Posted on 04/16/2011 6:33:18 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept
Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/apr41/f16apr41.htm
Croatia carved out of former Yugoslavia
Wednesday, April 16, 1941 www.onwar.com
In Occupied Yugoslavia... Ante Pavelic is sworn in to head the new Croat republic. Over the next few months his Ustase followers, Roman Catholic Croats, will murder about 500,000 people, most of them Orthodox Serbs, who will be presented with a choice between rebaptism and death. Many Jews are also killed. Unusually the local Catholic priests will be involved in the massacres.
In North Africa... German-Italian attacks on Tobruk are held.
In the Balkans... Wavell gives orders, on the basis of the situation both in North Africa and Greece, that the sailing of the 7th Australian Division and the Polish Brigade from Egypt is to be cancelled. This is effectively a decision to abandon the Greek campaign and indeed Papagos is already suggesting that the British leave Greece in order to minimize the damage to his country.
In the Mediterranean... An important German convoy of five transports escorted by three Italian destroyers is attacked by four British destroyers near Kerkinnah Island. One of the British ships is sunk in the engagement as are all of the Axis vessels. About 1250 of the 3000 German troops are rescued by Axis forces.
Over Britain... During the night of April 16-17th, a very heavy German bombing of London takes place with about 700 Luftwaffe planes being involved.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/16.htm
April 16th, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: 685 aircraft raid London in the biggest raid yet.
London: The last remaining tower of the Crystal Palace is demolished because it makes too clear a landmark.
London, Jermyn Street: Al Bowlly, a top dance-band singer, is killed in an air-raid.
RAF Bomber Command: 2 Group: 107 Sqn straddle a submarine with bombs off Prestkjac in Norway.
110 Sqn bomb Heligoland, but lose one aircraft on take-off.
105 Sqn, attacked and hit a 5,000-ton vessel, but lost one aircraft to fighters.
All these crews are flying Bristol Blenheim Mk IVs. (Jack McKillop)
YUGOSLAVIA: German forces enter Sarajevo and demolish the main synagogue.
The Wehrmacht High Command reports:
The remains of the Serbian army are disintegrating. German motorised troops have advanced to Sarajevo and occupied the city. Thousands of Serbians have laid down their arms. The toll of prisoners and captured material is growing by the hour.
ITALY: Rome: The Italian High Command reports:
In Yugoslavia, motorised columns of the Italian 2nd Army, after overcoming enemy resistance, have occupied Split 240 miles from their original positions.
On the Greek front our troops have advanced from the lake district to Vijosa. After violent fighting we occupied and overran Erseka (Albania).
In North Africa we are continuing operations at Sollum and the encirclement of the fortress of Tobruk, where the enemy, supported by naval forces, is resisting tenaciously.
GREECE: The New Zealand Anzacs battle the German 5th Panzer Division in a stopping action at the Platamon Ridge in Greece. The Germans have problems getting the panzers over the ridge. The cliffs jut out past the beach so that cliffs drop straight into the sea. The railway tunnel running through at the base of the cliffs in this area was sabotaged by the British but the explosion did not close the tunnel. The Germans sent a Panzer through the tunnel where on the other end it met the Anzacs who promptly disabled it at the tunnel exit They were forced to fight for the narrow elevated pass which at that time was the only way past this area. (Steve Stathros)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA:Action off Sfax, TUNISIA:Capt P. J. Mack with destroyers HMS Janus, HMS Jervis, HMS Mohawk and HMS Nubian from Malta intercept a German Afrika Korps convoy of five transports escorted by three Italian destroyers off Kerkenneh Islands, east of Tunisia. All Axis ships are sunk including the destroyers Baleno (foundered next day), Lampo (later salvaged) and Tarigo. In the fighting HMS Mohawk is torpedoed twice by Tarigo and capsizes. She is eventually sunk by gunfire from HMS Janus off Kerkenah Bank. There are 168 survivors. (Alex Gordon)(108)
EGYPT: Wavell stops the Polish Brigade and 7th Australian Division sailing for Greece.
He also orders those ships on the way to Greece to turn back, those in Greek ports not yet unloaded should return with their cargoes and those still loading to stop and unload.
JAPAN: Tokyo: An Associated Press dispatch quotes Ko Ishii (the spokesman for the cabinet board of information) as denying absolutely and flatly that “Japan intended to send an army or navy force against Singapore.” Ishii added:
Premier Prince Konoye already stated that Japan’s southward intentions are clearly and entirely peaceful and economic. This report (about Singapore) is entirely groundless and the propaganda of war mongers.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Elizalde writes MacArthur that war is “60 to 90 days away”. (Marc Small)
U.S.A.: The heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) arrives in New York from Simonstown, South Africa. The ship had taken on a large shipment of gold bullion in South Africa to pay for arms purchased in the U.S. by the U.K. (Jack McKillop)
Day 594 April 16, 1941
Ultra intercepts of German radio signals alert Royal Navy to a convoy of 4 German troopships & 1 Italian ammunition ship carrying 15th Panzer Division troops and light vehicles (but no tanks) from Naples to Tripoli. British destroyers HMS Jervis, Janus, Nubian & Mohawk lie in wait after dark, unnoticed by the escort of 3 Italian destroyers which have no radar, as the convoy moves slowly through shallow waters near the Kerkennah Islands (East coast of Tunisia). British destroyers close to within 1 mile and sink all 5 transports and the Italian destroyers Luca Tarigo, Baleno and Lampo (1800 German troops and Italian sailors killed, 1200 survivors rescued by Italian warships and hospital ships). As Italian destroyer Luca Tarigo sinks, she fires 2 torpedoes which cripple HMS Mohawk (43 killed). HMS Mohawk is scuttled by HMS Jervis but Italian divers recover secret Royal Navy documents including maps of the defenses at Alexandria.
Determined to crack the perimeter at Tobruk, Rommel observes in person as Italian Trento Division is sent forward in late afternoon. They are shelled as they assemble for the attack, which drives off their tanks, and the infantry are pinned down with machinegun fire. Australian Bren gun carriers are sent out and round up the entire 1st Battalion, 62nd Regiment (800 men including 25 officers). This is the second time in 2 days that Italian troops have dispersed when shelled and Rommel is losing faith in his ally.
In Greece, while Allied troops retire towards Thermopylae, the defensive line in the North begins to crumble. German tanks and infantry attack the narrow Platamon pass between Mount Olympus and the Aegean Sea, forcing New Zealand troops to withdraw across the river in the steep Tempe Gorge (using a flat-bottomed ferry pulled by hand along ropes). Realizing that German penetration along the coast will unhinge the Allied withdrawal, New Zealanders are ordered to sink the ferry and hold the Gorge “until 19th April even if it means extinction”. German 6th Mountain Division also attacks across Mount Olympus using goat paths but takes heavy casualties.
Yugoslavs try to sign an armistice but their emissary does not have sufficient authority to sign the surrender and is sent to back Belgrade with a draft agreement. In Zagreb, Croatian fascist leader Ante Pavelić assumes power in the Independent State of Croatia.
At the end of her cruise and heading for port at Bordeaux, France, German armed merchant cruiser Thor stops Swedish steamer Sir Ernest Cassell with 2 warning shots, takes her crew on board and sinks her with demolition charges (500 miles Southwest of Cape Verde Islands).
Overnight, 681 Luftwaffe aircraft launch a massive bombing attack London.
The mistakes in TIMES’ reportage is really amazing:
Sepp Dietrich, the LEIBSTANDARTE commander di not participate in Roehm’s execution. That little piece of “wet work” was carried out by Theodor Eicke, now commander of the 3rd SS “TOTENKOPF” motorized division.
No German Panzer Division in 1941 had 400 tanks. None ever, previously, did. TO&E in tanks for a pre-1941 Pz. Div. was approximately 250 tanks in two regiments. In 1941, and in anticipation of BARBAROSSA, Hitler doubled the number of panzer divisions by halving each extant division’s tank strength, and leaving each division with one tank regiment.
The experience of the British 3rd RTR (Royal Tank Regiment) shows just how far behind the British were in this unequal contest. Before going to Greece, the 3rd RTR had been forced to exchange its already-poor A13 cruiser tanks for the older and slower A10 models, whose tracks were exhausted through operating in the desert. One officer in the regiment, Bob Crisp, revealed the machines' unreliability during an attack to counter a possible German advance:
"Sleet battered my eyelids as the tank ploughed through cultivated mud and I ordered my tank commanders not to attempt any turns until they were on firm ground. The squadron nevertheless left behind a trail of broken-down tanks and when) after afreezing night) news came that the enemy armour report had been afalse alarm and we went back) we counted the toll of the purposeless advance. Five tanks were left lying with hopelessly broken tracks) two more had fractured pistons. There were no more spare parts so the tanks were destroyed."
All of the 3rd RTR's tanks would be left in Greece: out of total of 52 tanks, 51 broke down and only one was knocked out by enemy fire. The frustration felt by the British tankmen was intense.
Germany's Lightning War - From the Invasion of Poland to El Alamein-(Campaigns Of World War 2)-Adrian Gilbert
Waffen-SS troops drive through the streets of Belgrade. The city fell without much of a fight, so complete was the German victory over the Yugoslav Army.
One of the unreported, seious, and almpstconstant shortcomings of British Armor in the Desert was the lack of tank recovery units. In almost every instance, Rommel and the lads would hold the battlefield, recover their damaged panzers, haul them away, or repair them on the spot, and have them back in operation in short order.
The British on the other hand, largely left them where they fell, and waited for depot replacements. Three of Rommel’s command vehicles were British.
‘seious’= “serious”, and ‘almpstconstant’ = “almost constant”. Been a long day. My apologies.
Glad you cleared that up. I though that was a dog food for older dogs.
I also noticed today that two 1st Lieutenants were mentioned in the German communiques but still no mention of Rommel has come from Germany.
According to this summary, Germans began Operation Barbarossa with 3,600 tanks in 16 tank divisions -- or about 225 tanks per division.
I wonder if the doubling of divisions, with corresponding reductions in tanks per division might have happened the following year, 1942, after major losses in 1941?
By the way, I can't find numbers for how many tanks Rommel had at his peak, but suspect it was well over 500.
That would give him about 15% of total German tank assets, but we might argue it was even more than that -- if you consider how many of Rommel's tanks were the latest versions of Germany's best, versus how many older German and foreign tanks were employed in Barbarossa.
And not only did Rommel get the cream of the tank crop, but didn't he also have fully motorized infantry?
Or, let me put it this way: I've never seen a photo of horses pulling any of Rommel's supply train.
In Russia, horses were a major motor asset, and also useful when food ran out... ;-)
Of course, the point I'm trying to make is the same one as before: that the costs of supporting Rommel's forces added up to a larger percentage of German assets than sometimes understood.
And if you then consider the numbers of German forces in the Balkans, Norway, Italy & France, the total that was left over for Barbarossa shrinks to something like two-thirds of Germany's assets.
At least I've read that somewhere, though now can't find it right away, and am curious to see your comments.
When calculating Rommel’s tank strength, the numbers sometimes include the Italian tanks. He had an armored corps of two Italian divisions, ARIETE and LITTORIO. While their equipment largely sucked, the fought well most of the time, and will save Rommel’s butt at Gazala in ‘42.
Rommel’s first infantry division, the 90th Light was formed out of units in-country, and won’t come into service until 1942, when he will receive, as re-inforcements the 164th Light AFRIKA from Germany [along with the RAMCKE parachute brigade. He already had the Italian airborne FOLGORE].
As for the newness of Rommel’s tanks, his frontline tank in 1941 was generally the MARK III. Same as the rest of the German Army. He also had a bunch of Mark IIs [probably a higher percentage than the rest of the German Army], and short barreled Mark IVs. The AFRIKA KORPS was not a high priority on being re-equipped for the OKH. Russia was.
The re-organization of the German Panzer Divisions, according to what I read somewhere, occurred over the winter of 1940-1941, and was specifically intended [by sleigh of hand] to increase the size of the panzer force [a phenomenon that will increasingly occur in the German Army and Waffen SS, and not just in the armored units ]. And I agree, there were no horses [except Mussolini’s charger] that I’ve seen in photos of Africa. But again, a good deal of support transport [trucks]were Italian. And like Russia, a lot of infantry, especially Italian, walked.
Your basic premise that the German Army was overstretched has merit, but that’s not Rommel’s fault. The more Hitler bit off, the thinner it got. Rommel went to war with one Pz. Div. [the 15th], a scratch division that LATER became the 21st Pz., and a large number of Italian formations of dubious and uneven reputation and quality. Compare that to the forces used in MARITA, Yugoslavia and BARBAROSSA.
Obviously not Rommel's fault -- as commander his responsibility was: match force to mission, which he did with stunning brilliance.
The fault was Hitler's, for failing to concentrate enough resources against Stalin to accomplish his self-imposed mission of defeating the Soviets and knocking them out of the war.
Too much easy success in the West convinced Hitler that defeating the Russians would be a cake-walk, similar to the First World War.
As it turned out, not so much.
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