On This Day during WW2....

The Highwayman

Some pics of the German attack on Warsaw

cyrusdvirus

n Poland... Rapidly advancing Soviet troops capture Lvov and Bialystok. In Brest-Litovsk Soviet and German forces conduct a joint victory parade. Meanwhile, Colonel General von Fritsch, former German Army Commander in Chief and an outspoken opponent of the Nazis government, is killed by a Polish sniper outside Warsaw. Hitler visits the front, observing the shelling of the Warsaw suburb of Praga.

In Sussex... The second meeting of the Allied Supreme War Council takes place. Although the meeting is supposed to be secret, a large crowd gathers outside the building in which the Allied leaders meet. British Prime Minister Chamberlain, with Lord Halifax, the foreign secretary, and Lord Chatfield, the minister for coordination of defense meet French Primier Daladier, with General Gamelin, the Commander in Chief on the Western Front, Admiral Darlan, the Chief of the French Naval Staff, and M Dautry. A communique issued later states that the Allied leaders discussed supplies of munitions and

In Britain... Gasoline is rationed. Meanwhile, a report by the Metropolitan Police Commission in London indicates that road accidents have tripled in the three weeks since the blackout began. Also, courts are packed with cases of blackout violations.

cyrusdvirus

In Berlin... The German government issues a statement claiming that all organized fighting in Poland has ended. It states "The Polish Army of a million men has been defeated, captured, or routed. No single Polish active or reserve division escaped this fate. Only fractions of individual groups were able to avoid immediate destruction by fleeing into the swamps of eastern Poland. They succumbed there to Soviet troops. Of the entire Polish army only an insignificant remainder still is fighting at hopeless positions in Warsaw, in Modlin and on the Hela Peninsula."

In Germany... Wireless sets are confiscated from all Jews.

On the Western Front... German forces are reported to be counterattacking with no success.

In Rome... Mussolini restates the Italian intention to remain neutral unless attacked, following a policy to "strengthen our army in preparation for any eventualities and support every possible peace effort while working in silence." He also suggests that the "liquidation" of Poland presents an opportunity for a European peace settlement.

In Poland... In Warsaw, food supplies are running out although the determination to resist remains among the Polish garrison surrounded in the city.

In the North Atlantic... Two Finnish steamers carrying cellulose are sunk by German submarine forces.

In Panama... American states agree to a 300-mile (480 km) neutral zone off the coast of the the Americas.
In Tokyo... Admiral Nomura becomes foreign minister in General Abe's recently appointed government. Between now and their fall in January 1940, some conciliatory moves are made toward the United States. These are not reciprocated and this strengthens the beliefs and standing of the more bellicose Japanese politicians.

In Britain... Sigmund Freud, the famed Austrian psychoanalyst, dies at 83 years of age.

BlaasForRafa

I meant to post this on the 27th. The last battle fought on english soil by an invading force

http://www.timegun.org/last_battle.html

An incident happened in Kent that seemed to have slipped the net of attention despite having been reported on occasion. This maybe because it happened in a specific area of the British Isles and confined to local newsworthiness.

In September of 1940 when Britain and her Commonwealth stood alone against the might of Nazi oppression, the German Luftwaffe changed tactics from bombing Fighter Command airfields and costal Radar systems in preparation for the expected invasion.

In the month previous British Bomber command had blasted parts of Berlin. It is possible this led to the Luftwaffe change of strategy and large cities became the main targets. September 1940 brought the heavy bombing of London known as the Blitz with the clear intention of destroying the will of the British people. To carry this plan out masses of German aircraft broke into English air space on the way to the capital.

Hurricanes and Spitfires scrambled into the skies like swarms of deadly bees to encounter the enemy as best they could in the circumstances. The basic tactic seemed to have been to pick off whatever enemy plane possible and if the chance arose, isolate bombers.

Over the skies of Cudham and South Holmwood the enemy air craft were met by a determine well led Royal Air Force. Some German Bombers came down in flames close to Pensthurst and Sevenoaks, where one of the German Bomber crew was taken prisoner.

Pilots of the 66 and 92 Squadron in Super Marine Spitfires aided by Anti Air Craft gunners forced down some twelve Junkers88.

An isolated Junker 88 piloted by Underofficizer Fritz Ruhlandt fell prey to the British planes and in the area of North Kent near Faversham. The injured plane was skilfully landed on the Graveney Marshes close to the Sportsman Inn near the sea wall.

Captain Ruhlandt despite being wounded moved his crew away from their plane. The 1st London Irish were quickly on the scene to face the crew of the Junker 88 expecting an instant surrender. To the horror of the London Irish the German crew opened fire with two machine guns and submachine gun fire.

The Captain of the London Irish positioned his men along the dykes of the Marshland ready to return the fire. As they crawled nearer they saw a single white flag implying a surrender of the German crew. As the London Irish advanced closer to apprehend the enemy crew a skirmish broke out injuring two of the Germans. To make things worse a member of the crew remarked that a bomb was ticking way in the plane and would go up shortly. A Captain Cantopher of Bomb disposal arrive in the nick of time to defuse the bomb, in an act of considerable bravery.

The determination of the London Irish and Captain Cantopher saved the Prize Junker for examination by the Air Ministry. Who discovered it to be a very recent developed type. Captain Cantopher received the Military Medal for preventing the destruction of the plane and capture of the crew. As for the London Irish they had engaged in the only fighting encounter between the German and British on British mainland soil of the war.

We have to go back to 1797 when the French Revolutionary Government carried out a devious plan to win the support of British citizens in an invasion by 1,400 men of arms. The French force was led by an Irish American called William Tate. Bad weather ensued causing the invaders to land at Cardigan Bay in South Wales. The unfortunate aimless French were captured by the Yeomanry of Pembrokeshire without a shot being fired.

The Battle of Graveney Marsh has the clear distinction of hopefully being the last exchange of shots by a foreign invading force.

Strangely, it is said that the London Irish were led away under escort for opening fire without the given order.

Also some souvenirs of the Junker 88 have been exhibited locally.

A lady whose husband was involved in the incident considered it very unlikely any such items were taken due to the speedy removal the German Junker 88, as it was of such vital importance to the British Intelligence Authorities. It is likely the Junker 88 was taken to RAF Farnborough for the examination.
The German air crew probable sent to a Prisoner of War camp in the Midlands, or in the case of die hards dispatched to Canada.

marcsignal

^^ nice little nugget there BlaasForRafa

gatecrash wrote: »

In London... The British government publishes its Blue Book of prewar diplomatic documents.

came across that online Here for anyone interested.

BlaasForRafa

marcsignal wrote: »

^^ nice little nugget there BlaasForRafa



came across that online Here for anyone interested.

Aye I thought it was fairly interesting. Unfortunately there dosen't seem to be any testimony from the germans involved, I wonder if Ruhlandt thought he could shoot his way out and get to the coast nearby and steal a fishing boat or something.

It all sounds like something that would come right out of a commando comics story, especially a bit that isn't mentioned in the above link but apparantly the London Irish platoon in question brought the germans to the Sportsman pub for a few pints after the fighting

marcsignal

70 years ago today the first German Bombs fell on Dublin City.

On Jan 2nd 1941 @2am bombs fell on Rathdown Park, Lavarna Grove & Road, and on Fortfield Road in Terenure. Some Pics Below of the damaged houses on Rathdown Park.
There was a light covering of snow in Dublin at the time.





and Later tonight/tomorrow morning, January 3rd bombs fell on Harolds Cross, South Circular Road (destroying the Synogague), and Rialto. Some Pics below of South Circular Road bombing.







some info on the Rialto Bombing below:

http://www.dublincity.ie/RecreationandCulture/libraries/Heritage%20and%20History/Dublin%20City%20Archives/Collections%20Post%201840/Pages/donore_bombing_archives.aspx



Apologies for my absence from the forum over the xmas and new year. I will reply to any unanswered threads over the next week or so.

Belated seasons greetings to you all

randomnoob

on this day nazi germany made technological breakthroughs upon meeting representatives from outer space.
Nazi researchers succeeded in development of nuclear bombs, other up-to-date armament and achieved a very high technological level in general. It is supposed that the success was thanks to contacts with aliens that were quite regular.
An agreement for a german moon base on the dark side of the moon were agreed with the aliens, where Adolf and Eva's tombstones still reside at to this day

marcsignal

mods,

as well as a permanent ban from the WW2 forum, can posts like the one above by randomnoob not also be deleted ? Just so we can send a message to prepubescent dickheads, that they're not welcome here....

This is widely considered to be a serious forum with excellent contributions, and adult discussion/debate all round, thanks to all of the dedicated posters who treat it with the respect it deserves.

To all the other George Orwells and randomnoobs out there... don't post here, this is "Big School" ok ?
So go play with your balls instead, if they've dropped yet that is....
.

cyrusdvirus

Soviet division eliminated by Finns
Monday, January 8, 1940 www.onwar.com

The Winter War... The Soviet 44th Division is destroyed in the Karelian Isthmus. Details of the Finnish victory over the two Soviet divisions at Suomussalmi released by Finland's General Staff show that the Soviet 44th Division was utterly annihilated while attempting to support the defeated 162nd Division. Finns claim to have captured 102 field guns, 43 tanks, over 300 vehicles and 1170 horses.

In Britain... Bacon, butter and sugar are put on the ration list and are only available in small quantities. Butter is limited to 4 ounces per week. Adults are allowed 12 ounces of sugar and 4 oz. of bacon or uncooked ham -- less of cooked ham.

In the North Sea... A converted Wellington bomber fitted with an energized metal hoop to explode magnetic mines does its first successful trials.

In China... Japan claims to have killed 25,000 Chinese in battle north of Canton.

In Germany... A new army headquarters is reportedly established at Recklingshausen, 10 miles from the Dutch border.

British bomb Italian port
Wednesday, January 8, 1941 www.onwar.com

Over Italy... There is a British air raid on Naples by Wellington bombers in which the battleship Guilio Cesare is badly hit while moored in the harbor. The Vittorio Veneto is also hit but scarcely damaged.

In Washington... Roosevelt presents his budget to Congress. It outlines total expenditure of $17,500,000,000 with $10,800,000,000 going on defense.

In Albania... The Greeks begin to attack Klisura in their continuing offensive. Their progress farther north is less good, especially around Berat.

Red Army winter offensive continues
Thursday, January 8, 1942 www.onwar.com

An early T-34 advancing in the snowOn the Eastern Front... West of Moscow, Soviet troops attack Mozhaysk.

In Malaysia... A third wave of Japanese troops lands under heavy air and naval protection.

In Singapore... Visiting General Wavell, orders the Allied forces to withdraw to beyond the Muar River and prepare defenses there.


Soviets Demand 6th Army Surrender
Friday, January 8, 1943 www.onwar.com

Soviet airforce bombs the trapped German troopsOn the Eastern Front... Rokossovsky, commanding the Red Army's Don Front surrounding Stalingrad, and Voronov, the STAVKA representative, issue a demand to surrender to the German 6th Army. Paulus, commander of the encircled forces, refuses to surrender; his Chief of Staff, Schmidt, is believed to have influenced this decision. The German 6th Army at this point still has substantial manpower but it is short of supplies and the troops have been weakened by a lack of food and warmth. The Red Army forces are well provided with food, fuel and ammunition. Meanwhile, to the south, Zimovniki is captured in a Soviet attack.

On Madagascar... Administration of the island is handed over to the Free French.


Soviets capture Kirovograd
Saturday, January 8, 1944 www.onwar.com

Soviet infantry dismount T-34 for assaultOn the Eastern Front... The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front (Konev) surround Kirovograd, along with three German divisions. During the night (January 8-9) the Soviet 67th Tank Brigade carrying infantry on its tanks disperses the headquarters of German 47th Panzer Corps (General von Vormann) with losses to men and equipment.

In Occupied Italy... In Verno, the Italian Socialist Republic tries members of the Fascist Grand Council who had earlier deposed Mussolini (January 8-11). Several members are convicted in their absence. Others, including Ciano and Bono, are tried, convicted and executed.

British near Shwebo
Monday, January 8, 1945 www.onwar.com
In Burma... British 14th Army troops, southeast of Yeu, have reached within 4 miles of Shwebo, 55 miles northwest of Mandalay.

On the Eastern Front... Northwest of Budapest, Soviets forces engage German armor and infantry forces. Street fighting in Budapest continues. Soviet forces are approaching the town of Komarno on the Danube River.
On the Western Front... Allied forces eliminate German positions on the west bank of the Maas River. In the Ardennes, American forces now control 9 miles of the Laroche-St. Vith road. US 3rd Army captures Flamierge, 9 km northwest of Bastogne, on the southern flank of the German held salient. Meanwhile, in Alsace, the battles north and south of Strasbourg continue. The US 7th Army is under considerable pressure near Rimling and Gambsheim.

The Highwayman

On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes you free").

marcsignal

^
^

great pic !

Auschwitz must have been a hard enough place to survive in without having to deal with Polish winters as well...

The Highwayman

Was there in Jan a few years ago, the cold did add to the effect.

Long weekend in Krakow did this on the last day. Well worth the time spent.... if that makes sense?

(not my pic thought)

jonniebgood1

Feb 14 1945
Dresden

BlaasForRafa

On this day in 1945 Otto Kittel was killed in air combat over the Courland pocket in Latvia. With 267 victories Kittel is the highest scoring ace to be killed in combat. Kittel was also the highest scoring Focke-Wulf FW-190 ace having amassed more than 200 victories on the type with JG54 "Grunherz" on the eastern front.

On 16 February 1945 Otto Kittel took off with his Geschwader (Wing) flying Fw 190 A-8 "Black 1" to engage a formation of 14 Shturmovik aircraft over the Courland Pocket. At 12:13 he made contact with the formation at low altitude, no more than 100–150 metres (328 to 492 feet). Kittel attacked, firing at and damaging several Shturmovik. Kittel damaged one aircraft and chased it. As he closed in for the kill, his Focke-Wulf was hit by return fire from a rear gunner, and descended towards the ground on fire. Kittel, probably incapacitated and unable to use his parachute, did not bail out and the Fw 190 crashed in flames. Witnesses from Kittel's formation reported that a Shturmovik had been shot down by Otto before he himself was killed during the air battle having scored his 267th and final victory.

marcsignal

Slightly late on this one.
Goebbels 'Total War' Speech on Feb 18th 1943 in the Sportpalastrede, (Sports Palace) Berlin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVP3KU-qOzc

el oh el

1945 - In the U.S., a nationwide midnight curfew went into effect.

1945 - During World War II, Syria declared war on Germany and Japan.

BlaasForRafa

marcsignal wrote: »

Slightly late on this one.
Goebbels 'Total War' Speech on Feb 18th 1943 in the Sportpalastrede, (Sports Palace) Berlin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVP3KU-qOzc

Its pretty amazing that Germany didn't move to a total war footing till so late, its a drastic contrast with Britain and the Soviet Union.

I was doing some reading on the Focke-Wulf company recently and was surprised to read that they only operated one shift per day until 1943 which is pretty amazing seeing as not only did they have to supply the Jagdwaffe but Schlact (ground-attack) formations were switching over to the Fw190 from the Stuka and Hs123

marcsignal

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I was doing some reading on the Focke-Wulf company recently and was surprised to read that they only operated one shift per day until 1943 which is pretty amazing seeing as not only did they have to supply the Jagdwaffe but Schlact (ground-attack) formations were switching over to the Fw190 from the Stuka and Hs123

some great footage of a flying FW190 Here

BlaasForRafa

marcsignal wrote: »

some great footage of a flying FW190 Here

Thanks for that, I hadn't seen that vid before. Interesting to see that they used the mid-war JG1 "checkerboard" colour scheme.

RandomnoobIII

On this day, Nazi Germany established a secret base in Antarctica to which they spirited Hitler at the war’s end, fought off British special forces and an American military taskforce, partly by shooting down US planes using flying saucers. The Americans eventually destroyed the base with nuclear weapons in the 1950s. Since then, various governments have striven to conceal this….

marcsignal

Randomnoob the third, so many possibilitles....

*sniggers

BlaasForRafa

RandomnoobIII wrote: »

On this day, Nazi Germany established a secret base in Antarctica to which they spirited Hitler at the war’s end, fought off British special forces and an American military taskforce, partly by shooting down US planes using flying saucers. The Americans eventually destroyed the base with nuclear weapons in the 1950s. Since then, various governments have striven to conceal this….

Type IX u-boats with no deck guns???

jonniebgood1

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Type IX u-boats with no deck guns???

Yes- and Type A1 Nazi UFO's without their standard rear gun turrets

BlaasForRafa

Theres a lot of 70th anniversaries coming up. Today is the 70th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Crete. It was the first large scale use of paratroops on their own to take a target. The germans thought they were being opposed by 5000 troops, in fact there were 32000 british, commonwealth and greek troops who had been pulled out of Greece just before.

Out of 10000 paratroops who flew in by glider and jumped by parachute on the first day, more than 3000 were killed, up to that point in the war it was the worst day in terms of casualties for the germans. The turning point of the battle came when the paratroops took Maleme airfield on the 2nd day and mountain troops were ferried in by JU52/3 transports. The airfield soon became strewn with wrecked transports but the balance had been tipped and the germans took the initiative and took the island in 10 days.

These are newsreels of the time. As you'd expect they rather gloss over the terrible casualties which were hidden from the general population.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM3ozuWYETE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqqYrHqpNiI

BlaasForRafa

70 years ago today the Battle of the Denmark Straight took place. The brand new german battleship Bismarck accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen attempted to breakout into the Atlantic via the Denmark Straight between Iceland and Greenland

The Royal Navy ships Hood and Prince of Wales intercepted the german ships in the early morning of the 24th. After only 5 salvos a shell penetrated Hoods armour and set off a catastrophic explosion sinking the ship in seconds. Of the over 1000 crew only 3 survived. The Prince of Wales retreated after taking a shell to the bridge and fell back to shadow the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. Bismarck was hit in a forward comparment losing some valuable fuel in the process.

After a mammoth chase the British caught up with the now lone Bismarck on the 26th and crippled her rudder with a torpedo from a Swordfish biplane. During the morning of the 27th May Bismarck was cornered by several british battleships and after being battered for an hour the abandon ship order was given. The Bismarck was scuttled and sank not long after. Almost 1000 men made it off the ship but only 110 were picked up by british ships after a uboat alert, leaving hundreds of men to drown.

The Prinz Eugen was the only one of the 4 ships involved in the Battle of the Denmark Straight to survive the war, Prince of Wales having been sunk by Japanese bombers during the battle for Malaysis. This is silent film from the decks of the Prinz Eugen, the battle beginning at 2.30 into the clip. Even in silence the broadside from the Bismarck looks terrifying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU76vVM6lWY

leincar

I'll jump the gun by thirty minutes as I'm in Bayeux and its already the 6th of June.

At 9.30am. My Father, Corporal Samuel Auty landed with Baker company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry on Utah beach. Right now I'm having a beer with many of my family and friends as we are on the Auty annual pilgramage.

Beside me is Captain Peter Cary Richardson (who I'm named after) and his family. He is 89 years of age and is drinking glass by glass as well as anyone of us here in the pub. He and my Father fought alongside each other for six months until they were both injured in the Hurtgen Forest battle in November 1944.

They both went back to their unit in February 1945 and were some of the first troops into Dachau Concentration camp. My Father and himself were lifelong friends until my Fathers death 4 years ago.

As Cary Richardson is seriously ill, he has begun to tell me some of the stories of what they wemt through. My Father in the months before he died had put a lot on tape(my Brother is meant to be compiling it all with a view to a book, right now, he would have difficulty tying a shoe lace. Kronenburg does not agree with him) what we have heard in the last day and a half is mind boggling.

My Father recieved the Silver Star with bar for deeds in Hurtgen. This we knew, but finally knowing what he did has made us all emotional and extremely proud. I won't go into details for obvious reasons, maybe in the near future, but now I know why I'm called Cary, and Capt Richardson's son is called Samuel.

tc20

i wish your companion continued good health, and am aware that there will be some sore heads in the morning. God's blessing to all that you will meet in the next few hours. I, and many others salute their heroic deeds.

Morlar

leincar wrote: »

I'll jump the gun by thirty minutes as I'm in Bayeux and its already the 6th of June.

At 9.30am. My Father, Corporal Samuel Auty landed with Baker company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry on Utah beach. Right now I'm having a beer with many of my family and friends as we are on the Auty annual pilgramage.

Beside me is Captain Peter Cary Richardson (who I'm named after) and his family. He is 89 years of age and is drinking glass by glass as well as anyone of us here in the pub. He and my Father fought alongside each other for six months until they were both injured in the Hurtgen Forest battle in November 1944.

They both went back to their unit in February 1945 and were some of the first troops into Dachau Concentration camp. My Father and himself were lifelong friends until my Fathers death 4 years ago.

As Cary Richardson is seriously ill, he has begun to tell me some of the stories of what they wemt through. My Father in the months before he died had put a lot on tape(my Brother is meant to be compiling it all with a view to a book, right now, he would have difficulty tying a shoe lace. Kronenburg does not agree with him) what we have heard in the last day and a half is mind boggling.

My Father recieved the Silver Star with bar for deeds in Hurtgen. This we knew, but finally knowing what he did has made us all emotional and extremely proud. I won't go into details for obvious reasons, maybe in the near future, but now I know why I'm called Cary, and Capt Richardson's son is called Samuel.

Hope you all have a great evening and enjoy the commemorations later today. Take some pictures !!! (seriously) !

The Highwayman

Point du Hoc, Normandy
Today