World war II timeline - June 1940

1 June 1940	Off Dunkirk, France, German aircraft bomb and sink British destroyers Basilisk, Keith, and Havant.
2 June 1940	The last of the British Expedition Force is evacuated from Dunkirk, France.
3 June 1940	Norwegian foreign minister Halvdan Koht and Swedish foreign minister Christian Günther sign an agreement at Luleå, for Sweden to take control of the Narvik area of Norway with the withdrawal of Norwegian and German troops. The plan had the approval of Germany's Hermann Göring and the British government. German forces in France move south toward Paris.
4 June 1940	British destroyer Shikari rescues the final British troops from Dunkirk, plus a French general and 383 French troops. This officially ends Operation Dynamo. British destroyers rescued 103,000. Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, across the English Channel ends. A total of 338,000 men were evacuated to England, including 120,000 French, on 860 vessels. German Luftwaffe planes sunk six British destroyers, eight transport ships, and over 200 small craft. German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper set out from Kiel for Harsted, Norway, to attack Allied forces at the port city. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes his "We shall fight on the beaches ... we shall never surrender." speech to Parliament.
5 June 1940	German panzer divisions resume movement, from Rethel on the Aisne to the Swiss frontier, south from the Somme bridgeheads, and between Amiens and the sea. French General Beaufrére surrenders the remaining French troops defending Dunkirk. German forces begin night reconnaissance over Britain. French Premier Paul Reynaud appoints Charles de Gaulle to Undersecretary of State for War in France, and promotes him to provisional Brigadier General.
6 June 1940	British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposes the development of a parachute troop corps with 5000 men.
7 June 1940	The Norwegian government flees to England. The Norwegian government ceases hostilities with Germany.
8 June 1940	The last British and French forces leave Norway. Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 14, to deal with strong resistance north of Paris. The French town of Rouen falls to German forces. Off Narvik, Norway, German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, heavy cruiser Hipper, and several destroyers sink British carrier Glorious and destroyers Acasta and Ardent. There are no survivors of the Acasta. Scharnhorst is hit by one torpedo. British carrier Glorious sinks. British destroyer Ardent sinks, leaving only one survivor.
9 June 1940	Norway falls to German forces. King Haakon VI flees to London, England.
10 June 1940	The war in Norway ends. [29.30] The French government and Army High Command leave Paris for Tours.   Italy declares war on England and France.   Italian planes make a bombing raid on Malta in the Mediterranean. [519.1933] American President Franklin Roosevelt gives a speech at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the speech he condemns Italy for striking "a dagger into the back of its neighbor". Roosevelt says the US will extend resources to opponents of force, and will build up equipment and trained forces for defence and emergencies.   Fifteen Blackburn Skua planes from British carrier Ark Royal attack German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at anchor in Trondheim Fjord, Norway. Only one plane scores a hot, but the bomb fails to explode. Eight planes are shot down.
11 June 1940	The French town of Reims falls to German forces. Paris, France, is declared an open city. 34 British Whitley bombers attack Italy from an airfield in the Channel Islands.
12 June 1940	Siam and Japan sign a non-aggression pact.
13 June 1940	Spain's Generalissimo Francisco Franco changes Spain's status from neutral to nonbelligerent. Britain sends information to Australian Prime Minister Menzies, with the first revelation that Britain would hold its Mediterranean interests at the possible cost to interests in the Far East. If Japan declares war, Britain would likely have to rely on the USA for safeguarding British interests.   Japanese forces begin experimenting with glider and parachute troop units. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the creation of a glider unit, and a force of 500 parachute troops.
14 June 1940	German forces cross the Maginot Line into France. Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 15, ordering the Army to prevent the withdrawal of enemy forces from the Paris area, and prevent the establishment of a new front on the lower Seine. A second objective is to destroy forces facing Army Groups A and C, and see to the collapse of the Maginot Line. Paris is evacuated, as German troops enter the city.   Soviet President Josef Stalin sends an ultimatum to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, making territorial demands.   In Brest, France, British General Alan Brooke orders Canadian forces to withdraw from France. Much of the Canadian equipment and 216 vehicles are destroyed, to prevent their use by German forces. Spain sends a 3,000-man force to occupy the former international city of Tangier, a port of Morocco.
15 June 1940	Soviet forces occupy Lithuania. In England, the decision is made to bring home the remaining British Expeditionary Force in France. 136,963 British and 38,500 Allied troops are transported across the English Channel. In convoy HX-48, eastbound across the Atlantic ocean, German submarine U-38 torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Erik Boye near Land's End, the south-west tip of England. There are no casualties. This is the first Canadian merchant ship sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic.
16 June 1940	Soviet forces occupy Latvia. The liner Lancastria is struck by four bombs from a German Junkers 88 dive-bomber in an air raid at St. Nazaire. The ship sinks in 20 minutes, taking about 3500 of 6000 troops on board.   British battleship Revenge arrives in Halifax, Canada, with 40 million Pounds Sterling in gold, for safekeeping. Germany forms its first specialized night-fighter plane unit. German forces reach the Rhône valley in France. Soviet President Josef Stalin demands Romania cede Bessarabia and northern Bucovina. Romania gives in to the demands. Paul Reynaud resigns as Prime Minister of France. Marshal Henri Pétain takes over the government, and immediately calls for a ceasefire.
17 June 1940	France requests an armistice with Germany. Soviet occupation of Estonia begins. Winston Churchill decides Charles de Gaulle should be recognized as speaking for France, not Marshal Pétain. [98.4] British Bomber Command launches 138 aircraft on Germany, primarily on oil targets. Only one plane does not return.
18 June 1940	In Canada, Prime Minister William King introduces the National Resources Mobilization Act in the House of Commons. The bill would require Canadians to register for national service within Canada, and give the government control of Canadian property for the duration of the war. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop informs the Swedish Minister in Berlin, Germany, that if Sweden resists the German use of Swedish railways to transport troops and supplies to Norway, it would have dire consequences. Sweden receives a reply from Britain regarding expectations in Norway, indicating that Britain might have to make peace with Germany. The Swedish government agrees to allow German troops to pass from Trelleborg, Sweden, to Oslo, Norway, via Swedish railways. The British Royal Air Force attacks Hamburg and Bremen, Germany. At Ecole de Cavalerie (Cavalry School) at Saumur, France, about 800 teenage cadets and about 1200 retreating French soldiers engage the German 1st Cavalry Division for nearly three days. (After the German victory, commander General Feldt releases those that were captured.) British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes a speech in the House of Commons, including "The white fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war." French General Charles de Gaulle broadcasts on BBC radio in London, appealing to French officers, soldiers, engineers, and others to resist Marshal Pétain and to fight on for France.
19 June 1940	Spain's Francisco Franco offers to join the Axis at war in exchange for French Morocco, Oran region of Algeria, expansion of Spanish Sahara and Spanish Guinea, and substantial economic and military provisions. Adolf Hitler makes no commitment. The Soviet Union installs puppet governments in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Thirty British Blenheim bombers raid German airfields at Rouen and Amiens. All aircraft return.
20 June 1940	The British Air Ministry sends a directive to Bomber Command, instructing it to focus attacks on German aircraft. 47 British Blenheim bombers raid German airfields at Rouen and Schipol. All aircraft return.
22 June 1940	France formally surrenders to Germany. The signing ceremony is held in the Forest de Compiègne, in the same rail car in which Germany had surrendered to France in 1918. General Charles Huntziger signs for France. Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs for Germany. In Canada, Royal Assent is given to the National Resources Mobilization Act, putting Canadians and their property at the disposal of the Crown. All males over age 16 are required to register for national service. Conscription for military service within Canada is introduced.   French cruiser Emile Bertin arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with 254 tons of gold worth about CDN$305 million. Britain wanted to take possession of the gold, but the captain takes orders from the Vichy French government, and sails on to Martinique.
23 June 1940	The British government severs relations with the French government, and recognizes the French National Committee. Germany begins preparations for an attack on the USSR. British commandos make their first raid on Europe, near Le Touquet, France.
24 June 1940	France signs an armistice with Italy.
25 June 1940	Official cease fire between France and Germany goes into effect. At New York's Hotel Commodore, a fund-raising lunch of the Emergency Rescue Committee raises US$3500. The committee compiles a list of 200 people to rescue from France. While en route from St-Jean-de-Luz, France, to Plymouth, England, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Fraser collides in the Bay of Biscay with British cruiser Calcutta, and sinks, killing 47 men.
28 June 1940	The British Dominions Secretary informs the Australian Government that with Italy in the war and France out, Britain could not send a fleet to the Far East. Britain asks Australia for divisions of troops and two squadrons of aircraft for the defence of Malaya. Soviet troops occupy Bessarabia and north-east Bukovina. The British Government recognizes Charles de Gaulle as leader of Free Frenchmen. The Spanish border with France is closed. British battleship HMS Emerald leaves England with gold and securities, destined for safekeeping in Canada.
30 June 1940	German Major General Alfred Jodl writes a memorandum stating that if a strike on Britain fails, the next best place to defeat Britain is in the Mediterranean. Total German submarine sinkings of merchant shipping in the Atlantic during the month: 58 ships, 284,000 tons.