Sunday, February 20, 1944. The Big Week.

Today in World War II History—February 20, 1944: Allies launch Operation Argument (“Big Week”), a week-long aerial attack of 6000 sorties which devastates the German aircraft industry.

Sarah Sundin.

For the first time, one of the features of the daylight portions of the bombing raids was to draw German fighters into combat, a change in strategy.  The six-day offensive would see heavy German fighter losses, but Allied bomber crew losses were nearly ten times higher.

Two Medals of Honor were awarded to crewmen killed attempting to land their bomber and save the life of stricken pilot they would not abandon.

 Walter E. Truemper.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on 20 February 1944. The aircraft on which 2d Lt. Truemper was serving as navigator was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the copilot was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the radio operator wounded, and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, 2d Lt. Truemper and other members of his crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the control tower and reported the situation. Second Lt. Truemper and the engineer volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving 2d Lt. Truemper and the engineer aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, 2d Lt. Truemper's commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, 2d Lt. Truemper and the engineer replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and that they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts their plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Second Lt. Truemper, the engineer, and the wounded pilot were killed.

 Archibald Mathies

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy in connection with a bombing mission over enemy-occupied Europe on 20 February 1944. The aircraft on which Sgt. Mathies was serving as engineer and ball turret gunner was attacked by a squadron of enemy fighters with the result that the copilot was killed outright, the pilot wounded and rendered unconscious, the radio operator wounded, and the plane severely damaged. Nevertheless, Sgt. Mathies and other members of the crew managed to right the plane and fly it back to their home station, where they contacted the control tower and reported the situation. Sgt. Mathies and the navigator volunteered to attempt to land the plane. Other members of the crew were ordered to jump, leaving Sgt. Mathies and the navigator aboard. After observing the distressed aircraft from another plane, Sgt. Mathies' commanding officer decided the damaged plane could not be landed by the inexperienced crew and ordered them to abandon it and parachute to safety. Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, Sgt. Mathies and the navigator replied that the pilot was still alive but could not be moved and they would not desert him. They were then told to attempt a landing. After two unsuccessful efforts, the plane crashed into an open field in a third attempt to land. Sgt. Mathies, the navigator, and the wounded pilot were killed.

Lt.  William R. Lawley Jr. wouldn't abandon his crewmen, but managed to come out of it alive.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty, 20 February 1944, while serving as pilot of a B-17 aircraft on a heavy bombardment mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe. Coming off the target he was attacked by approximately 20 enemy fighters, shot out of formation, and his plane severely crippled. Eight crewmembers were wounded, the copilot was killed by a 20-mm. shell. One engine was on fire, the controls shot away, and 1st Lt. Lawley seriously and painfully wounded about the face. Forcing the copilot's body off the controls, he brought the plane out of a steep dive, flying with his left hand only. Blood covered the instruments and windshield and visibility was impossible. With a full bomb load the plane was difficult to maneuver and bombs could not be released because the racks were frozen. After the order to bail out had been given, 1 of the waist gunners informed the pilot that 2 crewmembers were so severely wounded that it would be impossible for them to bail out. With the fire in the engine spreading, the danger of an explosion was imminent. Because of the helpless condition of his wounded crewmembers 1st Lt. Lawley elected to remain with the ship and bring them to safety if it was humanly possible, giving the other crewmembers the option of bailing out. Enemy fighters again attacked but by using masterful evasive action he managed to lose them. One engine again caught on fire and was extinguished by skillful flying. 1st Lt. Lawley remained at his post, refusing first aid until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion caused by loss of blood, shock, and the energy he had expended in keeping control of his plane. He was revived by the bombardier and again took over the controls. Coming over the English coast 1 engine ran out of gasoline and had to be feathered. Another engine started to burn and continued to do so until a successful crash landing was made on a small fighter base. Through his heroism and exceptional flying skill, 1st Lt. Lawley rendered outstanding distinguished and valorous service to our Nation.

He died in 1999 at age 78. 

Rommel completed a four-day inspection of the Atlantic Wall.

The Norwegian steam powered railroad ferry SF Hydro was sunk by the Norwegian resistance as part of its efforts against heavy water.

The U.S. Navy's Task Group 58.1 attacked targets in Jaluit Atoll.

The Red Army launched a new offensive on the 2nd Baltic Front.

Beria arrived to Grozny to supervise the deportation of the Chechens.

A modified B-29 Superfortress arrived at Muroc Air Field, California, from Wright Army Air Field to conduct ballistic tests on concrete-filled atomic bomb casings in order to evaluate their aerodynamic characteristics. 

Marine Corps Piper Cubs on Papau.

A dapper looking Captain Hugh H. Goodwin, USN, Commanding Officer of USS Gambier Bay (CVE 73) on the navigation bridge, February 20, 1944.  He would have been about 44 at the time this photograph was taken.  He retired as a Vice Admiral in 1957, and passed away in 1980.

Saturday, February 19, 1944. Landing on Eniwetok.

Marines and Coast Guardsmen display a Japanese flag, Engebi, Eniwetok Atoll, 19 February 1944.

Marines land on Eniwetok in regimental strength.  Fighting is heavy.  Among the casualties is John A. Bushemi, noted combat photographer.  He was 26 years of age.

Landing craft  headed towards Eniwetok, February 19, 1944.

And also Cpl. Anthony Damato.

Corporal Anthony P. Damato

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with an assault company in action against enemy Japanese forces on Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, on the night of 19[-20 February 1944. Highly vulnerable to sudden attack by small, fanatical groups of Japanese still at large despite the efficient and determined efforts of our forces to clear the area, Cpl. Damato lay with two comrades in a large foxhole in his company's defense perimeter which had been dangerously thinned by the forced withdrawal of nearly half of the available men. When one of the enemy approached the foxhole undetected and threw in a hand grenade, Cpl. Damato desperately groped for it in the darkness. Realizing the imminent peril to all three and fully aware of the consequences of his act, he unhesitatingly flung himself on the grenade and, although instantly killed as his body absorbed the explosion, saved the lives of his two companions. Cpl. Damato's splendid initiative, fearless conduct, and valiant sacrifice reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his comrades.

From Sarah Sundin:

Today in World War II History—February 19, 1944: The major Japanese air & naval base at Rabaul is officially neutralized by Allied forces as the last Japanese planes are moved to Truk.

The Luftwaffe hit London with 187 planes, the heaviest raid since May, 1941.

The Germans ended Operation Sumpfhahn against partisans in Belarus.

The U-386 and U-264 were both sunk by the Royal Navy in the Atlantic.

Billboard modified its "Most Played Juke Box Records" chart to rank records rather than songs.

Sunday, January 23, 1944. Halting at Anzio.

British infantrymen meeting U.S. Army Rangers outside of Anzio.  In the early hours of the operation there was little resistance and things were very fluid.  Both Rangers in the foreground are carrying M1 Garands and wearing the "Jacket, Combat, Winter", which is  erroneously associated with tanker s today.  At least the Ranger on the right is wearing a pair of winter trousers as well.  The soldier on the right has a large "H' on his helmet cover, which is an identifying mark I'm not familiar with.  The soldier on the left appears to have the same mark.  Both British solders are wearing leather jerkins.

36,000 Allied troops had already disembarked by the prior midnight, 13 had been killed, and 200 German prisoners of war taken, including a drunk German officer and orderly who had driven his staff car into an Allied landing craft.  There'd be 50,000 troops on the ground by the end of the day.

Allied troops, under Lucas' command, took up forming defensive positions in anticipation of a counterattack, a decision that was soon controversial, and frankly, a mistake.  This is interesting for a variety of reasons, one of which is that Lucas was originally a cavalry officer, with cavalry being the only branch in the U.S. Army that was dedicated to battlefield mobility and had a doctrine of always moving forward.That view as not shared by the other branches.  Having said that, Lucas had transferred out of the cavalry after World War One.

The German forces did debate what to do.  Kesselring, in command in Italy, believed the Gustav Line could be held along with the beachhead at Anzio. Von Vietinghoff favored withdrawing from the Gustav Line.  The German High Command, meanwhile, allocated reserved from France, northern Italy and the Balkans to the effort.

By the week's end, the Allies would be facing 8 German divisions at Anzio.

The HMS Janus as sunk off shores by a Fritz X.

The Australian Army took Maukiryo in New Guinea.

The Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 15 to 0, which apparently remains a hockey record.

Pistol Packin' Mama was number one on the country charts.

23-year-old New Zealand er Linda Malden working on a windmill while managing her parent's farm.  No men were left to do what was traditionally a male role, due to wartime manpower demands. Public domain, State Library of New South Wales.

Friday, January 21, 1944. Embarking for Anzio.

The invasion force for Anzio departed from Naples.

Naples harbor, January 21, 1944.

The Luftwaffe commenced Operation Steinbock, the nighttime strategic bombing of targets in southern Britain.  

The first night was not a success.  Only 96 of the aircraft made it to their targets.

Operations would continue into May, but the drain on the Luftwaffe actually made the operation a net loss.

The RAF bombed Magdeburg the same night.

The Red Army took Mga near Leningrad.

The Japanese put don the Jesselton Revolt in Borneo

Patrol on Bougainville.

 Task Force 58.4 on their way to aid in invasion of the Marshall Islands.

Monday, December 20 1943. A chivalric act.

Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Franz Stigler, a combat veteran with 22 kills o his record, , escorted the heavily damaged Ameircan B-17 Ye Old Pub out of German airspace rather than shoot it down.

Franz Stigler.

Stigler had shot down two B-17s prior to this incident, but in lining up to shoot down the heavily damaged plane he noticed that its tail gunner took no effort to shoot at him and in flying closer he could see through holes in the fuselage that the aircrew were attempting to save the lives of wounded crewmates.  His commanding officer, Gustav Rödel, had earlier told his squadron that "If I hear of one of you shooting a man in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself!" and Stigler determined that this would have amounted to the same thing.  He motioned to the pilot, Charles Brown, to fly towards Sweden, but Brown didn't comprehend and instead kept on to the United Kingdom, and Stigler in turn escorted it out of German airspace.

Pilot Charles "Charlie" Brown.

Stigler kept the act to himself, as he would have been court martialed for it.  Brown did report the incident to his superiors, who kept it secret.  Brown's superiors had threatened his men if they landed in a neutral country.

Brown and Stigler met after the war many years later and became friends.  They both died in 2008.  Stigler, who didn't tell anyone of the incident until Brown revealed it many years later, immigrated to Canada and entered the lumber industry in Vancouver.  Brown retired from the Air Force in 1965.

The SS reported on requirements for invading Switzerland, which demonstrates how the tyrannical become delusional as their fortunes decline.

Canadian armor in Ortuna.

The Battle of Ortona commenced in Italy with the 1st Canadian Division attacking positions held by the German 1st Parachute Division.  The battle would be hard fought, and compared to Stalingrad due to the urban conditions.  Less certain is the importance of the town, which has been debated and even at the time commented upon by the Germans.

Bolivian President Enrique Peñaranda was overthrown in a military coup led by Major Gualberto Villarroel just over two weeks after the country had entered World War Two, although the coup had nothing to do with that.  Villarroel himself fall by the sword in a 1946 revolution.

The U-850 was sunk by aircraft from the U.S. escort carrier Boque.

Thursday, December 2, 1943. The Mustard Gas release at Bari.

The Luftwaffe attacked the Italian port of Bari in a surprise raid, hitting the SS John Harvey which had a cargo that included 2,000 M-47A1 mustard gas aerial bombs being brought into Italy secretly in case the Germans started using chemical weapons.   The contents of the ship were known only to those on the ship, who were killed when it exploded.

83 people were killed due to the mustard gas release, and a further 545 injured.  The cause of the deaths and injury could not be determined until a British diver discovered a shell casing.

The treatment of the victims lead to a medical advance which, ironically, lead to the introduction of Mustine, the first drug developed that could fight cancer with minimal harm to healthy cells.  It was the effective birth of chemotherapy.

The incident was covered up at the time for obvious reasons.

The British announced the conscription of 10% of men from ages 18 to 25 for work in British coal mines.

Thursday, November 11, 1943. Armistace Day.

It was Armistice Day for 1943.

Japanese American Girl Scouts walking in front of barracks and carrying American flags while incarcerated at Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming, 11/11/43.

The Moscow Conference came to an end.

French security forces raided the homes of President El Khoury, Prime Minister Riad Al Solh, and all but two members of the Cabinet, including future President Camille Chamoun, in reaction to the unilateral Lebanese repeal of the League of Nations' mandate over the country.

High Commissioner Helleu suspended the Lebanese constitution and appointed Émile Eddé as the new President.

The dissolution and unraveling of the French Empire had commenced.

In France, Armée Secrète Resistance fighters led by Colonel Henri Romans-Petit placed flowers at the foot of the memorial for the dead of the Great War in an act of bold defiance of the Germans.

The Red Army took Radomyshi.

Allied bombing of Rabaul ended following a final raid, with nearly every Japanese ship there disabled or destroyed.

Sarah Sundin notes something about that raid:

Today in World War II History—November 11, 1943: In Rabaul raid, US Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver makes its combat debut. US Eighth Air Force activates “Carpetbagger” squadrons to deliver supplies to resistance.

The film Sahara, with heroic Allies stranded in the desert, and even a sympathetic Italian character, holding off the Germans, was released.

Three Allied transport ships and a tanker are sunk east of Oran in a major Luftwaffe raid.

1943  The Commander of the Prisoner of War Camp in Douglas announced that 1,000 Italians held at the camp would be helping with the fall harvest. Given the timing of the announcement, it would have to be presumed that the harvest was well underway at the time.  As Douglas itself is not in a farming belt, it would be interesting to know where the POWs actually went, and how they were housed.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Thursday, October 14, 1943. Black Thursday.

The Eight Air Force raided Schweinfurt for the second time in a heavily opposed raid.

Seventy seven B-17s were shot down, along with four P-47s.  121 aircraft were ottherwise damaged.  590 Allied airmen were killed.

The target of the raid was ball bearing plants. The RAF refused to cooperate on the basis that ball bearings were a worthless object of a raid, something that post-war analysis proved correct.

An uprising commenced at Sobibor resulting in eleven SS and Ukrainian guards being killed.  SS-Untersturmführer Johann Niemann, thirty years of age and the commandant of Sobibor was the first one killed when he went to see a tailor, one of the prisoners, for a fitting.  The prisoner killed him with an axe, and his pistol was taken.

Three Hundred inmates escaped, although many were killed in nearby minefields or recaptured and immediately killed.  Fifty did survive and escape.  Those prisoners who had opted not to escape were also killed and the camp closed.

José P. Laurel, formerly a Philippines Supreme Court Justice, took the oath of office as President of the puppet Second Philippine Republic.  The Republic's then signed an alliance with Japan.

He also appealed to the Vatican at this time for recognition, which was refused on the stated basis that the Vatican did not wish to recognize any new states during the war.  Nonplussed, he sought the Filipinization of the Church in the Philippines.

We've already dealt with him in a previous post, and as noted there, he had a post-war political career in the country, demonstrating that the common view that East Asian collaborators were universally despised by their own people is not true.

Saturday, October 9, 1943. Last Stuka success against the UK.

HMS Panther.

The HMS Panther was sunk by a German Ju 87.  The sinking would be the last Stuka victory over a significant British target.

Heavy air action occured between the USAAF aircraft and the Luftwaffe off of the Rhodes.  Over twenty Ju87s were shot down, but they did sink the HMS Panther.  One US P-38 was lost.  The German dive bombers were attempting to attack ships of the Royal Navy that were detailed to support the Dodecanese campaign.

The very large land based dive bomber had been a huge success from its entry into service prior to World War Two.  It was first deployed in action in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War, but by this point its slow speed and the lack of a German ability to escort it meant that it was rapidly becoming undeployable in the West. This wold not be true in the East, where it would continue on, particularly in an anti tank role, until the end of the war.

The USS Buck was sunk off of Salerno by the U-616.  

SS operative Herbert Kappler was informed that the removal of Rome's Jews was directly ordered by Adolf Hitler.  Kappler asked for them to remain and be employed on construction projects in the city.

While the Ju87 was reaching its eclipse in the west, the USAAF bomber fleet was increasing its influence.

9 October 1943

The Land Battle of Vella Lavella ended in an Allied victory.

The Jesselton Revolt on British Borneo began with a guerilla uprising against the Japanese by the Kinabalu Guerrillas.

The USS Buck was sunk off of Salerno by the U-616.  

The Germans successfully completed their evacuation of the Kuban Pennensual. JE

Wednesday, September 15, 1943. Bazooka.

The United States Army revealed the AT M-1 rocket launcher, the bazooka, to the press.

M1 bazooka.

Like the PIAT, the new anti-tank weapon was first used in North Africa, but would come into its own in Europe.

The Red Army captured Nizhyn.

Mussolini announced he was returning to power, which in the context of his situation, meant returning to figurehead power of an Italian puppet rump state.  On the same day, the Germans announced the death penalty for Italians caught with firearms.

German paratroopers advanced on the Vatican at St. Peter's Square.

British paratroopers occupied Cos in the Aegean.

Former internee James Tanaka working in the New York City studio of a movie cartoon producer.

Thursday, September 13, 1943. Wunderwaffe

The HMHS Newfoundland, a hospital ship, was hit by a German glide bomb in the Mediterranean, while the HMS Uganda was hit by a guided German bomb.

The new German areal munition technology was taking quite a toll.

The HMS Uganda.

The Newfoundland had to be scuttled.  The Uganda was heavily damaged, but returned to service in 1944 as a Canadian ship. She'd see service again during the Korean War as the HMCS Quebec.

The US began to distribute residents of the Tule Lake Relocation Center, which was being converted to a maximum security detention center for Nisei regarded as a significant threat.

Hitler told his aid Karl Wolff that he wanted Pope Pius XII deported to Germany.  On the same day, German emissary to the Vatican Ernst von Weiszacker delivered Hitler's assurances to the Vatican that its sovereignty would be respected.

German counterattacks at Salerno came within one mile of the beaches before being stopped by naval gunfire.  Units from the 82nd Airborne were parachuted in as reinforcements.

In Greece, the Italian Acqui Division resisted German efforts to disarm it.

American actor David Bacon was murdered in Santa Monica.  Surviving a knifing long enough to attempt to drive off, he was found barely alive in his car, wearing only a swimsuit.  He left a pregnant wife. Twenty-nine years old at the time, the mystery has never been solved.

Sunday, September 12, 1943. The Germans spring Mussolini

Italian Social Republic poster.

German commandos under the command of Otto Skorzeny rescued Benito Mussolini from Italian imprisonment at the Campo Imeriale Hotel in the Abruzzi Mountains.  A less than enthusiastic Mussolini was spirited away as a passenger on a Fieler Storch after the combined glider/paratrooper raid.

The raid allowed Mussolini to be installed in a puppet fascist state called the Italian Social Republic, which would not have a happy end for Il Duce.  While in photos of this event, he's all smiles, he was a shadow of his former bombastic self by this time.  His fascistic state embedded within a monarchy had been destroyed and was going to be defeated no matter what was done at this point.  Italian troops were now fighting the Germans, although not terribly effectively.  A partisan movement was developing. The sympathies of the Italian people had gone over to an Allied peace.

The raid itself, while regarded as quite a feat of arms, emphasized the sad state of the Axis war effort itself by this point.  Mussolini could be regarded as nothing other than a puppet with an Axis alliance that was basically down to one power and associates.  Some of those associates, such as Romania and Finland, had concluded the Axis cause was doomed and were looking for a way out of the war.

Patriarch Sergius was installed as the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the first such formal installation since the Russian Revolution.

Thursday, September 9, 1943. Operation Avalanche.

The U.S. Army VI Corps and British X Corps landed at the Gulf of Salerno.  German forces offered heavy resistance.  The landings were not proceeded with areal bombardments in an effort to keep the element of surprise.

The Italian fleet put to sea in an effort to avoid capture by the Germans, as the Germans rushed to occupy the country.  Those ships that could not sail were scuttled.

The Luftwaffe attacked the Italian battleship Roma, sinking it through the use of a guided bomb.  1,253 of its 1,849 man crew died, including the commander of the Italian Navy, Carlo Bergamini.

The wreckage was not discovered until 2012.

The British landed at Taranto.

The Germans and the Italians commenced fighting on Rhodes.  Grossly outnumbering the Germans, but less well-equipped, the two-day battle would result in an outsized Italian defeat resulting in large numbers of Italian surrendering.  The Italian commander, Admiral Inigo Campioni, would become a POW and ultimately be executed by the Germans, showing a real idiocy in regard to their own situation given that by this point in the war, they'd clearly lost it.

The Italians, now at war with Germany, did sink two German submarine tenders and five naval barges in the Action off Bastia.

Iran declared war on Germany.

The Red Army captured Bakhmach.

Wednesday, August 18, 1943. Air Space.

President Roosevelt, via Executive Order, revoked deferments for striking defense plant workers.

The RAF hit Peenemünde with three waves of bombers in Operation Hydra.  Damage was so extensive that Luftwaffe General Jeschonnek, charged with defense of the Reich's airspace and well ware of his failings in that regard, and further having an inwardly timid personalty masked by a harden affectation, killed himself the following day, leaving a note that stated; „Mit dem Reichsmarschall kann ich nicht mehr zusammenarbeiten. Es lebe der Führer!“ ("I can no longer work together with the Reichsmarschall. Long live the Führer!").  He left a further note excluding Ulrich Dieseing and Bernd von Brauchitsche from his funeral.  A memorandum he left called upon Hitler to change leadership in the Luftwaffe, but was confiscated by Göring.

Ultimately, in some way, Jeschonnek was a victim of his personality, knowing internally that the air war was lost, but lacking the will to do something about it.

Sarah Sundin noted Jeschonnek's fate on her blog, and also noted the following:

Today in World War II History—August 18, 1943: Army Air Force barrage balloon battalions are inactivated in the US. Betty Smith’s bestselling novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is published.

The U.S. Navy bombarded Palmi and Gioai Taura in Italy.

The Allies prevailed in the Battle of Mount Tambu.

46,000 mostly Jewish Greeks arrived at Auschwitz.

Thursday, August 12, 1943. German withdrawals, Polish and Albanian raids, German reports, Pacific staging.

The Germans, in one of the most successful withdrawals of the Second World War, carried on with day two of its evacuation of Axis forces from Sicily.

Franklin Roosevelt broadcast a message to the Filipino people, promising to establish full sovereignty for the nation upon liberation from the Japanese.  The scheduled date for that was already July 4, 1946.  As it was, liberation of the island would not come until July 1945 and the scheduled date was kept.

The Polish Home Army executed Operation Góral and recovered a massive amount of cash being taken out of the country by the Germans.  On the same day, the Albanian resistance ambushed a German convoy successfully in the Kurtës Ambush

The German Sicherheitsdienst, the SD reported on the attitude of young Germans. Among other things, it reported:

Most boys and girls have not the slightest interest in becoming a member of the NSDAP. All attempts by the relevant authorities to get them involved have been in vain. For the boys it's the Wehrmacht which is now the thing not the Party.

And: 

The reserve shown towards the Party is also encouraged by the unresolved Party-Church question. Since a large section of youth, and above all their parents, are still loyal to the Church, remarks aimed at the "sacred beliefs which they have held hitherto" by Party comrades, cadres and HJ leaders have a negative impact. This is particularly the case at the present time because, as a result of the current war situation, young people too notice that the Church pays great attention, for example, to caring for the relatives of those who have been killed, and that the priests give clear answers on questions concerning life and the present time. In addition, rumors about alleged positive remarks about the churches by leading personalities, soldiers who have been decorated etc. have a big impact.

The SD and related organizations carried on a lot of secret polling of this type during the war. 

Things were happening in the North Pacific. 

USS Tennessee (BB-43) at Adak, Aleutians, August 12, 1943, just before the Kiska landings.

On the Eastern Front, Luftwaffe Hptm Hans-Ulrich Rudel completed his 1300th mission and his tail gunner OFw Hentschel’s completed his 1000th.

Friday, July 30, 1943. Stolen secrets and the Atomic Bomb.

France renounced its Chinese concessions in Shanghai.  It had held them since 1849.

Igor Kurchalov, Soviet physicist, informed Molotov that stolen secrets from the US had much advanced the Soviet nuclear weapons program.

The Luftwaffe carried out the first flight of the Arado Ar 234, the first jet engined bomber.  Only small numbers would be produced, and reconnaissance proved to be its primary role.

Marie-Louise Giraud, age 38, became the last person woman executed by the guillotine.  Her sentence was carried out by the German occupation government and was for performing abortions.

Tuesday, July 13, 1943. Operation Citadel ends due to Operation Husky

I don't put up German posters often (I really ought to, to demonstrate what they looked like) as I don't want to give any mistaken impression that there's any admiration for the Germans in World War Two in this quarter.  Indeed, it's been a real mystery to me and others as to how a cultured people could go so far astray as to elect the Nazis into power.  Having said that, events since 2020 have been a real illustration as to exactly how a country descends into fascism.  Anyhow, this is a poster for the Herman Goering Division which, at that time, was one of the two German units fighting in Sicily.  Oddly, the division was technically part of the Luftwaffe, not the Herr, in order to honor its namesake.  The cap device on the flat cap depicted in this poster demonstrates that.  This poster is from 1943 and reads, roughly; "Come to us! Herman Goering Division. Taking volunteers!"  The division stands as an example of German military inefficiency, in a way, in that it meant that there were three ground forces all fulfilling the role that the army would have normally, the army, the airforce and the SS, although the Luftwaffe ground forces were only seriously an air arm in the case of paratroopers.

Today in World War II History—July 13, 1943: Battle of Kolombangara: in the Solomon Islands, US & New Zealand ships sink Japanese light cruiser Jintsu, but fail to prevent reinforcement of Kolombangara.

We covered what Sarah Sundin notes here yesterday, as this was a nocturnal battle, but this entry noted above is correct.

What Sundin also notes, and what is a more significant event, is that Hitler ordered a halt to Operation Citadel due to Operation Husky in order to redeploy troops from the Kursk offensive to Sicily.

That actually occured the evening of July 12, when Hitler summoned Kluge and Manstein to is Rastenburg headquarters.  Kluge, aware of a coming Soviet counteroffensive, was relieved to receive the order, fearing what that would mean, but Manstein opposed it given that his troops had spent a week of hard fighting and, he believed, were on the verge of breaking through.  Manstein argued, "On no account should we let go of the enemy until the mobile reserves he [has] committed [and is] completely beaten."

Manstein may have been overestimating the extent of Red Army losses, but the Red Army had sustained huge losses, including massive losses the day prior.  At any rate, Hitler relented to the extent that he agreed to allow the offensive to temporarily continue in the south.  However, on this day, the 13th, he ordered Manstein's reserve, the XXIV Panzer Corps, to move south to support the 1st Panzer Army, removing from Manstein the forces he actually needed to continue.

Therefore, it was the American, Canadian, and British armies that brought about the end of Operation Citadel, and one day after a German tactical victory in that offensive that had resulted in huge Soviet losses.

Could Citadel have achieved its objectives?  That's much more difficult to say.  The Germans and the Soviets were still fighting at Prokhorovka, although the Germans had arrested the Red Army attack the day prior, with large losses being sustained by the Soviets in a battle that is still so murky that partisan historians, professional and amateur, declare victory for each side. Model, however, had completely committed his reserves and the Soviets, while sustaining huge casualties, had not yet broken.  Given this, it seems unlikely that the Germans would have reduced the Kursk salient, but they would have taken enormous losses attempting to do so.  

This provides one of the uncomfortable facts about the Germans during the Second World War, that being that quite frankly Hitler's estimation of the battlefield situation was often better than that of his generals.  People like to repeat the "Hitler is the best general we've got" quote that some Allied commander said during the war, but in terms of tactical decisions, he was often better at calculating them than generals in his army were.  The decision to call off Citadel was probably correct, Manstein notwithstanding, as the Germans had committed very good armored forces with large amounts of armor and had not broken through.  Ignoring Husky early on stood a very good chance of resulting in a rapid Allied victory in Sicily which could possibly have taken an already teetering Italy out of the war.

The American League won the All Star Game.

Luz Long, age 30, 1936 Olympic medalist, died of wounds sustained in fighting in the Germany Army in Sicily.  His death came in a British hospital.  Long had been friends with Jesse Owens and was, prior to entering the German army, a lawyer.

He held the rank of Obergefreiter in the Heer, which is a rank that's somewhat difficult to correlate to American and British enlisted rank structures.  It's roughly equivalent to the World War Two US rank of Corporal or the British Rank of Lance Corporal, which would effectively be the first NCO in a squad to command other enlisted men.

White Rose figures University of Munich student Alexander Schmorell, age 25, and Professor Karl Huber, age 49, executed by guillotine for distributing anti-Nazi literature.  Wilhelm Geyer, Manfred Eickemeyer, Josef Soehngen and Harald Dohrn were acquitted of the most serious charges and convicted for the less serious crime of failing to report treason, benefitting from the absence of the chief judge and that Judge Schwingenschlögl, the most lenient, was presiding. Soehngen received a six-month sentence, with credit for time served, while the rest were ordered to pay court costs, a truly lucky break for them.

Friday, June 18, 1943. Marine Corps Life Lessons, Allied Action in the Med, Churchill shuffles the deck, Australia safe from invasion.

"How to disable an armed opponent is demonstrated by two girl Marines in training at Camp Lejeune, New River, North Carolina. The Marines with their backs to the camera are watching another display of feminine skill in the art of self-defense, June 18, 1943." 

Sarah Sundon notes, in her blog:

Today in World War II History—June 18, 1943: Allies intensify bombing of Sicily, Sardinia, and Naples . Australian Prime Minister John Curtin declares that the risk of Japanese invasion is over.

The all black 99th Pursuit Squadron, part of the those groups nicknamed the Tuskegee Airmen, flew in action against the Luftwaffe for the first time when six of their P-40s encountered 12 FW 190s over Pantelleria.  The 99th was outmatched in terms of what they were flying but suffered no losses.

Churchill removed Field Marshall Sir Archibald Wavell and Gen. Claude Auchinleck from command by promoting them uphill to Viceroy of India and Commander-in-Chief, India.

One of Wavell's first tasks in India was attempting to relieve the Bengal Famine of 1943. Auchinleck would go on to reorganize the Indian Army.

Tuesday, June 15, 1943. Riots in Beaumont.

Riots occurred in Beaumont, Texas, a city just to the north of Port Arthur, when white men, half employed by the Pennsylvania Shipyards, attacked homes, businesses and automobiles of African Americans.

Acting Governor A. M. Aiken had to call out the wartime Texas State Guard and deploy Texas Rangers, while also declaring martial law.

It was the first flight of the jet engined German bomber, the Arado Ar 234.

The twin engined jet bomber was the first of its kind in the world, and would enter service in the fall of 1944, too late to be of consequence.

Tuesday, June 1, 1943. The attack on Flight 777.

The Luftwaffe shot down a civilian DC-3 airliner belonging to BOAC flying out of Portugal, killing the passengers on board, which included actor Leslie Howard.

The flight, 777, was a regularly scheduled flight of which the Germans were aware.  As odd as it is to think of this in the context of a global war, commercial aviation continued on during the war where it could.  The fact that the aircraft was shot down has led to speculation that the Germans may have thought Winston Churchill was on board the craft, although other conspiracy theories exist including that Howard was the target, as, it is theorized, he was a British spy.  Some speculation exists that the Germans targeted the plane simply to cause British demoralization, which they theorized would occur with the death of Howard.  Having said all of that, the plane had been attacked by German aircraft twice before during the war.

The flight was overbooked and Howard actually joined the passenger list late, bumping off another passenger who accordingly was spared his fate. Some other last moment changes have led to some confusion over who was originally supposed to be on the flight.   Catholic Priest Father A. S. Holmes, vice president of the R. C. English College, left the plane at the last moment in order to take a phone call.  Actor Raymond Burr claimed that his wife Annette Sutherland, an actress, died in the crash, but no record of her being on the plane exists, nor of Burr having ever been married to an Annette Sutherland.

Howard is best known to American audiences for his role as Ashley in Gone With The Wind, a role which I feel he was miscast in.

The SS John Morgan, carrying explosives, exploded when it accidentally struck the tanker SS Montana in Baltimore's harbor. Sixty-five of the 68 men on the John Morgan died in the explosion, while 18 of the 82 men on the Montana were killed.

The United Mine Workers went into a coal strike.  It lasted only a week.