30th May
Belgium
After dark the Royal Navy intervenes with the German effort to move more supplies and equipment to the Terneuzen bridghead. The initial attacks are from the destroyers HMS Basilisk and HMS Grafton, who find three small ships in the estuary, leaving all three sinking. They were joined by the destroyers HMS Grenade and HMS Havant, who were escorting the monitor HMS Erebus. While the 4" guns of the lighter ships engaged any craft they found, and caused serious damage to the unloading being carried out at Terneuzen, the 15" shells of the monitor were first aimed at the heavy guns emplaced to stop this sort of attack.
The German artillery had been intended to shell ships during daylight, and were not well suited to night work, especially as this was the first time they had actually tried to engage a moving target. The attempts to hit the fast-moving destroyers proved futile, although two 155mm shells did hit the Erebus. The monitor had been designed for coastal bombardment, and the two shells did little to affect her operation. The only real problem for the ship was identifying targets, it was becoming obvious that shore bombardment was very dependent on target spotting and fire correction. Still, a 15" shell allows some margin of error, and some hours later the job of ferrying supplies over would have to be started from scratch.
The ships left at around midnight, the destroyers escorting the slow monitor, wary of e-boat and submarine attacks. The urgent telephone conversations between the artillery and their Luftwaffe liaison during the night did lead to an attack soon after daw, by two squadrons of Stukas escorted by Me109's. This had been anticipated, moving at 11knots the old monitor was no destroyer, and by dawn the small convoy was under cover of RAF Spitfires. When the Luftwaffe finally found the ships - navigation over water was still not a speciality of the dive bomber squadrons - the escort broke up the attack, shooting down four Stukas and two Me109's for the loss of three Spitfires. The disruption to the dive-bombing runs meant that no hits were scored, even on HMS Erebus, although the old monitor was shaken by a number of near misses.
The naval action had helped the situation around the bridgehead for the Allied retreat. While little damage had been done to the men on the ground, the damage caused to the supply meant that earlier plans to push south and cut of the French divions pulling back were shelved. In retrospect this was probably a good thing for the Germans, as one of 1st Armoured's tank regiments and a battalion of armoured infantry were being held to counterattack such at attack. As it was, the French continued to fall back to the new river line in as reasonable an order as could be expected under the circumstances.
Atlantic
Like the French, the British too want to get the gold needed for American purchases safe in Canada. Operation Fish involves the battleship HMS Revenge, troop transport HMS Antonia, and troop transport HMS Duchess of Richmond which carry £40 million, £10 million, and £10 million in gold, respectively. The ships departed from Britain bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. The gold was destined for the vaults of the Bank of Canada in Ottowa for safe keeping.
America
Roosevelt asks Congress for considerable funds to strengthen the US Armed forces.(OTL the Two-Ocean navy act, signed 20/7). There has been considerable discussion on how much should be asked for. The initial proposals had been for a relatively modest increase in funding, to allow for a more modernised navy and Army Air Force. This was seen as necessary, both to replace overage ships and to allow for a stronger posture in the Pacific, as it was obvious the Royal Navy and MN would be preoccupied in the Atlantic and European waters.
The nearly-successful panzer thrust into France, and the obvious use of armour by both sides, as led to an additional request to modernise and strengthen the Army. In particular, an Armoured division is being considered. It has been pointed out that Japan is making considerable use of tanks in China, and America needs such a division, if only to develop tactics for the use of armour and the industrial capability to build more tanks if needed. France has been negotiating for some time to get tanks built in the USA, and there have been problems getting this arrangement started. The current proposal is to build or take over a factory to build the S-40 and the latest version of the Char B, with first deliveries taking place next spring. This is now seen as a helpful step in getting domestic tank production established in the USA, and the Administration is now pushing to expedite the factory.
The naval part of the new program will expand upon the 1938 Naval Act, which had been intended to increase the strength of the navy by around 20%. However this had been with the assumption that the Royal Navy and the MN would have forces in the Pacific area. The new bill intends to effectively increase the US Navy by an additional 20%; in fact the building program would actually increase the strength by closer to 30%, but it allows for older and obsolete vessels to be put into reserve or scrapped.
The Bill asks for four more battleships (one more of the Iowa class, and the first three of the Montana class), three more aircraft carriers (the third to be of a new, larger type), eight new cruisers as well as two 'large cruisers' of the Alaska class, 50 destroyers and 15 submarines. Aviation is also a beneficiary; the bill allows for 6,000 more aircraft for the Navy and the Army Air Corps. Additional funds are requested for new facilities, ordnance factories and supplies for all three services. Finally funding is requested to form an Armoured division, although first the tanks for it have to be designed and built.
The initial idea of the Administration had been to ask for a considerably larger approriation, to allow America to defend itself in the situation the Royal Navy or MN were no longer able to act, or, even worse, been taken over by a hostile power. However as the current situation in France is seen as serious, rather than critical, Roosevelt has been told that a massive appropriation is unlikely to get enough support to pass, and it would be better to be more restrained now. If the situation in Europe deteriorates, a supplementary Bill can be passed. To some extent it is an academic argument, as the time needed to get the ships ordered actually out to sea, and the other equipment built and men trained in it will occupy some years - a larger request could only be met with a resultant serious effect on some civilian sectors of the economy, and the world situation is not yet sufficiently serious to make this acceptable.
