WOW! more good stuff Woofiedog!

25 May

1940
On the Western Front... The Belgian forces are driven out of Menin by attacks of units from Army Group B. The last pockets of resistance in Boulogne are eliminated. At 1700 hours Gort cancels the preparations he has been making to join Weygand's offensive. Later in the day Wegand in turn cancels the whole scheme, blaming Gort for this decision. In fact the French forces on the Somme have not made any attacks, as has been claimed, and the French forces with the northern armies are in no condition to do so.

German infantry marching through a town in Belgium

1941
In the North Atlantic... British commanders do not know the Bismark's location but Lutjen breaks radio silence to report and is picked up on the British direction-finding equipment. This information is passed to Admiral Tovey but is at first misinterpreted. Tovey now has King George V and Rodney, but both are short of fuel and by this mistake they lose their chance of meeting the Bismark unless her speed can be reduced.

In the Mediterranean... On Crete, German forces begin to advance westward toward Galatas. The fighting is very intense and the town changes hands several times.

1942
From Japan... A Japanese small carrier task force consisting of two light carrier and two cruisers leave port in Hokkido. Their mission is to carry out a diversionary raid in the Aleutian Island off the coast of Alaska.

From Hawaii... American submarines move into patrol positions as part of the countermeasures to the expected Japanese attack on Midway.

1943
In Washington... The Trident Conference ends.
Roosevelt and Churchill, and their staffs, reach compromises on all of the significant differences. Among the decisions taken is the target date for the invasion of western Europe (D-Day) -- May 1, 1944. British General Morgan is appointed to prepare plans for the invasion. His is designated Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC).

On the Eastern Front... In the Caucasus, the German 17th Army continues to counterattack. Soviet forces continue to hold the offensive.

In the Aleutian Islands... On Attu American forces make some progress along the Clevesy Pass. There is heavy fighting over Fish Hook Ridge.

In the United States... Mississippi river flooding continues. In total, 150,000 people become homeless.

1944
In Italy... Patrols of the US 2nd Corps link up with forces of the US 6th Corps from Anzio near Latina (Pontine Marshes). In its advance, the US 6th Corps captures Cisterna and Cori. The German 10th Army is in danger of being cut off and Army Group C (Kesselring) sends its last reserve, the "Hermann Goring" Division, for reinforcement. The US 5th Army (Clark), however, now puts the weight of its forces into the capture of Rome. Meanwhile, the British 8th Army crosses the Melfa River in strength.

Allied patrols link up near Latina

In New Guinea... American forces advancing from Arare cross the Tirfoam River after engaging Japanese defenders.

In Occupied Yugoslavia... A small force of German paratroopers is dropped near Tito's headquarters at Drvar in Bosnia. The attack is supported by German Stuka dive bombers. Both Tito and the British liaison officer, Major Randolph Churchill, escape capture.

1945
In Washington... The American armed forces Chiefs of Staff set November 1, 1945 as the start date for the invasion of Japan -- Operation Olympic.
From London... Churchill asks all Allied commands in Europe, that have received information from the Ultra project, to maintain its secrecy.

In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, the US 4th Marine Regiment eliminates the Japanese casemates and underground positions on Machishi Hill. The US 29th Regiment secures Naha.

Arcadeace... I fully support your posting and answer.
Thank's

On this day of May 26 1941...

The Bismarck is Discovered

The location and destination of the Bismarck became a matter of wide speculation among the British. If she had been heavily damaged by the Prince of Wales, would she double back and return to Germany? If she was only slightly damaged, would she head for the French coast for repairs or rendezvous with a naval auxiliary vessel to accomplish any necessary repairs at sea? Would she rendezvous with a tanker to take on more fuel? Would she immediately begin operations against convoys in the North Atlantic? The British did not have sufficient resources to adequately cover all of those possibilities, so it became a matter of assessing their probabilities and prioritising the allocation of resources to cover the various alternatives.


On 24-25 May the Bismarck was attacked by Swordfishes from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious. This picture of the Bismarck was taken by one of the Swordfishes during the attack.

Admiral Tovey continued to sail in a south-westerly direction while the Prince of Wales was ordered to remain on a southerly course and join his task force. Force H, now more urgently required than before, was proceeding northward off Spain after leaving its convoy a few hours earlier. Other units of the Royal Navy were also converging on the area to assist in the search for the Bismarck.



As soon as it became light enough on the morning of 25 May, the Victorious was ordered to make an air search to the north-west for the Bismarck, but by that time she was already south-east of that area and heading further away. Several Swordfish took off and after a search of several hours, they returned without success. One Swordfish did not return and was lost without trace.

That morning Admiral Lütjens, apparently in the belief that he was still under radar observation by the British cruisers that had been trailing him, began transmitting a long message to the German Naval High Command. In this message, he reported on the action that took place on the previous morning against the Hood and Prince of Wales. He then described the damage sustained by the Bismarck and his intention to head for St. Nazaire for necessary repairs. He commented on the effectiveness of British radar and other circumstances that adversely affected the accomplishment of his mission.

The German Naval High Command had not intercepted any further sighting reports from the Suffolk since the last one sent out during the night before the Bismarck made her attempt to break away. Convinced that contact had actually been broken, they immediately advised Lütjens of this and ordered him to cease transmission. The Bismarck had apparently been receiving radar signals from the Suffolk, but they were in fact not strong enough to be reflected from the Bismarck and be received by the Suffolk. Lütjens believed that the British radar had a range in excess of the 23,000 meter (25,000) yards it actually had.

The British intercepted Lütjens' transmission at several locations, but their radio direction-finders within range were roughly in a line and therefore could point only in the same general direction. They did not have a direction-finder situated far enough at an angle to the transmission where it could cut across the lines of the other direction-finders and enable them to pin-point its position by triangulation. The direction indicated did, however, give a clue to the course of the Bismarck based on the last known position of the ship. It was now almost certain that she was heading for the French coast, and further search efforts would be concentrated in that direction.

During the day of 25 May, the Bismarck was forced to reduce her speed during the day to a more economical 20 knots instead of her maximum sustained speed of 28 knots. A repair crew was later able to bypass some of the damaged pipes and valving and thereby allow part of the fuel reserves earlier cut off to be tapped for use, but this only slightly alleviated the problem.

At 0300 on 26 May, two American-built Consolidated PBY-5 (Catalina) flying boats assigned to RAF Coastal Command took off from their base in Northern Ireland to conduct a long-range search for the Bismarck.


Flying Officer Dennis Briggs, pilot of the Consolidated PBY-5 (Catalina) flying boat that re-discovered the Bismarck on 26 May.

At about 1030, an observer aboard one of the aircraft spotted the wake of a ship below, and the pilot (Dennis Briggs) immediately turned the plane toward the ship for a closer look. As soon as the ship could be identified as a large warship, possibly a battleship, its position was radioed back to their base. As soon as the Catalina flying boat had come into view, the Bismarck immediately opened fire on it with her anti-aircraft batteries, thereby advertising the fact that she was an enemy warship. About an hour after being spotted by the Catalina, the Bismarck had another unwelcome intruder, a Swordfish on a scouting mission from the Ark Royal, which had just arrived in the area with Force H.

After more than 31 hours of breaking contact, the Bismarck had been discovered again.
Soon the light cruiser Sheffield, also from Force H, was spotted by the Bismarck.
Now that the Bismarck had been discovered, it would just be a matter of time before all of the available resources of the Royal Navy would be thrown against her.

Hits on the Bismarck


356 mm shell hits From British Battleship Prince of Wales (24. May 1941)


Torpedo hit From Fairey Swordfish Aircraft from Aircraft Carrier Victorious (24. May 1941)


Torpedo hits From Fairey Swordfish Aircraft from Aircraft Carrier Ark Royal (26. May 1941)

The Fatal Torpedo Hit

The only hope of destroying the Bismarck was to slow her down sufficiently for the battleships to be able to catch up with her. This task obviously fell to the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, as only her torpedo planes had the range and weapons to do the job. By the time this plan of action had been decided upon, Force H had already steamed some distance further north before Somerville turned his ships on a course parallel to that of the Bismarck at about noon. Force H was still within range, but it would take longer for the aircraft of the Ark Royal to reach their target.

Preparations were immediately undertaken to launch an air strike against the Bismarck as soon as possible that afternoon. The Swordfish aboard the Ark Royal were fuelled, and 18in torpedoes were latched to their underbellies as their crews were being briefed. At 1450 on 26 May, 15 Swordfish aircraft took off from the Ark Royal and headed for the last known position of the Bismarck. Their pilots had just been advised that their target was alone in the area, but in fact the light cruiser Sheffield had been ordered to move up astern of the Bismarck and keep her under observation. The signal concerning the Sheffield had not been deciphered on the Ark Royal in time to alert the Swordfish pilots.



The Swordfish pilots obtained radar contact with what they thought was Bismarck (Sheffield) at 1540 and pressed their attack against the ship shortly after. Fortunately, the Sheffield was not hit by any of the 11 torpedoes that were launched against her. All of the Swordfish aircraft returned safely to Ark Royal at about 1700.

At 1740, the Sheffield obtained contact with the Bismarck and started to shadow her.

The fuel shortage caused by the Prince of Wales' fateful hit required the Bismarck to steam at only 20 knots so that she would have sufficient fuel to reach St Nazaire. Topping off her tanks in Norway or from a tanker at sea would certainly have eased the situation, but that had not been done. Had the Bismarck been able to steam at 28 knots, she would have already been under the protective cover of the Luftwaffe by that afternoon.



Aboard the Ark Royal they knew they only had one more attempt in trying to stop or at least slow down Bismarck as the German battleship would reach the French coast the next day. At 1915, another fifteen Swordfish took off from the Ark Royal.


The erratic wake left by the Bismarck after she was crippled by the Swordfish's torpedo (the attack by "Swordfishes" from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal on 26 May 1941.

The Swordfish attack took place at 2047. Bismarck was hit by a torpedo amidship which caused no damage. But then she was hit by a torpedo in the starboard rudder area. According to the rudder indicator, the rudder was jammed at 12⺠or 15⺠to port (the sources disagree here). Despite that the German anti-aircraft fire was very intense none of the Swordfish aircraft was shot down.


During the attack on 24-25 May 1941, 18 torpedoes were dropped against the Bismarck. The eighteenth and last torpedo dropped, at about 1138, hitting the belt armor in the area of the foremast on the starboard side to score the only hit. This picture probably shows the clouds of smoke from this torpedo hit. For the Bismarck the hit was of no significance.

Also on this day of May 26 1940...

Boulogne fell to the Germans. The Belgian armies, disorganized and short of supplies after 16 days of fighting, could not sustain further attacks, and Leopold III ordered them to capitulate.

Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk begins.

Polish destroyer Blyskawica takes part in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk.

Douglas Bader, a member of 222 Squadron, attempted to protect Allied forces leaving Dunkirk.

We were all flying around up and down the coast near Dunkirk looking for enemy aircraft which seemed also to be milling around with no particular cohesion.
The sea from Dunkirk to Dover during these days of the evacuation looked like any coastal road in England on a bank holiday. It was solid with shipping. One felt one could walk across without getting one's feet wet, or that's what it looked like from the air.
There were naval escort vessels, sailing dinghies, rowing boats, paddle-steamers, indeed every floating device known in this country. They were all taking British soldiers from Dunkirk back home.
The oil-tanks just inside the harbour were ablaze, and you could identify Dunkirk from the Thames estuary by the huge pall of black smoke rising straight up in a windless sky.
Our ships were being bombed by enemy areoplanes up to about half-way across the Channel and the troops on the beaches were suffering the same attention.
There were also German aircraft inland strafing the remnants of the British Expeditionary Force fighting their way out to the port.

General Harold Alexander served under General John Gort who gave him the task of planning the rear guard action that enabled the British Expeditionary Force to be evacuated from Dunkirk.

At Charleville, on 24 May, when the B.E.F. was absolutely ripe for the plucking, Hitler informed his astonished generals that Britain was 'indispensable' to the world and that he had therefore resolved to respect her integrity and, if possible, ally himself with her. Perhaps a less fanciful explanation of Hitler's attitude is supplied by Ribbentrop's representative at the Fuhrer's headquarters, who has left on record the comment: "Hitler personally intervened to allow the British to escape. He was convinced that to destroy their army would be to force them to fight to the bitter end."

On the military side the facts are clearer. On 23 May Field-Marshal von Rundstedt, commanding Army Group A, halted

General Guderian's XIX Army Corps when two of its panzer divisions were heading for Dunkirk, not twenty miles distant and with little or no opposition ahead. The British counter-attack at Arras on 21 May, though undertaken by no more than two mixed columns, each comprising a tank battalion, an infantry battalion, a field battery, an anti-tank battery, and a machine-gun company, had caused him some concern.
He therefore called the halt in order to "allow the situation to clarify itself and keep our forces concentrated". The panzers had just reached the Channel, and the success of this British counterattack engendered the fear of a larger operation that would cut them off from their supporting infantry.
The next morning he received a visit from the Fuhrer, who confirmed the stop order. The panzers were not to be risked in a possibly flooded area but preserved for future operations-presumably against the French Army. On the other hand, the Luftwaffe's 'field of action' was not to be restricted.
Actually, on the available evidence, there can be little doubt that it was at the particular instance of the Luftwaffe's commander-in-chief, Field-Marshal Goering, that in the upshot the B.E.F. Was "left to the Luftwaffe".
Guderian was to write, bitterly, of the first day of the evacuation, 26 May: "We watched the Luftwaffe attack. We saw also the armada of great and little ships, by means of which the British were evacuating their forces." Guderian's bitterness was shared by the whole of the German Army High Command.

A British artillery officer produced an anonymous account of what it was like waiting on the beaches at Dunkirk on 30th May, 1940.

The whole front was one long continuous line of blazing buildings, a high wall of fire, roaring and darting in tongues of flame, with the smoke pouring upwards and disappearing in the blackness of the sky above the roof-tops.
Along the promenade, in parties of fifty, the remnants of practically all the last regiments were wearily trudging along. There was no singing, and very little talk. Everyone was far too exhausted to waste breath. It was none too easy to keep contact with one's friends in the darkness, and amid so many little masses of moving men, all looking very much alike. If you stopped for a few seconds to look behind, the chances were you attached yourself to some entirely different unit.
A group of dead and dying soldiers on the path in front of us quickened our desire to quit the promenade. Stepping over the bodies we marched down the slope on the dark beach. Dunkirk front was now a lurid study in red and black; flames, smoke, and the night itself all mingling together to compose a frightful panorama of death and destruction.

[26 May

1940
On the Western Front... The position of the Belgian army is becoming increasingly grave. It is clear that it is unable to stay in the fight for much longer. The British forces are beginning to fall back on Dunkirk and in the evening the order is issued to begin Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk. Admiral Ramsay, who commands the Royal Navy forces based at Dover, is appointed to command the operation. The scope of the operation is not made clear to the local French commanders at first and they feel, with some justice, that they are being abandoned.

British soldiers wade to waitng boats at Dunkirk

In Norway... The British cruiser Curlew is sunk by air attack off Harstad.

From London... General Dill becomes Chief of the British General Staff. His predecessor General Ironside takes over as Commander in Chief of Home Forces.

1941
In the North Atlantic... A Catalina aircraft finds Bismark only 700 miles from Brest and it is clear that the aircraft of the Ark Royal (of Force H) offer the best chance of slowing the German ship so that she can be caught. The first strike launched by the Ark Royal finds and attacks the British cruiser Sheffield by mistake owing to bad weather. The attack fails because of defects in the magnetic exploders of the torpedoes, so simple contact types are substituted for a second strike. The 15 Swordfish find the correct target and score two hits. One hit wrecks the German battleship's steering and practically brings her to a halt. During the night Bismark is further harried by torpedo and gunfire attacks by five British destroyers. It is unclear whether they score any torpedo hits.

Swordfish torpedo bombers on a carrier deck

In the Mediterranean... On Crete, the British commander, Freyberg, raises the question of a withdrawal from the island. During the night of the 26th most of the Allied forces withdraw from the Galatas position amid some confusion about the exact nature of their orders. Aircraft from the carrier Formidable attack the Stuka base at Scarpanto in the Italian Dodecanese. The carrier is hit twice by air attacks.

1942
In North Africa... The Axis forces under Rommel begin a new offensive. Italian infantry launch holding attacks on the British Gazala Line, which has been heavily fortified. British armor is being held in reserve, available for blocking any Axis outflanking moves. Rommel sends all his armor, both Italian and German, in a wide sweeping movement south of Bir Hacheim. The Italian Trieste Division engages the British 150th Brigade between Trigh Capuzzo and Trigh el Abd.

British Grant tanks were first used the following day

In the Inland Sea... Japanese Admiral Nagumo's 1st Carrier Fleet sails for Midway. His task force contains the carriers Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu with two battleships, cruisers and destroyers as escort.

In Hawaii... US Task Force 16, with the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Hornet, returns to Pearl Harbor. The Japanese believe that these ships are still active in the South Pacific.

1943
In the Aleutian Islands... On Attu American forces make some progress along the Clevesy Pass. There is heavy fighting over Fish Hook Ridge.

Fighting continues on Attu Island

In Canada... Meat rationing is introduced throughout the country.

1944
In China... Japanese forces launch a major offensive against American airbases in the southeast (Operation Ichigo). The Japanese 11th Army attacks from Hankow and the 23rd Army drives from Canton. A total of about 620,000 Japanese troops are engaged in the operation.

In Italy... Allied advances continue despite German resistance. The British 10th Corps (McCreery) captures Roccasecca; the Canadian 1st Corps takes San Giovanni and reaches the Liri River; the US 2nd Corps reaches Priverno. The US 6th Corps, at Anzio, progresses toward Lanuvio; US 3rd Division takes Artena, but German defenses prevent it from advancing to Valmontone. The US 1st Armored Division proves too weak to mount a rapid drive towards Velletri.

In the North Atlantic... German submarine U-541 stops the Portuguese liner Serpa Pinto, carrying Jewish refugees to Canada. Two American citizens are removed and 385 others are ordered into the lifeboats. Nine hours later, after the submarine has contacted its base, the passengers are allowed back on board the ship. Three die in the evacuation process, including a 16 month old baby..

In Occupied France... French resistance members bomb the hydroelectric station supplying the Tulle Arsenal. The station is guarded by 40 German soldiers.

In the Marshall Islands... An American destroyer force bombards Mili Island.

1945
In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, American bombers and artillery attack Japanese troops withdrawing from the Shuri Line.

American artillery shells the Shuri Line

Over Japan... Some 464 American B-29 Superfortress bombers fire-bombed Tokyo with about 4000 tons of incendiares. Parts of the imperial palace were damaged as was the nearby business district of Marunouchi, which was the targeted area. A total of 26 of the Marianas-based bombers were lost.


In Burma... Allied forces occupy Bassein, 90 miles west of Rangoon.

In Occupied Germany... The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) is transferred from Rheims to Frankfurt-am-Main.

On this day of May 27 1941...


Bismarck's bow. Photo taken in 2002 (courtesy of the Discovery Channel).

The Final Battle

On the morning of 27 May Admiral Tovey manoeuvred his squadron so that it would approach the Bismarck from the west and have the target silhouetted by the morning light. The battleships, King George V and Rodney, sailed in line abreast about 550 meter (600 yards) apart toward the last reported position of the enemy. The Bismarck, steering on a meandering course at 7 knots, finally came into view to the south-east at about 0843 and at a range of about 23,000 meters (25,000 yards). As soon as the enemy was sighted, the Rodney peeled off to port and headed on a more easterly course to engage the Bismarck separately as prearranged.



At 0847, the final battle began as the Rodney opened fire against the Bismarck. King George V opened fire at 0848. The distance was about 20,000 meters (22,000 yards).

At 0849, the Bismarck opened fire against the Rodney.

At 0854, the heavy cruiser Norfolk opened fire against the Bismarck.



At 0902, the Bismarck was hit for the first time.

At 0904, the heavy cruiser Dorsetshire opened fire.

At 0908, the forward range finder and turrets A (Anton) and B (Bruno) were put out of action. Therefore, on board the Bismarck, the fire control was shifted to the after command post, until this station was also put out of action at about 0913.



At 0913, the Bismarck's after command post went out of action.

At 0931, the Bismarck fired her last salvo.

At 0912 - 1016, the Bismarck received multiple hits at point blank range between 2,500 (2,700 yards) and 4,000 meters (4,400 yards), but was still afloat.

By 0920, the range had come down to 14,000 meter (15,000 yards) for the King George V and 9,000 meter (10,000 yards) for the Rodney.

At 0921, turret D (Dora) was put out of action after one of its own shells exploded inside the right barrel.

At 0927, turret A (Anton) and B (Bruno) surprisingly fired one last salvo.

At 0931 turret C (Caesar) fired its last salvo.



By 0940, the Rodney was firing point-blank at a range of 3,600 meter (4000 yards). The Norfolk and Dorsetshire also closed in, while the King George V continued to pound the enemy from a range of 11,000 meter (12,000 yards). Tovey was anxious to settle the issue as soon as possible so that his ships could disengage before their fuel situation became critical.


Rodney (to the right) after her 180â˚ turn to keep clear of King George V's field of fire. Bimarck is to the left of the photograph.

Soon all weapons was silent on Bismarck but she was still flying her ensign and showed no signs of capitulation.

With the Bismarck still defiantly flying her ensign, the British had no alternative but to continue to fire on the ship until the Germans capitulated or the Bismarck was sunk, Both British battleships were running critically low on fuel and would soon have to break off the action. Seeing that gunnery would not be able to deliver the knockout blow that would send the Bismarck to the bottom, Tovey ordered the battleships (Rodney and King George V) to cease fire and return to base. The destroyers Mashona and Tartar had already turned back due to their being low on fuel. Captain Vian's destroyers were not only low on fuel but also out of torpedoes, so there was no point in their remaining. The Norfolk had just fired its last remaining torpedoes at the Bismarck and turned to depart, leaving only the Dorsetshire on the scene with any torpedoes. The Dorsetshire was therefore ordered to finish off the Bismarck.

As soon as all the weapons were silenced, Bismarck's commander, Captain Ernst Lindemann, gave the order to open the valves to the sea and to set scuttling charges to sink the ship. Once the charges had been set, the order was given to abandon ship.

At about 1000, demolition charges exploded in the turbine room on Bismarck.





At 1020, the Bismarck was hit on the starboard side by two torpedoes fired by Dorsetshire.

At 1036, the Bismarck was hit on the port side by a third torpedo fired by Dorsetshire.



At 1039, the Bismarck sinks at 48⺠10' north, 16⺠12' west bringing to an end a short but highly eventful career, marked by initial victory and then ultimate defeat. The battle had lasted almost two hours (0847 - 1039) before the Bismarck finally had to give up.


One of the last photographs of the Bismarck, taken from the Dorsetshire.

The Rescue Operation

The Dorsetshire was ordered to pick up survivors, so the heavy cruiser slowly sailed into the mass of humanity in the water where the Bismarck went down.
Ropes were thrown over the side for the survivors to climb up, with the assistance of the British seamen.


This photograph shows a sea of heads floating in the oily water just after the Bismarck sank. For some reason the British censor has blotted out most of the faces.

The Dorsetshire had taken on board 86 German sailors, and the destroyer Maori had picked up another 25 sailors when suddenly there was a submarine alert.
The Dorsetshire immediately got underway followed by the Maori, leaving hundreds of survivors behind, some still clinging to the ropes along her side before they dropped off.


Survivors from the Bismarck struggled to reach the safety of the Dorsetshire. Most of the survivors didn't make it as the Dorsetshire suddenly left the area because of a possible U-boat sighting.

The reasonableness of leaving the area depends most likely on the eyes that sees it, but the abrupt departure of the British ships sounded the death knell for nearly all of the several hundred German survivors left behind in the water.

The Rescue Operation
A Bismarck crew member, whose arms had been blown off, somehow managed to reach Dorsetshire and tried to grab a line in his teeth. On Dorsetshire, Midshipman Joe Brooks climbed over the side in an attempt to get a bowline around him. But the ship began to move forward and Brooks lost him, only barely managing to climb back on bord himself. The Captain on Dorsetshire, Benjamin Martin, promptly put Brooks under arrest for leaving the ship without permission and had him confined to his cabin.

Later the German submarine U-74 rescued three more sailors. The next day, the German weather ship Sachsenwald rescued two more. Out of her total complement of 2221 men, there were 115 survivors.

Following the sinking of the Bismarck, German aircraft had been sent to look for Admiral Tovey’s force that had run low on fuel and was on its way back home. On 28 May, the destroyers Tartar and Mashona were attacked by German bombers. Mashona was hit by a bomb on her port side and sank with the loss of 46 men. The Tartar rescued about 170 men, including Mashona’s commander William H. Selby. The rest of the British fleet arrived safely in port.

On 30 May 1941, the Dorsetshire landed her Bismarck survivors at Newcastle and the Maori landed hers at a base on the river Clyde. From there, the survivors went to London for interrogation, and they were then sent to sit out the war in prisoner of war camps.


After the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, Dr. Robert D. Ballard's next goal was to find and film the wreck of the Bismarck. The search for the wreck began in July 1988, but his first expedition brought no success. A second expedition was mounted in late May 1989, and on 8 June, 1989, after combing an area of some 200 square miles, Ballard and his team finally found Bismarck's remains. The wreck lies in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean some 600 miles west of Brest at a depth of 4,790 meters (15,700 feet).
The hull rests upright embedded in mud that covers the keel to about the level of the ship's designed waterline. Despite of the heavy shell and torpedo damage that the British inflicted on the battleship and the obvious effects of the sinking itself, the wreck is in surprisingly good condition. Few other shipwrecks are as well preserved as the Bismarck, and, except for the last 35 feet of the stern (frame 10.5) that broke away, the hull is intact. The main battery turrets dropped off the hull due to their own weight as the ship rolled over and sank, and they are now upside-down on the bottom. But the secondary battery turrets and most anti-aircraft guns are still there in their proper location. Both the forward and after conning tower, and the bridge, though heavily damaged, are with the hull, too, and the propellers are clearly visible. In the debris field that surrounds the hull, other parts of the battleship can be found such as the foremast, the mainmast, the funnel, rangefinders, etc.


The Battleship Bismarck Memorial


The armored conning tower with the open bridge is the highest portion of the ship's surviving superstructure.


One of the six twin 15cm (5.9 inch) turrets, this one located on the port side of the mainmast section of the ship.


Elwood" hovers over hole in the deck on the starboard side near the seaplane catapult.

Links:
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/hood.html
http://www.ety.com/HRP/walshcomments/20010625.htm

This message has been edited. Last edited by: woofiedog,

thanks woofiedog for the story of the Bismark. excellent work!

27 May

1940
On the Western Front... The German armor resumes its attacks, trying to cut off the British and French forces around Lille. A desperate defense enables most of them to get away to positions nearer the coast. There is also trouble nearer the coast where the Belgian resistance is becoming increasingly weak. In the Dunkirk evacuation only a little is achieved with less than 8000 men being landed in Britain.

Armor of the 7th Pz. Div.continues the attack toward Lille

In Norway... The Allied assault on Narvik gets under way. The attacking troops are led by the French General Bethouart. The town is taken after a brisk fight. When bad weather at the Bardufoss airfield grounds the Allied fighters, the attack is briefly held up because the ships providing bombardment support have to fight off the Stukas alone.

1941
In the North Atlantic... Rodney and King George V come up and in a gun battle lasting less than two hours, the Bismark is reduced to a hulk. She is finished off with torpedoes from the cruisers Dorsetshire and Norfolk.

Survivors from the Bismark being rescued
In the Mediterranean... On Crete, German forces take Canea and Suda. The Allied forces are now largely split up and moving in a disorganized manner in the direction of Sfakia to be evacuated. The evacuation is authorized by Wavell after he has consulted with London. The battleship Barham is damaged by air attack.

In North Africa... Rommel has reinforced his troops on the Egyptian border and his two panzer regiments retake Halfaya Pass in a converging attack. The Germans begin work to fortify their new position, especially by digging in their 88mm guns.

In Iraq... British forces begin to advance from their positions around Habbaniyah and Fallujah toward the capital, Baghdad.

1942
From Occupied Czechoslovakia... Local resistance fighters attempt to assassinate Reichsprotektor Heydrich in Prague with British supplied equipment. His injuries will prove fatal.

Damaged Mercedes in which Heydrich was seated
In the Central Pacific... The Japanese invasion fleet for Midway puts to sea from Saipan and Guam with troop transports carrying 5000 men. They are escorted by cruisers and destroyers. Likewise, the invasion force for the Aleutians sets sail in two groups from Ominato

In Hawaii... The damaged USS Yorktown arrives at Pearl Harbor and repairs begin immediately.

In North Africa... In various engagement with the British forces, Rommel's army rapidly defeats the 3rd Indian and 7th Motorized Brigades. Losses are heavy on both sides, but the British can better sustain the loss of men and equipment. An Italian division fails to eliminate the Free French at Bir Hacheim.

1943
In Occupied Yugoslavia... British officers are parachuted into occupied Yugoslavia in order to rendezvous with Tito's partisan forces in Montenegro, near Mount Durmitor. Tito's forces have been under attack by superior German, Italian and Bulgarian forces for ten days now and they are concentrating for a breakout. The desire to meet with the British representatives is one reason for the delay in attempting to disengage.

British officers train Yugoslavian partisans
In the Aleutian Islands... On Attu American forces make some progress along the Clevesy Pass. Japanese are driven off of Fish Hook Ridge in heavy fighting. Also, Americans begin work on an airfield at Alexai Point.

From Washington... Churchill and American General Marshall leave for North Africa for talks with General Eisenhower on the Italian campaign. Churchill wants to exploit opportunities in the Mediterranean and to get Italy to surrender. Marshall wants to avoid commitments that will interfere with the invasion of western Europe that is now being prepared.

In Occupied France... The Comite National de la Resistance meets in Paris for the first time. The organization existance benefits de Gaulle's status with the Allies.

On the Eastern Front... In the Caucasus, the Soviets launch an attack on the positions of the German 17th Army in the Kuban peninsula. The German defenses hold.

1944
In New Guinea... On Biak Island, the US 41st Infantry Division (General Fuller) lands near Bosnek. Naval escort for the landing is provided by cruisers and destroyers under the command of Admiral Fechteler. The forces of Admiral Crutchley and Admiral Berkey provide support. The Japanese garrison, led by Colonel Kuzume, numbers about 11,000 men but it does not resist the landings. On the mainland, American troops make limited gains in their advance toward Sarmi.

In Italy... German forces counterattack around Artena but the US 3rd Division (part of the 6th Corps) holds on to the town.

1945
In China... Chinese troops complete the occupation of Nanning, the capital of Kwangsi Province. This success cuts off the main Japanese supply route from French Indochina, Thailand, Malaya and Burma, leaving up to 200,000 Japanese troops stranded.

Chinese tropps using pack mules bring supplies to Nanning
In Burma... For the first time in history, an entire army is moved by air transport. American aircraft fly the Chinese 6th Army from Burma to China.

In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, American forces attacking southward, continue to encounter heavy Japanese resistance. Japanese aircraft begin a two-day series of strikes against the Allied naval forces around the island. The US destroyer Drexler is sunk.

In the Philippines... The US 25th Division, part of the US 1st Corps, takes Santa Fe on Luzon. There is still heavy fighting in several parts of Mindanao.

On Borneo... Most of the island is secured by Australian forces. Japanese aircraft attack Australian positions on Tarakan. Total Australian casualties in the campaign are 436 killed and 1460 wounded.

Eddie Albert passed today.

Please read my thread here:

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/23110283/m/9171031523

SALUTE!

-HH- Beebop... Excellent Posting.
I saw the interview about the Tarawa Battle with Eddie on the History Channel a while back.
A Sad Passing.

28 May

1940
In Belgium... King Leopold agrees to the surrender of the Belgian army without consulting the other Allies or his government (now in Paris). The capitulation becomes effective at 1100 hours.

King Leopold on his way to surrender

On the Western Front... Before the Belgian capitulation becomes effective at 1100 hours, these is a desperately hurried redeployment of the British and French forces that prevents the Germans from reaching Nieuport, and from there the Dunkirk beaches. A corps of French 1st Army is holding out in Lille but they are now cut off from the main British and French forces in the evacuation area. The evacuation continues, with 17,800 men being brought off at the cost of one destroyer and several other vessels. There is fierce fighting around Cassel and Poperinghe where Rundstedt's men again press forward.

1941
In Iraq... The Allied forces occupy Ur. The 20th Indian Brigade has made this advance from Basra but can go no further for the moment because repairs to roads and railroad tracks are needed.

Members of the Arab Legion fighting in Iraq

In the Mediterranean... On Crete, the Allied forces fight some small, rearguard actions to cover their retreat to the evacuation beaches at Sfakia. On the night of May 28-29th, the Heraklion garrison of 4000 men is taken off by a force of cruisers and destroyers. These ships are heavily attacked while withdrawing. Two destroyers are sunk and the two cruisers involved are hit.

1942
In North Africa... Lack of fuel forces the halt of some of Rommel's Panzer at Rigel Ridge. Despite the shortages, attacks continue towards Acroma. British and German armor engage in limited action near Bir El Harmat.

In the Pacific... The rest of the Japanese forces directed at Midway set out. Admiral Yamamato, commanding the operation overall, believes that, if the plan to invade the island succeeds, the American fleet can be forced into a decisive engagement and that their defeat will force a truce before American production can swamp the Japanese war effort.

In Hawaii... Task Force 16 sails from Oahu for Midway with the carriers Enterprise and Hornet and escorts. Admiral Fletcher's Task Force 17 follows after miraculously quick repairs to the Yorktown.

Repairs to Carrier Yorktown was One of Yard’s Fastest Jobs
Heavy Damage After Coral Sea Battle Offset by Quick Work of P.H. Workers
(Adapted from an article which originally appeared in the Pearl Harbor Banner, December 7, 1943)

Up from the Coral Sea, where she had seen action in one of the nation's first and greatest victories in May of last year, came the carrier Yorktown.

When she pulled into Pearl Harbor on June 1, 1942*, she was badly damaged; from a direct bomb-hit which had struck the flight deck, pierced it, and finally exploded in the bowels of the ship, six decks down; from a second bomb which caromed off her flight gallery forward on the starboard side and exploded upon hitting the water, peppering the shell above the water-line with shrapnel holes; and from a third near miss which exploded in the water close enough to the side to open the seams, and corrugate the bottom on the port side, amidships.


USS Yorktown, battle-damaged following the Battle of Coral Sea, May 1942
Inside the vessel, more than fourteen hundred men - shipfitters, machinists, welders, electricians, and shipwrights worked on the different levels to restore bulkheads, stanchions, and deck plates necessary to restore the ship's structural strength and, as this work proceeded, to renew or replace the instruments, electric wiring and fixtures which had been damaged in the blast.

The need for speed was so urgent that no planning was done and the job was brought to completion with the planners and estimators furnishing advice directly from the ship's plans.


It seemed like an impossible task to get the ship out on time. The men worked in shifts all that day, all night and through the next morning. The dock was scheduled for flooding at 11 o'clock that day. When the time came, the Yorktown with essential temporary repairs made, was in such shape that she could maneuver and fight effectively.

She took on fuel and planes and was out of the harbor by night. On the morning of the fourth of June 1, she had joined Admiral Nimitz's force and was within 200 miles of the enemy off Midway.

What the Yorktown did after that is history. Her planes took part in the operation that sank two enemy carriers and so disabled a third that it was easy prey for an American submarine. In addition to the carriers, the Yorktown's planes scored hits on many another enemy vessel. These planes helped turn back the Japanese threat to Midway and the Hawaiian Islands. Though the Yorktown was later sunk as a result of enemy action, she contributed greatly to one of America's greatest sea victories. She could not have done so had it not been for those workmen at Pearl Harbor.

*Although these dates appeared in the original article published in December 1943, further research indicates USS Yorktown arrived at Pearl Harbor on 27 May and was temporarily docked at the repair basin, on 28 May she was placed in dry dock No. 1, and on 30 May she departed for the Battle of Midway.

1943
Over Italy... A reported 100 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers attack the oil refinery and shipping at Livorno (Leghorn).

B-17F

Over Sicily... American P-40 and Marauder aircraft strike four airfields and encounter heavy anti-aircraft (flak) defenses.

In Washington... The Office of War Mobilization is established to coordinated production.

1944
In Italy... Allied forces continue their offensive. The Canadian 1st Corps captures Ceprano. There is heavy fighting all along the front. However, other than rearguards from the German 14th Panzer Corps and the 51st Mountain Corps, German forces are retiring to the Caesar Line because of the threat to their rear posed by the US 6th Corps at Anzio.

Over Germany... Bombers of the US 8th Air Force attack Leuna and Magdeburg.

In New Guinea... On Biak Island, the US 41st Infantry Division begins to expand its beachhead. There is heavy fighting near the village of Mokmer, where an airfield is located, and the American battalion pulls back.

From Sydney... General MacArthur announces that, strategically, the campaign for New Guinea has been won although there is still some hard fighting to be done.

1945
In Occupied Germany... William Joyce ("Lord Haw Haw") is captured in Flensburg. He is a British fascist who became a radio propagandist for the Nazis during the war.

In the Netherlands... Queen Wilhelmina returns.

From London... The British Royal Navy announces the end of the convoy system for shipping operating in the Atlantic, Arctic and Indian Oceans.

In Syria... Fighting breaks out between French troops and Syrians.

From Washington... Admiral Halsey, commanding US 3rd Fleet, takes command of American naval forces operating against targets in Japan; US Task Force 58 is assigned to US 3rd Fleet, becoming TF38.

In the Ryukyu Islands... More than 100 Japanese planes are shot down near Okinawa. This is the last major effort against the Allied naval forces surrounding the island. One American destroyer is sunk in the otherwise unsuccessful air strikes.

On this day of May 29 1940...



28 May 1940,
King Leopold of Belgium agreed to capitulate: Belgium surrenders to Germany.
Allied capture Narvik, Norway and at 3 June evacuation from Narvik.
French General Béthouart leads a force from Bjerkvik on Narvik, Norway.
Polish troops attack Narvik, Norway, from south of the village.
Allied troops complete taking Narvik, Norway.

The steamer "Mona's Isle" is the first ship which arrived in Dunkirk and came under fire from coastal batteries and leaved with more than 100 dead on board.

29 May 1940,
Dunkirk is encircled by German artillery and fired by the Luftwaffe but the evacuation continues with French troops joining the theatre. Lost are the destroyers HMSS Wakeful, Grafton and Grenade. Even though the Germans had clear weather, the Stukas are less effective around Dunkirk than Gôring had expected. Their ability to hit land convoys and static targets is not matched when faced wîth the armada of vessels going to and from the French coast. While more than 860 vessels are going on runs to and from the Dunkirk beaches, the German bombardment decreases and some units move back to prepare for action elsewhere in France.

27 May - 2 Blenheims lost from a total of 48 attempting to bomb German positions around Dunkirk.

27/28 May - 120 aircraft to a variety targets; 24 Hampdens attack oil refineries near Hamburg and Bremen, 36 Whitleys bomb railway yards in the Ruhr and 35 Wellingtons and 25 Hampdens attack communications behind German lines. No aircraft lost. First German fighter to be shot down by RAF claimed by tail gunner in 10 Sqn Whitley.

28 May - 48 Blenheims attack German positions near Dunkirk. 1 aircraft shot down.

28/29 May - 34 Wellingtons and 13 Whitleys again concentrate on German forces at Dunkirk. 1 Whitley lost.

29 May - 51 Blenheims continue raids on German troops. No losses.

French Armor 1940


Char de combat moyen Renault D2
Weight : 20.5 ton
Dimensions:5.05 x 2.18 x 2.66 mt
Armor (max) : 40 mm
Range : 155 km
Speed (max - route) : 23 km/hr
Main gun : n.1 47mm gun
MG : n.2 7.5mm
Crew : 3
The "Char D", developed at the end of the 1920s as an improvement of the light Renault N.C. tank, was, up to 1935, "The" French AFV.
Due to financial constraints, production was limited to 160 units of the lighter D1 version (1931), and to 50 units of the D2 version (1932).


Char B 1 bis
Weight : 31.5 ton
Dimensions:6.50 x 2.49 x 2.80 mt
Armor (max) : 60 mm
Range : 140 km
Speed (max - route) : 29 km/hr
Main guns : n.1 47mm gun + n.1 75mm howitzer
MG : n.2 7.5mm
Crew : 4
The heavy Char B1 bis, "la fortresse", dated from the late 1920s and was intended to be the French Army's main battle tank. It was considered an advanced vehicle : only the German 88mm anti-aircraft gun could penetrate its frontal armour, while its 47mm anti-tank gun, which armed a small one-man turret (the same APX turret mounted on the S35 and Char D tanks), was considered the best gun in its category.
Production was slow : by 1940 only 400 had been built (due to both complexity of the design and lack of mass production capacity). The B 1 bis' potential was, however, wasted as they were committed to piecemeal battles and not concentrated as the German panzertruppen.


Renault R.35
Weight : 9.8 ton
Dimensions:4.00 x 1.85 x 2.10 mt
Armor (max) : 45 mm
Range : 138 km
Speed (max - route) : 19 km/hr
Main gun : n.1 37 mm
MG : n.1 7.5mm
Crew : 2
The R.35 was supposed to be the replacement for the light FT-17. By 1940 some 2,000 were manufactured, making it numerically the most important tank of the French Army. Technically advanced, fast and reliable, the R.35 was handicapped by two main factors : its poor main gun (a short-barrelled 37mm dating from 1918) and its two-man crew.
As well as the other French tanks, its action was penalized by the foolish strategy implemented by the French Headquarters


Somua S35
Weight : 20.0 ton
Dimensions:5.30 x 2.12 x 2.62 mt
Armor (max) : 55 mm
Range : 230 km
Speed (max - route) : 40 km/hr
Main gun : n.1 47 mm
MG : n.1 7.5mm
Crew : 3
When first revealed in 1935 the SOMUA S35 was regarded by many as the finest tank in the world. It had a cast steel hull (the first of its kind) and a cast steel turret, mounting a 47 mm gun, and was fast. The S35 turret used an electrical drive system.
By 1940 about 430 tanks had been manufactured.
The S35 had, however, quite a few weaknesses : the cast upper hull bolted to the lower section (so that it split apart along the length of the vehicle if struck by an AP projectile), the one-man turret (which required the commander to load, aim and fire the gun, leaving short time for actual commanding), and the cast turret and hull (which produced a terrific "bell resonance" effect when the tank was simply hit even by MG shots).
After 1940 many S35 were used by the Germans, mainly for second-line duties.



Hotchkiss H39
Weight : 12.1 ton
Dimensions:4.22 x 1.95 x 2.15 mt
Armor (max) : 40 mm
Range : 120 km
Speed (max - route) : 36.5 km/hr
Main gun : n.1 37 mm
MG : n.1 7.5mm
Crew : 2
The Hotchkiss H39 was considered one of the better of the French tanks in 1940. Some 1100 units were manufactured prior to the German invasion of France.
The H39 features were similar to those of S35: reliable mechanics but of limited value as "battle beasts" (like all two-man tanks). After June 1940 the H39 began a second career with the German Army (including the Vichy French). From 1942, the H39 was gradually downgraded to second-line duties.

By the end of WW1 France had produced nearly 4000 battle tanks (St. Chamond M16, Schneider M16 CA1, and the Renault FT17), more than double the amount produced by Britain (about 1300) and two hundred times the amount produced by Germany. At the start of WW2, France possessed one of the numerically strongest arrays of armored vehicles in the world. Some 5000 battle tanks were on hand, however, a good portion of this number was of WW1 vintage. According to French doctrine, the purpose of the tank was to provide support for the infantry. French tanks were organized into many small units and dispersed.
On May 10, 1940, there were almost 3500 battle tanks available to combat units located along the front facing Germany. Here is a breakdown in actual numbers. The remainder of France's tank force were located in arsenals or in training schools.

Renault FT17 534
Renault R35/40 1035
Hotchkiss H35 398
Hotchkiss H39 790
FCM 36 90
Renault D2 75
Renault B1
& B1 bis 313
FCM 2C 6
Somua S35 243

French tanks were well armed, armored and automotively designed. After the Great war came a debate about the future of the tank in many nations.
This debate fell into basically 2 schools of thought. Was the tank an infantry support weapon or was it a new form of weapon? The end of WW1 left the question wide open. Tanks were not advanced enough to be much more than infantry support weapons when the war ended and advancing technology caused thought and tactics to fall into the realm of the military dreamer.
Tanks proponents and dreamers of what a future war would be like were usually ignored or abused in their home country while being admired by men in other nations. What would the next war be like? How will we make the next war bend to our dreams and planning? Old school officers are trained to be slow to accept change. They are taught to think things out carefully. After all, the military in every nation is the bulwark of national tradition.
Tradition resists change. This occurs everywhere. Wartime leaders rarely are successful in peace as peacetime leaders are rarely successful in war. The politics of life dictate that. In war, everyone loves a decisive, "line in the sand" leader as they bring stability and reduce fear. In peace, people find this kind of person inflexible. A great example is Winston Churchill, loved in war, tossed out of office 3 weeks after VE day.


Char B1 bis




Renault AMR-33


Renault D2


Somua S35

The fall of France in 1940 came from some rather simple reasons.
The first was motivation and leadership - German troops were simply more motivated and better lead. The second was tactics - some nations got the idea of tank warfare right (Germany) and others got it wrong (France).
Those nations that followed the French system of tank deployment quickly learned to change tactics after the fall of Poland and France. Anyone who employed the French system can give thanks that Germany did not practice on them first.
However, it should be noted that the German Blitzkrieg, though excellent in 1939, was a defective plan by 1942. The next logical step was the "all arms" approach practiced today. Massing tanks like Germany did would simply not work today any better than the French penny packet infantry support idea worked in 1939.
Both systems were absolutely correct - when you add them together - you get "all arms". You can see this in 1944 after the allies invaded France. The allies did not possess better tanks or guns, but they did, by then, use an all arms approach.


Renault R.35


Renault R.40


Hotchkiss H35


Hotchkiss H39


The Germans did not have more or better of anything in the form of equipment when they invaded France in 1940. France fell to the two factors of leadership and motivation.
An excellent example of the same factors can been seen in the fall of Burma in 1942 to the Japanese. Another is the much maligned airplane - the Brewser Buffalo. In the hands of the British and Dutch in Burma, the plane was defeated at every encounter against the Japanese. This gave it a horrible reputation. HOWEVER in the hands of the Finns, it went on to become a plane of Aces! The American ace - Johnny Johnson - said it all when he said the difference between him and other not so successful pilots was that when he flew, it was with the thought of "I am going up to kill the enemy" others went up with the thought "I hope that I don't get killed today".
In conclusion, it is easy to pick on the defeated. We can point fingers all day at items like the lack of communications in the French army HQ, or the inferiority of French anti tank guns and the like. But, the French did not have military morons in charge. They loved their country and were prepared to die for France. They simply did not have the right formula - motivation and tactics. If they had these, Germany would have been halted, or even more, France would have truly invaded Germany when she had the chance.




Renault D2


Panhard AMD-35


Renault UE-31

On this day in 1942, on the advice of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler orders all Jews in occupied Paris to wear an identifying yellow star on the left side of their coats.

Joseph Goebbels had made the persecution, and ultimately the extermination, of Jews a personal priority from the earliest days of the war, often recording in his diary such statements as: "They are no longer people but beasts," and "[T]he Jews ... are now being evacuated eastward. The procedure is pretty barbaric and is not to be described here more definitely. Not much will remain of the Jews."

29 May

1940
On the Western Front... The German forces continue to press all round the contracting Dunkirk perimeter. By the end of the day most of the remaining British troops and a large proportion of the French are inside the final canal positions. The evacuation from Dunkirk and over the beaches goes on. The Luftwaffe increases the strength of its attacks despite the efforts of the RAF to give protection. A further 47,310 men are evacuated but 3 destroyers are sunk and 7 others damaged. At least 15 other vessels are sunk. The French are now beginning to allow their troops to be evacuated and have sent some ships to assist. Owing to the destroyer losses and the demand for them in other operations the Admiralty decides that the more modern types must be withdrawn.

Ships evacuating Allied troops from Dunkirk

1941
In the Mediterranean... British destroyers Imperial

and Hereward

are sunk by Luftwaffe attacks. The ships were engaged in evacuating troops from Crete.

1942
On the Eastern Front... The German forces (6th Army and 1st Panzer Army) close their encirclement west of the Donets River resulting in a Soviet loss of 250,000 men.

Soviet soldiers captured by German forces

In North Africa... The Italian Trieste Division, fighting through British 150th Brigade, temporarily secure a critical life line for the Afrika Korps. The British armored attack around the Knightsbridge Road junction area fails to reach its objectives.

1943
In the Aleutian Islands... On Attu the Japanese mount a final attack on American forces established in Chicagof.

Downed Japanese aircraft on Attu Island

1944
In New Guinea... On Biak Island, as well as Arare on the mainland, the American beachheads are heavily attacked by Japanese forces. The Japanese garrison on Biak makes use of tanks to force the US 162nd Regiment back towards its landing zone.

In the North Atlantic... The American escort carrier Block Island


and a destroyer are sunk by U-549 before it is itself sunk.

The USS Block Island damaged and sinking

Over Germany... About 400 American bombers attack German synthetic fuel works and oil refineries at Polits and other locations. The damage caused sets back aircraft fuel production.

In Berlin... In a presentation to Hitler, Field Marshal Busch, commanding German Army Group Center on the Eastern Front, presents evidence of a major Soviet buildup along his lines. Hitler emphasizes the need to improve the defensive fortifications at Vitebsk, Polotsk, Rosh, Mogilev and Bobriusk and to defend the area at all costs.

In Italy... At Anzio, the British and American troops of the US 6th Corps take Campoleone and Carroceto. The Canadian 1st Corps begins to advance up Route 6 from Caprano toward Frosinone.

1945
In Belgium... Belgian socialists call on King Leopold III to abdicate. The former government in exile and some Belgians hold the king in low regard because of his independent policies before the war and his unilateral decision to surrender to the Germans in 1940, without consulting the British and French who were assisting in the defense of Belgium.
In Norway... The Nobel prize winning author Knut Hamsun is arrested for collaborating with the Nazis during the occupation.

In Syria... French forces shell Damascus and Hama. Syrian gendarmes attack French military posts. Meanwhile, Syrian representatives ask the British for assistance.

In Tokyo... Admiral Ozawa replaces Admiral Toyoda as commander of the Combined Fleet.
Over Japan... American B-29 Superfortress bombers drop incendiaries on Yokohama, burning 85 percent of the port area.

On this day in 1942, a thousand-plane raid on the German city of Cologne is launched by Great Britain. Almost 1,500 tons of bombs rain down in 90 minutes, delivering a devastating blow to the Germans' medieval city as well as its morale.

Air Marshal A.T. (later Sir Arthur) Harris, commander in chief of the Bomber Command, planned Operation Millennium. It was his goal to prevent significant losses of Royal Air Force bombers by concentrating air attacks in massive bomber raids, overwhelming the enemy by numbers and delivering decisive, crippling blows. Harris would need to beef up the relatively small number of 416 "first line" aircraft needed, though; to those he had to add second-line and training squadron bombers, thus creating an aircraft force of 1,046.

On the night of May 30, Cologne was besieged: 600 acres of the city sustained heavy damage, 45,000 Germans were left homeless and 469 were killed. The chemical and machine tool industries, the main targets of the raid, were rendered useless. The cost to the British: 40 bombers, or less than 4 percent of the total that participated.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who approved the raid, telegraphed President Franklin Roosevelt the next day: "I hope you were pleased with our mass air attack ... there is plenty more to come."

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to remember those who have died in our nation's service. After the Civil war many people in the North and South decorated graves of fallen soldiers with flowers.
In the Spring of 1866, Henry C. Welles, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, suggested that the patriots who had died in the Civil War should be honored by decorating their graves. General John B. Murray, Seneca County Clerk, embraced the idea and a committee was formed to plan a day devoted to honoring the dead. Townspeople made wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. The village was decorated with flags at half mast. On May 5 of that year, a processional was held to the town's cemeteries, led by veterans. The town observed this day of remembrance on May 5 of the following year as well.

Decoration Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed officially on May 30, 1868. The South did not observe Decoration Day, preferring to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in other wars were also honored.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May.

Today, Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season in the United States. It is still a time to remember those who have passed on, whether in war or otherwise. It also is a time for families to get together for picnics, ball games, and other early summer activities.

30 May

1940
On the Western Front... There is something of a lull in the land battle around Dunkirk because of confusion and disagreement in the German command. The panzer forces begin to withdraw from the front line to take up positions to the south for the next stage of the battle of France. The evacuation, of course, continues with 53,823 men being taken off. The small ships over the beaches do most of the lifting but transfer their loads to larger vessels for the trip to England. One destroyer is sunk during the day, the French Bourrasque, three others are hit and at least nine of the smaller ships are also sunk. This total does not include the smallest vessels whose losses are also considerable. General Brooke, who has commanded the British 2nd Corps with distinction, is one of the evacuees.

Bourrasque strikes a mine and sinks during the evacuation

1941
In Iraq... Although the main Allied force is held up at Ur and the small British force from Habbaniyah is only advancing slowly, Rashid Ali gives up the struggle and flees to Iran.

1942
In Germany... The first 1000 bomber raid. British Bomber Command sends just under 1,000 planes to bomb the German city of Cologne. Causalities from the raid include only 40 British bombers while 45,000 Germans are rendered homeless. This is the first attempt at mass bombing by Bomber Command.

British bombing damage at Cologne
great post arcadeace. Thanks

In North Africa... Rommel strategically withdraws his panzers into a tight defensive arc, his rear borders a mine field. These actions place the battle in the "Cauldron". While hold his position, Rommel's forces repel the main British attacks and secure the supply lines threatened by the British 150th Brigade.

At Hawaii... Four Japanese submarines arrive too late to intercept the American task forces destined for Midway.

1943
In the Aleutian Islands... US forces complete the occupation of Attu Island. American losses are reported as 600 dead and 1200 wounded. Japanese losses are given as 2350 killed (including many suicides) and 28 wounded have been captured.

US forces on Attu Island
In Algiers... Free French leader de Gaulle visits for talks with General Giraud to reconcile their differences.

1944
On the Eastern Front... German forces attack units of the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front (Konev), north of Jassy in Romania and achieve some gains.

In Italy... Elements of the British 8th Army capture Arce. At Anzio, the US 6th Corps approaches Velletri.

In Occupied France... French resistance forces sabotage equipment at Decazeville Colliery.

1945
In Tehran... The Iranian government formally requests the withdrawal of American, British and Soviet troops from Iran.

In Syria... Damascus is bombed by French aircraft.

In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, American forces reach Shuri, south of the former Japanese positions. Two battalions of US Marines reach the southeast edge of Naha.

-HH- Beebop... Excellent Posting on Memorial Day!
Thank's

On this day of May 31 1940...

The Evacuation of Dunkirk continues.


Dunkirk Harbour, oil tanks ablaze from German bombing.


A Lockheed Hudson low over the inferno of blazing oil tanks.

On 10 May 1940 Hitler’s armies struck westwards across Europe. Within three weeks Holland and Belgium had surrendered and German Panzer (tank) divisions had split the British and French armies.


A call to surrender, dropped from the air.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and a substantial number of French troops were trapped in a diminishing pocket of land centred on the port of Dunkirk. On 25 May Boulogne was captured and on the following day Calais fell. That evening the Admiralty signalled the start of Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of the troops stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk.


Private ack-ack.




Au Revoir.

Operation Dynamo was masterminded by Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, who had been given less than a week to prepare. From his headquarters in tunnels beneath Dover Castle, he directed and inspired a small staff who had the awesome task of planning the evacuation of up to 400,000 British and French troops under constant attack from German forces.





By 26 May Ramsay had assembled 15 passenger ferries at Dover and a further 20 at Southampton. These it was hoped would be able to embark troops direct from the quays at Dunkirk. To help in the evacuation and to provide escorts for the merchant ships Ramsay had a force of destroyers, corvettes, minesweepers and naval trawlers. These ships were augmented by cargo vessels, coasters and some 40 Dutch self-propelled barges


DHM732AP. With the harbour under attack, HMS Express casts off having embarked troops of the British Expeditionary force (B.E.F.). Leaving with her are the trawlers, which were part of the small boat armada which played such a major part in the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Minefields and shelling from German batteries on the French coast forced evacuation convoys to take longer routes to Dunkirk. The first convoy, after sustaining heavy air attacks, found the port of Dunkirk and its oil tanks ablaze and only the passenger ferries ‘Royal Daffodil’ and later the ‘Canterbury’ succeeded in berthing. By the end of the first day only 7,500 troops had been rescued and it was clearly impossible to use the port. Captain Tennant, in charge of the naval shore party at Dunkirk, signalled for the rescue ships to be diverted to the beaches east of the town. But here shallow waters prevented the large ships getting within a mile of the shore and troops had to be ferried in smaller craft from the beaches to the ships. There was an alternative, a spindly concrete pier with a wooden walkway, never designed to have ships docking against it but it was found that it could be used. Differences in loading speeds were dramatic HMS ‘Sabre’ took 2 hours to load 100 troops from the beach, but from the pier it took only 35 minutes to board 500 troops.


Human life line.






The 34 year old paddle steamer, 'Emperor of India' was there, her deck crowded with passengers in garb unfamiliar to her.




Not even standing room.

In London the Admiralty’s Small Vessels Pool had been collecting all available seaworthy pleasure craft. With volunteer crews, many of whom had never sailed out of sight of land before, they were checked at Sheerness Dockyard and then sent to Ramsgate to await final sailing orders. The pleasure craft were joined by lifeboats, trawlers, Thames sailing barges, tugs and other small craft. The first convoy of ‘little ships’ sailed from Ramsgate at 10pm on 29 May and by the next day they were streaming across the Channel in seemingly unending lines. The dangers were great, ships, both large and small, were targets for German fighters, bombers, submarines and coastal batteries plus the random danger of mines. Fortunately, throughout the evacuation, the seas remained abnormally calm. Most of the small craft headed for the beaches to act as tenders, while some of the larger trawlers and drifters loaded troops directly in Dunkirk Harbour.


Dunkirk in flames, a portent of 'the dark time through which we passed...'




Trek to the beaches through a blitz on the town.





On the evening of 2 June, with the German forces closing in, Ramsay despatched a large force of ships, including 13 passenger ships, 14 minesweepers and 11 destroyers. At 11:30 pm Captain Tennant sent the historic signal from Dunkirk “BEF evacuated.” By now, the German forces were nearly in the outskirts of the town. Only one more night evacuation was possible. On the night of 3 June a final effort was made using British, French, Belgian and Dutch ships to bring out as many of the French rearguard as possible and over 26,000 were saved.




Between 26th May and 4th June 338,000 troops were rescued from Dunkirk, over 200,000 of them passing through Dover. During the nine day period the Southern Railway laid on a total of 327 special trains, which cleared 180,982 troops from Dover. 4,500 casualties were treated at the town's Buckland Hospital and all but 50 of these seriously ill men were saved.


The first chance a sleep.




These men were left.

Churchill's famous speech summed up the British spirit on the 4th June 1940:

"We shall outride the storms of war, and outlive the menace of tyranny.
That is the resolve of the Government; that is the will of parliament, and of the nation, and we shall not flag or fail.
We shall fight on the sea and the oceans,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets.
We shall fight on the hills.
"We shall never surrender".

ty woofiedog

31 May

1940
On the Western Front... This is the most successful day of the Dunkirk evacuation, with 68,014 men being taken to Britain. The ships lost include one destroyer and six more are damaged. General Gort returns to Britain after handing over command of the remnant of the BEF to General Alexander as ordered. There are considerable air battles over the beaches at various stages during the day in which the RAF claim to shoot down 38 German aircraft for the loss of 28. In fact the figures are nearer equality.

Small boat floatilla picking up soldiers from Dunkirk

In Norway... The British blocking force is evacuated from Bodo.

In Britain... A series of measures, including the removal of all direction signs from crossroads, is taken to counter worries about fifth-column and parachute attacks.

In Washington... President Roosevelt introduces a "billion-dollar defense program" which is designed to boost the United States military strength significantly.

1941
Iraq... An armistice is agreed. The British right to station troops in the country is confirmed and the Iraqis undertake to do nothing to help the Axis.

Over Ireland... The Luftwaffe bombs Dublin by mistake. Lost German aircraft heading for Bristol and Liverpool kill 28 and seriously injure 87 Irish.

In Britain... Former Thai King Prajadhipok, son of Chulalongkorn, dies at Virginia Water, England at age 47.

1942
In North Africa... The embattled British 150th Brigade is overrun by forces of the Afrika Korps in the course of the battle over the following day. This victory opens the Axis supply lines.

From the United States... In an attempt to reinforce the Pacific Fleet, battleships Colorado

USS Colorado BB-45 bombarding Okinawa 29 March 1945


and Maryland

sail from San Francisco.

1943
In the Mediterranean... Pantelleria is bombarded by a British cruiser and 2 destroyers. The city has been bombed several times in the past few days.

Aftermath of the bombardment of the island of Pantelleria

1944
In Italy... The Canadian 1st Corps captures Frosinone; the British 10th Corps takes Sora. Around Anzio, forces of the US 6th Corps capture Velletri and Monte Artemiso while other elements attack Albano. The German loss of Velletri unhinges their defenses of the Caesar Line.

In New Guinea... US forces reduce their perimeter near Arare. All the American beachheads on the north coast experience significant Japanese attacks. Meanwhile, to the east, Australian forces capture Bunabum.

In the Bismark Sea... The destroyer USS England

Destroyer Escort USS England

sinks the Japanese submarine RO105, northwest of the island of New Ireland. This is the sixth successful attack on a submarine by this vessel in twelve days.

Over a 12 day period in the last two weeks of May in 1944, the Destroyer Escort USS England accounted for 6 Japanese Submarines. I-16, RO-106, RO-104, RO- 116, RO-108 and RO-105 were all sunk. This was a record number of kills, unsurpassed in WW2. These spectacular results drew a Presidential Citation for this ship.

Naming of the ship.
USS England was named after Ensign John Charles England, who, at the time of the Japanese attack on the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the 7th. of December 1941, was serving in the Battleship BB-37, USS Oklahoma. He had survived the initial attack being on deck, and on three occasions he went below to the radio room, each time leading a man to safety. He left, to return below decks a fourth time, never to be seen again. 20 Officers and 395 Enlisted men died in Oklahoma. Ensign England's mother Thelma launched USS England in San Francisco on the 26th. of September in 1943.

Ensign John Charles England after whom USS England was named.
USS England leaves Purvis Bay.
On the 18th. of May 1944, Lieutenant Commander Walton B. Pendleton conned his command, the Destroyer Escort USS England out of Purvis Bay off Florida Island in the Pacific, in company with USS Raby, and USS George, they were on a sweep looking for Japanese submarines.

The first action.
It was on the 19th. of May, an Allied aircraft sighted I-16 running on the surface some 140 miles North East of Cape Alexander in the Solomon Islands, it reported this find and the hunt was on. At 1341 ( 1.41 PM ) Pendleton started the 1st. of 5 attacks using his ahead throwing weapon, Hedge Hog. Hits registered with both the 2nd. and 5th. attacks, and explosions were shown at a depth of 500 feet, it took 20 minutes for debris from a submarine to slowly rise to the surface. Such items as shreds of cork, deckplanking, pieces of cabinets, a rubber container holding a bag of rice, and an hour later, an oil slick was evident on the ocean surface. The next day this slick had spread to be 3 by 6 miles in size, this then was evidence for a definite kill.

Second attack.
On the 22nd. of May 1944, George made radar contact at 17,000 yards, England confirmed it, now George reported a sonar contact at 1,7000 yards, and quickly attacked with her Hedge Hog, without result.

England regained contact at 2,800 yards and then made two Hedge Hog runs at about 0433 ( 4.33 AM ) and 0444 ( 4.44 AM ) in another 18.2 seconds after firing the second load of HH projectiles there were 3 or more explosions, then, after 7.5 minutes, a violent under water explosion was heard, after which, no further sonar contact was regained. At 0630 ( 6.30 AM ) there was a strong smell of oil in the air, and it was rightly assumed another kill had been achieved.

Third attack.
On the night of the 22nd./23rd. of May, all three escort destroyers were searching for a submarine that reportedly had crash dived. At 0600 ( 6 AM ) Raby reported she had a radar contact at 11,000 yards, it proved to be a surfaced submarine that dived when she had closed to 600 yards range, and this ship made four separate Hedge Hog attacks, without any evidence of gaining hits on the target.

George regained contact at 0704 ( 7. 04 AM ) and she also let fly with four HH attacks, still no results. She maintained contact on the enemy submarine, whilst England made a very deliberate Hedge Hog attack at 0823 ( 8. 23 AM ) to be followed up with a second attack immediately. The second run with the HH brought 8 to 10 hits after 14.5 seconds from firing the 24 ahead thrown projectiles. A violent under water explosion was heard in three more minutes, by 1045 ( 10.45 AM ) oil and a lot of debris drifted up to the surface, and samples of both were collected to confirm a third kill.

Fourth attack.
The three escort destroyers were all having a field day against the Japanese Submarines, at 0122 ( 1.22 AM ) on the 24th. of May, all three ships were spread in a searching line distance 8 miles apart. George picked up a radar contact at 1,250 yards at 0150 ( 1.50 AM ) and blasted off her first Hedge Hog attack 24 minutes later, after 7.2 seconds two hits were made, and rumbling noises were heard. At 0702 ( 7.02 AM ) a ship's boat recovered deck planking, and observed a number of oil patches on the surface.

The Group Commander was not satisfied a kill had been made, and at 1120 ( 11.20 AM ) a creeping attack was made, with England maintaining contact, whilst her consort crept up to be in a position to fire her HH. The target turned towards England, and George unleashed a 32 charge pattern, England reinforced this depth charge attack by now dropping a 13 charge pattern. It must have been HELL inside the Japanese submarine as all these depth charges exploded all around it.

That afternoon, both oil and debris had floated to the surface to spread over several square miles of the Pacific Ocean. A certain death for the 4th. Japanese submarine.

Fifth attack.
Now the 25th. of May, Raby had a radar contact at a range of 15,000 yards at 2312 (11.12 PM)this group seemed to like working at night, perhaps the Japanese submarines running on the surface at night kept a less vigilant watch, believing they would be safe. On the other hand, the American Navy had most efficient surface radar equipment, and to pick up the low silhouette of a surfaced submarine at 7.5 miles was quite and achievement.

Ruby had closed to 4,100 yards before this submarine dived. England's sonar picked up the target at 1,700 yards, and at 2323 ( 11.23 PM ) squired off her Hedge Hogg projectiles, to hear 4/6 explosions 11 seconds after firing them. No further sonar contact could be made, and in daylight, debris was recovered to confirm the death of the fifth Japanese boat.

Sixth attack.
No the 30th. of May, Hazelwood had picked up a radar contact at a range of 7,000 yards, at 4,000 yards it disappeared, probably an indication that this submarine had submerged. Two depth charges attacks were made on where it was believed the submarine had dived, but with any tangible result. At 0220 ( 2.20 AM ) George and Raby were sent to assist in the hunt and Hazelwood was released.

At 0528 ( 5.28 AM ) Raby attacked a sonar contact some 7 miles south of George and two Hedge Hog patterns were despatched. George fired a third HH pattern, and heard three explosions. At 0835 ( 8:35 AM ) and aircraft closed George to direct her to an oil slick some half a mile long by a quarter mile wide, it was about 4 miles north of the first position attacked with depth charges. At 1337 ( 1.37 PM ) George fired of a HH pattern to hear an undetermined number of explosions. Contact was maintained with this submarine, and at 0150 ( 1.50 AM ) George obtained a depth reading of 35/41 fathoms, for this submarine.

This firm contact was tackled during the dark hours with a Hedge Hog run, and 7/8 violent explosions were registered. At 0302 ( 3.02 AM ) a large submarine was sighted between the two destroyer escorts who were 4,000 yards apart, it then dived, and George maintained sonar contact till sunrise.

At 0550 ( 5.50 AM ) England and Spangler joined the hunt, with England using her HH to attack almost an hour later, Raby, Spangler, and England, all made separate attacks, but it was the attack by England that drew results, 9.2 seconds after her projectiles were sent off 6/10 explosions were heard. In a further 5 minutes 43 seconds, a huge under water explosion erupted. Debris, and an oil sample were picked up, including painted wood, and deck planking with Japanese writing on it.

Again we have positive evidence of the destruction of yet one more Japanese submarine, to bring the total to an amazing figure of six kills, all credited to one ship, USS England.

Depth Charge attacks versus attacks made with the Hedge Hog ahead throwing weapon.
Although both Depth Charges, and the Hedge Hog ahead throwing weapon were employed in these attacks against the six Japanese submarines, it was without exception, the Hedge Hog weapon that proved to be the killer. The basic reason for its development, was the fact that it allowed the attacking ship to remain in contact with its target right up to the time of firing off its 24 projectiles, and here we find that reason fully justified. England achieved kill after kill!

With a Depth Charge attack, when the hunter ran over the top of the hunted, the ASDIC equipment in its dome ( usually sited in the ship's keel, generally located below the level of the bridge ) lost contact with the enemy submarine. The attacker still had to steam the distance between the ASDIC dome, and the stern where the Depth Charges are housed, before these weapons could be fired. In that dead time, the submarine under attack, no longer pinned by the ASDIC beam, can, and usually does, takes violent avoiding action. Depth Charges detonate anyway, Hedge Hog only detonate on achieving a hit.

Depth Charges are fired preset to a particular depth, and, no matter where the quarry may be located, when reaching that set depth, they explode. On the other hand, with the Hedge Hog's 24 projectiles, they only explode on impact with their target. Thus, any explosion heard after firing a HH pattern will indicate a hit or hits upon the enemy
submarine.

The Hedge Hog was lethal in all six attacks, and six kills were all credited to USS England.

AN UNSURPASSED RECORD IN ANY OPERATIONAL AREA DURING WW2.



Presidential Unit Citation

The President of the United States has presented the Presidential Unit Citation to the USS ENGLAND for service as set forth in the following citation:

"For outstanding performance in combat against enemy forces from May 19 to 31, 1944. Utilizing to the full all available weapons and equipment the USS ENGLAND skillfully coordinated her attacks with other vessels and with cooperating aircraft, striking boldly and with exceptional precision at the enemy. In a sustained series of attacks, she destroyed six hostile ships within twelve days effecting this devastating blow to enemy operations during a particularly crucial period and disrupting attempts by the enemy to supply or evacuate key units. By this heavy loss to the enemy the ENGLAND contributed substantially to unmolested advance of the United States Fleet pointing toward subsequent seizure and occupation by our forces. A gallant and daring fighter, superbly ready ready combat, the ENGLAND has achieved an outstanding record of success, reflecting the highest credit upon her gallant officers and men and the United States Naval Service."

1945
In Syria... British representatives intervene in the fighting and arrange a ceasefire between French troops and Arab nationalists.
In Norway... Representatives of the Norwegian government in exile return to Oslo.

In Occupied Germany... Odilo Globocnik, a key figure in the Nazi death camps, commits suicide when arrested by a British patrol.

In the Ryukyu Islands... On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division (part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps) encounters Japanese rearguards near Hill 46. Japanese forces pull out of Shuri.
In the Philippines... On Negros, organized Japanese resistance ends. On Luzon, a regiment of the US 37th Division begins moving northward from Santa Fe through the Cagayan valley.

In Chunking... Chiang Kai-shek gave up his title as president of the Nationalist Yuan but remains president of China. Song Ziwen (Dr. T. V. Soong) succeeds Chiang.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: -HH- Beebop,

On this day of June 1 1940...

Allied Naval losses off Dunkirk
Six British and seven French destroyers lost during evacuations from France.
A force of 41 British destroyers under Vice Admiral Ramsay were used in the evacuation along with a large number of smaller ships.

Channel May 26, 1940
C class AA cruiser HMS Curlew sunk by air attack.

May 29, 1940
Admiralty W class destroyer Wakeful sunk by E-boat off Nieuport.
HMS Grenade sunk by aircraft off Dunkirk.
HMS Grafton sunk by E-boat off Dunkirk.

June 1, 1940
B class destroyer HMS Basilisk sunk by aircraft off the coast of Dunkirk.
B class destroyer HMS Keith lost.
H class destroyer HMS Havant attacked by aircraft off Dunkirk.
Locust class river gunboat HMS Mosquito lost to aircraft off Dunkirk.
Halcyon class minesweeper HMS Skipjack lost to aircraft off Dunkirk.

June 6, 1940
HMS Havant attacked off Dunkirk

Also at this time...

June 1940...
Within ten months of the German invasion of Poland, a Polish army of 85,000 men who escaped, is established in France under General Wladyslaw Sikorski, and will fight German invaders once more.

In 1940 the First Polish Grenadier Division was deployed southwest of Nancy, France, where in a two-day battle at Lagarde on June 17 and 18 it defended successfully its sector but had to withdraw because retreating French divisions exposed both of its flanks to the enemy.
On June 18, Marshal Petain approached the Germans for an armistice.
On June 19, a radio bulletin from General Sikorski announced that Poland would continue to fight as an ally of Great Britain.
Sikorski ordered the Polish units to reach the French ports in the north, west and south - or if that would prove impossible, to cross the Swiss frontier. The Second Infantry Fusiliers Division was deployed in the vicinity of Belfort, near the Swiss frontier.

The division stopped the advancing Germans in a two-day battle on the hills of Clos-du-Doubs; but again, in view of the ongoing French-German armistice talks and General Sikorski's order, the division crossed the Swiss frontier in the evening of June 19.
From June 13-16, the 10TH Armored Cavalry Brigade, still being formed, fought in the area of Champaubert and Montbard, approximately sixty miles northwest of Dijon.
On the night of June 16, realizing the futility of continuing the battle, the brigade destroyed its equipment and moved south in small groups to reach Atlantic ports and escape to England.

After the French surrendered, the Polish Carpathian Brigade in Syria moved to the British Protectorate of Palestine to continue the fight against the Germans alongside the British.
In August 1941, the Brigade was moved to Tobruk where, together with the Australians and the British, they successfully defended the fortress until January 1942 when they were relieved by the British Eighth Army.
From there, the brigade was withdrawn to Egypt and then to Palestine for reorganization into a division.
The Polish air force in France, with its eighty-six fighter planes, shot down fifty German aircraft during the campaign, losing eleven of its own pilots in the air and fifteen on the ground.
Most of the pilots and ground crews, despite opposition from French authorities, managed to escape to England by air directly from France or by sea through North Africa.

Polish Armed Forces (PSZ) in the West

5/1940, Norway
The first unit, organized in France, to take part in combat was:

Independent Podhale Rifle Brigade - SBSP - Samodzielna Brygada Strzelców PodhalaÅ"žskich ('Podhale' is the Polish Highland region). Commander: Gen. Z. Szyszko-Bohusz. Organized according to a French mountain brigade pattern. First meant to be sent to Finland, the Brigade was finally sent to Norway. It fought at Narvik, capturing Ankenes on 28 May 1940. Then: evacuated to France.

Vehicles: Renault UE tractors (for 25mm AT-guns)

6/1940, France
In France, in combat there were used 2 infantry divisions and 1 armoured brigade (not complete), plus some AT-companies and further improvised and not entirely organized units:

1st Grenadier Division - 1.DGren - 1. Dywizja Grenadierów of Gen. B. Duch.
It fought in the French 20th Corps, since 26 May 1940 in Saar area (the Marne-Rhein canal, Lagarde, Baccarat).

2nd Foot Rifle Division - 2.DSP - 2. Dywizja Strzelców Pieszych of Gen. B. Prugar-Ketling.
It fought in the French 45th Corps (Belfort, Maiche, the Doubs and the Saone rivers). Then interned in Switzerland.

10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade - 10.BKPanc - 10. Brygada Kawalerii Pancernej of Gen. S. Maczek.
Due to not entirely finnished organization, the Brigade in fact consisted only of the 1st tank battalion and one motorized dragoons battalion. During 5-day fighting it fought at Champaubert and Montmirail, on 16 June 1940 it carried out a succesfull assault on Montbard. Apart from it, the elements of the 2nd tank battalion fought separately, supporting the French units.

Vehicles: R-35 tanks (the 1st tank battalion), R-40 tanks (the 2nd battalion), Renault UE tractors (infantry units).

Also here is a Update on the French Armor Posting.

Captured French and Polish Armor used by German Forces.


Modified Polish TKS tankette used by the Germans as a light tractor in Norway.


Captured Polish 7TPjw light tanks, Poland in 1939/40.


Captured Dutch Pantserwagen M 36 (Swedish Landsverk L-181),


Captured Dutch Pantserwagen M 39 (DAF P.T.3),


French Somua S35 medium tank as part of Panzerzuge 27 (Armored Train No.27) in Russia, 1941.


Captured French Renault FT 17/18 light tank.


Captured French Hotchkiss H39 light tank.


French Char B-1bis heavy tank converted to the flamethrower tank.


Panzerjager 35R 731(f).


Captured French Somua S35 medium tank in Norway, 1942.


Captured French Somua S35 medium tank,


A French Panhard 178 armored car assigned to a "Das Reich"