Wednesday, September 13, 1944. The Execution of the SOE Agents.

The first meeting of American troops of General Patton's Third U.S. Army forces with French troops of General Patch's Seventh U.S. Army took place recently when their long reconnaissance arms met at Autun, France. Here Adjutant Emile Lancery, Bouhy, France, left, whose native group landed near Toulon, is shown shaking hands with Sgt. Louis Basil, Follansbee, W.Va., in the first scout vehicle of the Combat Command. 13 September, 1944. Combat Command B, 6th Armored Division.

Greek, Canadian and New Zealand forces attacked the Germans at Rimini, Italy.

The Red Army took the Warsaw suburb of Praga.  That evening, the Soviet air force began dropping supplies to the Home Army in Warsaw.  The action was undertaken due to US and UK pressure.

The Greek People's Liberation Army and the collaborationist Security Battalions fought at Melgalas.

The Navy begana pre invasion bombardment of Peleliu and Angaur.

SOE agents Yolande Beekman, 32, Madeleine Damerment, 26, and Noor Inayat Khan, 30, were executed at Dachau.

Yolande Beekman.

Madeleine Damerment

Noor Inayat Khan.

The USS Warrington sunk in the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane.

Last edition:

Tuesday, September 12, 1944. Le Havre taken.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Aegean Sea, British Army, Romania, World War Two

June 26, 1944. Cherbourg surrenders.

The Germans surrendered at Cherbourg.

Karl-Wihelm Schlieben and Admiral Walter Hennecke at the surrender of Cherbourg.  In captivity, Schlieben remarkably noted regarding Dachau; “Everybody knew, happen that terrible things there – not what, but that terrible things happen because, knew each of us, even then 1935”.  Neither of these senior German officers reappeared in the German forces of the Budesrepublik in spite of their relative youth, which is interesting.

The British launched Operation Epsom to take Caen and seize Fontenay-le-Pesnel, Cheux and the airfield at Saint-Manvieux-Norrey.  Rommel orders SS units at Saint-Lô to disengage and to the aid of the 12th SS Panzer at Caen, but Allied air cover makes that impossible.

The Germans prevailed at the Battle of Osuchy against the Polish Home Army.

The Red Army kills or captures most of the German 53d Corps and also captured Orsha and Mogilev.  

Brigadier General Mike Calvert (left), Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw, with (right) Pakistani born Major James Lumley after the capture of Mogaung.  The General is armed with a SMLE and the Lt. Col. with a bayonet fixed SMLE.  The Major with a M1 Carbine.  Gen. Calvert is a particularly tragic figure. This battle was his most significant, and it was significant.  After the war, he began drinking heavily and was reassigned to a command in Germany.  In 1951, he was accused of improper sexual contact with three young German men, at a time at which that was fully illegal, and was court-martialed and convicted.  He never got back on his feet after that and maintained his innocence for the rest of his life.  Work by his biographer after his death indeed demonstrated that he was most likely innocent of what he had been accused of.

After 20 days of hard fighting, the Chindits, in the latter stages assisted by the Nationalist Chinese, took Mogaung in Burma.

The U.S. Navy bombarded Japanese positions on Matsuwa in the Kuriles.

The Republican National Convention opened in Chicago.

All three New York baseball team played at the Polo Grounds in a round-robin experiment to raise money for war bonds.

General Hap Arnold called Governor Lester Hunt and requested that UW President James Morill be given a leave of absence to assist with the War Education Program. (UW History Calendar).

The trustees refused the request.

Last prior edition:

Sunday, June 25, 1944. The Battle of Tali–Ihantala commences.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Tali–Ihantala, British Army, Caen France, Canadian Army, Diplomacy, Finnish Army, German SS, Operation Epsom, Operation Martlet, Operation Overlord, Red Army, Waffen SS, World War Two

Friday, November 9, 1923. The Beer Hall Putsch Fails and Echoes.

Day two of the Beer Hall Putsch 

Lex Anteinternet: Thursday, November 8, 1923. The Beer Hall Putsch.:

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-1486 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5415949

The Beer Hall Putsch, a large scale Nazi Party attempt at overthrowing the Weimar government combined with far right German support, began when Adolf Hitler with 603 members of the Nazi Party surrounded ll, Der Bürgerbräukeller, where Bavaria's State Commissioner Gustav Ritter von Kahr was making a speech to 3,000 people.  Hitler declared his revolution was aimed at "the Berlin Jew government and the November criminals of 1918".  More Nazi revolutionaries waited in another beer hall, the Lowenbraukeller.

Hitler declared that General Erich Ludendorff would form a new government.  Ludendorff was descending into extreme anti Christianity, although he also held animosity towards Jews as well.

Following that, while the Nazi forces grew, they were disordered and without direction.  Some were arrested early on by German authorities, and a large Nazi force was turned back by a small Reichswehr and police detail. Both Hitler and Ludendorff would be arrested.

Hitler and Ludendorff's attempt at sparking a Bavaria based insurrection against the German government failed on this date, as the Nazi storm troopers encountered the Reichswehr and police and failed.  Casualties were remarkably light.

To the extent there was a plan, the coup was supposed to take over the Bavarian government on this day, after which the Nazis would march on Berlin, as Mussolini had on Rome.

As an element of the failure, Gustav Ritter von Kahr, who had been delivering a speech at the time that Hitler interrupted it in Der Bürgerbräukeller coordinated with Gen Otto von Lossow and police commander Hans von Seisser, all of whom had been in the beer hall, and all of whom were plotting their own coup, to get word out to the government and stop the coup.  Von Kahr was later killed in the Night of the Long Knives.  Von Seisser retired in 1930 but was sent to Dachau in 1933, which he amazingly survived.  Von Lossow died in 1938.

The news, by this time, had spread around the globe, including to Wyoming.

This event has always been one of the seminal events in the tragedy of the mid 20th Century, but it's one of those events which also, as some say, if not repeating, certain rhymes.  Hitler tried and in fact did mobilize a section of the Munich public behind him.  In the early hours of the coup, it looked as though the effort might succeed in Bavaria, but it all fell apart due to a lack of cogency and organization.  Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested, but the penalty imposed upon them was relatively light, and they rose again in short order.  Ludendorff dropped out of the scene, and ultimately even ended up disdaining Hitler, but Hitler's far right wing cause would prevail at the ballot box in 1932.

It sounds a warning about current events in the United States.

It's a bit of an open question what would have happened had the coup succeeded in Bavaria, Germany's largest state.  A march on Berlin would have occured, but it may very well have failed.  Indeed, it's worth remembering that this was the third coup attempt in recent months, the first being by elements of the Reichswehr, the second by the German Communist Party, and now this right wing attempt.  A march on Berlin would certainly have brought out the Communists, and Berlin itself was sometimes called "Red Berlin".  So far the Reichswehr had remained reluctantly more or less loyal to the government, and indeed it did throughout the Weimar period and then into the Nazi period.

On this day, the German government banned the Nazi Party.

Calvin Coolidge gave a press conference, in which he stated:

One of the news services wants to know if I have received any communication from the French Embassy today. I haven’t received any communication from them. So that answers the first one, “whether it will be possible to divulge the nature of the communication.”

“The French Ambassador is seeing Secretary Hughes this afternoon. Are you aware yet as to the nature of their communication?” No. I think he is to see him at 4:00 o’clock.

An inquiry as to whether I have any comment on the Marine Congress recommendations that the Shipping Board be abolished, and the fleet turned over to the Department of Commerce. I don’t know the reasons that might have been given for that at the present time. We seem to need al l the talent that we can get for the operation of the fleet. Should it become finally and fully organized, and running smoothly, it might then be possible to turn it over to some one of the Departments, and not operate it as a separate and independent bureau. I don’t see, just at the present time, that we could get any benefit from turning it over to the Department of Commerce, though it is, of course, an arm of that Department, and that was one of the reasons why I thought of calling in the Secretary of Commerce, as well as the Secretary of the Treasury, to advise me about the plan that the Shipping Board had.

I have here a hypothetical question about the debts that are due to us from abroad. There is no change in the situation, and really no comment that I can make about it. Congress, as you know, has passed the law and established a Commission, and laid down the terms on which it is authorized to settle. There is no development along that line at the present time, of which I am aware.

A statement that Lieutenant Heffernon of the Navy suggests that if a stadium is to be built in Washington it should be a double deck affair, capable of seating 30,000 people, and wanting to know if I would express an opinion on that. I don’t know that I can express any opinion that would be very valuable. I am not exactly an expert on athletic affairs. It occurs to me offhand, that the ball field has a very large stadium that can be used on almost any possible occasion. It would be a very fine thing, of course, to encourage athletics, and some time it might be well to consider the building of a stadium in the National Capital. I don’t know of any project of that kind that is under contemplation at the present.

An inquiry also about the immigration law. I have no doubt that the incoming Congress will extend the law, which expires on June 30th next. Just what provisions will be adopted, of course, I can’t tell. It is perfectly apparent I think, however, that we shall have very careful restriction of immigration.

An inquiry about a visit of Adolph Lewisohn. He and another gentleman came in this morning to pay their respects. I had known of his name for a long time, as a very prominent man. I don’t recall that I ever happened to meet him. He was a great friend, I know, of former Governor McCall of Mass., which formed a sort of middle ground of meeting between Mr. Lewisohn and myself. I was Lieutenant Governor for three years when Mr. McCall was Governor. Governor McCall has just passed away within a week, so we were speaking especially of him. Then a short time ago, some one came to get me to address a letter to Mr. Lewisohn, in relation to the encouragement of thrift, which he was connected with in some way with an organization that wanted to promote the encouragement of thrift, and I wrote him the letter. He came in also to express his thanks for the help he thought I had been.

A statement that there is emanating from Paris today a report to the effect that Premier Poncaire will insist upon reparations from Germany to the full capacity of Germany to pay, and wanting to know if I have any sort of statement to make relative to the American position. No, our position is stated fully in the note. If it means our position relative to the restrictions, and more especially that restriction which provides that the experts be limited to an inquiry into the present capacity – actual I think is the word that is used by the French in that connection – I think that I am safe in saying that if it is to be limited to merely present capacity of Germany to pay, that that would be such a limitation as would make an inquiry useless and futile. There wouldn’t be any use for calling together the experts of four or five nations of the earth. That would be something almost that could be done by any ordinary auditor. A limitation of that kind would seem to make the inquiry useless, and I don’t see any reason why we could expect to be of any help by participating in it.

There is a report that the French propose the inquiry to take in the capacity of Germany to pay for six years – up to 1930. Have you heard of that, Mr. President?

Yes, I had heard of such a report, and up to 1930 would include what I have had to say. It would be such a short time that I don’t see any reason to expect that in that short time Germany could reestablish its industrial organization and its production to such an extent that payments could be made which would amount to very much. They could hardly begin, in so short a time, to meet the reparations.

An inquiry about Mr. Brown’s coming to the Cabinet. He came to discuss the plan of reorganization and to answer such questions as the members of the Cabinet might want to make of him. I think perhaps I can best answer one or two of the questions that have been asked in relation to the reorganization by reading a sentence or two from a letter sent by President Harding on the 13th of February last, to Mr. Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Committee of Reorganization. Mr. Brown represents the President, and there is in addition to that a Congressional Committee of three Senators and three Representatives, Mr. Smoot being the Chairman. “I hand you herewith a chart which exhibits in detail the present organization of the Government Departments. The changes are suggested after numerous conferences and consultations with various heads of the Government Departments. The changes, with few exceptions, notably that of coordinating all the agencies of defence, have been sanctioned by the Cabinet. That is the changes, with few exceptions, notably the plan to coordinate the War and Navy Departments. In a few instances, which I believe are of minor importance, the plan has not been followed to the letter, in order to avoid questions which might jeopardize reorganization as a whole.” That was a statement submitted by President Harding and there has been no change in the position.

An inquiry whether Mr. Geissler, Minister to Guatemala submitted his resignation to the President. There was no submission of his resignation which differed in any respect from the submission of several resignations that came to me when I first became President. I regarded it as a formal matter, and at once instructed Mr. Geissler that I very much desired him to continue in the service, and expressed my gratification to him at the good conduct of his office. This perhaps ought not to be published, but I think he had an idea that if he had a letter of that kind from me it might indicate to the people among whom he represents this country, that he not only was there with the approval of President Harding, but he was also there with my full approval.

An inquiry as to when the final Budget estimates will come and their approximate total. I suppose that it will reach me within a very few days. Perhaps within a week. I am not exactly sure about that, and the indication s are that we can bring the total within the figures which were given by President Harding at the las t conference of the business heads of the various Departments, which was held in June, I think, just before he was starting on his trip. At that time he strongly hoped that there could be a reduction of $126,000,000 in the Budget of this year, in order to bring the ordinary expenditures of the Government within 1,700,000,000, exclusive of the Post Office and exclusive of the amount that is required to take care of the debt, — the interest on the debt and the annual amount that is set aside for the cancellation of and redemption of the debt.

I have also here an inquiry about what plans will be adopted, assuming that we are able to negotiate and get ratified the twelve mile limit treaty with Great Britain. So far as I know, no change is contemplated about that in relation to American ships. It is stated that they were prohibited from carrying liquor outside the three mile limit by Executive Order. I haven’t any expectation of changing that order, and of course they were prohibited by the decision of the Supreme Court from bringing liquor within the three mile limit.

An inquiry also about the suggestions of Mr. Meyer and Mr. Mondell as to a reduction in taxes and its effect on the agricultural situation. I think their suggestions speak for themselves, and I don’t know as I could comment on them in a way to add anything to them.

There is no change relative to the pneumatic tubes. There is some investigation on that. I have already spoken about the Budget. That, I think, exhausts the inquiries of the day.

Friday, November 5, 1943. Task Force 38 at Rabaul, Marines at Bougainville, Red Army in Ukraine, US and British Armies in Italy, Somebody's air force over the Vatican, A Martyr

Task Force 38's aircraft attacked the Imperial Japanese Navy squadron detected the day prior, resulting in the Japanese sustaining damage to 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 2 destroyers. Ten American planes were lost.

Ground based B-24s hit Rabaul and the squadron later that day.

The 3d Marine Division defeated a counterattack on Bougainville by the Japanese Army's 23d Regiment.

The French Resistance set off bombs in the Peugeot factor at Sochaux.  The target was regarded as France's third most important one by the British Ministry of Economic Warfare due to its production of machinery used for tank turret production.

The Red Army began to encircle Kiev.

Offensive operations by the U.S. 5th Army on the Reinhard Line in Italy fail.  The British 8th Army captured Vasto, Palmoli and Terrebruna.

Also on the Italian peninsula, four areal bombs hit Vatican City.  IT was never clear whose air force was responsible, but a RAF crew had released bombs after developing engine trouble while not quite knowing where it was.

A gendarme on duty reported:

I distinctly heard the continuous noise of an aircraft flying at low altitude. I could not see it, prevented by the darkness. From the noise of the engine it seemed to me that the aircraft was coming from the northeast. It flew over the Vatican Railway Station and then went a little further away and immediately turned back. I almost immediately heard a hiss and a prolonged burst that gave me the impression of the almost simultaneous explosion of several bombs. The first of them fell on the escarpment near the boundary wall of the Vatican City State on the side of St. Peter's Station; the second one fell on the terrace of the Mosaic Studio; a third one behind the Governorate Palace and a fourth one in the Vatican Gardens in a location that I could not identify at the moment.

Sarah Sundin notes:

80 Years Ago—Nov. 5, 1943: Capt. Clark Gable leaves England, having flown 5 missions with the US Eighth Air Force, with footage for his documentary, Combat America.

The U.S. 56th Fighter Group, flying P-47s, became the first Eighth Air Force fighter group credited with 100 enemy aircraft destroyed.

German Catholic Priest Benhard Lichtenberg, 67 years of age, died while being transported in a cattle car to Dachau.  4, 000 mourners attended his funeral in Berlin.

An outspoken anti-Nazi, he was beatified in 1996.

Congress passed the Connally Resolution, which stated:

Senate Resolution 192-Seventy-Eighth Congress, November 5, 1943

Resolved, That the war against all our enemies be waged until complete victory is achieved.

That the United States cooperate with its comrades-in-arms in securing a just and honorable peace.

That the United States, acting through its constitutional processes, join with free and sovereign nations in the establishment and maintenance of international authority with power to prevent aggression and to preserve the peace of the world.

That the Senate recognizes the necessity of there being established at the earliest practicable date a general international organization, based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving states, and open to membership by all such states, large and small, for the maintenance of international peace and security

That, pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, any treaty made to effect the purposes of this resolution, on behalf of the Government of the United States with any other nation or any association of nations, shall be made only by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.

The German submarine U-848 was depth charged and sunk by an American aircraft off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. 

Guadalcanal Diary was released.