military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (12/23/89)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Monday, 25 December, 1939 Christmas Day finds all quiet on the Western Front. Hitler visits the troops, and other heads of state mark the day with international broadcasts. In Finland, on the other hand, the Soviet air force launches a major effort, bombing over 30 towns and cities, including Helsinki and Viipuri. Finnish fighters destroy or damage some 20 attacking bombers. The extreme cold, as low as -30 degrees F, hampers ground combat in Finland. Finnish troops near Tolvaajarvi complete the mopping up of two Soviet divisions encircled there; 4000 Russians have been killed, while 600 men, 30 guns, and 60 tanks are captured. Despite German protests, the commander of the US Panama Canal Zone allows the German freighter Dusseldorf, under the control of a British prize crew, to transit freely. Japan announces the capture of vast stores of supplies in a raid on Nankwan, on the border of French Indo-China. Among the booty are 5 million gallons of gasoline, 800,000 pounds of lead, 190,000 pounds of copper wire, 10 million pieces of clothing, and numerous small arms and other equipment. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "I believe from my heart that the cause which binds together my peoples and our gallant and faithful Allies is the cause of Christian civilization. On no other basis can a true civilization be built." - King George VI