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NAVAL EVENTS-Friday, 15 September

Western Atlantic - Canadian destroyers FRASER and ST LAURENT arrived at Halifax for escort duties.

Kingston, Jamaica-UK (KJF) convoys - the first of the series, KJF.1, sailed with light cruiser ORION as escort from the 15th to 17th.

The series only continued until 8 October 1939 with three more KJF’s leaving Kingston, all unescorted - KJF.2 departing 22nd and arriving 6 October, KJF.3 departing 29th and arriving 14 October, and KJF.4 departing 8 October and arriving 22nd.

Northern Patrol - light cruiser DUNEDIN departed Scapa Flow for Northern Patrol duties and arrived back on the 18th.

British northern waters - battleship NELSON departed Loch Ewe on the evening of the 15th, escorted by destroyers SOMALI, MASHONA, MATABELE and arrived at Scapa Flow next morning.

Destroyer FURY, which had departed Scapa Flow on the 14th escorting battleship RODNEY, joined aircraft carrier ARK ROYAL at sea on anti-submarine patrol.

Heavy cruiser NORFOLK departed Scapa Flow.

Anti-aircraft cruiser CALCUTTA departed Scapa Flow and arrived back on the 16th.

British east coast/North Sea – U.36 sank steamer TRURO (974grt) 130 miles ENE of Rattray Head. Survivors were picked up by a Belgian trawler.

British aircraft bombed a submarine contact 60 miles east of Aberdeen. Destroyer SABRE was already hunting in the area and was joined by destroyer FORESIGHT, which had departed Scapa Flow on the 16th.

Destroyer BROKE attacked a submarine contact off Flamborough Head.

Light cruiser NEWCASTLE relieved light cruiser SHEFFIELD for duties with the Humber Force, although SHEFFIELD continued in the 18th Cruiser Squadron for another week.

Destroyers JERVIS, JAVELIN, JERSEY, JUPITER departed the Humber to search for a reported damaged German submarine in the North Sea. There was no contact, and the ships were badly battered by heavy weather. JUPITER and JAVELIN also attacked a submarine contact three miles NE of Flamborough. British trawler SILURIA (207grt) passing between them during their hunt, rode over a submerged object which she reported as a suspected submarine. On return, JERVIS boiler cleaned and repaired at Rosyth from the 17th to 22nd and JERSEY docked at Chatham from the 18th to 20th.

Destroyer VALOROUS attacked a submarine contact 10 miles east of Lowestoft.

Convoy FN.5 departed Southend and arrived at Methil on the 16th.

English Channel - destroyer WREN made two attacks on a submarine contact off Cherbourg.

Belgian liner ALEX VAN OPSTAL (5965grt) sank on a mine laid by U.26 on the 8th off Shambles Light 1/2 mile east of Weymouth and Greek steamer ATLANTICOS (5446grt) rescued her survivors. As ALEX VAN OPSTAL went down, she put number three submarine detection loop out of action.

UK-France convoys - BC.2 departed Barry, escorted by destroyers WOLVERINE and WAKEFUL, and arrived at Quiberon Bay on the 16th. The convoy was also escorted by French large destroyers MOGADOR and VOLTA from 0600 to 2000 on the 16th.

DB.2 departed Southampton with one personnel ship for Brest, escorted by destroyers WREN and VENOMOUS and arrived on the 16th. The following DB.3 was cancelled.

UK-out convoys - OA.5 of two ships, and OA.5A of twelve, departed Southend. Destroyers JANUS, JACKAL and Polish GROM departed Devonport to escort them from the 15th to 18th, when the convoy dispersed. JANUS arrived back at Devonport on the 18th and JACKAL on the 20th.

OB.5 departed Liverpool escorted by destroyers VERSATILE and VIMY until the 18th and joined by destroyer VIVACIOUS

Southwestern approaches - steamer ROTHESAY CASTLE (7016grt) was attacked by U.26, 120 miles SW of Fastnet, but not damaged

U.53 seriously damaged British tanker CHEYENNE (8825grt) 150 miles WSW of Fastnet. The crew was picked up by Norwegian steamer IDA BAKKE (5455grt) which was directed to the tanker by U.53. As U.53 was scuttling CHEYENNE with gunfire, destroyer MACKAY, 11th Flotilla arrived and drove her off. Finding CHEYENNE beyond salvage, MACKAY finished off the tanker with gunfire.

Central and South Atlantic – light cruiser COLOMBO (right - NavyPhotos) departed Gibraltar for Casablanca and arrived back on the 17th.

Heavy cruiser CUMBERLAND arrived at Rio de Janiero with destroyers HAVOCK and HOTSPUR. After refuelling and reprovisioning, the destroyers departed that night and CUMBERLAND next day. CUMBERLAND was ordered to commence escort duties with HAVOCK from Rio de Janiero, while heavy cruiser EXETER with HOTSPUR was to escort outbound shipping from Montevideo.

Chinese waters - sloop SANDWICH departing Tienstin under tow because of low water, ran aground at Taku. She was towed off by five tugs, but a towing line fouled a propeller. With tug ST BREOCK in attendance, SANDWICH left the area.

Just found a REAL GEM!
The F.d.U./B.d.U.’S War Log !!

German Naval War Log Entries For 15 September, 1939

U 31 reported in radio message 0700: “Convoy in square 1253, main course 2400, speed 10 knots.” That is off the Bristol Channel. This is the first clear report of a convoy. The boats in the neighboring areas U 34, 29, 53, should now operate against the convoy - they may have luck. I have dinned it into the C.O.s again and again that they must not let such chances go by. It is not possible to do anything from this end.

In any case the boats must now be nearly at the end of their fuel. If only there were more boats at sea now! Nevertheless I still think it was right to recall the boats - without then there would be a complete lack of U-boats by the beginning of October, and by then there should be more traffic.

So U 31 got through the Channel and had different experiences than U 35. This shows that it is possible to pass through the Channel, even if not in all circumstances as is shown in the case of U 35. I do not intend to use the Channel as the normal route.

In the course of the day U 46, 47 put into Kiel, U 37 into Wilhelmshaven.

U-47 Reports that she has sunk:

S.S. Bosnia 2407 BRT 3200 tons Sulphur
Rio Claro 4086 BRT 4777 tons mixed cargo
Gartavon 1777 BRT 2900 tons ore

The boat was in her operations area for 4 days (3 - 7.9) after the outbreak of war. A very nice beginning. U 37 and 46 no success - bad luck. Further details will have to be gathered from the C.O.’s reports. The disposition of the next series of boats is under constant consideration; they must destroy a convoy.

The Belgian S.S. Alex von Opstal is said to have been torpedoed by a U-boat near the Shambles. Her position is within the area fouled by U 26. Numerous radio intelligence reports received point to an increase in convoy traffic. Since 13.9 no more steamer rendezvous have been published in the Bristol Channel. This also points to the convoy system being perfected.

Towards evening U 45 entered Kiel. No success, as her position seems to have been outside the areas frequented by shipping.

(signed): Dönitz
Captain
B.d.U

VERY interesting first-hand account of the 35th Panzer Regiment’s (4th Panzer) dash in to the suburbs of Warsaw, on around 14-15 September.

It’s a passage from the book “Panzer packen Polen”, translated by Colonel E. M. G. Montfort, in Revue Militaire Suisse, January 1941.

“Attack ! We, the men of the armored divisions, knows what that means. It is the purpose of our existence. Several times already we have attacked successfully over open ground. “But today there is something new. We are before a city of 1,300,000 inhabitants into which a penetration must be attempted. “Air reconnaissance has disclosed that strong barricades have been erected to bar our entrance into the city.

Also we are naturally expecting the necessity of having to fight from street to street. “Our Panzer troops spend the night before the attack under the Walls of the city, in well-protected bivouac, with firing positions organized on all sides. The guard, is relieved frequently, for we do not want to be surprised. From time to time we send a greeting to the city in the form of a shell which bursts afar.

“Five o’clock ! A disagreeable night has finally passed. The company commander returns from the group commander’s headquarters, where orders have been distributed. He calls the section leaders together to acquaint them briefly with the situation, and to give them orders for the attack.

“1‘ am ( Sergeant-major Ziegler) chief of the company command group, and I make up a combat crew, in my tank, with the driver and the radio telegrapher. My mission, with two other tanks, is to protect the company commander and, if necessary, establish liaison with the sections, or reconnoiter.

“Six o’clock ! Moving into place near the line of departure. A faint feeling of apprehension: no unnecessary words are exchanged; only a few brief orders to the driver and the telegrapher interrupt the silence. 1 look out from the interior of the turret, Behind me my good motor throbs and high in the air a few shells whistle. The plan of combat for the company and the order of attack arrive by radio. Our’ nick.name is ‘Buzzard’; and the last words of the order are:
Buzzard’ to the combat. March!’

“The tanks roll along. In front of me the company commander. We cross a high barricade to the left. Our sections are visible in the gardens in front of the houses to the left and right. Rifle and machine.gun fire burst forth:
but that hardly disturbs us, accustomed as me are to the sharp sound of bullets which ricochet off the turret We search carefully for the spots from which this firing comes, and we respond to it, suddenly the section leader of the first echelon reports:
Two tanks disabled!, Immediately the company commander orders the following section to push forward. This one in its turn is stopped shortly afterward. why? I do not know, I shall learn much later that It passed over mines.

.’Everything vibrates in me; apprehension has disappeared, and the good Stimmung’of attack is created. I ask the company commander for permission to take command of the rest of the sections of the first echelon, because the tank of the Second Section leader, which also hit a mine, has over turned.

“Authorization to push forward is granted to me, and I roll forward, Ordering the other tanks to follow me rapidly, Trees, little houses, and barricades are crushed, and the first street has been crossed. As we draw near we see everywhere sharpshooters, trenches and breastworks; but they have been immediately abandoned by the Poles, so great is their fear of our tanks. Perhaps they didn’t expect to see us arrive from across a mine field. During all this time the fusillade which is mining down on us from the houses has not ceased. I have my eye at the observation slit and, aided by the driver, I seek the proper road to follow.

“We begin to feel the heat in the tank. Sweat rolls down our faces, and we breath in lungs-full of powder smoke from cannon and machine-gun fire. That hardly bothers us; our nerves are, too taut. Unfailingly the radiotelegrapher maintains liaison with the company commander who is following. The advance continues steadily between houses and across courts into other gardens. Here too, they shoot at us from all sides. A short halt is made to orient ourselves and to permit liaison with the tanks which are following.

“Two hundred meters in front of me appears the angle of a wooden barricade which could be used for cover. I shout to the driver: ‘Hannes, full speed ahead!’ and point out the direction to him. The motor gives its maximum; I keep up a steady fire during the rush; the barrier is reached.

A glance through the rear observation slit shows me, thirty yards behind, the company commander. The other tanks are not following. ‘They will come,’ I think; and I order my Driver to press on.

“Another 200 yards and we find a street which leads to the center of the city. We want to take it because I envision the swift effect the mass of tanks would produce by attaining this objective. ‘Hit in the openingr cries my driver. An antitank shell has shattered the observation slit of the driver and broken the protective glass. The driver can no longer see I call to him to change the glass, while I feverishly turn the turret and open fire on a wooden shed from which the shell must have come.

.We reach the street. I look quickly behind. Now it is the company commander who is no longer there. In 300 yards three tanks have stopped! Why don’t they come? The radio telegrapher continues uninterruptedly to give the order to advance. Dripping with sweat, seated down below in his corner, he telegraphs and hands me up drums of ammunition.

“My machine-gun Jams, I withdraw the lock; the socket is broken. Quickly I change the gun. I glance through the observation slit and see a civilian running toward us. A sudden movement of his arm—a grenade flies over and bursts on us without doing any damage He doesn’t have time to throw a second one because my gun cuts him to bits.

“Two hundred yards further along, on a railway embankment, about fifty Poles scatter, running. My machine gun fires again. A hail of bullets” mows down the enemy. “During this time my radio telegrapher has been ceaselessly calling the tanks which remained behind. Suddenly tuned on the group frequency, he receives the following order: ‘Take command of the company and push forward!’.

What has happened to the company commander? Has he advanced too far without protection?.

“Two light tanks and one medium tank rejoin me. The order is given them to advance with me, and to push along this street toward the center of the city. At my right is the medium tank; behind me the two light tanks. While spraying suspicious points with lead, I suddenly see, halfway to my left in a garden, a burst of flame and I hear the explosion of a shell. The munition depot of a75-mm gun, which was in position ready to fire on us, has been accidentally hit. The entire gun crew has disappeared.

“And now, directly in front of us, an antitank obstacle looms up. There is no way to avoid it; we must cross it. Carefully, the tank on my right aproaches it and crosses. I concentrate my fire on the obstacle. All hell breaks loose!

In front of us several shells burst in quick succession. The 75-mm gun must now be in position somewhere else. I look for it and fire as hard as I can. While changing a magazine I glance around me. The two light tanks are in flames. Is there another gun behind us? May be it’s an enemy tank or an antitank gun! I haven’t time to think very long. An order is given to the tank beside me to return along the road by which we came; and I fire again at the gun in front of me.

“Before turning, the medium tank received a 37.mm shell in its motor, but the shell did not burst. I grit my teeth and press my head against the gunsight, contracted by my search for the enemy. Incredible luck ! One of the tanks in flames gives forth a smoke which protects me in the rear, while the fire of the enemy in front of me continues to fall short. A shell whistles under the tank, tears out part of the motor chassis, and by its explosion lifts us a trifle off our springs.

“My accompanying tank has disappeared, Now is the difficult moment for us. ‘Turn around and go back !’ The driver turns the tank sharply, and plunges down the street passing burning tanks through clouds of smoke, Another 50 yards to cover before we reach the garden. I shoot continuously, raking the street with fire, From one moment to the next I expect to receive the fatal hit, It does not come.

“We reach the gardens and roll onto the principal street. Back of us we hear only a few gun shots and several bursts of machine-gun fire.

“From behind a bush a comrade, driver of one of the flaming tanks, rises suddenly. I open the turret cover, calls to him, and quickly he jumps to safety in to the tank onto the knees of the radio telegrapher.

“A burning doorway bars our path. My driver stops just in front of it; aims directly for it; and at one rush the door flies to pieces. Finally we reach the main road. Several tanks of our group are already assembled here. From the town comes a steady artillery fire which has put several tanks of our regiment out of action by direct hits.

“My turret no longer turns, Perhaps it is owing to the shock of hitting the doorway, or the result of the quantity of bricks which fell on us during the trip between the houses. Upon lifting the turret cover to see better, I observe nearby my company commander leaning against the corner of the house. Impassively, he is defending himself, pistol in hand, against enemy riflemen who are occupying the windows. He, too, jumps into my tank, and we are even more crowded than before, The turret damaged, five men in the tank—
battle is hardly an easy matter for us!.

“During the return trip, the company commander told me that his tank was put out of action and his radio telegrapher wounded. He sent the wounded man to the rear, accompanied by the driver, while he remained forward and continued to tight with his pistol,.

“Finally we reach our original line of departure, Some comrades are already there. Their tanks were destroyed by guns or mines, and they returned on foot, They inform me that one of my men is dead, burned in one of the tanks which took fire behind me. His wounded driver was picked up.

“Several tanks of the group come up from behind in perfect order.

“The attack lasted five hours. It failed on account of the city’s powerful defense. ”

September 15, 1939-The Battle of Jaworow, Near Lvov

The SS SS-Standarte Germania Regiment had been ordered to advance in to the villages of Przelbice, Muzylowice, and Czarnokonce. The SS had been ordered to close the roads leading east and prevent Polish troops from reaching Lvov.

The Headquarters Detachment and one battalion of SS Germania stopped in Muzylowice for the night, as well as parts of several support units from other regiments. The Krad(Motorcycle) Company was posted to another village, approx. 2 mile futher down the road.

Late in the night, the Polish 49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment and the 98th Infantry Regiment of the 38th Reserve Division, and units of the 11th Carpathian Division, advanced on the Germans, with unloaded weapons, bayonets, and in complete silence. They overtook and completely destroyed the Krad Company, without alerting the SS Germania pickets in Muzylowice.

The Poles then advanced to within earshot of the town, and with orders not to load their weapons until after combat had begun for complete silence, charged in to the sleeping Germans.

It was complete chaos, and the SS were taken completely by surprise.

FROM WIKI:
After 30-minutes of fierce hand-to-hand combat, which started at 9 pm, the Germans suffered heavy casualties, with at least 205 KIA and WIA. The commander of the III battalion SS-Obersturmbannführer Willy Koeppen and the regiment’s aide-de-camp SS-Obersturmführer Schomburg were among those killed by bayonets.

The regiment’s HQ fled to Jaworow and German soldiers scattered in panic across the area. Several prisoners were taken and the SS lost almost all of its heavy equipment, including 16 75mm artillery pieces, 8 105mm artillery pieces, 15 AT guns, the majority of mortars, plus all vehicles (20 armored vehicles and transporters, 70 motorcycles, 50 trucks and cars).

The Poles lost 32 men, mostly by friendly mortar fire.

SS Germania was basicly knocked out of the campaign by these losses, but strategicly, the battle made no difference at all for the outcome, as the Poles weren’t organized enough to take any advanyage of it.

The Reich Foreign Minister to the German Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Schulenburg)

VERY URGENT
BERLIN, September 15, 1939-8:20 p. m.
Received MOSCOW, September 16, 1939-7:15 a. m.
STRICTLY SECRET

No. 360 of September 15

For the Ambassador personally.

I request that you communicate the following to Herr Molotov at once:

1) The destruction of the Polish Army is rapidly approaching its conclusion, as appears from the review of the military situation of September 14 which has already been communicated to you. We count on the occupation of Warsaw in the next few days.

2) We have already stated to the Soviet Government that we consider ourselves bound by the definition of spheres of influence agreed upon in Moscow, entirely apart from purely military operations, and the same applies of course to the future as well.

3) From the communication made to you by Molotov on September 14, we assume that the Soviet Government will take a hand militarily, and that it intends to begin its operation now. We welcome this. The Soviet Government thus relieves us of the necessity of annihilating the remainder of the Polish Army by pursuing it as far as the Russian boundary. Also the question is disposed of in case a Russian intervention did not take place, of whether in the area lying to the east of the German zone of influence a political vacuum might not occur. Since we on our part have no intention of undertaking any political or administrative activities in these areas, apart from what is made necessary by military operations, without such an intervention on the part of the Soviet Government there might be the possibility of the construction of new states there.

4) For the political support of the advance of the Soviet Army we propose the publication of a joint communiquÃ© of the following content:

“In view of the complete collapse of the previous form of government in Poland, the Reich Government and the Government of the U.S.S.R. consider it necessary to bring to an end the intolerable political and economic conditions existing in these territories. They regard it as their joint duty to restore peace and order in these areas which are naturally of interest to them and to bring about a new order by the creation of natural frontiers and viable economic organizations.”

5) We assume in proposing such a communique that the Soviet Government has already given up the idea, expressed by Molotov in an earlier conversation with you, of taking the threat to the Ukrainian and White Russian populations by Germany as a ground for Soviet action. The assignment of a motive of that sort would be out of the question in practice. It would be directly contrary to the true German intentions, which are confined exclusively to the realization of well-known German spheres of interest. It would also be in contradiction to the arrangements made in Moscow and, finally, would-in opposition to the desire for friendly relations expressed on both sides expose the two States before the whole world as enemies.

6) Since the military operations must be concluded as soon as possible because of the advanced season of the year, we would be gratified if the Soviet Government would set a day and hour on which their army would begin their advance, so that we on our part might govern ourselves accordingly. For the purpose of the necessary coordination of military operations on either side, it is also necessary that a representative of each Government, as well as German and Russian officers on the spot in the area of operations, should have a meeting in order to take the necessary steps, for which meeting we propose to assemble at Bialystok by air.

I request an immediate reply by telegraph. The change in text agreed upon by Gaus with Hilger has already been taken care of.

RIBBENTROP