Historical
In the final act of the Norwegian campaign, at dawn fifteen Fleet Air Arm Skuas from HMS Ark Royal dive bombed the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Trondheim. However, RAF bombing of the nearby Vaernes airfield alerted the defences. Eight of the Skuas were shot down by AA guns and ME109 fighters. A 500 lb bomb hit Scharnhorst, but did not explode. During the operation the destroyers HMS Antelope and Electra collided in fog. An ignominious end to a poorly conducted campaign.
In the first naval skirmish in the Mediterranean the British submarine HMS Odin attacked the Italian cruisers Fiume and Gorizia. Odin was attacked and sunk by the destroyers Strale and Baleno
At the Supreme War Council meeting at Tours Winston Churchill encouraged the French to withdraw to their colonies in North Africa to fight on. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud asked to be released from the 28th March agreement and to be allowed to negotiate armistice terms with Germany. Churchill refused, hoping that by his refusal the French would continue to fight.
The British armed merchant cruiser HMS Scotstoun (formerly the Anchor Line passenger ship Caledonia) was attacked all day by U-25 and finally sank 80 miles West of the Outer Hebrides.
Panzer Group Kleist captured Saint-Dizier and Troyes.
Operation Cycle (the final evacuation of British forces from France) was completed. Many of the 51st Highland Division did not make it home.
In Washington the U.S. Congress voted $1,800,000,000 to fund the army.
Game day 287. USA
The convoy of seven escorted cargo ships with supplies for China reached the Philippines. The follow up convoy of three escorted ships arrived at Hawaii.
Credits: Historical information: http://www.worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com, Wikipedia, Chronicle of the Second World War (JL International Publications, 1994). Background image to game maps: Hasbro Ltd.
General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 