AXIS ATTACKS IN NORTH TUNISIA, CONTINUES TO RETREAT IN CENTER; BOMBS BATTER COLOGNE, BREST (2/28/43)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 2/28/43 | Drew Middleton, Raymond Daniell, George Gallup

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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THE NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Southwest Russia, 1942: German Counteroffensive, Operations, 19 February-18 March 1943
Tunisia, 1942: Situation 22 April and Operations Since 26 February 1943
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941: Status of Forces and Allied Theater Boundaries, 2 July 1942
India-Burma, 1942: Allied Lines of Communication, 1942-1943

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Winston S. Churchill, The Hinge of Fate

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Battles Rage On (Middleton) – 2-3
MP’s Deal with Water and Territory Problems in Egypt (photos) – 4
Air Attacks Go On – 5
Post of The Times Missing after Wilhelmshaven Raid (Daniell) * – 6-7
Officer Writes Tribute to Post of The Times; Says He Saw Duty to Risk Life on Raid – 7
New Russian Gains Won in Hard Fights – 8
War News Summarized – 8
President is Calm in Face of ‘Revolt’ – 9
51% See 4th Term if War is Still On (Gallup) – 11
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on the War – 12-13

The News of the Week in Review
Six Focal Points of the War in the West (map) – 14
Twenty News Questions – 15
In Tunisia the Allies and Axis Are at Grips (map) – 16
Stage Set in Tunisia for Our Big Offensive (Middleton) – 17
‘On Mastery of the Atlantic Depend All Plans of War’ (map) – 18
Grim Struggle Goes On for Mastery of Seas (Daniell) – 19
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 20

* Today Lieut. Gen. Frank M. Andrews, United States Army Commander in the European theatre of operations, announced formally that he was listed as “missing” and said that two men had been seen to have bailed out of the bomber in which Post had been a passenger. Some witnesses said nine jumped from the bomber.

Post did not make it out of the plane. This should be confirmed in a few months. Post and Raymond Daniell, author of this article, had both been London correspondents since September 1939, so the writing this piece must have been a sorrowful task. Post’s entry in our index by author is below. From wikipedia:

Robert Post (journalist)

“In February 1943 Post stunned two friends with the admission that he thought he was going to die. He had been selected to accompany bomber missions with the 8th U.S. Air Force and would soon be departing for Germany. Post's friends, actress Leonora Corbett and war correspondent Helen Millbank of the Chicago Daily News, tried to reassure him, but Post insisted he wasn't coming back.”

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Post, Robert P.
3/3/39, London, Chamberlain Aids Palestine Parley
3/5/39, London, War Fear Dominates Palestine Discussion
5/12/39, London, British Stand Firm (L)
5/18/39, London, British Issue Plan to Make Palestine Independent by ‘49
5/21/39, London, Palestine Plan Irks Both Arabs and Jews (W)
8/5/39, London, British Negotiator to Leave Moscow Without an Accord
9/16/39, London, Fight Against U-Boats Effected by Wide Sea and Airplane Patrol
10/2/39, London, 4 British Planes Downed in Battle
10/20/39, London, Nazi Fliers Adrift Since Scapa Flow Raid Reach British Coast in Collapsible Boat
10/22/39, London, British Save Ships (L)
10/31/39, London, British Flotilla Fights off Raid
11/19/39, Portsmouth, England, British Navy Depot Shows Sea Might
11/23/39, London, 8 German Planes Shot Down in Day
11/29/39, London, Intense Sea Hunt On for Nazi Raider
12/5/39, London, Scheer Sank Ship, London Believes
12/16/39, London, London Gets News of Sea Fight Loss
12/18/39, London, 72 Britons Killed in Graf Spee Fight
12/19/39, London, Sharp Naval Blow
1/6/40, London, Stanley in Office that Father Held
4/1/40, London, Anglo-French ‘Nation’ Forecast After War; Would Solve Problem of Balancing Reich
4/3/40, London, ‘Driven Off,’ Say British
4/5/40, London, Churchill’s Role is Little Changed
4/11/40, London, Ports Recaptured
4/12/40, London, Four-Day Naval Battle Rages over Vast Area in the North Sea
4/14/40, London, Allies Hold Port (L)
4/14/40, London, The Far-Flung British Navy (W)
4/19/40, London, Stavanger Raided
4/28/40, London, British Challenge Berlin’s Charges
5/7/40, London, Warships Bombed by German Fliers
5/11/40, London, Reich Aircraft Attacked
5/19/40, London, London Claims Aerial Hits on Fuel Tanks in Germany
5/21/40, London, R.A.F. Claws Back at Larger Forces
5/22/40, London,British Planes Active
5/23/40, London, Germans Pounded by British Fliers
6/4/40, London, R.A.F. Reply Seen
6/6/40, London, Fuel Tanks Raided by British Planes
6/7/40, London, Britons Bomb Foe in Four Countries
6/9/40, London, Converted Liner is U-Boat Victim
6/13/40, London, British Raid Turin
6/28/40, London, British Digging In
7/11/40, London, Sea Fight Results Disappoint British
7/13/40, London, Burma Road Curb Pledged by Britain to Appease Japan
7/14/40, London, Navy’s Task is Put First in Defense of Britain (W)
7/16/40, London, Burma Road Offer Linked by Britain to Peace in Orient
7/17/40, London, Too Late, British Think
7/19/40, London, Churchill Defends Burma Road Pact
7/21/40, London, Removal of Children a Live Issue in Britain (W)
7/25/40, London, R.A.F. Expects of Us 3,000 Craft a Month
8/6/40, London, British See Blow within 2 Weeks; R.A.F. Raids Bases
8/8/40, A British Airport, British Bomber Crews Spirited in Attacks on Targets in Reich
8/9/40, London, Convoy is Target
8/13/40, London, Portsmouth is Hit (L)
8/14/40, London, British Disperse German Warships
8/20/40, London, Fascisti March In (L)
8/21/40, London, Isle Leases Urged (L)
8/25/40, London, First London Raid Starts Fire; Populace is Calm under Bombing
9/3/40, London, Attack up Thames
9/5/40, London, London Attacked by 3 Nazi Waves
9/15/40, London, New Hit on Palace by Nazi Time Bomb
9/17/40, London, Heart of City Hit (L)
9/19/40, London, Big London Stores Wrecked by Bombs
9/24/40, London, Nazis Foiled, British Hold
9/28/40, London, London Badly Hit
10/1/40, London, R.A.F. Night Fliers Repel Nazi Planes
10/8/40, London, Raiders at London Every 10 Minutes
10/9/40, London, London Chief Goal
10/10/40, London, Fires Rage in City (L)
10/13/40, London, New Berlin Raid Staged by British
10/16/40, London, Spee’s Conqueror Battles off Sicily
10/17/40, London, Nazis Give London Lull for 24 Hours
10/19/40, London, Nazi Ships Blasted (L)
10/24/40, London, Nazis Pass London to Hit at Midlands
10/25/40, London, Hard Nazi Raiding Hits at Midlands
10/26/40, London, Nazis Again Strike Heavily at London
10/27/40, London, Scattered Raiders Batter at Britain
10/31/40, London, London Reveals Mining
11/17/40, London, Raiders of London Driven off Early
12/9/40, London, R.A.F. Bombs Pound Duesseldorf Again
12/11/40, London, Two German Spies Hanged in London
12/16/40, London, Border is Crossed
12/22/40, London, Italy’s Path is Harsh; Duce’s Dreams Fading (W)
12/30/40, London, Address is Spur to British Hopes
12/31/40, London, Havoc in ‘The City’
1/7/41, London, Roosevelt Pledge Hailed by British
1/15/41, London, 3 British Warships Hit in Axis Attack in Mediterranean
1/16/41, London, Nazis Raid Britain after 2-Day Lull
1/30/41, London, Prospects in Summary
2/10/41, London, Hope Put in U.S. Aid
2/11/41, London, Action by London (L)
2/12/41, London, British Ships’ Guns Set Fires in Ports
3/4/41, London, British Await Further News
3/7/41, London, Raiders in Norway Sank Eleven Ships
3/12/41, London, Week’s Sinkings 29
3/13/41, London, British Grateful
3/16/41, London, Crucial Sea Campaign is On in the Atlantic (W)
3/17/41, London, London Sees Tonic
3/19/41, London, Sinkings Revealed
3/26/41, London, British Skeptical of Nazis’ Pledge
3/28/41, London, Churchill Vows Help to Yugoslavs; Hails Our Role in ‘Common Cause’
3/30/41, London, Fascist Ship Sunk (L)
3/31/41, London, French Guns Fire
4/6/41, London, War Proves Air Power Needs the Aid of Ships (W)
4/7/41, London, Forces in Greece, Britain Confirms
4/11/41, London,British Depressed by Balkan Events
4/17/41, London, Battle Off Tripoli (L)
4/18/41, London, British Still Dig in Ruins for Victims of Worst Raid
4/22/41, London, British Not Upset
4/23/41, London, Churchill Silent on Greece, Libya
4/28/41, London, Premier Confident (L)
4/29/41, London, Anzacs are Going (L)
5/3/41, London, All-Day Fighting
5/6/41, London, Big R.A.F. Bombs Hit 2 Nazi Battleships
5/10/41, London, Biggest R.A.F. Raid (L)
5/12/41, London, London is Hard Hit (L)
5/13/41, London, British Astounded (L)
5/21/41, London, Churchill Announces Move
5/25/41, London, Hood is Blown Up (L)
5/26/41, London, Fleet Bent on Avenging Hood; Second Ship Hit, Berlin Says
5/27/41, London, Air Arm Makes Contact
5/28/41, London, The Hood Avenged
6/2/41, London, Island Abandoned (L)
6/4/41, London, Unrest in Britain over Crete Rises; Action Demanded
6/11/41, London, Crete is Explained
6/12/41, London, Russian-Nazi ‘Rift’ Reported in London
6/23/41, London, Churchill Promises to Aid All Who are Hitler’s Foes
7/2/41, Lonson, General is Moved
7/16/41, London, Russia is an Ally, Churchill Asserts
7/21/41, London, Bracken Succeeds Duff Cooper as British Information Chief
7/25/41, London, British Ready to Back U.S. to Hilt in Any Action Taken Against Japanese
8/19/41, London, Churchill Home, Plans Radio Talk; Cheered by Convoy, Visited Iceland
8/22/41, London, Troops on Border (L)
8/25/41, London, Premier is Blunt (L)
8/26/41, London, Iranians Struggle (L)
8/29/41, London, British worried over War Output
9/15/41, London, Air Unit in Russia (L)
10/1/41, London, 3 New Perils Seen (L)
11/11/41, London, Our Stand Backed
11/19/41, London, Dill Retiring as British Army Chief; Brooke Gets Post in wide Shake-Up
11/23/41, London, British in Libya Test a New Army (W)
11/27/41, London, New Tanks in Field
11/28/41, London, Britain Projects Sweeping Draft
11/29/41, London, British Claim 71 Axis Ships
1/28/42, London, Challenge to Opponents
2/13/42, London, Nazis Run Gantlet (L)
2/14/42, London, Nazi Navy is Peril
2/16/42, London, Premier is Somber
2/20/42, London, War Leader Yields (L)
2/21/42, London, Churchill Critics Await New Shifts
2/23/42, London, Margesson is Out (L)
2/27/42, London, British Cripple German Cruiser
3/1/42, London, Nazi Post Seized
3/27/42, London, Heavy Raids Made
4/7/42, London, New Delay on India Buoys British Hopes
4/9/42, London, Axis Libyan Columns Move; British Think Offensive is On
4/14/42, London, Ships Menace India (L)
4/24/42, London, Chinese in Danger
5/13/42, London, Nazi Bomber Raids Destroy Warships in Mediterranean
5/16/42, London, British Remnants Elude Burma Trap
5/19/42, Somewhere in Northern Ireland, Convoy is Largest (L)
5/27/42, London, Briton Sees Gain in Mediterranean
5/28/42, London, Action in Desert (L)
5/30/42, London, Desert War Rages
6/3/42, London, Essen is Hit Hard (L)
6/12/42, London, No Secret in Pact, British are Told
6/14/42, London, British are a Match for Nazis in Libya (W)
6/27/42, London, Huge Fires Rage at Bremen in 1,000-Plane R.A.F. Raid
12/23/42, London, 12 of Raiders Lost
1/5/43, London, U.S. Camera Men Cut Off by Tanks
1/9/43, London, Sea Battle Saved Convoy for Russia
1/11/43, London, Convoy Rides Out 35 U-Boat Attacks
2/9/43, London, American Reporters in Britain Take Up High Altitude Flying

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/feb1943/f28feb43.htm

German Heavy Water Source Sabotaged
Sunday, February 28, 1943 www.onwar.com

The Norsk power plant in Norway [photo at link]

In Norway... The Norsk Hydro power station near Ryukan is badly damaged by a sabotage team of Norwegian soldiers who have been parachuted in from Britain. This plant is known to be in use by the Germans to produce “heavy water” for atomic research.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm

February 28th, 1943 (SUNDAY)

GERMANY: Berlin: Women drivers are needed in Germany. An appeal was issued today by the German Women’s Association, which plans special courses both to teach women to driver and to help them maintain their vehicles. The courses will be free and the aim, as with other recent measures such as labour mobilization, is to release more men for work at the front; everything is now secondary to war production.

Another sign of this came earlier this month with the decree of 4 February shutting “luxury” businesses - from jewellers to sweet manufacturers - which are not considered essential for the war effort.

NORWAY: Operation Gunnerside.

Occupied Europe: In the yard of Block 25 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp there is a pile of bodies stacked up like firewood. Occasionally the pile stirs as the dying struggle to free themselves from those already dead. Enormous rats scuttle around gnawing the corpses.

At Treblinka, inmates are made to dig up the buried dead for burning. The stench of rotting flesh fills the air. Female corpses are used as kindling because they burn more quickly; the pregnant women burst open to reveal blackened foetuses.

At Sobibor, the SS guards compete to throw Jewish children the furthest. One of them, Hubert Gomerski, enjoys beating people to death with an iron watering can.

10,000 Hungarian Jews have been deported to a Yugoslav copper mine for hard labour that will certainly kill many of them. 4,000 Jews from Marseilles, have been rounded up for deportation, and Bulgaria has agreed to deport 11,000 to Treblinka.

The Nazis are liquidating the Polish ghettoes. The last 5,000 Jews of Bialystock have been dispersed to Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz. All but 300 went straight to the gas chamber.

U.S.S.R.:

The Soviet attacks in the Caucasus continue.

Black Sea: The GRUZ, a Russian Minesweeper is torpedoed by S(E)-Boats off Cape Myshako. (James Paterson)

The bravery and effectiveness of the partisans fighting behind the German lines is now fully recognized by the Soviet government. 14 partisans have been made Heroes of the Soviet Union, and a new medal struck to be awarded “To a Partisan of the War for the Fatherland.”

The exploits of the partisans make stirring reading, and Stalin has issued a special order urging that the “flame of partisan warfare shall be kindled and spread”. Some of the partisan brigades are over 1,000 strong and are supplied from the air with weapons, explosives, radios and even printing presses to spread the word of resistance.

The effect of their activities may be judged from the diary of a German officer killed by partisans in Byelorussia. “We entered a gloomy wilderness in our tanks. There wasn’t a single man anywhere. Everywhere the forests and marshes are haunted by the ghosts of the Avengers. They would attack us unexpectedly, as if rising from under the earth. They cut us up to disappear like devils into the nether regions. Night is setting in and I feel them stealthily approaching from out of the darkness, they are the ghosts and I am frozen with fear.”

Journeys through forested areas are extremely hazardous for the Germans. Bridges are blown, mines laid and ambushes set. Some units heading for the front have to fight their way through. These activities have brought a violent reaction from the Germans who mount full-scale operations against the partisans and kill anyone whom they capture. Zoya, a famous 18-year-old girl partisan who was captured near Moscow in 1941, was hanged and mutilated as an example.

Not everyone approves of the partisans. They live off the country and expect the peasants to feed, clothe and shelter them, and the Germans need little excuse to execute those suspected of helping the partisans. The partisans are just as ruthless as the Germans and will kill anyone suspected of collaboration with the enemy.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: At 1710, U-371 fired one torpedo at an eastbound convoy off Dellys, Algeria and observed the hit. At 1718, another torpedo was fired. U-371 heard a hit, but no detonation after 35 seconds. SS Daniel Carroll was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side at the bow. A second torpedo struck the ship but failed to explode. The explosion extensively damaged the Liberty ship, but the ten officers, 33 men, 27 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5in, one 3in and eight 20mm guns) and 30 passengers remained on board. A British tug towed the Daniel Carroll to Algiers, where she arrived on 1 March. The most of her cargo was saved by salvors. On 11 May, she proceeded to Gibraltar for intermediate repairs, arriving two days later. On 22 July, left in convoy GUS-10 for New York, where she arrived on 9 August. She returned to service in Jul 44. Daniel Carroll had left New York for Casablanca in Convoy UGS-4 and was then proceeding from Gibraltar to Algiers in station #23 of convoy TE-16. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.A.:
Destroyer escort USS Peterson laid down.

Destroyers USS Bullard, Kidd, Thorn and Turner launched.

Submarine USS Ray launched.

Light fleet carrier USS Monterey launched.

Destroyer escort USS Hill launched. (Dave Shirlaw)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: US Liberty Ship Wade Hampton sunk by U-405 at 59.49N, 34.43W. Soviet RPT-1 (ex USS PT-85) and RPT-3 (ex-USS PT-87), deck cargo on Wade Hampton, were lost as well. (Dave Shirlaw)

[BroJoeK]

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February 28, 1943:

• "SS troops begin to round up Jewish factory workers in Berlin to be sent to camps and killing centers in the East.

• February 27-early March 1943: "Those Jewish workers rounded up in Berlin who have Christian spouses are released after their spouses and children publicly protest their arrest at the Berlin Gestapo headquarters on Rosenstrasse.
  The release is ordered by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and later approved by Hitler himself, who seems to fear public disorder."

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[henkster]

It’s interesting that Monty is holding at the Mareth Line to wait to get his logistical house in order. Then he will bring up X Corps and be ready to resume offensive operations. While it is popular to bash Monty as being too cautious and the proponent of the “set piece” battle, what he is doing here is emminently logical and reasonable. There was a “logistic limit” to every successful World War II offensive; the offensive would always peter out when the limits of the supply lines were reached. Any attempt to push an offensive past those limits usually met with a bloody nose as the defenders would regroup on their bases and deliver a strong counter stroke. Soviet generals Vatutin and Golikov are being taught this lesson by German Field Marshal von Manstein right now. Montgomery will later forget this lesson in Operation Market-Garden.

[colorado tanker]

In Norway... The Norsk Hydro power station near Ryukan is badly damaged by a sabotage team of Norwegian soldiers who have been parachuted in from Britain. This plant is known to be in use by the Germans to produce “heavy water” for atomic research.

[colorado tanker]

I find the loss of Robert Post sad. That was back in the day when the press supported an American war effort.

[Ecliptic]

Another mistake by Hitler. If he had been smart he would have tried to win the war while using everyone who could work, then get rid of all the Jews. 6 million workers could have helped the war effort a great deal.
But his hatred over ruled his head.
But then, he was stupid enough to think he could take over Russia all the way past Moscow and that no one would interfere.

[GeronL]

He killed more than 12 million in the camps, about half were jews. A lot of labor lost

[henkster]

Speer had just taken over the economy, which was not yet on a full war footing. Most middle-class homes still had domestic servants (Putzfrauen). Those Putzfrauen should have been in the factories, along with the comfortable middle-class housewives. Consumer goods no longer produced in America, Canada and Britain are still being produced in Germany. After three years of war and staggering losses on the Eastern Front...unbelievable!

It is good that Hitler was a scatter-brain.