Chronology of World War II

September 1939

Thursday, September 14th


Battle of the Atlantic

  • U-39 attacks the a carrier, the HMS Ark Royal, northwest of Ireland but is depth-charged by 3 destroyers and sinks. The crew of 43 is captured.
  • The British trawler Hawarden Castle (210t) is lost to gunfire from U-17 in the North Sea.
  • The British steamer Vancouver City is sunk by U-28 southwest of Ireland. 3 of the crew are lost.
  • U-29 sinks the British steamer British Influence southwest of Ireland. The crew is rescued by the Norwegian steamer Ida Bakke.
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Poland

German troops enter Gdynia. Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps reaches Brest-Litovsk. The Army of Pomorze launches a surprise offensive around Lowica. Von Rundstedt pulls units from Warsaw and Kielce, but the Polish Gen Tadeusz Kutrzeba keeps all these force occupied for 5 days with hard fighting and tough resistance.
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[ Sept 13th - Sept 15th]