Posted on 12/26/2009 6:16:01 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1939/dec39/f26dec39.htm
Australian pilots join Coastal Command
Tuesday, December 26, 1939 www.onwar.com
In Britain... The British Royal Navy starts laying a mine barrier from the Moray Firth to the Thames Estuary. Meanwhile, the first contingent of the Royal Australian Air Force reaches port in Pembroke, Wales.
In the Winter War... Soviet forces continue attacks on the north end of the Mannerheim Line with little success. There are heavy Soviet losses of men and material. Finnish forces hold their positions on the outskirts of Salla.
In Sweden... Military reservists are called up.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/26.htm
December 26th, 1939
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Coastal Command: A squadron of completely trained Royal Australian Air Force personnel disembarked at Pembroke, Wales, for service with the Coastal Command. Number 10 Squadron are equipped with Sunderland flying boats. They are the first Dominion air force unit to be committed to active service in the European war. Australia’s air minister J V Fairbairn, told them: “Australia is confident that you will play your part in whatever spheres you may be called upon to serve.”
All vessels of the Royal Australian Navy have been placed under British orders since the start of the war, and in September the Australian government decided that a 20,000 strong force, later designated the 6th Division, 2nd Australian Imperial Force, was to be created for service either at home or abroad. Earlier this month an advance party was sent to Palestine under the command of Lieutenant-General Thomas Blamey.
RAF Bomber Command: Daylight anti-shipping sweep over North Sea. 77 Sqn. Two aircraft. No enemy shipping sighted. 102 Sqn. Two aircraft. No enemy shipping sighted.
The Royal Navy starts laying a mine barrier from the Moray Firth to the Thames Estuary.
Destroyer HMS Legion launched.
Destroyers HMS Porcupine, Petard and Penn laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
bump
Now proceed to the section of the story under the subtitle "Bombs' Damage Freakish" and read the strained excuse-making for the Russian aviators who have a "propensity" to "hit working class areas, hospitals, orphanages, and the like". According to the New York Times story it's "ironical" (sic) because the purpose of the Russian war on Finland is "freeing the workers".
Even if the Soviet aviator flying over a Finnish city is the most devoted friend of the working class, he cannot tell the difference between the "exploiter" and the "proletarian" on the ground.
And besides, the Finns have some pretty good anti-aircraft weapons and this forces the Russian bombers to fly higher, making them less accurate. So, see? It's the Finns' own fault.
Even 70 years ago the NY Times was as much an active agent for communism as it is today.
It turns out the correspondent, Harold Denny, worked with Walter Duranty in Moscow before the war. Not surprising he would find “irony” in the accidental bombings of the Finnish workers.
http://www.paulbogdanor.com/deniers/soviet/heilbrunn.pdf
Incidently, we will hear from Denny later on (November 1941) from North Africa, where he was for some time a prisoner of the Italians.
If you take a real close look at the Winter War the Finn’s fought that war on a Shoe String, they had nothing and were short of even that.
You can make a decent case that the Finns’ astonishing defense was a major turning point in the War.
The Red Army’s performance was so pathetic it convinced the Germans, not unreasonably, that a war with USSR would be a walkover.
It probably would have been had the working out of their racial ideology not convinced the Russian people that the Nazis were even worse, for them, than the Commies.
That is interesting. I was not aware of that but the possibility of a connection had crossed my mind. It's not surprising.
As always, thanks for the pings! This project of yours is quite a learning experience.
By the way, my wife's family is Finnish (grandparents came into Ellis Island circa 1900) and she still has relatives in Finland, some of whom stayed with us a couple of summers ago. My mother-in-law and her family grew up speaking both English and Finnish. These stories about the Russians and Finns at war are particularly interesting.
FRegards,
LH
Yes, the Germans were clearly overconfident. Their strategy of marching on Moscow in the dead of winter was one of the biggest blunders of the war. The Russians (on "home ice", so to speak) only had to stand back and watch the German army freeze and starve. The Germans learned nothing from Napoleon.
After working with the Swedes, Alfa Laval, who are thick headed and then working with the Finns, ASEA, who are very thick headed, I can see why they did as well as they did.
Northern Karelia: the North Karelian Group completes its offensive in the Pielisjärvi sector after two days, having forced the opposing Russian regiment back across the border.
Photo: SA-KUVA
Uruguay to aid Finland
Thanks for a great post. I've long thought the NY Times was basically Franklin Roosevelt's alter ego -- in other words, had FDR been its editor-in-chief, the Times would have sounded the same.
This leads to a number of interesting questions, beginning with: who duped whom? Did the NY Times pro-Communist reporting dupe Roosevelt, or did Roosevelt's state of dupe-ation (sorry about that term ;-) ) incline the Times to report favorably on the Soviet Union? Answer: probably some of both.
But I would also argue that Roosevelt was pro-Russian long before "Russia" meant Communism. As Woodrow Wilson's Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the First World War, FDR well knew there was NO WAY to defeat Germany without the full support of Russia. So Roosevelt was long inclined to favor the Russians, and ignore their faults, Communist or not.
Besides, when it came to destroying economies through lunatic socialistic policies, FDR set a standard that was never equaled -- until our current crop in Washington. So in that sense, Uncle Joe was just a little more "progressive" than most Democrats of that day, or this. So, for FDR, what's not to like? ;-)
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