Thursday 15 February 1940

A Finnish infantryman.

Winter War: With the front starting to slip at Summa, Marshall Mannerheim issues an order at 20:00 on 15 February 1940 for II Army Corps holding the Summa sector to retreat to the second line of defenses. Soviet assault battalions already have captured Summa itself and are around Leipaesuo, northeast of Summa, only 20 miles from Viipuri.

The next, intermediate line is the "V-line" further back on the isthmus. It is not as well-prepared as the Mannerheim Line, but has some natural advantages. The question is whether the Finns still have enough men to hold it.

Even units still holding their forward positions in the Summa sector are down to fractions of the men they started with. The 274th Rifle Regiment, for instance, has lost 30-40% of its men. The brigade has resorted to reinforcing it with the unit's horse drivers who are not trained infantry. The Finnish 1st Brigade has lost about 60% of its men, with only 400 men remaining. Some units are wiped out completely, not all units are even able to report casualty figures. Of course, Soviet casualties are high as well - but there are endless streams of men and supplies backing the Soviet troops up, which is not the case for the Finns.

North of Lake Ladoga, the Finns are having better luck. The Finnish 9th Division destroy the motti at Lavajärvi village, taking 2 tanks, 5 field guns, 2 antitank guns, 8 trucks, 3 machineguns, 4 field kitchens, numerous rifles and ammunition. The Finns also surround what is left of the Soviets' "Dolin" Siberian ski brigade, which was sent as a relief force and now is minus its commander Dolin and down to 800 men.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German government states that, since First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill has announced that all merchant ships in the North Sea will be armed, the U-boat fleet will treat all such ships as armed combatants. U-boats henceforth are directed to attack without warning any ship appearing to be under British control. In essence, this converts the entire sea around the British Isles into a zone of unrestricted underseas warfare.

U-50 (Kapitänleutnant Max-Hermann Bauer) torpedoes and sinks 4,895 ton Danish freighter Maryland at 02:07 far out in the north Atlantic. The entire crew of 34 perishes.

U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) torpedoes and sinks 1,206 ton Danish freighter Aase at 05:45 southwest of England. There is one survivor, and 15 perish.

U-26 ( Kapitänleutnant Heinz Scheringer) torpedoes and sinks 2,477 ton Norwegian freighter Steinstad at 08:37 about 75 miles west of Aran Island, Ireland. Thirteen perish, 11 crew survive.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 8,971 ton Dutch tanker Den Haag (Master C. Wijker) at 14:00 about 150 miles west of Ouessant, France. There are 13 survivors, while 26 perish. Schultze has been patient, as he sighted the tanker well before noon but had to wait for a Coastal Command flying boat to clear the area.

Convoy OB 92 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OA 92 departs from Southend, Convoy OG 18 forms at Gibraltar.

Anglo-Soviet Relations: Sir Stafford Cripps, a British Labour politician who is open about his Marxist leanings, visits Moscow.

German Military: Generalmajor Erwin Rommel, who coordinated Hitler's personal protection detail in Poland, is promoted to take command of the 7th Panzer Division. This is Rommel's choice, as he wished for an active divisional command, but not just any command. He already has turned down a mountain division of the sort in which he served (and gained national fame) during World War I. In essence, he calls in his favor with Hitler to get the panzer division that he wants.

British Military: General Wavell's position is recast as Commander-in-Chief Middle East.

US Government: President Roosevelt embarks on the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa at Pensacola for a cruise to Panama and through the canal to the west coast of Central America. He will inspect the Panama Canal and discuss Pan-American defense with leaders along the trip.

The Dutch tanker Den Haag.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Thursday 1 February 1940

Night artillery exchanges and air attacks at Summa, February 1940.

Winter War Army Operations: The Second Battle of Summa begins on 1 February 1940. Dispensing with any attempt at subtlety, the Soviet 7th Army dispatches an army of tanks, quite a few pulling armored infantry in sleds quickly dubbed "Molotov Coffins." They head directly at the center of the Mannerheim Line. It is a 12-mile stretch of open land, good tank terrain absent rivers and lakes, near Summa. Beyond is the key city of Viipuri, the ultimate objective.

The artillery barrage ramps up to 300,000 shells in 24 hours, more than has been fired at Summa since the start of the campaign. The 13th Army joins in, though the main effort is at the 7th Army. Together, the two Soviet armies have 14 divisions and six tank brigades, along with reserves filling the rest of the Karelian Isthmus.

Only regiment probing-style attacks are launched. The idea is to test the Finnish defenses, wear the Finns down and soften the defenses, not a breakthrough - yet.

New tank tactics also are tested. The tanks come in smaller numbers and with more infantry support, making them harder to destroy. A rarity in warfare up to this point, they also use tank flamethrowers. The Soviets escalate their artillery and air bombards, and attacks are screened with smoke. Unconcerned about losses, the Soviet Generals send their troops straight at the fortifications in dense masses in the distinctive attack known as à la russe.

The Finnish defense is complicated due to troop rotations they recently have made. The Finnish 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment has been brought to the area of the attack. While capable troops, the 9th Infantry Regiment happens to be completely Swedish-speaking. This is not unusual in Finland - some 6% of all Finns speak Swedish - but it creates communications issues.

While the Mannerheim Line has been battered by weeks of artillery barrages, the ruins serve as effective firing positions. The Finns hold the line for the time being. This first day is just an appetizer.

Winter War Air Operations: Aside from supporting the attack at Summa, the Soviets bomb Rovaniemi and Kemi. The Finns have both aircraft now from several nations, including the Americans and the British. Swedish volunteers are flying off of a frozen lake at Kemi.

Battle of the Atlantic: US President Roosevelt writes to his friend, First Lord of the Admiralty, and informs him that the British policy of detaining US freighters was hurting Anglo/US relations. "The general feeling is," Roosevelt writes, "that the net benefit to your people and the French is hardly worth the definite annoyance caused to us."

U-13 (Max-Martin Schulte) torpedoes 2,491-ton Swedish freighter Fram at 13:43 while it is lying at anchor in Aberdour Bay, Scotland. There are 14 survivors, and 9 perish.

U-59 (Oberleutnant zur See Harald Jürst) torpedoes and sinks 498-ton British freighter Ellen M. 20 miles northeast of Lowestoft, England at 20:44. All 9 crew members perish.

The British at Gibraltar detain US freighter Exminster, and they release US freighter Exochorda.

Convoy OB 83 departs from Liverpool, SL 19 departs from Freetown and HG 17 departs from Gibraltar.

Balkan Relations: The foreign ministers of Yugoslavia, Turkey, Romania, and Greece meet Belgrade to discuss issues of mutual concern.

German Military: General Erich von Manstein, chief of staff to Army Group A, is transferred to command of German XXXVIII Korps. This is done by his superiors partly in an effort to get him away from the center of power, as his innovative ideas about Fall Gelb are not appreciated. However, Hitler has heard about them and is intrigued. The Generals' plan backfires when Hitler manages to meet with Manstein at a formal reception honoring his (and other Korps commanders') appointment, where the two chat about how to attack in the West.

British Military: General Claude Auchinleck takes command of IV Corps.

British Government: The Admiralty takes control of merchant shipbuilding and repair.

Japanese Government: The new government embarks upon a five-year rearmament program. It presents a record budget, with almost half devoted to the military.

The government also officially protests the British seizure of 21 German nationals from the Asama Maru Incident of 21 January 1940. It demands the return of the Germans.

British Homefront: The Lord Mayor's Red Cross and St. John's Fund passes the  £1,000,000 level.

China: Communist leader Mao Tse-tung issues an appeal to the American Government to stand firm in its opposition to Japanese aggression.

In the dwindling Winter Offensive, the Chinese 2d War Area halts operations and withdraws from the Japanese-held city of Changtze.

At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese attack Pinyang.

The Imperial Japanese Air Force attacks Chinese airfields near Chinhua, Yushan, and Chushien.

Holocaust: Italy, which largely keeps its distance from the German holocaust agenda, enacts its own Employment laws imposing constraints upon Jews.

Mao Tse-Tung.

February 1940

February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Friday 22 December 1939

Vasily Chuikov.

Finnish Winter War: The Kremlin is becoming increasingly agitated about the lack of Soviet successes in Finland. On 22 December 1939, they remove the commander of the Ninth Army, Dukhanov, and on 22 December 1939 bring in one of the successful and most hard-bitten commanders from Poland, Vasily Chuikov. For what was supposed to be a mere formality, the invasion of Finland is turning into a real dogfight.

Chuikov is a brutal but effective commander. Some of his troops committed war crimes in Poland while he was in command of the 4th Army, but he is a keen strategist and is adept at recovering from bad situations. He and his staff immediately start trying to figure out what is going wrong at Suomussalmi and the other flashpoints that have held up the advance.

He quickly realizes that the vaunted 44th Rifle Division, strung out along the Ratte road and essentially surrounded, was incapable of breaking out on its own. He sends a message to the Stavka that the division, highly regarded, "adjusts to the local conditions very badly." His requests for troops to relieve this relief force, however, are denied.

Finland is becoming the graveyard of not only the graveyard of Soviet soldiers but also of the careers (and ultimately lives) of their Generals. Chuikov's appointment is a sign that things are seriously off the track.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets give up their attacks on Summa, handing the Finns a major defensive victory.

At Ägläjärvi, Group Telvela destroys the Soviet 139th Rifle Division. It also sends the Soviet 75th Infantry Division reeling. The remaining Soviets head back for the border. The Soviets lost over 1,000 dead, 20 tanks, 60 machine guns and the guns of two artillery batteries. The Finns lose over 100 dead and 250 wounded. This effectively ends the battle in this area.

Despite Chuikov's appointment, Soviet 44th Rifle Division on the Ratte road continues to say that it is unable to break through the Finnish roadblock formed by Group Kontula. Thus, it cannot relieve the 163rd Rifle Division.

Soviet 17th Railway Artillery Battalion is attached to the 7th Army and bombards Viipuri.

Winter War Air Operations: The Soviets again raid Helsinki. The attacks are small, this time with only three bombers, and do not cause much damage.

Battle of the Atlantic: British freighter Gryfevale is damaged by a mine off Tyne Pier in the North Sea.

US destroyers are keeping watch on British ships around Florida.  British light cruiser HMS Orion is still roaming around and is currently off Port Everglades.

Convoy OA 58 departs from Scotland and OB 58 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: There is a major dogfight over the Western Front. Two Hurricanes and one Bf 109 go down.

Soviet Air Force: First flight of the Petlyakov Pe-2 light bomber and ground attack plane.

France: Premier Daladier announces that the Maginot Line has been strengthened and extended in northern France and in the Jura Mountains.

Great Britain: The British Ministry of Economic Warfare announces that all told since the beginning of the war, the government has seized 870,000 tons of contraband.

India: Many Indian Muslims are upset about not being consulted about the country's support of Great Britain in the war. Members of the Indian National Congress resign from the government in protest. They call this the "Day of Deliverance."

China: The Japanese are counterattacking as the Chinese attacks wind down. The IJA attacks the Chinese 5th War Area near Wangwutai and Lochiatang and manages to clear road from Wangwutai to Taopaowan. The Japanese 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade attacks the Chinese 8th War Area, relieving a garrison trapped at Paotou.

American Homefront: "Gulliver's Travels" is released.

Loading torpedoes on a U-boat at Wilhelmshaven, 22 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

Tuesday 19 December 1939

Germain freighter Arauca runs for Port Everglades.

Battle of the Atlantic: Admiralty scientist on 19 December 1939 figure out an antidote for the German magnetic mines using the one retrieved near Shropshire by Commander John G. D. Ouvry and Doctor Albert Wood on November 23, 1939. Dr. C. F. Goodeve and Dr. E. C. Bullard lead a team that comes up with "degaussing," which creates a magnetic field that de-polarizes the ships so they do not attract mines. The initial solution is to wrap bulky electric cables around ships.

The German crew of the 32,354-ton liner Columbus scuttles it about 300 miles off Cape May, New Jersey. Two crewmen perish. It has been tailed by neutrality patrol ships since leaving Vera Cruz. The US Tuscaloosa has been broadcasting the ship's location in the clear, and the British destroyer HMS Hyperion is approaching. This is another instance of the US openly siding with the British while remaining legal. The Tuscaloosa rescues 567 men and 9 female stewardesses and takes them to New York.

The German refrigerated freighter Arauca is challenged by the British destroyer HMS Orion. The Orion fires a shot across the ship's bow to make it stop, and the shot lands in US territorial waters. The Arauca ignores the warning and makes it to Port Everglades, where it is interned.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull instructs his Ambassador to the Court of St. James Joseph Kennedy to tell the British that they need to cease hostile acts in the territorial waters of neutral nations such as the United States.

British freighter City of Kobe (4,373 tons) hits a mine and sinks near Cross Sand Buoy, Greater Yarmouth. One crewman perishes.

Kriegsmarine raider Atlantis is commissioned.

Captain Langsdorff of the Admiral Graf Spee commits suicide in Buenos Aires by shooting himself in bed, draped in a German flag. He writes, "for a captain with a sense of honor …. his personal fate cannot be separated from that of his ship." An honorable commander, he made irreversible mistakes at crucial junctures that doomed his ship. However, his ship accomplished much more to aid the German war effort than most historians give him credit for.

The French release the US freighter Nishimaha from Marseilles.

Convoy OA 56 departs from Southend, OB 55 from Liverpool, OB 56 from Liverpool, SL 13F from Freetown, and HXF 13 from Halifax.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet battleships Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya and Marat and escorting warships bombard Finnish shore battery at Saarenpaa.

Winter War Air Operations: Ilmari Juutilainen of the Finnish Air Force gets his first victory. He flies a Fokker D.XXI and shoots down an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. His brother Captain Aarne Juutilainen is fighting with distinction on the ground in the Battle of Kollaa.

Finnish soldiers at the Battle of Summa.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets continue their attempt to bypass the Finish fixed defense through the (frozen) swamps near Summa. By this point, they have lost about 20 tanks as the Finns use Molotov Cocktails, satchel charges, and anything else at hand to destroy the isolated Soviet tanks at night.

At Suomussalmi, the Finns are building a hidden ice road parallel to the Ratte road on a nearby lake to ease their hit-and-run attacks on the Soviets stuck on the road.

At Ägläjärvi, the Finns surround the Soviet 75th Division.

At Petsamo in the far north, the Soviet advance to the south reaches Nautsi. They can get no further. Partly as a result of Finnish resistance and partly because of supply difficulties in the extremely cold weather, the Russians retire from Nautsi to a point about twenty miles north. The temperatures take a sudden drop to 25 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit, in mid-December.

Anglo/French Relations: The Supreme War Council holds its fourth meeting in Paris. It decides to send help to Finland if asked, though the neutral Scandinavian nations feel this is dangerous and will widen the conflict there. Prime Minister Chamberlain then returns to London.

German/Japanese Relations: Hitler meets with incoming Japanese ambassador Saburo Kurusu.

Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich appoints Adolf Eichmann to organize deportations of Jewish civilians in occupied areas.

Chinese Winter Offensive: Chinese forces continue making gains. The Chinese North Route Force recaptures Kaofengyi. The Japanese 33rd and 40th Infantry Divisions withdraw from Shihmen and Shihpihu in the face of Chinese 9th War Area attacks. The Chinese 3rd War Area is interdicting Japanese river traffic on the Yangtze River using anti-tank guns.

Chinese soldiers in the Winter Offensive, 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

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

Sunday 17 December 1939

A Finnish soldier on the Kollaa front, 17 December 1939.

Battle of the Atlantic: On 17 December 1939, Captain Langsdorff must make a decision, and he does. The Admiral Graf Spee only has left a third of its ammunition, about as much as expended during the previous battle. It also has insufficient fuel left to return to Germany, with the prospect of being able to refuel while being chased by the British very unlikely. So, after consulting with his officers, at 6:15 p.m., Langsdorff sails slowly west out of Montevideo and scuttles the ship in neutral waters. It sits mostly submerged in 7 meters of water, blazing away.

Most of Langsdorff's crew transfers to the German freighter Tacoma. He and his 1,039-man crew wind up in detention in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The outcome is a huge propaganda victory for the British and First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, but the sailors from Admiral Graf Spee survived. Churchill spins into rhetorical overdrive:

the outcome was "like a flash of light and colour on the scene, carrying with it an encouragement to all who are fighting, to ourselves, and to our Allies."

The Admiral Graf Spee had sunk 50,089 tons of shipping, nine ships. It also badly damaged a heavy cruiser and kept a large portion of the Allied fleets searching the South Atlantic for weeks. This deprived convoys further north of protection. The Altmark, its supply ship, remains free and heads back north to Germany, loaded with Allied prisoners.

U-59 (Oberleutnant zur See Harald Jürst) sinks the 1.245-ton Danish freighter Jaegerborg east of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. All eighteen crew perish.

U-59 also torpedoes and sinks the 1,214-ton Danish freighter Bogø. Of the 20-man crew, three survive.

British destroyers lay mine off the German coast.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Meanticut.

Admiral Graf Spee burning in the Platte River, 17 December 1939.

Winter War Army Operations: Soviet attacks continue at Summa. Soviet tanks continue attempting to penetrate the gap in the defenses in the nearby swamp. The Finnish infantry holds its ground and separates the Soviet tanks from their infantry support, then pick the tanks off with anti-tank guns and Molotov Cocktails primarily after dark.

The Soviet 163d Rifle Division remains surrounded at Suomussalmi. The relief force is reeling from Finnish counterattacks and is not trying to break through again. The Finnish strategy is to cut the elongated Soviet caravan on the Ratte road into separate pieces and then finish them off individually.

The Finns at Kollaa are counterattacking two Soviet divisions trapped on the coastal road. The Finns operating on skis can pick and choose their points of attack, while the Soviets are defending their immobile vehicles. The process is debilitating for both sides, but the Finns have turned the tables and are attacking the helpless Soviets.

Snipers are of huge importance in the woods. Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, nicknamed "The White Death," is accumulating kills.

At Salla, the Soviets have split into two parts at a fork in the road. The Finns block the Soviet move on the southern road toward  Kemijärvi and put the weight of their effort on the north road. The Finns use these men to ambush the northern pincer moving toward Pelkosenniemi. The Soviet force on the north road, an infantry regiment a battalion, and a company of tanks, is outflanked and begins to retreat. A wild fight ensues.

League of Nations: The Soviets issue a long and entirely negative reply to the League of Nations resolution expelling it.

BEF: The first convoy of Canadian troops arrives in Liverpool, some 7,500 men of the 1st Canadian Division (Canadian Major-General McNaughton). It consists of five ocean liners.

China: The Chinese Winter Offensive continues. While the Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the 116th Infantry Regiment and captures Hsientao and Szekang, elsewhere the Japanese begin counter-attacking. The Japanese 5th Infantry Division attacks toward Lungchow, the 104th Infantry Division reaches Yuantan in Kwantung Province, and the Japanese counterattack the Chinese 2nd War Area.


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

Saturday 16 December 1939

Finnish troops with a destroyed Soviet tank at Summa.

Winter War Army Operations: Apart from its value as a chokepoint against Soviet attacks north from Leningrad, the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus serves to shield the city of Viipuri. Loss of the city would open a communications network into the heart of Finland, and it would be a major blow to Finnish morale. The terrain is much more tank-friendly beyond the city. The Finns have heavily fortified the village of Summa to Viipuri's east which defends the city.

On 16 December 1939, frustrated at Summa, the Soviets attempt to bypass Summa and instead head through the nearby Munasuo swamp to the east. In prioritizing their defenses, the Finns have left this area relatively unprepared.  With the ground hard, 20 Soviet tanks blow through this gap, sometimes passing directly over Finnish infantry who hold their ground in trenches. The tank raid, though, could undermine the entire Mannerheim Line if handled properly. This battle introduces the world to "Molotov Cocktails, which are bottles full of combustible fluids thrown at the engine compartments of tanks to set them on fire.

Finnish antitank obstacles at Summa.

At Tolvajärvi, the Soviet 75th Division marches to the relief of the 139th Division which has gotten into difficulty. The Finns counterattack and send the relief force into retreat.

Western Front: The French stop a German raid on an outpost east of the Moselle River.

Battle of the Atlantic: Captain Langsdorff communicates with Berlin through the German embassy. He asks for instructions. He is told to either move the Admiral Graf Spee to Buenos Aires or scuttle the ship to avoid British intelligence from examining it. Admiral Raeder and Adolf Hitler are monitoring the situation closely. Force G remains outside the River Platte, with the Ajax's floatplane monitoring the situation and the ships refueling. Commodore Harwood is promoted to Rear Admiral and knighted (KCB). The three Force G cruiser captains are made Companions of the Bath (CB).

U-59 (Oberleutnant zur See Harald Jürst) torpedoes and sinks 1,568-ton Norwegian freighter east of Scotland. Thirteen crew survive and five perish.

U-59 also torpedos and sinks 1,366-ton Swedish freighter Lister. All 19 crew survive.

British freighters Amble, Evelina and Sedgefly hit mines and sink.

U-64 commissioned.

Convoy OA 54 departs Southend, OB 54 departs Liverpool, and HG 11 departs from Gibraltar.

Italy: Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano gives a speech to the fascist assembly which is anti-Soviet and pro-Finnish. Italy is continuing to send volunteers to Finland along with heavy equipment.

German Homefront: The Germans complete their repatriation of 51,000 Baltic Germans via the port of Riga in Latvia. They are sent to populate the portions of Poland that have been annexed to the Reich.

China: The Chinese Winter Offense continues expanding:

• Chinese 1st War Area captures Kaifeng
• Chinese 3rd War Area (Anhwei south of Yangtze River, northeastern Kiangsi, and territory to the east with 10th Army Group, 23rd Army Group, and 32nd Army Group) opens offensive
• Chinese 5th War Area captures Japanese strongpoints at Niehchiachang, Funanchang, Wuhsuchiachang, Chouchiachang, Tunghsinchang, Tuochuanu, and Nanhofu
• 73rd Army of Chinese 9th War Area opens attacks around Shihchengwan, Kueikoushih, and Tashaping and remains intermittently engaged in that area for a month

The Japanese forces are reeling, but manage some counterattacks such as against the Chinese 2nd War Area.

Finnish troops at Summa, complete with bicycles.

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