Chronology of World War II

Tuesday, October 1, 1940

In Helsinki... The Germans and Finns reach another agreement strengthening their ties. The Germans promise arms and the Finns grant rights to the Germans to purchase their nickel production from the mines in the Petsamo region.

Wednesday, October 2, 1940

Over Britain... There are numerous raids over southeast England by high-flying German Me109 fighter-bombers. British Spitfire fighters disrupt most of the attacks. A few bombs are dropped over southeastern London. Many retiring German planes jettison their payload over Kent and Sussex.

Thursday, October 3, 1940

In London... Neville Chamberlain resigns his position in the War Cabinet. His offices are taken up by Herbert Morrison, Lord President of the Council, and Sir John Anderson, Home Secretary. Kingsley Wood and Bevin are brought into the War Cabinet.

Friday, October 4, 1940

In Italy... Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass. Hitler warns Mussolini against undertaking new campaigns and offers help in Africa, which Mussolini declines.

From London... Sir Charles Portal is chosen to be the new Chief of the Air Staff. The former chief, Sir Cyril Newall, is appointed Governor General of New Zealand.

Saturday, October 5, 1940

Over Britain... German fighter bombers, attempting to reach London and southeastern airfields, jettison their bombs over Hastings.

From Washington... The Tripartite Pact is condemned by Navy Secretary Knox and he announces that he is calling up some of the naval reserve.

Sunday, October 6, 1940

In the Mediterranean... The Italian submarine Gemma is accidentally sunk by its sister ship Tricheco.

In Romania... Antonescu assumes command of the Iron Guard, adding further strength to his position.

Over Britain... Poor weather brings a brief lull in the London Blitz. The Luftwaffe drops a few bombs near the capital.

Monday, October 7, 1940

In Romania... German troops enter Romania ostensibly to help reorganize the army. Hitler's main aim is in fact to protect the oil fields.

In Occupied France... The Germans order all Jewish people in the occupied part of France to register immediately with their authorities.

Tuesday, October 8, 1940

Over Britain... Day 90 of the battle of Britain. The Hurricane fighter flown by Sergeant Frantisek, the leading Czech fighter ace with 17 victories, is listed as missing in combat over Sussex, England.

From London... Prime Minister Churchill announces that the reopening of the Burma Road.

Wednesday, October 9, 1940

In Britain... Following Chamberlain's resignation Churchill is chosen as the new leader of the Conservative Party. This is an impressive achievement because he was little liked by many in the party at the time of his selection as prime minister. He has succeeded in winning their loyalty despite the hard times he has presided over. His attention to party affairs illustrates his concern for the forms of parliamentary democracy.

Thursday, October 10, 1940

In Occupied Luxembourg... The Germans run a plebiscite in Luxembourg. When the results are counted they find that 97 percent of the population is opposed to their occupation. The experiment is not repeated elsewhere.

Friday, October 11, 1940

In Vichy France... Petain broadcasts to the French people, advocating that they abandon their traditional ideas on who are their friends and who are their enemies.

Over Britain... Liverpool is heavily attacked in the continuing German bombing campaign. Four ships in the port are sunk and other damage is inflicted.

In Helsinki... The demilitarization of the Aland Islands is agreed in a Finnish-Soviet convention.

In the Mediterranean... The British light cruiser Ajax is attacked during the night by first three then four Italian destroyers. Two of the attackers are sunk and two damaged.

Saturday, October 12, 1940

From Berlin... Operation Sealion is deferred until the spring of 1941. It will never take place.

Sunday, October 13, 1940

In China... Nationalist Chinese artillery is secretly transported deep behind Japanese lines to shell Ichang Airfield which is a base used by for Japanese air raids on Chungking.

In the Norwegian Sea... Off the coast of Norway, during the night (October 13-14), British destroyers engage a German flotilla, sinking 2 German vessels.

Monday, October 14, 1940

Over Germany... RAF bombers raid Berlin.

Over Britain... About 240 German aircraft conduct a raid on London.

Tuesday, October 15, 1940

From Berlin... Goring issues orders to give priorities for the German night offensive against Britain. The priorities are firstly London, secondly aircraft factories and third industry in the Midlands and all air bases.

Over Britain... About 400 Luftwaffe bombers attack London by moonlight, dropping 530 tons of high explosive bombs, starting 900 major fires and seriously disrupting road and rail communications. Oxford Street is blocked by rubble; the BBC Broadcasting House is hit. About 400 are killed, 900 are injured and some 600 people are trapped in Balham Underground Station.

From Rome... The Italian War Council makes the final decision for an attack on Greece. Hitler is not to be told beforehand and instead is to be presented with a fait accompli. The Italians hope for the campaign to be over within two weeks. Operations will start at the end of the month.

Over Germany... The RAF conducts a nighttime raid on Kiel.

In the Mediterranean... The British submarine Rainbow engages the Italian submarine Enrico Toti (which was previously damaged and is unable to submerge) in a gun battle off the coast of Calabria. The Rainbow is sunk.

Wednesday, October 16, 1940

In Batavia... There are discussions (concluded on October 19th) between the Japanese and the authorities in the Dutch East Indies concerning the supply of oil. It is agree to supply the Japanese with 40 percent of the production for the next six months. There are British attempts to block this agreement.

In the United States... Registration begins for the draft according to the provisions of the Selective Service Act. The first drafts will be balloted on October 29th.

Thursday, October 17, 1940

Over Britain... Messerschmitt fighter bombers raid London. One bomb destroys all signaling equipment at Waterloo Station.

In the North Atlantic... Convoy SC-7 of 30 ships is attacked between today and October 19th and loses 21 vessels.

In the English Channel... German destroyers and torpedo boats conduct a sweep toward Land's End but withdraw when engaged by a Royal Navy cruiser several destroyers.

In Britain... London Transport appeals to provincial bus companies for replacement vehicles after air raid losses.

Friday, October 18, 1940

In Burma... The Burma Road is reopened to the passage of supplies to Chiang Kai-shek's forces.

In Vichy France... Anti-Semitic laws are introduced whereby Jews are to be excluded from public service and from positions of authority in industry and the media.

Saturday, October 19, 1940

In the North Atlantic... Convoy HXZ-79 of 49 ships loses 12 over the course of the day and tomorrow. Following the losses incurred during the last week or so, the British decide to increase their convoy escorts and this can only be done by dismantling some of the anti-invasion measures.

Sunday, October 20, 1940

Over Bahrain... Italian planes from bases in East Africa bomb oil refineries.

In the Red Sea... There is a surface action between four Italian destroyers and the escorts of a British convoy. The convoy is escorted by a light cruiser, one destroyer and five smaller vessels. The Italians lose one ship.

Monday, October 21, 1940

From London... Prime Minister Churchill makes a broadcast in French directed two the radio audience in France. He speaks contemptuously of the threatened invasion of Britain and suggests that Hitler is plotting to subjugate all of France. Meanwhile, the government introduces the Purchase Tax.

From Rome... The Italian Navy organizes a new command -- the Maritrafalba -- to escort convoys from Brindisi and Bari to Albania, in preparation for an invasion of Greece.

Tuesday, October 22, 1940

Over Britain... The shortest night raid since the beginning of "The Blitz" is recorded. A large department store is destroyed in the attack.

In Italian East Africa... South African air force planes attack Birikau for the fifth time.

Wednesday, October 23, 1940

In Occupied France... Hitler meets General Franco at Hendaye in southern France. Hitler tries to persuade Franco to join the war and offers as bait the allocation of Gibraltar and territory in North Africa. Franco is uncertain about how to proceed and successfully muddles the issue, leaving Hitler no better informed as to what is Spanish policy but without causing offense.

Thursday, October 24, 1940

In Occupied France... Hitler meets Petain and discusses Franco-German collaboration.

In London... A Belgian government in exile is established. Its leading members include Camille Gutt, Hubert Pierlot and Paul-Henri-Spaak.

Over Germany... During the night, RAF bombers attack Berlin and Hamburg. These are the first British raids to cause significant civilian casualties.

In Britain... The first of 2000 provincial buses appear on London routes.

Friday, October 25, 1940

Over Britain... During the day, formations of high-flying German Me109 fighter-bombers make several attempts to raid London, however, very few penetrate the RAF fighter screen. Heavy casualties are reported when a loaded tramcars are hit. At dusk, German He111 bombers make a surprise raid on Montrose airfield in Scotland. During the night, London is attacked by about 150 German aircraft. Also, the Italian expeditionary air corps (Corpo Aereo Italiano), operating from bases in Belgium, is engaged for the first time in a raid on Harwich. Of 16 Fiat bombers sent on the mission, 3 are lost. Limited damage is reported.

Saturday, October 26, 1940

In the North Atlantic... The 42,000-ton liner Empress of Britain is damaged by a bomb attack off the coast of Ireland.

Saturday, October 27, 1940

In Rome... At 2100 hours the Italians tell the Germans of their decision to invade Greece.

Monday, October 28, 1940

In Athens... An Italian ultimatum is presented to the Greeks during the night. It amounts to a declaration of war.

In the Balkans... At dawn, before the ultimatum expires, the Italian forces in Albania begin to cross the border into Greece. Patras is bombed. General Prasca leads eight of the 10 Italian divisions in Albania in the advance. They attack along three lines with the main effort being in the center from the Dhrina and Vijose valleys. General Papagos, the Greek Command in Chief, has not deployed his main force close to the border to avoid giving any provocation to the Italians. He hopes to use 8 divisions with the possibility of reinforcements being brought from the troops watching the Bulgarian border. The greatest obstacle to the Italians for the first two or three days is the very bad weather which grounds their air support. The Italians have chose a very unwise time of the year for their attack.

In Italy... Hitler and Mussolini meet at Florence. Hitler conceals his anger at not being kept informed of the Italian plans and says that German troops are available if it is necessary to keep the British out of Greece and away from the Romanian oil.

In Vichyt France... Laval become Foreign Minister of the Vichy government.

In the North Atlantic... U-32 completes the job and sinks the damaged Empress of Britain.

Tuesday, October 29, 1940

In the United States... The first draftees are selected by lottery from the Selective Service registrations. In New York, the first person chosen is Yuen Chong Chan.

In Britain... French General Legentilhomme arrives in London to joins the Free French forces.

Wednesday, October 30, 1940

In the North Atlantic... German U-32 is sunk during an attack on a British convoy by escorting destroyers HMS Harvester and HMS Highlander. Meanwhile, the destroyer HMS Sturdy is wrecked off the coast of Hebrides, Scotland.

Thursday, October 31, 1940

Over Britain... Day 114 of the battle of Britain. This day marks the end of the continuous Luftwaffe raiding campaign.

In the Mediterranean... British forces land on the Greek island of Crete.