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The following events occurred in September 1940:

September 1, 1940 (Sunday)

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September 2, 1940 (Monday)

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September 3, 1940 (Tuesday)

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September 4, 1940 (Wednesday)

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  • Hitler told a crowd at a rally in Berlin: "When the British air force drops two or three or four thousand kilograms of bombs, then we will in one night drop 150, 230, 300 or 400 thousand kilograms - we will raze their cities to the ground."[7]
  • With Romania in a state of near-revolution due to public anger at the Second Vienna Award, King Carol II summoned Ion Antonescu to the palace and asked him to form a government. Discussions were held with representatives of the political parties but no result was reached.[8]
  • The America First Committee was established by Yale Law School student R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. with the objective of keeping the United States out of the war.
  • German submarine U-142 was commissioned.
  • Died: George William de Carteret, 70 or 71, Jersey journalist and writer; Hans Zinsser, 61, American physician, bacteriologist and writer

September 5, 1940 (Thursday)

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  • King Carol II reluctantly agreed to give full powers to Ion Antonescu, but the mood of the country remained volatile. With gunfire ringing out near the Royal Palace, Antonescu visited Carol again that evening and demanded that the king abdicate.[8]
  • Oil storage tanks at Thameshaven were among the day's targets of German bombers. Fires broke out at Thameshaven that could be seen from London.[4]
  • Born: Raquel Welch, actress and singer, in Chicago (d. 2023)
  • Died: Charles de Broqueville, 79, 20th Prime Minister of Belgium

September 6, 1940 (Friday)

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  • The unpopular King Carol II of Romania abdicated in favour of son Michael.
  • Ion Antonescu became the leader of Romania. On September 14 he would take for himself the title of Conducător.[8]
  • The Germans bombed Grantham, the headquarters of No. 5 Group RAF. Grantham would be bombed eleven more times through the end of the year and for a while had the distinction of being the most frequently bombed town in all of England.[4]

September 7, 1940 (Saturday)

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September 8, 1940 (Sunday)

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September 9, 1940 (Monday)

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September 10, 1940 (Tuesday)

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September 11, 1940 (Wednesday)

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  • The Nederlandsche SS (Dutch SS) was formed.
  • Winston Churchill gave a radio address saying that a German invasion of Britain could not be delayed for much longer if it was to be tried at all, so "we must regard the next week or so as a very important week for us in our history. It ranks with the days when the Spanish Armada was approaching the Channel and Drake was finishing his game of bowls, or when Nelson stood between us and Napoleon's Grand Army at Boulogne. We have read about all this in the history books, but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilization than those brave old days of the past. Every man and woman will therefore prepare himself and herself to do his duty whatever it may be, with special pride and care."[15]
  • Born: Brian De Palma, film director and screenwriter, in Newark, New Jersey; Ajit Singh, economist, in Lahore, British India (d. 2015)
  • Died: Issy Smith, 49, Australian-born British soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross (coronary thrombosis)

September 12, 1940 (Thursday)

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September 13, 1940 (Friday)

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September 14, 1940 (Saturday)

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September 15, 1940 (Sunday)

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  • The large-scale air battle known as Battle of Britain Day was fought. Believing the RAF was near its breaking point, the Luftwaffe mounted an all-out offensive, sending two huge waves of about 250 bombers each to bomb London and surrounding areas. The RAF managed to scatter many of the German bomber formations and shoot down 61 planes while losing 31 in return, inflicting a clear and decisive defeat on the Germans.[10]
  • Canada introduced conscription for men between the ages of 21 and 24.[21]
  • Hitler sent a letter to Francisco Franco asking for Germany to be granted naval bases in the Canary Islands and other places. Franco would reject the request a week later by asking for an excessive amount of compensation in return.[22]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Bernhard von Lossberg prepared the Lossberg study on the planned German invasion of the Soviet Union.
  • General elections were held in Sweden. The Swedish Social Democratic Party remained the country's largest party, receiving more than half the vote.
  • Died: Glenn Frank, 52, American journalist and President of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

September 16, 1940 (Monday)

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September 17, 1940 (Tuesday)

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September 18, 1940 (Wednesday)

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September 19, 1940 (Thursday)

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  • The Royal Air Force bombed German invasion barges in ports along the French coast. After the attack, Hitler ordered the barges dispersed.[4]
  • 1924 Democratic presidential candidate John W. Davis delivered a speech to a U.S. Senate sub-committee proposing an amendment to the Constitution that would limit the President to serving one term lasting six years with no possibility of re-election. "We think we do better if we employ our servants in the executive branch for fixed and certain terms," Davis explained. "We want them to realize that what they do they must do within the allotted span of their official lives ... Six years is long enough in which to do all the good one man is likely to accomplish, if he thinks first of his country and not of himself."[27]

September 20, 1940 (Friday)

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September 21, 1940 (Saturday)

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September 22, 1940 (Sunday)

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September 23, 1940 (Monday)

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  • The Battle of Dakar began off the port of Dakar in French West Africa.
  • Vichy France and Poland broke off diplomatic relations.[1]
  • King George VI gave a radio address from an underground air-raid shelter at Buckingham Palace. The King declared that Britain would be victorious with the aid of "our friends in the Americas." He also announced the creation of the George Cross and George Medal, new civilian awards for heroism.[28]
  • The results of a Gallup poll were published asking Americans, "Which of these two things do you think is the most important for the United States to try to do — to keep out of war ourselves or to help England win, even at the risk of getting into the war?" 52% said help England, 48% said keep out.[29]
  • Born: Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, classical singer and composer, in Mashhad, Iran (d. 2020)
  • Died: Hale Holden, 71, American railroad executive

September 24, 1940 (Tuesday)

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September 25, 1940 (Wednesday)

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September 26, 1940 (Thursday)

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  • The Japanese invasion of French Indochina ended with the completion of Japanese objectives.
  • 54 Vichy French bombers raided Gibraltar.[20]
  • The U.S. government placed an embargo on the exportation of scrap iron and steel to any country outside the Western Hemisphere excluding Britain, effective October 16.[17]
  • Died: Walter Benjamin, 48, German Jewish philosopher and social critic (suicide)

September 27, 1940 (Friday)

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September 28, 1940 (Saturday)

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  • The first U.S. destroyers reached Britain.[1]
  • Radio Belgique, a broadcast transmitted from London to Nazi-occupied Belgium, was established.
  • German submarine U-97 was commissioned.
  • Died: Chapman James Clare, 87, British-Australian sailor

September 29, 1940 (Sunday)

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September 30, 1940 (Monday)

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  • The day before the annual two-week autumn vacation, school children in Berlin were told that they would be granted extra vacation time if their parents wanted them to go to the country or accept invitations from relatives in rural areas.[36]
  • German submarine U-73 was commissioned.
  • Born: Dewey Martin, rock drummer, in Chesterville, Ontario, Canada (d. 2009)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Chronology and Index of the Second World War, 1938-1945. Research Publications. 1990. pp. 33–35. ISBN 9780887365683.
  2. ^ Matanle, Ivor (1995). World War II. Colour Library Books Ltd. p. 56. ISBN 1-85833-333-4.
  3. ^ "Events occurring on Monday, September 2, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "1940". World War II Database. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  5. ^ Lackerstein, Debbie (2012). National Regeneration in Vichy France: Ideas and Policies, 1930–1944. Ashgate Publishing. p. 89. ISBN 9780754667216.
  6. ^ "Eduardo Galeano obituary | Fiction | the Guardian".
  7. ^ "Britain bombs Berlin". BBC. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Butnaru, I. C. (1992). The Silent Holocaust: Romania and Its Jews. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9780313279850.
  9. ^ Perry, Marvin (2013). World War II in Europe: A Concise History. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. pp. 46–47. ISBN 9781285401799.
  10. ^ a b "Battle of Britain Day". BBC. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "France Seizes Gamelin and 2 Ex-Premiers". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. September 8, 1940. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Events occurring on Sunday, September 8, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  13. ^ "Events occurring on Monday, September 9, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  14. ^ Denis, Judd (2012). George VI. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. p. 194. ISBN 9781780760711.
  15. ^ "Our Victory Will Come". ibiblio. September 11, 1940. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  16. ^ "Lascaux cave paintings discovered". History. A&E Networks. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  17. ^ a b "Chronology 1940". indiana.edu. 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  18. ^ Buffum, Joanna (September 10, 2015). "The Blast That Rocked NJ". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  19. ^ "Events occurring on Saturday, September 14, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Davidson, Edward; Manning, Dale (1999). Chronology of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. pp. 47–48. ISBN 0-304-35309-4.
  21. ^ "Events occurring on Sunday, September 15, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  22. ^ Corvaja, Santi (2008). Hitler & Mussolini: The Secret Meetings. New York: Enigma Books. p. 136. ISBN 9781929631421.
  23. ^ Matanle, p. 75.
  24. ^ "Events occurring on Tuesday, September 17, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  25. ^ Schultz, Sigrid (September 18, 1940). "Germans Brand Poles as Race of 'Inferior People'". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 4.
  26. ^ "Reds Clinch Flag; Indians on Top; Sox Split". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. September 19, 1940. p. 23.
  27. ^ Davis, John W. "Limit the Term to Six Years". ibiblio. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  28. ^ "King George tells Britons war 'at doors'". United Press International. September 23, 1940. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  29. ^ "1940 Gallup poll results". ibiblio. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  30. ^ "Events occurring on Tuesday, September 24, 1940". WW2 Timelines. 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  31. ^ "September 24, 1940 Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Athletics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  32. ^ Jenkinson, Bill. "The Real Jimmie Foxx". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  33. ^ Larsen, Karen (1950). A History of Norway. Princeton University Press. p. 548.
  34. ^ Rosbottom, Ronald C. (2014). When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316217453.
  35. ^ "Tigers Clinch Pennant, 2 to 0, as Fans Riot". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. September 28, 1940. p. 1.
  36. ^ Schultz, Sigrid (October 1, 1940). "Children Free to Quit Berlin, Parents Told". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.