All times in UTC ·
Dashed edge = started before, or continues beyond, this day
Events on Monday 16 September 1940 2
1940Italian invasion of EgyptItaly advances from Libya into EgyptOn 13 September the Italian Tenth Army crossed from Libya into Egypt and advanced about 100 km to Sidi Barrani, where it stopped and dug in. The offensive opened the Western Desert campaign. British forces counter-attacked in December.
1940Selective Training and Service ActThe first US peacetime draftOn 16 September Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first peacetime conscription law in American history. Men aged 21 to 35 had to register for military service. More than 16 million men registered on the first registration day in October.