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

Friday 8 March 1940

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019

Wednesday 6 March 1940

Finnish pilot Eino Luukkanen in front of his Fokker DXXI.

Winter War: The Finns waste no time on 6 March 1940 and compose a peace delegation to send to Moscow. It is led by Prime Minister Risto Ryti, and the delegation (including also J.K.J.K. Paasikivi, Rudolf Walden & Väinö Voionmaa) leaves for Moscow via Stockholm in the evening.

There is still no cease-fire. Molotov somewhat characteristically says, "Why stop the juggernaut now it is rolling?" Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner hedges his bets by asking Great Britain and France for an extension of the deadline for requesting military assistance. They give Finland until March 12, 1940, to make a formal request.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets slightly expand their bridgehead on the western shore of the Gulf of Viipuri. Finnish pilot Eino Luukkanen observes as he strafes 800 shells into them:

A column of men & horse is crossing the ice - a long black snake.

Battle of the Atlantic: The British seize the cargo of Italian ships carrying German coal.

The German crew of the 3,425-ton freighter Uruguay scuttles the ship rather than be captured by British heavy cruiser HMS Berwick (Captain Irving M. Palmer) off Iceland.

The Cunard White Star Liner Queen Elizabeth successfully completes the first leg of its transatlantic crossing, reaching Nova Scotia, and will continue on to New York.

The French launch battleship Jean Bart.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe attacks a lightship off the Norfolk coast and also a tanker, the Shelbrit II, off the northeast coast of Scotland.

Franco/Italian Relations: The French and Italians conclude an expanded trade agreement.

German/Romanian Relations: The two nations conclude a trade agreement in which Germany provides the Romanians with captured Polish weapons in exchange for (more) oil.

Dutch Military: A Dutch armored tug, BV3, enters Den Helder Naval Base just when Dutch submarine O11 is leaving the area. The two collide, and the submarine sinks. Three men perish. A film cameraman is aboard the submarine, and his footage appears in newsreel footage around the world.

Palestine: British members of Parliament protest the Land Transfers Regulations which have sparked protests, but the House defeats a motion of censure that they bring.

International Red Cross: The IRC is one of the very few reasonably impartial observers of the conflict. They report that fewer than 300 Germans, 300 French & 150 British prisoners of war have been taken in the 6 months of the war.

British Homefront: Farmers are encouraged to kill house sparrows because they eat seeling crops.

American Homefront: Robin, Batman's boy wonder, makes his first appearance in Detective Comics #38 (the cover date is April).

Willis Stargell is born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. As Willie Stargell, he becomes famous in the 1970s as the cleanup hitter for the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

HMS Berwick, August 1942.

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 3 March 1940

Finnish artillery during the battle of Viipuri.

Winter War: The Finns on 3 March 1940 continue resisting the urge to convey their acceptance of the Soviet peace terms, which technically have expired. Finland’s Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner instead phones Sweden’s Foreign Minister Christian Günther and proposes an alliance between the two countries. Finland is ready to capitulate if the Soviets would drop their demand for the cession of Viipuri and Sortavala.

Winter War Army Operations: There is hand-to-hand fighting in the Viipuri suburbs. The Soviets capture the main railway station.

Marshal Mannerheim dishonorably discharges Major-General Kurt M. Wallenius from his position of coastal defense west of Viipuri. The Soviets have consolidated their bridgehead there, and Wallenius is said to be drinking heavily. Mannerheim vows never to re-employ Wallenius and removes him from the Defence Forces officer list. Lieutenant General Karl Lennart Oesch replaces Wallenius.

The fighting in Viipurinlahti Bay, Wallenius' command, is extremely dangerous to the Finnish strategic position, threatening a breakout to the Finnish industrial heartland. The Soviet 86th Motorized Rifle Division pushes across the frozen Gulf of Viipuri, taking the short route to the mainland. They take the island of Uuras and consolidate the beachhead on the western shore.

At Mikkeli, the Finnish HQ orders the staff of the army of the Isthmus to plan for a major withdrawal to the Virolahti-Kivijärvi-Saimaa-Hiitola line.

Winter War Air Operations: The Finns claim to have brought down 28 Soviet planes over the weekend.
Battle of the Atlantic: The crew of the 3,359-ton German freighter Arucas scuttles the ship rather than be captured by British heavy cruiser HMS York (Captain Reginald H. Portal) south of Iceland. Three crew perish.

British freighter Cato hits a mine and sinks in the Bristol Channel. The mine was laid on 2 March 1940 by U-29. There are 2 survivors, 13 perish.

Italy lodges a protest with the British about the blocking of German coal deliveries by sea.

The Luftwaffe takes First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill's bait and bombs Southampton, the wrong destination he previously leaked to the press for Queen Elizabeth. Not so good for the people of Southampton, perhaps, but Queen Elizabeth is safely on her way to New York.

Convoy OA 103GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 103 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: RAF bombers over-fly Berlin again. The Germans notice and anti-aircraft guns and fighters intervene, but all of the British planes return to base.

RAF sorties over the seaplane bases on the Friesian Islands are met with anti-aircraft fire.

Some Luftwaffe fighters over-fly Belgium and shoot down one Belgian fighter while damaging two others.

US Government: US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles follows up his interview with Hitler by meeting with Hermann Goering at Carinhall and Rudolf Hess in Berlin. Goering adheres to the party line, but Welles thinks he has a slightly broader perspective than the other top Nazis and takes a relatively favorable impression. Welles then departs for Paris by train, stopping in Basel.

Terrorism: A mysterious bomb explodes in the Stockholm offices of communist newspaper Norrskensflamman. There are five dead.

American Homefront: Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (with an arrangement by William Grant Still) record "Frenesi" for Victor Records. Alberto Domínguez had composed "Frenesi for his marimba band - it means "frenzy" in Spanish. "Frenesi" will hit number one on the Billboard pop chart on December 21, 1940, and stay there for 13 weeks.

The good ship Queen Elizabeth in military drab gray.

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 2 March 1940

A Finnish patrol in Viipuri during the Winter War.

Winter War: France and Great Britain once again on 2 March 1940 ask Norway and Sweden for the right of passage to Finland, and again are refused. Finland still has not made a formal request for military assistance.

A Hungarian Volunteer Detached Battalion arrives at a Finnish training camp at Lapua. They have traveled through Europe posing as tourists going skiing. The trip took three weeks by train.

Canada authorizes volunteer participation in the Winter War. A unit of volunteer soldiers boards a ship bound for Finland.

Winter War Army Operations: The fluid battle that has developed on the Karelian Isthmus is not working out to the Finns' favor. Soviet troops enter the southern suburbs of Viipuri at Sainio, 5 miles south of the city along the coast, and Heinjoki River, 17 miles east of the town. They continue swarming west. Fires break out in Viipuri, which is being abandoned and destroyed.

The front at Taipale settles down, as the Soviets have had no success there and the prospects are better further south at Viipuri.

The Soviets capture the islands of Tuppuransaari and Teikarsaari after the former runs out of ammunition and a counterattack fails. The Soviets are now digging in on the mainland on the western shore of Viipurinlahti Bay. Finnish Major General Wallenius cannot dislodge them and is said to be drinking heavily.

At Kollaa, Soviet artillery begins at 06:30, followed by a large-scale, multiple-division assault. The Finnish trenches hold.

At Kuhmo, the Finnish defensive line at Kuusijoki is hit with 3,000 artillery shells, then a massive assault. The Soviets capture the Finns' forward positions.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers again try to bomb Helsinki, but Finnish fighters drive them off.

Winter War Peace Talks: Finland’s Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner informs the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee that the acceptance of the Soviet peace terms has not yet been communicated to them, and explains why. He has asked the Swedish Foreign Minister Christian Günther to hold off on transmitting the acceptance.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German crew of 6,201-ton freighter Wolfsburg scuttles the ship rather than have it captured by British heavy cruiser HMS Berwick (Captain Irving M. Palmer,) north of Iceland. There are 54 survivors picked up by the Berwick. The Wolfsburg was disguised as Norwegian ship Aust. The Berwick hurries the job of scuttling by sinking the ship with gunfire.

The German crew of the  6,530-ton German freighter Heidelberg scuttles the ship in the Windward Passage in the Caribbean Sea rather than be captured by the light cruiser HMS Dunedin. The Dunedin picks up 25 survivors and takes them to Jamaica. Heidelberg was one of the two ships that had left Aruba to run the blockade.

U-32 torpedoes and sinks 2,818-ton Swedish freighter Lagaholm.

U-17 torpedoes and sinks 695-ton Dutch freighter Rijnstroom.

British freighter Albano hits a mine and sinks.

Liner Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by destroyers HMS Mohawk, HMS Punjabi, HMS Fortune, and HMS Foxhound, heads out of the Clyde. While the cover story is that she is heading for Southampton, in reality, she is going to New York.

U-29 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart) lays mines in the Bristol Channel.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US passenger liner Manhattan. It is released later in the day after the British remove some 80 items of cargo.

European Air Operations: A RAF reconnaissance Supermarine Spitfire gets good photographs of the industrial Ruhr River valley industrial region. In addition, RAF bombers drop leaflets and parachute flares over Berlin.

The Luftwaffe continues searching for shipping targets. The British India passenger liner Domala is bombed by a Heinkel He 111H off the Isle of Wight, with 108 killed or missing of the 291 onboard after fires rage out of control. There are reports of machine-gunning of passengers in lifeboats. There are 183 survivors. A rescue ship, Dutch freighter Jong Willem, also is attacked while picking up 48 survivors.

The Luftwaffe also sinks the Dutch vessel Elzienna.

Convoy OA 102 departs from Southend, Convoy 102 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HX 24 departs from Halifax.

US Government: Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles meets with Hitler in Berlin. Hitler tells him that, for Germany, "there is no other solution than a life-and-death struggle." Welles forms a favorable impression of Hitler's health and mind, of whom he says, "while his eyes were tired, they were clear."

Australian Military: Chief of the General Staff General Squires passes away.

British Homefront: Cambridge beats Oxford in the annual university boat race at Henley-on-Thames.

American Homefront: Cartoon character Elmer Fudd debuts in the Warner Bros. animated short "Elmer's Candid Camera."

Ruins of Viipuri, Finnish soldiers on the right.

March 1940

March 1, 1940: Soviet Breakthroughs Past Viipuri
March 2, 1940: Soviets Swarm West in Finland
March 3, 1940: Soviets Across Gulf of Viipuri
March 4, 1940: USSR Apologizes to Sweden
March 5, 1940: Katyn Forest Massacre Approved
March 6, 1940: Finns Head to Moscow
March 7, 1940: The Coal Ships Affair
March 8, 1940: Peace Talks Begin in Moscow
March 9, 1940: Soviets Harden Peace Terms
March 10, 1940: Germany Draws Closer to Italy
March 11, 1940: Winter War Peace Terms Finalized
March 12, 1940: War is Over (If You Want It)
March 13, 1940: Winter War Ends
March 14, 1940: Evacuating Karelia
March 15, 1940: The Bletchley Bombe
March 16, 1940: First British Civilian Killed
March 17, 1940: Enter Dr. Todt
March 18, 1940: Mussolini To Join the War
March 19, 1940: Daladier Resigns
March 20, 1940: Soviets Occupy Hango Naval Base
March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud Leads France
March 22, 1940: Night Fighters Arise!
March 24, 1940: French Consider Alternatives
March 25, 1940: Reynaud Proposes Action
March 26, 1940: C-46 First Flight
March 27, 1940: Himmler Authorizes Auschwitz Construction
March 28, 1940: Allies Ponder Invading Norway
March 29, 1940: Soviets Prefer Neutrality
March 30, 1940: Allied Uncertainty
March 31, 1940: The Tiger Cage

2019

Tuesday 27 February 1940

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

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

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

Look magazine, 27 February 1940.

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

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

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

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

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


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

British authorities at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Sundance.

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

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

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

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

Joan Miro's "Seated Woman 2."

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

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

February 1940

February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019

Friday 23 February 1940

HMS Gurkha.

Winter War: Finland, feeling the strain of the unceasing Soviet attacks on 23 February 1940, once again asks Sweden and Norway to grant transit rights to Allied troops. The Swedes already have denied the request, the Norwegians have not really addressed it, but both must agree. The weather has brought operations all along the line to a halt.

The Soviets appear to have an inkling about the Allied plans to intervene in Finland. They slow the tempo of operations and submit peace terms, suggesting that the Finns may have just a tiny bit of negotiating room.

Winter War Naval Operations: The Finns operating out of Viipurinlahti Bay attempt to re-take Lasisaari Island, but withdraw after dark.

Winter War Peace Talks: The Soviet ambassador in Stockholm, Madame Kollontai, delivers a list of Soviet demands for peace to the Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner. The Finns are displeased at the terms. The Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee meets to consider them. Among other things, they require the entire Karelian Isthmus, including Finland's second-largest city Viipuri. The Soviets also require territory completely surrounding Lake Ladoga, islands in the Gulf of Finland and a 30-year lease on the naval base at Hanko. In exchange for these concessions, the Soviets would agree to return Petsamo. The terms expire on 1 March 1940.

Looked at from the cold gaze of 75 years later, the terms are not too onerous. There are no reparations demanded, Finland would retain its heartland along the Gulf of Finland and its independence, and it would still have an outlet to the sea in the north. All things considered given an unwinnable war...

Battle of the Atlantic: U-53 (Korvettenkapitän Harald Grosse) is sunk in the North Sea in the mid-Orkneys by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Gurkha. All 42 aboard perish.

HMS Ajax and Exeter, two of the ships from the Battle of the Platte, return to England and march through London's Guildhall. Cheering crowds salute the 700 officers and men. HMNZS Achilles returns to New Zealand to a similar reception.

British freighter Benvolio hits a mine and sinks.

The RAF bombs German warships in the Heligoland Bight during the night, with one aircraft failing to return.

The Luftwaffe returns the favor, attacking British shipping by moonlight. The freighter Gothic is strafed.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Lehigh for several hours, then let it proceed.

Convoy OA 97 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 97 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy OG 19 forms at Gibraltar.

European Air Operations: The RAF conducts a leaflet raid on Prague, which has been the center of numerous student protests in recent months. It also performed reconnaissance over Austria and Bohemia-Moravia.

Moscow denies bombing the Finnish town of Pajala along the Swedish border on 21 February.

German/Norwegian Relations: The two nations sign a trade agreement.

Turkey: The Turkish government declares a state of emergency following a (false) report of a Soviet unit crossing the frontier.

Future History: Actor Peter Fonda, son of Henry and sister of Jayne Seymour Fonda (currently 2 years old), is born in New York City. He becomes famous as an actor in the 1960s for films such as "Easy Rider." He passes away on 16 August 2019.

Väinö Tanner, Finnish Foreign Minister.

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

2020

Thursday 30 November 1939

Helsinki bombed on the first day of the Winter War, 30 November 1939.

November 30, 1939, is one of the important but little-noted, dates of World War II. This is because it expands military operations to Scandinavia for the first time.

Winter War: According to the terms of the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact of 23 August 1939, Germany had given the Soviet Union carte blanche to do as it wished regarding Finland. On 30 November 1939, Stalin accordingly invades Finland following the sort of meticulous propaganda preparation, complete with manufactured "border incidents," that most people associate only with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.

The Soviet forces under Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, People's Commissar of Defense, open fire at 06:50. They advance quickly into Finland with 21 divisions and a total of roughly 450,000 men in the front lines (amounts vary by source). The attack included a vicious aerial attack on Helsinki, Finland on the first day of the war, another tactic that most people associate with the Germans and not the Soviets.

The attack violated several treaties between the two nations:

• The 1920 Treaty of Tartu;
• The 1932 Non-Aggression Pact, reaffirmed in 1934;
• The Covenant of the League of Nations, ratified by the Soviet Union in 1934.

The frontier was over 1,000 km (620 miles) in length, but chains of lakes and vast stretches of difficult terrain in the north effectively limited the axes of advance to the areas directly adjacent to Lake Ladoga. The main conflict occurs on the Karelian Isthmus to the north of St. Petersburg aka Leningrad. The conflict becomes known as the Winter War.

Finnish Government: Taken by surprise by the Soviet invasion despite the staged "provocations," the current Finnish government resigns at midnight. Risto Ryti is named the new Prime Minister, and Väinö Tanner the new foreign minister. Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim, a World War I hero and descendant of Germany by way of Sweden, already commander-in-chief, is given command of all Finnish Defence Forces and the honorary title "Defender of Finland."

Soviet troops invading the Karelian Isthmus north of Leningrad, 30 November 1939.

Soviet Government: Moscow announces the formation of the Finnish People's Government, led by exile Otto Kuusinen, a long-time Comintern member.

Winter War Military Operations: The Soviets attack along a broad front, stretching from the Karelian Isthmus north of Leningrad to Petsamo on the Barents Sea.

Total Soviet forces in the invasion:

600,000 troops;
26 Divisions in front lines, 32 Divisions total (some under-strength);
1,200 tanks;
696 planes;
A fleet with 2 Battleships, 1 cruiser, 9 destroyers;

Total Finnish defensive forces: 

400,000 troops total, 150,000 in front lines;
9 Divisions, a 10th being formed;
145 planes;
2 coastal defense ships.

The Finnish military is distinguished by its lack of armor. While this is partly poor planning, the country has endeavored to limit arms production and purchases to maintain the appearance of neutrality. A single Soviet division has more tanks than the entire country of Finland.

The order of battle:

• Soviet 7th Army (General Yakovlev) with 12 divisions attacks on the Karelian Isthmus.
• Soviet 8th Army (General Khabarov) attacks north of Lake Ladoga.
• Soviet Ninth Army (General Duhanov) attacks from Soviet Karelia toward the Gulf of Bothnia. 
• Soviet 14th Army (General Frolov) heads east from Murmansk toward Petsamo, which is immediately brought under siege.

The Soviet Northern Fleet lands part of the 104th Rifle Division near Petsamo.

Finnish forces are anchored on their main defensive line aka the Mannerheim Line, which covers the body of the country.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet aircraft attack Russaro Island.

Winter War Naval Operations: Soviet cruiser Kirov and two destroyers bombard Russaro Island. Soviet naval forces land on Selskari Island.

Battle of the Atlantic: Total shipping losses for the month of November 1939 are given as:

49 Allied Ships;
173,563 tons;
plus 1 ship of 706 in the Indian Ocean.

One U-boat was sunk, the U-35.

British freighter Sheaf Crest hits a mine off the southeast coast of England and sinks.

German patrol vessel V-704 hits a mine and sinks.

German vessel Widder is converted into a merchant raider.

US freighter Extavia is detained by the British at Gibraltar.
Convoy OB 44 departs from Liverpool.

European Air Operations: Two RAF fighters chase off a Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft north of the Firth of Forth.

Finland Homefront: The Finns begin evacuating Helsinki, Viipuri and other major cities.

Sweden: Swedish volunteers begin signing up to help in Finland.

Great Britain: British volunteers begin signing up to help in Finland.

British Government: Sir Stafford Cripps leaves for an extended diplomatic tour of India, China, and the Soviet Union.

German Homefront The number of unemployed is given at 120,000. This compares to about 5 million unemployed in 1932, the year before Hitler took power.

The first Soviet Casualty of the Winter War, 30 November 1939.

November 1939

November 1, 1939: The Jet Flies Again
November 2, 1939: The Soviets Devour Poland
November 3, 1939: Amending the Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939: Roosevelt Signs Neutrality Laws
November 5, 1939: The Spirit of Zossen
November 6, 1939: First Dogfight
November 7, 1939: More Lies About SS Athenia
November 8, 1939: Hitler Almost Killed
November 9, 1939: The Venlo Incident
November 10, 1939: Dutch Panic
November 11, 1939: Poignant Armistice Day
November 12, 1939: Peace Efforts Made and Rejected
November 13, 1939: First Bombing of Great Britain
November 14, 1939: The Dyle Plan
November 15, 1939: Elser Confesses to the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
November 16, 1939: Martial Law in Prague
November 17, 1939: International Students Day
November 18, 1939: Magnetic Mines
November 19, 1939: Walls Around the Warsaw Ghetto
November 20, 1939: First RN Submarine Victory
November 21, 1939: Salmon & Gluckstein on the Prowl
November 22, 1939: British Recover A Magnetic Mine
November 23, 1939: HMS Rawalpindi Sunk
November 24, 1939: Japanese Enter Nanning
November 25, 1939: The Olympics are a War Casualty
November 26, 1939: Soviets Stage an "Incident" at Mainila
November 27, 1939: German Marriage Becomes Perilous
November 28, 1939: Judenrats in Poland
November 29, 1939: The Soviets Prepare to Invade Finland
November 30, 1939: Winter War Begins
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