Posted on 11/03/2012 5:03:29 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
* [From the article.] The news from Washington and the South Pacific yesterday was encouraging.
It served to emphasize and underscore a remark made to this correspondent on Sept. 19 by Major Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, commanding the Marine, Navy and Army troops and planes on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo in the Southern Solomons.
”Are you going to hold this beachhead, general? Are you going to stay here?” General Vandegrift was asked.
His answer:
”Hell yes; why not?”
In the light of after events, General Vandegrift’s answer was more than rhetoric, more than the bold words of a tough marine; it may well have been historic.
This exchange was included in the excerpt from Toland’s Rising Sun on the September 18 thread. (reply #3).
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/nov42/f03nov42.htm
Marines sent to oppose Japanese landing
Tuesday, November 3, 1942 www.onwar.com
American reinforcements move up on GuadalcanalIn the Solomon Islands... On Guadalcanal, the expected Japanese landing at Koli Point occurs with a force of 1500 landing to the east of the point. The American forces engage, but soon must pull back. The Americans then halt their advances to the west, to supply reinforcements against the landings.
From Berlin... Hitler orders Rommel not to retreat despite his shortages of fuel and materiel.
In North Africa... Battle of El Alamein. Axis forces begin to retreat but are stopped when Hitler’s order is received. The Italians are already in the process of withdrawal. The British are unable to continue to pressure the beleaguered troops, much to Rommel’s surprise. They are having difficulty moving men and equipment through the minefields at a rapid pace.
In Washington... Results of the American Congressional and Gubernatorial Elections, the Republicans make gains in both the House (42 seats), the Senate (9 seats) and the elections of state governors (4 additional). President Roosevelt is a Democrat and these wins foretell difficulties in American domestic politics as well as a dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
November 3rd, 1942
UNITED KINGDOM: The Lockheed Ventura light bomber makes its RAF Bomber Command debut with a daylight raid by No. 21 Squadron. (22)
Submarines HMS Sea Nymph, Taurus and Unruly commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Calgary arrived Londonderry to refit from Cardiff.
Corvette HMCS Kitchener arrived Londonderry for Operation Torch.
(Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: U-198 commissioned.
YUGOSLAVIA: Tito’s partisans capture Bihac.
NORTH AFRICA: German and Italian units begin to withdraw, until Hitler orders “no retreat.” Rommel is astounded at the lack of pressure from the British, trapped as they are in their own confused traffic jams.
El Alamein: The Desert Fox is in retreat. The German general last night ordered his Afrika Korps to withdraw in the face of a new offensive launched by General Montgomery’s revitalized Eighth Army. Today Hitler sent an order to hold the Alamein position, but it was too late. Rommel did halt his retreat for a while, but this may only reduce his chances of securing a new defensive line.
The decisive breakthrough came after concern had been voiced by Churchill about the slow progress of the attack. Montgomery switched to the less well-defended German lines inland. This attack codenamed “Supercharge”, involved a westward attack by the infantry of XIII Corps under General Leese, with the armoured divisions of X Corps under General Lumsden to resist attacks from Rommel’s Panzers. The 9th Australian Division maintained diversionary attacks nearer the coast.
The Allied attack began in the early hours yesterday - and the German counter-attack was fierce. More than 200 British tanks were put out of action. But at the end of the day the Allies still had over 600 serviceable tanks against barely 30 for the Germans. With fuel for even these tanks desperately short Rommel ordered a retreat, leaving the way open for the Eighth Army.
INDIA: Delhi: Chiang Kai-shek puts 15 Chinese divisions under the command of Lieutenant-General Stilwell for the Burmese campaign.
INDIAN OCEAN: U-181 came upon a lifeboat and provided drinking water to its occupants. (Dave Shirlaw)
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The 2nd Battalion 7th US Marines begin a fire fight with Japanese units east of the Metapona River. Without radio contact, air or naval support, Colonel Hanneken conservatively pulls back. When he is finally able to contact Vandegrift in the afternoon, 1st Battalion 7th Marines, by boat, with 2nd and 3rd Battalions 164th are sent to reinforce. With initial assistance of the Cactus Airforce, and the artillery of 3rd Battalion 10th Marines, they turn the tide east of the Lunga Perimeter. In the closing moments 2-7 receive friendly fire from the Cactus Air Force.
General Hattori has arrived on Guadalcanal to observe and report the situation of the 17th Army to Tokyo. His initial accounts are of battalions crushed by shelling; the “actual situation is beyond imagination.” He reports that no future contribution from the 2nd Division should be counted on.
PORTUGESE TIMOR: A squadron of USAAF Martin B-26 Marauder bombers carry out a raid on the Japanese stronghold of Dili. This raid is watched by most of the Australians; at “Sparrow Force” HQ a signaller discovers that one of the radio sets netted into the same frequency as the bombers. Men clustered around the set listening to the flight leaders giving instructions and the replies from his pilots; as the last plane came in for it’s bomb run the listeners heard the pilot say “bombs away” followed by “port engine hit by flack.” The damaged plane fell out and the flight leader urged “come on Hitchcock, make formation.” As his plane limped along Hitchcock was heard to call ‘Zeros on my tail, Zeros on my tail’. The Australians watched as the dogfight took the planes south towards Darwin, and eventually out of their sight. (William L. Howard)(188, 189, 190, 191)
CANADA: Tugs HMCS Glendower, Glenlea, Glenora, Glenmont and Glenada ordered. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: 78th Fighter Group and 82d, 83 and 84th Fighter Squadrons move to March Field, Riverside, California on 3 Nov 42 to prepare for overseas duty. (Jack McKillop)
Republicans make some gains in the non-presidential elections in the US.
Congressional elections are held today for seats in the 78th Congress that will convene in January 1943:
- In the Senate, the Democrats lose nine seats, the Republicans gain ten and independents lose one; the Democrats still control the Senate with 57 of 96 seats.
- In the House of Representatives, the Democrats lose 45 seats, the Republicans gain 47 and independents lose two. The Democrats still control the House with 222 of the 435 seats.
Escort carrier USS Casablanca laid down.
Minesweeper USS Sentinel commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
CARIBBEAN SEA: CHR J. Kampmann, Canadian merchantman, ex-Danish registered freighter (2,260 GRT), was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean, north of Venezuela, in position 12.06N, 062.42W, by U-160, Kptlt Georg Lassen, Knight’s Cross, Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, CO. There were 19 survivors from her crew of 27 men. CHR J. Kampmann was part of convoy TAG-18. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-boats sink another six freighters from convoy SC-107. (Henry Sirotin)
U-181 sank SS East Indian.
U-504 sank SS Porto Alegre.
U-521 sank SS Hahira in Convoy SC-107.
U-89 sank SS Jeypore in Convoy SC-107. (Dave Shirlaw)
After being attacked and heavily damaged by an aircraft, U-431 was forced to return to base.
The flotilla doctor was able to give instructions via radio on treatment of a crewmember of U-436 who was suffering from appendicitis. (Dave Shirlaw)
May history repeat itself in 2012!
http://www.constable.ca/caah/beurling.htm
"Arms raised, a German tank officer surrenders to bayonet-ready soldiers of the British Eighth Army.
The fierce battle in El Alamein, Egypt, was a turning point in the African campaign, as a rejuvenated Eighth Army, supplied with tanks from Britain and America, defeated the German Afrika Korps.
For those in ghettos, the battle spelled hope of an eventual Allied victory over the Nazis and Fascists."
"An antisemitic cartoon features members of a Jewish athletic club marching behind a banner that reads, 'Meisel Sport Ima Talmud Federation.'
Blatant symbology links Jews to Freemasons and Communists. Propaganda such as this was created to reinforce the notion that Jews constituted a race, or national entity, that was fundamentally distinct from Germans.
Given the German love of sport and attachment to local clubs, imagery such as this resonated with the local populace."
"The Ausweis (identification card) meant the difference between life and death, between remaining in the ghetto and being deported to the concentration or death camps.
"The card indicated that the bearer was employed and therefore not simply a "useless" Jew.
At least temporarily, it granted a margin of safety to oneself and members of one's family, sometimes forcing the permit holder to make impossible choices about whom to include.
Gaining a valid Ausweis was not easy since Nazi authorities frequently changed the color of the cards, requiring new ones.
Gaining a card sometimes required bribing the Judenrat, which distributed them, especially as the Germans increasingly limited the number of work permits.
"In Vilna in October 1941, the Germans reduced the number of cards to 3,000, allowing only 12,000 of the ghetto's 27,000 Jews to be saved.
In the end, the Nazi quest to exterminate all Jews left no piece of paper a guarantee of safety."
Pretty amazing setback for FDR. Repeated shocking after-the-fact revelations of carrier sinkings and totalitarian measures (many necessary) contributed, I would think.
I bet everyone was just breathlessly waiting for Kokoda to be retaken
:p
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