Monday, July 12, 2043. Axis victories at Prokhorovka and Kolombangara.

By Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-219-0553A-36 / Koch / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5410458.  German (probably SS) soldier examining destroyed T-34 at Prokorovka.

The II SS Panzer Korps and Red Army 5th Guards Tank Army fought a protracted engagement at Prokhorovka resulting in large numbers of German and Red Army tanks fighting each other over a four-day period.  The first day was critical, although the details are murky, something that's common for the Battle of Kursk.

German armor numbers vary from 240 some tanks to 900 some tanks, that latter number being very unlikely.  Over 600 tanks were deployed by the Red Army.  It was a Red Army counterattack, not a German assault.  AT the end of the day, German forces still held a critical topographic feature, Hill 252.2.  The Germans had advanced on neighboring terrain.  July 12, and the following few days, resulted in a German tactical defensive victory in the engagement, upsetting Stalin, who briefly considered making command changes as a result.  Having said that, the battle served to arrest German advances in the area, and it resulted in huge German armor losses, as well as Soviet ones. The Soviets could afford to lose more tanks.  Havintg said that, Germans, on this day, lost somewhere between 40 and 80 tanks, and the Soviets probably around 300 to 400 tanks.  German manpower losses of all types were around 800, whereas the Soviets were over 5,000.

The battle is one of the largest tank engagements in history.  It is also unfortunately shrouded in myth and suffers from having been fought between two dictatorial regimes, making it difficult to really know what actually occured in the battle.  This is particularly true with the Red Army, which did not tend to exhibit candor about its battlefield losses.

Of some interest, this particular battle featured three well equipped SS armor divisions whereas in Sicily the Germans presently had one armored division and one Panzergrandier division, both of which were good.  Of course, the primary Axis force at this time in Sicily was Italian, consisting of 200,000 Italian troops, although the Germans would soon commit additional forces.

Canadian troops on this day, in Sicily.

The Axis scored another tactical victory in the Battle of Kolombangara off of the island of that name when the Imperial Japanese Navy sank the USS Gwin, but lost the Japanese cruiser Jintsū, the only Japanese loss. 

 USS St. Louis (CL-49) and HMNZS Leander (75) firing during the Battle of Kolombangara

The Japanese were "running the slot" to resupply their ground forces, and at this stage of the war were superior at nocturnal naval engagements.

The United States Army Pharmacy Corps was established.

Thursday, December 21, 1972. Things German.

Flag of the former East Germany, the German Democratic Republic.

The Gurndlagenvertrag between the two Germany's was entered into, paving the way for wider recognition of both states by other nations.  

Flat of the Federal Republic of Germany.

It provided:

The High Contracting Parties,

Conscious of their responsibility for the preservation of peace,

Anxious to render a contribution to détente and security in Europe.

Aware that the inviolability of frontiers and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all States in Europe within their present frontiers are a basic condition for peace,

Recognizing that therefore the two German States have to refrain from the threat or use of force in their relations,

Proceeding from the historical facts and without prejudice to the different view of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on fundamental questions, including the national question,

Desirous to create the conditions for cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic for the benefit of the people in the two German States,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall develop normal, good-neighbourly relations with each other on the basis of equal rights

Article 2

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic will be guided by the aims and principles laid down in the United Nations Charter, especially those of the sovereign equality of all States, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity, the right of self-determination, the protection of human rights, and non-discrimination.

Article 3

In conformity with the United Nations Charter, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall settle any disputes between them exclusively by peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force.

They reaffirm the inviolability now and in the future of the frontier existing between them and undertake fully to respect each other's territorial integrity.

Article 4

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic proceed on the assumption that neither of the two States can represent the other in the international sphere or act on its behalf.

Article 5

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall promote peaceful relations between the European States and contribute to security and cooperation in Europe.

They shall support efforts to reduce forces and arms in Europe without allowing disadvantages to arise for the security of those concerned.

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall support, with the aim of general and complete disarmament under effective international control, efforts serving international security to achieve armaments limitation and disarmament, especially with regard to nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Article 6

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic proceed on the principle that the sovereign jurisdiction of each of the two States is confined to its own territory. They respect each other's independence and autonomy in their internal and external affairs.

Article 7

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic declare their readiness to regulate practical and humanitarian questions in the process of the normalization of their relations. They shall conclude agreements with a view to developing and promoting on the basis of the present Treaty and for their mutual benefit cooperation in the fields of economics, science and technology, transport, judicial relations, posts and telecommunications, health, culture, sport, environmental protection, and in other fields. The details have been agreed in the Supplementary Protocol.

Article 8

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall exchange Permanent Missions. They shall be established at the respective Government's seat.

Practical questions relating to the establishment of the Missions shall be dealt with separately.

Article 9

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic agree that the present Treaty shall not affect the bilateral and multilateral international treaties and agreements already concluded by them or relating to them.

[ . . . ]

The Federal Republic of Germany states for the record:

"Questions of national citizenship [Staatsangehörigkeitsfragen] are not regulated by the Treaty."

The German Democratic Republic states for the record:

"The German Democratic Republic proceeds from the assumption that the Treaty will facilitate a regulation of questions of national citizenship [Staatsangehörigkeitsfragen]."

[ . . . ]

The Federal Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the Federal Chancellor

Bonn, December 21, 1972

To the

State Secretary of the Council of Ministers

of the German Democratic Republic

Dr. Michael Kohl

Berlin

Dear Herr Kohl,

In connection with today's signing of the Treaty concerning the Basis of Relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has the honor to state that this Treaty does not conflict with the political aim of the Federal Republic of Germany to work for a state of peace in Europe in which the German nation will regain its unity through free self-determination.

Very respectfully yours,

Bahr

English translation: The Bulletin, vol. 20, n. 38. Published by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Bundespresseamt), Bonn. © Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Bundespresseamt).  Posted here for commentary.

The West Germans always hoped for reunification of the country, and the treaty was seen as advancing that goal.  In that, they proved to be correct.

Oddly enough, Paul Hausser, General of the Waffen SS, died on this day, perhaps putting some sort of weird point to events.  He was 92 years old.

Hausser has served in the Imperial German Army during World War One, the Reichswehr after that, retiring in 1932 and joined the SS in 1934.  During the Nuernberg trials he claimed that the Waffen SS was purely military, and he was one of the founders of the myth that the Waffen SS were soldiers like any others.  He worked for the U.S. Army Historical Division after the war, at first as a POW and then later an employee.  In 1950, he was active in the Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS ('Mutual aid association of former Waffen-SS members') which sought to rehabilitate the reputation of the Waffen SS.

Emblem of the Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS.

The reality of things, of course, is not only was the Waffen SS bad, but frankly the Heer, the German Army, was too.

The existence of HIAG cannot help but bring about a recollection of Frederick Forsyth's novel, The ODESSA Files, which dealt with an organization termed Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen (Organization of Former SS Members) which, in the novel, was more sinister, seeking to help former members of the SS escape detection in the post-war world.  That term dates, surprisingly enough, to 1946, at which time American intelligence was still concerned about German Werewolves, an attempt by the Nazis to keep on keeping on through a guerilla organization which in fact fell flat.  This morphed into an American belief of a post-war German organization of the type noted, although most historians have found that it simply didn't exist, although smaller Nazi based organizations designed to hide and aid former Nazis did.  Having said that, Simon Wiesenthal, who cannot be discounted, asserted that ODESSA was real.  It is known that the Austrian government investigated the existence of ODESSA prior to Wiesenthal going public with his views.