached. HMS Hunter is torpedoed & sinks. HMS Hotspur is badly damaged by a torpedo. The British withdraw but are not chased by the Germans who are low on fuel. On the way out of the fjord, HMS Havock sinks German supply ship Rauenfels containing the artillery, anti-aircraft guns & ammunition for Generalleutnant Eduard Dietl’s 138th Gebirgsjäger Regiment at Narvik.

Both naval commanders at Narvik die in the engagement and are decorated. British Captain Bernard Armitage Warburton Warburton-Lee is killed by a direct hit to HMS Hardy's bridge. He will be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross and, in 1942, the Norwegian War Cross. Commander of the German destroyer flotilla at Narvik Commodore Friedrich Bonte is killed when his flagship, destroyer Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp, is torpedoed and explodes. Bonte will be posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/1940NorwayCampaign.jpg

Coming out of the rising sun at 7.30 AM, 16 Skua fighter/bombers of British Fleet Air Arm 800 & 803 Squadrons divebomb German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbor (at the absolute limit of their range from Hatson airfield, Orkney Islands). Königsberg is hit with three 500 pound bombs (18 killed, 23 wounded) and sinks 2 hours later. German transport ship SS Barenfels is also damaged. 1 Skua malfunctions and crashes (2 aircrew lost). http://freespace.virgin.net/john.dell/sinking_of_the_konigsberg.htm

U-4 sinks HMS Thistle at 2.13 AM (all 53 hands lost) at Stavanger. HMS Tarpon fires torpedoes at Q-ship Schiff 40/Schürbek but is sunk by depth charges 50 mile off the Danish coast (another 53 crew lost).

Battle of the Atlantic. U-37 fires 5 torpedoes and sinks Swedish motor tanker Sveaborg at 2.15 AM 10 miles North of Faroe Isles (5 dead, 29 survivors). At 3.23 AM, Norwegian MV Tosca stops to assist the burning Sveaborg and is sunk by 1 torpedo from U-37 (2 dead, 32 survivors). Survivors from both ships are picked up by British armed boarding vessel HMS Northern Chief and landed in Kirkwall.

Day 222 April 9, 1940

At 5 AM, Germany invades Denmark & Norway. Denmark is taken by surprise & surrenders immediately after unopposed landings in Copenhagen & threats of bombing.

Germans warships land troops at 4 main points in Norway. At Narvik, German destroyers sink Norwegian coastal cruisers Eidsvold & Norge (276 lives lost, 98 survivors). Trondheim is captured easily as the Germans sail past the coastal batteries (pretending to be British warships). At Bergen, Kvarven Fort’s batteries damage cruiser Königsberg & minelayer Bremse. At Oslo, Oscarsborg Fortress’ batteries & shore torpedoes sink German cruiser Blücher in the Oslofjord (830 dead, 1370 swim ashore) and cruiser Lützow is also shelled but escapes. The delayed landing of troops allows Norway’s Royal Family, Government and gold reserves to escape Oslo at 8.30 AM. Oslo is captured later in the day by German troops airlifted into Fornebu Airport. Stavanger and Sola Airfield are also taken by German paratroops.

The shipment of Norway’s gold reserve from Oslo on the morning of 9 April 1940 consisted of 818 cases weighing 40 kilos each, 685 cases weighing 25 kilos each and 39 kegs weighing 80 kilos each. The total shipment weighed 53 tonnes whereas the gold bars weighed about 48.8 tonnes. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/umk_eng/blanding/gullbehold.html

Naval action around Norway.
At dawn, British cruiser HMS Renown spots German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau heading West, having deposited Marine Gruppe 1 at Narvik. Renown fires first and scores 3 hits on Gneisenau. HMS Renown is hit twice before the German ships use their superior speed to escape. All ships survive the encounter. The westward course of the German battleships further convinces the Admiralty that the Kriegsmarine is attempting to breakout into the Atlantic Ocean.

Afternoon, Luftwaffe searches for Royal Navy ships, finding the Home Fleet and 1st Cruiser Squadron that are still searching for the Kriegsmarine’s “Atlantic breakout”. At 2 PM, Ju 88s and He 111s bomb battleship HMS Rodney and destroyer HMS Gurkha off Bergen. HMS Rodney is damaged by a 500 kg bomb that penetrates her deck but does not explode. HMS Gurkha is hit (15 dead) and eventually sinks at 4 PM after cruiser HMS Aurora picks up 190 survivors. 4 Ju 88s are shot down.

At 5 PM, British submarine HMS Thistle misses U-4 with a spread of four torpedoes trying to sneak into Stavanger.

Vice-Admiral Horton’s hunch pays off and his submarines are in position to attack German warships. At 7.57 PM, HMS Truant is patrolling in the Skagerrak and torpedoes German cruiser Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe does not sink and is finished off at 9.50 PM by the German torpedo boat Greif. Meanwhile, French submarine Sybille (under Horton’s command) departs Harwich to patrol the south North Sea, West of Denmark.

Day 221 April 8, 1940

After midnight, Marine Gruppe 3 departs Wilhelmshaven for Bergen (cruisers Königsberg & Köln, transport Karl Peters, minelayer Bremse & 5 torpedo-boats carrying 1900 troops). At dawn, Marine Gruppe 4 & 6 depart Cuxhaven carrying 1250 troops for the South coast of Norway; Marine Gruppe 5 leaves Wilhelmshaven Swinemünde for Oslo (cruisers Blücher, Lützow and Emden, 8 minesweepers & 3 torpedo-boats carrying 2000 troops) At 5 AM, British destroyers HMS Esk, Icarus, Impulsive & Ivanhoe lay mines in the Vestfjord, gateway to Narvik. At 6 AM, the Allies inform Norway of this action, to prevent passage of ships “carrying war contraband”.

At 8 AM, British destroyer HMS Glowworm encounters Marine Gruppe 1 heading to Trondheim. Glowworm is badly damaged by 8-inch shells from German cruiser Admiral Hipper, engaging the much heavier ship in close battle. Glowworm rams Admiral Hipper causing major damage & then sinks (118 lives lost, 31 taken prisoner by Admiral Hipper). Lieutenant-Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, commanding HMS Glowworm, drowns after helping survivors put on lifejackets. He will be posthumously awarded the first Victoria Cross of WWII for his aggressive actions, in part due to the testimony of his adversary, Captain Hellmuth Heye of the Admiral Hipper, who wrote to the British authorities via the Red Cross giving a statement of Commander Roope’s courage. http://navalwarfare.blogspot.com/2009/06/hms-glowworm-h92.html

Only Vice-Admiral Max Horton commanding home-based submarines (alone among Royal Navy brass) correctly perceives German intentions to invade Norway. He deploys 6 more submarines to intercept ships sailing from German naval bases. HMS Ursula, Triad and Sterlet leave port to patrol the Skagerrak between Denmark and Norway. At noon, Polish submarine Orzeł (part of Horton's 2nd Submarine Flotilla, already on patrol in the Skagerrak) sinks German troop transport Rio de Janeiro. German troops rescued by Norwegian ships confess they are en route to Bergen. However, British minelaying dominates Norwegian thinking and they are not prepared for invasion by Germany. http://www.historynet.com/the-polish-submarine-orzel-july-96-world-war-ii-feature.htm/2

Day 220 April 7, 1940

At 1.25 PM, RAF Hudson reconnaissance plane of 220 Squadron reports a German cruiser and 6 destroyers (part of Marine Gruppe 1) heading North. 12 Blenheims and 24 Wellingtons bombers are called in and bomb the ships unsuccessfully. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Hudson

The British response is a disaster. The Admiralty assumes German surface raiders are breaking out into the Atlantic (ignoring the possibility of coastal landings in Norway) and prepares to engage the German fleet in the open sea. Royal Navy’s Home Fleet (battleships Rodney & Valiant, battlecruiser Repulse, 2 cruisers & 10 destroyers) delays leaving Scapa Flow until 9.15 PM and misses the chance to intercept the troop-laden German warships. In addition, 1st Cruiser Squadron at Rosyth disembarks troops to engage in the ‘sea battle’, losing the opportunity for rapid landings in response to the German invasion.

British submarines HMS Shark & HMS Seawolf leave Harwich naval base to patrol off Dutch coast and HMS Clyde & HMS Thistle depart Scapa Flow to patrol the coast of Norway. http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3426.html

Day 219 April 6, 1940

At 3.16 AM, U-59 sinks Norwegian steamer SS Navarra with 1 torpedo 20 miles off the Scottish coast. Six die in the explosion and another 6 when their lifeboat capsizes. 14 survivors in one lifeboat are picked up by Finnish steamer Atlas and landed at Kirkwall, Orkney Islands.

British submarines HMS Truant & Seal depart Rosyth naval dockyard, Scotland, for the Norwegian coast. HMS Tarpon is ordered to patrol the German coast near Heligoland Bight.

After dark, Marine Gruppe 1 departs Cuxhaven for Narvik (10 destroyers carrying 2000 troops, plus battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau). Marine Gruppe 2 departs Wesermünde for Trondheim (cruiser Admiral Hipper & 4 destroyers carrying 1700 troops). In the North Sea between Narvik & Trondheim, British destroyer HMS Glowworm stops to rescue a crewman lost overboard in heavy seas & loses sight of HMS Renown and the minelaying squadron. http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4394.html

U-1 disappears in the North Sea, probably lost to a British mine (all 24 hands lost).

Day 218 April 5, 1940

The French government is informed that Britain will go ahead with Operation Wilfred (mining the coast of Norway) without Operation Royal Marine (mining the River Rhine). Even Chamberlain believes the Allies have seized the initiative, crowing that “Hitler missed the bus” – words that he will come to regret. Allies deliver diplomatic notes (“admonitions”) to Norway and Sweden warning of actions to hinder German trade with these countries. Norwegians are now convinced of an Allied invasion and forget about Germany.

At 6.30 PM, British battlecruiser HMS Renown, destroyers HMS Inglefield, Ilex, Imogen, Isis, Greyhound, Glowworm, Hyperion, Hero & minelayer HMS Teviotbank depart Scapa Flow to mine the Norwegian coast.

Norwegian ambassador in Berlin warns of German plans to invade Denmark and parts of Southern Norway. The British also receive intelligence reports that Germany will soon invade Norway, including landings at Narvik. These warnings are ignored.

British submarine HMS Spearfish leaves Blyth for the Danish coast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCiBP8f5xVo

Day 217 April 4, 1940

British submarine HMS Snapper departs Harwich naval base for the Skagerrak, between Denmark and Norway. French submarines Amazone and Antiope, also under the command of British Vice-Admiral Max Horton, leave Harwich to patrol the Frisian Islands and Heligoland.

Churchill is dismayed by the general lack of Allied action, and French political feuding in particular, leading to inactivity in Norway. He flies to Paris to assess the situation and resurrect his plan to lay mines in Norwegian coastal waters (Operation Wilfred). He concludes that “Wilfred should go forward notwithstanding the French refusal of Royal Marine (mining of the Rhine)”. British War cabinet is informed and agrees with his assessment.

British newspapers report concentrations of troops in German ports. This seems to go unnoticed by the military.

Day 216 April 3, 1940

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill becomes chairman of the Military Coordinating Committee, giving him some oversight of the Army and RAF as well as naval matters.

Public statements by Churchill & Chamberlain and leaks in the British & French newspapers alert Norway to the likelihood of Allied operations in her waters. However, the Allies have lost the initiative, debating strategy at the cabinet level and bickering over priorities. In contrast, Hitler has no strategic allies or democratic processes to contend with. He plans for the invasion of Denmark & Norway to be swiftly followed by an offensive against France and the Low Countries; a devastating one-two punch.

Polish submarine Orzeł (part of Royal Navy's 2nd Submarine Flotilla, under the command of Vice-Admiral Max Horton), leaves Rosyth to patrol the Norwegian coast off Kristiansand. http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/export/export_orzel.htm

Day 215 April 2, 1940

At 00.21 hours, U-38 sinks Finnish steamer SS Signe, a straggler from convoy HN-23A (all 19 hands lost). Destroyer HMS Sikh, escorting convoy HN-23A, hears the explosion and searches for survivors. http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/305.html http://www.hmscavalier.org.uk/G82/

British submarines start taking up positions to execute Vice-Admiral Horton’s plan to intercept German warships leaving naval bases at Heligoland Bight, Kiel, Wilhelmshaven, Cuxhaven & Swinemünde. He correctly guesses that they will be bound for Norway. HMS Unity departs Blyth submarine base, Northumberland, to patrol Heligoland Bight. HMS Sunfish departs Harwich naval base for the Kattegat, between Denmark and Sweden.

Day 214 April 1, 1940

The invasion of Denmark and Norway is set for April 9. Hitler allocates 6 divisions (including specialist mountain infantry and paratroops) 20 light tanks and 3 experimental Neubaufahrzeug heavy tanks for Norway, plus 2 divisions for Denmark. Almost every available naval vessel will be used to transport or protect these troops. Luftwaffe will provide air support and chase off Royal Navy ships trying to intercede. This is in contrast to the small, mainly reserve, force the British intend to send to Norway without air cover.

Almost alone among the senior British military, Vice-Admiral Max Horton (commanding Royal Navy home-based submarines) anticipates a German invasion of Norway. He orders 12 submarines (including 2 French and 1 Polish vessels) to patrol the southern North Sea and the seas around Denmark, to intercept warships from naval bases German coast. HMS Sealion is the first to leave, departing Harwich naval base for the Kattegat, East of Denmark.

Day 213 March 31, 1940

Following French backtracking on mining the River Rhine (due to their fear of German reprisal bombings), British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain calls off mining the Norwegian coast planned for April 5. Chamberlain tells the French ambassador in London Charles Corbin “No mines, no Narvik!” This act of bravado leads to a delay which will prove to be costly.

German armed merchant cruisers (Hilfskreuzer) Atlantis, Orion and Widder depart from Kiel, with WWI battleship SMS Hessen acting as an icebreaker, for operations against Allied shipping. Atlantis will prove the most successful German commerce raider, sailing 100,000 miles and sinking 22 ships (over 140,000 tons) in a voyage lasting 602 days (until November 22, 1941). http://www.bismarck-class.dk/hilfskreuzer/atlantis.html

Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Wilhelm Behrens falls overboard from U-43 and drowns in the Atlantic.

Day 212 March 30, 1940

To foil Prime Minister Reynaud’s aggressive plans, French Minister of Defense Édouard Daladier (and ex-PM) persuades the French War Committee not to ratify British plans to lay mines in the River Rhine (Operation Royal Marine). The British respond by threatening to suspend the laying of mines in Norwegian coastal waters (Operation Wilfred).

Japan, under pressure to hold onto conquered territories in China, establishes a puppet government for China under the leadership of Wang Jingwei. The Government of National Salvation of the collaborationist "Republic of China", based in Nanking, is based on the Three Principles of pan-Asianism, anti-Communism, and opposition to Chiang Kai-shek. Wang will maintain contact with German and Italian officials, an attempt to link China with The Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany and Italy.