Posted on 05/13/2012 4:44:56 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/may42/f13may42.htm
Red Army pulls out of Kerch Peninsula
Wednesday, May 13, 1942 www.onwar.com
Kerch after Soviet withdrawal [photo at link]
On the Eastern Front... In the face of staunch German attacks by 11th Army forces, the Red Army begins to withdraw from the Kerch Peninsula. About 80,000 Red Army troops are successfully evacuated.
In Burma... The Chinese 6th Army in retreat is pursued by the Japanese across the Salween towards for Kengtung.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
May 13th, 1942
UNITED KINGDOM:
Submarine HMS Sahib commissioned.
Destroyer HMS Lardner commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.S.R.: An estimated 3,400 Jews are killed in Radun after the Germans sealed the ghetto there five days ago.
BURMA: The Chinese 6th Division retreats across the Salwen River on the way to Kengtung.
CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Qualicum commissioned.
Minesweeper HMCS Granby arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.
Corvette HMCS La Malbaie arrived Halifax from builder Sorel, Province of Quebec.
Patrol vessel HMCS Ripple II (ex-PLM 14, an ex-rum runner owned by British Columbia Provincial Police) requisitioned and returned Jun 1945.
(Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: German submarine U-506 attacks three U.S. merchant vessels off the coast of Louisiana sinking a tanker and a freighter; a second tanker is damaged. In the Atlantic, a U.S. freighter is sunk by U-69.
The motion picture “This Gun for Hire” is released in the U.S. Directed by Frank Tuttle, this picture, based on the Graham Greene novel “A Gun For Sale, “ stars Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Robert Preston. Ladd is a hitman who is out to get a man who gave him “hot money” for a job but meets a girl (Lake) while on the run. (Jack McKillop)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 0028, U-128 fired a salvo of four torpedoes at the convoy SL-109 about 300 miles NW of the Cape Verde Islands and observed one detonation after 3 minutes 25 seconds accompanied by a pillar of smoke and then another explosion. Heyse thought that he had sunk one ship and damaged another. In fact, only the Denpark was hit and sunk. The master, 15 crewmembers and five gunners were lost. 22 crewmembers and three gunners were picked up by the Danish merchantman Nordlys and British merchantman City of Windsor and landed at Clyde.
At 2205, the unescorted City of Melbourne was torpedoed by U-156 west of Barbados and broke in two. The forepart sank immediately and the afterpart was sunk by gunfire. One crewmember was lost. The master, 75 crewmembers and ten gunners landed at Barbados.
At 0358, the unescorted Koenjit was torpedoed by U-156 about 300 miles NNE of Barbados. One torpedo struck aft in the engine room and she began to sink over the stern. All crewmembers abandoned ship in two lifeboats, except the master and the first mate Folmer, who stayed aboard and searched for possible crewmembers still on board. They later had to jump overboard as the ship sank and swam to the boats. The U-boat surfaced and Hartenstein asked for the name, nationality and destination of the ship. The answers he got from the crew were so short and so vague that he was not able establish the identity. He then gave the position to the survivors and left after the ship disappeared under the surface. The motorboat Letitia Porter carried on deck went down with the Koenjit.
At 0234, the unescorted Esso Houston was hit by one torpedo from U-162 about 150 miles east of Barbados, just after lookouts spotted the U-boat crossing the bow of the tanker, which immediately put the wheel hard right. The torpedo struck on the port side instead of the starboard side, about 25 feet aft of the bridge at the #6 hatch and blew oil over the after part of the ship. The engines were stopped and the damage was examined. It was realized that the back was broken and the eight officers, 30 men and four armed guards (the ship was armed with one 4in gun) abandoned ship in three lifeboats and one raft. 20 minutes later a second torpedo struck amidships, destroying the ship. U-162 surfaced near the lifeboats, questioned the crew, offered assistance and left. The U-boat returned to let the master know that one of the lifeboats was in sinking condition near the stern of the tanker. 18 survivors in one boat were picked up by the Norwegian motor tanker Havprins 40 hours later, were transferred to the Latvian SS Everagra the next day and landed at St Thomas, Virgin Islands on 18 May. 23 survivors on another boat made landfall five days after the attack on St Vincent Island. One armed guard died from injuries.
At 1230, the unescorted and unarmed Gulfpenn was steaming five miles ahead of the Gulfprince, when the other tanker was attacked by U-507. The Gulfpenn immediately left the scene on full speed and later steered zigzagging course in irregular patterns at 12.5 knots. At 2138 on the same day, U-506 fired one torpedo, which struck the Gulfpenn aft in the engine room on the starboard side, killing all men on watch below and immediately stopping the engines. 26 men from the eight officers and 30 crewmen abandoned ship in two lifeboats. One crewman later died of wounds. One officer and 11 crewmen died in the explosion or went down with the tanker; two of these died trying to retrieve personal papers. The ship made a half-circle and then plunged stern first within five minutes about 30 miles off the entrance to the Mississippi River. Three hours later, the survivors were picked up by the Hondurian Telde, which had been directed to them by a USCG aircraft and taken to Pilottown, Louisiana and thence to New Orleans. A lookout on the Gulfprince spotted the periscope one mile astern and the tanker proceeded on a zigzagging course at 10 knots. The first and second torpedo fired by U-507 at 12.38 and 13.39 hours were skilfully evaded, the first passing ahead and the second passing astern. But the third torpedo fired at 13.41 hours struck the tanker a glancing blow on the starboard side aft and abreast of the #8 main cargo tank. After glancing off, it jumped into the air about three feet and then submerged again. The collision sprung hull plates and four feet of oil leaked from the tank. The tanker continued under full steam on a zigzag course to escape. None of the eight officers and 34 crewmen on board was injured. She arrived New Orleans and went into dry dock for repairs after discharging her cargo and returned to service on 15 Jun 1942. The Gulfpince had been en route from Port Arthur, Texas to New York with a cargo of 71.000 bbls of crude oil.
At 0347, the unescorted and unarmed Norlantic was shelled by U-69 from a distance of 2000 meters after two first torpedoes at 0338 and 0339 hours missed the ship about 90 miles east of Bonaire. After the first hits, the crew of seven officers and 22 crewmen began to abandon ship in two lifeboats and two rafts. They had tried to signal the U-boat that they would abandon ship, but apparently this was not noticed. The ship sank three minutes after being hit on the port side at the boiler room by a coup de grâce at 0408. Two men on watch below went down with the ship and four were killed on deck by the gunfire, while one other men later died of wounds in a lifeboat. Late in the afternoon of 16 May, the lifeboats were sighted by the Netherlands trading schooners India and Mississippi, the latter took them in tow to the Island of Bonaire, where they landed on the morning of the next day. On 24 May, two survivors were picked up from a raft by the merchant Marpesia and landed at Port of Spain, Trinidad. The last three survivors were picked up from a raft by the tug Crusader Kingston on 19 June in 14°02N/83°13W; the raft had drifted about 1000 miles in the 37 days since the sinking.
At 0351, the Batna in Convoy ONS-92 was torpedoed and sunk by U-94 SE of Cape Farewell. One crewmember was lost. The master, 34 crewmembers and six gunners were picked up by British rescue ship Bury and landed at St John’s 16 May.
SS Tolken sunk by U-94 at 51.50N, 33.35W in Convoy ONS-92.
(Dave Shirlaw)
"A group of Gypsy (Sinti and Roma) prisoners awaits orders from the Germans at the Belzec death camp in Poland.
The Nazis began construction of an extermination center at Belzec in November 1941.
Hundreds, perhaps several thousand, Gypsies would eventually be gassed there."
And this near the low point of the war for the Allies.
So consider: if the NY Times and other "mainstream media" had treated President Roosevelt the same way it treated, oh, say, Nixon or Bush II, FDR's disapproval would be around "8 out of 10 voters."
The USS Lardner had an active WWII career, then served for decades in the Turkish navy, finally sunk as a target in 1982.
Does Roosevelt even have an exit strategy?
I notice that the 1% doesn’t want to share the sacrifice. Congress doesn’t want to have to participate in the rationing - it might impair their social life and the incumbent’s campaign advantage - and the rich folks on the Conn. coast find that brownout too burdensome. That’s for the common folks.
Ukrainian villagers in national costume greet Germans during the early days of occupation.
German soldier killed by Soviet sniper-June 1942
German supply clerk with signpost -Sept 1942
Part of German platoon setting up along heights near Donets river -May 1942
Destruction of Soviet transport west of Don River Summer 1942
German sharpshooter in Soviet Union-undetermined date
Ukrainian girls sunbathing near German convalescent village in the Crimea -June 1942
Isolated church on the steppes outside Stalingrad -Summer 1942
Bridge on the outskirts of Kholm immediately after its relief.-Spring 1942
German medical orderlies resting in trench somewhere in Ukraine Spring 1942
Soviet pow's gathered up on the steppes near the Don River -Summer 1942
German officer on peak above Yalta harbor -June 1942
Soviets POWs march into captivity May 1942
German troops and villager in Kholm immediately after it was relieved. Spring 1942
Jewish forced laborers in Minsk -Winter 1942
Sixth Army Headquarters outside Stalingrad -Summer 1942
Hermann_Fegelein with unknown_Sturmbannführer in Russia 1942
German OP outside Kertch in Crimea Spring 1942
German unit outside Kertch in Crimea May 1942
Ukrainian train station-saying farewell to volunteers going to work in Germany -Summer 1942
German trooper shows off helmet he wore when wounded Spring 1942
In picture #4, what is that the guy to the left of the soldier with the binocular has? An anti-tank rifle?
And in the Fegelin picture, the way he’s holding his left arm. partially blocking one of his badges, makes it look like he’s wearing a “Happy Face”.
I hadn't noticed that-it sure looks like an AT Rifle-I'm a little surprised they were still being used unless it's a captured Soviet weapon.
Hmmmmm... let's see... yes, here it is:
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist.
There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.
So help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."
"...absolute victory."
"...this form of treachery shall never again endanger us."
"...we will gain the inevitable triumph."
"So help us God."
When did you last hear an "exit strategy" like that?
Great photos, thanks for posting!
80,000 Soviet soldiers “successfully evacuated” from Kerch? How many were “unsuccessfully killed” by the Germans? I’ve read it was a pretty large loss, maybe as much as 150,000, mostly thanks to the incompetent meddling by the evil Commissar Lev Mekhlis.
I last heard this kind of talk from Ronald Reagan in describing how he intended to deal with the USSR, a victory he achieved without firing a shot.
You might have heard something like this from Harry Truman, but certainly not from any other democrat in the last 40 or 50 years.
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