Air Operations, Europe

German aircraft drop 100 mines off Dutch and Belgian ports.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The cruiser Birmingham and 7 destroyers are attacked in Skagerrak by 4 'E-boats' ('S'-class MTBs). S-31 hits the Kelly (commanded by Lord Mountbatten) and has to be towed back to Newcastle.
• The French submarine Doris is sunk by U-9 off Terschelling Bank, Holland.

  French Submarine Doris

• The British destroyer Kelly is hit and badly damaged by a torpedo from U-31 in the North Sea with the loss of 27 of her crew. The British destroyer Bulldog takes the Kelly in tow. She arrives in the Tyne being towed by tugs on the 13th.

Britain, Home Front

Conscription int Britain is extended to include men up to the age of 36.

France, Politics

Since Reynaud has been growing more and more unhappy with the leadership of Gamelin, the Supreme Commander, he would like to dismiss him. The problem is his support in Cabinet by Daladier, who remains influential although he is no longer prime minister. These quarrels now come to a head but no announcement is made pending the formation of a new govermnemt. The German attack on May 10 will cause the changes to be deferred.

Secret War

Col Hans Oster tells Col Bert Sas that the German attack in the west will begin at dawn on May 10. The French Deuxième Bureau reports no signs of 'abnormal German movements' beyond the frontiers of Holland and Belgium.

Western Front

The Belgian army is placed on alert because of recent tension and signs of German troop movements. The Luftwaffe has been successful in keeping Allied reconnaissance flights away from the German preparations.

At noon Hitler orders that the Gelb offensive begin at 5:35 a.m. on May 10. At 9 a.m. the code word 'Danzig' is transmitted to German commanders on the Western Front. Hitler leaves Berlin in a special train for his forward HQ near Münstereifel on the Belgian border.