The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - “Sichelschnitt”: May 1940

Farther north, the 6th and 8th Panzer divisions of General Georg-Hans Reinhardt's LI Panzer Corps would head for Monthermé, a small town downstream from Sedan. The 5th and 7th Panzer divisions of General Hermann Hoth's XV Panzer Corps, a part of General Günther von Kluge's Fourth Army, would provide flank cover for Reinhardt's corps by crossing the Meuse farther north, at Dinant.

Hoth Breaks Through at Dinant Battle of France: May 14-15, 1940

The five panzer divisions belonging to Guderian and Reinhardt, the spearhead of the attack, were welded together in an integrated armored group under General Ewald von Kleist, a former cavalryman not well disposed to armored warfare, and thus sufficiently cautious to ease Hitler's fears about the exposed flanks of the panzers as they raced across France. All of these forces were allotted to Army Group A, under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, who also would prove to have an excessively cautious attitude toward the new blitzkrieg strategy.

Gerd von Rundstedt

While Rundstedt's Army Group A was expected to break through the Allied center, General Fedor von Bock's Army Group B and General Wilhelm von Leeb's Army Group C would be playing important roles, too. Bock's two armies, the Eighteenth, under General George von Küchler, and the Sixth, under General Walter von Reichenau, would have to crush resistance in the Netherlands as quickly as possible in order to protect the northern flank of Rundstedt's army group. They would also have to advance far enough into Belgium to draw the Allies, which would be trying to get into their rear, away from Rundstedt's Forces.

At the same time, on the southern part of the front, Leeb would have to convince the Allies that Germany was prepared to launch a secondary strike against the Maginot Line, in order to dissuade the French from shifting the divisions manning the fortifications northward to counter Rundstedt's crossing of the Meuse.

As winter gave way to spring, the Germans were busy taking steps to ensure that the redeployments required by Sichelschnitt were hidden from the Allies. They hoped that General Gamelin would find no reason to change his plan to send the cream of the Allied armies into a carefully planned trap in northeastern Belgium.

During the early morning of May 10, 1940, the most massive mechanized force assembled up to that time began crossing Germany's border with Belgium and Luxembourg. Panzer Group Kleist -- five panzer divisions, with 134,000 soldiers, 41,000 motor vehicles and more than 1,600 tanks and reconnaissance vehicles -- spearheaded the German attack. "Like a giant phalanx," remarked General Günther von Blumentritt, Rundstedt's chief of operations, the German forces "stretched back for a hundred miles, the rear rank lying fifty miles to the east of the Rhine."

A H-35 destroyed during the campaign of May 1940 in the West.

Kleist's panzer divisions advanced quickly through the Ardennes, meeting only light resistance from Belgian and French mechanized cavalry units. This they quickly brushed aside, and by the evening of May 12, two of Guderian's three panzer divisions had reached the Meuse River on either side of Sedan. The next day they planned to cross the river. By then the lead units of Maj. Gen. Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division had already gotten across the Meuse just below Dinant. While the Germans were pushing through the Ardennes Forest, farther to the north the Allies were advancing into Belgium. By the evening of May 11, all nine divisions of the BEF were in place along the Dyle River. Between the BEF and the city of Namur, some 25 miles to the east, stretched the Brabant Plain, for centuries the avenue of Germanic invasions into the French heartland.

Filling the Gembloux Gap was Blanchard's First Army -- eight infantry divisions, three of them mechanized. Blanchard's force was regarded as one of the best armies France possessed.

PzKpfw 38(t)

On the extreme left wing of the Allied front, the French Seventh Army spent May 10 advancing into the Netherlands. Giraud was instructed to move as far north as Breda to link up with the Dutch. But by the time his army reached Breda, the Dutch army had already withdrawn to cover Rotterdam. Instead of linking up with his allies, Giraud encountered the advance elements of Lt. Gen. Alfred Ritter von Hubicki's 9th Panzer Division. The French also were attacked by Luftwaffe aircraft, whose bombs and strafing devastated Giraud's 25th Infantry Division and scattered the 1st Light Cavalry Division. The next day, Giraud was ordered to withdraw his army from Holland and regroup in Belgium, west of the Escaut River. So ended the French attempt to save the Netherlands. On May 14, the Dutch surrendered.

Giraud's army was sorely missed on the Meuse River line facing the Ardennes Forest. Had it remained in general reserve, as General Georges had desired, it might have been able to stem the impending German onslaught.

Heinz Guderian

As Guderian's three panzer divisions prepared to cross the Meuse near Sedan, they faced the weakest army in the French order of battle, General Corap's Ninth. Of Corap's seven infantry divisions, only two -- the 5th Motorized and 4th North African -- were Regular divisions. The others were filled by reservists. Two of the reserve divisions, the 61st and 53rd infantries, were classified as Series B divisions, which meant badly armed, overage and undertrained. The men were led by older-than-average officers, most of whom had been called out of retirement. With the exception of its cavalry corps, which had lost many of its light tanks in the Ardennes, the Ninth Army had no armored units. Still, no one had expected its soldiers to do much fighting. Gamelin had deployed Corap's army near the Ardennes because he had considered the forest impenetrable and the Meuse River impassable.

PzKpfw II Ausf. B crosses the River Meuse

The confidence of the French generals was severely jolted, however, as they watched the Germans emerge from the "impenetrable" Ardennes on the afternoon of May 12. There was, recalled X Corps commander General Claude Grandsard, "an almost uninterrupted descent of infantry, armored vehicles and motorized infantry." What Grandsard witnessed was the advance of Guderian's 1st and 10th Panzer divisions (the 2nd Panzer still lagged far behind in the Ardennes Forest).

Another French general, Charles Menu, later wrote that if the French artillery had delivered a full-scale, concerted blow at this assemblage, Guderian's armored formations might have been broken up before they even attempted the Meuse crossing. "What a chance," Menu observed, "for the artillery to strike hammer blows" and turn those armored units "into scraps of burnt and twisted metal." But, amazingly, the French artillery did not open up. Grandsard later explained that "as a counterattack would have to be launched with as much weight as possible against the Germans massing for the assault, our artillery was very sparing with its ammunition."

1 posted on 08/15/2005 10:01:36 PM PDT by SAMWolf

To: snippy_about_it; radu; Victoria Delsoul; w_over_w; LaDivaLoca; TEXOKIE; cherry_bomb88; Bethbg79; ...

Nor was the French air force called in to strike at the concentrated masses of German tanks. The headquarters of the Second Army told nearby air force units that their bombers were not needed because there was more than enough artillery on hand to deal with the Germans.

Battle of France, Sedan: May 14, 1940

Guderian's crossing of the Meuse was preceded by an intense bombardment that began at 10 a.m. on May 13 and continued for five straight hours. Two hundred Junkers Ju-87B Stuka dive bombers and 310 Dornier Do-17 bombers, escorted by 200 fighters, pounded the French positions. Taking advantage of the smoke that covered the valley, the Germans moved 20mm and 37mm automatic cannons, along with the new 88mm anti-aircraft guns, to the very edge of the river and fired point-blank into the French bunkers and gun emplacement barely 100 yards away.

One by one the French guns were smashed, their crews blinded by splinters or horribly mutilated by shells exploding within their bunkers' restricted interiors. "The gunners stopped firing and went to the ground," General Edmond Ruby recalled. "Their only concern was to keep their heads well down. They did not dare move. Five hours of this torture was enough to shatter their nerves. They became incapable of reacting to the approaching enemy infantry." Many of the defenders fled in panic.

Under the cover of the bombardment's smoke and explosions, German infantry began crossing the river in rubber rafts at 3:30 p.m. Once across, they rushed the French pillboxes and knocked them out one by one. By 2 the next morning, the Germans had built a pontoon bridge over the river, and tanks poured across it. A French counterattack by two tank battalions at dawn was easily repulsed by the 2nd Panzer Division. By the afternoon of May 14, all three of Guderian's panzer divisions were across the Meuse and had advanced as far as 10 miles south of the river.

The Panzer's Race To The Channel Battle of France: May 14-24, 1940

At that point, with the French line shattered, Guderian decided to ignore any possible threat to his southern flank. He boldly ordered his armor to turn west and head for Rethel, a French town on the Aisne River, 32 miles southwest of Sedan. Its capture would complete the rupture of the link between the French Second and Ninth armies. This would open the way to Paris, little more than 100 miles away, or to the English Channel, 50 miles farther west. However, after German intelligence warned Guderian that additional French tanks were moving toward Stonne, a village 10 miles south of Sedan, he decided to keep the 10th Panzer Division behind to defend his southern flank until additional infantry could be brought up.

The next day, May 15, a badly coordinated counterattack by the French 3rd Armored Division was easily repulsed, and the 10th Panzer Division joined its two sister divisions in their westward dash to the sea. By that night, a reconnaissance detachment of Guderian's 2nd Panzer Division made contact with Reinhardt's panzers at Montcornet, 40 miles west of Sedan. Only 24 hours earlier the German bridgeheads across the Meuse had been three isolated bulges; now they formed one continuous pocket 62 miles wide. For the Germans the way west lay open, with virtually no obstacles between them and the English Channel.

Vickers Light Tank Mark VIB

Panzer Group Kleist continued its dash to the Channel after breaking through the French front on the Meuse. By May 20, elements of Guderian's panzer corps reached the Channel coast near Abbeville. They then advanced northward along the coast toward Boulogne and Calais. At the same time, Reinhardt's panzer corps advanced north on the right of, and just behind, Guderian's corps. It was followed in turn by the two panzer divisions of Hoth's corps. Then on May 24, just as German tanks were about to move against the thinly defended canal line west of Dunkirk, where much of the BEF waited to be rescued, Hitler ordered an abrupt halt to the advance.

Allied Defeat in the North: Retreat to Dunkirk Battle of France: May 25-31, 1940

Why Hitler issued that order, when the panzers were closer to Dunkirk than almost all of the French and British troops, is one of the great puzzles of World War II. The rationale behind his decision apparently originated with General Kluge, the commander of the Fourth Army. On May 23, Kluge suggested to Rundstedt that the tanks should "halt and close up," a move that also would allow the Luftwaffe time to move its bases closer to the panzers' area of operation.

Kluge's argument made sense to Rundstedt. The army group commander was also concerned about the heavy losses his armor had suffered in the advance across France. Kleist reported that 50 percent of his tanks were unfit for action (although he did not mention that many of these vehicles could be repaired in a day or two). If the other panzer divisions had suffered comparable losses, Rundstedt feared, they would not be strong enough to carry out Operation Red, the second phase in the conquest of France.

R-35 tanks abandoned in the course of the Campaign in the West in May of 1940.

Another factor that prompted Rundstedt to halt the panzers was a message that morning from General Walter von Brauchitsch stating that completing the encirclement of the enemy forces retreating toward Dunkirk would be handed over to Bock's Army Group B so that Rundstedt could concentrate on preparations for the drive toward Paris. As far as Rundstedt was now concerned, his army group had completed the work it had been assigned in Sichelschnitt: break through the French front and advance to the English Channel. For Rundstedt, British historian Basil Liddell Hart remarked, Dunkirk "was now barely in the corner of his eye."

Hitler, who had the final say in the matter, backed Rundstedt's halt order. Like Rundstedt, he was worried about the German southern flank. Not wanting victory ripped from his grasp by an Allied counterattack across the Somme River -- as victory had been snatched from the German army in the Battle of the Marne during World War I -- Hitler wanted all the motorized formations to wait until infantry could be brought up to reinforce the southern flank. Moreover, he felt that the canals and marshy terrain surrounding Dunkirk were not really suitable for armored operations.

Infantry Tank Matilda

As a lance corporal in World War I, Hitler had seen British tanks bogged down by the very same terrain during the Poelcappelle offensive in October 1917. He also agreed with Rundstedt that it was vitally necessary to save the panzers for the next phase of the campaign. In addition, Hitler was apparently convinced by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, who wanted a share of the campaign's glory, that his Luftwaffe could finish off the British.

PzKpfw IV

The tank commanders reacted furiously to the halt order. General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma recalled that when he received the order, he was riding with his leading tanks near Bergues. From there, he said with some exaggeration, "he could almost look into the town of Dunkirk," only five miles to the north.

Thoma sent back radio messages to headquarters begging for permission to let the tanks push on. But his appeal had no effect. "You can never talk to a fool," Thoma later remarked. "Hitler spoiled the chance of victory."

PzKpfw III

It is hardly surprising, considering the panzer generals' hostile reaction to the halt order, that some of them concluded it was prompted by a secret political design. This impression was reinforced by General Rundstedt, whose headquarters the Führer visited during the morning of May 24 to discuss the halt order. After the war, Rundstedt told Liddell Hart that Hitler "deliberately let the bulk of the BEF escape, so as to make peace negotiations easier."

To Guderian, on the other hand, the idea that Hitler purposely allowed the British to escape from Dunkirk was "an absurd theory." "It was by capturing the whole of Lord Gort's forces," he argued, "that we might have brought the British to terms. To leave them with the units that would enable them to raise and provide the backbone of further armies was, on the contrary, tantamount to urging them to go on with the war and to strengthening their resolve."

Yet that is exactly what happened. By halting the panzers, Hitler allowed the British to reinforce the Dunkirk perimeter sufficiently to permit more than 300,000 British and French troops to be evacuated to England over the next week and a half.

PzKpfw II

In effect, Hitler sabotaged Manstein's plan when it was on the verge of producing complete victory over the Allies. Even though France was knocked out of the war soon after the German offensive resumed on June 5, the British refused to surrender. Hitler was compelled to initiate preparations for an invasion of England that summer. But due largely to the heroic efforts of the Royal Air Force, the Luftwaffe was unable to gain the prerequisite air superiority over the English Channel and the southern coast of England. As a result, Hitler was forced to postpone the invasion attempt indefinitely.

Hitler then committed his second major strategic blunder. Before Britain was defeated, he launched an invasion of Russia in June 1941. He thereby committed Germany to a two-front war, a mistake he had promised he would never be foolish enough to make. Had Britain not continued in the war following the debacle in France, Hitler's forces might have succeeded in conquering Russia before the first snows of 1941 fell. But Britain's refusal to surrender would tie up some 40 German divisions that otherwise could have seen action on the Russian Front and possibly helped Germany to defeat the Soviet Union.

Hitler's inability to defeat Britain was due in no small measure to his failure to destroy the British army when he had the opportunity to do so. His sabotage of Manstein's plan, by halting the panzers when Dunkirk was virtually undefended, was a mistake for which he, and Germany, would pay dearly.

Additional Sources:

www.onwar.com
France's Defeat in the 1940 Campaign
www.dhm.de
users.swing.be/tanks. tanks
mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk

2 posted on 08/15/2005 10:02:49 PM PDT by SAMWolf (You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.)

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Allies and the Germans possessed roughly the same number of tanks in May 1940.31 In fact, the French SOMUA S-35 tank was widely regarded as the best tank on the battlefield of May 1940. The key difference between the two countries was not in the quantity or the quality of their tanks, but rather, the tactical employment of these tanks.

S-35

Although the French recognised the tank as one of the most important weapons indroduced since WW I, they firmly believed that the primary function of the tank was to augment the firepower of the infantry. The employment of tanks in the French Army during the inter-war period was mostly aptly described in the following extract from the French Military Review (December 1938):

"Not even the most modern tanks can ever lead the fighting by themselves and for themselves. Their mission must always to be to participate along with the fire of the artillery and heavy infantry arms in the protection and the support of attacks..."

It was only during the Polish Campaign in September 1939, when the awesome might of the German panzer divisions finally convinced France of the need to establish her own independent armoured divisions. The first two divisions were created in January 1940, while a third was only added in April 1940. Unfortunately, these hastily formed divisions suffered a lack of equipment and training, and were simply no match for the well-organised panzer divisions.

Char B1 Bis

As with the tanks, the French failed to develop a viable doctrine for the deployment of airplanes. Little thought had been given to air co-operation with the ground forces. Probably, the most serious fault with the French air doctrine during the inter-war period was its failure to appreciate the importance of dive-bombers despite the lessons from the Polish Campaign. As at May 1940, France possessed a mere 50 dive-bombers.

In terms of equipment, the French Air Force was also inferior to the Luftwaffe, in both quantity and quality. The French Air Force entered the 1940 Campaign with only 1,200 aircraft against the German total of 3,200 aircraft. Moreover, the bulk of France's aircraft were obsolete equipment, accumulated from the 1920s and early 1930s, and were inferior in both speed and range to those manufactured in Germany. Unlike the German aircraft, the bulk of the French aircraft were not equipped with radio communication: once the aircraft were air-borne, they were beyond contact.

Excerpted from "France's Defeat in the 1940 Campaign" by MAJ Tan Teck Guan

3 posted on 08/15/2005 10:03:47 PM PDT by SAMWolf (You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.)

Showcasing America's finest, and those who betray them!

Please click on the banner above and check out this newly created (and still under construction) website created by FReeper Coop!

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.

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

We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

Blue Stars for a Safe Return

UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004

The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

4 posted on 08/15/2005 10:04:02 PM PDT by SAMWolf (You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.)

To: Colonial Warrior; texianyankee; vox_PL; Bigturbowski; ruoflaw; Bombardier; Steelerfan; ...

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!

It's TreadHead Tuesday!

Good Morning Everyone

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

5 posted on 08/15/2005 10:08:41 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)

To: FreedomPoster; Delta 21; mostly cajun; archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; ...

Free Republic Treadhead Ping

Freedom Poster;Delta 21;mostly cajun ;archy; Gringo1; Matthew James; Fred Mertz; Squantos; colorado tanker; The Shrew; SLB; Darksheare; BCR #226; IDontLikeToPayTaxes; Imacatfish; Tailback; DCBryan1; Eaker; Archangelsk; gatorbait; river rat; Lee'sGhost; Dionysius; BlueLancer; Frohickey; GregB; leadpenny; skepsel; Proud Legions; King Prout; Professional Engineer; alfa6; bluelancer; Cannoneer No.4; An Old Man; hookman; DMZFrank; in the Arena; Bethbg79; neverdem; NWU Army ROTC; ma bell; MoJo2001; The Sailor; dcwusmc; dts32041; spectr17; Rockpile; Theophilus;humblegunner

************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Good morning, ON THE WAY!!!!. :-)

6 posted on 08/15/2005 10:09:54 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)

To: snippy_about_it

FIRST IN!

I have always thought of von Runstedt as a good leader, though a little cautious. I didn't realize that he was the reason for the halt that allowed the evacuation at Dunkirk, and I've been an avid reader of WWII history since middle school.

I learned something today!.. Kewl!

7 posted on 08/15/2005 11:24:50 PM PDT by Don W (The french were put on earth ONLY to give Germans an over-inflated sense of military prowess)

Stunned.

I'm stunned. LOL.

Finally you are first in, hurrah!

A Foxhole flyover first for you Don W, congratulations.

8 posted on 08/16/2005 12:42:02 AM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)

To: snippy_about_it

The uppermost brass simply cannot stay out of operational decisions. Look at LBJ, or at Carter during the "Iranian hostage rescue". The stoppage of pursuit in Gulf War One. The haberdasher's relief of General MacArthur. Yalta. The Imperial General Staff (Imperial Japanese Army guys) overriding Admiral Yamamoto and attacking the USA.

How about Wallenstein, so close to ending the Thirty Years War by diplomacy? Out he went, mostly by French conspiracy, and Eastern Europe was ground to dust, and any rapprochement between Catholic and Lutheran impossible.

Lee asked Davis to negotiate after the Seven Days, saying the British would mediate (they would have, at that time), and go for a status quo antebellum. Could have happened. The Northern public would have gone for it.

Anybody have other examples?

9 posted on 08/16/2005 1:51:06 AM PDT by Iris7 ("A pig's gotta fly." - Porco Rosso)

I remember another letter from Lee to Davis, written earlier in the year, the letter discribed above. Whether this is a fault of memory, I don't know.

This letter is better known, and on the same subject.

HEADQUARTERS,
Near Fredericktown, Md., September 8, 1862.

His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS,
President of the Confederate States,
Richmond, Va.:

Mr. President: The present position of affairs, in my opinion, places it in the power of the Government of the Confederate States to propose with propriety to that of the United States the recognition of our independence. For more than a year both sections of the country have been devastated by hostilities which have brought sorrow and suffering upon thousands of homes, without advancing the objects which our enemies proposed to themselves in beginning the contest. Such a proposition, coming from us at this time, could in no way be regarded as suing for peace; but, being made when it is in our power to inflict injury upon our adversary, would show conclusively to the world that our sole object is the establishment of our independence and the attainment of an honorable peace. The rejection of this offer would prove to the country that the responsibility of the continuance of the war does not rest upon us, but that the party in power in the United States elect to prosecute it for purposes of their own. The proposal of peace would enable the people of the United States to determine at their coming elections whether they will support those who favor a prolongation of the war, or those who wish to bring it to a termination, which can but be productive of good to both parties without affecting the honor of either.

I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,
General.

10 posted on 08/16/2005 2:26:21 AM PDT by Iris7 ("A pig's gotta fly." - Porco Rosso)

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; All

A couple of nice ME-108 pics for the Treadheads

Off to work(Boo Hiss Snarl. I was suppose to be off tody)

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

11 posted on 08/16/2005 2:31:25 AM PDT by alfa6 (Any child of twelve can do it, with fifteen years practice)

To: snippy_about_it

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

12 posted on 08/16/2005 3:03:09 AM PDT by E.G.C.

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; All

August 16, 2005

Handyman Genius

Read:
Ephesians 4:11-16

He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, . . . for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. —Ephesians 4:11-12

Bible In One Year: Jeremiah 37-39

cover My father-in-law Pete is a genius. No, he didn't develop any scientific theories like Einstein did. His genius is that of a handyman. Just ask him about an ailing furnace or a clogged garbage disposal. He can intuitively diagnose the problem and come up with a solution. When my in-laws visit, it looks like a home repair TV show. I often take notes. In many ways, as I watch Pete, I am equipped to do the repairs on my own.

In the church, there are spiritual leaders whose job it is to equip us for ministry. In Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, he wrote about equipping the people for service (Ephesians 4:11-12). The word used here for "equip" is the same one used to describe the disciples' mending of their nets when Jesus called them into service (Mark 1:16-20). For 3 years, Jesus "mended holes" in their "ministry nets" so they could be effective fishers of men (v.17).

If you don't know how to get started in finding and participating in a ministry, watch for people who can show you how it's done. Observe the way they use the Bible, pray, and work with people. Soon you will find that the Lord is using you more effectively in the lives of others. All you need is to be equipped. —Dennis Fisher

By God's design, there lies in wait for you
Important work that no one else can do.
Just as the planets find their paths through space,
You too must grow to fill your proper place. —Thayer

Are you following the right leader?

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Who Qualifies To Be A Church Leader?
The Church We Need

13 posted on 08/16/2005 3:58:46 AM PDT by The Mayor ( Pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you.)

To: snippy_about_it

Good morning ALL. Going to be a hot dry day here in Memphis...to hot.

14 posted on 08/16/2005 4:15:42 AM PDT by GailA (Glory be to GOD and his only son Jesus.)

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; Professional Engineer; PhilDragoo; alfa6; radu; Darksheare; All

Good morning everyone, tanks up for TheadHead Tuesday!

15 posted on 08/16/2005 5:14:39 AM PDT by Soaring Feather

A good article, but the author neglects several factors in the decision to halt.

First, he omitted to mention the impact of the British counterattack at Arras on Rommel's 7th Panzer, in which Rommel initially overestimated the strength of the armor attacking him, in which his anti - tank troops found their 37 mm AT guns ineffective against the Matildas attacking them, and which required not only the 7th Pz. and elements of the 3rd SS "Totenkopf" Div. to repulse, but which also had Rommel using, for the first time in the war, the 88mm dual purpose gun in the anti-tank role. For a High Command almost pathologically concerned with its flanks, that attack had repercussions far exceeding its actual effect.

Nor was the High Command's fear totally baseless. The article fails to deal with the VERY limited motorization of the bulk of the German Army. Most of the motorized infantry was either assigned to, or in Corps with, the Panzer Divisions. The rest were "leg" infantry. Most of their support units, and the great bulk of the artillery was horse drawn [and would be throughout the war]. Thus, as the Panzers accelerated away from the Meuse, their flank protection went from organic, i.e their own motorized infantry, or Corps infantry to regular infantry, with correspondingly longer gaps on the flanks. Interestingly, the Germans failed to develop the technique used four years later by 3rd US Army and XIX Air Corps, and have the air units cover the flanks.Considering that the Senior Commanders and Staff were mostly Infantry and Artillery officers with a limited understanding of armored warfare [The Chief of Staff in 1938, Beck, had thought armored operations would not work because he didn't think you could put radios in tanks], their concerns, though misplaced, were understandable.

In any case, Case Yellow, is, IMHO, the second or third greatest military campaign in history.

16 posted on 08/16/2005 5:35:22 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)

To: snippy_about_it; bentfeather; Samwise; Peanut Gallery; Wneighbor

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

17 posted on 08/16/2005 5:45:14 AM PDT by Professional Engineer (I could care less about backing into parking spaces. Does that mean I'm not cool anymore?)

To: snippy_about_it

Amazing that the F-15 and the F-16 aren't near stall speed keeping formation with the P-51 and the P-38.

18 posted on 08/16/2005 6:07:58 AM PDT by Darksheare (This tagline has gone berserk! Run for your lives! _______\o/_______ Aiiiiie it's got me!)

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 16:
1860 Jules Laforgue Uruguay, French poet (Les Complaintes)
1862 Amos Alonzo Stagg football pioneer, (developed wing back principle, quick kick, onside kick, double flankers, pass-run option play, man in motion)
1868 Bernard MacFadden publisher (Physical Culture, True Romances)
1874 Arthur Meighen Canada, PM of Canada (1920,1,6)
1884 Hugo Gernsback sci-fi writer (1960 Hugo)
1892 Harold Foster cartoonist (created "Prince Valiant")
1894 George Meany NYC, labor leader (headed AFL-CIO)
1895 Lucien Littlefield San Antonio Tx, actor (Mr Beasley-Blondie)
1897 Robert Ringling circus master
1899 Glenn Strange Weed NM, actor (Sam the Bartender-Gunsmoke)
1904 Wendell Stanley biochemist, 1st to crystallize a virus (Nobel '46)
1906 Franz Josef II prince of Liechtenstein (1938- )
1913 Menachem Begin Israeli PM (1977-83, Nobel 1978)
1914 Tullio Pandolfini Italy water polo (Olympic-gold-1948)
1917 Roque Cordero Panama, composer (Sonata Breve)
1925 Fess Parker Fort Worth Texas, actor (Davy Crockett, Old Yeller)
1928 Ann Blyth Mt Kisko NY, actress (Kismet, Mildred Pierce)
1929 Bill Evans, jazz pianist
1930 Frank Gifford Calif, NFL halfback (NY Giants)/ABC sportscaster
1930 Robert Culp Berkley Calif, actor (I Spy, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice)
1930 Ted Hughes England, poet laureate (1984- )
1930 Tony Trabert tennis pro (1955 Wimbledon)
1932 Eydie Gorme Bronx NY, singer/songwriter (Blame it on the Bossa Nova)
1933 Stuart A "Smokey" Roosa Durango Colo, Col USAF/astronaut (Apollo 14)
1935 Julie Newmar Hollywood Calif, actress (Catwoman-Batman, Living Doll)
1936 Anita Gillette Balt Md, actress (Quincy ME, Marathon, Moonstruck)
1936 Gary Clarke LA Calif, actor (Hondo, Virginian, Michael Shayne)
1939 Carol Shelly London, actress (Gwendolyn Pidgeon-Odd Couple)
1939 Valeri V Ryumin cosmonaut (Soyuz 25, 32)
1940 Bruce Beresford, Australian film director whose films include Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Driving Miss Daisy.
1945 Kevin Ayers England, progressive rocker (Joy of a Toy)
1945 Robert Balaban Chicago, actor (Absence of Malice, Altered States)
1945 Suzanne Farrell Cincinatti, dancer (Don Quioxote)
1946 Lesley Ann Warren NYC, actress (Cinderella, Mission Impossible)
1947 John Howard (US), speed record (152.284 mph at Bonneville Flats, UT)
1952 Gianna Rolandi NYC, soprano (Der Rosenkavalier)
1953 Catlin O'Heaney Whitefish Bay Wisc, actress (Snow White-Charmings)
1953 James Taylor singer/songwriter (Sweet Baby James)
1953 Kathie Lee Gifford Paris Fla, hostess (Live with Regis & Kathie Lee)
1953 Nick Leyva baseball manager (Phillies 1988-91)
1957 Tim Farriss rocker (Inxs-Kiss the Dirt)
1958 Madonna (Ciccone) Bay City Mich, singer/actress (Like a Virgin)
1960 Timothy Hutton actor (Turk 182, Ordinary People)
1964 Jimmy Arias Buffalo NY, tennis player (US Davis Cup team)
1988 Rumer Willis child of Bruce Willis & Demi Moore

Deaths which occurred on August 16:
1675 Bogdan Chmilnicki, cosack leader/murderer of 300,000 Jews, dies
1854 Duncan Phyfe furniture maker, dies
1920 Norman Lockyer editor of NATURE, discoverer of helium in Sun, dies
1948 Babe Ruth Baseball legend, dies in NY at 53
1948 Harry Dexter White, former assistant US Treasury Secretary/Soviet spy
1959 William "Bull" F Halsey, US vice-admiral
1977 Elvis Presley dies of heart ailment at Graceland at 42
1989 Amanda Blake actress (Gunsmoke), dies at 60
1991 Shamu the Whale dies at 16, from respiratory failure
1991 Stuart Karl CEO (Karl Home Video), dies at 38 of skin cancer
1993 Stewart Granger (Actor) (80) dies
1997 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Sufi devotional singer) dies
2003 Idi Amin, assumes room temp. Destroyed Uganda before fleeing into exile

Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
16-Aug-2004 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Sergeant David M. Heath Baghdad (Sadr City) Hostile - hostile fire
( Sgt. David M. Heath, 30, of LaPorte, Ind., died August 16 in Sadr City, Iraq, when his patrol came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade attack. Heath was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Riley, Kan.)

Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
//////////
Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://www.taps.org/
(subtle hint SEND MONEY)

On this day...
1513 Henry VIII of England and Emperor Maximilian defeat the French at Guinegatte, France, in the Battle of the Spurs.
1691 Yorktown Va founded
1743 Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton)
1777 Americans defeat British in Battle of Bennington, Vt
1777 France declares a state of bankruptcy.
1780 British defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, SC
1812 Gen Hull surrenders Detroit & Michigan territory to England
1819 Manchester Massacre; English police charge unemployed demonstrators
1829 Siamese twins Chang & Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited
1861 Pres Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy
1863 Emancipation Proclamation signed
1863 Chickamauga campaign begings. Union General William S. Rosecrans moves his army south from Tullahoma, Tennessee to attack Confederate forces in Chattanooga.
1864 Battle of Front Royal, VA. (Guard Hill).
1870 Fred Goldsmith demonstrates curve ball isn't an optical illusion
1876 The opera "Siegfried" is produced (Bayreuth)
1890 Alexander Clark, journalist/lawyer, named minister to Liberia
1896 Gold discovered in the Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Ala
(George Carmack, a fellow not employed at anything in particular, was hiking around northwest Canada’s Yukon River area with his two Indian brothers-in-law "Skookum Jim" Mason and "Tagish Charley." The three found gold on Rabbit Creek, a stream that feeds the Yukon River near Dawson, Alaska.)
1898 Roller coaster patented
1903 Tigers play a home game in Toledo Ohio, Yanks win 12-8
1920 Ray Chapman, of the Indians is hit in the head by Yanks' Carl Mays pitch; he dies next day, only major league fatality
1934 US ends occupation of Haiti (been there since 1915)
1934 US explorer William Beebe descends 3,028' in a Bathysphere
1936 11th Olympic games close in Berlin
1940 45 German aircrafts were shot down over England
1942 US Navy L-8 patrol blimp crash-landed at 419 Bellevue St., Daly City, Ca., after drifting in from the ocean. The ship’s crew, Lt. Ernest Dewitt Cody (27) and Ensign Charles E. Adams (38), were missing and no trace of them was ever found.
1945 Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Corregidor on May 6, 1942, was released from a POW camp in Manchuria by U.S. troops.
1946 Great Calcutta blood bath - Moslem/Hindu riot (3-4,000 die)
1948 The Israeli pound becomes legal tender
1954 Sports Illustrated publishes it's 1st issue
1955 Fiat Motors orders 1st private atomic reactor
1956 Adlai E Stevenson nominated as Democratic presidential candidate
1959 USSR introduces installment buying
1960 Britain grants independence to crown colony of Cyprus
1960 Joseph Kittinger parachutes from balloon at 102,800 feet / 19.3 miles. Free fall lasts four minutes and 36 seconds and he became the first man to exceed the speed of sound without an aircraft or space vehicle.
1960 Republic of the Congo (Zaire) forms
1963 Independence is restored to Dominican Republic
1965 AFL awards its 1st expansion franchise (Miami Dolphins)
1976 St Louis Cards beat San Diego Chargers 20-10 in Tokyo (NFL expo)
1977 Yanks blow 9-4 lead in 9th but beat Chicago 11-10 in bottom of 9th
1981 Highest score in World Cup soccer match (New Zealand-13, Fiji-0)
1984 LA federal jury acquits auto maker John Z DeLorean on cocaine charges
1984 Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500)
1985 Singer Madonna weds actor Sean Penn (They deserve each other)
1987 156 die as Northwest Flight 255 crashes at take off in Detroit
1987 Astrological Harmonic Convergence-Dawn of New Age (GROUP HUG ALERT!)
1987 NY Mets beat Chicago Cubs, 23-9
1988 IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence
1988 Jailed black nationalist Nelson Mandela struck with tuberculosis
1988 Mayor Koch says he plans to wipe out street-corner windshield washers
1989 Roger Kingdom of USA sets the 110m hurdle record (12.92) in Zurich
1990 Iraq orders 4000 Britons & 2500 Americans in Kuwait to Iraq
1993 NY police rescue business executive Harvey Weinstein from a covered 14-foot-deep pit, where he'd been held for ransom for nearly two weeks
1996 In Brookfield, Ill., a 3-year-old boy fell 15-feet into a concrete area of a zoo’s gorilla exhibit and was rescued by Binti-jua, a 7-year-old gorilla with her own 2-year-old on her back
1997 20 years later it is discovered that Elvis is still dead
2000 Al Gore formally nominated for president
(Al Gore? Al Gore? Nope name doesn't ring a bell.)
2001 Zacarias Moussaoui (33), a French citizen of Moroccan descent, was arrested in Minneapolis on immigration charges.
2002 Algerian Islamic terrorists kill 26 people, including women and children, in a rural western hamlet
2002 Pope John Paul II returns to Poland for a 3-day visit

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Elvis International Tribute Week Ends
Cyprus : Independence Day (1960)
Dominican Republic : Restoration Day (1963)
Liechtenstein : Prince Franz-Josef II Day
Vermont : Bennington Battle Day (1777)
Hawaii : Admission Day (1959) ( Friday )
Mich : Montrose-Blueberry Festival ( Friday )
Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896) ( Friday )
Weird Contest Week Begins
National Tell a Joke Day
National Blueberry Month

Religious Observances
old RC : Feast of St Joachim, father of Mary, confessor
RC : Memorial of St Stephen, apostle of Hungary (opt)

Religious History
1815 Birth of St. John Bosco, Italian educator. Poverty among the children in the city of Turin led him in 1859 to establish the Society of St. Francis of Sales (the Salesians). Bosco was canonized by Pius XI in 1934.
1852 Birth of Adolf von Schlatter, Swiss Protestant New Testament scholar. His 1921 History of Christ maintained that the success of any systematic theology had to be based on a foundation of solid biblical exegesis.
1875 Death of early 19th century Presbyterian revivalist Charles G. Finney, 82. Converted at 29, he led revivals for several years before affiliating with Oberlin College in 1835, where he spent the rest of his professional life.
1942 Birth of Don Wyrtzen, contemporary Christian songwriter. Among his most enduring sacred compositions are "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" and "Worthy is the Lamb."
1972 African-American Methodist clergyman from Dominica, West Indies, Philip A. Potter, 51, was named general secretary of the World Council of Churches. Serving until 1984, Potter gave strong spiritual guidance to the work of the WCC.

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

Album To Feature Clinton's Favorite Songs

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Former President Bill Clinton is coming out with an album that will feature his favorite tunes. Organizers said it'll be called "The Bill Clinton Collection: Selections from the Clinton Music Room."
It's planned as the first in a series of discs of Clinton's favorites.

The songs featured include "My One and Only Love" by John Coltrane, Miles Davis' "My Funny Valentine" and "Chelsea Morning" by Judy Collins.

The album goes on sale in about a month at the Clinton Museum Store in Little Rock.

(OH BOY! Must have for my collection.)

Thought for the day :
"Ideas without action are worthless."
Harvey Mackay

19 posted on 08/16/2005 6:37:04 AM PDT by Valin (The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.)

To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; All

Hello, all! AWOL Colonel falling in.

Thank you for a great read this morning - hope things are going well for you!

20 posted on 08/16/2005 7:30:23 AM PDT by Colonel_Flagg (Skol Vikings.)

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794

Handyman Genius

Read:Ephesians 4:11-16

He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, . . . for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. —Ephesians 4:11-12

Bible In One Year: Jeremiah 37-39

Read:
Ephesians 4:11-16