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.
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.
29-Nov-39: Soviets Break Off Relations With Finland, Ramp Up Invasion Preparations; Spain Ratifies Pact With Germany; German Freighter Sunk Off American Coast While US Ship Watches; US Says Ready to Mediate in Finland/USSR Dispute
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 pact. The Soviets announced they were backing out of the pact the day before, and that no such negotiations were possible. Soviet People’s Commisar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov warns the Red Army it must be prepared for “any eventuality.”
The Spanish government ratifies a friendship pact with Germany; it includes secret protocols allowing German use of Spanish ports and the coordination of police and propaganda efforts.
The British Chancellor of the Exchequer reports that jewels, gold and gifts have been received from foreigners in an effort to help finance the Allied war effort.
The British Royal Navy ship Diomede sinks the German freighter Idarwild off the coast of the United States. The American naval ship USS Broome had been following the German ship, but the German government makes no comment on the American non-intervention in the sinking.
In other American news, US Secretary of State Cordell Hull announces that the Roosevelt administration is prepared to mediate the escalating dispute between Finland and the Soviet Union.
Fritz Kühn, considered the Fuehrer of the American National Socialists and officially titled the leader of the German-American Bund, is found guilty on charges of grand larceny and forgery.
6-Nov-39: City of Flint Returned to Its Captain’s Command; French Air Forces Engage Germans Over Saar; Molotov Says Capitalists Caused War; Comintern Declares Belligerent Governments Hostile to Workers
Today is 6-Nov-1939, the 37th day of World War II; there are 2,126 days left in the conflict.
United States cargo ship SS City of Flint is officially returned to the command of Captain Joseph H. Gainard in the harbor at Haugesund, Norway, ending a saga that has been going on since 9-Oct.
Over the Saar, several French Hawk fighters engage 27 German Messerschmitt Me109 fighters; four of the Messerschmitts are shot down.
In a Moscow speech, Soviet Foreign Minister Vlacheslav Molotov declares that the USSR is committed to a peace policy; the current war is the fault of the forces of capitalism. At the same time, the Comintern (Communist International) publishes a manifesto declaring that the German, French and British governments are hostile to workers.
5-Nov-39: Plot to Arrest Hitler Collapses from Lack of Nerve; German Intelligence Chief Warns Dutch of Imminent Invasion; City of Flint Saga Draws to Close; Finns, Soviets Continue Negotiations; Churchill Visits French Marine Headquarters
Today is 5-Nov-1939, the 36th day of World War II; there are 2,127 days left in the conflict.
Commander in Chief of the German Army, Gen. Heinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch, meets with Reichskanzler Adolf HItler to discuss the plans drawn up by Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH – the High Command of the Army) for the invasion of France, Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). Gen. Brauchitsch presses a strong argument that Fall Gelb should not be put in motion on 12-Nov as scheduled because of widespread weaknesses within the Heer after the invasion of Poland. The Reichskanzler loses his temper during the stormy meeting and states that he is unconvinced by the argument.
Unknown to Hitler, Gen. von Brauchitsch had agreed with Army Chief of Staff Gen. Franz Halder and Chief of the General Staff of High Command of the Army Gen. Ludwig August Theodor Beck that Hitler should be arrested and the military take over the country if he pressed forward with the prosecution of Fall Gelb. Although Hitler does not relent during their meeting, Gen. von Brauchitsch suffers a loss of courage and meekly returns to OKH headquarters in Zossen without executing the planned arrest; the conspiracy subsequently collapses.
One of the conspirators, Colonel Hans Oster, chief of the Abwehr, German Military Intelligence, does at least send a warning to the Dutch military attaché in Berlin, Colonel Gijsbertus Jacobus (Bert) Sas, that the Germans are preparing to invade both Holland and Belgium, as well as France, and that the invasion is imminent. Colonel Sas shares the information with his Belgian counterpart in Berlin; these activities will lead to a Dutch crisis in January of 1940.
In Oslo, the German government officially lodges a protest with the Norwegians regarding the ongoing saga of the United States freighter SS City of Flint, which had been seized by the German pocket battleship Deutschland on 9-Oct, and sailed by a prize crew to Murmansk, from which it was ejected by the Soviet government. The saga reaches its climax in Norway. The prize crew sails the ship to the port of Haugesund, Norway, after being ousted from Murmansk, but the Norwegian government (for the second time) refuses entry, claiming that the German crewmen are kidnappers. The prize crew runs out of options as British Royal Navy ships approach and they sail the ship into the harbor on 3-Nov. The Norwegian Admiralty dispatches the minelayer HNoMS Olav Tryggvason and boards the City of Flint. The Norwegian minelayer’s second in command, Captain B. Dingsør, and thirty of its armed sailors will return the City of Flint to its captain’s command. The ship unloads its cargo in Bergen and sets sail for the United States. The German prize crew is interned at Kongsvinger Fortress in Norway. The City of Flint will continue in cargo service on the Atlantic until she is sunk 23-Jan-1943.
The Finns and Soviets continue their border and territory negotiations; the Finnish delegation wires to Helsinki for more instructions.
And in France, marine headquarters is visited by Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.
23-Oct-39: Germans Take American Ship to Murmansk; Sir Eric Phipps Retires; Soviets and Finns Meet Again, But Make No Progress
Today is 23-Oct-1939, the 53rd day of World War II; there are 2,140 days left in the conflict.
The period of World War II known as the “Phony War,” is well underway. Action is local and limited in several theaters. Both sides are using this time to build up resources and train forces, rather than undertake widespread military operations.
Sir Eric Phipps, the British ambassador to France and former ambassador to Germany, retires from service and departs Paris to return home.
Soviet and Finnish officials meet once again to discuss revisions to their common borders but, since there are basically no changes in their respective positions, they make little headway.
Having seized the American cargo ship SS City of Flint on 9-Oct, a German Kriegsmarine prize crew arrives north of Murmansk, USSR, in Kola Bay and drops anchor. They had attempted to anchor in Norwegian waters, but were told to leave by Norwegian authorities. The seizure had been justified by the Germans because contraband supplies bound for Britain were found on board. The situation gets far more complicated with the German’s Murmansk gambit, since the Soviet Union is a neutral country. Diplomatic exchanges between the Soviets, Americans and Germans will be intense over the next few weeks.
9-Oct-39: Finland Calls Up Reservists; American Ship Captured by Germans; Hitler Issues Directive Ordering Invasion of Low Countries
Today is 9-Oct-1939, the 39th day of World War II; there are 2,154 days left in the conflict.
In Paris, officials arrest 35 French Communist Party deputies in parliament; they are charged with agitating against the war. This leaves just 11 Communist representatives in the legislative body.
While Finland has agreed to discuss border revisions with neighbor the Soviet Union, the Finns have also mobilized their armed forces. Today, the government in Helsinki calls up military reservists, signaling that they will strongly resist any Soviet aggression.
On the high seas, the German pocket battleship Deutschland captures an American cargo ship City of Flint. The seizure is justified by the Germans because contraband supplies bound for Britain are found on board. A German crew pilots the ship towards Murmansk, a Soviet port. The seizure causes outrage in the United States and exerts some influence on the current debate in Congress over proposed modifications to the Neutrality Act.
In Berlin, German Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler issues Führer-Anweisung N°6, Directive No. 6, of the war, regarding future operations in the west. In it, he states, “Should it become evident in the near future that England and, under her influence, France also, are not disposed to bring the war to an end, I have decided, without further loss of time to go over to the offensive.”
The offensive, he writes will repeat somewhat the famous Schlieffen Plan, used by the German Army at the outset of World War I. The Wehrmacht will sweep across Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg to the English Channel; the strategy, as always, is designed to envelop strong sections of French and British allied armies as they move north to help the Low Countries. The invasion will provide a buffer of land for the critical industrial region of the Ruhr, as well as provide forward air bases for an air war against Britain. There is no initial mention of plans for actually defeating and conquering France. This plan will be, however, revised many times prior to the actual invasion.
Directive 6 is seen as a further strike by Hitler against the traditional autonomy of the Germany army, since he has not consulted with the high command on where and how the attack should be prosecuted.
Hitler bases the plan on the reality that Germany’s military strength, after being expended so much in Poland, will still have to be built up for several more years, therefore only limited objectives can be entertained; mainly objectives which improve Germany’s ability to survive a long, protracted war in the West.
Hitler assumes that the attack can begin within at most a few weeks, but even as he issues it, he is informed by the army that the true state of the Wehrmacht is worse than thought. For instance, motorized units must recover for an estimated three months and ammunition stocks are largely depleted. The directive remains in effect, but the actual orders for its execution will be postponed repeatedly.
24-Sep-39: Germans Tighten Noose on Warsaw, Which Reports Mass Casualties; Kriegsmarine’s U-Boat Campaign Racks Up More Sinkings
Today is 24-Sept-1939, the 24th day of World War II; there are 2,169 days left in the conflict.
North of Warsaw, German Heer soldiers surround the Modlin Fortress. In the capital city itself, there are reports of very heavy casualties among both Polish defenders and civilians; hospitals are overwhelmed. In the south, Red Army troops enter oilfields in Galicia and begin securing the area.
On the Western Front, the Friedrichshafen Zeppelin base in Germany is hit by French bombers, and French artillery units fire on German forces along the German border.
On the high seas, the German Kriegsmarine’s Unterseeboot force continues to chalk up victories against North Atlantic merchant shipping; the latest victims are a timber-carrying Swedish steamer and a British cargo ship.
In addition, the British steamer Kafristan is also sunk; 29 survivors are rescued by a U.S. ship, the American Farmer and taken to New York. Surviving passengers, as well as the ship’s master, report that while they were still in their lifeboats, a British plane arrived and attacked the German U-Boat, which had surfaced. The British plane sprayed the U-Boat’s deck with machine gun fire and dropped bombs on it; survivors claim one of the bombs hit the conning tower directly.
Ironically, the American Farmer will herself be sunk in April 1941.