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FIERCE RED DRIVE CHECKED BY FINNS; BOMBS RUIN CITIES (2/5/40)
Microfiche-New York Times archives, Cabrillo College Library | 2/5/40 | K.J. Eskelund, Harold Denny, G.H. Archambault

Posted on 02/05/2010 4:31:43 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson

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TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: milhist; realtime; worldwarii
Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.
1 posted on 02/05/2010 4:31:43 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
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To: Homer_J_Simpson



2 posted on 02/05/2010 4:32:56 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
Here we have Shirer citing Churchill. (The Shirer excerpt is a rerun, except for the footnote.)



Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm



William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

3 posted on 02/05/2010 4:34:42 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: r9etb; PzLdr; dfwgator; Paisan; From many - one.; rockinqsranch; GRRRRR; 2banana; henkster; ...
Fierce Red Drive Checked by Finns; Bombs Ruin Cities – 2-3
The International Situation – 3
Rout of Russians at Suomussalmi Described as Finns’ Masterpiece – 4-5
U.S. Ambulance Corps Dedicated in France – 6
Partly Razed Soviet Pavilion Is ‘Prophetic,’ Nurmi and Maki Assert on Visit to Fair – 6
Italy Warns Suez Issue May Be Solved by Arms – 7
Japanese Bomb Rail Line in China Despite U.S. Stand – 8
Skirmish Victory Claimed by French – 9
Incidents in European Conflict – 10
Reich to Institute Reforms in Schools - 10
4 posted on 02/05/2010 4:36:19 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/feb40/f05feb40.htm

Allies to occupy Norway, aid Finland
Monday, February 5, 1940 www.onwar.com

From Paris... The Supreme War Council of the British and French allies decides to intervene in Norway and send help (in the form of aircraft and guns) to Finland. They plan to begin with landings at Narvik and three other towns on or about March 20th. They are relying on the Norwegians and Swedes acquiescing and doing nothing to maintain their neutrality. By comparison with the contemporary, meticulous German plans, these Allied preparations are vague and irresolute. The pretext of going to help Finland is unconvincing and it is the obvious intention to devote most effort to stopping the Swedish iron ore reaching Germany.

In the Netherlands... General Reynders, the Dutch commander-in-chief, resigns over the lack of military preparedness in Holland.

In the North Atlantic... The British destroyer HMS Antelope sinks a U-boat in the south-western approaches to Britain.

In the United States... The US Maritime Commission announces that Britain and France are buying 113,000 tonnes of old American cargo ships.


5 posted on 02/05/2010 4:39:36 AM PST by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: abb

HMS ANTELOPE

HMS Antelope was a British A-class destroyer. She was completed 20 March 1930 and assigned to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla, Channel Force, Home Fleet. On 5 February 1940, Antelope sank U-41 in the South Western Approaches. The U-boat had attacked an outward-bound convoy on 5 February and sunk Beaverburn. It was the only U-boat at sea at the time in the area and was the first to be sunk underwater by a single destroyer. Antelope's commanding officer, Lt. Cdr. R.T. White R.N. (later Captain R.T. White D.S.O.**, 2nd son of Sir Archibald White, Bt. of Wallingwells) was awarded the D.S.O. on 11 July 1940 for this feat. White was commander of Antelope from 24 September 1938 until 26 February 1941. In April 1940, the destroyer escorted the French cruiser Emile Bertin, flagship of Admiral Derrien, to Scapa Flow after it had been damaged in action off Namsos, Norway. On 13 June 1940, Antelope collided with Electra off Trondheim, Norway, and had to return to the Tyne for repair. She then returned to her base at Harwich. In August 1940, Antelope sailed in convoy to take part in Operation Menace, the attack on Dakar, but after HMS Fiji was torpedoed on 1 September 1940, she escorted her back to the Clyde, Scotland. On 31 October 1940, Antelope sank U-31 off northwestern Ireland. She rescued 43 survivors and returned them to the Clyde. Lt. Cdr. White was awarded his first bar to his D.S.O. following this sinking. In May 1941, in the chase for the German battleship Bismarck after the battle of the Denmark Strait, Antelope searched for survivors from the sinking of HMS Hood, and later was escort to HMS Victorious. In August 1941, Antelope took part in Operation Gauntlet, an operation that succeeded in destroying the coaling facilities on Spitsbergen, thus denying the coal to the enemy. In 1942 and 1943, Antelope participated in various operations to resupply Malta, including Operation Pedestal in August 1942. In March 1943, she escorted the Empress of Canada, but the liner was sunk on 13 March. In 1944, she conducted numerous patrols and anti-submarine operations. In August 1945, she returned to the United Kingdom. In 1946, she was sold and broken up by Hughes, Bolkow.

6 posted on 02/05/2010 4:43:10 AM PST by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/05.htm

February 5th, 1940

FRANCE:
Paris: The Supreme War Council decides to send an Anglo-French expedition of three or four divisions to the aid of Finland. Every effort is to be made to get the agreement and preferably the co-operation of the Norwegians and Swedes.
The plan is to land the force either through Petsamo, which is under attack from the Russians or through Narvik. The council preferred Narvik because it would cut off the supply of iron ore to Germany. However, it is not made clear what action would be taken if Norway and Sweden do not co-operate.
Meanwhile, all possible aid has been promised to the Finns, and some equipment and a few thousand volunteers, mainly Scandinavians, have already arrived.

NETHERLANDS:
General Reynders, the Dutch Commander-in-chief, resigns over Holland’s lack of military preparedness.

GERMANY: U-652 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)

SWEDEN: The Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner is in Stockholm to determine the Swedish attitude to the war and the sincerity of Soviet willingness to start the negotiations. Today he meets the Soviet ambassador Alexandra Kollontay, and tells Finland wants peace, and is willing to cede territory.

In these early February days the Finnish and Soviet governments had been in touch to determine whether there is basis for starting the peace negotiations. Finns had tried to start the negotiations on the same basis as in last autumn (Finnish concessions in Karelian Isthmus and Gulf of Finland), but the Soviets consider this too little, too late. Blood had been shed, and the Soviet ‘honour’ demands more substantial concessions. As the fierce fighting in the Karelian Isthmus goes on, Stalin knows time is on his side, at least as long as the British and French don’t intervene.
(Mikko Härmeinen)

GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Exford is detained at Gibraltar by British authorities. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.A.: US Maritime Commission announces that Britain and France are buying 113,000 tonnes of old American cargo ships. (Dave Shirlaw)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-41 sinks one ship from Liverpool-out convoy OB84 south of Ireland, and is then sent to the bottom by the lone escort, destroyer HMS Antelope.

At 0332, the unescorted and unarmed Dutch tanker Ceronia was hit by a torpedo, but made it to Rotterdam under her own power. The attacker must have been U-41, which was herself lost during a second attack on Convoy OA-84 the same day.

SS Beaverburn (9,874 GRT) Canadian Pacific Steamships Line, Capt Thomas Jones, Master, was sunk in the Western Approaches, in position 49.20N, 010.07W, by torpedoes from U-41, OLtzS Gustav-Adolf Mugler, CO. She was proceeding outbound from Southampton in the 11-ship Convoy OA-84. Despite being in an outbound convoy she was fully loaded with general cargo. One other ship from this convoy was damaged before it was dispersed to proceed to its various ports, the normal procedure in the early days of the war. Only one crewmember was lost in this incident. The American tanker Narragansett picked up the remaining 76 survivors. Beaverburn was one of five state-of-the-art Beaver-class cargo-liners operated by the CPR. She was a fast and roomy ship that made her useful for wartime service. Two of Beaverdales’s lifeboats were used to rescue British soldiers during the evacuation of Dunkirk. None of the Beaver-class ships survived the war. (Dave Shirlaw)

CANADA: AMC HMCS Prince Robert purchased from CNR for $738,310. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.A.:
Boeing, Douglas, Martin and Convair all receive the official requirement for a “Hemisphere defence Weapon”; a bomber designed to carry 2,000 pounds of bombs for 5,333 miles, with a speed of 400 m.p.h. A heavy defensive armament was wanted, plus self-sealing fuel tanks, armour protection, and a maximum bomb-load of 16,000 pounds.

One of the great classic songs of the Big Band era, “Tuxedo Junction,” is recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra at the RCA Victor studios in New York City. The flip side of the record (released on the Bluebird label) was “Danny Boy.” (Jack McKillop)
The US Maritime Commission announces that Britain and France are buying 113,000 tonnes of old American cargo ships. (Jack McKillop)


7 posted on 02/05/2010 4:44:43 AM PST by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

The description of the fighting in front of the Mannerheim Line and around Suomussalmi is some of the best reading yet on this war. From the description of the fighting on the Line, you really get a sense that the Finns were incredibly brave, tough fighters who really knew what they were doing. Having the line set up at the edge of a forest with a clear field of fire, and also along commanding heights, showed they knew exactly where to make their stand. An excellent defensive position, it was clearly enhanced by the local resources (log stakes) as well as mines, machine guns and barbed wire.

Finland had only been an independent nation for 20 years, and yet man for man they had a better army than anyone else.

I’m sure the Germans had their own press corps in Finland, and Hitler and his generals were reading the same accounts of Soviet POW’s. He had to conclude that the Red Army was a paper tiger.


8 posted on 02/05/2010 5:35:15 AM PST by henkster (A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
Day 68 of the Winter War, February 5, 1940


Karelian Isthmus: following a preliminary artillery bombardment, the enemy launches heavy assaults in the morning in the areas of Summa, Marjapellonmäki and Lake Hatjalahti with the support of over one hundred assault tanks. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority the attack becomes bogged down and ends in the destruction of 22 assault tanks.
Photo: SA-KUVA

Finnish bombers hit enemy at night


9 posted on 02/05/2010 9:22:47 AM PST by CougarGA7 (In order to dream of the future, we need to remember the past. - Bartov)
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

While as we can see by the headline the Republicans shun the American Youth Congress and are not sending a representative to their gathering this month. FDR will be attending this conference and will be booed by the pro-communist group when he says in his speech that the Soviet Union is “run by a dictatorship as absolute as any other dictatorship in the world” (Weinberg, 572).

I don’t have an exact date for the speech, all I have is that it is this month (Feb, 40). Maybe someone can dig up an reference to the actual conference. Clearly the swing in American perspective towards the Soviet Union has been such that FDR is even honing his speeches to reflect this new animosity. (remember the pole from the beginning of January)

Source: A World at Arms by Gerhard L. Wenberg.


10 posted on 02/05/2010 9:36:45 AM PST by CougarGA7 (In order to dream of the future, we need to remember the past. - Bartov)
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To: CougarGA7
Maybe someone can dig up an reference to the actual conference.

A contingent from the American Youth Congress visited the White House on Feb. 10. Roosevelt spoke to them as they gathered on the lawn.

11 posted on 02/05/2010 9:46:49 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: CougarGA7; abb
Roosevelt spoke to them as they gathered on the lawn.

The Missus will be speaking to the kids the following day (the 11th). I imagine there will be a reference to this in her Dear Diary.

12 posted on 02/05/2010 9:54:58 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

Ah, I didn’t even know it was at the White House. I just saw the reference in the book I cited which what I wrote was all that was said. Ironically, I only stumbled across that yesterday while reading that book.

I’ll be interested to hear what Elanor has to say about that a week from now.

I’ll see you all on Sunday, time for me to hit the road. I hate not having a laptop.


13 posted on 02/05/2010 10:35:00 AM PST by CougarGA7 (In order to dream of the future, we need to remember the past. - Bartov)
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