75 years ago today… January 4, 1940 Finns give Soviet 44th division another day to suffer in the subzero temperatures while they prepare for an assault on Raate Road. They drag guns & munitions into place and Task Force Kari clears Soviet flank forces from the village of Eskola. Many Soviet troops freeze to death or die of starvation & frostbite is widespread. Dry gangrene is common as limbs quickly mortify from frostbite & minor wounds. Amputated limbs pile up. General Vasili Chuikov assumes command of Soviet 9th Army on Finnish front approximately this date. Finland seeks German mediation in war against Soviet Union. Britain & France develop plans to send troops to Finland overland via Norway & Sweden (requiring, of course, permission from these two neutral countries). They have a (poorly) hidden agenda to seize Swedish iron ore mines at Gällivare which supply much of Germany’s war needs. British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax sent a diplomatic note to Norway, with a copy sent to Sweden, asking for permission to send British Royal Navy ships into Norwegian waters, citing German sinking of British merchant ships. The first Norwegian volunteers departed Oslo, Norway for Finland. Hermann Goering is given overall control of German war industry. French Prime Minister Daladier and General Sikorski sign agreement for arming and equipping Polish forces in France, primarily from 85,000 Polish military personnel interned in Hungary, Rumania, Lithuania, and Latvia. Adolf Eichmann reaffirmed that “On the order of the Reichsfuhrer-SS the evacuation of all the Jews from the former Polish occupied territories is to be carried out as a top priority.” The Irish parliament completed action tonight on an emergency powers bill giving the government authority to intern without trial members of the outlawed Irish Republican Party. British 48th Infantry Division begins moving to France. Admiral Max Horton becomes Flag Officer Submarines. The British tug Swarthy sank at Portsmouth, but was later salved. Minesweeper HMS Saltburn alongside was damaged at the time. Kriegsmarine cruiser Karlsruhe and Schiff 23 capture Swedish vessel Konung Oscar with 41 Polish refugees aboard. The British cargo ship Ardongorm ran aground near Dodman Point, Cornwall and was wrecked. The Irish cargo ship Maigue ran aground on Cape Clear Island in fog. She was severely damaged and subsequently scrapped. Sloop HMS Egret was in a collision with steamer Sea Valour (1950grt) at 0808/4th. The steamer only received minor damage, while HMS Egret was repaired at Cardiff in three weeks. Convoy OA 66 departs Southend. Convoy OB 66 departs Liverpool. Convoy HXF 15 departs Halifax for Liverpool. U.S. freighter Exiria is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities. The proposed U.S. Federal budget shows a deficit for the 11th consecutive year. FDR nominates Attorney General Frank Murphy as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Solicitor General Robert H. Jackson is nominated as the next Attorney General, and Judge Francis J. Biddle of the third U. S. circuit court of appeals to be the new solicitor general. The Governor of Mississippi dispatched National Guard troops to Meadville in an attempt to prevent a lynching. A hotel fire in Omaha, Nebraska caused $200,000 in damage and critically injured a 69-year old woman. Chinese 4th War Area captures Kuantu. Battle of South Kwangsi: Chinese forces capture Chiutang, five miles south of Kunlunkuan. U-431, U-433 laid down. Corvette HMCS Godetia laid down. The armed merchant cruiser HMS Bulolo (F 82) was commissioned. Her first commander was Captain Christopher H. Petrie. The British Crown Colony-class light cruiser HMS Mauritius was commissioned into service. https://youtube/watch?v=7i1sDqPBiis
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 16:21:09 +0000
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