1931 (WEDNESDAY)
SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Council passes a resolution noting the Japanese intention of withdrawal of its troops as rapidly as possible and disclaimer of territorial designs in Manchuria.
UNITED STATES: The USN Bureau of Aeronautics reports that studies are being conducted on catapulting land planes on wheels. This, the preliminary step in the development of flush deck catapults for launching land planes from aircraft carriers, visualizes the installation of powder catapults on hangar decks. The development is expanded to include the use of compressed air, and by the end of 1932, the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has successfully launched a Vought O2U-3 Corsair land plane with this latter equipment.
1937 (THURSDAY)
UNITED STATES: The USN commissions two warships today. The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia; the USN now has four aircraft carriers in commission. The light cruiser USS Brooklyn (CL-40 is commissioned in New York City, New York; she is the 12th light cruiser in commission.
1938 (FRIDAY)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Given no other choice, Prime Minister Jan Syrový’s government accepts the Munich settlement and begins the evacuation of the Sudeten region. For all intensive purposes, the rump Czechoslovak state became a German satellite.
LUXEMBOURG: The Grand Duchess issues a decree calling for the addition of a 300 man company of volunteers to the Duchy’s armed forces.
POLAND: The government sends an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia to get the Teschen area by 2 October. A few thousand, Poles dwelling within Czechoslovakia; desire to prevent Germany from acquiring a region of great strategic and economic value.
SWITZERLAND: The League of Nations Council adopts a resolution for investigation of alleged use of poison gas by Japan.
UNITED KINGDOM: Quote by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on the Munich Agreement: "This is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.”
September 30th, 1939 (SATURDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, Viscount Gort has been appointed commander-in-chief the British Expeditionary Force. Gort became Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1937, ahead of 90 more senior Generals. He is described as a soldier's soldier, having won the VC in September 1918 as the Grenadier Guards crossed the Canal du Nord under heavy artillery and machine gun fire. Though wounded, he crossed open ground to bring a tank into action. Wounded for a second time he continued to direct the attack taking the enemy position and 200 prisoners to boot.
Gort is generally thought by other senior officers of the British Army to be a poor choice. While his great courage is widely acknowledged, many believe that he has a fatal inability to comprehend 'the big picture' and that 'Gort's brain has lately been compared to that of a glorified Boy Scout! Perhaps unkind, but there is a lot of truth in it.' (Brooke, 'War Diaries'). (Adrian Weale)
London: The Hitler-Stalin pact and their carve up of Poland has sent shock waves through the communists in the West. Harry Pollitt, the British Communist Party's general secretary, had just published a pamphlet, 'How to Win The War', when Stalin gave orders that the war against fascism had to be attacked as an imperialist war. Pollitt protested at the central committee meeting that followed, but the committee voted to obey Stalin. Pollitt was sacked.
Football: Leeds United beat Derby County 3-1 at the Baseball Ground. The Derby players had to mow the pitch themselves.
RAF: 4 Group Whitley's of 10 Sqn. Leaflet Hamburg and Bremen. Four aircraft complete their tasks despite severe weather, one crashes on return
Reconnaissance over Germany, casualties to personnel.
The US freighters SS Ethan Allen and SS Ipswich, held by the British for 10 days, are released. However, the cargo carried by SS Ipswich bound for Hamburg, Germany is seized.
U-3 sank
SS Gun and SS Bendia.
At 2255hrs in the North Sea, U-3
sighted a British submarine and fired a torpedo at it, but missed.
FRANCE:
General Wladyslaw Sikorski, who has been both prime minister and defence minister of Poland, has set up a Polish government in exile in Paris and is taking command of those forces which succeed in escaping from Poland. General Sikorski, who was in Paris when his country was overrun, has escaped the fate of the commander-in-chief, Marshal Smigly-Rydz and the government who fled to Romania, and been interned after pressure was put on the Rumanian's by Germany.
The French communists have been saved the embarrassment of trying to explain Stalin's actions by Daladier. The Prime Minister has banned the party, thus allowing it to stay silent.
3rd Division BEF arrive in France at Cherbourg. The Divisions road transport is meanwhile being unloaded at Brest, several hundred miles away, giving the French dockers ample time to pilfer every officer's locked car boot and force many of the doors on the impressed laundry vans that were used for transport. Back at Cherbourg, there are no vehicles to be impressed or even hired. The Division manage by pooling the advance party's transport to set off the train and car for Everon, the designated assembly area.
The French Army is called back from its invasion of Germany. The attack, code named Operation SAAR, only penetrated 5 miles (8 kilometres).
GERMANY: Berlin warns Britain that armed ships may be sunk without warning. "Several German submarines have been attacked by British merchant ships in the past few days. Hitherto German submarines have observed international law by always warning merchant ships before attacking them. Now, however, Germany will have to retaliate by regarding every vessel of the British merchant navy as a warship"
OKW issues Führer Directive #5. Following the
conclusion of the ‘Treaty of Frontier Regulation and Friendship’ with Russia
on 28th September the political form of the former Polish territories in the
German sphere of interest will be reorganized.
(i) The political frontier of the Reich will include areas of former German
settlement and in addition some areas of special significance. The Demarcation
Line will be built up as a line of military security towards the East, and marks
the limit of the German sphere of influence in relation to Russia.
(ii) As a temporary measure the whole of the former Polish State up to the
Demarcation Line will be an ‘Area of Military Government’ under
Commander-in-Chief Army. Proposals for dealing with the pacification of occupied
territory, security and garrison requirements, and establishment of Military
Districts, are requested.
(iii) The precautionary Lithuanian occupation force is no longer required.
(iv) All special limitations imposed on naval warfare against France are lifted.
‘Trade War’ will be waged in general subject to Prize Law with the following
exceptions. Merchant and Troop ships definitely established as hostile may be
attacked without warning, including all ships sailing without lights in English
waters. Merchant ships using their radio after being stopped will be fired
upon. Attacks on passenger ships are still prohibited.
(v) Air warfare restrictions remain in force except as follows: Aircraft may
cross the frontier for purposes of local and combat reconnaissance, and to
attack artillery liaison planes and captive balloons. Long range reconnaissance
flights may be undertaken on the authority of the Commander-in-Chief Luftwaffe.
(Marc Roberts)
U.S.S.R.: In today's Pravda editorial it notes that "the German-Soviet friendship is now established forever. ... Both parties hope that England and France will stop their absolutely pointless war against Germany. ... Should England and France fail to do so, Germany and the Soviet Union will take the appropriate steps." (Mike Yared)
U.S.A.: The first American college football game is broadcast by NBC's experimental TV station W2XBS (now WNBC), channel 1 in New York City. The game between Fordham University and Waynesburg College is televised from Triboro Stadium on Randalls Island in New York City. Fordham wins.
The 15-minute radio program "Captain Midnight" debuts on the Mutual Network (WOR in New York City area) at 1745 hours Eastern Time sponsored by Ovaltine. Captain Midnight was a man of mystery but the listeners knew that he was a flying ace of the Great War who was engaged to stop the sinister activities of Ivan Shark, master criminal who sought to control the world. The show remained on the air until December 1949. It replaces Little Orphan Annie in this slot, but makes up for it by offering a decoder badge. (Jack McKillop and Matt Clark)(239)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: A British cargo ship, SS Clement, was sunk this afternoon by the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee off Pernambuco, Brazil. Captain F. Harris, spotted the Graf Spee at 1.00 a.m. She sent a sea plane which without warning machine gunned the bridge. The chief officer was slightly hurt, but the 50 strong crew took to the boats before the Graf Spee's shells sank the Clement.