Battle of the Atlantic

• The German government declares that all British merchant ships will be treated as warships.
• U-14 sinks the Danish steamer Rhone (1064t) with the loss of 9 crewmen and the Danish steamer Sleipner (1066t) in the North Sea. The British destroyer Kipling and the Swedish fishing boat Standard rescue 39 men from the 2 vessels.
• U-26 sinks the Norwegian steamer Steinstad (2476t) west of Ireland 50 miles off the Clare coast with the loss of 13 crewmen.
• U-37 sinks the Danish steamer Aase (1206t) southwest of England with the loss of 15 of her crew. 1 survivor is rescued by the British destroyer Verity on the 17th.
• U-48 sinks the Dutch tanker Den Haag (8971t) 150 miles west of Ouessant. 13 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Glen Orchy.
• U-50 sinks the Danish steamer Maryland (4895t) northwest of Ireland with the loss of her entire crew.

Finland - Winter War

Day 78

The Soviets take Summa. By the evening the Russian 123rd Div has opened up a 2-3 km wide and 6 km deep gap in the Lähde sector in Summa. The Finnish forces are ordered to retire from the Mannerheim Line to their intermediate positions on the Isthmus. The troops begin to pull back to the Samolanlahti-Näykkijärvi-Muolaanjärvi-Äyräpäänjärvi line. This operation is completed Feb 17. In northern Finland the fighting in Kuhmo is concentrated on Kesseli although part of the Soviet Dolin ski brigade has already dispersed over a wide area to the rear of the Finnish 9th Div. The Dolin brigade, now numbering about 800 men, is completely surrounded. On Lake Ladoga Russian airborne troops attack the island of Petäjäsaari where they hold on for almost 24 hours. On the Ladoga Karelia fierce fighting is being waged for control of Pukitsanmäki. The Finns take the village of Lavajärvi capturing several artillery pieces, 3 armored cars, 8 trucks, 4 field kitchens and a large number of guns and ammunition.

In taking Lavajärvi village the Finnish troops capture several pieces of artillery, three armoured cars, eight lorries, four field kitchens and a large number of guns and ammunition. Photo: SA-KUVA Finns Capture More Equipment

Germany, Policy

Hitler gives the order for unlimited U-boat war. U-boat commanders are ordered to take off the gloves in the battle to stop essential supplies of food and war materials reaching Great Britain from the United States. Any ship which is likely to come under British control can now be torpedoed without warning.

The policy was already in effect, as was made evident by the sinking of Danish, Dutch, Nowegian and Swedish ships in the days that preceded the order. Danish newspapers protested loudly at the sinking of one of their ships, the 5177-ton Chastine Maersk by a U-boat.