GLIDERS DROP GERMANS ON CRETE; BRITISH REPORT ATTACK CRUSHED; ALL ON ZAMZAM SAFE IN FRANCE (5/21/41)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 5/21/41 | Robert P. Post, C. Brooks Peters, Hanson W. Baldwin

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Leaving today for Crete to visit my son stationed at NSA Souda Bay. How ironic. I plan to visit the War Memorial on Crete.

What does NSA stand for?

I checked your profile and noticed something we have in common. My father also went into the army in 1942 at age 29 and served in the Pacific. He hadn't yet met my mother, though.

Have a safe and enjoyable trip to Crete.

[Larry381]

This book describes how desperately close the battle had been, and explains how German losses so shocked the Fuhrer that he never again authorized a major airborne operation.

The possible contribution of Germany's superbly- trained paratroopers to Barbarossa is one of the more intriguing 'what if 's of the campaign.
One mission discussed before the battle for Crete was for airborne forces to help the Panzer divisions hold the outer ring of a pocket' until the infantry could arrive; something that the hard-pressed mechanised forces might have found valuable in the summer of 1941. In the event, the reconstituted airborne division was employed as conventional infantry on the Leningrad front from late 1941 to early 1943.

[PAR35]

Was the ketchup supposed to go on the ham or the peas?

[PAR35]

Safe travels.

[Larry381]

I noticed a little blurb in today's Times concerning the German divisions massed along the Rumanian border. It would appear that in the spring of 1941 the only ones not predicting a German attack on the Soviet Union was Stalin and the great mass of Russian and German soldiers facing each other along that border.
A personal note. One of my uncles had enlisted in the Wehrmacht in December of 1940 and was at this time stationed with his division somewhere in Poland. His unit would (eventually) take part in the invasion but according to him one of the rumors floating around then was that Soviet and German troops were about to train together for some mysterious mission in the Middle East.

[Larry381]

Death in battle has an arbitrary quality impossible for any survivor to explain or grasp. To be spared the fate of one's comrades, to find oneself preserved when they have lost everything, is beyond the capacity of reason; for some, indeed, physical survival proved to be beyond mental endurance. The fate of the Hood, annihilated in a matter of seconds, affords this reality a starkness which sets her loss apart from most others.

Submarine crews were routinely wiped out but ships' companies much less often: the destroyer Exmouth, the corvette Gladiolus and the cruiser Sydney are among the few examples in the Second World War.
Others suffered a slow and terrible attrition by fire and water: the cruisers Dunedin, Neptune and Indianapolis, the Scharnhorst and Bismarck herself. But one needs to return to the First World War to find precedent for large ships being destroyed with all but a handful of men: the vanquished of Coronel and the Falklands; above all the disasters at Jutland which prefigured that of Hood herself. The experience of those who survived the loss of the Hood will be dealt with in due course. But what of those who were spared death yet had to live the experience vicariously in the sufferings of those who replaced them, who escaped through an inscrutable turn of fate'

Some like PO Len Williams, drafted on promotion in February 1941 after five years in the ship, had reached the end of a particular phase in their career. The time had come to move on. Others like OA Bert Pitman got an unexpected 'pierhead jump' to another ship, in his case the battleship Barham whose sinking he survived later that year. In April Latham Jenson was one of the last party of midshipmen to take their Sub-Lieutenants' exams in Hood. The stakes couldn't have been higher:

...Those of us facing our examinations for acting sublieutenant those lovely Scapa days in April had lots to reflect upon, more than we knew, Failure, and consequently remaining on board for another run, in this case would actually mean death

Others survived by being selected for officer training. After a statutory three months as Ordinary Seamen on the lower deck, those who wished to receive a commission or who had otherwise been identified as being of officer material were tested and, if successful, drafted for further training ashore. One such was B.A. Carlisle:

Despite the fact that I was a clumsy Ordinary Seaman it fortunately did not stop me from being chosen to go for a Commission. About every three months the Captain of the ship (Glennie at the time) presided over a Board to decide who was potential Officer material, and my Board must have been in January 1941. Having had the privilege of public school education and having been a prefect and an officer in the school O.T.C., I fortunately did satisfy the Board that I was Officer material, although very sadly some of my friends from a similar background failed the Board, and as there was no further Board until May, went down with the ship ...

Another was Jon Pertwee, unwittingly passed as a CW ('Commissions and Warrants') candidate after half an hour explaining the finer points of broadcast radio to Capt. Kerr." He and OD Howard Spence were part of the last draft to leave the Hood on or about 21 May, the eve of her sailing against the Bismarck. But as Spence's memoir reveals, there were other ways of escaping the Hood:

Some 13 of our crew, myself and Jon Pertwee included, had draft chits to go south. Another was a matelot who had hit a PO with a rifle. On route to Pompey I stopped at a pub near Victoria station in London (Waterloo had been bombed) and at the end of the bar was a stocky chap in nondescript clothes-he was a deserter from the Hood- neither of us spoke, but went our separate ways

Lucky as they were, there were men who enjoyed even greater good fortune. A day or two before she left Scapa for the last time Sub-Lt R.G. Robertson was taken ill with a perforated duodenal ulcer and transported across the Flow to the hospital ship Amarnpoorn.
Another, Mid. Harold Carnell, given compassionate leave from the Hood, was recalled by telegram but failed to reach Scapa thanks to a protracted wartime rail journey.'· Then there were those for whom Fortuna's Wheel turned in the contrary direction. As Lt-Cdr Roger Batley, a member of Vice-Admiral Whitworth's staff, informed his sister on 12 May, his remaining in the ship depended on whether the new admiral, Lancelot Holland, liked the cut of his jib." The admiral evidently did. Two days later another staff officer, Paymaster Lt Robert Browne, wrote telling his parents that

I am staying on here for about 5 weeks with the new Admiral until they are all settled in, then I will be relieved. As to what follows once again I cannot say

Others went to their deaths with an eagerness that haunted those who remembered them. Surgeon Lt-Cdr R. Ransome-Wallis R.N.V.R, was Principal Medical Officer of the cruiser London:

I also recollected sadly a very young midshipman who had spent a couple of days in London's Sick Bay. He had recently been sunk in another ship and had only survived after a bit of an ordeal. He said to me rather bravely 'But I shall be all right now sir, I am going to the Hood'.

For those who were spared there was no doubt enormous relief, but also a measure of guilt, guilt that they had not been there with their friends, guilt that someone had died in their place. So it is when a great ship and her company are destroyed. Short of nuclear war, only in naval combat is it possible for a unit to be annihilated in battalion or double battalion strength in the twinkling of an eye. On this awful reality rests much of its depth and fascination.

For HMS Hood that dread moment had come.

The Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Bruce Taylor

[Homer_J_Simpson]

What does NSA stand for? , asked Homer.

http://cnic.navy.mil/SoudaBay/index.htm.

Installation Information.

Command Leadership .

Captain Scott M. Hogan, Commanding Officer.

Commander Eric Stephen Pfister, Executive Officer.

CMDCM(SW/AW) Todd E. Prayner, Command Master Chief.

Location .

The United States Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay is strategically located on the northwest coast of the rugged Greek island of Crete. We are poised to carry out our vital mission of extending Joint and Fleet War fighting capability through Operational Support to U.S., Allied and Coalition Forces deployed within the UCOM/CENTCOM/ AFRICOM AOR at a moment’s notice. We extend the war fighting capability by providing, operating and sustaining superior facilities and services dedicated to combat readiness and security of ships, aircraft, detachments and personnel..

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands with a population of 650,000 people. The Cretan people have repeatedly exhibited their love for freedom by extensively supporting the Allied Forces during World Wars I and II, and now in the Global War on Terrorism. The City of Chania has a population of 65,000 people, is full of history and is rich in civil and social culture dating back over 4,000 years. Annually, the Island of Crete is a popular destination for millions of tourists seeking to experience its rich Mediterranean culture, historic civilization, warm hospitality and to sample the world's healthiest cuisine, sunny weather and awesome beaches..

NSA Souda Bay is located on the Hellenic Air Force Base by the village of Mouzouras 17 Kilometers (approximately 10 miles) east of the city of Hania. NSA occupies an area of approximately 110 acres on the North side of the air base, which is the home of the Hellenic Air Force’s 115th Combat Wing. The airfield also serves as the civilian airport for the Hania region of Crete. NSA Souda Bay is physically located on the large circular shaped Akrotiri Peninsula, which forms the northern face of the Souda harbor. A Hellenic Naval Base occupies a large portion of both the North and South coast of the Souda Bay harbor along with the port village of Souda.

[abb]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Graf_von_Bl%C3%BCcher

Wolfgang Henner Peter Lebrech Graf von Blücher[a] (31 January 1917 – 21 May 1941) was a highly decorated Oberleutnant der Reserves in the Fallschirmjäger during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Wolfgang Graf von Blücher was one of three brothers who were killed during the Battle of Crete, all three of them on 21 May 1941.

[abb]

http://ww2today.com/21st-may-1941-tthe-hunt-for-the-bismarck-in-on

“At 1930 the Bismarck weighed anchor and headed north to join the Prinz Eugen and the destroyers outside Kalvanes Bay. The formation then continued on its way. As we slid past the rocky promontories at moderate speed, I was in a small group of the younger officers on the quarterdeck. We wanted to enjoy the Norwegian scenery at close range before we put out into the Atlantic.

While we were standing there, the chief of the fleet staff’s B-Dienst team, Korvettenkapitan Kurt-Werner Reichard, passed by, a piece of paper in his hand. Eager for news from his interesting duty station, we asked him what he had and he readily told us.

It was a secret radio message from B-Dienst headquarters in German, according to which early that morning a British radio transmission had instructed the Royal Air Force to be on the lookout for two German battleships and three destroyers that been reported proceeding on a northerly course. Reichard said that he was taking the message straight to Lutjens.

I must admit that I found this news somewhat of a damper because we junior officers had no idea that the British were aware of Exercise Rhine. Now we knew that we had been “discovered,” and that was something of a shock.”

See The Battleship “Bismarck”: A Survivor’s Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-Dienst

The B-Dienst (Beobachtungsdienst) was a German naval codebreaking organisation. During World War II, B-Dienst solved British Naval Cypher No. 3, providing intelligence for the Battle of the Atlantic, until the British Admiralty introduced Naval Cypher No. 5 on 10 June 1943. B-Dienst also solved a number of merchant codes.

[CougarGA7]

I really like this picture of the Bismarck taken by a Spitfire today.

This is the famous photograph taken by the British Spitfire (Suckling) at 1315 hours on 21 May 1941. The Bismarck can be seen to the right anchored in the Grimstadfjord near Bergen, Norway, with three merchant ships. Position 60º 19' 49" North, 05º 14' 48" East. The steamers would serve as torpedo shields in case of enemy attack. Unlike many other publications, this photo is shown here in its correct orientation, North up.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

That photo was taken 2 hrs 15 min. after the sea-level photo in reply #15.

[BroJoeK]

Meanwhile, back in the U.S of A:

"By this time, demands for war materiel were being submitted to the United States from all over the world.
Requests for supplies and equipment were coming in from the British, beleaguered in the Atlantic and in Singapore; from the Chinese under pressure by the Japanese; and from our own forces in the field.
Effective coordination was needed.

"On May 21, Marshall, under pressure from the War Department, the Office of Production Management, and especially the White House, sought a

'complete statement of Army needs—not for 1941 and 1942 but for the actual winning of a war not yet declared.'

He asked the various divisions of the War Department general staff to make strategic estimates of our ground, air, and naval situations, and to list items of equipment needed

“as an aid to industry in its planning.”

The War Plans Division assigned Major (later Lt. Gen.) A.C. Wedemeyer the immense task of researching and assembling from widely scattered sources the necessary data on military requirements, supplies, reserves, and production."

Greaves Jr, Percy (2010). Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy Chapter 4

[BroJoeK]

And in the Atlantic:

"The first U.S. ship to be torpedoed by a German submarine was a freighter, the Robin Moor, sunk in the South Atlantic on May 21.
News of the event reached the world only when survivors finally landed in Brazil on June 11.

Roosevelt was outraged.
But, although some British officials in Washington, as well as the President’s close friend and adviser, Harry Hopkins, wished for decisive U.S. retaliation, FDR did no more than remonstrate."

Greaves Jr, Percy (2010). Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy Chapter 3

[BroJoeK]

SS Robin Moore:

Sunk by U-69 a type VIIB similar to:

President Roosevelt's response to Congress:

"In brief, we must take the sinking of the Robin Moor as a warning to the United States not to resist the Nazi movement of world conquest.
It is a warning that the United States may use the high seas of the world only with Nazi consent.
Were we to yield on this we would inevitably submit to world domination at the hands of the present leaders of the German Reich.

"We are not yielding and we do not propose to yield."