75 years ago today… January 10, 1940 Hitler sets 17 January as date for western offensive into France and the Low Countries. A Bf 108 Taifun made a forced landing under foggy conditions near Mechelen-aan-de-Maas in the Belgian Province of Limburg starting what became known as the Mechelen Incident. Piloted by Major Eric Hönmanns, the liaison aircraft also held a passenger, Major Helmuth Reinberger, Adjutant to Colonel Bassenge, Commanding Officer of Dienststelle Fliegerführer 22O, 7. Flieger Division. Reinberger was responsible for organizing the supplying of the unit that was to land paratroopers behind the Belgian lines at Namur on the day of the coming attack. Soon after the crash the two men were arrested by the Belgian Gendarmerie. Reinberger was carrying top-secret documents divulging the invasion plans for the Low Countries. Reinberger attempted several times during his arrest to destroy the documents, however without success. News of the Mechelen Incident reached Berlin via press reports about a crashed German plane. In the OKW it caused a general consternation, as it was soon deduced that Reinberger must have had the attack plan with him. The Belgians have the documents recovered in the Mechelen Incident quickly translated by the Deuxième Section (military intelligence) of the general staff in Brussels. Most had indeed been badly damaged by Major Helmuth Reinbergers consecutive attempts to burn them, but the general outlines of an attack against Belgium and The Netherlands were clear from the remaining passages, though the date of the attack was not mentioned. Hitlers agents suspect the British and French have learned of the plans for the invasion, scheduled for January 17, and Hitler postpones the invasion. He will use this alleged violation of neutrality by Belgium to justify the invasion of that country in May Military training starts for 350 Hungarian men to fight in Finland (out of 25,000 volunteers). They will ultimately become Hungarian Volunteer Detached Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Imre Kémeri Nagy with 24 officers, 52 NCOs, 2 doctors and 2 padres. Unofficial peace talks began between the Soviet Union and Finland, but the fighting continued. RAF Bomber Command 4 Group conducts a daylight anti-shipping sweep over the North Sea. 77 Squadron, 2 aircraft. 102 Squadron, 2 aircraft. No enemy shipping sighted. On the night of 10/11 January, German destroyers Bruno Heinemann, Wolfgang Zenker, Erich Koellner laid a minefield off Cromer. Three merchant ships for 11,155 tons were lost on this minefield. On the night of the 10th/11th, German destroyers Karl Galster, Anton Schmidt, Richard Beitzen, Friedrich Ihn, escorted by destroyers Wilhelm Heidkamp and Friedrich Eckholdt, laid a minefield off Newcastle. On the return, Friedrich Ihn broke down and was escorted back by Beitzen. German steamer Bahia Blanca (8558grt) departed Hamburg pre-war, arrived at Rio de Janiero on 11 September 1939 disguised as a Greek ship, and then on 6 December attempted to run the British blockade back to Germany. On the 10th, evading the blockade, she ran onto the ice pack in the Denmark Strait, sank in 66 09N, 26 20N and her crew was rescued by Icelandic trawler Hafstein (313grt). Armed merchant cruiser HMS Canton ran aground off Barra Head, Isle of Lewis, in the Hebrides, and armed merchant cruiser HMS California stood by until tugs Englishman and Bandit arrived from Campbeltown and Ardrossan respectively. HMS Canton got off on the 12th without assistance and headed towards the Clyde escorted by destroyers Fame, Isis, Foresight and Imperial. Destroyers Forester, Fortune and Fury came out from the Clyde and met destroyers Faulknor and Foxhound to screen Cantons passage. On the 12th, Foresight attacked a submarine contact NNW of Inishtrahull. On the 13th, Canton and Bandit arrived in Rothesay Bay en route for the Clyde. On the 17th, at the head of Holy Loch, Canton was intentionally beached when her pumps failed to control the flooding. German trawler Axel (343grt) was sunk in an accidental collision with German patrol yacht Grille (2560grt) in the Baltic. The Norwegian cargo ship Hertha collided with a French vessel off the Welsh coast and was beached. Convoy OG 14F forms at sea for Gibraltar. U.S. steamship President Van Buren, bound for Genoa, Italy, and New York, is detained at Port Said, Egypt, and subsequently discharges items of cargo, deemed as contraband, at Alexandria, Egypt, before being allowed to proceed The U.S. House of Representatives passes an anti-lynching bill, sending it to the Senate for the second time (it had previously done so in 1937). As in that year, filibusters by Southern Democrats will kill it in the Senate. Four passenger liners depart Sydney, New South Wales, carrying the Australian 16th Brigade bound for Egypt. The ships, escorted by the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, will rendezvous with the convoy carrying the New Zealand 4th Brigade that sailed from Auckland on 6 January. Chinese Winter Offensive: Chinese 4th War Area captures Chingyuan. Chinese 9th War Area cutting Japanese lines of communications and destroying facilities in Japanese-occupied areas. Battle of South Kwangsi: Elements of Japanese 18th Infantry Division and Konoye Division moving to reinforce battered 5th Infantry Division in Nanning area. U-144 laid down. The armed merchant cruiser HMS Wolfe (F 37) was commissioned. Her first commander was Captain Charles G. C. Sumner. Photograph: Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Wolfe, at anchor. Royal Navy official photographer. Imperial War Museum, MoD Foxhill Collection of Ship Photographs, Photograph # FL 21901.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 14:59:36 +0000
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