[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 and the occasional radio broadcast 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
Luzon, P.I., 1941: Final Operations on Luzon, 3 February-20 July 1945
Southeast Asia, 1941: Final Allied Offensives in the Southwest Pacific Area 19 February-1 July 1945
Germany, 1944: Crossing of the Rhine – Operations 22-28 March 1945
Poland, 1945: Russian Offensive to the Oder – Operations 12 January-30 March 1945
The Western Pacific: Allied Invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa (Operation Iceberg), 1945
China, 1941: Operation Ichigo, 1945 and Final Operations in the War
China-Burma, 1941: Third Burma Campaign – Slim’s Offensive, June 1944-March 1945

[iowamark]

I see Bad Kreuznach on the maps. The US Army had a large base there until about ten years ago.

[exit82]

Today, my father-in-law, Sgt. George Tepfenhart (1920-1978), 748th Field Artillery Battalion, joins the fight at the front, crewing a “Long Tom” artillery piece, in the Ninth Army.

He will wind up in Czechoslovakia in June,after pursuing the Nazis across northern Germany, and be discharged in December, reaching home before Christmas. Christmas is a long way away right now.

He joined the NJ National Guard in 1940, and the regular Army after Pearl Harbor, and does not reach England until early 1945, then shipped to France in mid-March at Dieppe and then to the front.

His first assignment on the front is the artillery bombardment in support of the push across the Rhine.

70 years ago today.

[Vermont Lt]

There is a short piece on Gertrude Legrande walking into Switzerland. She was listed as the first woman captured on the Western Front. She is listed here as a “secretary.”

In reality she was working for the OSS. She was a rich socialite. From the early 20’s she was a world traveller and big game hunter. In fact, they were already making movies loosely based on her life in the late 30s.

She must have been something. I am going to try to find her autobiographies. What a subject for movie!

[EternalVigilance]

Letter from Hans Spear March 25, 1945