AMERICANS, 10 ½ MILES AWAY, SHELL COLOGNE; U.S. PLANES USE IWO FIELD, MARINES PUSH ON (2/27/45)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 2/27/45 | Clifton Daniel, Harold Denny, Sydney Gruson, Gladwin Hill, Warren Moscow, 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 and the occasional radio broadcast 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
Luzon, P.I., 1941: Final Operations on Luzon, 3 February-20 July 1945
Southeast Asia, 1941: Final Allied Offensives in the Southwest Pacific Area 19 February-1 July 1945
West-Central Germany and Belgium, 1945: The Rhineland Campaign – Operations, 8 February-5 March 1945
Eastern France and the Low Countries, 1944: Summary – The Rhineland Campaign, 8 February-21 March 1945
Poland, 1945: Russian Offensive to the Oder – Operations 12 January-30 March 1945
The Western Pacific: Allied Invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa (Operation Iceberg), 1945
China, 1941: Operation Ichigo, 1945 and Final Operations in the War
China-Burma, 1941: Third Burma Campaign – Slim’s Offensive, June 1944-March 1945

[Homer_J_Simpson]

The Nimitz Graybook

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from yesterday.

John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Sgt. Mawson of Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Battle for Motoyama Airfield on Iwo Jima (3:49).

CBC

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from February 14.

Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy

[Homer_J_Simpson]

1st Gains 5 Miles (Daniel) – 2-3
Tanks Speed Up 1st Army Drive Along Hitler Highway to Rhine (Denny) – 4
Germans Cracking in 9th Army Area (Gruson) – 4
The Americans Driving Toward the Rhine and the German Industrial City of Cologne (photos) – 5-6
Berlin is Bombed in Peak U.S. Blow (Hill) – 7
Huge Soviet Drive Reported by Nazis – 8
Russia Speeding Captives’ Return – 8
Accord is Reached by Alexander, Tito – 9
War News Summarized – 9
Americans Storm and Take Iwo Hill (Moscow) – 10
Syria Declares War On Germany, Japan – 10
Americans Seize Verde off Luzon – 11-12
Devastation in Wake of Japanese Retreat from Manila (photo) – 11
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on the Fighting in Various War Zones – 13-15
Turkey in the War (Baldwin) – 15

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/1/27.htm

February 27th, 1945 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Aircraft carrier HMS Powerful launched Belfast. (Construction suspended 15 May 46).

Submarine HMS Vagabond commissioned.

ENGLISH CHANNEL: U-1018 is sunk Channel south of Penzance, in position 49.56N, 05.20W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Loch Fada. 51 dead and 2 survivors.

U-1208 is sunk in the west part of the Channel, in position 49.46N, 05.47W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Labuan, Loch Fada and the sloop Wild Goose. 49 dead (all hands lost).

(Alex Gordon)

U-327 sunk in the west part of the Channel, in position 49.46N, 05.47W, by depth charges from frigates HMS Labuan, Loch Fada and sloop HMS Wild Goose. 46 dead (all hands lost).

GERMANY: Berlin: Another daylight USAAF raid, the biggest ever, in which 1,102 bombers rained fire-bombs on Berlin, set the city ablaze yesterday. And today 38 RAF Mosquitoes rekindled the fires which the suffering civilians had scarcely started to put out. The total quantity of high explosive dropped there represents one ton for every 60 inhabitants, a cumulative total of 60,000 tons. The aim is to create chaos.

U-3033 commissioned.

LEBANON: Beirut: The Lebanese declare war on both Germany and Japan.

BAY OF BENGAL: Submarine HMS Seadog - rescued four US airmen from a raft. Later Seadog rendezvoused with an RAF Catalina to transfer these survivors.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Manila: An official ceremony formally re-establishes the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Victoriaville departed Halifax to join EG C-9 and escort Convoy SC-168.

[Squawk 8888]

Thanks Homer; ping to #4.

To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.

Canada Ping!

[iowamark]

Some US Republicans cheering for MacArthur in response to the Dems smearing him as “Dugout Doug.”

[Mikey_1962]

Some US Republicans cheering for MacArthur in response to the Dems smearing him as “Dugout Doug.”

My Uncle Seamus was there when MacArthur was filming his "return".

He had been fighting with the Filipino guerillas for years.

He went after MacArthur but the MP's got to him first.

The Irish do hold grudges. This may have been misplaced but I heard about it for years.

[fso301]

Some US Republicans cheering for MacArthur in response to the Dems smearing him as “Dugout Doug.”

Interservice rivalry in the Pacific between the army and navy was severe. Navy people piled on the Leftist smear MacArthur bandwagon partially in order to conceal their own failings on Dec 8, 1941 in the Philippines.

[colorado tanker]

I have always been critical of MacArthur dithering after Pearl Harbor when it was obvious to the world the Philippines would be invaded. That said, a more aggressive and vigorous defense would simply have bought more time. MacArthur did not have the resources to defeat the Japanese and we had nothing to send him.

There is one thing very much to MacArthur's credit. Despite his ego and need for headlines, he generally let Krueger run the land war and Kenney the air war and both were outstanding commanders. He also saved the Navy's bacon by insisting that the Philippines be the next target after New Guinea and not Formosa, which could have been a high casualty quagmire.

[henkster]

The German army in the west is disintegrating.

[colorado tanker]

It’s interesting and a little disconcerting that I’m beginning to see German place names I recognize from the Cold War Army, like Bitburg and Kaiserslautern - only they are now being held by the bad guys.

[henkster]

They are being handed over by the bad guys. I’m not sure when you served, but have you thought about how many junior officers surrendering these towns will be majors and colonels in the Bundeswehr when you were there?

[Hebrews 11:6]

The German army in the west is disintegrating.

Lots of little but pronounced eastward bulges in the front line, really for the first time, as you implied. At first glance I was reminded of fingers pushing through a rubber membrane. Sooner or later, it's gonna pop!

[colorado tanker]

You make an excellent point. I was not permanently assigned to Germany, but when I was there I never ran across anyone who said they fought against Americans or Brits. :-))

Yes, the German Army is disintegrating. It reminds me of the result in Normandy of another of Hitler's no retreat orders. Only this time, there is no place and no troops to organize another defensive line once this one disintegrates.

[henkster]

In Normandy and every other place Hitler gave his “no retreat” orders, the Germans still fought hard before calling it quits. And even after higher command and control had broken down, men from any number of units would independently rally around an officer and fight like hell to escape.

What’s changed is that they are no longer fighting hard, and aren’t making any attempt to fight their way out of encirclement. The Americans show up in force, and the Germans throw down their weapons. The mid-level officers who once led the breakouts are now surrendering their troops. Down in his gut, the average German has already quit. At least this is happening in the West.

The old rules still apply in the East.

[henkster]

PS: You are not the only serviceman who said all the Germans they met only admitted fighting in the East. We know that can’t be true, because all the guys who fought in the East either died there, or didn’t come home as broken men until 1955.