Monday 19 February 1940

Winter War: King Gustav of Sweden has the final say on whether his country will help Finland:

From the first hour I informed Finland that she unfortunately could not count on military intervention from Sweden.

While the Swedish government cannot help the Finns, Swedish volunteers continue to pour across the border. Some 8,000 Swedish and 725 Norwegian volunteers take up stations in the far north of the front to relieve Finns for duties on the Karelian Isthmus.

Winter War Army Operations: The Soviets are gaining footholds within the V-line switch position. Soviet units work on building an ice road over the frozen Gulf of Viipuri. They attack across Lake Suvanto in the Taipale sector near Lake Ladoga. The Finns use artillery fire to break the ice and destroy the Soviet formation. The ice is littered afterward with 700-1,000 dead Soviet troops.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-23 (Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer), having sunk the HMS Daring on the 18th, continues its successful patrol in support of Operation Nordwind by torpedoing and sinking 5,225-ton British freighter Tiberton with one torpedo east of the Orkneys. All 33 crew perish as the ship sinks within 30 seconds.

Operation Nordmark continues without spotting any convoys.

Convoy OG 19F forms at Gibraltar.

Western Front: The Germans ambush a French patrol east of the River Nied and kill 20 French soldiers.

Special Ops: The Norwegian legislature (the Storting) endorses the way the Norwegian coastal forces handled the Altmark Incident.

Related to these events involving the Altmark, Hitler prods Admiral Raeder to speed up planning for Operation Weserubung.

American Homefront: Sugar Ray Robinson (Walker Smith Jr.) wins New Yorks' Golden Glove Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Sugar Ray Robinson, 19 February 1940.

February 1940

February 1, 1940: Second Battle of Summa
February 2, 1940: Soviet Assaults at Summa February 3, 1940: Soviets Capture a Bunker
February 4, 1940: Peace Talks in Stockholm
February 5, 1940: Allies to Invade Norway
February 6, 1940: Careless Talk Costs Lives
February 7, 1940: IRA Terrorists Executed
February 8, 1940: Spies!
February 9, 1940: The Welles Mission
February 10, 1940: Confiscation of Jewish Goods
February 11, 1940: Soviets Attack Mannerheim Line
February 12, 1940: Breaches In Mannerheim Line
February 13, 1940: Soviets Inching Forward in Finland
February 14, 1940: Soviets Batter Mannerheim Line
February 15, 1940: Finns Retreat
February 16, 1940: Altmark Incident
February 17, 1940: Manstein and Hitler Discuss Fall Gelb
February 18, 1940: Operation Nordmark
February 19, 1940: King Gustav Says No
February 20, 1940: Falkenhorst Commands Weserubung
February 21, 1940: Radar Advances
February 22, 1940: Friendly Fire
February 23, 1940: Soviets Present Their Demands
February 24, 1940: Fall Gelb Revised
February 25, 1940: Mr. Welles Comes to Visit
February 26, 1940: Battle of Honkaniemi
February 27, 1940: Finns Retreat Again
February 28, 1940: Overseas Volunteers Help Finland
February 29, 1940: Finns Accept Soviet Terms In Principle

2019