What Happened in 1940

Dutch Army Surrenders to Germany Despite Continued Fighting in Parts of the Netherlands

At 05:00 on 15 May a German messenger reached The Hague, inviting Winkelman to Rijsoord for a meeting with von Küchler, to negotiate the articles... Read more

German Army Group A Breaks Defenses at Sedan

On the morning of 15 May German Army Group A broke the defences at Sedan and was now free to "dash" to the English Channel. The Allies now... Read more

German Occupation of the Netherlands Officially Begins

I looked out of the open window, over a large area of Amsterdam, over all the roofs and on to the horizon, which was such a pale blue that it was... Read more

Dutch Province of Zeeland Surrenders to Germany

By late afternoon on May 17th, it was clear that the Germans had conquered the whole of Zeeland apart from Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The battle around the... Read more

French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud Replaces Maurice Gamelin with Maxime Weygand, Following Failure to Contain German Offensive

On the morning of 20 May, Maurice Gamelin ordered the armies trapped in Belgium and northern France to fight their way south and link up with... Read more

Battle of Arras (1940)

During the afternoon of 21 May, the attack by the 50th Division and the 1st Tank Brigade was progressing south from Arras. This was to be the only... Read more

"Our Town" Is Released

Our Town is a 1940 film adaptation of a play of the same name by Thornton Wilder starring William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi,... Read more

First Transport of Prisoners to the Mauthausen-Gusen Nazi Concentration Camp Complex

Mauthausen Concentration Camp and its sub Labor camp Gusen, combined to form the Mauthausen-Gusen Nazi concentration camp, were located near the... Read more

Battle of Dunkirk Begins

The story of the Battle of Dunkirk is one of heroic courage amidst untold tragedy. In the year 1940, at a time when World War II was in full rage,... Read more

British Begin Evacuating Allied Soldiers from Dunkirk Evacuation, (Operation Dynamo)

Due to war-time censorship and the desire to keep up the morale of the nation, the full extent of the unfolding "disaster" around Dunkirk was not... Read more

Belgian Army Surrenders to Germany

The Belgian Army was stretched from Cadzand south to Menin on the river Leie, and west, from Menin, to Bruges without any sort of reserves. With... Read more

John F. Kennedy Graduates from Harvard University

In September 1936 he enrolled as a freshman at Harvard College, where he produced that year's annual Freshman Smoker, called by a reviewer "an... Read more

'The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter' is Published

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter is the debut 1940 novel by American author Carson McCullers. Written in Charlotte, North Carolina in a house on East... Read more

Winston Churchill Gives 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' Speech

We Shall Fight On The Beaches is a common title given to a speech delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British... Read more

The Gestapo Takes Control of Theresienstadt Fortress, Converting it to a Concentration Camp

Theresienstadt concentration camp (often referred to as Terezín) was a Nazi German concentration camp during World War II. It was established by... Read more

Kaleva Shot Down by Two Soviet Bombers

Kaleva, registered OH-ALL, was a civilian Junkers Ju 52 passenger and transport plane, belonging to the Finnish carrier Aero O/Y. The aircraft was... Read more

"The Mortal Storm" Is Released

The Mortal Storm is a 1940 film that was one of the most direct anti-Nazi Hollywood films released before the American entry into the Second World... Read more

Sinking of the RMS Lancastria

A fresh air raid began before 4 pm. She was bombed at 15:48 by Junkers 88 aircraft from II. Gruppe/Kampfgeschwader 30. Three direct hits caused the... Read more

Winston Churchill Gives 'This Was Their Finest Hour' Speech

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years,... Read more

Chinese National Revolutionary Army Repels Imperial Japanese Army from Yichang

The Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang (simplified Chinese: 枣宜会战; traditional Chinese: 棗宜會戰; pinyin: Zǎoyí Huìzhàn), also known as the Battle of Zaoyi was... Read more

Italy Launches Invasion of France

On 20 June, the Italian campaign began and, on 21 June, troops of the Italian Royal Army crossed the French border in three places The Italians... Read more

Richard Nixon Marries Thelma "Pat" Ryan

In January 1938, Nixon was cast in the Whittier Community Players production of The Dark Tower. There he played opposite a high school teacher... Read more

France Surrenders to Nazi Germany

During this period, Hitler built up his forces on Germany's western frontier. In April 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway. In May 1940,... Read more

France and Italy Sign Armistice Establishing Italian Zone of Occupation in France

On 25 June 1940, after the Fall of France, France and Italy signed an armistice and an Italian zone of occupation was agreed upon. The initial zone... Read more

John F. Kennedy Publishes His Senior Thesis, "Appeasement in Munich", as a Book Entitled 'Why England Slept'

In 1940, Kennedy completed his thesis, "Appeasement in Munich," about British participation in the Munich Agreement. He initially intended his... Read more