Monday 26 February 1940

Soviet soldiers investigate a Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank.

Winter War: The Finns are preparing a new defensive line further west, the T Line, on 26 February 1940. Units already are being ordered to repair it.

Today is the Battle of Honkaniemi, the only Finnish tank attack of the Winter War.

Winter War Army Operations: Finns of the 23rd Division, II Corps have spent the night traveling to the little town of Heponotko, which is about 3 km from the train depot in Honkaniemi. By 04:00, they are in position. The 4th Armoured Company, composed of 13 Vickers 6-ton tanks, has traveled 50 km during the same time and meet them there 30 minutes later. During the journey, the 4th Armoured lost 5 of its 13 tanks due to engine failures and the like.

Captain I. Kunnas is in charge. He orders an artillery barrage and splits his remaining tanks between each flank. The artillery, though, aims short and hits the Finnish troops, causing 30 casualties.

The Finns advance, but are quickly stopped by the Soviet forces. The Finnish tanks prove completely ineffective, being targeted by much larger Soviet T-26 and T-28 tanks as well as 45 mm anti-tank guns. The Finnish tanks did make it to the Soviet line but were quickly knocked out there.

By 10:00, Captain Kunnas received orders to retreat. The Soviets reported to headquarters that they had destroyed six Finnish tanks with no losses to their own tank force.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Finnish Foreign Minister returns to Stockholm for more talks with Madame Kollontai.

Battle of the Atlantic: The 83,700-ton liner Queen Elizabeth departs Clydebank with minimal crew on a top-secret visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia and thence New York. She is one of the few ships to date fitted with a degaussing cable around her waterline to neutralize magnetic mines. Her greatest defense, though, her speed - large liners like her do not travel in convoys.

The British at Gibraltar detain US passenger liner Washington.

Convoy OB 99 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HX 23 departs from Halifax.

European Air Operations: Luftwaffe planes fly over Paris and attract anti-aircraft fire.

British Homefront: Due to naval bases being located in the north of Scotland, the British War Offices announces that commencing 1 March 1940, only those with special passes will be permitted north of the Caledonian Canal.

US Government: Sumner Welles visits with Mussolini and his son-in-law, Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano, in Rome.

US Military: The War Department creates the Air Defense Command as a component of the US First Army. Its mission is to defend the continental United States against attack.

A destroyed Finnish Vickers 6-ton tank; behind it is a Soviet T-26.

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

2020

Sunday 25 February 1940

Sumner Welles' visit to European leaders is widely publicized. People throughout Europe believe that his trip is either a prelude to US entry into the war or concealing some sinister purpose to meddle in European affairs.

Winter War: The Finns on 25 February 1940 report that they knocked out 25 Soviet tanks over the weekend on the Karelian Isthmus, as well as 17 north of Lake Ladoga.

Winter War Army Operations: There was some fighting in the Salla area. Otherwise, the front is reasonably quiet as both sides recuperate from the recent battles and also deal with the nasty winter weather.

The two sides are locked in what military types call an "embrace" all along the front. The Finns may be in trouble in places, but so are many trapped Soviet forces in others. Elements of the Soviet 54th Rifle Division which have been holding out in the Kuhmo sector are eliminated by Finnish attacks. In the center of the line, though, the Soviets retain the initiative and the overwhelming preponderance of force.

Finnish II Corps is responsible for the area around Lake Näykkijärvi, just to the southeast of Viipuri. It is one of the most sensitive areas on the entire V-line. Its commander, General Harald Öhquist, issues orders which are passed along to front line units at 22:15: the 23rd Division, which has been recently reinforced with armor units, is to attack. Four infantry units, two artillery battalions and the 4th Tank Company set out by truck to Heponotko and travel through the night to a spot near a town called Honkaniemi.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Finns continue considering the Soviet peace offer, which expires on 1 March 1940.

European Air Operations: The first contingent of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) arrives in Britain. It is No. 110 Army Co-operation (Auxiliary) Squadron of the RCAF.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-63 (Oberleutnant zur See Günther Lorentz) is sunk by some combination of depth charges and torpedoes from HMS Escort, HMS Inglefield and HMS Imogen and the submarine HMS Narwhal south of Shetland. One crew member perishes, 24 survive after the U-boat surfaces after 2 hours of depth charges.

US freighter Exochorda is detained by the British briefly at Gibraltar, then allowed to proceed. US freighter West Camargo is stopped briefly on the high seas by an unidentified French warship, but then allowed to proceed as well.

Convoy HG 20 departs from Gibraltar.

British/Norwegian Relations: Norway proposes international arbitration over the Altmark Incident if Great Britain wishes to continue its diplomatic protest.

US Government: Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles arrives in Naples to begin his fact-finding/peace mission for President Roosevelt.

Soviet dead in Finland, February 1940.

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

2020

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