27 Apr 1940
  • A British attempt to deliver much-needed anti-aircraft weapons by ground to Åndalsnes, Norway was turned back by a three-hour German aerial bombardment. At Kjorem, after holding the line against attacks by the German 196th Division throughout the day, the British 15th Brigade withdrew 17 kilometers to the north to form a new line at Otta. Meanwhile, the German 196th Division captured the Østerdal valley in Norway. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
France
  • Lorraine departed France for Alexandria, Egypt. ww2dbase [Lorraine | CPC]
Germany
  • Chief of the German SS organization Heinrich Himmler gave the order to convert the 22 former artillery barrack buildings at Oswiecim, Poland into a concentration camp, later to be more commonly known by its German name, Auschwitz. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | CPC]
United Kingdom
  • The British submarine HMS Clyde (N 12), under command of Lieutenant Commander D. C. Ingram, RN departed Rosyth in Scotland, United Kingdom for her 8th war patrol. She was to carry out Operation Knife, the supplying of Norwegian forces in the Sondefjord north of Bergen with arms and ammunition. ww2dbase [Rosyth, Scotland | HM]
  • The 628-ton British merchant ship Thornhill was involved in a collision with the Circle south of Torbay, England, United Kingdom and sank. She was on route from Barry, Wales, United Kingdom to Caen, France. ww2dbase [Torbay, England | HM]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Kliment Voroshilov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov at the shore of the Moscow Canal or Volga–Don Canal, Russia, 1937

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"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


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