Posted on 12/17/2012 5:13:54 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Winston S. Churchill, The Hinge of Fate
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/dec42/f17dec42.htm
Frozen Volga eases Soviet supplies problems
Thursday, December 17, 1942 www.onwar.com
On the Eastern Front... The Volga freezes enabling the Soviets to easily send supplies to the 62nd Army at Stalingrad. German General Hoth’s attacks toward the city still making progress. His leading tank units have now reached the Aksai River.
In North Africa... Rommel leaves a rearguard to cove his main forces while they consolidate at Buerat.
In Tunisia... Heavy US air attacks continue on Tunis and Gabes and other German air bases
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
December 17th, 1942
UNITED KINGDOM: London: In the House of Commons today Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, read a lengthy declaration by the Allied governments condemning the Nazis’ systematic extermination of the Europe’s Jews and giving warning that those responsible for the atrocities will face retribution after the war. The declaration is being broadcast simultaneously from London, Washington and Moscow, personally approved by Roosevelt and Churchill. It is carried on the BBC and other Allied radio stations.
The declaration speaks of “the appalling horror and brutality” of the Nazis’ actions. Poland , it says, “has been made the principal Nazi slaughterhouse”, where “the able bodied are slowly worked to death, the infirm are left to die of exposure and starvation or are deliberately massacred”. Sidney Silverman, the Jewish Labour MP for Nelson and Colne, asked whether the Allied governments would consider what measures of immediate relief could be given to Europe’s Jews. “We shall do what we can,” Eden said, “though I fear that what we can do may inevitably be slight.”
In the House of Lords, where Viscount Samuel, speaking as a Jew, expressed the gratitude of British Jews for the action they were taking. He hoped that something could be done, to save at least the children. Other speakers suggested that neutral nations should be offered Allied help for the maintenance of Jews to whom they gave sanctuary.” It also described “the systematic mass murder of millions of Jews”, which it called “this bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination”. (Sidney Allinson)
Escort carrier HMS Rajah laid down. (Dave Shirlaw)
GERMANY:
U-774 laid down.
U-237, U-363, U-961, U-962 launched.
U-953 commissioned
. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.S.R.: The logistics for the Soviet supply forces in the Stalingrad battle becomes much easier as the Volga freezes. The German relieve column continues to advance.
Black Sea Fleet and Azov Flotilla: Submarine “M-31” - by surface ASW ships and Uj80, at Jerbiyanskaya Harbor, close to Sulina. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: The British submarine HMS SPLENDID sinks the Italian destroyer AVIERE off Bizerta.
NORTH AFRICA: Rommel leaves a rearguard to cover his retreat to Buerat. Tunis and Gabes in Tunisia are targets of US air strikes.
ALGERIA: Algiers: Admiral Darlan orders French ships in North African ports to join the Allies, saying: “French Africa ... must make the maximum military effort for the defeat of Germany and Italy.”
BURMA: The 14th Indian Division occupies Buthidaung.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Guadalcanal: The 1st and 3rd Btns of the US 132nd Infantry begin their advance from the Lunga perimeter toward Mt Austen and the Japanese position that will become known as the Gifu.
CANADA: Minesweeper HMCS Wallaceburg launched Port Arthur, Ontario. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: The motion picture “Random Harvest” premieres at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City; it plays for a record 11 weeks breaking the record set by “Mrs Miniver.” Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this romantic drama based on a James Hilton novel stars Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Susan Peters and Reginald Owen. (Jack McKillop)
Submarine USS Bluegill laid down.
Escort carrier USS Corregidor laid down.
USCGC Natsek disappears in Belle Isle Strait. There were no survivors. It was thought that she capsized due to sever icing. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Whilst escorting convoy ON.153, destroyer HMS Firedrake is torpedoed and sunk by U-211 (Kapitanleutnant Karl Hause) 600 miles South of Iceland at 50 50N 25 15W. 35 crew members cling to the stern section and fire star shells to attract the attention of HMS Sunflower which is able to rescue 26 survivors in heavy seas. (Alex Gordon)(108)
U-432 sank SS Poitou. (Dave Shirlaw)
Homer and Mrs. Homer enjoyed the novel. We’ll send Crowther to Radio City to see how it translates to the screen. Report tomorrow.
"Paranoia and panic followed the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
Japanese Americans living in the western United States--including those born in the States--were rounded up at government decree, often with little warning, leaving behind their homes, businesses, and most of their belongings.
"Some 110,000 people were imprisoned at ten camps, including Heart Mountain in Wyoming and Manzanar in the Owens Valley of California.
Conditions at the camps were primitive and harsh.
Manzanar, located west of Death Valley, was surrounded by barbed wire as well as guards on watchtowers.
The crude barracks provided little relief during the intense heat of the summer or the bitter cold of the winter.
"Isolated from their friends and relatives, demeaned and robbed of their rights, some committed suicide.
Many young men sought to escape the camps and prove their loyalty by volunteering for service in the armed forces.
Despite winning numerous medals for heroism in the European Theater, Japanese-American soldiers were told upon their return to American shores, "We don't serve Japs here."
American-government reparations for these illegal internments did not begin in earnest until the 1990s."
"Far from their homeland, Polish-Jewish refugees gather in a wooden shelter that functions as their synagogue on the Caribbean island of Jamaica.
Fleeing persecution, they had reached Portugal, where the Joint Distribution Committee was able to arrange a journey for them and 150 others to Jamaica.
Housed in a refugee camp, they awaited visas that would allow them to travel to the United States or various Latin American countries."
"Richard Glücks was the direct supervisor of Rudolf Höss and other concentration-camp commandants.
Besides selecting the site for Auschwitz, Glücks was responsible for the medical "services" rendered at the camp and the slave-labor operations that bolstered the German war efforts.
He decided how many prisoners were selected for gassing and slave labor.
He was last seen in a naval hospital near the Danish border; whether he committed suicide or was murdered by Jews seeking revenge has yet to be resolved."
"Stutthof, located in Poland about 20 miles east of Danzig, became the first camp established on Polish territory.
Opened in September 1939, it began as a harsh labor camp for civilian POWs, who were later joined by Danes and others. In early 1942 Stutthof was transformed into a concentration camp and became the hub of a constellation of camps.
"Jews from the Baltic states, Hungary, and other camps were sent to Stutthof in 1944.
The majority were women. Many died from hard labor, starvation, and disease.
Others were gassed or thrown alive into the crematorium.
"As Soviet forces neared Stutthof in the winter of 1944-45, some Jews were sent on death marches; others died crossing the Baltic by boat.
Many were so weak that they survived for only hours after their liberation in May 1945.
About 65,000 people died at Stutthof."
Besides Homer’s daily posts, I really appreciate your relevant posts that come in addition.....
Hitler must have really been pumped up on drugs, not allowing Gen. Paulus to break through the Soviet trap around Stalingrad when he still had the strength to do so. Goering....too....high on drugs (morphine?) thinking his airlifts would be enough to keep the Sixth Army fully supplied in the dead of winter.
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