The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Case White - The Invasion of Poland (9/1/1939) - Sept. 3rd, 2004

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/ww2/ww2-3.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

Invasion of Poland
World War Two in Europe Begins

On September 1st, 1939, 1.8 million German troops invaded Poland on three fronts; East Prussia in the north, Germany in the west and Slovakia in the south. They had 2600 tanks against the Polish 180, and over 2000 aircraft against the Polish 420. Their "Blitzkrieg" tactics, coupled with their bombing of defenseless towns and refugees, had never been seen before and, at first, caught the Poles off-guard. By September 14th. Warsaw was surrounded. At this stage the poles reacted, holding off the Germans at Kutno and regrouping behind the Wisla (Vistula) and Bzura rivers. Although Britain and france declared war on September 3rd. the Poles received no help - yet it had been agreed that the Poles should fight a defensive campaign for only 2 weeks during which time the Allies could get their forces together and attack from the west.

There are many "myths" that surround the September Campaign; the fictional Polish cavalry charges against German tanks (actually reported by the Italian press and used as propaganda by the Germans), the alleged destruction of the Polish Air Force on the ground, or claims that Polish Armour failed to achieve any success against the invaders. In reality, and despite the fact that Poland was only just beginning to modernise her armed forces and had been forced (by Britain and france) to delay mobilisation (which they claimed might be interpreted as aggressive behavior) so that, at the time of invasion, only about one-third of her total potential manpower was mobilised, Polish forces ensured that the September campaign was no "walk-over".

The Wehrmacht had so under-rated Polish anti-tank capabilities (the Polish-designed anti-tank gun was one of the best in the world at that time) that they had gone into action with white "balkankreuz", or crosses, prominently displayed in eight locations; these crosses made excellent aiming points for Polish gun-sights and forced the Germans to radically rethink their national insignia, initially overpainting them in yellow and then, for their later campaigns, adopting the modified "balkankreuz" similar to that used by the Luftwaffe. The recently-designed 7TP "czolg lekki", or light tank, the first in the world to be designed with a diesel engine, proved to be superior to German tanks of the same class (the PzKpfw I and II) inflicting serious damage to the German forces, limited only by the fact that they were not used in concentrated groups. They were absorbed by the Germans into their own Panzer divisions at the end of the campaign.


German Panzer I and Panzer II vehicles with a Hanomag to their left.
The German tanks were only lightly armed and armoured but when used in mass formations, they proved more than a match for the small number of Polish vehicles.

At 04.30 Stuka dive-bombers prematurely bombed the bridge at Tczew in the Pomeranian Corridor. SS troops dressed in Polish uniforms attacked the radio station at Gleiwitz and broadcast inflammatory statements urging Polish minorities to take up arms against Hitler. For a touch of realism, several bodies of concentration inmates dressed in Polish uniforms, were left behind as 'evidence' for journalists to report on.

The Free City of Danzig was heavily shelled and bombed, inflicting heavy casualties upon the civilian population and military coastal defences or navy flotillas. In Danzig, the defenders, particularly civilian volunteers were shot. The Army Pomorze faced the 4th Army whose tactic was to isolate them in the north from the rest of the Polish Forces and then link up with the Third Army and attack Warsaw.


JU87 Stuka

Daylong fighting produced at times, scenes of sheer heroism. The Pomorska Cavalry Brigade had been in contacts with the German 20th Motorized Infantry Division. Colonel Masterlarz had half the unit mount up and attempted a surprise attack from the rear. Catching an infantry battalion by surprise in a woodland clearing, the sabre attack wiped them out. Legends and myths were borne of cavalry units taking on armoured vehicles. However, what is forgotten, is that the cavalry units carried anti-tank weapons for rapid deployment.

On the Prussian Front the German Third Army broke through defences to the north of Warsaw. Ground attacks started at 05.00 and aimed to knock out the heavy fortifications at Mlawa. It was on this front that the Polish Mazowiecka Cavalry Brigade had a number of sabre clashes with the German First Cavalry Brigade thus marking an end to mounted warfare. The Polish Special Operational Group Narew had virtually no contacts with German forces due to the restraining action of the Polish Third Army and therefore effectively denied rapid gains on this front.



The heaviest fighting took place in the Southwest, a front covered by Army Lodz and further south, Army Krakow. Army Poznan in the centre saw little action or contact on the first day of fighting. The German Eighth and Tenth Armies pushed through the massive densely forested areas with major infantry clashes en route. The Wolynska Cavalry Brigade successfully countered attacks by the German 4th Panzer Division whose poor co-ordination in attack delayed advance and lost equipment. This front was geographicaly the most diverse and faced the largest concentration of mechanized troops. The heaviest fighting was around the industrial zone of Katowice.

In the south, the 44th and 45th Infantry Divisions attacked throught the Jablonkow Pass near Karwina and Cieszyn which were lightly defended. In the southern mountainous area, the XXII Panzer Corps attacked just below Nowy Targ at the Dunajec river which was defended by the 1st KOP Regiment and National Guard Zakopane Battalion. Army Krakow was forced to commit support to stem the attack which was temporarily held.



Outflanked and harassed by German guerrilla units, Army Krakow had to deal with a large number of armed German units set up by the Abwehr to carry out sabotage.

Once the Germans broke through the various fronts, poor communications impeded any chance of reforming on a grand scale. From the 10th until 18th September Polish units were able to reform quickly and still were able to harass and inflict serious damage. For field commanders like Anders, confusion and contradictory orders added to the pain and humiliation of the inevitable defeat. Units attempted to move south-east despite heavy co-ordinated artillery bombardments. Soldiers and civilians who were able to bear arms bravely defended and resisted for as long as possible as they moved behind the Vistula. Encirclement began and 60,000 troops were destroyed at Radom. Partisan units were organized and regular army units kept moving southeast in order to gain supplies of food and munitions and regroup to avoid annihilation once the Russians entered the war on 17th September.


Polish P11 Fighter

On September 17th. Soviet forces invaded from the east. Warsaw surrendered 2 weeks later, the garrison on the Hel peninsula surrendered on October 2nd., and the Polesie Defence group, after fighting on two fronts against both German and Soviet forces, surrendered on October 5th. The Poles had held on for twice as long as had been expected and had done more damage to the Germans than the combined British and french forces were to do in 1940. The Germans lost 50,000 men, 697 planes and 993 tanks and armoured cars.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians managed to escape to france and Britain whilst many more went "underground" . A government-in-exile was formed with Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz as President and General Wladyslaw Sikorski as Prime Minister.


German forces in the outskirts of Warsaw. In the background of the photograph, the city burns as a result of the German military assault. Warsaw, Poland, September 1939.

Field commanders moved as many of the remnants of the army to an escape route which led to Romania and Hungary . Units breached German lines on 22nd September before Soviet troops blocked all routes. Poland finally fell on the 6th October as the last organized resistance was crushed at Hel and Kock. Zaloga and Madej (1991) estimated the Germans took 587,000 prisoners and the Soviets 200,000. Anders (1949) estimated between 200 - 300,000 escaped into Romania and Hungary through the Dukla Pass. Those who were caught by the Soviets may have been far higher (Anders, 1949). Fiedotov, an NKVD general estimated it to be nearer 475,000. However, if all those arrested including White Russians, Jews and political prisoners, the number was between 1.5 and 1.6m people. Transported to the Gulags, few survived.

The Fourth Partition:



Under the German-Soviet pact Poland was divided; the Soviets took, and absorbed into the Soviet Union, the eastern half (Byelorussia and the West Ukraine), the Germans incorporated Pomerania, Posnania and Silesia into the Reich whilst the rest was designated as the General-Gouvernement (a colony ruled from Krakow by Hitler's friend, Hans Frank).


Marshal Edward Smigly-Rydz

In the Soviet zone 1.5 million Poles (including women and children) were transported to labour camps in Siberia and other areas. Many thousands of captured Polish officers were shot at several secret forest sites; the first to be discovered being Katyn, near Smolensk.

The Germans declared their intention of eliminating the Polish race (a task to be completed by 1975) alongside the Jews. This process of elimination, the "Holocaust", was carried out systematically. All members of the "intelligentsia" were hunted down in order to destroy Polish culture and leadership (many were originally exterminated at Oswiencim - better known by its German name, Auschwitz). Secret universities and schools, a "Cultural Underground", were formed (the penalty for belonging to one was death). In the General-Gouvernement there were about 100,000 secondary school pupils and over 10,000 university students involved in secret education.


Refugees, September 1939

The Polish Jews were herded into Ghettos where they were slowly starved and cruelly offered hopes of survival but, in fact, ended up being shot or gassed. In the end they were transported, alongside non-Jewish Poles, Gypsies and Soviet POWs, to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka; at Auschwitz over 4 million were exterminated. 2000 concentration camps were built in Poland, which became the major site of the extermination programme, since this was where most of the intended victims lived.

Many non-Jewish Poles were either transported to Germany and used as slave labour or simply executed. In the cities the Germans would round-up and kill indiscriminately as a punishment for any underground or anti-German or pro-Jewish activity. In the countryside they kept prominent citizens as hostages who would be executed if necessary. Sometimes they liquidated whole villages; at least 300 villages were destroyed. Hans Frank said, "If I wanted to put up a poster for every seven Poles shot, the forests of Poland would not suffice to produce the paper for such posters."


Polish 7TP light tanks

Despite such horror the Poles refused to give in or cooperate (there were no Polish collaborators as in other occupied countries). The Polish Underground or AK (Armia Krajowa or Home Army) was the largest in Europe with 400,000 men. The Jewish resistance movement was set up separately because of the problem of being imprisoned within the ghettos. Both these organisations caused great damage to the Nazi military machine. Many non-Jewish Poles saved the lives of thousands of Jews despite the fact that the penalty, if caught, was death (in fact, Poland was the only occupied nation where aiding Jews was punishable by death).

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS San Diego (CL-53)

Atlanta class light cruiser

Displacement: 6,000 t.
Length: 541’8”
Beam: 53’3”
Draft: 24’
Speed: 32 k.
Complement: 796
Armament: 16 5”; 16 1.1”; 8 21” torpedo tubes

The USS SAN DIEGO, an antiaircraft light cruiser, was laid down on 27 March 1940 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.; sponsored by Mrs. Percy J. Benbough; launched on 26 July 1941, and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 10 January 1942, Capt. Benjamin F. Perry in command.

After shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay, SAN DIEGO sailed via the Panama Canal to the west coast, arriving at her name-sake city on 16 May 1942. Escorting SARATOGA (CV-3) at best speed, SAN DIEGO barely missed the Battle of Midway. On 15 June, she began escort duty for HORNET (CV-8) in operations in the South Pacific. Early in August, she supported the first American offensive of the war, the invasion of the Solomons at Guadalcanal. With powerful air and naval forces, the Japanese fiercely contested the American thrust and inflicted heavy damage; SAN DIEGO was the unwilling witness to the sinking of WASP (CV-7) on 15 September and of HORNET on 26 October.

SAN DIEGO gave antiaircraft protection for ENTERPRISE (CV-6) as part of the decisive three day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12 to 15 November 1942. After several months of service in the dangerous waters surrounding the Solomon Islands, SAN DIEGO sailed via Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, to Auckland, New Zealand, for replenishment.

At Noumea, New Caledonia, the light cruiser joined SARATOGA, the only American carrier available in the South Pacific, and carrier HMS VICTORIOUS in support of the invasion of Munda, New Georgia, and of Bougainville. On 5 November and 11 November, she joined SARATOGA and PRINCETON (CVL-23) in highly successful raids against Rabaul. SAN DIEGO served as part of Operation "Galvanic," the capture of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. She escorted LEXINGTON (CV-16), damaged by a torpedo, to Pearl Harbor for repairs on 9 December. SAN DIEGO continued on to San Francisco for installation of modern radar equipment, a combat information center and 40 millimeter antiaircraft guns to replace her obsolete 1.1" batteries.

She joined Vice Adm. Marc Mitscher's Fast Carrier Task Force at Pearl Harbor in January 1944 and served as an important part of that mighty force for the remainder of the war. Her rapid-fire guns protected the carriers against aerial attack. SAN DIEGO participated in Operation "Flintlock," the capture of Majuro and Kwajalein, and "Catchpole," the invasion of Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands from 31 January to 4 March. During this period, Task Force 58 delivered a devastating attack against Truk, the Japanese naval base known as the "Gibraltar of the Pacific."

SAN DIEGO steamed back to San Francisco for more additions to her radar and then rejoined the carrier force at Majuro in time to join in raids against Wake and Marcus Islands in June. She was part of the carrier force covering the invasion of Saipan, participated in strikes against the Bonin Islands, and shared in the victory of the First Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June. After a brief replenishment stop at Eniwetok, SAN DIEGO and her carriers supported the invasion of Guam and Tinian, struck at Palau, and conducted the first carrier raids against the Philippines. On 6 and 8 August, she stood by as the carriers gave close air support to Marines landing on Peleliu, Palau Islands.

On 21 September, the Task Force struck at the Manila Bay area. After replenishing at Saipan and Ulithi, she sailed with Task Force 38 in its first strike against Okinawa. From 12 to 15 October, the carriers pounded the airfields of Formosa while SAN DIEGO's guns shot down 2 of 9 Japanese attackers in her sector and drove the others away; unfortunately, some enemy planes got through and damaged HOUSTON (CL-81) and CANBERRA (CA-70). SAN DIEGO helped escort the two crippled cruisers out of danger to Ulithi. After rejoining the fast carrier force, she successfully rode out the typhoon of 17 and 18 December, despite heavy rolling of the ship. In January 1945, Task Force 38 entered the South China Sea for attacks against Formosa, Luzon, Indochina, and southern China. The force struck Okinawa before returning to Ulithi for replenishment.

SAN DIEGO next participated in carrier operations against the home islands of Japan, the first since the Doolittle/HORNET raid of 1942. The carrier force finished the month of February with strikes against Iwo Jima.

On 1 March, SAN DIEGO and other cruisers were detached from the carrier force to bombard Okino Daijo Island in support of the landings on Okinawa. After another visit to Ulithi, she joined in carrier strikes against Kyushu, again shooting down or driving away enemy planes attacking the carriers. On the night of 27 and 28 March, SAN DIEGO participated in the shelling of Minami Daito Jima; on 11 April, and again on 16 April, her guns shot down two attackers. She helped furnish antiaircraft protection for ships damaged by suicide attacks and escorted them to safety. After a stop at Ulithi, she continued as part of the carrier force supporting the invasion of Okinawa, until she entered an advanced base drydock at Guian, Samar Island, Philippines, for repairs and maintenance.

She then served once more with the carrier force operating off the coast of Japan from 10 July until hostilities ceased. On 27 August, SAN DIEGO was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay since the beginning of the war, and she helped in the occupation of the Yokosuka Naval Base and the surrender of the Japanese battleship NAGATO. After having steamed over 300,000 miles in the Pacific, she returned to San Francisco on 14 September 1945. SAN DIEGO gave further service as part of operation "Magic Carpet" in bringing American troops home. She was decommissioned and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 4 November 1946, berthed at Bremerton, Wash. She was redesignated CLAA-53 on 18 March 1949.

Ten years later, she was struck from the Navy list on 1 March 1959. SAN DIEGO was sold on 3 February 1960 and broken up in December 1960.

SAN DIEGO received 15 battle stars for service in World War II.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!
TGIF!!

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.

The Poles haven't gotten the credit in the West that they deserve for their part in breaking the German code.

[SAMWolf]

Morning PE.

So President Bush visited the Hobbit Hole? ;-)

[SAMWolf]

LOL! I'm keeping my fingers crossed

[SAMWolf]

The post said the Poles "captured" and Enigma machine

Morning Iris7. I have a book around here somewhere that said the Poles got their hands an Enigma machine, it's the only book I remember reading it in. I wish I could remember the title, I seem to remember it going into some detail about how they smuggled it to the Brits. Other than that reference though, I don't remember reading anything else with any detail about capturing/stealing a machine.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. We're starting cloudy again this morning. Should clear up for a nice day though.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[Aeronaut]

Hey Sam.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Matt.

Thanks for sharing the story of Major Henry Dobrzanski "Hubal". I had heard of him and his Unit holding out and continuing to fight as a unit until 1940, but only in general terms. Thanks for providing the details.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mayor

Such insincere friendliness is often just a culturally correct attitude that some people use to impress others or to get something from them.

This passage brought Kerry and his ilk to my mind.

[SAMWolf]

:-)

[SAMWolf]

Hi Manna!

[SAMWolf]

Decisions of the Versailles Treaty granted Poland the right to maintain in the Free City of Danzig its own postal, telegraph and telephone authorities. In view of the growing German hostility and mounting acts of persecution and provocations, especially in the periods of strained Germano-Polish relations, the employees of the Polish post office in Danzig (altogether 50 men and women) were issued rifles and hand-grenades for defence in case of an open German attack. Shortly before the outbreak of the war the post office received a machine gun and its military command was entrusted to a reserve officer, Second Lieutenant Konrad Guderski.

The Schleswig-Holstein's salvos fired at Westerplatte became simultaneously the signal for the hitlerite squads to attack the Polish post office; other Polish agencies in the Free City, small and completely defenceless, were already in the German hands, but in the Hevelius Square Polish inscriptions and national coat of arms still defied the invaders.

In order to break the resistance of the Polish postmen the germans introduced in fights armoured cars and flame-throwers. They had also undertook an attempt to storm the building from within - through a gap blown up in the walls of the neighbouring employment office (Arbeitsamt). The commander of the defenders was killed in that attack, but the attackers also suffered casualties and had to retreat.

The Poles held the defence despite of the artillery fire, which damaged the building and inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders. They surrendered after several hours of fights, when the German engineers managed to blew up a part of the building and the rest was set afire from the flame-throwers. Twelve postmen were killed in action. Others, including an 11 years old girl, were taken prisoners, but they were not allowed to live. On 5 October 1939, after continuous physical tortures and psychological humiliation they were shot in the suburb of Danzig, Saspe. Only four postmen out of the original 50 had survived.

[SAMWolf]

Morning aomagrat.

On 27 August, SAN DIEGO was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay since the beginning of the war

SAN DIEGO was sold on 3 February 1960 and broken up in December 1960.

A sad end to the first ship to enter Tokyo Bay. :-(

[SAMWolf]

Neville Chamberlain was the John Kerry of his time.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather

[alfa6]

I too seem to recall the same book SAM, IIRC it was called "Breaking the Enigma Code" or something to that effect. Maybe I can get Mrs alfa6 to take me to the library tomorrow to see if I can find the book.

Without the Poles efforts the usefull cracking of the Enigma ciphers would most likely have taken much longer.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on September 03:
1596 Nicolo Amati Italy, violin maker (Stradivari & Guarneri)
1803 Prudence Crandall founded school for "young ladies of colour"
1811 John Humphrey Noyes Vt, found Oneida Community (Perfectionists)
1825 Armistead Lindsay Long Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1891
1825 William Wallace Burns Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1892
1831 S.R. Gist Brig General(Confederate Army), died in 1864
1835 William Gaston Lewis Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1856 Louis Henri Sullivan Boston Mass, father of modern US architecture
1860 Edward Albert Filene merchant, established US credit union movement
1866 Alain Locke famous African
1905 Carl David Anderson NYC, physicist (1936 Nobel Prize for physics)
1907 Andrew Brewin Canada, lawyer/cofound New Democratic Party
1907 Dr Loren Eiseley professor of Anthropology (Animal Secrets)
1910 Dorothy Maynor Norfolk Va, soprano (founded Harlem School of Arts)
1913 Alan Ladd actor (Shane, Carpetbaggers, Boy on a Dolphin)
1914 Dixie Lee Ray, Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission who received the U.N. Peace Prize in 1977.
1923 Mort Walker cartoonist (Beetle Bailey)
1923 Terry Wilson Calif, actor (Bill-Wagon Train)
1926 Anne Jackson Penn, actress (Dirty Dingus Magee, Angel Levine)
1926 Irene Papas actress (Anne of Thousand Days, Guns of Navarone, Z)
1931 Mitzi Gaynor Chicago Ill, actress (South Pacific)
1935 Eileen Brennan LA Calif, actress (Laugh-In, Pvt Benjamin)
1942 Al Jardine rocker (Beachboys-In My Room)
1944 Sherwood C "Woody" Spring Hartford Ct, Col USA/astronaut (STS 61B)
1944 Valerie Perrine Galveston Tx, actress/worldclass babe (Steam Bath, Superman, Slaughterhouse 5)
1965 Charlie Sheen actor (Carlos Estevez), NYC, actor (Wall St, Platoon)
1971 Tonja Christenson Salt Lake City Utah, playmate (November, 1991)

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Deaths which occurred on September 03:
1189 Rabbi Jacob of Orleans killed in anti Jewish riot in London England
1658 James I king of England (1603-25), dies at 92
1658 Oliver Cromwell the Lord Protector of England, dies at 59
1917 Fanya Kaplan, Russian who shot at Lenin on Aug 30th, executed
1962 e. e. cummings poet, dies at 67
1969 Ho Chi Minh North Vietnamese president, dies
1970 Vince Lombardi football coach, dies in Washington DC at 57
1984 Duncan Renaldo actor (Cisco Kid), dies at 80
1990 David Acer Florida dentist, dies of AIDs after infecting 5 patients
1991 Frank Capra director (It's a Wonderful Life), dies at 94
1992 Nobel laureate geneticist Barbara McClintock

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 TRUJILLO JOSEPH FELIX DEMING NM.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/17/92]
1967 PIRKLE LOWELL ZINH
[REMAINS RETURNED 31 OCT 94]
1967 MOORE HERBERT W. JR. IMPERIAL PA.
1968 FRAZIER PAUL R. MILWAUKEE WI.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0590 St Gregory I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1189 England's King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) crowned in Westminster
1260 Mamelukes under Sultan Qutuz defeat Mongols at Ain Jalut
1651 Battle at Worcester -- Oliver Cromwell destroys English royalists
1658 Richard Cromwell succeeds his father as English Lord Protector
1683 Turkish troops break through defense of Vienna
1752 This day never happened nor the next 10 as England adopts Gregorian Calendar. People riot thinking the govt stole 11 days of their lives

1777 The American flag was flown in battle for the first time during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Maryland.

1783 Treaty of Paris signed (ending the US Revolutionary War)

1826 USS Vincennes leaves NY to become 1st warship to circumnavigate globe
1833 NY Sun begins publishing (1st daily newspaper)
1838 Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor
1849 Calif State Constitutional Convention convenes in Monterey
1852 Anti Jewish riots break out in Stockholm
1861 Confederate forces enter Kentucky, thus ending its neutrality
1865 Army commander in SC orders Freedmen's Bureau to stop seizing land
1891 Cottonpickers organize union & stage strike in Texas
1891 John Stephens Durham, named minister to Haiti
1895 First professional football game was played in Latrobe, PA. (later became the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp) The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.
1900 British annex Natal (South Africa)
1902 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"
1903 Resolute beats Shamrock III (England) in 13th America's Cup
1904 St Louis Olympics close
1912 World's 1st cannery opens in England to supply food to the navy
1914 Cardinal Giacome della Chiesa becomes Pope Benedict XV
1916 Allies turned back Germans in WW I's Battle of Verdun
1917 1st night bombing of London by German fighter planes
1917 Grover Cleveland Alexander pitches complete wins in a doubleheader
1918 5 soldiers hanged for alleged participation in Houston riot of 1917
1925 1st international handball match held
1925 Dirigible "Shenandoah" crashed near Caldwell Ohio, 13 die
1930 Hurricane kills 2,000, injures 4,000 (Dominican Republic)
1935 1st automobile to exceed 300 mph, Sir Malcolm Campbell (301.337 mph)
1935 Andrew Varipapa sets bowling record of 2,652 points in 10 games
1939 Britain declares war on Germany. France follows 6 hours later quickly joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & Canada
1940 1st showing of high definition color TV
1940 US gives Britain 50 destroyers in exchange for Newfoundland base lease
1941 1st use of Zyclon-B gas in Auschwitz (on Russian prisoners of war)
1943 Allies invade Italy
1945 Japanese forces in the Philippines surrender to Allies
1947 Yanks get 18 singles to beat Red Sox 11-2
1951 TV soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" debuts on CBS
1954 Pope Pius X canonized a saint
1957 Warren Spahn sets record for a lefty pitcher with 41st shut-out
1957 KTCA TV channel 2 in St Paul-Minneapolis, MN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1964 Wilderness Act signed into law by President Lyndon B Johnson
1965 Jim Hickman becomes the 1st NY Met to hit 3 HRs in a game
1966 24th World SF Convention honors Gene Roddenberry
1967 Final episode of "What's My Line?," hosted by John Charles Daly
1967 Nguyen Van Thieu elected pres of S Vietnam under a new constitution
1967 Sweden begins driving on right-hand side of road
1968 Chicago White Sox set AL record of 39 losses by 1 run
1970 Billy Williams ends then longest NL consecutive streak at 1,117 games
1971 John Lennon leaves the UK for NYC, never to return
1971 Qatar regains complete independence from Britain
1971 Watergate team breaks into Daniel Ellsberg's doctor's office
1974 NBA guard Oscar Robinson retires
1975 Steve Garvey begins his NL record 1,207 consecutive game streak
1976 Viking 2 soft lands on Mars (Utopia), returns photos
1978 Crew of Soyuz 31 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 29
1978 Pope John Paul I officially installed as 264th supreme pontiff
1979 Hurricane David, a strong Atlantic storm kills over 1,000
1981 Longest game in Fenway Park, completed in 20, Mariners-8, Red Sox-7
1984 28 year old Chicagoan wins $40 million in Illinois state lottery
1985 20th Space Shuttle Mission (51-I)-Discovery 6-returns to Earth
1985 NY Met Gary Carter hits 3 consecutive HRs in a game
1986 Astros & Cubs use a record 53 players in an 18 inning game
1990 Helen Hudson sings national anthem in 26th park of year (San Diego)
1997 Arizona Gov. Fife Symington was convicted of fraud by a federal jury in Phoenix. He resigned two days later, becoming the third governor in recent years to quit because of a criminal conviction.
2001 The U.S. and Israel walked out of the United Nations Conference on racism in Durban, South Africa.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Monaco : Liberation Day
Qatar : Independence Day (1971)
San Marino : Founding Day
Tunisia : Memorial Day (1934)
US, Canada, Guam, Virgin Islands : Labor Day (1894) (Monday)
National Spanish Green Olive Week (Day 4)
Mental Health Workers Week (Day 4)
Do "It" Day
Hot Breakfast Month

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Religious Observances
RC : Memorial of St Gregory I the Great, pope/doctor
Old Catholic : Feast of St Pius X, pope (1903-14) (now 8/21)
Feast of St. Simeon Stylites

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Religious History
590 St. Gregory the Great was consecrated the 64th Catholic pope, ruling 14 years. Gregory's administration took responsibility for converting the Anglo-Saxon tribes in England, chiefly through the work of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
1752 This date became September 14th, when Great Britain (including Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the American colonies) officially implemented the Gregorian Calendar (developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar).
1776 Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'The love I bear Christ is but a faint and feeble spark, but it is an emanation from himself: He kindled it and he keeps it alive; and because it is his work, I trust many waters shall not quench it.'
1934 In London, Evangeline Cory Booth, 69, the seventh child of founder William Booth (1829-1912), became the fourth elected commander and the first woman general of the Salvation Army.
1946 Founder Sidney N. Correll established United World Mission. This interdenominational agency focuses on evangelism, church planting and Christian education in 13 world countries.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"We must learn to tailor our concepts to fit reality, instead of trying to stuff reality into our concepts."

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Translating Southern United States Slang to English...
ALL - noun. A petroleum-based lubricant.

Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck."

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Things a Cat Thinks About...
Would humans have built a vast and complex civilisation of their own if we cats hadn't given them a reason to invent sofas and can openers in the first place?

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Politically Correct Terms for Females...
She does not shop too much,
she is overly susceptible to marketing ploys.

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Bumper Stickers...
There are three kinds of people in this world those
who can count...and those who can't