Battle of the Atlantic

• U-23 sinks the Danish steamer Scotia (2400t) in the North Sea. The Danish steamer Hafnia searches unsuccessfully for survivors.
• U-38 sinks the British steaamer Thomas Walton (4660t) south of Vestfjord. 13 of the crew are lost with 12 survivors being picked up by the German steamer Sebu. 22 more survivors are picked up by the Norwegian steamer Irma.
• U-47 sinks the Dutch steamer Tajandoen (8159t) in the English Channel with the loss of 6 crewmen. The British steamer Louis Scheid rescues 62 survivors.

Diplomatic Relations

The Fascist Grand Council re-affirms Italian non-belligerency. Denmark, Sweden and Norway declare strictest neutrality in the Russian-Finnish war.

Finland - Winter War

Day 8

Near Taipale by evening the Finnish troops have beaten back the Russian attack there. On the Ladoga Karelia Soviet troops have made contact with the Finnish positions on the Kollaanjoki River. The first Soviet effort is repelled by Finnish troops at Kollaa. Lt-Col Aaro Pajari assumes command of the Finnish forces in the Tolvajärvi area and launches active countermeasures. Finnish troops begin defensive action near Ilomantsi as they fall back first to Möhkö and then to Kallioniemi ferry. The Russian 163rd Division succeeds in breaking through to the village of Suomussalmi, on Lake Kianta (Kiantajärvi). Reinforcments from the 9th Div under Col Hjalmar Siilasvuo are sent to the area by Mannerheim. In northern Finland the Russian 122nd Div attacks the Finnish positions on the Kairala parallel. The Finns cannot hold and drop back to the parish village at Salla.

The Russians announce a naval blockade on Finland's south and west coasts.

Lieutenant-Colonel Pajari takes command of the Finnish forces in the Tolvajärvi area Photo: SA-KUVA Lieutenant-Colonel Pajari Takes Command

A Finnish 75mm mountain howitzer engages the Russians in Karelia. Guns and ammunition were scarce. Finnish Artillery

German Raiders

The Admiral Graf Spee sinks yet another British ship, the freight steamer SS Streonshalh (3895t) south of Trinidad. This dreaded German unit has become the bête noire of the Allied navies. A squadron commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood, consisting of two heavy and two light cruisers, is dispatched to the estuary of the River Plate on the assumption that the German raider is bound to return to that area to attack shipping on the crowded American route based on the estuary, which includes among others the ports of Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

The steamer Streonshalh begins to sink after being hit by shellfire from the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee. British steamer Streonshalh