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• Germany began the second phase of the invasion of France, Fall Rot. 130 infantry divisions and 10 armored divisions attacked cross the Somme and Aisne Rivers. 66 French divisions attempted to hold the Weygand Line. Across the English Channel, the Allies transported French troops recently evacuated from Dunkirk back into France via ports still under French control; additionally, the Canadian 1st Infantry Division, elements of British 1st Armored Division, and the British 51st Highland Division were also sent to France. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | TH]
• French General de Gaulle was appointed the Undersecretary of State for War by Prime Minister Reynaud. ww2dbase [Charles de Gaulle | TH]
• Small groups of mobile armed men called Ironsides, after the Home Defense Commander, were formed in the United Kingdom to protect against enemy parachutists. ww2dbase [TH]
• 4,900 Allied troops boarded transport ships at Narvik, Norway during the evacuation operation. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
• German submarine U-48 shelled and sank British armed merchant ship Stancor 80 miles northwest of Scotland at 1118 hours. The entire crew of 19 survived. ww2dbase [CPC]

• Jaguar completed escorting battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper between Kiel, Germany and the Skaggerak. ww2dbase [Admiral Hipper | Jaguar | Gneisenau | Skaggerak | CPC]

• Werner Mölders was shot down by French pilot René Pomier-Layrargues near Compiègne, France; he bailed out to safety but was captured by the French. He would be released later upon the French armistice. ww2dbase [Werner Mölders | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | TH]

• Morosini departed Naples, Italy at 1800 hours, starting her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Morosini | Naples, Campania | CPC]
• Comandante Faà di Bruno departed La Spezia, Italy at 0420 hours, starting her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Comandante Faà di Bruno | La Spezia, Liguria | CPC]
• Comandante Cappellini arrived at Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 0200 hours. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Cagliari, Sardegna | CPC]

• In a BBC radio broadcast the noted author J. B. Priestley berated the British Establishment for its lack of planning and amateurish attitudes. ww2dbase [AC]

• US President Franklin Roosevelt ordered US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Harold Stark to prepare a US Marine Corps brigade for future deployment to Iceland. ww2dbase [Franklin Roosevelt | Washington | CPC]

5 Jun 1940 Interactive Map