Wednesday 7 August 1940

Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspects 9.2-inch guns of 57th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery during a tour of East Coast defenses, 7 August 1940.

Battle of Britain: Further to the meeting at Carinhall on 6 August, Generalfeldmarchall Albert Kesselring on 7 August 1840 orders his units to begin focusing on RAF airfields and infrastructure.

German radio claims that the Luftwaffe has closed to the English Channel to British shipping. This is not strictly true, although the remaining daily convoys have been taking horrendous losses. In fact, many convoys have been re-routed north around Scotland. The remaining ships are almost exclusively colliers whose cargo is not considered a priority - there is always more coal to be dug - and the Admiralty refuses to admit that it cannot protect shipping right offshore of England. It convenes a meeting of ship captains and tells them in no uncertain terms:

We don't give a damn for your coal, we'd send you through empty if we had to. . . It's a matter of prestige.

Really, that is what war comes down to in the end. You can practically see them raising their middle fingers at the Germans.

The attack by the Fleet Air Arm on oil installations at Dolvik, five miles south of Bergen, Norway. © IWM (A 3595)

To assert this prestige, one such convoy (20 colliers, 9 destroyers) codenamed Peewit by the RAF and CS9 by the Royal Navy sets out at dusk from the Thames estuary heading north. German Freyda radar at Wissant detects the convoy, but in fact, it is plainly visible to German sentries at Cape Gris Nez anyway. The Germans prepare to attack in the morning.

Luftwaffe raids are few and scattered today despite decent flying weather. There is an attack on the convoy off Cromer, but no damage results. The intrusions are more for nuisance value, often lone raiders designed to wear out the defending RAF fighters, and a gradual shift toward nuisance night attacks (keeping people across the country awake, wearing out the defenders) is becoming obvious. It is easy to make light of these raids, but one bomber can do a lot of damage if it hits sensitive structures and the incident can be long-remembered regardless. Tonight, for instance, Exeter in Devon is bombed for the first time by one bomber which does little damage.

Pilot Officer D. Smith of 616 Squadron perishes when he crashes his Spitfire during the night at Leconfield and is killed.

Hauptmann Karl Valesi of 3./Epr.Gr 210 is killed in a plane crash at St. Omer. He is on special attachment to the unit and is not, as many sources claim, the Staffelkapitän, who remains Oblt. Otto Hintze.

Major Werner ‘Vati’ Mölders, Kommodore of JG 51, returns from his hospital stay that resulted from his recent leg wound. Mölders does not have medical clearance but returns anyway. Just because he has been wounded does not make him "soft" - he immediately turns down a request for a pilot to receive leave to get married, telling him to wait for the final victory over England.

During the day, RAF Bomber Command attacks JG 54's base at Haamstede, causing significant damage but killing no Luftwaffe pilots. The British bombers also attack the airfield at Cherbourg again. During the night, they attack the usual suspects such as Emmerich, Kiel dockyard facilities, oil installations at Hamm and Hornburg, and various airfields in northwest Europe.

Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skuas attack oil installations at Bergen, Norway. A few observations about this particular raid:

1. Bergen is being used as a major U-boat base;
2. Depriving the U-boats of oil would crimp their patrols and make the Royal Navy's job easier;
3. The Royal Navy would be much more interested in prioritizing the destruction of U-boat oil supplies than would Bomber Command, because Bomber Command has a strategic, and sometimes parochial, perspective with numerous inviting and deserving targets scattered all across Europe;
4. Thus, the Fleet Air Arm makes the attack.

It is common to view the British military as one, big united group of heroes battling the nasty Germans. To a large extent, that is true. In point of fact, though, inter-service rivalries persist throughout the war. The Admiralty could, for instance, have kindly requested that Bomber Command pound the living daylights out of the oil depots servicing the U-boats. It then could have waited until Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal found time to spare from bombing the airfields which are attacking his own bombers and other important targets in Germany and France. The U-boat supplies might make the Bomber Command targeting list tomorrow or next week or next month. On the other hand, the Admiralty could just conduct the raid itself, right now, using its own somewhat less powerful and scarcer resources. This, my friends, is how wars actually are fought, many little wars in the midst of the larger one.

Another view of the day's Dolvik/Bergen raid.  © IWM (A 3590)

Battle of the Atlantic: U-38 (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe) torpedoes and sinks 7527-ton Egyptian liner (used as a troop carrier and also carrying many civilian passengers) Mohamed Ali El Kebir in the Atlantic about 200 miles west of Ireland. There are 1,397 people on board, of whom 60 (ten crew, 50 troops) perish (figures vary wildly by source). U-38 survives two hours of depth charging by destroyer HMS Griffin, which later picks up the survivors.

Kriegsmarine 7381-ton anti-submarine trawler Wiking (VP 1501) hits a mine and sinks in shallow water near Frederickshaven but appears salvageable.

Convoys OA 195 and MT 133 leave Methil, OB 195 departs from Liverpool, Convoy FN 245 departs from Southend, Convoy FS 245 leaves the Tyne.

The Kriegsmarine lays mines in the North Sea and all along the English coast.

German raider Orion, operating in the Pacific, refuels from the Winnetou.

U-140 (Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Peter Hinsch) is commissioned.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The RAF bombs Italian positions at Bardia and Massawa.

The Malta authorities reorganize the ground troops. The Malta Infantry Brigade is broken up into two new units, the Northern Infantry Brigade (Brigadier W H Oxley MC) and the Southern Infantry Brigade (Brigadier L H Cox MC). The day is quiet save for an Italian reconnaissance flight across the island at first light.

British submarine HMS Pandora, which brought in needed supplies on the 6th, departs today.

British Somaliland: The 2nd Black Watch Battalion (73rd Regiment) completes its cross-over from Palestine to British Somaliland to aid in the defense. The 1st Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment arrives from Aden.

Anglo/Japanese Relations: British Foreign Minister Lord Halifax joins with US Ambassador to Tokyo Joseph Grew in cautioning the Japanese about adventurism in French Indochina (Vietnam).

Another view of the day's Dolvik/Bergen raid. © IWM (A 3596).

Anglo/Free French Relations: The British government in the personage of Prime Minister Winston Churchill reaches new agreements with Free French leader Charles de Gaulle regarding the Free Free Volunteer troops. The areas of negotiation involve how much autonomy the French units are to have.

German/French Relations: The Germans complete the annexation of Alsace/Lorraine. This may sound insignificant because the Germans control it regardless, but that region has been an eternal area of dispute between the two countries and its annexation could be considered to be a major German war aim.

British Government: The government is manufacturing Molotov Cocktails for Home Guard use.

American Military: The subject of conscription continues to be debated in Congress.

Destroyer USS Grayson is launched.

British Government: Frank Pick becomes the new Director-General of Information, replacing Sir Kenneth Lee.

Middle East commander General Wavell completes his journey to London from Alexandria via Malta after his plane survives multiple Luftwaffe attacks.

General Cunningham assumes command of the 51st Infantry Division.

Australia: The government requisitions Alanzo Sparkes' paddock in Chermside. The plan is to build a military camp there.

Belgian Homefront: The war has devastated the harvest throughout the Low Countries, making food a valuable commodity. There are reports of Wehrmacht troops raiding houses for food. The British blockade is making the food situation much worse. There remains much controversy in the press about whether the British will allow humanitarian aid to the starving peoples of Europe.

American Homefront: It is hurricane season in the Caribbean, and a hurricane makes landfall at Sabine Pass, Texas.

Future History: Jean-Luc Dehaene, a future Prime Minister of Belgium, is born in Montpellier, France. He passes away in 2014.

Headlines for 7 August 1940.

August 1940

August 1, 1940: Two RN Subs Lost
August 2, 1940: Operation Hurry
August 3, 1940: Italians Attack British Somaliland
August 4, 1940: Dueling Legends in the US
August 5, 1940: First Plan for Barbarossa
August 6, 1940: Wipe Out The RAF
August 7, 1940: Burning Oil Plants
August 8, 1940: True Start of Battle of Britain
August 9, 1940: Aufbau Ost
August 10, 1940: Romania Clamps Down On Jews
August 11, 1940: Huge Aerial Losses
August 12, 1940: Attacks on Radar
August 13, 1940: Adler Tag
August 14, 1940: Sir Henry's Mission
August 15, 1940: Luftwaffe's Black Thursday
August 16, 1940: Wolfpack Time
August 17, 1940: Blockade of Britain
August 18, 1940: The Hardest Day
August 19, 1940: Enter The Zero
August 20, 1940: So Much Owed By So Many
August 21, 1940: Anglo Saxon Incident
August 22, 1940: Hellfire Corner
August 23, 1940: Seaplanes Attack
August 24, 1940: Slippery Slope
August 25, 1940: RAF Bombs Berlin
August 26, 1940: Troops Moved for Barbarossa
August 27, 1940: Air Base in Iceland
August 28, 1940: Call Me Meyer
August 29, 1940: Schepke's Big Day
August 30, 1940: RAF's Bad Day
August 31, 1940: Texel Disaster

2020

Saturday December 23 1939

Molotov cocktail.

Winter War: Today, 23 December 1939, is the Finnish Army's first attempt at a strategic offensive. It was pitched to Marshall Mannerheim only two days ago by General Öhqvist, who is in charge of the Karelian Isthmus. It is the first planned, set-piece offensive by the Finns.

Winter War Army Operations: At 06:30, four Finnish Divisions launch a major counterattack on the western side of the Karelian Isthmus in front of Viipuri. It is the most sensitive spot on the entire front, and both sides have their top firepower there.

The Soviets may not be very good on the offensive recently, but they show that tanks are excellent defensive weapons. After gaining no ground, General Öhqvist abruptly calls off the operation at 14:40. There are roughly 1300 deaths on both sides, which, for the Finns, is a disaster.

At Suomussalmi, the 9th Division launches an attack on the struggling 44th Division which is strung out on the Ratte road. The column had been moving ahead slowly, but with only two machine companies, Captain Mäkinen of the 9th Army forces the entire column, led by the 25th Rifle Regiment, to halt and dig in. It is like a gigantic traffic jam with all lanes blocked.

Winter War Air Operations: The Soviets bomb Helsinki again, but this time with leaflets which contained a message from the Soviet's puppet Finnish government.

Battle of the Atlantic: British repair ship Dolphin hits a mine and sinks off Blyth, Scotland. Everyone survives.

Minesweeping trawlers HMS Glen Albyn and HMS Promotive hit mines and sink in Loch Ewe, Scotland.

The British release US freighters Explorer and Oakwood from detention at Gibraltar.

German Government: Hitler tours the West Wall.

Ireland: The IRA steals 1.1 million rounds of small arms ammunition from the Irish Army's depot at Phoenix Park.

Romania: The government makes inquires to the Italian government for support against Soviet aggression.

League of Nations: The League is busy rounding up support for the Finns, one of the more effective things it has ever done.

United States/Latin American Relations: The US and 20 other nations in the Americas make a statement reaffirming their coastal water neutrality from belligerent actors inside the "security zone" at the River Platte. This message appears directed at the British.

China: The Japanese are launching counterattacks in most places:

• Japanese landings on the Yangtze River in Third War Area;
• Japanese 21st Army captures Tsotanhsu and Lungmen from Chinese 4th War Area;
• Chinese 5th War Area retreats across the Han River;

Chinese 8th War Area is still on the attack outside Patou. In addition, the Chinese are attacking the Japanese 5th Infantry Division around Kunlunkuan.

A Finnish modified Maxin 1910 machine gun used in an antiaircraft role.

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

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