May 1940

[May 1], 1940 (Wednesday)

• The Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang began in China.
• The Łódź Ghetto was sealed.
• Adolf Hitler set a date of May 6 for the western offensive. This date would be postponed a few more times prior to May 10 due to weather.
• Norwegian troops at Lillehammer surrendered to the Germans.
• The Norwegian troopship Dronning Maud was sunk by German aircraft.
• The very old Norwegian minelayer Uller, captured and pressed into service by the Germans, was bombed and beached by a Heinkel He 115 of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service.
• Swedish Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson declared that Sweden would defend its neutrality "with all the means in our power."
• Born: Elsa Peretti, jewelry designer, in Florence, Italy

  [May 2], 1940 (Thursday)

• The Germans reached Åndalsnes.
• Italian mystic Gemma Galgani and French nun Mary Euphrasia Pelletier were canonized by Pope Pius XII.
• The International Olympic Committee formally canceled the 1940 Summer Olympics.
• Born: Jo Ann Pflug, actress, in Atlanta, Georgia
• Died: Ernest Joyce, 65?, English seaman and explorer

  [May 3], 1940 (Friday)

• The Allied evacuation at Namsos was completed, but German aircraft located part of the evacuation fleet and sank the destroyers Afridi and Bison.
• Norwegian troops south of Trondheim surrendered to the Germans.
• German commerce raiders had their first success of the war when the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis sank the British freighter Scientist.
• Born: Conny Plank, record producer and musician, in Hütschenhausen, Germany

  [May 4], 1940 (Saturday)

• The Polish destroyer Grom was sunk in the fjord Rombaken by a German Heinkel He 111.
• Gallahadion won the Kentucky Derby.

  [May 5], 1940 (Sunday)

• The Battle of Hegra Fortress ended when the fortress capitulated. The Germans had now achieved complete victory on Norway's southern front.
• The British submarine Seal was captured by the Germans in the Kattegat.
• RC Paris defeated Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in the Coupe de France Final.
• Born: Lance Henriksen, actor, in New York City

  [May 6], 1940 (Monday)

• Pope Pius XII shared intelligence with the Princess of Italy Marie José of Belgium that had been gathered by Vatican agents indicating that Germany was planning an attack on the Low Countries.
• John Steinbeck won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
• Unemployment in the United Kingdom fell below 1 million people for the first time in 20 years.
• Died: Jonah Kumalae, 65, Hawaiian politician, businessman and ukulele manufacturer

  [May 7], 1940 (Tuesday)

• Norway Debate: The British House of Commons began a contentious debate on the conduct of the war. Sir Roger Keyes dramatically appeared dressed in full military uniform with six rows of medals and described in detail the government's mishandling of the Norwegian campaign. Leo Amery stood and uttered the famous words, "Somehow or other we must get into the Government men who can match our enemies in fighting spirit, in daring, in resolution and in thirst for victory." After quoting Oliver Cromwell, he continued: "I will quote certain other words. I do it with great reluctance, because I am speaking of those who are old friends and associates of mine, but they are words which, I think, are applicable to the present situation. This is what Cromwell said to the Long Parliament when he thought it was no longer fit to conduct the affairs of the nation: 'You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!'"
• Almost 5,000 Polish mountain troops arrived at Harstad.
• Semyon Timoshenko replaced Kliment Voroshilov as the Soviet Union's Minister of Defence.
• Born: Angela Carter, novelist and journalist, in Eastbourne, England ; Jim Connors, disc jockey, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
• Died: George Lansbury, 81, British politician and social reformer

  [May 8], 1940 (Wednesday)

• The Actions in Nordland began.
• The Norway Debate continued in Parliament. David Lloyd George said that since Chamberlain had asked the nation for sacrifice, "I say solemnly that the Prime Minister should give an example of sacrifice, because there is nothing which can contribute more to victory in this war than that he should sacrifice the seals of office." Chamberlain survived a motion of no confidence by a vote of 281 to 200, but the number of absentions from within his own Conservative Party caused the level of support for his government to appear very weak.
• Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia became the 19th President of Costa Rica.
• Born:
• *Peter Benchley, author, in Princeton, New Jersey ;
• *Emilio Delgado, actor, singer and activist, in Calexico, California
• * Ricky Nelson, actor, singer and songwriter, in Teaneck, New Jersey ;
• *Toni Tennille, singer-songwriter, keyboardist and one-half of the musical duo Captain & Tennille, in Montgomery, Alabama

  [May 9], 1940 (Thursday)

• The age of conscription in the United Kingdom was raised to 36.
• Belgium declared a state of emergency and placed its military on alert.
• British troops occupied Iceland.
• The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg and most of its government fled westward into France due to reports of German troop movements.
• Four battalions of the Polish Armed Forces in the West arrived at Narvik.
• Born: James L. Brooks, director, producer and screenwriter, in Brooklyn, New York

  [May 10], 1940 (Friday)

• Germany invaded France and the Low Countries at dawn. The Battles of France, the Netherlands, and Belgium began.
• U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt learned of the German attack at 11:00 p.m. on May 9, Washington time. He phoned his Treasury Secretary, Henry Morgenthau Jr., and told him to freeze Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourger assets in the United States to keep them out of Germany's hands. Roosevelt could do little more that night, since phone calls to Paris and Brussels were rarely getting through, so he went to bed at 2:40 a.m..
• Neville Chamberlain went to Buckingham Palace around 6:00 in the evening and resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. King George VI asked Winston Churchill to form the next government, and Churchill accepted.
• The Battles of Rotterdam and Zeeland began in the Netherlands.
• The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael began in Belgium.
• The Battle of Maastricht resulted in German victory.
• The Battle for The Hague resulted in tactical Dutch victory.
• Germany conquered Luxembourg within the day.
• The German-controlled Norwegian troopship Nordnorge was sunk at Hemnesberget by British warships.
• The colonial governor-general of the Netherlands East Indies declared martial law, ordering the seizure of 19 German cargo ships and the internment of all German nationals.
• The biographical film Edison, the Man, starring Spencer Tracy, was released.
• Born: Wayne Dyer, self-help author and motivational speaker, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, North America.

  [May 11], 1940 (Saturday)

• The Battle of the Grebbeberg began in the central Netherlands.
• The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael ended with the German capture of the fort.
• President Roosevelt added the newly belligerent countries to the list of states whose submarines were prohibited from entering American ports and territorial waters.
• British and French troops occupied the Dutch Caribbean possessions of Curaçao and Aruba. President Roosevelt announced that these actions were not contrary to the Monroe Doctrine and allowed them.
• The British spy film Contraband starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson was released.
• Born: Juan Downey, video artist, in Santiago, Chile
• Died: Ralph Paget, 75, British diplomat

  [May 12], 1940 (Sunday)

• The Battle of Sedan began. In this key battle the Germans attempted to capture the important strategic point of Sedan, which would enable them to cross the Meuse and advance into the undefended French countryside.
• The Battle of the Afsluitdijk began in the Netherlands.
• The Battle of Hannut began in Belgium.
• Sir Kingsley Wood became Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• Rose Philippine Duchesne was beatified by Pope Pius XII.
• Child star Shirley Temple, through her mother Gertrude Temple, canceled her movie contract with 20th Century Fox and retired from film acting at age 11.
• Died: Andrew McPherson, 22, RAF bomber pilot

  [May 13], 1940 (Monday)

• Winston Churchill made his first speech to the House of Commons as Prime Minister. He famously said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
• The Battle of the Grebbeberg ended in German victory.
• Wilhelmina of the Netherlands arrived in London in exile.
• Born: Bruce Chatwin, writer, near Sheffield, England

  [May 14], 1940 (Tuesday)

• The Battle of Gembloux began in Belgium.
• The Battle of Rotterdam ended in German victory. The Luftwaffe conducted the Rotterdam Blitz.
• The Battle of the Afsluitdijk ended in Dutch victory.
• The Battle of Hannut ended in tactical French victory but strategic and operational German victory.
• The Dutch Navy scuttled many ships to prevent capture by German forces. The Germans later salvaged the submarines O 8, O 11, O 25, O 26 and O 27 and put them into service.
• Lord Beaverbrook became Minister of Aircraft Production and Ernest Bevin became Minister of Labour.
• French artillery and antitank guns hit Erwin Rommel's tank near the Belgian village of Onhaye. Rommel was wounded in the right cheek by a small shell splinter as the tank slid down a slope and rolled over on its side, but he escaped serious injury.
• The Local Defence Volunteers organization was created in Britain.
• Born: H. Jones, British Army officer and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, in Putney, England
• Died: Emma Goldman, 70, Lithuanian-born anarchist