1). The first day of the German Blitzkreig against the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) seem to have met with only moderate success. Dutch have been reinforced by British armor from the Western front.

2). First major German air attacks on French objectives take place: air fields, railroads and stations, coal mines, and factories.

3). British have occupied Iceland.

4). Winston Churchill has become the new Prime Minister after Chamberlain's resignation.

5). Italy is still quiet.

(about 0030 hours) Foreign bombers over Basel, Switzerland, drop a few bombs on the city, as Swiss anti-aircraft guns fire on them.

(between 0300-0400 hours) Adolf Hitler arrives at his bunker near Aachen, Germany, to direct operation Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the attack on western Europe.

German forces begin operation Sichelschnitt (Sickle Stroke), a surprise assault against Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium.

(0400 hours) Fleets of Luftwaffe bombers and fighters take off to attack western Europe.

(0400 hours) German parachute and airborne forces begin landing to secure key bridges in Holland at Rotterdam, Dordrecht, and Moerdijk, and in Belgium at Maastricht. Some parachutists are disguised as Netherland soldiers, farm boys, and Roman Catholic nuns.

(0430) German planes begin bombing Antwerp, Belgium.

(0450 hours Paris) Four German bombers drop bombs on Méry-sur-Oise, twenty miles from Paris, France.

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler gives his Order of the Day to the German troops, saying "The fight beginning today decides the fate of the German nation for the next 1000 years."

(0530 hours) 76 German divisions cross a 175-mile front into Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

(0600 hours Berlin) German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop informs the foreign press that Germany had seized the initiative by anticipating Anglo-French aggression in the Ruhr area over Netherlands and Belgian territory. He presents evidence that Netherlands and Belgium were not acting as neutrals, that they were defending only on the German border, and allowing British and French assistance in attempting revolution in Germany. German forces in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg would ast as protectors and take steps to ensure their neutrality.

(just after sun-up) Twenty-one 10-man DFS230 gliders descend over Dutch territory, having been pulled by Junker 52 transport planes from airfields near Cologne, Germany. Ten gliders land near key bridges, nine others landing on the roof of Belgium's Fort Eban Emael. Engineers quickly set explosive charges in gun barrels, casemates, and exit passages, sealing in the 650-man garrison. (After just over a day, with the arrival of German ground forces, the fort is taken.)

The government of the Netherlands declares a state of war with Germany.

(0700-0800 hours) British and French troops enter Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to counter the German attack.

(0730 hours) The German ambassador to Belgium notifies the Belgian Foreign Minister of the invasion of the country. The response is protest, and announcement of resistance.

The Belgian government calls on English and French troops to enter the country to aid in its defence.

British soldiers cross the North Sea, landing on the Netherlands coast at several points.

The Netherland East and West Indies and Dutch Guiana formally declare the existence of a state of war with Germany. The Governor places the islands under martial law, and warns that any help from other nations would be rejected as unwelcome.

32 British Battles bombers attack German columns in Luxembourg. 13 planes are shot down; all others are damaged.

British forces occupy Iceland.

Switzerland orders general mobilization for defence for the following day, and declares a "precautionary state of war" as of midnight.

Quote by French General Maurice-Gustave Gamelin: "Germany has engaged against us in a struggle to the death."

(early evening) Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns.

(1800 hours) At Buckingham Palace, London, England, King George VI asks Winston Churchill to form a new government.

German forces complete overrunning Luxembourg, and taking Maastrich in the Netherlands, and Malmedy in Belgium.

(2300 hours Paris) First major German air attacks on French objectives take place: air fields, railroads and stations, coal mines, and factories.

(late) Germans airdrop reinforcements into Rotterdam, Netherlands.

(midnight) British Prime Minister Winston Churchill completes the forming of his government. Clement Attlee is made Lord Privy Seal, Arthur Greenwood is made Minister Without-Portfolio. Anthony Eden is made Secretary of State for War. Sir Archibald Sinclair is made Air Secretary.