Battle of the Atlantic

• U-38 sinks the Greek steamer Mount Myrto (5403t) south of Ireland with the loss of 4 of her crew.
• U-47 sinks the British steamer Balmoralwood (5834t) 70 miles south southwest of Cape Clear. Her entire crew of 41 is rescued by the Greek steamer Germaine and taken to Liverpool.
• U-101 sinks the Greek steamer Antonis Georgandis (3557t) northwest of Cape Finisterre with the loss of her entire crew.

China

The pro-Japanese Nanking government of China advises the British, American, Russian and German Embassies to evacuate their nationals from Chungking to places of safety.

Diplomatic Relations

• Russia delivers an ultimatum to the small Baltic nation of Lithuania, accusint it of conspiracy against the USSR. The Lithuanians have no alternative but to allow the Russians to occupy their country as 300,000 troops prepare to do so.
• The Spanish government tells Germany it is willing to enter the war on the Axis side in exchange for control of Gilbraltar, French Morocco, the province of Oran in Algeria, and parts of French West Africa.

Mediterranean

• A force of French cruisers and destroyers shells the Italian ports of Genoa and Vado.
• 3 Italian destroyers shell Sollum, Egypt.

North Africa

• Spanich Moroccan troops occupy the 'International Zone' of Tangiers, Morocco to 'guarantee' its neutrality.
• A Britsh desert force surprise and rout the Italian garrison at Fort Capuzzi, an important frontier outpost just inside the Libyan border. Since they are at present outnumbered in North Africa the British choose to abandon the fort to retain mobility.

Occupied Poland

The concentration camp at Auschwitz opens when 728 Polish Jews arrive from Tarnow.

On this day in 1940, the Nazis opened the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
Nazi records show that tens of thousands of Jews from German-occupied territories were sent to Auschwitz to be executed each month

Auschwitz Opens

Secret War

French and Polish 'Enigma' codebreakers leave Paris. They fly from Toulouse to Algiers on June 24.

Western Front

The French 7th Army and the Paris army retreat to the Loire. Paris is entered by the Germans after a series of bombing raids on industrial targets in the suburbs. Gen von Bock, CO of Army Group B, reviews victory parades in the Place de la Concorde and at the Arc de Triomphe. The Germans capture intact the Renault tank factory at Billancourt and the Schneider-Creusot armament works. Only 700,000 people remain in the city out of a population of 5 million. German soldiers lower the French tricolor on the Eiffel Tower, while radio stations are already making announcements in German. The occupation of Paris has begun.

German Troops Enter Paris

The French government is moved from Tours to Bordeaux.

New instructions are issued to the German armies. To the southwest, towards the Loire, the XIV Pzr Corps will advance to cut off the retreat of the French troops retiring on Bordeaux. XVI Pzr Corps will move southeast towards Lyons and Dijon to enable the Italians to cross the Alpine passes and attack the French defenders in the flank. Guderian with his XXXIX and XLI Pzr Corps will turn east towards the Langres plateau and the Swiss border to cut off the retreat of the French armies in the Maginot. Army Group C, under Gen von Leeb with 24 divs, attacks and breaches the Maginot Line south of Saarbrücken and prepares to cross the Rhine.[MORE]