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WWII On This Day: February 15

What happened on February 15 during World War II? This date brings together 3 events from 1940, 1942 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1940
Finnish ski troops moving through forest during the Winter War.
Imperial War Museums, HU 52936 · Public domain · Source
The Winter War

Finnish forces leave the main position

Finnish troops began withdrawing from the broken main position toward intermediate defences covering Viipuri. The movement shortened the front and preserved formations that had spent more than two months under pressure on the Isthmus. Soviet forces followed with growing artillery and armoured support, forcing new local battles around each road, lake defile and prepared position. The defensive depth available to Finland was now shrinking toward Viipuri and the western edge of the Isthmus. The military change sharpened the diplomatic timetable. Finnish leaders sought clearer terms through Stockholm while Allied governments…

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1942
Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and the British surrender party walk to the Ford Motor Factory on 15 February 1942.
Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and the British surrender party walk to the Ford Motor Factory on 15 February 1942. British official photographer / Imperial War Museums HU 2781 · UK Government public domain Source
The Fall of the Southern Empires

Singapore Surrenders

Percival surrendered Singapore on 15 February after Japanese forces had penetrated the island and the defensive system around the city was contracting. Water distribution, ammunition, unit cohesion and the condition of a large civilian population all entered the final calculation, while no outside force could reopen the battle. Yamashita was operating under his own supply constraints, but Percival could not base the defence on weaknesses he could neither measure nor exploit. What he could see was that Malaya had been lost, the fighter fields were gone, Force Z had disappeared…

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1944
A U.S. B-17 flies over Monte Cassino during the 15 February 1944 bombing; historic attribution IWM IA 15552.
A U.S. B-17 flies over Monte Cassino during the 15 February 1944 bombing; historic attribution IWM IA 15552. U.S. Army Air Forces / Imperial War Museums IA 15552 · public domain Source
Cassino and Anzio: The Road to Rome

Allied bombers destroy much of Monte Cassino abbey

American bombers attacked the Monte Cassino monastery on 15 February after Allied commanders authorised its destruction in preparation for an infantry assault. German forces held the surrounding heights; contemporary claims that observers occupied the abbey precincts remained disputed. Civilians sheltering inside were killed, and much of the historic building collapsed. The 4th Indian Division was unable to exploit the bombing immediately. German paratroopers then moved into the ruins and used the rubble as cover, while New Zealand infantry attacked Cassino town and the railway approaches.

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