25 Jun 1940

Argentina
  • Destroyer USS O'Brien departed Buenos Aires, Argentina for Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil. ww2dbase [O'Brien | Buenos Aires | CPC]
Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-51 attacked Allied convoy OA-172 about 370 miles west of Land's End in southwestern England between 1545 and 1930 hours, sinking British steamer Windsorwood (all 40 survived) and British tanker Saranac (4 killed, 39 survived). ww2dbase [U-51 | CPC]
  • HMS Snapper (N 39) (Lieutenant W. D. A. King, DSO, RN) torpedoed and sank the 286-ton German armed trawler V 110 south of Stavanger, Norway. The 2,515-ton German merchant Robert Sauber (built 1910) was hit by a dud torpedo and was lightly damaged. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | North Sea | HM]
  • The 3,828-ton Norwegian cargo ship Crux, built in 1923 and owned at the time of her loss by Bergenske Dampskibsselskab A/B, on voyage from Cardiff in Britain to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine UA in the Atlantic Ocean. ww2dbase [UA | Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | HM]
  • German submarine U-51 hit 12,049-ton British steam tanker Saranac in Allied convoy OA-172 with one torpedo about 270 miles west-southwest of Lands End at the southwestern tip of Britain at 1551 hours. The ships' crew immediately abandoned the ship. At 1737 hours, the submarine surfaced and failed to sink the tanker by gunfire. At 1915 hours, another torpedo was fired, finally sinking Saranac. Four crew members were lost in this sinking. 31 survivors, including the master Vernon Horace Alcock, were picked up by British destroyer HMS Hurricane (H 06) commanded by Lieutenant Commander H. C. Simms, RN and landed at Plymouth in southern Britain. 9 survivors were picked up by British trawler Caliph and landed at Berehaven, County Cork, Ireland. ww2dbase [U-51 | Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | HM]
France
  • The Franco-German Armistice, signed on 22 Jun, took effect at 0030 hours. After fighting ceased, French losses totaled 92,000 killed, 250,000 wounded, and 1,500,000 captured. British losses were 68,111 killed, wounded, or captured. German losses were 29,640 killed and 133,573 wounded and missing. Italian losses were 631 killed, 4,782 wounded, and 616 missing. France declared a National day of mourning, while Hitler ordered the flying of flags and pealing of bells in Germany to celebrate "the most glorious victory of all time". ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Franco-German Armistice | CPC]
  • After the Germans made the French surrender at Compiègne, France, the site of the German surrender in 1918, Adolf Hitler ordered the site destroyed, including the rail car used for both 1918 and 1940 surrenders. The statue of Marshal Ferdinand Foch was spared. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Adolf Hitler | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | CPC]
  • Canadian destroyers HMCS Fraser and HMCS Restigouche and British cruiser HMS Calcutta were sent to evacuate 4,000 Allied troops near Bordeaux, France. En route, in rough seas and poor visibility, HMCS Fraser collided with HMS Calcutta about 25 kilometers northwest of the mouth of the Gironde Estuary, off of the coast of the Poitou-Charentes region. The smaller Canadian destroyer broke into three pieces and sank. 47 of Fraser's crew and 19 of Calcutta's crew were killed. ww2dbase [Poitou-Charentes | CPC]
  • Philippe Pétain announced a new order for France on Radio Bordeaux Sud-Ouest. A period of difficulty would arrive but a intellectually and morally rejuvenated France would rise. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Philippe Pétain | CPC]
  • By this date, the French Army had taken delivery of 480 to 490 37L tracked carriers. ww2dbase [37L | CPC]
French West Africa
  • Pierre François Boisson was named the Governor-General of French West Africa. ww2dbase [Dakar, Senegal | CPC]
Germany Ireland
  • British Minister of Health Malcolm MacDonald returned to Dublin, Ireland with a proposal from Winston Churchill for a joint union between Eire and Ulster to afford sanctruary for British troops and Irish ports for Royal Navy use. ww2dbase [Dublin | AC]
Spain
  • Working together with the Germans, the government of Spain agreed to assist with the German attempt to detain the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom. ww2dbase [CPC]
United Kingdom
  • Lord Gort departed Britain by flying boat for Rabat, French Morocco to speak with French ministers; political situations would prevent him from successfully meeting with the French. ww2dbase [John Vereker | CPC]
  • British steam merchant Port Hobart landed the survivors of Norwegian steam merchant ship Randsfjord, torpedoed by German submarine U-30 three days prior, at Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. Three of the survivors were admitted to hospital. ww2dbase [Glasgow, Scotland | HM]
United States
  • An act by the United States Congress abolished the US Navy Construction Corps. ww2dbase [CPC]
  • Isolationist advertising appeared in the American newspaper New York Times; Germany secretly funded this advertising. ww2dbase [CPC]
Photo(s) dated 25 Jun 1940
Map detailing the German and Italian advances in France, 13-25 Jun 1940Damaged dock facilities and sunken tug boat at Brest, France, Jun 1940

25 Jun 1940 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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