- Joined
- Oct 11, 2010
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The Winter War... After the Finnish delegation have received formal permission from their government, the peace treaty with the Soviets is signed in the early hours of the morning. The ceasefire begins at 1200. This ends the 104-day war between Finland and the USSR -- the Winter War. In Field Marshal Mannerheim's last Order of the Day to the Finnish Army he states: "A severe peace [has been concluded] which cedes Russia nearly all the battlefields we have drenched with our blood... The deeds you have accomplished will shine for centures in the pages of our history." Finland loses the Karelian Isthmus (including the city of Viipuri and the Vuoksi industrial belt), the Hango naval base and border areas northwest of Lake Ladoga, in the "Waist" and on the Arctic coast. The Finns have never had more than 200,000 men in the fight and have lost 25,000 dead and 45,000 wounded. Altogether the war has absorbed, on the Soviet side, 1,200,000 men, 1500 tanks and 3000 planes. Official sources put their losses at 48,000 dead and 158,000 wounded but this may well be a considerable understatement. This disparity in losses suggests to Allied and Axis observers that the effects of Stalin's officer purges have still not been overcome. This impression of inefficiency contributes to Hitler's decision to invade the USSR and makes the British and Americans a little reluctant to send supplies to the Soviets when the Germans do invade because they expect that the Germans will win quickly.
In London... Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former governor of the Punjub, is assassinated by an Indian nationalist.
In London... Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former governor of the Punjub, is assassinated by an Indian nationalist.
