Posted on 09/13/2014 5:29:03 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy
* Kluckhohn’s section has two missing lines of text. Not Homer’s fault.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/sep44/13sep44.htm#
Americans bombard the Palaus
Wednesday, September 13, 1944 www.onwar.com
In the Palau Islands... American naval forces begin a preliminary bombardment of Peleliu and Angaur. Admiral Oldendorf is in command of the operation which involves 5 battleships, 9 cruisers and numerous destroyers. An escort carrier forces provides air support and minesweeping is carried out to clear the approach route to the islands.
In Italy... British 8th Army forces clear German forces from Coriano Ridge and continue attacking the remaining German positions on the Gemmano Ridge.
On the Western Front... In continuing attacks, the US 3rd Army (part of US 12th Army Group) captures Neufchateau.
On the Eastern Front... Forces of Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front capture Lomza on the Narew, west of Bialystok.
In Occupied Poland... Soviet forces begin supply drops to the Polish Home Army (AK) forces engaging German forces in the Warsaw uprising. This action is taken in response to British and American pressure.
In Canada... The Octagon Conference continues. Churchill and Roosevelt and their staffs meet in Quebec to discuss strategy.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/13.htm
September 13th, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 3 missions. Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of aircraft bombing the target.
- Mission 628: 1,015 bombers and 477 fighters,in 3 forces, attack oil and industrial targets in southern Germany by visual means; 15 bombers and 8 fighters are lost.
(1) B-17s bomb oil refineries at Stuttgart/Sindelfingen (109) and Ludwigshafen (74); secondary targets hit are Darmstadt (95) and Wiesbaden (8); targets of opportunity hit are Mainz (22), a marshalling yard near Wiesbaden (12) and others (3); 4 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 73 P-47 Thunderbolts, they claim 6-0-2 aircraft on the ground.
(2) B-24s attack Schwabish Hall Airfield (65), a munitions dump at Ulm (65) and Weissenhorn (45); a target of opportunity hit is Reichelsheim (1); 4 B-24s are lost; escort is provided by 99 P-38s and P-51 Mustangs; they claim 14-0-5 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
(3) B-17s hit oil refineries at Merseburg (141) and Lutzkendorf (77); targets of opportunity hit are Giessen (17), Eisenach (12), Altenburg (7), Gera (7) and other (19); they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 7 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 233 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 33-0-4 aircraft in the air; 6 P-51s are lost.
- Mission 629: B-24s are dispatched on an Azon mission to the oil refinery at Hemminstedt (6); 5 hit the secondary target, ammunition dumps at Kropp. Escort is provided by 15 P-51s without loss.
- Mission 631: 8 B-17s drop leaflets on the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
- 73 B-17s, escorted by 63 P-51s, continuing the UK-USSR-Italy-UK shuttle-bombing mission, take off from USSR bases, bomb steel and armament works at Diosgyor, Hungary and proceed to US Fifteenth Air Force bases in Italy.
- 40 P-51s fly a strafing mission south of Munich hitting an aircraft dispersal area, airfield and marshalling yard; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
FRANCE: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, directs the capture of two objectives: the Ruhr and a deepwater port, either Antwerp or Rotterdam.
In northern France, the German garrison at Brest refuses a request to surrender although the garrison is being steadily compressed on all sides. In the U.S. XII Corps area, the Germans have decided to abandon Nancy in order to mass forces with which to overwhelm the Dieulouard bridgehead. A regiment of the 79th Infantry Division takes Neufchateau.
In southern France, the French 1st Armoured Division takes Langres. In the VI Corps area, the Germans surrender Vesoul and the 45th Infantry Division overruns Villersexel. VI Corps takes more than 1,300 POWs during the day.
First Allied Airborne Army’s IX Troop Carrier Command C-47 Skytrainss fly numerous supply and evacuation missions.
The USAAF Ninth Air Force’s HQ XIX Tactical Air Command accompanies HQ US Third Army HQ to ChaIons-sur- Marne; B-26 Marauders fly a leaflet mission to coastal northern France and Belgium; fighters support ground forces in the Brest and Nancy-Metz areas (air-ground coordination being especially effective between XIX Tactical Air Command and French 2d Armored Division in defeating the German move on Vittel. .
Fifty four B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy fly supplies to southern France.
GERMANY: The U.S. VII Corps penetrates the West Wall at two points.
Dachau: Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat-Khan (b.1914), WAAF, also known as the SOE agent Madelaine is executed at Dachau concentration camp. She had done highly risky work as an agent in France, and told the Nazis nothing after her betrayal. (George Cross) More
386 RAF bombers drop 400,000 incendiary devices.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 140 aircraft, 102 Halifaxes, 28 Lancasters and ten Mosquitos to attack the Nordstern synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 100 bombed the target and 14 bombed the city. Large explosions are seen through the smoke-screen. 2 Halifaxes lost. In a second raid, 98 Halifaxes and 20 Lancasters are dispatched to attack Osnabrück; 80 aircraft bomb the marshalling yard and 37 bomb the city. The marking and bombing are accurate but no details are available. No aircraft lost.
During the night of 13/14 September, 36 Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command are sent to Berlin and three to Karlsruhe. All aircraft bomb their targets with the loss of two aircraft bombing Berlin.
U-2525 laid down.
U-1305 commissioned.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Seven USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb the marshalling yard at Vrutky.
HUNGARY: Three USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the railroad at Berzence, Papa Airfield and an industrial area.
POLAND: The 2nd Belorussian Front takes Lomza on the Narew River. Belated Russian supply drops to the Polish Home Army in Warsaw begin
B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs two targets: 96 bomb the I.G. Farben oil refinery at Oswiecim and 25 bomb the marshalling yard at Wadowice. The Auschwitz concentration camp is located near Oswiecim and some of the bombs land inside the main camp destroying a barracks, killing 15 SS men and injuring 28. A cluster of bombs is also mistakenly dropped farther west at Birkenau, damaging the railroad but missing the crematoria.
ROMANIA: The armistice between the Allies and Romania is signed.
ITALY: The British 8th Army has cleared the Coriano Ridge of German positions.
For 24 hours it seemed that the Eighth Army was about to break through the Gothic Line at the Germmano and Coriano ridges and pour through onto the plains beyond. Then it came up against its old adversary: the weather. The rivers are flooding. Tanks of the 1st Armoured Division stand impotently in fields of mud at San Savino, while the British 4th Infantry Division has come under heavy artillery and mortar fire, delaying its move up to the start line. The delay has given the German chief, General von Vietinghoff, time to move his infantry into place, closing the gate to the Allies.
U.S. forces continue attacking the Gothic line but make little progress against stiff resistance.
US Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells destroy a bridge at Peschiera del Garda, cutting the Milan-Verona line; B-25s and B-26 Marauders bomb guns and defensive positions north of Florence; fighter-bombers attack railroads, rolling stock, and bridges in northern Italy, although a heavy overcast hampers operations in the northwest.
USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb three targets: 50 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso, 28 bomb the railroad bridge at Ora and 27 bomb the railroad bridge at Mezza Corona.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Carrier-based aircraft of the USN’s Task Groups 38.1, 38.2 and 38.3 make unopposed attacks against Japanese faculties in the central Philippines. Because of the lack of a reaction from the enemy, Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. recommends that the invasion of the Palau Islands be scrapped and the invasion of the Philippines be moved forward.
JAPAN: During the night of 13/14 September, three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators strike Kurabu Cape shipping and airfield on Paramushiru Island in the Kurile Islands.
EAST INDIES: Far East Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells hit 4 airfields and bomb villages on Morotai Island and Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells hit Langgoer Airfield in the Kai Islands .
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC: In New Guinea, A-20s and fighter-bombers hit 2 airfields on Efman Island; A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers hit Babo AA positions and airfields at Manokwari and Ransiki.
PALAU ISLANDS: A USN task force under Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf, comprised of five old battleships, [USS Maryland (BB-46), USS Mississippi (BB-41), USS Pennsylvania (BB-38), USS Tennessee (BB-43) and USS West Virginia (BB-48)], nine cruisers, and destroyers begins two days of bombardment of Peleliu and Angaur Islands. Additional support is from four Third Fleet escort aircraft carriers. Minesweeping begins to clear approaches for the landing craft.
While sweeping mines 750 yards (686 meters) off the southeast coast of Angaur Island, a violent underwater explosion, starboard side amidships, shakes the high speed minesweeper USS Perry (DMS-17). All steam to her main engines is lost and the forward fireroom is demolished and flooded. Steam and oil sprayed in all directions and the ship takes on a 30 degree list to port. The list increases and, at 1420 hours, the commanding officer ordered “abandon ship”. With the aid of the destroyer USS Preble (DD-345) final attempts to save the vessel are made, but, at 1515 hours, all remaining personnel are ordered off. At 1605 hours, USS Perry capsizes. She brakes in two at the point of damage and, at 1607 hours, sinks in 40 fathoms (240 feet or 73 meters) of water.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Prestonian commissioned.
U.S.A.: The destroyer USS Warrington (DD-383) and the stores ship USS Hyades (AF-28) are caught in the center of a hurricane off the Florida coast in the U.S. In the evening of the 12th, the storm forced the destroyer to heave to while Hyades continued on her way alone. Keeping wind and sea on her port bow, Warrington rode relatively well through most of the night. Wind and seas, however, continued to build during the early morning hours of the 13th. Warrington began to lose headway and, as a result, started to ship water through the vents to her engineering spaces. The water rushing into her vents caused a loss of electrical power which set off a chain reaction. Her main engines lost power, and her steering engine and mechanism went out. She wallowed there in the trough of the swells continuing to ship water. She regained headway briefly and turned upwind, while her radiomen desperately, but fruitlessly, tried to raise Hyades. Finally, she resorted to a plain-language distress call to any ship or shore station. By noon on the 13th, it was apparent that Warrington’s crewmen could not win the struggle to save their ship, and the order went out to prepare to abandon ship. By 1250 her crew had left Warrington; and she went down almost immediately. A prolonged search by USS Hyades, the destroyer escorts USS Frost (DE-144), USS Nuse (DE-145), USS Inch (DE-146), USS Snowden (DE-246), USS Swasey (DE248), USS Woodson (DE-359), USS Johnnie Hutchins (DE-360), ATR-9, and ATR-62 rescued only 5 officers and 68 men of the destroyer’s 20 officers and 301 men.
(Note: The USS WARRINGTON is named after Lewis Warrington born on 3 November 1782. He entered the USN on 6 January 1800 and on 28 February 1844, he temporarily took over the duties of the Secretary of the Navy. He relinquished the office in March 1844 and served as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance until he died on 12 October 1851.
The Warrington was a Somers-Class Destroyer. These vessels were originally intended to comprise a new Destroyer Leader class of vessels. She was 1,850 or so tons and armed with 4 dual 5 inch / 38 calibre single-purpose mounts and twelve 21 inch torpedoes. Unfortunately the heavy guns mounts were not dual-purpose and their AA armament was rather weak with mixtures of 1.1 inch, 40mm, and 20mm weapons. The Warrington served in both the Pacific and Atlantic and was credited with 2 Japanese aircraft downed near Guadalcanal. (Ron Babuka))
Washington: Enrico Fermi loads the first uranium slug into a plutonium-producing reactor.
It comes across to me a bit when reading about Churchill’s and Monty’s communiques that the British have a sort of “me too” attitude. Prior to America’s entry into the war, it seems to me that the British were sooner or later going to be overrun by the Nazis.
It seems clear to me that the U.S. turned the whole war around and among other things, saved England from defeat and Nazi occupation. Yet, it also feels like England kind of resented the U.S. who was doing most of the heavy lifting. Seems like England wanted to be equal in recognition and status to their overseas neighbor who was basically the reason victory was being pulled out of the jaws of defeat.
“Dachau: Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat-Khan (b.1914), WAAF, also known as the SOE agent Madelaine is executed at Dachau concentration camp. She had done highly risky work as an agent in France, and told the Nazis nothing after her betrayal.”
Caught my curiosity, so I followed up on Wikipedia - she appears to have been quite a remarkable woman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noor_Inayat_Khan
It’s amazing how many ordinary people we’ve probably never heard of made incredible contributions and exhibited unbelievable heroism during that war.
And in contrast to the venal and incompetent clowns we have at all levels in this administration, it’s also somewhat depressing.
The rise of television has made American political life highly attractive - even addictive - to narcissistic sociopaths, and made it equally abhorrent and repellent to normal Americans. I'm not sure what the fix is, short of candidate debates with everyone wearing a bag over their heads.
On second thought, maybe that should be a requirement to hold office - kind of a reverse "Man in the Iron Mask" thing. You don't get to know what the office-holder looks or sounds like, or what racial or socio-economic sub-group he is pandering to - and can thus only judge the individual by his actions. :)
The Germans used that attitude to their advantage through radio broadcasts. They broadcast false BBC news which put down and diminished the Americans role.
For instance, the German BBC broadcasts during the Battle of the Bulge made it look like the British were saving the day when they actually played a small roll during that huge battle.
"I wish some Indians would win high military distinction in this war. If one or two could do something in the Allied service which was very brave and which everybody admired it would help to make a bridge between the English people and the Indians."
Remarkable background too - Indian Sufi father, American mother, born in prerevolutionary Moscow.
” . . . narcissistic sociopaths . . .”
If I had to use two words to describe the last two Democrat occupants of the Oval Office, I could not have done better.
Today the Brits, Aussies and Canucks are the only real allies we have. Of the three the Aussies and Western Canadians are my favorites.
Strategically placed I might add.
Also Israel.
OTOH, had the Germans won a decisive victory in Russia, they would have taken a second look at Britain. But, that was not to be.
Despite the closeness of the alliance, the Anglo-American coalition was difficult to manage. The Brits resented that it took us so long to join the fight and then as johnny-come-lately's to think we knew more than they did about how to conduct the fight. By the fall of 1944, however, Britain is broke and exhausted and we will increasingly rely on U.S. manpower in fighting on the Western Front, which naturally gives the U.S. a big say in how the war is conducted. Today, there are four U.S. field armies in France to the U.K.'s one (and a Canadian army).
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