Monday, January 30, 2023

Saturday, January 30, 1943. Paulus promoted and then ordered to die, Dönitz just promoted, Berlin bombed, Milice formed, Japanese withdraw.

Paulus was promoted to the rank of Field Marshall and ordered to fight to the death.

Karl Dönitz was promoted Commander of the German Navy.

De Havilland  Mosquito. The multirole aircraft was the fastest combat aircraft in the world at the time of its introduction in 1941.

The RAF bombed Berlin in a rare daylight raid timed to disrupt commemorative speeches marking the tenth anniversary of Hitler becoming Chancellor, hitting Berlin with Mosquitos at 11:00 and 4:00. 

The Vichy French formed the Milice Française, a right wing militia that served as a fascist paramilitary police.  Over 25,000 Frenchmen would join the organization.


In contrast, around 500,000 French participated in the Resistance in one form or another, and this of course does not count those who served in the Free French forces, which started off at 100,000 or so men and became around 300,000.

The Cross of Lorraine, which was DeGaulle's chosen symbol for the French Resistance.

The formation of the Milice, along with the German actions of this day, demonstrated an Axis doubling down on things even as their defeat in Europe was becoming increasingly obvious.

The Japanese forced a U.S. withdrawal in the Battle of Rennell Island, thereby protecting their evacuation of Guadalcanal.

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