Posted on 11/16/2011 4:54:14 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept
The News of the Week in Review
Twenty News Questions – 11
Winter and Russians Rob Hitler of Victory – 12
The Nazi Tide Laps Against the Vital Caucasus (map) – 14
Caucasus Challenges German Might – 15-16
Goebbels Appeal a Startling Move – 16
Issues of Peace or War Now Raised with Japan (by Bertram D. Hulen) – 17
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 18
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/nov41/f16nov41.htm
Germans lay siege to Sevastopol
Sunday, November 16, 1941 www.onwar.com
On the Eastern Front... German advances in the Crimea continue. Kerch falls to the Germans and Sevastopol is now being besieged. Near Moscow, some German advances are being reported.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sevastopol_%281941%E2%80%931942%29
Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)
Interesting, and wrong, analysis of the superiority of the US Navy to the Japanese Navy. I believe at the war outset, and certainly with regard to Naval Aviation, you would have to score the Japanese combined Fleet as the more war ready, more capable Navy. Obviously that changed over the next three years.
On another note, heck of a time for the Japanese Emperor to go on a diet, not sure why that is even news. guy didnt look that big to me anyway.
Nice cartoon of the Japanese angel caricature. Thats one you wouldnt see in the NYT these days.
“in deadly combat” by Gottlob Bidderman, antitank gunner and officer in the German Army. His first hand account of the battle is particularly horrifying and detailed.
I wonder if it could get cold enough in Russia to cause equipment failures for the Germans?
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/16.htm
November 16th, 1941
UNITED KINGDOM:
Destroyer HMS Tumult laid down.
Submarine HMS P-39commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: U-603, U-604 launched. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.S.R.: German forces continue their almost unimpeded advance through the Crimea. Kerch has fallen and Sevastopol is besieged with the Soviet resistance being very stubborn. Their advance on Moscow continues very slowly.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-433 sunk at 2155hrs in the Mediterranean south of Malaga, Spain, in position 36.13N, 04.42W, after being damaged by depth charges and gunfire 25nm east of Gibraltar by the British corvette HMS Marigold. 6 dead and 38 survivors. (Dave Shirlaw)
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Air Force USAFFE is redesignated the FEAF. (Marc Small)
AUSTRALIA: Brereton dispatched by MacArthur on a three-week, 11,500-mile jaunt to Rabaul, Port Moresby, Townsville, and Melbourne, to comply with Marshall’s directive of 30 SEP 41 regarding use of airfields in British Empire areas.
U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Howorth laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
The Japanese Navy was also better equipped: The Zero, the Kate, the Long Lance torpedo, superior submarines. And they were MUCH better trained for night fighting [pre-radar], as we were soon to find out.
to say nothing of ability to launch coordinated naval air attacks from multiple flight decks, something the USN would not learn how to do for some time.
we did have one thing, and it was huge: code breaking.
There is some evidence out there that the Japanese had broken some of our diplomatic codes as well. Much of what existed was destroyed however and it is impossible to figure out to what degree they had access to our own communications. If the Japanese were reading our diplomatic codes at this time, then our code breaking progress between the two nations at this moment would be a wash since we are only reading PURPLE at this point. The JN-25 code is only is being worked on, but we are only having limited success right now and the code will be changed on December 1st erasing some of that progress made. It wont be until early next year that we make the real breakthrough on the Japanese naval codes.
It is known that older U.S. diplomatic codes (Gray from the 1920s, and Brown from the 30s) were broken by the Japanese. To what degree, if any, that we used these codes in the early 40s I couldn’t say without doing some research which unfortunately, I just don’t have time to do at the moment.
also impressive is the degree to which the Japanese were able to disguise that traffic, and the level of detail and planning that went into the Japanese concealment effort.
one of the most intersting things i read: the FBI was tapping all the phones of suspected Japanese spies and monitoring the calls back to Japan. One in particular was reporting on “flowers” and other stuff. this agent correctly figured out that this was a report on naval activity and in fact pretty much called the Dec 7 attack based on his work,
but no one really would listen. combined with rocheforts report that he had lost the location of the jap carriers, and other intel from decoded messages in DC, it all sounds like 9-11 failure to connect the dots. in the retrospectoscope there was plenty of evidence when and where the japs would attack.
its still unbelievable that they managed to arrive off hawaii totally undetected.
The bulk of the journey that the Japanese fleet took was off of normal shipping lanes so as large as the Pacific is, I’m not really surprised that the fleet covered that distance without being detected. However, once they began getting close to Pearl, the fact that the reconnaissance, that they were charged to do, was so poorly conducted that it failed to detect the fleet, and failed to have the proper channels in place when they detected the aircraft coming in is almost inexcusable.
The Japanese were very effective with their deception methods that they employed in covering their tracks leading up to the attack. Even their assemble area played a role in this. Just as the Japanese were asking for reports on the locations of American ships, we were trying to do the same thing in return though we had next to nothing as far a men on the ground in Japan so the task was far more difficult. Assembling at Hitokappu Bay eliminated even the slightest possibility of a HUMINT discovery because of its severe remoteness.
A good article on the Japanese radio deception was written by R.J. Hanyok called “Blinded by the Rising Sun: Japanese Radio Deception Before Pearl Harbor”. I’m not sure if you can get it online, but if you want it, Freepmail me your address and I’ll send it your way.
interesting. thanks
one other detail in the book, among many really clever Japanese preparations, was having a couple merchantmen ships run the route in reverse from Hawaii to Japan days before, scouting. they reported not a single ship along the planned route.
japanese also brought in sailors to replace the crews on the raid, and had them take shore leave so locals didnt notice any difference in number of blue uniforms walking around. really detailed planning.
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