Posted on 05/15/2010 5:03:17 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
“All nations want peace; they just want a peace that suits them”-
First Sea Lord John “Jackie” Fisher
This is very timely. I am just at this spot in a book called “To Lose a Battle”:
During six weeks in 1940, Hitler’s blitzkrieg shattered the redoubtable Maginot Line and, shortly thereafter, the French army. No historian has written a more definitive chronicle of that disaster than Alistair Horne, or one so emotionally gripping. Moving with cinematic swiftness from the battlefield to the Reichstag and the Palais de l’...lysée, To Lose a Battle overspills the confines of traditional military history to become a portrait of the French national soul in its darkest night.
It gives wonderful insight into the mindset of the French people and the government from WWI to WWII and I’ll tell you it was a comedy of errors as they say, sad though really.
The reason I chose this book was because I knew the battle history but I wonder where the French mind was and why and this book explains it beginning with their win in WWI and it goes downhill from there. Fascinating read if anyone is interested.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/may40/f15may40.htm
Dutch Army surrenders to Germans
Wednesday, May 15, 1940 www.onwar.com
On the Western Front... The Dutch army capitulates at 1100 hours. General Bilotte, commanding the French 1st Army Group, decides to abandon the Dyle line in the face of Reichenau’s attacks. His superior, General Georges, concurs with the decision and is now in fact beginning to lose his nerve. At this stage Gamelin, the Supreme Commander, remains oblivious and confident. The German tank forces push forward, urged on all the time by their commanders who are up with the leaders and in complete control of the situation. Their momentum is maintained by this leadership. The optimistic atmosphere at French GHQ is partly dispelled by the news that Guderian’s tanks have reached Montcornet less than 15 miles from Laon. Guderian is ordered to halt here but after vigorous complaints he is allowed another day’s march.
In London... This is a vital, symbolic day for several reasons. At crucial meetings of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the War Cabinet, Air Marshal Dowding argues strongly against sending any more RAF fighters to France. Despite strong opposition Dowding has his way. The decision is taken also to send the first strategic bombing raid against the Ruhr. Finally on this day Churchill sends the first in a long series of telegrams to Roosevelt, signing himself as Former Naval Person. He asks consistently for American aid, works to develop a good relationship with Roosevelt and above all to bring America closer to active participation in the war. Already in this first message he presents a shopping list which includes old destroyers and aircraft as well as other arms.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/15.htm
May 15th, 1940
UNITED KINGDOM:
RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - industrial targets in Germany - Wanne-Eickel, Gelsenkirchen, Reisholz, Dusseldorf. Rail targets - Dinant. 10 Sqn. 12 aircraft. 6 bombed German industrial targets, six bombed road and rail targets at Dinant. 51 Sqn. 9 aircraft. One returned early, 7 bombed. 58 Sqn. 9 aircraft. One returned early, 8 bombed, one hit by Flak.
This night all the RAFs combat-ready long-range bombers, 99 aircraft, are used.
“We are going to ask you to help us in a manner which I know will be welcome to thousands of you. We want large numbers of men of 17 to 65 to come forward and offer their services. The name of the new force will be the Local Defence Volunteers ...” This was the appeal of Anthony Eden, the War Secretary, on the radio at 9.15 pm yesterday. By the same time tonight, 250,000 men had rushed to their local police stations to volunteer. They have been promised uniforms and arms but for the present there are neither - 250,000 armbands inscribed LDV have been ordered. The LDV force was called for primarily to deal with Germans parachuted behind the lines, as they were during the invasion of Holland, some disguised as clergymen or peasants.
The first of what will become many telegrams from Churchill to President Roosevelt, which is signed “Former Naval Person”, is sent today.
Churchill to Roosevelt
” . . . The small countries are simply smashed up, one by one, like matchwood. We must expect, though it is not yet certain, that Mussolini will hurry in to share the loot of civilization. We expect to be attacked here ourselves, both from the air and by parachute and airborne troops, in the near future, and are getting ready for them. If necessary we will continue the wear alone, and we are not afraid of that.
“But I trust you realize, Mr. President, that the voice and force of the United States may count for nothing if they are withheld too long. You may have a completely subjugated, Nazified Europe established with astonishing swiftness, and the weight may be more than we can bear. . . . “
Churchill goes on to ask for non-belligerency from the United States, 50 WWI destroyers, aircraft, anti-aircraft weapons and the opportunity to purchase steel with payment in dollars as long as they can but he would like to feel reasonably sure that the United States would give the “stuff” to Britain when the dollars run out.
(W Jay Stone)
Specifically:
(1) 40 or 50 “older destroyers” for use by the RN until new construction is available;
(2) “several hundred” aircraft;
(3) AA “equipment and ammunition;”
(4) steel;
(5) that a USN squadron visit Irish ports; and
(6) he intimates that the U.S. “keep that Japanese dog quiet in the Pacific, using Singapore in any way convenient.” (Jack McKillop)
Destroyer KNM Arendal (ex-HMS Badsworth) laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
WESTERN FRONT: RN: Destroyers continue to support Allied land forces off the Dutch and Belgian coasts, and under heavy air attack HMS Valentine is bombed in an air attack in the North Sea off Terneuzen at 51 20N, 03 49E and beached in the Scheldt Estuary. (Alex Gordon)(108)
There is heavy and extended discussion about the various ideas on how to deploy units of the RAF. In the end the decision is that espoused by Air Marshall Dowding; additional fighters will not be sent to France.
Orders are issued to the RAF for the first bombing in the Ruhr.
NETHERLANDS: The Dutch army surrenders to the Germans.
German aircraft sink the Dutch warships Van Galen at Rotterdam, Frisa and Brinio at Ijsselmeer, Johan Maurits van Nassau at Callantsoog, Tjerk Hiddes, Gerward Callenburgh at Rotterdam and HMS Valentine at Terneuzen. (Alex Gordon)
Destroyer HMS Winchester was badly damaged during German air attacks while supporting Allied land forces off Holland.
Destroyer HMS Valentine was beached and abandoned off Terneuzen, the Netherlands after being bombed. (Dave Shirlaw)
BELGIUM: 2nd Lt Richard Wallace Annand (b. 1914), Durham Light Infantry, attacked enemy positions with grenades. Wounded, he made a second attack; later, told to retreat, he went back to rescue his wounded batman. For this he is awarded the VC.
FRANCE: General Georges orders the Ninth Army to retreat from its positions on the Meuse and to fall back to the Fosses-Mettet line. This exposes the First Army’s flank. At 13:00 hrs General Blanchard orders First Army’s right wing back to the Orneau to be carried out at night. But at 18:00 hrs the Army Group Commander orders a withdrawal along the whole line. Blanchard then orders his three corps to break off battle and withdraw at night.
6:30 hrs Georges orders the 3rd Armoured Division to aid Second Army to counter-attack at Sedan. The offensive should take place on the Bulson-Sedan axis, by a “tank-based” operation. The tanks however do not appear until late in the day and the counter-attack must be called off.
GERMANY: U-82, U-119 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN: (Mark Horan) At 0030, HMS Ark Royal receives word that Polish troop transport SS Chrobry had been bombed. At 0445 Flag Officer Narvik requested air cover for the ships returning her surviviors to Harstad. At 0512 a trio of 801 Squadron Skuas departed on the task.
At 0710, Ark dispatched six Swordfish of 810 Squadron, led by Capt. N. R. M. Skene, RM, each carrying 2x250 lb and 8x20 lb Cooper bombs to bomb the railway and trucks between Hundallen and the Swedish border.. Two Skuas of 803 Squadron (Lt. L. A. Harris, RM) escorted the stringbags. They intercepted two He-111s and a single Ju-88, all of which escaped at high speed. However the later damaged 8L, slightly wounding both crew members ( Petty Officer Airman A. G. Johnson, RN (P) and Leading Airman F. Coston, RN (AG)) as the Skua did not have bullet-proof glass. All aircraft did return safely however.
Further fighter patrols were sent off at 0710, 0835, and 1010, only the later seeing action when the three Skuas of 800 Squadron, led by Lt. G. E. D. Finch-Noyes chased off a formation of four He-111s intent on bombing the fleet, and then ran off a single He-111 later on.
The last mission of the day occurred at 1900, when three 820 Squadron Swordfish were dispatched with torpedoes, escorted by three Skuas, with orders to sink the still burning wreck of SS Chrobry. Of the three torpedoes, one prematured, one missed, and the last exploded under the stern, but the ship remained afloat. All aircraft returned ending the days flying.
Meanwhile, HMS Furious and HMS Glorious continued their northward passage towards the waters off Narvik with their precious RAF fighters.
CANADA: HMCS Prince Henry (ex-North Star, ex-Prince Henry) purchased from Clarke Steamship Company for $606,740, and preparations were begun to convert her to an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC). The Washington and London Naval Treaties placed limits on the number of cruisers that could be built by the participating nations. Canada was governed by the limits placed on the Royal Navy. An important role of heavy cruisers was service on distant stations and as the ‘patrolman on the beat,’ keeping watch over the trade routes of the world. Smaller, more manoeuvrable light cruisers served as scouts for the battle fleet and as leaders for destroyer flotillas since they did not have the endurance for the trade protection role, except in home waters where short-range corvettes and armed trawlers sufficed. To meet the requirement for greater numbers of cruisers for mercantile protection, a survey of all small to medium sized passenger ships was undertaken to determine which were suitable for service as auxiliary cruisers. During the Second World War, a large amount of effort, time, and expense was dedicated to converting commercial ships to AMC’s to defend against a threat that did not really exist any longer. Although both the German and Japanese navies did employ disguised merchant raiders, they were targeted against independently routed ships, as they did not have the capacity to withstand even a small conventional warship serving as a convoy escort. The use of heavy warships and submarines against convoys exposed the weakness of the AMC’s. Their large size, low manoeuvrability, rudimentary armament, and lack of armour made them particularly vulnerable. Their large crews also made their manning and loss difficult to bear. By late ‘42 to early ‘43, the AMC’s were being withdrawn from escort service and converted to troopships, a vastly less costly and complicated process as well as a more important role. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.:
AA cruiser USS San Juan laid down.
Destroyer USS Buck commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/
Day 258 May 15, 1940
At 7:30 AM, French PM Reynaud phones Churchill saying “We are beaten. We have lost the battle”. At 10:15 AM, Dutch commander General Winkelman signs the surrender of armed forces in the Dutch homeland.
British, Belgian and French troops believe they face bulk of the German army (it is, in fact, Bock’s Army Group B) on a line from the Channel coast in Zealand, Holland, South to Sedan on the French/Luxembourg border. Meanwhile, the Panzers of Rundstedt’s Army Group A prepare to spring the trap. Reinhardt gets his 2 Panzer divisions across the Meuse at Monthermé, Guderian begins to break out from Sedan and Rommel advances 40km West from Dinant to Cerfontaine.
Battle of Gembloux. In the morning, Germans again attack the French line but they are pushed back French 75mm artillery & Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank guns. In 4 days of attacking the Gembloux Gap, General Hoepner has lost about 250 tanks, the equivalent of an entire Panzer division. However, due to the Allied collapse at Sedan, the French pull back to the French border overnight.
Following the Rotterdam Blitz, British Bomber Command reverses a policy banning deliberate bombing of civilian property, outside combat zones. In the first bombing of German interior, 99 RAF bombers attack industrial targets in the Ruhr overnight.
You might remind her of the Roman take on that. “Si vis pacem, para bellum”.
Mitchell was a genius, and the Rolls Royce team that developed the Merlin engine too.
They gave their nation the weapons to fight.
Never was so much owed by so many to so few (although some more than just the RAF pilots).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.