It started September 1st 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

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November 2 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #80 on: 4 November 2009, 19:02:49 »

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November 2 1939

Part of eastern Poland is incorporated into Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, following the results of a plebiscite in which the majority of the inhabitants living in the territory reputedly favored annexation. This completes the incorporation of all Polish territory occupied by the USSR.

Hitler recalls his ambassadors from Moscow and Rome for consultations.

King George decorates 5 RAF pilots, leaders of a raid on the Kiel Canal.

Belgian steamer BRUGES (4984grt) reported at 1500 that she was stopped in 45-06N, 8-04W by a U-boat with a skull and crossbones

painted on the conning tower.
At 0230/3rd, Greek steamer KORTHION (2116grt) was stopped in 44-32N, 8-12W and reported she had been stopped by the same submarine.


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November 3 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #81 on: 4 November 2009, 19:14:45 »

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November 3 1939

Talks continue between the USSR and Finland on Soviet requests for an exchange of territory and border alterations. Finnish counterproposals were presented, stating it recognized Soviet security needs but that Finland has now gone as far as its "independence, security and neutrality permit." The Finns refuse to allow the Soviets a military base in Finland.
Finland refuses to hand over the isle of Hango to the Russians.

The U.S. Congress amended the Neutrality Act of May 1937, repealing the embargo on arms to belligerents, but also placing the sale of arms exports to belligerents on a cash-and-carry basis. This allowed U.S. munitions manufacturers to sell arms to the Allies while avoiding the war debt problems which emerged during World War I and soured post-war American-Allied relations.

After complaints from employers and trades unions, the blackout in England is reduced by an hour. It now runs from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.

The South African Prime Minister, General Smuts, promises to defend British colonies in Africa if required.


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November 4 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #82 on: 4 November 2009, 19:26:37 »

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November 4 1939

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1939 US Congress
The Neutrality Act
November 4, 1939
76th Congress, 2nd Session, Public Resolution No. 54

JOINT RESOLUTION

To preserve the neutrality and the peace of the United States and to secure the safety of its citizens and their interests.

Whereas the United States, desiring to preserve its neutrality in wars between foreign states and desiring also to avoid involvement therein, voluntarily imposes upon its nationals by domestic regulation the restrictions set out in this joint resolution; and

Whereas by so doing the United States waives none of its own rights or privileges, or those of any of its nationals, under international law, and expressly reserves all the rights and privileges to which it and its nationals are entitled under the law of nations; and

Whereas the United States hereby expressly reserves the right to appeal, change or modify this joint resolution in the interests of the peace, security or welfare of the United States and its people: Therefore be it Resolved,

PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF WAR BETWEEN FOREIGN STATES

Section 1. (a) That whenever the President, or the Congress by concurrent resolution, shall find that there exists a state of war between foreign states, and that it is necessary to promote the security or preserve the peace of the United States or to protect the lives of citizens of the United States, the President shall issue a proclamation naming the states involved; and he shall, from time to time, by proclamation, name other states as and when they may become involved in the war.

(b)Whenever the state of war which shall have caused the President to issue any proclamation under the authority of this section shall have ceased to exist with respect to any state named in such proclamation, he shall revoke such proclamation with respect to such state.

COMMERCE WITH STATES ENGAGED IN ARMED CONFLICT

Sec. 2. (a) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a) it shall thereafter be unlawful for any American vessel to carry any passengers or any articles or materials to any state named in such proclamation.
(b) Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of subsection (a) of this section or of any regulations issued thereunder shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. Should the violation be by a corporation, organization, or association, each officer or director thereof participating in the violation shall be liable to the penalty herein prescribed.
(c) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a) it shall thereafter be unlawful to export or transport, or attempt to export or transport, or cause to be exported or transported, from the Untied States to any state named in such proclamation, any articles or materials (except copyrighted articles or materials) until all right, title, and interest therein shall have been transferred to some foreign government, agency, institution, association, partnership, corporation, or national...
(g) The provisions of subsections (a) and (c) of this section shall not apply to transportation by American vessels (other than aircraft) of mail, passengers, or any articles or materials (except articles or materials listed in a proclamation referred to in or issued under the authority of section 12 (i)) (1) to any port in the Western Hemisphere south of thirty-five degrees north latitude, (2) to any port in the Western Hemisphere north of thirty-five degrees north latitude and west of sixty-six degrees west longitude,(3) to any port on the Pacific or Indian Oceans, including the China Sea, the Tasman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea, and any other dependent waters of either of such oceans, seas, or bays or (4) to any port on the Atlantic Ocean or its dependent waters south of thirty degrees north latitude. The exceptions contained in this subsection shall not apply to any such port which is included within a combat area as defined in section 3 which applies to such vessels...
(i) Every American vessel to which the provisions of subsections (g) and (h) apply, and every neutral vessel to which the provisions of subsection (l) apply, shall, before departing from a port or from the jurisdiction of the United States, file with the collector of customs of the port of departure, or if there is no such collector at such port then with the nearest collector of customs, a sworn statement (1) containing a complete list of all the articles and materials carried as cargo by such vessel, and the names and addresses of the consignees of all such articles and materials, and (2) stating the ports at which such articles and materials are to be unloaded and the ports of call of such vessel. All transportation referred to in subsections (f), (g), (h), and (l) of this section shall be subject to such restrictions, rules, and regulations as the President shall prescribe; but no loss incurred in connection with any transportation excepted under the provisions of subsections (g), (h), and (l) of this section shall be made the basis of any claim put forward by the Government of the United States...
(l) The provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to the transportation by a neutral vessel to any port referred to in subsection (g) of this section of any articles or materials (except articles or materials listed in a proclamation referred to in or issued under the authority of section 12 (i)) so long as such port is not included within a combat area as defined in section 3 which applies to American vessels.

COMBAT AREAS
Sec. 3. (a) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a), and he shall thereafter find that the protection of citizens of the United States so requires, he shall, by proclamation, define combat areas, and thereafter it shall be unlawful, except under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed, for any citizen of the United States or any American vessel to proceed into or through any such combat area. The combat areas so defined may be made to apply to surface vessels or aircraft, or both.
(b) In case of the violation of any of the provisions of this section by any American vessel, or any owner of officer thereof, such vessel, owner, or officer shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. Should the owner of such vessel be a corporation, organization, or association, each officer or director participating in the violation shall be liable to the penalty hereinabove prescribed. In case of the violation of this section by any citizen traveling as a passenger, such passenger may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
(c) The President may from time to time modify or extend any proclamation issued under the authority of this section, and when the conditions which shall have caused him to issue any such proclamation shall have ceased to exist he shall revoke such proclamation and the provisions of this section shall thereupon cease to apply, except as to offenses committed prior to such revocation....

TRAVEL ON VESSELS OF BELLIGERENT STATES
Sec. 5. (a) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a) it shall thereafter be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to travel on any vessel of any state named in such proclamation, except in accordance with such rules and regulation as may be prescribed.
(b) Whenever any proclamation issued under the authority of section 1 (a) shall have been revoked with respect to any state the provisions of this section shall thereupon cease to apply with respect to such state, except as to offenses committed prior to such revocation.

ARMING OF AMERICAN MERCHANT VESSELS PROHIBITED
Sec.6. Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a), it shall thereafter be unlawful until such proclamation is revoked, for any American vessel, engaged in commerce with any foreign state to be armed, except with small arms and ammunition therefor, which the President may deem necessary and shall publicly designate for the preservation of discipline aboard any such vessel.

FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
Sec.7. (a) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a), it shall thereafter be unlawful for any person within the United States to purchase, sell, or exchange bonds, securities, or other obligations of the government of any state named in such proclamation, or of any political subdivision of any such state, or of any person acting for or on behalf of the government of any such state, or political subdivision thereof, issued after the date of such proclamation, or to make any loan or extend any credit (other than necessary credits accruing in connection with the transmission of telegraph, cable, wireless and telephone services) to any such government, political subdivision, or person. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the sale by any person within the United States to any person in a state named in any such proclamation of any articles or materials listed in a proclamation referred to in or issued under the authority of section 12 (i)....

SOLICITATION AND COLLECTION OF FUNDS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Sec. 8. (a) Whenever the President shall have issued a proclamation under the authority of section 1 (a), it shall thereafter be unlawful for any person within the United States to solicit or receive any contribution for or on behalf of the government of any state named in such proclamation or for or on behalf of any agent or instrumentality of any such state....

AMERICAN REPUBLICS
Sec 9. This joint resolution (except section 12) shall not apply to any American republic engaged in war against a non-American state or states, provided the American republic is not cooperating with a non-American state or states in such war....

NATIONAL MUNITIONS CONTROL BOARD
Sec 12. (c) Every person required to register under this section shall notify the Secretary of State of any change in the arms, ammunition, or implements of war which he exports, imports, or manufactures; and upon such notification the Secretary of State shall issue to such person an amended certificate of registration free of charge, which shall remain valid until the date of expiration of the original certificate. Every person required to register under the provisions of this section shall pay a registration fee of $100. Upon receipt of the required registration fee, the Secretary of State shall issue a registration certificate valid for five years, which shall be renewable for further periods of five years upon the payment for each renewal of a fee of $100; but valid certificates of registration (including amended certificates) issued under the authority of section 2 of the joint resolution of August 31, 1935, or section 5 of the joint resolution of August 31, 1935, as amended, shall, without payment of any addition registration fee, be considered to be valid certificates of registration issued under this subsection, and shall remain valid for the same period as if this joint resolution had not been enacted.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to export, or attempt to export, from the United States to any other state, any arms, ammunition, or implements of war listed in a proclamation referred to in or issued under the authority of subsection (i) of this section, or to import, or attempt to import, to the United States form any other state, any of the arms, ammunition, or implements of war listed in any such proclamation, without first having submitted to the secretary of State the name of the purchaser and the terms of sale and having obtained a license therefor....
(g) No purchase of arms, ammunition, or implements of war shall be made on behalf of the United States by any officer, executive department, or independent establishment of the Government from any person who shall have failed to register under the provisions of this joint resolution.
(h) The Board shall make a report to Congress on January 3 and July 3 of each year, copies of which shall be distributed as are other reports transmitted to Congress. Such reports shall contain such information and data collected by the Board as may be considered of value in the determination of questions connected with the control of trade in arms, ammunition, and implements of war, including the name of the purchaser and the terms of sale made under any such license. The Board shall include in such reports a list of all persons required to register under the provisions of this joint resolution, and full information concerning the licenses issued hereunder, including the name of the purchaser and the terms of the sale made under any such license. (i) The President is hereby authorized to proclaim upon recommendation of the Board from time to time a list of articles which shall be considered arms, ammunition, and implements of war for the purposes of this section; but the proclamation Numbered 2237, of May 1, 1937 (50 Stat. 1834) defining the term "arms, ammunition, and implements of war" shall, until it is revoked, have full force and effect as if issued under the authority of this subsection....

GENERAL PENALTY PROVISION
Sec 15. In every case of the violation of any of the provisions of this joint resolution or of any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto where a specific penalty is not herein provided, such violator or violators, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisonment not more than two years, or both....

REPEALS
Sec 19. The joint resolution of August 31, 1935, as amended and the joint resolution of January 8, 1937, are hereby repealed; but offenses committed and penalties, forfeitures, or liabilities incurred under wither of such joint resolutions prior to the date of enactment of this joint resolution may be prosecuted and punished, and suits and proceedings for violations of either of such joint resolution or any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto may be commenced and prosecuted, in the same manner and with the same effect as if such joint resolution had not been repealed.

[Note: Partial reproduction only. Essentially similar to Neutrality Act of 1937, qv]

The British naval attache in Norway receives an anonymous (by a "German scientist who wishes you well") report revealing secrets of German long-range rockets and radar -- the "Oslo Report." A prototype proximity mine fuse is also left on the windowsill, with the report.

British Rear-Admiral Hugh Sinclair, head ("C") of British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), dies of cancer. He is succeeded by his deputy, Colonel Stewart Menzies.
http://www.answers.com/topic/mi6-british-secret-intelligence-service
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Sinclair

Quote

Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair (1873 – 4 November 1939), nicknamed Quex, was a British intelligence officer. Between 1919 and 1921, he was Director of British Naval Intelligence, and helped to set up the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, commonly MI6) before the Second World War.
Sinclair joined the Royal Navy in 1883, aged thirteen, and entered the Naval Intelligence Division at the beginning of the First World War. He became Director of the Division in February 1919, and later head of the Submarine Service. He became the second director, or 'C', of SIS in 1923.
Beginning in 1919 he attempted to absorb the counter-intelligence service MI5 into the SIS to strengthen Britain's efforts against Bolshevism. When this idea was finally rejected in 1925, he set up his own Counter-Espionage (CE) section. In 1935 he set up the Z Organization, a section of SIS operating in Europe, intended to carry on working independently should SIS itself become compromised. In 1938, with a second war looming, Sinclair set up Section D, dedicated to sabotage. In Spring 1938, using his own money, he bought Bletchley Park to be a wartime intelligence station.
According to records released on 31 March 2005 to the National Archives at Kew, Sinclair was asked in December 1938 to prepare a dossier on Adolf Hitler, for the attention of Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary, and Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister. In the dossier, which was received poorly by Sir George Mounsey, the Foreign Office assistant under-secretary - who believed that it did not gel with Britain's contemporary policy of appeasement - Sinclair described Hitler as possessing the characteristics of "fanaticism, mysticism, ruthlessness, cunning, vanity, moods of exaltation and depression, fits of bitter and self-righteous resentment; and what can only be termed a streak of madness; but with it all there is a great tenacity of purpose, which has often been combined with extraordinary clarity of vision."


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November 5 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #83 on: 5 November 2009, 22:12:43 »

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November 5 1939

After plotting with Halder and Beck to arrest Hitler, unless he relents on the plan for a western offensive, the Commander in Chief of the German Army, von Brauchitsch, meets Hitler to discuss the plans for an attack in the west. He argues very strongly that it should not take place as scheduled on November 12th because of weaknesses in the army. Hitler loses his temper during the meeting but is unconvinced by the arguments. Brauchitsch loses his nerve and returns to OKH (Army High Command) headquarters at Zossen, where the conspiracy collapses. Meanwhile, Colonel Hans Oster of the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) -- one of the Zossen conspirators -- warns Colonel Sas, the Dutch military attache in Berlin, of the impending invasion of the Low Countries. Sas informs the Belgian military attache.

The German government lodges a protest against the release of the interned City of Flint and the German prize crew. The protest is rejected.

Churchill, British First Lord of the Admiralty, visits the French Marine Headquarters.

Finnish-Soviet negotiations continue. The Finnish delegation reports to Helsinki and asks for further instructions.

Marshal Pietro Badoglio reconfirmed as chief of Italian armed forces; increase in Italian army orders by Mussolini.

Canadian C.I.O. declared complete independence from U.S. parent organization and pledged war aid to Dominion

U.33 laid mines off North Foreland, on which two ships were sunk and one damaged.

Force K, consisting of aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL, battlecruiser RENOWN, light cruiser NEPTUNE, and destroyers HARDY, HASTY, HEREWARD, HERO and HOSTILE departed Freetown on 28 October. HERO was detached on escort duties shortly after the first of the month. In 6N, 17 W, 300 miles WSW of Freetown on the 5th, ARK ROYAL aircraft sighted German steamer UHENFELS (7603grt) which had departed Lourenco Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, on her third attempt to escape back to Germany and after evading sloop EGRET patrolling off the port. HEREWARD was detached from the screen to investigate and UHENFELS attempted to scuttle herself. However, she was captured, Force K and prize arrived at Freetown on the 6th, and UHENFELS was taken for British service and renamed EMPIRE ABILITY. She arrived in the Thames for duty on 5 April 1940.


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November 6 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #84 on: 9 November 2009, 18:38:44 »

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November 6 1939

The American cargo ship, City of Flint, is returned to her captain, Joseph H. Gainard in Haugesund, Norway. Since October 9th, the ship has journeyed under the command of a German prize crew from the Deutschland.

In a speech, Molotov says that the Soviet Union is committed to a policy of peace and blames the war on the forces of capitalism. Meanwhile, the Communist International issues a manifesto in which the German Government is classed with those of Britain and France as being hostile to the workers.

Finnish steamer JESSIE (1405grt) was seized in the Baltic by a German warship, and taken to Kiel.


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November 7 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #85 on: 9 November 2009, 18:50:18 »

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November 7 1939

Trial of Herschel Grynszpan, young Polish Jew, for slaying of German diplomat in Paris Nov. 7, 1938 postponed for duration of war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Grynszpan

Quote

Herschel Feibel Grynszpan (sometimes spelled "Grynsban", "Grynspan", "Grünspan" or "Greenspan") (born March 28, 1921- circa 1943-45), was a Polish Jews political assassin. Grynszpan's assassination of the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath on November 7, 1938, served as a pretext for the Kristallnacht, the anti-semitic program of November 9–10, 1938. Grynszpan was seized by the Gestapo after the German invasion of France and brought to Germany.


Herschel Grynszpan - Holocaust teen revenge assassination

The planned German attack in the west is postponed because of bad weather. This initial postponement will be repeated another 14 times until January 16th, 1940.

The edict ordering Jews in Warsaw into a ghetto is withdrawn. Meanwhile, deportation of Jews from western Poland begin.

Queen Wilhelmina of Holland (the Netherlands) and King Leopold III of Belgium issue an appeal for peace and offer to mediate between the combatants.

A double agent, Paul Thummel, passes details of the planned German western offensive to the Czech government-in-exile.

Quote

Thümmel, Paul (?–1945),Dresden-based high ranking member of the Abwehr who, from March 1937, supplied Czechoslovakia with reliable information about Germany's intentions and order of battle. He continued to do so via the Czech underground when the Czech government-in-exile was established in the UK. Code-named A-54, Thümmel's intelligence was passed to both MI6 and the USSR and helped maintain the credibility of Edvard Beneš, the exiled Czech leader.

Thümmel was a highly decorated Nazi Party veteran and so many protests followed his arrest in October 1941 that the Gestapo released him. Rearrested the following March, he was imprisoned without trial and murdered by his SS guards a few days before the war ended.

The motives for his treachery remain a mystery. He received payments, but not enough to compensate for the dangers to which he exposed himself, and the information he passed was too valuable for him to have been a double agent.

Paul Thümmel


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November 8 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #86 on: 9 November 2009, 18:59:58 »

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November 8 1939

A bomb, concealed in a supporting pillar, explodes in the Burgerbraukeller in Munich (the famous beer hall of the 1923 Nazi putsch), 20 minutes after Hitler leaves, upon the conclusion of a vehement anti-British speech predicting a five year war. Eight persons are killed. The bomb is rumored to have been planted by the Nazis as an excuse for measures against what remains of the German opposition and as anti-British propaganda. This is attemp 21 by George Elser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Elser)


Murder attempt on 8 november 1939 against Hitler

Hitler in the Burgerbraukeller

George Elser

Hans Frank, Governor of the General Government, in that part of former Poland occupied by the Germans but not annexed, consolidates plans to transport 600,000 Jews and 400,000 Poles from the incorporated territories in the General Government. The operation is to begin December 1st.

Reports of German movements on the Dutch border cause the government to widen the defensive flooding zone.

Finnish negotiators reject Soviet proposals for border revisions. The Finnish negotiators wish to accept some concessions but their government sees the Soviet attempts to bargain as a sign of weakness. Marshal Mannerheim opposes this view.


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November 9 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #87 on: 9 November 2009, 19:09:31 »

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November 9 1939

Two British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) officers, Major Richard Stevens and Captain S. Payne Best, are kidnapped by the Gestapo while attempting to contact members of the German resistance to the Nazis. The two British agents have been meeting with a "Major Schaemmle" who claims to represent German Army officers plotting to overthrow Hitler. (He is actually Walther Schellenberg, a Gestapo officer.) Their meetings have been at Venlo, 5 miles (8 km) from the German border. Today, they are to meet at a cafe a few yards from the border. Upon arriving, their car is hit by machinegun fire, they are overpowered by German security forces and forcibly taken across the border. Himmler ordered the kidnapping immediately after the Munich bombing incident. One of the officers is carrying a list of British agents with him and from this and other indiscretions as well as from their interrogation, the German authorities are able to arrest many British agents in former Czechoslovakia and other occupied territory. The Venlo Incident is a serious setback for British Intelligence. Both officers remain imprisoned until April 1945.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venlo_Incident)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigismund_Payne_Best

German press and radio accuse Britain of organizing the attempted assassination of Hitler in Munich on November 8th.

The Finnish government restates its position that Finland "cannot grant to a foreign military power military bases on her territory and within the confines of her frontiers."

In South Africa, an alleged Nazi plot by armed black shirts to sabotage vital industries in Johannesburg and Pretoria is revealed.


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November 10 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #88 on: 10 November 2009, 20:26:55 »

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November 10 1939

The Phony War on the Western Front continues. The Dutch believe the date of the invasion is November 12, due to Hans Oster’s leak to their military attaché. They cancel Army leave, reinforce the border and prepare to flood strategic areas.

On the French border, German troops reinforce the Siegfried Line. German probing attacks stimulate French rifle and artillery fire.

In Paris, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and Commander-in-Chief General Maurice Gamelin receive Anthony Eden, British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (a British cabinet post handling British relations with the Dominions), and delegates from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stays home in London suffering badly from gout. Chamberlain will recover from gout but things only get worse for him. Six months from now he will resign as Prime Minister and in a year he will be dead from cancer.


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Novcember 11 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #89 on: 11 November 2009, 12:17:03 »

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November 11 1939

The German Reich foreign ministry repeats earlier assurances that the neutrality of Holland and Belgium will be respected.

There is limited activity by German patrols and artillery on the German/French border. The BEF holds Armistice Day services amid the great battlefields of the First World War.

Queen Elizabeth broadcasts a message to the women of the Empire, from Buckingham Palace. She says women "have real and vital work to do" and assures women that they are "keeping the Home Front, which will have dangers of its own, stable and strong."

As punishment for reprisals to Polish/German aggression, three boys from Zielonka Poland are taken to the nearby woods and shot.

Quote

On November 11, 1939, at 10 [a.m.?], they were taken away to the forest near the Warsaw highway and shot. The content and form of this order confirms suspicions that the crime was planned ahead and committed with premeditation.

The Germans could not forget their defeat in World War I and their disarmament in Ostrów Mazowiecka on November 11, 1918. That is why they prepared a plan to wipe out their disgrace.

A confidant of general governor Hans Frank was appointed mayor of Ostrów Mazowiecka. He was equipped with special authorizations, had an official's uniform with three stars, and a swastika on his sleeve. According to rumors, in addition to organizing city government, his orders were to get even for November 11, 1918. Housed at city hall, this Hitler supporter was in constant communication with the commanders of the military unit commander stationed in town, of the Gestapo, and of the gendarmerie. Starting in late October through November 11, 1939, they gathered a few times a day in his office at city hall, and carried on long discussions, which were not bound to bring in anything good. The results of those discussions were to be seen soon.

Around October 30, 1939, the German authorities issued orders for all the Jews residing in Ostrów Mazowiecka and their families to gather in the market place. All of them were taken by force from their homes to the gathering place, where it was announced that they were no longer allowed to manage any business, such as manufacturing, skilled craft or retail.

The Jews were ordered to leave the city voluntarily within one day and to go across the border (demarcation line) between Germany and the Soviet Union, which was located just outside of Ostrów Mazowiecka. The Jews dispersed quickly and started an immediate escape to the Soviet side. However, some of them, together with their families, including many members of the Board of the Jewish Community (about 600 people), decided to stay in town, and asked the German authorities for permission to continue living in Ostrów. The Germans did not grant such permission, but did not bother those who stayed in town.

This continued until November 9, 1939. On that day, a German soldier in uniform, carrying a gas mask, a bottle filled with liquid and a smoke producer, was seen by Polish residents of the city, including Tadeusz Karwowski. The soldier entered a one story wooden building, previously owned by Jews, located across the street from city hall. He was visible in the attic where, near a small window, he started to collect flammable materials. He poured the liquid from the bottle over them, set them on fire and knocked out a hole in the roof of the building for better airflow. Then, he left the building and went into the street. The adjacent wooden buildings located near, some of which were previously owned by Jews, quickly caught on fire. When a fire brigade arrived with pumps and barrels of water, the Germans did not allow them to proceed until the whole Jewish neighborhood caught on fire. It was only when buildings taken over by the Germans became exposed to the fire that they ordered the firefighters to start putting it the fire out. The moment the fire started, the Germans were spreading the news among the Polish population that the Jews have set the city on fire, which they will be held responsible for.

The Jews were arrested following the forged "crime" of setting the city on fire. The arrests took place during the whole night and the following day, not only in the city, but throughout the county. All those arrested were placed in the cellars at city hall, in the city jail and in the cellars at the brewery. On Nov. 10, 1939, Mayor Funkh issued an order in German to the City Post Station of the Civic Guard. The following is a rough translation:

"To local City Post. Regarding Fire Protection (Fire Department).

All members of the fire brigade should be listed in a roster. The population must be informed that, in case of fire, all males 17 to 45 years old are obligated to avail themselves immediately to the Fire Department. All fire equipment available in the city and its surroundings must be found, collected and stored properly in the Fire Department warehouse. The [local] population must learn about the Jewish plans to start further fires. At all times, at least one person must be on the lookout in each house. Suspects, especially Jews, can be temporarily detained by anybody and sent to the city police station for examination".

source: http://www.ostrow-mazowiecka.com/yrsofstggl.html

Vigo in 1939 (soldiers from the Condor Legion are shown)

A group of German steamers escaped from Vigo, Spain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigo) to attempt to return to Germany:
CORDOBA (4611grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 22nd, sighted an armed merchant cruiser but was not seen and arrived at Narvik on the 28th.
LAHNECK (1663grt) successfully passed through the Denmark Strait and arrived at Hamburg on 16 December.
LIVADIA (3094grt) passed through the Iceland-Faroes passage on the 16th, arrived in Honningsvaag on the 27th, and reached Hamburg on 9 December.
LUDOLF OLDENDORFF (1953grt) passing the Iceland-Faroes passage on the 24th was sighted and stopped by light cruiser SHEFFIELD. However, she was able to convince SHEFFIELD she was Danish steamer EDITH and in the confusion following the sinking of the RAWALPINDI, was not questioned further and arrived at Haugesand on 6 December.
PALOS (997grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 23rd, and arrived at Hamburg on the 29th.
SEBU (1894grt) passed through the Denmark Strait on the 24th, and arrived at Hamburg on 18 December.
TANGER (1742grt) passed the Iceland-Faroes Passage on the 20th, and arrived at Hamburg on 9 December.
Finally, the last ship of the group, KONSUL HENDRICK FISSER (4458grt) was captured attempting to pass the Iceland-Faroes Passage on the 23rd.


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November 12-19 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #90 on: 19 November 2009, 20:12:40 »

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November 12 1939

Hundreds of dissidents and Jews are arrested in the search for the Munich bombers. Meanwhile, ration cards for clothing are issued.

British King George VI replies to the appeal for peace issued by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and King Leopold of Belgium. Meanwhile, Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, says in a radio broadcast that if the British get through the winter without any serious setback, the first campaign of the war will have been won.

French President Lebrun also responds negatively to the Belgian-Dutch mediation offer.

The first ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) concert is given for British and French troops in France, starring Maurice Chevalier and Gracie Fields.

Dutch and Belgian foreign ministers meet at Breda.

November 13 1939

Quote

On Friday, November 13, my relations with Mr. Chamberlain had so far ripened that he and Mrs. Chamberlain came to dine with us at Admiralty House, where we had a comfortable ?at in the attics. We were a party of four. Although we had been colleagues under Mr. Baldwin for ?ve years, my wife and I had never met the Chamberlains in such Circumstances before. by happy chance I turned the conversation on to his life in the bahamas, and I was delighted to ?nd my guest expand in personal reminiscence to a degree I had not noticed before.

He told us the whole story, of which I knew only the barest outline, of his six years' struggle to grow sisal on a barren West Indian islet near Nassau. His father, the great "Joe", was ?rmly convinced that here was an opportunity at once to develop an Empire industry and fortify the family formes. His father and Austen had summoned him in 1890 from Birmingham to Canada, where they had long examined ! the project. About forty miles from Nassau in the Caribbean Gulf there was a small desert island, aimost uninhabited, where the soil was reported to be suitable for growing sisal. After careful reconnaissance by his two sons, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain had acquired a tract on the island of Andros, and assigned the capital required to develop it. All that remained was to grow the sisal. Austen was dedicated to the House of Commons. The task therefore fell to Neville.

Not only in filial duty but with conviction and alacrity he obeyed, and the next five years of his life were spent in trying to grow sisal in this lonely spot, swept by hurricanes from time to time, living nearly naked, struggling with labor difficulties and every other kind of obstacle, and with the town of Nassau as the only gleam of civilisation. He had insisted, he told us, on months' leave in England each year. He built a small harbour and landing-stage and a short railroad or tramway. He used all the processes of fertilisation which were judged suitable to the soil and generally led a completely primitive, open-air existence. But no sisal! Or at any rate no sisal that would face the market.

At the end of ?ve years he was convinced that the plan could not succeed. He came home and faced his formidable parent, who was by no means contented with the result. I gathered that in the family the feeling was that though they loved him dearly they were sorry to have lost £50,000

I was fascinated by the way Mr. Chamberlain warmed as he talked, and by the talk itself, which was one of gallant endeavour. I thought to myself, "What a pity Hitler did not know when he met this sober English politician with his umbrella at Berchtesgaden, Godesberg, and Munich that he was actually talking to a hard-bitten pioneer from the outer marches of the British Empire!" This was really the only intimate social conversation that I can remember with Neville Chamberlain amid all the business we did together over nearly twenty years.

During dinner the war went on and things happened. With the soup an of?cer came up from the War Room below to report that a U-boat had been sunk. With the sweet he came again and reported that a second U-boat had been sunk; and just before the ladies left the dining-room he came a third time reporting that a third U-boat had been sunk. Nothing like this had ever happened before in a single day, and it was more than a year before such a record was repeated. As the ladies left us, Mrs. Chamberlain, with a naive and charming glance, said to me, "Did you arrange all this on purpose?" I assured her that if she would come again we would produce a similar result.

Finnish delegates, led by Paasikivi, leave for Helsinki after negotiations, over an exchange of territory and border revisions, break down. The Finns are especially unwilling to meet the Soviet demand for the cession of Hanko because it would give the USSR complete control over the Gulf of Finland and the most important part of the country. Meanwhile, in response to the breakdown of the talks, Stalin orders preparations for war against Finland.

British HMS Blanche (http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-15B-Blanche.htm) strikes a mine and is sunk off the Thames estuary. It is the first Royal Navy destroyer lost during the war.

In the Shetland Islands, German bombers drop bombs on British territory, for the first time, in a strike targeting naval vessels and flying boats. No significant damage is done. A rabbit is reported to have been killed.

General Henry Crerar sets up the Canadian military headquarters inLondon.

In Bucharest... King Carol of Romania offers himself as a secret mediator between the British and French and the Germans.

November 14 1939

The British and French military commands (after secret, inconclusive discussions with the Belgians) agree to an immediate advance to the "Meuse-Antwerp Line," south and east of Brussels, in Belgium if the Germans invade. This agreement is referred to as "Plan D" (the "Dyle Plan").

In Berlin the initial reaction to the offer of mediation made by Queen Wilhelmina (Holland) and King Leopold (Belgium) is reported to be negative.

Police are reported to have broken up a Czech Fascist demonstration in Prague, 12 persons being injured.

General Sikorski, the head of the Polish government-in-exile based in France, arrives in London.

November 15 1939

There are large-scale demonstrations at the funeral of Jan Opletal, a medical student who was mortally wounded in Prague on October 28th. Police forces (possibly including elements of the Gestapo) make numerous arrests of Czech nationalist protesters. Casualty reports range from 12 injured to suggestions of summary executions.

German Foreign Minister, von Ribbentrop, formally rejects the offer of Belgium-Dutch mediation made by King Leopold and Queen Wilhelmina in meetings with official representatives. He states that as a result of the "blunt rejection" of the German peace appeal by Britain and France, the German government considers the matter closed.

The French government adds three hours to the working week, making it 43 hours long.

In China Japanese forces capture the port of Pakhoi.

The German pocket-battleship Admiral Graf Spee sinks the British tanker Africa Shell south of Madagascar.

November 16 1939

An uprising in Prague is quelled. German authorities declare martial law in Prague. There are reports of many arrests, shootings and deportations.

An offer of mediation made by Romanian King Carol is rejected by both sides.

In Britain the cost of living is reported to have risen 2.5 percent in October.

Finnish armed forces are mobilized as the talks over Soviet demands for an exchange of territory break down in acrimony. The Soviets are seeking to protect naval bases at Leningrad and Murmansk from possible attack by demanding cession of strategic Finnish territory and the lease of Finnish ports in exchange for land in the desolate swamps and forests of Karelia. The Finns refuse.

November 17 1939

At the third meeting of the Supreme Allied Council, in London, it endorses " Plan D," proposed by French General Gamelin (see May 10th, 1940). In case of a German attack through Belgium it is decided to defend a line from the Meuse River to Antwerp.

A Czechoslovakian National Committee is established in Paris under the leadership of the former President of Czechoslovakia, Eduard Benes. The group is recognized by Britain and France in mid-December.

Top Ten Fighting Ships: Pocket Battleship (External Embedding Disabled)
German pocket battleship Deutschland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_pocket_battleship_Deutschland) arrives in Gdynia (in occupied Poland) after her Atlantic raiding cruise in which 2 ships were sunk.

SS forces occupy all Czech universities (during the night of November 16-17) and 9 student leaders are executed; some 1200 are sent to concentration camps. This event becomes the basis for marking November 17th as "International Students Day."

November 18 1939

German planes parachute magnetic mines into British coastal waters for the first time. Four merchant ships are sunk by magnetic mines off the eastern coast. Meanwhile, IRA activists detonate 4 small bombs in London business premises in Piccadilly.

The Dutch liner Simon Bolivar is sunk by a German magnetic mine with 86 killed of about 400 passengers and crew aboard.
Dutch public opinion is outraged because the mine which sunk the Simon Bolivar was in a major traffic lane. International law requires notification of any such mine-laying.

November 19 1939

The first barricades are erected around the Jewish quarter in Warsaw.

In Occupied Czechoslovakia some 50,000 people are reportedly under arrest. Nazi authorities execute 3 more dissidents.

British First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, proposes mining the Rhine, between Strasbourg and the Lauter River, using mine-laying aircraft.

The Chinese Nationalist government at Chungking orders a winter offensive against the Japanese.


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November 20 to 23 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #91 on: 24 November 2009, 20:55:23 »

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November 20 1939

SS troops regained control of the Czech streets.

In Britain... Luftwaffe planes start parachuting mines into the Thames estuary. Meanwhile, the minesweeper HMS Mastiff is blown up while attempting to recover a German magnetic mine in a fishing net.

In Britain... HMT Mastiff (Lt.Cdr. Aymé Arthur Carrington Ouvry, RN) was engaged in the recovery of a mine, which had broken loose from a field laid on the night of 18/11 by German DDs Wilhelm Heidkamp, Hermann Künne and Bernd von Arnim. In the process of hauling it aboard, the mine detonated, destroying the trawler.. The destroyer Gypsy is sunk by a magnetic mine.
Terukuni Maru, a Japanese motor passenger-cargo liner sunk by a magnetic mine off the coast of England on 2 November 1939. "Terukuni Maru had the unique distinction of being the only Japanese war loss in the Second World War prior to Pearl Harbor." Although allied with Germany, Tokyo lodged a complaint with Berlin over the sinking. As it was impossible to prove the mine was German (although Heal points out the British would not likely be mining their own shipping lanes), NYK never received compensation for the loss of its neutral vessel.

November 21 1939

British Prime Minister Chamberlain announces that German merchant shipping will be seized in retaliation for indiscriminate mine warfare. All goods in Britain, earmarked for shipment to Germany, are confiscated.

In a treaty signed with Germany in Bratislava, Slovakia is given 225 square miles of former Polish territory (which Poland had progressively annexed from Czechoslovakia in 1920, 1924 and 1938).

German battle cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst begin a sortie in the North Atlantic.

November 22 1939

In Britain... Towards evening, one of the first batches of German magnetic mines to be dropped by parachute, by a low-flying He111, lands on the mud flats at Shoeburyness, near the Thames Estuary and British authorities are immediately informed. Meanwhile, a national savings scheme is launched under the slogan "Lend to Defend the Right to be Free."

In London... Navicerts, warrants first issued in 1915 to neutral ships carrying cargos not harmful to the Allies, are reintroduced.

The French government in Paris announces reprisals, similar to those announced by the British government, concerning the German use of mines.

In Bucharest... The Romanian cabinet resigns.

November 23 1939

Between Iceland and the Faroes, the British armed merchant cruiser, Rawalpindi, armed with only four 6-inch guns, meets the German battle cruiser, Scharnhorst, and is blown out of the water, killing 265 crew. Scharnhorst has been sailing in the company of Gneisenau and because of this meeting they turn back from their raiding mission. They evade searches by many British ships during the next few days and return to base safely. Their escape is aided by the German ability to read many of the British naval codes.

In the early morning hours in England, two Royal Engineers officers, mine experts, succeed in defusing a German magnetic mine stranded in the Shoeburyness mud flat and manage to recover it for study. It can therefore be examined to devise countermeasures. These mines have been in use since October 16th and already they have been responsible for the loss of 50,000 tons of shipping. Meanwhile, bacon and butter are rationed.

The Polish government-in-exile is established at Angers/France, in the west.

In a speech before his senior generals, summoned to the Reich Chancellery, Hitler says that he has led the German people to great heights, while they have only shown a lack of faith. "I am irreplaceable," a frustrated Hitler states. "I shall attack France and England at the earliest moment. My decision is unchangeable."

In Cracow/Poland Dr. Frank, governor of the Government General in Nazi occupied Poland, orders all Jews over the age of ten to wear armbands marked with the Star of David.

Food rationing for pets is announced in Germany


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November 24 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #92 on: 29 November 2009, 10:58:17 »

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November 24 1939

Japanese forces enter the strategically important city of Nanning in China, despite fierce resistance by some 100,000 Chinese Nationalist troops. Loss of the city represents a setback for the Chinese winter offensive and the first Japanese victory since forces advanced west into Kwangsi province in a bid to break Chinese links with Indochina. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanning)

German government takes in trust the property and financial interests of Fritz Thyssen -- the iron and steel magnate and a key supporter of Hitler in earlier years -- who fled to Switzerland in September 1939. (http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/)

In London, the Belgian government addresses a note to the British government concerning British reprisals against German mine-laying.

On the Yorkshire coast, over 200 drifting mines wash ashore.

Five survivors of the Dutch tanker Sliedrecht sunk by a U-boat in the North Atlantic, are picked up after 7 days in an open boat. (http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/97.html)


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November 25 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #93 on: 29 November 2009, 11:10:24 »

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November 25 1939

German forces lay mines off the southwest coast of Sweden in the Baltic sea, inside the 4-mile limit of Swedish territorial waters.

The governments of Italy, Japan, Denmark and Sweden make representations to the British Foreign Office regarding the policy of reprisals.

After attempts from British farmers to save New Forest ponies in the blackout by painting them like zebras, they are removed to safe pastures.(http://www.newforestpony.com/)

A new Romanian cabinet is formed by Tatarescu. A smaller pro-German element is reported. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_T%C4%83t%C4%83rescu)


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November 26 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #94 on: 29 November 2009, 11:22:47 »

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November 26 1939

The Mainila incident takes place. Seven artillery shells are fired into the village of Mainila, killing 4 soldiers.
The Soviet government blames Finland for firing on Mainila and demands an immediate withdrawal of Finnish troops from the Karelian isthmus, near Leningrad. The government describes the presence of Finnish troops in the area as a "hostile act."

Quote

The Shelling of Mainila (Finnish: Mainilan laukaukset) was a military incident on November 26, 1939, where the Soviet Union's Red Army shelled the Russian village of Mainila (located near Beloostrov), declared that the fire originated from Finland across a nearby border, and claimed losses in personnel. The Soviet Union gained a great propaganda boost and a casus belli for launching the Winter War four days later.
The Soviet Union had signed international and mutual nonaggression treaties with Finland: the Treaty of Tartu of 1920, the Non-aggression Pact between Finland and the Soviet Union signed in 1932 and again in 1934, and further the Charter of the League of Nations. The Soviet government attempted to adhere to a tradition of legalism, and a casus belli was required for war. Earlier in the same year, Nazi Germany had staged the similar Gleiwitz incident to generate an excuse to withdraw from its nonaggression pact with Poland.
Seven shots were fired, and their fall was detected by three Finnish observation posts. These witnesses estimated that the shells detonated approximately 800 meters inside Soviet territory. Finland proposed a neutral investigation of the incident, but the Soviet Union refused and broke diplomatic relations with Finland on November 29.
Materials in the private archives of Soviet party leader Andrei Zhdanov heavily hint that the entire incident was orchestrated in order to paint Finland as an aggressor and launch an offensive. Some Russian historians have expressed doubts of the document's authenticity. The Finnish side denied responsibility for the attacks and identified Soviet artillery as their source — indeed, the war diaries of nearby Finnish artillery batteries show that Mainila was out of range of all of them, as they had been withdrawn previously to prevent such incidents.
In the days following the shelling, the Soviet propaganda machine generated much noise about other fictitious acts of Finnish aggression. The Soviet Union then renounced the non-aggression pact with Finland, and on November 30, 1939 launched the first offensives of the Winter War.
The Finns conducted an immediate investigation, which concluded that no Finnish artillery or mortars could have reached the village of Mainila. Field Marshal C.G.E. Mannerheim had ordered all Finnish guns drawn back out of range. Furthermore, Finnish border guards testified that they had heard the sound of artillery fire from the Soviet side of the border.
The Russian historian Pavel Aptekar analyzed declassified Soviet military documents and found that the daily reports from troops located in the area did not report any losses in personnel during the time period in question, leading him to conclude that the shelling of Soviet troops was staged. Other Russian historians claim that it is impossible to assign responsibility for the shelling using existing data.
Years after the incident the leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev wrote that the Mainila shellings were set up by Marshal of Artillery Grigory Kulik. In 1994, the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, denounced the Winter War, agreeing that it was a war of aggression.

In the North Sea Polish liner Pilsudski, on charter to the Royal Navy, is torpedoed and sunk, 10 die.

Quote

M/S Pi?sudski (later renamed ORP Pi?sudski) was a large ocean liner of the Polish merchant marine, named for Józef Pi?sudski, Marshal of Poland. Launched in 1935, she displaced 14,294 Ton, with a length of 162 metres (530 ft). She sank on 26 November 1939 during her first wartime voyage, as a result of unknown causes (most probably a German mine or mines). She was the sister ship of Poland's other pre-war ocean liner, the MS Batory. The Pilsudski's first and only commanding officer was Cmdr. Mamert Stankiewicz.

British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, makes his first radio broadcast of the war, saying that the British know the secret of the German magnetic mines and denouncing the indiscriminate laying of mines by German forces.


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November 27 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #95 on: 29 November 2009, 11:29:21 »

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November 27 1939

The Nobel Committee of the Norwegian parliament in Oslo announces that no Nobel peace prize is to be awarded for 1939.

Quote

Number of Nobel Peace Prizes
90 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded since 1901. It was not awarded on 19 occasions: in 1914-1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1939- 1943, 1948, 1955-1956, 1966-1967 and 1972.
Why were the Prizes not awarded in those years? In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: "If none of the works under consideration is found to be of the importance indicated in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be reserved until the following year. If, even then, the prize cannot be awarded, the amount shall be added to the Foundation's restricted funds." During World War I and II, no prizes were awarded.

The government of Finland denies charges of firing on Soviet territory, claiming that the artillery fire was from the Soviet side of the border. A mutual withdrawal of troops is suggested.

The Swedish government protests the laying of mines within Swedish territorial waters by German forces.

German government in Berlin states that "Aryans" are given 12 months to divorce Jewish spouses.

British government orders the seizure of German exports on the high seas in reprisal for the magnetic mine campaign.

Japanese forces complete the capture of Nanning, an important rail junction in the southwest.


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November 28 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #96 on: 29 November 2009, 11:34:30 »

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November 28 1939

The Soviet government renounces the non-aggression pact with Finland, signed in 1932. Claims of Finnish troops firing on Soviet forces around Leningrad are made. Meanwhile, orders are issued to the Red Army to invade Finland on November 30th.
A Finnish investigation reveals that Soviet artillery fired the 7 shells at Mainila on November 26th. The Soviet government is informed.

Dr. Frank, German governor of ocupied Poland orders the setting up of Judenrat (Jewish council) in each ghetto, to carry out Nazi orders.

In the Friesian Islands in Holland RAF fighters attack Luftwaffe mine laying seaplanes at Borkum.

The British government declares all German exports to be contraband.


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November 29 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #97 on: 30 November 2009, 20:01:23 »

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November 29 1939

Radio Speech of Comr. V. M. Molotov, Chairman of Council of People's Commissars of USSR on Nov. 29, 1939.

Quote

Men and women, citizens of Soviet Union!

The hostile policy pursued by the present Government of Finland towards our country compels us to take immediate measures to insure the external security of the state.

You know that in the course of past two months, the Soviet government patiently conducted negotiations with the Government of Finland concerning proposals which, in the present alarming international situation, it regarded as the minimum essential for insuring the security of the country and particularly the security of Leningrad. In these negotiations the Government of Finland adopted an attitude of irreconcilable hostility towards our country. Instead of finding ground for agreement in a friendly manner, the present rulers of Finland, to please foreign imperialists who kindle hostility towards the Soviet Union, took a different course. Despite all the concessions we made, the negotiations ended without yielding any result.

The consequences of this are now known.

In the past few days outrageous provocations by the military of Finland began on the Soviet-Finnish frontier, including even artillery firing on our troops near Leningrad, which caused grave losses in Red Army units. The attempts of our Government to forestall a repetition of these provocations by means of practical proposals addressed to the Government of Finland, far from finding any support, again met with the hostile policy of the ruling circles of Finland. As you know from yesterday's note of the Soviet Government, they replied to our proposals by a hostile refusal and brazen denial of facts, by a derisive attitude toward the victims we have lost, by undisguised striving to keep Leningrad under the direct threat of their troops.

All this has definitely shown that the present Government of Finland, which become entangled in its anti-Soviet ties with the imperialists, does not wish to maintain normal relations with the Soviet Union. It continues in its hostile attitude towards our country and does not wish to pay any regard the provisions of the non-aggression pact concluded between our countries, desiring to keep our glorious Leningrad under a military threat. From such a government and from its harebrained military, we can now expect only fresh insolent provocations.

Therefore the Soviet government was yesterday compelled to announce that from now on it considers itself free from the obligations taken on by virtue of the non-aggression pact concluded between the USSR and Finland and now irresponsibly broken by the government of Finland.

In view of the new facts that the Finnish military units have launched an assault on Soviet troops at the Soviet-Finnish border, the Government is now been compelled to adopt new decisions.

The Government can no longer tolerate the present situation, responsibility for which fully rests with the Government of Finland.

The Government of the USSR arrived at the conclusion that it can no no longer maintain normal relations with the Government of Finland and therefore found it necessary immediately to recall its political and economic representatives from Finland.

Together with this, the Government gave orders to the Chief Command of the Red Army and Navy to be ready for any surprises and immediately to cut short possible fresh sallies on the part of the military of Finland.

The hostile foreign press asserts that the measures being taken by us are aimed at the seizure or annexation to the USSR. This is malicious slander. The Soviet Government has not had and does not have such intentions. Moreover, if Finland herself had pursued a friendly policy towards the Soviet Union, the Soviet Government, which always strove for friendly relations with Finland, would be ready to meed her halfway in regard to territorial concessions on the part of the USSR. Under this condition the Soviet government would be ready favorably to consider even suh a question as of reuniting the Karelian people inhabiting the main districts of present Soviet Karelia, with the kindred Finnish people in a single and independent Finnish state. For this, however, it is necessary that the Government of Finland should maintain not a hostile but a friendly attitude toward the USSR, which would correspond to the vital interests of both states.

Others assert that the measures carried out by us are aimed against Finland's independence or at interference in her internal and external affairs. This is equally malicious slander. Irrespective of the regime existing in Finland, we consider her an independent and sovereign country in her external and internal policies. We firmly hold that the people of Finland should itself decide its internal and external affairs in the manner it itself deems necessary. At the proper time the peoples of the Soviet Union did, what was necessary for the creation of an independent Finland. The peoples of our country are ready to render the people of Finland assistance in the future also, in insuring its free and independent development.

The Soviet Union has equally no intention to prejudice to any extent the interests of other states in Finland. Questions of the relations between Finland and other states form a matter of exclusively concern of Finland herself, and the Soviet Union does not consider itself entitled to interfere in this matters.

The only purpose of our measures is to insure the security of the Soviet Union and particularly of Leningrad with its population of three and a half million. In the present international atmosphere heated by war, we cannot make the solution of this vital and urgent state problem dependent on the ill will of the present rulers of Finland. This problem will have to be solved by the efforts of the Soviet Union in friendly cooperation with the people of Finland.

We do not doubt that the favorable solution of the problem of insuring the security of Leningrad will provide the foundation for indestructible friendship between the USSR and Finland.

The Spanish government ratifies a friendship pact with Germany, including secret clauses allowing Germany to use Spanish ports and promising cooperation on police and propaganda.

Diomede on the left

The German freighter Idarwild is sunk by the British warship Diomede off the coast of the United States. The USS Broome had been following the Idarwild until the British warship arrived. The Broome does not intervene in the destruction of the freighter. American behavior in this incident goes unchallenged by Berlin.


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November 30 1939 - WWII Day by Day Recount

« Reply #98 on: 30 November 2009, 20:06:07 »

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November 30 1939

On 30 November, Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totaling some 450,000 men, and bombed Helsinki. Later the Finnish statesman J.K. Paasikivi commented that the Soviet attack without a declaration of war violated three different non-aggression pacts: the Treaty of Tartu signed in 1920, the non-aggression pact between Finland and the Soviet Union signed in 1932 and again in 1934, and also the Charter of the League of Nations, which the Soviet Union signed in 1934. C.G.E. Mannerheim was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces after the Soviet attack. In further reshuffling, the Finnish government named Risto Ryti as the new prime minister and Väinö Tanner as foreign minister.

On 1 December, the Soviet Union formed a puppet government intended to rule Finland once the war was over. Called the Finnish Democratic Republic, it was headed by O. W. Kuusinen. The government was also called "The Terijoki Government", named after the village of Terijoki, the first place captured by the advancing Soviet army.[62] The puppet regime was unsuccessful and was quietly disbanded during the winter of 1940. From the very outset of the war, working-class Finns stood behind the legal government in Helsinki.[63] Finnish national unity against the Soviet invasion was later called the spirit of the Winter War.

At the start of the Winter War, Finland brought up the matter of the Soviet invasion before the League of Nations. The League expelled the Soviet Union on 14 December 1939 and exhorted its members to aid Finland.

Soviet order of battle

Soviet generals were impressed by the success of the German blitzkrieg tactics. However, the blitzkrieg had been tailored to central European conditions with a dense, well-mapped network of paved roads. Armies fighting in central Europe had recognised supply and communications centres, which could be easily targeted by armored vehicle regiments. Finnish army centres, by contrast, were deep inside the country. There were no paved roads, and even gravel or dirt roads were scarce; most of the terrain consisted of trackless forests and swamps. Waging a blitzkrieg in Finland was a highly difficult proposition, and the Red Army failed to meet the level of tactical coordination and local initiative required to execute blitzkrieg tactics in the Finnish theatre.[68] This system of dual command destroyed the independence of commanding officers.[67]

The Soviet forces were positioned as follows:

* The Seventh Army was located on the Karelian Isthmus. Comprising nine divisions, a tank corps and three tank brigades,[59] its objective was the city of Viipuri. The force was later divided into the Seventh and Thirteenth armies.
* The Eighth Army was located north of Lake Ladoga. Comprising six divisions and a tank brigade,[59] its mission was to execute a flanking maneuver around the northern shore of Lake Ladoga to strike at the rear of the Mannerheim Line.
* The Ninth Army was positioned to strike into central Finland. It was composed of three divisions with one additional division on its way.[59] Its mission was to thrust westward to cut Finland in half.
* The Fourteenth Army was based in Murmansk. Comprising three divisions,[59] its objective was to capture the Arctic port of Petsamo and then advance to the town of Rovaniemi.

Finnish order of battle

The Finnish strategy was dictated by geography. The frontier with the Soviet Union was more than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long, but was mostly impassable except along a handful of unpaved roads. In prewar calculations, the Finnish General Staff, which had established its wartime headquarters at Mikkeli,[69] estimated seven Soviet divisions on the Isthmus and no more than five along the whole border north of Lake Ladoga. In that case, the manpower ratio would favor the attacker by a ratio of 3:1. The true ratio was much higher; for example, twelve Soviet divisions were deployed to the north of Lake Ladoga.
An even greater problem than lack of soldiers was the lack of materiel; foreign shipments of antitank weapons and aircraft were arriving in small quantities. The ammunition situation was alarming, as stockpiles had cartridges, shells and fuel only for 19–60 days. The ammunition shortage meant the Finns could seldom afford counterbattery or saturation fire. Finnish tank forces were operationally non-existent.

The Finnish forces were positioned as follows:

* The Army of the Isthmus was composed of six divisions under the command of Hugo Österman. The II. Army Corps was positioned on its right flank and the III. Army Corps was positioned on its left flank.
* The IV. Army Corps was located north of Lake Ladoga. It was composed of two divisions under Juho Heiskanen, who was soon replaced by Woldemar Hägglund.
* The North Finland Group was a collection of Civic Guards, border guards, and drafted reservist units under Wiljo Tuompo.


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Koen

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December 1 1939

« Reply #99 on: 26 October 2010, 17:22:54 »

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December 1st 1939

Helsinki, Finland, is bombed by Soviet aircraft. Casualties amount to 80 killed. Soviet attacks on the Karelian Isthmus continue. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_Isthmus)


Mannerheim Line - Winter War - Karelian Isthmus - Finland vs Soviet Union

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A number of defensive lines crossed the isthmus during the Soviet-Finnish hostilities in World War II, such as Mannerheim Line, VKT-line, VT-line, Main line (Finnish) and KaUR (Soviet), and fronts moved back and forth over it.
In November 1939, the Soviet Union staged the Shelling of Mainila and invaded Finland in what became known as the Winter War, which took a disproportionally heavy death toll on the Red Army. Only in February 1940 did the Soviet forces manage to penetrate the Mannerheim Line across the isthmus, strength of which is often exaggerated. Finland ceded the Karelian Isthmus and Ladoga Karelia to the Soviet Union in the Peace of Moscow of March 12. According to the protocol appended to the Moscow Peace Treaty, the fighting was ended at noon (Leningrad time), March 13, and by March 26 the Finnish troops had been completely withdrawn. The entire Karelian population of the ceded areas of about 422 thousand people was evacuated to other parts of Finland (see Evacuation of Finnish Karelia). On March 31 most of the ceded territories were incorporated into Karelo-Finnish SSR by a decision of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union (in the Karelian Isthmus the districts of Jääski, Kexholm and Vyborg). The districts of Kanneljärvi, Koivisto and Rautu as well as the town of Terijoki were, however, included into Leningrad Oblast.

Finnish defensive lines of the Continuation War
In 1941, during World War II, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. Few days later Continuation War as it is known in Finland (it is considered to be a front of the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and Russia) started. Finland initially regained the lost territory, reaching the Russian side of the border of 1939 and seen by the Russians as indirectly contributing to the Siege of Leningrad (see Finnish reconquest of the Karelian Isthmus (1941)). Some 260,000 Karelian evacuees returned home.

On 9 June 1944, strong Soviet forces opened the Vyborg Offensive and pushed the front from the pre-1939 border to Vyborg in ten days. The returned Karelians were evacuated to Finland again. In the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, 25 June–9 July, the Finns concentrated their military strength and brought the offensive to a halt at the River Vuoksi, in the northwesternmost part of the isthmus, at the closest point only 40 kilometres from the border of 1940. The Moscow Armistice ending the war was signed on September 19, 1944. The entire isthmus became Soviet, although most of it has never been captured by the Soviets in battles. This time the ceded territories of the Karelian Isthmus (including the districts of Jääski, Kexholm and Vyborg) were incorporated into Leningrad Oblast (unlike Ladoga Karelia, which remained within the Karelo-Finnish SSR). The border of the Moscow Peace Treaty (1940) was recognized by Finland again in the Peace of Paris, 1947.

The legitimate Finnish government is reorganized. A coalition government is formed with Dr. Ryti as Prime Minister and Tanner as Foreign Minister.

A Soviet sponsored Democratic Republic of Finland is established under Finnish Communist Otto Kuusinen at Terijoki on the Gulf of Finland. The Kuusinen government calls on all Finns to "overthrow the oppressor" (i.e., the government in Helsinki) and welcome the "liberators" (of the Red Army). A treaty is signed with the USSR giving the Soviets everything that has previously been demand, in exchange for the whole of Karelia.

The TASS news agency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraph_Agency_of_the_Soviet_Union) claims that in Finland, "the people already rose in various parts of the country and proclaimed the formation of a democratic republic. Part of the soldiers of Finland's army already have sided with the new government, backed by the people."

The search for the German warships responsible for RAWALPINDI's (http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/rawalpindi.html) loss was discontinued at 0820/1st. Battleship RODNEY, battlecruiser HOOD, destroyers PUNJABI, GURKHA, KANDAHAR and NUBIAN arrived in the Clyde, while battleship NELSON and destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, FIREDRAKE and FORESTER were north of the Faroes to cover AMCs returning to Northern Patrol.

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HMS Rawalpindi was a British armed merchant cruiser (a converted passenger ship) that was sunk during the Second World War.
She started life as the 16,695 registered tons P. & O. Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. ocean liner SS Rawalpindi out of London. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 26 August 1939 and converted to an armed merchant cruiser by the addition of eight 6 in (150 mm) guns and two 3 in (76 mm) guns and set to work from October in the Northern Patrol covering the area around Iceland.
While patrolling north of the Faroe Islands on 23 November 1939, she investigated a possible enemy sighting, only to find that she had encountered two of the most powerful German warships, the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau trying to break out through the GIUK gap into the Atlantic. Rawalpindi was able to signal the German ships' location back to base. Despite being hopelessly outgunned, 60-year old Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy RN of Rawalpindi decided to fight, rather than surrender as demanded by the Germans. He was heard to say "We’ll fight them both, they’ll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye".
The German warships sank Rawalpindi within 40 minutes. 238 men died, including Captain Kennedy. Thirty-seven men were rescued by the German ships, and a further 11 were picked up by HMS Chitral (another converted passenger ship). Captain Kennedy — the father of broadcaster and author Ludovic Kennedy — was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches.
Thanks to the actions of Rawalpindi, the German attempt to break out into the Atlantic was foiled. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were forced to return to base in order to avoid interception by the British Home Fleet.


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