military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (01/12/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Friday, 12 January, 1940 Soviet troops launch a major drive to breech the Mannerheim Line near Taipale, sending troops across the frozen Taipale River. The attack is repulsed with heavy losses, with fighting hand-to-hand in places. Taking advantage of the first clear weather in days, Soviet bombers hit Abo and Lahti. Planes on the latter raid pass close enough to Helsinki to cause an air raid alert there. The US Maritime Commission reveals plans for two 35,000-ton passenger liners designed for rapid conversion to aircraft carriers in the event of war. The liners are to be built with ready emplacements for AA guns and side-mounted funnels to facilitate conversion, and would carry 75 aircraft. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com [referring to Helsinki air raid alert] "Many citizens took refuge in the trenches leading to dugouts in the Esplanade, running through the center of the city. It was an unusually mild day and the snow was soft enough for snowballs, which inspired many, old and young alike, to engage in snowball battles from their trench lines." - Harold Denny, New York Times