An Indian nationalist assassinates Sir Michael O’Dwyer, former governor of the Punjab, in London.

The Finnish government grants formal permission to its delegation, which signs a peace treaty with the Soviet Union, ending the 104-day Winter War at 12:00 hours. The terms are harsh; Finland loses the Karelian Isthmus, the city of Viipuri and the Vuoksi industrial region, the Hango naval base, and border lands northwest of Lake Ladoga.

Casualties during the war are 25,000 Finns dead and 45,000 wounded; an estimate 48,000 Soviets dead and 158,000 wounded (although the Red Army figures are widely considered to be underestimates).

The wide disparity in losses signals observers in the rest of the war that the Red Army remains inefficient and hampered by Premier Josef Stalin’s 1930s purges of the officer corps. This impression is taken to heart by German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler, and it partially informs his decision to press the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

In his final Order of the Day for the war, Finland’s Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Mannerheim writes,

“A severe peace [has been concluded] which cedes Russia nearly all the battlefields we have drenched with our blood. .. The deeds you have accomplished will shine for centures in the pages of our history.”

Today is 1-Jan-40, the 93rd day of World War II; there are 2,070 days left in the conflict.
On the first day of the new year, the British make two million men between the ages of 20 and 27 liable for military service. The French re-establish rail links with Spain after they were closed for three-and-a-half [...]

Today is 31-Dec-1939, the 92nd day of World War II; there are 2,071 days left in the conflict.
German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler issues a New Years proclamation to the German people: “We shall only talk of peace when we have won the war. The Jewish-capitalistic world will not survive the twentieth century.” He looks forward in [...]

Today is 30-Dec-1939, the 91st day of World War II; there are 2,072 days left in the conflict.
Over the Chinese city of Lanchow, forty Chinese Air Force fighters take on 13 Japanese aircraft. The Japanese shoot down 14 of the Chinese fighters, but suffer no losses of their own.
Wang Chingwei, the former foreign minister of [...]

Today is 29-Dec-1939, the 90th day of World War II; there are 2,073 days left in the conflict.
The Leningrad-Murmansk railway line is destroyed at three points by 250 Finnish ski troops as offensives continue against the Soviet’s Eighth and Ninth armies. The Red Army is driven back from the north bank of Lake Ladoga and [...]

Today is 28-Dec-1939, the 89th day of World War II; there are 2,074 days left in the conflict.
The Soviet Red Army’s 163rd Division of the Ninth Army is destroyed by the Finns near Suomussalmi after attempts to relieve it by the 44th Division were turned back (and the 44th itself was destroyed). Training, tactics, and [...]

Today is 27-Dec-1939, the 88th day of World War II; there are 2,075 days left in the conflict.
An earthquake strikes Turkey during very cold winter weather and kills an estimated 8,000 people, rendering thousands more homeless. Among the worst hit are the region of Tokat and the Black Sea areas of Samsun and Ordu.
Poles kill [...]

Today is 26-Dec-1939, the 87th day of World War II; there are 2,076 days left in the conflict.
The Soviet Red Army continues its attacks on the northern end of the Mannerheim Line in Finland, but have little success and suffer heavy losses. The Finns continue to hold advance positions near Salla.
Neutral Sweden calls up its [...]

Today is 25-Dec-1939, the 86th day of World War II; there are 2,077 days left in the conflict.
The first Christmas of the war is celebrated quietly along the western front; German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler meets with German Army troops during a three-day visit to the front. King George VI broadcasts a Christmas message to the [...]

Today is 24-Dec-1939, the 85th day of World War II; there are 2,078 days left in the conflict.
For the first time in the Winter War invasion by the Soviet Union, Finnish troops enter Soviet territory near Lieksa after routing the Red Army in the Tolmojaervi and Aglajaervi districts. The Finns also begin to approach Salla, [...]

Today is 23-Dec-1939, the 84th day of World War II; there are 2,079 days left in the conflict.
After several recent success, the Finns suffer a setback when they counterattack the Soviet Red Army on the Karelian Isthmus and are repulsed. 1,500 casualties result and the counterattack is called off when night falls. The Soviets and [...]

Today is 22-Dec-1939, the 83rd day of World War II; there are 2,080 days left in the conflict.
The Battle of Summa in Finland continues in spite of the weakening of the Red Army, which continues to suffer losses. The Finns also have success at Suomussalmi when they destroy the Soviet 44th Motorized Division, which was [...]

Today is 21-Dec-1939, the 82nd day of World War II; there are 2,081 days left in the conflict.
A Finnish attack at Kemijarvi drives the Soviet Red Army back 20 miles in the region. The Soviets are beginning to move to the defensive in the Winter War.
Soviet General Secretary Josef Stalin turns 60 years old. He [...]

Today is 20-Dec-1939, the 81st day of World War II; there are 2,082 days left in the conflict.
The Soviet Red Army attacks on the Mannerheim Line in the Battle of Summa are beginning to weaken, while the Finns cut off the Soviet 122nd Division at Salla, near the White Sea.
Captain Hans Langsdorff, commander of the [...]

Today is 19-Dec-1939, the 80th day of World War II; there are 2,083 days left in the conflict.
The Battle of Summa in Finland continues with the Soviet Red Army attacking the Mannerheim Line continuously, with little success.
The Germans successfully launch a surface raiding ship, the Atlantis, but suffer a loss when the Kriegsmarine is forced [...]

Today is 18-Dec-1939, the 79th day of World War II; there are 2,084 days left in the conflict.
Attacks by the Soviet Red Army continue on the Mannerheim Line around Summa, along with bombing of Helsinki from the air and shelling of battery positions along the Finnish Baltic coast. The United States Navy in Washington D.C. [...]

Today is 17-Dec-1939, the 78th day of World War II; there are 2,085 days left in the conflict.
The saga of the Admiral Graf Spee German pocket battleship comes to an end in front of a large crowds lining the quays on both sides of the River Plate in South America. The ship had been in [...]

Today is 16-Dec-1939, the 77th day of World War II; there are 2,086 days left in the conflict.
The Red Army’s Seventh Army launches major attacks on the Mannerheim line in the First Battle of Summa in the Winter War. Two days of attacks fail to dislodge the stubborn Finnish defenders. Meanwhile, Italy escalates the propaganda [...]

Today is 15-Dec-1939, the 76th day of World War II; there are 2,087 days left in the conflict.
The Battle of Soumussalmi begins during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. The Finns destroy the Soviet 139th Division at Tolvajarvi as well as the 75th Division. The Finns broadcast an appeal for negotiations to [...]

Today is 14-Dec-1939, the 75th day of World War II; there are 2,088 days left in the conflict.
The League of Nations, meeting in emergency debate in Geneva, formally expels the Soviet Union and names it an aggressor in violation of treaties with Finland, the League Covenant and the Pact of Paris. League member states are [...]

Today is 13-Dec-1939, the 74th day of World War II; there are 2,089 days left in the conflict.
A series of attacks by the Finns on the Soviet Eighth Army is the focus of action going into week two of the Winter War.
British Royal Navy Commodore Henry Harwood of the HMS Ajax is accompanied by the [...]

Today is 12-Dec-1939, the 73rd day of World War II; there are 2,090 days left in the conflict.
The Finns launch attacks against the Soviet Eighth Army successfully, but aren’t as successful against Red Army forces near Kollaa. Two battles north of Lake Ladoga get underway: Tovaajarvland and Kitela. For their part, the Soviets reject a [...]

Today is 11-Dec-1939, the 72nd day of World War II; there are 2,091 days left in the conflict.
The Finnish Ninth Brigade successfully attacks and cuts off the Soviet 163rd Division at Suomussalmi, surprising the Red Army. The Finns are not going down as quickly and completely as the Soviets expected. Meanwhile in Geneva, the League [...]

Today is 10-Dec-1939, the 71st day of World War II; there are 2,092 days left in the conflict.
The Helsinki government issues a general appeal to the rest of the world for aid in the Winter War, stating it has been attacked by the Soviet Union without cause; “our position as the active outpost of western [...]

Today is 9-Dec-1939, the 70th day of World War II; there are 2,093 days left in the conflict.
The first British soldier to be killed in World War II dies leading a patrol along the Western Front. He is Corporal Thomas Priday of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. His death is the first of some 382,700 [...]

Today is 8-Dec-1939, the 69th day of World War II; there are 2,094 days left in the conflict.
As the second week of the Winter War begins, attacks of the Soviet Ninth Army grind to a halt in the face of stiff Finnish resistance near Kuhmo.
The British decide that Polish exile squadrons may be attached to [...]

Today is 7-Dec-1939, the 68th day of World War II; there are 2,095 days left in the conflict.
Sweden, Denmark, and Norway decline to come to the aid of their neighbor, Finland; each declares its neutrality in the Winter War. The Soviets announce a blockade of the Finnish coast and attack positions at Kollaa north of [...]

Today is 6-Dec-1939, the 67th day of World War II; there are 2,096 days left in the conflict.
The Finns celebrate Independence Day even as the Red Army presses its attack during the Winter War. US President Franklin Roosevelt sends a message of sympathy to Finnish President Kyösti Kallio. The Italians deliver 50 aircraft to Finland [...]

Today is 5-Dec-1939, the 66th day of World War II; there are 2,097 days left in the conflict.
The Finnish Second Corps, manning the Mannerheim Line, the main defensive strongpoint on the Karelian Isthmus, encounters forward units of the Soviet Seventh Army during the sixth day of the Winter War. The Finns begin to master tactics [...]

Today is 4-Dec-1939, the 65th day of World War II; there are 2,098 days left in the conflict.
The Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland continues. The Soviets reject a mediation offer from Sweden and the Finns fortify the island of Aaland in the Gulf of Bothnia. Soviet air bombing forces the evacuation of [...]

Today is 3-Dec-1939, the 64th day of World War II; there are 2,099 days left in the conflict.
The Soviet Eighth Army pushes the Finnish Army backwards near Suojarvi; the Finns send reinforcements near Kuhmo, where the Soviet Ninth Army’s 54th Division is pressing forward. The Winter War is in its fourth day. To the west, [...]

Today is 2-Dec-1939, the 63rd day of World War II; there are 2,100 days left in the conflict.
The Red Army lands near Petsamo, Finland, in order to join up with the Fourteenth Army nearby. The Red Army advance into Finland proceeds slowly and has yet to reach Finnish defensive lines. The Finns ask the League [...]

Today is 1-Dec-1939, the 62nd day of World War II; there are 2,101 days left in the conflict.
80 people are killed as Helsinki is again bombed by Soviet aircraft on the second day of the Winter War, as Red Army attacks continue on the Karelian Isthmus. The Helsinki government reorganizes in a coalition administration; the [...]

Today is 30-Nov-1939, the 61st day of World War II; there are 2,102 days left in the conflict.
Launching what will become known as the Winter War, the Soviet Union invades Finland and bombs Helsinki, the capital, and Viipuri. 72-year-old Finnish Field Marshal Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim is appointed Defender of Finland and Commander-in-Chief of [...]

Today is 29-Nov-1939, the 60th day of World War II; there are 2,103 days left in the conflict.
The Soviet government breaks off diplomatic relations with Finland; the Finns respond by offering to hold renewed discussions over their territorial dispute and suggest conciliation or arbitration by a neutral third party in accordance with their 1932 non-aggression [...]

Today is 28-Nov-1939, the 59th day of World War II; there are 2,104 days left in the conflict.
The Finns announce that their investigation into the Mainila Incident has revealed that seven shells fired on the Soviet village of Mainila on 26-Nov which killed four Red Army soldiers, were actually fired by Soviet artillery. The investigation [...]

Today is 27-Nov-1939, the 58th day of World War II; there are 2,105 days left in the conflict.
The Finns deny they were behind artillery fire which killed four Soviet soldiers in the USSR village of Mainila, claiming the shells came from the Soviet side of the border and suggest a mutual withdrawal of both countries’ [...]

Today is 26-Nov-1939, the 57th day of World War II; there are 2,106 days left in the conflict.
In the Soviet Union, seven artillery shells explode in the village of Mainila, near the Finnish border; four Red Army soldiers die. The Soviet government accuses Finland in the incident and demands an immediate withdrawal of all Finnish [...]

Today is 25-Nov-1939, the 56th day of World War II; there are 2,107 days left in the conflict.
A day after the Belgian government sent a note to the British regarding reprisals against Germany for its mine-laying policies, the governments of Italy, Japan, Denmark and Sweden meet with the British Foreign Office over the reprisal effort. [...]

Today is 24-Nov-1939, the 55th day of World War II; there are 2,108 days left in the conflict.
Over 100,000 Chinese troops attempt to repel the Imperial Japanese Army’s attack on Nanking but fail; the Japanese enter the city, breaking the Chinese winter offensive. The taking of Nanking represents the first Japanese victory in their drive [...]

Today is 23-Nov-1939, the 54th day of World War II; there are 2,109 days left in the conflict.
The German Kriegsmarine battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are interrupted during a raid mission by an encounter between Scharnhorst and the Rawalpindi, an armed British merchant cruiser. The merchant ship is armed with just four six-inch guns and [...]

Today is 22-Nov-1939, the 53rd day of World War II; there are 2,110 days left in the conflict.
British police are notified that German magnetic mines have been found in the Shoeburyness mud flats near the Thames Estuary. They are from a batch parachuted down by a Luftwaffe Heinkel He-111 aircraft. Due to the use of [...]

Today is 21-Nov-1939, the 52nd day of World War II; there are 2,111 days left in the conflict.
German magnetic mines dropped by the Luftwaffe in British territorial waters continue to make up the bulk of the war news. A brand-new British cruiser, HMS Belfast is badly damaged by one of the mines in the Scottish [...]

Today is 20-Nov-1939, the 51st day of World War II; there are 2,112 days left in the conflict.
After experiencing successes by mining British territorial waters and North Sea shipping lanes, the German Luftwaffe begins dropping the magnetic mines into the Thames estuary itself. The British minesweeper HMS Mastiff explodes and sinks after attempting to recover [...]

Today is 19-Nov-1939, the 50th day of World War II; there are 2,113 days left in the conflict.
German occupation authorities begin erecting a temporary barrier around the Jewish Quarter in Warsaw; it is a prelude to the later building of a permanent wall around the ghetto. Occupation authorities continue to crack down in the former [...]

Today is 18-Nov-1939, the 49th day of World War II; there are 2,114 days left in the conflict.
Irish Republican Army terrorists explode four small bombs outside businesses in London’s Piccadilly Circus. No deaths or injuries are reported.
German Luftwaffe aircraft drop magnetic mines via parachute into British waters for the first time since the war began. [...]

Today is 17-Nov-1939, the 48th day of World War II; there are 2,115 days left in the conflict.
With violence continuing in Prague after a medical student’s funeral on 15-Nov, German SS troops occupy all universities after Reichsprotektor Konstantin von Neurath ordered them shut down. The SS executes nine student “leaders” and sends 1,200 other student [...]

Today is 16-Nov-1939, the 47th day of World War II; there are 2,116 days left in the conflict.
The Finns mobilize their armed forces as talks with the Soviet Union over territory and border revisions end in mutually angry exchanges. The Soviets goal has been to protect its naval bases at Murmansk and Leningrad with strategic [...]

Today is 15-Nov-1939, the 46th day of World War II; there are 2,117 days left in the conflict.
In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, several thousand students attend the funeral for medical student Jan Opletal, shot in the stomach by German troops during anti-occupation demonstrations in Prague on 28-Oct, who died 11-Nov.
Opletal (1-Jan-1915 – 11-Nov-1939) [...]

Today is 14-Nov-1939, the 45th day of World War II; there are 2,118 days left in the conflict.
Allied military commanders on the Western Front meet secretly with Belgian military commanders in mostly inconclusive meetings, but there is agreement that British and French troops should immediately advance to a position known as the “Meuse-Antwerp Line,” southeast [...]