Posted on 05/25/2013 5:41:45 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
May 25. The night raid of the English on Dortmund was extraordinarily heavy, probably the worst ever directed against a German city . . . Reports from Dortmund are pretty horrible . . . Industrial and munition plants have been hit very hard . . . Some eighty to one hundred thousand inhabitants without shelter . . . The people in the West are gradually beginning to lose courage. Hell like that is hard to bear . . . In the evening I received a [further] report on Dortmund. Destruction is virtually total. Hardly a house is habitable . . .
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/may1943/f25may43.htm
Allies decide on date for D-Day
Tuesday, May 25, 1943 www.onwar.com
In Washington... The Trident Conference ends. Roosevelt and Churchill, and their staffs, reach compromises on all of the significant differences. Among the decisions taken is the target date for the invasion of western Europe (D-Day) — May 1, 1944. British General Morgan is appointed to prepare plans for the invasion. His is designated Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC).
On the Eastern Front... In the Caucasus, the German 17th Army continues to counterattack. Soviet forces continue to hold the offensive.
In the Aleutian Islands... On Attu American forces make some progress along the Clevesy Pass. There is heavy fighting over Fish Hook Ridge.
In the United States... Mississippi river flooding continues. In total, 150,000 people become homeless.
LOL—And Dortmund is coming to London today.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
May 25th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: The London Gazette, today notifies that in the Arctic, Chief Officer James Arthur Reeves (1911-84) hauled two helpless men from the water and oil-filled engine-room of his torpedoed merchantman. (Albert Medal)
Avro York Ascalon (LV 633) flies the Prime Minister and Allied commanders to Algiers via Gibraltar. This aircraft is flown by No. 24 Squadron at Northolt and is furnished as a flying conference room. (22)
Corvette HMCS Hespeler (ex-HMS Guildford Castle) laid down Leith, Scotland.
Frigate HMCS Teme (ex-HMS Teme) laid down South Bank-on-Tees. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY: Tonight RAF planes bomb Düsseldorf, but do little damage.
U-289, U-857 launched.
U-1235 laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet and Ladoga Flotilla: (Sergey Anisimov)(69)Submarine loss. “Sch-408” - by aviation and surface ships gunfire of Ruotsinsalmi and Patrol Boat VMV, close to Vaindlo lighthouse at Keri.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: U-414 sunk in the western Mediterranean NW of Tenes, in position 36.31N, 00.40E, by depth charges from corvette HMS Vetch. (Dave Shirlaw)
TERRITORY OF ALASKA:
On Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands, the Americans again attack Fishhook Ridge and manage to take control of the base of the snow covered ridge as well as isolated slopes.
The USAAF’s Eleventh Air Force dispatches 12 B-25 Mitchells and 15 B-24 Liberators to fly air-ground support and four B-24s and 20 P-38 Lightnings to fly air cover over Attu. Eighteen P-40s fly a reconnaissance and two attack missions to Kiska and Little Kiska Islands. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.A.: Washington: Churchill and Roosevelt have ended their Trident Conference talks on the next moves against the Axis powers with agreement on the date and place for a cross-channel invasion of German-occupied north-western Europe next year. They have also agreed to press Turkey to join the Allies.
In detail The two sides agree
(1) that the defeat of Germany is still the first priority;
(2) to step up the strategic bombing of Germany and occupied Europe as a preliminary to an invasion of Europe scheduled for 1 May 1944;
(3) to bomb the Ploesti, Romaniaoil fields from bases in the Mediterranean; and
(4) to increase aid to China. Both sides also approve of the U.S. plan for operations in the Pacific.
The invasion should take place by 1 May, with 29 divisions. These details, which must remain a closely guarded secret, were worked out by British and American staff officers, who studied information gained from high-altitude reconnaissance photographs, hundreds of detailed maps and over ten million holiday snaps and picture postcards assembled after a BBC appeal to the public. During a press conference attended by 151 Allied correspondents, Churchill was asked why senior British officers from India had been brought to Washington. He said that the plan was to intensify the war against Japan. From now on, the war in both west and east would be waged with equal force.
Allied superiority over the enemy in munitions production was now beginning to tell, Churchill said Allied air power had become a decisive factor in the war, and the bombing campaign against Germany would be a 24-hours-a-day operation. War would continue until unconditional surrender was obtained “from all those who had molested us”. Roosevelt then interrupted Churchill to say that “molested” was the best example of understatement he had heard.]
As well as this they agreed to step up the strategic bombing of Germany and occupied Europe as a preliminary to invasion; to bomb the Ploesti oilfields in Romania, from bases in the Mediterranean and to increase aid to China.
During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with “German Infantry Weapons.” (William L. Howard)
Frigate USS Peoria laid down.
Destroyer escort USS Cannon launched.
Destroyer escort USS Crouter commissioned.
Destroyer USS Harding commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-467 sunk SE of Iceland, in position 62.25N, 14.52W, by a Fido homing torpedo from a USN VP 84 Catalina. 46 dead (all hands lost). (Dave Shirlaw)
A football match? You guys must have worked out your differences since 1943.
Champions League 2013: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund fans take Wembley [2pm EDT FOX]A sense of humour, as well as intent, has arrived in London with more than 180,000 German football fans descending on the capital for tonights Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
Dortmund also got bombed today! Both keepers were unbelievable.
Looks like somebody didn't get the memo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.