Atomic Research

President Roosevelt, after receiving advice from Albert Einstein, sets up the Advisory Committee on Uranium. The research at this stage is still fairly slowly paced.

Battle of the Atlantic

Allies shipping losses, 196,000 tons; 5 U-Boats are sunk. (Allied Ships Lost)

Battle of the Atlantic

U-35 sinks the Belgian steamer Suzon (2239t) 42 miles NNW of Ushant Island. The entire crew is picked up by the British destroyer Acheron.

Britian, Home Front

In a radio broadcast Winston Churchill declares that: 'Poland has been overrun by two of the great powers which held her in bondage for 150 years, but were unable to quench the spirit of the Polish nation ... Russia has pursued a cold policy of self-interest.'

Men aged between 20 and 22 become eligible for conscription.

German Raiders

The first news of the German pocket-battleships Admiral Graf Spee and Deutschland reaches the Admiralty. Before the battle of December Admiral Graf Spee will sink 9 ships of 50,000 tons altogether, a totally inadequate return for such a valuable unit.

World Affairs

The Pan-American Conference meets in Panama with 21 countries participating. A 'security zone' ranging between 300 and 600 nautical miles is set up along the coast of each nation within which any act of war is to be interpreted as a hostile act against the nearby American country. The belligerents will, of course, ignore this.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-35 sinks the Greek steamer Diamantis (4990t) southwest of Ireland, 40 miles west of Skellig Rocks. U-35 then lands the 28-man crew at Ballymore on the Kerry coast in southwest Ireland.

Diamantis

Pacific

The Norwegian steamer Hoegh Transporter (4914t) is sunk on a British defensive mine off St John Island at the entrance to Singapore. 1 crew member is lost, but the wreck and the cargo are salvaged.

Poland

The last significant units of the Polish army surrender near Luck. Many Poles have escaped and will gradually find their way to the west.

Although tank units have played a notable part in the campaign, it is interesting to note that the contemporary German official appreciations lay more stress on the traditional-style infantry battles. The tank forces are seen at this stage, except by enthusiasts like Guderian, as little more than useful auxiliaries who can help the infantry do the real work. The first plans for the attack in the west will reflect the official attitude.

The German 10th Army is transferred to the Western Front.

Baltic Sea

The Swedish steamers Britt (1544t) and Mercia (1184t) are captured by German warships 12 miles south of Hano in the Baltic Sea. They are taken to Rendsburg where they are placed in German service.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British steamer Glen Farg (876t) is sunk by U-23 60 miles SSW of Sumburth Head with the loss of 1 crewman. The British destroyer Firedrake picks up 6 survivors and takes them to Kirkwall.

Germany, Policy

The German Naval Command intensifies the war against Allied merchant shipping by lifting various restrictions on the types of vessels which can be attacked.

Diplomatic Relations

A mutual assistance treaty is signed between USSR and Latvia granting Russia sea and air bases.

The Soviets continue their moves to strengthen their position in the Baltic by asking the Finnish government for new talks on altering their boundaries. The Soviets want the cession of some territory near Leningrad, control of the islands in the Gulf of Finland, use of the port of Hanko and other rearrangements of the border in the far north near Murmansk. In return they offer rather more land than they demand in the Suomussalmi area. The Finns only feel able to offer a much smaller range of concessions.

German Raiders

• 8 British and French hunting groups are formed to hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee. At this stage the British and the French can afford to divert considerable forces to such a task. The Admiral Graf Spee captures the British steamer Newton Beech (4651t) in the South Atlantic. After her crew and cargo are transferred, she is scuttled on the 8th.
• The pocket battleship Deutschland sinks the 5044-ton British merchant SS Stonegate (5044t) in the north Atlantic within the US Neutrality Zone.

Diplomatic Relations

Hitler Speaks to the Reichstag

China

Chinese forces defeat the Japanese in the First Battle of Changsa.

Atlantic

Hoping to draw British naval units within range of Luftwaffe bombers, the German battleship Gneisenau leads a Kriegsmarine move on Norway. The exercise meets with little success. The German air units have yet to learn how to mount attacks at sea.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Dutch steamer Bennendijk (6873t) is badly damaged 2 miles southeast of Shambles Light Vessel by a mine laid by U-26 on Sept 8th. She sinks the next day 1 mile north of the Light Vessel.

Western Front

Transport of the BEF to France is completed. A total of 161,000 troops, 24,000 vehicles and tanks, and 140,000 tons of supplies has been moved into France.

Air Operations, Europe

A Dornier flying-boat becomes the first German aircraft to be shot down by a British aircraft when it encounters a patrolling Hudson over the North Sea. Near Landau, air combat sees 5 French Hawks battle with 4 Me-109s. 2 of the German planes are shot down.

Baltic States

In accordance with the Soviet-German agreement, 'Reich Germans' are evacuated from the Baltic States to what the Nazis believe is their racial home in Germany.

Battle of the Atlantic

• US cargo ship City of Flint sailing from New York to Britain is captured by the German pocket battleship Deutschland on the grounds it was carrying contraband material (tractors, fruit and grain). This incident has an effect in swinging American public opinion toward the repeal of the Neutrality Act presently being debated in Congress.
• The British light cruiser Belfast captures the German line Cap Norte (13,615t) 50 miles northwest of the Faroes. She is taken to Kirkwall where she is renamed Empire Trooper and becomes a British troopship.

Diplomatic Relations

A mutual assistance treaty is signed between the USSR and Lithuania. Having been annexed by Poland in 1922, the city and area of Vilna are restored to Lithuania while Russia gets sea and air bases.

Finland

Reserves are called up and some of the frontier districts begin evacuating.

Germany, Planning

Adm Erich Raeder mentions to Hitler for the first time the possibility of invading Norway to secure naval and especially submarine bases (see Dec 8, 1939 and Jan 27, 1940). Churchill is, at this time, arguing in the British Cabinet that Norwegian coastal waters should be mined to interfere with German iron-ore traffic.

Diplomatic Relations

• In a broadcast to the nation, French Premier Edouard Daladier scornfully dismisses Hitler's proposals of October 6.
• Fearing war between Russian and Finland, Roosevelt appeals to Soviet President Mikhail I. Kalinin for restraint on Moscow's part and to 'make no demands on Finland which are inconsistent with the maintenance and development of amicable and peaceful relations between the two countries and the independence of each'.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-48 severely damages the French tanker Emile Miguet (14.115t) 190 miles southwest of Fastnet. She was a straggler from convoy KJ-2. The ship catches fire and is abandoned with 1 crewman killed and 1 missing. The survivors are picked up by the American steamer Black Hawk. She is scuttled by gunfire from the British destroyer Imogen.
• U-48 next sinks the British steamer Heronspool (5202t), a straggler from convoy OB-17, 260 miles southwest of Fastnet. The American steamer President Harding rescues the entire crew.
• U-37 sinks the Greek steamer Aris (4810t) west of Ireland. 2 of the crew are lost, but 27 survivors are picked up by the Dutch steamer Sicilien.

Britain, Planning

Churchill urges the mining of Norwegian waters to disrupt the flow of iron ore to Germany.

Diplomatic Relations

• Hitler's peace proposals are rejected by Neville Chamberlain.
• Negotiations between Russia and Finland continue. The Soviet Union sends Finland a list of territorial demands, which include a land exchange and the right to establish military bases.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Adm Dönitz attempts his first 'wolf pack' deployment of U-boats, but without success. In the Orkneys, Günther Prien, with masterly navigational skill, threads his way throught the boom and net defenses to enter Scapa Flow. Amazingly he remains undetected although surfaces until he reaches his first targets.
• U-40 is mined and sinks in the Dover Strait in the Folkestone-Gris Nez deep minefield. 38 crew are lost with British destroyers Brazen and Boreas picking up 3 survivors.

  U-40

  Class	Type IXA
  CO	Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Barten
  Location	Strait of Dover
  Cause	Mine
  Casualties	38
  Survivors	3

• U-42 damages the British steamer Stonepool (4802t), but is counterattacked by the British destroyers Imogen and Ilex. The submarine sinks 290 miles southwest of Fastnet. 25 of the crew are lost, but the Ilex pics up 17 survivors.

  U-42

  Class	Type IXA
  CO	Kapitänleutnant Rolf Dau
  Location	SW of Ireland
  Cause	Depth charge
  Casualties	25
  Survivors	17

Atlantic

Having evaded German searchers during a remarkable 44-day passage, the Polish submarine Orzel is escorted into British home waters.

Battle of the Atlantic

• After penetrating the strongly defended naval base of Scapa Flow U-47, commanded by Kapitanleutnant Günther Prien, sinks the British battleship Royal Oak. British losses are 835 dead. This action is a serious blow to the prestige of the Royal Navy as well as an indication of a very serious real weakness in the defenses. Churchill orders concrete barriers at the eastern entrance to Scapa Flow.

Battle of the Atlantic

The French steamer Vermont (5186t) is sunk by U-37 360 miles southwest of Fastnet. 2 of the crew are lost with 43 survivors being picked up by the British destroyer Inglefield.

Diplomatic Relations

A treaty is signed between Germany and Estonia for the tranfer to the Reich of Estonians of German origin.

United States, Home Front

A new airport opens in New York City. Construction had begun in 1937, so when dedication time came along New Yorkers were ready and waiting. Around 200,000 people crowded around the half-mile concrete apron in front of the administration building and hangars in order to witness the event. It was officially named New York Municipal Airport, but was more commonly known as North Beach after the private airfield which the 1939 airport replaced as well as the former amusement park and beer gardens which had occupied the spot before the space was used for air travel. The airport did not formally open until December 2nd, 1939 and in 1947 when the Port Authority took over control of the airport, it was renamed LaGuardia Airport.

Air Operations, Europe

In the first air attack on British territory, 9 new German Ju-88 dive-bombers attack British ships in the Firth of Forth. Damaged are cruisers Southampton and Edinburgh and the destroyer Mohawk.

Battle of the Atlantic

The French destroyer Cyclone sinks U-45 in the Bay of Biscay.

Battle of the Atlantic

• During the night of the 17th 6 German destroyers lay mines in the North Sea off the Humber. 7 merchant ships are lost over the next few weeks in this mine field.
• 3 U-boats, U-37, U-46 and U-48, attack the convoy HG-3 off Cape Trafalgar. The British steamer Yorkshire (10,183t) is sunk by U-37 with the loss of 58 lives including 25 crewmen. U-46 sinks the British steamer City of Mandalay (7028t) with the loss of 7 of her crew. 17 survivors are picked up by the Norwegian whaler Skudd IV. The last steamer, the British Clan Chisholm (7256t) is sunk by U-48 with the loss of 4 of her crew. Survivors are picked up by the American steamer Independence Hall.

German Raiders

Steamer Huntsman Evacuated

Estonia

The Russians invade Estonia as part of their quest for control over the Baltic ports. Similar moves will soon be made on Latvia and Lithuania.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The German tanker Biskaya (6386t) is captured by the British armed merchant cruiser Scotstoun on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait. She is taken to Leith where she is renamed Empire Unity and put in British service.
• The German tanker Gonzenheim (4574t) is intercepted by the British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait and scuttled.

Diplomatic Relations

A pact of mutual assistance is agreed upon between France, Great Britain and Turkey. Turkey will remain neutral for most of the war.

Germany, Planning

OKH issues Fall Gelb (Plan Yellow) in response to Hitler's Directive of October 9. This is the plan for the attack in the west. It provides for a holding action on the French border with the main attack being sent through central Belgium with some attention being given to the Dutch. On October 29 it is reissued in a slightly modified form with the main thrust shifted slightly south and less strength being sent against Holland. Neither Hitler nor any of the senior commanders is particularly happy with it and there is much debate as to how it should be modified. The debate continues until mid-February 1940 when those voices calling for a radical change manage to have their way. Gen Erich von Manstein will lead this movement.

Poland

Hitler officially incorporates western Poland into the German Reich. The first Jewish ghetto is established in Lublin by the SS.

Battle of the Atlantic

• Germany warns that neutral merchant ships joining Atlantic 'convoys' will be sunk without warning.
• U-34 sinks the British steamer Sea Venture (2327t) east of the Shetlands and the Swedish steamer Gustaf Adolf (926t) 50 miles northeast of Sullum Voe. All the crew of the Gustaf Adolf are rescued, while the survivors from the Sea Venture row in their lifeboats to a nearby island.
• The German steamer Bianca (1375t) is captured by the British armed merchant cruiser Transylvania in the Denmark Strait. She is taken to Kirkwall and put into British service under the name Empire Warrior.
• The Greek steamer Omonia (3699t) is captured in the Baltic by German warships. She is taken to Swinemünde where she is renamed Olsa for German use.

World Events

Ready To Go

Air Operations, Europe

RAF fighters shoot down 4 of 9 He-115 seaplanes attacking a convoy off the Humber.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The French Force de raide, including the world's fastest destroyer, escort a large convoy and intercept the German SS Santa Fe.
• The German steamer Gloria (5896t) is captured by the British cruiser Sheffield on Northern Patrol in the Denmark Strait about 10 miles off the north coast of Iceland. The ship is taken to Kirkwall where she is renamed Empire Conveyor and placed in British service.

• The German steamer Poseidon (5864t) is captured by the British armed merchant cruiser Scotstoun north of Iceland in the Denmark Strait. Heavy weather prevents a boarding party from being put aboard at that time. It is not until the afternoon of the 22nd that a party is able to board. The Scotstoun then escorts the Poseidon for 29 hours before losing her in thick snow. The British armed merchant cruiser Transylvania finally finds the missing ship early on the 25th, but she is incapable of steaming, is taken in tow and proceeds towards Reykjavik with the British cruiser Sheffield in company. When Icelandic waters are reached, the Sheffield is relieved on Northern Patrol by the British light cruiser Southampton. However, before reaching Reykavik, Transylvania’s tow line parts in a gale and she is forced to sink the Poseidon with gunfire on the 27th.

Poseidon

Britain, Home Front

C.S. Lewis preaches 'Learning in War-Time' at Evenson in St. Mary the Virgin during the early stages of World War II on 22 October 1939. He preaches the sermon to those struggling with whether or not they should or could go on with the task of learning given that the war weighed heavily on the minds and hearts of England.

His conclusion was that the war presented no new reality, only something that awakened us to a reality that was always there: 'But there is no question of death or life for any of us, only a question of this death or of that–of a machine gun bullet now or a cancer forty years later. What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent; 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased'. His point is to encourage Christians, no matter the circumstances, to get on with the task with which they have been handed and to perform their task as if they are working for the Lord. There is no time to wait around on security and safety, or for things to become 'normal', Life has never been normal. It has always been filled with crises.

German Raiders

The British steamer Trevanion (5299t) is sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic.

Trevanion Sinking

Battle of the Atlantic

The German steamer Emmy Friedrich (4372t) is intercepted early in the day by the British light cruiser Caradoc in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship is scuttled and the Caradoc picks up 33 of her crew and takes them to Bermuda.

Battle of the Atlantic

• After laying mines off Dover U-16 is attacked by the British patrol sloop Puffin and the anti-submarine trawler Cayton Wyke. The submarine is damaged but avoids further attacks by the surface ships when she strikes a mine and runs aground on the Goodwin Sands. Later in the day U-16 is discovered with only the conning tower above water and all the crew dead.

  U-16 was the third U-boat to fall victim of the Dover minefields. After this loss U-boats are forbidden to use the Strait of Dover as a passage to the Western Approaches and are forced to use the longer route around the north of Scotland.

  U-16

  Class	Type IIB
  CO	Kapitänleutnant Hannes Weingaertner
  Location	Strait of Dover
  Cause	Depth charge/grounding
  Casualties	28
  Survivors	None

• The Greek steamer Konstantinos Hadjipateras (5962t) is sunk near the Inner Dowsing Light Vessel on a mine laid by U-19 on the 17th. 4 of the crew are lost and 27 are rescued.
• U-37 sinks 3 steamers to the west of Gibraltar. The British Ledbury (3528t) sinks about 100 miles from Gibraltar. Her crew is picked up by the American steamer Crown City. The British Menin Ridge (2474t) is sunk about 90 miles from Gibraltar losing 20 of her crew. 5 survivors are also picked up by the Crown City. The British Tafna (4413t) sinks about 84 miles off Gibraltar losing 2 of her crew. The British destroyer Douglas rescues 31 survivors.

Baltic Sea

German warships seize 2 merchant vessels; the Swedish steamer Jupiter (2152t) is taken to Kiel and the Greek steamer Marietta Nomikou (5241t) is taken to Pillau.

Poland

German-occupied Poland, not already annexed to Germany, is put under a German Governor-General with his capital at Krakow. Appointed to the post is Hans Frank, a high Nazi official and former Reich Minister of Justice. He takes office November 8 and immediately begins the persecution of Polish intellectuals and Jews.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-34 badly damages the British steamer Bronte (5317t) from convoy OB-25 west of Ireland. Bronte is taken in tow by the tug Englishman, but 2 days later the British destroyer Esk scuttles her.

Diplomatic Relations

• Belgium proclaims neutrality.
• From the Vatican, Pope Pius the XII condemns violence, racism, dictators and treaty violations.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-59 sinks the British trawlers Nidan (565t) and Lynx II (250t) northwest of the Orkneys. The entire crews of both trawlers are rescued by the British trawler Lady Hogarth.

Germany, Policy

Himmler issues the Lebensborn decree telling German women to dispense with marriage and only bear pure Aryan children.

Yugoslavia

In Bratislava Josef Tito becomes the first president of Slovakia.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British steamer Malabar (7976t) is sunk by U-34 from convoy HX-5A 50 miles northwest of the Scillies. 5 of the crew are lost. The British destroyer Grafton picks up the survivors.

North Africa

Girls in the Sun aboard the Sardinia

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-59 sinks the British boarding vessel Northern Rover (655t) on patrol in Fair Island Channel near Kirkwall. All 24 of her crew are lost.
• U-13 torpedoes the British steamer Cairnmona (4666t) out of convoy HX-5B west of the Orkneys losing 3 of her crew. She is taken in tow by the British tug Englishman but sinks later in the day.
• The Greek steamer Thrasyvoulos (3693t) is sunk by U-37 with a loss of 22 crewmen. 6 survivors are picked up by the Norwegian steamer Havmoy.

Diplomatic Relations

• A treaty is agreed upon between Germany and Latvia for the evacuation of Germans from the Baltic regions.
• The USSR has imposed treaties of 'mutual assistance' on each of the three Baltic states, 'allowing' the Soviets to establish military bases in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
• The Soviet Union creates a puppet Finnish government in Moscow under the leadership of a Finnish communist exile, Otto Kuusinen. Kuusinen hates Finland, even the Finnish language, and wants to see the country under Soviet rule. This so-called 'People's Government' has been created to assist Stalin's political and military goals in his attempt to conquer Finland.

Poland

That portion of Poland occupied by the Soviet Union is officially annexed.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-25 sinks the French steamer Baoule (5874t) from convoy 20-K en route from Casablanca to Brest 45 miles WNW of Corunna. 2 of the crew are lost and 11 are missing.

Diplomatic Relations

Beginning this day there are 3 further sets of discussions between the Soviets and the Finns over the recent Soviet demands. No agreement is reached. The Finnish negotiators wish to accept some concessions but their government sees the Soviet attempts to bargain as a sign of weakness. Marshal Gustav Emil Mannerheim opposes this view. In fact, because Vyacheslav Molotov has explained the nature of the talks in a public speech, the Soviets are probably even more firmly committed with prestige at stake. Although it is not apparent to the Finns, there will be no more serious talks after their third meeting on November 9.