The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - 2nd Battle of El Alamein (10/23-11/3 1942)-Sep 13th, 2005

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[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.
.

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for all those serving their country at this time.

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Second Battle of El Alamein

The Battle of Alamein, or more correctly the Second Battle of El Alamein, marked a significant turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from October 23 to November 3, 1942. Following the First Battle of El Alamein, which had stalled the Axis advance, General Bernard Montgomery took command of the British Commonwealth's Eighth Army from Claude Auchinleck in August 1942. Success in the battle turned the tide in the North African Campaign.

Situation


Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

By July 1942 the German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel had struck deep into Egypt, threatening the British Commonwealth forces' vital supply line across the Suez Canal. Faced with overextended supply lines and lack of reinforcements and yet well aware of massive Allied reinforcements arriving, Rommel decided to strike at the Allies while their build-up was still not complete. This attack on 30 August 1942 at Alam Halfa failed, and expecting a counterattack by Montgomery´s Eighth Army, the Afrika Korps dug in. After six more weeks of building up forces the Eighth Army was ready to strike. 200,000 men and 1,000 tanks under Montgomery made their move against the 100,000 men and 500 tanks of the Afrika Korps.

Allied plan

With Operation Lightfoot, Montgomery hoped to cut two corridors through the Axis minefields in the north. Armour would then pass through and defeat the German armour. Diversionary attacks in the south would keep the rest of the Axis forces from moving northwards. Montgomery expected a twelve-day battle in three stages — "The break-in, the dog-fight and the final break of the enemy."



The Commonwealth forces practised a number of deceptions in the months prior to the battle to wrong-foot the Axis command, not only as to the exact whereabouts of the forthcoming battle, but as to when the battle was likely to occur. This operation was codenamed Operation Bertram. A dummy pipeline was built, stage by stage, the construction of which would lead the Axis to believe the attack would occur much later than it in fact did, and much further south. To further the illusion, dummy tanks made of plywood frames placed over jeeps were constructed and deployed in the south. In a reverse feint, the tanks for battle in the north were disguised as supply lorries by placing a removable plywood superstructure over them.


El Alamein - the Northern Sector

The Axis were dug-in along two lines, called by the Allies the Oxalic Line and the Pierson Line. They had laid around half a million mines, mainly anti-tank, in what was called the Devil's Garden.

Battle


Alamein Battlefield

The Battle of El Alamein is usually divided into five phases, consisting of the break-in (October 23-24), the crumbling (October 24-25), the counter (October 26-28), Operation Supercharge (November 1-2) and the breakout (November 3-7). No name is given to the period from October 29 to the 30th when the battle was at a standstill.

PHASE 1: The Break-In

On a calm, clear evening under the bright sky of a full moon, Operation Lightfoot began with 882 field and medium sized guns releasing a barrage of fire that did not stop until five and a half hours later, when each gun had fired about 600 rounds. During that period of time, 125 tons of bombs fell on the enemy gun positions. Legend has it that the noise was so great that the ears of the gunners bled.



There was a reason for the name Operation Lightfoot. The infantry had to attack first. Many of the anti-tank mines would not be tripped by soldiers running over them since they were too light (hence the code-name). As the infantry attacked, engineers had to clear a path for the tanks coming up in the rear. Each stretch of land cleared of mines was to be 24 feet wide, which was just enough to get a tank through in single file. The engineers had to clear a five mile section through the ‘Devil’s Garden’. It was an awesome task and one that essentially failed because of the depth of the Axis minefields.



The Allied plan called for the 13th Corps to make a feint attack to the south, engaging the German 21st Panzer Division and Ariete Divisions which were both tank divisions, while the 30th Corps in the north attempted to make the narrow pathway through the German minefield for the armored divisions of the 10th Corp.



At 10 pm, the infantry of the 30th Corps began to move. The objective was an imaginary line in the desert where the strongest enemy defenses were situated. Once the infantry reached the first minefields, the mine sweepers (sappers) moved in to create a passage for the tanks. Finally, at 2 am, the first of the 500 tanks crawled forward. By 4 am the lead tanks were in the minefields, where they stirred up so much dust that there was no visibility at all, and traffic jams developed as the tanks got bogged down. Entire columns went astray when the lead tank moved off course, and they were seldom exactly where they thought they were. In fact, on this night the tank units thought that they were through the first minefield and into the second when they were in fact still in the first.

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 2: The Crumbling

The morning of Saturday, October 24th brought disaster for the German headquarters. The accuracy of the barrage had destroyed German communications and Strumme, who commanded the German forces while Rommel was in Germany, had a heart attack. Temporary command was given to General von Thoma.


Matilda

Meanwhile, the 30th Corps had only dented the first minefields. It was not yet enough for the 10th Corps to pass through, so all day long, the British air force plastered Axis positions, making over 1,000 sorties.

The Panzers attacked the 51st Highland Division just after sunrise. By 4:00 pm there was little progress. At dusk, with the sun at their backs, Axis tanks from the German 15th Panzer Division and Italian Littorio swung out from Kidney Ridge to engage the Australians, and the first major tank battle of al-Alamein was joined. Over 100 tanks were involved in this battle and by dark, half were destroyed while neither position was altered.


Panzer III

While the Australians were fighting the 15th Panzers, the Highlanders, on their left, were engaging in the first tank versus infantry battle at al-Alamein. It was to last for two days with many casualties, but when it was over the British manned Kidney Ridge.

D Plus 2: Sunday, October 25, 1942

The initial thrust had ended by Sunday. Both armies had been fighting non-stop for two days. The British had advanced through the minefields in the west to make a six mile wide and five mile deep inroad. They now sat atop Miteriya Ridge in the southeast, but at the same time, the Axis forces were firmly entrenched in most of their original battle positions and the battle was at a standstill. Hence, General Bernard Montgomery ordered an end to conflict in the south, the evacuation of Miteriya Ridge, and a swing north toward the sea. The battlefield would be concentrated at the Kidney and Tell al-Eissa until a breakthrough occurred. It was to be a gruesome seven days.


Stuart / Honey

By early morning, the Axis forces launched a series of attacks using the 15th Panzer and Littorio divisions. The Afrika Korps was probing for a weakness, but they found none. When the sun set, the British infantry went on the attack. Around midnight, the 51st Division launched three attacks, but no one knew exactly where they were. It was pandemonium and carnage, resulting in the loss of over 500 British troops, and leaving only one officer among the attacking forces.


German 88mm Anti-tank gun

While the 51st was operating around the Kidney, the Australians were attacking Point 29, a 20 foot high Axis artillery observation post southwest of Tell al-Essa. This was the new northern thrust Montgomery had devised earlier in the day, and it was to be the scene of heated battle for days to come. The 26th Australian Brigade attacked at midnight. The air force dropped 115 tons of bombs and the British took the position and 240 prisoners. Fighting continued in this area for the next week, as the Axis tried to recover the small hill that was so vital to their defense.

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 3: The Counter

D Plus 3: Monday, October 26, 1942

Rommel returned to North Africa on the evening of the 25th, and immediately assessed the battle. What he found was that the Italian Trento Division had lost half of its infantry, the 164 Light Division had lost two battalions, most other groups were under strength, all men were on half rations, a large number were sick, and the entire Axis army had only enough fuel for three days.


The Panzer IV was the mainstay of the Afrika Corps and were needed in great numbers in the Western Desert

The offensive was stalled. Churchill railed, "Is it really impossible to find a general who can win a battle?" A counterattack began at 3 pm against Point 29 near Tell al-Eissa. Rommel was determined to retake the position and moved all the tanks from around Kidney to the battle site. Air and ground power poured into the area as Rommel moved the 21st Panzer and Ariete Armored Division up from the south along the Rahman Track. That turned out to be a mistake. The British held the position and Rommel's troops could not retire for lack of fuel, and were therefore stuck on open ground at the mercy of air attacks.


British 6 Lbr Gun

However, back at Kidney, the British failed to take advantage of the missing tanks. Each time they tried to move forward they were stopped by pounding anti-tank guns.


Panzer II

On a brighter note for the British, the Royal Navy sank the tanker Proserpina at Tobruk, and it was the last hope for re-supplying Rommel's thirsty machines.

D Plus 4: Tuesday, October 27, 1942

By now, the main battle was concentrated around Tell al-Aqaqir and Kidney Ridge. The 2nd Battalion (Rifle Brigade) of the 1st Armored Division of the British was at a position called Snipe, to the southwest of the Kidney. The stand at Snipe is one of the legends of the Battle of al-Alamein. Phillips in Alamein records that,

"The desert was quivering with heat. The gun detachments and the platoons squatted in their pits and trenches, the sweat running in rivers down their dust-caked faces. There was a terrible stench. The flies swarmed in black clouds upon the dead bodies and excreta and tormented the wounded. The place was strewn with burning tanks and carriers, wrecked guns and vehicles, and over all drifted the smoke and the dust from bursting high explosives and from the blasts of guns."


Kidney Ridge, October 1942: Toms, centre, serving his troop's last anti-tank gun, for which he had brought the ammunition in the blazing Jeep at left

Mortar and shell fire was constant all day long. Around 4 pm, British tanks accidentally opened fire against their own position, killing many. At 5 pm, Rommel launched his major attack. German and Italian tanks moved onward. With only four guns in operation, the 2nd Battalion was able to score continual broad-side hits against forty tanks of the 21st Division, knocking out thirty-seven of them. The remaining three withdrew and a new assault was launched. All but nine tanks in this assault were also destroyed. The 2nd was down to three guns with three rounds each, but the Germans had given up on this assault.

D Plus 5-6: Wednesday, Thursday, October 28-29, 1942


Marder I

The Australian 9th Division was to continue pushing northwest beyond Tell al-Eissa to an enemy held location south of the railway known as Thompson's Post and force a breakthrough along the coast road. By the end of the day, the British had 800 tanks still in operation, while the Axis had 148 German and 187 Italian tanks. With the tanker, Luisiano sunk outside Tobruk harbor, Rommel told his commanders, "It will be quite impossible for us to disengage from the enemy. There is no gasoline for such a maneuver. We have only one choice and that is to fight to the end at Alamein".

D Plus 7-9: Friday-Sunday, October 30 - November 1, 1942


Crusaders

The night of October 30th saw a continuation of previous plans, with the 9th Australian attacking. This was their third attempt to reach the paved road, which they took on this night. On the 31st, Rommel launched four retaliatory attacks against Thompson's Post. The fighting was intense and often hand to hand, but no ground was gained by the Axis forces. On Sunday, November 1, Rommel tried to dislodge the Australians once again, but the brutal, desperate fighting resulted in nothing but lost men and equipment. By now, it had become obvious to Rommel that the battle was lost. He began to plan the retreat and anticipated retiring to Fuka, a few miles west. Ironically, 1,200 tons of fuel arrived, but it was too late and had to be blown up.

PHASE 4: Operation Supercharge

This phase of the battle began on November 2nd at 1 am, with the objective of destroying enemy armor, forcing the enemy to fight in the open, diminishing the Axis petrol, attacking and occupying enemy supply routes and disintegrating the enemy army. Its intensity and the destruction was greater than anything witnessed so far during this horrific battle. The objective of Supercharge was Tell al-Aqaqir along the Rahman track, which was the base of the Axis defense.



This attack started with a seven hour aerial bombardment focused on Tell al-Aqaqir and Sidi Abd al-Rahman, followed by a 4.5 hour barrage of 360 guns firing 15,000 shells. The initial thrust of Supercharge was to be carried out by the battle scarred New Zealanders. The commander, Freyberg had tried to free them of this chore, as they were under strength and weary, but that was not to be, so on this cold November night with the moon on the wane, the New Zealanders moved out.



As dawn came on November 2nd, tank after tank was hit by the German 88 mm guns that kept firing through seven air attacks. The 9th never made it to their objective. In fact, they had 75 percent casualties and lost 102 of its 128 tanks. Nevertheless, they had breached the gun line and the 1st Armored Division of the 10th Corps, under the command of Raymond Briggs, was now about to be engaged. In the heat of the noon day sun, 120 Italian and German tanks advanced for the biggest, most critical and, to all intents and purposes, the final tank battle of al-Alamein, the Battle of Aqaqir Ridge.

This battle continued all day.


Sherman

"The desert, quivering in the heat haze, became a scene that defies sober description. It can be discerned only as a confused arena clouded by the bursts of high explosives, darkened by the smoke of scores of burning tanks and trucks, lit by the flashes of innumerable guns, shot through by red, green and white tracers, shaken by heavy bombing from the air and deafened by the artillery of both sides."



Rommel called up Ariete from the south to join the defense around Tell al-Aqaqir in the last stand of the German army. By nightfall, the Axis had only thirty-two tanks operating along the entire front. While the Afrika Korps was fighting for its life at Aqaqir, Rommel began the withdrawal to Fuka.

Additional Sources:

www.topedge.com
www.axishistory.com
www.mishalov.com
hsgm.free.fr/rajoutsguerre/alamein
www.touregypt.net
www.godsavethesouth.com

[SAMWolf]

PHASE 5: The Break Out

Rommel sent a message to Hitler explaining his untenable position and seeking permission to withdraw, but Rommel was told to stand fast. Von Thoma told him, "I've just been around the battlefield. 15th Panzer's got ten tanks left, 21st Panzer only fourteen and Littorio seventeen." Rommel read him Hitler's message, so he left to take command at the head of the Afrika Korps.


Grant

When 150 British tanks came after the remaining members of the nearly vanquished 15th and 21st Panzers, von Thoma stood with his men. He was in the command tank at the spot where the two panzer units joined, and there he remained until the last tank was destroyed. At the end, when all was lost, von Thoma stood alone beside his burning tank at the spot that was to become known as the "panzer graveyard."


Semoventi M41 at El-Alamein

Despite the desperate situation, Rommel's men stood their ground. Entire units were destroyed, but the remnants continued to fight. A 12 mile wide hole had been cut in the Axis line. "If we stay put here, the army won't last three days... If I do obey the Fuhrer's order, then there's the danger that my own troops won't obey me... My men come first!" Rommel ordered the massive retreat against Hitler's orders.

D Plus 12, November 4, 1942

On November 4th, the final assaults were underway. The British 1st, 7th and 10th armored divisions passed through the German lines and were operating in the open desert. The British had won the battle. The axis were in retreat. This day saw the liquidation of the Italian Ariete Armored Division, the Littorio Division and the Trieste Motorized Division.


General Von Thoma, Commander of The Afrika Corps was captured by Captain Grant Singer on 4th November 1942

So far, Rommel had lost 55,000 men, 1,000 guns and 450 tanks. The British had 13,500 men killed, missing or wounded. They also lost 100 guns and 500 tanks. John Currie of the 9th Armored Brigade pointed to twelve tanks when asked where his regiments were, "There are my armored regiments". Major-General Douglas Wimberley swore, "Never again".



Winston Churchill famously summed up the battle on 10 November 1942 with the words "now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."


General Bernard Law Montgomery

The battle was Montgomery's greatest triumph. He took the title "Viscount Montgomery of Alamein" when he was raised to the peerage.



The Torch landings in Morocco later that month marked the effective end of the Axis threat in North Africa.

[SAMWolf]

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

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************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!!!!. :-)

[The Mayor]

September 13, 2005

Walking In His Dust

Read:
Mark 1:16-20

[Jesus] called them, and they left their father . . . and went after Him. —Mark 1:20

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 8-11

In the first century, a Jewish man who wanted to become a disciple of a rabbi (teacher) was expected to leave family and job to join his rabbi. They would live together 24 hours a day—walking from place to place, teaching and learning, studying and working. They discussed and memorized the Scriptures and applied them to life.

The disciple's calling, as described in early Jewish writings about basic ethics, was to "cover himself in the dust of [the rabbi's] feet," drinking in his every word. He followed his rabbi so closely that he would "walk in his dust." In doing so, he became like the rabbi, his master.

Simon, Andrew, James, and John knew that this was the type of relationship to which Jesus was calling them (Mark 1:16-20). So immediately they walked away from their work and "went after Him" (v.20). For 3 years they stayed close to Him—listening to His teaching, watching His miracles, learning His principles, and walking in His dust.

As Jesus' followers today, we too can "walk in His dust." By spending time studying and meditating on His Word and applying its principles to life, we'll become like our rabbi—Jesus. —Anne Cetas

What holds me back? Some earthly tie? A thirst for gain?
A strange entanglement with life? A pleasure vain?
Dear Lord, I cast it all aside so willingly;
The path of true discipleship I'll walk with Thee. —Adams

Faith in Christ is not just a single step—it's a lifelong walk with Him.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What Does It Take To Follow Christ?

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[texianyankee]

Good Tuesday morning to everyone. Thanks again to our Vets and for this great country.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Professional Engineer]

Hi miss Feather

[Samwise]

Thanks for the thread, SAM.

[Samwise]

Even in the midst of devastation, there is hope.

[Samwise]

G'morning, bentfeather. Now that gas prices are through the roof, I'm glad I never got that hummer I wanted. I would still like a turret, though. :^)

[Samwise]

How are you feeling, PE?

[Soaring Feather]

LOL, good morning.

Yes, those big engines eat up the gas.




;)

[alfa6]

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

Now that gas prices are through the roof, I'm glad I never got that hummer I wanted. I would still like a turret, though. :^)

Maybe one of these would be more affordable, eh?

HE HE HE

Regards

alfa6 ;.}

[Soaring Feather]

LOL

Not as high as a hummer.

[Professional Engineer]

OK,I'm running out of steam late in the day lately. Doc says it's normal. He subtly chastised me for hitting things too quickly.

[Wneighbor]

Well, that is just incredible PE. I am on my knees at that F-O-G. Wow.

[Wneighbor]

Mornin' Bentfeather. Nice tank ya got there. :-)

[Soaring Feather]

Morning, wneighbor.

The tank does not use much fuel, stays parked in my closet most of the time. ;)

[Wneighbor]

Now that gas prices are through the roof, I'm glad I never got that hummer I wanted.

In all things be thankful huh Samwise! I had not throught about that - but it *is* something for which we may be thankful at present! :-)

[Wneighbor]

Maybe one of these would be more affordable, eh?

uhhhhhh...... alfa6, can you just picture the reaction I would get driving that around town. Keep in mind I am in the town just to the west of The Ranch. And a couple of the friends I visit are right out there by The Ranch. hehehe

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on September 13:
1157 Alexander Neckum/de Sancto Albano English theologist/encyclopedist
1739 Grigory Potemkin army officer, statesman, Catherine II's lover
1755 Oliver Evans pioneered high-pressure steam engine
1806 Joseph Lewis Hogg Brig General (Confederate Army), die in 1862
1813 John Sedgwick Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1864
1817 John McAuley Palmer US Union msj-gen/(Gov-Ill, 1868-72)
1836 John McCausland Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1927
1851 Walter Reed US Army Surgeon, proved mosquitoes transmit yellow fever
1857 Milton S Hershey , chocolate manufacturer/philanthropist
1860 Gen John J (Blackjack) Pershing US commander in WW I
1863 Arthur Henderson Britain, socialist/disarmament worker (Nobel 1934)
1866 Adolf Meyer US, psychiatrist/neurologist (pioneered mental hygiene)
1895 Ruth McDevitt Coldwater Mich, actress (Jo-All in the Family)
1896 Morris Kirksey US, 4 X 100m (Olympic-gold-1920)
1904 Gladys George Patten Maine, actress (Roaring Twenties)
1913 Roy Engle Mo, actor (Police Chief-My Favorite Martian)
1924 Maurice Jarre Lyons France, composer (Dr Zhivago-Acad Award 1966)
1925 Mel Torme aka "The Velvet Fog"‚ Chic Ill, jazz singer/songwriter/actor ("The Christmas Song".."Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose"(Night Court)
1930 James McLane US, 1500m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1948)
1931 Barbara Bain Chic, actress (Cinnamon-Mission Impossible, Space 1999)
1937 Fred Silverman broadcasting exec (ABC/NBC)
1938 Judith Martin Miss Manners
1939 Larry Speakes presidential press secretary
1939 Richard Kiel Detroit Mich, James Bond adversary
1941 Oscar Arias Sanchez president of Costa Rica (1986-1990) (Nobel 1987)
1944 (Winifred) Jacqueline Bisset England, actress (Class, Deep, Secrets)
1948 Nell Carter Birmingham Ala, actress (Nell-Gimme a Break, Lobo)
1951 David Clayton-Thomas singer (Blood Sweat & Tears-You've Made Me So Very Happy, Spinning Wheel)
1956 Joni Sledge Phila, vocalist (Sister Sledge-We are Family)

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Deaths which occurred on September 13:
0081 Titus Flavius Vespasianus, emperor of Rome (69-81), dies at 42
1321 Dante Alighieri author of the Divine Comedy, dies
1598 Philip II King of Spain (1556-98), dies at 71
1759 James Wolfe British general (Plains of Abraham), dies at 32
1803 Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.
1881 Ambrose Everett Burnside, US Union general, dies at 57
1921 Ludwig-Alexander von Battenberg [Mountbatten] adm (WW I), dies at 67
1981 William Loeb publisher of Manchester Union Leader, NH, dies at 75
1982 Philip Ober actor (Gen Stone-I Dream of Jeannie), dies at 80
1991 Joseph Pasternak movie producer, dies at 89 of cancer
1998 George Wallace Governor of Ala., presidential candidate at 79.
2001 Actress Dorothy McGuire (85) died (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
13-Sep-2004 10 | US: 10 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Corporal Jaygee Ngirmidol Meluat Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Corporal Adrian V. Soltau Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Lance Corporal Mathew D. Puckett Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Sergeant Carl Thomas Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Staff Sergeant Guy Stanley Hagy Jr. Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Lance Corporal Dominic C. Brown Al Anbar Province Non-hostile - unspecified cause
US Lance Corporal Michael J. Halal Al Anbar Province Non-hostile - vehicle accident
US Lance Corporal Cesar F. Machado-Olmos Al Anbar Province Non-hostile - vehicle accident
US Staff Sergeant David J. Weisenburg Taji (near, NW of Baghdad) - Salah ad Din Hostile - hostile fire
US Specialist Benjamin W. Isenberg Taji (near, NW of Baghdad) - Salah ad Din Hostile - hostile fire


Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY


http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
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Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php

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On this day...
0122 Building begins on Hadrian's Wall
0604 Sabinian begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1515 King Francis of France defeats the Swiss army under Cardinal Matthias Schiner at Marignano, northern Italy.
1574 Turkish fleet recaptures Tunis
1625 Rabbi Isiah Horowith & 15 other rabbis arrested in Jerusalem
1663 1st serious slave conspiracy in colonial America (Virginia)
1759 Wolfe defeats Montcalm on Plains of Abraham(Quebec)
: Canada becomes English
1788 The Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, to be held "the first Wednesday in January next (Jan 7, 1789)." and declared New York City the temporary national capital.
1789 1st loan to US Govt (from NYC banks)
1849 1st US prize fight fatality (Tom McCoy)
1861 1st naval battle of Civil War, Union frigate "Colorado" sinks privateer "Judah" off Pensacola, Fla
1862 Union troops in Frederick, Maryland, discover General Robert E. Lee's attack plans for the invasion of Maryland wrapped around a pack of cigars. They give the plans to General George B. McClellan who does nothing with them for the next 14 hours
1863 The Loudoun County Rangers route a company of Confederate cavalry at Catoctin Mountain in Virginia.
1867 Gen E R S Canby orders SC courts to impanel blacks jurors
1869 Jay Gould & James Fisk attempt to control US gold market
1881 Lewis Latimer invents & patents electric lamp with a carbon filament
1882 Battle at Count el-Kebir: British troops invade Egypt
1898 Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film
1906 1st airplane flight in Europe
1918 U.S. and French forces take St. Mihiel, France in America's first action as a standing army.
1922 136.4, El Aziziyah, Libya in shade (world record)
(More proof of global warming)
1927 Waite Hoyt became the only 20 game winner of the 1927 Yankees
1931 Capt G H Stainworth flies world speed record (655 kph)
1932 NY Yankees clinch their 7th pennant
1934 Judge Landis sells World Series broadcast rights to Ford for $100,000
1936 Cleve Bob Feller strikes out then record 17 in a game (vs Phila A's)
1942 Cubs shortstop Leonard Merullo makes 4 errors in 1 inning
1942 Battle of Edson's Ridge (2nd Japanese assault) at Guadalcanal
1942 German forces attack Stalingrad
1943 Chiang Kai-shek became "president" of China
1943 German counter attack at Salerno
1944 US 28th Infantry division opens assault on Siegfried line/Westwall
1948 Margaret Chase Smith (R-Me) elected senator, 1st woman to serve in both houses of Congress
1949 Ladies Pro Golf Association of America formed in NYC

1951 In Korea, U.S. Army troops begin their assault in Heartbreak Ridge. The month-long struggle will cost 3,700 casualties.

1959 USSR's Luna 2 becomes 1st probe to contact another celestial body
1961 "Car 54 Where are You?" premiers on TV
1961 Unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 launched into Earth orbit
1963 "The Outer Limits" premiers
1963 Yanks clinch their 28th pennant
1965 Beatles release "Yesterday"
1965 Today Show's 1st totally color broadcast
1965 Willie Mays hits his 500th HR
1970 IBM announces System 370 computer
1971 9 hostages & 28 prisoners die in take over at Attica State Prison
1971 Frank Robinson hits his 500th HR
1974 1st broadcast of "Rockford Files" on NBC-TV
1974 Phillies set NL record, using 27 players in a game, St Louis uses 24, tying record of 51. Phils win 7-3 in 17
1977 1st TV viewer discretion warning-Soap
1977 2nd test of the Space Shuttle Enterprise
1978 NY Yanks win to gain sole possession of 1st place from 14 games back
1981 33rd Emmy Awards (Hill Street Blues big winner)
1981 April Moon sets women's handbow distance record of 1,039 yds & 13"
1981 Atlanta Falcons tie record of 31 points in 4th quarter (vs Green Bay)
1983 US mint strikes 1st gold coin in 50 years (Olympic Eagle)
1984 STS 41-G launch vehicle moves to launch pad
1985 John Williams introduces the new Today Show theme
1986 Bert Blyleven gives up a record 44 HRs in a season
1986 Kellye Cash (Miss Tennessee) crowned Miss America
1987 Paul Lynch of Great Britain does 32,573 push-ups in 24 hours
1988 Hurricane Gilbert becomes strongest (26.13 barometer) hurricane in Western Hemisphere
1989 Fay Vincent named baseball commissioner
1990 Iraqi troops storm the residence of French ambassador in Kuwait
1990 Senate Judiciary Com opens hearing on confirmation of David Souter
1991 Joe Colemans 3rd 100 RBI season in a row 3 teams (Cleve, SD & Toronto)
1994 Space probe Ulyssus passes south pole of Sun
1996 The Dow closed above 5,838, a new record high.
1999 At least 118 people were killed in the bombing of a Moscow apartment building. The blast was the latest in a series of explosions blamed on terrorists from the breakaway republic of Chechnya.
2000 Wen Ho Lee pleads guilty in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a single count of mishandling nuclear secrets; he isset free with an apology from U.S. District Judge James Parker, who said the government's actions had "embarrassed our entire nation."
2001 Airports that wer closed after the terrorist attacks on 9-11 began reopening, but Logan Airport in Boston, where two of the hijacked planes took off, and Reagan National in Washington remained closed.
2001 US requests that Pakistan grant air and land space for military actions in Afghanistan. US Special Forces arrived in Afghanistan.
2002 President Bush said it was "highly doubtful" that Saddam Hussein would comply with demands that he disarm and avoid a confrontation with the world community. And he mocked Democrats and other lawmakers who wanted UN action before a congressional vote on confronting Saddam.
2004 US ban on assault rifles, signed in 1994 by Pres. Clinton, expired. The expiration means firearms like AK-47s, Uzis and TEC-9s can now be legally bought.
(WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! Assault rifles roaming the streets of the nation slaughtering people with reckless abandon. There's only one solution....hide under the bed.)

---

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

Pennsylvania : John Barry Day (1803)
Rhodesia : Pioneer Day (1923)
World : Dante Alighieri Day
Afghanistan : National Assembly Foundation Day (1964) (Wednesday)
Medieval South France : Annual Fair of Ax-lesson-Thermes
Brittany : St. Cornely's Day
International Chocolate Day!!!
National Peanut Day

Hand-Craft Soap Month

---

Religious Observances
Ang : Commemoration of St Cyprian, bishop & martyr of Carthage
RC, Luth : Memorial of St John Chrysostom, bishop & doctor

---

Religious History
1635 The Massachusetts General Court banished Separatist preacher Roger Williams, 32, for criticizing the Massachusetts Bay Company charter and for perpetually advocating a separation of church and state.
1845 William Walford's hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," first appeared in print in the "New York Observer." Walford (1772-1850), a blind lay preacher, had written the poem three years earlier in the village of Coleshill, England.
1931 Having recently suffered a nervous breakdown, Foursquare Gospel founder Aimee Semple McPherson, 40, entered an ill-fated marriage to David Hutton. (They divorced four years later.)
1940 The Southern Baptist General Convention of California was organized at Shafter by representatives of 14 congregations attending an associational meeting of the denomination.
1962 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'God, according to 2 Cor. 5:19, reconciled the world to himself, not himself to the world.'

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

---

Alleged Drunk Driver Jumps Into Back Seat


CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - An allegedly drunk driver stunned pursuing police in northern Australia by jumping into the back seat with his three passengers, leaving his car to careen out of control on an Outback road, police said Monday.

Police charged the 24-year-old man with resisting arrest and driving under the influence of alcohol after he abandoned the wheel on Saturday, ignoring the police car's siren and signals to pull over, said Sgt. Wayne Jenkinson, a police officer in the Northern Territory town of Katherine.
One of the car's passengers suffered minor injuries when she panicked and jumped from the driverless car while it was still rolling 25 miles per hour, he said.
The runaway car then rapidly lost speed, allowing a policeman to get out of his vehicle, chase it down on foot and bring it to a halt by applying the brake.

The man, who had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.178 percent - more than three-times the legal limit of 0.05 - was also charged with driving in a dangerous manner, driving while disqualified and driving an unregistered vehicle, Jenkinson said.

Jenkinson said the driver's hazardous maneuver was aimed at avoiding arrest.
"His cunning plan, in his muddled state of mind, was he wouldn't be the driver," Jenkinson said.
He will appear in a Katherine Magistrates Court this week.

---

Thought for the day :
"It's far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help."
Judith Martin

[Wneighbor]

The tank does not use much fuel

Nowdays that's a must I think!

you must have a nice sized closet! ~wink~

My truck hasn't used much fuel the last few days either. It's parked awaiting repair. :-(

[Soaring Feather]

Oh shoot, no wheels? Well, that's the pits.

[Wneighbor]

Well......... I *think* it's minor. At least, PRAYING it's minor. The thing keeps overheating. I am hoping a nice cleaning for the radiator will fix this. I am going to get out there today and do the do-it-yourself version so maybe I don't have to take the radiator out and haul it in for someone to flush out.

~sigh~

The weatherman says we're in for very high humidity and 94 degrees. I dont' mind all the degrees. It's breathing water that bothers me. ugh...

[PzLdr]

Bernard Law Montgomery was the most overrated general of World War II [which says quite a bit in a war that Harold Alexander served in]. Technically proficient? Yes. But one expects that of generals. More than that? No. If "Monty" hadn't served on the side that allowed him huge advantages in material and men, he would have been an abject failure. As Corelli Barnett said in "The Desert Generals", "Montgomery was the type who took a sledgehammer to crack a walnut".

At Alamein, Monty took a plan [and battlefield] developed by Auchinleck [a man given too little credit for the 8th Army's success], and adopted [one might say stole]it as his own. But in studying second Alamein, it must be remembered that Monty had a habit of conforming the plan to his failures and delays to make it appear that everything was going according to Monty's schedule.

Second Alamein took a great deal longer to achieve a breakthrough than it should have. Monty had air supremacy, prohibitive advantages in tubes, tanks and troops, and he was reading the Germans' signals [Ultra}. On top of that the acting CO of the Axis forces, Ge. Stumme, died of a heart attack at the front in the opening phases of the battle. Rommel, on sick leave, had to return from Europe while the battle was ongoing.

When Monty finally did break through, he moved so slowly, he almost lost contact with the retreating Axis forces [the rain's fault]. As it was, when 8th army reached El Agheila, and faced a laughable rear guard, Monty halted for three weeks to build;d up for the attack. Noting in their war diary that Monty was showing "Signs of life", the Germans pulled out the night before the patented Monty grand barrage. Interestingly, since "Torch" was on the way, an argument can be made that Second Alamein was unnecessary, since, in all likelihood Rommel would have had to fall back eventually, once the landings took place, and Monty could have engaged in a pursuit battle.

Suggested reading:

ROMMEL:"Rommel the Desert Fox", by Desmond Young [the first, and still one of the best]; Rommel as Military Commander", by Ronald Lewin; "Rommel", by Charles Douglas-Home; "Rommel:Battles and Campaigns", by Kenneth Macksey; "Rommel :In his own Words", Dr. John Pimlott, ed.

THE AFRIKA KORPS:"The Armies of Rommel" by George Forty; "Afrika Korps", by Kenneth Macksey [Ballantine Illustrated History of World War II].


THE DESRT WAR: "The Battle for North Africa" 1940-43", by W.G.F Jackson; "The Desert Generals", by Corelli Barnett; "Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afika Korps", by Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.;"The Foxes of the Desert", by Paul Carell"; "With Rommel in the Desert", by H.W Schmidt.

THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN: "The Battle of El Alamein: Turning Point, World War II", by Bierman and Smith; "Alamein", by John Latimer.

P.S: In the interest of full disclosure: Erwin Rommel has been my idol and tank god since I was 10. He was why I became an armor officer. So you might say, in the armor sense, I will have no gods before him.

[Professional Engineer]

[Soaring Feather]

Cost a body a mint to keep tires on those things, not to mention gas.

[E.G.C.]

Folks, here is an update concerning Microsoft Windows Update.

Microsoft has had a change of heart and has decidednot to send any critical updates this month. The update they had planned to send was found to have some "quality issues" and they have determined that these issues need to be resolved before they can send the update.

However, I did go ahead and download the Malicious Software removal Tool, September version. If you ues Microsoft Windows, be sure to download this tool.

[Professional Engineer]

[colorado tanker]

I share your opinion of Monty, PZ.

I would add the Axis supply situation was dire. It had taken them so long to take Tobruk that they were still not properly supplied. On the other hand, Monty sat on his duff until he had overwhelming advantages in every category. And he still had difficulty, as you point out.

I do, however, salute the courage, skill and sacrifice of those Brits, Anzac's and Indians, who beat the Axis in a struggle to the death, despite mediocre leadership.

[colorado tanker]

Glad to hear you're feeling better, PE. They didn't remove your sense of humor, I see.

[colorado tanker]

Happy Treadhead Tuesday to you, Sam and Snip.

Looks like Monty was bogged down in a quagmire in the desert. Where was the "no blood for oil" crowd back then?

[Samwise]

I thought that was a photoshop job, but it turns out to be a real plumbing truck.

[Samwise]

[GailA]

Good afternoon Snippy, Sam and everyone. No quilting today, I went to the funeral of a WW2 Vet this morning.

[snippy_about_it]

If "Monty" hadn't served on the side that allowed him huge advantages in material and men, he would have been an abject failure.

I'm inclined to think he was anyway.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks EGC.

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Good afternoon all

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. They'd have to pay me extra to drive that! Lots extra!!

[snippy_about_it]

Good afternoon Gail.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am

[snippy_about_it]

it must be remembered that Monty had a habit of conforming the plan to his failures and delays to make it appear that everything was going according to Monty's schedule.

Just like capturing Caen 2 months late, "Holding the Germans around Caen" while the Americans broke out at Avranche and his "partial success" in Market-Garden (Without the Arnhem bridge the operation was a failure, IMHO)

Erwin Rommel has been my idol and tank god since I was 10. He was why I became an armor officer. So you might say, in the armor sense, I will have no gods before him.

It took you till 10 to realize Rommel was a tank god? ;-) I wanted to get into Armor, but being color blind kept me out. :-(

[SAMWolf]

ARRRGH!!!!!! Snippy left herself signed on again!! Post 48 was from me.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Monty turned every operation into a quagmire, he wasn't real good with "fast moving operations"