.......
Fighting on all Fronts:
The Polish Army, Navy and Air Force reorganised abroad and continued to fight the Germans. In fact they have the distinction of being the only nation to fight on every front in the War. In 1940 they fought in france, in the Norwegian campaign they earned a reputation for bravery at Narvik, and in Africa the Carpathian Brigade fought at Tobruk. Polish Squadrons played an important role in the Battle of Britain, accounting for 12% of all German aircraft destroyed at the cost of 33 lives. By the end of the war they had flown a total of 86,527 sorties, lost 1669 men and shot down 500 German planes and 190 V1 rockets.
The Polish Navy, which had escaped intact, consisted of 60 vessels, including 2 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 5 submarines ( one of which was the famous "Orzel") which were involved in 665 actions at sea. The first German ship sunk in the war was sunk by Polish ships. The Navy also took part in the D-Day landings.
When the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, in June 1941, Polish POWs were released from prison camps and set up an army headed by General Anders. Many civilians were taken under the protection of this army which was allowed to make its way to Persia (modern-day Iran) and then on to Egypt. This army, the Polish Second Corps, fought with distinction in Italy, their most notable victory being that at Monte Cassino, in May 1944, and which opened up the road to Rome for the Allies as a whole. One of the "heroes" of the Polish Second Corps was Wojtek, a brown bear adopted in Iran as their mascot; at Monte Cassino Wojtek actually helped in the fighting by carrying ammunition for the guns. He died, famous and well-loved, in Edinburgh Zoo in 1964, aged 22.
Invading German troops enter the town of Lodz. Poland, September 8, 1939.
All the Polish forces took part in the Allied invasion of Europe and liberation of france, playing a particularly crucial role in the significant Battle of the Falaise Gap. The Polish Parachute Brigade took part in the disastrous Battle of Arnhem in Holland. In 1945, the Poles captured the German port of Wilhelmshaven.
In 1943 a division of Polish soldiers was formed in Russia under Soviet control and fought on the Eastern Front. They fought loyally alongside the Soviet troops, despite the suffering they had experienced in Soviet hands, and they distinguished themselves in breaking through the last German lines of defence, the "Pomeranian Rampart", in the fighting in Saxony and in the capture of Berlin.
Invading German troops approach Bydgoszcz. Poland, September 18, 1939.
The "Home Army", under the command of General Stefan Roweki (code-named "Grot"), and after his capture in 1943 (he was later murdered), by General Tadeusz Komorowski (code-named "Bor"), fought a very varied war; at times in open combat in brigade or division strength, at times involved in sabotage, often acting as execution squads eliminating German officials, and often fighting a psychological campaign against German military and civilians. It was a costly war since the Germans always took reprisals.
The Intelligence Service of the Home Army captured and sent parts of the V1 to London for examination, providing information on German military movements (giving advanced warning of the German plan to invade Russia), and gave the RAF full information about Peenemunde, where the Germans were producing V2 rockets.
Betrayal:
The crime of Katyn was discovered in 1943 and created a rift in Polish-Soviet relations. From now on the Home Army was attacked by Soviet propaganda as collaborating with the Germans and being called on to rise against the Germans once the Red Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw.
Secretly, at Teheran, the British and Americans agreed to letting the Russians profit from their invasion of Poland in 1939 and allowing them to keep the lands that had been absorbed. The "accidental" death of General Sikorski at this time helped keep protests at a minimum.
When the Russians crossed into Poland the Home Army cooperated in the fight against the Germans and contributed greatly to the victories at Lwow, Wilno and Lublin only to find themselves surrounded and disarmed by their "comrades-in-arms" and deported to labour camps in Siberia.
Captured Polish TKS tankettes
On August 1, 1944, with the Russian forces on the right bank of the Vistula, the Home Army rose in Warsaw; the Warsaw Rising. Heroic street-fighting involving the whole population, using the sewers as lines of communication and escape, under heavy bombardment, lasted for 63 days. The city was completely destroyed. Not only did the Russians cease to advance but they also refused to allow Allied planes to land on Russian airfields after dropping supplies. After surrendering many civilians and soldiers were executed or sent to concentration camps to be exterminated and Warsaw was razed to the ground.
The defeat in Warsaw destroyed the political and military institutions of the Polish underground and left the way open for a Soviet take-over.
With the liberation of Lublin in July 1944 a Russian-sponsored Polish Committee for National Liberation (a Communist Government in all but name) had been set up and the British had put great pressure, mostly unsuccessful, on the Government-in-exile to accept this status quo. At Yalta, in February 1945, the Allies put Poland within the Russian zone of influence in a post-war Europe. To most Poles the meaning of these two events was perfectly clear; Poland had been betrayed. At one stage the Polish Army, still fighting in Italy and Germany, was prepared to withdraw from the front lines in protest; after all, they were supposed to be fighting for Polish liberation. It is a reflection on Polish honour that no such withdrawal took place since it could leave large gaps in the front lines and so was considered too dangerous for their Allied comrades-in-arms.
The war ended on May 8th, 1945.
Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Case White - The Invasion of Poland (9/1/1939) - Sept 1st, 2003
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.
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)
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
Thought for the day :
"We must learn to tailor our concepts to fit reality, instead of trying to stuff reality into our concepts."
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."
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?
Politically Correct Terms for Females...
She does not shop too much,
she is overly susceptible to marketing ploys.
Bumper Stickers...
There are three kinds of people in this world those
who can count...and those who can't
