military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (01/24/90)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Wednesday, 24 January, 1940 In Finland, fierce fighting continues as defending troops repel multiple Soviet attacks north of Lake Ladoga. Britain justifies its searching of US mail bound for Europe by exhibiting various items of contraband discovered in those searches. London claims that a network has been established to send food, clothing, money, and even machine tools to Germany through the mail. Of 25,000 items examined in the past three months, 17,000 were said to contain contraband. A Soviet-German treaty is rumored, giving Germany rights to the Rumanian oilfields in Galicia, manganese from Krivoi-rog, and certain other resources, along with rail priority for transport of these materials. In exchange, Germany is reputed to guarantee assistance in the event of Allied intervention in Scandinavia, and promises to send experts to assist Soviet military and industrial growth. The US Secret Service is investigating reports that counterfeit American currency is being produced in Germany. General von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the German army, swears the army's allegiance to Hitler and willingness to conduct a western offensive, invoking Frederick the Great. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "The American people have taken us to their hearts as no other nation in the world could have done." - Mrs. Kaarlo E. Kuusamo, wife of the Finnish Consul General in New York.