World War II (1 Viewer)

[timschochet]

The Death of Heydrich

Czechoslovakia had ceased to exist in early 1939, replaced with the Reich "Protectorates" of Bohemia and Moravia. The legitimate government of Czechoslovakia, led by Edvard Benes and Jan Masaryk, had fled to London, one of many to do so during the war era.

Hitler's plan for the Czechs, whom he regarded as untermenschen (subhumans), was similar to that of Poland: all heavy industry must be dismantled and moved to Germany for the war effort. The Czechs would be used for slave labor. The first man ordered to carry this plan out was Konstantin von Neurath, the former foreign minister and not a Nazi. He proved to be too soft for Hitler, not ruthless enough at the task. In September of 1941, he was replaced with Reinhard Heydrich.

Heydrich's duties were already quite a bit for one man- chief of the Gestapo and the SD, the point man for the Final Solution of the Jewish problem- but he plunged into this new chore with great energy, proving again that he was one of the more effective and evil characters in the Third Reich. Very soon he had earned himself the nicknames "The Butcher of Prague", "The Blond Beast", and "The Hangman". Heydrich often drove with his chauffeur in a car with an open roof. This was a show of confidence in the occupation forces and the effectiveness of their repressive measures against the local population.

Much of this was known in London. The Czech government there decided to assassinate Heydrich. They understood the risk of reprisals, but knew that Heydrich's death would make a statement for Czech liberty, and perhaps cause fear among the Germans and make them hesitate in their plans. Two men, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, volunteered for this task that was certain to cause their own deaths. After receiving special commando training from the British, they returned to their homeland by parachute in December,1941.

On 27 May 1942, Heydrich was scheduled to attend a meeting with Hitler in Berlin. Heydrich would have to pass a section where the Dresden-Prague road merged with a road leading to the Troja Bridge. That intersection was a perfect spot for the attack because Heydrich's car would have to slow down to make a hairpin turn. The attack was, therefore, scheduled for 27 May. On that date, Heydrich was ambushed while he rode in his open car in the Prague suburb of Kobylisy. As the car slowed to take the hairpin bend in the road, Gabčík took aim with a Sten sub-machine gun, but it failed to fire. At that very moment, instead of ordering his driver to speed away, Heydrich called his car to a halt in an attempt to take on the two attackers. Kubiš then immediately threw a bomb (a converted anti-tank mine) at the rear of the car. The explosion wounded Heydrich and also Kubiš himself.

The two assassins fled on foot. Heydrich's driver gave chase (one account has Heydrich himself giving chase, but shortly thereafter he collapsed. For a week he lay in a Prague hospital, visited by high level Nazis (including Himmler, who informed him that the Final Solution would now be named "Operation Reinhard" in his honor) and died of his wounds on June 4, 1942. Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík did not get very far; they escaped into the crypt of an Orthodox church. Germans surrounded the church and killed everyone in it, including the bishop, who was tortured first and is now considered a martyr among Orthodox Christians.

Hitler's initial reaction was to order 10,000 random Czechs to be shot. However, Himmler and Karl Hermman Frank convinced him that this was too much of a punishment even for the Nazis. Himmler's reprisal was brutal enough: About 13,000 people were arrested, deported, imprisoned or killed. On 10 June all males over the age of 16 in the village of Lidice, 22 km north-west of Prague, and another village, Ležáky, were murdered. The towns were burned and the ruins leveled. The action in Lidice was made public as a warning to others in the New Order that might try to rebel. Himmler miscalculated here- in the past, most German atrocities had been hidden behind the curtain of war, and often the public was skeptical of what was reported as rumors. This terrible act of reprisal on an innocent village created universal revulsion.

It cannot be said that Adolf Hitler mourned his great friend and comrade who had served him so well. He blamed Heydrich for his own death, and said,

Since it is opportunity which makes not only the thief but also the assassin, such heroic gestures as driving in an open, unarmoured vehicle or walking about the streets unguarded are just damned stupidity, which serves the Fatherland not one whit. That a man as irreplaceable as Heydrich should expose himself to unnecessary danger, I can only condemn as stupid and idiotic.

 

[Ozymandias]

THE LITTLE VEHICLE THAT HELPED WIN THE WAR

In the 1930's, the US Army realized they need an updated light vehicle which could be used for cross country reconnaissance and rapid mobility. In July, 1940, 135 U.S. automotive manufacturers were approached to submit a design conforming to the army's specifications for a vehicle the World War II training manual TM 9-803 described as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command, and designated as 1/4-ton 4x4 Truck."

The Army's Ordnance Technical Committee specifications were equally demanding: the vehicle would be four wheeled drive, have a crew of three, on a wheelbase of no more than 75 (later 80) inches and tracks no more than 47 inches, a fold-down windshield, 660 lb payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85 ft·lbf (115 N·m) of torque. The most daunting demand however was an empty weight of no more than 1300 lb. This was later raised to 2160 lbs.

Three companies submitted bids: American Bantam Car, Willys Overland and Ford Motor Company. Although the Bantam was the winning design, they didn't have the financial wherewithal to produce the vehicle in the quantities required, so the Army gave their plans to Willys and Ford. Wyllis won the contract mainly because of their most powerful engine. However, they would not be able to keep up with production, so the Army had Ford produce them too. During the war, Willys produced over 360,000 and Ford 280,000.

Ford called their model the GP. Additionally, soldiers at military bases tended to call any piece of untested equipment: “Jeep”. A test driver for Willys, in a press conference in Washington, DC, drove it up the Capitol steps. He was asked by a reporter what it was called, and he said: “Jeep.” The name stuck.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower said: The equipment ... among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2 1/2 ton truck and the C-47 airplane. Curiously enough, none of these is designed for combat."

Great little vehicle. Helped soldiers go anywhere, could be lifted over obstructions by a platoon. Used all over the place. The Soviet Union got 51,000 through Lend Lease, and loved them.

 

[timschochet]

Stalingrad is a daunting task- I will start it this afternoon. I was planning on telling the story of Orde Wingate (one of the more amazing figures of the entire war) but I think upon reflection I'll wait until the whole Burma theatre is explored before getting to that (at which point I'll backtrack and relate his adventures in Palestine and Ethiopia.)

 

[DCThunder]

THE LITTLE VEHICLE THAT HELPED WIN THE WAR

In the 1930's, the US Army realized they need an updated light vehicle which could be used for cross country reconnaissance and rapid mobility. In July, 1940, 135 U.S. automotive manufacturers were approached to submit a design conforming to the army's specifications for a vehicle the World War II training manual TM 9-803 described as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command, and designated as 1/4-ton 4x4 Truck."

The Army's Ordnance Technical Committee specifications were equally demanding: the vehicle would be four wheeled drive, have a crew of three, on a wheelbase of no more than 75 (later 80) inches and tracks no more than 47 inches, a fold-down windshield, 660 lb payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85 ft·lbf (115 N·m) of torque. The most daunting demand however was an empty weight of no more than 1300 lb. This was later raised to 2160 lbs.

Three companies submitted bids: American Bantam Car, Willys Overland and Ford Motor Company. Although the Bantam was the winning design, they didn't have the financial wherewithal to produce the vehicle in the quantities required, so the Army gave their plans to Willys and Ford. Wyllis won the contract mainly because of their most powerful engine. However, they would not be able to keep up with production, so the Army had Ford produce them too. During the war, Willys produced over 360,000 and Ford 280,000.

Ford called their model the GP. Additionally, soldiers at military bases tended to call any piece of untested equipment: “Jeep”. A test driver for Willys, in a press conference in Washington, DC, drove it up the Capitol steps. He was asked by a reporter what it was called, and he said: “Jeep.” The name stuck.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower said: The equipment ... among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2 1/2 ton truck and the C-47 airplane. Curiously enough, none of these is designed for combat."

Great little vehicle. Helped soldiers go anywhere, could be lifted over obstructions by a platoon. Used all over the place. The Soviet Union got 51,000 through Lend Lease, and loved them.

Another theory is that it was named after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye the Sailor comic books:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_the_Jeep

 

[Ozymandias]

THE ST. NAZAIRE RAID

On March 28, 1942, the British launched one of the most successful raids on the French coast. St. Nazaire held the biggest drydock in the world at that time, and the British were afraid that the Germans would use it for the Tirpitz, a battleship which was even larger than the Bismarck. The Tirpitz was in Norway, but was a constant potential threat from there. Additionally, St. Nazaire contained 14 huge submarine pens, for refitting submarines for the Atlantic War.

The Combined Operations scheme relied on surprise. A flotilla of shallow-draft boats would speed up the estuary while the German defences were distracted by an air-raid. A destroyer carrying tons of explosives hidden inside it would be rammed into the exposed caisson of the Normandie Dock. Commando raiding parties would then disembark from the destroyer and accompanying vessels to attack and destroy 24 targets in the dock area. The raiding force would then be withdrawn by sea from the edge of the harbour via the "Old Mole" jetty. Some hours later delayed-action fuses (a group of pencil detonators were used together in order to guarantee ignition) would trigger the massive explosive charge on the destroyer.

The destroyer was HMS Campbeltown, an obsolete craft. She was previously the USS Buchanan of the United States Navy, transferred to Britain early in the war as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. Campbeltown was given cosmetic modifications so that she would resemble a German Möwe class destroyer, though the resemblance was far from perfect.

They were able to make the trip from the UK unobserved. The force was first noticed at 01:15 but searchlights did not go on until 01:22 when the force was little more than 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) from the harbour. The British legitimately flew the Kriegsmarine ensign as a false flag and used a German morse call sign and gained almost five minutes of unimpeded progress. Twice the German guns opened fire but were soon silenced by reassuring coded messages. It was not until 01:28 with less than a mile to the harbour that the German guns opened fire. Now that the ruse had been detected, Campbeltown then lowered the Kriegsmarine flag and hoisted the White Ensign. the flag of the Royal Navy, from her stern.

The Campbeltown drew the most fire, sustaining a number of casualties. There was some protection from machine gun fire on Campbeltown's bridge but not enough. First the helmsman was killed, and when the quartermaster took his place, he too was killed. The third man to take the helm was Lt. Nigel Tibbets. Tibbets was a Royal Navy demolitions expert, and it was he who had set the delay fuses shortly before the ship came under fire. In charge of Campbeltown, Commander Beattie could not see the locks through the blinding searchlights of the defenders, but followed the guiding vessel ahead of him, Motor Gunboat (MGB) 314, under Lieutenant D. Curtis, with the raid commanders Newman and Ryder on board. Beatty was waiting for MGB 314 to veer aside, which was the signal to mean the locks were dead ahead. Cannon fire caused an explosion on the foredeck of Campeltown, killing a number of commandos there.

When the smoke cleared from explosion, Beattie could see the lock gates just a few hundred yards way, with MGB still in front of him. MGB 314 then swerved aside and Beattie gave the order "Stand by to ram." The Germans had anticipated a possible torpedo attack on the lock, and they had rigged torpedo netting in front to forestall this. Campbeltown, with Tibbets at the wheel, ripped through the torpedo netting and struck the southern caisson at around 20 knots (37 km/h) at 01:34, jamming herself deep into the structure and crumpling almost 40 feet (12 m) of her hull. The seven Commando teams then disembarked from the ship and made for their targets, destroying much of the equipment associated with the Normandie Dock and damaging the northern caisson. As these Commando groups withdrew and headed for the pier to embark they discovered how the remainder of the force was faring.

Only a few Commando teams on the launches made it ashore, and none were later able to reach the Old Mole, from where it was planned that they would re-embark and escape after completing their mission. Motor Launch 177, under Lieutenant M. Rodier took off many of the survivors from Campbeltown, and had headed downriver, when the boat was struck by heavy fire from shore-based batteries. Lt. Rodier was killed, as well as Lt. Tibbets.[The intact motor launches took on the survivors they could find or rescue from the water, made smoke and withdrew, leaving just over a hundred Commandos on the docks. MGB 314 survived and was the last vessel to leave, her decks covered in wounded men rescued from the water. On this vessel the two Able Seamen William Alfred Savage and Frank Smith distinguished themselves manning the exposed 2-pdr (a 40 mm/39-calibre QF HA Mk.II, the ubiquitous pom-pom) until Savage was killed.

The Campbeltown's charges were timed to go off at around 0900 hrs at the latest. A German search of the ship failed to discover the hidden explosives, but they had not detonated by the due time. During this delay, senior German officers arrived to inspect the damage and were photographed on deck. They were accompanied to the dock by two Commando officers who had been taken prisoner but did not tell their captors about the explosives. At 1035 hrs Campbeltown exploded, destroying the caisson and killing about 250 German soldiers and civilians in the immediate area. The delay in detonation was probably due to the use of pencil detonators which, though reliable, only give approximate time delays affected by temperature and other factors.

As intended, the delayed-action torpedoes fired by MTB 74 at the lock gates did not detonate until two days later, 30 March 1942. These late explosions panicked the nervous German garrison, leading to a night of confusion during which German forces fired at French civilians and at each other. During the whole operation approximately 400 Germans were killed.

Despite the heavy casualties suffered by the British raiders, the St. Nazaire raid was judged to be highly successful: the dock was severely damaged and remained unusable until 1947.

A memorial has been placed on the harbourside at Falmouth bearing the following inscription:

OPERATION CHARIOT

From this harbour 622 sailors

and commandos set sail for

the successful raid on St. Nazaire

28th March 1942

168 were killed

5 Victoria Crosses were awarded

The Victoria Cross is Britain's equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to Stalingrad: Hitler's Grand Strategy

In the summer of 1942, the Third Reich was as powerful as it would ever become. Germany controlled nearly the entire mainland of Europe. In North Africa, Rommel had won victory after victory and was now seriously threatening Suez. In the Atlantic Ocean, U-Boats were mercilessly destroying American and British shipping. Germany's main ally Japan, despite losing the Battle of Midway, controlled the Far East and it's armies now threatened India and New Guinea. In Russia, the Germans were deep into Soviet territory, starving out Leningrad, and now that it was summer, moving again.

The Wehrmacht remained undefeated in combat- with the exception of the setbacks near Moscow, caused by weather, it had defeated every foe it had faced in the Second World War up to this point. But despite all of this, Russia was still not yet conquered. And there was a bigger long term threat to Germany: American industrial power. In the long run, the Axis could not hope to win out over the Allies because of this latter threat, which was just beginning in 1942 to get kicked into gear. What the Germans had gained through all their efforts thus far was only a tactical, and therefore temporary advantage. It was vital, therefore, to win the war speedily before they were slowly crushed. Thus, Russia had to be crushed NOW, in 1942. Then, before the USA could intervene, Germany would turn it's full force on the British Empire and starve them into surrender. After this, with Japan as her ally, Germany could face the United States at a permanent advantage.

With this overall strategy in mind, Adolf Hitler now looked for the best way to quickly defeat the Soviet Union. He was aware that his strategy to destroy the Red Army during the campaign of 1941 had failed. He now sought to destroy Russia's economic power- that is, to starve rather than kill its armies. Thie could be done by depriving Stalin of the Kuban cornfields, the Donetz industrial basin and the Caucasian oilfields.

Logical as this plan appeared to be, many historians believe it was still a mistake not to move on Moscow in 1942, for Moscow was the rail and road hub of the U.S.S.R. If Moscow fell, German air could interdict a critical area between 250 and 350 miles in diameter, thus blocking supplies from Archangel and reinforcements from Asiatic Russia, while all rail movement within central Russia would become chaotic if not halted altogether. By failing to move on Moscow, it is argued, Hitler was no different from the Germans of 1914 who had failed to occupy the hub of Paris.

Nevertheless, the great offensive heaved forward with emphasis on the southeastern front where only the Crimea seemed to stand between the invaders and the rich prize of the Caucasian oil fields.

First objective: the fortress of Sevastopol.

 

[acapella]

I love this thread. Thanks for your efforts, Tim.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to Stalingrad: Sevastopol

General von Manstein commanded the 11th Army in the Crimea. He had taken Kerch by storm on May 13, and on June 1 he commenced the Siege of Sevastopol with a furious artillery bombardment. But this fortress was a tough nut to crack. 20 miles in its outer circumference, 8 on its inner, it was a honeycomb of tunnels and underground arsenals, even underground factories turning out munitions. It was held by 75,000 front line troops commanded by General Petrov, with perhaps another 90,000 reservists. The Germans hurled 50,000 tons of shells and dropped 20,000 tons of bombs on Sevastopol, but it still held out. Again and again the Soviets sallied forth in attempts to break out. Masses of them shouting "Ourrah! Ourrah!" rushed at the German lines, their arms linked to prevent anyone from hanging back. Sometimes women and girls of the Communist Youth, themselves bearing arms, took the lead to urge them on. The carnage among the women alone was dreadful.

Ships seeking to supply the city from the Black Sea were pounced upon by Luftwaffe planes and sent to the bottom. Implacable Soviet commissars ordered divers to descend the dark water to retrieve what was lost. Some of them rebelled, nauseous at the sights of piles of horses and dead calvarymen in the hold, or bodies of dead children rushing at them. But the deed was done.

Sevastopol finally fell on July 4, 1942. It did not exactly surrender. The city was a shambles. Dead men, women, and children lay everywhere. Suicidal packs of partisans, without food or water, hid waiting for the Germans in rubble and around corners and ran towards large groups of soldiers with grenades in both hands, killing themselves and their targets. Other pitiful remnants of human beings lay in gutters begging for water and some food. The Germans usually fed them bullets.

The capture of Sevastopol gave the Germans the entire Crimea, the gateway to the Caucasus. By then, the mighty attack was going forward all along the Eastern front, aiming at the Volga between Saratov and Stalingrad. Victory followed victory. Kursk...Shchigry...a powerful thrust beyond Byelgorod-Kharkov...General Friedrich Paulus's 6th Army was driving toward Stalingrad on the Volga. By October it seemed the entire Soviet front would topple.

Throughout the summer and early autumn the tone of Stalin's communiques grew increasingly grave. Soviet radio broadcasts turned anxious. The United States, fearful that the Soviet ally might be knocked out of the war before the Allies could intervene in Europe, began rushing supplies to Stalin.

(We will return to this later, in connection with Dwight Eisenhower and the decision to invade North Africa.)

 

[timschochet]

No more postings tonight while my Steelers are on...

At some point though, I am going to have to devote at least one post to the Steagles...

 

[Mjolnirs]

A friend sent me a link to this trailer, I hadn't heard of this project and I don't recall seeing it mentioned in this thread. (of course there has been lots of stuff in here, so I could have missed it)

The Pacific

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to Stalingrad: German preparations

In the summer of 1942 Adolf Hitler's empire had reached its greatest extent. When the German 6th Army under General Friedrich Paulus arrived at the Volga a few miles north of Stalingrad, Hitler had conquered almost as much of Russia as Genghis Khan's devouring Mongol hordes in the 13th century. The Swastika flag now flew from Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain of the Caucasus, a feat that revived the spirits of the German people, despondent over the the widening of the war.

Hitler's insatiable thirst for oil should have been satiated when his forces seized the Maykop oil fields in the Caucasus, but the retreating Soviets had so thoroughly wrecked them that they were for the present useless. Although his troops were within 100 miles of the Caspian Sea, they never got to the more valuable oil fields at Baku or even those of Groznyy farther west. Nevertheless, Adolf Hitler could rightfully consider himself one of the greatest conquerors who ever lived, though his personal quarters were now a little short of stupefying.

Der Fuhrer lived near Vinnitsa in the Ukraine. His new headquarters was a collection of miserable huts along the pine trees called Werewolf. It was well named, because Hitler had indeed become a werewolf, snarling at his generals and constantly castigating them. Because he was sleeping badly and had lost weight (thanks in large part to the drugs he was constantly being injected with), he was easily irritated. When General Halder told him on July 23 that the Soviets seemed to be deliberately avoiding battle, he screamed at him in a fury:

Nonsense! The Russians are in full flight, they are finished, they are reeling from the blows we have dealt them during the past few months.

On that same day, Hitler signed a directive ordering renewed offensives on the Groznyy oil fields and Stalingrad. But both these objectives were beyond the strength of the Wehrmacht, as his generals vainly warned him. In late August the offensive in the Caucasus literally ran out of gas. Difficulties in terrain, lengthening lines of communication, and Soviet resistance also contributed to the failure.

 

[Redwes25]

Sorry I disappeared from this thread. I have had a huge crisis at work and have actually not had a day off in over two weeks. Not sure if I can participate again but will try to if possible as I really enjoyed writing and adding about the eastern front.

 

[Redwes25]

I think we're now jumping too far ahead of the events in Russia. Starting tommorow morning, I'm going to go back and continue with the Siege of Leningrad, the German drive for Moscow, and the Russian counterattacks before continuing with the Japanese narrative. Somewhere I've got to throw in the Gross Wansee conference too. Lots to cover!

Looks like Redwes faded in the clutch.

Sorry about that as I really just have not had time. It sucks and I figure it goes with my job which can be brutal at times.

 

[timschochet]

Sorry I disappeared from this thread. I have had a huge crisis at work and have actually not had a day off in over two weeks. Not sure if I can participate again but will try to if possible as I really enjoyed writing and adding about the eastern front.

No problem at all. Your earlier contributions were outstanding. Add whatever commentary you like.

 

[gmbacm]

The Dieppe Raid Part One

Nissenthall was to command a small crack team of Saskatchewans. While the main attack was going on, whatever the outcome, Nissenthal was sneak his small team into the radar building. There he was to learn what he could, and then try to blow it up. This was essentially a suicide mission. The British were also worried that, because Nissenthal was a radar specialist, if captured he could be tortured and give up vital information to the enemy. He was therefore instructed to carry a cyanide capsule. But just in case he hesitated to swallow it, the Saskatchewans received private orders from the command that Nissenthall was not aware of: if it looked like the Germans were closing in, they were to kill Nissenthall.

Saskatchewanian, SaskatchewanerOr is that how you Americas say it?

 

[timschochet]

The Dieppe Raid Part One

Nissenthall was to command a small crack team of Saskatchewans. While the main attack was going on, whatever the outcome, Nissenthal was sneak his small team into the radar building. There he was to learn what he could, and then try to blow it up. This was essentially a suicide mission. The British were also worried that, because Nissenthal was a radar specialist, if captured he could be tortured and give up vital information to the enemy. He was therefore instructed to carry a cyanide capsule. But just in case he hesitated to swallow it, the Saskatchewans received private orders from the command that Nissenthall was not aware of: if it looked like the Germans were closing in, they were to kill Nissenthall.

Saskatchewanian, SaskatchewanerOr is that how you Americas say it?

I quoted it from a book. Whatever.

 

[gmbacm]

The Dieppe Raid Part One

Nissenthall was to command a small crack team of Saskatchewans. While the main attack was going on, whatever the outcome, Nissenthal was sneak his small team into the radar building. There he was to learn what he could, and then try to blow it up. This was essentially a suicide mission. The British were also worried that, because Nissenthal was a radar specialist, if captured he could be tortured and give up vital information to the enemy. He was therefore instructed to carry a cyanide capsule. But just in case he hesitated to swallow it, the Saskatchewans received private orders from the command that Nissenthall was not aware of: if it looked like the Germans were closing in, they were to kill Nissenthall.

Saskatchewanian, SaskatchewanerOr is that how you Americas say it?

I quoted it from a book. Whatever.

no worries. thought it was funny...

 

[timschochet]

Final Prelude to Stalingrad

The German high command was astounded to discover that the U.S.S.R., like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, was stronger than ever. American supplies were by then flowing to the Soviet Union, but most important of all was the fact that the Soviets had been able to move their industry away from the fighting fronts and as far east as Siberia and Central Asia. (For more details, please see Ozymandias' earlier post on this subject.) From this miracle of improvisation came such weapons as the monster 52 ton tank. A heavily armored vehicle, it mounted 3 inch cannon and machine guns. Smaller German tanks were no match for these KVs, named after Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. But Adolf Hitler remained undaunted. He ordered his southern armies to concentrate against Stalingrad. To the blunder of leaving vital Moscow unmolested, he now added the greater mistake of assaulting a city worthless both strategically and tactically, but yet, because of its name, one sacred to the Soviet mind.

Stalingrad had once been named Tsaritsyn. It was here in 1918 that Joseph Stalin organized its defense against the forces of the White Army. (Some histories claim that Stalin, who was known as Koba then, was actually ready to flee until Trotsky sent the Red Army's Calvary to rescue him.) To commemorate his "victory", he gave the city his own name, and Stalingrad became dear to his heart.

Stalingrad was an ugly, sprawling city, like an American boom toon straggling for miles along the western bank of the Volga. It was a place of a half a million people, factories, workshops, narrow streets, smokestacks and high-rise workers' apartments looking east over the Volga towards forests and villages. It had no natural defenses. It could have been neutralized by bombing, then bypassed. It is true that if the Germans succeeded in occupying Stalingrad, they could have cut the flow of Groznyy and Baku oil to Moscow, but that could also have been done much easier by bridging the river farther down.

Stalingrad could also have possibly been starved into submission. But no, Hitler wanted Stalingrad, and so General Paulus and his army of 300,000 men came against it in September of 1942.

 

[rascal]

How in the hell did I miss this thread?

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part 1

The German attack was preceded by on September 15 by a fierce artillery and aerial bombardment, which had the effect of turning a city with no natural defenses into a formidable fortress. A city in ruins and rubble is as much a boon to its defenders as it is a torment to its besiegers. Fallen buildings became of labyrinth of caves and sniper holes. When the German soldiers entered, Soviet soldiers occupied every manhole, every shell hole, every drainpipe and every crater around collapsed structures, peering through primitive periscopes. Nothing short of a direct hit could dislodge such hidden, well-protected snipers. German soldiers could not get close enough to their holes to pick them off, and renewed bombing merely convulsed the rubble to provide new shelters.

Stalingrad was indeed a battle among the ruins: of workers' dwellings, schools, stores, factories. Pitched battles were fought for the possession of a warehouse, a bakery or a grain elevator. German soldiers accustomed to maneuvering on the plains, to attacking fortifications built in the open or razing occupied villages, had never before encountered street fighting of such ferocity. The Soviet high command had ordered its soldiers to fight to the death. "Before you die, kill a German- with your teeth if necessary!"

To their growing skill in house-to-house fighting, the Soviets added a phenomenal mastery of the art of infiltration. Every Soviet attack was preceded by small units and individual soldiers slipping through German lines. However carefully the Germans kept their outlying positions under observation, the Soviets got through. Suddenly, there they were, in force, dug in and well armed. It was true that the German front was thinly held, about 12 miles to a division, with very few strong points. Yet each night, with everyone alerted and wide awake to the possibility of enemy infiltration, the Soviets somehow got through. In the morning they would be found in strength in the German rear, and they were most difficult to dislodge.

Tenacity and fatalism also marked the defense of Stalingrad. General V. I. Chuikov told his 62nd Army, "You can no longer retreat across the Volga. There is only one road, the road that leads forward. Stalingrad can be saved by you, or wiped out with you."

Still the Germans continued their senseless frontal assaults. Sometimes they gained a small advantage, as when they penetrated into the tractor factory, but these were only local and temporary. The Soviet counterattacks- with the exception of their infiltrations- were hardly better. They were models of rigidity, always the same place, always the same artillery preparation, and always a total lack of imagination. Between them the two forces slugged away like artless prizefighters trading roundhouse punches.

 

[Ozymandias]

GENERAL PAULUS

Generaloberst Friedrich Paulus had joined the German army in 1910. He had risen to the rank of Captain during the First World War, and had been largely involved in work as a staff officer. He married well, winning the hand of a beautiful young woman of the Romanian nobility, Elena Rosetti-Solescu, whose friends called her "Coco".

Paulus served both in the Balkans with the Alpenkorps, and at the Battle of Verdun. He stayed in the post-war Reichswehr, rising as high as Major before Hitler came to power. Paulus had a strange fixation for a soldier. He despised dirt, bathed and changed uniforms several times in a day, even on the rare occasions he ventured into the field. He grew professionally as an excellent staff officer, contenting himself with sand-table models of various battle-field scenarios.

However, on at least one occasion he was called upon to command a battalion during a field exercise. Paulus's performance was found lacking, and a superior noted in an evaluation, "This officer lacks decisiveness!" The following is a direct quote from his commanding officer of the time. As it turns out, this statement is indicative of what could be expected of him as a soldier.

"A typical Staff officer of the old school. Tall, and in outward appearance painstakingly well groomed. Modest, perhaps too modest, amiable, with extremely courteous manners, and a good comrade, anxious not to offend anyone. Exceptionally talented and interested in military matters, and a meticulous desk worker, with a passion for war-games and formulating plans on the map-board or sand-table. At this he displays considerable talent, considering every decision at length and with careful deliberation before giving the appropriate orders."

With the advent of Hitler and the expansion of the German army, Paulus moved steadily up the ranks of officers attached to the General Staff. By the outbreak of war in 1939, Paulus was a Major General, and on the staff of Gen. Walther von Reichenau's 10th Army. Von Reichenau was probably the very antithesis of Paulus. An ardent Nazi, coarse and unkempt, he loathed routine paper work, preferring duty in the field. During the Polish campaign, he set an example for his troops by swimming across the Vistula river. He was perfectly content to let Paulus handle the organizational duties, and as a result, his army was running as efficiently as a Swiss watch.

Renamed the 6th Army for the 1940 campaign in the West, von Reichenau and Paulus spearheaded the attack through Belgium, establishing their army as one of the elite of the Wehrmacht. Theirs was among the forces which pinned the British Expeditionary Force and the Remnants of the French Army against the sea at Dunkirk. Chosen for the cross-channel invasion of Britain, Paulus worked up the operational details for an amphibious assault by the 6th Army.

With the cancellation of Operation Sea-Lion, Paulus found himself back in Berlin, under Gen. Franz Halder, working up operational plans for Operation Barbarossa. To work with the chief of the German General Staff was a plum of a career opportunity for him. He impressed Halder with his intellectual precision, his meticulous preparations and staff work. Ironically, Paulus laid down the basic operational plans for the ultimate fate of the 6th Army, as well as his own.

With the dismissal of Field Marshal von Rundstedt as Commander, Army Group South, Field Marshal von Reichenau was moved up from 6th Army to replace him. Von Reichenau recommended his old deputy to be the new commander of the 6th Army. It was intended that von Reichenau would assist Paulus through the transition and change of command. But von Reichanau died of complications from a heart attack and stroke (largely brought on by the stress of the Russian campaign) on Jan 17, 1942. At the age of 51, Paulus had achieved his life's ambition - command of an army in the field.

It was not to be a happy one.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad, Part Two

In October, Paulus prepared to make his decisive thrust. he moved German troops from his flanks to his front, replacing them with Romanians. This greatly weakened his defenses, but at the time Paulus was not thinking defensively. On the 14th, he launched his most massive attacks. 5 brand new or newly reinforced infantry divisions and 2 armored divisions struck on a narrow front less than 3 miles wide. It was launched following the most hideous artillery and mortar barrage of the entire battle, supplemented by 2,000 Luftwaffe sorties. The roar was so continuous and deafening that it was impossible to register a single explosion or shot. Nothing beyond 5 yards could be distinguished, the smoke and dust were so thick.

In General Chuikov's headquarters the vibration was so great that glasses flew off tables, disintregrating into a thousand bits. It is not often even in modern warfare that an army headquarters suffers casualties, but but 63 men in the 62nd Army's command post were killed and three times as many wounded.

Yet, for all of this, Paulus' 6th Army could penetrate no more than a mile, breaking through at the tractor factory. Thereafter, attrition reigned as king of the battlefield, and attrition always erodes the the invader the most. Paulus and the intelligent officers and men in this army at the end of a line of supply 1,000 miles long began to realize that they might be doomed.

Adolf Hitler didn't see things that way...

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part Three

On November 9, Hitler made his annual speech in Bavaria commemorating the Beer Hall Putsch. On this occasion, he told his old Nazi comrades:

I wanted to get to the Volga, and to do so at a particular point where stands a certain town. By chance it bears the name of Stalin himself. I wanted to take the place, and do you know, we've pulled it off, we've got it really, except for a few enemy positions still holding out. Now people say, "Why don't they finish the job more quickly?" Well, the reason is I don't want another Verdun. I prefer to do the job with quite small assault groups. Time is of no consequence at all.

Hitler had come to Munich by special train. In happier days, he was accustomed to showing himself at the window of this train wherever it stopped, smiling and waving his hands when he was recognized by cheering throngs. The throngs were gone. The nation, becoming more aware of the incredible casualties from Russia, were becoming more and more somber. On this trip, Hitler while dining, looked at the window and saw another train, returning from Stalingrad. It was composed of a string of cattle cars. In them were German soldiers, their faces pinched with cold and emaciated with starvation. Many of them were wounded, blood-stained bandages stark against their filthy uniforms. They stared with pathetic devouring eyes. It was Der Fuhrer! The men struggled to their feet to give the Nazi Salute. According to Albert Speer, who was accompanying Hitler, "He stared at them with a flushed look on his face: fury, shock, horror. Then he ordered the waiter to lower the shades. He did not return their salute."

Paulus's mid-October offensive raged for days and nights. At one point the Germans possessed 9/10ths of the city. Paulus wanted the final 10th on a narrow strip along the cliff above the Volga. The cliff was honeycombed with galleries containing hidden command posts, hospitals, factories, and ammunition dumps. The Soviets fought ferociously to hold their little "islands" of resistance. They broke the German massing movements with heavy guns mounted in the forests across the river. Supplies were ferried over the Volga. Reinforcements came in the same way. Stalingrad still held.

Now to relieve the pressure on the city, Soviet forces on the Don front began an offensive on October 19. The Germans were compelled to divert large numbers of aircraft, tanks, and artillery towards the Don. At the same time, the Soviet 64th Army struck Paulus's southern flank, the one being guarded by the Romanians, who did not prove stout in defense. Suddenly the battle had turned.

With these timely strokes, the Soviets fighting under the overall direction of Marshal Georgi Zhukov were able to ease the pressure on Chuikov's 62nd Army within the city. With this, Zhukov prepared his own November counteroffensive.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part Four

As Zhukov's blows struck deeper wedges into the German flanks, the soldiers there began falling back on Stalingrad. As they did. the second Soviet winter arrived. This time, the Germans were prepared, somewhat. They had been issued warm clothing. Nevertheless, the men froze in their holes. In the morning vapor puffs shot from their mouths as thick as cigarette smoke. To free the ice from their frozen weapons, they urinated on them. Gradually, there sank into their numbed consciousness the reality of defeat. Was it worth it even to try to live in this frozen hell of snow and ice?

They struggled on, withdrawing inthe face of relentless pressure. Guns were blown up. Munition dumps were set afire and huge store of clothing and food piled on top of them. Nothing was to be left to the onrushing enemy. Everywhere, along roads clogged with stalled tanks and trucks and even sleighs, was the litter of retreat: helmets, gas masks, cooking utensils, entrenching tools. Even rifles and grenades were thrown away by the wounded, who looked upon them as a burden. Icy winds slashing in from the east blew snowflakes as sharp as bits of glass in to their unshaven faces. Their skin sagged in their bones as their ragged gray uniforms hung in folds on their shrunken bodies. Men who could go on no longer sank to their knees in the snow and rolled over, dying, to be shaped into white mounds within minutes by the never ending snow.

Again and again they turned in delaying actions in order so that the bulk of the German troops could retreat into Stalingrad. Some of them had lost so many fingers to frostbite that the had only a little finger to fire their rifles. For sustenance they had a few slices of bread a day or a thin broth with an infrequent cube of horseflesh floating in it.

At night they lay in the snow listening fearfully for the Stalin Organs, those dreaded rocket launchers. When they heard them belching loudly in the distance, they squirmed deeper in the snow, covering their ears against the shriek of the following rockets and the roar of the explosions spraying fiery red death among them and making the snow seem hot. then the Soviets would be on them, shouting and singing, and once again the German guns chattered, until the monster KV tanks arrived and a fresh retreat was begun.

Whenever they could, the soldiers squatted in the snow and wrote letters home. Most of these were never mailed, taken by the thousands from the unidentifiable remains of men torn to bits by the Stalin Organs. Here is one:

Of the division there are only 69 men still fit for action. Bleyer is still alive, and Hartliebe as well. Little Degan has lost both his arms; I expect he will soon be in Germany. Life is finished for him, too. D. has given up hope... All we have left are two machine guns and 400 rounds. And then a mortar and 10 bombs. Except for that all we have are hunger and fatigue. B. has broken out with 20 men on his own initiative, Better to know in 3 days than in 3 weeks what the end looks like. Can't say I blame him.

Finally the wihdrawing flank troops entered Stalingrad. They took up their positions while the Soviet propaganda loudspeakers intoned in German with chill motonony:

Every 7 seconds, a German dies in Russia. Stalingrad will be your mass grave. Every 7 seconds, a German dies in Russia, Stalingrad will be your mass grave. Every 7 seconds...

 

[Ozymandias]

During the Soviet defense of Stalingrad, they were able to continue to get reinforcements into the city, often crossing at the river at night. The average survival time for a new soldier arriving in Stalingrad was one day. The average survival time for an officer was three days. The Soviets had a T-34 tank factory in Stalingrad. Tanks would roll off the assembly line and go directly into battle. "Not one step back!" was the order. Any officer who authorized a retreat would be court martialed. Most of the fighting was small arms fighting; house to house, rubble heap to rubble heap. It was a war of attrition; which Germany couldn't win.

 

[DCThunder]

During the Soviet defense of Stalingrad, they were able to continue to get reinforcements into the city, often crossing at the river at night. The average survival time for a new soldier arriving in Stalingrad was one day. The average survival time for an officer was three days. The Soviets had a T-34 tank factory in Stalingrad. Tanks would roll off the assembly line and go directly into battle. "Not one step back!" was the order. Any officer who authorized a retreat would be court martialed. Most of the fighting was small arms fighting; house to house, rubble heap to rubble heap. It was a war of attrition; which Germany couldn't win.

More likely shot at a summary execution by an NKVD commisar.Nikita Krushchev was a commisar at Stalingrad.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part Five

On November 19, the Soviet counteroffensive began. Zhukov had skillfully massed perhaps a million troops on 3 fronts: the southwest on Paulus's left flank, the Don Front in his center and the Stalingrad front on his right. Almost immediately the Southwest Front armies achieved a breakthrough. The Romanians whom Paulus had sent there to replace German formations broke and ran or surrendered in great numbers. The Don Front armies also broke through. On the following day, the Stalingrad Front surged forward, routing the Romanians on Paulus's right. Within a week, the 6th Army was in danger of encirclement. Soviet Armies on their left and right flanks were rushing toward a meeting in their rear at the line Kalach-Sovetskoye.

Paulus desperately radioed Hitler for help. None came. Instead Der Fuhrer ordered him to stand firm and to transform his position into "Fortress Stalingrad." But Paulus could not make a fortress of this now leveled city. He had neither the guns nor the able men. Temperatures were now near 30 below and food supplies were beneath subsistence level. Neither could he break out with tanks. There was only enough fuel for each tank to travel 20 miles. On the night of November 23 Paulus radioed Hitler for permission to evacuate the pockets held in Stalingrad by German troops and attempt to break out to the south and the west. Hitler replied: "Stalingrad must be held. There must be no breakout." Once again, Hitler was refusing to surrender an inch of conquered ground. But he did promise supplies, a veritable cornucopia to be poured from the skies by the Luftwaffe. On that very day he had received a promise of their delivery from Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering. Goering had conferred with Hitler and General Kurt Zeitzler, the Army Chief of Staff, one of the few brave generals who detested Goering and couldn't understand why Hitler couldn't see through this fat idiot. Zeitzler gave a record of their conversation that day:

HITLER- Goering, can you supply the 6th Army by air?

GOERING- Mein Fuhrer, I assure you the Luftwaffe can keep the 6th Army supplied.

ZEITZLER- The Luftwaffe certainly cannot.

GOERING- You are not in a position to give an opinion on that subject.

ZEITZLER- Mein Fuhrer, may I ask the Reichsmarschall a question?

HITLER- Yes, you may.

ZEITZLER- Herr Reichsmarschall, do you know what tonnage has to be flown in every day?

GOERING- I don't, but my staff officers do.

ZEITZLER- Allowing for all the stocks at present with the 6th Army, allowing for absolute minimum needs and the taking of all possible emergency measures, the 6th Army will require delivery of 300 tons per day. But since not every day is suitable for flying, as I myself learned at the front last winter, this means that about 500 tons will have to be carried to the 6th Army on each and every flying day, if the irreducible minimum is to be maintained.

GOERING- I can do that.

ZEITZLER- Mein Fuhrer, that is a lie. He is lying!

Hitler knew it was lie, and so did Goering; nevertheless, Hitler assured Paulus of the cornucopia winging its way to Stalingrad. Actually Goering never brought more than 100 tons a day to Stalingrad. Sometimes his overworked Junkers brought in as little as 16 tons.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part Six

Next Hitler summoned Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, the same man who had brilliantly planned the assault on France. He was ordered removed from the Leningrad front and to take command of the newly formed Army Group Don to relieve Paulus. He was to drive on the city from the southwest. Manstein argued that it would be better for Paulus to try to break out through the west while he struck down from the northeast. Hitler shook his head. Manstein must join forces with Paulus in Stalingrad and hold the city.

Manstein ordered General Hermann Hoth to breat the Soviet ring with his 4th Panzer Army. By December 21, Hoth had driven to within 30 miles of Stalingrad. His forward units said they could see the 6th Army's signal flares. Hoth was astonished. He actually had punched a hole in the Soviet ring. Paulus could escape through if he wanted to. On that same day, Zeitzler tried to persuade Hitler to allow Paulus to make the attempt.

Hitler's reply was incredible: Paulus could escape if he still hung onto Stalingrad. Zeitzler was horrified: was Der Fuhrer going mad??

I want to stop at this point in the narrative and note that, beginining with this battle and continuing all the way to the final bunker scenes of the Third Reich, we're going to hear from a lot of German generals who are astonished by just how crazy Hitler is behaving. What is REALLY astonishing is that these men ever considered him to be sane in the first place. There is a great amount of hypocrisy, IMO, among these German generals- they were mostly upper class, decent fellows, who were not Nazi and often abhorred Nazi methods. Some of them, like Manstein, Rundstedt, and Guderian, were quite brilliant. Yet they willingly followed the orders of an insane man and had no qualms about his evil deeds, so long as Germany was winning. When things started to go south, only then did they begin to notice just how crazy Hitler was. But he did not become crazy in November of 1942. He had been that way all along, and these men were too blind to notice it.

Manstein composed a clever order to Paulus. It was deliberately vague and could be construed by the general as an order to break out. Later, Paulus could save himself from Hitler's wrath by claiming a misunderstanding. But Paulus, loyal to Hitler, refused to seize the opportunity. Probably, by then he could not have broken out. His troops were dying of frostbite, typhus, and dysentery. They had little food, and some of them were suspected of eating their dead comrades. It was not yet an open practice, as it would become among Axis prisoners in the dreadful Soviet prison camps, but the inexplicable absence of limbs neatly severed from dead bodies suggested it. Calvarymen and some artillery men were tempted to no such abberation, being able to slaughter and eat their horses. Withi his men in this condition and with no fuel for his tanks and transport, Paulus could not hope to succeed.

On December 23, Manstein ordered Hoth to return to the Don Front. By Christmas, the army of the Caucusus was also in trouble, and Hitler reluctantly signed an order for it to withdraw.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Part Seven

Back in Berlin, Christmas had not been merry. There were too many wives without husbands, too many mothers without sons, too many soldiers without arms or legs telling their tales of horror. By that December, during 17 months of fighting on the Soviet Front, the German Army had lost over 2 million men killed and wounded, among them their finest troops, veterans who might have been expected to form the nucleus of new cadres. In the 6 months between June and the end of November, 1942, losses in the region of the Don River, the Volga and at Stalingrad had been 600,000 men, 1,000 tanks, 2,000 guns and mortars, and 1,400 airplanes.

After General Hoth began his withdrawal from the Stalingrad front and the army in the Caucasus was given permission to retreat, the Soviets opened a drive on Rostov, hoping to cut them off. Among the troops hurrying to get that city was a company of men led by Sgt. Alexi Petrov, an artilleryman. On the way there, they ran into a Kazakh village. The Kazakhs were independent villagers in the Caucasus who had somehow defied the Revolution up to this point. They hated Russians, and their villages were so remote that they had for the most part remained unmolested.

Petrov and his gun crew were harassed by peasants wielding pitchforks and hammers. The Russian soldiers retreated in confusion. "We don't want any Russians here!" the peasants shouted. Petrov decided to telephone division headquarters for advice. Back came the reply: "Destroy them all."

Petrov ordered his men to open fire on the village. Within 15 minutes every home and building was obliterated. Not a single man, woman, child, horse or dog was left living. Then the pursuit of the Germans continued.

 

[lord_helmet]

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of Stalingrad Conclusion

Erich von Manstein was a noble soldier. He did not relinquish his attempts to persuade Hitler to allow Paulus to attempt to break out. But Hitler refused. "I will not leave the Volga!" he shouted. Both men did not realize it was already too late. On January 30, Hitler hit upon a ruse which he believed would compel Paulus to fight to the death. Aware that no German field marshal had ever surrendered, Hitler announced by radio he was promoting Paulus to Field Marshal. Paulus made no reply to this fine promotion.

Soviet artillery fell mercilessly on Paulus's scarecrows, and found the new field marshal in his command post in a department store. Paulus was too stunned and exhausted to make any reply to the Soviet surrender demand. He left it to his chief of staff, Lt. Col. Arthur Schmidt. There was no formal surrender. Instead, Paulus and his entire headquarters staff went into captivity, while the various sector commanders made their own arrangements. The 24 generals and 180,000 officers and men- the survivors of the original 300,000- passed into captivity. All but the generals were sent by forced marches into the cruel prison camps of Siberia, where almost all of them perished of typhus and cholera. The Russians were no more tender than the Germans had been. Only 6,000 Axis soldiers are known to have survived.

Hitler was shattered by the Soviet broadcast that the 6th Army had surrendered. He had believed Paulus's last message that he and his troops were fighting to the last man and the last round for the glory of Der Fuhrer and the Fatherland. The thought of Paulus and his men still alive galled him. He should have killed himself! The Germans should have all died before surrendering!

(This view by Hitler represents one of the first outward signs of his thinking, which was to affect so much of German actions during the last three years of the war: the belief in Gotterdamurung- that if Germany cannot win, she should destroy herself all should die, much like a Richard Wagner tragedy.)

Just before Hitler had become chancellor, he had been involved with the one great love affair of his life with his niece, a beautiful blonde girl named Geli Raubel. She didn't love him back. It was incestuous, but Hitler was obsessed and would not let the girl out of his sight. She found a luger and shot herself to death.

Now, it was to this earlier tragedy that Hitler kept referring to in his angry remarks about Paulus:

When you consider that a woman who has her pride goes out, shuts herself in her room, and immediately shoots herself just because someone has made a few insulting remarks, then I can have no respect for a soldier who is too frightened to do the same thing, but prefers to go into captivity. Paulus will be sent to Lubyanka, I am sure. He'll be tortured. The Russians will shut them up in that rat cage and two days later they'll be so softened up they will say anything. And there's this beautiful woman, a real beauty of the first rank, and she feels insulted by some words, nothing of any importance, and she says "I will kill myself!" and then she does. What madness!

Hitler never had one word of compassion or admiration for the his heroic suffering soldiers. He had compared Paulus and the 6th Army to his love Geli, and found them wanting.

 

[timschochet]

We will return to the aftermath of Stalingrad later. It's time to return to North Africa. But before we get there, anyone have any more comments or questions about Stalingrad?

 

[Ozymandias]

As Midway was the turning point in the Pacific, so Stalingrad was the turning point on the Eastern front. From then on, the Germans could only fight delaying tactics. There were to be some minor successes, on both fronts, to be sure, but the initiative had passed from them. After Stalingrad, Germany was doomed to destruction. Of course, you could argue that what doomed them was to go to war with the Soviet Union, much like you could argue that what doomed Japan was to go to war with the US.

The US could have lost Midway, but would still have won the war. Germany could have taken Stalingrad, but would still have lost the war. Those two battles, however, were where the tipping point came about.

 

[Uwe Blab]

Always though this was an interesting story in Stalingrad....

Pavlov's House

A name which will forever live in the memory of the residents of the city of Volgograd, recently of Stalingrad fame.

Yacov Pavlov fought a 59 day battle with a platoon of 25 men for an apartment building overlooking 9th January square near the centre of what was then known as Stalingrad.

At the end of September, 1942, a platoon from the Red Army's 42nd Guards under the command of Sergeant Yakov Pavlov attacked and captured an apartment building only 300 yards from the Volga's edge. The victorious platoon, of which only 4 uninjured survivors remained, found numerous civilians(some of which would assist in the defence) sheltering in the basement of the building.

For several days these 4 men and the civilians supporting them held off against continuous German attacks to retake the building.

With food and ammunition getting exhausted, reinfocments totalling 25 men with ammunition, machine guns and, most prized, several anti-tank rifles.

Pavlov soon discovered that placing his anti-tank rifles on the top floor of the building allowed his gunners to fire into the thin top of the German tanks and prevented German gunners from elevating their main guns high enough to suppress their fire.

Throughout the 59 day battle for Pavlov's House, the defenders moved through holes cut into the walls to rush from one threatened sector to another in defence against the daily German attempts to capture the building.

Chuikov, the defender of Stalingrad, was later heard to comment that Pavlov's men killed more Germans than were lost in the liberation of Paris.

Pavlov's House was more than just a battle for an apartment building. It stood as a symbol of Soviet resistance not only for the Battle for Stalingrad, but for the Great Patriotic War itself.

The building was left the way it was after the battle as a memorial site of the Battle of Stalingrad and can be visited even today.

Picture

 

[Ozymandias]

THE FALL AND RISE OF ZHUKOV

On July 29, 1941, Zhukov was sacked from his post of Chief of the General Staff because he suggested abandoning Kiev to avoid an encirclement. Stalin refused, leading to a stinging Soviet defeat. By this time, the Red Army had lost huge numbers of men and machines. German forces sliced through Soviet territory virtually unopposed. The ill-fated counter-offensives at Lubno and Brody resulted in disastrous losses for the Red Army.

In October 1941, when the Germans were closing in on Moscow, Zhukov replaced Semyon Timoshenko in command of the central front and was assigned to direct the Defence of Moscow. He also directed the transfer of troops from the Far East, where a large part of Soviet ground forces had been stationed on the day of Hitler's invasion. The successful Soviet counter-offensive in December 1941 drove the Germans back, out of reach of the Soviet capital. Zhukov's feat of logistics is considered by some to be his greatest achievement.

By now, Zhukov was firmly back in favor and Stalin valued him precisely for his outspokenness. Stalin's (eventual) willingness to submit to criticism and listen to his generals was an important element in the eventual Soviet victory. (Interesting contrast here with Hitler). In 1942 Zhukov was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and sent to the southwestern front to take charge of the defense of Stalingrad.

 

[timschochet]

THE FALL AND RISE OF ZHUKOV

On July 29, 1941, Zhukov was sacked from his post of Chief of the General Staff because he suggested abandoning Kiev to avoid an encirclement. Stalin refused, leading to a stinging Soviet defeat. By this time, the Red Army had lost huge numbers of men and machines. German forces sliced through Soviet territory virtually unopposed. The ill-fated counter-offensives at Lubno and Brody resulted in disastrous losses for the Red Army.

In October 1941, when the Germans were closing in on Moscow, Zhukov replaced Semyon Timoshenko in command of the central front and was assigned to direct the Defence of Moscow. He also directed the transfer of troops from the Far East, where a large part of Soviet ground forces had been stationed on the day of Hitler's invasion. The successful Soviet counter-offensive in December 1941 drove the Germans back, out of reach of the Soviet capital. Zhukov's feat of logistics is considered by some to be his greatest achievement.

By now, Zhukov was firmly back in favor and Stalin valued him precisely for his outspokenness. Stalin's (eventual) willingness to submit to criticism and listen to his generals was an important element in the eventual Soviet victory. (Interesting contrast here with Hitler). In 1942 Zhukov was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and sent to the southwestern front to take charge of the defense of Stalingrad.

Zhukov was not a brilliant man, according to military historians, but he was fearless, and filled with energy. In addition to the events you listed here, he was also instrumental in the initial defense of Leningrad, as I described before. It seems like everywhere there was a major battle on the Russian front,Zhukov was there.

 

[Ozymandias]

THE FALL AND RISE OF ZHUKOV

On July 29, 1941, Zhukov was sacked from his post of Chief of the General Staff because he suggested abandoning Kiev to avoid an encirclement. Stalin refused, leading to a stinging Soviet defeat. By this time, the Red Army had lost huge numbers of men and machines. German forces sliced through Soviet territory virtually unopposed. The ill-fated counter-offensives at Lubno and Brody resulted in disastrous losses for the Red Army.

In October 1941, when the Germans were closing in on Moscow, Zhukov replaced Semyon Timoshenko in command of the central front and was assigned to direct the Defence of Moscow. He also directed the transfer of troops from the Far East, where a large part of Soviet ground forces had been stationed on the day of Hitler's invasion. The successful Soviet counter-offensive in December 1941 drove the Germans back, out of reach of the Soviet capital. Zhukov's feat of logistics is considered by some to be his greatest achievement.

By now, Zhukov was firmly back in favor and Stalin valued him precisely for his outspokenness. Stalin's (eventual) willingness to submit to criticism and listen to his generals was an important element in the eventual Soviet victory. (Interesting contrast here with Hitler). In 1942 Zhukov was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and sent to the southwestern front to take charge of the defense of Stalingrad.

Zhukov was not a brilliant man, according to military historians, but he was fearless, and filled with energy. In addition to the events you listed here, he was also instrumental in the initial defense of Leningrad, as I described before. It seems like everywhere there was a major battle on the Russian front,Zhukov was there.

It is interesting. At the beginning of the war, Hitler went against the advice of his generals, and was proved right. There are indications that the generals would have removed him from power if the Allies had stood up to him over Czechoslovakia. But each time the generals counseled prudence, Hitler was bold, and he was right. Essentially this established in Hitler's mind that he was the military genius, and made him unwilling to take any criticism or counsel from anyone other than his toadies.

On the other hand, Stalin went against the advice of his generals, and was proved wrong. This made him more willing to take advice in the future, and set the stage for the generals to run the war. Of course, Stalin portrayed himself as the Great Leader, but he was willing to take advice.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to El Alamein: First Battle Part One

When last we left North Africa in the timeline, it was the summer of 1942, and Rommel's brilliant attack had completely defeated Ritchie's 8th Army, seized Tobruk, and was thrusting into Egypt. Auchinleck had personally replaced Ritchie as commander of the 8th Army, but he was defeated in his initial battle with Rommel at Mersa Matruh. The British were in full flight.

In desperation, Ritchie called up all of his reserves out of Persia into Egypt to try to hold off the Desert Fox. This was a huge risk, because at the same time the Germans were smashing through the south of Russia. If they crossed the Volga and defeated the last of the Russian defenses, theoretically they could send troops into Iran and/or Iraq from the North and challenge Auchinleck's rear, and he would have nothing to defend them with. Churchill was worried about this threat; at the time, he did not trust the Russians to hold. (This was 6 months before the final results of Stalingrad.)

But Auchinleck felt he had no choice. Rommel was moving very quickly, not worrying about supply lines, gathering fuel as he went. If the Africa Korps could get close to Suez they could shut it down, and that, coupled with the U-Boats destroying American supplies meant for England, would mean starvation for the British Isles. Therefore Rommel HAD to be stopped before he got any further. Auchinleck had the 8th Army stop at El Alamein.

Now took place what historians called the First Battle of El Alamein. It was fought in the desert dust between two master tacticians, Erwin Rommel and Claude Auchinleck. And because it was fought in the dust, with very few guideposts, neither side had any clue as to who was winning.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to El Alamein: Desert Tank Warfare, Part One

Before I return to what happened at the First Battle of El Alamein, I want to discuss desert tank warfare in more detail, because it was an absolutely unique form of warfare, and like the combat of the flattops, unknown before World War II.

The desert is like the sea. With one exception, there are no roads. But none are needed, since virtually all the battleground provides smooth going for both wheeled and tracked vehicles. Neither are there towns and villages, except for a few inhabited places along the coast, and thus there are neither obstacles nor shelters nor people. Desert warfare is war in its purest form. Its only limitation is supply. Like a fleet on the barren sea, the armies of the equally arid desert cannot live off the land. All supplies- especially food, water, and fuel- have to be imported.

Without natural features to guide on, navigation was even more difficult than at sea, because a mere map and compass was no substitute for a sextant. It was also extremely difficult to judge how far away the horizon was. A newcomer soon learned to keep a watchful eye on his fuel gauge and his odometer. At night it was even more difficult. In the absence of natural features, drivers were guided by artificial signposts: an empty can of rations, an abandoned fuel can, a helmet. But these could vanish almost as quickly as they appeared.

Drivers approaching each other sought desperately to keep to windward to avoid the other vehicle's dust. Sand penetrated a vehicle's every *****: it got into the carburetor or lay in the windshield. Truck drivers kept their windshield wipers in constant use with the hope of being able to see. Sandstorms, which were common, reduced visibility to a yard or two.

Every face was caked with sand clinging to every pore beneath the merciless sun. Sand penetrated the clothing, pasting itself on skin, especially the hairier parts of the body. Since water was rationed, there was none to clean oneself with. Most men on both sides were rationed to a gallon a day or less, for all purposes. The rare thunderstorms was a blessing. In joy the men (again on both sides) would strip naked and enjoy the feeling of cleanliness while it lasted: within an hour or two, they were just as filthy again.

The British tankmen hated their 4 gallon gasoline can. At best, it was not a sieve; at worst, it leaked 30% of its contents between base and consumer. Since the truck convoys bringing gasoline reserves to the front needed 180,000 gallons a day themselves, the resulting loss was incalculable. The tankmen searched battlefields eagerly for one of those immensly superior German "Jerrycans."

British antitank guns were also markedly inferior to the German. The famous and dreaded 88mm gun could knock out a British tank at 3,000 yards. Conversely, the British 2 pounders were effective at most at 1,200 yards. This gave the Germans a decisive advantage whenever they were able to face the British in equivalent numbers. Fortunately for the British, this almost never happened.

To be continued...

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to El Alamein: Desert Tank Warfare, Part Two

For the British, there was always tea. "Brew up!" Nothing in the desert was so gladly welcomed as a steaming mug of strong black tea. Headquarters often despaired of the countless tons of gasoline consumed in bringing kettles to a boil. There were half-hearted attempts to put a stop to it, especially after armored formations lay immobile with empty fuel tanks while Tommies everywhere were brewing up on their makeshift stoves (made of empty ration cans into which gasoline was poured and ignited.) But nobody seriously wanted to eliminate tea. One might as well put a stop to being British.

"Brew Up!" had another connotation: it meant that an enemy tank had been set afire. Gunners peering through telescopic sites would see the shells fired at the enemy become a deadly red glow that would soon become a blaze. "Brew up!" they cried exultantly. Death in desert warfare could be a hideous, screaming, fiery end. Stricken tanks were quite literally crematories. Very few remains were ever found.

So the tanks rolled back and forth across this barren land in which only the Bedouins could survive, each side following identical routines. They rose at any time between Midnight and 4:00 am, some of them crawling stiffly off the truck and tank hoods on which they had slept, cuddling against their engines for warmth during the freezing cold of the desert night. Entering their vehicles, they moved into battle positions before first light.

Inside the tanks each driver sat with hands on the steering sticks and one foot poised over the gas pedal, his eyes glued to the narrow slit in front of him opening on the desert. The radio operator fiddled with his apparatus or cleaned the armor piercing shells for the cannon, while the gunner squinted through his round O, testing his gun's traverse and checking the ammunition belts. Above them was the tank commander, standing upright in the turret or sitting there with dangling legs. Like a fighter pilot, his head swiveled constantly, searching the vast sand sea for movement or a shape against the horizon, constantly changing position to study his rear as well as his front. On the commander's chest was the microphone with which he kept in touch with his crew or his headquarters.

Slowly the light of the rising sun stole across the desert floor. Soon the cooled sands were hot again...orders...movement...sometimes blazing battle and injury and death or victory, but mostly endless days of boredom, moving endlessly in the hot desert air, with no comfort from the blistering sun. It was only when night came again that the men could relax, and in the few hours after dusk before it became too freezing to move, they could stare at the African night sky- more stars visible than anywhere else on Earth- and think about home, whether in Germany, Italy, England, or Australia, wondering if they would ever see their loved ones again.

Many of them would not.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to El Alamein- First Battle, Part Two

For three full weeks the Germans and the British with their Commonwealth allies struggled back and forth in the seesaw First Battle of Alamein. Because the opponents were evenly matched, not only in men and arms but also in rival commanders, it was some time before ether chief could sense who was winning. Gradually, however, Auchinleck asserted his superiority over the worn out Desert Fox, especially after he began to devour Rommel's Italian divisions. Rommel, deeply aware of this strategy,wrote to his wife in despair:

The enemy is using his superiority, especially in infantry, to destroy the Italian formations one by one and the German formations are too weak to stand alone. It's enough to make one weep.

and

It can't go on like this for long, otherwise thefront will crack. Militarily, this is the most difficult period I've ever been through.

The front did not crack, because Rommel hurried every last reserve to the north to stop the British steamroller rolling south. The Desert Fox had stopped a rout, but his summer offensive was over- and it had failed. First Alamein had tarnished the glory of the earlier drive. Afrika Korps was like a broken reed. And Rommel himself seemed broken. He had driven himself, punished himself, in body and soul, and been rewarded with disappointment and despair- an unfailing prescription for bad health. Ahead of him lay a struggle against an infected liver, a duodenal ulcer and desert sores.

Auchinleck's troops needed to regroup, but this was not to be. Two demand letters came from Churchill- the first insisted on the immediate destruction of Rommel. The second was apparently so unpleasant that it has yet to be published. So Auchinleck sent his battle-weary, depleted foes over to the offensive. For four days he attacked Rommel's rear, causing the Desert Fox to summon the absolute last of his reserves. Then "The Auk" called it off on July 27. He informed Churchill that he simply did not have the strength to attack further. The First Battle of Alamein was finally over. But it had been a great success for England. Again, Rommel wrote:

Although the British losses in this Alamein fighting had been higher than ours, yet the price to Auchinleck had not been excessive, for the one thing that mattered to him was to halt our advance, and that, unfortunately, he has done.

Unfortunately for Auchinleck, Churchill never read these lines. What he had read a month earlier was the headline annoucing that his coalition government had lost a by-election through an enormous voting turnaround. It was a shocking criticism of his direction of the war. Churchill had now sunk to the nadir of popularity during his wartime premiership. Something had to give- or someone. That someone was Sir Claude Auchinleck. The Auk had turned the tide in the Desert War, but that was not enough for Churchill- only the destruction of the Afrika Korps would satisfy him. Auchinleck was given command of Iraq and Persia, and General Harold Alexander would replace him in Cairo.

Command of the 8th Army would go to a little-known general named Bernard Law Montgomery.

 

[Ozymandias]

AFTER MIDWAY, WHAT?

The battle of Midway had stopped the Japanese triumphal advance, and it was the beginning of the turning of the tide in the Pacific; but the question was: What to do next? The Japanese still had a superiority of force, but it was time to take steps to halt their offensive, and to begin to mount a counter offensive.

The Pacific was a huge battleground and would involve very large naval and land forces. Perhaps it was too big for one man to direct; but the problem was that if command was divided, then there could be differences in emphasis, and obstacles in communications. General MacArthur was Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific, but Admiral Nimitz was Commander in Chief, Central Pacific. This dispute went all the way up to Washington, and in the end, both MacArthur and Nimitz reported directly to the Chiefs of Staff. Finally they decided that command was to be given to MacArthur just west of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, and control for Guadalcanal would pass from Nimitz to him when the Guadalcanal and the Solomons had been secured.

Then came word that the Japanese were building an airstrip on Guadalcanal. If they succeeded, the communication link of the US and Australia would be vulnerable, and Port Moresby and the Northern part of Australia could come under attack. So Guadalcanal, 2,500 square miles, hot steamy, with mountain ranges, would be where the Japanese had to be opposed. It was to be a US Navy operation.

 

[Ozymandias]

THE LEGENDARY GROUP---MOSTLY AUSTRALIAN COASTWATCHERS

The Coastwatchers, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II to observe enemy movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. They played a significant role in the Pacific Ocean theater and South West Pacific theater, particularly as an early warning network during the Guadalcanal campaign.

There were about 400 Coastwatchers in all—they were mostly Australian military officers, New Zealand servicemen, Pacific Islanders and escaped Allied prisoners of war.The Australian coastwatch organisation was led by Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt, who was based in Townsville, Australia. Their actions were particularly important in monitoring Japanese activity in the roughly one thousand islands that make up the Solomon Islands.

Many personnel who took part in Coastwatcher operations behind enemy lines were commissioned as officers of the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) to protect them in case of capture, although this was not always recognized by the Japanese military, which executed several of them. The Coastwatchers' numbers were augmented by escaped Allied personnel and even civilians. Feldt chose "Ferdinand" as the code name for his organisation, from a popular children's book about a bull, The Story of Ferdinand. He explained this by saying: "Ferdinand ... did not fight but sat under a tree and just smelled the flowers. It was meant as a reminder to Coastwatchers that it was not their duty to fight and so draw attention to themselves, but to sit circumspectly and unobtrusively, gathering information. Of course, like their titular prototype, they could fight if they were stung."

In 1942, two coastwatchers on Bougainville, Read and Mason, radioed early warning of Japanese warship and air movement (citing the numbers, type and speed of enemy units) to the United States Navy. Coastwatcher reports allowed U.S. forces to launch aircraft in time to engage the attackers. Admiral William Halsey, Jr. was later to say that the two men had saved Guadalcanal.

One of the most highly decorated coastwatchers was Sergeant Major Jacob C. Vouza, who retired from the local constabulary in 1941, volunteered for coastwatcher duty, was captured and interrogated brutally. He survived and escaped to make contact with U.S. Marines warning them of an impending Japanese attack. He recovered from his wounds and continued to scout for the Marines. He was awarded the Silver Star and Legion of Merit by the United States and later received a knighthood as well as becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

In August 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy of the United States Navy—a future President—and twelve fellow crew members were shipwrecked after the sinking of their boat, the PT-109. An Australian coastwatcher, Lt. Arthur Reginald Evans, observed the explosion of the PT-109 when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Despite U.S. Navy crews giving up the crew as a complete loss, Evans dispatched two Solomon Islander scouts, one of them named Biuki Gasa, in dugout canoes. The scouts found the men; Kennedy scratched a message to Evans on the coconut describing the plight and position of his crew. The future U.S. President was rescued shortly after; and 20 years later welcomed Evans to the White House.

Gasa did not make the trip, later claiming he received the invitation to attend but was fooled into not attending by British colonial officials. Gasa left his village and arrived in Honiara but was not allowed to leave in time for the ceremony.

These were brave and intrepid men, fighting alone, and providing vital information.

 

[timschochet]

In August 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy of the United States Navy—a future President—and twelve fellow crew members were shipwrecked after the sinking of their boat, the PT-109. An Australian coastwatcher, Lt. Arthur Reginald Evans, observed the explosion of the PT-109 when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Despite U.S. Navy crews giving up the crew as a complete loss, Evans dispatched two Solomon Islander scouts, one of them named Biuki Gasa, in dugout canoes. The scouts found the men; Kennedy scratched a message to Evans on the coconut describing the plight and position of his crew. The future U.S. President was rescued shortly after; and 20 years later welcomed Evans to the White House.

JFK used this incident heavily in his campaign for President, in a similar fashion to John McCain using his Vietnam POW experiences last year, and John Kerry trying to use his war experiences (before it backfired on him.) There is nothing new about this, of course; since the beginning of our country, politicians have played up their time in the military to get elected. A few, like Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower, were so famous as a result of warfare that they didn't need to speak too much about it; everyone knew. There are very few major American presidential candidates who did not in some manner serve in the military. Clinton and Obama are the odd men out in this instance, though it's certainly possible this is a sign of the future. Interestingly enough, two exceptions to the rule of talking about your military exploits were George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole. Both men can be considered heroes of World War II- Bush was a fighter pilot, while Dole was an infantryman wounded in Italy- but neither discussed these events during their political campaigns. Dole in particular seemed reticent even when asked about it.Regarding JFK, he had an older brother killed in action in the Pacific during the war. It is extremely ironic to note that this older brother was considered by th entire family the one talented son who was interested in politics and might someday be a Senator or even President of the United States.

 

[Mjolnirs]

A couple of good WW II related articles in Sunday and Monday's Charleston paper. They are a step out of the timeline, but I wanted to share. I've given a link to each with a brief snippet of the article.

'A Bridge Too Far'

Paratrooper to return to Holland to jump with re-enactors during commemoration

You have seen Columbia's T. Moffatt Burriss before. But he looked like Robert Redford.

On Sept. 17, 1944, Burriss, a battle-hardened 24-year-old in the 82nd Airborne Division, jumped into Holland in the largest airborne invasion in the history of warfare -- World War II's Operation Market-Garden.

So prominent was Burriss' role in the operation, which liberated parts of Holland but ultimately failed to reach Germany, that Redford played him in the movie "A Bridge Too Far."

WWII fighter pilots to meet in Charlestonhttp://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/13/wwii-fighter-pilots-to-meet-in-charleston/

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/13/wwii-fighter-pilots-to-meet-in-charleston/

He also still remembers the chilling day in August 1944 when he saw his group commander, a descendant of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, go down under Nazi fire on a dive-bombing run.

 

[Ozymandias]

THE BURMA CAMPAIGN I

Following their invasion and the capitulation of Thailand, the Japanese invaded Malaya (now Malaysia) and took Singapore, at the southernmost tip of the Malayan Peninsula. They then turned northward, toward Burma (now Myanmar). Their initial objective was to capture the capital and principal seaport, Rangoon, so as to prevent resupply of Allied troops. It would also protect their flanks in order to hold the rubber plantations in Malaya, and the oil in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

The Japanese Fifteenth Army under Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida, initially consisting of only two infantry divisions, moved into northern Thailand (which had signed a treaty of friendship with Japan), and launched an attack over jungle-clad mountain ranges into the southern Burmese province of Tenasserim in January 1942.

The Japanese successfully attacked over the Kawkareik Pass, and captured the port of Moulmein at the mouth of the Salween River after overcoming stiff resistance. They then advanced northwards, outflanking successive British defensive positions. Troops of the 17th Indian Division tried to retreat over the Sittang River, but Japanese parties reached the vital bridge before they did.

The loss of two brigades of 17th Indian Division meant that Rangoon could not be defended. General Archibald Wavell, the commander-in-chief of the ABDA Command, nevertheless ordered Rangoon to be held as he was expecting substantial reinforcements from the Middle East. Although some units arrived, counterattacks failed and the new commander of Burma Army (General Harold Alexander), ordered the city to be evacuated on 7 March after its port and oil refinery had been destroyed. The remnants of Burma Army broke out to the north, narrowly escaping encirclement.

The British Army retreated to India, and the Chinese troops which had been assisting them went back to China. Both the British and the Chinese suffered losses from malnutrition and disease. The Japanese moved forward to the Indian border.

During 1942 and 1943 the Allies tried to mount some operations, but were hampered by the fact that other war theaters were considered far more important. As a result, the tide did not start to turn until 1944. We will deal with that when the timeline gets us there.

 

[timschochet]

Prelude to El Alamein: Monty

You are quite useless. You will get nowhere in the army.

Bernard Law Montgomery was told this at the Royal Millitary Academy at Sandhurst, and he never forgot it, nor forgave it. Here was a man who remembered every slight in his entire life, and used them to drive himself. Small, thin, with an ascethic nature, Monty was was as arrogant as he was ambitious. In these traits he can be compared to MacArthur, though he lacked the latter's innate military genius. Montgomery was a good, not great general. He had no great innovative brilliance like some of the men we have discussed previously: MacArthur, Yamamoto, Armstrong, Manstein, Guderian, Rommel. He was also not a great leader of men, like Rommel, Zhukov, or Patton. And he did not have the organizational skills of an Eisenhower or Marshall.

What Monty did have were four factors always important in the creation of a military legend: a will to win, courage, luck, and flair. The will to win and courage are key elements desired in any good soldier; George MacClellan and General Ritchie are examples of soldiers lacking these qualities and therefore never willing to be persistant in achieving victory. Monty was lucky in that Auchinleck had already turned the tide of battle, and that he, Monty, could now reap in the glory by engaging a much weakened foe.

As for flair, Monty had it in spades. The first sign came when he began to wear a tanker's beret. The beret was not part of the General's uniform, and the War Office ordered him to remove it. Monty refused. The beret was, of course, a calculated stage prop, much like MacArthur's corncob pipe, and it helped dramatize and magnify his growing legend. It was growing because Monty started it. He had a fine military record, but was unknown to the general public until being assigned to command the 8th Army. He staged a press conference. "I am being asked to save Egypt from the Hun", he told reporters, "and I shall do so." Again, like MacArthur, Monty saw himself as the important factor, not his men or equipment. He wanted the spotlight, and would resent bitterly anyone who came between himself and all the glory. Later on, we shall see how Monty's feud with Eisenhower, based upon jealousy, affected the war effort.

On the flight to Egypt, Montgomery seemed melancholy. After saying nothing for several hours, he spoke to one of his adjutants, General Sir Hastings Ismay. Monty said, "You know, Ismay, a soldier's life is a tragic thing. He wins a battle and gains promotion. He wins another and becomes famous, a campaign and becomes a national hero. Then suddenly, defeat- and with it, disgrace. He is forgotten."

"But Monty," Ismay cried, alarmed. "Why should such a thing happen to you?"

"To me!" Montgomery repeated in incredulity. "But how could that be? I was speaking of Rommel."

 

[Ozymandias]

A very commonplace general.

1. He was lucky, to come just at the time when the tide of war was starting to run the other way, and equipment was being delivered by the "Arsenal of Democracy".

2. He was British, at a time when the British needed a leader, because it was obvious that America was going to have the preponderance of troops in Europe, and so the overall commander would be American.

3. He was overly cautious; not necessarily a bad trait when you know the tide is flooding your way. But not much room for brilliance. On the plus side, he didn't usually overexpose his troops to danger (Operation Market Garden being the exception, but that was because he wanted the glory of spearheading the main thrust to the Ruhr).

4. He was not a team player; neither was Patton, but Patton at least was aggressive. Montgomery criticized everyone and everything, other than himself.

5. He was contemptuous of his peers and superiors; a thoroughly nasty little man.

I wouldn't have wanted to invite him to my house or have him date my sister.

 

[Ozymandias]

TRUK LAGOON AND RABAUL

The Japanese forward naval base, similar to Pearl Harbor for the US, was at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands. The lagoon was 30 miles long and 10 miles wide and had been built and reinforced ever since Japan had received the Carolines as a protectorate after WWI. It lay about 1500 miles southeast of Japan, and about 500 miles northeast of New Britain. It was considered the "home base" for the Japanese naval operations in the Southwest Pacific.

New Britain was part of the Bismarck Archipelago lying northeast of New Guinea. It was in New Britain that the Japanese established a powerful airbase at Rabaul. Rabaul lay northeast of New Guinea, and north and slightly west of Guadalcanal. From this airbase they could range down into the Solomon Islands, and over toward New Guinea, although the distance (about 600 miles), made it too far for regular operations.

With carriers in short supply at this time, both for the US and for Japan, this meant that most naval battles in and around the Guadalcanal area, tended to be fought by surface ships, mainly cruisers and destroyers.

 

[timschochet]

The Battle of El Alamein Part One

This should properly be called the Second Battle of El Alamein (see posts #788 and #791 for details of the First Battle), and it was actually a series of battles. Montgomery arrived to take command of the 8th Army in the middle of August, 1942, and he immediately made an impression. At Headquarters, he found an officer bent over a field desk.

"What are you doing there?"

"Preparing the plans for retreat, sir."

"Tear them up!"

Next he came upon a group of soldiers digging an emplacement, and said, "You can stop digging. The Germans aren't going to get this far."

That night he assembled his commanders to announce: "The defense of Egypt lies here at Alamein...I have canceled the plan for withdrawal. If we are attacked, then there will be no retreat. If we cannot stay here alive, then we will stay here dead. Two new divisions have arrived in Egypt... With this support, our task is easy. Given a week the situation will be steady. Given 14 days we will be sitting pretty. In three weeks the issue will be certain. In due course, we ourselves will attack. We shall then finish with Rommel once and for all."

The phrase "in due course" was somewhat upsetting to Winston Churchill, who wanted an attack in September. But Monty stubbornly held out for 6 weeks in which to train his troops and break in the new Sherman tanks. This was what Churchill had heard from Auchinleck, and his reaction had been to dismiss him. But he indulged Montgomery, even while the delay rose from 6 to more than 10 weeks.

On August 31, 2 weeks and 5 days after Monty arrived in the desert, his first battle there began. It was called the Battle of Alam al Halfa Ridge, one of two fortified British heights. Montgomery had no fewer than 767 tanks fit for action, of which 713 were cleverly positioned. 164 were the heavy American tanks.

Rommel had only 200 gun-armed tanks. He was also starved for fuel; he had insisted that without the 6,000 tons promised him he could not think of success. He got 1,800 tons. Moreover, all British armored and infantry formations were equipped with the new and efficient 6 pound antitank gun. Montgomery had absolute air superiority. More, he was facing a sick and weary opponent. Rommel's personal doctor had decreed he could not command a battle without constant medical attention and must have a replacement on the spot. He was so ill with a swollen liver and an infected nose that he could not get out of his Mammoth. Still he came on, at the head of three veteran German divisions and an Italian division on his left.

Rommel drove steadily eastward, a little more to the inside of Alam al Halfa that he had intended. Heavy British minefields slowed his advance. Soft sand burned up his precious fuel. There was no surprise, and a rain of fire fell on the Germans from the RAF. Rommel swung north towards the sea, advancing under cover of a sandstorm. But his attacks broke down. They were not pressed with the speed, skill, and daring of the old Desert Fox. At night Rommel fell back into the Ragil Depression. British aircraft and artillery pounded his armor throughout the night. In the daylight the Germans again sought to pierce the British defenses, but were thrown back. That night one of Rommel's panzer divisions reported that it was without fuel and could not move. Next day, the Desert Fox called off the attack.

He had been beaten, but he was also in peril of being destroyed. His formations were in chaos, his fuel was gone or going, and he was under constant air and artillery bombardment. Never before had Erwin Rommel been so helpless. One master stroke across his line of communications could have finished him. But none came as he cautiously crept westward away from battle.

If Montgomery saw the opportunity- and there is no reason to think he did not- he ignored it. In his neat and orderly mind, such strokes did not exist because they were not scheduled. Rommel been scheduled for defeat at Alam al Halfa, and he had been. He was next scheduled for destruction at the Second Alamein. The intervention of luck was simply not on the program; and so, Second Alamein would go forward as scheduled.

52 days later.