This week in the War, 19–25 October 1942: The Battle of El Alamein

Posted on October 19, 2014 by secondbysecond

British tanks advance during the Battle of El Alamein, Egypt, October 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

British tanks advance during the Battle of El Alamein, Egypt, October 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

For the Allies, there was little reason for optimism at start of 1942. By the end of the year, the situation had changed dramatically. The Americans had scored a massive naval victory at the Battle of Midway, the Russians had triumphed over the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, and Montgomery’s Eighth Army had defeated the Italians and Rommel’s Afrika Korps at the Battle of El Alamein.

The Sound of History: El Alamein 1942-----by Richard Doherty (Spellmount, Staplehurst, 2002) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

The Sound of History: El Alamein 1942—–by Richard Doherty (Spellmount, Staplehurst, 2002) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

This week in the war, on 23 October 1942, Montgomery launched the offensive that would be known as the Battle of El Alamein. Much of what transpired is described in Richard Doherty’s The Sound of History—El Alamein 1942 (Spellmount, Staplehurst, 2002) and in Montgomery’s own memoirs, The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Montgomery (Collins, London, 1958). Victory for the British and British Empire and Commonwealth forces at El Alamein would lead to the eventual expulsion of all Axis armies from North Africa.

The battle began with a fierce bombardment. (Doherty reports that nuns, sixty miles away at the Sacred Heart Convent in Alexandria, felt their building shake.)

The plan was to punch two holes through the enemy positions, which were heavily defended by anti-tank guns and minefields, and then to pass through 10th Corps, which was strong in armour. Montgomery correctly predicted: “This battle for which we are preparing will be a real rough house and will involve a very great deal of hard fighting. If we are successful it will mean the end of the war in North Africa.”

The battle lasted until 4 November, when the British armoured car regiments burst through enemy lines at dawn and the tanks followed the armoured cars out into the open desert where they could harass the supply lines of the retreating enemy. Many of the Italian division could do little else but surrender, since the Germans had taken all of their motorized transport.

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This week in the War, 12–18 October 1942: Occupied Paris & the Diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on October 18, 2014 by secondbysecond

Dans Paris occupe: Journal d'Helene Pitrou-----by Paule du Bouchet (Gallimard Jeunesse, 2005) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

Dans Paris occupe: Journal d’Helene Pitrou—–by Paule du Bouchet (Gallimard Jeunesse, 2005) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

Readers of French children’s literature may be familiar with Dans Paris Occupé: Journal d’Hélène Pitrou, 1940–1945, the fictional and wonderfully vivid diary of a French school girl who reports on the affairs of the day as she lives life in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. The book is the product of the imagination of French author, Paule du Bouchet, and conveys to present-day French children what it had been like to live in France during l’Ombre—the ‘Dark Years.’

Readers of my blog may remember my comments on Hélène’s entry for Wednesday 29 January 1941, when she describes how her dreadful teacher, Mr. Bourgeois, orders her friend Josette Goldstein and two others girls (Suzanne Weil and Marguerite Grumbach) to change their seats. From now on, they are to be seated at the back of the class. All three girls are Jewish, of course.

Checking Hélène’s entry for this week in the war, on 17 October 1942, we read the sad news that Josette and all her family have been arrested and sent to a camp in Germany. This does not bode well for Josette and those dear to her. Many Parisian Jews had been arrested in July and confined to the Vélodrome d’Hiver prior to deportation. It was a common story for the Jews of France: arrested and sent to the concentration camp at Drancy, thence to Germany and further east to the extermination camps in Poland.

Hélène’s mother (who is working for the Resistance) tells her daughter that when the war is over and she is married and she finds her diary and reads it again, she will remember how it once was, bad as well as good.

 

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This week in the War, 5–11 October 1942: US launches massive daylight raid against Nazi-occupied Europe

Posted on October 10, 2014 by secondbysecond

American B-17 Flying Fortresses [Public domain]

American B-17 Flying Fortresses [Public domain]

This week in the war, on 9 October 1942, a force of 108 B-17 Flying Fortresses launched a daylight raid against targets in and around Lille, in northern enemy-occupied France.

The Companie de Fives steel works and the Ateliers D’Hellemes locomotive factory, both located in Lille, were bombed.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 [Public domain]

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 [Public domain]

This was one of the early massed air raids that the Americans staged in daylight. As the war progressed, the Americans would invariably attack by day and RAF Bomber Command by night.

The American planes took off from airfields in England between 7.30am and 8.15am. The air raid inflicted only light damage but was judged a success because of the large number (over 50) enemy fighters that the American gunners believed they had shot down.

The British had learned to be skeptical when debriefing aircrew. German files were to reveal that only two of their fighters, both Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, were lost during the raid on Lille.

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This week in the War, 28 Sept–4 Oct 1942: The Aleutian Islands

Posted on October 3, 2014 by secondbysecond

Adak and other Aleutian islands [Public domain, wiki]

Adak and other Aleutian islands [Public domain, wiki]

This week in the war, on 30 September 1942, the Japanese launched the first of a series of air raids against Adak, an island in the Aleutian chain which was and is part of Alaska and therefore US ‘home territory.’

Squadron of Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, based at Adak in the Aleutians, 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

Squadron of Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, based at Adak in the Aleutians, 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

Earlier in the year, the Japanese had attacked the naval base in Dutch harbor and had invaded and occupied the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska with a view to preventing the US from advancing towards Japan across the northern Pacific. The Japanese did not occupy Adak since it had no military installations. The United States did not respond immediately because of the remoteness of the region.

By August 1942, the Americans were ready to go onto the offensive by establishing an air base on Adak. American planes from their base on Adak raided the Japanese base on Kiska, and vice versa.

In mid 1943, the USA retook both Attu and Kiska. The Americans suffered heavy losses during the Attu campaign, which included a dramatic and large-scale banzai charge against their lines. The Japanese had secretly abandoned Kiska before the American (and Canadian) invasion force had landed.

 

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This week in the War, 21–27 September 1942: The Kokoda Trail

Posted on September 27, 2014 by secondbysecond

25-pounder gun of the Royal Australian Artillery being pulled through the jungle, Kokoda Trail, Owen Stanley Range, Papua New Guinea, September 1942 [Public domain, Australian War Memorial 026850]

25-pounder gun of the Royal Australian Artillery being pulled through the jungle, Kokoda Trail, Owen Stanley Range, Papua New Guinea, September 1942 [Public domain, Australian War Memorial 026850]

This week in the war, 25 September 1942, the Australians launched a counter-offensive along the Kokoda Trail, the path over the Owen Stanley mountains in Papua New Guinea, and attacked Ioribaiwa. Japanese forces were overwhelmed and, two days later, they began a rapid withdrawal.

The Kokoda Trail (or Track) campaign started in July 1942, when the Japanese landed in northern New Guinea and began their march southward along the Kokoda Trail towards the capital city of Port Moresby. The Japanese plan was to capture the whole of Papua New Guinea, thereby preventing Australia and New Zealand from receiving supplies and reinforcements from the United States. The campaign ended in November 1942 when the Americans and Australians attacked the Japanese beachheads in the north, at Buna and Gona—–culminating in the Battle of Buna-Gona.

The Japanese suffered a 75% casualty rate during their retreat, with starvation, typhoid, and malaria taking an enormous a toll. Many Australians at the time credited the Kokoda victory with saving their country from imminent invasion.

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This week in the War, 14–20 September 1942: Battle of Stalingrad approaches its dramatic climax

Posted on September 20, 2014 by secondbysecond

Stalingrad, September 1942 [Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1974-107-66/ CC-BY-SA]

Stalingrad, September 1942 [Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1974-107-66/ CC-BY-SA]

This week in the war, on 14 September 1942, infantry of von Paulus’s Sixth Army broke through the Soviet lines and into the centre of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad was approaching its climax.

The following day, hundreds of Stuka dive-bombers attacked the city but the Russians defended the ruins of their factories and continued to hold out. House-to-house and hand-to-hand fighting continued throughout the week and was reported in detail in Red Star. Russian women fought alongside their men, as had happened already in Leningrad.

By the end of the week, 20 September 1942, newspapers were making reference to ‘Heroic Stalingrad.’ That phrase, and likewise ‘the heroic defenders of Stalingrad,’ appeared in papers across the Soviet Union. Press across the world took up the call, comparing the battle for Stalingrad with such First World War epics as Verdun.

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This week in the War, 7–13 September 1942: Arctic convoys

Posted on September 13, 2014 by secondbysecond

Torpedo attack on outbound Arctic convoy PQ18, September 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

Torpedo attack on outbound Arctic convoy PQ18, September 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

This week in the war, on 12 September 1942, U-boats and the Luftwaffe launched attacks, which continued for several days, against important Allied convoys heading through the Arctic Ocean towards Murmansk—–most notably against outbound convoy PQ18.

Battleship HMS Duke of York on Arctic convoy duty [Public domain, wiki]

Battleship HMS Duke of York on Arctic convoy duty [Public domain, wiki]

Convoy PQ18, which was carrying war aid, including Lend-Lease aid, to Russia, comprised 40 merchant vessels plus an escort of destroyers and corvettes, and an aircraft carrier. Battleships HMS Duke of York and HMS Anson were held at a distance in reserve.

Germany committed a dozen U-boats and a surface fleet of cruisers based in Norway.

In the end, 13 merchants ships were lost but enough survived for the Allies to consider the operation successful. The Kriegsmarine lost three U-boats. The Luftwaffe lost 40 aircraft and, more significantly, their complement of trained pilots and crew.

 

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This week in the War, 31 Aug–6 Sept 1942: The Battle of Alam Halfa

Posted on September 6, 2014 by secondbysecond

Montgomery (right) with General Alexander and Winston Churchill, Western Desert, August 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

Montgomery (right) with General Alexander and Winston Churchill, Western Desert, August 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

The Battle of Alam Halfa was fought in the Egyptian desert between 31 August and 6 September 1942.

This was a defensive battle designed to blunt Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps offensive and to prepare the way for the British Eighth Army’s own offensive, the soon-to-be-fought Battle of El Alamein. The Battle of Alam Halfa was planned and directed by the Eighth Army’s new commander, Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery, and is described in detail in his memoirs.

As Montgomery anticipated, Rommel attacked through the minefields, hoping to outflank the southern most sector of the British line and head on to Cairo. He was halted by the British armour (the 7th Armoured Division, the 10th Armoured Division, and the 22nd Armoured Brigade) who had orders to dig in and repel the enemy. When the German attack faltered, the 2nd New Zealand Division attacked them from the north.

The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery---by B.L. Montgomery (Collins, London, 1958) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery—by B.L. Montgomery (Collins, London, 1958) [Photograph by Edith-Mary Smith]

Much of this is described in Monty’s Memoirs. Montgomery quotes from a letter he wrote at the time and in which he used a tennis analogy to describe his first encounter with the ‘Desert Fox’: “I feel that I have won the first game, when it was his service. Next time it will be my service, the score being one-love.”

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This week in the War, 24–30 August 1942: Annexation of Luxembourg

Posted on August 30, 2014 by secondbysecond

Heinrich Himmler with Waffen-SS officers, Hotel Brasseur, Luxembourg 1940 [Bundesarchiv Bild 101lll-Weill-062-18/ Weill /CC-BY-SA]

Heinrich Himmler with Waffen-SS officers, Hotel Brasseur, Luxembourg 1940 [Bundesarchiv Bild 101lll-Weill-062-18/ Weill /CC-BY-SA]

This picture of Heinrich Himmler with Waffen-SS officers was taken in 1940, shortly after the German Blitzkrieg rolled over the tiny Duchy of Luxembourg (the entire country being roughly 50 miles × 35 miles in size). The capital city fell within the first few hours and the country was occupied within a day.

A process of ‘Germanification’ began in earnest and conscription into the German army was introduced. All things French were suppressed, and German became the only official language.

This week in the war, on 30 August 1942, Luxembourg was officially annexed and became part of Germany.

Every year, on 31 August, a ceremony is held to commemorate the famous general strike of 1942. It originated with workers in the town of Wiltz, in the Ardennes, and was one of the most significant acts of opposition to the German occupation.

 

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This week in the War, 17–23 August 1942: The Dieppe Raid

Posted on August 19, 2014 by secondbysecond

Knocked-out Churchill tank on the beach at Dieppe, France, 19 August 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

Knocked-out Churchill tank on the beach at Dieppe, France, 19 August 1942 [Public domain, wiki]

This week in the war, in the early hours of 19 August 1942, Allied troops raided the port of Dieppe in German-occupied France. The raiding force included British and Americans but was overwhelming Canadian. Before the morning was over, the troops who had not been killed or captured were withdrawn.

Of the 5,000 Canadian taking part, about one fifth were killed and over one third were taken prisoner.

Planning was overseen by Vice-Admiral Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations. After the disaster, lack of secrecy, lack of supporting naval firepower, and lack of air support were cited as reasons for the failure. A Canadian armoured regiment took part in the operation but the tanks failed to get off the beach.

Pressure from Stalin to mount a ‘Second Front’ is sometimes cited as a reason for the raid. The lessons learned at Dieppe were later put to use in planning the much larger amphibious landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) and Normandy (Operation Overlord).

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