FINNS SMASH A RED DIVISION; HALT MOVE TO CUT COUNTRY (1/1/40)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 1/1/40 | Harold Denny, Otto D. Tolischus, Milton Bracker

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime”.)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Win Major Victory – 2-3
Canterbury Urges British Bar Atrocity Reprisals – 3
Offer Car of Wheat For Finnish Relief – 3
2 Finnish Soldiers Write of the War – 4
Reich Looks to New Air Weapons, Holding Deadlock Is Temporary – 5-6
Dr. Maier Protests Contact With Papacy – 6
The International Situation – 6
Artillery in West Breaks Up Patrols – 7
Soviet Drop in Favor in U.S. Found Sharp – 7
Incidents in European Conflict – 7
1940 Born in Wild Revelry; Good Year for Nation Seen – 10-11

[abb]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/jan40/f01jan40.htm

Finns defeat Red Army attack
Monday, January 1, 1940 www.onwar.com

Finn patrol passes dead Red Army troopsThe Winter War... Finnish forces repulsed a Soviet probing assault in the Taipale area of the Mannerheim Line.

In Britain... Two million men aged 20 to 27 are made liable for military service. Meanwhile, 50 women resign from the Auxiliary Fire Service in protest at being told to scrub floors.

In France... Rail links with Spain are reestablished after having been closed for three and one half years due to the Spanish Civil War.

In Denmark... During addresses to the nation, the prime minister and foreign minister express doubts about the likelihood of continued Danish independence in 1940.

In Rome... The ambassador of the USSR is recalled following anti-Soviet demonstrations.

In Turkey... Flooding, resulting from an earthquake, causes about 32,000 deaths.

[abb]

January 1st, 1940

UNITED KINGDOM: AA cruiser HMS Coventry is damaged in an air raid on the Shetland Islands.

RAF Coastal Command: Three Coastal Command aircraft encountered two German aircraft 130 miles off east coast of Scotland and shot one down.

A royal proclamation extends the liability of men for military service to the age of 27. Call-up groups are based on year of birth. Men aged 19 will register, but will not be liable for service until they are 20. First to be summoned for service (on 1 March) are those aged 23, and other groups will soon follow. All those eligible will be in uniform by the end of the year.

Fifty women resign from the Auxiliary Fire Service in protest at being told to scrub floors.

Destroyer HMS Puckeridge laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)

NORTH SEA: At 1058, SS Lars Magnus Trozelli was torpedoed and sunk by U-58 in the North Sea. The Norwegian SS Ask picked the survivors up the same day. (Dave Shirlaw)

FRANCE: Rail links with Spain are reopened, having been closed down three and a half years ago during the Spanish Civil War.

MAP

ITALY: Rome: Russia recalls its ambassador to Italy following anti-Soviet demonstrations in Rome.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Strength of Philippine Army is only 468 officers and 3,697 enlisted men, including 300 men assigned to the single regiment of the 1st Division.

Quezon cuts defence Program. Franking privileges for Military Advisor’s office and Philippine Army headquarters ended. Number of trainees cut in half. 61 training camps closed, ROTC ended at all but one school, all further military construction and ordnance procurement terminated.

Lt Colonel Charles Willoughby appointed G-4 of the Philippine Department. (Marc Small)

CANADA:
Commissioned for Fisherman’s Reserve and returned to owners 1946 - HMCS Aristocrat, Leola Vivian and Meander. (Dave Shirlaw)

[abb]

HMS COVENTRY

HMS Coventry was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy, named after the English city of Coventry. She was part of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Coventry_%281916%29

[RayChuang88]

What drove the Soviets nuts was the fact the Red Army was completely no match for the Finnish troops that could move with lightning speed on skis, which meant the Red Army was constantly being outflanked by the Finns. Small wonder why the Russians suffered HUGE losses until the spring thaw, when the superiority of the Red Army mechanized divisions finally prevailed.

It was a lesson not lost on the British--they modeled the Special Air Service (SAS) operating in North Africa to move in small, highly mobile teams across the Western Desert, and that tactic gave no grief to the German forces in North Africa.

[hoosierham]

One advantage to the single or small unit is while the attacker shoots immediately at anything that moves,the defenders need to identify their target to keep from killing their own.

[PAR35]

"Quezon cuts defence Program. Franking privileges for Military Advisor’s office and Philippine Army headquarters ended. Number of trainees cut in half. 61 training camps closed, ROTC ended at all but one school, all further military construction and ordnance procurement terminated.

Now there was a leader with real vision for the future. Obviously the Philippines would never need a trained army. Let's log Bataan while we're at it.

[CougarGA7]

Day 33 of the Winter War, January 1, 1940

Soviet troops capture Viitavaara on the River Aittojoki for the first time.
Photo: SA-KUVA

Soviet troops take Viitavaara

• Northern Finland: Colonel Siilasvuo determines to smash the Russian 44th Division which has been advancing along the Raate road.

• Ladoga Karelia: two battalions of the Finnish 13th Division launch an assault to the north of Ruhtinaanmäki.

• Soviet troops capture Viitavaara on the River Aittojoki for the first time.

• The numbering of some of the Finnish divisions is changed in order to confuse Soviet intelligence.

• The enemy bombs the cities of Oulu in the north and Turku in the southwest. In Oulu, four people are killed and 16 buildings destroyed. Altogether 30 enemy aircraft are used in the attack on Turku.

• Abroad: the Swedish sports reporter Torsten Tegnér proposes a bandy match to raise funds for Finland.

• 10 well-known Russian émigré writers, including Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin, issue a communiqué in Paris condemning the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland.

[CougarGA7]

That’s a sharp looking ship.

[CougarGA7]

Quezon wasn’t the only problem over there. We will get into more detail next year but the way the troops were deployed made any defense of the island impossible anyway. When we actually start covering it, you will see my disdain for Douglas MacArthur.

[PAR35]

Kimmel & Short had an excuse. McArthur didn’t. But they became scapegoats, and he became a hero for essentially the same actions.

[CougarGA7]

Trust me, when we get into it I will bring all my weapons to bear. I wrote a paper on his MOH last semester taking every sentence of his citation and comparing it to his actual job performance. Then he had the audacity to block Wainwright’s MOH which was just beyond the pale.

[CougarGA7]

A lot of the radio links I have for this year is undated (at least in the title) and I'm just now getting around to trying to figure them out. I thought I would still get this one posted though.

NRK - Prince Olaf of Norway addressing Norwegians Living Abroad