Saturday 30 August 1941

Adolf Hitler with Benito Mussolini (left), Hermann Goering, and Field Marshall Keitel during a visit to the headquarters of Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, 30 August 1941.

Eastern Front: In the Far North sector on 30 August 1941, Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus are approaching the old border and capture Raivola. Finnish IV Corps is in the west, II Corps in the center, and I Corps on the eastern side. Marshal Mannerheim issues an order to the three Corps to stop short of the old Soviet fortifications on the other side of the border. The Germans have no say in this and apparently are not even informed. In fact, the Germans still think that the Finns will mount a major assault on Leningrad from the north - which Mannerheim already has decided against.

In the Army Group North sector, the Germans take Mga, about 20 miles southeast of Leningrad. This cuts the last rail link to Leningrad and puts the Wehrmacht in a good position to take Schlusselburg and cut the last road into the city as well.

In the Army Group Center sector, the Soviets resume their counteroffensive against the Wehrmacht's "lightning rod" position at Yelnya. This is resumed in conjunction with other attacks by Western Front and Bryansk Front (General Andrey Eremenko) and thus constitutes the first coordinated Soviet offensive. The German German front holds, but the Soviet troops make an advance of about 10 km on the south flank that threatens encirclement. Field Marshal von Bock has to send the 10th Panzer Division (Lt Gen F. Schaal) and an infantry division to prevent a breakthrough.

In the Army Group South sector, the Romanian 4th Army resumes its attack on Odesa after blunting a Soviet counterattack on the 29th. However, the Soviet defenders are fighting with desperation, and even retake Kubanka (site of the Romanian artillery) before being driven back before dark. The Germans are displeased with the Romanian tactics, which have no subtlety and resemble the trench warfare of World War I and massive casualties resulting from frontal attacks - but that is exactly the kind of battle the Soviets want.

General Guderian continues trying to break through the Soviet line north of Kyiv but faces fierce resistance. The German plan is for Guderian to form an encirclement with Panzer Group 2 (Gen von Kleist) to trap the 850,000 Soviet troops defending Kyiv under General Kirponos and Marshal Budenny. German 2nd Army, pushing south to the west of Guderian's troops, approaches Chernihiv.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini acknowledge the salutes of the troops at Field Marshal von Brauchitsch's headquarters, 30 August 1941.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends six Blenheim bombers on a Channel sweep during the day, but they are recalled without loss.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 5 Wellingtons and a Stirling to attack Cherbourg docks and two on minelaying off Warnemunde. There are no losses in either mission.

One of the few Luftwaffe lone raiders attacking England hits a balloon cable over the Humber Estuary. The damage causes it to crash into the North Sea. The crew is rescued by a German ship on 4 September.

Soviet soldiers of the Voroshilov Regiment in training, Moscow, 30 August 1941.

Battle of the Baltic: Now that the convoys from Tallinn are safely at Kronstadt (more or less), the Soviet Baltic Fleet provides gunfire support to the Leningrad Front. The force is organized into three groups:

• Group 1 (three destroyers and three gunboats) operating in the Neva River to support Soviet 42nd and 55th Armies south of Leningrad
• Group 2 (two cruisers, destroyer leader Leningrad, five destroyers, and one minelayer) supporting troops east of Leningrad
• Group 3 (two battleships, cruiser Kirov (recently damaged), a destroyer leader, four destroyers, two additional damaged destroyers, and a gunboat) supporting troops defending the Kronstadt naval base on Kotlin Island.

Soviet 3974-ton transport VT-505/Ivan Pananin runs aground on Suusaari (Hogland Island). There it offers a tempting target for Luftwaffe bombers, which destroy it.

German shore artillery shells and sinks Soviet MO-4-class patrol boat MO-202.

Soviet MO-2-class patrol boats No. 173 and 174 are lost today, perhaps due to German shore-based artillery as well.

After dark, the German 5th R-Boat Flotilla lays 32 mines between minefield Juminda and Finnish minefield Valkjarvi.

A Russian woman tries to shelter her baby while Axis forces shell the small village of Krasnaya Sloboda. August 30th, 1941.

Battle of the Atlantic: Off of the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, Royal Navy submarine HMS Trident (Cdr Sladen) comes upon a convoy of German freighters and goes to work. He torpedoes and sinks:

• 2931-ton freighter Donau II
• 8561-ton freighter Bahia Laura 

There are 700+ German soldier deaths and 1289 survivors taken aboard multiple other ships in the convoy. The troops were destined for Mountain Corps Norway.

Operation Strength, a Royal Navy delivery of 24 Hurricanes to the Soviet Air Force at Vaenga by HMS Argus, begins. Argus, escorted by heavy cruiser Shropshire and destroyers, departs from Scapa Flow bound for Seidisfjord.

Convoy Dervish, the first supply convoy to the Soviet Union, arrives at Spitsbergen. There it refuels before proceeding on to Archangel.

Convoy WS-11 (Winston Special) departs from Liverpool bound (eventually) for Colombo and Singapore, where it arrives on 6 November. Convoy ON-11 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SC-42 (65 ships) departs from Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia bound for Liverpool.

US Navy battleship USS New Mexico leads Task Group TG1.1.2 out of Hvalfjord, Iceland to patrol the Denmark Strait. This is due to a report of a suspicious vessel (presumed to be a German Hipper-class cruiser) between there and Bermuda by US Coast Guard cutter Alexander Hamilton. The thinking is that it is a German ship returning from a raiding expedition that will seek to use the Denmark Strait to return to Norway. What exactly the Task Group would do if it spotted such a ship is a bit unclear - typically, they are just supposed to notify the Royal Navy to take action. However, an awful lot of US firepowers is present just to use the radio.

A German blockade runner, 8306-ton tanker Benno (formerly Norwegian Ole Jacob), departs from Bordeaux, France bound for Kobe, Japan.

Royal Navy sloop HMS Ibis (Lt. Commander Henry M. Darell-Brown) is commissioned and sloop Cygnet is laid down.

Canadian minesweeper HMCS Quinte is commissioned.

U-136 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Zimmermann), U-213 (Oberleutnant zur See Amelung von Varendorff), and U-435 (Kapitänleutnant Siegfried Strelow) are commissioned, U-253 is launched, and U-305 is laid down.

Clark Gable, Movie-radio Guide Magazine [United States] (30 August 1941). Gable would be in uniform and flying bomber missions within two years.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten (Lt Woodward) uses its deck gun to sink 373-ton Italian auxiliary patrol boat V.51/Alfa off Augusta, Sicily.

RAF Swordfish based on Malta of No. 830 Squadron torpedo and sink 861-ton Italian freighter Egadi about 30 miles northeast of Lampedusa.

The RAF attacks Tripoli with 9 Wellington bombers and they sink:

• 6630-ton Italian freighter RIV
• 395-ton Italian freighter Neptunus
• 367-ton Italian freighter Giuseppina V
• 393-ton Italian freighter Fiametta

Royal Navy submarine Talisman torpedoes and damages Italian auxiliary patrol boats San Michele and Tenacemente about three miles north of Benghazi.

Australian minesweeper HMAS Ballarat (Lt. Alfred D. Barling) is commissioned.

The Australian Women's Weekly, 30 August 1941.

Special Operations: After dark, Operation Acid, a British Commando raid, begins. No. 5 Commando sends two separate teams, each composed of one officer and 14 soldiers, to separate beaches in the Pas-de-Calais, France (Hardelot and Merlimont). The Commandos perform reconnaissance and try to capture a German sentry. However, the Commandos do not encounter any Germans and leave after 30 minutes.

Operation Gauntlet, the Royal Navy raid on Spitzbergen, continues without any interference from the Germans. The Norwegian operators of the radio station keep the Luftwaffe away by sending false reports of heavy fog to the mainland, and the Canadians quickly capture any ships that appear. Overall, the raid is a resounding success, and the Canadian troops continue destroying mining equipment and rendering the island useless to the Germans.

Iran Invasion: With a ceasefire in effect while the opposing parties dicker over terms of an armistice, the Soviets occupy the "open city" of Qazvin. This is 94 miles (151 km) from Tehran. The Soviets also take the "non-open" city of Hamadan after some light bombing that kills a small child.

The Soviet troops remain on the move throughout the day, while the British are content to stop and allow negotiations to play out. The Soviets and British have agreed beforehand to occupy their respective spheres of influence contained in a 1908 agreement, so there is little point to being aggressive at this point - as long as the British and Soviets trust each other. Elements of the Indian 10th Infantry Division enter Kermanshah.

Soviet and British troops meet at Sinneh.

Parade for Queen Wilhelmina's birthday on Aruba by the 4th Cameron Highlanders, 30 August 1941 (Ingleby Jefferson).

Italian/Japanese Relations: Italy has learned through press reports of Ambassador Nomura's meeting with President Roosevelt on the 29th, so Italian Ambassador to the US Don Ascanio dei principi Colonna meets with Ambassador Nomura. Nomura tries to fob him off with generalities about the meeting, but Colonna is not satisfied. Nomura then adds that Japan would continue to abide by the Tripartite Pact, but was simply trying to avoid war in the Pacific. Nomura later, however, cables Tokyo and states that he successfully maintained secrecy about the true nature of Prince Konoye's note to President Roosevelt, including the proposed summit meeting.

German/Japanese Relations: Tokyo sends a message to Berlin stating that Ambassador Nomura had simply carried on informal discussions with Secretary Hull and then submitted a note to President Roosevelt whose contents had been revealed to the world press. However, the statements by Japan and the US did not reveal the true contents of Prince Konoye's message to Roosevelt, so this remains a secret from Japan's allies.

German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop asks his Japanese counterpart, Soemu Toyoda, if the Japanese would be willing to attack the Soviet port of Vladivostok. The Japanese already have decided against this, but Toyoda responds that Japan indeed is preparing for such an attack but just needs a little more time.

"Dictators in 5-Day Parley Form Plans to Counter Our Aid in East and West," New York Times, 30 August 1941.

German/Romanian Relations: The Germans and Romanians reach agreements on Romanian administration of Transnistria - which would include Odessa.

British/Soviet Relations: Joseph Stalin receives a message from Winston Churchill which is very fulsome and promises continued aid. Specifically, Churchill promises that two RAF squadrons of 40 aircraft will arrive at Murmansk by 6 September along with 200 P-40 Tomahawk fighters, and perhaps 200 more Hurricanes later for a total of 440 fighters. Churchill, unaware of the furious US/Japanese negotiations in progress, also notes that President Roosevelt "seems disposed... to take a strong line against further Japanese aggression."

Grumman XF4F-4 BuNo 1897 (F4F Wildcat), 30 August 1941. These served with the RAF and were called "Martlets." The first Martlets with folding wings ("Sto-Wing folding system") were delivered as Market Mk IIs in August 1941. (US Air Force).

Japanese Military: The Imperial Japanese Navy requisitions 6353-ton freighter Kogyo Maru for conversion into an ammunition ship.

Requisitioned 10,439-ton Hokoku Maru begins its conversion into an armed merchant cruiser with the installation of four 6-inch (152-mm) guns and other equipment.

American Homefront: "Dive Bomber," directed by Michael Curtiz ("Casablanca") and starring Errol Flynn and Fred MacMurray, is released by Warner Bros. It is a technicolor war drama that contains a lot of footage of US aircraft and aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. The US Department of the Navy gives its full cooperation and requests that it be made and released as soon as possible for recruiting purposes. The new SBD Dauntless dive bomber is featured. Filming takes place at Eglin Field, Florida, North Field at NAS San Diego and Naval Station San Diego, California. "Dive Bomber" becomes the sixth most popular film of 1941 and Warner Bros.' top earner for the year.

"Green Eyes" (Aquellos Ojos Verdes) by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell hits No. 1 on the Billboard chart. It is Jimmy Dorsey's fourth Number One hit of 1941 - and not his last, either.

The New Yorker, 30 August 1941 (cover by Garrett Price).

August 1941
August 1, 1941: More Executions on Crete
August 2, 1941: Uman Encirclement Closes
August 3, 1941: Bishop von Galen Denounces Euthanasia
August 4, 1941: Hitler at the Front
August 5, 1941: Soviets Surrender at Smolensk 
August 6, 1941: U-Boats in the Arctic
August 7, 1941: Soviets Bomb Berlin
August 8, 1941: Uman Pocket Captured
August 9, 1941: Atlantic Conference at Placentia Bay
August 10, 1941: Soviet Bombers Mauled Over Berlin
August 11, 1941: Rita Hayworth in Life
August 12, 1941: Atlantic Charter Announced
August 13, 1941: The Soybean Car
August 14, 1941: The Anders Army Formed
August 15, 1941: Himmler at Minsk
August 16, 1941: Stalin's Order No. 270
August 17, 1941: Germans in Novgorod
August 18, 1941: Lili Marleen
August 19, 1941: Convoy OG-71 Destruction
August 20, 1941: Siege of Leningrad Begins
August 21, 1941: Stalin Enraged
August 22, 1941: Germans Take Cherkassy
August 23, 1941: Go to Kiev
August 24, 1941: Finns Surround Viipuri
August 25, 1941: Iran Invaded
August 26, 1941: The Bridge Over the Desna
August 27, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Tallinn
August 28, 1941: Evacuating Soviets Savaged
August 29, 1941: Finns take Viipuri
August 30, 1941: Operation Acid
August 31, 1941: Mannerheim Says No

2020

Friday 1 March 1940

Major General Wallenius.

Winter War: The Soviet peace deadline of 1 March 1940 expires today. The Finns are ready to capitulate to the Soviet terms, but the British and French are aghast. Finland knows what it is up against and demands 100 bombers and 50,000 troops to stay in the fight. France immediately replies that it will send the troops if the Finns make an immediate request by 5 March. Great Britain, on the other hand, just shakes its collective head at this fanciful promise and says it is impossible.

Winter War Army Operations: Soviets close to within 4 mi/6 km of Viipuri city center. Soviet tanks break out past Viipuri and now are on much easier tank country. Essentially, the city is surrounded and the defense fragmented. Soviet 7th Army is heading west.

Lieutenant-Colonel Magnus Dyrssen, the commander of the Swedish volunteers (Stridsgruppen SFK), at Salla, is killed by Soviet shelling.

Winter War Air Operations: There are fierce dogfights over Viipuri, as the Finnish Air Force is making a stand there. The Finns send their own bombers to attack Soviet lines of communication, attacking railway junctions and troop trains.

Winter War Naval Operations: Marshal Mannerheim transfers a Jaeger (elite light infantry) Major-General, Kurt M. Wallenius, from Lapland to a new coastal command protecting Viipuri from the seaward side. Since everything is frozen, there is no natural boundary on that side of the city. Wallenius is famous for his saying, ""We don't let them rest, we don't let them sleep," and is something of a national hero.

Wallenius is no fool, having managed the extremely successful strategic defense of Salla and Petsamo. However, he knows an impossible situation when he sees it, and he protests the assignment because the Soviets already have crossed the frozen gulf and there is nothing that he can do. His troops, used to fighting in woods and tundra, are completely out of their element. They fail to dislodge the Soviets.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) torpedoes and sinks 5,340-ton Italian freighter Mirella in the North Sea. All but one of the 30-man crew survive. The incident is unusual because U-20 first torpedoes the ship at 03:15 and leaves, believing it is finished. At 21:14, though, it sees the freighter still afloat and finally sinks it.

Norwegian 1388-ton coal transport Vestfoss is bombed and sunk by Heinkel He 111s of the Luftwaffe X Air Corps about 10 miles east of Copinsay, Orkney Islands. At first, it appears as if the freighter might survive and it is taken in tow, but it sinks and the 19-man crew is taken off by another freighter.

Needing large, fast transport, the Admiralty informs the Cunard Line that it is requisitioning the Queen Mary for the duration.

London terminates German shipments of coal to neutral Italy by sea.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Exeter.

Convoy HG 21F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 20 forms at Gibraltar.

European Air Operations: The British conduct reconnaissance all the way to Berlin, with the focus being Kiel, Lubeck and the Heligoland Bight.

The Luftwaffe makes raids off the Yorkshire coast, bombing and strafing Latvian steamer Katvaldis, 1388-ton Norwegian freighter Brott and British fishing trawler Courage. The crew of the Brott abandons ship, which was in a convoy.

Middle East: General Wavell begins a major planning conference with officers from the Indian Army.

Applied Science: France offers to purchase heavy water from Norway. Heavy water, of course, is useful only for research purposes and atomic bomb construction. Food rationing in France is now in effect.

German Military: Hitler has a ground commander, von Falkenhorst, and a naval commander, Admiral Raeder, for Operation Weserubung. He gives the final directive for the invasion, No. 10a, "Case "Weser Exercise" against Denmark and Norway."

Hungarian soldiers.

Hungarian Military: The Hungarians form three field armies: the Hungarian First Army, the Hungarian Second Army, and the Hungarian Third Army. With the exception of the independent "Fast Moving Army Corps" (Gyorshadtest), the field armies are initially relegated to defensive and occupation duties within the regained Hungarian territories.

American Government: Having visited Rome, Sumner Welles makes it to Berlin and meets with Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop. Welles concludes that Ribbentrop is "very stupid" with a "completely closed mind," which is a quite common reaction to Ribbentrop from foreign diplomats. Ribbentrop has an overbearing attitude with them, often ranting and raving about how Germany will crush all opposition and basically giving listeners ultimatums on what they must do.

British Homefront: Shortages are developing in unlikely areas. Women are encouraged to fashion light-colored clothes in order to save scarce dyes for uniforms.

Lord Haw-Haw continues broadcasting from Hamburg. William Joyce opens his broadcasts with, "Germany calling, Germany calling." A BBC survey finds that one person in six, or almost 20%, listen to the program regularly. The BBC comes on at 21:00, and Lord Haw-Haw's broadcast comes along (conveniently) directly afterward, so many people switch over.

American Homefront: Having just lost the Academy Award for "Gone With the Wind," perhaps the biggest injustice in Academy history, Clark Gable appears in his next film, "Strange Cargo."

Richard Wright's proto-civil rights novel "Native Son" is published.

China: In the continuing Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese 22nd Army is digging in around Nanning in the face of expected Chinese attacks.

Three Douglas O-46A and three North American O-47 aircraft assigned to the Maryland National Guard's 104th Observation Squadron conduct a training sortie on 1 March 1940 (US Air Force ID 400301-F-0000X-004).

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019

Thursday 14 December 1939

Honor Guard on the Admiral Graf Spee, December 14, 1939.

German Government: Hitler meets Vidkun Quisling on 14 December 1939. Admiral Reader, the originator of the idea of invading Norway, has convinced Adolf Hitler to meet Vidkun Quisling. Quisling is a minor Norwegian politician who is pro-German, pro-defense and also a huge anti-Semite. A friend of explorer Fridtjof Nansen, Quisling among other things had been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to Britain in the Soviet Union (there are rumors he was a spy), given the Romanian Crown Order and also the Yugoslav Order of St. Sava for humanitarian efforts. More recently, he had become the "Fører" of his Nasjonal Samling, the Norwegian equivalent of the NSDAP. He has an awesome resume, particular with the kinds of international contacts that Hitler envies - the one catch is that he isn't very popular in Norway, seen as more of a quaint quack than a national leader.

At the Hitler meeting, Quisling is like a Hitler dream. He asks for help with a pro-German coup that would open the huge Norwegian coastline to the U-boat fleet and save them days of transit to their Atlantic stations. Thereafter, he - as leader of Norway - would help to broker an Anglo/German settlement. Hitler is polite and promises to fund Quisling's party, but he is enough of a realist to see many of Quisling's promises as puffery, "broker's talk." His financial and moral encouragement of Quisling does not dissuade Hitler in the slightest from continuing to plan the invasion of Norway, which is not really what Quisling has in mind, and in fact, encourages it. Basically, Hitler sees Quisling as a potentially useful tool for managing a conquered nation, while Quisling sees himself as a future potentate.

The main result of the meeting is that Hitler orders the OKW (military high command) to begin a preliminary study on invading Norway. The first operational name for the project is "Studie Nord." The eventual code name is Weserubung ("Weser Exercise," because it is planned for April 9, which is the little-known holiday "Weser River Day" in Germany).

Winter War Army Operations: In the far north, the Soviets begin a new offensive in the Petsamo region, the one area where they still have freedom of action.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet destroyers Gnevny and Grozyaschi shell Uto Island.

Battle of the Atlantic: German liner Columbus, perhaps emboldened by the successful return to Germany of the Bremen from Murmansk, slips out of Vera Cruz, Mexico to return to Germany. There is an involved situation wherein Australian cruiser HMAS Perth is shadowing the Columbus, while several American destroyers and the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA 44) are shadowing the Perth, much to the latter's annoyance.

The Columbus almost slips out unnoticed, but two US destroyers see it leave and tail it. German freighter Arauca also departs from Vera Cruz before Columbus, perhaps as a decoy. The US ships in pursuit openly broadcast the Columbus' position for anyone who might be interested.

Admiral Graf Spee is given 48 hours to leave Montevideo port or be seized by the government after Captain Langsdorff requests two weeks. The British through their naval attaché Henry McCall are all over the Uruguayans and force this decision, though the authorities give the ship an extra day more than required (or allowed) by international law. Commodore Harwood of Force G, meanwhile, is lurking outside the estuary - 120 miles wide - with his battered ships, pondering what might happen in another action against the pocket battleship.

British destroyer Kelly (Lord Mountbatten) is damaged by a mine off the Tyne. Freighter Inverlane hits a mine but is beached before sinking and is later re-floated.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Ursula sinks Kriegsmarine escort vessel F-9.

The British release US freighter Extavia from detention at Gibraltar.

Convoys OA 53 and OB 53 depart from Southend and Liverpool, respectively.

Kapitän zur See Hans W. Langsdorff at the funeral of his men. (Photo courtesy of Hugo R. Sochi, from the private collection of Delia S. Neumann wife of Matrosenobergefreiter Gustav Neumann, Division 3, Admiral Graf Spee)

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 42 planes, its largest force yet, to attack German harbors. The Luftwaffe has a successful day, shooting down 5 of the attacking bombers.

Western Front: Premier Daladier summarizes the results of the first three months of the year in a communiqué, stating that 2,100 French soldiers had lost their lives. He rather incongruously contrasts this with 2,975 road deaths in Great Britain during the same period - road deaths having increased dramatically due to the blackout.

League of Nations: The League expels the USSR, which doesn't really notice since it has been boycotting the League anyway. The reason is for violating (among other things) the UN charter the USSR signed in 1934. Furthermore, the League coordinates relief efforts for the Finns. With Italy, Germany, and Japan already having left the League for one reason or another, it is losing relevance.

China: The Chinese Winter Offensive continues. Chinese 40th Army and 27 Army surround Japanese 36 Infantry division at Changtze and Tunliu; River North Army crosses the Han River; 19th Army Group of Chinese 9th War Area beats off a Japanese counterattack by Japanese 33rd and 40th Infantry Divisions Yuchiafan, Lungkang, and Dafan.

American Homefront: Festivities are in full swing for the Atlanta premiere of "Gone With the Wind," attended by Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and most of the cast. There are extended festivities, including a costume ball and various parades, which all culminate on 15 December 1939. It is probably the most elaborate film premiere of all time.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard flying to Atlanta for the premiere of Gable's film "Gone With The Wind" - the salary of which had enabled Gable to marry Lombard.

December 1939

December 1, 1939: Finland Fights for its Life
December 2, 1939: First RAF Bombs on Germany
December 3, 1939: Soviets Still Advancing in Finland
December 4, 1939: Molotov to Roosevelt - Mind Your Own Business
December 5, 1939: Prien Returns
December 6, 1939: Attacks on Mannerheim Line
December 7, 1939: Kollaa Holds!
December 8, 1939: Polish Pilots Return
December 9, 1939: First British BEF Fatality
December 10, 1939: The Soviets Capture Salla in Finland
December 11, 1939: Finns Make Their Move
December 12, 1939: Finnish Success in the Winter War
December 13, 1939: Battle of River Platte 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