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 29 February 1940

Finnish soldiers circa 29 February 1940.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets on 29 February 1940 follow the Finnish withdrawal closely and immediately begin attacking to surround Viipuri. The Soviets once again attempt to outflank Viipuri by crossing the frozen Gulf of Finland. They make it to shore 15 miles west of Viipuri, but the Finns immediately launch a massive counterattack and drive them off. As part of the operation, the Soviets capture Teikari Island.

Soviets also attack at Taipale for the second day in a row, but all three attacks are repelled. The Soviets begin to lose interest in this extremely difficult sector.

There also is a Soviet attack at Pitkaerantae, Northeast of Lake Ladoga, but it also is repelled.

The Finns overrun another motti north of Lake Ladoga. This time, it is East Lemetti Motti (West Lemetti Motti having already fallen). The Finns capture 5 field guns, 1 antitank gun, 71 tanks, 12 armored cars, 6 antiaircraft machineguns, 206 trucks & 70 machineguns.

Winter War Peace Talks: One day before the Soviet deadline, the Finns accept the Soviet terms in principle and they are willing to enter into final negotiations about them. They do not communicate this to the Soviets immediately because of negative French and British reactions to the news.

The Winter War proceeds, but it is on its last legs.

Battle of the Atlantic: Shipping Losses for February 1940:

• 63 Allied Ships
• 226,920 tons
• 4 U-boats sunk.

Today, U-20 (Kplt. Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) torpedoes and sinks Italian freighter SS Maria Rose in the English Channel. There are 12 dead and 7 survivors.

In the Dutch West Indies, the destroyer HMS Despatch intercepts the German blockade runner Troja near Aruba. The crew of Troja scuttles the ship lest it is captured, and it sinks on 1 March. Fellow blockade runner Heidelberg, which departs at roughly the same time after dark, evades detection.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Cold Harbor.

Convoy OA 101 departs from Southend. Convoy OB 101 departs from Liverpool.

Spies: The Uruguayan Government sells the wreck of the Graf Spee in the River Platte to a local salvage firm for £14,000. The salvage firm, in fact, is a front for British naval intelligence, which wishes to learn any secrets they can find about, for instance, Kriegsmarine radar. The Admiralty thinks its local representatives paid too much, but useful information is learned about the radar.

British/Japanese Relations: The British return 9 of the 21 German nationals that they abducted from the Asama Maru on 21 January 1940. In exchange, the Japanese agree not to transport German military reservists back to Germany.

German Government: With Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles making the rounds of European leaders, there is a widespread concern throughout Europe about what his meddling in European affairs may portend. Hitler, in particular, is concerned. He instructs everyone who is to meet with Welles that they are to stick to the proper narrative: Britain and France declared war so that they could destroy Germany, and thus Germany must continue defending itself until they stop.

The British have reinstated the Navicert system used during World War I, which basically clears shipped goods as not being contraband in advance. It also is championed by President Roosevelt, but merchants are not as keen about it. The US and other neutral powers are following this system with varying degrees of enthusiasm and compliance. The German Press Department at The Hague issues a statement that anyone adhering to this system will make themselves suspect to Germany.

Estonia: The government forbids its ships to travel in the North Sea except by convoy.

Palestine: There is a spontaneous protest against the British at the recent laws restricting the purchase of land, which many settlers feel is an improper penalty upon Jews.

French Homefront: Minister of Finance Paul Reynaud warns in a broadcast about runaway inflation (le cycle infernal). The words carry weight because of the fairly recent disaster on that score in Weimar Germany. The government is imposing the usual measures to control prices, many of which stretch back to Roman times, including a price freeze, rationing, revaluation of gold reserves, and compulsory use of female labor.

In the first step of the plan, the French government introduces ration cards.

Jan/Feb 1940, l. to r. Antilla, Troja, and Heidelberg anchored at Malmok, source: Les Seekins’ scrapbook, courtesy of  www.lago-colony.com.

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

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

Saturday 27 January 1940

The good ship Faro drifts ashore in Tarcliff Bay.

Winter War: General Siilasvuo's 9th Division completes its deployment opposite the Soviet 54th Mountain Division on 27 January 1940. His plan is a copy of his plan to destroy the 44th Rifle Division on the Ratte road. First, his men will destroy the Soviet division's lines of communication by using mobile ski groups. Then, his men will cut the column - stretched out on the road - into the "logs" that are easier to "burn." This has become known as the "motti" strategy.

The 7,000-shell bombardment of Summa continues for another day. It has now been a continuous rain of artillery shells for two weeks.

The final preparations are now being made for a massive Soviet offensive on the Karelian Isthmus. Comrade Stalin likes to begin his offensives on days that have some larger significance. The first of the month is the nearest one available.

Battle of the Atlantic: US freighter City of Flint arrives back in Baltimore after a historic journey that sparked repeated international incidents.

U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt) goes on a wild U-boat spree, with four victories in a matter of hours. However, they are all small, empty, neutral steamers, so the effect is not as great as appears at first glance. Operating just to the east of the Orkneys, he sinks in order:

• 844 ton Norwegian SS Faro (8 men perish, 7 survive);
• 2,094 ton Danish SS Fredensborg (20 men perish);
• 2,319 ton SS England (20 men perish, one survivor);
• 1,591 ton Norwegian SS Hosanger (17 men perish, one survivor).

Klot-Heydenfeldt could have sparked wars with the neutrals by these sinkings. However, neither Norway nor Denmark is looking for a fight.

The winter waters are extremely rough on the survivors. The sole survivor of the Hosanger, Magnus Sandvik, is near death, and a crew member of the HMS Northern Reward must jump into the water to help him aboard. The Fredensborg and England are both torpedoed as they came to help the stricken Faro, which somewhat ironically does not itself sink but instead drifts ashore and was wrecked in Taracliff Bay, Deerness. The crew reboarded the Faro at one point, but her list drew the propeller out of the water, making her un-maneuverable. She then broke free of the anchor the crew set.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Cold Harbor.

Convoy OA 80G departs from Southend, and Convoy OB 80 departs from Liverpool.

German Military: Hitler okays the expanded Kriegsmarine plan for the invasion of Norway and orders preparations to begin, and the code name Weserubung is adopted - which suggests that Admiral Raeder already has the ultimate date in mind.

British Homefront: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, undaunted by the very mixed reviews to his previous radio address, takes to the broadcast waves again. At the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, he gives a pep talk to workers, stating: "each to our station. . . there is not a week, nor a day, nor an hour to be lost!" He almost sounds disappointed that England has not been bombed yet, which would spur the national effort.

South Africa: After five days of debate in Parliament, General Hertzog's peace resolution is defeated, 81-59. PM Jan Smuts says of Hertzog's arguments, "Goebbels could not have done it better."

China: Chinese 3rd War Area forces the Japanese 22nd Infantry Division to withdraw to Hsiao-shan.

The evening papers in Baltimore are full of news about the City of Flint.

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

Saturday 13 January 1940

Soviet submarine ShCh-324.

Mechelen Incident: Belgian Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Édouard van den Bergen broadcasts at 22:30 on 13 January 1940 an immediate recall of all 80,000 Belgian troops on leave. He also orders barriers between France and Belgium removed. Bergen has convinced himself that the attack will occur on 14 January. He risks displeasure for these dramatic acts because he has acted entirely on his own initiative, without requesting permission from the Crown, which takes a very active role in public affairs. Holland declares a "state of readiness."

The Germans in fact have been considering moving the attack date forward from the 17th, as contemplated in the lost plans, to the 14th. This is because that would give the Allies less time to shift their own forces to meet the attack. However, somewhat perversely, because the Belgians have temporarily convinced the German high command that they did not have the plans, the issue is not a priority. Before talking to Hitler, General Jodl postpones the date tentatively to the 15th or 16th, depending on further news. When everybody sits down to hash it out, Hitler ultimately intervenes and definitively postpones the attack until 20 January, supposedly due to the weather. By now, though, in light of the frantic Allied military moves, it should be clear that the Allies know all about the plan.

Winter War Army Operations: At Sallaa, the Soviet 9th Army orders the 122nd Division to retreat to the Märkäjärvi village. This helps the two prongs of the Soviet effort, on the north and south forks of the road, to form a tighter overall perimeter.

Winter War Air Operations: The Soviets bomb Helsinki, Turku, and nearby towns.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet submarine ShCh-324 surfaces within a convoy in the Sea of Åland, then it fires a torpedo, and misses. Finnish naval escort Aura II, which previously had been the Presidential yacht, damages ShCh-324 with depth charges. However, one of the depth charges explodes on the ship, utterly destroying it. There are 15 survivors and 26 perish. ShCh-324 escapes.

Western Front: There is artillery fire west of the Vosges Forest and east of the Moselle.

European Air Operations: The RAF conducts extensive surveillance over the Reich. It also drops propaganda leaflets over Vienna and Prague.

The RAF shoots down a Heinkel He 111 over the Firth of Forth.

The first flight of the Yakovlev Yak-1. It suffers from oil overheating issues.

Battle of the Atlantic: At 04:20, U-20 (Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks 1,524-ton Swedish freighter Sylvia northeast of Aberdeen. All 20 crew perish, only one body is recovered on a raft.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Narbo. They release US freighter Tripp, though not with all her cargo.

Convoy OA 72 departs from Southend, OB 72M departs from Liverpool, and HG 15F departs from Gibraltar.

British Military: General Wavell's Middle East Command takes charge of East Africa.

French/Spanish Relations: The two nations sign a trade agreement, whereby Spain receives wheat, fertilizers, and manufactured goods and France receives iron, ore, and various minerals.

Norway: The new defense budget raises the overall government budget to the highest in history.

German Homefront: So many men are now employed in the Wehrmacht that the male industrial workforce is falling. NSDAP party leaders bruit about encouraging women to work outside the home, which is against Hitler's convictions.

Holocaust: Hans Frank issues new labor laws for Jews in occupied Poland.

Yakovlev Yak-1.

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

Sunday 10 December 1939

A Chinese Maxim M1910 machine gun team at Kunlun Pass, Guangxi, China during the Winter Offensive of the Second Sino-Japanese War in late 1939.

Winter War Army Operations: Soviet 9th Army (Chuikov) 122nd and 88th divisions capture at least part of Salla in the waist of the country on 10 December 1939. The tiny village itself has been burned down during the fighting on 9 December, but it is a key milestone on the road to the coast. The Soviet long-range objective is the port of Tornio by way of Rovaniemi, the latter of which Soviet plans call for taking in two weeks.

There are only so many useable east-west roads in this part of Finland, and this is the best one north of Suomussalmi. Reaching Tornio would split Finland in two and effectively decide the war. Even just taking Rovaniemi, which sits astride the only major north/south road east of the coast, would seriously damage Finnish prospects. Thus, the stakes are extremely high for the Finns, though the Soviets have multiple options - and all those options may be weighing on them.

Once in possession of Salla, Chuikov has a decision to make, because there is a fork in the road there. What he decides will have a big influence on future events.

The Soviet 7th Army is being shelled by Finnish coastal batteries on the island of Saarenpää. Soviet battleship Oktjabrskaja Revolutsija (October Revolution) attempts to destroy the Finnish batteries, but cannot hit them in dense winter fog. Other Finnish batteries on islands in the Gulf of Finland prevent Soviet naval forces from invading behind the Mannerheim Line to undermine it. The Finns may not have an overwhelming amount of ordnance, but what they do have is cleverly used.

 Elsewhere, operations are fairly quiet after a rough week.

Winter War Naval Operations: The Baltic is the one area where the Kriegsmarine and German merchant marine does not have to suffer the oppressive superiority of the Royal Navy. However, with the onset of the Winter War, now a loose cannon that cannot be avoided there is shooting randomly at everyone: the Soviet Navy. This places a further strain on German/Soviet relations in addition to everything else - and the Soviets never apologize for their mistakes.

Soviet submarine SC-323 sinks Estonian freighter Kassari.

Soviet submarine S-1 sinks the German SS Bolheim in the Gulf of Bothnia, apparently mistaking it for a Finnish ship.

Soviet submarine S-1.

Battle of the Atlantic: A Canadian troop convoy that includes five big passenger liners full of troops sets sail from Halifax. It has numerous escorts. It is convoy HXF 12. It is bound for Liverpool.

The Soviet government formally protests to the British government about its blockade.

U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Moehle) sinks 1,674-ton Norwegian freighter Føina north of Scotland. All eighteen crew perish.

The 4,815-ton British freighter Willowpool strikes a mine laid by a U-boat and sinks a few miles from the Newark Lightship in the English Channel. All 36 crew survive.

British freighter Ray of Hope is sunk by a mine.

German liner Bremen decides to risk Allied patrols and leaves Murmansk for Germany.

The British detain US freighter Steel Engineer at Gibraltar.

Convoy OA 50G departs from Southend, Convoy OB 50 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy SL 12 and SL 12F both depart from Freetown.

Finnish Government: The government makes an international appeal for aid, stating in part that the USSR had attacked it "without the slightest cause," and that "our position as the active outpost of western civilization gives us the right to expect the active resistance of other civilized nations."
US/Finnish Relations: The US government grants Finland a $10 million letter of credit for agricultural supplies. While the timing is quite interesting, it appears to be in gratitude for Finland paying off its Great War debt to the United States in full (unlike virtually everyone else).

Peace Talks: The League of Nations continues deliberating the Soviet attack on Finland.

Soviet battleship October Revolution in 1934.

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 9 December 1939

Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo (left) during the battle of Suomussalmi (colorized).

Winter War Army Operations: Colonel Hjalmar Siilasvuo is in command of the Finnish 9th Infantry Division in the Suomussalmi area on 9 December 1939. While successful so far, he is facing two Soviet rifle divisions (the 44th and 163rd) approaching from two different sides (north and east), each backed by tanks and artillery. Siilasvuo only has a scattering of infantry between the Soviet troops: 4th Reserve Battalion, 15th Detached Battalion, 16th Detached Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, Battle Group Kontula, and the 5th and 6th Ranger Groups. All together, Siilasvuo has maybe nine infantry companies - less than a division. The only saving grace is that some of the men are elite Border Guard Rangers, and every single man is fully committed to the cause. The risk is that the Red Army divisions will hook up and create an overpowering force.

Siilasvuo makes the classic textbook mistake of dividing his forces in the face of a superior enemy. His plan is to defeat them in detail. Siilasvuo decides that his first step is to cut the Raatte Road which is supplying the main Soviet forces in Suomussalmi from the east. He begins rearranging his troops and getting them into position. It will take a couple of days, but the Soviets are having a rough time in the forests and snow so there may be sufficient time to arrange things just right.

Elsewhere, the Finns are holding tough at the Kollaa River - there is a vicious night battle there - and Soviet gains in the far north are minimal.

Western Front: Corporal Thomas Priday of King’s Shropshire Light Infantry is killed while leading a patrol on the Western Front. He becomes the first British soldier (as opposed to sailor or airman) killed in World War II. Reportedly, he is a victim of "friendly fire," a term not yet invented.

King George V completes a five-day review of the front.

HMS Exeter.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-20 (Kapitänleutnant Karl-Heinz Moehle) torpedoes and sinks the 1,339-ton Danish freighter, Magnus, off Peterhead in Scotland. One man survives, eighteen perish.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 7,397-ton British tanker San Alberto off Cape Clear, Ireland. Everyone survives but one crewman.

German freighter Adolf Leonhardt is scuttled near the Cape of Good Hope to avoid capture by Royal Navy cruiser HMS Shropshire.

German tanker Nordmeer decides to make a run from Curacao to Spain despite Allied patrols.

The British detain U.S. freighter Explorer at Gibraltar.

Royal Navy Force G (light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles, Commodore Henry Harwood) continues toward Montevideo on Harwood's hunch that the Admiral Graf Spee will head there next. He also orders HMS Exeter, just to the south at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, to rendezvous there as well. Another heavy cruiser, HMS Cumberland, is also at Port Stanley but is unavailable.

The Germans commission auxiliary cruiser Orion.

Soviet Military: Dissatisfied with operations in the Winter War, the Kremlin (The chief of staff of the Red Army (Stavka), Boris Shaposhnikov) assumes more direct operational control of tactics from local commanders and strips Commander of the Leningrad Military District Kiril Meretskov of his overall command of the campaign. Meretskov is effectively demoted to the command of the Soviet 7th Army. It is the first official recognition by senior Soviet military leaders that something is going seriously wrong in Finland.

Peace Talks: The League of Nations meets as scheduled in Geneva to discuss the Soviet invasion of Finland. The US attends, the USSR does not.

Soviet Propaganda: Soviet news agency TASS releases a report claiming that the Germans are supplying Finland. This is very disquieting for the Germans, who are doing nothing of the kind and in fact, have allocated Finland to the Soviets per the terms of the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact of 23 August 1939. Ironically, virtually everyone else in the world is aiding the Finns, including German ally Italy - but not the Reich.

Holocaust: Some 200 Jews out of 1800 survive a forced march through the winter snows from their homes in Hrubieszow and Chelm across the Bug River to their new home in Hans Frank's occupied Poland.


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