5th June
Atlantic
British troops had been occupying Iceland since the 10th May in order to make sure the island wasn't taken over by the Germans. This had required additional troops, and given the urgent need for these men in Norway and France, some way of reducing the burden on Britain, while making sure the country is protected from Germany, is needed.
Secret talks have been going on with the USA, aimed at the Americans taking over the protection duties, and as a result President Roosevelt has ordered the US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Stark to prepare a US Marine Corps brigade for future deployment to Iceland. It is hoped that the occupation by a neutral power will reduce the tension as well as keeping the island safe. From the British point of view, they currently have no real need for Iceland except to make sure that the Germans don't take the island over, all they want is an airfield and a refuelling station.
France
As part of the reorganisation of the command of the Army, French Prime Minister Reynaud appoints Colonel de Gaulle as the Undersecretary of State for War. While this is to a considerable extent due to political reasons, General Billotte is prepared to accept him in this role. While he has considerable reservations about deGaulle - not least his opinion of his political connections - he feels he will do reasonably well in the role, and at least be keen on pushing the improvements the Army wants to build up strength to push the Germans out of France and Belgium.
Werner Mölders was shot down by French pilot René Pomier-Layrargues near Mons in France. Fortunately he bailed out safely, but was captured by the French police. In view of the recent German propaganda of his medal award, the action receives considerable space in the Allied newspapers. He would later be sent to Canada where he would spend his time chopping trees rather than flying aeroplanes.
6th June
Norway
The Allied advance continues to progress well. The opposition is mainly nuisance delaying actions by relatively small units while positions are prepared further south. The Allies outnumber the German troops, the bulk of whom are in the south of the country, and are hampered by the poor transport links further north. The German plan is to fall back to a line north of Krokstrdra, where the terrain will limit the use of tanks. This would also allow the men to be resupplied by sea, if the Kriegsmarine can get some small ships and trawlers into Mo-i-rana.
When asked, the Kriegsmarine is unusually positive as to the resupply request. A group of small ships is being assembled at Trondheim, and it should be possible to start a convoy off the next morning, under Luftwaffe protection. The main problem will be drawing off the heavy covering force in the Norwegian sea - while air reconnaissance is patchy, there seem to be at least three groups in the area, including some heavy ships (although the number of battleships reported is considered to be exaggerated by the fliers). The ships marked for Operation Juno will set sail from Kiel tonight, and then move to draw off the Allied ships and give the resupply convoy safe passage.
Unknown to the Kriegsmarine is that the Allies are also intending to run a convoy into Mo-i-rana, this time ferrying in a French Alpine battalion as well as a battalion of Polish troops, to occupy the town and threaten the German supply lines. This will be escorted by a force of cruisers and destroyers, with a heavy escort group held further north. As the land advance is going well, the plan is to start the ships off from Narvik on the evening of the 7th, allowing a landing soon after dawn. This is to try and reduce the chance of the Luftwaffe being able to respond before the men are ashore.
North Sea
Captain Cruchley took a look through his binoculars at the horizon, which remained empty of ships. For a change, the weather in the North Sea was rather pleasant, although not up to the standards of the Mediterranean. The ship had barely enjoyed the sunny skies there before being recalled to Scapa. It seemed that the original reason for her journey to the Mediterranean, a worry that Italy might join the war, had receded. The secret briefing notes he'd been given indicated that as Italy hadn't intervened when things had looked bleak at Sedan, they wouldn't, and since then they seemed to have adopted a rather less belligerent attitude. The decision to hold on in North Norway meant that the fleet in the Norwegian Sea needed more heavy ships, and as Warspite was familiar with the ares, she had been chosen. It had annoyed Admiral Cunningham that he would need to move his flag from his recently-acquired flagship , but he would have to make do.
The decision to rearrange the ships in the Mediterranean had been decided after consultation with the French, who had a considerable force there themselves. As Italy was, at the moment, not seen as an immediate danger, the decision had been taken to divide up the responsibility for the area. The Mediterranean fleet, based at Alexandria, would look after the eastern part. This allowed them to cover the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, one of their traditional roles.The French fleet, based in Toulon, would be in charge of the western area. Force H was to retain its main role of intercepting surface raiders, but would be available if needed, either to back up the French or to move north.
Of course, things were a lot more complicated than just assigning ships to fleets, the main problem being that while the two navies had some experience in operating in tandem, they had a lot of differences in all sorts of areas, even things as basic as communications. The decision had been made at a high level that this would be improved, but Crutchely didn't see that happening soon.
In addition to Warspite, the French had sent along a light force. After escorting the British ship to Rosyth, they would remain in the Norwegian Sea as the French contribution to the naval force supporting the Allied army in Norway. As the British would now be looking after the Eastern Mediterranean, the French had sent along the heavy cruisers DuQuesne and Suffren, as well as three destroyers - Le Fortune, Basque and Forbin, as they were seen as not being needed in Beirut. They would refuel at Rosyth then join the units off Norway. The French ships would be under the command of Vice Admiral Godfroy, who when he had finished his discussions with the Admiralty would be in command of the French units, however during this transit run Captain Crutchley would be in command.
Crutchley scanned the horizon again, then took a look at the French ships escorting him. While smart-looking, he wondered how long their light Mediterranean paint job would last in the rather less hospitable seas off Norway. Still , they had shown efficiency and skill in the few practice manoeuvres they'd done on passage, so he thought that once they'd got used to the area it would all work out. And it wouldn't hurt to emphasise the solidarity between the two nations. For himself, he was looking forward to getting back into action. After his ship's earlier endeavours at Narvik, training in the Mediterranean had seemed a bit of a letdown. They would be in Rosyth this evening to refuel, and then he would find out just what Warspite would be asked to do.