Wednesday 20 March 1940

A British reconnaissance photo of the German seaplane base on the Isle of Sylt with targets marked, 1940.

Winter War: The Soviet Navy occupies its new base at Hango in Southern Finland.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) continues its successful patrol on 20 March 1940 by torpedoing and sinking 1,153-ton Danish freighter Viking northeast of the Moray Firth at 05:00. Two crew survive, 15 perish.

Next, U-19 torpedoes and sinks the 2,109-ton Danish freighter Bothal at 05:15. Five of the crew survive, 15 perish.

The passenger liner Mauretania departs from New York with an unpublished destination.

The British respond to the Brazilian government's protest of the heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire's stopping of the German freighter Wakama on 12 February. They claim that they were only protecting Brazilian commerce. The Brazilians are not amused, as stated by the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Oswaldo Aranha:

Indeed you are not, you are definitely not protecting our commerce by maintaining your warships off our coast. It is apparent to me that your blockade of Germany is plainly ineffective. If it were effective, you could stop the German boats [sic] on the other side before they entered German ports.

U-44 (Kptlt. Ludwig Mathes), if not sunk on 13 March 1940 by mine, is sunk today by destroyer depth charges. Either way, U-44 does not return from its mission, and all hands are presumed lost.

U-22 (Karl-Heinrich Jenisch) is lost either today or sometime thereafter from unknown causes after leaving Wilhelmshaven. All 27 crew are presumed lost.

Convoy HG 23 departs from Gibraltar.

European Air Operations: Ten Luftwaffe bombers attack a coastal convoy of neutral ships. The RAF and Coastal Command defend the convoy. Three of the vessels are damaged: Norwegian Syinta and Topra Elise, and Swedish Utklippan. Several of the attacking planes are damaged.

RAF Coastal command sinks a Kriegsmarine ship, the converted freighter Altenfels now called German Sperrbrecher 12, while it is clearing mines.

The Luftwaffe attacks British freighter Barn Hill off the Isle of Wight. She has to be beached and later breaks in two.

An RAF attack overnight scores damage on the Sylt Island Luftwaffe seaplane base. RAF reconnaissance on Sylt shows damage to the hangers, jetty, oil tanks and other infrastructure. One RAF plane fails to return.

Western Front: The BEF claims that in an encounter with a German patrol, five Wehrmacht soldiers were killed.

German Propaganda: German radio claims of Allied shipping losses become a running joke throughout the war due to incidents such as this one: Dr. Goebbels claims today that a Luftwaffe attack on a British convoy sank 9 British ships totaling 42,000 tons. The British quickly respond on the BBC, noting that in fact no ships were sunk and only four damaged. They describe the German claims as "42,000 tons in excess of the actual facts."

French Government: The French cabinet resigns along with Daladier.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles ends his fact-finding tour of Europe and boards a liner at Genoa to return to the United States.

Soviet/Scandinavian Relations: Moscow expresses its displeasure at reports that the Scandinavian nations are going to form a mutual defense pact.

India: The Assembly of Congress Party calls for independence.

China: In the Battle of Wuyuan, the Chinese 35th Corps and associated units enter Wuyuan by surprise after dark. The two sides engage in fierce combat for control of the city throughout the night.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Chinese East Route Force attacks the Japanese 22nd Army at the city the Japanese just captured, Lingshan.

Future History: US photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark is born. She shot stills for films such as Federico Fellini's "Satyricon" (1969) and Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979). She passed away in 2015.

Scripps Institute of Oceanography research vessel, E.W. Scripps (ship), aground on a sandbar until the next high tide came in. March 20, 1940.

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 19 March 1940

Gandhi greeting well-wishers, 1940.

Winter War: The Finns release their most recent casualty figures for the war on 19 March 1940, stating that of 58,500 total casualties, 15,700 had been killed. These figures are subject to revision.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiralty calculates that up to 13 March 1940, the Royal Navy had escorted 12,816 ships in convoy, losing only 28 while under RN protection.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) is operating in the Moray Firth, Scotland. It torpedoes and sinks 1,229-ton Danish freighter Minsk at 22:21. There are 9 survivors, 11 perish.

U-19 quickly follows that success up at 22:37 by torpedoing and sinking the 1,026-ton Danish freighter Charkow. All 20 aboard perish.

Destroyer HMS Jervis collides with Swedish freighter Tor northeast of Blyth at 03:00. The destroyer suffers heavy damage and 2 killed, 15 missing.

HMS Norfolk, seriously damaged in the 16 March raid on Scapa Flow, heads down to the Clyde under her own power for repairs.

Convoy OA 113GG departs from Southend, Convoy OB 113 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: The RAF mounts a major night raid composed of 50 bombers - 30 Whitleys and 20 Hampdens of 10 Squadron No.4 Group RAF Bomber Command - against the Germans' Sylt seaplane base. They attack the Hornum airbase at the island's southern end. This supposedly is in "retaliation" for the embarrassing 16 March 1940 raid on Scapa Flow. Little damage is caused to the German base, and the British lose a bomber. However, PM Chamberlain is able to make a dramatic announcement about it to the House of Commons while it is in progress, which goes a long way toward saving his job.

It is the first (intentional) British air attack against an enemy land target. The lack of effectiveness forces some soul-searching about the RAF's conduct of operations and the accuracy of the bombing. To the crews involved, however, the raid is a tonic: RAF Gunner Larry Donnelly states, "The atmosphere is charged with excitement that we're dropping bombs instead of bloody propaganda leaflets.”

As a footnote to the incident where an RAF bomber accidentally lands in a German field and then took off again after the crew conversed with locals, one of them, German Albert Kartes, 17, is imprisoned for 2 years for "aiding the enemy."

Norway: The Norwegians file another official protest with Berlin regarding the air attack against Norwegian freighter Bott.

India: The All-India Nationalist Congress votes Mahatma Gandhi leader of its campaign to win independence from British rule. He threatens civil disobedience to achieve those aims.

British Government: Prime Minister Chamberlain makes a speech before the House of Commons explaining what went wrong in Finland. He explains that Great Britain and France were prepared to send a 100,000-man expeditionary force to Finland, but were unable to due to Norwegian and Swedish intransigence. The Allies had, he states, sent large quantities of arms, planes, and munitions.

The MPs, especially Harold Macmillan, heavily criticize the conduct of operations. However, Chamberlain survives.

French Government: After Prime Minister Edouard Daladier calls for a vote of confidence, the French Chamber of Deputies casts a 239-1 vote in his favor. Because well over half of the 551 deputies abstain from voting, which Daladier recognizes as lack of confidence in him, Daladier resigns.

US Government: US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles has one last meeting with Count Ciano before leaving Italy.

United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Canada James H.R. Cromwell in which he condemns Hitler and Hitlerism for openly destroying the social and economic order vital for western civilization. It is the first open attack on the German Reich by a US official. Furthermore, he states that the US should join the Allies, which earns him criticism from Isolationist politicians.

James H.R. Cromwell and wife Doris Duke.

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 25 January 1940

Pilot Officer John R "Jack" Urwin-Mann, who is posted to RAF No 253 Squadron based at Manston on 25 January 1940. DFC 26 November 1940.

Winter War: A British delegation of the National Council of Labour headed by Sir Walter Citrine sets off for Finland on 25 January 1940.

Winter War Army Operations: At Lahde, the Soviets have been scouting out Finnish positions. The Soviet 123rd Rifle Division (Col. Alyabushev) has built dugouts with stoves and engaged in a training program in preparation for a new offensive. The three regiments of the division are kept well back from the front, approximately 2 km, with company-strength forces to keep an eye on the Finns.

Alyabushev is a taskmaster who gets his men ready. Morale is high. New guns are brought up and put into position, so many that it is difficult to locate them all to the best advantage. The scouts capture some Finnish prisoners and also locate the key defensive features. One is the large "Millionaire bunker" on Tongue Hill, another the "Poppius bunker" in the center of the line. This is one of the best-fortified sections of the entire Mannerheim Line.

Two 152 mm guns are sited for the express purpose of destroying the Millionaire bunker. The Soviet troops have enough time and manpower to construct elaborate wooden casements for the guns. They are in position and ready for action by today, but there is some thick fog which cancels the opening of the assault until the weather clears.

At Summa, the 7,000-shell daily bombardment continues.

"Ski Troops Halt Mechanized Soviets." The Orange Leader (Orange, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 1940.

Winter War Naval Operations: The weather is extremely poor, enough so that a patrol of Kriegsmarine destroyers turns back to base.

Soviet planes sink Finnish freighter Notung in a bomb attack. The crew reports that the Soviets strafed the survivors in their lifeboat.

Battle of the Atlantic: There continues to be a rash of sinkings of neutral vessels, especially Norwegian ones. The British would dearly love for the Norwegians to join the fight, but they refuse to budge on their neutrality - though it is obvious they tilt toward the Allies.

U-14 (Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Wohlfarth) torpedoes and sinks 1,752-ton Norwegian freighter SS Biarritz. 36 miles northwest of Ymuiden. There is only time to launch a single lifeboat. There are 21 survivors, while 37 people perish (11 passengers, including some women, and 26 crew).

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) continues its stellar patrol by torpedoing and sinking 4,434-ton Latvian freighter SS Everene (re-flagged as Belgian vessel Louvain) five miles off Longstone Lighthouse, Farne Islands at 09:12. There are 30 survivors, one perishes.

U-19 also torpedoes and sinks 1,300-ton Norwegian freighter SS Gudveig nearby at 09:30. There are eight survivors, ten perish. Schepke is proving adept at attacks in quick succession, which takes a bit of nerve due to the chances of being spotted and attacked himself.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) torpedoes and sinks 2,769-ton French freighter SS Tourny at 04:11, 20 miles off Porto, Portugal. There are 9 survivors and 8 perish. U-44 sets up on another freighter in the same convoy (56-KS), but an escort vessel spots the U-boat and launches an unsuccessful depth-charge attack.

British destroyer HMS Exmoor is launched.

Convoy OA 79 departs from Southend, OB 79 departs from Liverpool.

Carole Lombard on the cover of Photoplay, January 1940.

European Air Operations: A RAF reconnaissance fails to return from a mission over northwest Germany.

Occupied Poland: The "Goering-Frank Circular" is issued. All occupied territory is to be fully exploited for the benefit of the Reich. This is a top-secret document that soon finds its way to the Polish government-in-exile.

A 1940 Lincoln Continental.

US Navy: US Navy icebreaker USS Bear (AG-29), constructed in 1874, advances further south into the Antarctic than any ship previously. She is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Richard H. Cruzen, fated to lead Operation Highjump in 1948. This is part of the 1939-1941 United States Antarctic Expedition led by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd.

Canada: Lord Tweedsmuir announces that Parliament is dissolved for elections to be held on 28 March. The issue at hand is the thoroughness of war preparation.

Belgium: The Belgian Foreign Minister rejects the 20 January 1940 appeal by First Lord of the Admiralty for neutral countries to join the Allies.

Vivien Leigh on the cover of Paris Match, 25 January 1940.

Holocaust: The SS selects the village of  Oswiecim (Auschwitz) for the construction of a concentration camp.

China: Chinese 3rd War Area attacks the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division west of Shaohsing.

In the Battle of South Kwangsi, Japanese units from Nanning open an offensive in the direction of Pinyang.

Jimmy Stewart and Frank Morgan in "The Shop Around the Corner," released 25 January 1940.

American Homefront: "The Shop Around the Corner" starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Ernst Lubitsch opens at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The "Millionaire" bunker at Lahde.

Future History: Ian Watkin is born in Greymouth, New Zealand. He becomes an actor, getting his first film credits in the early 1970s. His first major role is as Dr. Ryder on New Zealand television series "Pukemanu," and he works steadily thereafter in minor roles on both television and film. He is perhaps best known for "Braindead" (1992) and "Sleeping Dogs" (1977). Fans of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys might recognize Watkin from his various supporting roles in the series. Ian Watkin passes away in Australia on 18 May 2016.

Ricardo Costa is born in Peniche, Portugal. He becomes a filmmaker in the mid-1970s, producing a series of low-budget films that focus on Portugal.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Tuesday 23 January 1940

The Swedish Volunteer Corps fought with the Finns against the Red Army in the area of Salla, during the Winter War. A Bofors 37 mm AT gun is left standing as part of a memorial at the site.

Winter War: General Semyon Timoshenko, considered one of the "modern" Soviet Generals, on 23 January 1940 completely changes Meretskov's failed plan for the invasion of Finland. Meretskov had attempted to overwhelm the Finns by attacking all along the long border, but the terrain and weather had been too much for the Soviets to overcome. Timoshenko ends that strategy, stops the advances in the north and pinpoints the Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus as the focus of an overwhelming assault.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets mount another attack on the Finnish line at Taipale, but it is beaten back after hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches.

At Salla, many of the advanced Soviet troops have been pushed back to the town. A small, isolated force remains at Maerkaejaervi a few miles further down the road, but it is cut off. Supplies are being air-dropped to it.

Finnish 9th Division, the victors at Suomussalmi under (now General) Siilasvuo, arrive in Kuhmo. Their next mission is to attack the Soviet 54th Division. This is one of the divisions that Timoshenko's plan leaves without a purpose, and it is to receive no reinforcement and reduced priority. Basically, the Soviet division has been left to live or die on its own where it stands and using its own resources.

The Soviet 7,000 shell daily bombardment of Summa continues.

Battle of the Atlantic: One of Germany's most successful U-boat commanders, Joachim Schepke, gets two victories.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) torpedoes and sinks 1,598-ton Norwegian freighter Pluto off the southeast Scottish coast. All 22 crew survive, the ship had just left convoy HN-8 and was traveling further south unescorted. The attack is at 08:43.

U-19 quickly scores another kill, the 1,528-ton British freighter Baltanglia. It also had been in Convoy HN-8 and was traveling down the coast unescorted. All 28 crew survive and are picked up by local fishing boats. This attack is at 08:55, just a dozen minutes after the previous one. Schepke uses one torpedo on each ship.

Finnish 1,333-ton freighter Onto hits a mine laid by U-56 on 8 January 1940 and sinks near Smith's Lightvessel, Cross Sand. All 18 crew survive and are picked up by a British destroyer and a Greek freighter.

The British at Gibraltar release the two US freighters Excambion and Excellency that it has seized. The authorities confiscate 470 sacks of mail bound for Italy and Germany.

Britain and France jointly warn that they will attack German shipping encountered in the Pan-American neutral zone.
Convoy OA 78 GF departs from Southend.

Western Front: Performers sent to entertain the BEF troops report that the ENSA entertainment organization is in a "chaotic muddle." ENSA officials are told to report to the War Office.

South Africa: General Hertzog, leader of the opposition, delivers a speech to the South African Parliament in support of peace which is widely interpreted as pro-German. Jan Smuts immediately rebuts it.

Yugoslavia: Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano and Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić discuss plans for an insurrection that would separate the province of Croatia from Yugoslavia. Italy considers the Balkans to be within its sphere of influence.

Japan: Japan lodges a formal protest over the British seizure of 21 German passengers on the Asama Maru on 21 January 1940.

Polish Government-in-exile: The Polish National Council meets in Paris for the first time instead of Anvers, with all Polish parties represented. Ignacy Paderewski is chosen as Speaker of the National Council of Poland, the Polish Parliament-in-exile.

British Homefront: The Government, alarmed at the sharp rise in road accidents due to the blackout (1200 killed in December alone), decides to take action: it lowers the speed limit in built-up areas during darkness from 30 mph to 20. The blackout continues despite the fact that there have been no Luftwaffe raids on British cities.

American Homefront: A monster snowstorm hits large portions of the eastern United States, and much worse than predicted. It is known as "the Great Snow of 1940." Women city workers in Richmond, Virginia (over 16 inches of snow) are told they can stay home, but male workers are still expected to show up because the Mayor can walk to work.

China: The Japanese 22nd Infantry Division is attacking toward Shaohsing against the 3rd Chinese War Area.

A reporter rides a mule during the Great Snow of 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019

Tuesday 9 January 1940

6th Division boards the troopship Pyrmont, Sydney, 9-10 January 1940 / by Sam Hood (Library of New South Wales).

Winter War: The Soviets issue on 9 January 1940 a communiqué admitting that they had to retreat from Suomussalmi.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns once again stage a secret operation and cut the Leningrad-Murmansk railway.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers raid six small towns in Finland.

Winter War Peace Talks: There are unofficial peace talks in Stockholm between Hella Wuolijoki, an Estonian-born Finnish writer, and Alexandra Kollontai, the Soviet ambassador to Sweden. Both had been friends of Lenin.

In addition, the Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee seeks US mediation.

Alexandra Kollantai.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiralty reports that out of 5,911 ships in convoy, only 12 had been sunk while protected by the convoy.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) torpedoes and sinks 1,343-ton Norwegian coal freighter Manx off Kinnaird Head, northeast Scotland. 30 of the crew survive, nine perish. Four men perish in the icy water due to an upturned lifeboat.

The British lose a third submarine in the Heligoland Bight in only a few days. This time, HMS Starfish is damaged by a German minesweeper, M-7, with depth charges after its torpedoes misfire. After over eight hours of nightmarish depth charge attacks, the submarine begins to leak and Lt. Thomas Turner orders the sub to be scuttled. Everyone survives. The Admiralty suspends operations in the Heligoland Bight.

German blockade runner Bahia Blanca hits an iceberg and sinks northwest of Iceland, assisted by Royal Navy cruiser HMS Newcastle.

British 10,002 ton liner Dunbar Castle hits a mine and sinks off Ramsgate off the southeast coast of England. It has been with Convoy OA-69, which just left port. Ten lives are lost, including the Captain, 7 crew, and one passenger. In addition, a racehorse is lost. Chief Officer Herbert Robinson gets everyone in lifeboats despite a heavy list and earns the OBE.

The Luftwaffe sinks British freighters Gowrie and Oakgrove

Kriegsmarine destroyers lay magnetic mines off Newcastle and Cromer.

US freighter Western Queen is detained at Gibraltar by the British.

Convoy OA 69 departs from Southend, and OB 69 departs from Liverpool.

Western Front: A colonial contingent from Cyprus lands in France to join the BEF.

European Air Operations: The British create a Royal Air Force command in France. Marshal A. S. Barratt is Commander-In-Chief.

German/Italian Relations: The Italians protest the German seizure as contraband of Italian exports of war supplies to Finland.

British Homefront: Winston Churchill makes a speech which is the first of a series by the cabinet ministers.

Separately, the government reports that British employment for January is 1.6 million workers, which is above average for 1939. This is despite the absence from the labor force of the 1.5 million men who have been called up for military service.

Holocaust: The West Prussian SS commander reports that 4,000 incurable mental patients have been euthanized in Poland per Hitler's October 1939 decree.

China: The Japanese forces near Huangyan begin to receive reinforcements. They are opposite the Chinese 5th War Area. The reinforcements will bring the force to 3 full regiments.

Japanese units withdraw from the Pingchangkuan - Hsiaolintien - Kungchiafan sector, pushed by the Southern Honan Army of the Chinese 5th War Area.

HMS Starfish.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019