- September
- German submarines in the Atlantic begin using "wolf pack" tactics in hunting shipping targets. Three submarines attack 53 ships in Convoy CS-2. Six ships are sunk. [117.11] [617.37]
- September 6
- Since August 23, British fighter plane losses (destroyed or damaged) total 466; German aircraft losses total 352. [277.40]
- September 7
- British bomber planes begin bombing English Channel invasion ports and barges on the continent. [503.1737] [518.1905] (September 5 [84.64]) (September 13/14 [84.341])
- (late afternoon) 625 German bombers and 648 fighters fly up the Thames River, bombing docks, central London, and the East End. Civilian casualties are 300 dead, 1300 wounded. Repeated waves of attacks continue until 0500 hours the next day. Largest fires in London since 1666. [9.15] [81.54] [166.295] [277.42] [503.1737] [719.17] [840.84]
- (night) The British government announces that a German invasion is imminent. The codeword "Cromwell" is passed nation-wide, and church bells ring out in warning that a German invasion may be underway. [9.17] [84.64] [503.1737]
- September 8
- A heavy German air raid on London is repulsed by British fighter planes. [503.1737]
- September 9
- Britain renews its guarantee against external aggression to Greece. [753.35]
- September 11
- Adolf Hitler postpones invasion of Great Britain to September 24. [503.1737]
- September 12
- Canada's cabinet introduces Order In Council P.C. 4751, giving Canadian authorities power to imprison disobedient foreign seamen from non-Canadian ships in Canadian ports. [27.17]
- September 13
- The Italian 10th Army of over 200,000 men, commanded by Marshal Graziani, crosses the Libyan frontier into Egypt, to gain control of the Suez Canal. They venture fifty miles in, and set up defences at Sidi Barrani. This act begins the war in North Africa. [1.8] [149.81] [223.21] [277.52] [766.34] (September 15 [508.1765,1787])
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- The Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka and German aide to Ribbentrop Heinrich Stahmer reach a general agreement for a joint alliance. [444.301]
- September 15
- In the mid-Atlantic, south-east of Iceland, a submarine sinks Canadian merchant ship Kenordoc en route to Bristol, England. [27.17]
- During the day, Germany sends 1700 planes against Britain. Eighty are shot down, with British losses of 35 fighters. (Adolf Hitler is convinced an invasion of England is impossible at this time, due to the lack of air superiority. This day marks the climax of the Battle of Britain.) [9.15] [149.80] [158.10] [166.295] [277.42]
- September
- In the United States, Congress authorizes nationwide conscription. [166.337]
- British aircraft carrier Argus delivers twelve Hurricane fighters to Malta. [128.19]
- In London, England, Buckingham Palace is hit by aerial bombs. [145.58]
- Adolf Hitler gives instruction that "No hint of Operation Barbarossa must be given to the Japanese". [448.173]
- British Ministry of Supply asks if Canada will build a poison gas factory to produce phosgene. [51.67]
- September 16
- Spanish Minister of the Interior Serrano Suñer visits Berlin, Germany, for negotiations on Spain's joining the Axis in war. Germany wants one of the Canary Islands, a German base in French Morocco (if gained by Spain), and influence in Spain's economy. The terms are unacceptable. [387.13]
- September 17
- Adolf Hitler gives orders to postpone indefinitely invasion plans of Great Britain. The invasion fleet and troops are ordered dispersed from the area. [84.66] [149.80] [277.42] [387.13] [439.100] [503.1737] (September 18 [9.15]) (September 19 [166.295])
- September 18
- Soviet Minister of Defence Marshal S.K. Timoshenko and Chief of General Staff K.A. Meretskov submit a war plan to Josef Stalin and Prime Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, proposing an attack on Germany north of the Pripet marshes, with a strong defence to the south, or vice-versa. (The plan is accepted by the politburo in October.) [331.821]
- September 19
- Japan notifies Indochina that their forces would cross the border. [444.301]
- September 20
- In Canada, the War Technical and Scientific Development Committee approves a request by Frederick Banting to begin bacterial warfare research. [51.47]
- September 21
- Over the past 17 days, British aircraft have sunk 12.5 percent of 1865 German transport vessels preparing for an invasion of England. [84.65]
- British submarine HMS Tuna sinks captured Norwegian cargo ship Tirranna in the Gironde Estuary off Bordeaux, as it attempts to run the British blockade, killing 87 of 292 on board. [798.36]
- September 23
- Japanese forces march into northern French Indochina, taking Tonkin Province quickly. [439.87] [444.302]
- British and Free French forces commence a joint operation under Charles de Gaulle to try to seize Dakar in French West Africa. [277.48]
- (evening) 119 British bombers attack Berlin, Germany. [84.341]
- September 25
- In Norway, the King of Norway and the Administrative Council are deposed, the government is declared illegal, and political parties are dissolved except for the Nasjonal Samling, with Vidkun Quisling as Prime Minister. [162.340] [404.245] [766.34]
- Royal Canadian Navy armed merchant cruiser Prince Robert captures German merchant ship Weser off Manzillo, Mexico. [27.17]
- German submarine U-32 torpedoes and sinks R. Chapman & Son cargo ship Mabriton in convoy OB-217, west of Ireland, with loss of 12 crew. [798.36]
- German submarine U-43 torpedoes and sinks Donaldson Line cargo ship Sulairia in convoy OB-217, west of Ireland, with loss of one crewmember. [798.36]
- German submarine U-29 torpedoes and sinks Blue Funnel Line cargo ship Eurymedon in convoy OB-217, west of Ireland, with loss of 20 crew and nine passengers. [798.36]
- Operation Menace ends at Dakar in French West Africa, as the occupation force withdraws at night. [147.54]
- September 26
- US President Franklin Roosevelt imposes an embargo on the export of aviation fuel, scrap iron, and steel to Japan, citing American defence needs. [130.43] [166.315] (July [169.64])
- September 27
- In Berlin, Germany, Japanese premier Prince Fumimaro Konoye and Italian and German officials sign the Tripartite Pact defensive alliance. Each nationpledges mutual support in the event of attack by a power not presently involved in the European or Chinese-Japanese conflict. The intent is to keep the United States out of the war. [53.6] [130.44] [166.300] [169.64] [406.202] [439.87] [444.302]
- September 28
- Great Britain receives fifty old destroyers from the USA for use as convoy escorts. [503.1737]
- September
- British merchant ship MV Automedon sails from London, England, heading to Singapore, carrying most secret and highest level documents, operational plans for the Far East, the Chiefs of Staff assessment of Britain's poor ability to defend Malaya, and British maritime code-books. (In November, the ship is captured by a German ship before the sensitive cargo can be destroyed. Britain assumes it was torpedoed; Germans pass the information to Japan.) [376.125]
- October 3
- Britain announces its intention to re-open the Burma Road to China. [439.83]
- October 8
- German troops enter Romania to protect its oilfields. [508.1765]
- October
- A British shipbuilding mission in North America places an order for 20 10,000-ton cargo vessels from Canada. The order is later increased to 26. [27.14,17]
- Siamese and French forces in Indochina begin and escalate a border war against each other. [46.37]
- October 11
- French Marshal Pétain announces his intention of collaborating with Germany. [389.14]
- October 12
- In a convoy in the North Atlantic, submarine U-101 torpedoes and sinks the merchant ship Saint-Malo south of Iceland. The ship was a former French vessel requisitioned by the Canadian government. 28 are killed. [27.18]
- Adolf Hitler postpones invasion plans on Britain until spring 1941. [439.100] (October 13 [503.1756])
- October 14
- The Soviet politburo accepts the Army war plan for an attack on Germany. [331.821]
- Bombs from a German plane over England hit the Balham underground station, collapsing a tunnel, fracturing gas, water, and sewage pipes, killing 66. [835.16] [837.83]
- October
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructs that British anmassadors be informed that "nothing can compare with the importance of the British Empire and the United States being co-belligerent.". [393.14]
- October 16
- The United States begins drafting soldiers. 16.4 million register. [416.E5]
- West of Ireland, convoy SC-7 is detected by a submarine, which signals others. [503.1737,1758]
- In convoy SC-7 in the North Atlantic, submarine U-124 torpedoes and sinks the merchant ship Trevisa south of Iceland, en route to Aberdeen, Scotland. 7 are killed. [27.18]
- October 18
- (night) In convoy SC-7, 14 ships are sunk by German submarines. [503.1758]
- October 19
- Convoy SC-7 from Nova Scotia begins arriving in Great Britain. Of 34 original ships, 20 were sunk, and a further two damaged. [503.1758]
- Royal Canadian Navy auxiliary minesweeper Bras d'Or sinks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with all forty of the crew. [27.18]
- October 22
- German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Adolf Hitler meet French Pierre Laval, in a preliminary meeting before meeting with Marshal Pétain. [389.14]
- On a convoy in the North Atlantic, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Margaree collides with freighter Port Fairy in poor visibility, 400 miles west of Ireland. It is the first convoy mission for the destroyer, and 140 lives are lost. [27.18]
- October 23
- (1500 hours) Adolf Hitler and Spain's Francisco Franco meet for nine hours in Hendaye, Spain, on the French/Spanish border. Adolf Hitler tries to get Spain committed to the war, or allow German troops to assault Gibraltar. Franco reluctantly agrees to eventually enter the war, in return for military, agricultural, and territorial demands, and only at a time of Spain's choosing. [38.83] [277.55] [387.15]
- October 24
- Adolf Hitler meets with Marshal Pétain at Montoire, France. Pétain agrees to collaborate against Britain, in return for compensation in Africa and a high place in the New Europe. [277.55] [389.15]
- October 25
- The British War Cabinet restores Britain's battleship construction program for later use in the Far East against Japan. [439.101]
- October
- Military representatives from Britain, Australia, and New Zealand meet in Singapore for a conference on Far Eastern defence. Grave deficiencies of Singapore defence are exposed. [439.93]
- October 27
- German pocket-battleship Admiral von Scheer leaves Germany. [173.14]
- October 28
- Italian President Benito Mussolini sends Greek government: allow Italian forces to occupy Greece or face war. [813.248]
- (0600 hours) Italy launches an attack on Greece from Albania. [47.193] [166.354] [277.55] [416.E5] [508.1765] [721.42] [753.35] (October 15 [149.81])
- German submarine U32 torpedoes and sinks Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Britain in the Atlantic, en route from the Middle East to England. [377.51]
- October 30
- British destroyers Harvester and Highlander sink German submarine U32. [377.51]
- British Bomber Command is given its first directive sanctioning area-bombing. [84.341]
- October 31
- The British Air Ministry considers the Battle of Britain over. [84.341] [719.17]
- (month unknown)
- Americans inform the British they had broken into the Japanese cipher "Purple". [83.73]
- British aircraft carrier Argus launches fourteen Hurricane fighter aircraft to Malta, but only five successfully fly the distance. [128.19]
- November 1
- British Royal Air Force lands air and army units on Crete. [277.62]
- Australia imposes an embargo on scrap iron and other strategic war materials to Japan. [439.100]
- November 3
- Elders & Fyffes cargo ship Casanare, carrying bananas from Nigeria to England, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-99, with loss of 9 crewmembers. Armed merchant cruiser HMS Laurentic (former Cunard - White Star Line passenger liner) attempts to help but is struck by three torpedoes from U-99, but does not sink. Armed merchant cruiser HMS Patroclus (former Blue Funnel Line cargo ship) also attempts to help but is also struck by three torpedoes, without sinking. U-99 then surfaces and exchanges fire with Patroclus and puts a fourth torpedo in the ship, which remains afloat. A RAF Sunderland aircraft and destroyers HMS Achates and HMS Hesperus arrive, but U-99 evades hits, and manages to further torpedo and finally sink both Laurentic and Patroclus. [798.36]
- November
- Greek troops drive out Italian invaders. [166.330]
- November 5
- German pocket battleship Admiral von Scheer attacks Atlantic convoy HX-84, sinking British armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay. The ship defended the convoy for three hours, allowing 31 ships to escape. (Captain Edward fegen is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.) [173.13] [617.37]
- German submarine U-99 torpedoes and sinks Tankers Ltd. fuel tanker Scottish Maiden between Curacao and Avonmouth, with the loss of 16 crewmen. [798.36]
- November 6
- Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Ottawa and Royal Navy destroyer Harvester sink Italian submarine Faa di Bruno off Ireland. [27.18]
- November 7
- The British Royal Air Force attacks the Krupp munition works at Essen, Germany. [173.13]
- November 11
- German surface raider Atlantis captures British merchant ship MV Automedon en route to Singapore. A bag of sensitive documents on Britain's Far East policy is not destroyed before capture, and is later sent to Japan, aiding their campaign on the Malaya Peninsula and the Dutch East Indies. [376.125] [798.38]
- (evening) British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious launches 21 Swordfish planes, attacking the Italian naval fleet at Taranto. Four major ships are sunk or put out of action. Two attacking aircraft are shot down. [124.15] [128.19] [212.23] [508.1768] [519.1942] [542.19]
- November 12
- In Canada, Colonel Burns again proposes a parachute force to the Chief of General Staff. The idea is shelved, and no action is taken. [99.32]
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 18. France is to be treated as a non-belligerent power, required to allow German war measures on French territory, and support these measures with her own forces. Gibraltar is to be captured. Possible actions in neighboring countries, both defensive (Spain, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria) and offensive (Egypt, Greece, Russia, England) are to be considered. [149.81] [508.1765]
- November 13
- Soviet premier and foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov concludes a meeting with Adolf Hitler in Berlin. Hitler proposes Russia join the Tripartite Pact. Molotov says it could be possible, with careful definition of the Pact. [448.136] [517.1793]
- November
- The Swiss government bans the Communist Party. [38.53]
- The Swiss government bans the pro-Nazi National Movement of Switzerland. [38.53]
- November 14
- (evening) German air forces make a 449-bomber heavy air raid on Coventry, England. 554 people killed, Coventry Cathedral destroyed. [84.341] [414.44] [503.1737] [840.85]
- November 15
- (evening) 67 British Wellington, Whitley, and Hampden bombers attack Hamburg, Germany, doing extensive damage to the city and shipyards, with no loss of aircraft. [84.77]
- November
- Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin agree that America should be excluded from Eurasia. [796.xiv]
- November 16
- (evening) 131 British Bomber Command aircraft make raids on four Hamburg targets. [84.342]
- The borders of the Warsaw ghetto are shut off from the rest of the city by walls 10 feet high. [821.1518]
- November 17
- The USSR demands control of Bulgaria and the withdrawal of German troops from Finland before it will join the Tripartite Pact. [517.1793]
- November 19
- The Canadian government approves initiation of mass production of war bacteria. [51.52]
- November 20
- Hungary signs the Tripartite Pact with Germany, Japan, and Italy. [390.4]
- November 21
- Greek forces capture Koritsa, Albania, from Italian forces. [508.1768]
- November 22
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill informs the First Lord of the Admiralty nd the First Sea Lord that British policy in the Far East would be strictly defensive, accepting the consequences. [439.101]
- November 23
- Romania joins the Tripartite Pact. [483.54]
- November 26
- (0850 hours) The German foreign minister receives the Soviet reply to Hitler's suggestion they join the Tripartite Pact. The Soviet Government will accept the Four Power Pact with certain modifications: German troops must be removed from Finland, a mutual assistance pact must be signed between the Soviet Union and Bulgaria including a lease for a Soviet naval and land base, an area toward the Persian Gulf must be recognized as a Soviet aspiration, and Japan must renounce oil and coal consessions in Northern Sakhalin island. [448.145]
- November 30
- German cruiser Admiral Hipper sails from Germany. [173.15]
- (month unknown)
- Britain establishes the Special Operations Executive. [54.99]
- December 1
- Italian submarine Argo torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Saguenay, killing 21, but not sinking the ship. Saguenay had been escorting an eastbound convoy 300 miles west of Ireland. [27.9,18]
- December 7
- German cruiser Admiral Hipper breaks into the North Atlantic through the Denmark Straits. [173.15]
- In Egypt, Lieutenant General Sir Richard O'Connor leads the Western Desert Force from Mersa Matruh with 30,000 troops and 275 tanks, to attack Italian positions at Sidi Barrani. [277.53]
- December 8
- In Egypt, British troops pass through a gap in a chain of Italian defensive camps near Sidi Barrani, preparing to attack from the rear the following day. [277.54]
- December 9
- (early) In Egypt, British forces launch Operation Compass, attacking Italians at the Nibeiwa camp, quickly overtaking the position. [166.354] [277.54] [508.1788] [703.83]
- (afternoon) In Egypt, British forces attack Italians at the Tummar East and Tummar West camps. [277.54]
- December 10
- At Sidi Barrani, Egypt, the Indian 4th Division with two tank regiments from British 7th Armored Division capture thousands of Italian soldiers. [277.54]
- Wilhelm Keitel issues a brief order stating that Operation Felix, the capture of Gibraltar, would not be carried out at this time, as Spanish leader Francisco Franco refused to allow a German invasion of Spain. [38.83] [149.87]
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 19: "Undertaking Attila", detailing plans to occupy more of France if French forces in colonies show signs of revolt. Preparations are to be made to prevent the French fleet sailing to British hands, and to take control of French airports. [149.88]
- Adolf Hitler orders German air units to Southern Italy, to attack British ships in the Mediterranean. [149.90]
- December 11
- Near Sidi Barrani, Egypt, a reserve brigade of British 7th Armored Division captures 14,000 retreating Italian troops. [277.54]
- December 13
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 20: "Undertaking Marita", to prevent the English establishment of an air base in the Balkans, which would threaten Italy and Romania. To achieve this, the forces in Romania must be increased, to be moved across Bulgaria to the north coast of Aegean when weather permits. [149.90]
- December 15
- British forces drive Italians out of Egypt, and invade Libya. [416.E5]
- December
- The British Royal Air Force accidentally bombs the railroad station in Basil, Switzerland. [38.58]
- Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto reveals Operation Z to his Chief of Staff, an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. [502.50]
- A new phase of British aerial bombing begins, to attack industrial areas when weather does not allow precision targeting. [831.815]
- December 16
- (evening) 134 British bombers attack Mannheim, Germany. 476 buildings are damaged or destroyed. This is the largest aerial raid on a single target so far in the war. It is also the first reprisal raid, approved by the War Cabinet, for German attacks on British towns. (Later photography shows the raid failed to achieve effective concentration.) [84.77,342] [414.44] [831.815]
- December 17
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill instructs a British delegation of military officers who will meet with American counterparts in Washington that they not request American protection of Singapore, Australia, or India. Only minimum force should be used against Japan, with all efforts directed toward the defeat of Germany. [439.121]
- American President Franklin Roosevelt announces he is determined to maintain Britain as the nation's first line of defence, and proposes the country lend Britain any material it requires. [277.43] [416.E5]
- Fifty British Bomber Command Whitley and Hampden bombers attack German seaplane bases on Sylt. [84.340]
- December 18
- Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 21 "Case Barbarossa". German Armed Forces are to be prepared to crush Soviet Russia in a rapid campaign. The final objective is to erect a barrier against Asiatic Russia on a line of Volga to Archangel. Rumania and Finland will give active support on the flanks of the German attack. The operation is named for the conquering 12th century Teutonic Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. [80.312] [149.93] [448.147] [517.1793]
- December 23
- German bombers sink the SS Breda in a convoy off the coast of Scotland. The ship is not directly hit, but nearby bomb blasts cause the ship to sink. [782.104]
- December 25
- The Soviet Attaché in Berlin passes on to Moscow Hitler's Directive 21 of December 18, the operational order for Barbarossa. [376.48]
- December 29
- American President Franklin Roosevelt gives a national radio address, suggesting that the US become "the arsenal of democracy". [277.43] (December 30 [503.1737,1763])
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