HOUSE PROVIDES WAY TO END WAR AID; LINDBERGH INSISTS BRITAIN CAN’T WIN (2/7/41)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 2/7/41 | Henry N. Dorris, Charles R. Michael, Harold B. Hinton, Herbert L. Matthews, Hanson W. Baldwin

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
North Africa, 1940: Graziani’s Advance and Wavell’s Offensive, 13 September 1940-7 February 1941 (Map 34a)
Marcks’ Plan, August 5, 1940
Operation Barbarossa (Dir. 21), December 18, 1940
The Mediterranean Basin (Map 33)
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939

[Homer_J_Simpson]

B.H. Liddell Hart, History of the Second World War

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept

[Homer_J_Simpson]

A Republican Coup – 2
Willkie Seeks Unity on Aid Bill among Republicans in Congress – 3
The International Situation – 4
Air Power the Crux – 4-6
The Day in Washington – 6
British in Appeal to South America – 6
Bad Weather Curbs Fighting in Albania – 6
R.A.F. Blasts Path for British Troops Dashing to Bengazi – 7
British Unopposed in Mediterranean – 7
8 Die as Bomber Hits Nevada Peak – 8
300 M.P.H. Crash Kills Army Pilot – 8-9
12 in Plane Dead in Ontario Crash – 9
More Fly, More Die, but Ratio is Same – 9
13 Poles Get Death after Brief Hearing – 9
General Motors Earnings a Record, but its New Taxes Also Set a High – 10
Lumber Output Drops More than Trend; Shipments Also Dip, but Orders Increase – 10
Italians Warned to Live Up to War – 11
East Favors Passage of Lease-Lend Bill; Opinion in Midwest is More Divided – 11
127 Strikes in Year on Jobs for Navy – 11
French Canceled Donovan’s Visa to Pass Through Syrian Territory – 12
Our Men Under Arms – 12
Texts of Day’s War Communiques – 13
British are Gentlemen, Graziani Told Colonists – 13
British Drive in Eritrea Belies an Italian Slogan – 13

[GeronL]

When Lindbergh says the US in liable for the war he might not have meant that we should make sure we and our allies win.

lol.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/feb41/f07feb41.htm

British victory at Beda Fomm

Friday, February 7, 1941 www.onwar.com

In North Africa... Large-scale surrenders begin at Beda Fomm after the Italians have made fruitless attempts to break through to continue their retreat. Eventually about 25,000 more Italians will be taken, along with 200 guns and 120 tanks. Since the start of the campaign two months previously a force of no more than two divisions has destroyed 10 Italian divisions and taken 130,000 prisoners for the loss of 555 dead and 1400 wounded. Many of the British vehicles now desperately need repairs. In the evening Agedabia falls to the British forces.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/07.htm

February 7th, 1941

UNITED KINGDOM: Command headquarters for the Western Approaches is moved from Plymouth to Liverpool.
Stockport, Cheshire: The first Fairey built Bristol Beaufighter makes its maiden flight.

GERMANY: U-564 and U-652 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

ALBANIA: Weather has held up operations successfully started by Greek 5 Division with capture of Zrebeshinj Mountain. Floods had against swept away bridges, Greek II Corps having to be supplied from Koritsa instead of Janinna. When weather improves further advance of 5 Division westward should secure fall of Tepelene. Italians now have equivalent of 30 Divisions in Albania.

U.S.S.R.: Soviet submarine K-55 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

LIBYA: Agedaba falls to the British.

Beda Fomm: At 11 am the Italian Chief of Staff surrenders to the HQ of 4th Armoured Brigade. Later General Annibale Bergonzoli surrenders along with the rest of 10th Army. 20,000 men, 6 generals and a vast horde of weapons, transport and supplies along with a shower caravan and mobile brothel with a dozen women. The cost of the battle to 7 Armoured Div. was nine men killed and 15 wounded.

It was a brilliantly orchestrated attack, which took the Italian defenders entirely by surprise when British armour - traversing barren and waterless tracks from Tobruk - suddenly appeared at Beda Fomm cutting any chance of Italian retreat. Australian infantry and tanks then swept in from the north to join the British from the south and west. With Benghazi taken O’Connor’s men continue westwards - advanced units have arrived at Sirte, with Tripoli itself now under threat.

Free French troops under General Leclerc besiege the Italian garrison at Koufra.

CHINA: Sinyang: After 13 days of bitter fighting, Chinese forces have crushed a major Japanese offensive in central China intended to make Japan’s garrison at Wuhan safer. By this morning Chinese troops had re-occupied Sinyang and all points north. The strategically crucial city along the Wuhan-Peking railway had fallen on 25 January when three Japanese divisions broke through Chinese lines before advancing and taking the town.

The turning-point in the battle for southern Henan came when Japanese forces suffered heavy losses as they attempted to take Fangcheng to the north-west of Sinyang and were forced to retreat.

JAPAN: Tokyo: Peace talks between Vichy French Indochina and Thailand open under the auspices of Japan, a week after an armistice was signed.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Hart ordered to insist on US command of any Allied fleet which arose from the discussions with British and Dutch representatives he was conducting. (Marc Small)

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 526 February 7, 1941

Battle of Beda Fomm, Libya, North Africa. At dawn, 20 Italian medium tanks break the British cordon but are stopped by artillery fire. Out of tanks and options, the Italians surrender. British take 25,000 Italian POWs, including the elusive General “Electric Whiskers” Bergonzoli, plus 200 guns and 120 tanks. Since the start of the ‘5 day raid’ two months ago, Operation Compass has destroyed 10 Italian divisions, 400 tanks and 1290 artillery pieces with a mixed force of British, Indian and Australian troops never more than 2 divisions strong. Allied losses for the whole campaign are 555 dead and missing, plus 1,373 wounded, while taking 130,000 POWs (including 22 Italian Generals). General O’Connor signals his victory to British Commander-in-Chief Middle East General Wavell in Cairo using a hunting metaphor (both are fox hunters) “Fox killed in the open”.

Battle of Keren, Eritrea, East Africa. British and Indian troops continue to hold Cameron Ridge. On the other side of the Gorge, 4th Indian Division tries to flank the Italian stronghold at Dologorodoc Fort, by moving through the Scescilembi Valley (known as “Happy Valley” by the Indian troops).

[investigateworld]

Short shoulda stayed on the boat.... poor b*stard.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Professional’s reply from 1/24:

Lindbergh sounds like a real leftwinger, anti war type. Would fit right in with code pink types?

Lindbergh's latest testimony is covered today.

Here is my semi-informed take on Lindbergh.

He had visited Nazi Germany within the last couple years and been well-treated by the Nazis. He even got a medal from Hitler. This caused him to think highly of the Nazis’ capabilities and he appears to have been over-awed by the German capacity for war production. No doubt that opinion was cultivated by his German hosts to produce exactly the result we are now seeing in his testimony to Congress.

I think that puts him more in the category of useful idiot than left-wing anti-warrior.

I’m assuming that after Pearl Harbor, he became persona non grata?

I like to think his America First philosophy caused him to come around and turn his aeronautical expertise to the cause of Allied victory. But I haven’t looked ahead that far so I don’t know.

[CougarGA7]

I agree with your assessment of Lindbergh, Homer. I don’t think that he was a kook, and I definitely don’t think he was a Nazi. I think he was impressed with the exterior trimmings that he saw in Germany which admittedly are very impressive indeed. When we look at 1939 for example, Germany has one of the lowest unemployment rates on paper and in appearance it would seem that Hitler was doing a far better job with the economy that FDR was.

I don’t think he could be called persona non grata though. He would go on after the dissolving of America First to be a technical adviser to both Ford and Vought and helped iron out production problems with both the B-24 Liberator and the F4U Corsair. He even flew some missions in the Pacific while attached to different units in an advisory roll.

[Professional]

OK, so I read up on Lindbergh just now, via Wikipedia. Wow, CL was a world class POS! Racist, Nazi, Jew Hating, Wife Cheating, mass children out of wedlock serial freak show. Yes, I’m convinced he’d be a Clinton Obama butt kissing liberal freak if alive today, and it sounds like he was an early pioneer of liberal environmentalism. The part about children out of wedlock, cheating, double cheating, is pretty revolting. FDR was so sick of him, didn’t even want him involved in the Air Corps.