lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985 
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Feb 28, 2019 15:48:53 GMT
Sins 1940 is a leap year and 29 February exists there, there will be two posts today.
Day 181 of World War II, February 28th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
The Royal Navy launches the first in a new class of battleships, HMS King George V.
The Kriegsmarine lays a defensive minefield in the Ems estuary and an offensive field off the British coast.
Convoy OA 100G departs from Southend and OB 100 departs from Liverpool.
Military Intelligence
The U-33, which was scuttled while laying mines, lies in relatively shallow water (30 fathoms). British divers from HMS Tedworth enter it and recover various items from the conning tower. Previously, the British had recovered three Enigma rotors from one of the crew who had been instructed to throw them overboard, but hadn't.
Air War over Europe
The RAF performs extensive reconnaissance over the Berlin/Hannover sector in north Germany, including naval bases at Kiel and Cuxhaven. Paris claims to have shot down two Luftwaffe planes.
Palestine
Mandatory Palestine is divided into zones by Land Transfers Regulations. This effectively hampers land registry by Jews.
Australia
The government forms the 7th Division for deployment overseas.
German Propaganda
Dr. Goebbels warns Sweden not to violate its neutrality. He also tells neutral countries to "curb their public opinion" which is strongly in favor of helping Finland.
German Homefront
While hardly on a total war footing, the Reich closes non-essential factories.
Day 182 of World War II, February 29th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
Shipping Losses for February 1940:
- 63 Allied Ships
- 226,920 tons.
- 4 U-boats sunk.
Today, U-20 (Kplt. Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter SS Maria Rose in the English Channel. There are 12 dead and 7 survivors.
In the Dutch West Indies, the destroyer HMS Despatch intercepts the German blockade runner Troja near Aruba. The crew of the Aruba scuttles the ship lest it be captured, and it sinks on 1 March. Fellow blockade runner Heidelberg, which departs at roughly the same time after dark, evades detection.
The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Cold Harbor.
Convoy OA 101 departs from Southend. Convoy OB 101 departs from Liverpool.
Spies
The Uruguayan Government sells the wreck of the Graf Spee in the River Platte to a local salvage firm for £14,000. The salvage firm in fact is a front for British naval intelligence, which wishes to learn any secrets they can find about, for instance, Kriegsmarine radar. The Admiralty thinks its local representatives paid too much, but useful information is learned about the radar.
British/Japanese Relations
The British return 9 of the 21 German nationals that they abducted from the Asama Maru on 21 January 1940. In exchange, the Japanese agree not to transport German military reservists back to Germany.
German Government
With Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles making the rounds of European leaders, there is widespread concern throughout Europe about what his meddling in European affairs may portend. Hitler in particular is concerned. He instructs everyone who is to meet with Welles that they are to stick to the proper narrative: Britain and France declared war so that they could destroy Germany, and thus Germany must continue defending itself until they stop.
The British have reinstated the Navicert system used during World War I, which basically clears shipped goods as not being contraband in advance. It also is championed by President Roosevelt, but merchants are not as keen about it. The US and other neutral powers are following this system with varying degrees of enthusiasm and compliance. The German Press Department at The Hague issues a statement that anyone adhering to this system will make themselves suspect to Germany.
Estonia
The government forbids its ships to travel in the North Sea except by convoy.
Palestine
There is a spontaneous protest against the British at the recent laws restricting the purchase of land, which many settlers feel is an improper penalty upon Jews.
French Homefront
Minister of Finance Paul Reynaud warns in a broadcast about runaway inflation (le cycle infernal). The words carry weight because of the fairly recent disaster on that score in Weimar Germany. The government is imposing the usual measures to control prices, many of which stretch back to Roman times, including a price freeze, rationing, revaluation of gold reserves, and compulsory use of female labor.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Feb 28, 2019 19:06:46 GMT
Rommel, German Press and Polish Resistance - World War II - Out of the Foxholes (001)
The very first episode of Out of the Foxholes, in which Indy Neidell and Spartacus Olsson answer questions from the online community. In this first edition, they talk about the early-war career of Erwin Rommel, German Press on the Invasion of Poland and the birth of Polish resistance movements after the German occupation in 1939.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 1, 2019 16:30:42 GMT
Day 182 of World War II, March 1st 1940
From World War II Realtime Instagram AccountAmerican Undersecretary of state Sumner Welles pays Germany a visit in his ‘fact-finding’ mission in Europe. Last week, we already saw how he talked to Mussolini and other fascist leaders in Italy. Today, he speaks with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Tomorrow he will speak with Adolf Hitler. The US had withdrawn its ambassador to Germany to protest the invasion of Poland in September 1939, but since the US was neutral, it was still interested to maintain communication with European countries, including Germany. Welles remarks that his meeting with von Ribbentrop was very one sided: ‘Ribbentrop commenced to speak and never stopped […]for more than two hours. The Minister […] sat with his arms extended on the sides of his chair and his eyes continuously closed. He evidently envisioned himself as the Delphic Oracle’. Sumner Welles calls von Ribbentrop ’obviously aggressive, evidently laboring under a violent mental and emotional strain,’ and ‘that ‘Ribbentrop has a completely closed mind. It struck me also a very stupid mind. […] He is clearly without background in international affairs, and he was guilty of a hundred inaccuracies in his presentation of German policy during recent years.‘ He ended his report with ‘I have rarely seen a man I disliked more.’ Battle of the Atlantic
U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) torpedoes and sinks 5,340-ton Italian freighter Mirella in the North Sea. All but one of the 30-man crew survive. The incident is unusual because U-20 first torpedoes the ship at 03:15 and leaves, believing it is finished. At 21:14, though, it sees the freighter still afloat and finally sinks it. Norwegian 1388-ton coal transport Vestfoss is bombed and sunk by Heinkel He 111s of the Luftwaffe X Air Corps about 10 miles east of Copinsay, Orkney Islands. At first it appears as if the freighter might survive and it is taken in tow, but it sinks and the 19-man crew is taken off by another freighter. Needing large, fast transport, the Admiralty informs the Cunard Line that it is requisitioning the Queen Mary for the duration. London terminates German shipments of coal to neutral Italy by sea. The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Exeter. Convoy HG 21F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 20 forms at Gibraltar. Air War over Europe
The British conduct reconnaissance all the way to Berlin, with the focus being Kiel, Lubeck and the Heligoland Bight. The Luftwaffe makes raids off the Yorkshire coast, bombing and strafing Latvian steamer Katvaldis, 1388-ton Norwegian freighter Brott and British fishing trawler Courage. The crew of the Brott abandons ship, which was in a convoy. Middle East
General Wavell begins a major planning conference with officers from the Indian Army. Applied Science
France offers to purchase heavy water from Norway. Heavy water, of course, is useful only for research purposes and atomic bomb construction. Food rationing in France is now in effect. German Military
Hitler has a ground commander, von Falkenhorst, and a naval commander, Admiral Raeder, for Operation Weserubung. He gives the final directive for the invasion, No. 10a, "Case "Weser Exercise" against Denmark and Norway." Hungarian Military
The Hungarians form three field armies: the Hungarian First Army, the Hungarian Second Army, and the Hungarian Third Army. With the exception of the independent "Fast Moving Army Corps" (Gyorshadtest), the field armies are initially relegated to defensive and occupation duties within the regained Hungarian territories. British Homefront
Shortages are developing in unlikely areas. Women are encouraged to fashion light-colored clothes in order to save scarce dyes for uniforms. Lord Haw-Haw continues broadcasting from Hamburg. William Joyce opens his broadcasts with, "Germany calling, Germany calling." A BBC survey finds that one person in six, or almost 20%, listen to the program regularly. The BBC comes on at 21:00, and Lord Haw-Haw's broadcast comes along (conveniently) directly afterward, so many people switch over. China
In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army is digging in around Nanning in the face of expected Chinese attacks.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 2, 2019 14:26:25 GMT
Day 183 of World War II, March 2nd 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
German bombers sink the HMS “Eliziena” about five miles east of Coquet Island. The cargo-liner SS “Domala” carrying mainly British Indian subjects repatriated from Germany was bombed and machine gunned off the Isle of Wight by a German He 111 aircraft with the loss of 108 lives. Dutch ship “Jong Willem”, which rescued 48 of the 183 survivors, was also strafed. Beached and later repaired, she went back into service under the name “Empire Attendant” only to be torpedoed and sunk south of the Canary Islands in Jul 1945 with the loss of all 59 hands.
British cruiser HMS “Berwick” stopped German steamer “Wolfsburg”, which was disguised as Norwegian ship “Aust”, north of Iceland. “Wolfsburg” was scuttled by her crew of 54, who were all subsequently rescued by “Berwick”. “Berwick” sank “Wolfsburg” by gunfire before departure.
British cruiser HMS “Dunedin” stopped German steamer “Heidelberg” 60 miles west of Aruba in the Caribbean Sea. “Heidelberg” was scuttled by her crew of 25, who were all subsequently rescued by “Dunedin” and later delivered to Jamaica.
U-32 torpedoes and sinks 2,818-ton Swedish freighter Lagaholm.
U-17 torpedoes and sinks 695-ton Dutch freighter Rijnstroom.
British freighter Albano hits a mine and sinks.
Liner Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by destroyers HMS Mohawk, HMS Punjabi, HMS Fortune, and HMS Foxhound, heads out of the Clyde. While the cover story is that she is heading for Southampton, in reality, she is going to New York.
U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) lays mines in the Bristol Channel.
The British at Gibraltar detain the US passenger liner Manhattan. It is released later in the day after the British remove some 80 items of cargo.
Air War over Europe
A RAF reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfire gets good photographs of the industrial Ruhr river valley industrial region. In addition, RAF bombers drop leaflets and parachute flares over Berlin.
The Luftwaffe continues searching for shipping targets. The British India passenger liner Domala is bombed by a Heinkel He 111H off the Isle of Wight, with 108 killed or missing of the 291 on board after fires rage out of control. There are reports of machine-gunning of passengers in lifeboats. There are 183 survivors. A rescue ship, Dutch freighter Jong Willem, also is attacked while picking up 48 survivors.
The Luftwaffe also sinks the Dutch vessel Elzienna.
Convoy OA 102 departs from Southend, Convoy 102 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HX 24 departs from Halifax.
US Government
Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles meets with Hitler in Berlin. Hitler tells him that, for Germany, "there is no other solution than a life-and-death struggle." Welles forms a favorable impression of Hitler's health and mind, of whom he says, "while his eyes were tired, they were clear."
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 3, 2019 14:38:54 GMT
Day 184 of World War II, March 3rd 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
The crew of the 3,359-ton German freighter Arucas scuttles the ship rather than be captured by British heavy cruiser HMS York (Captain Reginald H. Portal) south of Iceland. Three crew perish.
British freighter Cato hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. The mine was laid on 2 March 1940 by U-29. There are 2 survivors, 13 perish.
Italy lodges a protest with the British about the blocking of German coal deliveries by sea.
The Luftwaffe takes First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's bait and bombs Southampton, the wrong destination he previously leaked to the press for Queen Elizabeth. Not so good for the people of Southampton, perhaps, but the Queen Elizabeth is safely on her way to New York.
Convoy OA 103GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 103 departs from Liverpool.
Air War over Europe
RAF bombers over-fly Berlin again. The Germans notice and anti-aircraft guns and fighters intervene, but all of the British planes return to base.
RAF sorties over the seaplane bases on the Friesian Islands are met with anti-aircraft fire.
Some Luftwaffe fighters over-fly Belgium and shoot down one Belgian fighter, damage two others.
US Government
US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles follows up his interview with Hitler by meeting with Hermann Goering at Carinhall and Rudolf Hess in Berlin. Goering adheres to the party line, but Welles thinks he has a slightly broader perspective than the other top Nazis and takes a relatively favorable impression. Welles then departs for Paris by train, stopping in Basel.
Sweden
A mysterious bomb explodes in the Stockholm offices of communist newspaper Norrskensflamman. There are five dead.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 4, 2019 15:12:31 GMT
Day 185 of World War II, March 4th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
French 2,679-ton freighter S.N.A. sinks about 60 miles south of Milford Haven in the Irish sea after colliding with another freighter, the Thurston.
The Thurston, for its part, then falls prey to U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart). The 3,072-ton ore carrier is torpedoed and sunk, with 4 survivors and 64 dead. Only 2 sailors (some sources say only 1) from the S.N.A. 1 survive both sinkings - extremely lucky men (or man). The survivors spend 11 hours on an overturned lifeboat. The Thurston carried 4500 tons of manganese ore.
U-29 continues its successful patrol by torpedoing and sinking 6,717-ton British freighter Pacific Reliance. All 53 survive. The Pacific Reliance had been dispersed from Convoy HX-19 and is carrying aircraft parts.
US freighter Exeter is released from detainment at Gibraltar after the British remove 155 sacks of mail destined for Germany, 95 sacks for Italy and 59 for Switzerland. The British do put 140 other sacks of mail previously seized from other freighter and permit the Exeter to sail on.
Convoy HG 21 departs from Gibraltar.
Soviet/Swedish Relations
The Soviet Union, which had denied bombing Pajala on 21 February, formally and belatedly apologizes for the incident. It is very rare for the USSR to ever apologize, so this indicates their interest in maintaining good relations with Sweden and thereby avoiding a larger Scandinavian war.
British Homefront
The Treasury announces that £1,000,000 was raised in saving certificates and defense Bonds during the three days ending 1 March 1940.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 5, 2019 15:34:31 GMT
Day 186 of World War II, March 5th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
U-17 (Kapitänleutnant Udo Behrens) torpedoes and sinks Dutch freighter Grutto of the Dutch coast. All 18 crewmen on board perish as the ship sinks in 6 minutes.
The Royal Navy seizes seven Italian ships carrying German coal in the English Channel.
Convoy OA 104 departs from Southend, OB 104 departs from Liverpool, SL 23 departs from Freetown, HX 25 departs from Halifax, and OG 21F forms at Gibraltar.
Western Front
A German patrol captures a Maginot Line outpost temporarily and takes 16 prisoners, with 2 killed. The British manning it recapture it, with both sides taking casualties.
German Military
Hitler holds a conference with commanders for Operation Weserubung.
General von Kleist, an old cavalry General, and Iron Cross holder from the First World War receives command of his own panzer group, Panzer Group Kleist.
German Resistance
Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, Hitler's former Economic Minister but now a member of the resistance, holds a meeting with Sumner Welles. Schacht, swearing Welles to secrecy, tells him: "A movement is now underway, by leading generals, to depose Hitler. Hitler is the greatest of all liars, a criminal genius." He also tells Welles that atrocities in Poland are "worse than imagined."
Soviet Government
Lavrentiy Beria, the NKVD chief, proposes in a submission to the Politburo that his service execute all captive members of the Polish Officers Corps currently in camps - such as the Kozelsk camp - and prisons in the occupied territories of Poland, which are new portions of Belarus and West Ukraine. The purpose is to deprive any future Polish from ever being a military threat:
All of them are implacable enemies of Soviet power and full of hatred for the Soviet system.
There is definite hatred involved, all right, but if there is some on the Polish side, there definitely is some also on the Soviet side.
The Politburo, including Premier Joseph Stalin, approves the proposal, along with everyone else (Voroshilov, Molotov, Mikoyan, Kalinin, Kaganovich). Some 25,700 Polish men fit the description of the proposal. Executions are to be carried out soon.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 6, 2019 17:00:31 GMT
Day 187 of World War II, March 6th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
The British seize the cargo of Italian ships carrying German coal.
The German crew of the 3,425-ton freighter Uruguay scuttles the ship rather than be captured by British heavy cruiser HMS Berwick (Captain Irving M. Palmer) off Iceland.
The Cunard White Star Liner Queen Elizabeth successfully completes the first leg of its transatlantic crossing, reaching Nova Scotia, and will continue on to New York.
The French launch battleship Jean Bart.
Air War over Europe
The Luftwaffe attacks a lightship off the Norfolk coast and also a tanker, the Shelbrit II, off the northeast coast of Scotland.
Franco/Italian Relations
The French and Italians conclude an expanded trade agreement.
German/Romanian Relations
The two nations conclude a trade agreement in which Germany provides the Romanians with captured Polish weapons in exchange for (more) oil.
Dutch Military
A Dutch armored tug, BV3, enters Den Helder Naval Base just when Dutch submarine O11 is leaving the area. The two collide, and the submarine sinks. Three men perish. There just so happens to be a film cameraman aboard the submarine, and his footage appears in newsreel footage around the world.
YouTube clip of rescue operation of submarine O11
Palestine
British members of Parliament protest the Land Transfers Regulations which have sparked protests, but the House defeats a motion of censure that they bring.
International Red Cross
The IRC is one of the very few reasonably impartial observers of the conflict. They report that fewer than 300 Germans, 300 French & 150 British prisoners of war have been taken in the 6 months of the war.
British Homefront
Farmers are encouraged to kill house sparrows because they eat seeling crops.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 7, 2019 17:53:48 GMT
Day 188 of World War II, March 7th 1940 From World War II Realtime Instagram AccountAmerican Undersecretary of state Sumner Welles visits Paris to speak with French President Albert François Lebrun and Prime Minister Édouard Daladier. I have already dedicated posts on his visit to Italy, where he spoke with Mussolini and other Fascist key figures, and Germany, where he spoke with Adolf Hitler and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. He first has a meeting with Lebrun, who receives Welles at the Élysée Palace. Lebrun was an elderly statesmen at that time. And while he was gentle, cautious and high-minded, he lacked toughness and. Vision. Welles didn’t quite enjoy the. visit, as Lebrun seemed to only talk about his personal life .Besides that, he was frail and forgetful.On a tour through the palace, he struggled to identify the subjects of official portraits and. When he talked about France’s previous wars with Germany he had difficulty remembering names and dates. According to one source ‘ President Lebrun personified the frailty of the Third republic.’ Daladier, who received Welles at the Ministry of Defence on the contrary gave Welles some exclusive insights in his political vision. While Daladier signed the Munich Pact inn ’38, he had no illusions about Hitler and his ambitions. Yet, despite what public statements might say, Daladier ‘would not refuse to deal with the present German regime’ if that’s whats needed to guarantee France’s security. But, as one author notes, Daladiers ‘apparent fortitude concealed a certain indicisiveness’. Battle of the Atlantic
U-14 (Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Wohlfarth) sinks 1,965-ton Dutch freighter Vecht in the North Sea off Knokke-Heist, West Flanders, Belgium. All 22 crew perish. The British detain many more Italian vessels carrying German coal. The ships are brought to The Downs, off Deal in Kent, and anchored off the coast without being unloaded. Other ships are en route to Italy from Rotterdam. Italy is badly in need of the coal, as rationing has been imposed. The incident is turning Italian public opinion against the British, who it is believed are using the war as a pretext for arms deals that Mussolini refuses to approve. It is an extreme example of the high-handed British attitude toward neutral rights that has permeated the Admiralty's conduct to date, exemplified by the seizure of mail and dubious "contraband" and lengthy detainments of neutral vessels. This current squabble gets the tabloid name "The Coal Ships Affair." The Kriegsmarine conducts minelaying operations west of Heligoland. The Queen Elizabeth completes its journey to New York in the service of the Admiralty. Convoy OA 105G departs from Southend. Air War over Europe
RAF planes drop Polish-language leaflets over western Poland, then also drop German-language leaflets over Leipzig and the Ruhr. The Luftwaffe conducts a night raid over ships anchored off the southeast coast of England. The RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 bomber east of Aberdeen. Western Front: Heightened patrol activity continues in the no-man's land between the Maginot and Siegfried Lines. One officer, a Captain Twomey, states that British posts are so poorly situated that "No one can see another to support it." Royal Air Force
Sir Kingsley Wood declares that the fighting capacity of the RAF has doubled over the past year. Concerned about "loose lips," the RAF picks out some men and makes the "specially deputised" to report on those they hear speaking indiscreetly. German Military
Hitler expands Operation Weserubung, which originally was a one-division operation, to eight division. It will include the occupation of Norway and, as a "land-bridge" to Finland, Denmark. At this point in the war, all of Hitler's military decisions are turning up roses. British Government
The debate over land sale restrictions in Palestine boils over in the House of Commons, where Labour laments these cruel impositions on "a weak and hunted race," while Tories point out that "Now is not the time to face Arab revolt." |
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,836
Likes: 13,225
|
Post by stevep on Mar 7, 2019 22:21:31 GMT
Lordroel
Suspect you meant Norway rather than Finland in that last bit as they didn't occupy Finland OTL and I wouldn't describe Denmark as a land bridge to Finland?
Steve
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 8, 2019 5:30:49 GMT
Lordroel Suspect you meant Norway rather than Finland in that last bit as they didn't occupy Finland OTL and I wouldn't describe Denmark as a land bridge to Finland? Steve
Seem you are right, will fix it. |
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 8, 2019 7:12:00 GMT
Day 189 of World War II, March 8th 1940
Battle of the Atlantic
British 5,068-ton freighter Counsellor (Master Harold Coates) hits a mine and sinks near Liverpool. The mine was laid by U-30 on 6 January 1940. All 78 on board survive. The ship is the command ship of the convoy's commodore, Rear Admiral H.G.C. Franklin, RN. A destroyer tried to take it in tow, but it ultimately sank.
The mines laid by U-30 have had a tremendous return, as they now have claimed 6 ships totaling 33,000 tons.
German 5,600 ton freighter Hannover is set on fire by its crew rather than allow its capture by Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine in the Mona Passage off the Dominican Republic. The crew then abandons the ship, which does not sink. Later, a boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin salvages the ship. Two other German freighters, Mimi Horn and Seattle, slip by while the British are occupied and head north.
British submarine HMS Tarpon (Lt. Commander Herbert J. Caldwell) is commissioned.
Convoy OA 106 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 106 departs from Liverpool.
Air War over Europe
Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111s attack fishing trawlers and any other ships that they can spot. Along the British east coast. An RAF reconnaissance goes all the way to Poznan, (occupied) Poland, to drop leaflets, the farthest of the war to date. A Heinkel goes down in the north sea.
German/Italian Relations
One of the lesser-known features of the war is Hitler's correspondence with other leaders. Today, he corresponds with Mussolini, who he wants to join the German war effort, in a sort of chatty way.
German/Norwegian Relations
The Finnish government lodges a secret (or at least not publicized) diplomatic protest with the Germans over the sinking of Norwegian ships.
British Government
Perhaps to allay public fears, the government releases information about the countermeasures it has developed to magnetic mines.
Soviet Military
It is "International Women's Day" in the Soviet Union. Female soldiers are decorated for valor, and there are dance performances and related events in army units arranged by the "sisters of struggle" women's groups attached to them.
Soviet Government: Following on from the 7 March 1940 Politburo decision to execute the Polish officers, their relatives now are condemned as "enemies of the state" and are slated to be sent to Siberia.
US Government
Sumner Welles continues his meetings in Paris. Today, he meets with Jules Jeanneney and Édouard Herriot, who are not interested in negotiating with Germany.
German occupied Poland
German police order all Jews in Lodz to move to the ghetto immediately. Anyone resisting such orders is shot. According to Irena Liebman, a Jewish resident of Lodz: "Starting this morning more & more people filled the streets with knapsacks, suitcases, bundles." It is a "caravan of poverty."
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,836
Likes: 13,225
|
Post by stevep on Mar 8, 2019 10:04:26 GMT
Day 189 of World War II, March 8th 1940German 5,600 ton freighter Hannover is set on fire by its crew rather than allow its capture by Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine in the Mona Passage off the Dominican Republic. The crew then abandons the ship, which does not sink. Later, a boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin salvages the ship. Two other German freighters, Mimi Horn and Seattle, slip by while the British are occupied and head north.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 8, 2019 10:18:52 GMT
Day 189 of World War II, March 8th 1940German 5,600 ton freighter Hannover is set on fire by its crew rather than allow its capture by Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine in the Mona Passage off the Dominican Republic. The crew then abandons the ship, which does not sink. Later, a boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin salvages the ship. Two other German freighters, Mimi Horn and Seattle, slip by while the British are occupied and head north. From a other site I use to update World War II in real-time,so you are right about here name: Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine (I 18) stopped the 5,600 ton German freighter Hannover in Mona Passage, off the coast of the Dominican Republic, at which point the merchantman's crew set fire to the ship and abandoned her. A boarding party from the light cruiser HMS Dunedin (D 93), however, saved the Hannover from destruction. Conflicting representations by British and German diplomats as to the Hannover's exact position prompted the Dominican government to drop the question of violation of territorial waters. The effort expended to capture Hannover, however, allowed German freighters Mimi Horn and Seattle to escape the Caribbean and make a break for Germany. |
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,985
Likes: 49,390
|
Post by lordroel on Mar 9, 2019 12:23:48 GMT
Outbreak of the War Against Humanity (001)
When the Second World War breaks out, it is at first largely a war between one side of totalitarian aggressors against a portion of the democratic countries of the world defending other totalitarian states. From the first day of the war in Poland, as it already is in China, this will be a war against humanity.
|
|
