CHRONOLGY OF MAIN
1940 General Mediterranean Sea June 11 Italy enters the war
22 Franco-German armistice
24 Franco-Italian armistice
28 His Majesty's Government
recognises General de
Gaulle
23 Admiral Somerville's
Force H begins to
assemble at GibraltarJuly 1 Rumania denounces Anglo-
French guarantee
Battle of Britain begins3 Action against French
warships at Oran
4 French ships at
Alexandria demilitarized
9 Fleet action off Calabria
19 Action off Cape Spada
August 26 French Equatorial Africa
declares for de Gaulle
30 Second 'Vienna Award'
announced
1 H.M.S. Argus flies
Hurricanes to MaltaSeptember 23/25 General de Gaulle's
unsuccesful expedition
to Dakar
27 Germany, Italy and Japan
sign a ten-year Pact
5 Naval reinforcements
including H.M.S. Illustrious
reach AlexandriaOctober 23 Meeting between Hitler
and Franco
November 4 Spain assumes control of
Tangier11 Fleet Air Arm's attack at
Taranto
17 H.M.S. Argus flies
Hurricanes to Malta
27 Action off Cape Spartivento,
Sardinia
December Several changes in Italian
High Command
11 Hitler's plans to capture
Gibraltar cancelled
18 Hitler issues directive for
invasion of Russia
--452--
EVENTS FROM JUNE 1940
Egypt and the desert Red Sea and East Africa Balkans Frontier action Success against Italian
submarines
Frontier operations:
Sudan: 4 Loss of Kassala
and Gallabat
Kenya: 15 Loss of Moyale
Khartoum: 3 Emporer Haile
Selassie arrives
from England
5 General Legentilhomme
leaves Jibuti
5-19 Loss of British
Somaliland
Sudan: 12 Sandford's Mis-
sion enters Ethiopia15 Loss of Greek cruiser
Helle13/18 Italian advance,
into Egypt
20 First aircraft leave
for Egypt along the
Takoradi reinforce-
ment route  16 Mr Eden's three-
weeks tour beginsGerman troops enter
Rumania
28 Italians invade Greece
29 British advanced
parties reach CreteSudan: 6/9 Action at
Gallabat4 Royal Air Force begin
to operate in Greece
8 Italian offensive
collapses
18 Greek counter-stroke
begins; British Liasion
Mission to Turkey9 First British offen-
sive begins
16 Capture of SollumKenya: 16 Raid on El Wak --453--
CHRONOLGY OF MAIN
1941 General Mediterranean Sea January 10 Lend-Lease Bill before
Congress
11 First attack by the
Luftwaffe from Sicily
12/23 H.M.S. Illustrious at
Malta
February 12 Mr. Eden and General Dill
leave England for the
Middle East9 Bombardment of Genoa
17 Attempted landing on
Kaso
25 Landing on Castelorizo
March 1 Bulgaria joins the Axis
11 Lend-Lease Act signed
by President Roosevelt
27 Yugoslav coup d'état
28 Battle of Matapan
April 3 Coup d'état in Iraq
21 Bombardment of Tripoli May 2 Iraq forces attack
HabbaniyaSuccessful passage of
'TIGER' convoy
Thick line denotes end of the present volume.
--454--
EVENTS FROM JUNE 1940 (contd.)
Egypt and the desert Red Sea and East Africa Balkans 4 Capture of Bardia
11 Long Range
Desert Group raids
Murzuk
22 Capture of Tobruk
29 Aerial mining of
the Suez Canal
beginsBritish offensive begins:
Sudan: 19 Capture of
Kassala
Kenya: Capture of
18 Mega and
22 Moyale
13 British offer of troops to
Greece declined
29 Death of General
Metaxas
31 Mr. Churchill's appeal
to the Turkish President
6 Capture of Benghazi
5/7 Battle of Beda
Fomm
12 General Rommel
arrives at TripoliSudan: Actions at
1 Agordat and
2 Barentu
3 Battle of Keren
begins
23 Emperor enters
Kenya: 19 Crossing of
River Juba
Capture of
14 Kismayu and
25 Mogadishu
22 The Eden Mission in
Athens;
26 Ankara
 1 Capture of Kufra
by the Free French27 Capture of Keren 2 The Eden Mission in
returns to Athens30 Axis offensive
begins5 Sailing of the British
forces for Greece begins9/16 Italian offensive in
Albania10 Tobruk cut off and
besiegedCapture of
1 Asmara
8 Massawa and
5 Addis Ababa
11 Red Sea opened to
United States shipping6 Germans invade Greece
23 Greek Government goes
to Crete
27 Germans enter AthensFighting at Sollum
and Halfaya16 Duke of Aosta
surenders at Amba
Alagi20 Germans invade Crete --455--
Contents
Chapter XXIII * Appendix I