Atlantic
The French destroyer Bourrasque, with 880 men on board, hits a mine near Ostend and then is sunk by German artillery. 16 of the crew are lost. 300 of the men are picked up ships in the area. The rest are either killed or captured.
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]Battle of the Atlantic
- The German steamer Finkenau (916t) sinks on a mine south of Drogden near Copenhagen.
- U-101 sinks the British steamer Stanhall (4831t) off Cape Finisterre with the loss of 1 crewman. The British steamer Temple Moat picks up the survivors.
- The British boob defense vessel Cambrian (338t) sinks on a mine off Spithead with the loss of 2 of her crew.
| ]Italy
Mussolini decides that Italy will enter the war on June 5.
[ | ]Mediterranean
The Belgian steamer Egypte (2568t) is seized as a prize.
[ | ]Western Front, Dunkirk
While British artillery tries to hold the advancing German troops at bay before their ammunition runs out, there is something of a lull in the land battle around Dunkirk because of confusion and disagreement in the German command.
The Pzr forces begin to withdraw from the front line to take up positions to the south for the next stage of the Battle of France.
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The evacuation, of course, continues with 53,823 men being taken off. The small ships over the beaches do most of the lifting but transfer their loads to larger vessels for the trip to England. 1 destroyer is sunk during the day, the French Bourrasque, 3 others are hit and at least 9 of the smaller ships are also sunk. This total does not include the smallest vessels whose losses are also considerable. Gen Sir Alan Francis Brooke, who has commanded the British II Corps with distinction, is one of the evacuees.[MORE]
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