CANADA: Surg/Cdr Archie McCALLUM RCNVR awarded Volunteer Reserve Decoration.

RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing road and rail communications in France. 

58 Sqn. Six aircraft to Forges and Dumale. One returned early, five bombed. 

77 Sqn. Three aircraft to Fleury and Gournay. All bombed. 

102 Sqn. Seven aircraft to Abbeville. All bombed.

Greenock, Scotland: HMS DEVONSHIRE arrives in port with King Haakon and Crown Prince Olaf of Norway, and the Norwegian government  aboard after a 64 hour journey from Tromsø. They then board a train to arrive in London at 2300. (Alex Gordon)

FRANCE:
French Prime Minister Reynaud appeals to US President Roosevelt">Roosevelt to intervene in the war.

RN begins operation 'Cycle' the evacuation of 11,000 British and Allied troops from Le Havre.

Joinville: After fighting for two hours, French reserves fail to stop the Germans crossing the Aisne.

Chateau-Porcien: After a brief artillery preparation, the 1st Panzers together with infantry break out and advance towards the Retourne river, which they manage to cross by 4pm.

At 5 pm a French armoured group of two divisions counter-attacks along both banks of the Retourne. While the 1st Panzers were held up, and even repelled, the 2nd Panzers advanced towards Reims.

HMCS St Laurent and Restigouche exchanged fire with a German artillery battery at St Valery-en-Caux during the evacuation of the British 51st Highland Division. These were the first shots fired in anger by the RCN during World War II.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN:
The Allied operations in Norway end. This has cost the British and French 1 carrier; 2 cruisers; and 9 destroyers plus other smaller craft. There were 6100 KIA.

The cost for the Germans was 3 cruisers; 10 destroyers, and several U-Boats. There were 5600 KIA.

There were also many Norwegian casualties.

(Mark Horan) Continuing to shepherd the troop convoy's home to England, Ark made her first true effort to both cover the convoy and to look for what must be out there somewhere, survivors from the missing ships, which at this point included HMS Glorious, HMS Acasta, HMS Ardent, SS Orama, ST Oilpioneer, and HMS Jupiter. At 0245 she put up a 360 degree search, out to 120 miles, using 10 Swordfish. One Swordfish failed top return, signalling it was making a deferred forced landing at sea. While continuing to maintain a fighter patrol over the convoy, she next sent off three Walrus amphibians to search for the crew of the missing Swordfish, but found nothing ( Fortunately, the missing trio, S-Lt.(A) R. C. Eborn, RN, Mid.(A) G. T. Shaddick, RN, and LA P. W. Clitheroe, RN had been rescued by the fishing vessel Syrian and would make it safely home on her.)

At 1100, her service escorting the convoy was deemed complete and the ship separated, steaming for a rendezvous with C-in-C Home Fleet, joining at 1440. Thus ended Operation "Alphabet", the evacuation of Norway. Ark's next job would close out the campaign on a very negative note - but that lies in the future. for now ...

At 1530 a snooper was sighted by the bridge personnel, and 10 minutes later a trio of Skuas from 800 Squadron, led by Lt. K. V. V. Spurway zoomed into the air to run it down. The patrol spotted and attacked the He-115, but unable to close the range sufficiently, the German pilot skilfully using the low cloud to escape destruction. At 1650, a further trio, Lt.Cdr. J. Casson's section of 803 took off to run down the still elusive He-115. This time they were able to get in a few telling bursts, and the snooper left leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

After a relief fighter patrol was sent up, at 2000 nine Swordfish search was put up to cover the sector ahead of the Task Force, from 020 eastward to 210 degrees, still looking for the elusive German battleships which were, by now, safely in Trondheim harbour. That ended flying for the day.

ITALY:

Rome: After months of indecision, Benito Mussolini">Mussolini, today tagged his forces onto the victorious Germans and declared war on the Allies. Informed sources here believe that the Duces greatest fear is peace, which will prevent him from winning glory.

British and French ambassadors here were informed of the Italian decision here today by Count Ciano, the foreign minister. Asked why Italy should enter the war, he replied: "Mussolini">Mussolini is only carrying out the plans he has made with Hitler."

Mussolini">Mussolini was not even able to choose his own date for the declaration. Five days ago he pleaded with Hitler to be allowed to join the fight against France. Hitler prevailed upon him to hold back until the French air force was destroyed. Hitler is insistent on a complete German victory. Nor, should France fall, will Mussolini">Mussolini be allowed to join Germany in armistice talks. More than 250,000 cheering and flag-waving people heard the Duce declare war from the balcony of his official residence the Palazzo Venezia. "We will conquer," he roared. "People of Italy, to arms! Show your tenacity, your courage, your worth."

PORTUGAL: The U.S. passenger liner SS Washington arrives at Lisbon to board any Americans wishing to return to the U.S. The destroyer USS Dickerson (DD-157) also arrives in Lisbon from Casablanca transporting Americans wishing to board the SS Washington.

FRENCH MOROCCO: The USN's heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44), escorted by two destroyers, gets underway from Casasblanca for New York City carrying 200 tons of gold, the Bank of France's gold reserves.

CHINA: Japanese forces attack Ichang on the Yangtze River.

CANADA declares war on Italy.

Minesweeper (ex-fishing vessel) HMCS BC Lady commissioned.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Patrol vessel HMCS Brad D'Or intercepted and seized Italian freighter Capo Noli.

Westminster: Winston Churchill told MPs today: "I have not heard that Herr Hitler had to attend the Reichstag and say why he sent the BISMARK on her disastrous cruise. I have not heard that Signor Mussolini">Mussolini has made a statement about losing the greater part of his African Empire."

He was annoyed that the Commons forced a debate about the loss of Crete, and said that it would be better for the government to decide the timing of discussions about the conduct of the war. He fiercely defended the government, but insisted that as Parliament's "lifelong servant" he will do as it says.

London Gazette - medal citations for MT ATHELTEMPLAR.

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire Chief Engineer, Valentine Thomas Basil Godfrey And Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea. The Lloyd's citation:

The ship was attacked by enemy aircraft and set on fire. The chief officer was severely wounded, and all the other executive officers were killed. The chief engineer got the starboard boat away with 14 of the crew, some of whom were wounded, and transferred them to the rescuing ship. Returning to his own vessel with another party he found the fire was out, but that all the steam lines had gone, and there were about 2 ft. of water in the engine-room, covering the dynamos. The chief engineer at once arranged for towage and the vessel was brought into port.

King’s Commendations for Brave Conduct Boatswain John Richard Bell, and Gunner Thomas Newton. (Bernard de Neumann)

Corvettes HMS Mayflower, Spikenard, Trillium and Windflower departed Aultbea to escort Convoy OB-332 for St John’s, Newfoundland.

NORTH SEA: Patrol sloop HMS Pintail is mined off the Humber while escorting Thames/ Forth coastal convoy FN447 and sinks in the Humber estuary at 53 30N, 00 32E.

FRANCE: The German authorities expel most of the foreign diplomatic staff from Paris.

Admiral Darlan urged French to conquer their illusions and consent to sacrifices.

POLAND: Aerial units of the German Luftwaffe begin to form up in preparation for Operation Barbarossa.

ERITREA:
A British Indian Battalion lands and captures Assab, the last Red Sea port held by the Italians.
Massawa:
Here in the dockyard sappers are already preparing for the arrival of US-registered ships in the Red Sea. This is the prize for the Allied victory in Eritrea. Last year,when Italy declared war, the US Congress declared the Red Sea a combat zone. Neutral US ships must stay out. For 11 months supplies were unloaded at the Cape, reloaded onto British ships and brought to Egypt. Now with all the East African coast in Allied hands, and Italy's naval squadron at the bottom of the Red Sea, Congress will reverse its position, and US ships may sail to Suez.

SYRIA: On coastal axis 21 Aust Brigade continue the advance past the Litani but are stopped in the afternoon by French positions on the coast road.

Australian forces cross the Litani River in Syria.

During a reconnaissance flight over Deraa, a well-known French pilot, Capitaine Jacobi of 6 Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group, was shot down by the British air defence.

This afternoon the air crews of French 7 Squadron, 1st Fighter Group received orders to "drive off small units of the British Navy" that were firing uninterruptedly at the French-held coast; but it turned out that these "small units" were the whole of the British 15th Cruiser Squadron, and the French swiftly halted their operations.

RAF forms a new 127 Squadron at Habbaniya, Iraq, equipped with four Hurricanes and four Gladiators. (Michael Alexander)

CANADA: Twenty Four River Class frigates are ordered: HMCS Dunver, Cape Breton, Outremont, Valleyfield, Thetford Mines, Joliette, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Stormont, Matane, Montreal, Grou, Saint John, Stettler, Edmunston, Magog, Longueuil, La Hulloise, Eastview, Beacon Hill, Kokanee, St Catharines, Waskesiu, Prince Rupert, Swansea.

U.S.A.: Secretary of State Hull reassured Portugal as to its islands in the Atlantic.

The USAAF 3d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron is activated. (Mike Yared)(283)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Lidice: German security police surrounded the mining village of Lidice, outside Prague, early today and rounded up the whole population, more than 400 people. The 173 men and boys over 15 were shot and the 198 women and 98 children have been driven off to concentration camps. Houses and all other buildings have been razed to the ground and the name of the village erased from official records. Another village, Lezaky, suffered a similar fate later today; 17 men and 16 women were shot and 14 children gassed.

An official German statement said the action had been taken "to teach the Czechs a final lesson of subservience and humility" after the assassination of Reinhardt Heydrich, the deputy Reich protector of Bohemia and Moravia. Thirteen children of Lidice have been allowed to survive - because they have blonde hair. They will be raised as good "Aryan" Nazis in Germany.

The Nazis have offered a reward of ten million Czech crowns for information leading to the capture of the assassins. A raincoat, two briefcases and a lady's bicycle which were found at the scene of the attack are on display in a city shoe shop. So far the perpetrators have eluded efforts to find them.

U.S.S.R.: Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Shipping loss: MS "TSch-405 "Vzrivatel"" - is sunk by field artillery, close to Eupatoria (later raised) (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: Operation Harpoon involves a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta, under Admiral Curteis. His escort forces include 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 4 cruisers, and 17 destroyers and 6 merchant ships. There are also several merchant ships sailing independently. Admiral Vian leaves Alexandria with another convoy for Malta under Operation Vigorous. The 11 merchant ships are escorted by 8 cruisers and 26 destroyers.

NORTH AFRICA: German forces fight their way out of their defensive position, known as the "Cauldron".

LIBYA: Bir Hakeim: Free French troops retreat to El Gobi on the third day of a heavy German attack.

JAPAN: Tokyo radio ignores the Battle of Midway and announces that the occupation of Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutian Islands is a "great victory." The Japanese Army's North Sea Detachment, which invaded Attu Island on 7 June, begins unloading equipment from ships and starts developing defensive positions.

CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Port Arthur arrived Halifax from Montreal.

An additional Lend-Lease Agreement is signed in Washington, DC. Secretary of State Hull signs for the US and Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov signs for the USSR.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Off the U.S. coast German submarines sink three merchant vessels:

- U-157 sinks a U.S. armed tanker and a U.S. unarmed freighter off Cuba

- U-68 sinks a British motor vessel in the Caribbean.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Joint Chief of Staffs issue the Pointblank Directive. This sets out the policy for the bombing campaign against Germany and lists  priorities and goals from now through D-Day. These instructions have been obviously influenced by US thinking. The strategic leaders of both the USAAF and RAF are able to interpret these guidelines in such a manner as to be able to run their favoured bombing operations.

Frigate HMCS Annan laid down Aberdeen, Scotland.

GERMANY: The possibility of an Allied invasion of Sicily is discounted in the projections of German High Command (OKW). (Glenn Steinburg)

YUGOSLAVIA: The partisan leader Josip Broz, better known by his nom de guerre, Tito, narrowly escaped capture when his temporary headquarters in a Bosnian farmhouse were surrounded by Axis soldiers, it was revealed today.

Tito heard a warning shout, leapt through a window and spent the next few hours hiding in a ditch listening to the Italian troops in the house. Several of Tito's staff were captured and executed later. The informer can expect little mercy from Tito's men. With a price of 100,000 Reichsmarks (£8,300) on his head, Tito is the most wanted man in Europe and has had several similar escapes.

U.S.S.R.: 700 Russian night bombers attack German positions at Yaroslavl and airfields west of Kursk; 19 are lost.

ITALY: Pantelleria: 

Following attacks during the night of 9/10 June by fighter-bombers, Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF), Northwest Tactical Air Force (NATAF) and USAAF Ninth Air Force aircraft (fighters, and light, medium and heavy bombers) maintain all-day attacks on Pantelleria Island in the Mediterranean; over 1,000 sorties are flown.

This tiny Italian-owned island surrendered today after suffering four days of massive bombing from the air and continual shelling from the sea. For almost 100 hours Pantelleria shook beneath a vast Allied bombardment - with huge formations of Flying Fortresses often bombing for as long as 76 minutes at a time as British cruisers and destroyers poured hundreds of shells onto any available target.

But why such an immense force against such an insignificant target? Strategically, Pantelleria offers an airfield which will bring Allied fighters well within reach of Sicily, 65miles away - assuming that that is the proposed area for the invasion of southern Europe. The shattered harbour cannot be of much use. The real reason, it seems, is the need to bring home the weight of Allied arms to an already nervous and shaky Italian population. A British destroyer almost emptied its ammunition magazine into one of Pantelleria's two forts yesterday before intercepting a radio signal from the garrison. "Help! Send help!," it pleaded.

More than 100,000 leaflets were dropped on the island demanding its unconditional surrender. "The demand was made to save the garrison from unnecessary suffering", said Allied headquarters. "Pantelleria will continue to be subjected to bombing and blockade."

ALGERIA: Algiers: De Gaulle threatens to resign over the reorganization of the French army.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: The Japanese land based air craft from Rabaul mount a major air raid on the installations on Guadalcanal. They suffer heavy losses.

During the day, four IJN Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Betty," fly down "The Slot" to attack shipping off Guadalcanal but are jumped by four USAAF P-38 Lightnings and four USMC F4U Corsairs. The P-38s shoot down one and the F4Us shoot down the other three. During the night of 10/11 June, 18 Betty bombers attack an Allied convoy on its way to Guadalcanal but score no hits.

Meanwhile, the Eleventh Air Force dispatches 7 B-24s, 8 B-25s, 12 P-40s, 5 P-38s and 2 F-5As to attack North Head, the Main Camp, runway, North Head and gun positions on Kiska. They also fly weather reconnaissance and photo missions over Kiska and Little Kiska.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Annanis laid down at Aberdeen, Scotland;

Minesweeper HMCS Oshawa is launched at Port Arthur Ontario; Corvette

HMCS Trillium completes a refit at Boston.

The British 7th Armoured and the German Panzer Lehr Division are engaged near Tilly-sur-Suelles.

FINLAND: The Red Army has launched an offensive in massive strength against the Finns entrenched on the Karelian Isthmus, north of Leningrad. After forceful probing attacks yesterday, with artillery and air support in strength previously unknown in the Finnish front, the main offensive today strikes already weakened Finnish forces and achieves breakthrough at Valkeasaari, very southernmost part of the front.The Finns have been hit with a hurricane of shells and bombs. Even their long-established fortifications have proved no protection against the weight of the Soviet attack.

A murderous hail of steel mowed down barbed-wire entanglements, filled in trenches and dug-outs and shattered armoured bunkers. Nevertheless the Finns are still fighting with their customary stubborn courage, but as one Finn told his captors "You have such superiority that resistance is simply futile." The Finnish people have been shocked by the news. A Swedish correspondent in Helsinki reports: "Finnish arms have suffered a painful defeat at the very outset of operations."

There seems little doubt that the new offensive is designed to force the Finns to make peace rather than as a campaign of occupation. The Finnish government, dominated by the pro-German finance minister, Vaino Tanner, has procrastinated for too long; Stalin now intends to force its hand. The Fenno-Soviet front had been relatively quiet since the end of 1941 (at least when compared to the rest of the eastern front), the Finns being content in guarding the line while the Red Army was busy elsewhere. Soviets had initiated local offensives in 1942 and -43, but they had always been beaten back. Finns adopted a 'wait and see' -policy, hoping to find a way out of the war while preserving the territories lost in the Winter War of 1939-40. But as the war progressed, it became clear that the Soviet Union was going to emerge victorious, and concessions to Finns were out of question. There had been serious peace feelers in 1943 and in spring 1944, Finnish envoys travelling to Moscow on the latter occasion, but the Soviet terms were considered too harsh to be acceptable. The only consequence of these probes was that Germany ceased providing supplies and Soviets began planning a military operation to knock Finland out of war.

The aims of the Soviets were flexible. The minimum aim being to expel the Finns from the Karelian Isthmus, take Viipuri (Vyborg) and force Finland to accept peace.

The Finnish Army had settled down to fight a positional war, and was unprepared to fight a Soviet invasion in the scale that the Germans had time and time again faced south of the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish military leadership expected an invasion to come, but not apparently just now. Reserves had been recalled to service, and troops have been transferred from eastern Karelia (north of Lake Ladoga) to the Isthmus. But the signs of an imminent Soviet offensive have been ignored by the highest leadership. Exactly why is the greatest unanswered question in the Finnish military history.

The military leadership was certainly aware a Soviet offensive would come. It was inevitable once the peace terms were rejected in spring. Chief Quartermaster General Lt. Gen. Aksel Airo later commented that they knew the offensive was coming, but they had no way of knowing when and exactly where it would come. Although I have great respect for Gen. Airo (IMO he was one of the most important and able men in the Finnish military leadership), I think his explanations weak. There were general staff officers who pointed out the obvious signs of an imminent Soviet offensive, but were brushed away by Airo, who 'didn't want to worry the old Marshal'.

'The old Marshal'. These words point to the single biggest problem in the Finnish military decision-making. The 77-year-old Marshal Mannerheim, Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, wasn't at the top of his powers, but refused to share his responsibilities. In practice Mannerheim acted as his own Chief of the General Staff, because he didn't want to be 'one man's prisoner'. Mannerheim personally received the reports from all the section chiefs at the General Staff and drew the conclusions himself, overburdening himself with the minutiae of warfare and leaving precious little to do to General of Infantry Erik Heinrichs, Chief of the General Staff. It has been suggested, even by Mannerheim's closest confidants, that one of the reasons the coming of the Soviet offensive went undetected by the highest military leadership, was because Mannerheim was buried in the flood of information, unable to see the forest for the trees. And there was no-one who could do that for him.

It also seems that the resilience of the Finnish defences was overestimated. The defences on the Karelian Isthmus consisted in theory of three lines. The front-line, running at the eastern end of the Isthmus, was the main defence line. Roughly at the center ran the VT-line, which was about half-complete, and at the western end of the Isthmus ran the VKT-line, which was hardly more than a line on map. It had been urged on Mannerheim to designate the VT-line the main defence line. In retrospect it can be said to have been a very wise proposition. If the VT-line would have been finished and manned by the main body of the Finnish troops, it would have given the Finnish Army room for maneuvre and time to better react to the Soviet offensive. But Mannerheim rejected the proposition, after the commanders of the front-line corps reassured him that they could repel any Soviet offensive where they were. They should have known better.

The Finnish Army forces at the Isthmus were deployed in two corps directly under the GHQ. Until March 1944 Lt. Gen. Harald Öhquist had held the command of the Isthmus Group, situated between the divisions and the GHQ, but Mannerheim had disbanded the Isthmus Group HQ and formed the divisions into two corps. He apparently did this to better control the forces at the Isthmus, but in practice this only caused that there was nobody at place to coordinate things once the going got rough (Mannerheim recognized this after the Soviet offensive began, and appointed Lt. Gen. Karl Lennart Oesch commander of the Isthmus Troops on 14 June).

The Finnish corps were, from south to north IV Corps (Lt. Gen. Taavetti Laatikainen) and III Corps (Lt. Gen. Hjalmar Siilasvuo). The IV Corps consisted of the 10th Division (Maj. Gen. Jussi Sihvo) and the 2nd Division (Maj. Gen. Armas-Eino Martola). The corps reserve consisted of the I battalion of the Infantry Regiment 200 (manned by Estonian volunteers) and the Jaeger Battalion 1. The IV Corps had in all some 14 500 men in the front line (counting out the rear-echelon troops), and it bore the main brunt of the Soviet offensive, especially the 10th Division at the southern part of the front. The III Corps consisted of the 15th Division (Maj. Gen. Niilo Hersalo) and the 19th Brigade. It had 14 960 men at the front-line. The GHQ reserves at the Isthmus were the 3rd Division (Maj. Gen. Aaro Pajari), 18th Division (Maj. Gen. Paavo Paalu), the Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Ruben Lagus) and the Cavalry Brigade (Maj. Gen. Lars Melander). In all the Finns had some 102 000 men at the Karelian Isthmus.

They were opposed by 21 divisions of the 21st (Gen. Gusev; 15 divisions) and 23rd (Gen. Cherepanov; 6 divisions) armies of the Leningrad Front (Army General L. Govorov). The 23rd Army had held the front for years now, but the 21st Army at the southern part of the front was a crack formation transferred to the Isthmus to act as the spearhead of the offensive. They had some 260 000 men and 628 tanks (and received more after the offensive started; Finns had 22 battleworthy tanks - StuG IIIg's of the Armored Division - at the Isthmus), supported by some 3000 artillery pieces and 1220 planes (against 117 Finnish planes).

The Soviet attacks yesterday had already penetrated the 10th Division positions and tied the division's reserves in battle. Today the Soviet offensive breaks through the division, and it manages to withdraw only with great difficulty. Thanks to the courage of small groups of men fighting back against tremendous odds, catastrophe is avoided, but the situation is extremely critical. Some units run back in panic, and are contained only with difficulty. Desertion becomes a serious problem.

The Red Army has broken through the main defence line, and is advancing towards the rear. It advances some 15 kilometres (10 miles) today. The Finnish GHQ orders 4th Division (Maj. Gen. Aleksanteri Autti) and 3rd Brigade to move to the Isthmus from other parts of the Fenno-Soviet front, and plans of a counter-attack are being formed. But the coming days will reveal the full strength of the Soviet assault, and the large-scale counter-attack is forgotten - the plans are now about fighting delaying actions and keeping the retreat orderly until a coherent line of defence can be established.

Today afternoon Mannerheim accepts Gen. Laatikainen's proposal that the Finnish troops retreat to the VT-line. Yesterday and today Finns claim 60 Soviet planes shot down. Elsewhere Stalin informs the US Ambassador that Finns are a particularly stubborn and slow-witted people and one has to use a sledgehammer to pound some sense into their heads. 

Correlation of forces in the Karelian Isthmus on the eve of the Soviet offensive. Against the Finnish forces (two corps with three divisions and one brigade in front-line, three divisions and one brigade in reserve), Army General Leonid Govorov's Leningrad Front had Lt. Gen. D. Gusev's 21st Army and Lt. Gen. A. Cherepanov's 23rd Army in the front.

Gen. Gusev's 21st Army, which in western Isthmus conducted the main offensive, had five corps with 15 divisions, 4 tank brigades, 5 tank regiments, 5 assault gun regiments and 110 artillery battalions:

- 109th Corps with the 109th and 72nd divisions, later reinforced with the 286th Division

- 97th Corps with the 381st, 358th and 178th divisions

- 30th Guards Corps with the 45th, 63rd and 64th guards divisions

- 108th Corps with the 46th, 90th and 314th divisions

- 110th Corps with the 168th, 265th and 268th divisions.

The last two corps were initially in reserve. Maj. Gen. N. Simonyak's 30th Guards Corps was an elite formation who acted as the spearhead of the 21st Army offensive.

In eastern Isthmus Gen. A. Cherepanov's 23rd Army had two corps with 6 divisions, 3 tank regiments, 3 assault gun regiments and 36 artillery battalions:

- 115th Corps with the 92nd, 10th and 142nd divisions

- 98th Corps with the 177th, 281st and 372nd divisions

Opposing the Soviet forces in the Isthmus Finnish Army had, in the six divisions and two brigades, some 70 000 men (the number 102 000 I gave in the earlier mail counts _all_ the Finnish military forces in the Isthmus), 100 tanks (all obsolete), 22 assault guns and 289 field guns. They were supported by Lt. Col. Gustaf Magnusson's Aviation Regiment 3 with three fighter squadrons (30 Me 109 G's and 18 Brewster Buffalos).

At the time, a full-strength Finnish (infantry) division had 14 500 men. It had two infantry regiments and one separate infantry battalion. It had also 12 AT-guns, 48 field guns, 24 medium mortars (81 or 82 mm) and 12 heavy mortars (120 mm). When the Continuation War started in 1941, a Finnish division had three infantry regiments, but in early 1942 Finnish Army underwent partial demobilization, and the third regiment was reduced into a separate battalion. The Finnish divisions in the front in the Isthmus in June 1944 were forced, because of the length of the front allotted to them, to have both the regiments in the front-line. Thus they had only one battalion as a local reserve.

A full-strength Finnish (infantry) brigade had 7900 men. It had four infantry battalions, 6 heavy mortars, 12 light and 12 heavy field guns.

All the Finnish units were more or less understrength. On the average, a division had some 10 000 men, and a brigade less than 5000 men. (112 and 113)

GREECE: Germans of the 4.SS-Pol.Pz.Gren.Div. "Polizei", raze the village of Distomo and murder its inhabitants. (Russell Folsom)(210)

BURMA: British carriers Illustrious and Atheling raid Sabong.

CHINA: Five Japanese divisions mass to attack Changsha.

KURILE ISLANDS: A Lockheed PV-1 Ventura of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Thirty Five (VB-135) based at Casco Field, NAS Attu, makes a photographic run over Miyoshino Airfield on central Shimushu Island. The photographs reveal that there are 29 Japanese twin-engined bombers parked on the field. Since US Navy cruisers are enroute to bombard the Kurile Islands, USAAF andUSNbombers attack the airfield to destroy the Japanese aircraft.

PACIFIC OCEAN: As Task Force 58 approaches the Mariana Islands prior to the invasion of Saipan on 15 June, PB4Y-1 Liberators of Bombing Squadron One Hundred Eight (VB-108) and VB-109 based at NAB Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, fly ahead of the task force to intercept and destroy any patrolling Japanese aircraft. These sweeps continue tomorrow and an aircraft from each squadron shoots down a Japanese patrol plane some distance from the fleet. These four-engine planes are used because they are a common sighting and will not arouse Japanese suspicions.

U.S.A.: "I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You)" by Harry James and his Orchestra with vocal by Dick Haymes reaches Number 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the U.S. This song, which debuted on the charts on 15 April 1944, was charted for 28 weeks, was Number 1 for 6 weeks and was ranked Number 5 for the year 1944.

Captain Glenn Millar and his big band are used to attract recruits to the USAAF through the "I Sustain the Wings" weekly radio broadcast. The broadcasts open the week with Captain Miller saying "It's been a big week for our side. Over on the beaches of Normandy our boys have fired the opening guns of the long awaited drive to liberate the world."

CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 439, Truk Atoll was bombed by Seventh Army Air Force Liberators on June 8 (West Longitude Date). No opposition was encountered.

Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed Nauru Island on June 7 and 8 and Ocean Island on June 7. Barracks and gun emplacements were hit. Antiaircraft fire ranged from moderate to intense. Seventh Army Air Force Mitchells bombed Nauru Island on June 8, hitting coastal defence guns and antiaircraft emplacements.

Antiaircraft fire was intense.

A single search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed gun positions at Puluwat Island on June 9.

Mitchell bombers of the Seventh Army Air Force attacked Ponape Island on June 7. Hangars near the seaplane base and shops were hit. Meagre antiaircraft fire was encountered. On June 8 a single Seventh Army Air Force Liberator bombed Ponape.

Dauntless dive bombers and Corsair fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two, and Navy Hellcat fighters bombed and strafed remaining enemy positions in the Marshalls on June 7 and 8. Piers and antiaircraft batteries were bombed. At one objective a large explosion was caused near an antiaircraft emplacement. On June 8 two Corsair fighters were downed by antiaircraft fire near Maloelap. One of the pilots was rescued by a destroyer. A Dauntless dive bomber was shot down near Mille the same day and its pilot rescued by a destroyer. (Denis Peck)

CANADA: HMCS Teme is damaged by escort carrier HMS Tracker, four killed. Teme is towed 200 miles to Cardiff, Wales by HMCS Outremont. AB J. Thompson, who was in the radar cabin at the time of the collision, found himself imprisoned with the door of the cabin jammed. As Tracker under the influence of the swell, chewed into Teme the door of the radar cabin burst open and Thompson landed involuntary on the bridge. L/Sto J. Larusson who was on watch in the diesel generator room was startled to hear the small escape hatch being closed (this is normal procedure when action station is sounded). Larusson felt he would be more comfortable with the hatch opened until he was finished with oiling. He had just opened the hatch when the collision took place and he was literally blown through the opening. OS Ernest Taillon jumped from the bridge at the time of the collision and all he remembers is landing on something soft that felt like sawdust and then being dragged aboard the ship aft. Taillon although wearing heavy sea-boots was equipped with an RCN life jacket and was still practically dry above the waist when rescued. At approximately 0600 on the 10 Jun when we had just commenced the tow, L/Sto A. Rainey RCNVR was taking photographs of the damage from the forecastle. He slipped on the oily deck and went over the side and was eventually fished out from between the two damaged bulkheads of number one boiler room. The supply parties from the forward and aft magazines also had a fairly exciting times. On action stations being sounded all hatches are being closed automatically. Instruction to ratings in magazines being that their means of escape was up the ammunition hoists. To escape in this way some assistance from the ammunition party at the top of the hoist is necessary. This was not forthcoming and the ratings were eventually recovered through the water tight hatches, after it had been ascertained that bulkheads were intact There is also the Petty Officer who could not at normal times, negotiate small escape hatches while wearing an RCN life jacket. Immediately following the collision he made the grade.

Tug HMCS Glencove is launched at Owen Sound Ontario; Frigate HMCS Lauzon is launched at Lauzon Province of Quebec; Fairmile HMCS ML 123 is commissioned.

RAdm Leonard Warren Murray awarded OBE and CBE Awarded OBE: A/Capt Geoffrey Bateman Hope RCN, A/Capt James William Keohane RCN, A/Cdr(E) Charles Murtough O'Leary RCNR, A/LCdr Antony Fenwick Pichard RCNR, Paym/LCdr George Cringle RCNVR, Cdr Frederick Avery Price RCNVR, A/LCdr Angus Hetherington Rankin RCNVR, Surg/Cdr Henry Robertson Ruttan RCNVR, LCdr Laurence James Dover RN, LCdr Isabel Janet MacNeill WRCNS Awarded OBE (Civil): Capt Thomas Campbell Bannermand,CN 'SS Cavalier', Ch(E) Robert Davidson Knox Imperial Oil Co, Capt Anaclet Leblanc CN 'SS Cathcart', Capt Edward Alfred Leblanc CN 'SS Lady Rodney', Capt George Vincent Thomas Imperial Oil "SS Trontolite', Capt Herbert Lawson THOMAS War Emergency Tanker Awarded MBE: Bosn Lawrence Chaney RCN, Cd/Std Leslie Charles Karagianis RCN, Cd/Bosn Charles McDONALD RCN, Lt Gordon Allam RCNR, Mate William James Arsenault RCNR, A/Skr/Lt Herman Baker RCNR, Ch/Skr Claude Kenneth Darrah RCNR, Cd(E) Richard Leslie Richards RCNR, S/Lt Leonard Idiens RCNVR, Cd/Shipt Wilfred Roy Marryat RCNVR.

Awarded MBE (Civil): Ch/Officer Alexander Hendry CN 'SS Colborne',Capt Alphonse Ernest Lavallee Halifax Lighthouse No.15, 2nd(E) Michael Joseph Moyle CN 'SS Lady Nelson, Awarded George Medal: Cdr Owen Connor Robertson RCNR Awarded BEM: CPO Frank Edward EVES RCN, CPO/Sto William Burpee Dodsworth RCN, CPO/ERA John David Pratt RCN, AB Albert Bruce Campbell RCNVR, CPO William Clifton Pickering RCNR, CPO/ERA Peter Christie Allan RCNVR, SBPO Roger Philippe Arsenault RCNVR, COPR Henry Biddle RCNVR, ROP Robert Blaekely RCNVR, LS Allan Boon RCNVR, Sto 1 William Spencer Carson RCNVR, OS Diver 2 Albert Joseph Hanley RCNVR, CPO/Wtr Bruce Sterling Joudrey RCNVR, Ck(S) Allen John Rorberts RCNVR, CPO/Tele Irene Francis Carter WRCNS Awarded BEM (Civil): AB Thomas Mathew De Wolf, Bosn Harold Gates and Carpenter John James Murray both CN 'SS Cornwallis', Carpenter L. Pierce CN 'SS Colborne, Bosn Alexander C. Watson Imperial Oil Co Awarded Mention in Dispatches: PO Robert Marshall RCN, A/LCdr Philip Cabell Evans RCNR, A/ERA 4 Albert Gordon Dryden RCNR, Lt John Alexander Ferguson RCNVR, SPO Gerald Ludvig Haugen RCNVR, Wt(E) Sandon Alexander Karr RCNR, Lt John Glover McQuarrie RCNR, Lt Fred Francis Osborne RCNR, AB Allan Porter RCNR, A/PO Morrill Henry Rodgerson RCNR, AB Henry Snow RCNR, A/LCdr William Roland Stacey RCNR, CPO Douglas Robert Strachan RCNR, SPO Walter Valentine Sweet RCNR, PO John George Alerie RCNVR, A/LCdr Frederick Bancroft Brooks-Hill RCNVR, A/LCdr Victor Browne RCNVR, Lt Freeman Elikins Burrows RCNVR, Lt Sydney William Buxton RCNVR, Lt Gordon Duncan Campbell RCNVR, Lt Donald Davis RCNVR, A/ERA 4 Joseph Keith Fleming RCNVR, Lt(E) William Simpson Gibson RCNVR, Sto 1 Virgil Green RCNVR, Lt Richard Wallace Hart RCNVR, Lt Henry Knox Hill RCNVR, A/LCdr Rendell James Godschal Johnson RCNVR, Lt Archibald Miller Kirkpatrick RCNVR, CPO/Sto(FF) Oliver Philip Munt RCNVR, A/LCdr Frederick Robb Knyvet Naftel RCNVR, A/LS Lloyd Victor North RCNVR, A/LCdr John Barry O'Brein RCNVR, Lt James Leslie Percy RCNVR, ERA 4 John Polischuck RCNVR, Lt James Charles Pratt RCNVR, LS Bruce Simon Scott RCNVR, A/PO/Tel Thomas Shute RCNVR, Lt(SB) Charles Wallace Spinney RCNVR, A/LS Carmen Ernest Stephenson RCNVR, A/LS Reginald Taylor RCNVR Ch/Skr Jean Leon Cloutier RCNR Awarded LS&GC Medal

GERMANY: Hamburg: In a message broadcast by Hamburg radio this evening, Field Marshal Montgomery says that the German people must learn their lesson "once and for all", not only that they have been defeated, but that they were guilty of beginning the war, as they had been guilty in 1914. "If that is not made clear to you and your children," he says, "you may again allow yourselves to be deceived by your rulers and led into another war." Montgomery says that parents should read the message to their children and ensure that they understand it.

Frankfurt: Marshal Zhukov confers the Order of Victory - made of platinum encrusted with rubies and diamonds - on Eisenhower and Montgomery.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Prague: The Czechs, so recently freed from Nazi rule, are becoming increasingly restive over what they see as Russian determination to impose "voluntary Sovietization" on them. The Russians have a stranglehold on the Czech economy and are using it to apply political pressure on the new Czech government. This is backed by the presence of three Russian divisions in the outskirts of the capital. "They are treating us", grumbled one Czech "as if we were bad children in need of political education."

OKINAWA: Heavy fighting continues on the Oruku Peninsula. The Japanese are reduced to an area of only 2,000 square yards.

CANADA: Destroyer HMCS Haida arrives at Halifax for a tropicalization refit; Frigates HMCS Capilano and Sea Cliff arrive at Shelburne and Liverpool Nova Scotia, respectively for a tropicalization refit; Trawler HMCS Cailiff is paid off and returned to RN; Fairmiles HMCS ML 053, ML 055, ML 069 are paid off.