military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (06/08/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Saturday, 8 June, 1940 German armored units gain another 72 kilometers, reache the River Seine south of Rouen. Allied ships complete the withdrawal of 24,000 troops from Harstad and Narvik; port facilities are demolished by the retreating soldiers. In the Arctic Sea, the carrier Glorious is caught by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and sunk along with her escorts, the destroyers Acasta and Ardent. The Ardent manages to torpedo the Scharnhorst, forcing that ship to retire to Trondheim. Over 1500 British sailors and airmen die in the frigid sea. Admiral Marschall, commanding the German task force, is dismissed for failing to attack Harstad as planned and for risking his ships. Egypt begins printing ration cards in case of an Italian invasion, and evacuates the children and elderly from Alexandria. The Argentine Chamber of Deputies approves a new measure to control German fifth-column activities. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "In 1864, a Russian fleet in New York Harbor deterred Great Britain from helping the Confederates. Would not a sizeable American squadron in Spanish waters deter Italy from entering the war ?" - I.L. Nascher, in a letter to the New York Times.