Posted on 11/26/2014 4:19:39 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
I consider that at the end of the winter campaign it would be appropriate for the City of London to confer its freedom upon this remarkable American General [General Eisenhower]. It is obvious that no one else should be included at the time.
Winston S. Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy
The News of the Week in Review
Fifteen News Questions – 17
The Allies Drive for Decision in the West (maps) – 18-19
Harder Blows to Fall on Germans in the West (by Hanson W. Baldwin) – 20
Answers to Fifteen News Question – 21
The New York Times Book Review
Brave Men, by Ernie Pyle (reviewed by C.L. Sulzberger) – 22-24
Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, annotated by Edwin Morris Betts (reviewed by Hal Borland, first-time contributor) – 24
The Best Selling Books, Here and Elsewhere – 25
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/nov44/26nov44.htm#
US bombers raid Germany
Sunday, November 26, 1944 www.onwar.com
US B-17 Flying Fortress bombers strike rail lines [photo at link]
Over Germany... The US 8th Air Force attacks Hanover (nominally the Misburg oil plant), Hamm (nominally the marshalling yards) and Bielefeld (nominally the railway viaduct). The Americans claim to have destroyed 138 German fighters for the loss of 36 bombers and 7 fighters.
On the Western Front... The US 1st Army captures Weisweiler to the west of Cologne.
Over Holland... RAF Spitfire fighter bombers attack two suspected V2 rocket sites.
On the Eastern Front... In eastern Slovakia, Soviet forces capture Michaloyce.
From London... General Alexander is promoted to Field Marshal and appointed the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean.
In the Philippines... On Leyte, Japanese forces launch night attacks against US forces west of Burauen.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/10/26.htm
November 26th, 1944 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: London: General Sir Harold Alexander, the supreme Allied commander in Italy, is promoted to field marshal. The appointment is backdated to 4 June in order to make him senior to Field Marshal Montgomery.
WESTERN EUROPE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 726: eight B-17 Flying Fortresses and six B-24 Liberators drop leaflets on France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night of 26/27 November.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, the Germans surrender Verdun forts to the 5th Infantry Division. In the XII Corps area, the 80th Infantry Division approaches St Avold against strong rear-guard opposition. Combat Command A, 6th Armored Division, drives through Foret de Puttelange but comes under such heavy fire upon emerging that it falls back through the woods; Combat Command B mops up along the Maderbach River with infantrymen but cannot get tanks through the mud. Skillful rear guards keep the 328th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, from Honskirch. The 4th Armored Division begins a coordinated attack with the two Task Force’s of Combat Command B east of the Saar River toward the German’s next main line of resistance along the Wolfskirchen-Eywiller- Durstel road but is slowed by the terrain, which contains a number of flooded streams; Combat Command A crosses the Saar and moves eastward across rear of Combat Command B.
In the U.S. Seventh Army area, XV Corps is still under heavy pressure from the north. VI Corps the 3d Infantry Division emerges from the Vosges Mountains onto the Alsatian Plain at many points. The 103d Infantry Division seizes Steige and Ville, important points on the Giessen River.
The French First Army continues efforts to close the pincers on the Germans by the junction of the II and I Corps at Burnhaupt, but progresses slowly. The Germans for the third time cut the communication line to the Rhine River in the I Corps zone.
GERMANY: In the US First Army area: In support of the 104th, 1st, and 8th Divisions the IX Tactical Air Command struck Weisweiler, Frenz, Lamersdorf, Inden, Langerwehe and Geich. The 104th Division captured Frenz and cleared Weisweiler. In the 1st Division area Task Force Richardson captured a strongpoint south of Frenz. In the 4th Division area the 8th Infantry cleared southward from the Schevenhtte-Dren Road, and in the 22d Infantry area soldiers moved in greater strength to the edge of the woods. The 8th Division’s 121st Infantry moved forward slightly towards Hürtgen, while the attached battalion of the 13th Infantry passed through the 12th Infantry and reached the forest edge facing Hürtgen (Robert Rush).
In the U.S. Ninth Army’s XIX Corps area, to counter German shelling, corps artillery program is doubled in spite of ammunition shortage. 29th Infantry Division troops in Bourheim, helped by reserves and aircraft, contain the most powerful attack to be made by the Germans on this objective; isolated forces of the 116h Infantry Regiment in Koslar are supplied by air. Major General Raymond McLain, Commanding General XIX Corps, orders the attack toward the Roer River continued all along line.
In the U.S. First Army’s VII Corps area: the USAAF Ninth Air Force’s IX Tactical Air Command strikes Weisweiler, Frenz, Lamersdorf, Inden, Langerwehe and Geich in support of the 104th, 1st, and 8th Infantry Divisions. The 104th Division captures Frenz and clears Weisweiler. In the 1st Division area Task Force Richardson, supported by long-range fire of armor, reach Frenzerburg Castle but cannot gain entrance to the medieval structure. In the 4th Infantry Division area the 8th Infantry Regiment clears southward from the Schevenhuette-Dren Road, and in the 22d Infantry area soldiers moved in greater strength to the edge of the woods. In the V Corps area, the 8th Infantry Division’s 121st Infantry Regiment moves forward slightly towards Huertgen, while the attached battalion of the 13th Infantry Regiment passed through the 12th Infantry and reached the forest edge facing Huertgen. (Robert Rush)
In the U.S. Third Army’s XX Corps area, Combat Command B extends the northern wing of corps eastward toward the Saar with little difficulty. The 90th and 95th Infantry Divisions continue steadily northeastward in the center and on the right flank of corps, the 95th Infantry Division penetrating Maginot Line.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 725: 1,137 bombers and 732 fighters are dispatched to make attacks on rail viaducts, marshalling yards (M/Ys) and oil installations in western Germany; all but one attack is with radar; about 550 Luftwaffe fighters intercept and 34 bombers and nine fighters are lost; the AAF claims 133-14-42 aircraft: 325 bomb Hannover with 307 attack the Misburg oil refinery and 18 attacking a M/Y with the loss of 26 aircraft; 264 bomb the M/Y at Hamm with the loss of three aircraft; 276 hit Bielefeld with 250 bombing the Schildesche railroad viaduct and 36 bombing a power plant; 113 bomb a railroad viaduct at Altenbeken with the loss of five aircraft: 37 bomb a M/Y at Gutersloh; 25 hit a M/Y at Herford, 19 bomb a M/Y at Osnabruck; and nine hit miscellaneous targets.
One hundred seventy three USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs bomb supply, storage, stores, and ordnance depots at Gaulsheim, Bergzabern, Giessen, Reichenbach, and Homburg/Saar; fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over western Germany, search for a lost A-20, escort 9th Bombardment Division, and support the US 29th Infantry Division at Bourheim and the XX and XII Corps in the area of the Maginot Line and German-French border.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 75 Lancasters are sent on a trial raid to attack the railway centre at Fulda to establish whether G-H signals could reach to this distance, 160 miles (257 kilometers) from the German frontier. The distance is too great, however, and the bombs dropped by 71 aircraft are scattered over a wide area.
During the night of 26/27 November, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 270 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos,to bomb Munich; 257 aircraft attack with the loss of one Lancaster which crashes in France. Bomber Command claims this as an accurate raid in good visibility with much fresh damage, particularly to railway targets. In other raids, seven Mosquitos bomb Erfurt and six bomb Karlsruhe.
POLAND: Auschwitz-Birkenau: The last 204 Sonderkommandos, privileged prisoners with the task of burying or cremating their gassed comrades, are murdered.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Michaloyce falls to the Soviets in eastern Slovakia.
HUNGARY: Soviet troops take Hatvan and threaten Budapest.
Thirty nine USAAF Fifteenth Air Force P-38 Lightnings fly an offensive sweep over Seregelyes Airfield and strafe nearby road and rail traffic; other fighters fly reconnaissance and escort.
ITALY: In the British Eighth Army’s V Corps area, the 46th Division succeeds in reaching the Lamone River on the southern flank of the corps, but the Germans are holding on firmly to switch line positions between the Lamone and Montone Rivers on the northern flank of the corps. Heavy rains bring a lull in offensive.
A slight improvement in the weather permits USAAF Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers to increase operations; P-47 Thunderbolts closely support ground forces in the U.S. Fifth Army battle area in the Apennines south of Bologna and cut rail lines in over 30 places north of the immediate battle zone.
YUGOSLAVIA: Marshal Josip Broz Tito, Commander in Chief Yugoslav Liberation Army, agrees to let British naval and air force personnel use certain ports and airfields temporarily.
CHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and P-51 Mustangs blast railway cars, station, and track, hit several trucks, and hit town area at Hochih while over 90 P-40s, P-51s and P-38 Lightnings hit river, rail, and road traffic and other targets of opportunity over wide southern China areas, 40 of them concentrating on targets between Kweiyi and Changsha and around Liuchow.
BURMA: In the Northern Combat Area Command area, the British 36th Division, replacing the 72nd Brigade with the 29th Brigade, patrols actively in the Pinwe area.
Sixteen USAAF Tenth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts continue close support strikes; about 60 fighter-bombers hit concentrations, supply and ammunition dumps, and rail targets at Panghkai, Kunmong, Mabein, Lashio, Panku, and around Meza; seven others on a railroad sweep hit targets of opportunity between Maymyo and Man Pyen.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and P-51 Mustangs blast railway cars, station, and track, hit several trucks, and hit town areas of Phu Lang Thuong.
THAILAND: Six USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells damage a bridge at Kengluang.
VOLCANO ISLANDS: During the night of 26/27 November, a USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberator on a snooper mission from Guam bombs Iwo Jima.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES:
In the U.S. Sixth Army’s X Corps area on Leyte, the 1st Battalion of the 34th Infantry Regiment, 24 Infantry Division, relieves Company A with Company C on Kilay Ridge. The battalionn is highly vulnerable to Japanese attack from different directions and is maintaining positons with the use of artillery. In the XXIV Corps area, the Japanese make another night attack, on the night of 26/27 November, on Shoestring Ridge, about 200 Japanese troops gaining positions in the bamboo thicket within the American lines, but 400 Japanese dead are counted at the conclusion of the action.
Over 40 USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators, some with fighter support, bomb La Carlota and Talisay Airfields on Negros and Cebu Islands respectively; fighter-bombers hit an airfield and various targets of opportunity throughout the area. B-24 Liberators bomb an airfield near Davao, Mindanano Island. Other bombers and fighters fly light strikes and armed reconnaissance missions against a variety of targets in southern Luzon and Mindanao.
Particularly west of Burauen and generally elsewhere on Leyte night attacks are made by the Japanese.
Three days of sea warfare involving 282 ships - more than in any previous naval engagement - have ended with a crushing victory for the US Navy. Thirty-four warships have been sunk, of which 28 were Japanese, including their last four aircraft carriers.
The fighting was focussed on the landlocked seas of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines, but in fact occurred in four separate areas: the Sibuyan Sea, the Surigao Strait and off Samar Island and Cape Engano. On 24 October Admiral Halsey had despatched his carriers to meet Ozawa’s carrier force off Cape Engano. As the US carriers sped north, a force under Admiral Nishimura entered the Surigao Strait to rendezvous with Kurita in Leyte Gulf. A US task force, under Rear-Admiral Oldendorf, attacked in one of the rare direct confrontations between battleships; Nishimura was the clear loser, going down in his own flagship, YAMASHIRO, one of the two Japanese battleships to be lost.
But while Oldendorf was tangling with Nishimura, Kurita’s force had passed through the San Bernardino Strait unobserved and off Samar attacked Admiral T. L. Sprague’s Seventh Fleet task force supporting the Leyte landings. Five US warships were sunk before Kurita surprisingly withdrew, fearing attack from carrier-based planes.
In fact, the US carriers were 300 miles further north, engaging the Japanese carrier force. By this morning all four Japanese carriers had been sunk, along with two destroyers. Their loss capped a disastrous operation for Japan. US air and naval power has finished the Imperial Japanese Navy as a fighting force. Yet there was one worrying portent for the Americans. Yesterday, at the height of the battle, Japan unleashed suicidal Kamikaze pilots who deliberately crashed their bomb-laden planes onto enemy targets. And they have claimed their first victim: the US escort carrier, USS ST. LO.
EAST INDIES: In the Netherlands East Indies, USAAF Far East Air Forces B-25 Mitchells pound airfields in the Ambon-Ceram Islands area. Other bombers and fighters fly light strikes and armed reconnaissance missions against a variety of targets on northern Celebes, northern Borneo and the Halmahera Islands.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators from Angaur Island bomb Arakabesan Island.
U.S.A.: Aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard commissioned. The USN now has eighteen fleet carriers in service.
…and a bad time was had by all.
Uncle B's company was indeed in the 1st Infantry Division's bailiwick at that moment, due to another one of those regimental "swaps" that became so common in the Fall of 1944. Having been briefly put into Bn reserve (I believe at the east edge of Weisweiler) after being repulsed in the attempt on the castle yesterday, Co. E, 2/47 will be sent towards Die Berg Frenz late today, and will be part of the fight there until the anticlimax on the 28th.
Mr. niteowl77
The Japanese from the period 1941 to 1945 built just 17 carriers of all types while the US built 18 fleet carriers and some 141 carriers of all types in the same time frame.
Aye Carumba!!!
http://www.combinedfleet.com/economic.htm
Check out the totals at the Combined Fleet link for some jaw dropping numbers
Regards
alfa6 :>}
and a bad time was had by all. ............ I was in the Huertgen Forest this past year. The terrain was miserable, I could see why we had heavy losses. After our forces left it in 44 they left mostly tree stumps. There is a small museum there, but nothing supper special about it. Lots of battle field relics and the usual uniformed mannikins. There is also a Hospital Bunker still intact, it now serves as the base (foundation?) for a home there. (Seen by appointment only)
The Ardennes:
Lorraine. After the bitter command conference between Ike, Devers and Bradley, Devers has ordered Patch's 7th Army to turn north from Strasburg. On the German side, it appears there is nothing but a hole where the remnants of 553 Volksgrenadier division are noted on the map. 
Turning Patch north leaves the German 19th Army on the west bank of the Rhine in what became known as the "Colmar Pocket," and that is left the French 1st Army. Dependent on American tablescraps for everything from beans to bullets, and lacking trained troops, NCOs and officers, the French are not strong enough to eliminate this bulge, and it will sit there for a while.
OPA RULES MATCHES GO WITH CIGARETTES
..........ATROCITY DETAILS.....POLISH CAMPS
That in an of it self is not a big deal but for some reason speaks to me how evil these people were.
Where’s Deep In The Heurtgen Forest when you need him?
Pack mules care ammunition to front.
additional info here:
http://olive-drab.com/od_army-horses-mules_ww2.php
In Sicily and Italy, horses were used to overcome terrain that stymied mechanized units. On the drive to Palermo, 3d Inf. Div. captured hundreds of horses and mules. Gen. Truscott pressed them into service on his drive to Messina and they added enough value to be shipped to Italy when the fighting moved there. Truscott believed that more horses and mules in Sicily would have enabled him to capture more of the German force that ended up in Italy. Other commanders commented during the Italian campaign that horses would have helped and were superior to mechanized means in difficult, constricted terrain. However, when fighting bogged down at the Anzio beachhead, Truscott’s horse troop was disbanded.
After D-Day, horses to equip the 10th Mountain Division in Italy were procured from the mainland of France and mules for the same unit from the United States. They proved essential in the rugged Appenine mountains, north of Rome. From the beginning of the Sicily/Italy animal program until VE-day, approximately 15,000 animals were received and processed from local sources, Sardinia and Corsica, North Africa and the British Middle East. Quartermaster Remount Service in Italy issued 11,000 horses and mules to using forces. QM also had to supply food for the animals since local forage was insufficient.
When Allied forces captured the Po Valley in the north of Italy, tens of thousands of riding and draft horses were discovered running free, abandoned by the retreating Germans. They included some of the best German and Austrian stock, along with the best of the Italian breed, which had been procured as the Germans rolled back from Reggio and Salerno to the Po River.
...........
A peak in demand for military horses in the U.S. occurred in 1943. The Coast Guard asked for 3,000 horses to be used by its beach patrols
PT-BOASTS SHUT OFF JAPANESE ON LEYTE
...... It was after dawn when we finished our mission, when a couple of Lightnings picked us up and escorted home to Leyte Gulf......................
I thought that was interesting.
Is this "Pinch" Sulzberger, overseer of the catastrophic decline of the NYT in recent years, or his father?
PELELIU CLEAN-UP A DIFFICULT TASK
http://surviving-history.blogspot.com/2012/06/lone-wolf-us-marine-who-captured-1000.html
The next day, Gabaldon returned to the cliffs and captured two Japanese guards. He persuaded them to venture into the caves and talk their fellow soldiers into surrendering.
It was a high-risk strategy. Gabaldon was alone and completely defenceless against such a huge number of men.
‘It was either convincing them that I was a good guy or I would be a dead Marine within a few minutes,’ he later said. ‘If they rushed me I would probably kill two or three before they ate me alive. This was the final showdown.’
There were a tense few moments as Gabaldon awaited the return of the guards. Then, from further down the cliffs, he heard the sound of voices. Hundreds and hundreds of Japanese soldiers could be seen walking towards him.
Gabaldon was both nervous and excited. ‘If I pull this off,’ he said to himself, ‘it will be the first time in World War II that a lone Marine Private captures half a Japanese regiment by himself.’
The men were extremely jittery but they decided to surrender when Gabaldon assured them they’d receive medical treatment. Gabaldon found himself with 800 prisoners.
It earned him the nickname the Pied Piper of Saipan...........
Wow, fascinating!
The Japanese had no business going to war with us. That is a great article at Combined Fleet.” I like the comparisons of carrier production shown in “What if the Japanese won at Miday?” The answer is that the Japanese are still overwhelmed by the production of American shipyards.
Unfortunately, we could not do that today.
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