Battle of the Atlantic

• U-50 sinks the Dutch tanker Tara (4760t) 60 miles southwest of Vigo. The French destroyer Fantasque rescues the entire crew.
• The Dutch steam trawler YM 49 (250t) hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.
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Finland - Winter War

Day 84

Blizzards hamper the Russian offensive in the Karelian Isthmus. The Russian breakthrough at the intermediate defensive position at Mustalampi is stopped by a renewed counterattack by a reinforced Finnish brigade. Gen Timoshenko regroups his formations as a prelude to a new attack on the Finnish defensive lines. Col A. E. Martola is placed in command of the Finnish 1st Div taking the place of Maj-Gen Taavetti Laatikainen. On the Ladoga Karelia during the morning the Finns take the final remnants of the 'regimental motti' to the north of Lake Ladoga. In northern Finland the Soviet offensive in Kuhmo runs out of steam.

The Viipuri marshalling yard is hit hard by Soviet aircraft. Over 1000 wagons and a dozen engines are trapped in the yard by the damaged track. The Swedish village of Pajala in the Tornedal valley 9 km from the Finnish border is bombed by Soviet aircraft. The Swedish government delivers a strong protest to the Soviet Union over the incident.

Altogether 34 explosion and 100 incendiary bombs fall in the centre of the densely populated village. A quarter of the village is set ablaze. Photo: SA-KUVA Swedish Village Bombed in Error

Germany, Planning

The preparations for an attack on Norway move forward another stage with the appointment of Gen Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, former commander of the XXI Army Corps, to command. He has been selected by the OKW staff without consulting the Army High Command (see Mar 1).

Occupied Poland

Work begins on the construction of the concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Secret War

The first successful test of a cavity magnetron at Birmingham University gives Britain an unbeatable lead in the development of short-wave radar.