Posted on 10/07/2011 8:03:36 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance
Skimpy news today. Blame the World Series.
Huge Push Opens – 2
The International Situation – 3
The Texts of the Day’s War Communiques – 4-5
U-Boats Roam Sea with a New Fury – 5
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/oct41/f07oct41.htm
Germans trap 6 Soviet armies
Tuesday, October 7, 1941 www.onwar.com
On the Eastern Front... German armored forces break through the Soviet-held Vyazma Defense Line, encircling 6 armies. The trapped Soviet forces continue to resist until October 14th.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/07.htm
October 7th, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM: Medal citations in the London Gazette for SS TEWKESBURY:
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire: Captain Theo Pryse George Medal: Second Engineer Gerard Llewellyn Turner and Second Officer Bernard Peter de Neumann And both George Medallists were also awarded Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea
Published Censored Citation: For brave conduct when their ship was attacked by enemy aircraft.
Unpublished Uncensored Citation: The ship was bombed by a German aircraft.
Her defence was so good that the enemy was last seen flying low, with smoke streaming from him. The air crew were picked up later, and the ship is credited with the kill.
After the attack, a large bomb of about 250 kilos was found unexploded on the second engine room grating. The vessel was rolling in a North-Easterly wind and sea, and Second Engineer Turner, who was on watch, sat on the bomb to prevent it being rolled off the grating. Second Officer de Neumann at once went to his help.
The Master, leaving the Commodore of the convoy on the bridge to attend to navigation, took charge of the disposal squad. The Second Officer and Second Engineer slung the bomb in a rope sling and guided it clear of obstructions, at one point standing on the cylinders to do so. Owing to the darkness and the deep and awkward position into which the bomb had lodged, the whole operation performed with ingenuity and skill without mishap, took over an hour to complete. A second sling was made by the Master and the two Officers and the bomb was dropped over the side. (Bernard de Neumann)
GERMANY: U-190 is laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
POLAND: Rovno: SS men take 17,000 Jews to pits outside the town, ordering them to strip before shooting them dead. Those who refuse to undress have their eyes gouged out.
FINLAND: Helsinki: Finland refuses to heed Allied pressure to stop the fighting in the USSR, saying it has no political axe to grind but is grateful it “need not fight alone this time.”
U.S.S.R.: Last night the first snow fell in the Moscow front. (Mikko Härmeinen)
German forces capture Wjasma, Berdjansk and Mariupol on the central and southern fronts. (Jack McKillop)
AUSTRALIA: John Curtin is duly sworn in as the prime minister. (Daniel Ross)
CANADA: Corvette HMCS departs St. John’s for Convoy SC-48 and the Clyde.
Trawler HMS Ironbound is laid down at Kingston, Ontario.
Minesweeper HMCS Vegreville launched in Montreal, Province of Quebec. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-575 is attacked in the North Atlantic by an aircraft and suffers slight damage from two bombs.
U-502 damaged SS Svend Foyn in Convoy HX-152. (Dave Shirlaw)
I predict this will end badly for the Nazis.
Who knows what might have happened had Operation Typhoon gotten off to an earlier start?
"Of the 30,000 Jews who made up the original population of the Kovno (Lithuania) Ghetto, more than 90 percent did not survive to liberation.
"During the first six weeks of the German occupation in 1941, Lithuanian extremists arrested thousands of Jews, imprisoning them in several old forts that ringed the city.
Almost 4,000 Jews perished.
Many women were raped, then shot.
The dead were thrown into pits.
"Systematic Einsatzgruppen murders began once ghetto gates closed in August.
In September some 1,600 men, women, and children were shot.
On October 4 about 1,800 were murdered, including 180 children and infant patients who were burned alive when the Germans set fire to the ghetto hospital.
The "Great Action" of October 28 separated Kovno Jews "fit" to work from those "unfit."
About 9,200 were sent "to the right," to be killed.
The remaining 17,000 toiled as slave laborers.
"In late 1943 the Nazis began to liquidate the ghetto, deporting many to concentration camps.
In March 1944 the SS dragged all children under the age of 12 from homes and hiding places.
This so-called "Children's Action" claimed 1,300 lives.
A mother's diary recorded the horror of watching her child "tossed like a puppy into the truck...." "
2 months before Pearl Harbor.....
It probably wouldn’t have made a difference if they had started any earlier really. The Panzer divisions on the Eastern front are just out of punching power by now and they never really will get it back. By as early as July many of these tank forces were down below 50 percent. Guderian started BARBAROSSA with 953 tanks and was already down to just 286 by the end of July. In 1942, the Germans will only produce 9,200 tanks compared to the Soviets who will make, even with the disruption of moving their industries, over 24,000.
Now if the Germans had kept their Panzer forces up to full or near full strength, then Operation Typhoon may have been the final nail in Moscow’s coffin. The German’s did pretty well with the limited strength they had in the first place.
You're probably correct. Even if the Germans had enveloped Moscow, they still wouldn't have had time to dig in for the winter. Interesting how the NYT continually mentions the onset of the Russian winter, yet the wehrmacht was caught unprepared.
Now if the Germans had kept their Panzer forces up to full or near full strength, then Operation Typhoon may have been the final nail in Moscow’s coffin.
Otto Skorzeny in his book "My Commando Operations" mentioned hearing Hitler say that had he known the Russians had so many tanks, he wouldn't have invaded.
The Brits had an AA gun [3.3”?]that was at least the equal of the 88. The Germans used every one they could get their hands on as an anti-tank gun.
When the British Army politely inquired about doing the same [it required AT ammo to be made], they were told “No”. The 3.3 was made to shoot down aircraft, and that was what it would do. Goes a long way toward explaining the the mindset that let Rommel run rings around them.
I was a treadhead in germany, living off post in Kirch-gons—little farmhouse there. Anyway, the owner of the place told me over a bottle of some vile and nasty liquid, couple with pig brains on a cracker, that he too, was a panzer man. He had the grand tour. Poland, Russia, etc, finally giving himself up to the Americans in Czechoslovokia. He was there, in the battle for Moscow. Or so he claims. He said his panzer unit was BEHIND Moscow, closing in. He says they were about 30km away from the Capitol, but could not finish the deal. What a story.
Dear Homer,
i’ve noticed that recently your posts of the NYT have not included the pages containing the commentary of the NYT’s military analyst, Hanson Baldwin. Could you kindly check to see if you resume including his commentary? Now that the Germans are making their drive on Moscow (an event which will shortly cause Stalin to evacuate most of the Soviet government from the capital), I’m curious to see whether Baldwin will be shaken from his previous belief that Germany would probably lose its campaign in Russia. Thanks.
I think Baldwin took a few days off after his road trip to Louisiana for the war games. He reported in from Fort Benning and then Washington on his return trip but I guess he deserves a break now and then. He will return for tomorrow’s post with a nice essay on the campaign for Moscow. I only have a five day supply of posts at this point but I think Hanson W. Baldwin is set to resume his near daily output of analysis.
Thanks for checking in and I’m glad you enjoy his columns.
Homer
Thanks Homer.
I think the next few weeks will be very interesting for Baldwin.
Then, of course, December will be more interesting still!
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