The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Major John Howard & Pegasus Bridge (6/6/1944) - Jan. 28th, 2004

International Baccalaureate Extended Essay ^ | October 1998 | Alasdair McKay

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

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Pegasus Bridge

What was the significance of the "Coup de Main" assault on the Orne Bridges on D-Day and why was it such a success?

From 1942 onwards the Allied Forces realised that an attack would have to be made on mainland Europe in order to stop the Nazi advance. Over the course of the next two years, victories were achieved in North Africa and Southern Italy but France; with its expansive coastline and locality to Britain was always going to be the main battleground that would establish the outcome of the Second World War. In Spring 1943, General Frederick Morgan, the man entrusted to plan the Allied invasion, made his choice as to where the invasion would take place. This would have been an extremely difficult decision as the factors affecting the location were almost infinite. It needed to be easily accessible from the sea but difficult for the Germans to access by land.



Morgan realised that transporting thousands of men, arms and supplies across the channel would be a major logistical problem and that the shorter the water crossing the better. As the geography of the English Channel shows, this would lead him to believe that the nearer he could get to Calais, the greater the chance of success. However, he also was aware that the further east he planned the invasion the stronger would be the German opposition. He would need to find a stretch of northern French coastline, which was not more than a hundred miles from Britain and was poorly defended. General Morgan was not overwhelmed with options.


The Orne River Bridge

The deciding factor in choosing the exact location of the invasion was the formation, two years earlier, of the British Airborne Forces. If troops could be glider-landed or parachuted inland, then they could prevent German reinforcements from arriving at the invasion beaches where the main body of troops would disembark. With this extra string to the Allied Forces' bow, a site was chosen with Airborne soldiers in mind. The invasion beaches were to be on the Normandy coastline, just west of the mouth of the Orne river. By landing here, the invasion army would have the protection of the Orne and the adjacent Caen Canal on their west flank. General Morgan knew that, once the Germans realised that this was the real invasion, it would not take them long to launch a counteroffensive. Using Intelligence reports Morgan would know the size of the German forces in the Caen area and could thus start formulating the number of troops needed for the invasion.

At this time, there were two airborne divisions, 1st and 6th (they were numbered this way to confuse German intelligence). 1st Airborne were fighting in Southern Italy and so 6th Airborne Division, commanded by General Richard "Windy" Gale were the force chosen to lead the airborne assault. The chief role of 6th Airborne would be to capture and hold the bridges over the Orne and Caen Canal. These two bridges were a kilometre apart between the towns of Bénouville and Ranville. They were the only crossing points between Caen and the coast. If these bridges could be taken and held, then the Germans would find it hard to counterattack in large enough numbers to push the invasion army back into the sea.


Early 6th Airborne Patch

By January 1944 a plan had been formulated at COSSAC, (Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander) for a full scale invasion of France via the Normandy beaches for June that year. This plan was still highly top secret (the word Bigot was used, meaning top top secret). However, at this stage General Gale was let in on the plan, his briefing was to capture intact the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne, to blow the bridges over the River Dives and to destroy the Merville Battery. The latter two operations would pose few logistical problems for Gale. Paratroopers would be used to destroy the Merville Battery and bridges at Dives, however the problem of taking the other two bridges intact would prove the cause of many sleepless nights for Gale.

Paratroopers could not be expected to land at night, near the coast, in high winds and then regroup in order to fight such a vital battle. Gale remembered the German attacks at Fort Eben Emael in Belgium (1940) and in particular the Corinth Canal in Greece (1941) where the German airborne had been used not as paratroopers but glider troopers. A plan was constructed where six gliders, three per bridge, would be landed on the farm land adjacent to the bridges and the bridges would be taken in a "coup de main" attack.


Reconnaisance photo showing the two bridges

With the plan now consolidated, Gale's attentions now turned to discovering which company in his division was the strongest. In April 1944, 6th Airborne carried out several exercises, designed by Gale to determine which unit would be the most suited to the operation. The central feature of this series of operations was a three-day exercise named Operation Deadstick. Although the soldiers did not know it at the time they were carrying out an almost exact replica of what they would be doing in Normandy two months later. The operation was an unequivocal success and one company in particular impressed General Gale. D Company, 2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, under the leadership of Major John Howard achieved the aim of capturing two bridges intact after a glider landing. Gale nicknamed D Company "the Bridge Prangers" and so a group of men had been found who would lead the invasion.

D Company and Major Howard

After the success of Deadstick, Howard was let in on the plan. He recalls the feelings of pride and honour at leading the invasion force, "I was so excited, but the problem was that I couldn't tell anyone not even Brian Priday my second-in-command." However Priday and the others soon began to catch on as the exercises took on a rather similar nature from this point on and D Company were given special privileges. Howard had only to ask for transport and trucks would be laid on to take them anywhere in Britain. Moreover, after Howard had put his company through a gruelling exercise (sometimes up to five days long), D Company would be allowed the next day off to recover, a practice unheard of in the British Army. Howard said, "that a soldier likes nothing better than to lie in bed when others are on duty."


Major John Howard

This sympathy towards the soldiers in his company goes some of the way to explaining why Howard's D Company were chosen ahead of the others. Howard had been a regular soldier and had risen through the ranks, he understood the mentality of the soldier. By giving them days off after very tough exercises he maintained the level of morale that would be needed in the coming months. His soldiers had sat in Britain for two years while the war went on over the sea. Boredom was a big problem among soldiers in Britain and keeping morale high was essential.

Howard's masterstroke in keeping his troops active, happy and fit was his own passion for sport. D Company would engage in a great amount of sport, every morning would see the company undertake a five-mile cross-country run before breakfast.The day would be spent on exercise, a route march would follow, then after dinner all the troops would have to either do another cross-country run or play football until bed time. The men had no free time to sit around and get bored. Howard also insisted that every single man do all this sport, even his platoon officers and he, himself took part. This invoked a feeling of unity in the company. Everybody felt tired and everybody got blisters, thus the team spirit and morale within D Company was superb as well as the all round fitness. It was these qualities which convinced Gale to pick them as the Coup de Main force on D Day.



At the end of April, D Company was enlarged from four platoons to six (one for each glider) and in addition were assigned a troop of thirty Royal Engineers ( five per glider). They were now ready for their final training before the real thing. All the exercises held over the next month bore a resemblance, capturing two bridges intact was always the scenario and so the men began to realise the importance of what they were doing. The final exercise in mid-May was held just outside Exeter on two bridges with roughly a kilometre in between. Howard had arranged this personally and had scoured Britain for a place as similar to Normandy as possible. D Company practised taking these bridges by day and by night for four straight days until they had mastered the art.

In late May, Howard moved D Company to RAF Station Tarrant Rushton where he would brief his men about what they were to do. The invasion was scheduled for just two weeks away and so Howard let his men in on the fact that they would be the elite force at the spearhead of the Allied Invasion of Europe. The men were elated, having sat back in Britain for so long they were finally going to get their chance and not only that, they were going to lead the force. Lieutenant Tod Sweeney said, "We were really proud and excited to be chosen to make the first foothold in Europe. It was like being selected for the national rugger team, or walking out to open the innings for England at Lords." This new information doubled the already strong sense of camaraderie in the company. They had done as much training as they possibly could and were arguably one of the fittest companies in the British Army, however they would not even get their chance to start the invasion if the glider pilots could not land in the right place.


Horsa Glider

It was therefore necessary for the glider pilots to know every second of their descent in to Normandy baring in mind that this operation would be taking place in the early hours of the morning under the cover of darkness. The problem was, though, for obvious reasons the pilots could not fly practice missions in France. A brilliant scheme was devised to allow the pilots to experience what it would be like to fly the mission; a scale model was made and using a cine camera, a film was made of a pilots' eye view. A model of a glider cockpit was then made and so the pilots could feel what it would be like to fly the mission. In addition to this virtual training, the pilots selected to fly on D Day flew forty three training fights together in the months leading up to the big day. These flights took place by day or by night and in every weather condition that nature threw at them, sometimes the pilots even flew blindfolded. They needed to know exactly when to turn and at what height, they could not rely on geographical signs. Their only instruments were a compass, altimeter and a stopwatch. Their aim was to land within thirty metres of the bridge and try and pierce the barbed wire with the glider's nose. Everybody knew that it was going to be hard and that is why the training was relentless.

[SAMWolf]

The night 4th-5th June 1944

This was the night scheduled for the launch of the invasion. Throughout Southern England 156,000 men of many nationalities were getting ready, the following day, to embark in the invasion fleet. At Tarrent Rushton, D Company were getting ready to set off at midnight and set the invasion ball rolling. The order came through though that due to bad weather the invasion had been postponed. Disappointment set in immediately as the feeling of anticlimax was felt by everybody involved. The people at COSSAC prayed that this bad weather would not stay long as South England was on the verge of sinking under the channel at the sheer weight of men, weapons and supplies there. Fortunately it cleared.

The night 5th-6th June 1944

The wind and rain having cleared the mission was given the green light for midnight and everyone who knew about the invasion took a large, deep breath and held it in. At 22:00, All the soldiers were ready to go. The six wooden Horsa gliders were ready along with the six Halifax tug aircraft that would see them safely across the channel. The twelve aircraft and nearly two hundred men took off at 22:54 from Tarrent Rushton. Private Dennis Edwards, who was nineteen years old at the time and was in the first glider with Major Howard, explains how he felt;

A Horsa Glider during take off.

"I experienced an interesting psychological change in the few minutes before and immediately after take off. As I had climbed aboard and strapped myself into my seat I felt tense, strange and extremely nervous. It was as if I was in a fantasy dream world and thought that at any moment I would wake up from this unreality and find that I was back in the barrack room at Bulford Camp. Whilst we laughed and sang to raise our spirits - and perhaps to show others that we were no scared - personally I knew that I was frightened to death. The very idea of carrying out a night-time airborne landing of such a small force into the midst of the German army seemed to me to be little more than a suicide mission.

Yet at the moment that the glider parted company with the ground I experienced an inexplicable change. The feeling of terror vanished and was replaced by exhilaration. I felt literally on top of the world. I remember thinking, 'you've had it chum, its no good worrying anymore - the die has been cast and what is to be, will be, and there is nothing you can do about it.' I sat back and enjoyed my first trip to Europe."

At 00:07 the first glider reached the French coast and cast off from its tug aircraft, the other five followed at one minute intervals and so they made their descent towards the bridges. However, one of the Halifax bombers had lost their course and so glider number five, scheduled to land at the bridge over the River Orne, cast off in the wrong place. This had the potential to be a very grave mistake on behalf of the Halifax crew, but in all the months of training Howard had practised taking bridges not only with the full complement of men, but with two thirds and one third as well. So the men in the other gliders were prepared for this kind of problem.

All the nervousness of General Gale, Major Howard and all the other men like Private Edwards was put to ease when the five remaining glider pilots landed the gliders within a hundred metres of the two bridges. Possibly the hardest part of the operation had been achieved, the majority of the gliders had landed spot on target. The first glider including Major Howard even managed to break through the barbed wire which put them under thirty metres from their objective. This was due to the immense skill of the pilot, Staff Sergeant Jim Wallwork and his navigator, Staff Sergeant John Ainsworth. Both were thrown through the front window when the glider landed.

Twenty six minutes which changed the World

Midnight on the night the 5th-6th June 1944 is commonly seen as the time when the Allied Invasion of France started. Twenty six minutes later the Allies had struck their first blow; the capture of the bridges over the Caen Canal and the River Orne. An operation, which could potentially have been such a disaster, was carried out with amazing precision and stealth.

The German soldiers on guard on the bridges heard the gliders landing but what with Caen being so close, they put the noise down to wreckage from aircraft which had been blown up in the skies overhead. The idea of an invasion was absurd. These soldiers had patrolled the bridges for two years, why should this night be any different? Moreover these bridges were two miles inland in the middle of rural Northern France. German soldiers, who were sleeping in underground barracks when the British soldiers stormed the bridges, thought that their colleagues were playing a practical joke on them when they were awoke to be told that the Invasion had started and that they should man their positions. The Germans had been caught completely by surprise and this coupled with the extreme efficiency of the British troops meant that the Allies were well on their way to re-establishing a foothold in Western Europe.

Ham N Jam

If the operation was to be a success then D Company would need to communicate with someone in England to tell them. However, with German Intelligence listening to every Radio broadcast in Europe, the signal would have to be in code. A double-barrelled code would be needed to deal with every eventuality (capture both bridges/ capture Orne bridge/ capture Caen Canal bridge). The code signal decided was Ham and Jam; Ham meant the Orne bridge had been captured, Jam meant the canal bridge had been captured. (Jack and Lard meant that the respective bridges had been captured but destroyed.)

The Canal Bridge with the three gliders



At 00:26, not even half an hour after the first glider had crossed the French coast, the signal was sent out that D Company had achieved their aim. There were two casualties in the initial attack, one private died in the landing of one of the gliders and Lieutenant Den Brotheridge, who lead the charge across the Canal Bridge was shot by a German machine gunner.

The invasion, of course, did not end there and neither did D Company's involvement in the fighting. A German counteroffensive to try and retake the bridges took place in the early hours of the morning but was warded off. D Company had been relieved of complete responsibility by 02:00, at which time the rest of 6th Airborne had parachuted in to maintain control of the bridges. D Company remained in France for almost three months after D Day, and were merged back in as part of 6th Airborne. The soldiers in glider number five, including Howard's Second-in-Command Captain Brian Priday, who had been sent off course by their tug aircraft were presumed to be dead. However, at 04:00 on D Day they met up with Howard and D Company again, having marched many miles from their wrong Landing Zone (LZ). They had lost only five men and had been involved in being captured by the Germans and several fire fights as well. The fact that they had managed to locate the Bridges in pitch black and carrying extremely heavy rucsacs owes a great deal to Major Howard's tactics of keeping morale high and keeping his men extremely fit.

[SAMWolf]

Conclusion



The Coup de Main operation at the bridges between Bénouville and Ranville were the first successes of an invasion which would take almost a year to arrive in Berlin. From this tidy and efficient start the Allied soldiers soon found the going tougher than expected with Caen, the objective for D Day +1, falling after a month of bitter fighting. However, had D Company's mission failed, then the Allies may never have reached Caen and COSSAC could have seen a similar sequence of events as at Dunkirk three years earlier with soldiers having to flee into the sea to escape the German machine gun fire. Colonel von Luck of the German 192nd Regiment of 21st Panzer is said to have speculated that had D Company failed to hold the two bridges, then his tank regiment would have been on the beaches to greet the disembarking troops and if that were the case then it is quite possible to predict a very different outcome to the invasion.

However, D Company took and held the bridges and they did it with such speed, efficiency and professionalism that on the river bridge there was not even a shot fired in the capture (the holding is a different matter). Major Howard puts the success of the operation down to several key factors; the amazingly high level of morale in the company, not just amongst the soldiers but the whole company, officers and other ranks gelled almost seamlessly. In addition the level of fitness was such in the company that they were physically prepared for every eventuality on their high-risk mission as the men of glider number five proved.



There were, though, two factors which greatly increased the likelihood of success for the mission. One was the skill and preparation of the glider pilots. Possibly one of the chief reasons for so many of General Gale's sleepless nights was the decision to glider land troops inland, unprotected. The events in Sicily, a year prior to D Day where so many men had lost their lives in a catastrophic attempt at glider-based assault, served as a constant reminder to Gale the danger and frailties of an operation like this. However it paid off, the glider landings were exceptional. In fact, Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory commended the glider pilots on D Day saying that he believed it to be the best piece of flying in the Second World war. The secret behind the accuracy of the flying and, indeed the whole operation, was the training that everyone involved was put through and the vast amount of preparation that was done. When the day came to put the operation in to effect, Howard's men had been drilled for every possible situation that they could face and this preparedness meant that they caught the Germans completely by surprise. With the help of the French Resistance in Bénouville and in particular La Famille Gondrée who lived in a small cafe just by the canal bridge, D Company knew exactly what to expect in terms of numbers of men, weapons and nearby German reinforcements. In addition the glider training that the pilots and navigators were put through meant that on 6th June, they could fly the mission blindfolded. It is incredible to think that all this training and preparation was done without one Allied soldier stepping on French soil, moreover that it worked.


The lift bridge spanning the Orne Canal was captured by British 6th Airborne Division glider troops in the first few minutes of D-day. The three Horsa gliders, visible in the top right brought Major John Howard and his troopers in on time, accurately placing them in position to seize the bridge by rapid surprise. Lt. Den Brotheridge, the first allied death on D-day was killed where the Jeep is standing as he and his men rushed across the bridge from the eastern side. A Bedford 4x4 engineer's truck is returning from the airborne headquarters area to secure supplies from Sword Beach. The drivers, although in Europe, are still driving on the left side as in England.

It is hard to suggest that this one action itself swung the War round completely, as well as this assault there were the significant attacks by 6th Airborne on the Merville battery and the bridges over the River Dives and the American attack on the battery at Pointe de Hoc and the two US Airborne Division's assault onto the Cotentin Peninsular, away to the west, but this coup de main assault did go a long way to making sure that the Allied troops were able to disembark safely on the beaches. In showing their gratitude to the men of 6th Airborne the bridge over the Caen Canal was renamed in their honour; Pegasus Bridge (named after the winged horse which appears on the Airborne Forces badge).

Additional Sources:

www.6juin1944.com
www.wlu.ca
freespace.virgin.net/michael.standbridge
perso.wanadoo.fr/stephane.delogu
www.io.com/tog
www.normandybattlefields.com
www.users.globalnet.co.uk
www.commando.org

[SAMWolf]

John Howard - Obituary

Major John Howard, DSO, wartime airborne soldier, died on May 5 aged 86. He was born on December 8, 1912.

In the very first battle to be fought between British and German troops on D-Day John Howard led men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in an airborne assault on a vital bridge over the Caen Canal, in the first few minutes of June 6, 1944. One of the most spectacular assaults in the annals of airborne operations, this astonishing coup de main had results which were decisive on the development of the first day's fighting.


Major John Howard at Pegasus Bridge in 1987: he returned every June 6 to lay a commemorative wreath

The Caen Canal Bridge - since immortalised as Pegasus Bridge - and the neighbouring bridge over the River Orne carried a lateral road which had to be captured and held, in order to ensure supplies from Sword Beach to the 6th Airborne Division, which had been dropped to the east of Caen. Without supplies of ammunition, fuel and rations from the beachhead, 6th Airborne would have been unable to carry out its task, which was to protect the left flank of the entire Allied invasion force.

In the event, Howard's assault prevented the Germans from launching a counterstroke for several hours. It was not until 0210 hours that the German divisional headquarters, which organised the local mobile reserve, realised that it had been deprived of this vital artery and could not move against the beach head without overcoming stiff opposition en route. By the time the Germans realised what had happened, Howard and his glider troops had been reinforced, and though they faced some fierce assaults from a panzergrenadier battalion, strongly supported by artillery, Pegasus Bridge was held.

For Howard and his men the mission to seize the bridges had begun the previous evening in Dorset, when six Horsa gliders, each carrying 28 heavily armed troops, moved out over the airfield at Tarrant Rushton, behind the Halifax bombers which were their towing aircraft. Their objective was a small patch of rough field, between a pond and the Caen Canal, close to the Pegasus Bridge.


Pencil sketching of Glider Trooper at Pegasus Bridge - June 6 1944

It required flying of pinpoint accuracy and an approach which had to be accurate to a few feet. Too much height and the three gliders of Howard's section would smash into the roadway embankment at the far end of the field. If they landed substantially short, the screeching and tearing noise of the gliders as they came down would alert the bridge defences and the dazed glider troops could undoubtedly expect a warm reception.

The flying and navigation of the glider pilots was exemplary, in weather conditions which were far from ideal. Released at 8,000 feet over the Normandy coast, the three gliders clipped through the tops of a belt of poplars which skirted the field and crashed and bounced to a halt only a few yards from each other, at 0016 hours precisely.

Although shaken by the impact, the glider troops poured out of the wreckage of their aircraft and, with Howard at their head, rushed the bridge. They were spotted by a young conscript of the German 716th Infantry Regiment who screamed "Fallschirmjäger!" as a warning to his comrades before firing a Verey flare into the air. It was his last act on earth; he was instantly cut down by a burst of Stengun fire from one of the Ox and Bucks men.

A furious firefight now ensued, with the chattering of the German Spandaus interspersed with the crackle of Bren- and Stengun fire. But the assault of the Ox and Bucks was irresistible, the surprise complete. The occupants of the dugouts on the periphery of the bridge were disposed of with high explosive and phosphorus grenades, while the bridge itself was raked with a hail of 9mm and .303 fire. By 0026 the action was over and the bridge was in British hands. To the east the Orne bridge had been secured in just as short a time, even though one of the gliders of that assault had gone astray.



The firefight had lasted just ten minutes. The first vital objective of D-Day's airborne operations had been achieved, six hours before the troops of the seaborne armada hit the beaches.

The importance of what Howard and his men had achieved became apparent to one of the local German commanders, Feldwebel Heinrich Hickman of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, when what should have been a ten-minute journey to warn his company HQ at nearby Bréville turned into a six-hour detour through the bombed out streets of Caen. It was a tactical surprise out of all proportion to the small numbers of troops deployed. And though the Ox and Bucks men holding the bridge were strongly attacked later in the day by elements of the 21st Panzer Division, fresh airborne parachute landings in the vicinity swelled their numbers. Later in the day the Ox and Bucks men were taken under the aegis of 7 Para.

Howard, whose exploits on the day were re-enacted by Richard Todd in the D-Day film The Longest Day, was awarded the DSO and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme for his leadership. He was invalided out of the Army in 1946 and later worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, finally retiring in the 1970s.

He returned to Normandy every June 6 to lay a wreath on the spot where the gliders landed and to enjoy the hospitality of the Pegasus Bridge café, owned by Georges Gondrée and his wife. An airborne forces museum was set up close by on land leased by the café, but after Georges' death, Howard found himself inexplicably in dispute with his daughter, who took over the café and obtained an order to close the museum, a situation which caused him much sadness. After that he was active in the creation of a new memorial museum near the spot, a project dear to his heart. This is due to open on June 6, 2000.

Pegasus Bridge, whose steel girders have become, over the years, part of the iconography of the D-Day story, was rebuilt in 1994, because of the wear and tear of modern juggernaut traffic.

Howard's wife Joy died in 1986. He leaves a daughter, Penny

From The Times Newspaper, 7th May 1999

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

---

Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

---

Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

---

[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Wednesday Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole. How's it going?

Folks, please be sure to update your anti-virus software. There are quite a few worms making the rounds in cyberspace.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks EGC. I just updated mine this morning. Thanks for the reminder.

Wind chills below zero this morning.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[The Mayor]

I beg you, . . . strive together with me in prayers to God for me. —Romans 15:30

When you can't be there, you can help through prayer.

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. Good morning Aeronaut. Now that's cute! I want one. What is it?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor. That coffee looks nice and warm this morning.

[Aeronaut]

Its a GB (Granville Brothers) Racer. Lotsa horsepower and not much control surfaces made it a fairly deadly airplane.

[snippy_about_it]

Well then nevermind. I don't want one. ;-)

[snippy_about_it]

At this time, there were two airborne divisions, 1st and 6th (they were numbered this way to confuse German intelligence).

And to confuse Snippy! ;-)

[CholeraJoe]

How coincidental! I'm currently reading "Pegasus Bridge" by Steven Ambrose.

[snippy_about_it]

What an enjoyable read today Sam. Thanks for sharing this with us. It must have been frightening for those guys to be the first in yet I think I understand their pride at being first in too.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning CJ.

Lucky you for having time to read an entire book. LOL.

Today I learned among other things why they named the bridge Pegasus, something I didn't know before. Pretty neat.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Snippy. Still hanging in there, I don't think the worst has hit yet, probably tomorrow.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. Thanks for the reminder.

[SAMWolf]

Wind chills below zero this morning.

ARRRGH!!!!

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut. Nice racer.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mayor. Extra hot coffee for Snippy this morning.

[SAMWolf]

And to confuse Snippy

I read that somewhere, those Sneaky Brits!

[SAMWolf]

Morning CholeraJoe. Good Book.

But then anything I've read by Ambrose has been good.

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II. This gripping account of it by acclaimed author Stephen Ambrose brings to life a daring mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality -- the stuff of all great adventures.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Sam.

[SAMWolf]

One of the missions in "Call of Duty" is the capture and holding of Pegasus Bridge. I wish they'd make it a multiplayer map.

[snippy_about_it]

Still hanging in there, I don't think the worst has hit yet, probably tomorrow.

Think positive Sam, maybe it won't be too bad and you are already on the mend!! I like wishful thinking. ;-)

[bandleader]

Dear snippy_about_it,How are you today?If my memory serves,I read that Lt.Den Brotheridge was the first man killed crossing Pegasus.I have been there a number of times!

[SAMWolf]

Yeah, it takes an Irishman to play the pipes!

A little known fact about Richard Todd is that he served with Major John Howard during Operation Overlord on D-Day 6th June 1944, at Pegasus Bridge. Todd parachuted into Normandy and helped "hold until relieved" Todd later went on to star as Major Howard in the epic war movie "The Longest Day"

[snippy_about_it]

Yeah, it takes an Irishman to play the pipes!

LOL.

Yet another movie I need to watch. My list is getting quite long.

[snippy_about_it]

Why yes you're right bandleader and we tell about that in today's thread!

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning everyone!

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning feather.

[society-by-contract]

France; with its expansive coastline and locality to Britain was always going to be the main battleground that would establish the outcome of the Second World War.

There are millions of dead soviets who might take issue with this statement.

[The Mayor]

We need warm/hot coffee when it looks like this outside..

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on January 28:
1457 Henry VII Pembroke Castle, 1st Tudor king of England (1485-1509)
1600 Clement IX [Giulio Rospigliosi], Pistoia, Italy, 238th pope (1667-69)
1608 Giovanni Alfonso Borelli Naples Italy, mathematician/astronomer/physiologist
1611 Johannes Hevelius Danzig, astronomer (star cataloger)
1706 John Baskerville English printer (typeface inventor)
1717 Mustapha III Sultan of Turkey (1757-74)
1815 Andrew Jackson Hamilton Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1875
1822 Alexander MacKenzie (L) 2nd PM of Canada (1873-78)
1825 George Edward Pickett Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1875
1828 Thomas Carmichael Hindman Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1868
1831 Henry Brevard Davidson Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1899
1833 Charles George Gordon London England, military hero/general (China, Khartoum)
1841 Henry Stanley England, journalist/explorer (found Livingston in Africa)
1853 José Martí y Perez Cuba, poet/essayist/politician
1855 William Seward Burroughs New York, inventor (recording adding machine)
1880 Mary Boland Philadelphia PA, US, comedienne/actress (Ruggles of Red Gap)
1884 Auguste Piccard Switzerland, scientist/explorer (balloonist)
1909 Lionel KP "Buster" Crabb British diver (WWII-George Medal)
1910 John Banner Vienna Austria, actor (Sergeant Hans Schultz-Hogan's Heroes)
1912 Jackson Pollock Cody WY, abstract artist (Lavender Mist)
1924 Frank R Lautenberg (Senator-D-NJ)
1928 Slade Gorton (Senator-R-WA, 1981- )
1929 Acker Bilk clarinetist (Stranger on the Shore)
1933 Susan Sontag New York City NY, essayist/novelist/film director (The Benefactor, 1966 Pol Award)
1936 Alan Alda [Alphonso D'Abruzzo], New York City NY, actor (Hawkeye Pierce-M*AS*H)
1944 Brian Keenan New York City NY, rock drummer (Chamber Brothers-Time Has Come Today)
1948 Mamoru Mohri Yoichi-machi Hokkaido Japan, astronaut (STS 47)
1949 Thomas J Downey (Representative-D-NY, 1975- )
1950 Barbi Benton [Klein], California, Playboy model/actress (Hee Haw, Sugar Time!)
1950 David Carl Hilmer Iowa, Colonel USMC/astronaut (STS 51-J, 26, 36, 42)

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Deaths which occurred on January 28:
0814 Charlemagne German emperor/Roman Emperor (800-814), dies at 71
1119 Gelasius II [Giovannis Caetani], pope (1118-19), dies
1256 Willem II Earl of Holland/German emperor (1238, 47-56), dies at 22
1547 Henry VIII King of England (1509-47), dies at 55
1595 Sir Francis Drake English navigator/pirate (Porto Bello West Indies), dies at about 50
1621 Paulus V [Camillo Borghese], 233rd pope (1605-21), dies at 68
1725 Peter I "the Great" Romanov czar of Russia, dies at 52
1829 William Burke murderer/body snatcher, executed in Edinburgh
1939 William Butler Yeats Irish poet (Nobel), dies in France at 73
1963 Jean Felix Piccard swiss explorer, dies on his 79th birthday
1973 John Banner actor (Schultz-Hogan's Heroes), dies on 62nd birthday
1980 Jimmy Durante New York City NY, comedian (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 86

1986 Christa McAuliffe astronaut/teacher, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Ellison S Onizuka Hawaii, Major USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Francis R Scobee Washington, USAF/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Gregory B. Jarvis Detroit Michigan, payload specialist/astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Dr Judith Arlene Resnik Akron OH, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster
1986 Michael J Smith Beaufort NC, Commander USN, astronaut, dies in Challenger
1986 Ronald E McNair Lake City SC, astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster

1994 Hal Smith actor (Otis Campbell-Andy Griffith Show), dies at 77
1996 Dan Duva boxing promoter, dies at 44
1996 Jerry Siegel comic book writer (Superman), dies at 81
2004 Jack Parr Pioneered tv talkshow format (Tonight Show)

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 MC PHERSON FRED LAWER---OAKLAND CA.
1967 BIEDIGER LARRY W.---LA COSTE TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED 06/03/83]
1967 THORNTON WILLIAM D.---TERRYTOWN NY.
1968 BENGE MICHAEL
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 SINGSON WILFREDO D.
1970 ANDERSON GREGORY L.---WHEATON IL.
["MIG HIT, EXPLODED"]
1970 BELL HOLLY G.---BEAUMONT TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED 05/89]
1970 LEESER LEONARD C.---FLORAL PARK NY.
1970 MALLON RICHARD J.---PORTLAND OR.
[REMAINS RETURNED 05/89]
1970 PANEK ROBERT J. SR.---CHICAGO IL.
[PROBABLY KIA, REMAINS RETURNED 04/89]
1970 PRUETT WILLIAM D.---BLUEFIELD VA.
1970 SHINN WILLIAM C.---WOODLAND CA.
1970 SUTTON WILLIAM C.---GOLDSBORO NC.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0028 The Roman Emperor Nerva names Trajan, an army general, as his successor.
1077 Pope Gregory VII pardons German emperor Heinrich IV
1099 1st Crusaders begins siege of Hosn-el-Akrad Syria
1495 Pope gives his son Cesare Borgia as hostage to Charles VIII of France
1547 9-year-old Edward VI succeeds Henry VIII as king of England
1561 By Edict of Orleans persecution of French Huguenots is suspended
1581 James VI signs the 2nd Confession of Faith in Scotland
1613 Galileo may have unknowingly viewed undiscovered planet Neptune
1689 English parliament ends king Charles II reign
1787 Philadelphia's Free Africa Society organizes
1788 Lord Gordon found guilty of libel of queen of France
1807 London's Pall Mall is 1st street lit by gaslight
1821 Bellingshausen discovers Alexander Island off Antarctica
1851 Northwestern University (Chicago) chartered
1858 John Brown organized raid on Arsenal at Harper's Ferry
1864 Battle of New Bern, NC
1865 President Jefferson Davis names 3 peace commissioners
1871 Paris surrenders to Prussians ((SHOCK!)
1878 1st telephone exchange (New Haven CT)
1878 George W Coy hired as 1st full-time telephone operator
1878 Yale Daily News published, 1st college daily newspaper
1881 Battle at Laing's Neck Natal Boers beat superior powered British
1899 American Social Science Association incorporated by Congress
1902 Carnegie Institute founded in Washington DC
1904 1st college sports letters given to Seniors who played on University of Chicago's football team are awarded blankets with letter "C" on them
1909 US military forces leave Cuba for 2nd time
1914 Beverly Hills, California, is incorporated
1915 1st US ship lost in WWI, William P Frye (carrying wheat to UK)
1915 US Coast Guard created from Life Saving & Revenue Cutter services
1915 US President Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of illiterates
1916 1st Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, nominated
1922 American Pro Football Association renamed "National Football League"
1922 J E Clair turns Green Bay franchise back to NFL
1923 1st "Reichs Party" (NSDAP) forms in Munich
1925 -46ºF (-43ºC), Pittsburgh NH (state record)
1932 1st US state unemployment insurance act enacted-Wisconsin
1932 Japan occupies Shanghai
1933 French government of Paul Boncour falls
1933 German government of Von Schleicher falls
1934 1st US ski tow (rope) begins operation (Woodstock VT)
1935 Iceland becomes 1st country to legalize abortion
1936 Pravda criticizes Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth" opera
1942 General Timoshenko's troops move into Ukraine
1942 German troops occupy Benghazi Libya
1944 683 British bombers attack Berlin
1945 General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell & truck convoy reopen Burma Road to China
1945 Swedish ships bring food to starving Netherlands
1949 UN Security council condemns Dutch aggression in Indonesia
1950 Preston Tucker, auto maker, found not guilty of mail fraud
1951 "La Vie Commence Demain", which depicted artificial insemination & is the 1st X-rated movie, opened in London
1956 Elvis Presley's 1st TV appearance (Dorsey Brothers Stage Show)
1958 Construction began on 1st private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor
1958 Dodger catcher Roy Campanella is paralyzed in an automobile wreck
1959 Soviet Union wins 62-37 for 1st international basketball loss by US
1960 1st photograph bounced off Moon, Washington DC
1960 NFL announces Dallas Cowboys (1960) & Minnesota Vikings (1961) franchises
1962 Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives
1963 -34ºF (-37ºC), Cynthiana KY (state record)
1965 The Who make their 1st appearance on British TV
1967 Rolling Stones release "Let's Spend the Night Together"
1968 Goose Goslin & Kiki Cuyler elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1969 Barbara Jo Rubin becomes 1st woman jockey to win in North America
1973 Ron Howard appears on M*AS*H in "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet"
1978 "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalban premieres on ABC TV
1978 Ranger's Don Murdoch failed on 4th penalty shot against Islanders
1978 Ted Nugent autographs a fan's arm with his knife
1981 Olympic Glory tanker at Galveston Bay, Texas, spills 1 million gallons of oil in a ship collision
1981 William J Casey becomes the 13th director of CIA (until 1987)
1982 US General Dozier freed from Red Brigade of Padua Italy
1984 Mr Glynn Wolfe marries for non-bigamous record 26th time, Las Vegas NV
1984 Record 295,000 dominoes toppled, Fuerth, West Germany

1986 25th Space Shuttle (51L)-Challenger 10 explodes 73 seconds after liftoff

1986 Angolan Unity Leader Jonas Savimbi visits Washington, DC
1987 Wrestler Jim Neidhart indicted for assaulting a flight attendant
1988 Canada's Supreme court declares anti-abortion law unconstitutional
1991 Dictator Siad Barre flees Somalia ending 22 year rule

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Rwanda : Democracy Day (1961)
Australia : Australia Day (1788 - 1993) (Monday)
US : Meat Week (Day 4)
US : School Nurse Day
US : Spieling Day
National Be On-Purpose Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Valerius
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Charlemagne
old Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Peter Nolasco (now 1/31)
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Thomas Aquinas, priest, friar

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Religious History
1581 Scotland's King James VI, who in 1603 would become England's James I, signed the Second Scottish Confession of Faith.
1822 Birth of William D. Longstaff, English philanthropist. A close acquaintance of Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey, Longstaff is better remembered today as author of the hymn, "Take Time to Be Holy."
1834 Birth of Sabine Baring-Gould, Anglican clergyman and author. A man of widely diverging interests, he published numerous books on history, biography, poetry and fiction. He also penned the enduring hymns, "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "Now the Day is Over."
1947 In NY City, a copy of the 1640 Bay Psalm Book was purchased at an auction at Parke-Bernet Galleries for $150,000 --the highest price ever paid to date for a single volume. (The original title of the book was: "The Whole Book of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre.")
1977 The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith published an 18-page document ruling out the admission of women to the Roman Catholic priesthood because women lacked a "natural resemblance which must exist between Christ and his ministers."

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours.""

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Question of the day...
If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

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Murphys Law of the day...(Jones's Law)
The man who can smile when things go wrong has thought of someone he can blame it on

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Amazing Fact #45...
Dr. Seuss wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" after his editor dared him to write a book using fewer than 50 different words.

[SAMWolf]

Have to agree with you on that one. The Soviets faced the bulk of German forces in WWII.

[SAMWolf]

I have vague memories of those kind of mornings. ;-)

[The Mayor]

I wish my memories were vague.......

[SAMWolf]

1986 Christa McAuliffe astronaut/teacher
1986 Ellison S Onizuka Hawaii, Major USAF/astronaut
1986 Francis R Scobee Washington, USAF/astronaut
1986 Gregory B. Jarvis Detroit Michigan, payload specialist/astronaut
1986 Dr Judith Arlene Resnik Akron OH, astronaut
1986 Michael J Smith Beaufort NC, Commander USN, astronaut
1986 Ronald E McNair Lake City SC, astronaut

"High Flight"

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

[SAMWolf]

Think "Spring is Coming"

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
Airspeed "Horsa"

This assault glider was used in many WWII airborne attacks, including the landing on Sicily and Normandy. The Horsa was a wooden high-wing aircraft, that was used on a large scale in the invasion of Sicily, Normandy and Germany. As well as troops, it could carry a jeep or a 6 lb gun --- the Mk.II had a hinged nose section. The Horsa was sturdy and manoeuvrable.

Development:
A.S.51 was developed in 1940 under specification X.26/40. A total of seven prototypes were constructed, of which two were built by Fairey and five by Airspeed. On September 12, 1940, first A.S.51 was towed into the air by a "Whitley" bomber. First military use of the gliders was British invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943, in which 27 A.S.51 were used. Most famously, the Horas was use for the storming of the "Pegasus Bridge" Which signaled the invasion of Alied forces in Europe in June 1944.

With the success of Germany's glider borne troops during the invasion of France and the low countries, the Allies began looking at making there own versions. The most successful British type was the Airspeed Horsa and was built in large numbers.

Equipped with a large cargo door on the port side, jettisonable tail and a nose that swung upwards, the Horsa proved to be very capable. The type was used extensively during most airborne operations involving British paratroops and was responsible for airlifting nearly a quarter of air-supplied supplies during the Normandy invasion.

The Horsa was extremely maneuverable considering it was unpowered and rather large. Huge flaps powered by compressed air and wing mounted air brakes allowed the to stand on it's nose and swoop down quietly to a landing, although the troops carried probably didn't appreciate this much. A large numbers of the type were also used by the U.S. Army.

Taking a page from Hitler's book, America and Britain developed their own combat glider programs. The American 15-place, Waco CG-4A and British 30-place, Airspeed Horsa gliders were first used in a major invasion (Operation Husky) on July 9, 1943 - the start of the 38-day battle for Sicily. Other major operations where Allied gliders played a significant role were: Operation Thursday (Burma: March 1944); Operation Overlord (Normandy: June 1944); Operation Dragoon (Southern France: August 1944); Operation Market-Garden (Holland: September 1944); Operation Repulse (Bastogne: December 1944 - January 1945); and, on March 24, 1945, Operation Varsity (Rhine River Crossing). Six weeks after the successful conclusion of Varsity, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies.

Operation Varsity was more costly to Allied airborne than the invasion of Normandy. By early evening of March 24, in eight short hours, our airborne forces had suffered 819 killed, 1,794 wounded and 580 missing in action. Over six dozen paradrop and glider-towing planes were shot down. Seventy glider pilots were killed and 114 wounded or injured. British and American glider-recovery teams found later that less than 25 percent of the gliders landed unscathed.

About 6,000 American glider pilots were trained. Almost 14,000 CG-4A's were built; about 3,600 were used in combat overseas.

Glider-rider and glider-pilot casualties were estimated at 40 percent for some missions. Specially trained glider-assault regiments were part of the U.S. 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. (British glider-assault teams were assigned to Air Landing Brigades, each equivalent in strength to a U.S. regiment.)

The 11th Airborne spearheaded Operation Gypsy Task Force, a glider-paradrop attack on Japanese installations on Luzon, the Philippines. In the China-Burma-India Theater were glider units-assigned to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Commando Groups - which flew British troops into battle behind the Japanese lines.

The Horsa was towed, with a hemp rope, behind the modified, four-engine Handley-Page Halifax bomber, the twin-engine Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle and the C-47.

Versions:
Hessell Tiltman designed the Airspeed Horsa to Specification X.26/40 as Britain's first major troop-carrying glider. Of all-wood construction, the Horsa was designed for dispersed production by companies outside the aircraft industry. Design and construction of first two prototypes (DG597 and DG603) at Salisbury Hall, London Colney, for assembly at Fairey's Great West Aerodrome and first flight on September 12, 1941, behind a Whitley tug; five more prototypes built and test-flown at Portsmouth .

Airspeed Horsa Mk I: Initial production version to carry 20-25 troops. 470 built by Airspeed at Christchurch, 300 by Austin Motor Co and 1,461 by Harris Lebus and Associates. First operation November 19, 1942 (two Horsas towed by Halifaxes) against Norwegian heavy water plant in Norway; first major deployment, invasion of Sicily, July 1943. Projected AS.52 to specification X.3/41 designed (but not built) to carry up to 8,000 Ibs (3,632 kg) of bombs. Powered version with two 375 hp Cheetah Xs also projected, along with AS.53 vehicle-carrying glider.

Airspeed Horsa Mk II: Version of AS.53 further developed in 1943 as AS.58 with hinged nose and reinforced floor to carry vehicles; twin nose wheels, and twin tow-rope attach-ment moved from underwing to nosewheel strut. 225 built by Airspeed at Christchurch; 65 by Austin Motor Co; 1,271 by Harris Lebus Group. Extensively used (some in USAAF markings) in D-Day landings and subsequent operations up to crossing of the Rhine in March 1945. A few to India for trials. Tugs included Stirling, Halifax, Albemarle, Whitley and, rarely, Dakota. Gross weight increased to 15,750 1 b (7,144 kg).

Specifications:
Type: Assault Glider
Origin: Airspeed
Models: Horsa Mk-I and Mk-II
First Flight: Prototype DG597: September 12, 1941
Service Delivery: May 1942
Number Produced: 3,644
Payload: 25 Troops or equivalent cargo.

Dimensions:
Wing span: 88 ft. (26.84m)
Length: 67 ft. (20.43m)
Height: 19 ft. 6 in. (5.9m)
Weights: Empty: 7,500 lb. (3402 kg) / Loaded: 15,250 lb. (6917 kg)

Performance :
Towing Speed: 127 mph (204 km/h)
Gliding Speed: 100 mph (161 km/h)

Armaments: None

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All information and photos Copyright of FiddlersGreen

[snippy_about_it]

There are millions of dead soviets who might take issue with this statement.

They may take issue but did they really know what was going on in their own country? I'm no expert but we had to go somewhere and I'm pretty sure since we were allied with the Brits it was going to be that part of Europe we would liberate first.

In my opinion the Soviets had already sealed their own fate early on.

1939
August 23 - Nonaggression Pact between Germany and Moscow signed in Moscow. A secret protocal drawn up by Hitler and Stalin partitions Poland between them.
September 17- USSR invades Poland with a million troops to "protect it's Byelorussian and Ukrainian population." The Poles, fighting the Nazis, are not expecting a "stab in the back." Blitzkrieg The Red Army suffers 3,000 killed, but captures 240,000 Polish soldiers and 15,400 officers.
The Polish Air Force scores its last kills: a Dornier bomber and a Soviet fighter.

September 17 - 25 - Thousands of Poles are slaughtered in eastern Poland by elements of Ukrainians, Byelorussians and Jews, encouraged by Soviet slogans such as: "For Poles, Pans and dogs--a dog's death!" In Karczowka, 24 Polish settlers are tied with barbed wire and are shot or drowned. In Luboml County, 500 Poles are murdered in a 3-day orgy by Ukrainians. A wounded priest in Brzezany County is placed near a road and is used by passing Soviet soldiers as target practice; a dozen bullets hit him before he dies at the end of the day.

September-November - The NKVD ships 15,400 Polish officers to prisons at Kozielsk, Ostashkov and Starobielsk in the USSR.

September 18 - In Grodno, a number of local Jews (some operating Soviet tanks) and Byelorussians attack the Polish administration and murder Poles. About 300,000 Jews (mostly political activists) flee the Nazis to eastern Poland where they greet the Soviets and vice-versa. The Wehrmacht and Red Army stage a joint parade in Brest Litovsk.

September 19 - Lavrenti Beria sets up a Directorate for Prisoners of War and establishes camps for 240,000 Polish POWs in Soviet custody; about 37,000 will be used as forced-labour.

September 20 - 21 - The Polish defenders of the city of Grodno kill some 800 Red Army soldiers and destroy ten tanks.

September 22 - A Polish regiment repels attacks by forty Soviet tanks and infantry units at the Battle of Kodziowce. Soviet losses amount to hundreds killed and twenty tanks destroyed.

Not to mention the Soviets were usually busy killing their own as history teaches us. < /rant >

[stand watie]

GM, snippy!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning stand watie.

Free dixie bump!!! Wouldn't it be great if we really could?

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Johnny.

[stand watie]

YES, MA'AM it sure would.

fyi, i truly believe that my 13YO neice will live long enough to bask in dixie LIBERTY!

free dixie,sw

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Good rant. The Soviets were just as evil as the Nazi's. Too bad we couldn't have let the Nazi's finsih them off first. It would have been tougher and taken longer to win without the Germans being occupied in Russia but the Germans would have been defeated eventually.

[SAMWolf]

Morniing stand watie.

Free Dixie, but first we have to kill PC that is robbing the South of it's heritage