Battle of the Atlantic

U-14 sinks the Swedish steamers Osmed (1526t) and Liana (1664t) 24 miles north of Kinnaird Head with the loss of 13 and 10 crewmen respectively. Survivors are picked up by the Swedish steamer Santos and the British trawler Loch Hope.

Diplomatic Relations

Sweden refuses a Finnish appeal for right of passage of foreign troops and direct military assistance.

Finland - Winter War

Day 79

On the Isthmus at 3:45p.m. Finnish troops receive the order to withdraw to the intermediary defensive positions. A controlled withdrawal is successful everywhere except the Lähde road sector. Here the Finnish lines are broken the Soviets advance as far as Kämärä. In this sector an inexperienced battalion of the 62nd Inf Regt is unable to withstand the preliminary artillery bombardment and the tank assault which follows. The Finns break in panic and abandon their positions. In northern Finland the remnants of the Dolin ski brigade are wiped out in Kuhmo by the evening. 1700 of 1800 men in the brigade are killed. The Finns also capture a large amount of automatic weapons.

Northern Finland: the remnants of the Dolin ski brigade are wiped out in Kuhmo by the evening. 1,700 of the 1,800 men in this crack Soviet brigade are killed. The Finnish troops capture a considerable haul of automatic weapons. Photo: SA-KUVA Soviet Ski Brigade Wiped Out

North Sea

Acting on instructions from Churchill, the British destroyer Cossack (Capt Philip Louis Vian) enters Norwegian territorial waters and removes 299(303?) British prisoners from the German transport Altmark in Jossingfiord. 7 German sailors are killed in the operation. The prisoners were seamen serving on ships the Admiral Graf Spee had sunk. Altmark, which had been acting as a supply ship for the Admiral Graf Spee, has entered Norwegian waters on Feb 14 and, according to International Law should have released their prisoners. The Altmark's Capt has denied that he is carrying prisoners. The Norwegians have made no real attempt to search and in fact have provided a torpedo boat as escort. The British action is of course also contrary to International Law and although very popular at home, it serves to convince the Germans that the British are contemplating sterner measures against Norway. This gives further impetus to the German plans for an invasion.