Second World War tweets from 1940 / @RealTimeWWII

The Finnish army has encircled Red Army's 54th division, trapping it in the icy wilderness. They were advancing to try & relieve other surrounded Soviet units. Dozens of pockets of Soviet troops now caught.

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 23:06:03 GMT

The Finnish army has encircled Red Army's 54th division, trapping it in the icy wilderness. They were advancing to try & relieve other surrounded Soviet units. Dozens of pockets of Soviet troops now caught.

Soviet government is privately suggesting that "the USSR has no objection in principle" to negotiated peace with Finland- abandoning the puppet communist Finnish regime they set up last year.

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 22:46:02 GMT

Soviet government is privately suggesting that "the USSR has no objection in principle" to negotiated peace with Finland- abandoning the puppet communist Finnish regime they set up last year.

Kondrashov: "No ammo left, no bread. Around 600 men are diseased. Hunger, sickness, & death are here."

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 22:31:03 GMT

Kondrashov: "No ammo left, no bread. Around 600 men are diseased. Hunger, sickness, & death are here."

Kondrashov, commander of trapped 18th Soviet Rifle division, is radioing his Red Army superiors from Finland: "We have been encircled for 16 days. We have 500 wounded."

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 22:29:03 GMT

Kondrashov, commander of trapped 18th Soviet Rifle division, is radioing his Red Army superiors from Finland: "We have been encircled for 16 days. We have 500 wounded."

Finns broadcasting to encircled Red Army soldiers, enticing them to surrender: "We have bread, milk & soup." 1 Russian prisoner of war claims Soviet commissars ordered their men out of earshot at gunpoint.

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 15:53:03 GMT

Finns broadcasting to encircled Red Army soldiers, enticing them to surrender: "We have bread, milk & soup." 1 Russian prisoner of war claims Soviet commissars ordered their men out of earshot at gunpoint.

RAF aircraft (not as snowbound as thought) have scrambled to fight back. 1 Luftwaffe plane down, rest retreating, but 4 merchant ships sunk.

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 13:00:10 GMT

RAF aircraft (not as snowbound as thought) have scrambled to fight back. 1 Luftwaffe plane down, rest retreating, but 4 merchant ships sunk.

"Lured by word of a Britain buried under heavy snow", 15-20 German bombers are attacking shipping along the length of the British coast.

@RealTimeWWII — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:58:02 GMT

"Lured by word of a Britain buried under heavy snow", 15-20 German bombers are attacking shipping along the length of the British coast.

Finnish artillery now ordered to fire "only against directly threatening ground attacks" to preserve desperately needed ammunition. They can't shell the Red Army units massing for huge attack.

@RealTimeWWII — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 18:51:03 GMT

Finnish artillery now ordered to fire "only against directly threatening ground attacks" to preserve desperately needed ammunition. They can't shell the Red Army units massing for huge attack.

The German plans for a surprise invasion of Norway have been finalised, named Operation Weserübung ("River Weber Exercise"). Hitler is worried about British & French invading first to cut off German iron supply (as they are in fact planning to do.)

@RealTimeWWII — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 17:19:03 GMT

The German plans for a surprise invasion of Norway have been finalised, named Operation Weserübung ("River Weber Exercise"). Hitler is worried about British & French invading first to cut off German iron supply (as they are in fact planning to do.)

Maggie Joy Blunt lives in Slough, UK: "We have had to suffer inconveniences, but there has been no essential change in our way of living. As though we're trying to play one more set of tennis before an approaching storm descends- this half-asleep war."

@RealTimeWWII — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 11:40:03 GMT

Maggie Joy Blunt lives in Slough, UK: "We have had to suffer inconveniences, but there has been no essential change in our way of living. As though we're trying to play one more set of tennis before an approaching storm descends- this half-asleep war."

British censors have (belatedly) allowed newspapers to report this the coldest winter since 1894- something Britons have been experiencing firsthand. River Thames has frozen, as has the sea at Southhampton Docks.

@RealTimeWWII — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 10:40:04 GMT

British censors have (belatedly) allowed newspapers to report this the coldest winter since 1894- something Britons have been experiencing firsthand. River Thames has frozen, as has the sea at Southhampton Docks.

From Brazilian news reporting on the war situation in London: a British man draws a streetmap in his hat, so as not to get lost in an air raid (via @harmagedom).

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 23:09:03 GMT

From Brazilian news reporting on the war situation in London: a British man draws a streetmap in his hat, so as not to get lost in an air raid (via @harmagedom).

Isaac Babel has been caught in the wake of Nikolai Yezhov, former head of NKVD who carried out "Great Purge" for Stalin, now arrested & made a political "unperson". Babel arrested because of his affair with Yezhov's wife.

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 21:48:04 GMT

Isaac Babel has been caught in the wake of Nikolai Yezhov, former head of NKVD who carried out "Great Purge" for Stalin, now arrested & made a political "unperson". Babel arrested because of his affair with Yezhov's wife.

Isaac Babel, Soviet writer, has been shot by the NKVD. He is 1 of 346 killed this month in a purge sweeping the Moscow elite. Babel's last words: "I am asking for only one thing- let me finish my work."

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 21:21:03 GMT

Isaac Babel, Soviet writer, has been shot by the NKVD. He is 1 of 346 killed this month in a purge sweeping the Moscow elite. Babel's last words: "I am asking for only one thing- let me finish my work."

British soldiers in France are alarmed at a rumour that "authorities are about to decree longer skirts for the showgirls in troop entertainments" as the New York Times reports.

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 19:43:03 GMT

British soldiers in France are alarmed at a rumour that "authorities are about to decree longer skirts for the showgirls in troop entertainments" as the New York Times reports.

Winston Churchill speaking at Manchester on war industry: "each to our station- there is not a week, nor a day, nor and hour to be lost!" He is interrupted 3 times by "rowdy persons yelling for peace & Oswald Moseley", UK's fascist leader.

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 18:52:03 GMT

Winston Churchill speaking at Manchester on war industry: "each to our station- there is not a week, nor a day, nor and hour to be lost!" He is interrupted 3 times by "rowdy persons yelling for peace & Oswald Moseley", UK's fascist leader.

The 1911 trade treaty between Japan & USA had now expired: US refuses to negotiate another until Japanese troops withdraw from invasion of China. Japan's war effort desperately needs American steel, machine parts.

@RealTimeWWII — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 17:10:02 GMT

The 1911 trade treaty between Japan & USA had now expired: US refuses to negotiate another until Japanese troops withdraw from invasion of China. Japan's war effort desperately needs American steel, machine parts.

Finnish joke: "A Russian soldier enters Heaven. St. Peter: 'So you're dead...' Russian: 'Oh no- Soviet spokesmen say I'm bravely advancing on the Finns.'"

@RealTimeWWII — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:58:03 GMT

Finnish joke: "A Russian soldier enters Heaven. St. Peter: 'So you're dead...' Russian: 'Oh no- Soviet spokesmen say I'm bravely advancing on the Finns.'"

Blue Italian street lamps, meant for use during a blackout, were removed from roads in Rome today- citizens hope it's sign that Mussolini intends to keep Italy out of the war.

@RealTimeWWII — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:30:03 GMT

Blue Italian street lamps, meant for use during a blackout, were removed from roads in Rome today- citizens hope it's sign that Mussolini intends to keep Italy out of the war.

British government's director of timber supply announcing UK broom handles will now be square, not round, to save on wood. No comment on danger of splinters.

@RealTimeWWII — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 18:58:03 GMT

British government's director of timber supply announcing UK broom handles will now be square, not round, to save on wood. No comment on danger of splinters.