military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (03/13/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Monday, 10 March, 1941 The British and German air forces trade blows; the Luftwaffe hits Portsmouth harbor, while RAF Halifax bombers strike at Le Havre. British troops occupy Dagga Bur in Abyssinia, 600 miles north of Mogadishu, and report 31,000 prisoners taken in the advance from the River Juba. Marshal Petain appeals directly to the United States for food shipments. He requests enough wheat to avoid a bread famine for the 40 million residents of Vichy France. Admiral Darlan threatens to use the French Fleet to convoy vessels if the British refuse to lift their blockade. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "The Germans in this instance have been more generous and humanitarian than the British."