On Saturday afternoon, the German troops advancing from the Rhine to the Meuse (Maas) were bombed again by British aircraft, as were the roads leading to Maastricht. Armoured cars and troop transport vehicles were attacked and partly destroyed several miles southwest of the town, on the roads leading to Tongres.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - road/rail communications Cleve and Monchen-Gladbach. 10 Sqn. 6 aircraft all bombed. Severe opposition. One enemy aircraft sighted, but no combat.

2 Group ( Blenheim). 107 Sqn. 12 aircraft bombing - bridges over the Albert Canal at Maastricht. 11 aircraft damaged by Flak and 1 shot down. When formation was broken three more Blenheims were shot down by Bf109s, for the cost of two Bf109s.

15 Sqn. 12 aircraft to bomb bridges over the Albert Canal at Maastricht and destroy houses to block the road. 6 aircraft are lost despite having a Squadron of Hurricanes for protection.

110 Sqn. 12 aircraft to bomb bridges. 11 crews managed hits on target, 8 aircraft damaged by Flak, 2 aircraft lost. 1 Bf109 destroyed.

82 Sqn. 9 aircraft sent to crater a road along the Albert Canal north of Hasselt. All aircraft returned safely.

21 Sqn. 9 aircraft sent to bomb a road in Tongres. 1 aircraft lost to Flak.

3,000 enemy aliens were rounded up for internment today throughout the eastern counties of England and Scotland. The Home Secretary, Sir John Anderson, applied the order to all German and Austrian men between 16 and 60, excluding invalids. No German or Austrian may enter the restricted area without permission.

All other aliens, of whatever nationality, living in the eastern counties must report daily to the police and are forbidden to use cars or bicycles or to go out between 8pm and 6am. The restrictions apply to about 11,000 aliens.

On the outbreak of war many aliens were rounded up, but only 486, or fewer than 1%, were detained by the Aliens’ Tribunal. A further 8,000 had their movements restricted. Over 50,000 stayed at liberty. Most of them are refugees from the Nazis.

There is no evidence of the existence in Britain of a ‘fifth column’ of Nazi sympathisers. Some were sent to establish a network here in the two years before the war, but the police Special Branch kept them under observation and arrested them as war was declared.

BELGIUM:

Brussels: The Belgian Army reported at Sunday noon:

Our troops are vigorously resisting the intruders, and tenaciously defending the positions assigned them in our plan of operation. The enemy forces who penetrated our fortified installations, have made no particular progress. Paratroops have been wiped out at various points. Large numbers of enemy aircraft have been shot down.

Five Fairey Battle bombers attack bridges over the Albert Canal, but are shot down; the Belgians blow up all the bridges over the Meuse to stop the German advance. For this action F/O Donald Edward ‘Judy’ Garland (b. 1918), with his navigator Sgt Thomas Gray (b. 1914) led the aircraft in this successful mission (the bridges were bombed - the Wehrmacht held up - for 30 minutes). They died when their Battle was shot down.

NETHERLANDS:

The Hague: The Dutch General Staff reported:

All Dutch airfields are now back in our hands. In the early hours of Saturday morning, our troops attacked the airfield at Rotterdam - the only field still occupied by the Germans - following an assault by the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Dutch Royal Air Force). Two powerful bomber groups dropped a large number of high-explosive bombs on the airfield, where many German aircraft were stationed. Extensive damage was inflicted and a number of German planes caught fire. Immediately after the assault, our infantry recaptured the airfield after a violent battle costing heavy casualties. At the same time, the German paratroops who had possession of the Meuse bridge were completely encircled. The fighting was extremely bitter on both sides.

A sizeable number of German troops landed in Rotterdam harbour by seaplane and came onto land in rubber dinghies, armed with light machine guns. It proved extremely difficult to fight off these landing troops, and they were overcome only be calling in stronger forces.

On Friday the Germans conquered and lost the airfield in the Hague three times over. Not until night was it possible to destroy the German paratroops, all of whom without exception wore Dutch, British, Belgian and French uniforms.

An extraordinary achievement was that of a Dutch destroyer that sailed right up to Rozenburg Island despite a mine barrier, and opened fire on the German aircraft and crews who had landed there. The paratroops were completely wiped out in an hour and a half of artillery fire. All the aircraft were badly damaged by the gunfire and many were aflame.

The French 7th Army having reached the Breda-Herenthal line, was in contact with the Germans; but as the Dutch had withdrawn north of the Meuse, it was impossible for Giraud to achieve a link-up. Thus this afternoon, he receives orders to regroup his army west of the Escaut river. The Breda alternative is abandoned.

FRANCE:

Vincennes: The C-in-C has no idea what is happening, but he refrains from going to La Ferte (GHQ North-East front) to find out for himself, for "it was out of place for him to go there without Georges" - who had gone to visit the King of the Belgians with M. Daladier.

The Wehrmacht High Command announced:

On May 11 the German Luftwaffe continued the grand assault begun the day before, against the enemy air forces in France, Belgium and Holland. A multitude of airfields were attacked again and in the attacks, hangars were set afire, repair hangars destroyed, and fuel tank and ammunition depots blown up. At Vraux airfield alone 30 aircraft were successfully destroyed, at Orleans airfield 36. Fifty-two aircraft were shot down in aerial combat, 12 by flak artillery. We can accept with certainty that yesterday and the day before, a total of 300 aircraft fell victim to our offensive and to our air defence. Effective aerial raids have been made on troop assemblies and transport trains.

SWEDEN: Stockholm. The Swedish newspaper 'Svenska Dagbladet' reported:

A gigantic concentration of all the German armed forces has moved against Belgium and Holland, and is claimed to have used its secret weapon for the first time. This was confirmed tonight in a report by the German Wehrmacht High Command, which claims that the strongest fort held by the defensive lines at Liege (Belgium), has been seized with the aid of a new assault weapon. Strict silence is being maintained about the nature and use of the new weapon, which was strong enough to compel turnover of the fort with its 1,000 man garrison. However, sparse reports of the operation seem to indicate that the Luftwaffe must have formed the backbone of the assault.

According to the report of the German Wehrmacht High Command (the OKW), the German troops under Captain Kock landed by plane and, in a surprise raid, seized two bridges over the King Albert Canal, where they immediately built bridgeheads. The 1,000 Belgians were then encircled inside the fortress. Second Lt. Witzig is said thereupon to have directed his weapon against the centre of the fortress, and the colossal blow he struck proved successful. The operation caused immense astonishment [inside the fort]; whereupon the 1,000 Belgians and their commandant were captured, despite the most violent resistance, when German Army units advancing from the north joined up with Second Lt. Witzig's detachment. Apart from this rather mysterious description, no further details are available about how the blow was executed.

CANADA: Gate vessel HMCS Ypres sunk in collision with battleship HMS Revenge at Halifax. There were three non-fatal casualties among Ypres crew of 18 men. Ypres was a one of 6 Battle-class trawlers built during WWI that were employed as gate vessels in the Halifax area. Revenge was escorting 2 troopships, the CPR's 20,000-ton Duchess of Bedford and the Cunard White Star Line's 14,000-ton Antonia and together they formed Convoy TC-4A. Originally they were intended to have cleared the anti-submarine boom at Mauger's Beach at 1830. However, due to problems getting the liners underway, Revenge did not approach the boom until approximately 2050, by which time it was dark and the visibility was poor. The Officer-of-the-Watch in Revenge did not see that the boom was closed until only 4-and-a-half cables (900 yards) away from it. The 33,000-ton battleship went astern on her 4 engines but, as she was making 8 knots, there was no hope of stopping the ship in such a short distance. Ypres, which displaced only 350 tons, and the gate system were dragged 500 yards further on before the battleship came to a stop. By this time, the gate vessel was listing approximately 50 degrees against the side of Revenge and she sank slowly, allowing the crew time to abandon ship in good order. Revenge proceeded on with the convoy once the crewmembers she had recovered were transferred to the other gate vessel, HMCS Festubert. The gate was back in operation by the 16th. Another old Battle-class trawler, HMS Arleux, replaced Ypres. She was also rammed later in the war by the giant liner RMS Queen Mary, although she was not sunk.

Erith, Kent: The Rt Hon the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire (b. 1906), who had worked on many new and unknown devices, was killed with his assistants by an old bomb they were examining. (George Cross)

The RAF's attack on targets in northern Europe continued last night for the second night running. There have been raids on Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Emden and Rotterdam, and although not terribly effective, they have had some spectacular and deadly results. One airman described the explosion of a heavy bomb on Hamburg: "The flash was like a great flaming red ball, half a mile across ... we felt a kick from the blast."

Submarine HMS Unrivalled laid down.

GERMANY:

Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:

I ask you to avoid any sort of cynicism, frivolousness and puerile or brazen expressions, in broadcast reports about air raids, which destroy immeasurable cultural, economic and human treasures. Things must be described in a manly, stern and serious way. This is how we can best live up to the mood in [bombed] cities like Hamburg and Bremen - For the rest, I am firmly convinced that we are fortunate that the bombing raids made on German territory are taking place in the northern part of the Reich and not in the south, and that these severe trials are being borne by hardy Ditmarshers [= people of Schleswig-Holstein] and other Nordic people.

EGYPT:

Cairo: RAF Headquarters in the Middle East announced:

In Iraq, our fliers continued their raids on rebel-occupied airfields and on other military targets. The military barracks and the airfield buildings and motor vehicle park at Mosul (northern Iraq) received more than twenty direct hits. The military barracks at Al Amarah, Ad Diwaniyah, An Nasiriyah, and Ad Daghgharah (all in Iraq) were also damaged. In Abyssinia, fighter planes and bombers of the South African Air Force supported our ground troops in their destruction of the Italian army in East Africa. Two British aircraft did not return from these missions.

Submarine HMS Undaunted was believed to have been sunk off Zuara on the Libyan coast by depth charges dropped from the Italian corvette Pegaso. Although Undaunted should have been on her way back to Malta by this date, there is no other explanation for her loss. 

Insect class gunboat HMS Ladybird of the Inshore Squadron sunk in Tobruk harbour by aircraft attack. (Alex Gordon)(108)

Alexandria:

The Allied 'Tiger' convoy arrives bearing 238 tanks and 43 Hurricanes for the Allied desert army. The tanks include 135 Matildas, 82 of the new 2-pdr-gunned Mark VI Crusader cruiser tanks and 21 light tanks.

SYRIA:

6 Luftwaffe He-111s under the command of Colonel Junck landed in the Syrian capital of Damascus on their way to Iraq to support the revolt of Rashid Ali.

AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Whyalla launched.

CANADA:

U.S.A.:
New York: The United Press News Agency reported:

The American Institute of Petroleum has concluded an investigation showing that Germany must have enough oil to supply its land and air forces for an indefinite period.

In Washington, the Japanese ambassador, Nomura Kichasaburo, presents Secretary of State Cordell Hull with a proposal for the establishment of "just peace in the Pacific."

Three more U.S. Coast Guard Lake-class ships are transferred to the Royal Navy. USCGC Champlain (CGC-48) is renamed HMS Sennen, USCGC Sebago (CGC-51) is renamed HMS Walney, and USCGC Cayuga (CGC-54) is renamed HMS Tortland.

Submarine USS Drum launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Black day for U-38. The boat hunted a freighter and fired four torpedoes, but all missed.

GERMANY: East Prussia: Rastenburg: Hitler downgrades the defence of Sicily, giving priority to Sardinia and the Peloponnese.

U.S.S.R.: Polar Fleet and White Sea Flotilla: SKR-31 (ex-RT-43 "Ribets") - sunk by aviation, close to cape Zip-Navolok (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: Mussolini promotes General Messe to Field Marshall in hope of inspiring him to hold out.

French seize Monte Facti. The British XIII Corps achieves two small bridgeheads over the Rapido River.

Rome: Grand Admiral Dönitz arrives on a mission to boost Italy's contribution to the Axis effort.

PACIFIC OCEAN: USS Pickerel left Pearl Harbor for her seventh war patrol off the eastern coast of northern Honshu on 18 March 1943. She topped of fuel at Midway on 22 March and was not heard from again. She was reported overdue on 12 May when she failed to return to Midway. It is possible that she was lost on 3 April 1943, off the Shiranuka Lighthouse, on the northern tip of Honshu by an attack by Japanese minelayer Shirakami and auxiliary subchaser Bunzan Maru.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral Ainsworth with a US naval force of 4 cruisers and 7 destroyers shells Vila and Munda in the Solomons, and lay mines off New Georgia.
The bombardment of Munda Airfield on New Georgia Island and Vila Airfield on Kolombangara Island takes place on the night of 12/13 May.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: On Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands, the Americans advance from three directions. The Northern Landing Force advanced on two fronts; the Provisional Scout Battalion, which landed on Beach Scarlet in Austin Cove, moves southward and approaches the Japanese rear but they are fired on and pinned down for three days. By1830 hours, the second advance, by the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment advancing southward from Holtz Bay, overruns the Japanese front line on Hill X and then faces counterattacks resulting in hand-to-hand combat.

At 0900 hours, the Southern Landing Force begins a two pronged attack from Massacre Bay towards Jarmin Pass but fail to gain ground due to fog in the hills concealing Japanese positions. 

During the day, the battleships USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) and USS Nevada (BB-36) bombard Holtz Bay and Chichagof Harbor. As the USS Pennsylvania turns away, the Japanese submarine HIJMS I-31 fires torpedoes that miss.

Two U.S. destroyers attack the submarine for ten hours before finally sinking her. A second submarine, HIJMS I-35, attacks the light cruiser USS Sante Fe (CL-60) but the torpedoes miss and the submarine is sunk by two U.S. destroyers.

The USAAF dispatches a P-39reconnaissance sortie over Kiska and Rat Island but it encounters poor weather and turns back. On Attu, an air-ground liaison B-24 watches US forces land on beach "Red" while another B-24 drops supplies. Seven attack missions flown by 10 B-24s, 12 B-25s, and 24 P-38s bomb and strafe assigned Attu targets. Four barges are set afire in the western arm of Holtz Bay.

CANADA: The first production Consolidated Cansos (Catalinas) come off the Canadian Vickers line in Cartierville. (23)

Corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec arrived Gaspe to join Quebec Force.

U.S.A.: The Trident Conference begins in Washington, DC. Churchill and Roosevelt meet until the 25th of May. They decide on a target date of May 1, 1944 for D-Day in northwest Europe. The US forces in the Pacific receive no restrictions on operations. British General Morgan, as Cossac, is choosen to head the Allied buildup of forces in preparation for the 1944 cross channel operation.

USS LST-176 is commissioned. Built by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company, Evansville, Indiana. Her first commanding officer is Lt. John A. Salt USCGR. (Skip Guidry)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-456 is almost certainly sunk in a diving accident, in position 46.39N, 26.54W, while facing the British destroyer HMS Opportune after being badly damaged by a FIDO homing torpedo from an RAF Liberator Mk. IIIA of No. 86 Squadron based at Aldergrove, Co. Antrim, Ireland. All 49 hands on the U-boat are lost.

The Canadian-built, British-registered cargo ship Fort Concord (7,130 GRT) was damaged by U-456 KptLt. Max-Martin Teichert, Knight’s Cross, CO, and later sunk by U-403, KptLt. Heinz-Ehlert Clausen, CO, north of the Azores, in position 46.05N, 025.20W. Fort Concord was proceeding from New York City to Liverpool, as part of the 46-ship convoy HX-237. She was loaded with 8,500 tons of grain and 700 tons of military stores. Thirty-seven of the 56 crewmembers, DEMS gunners, and passengers onboard were lost. The survivors were rescued by the Canadian Flower-class corvette Drumheller and were landed in Londonderry. Records show that HX-237 arrived in Liverpool on 17 May 43 without having lost any ships, indicating that Fort Concord was sunk after straggling behind the convoy. Fort Concord was a North Sands-class freighter built by Davie Shipbuilding and Repair Co., Ltd., at Lauzon, Province of Quebec. She was completed in Nov 42. Fort Concord was one of 90 North Sands-class freighters built in Canada for American order under the Hyde Park Declaration and subsequently provided to Great Britain under the Lend-Lease Agreement. Larrinaga Steamship Co. Ltd., of Liverpool, managed the ship for the British government. Twenty-two of these ships were sunk and another eight were damaged.

At 0313, the unescorted and zigzagging Cape Neddick was hit by two torpedoes from U-195. The first torpedo struck aft at the #3 hatch on the bilge keel but did not explode. The other torpedo struck the #2 hatch. The explosion threw a sheet of flame and a column of water higher than the bridge and ripped a hole of 25 by 30 feet into the side. The ship rolled first to port, then to starboard and finally settled on an even keel. As the ship headed into the direction of the U-boat, the armed guards began firing all guns (the ship was armed with one 3in, one 4in and eight 20mm guns). The most of the eight officers, 43 men and 25 armed guards were ordered into two boats and three rafts, as the Cape Neddick began to settle by the head and the water reached the foredeck. After the ship stopped, the deck cleared of water and the master and six volunteers from the engine room reboarded the vessel. They got the ship under way and proceeded away from the area on a zigzagging course at 04.42 hours. Just as the vessel got under way a torpedo pass ahead. The gun crew fired three rounds into the direction of U-195, but never sighted the U-boat. 15 hours later she came back and picked up the men in the boats and rafts. The cargo was shifted and on 16 May she arrived safely at Walvis Bay, South Africa. All hands survived, but several men were injured, even not serious. After temporary repairs, the Cape Neddick proceeded to Capetown, unloaded her cargo and returned to the USA, where permanent repairs were made and returned to service.

At 2228, the Sandanger, a straggler from Convoy HX-237 due to thick fog, was hit amidships, in the pump room and in #6 tank by three torpedoes from U-221 and caught fire immediately. Some survivors tried to abandon ship in boats and rafts but they died in the burning sea. After the tanker broke in two, the stern sank while the burning forepart remained afloat. Because of the fast combustion, an area of low pressure was created, which caused a very strong wind to blow in along the water from the high pressure area outside of the flames, and this wind split the flames on the starboard side in two. This phenomenon saved the 19 survivors in the only intact lifeboat. They rowed for 40 minutes through this area away from the flames that burned just a few feet above their heads and behind them. The tanker sank completely about 90 minutes after the hits, but the fuel burned for several hours on the water surface. 20 crewmembers, including the master and all deck officers were lost. The survivors set sail and were spotted several times by aircraft, one of them dropped a portable radio transmitter that made it possible that they were picked up on 22 May by HMCS Kootenay and landed at Londonderry the next day.

The Brand was separated from Convoy HX-237 in thick fog and was torpedoed by U-603. 36 crewmen and seven gunners abandoned ship in three lifeboats. The vessel sank after seven minutes, taking two crewmen and one gunner with her. The lifeboats set sails for Ireland, but were picked up the same day by corvette HMCS Morden. A Swordfish aircraft had been sighted in the afternoon and it had probably guided the corvette to the boats.