lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 10, 2021 13:32:16 GMT
Day 1036 of World War II, July 10th 1942YouTube (Fall Blau - A Victim of It's Own Success?)Eastern FrontCase Blue - German 4th Panzer Army and 6th Army continue their progress South from Voronezh down the “Donets corridor” between the Donets River and the Don River. 1st Panzer Army turns South towards Rostov-on-Don. The German advance is swift and relatively unopposed as Soviet Southwest Front and Southern Front fall back. Arctic naval operationsConvoy PQ 17 - Overnight, U-251 sinks Panamanian freighter El Capitan and U-376 sinks American SS Hoosier (both damaged yesterday by German bombing). More ships dribble into Soviet ports. Battle of the Atlantic In the Bay of Biscay, Kriegsmarine minesweepers M-4401 and M-4457, which are clearing up mines laid by RAF bombers over the last several weeks, both hit mines and sink. Battle of the Caribbean In the Gulf of Mexico 60 miles off the coast of Louisiana, U-67 torpedoes American tanker SS Benjamin Brewster, lying at anchor carrying 70,578 barrels of aviation fuel and lubricating oil. The tanker explodes and spreads burning oil across the water (25 burned to death, 15 survivors escape in lifeboats). SS Benjamin Brewster partially sinks in 37 feet of water, burning for 9 days and melting the superstructure (declared a total loss and broken up in 1951). North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - Allies go on the offensive. At 3.30 AM, British artillery opens up on Italian 60th Infantry “Sabratha” Division on Tel el Eisa ridge, near the Mediterranean coast West of El Alamein. Following the heaviest barrage yet in North Africa, Australian 26th Brigade (9th Division) attacks along the coastal railway and routs panicked Italian soldiers, taking 1,556 prisoners. Rommel rushes the 15th Panzer North to reinforce the Italians but they are held off by the combination of British artillery and Australian anti-tank guns. Photo: 25 pdr guns of the 2/8th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery at El Alamein Photo: Valentine tanks being offloaded from ships onto 'Z' craft at Port Tewfik in the Port of Suez, 10 July 1942 Photo: Bishop 25-pdr self-propelled gun of 8th Armoured Division driving off a 'Z' craft at Port Tewfik, Egypt, 10 July 1942 United StatesAn agreement was reached between the Army and Navy, which provided that the Army would deliver to the Navy a specified number of B-24 Liberators, B-25 Mitchells, and B-34 Venturas to meet the Navy's requirement for long range landplanes. Also, the Navy would relinquish its production cognizance of the Boeing Renton plant to the Army for expanded B-29 production and limit its orders for PBY's to avoid interference with B-24 production. Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter (DD-356) at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 10 July 1942. An Omaha-class light cruiser is visible to the left, most probalby USS Raleigh (CL-7), which was at Mare Island from 1 March to July 1942 Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter (DD-356) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California (USA), on 10 July 1942. Note barrage balloons aloft in the distance Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): 404th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group arrives in the Alaskan Theater with B-24s, originally destined for N Africa; first mission is 18 Jul. In the Aleutian , 1 B-24 flies 2 photo missions over the S shore of Kiska and over Little Kiska ; the bombing mission is cancelled due to weather. The crew of a VP-41 PBY-5A Catalina spots a crashed "Zeke" fighter (Mitsubishi A6M2 Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter Model 21), while flying low over the tundra of Akutan Island near their base at NAF Dutch Harbor. The pilot of the fighter had engine problems and attempted to land on what he had assumed was a grass field, not realizing that it was actually a swamp. The "Zero" had nosed over immediately on landing, breaking the pilot's neck. The aircraft had lain there undiscovered since the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor in early June. SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Joint Chiefs of Staff): Major General Millard F Harmon, USAAF, is designated Commanding General of US Army Forces in the South Pacific (COMGENSOPAC). PACIFIC Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, South Pacific Area commander, arrives in Australia to discuss the upcoming operations in the Solomon Islands with General Douglas A. MacArthur, the Commanding General Southwest Pacific Area. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): A single B-25 piloted by Colonel Caleb V Haynes, bombs Japanese HQ at Tengchung, China near the Burma border. Bad weather, pilot fatigue, and maintenance halt major operations for several days. HAWAII (7th AF): Ground echelon of the 11th BG leaves Hawaii for the S Pacific aboard USS Argonne. Photo: The U.S. Navy heavy cruisers USS Portland (CA-33) and USS San Francisco (CA-38), right, both units of Task Force 16, turning to starboard after firing several broadsides during exercises off Hawaii (USA), on 10 July 1942 SOLOMONS ISLANDS In the Solomon Islands, USN PBY-5 Catalinas of Patrol Squadron Fourteen based at Noumea, New Caledonia, attempt to bomb Japanese installations on Tulagi and Gavutu Islands but bad weather causes the mission to be aborted. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff change the date of Operation WATCHTOWER, the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi, from 1 to 7 August.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 11, 2021 6:47:28 GMT
Day 1037 of World War II, July 11th 1942Arctic naval operationsConvoy PQ 17 - Most of the surviving ships arrive in Soviet ports with 64,000 tons of lend-lease supplies. The convoy has lost 24 ships with 116,000 tons of war materiel including 430 tanks, 210 aircraft and 3350 other vehicles. Soviets are disappointed at the amount of materiel received and refuse to believe that the convoy has been scattered and mostly sunk. Stalin will later accuse Britain of lying about the fate of the convoy. Air War over Europe The longest range daylight raid to date was carried out by aircraft of RAF Bomber Command, when they attacked the shipyards at Danzig in Poland. 44 Lancasters were dispatched on another experimental raid. The plan called for the Lancasters to fly at low level and in formation over the North Sea, but then to split up and fly independently in cloud which was forecast to be present over Denmark and that part of the Baltic leading to Danzig (now Gdansk). The target was expected to be clear of cloud and the Lancasters were to bomb U-boat yards from normal bombing heights just before dusk and return to England during darkness. With a round trip of 1,500 miles, it was the most distant target Bomber Command had yet attempted to reach. It was also another attempt to utilize Lancasters in a semi-daylight role. The plan worked well except that some of the Lancasters were late in identifying Danzig and had to bomb the general town area in the dark. 24 aircraft bombed at Danzig and returned; 2 more were shot down by Flak at the target. They were the only losses; the novel tactics and routeing prevented any German fighters making contact. North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - At dawn, Australian 26th Brigade pushes forward along Tel el Eisa ridge, displaces the remaining Italian troops and overruns German Signals Intercept Company 621 (up to now providing Rommel with priceless intelligence from Allied radio communications). Another column of tanks and motorised infantry raids South towards Miteirya ridge, overrunning an Italian battalion infantry, before returning to the El Alamein “box” in the evening. In all, 1000 Italian prisoners are taken. Photo: A soldier inspects an Italian M13/40 tank that was knocked out near El Alamein, 11 July 1942 Battle of the Mediterranean60 miles off Beirut, Lebanon, South African Naval Forces armed whalers HMSAS Protea and HMSAS Southern Maid plus a land-based Fleet Air Arm Walrus flying boat (700 Naval Air Squadron) combine to sink Italian submarine Ondina with depth charges. Battle of the Caribbean 50 miles Northeast of Trinidad, U-203 sinks Panamanian tanker SS Stanvac Palembang (5 dead, 45 survivors in 3 lifeboats picked up by US submarine chaser USS PC-8 next day and landed at Port of Spain). 8 miles off the Dominican Republic, U-166 sinks unarmed Dominican schooner Carmen with the deck gun (1 killed, 7 survivors reach the coast in a lifeboat). Battle of the Atlantic 325 miles West of the Portuguese island of Madeira, U-136 is shadowing Convoy OS-33 with U-116, U-201 and U-582. U-136 is detected by Free French destroyer Léopard, British frigate HMS Spey and sloop HMS Pelican and destroyed in 4 depth charge attacks (all 45 hands lost). Battle of the Baltic Sea 10 miles off the East coast of Sweden, Soviet submarine S-7 sinks Swedish coastal freighter SS Luleå carrying iron ore to Germany. United States
Photo: The U.S. Navy Boeing XPBB-1 Sea Ranger patrol bomber (BuNo 3144) enters the water at Seattle, Washington (USA), for a test flight circa 11 July 1942 Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): 4 B-24s taking off for weather, bombing and photo missions to Kiska are attack by seaplane fighters; no losses. A cruiser is bombed with unobserved results. TOKYO BAY,JAPAN Photo: The Japanese battleship Hiei underway in Tokyo Bay, Japan, on 11 July 1942
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 12, 2021 2:45:39 GMT
Day 1038 of World War II, July 12th 1942Eastern Front Siege of Leningrad Day 308 - On the Volkhov River, Soviet General Andrey Vlasov, commander of the recently-annihilated 2nd Shock Army, is turned over to the Germans by a farmer after hiding in German-held territory for 10 days. Vlasov will defect to his captors and in 1944-45 command Russian units in the German army, known as the Russian Liberation Army (Russian: Russkaya osvoboditel'naya armiya). Battle of the Atlantic 41 merchant ships in convoy OS-33 left Liverpool on July 1, separating yesterday into columns heading for Sierra Leone (with escort warships), South Africa and South America (without escorts). U-116, U-201, U-572, U-582 & U-752 (wolfpack Hai or “shark”) attack the unescorted ships. U-116, U-201 & U-582 sink 4 British freighters, while U-752 does not find any targets. U-572 makes no attempt to engage the convoy and her captain, Kptlt. Heinz Hirsacker, will be found guilty at court-martial for “cowardice in the presence of the enemy”. Battle of the MediterraneanItalian submarine Alagi sinks Turkish vessel Antares. In the Gulf of Orosei 2 miles off the East coast of Sardinia, British submarine HMS Safari sinks Italian sailing ship Adda. Battle of the Caribbean 50 miles Southwest of Grand Cayman, U-129 sinks American SS Tachirá (5 dead, 33 survivors drift for 300 miles West 4 days and reach Cancun, Mexico). North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - 21st Panzer Division sends German 104th Infantry Regiment (newly-arrived from Crete, without desert training) to counterattack Australian positions on Tel el Eisa ridge. For 3 hours, A company 2/2 Australian machinegun battalion (26th Brigade) holds off the attacking infantry with 4 Vickers machineguns. 104th Infantry Regiment takes 50% casualties (600 dead and wounded). Photo: A 25-pdr field gun of 11th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, in action, July 1942 United States Photo: New B-25 bombers lined up for final inspection and tests at the flying field of the North American Aviation aircraft plant, in Inglewood, Calif Pacific War CAM RAHN BAY, FRENCH INDOCHINA US submarine USS Seadragon sinks Japanese transport ship Himaya Maru. MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL Japan’s only 2 armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru (Osaka Shipping Line passenger-cargo vessels converted in 1940) sink New Zealand freighter Hauraki. The armed merchant cruisers also provide supplies to the Japanese submarines operating against Allied shipping in the area. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN A USN salvage party is transported to Akutan Island to begin salvaging the "Zero" fighter discovered there on 10 July. In the Aleutians, three 11th Air Force B-24 Liberators dispatched on weather, photo and bombing missions to Kiska Island abort due to weather. NEW GUINEA An Australian force reached Kokoda. The small unit trekked five days over a difficult trail over the Owen Stanley Range from Port Moresby. Intent on denying the Japanese any further gains in New Guinea, and determined to prevent them from occupying the northern coastal town of Buna; the plan being made for this was given the code name Operation Providence. At the same time, American troops began their preparations for the liberation of the Solomon Islands. HAWAII Photo: U.S. Navy ships moored in an anchorage area at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, surrounded by anti-torpedo nets, 12 July 1942. Three ships nested together in the center are (from bottom): the destroyer seaplane tender USS Ballard (AVD-10); the aircraft ferry USS Hammondsport (APV-2) and the repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4). A garbage lighter (YG) is also inside the enclosure, at right Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 12 July 1942. Note the Grumman F4F Wildcat on the barge aft alongside, also the anti-torpedo nets and the camouflaged buildings on Ford Island
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 13, 2021 2:48:01 GMT
Day 1039 of World War II, July 13th 1942Eastern FrontHitler decides to make Stalingrad the major objective of Heeresgruppe B. Von Bock is dismissed from the command of Heeresgruppe B and replaced by von Weich. Photo: Italian bersaglieri with artillery advancing towards Serafimovich Arctic naval operationsIn the last act of convoy PQ-17, U-255 finds the floating wreck of Dutch SS Paulus Potter, bombed and abandoned on July 5. A boarding party cannot salvage SS Paulus Potter which is sunk by U-255. Air War over Europe Overnight, 194 RAF bombers (139 Wellingtons, 33 Halifaxes, 13 Lancasters, 9 Stirlings) raid Duisburg, Germany. The bombing misses the industrial area due to cloud and electrical storms (11 houses destroyed, 17 civilians killed). 3 Wellingtons, 2 Stirlings & 1 Lancaster are lost. Battle of the Mediterranean12 Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS frogmen leave a rented house in Algeciras, Spain, and swim 4 miles across the bay. They plant limpet mines on British merchant ships in Gibraltar Harbour and return safely. SS Meta, SS Shuma and SS Baron Dougla are sunk while SS Empire Snipe is damaged (out of service until October). There was considerable relief for Britain on July 13, with the announcement that, in the previous six weeks, a total of 693 German and Italian aircraft had been destroyed by British aircraft based at Malta. North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - 21st Panzer Division mounts another attack on Australian positions on Tel el Eisa ridge and also against 1st South African Division in the El Alamein “box”. Again, they take heavy casualties and are repulsed by Allied anti-tank guns and artillery. Battle of the Atlantic 490 miles West of Tenerife, Canary Islands, U-201 sinks British SS Sithonia from dispersed convoy OS-33 (7 killed, 21 crew land at Timiris, Senegal, after 18 days and are interned by the Vichy French, 25 crew picked up by a Spanish fishing vessel 14 days later having sailed 800 miles). Battle of the Caribbean US aircraft USN PC-458 locates U-153 100 miles West of Colón, Panama, and calls in destroyer USS Lansdowne which sinks U-153 with depth charges (all 52 hands lost). 20 miles North of Cardenas Light, Cuba, U-84 sinks American SS Andrew Jackson (3 killed, 46 survivors in 3 lifeboats reach Cuba 12 hours later). 2 miles East of Cuba, U-166 sinks American SS Oneida (6 killed, 23 survivors reach Cuba). In the Gulf of Mexico 80 miles off the coast of Mississippi, U-67 torpedoes US tanker R.W. Gallagher igniting the 80,855 barrels of Bunker C fuel oil (10 killed, 42 survivors picked up 1 hour later by US Coast Guard cutter USS Boutwell). Pacific War CAM RAHN BAY, FRENCH INDOCHINA Off Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, US submarine USS Seadragon sinks Japanese transport ship Shinyo Maru. SOLOMONS In the Solomon Islands, PBY-5 Catalinas of USN Patrol Squadron Seventy One (VP-71) attempt a daylight bombing of Japanese installations on Tulagi and Gavutu Islands. Bad weather forces cancellation of the mission. PACIFIC Major General George C. Kenney, Commanding General 4th Air Force in the western U.S., is ordered to Australia to replace Lieutenant General George H. Brett as Commanding General, Allied Air Forces, Southwest Pacific Area. CHINA Japanese marines capture Juian. UNITED STATES Roosevelt has today approved the formation of a central intelligence agency for America. Called the Office of Strategic Services, it has grown out of an organisation called the Office of the Coordinator of Information and is headed by "Wild Bill" Donovan, a millionaire lawyer from Wall Street. Donovan, a forceful "can do" man, has close ties with Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) and has carried out missions for Mr Churchill.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 14, 2021 2:50:19 GMT
Day 1040 of World War II, July 14th 1942
Eastern Front
Case Blue - German 4th Panzer and 6th Armies make good progress South down the “Donets corridor” between the Donets River and the Don River. Soviet Southwest and Southern Fronts fall back ahead of the Germans, avoiding costly encirclement battles. Only 90,000 Soviet POWs have been captured since the start of the offensive 17 days ago, disappointing Hitler who hoped to eliminate the Soviet Armies blocking the path to the Caucasus oilfields.
Battle of the Baltic Sea
Soviet submarine ShCh-317 is attacked by German patrol boats while crossing "Nashorn" minefield in the Baltic Sea. Finnish minelayer Ruotsinsalmi and patrol boat VMV-6 follow the oil slick from ShCh-317 and sink the damaged submarine with depth charges (all 38 hands lost).
Battle of the Atlantic
Italian submarine Calvi and U-130 attack Allied convoy SL 115 (from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Britain) 575 miles West of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Calvi is detected by British sloop HMS Lulworth (United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Chelan on loan to the Royal Navy). Calvi dives but is forced to surface by depth charges from HMS Lulworth which then rakes Calvi with shells and machinegun fire (42 killed). The crew abandons ship and scuttles Calvi, just as HMS Lulworth’s boarding party arrives (1 British sailor is trapped on the submarine and drowns). HMS Lulworth is chased away by torpedoes from U-130 but returns after 3 hours to rescue 35 Calvi survivors.
Battle of the Mediterranean
Operation Pinpoint - British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, cruisers HMS Cairo and HMS Charybdis and 5 destroyers leave Gibraltar to deliver 32 Spitfires to Malta.
North African campaign
First Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - With Australians on Tel el Eisa ridge holding German 21st Panzer Division near the coast, British General Auchinleck plans to trap Italian Pavia and Brescia Divisions further South on Ruweisat Ridge (in the middle of the El Alamein front). At 11 PM, 4th and 5th New Zealand Brigades attack the Western end of the Ridge while Indian 5th Infantry Brigade attacks the Eastern end.
Pacific War
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN
180 miles South of the Alaska Peninsula, Japanese submarine I-7 shells American SS Arcata en route from Bethel, Alaska to Seattle, Washington through the Unimak Pass. 29 crew, 3 US Navy passengers and a civilian passenger abandon ship in 1 lifeboat and 4 rafts, but are then machinegunned by I-7 (1 killed). SS Arcata sinks the next morning. One raft with 11 survivors will be picked up on 17 July by US destroyer USS Kane & 13 survivors in the lifeboat will be picked up on 22 July by a fishing boat but 8 crew are never found.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 15, 2021 2:53:58 GMT
Day 1041 of World War II, July 15th 1942Eastern Front The Red Army was forced to abandon Millerovo, on the Voronezh-Rostov railway, and Kamensk, where the railway line crossed the River Donetz. Units of 4.Panzerarmee (Hoth) captured Kamensk on the Donetz. British cryptographers widened their mastery of the Eastern Front Enigma by breaking the cypher used by the German anti-aircraft units for their most secret messages; it was given the code name "Weasel" and was to continue to be broken until the end of the war. The importance of 'Weasel' Enigmas was considerable. The anti-aircraft units which used it served the dual purpose of engaging both aircraft and tanks; their 88 mm dual-purpose gun proved to be one of Germany's most powerful anti-tank guns. Battle of the AtlanticIn the last act of the dispersed convoy OS-33, U-582 sinks British SS Empire Attendant (all 50 crew and 9 gunners lost) 433 miles Southwest of Tenerife, Canary Islands. U-201, which was involved in the attack on convoy OS-33, sinks British SS British Yeoman in the same area at 1.46 AM (43 killed, 10 survivors picked up by Spanish tanker SS Castillo Almenara and landed in Cape Verde Islands). 75 miles East of Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-576 fires 4 torpedoes at convoy KS-520, sinking Nicaraguan MV Bluefields and damaging American SS Chilore, and Panamanian MV J.A. Mowinckel (both damaged ships head for shore and hit mines in a US defensive minefield). U-576 surfaces and is sunk by depth charges from 2 US Kingfisher aircraft and gunfire from US auxilliary USS Unicoi (all 45 hands lost). At dusk in the South Atlantic 1225 miles West of Angola, German armed merchant cruiser Michel spots blacked-out British passenger/cargo ship SS Gloucester Castle (carrying aircraft, military equipment and petrol in drums on deck, plus 8 women and children as passengers). Michel's Captain, Helmuth von Ruckteschell (whose devastating attack in overwhelming force without warning will lead to a 10-year jail term as a War Crminal) decides to close fast and attack. At 7 PM, Michel begins raining down 6-inch shells on SS Gloucester Castle, which bursts into flames due to the petrol on deck and then rolls over and sinks in 8 minutes (85 crew, 6 women and 2 children passengers killed). 57 crew, 2 women and 2 boys aged 10 and 14 are picked up by Michel and interned at Singapore or Yokohama, Japan (2 will die in captivity). Battle of the MediterraneanOperation Pinpoint - British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle flies off 32 Spitfires to Malta. 1 Spitfire is lost en route. Battle of the Caribbean In the Gulf of Mexico 125 miles West of Key West, Florida, U-571 torpedoes US tanker MV Pennsylvania Sun (2 killed). The cargo of 107,500 barrels of Navy fuel oil ignites forcing 42 crewmen and 17 armed guards to abandon ship in 3 lifeboats (picked up by US destroyer USS Dahlgren) but MV Pennsylvania Sun does not sink and is reboarded next day. The fires are extinguished and MV Pennsylvania Sun will reach Chester, Pennsylvania, under own power for repairs and return to service. North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - By dawn, 4th and 5th New Zealand Brigades capture the Western end of Ruweisat Ridge but British 22nd Armoured Brigade does not arrive as planned. Lacking tank support or effective anti-tank defenses, the New Zealanders are assailed by waves of German tanks and finally overrun at 6 PM (730 taken POW). During the fighting, New Zealand Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham wins a bar to his Victoria Cross (the only double VC of WWII and the only combat soldier ever to win 2 VCs). Upham is wounded twice and captured by the Germans. At the Eastern end of Ruweisat Ridge, Indian 5th Infantry Brigade takes it’s objectives by mid-afternoon with the help of British 2nd Armoured Brigade. British 2nd Armoured Brigade then moves West along Ruweisat Ridge, arriving at the New Zealand positions at 6.15 PM and pushing the Panzers off the Ridge for the night. Photo: The British Army in North Africa 1942 A Quad artillery tractor and 25-pdr field gun of 9th Australian Division United StatesPhoto: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cushing (DD-376) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, 15 July 1942 Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN submarine USS Grunion, on her first patrol, attacks Japanese anchorage at Kiska Island in the Aleutians. USS Grunion sinks Japanese submarine chasers Ch-25 (all 68 hands lost) and Ch-27 (all 68 hands lost) and damages Ch-26. (11th AF): 3 B-24s on a bombing mission to Kiska turn back due to weather. JAPAN Tojo said Japan had received reassurances of Russian neutrality from the Soviet Union. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): India-China Ferrying Command is activated to replace the Assam-Burma-China Command. WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND (4th AF): 392d Bombardment Squadron, 30th BG (Heavy), moves from Hammer Field to March Field, California and continues flying ASW patrols with LB-30s.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 16, 2021 7:36:55 GMT
Day 1042 of World War II, July 16th 1942Air War over Europe 21 RAF Stirling bombers raid Lübeck, Germany, at dusk, approaching under cloud cover. Only 8 Stirlings find the target and 2 do not return. Black Sea Campaign Luftwaffe bombs the Caucasus port of Poti, badly damaging Soviet destroyer Bodry and destroying the minelaying cruiser Komintern (which is already under repair from German bomb damage at Novorossisk on July 2). Komintern’s guns will be removed over the next 2 months and used for coastal defense, while Komintern will be sunk as a blockship in October. North African campaignBritish 8th Army commander General Auchinleck wages a battle of attrition at El Alamein, Egypt, secure in the knowledge that he has a steadier supply of troops and equipment (including the new M4 Sherman tanks from America) than his adversary Rommel. At Tel el Eisa ridge, Australian 24th Battalion takes 50% casualties trying to retake ground lost over the last 2 days. Further South, German Panzers attack all along Ruweisat Ridge but are held off by anti-tank guns and artillery of Indian 5th Infantry Brigade and British 2nd & 22nd Armoured Brigades (Germans lose 24 tanks plus armoured cars and anti-tank guns). Photo: Soldiers of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry on a Stuart tank at El Alamein, Egypt, 16 July, 1942. Left to right: Derek Tatton (radio operator), Cliff Davis (gunner), Harry Spencer (driver). Absent: Jack Riddell (commander) - later killed in action Battle of the AtlanticIn the morning, German armed merchant cruiser Michel spots 2 tankers 1000 miles West of Angola and shadows them all day. At 9 PM, Michel closes quickly and attacks without warning, sinking American tanker SS William F. Humphrey with 60 6-inch shells, anti-aircraft guns, machinegunfire and 3 torpedoes (8 killed, 29 survivors in 2 lifeboats taken prisoner by Michel, 11 survivors escape capture and sail 450 miles in 5 days in a lifeboat until picked up by Norwegian freighter Triton). Simultaneously, Michel’s speedboat Esau hits the other tanker with 2 torpedoes but Norwegian MV Aramis is able to continue. Michel follows. 200 miles South of Bermuda, U-161 attacks convoy AS-4 carrying supplies to British 8th Army in Egypt from New York, sinking American SS Fairport (with 8000 tons of war materiel, including Sherman tanks on deck). All 43 crew, 14 gunners and 66 US Army personnel are picked up by convoy escort US destroyer USS Kearny. Battle of the Caribbean 30 miles Northeast of Havana, Cuba, U-166 stops 3 American men in a tiny fishing boat (carrying 20 tons of onions from Florida to Havana). The crew heads for the Florida Keys in a 14-foot motorboat which runs out of fuel while U-166 sinks MV Gertrude with gunfire. The 3 men drift for 3 days before being spotted by the Civil Air Patrol 3 miles South of the Keys. 10 miles Northwest of Trinidad, U-160 torpedoes Panamanian tanker SS Beaconlight (1 killed, 38 crew and 2 British gunners in 3 lifeboats rescued 6 hours later by passenger ship SS Trinidad and landed at Port of Spain). The wreck is sunk by British rescue tug HMS Roode Zee. Battle of the MediterraneanPhoto: A Matilda tank being used to tow a Beaufort torpedo bomber which made a belly-landing at Luqa airfield after being damaged during an attack on the Italian Fleet, 16 July 1942 United KingdomPhoto: Crusader tanks of 'A' Squadron, 24th Lancers, 11th Armoured Division on exercise in Sussex, 15-16 July 1942 Pacific War FRENCH INDOCHINA 2 miles off the coast of French Indochina, 70 miles North of Cam Ranh Bay, US submarine USS Seadragon sinks Japanese transport ship Hakodate Maru (3rd sinking in 4 days) and returns to base at Freemantle, Australia, 3000 miles South. SOLOMONS In New Zealand, Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN, issues Operation Plan 1-42 identifying the command structure for the upcoming operations in the Solomon Islands. Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletcher commands the Solomons Expeditionary Force; Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes command the Air Support Force consisting of three carrier air groups; Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner commands the Amphibious Force; and Rear Admiral John S. McCain will command the land-based Allied air units as Commander, Air Solomons. CHINA AIR TASK FORCE In China, 4 B-25s from Kweilin, with P-40 escort, bomb a storage area at Hankow, starting a fire that is later reported to have burned 3 days. The B-25s land at Hengyang during the return flight to refuel, but are attacked by Japanese aircraft and have to take off immediately. Amidst the confusion a P-40 pilot mistakes a B-25 for a Japanese aircraft and shoots it down, the first bomber lost since the CATF began operations in China; the crew is saved. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th AF): B-17s of the 11th Bombardment Group begin leaving Hickam Field, Hawaii for the S Pacific. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): 1 B-17 bombs Salamaua. Lost on a landing at Horn Island is B-17E 41-2421. INDIAN OCEAN Photo: Bow view of the heavy cruiser HMS Frobisher closing up to a troopship in the Indian Ocean
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Post by lordroel on Jul 17, 2021 13:32:39 GMT
Day 1043 of World War II, July 17th 1942YouTube ( Stalingrad Now a Primary Objective?! - Hitler's Chaotic Directives)Eastern Front Case Blue - German advance slows due to fuel shortages, so Luftwaffe Ju52 transport aircraft fly in supplies including 200 tons of fuel per day. Despite these logistical problems, 1st Panzer Army approaches Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk) only 90 miles from Rostov-on-Don. Frustrated by the delays in capturing Voronezh (which held up 4th Panzer Army for several days) and the pace of the advance, Hitler moves his headquarters from the Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg in East Prussia (now Poland) 450 miles Southeast to Vinnytsya in the Ukraine. Although this is another 500 miles from the front line (and 730 miles from Stalingrad), Hitler plans to oversee the offensive in person. Battle of the Atlantic In the morning 1000 miles West of Angola, German armed merchant cruiser Michel catches up with Norwegian tanker MV Aramis (damaged yesterday by Michel’s speedboat Esau) and shadows all day. Michel sinks MV Aramis at nightfall with a torpedo and 6-inch shellfire (20 killed, 23 taken prisoner by Michel). Michel leaves the area having sunk 3 ships in 3 days, sailing West to rendezvous near Trinidad with another armed merchant cruiser, Stier. In the Bay of Biscay 225 miles Northwest of Corruna, Spain, 2 British bombers (1 Whitley and 1 Lancaster) spot U-751 which left base at St. Nazaire 4 days ago. The bombers drop depth charges sinking U-751 (all 48 hands lost). North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - Overnight, Australian 24th Brigade and British 44th Royal Tank Regiment, supported RAF fighters, attack Miteirya Ridge (known by the Aussies as "Ruin Ridge") midway between Tel el Eisa and Ruweisat. They overrun parts Italian Trento and Trieste Divisions (736 Italians taken POW) but are repelled later in the day by German Panzers and Italian Trento Division (300 Australian casualties). Photo: infantry manning a sandbagged defensive position near El Alamein Photo: A Valentine tank bogged down on soft ground, 17 July 1942 United KingdomTop U.S. military officials arrived in London to press the British for a limited cross-Channel invasion in 1942. Churchill informed Stalin the British would no longer sail convoys along the northern route to Murmansk and Archangel because of the heavy losses suffered by PQ-17. Churchill told the Soviet leader a continuation of the shipping effort "would bring no benefit to you and would only involve dead loss to the common cause." (Stalin protested the cancellation of the shipping). Pacific War ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): 3 B-17s and 7 B-24s fly weather, bombing and photo missions; shipping is bombed and North and South Heads of Kiska are photographed; fighters down 1 B-17. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): B-17s bomb Simpson Harbor. HAWAII Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Long Island (AVG-1) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 17 July 1942, with at least eight Douglas SBD Dauntless scout bombers and one Grumman TBF-1 Avenger torpedo plane parked on her flight deck. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified), and wears an unusual number on her bow: 751
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 18, 2021 7:21:25 GMT
Day 1044 of World War II, July 18th 1942Eastern Front Case Blue - 1st Panzer Army captures Voroshilovgrad (now Luhansk). At port in Nikolayevsk (in the mouth of the Amur River on the Pacific coast of USSR), Soviet submarine SCh-138 is destroyed by an explosion in the torpedo compartment (17 killed), which also damages neighbouring submarine SC-118. GermanyAt an air base at Leipheim in Southern Germany, Luftwaffe test pilot Fritz Wendel makes the first flight in the Me 262 V3 (third prototype) powered by solely by Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engines, without a supporting conventional propeller engine. Battle of the Caribbean 50 miles East of Trinidad, U-575 hits British tanker SS San Gaspar with 2 torpedoes (12 killed, 40 survivors) but British rescue tug HMS Roode Zee tows SS San Gaspar into Port of Spain for temporary repairs. Later in the day 100 miles further East, U-575 sinks 2 tiny British sailing schooners Glacier and Comrade with the deck gun. 10 miles North of Trinidad, U-160 sinks Panamanian SS Carmona (4 dead, 31 survivors in 2 lifeboats picked up by US patrol boat USS YPC-68). United kingdom
U.S. presidential advisor Harry Hopkins, General George C. Marshall, Admiral Ernest V. King, Prime Minister Winston S Churchill and the British Chiefs of Staff begin a conference in London on the proposed invasion of North Africa (Operation TORCH). Photo: Major-General B G Horrocks, OC 9th Armoured Division, in the turret of his Covenanter tank (named 'Panda') during Exercise 'Limpet' in the Thetford-Bury St Edmunds area, 18 July 1942 Photo: Covenanter tanks of 9th Armoured Division during Exercise 'Limpet' in the Thetford-Bury St Edmunds area, 18 July 1942 Pacific War SOLOMONS In the Solomon Islands, a Fifth Air Force B-17 with two USMC observers aboard flies a reconnaissance and photographic mission over Gavutu, Guadalcanal and Tulagi Islands in preparation for the U.S. invasion next month. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): A B-17 flying weather and photo reconnaissance over Kiska crashes on Umnak, Aleutians. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): In China, 3 B-25's from Kweilin bomb Tien Ho Airfield. JAPAN German supply ship Regensburg (servicing armed merchant cruisers in the Indian Ocean) arrives at Yokohama near Tokyo, Japan, carrying prisoners from ships sunk by Thor and other raiders. Mail bags taken from Australian liner Nankin, sunk by Thor on May 10, are found to contain a top secret report from the Combined Operations Centre at Wellington, New Zealand, to the C-in-C British Eastern Fleet in Colombo, Ceylon, showing the Allies knew about the planned Japanese attack on Midway. This implies that the Japanese Navy code JN25 has been broken, leading to a change in codes that will not be deciphered until late 1943.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 19, 2021 2:45:47 GMT
Day 1044 of World War II, July 19th 1942Eastern Front Case Blue - Stalin realizes that the German advance is likely to reach the city on the Volga bearing his name, Stalingrad. He orders Stalingrad Defense Committee to prepare the city for war. Air War over Europe Overnight, RAF sends 99 bombers (40 Halifaxes, 31 Stirlings & 28 Lancasters) to raid the Vulkan U-boat yard at Vegesack on the River Weser 30 miles inland from the German North Sea coast. Due to cloud cover, most bombs fall on Bremen 10 miles up river (3 Halifaxes lost). Battle of the Atlantic200 miles North of the Azores, U-564 attacks convoy OS-34 sinking British MV Lavington Court (7 killed, 41 survivors rescued by British sloop HMS Wellington) and Empire Hawksbill (all 47 hands lost), both carrying military supplies from Britain to the Middle East. At 4.55 PM 675 miles South of Newfoundland, U-332 sinks Greek SS Leonidas M. with the deck gun and a torpedo (all 31 crew survive but 2 are taken prisoner by the U-boat). Kriegsmarine Admiral Dönitz recognizes the success of Allied warships defending convoys on the US East coast and withdraws the last 2 U-boats from the area. U-boat operations in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico continue. German occupied NorwayPhoto: The German light cruiser Köln moored to the shore in the Fætten Fjord, about 30 KM ENE of Trondheim, Norway, 19 July 1942. Note rafts and netting used to camouflage the ship, and anti-torpedo booms moored to protect her from attacks from abeam and astern. Booms abeam have been folded to similate a ship Battle of the Caribbean Gulf of Mexico. Off the Florida Keys, U-84 sinks Honduran SS Baja California (3 killed, 34 survivors picked up next day by Cuban fishing schooner San Ignacio) and U-129 sinks Norwegian SS Port Antonio (13 killed, 11 survivors in 1 lifeboat reach Cuba 2 days later including Jørgen Edvard Magnussen who previously been sunk on SS Cadmus 18 days ago by the same U-boat). North African campaignEgypt - There is a lull in ground fighting at El Alamein but US bombers continue their attacks on Tobruk and Benghazi, while British cruisers HMS Dido and HMS Euryalus plus 4 destroyers bombard Mersa Matruh. Off Port Said, German torpedo bombers hit British convoy escort vessel SS Maline (beached but a total loss). Photo: A German 88mm anti-tank gun captured and destroyed by New Zealand troops near El Alamein, 19 July 1942 Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): Search missions are flown over Attu and Agattu . EASTERN DEFENSE COMMAND (1st AF): 39th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 13th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Westover Field, Massachusetts to Dover AAB, Delaware with B-25s to continue flying ASW patrols. The USN's Task Force 8 sorties from Kodiak, Alaska, to bombard Kiska Island in the Aleutians. The seaplane tender Casco established an advanced base in Nazan Bay, Atka, to support seaplane operations against Kiska, which included antishipping search, bombing of enemy positions, and cover for surface force bombardments. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF):CHINA AIR TASK FORCE (CATF): In response to a Chinese request, 2 B-25s strike in support of Chinese ground forces at Linchwan, a Japanese held city undersiege for some time. The Chinese commanding officer later reports that the raid broke the stalemate and the city was entered the next day. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th AF): 26th Bombardment Squadron, 11th BG (Heavy), departs Wheeler Field, Hawaii for the S Pacific with B-17s. TF44, under Admiral Victor A.C. Crutchley, RN, arrives in Wellington. TF 44, nicknamed "MacArthur's Navy", is assigned to assist with Operation Watchtower, the US invasion of the southern Solomon Islands. INDIA The aircraft carrier USS Ranger, part of Task Force 22, launches 72 USAAF P-40s off the coast of Africa. The aircraft, destined for the Tenth Air Force in India, land at Accra, Gold Coast. SOLOMONS A B-17 Flying Fortress sights a Japanese convoy leaving Rabaul, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago, and heading for northern New Guinea.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 20, 2021 2:49:38 GMT
Day 1045 of World War II, July 20th 1942North African campaignEgypt - With Rommel unable to break through Allied defenses at El Alamein, Mussolini returns to Italy. He has waited 21 days in vain to lead a victory parade into Cairo. In the Mediterranean, British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle leaves Gibraltar carrying 31 Spitfires fighters and 4 Swordfish torpedo bombers for Malta (Operation Insect). Photo: Douglas Boston Mark IIIs of No. 24 Squadron SAAF prepare to take off from Bir el Beheira, Libya, to bomb enemy positions in the 'Knightsbridge' area during the first Battle of Alamein Continuation warPhoto: Soviet M-10 152 mm howitzer in use by Finnish troops. Finnish designation was 152 H 38 Photo: "German cannons and tank in front of the Oulu City Hall on July 20, 1942." Note: despite the museum label the artillery and tanks are captured Soviet equipment and the tank has Finnish markings Battle of the Caribbean In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, U-132 attacks convoy QS-19 near Anticosti Island. British SS Frederika Lensen is badly damaged (4 killed), is towed by Canadian corvette HMCS Weyburn and beached, but declared a total loss. United StatesIn the U.S., Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired), is named Chief of Staff to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Interesting note: William "Wild Bill" Donovan, soon to head the OSS, was FDR's first choice for Chief of Staff. The first members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACS) began training at Fort Des Moines, 5 miles (8 km) south of Des Moines, Iowa. Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN In the Aleutians, the IJN flies its last offensive air strike when 3 "Mavis" flying boats attack the seaplane tender (destroyer) USS Gillis at Adak. A dud bomb lands 10 feet from the ship and the rest of the bombs dropped miss their target. (11th AF): Brigadier General William O Butler moves advance HQ to Umnak . 3 B-17s bomb Kiska (especially the barracks) with incendiaries and demolition charges. 4 P-38s try to intercept 4 fighters reported by US Navy (USN) aircraft but no contact is made. NEW ZEELAND The US 1st Marine Division issues its plan for Operation Watchtower. The Marines are just about finished the massive task of singlehandedly unloading and reloading their ships for the invasion of the southern Solomon Islands. They have had no help from the New Zealand weather or the Dock Unions. Photo: equipment for the 1st marine division, including tanks and amphibian tractors, is unloaded in New Zealand preparatory to the Guadalcanal operation CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): CHINA AIR TASK FORCE: 3 B-25s bomb docks and warehouses at Chinkiang, China on the Yangtze River; 4 escorting P-40s strafe junks on the river. This is the last CATF bombing raid of Jul. In China, detachments of 11th Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), operating from Kweilin, Hengyang and Nanning with B-25s return to base at Kunming. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): Unit moves in Australia: 33d Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), from Antil Plains to Woodstock with B-26s; 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, from Petric to Port Moresby, New Guinea with P-39s and P-400s (first mission is 22 Jul). NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN Invasion of Papua - 3 transport ships carrying Japanese 5th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Forces and Yokoyama Detachment (17th Army) depart Rabaul, New Britain (escorted by cruisers Tenryū and Tatsuta, destroyers Asanagi, Yūzuki and Uzuki and a minelayer) for landings on the North coast of Papua. 40 Japanese aircraft raid Port Moresby on the South coast. INDIAN OCEAN In the Indian Ocean, 1950 miles West of Australia, German armed merchant cruiser Thor attacks British MV Indus, sailing from Colombo, Ceylon, to Freemantle, Australia. MV Indus attempts to outrun the raider and returns fire but is set on fire by accurate shelling from Thor (22 killed, 49 survivors rescued from the water). 15 miles off the East coast of Australia 75 miles South of Sydney, Japanese submarine I-11 sinks Greek steamer G.S. Livanos, carrying 87 Australian Army motor vehicles.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 21, 2021 2:48:03 GMT
Day 1046 of World War II, July 21st 1942Eastern FrontCase Blue - German 1st Panzer Army and 17th Army converge from the West, North and East on Rostov-on-Don, near the Black Sea coast. The city is surounded by 3 defensive belts (bunkers, anti tank ditches and wire entanglements) 40km in depth. German 73rd and 298th Infantry Divisions, supported by the 13th Panzer Division, advance from the West along the road from Taganrog into the first belt. Air War over Europe In England, Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower assigns to the USAAF's 8th Air Force the mission of carrying out, in collaboration with the RAF, the degree of air operations with the view of attaining air domination over western France by 1 April 1943. North African campaignFirst Battle of El Alamein, Egypt - At 4.30 PM, New Zealand 6th Brigade attack from South of Ruweisat Ridge into the El Mreir depression and hold these positions overnight. British 2nd and 23rd Armoured Brigades are scheduled to join them at daybreak. Photo: A 4.5-inch field gun in action south of El Alamein, July 1942 Battle of the Mediterranean Operation Insect - British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle flies off 29 Spitfires. 28 Spitfires arrive at Malta but 1 has a leaky fuel tank and ditches in the Mediterranean. Battle of the Caribbean 40 miles Southwest of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, U-84 badly damages US Liberty ship SS William Cullen Bryant. All 40 crew, 12 gunners and 2 Navy signalmen abandon ship, but reboard 2 hours later and are towed to Key West by tugs Moran and USS Willet. SS William Cullen Bryant will be repaired New York and return to service in March 1944. At 10.29 AM 5 miles North of Matelot Point, Trinidad, U-160 torpedoes British MV Donovania (3 crew and 2 gunners killed) which settles in shallow water. 43 crew and 2 gunners are picked up by British motor torpedo boats and US destroyer USS Livermore and landed at Port of Spain. Pacific WarALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): 4 B-24s fly search and bomb missions over Kiska but make no contact because of weather. SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (Joint Chiefs of Staff): Air echelon of 98th Bombardment Squadron, 11th BG (Heavy), begins operating from Plaines des Gaiacs and Espiritu Santo with B-17s (first mission is 31 Jul); the ground echelon is enroute from Hawaii. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): B-26s attack a convoy off Salamaua as an invasion force heads for Buna, where it begins landings during the night of 21/22 Jul. This move by the enemy forestalls Allied operations which were to have secured the same general area. NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN Units from General Horii's 18th Japanese Army land at Gona on New Guinea.Japanese troops land at Buna and Gona. This is the "RI" Operation. The IJN lands 2,000 troops at Gona, New Guinea; these troops are tasked with crossing the Owen Stanley Mountains and capturing Port Moresby. Admiral Mikawa, CO of the IJN 8th Fleet at Rabaul, requests additional destroyers from Tokyo. He will again make this request on the 23rd adding a prediction that the Americans will land on Gaudalcanal before the airfield becomes operational AUSTRALIA 15 miles off the East coast of Australia 90 miles South of Sydney, Japanese submarine I-11 sinks American SS Coast Farmer, carrying asphalt, tin plate, wood and general Army stores from Sydney to Melbourne (1 crewman killed, 33 crew and 7 US Navy gunners rescued next morning by an RAAF Crash Boat). NUKUALOFA HARBOUR,TONGATABU Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Barker (DD-213) on 21 July 1942 in Nukualofa Harbour, Tongatabu. The attack transport USS President Jackson (AP-37) and an oiler are visible in the background. The photo was taken from the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-7) Photo: The U.S. Navy fleet oiler USS Kanawha (AO-1) in Nukualofa Harbour, Tongatabu, seen from USS Wasp (CV-7). Other ships present include, at right, USS San Juan (CL-54), USS Barker (DD-213) in center, and in the distance a heavy cruiser (left) and a transport (right) and a Benson/Gleaves-class destroyer (far left)
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 22, 2021 2:37:32 GMT
Day 1047 of World War II, July 22nd 1942Eastern FrontCase Blue - German 6th Army reaches the great bend in the Don River (“Don Bend”) near Stalingrad, defended by Soviet Stalingrad Front. At Rostov-on-Don, German 198th Infantry Division, 14th and 22nd Panzer Divisions and Czechoslovakian Mobile Slovak Division attack from North of the city. Photo: The PzKpfw 38 (t) Ausf C tank with soldiers got stuck in the mud at the front North African campaignThere is fighting all along the El Alamein front, Egypt. British 2nd and 23rd Armoured Brigades fail to arrive to reinforce New Zealand 6th Brigade in the El Mreir depression. At dawn, 5th and 8th Panzer Regiments attack overrun the New Zealand infantry (900 casualties). At 8 AM, 23rd Armoured Brigade rumbles forward, straight into a minefield where they are obliterated by heavy German artillery and anti-tank fire (40 tanks destroyed, 47 badly damaged). On the coast, Australian 26th Battalion captures Tel el Eisa ridge (Australia Private Arthur Gurney wins the Victoria Cross for bayonet charges on 3 German machine gun posts that have pinned down his Company and caused many casualties). In the evening, Australian 24th Brigade and tanks of 50th Royal Tank Regiment attack towards Ruin Ridge, 50th RTR loses 23 tanks due to poor coordination with the infantry. Battle of the Atlantic500 miles West of Freetown, Sierra Leone, U-582 sinks American SS Honolulan carrying 8350 tons of manganese ore and jute from Bombay, India, to Baltimore, USA (all 39 crew in 3 lifeboats picked up 6 days later by British MV Winchester Castle and landed in New York). Battle of the Caribbean 100 miles East of Nicaragua, U-505 sinks Colombian sailboat Urious with 22 rounds from the deck gun (13 killed). Battle of the Mediterranean U-77 begins an unusual patrol targeting sailing vessels with the deck gun but not torpedoes, a week after leaving base from the Greek island of Salamis (near Athens). At 4.53 AM, U-77 sinks Greek sailboat Vassiliki (carrying 3580 barrels of oil from Beirut, Lebanon, to Famagusta, Cyprus) with 10 rounds after the crew abandoned ship (they reach Famagusta safely). Photo: British light cruiser HMS Despatch moored to a buoy Pacific WarNEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN Maj-Gen Horii's South Seas Detachment begin the trek along the Kokoda Trail from Buna, New Guinea. This trail leads over the Owen Stanley Mountains (11,000 feet) towards Port Moresby. Due to the loss in the Naval Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese have arrived at this overland route to capture Port Moresby. B-17's mount 3 attacks and B-25's, B-26's, P-39 and P-400 Airacobras and RAAF P-40s mount 5 attacks against IJN shipping and landing barges off Buna. The aircraft damage a destroyer and sink an army transport. ALEUTIAN ISLANDS CAMPAIGN (11th AF): Of 8 B-24s and 2 B-17s dispatched to Kiska , only 8 reach the target and due to fog drop only 7 bombs with unobserved results; 1 B-24 is missing on the return flight. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): (5th AF) 16 P-39 from the 80th FS, 39th FS, 40thFS, 41st FS were sent to shoot up the Japanese unloading barges 8 P-39's stayed up top in case some Zeros showed from Lae and 8 went down to shoot up the barges. 39th FS pilot Bob Faurot put his P-39 down so low that his would nearly hit the water. 80th FS pilot Pinky Hunter made his pass and his aircraft was hit by AA fire he opened the door on his P-39 and bailed out, his door blew off his aircraft and almost hit Danny Roberts 'P-39 Hunter' body was never found but his rings were found on a dead Japanese soldier on the Kakoda Trail months later. Japanese forces continue to land in NE New Guinea with the ultimate aim of pushing across the Owen Stanley Range to the Allied base at Port Moresby. HQ 35th Fighter Group moves from Sydney, Australia to Port Moresby. Sunk is Ayutosen Maru. NEW ZEELAND Ships bearing the 1st Marine Division sail from Wellington, NZ for the Koro island rehearsal, prior to the landings in the southern Solomon Islands now set for August 7. Photo: The Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Hobart (D63) leaves Wellington, New Zealand, on 22 July 1942, en route to participate in the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi Photo: Allied ships leaving Wellington, New Zealand, on 22 July 1942, en route to take part in the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The photo was taken from the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser from USS Chicago (CA-29), looking aft along the starboard side from the forward superstructure. The next ship astern is USS Salt Lake City (CA-26). She is followed by the Australian light cruiser HMAS Hobart (D63). A Curtiss SOC Seagull floatplane is visible in the foreground AUSTRALIA 5 miles off the East coast of Australia 185 miles South of Sydney, Japanese submarine I-11 torpedoes American "Liberty" ship SS William Dawes carrying a full load of jeeps, trucks, ambulances and explosives. SS William Dawes burns all day and eventually sinks at 4.30 PM (5 killed, survivors in lifeboats rescued by local fishing trawlers). PORTUGUESE EAST AFRICA American and Japanese diplomatic staffs, stranded in combatant countries by the start of hostilities in December 1941, are repatriated and exchanged at Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa (now Maputo, Mozambique). Japanese liner Asama Maru arrives with 800 American and other foreigners from Japan, Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Italian vessel Conte Verde carries 600 passengers from Shanghai. Swedish liner MV Gripsholm arrives with 1,096 Japanese nationals from New York, USA, and Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
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Post by lordroel on Jul 23, 2021 1:51:15 GMT
Day 1048 of World War II, July 23rd 1942Eastern Front Case Blue - German 13th and 22nd Panzer and Czechoslovakian Mobile Slovak Divisions break through the defensive belts into the center of Rostov-on-Don, capturing the Kommolomny Bridge over the River Don. Hitler, simultaneously flushed with the ease of success at Rostov and frustrated by the slow progress in general, issues Führer Directive No. 45 completely changing objectives for most German forces. Lack of Soviet resistance at Rostov persuades Hitler that Paulus’s 6th Army can take Stalingrad alone (Operation Fischreiher), so 4th Panzer Army (which is North of 6th Army) is redirected South to join Army Group A. This causes chaos as 4th Panzer crosses through the infantry of 6th Army, leaving their already stretched supplies lines inextricably tangled. Army Group A (1st and 4th Panzer Armies, 17th Army and soon to be joined by Manstein’s 11th Army from the Crimea) is given the increased task of capturing essentially the entire Caucasus (Operation Edelweiss). Photo: German soldiers with a captured Soviet T-34/76 model 43 tank in the area. Visible MG-34 machine gun Battle of the Atlantic200 miles Southwest of Freetown, Sierra Leone, U-752 sinks British SS Garmula carrying 6009 tons of grain from Australia to Britain (21 killed, 67 survivors picked up by British anti-submarine trawler HMS Pict). Battle of the Caribbean 5 miles North of Cayo Guillermo, Cuba, U-129 sinks American SS Onondaga (19 crew and 1 passenger killed, 14 survivors picked up by Cuban fishing boat Laventina next morning). North African campaignPhoto: A French-built 155mm howitzer of 212 Battery, 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, 23 July 1942 Photo: Australian troops inspect a knocked-out German PzKpfw III tank near Tel-el-Eissa, 23 July 1942 Pacific WarNEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN Japanese advance 20 miles inland from the landing sites at Buna and Gona, across the coastal plain along the Kokoda Track. At Awala, they run into an advance guard of Papuan Infantry Battalion (PIB), who withdraw across the Kumusi River destroying the footbridge. Japanese drive off PIB with mortars and machinegun fire to cross the river. PIB pulls back a few miles to where Australia 39th Battalion Company B, under Captain Sam Templeton, is preparing an ambush. This is the first clash on the Kokoda track. SOLOMON ISLAND CAMPAIGN USMC photographers of Marine Observation Squadron VMO-251 using USN cameras and flying in USAAF B-17Es based in the New Hebrides, fly their first preinvasion photographic reconnaissance mission over Gavutu, Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The B-17s are intercepted by "Rufe" floatplanes but there are no losses on either side. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): 22d Bombardment Squadron, 7th BG (Heavy), arrives at Karachi, India from the US with B-25s; first mission is 14 Dec. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th AF): 3 B-17s, staging through Canton carry out photo reconnaissance of Makin. SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (Joint Chiefs of Staff): 11th BG B-17's on New Caledonia begin photo reconnaissance of the Guadalcanal-Tulagi-Gavutu area. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): B-17s, 22nd BG B-26s, A-24s and fighters pound shipping, landing barges, storage dumps, AA positions, and troop concentrations at Buna and Gona as the enemy pushes inland along the Kokoda trail; fighters also hit the harbor at Salamaua. Lost is P-39D "Papuan Panic" 41-38353. 93d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Longreach to Mareeba with B-17s, B-24s and LB-30s.
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Post by lordroel on Jul 24, 2021 13:49:22 GMT
Day 1049 of World War II, July 24th 1942YouTube (Wehrmacht Conquers 250 Miles of Nothing)Eastern FrontCase Blue - German troops overrun Rostov-on-Don, which has not been contested by the Red Army, forcing several more crossings over the River Don. SS Wiking motorised infantry Division (consisting of volunteers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Belgium commanded by German officers) captures the airfield and 125th Infantry Division advances into the city centre. Photo: German PzKpfw II Ausf C tanks and sappers in the attack on Rostov Battle of the AtlanticIn the North Atlantic 560 miles East of St. John’s Newfoundland, Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix sinks U-90 (which departed Kiel, Germany, on June 30 on the first patrol) with depth charges (all 44 hands lost). Photo: In a view taken from a Hall PH-3 flying boat operating from Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Brooklyn, New York (USA), a U.S. Navy destroyer (Benson or Gleaves class) drops depth charges during operations in the Atlantic Ocean, 1942 Battle of the Mediterranean 30 miles East of Cape Greco, Cyprus, U-77 sinks Syrian sailboat Toufic El Rahman with 25 rounds after the crew abandons ship. North African campaignPhoto: A soldier inspects a dug-in German 88mm anti-tank gun abandoned during the enemy retreat in the Western Desert, 24 July 1942 United States Alabama Gov. Frank Dixon refuses to accept a US prison work defense supply contract because it bars discrimination. Dixon fulminates against Federal agencies trying to "break down the principle of race segregation. " Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Georgia, another fire-eater, writes that he will enforce Jim Crow laws and warns any blacks opposing segregation to "stay out of Georgia." United States/United Kingdom relationsThe British and Americans finally agree that an invasion of Europe, "Sledgehammer," is out of the question for 1942. But they do agree to action in North Africa, in the form of an American-led invasion of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, all controlled by the pro-Axis Vichy French. The Allies believe that an American-led invasion of French North Africa could shift wavering French generals towards the Allied side, thus putting powerful Vichy French holdings, if not the country, into the war on the Allied side, and trapping Rommel's Afrika Korps in Libya in a giant vise. The U.S.,Joint Chiefs of Staff issue a statement that USAAF heavy and medium bomber groups will he shifted from Operation BOLERO assignments, the invasion of Europe, to Africa for Operation TORCH, the invasion of North Africa. BOLERO resources are further depleted by a decision to send 15 combat groups to the Pacific theater. (Syscom) Pacific WarNEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN At Gorari Creek (in the coastal plain on the Kokoda track), Australian 39th Battalion Company B, under Captain Sam Templeton, ambushes 500 Japanese troops with 2 Lewis machineguns (15 Japanese killed). Templeton (whose instructions to his hopelessly outnumbered troops are “Your action should be contact and rearguard only - no do or die stunts”) then pulls back 2 miles to higher ground at Oivi. CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (10th AF): 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Tenth AF, arrives at Karachi, India from the US with F-4s; first mission is 1 Dec 42. PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (7th AF): 394th Bombardment Squadron, 5th BG (Heavy), moves from Bellows Field to Hickam Field, Hawaii with B-17s and continues flying patrols over the Pacific. SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (Joint Chiefs of Staff): 431st Bombardment Squadron, 11th BG (Heavy), arrives at Viti Levu, Fiji with B-17s. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (5th AF): B-26s, A-24s, and fighters continue to pound AA positions and enemy troops at Gona as the Japanese continue to push inland toward Kokoda. HQ 19th Bombardment Group and 28th and 30th Bombardment Squadrons move from Longreach to Mareeba with B-17s. HAWAII Photo: U.S. Navy LCP(L) and other landing craft maneuver near the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) on 24 July 1942, during preparations for the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Note the Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless scout bombers on the carrier's flight deck. The aircraft in the foreground has interesting markings: the mission letter (S) appears on the fin, with the individual aircraft number aft of the fuselage star. The plane to the left illustrates the usual practice, with the mission letter (B) and individual aircraft number both painted forward of the star. "S-8" identifies it as an aircraft of Scouting Squadron 6 (VS-6), "B-3" as one of Bombing Squadron 6 (VB-6)
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