military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (02/12/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Monday, 12 February, 1940 Soviet forces continue intense attacks against the Mannerheim Line, claiming 32 fortified positions captured today. The U-33 is sunk in the Clyde estuary by a British minesweeper, HMS Gleaner. Critical parts to the sub's Enigma machine are recovered by British divers. The first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops arrives in Suez, Egypt. Total Allied troop commitments to the Near East are estimated at some 570,000 men. The German freighter Wakama is scuttled by her crew off the Brazilian coast, to prevent her capture by the cruiser HMS Hawkins. She had slipped out of Rio de Janeiro last night with a cargo estimated at $1 million. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "Twenty-five years ago the first contingents of Australian troops crossed the seas to win undying renown whereever they were called upon to serve the cause of freedom and justice. Today you who are the forerunners of another great Australian Army have taken the field to uphold the same cause." - King George VI