Global War: A Month-by-Month History of World War II

By Adrian Van Sinderen

Global War, first published in 1946 and updated in 2014, is an eminently readable, month-by-month account of the major political and military events of the six years of the Second World War (1939-1945). Included are synopses of the battles on land, sea, and air (from all theaters of the War), and excerpts from important speeches by world leaders such as Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and the Emperor of Japan. A convenient month-by month format places each item in a chronological sequence so readers will better understand the unfolding and course of this global conflict, and from the perspective of each combatant, whether Allied, Axis, or neutral.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eumenes Publishing
• Release date: Dec 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839741401

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© EUMENES Publishing 2019, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

GLOBAL WAR

A Month-by-Month History of World War Two

ADRIAN VAN SINDEREN and STEVE W. CHADDE

Global War was originally published in 1949 as The Story of the Six Years of Global War, by Adrian Van Sinderen.

* * *

To

Captain Adrian Van Sinderen, Jr., A.U.S.;

Captain Chauncey Fox Howe, A.U.S.;

Lieutenant Donald Wallace Henry, U.S.N.R.;

Ensign Alfred White Van Sinderen, U.S.N.R.

With love and esteem from Dad.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Acknowledgments 5

INTRODUCTION 6

PROLOGUE — AUGUST 1939 8

THE FIRST YEAR — 1 September 1939—31 August 1940 9

The First Month, September 1939 9

The 2nd Month, October 1939 12

The 3rd Month, November 1939 15

The 4th Month, December 1939 17

The 5th Month, January 1940 20

The 6th Month, February 1940 21

The 7th Month, March 1940 22

The 8th Month, April 1940 24

The 9th Month, May 1940 26

The 10th Month, June 1940 30

The 11th Month, July 1940 33

The 12th Month, August 1940 35

THE SECOND YEAR — 1 September 1940—31 August 1941 37

The 13th Month, September 1940 37

The 14th Month, October 1940 41

The 15th Month, November 1940 45

The 16th Month, December 1940 47

The 17th Month, January 1941 50

The 18th Month, February 1941 51

The 19th Month, March 1941 54

The 20th Month, April 1941 57

The 21st Month, May 1941 59

The 22nd Month, June 1941 66

The 23rd Month, July 1941 69

The 24th Month, August 1941 72

THE THIRD YEAR — 1 September 1941—31 August 1942 76

The 25th Month, September 1941 76

The 26th Month, October 1941 79

The 27th Month, November 1941 83

The 28th Month, December 1941 88

The 29th Month, January 1942 96

The 30th Month, February 1942 101

The 31st Month, March 1942 104

The 32nd Month, April 1942 106

The 33nd Month, May 1942 109

The 34th Month, June 1942 114

The 35th Month, July 1942 116

The 36th Month, August 1942 118

THE FOURTH YEAR — 1 September 1942—31 August 1943 121

The 37th Month, September 1942 121

The 38th Month, October 1942 123

The 39th Month, November 1942 125

The 40th Month, December 1942 130

The 41st Month, January 1943 132

The 42nd Month, February 1943 137

The 43rd Month, March 1943 143

The 44th Month, April 1943 146

The 45th Month, May 1943 148

The 46th Month, June 1943 153

The 47th Month, July 1943 159

The 48th Month, August 1943 168

THE FIFTH YEAR — 1 September 1943—31 August 1944 176

The 49th Month, September 1943 176

The 50th Month, October 1943 184

The 51st Month, November 1943 188

The 52nd Month, December 1943 193

The 53rd Month, January 1944 199

The 54th Month, February 1944 203

The 55th Month, March 1944 208

The 56th Month, April 1944 213

The 57th Month, May 1944 215

The 58th Month, June 1944 218

The 59th Month, July 1944 225

The 60th Month, August 1944 231

THE SIXTH YEAR — 1 September 1944—2 September 1945 243

The 61st Month, September 1944 243

The 62nd Month, October 1944 250

The 63rd Month, November 1944 255

The 64th Month, December 1944 260

The 65th Month, January 1945 265

The 66th Month, February 1945 268

The 67th Month, March 1945 274

The 68th Month, April 1945 278

The 69th Month, May 1945 283

The 70th Month, June 1945 287

The 71st Month, July 1945 290

The 72nd Month, August 1945 291

Partial List of Source Books 298

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 300

Acknowledgments

I desire to record here with greatest pleasure my appreciation of the invaluable assistance rendered by Miss Georgie Alice Johnson in the preparation of this book. Her zeal and ability in helping to collect the great amount of required material and her loyal co-operation in the task of editing the text is hereby gratefully acknowledged.

I am also indebted to Miss Josephine Kopetka for her painstaking accuracy and considerable labor in the typing of the manuscript.

INTRODUCTION

THE volumes Four Years and The Fifth Year, published in 1945 and 1944, chronicled the events of five years of World War II but the duration of the conflict and the labor involved in compiling the data conspired to prevent the completion of the account during 1945. The recording of the concluding twelve months of the war was finally begun with the thought that a Sixth Year would suffice but major objections to this idea soon developed. Obviously much information has come to light since the chronicling of the first five years; obviously too a single volume with one index betters three volumes and three indices. There was indeed every indication that the entire chronicle required to be rewritten, completed, reindexed and brought out under one cover. This has been done and the present book supplants the two previous editions above mentioned and completes the history through the surrender of Japan.

The historians of World War II will forever face the problem of how best to present the exciting story of its widely scattered but mutually dependent simultaneous events. Volumes will be written covering such special phases as England’s effort, the campaigns in Russia and the battles in the Pacific. Eisenhower and MacArthur, Nimitz and Marshall, Chiang Kai Shek and Montgomery, Stalin and Bor, and many others will, we hope, each tell of the war as he knew it; indeed authoritative accounts covering the details of various areas of the conflict have already appeared to which the reader is referred the while he consults the maps so vital to an understanding of distance and location. The present attempt throws the spotlight on no single aspect of the war but offers instead a global view of what transpired, of the mortal danger which spread from continent to continent to threaten the United Nations and of the course which they pursued to win the final victory; the narrative is here presented by months rather than by areas because the various theaters of operations were to a great degree interdependent and not separate conflicts.

A lack of intensity so characterized the first six months of fighting that newspapers dubbed the war phony and except for the story of Poland the early chapters do not make exciting reading; the action accelerated however in ever growing crescendo after Germany’s lethal attack upon Norway. As Hitler swung the hammer of tyranny to weld his Fortress Europe, England stood alone in single grandeur (see Churchill, May 1942) through the catastrophe of Dunkerque and the threat of invasion. Eastward to the very gates of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad surged the Nazi hordes while to the west Japan established her control over Siam, Burma and China and the islands of the Pacific. Incredible heroism stemmed the Axis onslaught at Stalingrad, El Alamein, the Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal, but the price of victory was six long years of horror, bloodshed and destruction.

These pages include the substance of speeches by the chief characters in the drama to the end that we learn the aims, the fears and the faith of the leaders from their own lips but such passages do not constitute complete quotations. Great effort has been made to attain accuracy in collecting and ordering the material presented but a task of this magnitude provides ample opportunity for error. Should mistakes be found the author can only express his sincere regret and bespeak the reader’s kind indulgence.

PROLOGUE — AUGUST 1939

THE crisis in world affairs brought about by Chancellor Hitler’s political and military maneuvers came to a head on September l, 1939. The Nazis had crystallized their purpose and perfected their plans and stood ready at last to attempt the subjugation of Europe and the domination of the world. Despite the appeals of Winston Churchill for a strong defensive unit (see Churchill’s address, August 1941) none of his countrymen would listen and the Axis partners had been permitted to complete unimpeded the invasions of the Rhineland, Ethiopia, Albania and China, a clear indication to Hitler and his accomplices that neither France, England nor the United States wished war, even under provocation. Italy too was encouraged for King Zog had fled to Athens from his Italian-occupied capital in Albania and Haile Selassie no longer ruled in Addis Ababa. It looked to the Axis leaders as if the world was theirs for the asking when even Prime Minister Chamberlain of England could be deluded by visions of Peace in our time. But President Roosevelt evidenced his understanding of the gravity of the international situation by remarking, as he left Warm Springs after his vacation: I shall be back in the Fall if we do not have a war.

On August 16, 1939, German troops entered Slovakia, and Hitler demanded that Poland release to him the Corridor and the port of Danzig. On August 23 Great Britain notified her Ambassadors in all countries that the Government would stand by Poland. Immediately Soviet Russia and Germany signed a ten-year nonaggression pact, each nation agreeing not to join any group antagonistic to the other; the blow staggered official London and the Commons was called in special session.

While the German press proceeded to ridicule the British, England and France mobilized for war. President Roosevelt appealed to Germany and Italy to cease their bellicose attitude and in reply Hitler demanded that Great Britain abandon her stand. Although the French closed their frontiers, the tension was reported eased by the 29th of the month and on August 30 Prime Minister Chamberlain was still in Berlin conferring with Hitler. On the following day Poland mobilized 2,500,000 men.

From New York Harbor the German S.S. Bremen sailed in haste but the captain of the French S.S. Normandie, little dreaming of what lay in store, kept his ship at her pier (see February 1942).

THE FIRST YEAR — 1 September 1939—31 August 1940

The First Month, September 1939

• ENGLAND STANDS IN THE BREACH / • GERMANY AND RUSSIA CONQUER POLAND / • THE FRENCH ENTER GERMANY / • ROOSEVELT URGES NEUTRALITY

WORLD WAR II opened at five o’clock on the morning of September 1 as Nazi bombers attacked Warsaw and Hitler’s Navy blockaded the port of Danzig. The Führer attempted to defend his action in a proclamation in which he claimed that Germany had been attacked by Poland. He also made public the order of succession in Germany as being first, himself; second, Goering; third, Hess.

Great Britain immediately ordered the complete organization of all branches of her services to full strength and evacuated 3,000,000 children from her cities. On September 2 Great Britain and France sent an ultimatum warning Germany to cease war activities. France mobilized 8,000,000 men while from London Prime Minister Chamberlain forwarded a message to Chancellor Hitler:

I am to inform your Excellency that unless the German Government withdraw their forces from Poland His Majesty’s Government will fulfill their obligation to Poland.

All communications between Berlin, London, Paris and Warsaw were cut as Europe stood again on the brink of war. Prime Minister Chamberlain spoke in the House of Commons:

The time has come when action rather than speech is required. No man could say that the Government could have done more to keep open the way for an honorable settlement of the dispute between Germany and Poland. Nor have we neglected to make it crystal clear to the German Government that if they insist on using force we will oppose them with force. The Polish Government undertook to give a formal guarantee that in the event of negotiations taking place Polish troops will not violate the frontier of the German Reich provided that a corresponding guarantee is given by the Germans. The German Government made no reply to our appeal for a peaceful settlement. The Reich claims to have made a 16-point proposal to Poland but those proposals have never been communicated by Germany to Poland at all. Only last night the Polish Ambassador saw the German Foreign Secretary Von Ribbentrop and expressed to him again that Poland is willing to negotiate with Germany about their disputes. What was the reply of the German Government?

The reply was that German troops crossed the Polish frontier this morning. In these circumstances there is only one course open to us.

Under-equipped and over-matched by her opponent, and with full realization of the danger, England undertook to stand in the breach in defense of liberty. On the morning of September 3 Great Britain and France officially entered the war; Prime Minister Chamberlain made the great announcement over the radio:

I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government the final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 a.m. they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and consequently this country is at war with Germany.

One immediate result of this declaration was the blockade of Germany by the British Navy whose vessels closed the entrance to the Baltic Sea and also the entrances to the Mediterranean at Gibraltar and Suez. On September 4 the S.S. Athenia which had set sail from Liverpool reported that she had been torpedoed 200 miles off the Hebrides. The ship sank with 1,400 aboard. The British Navy sustained a telling loss in the destruction by a German submarine of the 22,000ton aircraft carrier Courageous.

The rapidity of the German advance into Poland so alarmed Russia that Soviet troops also entered Poland at eleven o’clock on the night of September 17. Immediately the Nazis demanded Warsaw and threatened to annihilate the city. Within 24 hours the Russians had extended their drive into Poland by 40 miles and although Warsaw continued to hold out the Polish President crossed into Romania. By the 19th the German and Russian forces had met and their respective governments were planning to partition Poland. Eventually 75,000 square miles of East Poland, on a line running from the Prussian border to Kilno, south to the Vistula and through to the Carpathian Mountains, was allocated to Russia. Esthonia, Latvia and Lithuania also ceded bases to Russia.

While Great Britain and France belittled the Nazi-Soviet pact the Russian people expressed fear that they were being dragged into an unwelcome war and the Italians likewise displayed a growing anxiety at the course of events. Premier Mussolini announced that he was striving to secure a Peace Conference and stated that Italy would follow a policy of neutrality.

Warsaw published tales of German frightfulness and of the slaughter of civilians as Nazi bombers set the capital in flames; finally on the 27th the city, a mere shambles, surrendered to Hitler, but the valiant Poles never signed an armistice with their conquerors. Their armed resistance gave Britain precious time in which further to mobilize her resources.

The Nazi aim in Poland was not only military conquest, but complete destruction of all native culture (see December 1940). All schools and universities were destroyed, libraries burned and radios taken over. All scientists and scholars were killed or interned and all art, drama and music suppressed. The mass executions and the undreamed-of cruelties inflicted on the population made the Nazi invasion the most shameful story in all history. But the attempt to wipe out or desecrate a nation was met by superb heroism. Poland will rise again above the brutality which she has endured—above cruelty such as the world has never before seen. Hitler searched all Poland for a Laval or a Quisling. He never found one. The soul of Poland still lives.

Chancellor Hitler notified the Allies that it was his peace or a fight to the finish, and Great Britain and France retaliated by stating that it was war until Hitlerism was ended. Chancellor Hitler visited Danzig and told the city that it was now German forever.

While the leaders in Great Britain and France consulted as to their course a furious battle developed between German and French troops on the western front. The British Government pledged a fight to the finish and hurriedly dispatched troops to the continent but saw no benefit to Poland in also taking on Russia as a military foe. The French Army penetrated Germany’s western frontier, advancing into the Saar Basin, while French aircraft raided a Zeppelin factory and shelled German forts on the Rhine.

In Romania the pro-Nazi Iron Guards assassinated Premier Calinescu.

President Roosevelt promised publicly that he would keep the United States out of war and asked United States citizens to observe strict neutrality. He stated that the American continents constituted neutral ground, meanwhile urging the belligerents to spare civilian populations. Congressional leaders urged the President not to drop the Neutrality Act but Mr. Roosevelt asked for the repeal of the Arms Embargo. The Senate of the United States inaugurated the Cash-Carry Plan which eventually developed into Lend-Lease.

The delegates to the Inter-American Conference at Panama proposed that a 300-mile-wide area of defense be created around the Western Hemisphere, from which combatant ships should be excluded.

The Japanese took advantage of the war in Europe to hurl 1,000,000 troops into Hunan Province in the effort to conclude their 26-months-old fight to conquer China.

The 2nd Month, October 1939

• ROYAL OAK SUNK / • POLITICAL MOVES / • THE TURKISH PACT / • THE IROQUOIS / • THE CITY OF FLINT / • JAPAN BELLIGERENT

LONDON rejoiced at the announcement that the British Navy had sunk three German submarines but unfortunately the next day a U-boat destroyed the British battleship Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, the great British naval base in the Orkney Islands, with a loss of 396 out of a crew of 1,200. More sinkings by German submarines followed and survivors, as they came ashore on stretchers and afoot, reported in each instance that their ship had been attacked without warning. On October 17 Nazi bombers raided a British naval base in Scotland, hitting a cruiser and on the 18th 100,000 German troops made a frontal attack on the French lines.

Following Prime Minister Chamberlain’s rejection of Hitler’s peace proposals and his statement that the obstacle to peace was the present German Government, the Germans stated that war would come in earnest unless the United States were to act. Chancellor Hitler stated that he counted on Italian and Russian assistance and that he saw the Allies annihilated. He announced Germany’s readiness to take part in a conference which should guarantee a peaceful Europe but meanwhile he ordered 51 Nazi divisions, numbering 1,400,000 men, to take positions along the French, Dutch and Belgian borders. The President of the United States was sounded out as a possible mediator in the war but Mr. Roosevelt authorized a statement that he had nothing to say and ordered all United States mobile combat troops to army maneuvers. It was believed that Chancellor Hitler’s effort to establish a peace offensive had miscarried.

Moscow emphasized a demand that Finland participate in a conference with the Soviet Union by assembling Soviet forces of 700,000 near the boundary; Finland replied by calling more men to the colors. Sweden too showed concern and announced that 100,000 men were under arms. The United States joined other powers in a plea to Soviet Russia not to press extreme demands against Finland.

Despite the Soviet-German pact, Great Britain offered to give Russia rubber and tin in exchange for lumber in a commercial deal aimed at Germany.

The Polish President resigned and although Paderewski was suggested as his successor the office finally went to Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz, former President of the Polish Senate.

Pope Pius issued an encyclical condemning dictators and treaty violators and urging the restoration of Poland.

The Kings of the three Scandinavian countries met in Stockholm to consider negotiations with Soviet Russia.

Turkey signed an important fifteen-year covenant with the Allies which provided no present help to them but granted them assistance in the event of hostilities in the Mediterranean. Should Great Britain guarantee Greece or Romania, Turkey was to be similarly guaranteed; in no event was Turkey to be required to fight Russia. Russia and Italy seemed especially fearful of the Turkish pact; Chancellor Hitler announced in anger that war was on to the finish and that the Turks might expect to share the fate of Poland (see December 1939).

In Washington the Administration chiefs endeavored to speed up the repeal of the Arms Embargo. President Roosevelt himself took a firm stand by barring foreign submarines from the use of the United States ports or American waters, although he made no mention of the 300-mile limit which had been voted at Panama. Secretary Wallace told a press conference in San Francisco that the war situation obviously makes it clear that the President’s talents and training are necessary to steer the country domestically and, in its foreign relations, to a safe harbor. President Roosevelt branded as fake the talk of the United States entering the war and stated that American boys would not go abroad. The United States Senate, by a vote of 63 to SO and the House, 243 to 181, repealed the Arms Embargo, the action arousing much anger in Berlin where the eventual entry of the United States into the war was prophesied.

Germany proclaimed that she would destroy British ships on sight and prophesied that the S.S. Iroquois, then on its way to the United States with a passenger list mostly American, would be sunk as she neared this coast; the White House immediately announced that protecting vessels had been dispatched to accompany the inbound liner and on October 12 amidst scenes of great rejoicing the Iroquois arrived safely in New York Harbor.

The Nazis seized the United States ship City of Flint and took her into the port of Murmansk, where the Russians interned the German prize crew. The capture of the vessel led to the belief that two German raiders, possibly pocket-size battleships, were at large, and the Deutschland cruising on the high seas was credited with the victory. The next day the Russians freed both the American and the German crews, but held the vessel until October 27, when the ship was also freed and sailed with the German crew in command and the Americans as prisoners. On learning that the S.S. City of Flint had been turned over to the Nazis the United States issued an indignant protest to the Soviet Government. The City of Flint sailed from Murmansk presumably heading for a German port but the Nazi captain stayed within the three-mile territorial limit of Norway in order to elude the British Navy. For unknown reasons he put in at Haugesund where Norwegian authorities interned the German prize crew and returned the ship to the American officers. In so doing the Norwegian Government relieved our State Department of a complicated international problem but the Germans in a protest charged that the action constituted a breach of international law.

Consternation arose in Japan over the announcement that Soviet Russian generals and other experts had flown to China to assist in the defense of that country, and Ambassador Grew further startled diplomatic circles in Tokyo by the frank statement that American opinion resented bombings and indignities and interference with American rights in China at the hands of the Japanese Army. The next day the Japanese Minister declared that no third power could interfere with Japanese plans in China because Japan was engaged in the reconstruction of East Asia; nevertheless Japan sought by negotiation to adjust several hundred cases in which it was conceded that the Japanese armies in China had trampled on American rights.

The 3rd Month, November 1939

• THREATS AND COUNTERTHREATS

IN all countries anxiety increased as German troops massed on the frontiers of Holland and Belgium. Foreigners sought their homelands and Holland ordered a coast blackout. Only brief services were held in the world’s capitals on Armistice Day.

Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Japan protested against the British plans for blockade of the continent and Japan threatened counter-measures.

On November 13, King George promised that earnest consideration would be given to any German peace proposal which confirmed Great Britain’s aims. As First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill broadcast a message:

You may take it absolutely for certain that either all that Britain stands for in this world will go down or that Hitler and the Nazi regime will be broken and destroyed. I will say that the status of Holland and Belgium and Poland and Czechoslovakia will be decided by the victory of the British Empire. If we are conquered the United States will be left single-handed to guard the rights of man.

British planes raided the German naval base on the island of Borkum in the North Sea.

On November 7 King Leopold of Belgium arrived at The Hague to discuss the international situation with Queen Wilhelmina; later Holland and Belgium made a bid for peace but the next day the Reich issued a firm No to the proposals.

Germany imposed martial law in Prague after executing several Czechs. A ten-hour work day was commanded in the Reich, with no compensation for overtime. In Munich Chancellor Hitler narrowly escaped death from a bomb which exploded in a hall only fifteen minutes after his departure, killing six persons; Berlin claimed that the bomb had been planted by a thirty-six-year-old German named Elser and that the plot was instigated by the British Secret Service. Hitler boasted that he was the absolute dictator of 80,000,000 Germans and that Germany was ready to fight for five years.

The Soviet Government, disturbed by the Turkish pact and by President Roosevelt’s plea in behalf of Finland, stressed Russia’s co-operation with Germany and suggested that the United States should free Cuba. The White House retaliated by accusing the Russian Premier of meddling in the United States embargo fight. The Finnish mission which had appeared in Moscow for conference returned home because the Russians refused to ease their demands. Secretary Hull immediately offered his good offices to try to end the dispute between the two countries while Premier Molotov, speaking from Moscow, issued a worldwide call for the overthrow of capitalism.

President Roosevelt established a combat area extending from Norway south of Bergen to Spain, taking in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, Great Britain, Ireland and the English Channel. He approved the introduction of a Navy Bill of $300,000,000 for 95 new warships and 6,000 planes. The French Government also completed arrangements in this country to finance airplane plants and advanced $5,000,000 to speed the output.

In a naval battle off Ireland the German battleship Deutschland sent a British converted cruiser to the bottom with most of her crew.

The war slowed in intensity for several days until a Dutch liner was sunk by a mine in the North Sea. The Netherlands halted all ship sailings when the British destroyer Gypsy also foundered after hitting a mine and the Admiralty revealed that these magnetic devices were being parachuted into the water; the peril of mines became so acute that the port of London was closed until the Channel could be swept. Five more ships were sunk by mines, four of them under neutral flags.

The 4th Month, December 1939

• RUSSIANS INVADE FINLAND / • TURKEY DEFIES HITLER / • THE ADMIRAL GRAF SPEE /• THE WAR IN FRANCE

THE first contingent of Canadian troops reached Great Britain. Crossing from England on a destroyer under utmost secrecy King George VI arrived unheralded in France to make his first visit to his army on the western front.

Soviet Russia demanded that the Government of Finland sign a Mutual Assistance Pact and offered to exchange certain Karelian lands for strategic islands near Leningrad. Upon refusal of this offer, on November 30 the Soviets invaded Finland by land, sea and air; cities and towns were set afire, ports were shelled and many persons killed. The Finnish Cabinet resigned. President Roosevelt condemned the invasion and denounced Russia in strong terms while ex-President Hoover urged that our Ambassador to the Soviets be recalled. The State Department announced that it would not break diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union nor recall our Ambassador. The League of Nations called on the Soviets to end the war in Finland and negotiate but the demand was rejected. The Soviets spurned the League of Nations, stating that Russia would not attend the coming session. Mr. Hoover thereupon opened a drive to send relief to the Finns and on the 11th the United States gave Finland a credit of $10,000,000 in response to the appeal for assistance by the authorities in Helsinki. Soviet Russia withdrew from the 1940 World’s Fair in New York; Finland remained.

The next day the Russian drive was halted, but a puppet Finnish regime surrendered land and bases to the Reds. Meanwhile the Finnish Army hurled the foe back from the Karelian front and held the Mannerheim Line which ran across the Karelian Peninsula from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga.

German Ambassador Von Papen held a conference with the Turkish Foreign Minister and called on Turkey for a change of policies. The Turkish President told Von Papen to stop meddling, pack up, and get out.

Airships of Great Britain and Germany engaged in heavy fighting over Helgoland, and Great Britain announced the sinking of German U-boats and other war craft including the 32,000-ton liner S.S. Columbus which had sailed from Vera Cruz, Mexico, to run the blockade to Germany. The ship was scuttled 450 miles east of Cape May to avoid capture by a British destroyer and the United States cruiser Tuscaloosa, on watch in the Pan-American neutrality zone, brought the 577 survivors to New York.

The Commander-in-chief of the French Fleet and the British naval authorities estimated that Germany had lost 47 of the 60 submarines with which she entered the war. French Intelligence reported that a German fleet in full force had sailed from Hamburg, heading into the Baltic Sea. Meanwhile the S.S. Bremen, piloted by Commodore Ahrens and protected by a squadron of German planes, sailed from Murmansk to which port she had fled from New York and finally reached her home port although a British submarine attacked her in the North Sea.

On December 14 began one of the dramatic stories of the war. The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which had been cruising as a raider in the Atlantic Ocean, appeared in the harbor of Montevideo about midnight with 36 of her crew dead, 60 wounded and the ship herself badly damaged following an encounter in the Atlantic with the British cruisers Exeter, Ajax and Achilles. Shortly thereafter two of the British cruisers appeared in the outer roads off the harbor.

The Spee had first attacked the Ajax while the latter was convoying a French liner from Rio de Janeiro. The Ajax summoned help and the Exeter and Achilles arrived at full speed. The British cruisers rapidly hit the Spee, despite her heavier armament, and all four warships continued to run southward while the convoyed ship dropped back for safety. The Exeter was finally forced to quit the battle but the Spee was also so badly damaged that her commander drove full speed for the River Plata, closely followed by the Ajax and the Achilles. Under international law it now became the duty of the Government of Uruguay to decide how much damage the Spee had sustained and how soon the ship would have to put to sea.

On the 15th the Uruguayan Government refused the British request that the Spee be granted only 24 hours for repairs and permitted the ship to remain, although the Uruguayan people manifested such ill will that extreme precautions against disturbance became necessary. Meanwhile the British battle cruiser Renown and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal were reported to be en route to Montevideo, where the cruiser Cumberland had already joined the patrol. The 62 British prisoners aboard the Spee were set free. On December 16 Uruguay notified the captain of the Spee that he must leave by 6:30 p.m. the following day or be interned for the duration and speculation was widespread as to what decision Captain Hans Langsdorff would make. At daybreak on the 17th the Spee was still in the harbor at Montevideo although ready for a dash to sea; Captain Langsdorff dined with the German Minister who accompanied him back to his ship at three o’clock in the morning. Meanwhile the British fleet outside had been further reinforced and opposing German naval forces were also rumored to be en route.

The thrilling story came to a dramatic end at sunset on December 18. Acting on personal orders from Chancellor Hitler, Captain Langsdorff took his ship out of the harbor into the Plata River and having transferred his crew to barges pressed an electric contact which set off explosions on the Spee. The ship burned steadily all night, a raging conflagration amidst the intermittent explosions of kerosene and shells. Captain Langsdorff wrote a tragic finale to his career by committing suicide; the members of the crew were arrested and taken into custody by the Uruguayan Government.

Christmas of 1939 was ushered in by a plea from the Pope urging a just peace and the right of all nations to live; world capitals strove to be gay through the blackouts but there was no cessation to the fighting. King George VI greeted the peoples of his kingdom by radio from Sandringham Palace, urging unity in the war.

During this month a state of war between France and Germany existed on a 120-mile front along the Rhine and Moselle Rivers but there was no heavy fighting. Patrol engagements, accompanied by some air raids, kept both sides on the alert and additional units of a British Expeditionary Force arrived in France. On December 24, near Saarbrücken, Hitler first set foot on French soil; in a New Year’s proclamation he called for greater sacrifice from the German people. Premier Mussolini chimed in from Rome, promising that the worst air raids ever experienced were in store for Great Britain.

The 5th Month, January 1940

• ENGLAND SEEKS ASSISTANCE /  • CONGRESS UNCOOPERATIVE / • JAPAN SEEKS INDO-CHINA

IN New York sounds of revelry and laughter arose in Times Square where thousands gathered to greet the New Year 1940. The British Ambassador, Lord Lothian, speaking in Chicago, urged that democracies must rule the world and that a federalized Europe must be the outcome of the war.

First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill urged the neutral nations of Europe to join the Allies in the war, stating that dark days were ahead if the Finns should lose their battle. The Governments of Norway and Sweden warned that they would reject with armed force any attempt by another power to use their territory as a springboard for attack and the King of Sweden offered to help Finland.

British planes drove off air raids on their own coast and counterattacked Germany. England placed orders for 12,000 planes in the United States but rejected the sea safety zone outlined by the Declaration of Panama, stating that before surrendering its rights the British Government desired assurance that the proposed 300-mile protected sea area was neutral not only in theory, but in fact. Sporadic fighting continued on the Franco-German front.

The United States Government demanded that the British cease detention of United States ships. Mr. Roosevelt requested $460,000,000 in taxes for emergency defense but Congress was reluctant to enact the levy despite the President’s statement that he hoped to keep the nation at peace. President Roosevelt stirred up a clash in the Senate by proposing a fund of $25,000,000 to help the Finns; Vice President Gamer opposed the loan. By vote of 49 to 27 the United States Senate advanced $20,000,000 to Finland and an equal amount to China. The House voted to cut about $500,000,000 out of the proposed $1,300,000,000 Naval Bill.

Feeling that the time for action had come, and doubtless with the Emperor’s permission, the Japanese War Lords sent an ultimatum to French Indo-China demanding military facilities. This action of the militarists caused Hirohito’s Imperial Cabinet to resign in a body for they knew better than the rest of the world the immensity of the Japanese plan of aggrandizement and had no desire eventually to see what they now foresaw. The Japanese Government protested British action in removing 21 German seamen from a Japanese liner.

The 6th Month, February 1940

• SKIRMISHING FOR POSITION /• UNDER SECRETARY WELLES VISITS EUROPE / • BRITISH RESCUE PRISONERS IN NORWAY

THE month was one of further preparation for events to come. Rationing commenced in London, the allotment being one pound of meat a week to persons over six years of age, compared with the German rations of one pound six ounces per person per week. Nazi planes continued their bombing of Britain.

It was rumored through Denmark that Germany was undertaking a peace move with England on the following basis; neither side to claim reparations; the colonial question to be settled immediately; a plebiscite to be held in Austria.

Russian air raids killed many in Finland during early February but despite the ruin of their cities the Finns continued to hold the Mannerheim Line until February 9 on which day the Russians captured 13 forts. President Roosevelt stated that 98% of America favored the Finns and he drastically criticized the Russian dictator. Sweden retracted her offer to help Finland.

Turkey asserted her guardianship of the Dardanelles by commandeering the German-owned Krupp yards at Istanbul; the Nazi experts in the shipyards were given 48 hours to leave the country.

Egypt received with enthusiasm the first troops which arrived from Australia and New Zealand; Secretary Anthony Eden was present to extend them a welcome on behalf of King George VI.

President Roosevelt sent Under Secretary of State Welles to visit Italy, Great Britain, France and Germany in the interest of peace. England expressed bewilderment, Berlin reserve, and Rome skepticism; when Mr. Welles arrived in Rome he received a mildly cordial greeting from Premier Mussolini.

A British naval expedition entered Norwegian waters, boarded the German ship Altmark and in hand-to-hand fighting freed 326 British seamen confined there as prisoners. Although the German press was indignant and Oslo also protested the entry into Norwegian waters, the British manifested little concern over the international aspect of the dispute and rejoiced over the liberation of the seamen.

Allied losses of merchantmen as a result of enemy action were reported at over 1,000,000 tons (see Battle of the Atlantic, March 1943).

The 7th Month, March 1940

• PHONY WAR / • FINLAND FALLS /• FRANCE TENSE/ • ITALY GROWS TROUBLESOME

AN assault by German airships on Scapa Flow resulted in many casualties but London described the war to date as phony. Nevertheless Chancellor Hitler, in a long conversation with Mr. Welles, restated the Nazis’ intention to dominate Europe.

The Finns, finding the Soviet forces too strong, were forced to surrender and sign a peace treaty by which Finland ceded the Karelian Peninsula, the city of Viborg, much territory north of Lake Ladoga and a base in the Arctic Ocean. London was blue, fearing that Stalin would be drawn closer to Germany; the House of Commons subjected Prime Minister Chamberlain to a sharp attack because no help had been sent to Finland.

Under Secretary Welles arrived in London and the Finnish Premier reached Moscow. The immediate results of these excursions were an offer of full and quick aid to the Finns by England and an increase in the Russian demands against Finland, thereby dashing all hope of peace.

France was tense but no major military moves developed. Premier Daladier and his entire Cabinet resigned and President LeBrun extended an invitation to Monsieur Reynaud to head the Cabinet. The French demanded that the Russians recall their Ambassador from Paris and Premier Reynaud cautioned Italy not to make an attack on the Balkans.

The Italians sent a note of protest to the British over the blockade of the Dutch coast and their colliers put to sea from Rotterdam in defiance of British orders. To the consternation of the authorities in Rome the British promptly seized the Italian ships and as promptly unloaded the coal as German contraband, despite the protests of Premier Mussolini. Germany dispatched Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop to visit Premier Mussolini in the endeavor to spur Italy into action over the coal dispute but on the eve of his visit Great Britain freed the 13 Italian coal ships on a pledge from Italy that no more vessels would be sent to carry German coal. Premier Mussolini arrived by special train at the border of Italy to confer with Chancellor Hitler.

President Roosevelt returned from a cruise in the Pacific and immediately warned Congress of the danger of delay in building up canal defenses. He outlined in a world broadcast the basis of a real peace, urging