6 Jun 1940
- German 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions bypassed the strongpoints on the French Weygand defensive line, penetrating near Abeville, Amiens, and Petonne. Nevertheless, the French hedgehog defense along the Weygand Line inflicted German tank losses, with the obsolete 75mm field guns performing surprisingly well as anti-tank guns. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | TH]
- All Austrian and German citizens in the United Kingdom were ordered to turn in privately-owned radios. ww2dbase [TH]
- The British government banned the manufacture of a large number of household goods. ww2dbase [TH]
- German submarine U-46 sank the British armed merchant cruiser Carinthia off the coast of Ireland. ww2dbase [TH]
- 5,100 Allied personnel were transported to troop transports hiding in fjords near Narvik, Norway over the previous night. They then departed the area with about 15,000 troops aboard, escorted by destroyer HMS Arrow and sloop HMS Stork for the first phase of their trip back to Britain. ww2dbase [Invasion of Denmark and Norway | CPC]
- German submarine U-46 torpedoed British armed merchant cruiser HMS Carinthia west of Galway Bay, Ireland. Carinthia would remain afloat for another 30 hours before sinking. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Adolf Galland was appointed Gruppenkommandeur III/JG 26. ww2dbase [Adolf Galland | AC]
- Adolf Hitler arrived at the Wolfsschlucht headquarters at Brûly-de-Pesche, Belgium. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]
- Captain Alfred Montgomery relieved Captain Wood as commanding officer of USS Ranger. ww2dbase [Ranger | DS]
- Japanese Army aircraft attacked Baishi Yi airfield near Chongqing, China; one of the I-15bis fighters of Chinese 21st Pursuit Squadron claimed one Japanese Ki-21 bomber shot down. ww2dbase [Bombing of Shanghai, Chongqing, and other Cities | Chongqing | CPC]
- Italian cargo ship SS Umbria departed Port Said, Egypt with a secret cargo of 6,000 tons of bombs, 600 cases of detonators, 100 tons of various weapons, more than 2,000 tons of cement, and three Fiat 1100 cars aboard. ww2dbase [Port Said | HM]
- Alpino Bagnolini departed Taranto, Italy at 0110 hours, starting her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Alpino Bagnolini | Taranto, Apulia | CPC]
- Comandante Cappellini departed Cagliari, Sardegna, Italy at 1100 hours, starting her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Comandante Cappellini | Cagliari, Sardegna | CPC]
- The Kremlin issued an ultimatum to Latvia, demanding it the allow Soviet occupation. ww2dbase [Annexation of the Baltic States | Kremlin and Red Square | Moscow | TH]

6 Jun 1940 Interactive Map
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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