World War II As It Happened
A MaritimeQuest Daily Event Special Presentation
Tuesday August 13, 1940
Day 348

August 13, 1940: Front page of the Manchester Evening News, Manchester, England.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Daily Mail, Hull, England.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of the Birmingham Gazette, Birmingham, England.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of the Press and Journal, Aberdeen, Scotland.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Examiner, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Sydney Sun, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Telegraph, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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Note the photo of the five German aircraft crashing in flames at center.
(Even though two days previous the British Air Ministry denounced this photo, editors and publishers were still telling the public that it was real.)
[See"British Discredit Photo of 5 Falling Nazi Planes" in The Sunday Star of Aug. 11, 1940.]


August 13, 1940: Front page of Haarlem's Dagblad, Haarlem, Netherlands.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of the Biddeford Daily Journal, Biddeford, Maine.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Evening Star, Washington, D.C.
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Note the report in column 3: "Destructive Raids Seen Paving Way For Invasion"
(Reports like this one and the one below it, "Bern Forecasts Blitzkrieg On Britain in Next 72 Hours" gave Adolf Hitler everything he wanted. The reports further the idea that there will be an invasion of England, which kept the British military tied down and the British public in a state of terror.

There would never be a land/sea invasion of England. The reason for this is simple, Hitler never actually planned to invade England. He used this as a massive diversion for two reasons. One, to force England to tie down men and resources to repel an invasion that would never come. And two, he was preparing for the invasion of Russia, which was his real target from the beginning.)


August 13, 1940: Front page of The Evening Gazette, Xenia, Ohio.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Texas.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of The Kingsport Times, Kingsport, Tennessee.
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Note the headline : "Zero Hour For Britain Is At Hand; Furious German Attack Continues"


August 13, 1940: Front page of The Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, California.
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August 13, 1940: Front page of the Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
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1. Flughafen von Malta in Brand geworfen.
(Airport at Malta set on fire.)
2. Deutsche Luftwaffe schlägt pausenlos zu!
(German air force strikes non-stop.)


August 13, 1940: Front page of the Völkischer Beobachter, the official newspaper of the NSDAP.
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1. Wieder 71 Briten=Flugzeuge abgeschossen.
(Another 71 British aircraft shot down.)
[The British lost a total of 34 fighters (29 due to combat causes,) and another 8 bombers due to combat.]
 
2. Bombenhagel auf die Marineanlagen und die Staatswerft von Portsmouth.
(Hail of bombs hit naval base and state shipyard at Portsmouth.)
3. Ballonsperre bei Dover erneut angriffen - Mebrere Handelschiffe versenkt.
(Barrage balloons at Dover attacked - Several merchantmen sunk.)



   
Page published August 13, 2021