Posted on 04/22/2011 5:06:58 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/apr41/f22apr41.htm
Italians retreat in Abyssinia
Tuesday, April 22, 1941 www.onwar.com
In East Africa... After four days of fighting the 1st South African Brigade, the Italians in defensive positions south of Dessie fall back.
In the Balkans... In Greece, German forces begin to arrive at the Thermopylae position but do not mount a large attack.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/22.htm
April 22nd, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: Bovington, Dorset: British tank regiments armed with Cruiser-type tanks have been re-organized as more effective fighting units. In future they will have their own support arms in the front-line, including motorised infantry, combat engineers, artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank units. It is the sort of mixture which has given such strength to the German Panzer divisions.
The government believes that Cruisers - Matildas, Crusaders, Cavaliers or Cromwells - are as good as anything that the Germans or Italians can put into the field.
ASW trawler HMS Tango commissioned.
Corvette HMS Spikenard arrived Tobermory for workups.
Destroyer HMCS Saguenay arrived Barrow-in-Furness for refit. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: U-611 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
GREECE: German forces reach the Thermopylae position in Greece.
The evacuation of Allied troops from Greece begins. The evacuation marked the end of the ill-conceived Greek campaign which lasted only three weeks and saw the Allies retreat ever southwards in the face of the German advance until they were evacuated at the end of April. (Jack McKillop)
CHINA: Japanese forces occupy Fuzhou.
JAPAN: Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka returns from Europe and says, “We should not confuse deliberation with procrastination just as the Tripartite Pact does not affect the relations of the Three Powers vis the Soviets so that the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact and the declaration do not affect in the least the Tripartite Pact which remains the immutable basis of our foreign policy.” (Jack McKillop)
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: 2,000 American troops arrive to reinforce the US Army’s Philippine Department. (Jack McKillop)
AUSTRALIA: Minesweeper HMAS Geelong launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Wilkes commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 600 April 22, 1941
Libya. At Tobruk, Australians conduct aggressive patrolling beyond the perimeter wire, remembering that control of no-mans land was essential to the capture of Bardia and Tobruk from the Italians. At dawn, General Morshead sends out 3 raids on Axis positions in front of the wire, including Carrier Hill (named after a wrecked carrier) which is sheltering Italian infantry and a field gun battery. 455 Italian prisoners are captured and artillery & anti-aircraft guns destroyed (27 Aussies killed, 28 wounded). German bombers again attack Tobruk, badly damaging British hospital ship Vita (437 patients, 6 doctors & 6 nurses taken off by Australian destroyer HMAS Waterhen). HMS Valiant detonates a mine and suffers slight damage, returning to Alexandria from shelling Tripoli.
Greece. Luftwaffe attacks RAF airstrips near Athens, so the remaining Hurricanes are withdrawn to Argos on the Peloponnese peninsula. Dive bombers pound shipping in the Saronic Gulf, sinking Greek minelayer Aliakmon, hospital ship Sokratis, 11 freighters and 1 tanker. At 6 PM, 35 Stukas dive bomb Greek destroyer Hydra at Piraeus, sinking her in 15 minutes (41 killed, 115 survivors reach the small nearby Island of Lagossa). British cruiser HMS York is damaged by near misses at Suda Bay, Crete. Yugoslav torpedo boats Kajmakcalan and Durmitor arrive at Suda Bay, having escaped from Yugoslavia.
In Ethiopia, 1st South African Brigade captures Camboicia Pass, South of Dessie on the road to Amba Alagi, taking 1200 Italian prisoners.
Teddy Roosevelt surfaces. Bad heart and bum leg. Think his cousin pulled some strings on this?
They forgot a key feature of the B-19 - it barked.
Underpowered, behind schedule.
A nice looking plane, but that’s all that can be said for it.
Into the Thermopylae position came the dog-tired men of the fighting rearguards. They ate and slept-for many the first undisturbed sleep for more than a week-and, on waking, bathed in the warm sulphur springs as King Leonidas' warriors had done before the Persian attack. Except for the sea, now far off, there was little change here: the bright wild flowers, the strong smell from the pines, and the soft sound of the hot springs are unchanging.
During this time the last ten tanks of the 4th Hussars - the only Allied tanks left in Greece-came in, with seven armoured cars. Their task had been to protect the rear of the 1st Armoured Brigade for the whole retreat, and they had driven over four mountains, picking up stragglers and slowing the pursuit by making sure that every bridge was blown behind them. On one occasion a young officer, sent with a party of engineers to cut the road, reported by wireless that a Greek general was threatening to shoot him if he blew up the bridge. 'Good-bye, John,' said the squadron leader and switched off. The bridge was blown.
The evacuation was due to begin on the night of April 24, which meant that base troops would have to be across the Corinth canal before that date in order to make room for fighting troops. This meant that the Thermopylae position could be held at full strength only until April 23, for the troops scheduled to embark the next night would then have to move away. The first attack there was expected as early as April 20 - before there was a chance to make the position strong-but to the surprise and enormous relief of the defenders, the Germans had outrun their supply line and it took them four days to 'wind up their tail': four days to fly in fresh troops and guns, to get up ammunition and fuel over the appalling roads. The delay was probably critical to the whole campaign for, as it turned out, the evacuation was only hours ahead of disaster; but in the meantime the Thermopylae defenders were able to rest, to site their guns, and prepare their defences.
On April 22 some aggressive Australian gunners in the Brilllos Pass opened fire at a range of more than 6 miles and hit a German truck. German medium artillery replied, more Australian guns joined in, big field guns were brought in and a full-scale artillery battle developed. A German infantry attack was beaten off, Australian ammunition was set on fire, dumps exploded, and the defenders lost some men.
Meanwhile the expeditionary force was contracting towards the beaches, and on April 23 the defenders at Thermopylae were thinned out. One of the three New Zealand brigades, the 5th, unostentatiously destroyed all their guns and equipment and as soon as it was dark moved off to the beaches; the 4th Brigade was sent back 60 miles to prepare the last rearguard at Thebes. This left the old Thermopylae pass at Molos held by the 6th New Zealand Brigade with some Northumberland Hussars and Royal Horse Artillery. At Brallos the Australians also sent about half their numbers away.
At 0730 hours on April 24, the day the evacuation started, the long-awaited attack on the Thermopylae position began with a heavy artillery bombardment, dive-bombing, and spotter planes searching for gun positions (without much success, for the guns were well camouflaged and stopped firing when aircraft were overhead). The Brallos Pass was attacked first by a mixed force of tanks, assault guns, motorcyclists, infantry, and anti-aircraft guns. They were met by Australian machine-gun and artillery fire, and evidently made the mistake of thinking the Brallos Pass strongly held and the old Thermopylae Pass at Molos lightly held. General Stumme altered his plan of attack and threw everything against the New Zealanders. All this took until mid-afternoon, and between then and nightfall there was much bitter fighting and casualties on both sides - but no breakthrough.
The Germans then tried to force the position with a massed tank attack-a move which had always succeeded in the past. The battle report of I/XXXI Panzer Regiment tells what happened:
"Nineteen tanks in file charge along the road . .. on our right the hills, on our left the dreaded Thermopylae swamp. We had to push on, go on, do anything but stop . .. suddenly we came under fire from six or eight guns . .. shells burst on all sides, a few Tommies ran across the road, and several machine-guns chattered. A heavy tank was hit direct . .. in the middle of the road are three others on fire . .. before long there was not a single tank in going order and only two still able to shoot.."
The New Zealand artillery, the Royal Horse Artillery, and the Northumberland Hussars had spent all of April 24 placing their guns, piling up ammunition and holding their fire, waiting for just such an opportunity-and the result was most satisfying for them. The tremendous German attack was stopped in its tracks. Late that night breech blocks were removed, guns were destroyed, and the entire force quietly fell back through the last rearguard, to hide all the next day from the Luftwaffe and then, at night, to go down to the beaches.
The last rearguard was on a ridge, 7 miles south of Thebes and about 35 miles north of Athens, overlooking a narrow pass. It was a good defensive position and the defenders were a 'brigade group' of New Zealand, Australian, and United Kingdom units - a very formidable force to hold a narrow defile, particularly as the country made it almost impossible to outflank them. Their main object was not to be discovered too soon; they had taken great care with camouflage, no anti-aircraft fire was permitted, and there was complete wireless silence.
The Thermopylae defenders came through this position on their way to the embarkation beaches during the night of April 24 but it was not until 1100 hours on the morning of the 26th that a long line of tightly-packed German vehicles appeared. To the waiting gunners it presented a certain target and they opened up with devastating effect. Once again the German advance was stopped dead. That night the last rearguard fell back beyond Athens to the little port of Rafti, from which nearly 5,000 troops had already been safely embarked. The rearguard spent all the next day, a Sunday, waiting for the Germans to arrive in force, but these were busy competing with each other for the honour of occupying Athens, of flying the swastika over the Acropolis, and sending telegrams to Hitler.
In the late afternoon a German armoured column did appear and was met with artillery, anti-tank, and machine-gun fire, at which they withdrew, asking for a dive-bombing attack. Fortunately for the rearguard, dusk was near and the Luftwaffe support impossible until next morning-but about 2000 hours the British field-guns were wrecked, vehicle engines run dry until they seized, or smashed with sledge hammers, and the last rearguard quietly left - for the safety of Crete, however illusory that may have been.
Marshall Cavendish-History Of The Second World War-Gallant Failure by Peter Elstob
Does that strike anyone besides me as a peculiar headline?
Baldwin's column: The War at Sea - II
I'll bet there was a column titled The War at Sea - I, but I missed it.
On a more serious note, I know that spring is here and it is time to get the wife's furs into storage, but there are so many choices it is hard to decide which service to choose. Tailored Woman? Jay Thorpe? Bergdorf Goodman? Any recomendations?
Sure is a nice bike - you do not mention where it is displayed.
Yes. Some propaganda value, and as noted, the one off was used as a transport after it was re-engined.
This story is strangely reminiscent of a similar episode that will take place in the Pacific theatre in about four years.
“The government believes that Cruisers-Matildas, Cavaliers or Cromwells-are as good as anything that the Germans or Italians can put into the field”...
Since the Germans can put 88 mm cannon into the field-No.
Since a Mark III w/ a long barreled 50mm cannon can run rings around the Brits, and outshoot them-No.
Also reminds one of a Mt. Erebus [Eberus?] in the Caucasus in a year or so.
By this point, the Italians had M13s (47 mm gun), and the Germans could field IIIs and IVs. Most of the IIIs would have 37mm guns; I don’t think the 50s had been mounted yet. The IVs had 75mm guns.
The Matilda II mounted a 40mm (the Matilda I had a machine gun). The Cavalier wasn’t in service yet. So I don’t know how many of those they were sending. Same with the Cromwells - They were in development, but not fielded at this point.
You know tanks. Correct me if I’ve got my dates wrong.
I think the Germans started the upgunning of the Mark IIIs sometime in 1940, but after the French campaign. I’m not sure how far along that process was at this point, because German ordnance did not, initially, use the cannon Hitler wanted, opting instead for an inferior tube. so the rearmament had to be completed, and in some cases done twice.
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