13-Sep-39: Germans Excuse the Bombing of Civilians in Poland; Battle of Bzura Rages; French Reshuffle Cabinet; French Cruiser Sinks at Casablanca
Today is 13-Sept-1939. It is the 13th day of the war; there are 2,180 days left in the war.
United States Ambassador to Poland Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. announces that German Luftwaffe bombers are intentionally bombing the civilian population of Warsaw. He says the Luftwaffe “are releasing bombs they carry even when they are in no doubt as to the identity of their objectives.”
In response, the German Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, (OKW), the High Command of the Wehrmact, responds to the charge by claiming that Polish civilians have involved themselves in the fighting; the Germans are therefore defending themselves.
In invasion news, the Battle of Bzura rages for a second day of heavy fighting, but the Poles are already losing ground. Meanwhile, a small German infantry force begins to cross the Vistula River just south of Warsaw.
A first wartime shakeup of the French government begins in Paris. Prime Minister Edouard Daladier creates a War Cabinet in which he is responsible for foreign affairs and retains the portfolios of war and national defense. Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet reassigned to be Minister of Justice. Raoul Dautry is appointed Minister of Armaments and Georges Pernot is appointed Minister of Blockade; both of these latter positions are new portfolios concerned with national defense during the war. The shuffling is seen as an effort by Prime Minister Daladier to create a war cabinet that will enable France to put aside intractable internal differences, thus freeing the country to fight the war in a spirit of national unity.
Bad news comes for the French Navy in Casablanca, Morocco, as the French cruiser La Tour d’Auvergne (formerly the Platonic) is destroyed in an accidental explosion.
The cruiser had been ordered to lay a defensive minefield in the waters outside of Casablanca. At the last minute, however, the order is cancelled and the ship is ordered to offload the mines back on the Casablanca docks. During the unloading, one of the mines explodes, destroying the ship and killing 186 sailors and bystanders. 37 of the ship’s crew and 47 persons on the dock are injured; significant damage is caused in the area by flying debris.