January 8th, 1940 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Rationing is introduced today, housewives had to take their ration books with them to buy butter, sugar and bacon from the shops with whom they have registered. Butter is rationed at four ounces a week. Adults are allowed 12 ounces of sugar and four ounces of bacon or uncooked ham - less of cooked ham. Hotels are allowed to serve one-sixth of an ounce of butter - a circular pat the thickness of three pennies - with each meal, including afternoon tea. Some have installed special weighing machines. They can serve one-seventh of an ounce of sugar, or two lumps.British housewives will be allowed extra sugar for making marmalade by the Ministry of Food, providing that the Treasury and Board of Trade permit the import of Seville oranges. Obtaining rationed food from Eire is punishable by six months imprisonment, unless it is sent as small gifts.
NORTH SEA: A converted Wellington bomber fitted with an energised metal hoop to
explode magnetic mines does its first successful trials.
This was Wellington Mk IA, RAF serial number P2516. The aircraft was
equipped with a 48 foot (14.63 meter) dural hoop under the fuselage
energized by an auxiliary motor mounted in the fuselage. Several Wellingtons
were converted to Wellington D.W. Mk Is and successfully used for mine duty
in British coastal waters and later in the Mediterranean harbours and the
Suez Canal.
GERMANY: A new army headquarters is reported to have been established at Recklingshausen, ten miles from the Dutch border.
The Italian Ambassador, Alfieri Dio, delivers a message from Benito Mussolini to Adolf Hitler cautioning the Fuhrer against waging war against Britain. Mussolini asked if it was truly necessary "to risk all-including the regime-and to sacrifice the flower of German generations."
U-575, U-576, U-577, U-578, U-579, U-580, U-581, U-582, U-583, U-584, U-585, U-586 ordered.
FINLAND: Details of the Finnish victory over two Russian Divisions at Suomussalmi are released. The 44th Division was completely destroyed, trapped while going to the support of the defeated 163rd Division. The Finns captured 102 field guns, 43 tanks, over 300 vehicle and 1,170 horses.
Tonight in Helsinki the Church bells are ringing, flags are flying and strangers embracing on the streets in celebration.
Many Soviet tanks were burnt-out by Molotov cocktails thrown by Finns hiding in pits by the forest tracks, other Soviet troops froze to death with nothing to protect them from the cold except crude shelters of spruce branches.
When the Finns attacked some of the Soviet troops were too weak to stand, too cold to fight.
The Finnish Foreign Minister Väinö Tanner authorises the author and playwright Mrs. Hella Wuolijoki to discuss the possibility of peace with the Soviet Ambassador at Stockholm, Madame Alexandra Kollontay.
The commander of the Swedish volunteers, Lieutenant General Ernst Linder visits the Finnish GHQ to receive his orders.
Group Sisu is formed at Lapua, west-central Finland. It's composed of non-Scandinavian foreign volunteers. At the moment only eight men are present.
CHINA: Japan claims to have killed 25,000 Chinese in battle north of Canton.
U.S.A.: Quezon tells Sayres that MacArthur"> MacArthur is “crazy”. (Marc Small)