Eighty years on. 8th August 1940

Historical

The Germans launched continuous attacks on a large convoy (CW9 codenamed Peewit) of 25 merchant ships with Royal Navy escorts moving through the Straits of Dover and heading west to the Atlantic Ocean.  Torpedo boats attacked before dawn, sinking the British steamers Ouse, Holme Force and Fife Coast.  300 Stukas escorted by 150 Messerschmitts fought a running battle with RAF fighters as Peewit moved through the English Channel.  The Dutch steamer Ajax and British steamers Coquetdale and Empire Crusader were sunk.  The Luftwaffe lost 17 Stukas, 26 Bf109’s and 9 Bf110’s.  The RAF lost 13 Hurricanes, 4 Spitfires and a Blenheim.

General Archibald Wavell (British Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command), based in Cairo, finally sent regular British Army troops (2nd Battalion of the Black Watch) to British Somaliland, realising the desperate situation.  It was too little, too late.  The Italians bombed Berbera.

U-37 sank the British MV Upwey Grange, carrying 5,380 tons of frozen beef from Argentina to Britain, 200 miles West of Ireland.

Another British submarine, HMS Proteus, reached Malta from Gibraltar with spares for the newly-arrived Hurricanes.

The German armed merchant cruiser Widder sank the Dutch collier Oostplein carrying 5,850 tons of coal from Britain to Buenos Aires.

Rumania introduced racial laws modelled after those of Nazi Germany. 

Lord Linlithgow, Viceroy of India, promised immediate limited constitutional reform and a full inquiry into independence after the war.

Game day 343. China

China was unable to gain any resources because all of its territories  except Mongolia were in a state of conflict with Japanese invaders.

In Singkiang six infantry units moved northwards to meet the Japanese while thirty newly-raised units began to deploy to meet further invaders moving westwards from China.

In China four infantry units attacked two Japanese infantry units, losing one unit for no gain.  In Kwangtung five infantry units attacked three Japanese units.  Both sides lost two units.  The Chinese retreated in both cases.