Posted on 01/08/2013 4:25:54 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
* President Roosevelt told an applauding joint session of Congress today that this year will bring substantial advance toward victory over the Axis and outlined a post-war world in which Americans would have government assurances of freedom from want “from the cradle to the grave,” and the United Nations would enjoy freedom from fear through the permanent disarmament of Germany, Japan, Italy and any other nation which covets the territory of its neighbor.
Yeah, whatever.
** Are those wrecked planes really Japanese? I don’t believe the field was operational when the Japanese held it, so are those Japanese planes that were downed during attacks and landed on the airfield? I suppose that is possible, given the amount of air combat that took place around Henderson field during the last six months.
* President Roosevelt told an applauding joint session of Congress today that this year will bring substantial advance toward victory over the Axis and outlined a post-war world in which Americans would have government assurances of freedom from want “from the cradle to the grave,” and the United Nations would enjoy freedom from fear through the permanent disarmament of Germany, Japan, Italy and any other nation which covets the territory of its neighbor.
Yeah, whatever.
** Are those wrecked planes really Japanese? I don’t believe the field was operational when the Japanese held it, so are those Japanese planes that were downed during attacks and landed on the airfield? I suppose that is possible, given the amount of air combat that took place around Henderson field during the last six months.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/jan1943/f08jan43.htm
Soviets Demand 6th Army Surrender
Friday, January 8, 1943 www.onwar.com
Soviet airforce bombs the trapped German troops [photo at link]
On the Eastern Front... Rokossovsky, commanding the Red Army’s Don Front surrounding Stalingrad, and Voronov, the STAVKA representative, issue a demand to surrender to the German 6th Army. Paulus, commander of the encircled forces, refuses to surrender; his Chief of Staff, Schmidt, is believed to have influenced this decision. The German 6th Army at this point still has substantial manpower but it is short of supplies and the troops have been weakened by a lack of food and warmth. The Red Army forces are well provided with food, fuel and ammunition. Meanwhile, to the south, Zimovniki is captured in a Soviet attack.
On Madagascar... Administration of the island is handed over to the Free French.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
January 8th, 1943 (FRIDAY)
GERMANY: During the night of 8/9 January, RAF Bomber Command dispatches three Mosquitos and 38 Lancasters to attack Duisburg; 36 aircraft attack with the loss of three Lancasters. (Jack McKillop)
U-194 commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.S.R.: Soviet General Konstantin Rokossovsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Don Front, issues a surrender ultimatum to the troops of German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus’ Sixth Army in Stalingrad, guaranteeing “their lives and safety, and after the end of the war return to Germany, and promising that “...medical aid will be given to all wounded, sick and frost-bitten...” Since Paulus had been ordered by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler not to surrender or attempt to breakout of the city, the summons is ignored.
Soviet forces seize Zimovniki, on the Stalingrad-Novorossisk rail line. (Jack McKillop)
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: British submarine HMS/M P 311 (P 311) is reported overdue today. The ship is lost while engaged in Operation PRINCIPLE, the Chariot attack on Italian cruisers at La Maddalena, Sardinia. HMS/M P 311 left Scotland in November 1942 with sister-boats HMS/M Thunderbolt (N 25) and Trooper N 91) after addition of human torpedo deck-mounted watertight containers, direct for Malta. P 311 departed from Malta on 28 December 1942. She sent her last signal on 31 December when she was about 88 nautical miles (163 kilometres) west of Palermo, Sicily. After this signal she is not heard from again and she is presumed sunk by Italian mines in the approaches to La Maddalena on or around 2 January 1943. She is reported overdue today when she fails to return to base. (Jack McKillop)
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (US Ninth Air Force):
TUNISIA: Eight USAAF Ninth Air Force B-24s hit Tunis after weather and engine trouble prevent a planned attack on Bizerte.
LIBYA: RAF Liberators, under operational control of the IX Bomber Command, attack a rail junction near Tripoli.
WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN (US Twelfth Air Force):
TUNISIA: Fifteen USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-17s hit the docks at Ferryville and the naval base at Bizerte.
B-25s hit bridges and rail junctions at Graiba and at Kalaa Srira while P-47s hit Kairouan Airfield. The heavy and medium bombers are escorted by P-38s.
A-20s, escorted by P-40s, bomb tank concentrations near Gabes. Other fighters fly numerous patrols and reconnaissance missions.
The 59th Fighter Squadron, 33d Fighter Group moves with its P-40s from Casablanca, French Morocco to Thelepte, Tunisia.
The 443d and 444th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 320th Bombardment Group (Medium) arrive at La Senia, Algeria from England with B-26s.
From
[1] (Jack McKillop)
MADAGASCAR: British General Sir William Platt, Commander in Chief East Africa Command, formally hands over the running of the island, except for the Diego Suarez area, to the Free French General Paul-Louis Legentillhomme, High Commissioner of the French possessions in the Indian Ocean, Governor-General of Madagascar and General Officer Commander in Chief Madagascar.
CHINA: In a message to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek turns down a proposal for an offensive in the spring of 1943. (Jack McKillop)
BURMA: Six USAAF Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb and strafe Watugyi and Nsopzup and strafe other targets. Six B-25 Mitchells bomb the storage area at Bhamo. (Jack McKillop)
NEW GUINEA: In Papua New Guinea, Companies A, C, and F of the U.S. 127th Infantry Regiment, 32d Infantry Division, overrun Tarakena. The 163d Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Division, begins an offensive to clear the road to Sanananda: 1st Battalion attacks two Japanese perimeters located between Musket and Kano, making limited progress. (Jack McKillop)
In Northeast New Guinea USAAF Fifth Air Force heavy, medium and light bombers, with fighter cover, join RAAF aircraft in the continued attack of the Japanese convoy as it unloads about 4,000 reinforcements at Lae. Japanese fighter cover and Allied aircraft continue fierce aerial combat. During this action, 2d Lieutenant Richard I. Bong, flying a P-38F Lightning, shots down an “Oscar” fighter (Nakajima Ki-43, Army Type 1 Fighter Hayabusa) over the Huon Gulf, 5 miles (8 kilometres) offshore. This is Bong’s fifth victory making him an “Ace.” (Jack McKillop)
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Major General J. Lawton Collins, Commanding General 25th Infantry Division, issues Field Order 1 to the division concerning the upcoming offensive. The 35th Infantry Regiment moves secretly up Mt Austen toward the line of departure. (Jack McKillop)
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: A USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberator flies photographic reconnaissance over Amchitka Island. Another B-24 aborts a weather run over Kiska Island because of instrument trouble. (Jack McKillop)
CANADA: Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada announced appointment of first Canadian Minister to the Soviet Union. (Dave Shirlaw)
U.S.A.: Destroyer USS Spence commissioned. (Dave Shirlaw)
ATLANTIC OCEAN: The first man lost from a U-boat in 1943 was during a storm when one man was washed overboard while saving the I WO. Also the commander was wounded and so the boat was brought back to base with the IWO in command on 16 Jan. [Obersteuermann Walter Schliephake].
At 2237, U-436 fired three single torpedoes on the convoy TM-1 and two of them hit the Oltenia II, which exploded and sank. The third torpedo hit the Albert L. Ellsworth, which fell behind the convoy and was abandoned by all hands. Her lifeboats picked up 20 survivors of the Oltenia II, but some of them died from their injuries. Destroyer HMS Havelock picked up the survivors. At 2043 the next day, the wreck of the Albert L. Ellsworth was shelled and sunk by U-436 in 27.57N/28.50W.
U-436 sank SS Yorkwood in position 04.10S, 35.30W - Grid FC 7416 (Dave Shirlaw)
On 17 December 1944, Spence prepared to refuel and pumped out all of the salt water ballast from her tanks; but rough seas caused the fueling operation to be cancelled. The next day, the weather worsened and the storm turned into a major typhoon. As the ships wallowed in canyon-like troughs of brine, Spence's electrical equipment got wet from great quantities of sea water taken on board. After a 72 degree roll to port, all of the lights went out and the pumps stopped. The rudder jammed; and, after a deep roll to port about 1100, Spence capsized and sank. Only 24 of her complement survived. One of the 24 survivors was David Moore, an African American who floated at sea for two days and also was responsible for saving the lives of two other men. Hull (DD-350) and Monaghan (DD-354) were also sunk in the typhoon. Spence was struck from the Navy list on 19 January 1945.
Once a socialist, always a socialist.
The death beam that could kill a million soldiers that Tesla was working on has to be a laser I think. And the sheild that could protect a country from attack is also pretty far sighted and amazing.
sheild=shield
Given the conditions and lack of supplies, it is truly amazing the 6th Army held out as long as did at Stalingrad under the most extreme conditions imaginable. Hitler’s insane obsession with that ruined city prohibited the 6th Army’s breakout from the trap when it had the chance in late November. By early December it was far too late and the Russians were now assisted by their strongest asset in the war, Gen. Winter.
Two points on Paulus declining the invitation to surrender:
One; I don’t think he believed the Soviets would honor their generous terms. This was inconsistent with the way the war in the east was fought, and I’m sure Paulus knew that. Also, even if the Soviets had intended to honor the terms of surrender, I don’t think they could have. When the Germans did finally surrender, the Soviets took 85,000 prisoner, and were their medical/supply staffs were overwhelmed by the unexpectedly large numbers. Right now, there are probably three times that number of Germans in the pocket.
Second, 6th Army is tying down a significant number of Soviet armies in the surrounding ring. If those armies were free, they would be diverted to the drive on Rostov, which the Germans are desperately trying to hold off long enough to get 1st and 4th Panzer Armies through the “Rostov Gate.” If the Soviets cut them off, the war is over. Right now. Von Manstein, in his memoirs, states that Paulus’ refusal to surrender probably saved the Wehrmacht in the east, and made Manstein’s February Kharkov counter-offensive possible.
Finally, you have a military obituary posted today; Marshal Timoshenko has been shunted off to a minor theater. He once was the top Soviet commander, but he has been in eclipse since the disasters in the south last May. His final chapter will be “Operation Polar Star,” an effort to drive to the Baltic and cut off most of German Army Group North. It too will fail. Thereafter, he will never be heard from again.
Yes, but Manstein pleaded Paulus to ignore Hitler’s truly insane orders to stand pat mindlessly in the frozen ruins of Stalingrad. Had the 6th Army escaped from the pocket, it would have greatly aided Manstein’s counterattack recapturing Kharkov, and more importantly from the German point of view, the Germans would have had more resources to throw into their final summer offensive in the East, Operation Citadel (the Battle of Kursk). Stalingrad was a complete total unmitigated disaster from which the Germans never recovered from. It was also a psychological blow and a disaster for morale on the home front as well. Never before had an entire German army surrendered and a field marshall been taken into captivity. All of the finest military minds in the German army pleaded with Hitler to allow Paulus to break out, including the brilliant FM von Manstein. Only Goering (undoubtedly high as a kite on morphine and Hitler too was doped up all of the time by Dr. Morell) egged Hitler on, persuading him that the troops in Stalingrad could hold out with the aid of a vast Luftwaffe airlift of supplies into the surrounded pocket, never mind the fact that the brutal Russian winter was setting in making flying conditions virtually impossible.
Manstein wanted Paulus to break out around Christmas time, the high point of Operation Wintergewitter. By today’s date, he knew 6th Army’s position was hopeless. A break out by 6th Army in late December offered the apparent opportunity to “save” it. However, many historians believe it had already become so weakened that it would have been slaughtered on the open steppe, with only a few battalions worth of exhausted men staggering through to Manstein’s troops. That would have immediately freed Rokossovsky’s troops for re-deployment to aid Vatutin and Golikov in Operation Saturn, the drive to Rostov and the Black Sea.
Stalingrad and the destruction of 6th Army was an epic disaster for the Germans, but it’s fate had really been sealed when Vasilevksy dreamed up Operation Uranus. Once the Soviets hit upon the idea of deep flank attacks on the Romanians, it was “checkmate.” The Soviets had some limited offensives to expand their Don bridgeheads and to improve their jump-off positions in the Sarpa lake region. The Romanians offered scant resistance then. Paulus knew the long flanks guarded by Romanians were vulnerable, and repeatedly warned his superiors. They ignored him. Once the Soviets launched Operation Uranus, 6th Army was doomed.
In reality, you could say the 6th Army’s fate was sealed in Germany’s factories, that could not produce modern weapons in any supply to arm their allies. The Romanians biggest problem was that their weapons were crap and their soldiers knew their weapons were crap. The Germans biggest problem was in putting obligations on their allies they knew they could not meet, and then did nothing to help them.
The Soviets encircled Stalingrad on November 19th. It is my own personal view, having read a number of books on the epic battle, that Paulus had just two weeks (certainly no more than that given his fuel supplies, ammo, and food) to break out of the pocket and tell Hitler shove it. Hitler yelled and screamed a lot, but he was no Stalin who did in fact liquidate nearly all of his generals and senior military officers. The only German generals ever executed by Hitler were those actively plotting against him most notably the July 20th bomb plot. As for weapons, the Germans had the the most advanced in WWII-—their rockets, their jet fighters, their Tiger and Panther tanks-—all the very best and way advanced for their time. Problem was many of these weapons were so complicated and highly engineered the Germans could not mass produce enough of them.
Notice the positive notes in the headlines. It was about this time that Willys Corporation began doing research at public universities for after the war use of jeeps.
I’m not buying the propaganda on page 6 about the forced prostitution. Sex between Jews and Aryans was criminal.
You may be right on this. I did a brief search for corroborating items but only found articles that called the incident into question. I gave up before I found a clear answer one way or the other. The story was published in other places besides the NY Times, including Time magazine in the January 18, 1943 edition. The circumstances described in the letter do sound suspect.
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