On 5 August 1942, the Slovak expeditionary force supports the German thrust into the Caucasus by capturing the town of Kropotkin. Although the Slovak army hasn't made any headlines so far during the war, it has certainly been active. The young Slovak Republic, established when the Germans occupied the Czech half of Czechoslovakia, took part in some of the first fighting of this conflict during the invasion of Poland.
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Things turned quiet for the Slovaks until the eve of Operation Barbarossa when the Germans let them know that they expected their participation. It was a difficult situation, as the Slovaks had never felt any hostility toward the Soviets, but the government decided for participation nonetheless, hoping to prove their loyalty to Germany in what was to be a swift campaign.
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Two Slovak divisions began marching east into the Ukraine, spearheaded by the motorized brigade. The brigade saw severe losses during a battle for the town of Lypovec, after which the Slovak army decided that it needed to reorganize. One division was transformed into the Security Division, while the other was centered around the motorized brigade and became the Mobile Division.
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While the former took up position in Belarus to protect the railways from partisans, the latter closely followed Army Group South as it moved east, getting as far as Rostov. A winter of hardships followed for the ill-prepared Slovaks, but with the coming of spring, they are once again on the move.
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For Fall Blau, the Mobile Division is attached to the 1st Panzer Army, meaning that the Slovaks are now advancing into the Caucasus. Today, they are tasked with the capture of Kropotkin, fighting alongside the volunteers of the SS Wiking Division. The town's capture actually traps four Soviet armored trains further north, who decide to attempt the impossible and make for Krasnodar with a dash straight through occupied territory. The trains are shot to pieces in the daring feat, but their crew manages to escape by foot.
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Photo: Slovak soldiers near Lypovec, July 1941.
Source: Unknown.
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#Slovak #Slovakia #Czechoslovakia #Slovensko #Armáda #Vojna
On 4 August 1942, the Soviet Western Front under General Georgy Zhukov goes on the offensive against the Rzhev salient. Back on the 31st, two days after the issuing of Order 227, we saw how the Kalinin Front launched its devastating attack on the German fortress of Rzhev from the north. Although very successful on the first day due to the sheer amount of artillery used in the offensive, the advance quickly mired down as heavy rains turned the shell-cratered battlefield into an impassable sea of mud.
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The Kalinin Front's artillery commander recalls: 'Whoever attacked back then in the lowlands and swamps in the vicinity of Rzhev will scarcely ever forget these days. Rain was coming down in torrents, instantly filling the freshly dug entrenchments. Your feet became stuck so firmly in the black, viscous glop that it would trap boots like claws […] The muck was our main adversary.'
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With the Kalinin Front mired down within sight of Rzhev, the Soviets look to Georgy Zhukov to launch his attack from the east. However, the relentless rains delay his plans, and it isn't until today that the guns of the Western Front open up. The barrage blasts through the lines held by the German 161st Infantry Division, posted on the River Derzha, east of Rzhev. Two Soviet armies follow right behind the artillery fire, routing the 161st and gaining 8 kilometers (5 mi) of ground.
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Army Chief of Staff Franz Halder writes of the situation: 'Very heavy penetration on the eastern front of Ninth Army in direction of Zubtsov.' He then adds that armored reinforcements from the 3rd Panzer Army are on the way from the south, but it will take some time for them to arrive. Although the Germans had reserves in this area, all of them have already moved to Rzhev to face the Kalinin Front, showing how desperate the situation there remains despite the stalemate.
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Photo: A German tank stuck in the mud at the front near Rzhev, July 1942.
Source: NAC, 2-921
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#Rzhev #Meatgrinder #Zhukov #Panzer #Tank #Soldier #Wehrmacht #USSR #Soviet #RedArmy #Army #Strategy #Tactics #Artillery #Mud #Attack #Offensive #Front
On 3 August 1942, Italian motorboats attack two Soviet warships in the Black Sea. Up until recently, Soviet supremacy on this enclosed sea was uncontested, with the Red Fleet possessing one battleship, five cruisers, 17 destroyers, and 44 submarines at the outbreak of war. In comparison, German ally Romania only had four destroyers, three torpedo boats, and a submarine.
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This disparity in strength initially did not bother the Axis much, as the German armed forces were convinced they could simply bypass the area and seize the Soviet ports by land. With the prolonging of the war into 1942, the German attitude toward the Black Sea changed as Sevastopol continued to hold out through a continuous stream of reinforcements by sea. The obvious answer to this Soviet lifeline would be airpower, but with the Luftwaffe units on Crimea lacking numbers and experience against naval targets, a true blockade could never be established.
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The Germans instead began looking toward small surface vessels to help with the sealing of Sevastopol and sent six 'S-Boot' torpedo boats down the Danube, as well as three disassembled coastal submarines, which have yet to be reassembled in Romania. In possibly the first and last time ever during the war, the Germans urged the Italians to come to their assistance, which they dutifully did by sending six 'MAS' motorboats and six midget submarines of their own.
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The Italian units arrived just in time to support the final Axis offensive on Sevastopol, bringing down several freighters and submarines ferrying between the besieged city and the Caucasus. Now, they are tasked with protecting the forces in Crimea and supporting a possible amphibious assault across the Kerch Strait, as ordered by Hitler last month.
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Today, three Italian MAS boats engage the Soviet cruiser Molotov as its bombarding the harbor of Feodosia. MAS 658 manages to hit Molotov's stern with a torpedo stern and inflicts light damage on destroyer Kharkov. Both limp away from the battle, which will leave Molotov out of service for nearly a whole year.
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Photo: A color photo by Horst Grund of an Italian midget submarine crew in Crimea, 1942.
Source: Bundesarchiv N 1603 Bild-289
On 2 August 1942, Dutch submarine O-23 sinks a Japanese freighter off Malaya, proving that the Dutch are not entirely defeated. Although they lost their homeland to the Germans in the spring of 1940, followed by the East Indies to the Japanese earlier this year, sizeable Dutch forces continue the fight from abroad. One such branch is the Royal Netherlands Navy, which largely avoided capture in 1940 but was badly beaten two years later at the Battle of the Java Sea.
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Among those that escaped German capture in 1940 is submarine O-23. She was hurriedly commissioned into service during those chaotic May days to make a dash for Britain, where she completed her fittings. From there, O-23 went on a dozen largely uneventful patrols before being transferred to Ceylon to join the submarine fleet that fled the Dutch East Indies.
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Now, Lieutenant-Commander Albertus Valkenburg and his crew of O-23 find themselves on their first patrol in the Indian Ocean, and they are immediately provided with targets. On July 27th, O-23 damages a small Japanese merchant in the Strait of Malacca, but she has to withdraw when the deck gun jams and destroyers appear on the scene. Valkenburg is able to save the submarine by diving between the two Japanese destroyers, causing the Japanese hydrophone operators to lose the tail of O-23.
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Two days later, O-23 sights two Japanese heavy cruisers escorted by three destroyers, and she fires a volley of torpedoes toward the big prize. None materialize, and O-23 again has to dive as the destroyers unleash a barrage of depth charges, giving the cruisers time to get away.
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Today, Valkenburg gets a chance to redeem his failures when a vulnerable target presents itself in his periscope: '0840 hours - Sighted a convoy made up of one armed merchant [...] that was acting as escort. This ship was followed by four merchant vessels. Started attack.' Although the first torpedo detonates right after leaving the tube, nearly destroying O-23, the second makes its way to 6,440 ton freighter Zenyo Maru, killing 27 upon impact and sinking the ship not much later.
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Photo: Dutch submariners having tea aboard O-14, January 1942.
Source: IWM, A 7751
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#Submarine #Dutch
On 1 August 1942, the Japanese install a civilian puppet administration in Burma under the leadership of Prime Minister Ba Maw. During the first half of this year, we saw how the Imperial Japanese Army overran the entire British colony of Burma in a rapid campaign. Many minority groups, most notably the Indians, fled the country for fear of racial violence coming from the Japanese or their Burmese fellow countrymen. The latter group was more receptive toward the invaders, with some seeing them as liberators from British rule.
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Their enthusiasm was reflected in the exponential growth of the Burma Independence Army (BIA). Created under Japanese supervision, the BIA actively fought alongside the Japanese to kick out the British. However, the army quickly spun out of control, and soon, bandits claiming to be a part of the BIA ravaged the lands. The Japanese decided to disband the BIA and reorganize it into the Burma Defense Army, turning it into a regular army aided by Japanese officers.
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Another attempt at extending their control over the conquered lands begins today with the installment of a civilian puppet regime under Prime Minister Ba Maw. During his younger years, Ba Maw had a proper education, studying in Rangoon, receiving a master's degree in Calcutta, obtaining a law degree in Cambridge, and writing a doctoral thesis in Bordeaux. After defending the anti-colonial Burmese independence fighter Saya San in court, he rose to the political stage as an outspoken advocate of self-rule.
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With the outbreak of war, the British put Ba Maw behind bars for sedition, but he was promptly released by the Japanese, who have now found a good use for him. They put him in charge of a civilian government tasked with the day-to-day management of the conquered territory. Although the Japanese have no intention of giving the Burmese independence anytime soon, Ba Maw and his administration start building a new government from scratch, hopeful about what they see as the first step to full independence.
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Photo: Japanese troops in Burma, 1942.
Source: Mainichi Newspaper, Tsushinsha
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#Burma #Myanmar #Rangoon #Yangon #Japan #IJA #Independence #Freedom #Colony
On 31 July 1942, the American invasion fleet heads for the Solomon Islands in Operation 'Watchtower'. Back in May, we saw how the Japanese set foot in the Solomons with a landing on the tiny island of Tulagi, where they established a seaplane base to support further offensives into the South Pacific.
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Although their resources for such an attack have decreased following the losses at Midway, enthusiasm among the Japanese Navy for a strike south remains high. Work has therefore begun on an airfield on the island of Guadalcanal, meant to secure aerial supremacy in the region.
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This increase in activity does not go unnoticed by the Allies. They have long sought to retake the initiative in Asia and have devised several plans to do so along the Solomons and New Guinea. With the Japanese construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal, the thrust against the Solomons gains new urgency. A strike against the Santa Cruz Islands is aborted, and the operation, codenamed 'Watchtower', will instead focus on Tulagi and Guadalcanal.
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Today, the invasion fleet gathered before Fiji departs for the Solomons, carrying thousands of soldiers belonging to the 1st Marine Division. Although conditions aboard the transport ships are filthy and harsh, morale is high. War correspondent Richard Tregaskis writes:
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'Tonight the weather was cloudy and overcast, and the moon was shrouded with clouds, but you could hear the assorted wails of marines singing all about the decks. It seems a good many of them prefer to sleep in lifeboats, around stanchions, or simply on the deck, rather than to stay below in their quarters.'
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Meanwhile, B-17 bombers stationed on the New Hebrides begin softening up the Japanese defenders on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. As the airstrip has not been completed yet, the Japanese cannot scramble any fighters and are forced to seek shelter as the Flying Fortresses do their work. Despite the swift and sudden attack, the Japanese do not expect an invasion to follow, convinced that the detected build-up of Allied strength is meant to reinforce New Guinea.
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Photo: The Guadalcanal invasion force steaming out of Guadalcanal, 9 August 1942.
Source: U.S. Navy, 80-G-231869
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#Marines
On 30 July 1942, the Red Army launches an offensive against Rzhev. During the fall and winter, the central part of the front before Moscow saw the bulk of the Eastern Front's fighting in a massive back-and-forth. It resulted in a large German salient toward Rzhev, with sizeable Soviet formations operating in their rear areas.
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However, since then, things have been mostly quiet at Rzhev. The German 9th Army has used the lull in the fighting to establish elaborate defenses in the area. The city of Rzhev, only a dozen kilometers away from the front, has been turned into a fortress, while the surrounding villages act as strongpoints, interconnected with trenches.
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To secure their supply lines, the Germans have in recent weeks mostly cleared the Soviet pockets in their rear in Operations 'Hanover' and 'Seydlitz', and have even begun gathering their forces further south to launch a limited offensive against the Soviet Western Front in Operation 'Wirbelwind', or 'Whirlwind'.
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But just like at Kharkov back in May, the Soviets beat the Germans to the punch. They have made more ambitious plans of their own to clear the northern bank of the Volga, the eastern bank of the Vazuza River, and liberate the towns of Rzhev and Gzhatsk. It will be up to General Ivan Konev's Kalinin Front to deal the first blow in the north before Georgy Zhukov's Western Front joins in from the west.
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Gathered for the operation along the two fronts are nearly half a million men, over 1,700 tanks, and thousands of artillery and rocket artillery pieces. With double the material strength and three times more infantry than the Germans, Konev's forces begin blasting away on a front of only ten kilometers (6 mi).
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When the Soviet infantry hurls itself at the German trenches today amid torrential rains, they find that their artillery barrage has blasted everything and everyone out of their way. By the end of the day, the Soviets have already covered half the distance toward Rzhev, but it is here that their attack quickly mires down, as the tanks are unable to join the infantry through the sea of mud.
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Photo: Ivan Konev inspecting the troops of his Kalinin Front, 4 May 1942.
Source: Unknown.
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#Konev
On 29 July 1942, the Japanese capture Kokoda after a short but brutal nightly battle. Three days ago, we saw how Japanese forces encircled the Australians and Papuans at Oivi, forcing the trapped units to sneak out toward the village of Deniki.
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The withdrawal to Deniki leaves just Colonel William Owen and a small party to defend Kokoda and its airstrip. Owen led a company during the defense of Rabaul earlier this year and had to look on from a bush how the Japanese massacred his men. Wanting to avoid a similar fate with his current command against a superior foe, he decides to sabotage the supplies at Kokoda and withdraw to Deniki.
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There, Owen is surprised to find the remnants from the Oivi pocket, who have arrived just before him. With his strength back up to 80 men and reports that the Japanese have paused at Oivi to await reinforcements, he and his troops return to Kokoda to defend the airstrip. Two Douglas planes carrying a platoon each are supposed to reach him there, but the American pilots deem the landing site unsafe and return to base. It is up to Owen and his 80 soldiers to defend Kokoda, and they start digging on the plateau that overlooks the area.
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Meanwhile, a Japanese force of 180 men under Lieutenant Ogama moves in for the kill. They await darkness before launching a mortar barrage onto the Kokoda Plateau. At 0200 hours, amid misty conditions, the chanting Japanese charge forward. The Australian and Papuan defenders reply with heavy fire and start hurling their grenades down the slopes. However, the attackers gradually close in until the two sides are fighting hand to hand. Colonel Owen and Lieutenant Ogama sprint around to inspire their men, but they are both killed in the engagement.
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After over an hour of combat, the Allies determine that their positions can no longer be held, and they withdraw to Deniki once more. They have suffered 12 casualties in the battle; the Japanese 20.
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Photo: Wounded Australian soldiers on the Kokoda Track, September 1942.
Source: AWM, 013287
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#Kokoda #KokodaTrack #KokodaTrail #Papua #NewGuinea #Australia #ANZAC #Wounded #Casualties #Japan #Military #Army #Medic #Cigeratte #Hospital #Night #Jungle
On 28 July 1942, General Secretary of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin issues Order 227. During the past month, we have seen how endless Soviet columns fell back eastward in a retreat-turned-rout. Today, Stalin decides to intervene with an order to be read aloud to all men and women of the Red Army.
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'The enemy [...] penetrates deeper into the Soviet Union, captures new areas, devastates and plunders our cities and villages, rapes, kills and robs the Soviet people. [...] Every commander, every soldier and political officer has to realize that our resources are not infinite. The territory of the Soviet Union is not a wilderness, but people – workers, peasants, intelligentsia, our fathers and mothers, wives, brothers, children.'
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Stalin then goes on to say what economic resources are being given up without a fight and how they strengthen the enemy before concluding that 'it is time to stop the retreat. "Ni shagu nazad!" - Not a single step back! This must henceforth be our slogan.'
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Stalin ends the order with concrete measures to 'introduce the strictest order and strong discipline in our army'. He orders the formation of one to three penal battalions for every front where soldiers 'who have broken discipline due to cowardice or instability, should be sent. These battalions should be put on the more difficult sections of a front, thus giving them an opportunity to redeem their crimes against the Motherland by blood.'
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He then orders the formation of three to five barricade detachments behind every division with the task of executing 'panic-mongers and cowards at site in case of panic and chaotic retreat, thus giving faithful soldiers a chance to do their duty before the Motherland.'
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Although the order is received with much patriotism across the Soviet Union and along the front, time will have to tell whether these draconian measures will instill the iron discipline that Stalin demands from his Red Army.
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Photo: Lieutenant Yeremenko leading an assault - he was killed minutes after the taking of this photograph. Voroshilovgrad, 12 July 1942.
Source: RIA Novosti, #543
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#RedArmy #Soviet #Order227 #SovietUnion #USSR #GreatPatrioticWar #OTD #History #Stalingrad
On 27 July 1942, Allied commander Claude Auchinleck launches one last offensive at El Alamein in Operation 'Manhood'. Last week, we saw how Operation Splendour resulted in a crushing Allied defeat, in which particularly the New Zealanders suffered heavily.
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It turns out to be the last offensive 13th Corps is capable of, leaving just 30th Corps for Auchinleck's final attempt at achieving a breakthrough at Miteiriya Ridge. He looks to the 9th Australian Division to spearhead the assault but meets opposition from its commander Leslie Morshead. He tells Auchinleck that his division has bled enough and needs rest. In a compromise, just one brigade is incorporated into Operation Manhood, with only one battalion leading the charge. The British 69th Brigade from the 50th Division will join it in the attack.
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Shortly after midnight, after South African sappers have cleared a gap through the minefield, the Australians attack, followed by the British. They seize the ridge within two hours, but their support vehicles carrying the anti-tank guns take heavy fire and fail to link up with them. The Australians and British are now isolated on the Miteiriya Ridge, counting on the British 2nd Armoured Brigade to assist them against the inevitable German counterattack.
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However, in a tragic repetition of the battles at Ruweisat and El Mreir earlier this month, the British tanks fail to show up. Their information regarding the minefields is incomplete, and they decide not to risk their precious Grant tanks. The Valentines of the 50th Royal Tanks do rush in to save the isolated infantry, but they are fought off by Axis anti-tank fire. All three battalions on the ridge are subsequently destroyed in the German counterattack.
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With this final defeat for the Allies, the First Battle of El Alamein comes to an end. They have halted the Axis before the Nile Delta, but they have wasted 13,000 fine soldiers in their uncoordinated and poorly planned counterstrokes. A stalemate ensues, in which everyone looks to Rommel to make the next move.
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Photo: An Australian soldier re-christens Alamein station, 18 August 1942.
Source: IWM, E 15644
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#Alamein #Anzac #British #Auchinleck #Rommel
On 26 July 1942, the Australian and Papuan defenses before Kokoda are encircled by the Japanese. Two days ago, we saw how Japanese forces advanced toward Kokoda but were ambushed by the Australians along the way.
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The Papuan Infantry Battalion and Captain Sam Templeton's B Company fall back on the village of Oivi, where they hope to fight another delaying battle and win time, as reinforcements are on the way. The rest of the 39th Battalion, to which B Company belongs, is already plodding northward through the mountains, while two planes arrive carrying a platoon each. The first quickly joins the line at Oivi, but there, things are rapidly turning south.
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Just as the first platoon arrives, Templeton realizes that the Japanese are trying to encircle his position at Oivi. Instead of sending a runner, the Great War veteran makes a run for Kokoda himself to warn the second platoon. However, he is too late and walks straight into the Japanese. They shoot him on the spot before taking him to the dressing station.
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There, Japanese Colonel Hatsuo Tsukamoto questions him about the Allied strength. Templeton replies: 'In our rear position, 80,000 Allied troops have gathered for our support. I wonder how many of you guys will actually get out of here alive. I'll be counting.' The enraged Tsukamoto stabs Templeton with a bayonet, killing him on the spot.
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Meanwhile, the encircled Australians and Papuans at Oivi begin devising a breakout plan. A local Papuan policeman tells them of a hidden trail to the village of Deniki, bypassing the Japanese encirclement but also the vital airstrip of Kokoda. At 2200 hours, in pitch darkness, the men slip through the Japanese lines unnoticed and reach Deniki the following day.
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However, six of them become separated from the rest and run into a group of Japanese medics. In a rare case of mutual understanding, the two sides decide to look the other way, and everyone walks away unscathed. As the Australians vanish into the jungle, they can hear the Japanese firing away at Oivi. They have narrowly escaped certain death.
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Photo: Private Newman stops for a drink, New Guinea, October 1942.
Source: AWM, 027079
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#Kokoda #Anzac #Soldier #WW2
On 25 July 1942, the Germans take Rostov and its Don River crossing. Although this page has been quiet about the progress of the summer campaign in the east, things have been anything but quiet. Over the past weeks, the German armies have been rapidly advancing over the southern steppes while the Soviets continue to avoid encirclement by falling back. Check out our weekly coverage of the war over on YouTube for much more on this.
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By now, Wilhelm List's Army Group A has two bridgeheads across the river Don east of Rostov and is ready for a dash toward the Caucasus. However, two pontoon ferries are hardly enough to support such a grand offensive. If List is to advance to the gates of Asia, he will need the railway bridge of Rostov itself.
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There, scenes of utter chaos are unfolding. Panzer and Waffen SS troops fight their way through the streets of Rostov against fanatical resistance by NKVD rear guards, while many Soviets flee the city over the bridges in the south. The artillery of the SS troops mistakenly targets the railway bridge, hitting an ammunition truck that explodes with enough force to destroy parts of the bridge, essentially doing the demolition work for the Soviets.
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In the early hours of today, German 'Brandenburger' special forces cross the Don in rubber boats to seize the southern part of the destroyed bridge so that engineers can do their repairs. The Brandenburgers are trained in infiltration tactics and composed of bilingual volunteers to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, but today, they are employed in a more conventional battle.
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Upon seizing the southern shore, the company of Brandenburgers pushes on along the causeway that extends across the marshes to Bataysk. Most of the company is wiped out in the audacious operation, but they win enough time for the engineers to conduct shaky repairs and get the panzers across. Amid armies of hundreds of thousands, it took the sacrifice of one elite company to kick in the door to the Caucasus.
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Photo: German soldiers carry their wounded comrade to safety, Rostov, July 1942.
Source: Grimm Kastein
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#Rostov #Don #Germany #Wehrmacht #Soldier #Wounded #Combat #War #Comrade #Kamerad #Panzer #NKVD #Soviet
On 24 July 1942, Japanese forces advance toward Kokoda, encountering limited but effective Allied resistance. Three days ago, we saw how the Japanese advance party landed on the coast, facing no opposition. It isn't until the next morning that Allied aircraft show up to disrupt the movement of men and materiel to the shore, sinking a Japanese transport ship in the shallow waters.
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Despite this interruption, the process of disembarkment proceeds smoothly. Japanese engineers swiftly and skillfully begin work on bunkers, anti-air defenses, and an airstrip, while the town of Buna is turned into an operational base complete with a headquarters, depot, and a hospital.
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At the same time, the Japanese 1st Battalion of the 144th Regiment begins moving land inward in trucks, although the road quickly narrows down to a path. The 900 men continue on foot while behind them, engineers begin expanding the road. The only resistance they meet is from the militias of the Papuan Infantry Battalion, who can only put up delaying actions.
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The first reinforcement the Papuans see is B Company of the Australian 39th Battalion. The 130 men under Captain Sam Templeton were originally sent to scout ahead for the Allied plan of establishing themselves on the northern coast in Operation Providence, but they now find themselves on the defense with far fewer numbers.
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Upon orders from Douglas MacArthur himself, the rest of the battalion soon follows B Company, but they will first have to cross the Owen Stanley Range, a trek of over a week. It means that it's up to the Papuan Infantry Battalion and Templeton's Company to defend the Kokoda airstrip. It's an impossible task, but they give it their best shot and revert to guerilla tactics to delay the Japanese.
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The Australians and Papuans are initially surprised by the Japanese speed and agility through the rugged terrain, but today, they finally see some success. As the Japanese advance column closes in on the dried up Kumusi River, the Australians cut the wire rope bridge and ambush the Japanese, killing 15.
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Photo: Wounded from the 39th Battalion returning from combat, Kokoda Track, August 1942.
Source: AWM, 026320
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#Anzac #Kokoda
On 23 July 1942, the chairman of the Jewish Council in Warsaw, Adam Czerniaków, commits suicide, having failed to save the ghetto from the fate of deportation. The Warsaw Ghetto has been in existence for two years now, with around 400,000 people crammed into a space of only three square kilometers (1.2 square mi). The Jewish Council oversees the day-to-day management of the ghetto, walking the fine line of obeying the Germans and easing the situation for the inhabitants.
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However, the Council's hopes of sitting out the war the best way they can are shattered on the 22nd when the Germans announce the commencement of the Great Action Warsaw. In it, 6,000 people are to be deported for 'resettlement' on a daily basis, and it is up to the Jewish Council to decide who that will be, or rather who won't be.
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Although their actual destination, the newly completed extermination factory of Treblinka, is held a secret, rumors of other death camps and massacres have spread throughout the ghetto. Some in the Council can connect the dots; others refuse to believe anyone would kill a community of nearly half a million.
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Chairman Czerniaków is now in an impossible position. He has long tried to improve the situation in the ghetto, especially for its children, for whom he has set up schools and orphanages. He tries to obtain an exemption for the orphans, but to his horror, they are among the first to be rounded up and deported. The SS instead increases the pressure on him by threatening to shoot his wife if the deportations are impeded in any way.
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Czerniaków can only watch in pain as thousands are forced to the collection point by the Jewish Police, under his authority. Later in the afternoon, he decides that he will not take part in this any longer and determines that there's no alternative but to end his own life. He leaves his wife the following note: 'They are demanding that I kill the children of my people with my own hands. There is nothing for me to do but die.'
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Photo: A boy begging in the Warsaw Ghetto, 19 September 1941.
Source: Yad Vashem, 15710
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#Warsaw #Ghetto #Orphan #Child #Begging #Treblinka #Holocaust #Shoa #Czerniakow #Warszawa #Poland #Polska #War
On 22 July 1942, the Allies attempt to destroy the Afrika Korps in Operation 'Splendour', but their efforts fail miserably. Last week, we saw how the fighting in the desert entered a lull which both sides used to catch their breath after weeks of continuous combat.
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However, the Allies do not plan on sitting idle for long, knowing that they have to do something to turn the tide. With the German offensive on the Eastern Front threatening the Caucasus, concerns begin to arise that panzers will soon roll into Iran. With all major formations in the area fighting in Egypt, the only way to free up forces is to secure the Western Desert. Commander Claude Auchinleck, therefore, devises Operation Splendour, meant to strike at the cream of the Axis striking power, the Afrika Korps.
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The first to attack are the Kiwis from the 6th Brigade, the last fresh units from the badly mauled 2nd New Zealand Division. They advance at night, clearing a way through the Axis minefield and seizing the German positions at El Mreir before daybreak. Just like at Ruweisat Ridge, the New Zealanders call upon the British 2nd Armoured Brigade to support them during the inevitable counterattack, but just like at Ruweisat Ridge, no one shows up amid a series of miscommunications. Just like at Ruweisat Ridge, an entire New Zealander brigade is subsequently annihilated.
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However, it is only the first tragedy of the day for the Allies. At 0800 hours, the 106 newly arrived Valentine tanks from the British 23rd Armoured Brigade depart for their baptism of fire further north. In a scene reminiscent of the Charge of the Light Brigade, the brigade is blown to pieces by mines and Axis anti-tank fire. Only 15 tanks return from the engagement.
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Again further north, another British regiment of Valentines advances alongside the Australians in an infantry support role, one that suits the lightly armed tanks much better. However, they also run into a minefield, destroying half of the regiment's tanks and causing the unit to retreat. Operation Splendour has been a splendorous Allied defeat.
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Photo: A Valentine tank crew loading the 2-pounder turret, Western Desert, 27 March 1942.
Source: IWM, E 9766
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#Tank
On 21 July 1942, Japanese forces establish new beachheads on the northern coast of New Guinea for an overland advance toward Port Moresby. The Japanese already landed at Lae back in March to build an airfield for operations against Port Moresby, but they haven't made any overland offensives through the rugged terrain since then. They tried to seize Port Moresby by sea back in April, but a naval clash in the Coral Sea foiled those plans.
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With the loss of the carrier fleet at Midway, the Japanese odds for a second attempt by sea have not improved, meaning that it has to be a land offensive or no offensive at all. However, they are uncertain whether it's even possible. Vague accounts by a British explorer describe a road through the Kokoda plateau and across the Owen Stanley mountain range, but aerial reconnaissance could only spot parts of it. Road or not, it is their best bet at grabbing Port Moresby, so the Japanese go through with the plan.
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Opposing them are the Australians and the local Papuan population. A sizeable Australian force has been assembled at Port Moresby already, as commander Douglas MacArthur desires to seize the initiative in the South Pacific. His eyes are on New Guinea as well, hoping to establish new airfields north of the Owen Stanley Range to attack Lae and eventually Rabaul. Codenamed Operation 'Providence', an Australian battalion begins its trek northward to join up with the militias of the Papuan Infantry Battalion.
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That battalion has yet to arrive when, today, the Japanese invasion fleet gathers off Gona and Buna and begins shelling the beach while the hopelessly outnumbered Papuans avoid confrontation. During the evening, some 3,000 Japanese forces disembark to establish a beachhead and move land inward. Their job will be to clear the way for the main force that is yet to come by finding the best route to Kokoda and conducting repairs where necessary, all to facilitate a smooth offensive toward Port Moresby.
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Photo: Australian soldiers looking at the scenery toward Kokoda, October 1942.
Source: AWM, 026834
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#Kokoda #Papua #NewGuinea #Anzac #Australia #Japan #Jungle #Trail #Track #Kokoda #Soldier #Military
On 20 July 1942, the Jews of the Nieswiez ghetto rise up against the occupation forces in an armed revolt. The town of Nieswiez, located on the eastern border of what was up until 1939 called Poland, was overwhelmed by German forces during the opening days of Operation Barbarossa.
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Its inhabitants became acquainted with the war of annihilation when security troops rounded up the Jewish population in October 1941. Some 600 essential workers were selected and then sent to the improvised ghetto, while 4,000 were marched off to the woods and executed en masse. With the majority of their friends and family murdered, the 600 survivors went to work for the Germans. They faced exhaustion, starvation, and daily humiliation, but they were alive.
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However, as summer comes around, so do the rumors of renewed violence in the region. Stories of massacres throughout the area begin to circulate, until on July 17th, the ghetto learns of killings at neighboring Horodzei. The Jews of Nieswiez realize that it can only be a matter of days until it is their turn. One inhabitant of the ghetto, Shalom Cholawski speaks to the community at the synagogue:
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'Fellow Jews! We are isolated and cut off from the Jewish world, from the world at large. It may be that not a word of our plight has been heard. It may be that we are the last of the ghettos and the last of the Jews. We must fight for our lives! We shall defend the ghetto, the place of suffering. We will fight as would the last remaining Jews on the soil of their homeland. We will prepare, now, to strike.'
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When German forces and local auxiliaries close in today, a firefight breaks out between the Germans and the Jews, armed with smuggled guns and improvised weapons. While some hold off the Germans, others set alight their homes to add to the chaos and head for the barbed wire fence. Those that make it through flee to the forests to join up with the partisans and other refugees, but many more are killed in the attempt.
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Photo: A German machine gunner during anti-partisan operations, August 1942.
Source: NAC, 2-1931
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#Ghetto #Jewish #Jew #Shoa #Holocaust #Soldier #Machinegun #Revolt #Nieswiez #Poland #Polska #Uprising #Resistance
On 19 July 1942, Commander of the German U-boat fleet, Admiral Karl Dönitz, pulls his last boats away from the United States east coast, bringing an end to the 'American Shooting Season'. Operation Drumbeat started soon after the American entry into the war and brought devastation to shipping along the east coast. At first, it was just the large Type IX U-boats that could operate in these distant waters, but with the arrival of 'milk cow' resupply ships, the smaller, more maneuverable Type VII U-boats began patrolling there as well.
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Transport and tanker losses continued to mount as the U.S. Navy had no adequate reply to the U-boat menace. Despite repeated British advice for implementing a convoy system, Commander-in-Chief Admiral Ernest King refused, convinced that convoys would only make for easier targets with his shortage of escort vessels and aircraft. The loss of tankers was especially crushing, causing immediate fuel shortages and rationing along the east coast.
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That began to change in the second half of April when the Americans finally organized themselves into convoys. Warships and aircraft began to make a difference, and U-boats started moving more and more south to hunt in the Caribbean waters, where anti-submarine measures are still lacking behind.
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Today, Dönitz calls his last U-boats away from the east coast and to the North Atlantic to operate against the transoceanic convoys. It means that we will likely see a new peak in large confrontations between convoys and wolf packs, as was the case during the previous phase of the Battle of the Atlantic. With his decision, the most successful period for the U-boat fleet so far comes to an end. In the past six months, the Germans have sunk 3,040,089 gross register tonnage of Allied shipping, equal to 23 merchant ships for every U-boat.
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For the Americans, the past months have been an outright disaster. Besides the material losses, thousands of merchant mariners have fallen victim to sinkings, making it a deadlier job than any other in the actual military.
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Photo: A U-boat returns from patrol, St. Nazaire, 16 June 1942.
Source: Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-MW-6434-33
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#Uboot #DasBoot #Uboat #Merchant
On 18 July 1942, the Battle of El Alamein enters a lull where both sides lick their wounds. Yesterday, we saw how Indian and British troops fought off a German attack at Ruweisat Ridge, while the Australians suffered heavy losses in an offensive against Miteiriya Ridge.
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A lull in the fighting ensues, providing especially the Axis with some much-needed breathing space. Within days, the odds have decidedly swung against Erwin Rommel and his men. He writes to his wife on the 17th: 'Things are going downright badly for me at the moment [...]. The enemy is using his superiority, especially in infantry, to destroy the Italian formations one by one, and the German formations are much too weak to stand alone. It's enough to make one weep.'
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Italian Commander-in-Chief Ugo Cavallero promises him reinforcements and his best efforts to improve the dire supply situation that same afternoon, but Rommel remains skeptical, writing today: 'Militarily, this is the most difficult period I've ever been through. There is help in sight, of course, but whether we will live to see it is a question. You know what an incurable optimist I am. But there are situations where everything is dark.'
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While the man with the tidiest tent has trouble on his mind, so do the men in the field. The lull in the continuous fighting is a welcome change for sure, but the other enemy, the environment, is not about to give them a break. The scorching July heat continues to wear down on the men in the trenches while the flies that feast on the dead harass the living unabated. Water and food are scarce for both sides, but the lack of relief is an especially big frustration among the Axis.
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Some Italian soldiers have been at the front since the very beginning of the war, with only sporadic periods of leave at divisional entertainment centers on the coast or Benghazi. Homesickness is widespread, and with the only legitimate reason for repatriation being marriage, some instruct their relatives to find them a bride just to escape the horrors of the African Front.
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Photo: Italian soldiers stock up on water, Egypt, summer 1942.
Source: ACS, 46739
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#Italia #Italy #Guerra #Africa #Desert #Soldier #Alamein
On 17 July 1942, the Australians try to expand on their successes in the northernmost sector of the El Alamein battlefield. Two days ago, we saw how a New Zealander attack on the Ruweisat Ridge resulted in the destruction of one of its brigades. The west part of the ridge had to be given up, although the Indian foothold in the west stood firm.
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On the following day, the Allies have an early warning of the counterattack by the Afrika Korps and muster everyone they can get to reinforce the Indians. A brigade from the 9th Australian Division answers the call and marches for Ruweisat. One Australian soldier comments on the British infantry they encounter along the way:
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'Put a man in a dugout the shape of a grave; shell and bomb him, kill his friends, let the desert be his scenery, and a stony ridge his lookout; give him a bottle of water each day; make him stay at his sand-swept post, though weak with dysentery or enteric fever, for weeks on end, until sand and stone and shells become his world; for months until he becomes a hopeless weary animal. Do this, and you have the worn-out English men of the Eighth Army who pointed us the way to Jerry at the Ruweisat Ridge.'
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Unlike during the disastrous attack of two days ago by the Kiwis, the British 2nd Armoured Brigade is at the right place at the right time to assist the infantry. The Indians and British manage to stand their ground against the two panzer divisions of the Afrika Korps, which loses 24 tanks in the engagement.
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At the same time, the back-and-forth between the Australians and the Axis in the north continues. The Australians have trouble exploiting their successes of last week and decide to shift the attention of the attack from Tell el Eisa to the Miteiriya Ridge. In close cooperation with British Valentine tanks, an Australian brigade seizes the ridge, but they soon have to withdraw under heavy fire and suffer over 300 casualties in an Axis counterstroke.
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Photo: Australian infantry storming a strong point, 3 November 1942.
Source: IWM, E 18908
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#Australia #Alamein #Anzac #Miteiriya #Combat #Infantry #Soldier #Battle #AustraliaWW2 #Allies #Smoke #Desert #Sand #Warfare #War
On 16 July 1942, the Final Solution comes to France with a massive roundup of Jews in Paris. Jews in both occupied France and unoccupied Vichy France have been subject to antisemitic legislation since the country’s capitulation. Deportations to concentration camps have so far been mostly limited to male Jewish refugees from abroad, but today, the scope increases.
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Like the Netherlands, France will now be included in the systematic extermination of the perceived Jewish race. During the previous days, all preparations have been made by the German authorities in cooperation with the French authorities. In the negotiations, the two parties decided on a two-day delay to avoid provoking demonstrations on Bastille Day. Although the Germans wish to include French Jews in these first deportations, the Vichy government is reluctant to agree to this, instead opting for ramped-up deportation of foreign Jews, including women and children.
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Early in the morning today, several thousand Parisian policemen go from door to door to arrest the registered Jewish refugees. While some of the policemen are sympathetic to the families they're apprehending, even giving advance warnings of their arrival to give them a chance of escape, many others are more zealous in performing their duty. All in all, some 14,000 people are rounded up and marched off to the 'Vélodrome d'Hiver', a bicycling stadium, for confinement.
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The conditions there are abysmal. For several days, the thousands of arrested families will be kept in the overcrowded stadium with only a handful of toilets and little to no food or water. The stench in the sealed stadium is unbearable, while the sound of screams and cries reverberates all around. So desperate is the situation that some resort to suicide by jumping off the indoor balcony; perhaps a more merciful end than the one that awaits the others.
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Over the following days, they will be transported to concentration camps around Paris, such as Drancy, before heading to Auschwitz, with the gas chamber as their final destination.
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Photo: Two Jewish women wearing the yellow star, Paris, June 1942.
Source: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-N0619-506
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#Paris #Jewish #VeldHiv #France
On 15 July 1942, the Allies launch a determined but costly attack against Ruweisat Ridge in Operation 'Bacon'. Two days ago, we saw how the Afrika Korps attacked the El Alamein perimeter but was fought off by the South Africans and their concentrated artillery fire.
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It was again the Allied 30th Corps in the north that carried the brunt of the fighting, with 13th Corps sitting idle in the south. Today, the eager troops of 13th Corps are finally sent into battle in Operation 'Bacon'. The plan centers around the 2nd New Zealand Division and the 5th Indian Division, who are to attack the Ruweisat Ridge from the southeast and eliminate this cornerstone of the Axis defenses.
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At 2300 hours, the New Zealanders and Indians begin sneaking their way forward to breach the outposts they have identified south of the ridge. The Kiwis quickly eliminate the totally surprised Italian defenders and reach their objectives before dawn as planned, having advanced 10 kilometers (6 mi) through defended territory.
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When the sun rises, they find out that it wasn't just outposts they were facing, but the main defenses of two now-shattered Italian divisions. However, their optimism is short-lived, as their newly conquered positions on the rocky ridge are ill-suited for defense, with no possibility of digging in.
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The Kiwis' hopes are on their supporting artillery and the British 2nd and 22nd Armoured Brigades, supposed to reinforce them at first light, but no one shows up. As it turns out, large Italian formations and minefields have been bypassed during the nightly advance, and now they are holding off the British armor from reaching the New Zealanders. The British tanks support the Indians in taking their objectives but are unable to find a way to the New Zealanders until late afternoon.
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By then, disaster has struck the Kiwis. With no cover, artillery- or armored support, they are mauled by a German counterattack. It results in the destruction of the 4th Brigade, nearly 1,500 prisoners, and a feeling of distrust towards the British armor, which the Kiwis feel has abandoned them.
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Photo: New Zealander soldiers next to wounded Germans, 3 December 1941.
Source: IWM, E 3737E
On 14 July 1942, the systematic deportation of Dutch Jews to the east begins. Antisemitic legislation appeared only gradually in the occupied Netherlands but was immediately highly effective at identifying people of Jewish ancestry through the elaborate Dutch records and the civil administration that was largely kept intact.
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At first, the Dutch showed solidarity with their Jewish fellow countrymen in the February Strike of 1941, protesting the implementation of antisemitic laws. By now, however, all organized opposition has been largely suppressed. As everywhere else in Europe, the Jews have been socially isolated in ghettos, barred from public life, and labeled with yellow stars.
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It has all led up to today, the start of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question in the Netherlands, as openly propagandized in the German-controlled newspapers. Under the ruse of 'labor in the east', 4,000 people have been called up to report for transportation. Their first stop will be the former refugee camp of Westerbork, turned into a relatively comfortable transit camp to deceive the prisoners of their fate at Auschwitz.
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While we know what awaits them there, the unlucky recipients can only guess. Some comply and report for transportation; others wish to escape but have nowhere to go, while some go into hiding. Only a fraction of the 4,000 shows up, leading the German security police to increase the pressure. They randomly arrest 700 people in the streets of the ghetto and threaten to deport them if the called-upon do not report for 'labor'. As more people show up for transport, the hostages are released, for now.
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Among those who manage to go into hiding is 13-year old Anne Frank. Her older sister Margot has also received a letter announcing her imminent transportation, but her father Otto has prepared a hiding spot. The Frank family moves into the secret annex of Otto's office, where Anne will document their life in hiding in a diary she got for her birthday just last month.
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Photo: Deportation of Jews, Amsterdam, 1943.
Source: Yad Vashem, 53698
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#Deportation #Jewish #Jew #Hebrew #Holocaust #Shoa #Shoah #Amsterdam #Netherlands #Nederland #WO2 #Deportatie #AnneFrank
On 13 July 1942, the Afrika Korps attacks once more at El Alamein. Three days ago, we saw how the 9th Australian Division attacked along the coast and seized parts of the Tell el Eisa positions from the Italian 'Sabratha' Division, which was all but destroyed in the process.
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The following day, the Australians continue their attacks at Tell el Eisa and take the remaining enemy positions. A British battlegroup soon follows up on their success by swinging south, overrunning many routing Italians and capturing over a thousand of them. The Germans from the Afrika Korps quickly head north to reinforce the Italian 'Trieste' Division, and although they are on time to force the British back, they are too late to save Trieste from near annihilation.
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Erwin Rommel realizes that the British are trying to drain his strength by singling out the Italians. His chances of a rapid victory are now growing thinner and thinner, but he decides for one last attempt at dislodging the El Alamein defenses. He determines he can encircle the Australian attackers by striking against the 1st South African Division holding their rear.
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Rommel's hopes are high, writing to his wife: 'Today is to be another decisive day in this hard struggle. Things are already on the move all over the desert.' But the plan misfires. As it turns out, Ultra intelligence has warned the defending South Africans. During the last days, the intelligence war in the region has decidedly swung toward the Allies with the capture of the German radio interception group. But just as significant is the change of codes by the American military attaché in Cairo, whose detailed reports were being intercepted and decoded by Italian intelligence.
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Faring blindly, the 21st Panzer Division attacks the South African defenses today. Although the panzers manage to get within range of the Allied positions, its supporting infantry is quickly found and targeted by accurate and devastating artillery fire. Without their infantry support, the panzers quickly withdraw, making the attack a complete failure.
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Photo: British gunners under enemy counter fire, El Alamein, August 1942.
Source: IWM, E 16114
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#Alamein #Artillery #Combat #WW2
On 12 July 1942, German forces capture Soviet General Andrey Vlasov. During the past months, his isolated 2nd Shock Army has been left for dead in the swamps of the Volkhov. Requests to break out to friendly lines were repeatedly denied by Joseph Stalin, who kept hopes that Leningrad could be relieved.
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When Vlasov finally receives permission to withdraw, his once-mighty shock army has already been reduced to a starving, disillusioned and disorganized mess, unable to defend nor attack. He orders his men to disperse and find their way to friendly lines in small groups on June 24th. Few succeed, and Vlasov himself is finally captured today, hiding in a small hut in the village of Tukhovetchi.
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Born into a peasant family, Vlasov was drafted into the Red Army during the Civil War, where he quickly proved himself as a capable soldier. He quickly rose through the ranks and eventually got to command a division in 1938 before being sent to China as an advisor, avoiding the Great Purge.
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In this war, Vlasov quickly distinguished himself as a competent commander in the battles of Kiev and Moscow, after which he personally met with Stalin and was entrusted with a key position on the Volkhov Front. Although he is allowed to escape the pocket by plane and later has a partisan party looking to save him, he develops a hatred for the Soviet regime, which he feels has betrayed him and his men.
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His captors immediately send him to the headquarters of German army commandant Georg Lindemann, where he gets a courteous reception. He will soon be sent to the high-ranking prisoner camp at Vinnytsia, Ukraine, where he will get in contact with other captured officers and lay the foundations of a collaborationist 'Russian Liberation Army'.
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Thousands of 'Hilfswilliger', or auxiliary volunteers, are already serving in the Wehrmacht in security and support roles, ready to form a unified army against bolshevism. However, it remains to be seen if the Nazi regime will trust Vlasov and his Russian staff to lead their own army.
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Photo: Andrey Vlasov during a speech, 1942-5.
Source: NAC, 2-1982
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#Vlasov #ROA #РОА #AndreyVlasov #Soviet #USSR #SovietUnion #General #RedArmy #Wehrmacht
On 11 July 1942, Adolf Hitler issues Directive No. 43, outlining a German landing in the Caucasus from the Crimea. Back on the 4th, we saw how the Germans and Romanians completed the conquest of Crimea with the capture of Sevastopol, bringing the deadly campaign to an end.
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Since then, the battle-weary survivors of the German 11th Army have been granted leave to enjoy the vast amounts of captured Crimean wine on the beaches of Yalta as fresh recruits trickle in to bring the divisions up to strength. The Romanians are given the dirty job of mopping up partisan resistance cells, while Einsatzgruppe D moves into Sevastopol to eliminate the enemies of national socialism.
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Today, the 11th Army receives new orders from Hitler himself to prepare for a new campaign. In Führer Directive No. 43, Hitler orders preparations to commence for Operation 'Blücher': an amphibious offensive across the Kerch Strait. The 11th Army is to land on the opposite end of the strait using the ships already in the Black Sea and chartered vessels from Romania and Bulgaria. After landing, the units involved are to expand their beachhead and seize the main Soviet naval base of Novorossiysk.
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Hitler also mentions the option of using airborne troops. One of the 11th Army's divisions, the 22nd, was originally an air landing division that took part in the Battle for The Hague back in 1940. In the following campaigns, the division acted as a regular infantry division, but now plans are on the table to convert it back to its original form.
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Another way in which Hitler mentions the use of airborne units is as a commando force to seize and hold the Maykop oil installations on the foothills of the Caucasus. It is to be expected that, when the 11th Army moves east in the next phase of the operation, the Soviets will attempt to sabotage the oil facilities. Hitler, therefore, includes Operation 'Schamil' in which an airborne unit is to prevent that from happening and secure the desperately needed oil for the Reich.
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Photo: German soldiers washing their horses, Crimea, 1942.
Source: Bundesarchiv N 1603 Bild-112
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#Crimea #Caucasus #Soldiers #Leave #Wehrmacht #Soldat #Horse #Beach #Army #FallBlau #Water
On 10 July 1942, the Allied 8th Army seizes the initiative at El Alamein. Two days ago, we saw how General Claude Auchinleck concentrated his forces in the north, hoping to lure Erwin Rommel into his southern flank and away from the upcoming attack. But the question remained, would Rommel take the bait?
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On the 9th, Auchinleck has his answer when the German guns open up on the Bab el Qattara box in the south. As the panzers close in, they find out that the positions have been abandoned. The Allied retreat causes renewed optimism among the Germans, and Rommel prepares to race east first thing on the 10th to 'bring about the fall of the El Alamein line.' The next morning, however, Rommel awakens to the sound of a terrific drumfire in the north. 'I at once had an inkling that it boded no good.'
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Rommel is correct in his assessment. At 0330 hours, two battalions from the Australian 9th Division sneak up on the Italian outposts along the coast and take them by complete surprise. After initial resistance has been overcome, over 100 artillery pieces begin thundering away at the positions of the Italian 'Sabratha' Division in the biggest barrage of the Desert War yet, reminiscent of the Great War’s drumfire, as remarked by veterans on both sides.
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And the similarities don't end there, as the Australian attack is identical to the 'bite and hold' tactics of the previous war, wherein the attackers quickly dig in on the captured enemy positions to fend off counterattacks. The defending Sabratha Division is virtually annihilated in the ferocity of the bombardment and the subsequent fighting, while the army's headquarters right behind the Italians narrowly avoids capture.
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Not so lucky is 'Kompanie 621'. The radio interception group under Captain Alfred Seebohm has been listening in to barely coded Allied radio communications for over a year, providing Rommel with vital intelligence about Allied intentions and troop movement. In today's attack, the entire company is killed or captured, depriving Rommel of this invaluable asset.
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Photo: British artillery firing near El Alamein, 23 July 1942.
Source: IWM, E 14775
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#Artillery #Australia #Anzac #Alamein #AfrikaKorps #Desert
On 9 July 1942, the German summer offensive on the Eastern Front shifts south in 'Fall Blau II'. Back on the 6th, we saw how General Hermann Hoth's 4th Panzer Army raced into Voronezh and took the city before the Soviets could organize a defense. The Soviets did, however, send the newly-created 5th Tank Army into Hoth's northern flank, hoping to a call a halt to his advance.
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Although the Soviets initially have trouble concentrating their forces, the 5th Tank Army finally gets moving by the 8th, pushing the Germans back to the Sukhaia Vereika River. While the odds on the ground are somewhat even with 250 Soviet against 200 German tanks, the skies above are firmly in the Luftwaffe's hands, draining the Soviet strength as they advance under relentless air bombardments.
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While the 5th Tank Army's attack cannot be considered a success, it does succeed in tying down the 4th Panzer Army around Voronezh. The lingering battle frustrates the German high command, who wishes to proceed with the second phase of the Fall Blau offensive, in which Hoth's panzers and Friedrich Paulus' 6th Army are to swing south. The tensions result in an outright clash between the high command and the army commanders, more about which you'll hear in tomorrow's weekly episode on YouTube.
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Today, however, Fall Blau II kicks off at last. Paulus and Hoth are now making their way south as part of the newly created Army Group B, although half of Hoth's panzers remain at Voronezh to deal with the Soviet offensive.
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Meeting them from the south is General Ewald von Kleist's 1st Panzer Army as part of Army Group A. His forces leave their foxholes and trenches today to challenge the already disintegrating Soviet Southwestern Front. Unsurprisingly, Von Kleist slices through the Soviet lines, who are quick to join the massive retreat to the east.
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Photo: A column of German panzers between the Donets and Don Rivers, July 1942.
Source: NAC, 2-749
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#Panzer #Tank #Kleist #Attack #Offensive #Campaign #FallBlau #CaseBlue #EasternFront #Ostfront #Wehrmacht #Army #Military #USSR #SovietUnion #Soviet #RedArmy
On 8 July 1942, General Claude Auchinleck deceives his adversary Erwin Rommel with local withdrawals. Back on the 3rd, we saw how Rommel called off his offensive on the El Alamein positions after suffering heavy losses and ordered his troops to await reinforcements.
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The first to ease his situation are the Italian 'Trento' and 'Sabratha' Divisions. They quickly replace parts of the two battle-weary panzer divisions, who are in desperate need of rest and refitting after the continuous combat of the past weeks. They are down to a mere total of 50 tanks, while the 90th Light Division only has around 1,500 combat-effective troops remaining. The Italian divisions are down to a fraction of their original strength as well, fielding only 200 men in each battalion.
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Meanwhile, the Allies use the lull in the fighting to their advantage. Auchinleck brings up the Australian 9th Division from Syria to join the South African 1st Division in the coastal sector. He is not about to give the Australians any time to acclimate to their new positions, hoping to use their freshness to catch the battle-weary Axis off guard. Auchinleck's plan is one of deception. He wants to lure Rommel into his southern flank to overstretch the Axis frontline before attacking in force along the coast.
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Today, the first part of the plan kicks into motion when 13th Corps abandons much of its positions in the south and digs in on the Alam Nayil ridge in the early morning. Its moves are covered by the Australians, who launch a diversionary raid on the positions of the 15th Panzer Division. A company of 94 men sneaks up on the German outposts at night, destroying guns and vehicles as they advance. Although casualties are light, their raid is noisy enough to attract the full attention of both of the panzer divisions, who suspect that it precedes an all-out offensive.
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Although German eyes are now in the south, it remains to be seen if Rommel will walk into the trap and overstretch his weary divisions.
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Photo: Infantry manning defensive positions at El Alamein, 17 July 1942.
Source: IWM, E 14575
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#Alamein #Rommel #Auchinleck #BritishArmy #Army #Soldier #Trench #Tommy #Panzer #Tank #Tactics #Desert
On 7 July 1942, the merchant ships of convoy PQ 17 are categorically slaughtered by German U-boats and aircraft. The convoy left Iceland for Archangel, northern Russia, back on the 27th, carrying much-needed supplies for the Red Army. A force of cruisers, destroyers, and other small warships provide close cover, while the Home Fleet acts as a distant cover to steam to the convoy's help should the Kriegsmarine move to intercept or break into the Atlantic.
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On July 1st, German aircraft from Norway spot the convoy, and U-boat start shadowing the convoy but make no attempt at piercing the convoy's escort screen. That job lies with the capital ships of the Kriegsmarine anchored in the Norwegian fjords, who wait for the convoy to slip into the Barents Sea and out of the Home Fleet's protection zone.
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When reports reach the Admiralty that the Kriegsmarine has lifted its anchor, it has to make a tough call. Push through with the convoy, and it will be obliterated by the German capital fleet; turn it around to seek safety with the Home Fleet, and the close escorts will run out of fuel; scatter the convoy to deprive the Kriegsmarine of a concentrated target, and it will be vulnerable to U-boat and air attacks.
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The Admiralty eventually decides on the last alternative: scatter. However, unbeknownst to them, the overcautious German capital ships quickly abandon their plan when they realize that their sortie has alerted the British. So while the threat posed by the surface fleet to the convoy has now passed, the isolated merchants are now extremely vulnerable to U-boat and aerial attacks without their escorts. It turns out to be a disastrous decision.
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Over the next long and bright Arctic days, the merchant ships are picked off one by one, until by today, the few survivors out of an original number of 35 gather off Novaya Zemlya to make the final dash together. Again, U-boats are waiting for them, and the losses continue to mount. Tune in to our YouTube channel this Saturday to see how their perilous voyage ends.
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Photo: A German U-boat in the Arctic, July 1942.
Source: IWM, HU 40267
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#Convoy #PQ17 #Uboat #Uboot #DasBoot #Kriegsmarine #RoyalNavy #Navy #Naval #Fleet
