World War II in real time

Day 129 of World War II, January 7th 1940

From World War II Realtime Instagram Account

The British lose multiple submarines by German minesweepers. British submarine HMS Undine is on its fourth patrol of 1940 near Heligoland when it signs what appear to be three trawlers. They turn out to be German minesweepers, and HMS Undines attack fails. The minesweepers open fire and the Undine is damaged beyond repair. The crew abandons the vessel after setting demolition charges and the crew is picked up by the Germans.

More intriguingly, today is the day that the HMS Seahorse allegedly sinks. The British submarine left the Scottish port of Rosyth on the 26th of 1939 for a patrol on the Danish coast. It should return on 9 January 1940, but that submarine was never heard from again. The submarine was listed missing, and the British suspected that it had hit a German mine. However, German records suggest that the HMS Seahorse was sunk by German minesweepers on the 7th. Those records show that the First German Minesweeper flotilla performed a depth charge attack on an unidentified submarine in the area.

Photo: HMS Seahorse in Portsmouth in 1933.



Battle of the Atlantic

City Of Flint, now flying under the Finnish flag, departs from Narvik for Baltimore under its original captain, Joseph A. Gainard. He is awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the ordeal.

British vessels Towneley and Cedrington Court hit mines and sink.

German freighter Konsul Horn, interned in Aruba, escapes. It disguises itself as a Soviet merchant freighter to evade US neutrality patrols.

The British at Gibraltar release the US passenger liner Manhattan.

Convoy 68 GF departs Southend, Convoy OB 68 departs Liverpool.

Western Front

There is artillery fire east of the Blies.

China

Chinese 5th War Area (31st Army Group) captures Huashan.

Day 131 of World War II, January 9th 1940

From World War II Realtime Instagram Account

The British government releases a press release announcing the creation of a Royal Air Force Command in France, which will be called ‘British Air Forces in France’ (BAFF). Air Marshall Barratt will be the officer in command of the Air Forces in France. The command has ensure, with more and more British troops moving to France, optimal coordination between the RAF, other British army branches and the French army. The headquarters of BAFF would be set up Chauny in France, next to the HQ the commander of the French Armée de l’Air, François d’Astier de La Vigerie.

The BAFF command will be officially set up on 15 January 1940, and consists of two different formations. First, the Air Component, which is the RAF command of the British Expeditionary forces, will provide reconnaissance and fighter support. Second, the Advanced Air Striking Force, or AASF, will provide bomber support by light bomber squadrons based close to the Franco-German border. The BAFF also had the capability to request bomber support from RAF bombers based in the UK.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Admiralty reports that out of 5,911 ships in convoy, only 12 had been sunk while protected by the convoy.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) torpedoes and sinks 1,343 ton Norwegian coal freighter Manx off Kinnaird Head, northeast Scotland. 30 of the crew survive, nine perish. Four men perish in the icy water due to an upturned lifeboat.

The British lose a third submarine in the Heligoland Bight in only a few days. This time, HMS Starfish is damaged by a German minesweeper, M-7, with depth charges after its torpedoes misfire. After over eight hours of nightmarish depth charge attacks, the submarine begins to leak and Lt. Thomas Turner orders the sub to be scuttled. Everyone survives. The Admiralty suspends operations in the Heligoland Bight.

Photo: British S class submarine HMS Starfish underway circa 1938.



German blockade runner Bahia Blanca hits an iceberg and sinks northwest of Iceland, assisted by Royal Navy cruiser HMS Newcastle.

British 10,002 ton liner Dunbar Castle hits a mine and sinks off Ramsgate off the southeast coast of England. It has been with Convoy OA-69, which just left port. Ten lives are lost, including the Captain, 7 crew, and one passenger. In addition, a racehorse is lost. Chief Officer Herbert Robinson gets everyone in lifeboats despite a heavy list and earns the OBE.

The Luftwaffe sinks British freighters Gowrie and Oakgrove

Kriegsmarine destroyers lay magnetic mines off Newcastle and Cromer.

US freighter Western Queen is detained at Gibraltar by the British.

Convoy OA 69 departs from Southend, and OB 69 departs from Liverpool.

Western Front

A colonial contingent from Cyprus lands in France to join the BEF.

Air War over Europe

The British create a Royal Air Force command in France. Marshal A. S. Barratt is Commander-In-Chief.

China

The Japanese forces near Huangyang begin to receive reinforcements. They are opposite the Chinese 5th War Area. The reinforcements will bring the force to 3 full regiments.

Japanese units withdraw from the Pingchangkuan - Hsiaolintien - Kungchiafan sector, pushed by the Southern Honan Army of Chinese 5th War Area.

Day 133 of World War II, January 11th 1940

Mechelen Incident

In a fit of pique, Hitler fires General Helmuth Felmy, commander of the air fleet (2d Luftlotte) involved, and also his chief of staff Josef Kammhuber. For the moment, Fall Gelb remains on the docket for 17 January, because nobody knows yet how much the Belgians learned. Several senior officers burn their hands throwing papers into stoves and then retrieving them to see how much remains legible. Hitler issues Fundamental Order No. 1 about the handling of military secrets.

The Belgians attempt to trick Reinberger into thinking they didn't learn anything from the papers so that he will tell that to the German ambassador. This does work for now.

In fact, the Belgians had basically all the information. General Raoul van Overstraeten concludes that the documents are genuine. King Leopold informs the French, via General Gamelin, and the Belgians give them a copy. They also tell Lord Gort, in charge of the BEF.

Everyone considers a German attack imminent.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-23 (Oberleutnant zur See Otto Kretschmer) torpedoes and sinks 1,150-ton Norwegian coal freighter SS Fredville east of the Orkney Islands. The bow of the ship remains afloat for some time but eventually sinks. There are five survivors and eleven perish. A Swedish ship picks up the survivors and takes them to Kopervik, Norway.

British freighter SS El Oso hits a mine and sinks 6 miles from the Bar lightship at Liverpool. Three crew perish, 32 survive.

The British at Gibraltar detain US freighter Tripp.

Convoy OA 70G departs Southend, and OB 70 departs from Liverpool.

Air War over Europe

The RAF coastal command attacks three Kriegsmarine destroyers off Jutland, and also protected three British cargo vessels in the same area from Luftwaffe attack.

A Heinkel 111 crashlands in Holland after being shot up by RAF fighters.

The Women's Section of the Air Transport Auxiliary goes into action. The women deliver the first aircraft from factory to depot. Some civilian men who are waiting for a commission into the RAF are unhappy at this employment of women.

China

The Battle of Kunlun Pass comes to an end. The Japanese and the Chinese have been fighting for the pass since 18 December 1939 (after the Japanese took the pass from the Chinese in the fall of 1939). The Kunlun Pass is an important strategic position, vital for the supply lines of the Nationalist Chinese army. After the Chinese killed the Japanese commander, Major General Masao Nakamura back in December, the 21st Brigade – the elite unit of the Japanese 5th Division, was sent in to clear the pass. Yet the brigade, nicknamed ‘unbreakable sword’, are unable to break the Chinese 5th corps defences, and the Chinese hold the pass.

Day 135 of World War II, January 13th 1940

Mechelen Incident

Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen broadcasts at 22:30 on 13 January 1940 an immediate recall of all 80,000 Belgian troops on leave. He also orders barriers between France and Belgium removed. Bergen has convinced himself that the attack will occur on 14 January. He risks displeasure for these dramatic acts because he has acted entirely on his own initiative, without requesting permission from the Crown, which takes a very active role in public affairs. Holland declares a "state of readiness."

The Germans in fact have been considering moving the attack date forward from the 17th, as contemplated in the lost plans, to the 14th. This is because that would give the Allies less time to shift their own forces to meet the attack. However, somewhat perversely, because the Belgians have temporarily convinced the German high command that they did not have the plans, the issue is not a priority. Before talking to Hitler, General Jodl postpones the date tentatively to the 15th or 16th, depending on further news. When everybody sits down to hash it out, Hitler ultimately intervenes and definitively postpones the attack until 20 January, supposedly due to the weather. By now, though, in light of the frantic Allied military moves, it should be clear that the Allies know all about the plan.

Western Front

There is artillery fire west of the Vosges Forest and east of the Moselle.

Air War over Europe

The RAF conducts extensive surveillance over the Reich. It also drops propaganda leaflets over Vienna and Prague.

The RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 over the Firth of Forth.

First flight of the Yakovlev Yak-1. It suffers from oil overheating issues.

Battle of the Atlantic

At 04:20, U-20 (Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 1,524 ton Swedish freighter Sylvia northeast of Aberdeen. All 20 crew perish, only one body is recovered on a raft.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Narbo. They release US freighter Tripp, though not with all her cargo.

Convoy OA 72 departs from Southend, OB 72M departs from Liverpool, and HG 15F departs from Gibraltar.

German Homefront

So many men are now employed in the Wehrmacht that the male workforce in industry is falling. Nazi party leaders bruit about encouraging women to work outside the home, which is against Hitler's convictions.

Day 136 of World War II, January 14th 1940

From World War II Realtime Instagram Account

17 members of the American paramilitary fascist organisation ‘Christian Front’ are arrested by the FBI. They were planning a plot to overthrow the US government and to establish a Fascist regime in its place. The American Council of Public Affairs writes in 1940: ‘Investigation pounced on seventeen members of a Christian Front "inner circle" and uncovered a fantastic little Putsch. Using Irish Republican Army techniques (down to similar methods of manufacturing explosives) this little group was accused of planning to bomb selected buildings, seize public utilities, blast bridges, terrorize Jews, appropriate Federal Reserve gold, assassinate fourteen Congressmen, and set up a dictatorship.’

Cristian Front was established back in 1937 by Father Charles Coughlin, one of the first religious and political leaders to use radio broadcasts to reach a mass audience, mostly East Coast Irish, Italian and Polish Catholics. Steadily, Coughlins broadcasts moved more and more towards the far right, into pro-Hitler, anti-semitic and general fascist territory. ‘In New York, where it reached the most advanced stage, the new anti-Semitism has been a domestic storm-troop mob running amuck, spewing racial hatred, fomenting violence, staging street scenes never before witnessed in the city's history. […] the Christian Front and its shenanigans have taken on startling resemblances to early Naziism,’ writes Journalist Theodore Irwin in 1940.

Even though 17 members of Christian Front are arrested for sedition, Coughlin stays in the clear. He has high-ranking, anti-communist friends in the American Catholic Church, who are – for now, willing to back him up. FBI director Hoover even claimed that Father Coughlin didn’t have any connections to Christian Front whatsoever and therefore no actions against him are needed.

Mechelen Incident

While Hitler has postponed his invasion, the Allies still anticipate it. On the morning of the 14th, Dutch Supreme Commander Izaak H. Reijnders cancels all pending leaves, closes strategic bridges and plants them with explosives. Belgian King Leopold messages Winston Churchill asking for guarantees should the Germans invade.

The mood does not improve during the day, and General Gamelin orders his troops to advance to the Franco-Belgian border during the night. This causes a diplomatic row between France and Belgium, which had never consented to French troops on its neutral territory. Meanwhile, Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen, who acted precipitously on the night of the 13th to cancel leave in a dramatic national broadcast, falls into disgrace when the invasion he expects on the 14th fails to occur.

In essence, the Mechelen Incident is turning into one of the most successful, albeit completely unintended, subversive operations to unnerve and split the enemy of the entire war.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British government replies to the concerns of the American governments that have complained about violations of neutrality during the Battle of the River Platte. British Minister to Panama submits a diplomatic note stating that:

"The British "reserve their full belligerent rights in order to fight the menace presented by German action and policy and to defend that conception of law and that way of life, which they believe to be as dear to the peoples and Governments of America as they are to the peoples and Governments of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Greyhound captures German freighter Phaedra.

US freighter Narbo is released from detention at Gibraltar, but the British seize some of her cargo.

Convoy OG 14 forms at Gibraltar, and HX 16 departs from Halifax.

German Military

The plan for the invasion of Norway was Admiral Raeder's idea originally, and Hitler hands off proposed Operation Weserubung to the Kriegsmarine to work up (it is still called Studie Nord). The operation is scaled larger, with an increase from just one division to a full oversized army corps (mountain division, airborne division, motorized rifle brigade & two infantry divisions). The planners also expand the initial targets to suppress resistance and forestall British intervention. Denmark is added as a target to create a land bridge in the direction of Norway. Warships are to be used as troop transports to speed and the element of surprise. The plan becomes more comprehensive, but also exposes the force to potential Royal Navy attacks.

Japan

Faced with serious and unexpected reverses in China from the Chinese Winter Offensive, the Abe government resigns. Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai replaces him and forms a new government.

China

The Chinese 5th War Area is still on the attack. It launches probes against Kaocheng, Shihlingszu, Wangchiatai, Sunchiatien, and Chuchiamiao.

Day 138 of World War II, January 16th 1940

From World War II Realtime Instagram Account

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain holds a speech in the first meeting of the British parliament in 1940. Among other things, he reacts to the current situation in Western Europe. Contrary to what the Germans said yesterday (on which we did a post as well), Chamberlain claims that the neutral nations’ precautions to a German threat are wise. ‘We cannot but admire the calm and courageous attitude both of the two governments and of the Belgian and Dutch peoples.’ Obviously, the tone of Prime Minister suggests, as the Germans feared, that the British too presume that the neutrals lean towards the Allied side in case of war.

Chamberlain comments on the Winter War going on in Finland, and praises the Finns for their ‘heroism’. He uses the speech to promise help to Finland: ‘Arrangements have been made by which export licences are being granted for the release, consistent with the needs of His Majesty’s Government, of certain war material of which the Finnish Government are in need.’

The Prime Minister concludes his address with a brief look into the future: ‘At the moment there is a lull in the operations of war, but at any time that lull may be sharply broken, and events may occur within a few weeks or even a few hours which will reshape the history of the world. […] if that should prove to be the case, we are ready for it, and in common with our Allies we will spare no effort and no sacrifice that may be necessary to secure the victory on which we are determined.’

French Government

Premier Daladier has been extremely critical of communist subversion of the war effort. Today, 66 communist deputies are ejected from the Chamber of Deputies.

Mechelen Incident

At 19:00, Hitler finally decides that Jodl is right about the weather being too poor for an invasion. He postpones Fall Gelb indefinitely. Part of his reasoning may be the frantic defense preparations of the Low Countries and France in recent days - Hitler is renowned for reading foreign newspapers every day.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Admiralty finally announces the loss of the HMS Seahorse, HMS Undine and HMS Starfish on 7-9 January. The Germans then chime in that they have rescued parts of the crew from two of the British boats.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) continues its string of victories from the 15th. At 06:11, it torpedoes and sinks the 4,661 ton Greek freighter Panachrandros west of Brest. All 31 on board perish.

British 9,456 ton tanker Inverdargle hits a mine laid by U-33 two months previously in Bristol Channel. All 49 on board perish in the frigid winter weather some 30 miles from their destination.

British freighter Gracia is travelling in convoy OB-72 when it hits a mine laid by U-30 on 6 January 1940. The ship is damaged but remains afloat for now.

German blockade runner Albert Janus is intercepted by French armed merchant cruiser Victor Schoelcher. The crew scuttles it.

Convoy OA 73 GF departs from Southend, OB 72 departs from Liverpool, OB 73 departs from Liverpool, SL 17 departs from Freetown, and HG 15 departs from Gibraltar.

China

The Chinese 4th War Area recaptures Yinchanao north of Canton.

Day 140 of World War II, January 18th 1940

Western Front

There is an artillery duel to the west of the Saar.

Battle of the Atlantic

The Kriegsmarine orders unrestricted U-boat warfare on Britain and France. This follows months of warfare bound by the international Law of Prize, though the first British passenger ship was sunk on the very first day of the war, 3 September 1939 (apparently mistaken for a warship). U-boats are authorised to sink, without warning, all ships "in those waters near the enemy coasts in which the use of mines can be pretended." Exceptions were to be made in the cases of the United States, Italian, Japanese and Soviet ships. This marks the institution of full and illegal unrestricted submarine warfare for the first time since 1918. [This is according to evidence produced by Admiral Doenitz at the Nuremberg Court following World War II. The Allies argued that 3 September 1939 was the commencement of unrestricted U-boat warfare by Germany. The court did not specify which date was correct but did find Admiral Doenitz guilty on two counts.]

A rush order for buoyant electrical cable is delivered to the Admiralty by the British Insulated Callendar's Cable Company. It is to be used by wooden trawlers dragging it along behind, with the magnetic field sufficient to detonate nearby magnetic mines. This gives new hope to Allied shipping which has been taking a beating from the magnetic mines.

U-25 (Kapitänleutnant Viktor Schütze) continues its lucky streak. It torpedoes and sinks 6,873 ton Swedish freighter Pajala near the Hebrides. British destroyer HMS Northern Duke, escorting the Pajala, rescues the 35 crew and depth-charges the U-25, which escapes.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) also continues its lucky patrol. It stops 1,831 ton Danish freighter Canadian Reefer and disembarks the crew northeast of Cape Villano, Spain. All 26 survive.

U-55 (Kapitänleutnant Werner Heidel) is believed to have sunk 1,304 ton Swedish freighter Foxen off of Pentland Sound in the North Sea. There are only 2 survivors, 1 perish. U-55 does not return from its patrol.

U-9 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Lüth) torpedoes and sinks 1,179 ton Swedish freighter Flandria north of Ymuiden, Holland. There are four survivors, 17 perish.

British authorities in the Bermuda Islands remove European-bound mail from the Lisbon-bound Pan American Airways Boeing 314 American Clipper. The US consul on hand issues a written protest.

Convoy OG 15F forms at Gibraltar.

Netherlands

The crown declares a state of siege in several coastal areas, extending such areas from the German border.

British Homefront

Five workers at Waltham Abbey Royal gunpowder factory in Essex are blown up in a suspicious accident.