January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril

Tuesday 9 January 1940

6th Division boards the troopship Pyrmont, Sydney, 9-10 January 1940 / by Sam Hood (Library of New South Wales).

Winter War: The Soviets issue on 9 January 1940 a communiqué admitting that they had to retreat from Suomussalmi.

Winter War Army Operations: The Finns once again stage a secret operation and cut the Leningrad-Murmansk railway.

Winter War Air Operations: Soviet bombers raid six small towns in Finland.

Winter War Peace Talks: There are unofficial peace talks in Stockholm between Hella Wuolijoki, an Estonian-born Finnish writer, and Alexandra Kollontai, the Soviet ambassador to Sweden. Both had been friends of Lenin.

In addition, the Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee seeks US mediation.

Alexandra Kollantai.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Admiralty reports that out of 5,911 ships in convoy, only 12 had been sunk while protected by the convoy.

U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke) torpedoes and sinks 1,343-ton Norwegian coal freighter Manx off Kinnaird Head, northeast Scotland. 30 of the crew survive, nine perish. Four men perish in the icy water due to an upturned lifeboat.

The British lose a third submarine in the Heligoland Bight in only a few days. This time, HMS Starfish is damaged by a German minesweeper, M-7, with depth charges after its torpedoes misfire. After over eight hours of nightmarish depth charge attacks, the submarine begins to leak and Lt. Thomas Turner orders the sub to be scuttled. Everyone survives. The Admiralty suspends operations in the Heligoland Bight.

German blockade runner Bahia Blanca hits an iceberg and sinks northwest of Iceland, assisted by Royal Navy cruiser HMS Newcastle.

British 10,002 ton liner Dunbar Castle hits a mine and sinks off Ramsgate off the southeast coast of England. It has been with Convoy OA-69, which just left port. Ten lives are lost, including the Captain, 7 crew, and one passenger. In addition, a racehorse is lost. Chief Officer Herbert Robinson gets everyone in lifeboats despite a heavy list and earns the OBE.

The Luftwaffe sinks British freighters Gowrie and Oakgrove

Kriegsmarine destroyers lay magnetic mines off Newcastle and Cromer.

US freighter Western Queen is detained at Gibraltar by the British.

Convoy OA 69 departs from Southend, and OB 69 departs from Liverpool.

Western Front: A colonial contingent from Cyprus lands in France to join the BEF.

European Air Operations: The British create a Royal Air Force command in France. Marshal A. S. Barratt is Commander-In-Chief.

German/Italian Relations: The Italians protest the German seizure as contraband of Italian exports of war supplies to Finland.

British Homefront: Winston Churchill makes a speech which is the first of a series by the cabinet ministers.

Separately, the government reports that British employment for January is 1.6 million workers, which is above average for 1939. This is despite the absence from the labor force of the 1.5 million men who have been called up for military service.

Holocaust: The West Prussian SS commander reports that 4,000 incurable mental patients have been euthanized in Poland per Hitler's October 1939 decree.

China: The Japanese forces near Huangyan begin to receive reinforcements. They are opposite the Chinese 5th War Area. The reinforcements will bring the force to 3 full regiments.

Japanese units withdraw from the Pingchangkuan - Hsiaolintien - Kungchiafan sector, pushed by the Southern Honan Army of the Chinese 5th War Area.

HMS Starfish.

January 1940

January 1, 1940: Finns Carve up the Soviets
January 2, 1940: Finnish Counterattacks Continue
January 3, 1940: Soviets Trapped
January 4, 1940: Soviet Breakout Attempts Fail
January 5, 1940: Dicing Up the Soviets
January 6, 1940: Soviet 44th Division Runs
January 7, 1940: Shakeup in Soviet High Command
January 8, 1940: Ratte Road Battle Ends
January 9, 1940: British Submarines in Peril
January 10, 1940: Mechelen Incident
January 11, 1940: Finns Surround More Soviets
January 12, 1940: New Soviet Attacks at Taipale
January 13, 1940: Fall Gelb Postponed
January 14, 1940: Japan's Government Falls
January 15, 1940: Soviets Prepare More Carefully
January 16, 1940: German Atrocities Uncovered
January 17, 1940: Bletchley Park in Action
January 18, 1940: New Hope for Allied Shipping
January 19, 1940: Finnish Attacks at Salla
January 20, 1940: Churchill Urges Cooperation
January 21, 1940: Asam Maru Incident
January 22, 1940: Dissension Within British Government
January 23, 1940: Dissension in South Africa
January 24, 1940: NKVD Blocking Detachments
January 25, 1940: Auschwitz Site Selected
January 26, 1940: Millionaire Bunker Destroyed
January 27, 1940: U-20 Sinks Four Ships
January 28, 1940: Softening Up the Finns
January 29, 1940: Moscow Willing to Talk
January 30, 1940: Hitler Throws Down the Gauntlet
January 31, 1940: Timoshenko Is Ready

2019