Chapter X
January 2nd 1940
Whit the Finish front a frozen stalemate, the Finish Army begins to prepare for a new offensive against the Soviet Army that has invaded Finland. The Finish offensive is to take place in concert with the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
January 6th 1940
Inside the Soviet Union the Soviet Army (2nd Ukrainian Front) is created by order of Stalin who plans to use it to regain northern Romanian and to relieve the still dug in Soviet Army (1st Ukrainian Front).
January 14th 1940
Flying Regiment 18 'German Volunteers' of the Finnish Air Force (
consist of several squadrons) is disbanded and will be replace by Luftwaffe (Luftflotte 5) which will co-ordinate German air activity in Finland.
January 15th 1940
German units moved into their start positions for the invasion of the Soviet Union.
January 21st 1940
German Brandenburg special mission units begin operations in the Democratic Polish People's Republic.
January 22nd 1940
The Germans launch their invasion of Poland with a force of some of 3 million German soldiers and more than 2,500 panzers. The Soviet border defenses are caught unprepared, swept aside and trapped behind the lines in the first hours of the invasion.
January 23rd 1940
A Soviet Army counter attack in German East Prussia and the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) is beaten back.
A day after the German invasion of Poland began, Stalin still reeling of the shock, that the Germans launch an invasion in the winter, cancels plans for the Soviet Army (2nd Ukrainian Front) new Soviet offensive into Romania that was to start soon, instead he orders the Soviet Army (2nd Ukrainian Front) to dig in and to prevent the Germans from entering into the Soviet Union .
January 26th 1940
Operating from Estonia, bombers (Luftflotte 1) of the Luftwaffe begin to bomb Leningrad, Soviet Union for the first time.
January 30th 1940
The German lead Army Group South which is made up of the German 14th Army, Italian Expeditionary Corps in Romania, Royal Hungarian Army Carpathian Group, Romanian 3rd Army and Romanian 4th Army (
both are still not in full strength as the result of the Romanian Civil War and later due the Soviet invasion of Romania) begin their attack to remove the Soviet Army (1st Ukrainian Front) from their dug in positions they still control in Romania.. The Soviets, being well dug in and prepared on this front, fight stubbornly and repel the initial thrust but Army Group South continues to apply pressure along the Romanian front to keep the Soviet Army (1st Ukrainian Front) on its heels.
February 3rd 1940
In his first public speech sins the German invasion of the Soviet Union began, Stalin orders a scorched earth policy to be put into effect.
February 5th 1940
German troops captured Gdynia, Democratic Polish People's Republic.
February 6th 1940
Operating out of the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Luftwaffe bombers conduct bombing raids deeper into Byelorussia and slowly begin to disrupt the Soviet transportation network and flow of supplies and forces into the Democratic Polish People's Republic.
February 7th 1940
leading elements belonging to German Army Group Centre approach the outskirts of Warsaw but are turned back by the Soviet Army (Polish) Front who launches a fierce counter attack.
February 12th 1940
Two Soviet armies belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front west of Warsaw, launch a thrust into German occupied central Poland in an effort to stem the German tide and disrupt their supply lines in central Poland. The two armies, equipped make excellent initial progress slicing through dispersed German infantry positions and reconnaissance elements.
February 20th 1940
After 8 days of success where the two Soviet armies belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front managed to move more than 100 kilometers into German occupied Poland, German Army Group Centre is preparing to launch a counter attack with the intend of cutting the two Soviet armies of and thereby destroying 2/3 of the combat strength belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front.
February 22nd 1940
The German lead Army Group South finally managed to defeated the last remains of the Soviet Army (1st Ukrainian Front) which is fleeing back to the Soviet Union where they hope to form a new line of defense. With the Battle of Romania over, Army Group South can finally move into the Soviet Union itself, something that they are prepared to do sins November 29th 1939 when they first reached parts of the Romanian-Soviet border.
February 26th 1940
The Soviet Army (Polish) Front counter offensive into central Poland has reached its greatest extent but German Army Group Centre have managed to halt their advances, now Army Group Centre launches its counter attack with the aim of encircling and trapping 2/3 of the combat strength belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front.
February 28th 1940
German Army Group Centre begins its counter attack against the two Soviet armies belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front.
February 29th 1940
A day after German Army Group Centre began its counter attack against the two Soviet armies belonging to the Soviet Army (Polish) Front, the Soviet commanders of the two armies come to the realization that the true scope of the German operation is to trap them and thus they order a desperate withdrawal to the east.
February 30th 1940
Panzers and infantry belonging to German Army Group Center meet stiff resistance as Soviet infantry move to hold a corridor through which the bulk of the two Soviet armies may escape.