Allied Preparations
The first Canadian troops arrive in the United Kingdom. A heavily protected convoy has brought over 7,500 men of the 1st Canadian Div.
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]Battle of the Atlantic
- Two German merchantmen are intercepted by British ships near the United States coast. One of them, the Columbus, is sunk, while the other takes refuge in territorial waters off Florida. In an explanatory letter to Roosevelt, Churchill argues that police action by Allied fleets in the Atlantic also serves to protect US and South American merchant traffic, since German raiders have the right, after taking off the crews, to capture or sink neutral ships if they are carrying goods for the Allies.
- The British steamer Pandora (5670t) sinks after striking a mine about a mile eastward of Blyth Pier while being towed by tugs for breaking up. 7 of the crew are rescued.
| ]Finland - Winter War
Day 24
The Finnish II Corps launches a fragmented counterattack on the Karelian Isthmus at 6:30a.m. The offensive is suspended after 8 hours with the Finns suffering over 1,300 casualties. On the Ladoga Karelia the Finns counterattack at Kollaanjoki, but suspend the attack in the evening. In the Tolvajärvi sector, troops from Detachment Pennanen win control of the Aittojoki parallel. The fighting in the Tolvajärvi-Ägläjärvi sector comes to an end. In northern Finland advance troops of the Soviet 44th Div make contact with the Finns on the Raate road. On the Karelian Isthmus a Soviet long-range 'ghost gun' wreaks havoc and confusion in Viipuri. Many buildings in the city are damaged.
The armored coastal vessels Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen move out of the Turku archipelago and into the open sea at Kihti to protect vital shipping routes being threatened by Soviet aircraft operating from Estonia.
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| ]World Affairs
The Pan-American Conference protests about the fighting inside the American 'security zone' during the River Plate Battle.
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