BRITISH ARMY ADVANCES 40 MILES INTO BURMA; RUSSIA STARTS NEW MAJOR OFFENSIVE ON DON (12/20/42)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 12/20/42 | F. Tillman Durdin, Ralph Parker, Grant Parr, Hanson W. Baldwin, Raymond Daniell, Charles Hurd, more

[Homer_J_Simpson]

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

[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” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
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. Also visit our general discussion thread.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Papua, New Guinea, 1942
Attack on Buna Mission, 18-28 Dec. 1942
The Solomons: Guadalcanal and Florida, 1942
Tunisia 1942: The Race for Tunisia-Situation 1 January 1943, and Operations Since 17 November 1942
North Africa, 1941: Pursuit to Tunisia, November 1942-February 1943
Southwest Russia, 1942: Soviet Winter Offensive, Operations, 13 December 1942-18 February 1943
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941: Status of Forces and Allied Theater Boundaries, 2 July 1942
India-Burma, 1942: Allied Lines of Communication, 1942-1943

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Foe Flees Wavell – 2-3
Allies Capture Cape Endaiadere (Durdin) – 3-4
200 Places Taken (Parker) – 4-5
War News Summarized – 5
British Push Foe Deeper into Libya (Parr) – 6
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on the War – 7-8

The News of the Week in Review
Allied Chiefs who Hold Axis Forces in Giant Pincers (photos) – 9
Twenty News Questions – 10
How Big an Army? The Basic Factors Weighed (Baldwin) – 11-12
Battle Tempo Heightens in the Struggle for North Africa (map) – 13
Hardest Fighting Ahead in North Africa Drives (Daniell) – 14-15
Russians Finding Out Where Nazis are Weak (Parker) – 16
A New Phase Impends in the Battle of the South Pacific (map) – 17
Major Pacific Campaign Lies Ahead (Hurd) – 18
Wider Social Security a Major Roosevelt Aim (by John MacCormac) – 19
The Vast Pacific Holds Many Battlefronts (map) – 20
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 20

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Foe Flees Wavell – 2-3
Allies Capture Cape Endaiadere (Durdin) – 3-4
200 Places Taken (Parker) – 4-5
War News Summarized – 5
British Push Foe Deeper into Libya (Parr) – 6
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on the War – 7-8

The News of the Week in Review
Allied Chiefs who Hold Axis Forces in Giant Pincers (photos) – 9
Twenty News Questions – 10
How Big an Army? The Basic Factors Weighed (Baldwin) – 11-12
Battle Tempo Heightens in the Struggle for North Africa (map) – 13
Hardest Fighting Ahead in North Africa Drives (Daniell) – 14-15
Russians Finding Out Where Nazis are Weak (Parker) – 16
A New Phase Impends in the Battle of the South Pacific (map) – 17
Major Pacific Campaign Lies Ahead (Hurd) – 18
Wider Social Security a Major Roosevelt Aim (by John MacCormac) – 19
The Vast Pacific Holds Many Battlefronts (map) – 20
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 20

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/dec42/f20dec42.htm

Germans pressed by Red Army
Sunday, December 20, 1942 www.onwar.com

On the Eastern Front... The Soviets have reached nearly to Millerovo, 60 miles north east of Voroshilovgrad. The Rostov-Voronezh railway is retaken and pressure is being brought to bear on Army Detachment Hollidt, the northern wing of Manstein’s force. Manstein asks Zeitzler at OKH to arrange for a breakout by Paulus. Zietzler gives little help. Paulus pleads that he is now so short of fuel that cannot attempt the breakout.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm

December 20th, 1942

WESTERN EUROPE: The Eighth Air Force suffers its worst single day loss of the war to date. Luftwaffe fighters and flak down six B-17s. Two B-17s crash upon landing in England. Two men were KIA, 58 MIA, 12 WIA. (Skip Guidry)

NETHERLANDS: “Oboe” equipped de Havilland Mosquitoes IX’s of No. 109 Squadron RAF flying from Wyton make an attack on a power-station at Lutterade in Holland. This is the first use of Oboe by Pathfinder Mosquitoes. (22)

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet forces are now about 70 miles northeast of Voroshilovgrad. The Rostov-Voronezh rail line is cut and the northern forces of Manstein are feeling the increasing Russian pressure. Paulus cites fuel shortages as his reason not to breakout of Stalingrad.

SPAIN: Spain and Portugal announced the creation of a neutral Iberian bloc. “Our peninsula policy is based on sentiment and the, conviction that we are serving the permanent interests of all nations” . (Dave Shirlaw)

INDIA: Japanese aircraft make a night raid on Calcutta.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Allied planes raid Japanese targets on Sumatra.

PACIFIC: Japanese submarine I-4 is sunk by the USS Seadragon (SS-194) off New Britain. (Mike Yared)(144 and 145)

JAPAN: Cape Inubo: The first Japanese cargo ship is sunk by a US mine.

CANADA: Corvette HMCS La Malbaie completed mechanical repairs Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Dave Shirlaw)

U.S.A.: During WW II, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) produced numerous documents, most commonly known are the Intelligence Bulletins. The Military Intelligence Special Series continues with “German Tactical Doctrine” (William L. Howard)
Destroyer USS Anthony launched.

Submarine USS Rasher launched.

Destroyer USS Herndon commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: U-621 sank SS Otina in Convoy ON-153. (Dave Shirlaw)

[Trapped Behind Enemy Lines]

By the time the German counterattack to relieve the Stalingrad pocket was launched, it was way too late. The Soviets were constricting the pocket like an anaconda and the weather was far too miserable for such an attack to succeed. Moreover, the Soviets were now threatening to cutoff German divisions still in the Caucuses further south of Stalingrad, so FM von Manstein had to focus his efforts on getting them out and preventing yet another German army from being trapped and encircled. The only chance the Sixth Army trapped inside the Stalingrad pocket was in the first or second week of the encirclement, when it had the strength to break out. But Hitler stubbornly refused any breakout attempt over-ruling the finest military minds (and common sense) thus condemning an entire army to a very grisly fate.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Twenty News Questions – 10

No calculators allowed on question #1.

[EDINVA]

Bless you, Homer, for your faithful daily posting of this most educational thread. May you and yours have a wonderful, merry and blessed Christmas and a healthy, prosperous 2013.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Thank you. I appreciate your kind words very much, as well as all the cyber-friends I have made through this project. I wish all of you the same joyful and blessed Christmas and healthy, prosperous 2013.

[Rebelbase]

I second that!

[colorado tanker]

Paulus should have disobeyed Hitler and fought his way out when he could. Of course, he would have been fired or possibly arrested, but a lot more of his men would have lived to see Germany again.

[deadmenvote]

1st thank you for your work.
How many people lost the questions from this day.
Page 10 question #4.

The answer is on page 20

[Homer_J_Simpson]

#4 is one of the few I got right.

[HenpeckedCon]

“Paulus should have disobeyed Hitler and fought his way out when he could.”

Once OKW HQ found out 6th Army was breaking out of Stalingrad, Hitler would have fired Paulus immediately. It's a moot point. 6th Army was doomed.

[henkster]

There are differing views on the breakout of 6th Army. If 6th Army was going to save itself, it had to disengage and fight a mobile retreat back to the Chir River almost on the day the Soviets launched Operation Uranus. By the time the Soviets joined forces at Kalach it may already have been too late. By the time Manstein launched Winter Storm, the 6th Army had been weakened through loss of supplies that it would have been slaughtered on the open steppe. The Soviets had dedicated a large forces to Operation Ring, the investment of 6th Army, and would have cut the Germans to pieces. Only a few battalions worth of exhausted men might have made it through.

Simply by existing, the 6th Army tied down significant Soviet forces that would have been diverted to the thrust that has just been launched against Army Group B on the upper Don. This was Operation Saturn; as planned, it was intended to slice through the weak Hungarian and Italian armies and drive on Rostov and the sea of Azov. This would have yielded an even bigger bag of Germans than Stalingrad, with Army Group Don and Army Group A being cut off. The loss of these two large formations from the German Order of Battle would probably have won the war right then and there. Manstein was keenly aware of this threat, and fought his entire winter campaign on the basis of parrying this Soviet thrust.

Operation Saturn did not yield the results desired by the Stavka in part because of Manstein’s skillful mobile defense, but it was probably a matter of insufficient forces to get the job done. With the release of the forces surrounding Stalingrad, the Soviets would have added Rokossovsky’s forces to Vatutin & Golikov, and Saturn may well have succeeded. By staying in Stalingrad, 6th Army’s sacrifice probably prolonged the war.

By the way, most of the Soviet armies that took part in the encirclement of Stalingrad were awarded honorific “Guards” designations:

4th Guards from 24th Army
5th Guards from 66th Army
6th Guards from 21st Army
7th Guards from 64th Army
8th Guards from 62nd Army

[HenpeckedCon]

Paulus should have known his men were doomed and accepted the Russian surrender terms. They promised “normal rations” and the men could keep their uniforms and decorations. Perhaps they were lying, but I tend to believe the Russians would have lived up to the terms. Even a weakened 6th Army would be a formidable task for the Red Army to destroy and they knew they would take horrendous casualties. History would certainly remember Paulus as an admirable General for trying to save his men.