15 Feb 1940 | World War II Database

15 Feb 1940

North of Lake Ladoga in Finland, Finnish troops destroyed the pocket of surrounded Soviet troops near the village of Lavajärvi, capturing 2 tanks, 5 field guns, 2 anti-tank guns, 8 trucks, 3 machine guns, 4 field kitchens, and rifles. Finnish Commander-in-Chief C. G. E. Mannerheim ordered the II Army Corps to abandon the Mannerheim Line at 2000 hours. ww2dbase [The Winter War | CPC]
German submarine U-50 sank Danish ship Maryland west of Scotland at 0207 hours, killing the entire crew of 34. ww2dbase [CPC]
German submarine U-37 sank Danish ship Aase en route to Bristol at 0545 hours, killing 15. HMS Verity would rescue the sole survivor two days later. ww2dbase [CPC]
German submarine U-26 sank Norwegian ship Steinstad 75 miles west of Aran Island, Ireland at 0837 hours, killing 13. The 11 survivors in a lifeboat would not reach land until 20 Feb. ww2dbase [CPC]
German submarine U-48 sank Dutch tanker Den Haag (carrying 11,800 tons of oil) 150 miles west of Ouessant at the northwestern tip of France at 1400 hours, killing 26. British ship Glenorchy rescued 13 survivors in a lifeboat. ww2dbase [CPC]
Major General Erwin Rommel took command of the 7th Panzer Division. ww2dbase [Erwin Rommel | CPC]
Hubert Lanz was made the Chief of Staff for XVIII Armeekorps. ww2dbase [Hubert Lanz | CPC]

Atlantic Ocean

The 398-ton trawler Peridot, requisitioned by the Admiralty in Aug 1939 and fitted out as an armed Anti-submarine vessel, struck a mine laid by a German submarine in the English Channel. ww2dbase [Start of the Battle of the Atlantic | English Channel | HM]

Canada

No. 110 Army Co-operation (Auxiliary) Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force departed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for Britain. ww2dbase [Halifax, Nova Scotia | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis

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