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

Monday 19 February 1940

Winter War: King Gustav of Sweden has the final say on whether his country will help Finland:

From the first hour I informed Finland that she unfortunately could not count on military intervention from Sweden.

While the Swedish government cannot help the Finns, Swedish volunteers continue to pour across the border. Some 8,000 Swedish and 725 Norwegian volunteers take up stations in the far north of the front to relieve Finns for duties on the Karelian Isthmus.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets are gaining footholds within the V-line switch position. Soviet units work on building an ice road over the frozen Gulf of Viipuri. They attack across Lake Suvanto in the Taipale sector near Lake Ladoga. The Finns use artillery fire to break the ice and destroy the Soviet formation. The ice is littered afterward with 700-1,000 dead Soviet troops.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-23 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer), having sunk the HMS Daring on the 18th, continues its successful patrol in support of Operation Nordwind by torpedoing and sinking 5,225-ton British freighter Tiberton with one torpedo east of the Orkneys. All 33 crew perish as the ship sinks within 30 seconds.

Operation Nordmark continues without spotting any convoys.

Convoy OG 19F forms at Gibraltar.

Western Front: The Germans ambush a French patrol east of the River Nied and kill 20 French soldiers.

Special Ops: The Norwegian legislature (the Storting) endorses the way the Norwegian coastal forces handled the Altmark Incident.

Related to these events involving the Altmark, Hitler prods Admiral Raeder to speed up planning for Operation Weserubung.

American Homefront: Sugar Ray Robinson (Walker Smith Jr.) wins New Yorks' Golden Glove Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Sugar Ray Robinson, 19 February 1940.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa 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

Saturday 17 February 1940

Philip Vian's HMS Cossack returns with its cargo of British sailors released from the Altmark.

Winter War: The Soviets advance on 17 February 1940 through the Mannerheim Line and draw up upon the V-Line. The Finns are behind this second line of defense. The Finnish 23rd Division has been brought up from reserve to fill a hole in the line, but its arrival is slowed by air attacks. The Red Army has 35 divisions, many fresh or reinforced, under the overall command of General Semyon Timoshenko.

The Finns have 15 divisions, almost all battered from their beating on the Mannerheim Line. There is no chance for the Finns to make a stand ahead of their prepared position because they are no match for Soviet armor on open ground. The Finns start digging in, but the Soviets are right behind them.

The Soviets are not invincible. They try to take Suursaari Island on Lake Muolaanjarvi but are beaten back.

Marshal Mannerheim tells his officers:

“The whole future of our people hangs in the balance. Only our loyalty and endurance can save the day. I am sure every officer will do his duty.” 

Some 158 American volunteers step off a ship at Oulu.

Western Front: General von Manstein meets with Hitler at a required dinner for new Corps commanders, and Hitler aid Colonel Schmundt makes sure to have Manstein near him. They talk about Manstein's Fall Gelb plan for an armored thrust through the Ardennes to circumvent the Maginot Line and the BEF.

The plan, unlike the rote, head-on plan drafted by the OKH (Army Command), would create the possibility of separating the BEF manning the line in the north from the French army to the south. Hitler has had similar ideas and now must find a way for the OKW (Command of all German armed forces) and OKH to come to a similar conclusion and draw up the appropriate plans.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-10 (Oberleutnant zur See Joachim Preuss) torpedoes and sinks 1,819-ton Norwegian freighter Kvernaas about four miles northwest of Schouwen Bank, Holland at 02:10. All 20 crew either survive or perish, reports are conflicting.

U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) torpedoes and sinks 7,418-ton British freighter Pyrrhus northwest of Cape Finisterre, Spain at 16:00. The Pyrrhus has been traveling with Convoy OG-18, and there are 77 survivors while 8 perish.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 3,396-ton Finnish freighter Wilja south of Bishop Rock in southwest England at 20:36. All 35 crew survive, but they are picked up by a southbound steamer and wind up in Havana, Cuba.

British freighter Baron Ailsa hits a mine and sinks.

German freighter Baldur is scuttled by its crew to avoid capture by Royal Navy patrols.

The British at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Exhibitor.

Convoy OB 93 departs from Liverpool, and Convoy HG 19 departs from Gibraltar.

Special Ops: The men rescued from the Altmark are landed from Captain Vian's HMS Cossack at Leith to great acclaim as the government issues a public announcement. Meanwhile, the Germans in Norway stage an elaborate funeral procession for their dead from the incident.

The British, Germans, and Norwegians all protest vigorously to each other about the Altmark Incident, but it is a fait accompli and the diplomatic protests are meaningless. As Hermann Goering liked to say, "Let the cannon speak!"

US Government: President Roosevelt appoints Myron C. Taylor as his "personal representative" to the Vatican.

US Homefront: The United States Lines sells the passenger liner President Harding and seven cargo ships to a Belgian company. This has become a standard practice by US shipowners who still need to do business with Europe. This is covert defiance of President Roosevelt's trade restrictions imposed under the Neutrality Act as amended.

British Homefront: The government draws up a new plan to evacuate the 400,000 children who have returned to London and other large cities.

Marshal Mannerheim in 1940.

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 16 February 1940

The Altmark in Norway.

Winter War: Sweden on 16 February 1940 rejects the Finnish request for rights of passage of foreign troops across its territory. It is a right assumed by the Allied Supreme War Council in its plans to cross over Swedish territory to Finland and also "protect" Swedish iron ore mines. This unexpected Swedish decision, however, does not cause the Allies to alter those plans.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns admit in a communique that the Soviets have breached the Mannerheim Line in three places: east of Summa, and two between Muola Lake and Vuoksi River. This, of course, does not include the critical fact that the entire line now is in retreat to the V-Line.

The order to retreat came late on the 15th, and the units under the most pressure executed it immediately. Some units in better shape don't receive the order until this afternoon.

Finnish 9th Infantry Division, including Group Talvela, wipes out the remnants of the Siberian ski brigade "Dolin." There are 70 survivors of the unit out of the 1,800 skiers who initially crossed the frontier. The Siberians are/were well-equipped with automatic weapons, which the Finns can use.

Winter War Air Operations: The Finns bomb Soviet railway stations and tracks behind the lines. They also claim to have shot down 8 more Soviet planes.

Special Ops: Having spotted the Altmark a few days ago, the Admiralty, i.e., Winston Churchill, acts fast. It instructs the HMS Cossack to violate Norwegian neutrality and enter its territorial waters for the purposes of boarding the supply ship. The Altmark, crowded with 299 British prisoners from the ships sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, believes that it is safe, but it is not.

Located in Joessing Fjord, Southwest Norway, Admiral Vian menaces the Altmark at around 22:00, which then runs aground. A British boarding party kills seven German sailors, wounds 11, and releases the prisoners from the hold. Captain Philip Vian becomes a national hero for this, and the incident enters British naval lore for truths, half-truths, and unproven and unlikely legends about the affair (such as that the boarding party actually used cutlasses, like pirates, to free the men).

The Norwegian escort - a torpedo boat - watches the whole affair but does not intervene. Technically, the prisoners should have been released upon entering neutral waters, so the Norwegian involvement is equivocal, but the Germans never notified them of the prisoners. This, actually, is something the British have done as well, such as when a British ship passed through the US Panama Canal with German prisoners, so they have no cause to complain, and don't. The Cossack leaves the Jøssingfjord just after midnight on 17 February with the 299 prisoners.

While the fate of the 299 sailors is important, so is the larger course of the war. The Germans observe the high-handed British attitude to Norwegian neutrality and speed up their own plans regarding the country. Naturally, the Germans make the dead into martyrs.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-14 (Oberleutnant zur See Herbert Wohlfarth) has a big day northeast of Scotland. They are all carrying coal from Britain to Denmark and Sweden.

First, around midnight, U-14 torpedoes and sinks 1,064-ton Danish freighter Rhone. There are 11 survivors, 9 perish.

Second, it torpedoes and sinks the 1,066-ton Danish freighter Sleipner. There are 28 survivors and 13 perish. The Sleipner had stopped to help the people from the Rhone.

Third, at 21:25, U-14 sinks the 1,526-ton Swedish freighter Osmed. There are 7 survivors and 13 perish.

Fourth, about ten minutes later, U-14 sinks 1,646-ton Swedish freighter Liana. There are eight survivors, 10 perish. The area is full of passing freighters and trawlers, so the survivors all get picked up fairly quickly.

The British authorities at Gibraltar detain the US freighter Excalibur for a few hours, then let it and the freighter Exermont, which has been detained since 14 February, proceed.


Convoy OA 93 GF departs from Southend. Convoy HX 20 departs from Halifax.

Royal Air Force: Royal Air Force Hurricanes and Spitfires are converting over to 100 octane fuel. This gives them a performance boost by increasing engine power by raising the boost to +12 lb/sq.in. Every little bit helps against the equally matched Bf 109s, though the Bf 109s as yet cannot make it to Great Britain. No. 602's Operations Record Book notes today that "100 octane fuel now in all aircraft."

Anglo/Soviet Relations: Sir Stafford Cripps, a well-known Marxist sympathizer who plays that role well in the British government, meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov. This is a fascinating example of the British minding their diplomatic fences. On the one hand, they are openly supporting the Finns in their fight against the Soviets, but on the other, they are secretly attempting to learn if there is any room for accommodation with the Soviets.

British Homefront: The British authorities stage a crackdown on "steakeasies" (like "speakeasies" during Prohibition) which are unauthorized slaughterhouses circumventing the rationing process.

Flag-draped coffins containing German dead are brought ashore for burial after the Altmark Incident in Jossingfjord, Norway.

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

Thursday 15 February 1940

A Finnish infantryman.

Winter War: With the front starting to slip at Summa, Marshall Mannerheim issues an order at 20:00 on 15 February 1940 for II Army Corps holding the Summa sector to retreat to the second line of defenses. Soviet assault battalions already have captured Summa itself and are around Leipaesuo, northeast of Summa, only 20 miles from Viipuri.

The next, intermediate line is the "V-line" further back on the isthmus. It is not as well-prepared as the Mannerheim Line, but has some natural advantages. The question is whether the Finns still have enough men to hold it.

Even units still holding their forward positions in the Summa sector are down to fractions of the men they started with. The 274th Rifle Regiment, for instance, has lost 30-40% of its men. The brigade has resorted to reinforcing it with the unit's horse drivers who are not trained infantry. The Finnish 1st Brigade has lost about 60% of its men, with only 400 men remaining. Some units are wiped out completely, not all units are even able to report casualty figures. Of course, Soviet casualties are high as well - but there are endless streams of men and supplies backing the Soviet troops up, which is not the case for the Finns.

North of Lake Ladoga, the Finns are having better luck. The Finnish 9th Division destroy the motti at Lavajärvi village, taking 2 tanks, 5 field guns, 2 antitank guns, 8 trucks, 3 machineguns, 4 field kitchens, numerous rifles and ammunition. The Finns also surround what is left of the Soviets' "Dolin" Siberian ski brigade, which was sent as a relief force and now is minus its commander Dolin and down to 800 men.

Battle of the Atlantic: The German government states that, since First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill has announced that all merchant ships in the North Sea will be armed, the U-boat fleet will treat all such ships as armed combatants. U-boats henceforth are directed to attack without warning any ship appearing to be under British control. In essence, this converts the entire sea around the British Isles into a zone of unrestricted underseas warfare.

U-50 (Kapitänleutnant Max-Hermann Bauer) torpedoes and sinks 4,895 ton Danish freighter Maryland at 02:07 far out in the north Atlantic. The entire crew of 34 perishes.

U-37 (Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartmann) torpedoes and sinks 1,206 ton Danish freighter Aase at 05:45 southwest of England. There is one survivor, and 15 perish.

U-26 ( Kapitänleutnant Heinz Scheringer) torpedoes and sinks 2,477 ton Norwegian freighter Steinstad at 08:37 about 75 miles west of Aran Island, Ireland. Thirteen perish, 11 crew survive.

U-48 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Schultze) torpedoes and sinks 8,971 ton Dutch tanker Den Haag (Master C. Wijker) at 14:00 about 150 miles west of Ouessant, France. There are 13 survivors, while 26 perish. Schultze has been patient, as he sighted the tanker well before noon but had to wait for a Coastal Command flying boat to clear the area.

Convoy OB 92 departs from Liverpool, Convoy OA 92 departs from Southend, Convoy OG 18 forms at Gibraltar.

Anglo-Soviet Relations: Sir Stafford Cripps, a British Labour politician who is open about his Marxist leanings, visits Moscow.

German Military: Generalmajor Erwin Rommel, who coordinated Hitler's personal protection detail in Poland, is promoted to take command of the 7th Panzer Division. This is Rommel's choice, as he wished for an active divisional command, but not just any command. He already has turned down a mountain division of the sort in which he served (and gained national fame) during World War I. In essence, he calls in his favor with Hitler to get the panzer division that he wants.

British Military: General Wavell's position is recast as Commander-in-Chief Middle East.

US Government: President Roosevelt embarks on the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa at Pensacola for a cruise to Panama and through the canal to the west coast of Central America. He will inspect the Panama Canal and discuss Pan-American defense with leaders along the trip.

The Dutch tanker Den Haag.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa 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