March 1940

1940

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The following events occurred inMarch 1940:

March 1,1940 (Friday)

• In Germany, the second stop of U.S. Undersecretary of StateSumner Welles' fact-finding mission, he met withJoachim von Ribbentropand listened to him speak almost non-stop for two hours. Welles came away thinking that Ribbentrop had a "completely closed mind" that was "also a very stupid mind."
• The novelNative SonbyRichard Wrightwas published in the United States.
• The adventure filmStrange CargostarringJoan CrawfordandClark Gable(in his next role afterGone with the Wind) was released.
• Born:Nuala O'Faolain,journalist and writer, inClontarf, Dublin,Ireland (d. 2008)
• Died:Sherman H. Dudley,67–70?, African-American vaudeville performer;A. H. Tammsaare,62, Estonian writer

March 2,1940 (Saturday)

• The British cargo linerDomalawas bombed off theIsle of Wightby aHeinkel He 111with the loss of 108 of the 291 people aboard.
• Sumner Welles went to the Chancellory and metAdolf Hitler,who claimed to want peace but insisted that Britain was determined to destroy Germany.Welles' impression of Hitler was that he appeared to be calm and in excellent health and that "while his eyes were tired, they were clear."
• Hungarians volunteering to fight in the Winter Wararrived in Finland after three weeks of travel. They immediately began training with the Finnish Army but would not complete training before the end of Winter War.
• Cambridgewon an unofficialBoat RaceatHenley-on-Thames.
• The character ofElmer Fuddfirst appeared in theWarner Bros.animated shortElmer's Candid Camera.

March 3,1940 (Sunday)

• A bomb exploded in theLuleåoffices of the Swedish communist newspaperNorrskensflamman,killing five.
• Sumner Welles metHermann GöringatCarinhall.Like Hitler, Göring blamed the war on Britain and France. Welles found Göring to be as cold and ruthless as the other Nazi leaders but thought he was at least capable of taking a broader view of international relations.
• Italy sent a note to Britain protesting the British blockade of German coal shipments to Italy.
• Born:Germán Castro Caycedo,journalist and writer, inZipaquirá,Colombia(d. 2021); Owen Spencer-Thomas, television and radio journalist, inBraughing,Hertfordshire,England

March 4,1940 (Monday)

• TheHome Officeannounced that women would not be asked to work more than 60 hours a week in British factories, and youth under 16 would not be required to work more than 48. In World War I, women were frequently working as many as 70 hours a week.
• Died:Hamlin Garland,79, American writer

March 5,1940 (Tuesday)

• A Finnish delegation departed for Moscow to begin negotiations for a peace settlement.
• Joseph Stalinauthorized theKatyn massacre.
• In theEnglish Channel,theRoyal Navyseized seven Italian ships leaving Germany loaded with coal.
• Died:Maxine Elliott,72, American actress and businesswoman;Cai Yuanpei,72, Chinese educator and philosopher

March 6,1940 (Wednesday)

• British MPs protested the Land Transfers Regulations, but a motion of censure brought against the government was defeated.
• Simo Häyhäwas finally hit by an explosive round in an anti-sniper campaign run by the Soviets, putting him into an 11-day coma.
• Detective Comics#38 was published (cover dateApril), featuring thefirst appearanceofBatman's sidekick,Robin.
• Born:Willie Stargell,baseball player, inEarlsboro, Oklahoma(d. 2001)

March 7,1940 (Thursday)

• Sumner Welles visited Paris and met with PresidentAlbert François Lebrun.Welles found Lebrun friendly, but was annoyed that he spent much of the meeting rambling on about details of his life that Welles did not find to be "in the slightest degree significant."Welles was then taken to see Prime MinisterÉdouard Daladier,who stressed that restoration of independence for the Poles and Czechs was a primary objective of any peace settlement. Although Daladier said he deeply distrusted Hitler, he also said he would not rule out dealing with the present German regime.
• The RMSQueen Elizabethcompleted her secret maiden voyage from England to New York.
• Ray SteelebeatBronko NagurskiinSt. Louisto win the National Wrestling AssociationWorld Heavyweight Championship.
• Born:Rudi Dutschke,spokesperson of theGerman student movement,inSchönefeld,Germany (d. 1979)

March 8,1940 (Friday)

• Soviet troops pushed into the suburbs ofViipuriwhile Moscow rejected a Finnish plea for an immediate ceasefire.
• Sumner Welles had separate meetings withJules JeanneneyandÉdouard Herriot,who were both adamant that France would have to continue the war until Germany was defeated.
• Died:Princess Masako Takeda,51, tenth child ofEmperor Meijiof Japan

March 9,1940 (Saturday)

• The Finns evacuated their last toeholds in theGulf of Viipuri.
• Britain released the captured Italian coal ships and announced that Italy would be allowed to continue to import German coal, but only via overland routes.
• Born:Raúl Juliá,actor, inSan Juan, Puerto Rico(d. 1994)

March 10,1940 (Sunday)

• Joachim von Ribbentrop arrived in Rome for a two-day meeting withBenito Mussolini.It was agreed that Mussolini would have a face-to-face meeting with Hitler soon to discuss Italy entering the war.
• Sumner Welles flew to London and met withLord Halifax.
• Hitler gave a speech at the BerlinZeughauson Heroes' Memorial Day.
• Born:Chuck Norris,martial artist and actor, inRyan, Oklahoma;Dean Torrence, one-half of the rock and roll duoJan and Dean,in Los Angeles

March 11,1940 (Monday)

• The French battleshipBretagneand cruiserAlgériedepartedToulonwith 147 tons worth of gold, bound for Canada where the French gold reserves would be kept for safekeeping.
• German submarineU-31was sunk in theJade Bightby British aircraft, the first time a U-boat was sunk from the air.U-31was later raised by the Germans, repaired and returned to service.
• Sumner Welles had tea with KingGeorge VI,who made clear his hope that no peace negotiations would take place until the Nazi regime was destroyed.Welles then spoke withNeville Chamberlain,who reiterated the points from his Birmingham speech of February 24.
• German submarineU-101was commissioned.
• Died:John Monk Saunders,42, American novelist, screenwriter and film director (suicide)

March 12,1940 (Tuesday)

• TheMoscow Peace Treatyending theWinter Warwas signed. Russia received 16,000 square miles (41,000 km²) of Finnish territory.
• Sumner Welles metWinston Churchill.In Welles' account of the meeting he wrote that "Mr. Churchill was sitting in front of the fire, smoking a 24-inch cigar, and drinking awhiskeyand soda. It was quite obvious that he had consumed a good many whiskeys before I arrived. "For almost two hours Welles listened to Churchill deliver" a cascade of oratory, brilliant and always effective, interlarded with considerable wit. "
• TheRepublican Party presidential primariesbegan inNew Hampshire.
• German submarineU-99,one of the most successful U-boats of the war, was commissioned.
• Born:Al Jarreau,jazz singer, inMilwaukee,Wisconsin(d. 2017)

March 13,1940 (Wednesday)

• Hostilities between the Soviet Union and Finland ceased at 11 a.m.The three-month longBattle of Kollaaended in Finnish victory, though the war was lost.
• Field MarshalMannerheimaddressed the Finnish Army: "Peace has been concluded between our country and the Soviet Union, an exacting peace which has ceded to Russia nearly every battlefield on which you have shed your blood on behalf of everything we hold dear and sacred. You did not want war. You loved peace, work and progress; but you were forced into a struggle in which you have done great deeds, deeds that will shine for centuries in the pages of history."
• Indian nationalistUdham Singhassassinated SirMichael O'Dwyer(in revenge for the 1919Jallianwala Bagh massacre) atCaxton Hallin London.
• Born:Candi Staton,soul and gospel singer, inHanceville, Alabama
• Died:Ira Flagstead,46, American baseball player

March 14,1940 (Thursday)

• Evacuation of Finnish Karelia:The more than 450,000 Finns displaced by the Moscow Peace Treaty began to cross Finland's new border. Some burned their homes to the ground to leave as little behind for the Russians as possible.
• Hermann Göringasked Germans to collect metal objects and donate them to the state as a present to Adolf Hitler for his 51st birthday.
• The comedy filmRoad to Singapore,starringBing Crosby,Bob HopeandDorothy Lamourwas released. It was the first in the series of the popularRoad to...movies.

March 15,1940 (Friday)

• Finnish Parliament ratified the Moscow Peace Treaty, 145 to 3.
• Carol II of Romaniagranted an amnesty to members of theIron Guardin exchange for their allegiance.
• Born:Phil Lesh,bass guitarist for theGrateful Dead,inBerkeley, California

March 16,1940 (Saturday)

• TheBattle of Wuyuanbegan.
• A British civilian was killed in a German air raid for the first time in the war when fourteenJunkers Ju 88bombers attacked the British fleet atScapa Flow.
• The foreign ministers of theBaltic statesheld a conference inRiga.They agreed to share information in order to prevent the Soviet Union from playing them off against each other.
• Sumner Welles, now back in Rome, met with KingVictor Emmanuel IIIin the morning and then Mussolini again that evening.Welles thought that Mussolini seemed to be in better spirits than he was at their first meeting.
• Born:Bernardo Bertolucci,film director and screenwriter, inParma,Italy (d. 2018);Jan Pronk,politician and diplomat, inScheveningen,Netherlands;James Wong,Cantopop lyricist, inPanyu,Guangzhou,China (d. 2004)
• Died:Selma Lagerlöf,81, Swedish author and Nobel laureate in literature

March 17,1940 (Sunday)

• Major league baseball held a special spring trainingall-star gameinTampa, Floridato support the people of Finland. The exhibition raised more than $20,000 for the Finnish Relief Fund. TheNational Leaguewon the game 2-1 whenPete Coscarartof theDodgershit a walk-off single offBob Fellerin the bottom of the ninth.
• Born:Mark White,43rd Governor of Texas, inLongview, Texas(d. 2017)

March 18,1940 (Monday)

• Hitler met with Mussolini at theBrenner Passin the Alps. Hitler made it clear that German troops were poised to launch an offensive in the west and that Mussolini would have to decide whether Italy would join in the attack or not. Since Italy was still not ready for war, Mussolini suggested that the offensive could be delayed a few more months, to which Hitler replied that Germany was not altering its plans to suit Italy. The two agreed that Italy would come into the war in due course.
• Sumner Welles andMyron Charles TaylormetPope Pius XII.Taylor asked the pope if there would be revolution in Italy should Mussolini bring the country into the war. The pope seemed surprised at the question and after careful consideration replied that Italian public opinion was overwhelmingly against joining the war, but that there would not be any rebellion for at least some time if Italy did enter.

March 19,1940 (Tuesday)

• In retaliation for the air raid on Scapa Flow, theRAFattacked the German seaplane bases ofSyltand Hornum.
• Harold Macmillansparred withNeville Chamberlainin the House of Commons over whether the government had done all it could to help Finland.

March 20,1940 (Wednesday)

• The entire French cabinet resigned. Although Prime MinisterDaladierwon a vote of confidence in theChamber of Deputies239-1, there were so many abstentions among the 551 members that he recognized the vote as a defeat.
• Sumner Welles ended his diplomatic tour of Europe and boarded a ship heading back to the United States.
• Died:Alfred Ploetz,79, German physician, biologist and eugenicist

March 21,1940 (Thursday)

• Paul Reynaudbecame Prime Minister of France.
• The ocean linerQueen Marydeparted New York City forSydneyto be refitted as a troopship.
• Woody Guthriewas recorded for the first time, in an interview withAlan Lomaxfor theLibrary of Congressduring which he also performed some original and traditional songs.
• TheAlberta Social Credit Partyled byWilliam Aberhartwon a second term in theAlberta general election,although it lost seats from its 1935 landslide.
• Born:Solomon Burke,soul musician and preacher, inPhiladelphia(d. 2010)

March 22,1940 (Friday)

• Soviet military personnel began to arrive in the Finnish port ofHanko,which had been leased to the Soviets for 30 years as part of the Moscow Peace Treaty.
• Born:Dave Keon,ice hockey player, inNoranda,Quebec,Canada;Haing S. Ngor,physician, actor and author, inSamrong Yong,Cambodia, French Indochina (d. 1996)

March 23,1940 (Saturday)

• TheLahore Resolutionwas adopted by theAll-India Muslim League.
• TwelveIrish Republican ArmyconvictsriotedinHM Prison Dartmoor.The inmates took twowardersprisoner, locked a third one in a cell and started a fire that took 90 minutes to put out.
• The quiz showTruth or Consequencespremiered onNBC Radio.

March 24,1940 (Sunday)

• The French destroyerLa Railleusewas sunk offCasablancaby the accidental explosion of one of its own torpedoes. 28 crewmen were killed and 24 wounded.

March 25,1940 (Monday)

• The British government ordered its troops not to participate in German radio broadcasts if they becameprisoners of war.Britons had been tuning in to German radio to learn of the capture of family members by hearing their voices, long before information of their capture could reach the British government.
• TheU.S. Supreme CourtdecidedHelvering v. Bruun.
• Born:Anita Bryant,singer and anti-gay rights activist, inBarnsdall, Oklahoma;Mina,singer, inBusto Arsizio,Italy

March 26,1940 (Tuesday)

• Afederal electionwas held in Canada. TheLiberalgovernment ofWilliam Lyon Mackenzie Kingwas re-elected to another majority government.
• Born:
  • James Caan,actor, inthe Bronx,New York(d. 2022)
  • Nancy Pelosi,52nd Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, inBaltimore,Maryland
• Died:Spyridon Louis,67, Greek runner, winner of the marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics

March 27,1940 (Wednesday)

• Peter Fraserbecame the newPrime Minister of New ZealandwhenMichael Joseph Savagedied in office from cancer.
• The German submarineU-22went missing in theNorth Sea,possibly lost to a naval mine.
• Born:Lindy Infante,American football player and coach, inMiami(d. 2015),Austin Pendleton,Actor, inWarren, Ohio
• Died:Michael Joseph Savage,68, 23rdPrime Minister of New Zealand

March 28,1940 (Thursday)

• TheAnglo-French Supreme War Councilmet in London and agreed that neither Britain nor France would make a separate peace with Germany. The Council also agreed uponOperation Wilfred,a plan to lay mines in Norwegian coastal waters in the hopes of provoking a German response that would legitimize Allied "assistance" to Norway.

March 29,1940 (Friday)

• Vyacheslav Molotovmade a speech to theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Unionreviewing the foreign situation and the Winter War. Molotov accused Britain and France of planning to use Finland as a staging ground to attack the USSR and said that the pacts with the Baltic states were "being carried out in satisfactory manner and this creates premises for a further improvement in relations between the Soviet Union and these states."
• Born:Ray Davis,bass singer and one of the founding members of the doo-wop groupThe Parliaments,inSumter, South Carolina(d. 2005);Astrud Gilberto,samba and bossa nova singer, inSalvador, Bahia,Brazil (d. 2023)
• Died:Alexander Obolensky,24, Russian-born British footballer (plane crash)

March 30,1940 (Saturday)

• Wang Jingweibecame the head of a new collaborationist government in China that would be known as theReorganized National Government of the Republic of China.
• As part of preparations forOperation Pike,a British reconnaissance flight from a base inIraqflew unchallenged for several hours over Soviet oilfields on theAbsheron Peninsula.
• German submarineU-122was commissioned.
• IndianabeatKansas60-42 in the Championship Game of theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
• "When You Wish upon a Star"byRay Eberle&Glenn Millertopped the American pop charts as compiled byYour Hit Parade.
• Born:Jerry Lucas,basketball player and memory education expert, inMiddletown, Ohio
• Died:Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet,63, Scottish politician andMinister of Shipping

March 31,1940 (Sunday)

• Winston Churchillgave a speech over the radio titled "Dwelling in the Cage with the Tiger", a metaphor he used to describe the precarious geographical situation of the Dutch. As with his January 20 speech, Churchill primarily spoke about neutral countries and said, "It might have been a very short war, perhaps, indeed, there might have been no war, if all the neutral States, who share our conviction upon fundamental matters, and who openly or secretly sympathize with us, had stood together at one signal and in one line. We did not count on this, we did not expect it, and therefore we are not disappointed or dismayed... But the fact is that many of the smaller States of Europe are terrorized by Nazi violence and brutality into supplying Germany with the material of modern war, and this fact may condemn the whole world to a prolonged ordeal with grievous, unmeasured consequences in many lands." In the wake of theAltmarkIncidentand withOperation Wilfredabout to go into action, Churchill said of Germany's neutral neighbors that "we understand their dangers and their point of view, but it would not be right, or in the general interest, that their weakness should be the aggressor's strength, and fill to overflowing the cup of human woe. There could be no justice if in a moral struggle the aggressor tramples down every sentiment of humanity, and if those who resist him remain entangled in the tatters of violated legal conventions."
• TheKarelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republicwas established.
• Britain introduced paper rationing to publishing and printing industries.
• Born:Barney Frank,politician, inBayonne, New Jersey