Łukasz
Author
(1129)1940
January
February
March
April
- 09
- Key eventGermany invades NorwayOn 9 April 1940 Germany landed troops in Norwegian ports and took Oslo from the air. The king, government and gold left the capital, and Norway fought on.
- The sinking of the Blücher in the Drøbak NarrowsOn 9 April 1940 the guns and torpedoes of Norway’s Oscarsborg fortress sank the cruiser Blücher. The delay let the king, government and gold leave Oslo.
May
- 10
- The capture of Fort Eben-EmaelOn 10 May 1940 gliders carrying German parachute sappers landed on the roof of the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael. The garrison surrendered the next day.
- The Battle for The HagueOn 10 May 1940 German airborne troops landed near The Hague to seize the Dutch Queen and government. By nightfall the Dutch had retaken three airfields.
- 13
- Queen Wilhelmina in LondonOn 13 May 1940 Queen Wilhelmina left the Netherlands aboard HMS Hereward and reached England. The de Geer government followed her the same day.
- Key eventThe breakthrough at SedanOn 13 May 1940, after eight hours of bombing, Guderian’s infantry crossed the Meuse at Sedan and Rommel at Dinant. On 15 May they broke into open country.
- “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”On 13 May 1940, in his first speech as prime minister, Churchill offered the Commons “blood, toil, tears and sweat”. The House backed him by 381 votes.
June
- 10
- Norway capitulatesOn 10 June 1940 the Norwegian forces at home capitulated in Trondheim. Three days earlier the King and government sailed from Tromsø to wage war from London.
- The French government leaves ParisOn 10 June 1940 the French government left Paris for châteaux along the Loire. After talks with Churchill at Briare and Tours it reached Bordeaux on 14 June.
- 17
- The sinking of the LancastriaOn 17 June 1940 the Luftwaffe sank the overcrowded liner Lancastria off Saint-Nazaire. Several thousand died, and Churchill banned any reporting of it.
- The Red Army enters Latvia and EstoniaOn 17 June 1940, a day after the Soviet ultimatums, the Red Army entered Latvia and Estonia. By 18 June all three Baltic states were occupied.
July
- 04
- The Duke of Windsor becomes Governor of the BahamasOn 4 July 1940 the Duke of Windsor, stranded in Lisbon after the fall of France, learned he was to govern the Bahamas. Germany wanted to keep him in Europe.
- The Italians take KassalaOn 4 July 1940 Italian troops from Eritrea took Kassala and Fort Gallabat in the Sudan. A handful of Sudan Defence Force men withdrew after hours of fighting.
August
- 01
- The war of the pins in LuxembourgIn August 1940 Luxembourgers pinned badges with the red lion and the Grand Duchess’s portrait to their lapels in answer to Gauleiter Simon’s Germanisation.
- The Italian submarine base at BordeauxIn summer 1940 the Regia Marina set up the BETASOM base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines joined the Battle of the Atlantic under Dönitz’s operational control.
September
- 16
- The first peacetime draft in the United StatesOn 16 September 1940 Roosevelt signed the Burke–Wadsworth Act. The neutral United States introduced conscription in peacetime for the first time.
- The Italians halt at Sidi BarraniOn 16 September 1940 the Italians took Sidi Barrani, some 95 km from the border, and stopped, building a chain of camps to wait for a road and water.
October
- 24
- Key eventThe meeting at MontoireOn 24 October 1940 Pétain met Hitler at Montoire station. The handshake and his words on the “path of collaboration” opened Vichy’s co-operation with the Reich.
- The Corpo Aereo Italiano over EnglandOn the night of 24–25 October 1940 Italian bombers attacked England for the first time. The raid on Harwich achieved nothing and cost several aircraft.
November
- 12
- Key eventMolotov in BerlinOn 12–14 November 1940 Molotov discussed dividing the world with Hitler and Ribbentrop in Berlin. He pressed on Finland, Bulgaria and the Straits, in vain.
- The Free French take GabonThe surrender of Port-Gentil on 12 November 1940 ended the Gabon campaign. The Free French had taken Vichy's last colony in French Equatorial Africa.
December
- 16
- The raid on MannheimOn the night of 16/17 December 1940, 134 RAF bombers struck Mannheim in reprisal for Coventry. It was the first raid deliberately aimed at a city centre.
- The British enter LibyaOn 16 December 1940 the Italians gave up Sollum, Fort Capuzzo and Sidi Omar and shut themselves in Bardia. The British entered Libya and began to encircle it.