This Day in the War in Europe: The Beginning

[parsifal]

26 May - RAF Operations
1 sqn (Hurri)
A Hurri was lost with the pilot wounded over Orchamps and force-landed near Nancy. A/C lost, pilot wounded, but returned.

16 sqn(Lysander)
?, UK. 1 Plane lost (?), 1 KIA, attacked in a friendly fire incident. Took off from Lympne. Attacked by P/O Stephen, F/Sgt Mayne and p/O Cobden of No. 74 Sqn between Bourbourg and Bergues. Crash-landed on return 19.45 hrs. Aircraft damage state not recorded. 1 crewman KIA.

17 sqn (Hurri) Harold 'Birdie' Bird-Wilson shared a Ju 88 destroyed when patrolling the Dunkirk area. Whilst engaging as part of Patrol ops, 2 Planes lost, 2 MIA

22 sqn (Bft) Gardening (Minelaying). 1 Plane lost, 4 MIA, Took off 25/05/1940 23.00 hrs from Nth Coates. Lost without trace into the Nth Sea, off Heligoland,

37 sqn (Wellington)
Communications 1 Plane lost, 3 MIA. Airborne from Feltwell to attack enemy lines of communications between Courtrai and Brussels. Force-landed near Ostend (West Vlaanderen), Belgium. It is likely the entire crew survived, though S/L Glencross is known to have drowned when the 'SS Abukir' was sunk 28May40. P/O Cameron and Sgt Parkhouse probably lost their lives while being evacuated 26May40, while LAC Dear and AC1 Stanhope are assumed to have reached safety.

53 sqn (Blen)
Mission details unknown, 1 Plane lost, 3 KIA

59 sqn (Blen)
1 or 2 planes lost, 3 KIA, details of a/c lost not given. It is not known if the the 3 KIAs are in the same a/c.

65 sqn (Spit)
Dunkirk, 1 Plane lost, 1 KIA, Shot down by British AA fire

73 sqn (Hurri)
Plane lost, 1 KIA, no other details

10, 51, 77, 102 Sqn (Whitley) + others
103 aircraft (38 Wellingtons, 36 Whitleys, 29 Hampdens) raid communications and troops over large area of front line. 2 Hampdens, 1 Wellington, 1 Whitley lost.

Bombing - road/rail communications at Bapaume and oil targets Ruhr. 10 Sqn. 11 a/c. All bombed. 51 Sqn. 10 a/c. 9 bombed. 77 Sqn. 8 a/c, 7 bombed. All experienced moderate to severe opposition. 102 Sqn. 7 a/c, all bombed. One damaged by Flak and one crashed on return [?].

103 sqn (Battle)
Roumont, 3 a/c lost, 2 KIA, 1 POW
4 Battles led by F/O J R Havers took off at 1000 to attack Chateau Roumont near Oschamps airfield with ftr escort. Intel had discovered that there was to be a meeting of 20 senior LW officers at the Chateau that day. It was an ill considered attack, and once again failed to take into accouint the severe weaknesses of the Battle when operated in this way. 2 a/c were lost to flak and 1 crashed on return.

87 sqn (Hurri)
Interception, near Dunkirk 2 Do17 1 Me 110 destroyed, 1 Hurri damaged, returned to England

 

[parsifal]

26 May - The BEF

Calais

Calais approaches

"A hot day the 25 May; there is heavy fighting for every inch of ground. The Citadel of Calais must be ripe for the assault. Shell after shell roars out of the German barrels towards the bunkers and heavy fortifications. Heavy tank hunters, engineers with rafts, assault engineers, field howitzers and light AA for ground support of the rifle companies are drawn forwards. In the evening at 6:30pm a surprising hurricane of fire; hit after hit crashes high over the citadel and Fort Risban at the mouth of the harbour. The officers look to their watches: ten minutes, five, and then the firing stops! The sudden silence is very impressive. It is 7:40pm. The storm troops advance with much doggedness. The guns fire in open positions. The heavy and light tank hunters and the 2cm AA guns send shell after shell out of the quick firing barrels. The infantry support guns and the trench mortars are thumping. Riflemen and engineers jump forward; the machine gunners hammer as if crazy. All men are fiercely determined. Comrades fell, were wounded, and others jump forward. There is only a slow advance. The adversary defends himself with the courage of despair. From all sides the German storm troops were fiercely fired upon. But they advance. They open passages in the west of the town by force, step by step."

- Hubert Borchert, 10th Panzer Division.

At 5:00am on the 26 May the 10th Panzer Division renewed their assault with a massive artillery and air bombardment. From 7:00am wave after wave of Stuka dive bombers joined in, turning the shattered old town into an inferno. At 9:15am the infantry assault commenced. In the face of desperate resistance, the barricades over some of the bridges were cleared, and panzers entered the old town. This rendered the British defence hopeless, as the tanks were able to blast apart each house that showed resistance.

At 1500 a German junior officer approached the British positions, accompanied by a french and Belgian officer that had been captured or deserted. The german demanded the garrisons surrender, failing which the city would be levelled, the defenders and the population executed. It was a familiar ring to German methods.

Brigadier Nicholosns reply (which was recorded in 10Pz Divs war diary) surprised the Germans. He gave a short reply "The answer is no as it is the British Army's duty to fight as well as it is the germans to continue". Britains version of "Nuts!" Fighting continued around the citadel for almost another 2 hours. The city was levelled, but there were no reprisal killings. The fighting at Calais lasted for most of 26 May. A German attack in the morning failed, but in the afternoon the defenders began to run short of ammunition. The Germans was able to bring their medium tanks into the battle, and by 4 pm had captured the harbour area. This was followed at 5 pm by a successful infantry assault on the citadel, which saw Brigadier Nicholson captured.

The citadel - linchpin in the Allied defences fell just before 5pm on the 26th after fierce fighting

Even then the fighting did not end. British troops retreated into the Courgain, the fisherman's quarter, and where they held on until 9 pm, when as darkness fell they were ordered to break up into small groups and make their own way out of the town. By now there was little chance, and the majority fell into German hands.

The last British ship to visit Calais was the yacht Gulzar. She entered the harbour just after midnight, remaining until 1.00am on 27 May. She eventually picked up a part of 50 men from the end of the breakwater, and then made her way back to safety in Britain.

The Enemy fights with a hitherto unheard-of obstinacy. They are English, extremely brave and tenacious. They have at least one reinforced infantry regiment, armour supporting them and naval guns firing from ships in the Channel."

10th Panzer Division war diary.

The surviving British and French defenders prepared their final positions, while the Germans opposite brought up artillery and AA guns into the front to blast the defenders from their positions. That night a few small boats managed to make it to Calais and withdraw some wounded and rear echelon personnel; but the port was now cut off.

At 1730 city, citadel and harbour entrance in our hands. High spirits in this moment dominate in the command posts in the Theatre. Proudly we think of our brave stormtroopers… It was a hot bitter struggle to take this fortress, England's entrance to France. Even the unexpected obstinate defence of the Englishman proves to us that he knew the worth of Calais in all its importance, and therefore the loss of the town must be more grievously felt. Shortly afterwards we hear in the Supreme Command's report the laconic statement 'Calais captured'. Of the hard struggles which preceded the fall came nothing which could be known at home. Tenaciously the fort had been defended – even more tenaciously our Rifle Regiments had fought… determined o gain their end. So many heroes after the hard fight are now covered with cool earth… beside sedan and Somme now Calais too, was entered on the division's page of glory."
- Von Oberst Fischer.

After the war, it has been pointed out that the Germans stopped the advance because of Hitler's Halt Order of 24 May. There is no hint that the halt order had any effect from the diaries of the germans that actually fought to capture Calais. The extent to which Hitlers (or more correctly Rundstedts, since it originated from him) halt order affected actual combat is highly debateable, and at least along the southern flank of the perimeter, there was little or no evidence of any let up in operations. Along this southern flank there was no discernible let up in the pace or ferocity of combat at any time. Guderian claimed after the events it was the halt order that prevented Calais's early capture, and indeed the destruction of the whole Dunkirk position, but since 21 May at least, no such diminishment of effort against the British positions was at all evident. I believe Guderian was covering for what turned out to be a pivotal mistake in the campaign that was to have far reaching impacts on the war. Some have claimed that the the Greenjackets stand at Calais was a useless sacrifice, and it certainly was a high price to pay for two days. There will always be a difference of opinion on this issue, but I note or believe that it is significant that the original intent was for 10Pz to take Dunkirk, this was diverted initially because of Arras, and then because of the faltering effort of 1st Pz XX (due mostly to exhaustion), was changed to Calais. Without the stubborn resistance at Calais, it would have been possible for the capture of Calais to be completed by 1 Pz XX whilst 10th Pz pushed onto Dunkirk as had been planned. Given how close the fighting was for the resultant battles for the southern flank of the BEF, it may be that the absence of a a strong Calais defence may have seen the loss of the rest of the BEF.

One of those taken prisoner at Calais was Airey Neave, then a young troop commander in the 5th Searchlight Brigade of the Royal Artillery. Neave would later be the first successful British escapee from Colditz and return to Britain where he served in MI9, and postwar became a Conservative politician. The 60th Rifles and the Rifle Brigade were merged into the Royal Green Jackets in 1966. The Queen Victoria Rifles transformed into HQ Company 4th(V) Bn The Royal Green Jackets, becoming part of the London Regiment for a short period before finally becoming F Company 7 Rifles. The Royal Green Jackets were merged into The Rifles in 2007. Before reforming as The Rifles, The Royal Green Jackets bore the battle honour "Calais 1940" on their cap badge

 

[Njaco]

May 27 Monday
WESTERN FRONT: General Maxime Weygand and Premier Paul Reynaud in Paris receive warning from King Léopold of Belgium that his Army would soon be forced to capitulate. King Léopold decides to cease resistance to the German army. Belgian General Deroussaux approaches the German army under a flag of truce, to learn the terms of a cease-fire. Germany responded at 2200 hours, demanding an unconditional surrender.

The German armor resumes its attacks, trying to cut off the British and French forces around Lille. British and French fall back towards the coast, pressured by Panzer divisions (released from Hitler's stop order) and bombed by Luftwaffe at Poperinge. The Allies retreat four miles and place Dunkirk within artillery range. French retreated from Valenciennes after a heavy attack. 4 British divisions under General Alan Brook hold the Ypres-Comines canal (Battle of Wytschaete). British troops attacked German motorized troops heading toward Calais in Aire. The British withdrawal uncovers the Belgian right flank and allows Reichenau's 6.Armee to storm through. 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.

In the first full day of evacuation for the British trapped on the beaches the Luftwaffe lose twenty-four of 225 bombers dispatched to Dunkirk. But the bombers of the German air force along with the escorting fighters, strafe and destroy the docks, town and oil storage tanks west of the harbour, setting everything ablaze and lighting up the dawn. Paul Temme, after strafing the beach at 300 feet flying a Bf 109, stated;

"I hated Dunkirk. It was just unadulterated killing."

But the British, able to fly from nearby bases in southern England, harass the German formations, causing Stuka pilot Rudolf Braun to comment;

"This was our first taste of real war."

Lt. Herbert Wasserzier of 2./JG 1 crashes into a pillbox on the airfield of Cap d'Alprech, south of Boulogne and is taken prisoner. Hptm. Mölders continues his scoring tally by destroying two French Hawk 75s south of Amiens, his nineteenth and twentieth. He becomes the first German pilot to reach twenty kills for the Luftwaffe since World War I. Hptm. Mölders' comrade at JG 53, Lt. Friedrich-Karl Müller of 8 Staffel, begins his victory tally with the destruction of a French Hawk 75.

Troops of the German 3rd SS Panzer Totenkopf Division, commanded by Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein, massacred 97 British prisoners of war by machine gun fire at the village of Le Paradis in France. Two survivors of the massacre would later provide testimony during the post-war war crimes trials against Knöchlein.

General Erwin Rommel was awarded the Knight Cross medal.

NORTHERN EUROPE: The Allied assault on Narvik gets under way. The attacking troops are led by the French General Bethouart. At midnight, Béthouart led a force, supported by a bombardment from the Royal Navy, in an assault southwards across Rombaksfjord. At the same time, two Polish battalions attacked to the east from the south bank of the fjord. By late afternoon, the German garrison retreated inland and Béthouart's forces reached the outskirts of Narvik. He then stood aside to let the Norwegian 6th Division enter the town. 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.

UNITED KINGDOM: British General Edmund Ironside stepped down from the position of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

The British sugar ration was reduced from 12 ounce to 8 ounce per person.

The British government abandoned the notion to introduce conscription to Northern Ireland.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-37 sank British ship "Sheaf Mead" 150 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain; 32 men were killed and 5 were rescued. U-37 also forced the Argentinian ship "Uruguay" to scuttle. 15 men became missing and presumed dead, and 13 were rescued.

ASIA: Japanese bombers attacked Chongqing, China in three waves.

MEDITERRANEAN: A curfew is instituted in British territories of Gibraltar and Malta.

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[parsifal]

27 May 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
TB T-4 1935 class

Losses
MV SHEAF MEADE (UK 5008) Crew: 37 (32 dead and 5 survivors) ; Cargo: Ballast : Route: Swansea - Philadelphia , Sunk in the SW approaches. At 15.51 the unescorted vessel was hit in the stern by one torp from U-37 and sank capsizing after a boiler explosion at 15.54 hours about 180 miles from Cape Finisterre. The Germans tried to questioning the survivors on a raft, but they did not answer the questions. The master, 30 crew members and one gunner were lost. Five crew members were picked up by FRANGOULA B GOULANDRIS and landed at Queenstown, Cork on 31 May.

MV URUGUAY (Arg 3425 grt) Crew: 28 (15 dead and 13 survivors) ; Cargo: maize, wheat and flax ; Route: Rosario - Buenos Aires (26 Apr) - Lisbon - Limerick. Sunk in the SW Approaches. U-37 fired 1 G7a torp at the unescorted and neutral URUGUAY and missed. Only noticing the neutral markings after firing, the U-boat then surfaced and stopped the ship. The Germans examined the papers but found no signature on the sailing order, unknown to them the ship had been bound for Antwerp but due to the invasion of Belgium was ordered by radio message to Ireland. U-37 skipper found this suspicious and decided to sink the vessel in accordance with the prize rules The master and twelve crew members were picked up by the Spanish steam trawler Ramoncin and landed at Corunna, Spain. The other boat with 15 occupants was never found.

Steamer ADEN (Fr 8033 grt) was bombed and sunk at Dunkirk.

MV CAP TAFELNAH (Fr 2366 grt) The cargo ship was bombed and sunk at Dunkerque . Refloated on 13 May 1941, repaired and entered German service as CARL ARP. Seized again in 1945.

Aux MSW LA MAJO (Fr 47 grt) was bombed and sunk at Dunkirk.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Drifter OCEAN REWARD (UK 95 grt) was sunk in a collision with Brit steamer ISLE OF THANET , just arriving from Dunkirk, off Dover. There were no survivors.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer SEQUACITY (UK 870 grt) was sunk by German shore guns 1.5 miles from nr 2 buoy to the east of Calais. All 13 crew were rescued by Brit steamer YEWDALE. YEWDALE was also damaged by enemy shore btys.

Steamer WORTHTOWN (UK 868 grt) was bombed and at Dunkirk. She was later salved and renamed ILSE SCHULTE by the Germans.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

UBOATS
Arrivals
Trondheim: U-26

Departures
Kiel: U-58
Wilhelmshaven: U-29

At Sea 27 May 1940
U-8, U-9, U-13, U-28, U-29, U-37, U-43, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-60, U-62, U-101.
13 boats at sea

OPERATIONS
North Sea
CLs ARETHUSA and GALATEA arrived at Sheerness. CLA CALCUTTA departed Harwich at dawn for the Downs. DDs JAGUAR, JAVELIN, GRENADE departed Harwich. CLs SHEFFIELD, MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM departed Rosyth at dawn and arrived at the Humber to reinforce the Nore cmd.

OA.156 departed Southend escort corvette PERIWINKLE from 27 to 29 May. MT.75 departed Methil, escort DD VALOROUS. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day. FS.181 departed the Tyne, escort DD VALOROUS. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 29th.

Northern Waters
DD ATHERSTONE was at Lerwick to provide local defense protection until shore btys were emplaced. DD ESKIMO was towed by repair ship VINDICTIVE from Skelfjord to Harstad arriving on the 17th. DD ESKIMO departed Harstad on the 27th under the tow of tug BANDIT and escorted by sloop FLEETWOOD. Steamer DEVON CITY , cable ship LASSO, captured steamer ALSTER accompanied this force. DD AMAZON joined this group on the 30th. DD VOLUNTEER left her convoy of troopships BATORY and SOBIESKI, en route to Harstad, to join the ESKIMO group on the 30th. Sloop FLEETWOOD was relieved on the 31st by DD WREN, which departed Scapa on the 31st, FLEETWOOD arrived in Scapa on 1 June. Boom carrier DEVON CITY arrived at Scapa on the 31st Steamer ALSTER arrived with her prize crew at Scapa Flow at 2200/31st with passengers embarked of 27 officers and 182 other ranks, 9 officers and 37 other ranks of Norwegian, and 72 german PoWs. DDr ESKIMO on 1 June was ordered to proceed directly to Barrow and Furness.
Steamer ALSTER arrived at Rosyth 4 June along with ESKIMO. DDs WREN and VOLUNTEER returned to the Clyde after the escort duty. They arrived on 4 June. DD ESKIMO was under repair until late September 1940. DD ELECTRA departed Greenock for Scapa after repairs. En route, ELECTRA investigated two suspicious vessels, one in Loch Indaal and one SW of Ame Island, Islay, but nothing was found. Sub TRUANT arrived at Harstad.

French submarine RUBIS, which departed Dundee on the 23rd, laid minefield FD.15 at 0435 near Haugesand at Bleivik. A number of Axis controlled vessels were lost on this minefield until late August. Rubis returned to the UK on the 30th. RN oiler OIL PIONEER and steamer CORMINSTER arrived at Harstad from Scapa. ASW trawler CAPE PORTLAND departed Scapa escorting oiler OIL RELIANCE to Methil. With this trawler's departure, no ASW trawlers remained at Scapa. Steamer DALLINGTON COURT departed the Clyde, unescorted, for Vaagsfjord. A Floating dock, in tow of tug WATERMEYER escort ASW trawlers LE TIGER, LOCH OSKAIG, WISTARIA, departed Leith for the Sullom Voe seaplane base. They all arrived safely on the 30th.

Capture of Narvik
Despite having decided to abandon Northern Norway, on General Juins suggestion that it assist in the withdrawal to actually take Narvik, the final assaults and amphibious actions went ahead. The final assault on Narvik began at 2340 27 May. DDs HAVELOCK, BEAGLE, FAME, WALKER, WHIRLWIND operated in Rombaksfjord on fire supporty. CLAs CAIRO ((with the Flag Lord Cork) and COVENTRY with DD FIREDRAKE were in Ofotfjord. CL SOUTHAMPTON was in position to bring spt to the Ankenes peninsula and sloop STORK protected the LCs of the operation. The LW reacted to the assault, and CAIRO was hit by 2 bombs and was badly damaged with 11 fatalities and 6 wounded, 1 subsequently dow. 1 bomb struck abaft B.position, penetrated the deck, exploded among the supply party the ship was carrying. The 2nd bomb hit the starboard. 5" anti-aircraft gun mounting. CL SOUTHAMPTON was near missed and had 2 ratings killed by bomb splinters. Captain F. H.W. Jeans was wounded. Damage to the SOUTHAMPTON required 10 days to repair by local facilities. CLA COVENTRY was near missed and sustained 1 sailor killed by splinters. DDs HAVELOCK, WALKER, WHIRLWIND all sustained minor damage from near misses. DD WALKER's damage required 10 days to repair once she returned to England. HAVELOCK and WHIRLWIND had no time out of service. At 0630, Lord Cork withdrew with his force seaward leaving CLA COVENTRY and DDs BEAGLE and FIREDRAKE to support the troops. DDs DELIGHT and ECHO joined COVENTRY later in the day. CAIRO departed Harstad with the survivors from CURLEW and arrived at Scapa on the 30th. Cruiser CAIRO departed Scapa Flow on the 31st for the Tyne for repairs completed on 7 August. On 12 August, CAIRO was back in service. CAIRO between 11 May and 28 May in operations near Narvik had fired 5700 rounds of Hvy AA. Several of her guns, the rifling in the barrels worn smooth, were out of action. At 2200 on the 28th, Narvik was announced captured by Anglo-French forces despite ferocious resistance on land and in the air by the Germans.

Gebirgsjager wearing the Narvik campaign patch. Though forced out of Narvik in the fighting of 27-28 May, these troops did not surrender and fought with great tenacity and heroism

West Coast UK
BC HOOD completed her refit and set course for Liverpool from Devonport, escort DDs ESCORT, WITCH, WOLVERINE for Liverpool where they arrived on the 28th. 4 Fr troopships departed the Clyde escort DDs HAVANT, SALADIN, VISCOUNT and Fr DD MILAN for Cherbourg and St Nazaire. SALADIN was detached during the afternoon on the 28th. DD HAVANT was reassigned to the Western Approaches Command after the escort. VISCOUNT arrived in the Clyde on the 30th after the escort. She then returned to Scapa.

OB.156 departed Liverpool escort sloop FOLKESTONE from 27 to 30 May. The sloop was detached to convoy SL.32.

Channel
DD VERITY, escorting British steamers BIARRTIZ and ARCHANGEL to Dunkirk, was damaged by enemy shellfire near Calais and her CO and one other officer were seriously wounded. Gunboat LOCUST arrived at Sheerness from Portsmouth. CL CARDIFF departed Portland for Portsmouth for ops with CruSqn 2.

Operation Dynamo
Late on the 26th, the Admiralty ordered DYNAMO to commence. Major warships participating in the evacuation of allied troops from the Dunkirk area from 27 May to 4 June were as follows:

CLA CALCUTTA, Fr Contre Torpilleur DDs EPERVIER, LEOPARD. DDs ANTHONY, BASILISK, CODRINGTON, , ESK, EXPRESS, GALLANT, , GRAFTON, GRENADE, GREYHOUND, HARVESTER, HAVANT, ICARUS, IMPULSIVE, INTREPID, IVANHOE, JAGUAR, JAVELIN, KEITH, MACKAY, MALCOLM, MONTROSE, SABRE, SALADIN, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, VANQUISHER, VENOMOUS, VERITY, VIMY, VIVACIOUS, WAKEFUL, WHITEHALL, WHITSHED, WILD SWAN, WINCHELSEA, WINDSOR, WOLFHOUND, WOLSEY, WORCESTER. ORP DD BLYSKAWICA, French DDs – BOURRASQUE, CYCLONE, FOUDROYANT, MISTRAL, SIROCCO.

French TBs BOUCLIER, BRANLEBAS, FLORE, L'INCOMPRISE.

Sloop BIDEFORD, PCs GUILLEMOT, KINGFISHER, MALLARD, SHEARWATER, SHELDRAKE, WIDGEON. French sloops AMIENS, ARRAS, , BELFORT, LA BOUDEUSE, COMMANDANT DELAGE, COMMANDANT RIVIERE, DILIGENTE, L'IMPETUEUSE.

 

[parsifal]

27 May 1940 (Part II)
OPERATIONS [CONT'D]
Operation Dynamo (Cont'd)
RN Gunboats LOCUST, MOSQUITO. MSWs ALBURY, BRIGHTON BELLE, BRIGHTON QUEEN, DEVONIA, DUCHESS OF FIFE, DUNDALK, EMPEROR OF INDIA, FITZROY, GLEN AVON, GLEN GOWER, GOSSAMER, GRACIE FIELDS, HALCYON, HEBE, KELLET, LEDA, LYDD, MARMION, MEDWAY QUEEN, NIGER, ORIOLE, PANGBOURNE, PLINLIMMON, PRINCESS ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF THANET, ROSS, SALAMANDER, SALTASH, SANDOWN, SHARPSHOOTER, SKIPJACK, SNAEFELL, SPEEDWELL, SUTTON, WAVERLEY, WESTWARD, WHIPPINGHAM.

MTBs16, 22, 67, 68, 102, 107. MLs 100. MASB 5, 6, 7, 10. French motor torpedo boats - VTB.23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. SCs, CH.5, CH.6, CH.7, CH.11, 42, 106

Patrols were deployed in the sthn Nth Sea as follows just prior to DYNAMO's activation.

CL GALATEA and Nore DDs CODRINGTON, JAVELIN, JAGUAR were sth of Inner Gabbard and west of the Galloper to sth Falls Buoy. GALATEA departed Sheerness at daylight on the 27th, but was recalled. Sth Fairy Bank to Kwinte Buoy were Dover DDs GREYHOUND and GRAFTON off Yarmouth. On Stations OC.1 and OC.2 was Dover DD GRENADE.

Off the Nth Goodwins to T Buoy on the Wandelaar were DDs GALLANT, VIVACIOUS, BLYSKAWICA. At each end of the R, S, T Buoys were 2 ASW trawlers. MSWs SKIPJACK and HALCYON and Trinity House Vessel PATRICIA covered by DD IMPULSIVE swept the "X" route to DYNAMO. Cptn Tennant, who was to direct DYNAMO from France, arrived at Dunkirk on DD WOLFHOUND. Destroyer WOLFHOUND was to have been the communications link with Dover, but she was soon released to carry troops. DDs WOLSEY and WOLFHOUND escorted two trawlers back to Dover after embarking troops at Dunkirk.

After embarking troops at Dunkirk, armed boarding vessel MONA'S ISLE was damaged by German bombing west of Dunkirk, between Gravelines and Les Hemmes. Armed boarding vessel MONA'S ISLE was towed by tugs LADY BRASSEY and SIMLA and escorted by destroyer WINDSOR to Dover. CLA CALCUTTA, DDs ANTHONY, GALLANT, IMPULSIVE, SABRE, VIVACIOUS, VIMY and 4 MSWs, also operated off Dunkirk on the 27th. DD WAKEFUL arrived at Dover from Plymouth and proceeded immediately to Dunkirk. CLA CALCUTTA operated off La Panne. DD IMPULSIVE had arrived at Dover for another purpose, but was diverted to DYNAMO ops.

By the end of 27 May, 7669 troops had been evacuated from Dunkirk.

Western Approaches
DDs WAKEFUL, MACKAY, WORCESTER, MONTROSE from the Western Approaches Command and DD SHIKARI and SCIMITAR from Portsmouth were ordered to Dover for DYNAMO ops.

Med- Biscay
Fr BBs PROVENCE and BRETAGNE, Contre Torpilleur DDs TIGRE and LYNX, DDs BRESTOIS and BOULONNAIS departed Mer el Kebir on patrol. Fr Contre Torpilleur DD FANTASQUE arrived at Oran from Lorient.

 

[parsifal]

27 May 1940 RAF Operations
UNFINISHED
During the period 27 May to 3 June the Germans, according to their own records, lost 189 a/c, while British losses during the same period were 131 machines of which 99 were fighters.

16 sqn (Lysander)
Supply Drop, Calais 1 a/c lost, 2 WIA Badly damaged by Flak during supply drop at Calais. Crashed on return 05.45 hrs. A/c a write-off

26 sqn (Lysander)
Recce/Supply drops 3 a/c lost, 6 KIA, all shot down, 1 by enemy a/c over or near Calais

53 sqn (Whitley)
1 a/c lost, 3 KIA No other details

54 sqn (spit)
Dunkirk 1 a/c lost, pilot injured but returned. Deere was leading his sqn on their 4th patrol of the day when they encountered 17 Dorniers, shooting down 2. In the engagement, return fire from one of these a/c hit the oil system of his Spit, and while Deere was half blinded by smoke from the burning oil his engine seized. He was then flying at barely 800 feet over the Belgian coast between Nieuport and Dunkirk, so he made for a stretch of beach along which his Spitfire slithered, finally coming to rest on its nose. Although injured in the head Deere scrambled out of his a/c, set it on fire, and began to make his way on foot towards Dunkirk. After a hazardous and eventful journey, partly made by converting abandoned cars to his own use, he finally reached that port and returned by ship to England.

 

[parsifal]

27 May 1940 - The BEF
On the same day that the evacuation from Dunkirk finally got under way, the German advance finally brought the port within artillery range, and for the rest of the evacuation the town suffered from a constant heavy artillery bombardment. By now the Allies had defences in place around Dunkirk. One of the most important aspects of those defences were the inundations, which flooded large areas of the low lying ground around the port, acting as a very effective anti-tank ditch. Heavy fighting would follow, but the Germans had missed their best chance to cut the BEF off from the coast.

The BEF was still not safe. Rearguard elements of I and II Corps did not leave the frontier defences until the night on 27-28 May, and most of the BEF was still outside the Dunkirk perimeter at the end of the day. Worse was to come, for during the day the German Sixth Army reported that a Belgian delegation had arrived to request surrender negotiations.

Battles on the Aa Canal – Fr 1st army fights on alone

1st Army has two objectives at this point, cover the BEF withdrawal and get as many people as possible out of the developing pocket around Lille. Without the very effective defe3nce put up by 1st Army, the evacuation at Dunkirk would have ben far less effective. There is still some BEF units in the front line, and providing real and effective support to the French, but this was the hoiur for 1st Army. It was perhaps the finest defnce mounted by the French during the campaign

On 27th May 1940 the German offensive continues. The whole artillery of the XIX.Armee-Korps (mot.) enters in action. Around 1200 the French position in Saint-Georges (II/137e RI) and Bourbourg (I/137e RI) are attacked by German infantry and tanks. At Saint-Georges the II/137e RI resists well, counter-attacks and takes some POWs. During the afternoon the 2 towns are massively bombarded.

The main German attack is directed sth of Bourbourg. At 1000, after a violent artillery preparation the GD regit, supported by tanks of the 1.PzD, assaults the III/137e RI deployed around Cappellebrouck and Pont-l'Abesse. The French troops resist and stay on their positions. At the beginning of the afternoon the German attack is renewed at the junction of the I/137e RI and the III/137e RI, between Bourbourg and Cappellebrouck. The German tanks break through the French lines then join the Cassel road and head sth, reaching the Haute-Colme canal at Looberghe.

At 1500 Cappellebrouck is encircled and is taken minutes later. III/137e RI retreats back to the canal in difficult conditions, having to fight while retreating but 3 German tanks are destroyed by a 25mm AT gun. Having reached the canal the French troops cross a wooden bridge and blow it.
The III/137e RI continues to retreat, still attacked by infiltrating German troops. At 1830, sth of Drincham, this unit is surrounded and finally surrenders..

The offensive is also intense more south : the XIV.AK (mot.) (with the 20.ID (mot.)), the LSSAH and the 6.PzD attack Cassel and Bergues on a 18km wide front, after a heavy artillery preparation. This sector is defended with :

1) on the right flank I/48e RI, III/310e RI (just arrived in the area after a forced march of 35km) (3 companies, north east of Bollezeele), II/65e RI (in the forest east of Watten)

2) on the left flank : 21/129 in Nordpeene • 21/110 in Lederzeele The artillery in this area consists of the 4th bty of the 35e RA the 1/115e RA (105mm guns), 3/35e RA and 6/235e RA.

The sector is also supported by 2 Somua S35 tanks and 3 "R-35 tanks. The 59e GRDI is retreating from its previous position and elements are deploying in Lederzeele.

On the right flank, the II/65e RI is attacked at 6h30 on its front and flanks. Supported by the two Somua tanks the bn resists well but later, to avoid being encircled, it moves back in Merckeghem and the surrounding woods. Behind the II/65e RI, the I/48e RI improvises a new defensive line in Bollezeele beside the 6th company of the II/65e RI and 3 companies of VI/ 310e RI. The French units resist very well, blocking important German means during several hrs of intense combat. During the night they falter, and fall back even further to Eringhem and Zeggerscappel.

In the centre, the 21/110 receives the main shock at 0630 at Lederzeele but provides effective resistance with the help of a 75 mm bty. of the 35e RA and elements of the 59e GRDI. To avoid the encirclement, the bn withdraws in good order back on the Saint-Omer - Dunkirk axis. At 1200 it is at Broxeele and after several rearguards combats they reach Zegerscappel in the afternoon.

On the left flank, the 21/129 and elements of the British 44th ID, which are still more on the east are attacked by numerous German tanks at 0730. The allied lines are pierced in many areas. The bn retreats in Herzeele after high losses.

At the end of the afternoon the general retreat on the second defensive line from Drincham to Herzeele is achieved. The battle of the Aa is finished. The stiff resistance allowed the 68e DI to install good defensive positions on the rear. At 1800 the SFF (Secteur Fortifié des Flandres) which is in command of all the allied units in the area receives the order to break all the engagements in the line of the towns and to move all the units north of the Basse-Colme canal. This retreat is achieved during 27th - 28th May night, under the protection of the 137e RI

At the same time this battle was occurring along the Aa line, the BEF rearguards were fighting the Battle of the Ypres – Comines Canal line.

The Germans started this battle with probing attacks on the afternoon of the 26th and launched a full-scale attack on the morning of May 27. By mid afternoon the British line had been forced back, with penetrations of over a mile in the south and north. From late afternoon onwards the BEF launched a series of counterattacks. Units involved included the 2nd Cameronians (13 Brigade) in the centre, and the 6th Black Watch, 13th/18th Royal Hussars and Royal Engineer units further sth. Later another counter-attack in the south was launched by the 2nd Nth Staffordshire Regt and the 3rd Grenadier Gds, borrowed by Brooke from 1st Div. As a result, the German attacks in the centre were halted while Ge 6 ID in the sth was driven back almost to the Canal. In the north, however, 18 If XX continued to advance on the sthn side of Ypres. On the 28th the German advance restarted, but made little progress in the centre and sth. Some further advances were made in the nth but Brooke had switched 10 Bde from 4th Div and it stabilised the front here. Throughout the battle the BEF artillery, which was mainly stationed on the Messines–Wytschaete Ridge, had done much to break up German attacks. There were the equivalent of 6 fld arty regiments and 5 med and hvy regits. Because of this the British probably had a larger artillery presence than the Germans. There seems little doubt that the successful British defence would not have been possible without this artillery support.

During the night of May 27/28 most of the British forces south of the Lys—4 divs in all—crossed and made their way northwards. 5th and 50th Divs pulled out on the night of the 28/29 May.5th Div's stand had been critical in allowing a substantial part of the fighting strength of the BEF to reach Dunkirk. Although total British casualties (including captured) exceeded those of the Germans, the battle was an important tactical success for the BEF. Much of the success was the result of Alan Brooke's prompt actions. During the 27th he borrowed the Gds and Nth Staffordshires, who participated in the second counterattack in the sth, from 1st Div, and moved 10th Bde to reinforce the centre and nth.

 

[Njaco]

May 28 Tuesday
WESTERN FRONT: King Leopold III of Belgium surrenders the Belgian army unconditionally to German forces. He does not consult the Allies or the Belgian government and both hold him in strong contempt for his actions.

Before the Belgian capitulation becomes effective at 1100 hours, there is a desperately hurried redeployment of the British and French forces that prevents the Germans from reaching Nieuport, and from there the Dunkirk beaches. There is fierce fighting around Cassel and Poperinghe where Rundstedt's men again press forward. While heavy fighting rages around the perimeter, 11,874 Allied personnel were evacuated from Dunkerque harbor and 5,930 from the nearby beaches. The latter was possible due to the arrival of many small fishing boats and pleasure craft. The small boats are able to get into shallow water and ferry men out to the larger warships for the journey to England. The steamer "Mona's Isle" is the first ship to arrive at Dunkirk and evacuate troops even though she comes under fire from coastal battteries which inflict heavy casualties on board.

Seige of Lille. 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. 40,000 French soldiers, the remainder of the once-mighty First Army, are surrounded at Lille by 7 German divisions (3 armoured divisions, including Rommel's). They will fight a delaying action until May 31, while the evacuation of Dunkirk proceeds. At Abbeville, the crew of French Char B1 Bis tank "Jeanne d'Arc" gallantly fought on against a German attack despite receiving 90 hits.

Across the front lines, between eighty and ninety British prisoners of the 2nd Warwickshire Regiment, the Cheshire Regiment, and the Royal Artillery were murdered by members of No. 7 Company, 2nd Battalion SS Liebstandarte at Wormhoudt, France.

French 4th Armored Division forces the retreat of a German armored division at Caumont. This makes Commander Colonel Charles de Gaulle the first and only French Commanding Officer to force a German retreat during the invasion of France.

The Royal Air Force continues to do the utmost to relieve pressure by bombing behind German lines and on military targets in Germany itself. All 3 branches of the British air service attacked German positions on French and Belgian coasts. The pilots of I./JG 26 and III./JG 26 battle British Spitfires over the Dunkirk area, shooting down twelve of the RAF fighters. By the end of the day the three Gruppen of JG 26 can claim fifteen RAF fighters destroyed including the first kill for Konrad Jackel of 8./JG 26, a Hurricane over Ostende, Belgium as the RAF pilot was attacking his Gruppen-Adjutant, Hptm. Müncheberg. Lt. Josef 'Pips' Priller of 6./JG 51 begins his scoring by downing a British Spitfire and a Hurricane over Dunkirk. The British Air Ministry announced that Royal Air Force fighters had the most success since the invasion of the Low Countries with 79 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed or damaged.

NORTHERN EUROPE: Allied forces consisted of British, French, Norwegian, and Polish troops attacked Narvik, Norway across the Rombaksfjord and by land starting at 0015 hours. French Foreign Legion comes ashore with 5 French light tanks at 15 hours. French General Béthouart leads a force from Bjerkvik on Narvik while Polish troops attack from south of the village. Naval bombardment of German positions begins at midnight, aided by the broad daylight at this latitude (it is dark at the same time at airfields further South, preventing Luftwaffe bombers taking off in response). German aircraft did not arrive until 0430 hours, but they were able to force the Allied fleet to withdraw after damaging cruiser HMS "Cairo" (killing 10 and wounding 7). At 1200 hours, British forces captured Narvik, Fagernes, and Forsneset. German troops withdrew to nearby hills.

An He 111 of 1(F)./122 (in conjunction with a Condor of 1./ KG 40) identified that a further British landing was about to take place at Ofotfjord. Two Dornier Do 26 flying boats were shot down by RAF Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-37 sank French liner "Brazza" 100 miles west of Cape Finisterre, Spain at 0924 hours, killing 79 crew and 300 passengers. 53 crew and 144 passengers were later rescued by French gunboat "Enseigne Henry" and British armed merchant cruiser HMS "Cheshire".

NORTH AMERICA: The National Defense Advisory Committee was established in the United States as a group of advisers for US President Roosevelt. Its membership included business and industry leaders such as William Knudsen, Edward Stettinius, and Sidney Hillman and academics such as economist Leon Henderson.

American ambassador to France, William Bullitt, sent a telegram to the United States asking President Roosevelt to dispatch a cruiser to Bordeaux, France to bring weapons for the French police to quell a feared "Communist uprising" and to embark French and Belgian gold reserves. Heavy cruiser USS "Vincennes" would sortie from Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States with destroyers USS "Truxtun" and USS "Simpson" in response to the ambassador's request.

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[parsifal]

28/29 May 1940
Known Reinforcements
Allied
RN Hunt Class Escort DD FERNIE - Motor Anti-Submarine Boat MA/SB 9 (MA/SB 9)

Following a brief working up at Portland, FERNIE was employed in the evac ops of the Fr nth coast.

Losses
The heavy losses sustained this day resulted in daylight operations restricted to naval vessels and the smaller vessels. The larger unarmed vessels were now limited to operating at night. Despite the very heavy losses sustained , on May 28th a total of 17,804 persons were evacuated from Dunkirk, 2/3 through the harbour area, the remainder from the beaches.

ASW Trawler CALVI (RN 363 grt) The naval trawler was bombed and sunk at Dunkerque with the loss of 3 crew. The survivors were rescued by Trawler HMS JOHN CATTLING.

Along the east mole, DD GRENADE (RN 1370 grt) was sunk at 1602 by Ju87s. 14 crewwman were killed immediately, and 4 others died of wounds, from the 146 man crew.. In this attack, DD JAGUAR, alongside GRENADE outboard, was badly damaged at the same time JAGUAR was hit by one bomb putting one boiler room out of action, her hull was holed, there was damage to oil tanks and her engine room. 13 crew were killed and a further 19 injured.The troops on JAGUAR were transferred to other ships. DD EXPRESS towed JAGUAR out into the channel where JAGUAR was able to raise steam and trtavel under her own power back to Dover on her own, but off Dover she was joined by tug SIMLA (144grt) which towed her into port. From there, JAGUAR departed Dover on the 31st escort DD GALLANT and was repaired at Immingham in 16.

Aux MSW BRIGHTON BELLE (RN 396 grt) of MSWFlot 10 was sunk in collision with a wreck in the Downs, near the Goodwin Knoll Buoy. The SW was taken in tow, but sank before she got to harbour. Her survivors were rescued by Aux MSW MEDWAY QUEEN.

MSW trawler THOMAS BARTLETT (RN 290 grt) was sweeping mines off Calais with 3 other MSWs, she struck a Mine at 1025 and sank off Calais with the loss of 8 crew.

ASW trawler THURINGIA (RN 550 grt) of ASWGp 21 was sunk on a mine at 0600 in the Nth Sea. All but 4 crew were killed.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Personnel ship QUEEN OF THE CHANNEL (UK 1162 grt) was sunk by divebombers after she had embarked 920 men at Dunkirk. She left Dunkirk at about 0400 headed for Dover. Shortly into the journey the ship came under attack. The bombs fell abaft of the main mast damaging the rudder, breaking the starboard propeller shaft and breaking the ship's back as it lifted out of the water. With the ship in deep trouble, the nearby coaster DOTTIEN ROSE and carrying military stores approached bow to bow and within 35 mins had taken off the troops from the sinking ship. Also taken in tow were 4 of the stricken vessel's lifeboats, though two would later come adrift. The Dorrien Rose would reach Dover at about 2pm with its valuable cargo. The damage sustained proved fatal and the ship sank There were no casualties on the ship QUEEN OF THE CHANNEL. DORRIEN ROSE was escorted back to Dover by DD GREYHOUND.

Drifters BOY ROY (RN 95 grt) and PAXTON (RN 92 grt) were damaged by German bombing and were run aground and abandoned at Dunkirk. There were no casualties on either drifter.
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

Aux AA ship CRESTED EAGLE (RN 1110 grt) was sunk by the LW at 1850 at Dunkirk. Survivors were rescued by MSW PANGBOURNE. 3 men were wounded.

Steamer DOUAISIEN (Fr 2954 grt) was bombed and badly damaged by the LW. 3 passengers were killed. The ship was sunk in further attacks on 1 June.

Steamer FENELLA (UK 2376 grt) was sunk by the LW off Dunkirk. The steamer was set on fire by the bombing and was abandoned. The steamer was observed sinking on the 30th. 15 lives were lost on the steamer.

Aux MSW GRACIE FIELDS (RN 393 grt) The paddle MSW of MSW Flot 10 was sunk by the LW at Dunkirk, 3 miles west of Middelkerk Buoy. 1 crewman was killed and 3 wounded. Survivors were picked up by MSW PANGBOURNE after an unsuccessful attempt to tow her out of the area. PANGBOURNE was also damaged by the LW at Dunkirk, 2 injured. The MSW was repaired at Grimsby in June.

Aux MSW JOSEPH MARIE (Fr 41 grt) was sunk by the LW at Dunkirk
[NO IMAGES FOUND]

Steamer CLAN MACALISTER (UK 6787 grt) was set on fire by the LW at Dunkirk, off No. 6 Buoy, or the Dunkirk East Buoy. The steamer was abandoned. 18 lives were lost on the steamer. Survivors were picked up by DD MALCOLM and MSW PANGBOURNE.

HMS LCA 4, LCA 16 and LCA 18 (all RN 13 grt) The LCAs were lost when CLAN MACISTER was sunk.

Steamer LORINA (UK 1578 grt) was sunk by the LW in Dunkirk Roads. 8 lives were lost on the steamer.

MV MARIE ROSE (Fr 2477) The cargo ship was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) NW of Vigo, Spain by U-37 which at the same time badly damaged British steamer TELENA (UK 7406 grt). There were 18 dead on steamer TELENA. The steamer was abandoned, but it was later towed to Vigo by Spain. Steamer TELENA was sold to Spain and on 7 October was renamed GERONA.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer MONIQUE SCHIAFFFINO (Fr 3236 grt) and Steamer MARS (Fr 721 grt) were sunk by the LW.

A painting of the MONIQUE SCHIAFFFINO MARS under attack at Dunkirk

Ferry MONA'S QUEEN (UK 2756 grt) was sunk by a mine off Dunkirk, 1.5 miles east of Dunkirk Pier Head. 26 people were killed. Survivors were rescued by DD VANQUISHER and taken to Dover.

MSW trawler POLLY JOHNSON (RN 290 grt) was badly damaged by German bombing off Dunkirk and later scuttled. 1 crew member was killed.

Tug SAMSUN (Fr 95 grt) The tug struck a mine in the Med and sank off the coast of Gard.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer SAINT CLAIRE (Fr 3824 grt) was bombed and sunk at Tjeldsundet.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer SAINT OCTAVE (Fr 5099 grt) was scuttled at Dunkirk, but was later salved by German forces and renamed ILSE FRITZEN for German service

Aux PV Vp.1109 (DKM 291 grt) was sunk on minefield FD.12 laid by submarine NARWHAL
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Tugs VULCAIN (Be 200 grt), MAX (Be 177 grt) and THAMES (Be 144 grt) were sunk by the LW at Dunkirk.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM schellboote S.25, S.30, S.34 departed Wilhelmshaven during the afternoon of 28 May to operate off Dunkirk. In the chaotic conditions off Dunkirk and belgiunm they were to enjoy great success. DDs CODRINGTON, GRENADE, JAVELIN, JAGUAR on patrol together in the Nth Sea were ordered to Dunkirk to pick up troops.
Steamer ABUKIR (UK 694 grt) departed Ostend on the 27th after evacuating Ostend. The steamer was sunk in by DKM S Boat S.34 at 0130 on the 28th. There was a crew of 21 and 210 passengers aboard at the time of her loss. 16 crew and 189 passengers were lost with the ship. CODRINGTON, JAGUAR, JAVELIN picked up her 33 survivors.

DDs WAKEFUL and GRAFTON left the beaches at the same time after embarking troops at Dunkirk late on the 28th. Patrol sloop SHEARWATER at 0120 sth of Fairy Bank was attacked by 2 S Boats. Then, DD WAKEFUL (RN 1100 grt) was torpedoed and sunk in the Nth Sea by DKM S-30 with the loss of 724 of the 750 people aboard. The survivors were rescued by the drifters COMFORT and NAUTILIUS as well as DD GRAFTON and ASW Trawler GOSSAMER .

At 0205, a French patrol boat struck a wreck near Deal Bank Buoy. Drifter COMFORT was sent from Dover to locate and tow back the patrol boat. Drifter COMFORT (RN 60 grt) The Naval Drifter was fired on by DD GRAFTON and then rammed and sunk by HMS LEDD, the Drifter having been mistaken for an enemy S Boat. 4 crewman of the 6 aboard were lost.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

At 0420 DD GRAFTON (RN 1370 grt) was torpedoed and badly damaged by U.62. The U Boat thought she had torpedoed a merchant ship. 16 members of the crew, incl the captain, were lost. At 0430, arriving DDs JAVELIN, ICARUS, VANQUISHER, INTREPID, IVANHOE encountered the GRAFTON wreck. INTREPID, after taking off the survivors, scuttled GRAFTON by firing three shells into the destroyer's hull. British steamer MALINES also rescued survivors from the stricken ship.

After the loss of GRAFTON, ships were ordered not to stop to assist a ship in distress.

Drifter NAUTILUS (UK 64 grt) The drifter was sunk in the North Sea off Dunkerque due to enemy action.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Aux MSW WAVERLEY (RN 537 grt) of MSW Flot 12 was sunk at 1800 by the LW off Dunkirk. 360 crew and passengers were killed. Fr DD CYCLONE, Aux AA craft ship GOLDEN EAGLE, a tug, 2 drifters picked up the survivors.

 

[parsifal]

28/29 May 1940 (Part II)
UBOATS
Departures
Trondheim: U-26

At Sea 29 May 1940
U-8, U-9, U-13, U-26, U-28, U-29, U-37, U-43, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-60, U-62, U-101.
14 boats at sea

OPERATIONS (29 May)
North Sea
DD VEGA was searching for a UBoat from daylight between Sth Falls and the Whistle Buoy (off the Belgian Coast). VEGA made an attack at 0707 on a U-Boat contact. This was the same general area as where DD WAKEFUL had been sunk. Simultaneously, again in the same area of sea, Sloop SHELDRAKE proceeded to the area of the Kwinte Bank and destroyed the ASW gear on the capsized wreck of WAKEFUL (still on the surface) with gunfire and then DCs. MLs TEVIOTBANK and PLOVER departed Scapa, escort DD ATHERSTONE, for Rosyth. FN.183 departed Southend, escort DD VALOROUS. The convoy arrived at the Tyne on the 31st. DD INTREPID was repaired at Middlesborough completing in 2 weeks. Subs TRIAD and SEAWOLF departed Rosyth to relieve subs L.23 and L.26 on patrol off the Dutch coast. Sub SALMON was ordered to a new billet to allow sub L.26 to return to port. Sub CLYDE departed Dundee and arrived at Rosyth later that day. Sub TETRARCH at Rosyth was docked. She was undocked the next day.

Northern Waters
CL SOUTHAMPTON bombarded German positions on the Ankenes Peninsula. The areas around Bodo and Hopen were evacuated on three consecutive nights by 2 DDs. 976 troops, ferried by DDs HAVELOCK and ARROW, embarked on British repair ship VINDICTIVE early on the 30th and taken directly to Scapa arriving on 1 June. On the second night 30/31 May, DDs FAME, FIREDRAKE, BEAGLE departed Bodo after embarkation early on the 31st. On the 31st/1 June, DDs ARROW, DELIGHT, ECHO embarked troops. 1500 troops were embarked each night on the DDs and taken to Harstad. Hopen was completely evacuated of allied troops by 30 May. On the 3rd night, DD VANOC was added, but the evacuation was completed prior to her arrival. By the end of 31 May, Bodo was clear of allied troops. DD FIREDRAKE picked up the demolition parties at Bodo and took them to Harstad. DD VOLUNTEER with ORP troopships BATORY and SOBIESKI departed Greenock at 1230 for Harstad. The DD was detached on the 30th to join the DD ESKIMO force.

West Coast UK
Sub H.43 was patrolling with ASW trawler MANOR (314grt) off Dingle Bay to sink U boats and inspect shipping outside Irish territorial waters.

Western Approaches

SW Approaches
OG.31 made formed from convoys OA.155G, which departed Southend on the 26th escort DD WHITEHALL, OB.155G, which departed Liverpool on the 26th escort DD MACKAY and sloop WELLINGTON, with forty ships. The convoy was escorted by DD WHITEHALL on the 29th. Sloop WELLINGTON escorted the convoy from 29 May to 2 June when she was detached to HG.32. DD DOUGLAS escorted the convoy from 31 May to 4 June. DD WATCHMAN from convoy HG.32 escorted the convoy from 2 to 3 June. The convoy arrived at Gib on 3 June.

Channel
Operation Dynamo
On the 29th, 47,310 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk.

4 swordfish of the FAA were lost over Dunkirk. Two crews were captured, and 2 made it back to England after being rescued. Scott class DD MONTROSE collided with SUN V off Cap Griz Nez, Pas-de-Calais, France and was severely damaged. She was beached to prevent her sinking. Later refloated and towed back to Dover by Tugs LADY BRASSEY and SIMLA.

RN Shoreham-class sloop BIDEFORD was bombed and severely damaged at Dunkerque, having 40' her stern blown off. She was beached to prevent her sinking. 17 crew were lost. The survivors were rescued by HMS KELLETt . She was later refloated and towed by RN Tug LOCUST, later GONDIA and SIMLA back to Dover, taking over 30 hrs to complete the tow, arriving at Dover on 31 May. She was undergoing repairs until April 1941.

DD MACKAY, en route to Bray, ran aground at 0136 at Zuydcote Pass with heavy damage to her propellers. She was able to get herself off at high tide and returned to Sheerness. MACKAY departed Dover on the 30th for docking in the Thames. New DD HARVESTER had arrived from the yards without charts. She had been ordered to follow DD MACKAY. HARVESTER continued to Dunkirk after accident. DD WOLSEY damaged her propellers on debris at Dunkirk, as did DD WOLFHOUND on debris at Dunkirk and required docking.

DDs GALLANT, GRENADE, JAGUAR were plotting a new route for DYNAMO, via the northern channe;s. They were later to be severely attacked by the LW, because of the greater distance to FC aircover, and greater proximity to functional airfields under LW control. They were also sent to test the strength of shore batteries at Gravelines. They drew no fire, but they were attacked by the LW. At 1129 GALLANT was near missed and damaged, forcing her to retire, to Dover at 1620/31st for repairs and able to return to duty in 1 week.

CLA CALCUTTA, escorted by PV MALLARD off La Panne, evacuated 1856 men which were ferried out to her by MSWs SALAMANDER and SUTTON, tug JAVA, and 8 smaller ships. Also at La Panne were DDs SHIKARI, HARVESTER, ANTHONY, SABRE, GREYHOUND and MSWs EMPEROR OF INDIA, GRACIE FIELDS, HALYCON, HEBE, ORIOLE, PRINCESS ELISABETH, WAVERLEY. Fr DDs MISTRAL, CYCLONE, SIROCCO began the evacuation of Fr troops from Dunkirk. However, MISTRAL was bombed and badly damaged along the east mole and did not embark troops. Her CO was fatally wounded. CYCLONE lifted 733 Fr and british troops, including 158 men from the BIDEFORD, SIROCCO lifted 509 Fr soldiers.

ORP DD BLYSKAWICA, operating that afternoon in the Channel in a divi of 4 DDs, was near missed by torps from U.60. U.60 was DC'd in return, but sustained no damage. DD GREYHOUND was badly damaged at 1628 by a bomb near miss off La Panne. There were 22 fatalities on the DD. After emergency repairs, GREYHOUND was towed by BLYSKAWICA towards Dover. Off the Nth Goodwins Light Ship, BLYSKAWICA was relieved by tug LADY BRASSEY which took GREYHOUND into Dover. GREYHOUND departed Dover at 1419/31st for Sheerness. The DD was repaired at Chatham, returning to service in 3 weeks.

DDs SALADIN, MALCOLM, WOLFHOUND were all moderately damaged by LW attacks during daylight at Dunkirk. All 3 were returned to service after repairs at Chatham. SALADIN was further damaged by a near miss and was under repair for 11 days . WOLFHOUND was under repair for this damage and her propeller damage for 10 days. DD VERITY was damaged in a collision with a sunken drifter off Dunkirk. VERITY returned to service on 15 June after repairs at Portsmouth. DDs CODRINGTON, EXPRESS, HARVESTER, ICARUS, IVANHOE, KEITH, SABRE, SCIMITAR, WINCHELSEA, WOLSEY were also at Dunkirk on the 29th. ICARUS was damaged by near misses and sustained one killed and 25 men injured

DDs ANTHONY, CODRINGTON, ESK, EXPRESS, GREYHOUND, HARVESTER, INTREPID, IVANHOE, JAVELIN, MALCOLM, SABRE, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, VANQUISHER, VERITY, WOLSEY, WORCESTER made one round trip to lift troops. DD ICARUS made 2 trips. MSWs ALBURY, DUCHESS OF FIFE, EMPEROR OF INDIA, FITZROY, HALCYON, HEBE, LEDA, MARMION, SHARPSHOOTER directly lifted troops from the beaches on the 29th. With the LW targetting RN DDs specifically, the Admiralty ordered all the H, I, J class DDs out of DYNAMO due to severe losses. All the G-class destroyers were already out of the operation due to loss or damage. This left only 15 old DDs, ESK, EXPRESS, ANTHONY, KEITH, CODRINGTON, MALCOLM, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA, WORCESTER, WINDSOR, VERITY, VANQUISHER, SABRE, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI to continue DYNAMO. DDs SALADIN, WHITEHALL, WINCHELSEA were ordered to Dover for DYNAMO ops.

UK-France
BC.39 with 6 steamers, departed Bristol Channel escort ASW trawlers HUDDERSFIELD TOWN and YORK CITY. The convoy arrived at Loire on 1 June. SA.43 of 1 steamer arrived at St Malo from Southampton. AXF.6 departed Southampton for St Malo.

Med- Biscay
Fr AMC VILLE D'ORAN was ordered to embark 200 tons of gold at Pauillac and take it to Casablanca. The gold was embarked and the AMC departed on 3 June and arrived at Casablanca on 7 June. It had previously been agreed that USN ships would transfer the gold from here to the US. but the US was concerned about possible air attack which delayed the US arrival in Fr Nth Africa until the 9th June. Eventually, US CA VINCENNES and DDs TRUXTON and SIMPSON arrived at Casablanca at 1100 on 9 June and embarked this gold for transshipment to the US. The American Force departed Casablanca 10 June and arrived at New York on 20 June. Fr sub CENTAURE, escort sloop COMMANDANT BORY, passed Gib, en route from Brest for Bizerte, where she arrived on 1 June.

 

[parsifal]

28 May - RAF Operations
UNFINISHED

10 sqn (whitley)
Ruhr 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 a/c lost. First German ftr to be shot down by RAF claimed by tail gunner in 10 Sqn Whitley.

16 sqn (Lysander)
Recon 1 a/c lost, 2 KIA, Believed shot down by ground fire and crashed near Longuenesse 07.45 hrs.

19 sqn (spit)
Dunkirk. 1 a/c damaged, 1 KIA or DOW, 1 MIA, 1 WIA. 19 Sqn lost 4 a/c plus 1 damaged (repairable) for the destruction of 13 Enemy .a/c over Dunkirk

21 sqn (Blen)
Clairmarais 1 a/c lost, 1 KIA, Airborne 1230 from Watton. Lost attacking enemy positions in the Clairmarais Forest, immediately E of St-Omer (Pas-de-Calais), France.

54 sqn (Spit)
Dunkirk Patrol. 1 enemy a/c brought down.

66 sqn (Spit)
Dunkirk 1 a/c lost, 1 MIA

 

[parsifal]

28 May 1940 - The BEF
Belgium surrendered to German forces.

The retreat to the Lys had been practically completed during the night. By five o'clock in the morning of the 28th only the 42nd Division still had a rearguard of one brigade (the 125th) on the bend of the Deule Canal running northwards from Lille; while the 4th Divs 12th Brigade had also a small rearguard on the canal bend. On the main eastern front, facing the German AGp B, the augmented 5th Division and the 50th and 3rd Divs still held the line from Warneton through Ypres to near Noordschote. In the 20 mile gap between Noordschote and the coast beyond Nieuport, there were as yet no British divisions; only some cavalry of the French 2nd DLM (which had been placed by General Blanchard under General Brooke's command) and the 12th Lancers watched this open left flank, while a detachment of sappers from the 101st Army Fld Co, Royal Engineers, worked energetically to destroy the bridges between Dixmude and Nieuport. The surrender of the Belgian Army left the way clear for a rapid German advance at this point presenting a great danger to the army retiring to the coast, and throughout the day German divs which were no longer required to overcome Belgian resistance were being moved hard in outflanking marches. The german attacks n the centre on the BRFs rearguard positions between Warneton and Ypres were resumed and intensified. .

The battle in the centre, which commenced on the 25th, and was to continue until all BEF forces were within the Dunkirk bridgehead, was of crucial importance to the BEF. Just as the 2nd Div fought the SW battle to keep the way open for the first stages of the British retreat, so the divs of II Corps fought this longer, fiercer battle of the NE to keep open the way for the last stages. Gen Brooke directed operations with great skill on a plan which the enemy was not allowed seriously to upset. His battle is generally considered an Allied dfensive victory, in that nearly all the BEF escaped the developing envelopment movements undertaken by the Germans.

The 50th and 3rd Divs on their left, heavily shelled and subjected to some attacks from the air, were in contact with the enemy all day, but, except for one assault on the centre of the 50th Division which was beaten back, the enemy was not yet up to our line in strength for a serious effort to advance. During the night the 50th Division moved as planned to a line running NE from Poperinghe, and the right of the 3rd Div swung back to form a rational linear defence line. The Fr 2nd DLM Div had moved behind the Loo Canal, and the Fr 60th Inf Div which had come from near Bruges 'had been overwhelmed in the loop of the Yser, its survivors were gathered up by the 2nd DLM and by the British who held the Furnes–Nieuport Canal.

Lord Gort's Headquarters had left Premesques that afternoon, spent the night at Houtkerque and on the 28th were established at La Panne in the Dunkirk bridgehead. The 3rd Div was side-stepping to the left of the British front (page 196) at the time of the above entry.

On the long western flank of the corridor, where British troops faced Army Group A, the position was less satisfactory. Gen Wason's III Corps was far weaker. The 48th Div had only two bdes, for it will be remembered that the 143rd had gone to strengthen the 5th Division on the Ypres front. The only other division 'in the line' was the attritioned 44th, for what little remained of the 46th was held back in reserve behind Cassel. And not only were much smaller forces available in these two divs; they were extended over more than 20 miles, so that there were many gaps through which German armour could penetrate unhindered. At the beginning of the 28th, the 48th Div de[;oyments took the form of a series of strongpoints, not particularly mutually supporting and therefore vulnerable. . The 144th Bde held the Soex–Ledreinghem sector; the 145th Cassel and Hazebrouck.

An order issued from GHQ at about two o'clock in the afternoon of the 28th set Poperinghe as the pivot of the line to which withdrawal would take place in the night, but 'within the outline of these orders' corps commanders were to use their full discretion and to move as many men as possible into the Dunkirk bridgehead. II Corps needed no fresh instructions and was given freedom to hold a line from Poperinghe to Ypres and on to some point north of Ypres. In fact, they held from Poperinghe to near Noordschoete. I Corps, now only the 1st Division (less the three bns which had gone to strengthen the 5th div) and the 42nd Div, were to retire to a position between Poperinghe and Proven, but in fact the 42nd Div went further nth to the Yser and the 1st Div reached the perimeter of the Dunkirk bridgehead. Instructions to III Corps were less clear. The 48th Div was given no orders but was told that these would be issued when French dispositions had been ascertained; the 44th Div was ordered to retire 'to frontier defences' but no area was specified; the 2nd Div was to move back to Beveren on the Yser (the sector to which the 42nd actually retired). The 44th and 2nd Divs could not carry out these instructions, and clearly they were based on insufficient information in regard to conditions on the corps front.

During the day the German XIX Corps commander (Guderian) made a tour of his forward positions. The Diary records his opinion that further tank attacks would involve 'useless sacrifice of our best troop': in his view the wise course is 'to hold positions reached and to let 18 Army's attack from the east take effect'. Guderian finally sought permission and was duly granted permission, to withdraw his entire Corps for much needded rest and refit

Between the British 44th Div and the divisions of II Corps on the eastern front lay the Fr 1st Army. By the morning of the 28th only its III Corps and the Cav Corps had got back to the Lys; the rest were still in the Lille area nearly surrounded by German divs. Decision as to 1st Army's further movements had become a matter of urgency, for unless the French also moved promptly to the coast they would be left isolated when the British withdrawal from the Lys took place in the coming night. General Blanchard visited the Command Post at about 1100 and conferred with Lord Gort and General Pownall. It was quickly apparent that although he had had been present at the discussion of the defence of a Dunkirk bridgehead which had taken place at Cassel on the day before he regarded retirement to the Lys as the final move; apparently the British decision to retire to the coast and evacuate to England, which had been notified by M. Reynaud and General Weygand on the 26th, had not been made known to him. When the British Government's telegram to Lord Gort was read to him, he was horrified. These and other bungled understandings of the new BEFs orders led to the encirclement and loss of more than half 1st Army's fighting strength. The end was now firmly in sight for France

 

[parsifal]

man this is hectic.....

Edit: ive missed 28 May Naval Ops....

28/29 May 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis
Type II U-121

Allied
Motor Launch ML 101

Losses
Liner BRAZZA (Fr 10387 grt) Crew: 576 (379 dead and 197 survivors) Cargo: 850 tons of general cargo, including wine, liquor and 1000 bags of mail Route Bordeaux (26 May) - Casablanca - Dakar - West African ports - New Caledonia Sunk in the SW approaches by U-37. She settled quickly and sank almost vertically by the stern less than five minutes after being hit

Brazza sinking after being torpedoed

Sailing Vessel JULIEN (Fr 116 grt) At 16.30 hours the unescorted and unarmed JULIEN was stopped with a shot across her bow by U-37 about 60 miles west of Cape Finisterre. The lobster trawler was sunk by gunfire after the crew had abandoned ship in a dinghy. The survivors were given the course to the nearest land and some canned food by the Germans and were rescued after two days.

Coaster BLAAMANNEN (Nor 174 grt) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank off Haugesund, Rogaland with the loss of six crew.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Steamer CARARE (UK 6878 grt) was sunk on a mine. The steamer was carrying a crew of 97 and 29 passengers. 7 crew and 3 passengers were lost. Armed yacht RHODORA rescued 86 survivors and ASW trawler CAMBRIDGESHIRE rescued 2 survivors.

Drifter GIRL PAMELA (UK 93 grt) The drifter collided with another vesssel at Dunkerque and sank.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

Aux NSW MARGUERITE ROSE ( Fr 423 grt) was bombed and sunk in the North Sea off Dunkerque. Some sourdces place this loss on the 25th May

Armed Trawler OCEAN REWARD (RN 95 grt) collided with Isle of Thanet ( United Kingdom) in the English Channel off Dover, Kent and sank with the loss of one crew member.
[NO IMAGE FOUND]

DKM War Diary
Selected Extracts

Items of Political Importance
Belgium:
The Belgian Army surrendered unconditionally at 000.
France ;
According to various reports , the internal political situation in France has become very acute . One report speaks of a
"fermenting revolution". The situation of the Allied Army in the north is regarded as desperate.
Tunis was declared a war zone and the territorial guard called up 8 (Total population of Tunis 2, 600., 000, including about
109,000 French and 90,000 Italians.)
Very severe Allied condemnation of the steps taken by the King of the Belgians, The King is reproached with treachery to the
Allied cause* He is overwhelmed with insults and affronts The Pierlot Belgian Government dissociates itself from the King
and declares that the capitulation is not legal.
Great Britain ;
The seriousness of the political and military situation is expressed in speeches by Churchill and Duff Cooper. An endeavor is made to uput the -blame' for the- danger now threatening the Expeditionary Corps in Northern France on to the King of the
Belgians( see Foreign Press Reports 219A0, 220A0) .
Rumania ;
According to an Embassy telegram from Moscow, Moltov has denied all rumors about Russian troop concent, at ions on the
Rumanian frontiers The fact is, however, that troop concentration have taken place. The Foreign Office judges the siutation as
follows; Russia is in readiness for a possible intervention in the Balkans when occasion arises., but a Russian attack on
Bessarabia is not to be expected for the present and at least in the immediate future
Spain;
Anxiety regarding Spain 1 s bread supply, since France refuses to deliver grain, France demands war material also as
payment, which Spain is refusing. The German Ambassador points out that if there are no deliveries of French grain, Spain could
also stop deliveries of ore to France.

UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary

U 101 has been ordered to penetrate into the Channel and to make a situation report on the area Cherbourg - Le Havre - Dieppe.

At Sea 28 May 1940
U-8, U-9, U-13, U-28, U-29, U-37, U-43, U-48, U-56, U-58, U-60, U-62, U-101.
13 boats at sea

OPERATIONS (28 May 1940)
North Sea
DDs FURY, FORESIGHT, FORTUNE proceeded to the Humber to operate under orders of CruSqn 18. DD ATHERSTONE was ordered to proceed to hunt for a U boat reported by a/c in a position 12 miles nth of North Foreland. The search was cancelled when nothing was found. DD ATHERSTONE departed for Scapa and arrived at dawn on the 29th. Sub TRUANT departed Harstad for Rosyth. Sub TRIBUNE arrived at Rosyth after patrol. Fr subs ANTIOPE and AMAZONE arrived at Dundee.

OA.157 departed Southend escort corvette GLADIOLUS. OB.157 departed Liverpool escort sloop ROCHESTER from 28 to 31 May. The sloop was detached to HX.44. FN.182 departed Southend, escort sloop LONDONDERRY. The convoy arrived in the Tyne on the 30th. MT.76 departed Methil, escort DD WALLACE. The convoy arrived in the Tyne later that day. FS.182 departed the Tyne, escort DD WALLACE. The convoy arrived at Southend on the 30th.

Northern Waters
CA YORK departed Scapa for Rosyth. Steamer ROYAL SCOTSMAN escort DDs VANOC and WITHERINGTON departed the Clyde for Harstad. En route, WITHERINGTON was detached at the Faroes to escort British steamer ULSTER PRINCE at Thorshavn back to the Clyde. ULSTER PRINCE departed the Faroes on the 29th escort ASW trawlers IMPERIALIST and ALOUETTE. The trawlers were to be relieved by WITHERINGTON, which arrived at Thorshavn on the 29th. On the 31st, ULSTER PRINCE and WITHERINGTON arrived at the Clyde. Steamer ROYAL SCOTSMAN and DD VANOC arrived at Harstad early on 1 June. Hospital ship ABA departed Scapa for Harstad, routed west of the Shetlands.

CV GLORIOUS 802 Sqn (skua) was operating near Narvik. A flight of Lt (A) G.H. J. Feeny (SO), Lt G.D. D'E. Lyver, Lt G.H. N. Ogilvy shot down a He 111 near Narvik. DD CAMPBELL departed Greenock as escort for NS 4 of 4 steamers, joining the convoy on the 30th from Scapa. 4 large Troopships , escort DD AMAZON departed Greenock for Harstad. On the 31st, DD WREN departed Scapa to relieve DD AMAZON, which in turn was ordered to proceed to the Clyde. Destroyer SIKH departed Scapa Flow for refitting in the Clyde. Late on the 28th, a Uboat was reported by CC 10 miles 285° from Strathie Pt. DD SIKH was ordered to search, burt made no contact and left the area at 0600/29th and arrived in the Clyde at 0630.

West Coast UK
DD ANTELOPE departed Greenock as escort for Nor steamer MARITA and Brit steamer YEWMOUNT for Harstad. DD ESCORT arrived at Greenock from Liverpool.

SW Approaches
Convoy HG.32F of 32 ships departed Gib. DDs ACTIVE and WATCHMAN escorted the convoy from 28 May. DD WATCHMAN was detached to HG.32 on the 29th. ACTIVE was detached on 1 June. Sloop LEITH escorted the convoy from 29 May to 4 June.
Corvette GLADIOLUS escorted the convoy from 3 to 6 June. The convoy arrived at Liverpool on 6 June.

Channel
Operation Dynamo
17,804 were evacuated from the Dunkirk cauldron on this day.
DD WINDSOR, which had been ordered to Dunkirk from Goodwins patrol, was near missed at Sth Goodwin Light. The DD had one boiler room damaged and there were 25 injured. DD WINDSOR returned to Dover with several hundred troops on board. She spent no time out of service. DDs ANTHONY, CODRINGTON, which embarked 1600 men in two trips, ESK, EXPRESS, GALLANT, which brought back 681 men, GRENADE, which brought back 700 men, HARVESTER, which brought back 700 men, JAGUAR, JAVELIN, MACKAY, MALCOLM, MONTROSE, SABRE, SCIMITAR, SHIKARI, VERITY, WORCESTER embarked troops at Dunkirk during the morning of 28 May. DDs ANTHONY, CODRINGTON, JAVELIN, were damaged by air attacks at Dunkirk. The DDs spent no time out of action, however. DD GRAFTON and ORP DD BLYSKAWICA embarked troops from the beach between Malo les Bains and Zuydcoote. DDs VERITY, HARVESTER, ESK, MALCOLM, EXPRESS, SHIKARI, SCIMITAR were ordered into DYNAMO. Later in the day, DDs INTREPID, IVANHOE, ICARUS, VANQUISHER were ordered to Dover for DYNAMO. MSWs ALBURY, GOSSAMER, LEDA, KELLET, SUTTON operated off the Bray. MSWs SALAMANDER, HALCYON, SKIPJACK, WAVERLEY operated off La Panne. MSWs ROSS, PANGBOURNE, LYDD were at Dunkirk. DDs WAKEFUL, MONTROSE, WORCESTER, MACKAY arrived at Dover from the Western Approaches for DYNAMO duty. DDs CODRINGTON, GRENADE, JAVELIN, JAGUAR on patrol together in the North Sea were ordered to Dunkirk to pick up troops. MSWs HEBE, SHARPSHOOTER, DUCHESS OF FIFE, EMPEROR OF INDIA reached Dunkirk during the night of 28/29 May. MSWs ORIOLE and MARMION arrived off the Dunkirk beaches at 0600/29th.

 

[Njaco]

Wait until June!

 

[Njaco]

May 29 Wednesday
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. Allies evacuated 33,558 men from the harbor and 13,752 from the nearby beaches. Even though the Germans had clear weather, the Stukas are less effective around Dunkirk than Göring had expected. Their ability to hit land convoys and static targets is not matched when faced with 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. German aircraft attacked ships in the sea as well as men waiting on the docks. Despite Göring's promise, it is clear that the Luftwaffe cannot prevent the evacuation in the face of RAF patrols and anti-aircraft fire from the Royal Navy ships. The French are now beginning to allow their troops to be evacuated and have sent some ships to assist.

Elsewhere in France, the German 6.Armee occupies Lille, Ypres and Ostend. Besides capturing Lille, Ostend, and Ypres, the Germans captured other Belgian hamlets. Allied armies fought a fierce rearguard action on the banks of the Yser in northern France while maneuvering towards the coast. Also on the same day, French auxiliary cruiser "Ville d'Oran" took on 200 tons of gold from the French reserve for shipment to Casablanca, French Morocco.

As the evacuation of Dunkerque intensifies, the British suffer the loss of several ships. About 40 miles north-west of La Panne, France, British destroyer "Wakeful" is hit by a torpedo, splits in half, and sinks in 15 seconds, killing about 100 soldiers. In the English Channel, German submarine U69 torpedoes British destroyer "Grafton", along with damaging destroyer "Comfort". British destroyer "Lydd" rams "Comfort" in error, cutting the ship in half. British destroyer "Gallant" strikes a mine, killing 55 of the crew, but the ship survives. Destroyer HMS "Grenade" was hit by three bombs, one of which went down her funnel, in Dunkerque harbor and sank, killing 19. Destroyer HMS "Jaguar" was badly damaged by a bomb, killing 13 and wounding 19. Minesweeper HMS "Waverley", with 600 troops already aboard, was sunk by a bomb, killing 350. Owing to the destroyer losses and the demand for them in other operations the Admiralty decides that the more modern types must be withdrawn.

Over Dunkerque, I(J)./LG 2 downs ten Allied aircraft – eight Hurricanes and four MS 406s - near St. Quentin. Lt. Friedrich-Wilhelm Strakeljahn claims one of the Moranes. Kommodore Trubenbach and Oblt. Herbert Ihlefeld of JG 52 shoots down two Morane MS 406's. Hptm. Adolf Galland of JG 27 claims a Blenheim shot over the beaches. Oblt. Gerhard Schöpfel of 9./JG 26 claims his second kill, a Spitfire west of Dunkerque.

RAF No. 264 Squadron based at Manston, England, claimed no less than thirty-eight enemy aircraft destroyed in a single day. The Luftwaffe fighter pilots had mistaken No. 264 Squadron's two-seat Defiant fighters for Hurricane fighters and dived on the supposedly defenseless tails of the British fighters only to be greeted by a withering concentration of fire. By the end of the month No. 264 Squadron's Defiant fighters would have claimed some sixty-five kills, but the German pilots had learned from their mistakes and adopted new tactics to deal with the Defiant fighters.

Hptm. Werner Mölders of JG 53 is awarded the Ritterkreuz at Loe airfield, near Le Selve and promoted to Major.

Friedrich Christiansen became the commanding officer of the German military in the Netherlands.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-37 sank French steamer "Marie José" and British oil tanker "Telena" off Cape Finisterre, Spain. 18 were killed and 18 survivors were later rescued by Spanish fishing boats.

.

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[Njaco]

May 30 Thursday
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 Allied fighting retreat toward the coast continued. The vanguard of First French Army, cut off at Cassel, fought its way out and arrived at Dunkirk. Germans reported that they supposedly captured the commander, General Prioux. Wounded men and troops not in immediate engagement were evacuated from Dunkirk. The withdrawal and evacuation are screened by the Royal Air Force whose planes were ceaselessly engaged against the Germans although the air battles over the evacuation beaches become more even with the Spitfire now on active duty. The Stukas are quickly found wanting by the sleek, highly manoeuvrable British fighter.

British Admiralty orders all modern H, I, J class destroyers out of Dunkirk due to the previous day's losses by German Luftwaffe, leaving 18 older destroyers to continue the evacuation. Despite this, 24,311 Allied troops embark from Dunkirk harbour and 29,512 from the beaches, including the first French soldiers to be evacuated. Small craft from Britain ferry troops out to waiting warships or even back 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. Despite the poor weather, German aircraft damaged destroyers HMS "Anthony" and HMS "Sabre", minesweeper HMS "Kellet", armed boarding vessel HMS "King Orry", and steamers "St. Julien" and "Normannia". French destroyer "Bourrasque" was damaged by a mine and finished off by German artillery off Ostend, Belgium. 660 were either killed or swam to shore and became captured, while about 300 were rescued.

Belgian Ministers hold a Cabinet meeting in Limoges, France. They declare that it is impossible for the King to resign, due to being under the power of German invaders.

Under pressure from French leaders, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders that British and French soldiers be evacuated from Dunkerque in equal numbers.

Uffz. Hager of 4./JG 54 takes off on a test flight from Charleville. He becomes disoriented and lands by mistake at Orconte on the Marne where he is taken prisoner. His plane, Bf 109 E-1 W.Nr. 3247 is captured and quickly put to use by the French and flown by their test pilot, Constantin Rozanoff, sporting new roundels and rudder stripes.

NORTHERN EUROPE: After capturing Narvik, Allied forces begin pushing General Dietl's mountain troops and sailors back to the Swedish border, only 18 miles east. Dietl, isolated in Narvik since April 10, has been sporadically resupplied and reinforced by airdrops. However, his only real hope of survival is 2nd Gebirgsjäger Division which has been marching north from Trondheim since May 4. Naturally, Hitler does not give Dietl the option to surrender or cross into Sweden to be interned, instructing him instead to fight on.

Fw. Robert Menge of II./JG 77 shoots down a Hudson.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The German Navy is hardly seen during the Dunkirk episode, but it has been busy during May with twenty Allied ships lost to mines and a further fifteen merchantmen to U-boats. On this day, E-boats S23 and S36 sink the French destroyer"Sirocco". German submarine U-101 sank British ship "Stanhall" off Cape Finisterre, Spain, killing 1. 36 survivors were rescued by British steamer "Temple Moat".

NORTH AMERICA: President Roosevelt rejected a request from US Ambassador to France William Bullitt of 28 May 1940, which asked for an American fleet to move into the Mediterranean Sea. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who communicated the rejection to Bullitt, added that the;

"…presence of the fleet in the Pacific at this time is a very practical contribution to the maintenance of peace in the Pacific".

Roosevelt introduces his massive armament program which will boost his country's position as a dominant military nation.

MEDITERRANEAN: Benito Mussolini advised Adolf Hitler that Italy was ready to enter the war.

UNITED KINGDOM: Operation Fish: British battleship HMS "Revenge", troop transport HMS "Antonia", and troop transport HMS "Duchess of Richmond" with £40 million, £10 million, and £10 million in gold, respectively, departed from Britain for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The gold was destined for the vaults of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa for safe keeping during war time.

SOUTH AMERICA: US Minister in Uruguay Edwin C. Wilson reported to his superiors Washington DC, United States noting Nazi German leanings in the public sentiment.

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[parsifal]

28/29 May 1940 (Cont'd)
OPERATIONS (28 May) (cont'd)
Nth Atlantic
Fr BBs COURBET and PARIS of BatDiv3 arrived at Cherbourg after a 96 hr refit at Brest which included the installation of additional AA guns. These 2 BBs had been partially demilitarized, as had their sister ship JEAN BART (renamed OCEAN) for use as training ships in 1931. COURBET and PARIS were to be used against the Germans as expendable gun platforms to extend the Dunkirk perimeter.
The force was to be named "Pas de Calais" Flotilla at Dover. This force, whose flagship was sloop SAVORGNAN DE BRAZZA at Dover, was composed of Contre Torpilleur DDs EPERVIER and LEOPARD, DDs FOUGUEUX and FRONDEUR , BOURRASQUE , FOUDROYANT, CYCLONE, MISTRAL, SIROCCO , TBs BRANLEBAS, L'INCOMPRISE, CORDELIERE, MELPOMENE, BOUCLIER, FLORE , sloops ARRAS, AMIENS, EPINAL, AMIRAL MOUCHEZ, aux sloops PATRIE, REINA DES FLOTS, ASIE, CERONS, SAUTERNES, PESSAC, LISTRAC, L'ATLANIQUE, but not all ships were fit for operations.

Rendered image of the Courbet Class as they appeared in 1940

HX.46 departed Halifax escort RCN DD SAGUENAY, which was detached on the 29th. BHX.46 departed Bermuda on the 27th escort ocean escort AMC AURANIA. The convoy rendezvoused with HX.46 on 2 June and the AMC was detached on the same day. DD SAGUENAY turned over the convoy to AMC COMORIN on the 28th.AMC AURANIA departed Bermuda and relieved AMC COMORIN which arrived at Bermuda on 6 June. AMC AURANIA was detached on 9 June. Corvette CLARKIA and ASW trawler HUDDERSFIELD TOWN escorted the convoy from 9 to 12 June when the convoy arrived at Liverpool.

USN CA VINCENNES and DDs TRUXTON and SIMPSON departed Norfolk, Virginia to proceed to Lisbon to reinforce Squadron 40-T.
This squadron arrived at Ponta Delgada on 4 June and departed for Casablanca on 6 June.

Indian Ocean
CL DRAGON arrived at Aden, transferring to CruSqn 4.

 

[parsifal]

**** May 1940
Known Reinforcements
Axis


Neutral


Allied


Losses




DKM War Diary
Selected Extracts


UBOATS
Kriegstagebücher (KTB) - War Diary


Arrivals

Departures


At Sea *** May 1940


OPERATIONS
Baltic
Eastern Baltic

Western Baltic

North Sea


Northern Patrol


Northern Waters


West Coast UK

Western Approaches

SW Approaches

Channel

UK-France

Nth Atlantic

Central Atlantic

Sth Atlantic

Med- Biscay

Indian Ocean


Pacific/Far East/Australia Station

 

[parsifal]

29 May 1940 RAF Operations

Unfinished

2 Sqn (Lysander)
Tac Recon, France. 1 Plane Damaged Force-landed at Hawkinge, damaged by AA fire north-east of Dunkirk, repairable, aircrew unhurt

4 sqn (Lysander)
?, ?. 1 KIA or DOW, no other details

9 sqn (Wellington)
accident, UK, 1 DOI. One member of the crew was shot and died whilst in training

17 sqn (Hurri)
Dunkirk patrol 1 a/c lost, 1 WIA slightly wounded in thigh from shell splinters whilst engaging enemy Me 110s

21 sqn (Blen)
Dixmude 1 a/c lost Airborne 1830 from Watton. Badly shot about by a Me109 and on return to Watton made a wheels up landing. AC1 Guest claimed the destruction of a Me109. A/c scrapped and one crewman dead. AC1 Guest was to be awarded the DFM and promoted to Sgt for his actions on this occasion. Tragically this crew were destined to be KIA 13/06/1940. Kill claim believed accurate, but not confirmed

46 sqn (Hurri)
Patrol, Norway. 3 a/c lost, 2 KIA. 9 Hurris were up on patrol when they intersepted 26 LW bombers approaching Vestfjorden. The Hurris attacked 3 He.111 of KG 100 and KG 26, nth of Lodingen. All 3 of the He111s were shot down. Heinkel 111, 1 crew captured. 2 Hurris were shot down by return fire. The Heinkel 111 6N+BA of Stab./KG 100 was flown by Oblt Wolfgang Metzke. Gruppenkommandeur Hptm Artur von Casimir also onboard. They were both unhurt, and taken prisoner. One of the crew was dead, two were wounded. A Hurri also brought down an 1 Me110 of Stab I/ZG 76 in the same combat. Oblt Hans Jäger and Uffz. Helmut Feick made a forced landing at Kobbvika, and became POWs. It was probably this A/C which shot down Flg Off Lydall. Yet another He.111 attacked by Lydall, made a forced landing at Dverberg on Andøya. Total German losses in this combat were 4 or 5 He111s and 1 Me110, for the loss of 3 hurris and 2 pilots.

56 sqn (Hurri)
Dunkirk 1 a/c lost, 1 MIA no other details

59 sqn (Blen)
Unknown Mission ?. 2 MIA, noa/c loss, probably died in Dunkirk evac

64 sqn (Spit)
Dunkirk 3 a/c lost, 3 MIA, no other details

77 sqn (Whitley)
Hirson 1 a/c lost, 5 KIA. Airborne 2027 28May40 from Driffield. Crashed, killing the entire crew, cause unknown, at Campigneuelles-les-Grades (Pas-de-calais) 5 km SW of Montreuil-sur-Mer, France

86 sqn (Blen)
1 crewman reported lost, perhaps on ground in the Dunkirk evac?

88 sqn (Battle)
2 KIA or DOW, no a/c reported lost (Dunkirk evac?)

 

[parsifal]

29 May 1940 - The BEF
By 29th May, the yawning gaps that had threatened the integrity of the defence lines the Allies were desperately trying to establish were largely closed. Although the Germans advanced steadily from this point on, at no time were they able to achieve decisive breakthroughs that threatened the BEFs escape lines.

By the early morning of the 29th German forces were closing up to the Poperinghe–Noordschote line where rearguards of the 50th and 3rd Divs covered the eastern flank. To the sth of that line the depleted 44th Division was in the Mont des Cats positions and the 48th Div's 145th Brigade in Cassel still held their isolated post.

Early in the morning the 44th Div were subjected to heavy mortar fire and this was followed later by intense dive-bombing, and enemy tanks and lorried infantry were seen apparently preparing for an attack. Shortly before 1000 the troops moved out in 2 columns, and though the enemy shelled them they were not molested. Greatly reduced in strength, the remnants of the div reached the beaches for embarkation next day.

Orders to retire on the night of the 28th did not reach the commander of the Cassel garrison till 0600 on the 29th. By then the town was surrounded and German forces had penetrated deeply on either flank. It was impossible to move out in daylight, and when a little later wireless comms with 48th Div HQ were reestablished, orders were received to hold Cassel till nightfall and then to withdraw. All through the day Cassel was heavily bombarded and at intervals attacks by tanks and infantry were repulsed. In adjacent country patrols sent out by the 1st East Riding Yeomanry met the enemy at a number of points and suffered considerable loss in men and vehicles. From the hill-top on which Cassel stands strong German forces of all arms could be seen moving NE behind the town, and when night fell and the garrison set out, the enemy was across their line of march. The 4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry formed the advanced guard; then came bde HQ, art and eng; next the 2nd Gloucestershire; and finally the combined carrier platoons of the two inf bns and what was left of the 1st East Riding Yeomanry formed the rearguard. The move started at 2130 and leading troops soon encountered the enemy. When daylight came a series of fights led to a separation of units and as the day wore on many were killed, wounded or surrounded and captured piecemeal. Only a few got through to reach Dunkirk. So ended a stand of great value to the BEF. By occupying substantial numbers of the enemy throughout the 29th the Cassel garrison helped to weaken his attack on the flank of the army moving back to the coast.

For the planned movements were duly carried out, though other units which constituted the rearguard also had a hard day's fighting to make this possible. The elements of the 50th and 3rd Divs on the Poperinghe–Lizerne line suffered heavily from bombardment throughout the day. The enemy regained contact with the 50th Div rearguard by midday, and when later the time for withdrawal came, one company of the 8th Durham Lt Inf was cut off. The 3rd Div's rearguard on their left (the 8th and 9th Brigades) was vigorously attacked and some units were forced to yield ground. But the enemy made no substantial progress, though fighting continued till the time for further withdrawal, and then the 2nd Lincolnshire carriers had to counter-attack in order to free the bn. All units suffered severely in the day's fighting, but their front was unbroken.

Meanwhile the western flankguard was also hard pressed. Troops of the 48th and 42nd Divs in the area Bergues, Quaedypre, Wylder, Bambecque, were attacked by tanks and by infantry of the Heer 20th Mot Div, also the the GD Regt and the LSSAH Regt. There were inevitably considerable gaps between the places occupied, and although the latter were held till the time ordered for withdrawal, the enemy made deep penetrations between them and there was much confused fighting. Brigadier Norman's force of the 1st Light Armoured Recon Bde and the 1st Welsh Gds held off a sustained attack till ordered to withdraw. The 8th Worcestershire on the Yser between Wylder and Bambecque also had a perilous day. Deep penetrations had been made on both flanks of the position they held, and after losing heavily they were forced to give some ground. But the enemy was unable to break their resistance and at night they succeeded in withdrawing in accordance with their orders.

Behind the western sector of the upper Yser advanced elements of the German forces reached positions held by the 42nd Div at Rexpoede and Oost Cappel towards evening, but withdrawal,when the time came, was achieved successfully; and on the rest of the Yser line what remained of the 5th Div was not seriously attacked and withdrew to the perimeter in the night. The fighting of the last few days had sadly exhausted its strength. Many of its bns, and those of the 143rd Bde which had fought with it, were reduced by now to the strength of one or two companies. Of the carriers of the 17th Bde, only 6 were left. In the 13th Bde, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters mustered only 156 of all ranks.

The situation maps for these days show how greatly superior in numbers were the German forces which sought to defeat the retiring army. Yet nowhere during the whole withdrawal were they able to make a clean break in the allied defences, nowhere could they overcome the resistance of rearguards which stood their ground till they were either destroyed by weight of numbers or ordered to retire. The line of defence had been perilously weak, but it was holding just enough to make successful evacuation a possibility.

On reaching his new HQ location at La Panne, Gort received some messages, including one from the King
A heartening message was received by Lord Gort from His Majesty the King:

All your countrymen have been following with pride and admiration the courageous resistance of the British Expeditionary Force during the continuous fighting of the last fortnight. Placed by circumstances outside their control in a position of extreme difficulty, they are displaying a gallantry that has never been surpassed in the annals of the British Army. The hearts of every one of us at home are with you and your magnificent troops in this hour of peril.

The message was at once issued to the troops , and Lord Gort replied:

The Commander-in-Chief with humble duty begs leave on behalf of all ranks of the B.E.F. to thank Your Majesty for your message. May I assure Your Majesty that the Army is doing all in its power to live up to its proud tradition and is immensely encouraged at this critical moment by the words of Your Majesty's telegram.

Late in the evening the Commander-in-Chief received the following personal message from the Prime Minister:

… If you are cut from all communications from us and all evacuation from Dunkirk and beaches had in your judgement been finally prevented after every attempt to reopen it had failed, you would become the sole judge of when it was impossible to inflict further damage upon the enemy. H.M.G. are sure that the repute of the British Army is safe in your hands.

On this afternoon, three days after the British Government's decision to evacuate as many as possible of the BEF had been notified to the French High Command, General Weygand authorised the evacuation of as many as possible of the French 1st Army, rather late, given the predicament iot was now in. 'Operation Dynamo' had been in progress since the 26th, and over 70,000 British troops had been embarked before the French commander's decision was taken. Large number of French troops were by then reaching the coast. Substantial contributions were about to be made by the French Fleet to support this massive effort currently unfolding.