Battle of the Atlantic

Allied shipping losses this month increase dramatically to 140 ships of 585,500 tons. (Allied Ships Lost to U-boats) A considerable proportion of these losses occur at Dunkirk and during other evacuation operations. The normal shipping routes are also less protected because many vessels suitable for escort work have to be used in the evacuations.

The Atlantic convoys can now be given escorts as far as 15 degrees West. U-boats sink 58 ships of 284,100 tons.

Air Operations, Europe

Germans bomb the Lyons-Marseilles railway. The British liner Orford (20,000 t) is sunk at Marseilles.

British Liner Orford

China

The Japanese capture Hsiangyang.

Diplomatic Relations

Hitler asks Mussolini to postpone the date of Italy's intervention for a few days. Mussolini replies to Roosevelt's last message: he must enter the war.

Norway

Adm Lord Cork and Orrery (William Boyle), commanding the combined Allied force in Norway, tells King Haakon that they are about to begin their evacuation. They have delayed giving this information on the grounds of security but by doing so they have encouraged the Norwegians to openly resist the Germans, which can only be costly when the Allies leave. It is agreed that the operation can be postponed 24 hours.

Germans Bomb Narvik

British Soldiers Waiting To Be Evacuated

Air Operations, Europe

There are more German raids on Lyons and the Rhône Valley region with 97 civilian casualties. A single Gladiator biplane, flown by Pilot Officer Louis Jacobsen of 263 Squadron RAF, shoots down 6 German bombers (4 He-111s and 2 Ju-88s) near Narvik. (Jacobsen is killed 8 June.)

Battle of the Atlantic

U-101 sinks the British steamer Polykarp (3577t). The crew is rescued by the French steamer Espiguette and taken to Penzance.

Diplomatic Relations

• In response to Hitler's request Mussolini postpones Italian entry into the war until 10 June, at midnight.
• Anti-British crowds, demanding the return of Gibraltar, mark the arrival of Sir Samuel Hoare, the new British Ambassador to Spain.

Rear Guard at Dunkirk

Air Operations, Europe

Göring has transferred his bombers inland and begins a program, Operation PAULA, of bombing airfields and industrial sites around Paris. There is a heavy raid on Paris as 200 bombers attempt to destroy aircraft factories and airfields near the capital. 254 people are killed in the suburbs. The French lose 33 fighters while the Germans lose 20 of their bombers.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Greek steamer Perrakis L Cambanis (3584t) is sunk by German bombing at Dieppe. It is later salvaged by German force and renamed Herta Engeline Fritzen for German service.
• U-37 sinks the Finnish steamer Snabb (2317t) 300 miles off Cape Finisterre with the loss of 1 crewmen. The Greek steamer Kyriakoula picks up the survivors and lands them at Queenstown.

China

Nationalist Chinese forces counterattack and capture Tsaoyang and retake Hsiangyang from the Japanese.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Parthian torpedoes the Italian tanker Strombo (5232t) in Salamis Bay. The tanker is beached off Dardanelles, a total loss.

Western Front, Dunkirk

The Germans strike a decisive blow against the defensive perimeter at Dunkirk and the French rearguard is driven back to a line little more than 2 miles from the east mole at Dunkirk. Resistance, clearly, cannot last much longer. The British and French naval authorities are led to believe that there are only about 30,000 soldiers left in the beachhead and plan the night's operation accordingly.

Air Operations, Europe

The French government threatens reprisals for the Paris raid. During the night French bombers attack Munich and Frankfurt.

Britain, Home Front

Britain is left practically unarmed. At the end of the Dunkirk evacuation there remain on British soil only 500 guns of all types, and some of these are museum pieces.

Churchill delivers perhaps the most famous of his great wartime speeches. His message is, 'We shall fight on the beaches...We shall never surrender'. Already he is talking of the time when '...The New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old'. This message seems to suggest that France will be beaten, leaving Britain to fight alone. This is not perhaps the best way to encourage the French.

Norway

The Allied evacuation gets under way. During the next few days the Harstad force is taken off. The total number evacuated is 24,500. The considerable base organization which has been built up has to be dismantled.

The battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau leave Kiel with orders to intercept the Allied evacuation fleet from Norway.

Western Front, Dunkirk

At 3:40a.m. the destroyer Shikari leaves Dunkirk, the last ship to evacuate French troops. At dawn the Germans enter Dunkirk and capture all the remaining French soldiers numbering about 40,000. Between 27 May and the early hours of 4 June 338,226 of which 112,000 are French have been evacuated. Almost all heavy equipment has been lost and many of the troops are without rifles and basic kit. Against the original expectation that a maximum of perhaps 50,000 men might be taken off it has been something of a triumph, but at some cost. The British and French navies have lost at least 80 merchant craft and warships as well as many small vessels. 9 destroyers have been sunk. The operation was directed by the senior naval officer at Dover, Adm Sir Bertram Home Ramsay, who mobilized every available ship, including private yachts and fishing boats, big and small. In the course of this courageous and desperate rescue operation, some 200 ships were lost, as well as 177 aircraft (40 per cent of them bombers, against about 140 lost by the Luftwaffe. In accordance with the military principle that priority is given to men over arms and equipment, the British had to leave behind on French soil 2,472 guns, 84,627 vehicles, 76,000 tons of ammunition and 600,000 tons of fuel and supplies.

Air Operations, Europe

Hauptmann Werner Mölders, the leading German fighter ace of the war, is shot down in his Me-109 near Compiègne and taken prisoner. 30 German bombers attack airfields near the British East Coast with little damage. The RAF bomb railways in the Rhineland.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British steamer Capable (216t) sinks on a mine about 3 miles from Horsesand Fort, Spithead, with the loss of all 7 on board.
• U-48 sinks the British steamer Stancor 80 miles nortwest of Butt of Lewis. The entire crew of 19 is rescued.
• The German minesweeper M-11 hits a mine and sinks off Jaederens. The German steamer Palime (2863t) also hits a mine in the same area and is run aground a total loss.

France, Politics

In a Cabinet reshuffle Daladier is dropped, Prime Minister Reynaud takes personal responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the newly promoted Gen de Gaulle is made Under-Secretary for Defense.

Western Front

The 'Battle of France' begins. The Germans unleash a fierce aerial and artillery bombardment on the line of the Somme and the Aisne and on the lines of communication of the French armies deployed between Abbeville and the Maginot Line. The French have used the period of the Dunkirk battle to make some defensive preparations but not enough to compensate for the weakness of their forces. These are now organized as Army Groups 3 and 4 containing 65 divisions of which 3 are armored and 3 mechanized cavalry. Army Group 3 holds the Somme near the coast and Army Group 4 the line of the Aisne. Gen Weygand issues a heartfelt appeal to his divisions: 'Let the thought of our country's sufferings inspire in you the firm resolve to resist. The fate of the nation and the future of our children depend on your determination'. The order is to defend to the last man.

Oil Tanks Burning in Dunkirk

Air Operations, Europe

21 LeO-451 bombers attack the German spearheads at Chaulnes, west of St Quentin, and engage Me-109s and Me-110s. 11 of the bombers are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The armed merchant cruiser Carinthia (20,300 t) is sunk by U-46 west of Ireland.

SS Carinthia

• The British steamer Harcalo (5081t) sinks on a mine near Goodwin Knoll Buoy with the loss of 3 crewmen.
• The British trawler Lapwing (217t) sinks on a mine in a defensive minefield in the North Sea. The entire crew is rescued.

China

In Hupeh province Japanese troops take Chingmen.

Diplomatic Relations

Sir Stafford Cripps is appointed the British Ambassador in Moscow, a post vacant since January.

Air Operations, Europe

During the night the French Naval Air Force attempt to bomb Berlin using a converted Centre NC223 4-engined mail plane. The flight takes 13-1/2 hours and goes from Bordeaux over the Channel, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, Berlin and back to Paris. The crew claim to have bombed Berlin, but the bombs apparently fall in open country.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-38 sinks the British steamer Kingston Hill (7628t) southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with the loss of 14 of her crew.
• The French steamer Salome (13,291t) is lost at Dunkirk to unknown causes. She is later salvaged by the Germans and renamed Breisgau for German service.
• U-48 sinks the British steamer Frances Massey (4212t) and damages the British steamer Eros (5888t) about 15 miles northeast of Tory Island. 34 crewmen are lost with only 1 survivor from the Frances Massey and he is picked up by the British destroyer Volunteer.

Norwegian King and Crown Prince Leave Norway

Britain, Home Front

The late Capt Bernard Warburton-Lee is awarded the first Victoria Cross of World War II (see April 10).

Norway

The British cruiser Devonshire carries King Haakon of Norway and his government from Tromso to Britain and a government-in-exile is formed.

King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav Board Devonshire

Air Operations, Europe

Capt Wuillame of Groupe de Chasse (Fighter Group) I/2, flying a Morane, claims 3 Me-109s in only 15 seconds over the Somme sector.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Swedish steamer Kjell Billner (1106t) is seized by German forces at Stavanger. She is renamed Helga Schroder for German service.
• The British steamer Hardingham (5415t) from Convoy FS-89 sinks on a mine in the North Sea with the loss of 2 of her crew.

German Raiders

• The German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operate off the Norwegian coast. Their aim is to attack the various convoys carrying the evacuation from Norway to Britain. They sink 3 empty ships and then find the aircraft carrier Glorious and 2 destroyers, the Acasta and the Ardent. They meet the British ships west of the Lofoten Islands. All 3 British ships are sunk west of Narvik, but not before the Acasta put a torpdeo into the Scharnhorst putting an end to the German battleship sortie. Losses on the British ships include 1474 men of the Royal Navy and 59 RAF personnel.

  Despite a gallant defense by the destroyers there is no time for Glorious to escape or launch her aircraft, and although Scharnhorst is damaged by a torpedo from Acasta. The German casualties are 48 The British Admiralty has been careless in providing too few escorts for these waters, and it is by no means inconceivable that Scharnhorst and Gneisenau might have achieved a still greater victory by intercepting the simultaneous troop convoys. Adm Wilhelm Marschall, in command of the German operation, decides to return to base because of the damage to Scharnhorst.

From the Scharnhorst

British Aircraft Carrier Glorious on Fire

• The German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper sinks the British tanker Oil Pioneer (5666t) and her escorting trawler Juniper off Jan Mayan Island. 20 crewmen are lost on the tanker. 25 survivors and and only 4 from the trawler are picked up by the Admiral Hipper and her escorting destroyers. The rest of the crew on the Juniper are lost. A short time later the British troopship Orama (19,840t) is also sunk by the Admiral Hipper. Of a total of 299 aboard the troopship, 18 are missing and 1 dies from injuries.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Norwegian steamers Prins Olav (2147t) and Ariadne (2129t) are sunk by German bombing northeast of the Shetlands. 1 crewmen is missing from the Prins Olav and 9 from the Ariadne. The British destroyer Arrow rescues 72 male and 9 female survivors.
• U-46 sinks the Finnish steamer Margareta (3598t) 350 miles from Cape Finisterre with the loss of 5 crewmen. 19 of the crew are rescued 3 days later and taken to Vivero, Spain.
• The British steamer Dulwich (4102t) is sunk by German bombing off Villequier. The vessel is later salvaged by the Germans and renamed Hotenau for German service.
• French auxiliary minesweepers Notre Dame Des Dune (481t) and Madeleine Louise (464t) are sunk by German bombing off Dunkirk.

Diplomatic Relations

The USSR and Japan agree on an accord regarding the disputed frontier of Manchukuo. This frees Soviet troops for the European theater.

Mediterranean

• The Italian steamer Avvenire (957t) is sunk by an Italian mine north of Pantelleria.
• The Italian steamer Angiullin (873t) is sunk off Cape Granitola on an Italian mine.

Norway

The king and his prime minister order the loyal Norwegian forces to cease fighting at midnight. Gen Eduard Dietl receives the surrender of Gen Otto Ruge at Narvik. The last Allied troops leave Norwegian soil and a preliminary armistice comes into force between the Germans and the military and political authorities remaining in Norway.

Air Victory

Battle of the Atlantic

The British trawler River Ness (203t) is sunk by German bombing 8 miles northeast of the Skerries. 8 of the crew are lost and 2 are rescued.

China

3 Japanese divisions attack the Yangtze River port of Ichang, between Hankow and Chungking. The Chinese defenders fall back into the city itself after the Japanese quickly advance to within 5 miles of it.

Diplomatic Relations

Prime Minister Reynaud appeals to Pres Roosevelt to intervene in the war in Europe. This appeal is repeated on 13 June but without success.

Italy

Unable to resist the opportunity to take a share of the glory, Mussolini issues declarations of war to Britain and France. Neither the Italian economy nor the Italian people are particularly well prepared for war. Their fleet is, however, of considerable strength and strategic significance. They have 2 battleships immediately available with 4 more modern ships nearly completed. They also have a powerful force of cruisers and destroyers and the largest submarine force in the world, 116 strong. These forces, when all the battleships are available, will be comfortably stronger than the British and French forces in the Mediterranean, the more so when Britain is fighting alone. The only class of ship which the Italians do not have is the aircraft carrier. 2 British ships of this type are in the Mediterranean at this time.

The Italian army is not as formidable as the fleet. Although of considerable size its units are usually understrength and, as the coming battles will show, badly led and dreadfully equipped.

Italian Leader Benito Mussolini

Mediterranean

6 British submarines leave Malta for operations off Italian harbors and naval bases.

Norway

The Allied campaign comes to an end. Strategically the campaign has been most significant for the naval losses on each side and the transformation it has helped to bring about in the potential of the available bases for the German fleets. The Allies have lost 1 carrier, 2 cruisers, 9 destroyers and many smaller craft, also many ships were damaged. These losses do nothing to help the British ability to protect the trade routes. The Germans have lost 3 cruisers, 10 destroyers and several submarines. This forms a large proportion of their fleet, and this loss cannot be replaced at all quickly. It certainly subtracts considerably from the Kriegsmarine's limited ability to help protect, for example, an invasion of Britain.

German casualties in the Norwegian campaign are 1,317 killed, 1,604 wounded, and 2,375 missing or lost at sea. The Allied dead included 4,400 British, 1,335 Norwegian, and 530 French and Polish as well as many civilian casualties.

Air Operations, East Africa

The first RAF bombing raids on Italian airfields in East Africa cause great damage.

Air Operations, Europe

During the night 36 Whitleys take off to bomb Turin and Genoa after a refuelling stop in the Channel Islands. 23 bombers have to abort because of extremely bad weather, 10 drop bombs on Turin's Fiat works or alternate targets in the city, 2 stike Genoa and 1 is lost. French authorities at Marseilles prevent Wellingtons from taking off to bomb targets in northern Italy by blocking the runway with trucks (they fear Italian 'reprisal' raids).

Air Operations, Mediterranean

There are 2 Italian raids on Malta; 35 civilians and 6 British soldiers are killed.

Air Operations, North Africa

The first RAF bombing raids on Italian airfields in Libya cause great damage. A total of 3 aircraft are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British troopship Bruges (2949t) is sunk by German bombing off Le Havre. 72 men are rescued from the troopship. Other ships sunk by German bombing at or near Le Havre include the French steamers General Metzinger (9345t), Niobe (1684t) and Syrie (2460t), the Belgian steamers Albertville (11047t) and Piriapolis (7347t) and the Norwegian steamer Ellavore (1302t).
• U-48 sinks the Greek steamer Violando N Goulandris (3598t) north northwest of Cape Finisterre with the loss of 6 crewmen.
• U-101 sinks the Greek steamer Mount Hymettus (5820t) off the coast of Portugal Her entire crew of 24 are rescued.
• The British steamer St Ronaig (509t) sinks on a mine 1 mile from West Breakwater Light, Newhaven. 2 of the crew are killed, 2 are missing and 4 are rescued.

German Warships at Trondheim

Britain, Home Front

Clement Attlee, Lord Privy Seal, denounces Mussolini's declaration of war, comparing him with 'the jackal' which scents the possibility of getting some scraps from another beast's kill!

Diplomatic Relations

• Australia, New Zealand and South Africa declare war on Italy.
• Churchill, meeting the French government in their new headquarters at Tours, is unable to generate the same fighting spirit there that he is instilling at home. He steadfastly refuses to send RAF squadrons to France, knowing that doing so would reduce his own country's chances of survival. It brings to an end RAF sorties from bases in southern France.

Dutch Royalty Sail to Canada

Mediterranean

• The first actions of the war in this theater are some air skirmishes in North Africa and over Malta. The British Mediterranean Fleet and a French cruiser squadron sweep the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean for Italian shipping. British cruisers bombard Tobruk and the cruiser Calypso is sunk south of Crete by the Italian submarine Bagnolini. 1 officer and 38 sailors are lost.
• The Greek steamers Zinovia (2975t) Makis (3546t) sink on mines 15-20 miles north of Pantellaria Island. 2 of the crew of the Zinovia are lost and the entire crew of the Makis are rescued.

Air Operations, Europe

Turin and Genoa are bombed by the RAF.

Baltic States

The Soviet government issues an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding territory and the establishment of a new government.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British steamer Baron Saltoun (3404t) is sunk by mines off Cherbourg with the loss of 1 of her crew.
• U-46 sinks the British steamers Barbara Marie (4223t) and Willowbank (5041t) from convoy SL-34 about 220 miles west northwest of Cape Finisterre. 32 of the crew are lost from the Barbara Marie and the entire crew of the Willowbank is rescued.
• U-101 sinks the British steamer Earlspark (5250t) northwest of Cape Finisterre with the loss of 7 of her crew.

China

The Japanese capture Ichang, a vital port and air base on the Yangtse River, east of Chungking.

Diplomatic Relations

Egypt breaks off diplomatic relations with Italy. Turkey breaks off commercial relations with Italy. Britain and France sign non-aggression treaties with Thailand. The Thai-Japanese Treaty of Friendship is established and is set to run for 5 years.

Italy, Home Front

The Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano is banned for publishing British and French war communiqués. The ban is lifted the following day after the editors agree to publish no war news.

Mediterranean

• A British cruiser and destroyer force shells the Italian base at Tobruk. The main force of Adm Sir Andrew Cunningham's Mediterranean Fleet is in support. An Italian force of cruisers is sent to engage the bombardment group but does not make contact.
• In a different action off Crete the British light cruiser Calypso is sunk by the Italian submarine Bagnolini with the loss of 39 crewmen. 418 men are rescued by the British light cruiser Caledon and the destroyer Dainty and take to Alexandria.
• The Italian submarine Nereide torpedoes and badly damages the Norgeian steamer Orkanger (8029t) on its way to Malta from Suez. She is sunk later by the Italian submarine Naiade with the loss of 4 of her crew.

North Africa

The British capture 62 Italians in a skirmish on the Egyptian border.

Italian Armor

Air Operations, Europe

Italian bombers attack the Toulon naval base in southern France.

Arms Supply

In response to Churchill's pleas in his telegrams to Pres Roosevelt, surplus stocks of artillery weapons and rifles have been assembled from US government stores. The first shipment now leaves the USA on the SS Eastern Prince for the voyage to Britain. The US Neutrality Laws have been subverted by first 'selling' the arms to a steel company and then reselling them to the British government.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British armed merchant cruiser Scotstoun (17,000 t) is sunk by U-25 northwest of Ireland. 7 are missing from the vessel. The survivors are picked up by the British destroyer Highlander.
• The British tanker British Inventor (7101t) is damaged by a mine 5 miles from St Albans Head. Her entire crew is rescued. She is beached, but breaks in two and sinks on the 30th.
• The Dutch steamer Abel Tasman (314t) sinks on a mine in Swash Channel, Poole with the loss of her entire crew.

Britain, Home Front

120,000 school-aged children are to be evacuated from London.

Evacuation More Children

China

Japanese bombers make a devastating fire raid on the city of Chungking.

Diplomatic Relations

• Francisco Franco of Spain prepares for closer collaboration with Germany and Italy by announcing his new policy of 'non-belligerency'.
• The Inter-Allied Supreme War Council meets at Briare. Present are Churchill, Eden and Reynaud. Churchill is unable to instill much of his own fighting spirit into the French leaders. Reynaud still supports resistance to the enemy to the last but has little support. In a desperate message to Roosevelt, Reynaud pleads for American help; the appeal asks the American president to 'throw the weight of American power into the scales in order to save France, the advance guard of democracy'. The French make desperate pleas for intervention by the British air force, but Churchill refuses, fearing an offensive against Britain by the Luftwaffe. The British are determined to prevent the Germans from obtaining control of the French navy.

German Raiders

• The German disguised raider Orion lays mines off Auckland, New Zealand.
• The German armed merchant cruiser Widder captures the British tanker British Petrol (6891t) 1000 miles from Trinidad with the loss of 2 crewmen. The rest of the crew are made prisoners of war. The Widder sinks the British Petrol on the 14th.

Germany, Home Front

Hitler gives an interview to American journalist Carl von Wiegand. He says has no desire to smash the British Empire but would 'destroy those who are destroying that Empire'. He also feels that US aid to Britain would not affect the outcome of the war.

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, accusing 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.

Auschwitz Opens

Secret War

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

Air Operations, Europe

Italian aircraft raid targets in southern France and Corsica.

Baltic States

Kaunas and Vilna, Lithuania are occupied by Soviet troops on the pretext of anti-Soviet activity by the Lithuanians.

Soviet Troops Marching into Lithuania

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-A torpedoes the British armed merchant cruiser Andania (13,950t) northwest of Ireland. The Icelandic trawler Skallagrimur rescues the entire crew of 347 men before she sinks.
• U-38 sinks the Norwegian tanker Italia (9973t) and the Danish steamer Erik Boye (2238t) from convoy HX-48 about 60 miles west of the Scilly Isles. 19 crewmen from the Italia are lost. 16 survivors are picket up by the British sloop Fowey. All 22 of the crew of the Erik Boye are rescued by the Fowey.

Diplomatic Relations

Roosevelt replies to Paul Reynaud's message of 13 June to the effect that the United States will continue to give France and Britain all possible material help and moral support, but will not make any direct military commitment.

United States, Politics

Another Navy bill passes into law. This provides for a much-expanded air corps, with 10,000 planes and 16,000 more aircrew.

Baltic States

A new government is installed in Lithuania to be controlled by the Soviet Union. Soviet ultimatums are issued to Estonia and Latvia demanding the establishment of Soviet-approved governments in their countries and right of passage for Soviet troops. The ultimatum give both countries 6 hours to reply. Being isolated, both states have no choice bu to agree. The Red Army begins to occupy them the next day. Stalin immediately installs puppet governments in all 3 states. President Ulmanis of Latvia and President Pats of Estonia are deported to the USSR, while President Smetona of Lithuania goes into voluntary exile. The banking systems, transportation system, all industry and mines are seized as property of the state. No one is allowed to own property.

The Catholic Church is persecuted by the Soviets and is forced to hand over all churches and property; seminaries and monasteries are converted into garrisons for the Red Army, and religion is eliminated from the curriculum of local schools.

Following the Red Army is the NKVD, which begins operations immediately. On average, 200-300 people a month disappear without a trace. By 22 June 1941, civilian losses due to deportations and massacres stood at 60,000 in Estonia, 35,000 in Latvia and 34,000 in Lithuania. Following the occupation, 'elections' were held in all 3 republics, which returned communist governments that immediately passed resolutions applying for membership of the USSR. Between 3 August and 6 August the USSR annexed all 3 states. Stalin had thus absorbed the Baltic States to create a buffer zone against German aggression.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British cargo liner Wellington Star (13,212t) is sunk by U-101 in the Bay of Biscay. The entire crew is picked up by the French steamer Pierre L D.
• The British submarine Tetrarch sinks the German tanker Samland (5978t) off Korsfjord, 5 miles west of Lister.

Diplomatic Relations

France asks Britain to be released from the obligation not to make a separate peace. In return the British make an offer to establish a state of union between the 2 countries, but this rather wild scheme is rejected by the French. Reynaud has lost the support of his Cabinet and resigns. Pétain is chosen to replace him.

Reynaud Resigns

Indian Ocean

The Italian submarine Galilei sinks the Norwegian tanker James Stove (8,300t) in the Indian Ocean south of Aden. The entire crew is rescued.

Mediterranean

• The British submarine Grampus is sunk by 4 Italian torpedo boats off Syracuse, Sicily.
• The Italian submarine Provana is forced to the surface and sunk by the French sloop La Curieuse.
• The Italian steamer Rastrello (1550t) is sunk by an underwater explosion south of Naples.

Arms Supply

The British Purchasing Commission takes over all outstanding French arms contracts and offers to purchase as much war material as the US can produce.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British troopship Lancastria (16,243t) is sunk while evacuating troops from St Nazaire. The British anti-submarine trawler Cambridgeshire rescues 1009 survivors and transfers them to British steamer John Holt in the harbor. 829 survivors on the steamer John Holt sail for England. The British destroyer Highlander, tanker Cymbula, steamers Fabian, Glenaffaric, Oronsay, Robert L Holt, Ulster are also involved in rescue efforts. Only 2477 survivors out of 5310 passengers and crew on the Lancastria are rescued. 66 crew and 2833 troops and refugees are lost.

  Sinking of the Lancastria

• The Norwegian steamer Komet (1147t) is sunk by German bombing in the English Channel with the loss of 1 of her crew.
• U-46 sinks the Greek steamer Elpis (3561t) 220 miles west northwest of Cape Finisterre. The entire crew of 28 is rescued.

China

2 Chinese army corps counterattack in the Ichang area and re-enter the ancient city which was abandoned the previous week. Japanese losses are heavy but the Chinese decide to pull out again. In the past 6 weeks of fighting in the Hupei Province the Japanese have suffered 20,000 casualties to 50,000 for the Chinese.

Japan starts to blockade China to cut off military supplies.

Red Army Enters Riga

France, Politics

The Pétain Cabinet takes office. Weygand is Minister of Defense. They request Germany's and Italy's armistice terms via the Spanish ambassador and the Vatican. Pétain broadcasts to the French army and the people: '...it is necessary to stop the fighting'.

The British government understands that these will only be accepted on the condition that the French Fleet does not fall into German hands. Equally it is the German policy to stop the French Fleet and colonies from joining Britain and this is the reason for their comparative leniency in allowing the establishment of Vichy as a focus for the loyalty for the French. French representatives in the USA do allow the British to take up arms orders they have made under the 'Cash and Carry' rules.

Mediterranean

• The British steamer Teiresias (7405t) is badly damaged by German bombing with the loss of 1 crewman. She is abandoned 1 mile off the entrance to St Nazaire. The British steamer Holmside rescues the survivors.

Air Operations, Europe

During the night 70 German bombers raid eastern England; 11 are killed at Cambridge. There are similar raids on most nights until the end of the month. Total German losses over England during this period are 11 bombers. Evacuation of the last RAF squadrons from France is completed. The RAF bomb Hamburg and Bremen.

Atlantic

• All French and Allied shipping are evacuated from Brest and the naval installations and the harbor works are destroyed. The new French battleship Richelieu leaves Brest for Dakar where it arrives 23 June. The uncompleted battleship Jean Bart is towed out of St Nazaire, is fueled under German air attack and sails under half-power for Casablanca. It arrives on 22 June.
• The French troopship Champlain (28,100 t) is crippled by a mine in the Bay of Biscay. It is finally sunk by U-65 on 21 June.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The German minesweeper M-5 and the Swedish steamer Sonja (1828t) are sunk on mines laid by the British submarine Porpoise on the 14th off Fro Havet. 12 crewmen are lost from the Sonja, the 9 are rescued by the Norwegian steamer Inger.
• U-28 sinks the Finnish steamer Sarmatia (2417t) southwest of Ireland. The entire crew of 23 is rescued.

Britain, Home Front

Churchill broadcasts saying that the Battle of France is over and that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. He delivers his memorable speech in the face of adversity: "Let us brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, 'This was their finest hour'."

Churchill's 'Finest Hour' Speech

Diplomatic Relations

• Hitler and Mussolini meet again at Munich to work out a common policy towards France and divide up the spoils. Il Duce is disappointed that Italy's colonial empire is not to be expanded as Hitler permits the French to retain far more territory and independence than Mussolini desired.

  Mussolini and Hitler in Munich

• Bulgaria demands the area of Dobruja from Rumania.

France, Politics

French Foreign Minister Paul Baudouin and Adm François Darlan, French Minister of Marine Affairs, assure the American chargé d'affaires and the British ambassador, Sir Ronald Campbell, that the fleet will be evacuated or scuttled rather that let it fall into enemy hands.

Gen de Gaulle, as yet comparatively unknown to the majority of his countrymen, broadcasts from London urging the French to fight on, saying because it is a world war in which the Battle of France represents only one episode. He, therefore, invites the French living in England to get in contact with him to continue the struggle. This appeal does not arouse any great enthusiasm.

De Gaulle Speaking on the BBC

Air Operations, Europe

Italian aircraft raid Bizerta. During the night the Germans bomb Bordeaux: 63 are killed, 180 are injured.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The French steamer Mexique (12,220t) sinks on a mine entering Verdon Roads. The entire crew is rescued.
• U-28 sinks the Greek steamer Adamandios Georgandis (3443t) southwest of Ireland with the loss of 1 crewman.
• U-32 sinks the Yugoslavian steamer Labud (5334t) southwest of Fastnet. The entire crew is rescued.
• U-48 sinks the Norwegian steamer Tudor (6607t) from convoy HG-34F northwest of Cape Finisterre with the loss of 1 crewman. The rest of the crew is picked up by the British corvettes Arabis and Calendula. U-48 also sinks the British steamers Baron Loudoun (3164t) and British Monarch (5661t). 3 are missing from the Baron Loudoun with 30 survivors. All 40 of the crew of the British Monarch are lost.
• U-52 sinks the British steamer The Monarch (824t) and the Belgian steamer Ville de Namur (7463t) 250 miles off Corunna. There are no survivors from The Monarch and there are 25 missing from the Belgian steamer.

Britain, Home Front

The Children's Overseas Reception Board is established to send 20,000 school-aged children to the Dominions for the duration of the war.

France, Politics

Gen de Gaulle again broadcasts to the French from London: this time his speech is political and marks his definite breach with the Pétain government.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Orpheus is sunk by the Italian destroyer Turbine near Tobruk.

Baltic States

Russian demands regarding territory and a new government are met by Estonia.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The French steamer Foucauld (11,028t) is sunk by German bombing at La Pallice.
• The French tanker Brumaire (7638t) is sunk by German bombing off Belle Ile.
• The Greek steamer Adamantios (4277t) is sunk by German bombing at La Rochelle.
• U-30 sinks the British steamer Otterpool (4876t) 130 miles west of Ushant. 23 crewmen are lost. 16 survivors are picked up by the British sloop Scarborough.
• U-38 sinks the Swedish steamer Tilia Gorthon (1776t) 45 miles west of the Scilly Islands with the loss of 10 crewmen. 11 survivors are rescued by the British sloop Leith.
• U-48 sinks the Dutch motor tanker Moordrecht (7493t) west of Cape Finisterre. 25 of the crew are lost, 4 survivors are picked up by the Greek steamer Orion.
• U-122 sinks the British steamer Empire Conveyor (5911t) 50 miles south of Barra Head, Hebrides with the loss of 3 of her crew. 38 survivors are rescued by the British destroyer Campbell.
• The British steamer Stesso (2290t) is sunk by German bombing at Cardiff. The entire crew is rescued.
• The Panamanian tanker James McGee (9859t) sinks on a mine 4 miles from Nash Point. The entire crew is picked up by the British destroyer Wolverine.

Britain, Home Front

The entire output of Thompson sub-machine guns (300 t per week) is to be delivered from US manufacturers in weekly shipments.

Diplomatic Relations

• The French Foreign Minister, Paul Baudouin, sends to the Spanish ambassador to France the names of the French plenipotentiaries who will sign the armistice with the Germans. They include ambassador Lèon Noël, Minister Plenipotentiary Rochard, Adm Maurice R. LeLuc and Gens Georges Parisot and Jean-Marie Joseph Bergeret, with Gen Charles Huntziger as chairman.

  German Troops on the Outskirts of Paris

  The directive given them contains a single clause: they are to break off the talks at once if the Germans ask for the French fleet to be handed over to them. At 2:00pm the delegation sets out for the armistice talks which are to be held at Compiègne in the same railroad carriage and on the same site as the negotiations which ended World War I.

  The German terms include important financial concessions, such as the extension to France of Reichskreditkassen, banks created in wartime for the troops in occupied countries, which will issue banknotes having legal currency at par with the French currency. Another provision is the Devisenschurzkommandos, by which all foreign bank accounts are immediately frozen and payments to them by French citizens are blocked.

• French authorities in Indochina bow to a Japanese threat and halve the transit of arms to China via Haiphong. The area of Tonkin, adjacent to China, is opened to Japanese military control.

Air Operations, Europe

50 German aircraft make scattered night raids over many parts of England, guided by radio beams.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-boat U-122 and her 48 member crew disappear in the Irish Sea area possibly sunk by a mine. A 'Special Service Vessel', the Cape Howe (decoy ship), the Prunella, is sunk by U-28 west of Ireland with the loss of 56 men. 27 of the crew are rescued by the French steamer Casamance and 13 more by the British destroyer Versatile on the 27th.
• The British submarine H-44 sinks the Danish steamer Alfa (844t) off Texel.
• The French steamer Mencanicien Principal Carvin (4282t) is sunk by German bombing at Le Verdon.
• U-38 sinks the Belgian steamer Luxembourg (5809t) west of St Nazaire with the loss of 5 crewmen.
• U-43 sinks the British steamer Yarraville (8627t) southwest of Figuera da Foz, Portugal with the loss of 5 of her crew. 45 survivors are picked up by the French trawler Marie Gilberte.
• U-47 attacks 3 steamers in convoy HX-49. The San Fernando is badly damaged and taken in tow but sinks before arriving in port. 17 survivors are picked up by the British sloop Sandwich.
• U-52 sinks the Finnish steamer Hilda (1144t) in the Bay of Biscay after she had been damaged by German bombing. 5 of the crew are lost, 11 survive.

German Raiders

The German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin passes through the Denmark Strait on her outward voyage.

Japan

Prince Konoye forms a new Japanese cabinet with Gen Hideki Tojo as Minister of War.

Rumania

King Carol II forms the 'National Party' which includes members of the Iron Guard. Jews are excluded from membership. They are 'to guide the moral and material life of the nation'.

Diplomatic Relations

Hitler receives the French plenipotentiaries at Réthondes in the Forest of Compiègne in the same railway coach in which the German surrender was signed at the end of the First World War. Gen Keitel reads the dossier accusing the French of deceit and aggression. The German armistice terms are given to the French delegation. The Germans will permit no discussion.

Second Armistice at Compiègne

All the French are allowed to do is ask for clarification. In addition to the provisions for establishing a vestigial French State and for demobilizing the French Armed Forces there are stringent financial clauses.

Gen Huntziger obtains permission to speak to Gen Weygand on the telephone. Weygand is told of the severe conditions dictated by the Germans: three-fifths of French territory will be under occupation, prisoners of war will not be released, the costs of occupation will be assessed by Germany, and the French army will be reduced to 100,000 men.

Secret War

A specially equipped RAF Anson aircraft detects a radio beam transmitted from Germany in the direction of the Rolls Royce works in Derby. R.V. Jones, who heads British Scientific Intelligence, gives evidence to an important investigating committee concerning a German radio navigation aid code named Knickebein, or 'bent leg'. Churchill gives orders for countermeasures to be developed. Vital progress in this field is soon made and plays a large part in mitigating the effects of the German Blitz in the coming months. Henry Tizard, who, more than any other, has been responsible for organizing the British use of radar, resigns because his advice is disregarded. His resignation confirms the position of the less reliable Frederick Lindemann (Lord Cherwell) as Churchill's principal scientific advisor.

Air Operations, North Africa

During the night Italian SM.81 3-engined bombers raid Alexandria. There are 25 casualties.

Baltic States

Russian demands regarding territory and a new government are met by Latvia.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-46 attacks the British Force H as it battles against hurricane-force winds en route from Scapa to Gibraltar. The Ark Royal is probably hit, but the torpedoes fail to explode.
• U-32 damages the Norwegian motor tanker Eli Knudsen (9026t). The entire crew is taken off; 38 by the British sloop Sandwich and 14 by the British anti-submarine trawler Agate. The tanker is taken in tow, but sinks on the 23rd.
• U-38 sinks the Greek steamer Neion (5154t) 40 miles west southwest of Belle Ile with the loss of 1 crewman.
• U-65 sinks the Dutch steamer Berenice (1177t) off Bordeaux with the loss of 39 passengers and crew. There are 8 survivors.
• U-122 is presumed lost on this date due to either a mine or an accident resulting from mechanical or drill failure. There was no Allied claim for her loss.

  U-122

  Class	Type IXB
  CO	Korvettenkapitän Harald Loof
  Location	North Sea
  Cause	Unknown
  Casualties	48
  Survivors	None

Burma

Churchill closes the Burma road to avoid war with Japan.

Diplomatic Relations

Gen Huntziger, who leads the French delegation, signs the armistice with Gen Keitel in the Compiègne railroad carriage specially taken out of its museum. It is appropriate that Huntziger, who led the 2nd Army at Sedan at the start of the campaign, should be involved in the final act.

Armistice Agreement Between Germany and France

Air Operations, Europe

French bombers raid Palermo in Sicily.

Atlantic

The uncompleted French destroyer Lansquenet escapes from the Gironde Estuary in western France under German artillery fire. It arrives in Casablanca 27 June.

Egypt

The Coalition Government of Aly Pasha Maher falls. The Wafdist (Nationalist) Party leader Nahas Pasha refuses to form a new government. A new weak Coalition Government is formed under Hassan Pasha Sabry on 28 June.

France

The Italians occupy the Riviera resort of Menton described by Italian commentators as a 'strongly fortified town'!

Hitler in Paris

France, Politics

Pierre Laval is appointed Deputy Premier by Pétain. Incidentally de Gaulle is also officially cashiered by Gen Weygand on this day. Gen de Gaulle forms the French National Committee in London.

Diplomatic Relations

French and Italian Representatives Meet

France

Adm Jean Darlan orders all French naval captains to keep their ships from falling under German control.

Occupied France

The Pétain government declares it will remain in France and exercise domestic control.

Persian Gulf

The Italian submarine Galvani is sunk by the British sloop Falmouth in the Persian Gulf, on the basis of secret documents recovered from the captured Italian submarine Galilei (see Jun 19).

Diplomatic Relations

• The Franco-German armistice comes into force.

  France Divided

• The Japanese put pressure on the French authorities in Indochina to block the transit of supplies to the Chinese Nationalists. They wish the rail line into China to be closed and a Japanese mission to be allowed in to inspect this.
• Speaking in the House of Commons, Churchill criticizes the Pétain government and declares that Britain must save herself to save the honor of France and of the world. Pétain replies that it is not for Churchill to be the judge of French honor and declares, 'Our honor is safe! Now we must concentrate our efforts on the future. A new order is about to begin.'

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 28 June.

Atlantic

The British government takes steps to prevent French warships from returning to home ports. A general blockade of the European coastline from the Bay of Biscay to North Cape of Norway is announced by Britain.

Diplomatic Relations

A confidential meeting is held between British and Australian representatives and the United States' Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The British and Australians ask for help in standing up to Japan. They wish the United States to take economic measures or to move more units of the fleet to Malaysian and Philippine waters or to offer to mediate between China and Japan. Hull is unable to agree to any of these moves which would involve a more active foreign policy than the American public is prepared to contemplate at this time.

Air Operations, Europe

German aircraft bomb and strafe Jersey and Guernsey. 33 people are killed and 40 injured.

Air Operations, North Africa

Marshal Italo Balbo, Italy's celebrated aviator and Governor-General of Libya, is killed by 'friendly' antiaircraft fire while flying over Tobruk during a British air raid. Marshal Graziani is appointed to replace him.

Marshal Italo Balbo

Atlantic

The Canadian destroyer Fraser and the British cruiser Calcutta collide in the Gironde Estuary. The Fraser sinks.

Britain, Home Front

The Channel Islands are demilitarized and 26,700 civilians are evacuated.

Registering for Evacuation

Diplomatic Relations

• Britain recognizes the Free French government of de Gaulle.
• Having no support form Germany, Rumania is forced to give in to Moscow, and the Red Army occupies Bessarabia and Northern Bukovino. Rumanian impotence will encourage Hungary to seize northern Transylvania and Bulgaria to take the southern Dobruja, a region located between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, during the next few weeks.

Battle of the Atlantic

A 'Special Service Vessel' or decoy ship, the Williamette, is sunk by a U-boat west of Ireland.

France

The French government decides to move from Bordeaux to Vichy.

France, Politics

Gen Charles de Gaulle is recognized by Britain as 'Leader of all free Frenchmen'.

German Propaganda

The German government 'White Book' is published containing details of Allied plans to 'invade' the Low Countries.

Japan

Japan declares the South Seas as an area where it has a special interest, broadening an assumed sphere of influence. Foreign Minister Arita says, 'The countries of East Asia and the regions of the South Seas are geographically, historically, racially, and economically very closey related.... The uniting of all those regions in a single sphere on a basis of common existence, insuring thereby the stability of that sphere, is a national conclusion.'

Destruction in the Far East

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-boat U-102 disappears in the Irish Sea area possibly sunk by a mine. The British cargo liner Avelona Star (13,400 t) is sunk by U-43 southwest of Lands End.
• From the beginning of June to date a dozen merchant ships have left the United States for Britain carrying guns and other arms.

Channel Islands

The Germans land on the Channel Island of Guernsey, the only British territory occupied in World War II.

United States, Politics

In the Republican Party convention held this week in Philadelphia Wendell Willkie is selected as the presidential candidate after the 6th ballot by a margin of 654 to 318 over Sen Robert A. Taft. The convention is overwhelmingly in favor of a policy of non-intervention in the war.