Axis Planning

Hitler urges Mussolini to launch an offensive from Libya toward the Suez Canal. He tells him that any such strike would be a great gain. The Italians have a 215,000-man force in Libya, while the British have only 36,000 troops in Egypt, in addition to a 30,000-man Egyptian army which is not trained for combat. British Middle East forces are also facing a severe supply problem. With the Mediterranean insecure at best, ships have to haul war goods 12,000 miles from Britain to Egypt around the Cape of Good Hope, a six week trip.

Rumania

The Soviets present an ultimatum to Rumania demanding the cession of territory in Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. After World War I, Romania was given the former Russian regions of Bessarabia and Transylvania. The country was ruled by a parliamentary democracy during the 1920s and 1930s. A combination of external menace from Hungary and Bulgaria, the world economic collapse causing a drop in agricultural prices and widespread unemployment, in turn undermining confidence in democratic government, and the activities of the Romanian fascist Iron Guard which exploited nationalism, fear of communism and resentment of alleged foreign and Jewish domination of the economy, led to the creation of a royal dictatorship in 1938 under King Carol II. Germany reluctantly intervenes to help persuade the Rumanians to give in. They do so on June 28.

Soviet Union, Home Front

A new strict set of rules for workers is established as part of a campaign to boost industrial output, including the manufacture of war materiel. Among other things, Russians are now required to work eight hours a day instead of the seven which was the maximum established by the constitution.