Wavell will be told shortly that his successor is to be General Sir Claude Auchinleck, C-in-C India. Although the latter's only combat experience so far in this war has been command of the Anglo-French forces at Narvik, he saw much action in Mesopotamia in 1914-18 and later on the North-West Frontier of India. Known as "The Auk", he is highly regarded and has a keen brain, although he is not as intellectual as Wavell.

GERMANY:

FINLAND: Reservists under 45 are called up.

In south-eastern Finland civilian population in municipalities along the Fenno-Soviet border are evacuated.

U.S.S.R.: A Soviet aerial formation, the 6th Fighter Corps, is set up in Moscow for the defence of the capital. On Sunday 22 June, civil air raid precautions in Moscow are to be tested "under realistic conditions."

SYRIA: The Office Francais d'Information (OFI) [Vichy] announced:

Yesterday the British attempted unsuccessfully to attack Damascus and Merjayoun [Lebanon]. Indian and British troops advanced in the area south and southeast of Damascus, but we succeeded in repulsing them in counterattacks by our armoured units and took 400 prisoners. Yesterday afternoon our troops warded off an enemy attack in the mountainous zone of southern Lebanon. We took 80 prisoners in this operation. Along the coast, the British fleet continued to bombard or positions.

Free French thrust from Deraa to relieve hard-pressed 5 Ind Bde at Mezze fails. Brig Lloyd and the remnants of his brigade surrender, with food and ammunition exhausted. Maj-Gen Evetts (6 Brit Div) is ordered to take over the whole eastern sector. He is reinforced by two battalions of 6 Aust Div and ordered to take Damascus. In evening, 2/3 Bn opens renewed attack on Mezze and Beirut road, clearing forts southwest of Damascus. A French counter-attack recaptures some of the heights and the CO and HQ of 2/3 Bn, but they are freed by another Australian attack in the morning. A detached coy of 2/3 Bn cuts the Damascus-Beirut road. (Michael Alexander)

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Brockville launched Sorel, Province of Quebec.

U.S.A.: Major-General Henry "Hap" Arnold is appointed C-in-C of the re-named US Army Air Force.
Jack McKillop adds: The U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) is created and the Office, Chief of the Air Corps and the Air Force Combat Command are assigned to the USAAF. Major General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold is named Chief of the USAAF and made directly responsible to the Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall. The reason for the change is to coordinate the activities of the Air Force Combat Command and the office of the Chief of the Air Corps.

Washington: Addressing Congress regarding the sinking of the US merchant freighter SS Robin Moor by the German submarine U-69 on 21 May 1940, Roosevelt">Roosevelt accuses the Nazi government of being international outlaws, engaging in piracy with the aim of world conquest. 

In his speech, the President notes that the sinking of the ship is a "warning that the United States may use the high seas of the world only with Nazi consent. Were we to yield on this we would inevitably submit to world-domination at the hands of the present leaders of the German Reich. We are not yielding and we do not propose to yield." The speech is forwarded to the German Embassy for their information.

The USN's Task Group 2.6 consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7), the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37) and two destroyers departs Hampton Roads, Virginia, for a neutrality patrol that ends at Bermuda on 4 July. Serving in USS Wasp are Marine Bombing Squadron One (VMB-1), Fighting Squadron Seventy One (VF-71) and Scouting Squadron Seventy Two (VS-72).

Three USN submarines conduct deep submergence tests off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At 0738 hours, USS O-9 (SS-70) submerged with 33 men aboard; the sub did not surface thereafter but was crushed by the pressure of the water 402 feet (122.5 m) below. The sub went down 15 miles (24.1 km) off Portsmouth in the area where submarine USS Squalus (SS-192) had been lost on 23 May 1939. The sub was too deep for rescue efforts and the ship was declared a total loss on 22 June.

In baseball, the Detroit Tigers play the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in New York City and Joe DiMaggio goes 4-for-5 against Tiger pitchers Bobo Newsom and Archie McKain. DiMaggio's double and three singles extends his hitting streak to 33 games.

Two motion pictures are released in the U.S. today. 
"Out of the Fog," a gangster drama, based on Irwin Shaw's play "The Gentle People," is directed by Anatole Litvak and stars Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Thomas Mitchell, Eddie Albert, George Tobias, Leo Gorcey and John Qualen. The plot has fisherman Mitchell being shaken down by gangster Garfield. Afraid to go to the police, Mitchell decides to take matters in is own hands after Garfield falls in love with Mitchell's daughter (Lupino).

"The Reluctant Dragon," an animated documentary, has Robert Benchley taking the audience on a tour through the Walt Disney studios. Alan Ladd plays one of the animators we meet along the way.  

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-203 sights the American battleship USS TEXAS (BB-35) inside Germany's blockade area around Britain. U-203 attacks, but the attack fails and the U-boat remains undetected by the Texas.

The USN's battleship USS Texas (BB-35), escorted by three destroyers, is sailing in what the Germans consider as the war, or "blockade" zone, when sighted by the submarine U-203. The Americans are unaware of the sub but they outdistance the sub preventing an attack. As a result of this event, Grossadmiral Erich Raeder, chief of the German Navy, issues an order stating that U.S. warships may only be attacked if they cross the western boundary of the blockade area by 20+ miles (32.2+ km) or within the 20-mile (32.2 km) strip along the western edge of the zone.

After her capture on May 9 she has been berthed at Freetown, Sierra Leone. There she has been crewed by a scratch crew of volunteers who are all looking for a rapid means of returning to the UK having recently lost their own ships. These crew included Peter de Neumann (George Medal, later Captain) who is due to be married and is trying to get home quickly. He signs on as Second Officer.

CRITON sails in convoy SL78, but cannot maintain convoy speed due to the earlier sabotage. She is ordered back to Freetown at noon by the convoy escort, HMS ESPERANCE BAY. (Bernard de Neumann)

U-123 sank SS Ganda.