Chronology of World War II

Monday, January 1, 1940

The 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.

Tuesday, January 2, 1940

The Winter War... Heavy Soviet attacks on the Karelian Isthmus are noted. Soviet forces launch a major offensive. The Battle of Salla begins: Finns make unsuccessful attempts to encircle the Soviet 122nd Division in the "Waist" of the front.

In Britain... The blackout is said to have established the importance of Vitamin A for good eyesight in the dark. A survey indicates that one in five persons have had an accident in the blackout. Furthermore, deaths by road accidents in the four months since the blackout began exceed 2000, about 1700 more than the average for the period in peacetime. People are advised to take Cod-liver oil capsules.

In Prague... Journalists and officers of the former Czechoslovakian armed forces are rounded up in a new wave of arrests by the Nazis.

Wednesday, January 3, 1940

In the North Atlantic... British warships detain the American SS Mormacsun.

The Winter War... Finnish aircraft drop three million pamphlets on Leningrad. The Finnish government claims to have destroyed 400 Soviet tanks and brought down 150 Soviet planes since the fighting began.

On the Western Front... In the Vosges area, French patrols ambush two German detachments and take several prisoners.

In Washington... President Roosevelt requests $1.8 billion for national defense in his annual budget request to Congress.

In Berlin... A conciliatory letter from Mussolini transmitted to Hitler in an effort to offset the Italian condemnations of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The Duce, however, maintains that "the solution of your Lebensraum is in Russia and not elsewhere."

In Ireland... The Eire government introduces legislation to detain members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) without trial.

Thursday, January 4, 1940

In Germany... Goring is given overall control of German war industry.

In France... A Franco-Polish military agreement is reached whereby a Polish Army in France is to be equipped and maintained at French expense.

In Britain... The bacon ration to be introduced on January 8th is fixed at four ounces per person per week. All merchant shipping is requisitioned for the war effort.

In Norway... The first contingent of Norwegian volunteers leaves Oslo for Finland.

Friday, January 5, 1940

In Britain... There is a ministerial reshuffle. Oliver Stanley replaces Leslie Hore-Belisha at the War Office (i.e., the Army Ministry), Lord Reith becomes Minister of Information and Sir Andrew Duncan comes to the Board of Trade. Hore-Belisha was given the option of having another senior post in the government by Chamberlain, however, he replied that he preferred to leave the government. He had been involved in quarrels with the army generals over strategy and his own insistence on better welfare services for the troops.

The Winter War... The Soviet 18th Division is encircled north of Lake Ladoga. The first contingent of Swedish volunteer troops reach Finland.

In Moscow... The USSR accuses Norway and Sweden of pursuing "unneutral" policy.

Saturday, January 6, 1940

The Winter War... A pair of Finnish Fokker fighters destroy a formation of 7 Ilyushin bombers over Utti, 60 miles northeast of Helsinki.

In Oslo... The Norwegian government rejects the Soviet claim that Norway is pursuing an "unneutral" policy. (A claim made on January 5th.)

In the Heligoland Bight... German ships depth charge the Royal Navy submarine Undine.

In Dublin... Eamon de Valera, the prime minister of Eire, is calling for new emergency powers to aid a nationwide crackdown on the IRA. The move follows an Irish High Court ruling which set free 53 men detained under the Emergency Powers Act. An amended and draconian version of the act has been proposed in the Dail, the Irish parliament. The amended act would allow the government to arrest and detain suspects without trial.

In Britain... Dogs are reportedly wearing bicycle reflectors on their collars to boost their visibility in the blackout.

Sunday, January 7, 1940

The Winter War... General Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko takes command of all the Soviet forces engaged in the war with Finland. His troops on the Karelian Isthmus are now organized in two armies, Seventh and Thirteenth. The Finns are in the process of a reorganization also. In the fighting north of Lake Ladoga the Finnish pressure on the Soviet 18th and 168th Divisions continues. Finnish claims estimate 50,000 Soviet troops have perished in the last five weeks.

In the North Sea... German ships depth charge the Royal Navy submarine Seahorse in the Heligoland Bight.

Monday, January 8, 1940

The Winter War... The Soviet 44th Division is destroyed in the Karelian Isthmus. Details of the Finnish victory over the two Soviet divisions at Suomussalmi released by Finland's General Staff show that the Soviet 44th Division was utterly annihilated while attempting to support the defeated 162nd Division. Finns claim to have captured 102 field guns, 43 tanks, over 300 vehicles and 1170 horses.

In Britain... Bacon, butter and sugar are put on the ration list and are only available in small quantities. Butter is limited to 4 ounces per week. Adults are allowed 12 ounces of sugar and 4 oz. of bacon or uncooked ham -- less of cooked ham.

In the North Sea... A converted Wellington bomber fitted with an energized metal hoop to explode magnetic mines does its first successful trials.

In China... Japan claims to have killed 25,000 Chinese in battle north of Canton.

In Germany... A new army headquarters is reportedly established at Recklingshausen, 10 miles from the Dutch border.

Tuesday, January 9, 1940

In the North Sea... A German minesweeper depth charges the Royal Navy submarine Starfish in the Heligoland Bight. The sub is scuttled afterwards. Following this third incident, British submarine operations in the Heligoland Bight are temporarily suspended. Meanwhile, off the southeast coast of England, the British ocean liner Dunbar Castle is minded and sunk.

In Britain... Prime Minister Chamberlain makes the first in a series of "morale-boosting" speeches by Cabinet Ministers. Meanwhile, there is public surprise that, after only 4 months of war, the British employment figure for January stands at 1.6 million (about 120,000 higher than the average for 1939). This increase is despite of the call-up of 1.5 million men for military duty.

In France... The first colonial contingent, of Cypriot troops, arrives to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force.

In Berlin... The West Prussian SS chief reports the successful elimination of 4000 incurable mental patients in Poland.

Wednesday, January 10, 1940

On the Western Front... Two German officers carrying copies of the plan for the attack in the west are forced down when their plane strays off course over Belgium. The plane, on a flight from Munster to Cologne, became lost in thick cloud. It lands at Mechelen, in Belgium. Major Helmut Reinberger, a Luftwaffe staff officer, makes an unsuccessful attempt to burn the papers he is carrying, which are operational plans, complete with maps, for a German airborne attack on the west, to begin on January 14th with saturation bombing attacks on French airfields. They are unable to destroy their documents and the Belgian authorities pass on details to the British and French.

In Germany... Hitler tells his generals that is is his intention to launch an attack on the Western Front on January 17th. The generals raise numerous objections to Hitler's timetable.

In Stockholm... The Swedish government rejects the Soviet claim that Sweden is pursuing an "unneutral" policy. (A claim made on January 5th.)

In Britain... Widespread complaints about train delays are excused by the Railway Executive on the grounds of the blackout, which prolongs the loading of goods vans and makes for late starting. It also blames unexpected arrivals at ports of shipments of fresh foods, which have to be distributed hurriedly by commandeering trains. Troops movements are also a factor.

Thursday, January 11, 1940

In France... The government announces that Friday will be a "meatless day" and that no beef, veal or mutton will be sold on Mondays or Tuesdays.

The Winter War... Finns beat off reinforcements attempting to break through to the encircled Soviet 168th Division (north of Lake Ladoga). Soviet forces supply the pocket by air. There is a new Soviet attack in the area of Salla (in the "waist" of the front), toward the Kemijarvi-Tornio railway. Meanwhile, the Swedish volunteer air group, Flygflottilj 19, begins operations from the frozen Lake Kemi, with 12 Gladiator fighters and 4 Hart light bombers.

In Britain... The Women's Section of the Air Transport Auxiliary delivers its first airplane from factory to depot. This is one more indication of women's increasing usefulness in the war effort, but not everybody likes it. There has been considerable public protest against the use of women pilots while men are kept idle on the waiting list for the RAF.

Friday, January 12, 1940

The Winter War... The battle of Taipale begins. Red Army forces launch a major offensive to break through the left flank of the Mannerheim Line. The Soviet effort is aimed at achieving a crossing over the frozen Taipale River.

In France... The government bans the sale of meat (except pork, goat and horseflesh) on Mondays and Tuesdays.

In Germany... General Albert Kesselring is given command of the Luftwaffe's 2nd Air Fleet.

Saturday, January 13, 1940

In the Netherlands... A "a state of readiness" is ordered in anticipation of an invasion from Germany. All army leave is cancelled.

In Belgium... A "a state of readiness" is ordered in anticipation of an invasion from Germany. The armed forces are mobilized.

In Germany... Forecasts of poor weather force Hitler to postpone the western offensive to January20th. Meanwhile a fall in the size of the German male workforce is causing the regime to reconsider the Nazi doctrine, fostered since 1933, that a woman's place is firmly at home. The idea of employing more women is opposed by senior Nazi Party leaders.

In Paris... A Franco-Spanish Trade Agreement is signed. Spain is to receive French wheat, fertilizers and manufactured goods in exchange for iron ore and other minerals.

In Norway... Increasing in defense expenditures produces the largest government budget in Norwegian history.

Sunday, January 14, 1940

In Tokyo... The Japanese Prime Minister Abe and all his Cabinet resign and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai is chosen to form a new government.

In Warsaw... Deaths, mainly from starvation, in the Jewish ghetto are estimated to be running at 70 per day.

In the United States... Eighteen members of the pro-Nazi Bund organization are arrested for conspiracy.

In the Winter War... Soviet aircraft drop bombs near Lulea, Sweden and violate Norwegian airspace.

In Moscow... Norway and Sweden issue diplomatic protests over the incidents involving Soviet aircraft engaged in the war against Finland.

Monday, January 15, 1940

In Belgium... The Mechelen incident of January 10th has been followed by much diplomatic activity. For a time the British and French have believed that they will be invited to move troops into Belgium even before a German attack but this possibility is now firmly ruled out by the Belgian government.

The Winter War... The Soviet forces begin to bombard the Finnish lines around Summa. This softening-up process will continue until the end of the month, giving the defending Finnish troops little rest and doing considerable damage to their defenses.

In Cairo... General Sir Archibald Wavell is appointed the British Commander-in-Chief Middle East.

Tuesday, January 16, 1940

In Germany ... Hitler decides to cancel the German attack in the west until the spring. The possible compromising of the plan for the attack at Mechelen on January 10th and the continuing bad weather are the principal reasons.

In France... Sixty-six Communist members are ejected from the Chamber of Deputies.

In Angers... A report which vividly describes Nazi atrocities in Poland is presented to the Polish government-in-exile in France. It contains graphic accounts of public executions, forced labor, looting and hostage-taking on a vast scale. In Poznan, for example, the German occupation forces are said to have shot 5000 Poles. Thousands more are being held in makeshift concentration camps. Mass arrests of prominent Poles are commonplace and Germans are said to take precedence over Poles for food, clothes and housing. The Jews and Gypsies in Nazi-occupied Poland are said to suffer brutal persecution and indignities.

Wednesday, January 17, 1940

In France... Polish cryptographers break the Luftwaffe Enigma key of October 28th. This allows for routine decoding hereafter.

The Winter War... Finnish forces recapture Kursu, southwest of Salla. Soviet forces are driven back some 12 miles (19 km).

Over Germany... RAF Whitley bombers make night leaflet raids on Prague and Vienna.

Thursday, January 18, 1940

In Britain... In a series of explosions, five employees are killed at the Waltham Abbey explosives factory in Essex. Nazi saboteurs are blamed. Meanwhile, a British company delivers the first of a very large admiralty order for buoyant electrical cable. It is to be used in the fight to remove the threat of magnetic mines to British ships. When the cable is towed behind a wooden trawler, a current generated by the ship will produce a magnetic field around it sufficient to detonate a mine.

In Warsaw... The Nazi Gestapo executes 250 Jews in woods outside the city following the arrest of the Jewish-born Catholic resistance leader Andrzej Kott.

Friday, January 19, 1940

The Winter War... There is an unsuccessful Finnish attack against the positions of the Soviet 122nd Division at Salla. Meanwhile, some 18,000 Soviet troops of the 18th Division have either been killed or captured while encircled north of Lake Ladoga, where they have been trapped since February 19th. Temperatures of -45° C (-82° F) are recorded.

In the North Sea... The destroyer HMS Grenville is sunk by a mine. It is believed that 81 men have died in the incident.

In the United States... Senator Borah, an influential "Isolationist" dies at age 74.

Saturday, January 20, 1940

In London... Churchill broadcasts an appeal to the neutrals [specifically Belgium and The Netherlands] to join the allies in resisting Nazi aggression. He compares the conduct of the neutrals with the crocodile's victims -- each hoping to be eaten last. In the speech, he also condemns the Soviet invasion of Finland. Meanwhile, the coldest day on record since 1881 is experienced in London with temperatures of -11° C (-20° F).

The Winter War... Soviet bombers cause large fires in Turku and Hango. There is a lull in the ground fighting as the Soviets prepare for a renewed offensive.

In Berlin... Hitler reduces the "alert period" before the implementation of Operation Yellow (Fall Gelb) from 4 days to 24 hours for security reasons.

In Washington... The USA protests to Britain over the detention of its ships in Gibraltar.

Sunday, January 21, 1940

In the Pacific... The Japanese liner Asamu Maru is stopped by the cruiser HMS Gloucester off of Honshu and 21 German technicians are removed.

In the North Atlantic... All 175 crew are lost when German U-22 sinks the British destroyer HMS Exmouth.

The Winter War... Finnish Blenheim bombers raid Kronstadt naval base, near Leningrad. Soviet aircraft bomb Oulu, in northwestern Finland.

From the Vatican... Pope Pius XII condemns Nazi rule in Poland in a radio broadcast to the USA which emphasizes the terror campaign against Catholic clergy.

In London... Britain rejects American protests concerning the examination of mail carried aboard US merchant ships.

In Britain... The Duke of Windsor (who, as Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936) takes leave after a five month tour of duty with the British Expeditionary Force in France.

In China... Two former associates of Wang Ching-wei, head of the Japanese sponsored Chinese government in Nanking, publish a text of an agreement, signed by Wang, giving Japan total political and economic dominion in China. Wang issues a strenuous denial.

In the Mediterranean... The Italian liner Orazio catches fire off Barcelona (104 dead). French destroyers rescue survivors.

Monday, January 22, 1940

In Britain... From today newsreels must be submitted to the ministry of information before they are exhibited. Newsreels were exempt from scrutiny by the British Board of Film Censors because they were produced to tight deadlines twice weekly. The ministry film division has appointed a liaison officer to convey guidelines for film propaganda to newsreel producers. An "editor" will view all newsreels before release. The word "censor" is not used in the announcement.

In Occupied Poland... Goring confiscates former Polish state property.

In Helsinki... The Finns announce the formation of a Foreign Legion, including British volunteers.

Tuesday, January 23, 1940

The Winter War... The battle of Taipale ends. Finnish forces have successfully resisted the Soviet attempt to break through the left flank of the Mannerheim Line in hand-to-hand fighting.

In Pretoria... General Hertzog, the South African Leader of the Opposition, moves a peace resolution in the South African Parliament.

From London... Britain and France warn that they will attack German shipping encountered by their navies in the Pan-American neutral zone.

In Britain... Following allegations by troop entertainers that ENSA's organization in France is in a "chaotic muddle," its officials are to report to the war office. Meanwhile, the large number of road accidents in the "black-out" leads to a reduction of the speed limit from 30 to 20 mph.

Wednesday, January 24, 1940

The Winter War... There is fierce fighting reported northeast of Lake Ladoga. Finnish forces defeat the attacking Soviet forces.

In Madrid... The Spanish council of ministers passes a law banning Freemasonry throughout Spain.

From London... With recurrent reports of an imminent invasion by Germany, Chamberlain reassures Belgium of Britain's pledge to assist the Belgians if they are attacked.

Thursday, January 25, 1940

In Canada... Parliament is dissolved for an election on March 28th because of recent controversy over the alleged weakness of war preparations.

In Occupied Poland... The "Goring-Frank Circular" is issued. It specifies that all material resources and manpower is to be ruthlessly exploited for the immediate benefit of the Reich. Copies of this top secret document are soon obtained by the Polish government-in-exile in France and widely publicized.

In Brussels... The Belgian Foreign Minister rejects Churchill's appeal to join the Allies (issued in a speech on January 20th).

Friday, January 26, 1940

In France... Paul Ferdonnet, -- the "Radio Traitor" -- a Nazi sympathizer broadcasting in French from Stuttgart (in Germany), is tried in absentia by a French military tribunal.

In London... Officials acknowledge that of a total of 734,883 children reported to have been evacuated from London since the beginning of the war, 316,192 have returned to their homes by January 8th.

From Washington... The American-Japanese Treaty of Navigation and Commerce is allowed to lapse because the US government refuses to negotiate in protest against Japanese aggression in China.

In Occupied Poland... Jews are forbidden by German authorities to travel on the public railways.

Saturday, January 27, 1940

In Pretoria... The peace resolution introduced into the South African Parliament by the opposition leader General Hertzog is defeated by 81 votes to 59. In his speech to Parliament, Hertzog openly supported Hitler. The pro-British prime minister, General Jan Smuts, likens the speech, of his former Boer comrade-in-arms, to a chapter of Mein Kampf. He says, "Goebbels could not have done it better."

In Germany... The German plans for invading Norway are put on a more formal basis with the allocation of the code name Weserubung.

In Baltimore... The American transport City of Flint arrives back at her home port following her adventures in the Baltic.

In Britain... Churchill (uneasy at the slow increase in war production) speaks at Free Trade Hall, Manchester: "each to our station... there is not a week, nor a day, nor and hour to be lost!" He also says he is puzzled and worried about the "phoney war" and wonders why Britain has not been bombed yet. The speech is broadcast to the dominions and the United States.

Sunday, January 28, 1940

The Winter War... The Finnish 9th Division attacks the Soviet 54th Division near Kuhmo and succeeds in splitting the Soviet force into three separate groups. The Finns are not able to press their attacks home. They are further distracted by relief attempts by the Soviet 23rd Division.

In Britain... The Director of Censorship permits newspapers to belatedly reveal details of Britain's coldest winter since 1894. The Thames River ad the Southampton Docks were frozen and temperatures of -18° C (-33° F) were recorded at Buxton (Derbys).

Monday, January 29, 1940

In Stockholm... A Soviet diplomatic note to the government of Sweden suggests that the Soviets are prepared to negotiate with the legitimate Finnish government and, implicitly, to abandon support for the puppet communist regime. The note states: "The Soviet Union has no objection in principle to a possible agreement with the Ryti government."

The Winter War... The battle of Kuhmo begins. Finns encircle the Soviet 54th Division at Kuhmo, in the "waist" of the front. Heavy Soviet air raids target Finnish ports.

In the North Sea... German aircraft attack British merchant ships (2 sunk) and 2 lightships, between Shetlands and Kent. The lightship E. Dudgeon is bombed and 7 of the 8-man crew die.

In France... Premier Daladier delivers a stirring broadcast speech: "Germany hopes to encompass our downfall by exploiting weakness at home..."

From Angers... The Polish government-in-exile in France claims that the Nazis have killed 18,000 prominent Poles during their occupation of Poland.

Tuesday, January 30, 1940

In Germany... On the 7th anniversary of the Nazi regime, Hitler speaks at the Berlin Sportpalast. He demands Lebensraum (living space) for Germans and ridicules Chamberlain, Churchill and Daladier. He notes that, since "they started the war, ...they will get all the war they want."

From Berlin... Heydrich orders more expulsions of Jews from the Reich to Lublin in eastern Poland. Meanwhile, Himmler authorizes the deportation of 30,000 gypsies.

In the North Atlantic... German bombers attack shipping off the British coast. Also, the German submarine U-55 attacks a British convoy off Land's End, sinking 2 ships. U-55 is later damaged by the British sloop Fowey and a Sutherland flying boat. The submarine is forced to scuttle.

In Britain... A national campaign is launched today to utilize almost all of the 120 million tons of household waste that are disposed of every year. Scrap iron and steel as well as waste paper are singled out as being urgently required.

Wednesday, January 31, 1940

In Italy... A secret British military mission orders 300 Caproni Re2000 fighters. (German intervention in April effectively vetoes the deal and British attempts to obtain the fighters through a Portuguese intermediary fail with the Italian declaration of war on June 10th.)

In Britain... The Barlow Report on the "Distribution of Industrial Population" is published, recommending the building of new towns.