World war II timeline - August 1940

1 August 1940	The Japanese government demands of France the right to transport troops across Tonkin in Indochina, and for control of airfields. Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 17: For the conduct of air and sea warfare against England. The Air Force is to overpower English Air Force as soon as possible, including planes, ground installations, and the aircraft industry. Adolf Hitler decrees that all preparations for Operation Sealion must be complete by September 15.
2 August 1940	German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop informs the German ambassador in Madrid, Spain, that Germany desires Spain's early entry into the war. In Canada, Montreal mayor Camillien Houde publicly urges Quebecers to not sign up for national registration for war duty. A French Court Martial condemns Charles de Gaulle to death.
3 August 1940	The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic is officially incorporated into the Soviet Union.
4 August 1940	In convoy HX-60 in the North Atlantic, a submarine torpedoes Newfoundland merchant ship Geraldine Mary.
5 August 1940	In Canada, Montreal mayor Camillien Houde is arrested, and charged under the Defence of Canada Regulations.
8 August 1940	The German air force begins an intensive attack on British shipping in the English Channel.
9 August 1940	The German High Command issues a directive for "Otto", the preliminary plan for an attack on the Soviet Union set for Spring 1941.
12 August 1940	German Stuka plane strikes knock out one British radar station. German orders are given for a full-scale offensive against Great Britain in air attacks.
13 August 1940	Adolf Hitler's "Eagle Day" commences, with 1485 plane sorties against British ports and airfields, attempting to eliminate British air forces as an obstacle to invasion. In Canada, Colonel E.L.M. Burns proposes developing a Canadian parachute force. The idea is rejected by the Director of Military Operations in headquarters. (very early) Five British Hampden bombers attack a crucial aqueduct over the River Ems in Germany. Three planes return in bad shape, but with their mission accomplished. (The Dortmund-Ems Canal is unusable for ten days, delaying German plans for invasion of England.) Twelve British Blenheim bombers attack Hemsteds airfield in Holland. Only one plane returns.
15 August 1940	Twenty German JU88 aircraft from Denmark attack Driffield, Yorkshire, destroying ten Whitley aircraft on the ground. One hundred German bombers from Air Fleet 5 in Scandinavia, with Me-110 escort fighter planes, approach Tyneside, England. British Hurricane and Spitfire fighters are there to meet them, knocking down thirty planes with no loss to the British. (Air Fleet 5 does not attack again during the Battle of Britain.) 1800 German aircraft make a widespread attack on Great Britain against various objectives. Spain's General Francisco Franco writes to Italy's Benito Mussolini, telling him of his intent to enter the war, now closer to ready, once provisions are made available. British planes shoot down 90 German planes during the day's aerial fights, with a loss of 42 planes. German Air Minister Hermann Göring orders all further Luftwaffe attacks to be directed solely against British air force bases and communications.   Adolf Hitler approves a Spanish-German plan to attack Gibraltar. The Canadian Armoured Corps is formed. In Dumfries, Scotland, about 1000 Norwegian men begin training, preparing for reconquest of Norway. In Canada, in a lecture to the Vancouver Institute, University of British Columbia professor Henry Angus says Japan's entry to the war is certain, and will probably be a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor or some other American base. American army and navy cryptanalysts discover the secrets of the Japanese message encoding machine.
17 August 1940	Canada's Prime Minister William King and American President Franklin Roosevelt meet at Ogdensburg, New York, and sign a formal document establishing a Canadian- U.S. permanent joint defence board. Adolf Hitler declares a total blockade of the British Isles.
20 August 1940	British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces an agreement to lease bases to the United States in exchange for fifty American destroyers.
22 August 1940	In the South Irish Sea off Milford Haven, Wales, German aircraft bomb Canadian merchant ship Thorold.
24 August 1940	The German battleship Bismarck is commissioned. The Luftwaffe resumes bombing British fighter bases near London. Ten German aircraft inadvertantly bomb London, in contravention of Adolf Hitler's order forbidding attacks on the city. (The bombing is thought to be intentional, and leads to a retaliatory bombing of Berlin, Germany. This causes a shift in German bombing from British airfields to London. This allows British air forces to rebuild, which were near collapse.)
25 August 1940	Eighty British bombers attack Berlin, in retaliation for the previous night's bombing of London.
26 August 1940	No. 1 Fighter Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, first engages German planes in battle, shooting down three bombers and damaging four others, losing just one Canadian plane and pilot.
27 August 1940	In Canada, Order-in-Council PC 4185 passes, making all single or widowed men aged 21-45 eligible to be called for military training. In Canada, Colonel Burns again proposes a parachute force. General Harry Crerar rejects it as being unimportant at the present.
30 August 1940	Romania cedes part of Transylvania to Hungary, in exchange for German and Italian guarantees of the integrity of the rest of Romania. Adolf Hitler withdraws his ban on bombing London, and encourages Hermann Göring to proceed.