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• Free French forces from Cameroon attacked Vichy French forces in Gabon, penetrating 70 miles across the border and capturing the town of Mitzic. ww2dbase [Battle of Gabon | CPC]
• Men of British destroyer HMS Broke was ordered to attach tow lines on the troop ship Empress of Britain, which was disabled on the previous day by German aircraft. Tugs HMS Marauder and HMS Thames arrived to tow the former luxury liner for Clyde River, Scotland, United Kingdom with destroyers and aircraft in escort. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Italian submarine Nani sank Swedish ship Meggie 70 miles southeast of the Azores Islands; the entire crew of Meggie survived. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
• Late in the evening, Italian ambassador in Athens Emanuele Grazzi issued an ultimatum, demanding that Italian troops be allowed occupy strategic positions in Greece. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]
• British intelligence intercepted a German radio message referring to the continuation of training for the invasion of Britain, and determined that if German troops were still in this early stage of preparations, than an invasion would not take place in the very near future. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Italian submarine Maggiore Baracca encountered German auxiliary cruiser Widder in the Atlantic Ocean at 1505 hours. ww2dbase [Widder | Maggiore Baracca | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini stopped French fishing vessel Marcella in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores islands at 0230 hours. After formal identification she was allowed to continue her journey. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | Comandante Cappellini | CPC]

• Aircraft from HMS Eagle struck the Italian seaplane base at Maltezana, Rhodes, Greece. ww2dbase [Eagle | Rhodes | CPC]

• 5 raids of 50 to 60 German aircraft attacked Britain throughout the day, most of which were German fighter-bombers and medium bombers, but Italians also contributed several BR20M bombers for the attack on Ramsgate, England, United Kingdom; 6 German fighters and 4 bombers were shot down, while the British lost 8 fighters with 4 pilots killed. Overnight, London and Liverpool were bombed. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | England | CPC]

• USS St. Louis arrived at Norfolk, Virginia. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Norfolk, Virginia | DS]

27 Oct 1940 Interactive Map