Tuesday 6 February 1940

Winter War Army Operations: Soviet shelling of the Mannerheim Line continues on 6 February 1940. There are probing infantry and tank attacks on Summa village and Marjapellonmäki in the nearby Karhula sector (Hill 38).

The Soviets send a tank landing party behind the Mannerheim Line in an effort to turn it. The 335th Rifle Regiment task force includes five T-28 tanks which tow armored infantry sleds, three flame-thrower tanks, 105 men with four heavy machine guns, and two mortars. The men in charge ae Senior Lieutenant Lobodin and Commissar Chausov.

The mission is a disaster from the start: Finnish artillery and mortar shells pound the landing force immediately, and the tanks run out of control and almost run over the armored infantry sledges. When the men in the sleds run to a ditch to take cover, one of the tanks mistakes them for Finns and opens fire on them. The Finns destroy all five tanks, and the unit is withdrawn to its original starting point.

Further north, the Finnish 9th Division continues cutting the trapped Soviet 54th Division into mottis (logs).

Winter War Peace Talks: The Finnish Foreign Minister returns to Helsinki from Stockholm with the Soviet proposals.

Battle of the Atlantic: The government publishes notes exchanged between Japan and the UK regarding the 21 January 1940 Asama Maru incident as a White Paper.

The 1,421-ton Estonian freighter Anu hits a mine 30 miles from its destination and sinks. The mine had been laid by U-13 on 12 December 1939 near the entrance to the River Tay. Seven crew perish, including the Captain, his wife, and the cook.

German freighter Konsul Horn completes a successful dash across the Atlantic from Aruba to Norway begun on 7 January 1940, either avoiding US Neutrality Patrols or successfully convincing them that it was a neutral vessel.

Convoy HG 18F departs from Gibraltar and Convoy OG 17 forms at Gibraltar.

British Government: The Admiralty, concerned about the impression in the public that the U-boats are winning, imposes strict restrictions on BBC reporting of ship sinkings. For instance, small ships may only be mentioned once in a single broadcast. Larger ships may be mentioned in consecutive bulletins.

Dutch Military: General Henri Winkelman comes out of retirement to command Dutch military forces upon the resignation of General Reynders.

British Homefront: A nationwide campaign to quell careless war gossip is launched, with the slogan "Careless Talk Costs Lives."

Terrorism: Four people are injured when parcel bombs planted by IRA terrorists explode in Euston Station, London.

China: At the Battle of South Kwangsi, the Japanese are attacking Wuning.

Soviet M1910 Maxim on the Mannerheim Line, 1940.

February 1940

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