1 Jul 1940
  • German forces took Jersey, completing the occupation of the Channel Islands. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Marshal Philippe PĂ©tain's government moved to from Bordeaux to Vichy, France. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Germany requested neutral nations to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, and Luxembourg. ww2dbase [TH]
  • By this date, about 900,000 tons of Allied shipping had been sunk by German U-boats in 6 months of war. ww2dbase [TH]
  • British milk price ceiling was increased to 4 pence per pint. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Operation Seelöwe (Sealion), a plan for the invasion of Britain, was first mentioned by the German General Staff. On the same day, German bombers began a campaign against British industrial centers, beginning with a daylight raid on Hull, England and Wick, Scotland, killing 12 and wounding 22. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | CPC]
  • German submarines attacked various Allied ships off the French coast. 300 miles west of Brest at 0400 hours, U-30 sank British ship Beignon of Allied convoy SL-36, 6 were killed, 30 crew and 81 survivors of British ship Avelona Star, sunk on the previous day, were rescued. U-102 sank British ship Clearton of Allied convoy SL-36, killing 8; British destroyer HMS Vansittart found U-102 and sank her with depth charges, killing the entire crew of 43; 26 survivors from Clearton were picked up by HMS Vansittart. U-65 sank Dutch ship Amstelland; 1 was killed and 39 survived. U-29 sank Greek ship Adamastos; all 25 crew members survived. Meanwhile, southwest of Ireland, German submarine U-26 damaged British steamer Zarian of Allied convoy OA-175; British corvette HMS Gladiolus forced U-26 to surface with depth charges, which was then bombed by a Sunderland aircraft of the No. 10 Squadron RAAF; the crew of U-26 scuttled the boat before surrendering. ww2dbase [First Happy Time | CPC]
  • Joseph Stalin told his Ambassador to Tokyo that the non-aggression pact with Germany "was dictated by the desire to unleash war in Europe". ww2dbase [AC]
  • British RAF Fighter Command chief Hugh Dowding's son Derek became a pilot with the No. 74 Squadron. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Quintin Brand was promoted to the temporary rank of air vice marshal. ww2dbase [Quintin Brand | CPC]
  • The responsibility for nuclear fission research in the United States was transferred to the National Defense Research Committee under Vannevar Bush. ww2dbase [Vannevar Bush | Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | CPC]
  • Rodolfo Graziani was named the Governor-General of Italian Libya. ww2dbase [Rodolfo Graziani | CPC]
  • Destroyer USS O'Brien arrived at Santos, Brazil. ww2dbase [O'Brien | CPC]
  • The US Navy issued contracts for the construction of 44 new ships. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • US Navy awarded a US$30,870,000 contract to build naval facilities across the Pacific. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Albrecht Lanz was declared the military governor of the Channel Islands. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Maximilian von Weichs was promoted to the rank of Generaloberst. ww2dbase [Maximilian von Weichs | CPC]
  • HMS Cumberland joined Ocean Escort for military Convoy WS1 during passage to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (Note: WS1 comprised RMS Aquitania, RMS Mauretania and RMS Queen Mary taking troops to join 8th Army in EGYPT). ww2dbase [Queen Mary | Cumberland | DS]
  • After arrival of WS1 at Capetown, South Africa, HMS Cumberland carried out unsuccessful search for the German commerce raider THOR reported in South Atlantic. ww2dbase [Thor | Cumberland | DS]
  • U-23 was assigned to the 21st Submarine Flotilla. ww2dbase [U-23 | CPC]
France
  • US Ambassador to France William C. Bullitt met with French Marshal Philippe PĂ©tain, who ensured that orders had been given "to every captain of the French Fleet to sink his ship rather than permit [it] to fall into German hands". Later on the same day, Bullitt visited French Admiral François Darlan, who noted that French ships had been ordered to sail for Martinique and Guantanamo should there be a risk that the Germans would gain the French fleet, and if sailing not possible, the ships would be scuttled. ww2dbase [British Attacks on the French Fleet | CPC]
Guernsey
  • German troops landed on the island of Guernsey off the French coast, meeting no opposition. ww2dbase [CPC]
Italy
  • Leonardo da Vinci set sail from Castellammare di Stabia, Italy at 0800 hours for exercises, returning at 1715 hours. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Napoli, Campania | CPC]
Jersey
  • German troops landed on the island of Jersey off the French coast, meeting no opposition. ww2dbase [CPC]
Romania
  • King Carol II of Romania renounced the guarantees given to him by the United Kingdom in 1939 and announced that hence-forward his country's alliegance would be with Germany. ww2dbase [Carol II | AC]
United Kingdom
  • British liner Arandora Star departed Liverpool, England for Canada with 479 German and 734 Italian civilian internees, 86 German prisoners of war, and 374 British crew and guards. Some of the civilian internees were Jewish refugees who had previously been able to escape from Nazi Germany. Arandora Star failed to display a red cross to denote that she was carrying civilians and prisoners of war. ww2dbase [Liverpool, England | CPC]
  • The Free French government-in-exile established its own Military Intelligence Service under Major AndrĂ© Dewavrin - Service de Renseignements. ww2dbase [London, England | AC]
  • Winston Churchill recorded in his diary that during a meeting with the US Ambassador, Joseph Kennedy had stated that Britain was beaten and that Adolf Hitler would be in London by the 15th of August. ww2dbase [Winston Churchill | London, England | AC]
United States
  • The Headquarters Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force was established at the Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California, United States under Brigadier General Ross E. Rowell. ww2dbase [San Diego, California | CPC]
  • The noted American aviator James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle was recalled to active service as a Major and began assisting US car manufacturers as they switched to aircraft production. ww2dbase [James Doolittle | AC]
  • Joseph Stilwell was made the commanding officer of the 7th Division at Fort Ord, Seaside, California, United States. ww2dbase [Joseph Stilwell | Seaside, California | CPC]
  • USS S-26 returned to full duty while at New London, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [S-26 | New London, Connecticut | CPC]

1 Jul 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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