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The passenger liner Mauretania departs from New York with an unpublished destination.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

Wednesday 13 March 1940

Finnish territorial concessions from the Winter War.

Winter War: The Winter Wars ends at 11:00 Finnish time on the morning of 13 March 1940. Fighting continues in numerous areas past that deadline due to communication issues or sheer indifference, but also in cases out of spite. There are Soviet bombing missions to Vuosalmi, Koivisto, and Iso Kalastajasaarento. Soviet artillery gunners, many if not all aware of the deal, empty their loads during the morning, killing hundreds of Finns. To be fair, the Finnish gunners also fire, but they do not have nearly the firepower.

Red Army signalman Anatoly Derevenets:

The entire earth started vibrating- all weapons on both sides. 2 days' ammunition spent in minutes.

The final order of the day from Marshal Mannerheim:

Peace has been concluded between our country and the Soviet Union, an exacting peace which has ceded to Russia nearly every battlefield on which you have shed your blood on behalf of every thing we hold dear and sacred. You did not want war. You loved peace, work and progress; but you were forced into a struggle in which you have done great deeds, deeds that will shine for centuries in the pages of history.

Estimated total losses from the 105-day Winter War (sources vary):

• Dead: 24,923 Finns, 200,000+/- Soviets
• Wounded: 45,557 Finns, unknown Soviets
• Tanks Lost: 3 Finns, 1600+- Soviets
• Planes Lost: 61 Finns, 750-900 Soviets
• Guns Lost: unknown Finns, 300+ Soviets
• Civilian Dead: 637 Finns, 0 Soviets
• Civilians Wounded: 1400 Finns, 0 Soviets
• Buildings destroyed: 4,500 Finns, 0 Soviets.

The Soviets have had 1,200,000 men committed to the conflict. The Finns have had 200,000. The official Soviet summary states that they lost 48,000 dead and 158,000 wounded, but most historians believe those figures are vastly understated. There were tremendous numbers of death and injuries, overwhelmingly among the Soviet forces, from frostbite and starvation. Some Soviet dead were due to NKVD blocking detachments.

The subject of Soviet casualties has been the subject of wild guesses that often are influenced by the political environment of the moment - extremely typical in the USSR. Molotov, immediately after the war, gave an estimate of 200,000 Soviet killed and wounded. In the post-Stalin era, though, Nikita Khrushchev ratchets that figure up to 1,000,000 in his memoirs. The first figure appears low, the latter high - but nobody knows.

The war is a Soviet victory, but at a tremendous cost to its reputation. Its failure to overcome Finnish resistance despite massive numerical superiority in all areas of warfare betrays incompetence at all levels. This results partly from the Stalin purges of the 1930s, but also from unrealistic communist principles applied to the military, lack of proper training in all ranks and weaponry that is unsuited to the conditions faced and, in many cases, of mediocre quality for the era. Many Soviet soldiers of all ranks are disgusted at the casualties and the small gains attained.

Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner broadcasts news of the Armistice at 12:00. Later in the day, he also states that Finland is looking into the possibility of creating a defensive alliance with Norway and Sweden. Swedish Foreign Minister Guenther, Lord Halifax and Prime Minister Chamberlain all address their legislatures. The British troops on board ships for transport to Norway disembark.

While the pretext to send Allied troops to Norway has evaporated, the idea remains very much alive in the Supreme War Council. As First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, a notorious hawk, puts it in a letter to Foreign Minister Halifax:

Whether they [the Germans] have some positive plan of their own [for Norway]… I cannot tell. It would seem to me astonishing if they have not.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-44 (Korvettenkapitän Ludwig Mathes), a successful boat with 8 merchant sinkings of 30,885 tons, hits a mine in Minefield No. 7 in the North Sea and sinks. All 47 crew perish. Date and cause are guesses, this may have occurred later from other causes.

German freighter La Coruna is scuttled by its crew when spotted by Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser Maloja south of Iceland.

Convoy OA 109 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 109 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OG 22F departs from Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 27 departs from Halifax.

German/Italian Relations: The two countries arrange for overland delivery of coal supplies to Italy, as supplies by sea have been disrupted by the Coal Ships Affair of previous days.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles leaves London for Rome.

The New York Herald Tribune publishes a scathing editorial castigating the United States Congress for not supporting the Finns when it mattered.

US Navy: The Fleet Marine Force concludes its Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 at Culebra, Puerto Rico. The exercise is useful in developing techniques for rubber-boat landings and ship-to-shore communications.

Terrorism: An Indian nationalist assassinates Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former governor of Punjab.

Holocaust: Hitler tells Colin Ross: "I'd welcome a positive solution to the Jewish question, but I haven't space for my own people."

Future History: Al Jarreau is born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He becomes a well-known jazz performer in the 1960s and thereafter.

Field Marshal Mannerheim. He always operates from a command train parked in an inconspicuous spot. His legendary status in Finland only grew during the war.

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

Sunday 28 January 1940

A photo of men about to go on a road trip in Mikkeli. Note the battered, winter-camouflaged car in the endless ankle-deep snow.

Winter War Army Operations: At Lahde on 28 January 1940, the artillery of the 24th Corps Artillery Regiment, having destroyed the "Millionaire bunker" on the 27th, switches targets. The next most-prominent bunker is the "Poppius bunker." While not as elaborate as the other one, the Poppius bunker lies in the middle of the Finnish defenses of the Mannerheim Line and is/now was an anchor of the defense. The Soviets' two 152 mm guns open fire at 12:00, and they quickly destroy the bunker's western casemate, killing four men inside. The two bunkers remain usable, but their defensibility is impaired.

Nearby at Summa, the 7,000 shells/day artillery barrage continues, with an increase in tempo.

At Salla, small advance Soviet forces remain surrounded.

At Kuhmo, Group Talvela of the Finnish 9th Division attacks the Soviet 54th Division. It cuts the Soviets' lines of communications and splits the division into three different sections ("mottis"). The Soviet 23rd Division launches a relief attempt that makes some progress. The Finns destroy the Pieni-Kelivaara motti during the day, capturing 2 field guns, 2 antitank guns, 9 mortars, 9 machineguns, and 100 rifles. The West Lemetti motti, however, holds out, and the Finns continue attacking it.

Battle of the Atlantic: At 02:52, U-34 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann) torpedoes 5,625-ton Greek freighter Eleni Stathatou 200 miles east of Isles of Scilly in the Atlantic Ocean. It takes two torpedoes, the first only damages the freighter; the second at 04:21 finishes her off. Those are U-34's last two torpedoes, so its patrol is over. Of the crew, 12 perish.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) torpedoes and sinks with one torpedo 2,980 ton Greek coal carrier Flora west of Figuera la Foz, Portugal. All 25 crewmen perish.

The 1,487-ton British freighter Eston hits a mine laid by U-22 on 20 December 1939 in the Bristol Channel and sinks. All 18 crew perish.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Sarcoxic for several hours and then send it on its way. US freighter Waban also is temporarily detained, and the British seize an item of contraband and 34 items for further investigation.

Convoy OA 81 departs from Southend, Convoy SL 18F departs from Freetown, Convoy HXF 18 departs from Halifax.

British Homefront: The Director of Censorship has been preventing publication of the details of the severe winter weather. Today, though, it allows publication. It is the coldest winter since 1894, and both the River Thames (at Kingston and between Teddington and Sunbury) and Southampton Docks have frozen over. The sea has frozen over at various points on the coast as well. London's reservoirs have a foot of ice. At Buxton, there is 18°C (33°F) of frost. Of course, the rest of Europe is suffering, too.

King George announces that his court will not be held this year due to the war.

China: The Chinese 2d War Area captures Lucheng, while the Chinese 3rd War Area ceases active operations and reverts to the defensive.

Huntington Beach, California oil derricks, 28 January 1940.

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

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

Wednesday 24 January 1940

An NKVD blocking detachment. They are not there to fight the enemy, but their own fleeing comrades.

Winter War: On 24 January 1940, Other nations continue contributing to the Finnish war effort. Two planes full of medical supplies depart from London for Helsinki. In addition, there are reports that 30 British aircraft have arrived in Finland to help with air defense.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets resort to a typical tool to keep men at their guns. They create special NKVD "preventative detachments" or "blocking detachments" (zagraditelnyi otriad). These are set up in the rear of Soviet front-line units and are armed with machine guns just like regular army units. If troops retreat without orders, they are shot.

Group Talvela is at Kollaa, defending successfully against the Soviet 8th Army. The two sides throw alternating attacks at each other at Aittojoki River (Joki = river in Finnish).

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet aircraft bomb Finnish hospitals, 19 killed.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) torpedoes and sinks 3,819-ton French freighter Alsacien 5 miles west of Lisbon at 11:40. Four crew perish.

U-18 (Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Mengersen) torpedoes and sinks 1,000-ton Norwegian freighter Bisp. All 14 men on the ship perish.

U-23 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer) has been tailing 1,085-ton Norwegian freighter Varild off northeast Scotland since 20:00 on the 23rd. Kretschmer finally gets within range and fires a torpedo, but it jams in the tube. He tries a second torpedo in another tube, but it misfires and becomes a circle-runner (kreisläufer). Kretschmer, exercising all sorts of patience, fires a third torpedo at 19:00 and it runs true.  All 15 crew perish.

Yugoslavian destroyer Ljubljana runs into a reef at the port of Šibenik and sinks before it can get to shore. The Captain is arrested pending an investigation. The ship is refloated.

Convoy OB 78 departs from Liverpool, HG 16 departs from Gibraltar, SL 18 departs from Freetown.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe drops four bombs on the Shetland Islands but they do no material damage.

British Government: The King reviews Canadian 1st Division training at Aldershot.

British/ Belgian Relations: Prime Minister Chamberlain, attempting to smooth over some of the drama from the Mechelen Incident, tells Belgium that it will aid in their defense if attacked by Germany.

Spain: The Spanish Council of Ministers bans Freemasonry.

China: The Chinese 2d War Area captures Licheng, Tungyangkuan, and She Hsien during the continuing Chinese Winter Offensive.

Paavo Talvela and Marshal Mannerheim.

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 20 January 1940

Finnish 150 mm m1914 howitzers of Japanese origin, after being captured in Summa by the Soviets in February 1940.

Winter War: The weather remains frigid across Europe on 20 January 1940. London's temperature is the lowest recorded since 1881 at -11°C (-12.2° F) of frost.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviet 122d Division at Maekaejaervi on the southern prong of the Soviet advance out of Salla attempts to make a stand against Finnish attacks. Soviet artillery bombardment of Summa continues.

The Soviet 18th Rifle Division has been encircled for a week north of Lake Ladoga. Soviet 60th Rifle Division attacks to relieve it.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers attack the ports of Turku and Hango and set massive fires with 75 incendiary and 150 explosive bombs. The Soviets also perform strafing missions.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) continues its successful patrol, torpedoing and sinking 5,329 ton Greek freighter Ekatontarchos Dracoulis west of Portugal. There are 6 lives lost, but there could have been more had Captain Mathes not held his fire as the crew took to the boats.

U-57 (Kapitänleutnant Claus Korth) torpedoes and sinks 1,328-ton Norwegian freighter Miranda 30 miles northwest of Peterhead in the North Sea. Three crew survive, fourteen perish. The survivors spend the night in the water before being picked up by a passing Antarctic exploration vessel, RRS Discovery II.

British 7,807 ton tanker Caroni River hits a mine laid by U-34 in Falmouth Bay, southwest England. All 43-55 crew survive (sources vary). The ship was on sea trials and was only carrying ballast.

US freighter Examelia is detained at Gibraltar but allowed to proceed later in the day.

Convoy OA 76 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 76 departs from Liverpool, Convoy SL 17F departs from Freetown, Convoy HXF 17 departs from Halifax.

European Air Operations: RAF bombers make a bombing run in the North Sea and are attacked by anti-aircraft guns from four Kriegsmarine patrol vessels. British planes suffer no damage.

Anglo/French Relations: Generals Weygand and Wavell meet in Beirut.

Argentina: President Roberto Marcelino Ortiz and minister of agriculture José Padilla issue a decree expanding Basque immigration from Spain and France.

German Government: Hitler orders the Wehrmacht's Fall Gelb pre-invasion countdown reduced from four days to 24 hours for security purposes. He also uses his intuition (and perhaps intercepts) to surmise that the British are thinking of invading Scandinavia (they are). Thus, he agrees with the Generals to put off Fall Gelb until the spring but begins thinking himself more seriously about invading Norway.

British Government: First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill broadcasts a speech made to Parliament aimed at neutral countries such as Holland and Belgium. He urges them to join France and Great Britain in fighting the Germans, comparing them to "crocodiles victims" who only hope to be eaten last.

He also has unusually harsh words for the Soviets. Previously, he has been quite circumspect about lumping them in with the Germans. However, this time he calls them "brutish" and compares "Germandom to Bolshevism" and finds both wanting.

The government releases some reconnaissance photographs taken over Germany.

US Government: The State Department protests at the detention practices of the British authorities in Gibraltar, who have been the most aggressive in the British system both in detentions and confiscations.

American Homefront: Three-alarm fire at the Central Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Winston Churchill reading his prepared remarks, 20 January 1940.

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

Friday 19 January 1940

Finnish soldiers scatter as Soviet bombers approach. January 19, 1940.

Winter War: The weather stays chilly on 19 January 1940, with 45°C (81°F) of frost recorded north of Lake Ladoga. Even as far south as Italy, there is 20° of frost, all of Europe is covered by a massive cold front.

Winter War Army Operations: Fierce fighting at Salla, where the Soviets are suffering in the weather more than the Finns, who are better prepared and closer to their supplies. The Soviet 122nd Division there stops a Finnish attack.

The Soviet 18th Division remains surrounded north of Lake Ladoga. It has suffered an estimated 18,000 killed and captured.

Attacks on Taipale gain no ground. The artillery bombardment of Summa continues.

Winter War Air Operations: The Swedish volunteer pilots bomb Soviet positions.

Winter War Peace Talks: Germany declines to mediate in the USSR/Finnish Winter War.

Battle of the Atlantic: British destroyer HMS Grenville (Capt. George E. Creasy) strikes a mine and sinks about 23 miles east of the mouth of the River Thames. Nearby destroyers rescue 118 men, while 77-81 perish (estimates vary). It is a brave move by the destroyers, who also are exposed to the mines.
U-9 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Lüth) continues its successful patrol. It torpedoes and sinks 1,188-ton Swedish freighter Patria north of Ymuiden, Holland. Four survive and 19 perish. The U-boat has been chasing the freighter and dispatches it with one torpedo.

U-55 (Kapitänleutnant Werner Heidel) torpedoes and sinks 1,694-ton Norwegian freighter Telnes northwest of the Orkneys. All 18 crew perish.

U-59 (Kapitänleutnant Harald Jürst) torpedoes and sinks 1,296-ton French freighter Quiberon off Great Yarmouth, England with one torpedo.

U-44 has the Greek freighter Ekatontarchos Dracoulis in its sights in the Bay of Biscay around midnight. A torpedo, though, detonates prematurely.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Sunfish fires four torpedoes at U-14 off Heligoland, Germany. All four miss.

Convoy OA 75G departs from Southend.

Convoy OB 75 departs from Liverpool.

Western Front: The British 50th Motor Division begins embarking for France to join the BEF.

US Government: Senator Borah of Idaho, an influential Isolationist but quite progressive, passes away at age 74 after 32 years in the Senate.

Denmark: The government states that it will fight to preserve its independence.

A.B. Bromfield, the last man to leave the ship, clings to a porthole in the bows of the sinking HMS Grenville. It was a vessel of 1,485 tons and had a complement of 175 officers and men. Eight men died in the explosion, 73 more in the water, there was no time to lower the boats.

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

Thursday 18 January 1940

Towed, electric cables of Double-L, magnetic–mine sweeping gear being deployed behind a Royal Navy minesweeper. Note the boat is wooden.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviet 9th Army at Salla completes its withdrawal to Maerkaejaervi on 18 January 1940.

General Siilasvuo takes his Finnish 9th Division 30 miles south to Kuhmo. There, he attacks another division of Vasily Chuikov's 9th Army, the 54th Division.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers raid the port of Kotka, damaging Finnish icebreaker Tarmo. The Finns claim to have brought down five Soviet bombers.

Western Front: There is an artillery duel to the west of the Saar.

Battle of the Atlantic:  The Kriegsmarine orders unrestricted U-boat warfare on Britain and France. This follows months of warfare bound by the international Law of Prize, though the first British passenger ship was sunk on the very first day of the war, 3 September 1939 (apparently mistaken for a warship). U-boats are authorized to sink, without warning, all ships "in those waters near the enemy coasts in which the use of mines can be pretended." Exceptions were to be made in the cases of the United States, Italian, Japanese and Soviet ships. This marks the institution of full and illegal unrestricted submarine warfare for the first time since 1918. [This is according to evidence produced by Admiral Doenitz at the Nuremberg Court following World War II. The Allies argued that 3 September 1939 was the commencement of unrestricted U-boat warfare by Germany. The court did not specify which date was correct but did find Admiral Doenitz guilty on two counts.]

A rush order for buoyant electrical cable is delivered to the Admiralty by the British Insulated Callendar's Cable Company. It is to be used by wooden trawlers dragging it along behind, with the magnetic field sufficient to detonate nearby magnetic mines. This gives new hope to Allied shipping which has been taking a beating from the magnetic mines.

U-25 (Kapitänleutnant Viktor Schütze) continues its lucky streak. It torpedoes and sinks 6,873-ton Swedish freighter Pajala near the Hebrides. British destroyer HMS Northern Duke, escorting the Pajala, rescues the 35 crew and depth-charges the U-25, which escapes.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) also continues its lucky patrol. It stops 1,831-ton Danish freighter Canadian Reefer and disembarks the crew northeast of Cape Villano, Spain. All 26 survive.

U-55 (Kapitänleutnant Werner Heidel) is believed to have sunk 1,304-ton Swedish freighter Foxen off of Pentland Sound in the North Sea. There are only 2 survivors, 1 perish. U-55 does not return from its patrol.

U-9 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Lüth)  torpedoes and sinks 1,179-ton Swedish freighter Flandria north of Ymuiden, Holland. There are four survivors, 17 perish.

British authorities in the Bermuda Islands remove European-bound mail from the Lisbon-bound Pan American Airways Boeing 314-ton American Clipper. The US consul on hand issues a written protest.

Convoy OG 15F forms at Gibraltar.

Holland: The crown declares a state of siege in several coastal areas, extending such areas from the German border.

British Homefront: Five workers at Waltham Abbey Royal gunpowder factory in Essex are blown up in a suspicious accident.

Holocaust: The Gestapo executes 250 Jews outside Warsaw. This is due to the Germans' arrest of Jewish-born-turned-Catholic resistance leader Andrzej Kott.

Fortifications at the port of Kotka, Finland.

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 16 January 1940

The Tupolev TB-3 was a heavy bomber aircraft that was deployed by the Soviet Air Force in the 1930s and during World War II. It was the world's first cantilever wing four-engine heavy bomber. Note: Airborne troops in picture jumping from the wing.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviet artillery pounding of Summa continues without respite on 16 January 1940. Stalin considers artillery to be the "Queen of Battle."

Winter War Air Operations: In extremely frosty weather, the Soviets launch more raids on southern Finland. Since 12 January, the Soviets have dropped almost 3,000 bombs on 50 cities. That is tiny by later standards, but Finland is a small country.

French Government: Premier Daladier has been extremely critical of the communist subversion of the war effort. Today, 66 communist deputies are ejected from the Chamber of Deputies.

Mechelen Incident: At 19:00, Hitler finally decides that Jodl is right and the weather is too poor for an invasion. He postpones Fall Gelb indefinitely. Part of his reasoning may be the frantic defense preparations of the Low Countries and France in recent days - Hitler is renowned for reading foreign newspapers every day.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiralty finally announces the loss of the HMS Seahorse, HMS Undine and HMS Starfish on 7-9 January. The Germans then chime in that they have rescued parts of the crew from two of the British boats.

U-44 (Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Mathes) continues its string of victories from the 15th. At 06:11, it torpedoes and sinks the 4,661 ton Greek freighter Panachrandros west of Brest. All 31 onboard perish.

British 9,456 ton tanker Inverdargle hits a mine laid by U-33 two months previously in Bristol Channel. All 49 onboard perish in the frigid winter weather some 30 miles from their destination.

British freighter Gracia is traveling in convoy OB-72 when it hits a mine laid by U-30 on 6 January 1940. The ship is damaged but remains afloat for now.

German blockade runner Albert Janus is intercepted by French armed merchant cruiser Victor Schoelcher. The crew scuttles it.

Convoy OA 73 GF departs from Southend, OB 72 departs from Liverpool, OB 73 departs from Liverpool, SL 17 departs from Freetown, and HG 15 departs from Gibraltar.

British Military: General Wavell embarks on an inspection tour of Palestine and Iraq.

China: The Chinese 4th War Area recaptures Yinchanao north of Canton.

Holocaust: The Polish Government-in-exile prepares a report on German atrocities in Poland. The Germans have shot 5000 people in Poznan alone, and thousands more are being housed in concentration camps. Poland has become a true police state, with mass arrests of suspect individuals such as college professors. Particularly hard hit are Jews and Gypsies.

The aftermath of a Soviet bombing attack on Finland.

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