Saturday, September 5, 1942. British victory in the desert.

The Battle of Alam el Halfa, part of the larger First Battle of Tobruk, concluded with an Allied victory. 

Today in World War II History—September 5, 1942: Japanese reach Owen Stanley Gap in drive toward Port Moresby, New Guinea. New song in Top Ten: “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo.”

From Sarah Sundin's blog.

And, from the sadly inactive Today World War II Day By Day:

Guadalcanal. Just before 1 AM, Japanese destroyers Yudachi, Hatsuyuki and Murakumo shell Henderson Field as they return from landing troops at Taivu. A US Navy PBY Catalina floatplane drops flares to illuminate the attackers but instead lights up US fast transport ships (converted WWI-era destroyers) USS Gregory and USS Little in Savo Sound, which are promptly sunk by Yudachi (USS Gregory 22 killed, 43 wounded; USS Little 62 killed, 27 wounded; survivors from both ships rescued by US destroyer USS Manley). During the day off Santa Isabel Island, US Cactus Air Force operating from Henderson Field again sinks barges carrying heavy equipment for the Japanese troops on Guadalcanal.

The Red Army drove into the Sinyavino Gap, closing to within 3.5 miles of the Leningrad lines. They were, however, exhausted and could not advance further.  On the same day, the Soviet 24th and 66th Armies counterattacked the XIV Panzer Corp at Stalingrad, but their progress was halted due to the Luftwaffe.

The Saturday Evening Post, which I can't put up here due to copyright restrictions for 1942, published a classic in its Willie Gillis series with two young women both picking up photos of Gillis, from Gillis, at  their mailboxes.  The title of the illustration was "Trouble for Gillis".  On the same Saturday, The New Yorker published an illustration of male war workers looking out with envy at the lunches of their female coworkers.  The Toronto Star Weekly featured an illustration of charging Soviet cavalrymen.

Saturday, August 29, 1942. The appearance of the Tiger 1.

The Panzerkampfwagen VI, famously known as the Tiger, or in this instance the Tiger I tank, made its battlefield appearance outside of Leningrad.  The Soviets were making a determined effort to relieve the city.

Captured Tiger 1 in U.S. possession.

The Tiger was a feared German weapon, and justifiably so.  Classified as a heavy tank, with much more armor than previous German tanks, and armed with an 88 mm main gun, it can be regarded as one of the first tanks, along with the T34, that pointed the way towards the Main Battle Tank of the post-war period, although that concept was still years away.  Indeed, it might be better able to claim the position of having essentially occupied that role prior to any other tank.

1,347 were made during the war.  Mechanically complicated due to over engineering, it had a high breakdown rate.  It was so feared by the Western Allies that troops routinely reported German tanks to be Tigers, no matter what they actually were.

On the same day the Soviet Air Force bombed Berlin in a nighttime raid using 100 Petlyakov Pe-8, Ilyshin II-4 and Yermolayev Yer 2 bombers.  A small party of Pe-8s bombed Königsberg.

The first class of officers for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps graduated.

The Saturday Evening Post featured P38 Lightenings on its cover.

I failed to note the August 1, 1942, cover, which featured a cover illustration of a Marine in the newly adopted herringbone tweed cotton dungarees. The Marine in question is wearing the Marine's khaki summer shirt underneath his hbt jacket, and it was in fact a jacket.  It was rarely worn that way, however, typically being worn as simply a shirt.  He's also wearing the M1 helmet and carrying a M1903 Springfield, all of which was typical gear at this point in the war and all of which reflected the appearance of the average Marine going into Guadalcanal.

Worth noting, however, is that at this point the hbt uniform was so new the Marines only issued a single set to its men.  Marines landing at Guadalcanal had only one, that is, set of hbt dungarees.

The Red Cross announced that the Japanese had refused the free passage of ships carrying food and medicine to American POWs.

Saturday, August 22, 1942. Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy.

Brazil, having endured several days of German U-boat attacks, declared war on Germany and Italy.  The Germans has presumed, incorrectly, that Allied ships were taking refuge in South American territorial waters.

Brazil would contribute some ground forces to the war in Europe, but its major contribution would be in regard to providing its massive coastline in the war effort.

On this day, the German 16th Panzer Division crossed the Don, with the path to Stalingrad now open before it.

A renewed naval battle in the Savo Sound occurred between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy in the early morning hours, resulting in the ultimate loss of the USS Blue.

The Chinese captured Yuijiang.

In the Caribbean, an American B-18, a plane we hardly think of in the context of World War Two, sank the U-654.

B-18.

The USS Ingraham sank off of Nova Scotia after she was hit in fog by the oil tanker Chemung.

Friday, August 21, 1942. The Battle of Tenaru. Summiting Mount Elbrus.

The Japanese, grossly underestimating Marine Corps strength at Henderson Field, sends 100 troops across the Tenaru who are met and wiped out by 2,500 Marines supported by 37mm anti tank rifles and artillery.  When the first attempt fails, he sends another group of slightly larger size, which meat the same result.  Even a third attempt was tried.

Japanese dead following battle.

Given the Japanese losses, the Marines follow up with a counterattack inland and surround the Japanese force on the coast, advancing on it with M3 Stuart tanks and supported by fighter aircraft.  Nearly the entire force of Japanese troops, over 700, are killed, to the loss of 44 Marines.  The battle demonstrated the casual disregard of the life common to the Japanese military, and was frankly ineptly fought on their part.

The Japanese land additional forces at Buna.

The Germans crossed the Don in inflatable rafts at Luchinsky.

The Germans sent an expedition of Gebirgsjäger, their mountain troops ("mountain hunters") to the summit of Mount Elbrus in the Caucuses.  The 18,500-foot peak is the highest in Europe.

Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe.  By JukoFF - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4285464

The effort was clearly a stunt, resulting only in the planting of the Nazi era German flag at the summit.  When Hitler learned of it, he was enraged.

Thursday, August 20, 1942. Positioning moves.

The Japanese Army, believing that Henderson field is lightly defended, moves 770 troops forward within a few miles of the same, with Japanese and Marine patrols then running into each other.  The Marines deploy two battalions and 37mm anti tank rifles loaded with canister along the Tenaru River, with supporting 75mm and 105mm howitzers ranging on the east side of the river.

The 37mm was a very light anti tank rifle, but was used fairly extensively early in World War Two and was effective in the Pacific.  In addition to being trailed, as in the instance of the M3 guns in use here, it also equipped U.S. light tanks.

Meanwhile, 19 Grumman Wildcats and 12 Douglas Dauntless dive bombers land on the field.

In China, where most Japanese troops are in fact deployed, the Chinese Nationalist recapture Guangfeng and Shangaro.

The Twelfth Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Force was created at Bolling Field, District of Columbia.

Internees began arriving at the Heart Mountain Internment Camp.

Soviet officers listening to news of the Leningrad Front on this day in 1942.

Wednesday, August 19, 2022. The Raid On Dieppe.

No. 4 Commando landing at Dieppe.

One of the most famous, and controversial, Allied operations of the Second World War occurred on this day when a largely Canadian force was committed to a British operation that's been termed a "raid", but which was on such a huge scale, that that term is debatable.  Operation Jubilee, or the Raid on Dieppe.  It was the bloodiest day of the war for the Canadian Army.

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-291-1205-14 / Koll / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5476892

The Canadian Second Infantry Division, together with British Commando units featuring a small group of American Rangers, and French commandos, supported with Canadian armor, landed at 04:50 on this morning at the French resort town, with Allied forces landing on six beaches.   By the end of the day, 68% of the Canadian force was lost, either being killed, wounded or captured.

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-362-2211-12 / Jörgensen / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5411278

The raid was somewhat ill-conceived in that it was on such a large-scale, and designed to test very large scale raids and to also send a signal to the Soviets that the Allies did actually intend to invade France at some point.  It made use of Canadian troops, as the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division had been assigned to protective duties in the United Kingdom and was available. The raid had been scheduled to occur somewhat earlier, and some equipment issued to the Canadians had been recovered, with the same type of equipment then hastily reissued, but with new examples that had to be rapidly reworked for functioning by Canadian troops.

Lord Louis Mountbatten, whom history has not treated well, played a planning role in the operation.  Bernard Law Montgomery got the blame later for some of the operations failures, but he had already been assigned to the 8th Army and cannot really be blamed.

The Germans were already wary of the possibility of British raids, and became aware that the British were interested in Dieppe by French double agents.  At the time, British intelligence was having trouble of this type.

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-291-1229-12 / Meyer; Wiltberger / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5476900

Some of the raid went well.  No. 4 Commando, for example, to which the American Rangers were attached, landed and conducted their operations very well and withdrew as planned prior to 0800.  The Canadian landings, however, were generally a disaster, and ultimately they experienced heavy losses.  Trouble was experienced landing the supporting tanks, and the Luftwaffe turned out in force, with a major air battle between the Luftwaffe and the RAF/RCAF being the result.  The withdrawal commenced at 0940 and was complete by 1400, but was conducted under heavy fire.  The Germans captured the operation plan for the battle, which, when analyzed, was regarded by the Germans as basically inept.

The battle is regarded as a major disaster, but dissenting voices, which I basically am here, have taken the position that it was an expensive day in school for the Allies.  The British in particular gleaned major lessons about conducting landings that they would employ in Operation Overlord two years later, including the significance of landing tanks.  As a result, the British were particularly well-equipped with special tanks for the landings at Normandy.   The Allies also realized a need for temporary harbors, which would become a major focus for Overlord.

The Germans learned lessons as well, but were overall pleased with how well their forces had done in the defense, and not without reason.  One of the major factors in the German success, however, had been the presence of the Luftwaffe, which, in spite of being obvious, would be ignored by the Germans by 1944 as raids over Germany by strategic bombers took up their air assets.  

As minor side notes, the 50 American Rangers were assigned to Lord Lovat's No. 4 Commando, one of the most eccentric units of the war. This was to give them combat experience, but it was a fortunate assignment, as this part of the raid went well.  Additionally, Sarah Sundin notes that RAF Mustang I's were in the battle and gained their first areal victory on this day.

German treatment of Canadian prisoners would leading to lasting animosity between some Canadian soldiers in regard to the German army, leading some units to be very reluctant to take German prisoners in later actions.

The Japanese landed another 900 men on Guadalcanal.

The Red Army launched the Sinyavino Offensive in an effort to relieve Leningrad.

Last prior edition:

Tuesday, August 18, 1942. The Japanese Tokyo Express.

1940s, 1942, Guadalcanal, Imperial Japanese Navy, Posters, South Pacific, World War Two

Tuesday, August 18, 1942. The Japanese Tokyo Express.

The Japanese landed 1400 troops on Guadalcanal overnight.  This would be a common experience as the battle went on, withe Marines dubbing it the "Tokyo Express".

Sunday, August 16, 1942. The mystery of the L-8.

The Navy blimp L-8, put out earlier that day in search of Japanese submarines, coasted into Daly California without its crew.

The blimp and its crew of two had taken off at 06:03 from Treasure Island off of San Francisco.  At 07:38 its crew radioed that they had seen an oil slick off of Farallon Islands, Point Reyes.  A Liberty ship and a fishing boat both later reported that the blimp descended to about 30 feet above the slick and then headed east, rather than its planned route, which would have taken it northwest.  It was next spotted at 11:15 off of Ocean Beach, by which time it lacked a crew.  The blimp contained its parachutes and life raft, so the crew had not bailed out.

They've never been found.

Official speculation is that they were trying to deploy a smoke signal when one slipped out and the other went to rescue him, with both going into the ocean, or some variant of that. This seems fairly likely, although other theories abound.

The 101st Airborne Division, provided with cadre from the 82nd Airborne Division, was activated.  The 82nd had been converted organizationally from a conventional infantry division to an airborne division the day prior.

Shoulder insignia of the 101st Airborne Division.

The 101st had come into the table of organizations during World War One, but just existed for nine days on the charts, having been created immediately before the end of the war.  In contrast, the 82nd "All American" Division had seen action in World War One and included in its ranks the famous Alvin York.

Shoulder patch of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The USS Alabama was commissioned.

The Alabama in 1942.

The ship avoided being scrapped in 1964, which the Navy intended to do, and was acquired by the State of Alabama where she became a museum ship.  In spite of the original scrapping intent, a provision of the Navy's transfer of her ownership was that she could be recalled if needed, and in fact when the Iowa Class battleships were reactivated in the 1980s, some of her engine parts were cannibalized by the Navy as they were needed for those ships and were no longer manufactured.

The German Navy began Operation Wunderland with the goal of entering the Kara Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, in order to attack Soviet ships that took refuge in the region which was iced up ten months out of the year.  The German Navy also sank three ships off of Aracaju, Brazil, operating under the belief that Allied ships were operating in neutral territorial waters off of eastern South America.

The Japanese, operating off of faulty areal reconnaissance, dispatch the 28th Naval Infantry Regiment from Truk to retake what they believe is a mostly abandoned Guadalcanal.

The U.S. Army Air Force bombed Axis targets in Egypt for the first time.

What started as a Mass to commemorate members of the Begona Regiment who had died in the Spanish Civil War degenerated into a riot between Falangist and Carlist factions in which a Falangist member, who had hand grenades with him, through two resulting in the wounding of thirty people.

Saturday, August 15, 1942. Ohio gets to Malta.

Today in World War II History—August 15, 1942: Allied “Pedestal” convoy arrives in Malta—only 5 of 14 cargo ships have survived (including tanker Ohio lashed to destroyers HMS Penn and HMS Ledbury).

From Sarah Sundin's blog. 

The Pedestal convoy was a major saga in 1942.  Even now, historians debate whether the huge convoy losses made the matter an Axis victory or the fact that some ships did get through, including the Ohio, made it an Allied one.  At the end of the day, the arrival of the Ohio was in fact materially important, and the supplies allowed Malta to carry on.

The Ohio after arriving in port.

Malta was in truth very near to being starved out of the war at this point and therefore, from my prospective, this was in fact a British naval victory, albeit one at a high cost.  The British could not afford to lose the island, however, and Pedestal prevented that and allowed it to go on to be used as an air and naval base to disrupt supplies going to the Afrika Korps.

Also on this day, the British submarine HMS Porpoise sank the Italian MV Lerici.  The U-705 sank the SS Balladier off of Ireland.  The Finnish patrol boat VMV 5 sank the Soviet submarine M-97 in the Gulf of Finland.

The Germans attacked Grozny.

The Marines, now suffering from short supplies, opened the captured Japanese airfield at Lunga Point, naming it Henderson Field.  On the same day, four ships arrived with much-needed supplies.

1942  The first landing at the Casper Air Base took place when Lt. Col. James A. Moore landed a Aeronca at the base.

Sunday, August 9, 1942. The murder of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).

Popularly known by her birth name, Edith Stein, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, died on this day in Auschwitz along with her sister, Rosa.  Both were Carmelite nuns.

Stein as a doctoral student.

Born into an observant Jewish family in Poland, she was a convert to Catholicism, as was her sister, in her adult years, converting from agnosticism.  She was extremely highly educated, having pursued a doctoral degree, and converted following her reading of the works of St. Teresa of Ávila during summer holidays.  She was of course sent to Auschwitz due to her Jewish heritage.  She was fifty years old at the time.

Today saw the Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7.

Mentioned yesterday, today saw the US cruisers Astoria, Quincy and Vincennes, and the Australian cruiser Canberra, go down in the Battle of Savo Island.  The American destroyer Jarvis was sunk off of Guadalcanal.  Admiral Turner withdraws the Naval task force, with most of the heavy equipment and food for the ground expedition still on board his ships.

The Japanese retook the Kokoda airfield from the Australians.

The Germans took Krasnodar and the oil producing center of Maykop. The Soviets had destroyed the oil facilities before they evacuated.

British police arrested Gandhi and fifty fell members of the Indian National Congress.

The movie Bambi, taken from Felix Salten's book, which was translated from the German by Whitaker Chambers, was released in London.

I've never seen it, nor do I care to.

Saturday, August 8, 1942. Set Backs and Executions.

Six of the eight German saboteurs were executed on this day in 1942. The two who were not, were the two who cooperated with authorities.

It's notable how extremely rapid the sentencing to death was.  This all took place very quickly, far more quickly than would occur today.  Also of note is that the sentences have been, ever since, subject to some controversy.

It was the second day of action in the Solomons.

Photograph from Japanese ship during the Battle of Savo Island.

The Marines captured the unfinished Japanese airbase on Guadalcanal.  

On the same day, the Battle of Savo Island began off of the island between the U.S. Navy, Australian Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy.  The Japanese task force had originally been formed to escort additional ground forces to Guadalcanal, but that had been called off when the Japanese realized the size of the US ground element.  Instead, it was decided to challenge the U.S. Navy off of the island.  The Japanese timed their action for night, having trained extensively for nighttime action prior to the war, something the Allies were not aware of.

The battle was a Japanese victory which impaired the Navy's ability to resupply the campaign on Guadalcanal. Four Allied heavy cruisers were lost as a result of the battle, before the Japanese withdrew so as to avoid exposure of their own forces to aircraft during the day.

On the same day, the Japanese sunk the troop/cargo ship, the USS George F. Elliot, off of Guadalcanal in an attack from a "Betty" bomber.

The Japanese action resulted in the Navy having to recalculate how to resupply the offensive at Guadalcanal, and in fact it resulted in reduced supplies.  The Navy's decisions on running supplies to the island in smaller vessels was sound, but it resulted in animosity with the Marines, who were unaware of what was occurring at sea and assumed that the Navy was being overcautious.

The Germans took Surovikino.

Gandhi made his "Quit India Speech", which stated:

Before you discuss the resolution, let me place before you one or two things I want you to understand two things very clearly and to consider them from the same point of view from which I am placing them before you. I ask you to consider it from my point of view, because if you approve of it, you will be enjoined to carry out all I say. It will be a great responsibility. There are people who ask me whether I am the same man that I was in 1920, or whether there has been any change in me or you. You are right in asking that question.

Let me, however, hasten to assure that I am the same Gandhi as I was in 1920. I have not changed in any fundamental respect. I attach the same importance to non-violence that I did then. If at all, my emphasis on it has grown stronger. There is no real contradiction between the present resolution and my previous writings and utterances.

Occasions like the present do not occur in everybody’s and rarely in anybody’s life. I want you to know and feel that there is nothing but purest Ahimsa in all that I am saying and doing today. The draft resolution of the Working Committee is based on Ahimsa, the contemplated struggle similarly has its roots in Ahimsa. If, therefore, there is any among you who has lost faith in Ahimsa or is wearied of it, let him not vote for this resolution. Let me explain my position clearly. God has vouchsafed to me a priceless gift in the weapon of Ahimsa. I and my Ahimsa are on our trail today. If in the present crisis, when the earth is being scorched by the flames of Himsa and crying for deliverance, I failed to make use of the God given talent, God will not forgive me and I shall be judged unworthy of the great gift. I must act now. I may not hesitate and merely look on, when Russia and China are threatened.

Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for India’s independence. In a violent struggle, a successful general has been often known to effect a military coup and to set up a dictatorship. But under the Congress scheme of things, essentially non-violent as it is, there can be no room for dictatorship. A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country. The Congress is unconcerned as to who will rule, when freedom is attained. The power, when it comes, will belong to the people of India, and it will be for them to decide to whom it placed in the entrusted. May be that the reins will be placed in the hands of the Parsis, for instance-as I would love to see happen-or they may be handed to some others whose names are not heard in the Congress today. It will not be for you then to object saying, “This community is microscopic. That party did not play its due part in the freedom’s struggle; why should it have all the power?” Ever since its inception the Congress has kept itself meticulously free of the communal taint. It has thought always in terms of the whole nation and has acted accordingly. . . I know how imperfect our Ahimsa is and how far away we are still from the ideal, but in Ahimsa there is no final failure or defeat. I have faith, therefore, that if, in spite of our shortcomings, the big thing does happen, it will be because God wanted to help us by crowning with success our silent, unremitting Sadhana for the last twenty-two years.

I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle’s French Revolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal. In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence.

Then, there is the question of your attitude towards the British. I have noticed that there is hatred towards the British among the people. The people say they are disgusted with their behaviour. The people make no distinction between British imperialism and the British people. To them, the two are one. This hatred would even make them welcome the Japanese. It is most dangerous. It means that they will exchange one slavery for another. We must get rid of this feeling. Our quarrel is not with the British people, we fight their imperialism. The proposal for the withdrawal of British power did not come out of anger. It came to enable India to play its due part at the present critical juncture. It is not a happy position for a big country like India to be merely helping with money and material obtained willy-nilly from her while the United Kingdom is conducting the war. We cannot evoke the true spirit of sacrifice and valor, so long as we are not free. I know the British Government will not be able to withhold freedom from us, when we have made enough self-sacrifice. We must, therefore, purge ourselves of hatred. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have never felt any hatred. As a matter of fact, I feel myself to be a greater friend of the British now than ever before. One reason is that they are today in distress. My very friendship, therefore, demands that I should try to save them from their mistakes. As I view the situation, they are on the brink of an abyss. It, therefore, becomes my duty to warn them of their danger even though it may, for the time being, anger them to the point of cutting off the friendly hand that is stretched out to help them. People may laugh, nevertheless that is my claim. At a time when I may have to launch the biggest struggle of my life, I may not harbor hatred against anybody.

Gandhi and his immediate fellows were arrested in less than twenty-four hours.

The Saturday Evening Post featured an illustration of a smiling woman and Naval officer in whites, with the pair being an obvious couple.  She's admiring a medal with a blue ribbon around his neck, but we can't tell what the decoration is.  Colliers featured a very serious looking Navy officer at a wooden ship's wheel.

Friday, August 7, 1942. The Marines land on Gaudalcanal.

On this date in 1942 U.S. ground forces engaged in offensive actions in World War Two for the first time when U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida islands in the British Solomon's.  The landing at Guadalcanal was comprised of the 1st Marine Division and numbered 11,000 men in strength.

Marines landing on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942.

The degree to which this is truly momentous is sometimes lost. This event occurred just nine months after Pearl Harbor and even fewer, obviously, after Midway.  The hard fought campaign would ultimately involve 60,000 U.S. troops, about half that number of Japanese troops, and include both Marine and U.S. Army elements.  The goal was the simple one of retaking lost territory in the South Pacific.

The initial landing force was principally made up of Marines.  The initial landings saw the rapid fall of all of the objectives, save for Guadalcanal, the most substantial one.  The Japanese were on the offensive in New Guinea at the time and had rolled their advances to the doorstep of Australia.

Lt. Gen. Gott.

British Lt. Gen. William "Strafer" Gott was killed when his transport plane was shot down by German fighters.  He had just been appointed to command the British 8th Army.

Churchill had appointed Gott over objections of some of his advisors, who wished to see Bernard Law Montgomery appointed.  Anthony Eden had urged the appointment, as he had served with Gott in the First World War and had a high opinion of him.  According to at least one of Montgomery's advisors, Gott himself was desperately worn down by his prior commands prior to accepting this one.

His death would result in Montgomery's appointment.  Churchill went on to state that the "hand of God" had been involved in removing Gott, and it was, while a terrible tragedy for Gott and those in the airplane with him, a bizarrely fortuitous event for the British in elevating Montgomery.

Friday, July 31, 1942. More Case Blue confusion. Canada establishes the Wrens. Marines depart to invade Guadalcanal.

From Sarah Sundin's blog

Today in World War II History—July 31, 1942: Germans cross River Don in Ukraine. Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is established; 7000 will serve in the WRCNS as Wrens.

Canada had been reluctant to bring women into naval service.

FWIW, a relative of mine served in the Wrens during the war, even though it had already taken women into the army and the RCAF. For that reason, the Wrens were actually established slightly after the WAVES.

As a perhaps slightly salacious side note, starting in 1943 the Wrens started publishing their own newspaper, the Tiddly Times.  The name came from a British seams nickname for something extra to decorate uniforms, but that was an odd choice of titles for more than one reason.

As a note, it's interesting the extent to which we're reading of the Germans as aggressors trying to conquer the same lands that the Russians are now attempting to conquer 80 years later.

Regarding Case Blue, Hitler reversed his recent order which had taken the 4th Panzer Army away from the attack on Stalingrad and reassigned it, reversing its direction, and creating additional confusion.

The 1st Marine Divisions embarked on US and Australian ships for the invasion of Guadalcanal.    US aircraft bombed Japanese airfields on the island.

Monday, July 6, 1942. An overall good day for the Axis.

U.S. Army issued map of the state of the war for this week, coming out this week in 1942.

Life magazine, hitting the stands on this day, featured the Stars and Stripes on its cover. 

Today in World War II History—July 6, 1942: Anne Frank’s family goes into hiding in Amsterdam. Japanese forces land on Guadalcanal to build an air base. British First Army is activated.

All significant in their own way, with the first of course being tragic. 

The Royal Air Force sank the U-502 in the Bay of Biscay using a Wellington equipped with a high powered spotlight. While seemingly a simple device, the equipping of aircraft with the lights would cause the German Navy to have to recharge submarine batteries during the day.

Otherwise, the Germans had a good day in the Battle of the Atlantic.  And in Case Blue as well, although the Soviets now concluded that the German effort was towards the Caucasian oilfields and not towards Moscow.   The Germans took Voronezh

Sunday, May 3, 1942. A gloomy Sunday poster.

Versions of the poster above seem to have been issued on a nearly constant basis, rather than one being issued at one time.  We posted a version of this just the other day, and then here's this one dated with today's date.

On the same day, the Japanese invaded Tulagi, north of Guadalcanal.  They also took Bhamo in Burma.

Left leaning Alfonso Lopez Pumarego was returned to the office of the Presidency in Columbia.