Saturday 13 January 1940

Soviet submarine ShCh-324.

Mechelen Incident: Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen broadcasts at 22:30 on 13 January 1940 an immediate recall of all 80,000 Belgian troops on leave. He also orders barriers between France and Belgium removed. Bergen has convinced himself that the attack will occur on 14 January. He risks displeasure for these dramatic acts because he has acted entirely on his own initiative, without requesting permission from the Crown, which takes a very active role in public affairs. Holland declares a "state of readiness."

The Germans in fact have been considering moving the attack date forward from the 17th, as contemplated in the lost plans, to the 14th. This is because that would give the Allies less time to shift their own forces to meet the attack. However, somewhat perversely, because the Belgians have temporarily convinced the German high command that they did not have the plans, the issue is not a priority. Before talking to Hitler, General Jodl postpones the date tentatively to the 15th or 16th, depending on further news. When everybody sits down to hash it out, Hitler ultimately intervenes and definitively postpones the attack until 20 January, supposedly due to the weather. By now, though, in light of the frantic Allied military moves, it should be clear that the Allies know all about the plan.

Winter War Army Operations: At Sallaa, the Soviet 9th Army orders the 122nd Division to retreat to the Märkäjärvi village. This helps the two prongs of the Soviet effort, on the north and south forks of the road, to form a tighter overall perimeter.

Winter War Air Operations: The Soviets bomb Helsinki, Turku, and nearby towns.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet submarine ShCh-324 surfaces within a convoy in the Sea of Åland, then it fires a torpedo, and misses. Finnish naval escort Aura II, which previously had been the Presidential yacht, damages ShCh-324 with depth charges. However, one of the depth charges explodes on the ship, utterly destroying it. There are 15 survivors and 26 perish. ShCh-324 escapes.

Western Front: There is artillery fire west of the Vosges Forest and east of the Moselle.

European Air Operations: The RAF conducts extensive surveillance over the Reich. It also drops propaganda leaflets over Vienna and Prague.

The RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 over the Firth of Forth.

The first flight of the Yakovlev Yak-1. It suffers from oil overheating issues.

Battle of the Atlantic: At 04:20, U-20 (Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 1,524-ton Swedish freighter Sylvia northeast of Aberdeen. All 20 crew perish, only one body is recovered on a raft.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Narbo. They release US freighter Tripp, though not with all her cargo.

Convoy OA 72 departs from Southend, OB 72M departs from Liverpool, and HG 15F departs from Gibraltar.

British Military: General Wavell's Middle East Command takes charge of East Africa.

French/Spanish Relations: The two nations sign a trade agreement, whereby Spain receives wheat, fertilizers, and manufactured goods and France receives iron, ore, and various minerals.

Norway: The new defense budget raises the overall government budget to the highest in history.

German Homefront: So many men are now employed in the Wehrmacht that the male industrial workforce is falling. NSDAP party leaders bruit about encouraging women to work outside the home, which is against Hitler's convictions.

Holocaust: Hans Frank issues new labor laws for Jews in occupied Poland.

Yakovlev Yak-1.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Tuesday 2 January 1940

Finnish troops using reindeer as transport.

Winter War: Fierce winter snowstorms on 2 January 1940 blanket the Karelian Isthmus, halting most operations. However, the Finns continue carving up the 30 km Soviet column stretched out on the Ratte road. The term they use is "mottis," which is Finnish for "logs," as in they are cutting the tree of the stalled Soviet 44th Rifle Division into separate logs for burning.

Captain Lassila, who began attacking one section of the stalled column shortly before midnight on the first, creates blockades on the Ratte road by felling trees and placing land mines. The Soviets counterattack at 07:00, but he manages to bring up 2 Bofors antitank guns. The guns destroy 7 Soviet tanks, which further block the road. The Finns are prepared and have brought tents and ways to heat their food, whereas the Soviets are sitting in steel tanks without fuel to keep warm - or out in the open.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns attempt to encircle the Soviet 122nd Division of the 9th Army at Sallaa, where they have been pushing back the Soviets for weeks. Success here and nearby has greatly relieved pressure on the vital railway line from the port of Oulu to Nurmes/Joensuu.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet submarine S-2 hits a mine and sinks.

The Soviets conduct minelaying operations in the far north off Petsamo.

European Air Operations: Three RAF bombers are attacked by a dozen Luftwaffe fighters near the German coast. Losses are about equal, two RAF planes lost and 1-3 Luftwaffe fighters.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance over the Shetland Islands.

US Government: The State Department issues a press release stating that it issued a "vigorous protest" on 27 December 1939 to the British regarding their seizure of US mail:

 It cannot admit the right of the British authorities to interfere with American mails on American or other neutral ships on the high seas nor can it admit the right of the British Government to censor mail on ships which have involuntarily entered British ports. . . .

Charles Edison becomes the US Secretary of the Navy.

German Homefront: The Danube freezes over and stops barge imports.

British Homefront: A survey shows that 20% of respondents have had some sort of accident due to the blackout. Road deaths since the beginning of the blackout top 2000, some 1700 above average for peacetime. The government suggests Cod liver oil as a source of Vitamin A.

Czechoslovakia: There is a new wave of arrests, predominantly journalists and former members of the Czech army.

China: The Chinese 4th War Area captures Wongyuan, while the Chinese 1st War Area ceases offensive operations and begins withdrawing.

American Homefront: At the Rose Bowl, Georgia Tech upsets Missouri, 21-7.

Judy Garland on the cover of Look picture magazine, 2 January 1940. "Oopsie, I fell!"

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Friday 29 December 1939

Finnish "ghost skiers."

Winter War: On 29 December 1939, about 250 Finnish ski troops act like partisans and ski across the border to the Leningrad-Murmansk railway line. There is no alternative route for the line, which is the Soviet Union's main warm-water port. The Finns blow it up at three separate points and penetrate as far as Kandalasksha, much like a Civil War cavalry raid.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns overpower the remaining Soviets at Suomussalmi. They capture 11 tanks, 25 guns and 150 trucks. The Soviets manage to take with them 48 trucks, 20 field guns and 6 tanks. The Finns kill the stragglers in the town and send some men to pursue the ones who left on the ice. Now, it is time for the majority of the troops to turn complete attention to the doomed 44th Rifle Division on the Ratte road leading into the town.

The 44th Rifle Division could probably get away; at least large portions of it. However, its orders are to stay put. This is despite the fact that it no longer has a mission, as the troops it was sent to relieve have now left by another route. Stalin is exercising his command style, which is to condemn unsuccessful formations to their doom regardless of less-destructive alternatives. There are many more where they came from in the vast Soviet Union.

Soviet troops at Salla, which have been under relentless Soviet pressure for weeks, are refusing to follow orders to perform what they consider to be suicide missions. This is not the first time this has happened during the Winter War.

Soviet Military: Chief of Staff Shaposhnikov plans a mass attack on the Karelian Isthmus toward Viipuri. If successful, it would decide the war - which, according to all estimates, should have been decided already. Commander of the Kyiv Military District Semyon Timoshenko "volunteers" to lead the new operation, while Kirill Meretskov, whose original plan has failed, is demoted to the command of the 7th Army.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is one of the quietest days of the war in the endless battle of the high seas. Convoy HG 13F departs from Gibraltar, and HX 14 departs from Halifax.

Finnish Government: The Finns lodge a diplomatic protest with the Estonian government about the presence there of Soviet destroyers. They are there pursuant to the recent Soviet/Estonian basing agreement.

German Government: Responding to Fritz Thyssen's critical comments about Hitler in Switzerland, the Reich police issue a warrant for Thyssen's arrest. Of course, it cannot be executed, as Thyssen is in Switzerland - for now.

Turkey: Earthquake tremors continue, and the death toll has risen to estimates of 20,000.

Captured Soviet soldiers, December 1939.

December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019

Wednesday 20 December 1939

A dead Soviet soldier lies near his truck on the Ratte road. It is the 44th Division trying to rescue the 163rd Infantry Division in Suomossalmi. 20 December 1939.

Winter War: Support for the Finns extends across the Atlantic on 20 December 1939. Former President Herbert Hoover, who was a key architect of American relief for Europe during World War I, gives a speech for the Finnish Relief Fund at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event is called "Let's Help Finland."

Winter War Army Operations: At Summa, the Soviets are becoming worn out by their repeated tank raids into the nearby frozen swamp which turn into killing zones by defenders throwing Molotov Cocktails and satchel charges. The weather is brutal, -20C, and the Soviet tanks and other armour is having difficulty due to the elements. The tanks can break through the Finnish lines, but they are unable to penetrate the fixed defenses that hold the key to the Mannerheim line. Without infantry support, the tanks are then picked off individually. When the fuel runs out, the vehicles freeze solid and then the Soviets must advance on foot through terrain the Finns handle with ease on skis.

At Suomussalmi, the Finnish 27th Regiment is reinforced and now called the 9th Division. It has had the Soviets in the village surrounded for a week without any significant attempts to break the blockade by the relief force. The Soviet 44th Division has enough problems as it gets cut up by the Finns on the Ratte road. The commander of the 163rd Division trapped in the town, Andrei Zelentsov, asked permission to retreat from Suomussalmi. Permission is denied and he is told that more troops are being sent to rescue him.

The Finnish "Group Talvela" named after now-Major General Paavo Talvela), which is primarily 16th Infantry Division, attacks Soviet 139th Rifle Division. It remains surrounded at Ägläjärvi. Soviet 75th Rifle Division has been sent as a relief but it is accomplishing little.

At Salla, Mannerheim has sent a division from his strategic reserve at Helsinki. It is used to drive the Soviet 122d Division, which has advanced along the southern fork almost to Kemijarvi, back to Salla. The entire advance out of Salla on both the north and south forks of the road has been repelled.

At Taipale, the fighting has diminished considerably after the Soviets stopped attacking strong points that they can't overwhelm.

The Battle of Kollaa is becoming a long, drawn-out affair, which is exactly what the Finns wanted.

Battle of the Atlantic: At some point, local British authorities purchase the salvage rights to the Admiral Graf Spee for £14,000 from the German government. They examine the radar range finder and report back their findings to Fred Hoyle at the British Admiralty in order to develop countermeasures.

Swedish freighter Mars (1,877 tons) strikes a mine and sinks near Blyth in the English Channel. Of the crew, 15 are saved and 7 perish.

British freighter Napia hits a mine and sinks.

The USS Tuscaloosa arrives in New York with 579 survivors of the scuttled German liner Columbus, who are deposited on Ellis Island.

Captain Langsdorff of the Admiral Graf Spee commits suicide at some point during the night of 19/20 December.

US freighter Exochorda is the focus of a brewing international incident over the high-handed detainment of US vessels by British authorities. US Ambassador to Italy William Phillips complains about seemingly arbitrary standards regarding what is contraband and what is to be done with it.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends a dozen bombers to the North Sea to attack shipping, without result.

Convoy OA 57 departs from Southend, OB 57 departs from Liverpool, and HX 13 departs from Halifax.

China: The Chinese Winter Offensive is continuing, but the initial impetus is starting to break. Chinese 2nd War Area is pacifying Wenhsi and Hsia Hsien and captures the villages of Ankuo and Tienwang. Chinese 8th War Area attacks into Paotou. Chinese 3rd War Area, however, is having difficulties advancing on the south bank of the Yangtze, and the Japanese are counterattacking at Kunlunkuan, Hiutang, Kaofengyi, and along the Canton-Hankow railway.

Ruins of the Soviet relief column for Suomossalmi, with Finnish soldiers picking over the wreckage.

December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019

Monday 18 December 1939

German soldiers executing 56 Polish civilians in the city of Bochnia. December 18, 1939.

European Air Operations: The British have been raiding Kriegsmarine bases in the Heligoland bight recently (source of magnetic mine layers), but they try that trick one time too often. This time, on 18 December 1939, the British send 22 Wellington bombers from 9, 37,  and149 Squadrons on armed reconnaissance, but the Luftwaffe is waiting. In the Battle of the Heligoland Bight, a swarm of 50 Bf 109s and 110s converge on the Wellingtons as they return home and eliminate a dozen of them at the cost of two fighters (figures vary by source). Ten Wellingtons are shot down outright, two ditch in the sea, and three limp home to crash-land at base.

It is a huge Luftwaffe victory. The British suspend daylight bombing for the foreseeable future.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Captain and crew of Admiral Graf Spee land in Buenos Aires. The Uruguayan authorities arrest four of them for scuttling their ship. The press is full of scorn at Captain Langsdorff for not going down with his ship, which is full of black humor because, if he had stayed on the bridge, he still would have been above water.

The British Admiralty reports that 10 out of 1,100 ships transiting to or from British ports in the first ten days of December were sunk.

The British release the US freighter Meanticut at Gibraltar.

Concoy OA 55G departs from Southend, Convoy SL 13 departs from Freetown.

Winter War: The Soviets, stymied almost everywhere, bomb Helsinki and shell some Finnish coastal batteries. Soviet battleship Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and escorting warships bombard the Finnish shore battery at Saarenpaa.

In the far north, the Soviets advance from Petsamo to take Pitkaejaervi but can proceed no further. Three scratch Finnish companies are able to stop the Soviet 52nd Division at Höyhenjärvi. It is the heart of winter up there, with no sunlight and bitter conditions, terrible weather for army advances.

The Battle of Salla (By Jniemenmaa - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0).

At Salla, the Soviets on the northern road to Pelkosenniemi are retreating from the Kemijoki River in wild flight back toward Salla. The Soviet 112th Division loses most of its tanks and other heavy equipment. The Finns are holding the Soviets on the south road toward Kemijärvi against fierce attacks. Once again, the Finns are showing their excellence at concentrating their minimal forces and defeating Soviet units in detail.

At Summa and Kollaa, the stalemate continues, but the Finns have the upper hand. At Kollaa, the Finnish IV Corps forces the Soviet 75th and 139th divisions to retreat to Ägläjärvi.

Paavo Talvela is promoted from colonel to major general for his command at the Battle of Tolvajärvi on 12 December. The campaign at Tolvajärvi is quite not over yet, but its opening rounds have been a smashing Finnish victory. Battles are drawn-out affairs because the Finns are relying on the cold and hunger as their allies against the Soviets, and while those factors take time to work their magic, they are relentless.

German Government: Hitler and Quisling meet a second time. Hitler repeats his promise that any British invasion will be met by a German counter-invasion. Quisling becomes uncertain about Hitler's motives - Quisling sees himself as ruler of an equal nation supported by Hitler, while Hitler sees Quisling as someone to govern a German possession - and somewhat belatedly denies being a supporter of the Third Reich. Hitler proceeds with his own plans for an invasion but now is not depending upon Quisling, though he continues supporting him.

Soviet Union: Today is Stalin's 60th birthday, but it officially is celebrated on the 21st.

Afghanistan: Hitler has made diplomatic gestures towards several middle east and far east nations such as Iraq and Tibet. He has been toying with the idea of intervening in Afghanistan and restoring King Amanullah to the throne there, but gives it up as impractical. The British are dominant throughout the region.

Holocaust: German soldiers execute Polish civilians in the city of Bochnia. 56 people are executed.

China: The Battle of Kunlun Pass begins. The Japanese have captured this key route which provides access to the Chinese rear of Chungking. Chinese General Bai Chongxi has Chiang Kai-shek send the best unit in the Chinese Army, the 5th Corps from Hunan province, to stop them. Unlike other Chinese formations, it is equipped with tanks and other armor, and it sends two divisions to attack the Japanese. The Chinese plan is to sweep in behind the Japanese and cut them off. Progress on the first day is promising.

Elsewhere, the Chinese Winter Offensive is recovering ground. The 2nd War Area recaptures Lunghua Chen, the 3rd War Area recaptures Chasan, Wangchiatan, Tsenghsingshan, Paifangshan, Maotan, Puling, Hsiangshan, Tuanshan, Hanshan, Shihtzeshan, Huiluling, Kangyaoling, and part of Chiangchiatashan, 5th War Area recaptures Tzepakang and Changkang, and Chinese North Route Force recaptures Kunlunkuan and Chiu-Tang. There are Chinese attacks all across the front, and Japanese counterattacks are stymied.

Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff reading about his ship, the Admiral Graf Spee, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. December 18, 1939.

December 14, 1939: Quisling Meets Hitler
December 15, 1939: Chinese Winter Offensive in High Gear
December 16, 1939: Battle of Summa
December 17, 1939: End of Admiral Graf Spee
December 18, 1939: Battle of Heligoland Bight
December 19, 1939: British Disarm Magnetic Mines
December 20, 1939: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
December 21, 1939: Finns Plan More Counterattacks
December 22, 1939: Enter Chuikov
December 23, 1939: Failed Finnish Counterattack
December 24, 1939: Soviets on the Run
December 25, 1939: Fresh Soviet Attacks
December 26, 1939: Vicious Battles at Kelja
December 27, 1939: Grinding Finnish Victories
December 28, 1939: Liberators
December 29, 1939: Finns Tighten the Noose
December 30, 1939: Finnish Booty
December 31, 1939: Planning More Soviet Destruction

2019