Showing posts with label German Wehrmacht. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German Wehrmacht. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2025

Saturday, April 21, 1945. Steiner refuses to attack, Hitler decides on suicide, Model kills himself, May dies heroically in action.

Hitler ordered a last ditch, all out, attack by German forces in Berlin.  The Berlin forces were under the command of SS Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner., who called Gen. Heinrici and informed him that the plan could not be implemented because the 5th Jäger Division and the 25th Panzergrenadier Division were deployed defensively and could not be redeployed until the 2nd Naval Division arrived from the coast to relieve them. This left only two battalions of the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division available, and they were poorly equipped.

Heinrici, appreciating Steiner's assessment, called General Hans Krebs, Chief of Staff of the German General Staff of the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres or OKH), and told him that the plan could not be implemented and he  further asked to speak to Hitler.  He was informed that Hitler was too busy.  Hitler did become aware that Steiner had no intention of attacking, however, and fell into a rage, declared the war lost, and blamed his generals.  He expressed his intention to remain in Berlin until the defeat was final and kill himself.

What a selfish asshole.

The Battle of Bautzen, one of the last battles of the Eastern Front, began around Bautzen, Germany.

The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket ended in an Allied victory.  It was notable as German anti Nazi resistance  in Düsseldorf attempted to surrender the city to the Allied armies in the so-called "Aktion Rheinland" in order to spare Düsseldorf.

The Polish II Corps captured Bologna.  

American soldiers being greeted by civilians in Genoa. 21 April, 1945. Photographer: Leviton, 196th Signal Photo Co.

The U-636 was sunk off of Ireland by the Royal Navy.

German born Jewish representative for Sweden to the Jewish World Congress Norbert Masur met, in Germany, with Heinrich Himmler to agree the release of women from Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Diehard Nazis who weren't willing to go down with Hitler were beginning to attempt to cut their deals.

A mutual assistance treaty was concluded between the Soviet government and the Provisional Government of Poland

Field Marshall Walter Model, age 54, killed himself.

Model had not come from a military family, which is interesting in relation to his death.  Many high ranking officers who did saw no reason to take this step at all, and their post war lives showed the wisdom of their decision.  Many joined the Bundesheer, and even very high ranking officers were not really subject to much but temporary punishment.  Model would no doubt not have been able to join the post war West German Army, but he likely would not have been punished all that much.

Model's middle class background likely had much to do with his despair.  Perhaps ironically, those who came from the military class were acclimated to German and Prussian regimes failing.

Gen. Karl Decker, age 47, German panzer general killed himself.  What is noted above for Model, is even more the case for Decker.

PFC Martin O. May, agee 23,preforemd the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor.  His citation reads:

He gallantly maintained a 3-day stand in the face of terrible odds when American troops fought for possession of the rugged slopes of legusuku-Yama on Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands. After placing his heavy machinegun in an advantageous yet vulnerable position on a ridge to support riflemen, he became the target of fierce mortar and small arms fire from counterattacking Japanese. He repulsed this assault by sweeping the enemy with accurate bursts while explosions and ricocheting bullets threw blinding dust and dirt about him. He broke up a second counterattack by hurling grenades into the midst of the enemy forces, and then refused to withdraw, volunteering to maintain his post and cover the movement of American riflemen as they reorganized to meet any further hostile action. The major effort of the enemy did not develop until the morning of 21 April. It found Pfc. May still supporting the rifle company in the face of devastating rifle, machinegun, and mortar fire. While many of the friendly troops about him became casualties, he continued to fire his machinegun until he was severely wounded and his gun rendered useless by the burst of a mortar shell. Refusing to withdraw from the violent action, he blasted fanatical Japanese troops with hand grenades until wounded again, this time mortally. By his intrepidity and the extreme tenacity with which he held firm until death against overwhelming forces, Pfc. May killed at least 16 Japanese, was largely responsible for maintaining the American lines, and inspired his comrades to efforts which later resulted in complete victory and seizure of the mountain stronghold.

Last edition:

Friday, April 20, 1945. Shelling Berlin. Departing Berlin. The Morotai Mutiny.

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Tuesday, April 17, 1945. Flak Bait.

 

The B-26 Marauder Flak Bait, which completed 200 missions on this day.

Winston Churchill eulogized the late Franklin Roosevelt in Parliament.

I beg to move:

"That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty to convey to His Majesty the deep sorrow with which this House has learned of the death of the President of the United States of America and to pray His Majesty that in communicating his own sentiments of grief to the United States Government, he will also be graciously pleased to express on the part of this House their sense of the loss which the British Commonwealth and Empire and the cause of the Allied Nations have sustained, and their profound sympathy with Mrs. Roosevelt and the late President's family and with the Government and people of the United States of America."

My friendship with the great man to whose work and fame we pay our tribute to-day began and ripened during this war. I had met him, but only for a few minutes, after the close of the last war and as soon as I went to the Admiralty in September, 1939, he telegraphed, inviting me to correspond with him direct on naval or other matters if at any time I felt inclined. Having obtained the permission of the Prime Minister, I did so. Knowing President Roosevelt's keen interest in sea warfare, I furnished him with a stream of information about our naval affairs and about the various actions, including especially the action of the Plate River, which lighted the first gloomy winter of the war.

When I became Prime Minister, and the war broke out in all its hideous fury, when our own life and survival hung in the balance, I was already in a position to telegraph to the President on terms of an association which had become most intimate and, to me, most agreeable. This continued through all the ups and downs of the world struggle until Thursday last, when I received my last messages from him. These messages showed no falling off in his accustomed clear vision and vigour upon perplexing and complicated matters. I may mention that this correspondence which, of course, was greatly increased after the United States entry into the war, comprises, to and fro between us, over 1,700 messages. Many of these were lengthy messages and the majority dealt with those more difficult points which come to be discussed upon the level of heads of Governments only after official solutions had not been reached at other stages. To this correspondence there must be added our nine meetings at Argentia, three in Washington, at Casablanca, at Teheran, two at Quebec and, last of all, at Yalta, comprising in all about 120 days of close personal contact, during a great part of which I stayed with him at the White House or at his home at Hyde Park or in his retreat in the Blue Mountains, which he called Shangri-La.

I conceived an admiration for him as a statesman, a man of affairs, and a war leader. I felt the utmost confidence in his upright, inspiring character and outlook and a personal regard-affection I must say-for him beyond my power to express to-day. His love of his own country, his respect for its constitution, his power of gauging the tides and currents of its mobile public opinion, were always evident, but, added to these, were the beatings of that generous heart which was always stirred to anger and to action by spectacles of aggression and oppression by the strong against the weak. It is, indeed, a loss, a bitter loss to humanity that those heart-beats are stilled for ever. President Roosevelt's physical affliction lay heavily upon him. It was a marvel that he bore up against it through all the many years of tumult-and storm. Not one man in ten millions, stricken and crippled as he was, would have attempted to plunge into a life of physical and mental exertion and of hard, ceaseless political controversy. Not one in ten millions would have tried, not one in a generation would have succeeded, not only in entering this sphere, not only in acting vehemently in it, but in becoming indisputable master of the scene. In this extraordinary effort of the spirit over the flesh, the will-power over physical infirmity, he was inspired and sustained by that noble woman his devoted wife, whose high ideals marched with his own, and to whom the deep and respectful sympathy of the House of Commons flows out to-day in all fullness. There is no doubt that the President foresaw the great dangers closing in upon the pre-war world with far more prescience than most well-informed people on either side of the Atlantic, and that he urged forward with all his power such precautionary military preparations as peace-time opinion in the United States could be brought to accept. There never was a moment's doubt, as the quarrel opened, upon which side his sympathies lay.

The fall of France, and what seemed to most people outside this Island, the impending destruction of Great Britain, were to him an agony, although he never lost faith in us. They were an agony to him not only on account of Europe, but because of the serious perils to which the United States herself would have been exposed had we been overwhelmed or the survivors cast down under the German yoke. The bearing of the British nation at that time of stress, when we were all alone, filled him and vast numbers of his countrymen with the warmest sentiments towards our people. He and they felt the blitz of the stern winter of 1940~1, when Hitler set himself to rub out the cities of our country, as much as any of us did, and perhaps more indeed, for imagination is often more torturing than reality. There is no doubt that the bearing of the British and, above all, of the Londoners kindled fires in American bosoms far harder to quench than the conflagrations from which we were suffering. There was also at that time, in spite of General Wavell's victories-all the more, indeed, because of the reinforcements which were sent from this country to him-the apprehension widespread in the United States that we should be invaded by Germany after the fullest preparation in the spring of 1941. It was in February that the President sent to England the late Mr. Wendell Willkie, who, although a political rival and an opposing candidate, felt, as he did on many important points. Mr. Willkie brought a letter from Mr. Roosevelt, which the President had written in his own hand, and this letter contained the famous lines of Longfellow:

". . . Sail on, O ship of State!

Sail on O Union, strong and great!

Humanity with all its fears,

With all the hopes of future years,

Is hanging breathless on thy fate!"

At about that same time he devised the extraordinary measure of assistance called Lend-Lease, which will stand forth as the most unselfish and unsordid financial act of any country in all history. The effect of this was greatly to increase British fighting power and for all the purposes of the war effort to make us, as it were, a much more numerous community. In that autumn I met the President for the first time during the war at Argentia in Newfoundland and together we drew up the Declaration which has since been called the Atlantic Charter and which will, I trust, long remain a guide for both our peoples and for other peoples of the world.

All this time, in deep and dark and deadly secrecy, the Japanese were preparing their act of treachery and greed. When next we met in Washington Japan, Germany and Italy had declared war upon the United States and both our countries were in arms, shoulder to shoulder. Since then we have advanced over the land and over the sea through many difficulties and disappointments, but always with a broadening measure of success. I need not dwell upon the series of great operations which have taken place in the Western Hemisphere, to say nothing of that other immense war proceeding at the other side of the world. Nor need I speak of the plans which we made with our great Ally, Russia, at Teheran, for these have now been carried out for all the world to see.

But at Yalta I noticed that the President was ailing. His captivating smile, his gay and charming manner, had not deserted him but his face had a transparency, an air of purification, and often there was a faraway look in his eyes. When I took my leave of him in Alexandria harbour I must confess that I had an indefinable sense of fear that his health and his strength were on the ebb. But nothing altered his inflexible sense of duty. To the end he faced his innumerable tasks unflinching. One of the tasks of the President is to sign maybe a hundred or two hundred State papers with his own hand every day, commissions and so forth. All this he continued to carry out with the utmost strictness. When death came suddenly upon him "he had finished his mail." That portion of his day's work was done. As the saying goes, he died in harness and we may well say in battle harness, like his soldiers, sailors and airmen, who side by side with ours, are carrying on their task to the end all over the world. What an enviable death was his. He had brought his country through the worst of its perils and the heaviest of its toils. Victory had cast its sure and steady beam upon him. He had broadened and stabilised in the days of peace the foundations of American life and union.

In war he had raised the strength, might and glory of the great Republic to a height never attained by any nation in history. With her left hand she was leading the advance of the conquering Allied Armies into the heart of Germany and with her right, on the other side of the globe, she was irresistibly and swiftly breaking up the power of Japan. And all the time ships, munitions, supplies, and food of every kind were aiding on a gigantic scale her Allies, great and small, in the course of the long struggle.

But all this was no more than worldly power and grandeur, had it not been that the causes of human freedom and of social justice to which so much of his life had been given, added a lustre to all this power and pomp and warlike might, a lustre which will long be discernible among men. He has left behind him a band of resolute and able men handling the numerous interrelated parts of the vast American war machine. He has left a successor who comes forward with firm step and sure conviction to carry on the task to its appointed end. For us. it remains only to say that in Franklin Roosevelt there died the greatest American friend we have ever known and the greatest champion of freedom who has ever brought help and comfort from the new world to the old.

Question put, and agreed to, nemine contradicente.

Resolved:

"That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty to convey to His Majesty the deep sorrow with which this House has learned of the death of the President of the United States of America and to pray His Majesty that in communicating his own sentiments of grief to the United States Government, he will also be graciously pleased to express on the part of this House their sense of the loss which the British Commonwealth and Empire and the cause of the Allied Nations have sustained, and their profound sympathy with Mrs. Roosevelt and the late President's family and with the Government and people of the United States of America."

German troops flooded the Wieringermeerpolder to aid in their retreat.  However, on the same day, German units in the Ruhr began mass surrenders.

US troops landed in the Moro Gulf at Cotabatu.

The Battle of the Hongorai River began in New Guinea.

Historian Tran Trong Kim was appointed the Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam, the short lived Japanese supported Vietnamese monarchy.

One armed baseball Peter Gray made his major league debut.

Berlin: Sprint To The Finish Line – Dawn Of The Truman Era – April 17, 1945

Last edition:

Monday, April 16, 1945. The final battle in the West.

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Thursday, April 5, 1945. Rebellion of the Georgian Legion.

The Soviet Union renounced the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941.

The Georgian Legion, a German foreign legion, rose up against the Germans on the Dutch island of Texel.  The battle would result in large-scale casualties incurred until the end of the war by both sides.

The uprising is regarded as heroic, but the late war uprising was naive.  It counted on an Allied landing which did not occur, and it presumed favorable post war treatment by the Allies.

Arrested officers.

African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club at Freeman Field, Indiana, resulting in the predictable scuffles and arrests although the ultimate punishment was minor.

Gen. MacArthur was appointed control of all Army forces in the Pacific and Adm. Nimitz all naval forces.  The move was made in anticipation of the Invasion of Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso (小磯 國昭), frustrated in his attempts to be involved in military decisions, resigned.

The U-242 sank in St. George's Channel after hitting a mine.

Last edition

Wednesday, April 4, 1945. The Third Army liberates the Ohrdruf Subcamp.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Monday, March 19, 1945. The Nero Decree.

Hitler issued the Nero Decree, which stated:

I. Hitler’s Order of March 19, 1945

RE: Destruction Measures within Reich Territory

Our nation’s struggle for existence forces us to utilize all means, even within Reich territory, to weaken the fighting power of our enemy and to prevent further advances. Any opportunity to inflict lasting damage on the striking power of the enemy must be taken advantage of. It is a mistake to believe that undestroyed or only temporarily paralyzed traffic, communications, industrial, and supply installations will be useful to us again after the recapture of lost territories. During his retreat, the enemy will leave behind only scorched earth and will abandon all concern for the population.

I therefore command

1. All military traffic, communications, industrial and supply installations as well as objects within Reich territory that might be used by the enemy in the continuation of his fight, either now or later, are to be destroyed.

2. It is the responsibility of the military command posts to execute this order to destroy all military objects, including traffic and communications installations.

The Gauleiters and Commissioners for Reich Defense are responsible for destroying the industrial and supply installations, as well as of other objects of valuable; the troops must give the Gauleiters and Commissioners for Reich Defense the assistance they need to carry out this task.

3. This command is to be transmitted to all troop commanders as promptly as possible; orders to the contrary are null and void.

Adolf Hitler

Albert Speer and various officers of the Wehrmacht conspired against its implementation.

Ostensibly a war measure, at this point in the war Hitler was lashing out against the German people themselves, whom he was punishing for, in his mind, having failed him by losing the war, something he now clearly knew had occurred.  

Also at this point, internal German attitudes were rapidly changing.  While still fighting in the field, German troops were now surrendering in large numbers to the Western Allies, rather than die in the final weeks of the war.  German commanders, including some in the SS, were seeking to make back deals with the Western Allies, unsuccessfully, and without Hitler's knowledge.  Some were preparing for their own post war futures.  Members of the German government and military were starting to conspire to save what they could.

Again, there's a lesson here.  Hitler was a populist politician who had risen to power backed by lies.  His policies inevitably lead Germany to shame and ruin.  Rather than resign when things turned bad, he hung on, supported by fanatic supporters, and in the end sought to destroy the very country he claimed to represent.

All U-boats in the Baltic were transferred to the west.

The British Indian Army took Mandalay.

The USS Franklin was hit by kamikazes and badly damaged.


724 men were killed and 265 wounded.   Captain Gehres regarded those who had jumped into the sea during the event as having acted improperly, leading to post incident tension and ultimately his relief. She'd return to service and was ultimately stricken in 1964.

The Soviet Union notified Turkey that their non aggression pact would not be renewed after it expired in November.  It demanded territorial concessions from Turkey, which Turkey rejected.

Last edition:

Sunday, March 18, 1945 Landings in the Philippines, the largest air attack on Berlin.

Friday, March 14, 2025

Wednesday, March 14, 1945. Large bombs.

"Mortar team of the 99th Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, prepares to fire 81mm mortar shell to halt advance of enemy patrol in woods between American-held Ariendorf, and Germany-held Honningen.
14 March, 1945. Company M, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division."

The Red Army took Zvolen, Czechoslovakia.

Army Group South committed its reserves in Hungary.

The RAF used a 22,000 lbs bomb, the largest conventional bomb of the war, for the first time on a raid on the Bielfeld viaduct.

The U-714 and U-1021 were sunk by British and South African surface ships, and a mine, respectively.

Last edition:

Tuesday, March 13, 1945. The road to Mandalay.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Monday, March 12, 1945. Santa Fe Riots.

Riots broke out at the internment camp at Santa Fe.

The Red Army took Küstrin.

The Germans made a determined counterattack at Remagen.

Friedrich Fromm, who had been a fence sitter in the July 20 plot, was executed.

Last edition:

Sunday, March 11, 1945. Essen destroyed.

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Tuesday, March 6, 1945. Soviet murders in Poland and Eagle 7.

Today in World War II History—March 6, 1940 & 1945: 80 Years Ago—Mar. 6, 1945: US First Army takes Cologne (Köln), Germany; in retreat, Germans destroy the Hohenzollern Bridge.

Operation Spring Awakening was launched by the Germans.  It would be their last major offensive.  An Eastern Front offensive, oil reserves were the target.

King Michael of Romania installed Petru Groza as Prime Minister of Romania due to Soviet pressure.

The Soviets began to arrest or kill anyone associated with the Polish Government In Exile or the Polish Home Army.

The famous tank battle in Cologne between a German Panther and a M26 named Eagle 7 took place.  It's one of the best known American v. German tank battles of World War Two, and ironically took place in a large urban environment.

The battle was, unusually, completely filmed.

The crew of Eagle 7, after the battle.

"The crew of an M26 Pershing tank, nicknamed "Eagle 7," of the 3rd Armored Division pose for a photo after their famous victorious tank duel against a German Panther tank in Cologne, Germany, March 1945.  Commander - Sgt. Robert M. Earley of Fountain, Minn Gunner - Cpl. Clarence E. Smoyer of Lehighton, Pa Loader - Pvt. John S. Deriggi of Scranton, Pa Driver - T/5 William D. McVey of Jackson, Mich Assistant Driver - Pvt. Homer L. Davis of Morehead, Ky.

The Chinese 1st Army took Lashio, Burma.

"The crew of the Ninth U.S. Army Sherman tank who escaped injury though their vehicle was hit by four German 88 shells in action during the capture of Hottorf, near Erkelenz, Germany. L to R: Tec 5 John Helbo, driver, South Plainfield, N.J.; Tec 5 William B. Paff, cannoneer, Morrisville, Pa.; Sgt. Matteo Fortino, tank commander, Bronx, New York; Pfc. Leo V. Digangi, gunner, Jackson Heights, Long Island, N.Y.; and Pfc. Steve Raguseo, assistant driver. 6 March, 1945."

Last edition:

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Saturday, March 1, 2025

March 1, 1945. Iran declares war on Japan.

 

9th Armored Division, 1 March 1945, Germany
Signal Corps Photo.  This appears to be a M26 with its turret pointing to the rear for travel.  The M26 was just coming into service at this time.

Iran declared war on Japan.

Franklin Roosevelt reported on the Yalta Conference.  He was unable to stand.

The Wehrmacht launched an offensive around Lauban.

The Ninth Army took Mönchengladbach.

"Infantrymen of the U.S. Third Army move through war-torn city of Prum, Germany, of which little is left but blasted buildings and debris-littered streets. 1 March, 1945. 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division."


"After the town of Disternich, Germany, fell to units of the 9th Armored Division, civilians are gathered to be interrogated by military authorities. 1 March, 1945. Company A, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division."  This is an interesting photograph for a variety of reasons, one of which simply is to note what's occurring, the interrogation of  civilians in the Westphalian town of Disternich.    Note the peasant like appearance of the German civilians.  Peasantry is probably exactly what they are. Note also the medic.  This was for an interrogation, but there must have been a concern that the civilians would be sick or injured. The soldier on the right with the M1 Garand provides us with a really good example of Maine Hunting Shoes in use by the U.S. Army.  Note also his armored division shoulder patch.
 
"Children of parents left destitute in wake of German retreat from Manheim, Germany, receive milk after civilians were able to round up food for themselves. Scene in sector held by 3rd Armored Division of 1st U.S. Army. 1 March, 1945. Photographer: W. B. Allen, 165th Signal Photo Co."  Note that the boy in the foreground is wearing a classic German mutze with some sort of cap device.

Michael Strank, one of the Marines photographed raising the flag on Iwo Jima, lost his life in the battle.


He was born in Czechoslovakia to a Rusyn family, and had immigrated to the US as a child with his family.

Last edition:

    Tuesday, February 18, 2025

    Sunday, February 18, 1945. Off of Iwo Jima.

     

    "HoM2/C Charles R. Roth, USCG, leads hymn singing and gives brief talk to his shipmates aboard a Coast Guard-manner LST the day before landing on Iwo Jima. Photographed February 18, 1945."

    Pre landing bombardments continued at Iwo Jima.

    Iwo Jima, February 18, 1945.

    Operation Solstice ended in a German defeat.

    American forces breached the Siegfried Line north of Echternach.

    The USS Gamble was damaged beyond repair off of Iwo Jima.

    General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, dies from wounds received outside Konigsberg at age 37.

    General Dmitry Mikhaylovich Karbyshev was tortured to death along with other Soviet POWs by being doused with water and left out in a freezing night.

    Last edition:

    Saturday, February 17, 1945. Rum and Coca Cola. Cold Comfort. Scientist leave Peenemünde. Iwo Jima.