JAPANESE FLOTILLA IS DRIVEN OFF BY OUR WARSHIPS NEAR RENDOVA (7/4/43)

Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 7/4/43 | Bertram D. Hulen, Drew Middleton, Hanson W. Baldwin

[Homer_J_Simpson]

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

THE NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

[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]

[Homer_J_Simpson]

1

2

The West Point Military History Series, Thomas E. Griess, Editor, The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Enemy Ships Flee (Hulen) – 2
Allies Nearing Salamaua in New Guinea Offensive – 3-4
Marines the First Into New Georgia – 4
Rationing at a Glance – 4
With the Navy in the Successful Attack On Attu (photos) – 5
Many Japan Raids Seen by Chennault – 6
War News Summarized – 6
Italian Bases Hit (Middleton) – 7
The Texts of the Day’s Communiques on Fighting in Various Zones – 9-11
Sergeant Makes Men Philosophic – 11
Japanese Base at Manokuari is Blasted by U.S. Airmen (photo) – 11

The News of the Week in Review
Three Allied Objectives in the Southwest Pacific (map) – 12
Pacific Attack – 13-14
Europe Waits – 14-15
Twenty News Questions – 16
A New Phase Opens in the Pacific (map) – 17
Big Campaign Started to Win Pacific Bases (Baldwin) – 18
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 19
The Best Selling Books, Here and Elsewhere (from The Book Review) – 19

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/jul1943/f04jul43.htm

Polish PM killed in plane crash
Sunday, July 4, 1943 www.onwar.com

General Sikorski (seated left) killed in air crash [photo at link]

From London... After General Sikorski is killed in an airplane accident, Mikolajczyk becomes the prime minister of the Polish exile government based in London. General Kukiel is appointed Commander in Chief in place of Sikorski. The new commander of the Polish Home Army is Bor-Komorowski.

In the Solomon Islands... On New Georgia, US forces advancing from Zanana to Munda encounter heavy Japanese resistance. The Japanese land 1200 troops from 3 destroyers at Vila on Kolombangara.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/04.htm

July 4th, 1943 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The Eighth Air Force in England hits three targets on Mission 71. 192 B-17s are dispatched against aircraft factories at Le Mans and Nanes, France; 166 make a very effective attack and claim 52-14-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; US loses are 7 B-17s with 1 damaged beyond repair and 53 others damaged; Eighty three other B-17s are dispatched against submarine yards at La Pallice, France; 71 hit the target between 1201 and 1204 local and claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost and 1 is damaged. Bombing is extremely accurate.

Minesweeper HMS Skipjack launched.

GERMANY: U-746 is commissioned.

GIBRALTAR: General Wladislaw Sikorski is killed when his Liberator plane crashes on take-off. Sikorski had been visiting Polish troops in Egypt. Talk of sabotage is being discouraged by the British, but many Poles remain suspicious. Sikorski had angered Stalin by demanding a full inquiry into the thousands of massacred bodies found in the forest at Katyn, many of them Polish officers. His replacement as Prime Minister in the London Exile Government of Poland is Stanislaw Mikolajczyk who has been acting as Prime Minister in General Sikorskis’ absence. General Kukiel becomes C-in-C.

Prime Minster Mikolajczyks cabinet consists of Jan Kwapinski, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Commerce and Shipping; Tadeusz Romer, Minister of Foreign Affairs; General Marian Kukiel, Minister of National defence; Wladyslaw Banaczyk, Minister of Home Affairs; Stanislaw Kot, Minister of Information; Ludwik Grosfeld, Minister of Finance; Jan Stanczyk, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare; Waclaw Komarnicki, Minister of Justice: Marian Seyda, Minister of State (Peace Conference Planning); Karol Popiel, Minister of State (Polish Administrative Planning); The Rev. Zygmunt Kaczynski, Minister of Education; Henryk Strassburger, Polish Minister in the Middle East.

(Glenn Steinberg and Mike Yared)

GREECE: Crete: There is a successful British commando raid on German military airbases. (Glenn Steinberg)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: At 2140, U-375 attacked Convoy KMS-18B 10 miles north of Cape Tenez, Algeria and sank the St Essylt and City of Venice. The City of Venice was carrying 292 troops of the 1st Canadian Division for the Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. The master, ten crewmembers and ten troops were lost. HMS Honeysuckle, Rhododendron, Teviot and Restive rescued 147 crewmembers, 22 gunners, 282 troops and ten naval personnel.

INDIAN OCEAN: At 1410, the Breiviken was torpedoed and sunk by U-178 off Portuguese East Africa. Three crewmen, including the British radio officer, were lost out of the 34 crewmen and two gunners aboard. 20 survivors were picked up from the sea by the U-boat, where the master was questioned by an officer who spoke very good Norwegian. They were placed on rafts about 10 minutes later, because a smoke trail was sighted and U-178 left to pursue the ship, it was the Michael Livanos and sank her at 1830. The survivors of Breiviken later found two drifting lifeboats from their own ship righted and bailed them. On 8 July they reached the coast near Ponto Barra du False, where they were taken care of by the lighthouse keeper and his wife.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Thirteenth Air Force B-17s pound Bairoko, New Georgia Island.

New Georgia: The US force advancing from Zanana toward Munda meet heavy Japanese resistance.

U.S.A.:

Destroyers USS Heywood L Edwards and Richard P Leary laid down.

Submarine USS Cero commissioned.

Destroyer escorts USS Weaver, Loy, Lovelace, and Laning launched.

Destroyers USS Morrison, Hickox, Healy, Bennion launched.

Submarine USS Angler launched.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1745, the Pelotaslóide, escorted by the Brazilian submarine chasers Jacuí and Jundiaí, was hit by two torpedoes from U-590 and sank five miles north of Salinas, Brazil.

[colorado tanker]

I noticed that the Tuskegee Airmen got their first combat kill today. Excellent HBO movie on their history came out few years ago.