GERMANS RUSH TROOPS WEST TO MEET FRENCH (9/8/39)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 9/8/39 | Otto D. Tolischus, G.H. Archambault, Ferdinand Kuhn Jr.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime”.)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

A key to the map symbols is on my profile.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

08/09/1939: Polish defenders of the Westerplatte at Danzig surrender after a week of continuous bombardment. The Polish government leaves Warsaw for Lublin, while its forces surrounded at Radom face a hopeless situation.

http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/war-in-europe/eastern-europe/eastern-europe-index-1939.htm

At Bedzin, 200 Jews are burned alive in a synagogue by the Germans who charge Poles with the crime, and then execute 30 of them in a public square.

http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/the-holocaust/the-holocaust-index-1939.htm

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Chopin’s Polonaise in A, Op.40 No.1, ' Military '

[Homer_J_Simpson]

The Developments in Europe – 2
Nazis Press Poles – 2-5
Poles Declared to Have 45 Divisions Still Intact – 4
Polish War Plans Seized With General, Nazis Say – 4
‘Suicide’ Troops Surrender Westerplatte To Germans After Heroic Six-Day Siege – 6
Saar is Attacked – 7-9
War May Strand 157 of Pax Romana Here – 9
Reich Submarines Raid Allies’ Ships – 10-11
Incidents on European Conflict – 12
Raid on Nazi Fleet Called Big Victory – 12-13

[abb]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1939/sep39/08sep39.htm

Germans advance reaches Warsaw
Friday, September 8, 1939

In Poland... The German 4th Panzer Division, spearheading the German 10th Army (Reichenau) reaches the Warsaw suburb of Ochota, in the southeast, late in the day (having advanced 225 km in 7 days). The Polish garrison commander in Warsaw, General Czuma, broadcasts a defiant Order of the Day: “We shall fight to the last ditch!” Some 100,000 Polish civilians in Warsaw are engaged in digging trenches on the city outskirts. Meanwhile, other elements of the German 10th Army are heavily engaged around Radom, only 60 miles south of Warsaw; about 60,000 Polish troops are encircled to the west of Radom. The German 14th Army (List) reaches the San River north and south of Przemysl. In the north, the German 19th Panzer Corps (Guderian) is attacking along the line of the Bug River to the east of Warsaw.

On the Western Front... A group of 5 Curtiss Hawk fighters of l’Armee de l’Air (French air force) engage 5 Me109 fighters and claim to shoot down 2 of the German planes.

In London... In response to what the British government declares to be German resort to unrestricted submarine warfare, the government announces a long-range blockade of Germany, broadening the original blockade announced on September 3rd. Also, the government revives the convoy system for merchant ships. Three protected routes are established, two from Liverpool and from the Thames to the Atlantic, one from the Thames and the Firth of Forth.

In Washington... Roosevelt proclaims a state of “limited national emergency,” citing the war in Europe which “imposes on the United States certain duties with respect to the proper observance, safeguarding and enforcement” of its neutral status “and the strengthening of the national defense within the limits of peacetime authorizations.” All US military forces are authorized to increase enlisted manpower strength and to recall reservists to active duty.

[abb]

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=exorder8248&scale=0#exorder8248

September 8, 1939: President Roosevelt Reorganizes Executive Office of the President, Office of Emergency Management Created
Edit event

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8248, reorganizing the Executive Office of the President. According to the order, “There shall be within the Executive Office of the President the following principal divisions, namely: (1) The White House Office, (2) the Bureau of the Budget, (3) the National Resources Planning Board, (4) the Liaison Office for Personnel Management, (5) the Office of Government Reports, and (6) in the event of a national emergency, or threat of a national emergency, such office for emergency management as the President shall determine.” The order creates the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), a civil defense unit responsible for protecting government functions in the event of a disaster. The President’s Secretary declares that in times of national emergency, “it has always been necessary to establish administrative machinery in addition to that required for normal work of the government.… Although these management facilities need be brought into action only when an emergency or serious threat of emergency exists, they must function in an integral relationship to the regular management arms of the President.” [Executive Order 8248, 9/8/1939; New York Times, 9/10/1939; New York Times, 3/28/1941; New York Times, 4/20/1941]

Entity Tags: Office of Emergency Management, Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Timeline Tags: Civil Liberties

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15808

Franklin D. Roosevelt
127 - Executive Order 8248 Reorganizing the Executive Office of the President.
September 8, 1939

[mainepatsfan]

Ah the great Saar offensive. Poland is saved! /s

[GeronL]

salt water pool?

[GeronL]

The French invade Germany.

Charge of the Loafer Brigade.

French armies take stroll and picnic in Germany as the Westerplatte heroes finally fall ...

[GeronL]

The polish claim to 45 ‘intact’ divisions was utter nonsense right?

[abb]

It would seem so.

[CodeToad]

Newspaper articles, when reporters knew how to report.

During Bosnia, Iraq, etc., all we ever hear are reports quoting official government press releases and narcissistic accounts of what they saw. Few actually know what is going on and can describe it as the article above do.

[Perdogg]

1 in 6 Poles died as a result of World War II.

[abb]

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/11.html
At 12.15 hours on 8 Sep, 1939, the unescorted Regent Tiger (Master William Roberts) was stopped by U-29 with four shots across her bow about 250 miles west-southwest of Cape Clear. 30 minutes later, she was hit in the forepart by one torpedo after the crew had abanoned the ship and caught fire. The tanker remained afloat but foundered in 49°48N/14°33W on 10 September. The master, 40 crew members and three passengers were picked up after a few hours by the Jean Jadot, which had heard the distress call of the tanker and landed them at Ramsgate on 11 September.

On 12 September, the U-boat came across an abandoned lifeboat of the Regent Tiger and took provisions and other valuable things on board.

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/10.html
On 8 Sep, 1939, the unescorted Kennebec was stopped by U-34 with two shots across her bow about 70 miles west by south of the Scilly Isles. After the crew abandoned ship in lifeboats, the tanker was hit by a coup de grâce at 18.13 hours and broke in two. The next day, parts of the wreck were sunk by gunfire by the HMS Verity (D 63) (LtCdr A.R.M. Black). The 22 crew members were picked up by the Breedijk and landed at Milford Haven on 10 September.

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/9.html
At 08.36 hours on 8 Sep, 1939, the unescorted Winkleigh (Master Thomas Georgeson) was hit by one torpedo from U-48 and sank southwest of Ireland. At 06.32 hours, the ship had been stopped by a shot across the bow and the crew was ordered to abandon ship after the master came aboard with the papers. The master and 36 crew members were picked up by the Dutch liner Statendam and landed at New York.

[tcrlaf]

“The polish claim to 45 ‘intact’ divisions was utter nonsense right?”

“Intact” as in pieces on a chess board? Probably..
As an effective fighting force? NO...

The Poles do still have several Divisions under effective control, but nowhere near 45...

The real problem for the Poles is Communications and coordination of support. German Armour is bypassing Polish strong points and cutting them into smaller and smaller groups.

For example, The Narew Group is withdrawing in the direction of Brzesc to avoid being outflanked. They are being pressed by “Group Falkenhorst” spearheaded by the 10th Armoured Division.

Guderian will jump off tonight moving past them with 20th Motorized, along the Rivier line to cut off Warsaw from the east.

[tcrlaf]

The Polish Naval Air Arm ceases to exist today:

Before the breakout of war in September 1939, the Polish Naval Air Wing was consisted of 20 obsolete planes. On 1 September 1939 20 Heinkel He-111 bombers from 1st Bombers Wing destroyed the airfield and hangars in Puck, but none of the floatplanes were hit. The commander of the MDLot. cdr pil Szystowski was killed by a bomb. The remaining personnel were evacuated to Hel and the aircraft were dispersed along the coast.

On the night of 2/3 September 1939 two Heinkel He-59s destroyed almost all of the Polish floatplanes, and later on the morning of 3 September 1939 the rest destroyed by German follow-up strikes. Only one Lublin R-XIII G/hydro survived and the CANT Z-506B flew away. The Cant was later destroyed by Heinkel He-111 bomber on 11 September 1939 near Lublin.

On 6 September 1939 the only Lublin R-XIII G/hydro (nr 714) left, made one reconnaissance flight over the Gdansk Bay. The next day during the night this aircraft flew and bombed German positions in Gdansk, with six 12.5 kg bombs, presumably killing several German soldiers. After this aircraft landed safely near Hel, it was later destroyed on 8 September 1939 by German bombers.

The only aircraft that survived the September campaign were auxiliary ones: a RWD-17W and Nikol A-2, were captured by Germans and used in their inventory afterwards. All the wrecks of the Lublin XIII/VIIIs were set on fire by Poles and sunk in the deep waters of the Gdansk Bay on 8 September 1939.

[dfwgator]

1 in 6 Poles died as a result of World War II.

And as we will learn in about nine days, they weren't all at the hands of the Nazis.

[tcrlaf]

THE WAR AT SEA: Friday, 8 September Northern Patrol - because Adm Horton, Vice Admiral Northern Patrol could not coordinate the activities of his cruisers from a flagship at sea, he left light cruiser EFFINGHAM and transferred his flag ashore at Kirkwall to new headquarters named HMS PYRAMUS. Rear Adm W F Wake-Walker OBE hoisted his flag in EFFINGHAM, as Rear Admiral 12th Cruiser Squadron. Home Fleet - battlecruisers HOOD, RENOWN, light cruisers BELFAST, EDINBURGH, and destroyers FAME, FEARLESS, FORESTER departed Scapa Flow for patrol between Iceland and the Faroes to reinforce the blockade. Destroyer FURY which had departed Scapa Flow on the 7th with the NELSON force joined the HOOD at sea on the 8th. This force returned to on the 12th, and as with the NELSON ships, found that poor visibility led to a hlack of sightings. The light cruisers were detached for patrol duties, refuelled at Sullom Voe on the 15th and did not arrive back at Scapa Flow until the 20th. Humber Force - light cruisers GLASGOW, SOUTHAMPTON and destroyers JAVELIN, JERSEY, JERVIS, JUPITER left Rosyth to search for German shipping departing Rotterdam for Hamburg in operation GH, which was conducted during the night of the 8th/9th. No contact was made and the Humber Force arrived in the Humber on the 9th. British east coast – convoy FS.2 departed Methil for Southend and arrived on the 10th. Destroyer MATABELE was docked at Chatham from the 8th to 10th to replace two propellers damaged by grounding at Scapa Flow on the 5th. She left on the 11th to return to Scapa. Danish waters - Finnish sailing vessel OLIVE BANK (2795grt) sank on a mine in the North Sea in 55‑53N, 05‑07E, 105 miles SW of Bouvbjerg, Denmark. Fourteen crewmen were lost, with the survivors picked up by a Danish fishing boat and taken to Esbjerg. German waters - U.3, U.14, U.17, U.36 arrived at Wilhelmshaven and U.5, U.7, U.15, U.16, U.18, U.56 at Kiel. U.16 then proceeded to Kiel. Baltic - German steamers HELFRID BISSMARK (727grt) sank in the Sound between Sjaelland and Sweden and HELGA SCHRODER (656grt) in the Baltic, both the victim of mines. Dutch waters - Dutch minesweeper WILLEM VAN EWIJK was lost off Terschelling and minelayer WILLEM VAN DER ZAAN damaged off Den Helder when they struck Dutch mines. Dover Straits - destroyers BLANCHE and BRILLIANT attacked a submarine contact five miles NNE of North Goodwin. English Channel - a flying boat made two attacks on submarine contacts, one in Mounts Bay and one south of the Lizard. Two destroyers departed Plymouth to investigate. Destroyer SHIKARI departed Portsmouth and arrived at Devonport the same day to begin rearming. U.26 laid a minefield off Portland on which three steamers were sunk. Southwestern Approaches - destroyers JACKAL, JANUS, JUNO, 14th Division, 7th Flotilla arrived at Devonport for escort duties in the Western Approaches. Destroyer ECHO, also 14th Division arrived next day from Chatham. Escorting continued until 8 October when JACKAL and JANUS arrived back at Grimsby. JUNO, delayed by defects, docked at Devonport from 30 September to 14 October and did not arrive back in the command until 17 October when she reached Rosyth. ECHO, having been relieved by new destroyer JAGUAR in the 7th Flotilla, was transferred to the 12th Flotilla and remained in the Western Approaches. U.34 severely damaged British tanker KENNEBEC (5548grt) 70 miles W by S of the Bishops in 49‑18N, 08‑13W. She was scuttled by destroyer WOLVERINE when found to be beyond salvage and her crew rescued by Dutch steamer BREEDYK (6861grt). steamer CADILLAC (1262grt) was attacked by U.52, 180 miles SW of Cape Clear but not damaged. U.29 torpedoed British tanker REGENT TIGER (10,177grt) 250 miles WSW of Cape Clear in 49‑57N, 15‑34W but she did not sink until the 10th in 49-48N, 14-33W. The survivors were rescued by Belgian steamer JEAN JADOT (5859grt). British trawler STAUNTON (283grt) 75 miles west of Ushant took to their boats when approached by a U-boat, but it did not attack. American steamer AMERICAN FARMER (7430grt) assisted the crew. U.48 sank steamer WINKLEIGH (5055grt) 500 miles west of Ushant in 48‑06N, 18‑12W. Her survivors were rescued by Dutch liner STATENDAM (28,291grt). Gibraltar - light cruiser GALATEA arrived at Gibraltar. Mediterranean - the Mediterranean Fleet instituted contraband control patrols in the Aegean, the approaches to the Adriatic, and south of the Messina Strait. Central Atlantic - French large destroyers LE CHEVALIER PAUL, TARTU, VAUQUELIN of the 5th Large Destroyer Division departed Casablanca for Dakar for escort duties. On the 13th, convoy Number 39 with steamers AURIGNY, KERQUELEN, KILISSI left Dakar, escorted by the destroyers and arrived at Casablanca on the 18th. VAUQUELIN, TARTU and CHEVALIER PAUL departed Casablanca on the 20th, 24th and 25th respectively, escorting different convoys to Marseilles. South Africa - German steamer HAGEN (5988grt) was seized at Durban by South African authorities, and renamed EMPIRE SUCCESS in British service. Indian Ocean - heavy cruiser CORNWALL arrived at Penang. Australian waters - Australian destroyers VAMPIRE and VOYAGER sailed from Port Philip to reinforce light cruiser SYDNEYSYDNEY at Fremantle on the west coast of Australia. http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-3909-06SEP01.htm

[tcrlaf]

Grrrr..
Wouldn’t format!!