Friday 8 March 1940

A repair worker being pulled out of the barrage balloon she is fixing as part of her duties with the Women's Royal Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), 8 March 1940.

Winter War: The French government states on 8 March 1940 that they are sending large quantities of arms (including French Renault FT-17 tanks), ammunition and 175 airplanes to Finland even without any requests for aid. The British offer to send 50 planes and also an expeditionary force, but Norway and Sweden must agree - and they don't. The Finns promise that they will not accept a "peace of defeat."

Finnish Marshal Carl Mannerheim, who was against the war, sees the military situation deteriorating presses for the government to accept the offer of assistance from the Allies. Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner feels this will sabotage the negotiations proceeding in Moscow.

The Soviets reject a Finnish request for an immediate cease-fire while negotiations proceed.
Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets edge further into Viipuri. There is fighting in the suburb of Tali. The weakest spot in the Finnish line, aside from the foothold the Soviets have established on the western shore of Viipuri Bay, is to the northeast of the city.

The Finns in the bay capture more islands in Viipurinlahti Bay.

The T-Line is holding, but barely. The Soviet 7th and 13 Armies continue assaulting it.

Further north, at Kuhmo, some remaining elements of the Soviet 54th Rifle Division of the 9th Army that has been trapped in a dwindling pocket are eliminated by the Finns.

Winter War Peace Talks: Finnish Prime Minister Risto Ryti and his team meet with the Soviet negotiators at 16:00. Molotov heads the Soviet delegation, and other members are Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet Andrei Zhdanov and General A. M. Vasilevski. Stalin himself does not get involved.

Battle of the Atlantic: British 5,068-ton freighter Counsellor (Master Harold Coates) hits a mine and sinks near Liverpool. The mine was laid by U-30 on 6 January 1940. All 78 onboard survive. The ship is the command ship of the convoy's commodore, Rear Admiral H.G.C. Franklin, RN. A destroyer tried to take it in tow, but it ultimately sank.

The mines laid by U-30 have had a tremendous return, as they now have claimed 6 ships totaling 33,000 tons.

German 5,600 ton freighter Hannover is set on fire by its crew rather than allow its capture by Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine in the Mona Passage off the Dominican Republic. The crew then abandons the ship, which does not sink. Later, a boarding party from British light cruiser HMS Dunedin salvages the ship. Two other German freighters, Mimi Horn and the Seattle, slip by while the British are occupied and head north.

British submarine HMS Tarpon (Lt. Commander Herbert J. Caldwell) is commissioned.

Convoy OA 106 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 106 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111s attack fishing trawlers and any other ships that they can spot. Along the British east coast. An RAF reconnaissance goes all the way to Poznan, (occupied) Poland, to drop leaflets, the farthest of the war to date. A Heinkel goes down in the north sea.

German/Italian Relations: One of the lesser-known features of the war is Hitler's correspondence with other leaders. Today, he corresponds with Mussolini, who he wants to join the German war effort, in a sort of chatty way.

German/Norwegian Relations: The Finnish government lodges a secret (or at least not publicized) diplomatic protest with the Germans over the sinking of Norwegian sinks.

British Government: Perhaps to allay public fears, the government releases information about the countermeasures it has developed to magnetic mines.

Soviet Military: It is "International Women's Day" in the Soviet Union. Female soldiers are decorated for valor, and there are dance performances and related events in army units arranged by the "sisters of struggle" women's groups attached to them.

Soviet Government: Following on from the 7 March 1940 Politburo decision to execute the Polish officers, their relatives now are condemned as "enemies of the state" and are slated to be sent to Siberia.

US Government: Sumner Welles continues his meetings in Paris. Today, he meets with Jules Jeanneney and Édouard Herriot, who are not interested in negotiating with Germany.

Holocaust: German police order all Jews in Lodz to move to the ghetto immediately. Anyone resisting such orders is shot. According to Irena Liebman, a Jewish resident of Lodz: "Starting this morning more & more people filled the streets with knapsacks, suitcases, bundles." It is a "caravan of poverty."

Future History: Susan Clark is born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. She becomes famous in the 1960s for such films as "Coogan's Bluff" with Clint Eastwood, and later for television shows such as "Webster."

The Counsellor sinks on 8 March 1940 (Photo from City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 447-2130).

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

Tuesday 27 February 1940

Evolution of Soviet tanks left to right: A-8, A-20, T-34 model 1940, T34 model 1941.

Winter War: British volunteers leave to join the Finnish forces on 27 February 1940. Many of the volunteers from other countries such as England, while good-hearted and motivated, are young, naive and unsuitable for combat in the harsh conditions of the Finnish forests. The other Scandinavian nations stand firm in their resolve to remain neutral. Stockholm does take in 300 Finnish children refugees.

The V-line switch position slips further during the day, so at 19:00 toward evening commander of the Finnish Army of the Isthmus, Lieutenant-General Erik Heinrichs authorizes a further withdrawal to the T-Line. This is the final prepared line on the Karelian Isthmus but certainly is no better than the Mannerheim Line. An efficient retreat ensues.

Look magazine, 27 February 1940.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets attack the islands in the Bight of Viipuri. This is part of a broader pincer move against Viipuri, the true prize on the Isthmus of Karelia.

They also launch attacks at Taipale. In the Far North, the seesaw battle near Petsamo turns the Soviets' way after a day-long struggle.

Winter War Peace Talks: Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner is back in Stockholm to continue his negotiations with Madame Kollontai, the Soviet ambassador to Sweden.

European Air Operations: The RAF shoots down two Heinkel He 111 bombers, one over the Firth of Forth and one over the Northumberland Coast.

The RAF sends reconnaissance flights over the Heligoland and German north sea coasts and down along the western German frontier. Bombers drop propaganda leaflets over Berlin.


Battle of the Atlantic: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill once again claims huge losses for the German U-boat fleet. In actuality, relatively few U-boats have been sunk so far and the U-boat fleet is growing, but there is no way for the public to know this.

British authorities at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Sundance.

Convoy OA 99 departs from Southend, Convoy SL 22 departs from Freetown, and Convoy OG 20F forms at Gibraltar.

Soviet Military: At a meeting of the Defense Committee, the decision is taken - after much design work - to produce new tanks for the Red Army: A-30 (wheel-track, 30 mm armor, 76.2 mm gun) and A-32 (purely caterpillar construction). Experience in Finland has shown the value of tracked tanks. Stalin and Voroshilov attend.

Science: Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discovered Carbon-14 at the University of California, Berkeley.

French Homefront: Joan Miró's Seated Woman II (Femme assise II) is finalized.

Joan Miro's "Seated Woman 2."

American Homefront:  Howard Hesseman is born in Lebanon, Oregon. He becomes famous as an actor in the 1970s for television shows "WKRP in Cincinnati" and "Head of the Class."

Everything is still sunny in the States according to Life Magazine.

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