World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 15 Apr 1940

• British unemployment figure decreased to 973,000, which was the lowest figure since 1920. ww2dbase [CPC]
• British destroyers Fearless and Brazen sank German submarine U-49 with depth charges near Narvik, killing 1. 41 Germans were taken prisoner. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The British 15th Brigade boarded transports in France and were sent for Norway. ww2dbase [CPC]
• Vidkun Quisling was removed from power in Norway. ww2dbase [Vidkun Quisling | CPC]

• Edmund Herring departed Australia for Palestine as a part of Major General Iven Mackay's headquarters. ww2dbase [Edmund Herring | CPC]

• Walter Grabmann was named the commanding officer of the Zerstörergeschwader 76 wing. ww2dbase [Walter Grabmann | CPC]

• Admiral Nishizo Tsukahara was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Chinkai Guard District | CPC]

• British troops landed in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway in response to German invasion; their original objective was to secure the rail line to Swedish iron ore fields. Also in northern Norway, instead of making a landing directly at Narvik against an unknown number of German defenders, British Major General Pierse Mackesy decided to land his troops north of the city at an undefended location; due to the large amounts of snow on the ground, his troops would have to wait before making a major advance at Narvik. Further south, the British 146th Territorial Brigade landed at Namsos and was immediately ordered to march south toward Trondheim, which saw attacks by RAF Blenheim bombers based in the United Kingdom; it was the first time the Bomber Command sent aircraft based in the UK against targets overseas. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]

• Italian "Barfile" naval infantry battalion landed on Krk (Italian: Veglia), Croatia, Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [CPC]

15 Apr 1940 Interactive Map