Saturday, November 25, 1944. Heavy resistance on Leyte, V2 attack in London.

Two V-2 rockets hit London, resulting in 174 deaths in a rocketry terror attack.

Much like what the Russians are doing to Ukraine now.

Destroyed German Panthers in France, November 25, 1944.  Contrary to the common myth, armor attrition in World War Two was horrific, just like it is today.

Japanese defenses arrested US progress on Leyte.  Japanese resistance had been consistently very stiff.

The British crossed the Cosina River in Italy.

Soldiers of a reconstituted Dutch Army training, November 25, 1944. They're armed with US M1917 Enfield rifles, and wearing US M1 helmets.  Their uniforms suggest obsolescent patterns of the US Army.

Kenesaw Mountain Landis died at age 78.  He was the first Commissioner of Baseball, having been appointed to that position in 1920, and still occupied it at the time of his death.

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Today in World War II History—November 24, 1939 & 1944 (Friday November 24, 1944). Terrace Mutiny,

U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima. National Museum of Military History.

 

Last edition:

US and German, Mid Winter 44/45 Display. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, Armor, Army, Battle of the Bulge, German Wehrmacht, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

US and German, Mid Winter 44/45 Display. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

 

Jagdpanzer 38 German tank destroyer, built on the Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis.  A classic German tank destroyer, it set the pattern for the German approach to this class of armor as well as for German infantry assault guns.  These remained in production in Czechoslovakia after the war.

Pz. kpfw. III ausf. N, a predecessor to the Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), the real German workhorse of the Second World War.  These tanks, far more than any other German tank, were the German tank of the Second World War.  They came in a various forms, like the Sherman. 

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Afrika Korps display, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, Afrika Korps, Artillery, German Army, Italian Army, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Transportation, Weapons, Wyoming (Dubois)

Friday, November 17, 1944. Horrific losses at sea.

The Japanese aircraft carrier Shin'yō was sunk in the Yellow Sea by the USS Spadefish.  The Japanese landing craft depot ship Mayasan Maru was sunk in the East China Sea by the USS Picuda with the 3,856 lives.

Over the last few days, American submarines had effectively destroyed the numerical equivalent of an entire Japanese Army division.

The British 2nd Army took Wessem, Netherlands.

U.S. light tank destroyed by a German anti tank mine.  November 17, 1944.

The Allies agree with the Belgian government to have Belgian resistance forces lay down their arms.

Disarming resistance groups, which posed a danger to the governments of the liberated territories, was becoming a problem.

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Thursday, November 16, 1944. Attack on the Siegfried Line.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, 1944 at the Movies, Army, Finland, Helsinki Finland, Movies, Operation Queen, Royal Air Force, Siegfried Line, U.S. Air Force, World War Two

Central World War Two Display, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

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Tank engines. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, National Museum of Military Vehicles, technology, Tracked vehicles, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

Tank Retrievers, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

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M3 Grant. National Museum of Military History

Labels: 1940s, Armor, Military, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, Wyoming (Dubois)

M3 Grant. National Museum of Military History

 I should have  posted this photograph earlier, but this is a very nice example of a M3 Grant.

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Artillery and Prime Movers. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, Artillery, Military, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Transportation, Trucks, Weapons, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

Tank Destroyers. National Museum of Military History

Tank destroyers are a uniquely American weapon from the Second World War, like "assault guns" and Jadgpanzers were uniquely German.  They stem from the early war debate in the U.S. Army on whether the best defense against tanks were tanks, or anti tank guns.  Infantrymen tended to feel antitank guns were, which is also the same basic line of thinking that gave rise to German assault guns.  The war would prove this line of thinking incorrect.

The M36 was a large tank destroyer with a really substantial gun.  Like the description below notes, it was open topped, and it was not as heavily armored as a tank, hence its disadvantage.
 

The M18 was the best of the American tank destroyers, even though it was not the most heavily gunned.  It was fast, which gave it an advantage over other tank destroyers.

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The M4 Sherman Tank. National Museum of Military Vehicles

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Armor, Korean War, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

The M4 Sherman Tank. National Museum of Military Vehicles

The mass produced M4 was the most significant tank of the Western Allies during the Second World War.  It came, as these photos show, in a variety of models as it was improved over time.

 

Last edition:

First U.S. Armor Engagement of World War Two Display, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, 1942, Armor, Army, Catholic, Christianity, Imperial Japanese Army, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Personalities, Philippines, Prisoners of War, religion, World War Two