31-Dec-39: Finns Press Red Army Back; Britain, France Promise Finland Aid; Hitler Issues New Year’s Proclamation; Turkish Earthquake, Floods Death Toll Keeps Rising
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 1940 to the creation of a new Europe under German leadership, liberated from British tyranny.
Hitler echoes these themes in his Order of the Day to the Wehrmacht; in the effort to create this European new order, he writes, “the hardest struggle for the existence or non-existence of the German people lies before us.”
As Britain and France inform the League of Nations in Geneva that they will give “all possible assistance” to Finland, the Finns push the Red Army back along on the Soumussalmi-Kemijarvi front and keep up heavy pressure in their offensives against the Soviet Eighth and Ninth armies. The Soviets bomb Viipuri and other towns via air.
Floods and more earthquakes push the death toll in Turkey related to the 27-Dec quake past 30,000.
29-Dec-39: Finns Destroy Leningrad-Murmanks Railway, See Other Successes in Winter War; Fritz Thyssen Wanted by Germans, is on the Run; Turkish Earthquake Death Toll Hits 20,000
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 the Finns capture 11 tanks, 25 guns and 150 trucks. The Finnish Northern Army claims to have destroyed a 15,000-man Soviet division near Lake Kianta. Reports are received that some Soviet troops are deserting or rebelling near Salla.
After writing a highly critical letter to German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler, former National Socialist fundraiser and German industrialist Fritz Thyssen has a German police arrest warrant issued against him. He had been in Switzerland, but is now believed to be in neutral Portugal.
The death toll from the 27-Dec earthquake in Turkey rises to an estimated 20,000; after shocks continue and emergency relief operations get underway.
28-Dec-39: Soviet Division Destroyed; Red Army High Command Regroups; Fritz Thyssen Protests German Actions to Hitler; Polish Deportations More Frequent; HMS Barham Hit by Torpedoes; British Start Meat Rationing; Japanese Bomb Lanchow
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 even cross-country skiing abilities all play a role in the Finnish successes. After successive failures to crack the Mannerheim Line throughout the Winter War, the Soviet high command orders preparations for a better-coordinated assault on the Finns.
German industrialist Fritz Thyssen, who played a key role in fundraising efforts and bankrolling the early National Socialist German Worker’s Party, as well as urging President Paul on Hindenburg to appoint appoint Adolf Hitler to the Reichskanzler post, writes a remarkable protest letter to Hitler from exile in Switzerland. Thyssen had been Prussian State Councillor for life, a member of the Reichstag for Dusseldorf East, and head of the institute for research into the corporate state, Standische Wirtschaftsordnung.
A devout Catholic, he resigned his posts and fled the country after protesting Hitler’s ongoing persecutions of religious communities, as well as the Non-Aggression Pact of 23-Aug-39 between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Thyssen was particularly upset by Reichkristallnacht, 9-10-Nov-38. The pogrom was triggered by the assassination of German diplomat Ernst vom Rath by a German-born Polish Jew named Herschel Grynszpan. The assassination touched off a oordinated attack on Jews and their property; 91 were murdered, 25,000 to 30,000 were arrested, 267 synagogues were destroyed and thousands of homes and businesses were ransacked by Hitler Jugend, the Gestapo and the SS. His property was confiscated and his citizenship revoked by Hitler after Thyssen left the country.
Thyssen’s letter to Hitler states:
“My conscience is clear. I know that I have committed no crime. My sole mistake is to have believed in you, our leader, Adolf Hitler, and in the movement initiated by you — to have believed with the enthusiasm of a passionate lover of my native Germany.
“Since 1923 I have made the greatest sacrifices for the National Socialist cause, have fought with word and deed, without asking any reward for myself, merely inspired by the hope that our unfortunate German people would finally recover. The initial events after the National Socialists come to power seemed to justify this hope, at least as long as Herr von Papen was vice-chancellor.
“A sinister development followed these events. The persecution of the Christian religion, taking the form of cruel measures against the priests and insults to the Churches, led me to protest in the early days, for instance when the police president of Dusseldorf issued a protest to Marshal Goering, It was in vain.
“When, on November 9th, 1938, the Jews were despoiled and martyrized in the most cowardly and brutal manner, and their temples razed to the ground throughout Germany, I also protested. To reinforce this protest, I resigned my office as state councillor. This, too, as in vain.”
Thyssen will eventually be arrested by Vichy French authorities and sent to a concentration camp. He will be freed by the Allies in 1945, but will convicted by a German court for being a former National Socialist leader. The court will order Thyssen to hand over 15% of his property to victims of the regime; he will die in 1951.
The Germans policy of ousting Poles from critical areas and bringing in ethnic Germans to colonize the former Polish areas begins to hit its stride. The whole population of Kalisz, 70,000 people, are deported and replaced by ethnic Germans from the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
On the high seas, the German Kriegsmarine’s unterseeboot U-30 torpedoes the British Battleship HMS Barham off the coast of northwest Scotland. The ship does not sink, but is laid up for repairs for three months.
The British government in London announces that the rationing of meat will go into effect immediately.
The Japanese Imperial Army conducts repeated bombing raids on the northwest Chinese military supply base at Lanchow.
27-Dec-39: Earthquake Kills 8,000 in Turkey; Poles Executed for Warsaw Shootings; Red Army Ends Mannerheim Line Attacks; Finns Launch Offensives; US Protests British High Seas Seizures; First Indian Troops Arrive in France
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 two German army noncommissioned officers in a bar in the Warsaw suburb of Wawer. In retaliation, German officials execute the owner of the bar by hanging and select 120 Poles from the streets for execution by shooting.
The Red Army ends its attack on the northern end of the Mannerheim Line after failing to advance. The Finns evacuate the citizens of Viipuri and launch offensives against the Soviet Eighth and Ninth armies.
The United States embassy in London passes a protest to the British government concerning the Royal Navy’s seizure of US mail bound via the Atlantic for Europe.
British empire military troops continue to arrive to bolster the allied war effort; the British Expeditionary Force in France is strengthened by the arrival of the first troops from India.
26-Dec-39: Red Army Suffers More Losses; Finns Dig In Near Salla; Swedes Call Up Reserves; Royal Navy Mines Eastern British Coast; Australians Reach Wales
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 military reservists due to continued signs of trouble between the Germans and Norwegians and the ongoing Winter War in Finland.
The British Royal Navy lays a barrier of mines from Moray Firth in the north of Scotland all the way south to the Thames Estuary in England. Pembroke, Wales, receives the first unit of the Royal Australian Air Force to reach the war zone.
25-Dec-39: First Christmas Passes Quietly on Western Front; Hitler Visits Troops; Soviets Launch Attacks on Finn Defenses, Cities
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 British Empire and states, “A New Year is at hand. We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle, we shall remain undaunted.”
Christmas and a cold day with temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius fails to deter the Soviets from launching attacks on the northern end of the Mannerheim Line in Finland, as well as bombing Helsinki, Viipuri and 30 towns and cities, as well as railway lines. The Finns claim to have downed 20 Soviet bombers during the Winter War attack.
24-Dec-39: Finns Enter Soviet Territory for First Time; Germans, Soviets Re-Establish Rail Service in Poland; Graf Spee Burns Out; Pope Makes Christmas Eve Appeal
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, pushing the Soviets back there as well.
Rail links are re-established in the occupied Poland between the eastern zone occupied by the Soviet Union and the western zone occupied by the Germans.
After burning for a week after its scuttling in the River Plate Battle on the border between Uruguay and Argentina, the German Kriegsmarine’s pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee finally burns itself out.
Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve address to the College of Cardinals in the Vatican and appeals for world peace. He says that there have been, in contempt of freedom and human life, “acts which cry for the vengeance of God.” He also says reparations for injuries must be made.
23-Dec-39: Finns Suffer Winter War Setback; IRA Steals Irish Army’s Ammunition; South Americans Protest River Plate Battle
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 Finns are beginning to experience stalemate in the Winter War.
Irish Republican Army troops steal 1.1 million rounds of small arms ammunition, the entire reserves of the Irish Army, from Phoenix Park. The army and police forces retaliate with large-scale searches and manage to recover most of the ammunition during the next 11 days.
More fallout from the River Plate battle on the border between Uruguay and Argentina ensues as the two, along with other South American countries, send notes to Germany, France and Britain protesting illegal fighting inside the security zone of neutral countries. They also issue a protest concerning detention and destruction of German merchant vessels by the British Royal Navy.
22-Dec-39: Finns Destroy Soviet 44th Division; French Vote Armaments Credits, Strengthen Maginot Line; British Announce Seizure of Nearly a Million Tonnes of Contraband
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 attempting to relieve the Red Army’s 163rd Division. The Finnish army blocks the road ahead and behind the 44th and then destroys it in close quarter fighting.
On the economic front, the French Chamber of Deputies votes to allow 304 billion francs in credits for armaments production in 1940, while Prime Minister Eduard Daladier announces the Maginot Line is to be strengthened. New fortifications in northern France and the Jura Mountains are also completed, he says.
The British Ministry of Economic Warfare in London announces that, since 3-Sep, the Allied Contraband Control has confiscated 870,000 tones of freight headed for Germany.
21-Dec-39: Finns Drive Red Army Back at Kemijarvi; Hitler Acknowledges Stalin’s 60th Birthday; Canadians Hold Ceremonial Parade at Aldershot
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 receives a congratulatory telegram from German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler, which reads, “To Joseph Stalin: Best wishes for your personal well-being as well as for the prosperous future of the peoples of the friendly Soviet Union. Adolf Hitler.” Stalin sends a reply to Hitler: “To the Chancellor of the German Reich, A Hitler. The friendship of the peoples of Germany and the Soviet Union, cemented by blood, has every reason to be lasting and firm.”
The First Division, the first Canadian troops on European soil, participates in its first ceremonial exercise, at the British Royal Army’s parade grounds at Aldershot.
20-Dec-39: Red Army Attacks in Finland Weaken; Graf Spee’s Commander Commits Suicide in Buenos Aires; US Seeks to Prevent Export of Technical Data
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 German Kriegsmarine’s Admiral Graf Spee,, scuttled in the River Plate, commits suicide in his hotel room while interned by the Argentinians in Buenos Aires. British Royal Navy experts recover radar equipment from the German ship and begin a detailed examination of it.
The United States Navy’s Tuscaloosa arrives in New York harbor with 579 survivors of another German ship which was scuttled by its crew, the Columbus. They are disembarked on Ellis Island for processing.
In a further enhancement to its policy of neutrality, the United States issues regulations preventing the export of technical data which could help the production of aviation fuel in nations at war.
19-Dec-39: Battle of Summa Continues in Finland; Germans Scuttle Ship Off US Coast; British Scientists Develop Anti-Magnetic Mine Method
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 to scuttle the liner Columbus 300 miles off the United States Atlantic coast. The ship had been stalked by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Hyperion, a destroyer, and the US Navy’s USS Tuscaloosa. The American ship broadcast the position of the German liner at regular intervals during the journey, and it had been unable to shake off the Tuscaloosa. With the Hyperion moving in for a kill, the German crew decided to scuttle the ship rather than risk their capture or destruction. The Germans have a case to protest the American action, since it violates neutrality policies, but decide not to press the issue.
A group of British Admiralty scientists headed by doctors D. F. Goodeve and E. C. Bullard successfully develop the degaussing method which cancels the magnetic field of ships, eliminating the threat of Germany’s magnetic mines, which have been causing such havoc in the waters around the British Isles since the beginning of the war. The method works by producing an opposite magnetic field and requires stringing an electric cable from a generator around a ship’s hull.
18-Dec-39: Soviet Attacks Continue on Various Finnish Defenses; Germans Down Half of British Air Raid Bombers Over Heligoland; Hitler Meets Quisling Again, Offers Aid; Graf Spee Fallout Continues
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. announces that 40 aircraft will be sent to aid the Finns in their Winter War against the Soviet Union.
The last daylight raid of the British Royal Air Force for 1939 occurs and results in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight. 22 armed Wellingtons are sent by Bomber Command to reconnoiter Wilhelmshaven. They are intercepted by 50 German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me-109 and Me-110 fighters, which shoot down 12 of the Wellingtons. The 50% casualty rate induces Bomber Command to abandon daylight raids for over four months.
German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler holds another meeting with Norway’s Vidkun Quisling in Berlin; the Norwegian fascist is promised financial support in return for any assistance he extends to the Germans during their upcoming invasion of Norway.
The aftermath of the Admiral Graf Spee continues to unfold; 1,039 German Kriegsmarine officers and sailors of the pocket battleship are interned by the Argentinians in Buenos Aires, while the British promote Commodore Henry Harwood of the HMS Ajax, considered the victor of the battle, to rear admiral.
17-Dec-39: Soviet Attacks Hammer Mannerheim Line at Summa, Are Repulsed; Finns Refine Successful Tactics, Destroy Two Red Army Divisions; First Canadian Division Lands in Liverpool; French Claim German Reconnaissance Flights Increased Over Western Front
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 port at Montevideo, Uruguay, for several days for rest, repairs, and refueling, but British ships and diplomats moved to flush her out. The succeeded in have the Uruguayans insist that Spee leave her anchor (but not too quickly so that other Royal Navy ships have a chance to arrive) and have stationed HMS Ajax HMS Achilles at the mouth of the estuary. The drama is carried live worldwide via radio and attracts a large audience.
As the deadline for leaving port passes, the Graf Spee gets underway in the estuary, but suddenly stops; her crew is ordered to scuttle the ship rather than risk battle with heavy British forces. The battleship sinks, the crew is saved, not hostile shots are fired and the crowds on shore are treated to a rare spectacle.
The Soviet Union attacks again Finnish positions along the Mannerheim Line around Summa. A familiar pattern for the attacks emerged; tanks penetrate Finnish positions during the day; infantry support for them are head off until nightfall, then the Finns destroy the tanks during the night by emerging from deep hiding places. Finland claims two Red Army divisions have been destroyed and that they have captured 36,000 soldiers and surrounded another 20,000 troops.
The First Canadian Division lands the first troops on British soil upon their arrival in Liverpool with over 7,500 men under command of Major-General McNaughton. The force used five ocean liners to make the crossing; officers were kept in suites and the enlisted men in first class cabins.
French forces along the Western Front note that there has been an increase in German Luftwaffe reconnaissance flights over the front lines in recent days.
16-Dec-39: First Battle of Summa Begins, Soviets Repulsed; Italians Lend Finns Full Support; Latvian Germans “Repatriated”
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 and material support of Finland; in addition to sending volunteer soldiers and arms to the Finns, Italian Foreign Minister Count Count Gian Galeazzo Ciano denounces, in a speech to Fascist Party representatives, the Soviet attack. in a speech to the Fascist assembly. The Italian press echoes the government in the effort.
Some 51,000 ethnic Germans are “repatriated” by the Germany government into the occupied territory of the former Poland from Latvia.
15-Dec-39: Battle of Soumassalmi Begins; Finns See Battlefield Success, Attempt to Open Negotiations, But Refuse to be Conquered; Uruguay Ousts German Battleship; Chamberlain Visits British Expeditionary Force in France
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 end the conflict to the Soviets, but are firm in saying that attempts to annex any part of Finland will be resisted to the last. “The Finns will never submit to a foreign yoke,” the broadcast states.
In the port of Montevideo, Uruguay, the neutrality of the country is put to a test as the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee puts in port to repair damage and take on fuel from a German tanker. The drama is followed around the world via radio. The Uruguayan government, bowing to pressure from the British, finally order the battleship to leave the port within 72 hours.
The British Expeditionary Force is visited by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain along its defensive line in France. The BEF is in contact with German forces around Metz.
14-Dec-39: League of Nations Expels Soviet Union, Urges Help for Finland; Winter War Continues; Hitler Orders Operational Planning for Invasion of Norway; Chinese Nationalists/Communists Clash in Ningxian; German Liner Attempts to Run British Blockade as US Ship Shadows Her
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 asked to give all possible assistance to Finland; the League will coordinate international aid programs for the Finns. The Soviets launch a new offensive near Petsamo, while the Finns continue to hammer away a the Soviet Eighth Army.
German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler orders the OKW – Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (armed forces high command) to begin preparations for the invasion of Norway under the codename Weserubung (Exercise Weber). He is now convinced he must secure Norwegian natural resources for the Reich before Britain cuts them off.
In the Asian theater, Chinese Nationalist forces occupy Ningxian after bitter fights with Chinese Communist troops.
The German liner Columbus departs the Mexican port of Vera Cruz in an effort to run the British blockade back to Germany. An American cruiser USS Tuscaloosa shadows the ship as part of neutrality patrol and broadcasts its location on open radio channels.
13-Dec-39: Finns Press Attacks on Soviet Eighth Army; River Plate Estuary Drama Unfolding Over Graf Spee; Royal Navy Sub Torpedoes German Cruisers; House of Commons Holds Secret Session
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 heavy cruiser Exeter and the light cruiser Achilles to the River Plate estuary in South America, on the border between Uruguay and Argentina in the hopes that the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee will put into port there. The battleship indeed appears at 06:16 hours and a fierce two-hour battle ensues. All three British ships suffer varying degrees of damage, as does the Graf Spee; the later ship’s captain, Hans Langsdorff, breaks off the engagement and heads for Montevideo. There, under international law, the ship is permitted temporary neutral sanctuary to make quick repairs and have wounded sailors treated. Ajax and Achilles take station at the mouth of the river ready for further action. The incident will be broadcast via radio around the world and attract millions of listeners over several days.
British Royal Navy submarine, Salmon, torpedoes two German cruisers, the Leipzig and Nurnberg. The former will remain out of service until 1941, when it will be usable only as a training ship. The latter ship is out of action until May 1940.
The British House of Commons meets in secret session for the first time since 1918 and the end of World War One. A terse statement is issued after the seven-and-a-half-hour debate, declaring that Parliament discussed “the organization of supplies for the prosecution of the war.”
12-Dec-39: Finns Launch Attacts on Soviet Eighth Army; Two Battles Start North of Lake Lagoda; Churchill Advocates Invasion of Norway; German Ships Sees Blockade Success; Hitler Orders Doubling of Mines and Ammunition Production
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 League of Nations proposal for a ceasefire and mediation.
British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill speaks in London to advocate an Allied invasion of Norway, saying, “It is humanity, and not legality, that we must look to as our judge.”
In adherence to British Admiralty instructions to refrain rom unrestricted submarine warfare, the British submarine Salmon allows the 52,000-tonne German ocean liner Bremen to proceed; the ship arrives in Bremerhaven from Murmansk, a successful run through the British blockade complete.
German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler orders the doubling of production of sea mines and ammunition.
11-Dec-39: Finns Successfully Cut Off Soviet 163rd Division; League of Nations Agrees to Intervene in Winter War; Hitler Meets Quisling for Second Time; Germans Begin Forced Labor Program in General Gouvernement
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 of Nations agrees to intervene in the Winter War after Finland asks for concrete aid, “not merely words of encouragement.” The League urges the Soviets to halt the war within 24 hours and accept outside mediation. No reply is immediately received.
German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler meets a second time in Berlin with Vidkun Quisling, head of the pro-German National Unity Party of Norway. A Norway operation is becoming increasingly likely. German officials in the General Gouvernement in Polish occupied territory create a forced labor program for all Jews in the region.
10-Dec-39: Finns Appeal for More Aid from Civilized Nations; US Grants Finland $10 Million in Credit; Soviets Accidentally Sink German Ship; League of Nations Still Meeting; First Canadian Troops Hit the High Seas in Convoy for Europe
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 civilization gives us the right to expect the active resistance of other civilized nations.” The United States government grants Finland $10 million in credit for agricultural supplies, which they say is possible mainly due to Finland being the only nation to have repaid its war debts from the First World War back to the United States.
The Soviet navy commits an embarrassing error when its submarine S-1 sinks the German ship Bolheim near the Finnish coast in the Gulf of Bothnia. And the Finns continue to have some surprising success in the field as they halt Red Army divisions north of Lake Ladoga during the Battle of Kollaa, which began on 7-Dec. League of Nations discussions on the League’s response to the Winter War continue in Geneva.
The Canadians successfully send their first troops to the European theater via five ocean liners under heavy escort in convoy departing from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
9-Dec-39: First British Soldier to Die in WWII Killed on Western Front; Finns Halt Soviet Attacks; Soviet-German Relations Strained by Winter War; Germans Deport 1,800 Jews to Soviet-Occupied Poland, Only 200 Survive Winter Trek
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 British soldiers, sailors and airmen who will die in the war through 1945. The death comes as British King George VI completes his five-day visit to the troops on the line.
The Finns successfully halt Soviet attacks in the Winter War near Suomussalmi and mount a successful night attack on the Soviet Ninth Army near Kollaa. The Soviets claim, via the news agency TASS, that Germany is providing supplies and war materiel to Finland; the reality is that Italy is supplying the arms and shipping them via Germany. Still, the report strains USSR/German relations. The League of Nations meets in Geneva to consider mediation or intervention in the Winter War.
The Germans deport 1,800 Jews from occupied Poland and force march them from their homes in Hrubieszow and Chelm over the new border into the Soviet occupation zone on the other side of the Bug River. Only 200 survive the wintertime trek.
8-Dec-39: Soviet Attacks Grind Down; British Attach Polish Squadrons to RAF; Raeder Urges Hitler to Invade Norway; Hitler Meets Quisling for First Time; Italians Confirm Axis; Americans Protest British Blockade of Germany
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 the Royal Air Force.
German Kriegsmarine Admiral Erich Raeder has a conference with Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler; the main topic is a possible invasion of Norway. Hitler also meets Vidkun Quisling, the head of the Norwegian National Unity Party. The introduction is arranged by Alfred Rosenberg, the National Socialist party’s political and racial expert (and self-styled “party philosopher”). These two events will have great significance for the Norwegians in 1940.
The Italian Grand Fascist Council meets in Rome to confirm Italy’s alliance with Germany in an “Axis,” but also votes to remain neutral in the ongoing war.
The United States government officially protests Britain’s blockade of Germany. The protest states, “Whatever may be said for or against measures directed by one belligerent against another, they many not rightfully be carried to the point of enlarging the rights of a belligerent over neutral vessels and their cargoes, or otherwise penalizing neutral states or their nationals in connection with their legitimate activities.” This position (and neutrality) will remain the American position for another two years.
7-Dec-39: Scandinavian Countries Declare Neutrality; Soviets Blockade Finnish Coast, Continue Attacks; German Battleship Sinks Last Victim as British Sail to Intercept; King George VI Meets French Leaders
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 Lake Ladoga, while entering Suomussalmi on the east side of Lake Kianta.
The ninth (and last) victim of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, the SS Streonshalh, is sunk south of Trinidad. A British cruiser squadron sails toward South America in an attempt to intercept the battleship in the River Plate estuary between Uruguay and Argentina.
Still visiting in France, British King George VI has lunch in Paris with President Albert Lebrun and Prime Minister Edouard Daladier.