Mingay
History Web Pages (MHWP)
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The War Journal
Of Norman Mingay
1st September 1939 to 11th December 1939 Updated Daily Whenever Possible This journal is reproduced from a hand written journal kindly lent to me by Tracey Mingay, Norman’s grand-daughter. Many thanks to Norman for having written it and Tracey for allowing me to publish the text on the site. The text is copied with all mistakes intact. The odd page will be scanned in for you all to see. I think this is a very moving account of one man’s observations of a monumental event in our history. Enjoy.
SEPTEMBER 1939 Sat. Sept 1st 1939 (Date wrong) Poland Invaded by Germans Cause – Danzig. Warsaw bombed Britain & France order general mobilisation England to stand by Poland Jim called up to Regiment – Royal Armay Ordinance Corps Balloons put up all around London 2. Escaped… Sat Sept 2nd 1939 Jim called to Colchester Barracks to Join Colours Britain tells Hitler to stop war on Poland Issue ultimatum to Germany expiring at 5pm 3rd Warsaw bombed 5 times Radio wavelengths changed to 391 & 449 metres Television stopped Thousand evacuate from London to country. Sunday Sept. 3rd 1939 War Declared on Germany by Britain at 11.0 Chaimberlain broadcast to Nation at 11.15 AM Germany advance into Poland. Poles resisting well. After Chamberalins speech at 11.10 sirens went for Air Raid Warning Rush for trenches. ¾ of an hour before ‘all clear’ signal went.
Monday Sept 4th 1939 Second day of war on Germany. Poles joyful when they learn England is in the fight. Air Raid at 2.40 am – 2 HRS. The Brmen, Germany’s crack liner captured by British warships patrol seas for German ships. 5 German liners seek refuge in Portuguese West Africa – neutral. America- says Roosevelt will stay neutral. Anthenia torpedoed without warning by German submarine. Several passengers killed. Air Raid false alarm. Sept 5th 1939 Tues RAF fight German planes over North Sea. RAF bomb Kiel Canal. British planes fly over Germany + drop 6000,000 leaflets. Flying back they cross Holland – violating the Dutch neutrality, were fire on by Dutch AA guns – no casualties. All cinemas closed. Thousands of balloons in sky. Not a light to be seen in blackout. Road painted with white lines. 320 passengers drowned with the ship Anthenia. Wed. Sept 6th 1939 30 Polish planed bomb Berlin. RAF drop 3,000,000 more leaflets over Ruhr – Germany. French troops start fighting Germans. Making contact between the Rhine + Moselle. The British ship Bosnia sunk by U Boat. Two German ships sunk. Black out all over England. Road casualties doubled. Air Raid 6.40 AM. English plane fired at – 4 rounds – by AA guns. Came over Chigwell. Pilot Killed. Observer wounded. Thur Sept 4th 1939 France attacks Seigfried Line on 100 mile front. Nearly at Saartrucken “Mopping up” of German machine gun nests. Everybody to carry Gas- Mask always. Plane shot down at – Sept 6th – yesterday- High Beach. Believed to have lost way & trying to get to North Weald Friday Sept 8th 1939 4 U Boats shell British ship “Manaar” until she sank. Black out time 7.31 pm. Cinemas in Neutral areas to reopen. Another 3,500,000 leaflets dropped over Germany. Thetis salvaged. Bodies of 99 victims being taken out. Food shortage in Seigfreid Line German troops being take from Polish front to meet French troopson Western Front. French well into German territory. German troops only 56 miles from Warsaw. Poles blow up bridges as they retreat. Poles say Nazis lose 35 planes. Saturday Sept 9th 1939 All German ships on high seas put into neutral ports. German push on to Warsaw. Further evacuation of children. Seigfreid line under heavy fire from French. English warplanes fly over Germany taking photographs. British troops move up to Germany’s Western Front. Sunday 10th 1939
USA stays neutral. Monday Sept 11th 1939 French start bayonet charging across Mersig-Moselle River sector. RAF bomb German Troops behind Seigfreid line. Frencj long range guns continually bombard German territory. – roads – Railways. More British ships sunk by U boats:- Magdapur (8640) 20 Lascurs drown. Goodwood 2726 tons. Rio Clara, Regent Tiger. Dutch lay mine field on their coast. Dozens of Indian Princes put at the governments disposal their whole estates.Germans advance on Warsaw halted. Wrote Marcelle. Pool petrol starts 1/6 a gallon Tuesday Sept 12th 1939 Warsaw bombed continually. Czechs compelled to fight against Poland Desert & escape to Hungary 6,000 got over the border. Penalty of death to any German seen reading one of the leaflets dropped by the RAF planes. Germans being driven back. Seigfreid line breaking under strain. British steamer “Inverliffey sunk by U boat. 54 German ships blockaded by English boats at Vigo – Spain. Germany make no headway on to Warsaw now. British Troops not yet in action in France. Wednesday Sept 12th 1939 On August 30th the German Liner Bremen left New York to go to Hamburg but has not arrived. Poles hitting back. Hitler orders bombing of open towns & villages. The "Leader is angered by the resistence of the local people" French reach Seigfreid Line 2000 more Slovaks desert German army into Hungary. 6 German Officers & 20 men desert to Belgium. One officer says "If you put a bridge across the Rhine, thousands of my comrades will do the same." British troops received like brothers by French. Poles recapture lost Ground. Navy officer admits heavy losses. Thursday September 14th 1939 Saarbrucken encircled by French troops. British troops in action. Poland routs Germay at Kutno - 1,000 prisoners. Hitler says "bomb open towns & villages" Hitler goes to Polish front. Radio programmes nearly back to normal. Cinemas to open tomorrow. Air Raid warning at Southend. German planes believed to have come over Channel, (not official). Petrol to be rationed on Sat. Germans drop behind Polish lines to affect sabotage. Ten year old Polish shepherdess saw some land was brutally murdered. England blockading Germany by stopping Nazi ships. Friday September 15th 1939 Petrol was to be rationed from 12.0 tonight but 9.0 news gave us another week. Terrific sales asolutely sold out. Jim comes home. Thinks he is going to France or Egypt. Wed. French Advance into Germany. Towards Saarbrucker. Towns near S. Line evacuate. Hitler orders "Destroy Everything"- headlines. Polish Town bombed to pieces. Polish gunners inflict heavy losses to German warplanes. Nazis bomb a childrens Hospital in Warsaw killing 60. Weekly ration of meat in Germany is 14 ounces per week per person. No restrictions of meat in Britain yet. Germany distributes propaganda cutting in on Toulouse wavelength 385 m Siedice - Poland - destroyed completely. Jubin is also on fire. Saturday Sept 16th 1939 7 balloons caught fire in storm yesterday. Jim came to tea today. German troops retreat from the Saar. Artillery and troops move back. French have cut off Saarbrucker & taken control of one third of the State of Saar. Russia is massing her troops along Polish + Russian border. Fear of Russia joining Germany in overunning Poland. Poles fighting a great fight. Germans drop 300 bombs on Vilna. Poles retaliated by wiping out Posnania a German Air Base destroying 30 planes. Another oil tanker- "Cheyenne" sunk. Altogether 21 British ships sunk since war declared. Several submarines belonging to Germany have been sunk by "depth charges". Bulgaria & Rumania & Hungary stay 'neutral'. The Belgian Steamer "Alex Van Opstal" was sunk last night by navy mines of the "Shambles Lightship" near Weymouth Sunday Sept 17th 1939 Russia invading Poland. Stalin's excuse is to protect all White Russians in Poland. They are not "assisting Germany, but are moving to aggrandise the Soviet Union". Poles are are praying for rainy season so that . as Polish roads are bad, the Nazis cannot adnvence so quickly. Germany is rushinf 100,000 "Shock Troops" to Western Front. They are retreating to new positions after they counter-attacked the French " big-push" a few hours before. Sole credit of French success is due to General Gamelin. Nazis are destroying all railways as they retreat. When Germans attacked last night they adopted their famous 'massed formation assault' - Infantry n 3 solid waves behind tanks that were almost wheel to wheel. 5 British RAF officers were shot down over. Dutch border while taking part in a leaflet raid over Germany. Jim reported for duty at 8 AM this morning after24 hours leave. Since war declared 21 British ships have been sunk by U boats. Totalling 122,843 tons. U- boat commanders most courteous. Crew of "Cheyenne" states that 'the commander if they had any supplies of tobacco on board'. He stood by while they took to their boats + then set fire & sank their ship with shells. He then towed them into the Irish coast until a rescue ship arrived. He waved goodbye & then submerged. Sunday Sept 18th 1939 (Should be Monday) HMS 'Courageous@ a British Aircraft carrier was sunk by a U boat today. the U boat was attacked and the Admiralty believe it was sunk. The aircraft carrier was built in 1915 having a tonnage of 22,000, 20 planes were aboard her. The complement of the ship was 1216 including 468 RAF personnel. German Polish War nearly fininshed. Germans have overun 2 thirds of Poland & Russia is running over the remainder, Poles still putting up a good fight, resisting 2 great armies. French planes are "sweeping the German airforce from the skies". Poland has shot down 280 German planes. French declare that a 'Big push' ont he Western Front is near. September 19th Tuesday 1939 681 men were saved from HMS 'Couregeous' which was sunk yesterday, but 579 are still unaccounted for. This was the first big loss the navy has suffered since war declared. No change of positions on the Western Front, in the last 48 hours is reported. A German attack on the French lines was repelled successfully. Despite the relentless drive of the armies of Germany and Russia, Polish troops are still resisting their powerful invaders. Warsaw is 'defending itself to the last.' Soviet forces are advancing on Lemberg & Vilna. Germans are to the Hyura & Vistula rivers. Czecks have revolted in the Skoda works, an arms factory at Pilsen. Hundres are being arrested & execution taking place. Reg has taken a job at an armament factoryat Enfield. He starts tomorrow. Wednesday Septmber 20th 1939 Germany is attacking Poland's trapped armies, "Destroying them everywhere" German High Command say's, "One of the greatest battles of extermination of all time is going on near Kutno. German lines run from Vilna to Kabrin to Brody & Zalesyczyki. Russia is blockading the the Esthonian coast. The night was very quiet on the Western Front. Mysterious activities are reported in Aachen on the German Belgian frontier. It seems that both the Soviet and the Nazis are racing to get hold of Poland's airfields first. Reg started work at Enfield to-day, but after 2 hrs he returned home. He didn't belong to a trade union. Thursday September 21st 1939 A revolution broke out in Czech-Slvokia yesterday. The Slovaks have seized any weapons available to fight their German 'master'. Thousands have been arrested & hundreds executed. Riots have taken place in Bohemia and Moravia. Women taken board studded with nails to fight the German troops. The Slovak chief, Sidar, has headed a small army which is conducting a war against the Reich. His headquarters is in the hills in the Upper Tetra district in Northern Slovakia. The British ship 'Kensington Cout' was torpedoed in the Atlantic. Seaplanes rescued the whole crew. The Polish armies are still resisting the Nazis in Warsaw, Modlin, Gora Kalvarja and on the Hela peninsula. Several hubdres planes are being assembled on the German - Dutch frontier by Nazis Friday September 22nd 1939 M. Armand Calenescu, Premier & Strong Man of Rumania, was assassinated yesterday as he drove to see King Carol at the Royal Palace in Bucarest. His assassins were mebers of the Iron Guard, the Rumanian Nazi arganisation. After shooting Calinescu, the men raced to Bucarest radio station in cars, shot the door keeper & broadcast to the nation saying, "A succesful attemp has been made on the life of the Prime Minister." All six were arrested. Present calm indicates that intense action will take place on the Western Front in the near future. Note: absence of IRA outrages. Mines have been laid off the North East Coast. Bread is 1/2d dearer. Saturday September 23rd 1939 Russia has got two-thirds of Poland as her own. Stalin has all the Ukraine oil & wheatfields. Soviet frontier now runs from Modlin through Warsaw then down to the river San to Sanock near Lupkow. HMS Kittihawk was mined off the east coast today, but did not sink. She is now in port for repairs. Finnish boat sunk by Nazi U boat. She was bringing a cargo to England. All quiet on the Western Front. Sunday September 24th 1939 Germany have in Poland lost 1,000 warplanes according to a French Military Mission in Poland. Of these 600 were shot down & the remainder having been forced down. They also state that 150,000 Germans have been killled or wounded, & between 600 & 700 German pilots killed. Jim is going overseas tomorrow. He doesn't know yet where. During last week 13 British ships were sunk. 5 of the crew of HMS Kittihawk, are dead. British freighter Akenside was sunk today off the Norwegian Coast.- U-boat. HMS Royal Sceptrewas also sunk by U boats 300 miles west of Ushant. Monday September 25th 1939 Warsaw has been shelled & bombed constantly for 48 hours. Not a building in the city is left intact. 100 fires have have been started by the shells. Several thousand civilians are killed. Germans claim Warsaw will fall in next 24 HRS. Poles "defending Warsaw to the last". It is 15 days since German troops reached Warsaw. There have been slight skermishes on the Western Front. France reconnaissance planes take valuable photographs of enemy lines. They meet no resistance by German planes now. Tuesday September 26th 1939 Warsaw still defies the Nazis. Polish women are taking part in front line fighting. Poles have repulsed attacks on the suburb on Praga. RAF planes carried out a successful reconnaissance over the Western Front & North West Germany. Attacks by enemy fighters have been driven off, and all planes returned safely. Germans claimed 5 French planes have been brought down by anti-aircraft fire. Hitler landed at a field aerodrome near the Polish Capital today. "German troops met their Supreme Commander with resounding enthusiasm". A false air Raid warning was sounded in the Medway towns due to faulty wiring. Wednesday September 27th 1939 According to a German communique, Warsaw has offered today to surrender. They have endured the most brutal bombing campaigns ever known even in totalitarian warfare. Ribbentrop has gone to Russia "to discuss Political matters relating to Poland." The Germans Hope to persuade the Turks to break off their agreement with Britain. Saarbrucken is now evacuated by Germans. French have passed the town on both sides. Germans have a new type of air defence. They are balloons electrically wired so that they can be exploded from the ground. Jim has not gone abroad, he is at Oxford. Thursday September 28th 1939 Waesaw surrenders to Nazis. The city is ravaged by fire. 20,000 civilians are killed + 16,000 soldiers in the 48 hrs bombardment by the Germans. Modlin has also surrendered. Russians are occupying Poland up to the demarcation line. Estonia surrendered to the demands of Soviet Russia for port and air rights of approach to the Baltic through their coast. They also have the right to station 25,000 troops there for the 'duration'. French are making slow progress. Big guns are hammering at the Siegfried Line. Friday September 29th 1939 Germany & Russia have made an agreement for the complete abolition of Poland. Poland is wiped right off the face of the map. Hitler & Stalin are now asking Britain & France to stop the war. If the Allies refuse, then Berlin & Moscow, will consult on "NECESSARY MEASURES". Estonia becomes a Soviet 'vassel' State. Next step? Russia wants veiled control of Latvia. All quiet on the Western Front. Several Nazis planes have been shot down by the RAF over German territory. French advancing towards Siegfried line. As the Nazis retreat they mine the territory. At one point French soldiers drove a flock of sheep before them, so that they set off the mines first. Jim is stationed at Newport, Mon. Wales. He says there are thousands of Tommies camped there. Saturday Sept 30th 1939 Both British & French Government reflect the "Peace", offer issues by Stalin & Hitler, with the contempt it deserves.. British planes made a raid on the ships of the German Fleet in the Heligoland Bight. Some of the planes have not returned. French move on to Saarbrucken on 3 sides. Germans evacuate 50 villages & French troops occupy them. Heavy fighting is going on in this sector.
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