Posted on 12/01/2013 4:28:53 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Here is Wouk’s summary of the Teheran conference. The “spoke in Churchill’s wheel” reference at the beginning comes from a conversation between Admiral Ernest King and a fictional character in the previous chapter. Otherwise the excerpt is Wouk’s take on history.
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Herman Wouk, War and Remembrance
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/dec1943/f01dec43.htm
Big Three conference in Teheran ends
Wednesday, December 1, 1943 www.onwar.com
Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill at Teheran [photo at link]
In Iran... The Teheran Conference ends. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin and their staffs meet for the first time. The Americans appear to be attempting to distance themselves from the British during the discussions. The decision to invade western Europe in May 1944 is confirmed. Plans for an invasion of southern France are also agreed upon. Stalin promises to join the war against Japan once Germany has been defeated. There are rumors that the American accommodations were bugged by Soviet agents.
Over Occupied Belgium... The first operational use of the American P-51D Mustang is in a fighter sweep. The new variant of the Mustang uses the British Merlin engine.
In Italy... The US 5th Army becomes more active as preparations for a resumption of its offensive proceed. Diversionary attacks in support of the British 8th Army offensive continue.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/01.htm
December 1st, 1943 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Westminster: The House of Commons today endorsed the home secretaries decision to release the former fascist leader Oswald Mosley, by a large majority. There was some criticism by Labour speakers of Herbert Morrison, and an anti-Mosley demonstration was held outside parliament. This was led away by Willie Gallagher the Communist MP, to Caxton Hall. One Labour MP compared Mosley’s release to freeing Hitler by the Weimar government.
Mr Morrison in a long and emotional speech, said that Mosley had been transferred from one kind of detention to another - “house arrest” in the country. He suffered from phlebitis, and outside doctors who had examined him, including Lord Dawson of Penn, believed that imprisonment would risk permanent damage to his health.
One MP objected that his condition was shared by thousands of charwomen with varicose veins. Mr Morrison said that he had been attacked and abused, particularly by his own party and in the newspapers, and he did not like it. “I have had a very rough time. If anyone thinks I enjoyed putting my name to this order, they make a mistake. I had to make this decision and I made it, rightly or wrongly, knowing it would be unpopular. I would sooner go through all the misery I have gone through than make a decision which was dishonest.”
Arthur Greenwood, the acting leader of the Labour Party, said that if Sir Oswald Mosley saw that he had provoked such strength of feeling for a whole day in Parliament, it would be his most joyful day for a long time.
BELGIUM: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Chievres Airfield.
NETHERLANDS: During the night of 1/2 December, 11 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Frisian Islands.
FRANCE: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders bomb Epinoy and Niergnies Airfields at Cambrai and Yendeville Airfield at Lille while 28 P-51 Mustangs execute a sweep over north-western France, marking the first Ninth Air Force fighter operation from the U.K.
GERMANY: U-298, U-482 commissioned.
The USAAF Eighth Air Forces VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 145: The industrial area at Solingen is the target and 261 aircraft bomb with the loss of 23 aircraft. Seventeen other aircraft bomb the industrial area at Siegburg with the loss of one and three other bomb targets of opportunity. The mission is escorted by 42 P-38 Lightnings and 374 P-47 Thunderbolts; the P-47s claim 20-4-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; two P-38 Lightnings and five P-47s are lost.
ITALY: The US 5th Army is the target of additional air and ground harassment by the Germans. These attacks occur as the 5th Army is preparing to take the offensive.
In the U. S. Fifth Army area, air operations are sharply increased in preparation for the main assault against the Winter Line. The British X Corps begins a diversionary attack toward Calabritto at dusk, employing the 139th Brigade, 46th Division. Numerous obstacles and strong opposition slow the advance. In the VI Corps area, the 45th Infantry Division continues to meet firm resistance that prevents the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, from scaling La Bandita and the 2d Battalion from clearing the crest and reverse slope of Hill 769 to the south. In the 34th Infantry Division sector, the 1st Battalion of the 168th Infantry Regiment remains on the first knob of Mt. Pantano but is isolated from the main body; no further progress is made by the 133d Infantry Regiment.
In the British Eighth Army area, the Canadian 1st Division starts to take control of the bridgehead on the Sangro River will reach the Moro River by 4 December. The Eighth Army is making one last attempt to break through into the Lombardy Plain before winter.
USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb gun positions in the ant’ Ambrogio area; fighter-bombers, including some RAF and RAAF and South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft, hit trucks, gun positions, and other military targets east of Casoli, at Lanciano, near Guardiagrele, west of Mignano, west of Minturno, and near Chieti. Several of these missions are in support of the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth Armies.
USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-26 Marauders, with fighter escort, attack bridges and railroad facilities at Aulla, Cecina, and Sestri Levante.
One hundred fifteen USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the Turin ball bearing works and marshalling yard. Escorting P-38 Lightnings battle German fighters without either losses or victories but the B-17 Flying Fortresses claim two enemy fighters shot down. B-24 Liberators and other P-38s dispatched to bomb the marshalling yard at Bolzano are recalled because of weather.
During the night of 1/2 December, 48 RAF bombers of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb the marshalling yard at Pontessieve. Two other aircraft drop leaflets over the battlefield.
U.S.S.R.: Soviet troops cross the river Ingulets, and drive to within six miles of Znamenka.
Moscow claims that Byelorussian partisans have killed 282,000 German soldiers since war broke out.
IRAN: The Tehran Conference between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, and their staffs, concludes. The three Allies are in substantial agreement on the division of post-war Germany and the westward movement of the Polish eastern and western frontiers. The Soviets have also put forth the notion of the summary execution of 50,000 German officers, but this was rejected by the Allies. A declaration pledging economic aid to Iran during and after the war and divide occupation duties is issued. Soviet troops guard the region north of Teheran, British forces occupy southern Iran, and U.S. units patrol supply routes. Finland is discussed today; Soviet Premier Stalin says that although Finland has committed as cruel acts against the Russians as the Germans, she deserves to be taken into account, since she had fought so bravely for it’s independence.
CHINA: Sixteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s sink about 30 boats in the area around Changte.
HONG KONG: Nineteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, 24 P-40s, and ten P-51 Mustangs attack the Kowloon shipyards and two B-25s hit nearby Taikoo Docks.
BURMA: USAAF Tenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb the locomotive repair shop at Insein. The B-24s and escorting P-38 Lightnings encounter a large number of Japanese fighters over the targets and P-51 Mustangs which failed to make rendezvous with the B-24s before the attack join the formations on the return trip. USAAF losses are high: six B-24s and a P-51 are shot down and five more B-24 Liberators are seriously damaged. B-25 Mitchells hit the newly repaired bridge at Myitnge rendering it temporarily unserviceable.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: Eight USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s bomb Bac Ninh and vicinity.
Four USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe a truck convoy near Lashio.
During the night of 1/2 December, RAF Wellingtons bomb Rangoon.
NEW GUINEA: Australian troops capture Huanko, on the Huon Peninsula.
In Northeast New Guinea, over 40 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb Wewak with the loss of three aircraft.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: Four USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, flying out of the Ellice Islands, bomb Mili Atoll.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Thirty five USAAF Fifth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and B-26 Marauders hit Borgen Bay south of Cape Gloucester on New Ireland Island while 16 A-20 Havocs bomb the Cape Gloucester area.
GILBERT ISLANDS: The Marine 2d Tank Battalion scouts find Maiana Atoll free of the Japanese, concluding their mission.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville, 18 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and eight P-38 Lightnings attack Malai. P-39 Airacobras strafe Tonolai and support USN SBD Dauntlesses in an attack on the Jaba River area near Empress Augusta Bay. Other USAAF and USN fighters cover SBD strikes on Kara and Ballale Island supply areas and strafe targets at Tenekow, Chabai, and Mutupina Point while six B-25 Mitchells bomb Sarime Pantation.
CANADA:
Frigate HMCS St Pierre launched Lauzon, Province of Quebec
Corvette HMCS Trentonian commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Forest Hill (ex-HMS Ceanothus) commissioned.
AMC HMCS Prince Henry completed conversion to landing ship.
U.S.A.:
Destroyer escorts USS Daniel A Joy and Charles J Kimmel laid down.
Aircraft carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt laid down.
Minesweeper USS Reproof laid down.
Destroyer escorts USS Bostwick, Donaldson, Stern, Svenning commissioned.
Destroyer USS Twinning commissioned.
Minesweeper USS Lucid commissioned.
Frigate USS El Paso commissioned.
Frigate USS Orlando launched.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: In the Straits of Dover, the British minesweeping trawler HMS Avanturine (FY 1886) is sunk by the German motor torpedo boat S-142 off Beachy Head , Essex, England.
During the night of 1 /2 December, 12 RAF Bomber Command aircraft lay mines in the Kattegat, the arm of the North Sea between Sweden and Denmark. One aircraft is lost.
" The Nazis subjected concentration-camp prisoners to abysmal, dehumanizing conditions that weakened the body and broke the spirit.
Inmates endured woefully inadequate nutrition, unpotable water, overcrowded and lice-infested barracks, unsanitary washing and toilet facilities, endless hours of exhausting labor, and--sometimes--sadistic punishments.
"An inmate's day began frightfully early.
Fearing beatings from cursing guards, weary prisoners feverishly scrambled out of bunks, hurriedly reshaping bedding.
Rushing to filthy lavatories and jostling with hundreds trying to wash from the few faucets, inmates then waited in line for "breakfast," which was often bitter coffee and a piece of bread.
"After a prolonged roll call, work squads formed. In some camps, work-group members were obliged to sing while marching out of camp; the camp orchestra accompanied them.
Some prisoners marched up to ten miles to reach work sites.
Others performed torturous, unproductive work within camp confines.
In the evening, after arduous 11- or 12-hour work days, prisoners again endured a head count, standing at attention for hours, followed by "supper" and lights out at 9 p.m.
"Always overcrowded in barracks that often had no heating, prisoners found sleep difficult.
Packed to capacity in three-tiered wooden bunks, two or three people lay in space for one--sometimes on straw mattresses, often simply on bare board; not always with blankets.
Sanitary facilities consisted of urinals and latrines that were nothing more than rows of holes cut in concrete slabs above waste pipes. Washrooms held earthenware gutters with several taps drawing polluted well water.
"Prisoners were constantly hungry--literally starving.
During mornings and evenings, the coffee was sometimes accompanied by sour, hard bread. If inmates were lucky, supper offered a few grams of stale or moldy sausage, cheese, or jam.
At noon a foul-tasting, watery turnip soup--containing only traces of potatoes and barley--provided 300 to 400 calories.
Often forced to eat outside in even frigid weather, prisoners had to drink the soup directly from bowls.
Many prisoners resorted to rummaging through refuse bins next to camp kitchens, contracting dysentery from eating raw peelings or rotten cabbage.
Some inmates stole or traded for food, risking severe punishment.
"Summary beatings became routine.
Every SS man enjoyed the right to beat, or even kill, any prisoner.
Floggings took place usually during roll call.
Prisoners lay on special benches, unable to move their legs, and absorbed dozens of lashes from sticks or whips.
"In an extremely painful punishment called the "pillar," prisoners' hands were tied behind their backs.
They were then suspended from a ceiling beam or tree by rope tied to their wrists.
Equally cruel was confinement in the "standing cell."
Four prisoners were jammed for days into a completely dark space of about one square yard, unable to lie down, with only a two-inch opening for air.
Prisoners caught trying to escape were hanged in plain view of other inmates."
And note with interest this sentence:
Note that in this context the word "holocaust" does not apply specifically to Jews, but rather generally to everyone mistreated by Nazis.
Note also that Stalin here calls German manhood "relatively untouched".
In fact, "German manhood" was severely "touched", at around 10% (overall) more severely than any outside Poland & Stalin's Soviet Union itself.
On Page 11 Tom Harmon is safe.
Devin Gardner wore Harmon’s Number 98 in tribute to Harmon for the last few weeks, including yesterdays loss to OSU.
The Harmon name still holds a lot of sway in Ann Arbor.
I am sure that Stalin would never do a thing like that!
And Michigan’s basketball arena is named after the mentor in the photo, Fritz Crisler. Many folks hear the name and think it’s the car company. Not so.
In the case of the USSR, “Holocaust” is not an exaggeration to describe what the Nazis left behind in their wake.
Yep saw some great games there when I was an undergrad.
Kind of like the games I saw at IU’s Assembly Hall. 1981 was a good year to graduate from IU.
I see chemtrails in the picture! Who knew the Eighth Air Force was in on the conspiracy?!
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