1936 (FRIDAY)
JAPAN: U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew reports a rumour of a German-Japanese military agreement stating that ". . . the Soviet Government has indisputable evidence that a military agreement exists."
December 4th, 1939 (MONDAY)
SWEDEN: Lieutenant-colonels Carl August Ehrensvärd, Magnus Dyrssen and Viking Tamm found the Finlandskommittén (the Finland committee) to organize the volunteer movement. Initially the Swedish government tried to strictly regulate the actions on the committee, but finally it had to bow to the popular pressure to help Finland. It was promised that regular officers going to Finland would be released from service for the duration of the war, and that a maximum of 5000 reservists and conscripts would be free to go to Finland. (203)
FINLAND: Mannerheim relieves Maj. Gen. Juho Heiskanen from the command of IV Corps in northern Karelia. Heiskanen's corps (two infantry divisions and the three battalions of Group Karelia) had faced the Soviet 8th Army (six divisions and one tank brigade). Mannerheim had been very unhappy with what he thinks is Heiskanen's passivity, and ordered him to counter-attack. On 3 Dec the counter-attack fails miserably.
Heiskanen is relieved by Maj. Gen. Woldemar Hägglund. Incidentally the commander of the Soviet 8th Army also changes on this same day, I. N. Habarov is replaced by V. N. Kurdjumov.
U.S.S.R.: Moscow: the Soviet
Union rejects a Swedish offer to mediate in the war with
Finland.
Molotov explains that the Soviet government already has
a good relationship
with the government that represents the true interests of the Finnish
people, Kuusinen's People's Government. Molotov states that "The U. S. S. R.
is not at war with Finland and does not threaten the Finnish nation with
war. Consequently reference to Article 11, paragraph 1, is unjustified.
Soviet Union maintains peaceful relations with the Democratic Republic of
Finland, whose Government signed with the U. S. S. R. on December 2, Pact of
Assistance and Friendship. This Pact settled all the questions which the
Soviet Government had fruitlessly discussed with delegates of former Finnish
Government now divested of its power. By its declaration of December 1 the
Government of the Democratic Republic of Finland requested the Soviet
Government to lend assistance to that Republic by armed forces with a view
to the joint liquidation at the earliest possible moment of the very
dangerous seat of war created in Finland by its former rulers."
(Mikko Härmeinen & Jack McKillop)
It also rejects the League of Nations proposals for settlement of the dispute with Finland stating that "The U. S. S. R. is not at war with Finland and does not threaten the Finnish nation with war. Consequently reference to Article 11, paragraph 1, is unjustified. Soviet Union maintains peaceful relations with the Democratic Republic of Finland, whose Government signed with the U. S. S. R. on December 2, Pact of Assistance and Friendship. This Pact settled all the questions which the Soviet Government had fruitlessly discussed with delegates of former Finnish Government now divested of its power. By its declaration of December 1 the Government of the Democratic Republic of Finland requested the Soviet Government to lend assistance to that Republic by armed forces with a view to the joint liquidation at the earliest possible moment of the very dangerous seat of war created in Finland by its former rulers."
GIBRALTAR: U.S. freighter SS Examiner, detained at Gibraltar since 17 November by British authorities, is released.
CANADA: French submarines Stax and Casablanca departed Halifax escort for Convoy HX-11.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-36 under Commander Fröhlich is sunk by HM Submarine Salmon (N 65) under Lt. Cdr Bickford, south-west of Kristiansand at position 57.00N 02.42E. All 40 crew are lost. (Alex Gordon)Returning home from the hunt for the German battle-cruisers after the sinking of HMS Rawalpindi, HMS Nelson (28) is damaged by a mine laid by U-31 off Loch Ewe, northwest Scotland.
U-31 sank SS Gimle and Primula .