1940 Flashcards

Question

June 7 1940 what happened

Answer 1

Rommel’s VII Panzer Division advances to Forges-les-Eaux – 37 miles in two days.

Answer 2

The last French lines of defence fall on the Somme and the Aisne.

Answer 3

Mussolini declares war on France and Britain with the immediate intention of expanding Italian colonies in North Africa into British and French territories.

Answer 4

Paris threatened by the speed of the German advance, the city is declared an “open city”. Churchill, de Gaule, Eden and Pétain meet at Briare to discuss the situation.

Answer 5

French troops abandon Paris.

Answer 6

German troops enter Paris in the early hours of the morning. Later that day Panzer tanks would roll past the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysees to Place de la Concorde.

Answer 7

Paul Raynaud’s cabinet in Bordeaux is ousted by Marshal Henri Pétain, one of France’s greatest hero’s from World War I .

Answer 8

Pétain broadcasts to the French people urging them to stop fighting, he also asks the Germans for the terms of an armistice.

Answer 9

Famous appeal by Charles de Gaulle (photo right), leader of the Free French Forces, in support of the French Resistance to the German Occupation.

Answer 10

Italy launches an offensive on the Alpine front, with the intention of defeating what remains of the French forces in the south and to take control of the Alps and the Mediterranean port of Nice

Answer 11

A French delegation meets Hitler at Rethonde.

Answer 12

France surrenders and is split into two. The north is governed by the Germans and the south becomes known as Vichy France under the control of Marshal Pétain.

Answer 13

Plans for the invasion of Britain – Operation Sealion, were issued by Hitler – known as ‘Directive 16, Preparations for the Landing Operation against England’, the objective is to land 160,000 German troops in south-east England. To have any chance of success, the operation requires both naval and air supremacy over the English Channel.

Answer 14

Hitler instigates the Battle of Britain, ordering that victory should be “as soon as possible”. His orders include the complete obliteration of all RAF flying squadrons and their ground support units, as well as the destruction of the entire British aircraft industry.

Answer 15

The Battle of Britain begins. With nearly 3,000 aircraft stationed in France, Belgium, Holland and Norway, the German Luftwaffe outnumber the RAF by four to one. The Few, did of course, have some help from an early warning radar system.

Answer 16

Eagle Day – the German Luftwaffe launches 1,485 sorties against RAF airfields. The Luftwaffe looses 45 planes and the RAF 13.

Answer 17

Germany launches its most intense attack on RAF airfields with more than 1,000 aircraft and 1,790 sorties. The Luftwaffe looses 75 planes and the RAF 34, however its airfields suffer major damage.

Answer 18

Italy announces the total blockade of Britain’s Mediterranean and African territories.

Answer 19

Central London is attacked for the first time by the Luftwaffe. A lost formation of German bombers mistakenly drop their bombs on the capital, damaging St. Giles and Cripplegate.

Answer 20

In retaliation for the accidental attack on London the night before, RAF Bomber Command launches its first night-attack on industrial targets around Berlin

Answer 21

The Anglo-American Lend-Lease Agreement is signed by President Franklin D Roosevelt. In return for 50 World War I destroyers, Britain allows the US a 99-year-lease to several British air and naval bases.

Answer 22

The Blitz of London begins with 300 German bombers escorted by 600 fighter aircraft. These night-time raids were designed to be so frightening that they would lower Britain’s morale and resolve. In switching tactics however, from bombing airfields to civilian targets, the RAF which had been close to defeat was allowed time to regroup and reform.

Answer 23

Italy invades Egypt.

Answer 24

The RAF claim to have shot down 183 German aircraft during the last major engagement of Battle of Britain. A figure of 60 Luftwaffe losses compared with 28 RAF aircraft lost is perhaps a more realistic estimate.

Answer 25

After failing to take control of the skies over Briatin, Hitler announces that Operation Sealion will be postponed “until further notice”. He orders the dispersal of the invasion fleet, which included some 2,000 barges held in Belgian, French and German Harbours.

Answer 26

The Battle of Britain ends, during which the RAF had lost almost 800 aircraft, compared with Luftwaffe losses of 1,400. The Few who had maintained control of the skies of Britain, totalled 3,000 air crew members, supported by several thousand ground staff.

Answer 27

Operation Sealion is formally cancelled as Hitler directs his attention towards Russia.

Answer 28

Seeking to prove his worth to his Axis partners, Mussoloni orders the invasion of Greece, thus marking the start of the the Balkans Campaign.

Answer 29

The RAF attack the Italian Navy at Taranto. In the first ever all-aircraft Naval battle, several obsolete British biplanes armed with torpedoes and bombs destroy three battleships.

Answer 30

In a massive air raid lasting more than 10 hours and involving 500 enemy aircraft, the midlands city of Coventry is left all but destroyed. Heat from the incendiary bombs used causes the lead from the roof of the 14th century cathedral to run down street like a river.

Answer 31

The Italian IX Army is defeated by the Greeks at Koritsa.

Answer 32

Operation Compass – starts the first Allied offensive in the Western Desert Campaign. In an attempt to disrupt the Italian forces who had invaded Egypt in September, Lt Gen. Richard O’Conner launches his own version of a British Blitzkrieg.

Answer 33

British and Commonwealth forces capture Sidi Barrani. Crowded Italian troops retreating down the coastal road provide easy targets for Royal Navy gunboats.